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

Parshas Tetzaveh - Measure for Measure

Parshas Tetzaveh

Measure for Measure

By: Daniel Listhaus

“You shall make garments of sanctity for Aharon your brother, for glory and for splendor. And you shall speak to each of the wise-hearted people whom I have invested with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aharon, to sanctify him, so that he shall be a Kohen to Me.... And the cheishev with which he is beautified.... ”

-Tetzaveh 28:2-3; 8

There is no doubt that the bigdei kehunah (special clothes that the kohanim had to wear) were spectacular and royal. When it comes to discussing the cheishev, Rashi¹ writes that the Kohen Gadol's cheishev was the belt above the eiphod (apron) which beautified and enhanced the Kohen, and adorned him.

There are two issues which seem to pop out from this Rashi. First, even though certainly one aspect of the bigdei kehunah was to make the kohen look prestigious, why is it that this aspect is stressed so much in the Torah and this Rashi? It sounds as if this was the most important fact of the bigdei kehunah. Second, this Rashi seems a repetitive and redundant². Rashi explains that the bigdei kehunah beautified and enhanced the kohen. Then, Rashi adds in as as after thought that the bigdei kehunah also adorned him. Why does Rashi not list all three descriptions as part of the same series?

Another underlying question about the bigdei kehunah stems from an understanding of a story in the Gemara. The Gemara³ relates a story of a non-Jew who overheard someone teaching his talmidim (students) about the garments that the kohen gadol would wear. This man went over to Shammai and told him that he wanted to convert in order to become the kohen gadol and wear the eight pieces of bigdei kohen gadol. Shammai's immediate response was to chase him out with a stick. This man then went to Hillel and told him the same thing, that he wanted to become Jewish in order to be able to become the kohen gadol and wear the special garments. Hillel listened patiently and advised this Gentile to first learn all the halachos (laws) of being a kohen. The man did so, but when he got up to the passuk (verse), “The stranger that comes near shall be put to death”⁴, he was very confused. He asked Hillel, “Who does this passuk refer to?” Hillel replied, “This passuk even applies to Dovid HaMelech. Anyone who is not a kohen cannot do the avodah (work in Beis HaMikdash).” The Gemara then continues to say that despite the fact that this man's aspirations were shot, he ultimately became Jewish anyway because of Hillel's patience.

The Kli Yakar⁵ is bothered by this whole story. Who did this guy think he was? If he just wanted a good Purim costume, why go through the whole process of becoming Jewish and having to accept the Torah and mitzvos? He should have just went to the local costume store and bought a similar copy made in China! Was this man for real that he wanted to convert just so that he could wear the garments of the kohen gadol?

The Kli Yakar therefore answers that it must be that this Gentile heard more than just the list of special garments that the kohen wore. Rather, he also heard the rebbe describing a Gemara in Eiruchin⁶. The Gemara there lists the four garments of the kohen hedyot (regular kohen) and the additional four garments of the kohen gadol. The Gemara then elaborates that each of the garments acted as an atonement for different great sins.⁷ This man heard the rebbe learning this Gemara and had an idea. He knew that he had done horrible things in his life, and he wanted to start anew. He thought that achieving the position of kohen gadol and getting the chance to adorn these garments would grant him the absolution needed to rest his mind of guilt.

This whole concept is so hard to understand. What did the bigdei kehunah have to do with atoning sins? Could it really be that because the kohen would dress up in a certain way, that we become “off the hook” for some of the horrible things we have done?⁸

In order to answer these questions, let us take a step back and try to understand the role that the bigdei kehunah played in adorning the Kohen in the Beis HaMikdash.

The Malbim⁹ makes an incredible observation. He writes that a word used to describe the bigdei kehunah is “mada”. The word mada comes from the root meaning measurement. The reason for this is simply because one gets his clothing tailored according to the dimensions of his guf (body). The body's measurements are what one uses to deduce what the accurate size of one's clothing should be.

