Tag Archive for Kohanim/ Priests

Parshat Shemini

August 30, 2013 Highlights on the Weekly Parsha, Kashrut No comments

First Portion: * THE INAUGURATION!!! Much has been written in the Torah about  G-d’s  Temple, the sacrifices, the utensils, and the individuals who perform the heavenly work. In this week’s Parsha, the majestic temple will finally begin to operate; opening day at the Mishkan. It will be a liaison between G-d’s chosen people and their master. The Temple was a tremendous opportunity for the Jews to get close to G-d. No time in our history have we had a spiritual closeness than in the period of the Temple and its sacrifices. Apparently, one can logically assume, it’s a major source of celebration. However, the Parsha begins with the word ‘Vayehi’ – and it was; every time a sentence begins with that word, it signifies that trouble lies ahead.

 
* One of the punishments of Adam and Chava (Eve) for their sin for eating from the tree of knowledge, was that any happiness that mankind will incur will be marred by a percentage of bad. Perhaps this is one of the reasons we break the glass at the chupah at a wedding; we remind ourselves of the destruction of the Temple; one should have a little sad feeling at the celebration. We are hoping that by breaking the glass, representing the uneasy memory of the destruction of the Temple, will replace the possibility of a negative occurrence which might take place, and may be harsher. Unfortunately, here, we have one of the most spiritual celebrations of the Jewish people, and tragedy will occur.

 

Second Portion: * For the first time, the kohanim performed the task of presenting sacrifices to G-d; until now, the firstborn were in charge. However, after the sin of the golden calf, the firstborn, who were responsible as spiritual leaders, were stripped of this high position.

 
* Aharon, the high priest and Moshe’s brother, was a charismatic figure. Evidence of his charm is the fact he was the broker of peace to many. Whether it be between husbands and wives or businessmen trying to settle a dispute; he had a way with people; they sensed his sincerity and reacted favorably and did what he said. Aharon’s response to the people was always with enthusiasm. He was so excited to show his love to his nation on the day of the inauguration, that he instinctively raised his hands to bless the people. As a reward for the affection he had for the people, every kohen since, has the opportunity to bless the people daily (Ashkenazim three times a year). This ritual is started by the kohanim raising their hands as Aharon did that very first time. The kohanim mention Aharon and the word be’ahava – with love in their blessing as a tribute to the affection he had.

 

Third Portion: * Tragedy strikes the Israelites as Nadav and Avihu, Aharon’s two oldest sons and the heir – apparent to the leadership, are killed, consumed by fire from their unauthorized sacrifices which they performed. Many reasons are given why they perished. We will mention a few:

 
– They were not married; therefore, it was difficult to control ‘the fire within’ them. Therefore, they were not focused on their task.

 
– They performed their duties intoxicated. The celebration of the inauguration spilled over to a part of the day which being sober was a must. From here we learn, don’t pray drunk.

 
– They were a bit haughty; they couldn’t wait to take the position of leadership from Moshe and Aharon.

 
Rashi (main commentary on the Torah) says Moshe thought they were greater than he and his brother Aharon. A good number of commentaries say, on the contrary, there was no negativity attached to their sacrifice; they were on a mission to go where no man has entered which is as close to G-d as possible, and unfortunately they went beyond the point of return. Regardless, it was a tragic loss for the Jewish people.

 

Fourth Portion: * The kohanim have to observe special laws of purity which forbid them to touch a corpse. However, there are exceptions such as a death of a close relative for whom a kohen has to mourn and whose burial he has to attend. A high priest, on the other hand, is never permitted to leave the avoda (Kohen’s task) even if his own parents die. On the eighth day of the inauguration, G-d applied the laws of the high priest not just to the kohen gadol Aharon, but to his remaining sons. They were forbidden to exhibit any signs of mourning for their brother’s death, but were commanded to continue the service. Interruption of the services of the mishkan would spoil the joy of the newly constructed tabernacle.

 

Fifth Portion: * Moshe gets angry. Our sages teach us a general rule: A Torah scholar, who displays anger or arrogance, loses his wisdom; a prophet loses his prophecy. Apparently, Moshe erred and forgot the law as a result of getting angry.

 

Sixth Portion: * G-d taught Moshe which species of beasts, birds, and fish a Jew may eat and which are forbidden to him. Why did G-d allow the nations of the world to eat any food they desire while he imposed restrictions on us? The reason is that we possess pure souls and therefore we are negatively affected by the consumption of non-kosher foods.

 
* The Torah describes the signs by which a permitted animal can be distinguished from a forbidden one.

 
– Beasts – only an animal possessing two of the following characteristics is kosher: 1) Its hooves must be split throughout. Some animals possessing hooves which are partially split but join at the bottom are not kosher; the hooves must be comprised of 2 distinct parts; possessing two nails 2) It is ruminant, that is having swallowed its food, it regurgitates it once again in order to chew it.

 
– Fish – A fish must possess fins and scales. However, as long as we find scales on the fish, we may consider it kosher since every fish which has scales possesses fins too.

 
– Birds – The Torah lists 21 non-kosher birds. These are listed instead of the kosher birds; they are fewer in number than the kosher ones.

 
– Insects – Some locusts are permitted. Nevertheless, since we do not have a reliable tradition, they are all prohibited.

 

Seventh Portion: * Sheretz \creeping animals – It is forbidden to eat any creeping animals on dry land or in water. The reason for the stringency is because of the snake which belongs in this category. Because of the memory of the snake being instrumental in the sin of mankind, any creeping animals similar to it is forbidden. That’s how much G-d is repulsed by the snake for what he did.

Parshat Emor

August 30, 2013 Highlights on the Weekly Parsha, Mitzvot and Traditions, The Wife's Influence No comments

 

First Portion: * I have many close friends who are kohanim. These friends, as well as the rest, must observe laws of holiness beyond those which apply to the rest of our beloved nation. They have higher standards  because they, at one point, performed G-d’s holy work in the temple. Although many of those tasks are not applicable today, the kohanim still abide by the stringent laws of their ancestors. Astonishingly, I find even the most secular kohanim observe many of these stringent laws. They all know they can’t go to a cemetery or be in the same room with someone who is deceased. Although a Kohen must defile himself for his nearest relative that have unfortunately perished, which is one of seven – wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or un-married sister, he is also obligated to defile himself for a met-mitzvah (a corpse found in a deserted spot where there is no one else within calling distance who can perform the burial. He must then bury the dead body).

 

* The Torah forbids a Kohen from marrying any of the following women. Chalala – the daughter of a Kohen, born of a union which was forbidden to him. For example, a girl born from a marriage between a Kohen and a prostitute or a divorcee. Zonah – a woman who had forbidden relations (for example, a non-Jew), and geyoret – a convert. He may only marry a girl who is Jewish by birth. Lastly, he may not marry a gerusha – a divorced woman.
Why did the Torah impose these limitations upon a Kohen in his choice of a wife? A man’s thoughts are influenced by his wife and to a great part directed toward her. The purity of a Kohen ranks above the rest; therefore, the Torah wants him to marry a type of woman whose background and past are without a blemish to ensure that he is not disturbed with thoughts of her background, and therefore able to perform his holy task.
* A Kohen still commands respect among his Jewish brethren. He is the first to be called to the Torah; according to Sephardic tradition, he blesses the people daily at the shacharit services. Ashkenazi origin – Jews bless the people three times a year. A Kohen is also given honor to lead the grace after meal. A new father takes his newborn son to the Kohen after 30 days to be redeemed (pidyon haben).

Second Portion: * A Kohen with a physical defect did not perform the service. He was not even permitted to enter the haichal (holy section of the temple). A physical defect includes both a birth defect, for example, blindness (even in one eye) and a temporary one, for example, injury. The Kohen resumes his Avoda – task – only when he is healed. Our sages list 140 blemishes which disqualify a Kohen from performing his duty.

 

Third Portion: * An animal must fulfill several requirements to be suitable as a sacrifice. It must be physically perfect. Also, an animal is acceptable only from the eighth day after birth and on. Why may it not be offered earlier? A newborn creature is small and not yet well-developed for the first seven days. It is still difficult to discern whether or not it has some minor defects. After the eighth day, it is sufficiently developed whether or not it is blemished.

 

Fourth Portion: * In this section, we find the wording of the special holiday Kiddush; the Kiddush starts elleh moadai. The Torah discusses two festive times – moadai Hashem. G-d gave the Bet-din (the Jewish court) the authority to proclaim when holidays should be, through determining when the new moon begins. If one thinks of the magnitude of authority that G-d has given the bet din, which is the ability to proclaim the holidays, they would come to the conclusion that it’s mind-boggling. It seems like there is a tremendous degree of confidence G-d has upon our Jewish courts. So the festivities are man-appointed. The other festivity which is discussed, is from G-d – “Shabbat” – which has more stringent laws attached to it and the punishment for discretion is more severe. However, we might assume that Yom-Tov (holidays) can be taken lightly since its sanctity was put into effect by man. The Torah juxtaposed the two to teach us they are equally forbidden. In fact, to show how important holidays are, if one notices, if a holiday falls on a Shabbat, we do not recite the usual Shabbat prayer. Even though there is a law “always recite the more frequent prayer”, we say a festive prayer instead with a Shabbat reference.
* The holiday of Pesach and the counting of the Omer are discussed.

 

Fifth Portion: * In this section, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are discussed.

 

Sixth Portion: * Here, the Torah speaks about the holiday of Sukkot and the four species that one assembles together (lulav, etrog, hadas, and arravot) and makes a blessing.

 

Seventh Portion: * There was a man who was a trouble maker, whose mother was Jewish and father was Egyptian. He ridiculed Moshe about the lechem hapanim – the special bread in the temple that miraculously stayed fresh and warm after a week, saying “Na, it’s probably stale. Is it proper to serve such bread in the Kings palace?” One day, he decided to pitch his tent in his mother’s territorial tribe, Dan. However, because of his father’s non-Jewish status, the Jewish court rejected the advances by him to claim territorial rights in Dan. Inheritance goes after the father, not the mother. Out of anger, he cursed G-d. The incident was an unprecedented first. G-d instructed Moshe that this individual’s punishment should be death.

The Importance of Fine Clothing

August 27, 2013 G-d and Us No comments
    

“For glory and for majesty” is the expression describing how the Kohen’s attire should be. The Torah goes through an entire Parsha, sometimes in detail, describing the priestly clothing. One has to wonder, our religion which emphasizes internal beauty and spirituality, looks like it’s overdoing it a bit on the material external side, don’t you think? Furthermore, it’s a bit unclear whether external beauty is a tool to do a mitzvah or is it an end within itself. It’s an argument between Rashi who says that when the scripture says “l’kadsho” – to make him holy, implying the clothes, means towards performing the mitzvah. While Maimonides, wearing the clothes counts, as one of the mitzvoth.

 

The intention of the Torah is to enhance the status of the Kohanim by putting importance on the fine special clothing, regardless of it being a mitzvah or not. The Israelites will have more respect for G-d’s representatives, and therefore more respect for G-d.

 

It seems, perhaps a bit demeaning that we need the pageantry-like grandeur to enhance our spirituality. It shouldn’t be like that, considering we impressed G-d by proclaiming “we will do and then we will understand”. It was a much-advanced statement of belief to say the least. Presumably, one may have figured, the High Priest could have paraded around with a T-shirt and jeans and it wouldn’t have diminished the status of the Kohen or G-d for that matter. Do we really need the fine clothing to impress us?

 

Furthermore, there is more evidence of our human weakness. When Moshe came down from Mount Sinai, why did he have to bring down the physical tablets? If he found those particular commandments to be important, then let him verbally and dramatically announce them; after all, he did memorize quite a bit of the Torah, what’s ten more?

 

We learn a lesson that no matter how intellectual one can be, no matter how much of a strong belief one has, he still needs the physical to seal it in his psyche. On a subconscious level, the tablets or the Kohen’s garbs will be the final approval. We are – after all – flesh and blood and there is a great need for the physicality to complement our spiritual quests.

Parshat Tetzave

August 25, 2013 Highlights on the Weekly Parsha No comments

 

 

Introduction: LET’S GO TO WAR!! NO WAIT!! NOT A GOOD IDEA…. WELL…HMMM…LET’S FIND OUT IF IT’S NECESSARY; WE’LL ASK THE URIM VATUMIM.

 

The “soul” of the CHOSHEN, the URIM VE’ TUMIM, were inserted between the two layers of the CHOSHEN. It lay hidden between its folds. The CHOSHEN was worn by the High Priest over his chest. (see more detail in the highlight section, second portion)

 

The most intriguing part of the KOHEN GADOL’S-High Priest’s clothing were the URIM VE’ TUMIM which were scrolls of parchment on which Moshe had written the Divine seventy two letter name. They caused the choshen to light up. The letters supplied the Divine answers to questions that were posed to it. Hence, the name URIM VE’ TUMIM as URIM-the letters lit up (from the root OR-LIGHT), and TUMIM-their say was final and unalterable (derived from the word TAM/perfect, in contrast, the word of the prophet was not final, but conditional depending on their repentance).

 

The CHOSHEN was also called CHOSHEN MISHPAT since the final decision (mishpat for each questionable scenario was reached by means of the URIM VE’ TUMIM).

 

Only matters concerning the king, the BET DIN- high court, or the entire nation could be settled by the means of the URIM VE’TUMIM. It was not permissible to question them for private purposes.

 

In the course of the conquest of the land of Israel, after Moshe’s leadership of forty years, the Israelites were defeated after attacking the city of Ai. Yehoshua, the leader who followed Moshe, asked G-d in wonderment, “why were we defeated?” G-d answered, “Someone violated the oath prohibiting anyone from taking any spoils from Yericho, for the entire city was to be consecrated to G-d”.

 

Yehoshua determined who the sinner was by the URIM Ve’TUMIM, by looking at the CHOSHEN and finding the gem of Yehuda’s tribe lit. He realized that the culprit came from that tribe. After further investigation and drawing lots, the guilty party was discovered. Achan, the perpetrator, thereupon confessed.

 

The RAMBAN’s view is that the URIM VE’ TUMIM were actually made by G-d himself. Presumably, Moshe handed down the secret of the URIM VE’TUMIM to the greatest men of his generation and it was passed down through the ensuing chain of command.

 

There is the famous story of Chana, who’s prayer is the standard of excellence, when she came to pray for children, she got into an argument with Eli, the High Priest. When he chided her for being intoxicated, she responded, “No, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit”. Eli saw Chana weeping silently, so he asked the URIM VE’ TUMIM about her. The letters SHIN KAF RESH HEI lit up. He read it to mean a drunk, intoxicated. However, he was mistaken by not rearranging the letters correctly; it was KESHERA-reputable. Chana’s prayers were answered and she had a boy, Shmuel the Prophet.

 

Besides Moshe, no prophet could have a prophetic vision whenever he wished. By contrast, whenever the Kohen Gadol wish to pose a question to the URIM Ve’ TETUMIM, he could do so, implying that the URIM VE’ TUMIM were greater than most prophets.

 

MAIN THEME OF THE PARSHA: This week’s parsha deals primarily with the Kohanim; their selection, their attire worn during their service to G-d, and the inauguration service, by which they and their offspring would become confirmed as kohanim for all time.

 

First Portion: * G-d places responsibility on man by giving him physical resources in a giant playground called Earth, where he has to elevate himself and the settings around him to spiritual heights. Last week we discussed the various materials needed for the construction of the Mishkan (tabernacle). In this week’s Parsha, for the most part, we will discuss the High Priest’s proper attire; these kohanim are the conduit between us and G-d and therefore much emphasis is spent on the topic.

