Rabbi Daniel Glatstein at Yeshiva Ketana of Los Angeles
Rabbi Glatstein Shlit”A is such a genuine Torah yid that enjoys learning and SHARING what the Rabbi learns with ALL Yidden all over the world. All the honors give to the Rabbi are but a fraction. Especially when the Rabbi shares about his illustrious family.
Tzipori, known as Sepphoris in English, became the capital of the Galilee after the Roman occupation in 63 BCE and is renowned as the birthplace of the Mishnah. According to Josephus Flavius (Yosef ben Matthiyahu), Tzipori was "the splendor of the whole Galilee."
At the end of the second century CE, Rabbi Judah the Prince (Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi) moved the Sanhedrin, the Jewish spiritual center, to Tzipori. It was here in Tzipori that the Mishnah, the first major written collection of Jewish oral traditions known as the Oral Torah, was compiled and sealed at the beginning of the 3rd century, around 220 CE. Tzipori was a thriving Jewish spiritual center with a mixed population. In the middle of the 3rd century, after the Sanhedrin relocated to Tiberias, Tzipori lost its status as the capital of Galilee. It however continued to be an important Jewish center until the 5th century. Magnificent treasures from Tzipori's past have been uncovered, revealing a rich cultural heritage. Over 40 beautiful mosaics highlight the ancient settlement during the Roman and Byzantine periods. At its peak, Tzipori had about 40,000 residents. Main Points of Interest: The Theater: A reconstructed Roman theater. Built at the end of the 1st century CE with 4,500 seats, it overlooks the Upper Galilee mountains. The Jewish Quarter: Remains of a residential area with numerous Mikvehs (Jewish ritual baths) from the Mishnah and Talmud periods. The Crusader Citadel: Built during the Crusader period on earlier ruins. In 1187, Crusader forces departed from here for the Battle of Horns of Hattin. House of Dionysus: A Roman villa with a mosaic floor depicting scenes from the life of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. The mosaic features a woman known as the "Mona Lisa of the Galilee," considered a pinnacle of mosaic art in Israel. Nile Festival House: A Byzantine public complex with 11 mosaic floors, one of which illustrates the celebration of the Nile's flood cycle. The Synagogue: A narrow and long structure from the late Byzantine period, with a mosaic floor illustrating Isaac's binding, the zodiac wheel, the depiction of the Tabernacle in the desert, the Ark of the Covenant in the Jerusalem Temple, and more. Streets Layout: Remains of intersecting streets, Cardo and Decumanus. For more information about the site visit Tzipori National Park's official website: https://en.parks.org.il//reserve-park...
SCREAMING AND SHOUTING
A few weeks ago, I was leaving shul on Shabbos morning. Most of the men had gone to the kiddush, but there was a man in shul learning with his son. Apparently, he had strong opinions about the World Zionist elections and he started shouting in my direction. I’m not going to say which side he was on, but he knew how to shout!
If someone is shouting, I instinctively turn them off. Shouting indicates that a person is unsure of himself; therefore he attempts to win his argument by decibels instead of saying something sensible.
Before October 7, 2023, Jews in Israel were shouting at each other. There is good reason to believe that anger among Jews brought on the events of that horrible day. We didn’t learn. There is too much noise, too many people shouting and too few people thinking, just plain thinking: what does the Torah want me to do?
That is the question: what does the Torah want me to do?
About 4500 years ago, our ancestors left Mitzraim. Golus had become unbearable. They cried out to Hashem from the depths of their broken hearts. “During those … days, the Children of Israel groaned because of the work and they cried out. Their outcry … went up to G-d. G-d heard their moaning and G-d remembered His covenant with Avraham, with Yitzchak and with Yaakov. G-d saw the Children of Israel and G-d knew.” (Shemos 2:23ff)
What did G-d “know?” He knew the depth of their teshuva and how ready they were to commit their lives to His Torah.
Or Hachaim says, “After [the Jews] cried out … Hashem remembered His covenant with the forefathers, and that was the cause for [for Him] to turn [His attention] to them and ‘see’ them, for the [very fact that] Hashem ‘sees’ a person in distress helps to alleviate the distress.” When we are in distress, Hashem hears our sobs and turns to us. As we say in davening, “Avinu, Malkeinu … our Father and King, hear our voice, pity and be compassionate to us!”
