The Sefat Emet hints to us that this parshah is the beginning of the transition from the written Torah to the Oral Torah. The uniqueness of Nedarim from other mitzvoth is that other mitzvot are commanded on man by the Torah, and as such the commands come directly from Hashem. By Nedarim it is man who prohibits himself from certain actions, and yet these vows receive a status similar to biblically ordained prohibitions. The Parshah of Nedarim reveals to us that man can take the concept of Kedusha and import it on something which was originally unsacred. In other biblical laws we find some similarities, such as by the idea of Tosefet Shabbat (adding onto Shabbat) and Tosefet Yom HaKippurim (adding onto Yom Kippur), or by adding to the already existing section of the Temple by sanctifying new sections ect. Yet in all of these cases we merely extend pre-existing Kedushah, but we do not create it. By Nedarim, however, we completely change that which is unsacred into sacred with no pre-existing holiness. This itself is an Oral Law concept, and as such it becomes understandable why this law is placed in this parshah.

Part of the dependence of the Jewish People in the Desert was based on the idea that all spirituality was sent from God and that man has no ability to innovate. And while we know that there is a biblical prohibition to add or detract from the commandments (בל תגרע ובל תוסיף), we see that there is some ability for man to innovate. As such this innovation is symbolic of the Jewish People’s growth from the Desert to the Land of Israel, and from dependence to independence. Hence, if until now the nation received from Moshe all of its spiritual and physical needs, now we are transitioning into an era where each individual must supply himself with physical needs, such as food, and also with spiritual needs.

Rabbi Soloveitchik zt”l stated that this principle is true for everything which is Holy, ie that there is no meaning to Kedusha without human involvement. Just as man by Nedarim can impart Kedusha on the unholy, so too by Kedusha which was ordained from the Torah it is up to man to impart that holiness onto the world through action. There are several examples to this, such as Kiddush on Shabbat. Even though the holiness of Shabbat exists whether or not we do Kiddush, we are still commanded to sanctify Shabbat through doing Kiddush. In other words, despite that the holiness is ordained from Heaven there is still a desire that man partake in spreading its holiness.  This is most noticeable by the ability of the Sanhedrin to decide the new months. The Sages learn that the ability of the Sanhedrin to decide the new months, and in consequence all of the Holidays, is binding even if they did so based on an intentional mistake. This idea is logical if you understand that there is an importance in having human involvement on some level.

This idea is especially important regarding Torah learning. Even though the Torah is from Heaven there are a vast amount of mitzvoth which were innovated and revealed through human involvement. This is stressed through the strength of logic in the Gemara (ברכת הנהניו נלמד מכוח סברא), and the thirteen principles with which the Torah is elucidated. Parallel to this it is important to recognize the other side of the coin, which is that all the Torah was given to Moshe at Sinai, and that we are not permitted to simply do as we wish.  This balance is not just the key to learning the Torah, but to the transition of the Jewish People from the desert to the Land of Israel and from dependence to independence.

Rabbi Haim Sabato was born in Cairo, Egypt to a prestigious rabbinic family; he and his family made Aliyah in 1956 during the expulsion of Jews from Arab lands. He studied in Yehivat Hakotel, and in 1977, at age 24, he helped found Yeshivat HaHesder Birkat Moshe in Maale Adumim, Israel, and currently serves as one of its Roshei Yeshivah. Besides for his Torah scholarship, Rabbi Sabato is widely known as a popular author, and his novel “Adjusting Sights” (תיאום כוונות) won the Sapir Prize (akin to Israel’s Pulitzer Prize) in 2000.

Translated by RZA-Aryeh Fellow Nimrod Soll.

