Parshas Acharei Mos–Kedoshim - Caught in a Lie

Parshas Acharei Mos – Kedoshim

Caught in a Lie

By: Daniel Listhaus

“You shall not steal, and you shall not deny falsely, and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by My Name, thereby desecrating the Name of your G-d – I am Hashem.”

-Kedoshim 19:11-12

The first passuk (verse) of parshas Kedoshim begins, “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the entire assembly of B'nei Yisroel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am Holy.”¹

Rashi² comments that this passuk teaches us that this part of the Torah was said b'hakhel – at a gathering of the entire B'nei Yisroel – because the majority of the essentials of the Torah depend on it.³ There is no doubt that this parsha indeed contains the most basic and fundamental parts of the Torah. After all, the Aseres Hadibros are present throughout the parsha in some way or another– some explicitly and some only hinted to. Additionally, the parsha contains the mitzva of v'ahavta l'rayacha ka'mocha (love your fellow as yourself)⁴ which is, as Hillel called it, “zeh klal gadol batorah – this is a tremendous fundamental in the Torah”⁵

Interestingly, a large part of the mitzvos in this vital list of “kedoshim tehiyu (you shall be Holy)” are mitzvos having to do with being honest and staying away from sheker (falsehood). In the aforementioned passuk, the Torah lists a series of warnings: “You shall not steal, and you shall not deny falsely, and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by My Name, thereby desecrating the Name of your G-d – I am Hashem.” Rashi⁶ comments that this juxtaposed series is no coincidence. In fact, the Torah is telling us a lesson in human behavior. Rashi writes as follows, “If you have stolen, your end will be to deny falsely; and then your end will be to lie; and then your end will be to swear falsely.”

There are two questions one could ask on this Rashi. First, what is the difference between denying falsely and lying? If one stole something and then denies doing so, that is itself a lie. So according to this succession of aveiros (sins) which Rashi is setting up, how is lying any different from denying falsely?

The second question one could ask on Rashi is that he seems to be taking this whole theory too far. The Mishear in Bava Metzia⁷ discusses a case where two people walk into Beis Din (Jewish court), each holding half of a tallis and are each claiming that it is entirely his own. The halacha that the Mishna states is that they split the tallis equally and then each swear that they do not own less than half.⁸ The Gemara⁹ then explains that the sh'vuah (oath) was instituted to address an issue which would arise without it. Imagine if the law would be that whatever two people come into court holding is automatically split in half between them. With such a law in place, what would stop people from approaching others and grabbing a part of whatever they please, dragging them to court, and then getting to keep half of it? In order to stop such a thing from possibly happening, this oath was instituted to essentially scare off dishonest people from taking advantage of the halacha.

We see from this Gemara that swearing falsely in Beis Din was no laughing matter. Taking a sh'vuah in Beis Din was something that even the biggest thief would think twice about. If so, how could our Rashi make such a confident inference from the passuk that one who steals will ultimately end up swearing falsely?

Perhaps we could come to understand the lesson that Rashi is teaching us by first understanding an area of human behavior. There are three phases which a person goes through when on route to do any action: before, during, and after. The “before stage” is when we anticipate what to expect with the experience we are about to undergo. The “during stage” is the stage of the experience itself, while the last stage is the “after stage”, which consists of our memories of the experience we had. These three stages are obvious and known to all, however their relationships with each other are things which are often not payed much attention to.

Imagine for a moment that you have decided to take the day off to go to an amusement park with a couple of friends. You arrive at the park at 10am and spend the day playing different games, going on various rides, and having a terrific time with your friends. Finally, at about 3pm, with only one hour left to spend at the park, you and your friends decide to take a break amongst the excitement. So, you sit down together for a late, but wonderful, picnic lunch. After lunch, you decide to go on the new super-duper-upside-down-roller-coaster. This starts off as a wonderful ride until you realize that your lunch is there as well, is not too happy with you at the moment, and will be waiting to take revenge the moment you get off the ride. Then, as you begin to get sicker and sicker, your strong-prescription glasses go flying off without any warning, and will just as much never be seen again as you will not be able to see for the rest of the day. You get off the roller-coaster and are forced to watch your friends go off and continue enjoying themselves, as you remain behind for the remaining hour of your stay sitting at a bench sick to you stomach, and barely able to see.

There is no doubt that this day will be remembered as one of the worst in your life. However, if you would stop to think about it, that would not be such an accurate analysis. After all, for five out of the six hours spent at the park, you had a great time. Nonetheless, non of those pleasures and fun moments will be recalled later because the memory of you being sick will kill your memory of experiencing the great time you had. In other words, peoples' experiences are tremendously effected on both sides of the actual event. The attitude which you take to anticipate an experience, will have a tremendous impact on the experience itself. However, to even a greater degree, the way we choose to remember an experience, will effect the way we remember it forever.

Our memory has an incredible influence over our experiences. Some times this could be good. As a matter of fact, the Orchos Tzadikkim¹⁰ writes about how great it is to forget and forgive people who have done bad things to you in the past. However, the power of memory is simultaneously extremely dangerous. The reason it is dangerous is because it is easy to manipulate.

The Orchos Tzadikkim¹¹ describes that when someone tells a lie, it generally falls into one of nine categories. One of these categories is when someone hears a story but when he says it over to others, he conveniently leaves some parts out, and adds other parts in to make the story more thrilling. People are wiling to do this even though there is no inherit benefit to be gained by either party. Yet, the Orchos Tzadikkim writes, one who accustoms himself to saying such lies will result in testifying falsely. If one becomes someone who allows sheker to take control of him, and allows his memories to be manipulated, he has breached the geder shel emes – the fence protecting his truths. This leads to actually believing one's own lies; and unless he does something to protect himself, he may easily become someone who testifies falsely about people – not necessarily because he means to do so, but because he is a person who is not careful with emes and therefore such outcomes enter the realm of possibility.

Rashi had told us that one who steals will eventually come to deny falsely; then will come to lie; and will ultimately end up swearing falsely. The Maskil L'Dovid¹² writes that the sequence goes as follows. Someone goes ahead and steals an item from someone else. Then, when asked if he took it, he will deny it defensively with a definite “no”. The next part of the time-line is coming up with lies. The thief starts thinking up a whole story about where he was at the time, what he was doing, and who else was there. He throws so many vivid details into his story that he himself starts confusing them with the real details of what happened. This person who is not careful with protecting his memory ultimately becomes worse than just a regular thief. He ends up as a denier and a liar who will get so caught up in his lies to the point that he will start believing it himself. Once he starts believing the lies that come out of his mouth, he will have no problem with swearing falsely. He will believe his own story to the extent that he will not be scared off by swearing – after all, he is swearing the truth.

We must make sure that we take control of our memories and keep them as accurate as we can in accordance with the experience we experienced. A memory is extremely important because it has the potential to recall the facts that we remember experiencing in the past. However, we must keep in mind the manipulative power that our memory could have, and be careful not to force information into our memories. Doing so opens up to disaster. Once we let our guard down and allow ourselves to manipulate our own memories, there is no end to the aveiros in sheker it could lead to. This is surely a fundamental of becoming kedoshim tehiyu.

1Vayikra 19:1

2Ibid.

3The Sifsei Chochomim asks: What is Rashi saying? The entire Torah was taught to the entire B'nei Yisroel from Moshe! He answers with two possible answers. Either that this parsha was said even in front of all the women and children (which was not necessarily the case by the entire Torah), or that this parsha was said in front of everyone at the same time as opposed to them learning it from Moshe in groups, as they did for other parts of the Torah.

4Vayikra 19:18

5Rashi Vayikra 19:18 brings this from the Toras Kohanim 19:45. The Sifsei Chochomim here adds that in fact Hillel said, “This mitzva encompasses the entire Torah. The rest is just its explanation.”

6Vayikra 19:11

7Bava Metzia 2a

8Bava Metzia 5b describes exactly why the sh'vuah (oath) must be made in this specific way.

9Bava Metzia 3a

10Sha'ar HaShich'cha

11Sha'ar HaSheker

12Vayikra 19:11-12

Parshas Tazria-Metzora - Be Kind Too! You're a Web-Rooted Friend

Parshas Tazria-Metzora

Be Kind Too! You're a Web-Rooted Friend

By: Daniel Listhaus

“Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying, 'If a person will have on the skin of his flesh a se'is or sapachas or a baheres, and it will become a tzara'as affliction on the skin of his flesh; he shall be brought to Aharon the Kohen, or to one of his sons the Kohanim...'”

-Tazria 13:1-2

“Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, 'This shall be the law of the Metzora on the day of his purification: He shall be brought to the Kohen. The Kohen shall look, and behold! - the tzara'as affliction had been healed from the Metzora. The Kohen shall command...'”

-Metzora 14:1-4

“Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon, saying: 'When you arrive in the land of Cana'an that I give you as a possession, and I will place a tzara'as as affliction upon a house in the land of your possession.; the one to who the house belongs shall come to declare to the Kohen, saying: 'Something like an affliction has appeared to me in the house'. The Kohen shall command, and they shall clear the house when the Kohen has not yet come to look at the affliction, so that everything in the house should not become impure; and afterward shall the Kohen come to look at the house....'”

-Metzora 14:33-36

The whole concept of tzara'as is one that is so foreign to us. With tzara'as as part of reality, one could imagine how it would perhaps be easier to see that even non-physical actions could have bad repercussions, as well as realize that there is indeed a direct connection between the spiritual and physical worlds. lashon harah (evil speech) is spoken everyday by so many people whether it be verbally or over social networks, with seemingly no consequences. It has become a part of society. People push themselves forward, by kicking everyone else backward. We are really disconnected and unmoved by speaking or listening to lashon harah. Certainly no one would want lashon harah spoken about themselves, so why do we say it about others? People do not go around physically hurting others, because they would not want to be physically hurt in return. So why do people easily say things which hurt others' when they would not want that to be done back to them? What intuition is lacking when it comes to lashon harah which causes us to do it without thinking? How could we work on ourselves to start realizing when we are saying or hearing lashon harah in order to stay away from it?