Thus, Hashem listens to the sound of the shofar, because the shofar is our voice emanating from the deepest place. Tears at midnight reach Hashem. A mother’s tears reach Hashem. Tears at the Kotel reach Hashem and tears in every heart in every tefillah reach Hashem.
I saw a picture of soldiers going off to Gaza with smiles on their faces. Do you know why they are smiling? Because they feel that they are on a holy mission. Nothing gives our life strength more than the feeling that we are soldiers on the spiritual battlefield, fighting to bring Torah into our lives and into the world.
I want to repeat the words I personally heard from Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch Shlita”h, may he be strong and healthy. He told me, years ago -- I was about to leave Israel and I felt sad -- “Yisroel, you are a soldier and soldiers have to go where the battle is.”I later saw, in the Artscroll book on Rav Dessler, that Rav Sternbuch actually heard those same words some eighty years previously in his parents’ home in London from the legendary Rav Elchonen Wasserman, may his blood be avenged, as Rabbi Wasserman was about to return to Europe on the eve of the Holocaust. Rabbi Wasserman knew where he was going and he went there with the intention of returning to his beloved talmidim, so they would not have to face death without their rebbe.
“Mi k’amcha Yisroel, goy echad b’aretz … Who is like you, Yisroel, a unique nation upon earth!” (II Shmuel 7:23)
At the end of our Golus in Mitzraim, Paro increased the load upon our ancestors. That is our situation today. “Maase avos siman l’banim … the actions of the fathers are a sign for the children.” When it is too much for us, we reach into the depths of our hearts and cry out to Hashem. When the sirens go off, day after day, and the world sends its missiles at us, and – nebach! – when Jews are screaming at Jews, it is time to cry out to Hashem! When the children come home without limbs, or the children don’t come home at all … it is time to cry out to Hashem! “When numerous troubles come [upon us] like a river …” (Sanhedrin 98a) it is time to cry out to Hashem.
Chodesh Nissan is telling us that Hashem is waiting to rescue us, just as He rescued our ancestors thousands of years ago. Screaming will not help. “Rabos machashavos b’lev ish … many thoughts are in man’s heart, but the counsel of Hashem, only that will prevail.” (Mishlei 19:21)
May we soon hear, in place of angry voices, the sound of the Shofar Gadol!
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| Soldiers going into Gaza |
GLOSSARY
Chodesh Nissan: the Jewish month in which Passover falls
Golus: Exile, subjugation
Kotel: Western Wall
Mitzraim: Ancient Egypt
Paro: Pharaoh, the ruler of ancient Egypt
Shofar Gadol: the Great Shofar which will sound before Moshiach comes
Talmidim: those who learn Torah from a rebbe
Tefilla: Prayer
Vayikra
G–D calls out to Moshe from the inner sanctuary of the Mishkan. Yet, as Rashi points out to us, the sound of G–D’s voice, so to speak, was loud and strong, however it was limited to the area within the Mishkan. Those who were outside of that sanctuary heard nothing. The message imparted here is a clear and simple one.
Not everyone hears G–D’s voice, nor can it be heard everywhere.
There was a long period of time in English and American society that those who entered the clergy were said to have responded to a “calling.” In our jaded, materialistic, dysfunctional world of today a “calling” is something to be mocked at as being naïve and impractical. Yet the Torah emphasizes here that Moshe responded to such a “calling” and that in fact this became the name and title of one of the five books of Moshe.
Leading and teaching the Jewish people can certainly be viewed as a profession and a career. But if that is all it is then it is deficient in its spiritual potential and its ultimate chance of success. Unless one hears, so to speak, the voice of G–D calling one to public service and Torah teaching, the soul of the matter will always be compromised.
Moshe is able to be the incomparable Moshe that he is because he hears the Lord calling out to him even if no one else apparently does so as well. All his life he responds to that call and remains faithful to the task and challenge that leading the Jewish people poses for him.
