Raboyseyee and Ladies,
We begin with mazel tov wish to our friends Esty and Aaron Felder upon the wedding -this past Tuesday evening with the Ois and eishes chayil in attendance- of their amazing and beautiful daughter Etty -mamish a special neshomo- to Shaya Wohlgemuth, he the son of Breindy and Uri Wohlgemuth. During covid times at the Monroe Minyan over at the Felder home, the Ois got to know Etty quite well and exaggerates not when he states that she is a special neshomo. May Etty and Shaya be zoche to build a bayis ne’man b’yisroel and be a source of much and only nachas to their respective families.
Making Up With One’s Wife and Friends:
It is widely predicted that AI will significantly impact the job market by 2030, potentially displacing millions of jobs while creating new opportunities, particularly in technology and specialized fields. Ober, long before AI was a force to be reckoned with, long before the world was introduced to technology, and certainly long before AI was set to displace many from their gainful employment -some two thousand years back- with the destruction of the Second Temple, all jobs performed by the kohanim (Temple Priests) were suddenly eliminated and just like that, they needed to find themselves new jobs. Shoin. Somehow, they made it. Ober, with the Temple gone, without sacrifices (korbonis) and without a place to seek forgiveness for bad behavior, how and where were Yiddin to seek absolution? We shall address this below, ober first this.
After months of klapping (banging) away and getting the Mishkan, the Mizbayach (Tabernacle and Altar) and all of the accoutrements built and ready to function properly, it’s time to open for business and keep the place humming. As we begin Sefer Vayikra (the book of Leviticus, so named by the Greeks), the RBSO provides a few hundred mitzvis and detailed instructions concerning the korbonis (Sacrifices/offerings) in the Temple. Some call Vayikra Toiras Kohain because they, the kohanim, had the Mizbayach franchise and seemingly got a cut of almost every korban that came their way. They had real jobs. In fact, says one Medrish: the RBSO instituted korbonis to give the otherwise unemployed Kohanim a parnoso. How many times has the Ois told you how benevolent and merciful the RBSO is? Many! In kimat every parsha, through the mitzvis handed down, be they of the ah-says or loi’s, the RBSO also created jobs, business opportunities, professions, and industries mamish. Korbonis were no different and seemingly kept the kohanim quite occupied. Ober, as mentioned mamish above, that all came to a halt with the destruction of the second temple and ever since, kohanim had had to be retrained as if their jobs were replaced by AI.
Ober, without a Beis Hamikdash where people brought sacrifices to atone for bad behavior, how would they seek forgiveness? How taka do we -bazman hazeh (in our times)- make amends with those whom we have hurt? With the RBSO? Stay tuned. Back when the Yiddin were in the desert where they would sojourn forty years, and just after they violated one of the Commandments by building and partying with the eygel hazohov (golden calf), the RBSO ordered and allowed them to build the Mishkan. Korbonos (sacrifices) were introduced; sinners had a way of making amends with the RBSO and with others whom they had aggrieved by bringing one or more of the animals designated as potential korbonis. The korban allowed one to atone for a healthy number of sins, a number of them are prominently featured in this week’s parsha. Detailed instructions and other sacrifices will appear next week; I bet you can’t wait. The bottom line: Humans sinned and poor unsuspecting animals were slaughtered. Not a bad deal; the RBSO is great! Alas, that Mishkan and other temples which followed, are long gone. And by long, we’re talking more than 2000 since we’ve seen temple service. Korbonis too are gone. A gittin Shabbis!
Shoin, if only it were that easy, if only we were ordered to cut out the reading and studying regimens for mitzvis that are no longer relevant. That is not the case and therefore, welcome to Sefer and Parshas Vayikra. It’s time to once again learn all about sacrifices. Why, ver veyst? Must we learn (yet again) about korbonis and the roughly 240 mitzvis associated with them when they are no longer relevant in our times? Ver veyst? And why aren’t they relevant? Because korbonis, originally introduced en-masse upon the completion of the Mishkan project (which we spent five weeks discussing), and then later, a hallmark of both Batei Mikdash (1st and 2nd Temples), disappeared following the destruction of the Second Temple. We are taught that the Second Temple was destroyed due to excessive ‘sinas chinam’ (petty jealousy among the people). Whatever the reason -or reasons- for the cessation of sacrifices, the untishter-shira (the bottom line) is azoy: Bazman hazeh (in our times), we do not offer animal sacrifices as a means of making amends with the RBSO and others we aggrieved. Perhaps they will make a comeback when the Moshiach arrives. Or, maybe not. Do any of you hear rumblings about the Moshiach arriving any time soon? Have the Yiddin cut out, or even back, on their loshoin horo or sinas chinam? Ha! It’s farkert: In today’s times, gossip can spread over social media in an instant. Have the Yiddin properly observed two consecutive Shabbosim without desecrating the holy day of rest? A nechtiger tug (not)! One? As an aside, the heylige Gemora (as we discussed two weeks back) and myriad medroshim, will teach us that were the Yiddin not to desecrate the heylige Shabbis for two consecutive weeks, Moshiach would make an instant appearance. And he will stay.
