Today's Learning Sponsored by Shabbat 1:6-7 Emil and Sarah Braun Kitzur 186:4-187:4 and family on the yahrzeit of Bava Kama 17 Moisha Braun and in honor of Yerushalmi-- the Bar Mitzvah of Shabbat 70 Refael Nahum Braun Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Taragin on the yahrzeit of Mr. Asriel Taragin Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz PARASHAT PEKUDEI / HACHODESH Vol. VIII, No. 23 (358), 29 Adar 5754, Mar. 12, 1994 Rabbenu Bachya concludes his commentary on this parasha and the Book of Sh'mot as follows: "Hashem said, 'In this world, I rested My Shechinah amongst you in the Temple, and for your sins, It left you. In the future, however, It will not leave you.' In the future," writes Rabbenu Bachya, "prophecy will return to Israel and the Shechinah will be in Its place; everyone will learn to know Hashem, and no one will learn warfare; a new heart will be created, and [man's] heart of stone will be removed and torn; there will be no prosecutor (Satan) and no evil inclination--this is our consolation, which the final redemption will bring." This future of which Rabbenu Bachya writes will begin with the seventh millennium of history (this year being 5754); Chazal (Sanhedrin 97b) say that in that era, tzaddikim will have wings and will hover over the waters. R' Moshe Chaim Luzzato ("Ramchal") explains that right now the body is a person's master, but that in the World to Come, the soul will rule over the body. At that time, the body will be like a guest or a homeless person, traveling wherever the soul takes it. The seventh millennium is often referred to as a time "which is completely Shabbat." In other words, says Ramchal, the body will be completely at rest because the soul will be supreme (Da'at Tevunot). Both our own Shabbat and the shemittah, the commentaries say, are a microcosm of that world. ************************************ "These are the accountings for the mishkan . . . the work of the Levi'im in the hands of Itamar, the son of Aharon the kohen." (38:21) In this parasha, Moshe gives an accounting of all of the donations that were given for the construction of the mishkan, and how they were spent. When did this take place? After the mishkan was completed and dedicated, says R' Yonatan Eyebschutz. How do we know? Aharon's sons Nadav and Avihu died on the last day of the mishkan's dedication. Had they been alive, surely Itamar, Aharon's fourth son would not have been in charge of the Levi'im. In fact, says R' Eyebschutz, it was because Nadav and Avihu died that Moshe had to give this accounting. Ordinarily, says R' Eyebschutz, it is customary to appoint three co-treasurers over a charity so that they can check on each other and prevent theft. It is therefore not necessary for the community to demand an accounting from them. Moshe, Nadav, and Avihu were those co-treasurers of the mishkan. Once two of them died, however, there was no reason (so-to-speak) to trust Moshe, and he was required to give and accounting. (Tiferet Yehonatan) ************************************ When the Torah speaks of washing from the kiyor (the wash basin in the mishkan), it does not say that the kohanim should wash, but rather that "Aharon and his sons" should wash (Sh'mot 30:19, 40:31). The purity of Jewish leaders in every generation is not from their being leaders, but from their being a continuation of the chain of leadership from Aharon. (based on Olat Re'iyah I p.119) ************************************ "Moshe was unable to enter the Ohel Moed because the cloud hovered over it. . . ." (40:35) R' Ephraim of Lunschitz (author of Kli Yakar) writes that, physically, Moshe could enter the mishkan. The entering the mishkan to which our verse refers is initiation into the Divine secrets which the designs of the mishkan and its utensils represent. What kept Moshe out of the mishkan was the depth of the secrets and the comparatively limited ability of the one seeking those secrets. The "cloud" shrouding the secrets, i.e., the barrier which exists because man is a physical being, was thick. Just as clouds come between man and the light of the sun, so man's physical nature is a barrier between his mind and the light of the intellect. The midrash says that in the future Hashem will split the River of Egypt creating seven paths for Bnei Yisrael to cross. This, says R' Ephraim, refers to the channels which Hashem will create so that the Seven Wisdoms will reach man unimpeded, just as before Bnei Yisrael received the Torah they had to cross through the Yam Suf (Red Sea). (Olelot Ephraim  117) ************************************ PESACH The staff (mateh) with which Moshe and Aharon brought about five of the plagues was created at the closing moments of Creation, according to the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot. What is the significance of this fact? R' Moshe Tirani ("Mabit"; 1500-1580) explains that the mateh was the instrument of Bnei Yisrael's