Midrash teaches us that Moshe first heard the voice of G–D, so to speak, at the encounter at the burning bush. There the Lord called out to him in the voice and tone of his father Amram and Moshe was able to hear it without being overwhelmed. Much later in Jewish history, the Lord told the prophet Eliyahu that he could hear His call in the still small voice that reverberates within our consciences.
G–D is heard, so to speak, in the voice of our ancestors, of Jewish tradition and family bonds. Many Jews today are completely unaware of their own family heritage and certainly of the greater heritage of Israel as a whole. And very few of us are strong enough psychologically and spiritually to hearken to our inner voice, still and small as it is.
So we wander through life seeking direction and guidance and turn to others to help us find ourselves. First, we should look inward for the G–Dly GPS implanted within us. That is our Mishkan, the place where G–D’s voice can be heard. Searching for it elsewhere, in the voices of strangers, outside of our Mishkan will be frustrating and fruitless. Since the voice of G–D, no matter how powerful and strong it may be, is still described as being a small voice, it is obvious that one pay attention and strain to hear it. This effort always characterized Moshe’s life, the loyal servant of G–D, who was attuned to hear the calling that guided him, and through him, all of Israel and humankind as well.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
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How to protect yourself from false prophets
The Shabak bans "settlers" from the IDF and disarms them...reserve your copy of Sefer Kibbutz Galuyos...and more
In this week's Torah class we learned:
The class is available above and on my Rumble channel here.
If you can handle the Hebrew, check out this article.
The Shabak is preventing residents of Judea and Samaria with stellar track records and no criminal suspicion against them from joining their IDF reserve units, and is also confiscating their personal weapons, leaving them defenseless in hostile territory.
This is interesting on many levels:
I would love to know how a "civilian volunteer" managed to expertly affix this Bring Them Home Now banner on a sign holder at a major intersection by the entrance to Jerusalem, risking life and limb to do so. Apparently they have superhero banner-hangers all over the country, and they conceal their identities like true superheroes.
Also, did the same person (or maintenance crew) affix the competing "Until victory!" banner next to it?
I recently met a Bring Them Home Now representative in one of their Jerusalem tents, and asked her about this. Hear her answer and more on the next Amalek and Erev Rav program, Thursday April 3 at 4 PM Israel time. The link to join the live program is here.
I made a handy pie chart to illustrate the attention virtuous people are expected to devote to the hostages, compared to other suffering people among us and around the world. Display it everywhere and carry it with you at all times.
Baruch Hashem, Sefer Kibbutz Galuyos is complete. In the coming days (hopefully before Pesach) it will be available for print on demand at a low cost with worldwide shipping. I will also be releasing the digital version for free.
I plan on printing softcover copies in Israel as well, but the cost per book varies greatly depending on the quantity.
Since many people will just go with the free pdf, I am concerned about shelling out a lot of money and getting stuck with stacks of unsold books (been there, done that).
Therefore, I am asking people IN ISRAEL who want to buy a discounted copy directly from me (20 shekels maximum, maybe a bit less) to email me at weissmans@protonmail.com with the quantity you seriously intend to buy. This will help me decide how many copies to print.
If anyone wishes to subsidize the cost of printing, that will enable me to lower the price and/or give away a larger quantity of printed copies. If you want to order a sizable quantity at cost for this purpose, let me know as well.
I hope only to cover my costs and distribute the sefer as widely as possible. I am not interested in making money from Torah.
Visit chananyaweissman.com for the mother lode of articles and books.
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Buy my books on Amazon here or contact me directly to purchase in Israel.
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Download Tovim Ha-Shenayim as a PDF for free!
The Torah Theory of Relativity - Vayikra
וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר. דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַה' מִן הַבְּהֵמָה מִן הַבָּקָר וּמִן הַצֹּאן תַּקְרִיבוּ אֶת קָרְבַּנְכֶם. (ויקרא א, א-ב).
