Short & Sweet

Bo: It Wasn’t Me

The של״ה writes that the mitzva of matza teaches us humility. From the simple tasting and and lowly matza, we learn to not be full of ourselves.

Asked R’ Mattisyahu Solomon, doesn’t the Torah explicitly write the reason we eat matza: to remember that we left Mitzrayim so quickly that the dough didn’t have time to rise? How does the של״ה fit with what is says in the פסוקים?

R’ Mattisyahu answers this based on a מהר״ל. The מהר״ל asks: why it that of the things that happened when we left Mitzrayim, why do we have a mitzva to commemorate that we left before the dough could rise?

The מהר״ל answers that there is danger that when future generations tell the story of leaving Mitzrayim, they will make the story about themselves. They will forgot what Hashem did, and claim that our ancestors broke free on their own.

By remembering that we left when it was inconvenient for us, when we were unprepared to go, we remember that Hashem is the one rescued us.

Explains R’ Mattisyahu, this is what the של״ה means when he says matza teaches us humility. It teaches us that Hashem is responsible for our successes, and we shouldn’t attribute them to ourselves.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Yisro: Your Turn

Hashem tells us in this week’s Parsha: וָאֶשָּׂ֤א אֶתְכֶם֙ עַל־כַּנְפֵ֣י נְשָׁרִ֔ים וָאָבִ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֵלָֽי,
I brought you on eagle’s wings to Me. What is this referring to?

R’ Dovid Soloveitchik explains that Bnei Yisroel were on the 49th level of impurity in Mitzrayim, and yet 49 days later they were hearing Hashem at Har Sinai. How could they have changed so quickly?

This Passuk is the answer. Hashem lifted them up miraculously, not just physically, but spiritually as well. By showing us so many miracles in Mitzrayim and Yam Sof, Hashem left us with no choice but to believe in Him.

But as the next Passuk makes clear, after Kabbalas HaTorah the opposite is true. Now it’s all up to you: וְעַתָּ֗ה אִם־שָׁמ֤וֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ בְּקֹלִ֔י וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֑י וִהְיִ֨יתֶם לִ֤י סְגֻלָּה֙

Hashem lifted us to the heights of ruchniyus, so that we could see what it’s like. But now our job is to climb to those elevated heights ourselves.

From now on, only our choices and our actions will determine how close we are to Hashem.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Mishpatim: Serving A Greater Cause

Of all the ways to begin Mishpatim, the Torah chose to start with the halachos of עבד עברי. What does this reveal to us about how we are to approach Mishpatim, the laws of the Torah that we can understand with our own intellect?

R’ Lopiansky explains that an עבד is somebody who is considered only an extension of his master. That is why anything that an עבד acquires becomes property of his master. A proper עבד does not have a will of his own; he lives to carry out the will of somebody else.

This is how we are to approach all of mishpatim. גדול המצווה ועושה יותר ממי שאינו מצוה ועושה – it is better to do a mitzva because Hashem has commanded it than to do a mitzva voluntarily. If we do a mitzva because its moral lesson resonate with us, we are attaching ourselves to that sense of morality. But when we do a mitzva because Hashem has commanded that we do it, we are connecting ourselves to Hashem Himslef. By making His will into our will, we have made ourselves an extension of Him.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Terumah: Actualizing the Ephemeral

There is an interesting tension in the collection of materials collecting for the Mishkan. On the one hand, there is a strong emphasis on the נדבת לב, the giving of the heart. On the other hand, there is no mitzva that the Torah that the Torah gives as specific instructions for as building of the Mishkan. How are we to understand the relationship between doing the mitzva because we want to, while doing it exactly the way that Hashem wants it done?

R’ Lopiansky answers that the Mishkan has to start with what’s in our hearts. We need to feel that yearning to connect with Hashem.

But a feeling that is never put into practice will never amount to anything. If a feeling is not acted on, it will wither away and die.

