Torah Table of Contents
The Torah of Life, the Divrei Yisroel
Gems from Alei Deshe, Parshas Acharei-Mos
Holiness - Only in the Holy Land, Imrei Shaul
Based on the Divrei Yisroel, Parshas Acharei Mos
"Acharei Mos Shnei Bnei Aharon, B'Korvosom Lifnei Hashem V'yamusu... - After the death of Aharon's two sons, who tried to draw too close to Hashem, and thus died..."
The Divrei Yisroel asks the common, yet essential question - what did Aharon's sons Nadav and Avihu do that deserved such a swift and strict punishment of death? The answer is a deeply penetrating one, one that sears the soul as we ponder it.
The Divrei Yisroel points to the famous Mishna in Pirkei Avos - "Be a student of Aharon HaCohen, Love Peace and Seek Peace (both of which reflect the basic concept of Shalom/Peace), Love your Fellowman, and Draw them closer to the Torah." Aharon therefore had 3 stellar character traits - he was a seeker of peace, he loved his fellow Jew, and he was deeply committed to Torah and bringing people closer to Torah.
We are then directed by the Divrei Yisroel to a famous Gemorrah in Shabbos 88: - "If one merits (to learn properly), his Torah becomes an Elixir of Life/Health, but if he doesn't, then his Torah becomes the opposite." This is the clue to what happened to Aharon's sons - their Torah involvement was missing something, and it became a poison for them, rather than an Elixir of Life. But what were they missing?
From our Mishna from Pirkei Avos, we can see that what they must have been missing had to do with learning essential
lessons from their own father, Aharon HaCohen. The Divrei Yisroel states that they had only one of their father's
three traits - they sought to draw close with Torah, but were lacking in Ahavas Yisrael and Shalom. And this
combination, of Torah without Shalom and Ahavas Yisrael, is deadly indeed.
Translated by Reb Eliezer Weger of Rechovot, a Modzitzer Chasid
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Parshas Acharei-Mos/Kedoshim
"..after the death of Aharon's two sons, who approached/offered before Hashem and died." (Vayikra, 16:1)
The Imrei Aish, asks why there is a repetition of "death" (see the underlined words) in the above verse. Our Sages learn from the death of Nadav and Avihu that "tefilla oseh mechtza", that prayer can avert half of stern decree. At the sin of the Golden Calf, there was a decree of death on Aharon's four sons. Moshe Rabbeinu prayed, and it fell on two of them [half were saved]. The Imrei Aish says that this is true of the prayers of an individual. However, as we say in the blessing for the new month, "Hashem should fulfill all the requests of our heart for good, in the merit of the prayers of the many;" that is, we can accomplish the entire matter when everyone prays together. But in our case, Moshe knew that the decree was on all four sons, and his prayers helped save half of them.
With this we can understand the seeming repetition. Although the decree was on all of Aharon's sons, in actuality it was only "after the death of Aharon's two sons," because Moshe's prayers helped. In order for us to know which of Aharon's sons died, and why, the verse goes on: "who approached/offered before Hashem and died."
"For on this day [Yom Kippur] He shall atone for all your sins, in order to cleanse you..." (Vayikra, 16:30)
Rebbe Shmuel Eliyahu of Zvolin (father of the Divrei Yisrael) explains that kippur (atonement) can also mean "wiping clean." When a housemaid or babysitter bathes a baby, she may not be careful not to hurt the child when cleansing him, even scratching his skin to remove the dirt, and may disregard the child's crying. But when a mother bathes her child, she is careful to do it gently and pleasantly. This can be applied to our verse as well: "for on this day He shall atone for you". Hashem - our Father in heaven - Himself cleanses us and removes our sins; certainly, He will do so without pain or discomfort. This also explains the expression of Chazal (Yoma 85), Rabbi Akiva says, "How fortunate is the Jewish people, before Whom are you purified, and Who cleanses you? Your Father in heaven!" Hashem does not hand this work over to His servants - not to angels nor Seraphim - but He Himself does the washing. He pours out the pure waters upon us, to cleanse us of our sins; and, like the mother who bathes her child with immense care, and without pain or discomfort, the child comes out pure and clean.
