A few months ago, I had the honor of
being part of a workshop run by Matan and led by Rabbanit Shani Taragin at
Meshek 48 in Rosh Tzurim. The goal of the workshop was to make Menachot (meal
offerings) similar to the ones offered in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple).

What exactly does that entail?

We learn about the Menachot in
Parhsat Vayikra in the first ten verses of Chapter 2:

The Torah lists five types of meal
offerings. They are all made of the same ingredients.

The first type, Minchat Solet- Fine
flour meal offering (Vayikra 2:1-3) is a simple offering which is not cooked or
baked:

When a person brings a meal-offering
to God, his offering shall be of fine flour; he shall pour oil upon it and
place frankincense upon it. He shall bring it to the sons of Aharon, the
Kohanim; from there a Kohen takes a fistful- from its flour and oil- with all
its frankincense. The Kohen shall burn its memorial portion on the altar, a
fire offering of pleasing fragrance to God. Whatever is left of the
meal-offering belongs to Aharon and his sons; It is holy of holies of the
fire-offerings of God.

At the workshop, we divided up into
four groups in order to prepare the four different baked/cooked/fried offerings.
We took fine flour, oil and a little bit of water as needed and mixed them
together in large bowls.

The following are the Menachot that
we prepared:

The second and third types of
menachot are in the category of Maafe Tanur- Baked in the Oven:

The maafe tanur can either be
unleavened loaves (challot matzot) mixed with oil or unleavened wafers (rekikei
matzot) smeared with oil. As we see in Vayikra 2:4:

When you offer a meal offering that
is baked in an oven, it shall be of fine flour: unleavened loaves mixed with
oil, or unleavened wafers smeared with oil.

Rashi quotes the Talmud, Menachot
76a: All the meal offerings which are baked before the fistful is taken, and
their fistful is taken by breaking the loaves of wafer into pieces- all of them
come in groups of ten loaves, and those which it is said wafers come in groups
of ten wafers.

When the Maafe Tanur that we
prepared came out of the oven, our challot matzot came out like pita bread
while the rekikei matzot came out like matzah.

The fourth type is Mincha al
Machvat, Pan-baked offering (Vayikra 2:5-6):

If your offering is a meal offering
on the pan, it shall be of fine flour mixed with oil, it shall be unleavened.
You shall break it into pieces and pour oil upon it- it is a meal offering.

Rashi comments that the pan was a
vessel used in the Temple, in which they would bake the meal offering in oil on
the fire; the vessel was not deep but flat. And the resulting meal-offering
made in it was hard, since it was flat, the fire burnt the oil.

These came out like pancakes.

The fifth kind was Minchat
Marcheshet- Deep-pan meal offering (Vayikra 2:7):

If your offering is a meal offering
in a deep pan, it should be made of fine flour with oil.

Rashi explains that the pan was
deep. Its oil was gathered at the bottom and the fire did not burn it. The meal
offering looked like it was creeping (rochashin). Everything soft because of
the liquid contained in it appears as though it is creeping and moving.
Therefore it is called marcheshet.

These were deep fried. They came out
like oily matzah balls!

Since this was just a workshop and
because the Beit HaMikdash has not yet been rebuilt, we did not have to give
our Menachot to a Kohen. Rather, we separated challah in the same way that
challah is taken when baking any type of bread and when the Menachot were
ready, we were able to eat them.

I personally liked the Mincha al
Machvat, the pan baked offering the best!

I highly recommend this type of
workshop to anyone who wants to understand what the vegetarian sacrifices were
all about.

The Korban Mincha (meal offering) is
unique in that it is a vegetarian sacrifice. 
What makes this sacrifice special is that it is much less expensive than
an animal sacrifice which makes it affordable for those who are too poor to
offer an animal.

According to Nechama Leibowitz,
flour represents our principal food. The minimum quantity of the Korban Mincha
is an “isaron” which is equal to the “omer” (the daily portion of manna). In
other words, it is the amount needed for a person’s daily maintenance.

Rabbi David Hoffman explains that when
bringing a Korban Mincha, the poor person consecrates to God the choicest
possessions needed for his sustenance; these he regards as God given.