The Mishkan is where we pour our feelings into to make sure they stay with us. All the precise details of the Mishkan are meant to be applications of what we feel in our hearts. By making them real to ourselves, we will be able to incorporate these feelings into the way we live our lives.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Tezaveh: Looking Inside

The Gemara tells us that the מעיל of the Kohen Gadol atones for lashon hara. Presumably, that means there is some lesson that we can learn from the מעיל that will help us avoid the pitfall of lashon hara. But what is that lesson?

Based on the Vilna Goan, R’ Lopiansky explains that the message lies in the fact that the מעיל is tucked into itself. The passuk stresses that the hem of the מעיל must be tucked back within itself: והיה פי ראשו בתוכו. This sense of internality, of looking inside oneself, is key to avoiding lashon hara.

All too often, we evaluate ourselves by comparing ourself to those around us. This is often why we are tempted to put others down; by speaking badly about others, we feel better about ourselves.

The message of the מעיל is to look inside one’s own self. Don’t try to see how you measure up to others. Our sense of success ought to be based on to what extent we are living up to our own potential. One who lives with that attitude will not feel the need to put down others to feel better about themselves.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Vaykhel: Fire 🔥

Of all the 39 melachos, only one is specified in the Torah: lighting a fire. To add another layer of mystery as to why this particular melacha was chosen, the Zohar adds the prohibition against lighting a fire includes getting angry (igniting the the fire of anger) on Shabbos.

R’ Aron Lopiansky explains this by looking at the root of anger. Anger almost always comes from a place of frustration. Somebody who feels that they could be accomplishing something, but that they are being held from doing so, gets angry.

But Shabbos is supposed to be the antithesis of that very mindset. On Shabbos, we acknowledge that we do not run the world. Hashem made the world, and only He continues to control it.

A person only feels frustration and anger at a perceived loss of control, if they believe they were in control in the first place. Hence כל הכועס, כאילו עובד ע״ז.

One who truly appreciates Shabbos and acknowledges that Hashem alone controls the world, will not feel the fire of anger.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Vayikra: Living Like A Korban

Chazal refer to one who goes to their death rather than betray Hashem to as a Korban. This comparison is fairly simple to understand: both of them die for Hashem.

But there is a far more intriguing comparison which is brought down in Halacha. The Rema (או״ח קס״ז ה׳) and the Mishnah Berurah write that if one eats lishmah, for the sake of having strength to serve Hashem, the food they eat is like a Korban to Hashem. How are we to understand this?

The answer is that the Korban represents total dedication of every aspect of our lives to Hashem. Just as the Korban is slaughtered and burnt, so too must we be willing to give up our physical selves to serve Hashem. But the atonement of the Korban is not effectuated until the blood is sprinkled on the מזבח. This represents our heart and passion being focused solely on coming close to Hashem.

One way of proving one’s complete dedication to Hashem is to die for Him. But a far more impressive way of doing that is to live for Hashem. Somebody who dedicates every aspect of their lives, even such mundane things as eating, towards this noble goal can be said to be living the life of a Korban.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר ׳חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Metzora: Humility vs Control

Somebody who has had צרעת must bring a korban containing elements of both a high and mighty cedar tree and a lowly bush. Rashi explains that this is a message to the מצורע that the צרעת came about due to haughtiness, and that this person must work to lower himself.

R’ Zev Leff has a beautiful and succinct explanation of גאוה vs ענוה.
Gayvah is to believe that I made myself great, and that that give me rights. Anavah is to realize that Hashem made me great, and that that gives me responsibilities.

Perhaps this is one of the lessons of צרעת itself. צרעת shows a person that he does not truly control his possessions (such as his house & clothes), his social life, or even his own body. Hashem can take any of these away in a heartbeat if they aren’t being used correctly, through צרעת or some other affliction. This is a reminder that our possessions and abilities should not be viewed as being our own, but rather as gifts from Hashem that create responsibilities to do for others.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום