Parshas Tzav

I Made It Across the Ocean Safely! Thank You Hashem!

 

“If he brings it as thanksgiving offering…” (Vayikra 7:12)

Rabbi Yissocher Frand brings a beautiful insight from the Avudraham. When the chazan repeats the Shmoneh Esrei the congregation listens silently. They merely respond to each bracha by saying  baruch hu uvaruch shmo, blessed be Hashem and blessed be his name, and amen. However, while the chazan says Modim, the congregation does say a prayer. Why is Modim different? The Avudraham says that for all the other blessings in the Shmoneh Esrei the chazan can represent us and say the blessings for us. However, nobody else can say ‘Thank you’ for us. Thanks, must come from ourselves.

 

Parshas Tzav introduces the laws of the Korban Todah, the Thanksgiving offering (Vayikra 7:12). Rashi explains that a Todah offering is brought by someone who experienced a personal miracle. Rashi lists four examples. One who traveled across an ocean or through a desert and safely reached his destination, one who was thrown in jail and then was released, or one who was seriously ill and then recovered.

 

Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld makes an interesting point. Parshas Vayikra lists all the sacrifices that an individual may bring. However, the laws of the Korban Todah are left out. Why? Furthermore, Parshas Tzav discusses the details of the sacrifices, instructing the kohanim what to do. It is like an instruction book for the kohanim. Yer, surprisingly, this Parsha does talk about the Korban Todah. Why?

 

Rav Sonnenfeld further asks why Rashi uses the word “miracle” to describe the four circumstances that require one to bring a Korban Todah. Each of these situations may involve risk or danger but they are not miracles.

 

Truthfully, these examples are not open miracles. However, they, too, are miracles! They are examples of hidden miracles that Hashem performs behind the veil of Nature.

 

We take certain things for granted because we become accustomed to them but they are also miracles. The birth of a baby, being healed after an illness, and the ability to do successful heart surgery are truly miracles!

 

Pirkei Avos (5:5) lists several miracles that were a daily occurrence in the Beis HaMikdash. Two examples are that although flies are typically attracted to raw meat, flies were never attracted to the animals that were slaughtered as korbanos. Also, the wind never blew the smoke that rose from the Altar. The kohanim saw miracles constantly. When someone lives with miracles on a daily basis, he may get used to the miracles and may no longer appreciate them.

 

This, Rav Sonnenfeld says, explains why the Korban Todah is listed in Parshas Tzav.  It is a reminder to the Kohanim who witness miracles on a daily basis and is to remind us that even frequent miracles and even acts of Nature are all miracles from Hashem. (Rabbi Yissocher Frand on Torah.org)

 

Rav Avrohom Pam zt”l says that nowadays, since we no longer have korbanos, when one is saved from any of the above-mentioned four circumstances, he says a bracha during the time that the Torah is read in shul בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ד’ אֱלֹקֵינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַגּוֹמֵל לְחַיָּבִים טוֹבוֹת, שֶׁגְּמָלַֽנִי כָּל טוֹב.. “Blessed is Hashem Who bestows good things upon the guilty and Who has bestowed every goodness upon me.”

 

When one is saved from a crisis that necessitates this bracha, he experiences goodness from Hashem. While he is in the midst of a crisis it is very hard for him to see the kindness of Hashem.

He must realize that the crisis itself is for his benefit even if he doesn’t immediately see its benefit! That is the meaning of the last part of the bracha, “Who has bestowed every goodness upon me.” The entire situation, not just the salvation from the crisis, was good for him.

For example, when a young child is given an injection to protect him from contracting a grave illness, he cries bitterly and often refuses to cooperate with the “bad” person who wants to prick him with a needle. He doesn’t understand that the pain will be temporary and the benefit will be long lasting.  (Messages from Rav Pam by Rabbi Sholom Smith) 

Ksav Sofer says a similar idea. There is a pasuk in Tehillim (50:2),” .זֹבֵחַ תּוֹדָה יְכַבְּדָנְנִי.”  “One who offers a thanks offering, honors Me.”    Midrash Rabbah (9:2) quotes Rabbi Huna who says in the name of Rabbi Acḥa that the Hebrew word,” יְכַבְּדָנְנִי “is written with an extra letter “nun”. That teaches us that we must give thanks for being saved from the crisis as well as giving thanks for the crisis itself because all that Hashem does is good. The crisis that Hashem put us in is either to awaken us to return from our evil deeds or to give us goodness through it.                            

The second part of the pasuk says, “and to one who sets out on the proper way I will show the salvation of G-d.”  One who believes with his whole heart that the crisis was good for him and thanks Hashem for it, then Hashem will show him how goodness resulted from the crisis. (Yalkut Lekach Tov by Yaakov Yisroel Beifus)

 

Hashem loves each and every one of us so much! When Hashem saves us from a crisis or a dangerous situation, we must thank Hashem. Ideally, we should also thank Hashem for giving us the crisis, although that is very difficult to do. Everything that happens from Hashem is for our best!

If it happens it was willed by Hashem.

If it was from Hashem, then by definition it is good.

If it is good then I want it.

So thank you Hashem!

 

 

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)