The passuk¹ describes that upon seeing tzara'as, the afflicted person goes to the Kohen and declares, “Something like an affliction has appeared to me in the house”. Rashi² further stresses that even if the person is a talmid chochom (Torah scholar) who knows that what is on his house is certainly a form of tzara'as, still he is not permitted to definitively declare, “An affliction has appeared to me”; rather, he should say, “Something like an affliction has appeared to me”. The reason for this, as the next Rashi³ explains, is because until the Kohen himself declares it tamei (impure), there is absolutely no impurity about the affliction.

The Alter of Slabodka⁴ is bothered by this process. Is this all a word game? If the man who received the tzara'as knows for himself that it is indeed tzara'as, why does he need to play dumb with the Kohen? He should be encouraged to explicitly state the facts: “An affliction has appeared to me.” What is the point of this trickery saying, “Something like an affliction has appeared to me”?

The Alter of Slabodka answers by reiterating Rashi in a slightly stronger way. He writes that because it is the Kohen who must declare that the affliction is indeed tamei, it would be sheker (a lie) to declare prior to that point that you have seen tzara'as. Tzara'as must be declared by the Kohen. It is therefore not possible that you have seen tzara'as because tzara'as does not really exist until it is declared tamei by the Kohen. The Alter of Slabodka continues to write that perhaps some people are bothered by the following question. According to this, that we are so careful about not saying sheker, we have not accomplished anything. How could this talmid chochom say to the Kohen, “something like an affliction has appeared to me”, if he knows that it is tzara'as and will ultimately be declared as such anyway? If the Torah is really trying to be so stringent on falsehood, no lesson could be learned from here, he is lying regardless!

However, writes the Alter of Slabodka, one who is bothered by such a question is being caught up in the same fundamental mistake. Before the Kohen comes to declare it tamei, there is absolutely no tzara'as. It is not like we pretend that we do not know what it is and then when the Kohen makes his statement we say, “Told you so!” It is not like that at all. Rather, the tzara'as does not exist as a tamei affliction until the Kohen declares it as such. This is true to the point that if the afflicted is a talmid chochom who recognizes it as tzara'as, and the Kohen is an ignoramus who does not know all the rules of what qualifies as tzara'as, and consequently declares it tahor (pure), the man is indeed pure. As a matter of fact, this could further be seen from the Torah itself. The passuk⁵ advises that before one calls the Kohen to see the affliction in one's home, one should take some time to clear his house of his possessions in order that they not become contaminated at the time the Kohen determines the tzara'as to be tamei.⁶

The Alter of Slabodka definitely makes himself clear that it would be incorrect for the talmid chochom to say, “An affliction has appeared to me”, and that the Torah is teaching us a lesson of the requirement to stay away from sheker (falsehood). However, let us stop and rethink through this again. though. There is no doubt that honesty is of utmost importance and a pillar of the Torah. After all, the seal of Hashem is emes (truth)⁷. However, is that really being compromised here? At the end of the day, what is really wrong with the afflicted person calling it tzara'as? Let it be his personal opinion. Imagine that you are sitting watching a court case and, after listening to both sides, you turn to the guy next to you and say, “That man is definitely guilty.” Is there really something so wrong in stating this? Granted, if the person sitting next to you is the Alter of Slabodka he might say, “How could you say he is guilty? The jury has not yet declared him as such!” But, would that really be a valid complaint, or is there in fact a bigger fuss about accuracy when it comes to tzara'as than even the most radical truth-tellers would generally make?

Furthermore, let us take a step back for a moment and recall the bigger picture. The whole reason for this necessity to say, “Something like an affliction has appeared to me”, stems from the fact that the Torah insists that it be only the Kohen who has the ability to declare tzara'as to be tamei. Why is this necessary? The entire parshiyos of Tazria and Metzora are filled with descriptions of the Kohen specifically being the one who is commanding and declaring. Why is it so important and why is there such an emphasis on it? Why not eliminate the middle man and let the people declare tamei for themselves?

The Medrash⁸ relates a story of a certain peddler who was traveling through a few cities near Tzipori. He went around announcing, “Who wants to purchase an elixir of life?” Soon, he had attracted a small crowd around him. Rebbe Yannai happened to be sitting there and said, “I would like to buy some”. The peddler turned to him and said, “You and those like you have no need for this product.” However, Rebbe Yannai kept bothering the peddler to sell it to him. The peddler then took out a Tehillim and showed him the following passukim: “Who is the man who desires life, who loves days of seeing good? Guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from from speaking deceit. Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.”⁹

It seems from these passukim in Tehillim that the two elements which needed required to stay away from lashon harah are to come close to Torah¹⁰ and to pursue peace. As a matter of fact, the Kli Yakar¹¹ explains that this is precisely the reason why when it comes to tzara'as, it could only be declared tamei or tahor by a Kohen.¹² One who involves himself in lashon harah is someone who causes fights and mistrust. Such people destroy society by tearing its members apart from each other. Therefore, Aharon's special middah (trait) of shalom (peace) must be the one to set the example.

The mishna¹³ states that Hillel used to say, “Be among the disciples of Aharon, loving peace and pursing peace; loving people and bringing them closer to the Torah.” These two elements of coming closer to Torah and pursuing peace are the two fundamentals of establishing a successful society. Torah represents emes (truth). Trust and honesty are needed in order to build real relationships and friendships. Additionally, in order to have a successful culture, just being “un-annoying” is not enough. Passiveness is not real peace. Passiveness would allow for a world where everyone absolutely despises each other, yet no one wants to violently express that hatred. Rather, real peace is the pursuit of peace. Just sitting around being a bobble-head is not enough, one has to go out and be actively kind and helpful to others with the others' best interests in mind.

