Korbanos Today: Sacrificing Ego Through Anavah, Tefillah, and Giving In

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Vayikra, Chumash Vayikra, and all the parshiyos in Vayikra, parsha after parsha, is dedicated to korbanos, the seder hakorbanos, the avodah of the korbanos, the halachos of korbanos. An entire Chumash from the Chamishe Chumshei Torah, korbanos. There's also Seder Kodshim, an entire seder, Mishnayos, Shas, Gemaras, Kodshim. It's difficult to accept. How could it be an entire Chumash from the Chamishe Chumshei Torah, an entire seder in Shas, not nogea b'zman hazeh, not relevant? It's not halacha l'maaseh. As the Gemara always says, hilchesa l'Moshiach, that when Moshiach comes, these halachos will be nogea. Mamash an entire Chumash from the Chamishe Chumshei Torah, not nogea b'zman hazeh. L'maaseh, the Baal Shem Tov, Keser Shem Tov, chelek beis, says that all mitzvos of the Torah must be eternal. There has to be a kiyum and a shaychus in every generation, throughout the doros. For every mitzvah, there can't be such a thing as a mitzvah that was only tzait vaylik. There has to be some mahalach in the mitzvah, something about the mitzvah that's nogea l'maaseh always throughout the doros. Sometimes the maaseh mitzvah is not here, but the essence of the mitzvah and the point of the mitzvah and what the mitzvah is supposed to bring out in a person, dos muz zayn afeibik. This must be forever. Reb Chaim Volozhin already explains to us that the Beis Hamikdash is eternal, and even though the Beis Hamikdash was something of the past, the Beis Hamikdash lives on in the heart and the soul of every Yid. Shechanti b'socham, sochei lo ne'emar, ela b'socham. The Beis Hamikdash is a sterik. The Beis Hamikdash is a replica of what's really the Beis Hamikdash hapnimi, the inner Beis Hamikdash that every Yid has. Maybe, rabosai, we need to understand korbanos b'zman hazeh the same way. It could be we don't have the maaseh korbanos. Bifnei chatoeinu, we don't have the avodas hakorbanos l'maaseh, in action. But what the korbanos were supposed to bring and what the korbanos were supposed to mean, we still have today. What is the avodas hakorbanos, and how do we apply it in today's times? What is it about a korban that we could say today is also shayach, yid with the korbanos? Chazal tell us that tefillah is bimakom korbanos, u'neshalmah parim sefaseinu. Pashut, by saying it, you have the korban. You can't be makriv the korban; al kol panim, zacht men das, u'neshalmah parim sefaseinu. Possibly, rabosai, efsher, maybe, we could have a deeper understanding in the parsha of korbanos, in the inyan of korbanos, and see how in the tefillah we're takke mekayem the actual korbanos and the essence of a korban. It's not just because we don't have a korban, so we say korbanos, so no, hot men korbanos. Maybe, as we will soon explain, be'ezras Hashem yisbarach, to understand what a korban is will give us to understand how through our tefillos we reach the same idea.