Shabbat is the "center" of the week. Many of us mistakenly think that Shabbat is at the end of the week, but in fact it is the central point in the week. The Kedusha of the upcoming Shabbat already begins on Wednesday and ends the following Tuesday. We know this from two halachot. If someone want to undertake a sea voyage, they must not depart from Wednesday on, because Wednesday is regarded as the beginning of Shabbat (שלחן ערוך סימן רמח, ד). Similarly, if someone forgot, or did not manage to say Havdala after Shabbat, they may recite Havdala until the Tuesday after Shabbat (שלחן ערוך סימן רצט, ו). Therefore, we have three days "preamble" (Wed, Thu, Fri), Shabbat is the "center", followed by three days "addendum" (Sun, Mon, Tue).
The Beit HaMikdash is the "center". There are 50 gates of טָהֳרָה. In Egypt, Bnei Yisrael sank to the lowest 49th level. If we had remained one more day, we would have been irredeemable. This is why we have to count 49 days of Sfirat Ha'Omer between Pesach and Shavuot, to raise us one level each day, until on Shavuot, the 50th day, we received the Torah. The "center" between 0 and 50 is 25. The Beit HaMikdash is called "25", or כֹּה. How do we know this? When Avraham went to the Akeida he said to his two נְעָרָיו (Eliezer and Yishmael) שְׁבוּ לָכֶם פֹּה עִם הַחֲמוֹר וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם (בראשית כב, ה). Har HaMoriah, the Beit HaMikdash is called כֹּה, the central point on the scale of 50 gates of טָהֳרָה. A person brings a korban, an animal, which is the lowest level (0) to the Beit HaMikdash (25) and there the Kohen sacrifices it on the Mizbeach and raises it to the highest level (50). This is why he is called a כֹּהֵן, because he raises the korban from level כה to level ן.
Sefer Vayikra is also the "center". We have 5 books in the Torah and Vayikra is the central book. Chazal (בראשית רבה ג, ה) say that each sefer of the חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תּוֹרָה is referred to on the first day of Creation, by the word אוֹר. When HKB"H created light on the first day, the word אוֹר is mentioned 5 times –
1. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱ-לֹקִים יְהִי אוֹר – כְּנֶגֶד סֵפֶר בְּרֵאשִׁית
2. וַיְהִי אוֹר – כְּנֶגֶד סֵפֶר שְׁמוֹת
3. וַיַּרְא אֱ-לֹקִים אֶת הָאוֹר כִּי טוֹב – כְּנֶגֶד סֵפֶר וַיִּקְרָא
4. וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱ-לֹקִים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ – כְּנֶגֶד סֵפֶר בַּמִּדְבָּר
5. וַיִּקְרָא אֱ-לֹקִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה – כְּנֶגֶד סֵפֶר דְּבָרִים
The 3rd (central) mention of the word אוֹר is also associated with כִּי טוֹב, which hints that the third אוֹר, sefer Vayikra, is more elevated than the other four. It is for this reason that Talmudei Torah begin teaching sefer Vayikra to תִּינוֹקוֹת שֶׁל בֵּית רַבָּן, on the premise יָבוֹאוּ טְהוֹרִים וְיִתְעַסְּקוּ בִּטְהוֹרִים (ויקרא רבה ז, ג).
In this shiur we are going to try understand why sefer Vayikra is holier than all the other חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תּוֹרָה, when on the surface, it does not appear to be so. Vayikra is the secret formula for relationships, between parents and children, between spouses, between siblings, between neighbors, etc. and with HKB"H.
There are no "nice stories" in Vayikra, like there are in Breishit. Why not start teaching the small children sefer Breishit with all the "nice" סִפּוּרֵי צַדִּיקִים, Avraham/Sarah, Yitzchak/Rivka, Yaakov/Rachel/Leah/Bilha/Zilpa, etc.? Why not teach them about the building of the holy Beit HaMikdash in sefer Shmot, the Aron, the Menorah, the Lechem HaPanim, the Ketoret? These are topics that appeal to young children, not all the different kinds of sins, the "blood and guts" of the korbanot, the green/yellow/red etc. blemishes of the מְצֹרָע. If sefer Vayikra would have a Hollywood movie rating (lehavdil), it would probably be classified at least PG-13.
We need to understand that the korbanot listed in sefer Vayikra were not part of HKB"H's original plan. The passuk says that HKB"H took Adam HaRishon וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן עֵדֶן לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ (בראשית ב, טו). No mention is made of korbanot and the fact is that Adam in Gan Eden did not bring any korbanot. After the sin with the עֵץ הַדַּעַת and after he and Chava were expelled from Gan Eden, on Motzei Shabbat, the sky went dark for the first time since the creation of light on the first day.
