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Wednesday, April 2, 2025

PARSHAS TZAV, LEVITICUS, 6:1-8:36, PASSOVER

 






PARSHAS TZAV, LEVITICUS, 6:1-8:36, PASSOVER






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WHAT IS THE DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ASHKENAZI JEW?

 IT COULD BE  COMPASSION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE OR MAYBE NOT?




While ridding the household of all chametz in preparation for the Passover holiday, my thoughts turn to the ultimate source of chametz, namely and without reservation, bread.

In Parshat Tzav, Hashem instructs Moshe that as part of Aaron’s inauguration process he should bring a special grain offering that will be burnt in its entirety on the Altar (6:14).

“On a griddle it shall be made with oil, scalded shall you bring it; a  repeatedly baked meal offering you shall bring it in broken pieces that you will offer it…”
עַל-מַחֲבַת, בַּשֶּׁמֶן תֵּעָשֶׂה--מֻרְבֶּכֶת תְּבִיאֶנָּה; תֻּפִינֵי מִנְחַת פִּתִּים, תַּקְרִיב

I’m thinking, what distinguishes this offering is that it is scalded or boiled before baking.  After very sober serious contemplation, it is my belief that this method of bread preparation, albeit altered by time and geography, has come down to us as part of our esteemed Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.

It is my sincere belief that this bread preparation is what my Yeshivish friends might call the “Ikar” (עִקָרor essence of who or what we are or have come to be.  What I am referring to is the Bagel.

This ethnic bread preparation first surfaced in Jewish Poland during the 17th century.  Indisputably we are as much the “People of the Bagel” as we are the “People of the Book”.

Bagels for the untutored or if you know, are boiled or steamed before baking. And its circular shape perhaps represents out unending connection to Hashem and that all Jews must be included.  Of course the hole in the middle is a metaphor for our "holiness".


I rest my case.😉
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In Parshat Tzav Hashem commands (6:4) regarding the ashes of the olah offering:
 “…and he [the Kohen] shall take out the ashes to a ritually clean place outside the camp”.
וְהוֹצִ֤יא אֶת־הַדֶּ֨שֶׁן֙ אֶל־מִח֣וּץ לַמַּֽחֲנֶ֔ה אֶל־מָק֖וֹם טָהֽוֹר
Before the Kohen performs this mitzvah, he must sort through the ash residue and return any animal part remainder back on to the Altar.  This offering is to be fully consumed by fire.  I assume that outside the camp there were ritually clean and ritually unclean places (for instance a privy).  Even ashes from the altar have a holy status, to be treated with respect and only be deposited in a clean place. Think about the mindset.
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PASSOVER


Passover takes place from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nisan. This year, Pesach 2025 falls on Motzei Shabbat, Saturday night, April 12, and lasts through Sunday, April 20. It is forbidden to eat chametz as of Shabbat morning, April 12.

PASSOVER GUIDE 2025:
https://oukosher.org/passover/download-passover-guide-signup/
https://oukosher.org/passover/articles/observing-passover-holiday/

BEGINS MOTZI SHABBAT, April 12, 2025 
Pesach for Hebrew Year 5785 begins in Israel at sundown on Saturday, 12 April 2025 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, 19 April 2025.
(15-21 Nisan 5785)
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Search for Chametz


Using a candle or flashlight, we inspect our homes for any chametz that we might have overlooked. This year, Bedikat Chametz will take place on Thursday evening, April 10, after dark.

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Burning the Chametz

Most years, we burn the chametz on the morning of Erev Pesach. Since Erev Pesach falls on Shabbat this year, we will burn the chametz on the morning of Friday, April 11. Kol chamirah is not recited and rather will be said on Shabbat Morning.

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What exactly is chametz?

Chametz, often referred to as “leaven,” is any food created by allowing grain (specifically wheat, oat, spelt, rye or barley) and water to ferment and rise. Common examples of chametz include bread, crackers, cookies, pretzels and pasta. Even foods with minute amounts of chametz ingredients, or foods processed with utensils or machinery that are used for chametz, are not permissible for Pesach use. Practically speaking, any processed food not certified as kosher for Passover may include chametz ingredients and should not be eaten on Pesach. 

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We Have an Almost Chametz-Free Shabbat

Normally, we stop eating (or evening owning) chametz from just before the burning until after Passover. But in this case, the chametz was burned a day in advance and we still need to have some chametz upon which to recite Hamotzi at our Shabbat meals. So even though our homes are entirely chametz-free, some of us we keep just a few small rolls (pitas are an easy, less crumbly option), which we will very carefully use for our Shabbat meals.

