Tetzaveh: Moshe’s Missing Name, Aharon’s Bigdei Kehunah, and the True Crown of Torah

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Tetzaveh, Parshas Tetzaveh, we learned all about Aaron HaKohen's inauguration to be the Kohen Gadol. There's maybe one parsha that precedes it about bringing shemen hamishcha as a truma, as a teiv for the menorah, for the lighting of the menorah. But basically, Tetzaveh is about bigdei kehunah for Aaron upon his inauguration of becoming the Kohen Gadol. It's yadua, everybody knows, that Moshe Rabbeinu's name is not mentioned in Parshas Tetzaveh. B'derech klal, in most of the parshiyos, from when Moshe Rabbeinu comes to the scene as the manhig of Yisrael, he's mentioned. Every parsha, Moshe's name is brought. And in Parshas Tetzaveh, there's no mention of it. It's yadua, I don't think there's even a child that isn't taught this; he brings it home from the cheder. The pshat of the Baal HaTurim, that the reason why Parshas Tetzaveh makes no mention of Moshe Rabbeinu's name is because Moshe Rabbeinu himself, by the eigel, said, Mecheini na misifrecha, erase me, erase me from Your sefer. Now, even though the simple translation means sefer Chaim v'Maves. Erase me from life and death. But in a stretch, it could also mean erase me from your Torah. Misefercha, your Torah. Hashem's sefer is the Torah. So if you don't forgive Klal Yisroel, erase me. And even though HaKadosh Baruch Hu did, did moichel Klal Yisroel, He was moichel Klal Yisroel, He did forgive them for the eigel, so then there would be no reason to erase Moshe Rabbeinu. But the way the mefarshim and the Acharonim explain, yeah, but when a person says something, if he's a tzaddik especially, it doesn't go l'chinam, it doesn't go for nothing. Since Moshe Rabbeinu spoke out, Mecheini na misifrecha, it had to come to resolution. It had to come that the final thing is he will be erased from the sefer, and therefore this week's parsha, he's erased. Moshe Rabbeinu is not mentioned in the parsha. That's what the Baal HaTurim brings down, and everybody knows it. That still doesn't help us to understand why in this week's parsha. That's the question that everybody wants to ask. You're right, Mecheini na misifrecha. Moshe Rabbeinu said, Erase me, so the Ribono Shel Olam chooses to erase him. So erase him from the entire Torah. And if you're going to choose only one parsha, why this one? Why is this the parsha that Mecheini na misifracha is the parsha chosen to be mekayem the Mecheini na misifracha? So in years past, I've said a beautiful pshat, Baruch Hashem, be'ezras Hashem yisbarach. Aaron HaKohen is chosen to be the Kohen Gadol. Understand that the whole Beis HaMikdash, Mishkan, is a result of the eigel. Because there's eigel, we needed a Mishkan. If not for the eigel, we wouldn't need a Mishkan. The Rishonim, the Siforno, and the others explain, who made the eigel? Aaron HaKohen made the eigel. As a matter of fact, we learn that Aaron HaKohen needed to be pushed to go do the avodah. Rashi brings from Chazal that he was embarrassed; he didn't want to go to become the oved, the Kohen Gadol, because he did the eigel. Yet the Ribono Shel Olam chooses Aaron HaKohen to be the star of the Mishkan. If the Mishkan was the eigel, and Aaron made the eigel, yet he becomes the star of the Mishkan. He becomes the Kohen Gadol. He becomes the—

The focal point of the avodah in the Beis Hamikdash. And the answer is because Aharon HaKohen was lo chata; he didn't do it for himself. As a matter of fact, Aharon HaKohen did it selflessly. He did it not for himself; he did it sacrificing himself for the kaparah of Klal Yisrael. Because he made a cheshbon that if they kill me, I'm the Kohen, and they also killed the Navi Chur. Some Rishonim learn that he himself was the Kohen and Navi; he was both. But either way, they wouldn't have a kaparah because they killed the Kohen and Navi b'veis Hashem. So in order to have a kaparah for Klal Yisrael, because like this they won't have a kaparah, there would be no way to forgive them for the act. So he went and he did the eigel. So even though the Mishkan was to correct, even though the Mishkan was to be mesaken, even though the Mishkan was to rectify what happened with the eigel, Aharon HaKohen had a big role in the Mishkan, in the avodah, because he actually made the eigel with a selflessness in order to be mechaper Klal Yisrael. We find by Pinchas that Pinchas also became Kohen. When does Pinchas become the Kohen? Tachas asher kineh l'Elokav, vayechaper al Bnei Yisrael. The idea of a Kohen is selfless. He's either shlucha d'Rachmana. He's a messenger of the Eibishter, or shlucha didan, the messenger of Klal Yisroel. The Gemara in Kiddushin, in a few places, the Gemara discusses what's the role of a kohen. Does a kohen a shliach of Hashem, or is he a shliach of Klal Yisroel? What does the Gemara mean to say? That he is selfless. The kohen does not represent himself. The kohen actually is a representation of two entities: the Ribono Shel Olam and Klal Yisroel. We're soon going to learn that the big tekuhuna, like it says in this week's parsha, was l'chavod ul'sifares. Rabbeinu Bechaye, other Rishonim learn, l'chavod Hashem ul'sifares Klal Yisroel. It is for the honor of Hashem, and it's for the glorification of Klal Yisroel. What does that mean? Because the kohen actually represents two entities. It's not about him. It's about Hashem. It's about Klal Yisroel. So Aharon HaKohen went and sacrificed himself to be mechaper al Bnei Yisroel, like Pinchas, who was tachas haShechina leilekav, which is shlucha d'Rachmana for the sake of Hashem, and vayechaper al Bnei Yisroel for the sake of Klal Yisroel. That's what a kohen is. So Aharon HaKohen seemed to make an egel, which was against Hashem, but the purpose was for Hashem and for Klal Yisroel, was completely not about himself, to the point where he was supposed to get honor in the Mikdash, in the Mishkan, to do the avodah; he didn't want to do it. Aharon HaKohen wasn't about him. It was about Klal Yisroel, mesiras nefesh. That's why Moshe Rabbeinu, who was actually inaugurating—we're going to soon learn Moshe Rabbeinu is inaugurating Aharon HaKohen—v'atah hakrev eilecha es Aharon achicha. Point: Aharon is now being inaugurated that he is moser nefesh. He lives for Klal Yisroel, for their kaparah. Moshe Rabbeinu had the same attribute. Moshe Rabbeinu said when it came to the eigel, Mecheini na misifrecha. Erase me from Your sefer, mesiras nefesh, for the kaparah of Klal Yisroel. Either You forgive them, or erase me. I don't want to be there. So that's why they chose in this week's parsha, where Aharon becomes the Kohen Gadol, for sacrificing himself for the kaparah of Klal Yisroel, that Moshe Rabbeinu was also mentioned by showing that he said, Mecheini na misifrecha. By taking out Moshe Rabbeinu's name, what you're doing is you're trying to portray—

Pray and to symbolize, commemorate that Moshe said, erase me. That's why it goes hand in hand, and the parsha where Aharon HaKohen is chosen, because he was vayechaper al Bnei Yisrael, and he gave himself up for that. He was ready to be moser nefesh for that. Moshe Rabbeinu also. You know what it is to tell the Ribono Shel Olam, Mecheini na misifracha. It sounds almost like an aveirah. That's how you talk to the Ribono Shel Olam? Chutzpah. There was a tremendous chutzpah, nazus, yet he sacrificed himself for the sake, vayechaper, to have kaparah for Klal Yisrael. That's why in this week's parsha, the two inyanim come together: Aharon HaKohen becoming the Kohen Gadol after the eigel, after the eigel he becomes the Kohen Gadol in the Mishkan, and Moshe Rabbeinu, who makes him the Kohen Gadol without mentioning his name. Because Mecheini na misifracha was also, it was a way, it was a derech of sacrificing himself to be mechaper on Klal Yisrael. You know, Moshe Rabbeinu was originally the Kohen Gadol. For the seven days of shivas yemei hamiluim, Moshe hayah omeid u'makriv. Moshe was the Kohen Gadol. We're going to learn soon that Moshe Rabbeinu felt bad. The Medrash tells us he felt bad when he was told to make Aharon HaKohen the Kohen Gadol. He had kinas sofrim, as we will learn and explain the Medrash in future, a little bit later on in the shiur. So the Ribono Shel Olam is telling Moshe Rabbeinu, Aaron is becoming the Kohen Gadol to be vayechaper al Bnei Yisrael. Don't think you're any different. You were the Kohen Gadol for seven days. You know what's pshat? Because of the mecheni na misifracha. You also went and was moser nefesh to give yourself up for the kaparah of Klal Yisrael, and that's why it's mentioned together, the inauguration of Aaron with the mecheni na misifracha of Moshe Rabbeinu in the parshah of Tetzaveh. And we will soon learn that the word Tetzaveh plays a big role in understanding the parshah. Tetzaveh means tzivui, command of Hashem. When one only has in his focus, in his ratzon, to be mekayem the tzivui Hashem, he is selfless. He lives for Tetzaveh. He lives for the tzivui of Hashem. And thus the mecheni na misifracha of Moshe Rabbeinu was able to achieve because he lives for the Ribono Shel Olam. He doesn't live for himself, while Aaron HaKohen as well lived only for the Tetzaveh. But as we will talk later, this is maybe a little more drush, but we'll get to it in pshat a little bit later. But I believe it's a little bit deeper, rabosai. I want to show you something unique about Atah Tetzaveh, the parshah, and with this maybe we'll have a better or a deeper understanding, an added understanding, added, deeper. To why this week's parsha, Tetzaveh, was chosen as the parsha that the Mecheni na mi'sifrecha will take effect. So, so far we understand that it's a mesiras nefesh from Moshe Rabbeinu to be mechaper on Klal Yisrael, which is really the role of the Kohen Gadol, and here Aaron HaKohen is becoming the Kohen Gadol. We understand, but it's a lot deeper, and I'll soon explain to you. It's interesting, ata tetzaveh. In Hebrew, in dikduk of lashon kodesh, when you talk to somebody, you don't have to say atah. When you tell somebody, you tell him, titzaveh, telech. You don't say, atah telech. You don't need the word atah. This question is not my question. The Ohr Hachaim HaKadosh asks this for a question. The Ohr Hachaim says, you know why it says, ata tetzaveh? And later on we find it says, ata hakrev eilecha es Aharon achicha. In the entire parsha, it talks about atah, emphasizing, being madgish you. Says the Ohr Hachaim, Hashem wanted that when Moshe Rabbeinu commands to bring the shemen zayis or to bring Aaron HaKohen close, it shouldn't come like Hashem—

Hashem said to do it. It shouldn't sound like, it shouldn't be that I, Hashem, told him to do. I, Hashem, told Moshe to be mekarev Aharon to him as the Kohen Gadol, but it should come from ata, you. Like you're the one who's doing it, and you're the one who's commanding, and you're the one who's instructing and setting it up. I'm the mitzaveh, but it shouldn't sound that way. It should sound like ata mitzaveh. I'm the one who's telling to be makriv Aharon to the Kohen, kehunah gedolah, but it should sound like ata hakrev eilav, that you're doing it, not me, You. Why? Why is it so important that it should be v'ata, that you should be mitzaveh es Bnei Yisrael v'yikchu eilecha, they should take to you the shemen zayis, as if it's an issue for Moshe personally, ata hakrev eilecha es Aharon achicha, that it's you who's doing it. Why? Why is that so important? So here on one hand, we're learning, mecheni na mi'sifrecha, Moshe is not mentioned. And on the other hand it says ata. So we could come and say a very nice deher, that the Ribono Shel Olam is balancing. I have to take your name out, but I don't want you to feel like you're out of the picture completely. I don't want you to feel like we're not being goyres you. So I give you a very key role, as if you're the main person in the parsha, without mentioning your name. He's elevating Aharon, but Moshe Rabbeinu, he's elevating. Atah, I want that it's be you. You should take the key role of doing it, as if you are the one that's commanding. Why? So we could come and say that the Ribono Shel Olam takes away and gives. He's meimis u'mechayeh. He goes in hand. Sometimes he gives a little bit of a mussar, a tochachah, and at the same time he uplifts the person. So you can have this balance, that the balance is he's not mentioned, yet at the same time, atah. You're elevating one, he's elevating. Key role. I would say maybe even deeper than this. On one hand he's not mentioned; on the other hand we say, Atah titzaveh. I'd like to add a third pshat from the Zohar. The Zohar says, Atah titzaveh, it's referring to the Ribono Shel Olam, because atah means Hashem. Like it says, Mechayeh meisim atah, Rav l'hoshia. So atah means HaKadosh Baruch Hu. So Atah titzaveh, you are going to be metzaveh, but it's not you, it's actually Me. So wait a minute. It's not you because your name is not mentioned, but it is you because I'm telling you and I'm saying you and I'm stressing you like Derech Chaim, yet I'm telling you it's not you, it's Me, it's Hashem. Atah means Hashem. Is it you? Is it not you? Is it you? It's not you. It is you. It isn't you. What happened here? Atah, it's not you. Atah, it is you, and atah, it's not you; it's Hashem. What does it mean? I believe, rabosai, the parsha of Tetzaveh sends a tremendous yesod, a tremendous lesson and message in binyan hamishkan in general, and in kedusha bifrak. What is kedusha? The binyan hamishkan is kedusha, right? It had to be a makom kadosh, v'asu li mikdash. Kodesh. What is kodesh? I want to tell you that we always think kodesh is lofty things of the Ribbono Shel Olam and kedusha and taharah. There's something which is more basic about kedusha, and we're soon going to explain it in great length. You know, we talk about ish v'isha, about kedusha. Between a husband and a wife there should be kedusha. Is everybody holding on the level of kedusha?

That they live with the Rabbeinu Shlolam in a very spiritual... not everybody. Yet, ishus is called kedusha. The Rambam brings the halachos of ishus. There's true, there's nashim, but all the hilchos nida, for example, is in kedusha. The Rambam brings it in kedusha. What's kedusha? Kedusha, rabosai, we're going to learn, is when one is selfless to the point that he lives for others. And the others could be the Rabbeinu Shlolam. The others could be people around him: wife, family, friends. That's kedusha. Kedusha, specifically in Chai Ishus, is to be selfless and to live and to think about the other person. True, in the lofty sense of the word, kedusha means Rabbeinu Shlolam and the celestial ideas of merkava and so on and so forth. Then there's lower levels of kedusha, but then there's basic kedusha, and that is when a person is not chumri, he's not about himself. It's not ani. It's actually, I live for something higher and better and bigger than just me. That's called kedusha. And I'll explain to you what I mean. The Medrash, like I told you, says that when Moshe Rabbeinu was told to take Aaron and inaugurate him as the Kohen, says the Medrash. Atah hakrev eilecha, hadahu d'chsiv. That's what it says in the pasuk, Lulei sorascha sha'ashuai. Oz avadti b'oni. What does that have to do with this week's parsha? What does that have to do with Aharon? Lulei sorascha, Dovid HaMelech says, if not for your Torah, which was my plaything, sha'ashuai, oz avadti b'oni, I would have been lost with my hopeless pain. What does that have to do with this bringing Aharon to you as the Kohen Gadol? Says the Medrash, because k'she'amar HaKadosh Baruch Hu l'Moshe, V'atah hakrev eilecha, heira lo. He felt bad. Moshe Rabbeinu felt bad. Kinah sofrim. He felt a certain kinah, a jealousy. Why not me? Amar lo, Torah haysa li, says the Ribono Shel Olam, Torah was mine, u'nesativ lecha. I'd given it to you. She'ilulei hi, avadti olami. If not for the Torah, I would have had to destroy the world already. So that's Lulei sorascha, says the Matnas Kehunah, if not for your Torah, Moshe. We always think that Dovid HaMelech says it, and after him we say Lulei sorascha. If not for you, Hashem, your Torah, we'd be lost. Actually, the Medrash says that Hashem said Lulei sorascha. It's interesting. When we sing the song Lulei sorascha sha'ashuai, how many of us know, according to the words of Chazal, it's actually Hashem talking: If not for you, Moshe, and Klal Yisrael, your Torah that you learned... Ozavati bani. So, your what? Your jealous kinasoifrim, of course, a spiritual jealousy, a kosher jealousy, that you don't have the kehuna? You have something bigger. You have lulei seirascha shaashuai; if not for your Torah, the world would not exist. Don't forget, there's three amudim to the world: al haTorah, v'al haavodah, v'al gemilus chasadim. So let's say Aaron is the avodah. Maybe Aaron is the avodah, but your Torah, which comes first, al haTorah. So your keeping up of the world is a lot greater than the avodah that Aaron's chosen to do. Why does he pick the pasuk of lulei seirascha shaashuai? Why that pasuk? So, pashut pshat is he's trying to say the nekudah of the Mishnah of al haTorah v'al avodah... haolam omeid. So you're keeping up the world more than Aaron. You look at the other mefarshei haMedrash, they explain that it's about keser Torah and keser kehuna, that keser Torah...

You have keser kehunah, he has. So what are you jealous that he has keser kehunah? You have keser Torah. That's what it is. According to the Matnas Kehunah, which is one of the mefarshim on the Medrash, he's saying avodah, well you're also keeping up the world even more than the avodah, because Torah keeps up the world even more than the avodah. So it's about the Mishnah of Al haTorah, v'al haavodah, v'al gemilus chasadim, ha'olam omeid. Most of the mefarshim on Medrash learn it's about the kesarim, the crowns, that Aaron is becoming keser kehunah here. He's being inaugurated as the keser, the crown of kehunah. Heira loi, Moshe Rabbeinu fell, how come he didn't get it? If you look, one of the pshatim, the Yefeh Toar, I believe on the bottom says, why taka didn't he get it, Moshe Rabbeinu? He says because he was busy teaching Torah. It's more important. Moshe was busy. Moshe didn't have time to be the kohen. So instead of becoming keser kehunah, he was given him keser Torah. And keser Torah, like the Mishnah says, is greater than keser kehunah. So therefore, feel good, Moshe Rabbeinu. So I had a question on this Medrash. Two questions. Question number one: if you mean to say that keser kehunah is less than keser Torah, and as a matter of fact, the Netziv actually takes this concept of the Medrash... And brings it back into the pasuk. V'ata hakreiv eilecha. What is that? Says the Netziv, that you should be makriv to you, says the Netziv, in emek davar, that you should bring the keser kehunah, that it should be close to who and what you are, but still not it. Because keser Torah is greater than keser kehunah. V'ata, you, who is keser Torah, hakreiv, bring the keser kehunah closer, but not, as they say in English, no cigar. Close, but no cigar. The idea is close, v'ata hakreiv eilecha, but it's not exactly it, because you're more. You're keser Torah. So why does he use the pasuk of lulei seirascha sha'ashuai az avadti b'onyi? It has nothing to do with keser Torah. You want to say keser Torah is bigger, so say keser Torah is greater. Why the pasuk of lulei seirascha sha'ashuai az avadti b'onyi? Why that pasuk? If you learn like the pshat of the Matnas Kehunah, that Hashem is saying that the world stands on your Torah, and the Rabbeinu Shalom is saying lulei seirascha sha'ashuai, and az avadti b'onyi means that the world would go into destruction, okay. But if you learn like the rest of the mefarshim, that we're trying to say that the keser Torah is greater than the keser kehunah, then why do you choose to express it through the pasuk of lulei seirascha sha'ashuai az avadti b'onyi? Just say, Keser Torah is greater. Torah is more than kehuna. It's more than avodah. Why? Why is the concept of Keser Torah the greatest, expressed through the words of the pasuk of Lulei Sorascha sha'ashuai, which simply means that if not for your Torah, I'd be lost in this world from all the affliction and nisyonos and difficulties that life brings. Why this pasuk? So, rabosai, I would say that we have to understand a little bit Keser Torah, and little by little, with the understanding of Keser Torah, we can understand why this pasuk represents Keser Torah and the greatness of Keser Torah. Why is it that the Lulei Sorascha becomes the picture of Keser Torah being bigger than Keser Kehuna? So, pashut pshat, I would say that if you look at the Rambam.

The Rambam seems to say clearly that in order to achieve Kesser Torah, one needs to learn through difficulty. The Rambam in Hilchos Talmud Torah, perek gimmel, writes clearly that what is Kesser Torah? Kesser Torah is achieved when one learns pas bamelach tochal, u'mayim b'mesurah tishteh, v'al ha'aretz tishan, v'chayei tzaar tichyeh. That's how you achieve Kesser Torah. To have Kesser Torah through a learning which is from comfort, it doesn't come. So maybe that's why we use the pasuk of, Lulei sorascha sha'ashuai, az avadti b'anyi, because anyi is how one is supposed to learn in order to reach Kesser Torah. The problem with this is, why do you need the sha'ashuai? Why do you have—just bring the Mishnah: Kach hi darkah shel Torah, pas bamelach tochal, u'mayim b'mesurah tishteh, v'chayei tzaar tichyeh, uvaTorah at amal. Why do we need the whole sha'ashuai? The learning is a sha'ashua. Where does that come from? Why do you have to come on to the sha'ashua, that part of it? So, rabosai, let's discuss the connection between Lulei sorascha sha'ashuai and Kesser Torah. I understand that anyi is a condition, a tenai, so to speak, in order to achieve Kesser Torah, that the Torah has to be learned with ameilus, with difficulty. With hardship. But what about the shashuai? Is that an ingredient in keser Torah? Is that one of the conditions, the tnaiim that is needed, that Torah should be learned as a shashua, which means a play toy, so to speak, in order to achieve keser Torah? What is keser Torah? What is it? A person walks around, keser Torah. If I looked at it, can I see it? Can I be able to notice keser Torah? You know, keser kahuna I can notice, because the Kohen Gadol walks around, he has a beautiful crown on his head. He wore begadim which was royalty. You look at the Ramban, the Rishonim, that these were very, very royal special begadim that only the chashuve am wore. Keser malchus also. It's a keter, royalty. Melech, b'yofi techzena einecha, beautiful. Aaron was dressed l'chavod u'l'sifares. The king is dressed, melech b'yofi techzena einecha. What about the talmid chacham? What about the keser Torah? In what way do we see keser Torah? What is it? Who is it? Explain to me, keser Torah, what? Is it just words that we throw around? What is that keser Torah? You think it means in the Arna Kodesh, you have on top of the Torah a silver, a silver that you buy for two hundred dollars, that's called keser Torah? That's only two hundred dollars. That's not. It maybe resembles the concept of keser Torah, but that's not keser Torah. What is keser Torah? Ask anybody, Keser Torah. What? What is it? Where is it? Who is it? What is it? Rabosai, there's an interesting Zohar. Reb Chaim Volozhin brings it down in his Nefesh HaChaim, that when a talmid chacham, or for that matter any Yid, doesn't have to be a talmid chacham, but someone who sits and learns, says a chiddush Torah, that chiddush Torah goes up to Shamayim, and the Ribono Shel Olam takes it and He kisses it. The love that HaKadosh Baruch Hu has for every word of chiddush, of Torah, He kisses it. And from that kiss springs forth crowns, and the crowns go on the head of the talmidei chachamim. Wow. Sounds very beautiful. Sounds exciting. Crowns. You know, you can picture just the way, it just in the air, crowns are just floating like sparkles in the sky. Beautiful, huh? Yeah, but l'maaseh, where is it? What is it? Could you see it? Maybe, maybe, maybe if a person...

Persons on a very big level, he could see that crown. Maybe he could see the kesarim, those crowns that fall on the heads of the talmidei chachamim. I want to tell you over a beautiful Rambam. The Rambam in Hilchos Teshuva talks about Olam Haba. What is Olam Haba? He says Olam Haba is tzaddikim yoshvim, they sit, unehenin miziv haShechinah. They enjoy the Shechinah. V'ateroseihem berosheihem, and their crowns are on their heads. Which crowns? Keser Torah. But the Rambam explains what those crowns are. It is the idea, it is the knowledge of Hashem, which is from the Torah that they've received, that it is because of this knowledge that they sit in Olam Haba. It is that knowledge that is their atarah, their crown, that they're sitting with in Olam Haba. So the yedias haTorah, the knowledge of Torah, which is of course yedias Hashem, that's the deeper you go into the Torah, the more you know Hashem. We all know that the Torah itself was written, it's osiyos of the Shem Hashem. All the letters of the Torah is actually Hashem. Hashem and the Torah is chad. Kudsha Brich Hu v'Oraysa v'Yisrael, it's all chad. So the knowledge of Torah, which is called yedias Hashem, is in itself the keser Torah. And the tzaddikim are sitting with that keser in Olam Haba. I'd like to point out, notice that it never says, Atareihem al rosheihem, that the Atarah is on their heads, but rather what does it say? Atareihem b'rosheihem. In. Wisdom of Torah is the crown. So there are crowns which are external, but the wisdom of Torah, which is the crown of the talmid chacham, is what? Internal. Atareihem b'rosheihem. That's the way the Rambam brings the pasuk, the Gemara of Atareihem b'rosheihem, because we're not talking about an external, physical. We're talking about an internal, the idea itself of the Torah. So therefore it uses the lashon, I believe, that that's what it means, Atareihem b', not Atareihem al, but Atareihem b'rosheihem. The Mesillas Yesharim, in the end of perek yud aleph, says clearly, what is kavod haTorah? What is the honor? He says there's no honor. The honor is the yedias haTorah itself. Says it clearly in the Mesillas Yesharim. The actual knowing of the Torah is the kavod. That's the respect. You don't have to have any external kavod. Knowing. So at the end of Mesillas Yesharim, perek yud aleph, it says clearly that the kavod haTorah... is the yediah atzmah, the actual knowing, and that's this Rambam. And that's why it says, Atoreiseihem b'rosheihem. You notice, we say in the Shabbos davening, right, that Moshe Rabbeinu, right, dikant the Shabbos, what does it say? That you went up to Shamayim, right, Klil tiferes b'rosho nesata lo, b'omdo lefanecha al Har Sinai, ushnei luchos avanim horid b'yado, v'chasuv bahem shemiras Shabbos. So what does Klil tiferes mean? Klil means it's a canopy of glory, a crown. Klil tiferes. B'rosho. You hear? Klil tiferes b... When? B'omdo lefanecha al Har Sinai, the Torah. We find anywhere Chazal, the Ribbono Shel Olam gave a crown to Moshe Rabbeinu? I don't see it anywhere. So what do you mean? And the answer is the Torah itself is the crown. Klil tiferes b'rosho, in his head, by giving him the Torah, teaching it to him. Moshe got a keter on Har Sinai?

No, I don't know what you're talking about. It doesn't say anywhere that Moshe Rabbeinu. It says, Klal Yisroel got crowns. That's what it says. It says when Klal Yisroel said, Naaseh v'nishma, they got crowns. So why do we say, Klil tiferes? Why do we say, Klil tiferes b'rosho? So I'm asking you this question. Where does it come from that you put a crown on his head? And the answer is, it doesn't say it anywhere. It means the Torah itself. It says it clearly: Klil tiferes b'rosho nasata lo, b'omdoi lifanecha al Har Sinai, and watch, they... This is it, the Torah. The Torah itself is the klil tiferes. So it's true there's kesarim, three, but the kehuna and the malchus is external kesarim. Torah is an internal keser. It's the yedias haTorah, it's the knowledge of the Torah itself, which is its keser. I once told you that I am a talmid of Rav Leibish Zechreinu Livracha. Give me some water. I was a talmid of Rav Leibish Zechreinu Livracha, and he told me that he used to go to get shimush by my great-grandfather, the Beis Aaron, in Europe. They used to travel from Hungary, the bachurim, to get shimush from the Beis Aaron. So he says that he can never forget the first time he met him. It left a tremendous impression on him. Why? He says he remembers seeing on him that the gantze Torah... Hat geshaynt of zayn shtern, which means the entire Torah, in Yiddish, like, glisht, it sparkled from his forehead. When I never understood the words. I thought it was just a nice expression. I thought it was just a way of words. And then I started to realize, as I got older and I started to look at great people, Gedolei Yisrael, and I realized that no, it sparkles from their forehead, a certain royalty, a certain tiferes, a certain glory. And that is what, like, the Kohen Gadol has, Kinezer lo kaval rosho. He carries the crown of Hashem. What is it referring to? The tzitz. He wears a headplate. And what does that headplate say? Kodesh LaShem. Kinezer lo kaval rosho. That's the crown of kehunah. The talmid chacham, with his knowledge of Torah from within his head, has from the meitzach. It sparkles, the beauty and glory of Torah. It could be literally, this glishtetzach from the shtern, from the forehead, the beauty of Torah, the keser of Torah. It came down from right, his face was all glowing. Correct, and that is klil tiferes b'rosho, that that glow, that shine, is the keser haTorah. So now, rabosai, we've started to define what is keser Torah and the difference between keser Torah and the other kesarim, and that is— That the keser of malchus is external, maybe internal also. I'm not saying that there was no internal malchus within the melech, but the tiferes, the splendor of it, the glory of it, came from outside, that he had to be dressed, clothed externally with a keser. The kohen also externally was dressed in royalty, while the talmid chacham, his keser, the keser of Torah, is his yedias haTorah from within. It's in his head, it's the Torah that he has, that he's put together in his mind. That keser shines, and that's what it means, v'shaynfun zayn shtern, from his forehead, the beauty and glory of Torah. And this is what the Rambam seems to be saying: Atreiseihem v'raisheihem is the yedias haTorah itself, like the Mesillas Yesharim says, that is the kavod haTorah, the yedias haTorah that the talmid chacham has. The Gemara tells us, Chalaf taga. It's a Gemara in Megillah, daf chav-zayin. The Gemara says that if somebody—

Uses the tag of the Torah, the crown of the Torah, cholaf. He has to perish. He's chayav misa. Cholaf taga. That if he uses, ha-mishtamesh b'taga cholaf, which means that he has to be taken away from this world if he uses the crown. That's how Rashi translates the word taga, keser Torah. Says the Gemara, what does it refer to? That's a talmid chacham. That if a person goes and he uses a talmid chacham for his own purposes, that's called being mishtamesh with the keser Torah. What is his own purpose? A talmid chacham is meant to teach you. A talmid chacham is not meant to serve you, to be your personal servant, like some people think. Some people think that a talmid chacham, a rav, is their private mishamesh, their private caretaker. No. You have to treat a talmid chacham that you're there to take from him Torah. You're not there to use him. So the Gemara says here that if a person comes and he uses the talmid chacham, what happens is, cholaf, he has to be taken away. Why? What's so bad? Why is it so bad? And why is that called using, using the keser of Torah? What is a talmid chacham? A talmid chacham, rabosai, is b'makom HaKadosh Baruch Hu. He represents HaKadosh Baruch Hu. We find that Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Akiva was the one who went for the asarah harugei malchus. In place of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. There's a very famous Gra. They asked the Goyen, where is Aseres Harugei Malchus merumaz? Everything is merumaz in the Torah, and the Goyen was able to show where everything is hidden in the Torah. So they asked him, where is the story of Arugei Malchus hidden in the Torah? So he went to the parashah of Maaseh Beheima, where it says, Kol asher ya'avor, all the animals ya'avor, they pass tachas hashevet, which literally means the whip. Va'asiri, the tenth one, the tenth animal, is kodesh laShem, ma'aser. Says the Goyen, it also is merumaz for the Aseres Harugei Malchus, because there were nine shevatim that sold Yosef, and for that, nine of the tzaddikim, the Tannaim, had to die. So Kol asher ya'avor, the nine that died tachas hashevet, they were for the shevatim. Va'asiri, there were only nine people that sold Yosef. Yosef didn't sell himself, and Binyamin wasn't there, so it's only nine, right? So how could it be va'asiri? Who's the tenth one? And Reuven also wasn't there. Reuven, Reuven einenu, he wasn't there, so only nine. Says va'asiri, kodesh laShem, because don't forget, Hashem was part of the cherem. He was the tenth one to the beis din. Says the Gra, he also needed a kaparah, HaKadosh Baruch Hu. So who went instead of HaKadosh Baruch Hu? Va'asiri, the tenth one, Rabbi Akiva. Why? Because Rabbi Akiva was doresh. The Gemara says, whenever it says the word es, it's l'rabos. So Shimon HaTimoni, the Gemara in Pesachim, used to say every es what it means, till he came to es Hashem Elokecha tira, parash. What's he gonna say, es? And plus more than Hashem, you have to— no, only Hashem you have to fear. תלמיד רבי עקיבא came and said, Es l'rabos talmidei chachamim, that you have to have fear, even for talmid chacham. Why? He said because Rabbi Akiva said that the talmid chacham is actually, if we could use the words in English, HaKadosh Baruch Hu reincarnation, so to speak. Every talmid chacham represents the Ribono Shel Olam. Every talmid chacham is a part of the Ribono Shel Olam. The Ribono Shel Olam is who His essence is. ושכנתי בתוכם, בתוכו לא נאמר אלא בתוכם, especially in the tzaddikim, especially in the talmidei chachamim, the Ribono Shel Olam fills the full essence of the talmid chacham. So therefore he can represent HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Oh, that's how you darshen את ה' אלוקיך תירא? So when we need a kaparah for HaKadosh Baruch Hu, you know who goes? You, Rabbi Akiva. You will represent the Ribono Shel Olam. This is a famous Torah from the Gra. The Vilna Gaon says this, that a talmid chacham represents HaKadosh Baruch Hu. What is keser? I just told you, keser is the idea of Hashem. How much does a person— Yiddish acronym, fazamel— he puts...

It's in him, HaKadosh Baruch Hu and His Torah and the knowledge of Hashem. That itself was the keser Torah. So the Talmud Chacham is itself keser Torah. That's what the Gemara Megillah is telling us. Hamishtamesh b'keser of the Torah chalaf, that he's mishtamesh with the Talmud Chacham. Rabbi Akiva learned that the Talmud Chacham is b'makom nebishta. Notice, Rabbi Akiva is also the one that's doresh kisrei osiyos. The crowns, the top of the osiyos, is Rabbi Akiva. Why? Because Rabbi Akiva understood the kesarim. Rabbi Akiva was the one that symbolized keser Torah. What is keser Torah? Keser Torah is the chidushei Torah that come in the crowns. I just explained to you that when a Talmud Chacham says a chidush, the Ribbono Shel Olam gives it a kiss and it sparkles into crowns. What is that? That's the kesher, that's the connection that a Talmud Chacham is connected with the Ribbono Shel Olam, which is the crown, which is the yedias haTorah, like the Rambam says, which is the yedias Hashem that he achieves, that he has taken in his yediah and his knowledge. So Rabbi Akiva, when was he tachas hashavet—I'm sorry, when was he asir yekodesh laHashem, to represent Hashem? When he was moser nefesh by the mesiras nefesh. Why? Because the idea, when a Talmud Chacham is moser nefesh... It's not him. There's no him. So who does he represent? Only Hashem. That's why keser Torah cannot be learned lo mitoch achilah, v'lo mitoch shtiyah, v'lo mitoch oneg, because of a person's busy eating and drinking and having his good life. It's a contradiction to the keser Torah. Keser Torah is when it's not you. Keser Torah is when you are completely infused with the Torah to the point that you're connected to HaKadosh Baruch Hu completely. That's keser Torah. Could you bring me the Rambam? I'd like to bring out the Rambam. We're saying very yesodistic things, Hilchos Teshuvah. Okay, I might say let's have a one-minute chazarah, because we said a lot of very deep thoughts, and the truth is they're yesodei hadas, and they're not my chiddushim. Those that learn clearly Rambam and Rishonim, it's pretty clear what I was saying. But being that it's a complicated, very deep idea, let's repeat it. So again, what we've spoken till now, that we understand that Aharon HaKohen represents keser kehunah. That's the idea of Aharon HaKohen. The Kohen Gadol represents keser kehunah. We've also spoken till now that Moshe Rabbeinu represents keser Torah, and the Medrash seems to tell us. That when Aharon HaKohen was chosen, and that Moshe Rabbeinu was given the task of bringing Aharon and inaugurating him as the Kohen Gadol, he felt bad. Ki natzoiferim. He wanted that. He wanted that keser kehunah. So the Ribono Shel Olam, in essence, was telling him the keser Torah is greater than the keser kehunah. The Mishnah in Avos that says keser Torah is greater than keser kehunah. So we had a question. So why does it represent itself with the pasuk of Lulei sorascha sha'ashuai? Why is that the poster pasuk, so to speak? That's the pasuk that represents keser Torah, Lulei sorascha sha'ashuai, az avadti b'anyi. So we went into a whole explanation to understand keser Torah. And that pasuk of Lulei sorascha is, in essence, what keser Torah stands for: A, how it's achieved, and B, what it represents. And I'll explain to you. We begin by showing the Rambam says clearly that keser Torah cannot be achieved mitoch achilah v'shtiyah v'idun, ela chayei tzaar tichyeh. He brings the Mishnah. It has to be learned with toil.

Oil with difficulty with oni. So I hear that the seiroscha shashuyei b'oni, oni has to do with keser Torah. That I hear. What about the seiroscha shashuyei part? Why is that integral part of keser Torah, that the Torah should be learned as a shashua? Shashua simply means toys. You know, they used to say over, Which grown-up plays with toys? David HaMelech. David HaMelech says, I play with toys. What kind of toys? We don't mean the stupidity toys that the world is busy with: iPods and e-pods and double... and nose pods and whatever pods you have, right? He was busy with Torah pods. He was busy with something much different. Those are the toys, the playthings of David HaMelech. Fine. The question is, how is that intricate? How is that so specific in the ingredient of keser Torah? So I begin to explain to you what is keser Torah. What is it? The Zohar tells us, Chidushei Torah get kissed by HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and they sparkle glamorously to the world, onto the heads of the... Beautiful, right? Almost like a fantasy world, sparkling in the sky. It's beautiful, yeah? But then we said that we find that keser Torah is actually the yedias Hashem, the knowledge of Hashem, and I'm going to read you the Rambam inside. It says the Rambam like this. Here it is. Here it is. ... Here it is. פרק ח' הלכה ב'. העולם הבא אין בו גוף וגויה, נפשות הצדיקים בלבד. עולם הבא is nafshos hatzaddikim. And since there's no gviyah, there's no bodies, לא אכילה ולא שתיה, no eating and drinking. And none of the things that the guf of a person needs in this world means no physical. ולא יארע דבר מן הדברים, nothing that happens to the body will happen there, for example sickness and so on and so forth. So what is Olam Haba? כך אמרו חכמים: אין בו לא אכילה ולא שתיה ולא תשמיש, אלא צדיקים יושבין וכתריהן בראשיהן. הרי נתבאר לך שאין שם גוף. And this is what it means, צדיקים יושבין. כלומר, the tzaddikim are there sitting. And what does it mean, וכתריהן בראשיהן? כלומר, דע, שידעו שבגלל זכו לחיי העולם הבא מצוי עמהם, והיא האוצרה שלהם, כעניין שאמר שלמה: באוצרה שאתי לו עמי. That's the אוצרה הידיעה. The Rambam says, כך אוצרה שאמרו חכמים, כך היא הידיעה. Moidik is, moidik, the Rambam. And what is called a Torah? The knowledge that the Talmud Chacham has. And like I said, that's what it means, Atah oseihem bira shem. It's not al, it's in. The Mesillas Yesharim, perek yud aleph, says, What is kavod haTorah? Yediah itself, the knowledge of the Torah itself, is honor. It brings kavod. Yedias haTorah is the kavod. With this, we said that's pshat by Moshe Rabbeinu, Klil tiferes biroshenu nasata lo, where, v'hamdel lefanecha Har Sinai. How does that happen? So we said the Talmud Chacham represents the keser Torah. How does he represent the keser Torah? Because the Talmud Chacham is just Hashem. The Talmud Chacham is just the Torah. There's nothing else. The Talmud Chacham and the Torah infuse to become one piece. If a Talmud Chacham has other agendas, if a Talmud Chacham has other activities, so he doesn't become one with the Torah, you can't be zocheh to keser Torah. That's what the Rambam...

From Hilchos Keser Torah teaches us, you can't make money and say, Okay, I'll have keser Torah. It doesn't work that way. Keser Torah means complete devotion, complete infusion, to become one piece with the Torah. Because the Ribono Shel Olam and the Torah is one, and then the Talmud Chacham becomes that. So the Talmud Chacham, like the Gemara in Megillah tells us, is the keser Torah. Rabbi Akiva, when he was moser nefesh, he gave up his body. That's what he said, Masai kemana. I was looking my whole life to give up my guf. Then he becomes what? He becomes es l'rabbis talmidei chachamim. He becomes a piece of Elokim. He becomes just ruchni. And that's why, like the goyim says, he becomes the one that's yavor tachas hashavet, that the other nine go for the shevatim while he is kodesh laShem for the Ribono Shel Olam. This, rabosai, is Rabbi Akiva doresh kisrei osiyos. Rabbi Akiva was doresh the kesarim. Rabbi Akiva represented the keser Torah. That's pshat Rabbi Akiva. Now we can understand Aharon and Moshe, and why is it that Moshe Rabbeinu is, so to speak, jealous, Heira lo for Aharon. Aharon HaKohen is becoming the Kohen Gadol. It says clearly in the pasuk, Mitoch Bnei Yisrael. Take Aaron and bring him to you, mitoch Bnei Yisrael. What is mitoch Bnei Yisrael? So the Kli Yakar says that he has to represent Klal Yisrael. Aharon can't be about himself anything. He's all about Klal Yisrael. The Kli Yakar says they needed Aharon HaKohen. What is Moshe Rabbeinu? I told you Moshe Rabbeinu is not mentioned in the parsha. Why? Because in this parsha he's supposed to be keser Torah that's bringing close keser kehuna. What is keser Torah? Keser Torah means you don't exist whatsoever. There's no you. Keser Torah becomes ata tetzaveh. You know what ata tetzaveh means? Not you, but you, but actually it's me. I asked you a question. We know mentioned Moshe Rabbeinu. You know, in the Haggadah we also don't mention Moshe Rabbeinu. And the mefarshim, Alshich and others ask, why is Moshe's name not mentioned in the Haggadah? And the answer is to teach that it's not Moshe. There is no Moshe. Moshe represents, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, ani v'lo malach, ani v'lo shliach. I, He said, Moshe, and the answer is Moshe is not even called a shliach. There's no Moshe Rabbeinu. You know, when Moshe Rabbeinu tells Sichon that he wants to pass by in his land, he sends a message to the head of Sichon that Hashem sent out a malach to take Klal Yisrael out of Mitzrayim. Which malach is he referring to? Moshe is referring to himself. He sends a message. HaKadosh Baruch Hu sends a malach to take out—what malach? Moshe. You didn't take out Klal Yisroel from Mitzrayim. The Torah says there is no Moshe. Kesser Torah requires that there's no me. It's all the Torah. It's all the HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It's all no different. The Gemara says that Aron is eino min hamidah. You know that? The Aron takes up no space. What do you mean? Doesn't fit. So the Gemara says, Aron eino min hamidah. There's no space for it. It doesn't. And you know what the pshat is? There's a lesson to be taught. Aron is Torah, and those that are the Aron is eino min hamidah. They don't take up a place. It's all the Eibishter. It's all ruchni. It's all the Shechinah. Me, I have my space. Every person has daled amos. But that's when there's a me. When the v'nafshi k'afar lakol tihyeh. What does k'afar mean? I don't take up anything. Afar. You know, sometimes you could say he's a small thing. What is something which isn't at all? When you want to say something just doesn't exist, what do you say? Anochi afar...

What's the next words in the tefillah? What's the next word in the tefillah? Sach libi. In order to have Torah, in order to be zoche to p'sichas halev in Torah, what do you need? And nafshi k'afar lakol tihyeh. Eino min hamidah. Eino min hamidah. I don't take up a place. Moshe Rabbeinu is now representing Kesser Torah in this week's parsha, and therefore, eino min hamidah. So then what is it? And the answer is, Ata tzavei. See, like the Zohar says, who's tolin the tzivui? Ata. Ata mechayeh meisim b'hebishta. He talks tzivui Hashem. You hear? He's talking. The Ribono Shel Olam wants Aaron, Moshe Rabbeinu, to do it, but he's not doing it. Who's doing it? Ata, meaning me. Me, which is you, which is you, which is me. Hakrev eilecha es Aharon achicha. Now we understand. The Medrash is telling us, the Medrash is telling us, the idea of Kesser Torah. Kesser Torah is making Kesser Malucha. Hakrev eilecha. What is Kesser Torah? Kesser Torah is ata, meaning there is no you, Moshe, but it is you. You're doing the tzivui, as if you're doing it, yet it's ata, it's me. And I want to tell you a little bit more about this. You know, there's an interesting thing. Moshe Rabbeinu feels bad that Aaron is becoming the Kohen Gadol, so to speak, as Medrash tells us, he wanted it for himself. So why would the Ribono Shel Olam put salt onto the wounds and say, V'ata hakrev eilecha? You see, it's difficult for him. So why make it that he should do it? Let someone else do it. And more than that, the way the Ohr Hachaim seems to learn, V'ata hakrev eilecha, what does it mean, v'ata hakrev eilecha? That it should be like you're doing it. It's coming from you. It's not even coming from me. Why? Why should it be that way? And you know what the answer, rabosai, is? Mikdash is all about kasher tzivah Hashem. That's how it says 18 times, kasher tzivah Hashem, it says. When it's about tzivah Hashem, it's not about the person. So it's not about you; it's about the other person. The Ribono Shel Olam wanted that dafka Moshe Rabbeinu, you should take Aharon. I don't want that you should do your job because I said so. I want you to do it as if you're doing it and not me. You know, we know the very famous thing, the two brothers, each one cared for the other one, and that was the makom hamikdash. You know, one was rich, one was poor. So the rich one said, My rich brother has children, so I'll give him the wheat, the hay and the wheat. You know what the Gemara is telling us with that story? Mikdash is built. Not me, but I do for you. I don't live for me, I live for you. In this week's parsha, Aaron and Moshe had to be Moshe. There's no me, it's you, Aaron. V'ata hakrei eilecha. You do it, Moshe Rabbeinu. And do it in a way that it's not, I'm the one. It's that you want it. You know why? I'll tell you. You know, we spoke many times, how is a person able to be mahu rachum, af atah rachum, mahu chanun... The Eibishter is rachum. What does that do with me? I'm a person, I'm a chumri, I'm a chomer, I'm nothing, I'm a nachi af of eifer. So we said over that actually, V'halachta bidrachav is learned from two places. One place it's learned out from V'halachta bidrachav. Another place is u'vo sidbak. Attach yourself to Hashem. Mahu chanun, af atah chanun; mahu rachum. You know why? When you attach yourself to Hashem, you're part of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Every Yid has within him elements of Shechinah, man d'nafach midilei nafach. That's why he's able to be mahu rachum. You know why you're able to achieve such levels of mahu rachum, af atah rachum? Because u'vo sidbak, you're part of the Eibishter.