And how does one taka kiss and make up with his eishes chayil once he has mamish upset her? In our times, if we sin against our wives -and who doesn’t- we first say “I’m sorry” and when that doesn’t work -or isn’t enough- (depending avada how great the sin was), we buy them jewelry. Typically, though not always, that does work. Grada buying jewelry for the eishes chayil has other benefits, if you chap. One thing is certain: Without one or the other, and typically both, one is not chapping. Also, as a result of technological advances, saying I’m sorry to the eishes chayil is not as difficult as it once was. In hyntige tzeytin (in modern times), we can mostly say I’m sorry, I did wrong, and other such expressions of remorse, via our smart phones. We can What’sApp, instant message, send an old-fashioned text, and even make use of email. We can add emojis to express regret and more. A shtikel less personal but seemingly also effective. Grada these newer methods of saying ‘I’m sorry’ have become more popular among feuding friends who are balydikt (insulted), pissed off mamish, over something you said or did. Boundless examples come to mind. It also works farkert: those that pissed you off can avail themselves of the very same technology. This method of saying I’m sorry allows one to test the waters. The sender writes a few words of apology that he/she would not in the ordinary course wish to state in person. The recipient looks at the response over and again, until the recipient’s heart warms a bit and is receptive to the apology. Shoin: no animal was sacrificed, the people at PETA and other animal rights groups are not protesting, and a friendship is sometime preserved. Why a few rabbis keep insisting that their constituents use only kosher phones without and Internet connection and don’t want their chasidim using smart phones, ver veyst?
Does this work with the RBSO? Mistama not! Back in the days of the Mishkan, and also the Temples which followed, korbonis were the mainstay and focal point of the entire structure. It was the place to come to for forgiveness and atonement. The RBSO accepted that people were shlecht (bad), and that people made mistakes, many and often. Sinning was accepted as normative human behavior. It was the place to seek absolution, to start over again. Sinners arrived daily, followed the hands-on procedures, paid off the Koihen to cut the line, shared some of the offerings with the koihen (from certain offerings) and at the end of the day, everyone was happy. Sacrificing was a feel-good experience. In our times, korbonis have been replaced with davening and with the study of how korbonis used to work. Moreover, the RBSO did give us Yom Kippur as a day of atonement and does accept apologies every day of the year.
Are korbonis slated for a comeback? As stated above, we mamish don’t know. Why not? Because the RBSO did not tell us. Nor did He tell us why He introduced korbonis. This avada led to speculation by many, ober the emes is this: we don’t know. That being stated, because the RBSO taught them to Moishe and he to us, it’s our job to study them and it’s time for a quick chazoro. After all, says the heylige Gemora (I cannot recall where), azoy: a person forgets what he learned within 12 months. Hence our rabbis argue, we must continue learning regularly and often, in order not to forget. Grada, a number of people forget things even before 12 months, especially those who owe you a favor, money, or anything else they are not comfortable remembering and of course repaying. Shoin, if you want a more in depth review of korbonis and why we bring them, what they represent, along with some humor and sarcasm, feel free to check out www.Oisvorfer.com where you will find many givaldige insights into this topic.
And before we close with a very brief argument between the RambaM and the RambaN over why the RBSO ordered that we bring korbonis, don’t you already miss terribly a number of colorful characters we met back in Bereishis and Shmois? Of course! Weren’t you amazed to learn that Lemach whom we met over in Parshas Bereishis had two wives? And weren’t you a shtikel envious to learn that one was for childbearing and the other strictly for tashmish (sex toy)? Avada you were and mistama you were thinking azoy: if only we were back in biblical times. And weren’t you amazed to learn that Loit had his way with, and impregnated both his daughters? And that the children born to his girls gave birth to the nations we will be reading about in the coming months? Avada you were! There were so many more; each story was amazing. And weren’t you quite nervous when you read that the RBSO eliminated both Eyr and Oinon because He did not like them. In fact, the heylige Toirah tells us that He found them repugnant. And why? Shoin, Rashi and others will tell us it was because they wasted seed. How lucky are you that you have been sliding by unscathed? Shoin! It will be a few weeks and maybe even months before we get back to givaldige storylines we can relate to.
