From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 3:45 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Cc: Kisenf@aol.com
Subject: Netvort:parshas Tzav,5768
Where Have You Been?
By Rabbi Joshua (absently known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
This week's parsha begins with God telling Moshe to command aharon and his sons
concerning the korban olah, or the elevation sacrifice. The Misrash Rabbah
points out that before this command was given, Moshesaid to God that
until that until that point, in the book of Vayikra, He had only spoken of
Aharon's sons, but not of Aharon. God had until then , for exmple, commanded
only Aharon's sons to throw the blood of a sacrifice, or to arrange wood on the
altar. Doesn't t seem anomalous, said Moshe, that Aharon's sons should be
mentioned, but Aharon himself was not? In response, God told Moshe that, in his
honor, H would now mention Aharon, and make him the main focus, and his sons
subsidiary to him, as it says, " Command Aharon and his sons" (
Vayikra, 6:1). Rabbi Moshe Sofer, known as the Chasam Sofer, cites this midrash
in his commentary, Toras Moshe, and writes that the previous absence of
Aharon's name in God's commands concerning the mishkan service may not have
been a negative phenomenon, because of the sin of the eigel, but a positive
one, because of Aharon's role among the nation. The prophet Malachi ( 2:5-6),
points out the Chasam Sofer, describes the kohein as one who has the
Torah of truth ( Toras emes) on his lips, and who teaches Torah to the nation.
Aharon, then, was constantly involved in Torah learning, and, according to the
halacha, when one who is studying Torah is confronted with another
rmitzvah to perform, there is a basic rule of procedure. If the mitzvah can be
done by someone else, then he should have someone else do it, and continue
learning orah. If, however, there is no one else available who can do the other
mitzah, he must interrupt his learning in order to do the mitzvah. Thus, until
now, the mitzvos concerning the service in the mishkan were given over to
Aharon's sons, so that Aharon could continue his learning, However, the mitzvah
of the korban olah had a special status, such that Aharon needed to be involved
in it also, and, so, he was now included in the command.
What was so special
about the korban olah that it warranted having Aharon interrupt his learning in
order to bring it. The Chasam Sofer explains that, according to Chazal, the
korban olah comes to combat arrogance, or gasus haruach. The need to display
humility in the bringing of this sacrifice is so great that only Aharon could
be the one to bring it and serve as an example of how to do so in a humble
fashion. What the Chasam Sofer does not explain is how Aharon developed this
sense of humility that made him the only one among all te kohanim who could
properly exhibit the kind of humility needed in bringing the korban olah. I
would like to suggest that it was precisely the Torah learning that Aharon had
been involved in until this point that developed this trait in him. The rabbis
tell us that a person can be successful in his learning only if he is humble.
we can understand this in th esense that in learning Torah, one nees to adapt
his system of logic to that of the Torah, in order to properly understand what
the Torah is saying, rather than imposing one's own views on the Torah. since
Malachi tells us that the kohein gadol teaches 'Toras emes,' it must be that e
has understood the Torah properly, and, thus, must have reached the degree of
humility necessary to do so. Thus, Aharon's ;earning until this point
necessitated him to develop an elevated sense of humility, and this made him
the proper person to bring the korban olah. for this reason, it was only now
that Aharon was included in God's command concerning the service in the
mishkan.
The Chasam Sofer's approach to the midrash, as we have expanded upon it, finds
support in some comments by the medieval commentator, Rav Yitzchak ben Rav
Yehudah HaLevi, in his work Pa'aneach Raza. He writes that there are several
hinto to Torah in the opening words of our parsha. for example, he notes that
the last two words of parshas Vayikra are "leashama bah", meaning, to
incur guilt. The juxtaposition of these words to the words in the beginning of
Tzav, " Tzav es Aharon,"or 'command Aharon,' teaches us that
neglect in Torah study can lead to sin, and that is why the word ''tzav,' which
implies alacrity, as Rashi points out here, is used. The message is that one
must study Torah with zerizus, or alacrity and diligence, in order to avoid
sin. he also points out that if one takes the last letter in each of the words
, Moshe,. leimor,; 'tzav,' and 'es,' at the end of the first verse and the
beginning of the second verse, he will come up with the word Torah. The message
here, says the Paneach Raza, that the kohanim must be zerizim, dilligent, in
their Torah studies, because they are the ones who will teach it to the
descendants of Yaakov, as the verse in VeZos haBeracha says, in regard to
the tribe of Levi, " They will teach Your judgments to
Yaakov." ( Devarim, 33:10).We may add that chazal themselves expound
the words in the second verse of the parsha, " This is the law ( Toras) of
the olah" to mean that studying the laws of the sacrifices are considered
equivalent to bringing the sacrifice. although on its face this midrash is
referring to a time wen it is not possible to bring sacrifices, namely after
the destruction of the temple, Rav Nissan Alpert has suggested that it can also
mean that by learning the laws of the korban, the kohein enhances his
performance of the mitzvah. Understanding this nuance as directed specifically
to the korban olah, we can again see why Aharon, wo until now had been
intensely involved in his Torah larning, was the person who fitting to bring
the one to bring that sacrifice, as his involvement in Torah learning imbued him
with the humility needed in bringing the olah, which brought atonement for
arrogance of spirit.
We still need to
understand, however, why Aharon needed to concentrate on humility so much.
Where do we see that he was prone to arrogance? The Chasam Sofer 's son, Rav
Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, in his commentary Ksav Sofer, mentions the
midrash, cited by Rashi, that the word tzav refers to the need for
zerizus,alacrity and diligence, for the immediate moment and for future
generations. What is the meaning of this reference to future generations. The
Kesav Sofer explains that it refers to the role of kehunah, of
priesthood, which, having been taken from Moshe, would now belong to the family
of Aharon for all future generations. This knowledge of perpetuity in such a
high position could very easily lead to a feeling of entitlement and
arrogance, and that is why there was such a need to emphasize humility at this
point. Although the Kesav Sofer does not refer to his father's comments about
Aharon's Torah learning, we can understand, based on this danger of a lapse
into arrogance, why it was so important for Aharon to engage in Torah learning,
and how that Torah learning served to maintain the level of humility required
in his service in the mishkan.
A joyous Purim from the
entire Netvort staff to all of you in Netvort-land.
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