Our Parsha this Shabbos is a double portion of Tazria-Metzora and both Parashas discuss purity of the Jew.
In Tazria, the laws of purity are discussed after the birth of male and female children and after that the Laws of Tzaraas are discussed in detail and different inflamations in different parts of the body are mentioned ,that appear after the Aveirah has been committed,as well as Tzaraas in garments,showing how our very actions, can certainly affect the Physical World.
Parashas Metzora continues the discussion of how purification takes place from these afflictions and also,Tzaraas in the house is also discussed.
Next, the Parsha tells of the Laws of the Zav , a male who had an emission and the Zavah, for the female and Niddah,her period time and how each gets purified.
The Parsha ends with a reminder that the Children of Israel are to be separated from Contamination,thus showing that we are to be a Holy Pure People.
At every moment we are to remember that we stand always in G-D's Presence,even in the dark of night.We are to be a pure People , Holy unto G-D . It doesn't matter where we are.We are always before HaShem.If we were to stand in front of a human king,would we not be at our best.How much more so when we stand all the time in the Presence of the King of Kings Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu The Holy One Blessed Be He , Who can Look within us and Know all we think and do .
Any Aveirah we do, dirties us. We put a spiritual blemish on ourselves Chas Ve Shalom, each time we disobey , Chas Ve Shalom, G-D and His Laws. No wonder we feel so heavy and tied down in this World, as we are filled with disobedience and disrespecting and dishonoring of our Most Holy Creator.No wonder this World feels so heavy around us and we fill it with Aveirah.
HaShem Let's us start our lives with an open and innocent pathway to Him . As we continue to disobey Him and His Torah, we close the gates to Him more and more each day.
HaShem in His Mercy, still Gives us Laws of how to handle our mistakes yet the ultimate act of Love to G-D , is to always put Him first and follow all G-D Tells us and not make an Aveirah at all .By doing this, we can keep ourselves in a constant state of purity. Thus when we make an Aveirah , the physical signs become visible in the Physical World. Especially in the case of Loshon Horah,evil talk and gossip. The second part of our double Parsha is Metzora and if we take this word and look deeper, we get the words ,'Motza Ra,' which means 'to put out evil from ourselves.' Such is the Sin of Loshon Horah - Evil Speech. HaShem put us above the Animal Kingdom so that we can speak His Holy Words. To use our tongue for evil talk against another is to attempt to destroy Creation Chas Ve Shalom .We know that when we slander, we hurt three people, the victim of the slander,the person we are telling and ourselves.To speak about others behind their backs when only HaShem Knows the true them, is to make them into something HaShem never Created and this is as if to say that we know better Chas Ve Shalom and thus recreate the way they are seen in a way HaShem never Made them.What an extreme insult to HaShem. The Torah Punishment for those who curry favor with others , by slandering people is so totally apt, for what they do evilly in private , shows very publicly on their bodies and garments and houses and so they are exposed for the hidden evil action they perpetrate and on top of that, as they tried to isolate that victim from others, so do they get isolated till their contamination heals.Thus they are also taken out of harms way till they learn the right way to behave.
Our Rabbis in Pirkei Avos say that HaShem Made the World with Ten Utterances, yet the evil ones try to destroy it with ten utterances. This couldn't be more true ,then with the Aveirah of Loshon Horah.
These two Parshas talk of ways to keep from impurity, starting in Parashas Tazriah at birth going to the very garments we wear and in Parashas Metzora, the ways of Purity of the body and even of our homes .
Our very actions can even affect our very homes and even though HaShem still showed us mercy when Tzaraas was found in the homes of the Children of Israel, for when they knocked into the walls to remove the Tzaraas, they found the wealth that the Canaanites had hidden there, yet it is still so much more important, to keep pure in the first place.
HaShem put the tongue behind the teeth for good reason, so that the tongue would have a helping barrier against flapping at people behind their backs.So let us learn to use this barrier wisely to keep our tongues where they belong.Also, let our bodies remain pure for our bodies , house the Holy Soul that HaShem
Gave us for Life . Let our entire bodies be the Holy Temple HaShem Wants them to be , when HaShem said in Torah , "Make for yourselves a Temple wherein I Can Dwell," so that HaShem Can forever dwell within us in Love.
With Love to HaShem, I wish HaShem with Love, a Sweet and Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with Love and to all, a sweet and beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love.