Similarly, one's character traits are called middos – referring to the different allocations of qualities that each and every individual uniquely possesses. People are born with different measurements of haughtiness, humbleness, embarrassment, brazenness, anger, patience, and the list goes on. Our job, as the Orchos Tzadikkim¹⁰ maintains, is to study and analyze each middah and realize where it is inside us. Then, we must work on each and every middah and qualify it in a positive way. Every middah could be directed to be used for good or bad. It is our duty to make sure that our middos are shaped in the right way.

The Malbim continues to write that the reason for the kohen to wear the bigdei kehunah – the outer measurements which cover his body, was in order to have an effect and guide the inner measurements – the middos surrounding his nefesh (soul).

Each of the garments of the kohen gadol represented some of the most difficult and important middos a person must take control of. For example, the middos which Pirkei Avos¹¹ describe “remove a person from this world” - kinah (jealousy), taivah (desires), and kavod (honor)- are all things of which the bigdei kehunah represent their opposites.

Somehow, merely wearing the types of clothing that the kohen gadol wore, brought about these good middos from the kohen gadol, and had him thinking along pure thoughts of perfection in these areas. It is no coincidence that the sins that the bigdei kehunah atoned for were done due to lack of control in the middos that they each represented. These pure thoughts of the kohen, the representative of the entire Jewish people, when wearing the begadim, received a kaparah for the entire b'nei Yisroel.

Perhaps now we could better appreciate the aforementioned Rashi. The bigdei kehunah served multiple purposes. On the one hand they adorned the kohen – giving him a prestigious and royal look to stand out above everyone else as the one chosen to serve Hashem.¹² Additionally, the bigdei kehunah were designated garments only used to serve Hashem, expressing incredible amounts of kavod Hashem. However, a third aspect of the bigdei kehunah was to effect and direct the kohen's thoughts in order to spark a kaparah.

If we put this idea with the Orchos Tzadikim, we see an incredible thing. The clothing we wear has the ability to give power to and bring forth certain aspects of the middos contained within us. The feelings that actors get when they put on different types of clothing is not as much talent as it is a demonstration of lack of control over their middos. The clothing they wear is able to export different measurements of their born-qualities, thereby creating almost new people within themselves based on their influenced temporary choice of characteristics.

The clothing we wear has an impact on the way we think and act. Let us choose carefully in order that the measurements of the guf should have a positive impact on the measurements of the nefesh; for indeed the way we dress effects our middos – measure for measure.

1Shemos 28:8

2Yes, that was on purpose, couldn't help myself.

3Gemara Shabbos 31a

4Bamidbar 3:10

5Shemos 28:29. The Kli Yakar later continues to get into a whole discussion about Achashveirosh during the Purim story when he wore the bigdei kehunah and used the keilim from the Beis HaMikdash.

6Gemara Eiruchin 16a

7The Gemara lists the following begadim and that for which they atoned:

• Kesones (tunic) – shfichus damim (murder/bloodshed)
• Michnasa'im (pants) – giluy arayos (immorality)
• Mechaperes (turban) – gasei haruach (arrogance)
• Avneit (belt) – hirhur lev (improper thoughts of the heart)
• Choshein (breastplate) – dinim (incorrect judging)
• Eiphod (apron) – avoda zarah (idol worship)
• Me'il (jacket) – lashon harah (evil speech)
• Tzitz (head-plate) – ma'aseh azei panim (brazen acts)

8Gemara Berachos 28a

9Shemos 28:15

10He writes this in his introduction to the sefer as well as throughout the text when discussing the various character traits.

11Avos 4:28

12S'forno; Shemos 28:2

Parshas Terumah - Mishkan Man

Parshas Terumah

Mishkan Man

By: Daniel Listhaus

“They shall make for Me a Sanctuary – so that I may dwell among them – in conformance with all that I show you, the form of the Mishkan and the form of all its vessels; and so shall you do.”

-Terumah 25:8-9

After receiving the Torah and understanding its mitzvos, Hashem commanded us to build a Mikdash. Parshas Terumah describes the many keilim (vessels) which had to be made, the specifications and details as to how they should be made, and with which materials. The Torah clearly depicts the precise measurements and descriptions of the Aron, Shulchan, Menorah, Copper Mizbeach, Paroches, and all of their respective accessories. Even the Mishkan and the Courtyard itself had their own specific requirements.

The question that begs to be asked on the whole Parsha is, what was the purpose of the Mishkan? Even if we could somehow grasp a small understanding that perhaps the Mishkan was there to allow us to offer karbanos and do many more mitzvos, how would we understand the need to have to fulfill all the specifications of the keilim? For example, if the purpose of the Aron was to house the eidus (luchos and the Torah)¹, why was it important for some parts to be made of gold and others of wood? If the Menorah was there to be lit, why was it necessary for its structure to be so complicated with intricate details, that even Moshe rabbeinu had trouble understanding how to make it? Also, did it really matter that the Mishkan and its courtyard had to be of certain sizes? What if they wanted to do an expansion to have more space? On the surface it appears that there was too much attention to detail regarding the Mishkan. If the purpose was to have a place where the Shechina could “rest”, we could sacrifice animals, and offer incenses, it would seem that there would be much easier ways to accomplish these goals. So, what exactly was the purpose of the Mishkan and why were all these details and measurements such important factors?

If one would take the time to look around and examine the nature that surrounds him, one would see unbelievable creations and undeniable proof of an “Intelligent Designer”. Hashem has placed his stamp of truth in so many areas of the physical world we live in. For example, there is a sequence of numbers called the Fibonacci series. This series is created by starting with 1 and getting the next number in the series by adding together the two numbers which preceded it.² This series goes a lot deeper than an easy math puzzle though. The ratio between any two consecutive numbers in this series approaches the Golden Ratio, which is approximately 1.61803399. This ratio could be seen in plant stems, petals, seeds, fruits, human arm, fingers, the cochlea of the inner ear, and in many other things. This ratio and series are everywhere! This is just one example of many complex truths that one will run into a lot when studying nature. Hashem set a specific rules and orders for nature to follow. In order for the physical world to function properly, everything has to follow a precise set of instructions and details.

This concept is one that is touched upon by Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi in his work, The Kuzari. The Kuzari is a lengthy discussion between a Rabbi and a gentile king – the Kuzari, which covers many fundamentals aspects of Judaism. During the conversation, when discussing the necessary details given to us regarding karbanos, the Rabbi says as follows, “Hashem elucidated the details of the sacrificial laws and other laws – every facet involving very detailed laws. The same attention to detail is prevalent in all of nature. Each physical object is made up of a combination of different elements, combined according to very exact specifications. The proportions must be more precise than the mind could imagine; even if the smallest error was made in the proportions of these elements, the object would no longer exist as it is. The plant, animal, or limb in question would be defective or would not exist at all.... The Torah also records how the sacrificial animals is to be cut, how to arrange the pieces, which parts are to be eaten...and which to be burned. All these details are based on the Torah and on that which the Sages recorded in the Oral Law, all originating from Hashem's words to Moshe. Similarly the Shulchan, Menorah, Aron, Courtyard, Pillars, Covers and all procedures, were shown to Moshe and required intricate specifications.” The Rabbi then ends off, “When it comes to serving Hashem, one cannot rely on logic, inference, or discretion....”³

When it comes to the way the physical world must be prepared to connect to the spiritual world, there is also a clear set of rules which must be followed. It is beyond our comprehension to understand how this world works in its own right, let alone its complicated relationship with the spiritual realm. The measurements and details contained in the Mishkan are parts of a unique formula which provides the connection between the physical and spiritual worlds.

As people, we have a built-in portable feature to take plain things and infuse them with kedusha (Holiness). This is the power of our minds and kavannah (intentions). However, the main connection between this world and its counterpart in the spiritual world, is the Mishkan/Beis HaMikdash, which is the place where we meet with the presence of Hashem.

