Parshas Tzav

Weigh It First!

 

“The kohain shall dress in his linen garment… and he shall separate the ashes when the fire consumes the burnt-offering on the altar and place it next to the altar.” (Vayikra 6:3)

One of the avodos, tasks, performed by the kohanim in the Beis Hamikdash was the removal of the ashes that had accumulated on the mizbayach. The ashes were placed on the floor of the courtyard, on the side of the mizbayach.

What determined which kohain would do this avoda? The Talmud (Yoma 22A) teaches us that initially, any kohain who wanted to do this avoda would join others in a race towards the top of the ramp leading to the mizbayach. The ramp was 32 amos long. There is a difference of opinion if it was 48 or 60 feet long. Whichever kohain “won the race” by reaching the top 4 amos, received the privilege of doing this avoda of removing the ashes.

One time, two kohanim who were vying for this privilege were racing to the top of the ramp. They were both close to reaching the top of the ramp. A terribly sad incident occurred in which one kohain purposely pushed the other kohain who then fell off the ramp and broke his leg. The kohain who did the pushing did not intend to cause harm to the other kohain. He was motivated by a strong desire to do a mitzvah, yet his actions caused physical harm to another kohain. Not only that, but the other kohain was prohibited to do other avodos in the Beis HaMikdash until his leg healed.

When Beis Din realized the danger involved in this process, they changed the process. From then on, a lottery system determined who would be picked to do the avoda of removing the ashes.

Rabbi Avraham Pam zt”l (Shabbos with Rav Pam by Rabbi Sholom Smith) learns a beautiful lesson from this incident. Sometimes when a person has a strong desire to do a mitzvah, while he is trying to fulfill it he may accidentally violate a law of the Torah.

This is obviously not what Hashem wants. One must carefully weigh his actions to make certain he is not inadvertently sinning or harming someone else. The Mesilas Yesharim (Chapter 20) by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto zt”l warns that sometimes a person thinks he is doing a great mitzva while in reality he is sinning. Other times, he may be doing a mitzva, but the consequences of his actions are causing hurt or pain to others, undermining and disqualifying the mitzva. For example, the Torah tells us (Vayikra 19:17) to rebuke our friend if we see that he is sinning. However, rebuking must be done in a way in which you are not sinning. As Rashi explains, do not rebuke and shame him in public for then you will be sinning. The Mesilas Yesharim continues that many great tzadikim would not do their accustomed unique acts of tzidkus, saintliness in public. They did not want to appear as if they felt that they were better than others. They did not want to be the cause of leading others to sin by gossiping or mocking their unusual actions.

 

We must weigh our actions carefully to ascertain that what we are doing is truly a mitzva and to make sure that we are not causing anyone pain in the process. That would turn the mitzva into a sin.

 

Parshas Tzav

Thanks For The Miracles!

 

“If he offers it for a thanksgiving offering….” (Vayikra 7:12)

A young man had a baby girl after one year of marriage. He asked Rav Shach zt”l if he had to make a kiddush to celebrate the occasion. Rav Shach asked him, “Suppose you were married for eight years without children? If you would have had a baby girl at that point, would you then question whether or not to make a kiddush?” Certainly, you would not! “Now that Hashem saved you from seven years of anguish, shouldn’t you be even more inclined to express your gratitude to Hashem?”

The Torah (Vayikra 7:12) discusses the korban todah, the sacrificial offering of thanks. Rashi says that the korban todah was brought when one was miraculously saved from one of four events. One who traveled over a sea or a desert and arrived safely, one who was released from prison, or one who had been healed from a serious illness brought this sacrifice.

Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld zt”l asks a very insightful question. The four examples of deliverance that Rashi mentioned are great occurrences but why does Rashi call them miracles? They don’t compare to the miracle of Kriyas Yam Suf or other open miracles that are recorded in the Torah. The answer is that these are “hidden miracles” for which one must be thankful. For example, we take modern medicine for granted. However, it was not long ago that people died from illnesses for which we now have medications or operations.

We learn from this that we must thank Hashem not only for the “major miracles”, but also for many everyday events that are also miraculous.

The Talmud (Brachos 7B) states that no one ever thanked Hashem until our Matriarch, Leah, thanked Hashem upon the birth of her fourth son, Yehudah. Leah was a prophetess and knew that our forefather Yaakov would have 12 sons. Yaakov had 4 wives. Leah assumed that each wife would give birth to three sons. When Leah gave birth to her fourth son, she realized that Hashem had granted her more than “her portion”. Thus, Leah had said (Beraishis 29:35), “This time I will thank Hashem.”  Many are puzzled by this Gemorah.  There were others before Leah who thanked Hashem! Why is Leah considered the first?! The Chida (Petach Einayim on Brachos) says that the first man, Adam, thanked Hashem. Adam declared,”.’מזמור שיר ליום השבת וכתיב טוב להודות לד”.  “A psalm, a song for the Shabbos day…. It is good to thank Hashem and to sing praise to His name.” Noach also gave thanks when he offered burnt offerings of thanksgiving to Hashem after the flood. The Chizkuni explains that Noach acted like the sailors in the story of Yonah, who after having been saved from a great storm, immediately brought offerings to Hashem, in thanks for their deliverance. Sarah also said (Braishis 21:7), “Who would have said to Avraham that Sarah would suckle children! Yet I have borne a son in his old age.” The Da’as Zekanim says that this was a way of giving thanks to Hashem.

In that case, how can we understand this Gemorah? The answer is that until Leah, people thanked Hashem for open miracles. Leah was the first to thank Hashem for an event that seemed “natural”, a “hidden miracle”. Nowadays, we take a healthy childbirth for granted because it is so common. We must remember that it, too, is a miracle. We must be thankful that we can walk, that we can breathe, that we can see, etc….

When the chazan repeats Shmone Esrei and says Modim, the congregation recites a different version of the prayer, called Modim d’Rabbanan. No-where-else in the chazan’s repetition of Shmone Esrei does this take place. Rather, the chazan recites the repetition of the Shmone Esrei on behalf of the tzibbur. The Avudraham explains that you can appoint a representative to pray for health, livelihood, etc. But you cannot appoint a representative to say thank you for you. You have to say that yourself!

We must constantly be appreciative of all the good with which Hashem showers us.

We should express our gratitude to Hashem for the seemingly natural, “hidden miracles”

which Hashem regularly performs on our behalf.

 

(based on Rabbi Yissocher Frand in Rabbi Frand on the Parashah 3)