Parshas Acharei Mos/Kedoshim

Don’t Hit the Mailman!

“Don’t take revenge or bear a grudge against your fellow Jew; You should love your neighbor as you love yourself; I am Hashem.” (Vayikrah 19:18)

The Torah instructs us not to take revenge or harbor any feelings of ill will towards anyone who refused to do us a favor.

Why doesn’t the Torah focus on the first individual-the one who refused to do us a favor; who refused to help us in our time of need? He didn’t act nice, in the first place while the second person’s act of revenge is somewhat justified?

The reason is, the first person doesn’t have the proper appreciation of kindness- he can’t part with his property to share with you. You, on the other hand, do appreciate the level of kindness one should have. You would be willing to share your possessions were it not for the hatred you feel in your heart towards the one who couldn’t share with you. That hatred poisons your desire to act with kindness. The Torah is emphasizing that the root of this problem is hatred between Jews, and that must be eradicated.

One can’t be fully blamed for not recognizing the true value of kindness to others. However, one can be blamed for harboring hatred and resentment to a fellow Jew, even if it appears justified.

How can we control our automatic feelings of animosity towards one who did not act appropriately towards us?

One way is to realize that everything that occurs to us is from Hashem. There is no reason to have anger at Hashem’s “messenger”. Would we hit the mailman if he brought us a letter containing terrible news?

Another way is indicated by the seemingly extra words of the pasuk, “I am Hashem”. If you just won the Mega Millions Lottery, you would be so happy. In the midst of this joy, would it bother you if your friend didn’t repay the money he owed you? Hashem loves us and provides all our needs. Everything comes from Hashem. If we focus on that, why should we feel anger towards another person for refusing us a favor. Maybe Hashem felt we didn’t need that particular favor. Or, if we did, Hashem would arrange for someone else to give it to us.

In these days of Sefiras Ha’Omer, let us realize that all we receive is from Hashem and let us remove any traces of hatred from our hearts.

The Chofetz Chaim zt”l said, if you feel anger towards someone and are able to control yourself from talking back, yet you don’t talk to that person, that is stilled called hating a fellow Jew. That causes a delay in the building of the eternal Bais HaMikdash.

Let us help hasten the rebuilding of the Bais HaMikdash.
We can remove any traces of anger in our hearts towards a fellow Jew and replace them with love.

Based on a dvar Torah by Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz zt”l,
Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim

Parshas Tazria/Metzorah

The Power of One Word!

“If a person has on his skin certain unnatural types of whiteness, he is brought to a kohain who may determine that he has the plague of leprosy.” (Vayikrah 13:2)

Mr. Cohen was looking to hire a bookkeeper. Yosef Levine responded to the ad in the paper. Yosef was so impressive at the interview that Mr. Cohen was ready to hire him on the spot. However, he said that as a formality, he would wait two days before calling him. Yosef was desperate for the job and was anticipating a positive phone call from Mr. Cohen. Meanwhile Mr. Cohen had casually mentioned to his sister that he was about to hire a new bookkeeper. “What is his name?” she asked. When she heard who it was she said, “You don’t want to hire him. He has a reputation for not being too intelligent”. Mr. Cohen couldn’t believe he made such an error in judgement. He called Yosef & said that he no longer needed him for the job. Yosef was unable to get a job because the word got around that Mr. Cohen didn’t want to hire Yosef. People assumed that Mr. Cohen must have had a good reason for refusing Yosef a job. As a result of the words of Mr. Cohen’s sister, Yosef could not get a job. Her remarks were baseless gossip and it cost a good and honest man a job.

The Rambam explains that the disease of leprosy was supernatural. It was sent as a warning to stop speaking loshon hara (gossip; hurtful speech). There were three levels of this disease. The first attacked a person’s house. If he repented and stopped gossiping, the disease would stop spreading. If he continued spreading gossip, his clothes would get leprosy. If he repented and stopped, the disease would stop spreading. If he continued, the disease would spread to his body.