Each person is a microcosm of the mikdash, while, simultaneously, the mikdash is an icon of the perfect person. As the Kuzari explains, someone who designates every facet of his body: Aron (ark; representing the heart), Cheruvim (Angel sculptures on top of the Aron; representing ones' lungs), Digestive system, supporting systems, and senses, for kedusha, is someone who is fit to house the shechina within him.

The passuk⁴ (verse) in this week's parsha states, “They shall make Me a Mikdash – so that I may dwell in them – in conformance with all that I show you, the form of the Mishkan and the form of all of its vessels; and so shall you do.”

There are two things that strike out from this passuk. First, why does the torah switch from calling the Tabernacle a Mikdash to calling it a Mishkan? Second, the first part of the passuk does not seem to be grammatically correct. “They shall make Me a Mikdash – so that I may dwell in them”? If “them” is a pronoun referring back to the Mikdash, it should be “it”, not “them”?

The Ohr HaChaim⁵, S'forno⁶, and the Alter of Slabodka⁷ explain that the real place for the Shechina is to dwell amongst us. The passuk uses the phrase “so that I may dwell among them” because it is referring to the Jewish people. Perhaps if we put this together with the aforementioned Kuzari, we could see a deeper understanding in this passuk. If we make ourselves like the mikdash – meaning, if we align all of our body parts and abilities with their mirror images in the mikdash, then we will become fit for the shechinas Hashem to dwell amongst us.

Each of us is a mikdash me'at (miniature version of the mishkan). It is our job to make sure that our keilim are being used properly as the keilim in the mishkan that they represent. With this in mind, may we merit to achieve, as the Sefer Chareidim writes, “Bilvavi mishkan evneh...” (“In my heart, I shall build a Sanctuary...”).⁸

1See Gemara Bava Basra 14a

2Thus, the sequence comes to be 1, 1, 2, 3,5,8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144....as far as you could go.

3Kuzari 1:99 (Translation based on Feldheim)

4Shemos 25:8-9

5Shemos 25:8-9

6Shemos 25:8

7Ohr HaTzafun; Part 2

8Piyut brought in Sefer Chareidim by R' Elazar AzKari

Parshas Mishpatim - Pear Pressure

Parshas Mishpatim

Pear Pressure

By: Daniel Listhaus

“You shall not go after the many to do bad; and you shall not respond to a dispute to tilt after the many.”

-Mishpatim 23:2

This passuk in our parsha is alluding to a number of laws relevant to how the sanhedrin/beis din (Jewish court) must conduct itself. There are many different views as to how to learn this passuk. Rashi¹ explains that when the passuk says, “Do not respond to a dispute...”, the word for 'dispute' (ריב) is written without the letter yud (as רב) to teach us that a judge cannot argue with someone greater (רב) than him in the court. For this reason, the sanhedrin would start voicing their opinions “from the side” - meaning starting from the lesser members of the court.

The Ohr HaChaim², however, does not like Rashi's explanation because it is not the simple reading of the passuk. Instead, the Ohr HaChaim takes a completely different approach in how to interpret this passuk. He explains that the gemara³ brings a statement from Rav Kahana that if beis din unanimously declares someone guilty in a capital case, the accused is actually acquitted. The Ohr HaChaim continues to explain that the aforementioned passuk is coming to counter mistakes that people might rationalize and make in one of two situations. The first scenario is as follows. Imagine all the judges voiced their opinions and so far everyone held that the person is guilty. Now it is your turn to vote and you think that the man is innocent. So you think to yourself the following, “If I say innocent, then the result will be that the man will be found guilty because both requirements will have been met. First, the overwhelming majority is saying guilty⁴; and second, there is opposition of at least one person saying innocent – me. If I also say guilty, though, then the second requirement will not be met and indeed the person will come out innocent just as I honestly believe he is. Furthermore, I am anyway probably doing the right thing by saying guilty even though I think he is innocent, because everyone else said guilty and this way I could be mevatel da'ati l'rabim (lower my opinion and instead agree to others)”. This, writes the Ohr HaChaim, is a tremendous mistake to think. It is not your job to outsmart the Torah. Do not fool yourself to follow after the majority just to get your desired outcome. Rather you should say what you think and allow Hashem's system of rules to determine the conclusion that is supposed to be reached.