The post Parshat Matot-Massei: “From Dependence to Independence” by Rabbi Haim Sabato first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

Our Parsha opens with the wonderful blessings Pinchas received in the wake of his zealousness for G-d in the event with Zimri: “Behold I am giving him my covenant of peace and it will be for him and all his descendants after him, a covenant of eternal priesthood, because he was zealous for his G-d and he atoned for the children of Israel.” Upon reading these things a simple question emerges. Seemingly, peace is the exact opposite of zealousness, especially as it manifested itself in Pinchas’s case, in that he took a spear and killed a leader of Israel. The reward doesn’t fit the act. The question becomes even stronger once we note that Eliyahu, who also was zealous for G-d, later becomes the messenger that turns the fathers’ hearts to their sons and the sons’ hearts to their fathers – his entire task becomes to return love and brotherhood among Israel.

The “covenant of eternal priesthood” that Pinchas receives is also seemingly not a fitting reward for his act of zealousness. A priest (cohen) is a persona of kindness, as given by the verse “Your tumim and urim for the man of Your kindness,” and his designation as a “messenger of ours.” He represents ultimate love. Also, Pinchas ben Elazar is already a cohen, so the nature of this covenant is unclear, and the verses do not offer any explanation. Rashi writes that if it were not for the covenant, Pinchas would actually not be a cohen for the priesthood was given to Aharon, his sons, and his future descendants; Pinchas, a grandchild, had been born earlier and had not been included. There is another opinion that “the covenant of eternal priesthood” means that all the High Priests would come from Pinchas’s line. According to this opinion, the question of the relationship between Pinchas’s zealousness and the eternal priesthood he receives becomes even stronger. The High Priest is none other than the man who loves and is beloved by Israel. He is the one who carries the people of Israel’s names on his shoulders and over his heart and atones for all of them. All those who murdered unintentionally depend on him, and consequentially all love and brotherhood among Israel is contingent upon him. If so, it must be clarified – why by virtue of his zealousness, did Pinchas receive the gift of priesthood, the complete opposite attribute, and why did he not instead simply merit the attribute of zealousness?

Also his enemies shall make peace with him

First let us attempt to understand what good there is in the attribute of kina’h (commonly, jealousy; or, zealousness). In the simple sense, kina’h (jealousy) is not a good thing; on the contrary, it is a deficient, despicable character trait. However, as the Rishonim say, “[an act done in a time of] need will not be degraded,” and when kina’h is used in a time of need, it loses its derogatory aspects. It is “a need of the moment” (tzorech sha’ah). Because it is normally a negative trait, though, we could have thought that its derogatory aspect would “cling” to Pinchas and lower his moral standing. Therefore the verse comes to say that whatever lack existed was filled, “Behold I am giving him My covenant of peace.” Pinchas’s involvement with a force that has such a negative aspect had the potential to bring him down, and so G-d gives him His covenant of peace so that the kina’h would not turn into a stumbling block. According to this, the words “tachat asher kineh” can be explained not as “because he was zealous” but in the sense of replacement, “instead of his zealousness.”

Moreover, we can understand peace to be the complement of the trait of zealousness. Because Pinchas’s act certainly caused confusion, embarrassment, and grievance, especially from the tribe of Shimon, and because Pinchas’s figure became enmeshed in controversy, the Torah gives him a covenant of peace to clear things up. The Torah says, “When G-d favors the ways of a person, also his enemies will make peace with him.” That is, because the zealousness was approved by G-d, therefore, even though by nature it causes distance between people even when for a good cause, therefore G-d gives him a covenant of peace so that he would not be hurt by it or others.

And one who loves him gives him rebuke

In a deeper sense, it might be said that peace and kina’h are not two completely different, contradictory things. At first glance, it could seem that kina’h stems from fastidiousness and hatred, from a distance between Pinchas’ and Zimri’s souls. From his hatred came his zealousness and thereupon his killing him. But there is room to say the exact opposite. There was no one among all of Israel who felt greater love and closeness to Zimri than Pinchas. These things are not that which are on our level, to do or to understand, but it is Torah and we are to learn from the acts of the giants of Israel.