Adam was in a panic thinking the earth would remain in darkness - until the following morning when he saw the sun rise. Adam was so overjoyed at this sight, the Midrash says לְשַׁחֲרִית כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה הָעוֹלָם שֶׁמֵּאִיר וּבָא לַמִּזְרָח שָׂמַח שִׂמְחָה גְּדוֹלָה, עָמַד וּבָנָה מִזְבְּחוֹת וְהֵבִיא שׁוֹר שַׁקְרָנָיו קוֹדְמוֹת לְפַרְסוֹתָיו וְהֶעֱלָהוּ עוֹלָה (אבות דרבי נתן א, ח) – Adam built a Mizbeach and brought a korban of a one-horned ox. The first korban was therefore the aftermath of Adam's sin.
What does it mean then that HKB"H placed Adam in Gan Eden לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ if that did not involve korbanot? What other kind of "Avodah" is there besides korbanot? The answer is, when a person has no yetzer harah and is sin free, there is only one kind of Avodah – עִבְדוּ אֶת ה' בְּשִׂמְחָה (תהילים ק, ב), living every moment of every day in joy and praise of HKB"H, basking in the glory of the Shechina.
The purpose of creating this world was to house HKB"H's Shechina. In order to do so a certain infrastructure is required, within each and every one of us, that will be compatible and suitable for the Shechina to reside. The blueprint of this structure is the Beit HaMikdash and its various components, reflected within each and every part of us, in our physical body and our neshama. This was what Gan Eden was – a Beit Mikdash.
After Adam and Chava sinned it became apparent that humans would not always be able to overcome their yetzer harah and would sin, thereby distancing the Shechina. HKB"H therefore instituted a mechanism that would restore our "inner Mikdash" to its original pure state, to enable welcoming the Shechina back in.
When Avraham asked HKB"H בַּמָּה אֵדַע כִּי אִירָשֶׁנָּה (בראשית טו, ח)? he was not chas vechalila doubting HKB"H's promise to him כִּי אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה רֹאֶה לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה וּלְזַרְעֲךָ עַד עוֹלָם (שם, יג, טו). The Gemara (Taanit 27b) says that what Avraham was asking was "What if Am Yisrael sin? If they sin, will they forfeit the right to the promise?"
The Gemara continues - HKB"H's reply was וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו קְחָה לִי עֶגְלָה מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת וְעֵז מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת וְאַיִל מְשֻׁלָּשׁ וְתֹר וְגוֹזָל, "If Am Yisrael sin, they will be able to repair the damage by bringing korbanot". Avraham then asked "That is when the Beit HaMikdash exists. What will happen after the Mikdash is destroyed and they can no longer bring korbanot?" HKB"H replied "I have given them the סֵדֶר קָרְבָּנוֹת. When Am Yisrael say the סֵדֶר קָרְבָּנוֹת, I will accept it as if they had actually sacrificed the korbanot".
Once HKB"H made His promise to Avraham, at the same time He revealed the "failsafe" mechanism instituted after Adam sinned, to ensure that the Shechina would continually dwell in this world, regardless of the spiritual stature of the generation. This failsafe is the korbanot in the Beit HaMikdash, and when there is no Beit HaMikdash (like now) – reciting the סֵדֶר קָרְבָּנוֹת as part of the tefila.
Part of the infrastructure to house the Shechina is the existence of an intimate relationship between HKB"H and Am Yisrael. Chazal compare the relationship between HKB"H and Am Yisrael to a marriage, HKB"H is the "husband", as it were, and Am Yisrael are the wife. This is what Shir HaShirim is all about – a vivid (allegorical) depiction of the intimacy between HKB"H and His Chosen People. The korbanot are the failsafe, a repair mechanism to restore this intimate relationship, if it has been damaged or lost. This is the root of the word קָרְבָּן – intimacy קִרְבָה.