Friday, 28 April 2017
Friday, 21 April 2017
Parashas Shmini
Our Parsha this Shabbos is Parashas Shmini.HaShem called upon Moshe on this Eighth day to summon Aharon and consecrate him and his sons for Service as Kohanim so that they could now perform the Tabernacle Service. For the past Seven days, Moshe had done the Inauguration Service and now it was time for Aharon and his Kohanim to take their rightful place. Moshe had to reassure Aharon to come ,as Aharon still felt undeserving after the incident with the Chait Ha Eigel,so Moshe said,' K'rav,' - ' Come Close' and so Aharon performed the Service.
Just after this, two of Aharon's Sons,Nadav and Avihu took it upon themselves to bring their own firepans,put fire in them and incense on them and brought an alien fire that HaShem did not command,bringing it themselves before HaShem,entering into the Holy of Holies,where even the Kohein Gadol may only enter on Yom Kippur.A Fire came forth from HaShem and consumed them and as Torah says, they died before HaShem.Their Father Aharon was silent. Our Rabbis have offered various reasons for this happening, like, that they had previously spoken against their Father and Uncle Moshe and were being punished now,yet even though they had done the Aveirah,they were still holy and meant it well and so they 'died before HaShem. ' Another reason given is that they were very holy and so their aveirah ,was punished instantly and harshly as the more righteous one is, the more harsh the punishment.Our Rabbis also suggest that seeing HaShem cautions Aharon soon afterwards about doing the Service while intoxicated, it could have been that his two sons had entered after drinking wine, which is not permitted,to do Holy Service when wine was imbibed.
Torah says they brought in an alien fire,which could well mean that they brought in a fire that they did and did not wait for HaShem to come and receive the offering with His own Shechinah. Certainly, they did something not permitted and even though they may have wanted to do more than was called upon to do,in a well meaning way, it is only HaShem Who Commands us. We should not try to be more Holy than G-D , for none of us can ever reach HaShem's Holiness.
In thinking they could do the service themselves, they slighted in dishonor and disrespect, their Father and Moshe Himself, their teacher.
We find Aharon's reaction of keeping silent, quite amazing as usually any Father would have said something.But not Aharon. A man truly holy who automatically put his own will aside and accepted with faith HaShem's Judgement without question.
Our Parsha then turns to Kashrut and discusses what is and what is not Kosher and ends with the sweetest reason for Kashrut and that is ,so that we can sanctify ourselves and become Holy as G-D is Holy.
The deep reason for the Mitzvot mentioned in this Parsha are explained near it's end, when HaShem reminds us how He elevated us from Egypt so as to be G-D to us and so that we may be holy as He is Holy.
The entire theme of this Parsha is one of elevating ourselves above that physical and taking ourselves into the realm of the spiritual.
The very name of our Parsha being 'Shmini,' suggesting the 'Eighth ' Day , shows that very concept.
Since Creation and leaving Gan Eiden, we have been going through the 6000 years of the physical, working toward the Era of Mashiach, represented by the Number 7 as the word 'Mashiach' in Hebrew Gematriah comes to Seven.Once we reach that period, the next step is coming closer to HaShem, into the Spiritual ,bringing all Physicality to the level of the Holy Spiritual and this period is akin to the number 8 .We find this concept many times in Yiddishkeit,like for example , between Pesach and Shavuot, we count the Omer of Seven weeks of Seven and the next day after that ,like the number 8 coming after seven, is Shavuot, when on that 50th day,we come into the Spiritual Realm by bringing the Physicality with us and this was the day we met HaShem on Mount Sinai. The same is found in the Sabbatical and Yovel Jubilee Years, where we count Seven Sabbatical years and then the following year,the 50th Year, is Yovel, that step above the 7 into the number 8.
Every physical action we do,must be for the sake of Heaven, an action that elevates us.It is sweet and holy to follow HaShem's Commandments. HaShem also Wants us to take the mundane tasks of everyday life and elevate those , because when we do, we are truly bringing the physical up to Him in Holiness and so, bringing on the End Of Days.
The Commandments of Kashrus in this Parsha, bring this point home, for we are Commanded to keep ourselves pure and spiritually holy by what we do and consume and so,this elevates the Physicality within us and opens us up to G-D .This is what we are truly here for. To Connect with G-D , in every part of our everyday Physical lives .What we do and what we put into ourselves truly does open us up more to HaShem. G-D is always Waiting for us to do the right thing.G-D Loves us all. We need to show Him now and always how much we love Him.
Start everyday, by elevating every action we do , by making that action , an action for HaShem, even if it is the smallest action that seems so insignificant in the scheme of things.By Elevating everything we do and every thought we have, we raise ourselves and the physical, to where it is supposed to go, to HaShem .
With love to HaShem , I wish HaShem with Love, a Beautiful Sweet Shabbos Kodesh with love and to all , a beautiful sweet Shabbos Kodesh with love.
Just after this, two of Aharon's Sons,Nadav and Avihu took it upon themselves to bring their own firepans,put fire in them and incense on them and brought an alien fire that HaShem did not command,bringing it themselves before HaShem,entering into the Holy of Holies,where even the Kohein Gadol may only enter on Yom Kippur.A Fire came forth from HaShem and consumed them and as Torah says, they died before HaShem.Their Father Aharon was silent. Our Rabbis have offered various reasons for this happening, like, that they had previously spoken against their Father and Uncle Moshe and were being punished now,yet even though they had done the Aveirah,they were still holy and meant it well and so they 'died before HaShem. ' Another reason given is that they were very holy and so their aveirah ,was punished instantly and harshly as the more righteous one is, the more harsh the punishment.Our Rabbis also suggest that seeing HaShem cautions Aharon soon afterwards about doing the Service while intoxicated, it could have been that his two sons had entered after drinking wine, which is not permitted,to do Holy Service when wine was imbibed.
Torah says they brought in an alien fire,which could well mean that they brought in a fire that they did and did not wait for HaShem to come and receive the offering with His own Shechinah. Certainly, they did something not permitted and even though they may have wanted to do more than was called upon to do,in a well meaning way, it is only HaShem Who Commands us. We should not try to be more Holy than G-D , for none of us can ever reach HaShem's Holiness.
In thinking they could do the service themselves, they slighted in dishonor and disrespect, their Father and Moshe Himself, their teacher.
We find Aharon's reaction of keeping silent, quite amazing as usually any Father would have said something.But not Aharon. A man truly holy who automatically put his own will aside and accepted with faith HaShem's Judgement without question.
Our Parsha then turns to Kashrut and discusses what is and what is not Kosher and ends with the sweetest reason for Kashrut and that is ,so that we can sanctify ourselves and become Holy as G-D is Holy.
The deep reason for the Mitzvot mentioned in this Parsha are explained near it's end, when HaShem reminds us how He elevated us from Egypt so as to be G-D to us and so that we may be holy as He is Holy.
The entire theme of this Parsha is one of elevating ourselves above that physical and taking ourselves into the realm of the spiritual.
The very name of our Parsha being 'Shmini,' suggesting the 'Eighth ' Day , shows that very concept.
Since Creation and leaving Gan Eiden, we have been going through the 6000 years of the physical, working toward the Era of Mashiach, represented by the Number 7 as the word 'Mashiach' in Hebrew Gematriah comes to Seven.Once we reach that period, the next step is coming closer to HaShem, into the Spiritual ,bringing all Physicality to the level of the Holy Spiritual and this period is akin to the number 8 .We find this concept many times in Yiddishkeit,like for example , between Pesach and Shavuot, we count the Omer of Seven weeks of Seven and the next day after that ,like the number 8 coming after seven, is Shavuot, when on that 50th day,we come into the Spiritual Realm by bringing the Physicality with us and this was the day we met HaShem on Mount Sinai. The same is found in the Sabbatical and Yovel Jubilee Years, where we count Seven Sabbatical years and then the following year,the 50th Year, is Yovel, that step above the 7 into the number 8.
Every physical action we do,must be for the sake of Heaven, an action that elevates us.It is sweet and holy to follow HaShem's Commandments. HaShem also Wants us to take the mundane tasks of everyday life and elevate those , because when we do, we are truly bringing the physical up to Him in Holiness and so, bringing on the End Of Days.
The Commandments of Kashrus in this Parsha, bring this point home, for we are Commanded to keep ourselves pure and spiritually holy by what we do and consume and so,this elevates the Physicality within us and opens us up to G-D .This is what we are truly here for. To Connect with G-D , in every part of our everyday Physical lives .What we do and what we put into ourselves truly does open us up more to HaShem. G-D is always Waiting for us to do the right thing.G-D Loves us all. We need to show Him now and always how much we love Him.
Start everyday, by elevating every action we do , by making that action , an action for HaShem, even if it is the smallest action that seems so insignificant in the scheme of things.By Elevating everything we do and every thought we have, we raise ourselves and the physical, to where it is supposed to go, to HaShem .
With love to HaShem , I wish HaShem with Love, a Beautiful Sweet Shabbos Kodesh with love and to all , a beautiful sweet Shabbos Kodesh with love.
Parashas Tzav
Our Parsha this Shabbos is Parashas Tzav.This Shabbos is just before Pesach and so is named Shabbos HaGadol,which is the Shabbos just before we were freed from Mitzrayim.
