From: "joshhoff@aol.com"
To: "joshhoff@aol.com"
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 05:57:57 PM EDT
Subject: Netvort: prshas Pinchas, 5771

Something Old, Something New

By Rabbi Joshua (generational known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

After God instructs Moshe to appoint his student, Yehoshua, to be his successor as leader of the Jewish people, He presents Moshe with the laws of the sacrifices to be brought on Shabbos and the Yomim Tovim. Although these sacrifices were mentioned in parshas Emor, there were some aspects that were not mentioned previously, and,as Ramban says, the idea here was to complete the laws of sacrifices, filling in whatever was left out earlier. We need to understand, however, why the twice-daily tamind sacrifice is mentioned here, as the first in the series of sacrifices recorded in this section, since it had been mentioned previously, and, in addition, does not seem to be related to the sacrifices brought on Shabbbos and Yom Tov. We also need to understand why the sacrifices of Rosh Chodesh are first mentioned here, and were not recorded earlier, together with the sacrifices of Yom Tov. I believe that we can answer these questions by trying to understand why this section on sacrifices is brought directly after the section describing the appointment of Yehushua to succeed Moshe in his leadership role.

Rav Dovid Feinstein explained that since Yehoshua would be the one to lead the Jewish Anton into Eretz Yisroel, he needed to know that it was in the merit of bringing the sacrifices that the Jews would be able to hold onto the land, as God told Avraham at the covenant between the pieces (bris bein habesarim), according to the midrash, as cited by Rashi in parshas Lech Lecha. We may add that this had special relevance to the tamid sacrifice, which is why, day, we recite, before we begin the Shacharis prayers, this section of the Torah , regarding that sacrifice, so that our words will replace the actual service in the Temple, which no longer have, and thereby merit to return to the land. This is pointed out by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook in his introduction to the Likutei Halachos of the Chofetz Chaim. Although the name attached to this introduction is that of Rav Kook's father-in-law, Rav Eliyahu david Rabinovitz- Teumim, known as the Aderes, it was, in fact, written by Rav Kook, as has been pointed out by Rav Moshe Tzvi Neriah in his Likutei Reiyah.

We may further add that the notion of constancy, which is underscored by the tamid sacrifice, since it is brought twice a day on a daily basis, even on Shabboss, and Yom Tov, was the major factor behind the choice of Yehoshua to be Moshe's successor, because Yehoshua was constantly at Moshe's side, always wanting to learn whatever he could from him, and to aid him in whatever way he could. The rabbis say that while the face of Moshe resembled the sun, the face of Yehishua resembled the moon. Metaphorically, the message of this statement is that that Yehoshua was a reflection of Moshe. Rav Amnon Bazak, in his Nekudas Pesicha, writes that Rosh Chodesh, on the one hand, represent a certain amount of constancy, in that the moon returns to full visibility every month, but, on the other hand, represents change. In contrast to Shabbos, which always comes on a fixed day, and is therefore mentioned after the tamid and before Rosh Chodesh, in that time of its reappearance changes each month, and it is the Jewish people who determine when the new month starts, based on when they see its first new glimmerings. In addition, the dates of all the festival days are determined by when the new month is set. In this way, the verses regarding Rosh Chodesh refer back to the previously mentioned tamid and the subsequently mentioned Yomom Tovim. So too, Yehoshua, as the successor of Moshe needed , on the one hand, to follow , in an exact way, the Torah as taught to him by Mioshe, but, on the other hand, ahd to adjust is leadership the needs of the. new generation, which was about to enter the Holy Land..Perhaps, then, this is why the parsha of the tamid and that of Rosh Chodesh are mentioned after the appointment of Yehoshua, to point out this dual nature of his leadership.

The entire Netvort staff wishes our readership a meaningful fast this coming Tuesday, the 17th of Tamuz. May we merit to see the restoration of the Beis HaMikdash, speedily in our days.