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Home -> 5778 -> Naso

וזאת תורת הנזיר ביום מלאת ימי נזרו... והקריב את קרבנו לד'... וכבשה אחת בת שנתה תמימה לחטאת

Moshe Marcovich
In Naso, 5778

This shall be the law of the nazir: on the day his abstinence is completed… He shall bring his offering to Hashem… one unblemished ewe in its first year as a sinoffering. (6:13,14)

The nazir completes the time limit of his own abstinence and brings varied korbanos. One of the nazir’s korbanos is a chatas, sin-offering. The Ramban explains that the nazir is considered a “sinner” solely because he ended his vow of abstinence. Having achieved such a lofty spiritual perch he should have remained there, ensconced in spirituality. Why did he leave? Why did he return to a mundane life? Once a person takes a giant step forward/upward, he indicates that he is special. Why not stay in that position? Returning is an indication of weakness, warranting a sin-offering. Ish or isha…

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Home -> 5778 -> Naso

'איש או אשה כי יפלא לנדר נדר נזיר להזיר לד

Moshe Marcovich
In Naso, 5778

A man or woman who shall dissociate himself by taking a nazirite vow of abstinence for the sake of Hashem. (6:2)

A Nazir seeks to dissociate himself from an environment which he feels is filled with temptation. It does not mean that he is weak. On the contrary, he is realistic, understanding that society presents blandishments that are not conducive to spiritual growth. The laws of nazir are juxtaposed upon the laws of sotah, the wayward wife. Chazal derive from here that one who observes a sotah in her degradation should prohibit himself from wine by taking a nazirite vow. The profligate behavior of the sotah is reflective of a woman who has allowed her sensual passions to partner with her…

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Home -> Bamidbar -> 5778

ואתה הפקד את הלוים על משכן העדת ועל כל כליו ועל כל אשר לו

Moshe Marcovich
In 5778, Bamidbar

You shall appoint the Leviim over the Mishkan of the Testimony, over all of its utensils and everything that belongs to it. (1:50)

The Leviim were first appointed to their service in the Mishkan, and later they were counted. Why were they not counted immediately, like the rest of Klal Yisrael? The Shach explains that had they been counted prior to receiving their positions, they might have become disheartened by their census in proportion to the rest of the nation. There were only twenty-two thousand Leviim from the age of thirty days, in comparison with much larger numbers for each tribe – who were counted from the age of twenty years old. Once they were given their lofty positions serving in the Mishkan,…

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Home -> Bamidbar -> 5778

כל יצא צבא בישראל תפקדו אתם לצבאתם אתה ואהרן

Moshe Marcovich
In 5778, Bamidbar

Everyone who goes out to the legion in Yisrael – you shall count them according to their legions, you and Aharon. (1:3)

Tifkedu osam, count them. The root of tifkedu is pakod, which means to appoint. While it does have other connotations, its root (as explained by Ramban) usually has the implication of concern for something or taking cognizance of the individual under discussion. It can be used as “remember,” as in “Hashem remembered Sarah” (Bereishis 21:1) or U’b’yom pakdi u’pokaditi aleihem, “And on the day that I make My account, I shall bring their sin to account against them” (Shemos 32:34), following the sin of the Golden Calf. Ramban feels that in the context of the census, pakod implies that the…

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Home -> Bamidbar -> 5778

תפקדו אתם לצבאתם אתה ואהרן

Moshe Marcovich
In 5778, Bamidbar

You shall count them according to their legions – you and Aharon. (1:3)

Hashem commanded Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen, working together with the tribal leaders, to take a census of all males over the age of twenty. Rashi and Ramban offer reasons for making the census at this point. One of the reasons offered by Ramban is particularly striking. Each member of the nation had an inherent right to benefit from the personal attention of Moshe and Aharon. What is a better opportunity for such interaction than a census in which each Jew would come before these two leaders and, after telling them his name, be counted as an individual of personal…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5778

'איש כי יפלא נדר בערכך נפשת לד

Moshe Marcovich
In 5778, Bechukosai

If a man articulates a vow to Hashem regarding a valuation of human beings. (27:2)

Just as people may vow to contribute specific values of money to the Bais Hamikdash, so, too, may one vow to contribute the value of oneself or of another person. The word erech means valuation. Thus, one who contributes the erech, value, of a person, follows the Torah’s guidelines concerning valuation. The Torah values people according to age and gender.  The value of a Jew is measured in spiritual sanctity which we, as human beings, are unable to evaluate. Thus, the Torah gives specific guidelines with regard to equal values of Jews. Noticeably, the parsha of arachin, evaluations, follows immediately…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5778

ואף גם זאת בהיותם בארץ אויביהם לא מאסתים ולא געלתים לכלתם

Moshe Marcovich
In 5778, Bechukosai

But despite all this, while they will be in the land of their enemies, I will not have been revolted by them nor will I have rejected them to obliterate them. (26:44)

In the closing words of the Tochachah, Rebuke, Hashem consoles His tormented Nation. They might be in exile, but it is not the end. The atrocities that have accompanied them throughout the exile, the travail that has been their constant shadow, does not mean that Hashem has rejected them. No, says Hashem. Even in exile they remain His People, and the Covenant He made with them remains in full force. Parashas Bechukosai contains within it the first set of kelalos, curses, which comprise the Rebuke. The second set, which is larger, is in Parashas Ki Savo. The distinctions between the…

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Home -> Behar -> 5778

לא תעבד בו עבדת עבד

Moshe Marcovich
In 5778, Behar

You shall not work with him slave labor. (25:39)

The eved Ivri, Jewish bondsman/slave, is not a slave in the generally accepted sense of the word. He is an indentured servant, who, for a specific period of time, neither is free to do as he wants, nor to resign his employment. Nonetheless, their masters must treat them with such delicacy and consideration that Chazal (Kiddushin 20a) say, “One who purchases a (Jewish) slave for himself buys himself a master.” The master is forbidden to assign him to perform degrading work that would be relegated only to a slave. He is to be assigned skilled, dignified labor like hired help….

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Home -> Behar -> 5778

אל תונו איש את אחיו

Moshe Marcovich
In 5778, Behar

Do not aggrieve one another. (25:14)

The Torah details the prohibition against cheating a fellow Jew in business by overcharging. One should seek every avenue to help a fellow Jew – not to cheat him. What kind of person cheats his brother? This probably sounds like a naïve question. Obviously, one who has fallen so financially in arrears that his only way out is to take advantage of others who are unaware. What about bitachon, trust in Hashem? Horav Yitzchak Yaakov Ruderman, zl, explains that the answer is in the juxtaposition of the laws of onaah, cheating, upon the previous stated laws of shemittah, the seventh…

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Home -> 5778 -> Emor

ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

Moshe Marcovich
In Emor, 5778

You shall not desecrate My Holy Name, and I shall be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

Some of us live under the misguided, self-imposed impression that Kiddush Hashem, sanctifying Hashem’s Name, is a one-time event – the ultimate sacrifice one must accept upon himself when the need arises and the situation is so pressing that there is no other way out other than abdicating one’s religious commitment. Horav Nissan Alpert, zl, understands otherwise from the text of this pasuk. According to the Rambam (Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 5:1), this pasuk is the source for the mitzvah that all the Jewish People are commanded to sanctify the great and holy Name of Hashem Yisborach. As it says, V’nikdashti…

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