Today's Learning Sponsored by Orlah 2:15-16 Rochelle Dimont Kitzur 172:1-173:2 Sahra & Yale Ginsburg and family Kiddushin 70 Yocheved & Jonathan Neuman and family Yerushalmi-- and Chayim Dimont Shabbat 42 in memory of father-in-law and grandfather Rabbi Shmuel Elchonon Dimont zt'zl PARASHAT TERUMAH Vol. VIII, No. 19 (354), 1 Adar 5754, Feb. 12, 1994 In this week's parasha, we begin to read of the mishkan--the tabernacle which Moshe constructed according to Hashem's command. This discussion continues through the end of Sefer Sh'mot. In Parashat Ki Tisah, we will learn that the construction of the mishkan does not take precedence over the observance of Shabbat. Why would we think that it does? R' Tzadok haKohen explains that since the purpose of the mishkan is to make a "home" for Hashem among us, and this is the purpose of Shabbat also, why do we need one if we have the other? In truth, however, the holiness which we strive for all week long, even in the mishkan, cannot really be noticed until Shabbat, as is symbolized by our cooking and cleaning for Shabbat before the day begins. The Mechilta (a midrash) considers the possibility that there is no Shabbat during the shemittah year. Again, explains R' Tzadok, this is because the whole year is like Shabbat, for everyone is freed from his material concerns, and all men are equal. Nevertheless, the midrash concludes, there is something special about Shabbat, even during the shemittah. (Pri Tzaddik, Mishpatim) ************************************ Parashat Shekalim The special Torah reading known as "Parashat Shekalim" (Sh'mot 30:11-16) is read every year on the Shabbat preceding the month of Adar, except (as this year) when Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbat. It is, in fact, unusual for Parashat Shekalim to coincide with Parashat Terumah. Ordinarily, it falls a week earlier (or in leap years, three to four weeks later). However, because Simchat Torah fell on Friday (outside of Israel), each parasha is read this year at the earliest possible time, thus making other events occur later in relation to the Torah reading. ************************************ In the additional prayer (known as "Yotzer") which some congregations recite in honor of Parashat Shekalim, we read: "O Master, raise the light of Your face upon us, and let me raise a shekel in the firm and exalted Temple." Why, asks R' Yehoshua (R' Shia) of Belz, does the poet refer to a shekel? The mitzvah, in fact, was to donate half of that amount to the Temple. The Gemara (Berachot 20b) records the following conversation between G-d and the angels. The angels asked, "How can you show favor (literally, 'Raise Your face') to the Jews?" Hashem answered, "Because I said in my Torah, 'You will eat, and you will be satiated, and you shall bless,' yet they recite Birkat haMazon even if they ate only the volume of an egg." In other words, says R' Shia, Hashem shows us favor when we accept the commandments upon us in a stricter manner than the Torah requires. Is it possible to be strict with regard to the half-shekel? Seemingly not; a half-shekel is a fixed amount. However, the halachah states that if two people jointly bring one shekel to the Temple, they must pay a surcharge to cover the fee that the Temple treasurer will have to pay to change the large coins into smaller ones. Thus, by bringing a whole shekel, one can give more than is required, and one can merit to find favor in Hashem's eyes. When will our Master "raise the light of His face upon us?" When we "raise a [whole] shekel in the firm and exalted Temple." (Sefer Mahari) ************************************ The Month of Adar Chazal taught: "If one wants his property to be preserved, he should plant an Adar." What does this mean? R' Zvi Elimelech of Dinov explains as follows: The Arizal taught that the month of Adar is associated with the sense of smell. Without going into the esoteric meaning of this statement, we see that it is reflected in the names of the heroes of Purim: Esther (whose other name was Hadassah, meaning "myrtle"), and Mordechai (which the Gemara in Tractate Chulin associates with the spice "myrrh"). The Gemara teaches that one must recite a blessing before deriving any benefit from this world, because everything belongs to Hashem, and the berachah is our request for permission to use it. Then the Gemara