Parshat Acharei Mot 2016

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Published on Tuesday, 03 May 2016 19:30

Written by The Hebron Fund

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Parshat Acharei Mot
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"ורחץ את בשרו במים ואחרי כן יבא אל המחנה"

"A pure heart may You create for me O God, and an upright spirit may You re-instill within me" (Tehilim 51).

These words, said by David in Tehilim in the famous chapter of repentance enlighten us to understand the connection between purity and spiritual cleanliness through repentance. Indeed the special day of Repentance, the Day of Atonement, is also the day that deals extensively with purification, as it says, "for on this day you will be atoned for to purify you from all your sins, before HaShem you shall be purified." Moreover, the high priest's service on this day involves firstly atoning for impurity within the Temple, for which purpose he enters the Holy of Holies numbers of times.

It is interesting to note that the atonement for this impurity within the Temple precedes the more general atonement for all the sins of Israel by the casting off of the Goat of Azazel in the Wilderness later (Halachically too the order here is mandatory). We may explain this by saying that the source of all this atonement through sacrifices stems from our connection to God through the Temple. When the channels to this "source of atonement" are "blocked" by impurity, as impurity means "blockage of channels" (see our issue p. Vayeshev 5773 on this at length), so the high priest must first atone for and purify these "channels" in order for general atonement to be achieved.

Today, in absence of the Temple, there continues to be atonement by the essence of this holy day, but only on condition of repentance by the effort of the individual who has sinned.  The combination of these two elements in purification, both human effort to be purified and the element of time in purification is a common theme throughout the laws of purity. In many cases an individual that needs purification must wait a period of time, in some cases 7 days, and with that also make human effort, such as dunking in a mikveh, giving an offering, etc., in order to be purified. Even in cases when the individual does not have to wait 7 days etc., dunking in the mikveh is in many cases still not sufficient. This individual too must at least wait till sunset, for till then he is rendered a "tvul yom", literally meaning,  "one who has dunked in the mikveh that day (yom) and is awaiting sunset" for full purification. Halachically, a "tvul yom" has a status of a semi-pure person, allowing him to conduct in certain matters just as a pure person, while in other matters he is rendered impure.

One of the cut-off lines for the "tvul yom" is the sixth holiest section of the Temple (as in continuation of our on-going study of sections of the Temple in our issues this year on the book of Vayikra), called the "Ezrat Nashim"/ "Women's Section", considered off-limits even to such a "tvul yom".  This section is the outer-most section of the Temple complex itself, before the more external sections of the Temple Mount and Sanctified Jerusalem, and therefore we may gain more understanding into why a more "complete/whole" level of purity is needed here.

This "complete/whole" level of purity needed for the more "house-like" complex of the Temple itself also seems to hint to the "arteries/veins of Hebron" operating in the "brain of Jerusalem", as we depicted in the past that Hebron can be compared to a heart while Jerusalem acts as the brain of the Holy Land in this analogy. Yakov our "Complete Father" whose offspring were completely chosen for the Jewish People is buried in Hebron which itself means unity/completeness. Furthermore, it is Yakov who called the Temple Mount "house" as if envisioning the "house-like" structure of the Temple meant for the "completely pure".

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #168

"One day, for about a half an hour I was particularly involved with a learning project called "Tzurba Merabanan" through study and writing notes on my learning. Just then, I suddenly received a text-message asking me a question about this very learning project "Tzurba Merabanan" (I spend usually about 10 minutes a day on this project).  (I.G)

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Pesach 2016

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Published on Tuesday, 19 April 2016 17:39

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Pesach
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

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Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

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"Hear O Israel, HaShem is our God, HaShem is One!"

The message of the oneness of God is one of the powerful messages of Israel not only in antiquity when idolatry was very common, but also in the present and future in declaring the One Uniting Power of the entire cosmos. The Tanya is one of the works that discusses at length how the perception of God's Oneness is not just a simple declaration of the moment, but rather is a constant life-contemplation penetrating all the "plural" reality that one conceives with the knowledge that all matter stems from the One Source - HaShem.