However, the relationship between HKB"H and Am Yisrael surpasses that of a marriage. It is the relationship between a father and a son בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל (שמות ד, כב). A marriage is a relationship that can be dissolved, a husband and wife may get a divorce. However, the relationship between a parent and child can never be severed.
This is why the 5th Commandment to honor one's father and mother appears on the "right" luach. The right luach relates to our interaction with HKB"H, בֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם, and the left luach relates to our interaction with other people, בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ. Our interaction with our father and mother, who are people, should be on the left luach??! The answer is that כִּבּוּד אָב וָאֵם, while essentially a human interaction, also teaches us how to interact with our Creator. It is the link, the connection point, between the two luchot.
By studying the structure of the korbanot, we can learn how to repair a broken relationship, any relationship.
The stages of bringing a korban are essentially the same four stages of teshuva - 1. וִדּוּי, 2. חֲרָטָה, 3. עֲזִיבַת הַחֵטְא, 4. קַבָּלָה לֶעָתִיד
First comes admission וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת חַטָּאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ (במדבר ה, ז). If someone does not perceive in their mind that they have done anything wrong, there is no raison d'etre for the korban or teshuva. To admit wrongdoing requires, first and foremost, being truthful with yourself, integrity. It also requires incredible courage, because the hardest thing for a person to do, is to admit they did something wrong. It is much easier to rationalize and defer responsibility. This is what Adam HaRishon did – "It wasn't me. It was Chava!"
When a person brings a korban, the first thing they do is סְמִיכָה, laying their hands on the head of the korban and leaning on it with all their weight. Admission is perception related, in the brain, the head - thus the resting of the hands on the head of the animal. The leaning with all your weight symbolically "transfers your identity" to the animal, indicating that the animal is replacing you as the korban. While doing סְמִיכָה the person bringing the korban also does וִדּוּי, admitting and detailing their wrongdoing.
Second are the "gory" parts of the korban, שְׁחִיטָה, קַבָּלַת הַדָּם, הוֹלָכַת הַדָּם, זְרִיקַת הַדָּם, שְׁפִיכַת שְׁיָרֵי הַדָּם, מְלִיחָה, הַקְטָרָה. When you see with your own eyes the animal being slaughtered, the blood, the body parts painstakingly being carried up the ramp of the Mizbeach, one by one, the burning of the body parts (Olah, the entire animal, the other korbanot – the entrails) - it is an incredibly jarring experience. If anyone has ever had the (doubtful) privilege of watching how shechita is done in a slaughterhouse, how the animal's throat is slit, the death convulsions, the blood etc. – it is a good way to encourage one to become a vegetarian!
The person bringing the korban is not an innocent bystander simply observing how his food is prepared, he is seeing what should have happened to him! Instead of the sheep, it should be his blood, his insides, etc. being sacrificed. By all rights it should be him up there on the Mizbeach being burnt. This drives home the severity of the sin and gives rise to the remaining stages חֲרָטָה, עֲזִיבַת הַחֵטְא, קַבָּלָה לֶעָתִיד. After the person leaves such a mind-altering spectacle, the next time they are tempted to sin, they will think a million times first.
This brings us to the other meaning of the word korban, meaning "sacrifice". A person bringing a korban is sacrificing that part of themselves that caused the rift in the relationship. It is true that the animal physically substitutes for the person, this is the incredible מִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים of HKB"H that He allows us to continue living despite our sin, if we do teshuva. Physically it is not us being slaughtered, bled, skinned, sliced and diced and burnt – it is the animal. However, the animal component inside ourselves that caused us to sin, has to undergo the same "figurative" process.
We have to purge that part of ourselves that was involved in the sin, by showing it the door. The sacrifice is not spending all that money on an ox (an ox is expensive, back then and now). It is not shlepping all the way to Yerushalayim with the ox (back then on foot, today renting a truck). It is not experiencing the shame and embarrassment being seen by all those multitudes while offering the korban in the Mikdash. The sacrifice is giving up that part of yourself that wants to repeat that sin.
A person sinned because it made them feel good. It gave them a sense of power, pleasure, superiority, etc. – all the things the yetzer harah tempts us with. Often, we are habitual offenders, because the wiles of the yetzer harah are closely linked to addiction and everyone knows how hard it is to break an addiction. This is the sacrifice – forgoing the "benefits" of the sin, bending your body to your will.
This is the essence of korban. It is cleansing ourselves of the impure, intrusive element within us which drives away the Shechina and restoring the infrastructure to welcome the Shechina back in.
It all sounds like "adult-stuff" that is even more than PG-13, so why make this a 5-year-old's introduction to Torah study?
The answer is that when someone is 5-years-old and sin free, the Shechina is already in them, they know what it feels like. It is not like promising a "30-something" adult the pleasure of reconnecting with the Shechina's intimacy – a 30+ adult has probably long forgotten what that is like. But a 5-year-old is living it.
One might think that introducing a 5-year-old to the concept of sin is counterproductive and that it is "better to prolong their innocence" as long as possible. However, the Torah way of educating is not like that. It is introducing the 5-year-old to the dangers of the world when they are still innocent and know what innocence feels like. At this age, introducing them to these concepts will arouse within them the "ick factor", without the full understanding of what the "ick" truly is.
It is at this impressionable age that children develop their defense mechanisms for the remainder of their lives. Instead of filling their heads with imaginary Walt Disney villains and monsters, dragons, goblins, orcs and other such nonsense, which they will never encounter because they are not real and don't exist, it is more prudent to give them a preview of the real dangers that they will encounter in their lives, so that when they encounter them, they will recognize them for what they are and run a mile from them. Forewarned is forearmed.
As for us adults, we have greater difficulty understanding and appreciating the wonder and exquisite pleasure of having the Shechina close to us. Most of us only recognize it briefly and intermittently when we experience a "close shave" Rachmana litzalan - narrowly missing being injured (or worse) in a car accident, recovering from a life-threatening illness, being released from captivity by Hamas, narrowly missing a missile landing on our heads, etc… Basically, all the things one has to bring a Korban Toda for. In these brief moments we feel the Shechina, we feel the joy in the realization that HKB"H is looking after us. Too often, however, these moments are few and far between and fleeting. It does not take long before the old habits and vices and preconceptions creep back and regain control over us.
Imagine if we could perpetuate those brief moments, endlessly, with no time limit! Perpetual elation of pure joy! This is what Adam HaRishon enjoyed in Gan Eden when he was created וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן עֵדֶן לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ, עִבְדוּ אֶת ה' בְּשִׂמְחָה. This was HKB"H's original plan for us. The korbanot are HKB"H's gift to us to enable us to reacquire that state, even if we fall. A failsafe mechanism to allow us to climb out of the pit and regain our intimacy with the Shechina.
When the Beit HaMikdash existed, this mechanism was part and parcel of everyday life, it dictated reality. Chazal say that residents of Yerushalayim were perpetually "sin free", because the korban Tamid in the morning atoned for sins during the previous night and the Tamid in the evening atoned for sins during the day.
When Nebuchadnezzar laid siege on Yerushalayim, the residents couldn't care less – because they thought the Shechina was protecting them (ילקוט שמעוני איכה א). They thought that the korbanot were the magical cure to any threat from without. What they failed to understand is that the korbanot are not an "aspirin" that one takes in the morning and evening and goes on with their regular life of sin. They are only effective if they are sincere and serve to distance one from sin.
Today, the Beit HaMikdash does not exist (yet). The reality of korbanot is practically non-existent in our daily lives. The Gemara in Taanit above, describing to Avraham how, in a reality when we have no Beit HaMikdash, we can still have the Shechina in close proximity, says that by reciting the סֵדֶר קָרְבָּנוֹת we can achieve the same result as if we actually brought the korbanot physically.
Most of us do not realize what an enormous gift this is and do not utilize it. Too many of us do not say korbanot every day at all. We arrive 5 minutes late to Shacharit, when the tzibbur is already beginning Hodu. By the time we put on tefillin they are already on Ashrei. We can't wait until the end of Aleinu before we already have our tefillin off and our foot halfway out the door. Korbanot? They don't even feature in our daily routine.