This was what was so special about Aharon HaKohen. The passuk¹⁴ testifies that at the time that Aharon passed away, the entire B'nei Yisroel cried for thirty days in mourning. Rashi¹⁵ there comments that all the men and women felt a personal connection to Aharon because he was someone who would pursue peace, save marriages, and instill love between two people involved in an argument.

Speaking lashon harah is not something that one wakes up one morning and decides to do. Rather it is something which either feels right or wrong to us depending on the level we are on. The setup for this failure stems from a lacking in emes and a deficiency in pursuing peace. Emes and the pursuit of peace is what keeps society healthy; defining the contrast, however, is where it gets tricky. It is not enough to just not say or allow for sheker, nor is it enough to not get on others' nerves. Instead, we must do as Hillel prescribes in Pirkei Avos – we must pursue peace and bring others closer to the emes of Torah. This means to actively encourage emes and to take action in creating peace.

Perhaps this is why these two points are so specifically stressed throughout the subject of tzara'as. To pure oneself from tzara'as, one must focus on the two middos – emes and shalom – he is deficient in, which allowed for him to feel comfortable speaking lashon harah in the first place. This is why the Torah chooses here to emphasize the distance we must go to stay away from sheker, and why the Torah takes the task of determining whether an affliction is impure away from the talmidei chochomim, and instead puts it in the charge of those who represent shalom.

Living during a time of “greed is good” and “on the Internet no one knows you are a dog”, it is no surprise that we have become so insensitive to lashon harah. Shalom and emes seem to be the antithesis of what we are influenced with on a daily basis. One would at least think that a culture where one could make up the perfect profile, and where self-made success is encouraged, should consist of the happiest people on Earth. Yet, that is certainly not the case.

People were not created to live lives of sheker or lack of actively pursuing peace, therefore following such paths cannot and do not lead to real happiness. Rather, it is being honest and caring for others which offers a taste of real happiness. A lady by the name of Elizabeth Dunn led an interesting study in 2008. She and her colleagues gathered a group of students and distributed envelopes to them containing cash and instructions on how it should be spent. Each envelope held either five or twenty dollars along with a note, which either instructed the money to be spent on oneself or on someone else. Later, Dunn and her team measured and analyzed the level of happiness that the participants experienced. Their results showed that the ones who spent the money on others felt much better and happier than those who spent the money on themselves – regardless of whether they had spent five or twenty dollars.

The idea of pursuing emes and shalom is something which we must realize works exponentially. Each person is rooted within a web of friends and acquaintances who in turn are each a part of their own network. So it is not enough to just be not unkind, instead we must actively be kind because we are rooted as part of a web in which one person's positive pursuit of peace could change others', causing an exponential chain reaction. At the same time, we must internalize the dangers that a deficiency in these middos could cause. After realizing the mentality which ruins communities and destroys societies, our task is to work on the middos which will prevent us from reaching such disasters.

May we learn from these parshiyos of tzara'as to work on the middos of emes and shalom, and achieve what Hashem tells us in Nach¹⁶, “You shall love truth and peace”.

1Vayikra 14:35

2Ibid.

3Vayikra 14:36

4Ohr HaTzafun: Chelek Gimmel

5Vayikra 14:36

6Rashi ibid.

7Gemara Shabbos 55a

8Vayikra Rabbah 16:2

9Tehillim 13-15

10See Gemara Berachos 5a which says that there is nothing referred to as “good” other than Torah, as the passuk says in Mishlei 4:2, “For a good teaching I have given you – My Torah; do not forsake it.”

11Tazria 13:3

12The Kli Yakar 13:2 actually maintains that there are three possible reasons why someone would receive tzara'as: For speaking lashon harah, being haughty, or running after money. The Kli Yakar (13:3) then explains why it is a Kohen specifically who declares the tzara'as on someone who did one of these three things. We will focus on the lashon harah part, though it could be applied to all three.

13Avos 1:13

14Bamidbar 20:29

15Ibid.

16Zechariah 8:19

Parshas Shemini - Half and Half: You Are What You Eat

Parshas Shemini

Half and Half: You Are What You Eat

By: Daniel Listhaus

“For I am Hashem your G-d – you are to sanctify yourselves and you shall become holy, for I am holy; and you shall not make your souls impure through any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am Hashem Who brings you up from the land of Egypt to be a G-d unto you; you shall be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the animal, the bird, every living creature that swarms in the water, and for every creature that creeps on the ground; For distinguishing between the impure and the pure, and between the creature that may be eaten and the creature that may not be eaten.”

-Shemini 11:44-47

The second half of this week's parsha provides the basis of the laws of kashrus¹ – defining which animals are tahor and which are not. The Torah describes that as far as land animals are concerned, the way to tell if they are tahor is if they have split hooves and also chew their cud. One sign does not suffice.² When it comes to describing the necessary signs for fish, the Torah seems to be more generous requiring only fins and scales – resulting in a much larger variety of delicacies than we are allowed by land animals. Additionally, there is a leniency by fish, compared to land animals, which is that the Torah does not require fish to be slaughtered in order to render them kosher. The Torah continues by listing the non-kosher birds, which is also not as long as the list of non-tahor land animals. The Torah then goes on to forbid any type of insect that flies³ and continues to forbid any type of insect which creeps on the ground.