The Dubno Magid said that many people speak gossip because they aren’t aware of the impact a word can make. People tend to rationalize and say, “I didn’t do anything to him, I only said a few words.” To teach this person a lesson about the power of one single word, he becomes impure and is isolated from the rest of the Jewish people through one single word of the kohain- טמא (impure)!

Rav Yisroel Salanter used to say, “If a person says that a rabbi can’t sing, or a cantor isn’t a Torah scholar, he is guilty of speaking loshon hora. But if someone says that a rabbi is not a scholar and a cantor can’t sing, it is like murder (because the subject of his loshon hora is liable to lose his livelihood because of his words).”

Words can destroy a reputation and a friendship. They can destroy a successful business and a person’s happiness. We must be as careful with words as we would be if we were holding a bomb!

Parshas Shmini

Which Path Should We Take?

“Hashem spoke to Aharon. When you or your sons enter The Tent of Meeting, do not drink wine or other intoxicating beverages, lest you die.” (Vayikrah 10:8-9)

The Netziv explains that a regular kohain must be in a state of joy and happiness when he does a service in the holy Temple. That happiness must result of his awareness of and closeness to Hashem. It may not come from an artificial stimulant.

The Midrash (12:1) warns against the danger of too much drinking. “If a person drinks too much wine, he will end up selling all that he owns to keep up his addiction to drinking.”

Unfortunately, we see this problem, with alcoholism and with drug addiction. Even if the addiction stems from sadness or depression, the good feeling is fleeting, and the results can have serious consequences. If we do feel depressed or unhappy, we are told to go learn Torah. That will bring us closer to Hashem and will help us feel true joy.

The Midrash relates a story: There was a man who spent so much money on his drinking habit that his family members were worried they would soon become penniless. They thought of a fantastic plan. The next time their father was drunk, they took him to the nearby cemetery. They hoped that when their father became sober he would be so shocked to find himself in the cemetery that he would realize his problem and stop drinking. Their plan may have worked were it not for a strange happening. A caravan passing near the cemetery was attacked. As the caravan quickly left the area, a large barrel fell and rolled next to the sleeping, drunk father. When the father awoke, he was surprised to find the faucet of a barrel of wine right next to his face. Excitedly, he put his mouth on the faucet and kept drinking, right there in the cemetery.

Rav Eliyahu Dessler commented, we see from here the principle that Hashem leads a person in the way he wants to go. The events that led to the person to find the wine in the cemetery were so unusual that they were almost miraculous. Rav Dessler continues, “If this is so when a person wants to do something which is improper, how much more so will Hashem lead one on the way when a person has a strong will to do what is good.

The greater our desire to do something, the more successful we will be.
We should increase our desire for spiritual matters and Hashem will give us special help
to lead us in that path and help us achieve our goal.

Based on a dvar Torah by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

Parshas Tzav

For Love of Money!

“[Hashem told Moshe to] “COMMAND” Aharon and his children about the laws of the korban Olah…” (Vayikrah 6:2)

Rashi questions the terminology used by Hashem. In most instances, Moshe was instructed to “speak to” Aharon. Yet here it says “command”. Why? Rashi explains that the word “command” was used to give Aharon and his descendants extra encouragement and reinforcement to do this mitzvah. Rabbi Shimon said that extra encouragement was needed in situations that involve monetary loss. Unlike other korbanos (sacrifices), the korban Olah was totally burnt on the altar, and the Kohanim did not receive any benefit from its meat. Thus, it was a loss of money for them.

The obvious question is, why would such a tzadik as Aharon, need the extra encouragement? Would love of money cause him to refuse to bring a korban Olah?? We see in Parshas Behaloscha that Aharon was saddened that neither he nor his shevet (tribe) was asked to participate in the dedication of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Only when Hashem told Aharon that he would have a more important job – of lighting the Menorah, did Aharon feel better. That was because Aharon cherished doing mitzvos. If mitzvos were so beloved by him, why did he need the extra encouragement to sacrifice the korban Olah?