How may we understand Pinchas’s zealousness as an expression of his great love? Just as a father chastises his child more than he would a friend’s child or a neighbor’s child, particularly out of love for his son, so may we understand Pinchas’s act to have been out of love. It is true that sometimes one punishes out of weakness; however, we have the principle, “Whoever spares the rod, hates his son, but one who loves him gives him rebuke.” The father disciplines his child out of love and care for him. A father cares very much for his child; he feels a deep love and inner connection to him. His actions also affect him on the inside more than would those of a person who is more distant to him. Therefore, he cries out when his son is hurt.

Pinchas’s zealousness stemmed from his great love and care for Zimri, the closeness a father feels toward a child. More than anyone in Israel, Pinchas heard Zimri’s soul cry out. He heard the shriek of his soul splitting when he committed the sin. Pinchas cried together with Zimri’s soul and his act was done out of love.

Pinchas’s act of zealousness is not one that happens every day, besides for the fact that a transgressor does not often commit his sins in public. Who would go in the harlot’s tent? Only a zealous person could harm one who has relations with an Aramean woman, because he is not used to seeing dvar erva. The law “one who has relations with (boel) an Aramean woman; the zealous attack him” is not a law that comes up in reality because it is referring to someone caught at the very time of the act, as boel is written in the present tense. Therefore, if Zimri would have noticed Pinchas and separated himself from the act, it would have been forbidden to kill him. Moreover, if Pinchas were to have killed Zimri one second too late, not at the time of the act itself, he would have been liable to death by witnesses and warnings. Therefore, the Sages say that many miracles were done at the time of Pinchas’s act.

In his zealousness, Pinchas took a risk. He relied on miracles and risked his life because he knew that Zimri’s “death is his atonement,” that only by death would Zimri’s act be atoned for. In his act, Pinchas pured Zimri of defilement and even atoned for Zimri’s tribe. With this act, Pinchas purified all of Israel and because of it, the plague stopped.

Higher Love

According to the first explanation we brought, Pinchas’s zealousness is directed at Zimri and the covenant of peace acts to balance him out. But this is only on the surface. On a deeper level, we explained that the zealousness was for Zimri’s good and a manifestation of Pinchas’s love for him. Clearly, this is not for everyone, and Pinchas’s love extending to his taking a spear in hand and killing him was his unique level.

Our teacher Rav Kook ob”m goes so far as to say that even Amalek is beloved by Israel, but this love is “above the Heavens.” Indeed, in order to love Amalek one must be above the Heavens. The trait of love among the righteous includes every created thing and does not exclude any nation or language. Even Amalek is only to be wiped out under the Heavens – but with purification, it can elevate itself to its good source, which is above the Heavens and be included in the “Higher Love” (ahava elyona). However, great strength and extreme purity is required for such a unique thing.

The “Higher Love” toward Amalek above the Heavens does not exempt us from being below the Heavens and to heed the law, “You shall surely erase the memory of Amalek.” The ability to exist on both planes simultaneously is extremely unique, and it manifested itself in the persona of Pinchas. On the one hand, Pinchas acted “below the Heavens” and killed Zimri. On the other hand, Pinchas acted out of a love that was “above the Heavens” for Zimri’s soul, and therefore he merited the covenant of peace. It was a covenant between Pinchas and Zimri. By virtue of this covenant, Pinchas received the covenant of eternal priesthood, just as Eliyahu, who was also zealous for G-d, received the ability to turn the fathers’ hearts to their sons and the sons’ hearts back to their fathers.