In Parashas Tzav,HaShem tells Moshe to 'Tzav' - 'Command' Aharon and his sons on the Laws of the 'Olah'- the 'Elevation Offering.' HaShem 'Tzav' - 'Commands ' that it is the Elevation Offering that is to stay on the flame on the Altar all night until the morning and that the flame should be kept alight on it.Then HaShem Commands that before the new offering of the day is done, the Ash must first be cleared.HaShem Commands that the flame be forever burning.
The Mincha - Meal Offering is then discussed and also the Sin Offering Chatas and then the Asham Guilt Offering and Zevach HaShlamim - the Thanks-giving Offering is discussed and the consecration of the Kohanim.
HaShem addresses Moshe to issue a 'Tzav' - 'A Command' to Aharon, where before the command came in the form of 'Daber' where G-D 'Said' to Moshe to relay a Law.Here, to do with the Elevation Offering, it is put as a more stringent 'Command' - 'Tzav' to impress upon Aharon and the Kohanim,the importance of the Elevation Offering.This Offering has a number of reasons for offering it, but one reason is for one who wishes to raise his Spiritual Level.So why is this so important to HaShem? We are in this Physical World,so as to climb Spiritually.Without travelling up to HaShem, it is as though life has no purpose, for to remain on a low level, is to remain as one who is not living.Our entire purpose is to come close to G-D and elevate ourselves every day and every minute toward G-D . This is one of the main purposes for the Laws.With each 'Tzav' - 'Command' of HaShem, we grow and fulfill our reason for being.Commandments are not given to control us, but are given out of love by HaShem to bring us back to Gan Eiden from where we originally were cast out ,so as to return us there , to HaShem.
If we keep G-D forever before us and preceding us, we will have the True Light of G-D to help us come home to Him .
We see this in the second verse of this Parsha with the Hebrew Word ' Mokda,' which is spelled in a Torah Scroll with a small letter 'Mem.' The word 'Mokda,' means 'On the Flame,' in reference to the Elevation offering staying on the 'Mokda' - ' 'Flame' on the Altar all night until the morning. ' As I menttioned, this word 'Mokda' is spelled with a small 'Mem' as if it is hidden, leaving the word ' Ve Keidah,' reminding us of the Akeidah where Avraham brought his son Yitzchak to be offered on the Mountain.To elevate ourselves, we need to put our own wants aside and give to G-D .This is true Elevation, putting our Yetzer Horahs aside to do G-D's Will .
We are as I said, to keep G-D forever before us and this comes out in the word 'Mokda,' where the 'Mem' is almost hidden, leaving the word 'Ve Keidah,' where 'Ve' means 'And' and 'Kad' means 'To Bow Down,' in reference to 'And we are to elevate ourselves by Bowing down only to HaShem and doing His Will and not our will doing His 'Tzav' - 'His Commandments.The word 'Kad' is also part of the word ''Kadach' which means 'To Glow,' showing that we Elevate ourselves by letting our inner parts glow only toward HaShem .'Kad ' is also part of the word 'Kodem' which means ' Before' so, we are to forever keep HaShem and His Will before us in every step we take and make and in all we do.
HaShem instructs in this Parsha that the Flame must be forever burning on the altar.The flame on the altar in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, burnt throughout the journeys of the Children of Israel , even after they came into Israel and in total , burnt for 116 years . The fact that it must always be burning, shows that the Flame 'Mokda' that 'Burns' , is like our Neshoma our Soul,that must be always burning toward G-D and so will we be holy, for the very burning of our souls toward G-D keeps us Holy , which is also in the word 'Kad' that is part of the word 'Kadosh' which means 'Holy.'
The fact that the Ash had to be cleared away before the New Day's Offering, also signifies a very important point. If we want to purify ourselves and do it properly, in being Holy, we need to first clear away the impurity and the negativity that brings us down. This clearing must not just be on the outside, but within as well.We must be as pure on the inside as we are on the outside. Then, HaShem can send His Shechinah to be with the very offering of ourselves and our Goodness, as the G-D was with the Offering in those days, for we are like the Temple that must be kept pure.
HaShem's Essence came down on the offerings in the sweet and pure form of light that was in the shape of a Lion, as our Rabbis tell us, with a brilliance that no thought can compare to.
True closeness with The Creator, is so far beyond anything we could ever imagine, for ,to be at One with G-D is to be totally and Completely fulfilled in our purpose for being.
With love to HaShem, I wish HaShem with Love, a very Sweet and Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh and Beautiful Pesach with Love and to my fellow Yidden, a very sweet and Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love and a Vreilichen Pesach with love.