The essence of every korban throughout tefillah. Let us begin by understanding: Vayikra is a korban. What is it? Torah begins, Parshas HaKorbanos, Chumash Vayikra. Vayikra el Moshe. Vayikra, aleph ze'ira, with a small aleph. Rashi tells us, Rashi brings the Chazal that aleph ze'ira was Moshe's way of writing through humility, through anavah. He wanted to write Vayakar, like by Bilam, so the aleph, he made it smaller. Anavah, anavah, humility. Aleph regel, the mefarshim ask, was this the first time that HaKadosh Baruch Hu speaks to Moshe Rabbeinu and calls to him? Matan Torah already, he was called by the Ribono Shel Olam to come, עלה אלי ההרה. Why here? Why in the beginning of Vayikra, this Vayikra, aleph ze'ira, was chosen to be the place for Moshe to choose humility and not write Vayikra, but rather Vayakar? Efsher keminzagen, pshat tovedik, pshat. It's the beginning of a Chumash; it stands out. So we began the Chumash, Vayikra. It's the first word, the name of the parshas, Vayikra, aleph ze'ira. And he didn't choose the other Vayikras, Hashem el Moshe. He didn't choose those to write the small aleph. Efsher, rabosai, kemen zogen noch a taytsh. And this will speak to the essence and the yesod and the inyan of korbanos. But let us first be magdim a little more pshatova in the pasuk, a few more diyukim, a few more ha'aros. Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, daber el Bnei Yisroel v'amarta aleihem, adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem. Adam. Why? What's adam? Vahshteit zach, who else is going to be makriv? There's kein mentsh. Of course, adam. Chazal already say adam, like Adam Harishon, gezeilos, you see Chazal already were madgish, emphasized. Why does it say in the pasuk, adam? Noch ah, rabosai, ki yakriv mikem korban laShem. Mikem, it's iberik, it's extra. All it had to say was, adam ki yakriv korban laShem. Mentsh is makriv a korban to the Ribono Shel Olam. Why the extra word, mikem, from you? Medakdek, beezras Hashem yisbarach, that the terutzim to these questions, the answer to these questions, lays an understanding: what is a korban? It's delving into the fashtand, vos tut a korban? What is a korban's tachlis, the tafkid of a korban? Mefarshim tell us that the tafkid and tachlis and yesod in the inyan of korbanos is anavah, humility. Humility. A mensh, a person, he did a chet. He needs to bring a korban because he needs avodas anavah. He needs to work on humility, to being humble. There's a ma'amar Chidah in Dvash L'fi. Chidah says, notice that the word anav is the same osiyos as the word avon. Anav, avon, same letters. Zogt the Chidah, because the hepech of avon, how do you turn it upside down and turn it around? And the answer is anavah, with humility. Yesod of korbanos is to be, to bring the person to anavah, to humility. Ramban tells us that the inyan of korbanos...

This was that the person would stand over his korban, and he would view the korban as if it was him. The shechita should have happened to him. This rikas hadam should have happened to him, the spilling of the eimurim. Mi'ut dami v'chelbi. We have an inyan of taanis. Taanis is also mi'ut dami v'chelbi. A person gives his blood, he gives his chelev, and this is supposed to be taanis, teshuva, korban, teshuva. Pshat, it was a humbling experience. A mensch sat over a korban and he realized, קוק, this should have been me. This should have been me. I acted like a beheima. It was too late, nacha psahar. Chivena beheima. The Ribbono Shel Olam says, Not adam. Adam! Adam! Nish beheima. The beheima is going to go l'shechita. Adam. Adam is going to stay alive and have a kaparas avonos. This was a humbling experience. Az der mensch, der mensch, look how low you fell, that the animal represents and resembles you, and that the animal is geshachten and his blood is spilled. A mensch was makriv a korban. He was humbled. He was very humbled. And like the mefarshim, and the way the Acharonim, the mefarshim explain to us, a tadas. Is the yesod. Atoh daas is their inyan. Atoh daas is their tachlis for a korban: humility, anavah. I'd love to tell you over a beautiful Chasam Sofer. ... Chasam Sofer. ... Chasam Sofer is me'oir a she'eilah. Pari does not let Klal Yisrael leave. Moshe Rabbeinu tells Pari, Klal Yisrael will leave. They will go. Pari says, What do you want, to go and make a day of korbanos, Chag LaShem in the midbar? I'm not letting. Moshe tells him, Not only are you not going to stop us from going, but you yourself will send in our hands korbanos to be makriv. This is what Moshe Rabbeinu threatens. He threatens Pari: Not only are you not going to stop us, but you yourself are going to send us, and send us with the korbanos that we're going to use to do avodah to the Ribono Shel Olam. Fragt der Chasam Sofer, it never happened. Where do we find that Pari sends Klal Yisrael with korbanos? Never happened. Is it shayach that Moshe Rabbeinu, Av haNeviim, said something lashav that didn't come to fruition, that didn't happen? Zogt der Chasam Sofer, מדף ג' פארשטיין, what does it mean, korbanos? There's two parts to a korban. There's the physical part to the korban, and then there's the essence, the ruchniyus part of the korban. So, says the Chasam Sofer, you look at the pasuk, it says, Adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem. Stop, esnachta. That's one issue and inyan of korban. Then there's a min habeheima, min habakar, min hatzon, the physical part. Avada, the pari never sent bakar and tzon. That part he didn't do. But the part of a korban that brings the Yid close to the Ribono Shel Olam, that part of the korban—korban is kirvus—that the Yid becomes close to the Ribono Shel Olam, that part Paro did take part. That part Paro did give us, because when we left, he ran after us. Pasuk says, U'Paro hikriv. Meforshim say hikriv means he made Klal Yisroel become close to the Eibishter because they were stuck, and they cried out to the Eibishter, the Ribono Shel Olam, we have no way to turn. We have to turn to You with emunah. We daven to You. Ribono Shel Olam, help us.

And this was Pari's. Uvtu, this is what Pari created. So it's true that Pari sent us out with korbanos. I'm made some sefer. The physical korban, yes, Pari did not send us any beheimos or bakar. That's true. But the yesod of a korban, that the Yid is connected to the Eibishter. Let us use the word reconnect. He reconnects to the Ribono Shel Olam. He gets closer to the Ribono Shel Olam. That part of korban, yes, Pari was responsible for, because by running after us, he gave us Adam ki yakriv, and that's pshat u'Paro hikriv. So there was a kiyum of what Moshe Rabbeinu tells Pari: You not only will send us, but you will send us out with korbanos. Tefillah, turning to the Eibishter, is korban. Anavah is korban. What is the connection, rabboisai, the tefillah and the anavah? So before we explain the exact kesher between the tefillah and the anavah, I'd like to go back to answer a few of the questions that we asked. We began by asking, Vayikra Alef, Zeirah, why here? The aleph zeira. It's not the first time and not the last time that Vayikra el Moshe, that the Ribono Shel Olam calls out to Moshe. And the Torah says it's about anavah, and therefore it was the right place to put it, in the opening, in the hakdamah, the sefer Chumash Vayikra, which deals with korbanos. Korbanos is about anavah, and therefore it's here that Moshe chooses, because it's part of the parsha of the korbanos. Vayikra means connected. The Eibishter is talking to him face to face. Soon we'll talk about tefillah, how the Eibishter and the Yid talk face to face, directly. Directly. They talk every day, three times a day. A Yid says, Baruch Atah, directly to the Ribono Shel Olam. This is Vayikra. How does this come about? And the answer is aleph zeira. Aleph zeira, which is the anavah, the humility, the yesod of the korbanos, and the yesod of Vayikra el Moshe, that the Yid is talking directly to the Ribono Shel Olam, is about aleph zeira, anavah. Chazal always tell us aleph stands for aleph bina, the beginning. Aleph bina, the beginning of wisdom. Aleph is the beginning, and we could say maybe al pi the Taimed Veira that says that the beginning of all middos. The beginning of aleh midos and mailos ruchniyos is anavah. It begins with humility. Eikev anavah yiras Hashem, before we even come to yiras Hashem. Aleph. Aleph is the beginning. The beginning, aleph is anavah. What's the mikem? V'amarta lahem, we said, adam ki yakriv mikem. Why does it have to say mikem? Could be the pshat is, anavah is from oneself. Anavah is taking. Anavah is being mema'et oneself, to take from oneself, to give of oneself, himself, is anavah. It's humility. That's what you need to take. You need to take of yourself, give of yourself. A person walks around and he has a very big self. In his mind, his self is the most important thing in the world. Korbanos is being...

Makriv yourself. Yourself. Lower yourself. Humble yourself. Mitdameh kemenzugen, that's Adam. Adam is chashivus. Adam is the Adam of greatness. A person walks around, Ich bin doch an Adam. Adam yakriv mikem. You need to humble the Adam. Instead of boasting, instead of walking around haughty that you are Adam, the bechir, du bist doch dem Adam. Everything else around you is less than you. It's lower than you. You're on top of the pyramids, so to speak. Adam, the highest, Adam. Ki yakriv mikem, take from yourself. If you notice by anava, it says, Va'ish Moshe anav me'od mikol ha'adam asher al pnei ha'adamah. Va'ish Moshe. Ish and Adam. Adam. There's a whole discussion in the Gemara: Yidn are Adam, goyim are Adam. Who can be called Adam? Ha'ish Moshe. You want people to always love, habisla, hagematria, mita osiyos, the yud and the shin, the esh and the yud, the Ribono Shel Olam's name. Adam is Adam ha'adamah. The ish Moshe. The heilege, the heilege ish. Ish asher ... chashivus. What is he on of? Mikol ha'adam asher al פני האדמה. Adam. Vayikra. Moshe was mema'et. Moshe humbles. He lowers the adam. He takes away that gaivah of adam. Now we understand how the mechanics of korban work. Korban: humility. Humility is kesher with the Eibishter. Chazal tell us that when a person is a baal gaivah, the Ribono Shel Olam says, Ein ani v'hu yecholim ladur b'dira achas. I can't be connected to this person. Gaivah, can't be with the Eibishter. So the minute the person humbles the gaivah, he reconnects with the Ribono Shel Olam. His neshama, his nefesh, is now able. It's free. It's able to return to connect with the Ribono Shel Olam. This is, l'anius daati, tefillah. Tefillah is humbling a person. What is tefillah? Tefillah, a person understands, Ribono Shel Olam, daf ankumen tzu Dir. Can't do it on my own. It's a very humbling experience if you understand tefillah properly. Tefillah is when I understand I have nothing. I can do nothing. I can achieve nothing. Everything I gotta ask for, every detail. It's humbling. And that's the tefillah that connects the person. To the Ribono Shel Olam. Tefillah. Naftulei Elokim niftalti, Chazal, mefareshim tell us the idea of tefillah is to tie, connect the person with the Ribono Shel Olam. What's the rope that connects them? It's the anavah. It's the humility that the person knows, ein od milvado. I can't do anything. I have no koiches. I have no capabilities. Whatever I get, it's from You. Miyadcha meleah, hapsuchah hakedoshah v'harchavah. This anavah is tefillah, and this tefillah is kirvus, and this inyan of korbanos is in the tefillah. That's why we have an inyan of korbanos, tefillah, the kesher between the korbanos and the tefillah. We could say possibly that this is what brings about the kaparah for chet. We know chata'im cause a richuk. It causes a separation between the person and the Ribono Shel Olam. Tefillah.

Reconnects the person to the Ribono Shel Olam. So the way to have tikkun, avon, anavah, and tefillah are all connected, because through the tefillah, the person reconnects something that became disconnected through his aveiros. Today, we might not have the ma'aseh korbanos, but the essence and the yesod of the inyan of the korban we could accomplish through the anavah, through being humble. The Gemara in Sanhedrin, daf tzadi gimmel, actually tells us this. The Gemara says, Mi sheda'ato shefeilah olav, ki'ilu hikriv kol korbanos. All the korbanos, shlamim v'olas. So it's true, the ma'aseh, the physical act of korban we don't have today, but what the korban is supposed to accomplish, we could keep it through the middah, through humbling ourselves. As I told you above, Reb Chaim Volozhin says that the Beis Hamikdash lives on in the neshama of every Yid, in the heart of every Yid. Bilvavi mishkan evneh. Korbanos also lives on. You could be makriv, as the Chareidim says, Bilvavi, in my heart, mishkan evneh. And what will I be makriv? Nafshi. A makriv my nefesh. How is one makriv his nefesh? So I saw in Oisiyos d'Rabbi Akiva, the braisos. In Oisiyos d'Rabbi Akiva it says this loshon: Whoever is an anav is k'ilu boneh mizbeach b'libo, v'hikriv alav kol karbanos sheba'olam. Mi shehu anav b'libo. Anavah is in the heart. Anavah is a deep humility, and that deep humility is an act of karbanos, because you're being makriv yourself. You're being makriv yourself. How do we accomplish, and what avodah should we do to work on this anavah that will give us karbanos? I believe, rabosai, the inyan of mavra al hamidos. When a person gives in, that's a sacrifice. The greatest sacrifice is to give in. You're sacrificing your pride, your ego. That's how a person could be makriv a korban today. This too is in the Gemara. Chazal tell us, l'olam a person should be מן הנרדפים ולא מן הרודפים, because if he's from the nirdafim, it's k'ilu he was makriv all the karbanos. Gemara in Yuma. A nir dav is humble. A nirv dav leaves things up to the Rabbeinu Shloilam. He's connected to the Rabbeinu Shloilam. David HaMelech, through all his redifus, was extremely connected to the Rabbeinu Shloilam, with all his difficulties. Tefillah le'ani ki ya'atof, u'lifnei Hashem yishpoch sicho. David was vani tefillah. The meforshim tell us David's essence became tefillah, because David's essence was kirvas Elokim. He was humble, and that is tefillah. Tefillah is the avodah shebalev. It's an exercise of the heart, of humility, of anavah. Ve'ani tefillah. He became a cheftza, he became a piece of tefillah. How did he become a piece of tefillah? And the answer is because what is tefillah? Tefillah is anavah. Tefillah is connecting to the Rabbeinu Shloilam. Ein od milvado, relying completely on the Rabbeinu Shloilam. And that is the essence of tefillah. And that became David HaMelech. Ve'ani. It doesn't say, ve'ani...

Dovid. Don't say Dovid Davens. Dovid became a cheftza. Yiddish volt mir gezogt, varn a shtik tefillah. Vos is tefillah, rabosai? Tefillah is, I'm humbled. And what am I humbled? That I know I need to come on to You, Ribono Shel Olam, completely. Ki mimcha hakol. Everything is from You, all the yeshuos, and everything I need to be matzliach, it's all from You, Ribono Shel Olam. Ein od. It's only You. Ata das is tefillah la'ani, ki yatov lifnei Hashem yishpoch sicho. With this, I think we could say a very nice deher. Yud-Gimmel Midos is the yesod of kaparas avonos. The Ribono Shel Olam showed this to Moshe Rabbeinu. What did He show to Moshe Rabbeinu? Im ta'asu k'seder hazeh. The Gemara says that if you do with this order—doesn't say you should say the Yud-Gimmel Midos—it says if you do im ta'asu k'seder hazeh, ani mochel lahem. Toimed Veira says that it's not enough to say the Yud-Gimmel Midos; you need to enact with the Yud-Gimmel Midos. I think we could come and say maybe that's the pshat before we say the Yud-Gimmel Midos. The pasuk says, Ki yadata le'onav mikedem. Why is Moshe Rabbeinu called the anav here now? So it could be he said, Mecheini na mi'sifrecha. Told the Eibishter, erase me. So, kedatel le'anav, he's called an anav. The way we're explaining, because that's kaporah. He was modeh le'anav mikedem, kemo shekasuv. This is anavah, Yud-Gimmel Midos. And what is the anavah? Anavah is, Mahu rachum, af atah rachum; mahu chanun, af atah chanun; mahu erech apayim, af atah erech apayim. Ma avar al hamidos, to work on all the midos, to swallow and to overlook. This becomes the inyan of the Yud-Gimmel. Hereisa le'anav. The start, the shoresh, it's all about the anavah. With this we can explain, mikem, darshei reshumos say, mikem, mem-chaf-mem is midah keneged midah. Mem-chaf-mem, midah keneged midah. What's the taych? Meiredik. A person humbles himself. He's ma'aver al hamidos. He's a rachum, he's a chanun, he's an erech apayim, so midah keneged midah, the Ribono Shel Olam is moichel him. Midah keneged midah. If you behave, ma'avir al midosecha, then the Ribono Shel Olam behaves to you that way. The midah she'adam, midah boi, midah din boi. Chazal tell us that the Ribono Shel Olam deals with the person the way the person acts, flapei, and in front of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. With this, rabosai, efsher k'menzogen a sheine, sheine deher. Tefillah is a nova. Yud-gimmel midos isn't to say that at tefillah. That already in the Rishonim, we spoke about it before Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. Yud-gimmel midos need to be in the tefillah. Why do the Yud-gimmel midos need to be in the tefillah? And the answer is because it works together with the tefillah. Tefillah humbles, and the Yud-gimmel midos is about a nova, k'dat l'ona mikedem. But it's interesting. Tefillah is Yitzchak. Yitzchak's the avodah. Interesting, Yitzchak was a korban. Yitzchak's also what? The shayrish and the yesod of tefillah. What about Yitzchak? Is korban? We know. We know Yitzchak was a korban. He was on the mizbeach. Briska Rav was masbir that he was a korban mechayim. It's a different type of a korban. Korbanos are usually geshachten, slaughtered. Yitzchak was supposed to live as a korban all his life. How about—