The parsha concludes with the summary quoted above – that we must differentiate between that which is pure for us and that which is not. During this summary, the Torah seems to throw in an unnecessary piece of information: “For I am Hashem Who brings you up from the land of Egypt to be a G-d unto you; you shall be holy, for I am holy”⁴. Why is it that Hashem reminds us this at this particular point? Did we need another dose of memory pills to realize that Hashem was bringing us into Eretz Yisroel? Why now is the Torah mentioning us coming out of Mitzrayim?

Rashi⁵ on this passuk is bothered by this and offers two explanations. Rashi's first answer is that the passuk is teaching us that the reason Hashem brought us up from Mitzrayim was solely on the condition that we accept His mitzvos. This explanation is extremely vague and does not seem to address the issue at all. Still, why is it written here? It makes sense to mention it in the parsha of tzitzis, for example, which represents all mitzvos. What purpose, though, does this reminder serve specifically here?

Before we further ponder this first answer of Rashi, let us take a look at the second explanation he offers. Rashi writes that if you notice, the passuk says that, “I am Hashem Who brings you up from Mitzrayim” as opposed to the regular, “I brought you out of Mitzrayim”. The reason for this is, as Rashi brings from tana d'vei R' Yishmael, that it would be worth it for Hashem to take us out of Mitzrayim for this mitzva alone – of not becoming impure through creeping things. Although this explanation is more specific it is still hard to understand. What is so special about this particular mitzva that the merit of keeping this mitzva alone is enough of a reason for Hashem to take us into Eretz Yisroel?

The Kli Yakar⁶ is also bothered by this Rashi so he takes a slightly different angle based on the following observation. There seems to be a positive correlation between the harsher terminology the Torah uses to describe the effect that impure animals have on our souls, and the closer the animal is to the ground. Fish, which live in the water, only require to have fins and scales. They do not even need to be slaughtered. When it comes to birds – which are animals of the air, though they have a deep connection to earth as well, also have few restrictions. However, once the Torah enters the area of land animals, it becomes a new playing field. The strict requirements of an animal needing split hooves and must chew its cud, eliminates most animals. Even with this limitation, however, a proper slaughtering is still necessary before a four-legged animal becomes fit to eat. As we get into the territory of creeping and crawling insects, the borders close completely, allowing almost no insect to be eaten for any reason.

The Kli Yakar takes this observation and explains that the area which creatures live in tell a lot about their purity or impurity. The closer an animal lives to the ground, the more impure it is and the worse the effect will be on one's soul if the creature is consumed. This is why even kosher animals require shechita (to be slaughtered), whereas fish, which come from a pure place – water – do not require shechita.⁷ The Kli Yakar then continues to explain that this is the reason why people do not walk on “all-fours”. The reason we walk on two feet is because although half of us is made of dirt and has a pull towards mundane activities and desires, the other half of us is spiritual and turns upward, seeking a closeness with Hashem.

Perhaps with this Kli Yakar we could understand the Rashi better as well. The ultimate purpose of living is to use the mitzvos to live a life of taharah (purity) and become closer to Hashem through them. However, every person must remember that we are constantly in a struggle between the two parts that make up every human being. Part of us knows we are made of dirt and therefore wants to follow impure desires and lifestyles. The other half of us realizes its potential as a tzelem Elokim and seeks the highest levels of taharah. Our job is to acknowledge these two aspects of man and channel our desires away from things which are detrimental to the neshama and instead focus on things which help us grow spiritually in ways we could become closer to Hashem. This yesod (fundamental idea) is perhaps what the Torah is teaching us by specifically choosing this mitzva to say that for this alone it would be worth bringing us up to Eretz Yisroel. Realizing that man in made of half ruchniyos and half gashmiyos and that we must choose which side we will activate and turn our attention towards with extreme care and concern is of utmost importance for man to live a proper life. This delicate balance, which each person maintains, could be effected at every level. After all, even the type of food we allow into our systems. The world and its effects on man are so intricate and part of the deep secrets of the world we do not understand. However, we must understand this, that Hashem has gave us a Torah to guide us on how to live life properly. The Torah tells us that there is a intrinsic difference between tahor and non-tahor animals. Our job is to realize that not only is it true that 'You are what you eat', but even more, that it is our task to realize what is tahor and what is not in order to make sure that we are constantly feeding the ruchniyos half of us, and not the half which is trapped in gashmiyos.

1Really, it would be more accurate to say the laws of tumah and taharah when it comes to food.

2Such as the camel, which only chews its cud, or a pig which only has split hooves.

3Except for a few flavors of grasshoppers.

4Vayikra 11:45

5Ibid.