The fact that Aharon still needed the extra encouragement, teaches us the power that money has over us. We all have an inborn desire for money. Even a great and holy person such as Aharon could be slightly affected by that desire. That could cause him to hesitate ever so slightly before sacrificing a korban Olah. Certainly, this desire for money can impact the rest of us. It can cause us to rationalize less than honest behavior. What a difficult challenge we have!

There’s a story of a vicious anti-Semite who hated Jews, without ever having met a Jew. Once, he had business dealings with a specific individual and was impressed by that person’s integrity and helpfulness. When that person told him he was a Jew, the anti-Semite couldn’t believe it. Sometime later, the anti-Semite visited the Jew and thanked him for changing his perspective about all Jews. He was now a lover of Jews.

In Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky’s town in Europe, a Jew made a Kiddush Hashem by returning the extra change given to him by the postmaster. The postmaster thought it was a fluke. He started testing other Jews by intentionally giving them extra change. They all returned the extra money. Their actions made such a great Kiddush Hashem. When the Nazis entered the town, there was only one non-Jew who worked tirelessly to save Jews. It was the postmaster!

We must be so careful in our business dealings or any dealings involving money. We must always have integrity in our business dealings with both Jews and non-Jews.

Based on a dvar Torah by Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz zt”l,
Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim

Parshas Vayikrah

Don’t Step on Me!

“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When a man (אָדָם) from among you brings an offering to Hashem: you shall bring your offering from the cattle or from the flock.” (Vayikrah 1:2)

Hashem is instructing the Jewish People which animals they may use when they bring sacrifices.

Rashi (quoting the Midrash) asks, why does the Torah use the term “אָדָם” to refer to a person, rather than the word “אִיֹש”? Apparently, there is a significance to this, just as there is a significance to each and every word and even each letter in the Torah. Rashi answers that it teaches us a very important lesson. Just as אָדָם, the first man, did not bring a korban (sacrifice) to Hashem from stolen property (everything belonged to him) so too, we should not bring a sacrifice to Hashem from stolen property. You are not permitted to do a mitzvah if you can only do it through an act of sinning.

A person may be doing something beautiful, such as bringing a sacrifice to Hashem. However, that action becomes ugly and repulsive in the eyes of Hashem if it was done through a sin or inappropriate action causing harm to another person.

The following anecdotes illustrate this idea:

Rav Yisroel Salanter once saw someone quickly racing into shul to say kedusha with the congregation. In his haste, this person accidently stepped on someone’s newly polished shoes. After davening, Rav Yisroel Salanter told the man he was obligated to pay for the shoes to be re-polished; the entire mitzvah of saying kedusha would be lost if it came about through someone else’s loss.

It is an honor to the Torah to kiss the scroll when it is being returned into the Aron (Holy ark). But is it an honor to the Torah to push and shove others in order to reach the Torah scroll?

Someone once slept in a yeshiva dormitory. He was awakened from his sleep by the sounds of others who rose early to daven at sunrise. Do you think their prayer was better or worse if it involved “stealing” another’s sleep?

Rav Yisroel Salanter went even further in his actions. It is preferable (but not obligatory) to use a large quantity of water when we wash our hands, before eating bread. Once, when staying at an inn, Rav Yisroel Salanter used only the minimal amount of water necessary to fulfill the mitzvah. When questioned, he replied that the maid had to carry heavy pails of water, over a steep hill, to provide the inn with water. Rav Yisroel Salanter felt that it wasn’t proper to cause her excessive work in order for him to do the mitzvah in a more preferable manner.

Having the maid work harder was not a sin. Yet Rav Yisroel Salanter was teaching us the sensitiviy we must have for others, even when doing a mitzvah.

We are not permitted to cause harm to others in our attempt to do a mitzvah.
We must also show sensitivity to others whenever we do an action.