asks: How do we know that a blessing is recited over spices? For it is written (Tehilim 150:6), "Every breath shall praise G-d." Why, asks R' Zvi Elimelech, doesn't the first reason suffice for spices as well? Why is a separate verse needed? The sense of smell was the only one of the five senses that was not involved in Adam and Chava's sin. Thus, we read (B'reishit 3:6-8), "The woman saw . . . and she took of the fruit . . . and she ate . . . and they heard," but no reference is made to smell. One of the purposes of the blessings which we recite over physical pleasure, says R' Zvi Elimelech, is to rectify the damage which our ancestors' sin caused to our physical senses. Since the sense of smell did not participate in that sin, we might have thought that no blessing is required over pleasant smells. (Nevertheless, smell does have a physical aspect, and our entire physical beings require elevation, so a berachah is recited.) Because the sense of smell was not affected by Adam and Chava's sin, it is particularly associated with spirituality. Note that the word "neshamah" means both "breath" and "soul," and the word "ruach" means both "wind" (which carries smells) and "spirit." As we said before, the sense of smell is connected to the month of Adar. Thus, Chazal's statement can be understood: "If one wants his property to be preserved, he should plant an Adar," i.e., he should undertake spiritual goals with his property. (Bnei Yissaschar, Adar I:9-10) ************************************ R' CHANANIAH YOM TOV LIPA TEITLEBAUM (The Sigheter Rebbe) born 6 Sivan 5596 (1836) - died 29 Shevat 5664 (1904) Ninety Years Since His Passing R' Chananiah Yom Tov Lipa Teitlebaum, known as the "Kedushat Yom Tov" (after his work by the same name) was the second of a long line in his family that served as Rabbi and chassidic rebbe in Sighet (now in Rumania). R' Ch.Y.T.L.'s tenure in Sighet lasted 21 years, and he was succeeded by his son R' Chaim Zvi (known as the "Atzei Chaim"), and grandson, R' Yekutiel Yehudah. The present Satmar Rebbe, R' Moshe Teitlebaum shlita (son of R' Chaim Zvi), also bears the title of Rabbi of Sighet. R' Ch.Y.T.L.'s second son was R' Yoel Teitlebaum, the famous "Satmar Rav." It was he who rebuilt the chassidut of his ancestors in the United States after World War II. Among non-chassidim, he is best-known for his strong opposition to the State of Israel, while his great Torah scholarship and acts of kindness, and his pedagogical accomplishments are (unfortunately) less well known. R' Ch.Y.T.L. headed a large Yeshiva and had thousands of chassidim. He was a leader of Hungarian Jewry and was stalwart in defending his opinions against those who he felt challenged traditional Judaism. His epitaph reads: A tzaddik, his loss is the generation's; a man of strength [chayil-his initials]; his heart was the heart of a lion; he fought Hashem's wars with his soul and his wealth; he built a fence and stood in the breach to stand faith upright...and he judged Israel for forty years [cf. Shoftim 16:31] ************************************ The midrash says that when the Jewish people said, "Na'aseh v'nishmah" - "We will do and we will hear" - Hashem responded with the verse at the beginning of our parashah, "Take terumah for Me." R' Chaim Aryeh Lerner (who fondly recalls in his work Imrei Chaim the time, when he was seven years old, that R' Ch.Y.T.L. ate lunch in his home) writes in the name of Kedushat Yom Tov that the more a person understood of the Torah, the more he would donate to the mishkan. The mishkan, the Zohar says, paralleled the human body; each commandment of the Torah also parallels a part of the body. When Bnei Yisrael rose to the level of saying "Na'aseh v'nishmah," they were able to discern in what way each person's observance of Torah was deficient. Then, each Jew made a donation to the mishkan and earmarked it for the part of the mishkan that paralleled his deficiency. Similarly writes R' Lerner, it is told that one of the Rebbes of Belz consulted with doctors, but never accepted a prescription. Once the doctor identified the source of his illness, the Rebbe said, he (the Rebbe) was then able to identify the spiritual ailment which paralleled that physical complaint. ************************************ DONATIONS TO HAMAAYAN ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE