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Vayikra 5785

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The left out Kohen[1]

ושחט את-בן הבקר לפני יקוק והקריבו בני אהרן הכהנים וגו’ ונתנו בני אהרן הכהן אש על-המזבח וערכו עצים על-האש
He will slaughter the cow before Hashem, and the Kohen sons of Aharon will offer it…and the sons of Aharon the Kohen will place a fire on the altar, arranging the wood on the fire[2]

As we begin the book of the Torah focused on the Temple service, it behooves us to pay attention to the many details listed. One nuance to pick up on is that all of the Temple service is described as being done by the Kohen sons of Aharon. However, one part of the service stands out. Regarding the arrangement of the wood on the altar pyre, the sons of Aharon are again described as the ones who perform this service. However, it doesn’t say that they are the Kohen sons of Aharon. Rather, it simply says they are the sons of Aharon, who himself was a Kohen. What are we to make of this inconsistency[3]?

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Pekudei 5785

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Bells, whistles, and pomegranates[1]

ויעשו על-שולי המעיל רמוני תכלת וארגמן ותולעת שני משזר: ויעשו פעמני זהב טהור ויתנו בתוך הרמנים על-שולי המעיל סביב בתוך הרמנים: פעמן ורמן פעמן ורמן על-שולי המעיל סביב לשרת כאשר צוה יקוק את-משה
They shall make pomegranates of spun blue, crimson, and red wool on the bottom of the cloak. You shall also make pure gold bells, and place them within the pomegranates, on the bottom of the cloak, going around, within the pomegranates. A bell, a pomegranate, a bell, a pomegranate, on the bottom of the cloak, going around. It’s for Divine service, as Hashem commanded Moshe[2]

There’s a dispute between Rashi and the Ramban[3] how the pomegranates and bells were oriented on the bottom of the Kohen Gadol’s cloak. Rashi says they were alternating, whereas the Ramban says the bells were within the pomegranates. Ramban has support from a verse in our parsha, where it says the bells were בתוך the pomegranates. While this could be translated as “amongst” the pomegranates, the more standard way to translate this would be “within” the pomegranates. However, the subsequent verse supports Rashi, as the verse seems to stress that they were alternating.

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Vayakhel 5785

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Automatic labor[1]

ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון ליקוק כל-העשה בו מלאכה יומת: לא תבערו אש בכל משבתיכם ביום השבת
Six days work will be done, and on the seventh day it will be for you Holy, a sabbath of sabbaths for Hashem. Anyone who does creative activity on it will die. Do not ignite a fire in all of your dwelling places on the sabbath day[2]

There is an opinion that Moshe died on Shabbos. This proves difficult, for we are taught[3] that Moshe wrote thirteen Torah scrolls on the day that he died. One is forbidden from writing on Shabbos, so how did he accomplish such a thing[4]? The common approach is he didn’t write it himself. Instead, he used his powers of prophecy to command the spiritual forces to write the scrolls for him. His quill moved on its own and wrote the Torahs[5]. Therefore, there was no Shabbos prohibition[6].

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Vayeishev 5785

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Names, visions, and important stones[1]

…ויבא הביתה לעשות מלאכתו ואין איש מאנשי הבית שם בבית
[Yosef] went to the house to “do his work”, and there was no one else in the house [2]

While Yosef was a slave in Egypt, his master Potiphar’s wife was relentless. She wouldn’t give up on trying to seduce the attractive teenager. Day in and day out she would try different tactics to gain his attention. Yosef wouldn’t budge, as he knew that adultery was a terrible crime. One day, the Torah says that Yosef went to his house to “do his work”. Some say[3] that this is literal, and he was going to work on some bookkeeping for his master. Others say[4] that this is a euphemism for him finally caving into Potiphar’s wife’s seduction. However, even according to that opinion, Yosef took hold of himself and abstained.

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Ki Savo 5784

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First fruit proclamation[1]

ובאת אל-הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם ואמרת אליו הגדתי היום ליקוק אלקיך כי-באתי אל-הארץ אשר נשבע יקוק לאבתינו לתת לנו
You shall come to the Kohen that will be in those days, and say to him: “I state today to Hashem your G-d that I have come to the land which Hashem swore to our forefathers to give to us”[2]

One of the final mitzvos that is discussed in the Torah is known as Bikkurim. There is a mitzvah to bring our first fruits to the Temple, declare our thanks to Hashem, and give them to the Kohen for consumption. There are some questions that can be asked on this whole ceremony. First of all, the verse says to come to the Kohen who will be in those days. Which other Kohen could I possibly go to? Our Sages teach us[3] that this is stressing that we have to suffice with the Kohen which will be in our days, even if he’s not on the level of earlier generations. However, the Ramban is unsatisfied with this teaching[4]. We find a similar one with the mitzvah not to rebel against the Sages. We are to heed their words, even if they’re not on the level of earlier generations. This teaching makes sense, but why would we need the same teaching with respect to the Kohanim and Bikkurim?

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Eikev 5784

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How can it rain on shabbos?[1]

ונתתי מטר-ארצכם בעתו וגו’‏
I will give the rain of your lands in its proper time…[2]

In the second paragraph of Shema, we are told of all the things that we will receive if we keep the Torah. The inverse is also true, that if we don’t keep the Torah, we will be withheld all of Hashem’s good, or worse. One of the blessings promised is that of the rain of the lands falling in its proper time. What’s interesting is we find a parallel verse in parshas Bechukosai, famous for the curses that could befall the Jews, but also some blessings. There, it says, “I will give your rain in its time”[3]. Why is it that here the verse says, “your land’s rain”, but there it says, “your rain”?

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Chukas 5784

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Rebellious fools[1]

ויקהלו משה ואהרן את-הקהל אל-פני הסלע ויאמר להם שמעו-נא המרים המן-הסלע הזה נוציא לכם מים
Moshe and Aharon gathered the congregation in front of the rock, and he said to them: “Listen now, you rebels! Will we really draw forth water from this rock?”[2]

The infamous episode of Mei Merivah, the waters of strife, is fraught with questions. One of which centers on a comment of Rashi[3]. When Moshe called the people “rebels” for requesting miraculous water in the wilderness, Rashi says his intent was “fools”. Now, the Jewish people are known as a “wise and understanding nation”[4]. Why then would Moshe call them fools?

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Shelach 5784

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Mitzvah journey complications[1]

שלח-לך אנשים ויתרו את-ארץ כנען אשר-אני נתן לבני ישראל איש אחד איש אחד למטה אבתיו תשלחו כל נשיא בהם
Send for yourselves men who shall scout out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Jewish people. You shall send one person per ancestral tribe, the prince [of that tribe][2]

As the Jews were about to enter the land of Israel, they got the idea to send out spies to scout out the land. They wanted to see the quality of the land, and of the people. Hashem told Moshe that this isn’t the Divine will, but if the people insist, it’s up to Moshe[3]. Unfortunately, the mission ended in disaster. The spies came back and gave a slanderous report about the land, causing them to be punished with death, along with that entire generation. The Jews were sentenced to wander the wilderness for forty years. Their children were the ones who merited to finally enter the land.

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Va’eira 5784

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The loyal spokesman[1]

וידבר משה לפני יקוק לאמר הן בני-ישראל לא-שמעו אלי ואיך ישמעני פרעה ואני ערל שפתים: וידבר יקוק אל-משה ואל-אהרן ויצום אל-בני ישראל ואל-פרעה מלך מצרים להוציא את-בני-ישראל מארץ מצרים
Moshe said before Hashem, saying: “Behold! The Jewish people won’t listen to me; how will Pharaoh listen to me? [For] I have blocked lips.” Hashem said to Moshe and to Aharon, and commanded them regarding the Jewish people and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to take out the Jewish people from the land of Egypt[2]

Moshe famously had a speech impediment. He told Hashem that he would have no chance of convincing the Jews of their upcoming freedom, nor Pharaoh that he should let the Jews free. He was of blocked lips. The problem is, Moshe already made this argument in last week’s parsha[3]. When Hashem told Moshe to lead the Jews out of Egypt, he told Hashem that he was heavy of speech. He was unfit for the job. Hashem responded that his brother Aharon would be his spokesman. Moshe would tell Aharon the messages delivered to him from Hashem, and Aharon would tell the people or Pharaoh what was said. Why then is Moshe repeating this argument[4]?

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Rosh Hashanah 5784

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Turning justice into mercy[1]

זה היום תחלת מעשיך זכרון ליום ראשון. כי חק לישראל הוא משפט לאלקי יעקב
Today is the beginning of Your creation; a remembrance of the first day. For it is a decree of Israel, a judgement for the G-d of Yaakov[2]

There are a few lines in the Rosh Hashanah prayers that are seemingly confusing. We say that today is the beginning of Your creation, and then we say it’s a commemoration of the first day. Isn’t that redundant? Furthermore, the next sentence, “For it is a decree of Israel, a judgement for the G-d of Yaakov”[3], is seemingly incongruous. Now, this happens to be a verse from Psalms. If we look at the previous verse, we do find some relevance to Rosh Hashanah: “Blow [תקעו] in the month of the shofar [שופר], on the covering of the day of our Festival”[4]. How can we make sense of all of this?

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