In Parashas Tzav,HaShem tells Moshe to 'Tzav' - 'Command' Aharon and his sons on the Laws of the 'Olah'- the 'Elevation Offering.' HaShem 'Tzav' - 'Commands ' that it is the Elevation Offering that is to stay on the flame on the Altar all night until the morning and that the flame should be kept alight on it.Then HaShem Commands that before the new offering of the day is done, the Ash must first be cleared.HaShem Commands that the flame be forever burning.
The Mincha - Meal Offering is then discussed and also the Sin Offering Chatas and then the Asham Guilt Offering and Zevach HaShlamim - the Thanks-giving Offering is discussed and the consecration of the Kohanim.
HaShem addresses Moshe to issue a 'Tzav' - 'A Command' to Aharon, where before the command came in the form of 'Daber' where G-D 'Said' to Moshe to relay a Law.Here, to do with the Elevation Offering, it is put as a more stringent 'Command' - 'Tzav' to impress upon Aharon and the Kohanim,the importance of the Elevation Offering.This Offering has a number of reasons for offering it, but one reason is for one who wishes to raise his Spiritual Level.So why is this so important to HaShem? We are in this Physical World,so as to climb Spiritually.Without travelling up to HaShem, it is as though life has no purpose, for to remain on a low level, is to remain as one who is not living.Our entire purpose is to come close to G-D and elevate ourselves every day and every minute toward G-D . This is one of the main purposes for the Laws.With each 'Tzav' - 'Command' of HaShem, we grow and fulfill our reason for being.Commandments are not given to control us, but are given out of love by HaShem to bring us back to Gan Eiden from where we originally were cast out ,so as to return us there , to HaShem.
If we keep G-D forever before us and preceding us, we will have the True Light of G-D to help us come home to Him .
We see this in the second verse of this Parsha with the Hebrew Word ' Mokda,' which is spelled in a Torah Scroll with a small letter 'Mem.' The word 'Mokda,' means 'On the Flame,' in reference to the Elevation offering staying on the 'Mokda' - ' 'Flame' on the Altar all night until the morning. ' As I menttioned, this word 'Mokda' is spelled with a small 'Mem' as if it is hidden, leaving the word ' Ve Keidah,' reminding us of the Akeidah where Avraham brought his son Yitzchak to be offered on the Mountain.To elevate ourselves, we need to put our own wants aside and give to G-D .This is true Elevation, putting our Yetzer Horahs aside to do G-D's Will .
We are as I said, to keep G-D forever before us and this comes out in the word 'Mokda,' where the 'Mem' is almost hidden, leaving the word 'Ve Keidah,' where 'Ve' means 'And' and 'Kad' means 'To Bow Down,' in reference to 'And we are to elevate ourselves by Bowing down only to HaShem and doing His Will and not our will doing His 'Tzav' - 'His Commandments.The word 'Kad' is also part of the word ''Kadach' which means 'To Glow,' showing that we Elevate ourselves by letting our inner parts glow only toward HaShem .'Kad ' is also part of the word 'Kodem' which means ' Before' so, we are to forever keep HaShem and His Will before us in every step we take and make and in all we do.
HaShem instructs in this Parsha that the Flame must be forever burning on the altar.The flame on the altar in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, burnt throughout the journeys of the Children of Israel , even after they came into Israel and in total , burnt for 116 years . The fact that it must always be burning, shows that the Flame 'Mokda' that 'Burns' , is like our Neshoma our Soul,that must be always burning toward G-D and so will we be holy, for the very burning of our souls toward G-D keeps us Holy , which is also in the word 'Kad' that is part of the word 'Kadosh' which means 'Holy.'
The fact that the Ash had to be cleared away before the New Day's Offering, also signifies a very important point. If we want to purify ourselves and do it properly, in being Holy, we need to first clear away the impurity and the negativity that brings us down. This clearing must not just be on the outside, but within as well.We must be as pure on the inside as we are on the outside. Then, HaShem can send His Shechinah to be with the very offering of ourselves and our Goodness, as the G-D was with the Offering in those days, for we are like the Temple that must be kept pure.
HaShem's Essence came down on the offerings in the sweet and pure form of light that was in the shape of a Lion, as our Rabbis tell us, with a brilliance that no thought can compare to.
True closeness with The Creator, is so far beyond anything we could ever imagine, for ,to be at One with G-D is to be totally and Completely fulfilled in our purpose for being.
With love to HaShem, I wish HaShem with Love, a very Sweet and Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh and Beautiful Pesach with Love and to my fellow Yidden, a very sweet and Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love and a Vreilichen Pesach with love.
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