According to the two explanations we brought, the verse “Behold I am giving him my covenant of peace” can be read as “peace between Pinchas and the nation.” However, a close look at the wording will lead us to a deeper understanding, yet. The verse says, “Behold I am giving him my covenant of peace.” That is to say, there is existed a great tension within Pinchas himself between the “below the Heavens” and “above the Heavens” drives within him. On the one hand, there was the “below the Heavens” aspect – his ability to take a spear and kill a Jewish person. On the other hand, there was the “above the Heavens” aspect – his ability to love every Jewish person, a love of a High Priest, and like the love of Aharon haCohen, who “loved peace and chased after peace.” Therefore, in order to have the ability to be zealous out of love, Pinchas needs to have peace within himself. This is the promise of “My covenant of peace.” G-d promises him that the peace, balance, and complementary nature of his two sides will not be damaged. Because Pinchas was full of love, his killing of Zimri stemmed from it, and for the same reason, everyone saw his love and treated him with love, and therefore, Pinchas received the “eternal priesthood.”

Rav Shapira is a talmid of Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, zt”l. In 5754 (1994) he founded Yeshivat Ramat Gan. He is married to Naomi and has eleven children. Today, besides teaching in the Yeshiva, Rav Shapira also teaches at Bar-Ilan University, Midreshet Shuva, and Midreshet Oriah.

The post “Parshat Pinchas” by R. Yehoshua Shapira first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

In doing so, Hashem gives people great powers of choice, to the extent that He assists a person in his choice, even if he is wicked. R. Zadok of Lublin writes that Hashem helps even when it goes against His will, just as He helped Elijah hide in the Krit riverbed, although Elijah had used the Key of Rain against Hashem’s will. On the other hand, Hashem watches over the world to see that things go well. How do we reconcile these two things?

1. Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in Daat Tvunot relates to two parallel courses by which the world is governed: the course of law and the divine course. With law, everything hangs on a person’s deeds, resulting in reward and punishment. This can be troubling, however, because we can’t always comprehend the logic and justice, because they are rooted in Hashem’s profound calculations.

When the world is governed according to the divine course, Hashem acts to fulfill His aims. That’s how events that are beyond the framework of reward and punishment can occur. Thus, in the Exodus from Egypt, Hashem took the Children of Israel out of Egypt although they were idol worshippers, because it was part of the divine plan.

There is also a difference between the two courses concerning free choice. On the course of law, a person’s choice is a major factor and Hashem helps him fulfill his choice. But on the divine course, Hashem directs occurrences despite a person’s choices so as to achieve His divine goals.

How can we reconcile these two courses? It is part of Hashem’s greatness, to advance his plan towards the great goals while taking a person’s choice and “recalculation of the route” into account. That is why when Bilam wanted to curse Israel, Hashem tried to prevent him from doing so. However, in light of Bilam’s persistence, Hashem helped him reach Balak. Hashem’s ultimate goal is to help Israel, so He intervened so that Bilam, who despised Israel, would bless it.

Hashem decided that Israel would leave Egypt 430 years after the covenant with Abraham – the Brit bein HaBetarim – and 400 years after the birth of Isaac. But what would happen during that period, whether it would all be “slavery” or being “strangers” or “affliction” as mentioned in the covenant, would be determined by Israel’s choices and deeds.

Today, we can see that Hashem is advancing the redemption through His unique governance despite the difficult reality in which our people lives. But the redemption’s form and rate of advancement depend on us. Our sages have said: “Should they merit it – I will speed it up; should they not merit it – it will come slowly. And this is the case in many details of the redemption.

From the deed of that wicked Bilam, about which the Torah goes into great detail, we can learn a very important lesson – that the redemption is up to us, if our deeds warrant it, we will merit divine intervention.

Rabbi Shlomo Rosenfeld is the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Yeshivat HaBikka, the hesder yeshiva of the Jordan Valley. The Jordan Valley is generally known for its 120 degree summer heat, and for bordering Jordan, but the Torah that it produces is just as sweet and refreshing as the dates that it exports around the world.

The post “Parshat Balak” by Rabbi Shlomo Rosenfeld first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

In addition to the uncommon word used to describe their report, there is something quite unusual about the specific type of evil speech through which the spies sinned.

Jewish law describes several different offences in the category of evil speech.  Spreading false rumors or lies is called motzi shem ra.  Additionally, there are other offences called lashon hara and rechilut that prohibit revealing negative true information without justification.  So there are sins involving lies, and sins involving the truth.  In which category should we place the dibat ha’aretz of the spies?

On the one hand, a careful reading of the Numbers 13:17-32 demonstrates that everything they said was true.  So they weren’t guilty of motzi shem ra. But it wasn’t lashon hara either, since the information they revealed (that the inhabitants of the land were numerous and strong and that some were giants, that the cities were powerfully fortified and that the living conditions could be harsh) was not objectively negative.  Indeed, the two dissenting spies who gave a favorable report did not dispute any of the facts revealed by the others.  Furthermore, the spies had been specifically charged with the mission of reporting on these very matters (see 13:18-20).

So what, in fact, was the nature of this dibat ha’aretz?  It seems that in this case, the sin was simply about how they presented and interpreted the information.  The very same facts that could lead some of the spies to declare, “We can certainly accomplish it…the land is very very good!” (13:30, 14:7) caused others to proclaim, “We cannot make it there…it is a land that consumes its inhabitants” (13:31-32). It’s simply a matter of perspective.

The minority report of Joshua and Caleb was infused with faith and optimism; the majority report of the other ten was poisoned with cynicism.  Tragically, the destructive power of cynical negativity was too great to overcome, causing an entire generation to die in the desert.  This was the sin of dibat ha’aretz.

There’s a powerful lesson in this, especially in the age of the internet and social media.  Often, the tone and context in which information is presented is even more important than the facts themselves – and this is particularly true when it comes to anything having to do with Jews or Israel.

Of course, genuine problems in our communities and our country must be exposed, confronted and overcome, and legitimate arguments must be debated.  But cynicism is never called for.  So as we read about the spies this Shabbat, let’s resolve to work vigorously to fix whatever is broken, but not to slander (or “l’hotzi diba”) our people, our brethren and our country.  Let’s join Joshua and Caleb proclaiming “The land (and its people) are very very good!”

Rabbi Alan Haber studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion, located in Alon Shvut, where he has lived with his family for the past few decades.  He is one of the founders of Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim, where he served as Director for 16 years.  Currently, he teaches at Midreshet and Yeshivat Torah Va’avoda, Nishmat, and Matan.  He is also a licensed tour guide specializing in educational tours throughout the country.

The post “Parshat Shelach” by Rabbi Alan Haber first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

In order to understand this better, let us look at the famous passage from the Talmud, where we find another challenge facing Moses:

“R. Judah said, citing Rav:

When Moshe ascended to heaven he found the Almighty sitting and fashioning coronets for the letters. Moshe asked: “Master of the Universe, what have You not finished yet?” Hashem replied: “There is a man who will come in the future called Akiva ben Yosef. He will one day expound heaps upon heaps of laws on each jot and tittle.” Moses said: “Master of the Universe, show him to me.” Hashem replied: “Turn around.” Moses turned around and sat in the last row (of a yeshiva). Moses was unable to follow the discussion and was dazed. When Akiva came to a certain point, his students asked him “From whence do you derive this?” Akiva replied, “This is a law given to Moses from Sinai.” And Moses was calmed.

What was it that exhausted Moses and what calmed him? Didn’t he understand the need for the coronets on the letters and the profound laws that R. Akiva derived from them? And why did R. Akiva’s statement calm him? Furthermore, our rabbis already told us in Leviticus Rabbah that the Mishna, laws, Talmud, Toseftot, Aggada – everything – had already been given to Moses at Sinai.

However, there are distinctions between the generations, different ways of understanding the learning from one generation to the next. The Torah of Moses was clear – without doubts or dilemmas. Each question was immediately resolved. Moses did not need to analyze, weigh or draw analogies. He saw the answer. But since Moses died and darkness fell on our world, we need to carefully analyze, weigh and draw conclusions in order to understand the depth of the Torah, like a blind man using his sense of touch to find his way. That was the great power of R. Akiva in interpreting the coronets on the letters. It was this effort on the part of R. Akiva – that exhausted Moshe, because he could see the answers clearly and had no need of these methods – that ultimately enabled R. Akiva to derive the laws given to Moses at Sinai. After all, although different methods of learning the Torah were employed, all strove for the same result – to arrive at the truth of the Torah.