About the tefillah. Why is the tefillah? So the answer is because tefillah is korban. Al פי what we just finished discussing, we explained that the korban is, by Yikra Aleph Zira, anavah. We explained that this is the tahalich on how one gets kaparah, because now he's humble, he gets connected to the Eibishter, he gets kaparah. The aveirah discommunicated and was menaatek him from the Rabbeinu Shleilam. And we explained that the greatest form of anavah that one could do, that he has the inyan of the korban, is to be marbeh al hamidos. Let me share with you a Minoiras HaMaor. The Minoiras HaMaor says, look in the Torah. The Torah is maarich with the story of Yitzchak and Avimelech, and the avdei Avimelech, that they kept on coming and they were fighting, and they kept on going back and forth and covering up all the beiros, all the wells, and then they come to make up with him, and he makes a party with them, a ganze geshichte, says the Minoiras HaMaor. Why is it so relevant to read about a sichsuch that happened between Yitzchak and Avimelech? Okay, there was an agreement, okay, but you don't know all the details. Says the Menoras Hamaor, mavir al hamidos. The Torah is showing me who was Yitzchak. Yitzchak was a tremendous mavir al hamidos. Even though Avimelech did him in, even though Avimelech wronged him, he forgave Avimelech, and he made a party to show Avimelech, friends, fine, forgiven. Zogt the Menoras Hamaor, where did this come from? Midas hahaanavah of Yitzchak. Midas hahaanavah of Yitzchak. Yitzchak is the... the yesod of avodah, the yesod of korban. Adam ki yakriv mikem. It's a lot of sacrifice. It's easier, probably, to sacrifice a korban than it is to sacrifice oneself. Much harder. It's much harder. Charedim, ul'korban akriv loi. What am I—es nafshi hayechidah—and what am I going to take to burn this korban? Eish haAkeidah. The eish haAkeidah is still possible. It still lives on in the yesod v'shoresh haneshamah of every Yid. Chazal tell us the Ribono Shel Olam loves us, ki atem hame'at mikol ha'amim, me'at, sheyodim l'ma'et atzmam. They know how to humble themselves. They're humble. Bayshonim, rachmanim, gomlei chasadim, but also they know l'mayet atzmam. It's a chochmah, yodim. They know how to do it. People don't even know how to do it, rabosai. They're not even trained. They don't even speak the language, so to speak. Talk to a guy, vaz veis, han, vaz veis. What are you talking about? To be memayet yourself, to humble yourself. This is language and avodah that's only for Klal Yisrael. This is Klal Yisrael's kesher with the Eibishter. Creates anavah. Anavah creates kesher with the Eibishter. You know, today, everyone deep down is longing to feel an inner kesher with the Ribono Shel Olam. Everybody wants. Chazal tell us, in the same dira, ein ani v'hu if it's gaivah, if it's haughty. Now, anavah and gaivah is a big avodah. It's a tremendous avodah. But we could start with mi'ut atzmechem in ma'avir al hamidos.

Not to be a captain, not to be angry at every little thing. He said he did. He's angry. Let it go. Let it go. Karbanos is sacrifice, the greatest sacrifice, and maybe the hardest, but still the greatest, is giving. Sacrifice yourself. Give in, give in. You'll feel the kreves to the Ribono Shel Olam. The Ribono Shel Olam mutaka save you. The Chazal say, the Ribono Shel Olam, Yivakesh es hanirdaf. Leave it to the Ribono Shel Olam. Leave it to the Ribono Shel Olam. Chasam Sofer writes clearly that if a person's a nirdaf, he should do nothing, nothing, and then the Ribono Shel Olam steps in to take care. Why does it have to be that you do nothing? You can do a little bit and let the Eibishter take care of it. And the answer is that that anavah, when you know it's all in the hands of the Ribono Shel Olam, it's that anavah that creates the kirvah and the havtachah of Elokim yevakesh es hanirdaf, brings the person in the henfen of the Ribono Shel Olam alone. This is karbanos bizman hazeh. This is a way and a mahalach on how to be mekayem the inyan of karbanos bizman hazeh. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.