Vayikra Mi'Mizrach Shemesh

8/12/2019 Vayikra Mi'Mizrach Shemesh

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A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication

Candle Lighting: 6:05Havdala: 7:06

Note: The Halachic times listed here are fromwww.myzmanim.com.

Moshe's Special RelationshipBy Eli Meyers, 9th 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 smallerthan 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 outthe 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 soMoshe 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 apparentanyways 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.

VayikraFriday, March 7, 2014 / "-'
http://www.myzmanim.com/http://www.myzmanim.com/http://www.myzmanim.com/http://www.myzmanim.com/


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Irregular LettersBy Ilan Sender, 10 th Grade

When we look at the first word of our

Parashah, , we see an irregularly sizedAlef. Similarly, in Divrei HaYamim Alef there is

another Passuk with an oddly shaped letter.

, , states Passuk 1. Whenmentioning 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 veryunique 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

humble than anyone else. The small Alef in

Vayikra represents Moshes modesty. He is

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 AdamHaRishon, we cannot become arrogant. We must

remember our place in the world and stay

humble like Moshe.

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

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, theIsraelites 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 Godwithout 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

korbanotin order to enable them to serve the

one true God in a manner with which they

were familiar.

This conceptualization of the laws of

korbanotraises some uncomfortable

questions. Namely, does this mean that a

significant portion of God's holy Torah is

dedicated to laws that have no intrinsicvalue? Would God base His mitzvot on the

abominable practices of pagan peoples? If

the only value in korbanotis 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 korbanotas "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 andcarrying 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

korbanotas 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 korbanotas 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 thatI 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 th Grade

1. How does a Korban Olah allow for atonement? (1:4)2. Why must the Kohanim be so meticulous in preparing the animals for korbanot? (1:5-9)3. What is the point of salting the korban Minchah? (2:13)4. Why are the liver and kidneys removed from the Korban Shlamim? (3:5)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?

Email us at [email protected] with your answers or submit them on our website, fmsdvartorah.weebly.com, and you could be featured in

next week's edition!

Brought to you by:

Staff:

Editors in Chief- Ari Bar-Shain and Zev Karasik

Associate Editors- Eli Meyers, Etan Soclof, and Yosef

Coleman

Faculty Consultant-Rav Rick Schindelheim

Distribution Manager-Rivka Coleman

Faculty Manager-Yael Blau

Head Writers-Avi Hartstone and Zak Fleischman

Student Writers:o Alan Soclofo Ami Shamiro Amital Haaso Aviva Muskino Ben Jaffeo Bentzion Goldmano Ian Lorando Ilan Senderso Jenna Foxo Jennifer Breniso Joey Franko Joey Senders

o Lizzy Soclofo Michael Breniso Mordechai Blauo Sarah Pincuso Seth Weisso Sonny Kugelmano

Talya Engelharto Yonah Bar-Shaino Yonaton Shillero Zach Zlatino Ziva Bibbins

!Please be sure to check out our new website: fmsdvartorah.weebly.com!

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Vayikra Mi'Mizrach Shemesh