Tetzaveh: Aharon’s Joy for Moshe, the Choshen, and Making Room for the Shechinah

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Shalom Aleichem, bruchim habaim. Parshas Tetzaveh begins with Moshe collecting shemen hamishcha, and then it continues with the bigdei kehunah. The Kohen Gadol's begadim is, v'asisa choshen. You had to make a choshen. Perek chof ches deals with how to make the choshen. Pasuk lamed, v'nasata el choshen hamishpat es ha'urim v'es hatumim. V'hayu al lev Aharon b'vo'o lifnei Hashem, v'nasa Aharon es mishpat Bnei Yisrael al libo lifnei Hashem tamid. So the Urim v'Tumim is called choshen hamishpat, and when Aaron carries it on his heart, b'vo'o lifnei Hashem, v'nasa Aharon es mishpat Bnei Yisrael al libo. So it has to do with mishpat, the choshen mishpat. The Urim v'Tumim has to do with mishpat, judgment. What is the connection of the Urim v'Tumim, the choshen, to judgment? If you look at pasuk yud-beis, pasuk yud-beis, v'samta es shtei ha'avanim al kisfos ha'ephod, avnei zikaron livnei Yisrael. Same is used, the language, by the choshen. It should be l'zikaron lifnei Hashem tamid. A remembrance. What does it remind? What is the remembrance? So Rashi, in pasuk yud-beis, by the eifod, says, Sheyehei ro'eh HaKadosh Baruch Hu es ha-shvatim kesuvim lefanav. The stones had the names of the shevatim, v'yizkor tzidkasam. And by this, the Ribbono Shel Olam will remember their tzidkus, their righteousness. So we have the choshen, we have the eifod. In both places it says that it is l'zikaron, which Rashi by the eifod fataitches and explains that through this there's a zikaron, there is a remembrance. Hashem will remember the shevatim, the fact that their names are written there, lizkor tzidkasam. How does the names of the shevatim written on the urim v'tumim, how does that bring out, how does that remind the tzidkus, the righteousness of Klal Yisroel? So we have an interesting pshat in the pasuk here, that the urim v'tumim was about mishpat, and it was there l'zikaron to remind the Ribbono Shel Olam the tzidkus of Klal Yisroel. What is the connection between the urim v'tumim, mishpat, and reminding the Ribbono Shel Olam the tzidkus of Klal Yisroel? Rabosai, let's begin by understanding what is choshen mishpat, the urim v'tumim. What is it? The Gemara in Shabbos, daf kuf lamed tes: B'schar 'v'rachav v'samach b'libo,' Aharon was zoche. To wear the choshen, to wear the Urim V'Tumim. Why? Because it was a schar. The schar, it was a reward, b'roacho v'somach b'libo. When Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen to be the leader, the manhig, Aharon could have felt very bad, could have hurt him, he could have been jealous. He was the older brother. He was the navi before Moshe in Mitzrayim. He was working with Klal Yisrael, leading them in Mitzrayim, and all of a sudden Moshe is the one that's chosen to take the position of being the manhig. And yet, v'roacho v'somach b'libo. The Ribbono Shel Olam tells Moshe, Don't worry. You're not offending Aharon. He's going to be happy for you in his heart. So v'roacho v'somach b'libo zachah that this heart should wear the choshen mishpat. The Medrash emphasizes what part of the v'roacho v'somach b'libo made Aharon the zechus that he should be able to wear the choshen mishpat. Shteit in Medrash Shemos ג' ז', אמר רבי שמעון בן יוסי, הלב ששמח בגדלות אחיו יזכה לענוד Urim V'Tumim. The happiness that he felt, the simcha that he felt for his brother.

That brought the zechus that he should wear the choshen mishpat. Rabosai, how does the simcha in the heart bring the zechus to wear the choshen mishpat, the judgment, which reminds tzidkas Klal Yisrael? How are these things connected? Meforshim ponder and speak a lot about this inyan. What is the simcha of Aharon's lev that because of it he wears the choshen mishpat, and then the choshen mishpat is there with the names of Klal Yisrael, lizkor tzidkasam? Rabosai, let's begin with a beautiful medrash, a very famous classic medrash. It's in Rus Rabbah, perek hei, os vav. Aharon, as we mentioned, v'rachav v'samach b'libo. He was very happy for Moshe. He was extremely ecstatic for Moshe that he was chosen. There was no kinah, there was no sinah. Ilu hayah yodea Aharon, says the medrash, had Aharon known that the Ribbono Shel Olam will write in the Torah, v'rachav v'samach b'libo, a credit to him, giving him credit for this v'rachav v'samach b'libo, hayah yotzei b'supim uv'mecholos. He would go out with a band. English is an expression with a ten-piece band, aval taroiskei gegangen mamash with klei zemer, to greet Moshe, v'rachav v'samach b'libo. With such fanfare and boisterous happiness, he would have greeted Moshe Rabbeinu. The mefarshim ask on this medrash: Aharon is looking for kavod? Had he known he'd be in the paper, so to speak, lehavdil elef havdalos, so he would have made the simcha a greater simcha, that it could have attracted more attention? What does it mean? If only Aharon knew that the Torah would write about him, then he would have went the extra distance, the extra mile, and made it a bigger affair than what really was, a bigger simcha, an external expression of simcha. Kavod zochter. Vos is der pshat in the medrash? And many have spoken many different pshatim. Many different mefarshim say pshat. I'd like to say the pshat is follows. Let's go back to the original question. The original shailah is: What does the Urim v'Tumim have to do with the mishpat Bnei Yisrael? There's a ma'areh dike Maharal that I saw in Nesiv Lev Tov. The Maharal has a chapter on Lev Tov. Zogt the Maharal, what is one of the criteria of a lev tov? That he's dan everyone l'kaf zechus. Zogt the Maharal: a good heart judges everyone favorably. Why? He wants good for the other person. He wants the person to have, so zayn gut zayn. Everything should come to him good. He only sees good. So even if he did something which was questionable, he'll say, No, er is kosher, er is rein. I wish him all the best, so to speak. That is the shoresh of daled kaf zchus is rooted in lev tov. So in the Chazonish, in his classic work, Emunah U'Bitachon, Chazon Ish writes, Yesh ish mis'aveh leheitiv. There are people like this. It's not common, but it's there. There are yesh ish. There is such a person that mis'aveh leheitiv. He desires to do good, like people desire to make money and people desire to eat and have a good time. There is such a person with a pure neshama, with a pure heart, that he's mis'aveh. He desires to do good l'zulaso, to others. Hefgesh re'eihu loy lechedvas lev. When he meets his friend, he's ecstatically happy. His heart pours out with happiness. Mikablo b'sever panim yafos. He greets him with tremendous happiness and with a smile. U'me'olam lo nifga hum re'eihu, says the Chazon Ish. And this same individual never gets insulted. He never makes an issue.

He's not difficult. He's moichel and he's mevater, ki libo hu malei ahavah, because this person's heart is full of love, which is tachas al kol pshaim. When there's love, there's no sin, there's no mistake, there's no fault, because the love covers it over. When you love somebody, a father never sees bad in a child. The child could break something and he'll turn to say, Ah, gib a kuk vi zis, look how cute he is. Ahavah is mechaseh al kol pshaim. Rabosai, the dan l'kaf zechus is rooted in this ahavah, which is mechaseh al kol pshaim. Whatever the guy does, you see it for good. You're dan him l'kaf zechus. And where is it rooted? In the lev tov, which is malei ahavah. And this lev tov is mekabel people b'sever panim yafos, and his heart is overflowing with happiness when he meets the other person. Atah nosen ... Aharon HaKohen's middah v'roacho v'somach b'libo was rooted in lev tov. He had a lev tov, and therefore, even if Moshe Rabbeinu was taking away his position, ahavah mechaseh al kol pshaim. He doesn't see it as a problem, and therefore he's mekabel b'sever panim yafos. And chevas halev, Aharon is the example of this ma'alah, lev tov, to be dan l'kaf zechus. Yidden, where do you see this dan l'kaf zechus? When you're dan l'kaf zechus the person that's taking your position, because it's a ahavah, which is mechas al kol pshaim. He doesn't see it as Moshe taking away his. This is the koach of a ruach of a sama d'liba. Therefore he has the choshen mishpat, which is going to be lizkot tzivkasam, to be dan l'kaf zechus. The choshen and the lev Aharon become one. The choshen and the lev — we spoke about this in the past — it's not only just a reward that Aharon got, that he got the choshen. That's the proper place. It's the furniture where it belongs, the choshen. It goes together with the lev Aharon. It's a match. It's a perfect setting for it. The setting of the choshen had to be set in lev Aharon, and that lev Aharon was malei ahavah, malei ruach, v'samah b'liboi, malei dan l'kaf zechus. And therefore it was rightfully so, maskir tzidkas Yisrael. I saw the Tiferes Yisrael in the Mishnayos, on the Mishnah, Eizeh derech yesharah sheyivor lo ha'adam, what's the right path to choose, the best of all paths? So one man d'amar says it's ayin tovah, and the last day in the Mishnah is that it's lev tov, a good eye or a good heart. Fragt the Tiferes Yisrael, what's the difference between a good eye and a good heart? Same thing. You see positive. You see good. The ayin tova sees good and the lev tov sees good. So, up to first, Yisroel, the ayin tova sees good, but it has to make sense. The ayin tova sees good, but it has to be reasonable. The lev tov is even when there's no reason. It doesn't really shtim, it doesn't make sense, and still he sees good. It's the ahavah mechasah al kol peshaim. It doesn't make sense. Az me kukt in dem un me tracht vegn dem, aber it's not. It wouldn't mean, it's not good. That's where the lev tov comes in. The ayin tova sees right. He sees with seichel. The lev tov is without seichel, so to speak. The lev tov is a ahavah mechasah al kol peshaim. Zeideh Flektiber zogn, zeideh Reb Shmuel David used to say over, the Rebbe used to say a sharpa dehera hashkafa. We know that every trait man has that Hashem gives to a person could be used for good and for bad, and even which—

Seems to be bad traits could be used for good. Gaiva, gaiva could be used for avodas Hashem. Gaiva could be used to be mizgayeh in kavod haTorah. There's—everything has its, if it can be channeled properly, everything has its purpose in avodas Hashem. Az tut der mit a krume kop. A person has a seichel that doesn't think straight. What are you going to do with that? You try to talk to a person that doesn't think straight. What kind of avodah can learning, can a doch nisht? Nothing he thinks and says is straight. What do you do with that? So Rebbe used to say, there's still a purpose. You can still channel it, channel it la'avodas Hashem. You can use it to be dan people l'kaf zechus. Az krume kop ken men nutzen tzu dan zayn Yidim l'kaf zechus. Use it. That's this vort. The ayin tova, it has to make sense. The lev tov, so much ahavah that it doesn't have to even make sense. When you love, you don't see fault. With this, I think we could say a meyridike pshat. Ilu yada Aharon, if Aharon would know that the Torah would write about, V'racha v'samach b'libo, not that he would look for the kavod and therefore he would do it with greater fanfare. He would realize how important it was to Moshe, what kind of an essential middah the Torah would look and say, Wow, v'racha v'samach b'libo. He would say, Moshe, you need me. You need to see I'm happy for you. I thought it was a davar pashut. I didn't think it was such a big deal. But now that I know it's such a big deal. I would even do it with greater emotion and with greater outpour of happiness, because that's part of the hatovah. Hatovah is to make the other person feel good. The hatovah is if that person needs to see v'rachav v'samach b'liboi, I'll give him the v'rachav. And the samach. And the simcha will be so much that he won't have any doubts about the simcha. It will be such an expression of ahavah, because the lev that's oyev is pouring out with ahavah. It's a shefach of ahavah. He is not limited in his ahavah. In Yiddish expression, er is karg; he's not cheap on his ahavah. He gives with generosity his ahavah. Aharon's ahavah was with a generosity. And if he said, Had I only known that the Torah would talk about Moshe, he sees my v'rachav v'samach b'liboi, and therefore he's able to do the shlichus, I would have went out with two pitim of choles to show him. Aharon was innocent and pure and tzanua, and he thought it wasn't even such a big deal. Most lev toiv, when they are asked, Oh, you did this great—he says, It's not a big deal. They always say, Ah, it's not a big deal. Yeah, because they have a lev toiv, so it's not a big deal. But if the other person is looking for that, if to the other person it is a big deal. Then you make a big deal out of it. I always say, אילו ידע אדם, if a person would only know how much his good morning means to the other person, how much his mazel tov means to the other person, he would go out b'supim u'memcholos to say good morning, with a warm good morning, with a generous good morning, not to be cheap and to be limited, karg, about the good morning, the smile that you give with the good morning. You don't realize what it does to a person. A good morning could do so much. אילו ידע, if a person would only understand, if a person would only for a minute take a step back and contemplate, look what my good morning could do to the other person, היוצא בסופים מחולות, the leiv tov would go out and give it generously, and give it with extreme warmth. So we've now explained, בעז השם יתברך, Aaron's v'racha, v'somach, the simcha, brings about the choshen mishpat. It gives the zechus that he should wear the choshen mishpat, because the simcha is rooted in ahavah.

And which was a ahava, which was mechasal kol pshayim, that even though Moshe was taking away his position, he didn't see it that way. And this becomes the lev which is daled kaf zchus from ahava mechasal kol pshayim, which the lev, with the choshen that's in the lev, becomes the vehicle of lizkor tzidkasam, to remember tzidkus, to remember the daled kaf zchus of Klal Yisrael. People have always have reservation of showing overemotion in simcha when they meet somebody, when they say hello and they say good morning, when they give a mazel tov. It looks fake. It's chanifah. I've heard this quite, quite a lot. They measure every word and every smile and every hug that they give the other person because it's chanifah. To them I answer, isn't it better to err on the side of maybe saying an extra word of chanifah, and maybe instead of doing an extra word of chanifah, doing an extra word of generosity, of making the other person happy? What would you rather err on the side of, overly saying nice things to the other person, or chas v'shalom being over an extra word of chanifah? You're in doubt. You don't know. Maybe it's a fine line between good, I said, right, or I overdid it. Shouldn't you err? Shouldn't you err, rabosai? On the side of generous than the side of cautious. Let me tell you a beautiful story. My zeide, Reb Shmuel David Walkin, zatzal, was once sitting with dayanim at a din Torah. Rabbanim, they're very sharp and worldly. So one brought up the name of a very controversial person, a Yid, chashuve Yid, but controversial. The other rav heard the name of this rav that he brought up, so he joined in to do some rav bashing, to do a little bit to bash the person and talk about the controversial things about this person. My zeide zatzal sits and he closes his ear with his hand and he says, Please, please, don't, please, vas rednish, don't talk. The other two rabbanim turned to him, Reb Walkin, it's famous, it's known. He deserves it. He did this and this. He said this and that, and he's a very controversial person, and everyone knows and everyone accepts that. My zeide said, I hear what you're saying, but let me tell you. First I'll say it in Yiddish and then I'll repeat it in English. S'mir besser, ich zol chas v'shalom zayn oiver in ahavas chinam, vi chas v'shalom zayn oiver in sinas chinam. I would rather commit— Chas v'shalom, ahavas chinam, loving a guy for no reason. Maybe he doesn't deserve it. You're right. What's the worst thing? I loved him. Okay, it's for no reason. And chas v'shalom to err on the side of sinas chinam. I answer the same thing to these people. Don't you rather, would you not rather err on the side of making the guy feel good? And then chas v'shalom, what, that you over chanifah. When somebody has a lev tov and he wants tovos chaveiro, he doesn't only do what he needs to do to be yotzei chov, he goes beyond. He's mesaveh, he's mechapeh, he's rodef. How can I make the other guy feel good? How can I do a toivah to the other person? Aharon HaKohen's middah, we know in the Mishnah, Havei mitalmidav shel Aharon. You see, obviously it's not only in Aharon, and it's not only Aharon HaKohen, the Kohen, but every Jew, every Yid, is told in the Mishnah he could be like Aharon HaKohen, have a talmid of shel Aharon. What is talmid of shel Aharon? He's ohev shalom. That's a tremendous mailah. To love, to be a man of peace, that's a tremendous thing. Yet you see that that's—

Still not fully the mida of Aharon, but he's also rodef shalom. The taiva, the desire, the outpour, searching for the shalom, to help the other person, that's the rodef shalom. That's the lev tov. A person could be maybe an ayin tovah. An ayin tov is ohev shalom, but maybe the lev tov is also rodef shalom. The ayin tovah sees everything good. He likes shalom. There are people not like that. There are many people that love machlokes, macharchei riv. They love it. I used to say over a vort from all the shivim lashon, he likes lashon hara the best. There are people like that, unfortunately, who love lashon hara. A good person, an ayin tov doesn't like lashon hara. He doesn't want to hear anything bad. But does that mean he goes out of his way with a desire and an agenda to constantly help and do? That's the lev tov. And that's maybe the mechasal kol peshaim, meaning even if it's from himself, it's too much for you. Mechasal kol peshaim, it covers all the wrong. You know, you're right, it's wrong for you to do so much for the other person. It's wrong to ask of a person to constantly be rodef shalom. But it's mechasal kol peshaim, even the pesh of him being rodef shalom. That's what the zeidah was meant, nichshal and ahavas chinam. Maybe it's taka not required in halacha. So what's my great sin? My great sin is that I get avas chinam. What's not required, I'm not mechuyiv. Yes, it's mechasal kol peshaim. I'd rather be rodef shalom, to be rodef the hatovah. It's tremendously dehera, boisai. A good tomentsh, what is a good person? Yes, he wants everyone should have good, and everything should be good, and everyone should be peaceful. But that's still not the epitome of a life toiv. It's still not my Aaron HaKohen, says the Rabbeinu Shloilam. You know what my Aaron HaKohen is? He's v'racha b'somach liboi, and he goes further. He l'yada aron, yatza b'supim u'mecholos. He's rodef it. He goes beyond, and that's because it's mechasal kol peshaim. To be an ohev shalom is probably the chiyuv; it's the right thing. To be rodef shalom is the mechasan, the pesha of, You're asking too much of me. But that's the life toiv. The life toiv doesn't sit there and measure: is he mechuyiv or is he not mechuyiv? And from Talmidav shel Aharon, we see that it's not just unique to Aharon. Anyone could do that. Everyone is asked to reach that darga, have a Talmidav shel Aharon. Let's understand Aharon HaKohen. Aharon ben shel Klal Yisroel, kohanim ben Klal Yisroel. Pasuk says, Ko sevorchu es bnei Yisrael, amor lahem: Yevarechecha Hashem v'yishmerecha. Ko, so you should bench. Shouldn't you first tell me that you're mechuyiv to bench, a tzivui? It should start off, go be mevarech Klal Yisroel. I'm mitzaveh you to go do birchas kohanim. Never said a tzivui. Nowhere do we find in the Torah tzivui. So you should. Zogt the Imrei Emes, because the Kohen wants to. The Kohen has a desire to. The Kohen is being rodef to be mevarech you. He just needs to be told how to do it. He just needs the koach to be mevarech you. What is the formula that you should do? Bedafka nishmitz, the lev tov, you don't have to tell him. Dafka nishzogen. Those that understand don't have to be told. Those that don't understand, as much as you tell them and command them and be mitzaveh them, they still don't understand. It's a deep regesh, a deep feeling, a deep love, a ahavas Yisroel, a ahavas shalom. That regesh is not with a tzivui, and a tzivui wouldn't even help you to reach that regesh. That regesh is inert in the lev of Aharon. His children and all of Klal Yisroel is asked to emulate, have a talmidah.

It's a beautiful story. The heilige Reb Ber, Birchas Shmuel, the heilige Birchas Shmuel, gadlus of the Birchas Shmuel, the gadlus of a gadol baTorah. It's a moydige story, this story, that brings out the heart of a gadol hador, the heart of a gadol baTorah. What was his heart? Reb Ber used to say that when he comes to Shamayim, everyone gets tested: What did you do in your life? Says the Birchas Shmuel, Reb Ber, the heilige Reb Ber, I will be afraid to bring up and talk about my learning that I did. In every yeshiva they learned the Birchas Shmuel b'eimah, b'yirah, with reverence, with respect for his Torah and his lomdus. Yet he said, I would have reservation, pachad, to bring up my Torah in Shamayim. Why? The Rambam, the Rishonim won't feel comfortable. And this, don't forget, the Torah in the yeshivavelt, his Torah is the Torah that everyone learns and everyone works on. It's top-of-the-line Torah, as they say. And yet still, reservation. Continues Reb Ber, talk about my tefillah? Ich volt zikh geshעמt. I'd be embarrassed. That's called davening. But this I would tell the Ribono Shel Olam. In my defense, Ribono Shel Olam, I loved Yidden. I loved Klal Yisroel. I saw Yid walking in the street. My love was so strong that I was driven to run over to him, hug him, kiss him, and give him a bracha from the bottom of my heart. That's what I'll tell the Ribono Shel Olam in my defense, that I acquired in my life this midah, this kinyan ruchni. This is the lev of Aharon. This is the kois of varchu. You don't have to be told to bench, and that every Yid has such a heart. We'll talk a little bit later. It's not unique to Aharon's heart. Aharon had a Yiddishe heart which he polished and he kept clean, and therefore he had all these middos. But every Yid, in potential, has the lev. Ichud halevavos, we're all one heart, states sefarim. So my heart is really Aharon's heart. Otherwise, how can I ask you to be like Aharon? What do you mean, can I be like Aharon? The Torah says yes, avada. And please don't tell me my name is Aaron, okay, got it. Talmidav shel Aharon. Every Yid could obviously reach that. We'll talk about that a little bit later in the shiur. But this is the kois of varchu, that Aharon, his children, asher kidshanu bikdushaso shel Aharon, tzivanu levarech es amo Yisrael b'ahavah, is kedushas Aharon. I want to tell you something interesting. I saw a medrash brought down in the Teresh Shloima. It brings an interesting medrash. The malachim complained. They wanted to stop Binyan HaMishkan. They wanted to stop Binyan HaMishkan. They tell the Ribono Shel Olam, You want to dwell among people? People? Vil such a mention? You don't belong there. You belong in Shamayim, tnu hodcha laShamayim, among the malachim, among the celestial. I won't tell him to be quiet. Among the celestial. Why would you come down to this world and dwell among people in this world, in the Mishkan? The Ribono Shel Olam says, Come here, I want to show you something. Come here, I want you to look at something. You see Aharon HaKohen? You see v'rachav v'samach b'libo? You still think that I don't belong among people? This you call what, people? This is by you considered what, enosh.

Das is kedusha. V'ruacho v'sama b'liboi. I belong here. The same way the Urim V'Tumim belongs in the heart of Aaron, I belong in that heart too, and the heart of every Yid that could reach that madreigah of kedusha. It's a peldike medrash, rabosai. The Ribono Shel Olam decides, or al kol panim defends, His dira b'tachtonim, living among v'shachanti b'socham, because look at the godless and the tzidkus and the kedusha of Aaron, of v'ruacho v'samach b'liboi. You know, Chazal tell us that when the Ribono Shel Olam wanted to give the Torah, the malachim also protested. So it's not only when the Mishkan, but you see from the Gemara, even when the Ribono Shel Olam wanted to give us the Torah, they were protesting, the malachim: Tenu hodaah laShamayim. Give it to us. It belongs in Himmel. It doesn't belong among people. The Ribono Shel Olam tells them, Klum achaltem? Did you not eat in Avraham Avinu's house? How could you stop? That's what you do, you say. Did you—Avraham Avinu, you ate at his house. This is how you behave when I want to give the Torah to his children and grandchildren? Rabosai, pashut pshat in the Gemara is, where's your hakaras hatov? Pashut pshat in the Gemara is, I don't understand, kumst, kumst aber, you owe Avraham Avinu. You shouldn't stop the Torah. This present to be given to his children and grandchildren. Mitachzech, based on the pshat that we just said from the previous medrash, the kavanah of the Gemara, the Rabbeinu Shalom was saying something else to the malachim. You're complaining and protesting that the Torah is heilig, it's himmel, it doesn't belong in this world. It's too big for this world. It's not mundane. It doesn't belong here. Tell me, you didn't eat in Avraham Avinu's house? You didn't see the hachnasas orchim that Avraham Avinu did? You call that enosh? You call that people? The malachim came to eat by Avraham? No. The malachim came to eat by malachim. Avraham, his hachnasas orchim wasn't human. It was malach. It was kedushah. Too heit, the Torah belongs in himmel. Yeah, it is. You know where it is? It's in the home and hearts of every Yid. That's where Torah, and that's heitcha bashamayim. That's himmel. It's not earthly, what you saw in Avraham Avinu's house. One of the responses that were given to the malachim when they complained that the Torah wasn't kept in Shamayim, was given to people, the Gemara says that the Rabbeinu Shalom said, Wait a minute. The Torah, it says, lo sachmod. Don't have jealousy. Don't have kinah. Klum yesh lachem lev? Do you have any heart that you have kinah? You don't have the emotion. It's not. So why do you need the Torah for? It doesn't apply to you. Pashut pshat. The Torah speaks about lo sachmod, and it's not applicable to the malachim in Shamayim. Rabosai, medakdek chevsheh k'min zogin, maybe we could say a deeper pshat. It's not that it doesn't apply to you. Lo sachmod is not to not have kinah, because then the malachim don't have, and that's good. Lo sachmod is to have a heart that has kinah, and to curb that kinah, and to uproot that kinah. That's lo sachmod, and that only a person is able to do. The Ribono Shel Olam wants the hergesh ha'adam, the feelings, but those feelings should be Torahdik, heilig, pure, and that's kedusha. Lo sachmod, because you don't have feelings, is still not what the Torah talks about, lo sachmod. Lo sachmod is to have feelings, to have emotion, and still not to be chomed and not to have kinah. Das is kedusha. The Ribono Shel Olam says this whole Mishkan is rooted in the aron v'rachav v'samach b'liboi, v'al das is kedusha. You want Adam that is kadosh. Avraham Avinu's hachnasas orchim...

It was a ridif of hachnasas orchim. It was rooted in a lev tahor and a lev tov. That's kedusha. Asher kidshanu bikdushaso shel Aharon. What is kedushas Aharon? Vetzivanu levarech es amo Yisrael b'ahavah. That's kedusha, rabosai. It's clear in the bracha. Many a kohen have come to me and said to me, Wow, I never thought of it. I always make the bracha, and I never realized that the pashut pshat in the bracha is. What is kedushas Aharon? What is the heilekeit of Aharon? Is levarech es amo Yisrael b'ahavah. To the Ribono Shel Olam, dos heisst kedusha. Kedusha is Aharon's lo sachmod. He did not have kinah. He wasn't jealous of his brother. Atah dos is kedusha. Avraham Avinu's hachnasas orchim, dos heisst kedusha. Lerachah vesama b'liboi, dos heisst Mishkan. The pasuk, lerachah vesama b'liboi, the Medrash says, b'liboi v'lo b'piv. Very interesting Medrash. B'liboi v'lo b'piv, in his heart, not in his mouth. What does that mean? The Maharsha explains, b'liboi means b'chol liboi. It was with his entire heart. L'choira, it's extra, the word b'liboi, right? It should have said, verachah vesamach. Why does it say, verachah vesamach b'liboi? So אומר the Maharsha, it means b'chol liboi. The Aruch HaShulchan says, and that's what it means. Beliboi v'loi b'peh. A lot of times people lip service. They're very happy for you in lip service. Yeah, oh, I'm so happy for you, and in the heart, they're full of hatred and upset that the good thing happened to you. Says the Aruch HaChaim, that's beliboi v'loi b'peh. It was with his full heart. He wasn't just saying it. Another pshat that the Aruch HaChaim says is beliboi v'loi b'peh. He didn't express it at all. It wasn't at all b'peh with his mouth. I saw Zeis Raanan is the peirush of the Magen Avraham, the Medrash Talchuma, and he explains, beliboi v'loi b'peh. He was so happy in his heart that he couldn't express it with his mouth. There's an expression in English, there's no words for me to express. It comes from here: Aharon v'racha v'samach beliboi, beliboi v'loi b'peh, because he couldn't express that's how happy he was. Yet the way we're explaining it, it's more. He couldn't express it, but Moshe needed to see it and hear it. Yatza b'supa b'mecholos. He would have went out b'supa b'mecholos to push himself, to show his simcha and his ahavah. Rabosai, I want to tell you a beautiful story. I'd say about 25 years ago, I learned in a night kollel which was sponsored by the Mir Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael. Most of the people in the kolel, bnei Torah, learned it. Some of them were rabbeim. I was a rebbe at the time. And we heard, we were told that the Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Nosson Tzvi Finkel, zecher tzaddik livracha, chashuve Rosh Yeshiva, was going to come and give us a shmooze at a certain night of the week. I was all excited. I was preparing, you know, we heard a shmooze from the great Rosh Yeshiva. I took out a pen and paper, preparing to write the whole shmooze down. Let me tell you what the shmooze was. The shmooze was a story. The Rosh Yeshiva kept on repeating and emphasizing a particular story about the previous Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir, Reb Chaim Shmulevitz, zecher tzaddik livracha. Reb Chaim Shmulevitz, with shpatzir, he would take walks around the Mir yeshiva, and he would pass this children's shulstor. And every time he passed by, he would look through the window of the shulstor, and he would just stare through there, through the store.

Into the store. Talmidim see this. They say, Rosh Yeshiva, is it possible that you need to buy shoes for the Einiklach? And you have reservations to go in. Maybe your Rosh Yeshiva will help you. We'll go in. Let's see if we could help the Rosh Yeshiva with the shoes. They didn't know Reb Chaim. If Reb Chaim wanted to buy shoes for his Einiklach, he would have done it himself. Rosh Yeshiva turns to him and says, No, no, it has nothing to do with that. I thank you for trying to help, offering your help, but the real reason why I'm staring in is because I come here and I see something which I want to take it all in. I want to look at it and observe and think about what I see in this shoe store. What, Rosh Yeshiva? What do you see in this shoe store that is so, that's taking your curiosity and your interest, and that you need to sit, look, and contemplate about it? He says, I see mothers who come with children, sometimes more than one, sometimes many children. It's an ordeal. Anyone who has to buy shoes for his children knows that it's a whole geshichte to go buy shoes. It's difficult. All the kids are running around, and I see how devoted, and how much love, and how much caring they're giving to the children. And I think to myself, the koach of adam, the person's middah that he's able to be meitiv, to be able to give and to do and to be devoted. And to be moser nefesh for another, this I won't see in the next world. In Himmel zet men dos. This is not by a mention therevelt. It's only by a person in this world. I want to take it in. I want to look at it. It's a davar ruchni. It's a mareh ruchni. You see, rabosai, we pass by in this world and we see things that doesn't even catch our eye. Yeah, yeah. Mothers who take care of children, friends who help other friends. Okay, it's part of life. A person with a regesh, a person with a neshama, a person with a lev tov, he sees kedusha in hatava, in kindness, in giving, in doing for others. And to Reb Chaim, this was a zoyvi melernt a shtikel Gemara. There's kedusha. To him, this was kedusha. Reb Chaim said, in the next world we're not going to see this. In the next world we're going to have nehenin miziv haShechinah. In this world, the kedusha of hatava, of lev tov, that we can only see in this world, and I want to take it in as much and think about it and see it and make it a part of me more and more. And the Rosh Yeshiva continued by saying, I never forget, there was not too much more in the shmooze, and I had nothing there to write. I was trying to, and I walked away saying, That's the whole shmooze? What's that? Rosh Yeshiva, the mirror, achreis hamaisa, mitav achreis talmud, Reb Chaim Shmulevitz. And he kept on talking how, rabosai, you're bnei Torah, and you have to understand what a ben Torah is, and Torah, and a person's heart and his feelings, and it's— I walked away. Years later, I thought back and I learned, and I realized he was teaching a tremendous yesod. V'ahavta is Torah. Torah is to take a person and to take his heart and to take his feelings and his emotions and make it Torahdik, make it good and pure. You know, in Parshas Kedoshim, Kedoshim tihyu. Interesting, what do we find there? The mitzvah of v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. Why is it included in the Parsha Kedoshim? Why is it found among the pesukim of Kedoshim tihyu? Obviously, v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha is also part of kedusha. There's a ma'amar, the Chiddushei Harim: V'ahavta l'reacha kamocha zehu klal gadol baTorah. Frekt the Chiddushei Harim, whenever there's a klal gadol, there must be a klal katan. Gadol means this is the big one.

What's the small one? If v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha is the big one, so what's the small one? Says the Chiddushei Harim, Kedoshim tihyu. Kedoshim tihyu is the klal katan to v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha, which is really the klal gadol. Ramban says, v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. What is the mitzvah? Kamocha, you should love your friend like you love yourself. How could you love your friend? It's impossible. The Rambam taka brings down k'pshutei: you should love your friend like you love yourself. Says the Ramban, it's humanly not possible. How do we ask a human being that he should love someone like he loves himself? Says the Ramban, therefore it can't be k'pshuto, but it has to mean kamocha, that you're happy and you want tov for the other person. You're happy for the other person that he should have good, and you're rotzeh, you're mis'aveh that he should have good. And that is v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. The mefarshim ask, oy vazoi, then what's the chiddush of Aharon? Everyone has to do that. Aharon was v'reacha vesamach, believed he was happy for Moshe Rabbeinu, but that's the mitzvah of v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha, to be happy for the other person. So the truth is, it's not such a big kashya l'cheira, because we could come and say, to be happy for the other person when he gets what he's supposed to get. But to be happy that the other person got what you were supposed to get, that's already Aharon HaKohen. That's not v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. V'ahavta l'reacha kamocha is to be happy, says the Ramban, that the other person has good, that the other person got what was coming to you good, and he got it instead of you, and you're still happy. But I saw a gevaldige pshat from Reb Chaim Kamil, zichrono tzaddik livrachah. He was a talmid of the Mir, a talmid of Reb Nachum. He was a very beloved... Individual Choshuve Rosh Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael, talmidim from the talmidim of the Mir, and he says an interesting pshat. He says, if you look at this, the Aruch HaChaim on the pasuk, U'sfartem lachem mimacharas haShabbos, Sefiras haOmer. What is the word sefirah? A pasuk means to count. Sefirah, to count. Sefiras haOmer, counting the days. So, the Aruch HaChaim, it's meloshon sapir, the loshon of a sapphire stone, a diamond. The Aruch HaChaim, the neshama, the lev of a Yid is like a diamond. All it needs is polishing, cleaning, to clean away all the taivos and all the tumah, and then it'll shine. Then the lev, the neshama, it shines out by itself. So every Yid during Sefirah, it was U'sfartem lachem, what you do is yourself, from yourself make yourself a diamond, polish yourself. Zogt Reb Chaim Kamil, every Yid has this neshama and has this heart. Like I spoke to you in the beginning of the year, every Yid has this lev, the neshama, which is pure, not unique to Aharon. The difference is Aharon made it taka beautiful. Aharon polished that diamond. And therefore he had this maila of lev tov, and ohev shalom, rodef shalom, ohev es habriyos, with this we can come and explain the inyan of the avonim, the diamonds that are on the heart of Aharon. What is the inyan of the diamonds on the heart of Aharon? The loshon of Chazal is la'aned. La'aned is like a jewelry; it's wearing, is to adorn the jewelry of the choshen with the diamonds. And the teretz is because it represents the lev Aharon, which was a diamond, which was polished. It was a beautiful diamond. The Yiddish expression, a golden heart; he's a heart of gold. Aharon didn't only have a heart of gold, he had a heart of diamonds. It was, Muspartem lachem. It was a shining diamond. It was polished from kinah, from sinah, and therefore it shined with ahavah. It shined with v'ruacho v'somach b'libo, with lev tov. It was the polished heart of a Yid. With the perfection of polishing, every Yid is able to reach that darga, is able to have that ahavah. With this, rabosai, I want to explain to you the entire parsha of Tetzaveh. V'atah tetzaveh es Bnei Yisrael, v'yikchu eilecha shemen zayis zach. It begins with the shemen zayis. It continues with the bigdei kehunah. First take the shemen zayis zach, kasis lamaor, and then it says you should make the bigdei kehunah l'Aharon, for your brother Aharon. What is the connection between the shemen and the bigdei kehunah?

What is the two things, why are they together? Other mefarshim ask, l'choira the shemen was not needed now. The shemen was shemen l'maor for the l'ha'alos ner tamid, so when the Mishkan will be up, you'll bring the shemen. Why now, here? L'choira, Parshas Emor is when they lit the menorah; there they should have brought, and there should be the tzivui of collecting the shemen zayis. Aboi sai, efsher k'menzogen pshat is as follows. There's a pshat from Reb Chaim Shmulevitz, Sichas Tzaddik, Levrachah. By the shemen zayis it says, V'yikchu eilecha shemen zayis zach. Why is it eilecha? Rishonim say, lo al yedei shliach; you have to take it yourself. It's interesting, by the bigdei kehunah it says also the same thing, V'atah hakrev eilecha. Again, eilecha. What's the eilecha? Why the emphasis that you, Moshe, to you, take it to you? Zogt Reb Chaim Shmulevitz a meirdige vort: the shemen l'maor was for the avodah of Aharon, and not only for a avodah, but it's for his avodah, the one that's special, special to Aharon, and that is hadlakas hamenorah. Moshe wanted to do that. That's something that Moshe wanted very much. And don't forget, the menorah is also Torah. It's a symbol of Torah, which is really Moshe's area of expertise. It's Moshe's gadlus, the Torah, and yet who does the hadlakah? Aharon. Chazal mention that Moshe felt a little bit bad about all this. Maybe a different shiur we'll discuss what's pshat in that, but al kol panim, Ribono Shel Olam wants— Shemen zayis zach, it should be v'yikchu eilecha. Moshe, you need to take it. It's really for Aaron, but you need to feel that it's for you. Taking it for Aaron, don't take it for him. Take it for you. V'aldu davs the kavod. You need the respect of Aaron. It's something that you want. Sifadia nishfa'em, azoy zolst nemen the shemen zayis zach. I want you to have the heart that loves Aaron, your brother, in such a way that even though it's for his prestige, it's for his gadlus, you should feel it as if it's a lecha for you. And the taiches, Aaron felt that way for you. Aaron was v'rachav v'samach b'libo for you. You need to also v'yikchu eilecha, feel it for him, for his avodah. It's as if it's for you. I once said, this was at the bar mitzvah of my son Pinchas, I said, You know, rabboisai, maybe the best bracha I could give you is, az ir zolt zayche zayn zen simchas ba mir, un ich zol zayche zayn zen simchas ba dir. You should be zoche to see simchas by my home, by my family, and that I should be zoche and I should merit to see simchas by your family. Now we understand each other, that the simchas is all one. My happiness is your happiness, your happiness is my happiness. What to us is the lev that the Yid is supposed to have. According to the Torah, and thus is kedusha. V'yikchu eilecha shemen zayis zach. The shemen has to be kadosh. Remember, later we're going to talk about pach shemen kadosh b'chosamo shel Kohen Gadol. The shemen was mamash the symbol of purity and kedusha. You know what the symbol of purity and kedusha means in translation? V'yikchu eilecha, that to be happy for your brother, to love and to be happy, b'simcha, that your brother is having this avodah. If you look by the bigdei kehunah also, it says, V'atah hakrev eilecha, but there's something unique about the bigdei kehunah. The pasuk says, You should make bigdei... V'asisa bigdei kodesh, pasuk beis, l'Aharon achicha, l'chavod ul'sifares, for honor, for prestige, for tiferes. So the pasuk is v'asisa, you should do it. V'asisa, you should make it, bigdei kodesh, l'Aharon achicha, l'chavod ul'sifares.

Yet, the next pasuk, it says, V'asu es bigdei Aharon l'kavod ul'sifares. So which one is it? Is it l'chavod ul'sifares, or is it l'katcha l'chanei li? Reb Shimon Sofer, the Einikel of the Chasam Sofer, explains that l'chavod ul'sifares was for the simple people. They had to see Aaron dressed externally in a kavodik way. They should have respect for Aaron and the kehuna. But the chachmei lev, the next pasuk is going on the chachmei lev, right? V'asu, how do they do it? Tedaber el kol chachmei lev, they should do it really l'katcha l'chanei, with deeper meaning, with seichel, with kedusha. And therefore, l'chavod ul'sifares is for the external hamonam, and for the deeper, it's l'katcha l'chanei. Rabosai, efsher k'mezagen noch a taitch, according to the pshat that we're talking till now. Notice that the first pasuk is V'asisa. That's you. That's referring to Moshe. Bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha. Why the achicha? It should say l'Aharon. We know pretty much by now that Aaron is Aaron achicha. I think everybody understands who Aaron is. And he says it clearly here. V'ata hakrev eilecha Aharon achicha, v'es banav ito, l'chahen li. So we know, Aaron achicha, Aaron. Again, V'asisa bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha. And in the next pasuk, it says, V'asu. Bigdei kodesh. V'asu is bigdei Aharon. Don't see achicha anymore. L'katcha l'chanei li. Efsher k'mezagen. The chachmei lev, when they make the bigdei kehuna... They have to be mekadesh it. That's with kavonos of lishmah and inyanei kedushah. But you, Moshe, how are you going to be mekadesh bigdei kehunah if you make it l'aren ochicho, for your brother, l'chavod, for his honor and his glory? That's kedushah. The bigdei kehunah, you need to make it, you, v'asisa, you, Moshe, l'Aharon achicha l'chavod ul'sifares. That's kedushah. V'asu, the chachmei lev, they should make kedushah with great inyonim, v'tzalel, he was able to put together osiyos shebahem nivra shamayim v'aretz. But that's not what I want from you. From you I want it should be with love, and it should be with full heart, l'chavod ul'sifares, for the honor of your brother. And that no one else could give to the bigdei kehunah as well as to the shemen ha'mishchah. That's the pshat, v'atah tetzaveh. The parshah may ask, v'atah tetzaveh? What's the vav? Why is it connected? V'atah tetzaveh. And the teretz is, efshar, the way we're explaining, in the previous parshah, people were giving to the Mishkan with the divas halev. That's how it became kadosh. But, Moshe, what could you give? What is your nedavah which is kedushah? Hakrev eilecha, v'yikchu eilecha, shemen zayis zach. Hakrev eilecha Aharon achicha. This becomes kedushah that only you could give to the Mishkan, and the Mishkan needs that ahavah, that kedushah. And then it could become v'shachanti b'socham, because das is kedusha, rabboisai. The kedusha is when it's l'Aharon ochicha, l'chaver u'sefara; it's when it's v'racho v'samach b'liboi, and the heart is full of hatovah, caring, wanting the other person should have good, wanting the other person should have only kavod. Go out of your way to mechabed everybody. Reb Chaim Shmulevitz sees hatovah, and he wants to take it all in. It's a mareh of kedusha to him. This, rabboisai, is Torah. This, rabboisai, is hashra'as haShechinah, and this, rabboisai, is v'asu li mikdash v'shachanti b'socham. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.