The Ohr HaChaim continues to explain another similar circumstance which one might rationalize that it is okay to distort the truth and follow after the majority. Imagine that all the judges have already stated their opinions, and they all think that the person is guilty. Inside your head you also agree that he is guilty. However, you are torn. If you say that you also agree that he is guilty, then because the vote will be unanimous that he is guilty, the one on trial will actually go free. So, instead you think to yourself that you should say that he is innocent in order to create resistance, and as a result, the man will be convicted. Again the Ohr HaChaim expresses the importance of not trying to outsmart the Torah. We must do our job and allow Hashem to do His. Our job is to voice our honest opinion. Hashem's job is to add up the figures and plug the grand total into the Torah's formulas and equations. A judge must remember his role in court. His job is not to make everyone else happy or to ensure that his opinion materializes. Rather, a judge's job is to claim what he honestly thinks.

The Ohr HaChaim seems to be teaching us that we must constantly be balancing two roles. On the one hand, we are each our own person and responsible for ourselves as individuals. On the other hand, we share a role as part of the rabim (public). We must understand when it is our duty to be independent and when the proper thing is to be mevatel (make oneself secondary) to the rabim. When it comes to the sanhedrin, the Torah says that each individual judge has the task of applying his Torah to the court case and come out with his own unique perspective, independent of what others have said, think, or what one could say to seem to be in consensus with the general public.

Rashi in Gemara⁵ seems to start off explaining the same way as he does in Chumash, but then seems to add in a little more information than necessary. Rashi starts by saying that the passuk is coming to teach an issur (prohibition) of arguing with the greatest member of the sanhedrin. However, Rashi does not stop here but instead continues to write, “And this is why the sanhedrin starts voicing their opinion “from the side” - from the least of the members of the sanhedrin, in order that one should not hear one of his colleagues declaring innocent, and agree to him.”

This Rashi seems to be self-contradictory! What is the reason that the sanhedrin would start from the lesser judge? Is it so that he could not contradict the most prestigious member of the court, or is it because we do not want him to hear what his fellow judges have to say?

The Mahar'shal⁶ comes to address this issue and explains that Rashi was bothered by the following question. Granted the passuk teaches us (according to Rashi) that one is not permitted to argue with the head of the sanhedrin, and therefore he could not be the one who gives his view first, but still, why not start with the second most esteemed member of the sanhedrin? This is what Rashi is coming to answer and is why Rashi continues to explain that if we would start by other great members of the sanhedrin, the people after him may be swayed to agree. Therefore, we start all the way by the least prestigious member of the sanhedrin.⁷

The S'forno⁸ writes a similar idea that the Torah is telling the sanhedrin that if ten people have voted innocent and eleven have voted guilty, the one whose turn it is now to vote should not say that he will vote guilty because that is what the majority has decided thus far. A judges decision must be completely independent of what others have said. Each individual's vote must be based on his own s'varos (logic) and applications, nothing to do with the opinions of others.

Let us stop a minute and think about who exactly we are talking about. We are dealing with the sanhedrin. The sanhedrin was comprised of the most outstanding people. They were not only fluent in all of Torah, not only humongous ba'alei middos and yirei shamayim (G-d fearing people with great traits), but they had overcome and conquered some of man's hardest desires. The judges of sanhedrin had to meet a specific set of qualifications. They had to be wealthy people, G-d fearing, men of truth, and people who despise money.⁹ These Rabbanim were independent thinkers and open-minded within the limits of the Torah. Even the least prestigious of the sanhedrin was still so incredible in terms of his Torah knowledge and yiras Hashem. For example, we know that there were 600,000 Jewish men between 20 and 60. Multiply that by two to include women of the same age bracket, and let us multiply that number by two to include all people from 0 to 20 and 60 to 80, the product is 2,400,000. The 71 or 23 member sanhedrin represented a tiny fraction of the population and every single one of them were really the cream-of-the-crop. Is it really necessary for the Torah to demand of the sanhedrin to start from the least among them in order to ensure that one will not just copy what someone greater than him said, or even worse, just state an opinion arbitrarily based on which direction most of the sanhedrin already voted towards? How could a member of the sanhedrin, with all the incredible qualities previously discussed, actually decide to vote solely based on what he heard his colleagues say so far, or voice his opinion only based on where the majority is standing at this point? How could a member of the sanhedrin consciously do something like this?