6Vayikra 11:45

7The obvious question on this, which the Kli Yakar discusses, is if so that water indeed represents a place of taharah (as a matter of fact, we become tahor in a mikvah of water), then why is it that in order for foods to be susceptible to tumah (impurity), they must be wet from water? The Kli Yakar discusses this in parshas Chukas (19:21) and gives a fascinating answer which answers this as well as offers insight into the way parah aduma works. This all almost made it into this week's d'var Torah, but, due to lack of time, perhaps we will save that discussion for parshas Chukas.

Parshas Vayikra - The Art of Listening

Parshas Vayikra

The Art of Listening

By: Daniel Listhaus

“He [Hashem] called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: Speak to the B'nei Yisroel and say to them: When a person from among you will bring an offering to Hashem: from the animals – from the cattle and from the flocks you shall bring your offering.”

-Vayikra 1:1-2

Rashi¹ on this passuk describes that throughout the Torah there are many breaks². The purpose of these breaks was to give Moshe time to digest and understand what he had been taught by Hashem. Rashi then ends by saying a kal v'chomer: If Moshe, who learned from Hashem, needed breaks for contemplation, then certainly ordinary people such as ourselves who learn from ordinary people must stop to take breaks in order to properly understand what the other is teaching.

The Sifsei Chachomim³ explains that the kal v'chomer that Rashi is saying is quite clear: If Moshe, an incredible student, was learning from Hashem, certainly the best teacher available, and yet required breaks to try to understand what was being taught. How much more so must we take many breaks to digest what is being taught to us from ordinary people.

Let us zoom out a little in order to appreciate what is being said here. There are two main reasons why a person would need to take breaks during a learning session. One is because it is hard for some people to sit for long periods of time. It is therefore wise and healthy to take breaks and recesses to clear one's mind to be able to be more productive. The other reason a person may need a break is because one might simply not understand the material being taught, and therefore require extra time in order for him to think about what is being said. It sounds from Rashi and the Sifsei Chachomim that this latter type of break is what is being referred to. For some reason, Moshe actually needed breaks in order to understand what Hashem was teaching him.

The Nachalas Yaakov⁴ is very bothered by this Rashi and asks the following two questions. First of all, surely there is no better teacher than Hashem. The Creator, with infinite wisdom and Who knows His creations the best, certainly has the ability to convey any message or teaching to man in the clearest of ways. If so, how could it be that Moshe needed breaks in order to understand what was being taught to him? Why did Moshe experience confusion if he had the best teacher possible?

Second of all, what is the kal v'chomer that Rashi is trying to present? It would make sense if Moshe really was able to understand it himself but Hashem gave him the breaks to teach him not to rely on his sharpness, so then there would be a kal v'chomer to us that certainly we should not rely on our own sharpness. However, it seems from Rashi that Moshe really did need the breaks; but if so, why is a kal v'chomer necessary? Even without a kal v'chomer it should be obvious that we need breaks to understand things when learning from ordinary people, simply because we would not understand it otherwise!

The Nachalas Yaakov ends without an answer to his problems with this Rashi. However, perhaps the explanation is as follows. If one stops to think about the process that everyone goes through when communicating, one will realize how complicated simple-communication really is. When two people are having a conversation, what is being said is really going through a five step process. The idea trying to be conveyed begins its journey in one person's head. The person decides what he wants, or more precisely, what he means to say. Then, he must choose the words he will use to express his idea. This is followed by the time and space the words travel between the ones having the conversation. Then, the listener hears what is being said to him, followed by the last step in the process which is digesting the information and interpreting what he heard.

This last step in the process is the hardest of them all. It is easy to hear what someone else has said and it is also generally easy to interpret what one has heard, but that is not enough. In order to fully understand and appreciate a message trying to be conveyed, one must remove the built-in filter which shapes the way one hears things and instead focus on what the communicator was trying to relate.

The Mishna in Pirkei Avos⁵ says that Antignos from Socho used to teach, “Do not be like servants who serve their master on the condition of receiving a reward; instead be like servants who serve their master not on the condition of receiving a reward; and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.” Antignos was teaching that although the reward in Olam Habbah (the World to Come) which awaits those who follow the ways of Hashem are endless and greater than anything imaginable, when we sere Hashem it should be out of complete love and fear of Him, and not just because we will receive reward for doing the right thing.

The Rashbam in Bava Basra⁶ brings from the Avos D'rebbe Nosson⁷ that Tzadok and Beisus were talmidim of Antignos. One time they were teaching this mantra of their rebbe, Antignos, but their students confused what they said (to not be like workers who work in order to get paid) to mean that people who do mitzvos and work for Hashem do not get rewarded.

The students of Tzadok and Beisus did not take the time to listen to the message that their rabbeim were trying to convey. They simply allowed their default hearing skills to kick in. Tzadok and Beisus knew what they themselves wanted to say, they said it, it reached the ears of their talmidim, but the talmidim just did not stop to think what their rabbeim meant, rather they merely depended on what they thought they heard – or perhaps what they wanted to hear.

With this in mind, perhaps we could now answer the questions of the Nachalas Yaakov and better understand the Rashi in this week's parsha. Of course Hashem is the best teacher of the world and could convey any message as clear as crystal. However, even as great of a talmid as Moshe rabbeinu needs time to understand the underlying reasoning and message of what is trying to be conveyed.