leaving Egypt. The purpose of leaving Egypt was to receive the Torah which, in turn, was the purpose of the entire Creation. It was thus fitting that the staff be created during the six days of Creation. Why was the mateh necessary at all? Certainly the ten plagues and Hashem's other miracles could have taken place had there been no mateh! However, says Mabit, Hashem wanted there to be a tangible reminder connecting Creation to the Exodus. Moreover, that connection demonstrates that the plagues were not a deviation from nature; rather, the events leading up to Bnei Yisrael's receiving the Torah were a part of Hashem's original plan. At the same time, the mateh was created as a free-standing object during the closing moments of Creation (rather than, for example, being made out of one of the original trees that Hashem created) to demonstrate Hashem's direct involvement in the Exodus. (Bet Elokim: Sha'ar haYesodot ch.23) ************************************ PARASHAT HACHODESH "This month is for you [the] beginning of months. . . ." (Sh'mot 12:2) Read literally, this verse states that every day of the month of Nisan is Rosh Chodesh, says R' Yishayah Horowitz (the "Shelah haKadosh"). And, in fact, it is prohibited to fast on every day of this month, just as if it was Rosh Chodesh. During the first 12 days of Nisan the Princes of the 12 tribes brought sacrifices for the dedication of the mishkan. Although the twelve sacrifices were physically identical, the Torah lists their contents twelve separate times. Each sacrifice added new spiritual content to the service in the mishkan because of the different manner of service that each tribe represented. (quoted in Haggadah Shel Pesach miBa'al haShelah haKadosh) ************************************ R' Avraham Shaag born 4 Iyar 5561 (1801) - died 29 Adar II 5636 (1876) R' Avraham Shaag was one of the leaders of Hungarian Jewry in the 19th century. His father was a leading disciple of the Noda b'Yehuda, and some say that the name Shaag, which means "roar" derives from the Noda b'Yehuda's referring to R' Avraham's father as the lion among his students. At the tender age of 13, R' Avraham was enrolled in the Pressburg Yeshiva, the Torah academy for which all other Hungarian yeshivot were considered mere preparatory schools. The Rosh Yeshiva, R' Moshe Sofer (the "Chatam Sofer") would later say about R' Avraham, "For eighty kilometers around Pressburg there is not another like him." R' Avraham's first rabbinic post, when he was 25 years old, was in Shuttelsdorf. During his two-and-a-half decades there he transformed the city from a spiritual wasteland to a vibrant Torah center. From Shuttelsdorf, he moved to Kobersdorf, one of Hungary's leading communities. There he was recognized as a leading posek (halachic authority) and teacher, and also as someone who was influential with the Hungarian nobility. R' Avraham played a leading role in the fight against Reform. He was the senior Orthodox delegate to a Government-ordered conference on Jewish affairs which was held in 1868. (Although Hungary's Jewish population was 70% Orthodox, the elections were fixed so that just under half of the delegates were Torah- observers.) At first the Orthodox delegates were able to filibuster the proceedings, but eventually various anti-Torah resolutions were adopted. Only after three years of vigorous Orthodox lobbying did the Hungarian parliament order that the conference's resolutions not be implemented, as they violated the Hungarian constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion. (Guardian of Jerusalem) After the conference, R' Avraham decided to emigrate to Eretz Yisrael. However, succumbing to popular demand, he postponed his trip until 1873. Once in Yerushalayim, R' Avraham was welcomed by the leading scholars, who encouraged their students to take advantage of his wisdom. (R' Avraham, incidentally, owned the land outside the Jaffa Gate which is now the wide pedestrian plaza between the wall and Jaffa Road.) Accompanying R' Avraham to Eretz Yisrael was his young student R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, who was later to be Chief Rabbi of the old Ashkenazic community (the so-called "Old Yishuv"). R' Avraham's responsa are entitled Ohel Avraham, and he also published a book of sermons. R' Avraham writes: We read in Tehilim, "G-d spoke one; I heard two." This is a reference to the giving of the Torah, when, for example, Hashem said "zachor" and "shamor" simultaneously, and we miraculously heard both. This is verse applies, albeit in another sense, to Hashem's saying, "I am Hashem, your G-d, who took you out of Egypt." Why didn't Hashem say, "I am . . . who created the world"? Because by mentioning the Exodus, Hashem taught us two things: that He created the world, and that we are His chosen nation. (Melizei Esh) ************************************ DONATIONS TO HAMAAYAN ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE