לזכר נשמת זקני ר' אברהם יוסף בן נפתלי הערץ הלוי (ד' ניסן)
מלכה בת אברהם יעקב
הלוי (ג' ניסן)
STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
VAYIKRA
PARSHAS
HACHODESH 5778
“FROM
WITHIN”[1]
Simon Sinek[2]
related the following anecdote:
“I was present recently at a large conference
where a former undersecretary of defense was invited to speak. He was standing
at the podium with a cup of coffee in a Styrofoam cup, and delivering his
prepared remarks with a power point behind him. Then, he stopped to sip his
coffee, and smiled.
“He then looked
at the crowd and said he wanted to share something personal: “Last year when I
spoke at this conference, I was still the undersecretary. I was flown here business
class and when I arrived at the airport there was somebody waiting for me to
take me to my hotel. When I arrived, I had already been checked in and I was
led straight up to my room. The following morning, when I came downstairs, I
was greeted cheerfully in the lobby, and was chauffeured to this venue. I was
led through the back entrance into the green room and was handed a cup of
coffee in a beautiful ceramic cup.
“But this year I
am no longer the undersecretary. I flew here coach, took a taxi to my hotel,
and checked myself in. When I came down the lobby this morning I took another
taxi here, and I came in the front door and had to find my way backstage. When
I asked someone if there was any coffee available, he pointed to the coffee
machine in the corner. I then poured myself a cup of coffee into this Styrofoam
cup.
“It taught me a
very important lesson. The ceramic cup I was given last year was never really meant
for me; it was meant for the position I held. In truth, I deserve a Styrofoam
cup.
“Remember this
as you gain fame, as you gain fortune, as you gain position and seniority.
People will treat you better; they will hold doors open for you. They will get
you a cup of tea and coffee without you even asking. They will call you sir and
ma’am and they will give you stuff. You have to remember that none of that
stuff was meant for you; it’s meant to honor the position you hold. It is meant
for the level you have achieved of leader or success or whatever you want to
call it. But you will always only deserve a Styrofoam cup.”
One of the laws
the Torah states about offerings is, “For you shall not cause offerings to [go up in] smoke with any
yeast or honey.” Shortly after, the Torah instructs, “you shall offer salt on
all your offerings...”[3]
Every offering brought on the altar required that it first be salted. Yet, it
was absolutely forbidden to ever place sugar on an offering.
Rav Mordechai Gifter zt’l[4]
explained that these laws contain a poignant symbolic message for us: There is
a fundamental difference between the way sugar and salt impact food. When a sweetener
is added to food, it alters the taste of the food. When sugar is added to a
bowl of oatmeal, the oatmeal itself doesn’t become sweet, it’s the sweetness of
the sugar that is now tasted in every bite. Salt however, enhances the
essential taste of the food by strengthening the actual taste.
The symbolic message is that yeast, which inflates, and
honey, which changes the true taste of a food, should not be brought on the
Altar. Only salt, which brings forth the true flavor of the food, is required. The
Torah wants the true essence of the Korban to come forth and not be masked or
transformed into something different.
Although we want to imbue our children with confidence
and self-esteem, we need to be careful to not inflate their perceptions of
themselves, thereby promoting arrogance and egocentricity. Our role as
educators is to try to build our children by promoting and enhancing the
uniqueness they naturally possess. We cannot make them into something they are
not! The greatest thing we can do is help them appreciate and love who they
naturally are, all the while helping them improve and learn to navigate their
deficiencies and challenges.[5]
When the Torah describes a person who sins, it refers to
him as "ונפש
כי תחטא" a soul that
sins, emphasizing the role of the nefesh in his misdeed.
However, when
the Torah introduces the korbanos at the beginning of the parashah, it uses the
term adam אדם כי יקריב, which refers to the physical component of
a person[6]. Why is
that?
Rabbi Nissan
Kaplan explains that truthfully it is the nefesh of a person that
bears responsibility for all iniquity, because it is a failure of one’s
spirituality that he failed to restrain himself from committing the sin. However,
when discussing a korban, the Torah emphasizes that it must come from the
physical component of the sinner, from the adam. In bringing a
korban, a person must sanctify the physical part of himself and demonstrate
self-sacrifice by offering part of his physical being.
Rashi[7] notes that
when the Torah discusses the minchah of a
pauper, it says ונפש כי תקריב, and not אדם כי יקריב , as it does in regard to other korbanos. The
pauper doesn't have anything to give - he scrapes together whatever he can until
he manages to bring a minchah. Therefore, Hashem considers it as if
he offered his nefesh. Regarding other korbanos however, the sinner
has to offer a piece of himself to demonstrate a genuine desire to rectify his
sin.