We say in Shema, “Im shamoa tishm'u” - you shall surely listen. The Gemara in Berachos⁸ makes a drasha from here: If you listen, then you will listen. But if you will not listen, then you will not understand. Only if one listens to what the Torah and the chochamim are trying to tell us, will one gain a true understanding of what was said.

Many misunderstandings and arguments stem not from disagreement, but rather from mis-communication. It is not easy to pause our own thoughts and opinions in order to realize the idea that someone else is trying to convey. Unless we consciously decide to listen the right way, we do not even notice that what we are hearing is going through our own heads without taking account what was meant to be said.

This is exactly what Rashi is teaching us. Even Moshe Rabbeinu needed to take breaks to put himself in Hashem's head – so to speak – in order to comprehend what was being taught to him. So certainly we, who are normal people learning from ordinary people, must take breaks in order to be able to put ourselves in others' minds. Only then will the communication process be complete and allow for the possibility of im shamoa tishm'u. This is the real art of listening.

1Vayikra 1:1

2These breaks in the Torah could take one of two forms – either pesucha (literally: open) or s'tumah (literally closed). Pesucha is when the spaces go to the end of the line,

whereas s'tumah is when the space is a break in a line but the text continues further on in the same line.

3Vayikra 1:1

4Ibid.

5Avos 1:3

6Bava Basra 115b

7Avos D'rebbe Nosson 5:2

8 Berachos 40a

Take the First Step

Parshas Vayakhel-Pikudei

Take the First Step

By: Daniel Listhaus

“...Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel son of Uri son of Chur, from the tribe of Yehuda. He filled him with G-dly spirit, with wisdom, and with understanding...He filled them with wisdom of the heart to do every work of the craftsman, artist, embroiderer, and the weaver - those who perform every labor and those who make artistic designs.”

-Vayakhel 35:30-35

The passukim (verses) describe the involvement of Betzalel and the chachomim in the building of the Mishkan and its keilim (vessels). Betzalel actually received a few personal shout-outs among the passukim because, as Rashi¹ explains, Betzalel was even more devoted to the building of the Mishkan than the others.

Why was Betzalel one of the few individuals who were so heavily involved in the building of the Mishkan? Rashi², based on a Gemara³, relates an incident through which Moshe was certain that Betzalel had achieved a level of Ruach HaKodesh. When Hashem commanded Moshe to tell Betzalel what to do, He said, “Go tell Betzalel to make Me a Mishkan, Aron, and the keilim.” However, Moshe, to test Betzalel's wisdom, reversed the order and told him that the commandment was to, “Make an Aron, keilim, and the Mishkan.” At that point, Betzalel said to Moshe that he must have misunderstood what Hashem had told him to say, because as Betzalel said, “The way of the world is that a person first builds a house and then brings in the keilim into it. However, you are telling me to do the opposite. Perhaps what Hashem really told you is to build the Mishkan first.” To this, Moshe responded, “And perhaps you were in the shadow of G-d⁴ and that is how you were able to figure this out”.

Clearly, Betzalel was someone who was privy to understand the ways of Hashem. Where did this skill come from? From where did Betzalel learn this ability?

The Torah⁵ tells us that he was one of the people who earned a level of Ruach HaKodesh and a special degree of understanding and wisdom from Hashem. The Rosh⁶ comments that even before Hashem granted Betzalel this knowledge, he was already someone of great wisdom. The Rosh then comments that we learn from this passuk that Hashem only gives wisdom to those who already have it.

This Rosh is very complex and paradoxical. First of all, why would Hashem only grant His wisdom to those who already have it? Is this a “the rich get richer” scheme? Would it not make more sense for Hashem to bestow His wisdom on those who have yet to achieve it? Second of all, this Rosh presents a paradox. If Hashem only gives His wisdom to those who already have wisdom, how does one get knowledge in the first place?

The Nefesh Hachaim⁷ explains that only those who are deserving and capable of receiving Hashem's wisdom could in fact be a receptacle. The way one prepares oneself to achieve this readiness is by working on one's yiras shamayim (fear of Heaven). Yiras shamayim is the “knowledge” required as a prerequisite in order to attain a level of Ruach HaKodesh and chochma from Hashem. This is what Dovid ha'melech taught in Tehillim⁸ that, “The beginning of wisdom is fear of Hashem”. Similarly, Rebbe Chanina taught, “Everything is in the hands of Hashem except for fear of Hashem.”⁹ It is our job to work on our yiras Hashem. This is the one thing we are here to accomplish, as the Torah tells us, “And now, Yisroel, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you but to fear Him.”¹⁰

Fear of Hashem is necessary to achieve a level of divine understanding. This is the knowledge required in order to be a fitting vessel to contain the wisdom of Hashem. As a matter of fact, the Gemara¹¹ offers a parable for this, “R' Zeira or R' Chanina bar Pappa once said: Come and see how different the characteristics of Hashem are from the characteristics of humans. The characteristic of humans is such that an empty vessel could hold things you pour into it, whereas a full container cannot hold anything more. However, regarding matters involving Hashem, it is exactly the opposite. A full vessel (one with yiras shamayim and Torah knowledge) can hold even more, whereas an empty vessel cannot hold anything.”

