Parashat Tzav
Torah: Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36
Haftarah: Jeremiah 7:21 – 8:3; 9:22-23
Adar Hasheni 16, 5782 / March 18-19, 2022
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PESACH IS COMING!
My 5782 Pesach Resources - Pandemic Edition #2 is available at:
https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2022/03/pesach-resources-5782-pandemic-edition-2.html
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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Feigel bat Kreina and D'vorah bat Feigel.
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about becoming a Chaver and our various programs, at: https://bnaihayim.org/
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 22, we'll be at page 15 (my pagination) of Chapter 5 of Berakhot (32b) - "...תנו רבנן מעשה בחסיד אחד שהיה מתפלל בדרך" - "Our Rabbis taught: Once a pious man, while praying on the road,...” The reading may be found at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18naYXIfd37WqagfJ5UfJoH84amqt2-tA/view?usp=sharing
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you can read here:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you can read here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hMHqbfE-BSnHZeVulLMNV-LcEdv2_-9a/view
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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STUDYING MATTERS
"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Command Aaron and his sons, thus: This is the law (literally, "the Torah") of the burnt offering ...'" Leviticus 6:1-2
Rabbi Simchah Bunim of Peshischa (c.1765 - 1827, Poland) compares our verse with one from 1 Samuel 15:22: "And Samuel said, 'Does the Lord delight as much in offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Surely to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.'" To Samuel, "obeying" must mean something other than obeying the commandments to offer the sacrifices. Simchah Bunim attempts to reconcile the apparent contradiction between the two verses by citing the following passage from the Talmud: "All who engage in Torah study have no need for the burnt offering, the meal offering, the sin offering, or the guilt offering." BT Menachot 110a
One might think that the Talmud here means that while one is studying Torah, one is exempt from bringing the sacrificial offerings. Simchah Bunim says it means much more than that. According to him, the study of the Torah of the offerings is even better than actually bringing them!
Rabbi Simchah Bunim of Peshischa (c.1765 - 1827, Poland) compares our verse with one from 1 Samuel 15:22: "And Samuel said, 'Does the Lord delight as much in offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Surely to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.'" To Samuel, "obeying" must mean something other than obeying the commandments to offer the sacrifices. Simchah Bunim attempts to reconcile the apparent contradiction between the two verses by citing the following passage from the Talmud: "All who engage in Torah study have no need for the burnt offering, the meal offering, the sin offering, or the guilt offering." BT Menachot 110a
One might think that the Talmud here means that while one is studying Torah, one is exempt from bringing the sacrificial offerings. Simchah Bunim says it means much more than that. According to him, the study of the Torah of the offerings is even better than actually bringing them!
Rabbi Simchah Bunim of Peshischa
But what about the obedience that Samuel referred to? The answer might be found in the notion that we are commanded to study Torah. Note the blessing in the daily morning service that concludes, "... and Who commands us to be engaged with matters (or, words) of Torah." (la’asok b’divrei torah)
Observing the commandment of study leads to practice. If we learn the Torah regarding how to treat each other, and put it into practice, we do not need to seek atonement, so we need not bring sacrifices. Study of the Torah of the offerings will not only suffice, it will be better than sacrificing. Hence the Rabbinic dictum: talmud torah k'neged kulam - Torah study is equivalent to all the commandments - because it leads to observance of them.
Observing the commandment of study leads to practice. If we learn the Torah regarding how to treat each other, and put it into practice, we do not need to seek atonement, so we need not bring sacrifices. Study of the Torah of the offerings will not only suffice, it will be better than sacrificing. Hence the Rabbinic dictum: talmud torah k'neged kulam - Torah study is equivalent to all the commandments - because it leads to observance of them.
Purim Sameach! Have a wonderful Shabbat!
Grand Rabbi Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel Flom
Der Heiliger Shlabodkieville Rebbe
Av Beis Din – Chelm
משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה
Mishenichnas Adar, Marbin B’simcha!
With the entry of the month of Adar, we increase joy!
Be Happy! Adar 2 is here!
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