We Eat the Shabbat Meal Early in the Day

To keep things practical, our Shabbat meals are entirely kosher for Passover, aside from the bread which we eat very carefully so as not to leave any crumbs behind. In fact, only after we finish munching our bread, either outside or somewhere else we can be sure not to leave crumbs behind, we sit at our kosher-for-Passover table and finish the meal.

The Shabbat daytime meal must be consumed earlier than usual to ensure that we have eaten any bits of bread before the deadline (any remaining bread must be flushed down the toilet by the prescribed time

We Get to Rest Up for the Seder

It’s no secret that it’s hard work getting ready for Passover. Many of us are exhausted by the time we finally reach Seder night. But this year, with all the work finishing on Friday, we have a blessedly quiet Shabbat to rest, rejuvenate and be ready for the Seder.

We Light Candles Three Times in a Row!

This year, we light candles three nights in a row, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. In other years, the candles of the first night of Passover should ideally be lit before the onset of the holiday, just like Shabbat candles. This year, however, we may not handle fire until Shabbat has ended. We, therefore, light the candles (from a pre-existing flame) only after night has fallen, the same time we begin other Seder preparations, and include the special Shehecheyanu blessing.
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We are commanded at Exodus 13:3-10,14 to observe the anniversary of the Exodus by removing all leaven from our possession for seven days, eating matzah, and telling the story of redemption to our children.

שַׁלַּח אֶת-עַמִּי   Let my people go”.

In the first of the Ten Pronouncements that we heard at Sinai, Hashem states: “I am the Lord your God, Who took you out of Egypt out of the land of slavery.”

On Shabbat and on Yom Tovim we specifically commemorate the Exodus; and twice-daily we have an obligation to recall the Exodus in the Shema, likewise in the Birkat HaMazon, the Grace After Eating blessing.

In the Talmud, Baba Metzia 61b, there is a discussion as to why the Torah links usury prohibitions, the commandment to wear tzitzit, and the obligation of accurate weights and measures to the Exodus from Egypt.

Honesty in our monetary dealings is the reason Hashem took us out of Egypt.  From Rashi: honesty in our monetary dealings is the reason G-d took us out of Egypt.  Quoting the Sage Rava: “Rava said: ‘Why did the Merciful One mention the Exodus from Egypt in connection with the prohibition of interest, tzizit and honest weights?’ 

The Holy One, blessed be He, declared, 'It is I who distinguished in Egypt between the first-born and one who was not a first-born; I am the one who will exact vengeance from him who ascribes his money to a gentile and lends it to an Israelite on interest or who steeps his weights in salt, or who [attaches to his garment threads dyed with] vegetable blue and maintains that it is, techelet, real blue'”

Paul Robeson says it best:

https://youtu.be/w3OjHIhLCDs

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At Exodus 13:3, Moshe exclaims:

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם, זָכוֹר אֶת-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר יְצָאתֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם מִבֵּית

עֲבָדִים, כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד, הוֹצִיא יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה; וְלֹא יֵאָכֵל, חָמֵץ.


“Moses said to the people, Remember this day, when you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for with a mighty hand, the Lord took you out of here, and no leaven shall be eaten”.

Here the Hebrew word for “remember” is
  זָכוֹר. It is in the infinitive form and makes a statement. If “remember” was a command, it would be in the imperative form and written זכר

According to Rav Kook, the infinitive form indicates that the Torah is not merely commanding us to remember and commemorate the anniversary of the Exodus from Egyp
t.
 זָכוֹר implies a state of being. It describes us as a people who always remember this historic date.

For Rav Kook the people were not commanded to remember the 15th of Nisan. That was unnecessary. Moses was informing us that this date would be forever etched in our collective consciousness. On this day, the Jewish people were forever changed. On this day our souls gained eternal freedom.

Do you agree with Rav Kook that our Jewish “DNA”, our collective souls were forever changed by the Passover event?

I do.

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Check out the Mishna in Talmudic Tractate Pesachim at page 64a.

It is a touch of historic reality.



Saturday, March 29, 2025

PARSHAS VAYIKRA, 1:1- 5:26

 PARSHAS VAYIKRA, 1:1- 5:26

 We start a new Book this week, Vayikra ("and He called") or Leviticus.

 

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QUESTIONS FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE



Questions For The Sabbath Table contains snippets from the weekly Torah portion.

The goal of Questions For The Sabbath Table is to bring more Torah to English speakers living in Israel and abroad.

