A Thought on Parshas Tzav

"...mi'lu'im heim l'rae'ach ni'cho'ach..." "they are inaugural and for a pleasing fragrance..." (8:28) A unique service took place as the Sacred Shrine - the mishkan - was put into operation. This service culminated in the initiation of the Kohanim, the priestly servants led by Aaron. The Torah describes how the ritual itself, that of installing Aaron as High Priest, was like a fragrant offering ascending on High. Rabbeinu Avigdor helps broaden our grasp of this application of the concept of "fragrant offering" in reference to the appointing of a Kohen Gadol and readying him to do service to HaShem. It is one thing to consider a sacrificial offering as a "sweet fragrance." It represents one's submissive awe in giving up a costly offering as a gesture of humble recognition of His greatness. However, in our verse, the concept of pleasing fragrance relates to a person, or people, who are taking on a position of relative greatness. Becoming a Kohen is a step up, not a humbled step down, so the notion of this elevation also being, somehow, a pleasing fragrance seems almost the opposite of that term's general usage. On this point, Rabbeinu Avigdor observes (with midrashic support) that indeed, the installation itself was considered a pleasing fragrance. This is because HaShem regarded that occasion as a Divine "yom tov." He cites a Talmudic source (Megilla 10b) that the moment of the Kohanim's installation was comparable to the very moment of Genesis. A new world was created. The heavenly realm now had an earthly counterpart. The person in charge of this earthly abode known as the mishkan was, in essence, the manager of the spiritual affairs of humanity below in the service of the Al-mighty above. Rabbeinu Avigdor refers to that moment as if HaShem had "acquired for Himself an ohev" - a loving friend. Just as a king celebrates the arrival of his close friend, HaShem had chosen Aaron to serve as His ohev as His High Priest. When Aaron then ascended to that post, a spiritual celebration was in order. That celebration was not a party down below but rather a cosmic joy Above. This is what our verse means that the moment of inauguration itself was a pleasing fragrance to HaShem. Wishing all of our nation a Good Shabbos and a Pesach yom tov filled with joy and sweetness. May our service of HaShem create a meaningful impact on High. D Fox

A Thought on Parshas Vayikra

"..v'archu eitzim..." "...and you will arrange the firewood..." (1:7) The fire altar was arranged daily with wood to keep the flames ongoing. Our sages state that virtually any tree could be used in providing that firewood. The two exceptions were olive wood and grapevine wood. What made those trees unfit for usage in the Temple? Both are able to burn and can fuel a good fire. What was the reason to exclude them? Rabbeinu Avigdor offers that we have a principle called "ma'alin ba'kodesh" which means that we aim for the highest possible utilization of a substance or object when employing it in the service of HaShem. Once we dedicate something for sacred use, we cannot utilize it for a lower purpose, even in the service of HaShem. I will offer an example. Let's say that the paroches - the curtain on the Torah ark - is worn and frayed, so a new one is purchased. You might think that we can take the old one and cut it up and stitch the pieces together into a bunch of tallis bags. After all, a tallis is used in helping a man perform the mitzvah of serving HaShem through prayer, so why not appropriate the old cloth and recycle it? The answer is that we move up in matters of kedusha, and not down. A tallis bag is important yet it serves a relatively lesser function than a paroches. The halacha is ma'alin ba'kodesh. Now how does Rabbeinu Avigdor relate this to excluding grape and olive trees from firewood on the sacred Altar? He explains that grapevines produce grapes, which yield wine, which was used in the sacrificial service (nechasim or libations). Olive trees produce olives which yield oil which was for use in the mincha offerings. Hence, we dedicate those trees to filling those higher purposes, not to a lower purpose of providing wood for fire. This is the halachic perspective. Now Rabbeinu Avigdor enters into a mystical midrashic perspective. The products of the olive and grape "save" their respective trees from being burned. The higher functions of wine and oil allow the wood to be spared from incineration. From this he now sees a mystical halacha: children who live righteous lives can redeem their wicked parents from suffering Divine consequences. He notes that Avraham our Patriarch saved his father Terach from gehinom as is implied in the verse (Bereishis 15:15) where HaShem pledges that Avraham will join his father in the eternal life. Furthermore, we find a verse in Koheles (4:1) which laments the tears of the oppressed "with none to comfort them" and how those who once oppressed them now also find none to comfort them. The verse is difficult to decipher yet Rabbeinu Avigdor cites a midrashic teaching which explains that pure children succeed at comforting their troubled parents in the eternal life. The oppressed child who had no spiritual succor at home, yet finds the Torah path, will ultimately soothe the oppressive parent through that child having led a better life than the parent. That is how a product with a higher function can spare its source from a lesser fate. Rabbeinu Avigdor asserts his psak - his ruling - that righteous children can bank on their merits to rescue their parents from a harsh decree. And this is learned from his analysis of how grape and olive wood is not burned on the altar. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A thought on Parshas Vayakhel and Pekudei

"...va'yas Betzalel...shnei kruvim..." "...and Betzalel constructed two cherubs..." (37:1) Many Torah scholars have commented about the two golden sculptures known as the kruvim. These winged forms ensconced the Holy Ark. What they symbolized and the spiritual function which they served has been explored by our greatest sages. Rabbeinu Avigdor offers a concept: HaShem's universe is a place of duality. There is the lower material world in which we live and there is the higher spiritual world. We know these realms as shomayim and aretz. We sometimes think of them as "Heaven" and "earth." However, "heaven" is a term which we employ to contrast with the mundane, familiar plane of human existence. It is not heaven, per se. Rather, it is one of the two realms or dimensions which comprise, together, HaShem's universe. The heavens serve HaShem, for they are His creations. The earth and its inhabitants and substance are also created to serve HaShem. But they are both equally subordinate to Him. Neither is in reality closer to or more aligned with Him, in His vastness and infiniteness. Hence, both heaven and earth are HaShem's worlds, or world. In their ideal state, both are His servants. If not, the heavens continue to serve Him and the earth or its human inhabitants may veer from that avoda. The two keruvim represent those two dimensions. One represents the heavenly plane. The other represents the mundane plane. Both of them are in the ideal, and in the actual, filled with the Divine Presence. He is beyond them, for He is Above heaven and earth. Yet, He has allowed His Divine Presence to be sensed and known in heaven and on earth. That presence of the Presence is known as His tzimtzum, which is a kabbalistic term for how the Infinite and Eternal can still be associated with space and time. The two keruvim which ensconce the Holy Ark represent the concept of heaven and earth being able to "contain" the sense of Divine Presence despite their being matter and space. That sense of the Sacred was potent and strong in sensed presence within the space which spanned the winged keruvim. Rabbeinu Avigdor continues: "Today we Jews say, "now that we have neither mishkan nor mikdash to contribute our nedavos (offerings) to, let the offerings of our mouths be like nedavos to the mishkan." This is what Dovid HaMelech means in Tehillim (119:108) "nidvos pi retzea na HaShem" - please find favor HaShem with the offerings of my mouth". And this is what our sages say (Nedarim 7a) - if one says I will learn a chapter of Torah or a Torah law, he has made a great vow to his Father Above. This means he is like one who has donated an offering to HaShem's Mishkan abode. When our mouths speak words of praise to HaShem and we say words of Torah, we bring the Divine Presence closer into our mortal and our spiritual senses. Please include the name of my father Gershon ben Mereida in the offerings of your mouths. Good Shabbos. D Fox