 

* The Parsha begins with a description of what kind of oil is needed for the Menorah. Only oil from the first pressing of an olive was acceptable for the Menorah. These first drops were perfectly clear and without sediment. The oil in its perfect state represents purity of the heart.

 

* There is more attention and material written in the Torah on the crown that the high priest wore rather than the king of the Jewish nation.

 

* Every Kohen who served in the temple wore four garments, termed bigdai hedyot (garment of an ordinary Kohen). They were:

– ketonet – the shirt

– michnasayim – the breeches

– avnait – the belt

– migba’at- the turban

 

The four above mentioned were made of white linen.

 

* The Kohen Gadol wore these garments to accept the migba’at. While the migba’at was pointed on top, the turban of the Kohen Gadol was round and called mitsnefet.

 

Additionally, the Kohen Gadol wore four golden garments. They were:

– me’il – the mantle

– aifod – the apron

– choshen – the breastplate

– tzits – the head plate

 

Second Portion: * The most intriguing part of the Kohen’s clothing is the choshen, also known as the choshen mishpat (breastplate of the final judgment). It was made rectangular in form and folded in the middle to form two perfect squares. The Kohen Gadol wore these squares over his heart, one layer above the other. Between the two layers, the urim vetumim were inserted. The choshen was woven in a pattern, which contained four rows of gold settings. Into each of these settings, three precious gems were inserted.

 

* It is written the Kohen Gadol should wear it on his heart. This is referring to Aharon. G-d is rewarding Aharon for not being jealous and having a pure heart for his younger brother, Moshe, being appointed over him as leader.

 

* The soul of the choshen was the urim ve’tumim that lay hidden between its folds. The urim vetumim were scrolls of parchment on which Moshe had written the divine 72 letters name. These urim vetumim caused the letters to light up. The letters supplied answers. Only matters concerning the king, the bet din or the entire Klal Yisrael could be settled by the urim vetumim.

 

Third Portion: * Bells were hanging all around the robe’s hem. The question is asked why the Kohen needed bells? Here, G-d is teaching us manners and proper etiquette. The Kohen was to enter the Holies of Holies where G-d’s ambiance was present. One cannot barge in without knocking or without ringing the bell. This is the source of ringing doorbells.

 

Fourth Portion: * Seven days of inauguration; it was a rejoicing period for the kohanim who were picked to do the holy service

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* An offering was made by Aharon and his sons for the atonement of taking part in the sin of the golden calf. There is a custom till today that the Leviyim in the Synagogue help the kohanim prepare before they bless the people. The inception of this ritual was the result of the commandment by G-d who had instructed Moshe to do so to Aharon, the Kohen. This is because after coming down from the mountain and seeing the golden calf fiasco, Moshe suspected in his heart that Aharon was responsible for this tragedy. By instructing Moshe to assist Aharon, G-d is showing that he had the purist intention. Nevertheless, as the person in charge until Moshe came back, Aharon had to pay a price for having the sin occur under his leadership.

 

Fifth Portion: * Ayil meluim – meluim signifies the inauguration. Another definition, in which Rashi explains, is perfection, an offering of perfection. This is similar to the word, Shalem, which is also a name for an offering. Rashi says the root of meluim is maleh. The concept of the Mikdash is “coming to that perfect state” which is olam habah – the next world, The Mishkan is a compartment of olam Habah.

 

Sixth Portion: * G-d reaffirms His authority with the word ‘Vayedu’, they will know through the sacrifices and through the temple where G-d sort of rests. The ability to identify with the Mikdash as G-d’s house, something tangible will strengthen the belief among the Israelites.

 

Seventh Portion: * Mizbeach haketoret – incense; this is a very important offering. It says G-d’s ambiance did not rest until the ketoret was burned.

Modesty

August 23, 2013 G-d and Us, Tzniut- Modesty No comments

The following are excerpts from the lectures of Rabbi Isaac Oelbaum.