For some who have recently immigrated to Israel, there may be the nagging sentiment of being in a foreign country. These weekly essays are intended to do away with that sentiment, for you are not a stranger in a strange land.

And for those living abroad, it is a means to come closer to the Divine. If however you are living in the Land, you are already a step closer

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I have a compulsion for which I apologize.  In the words of Rav Kook, the 1st Chief Rabbi of Israel: I don't speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don't have the power to remain silent.”  

קְרָא בְגָ'רוֹן אַל-תַּחְשֹׂךְ, כַּשּׁוֹפָר הָרֵם קוֹלֶךָ; וְהַגֵּד לְעַמִּי פִּשְׁעָם, וּלְבֵית יַעֲקֹב חַטֹּאתָם
“Call with a בְגָ'רוֹן, do not spare, like a shofar raise your voice, and make known to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins”.
Isaiah 58:1

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At Vayikra 1:2 it says:”When a person from you will sacrifice an offering to the Lord; from animals, from cattle or from the flock you shall sacrifice your offering”.

אָדָם כִּי-יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן, לַיהוָה--מִן-הַבְּהֵמָה, מִן-הַבָּקָר וּמִן-הַצֹּאן, תַּקְרִיבוּ, אֶת-קָרְבַּנְכֶם

Offering a sacrifice, in this case an animal, was the means for people at that time to come closer to God.


Rabbi Riskin expands on the term “from you” as meaning what does Hashem want from us?
He concludes that in making sacrifices today, Hashem wants us to give of ourselves, upfront and personal.

As of the th of March, since the start of the war against Hamas,  Israeli security forces have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending our Land.

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This week’s parsha begins with the word Vayikra: א ויקר   On all Torah scrolls the letter א is small…Why?

It was always seen as a symbol of the intense modesty of Moshe. But there is another explanation of the small aleph that Rabbi Berel Wein teaches us:
Hashem is to be seen and heard in the small things in life and not only in the large, great events. Hashem tells Elijah that He is not to be found in the wind, the noise of a quake, the brightness of a burning fire but rather in the still, small voice, in the sound of a whisper and not of a shout.


The still, small voice is most representative of Hashem and his omnipotence. Science has shown us in our time that our physical appearance, if not even our longevity and health, lie in small almost invisible strands that make up our DNA. God calls out with a small aleph to his creatures – to see Him in every aspect of life, no matter how small and insignificant it may appear on its surface.

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The word “offering” or “sacrifice” is Korban or קָרְבָּןThe three letter root is קרב.
A verb having this root is לְהִתְקַרֵב , to come closer. Try squeezing out more meanings for קָרְבָּן.

Juggling the letters of the root yields the following possibilities:
רֵבקַ damn רקב decay ברק lightning בקר beef קַברֵ grave 

קַרֵב interior

Are we not the People of the Book, or what?

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In the Parsha there is a specific commandment, at 2:13, that the grain offering (the Minchah) requires salt. This is followed by a general statement that all sacrifices require salt, hence the custom to have salt at our Shabbos table where table is symbolic of the Altar on which sacrifices were placed.

וְכָל-קָרְבַּן מִנְחָתְךָ, בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח, וְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית מֶלַח בְּרִית אֱלֹהֶיךָ, מֵעַל מִנְחָתֶךָ; עַל כָּל-קָרְבָּנְךָ, תַּקְרִיב מֶלחַ
“And every meal-offering of yours you shall season with salt; neither shall you omit the salt covenant of your God to be lacking from your meal-offerings; with all your offerings you shall offer salt”.

A question: What is the salt covenant?

Offerings must not lack salt. This is a commandment and as such does not need to be understood. (That does not mean that we should not try to understand the commandment.) The commandment is part of a covenant, the “salt covenant”. Apparently, the commandment a legally binding agreement that Hashem has imposed upon us. And Hashem’s obligations under the covenant, if any, are not stated.

In the Book of Numbers 18:19, God's covenant with the priesthood is said to be a covenant of salt. In the second book of Chronicles 13:5, God's covenant with the Davidic kings of Israel is also described as a covenant of salt. A covenant of salt most likely means that the covenant is a perpetual covenant, because of the use of salt as a preservative.

A question: What is it about salt that makes it so important to Hashem?


Try these facts to come up with your answer.  Oceans are salty.  They are comprised by about 35% salt.  98% of all the water on our planet is salty.  Lakes, rivers and underground water comprise only 2% of the Earth’s water.  All original life stemmed from sea water.  Layers of salt, “rock salt”, are only the remains of ocean water that has evaporated.