It seems that a number of the mitzvot of Pesah have special connection to this theme of emphasizing the One Source of all matter, as Pesah is the birth of the People of Israel, "the One People who declare God's Oneness" (from Tahanun). One of the mitzvoth which seems to reflect the concept of "oneness" is the commandment to roast the paschal lamb directly by fire. This shows how the heat-source used to cook the paschal lamb must be a direct, uninterrupted source towards the lamb cooked directly by fire, unlike boiling in water or baking in an oven, which use secondary or tertiary supplements for the preparation of the food. In this mitzvah the Torah even describes the method of roasting - "its (the lamb's) head upon its feet and innards". This description yet again highlights the unison of opposite limbs/parts of the lamb together, as if to also show how both the head and the feet of the lamb are united and come from the same Source.

Another mitzvah that shows this concept is the commandment to eat matza, the un-leavened bread on this night. The un-leavened bread must be baked in a way that also shows the "uninterrupted - united" method of connecting to the One Source of all Reality.  Yet another mitzvah is the eating of this roasted lamb with matza and marror together. This unison of different themes and foods on Seder Night highlights our belief that the different manifestations of God's Providence in the World all stem from the One Source. More specifically the Rabbis point to these different themes being indicative of our three Patriarchs. The matza corresponds to Avraham is said to have baked matza in Hebron. The paschal lamb corresponds to Yitzhak who was offered as a sacrifice in the Akeida The marror corresponds to Yakov who had a particularly bitter life. Of course all these themes come together so naturally in Hebron, burial place of all these patriarchs, which also means through its very name unity - Hebron!

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #166

One day I was searching for a particular individual to discuss his support for an organization. As approached his house, it turn out that he approached me, saying that he was looking for me. As we talked, he asked why I don't locate my organization at specific spot in Hebron. To this I answered that I am detained from doing so, since I need an architect to assure the safe entrance to that location. To this he answered, "I am an architect (this I did not know before), and I would be glad to do that for you!" (AI)

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Pesach 7/8 2016

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Published on Tuesday, 26 April 2016 20:33

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Passover Day 7 & 8 5776
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים

"And so Moshe and Israel sung this song unto HaShem and so they said: I will sing unto HaShem for He is lofty, chariot and horseman He drew into the sea..."

The Zohar states that this Song upon the Sea is sung at the end of psukei dezimra, because its level of praise is so great that it deserves to be the culmination of all the praises before the Shema (and its blessings) and  the Amida, when one unites with the Holy Presence in prayer. We have discussed in the past how uniting to the Holy Presence in our Holy Land is compared to the unity between husband and wife by the prophet Isaiah and the teachings of our Sages. This correlation is heightened when we study our Sages teaching that this unison between husband and wife is compared to the parting of the Red Sea (Sota 2a).

Aside from our Sages' proof-text for this concept we can also find that this correlation fits perfectly with the perception of Israel as husband and the Holy  Land as wife, as the splitting of the Red Sea was a decisive step in the Exodus of Israel towards the Holy Land. This image of passing through two separate parts strikingly reminds us of the Covenant of Pieces with Avraham which involved a covenant between HaShem and Avraham by Avraham's walking through two lines of severed animals. Indeed, it is at this very Covenant of Pieces that Avraham is taught by God about the future Exodus of his descendants from a foreign land, to occur 430 years later. This Covenant of the Pieces also fits perfectly with what we just mentioned that the passing through the Red Sea, hinted to by the Covenant of Pieces, is itself a motion of "covenant" between husband and wife, between Israel and the Holy Land. In other words, just as HaShem forms a covenant between Him and Israel, so to a covenant is formed between Israel and the Land of HaShem's Holy Presence. In fact, this is exactly the content of the Covenant of Pieces - "on that day HaShem formed a covenant with Avraham saying to your descendants I have given this Land..."

According to the commentators it becomes apparent that this covenant was formed with Avraham in Hebron after his return from the battle with "the four nations" (to which he set out to from Hebron). Indeed, Hebron, which means "unity" is strongly connected to the concept of "covenant". Here we can pray unto HaShem so naturally: "and the covenant to our Forefathers to their descendants may You remember". Here is formed the covenant between HaShem and Israel, between Israel and the Holy Land, and also with Israel between themselves, as it says "and King David formed a covenant with them in Hebron before HaShem..." - a covenant uniting all Israel under one dominion, the regal line of David, forerunner of Mashiah.