I think that the answer to this question could be learned from a pear.¹⁰ If you ever have an unripe pear that you would like to ripen a lot faster than it wants to, there is a simple solution. You could take a ripening banana and put it in a paper bag with the pear. The reason this works is because bananas produce a lot of Ethylene¹¹, the chemical that stimulates fruits to ripen, when ripening. Therefore if you put a ripening banana in the same bag as a pear, the pear will benefit from the extra supply of Ethylene in the air, and will in turn start to ripen as well. This is an amazing fact – just by being in the same bag as a ripening banana, the pear will start to ripen as well. The “pear pressure” is just too great to bear. Whether the pear wants to start ripening or not makes no difference, it will find itself unconsciously start ripening under the pressure of its fellow fruits.

Perhaps this is what the Torah is trying to teach us as well. Of course the sanhedrin consisted of the best people in the world. However, in the end of the day, being in the same room as others, especially when others are greater or one side has more members in agreement, there is an incredible pressure which effects us subconsciously and tells us not to think for ourselves, but instead follow after the crowd. The rationales start to kick in and then mistakes could, G-d forbid, be made. This is not the job of a member of the sanhedrin. Someone appointed as part of the sanhedrin is expected to bring his Torah to the table and offer his insights and opinions on the subject based on his own thoughts and perspective.

Peer pressure is something which effects us whether we like it or not. We are influenced by our family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Like many things, however, this pressure could be used for good or bad. The mishna in Pirkei Avos¹² states that Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer are of the opinion that the proper ways a person should cling to in order to ensure reward in olam haba'ah (The World to Come), are to cling to a good friend and a good neighbor, respectively. The opposite holds true as well, though. Being around a bad friend or living in a community with bad values is the worst thing for a person. It will subconsciously change him as a person and effect him in every decision and aspect of life.

We cannot ignore the fact that people must live and interact with others on a daily basis. However, we must also realize that, as a result, one will, by definition, be influenced by those who he or she comes in contact with. The only way that one could prepare oneself for this is if one learns the lesson from the sanhedrin. Just like the smallest of the sanhedrin must state his opinion first before hearing those of his colleagues which may effect his decision, so too we must make sure that we solidify our values, beliefs, and opinions so that we could have a proverbial bar setting our standards.

On the other hand, the powerful force of peer pressure could be harnessed and used for tremendous good. One who takes the time in researching those he will spend time with, and follows the advice of Pirkei Avos¹³ to “acquire for yourself a friend”, will allow himself to grow and become an even greater person through sharing with a friend each others' strengths and positive motivations.

May we take the lesson of peer pressure to realize that our environments and influential circles have a tremendous impact on us whether we be a person or a pear.

1Shemos 23:2

2Ibid.

3Sanhedrin 17a

4Rashi (23:2) in our parsha as well as the gemara Sanhedrin explain that to convict someone in a capital case, there has to be a winning majority of at least two votes. (And if you will ask: Q. How is it possible to have a winning vote of [at least] two in a sanhedrin of 23? The sanhedrin had to consist of an odd amount of members so, mathematically, it is impossible for there ever to be a winning majority of exactly two. A. The sanhedrin had to consist of an odd amount of members but they were allowed to abstain.

5Sanhedrin 36a

6Ibid.

7See Mahar'sha there to see his many questions on this Mahar'shal and his alternate explanation.

8Shemos 23:2

9Shemos 18:21

10Okay, I admit you could learn it from other fruits too, but then I lose my pun.

11H2C=CH2 or C2H4

12Pirkei Avos 2:13-14

13Pirkei Avos 1:6