The pure Menorah placed in G-d’s Temple hints of the light of the Torah, as R. Yitzhak says in the Talmud: “Those who wish to acquire wisdom should go south; those who seek wealth should go north, and the sign is that the table was in the north of the Temple and the Menorah was in the south. And its light is the light that the scholars of all generations pursue.

Rabbi Aharonav is the Rosh Yeshiva of the Hesder Yeshiva in Maale Efraim, a picturesque yishuv in the hills overlooking the Jordan Valley.  The yishuv, fouded in 1978 and consists of 750 families derived its name from its location as on the direct path that would be taken from the Jordan River ascending to the tribal land of Efraim.

The post Parshat Behaalotha: “Moses and the Menorah” By Rabbi Michael Aharonov first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

Or does it mean that one day humanity will develop and learn to extract benefit from everything until there will be nothing that ‘does not bear fruit’. Earthquakes, volcanoes and hail are natural phenomena whose benefit we are as yet unable to appreciate. Sometimes we encounter a person who is known as someone who only causes damage, along with opinions, states of mind and philosophies that appear only to do harm. But the world moves on. From many things once thought to be harmful, we have now learned to derive benefit and blessings.

The first person who discovered oil in his field probably thought that the dirty, slimy, smelly substance was no more than an impediment to growing his crops. In time, however, its benefits were discovered, as was the case with the minerals in the Dead Sea. Even weeds have been proven to be a source of important medications.

The legends of the sages tell a story of how King David discovered the benefit in a living being he had held in contempt. One day, King David was sitting in his garden when he saw a wasp devour a spider. He said: Lord of the universe, what benefit do these creatures bring to your world. The wasp makes no honey and the spider weaves all year, yet produces nothing. Hashem said: David, although you mock my creations, the day will come when you will need them.

When David was hiding in a cave from King Saul’s wrath, Hashem sent a spider to weave a web at the entrance to the cave. When Saul saw the web, he said: No one could have entered here, because he would have torn the web asunder. Saul left and did not enter the cave. When David emerged from the cave and saw the spider, he kissed it and said: Blessed is the One that created you and blessed are you.

“This is how nature was founded. At the start of creation, there was nothing wrong with anything and only sin caused things to change. In the future, when sin is completely eradicated, the curse will be abolished and every tree will give fruit” (Eretz Yehuda).

“And all creatures will see You […] and all will be bound together, carrying out Your will wholeheartedly […] and everything You have created will know You have created it and all who breathe will say: Hashem the G-d of Israel is King …” (from the Rosh Hashanah prayers).

The post Parshat Behar-Bechukotai: “And the tree shall give it’s fruit” by Rabbi Itzik Amitai first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

The post Parshat Behar-Bechukotai: “The Holiness of the Land of Israel” by Rabbi Elazar Aharonson first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

The post Parshat Achrei-Kedoshim: “The Holiness of a Society” by Rabbi Haim Sabato first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

One can see a similar phenomenon with regards to Adam HaRishon, when his Creator gave him Gan Eden and commanded him, He said eat from some things, and to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge “For on the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Bereshit 2:17). When he violated the commandments of G-d, a sentence was passed, and upon the coming of the Sabbath it was nullified. He began to talk with him, as Adam may have repentented, as it says “And Hashem G-d called to Adam and said to him ‘Where are you?’”And the name Hashem shows the presence of the aspect of divine mercy, as it says “Hashem, Hashem, merciful and gracious” (Shemot 34: 6). The aspect of divine mercy was put ahead of the aspect of divine justice, so that Adam would repent. This is as it says ‘You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,’ meaning that G-d does not want to incriminate a person.”

What is the relevance of this lesson in connection to the verse “When a man has on the skin of his flesh” (Vayikra 13:2)?

The picture is completed by another part of the Midrash (13:7): “Another interpretation: ‘When a man has on the skin of his flesh—’ why does the Torah not say ‘Speak to the Children of Israel,’ as it says in all other sections of the Torah, and rather says ‘When a man has on the skin of his flesh?’ This is as the verse says ‘You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness.’ But another verse says ‘My counsel will stand and all that I desire I will do.’ One who hears this second verse may say ‘Perhaps there will be a distortion of justice above.’ Rabbi Tanchuma says: ‘What does all that I desire I will do mean? That G-d does not want to incriminate any person. As it says I do not seek the death of the wicked (Yechezkel 33:11). This shows that You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness.’”

In other words, the Torah was not written in clear conditional language, saying “If a person has on the skin of his flesh,” rather it is written in a more firm manner, which presents skin lesions as things which will surely come. It is on this that the Midrash asks: why? And answers, that when G-d seeks to punish a person, He does not do this out of anger and vengeance, rather He does it out of the desire to correct his actions. G-d prefers to give a person skin lesions more rather than killing them. And since “there is no righteous person in the land who does good and has not sinned” (Kohelet 7: 20), we are forced to have lesions as part of our spiritual healing.

However, why were lesions specifically chosen as the most appropriate punishment that required atonement?

In the laws of blemishes which disqualify Kohanim from working in the Mishkan, the torah commanded: “Speak to Aaron and say: ‘One of your descendants throughout the generations that has a blemish, he should not approach to offer the bread of his G-d” (Vayikra 21: 16-17). Why does the Torah forbid a physically blemished Kohen from working in the Mishkan and the Beit Hamikdash? What did this poor man do that caused him to be removed from holy work?

Rabbi Moshe Cordovero explains, in accordance with the Zohar, that an exterior blemish is only an exterior manifestation of an inner, spiritual, blemish.

Nowadays, the concept of psychosomatic illnesses is clear and familiar. It has been shown that a person with high self confidence is more resistant to disease. It is also known that that nervousness can lead to diseases such as ulcers, and even cancer, chas v’shalom.

This is also true in our case: Lesions are essentially a “flooding” of the spiritual blemish, which is caused by sin, to the outer body. A person who has sinned clouds his soul and damages it. “It was taught in the house of Rabbi Yishmael: Sin confuses the heart of man.” And now, when G-d wants to cause a person to repent, he signals to him through skin lesions, the stains of the soul.

However, it seems that there is another level of understanding here: The sins of the nation of Israel are not essential to them, rather they are external and alien to their nature. “Israel, even though she sinned, is still Israel,” “Regardless, they are called sons.” Sin does not have the power to defile the deep innermost fundamental core of a Jewish person.

Lesions do not harm a person’s inner nature, but their outsides. “When a man has on the skin of his flesh,” on the outermost shell of his reality. Lesions signal that the outer layer of man— and not his soul, G-d forbid!— is contaminated, and that he must wake up and clean it, in order to prevent the same confusion of the heart, the same spiritual sealing and blockage in the future.

R. Ro’i Cohen is a teacher in Yeshivat Binot, a Hesder Yeshiva in Ra’anana. A graduate of Yeshivat Hesder Naharia (also known as yeshivat Nahar Deah), R. Hacohen teaches Gemara and other topics in Yeshivat Binot. In addition to this, he also runs a Torah learning group called Binot, which consists of young couples, many of whom are in the yeshiva already.

The post Parshat Tazria-Metzorah: “The Grace of G-d in Tzaarat” by Rav Ro’i Cohen first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.

Chizkiyahu’s father was Achaz, a king who closed the doors of the Bet haMikdash, built alters for idol worship in the architectural style of the king of Assyria, etc. In contrast, Chizkiyahu was considered by Chazal to have been the greatest king of all time. The Midrash states that G-d wanted to make Chizkiyahu Mashiach. What had he done to deserve this praise? He led a massive teshuva movement. He had the Jewish people get rid of their idols, told the Cohanim and Leviim to purify themselves, had the Jewish people learn Torah, did a mass repairs on the Bet HaMikdash, etc. It so happened that the repairs on the Bet HaMikdash, together with the purification process and the re-dedication took until the 16th of Iyar. Chizkiyahu had various atonement offerings brought and then ruled that they should bring the Korbon Pesach as well. In this context, it seems that Chizkiyahu’s intentions were proper — the Korbon Pesach would be in the context of atoning for the Jewish people’s sins and starting over.

However, there were two problems: The first was that he called to all the Jewish people to come but not everyone was willing. Divrei HaYamim describes how the tribes of Efraim and Menashe mock Chizkiyahu for ordering them to come bring the Korban Pesach. Why so? It is possible that they were not on board with the teshuva movement to begin with. However, it is also possible that they were criticizing Chizkiyahu for being a “chadshan,” for creating new laws out of nowhere. The Korbon Pesach is not normally brought on the 16th of Iyar. Yet, it is said that Chizkiyahu had created a leap month, so it technically still could have been Pesach, in Nissan. And we know that one may bring a Korbon Pesach all the days of Pesach if one had not had the chance to do so prior.

Why, then, did the Chachamim disapprove of this Pesach? The Rambam explains one reason for the Chachamim’s disapproval of Chizkiyahu’s Pesach. Normally, when one creates a leap month, one must declare it before the 30th of Adar, because that day is already considered to be Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Chizkiyahu, however, had waited until the 30th of Adar to create a leap month. Because he did not follow the procedures, his intercalation of the year did not work, and the month that he wished to bring the Korbon Pesach remained Iyar. That was problem number two.

However, there seems to be another facet to the Sages’ disapproval of Chizkiyahu’s Pesach. The Yalkut Shemoni writes that Pesach needs to be had “at the time that Matzah and Maror are placed in front of you.” That is, there is a significance to having the Korbon Pesach in its proper context, with Matzah and Maror. Why had Chizkiyahu wanted to make this Korbon Pesach in the first place, seemingly disjointed and separate from its context – the correct date and with Matzah and Maror? Chizkiyahu had looked to Moshe’s making a brit after the sin of the Golden Calf and Yehoshua’s making a brit after circumcising the Jewish people in Gilgal. He realized that after having distanced themselves so far from G-d, the Jewish people needed to renew their covenant with Him. So what was the problem? It was not at the time that Matzah and Maror were out on the table. Matzah and Maror here symbolize history – whereas we know the Korbon Pesach we bring (Pesach d’dorot) is different from the one they had in Egypt (Pesach d’Mitzrayim) – the matzah and the maror remained the same. They serve to anchor the Korbon Pesach to its history. And that was the problem with Chizkiyahu’s Pesach. His wish to renew the Jewish people’s commitment to G-d with a renewed covenant was admirable. But its disconnect from the historical context was unacceptable. Chidush and history go hand-in-hand – the Sages could not approve of Chizkiyahu’s chidush, which was bereft of its roots, its connection to Pesach Mitzrayim.

Rav Ehud Zand is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Kiryat Shemonah, located in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona and offers a comprehensive five-year education program with a strong focus on Talmud, Tanach and Jewish philosophy. It also serves as a community center, with a variety of programs and services, ranging from providing assistance to the poor, elderly, infirm, and those with special needs, to offering educational services to the outlying communities.  They also function as a food bank in times of both war and peace and serve as the point people who distribute food to families in bomb shelters.  Most importantly, the Yeshiva serves as the first line of defense on the northern border with Lebanon.

The post Parshat Tzav: “Chizkiyahu’s Pesach” by Rav Ehud Zand first appeared on The Religious Zionists of America.