My answer: There is a fundamental connection, evidenced by salt,  between the creation of life and life’s Creator. 

 

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In Parsha Vayikra we are instructed about the variety of offerings that are to be made to Hashem. The first offering that is discussed is known as the 
עולה, which is not shared with the public or the priests (except for the hides), but is entirely dedicated to Hashem.


עולה has in its narrow meaning something that is raised up. It is no coincidence that an immigrant Israeli is also referred to as an עולהNative born Israelis, sabras as they are called, are great in their own right, but the עולה has special meaning to Hashem and for Israel. Be proud. Walk tall.

An
 עולה (Oleh) who in English-speaker is called an Anglo. An Anglo עולה is commonly depicted by native born Israelis as cowboys whether or not they hail from the USA, as they are often Canadians, Brits, Australians, South African and the like.

In 2015, Anglo’s living in Nahariya, Israel, dressed as cowboys marched in the city’s Purim parade.  Here’s what we looked like:

 



 In the USA in the 1800's the westward movement brought many distinct ethnicities all with their own. cultural traditions. In a way Israel is like that.

In terms of persistent stereotypes I like to think that cowboys represent the encouragement of  honorable behavior, respect and patriotism.



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What will the rebuilt Temple be like? Will we really offer animal sacrifices once again?

These are some views on the subject held by Rav Kook as interpreted by Channon Morison:

In the writings of the Kabbalists, we find a remarkable description of how the universe will look in the future.  All aspects of the universe will be elevated. Even the animals in that future era will be different. Animals will advance to the level of people today (Sha’ar Hamitzvot of the Ari z"l). Obviously, no sacrifice could be offered from such humanlike animals. At that time, there will no longer be strife and conflict between inhabitants of the world. 

Human beings for their own physical, moral, and spiritual needs will no longer take the lives of animals.

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More from Rav Kook?

Is fasting a substitute for bringing a sacrifice?

When the fourth-century scholar Rav Sheshet fasted, he would add the following request to his Amidah (Standing) prayer:

“Master of the Universe! You know that when the Temple stood, a person who sinned would bring a sacrifice. Although only the fats and blood would be offered on the altar, the person would be granted atonement.

Now I have fasted, and my fat and my blood have diminished. May it be Your Will that the decrease in my fat and my blood should be considered as if I offered them on the altar, and my offering was accepted.” (Berachot 17a)

Rav Sheshet’s prayer is inspiring, but it makes one wonder: Why should one go to the trouble of bringing a sacrifice if the same atonement may be achieved through fasting?

Coming forward to today let me add my 2 cents:

I probably fast five days a week. An individual fast may last as little as 12 hours or as much as 20 hours.  I drink water or tea or black coffee during a fast.

When you have fasted for 12 hours,  amazing things begin to happen:

Your insulin level begins to drop which is a guarantee of becoming healthier. Also a cascade of Human Growth Hormone begins, and this will strengthen your bones, increase your muscle mass, strengthen your immune system and slow down the aging process.  As the hours increase things get better and better.

At around 16 hours or more your body on a cellular level experiences a phenomenon called autophagy:

Autophagy is the body's way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. The body removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components Consider it as a form of recycling or waste management.


Now, relating fasting to sacrifice, think of this: Offering sacrifices was a form of purification.  You offer the sacrifice and you come out a better or "cleaner" person.

Fasting will do the same. 

 Rav Sheshet in the 4th century was on to something good.

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There are verses in Psalm 50 that relate to Hashem’s take on bringing Him sacrifices.

Every animal is already part of Hashem’s possession.

8 - I will not reprove you concerning your sacrifices, neither are your burnt offerings before Me constantly.

9 - I will not take from your household a bull, from your pens any goats.

10 - For all the beasts of the forest are Mine,…

Rashi: If you do not bring Me sacrifices, and your burnt offerings are not before Me constantly. I do not set My eyes and My heart on that.

14 - Slaughter for God a confession and pay the Most High your vows.

Rashi: Confess your deeds and return to Me. That is the sacrifice that I desire, and afterwards pay the Most High your vows, for then they will be accepted willingly.

15 - And call to Me on a day of distress; I will rescue you and you will honor Me.

12 - If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine.

13 - Will I eat the flesh of bulls or do I drink the blood of he-goats?

Do not to think of the sacrifice as food for God, for God neither hungers nor eats. 


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Haftarah:

Ezekiel 45:18 - 46:15; Samuel I 20:18; Samuel I 20:42