Parashat Vayikra
Nisan 3, 5783 / March 24-25, 2023
Torah reading: Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26
Torah reading: Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26
Haftarah: Isaiah 43:21 – 44:23
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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.
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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov.
On March 28, we'll be at BT Shabbat 56a, page 149 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 - "...גופא רב אמר" - "This is the substance of that which is mentioned above: Rab said...” NOTE: NO LUNCH AND LEARN ON APRIL 4 - CLEANING FOR PESACH
Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents
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Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/
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My annual Pesach Resources page is now available! Check out:
Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov.
On March 28, we'll be at BT Shabbat 56a, page 149 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 - "...גופא רב אמר" - "This is the substance of that which is mentioned above: Rab said...” NOTE: NO LUNCH AND LEARN ON APRIL 4 - CLEANING FOR PESACH
Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/
----------------------------------------------------------------
My annual Pesach Resources page is now available! Check out:
The page will be updated as needed before Pesach.
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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at:
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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SACRIFICING ONE’S APPETITES
"And he shall slaughter it before the Lord; on the north side of the altar ..." Leviticus 1:11
Menachem Nachum Twersky of Chernobyl (1730-1787) teaches: ‘This verse is a metaphor. What one is really slaughtering is one's yetzer hara - the evil inclination. The word translated here as "side" also means “thigh" - this alludes to lust. "Altar" refers to gluttony, because "a person's table is like an altar" (BT Chagigah 27a). "North" refers to avarice, the insatiable desire to accumulate wealth, for we learn "one who desires wealth should turn north" (BT Bava Batra 25b).’ Menachem Nachum adds that we often hold most dear those character traits which are the most destructive - they are part and parcel of our very selves, as modern psychiatry would say some 125 years later.
Dura Europos synagogue wall painting of the Consecration
of the Tabernacle including Aaron and male attendants. 3rd c
We usually understand "sacrifice" as the giving up of something of considerable worth, particularly within the context of ritual worship. The Hebrew word for sacrifice, korban, is from the root word k-r-b, meaning “to come close”. By offering up a valuable item, we show our dedication and our desire to draw near to God. Our tradition, however, teaches that the sacrifices have been replaced by tzedakah and gemilut chasadim - charity and deeds of loving kindness.
Rabbi Elazar said: ‘Doing deeds of charity is greater than all of the sacrificial offerings.’ BT Sukkah 49b
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai taught: ‘How does one make atonement in the absence of sacrifice? We have another way of gaining atonement which is equal to it. What is it? Deeds of loving-kindness, as it is written: “For it is loving-kindness I desire, and not sacrifice.”’ Avot D’Rabbi Natan 11a, quoting Hosea 6:6.
Don't be retentive! Lust - gluttony - greed; slaughter those bad habits and appetites, and replace them with your inner power to do good and improve the world!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
TBH/CBM
הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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