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Parshat Vayikra/HaChodesh
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Inviting the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
This Month is the First of Months
'The One Who has done miracles for our fathers and redeemed them from bondage to freedom, may He redeem us soon, and ingather our exiles from the four corners of the Earth, as friends shall be all of Israel, and we shall say Amen'.
This blessing, linking the in-gathering of exiles to redemption from bondage, is said in all synagogues of the world before every new month. This blessing is especially poignant when blessing the 'first month of all months', the month of Nisan, on which it is said, 'in Nisan our ancestors were redeemed, and in Nisan the future redemption will occur.' Not only the Exodus, but many trailblazing events occurred in the month of Nisan throughout history, one of the most important being the inauguration of the Mishkan, where the Holy Presence rests among Israel. In regard to Hebron-City of the Patriarchs, one of the focal points of the Holy Presence in the Holy Land, we should also mention that our Sages attribute our Patriarchs' birthdays to Nisan and also the special blessing given from Yitzhak to Yakov to have occurred on Seder Night. The renewal of Jewish presence in Hebron also occurred in Nisan in our era on the famous Seder Night at the Park Hotel 50 years ago.
The term 'in Nisan our ancestors were redeemed, and in Nisan the future redemption will occur,' is not meant to limit the time of our redemption. Rather, this statement teaches us that there is opportune timing for redemption and for miracles - 'nes' - in 'Nisan.' This is the time to 'seize the day', to make bold and courageous strides to bring ourselves closer to HaShem, as the parshiot at this time of the year teach us about the 'korbanot.' The term 'korban' comes from the verb root 'karev', to 'come close', and indeed this is the opportune time of the year to come closer to HaShem and to His Holy Presence.
One of the trailblazing figures of Hebron before the renewal of Hebron's Jewish community in our era was Rabbi Malkiel Ashkenazi, who renewed Hebron's Jewish community about 500 years ago. In the year 5300 (1540) Rabbi Ashkenazi bought the 'Jewish Courtyard,' that had already housed a number of Jewish families, under rent. The Hida writes: "We heard from the elders of the city, that the Rav (Rabbi M. Ashkenazi) was the cause for Jews to be able to live in the holy city of Hebron." Rabbi M. Ashkenazi stood at the head of the community, added apartments and buildings to the Jewish community and was also responsible for the building of the Avraham Avinu Synagogue, that can be seen today in Hebron's Avraham Avinu neighborhood, after being renewed/rebuilt. Rabbi M. Ashkenazi wrote many halachic rulings and also wrote a sefer called 'Sefer Malkiel' about the righteous and the wicked, reward and punishment. The Shelah, Rabbi Yeshyahu HaLevi Horowitz, mentions his name with great reverence. Rabbi Shlomo Narvoni writes about him: "the fully wise, a pious and holy man."
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #259
'I have a Sefer Torah which I hadn't opened for a number of years. One day I had a sudden urge to open the sefer Torah (not knowing where it was rolled to). The scroll 'happened' to open up on the same parsha of that week.'
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Who was the first Israeli to return to Hebron in 1967? Who was the first Jew to enter the Cave of the Machpela in over 700 years?
(Moslems refused to permit Jews into the Cave of the Machpela. Jews were allowed to pray outside, at the infamous "7th step". Anyone attempting to get any closer to the entrance was beaten by the Arab guards stationed there.) Surprisingly enough, the first Israeli in Hebron and in the Cave of the Machpela was the then Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, z”l. And here is his story:
Rabbi Goren was present with Israeli forces as the IDF conquered the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Holding the rank of general, Rabbi Goren knew that the army's next mission was Hebron. Wanting to be among the first Israeli's in the ancient City of the Patriarchs, he joined the armed forces stationed at the recently captured Etzion Block, on their way to Hebron. On the night of 28 Iyyar, before retiring for the evening, he requested to be awoken when the soldiers began their march to Hebron the following day.
The next morning he awoke, only to find himself alone with his driver.
Realizing that he had been "left behind," he ordered his driver to begin the 20 minute journey to Hebron, expecting to meet the rest of the army, already on their way.
Rabbi Goren thought it pecular that he hadn’t encountered any other Israeli soldiers on the road as he reached Hebron. He thought to himself surely the Israelis had already finished the job of marching on Hebron already. Driving into Hebron, Rabbi Goren was greeted by the sight of white sheets, hung from roof-tops and windows, throughout the city. He was astounded, but understood. In the summer of 1929, Arab residents of Hebron had massacred 67 Jews and wounded many others. The
1967 Arabs of Hebron were, very plainly, scared of Jewish retaliation.
So, they did not fire one shot. Instead they hung white sheets from windows and roof-tops.
Rabbi Goren quickly made his way to the Cave of Machpela. Finding the huge doors bolted, he tried breaking in by shooting at the lock, firing his Uzi submachine gun. Finally, after getting into Ma’arat HaMachpela he blew the Shofar, as he had done 24 hours earlier at the Western Wall.
Only afterwards did Rabbi Goren discover that when he left the base at the Etzion Block, the rest of the forces were on the other side of the hill, making plans for the attack on Hebron. They did not know that the Arabs would surrender. In other words, Rabbi Goren, a single Israeli soldier, single-handedly conquered a city of 80,000 Arabs.
Jews had returned to Hebron and to Ma’arat HaMachpela!
Rabbi Goren hung an Israeli flag outside the Ma'ara and brought a Sefer Torah inside. The next day he received a telegram from Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan. It read, "Take down the flag, take out the Sefer Torah, and everyone who enters must take off his shoes, because the building is a Mosque!" Rabbi Goren sent back a telegram saying, "The Sefer Torah is Kodesh (holy) - it stays. The flag means to me what it means to you. If you want to remove it, do so. I will not touch it."
Dayan sent an officer into Hebron to remove the flag and Torah. On the way back to Jerusalem, the officer was killed in an automobile accident. Dayan then rescinded his order to remove shoes in the Ma'ara. (This story was told to a group of people by Rabbi Shlomo Goren in Kiryat Arba about 8 months before he passed away.)
. Parshat Vayakhel/Pekudei/Parah
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Inviting the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
And All Those Wise of Heart of You Shall Come and Do What HaShem has Commanded
"And build it [the Temple] speedily in our days, a permanent sanctuary..."
On a superficial level, many would seem to have some difficulty understanding why the Torah describes at such length the measurements and various arts and craftsmanship of the Mishkan. Moreover, we find that the Torah describes in great detail both the commandment in making the various facets of the Mishkan and also the actual making of the Mishkan. Not only this, but also the inauguration of the Mishkan is described in considerable length three times in the Torah, in the books of Shemot (end of Tezaveh), Vayikra (p. Shmini), and the book of Bamidbar (Naso-Behaalotcha). In addition, much of the book of Vayikra describes in detail what is actually done in the Service of the Temple. Also, the Prophets and Scriptures describe even more the First, Second, and Third Temples (of the future), and in the Oral Tradition itself we find more than 200 Biblical commandments attached to the Temple. Why all this length in regard to the Temple?
The verb root of 'Mishkan' is sh.k.n, referring to the Shechina, the Holy Presence, which rests in the Temple. The Torah teaches us that seeking and striving for the Holy Presence to rest in our midst in the Temple is a major emphasis of the Torah. For this reason such detail is attached to all matters that pertain to the Temple. All means of connecting to the Holy Presence of the Temple are important: studying HaShem's command to build the Mishkan teaches one of the heavenly spheres to which the Mishkan's facets allude, and studying the actual building of the Mishkan teach us how to bring the resting of the Holy Presence into reality. The commandments of the Temple teach us how to bring the Holy Presence into our midst in an even more practical way, while studying the inauguration of the Mishkan in its various contexts teaches us various ways how to initiate connection with the Holy Presence of the Temple. The book of Vayikra teaches us the more internal methods of connection to the Holy Presence of the Temple, while the Prophets and Scriptures teach us various realms of connection that are manifest through the different Temples throughout the ages.
One example of finding Godly meaning in what may seem repetitious can be found in this parsha, in chapter 35 of Exodus which has a 'parsha petucha', a 'paragraph' in a Torah scroll, comprising of exactly 26 verses, from Exodus 35, 4 till 35, 29. In this 'paragraph', the first 6 verses describe the materials of the Mishkan, the next 10 verses describe what should be done with these materials (the Ark, Table, Menora, etc.), the next 5 verses describe the men who worked on the Mishkan, and the last 5 verses describe workers/sources of materials derived, from 'special' classes: women (sometimes alongside men) and the princes or the miraculous 'winds' ['nesiim'] that brought materials according to our Sages. Obviously, the numbers of verse here correspond to a variation of the Tetragrammaton, 'vav, yod, heh, and heh'. According to the Kabbalists, this variation of the Tetragrammaton is one of twelve variations that correspond to the twelve months of the year, while this variation corresponds to the month of Kislev, when the Mishkan was rendered ready for inauguration, according to our Sages [although it was only actually built in Nisan]. An explanation why each section has such a number of verses is out of scope of our discussion, but those who wish, may ask for such an explanation by e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.." style="color: #000000;">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A famous living artist of Hebron today, whose works reflect 'wisdom of the heart' and spiritual illumination that may give us a glimpse into the work of the craftsmen of the Mishkan, is Baruch Nachshon. Baruch Nachshon was encouraged to study art by the last Lubavitch Rebbe, and he was the only artist to exhibit at Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn. Baruch Nachshon was among the first Jewish settlers of Hebron in 5727 (1967) and opened a gallery next to the Maarat HaMachpela in the 1970s. In Baruch Nachshon's work one experiences a feeling of manifest mysticism and bright, colorful imagery. His favorite themes include the flow of divine benevolence through creation, and the joy of the creations- usually symbolized by dancing Hassidim, soaring angels or living animals. Baruch Nachshon's wife, Sarah Nachshon, is also famous for being responsible for triggering the opening of the Jewish Cemetery of Hebron, when she buried her baby there. Baruch Nachshon regularly signs his name with 'Hebron' in his works. Indeed, this is Hebron, Focal Point of the Holy Presence, the City from which King David made strides towards the Temple in Jerusalem according to the Arizal, City of Inspiration.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #258
'One Erev Shabbat I didn't have enough money to make provisions for Shabbat, so I turned to HaShem in prayer for help. Soon after, someone turned to me and asked to give one of the avreichim in my yeshiva a 1000 NIS, and I 'happened' to fit in this category...'(A.B.S)
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