April 1, 2005 ‫כא‘ אדר ב‘ תשם“ה‬
‫פרשת שמיני‬
Published by the Student Organization of Yeshiva
Wellsprings of Meaning
Rabbi Chaim Packer
T
hough it was even beyond Shlomo
Hamelech, ‫החכם מכל אדם‬, to fully understand
the mitzvah of Parah Adumah, and cer-
tainly well above us, we can still search for
insight and depth from the words of ‫חז'ל‬.
The Mishna in Chulin (23b) contrasts Parah Adu-
mah, the red heifer used to purify from
‫טומאת מת‬, and Eglah Arufah, the calf used to atone for
the city closest in proximity to the corpse of a murder
victim. A Parah Adumah must be slaughtered from
the front of its neck, while the Eglah Arufah must
have its neck broken from the back. Seemingly, the
comparison between these two mitzvot is limited to
this one point, yet other sources expand this contrast
to other areas as well. The Tosefta on Parah (Perek 2)
adds that the mitzvah of Parah is more stringent than
that of Eglah in that Parah, unlike Eglah, must be
red, cannot be blemished, and becomes unfit if one
performs another activity while performing the neces-
sary steps with the Parah Adumah and its ashes. The
Gemara in Sotah 46a further compares and contrasts
Parah and Eglah regarding their becoming unfit upon
carrying a yolk. All these sources demonstrate that the
connection between Parah and Eglah is significant.
To begin to understand what may lie behind this
connection, one must examine the circumstances that
require a Parah or a Eglah. The Eglah is brought
when, tragically, a corpse is found near a city, without
anyone knowing the whereabouts of the murderer.
‫סוף זמן תפילה‬
‫הבדלה‬ ‫שקיעה‬ ‫מנחה גדולה‬ ‫חצות‬
(‫)גר“א‬
7:07 P.M. 6:24 P.M. 12:35 P.M. 12:03 P.M. 9:56 A.M.
Times are for New York City
‫בס“ד‬
Volume 19, Number 11
The elders of that city atone by taking a calf and
breaking its neck in an unfertile valley. Upon complet-
ing the process of atonement with the Eglah, the eld-
ers of the city declare that they are not to blame for
the murder of this individual. The Gemara in Sotah
45b explains that although, of course, the elders did
not murder this person, they still must establish their
innocence regarding the welcome they afforded this
guest to their city. Were they and the inhabitants of
the city as diligent as necessary in feeding, housing,
and accompanying this individual? One may suggest
that breaking the calf’s neck, specifically from the
back of the neck, corresponds to the treatment that
the inhabitants of the city afforded to this individual.
Their “turning their backs” from him possibly left him
vulnerable to the perils and dangers lurking on the
roads.
The Parah Adumah is required for the purification
process from Tumaas Mes. Upon encountering death,
an individual is often left with an overwhelming feel-
ing of futility. As the wicked Esav declared, " ‫הנה אנכי‬
‫—"הולך למות ולמה זה לי בכורה‬loosely translated as “Why
should I seek high ambitions if eventually I will die
and it will all go for naught anyway.” The Parah Adu-
mah comes to combat that sentiment. The completely
red heifer, filled with sin (if your sins colored you red
like crimson...-...‫ )"אם יאדימו כתולע‬and destined for
death, can become a source of purity.
For the Parah Adumah to be effective, each stage
requires our total attention. We find several examples
in Mesechtas Parah. We separate the Kohen for seven
days of preparation before burn-
Continued on page 4
‫סוף זמן תפילה‬ ‫ז מ ן ק “ש‬ ‫ז מ ן ק “ש‬ ‫הדלקת‬
‫נץ החמה‬ ‫עלות השחר‬
(‫)מג“א‬ ( ‫)ג ר “ א‬ ( ‫)מ ג “ א‬ ‫נרות‬
9:32 A.M. 8:52 A.M. 8:16 A.M. 5:41 A.M. 4:29 A.M. 6:06 P.M.
 ‫פרשתשמיני‬