We all have within us—in English, we would have said godliness. We have Elokus in us, and that Elokus within us is able to be selfless, to be able to be selfless to the point of mah hu rachum, af atah rachum. Now, Rabosai, remember we told you over that the ger, when he asked, What is Torah all about? What did we answer him? Torah is about v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. But that's not really what Hillel told him. Hillel told him, Ma d'sani lach, l'chavrach lo sa'avid. What you don't want for yourself, don't do to. Why did he say straight out v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha? Tell him the pasuk, Rab. Why do you have to say it in a backwards way? We've spoken about with Ramban. The Ramban seems to say that that's the whole mitzvah anyway. It's not for now, arichus to go into. But the pashut pshat in the Gemara over there is because a goy can't understand v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. You say v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha, he'd take you to the doctor. Something's wrong with you. He should get your head examined, v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. Wait a minute, I come first. What are you talking about? What are you saying? What does it mean? Kamocha? I love you like I love me. What does it mean? But that's Torah. You know what Torah is? Torah is not me. You know, there's even a pshat in the Gemara, who's re'echa? Re'echa is the Eibishter. Re'echa v'rea avicha. One pshat means it's not referring to people; it's referring to the Eibishter. Because Torah is, I don't love myself. There is no self. It's, I love the Ribono Shel Olam, and therefore I love Klal Yisrael, Kudsha Brich Hu v'Oraysa chad hu. It's all one. In this week's parsha, Keser Torah means— To love the Ribono Shel Olam, atah tetzaveh, to the point that I can be v'hakreiv elacha Aharon achicha, that I love Aharon to the point that I'm more than me. That is keser Torah. Now I'm explaining to you, he wasn't just saying keser Torah is bigger than keser kehunah. He was saying, what is keser Torah? Keser Torah is not about the person. Keser Torah means it's about Hashem, and it's about Klal Yisrael. You know, in the bottom of the medrash I told you, it says, Why don't you have keser kehunah? Because you're busy helping Klal Yisrael, teaching them. Maybe this is what it means. Keser Torah means that there's no you. Keser Torah means you do what's needed for Klal Yisrael. That is keser Torah. And that's how you build a Beis HaMikdash. You hear, rabosai? This is the pshat in what it means: Atah, you, keser Torah, hakreiv eilecha. Bring close to you Aharon. Aharon HaKohen, you're jealous, so to speak. You want what he has. Don't think of it. Think of what's atah tetzaveh. No you. Take your name out of the picture. It's not about you. It's about the ratzon Hashem. That's what keser Torah represents, that you become the mitzaveh, which is me the mitzaveh. You represent me now. The talmid chacham represents HaKadosh Baruch Hu. That's keser Torah. Now I understand. It says in the pasuk, V'asisa bigdei kodesh l'Aharon haKohen, yeah? Actually, I'm sorry, it says, V'asisa bigdei kodesh l'Aharon l'chavod ul'sifares. And then it says in the next pasuk, V'atah tedaber el kol chachmei lev, for what? To make him begadim, l'kadsho ul'chancho. Did Moshe make the begadim? Did the chachmei lev make them? Who made the begadim? So the Ramban learns it's going back on both. The chachmei lev made the begadim l'chavod ul'sifares, l'kadsho ul'chancho. It's all the same thing. Then the Ramban says, no, we have to split it up. V'asisa bigdei kodesh l'chavod ul'sifares, you do that. You, Moshe, do it. L'kadsho ul'chancho, that you'll speak to the chachmei lev. What's the difference, l'chavod ul'sifares, l'kadsho ul'chancho? And why is this that you have to make? Why does he have to make the begadim l'chavod ul'sifares? Let the chachmei lev make all of it. You know what the answer is? L'chavod ul'sifares. Kavod and sifares. You know what kavod and sifares? That's the honor of Aaron that I want you to make. I want you, Moshe, to make it. The kavod of Aaron, that I want you yourself to do, because that's mikdash. Mikdash means—

And that's why I began the shiur with: people think kedusha means something lofty. Kedusha means selflessness, to love somebody more than you love yourself, to care for somebody, and to care for his kavod more than you care for your kavod. That's kedusha. The tenets of the Mishkan, the Mikdash, the sanctity of the Mikdash was that Aaron had to be uplifted and exalted and glorified through Moshe Rabbeinu, in a way that he was selfless, that his name isn't mentioned in the parsha. That's kedusha. That's keser Torah. Keser Torah is when the talmid chacham represents selflessness. It's not him. There's no him there. It's all about HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It's all about HaKadosh Baruch Hu's tzavah, HaKadosh Baruch Hu's Torah. And I believe that's the tiferes, that's the beauty of that talmid chacham. When you look at a talmid chacham, you know what shines from him? That there's almost no human over there. It's all kedusha. It's all for others. You know, in the Rishus, it's like a mishaberach that's given in Ashkenaz shuls. When they finish Shabbos Torah, they're chasan Torah and the chasan Bereishis. So they call up for the chasan Torah a whole title for that person, amud, that he's a talmid chacham, and they talk about the beauty of Torah. One of the things it says over there: stand up, the one who is mishashea... Nafshoi bo lisiforah. And it hit me that we put the words shashua and tiferes in the same wording, that those that are meshashea in the Torah, that is lisiforah, that's its beauty. And I thought then, when I heard it and it struck me, I said, you know what it means? A person is meshashea in Torah means he has completely one thing, just Torah. You know, like when a child, I was thinking to myself, a child, when he gets a new toy, he doesn't let go of it. He goes to sleep with it. He puts it under his pillow. He wakes up with it. It's ready in his hand. Where he goes or what he does, why he becomes attached to his toy. That's meshashea. That's what it means, shashua. Lulei sorascha shashuai. Shashua means being attached, like a toy is attached to a child. Az avadti bani, I would never survive the aniyus. How could we survive the poor and difficulty when you learn, if it's possible, toicha al mayim, bamidbar tishteh, al eretz tishah, vchai tzar tichyah, uvaTorah ata amel. So how do you survive it? And the answer is, Ashrecha, Olam hazeh. The Torah itself makes you enjoy and happy. That's when you're attached to the Torah. That's called keser Torah. That's why we chose the pasuk, the pasuk of lulei sorascha shashuai, to represent the idea of the keser Torah. I just want to end, that's what it means. Klil Tiferes b'rosho nasata lo, b'amdoi lefanecha al Har Sinai. Why does it stress, amdoi lefanecha al Har Sinai? Just say, Klil Tiferes nasata lo b'Har Sinai. What's the idea of amdoi lefanecha? Why are we stressing that Hashem gave him this crown when he stood in front of Him? And you know what the answer is? What did Moshe Rabbeinu do when he stood in front of Hashem for those forty days? It says clearly what he did: Lechem lo achal, mayim lo shasa. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he didn't drink. Amdah. You know what the word amdah means? He stood. He had a meilus. He worked hard. He was kaina the kinyan of keser Torah. That's why we say, Klil Tiferes b'rosho nasata lo, b'amdoi lefanecha, when he stood in front of You, because he symbolized and epitomized the idea of the keser Torah, the idea of the keser Torah. Oh. Now let's just end with a yesod. What do we want? I'll tell you what we want. The kitzur of this week's parsha is that Torah and avodah is about selflessness.

Selflessness. Lo ani. Ratzon Hashem. Atah tetzaveh. There's no Moshe Rabbeinu in this week's parsha. That's called no me. No me is tetzaveh, tzivui. Tzivui means keser Torah, keser kehunah. It's taka, because these are the tenets of Mikdash, and that's why the home is a place for Mikdash. You know why the home is a place for Mikdash? Because you can have hashra'as haShechinah, ish v'ishah, Shechinah shruyah beineihem. What does that mean, ish v'ishah? No. When it's not me, it's not me, and it's not you, it's us, then Shechinah shruyah. That's kedushah. Ish v'ishah. When it's together, it's not me, it's not you, it's us. That's the epitome of kedushah. That's the epitome of Torah, of v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. And that's what we learn from this week's parsha. So we think Moshe Rabbeinu's name wasn't in the sedra as a punishment, chas v'shalom. It's a lesson. It's a lesson that you don't need me, the opposite. Not me, not me. Then you become v'atah. You represent the Ribono Shel Olam, as if the Ribono Shel Olam... You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.