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Vayikra
Friday, March 7, 2014 / "-'

Candle Lighting: 6:05 Havdala: 7:06

Note: The Halachic times listed here are from www.myzmanim.com.

Moshe's Special Relationship

By Eli Meyers, 9 th Grade
In this weeks parashah we begin a new Sefer in the Torah: Sefer Vayikra. When looking at the very first word of the Sefer, we see that the letter Aleph in the word Vayikra is smaller than all of the other letters. To understand this occurrence we must first understand the nature of the word. Vayikra means He [Hashem] called out. Rashi explains that by using this word rather than Vayidaber or Vayomer, Hashem is expressing his deep affection for Moshe. The Baal Haturim explains the smaller aleph as follows. When recording this event, Moshe, being the great humble man he was, wanted to leave out the Aleph in the word Vayikra which would make it Vayikar which means He [Hashem] happened upon Moshe. We find Vayikar when Hashem is talking to Balaam. Moshe was so humble that he did not want to present himself as being called in a special way. Instead Moshe wanted to present himself as having a similar connection to Hashem as a common prophet or as a non- Jewish prophet. However, Hashem instructed Moshe to write the word as Vayikra so Moshe did not have a choice but to include it. In order to somewhat diminish the Aleph which symbolizes Moshes level above the other prophets, Moshe wrote the Aleph smaller than the other letters. From this account we can learn a very profound lesson. Moshe, a prophet well above any other, a prophet who could speak to Hashem face to face, still did not want to appear above everyone else. Even though it is apparent anyways that Moshe is above the common prophet he still did not want to proclaim it. Moshe is the very embodiment of complete humility which we should always strive for. May we all merit the level of the aleph but at the same time only want a small one. Shabbat Shalom.

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Irregular Letters
By Ilan Sender, 10
th

humble than anyone else. The small Alef in Vayikra represents Moshes modesty. He is

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one of the most special people ever in the history of the Jewish people and was the only one to ever talk to Hashem face to face! Even so, Moshe would still always tell himself All that I have is a gift from Hashem. If Hashem had given these opportunities to someone else, he surely would have been much better than me. Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa used to advise people to keep two messages in their pockets. One should read The world was created for my sake, and the other, All I am is but dust and ashes. Although we should strive to be great and be confident like Adam HaRishon, we cannot become arrogant. We must remember our place in the world and stay humble like Moshe.

When we look at the first word of our Parashah, , we see an irregularly sized Alef. Similarly, in Divrei HaYamim Alef there is another Passuk with an oddly shaped letter. , , states Passuk 1. When mentioning Adam HaRishon the Torah uses a larger Alef than normal. Whats the point of these two variations? The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson, has an interesting take on this. He explains that Adam knew he was a very unique individual. Unfortunately, when he was contemplating whether to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, it got to his head. We all know that at the end he failed, and got kicked out of Gan Eden. When we talk about Moshe Rabbeinu, the Passuk in Shemini 12:3 says, , which means that Moshe is more

Korbanot: A Great Mitzvah or the Greatest Mitzvah?

By Rabbi Rick Schindelheim
The last few parshiyot were kind of rough. I'm looking forward to getting back to some stories in this next seferOhright, Vayikra doesnt really have stories. But it does have korbanot! I would like to give a
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brief summary of a fundamental dispute between two Rishonim (medieval commentaries) about the idea behind korbanot.

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In his Guide for the Perplexed (Moreh Nevuchim) (III:32) Maimonides writes, "According to the nature of man it is impossible for him suddenly to discontinue everything to which he has been accustomed." As such, says Maimonides, the Israelites were given the laws of korbanot because that is how they understood religious worship. It would be against human nature for the Israelites, a nation brought up in a pagan world, to serve their God without sacrificial rituals. Maimonides argues that the idea of Moshe approaching the Israelites and telling them to serve God without bringing Him sacrifices would be absurd. This would be akin to a prophet approaching the Jews today and informing us that we "should not pray to Him, not fast, not seek His help in times of trouble; that we should serve him in thought and not by any action." It would simply not work. Therefore, the Israelites were given the mitzvah of korbanot in order to enable them to serve the one true God in a manner with which they were familiar. This conceptualization of the laws of korbanot raises some uncomfortable questions. Namely, does this mean that a significant portion of God's holy Torah is dedicated to laws that have no intrinsic value? Would God base His mitzvot on the abominable practices of pagan peoples? If the only value in korbanot is their ability to wean the Israelites off of Idol worship, then why not simply remove their desire for Idol

worshipafter all, God can do whatever he wants. Maimonides anticipates this challenge, "I know that at first thought you will reject this notion and find it strange." Characteristic of his rationalist philosophy, Maimonides asserts that God prefers not to change the way of the world. Rather than "reprogramming" the Israelite consciousness, God chooses to guide His nation in a more natural way. Without breaking His own laws of nature, God's mitzvot will His people to the truth. Ramban (Nachmanides) (Vayikra 1:9) harshly criticizes Maimonides for his approach. The Torah refers to korbanot as "a pleasing aroma to God." How can anyone claim that these laws lack intrinsic value and are simply a means to a different end? Ramban offers an alternate rationale for the laws of korbanot. He argues that the experience of bringing a sacrifice to God is meant to rectify a person's wicked behavior. Each step in the sacrificial process corresponds to a different aspect of the person's sin. The act of leaning the hands on the head of the animal (semicha) relates to the act of sin. The confession (viduy) relates to the usage of speech involved in planning and carrying out the sin. The burning of the inner organs represents the desire which is always the first step in the process of sin. This brief summary does not do justice to the complexity of the debate between these

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two giants of Jewish tradition. Moreover, there are other opinions on the matter of korbanot as well. All of which are more than worth looking into. One final thought: Regardless of the precise rationale behind the mitzvah, the words of the prophets make one thing clear. The nation of Israel mi ssed the point. Rather than seeing korbanot as one aspect of their service of God, many Israelites treated them as the only aspect. Forgetting the passion and soul in their service of God, they were focused only on "being yotzei." To quote Maimonides one last time,

Samuel therefore said, "Does the Lord take great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as He does in your obeying the voice of the Lord?" (1 Sam. xv. 22) Isaiah exclaimed, "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? saith the Lord" (Isa. i. 11); Jeremiah declared: "For I spoke not to your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices. But this thing I commanded them, saying, Obey my, voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Jer. vii. 22, 23).

Are there parallels between this approach to mitzvot and of our own? Some food for thought...
Shabbat Shalom

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Shabbat Table Discussion Questions:

By Avi Hartstone, 10 t h Grade
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. How does a Korban Olah allow for atonement? (1:4) Why must the Kohanim be so meticulous in preparing the animals for korbanot? (1:5-9) What is the point of salting the korban Minchah? (2:13) Why are the liver and kidneys removed from the Korban Shlamim? (3:5) Why must all the Korbanot be different for their respective purpose and not just have a single korban that encompasses everything, like how we have a single specified prayer?
next week's edition!

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