The bottom line: Why we bring korbonois, ver really veyst? Ober says the Shelah Hakodosh, efsher based on the very first posik of the parsha which states “Odom ki Yakriv Mikem…” (When an odom/man brings a sacrifice offering), azoy: the word ‘Odom’ in the posik refers specifically to man. Which man? Odom Horishoin, the man we know as Adam, the first man. It’s all his fault! Pshat may, according to him, efsher be azoy: “know, that if Odom Horishoin (Adam) had not sinned (by eating of the forbidden fruit, a sin since emulated daily by millions of men all over the world, if you chap, which they do), there would have been no need for a separate holy place (the Mishkan), since the entire world would have been Gan Eden (Paradise).” His one sin -the original sin as we know it- is the root cause of the world’s order being rearranged. Wait, there’s more: “Likewise, if Odom had not sinned, there would be no need for some people (the kohanim) to be distinguished from the others, to serve Hashem (the RBSO). Rather, everyone would have been part of the “Kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation” as described with those exact words in the heylige Toirah (Shmois 19:6).” And a bit more: In that world (now long gone), man would not need to offer an offering to Hashem for man himself would have been an offering, just as we are taught that man’s soul is offered on the altar above after his death. Well, blow me down!
The good news: Not all of Sefer Vayikro concerns itself with animal sacrifices. Grada we will meet and say a quick hello and good bye to a few colorful characters including the wood gatherer, the blasphemer and others that enraged the RBSO. Alas, we will muddle our way through the first few weeks of Vayikra which will -in painstaking detail- describe every detail of every korban. The bottom line: It epes appears that the RBSO gave us korbonis for several reasons. Which one? Ver veyst and depends avada on whose pshat talks to you.
Said the Rambam: korbonis were given because the Yiddin were still used to the pagan ways they had practiced while enslaved and before Matan Toirah (Revelation). These included animal sacrifices. The RBSO chapped that the Yiddin, still mentally a broken people, could not go cold turkey, that pagan rituals which included sacrificing animals was mamish part of their being. They were not quite ready to let go and needed to be slowly weaned off. Shoin: He allowed sacrifices but attached spirituality to them. He made them ritually kosher and meaningful. Moreover, when brought, they would forgive certain sins and transgressions. Which sins? Shoin, that too depends on whom you ask.
Ober said the RambaN azoy: It is illogical to believe that the RBSO ordered korbonis in order to allow the Yiddin to slowly wean themselves off their past pagan rituals. We were already introduced to holy and well-intended korbonis way back in parshas Bereishis and in many other parshas since. Didn’t both Kayin and Hevel bring sacrifices? Shoin, we know what happened next. And didn’t Noiach, following his harrowing boat ride, build an altar to the RBSO on which he offered a sacrifice to the RBSO? He did! Shoin, we know what happened to him next as well. And didn’t our forefathers offer sacrifices to the RBSO as a means of saying thank you and or, entering into covenants? They did! In other words, sacrifices to the RBSO were not rooted in pagan practice. And there must be a more logical explanation as to why the RBSO ordered and allowed for a series of sacrifices.
Says the Ibn Ezra so gishmak azoy: Humans function on three levels: thought, speech, and action. And they sin using all three of those functions. The RBSO gave instructions for sinners to bring a korban. A sinner could achieve atonement through sacrificing one of the approved animals. The heylige Toirah will teach us that the sinner must place his hands on the animal. The placing of the hands represents any improper actions that the hands had been involved with, if you chap while committing the sin. Shoin, no need to elaborate, you all chap. And if you chap, more than likely you also used your hands. Next, the sinner needed to utter words of confession and these spoken words were meant to correspond to any improper words he had spoken while committing the sin. Again, many of you are guilty as charged. Finally, the internal organs of the animal, corresponding to the organs whence thought and cravings originate, needed to be consumed by the fire of the altar to remind the sinner that it was really he that was deserving of death by fire. That his own blood and organs should have been spilt as punishment for transgressing the word of the RBSO. Ober the RBSO in His magnificence and benevolence, decided to allow mankind to magically transfer his misdeeds and to sacrifice the animal instead. Boruch Hashem!
The bottom line: we should be more than thankful for the opportunity to bring such sacrifices and should taka be learning parshas Vayikra and next week’s parsha of Tzav to become familiar with each korban and how we can, in today’s times, in lieu of korbonis, find ways of asking the RBSO to forgive our sins and let us live to see another day. We need it!
A gittin Shabbis!
The Heylige Oisvorfer Ruv
Yitz Grossman