For the diligent few who do say korbanot twice daily, before Shacharit and before Mincha (mostly Sefardim – their consciousness of korbanot is much more elevated than the Ashkenazim. You will notice that the people who most often come to shul early are Sefardim, leaving themselves enough time to say the korbanot from beginning to end), how many of us really understand what we are saying? We recite it by rote אֶת הַכֶּבֶשׂ הָאֶחָד תַּעֲשֶׂה בַבֹּקֶר וְאֵת הַכֶּבֶשׂ הַשֵּׁנִי תַּעֲשֶׂה בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם, without understanding what תַּעֲשֶׂה actually means. When in the morning? When in the evening? What hours of the day exactly? Pitum HaKetoret מוֹר, וּקְצִיעָה, שִׁבֹּלֶת נֵרְדְּ … Who has the faintest clue what שִׁבֹּלֶת נֵרְדְּ is? Never mind, we repeat it every day, never understanding what we are saying. Hey it's better than not saying it at all, right? Most don't!
The reason the korbanot worked their magic in the Mikdash is because the person bringing the korban witnessed it himself. The visual impact directly affected him and caused him to do teshuva. It was such a jarring experience that it could not help but be mind-altering. How does one reproduce that experience without actually seeing it, without actually smelling the meat burning on the fire? The answer is – visualization. Sometimes imagination is even stronger than the real thing. We still have the powers of imagination to see things that our eyes cannot physically see (the entire Hollywood industry is based on that).
However, to be able to truly visualize something, we require basic details to help us visualize the right thing, to make our imagined picture as authentic as possible. The only way we can achieve that is by studying the details. By understanding what we are hearing when they lein parshat Vayikra in shul, not falling asleep and waking up in time for Musaf. By reading Rashi on the psukkim, and then taking it a step further and studying the Gemarot on which Rashi bases himself. Only if we truly understand the סֵדֶר קָרְבָּנוֹת down to the last detail, will we be able to truly visualize it correctly and enable our recitation to have the equivalent effect as if we actually physically offered the korban.
We have such a priceless gem at our disposal and we don't even realize what we have! That is why we look the way we look. That is why our nation looks the way it looks.
It would be nice to start a "Korbanot Now" movement, but that is not how life works. We cannot change reality overnight - HKB"H can, but for us humans it is a gradual process.
It begins with actually going to shul three times a day to daven Shacharit, Mincha and Arvit, even without saying korbanot and even without understanding the davening. At least we get שְׂכַר הֲלִיכָה. If we could bolster the minyanim with more people, that is already a good start.
Then if we could take a few extra minutes to actually say Shma Yisrael and the Amida properly, understanding what we are saying, at the expense of leaving shul 3 minutes later, that is another step up.
And so on … step by step until we are all arriving in shul 30 minutes before davening is scheduled to start and saying סֵדֶר קָרְבָּנוֹת the way it should be said, visualizing each thing as if you were actually physically in the Azara, pleading with HKB"H that the recitation should actually substitute for the real thing יְהִי רָצוֹן... כְּאִלּוּ הִקְרַבְתִּי חַטָּאת, אָשָׁם, שְׁלָמִים and finally – taking the korban to its ultimate stage and applying it within ourselves.
One person at a time … one shul at a time … one neighborhood, one city, one district, one country - until it is the entire Am Yisrael.
We have to want it. We have to want it badly. We have to want it badly enough that we are unwilling to keep on living the way we are living!
This is the Torah Theory of Relativity. Where do we stand relative to HKB"H? What is our relationship with HKB"H? Is it an intimate relationship or a distant one? The warmth (energy) of the relationship is directly proportional to how much effort (mass) we are prepared to invest in it and the diligence (speed) with which we apply it.
It begins with our interpersonal relationships, with our parents, with our siblings, with our spouse, with our children … and then it expands to our relationship with HKB"H.
And the formula for all that is right here … in sefer Vayikra. The secret to applying the formula is תְּמִידִין וּמוּסָפִין – diligently doing it every day, multiple times a day, each time adding a little something extra than the previous time. It is the key to achieving endless, perpetual joy.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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Rabbi Daniel Glatstein at Yeshiva Ketana of Los Angeles Rabbi Glatstein Shlit”A is such a genuine Torah yid that enjoys learning and SHARI...