The Orchos Tzadikkim¹² in his hakdama (introduction) writes that a person must train his middos in a way of yiras shamayim because yiras shamayim is the kesher (connector, knot) which ties and strengthens the middos together in the right way. Yiras shamayim is as vital a part in sharpening one's traits, as the string of a necklace is necessary to hold its jewels. Just as if the string of a pearl necklace would be cut, the pearls would all scatter – bouncing across the floor, so too without yiras shamayim to channel the middos in a person, the middos run wild without restraint.¹³

Our job is to make ourselves into vessels which could hold the deep understandings of the Torah and the infinite wisdom of da'as Hashem. In order to accomplish this, one must work on his yiras shamayim and then direct his middos appropriately. However, for every area which one thinks is not important to channel in the way of Hashem, one is essentially making a puncture in himself. The vessel he is supposed to complete has holes! Anything poured in is really only being poured in superficially, and it will all just come pouring out. This person is handicapped; and just as a handicapped man cannot climb a ladder, so too as long as this person keeps his ways, he will never climb the stairs to greatness.¹⁴

Looking back at this concept we see how, simultaneously, man is so small yet so great. On the one hand, the only thing we are really capable of doing is attaining yiras shamayim. But on the other hand, once that great task is accomplished, there is no limit to the heights one could reach with siyata d'shmaya (Heavenly help). Moshe saw in Betzalel someone who had “insider information” in the thoughts of Hashem. This was not a power that Betzalel was born with, rather it came as a gift from Hashem to him because he had already worked on himself to become a yarei shamayim of the highest degree. Betzalel truly reached the level of “reishis chochma yiras Hashem”¹⁵ (The beginning of wisdom is fear of Hashem), which is why he was hand chosen to be showered with even more Ruach HaKodesh.

It is important to note, however, that the power of one who has yiras shamayim does not stop here. The Kli Yakar¹⁶ writes that when the B'nei Yisroel and all the Chachmei Lev tried to erect the Mishkan, they found themselves unable to do so. Hashem then said to them that if they merely start to involve themselves in the construction of the Mishkan, that it would stand on its own.¹⁷ Now, if the Kli Yakar would stop here, we would say that he is saying something specific to the Mishkan; that it stood through a miracle, and somehow, if the Jews in the desert merely showed that they cared, by involving themselves, then Hashem would take care of the rest. However, the Kli Yakar continues to comment that what happened at that time during the building of the Mishkan is really an allusion to every action a person does. Sometimes a person has a task before him that he wants to do l'shem shamayim, but comes to the realization that it is an impossibility. Once these thoughts start entering this person's head, he may get turned off from going forth with the job. However, Hashem tells us that all we have to do is start, He will help us finish. It will look as if we are somehow doing the task on our own, just as it seemed Moshe was carrying the heavy beams of the Mishkan himself. In reality, though, as the beams, Hashem will make the task carry itself.

When Hashem decided to destroy Sodom, the Torah describes that Hashem said, “Shall I conceal from Avraham what I am going to do?”¹⁸. The Orchos Tzadikkim writes that when Hashem says such things about a person, it is a sign that that person is a tremendous ba'al anavah (humble person). Humility goes hand in hand with yiras shamayim. The anav is one who knows his place as a human being, and realizes that it is his job to do only what Hashem wants of him. Such a person is privy to Hashem revealing his plans to him. This is obvious. After all, if a man achieves a level of wanting only what Hashem wants and has developed da'as Torah and da'as Hashem, then clearly what Hashem wants and what this person wants should be the same.

Yiras shamayim is the one thing we must achieve. As mentioned, this is an explicit passuk in the Torah, “And now, Yisroel, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you but to fear Him?”¹⁹ Once one achieves yiras shamayim, one enters a world with no limits. G-dly wisdom and understanding is poured into his complete kli (vessel), and as long as he takes the first step in doing any task l'shem shamayim, Hashem will ensure that it gets completed.

1Shemos 37:1

2Shemos 38:22

3Berachos 55a

4The name Betzalel in Hebrew comes from two words: b'tzel (in the shadow of) and [k]el (G-d).

5Shemos 35:31

6Ibid.

7Nefesh Hachaim: Sha'ar 4 Perek 5

8Tehillim 111:10

9Berachos 33b

10Devarim 10:12

11Berachos 40a

12Orchos Tzadikkim: Hakdama

13This is not only true for the bad middos within a person, but for the good ones as well. The Orchos Tzadikkim maintains that each middah could be used for good or bad. Even the middos we generally praise people with: kindness, patience, humbleness, etc. could unfortunately be used at inappropriate times as well if not trained properly.

14Orchos Tzadikkim: Hakdama

15Tehillim 111:10

16Shemos 40:2

17This is actually a Medrash Tanchuma brought by Rashi a little earlier in the parsha (Shemos 39:33). Rashi writes that the B'nei Yisroel brought Moshe the Mishkan because they were unable to erect it. As Rashi says, “Because Moshe did no work on the Mishkan, Hashem left its erection to him. For no man was able to erect it because of the weight of the beams, as a man does not have the strength to set them upright, but Moshe erected it. Moshe then said before Hashem, 'How can the erection be accomplished by man?' Hashem said to him, “Involve yourself with your hand and it will appear as if you were setting it up but it will rise upright and stand by itself.'”

18Beraishis 18:17

19Devarim 10:12