          A man waltzes into synagogue one Sunday morning grinning from ear to ear, boasting that “I just came here with my brand new Lexus, it’s parked right in front”. During the course of the services while everybody was standing with their siddurs open, he was busy describing to them how he had bargained with the car dealer and how he got his price, and eventually startling the man by putting all the money down up front. “You should have seen his face when I wrote the check” he said with a snicker. One sure knows how to feel good when purchasing a fancy shmancy car!! Perhaps that is why G-d created friends, just so that one can show off in front of them!
          However, as they all walked out of synagogue, he was horrified to discover that someone had carved and scratched on to his front windshield the words MAZAL TOV!!
          In tractate Brachot, the Gemara relates an unusual story about Rav Nachman who approached a community eulogizer after he eulogized one individual as being modest. Rav Nachman asked “was he modest when he went to the bathroom?”
          Is covering up ones nakedness and being low key in the bathroom a barometer for being modest? That’s news to me! What about reading the New York Times in the bathroom for an extended period of time, is that considered violating the modesty laws in the lavatory? How about just the sports section?! Torah cannot be learned in the bathroom, so one has to read something, No?
          In order to properly understand the meaning of the Gemara’s statement, we have to explore modesty-TZNIYUT a little further.
          The commentaries say that modesty is extremely important and is actually a form of intelligence, because it resembles G-d’s traits. The Torah discusses an incident regarding Moshe after he saved Yitro’s daughters from the nasty shepherds by the well. Yitro’s daughters came to their father and informed him of what had happened and how they were saved by this unknown and mysterious man.
          Yitro’s response was AYO HAISH- where is the man. The fact that the man didn’t come to claim a reward, not bragging about how he protected the damsels in distress, means that he must be from the genealogy of Sarah. Sarah was the Jewish matriarch who modestly stayed in the tent while her husband Avraham hosted the guests, the three angels. In that incident, the Torah uses a similar word to the one Yitro used. The angels asked, “AHYEY SARAH ISHTECHA- where is Sarah your wife?”. They then blessed Avraham and Sarah that, G-d willing, by next year you shall have a boy.
          Yitro, knowing this, exclaimed, “don’t leave this man outside, bring him in quickly!!. Perhaps one of you may marry him. After all, the bracha comes from the modesty that Sarah, had shown.” As a side, this is one of the reasons Sarah merited having a son. The Sages emphasize that on Yitzchak’s behalf the whole world stands. And he only came into existence thanks to modesty. That’s the power of modesty.
          The Torah teaches us that the whole essence of a bracha is the fact that it’s hidden and modest. To prove this, one can simply observe that God himself remains not revealed. One cannot see G-d and no one ever did, at least not his face. Additionally, we know that there are no open miracles anymore. So too, bracha is best not revealed. The most holy and spiritual things are PNIMI-inward, hidden. Anything that is open and outwardly, one will not find a bracha there. Astonishingly, the Sages say that there is no bracha unless something is under the radar, in other words away from the eye, for perhaps it is the evil eye. A human, every human, has a bracha attached to it, and it is conceived in the confines of a private place. No eye sees the conception of the seed of bracha.
          But shouldn’t a bracha (on a fruit, for instance) be said out loud and not concealed?
          Yes, the bracha should be recited out loud, however it doesn’t go into affect until the fruit is swallowed, because that part is concealed and only then will the bracha kick in.
          In this week’s parsha  we read again about Kohanim. In Tractate Yoma the Gemara tells us about an extraordinarily modest woman named Kimchetuh. She was asked, “how did you merit to have seven sons and all served as High Priests? That’s quite an accomplishment!!”
          She answered, “I did not let the walls of my house see one speck of my hair uncovered”. WOW! As her reward, her boys will enter the holy of holies, where no one can enter and no one can see. Again, tzniut, modesty. It’s so important. The Kohen Gadol speaks to G-d privately, again in the most modest way. Tzniut, modesty, PNIMIUT, it’s crucial.
          The bathroom is the antithesis of PNIMI. It’s the most external act one can experience. Still, Rav Nachman was trying to emphasize that if one is modest  and private even in the most external act that a human can do, then and only then he can be labeled modest.