Rabbi Kaplan
relates that a wealthy individual once approached him saying that he felt he
needed a tikkun (spiritual rectification) and was therefore prepared to donate
a large amount to tzedakah. Rabbi Kaplan replied that although he should
undoubtedly give tzedakah, that was insufficient for him because it wasn’t hard
for him to give. In addition to the tzedakah, he had to demonstrate personal
sacrifice for Hashem, such as adding time to Torah study, resolving not to talk
during davening, or not to browse on his phone at things he shouldn’t be
looking at.
For a korban
to have its desired effect, the one offering it had to offer his “adam”
a piece of himself.
The Medrash notes that there is an ancient custom that when
children begin learning Chumash, they begin with Parshas Vayikra because, יבואו טהורין ויתעסקו בטהורים - let those who
are pure (children) come and engage in (the study of) matters of purity
(korbanos).
We start with Chumash Vayikra to symbolize to the young child
the concept of אדם כי יקריב that a person has
to offer Hashem the part of himself - the adam - that is hard
for him to sacrifice.
The harder it is to sacrifice something for Hashem, the
greater the korbon it is.
In a Sefer
Torah, the opening word of the Chumash, in fact, the word that gives the title
to the entire sefer – Vayikra – has a small aleph. The Baal HaTurim explains that in his humility, Moshe wanted
to write the word vayikar (Vayikra without the aleph), which sounds
like the word mikreh – a chance occurrence. Moshe didn’t want to write Vayikra
which implies a calling of love. Hashem had instructed him to write Vayikra, so
as a compromise he wrote the aleph small.
The entire Chumash contains that lesson in its title; the
incredible humility of Moshe. It is that humility which contains the secret for
how korbanos are effective. When we humble ourselves before Hashem and seek to
build ourselves from within, we connect with Hashem and discover our true
greatness.
Our egos are
compared to ‘the yeast in dough’. Our ego comprises our sense of self, which is
vital to a healthy identity. It is our ego which propels us to accomplish and
to grow. But at the same time our egos are always in danger of becoming
inflated with ‘hot air’. This occurs when our sense of identity becomes
befuddled, and we no longer appreciate our uniqueness. A false ego can persuade
us that trivialities are hugely significant, and we can easily be distracted
from what truly matters. Just as a healthy ego helps us love, compassionate,
and sensitive to others, it also can cause us to become self-absorbed, envious,
and hateful.
Matzah, which
consists of nothing more than flour and water which has not been allowed to
leaven, symbolizes self-negation before G-d. It is flat and contains nothing
other than the barest essentials, demonstrating that we are nothing without G-d.
Matzah which
symbolizes humility contains the lesson of the korbanos. This is part of the
depth of the special mitzvah we are blessed to be able to fulfill by eating
matzah throughout Pesach.[8]
One of the
humblest people I was privileged to know was my Sabbah, Mr. Abe Staum, Avrohom
Yosef ben Naftali Hertz a’h. He was a beloved personality to his neighbors and
friends, always with a smile and a pleasant word. Much of the chessed he
performed we will probably never know about. Such quiet greatness stems from a
sense of humility and simchas hachaim – genuine happiness with life. His
yahrzteit, 4 Nissan, is this Tuesday. May his neshama have an Aliyah, and may
he be a maylitz yosher for his family and Klal Yisroel.
“When a man will
offer from you a korbon to Hashem”
“You shall offer salt on all
your offerings”
Rabbi Dani Staum,
LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New
Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – Heichal HaTorah
Principal – Ohr
Naftoli- New Windsor
[1] Based on the
lecture given at Kehillat New Hempstead, Shabbos Kodesh parshas Vayikra 5777.
[2] Simon Sinek is
an author, motivational speaker
and marketing consultant. He related this story during a lecture entitled
“Find your Greatness”.
[4] Pirkei Torah
[5] This
educational thought based on Rav Gifter’s explanation is from Rav Mordechai
Shifman, Head of School, Emek Hebrew Academy, Sherman Oaks, CA
[6] Adam comes
from the word adamah – earth, a reference to the fact that Adam was
created from the dust of the earth.
[8] Although there
are opinions that hold matzah is only a mitzvah to eat at the Seder, and is
merely permitted the rest of Pesach, the Vilna Gaon holds that every bite of
matzah eaten throughout Pesach is a mitzvah and gives us a spiritual infusion
of faith in Hashem.
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