The Road to Sinfulness

Dovid Yehoshua Skversky ourselves and G-d that makes it that much

T
harder for us to hear him, and that much more
he pasuk at the end of this week’s likely to fail a second time.
Parsha states, “Do not make your- The last stage of confusion is stated in Yoma
selves repulsive by [eating] any (86b), “‫—כיון שעבר אדם עבירה ושנה בו נעשית לו כהיתר‬
creeping creature that crawls, and do Since a man sinned and repeated it, it has be-
not make yourselves unclean with them, for you come for him as if it were permissible. Once a
will become unclean because of them” (11:43). person has become complacent in his sinful be-
The Torah writes the word “unclean” here with- havior, he has reached a point that the Chofetz
out an ‫א‬. The Gemara in Yoma (39b) explains, Chaim describes as being at home with the is-
“‫אל תקרי ונטמאתם אלא ונטמטם‬--Don’t read Unclean sur. At that stage, a person no longer feels that
rather Confused.” Rashi, in Yoma, states that he is sinning as he grows farther away from
eating tamei foods confuses our Chochmat HaShem.
HaShem. The non-kosher food becomes part of May we all be zoche to return to HaShem with
our bodies, which makes it harder for us to con- a teshuva shleima, and remove the confusion
nect with Hashem. from our hearts to become true Ovdei Hashem.
The Chofetz Chaim explains this idea with a
parable about a perfume seller. The merchant
deals with perfumes all day, and while at the
start of his career he was overwhelmed by the
smell of perfume, eventually he got used to it.
Then, one day he loses everything and must be-
come a tanner. It was very hard for the worker
to deal with the awful stench of soaking skins,
but eventually the former perfume seller got
used to this smell as well. The Chofetz Chaim
says that this parable explains the idea in the
pasuk. Someone who regularly eats forbidden
foods will become accustomed to this sinful
habit. Thus, the Torah commanded us not to be-
come Tamei by eating creepy crawlers even once
because it will lead down a slippery slope. The
natural confusion that comes when we go
against the will of Hashem makes it that much
harder to find the true derech.
We find this idea stated clearly in Pirke Avot.
“‫מצוה גררת מצוה עבירה הגררת עבירה‬--A mitzvah leads
to a mitzvah, and a sin leads to a sin.” Accord-
ing to our pasuk, we can understand this mishna
a little better. It is this exact ‫טמטם‬, this confusion,
that leads us to sin. We build a barrier between

Page 2
‫עיניים לתורה‬
Nisayis Kapayim:
The Original Source and its Implications
Robbie Wizenfeld
P
arshas Shemini presents one of the sources
for the mitzvah of Bircas Kohanim, specifi-
cally, the requirement for a particular ar-
rangement of the hands. After describing the
various elements of the Kohen Gadol’s service on
Yom Kippur, the pasuk (Vayikra 9:22) points out
that Aharon then proceeded to set aside time to bless
Bnei Yisrael: “Vayisa Aharon es yadav al ha’am
va’yevarechem–Aharon raised his hands towards
the people and blessed them.” Rashi comments on
this pasuk, “Va’yevarichem, yevarechecha, ya’er,
yisa” – that Aharon’s blessing is an allusion to Bircas
Kohanim, which contains the initial phrases “May
Hashem bless you,” “May Hashem illuminate his
face towards you,” and “May Hashem raise his face
to you.” A question that immediately comes to mind
is why the Torah saw it necessary to bring two
sources (Parshas Shemini as well as in Bamidbar
6:24-26) to describe the mitzvah of Bircas Kohanim,
and why Rashi felt it necessary to link the two.
The Braisa in Sotah (38a) provides a compelling
answer: Both sources are needed in order to teach us
the different characteristics of the mitzvah of Bircas
Kohanim. From the pesukim in Bamidbar, beginning
with “Ko Tevarchu,” the Gemara states that we
would know that there is a concept of blessing the
people, but we would not know how that is mani-
fested. Therefore, the Gemara says that the source in
Parshas Shemini is necessary, for Shemini teaches us
“Vayisa Aharon es yadav”- that the Kohanim’s
blessing of the people is only accomplished through
the means of the hands and specifically by placing
the hands in a specific formation.
But how exactly are the hands to be placed? What
is the precise formation? The same Gemara in Sotah
(37b-38a) provides details of the manner in which
the Kohen performs the Nisayis Kapayim process:
When outside the Bais Hamikdash, the Kohen
should raise his hands above his shoulders and recite
the blessing. However, if he happens to be perform-
ing the ritual in the Bais Ha’mikdash, then he should
place his hands on his head. Rashi adds that the
Kohen does this to acknowledge the presence of the
Shechinah. This Gemara mentions the distinction
between performing Bircas Kohanim inside and out-
side the Bais Ha’mikdash, but does not provide a
precise formula for hand formation (except by ac-
knowledging that it should take place above the
shoulder area.)
The Haghos Maymaniyos on the Rambam in Hil-
chos Nisayis Kapayim 14:3 notes that the Kohen
should raise his right hand slightly higher than the
left hand, a custom which he attributes to the singu-
lar language of “yado” in the pasuk as well as a min-
hag found in kabala. Furthermore, the Shulchan
Aruch (Orech Chaim 128:12) tells us that the fingers
should contain five spaces between them upon being
spread out: The first two are found between “the two
fingers and the two fingers” (which occurs upon link-
ing the middle finger to the index finger and the side
finger to the pinky), the third and fourth one are
found between the index finger and the middle fin-
ger (a slight gap), and the fifth one is not mentioned
by Shulchan Aruch but which he seems to imply is
between the index finger and the thumb.
Now we know the exact hand layout of Nisayis Ka-
payim. However, one must also question the impor-
tance of Nisayis Kapayim. Does its importance
match or even overtake the importance of the bracha
of Bircas Kohanim, In other words, if one were to
imagine a case in which the formation of the hands
could not be accomplished would that be me’akev
the bracha of Bircas Kohanim? (and render the
whole mitzvah unnecessary)?
The Nodah B’Yehudah (Orech Chaim 5) proves
that Nisyayis kapayim is an inherent element of the
mitzvah of Bircas Kohanim. He argues that standing
during Bircas Kohanim is a Biblical commandment
(based on a Tosafos in Menachos 109a) and since the
Shulchan Aruch equates the importance of standing
with the importance of the hand formation, he must
be of the opinion that if one were unable to perform
the Nisayis Kapayim, one neutralizes his ability to
be yotze Bircas Kohanim as well.
In Igros Moshe (Orech Chaim 2:31), R. Moshe dis-
cusses whether a congregation that is entirely com-
posed of Kohanim can be yotze the mitzvah of Bircas
Kohanim. He analyzes the seemingly differing state-
ments of R. Simlai and R. Zeira in this context
(found in Sotah 38a). R. Simlai argues that the pur-
pose of Bircas Kohanim is not necessarily to bless
the members of the specific congregation in which
the Kohanim are currently re-
Continued on page 4
siding but, rather, to bless the
Page 3

Continued from page 1 ing the Parah (Parah 3:1). Chil-
dren were born and raised in a safe haven protected
from tumaas mes, specifically to be involved in the
process of only a single Parah (Ibid 3:2-3). According
to R’ Yosi we cannot entice a Parah to move using an-
other cow, because it must be taken alone (Ibid 3:7). It
must be slaughtered for its purpose--lishma (Ibid 4:1).
If the Kohen performs another activity while working
with the Parah or its ashes, he deems it unfit (Ibid
Perakim 6-7). In this context, we can understand that
the Parah needs to be slaughtered specifically from
the front of its neck (unlike the Eglah) in order to
properly focus us on its significance.
The first Mishna in Mesechtas Parah notes what
may be the most defining connection between Parah
and Eglah, that an Eglah is a young Parah. The Eglah
must be less than two years old. This reminds us that
when our neglect caused this individual to perish, his
future was wiped away, leaving his dreams just a fleet-
ing memory. In the words of Chazal, “We break the
neck of this young calf who never bore children, in an
infertile valley because this individual never had the
opportunity to produce and be fruitful” Sotah 46a).
We atone for the wasted potential.
In contrast, the Parah must be at least three years
old, already having lived a “full life-time.” It is fully
reddened by sin, cynical, and established in its ways,
yet attention to its every detail together with tremen-
dous ‫ סיעתא דשמיא‬will bring new energies, while
reviving what has already been used up. The burned
ashes of the Parah are placed not into the infertile val-
ley, rather into live waters, ‫מים חיים‬, waters which will
generate new enthusiasm and excitement, which will
be fruitful and produce more Torah and Mitzvot." ‫עוד‬
‫"ינובון בשיבה דשנים ורענענים יהיו‬
May we pay attention to the inherent significance of
everyone we meet, everything we have, every event
that occurs, and every opportunity that we are offered.
We will then be living in the live waters of ‫זאת חוקת‬
‫התורה‬. "‫"וטהר לבנו לעבדך באמת‬- “Purify our hearts so we
‫ עיניים לתורה‬wishes a
Mazal Tov to:
Yossi Frydman and Naomi
Kelman on their recent
Engagement!
Yonatan Stavsky and Rachel
Goldman on their recent
Engagement!
Page 4
‫פרשת שמיני‬
Continued from page 3 entire Jewish nation. If this
were the case, R. Moshe notes, than it does not
seem necessary for “outsiders” (i.e.: leviim and yis-
roelim) to be present at the exact moment the
bracha is recited. The Kohanim are still yotze their
obligations by blessing the Jewish nation as a
whole (including all of those not present.) R. Zeira,
on the other hand, argues that the purpose of the
Bircas Kohanim is to bless the “inhabitants of the
field” which, it seems, is limited to the members of
a specific town. If one were to accept the opinion of
R. Zeira, R. Moshe argues, than it would seem that
Kohanim cannot be yotze their chiyuv of Bircas Ko-
hanim unless the “inhabitants of the field” are pre-
sent in the shul at the precise time of duchaning. R.
Moshe also proceeds to discuss whether or not it is
necessary that someone answer “amen” to Bircas
Kohanim in order to make all involved yotze their
respective chiyuvim. In this regard, R. Moshe pro-
poses, maybe some Kohanim should “stay back” in
order to answer amen during Bircas Kohnaim. Ulti-
mately, R. Moshe is unsure whether a Kohein can
set aside his own duchaning obligation for the
overall benefit of the congregation.
Editors in Chief:
YOSSI LEVY JAKE LEWIN
Literary Editors:
EITAN BITTER PINCHAS FRIEDMAN
IZZIE STECKLER
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