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #167

"Recently, I had opened a kollel at "Nachshon's Gallery" next to Maaras HaMachpela which had a kollel, headed by Rabbi Ashlag zt"l, running within it 22 years ago, but had since then been stopped from holding a kollel in its auspices for political/security reasons since the Goldstein affair at Maaras HaMachpela. One day, my wife told me to go to Maaras HaMachpela at about 10 am, an hour I am usually not there (I usually pray there at sunrise). Surprisingly there I saw the Hasidim of the Ashlag community (from Telstone-Kiryat Yaarim) and was able to excite them with the recent news of the re-opening of their Bait Midrash in "Nachshon's Gallery". M.G

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Parshat Metzora 2016

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Published on Tuesday, 12 April 2016 20:26

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Parshat Metzora
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"וכפר עליו הכהן וטהר"

"How beautiful are your tents O Jacob, your sanctuaries O Israel!"

This verse said when entering a synagogue reminds us that the synagogue is a 'mini-sanctuary/Mishkan'. In the synagogue there is no demarcation dividing between areas allowed only to the Priests and those areas allowed to Israelites, as we find in the Temple. Rather, the most familiar part of the Temple more resembling the synagogue today is the 'Israelite section' allowed for Israelites. Yet still, even this section of the Temple is strictly limited only to Israelites of ritual purity. Actually not only regular ritual purity is required at this fifth holiest location of the Bais HaMIkdash, but a special level of purity involving the offering of a sacrifice of atonement is required too in addition to the regular purification process (mikveh, counting days, etc.).

Much of this week's parsha deals with such individuals who need such a sacrificial atonement in order to be purified to the extent of entering the 'Israelite section of the Bais HaMikdash'. These individuals are the leper, a woman who gives birth, a man who emits a specific abnormal fluid discharge - 'zav', and a woman who has a specific abnormal discharge of blood - 'zava'. Aside from the ritual leper (to be discerned from the medical leper) whose condition clearly points to a sin (especially slander) according to our Sages, it seems somewhat unclear what sin the other individuals in this list are liable for in order to seek 'atonement'.

In regard to a woman who gives birth our Sages teach that she needs atonement in order to be purified, because every woman has an innate wish to cease childbirth and relations with her husband when experiencing the pains of birth (Nida 31b). Therefore, in order to correct this improper impulse to cease life, a woman must offer a sacrifice to atone for this impulse.  In a similar way, according to the Sefer Hahinuch, both the 'zav' and the 'zava' are Providentially given a bodily malfunction in order to awaken them to their negative lusts and desires innately within them requiring them for atonement. The word for atonement, kapara, can also mean a covering, and thus we gain greater understanding on the verse 'the (Holy) Land will atone upon His People' (end of p. Haazinu) used also by our Sages in context of burial, 'covering' the corpse, in the Land of Israel which acts as an 'altar of atonement' for those buried in it.

Of course, the archetype of burial in the Land of Israel is in Hebron at Maaras HaMachpela where the first Jewish burial took place and where Adam, Eve, and our Patriarchs and Matriarchs are buried. Therefore, burial in Hebron, according to halachic authorities may even champion with Jerusalem as being the choicest plays of burial on earth (see Gesher Hahayim). Also, the term "Cave" of Machpela itself connotes a concealing cave. It seems that this "concealed" and "hidden" nature of the Cave of Machpela also allows for it being the Threshold of the Afterlife, where all souls arise to Heaven, Place of the Final Atonement for all souls. 

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #165

"Once I decided to found a kollel on the 29th of Adar II. Two years later on the exact same date, 29 Adar 5776 , the kollel that was founded entered, to study on a regular level, the "Rabbi Ashlag's Beit Midrash"/"Nachshon's Gallery" , where a kollel had been running 22 years before, and had ceased by the security forces after the Goldstein episode in Adar 5754..." (M.G)

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