And you shall love your fellow man like yourself, I am G-d (Vayikra, 19:18)
When a child begins to learn [Hebrew], he first learns the letter aleph, then beis, until he learns
the entire alphabet. Then he learns the vowels [nekudos], and then he can learn to join the letters and the
vowels to form words. Similarly, explains Rebbe Yechezkel of Kuzmir, every Jew is a letter of the Torah, and his
soul is part of the Divine. Each time he loves another Jew, he has acquired another letter of the Torah, another part
of the Divine. When he comes to complete Ahavas Yisrael [the love of each and every Jew as himself], he can
merit grasping the Omnipotent One, the G-d of the World, Hashem. That's the meaning of our verse, "And you shall love
your fellow man like yourself - I am G-d."
Translated by Reb Yitzchak Dorfman of Yerushalayim, a Modzitzer Chassid
based on a ma'amar in Imrei Shaul, Hashem spoke to Moshe saying, "Speak to the entire congregation of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am Holy.'" [Vayikra, 19:1-2]
Rashi points out that this portion was said "b'hakhel" [in an assembly], for a major body of the Torah was dependent on it. The holy sefarim ask, wasn't the rest of the Torah also told to all of the Jews? Rashi then brings the Midrash which says, "You shall be holy" - perhaps like Me [Hashem]? The verse continues, "for I, Hashem your G-d, am Holy" - My Holiness is above yours. This amazes Reb Shaul - how could one imagine Himself to be like Hashem in the realm of Holiness? Doesn't the verse say, "To whom will you liken Me, that I should be his equal, says the Holy One" [Yeshayahu, 40:25].
Another Midrash ties our verse to the verse [Tehillim, 20:3], "May He send you help from the holy [place], and support you from Zion." What does this have to do with, "You shall be holy"? Finally, the Zohar relates that when the Chevraya [Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his disciples] came to this parsha, they rejoiced. What was it in our parsha that caused them to rejoice?
In his answer, Reb Shaul begins by telling us that the main source of sanctification for the Jew is in the Holy Land, when the Jewish people are dwelling there. Indeed, the Mishna [Keilim, 1:6-9] relates that there are ten levels of holiness in the Land of Israel - "the Land of Israel is holy, and Yerushalayim is holier than it, etc." Similarly, the verse says, "The remnant in Zion, and those left in Yerushalayim, shall be called holy" [Yeshayahu, 4:3].
Now we can explain the first Midrash. "You shall be holy" - perhaps like Me [Hashem]? This means, one might think that just like Hashem's Holiness is everywhere, "Holy, holy, holy...the entire world is filled with His Glory" [ Yeshayahu, 6:3] - so it is with the Jewish People, they can achieve holiness anywhere, even in the Diaspora. Therefore the verse continues, "for I, Hashem your G-d, am Holy" - My Holiness is above yours. This means, only in the place where there is the Mikdash, where my Kedusha [holiness] Above is directly over your kedusha below; only there can your kedusha be complete. This is indicated by Rashi on the verse [Shemos, 23:20], "I will...bring you to the place I have prepared," wherein he comments, "The Mikdash Above is directly opposite the one below."
Now the second Midrash is understood as well. "You shall be holy" - "May He send you help from the holy [place], and support you from Zion." From the holy deeds of your hands, which can only be achieved in Zion [Israel], from there you will become holy.
The Holy Chevraya rejoiced when they arrived at this parsha, because the Torah says, "Kedoshim tihiyu" - you shall be holy, forever. They understood that the ultimate kedusha could only be achieved in the Holy Land, when Hashem will return His exiled People. They therefore rejoiced and were filled with hope in the ultimate Redemption of our people.
Finally, this portion was said "b'hakhel", that is, when all the exiles are ingathered, then the sanctity of each individual will be complete. For our Sages teach us that Kedoshim, to be holy, means to be separate and distant from all forms of lust and sin. This can only be fully accomplished when we are separated from the rest of the nations - for it is their influence which ruin us, as our Sages say [Brachos, 17a], it is the "leaven in the dough, and the subjugation to the nations" which causes the Jew to sin. Therefore, the shelaimus - completion, perfection - described in this parsha, can only be "b'hakhel" - by the ingathering of the entire Jewish People from the four corners of the earth to our Holy Land.
Translated by Reb Yitzchak Dorfman of Yerushalayim, a Modzitzer Chassid