Rav Kook points out that by the end
of time, the knowledge of God will extend to the animals who will revert back
to their status before Noah’s ark when they were herbivorous, not carnivorous
as stated in Yishayahu 11:6-9:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the young lion and
the fatling together; and a small child shall lead them. And the cow and the
bear shall graze together; their young ones shall lie down together: and the
lion shall eat straw like the ox. And an infant shall play on the hole of the
cobra and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper’s nest. They shall
neither harm nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of God as the water covers the sea.

Rav Kook closes: whereupon this
offering- the vegetarian mincha “will be pleasant to God as in the days of old
and as in former years.”

Rav Kook’s view was that after the
flood, the descendants of Noah (all of mankind) were permitted to be
carnivorous (Breisheet 10). Since the land had become filled with violence and
man had given free rein to his worst instincts, man was no longer required to
make the supreme moral exertions to forego the slaughter of animals. It was far
more important that he should, at least, utilize what moral fiber he possessed
in refraining from killing his own kind and respecting the life of his
neighbor.

Nechama Leibowitz concludes that it
was for this reason Rav Kook maintained that mankind has been permitted to
slaughter animals as food. He calls this a transitional tax or a temporary
dispensation until a brighter era is reached.

We see from here that the Korban
Mincha served two purposes, it provided the opportunity for the needy to still
be able to bring a meaningful sacrifice and it taught us that not every
sacrifice needs to be an animal and maybe the ideal in the time of Mashiach will
be that we won’t need to offer animals at all.

May we find out speedily in our
days.

In Parshat Vayikra, we read about
the Korabanot, usually translated as sacrifices. However, the word korban
actually comes from the root “karov” which means close. We bring the korban to
get close to God.

The word karov in Hebrew also means
family member (karov mishpacha).

Over the past few weeks, we have
been told not to go near anybody as you don’t know who may be carrying the
virus or who you can catch it from. You are only permitted to be near family
members from your household and even then there are limitations.

That basically leaves us with
getting close to God. Many people are having trouble with this concept as their
image of prayer is limited to praying in a synagogue or with a minyan. They are
trying desperately to grab on to whatever they can whether it is setting up
backyard minyanim which could still be a problem of people standing too close
together or not remaining close to home as per the new restrictions or
arranging livestream minyanim over the internet.

I would like to suggest a different
approach. Prayer which has replaced the Korbanot after the destruction of the
Beit HaMikdash (Temple) is meant to build our relationship with God and bring us
nearer to Him. Private prayer which can be done anywhere is each individual’s opportunity
to become closer to God.

This week, all houses of worship of
all religions in Israel have closed their doors. This does not mean that we now
stop praying. This means that we should use this time to pray for healing and
anything else that we may want or need

This is our chance to build our
private relationship with God without the distractions of the other synagogue
members and friends.

May this difficult time quickly be
put behind us and may we return to our synagogues as soon as it is safely
possible to do so.

When
writing a check in Israel, one can choose to date it with the
“Jewish” date (ex: 1 Nissan) or with the secular date (ex: March 1).
But is the “Jewish” date really Jewish and if not then why are we
using it?

The
Ramban teaches on the topic of Parshat HaChodesh that we should count the
months based on the first month of the redemption so that we will always
remember the Exodus from Egypt. Therefore, the months in the Torah have no
individual names. Just as in counting the days of the week we always remember
Shabbat since the weekdays have no specific Hebrew name of their own, but are
instead called “the first day in the week of Shabbat”, “the
second day in the week of Shabbat” so too the months have no name other
than “the first month”, “the second month”, “the third
month” to our redemption (from Egypt).

The
rabbis taught in the Yerushalmi Rosh HaShana 1:2, “The names of the months
came up with us from Babylon”, since at first we had no names for the
months. The reason for this adoption of the names of the months when our
ancestors returned from Babylon to build the Second Temple was that at first
their reckoning was a memorial to the Exodus from Egypt, but when we came up
from Babylon the words of scripture were fulfilled as it says in Yirmiyahu
16:14-15 “And it shall no more be said: As the Eternal lives, that brought up
and led B’nai Yisrael from the land of Egypt, rather: As the Eternal lives that
brought up and led B’nai  Yisrael from the land of the north.” From then
on we began to call the months by the names they were called in the land of
Babylon. In that way we are reminded that there we stayed during the exile and
from there God brought us up to our Land. The names- Nisan, Iyar etc. are
Persian names and are only found in the books of the prophets of the Babylonian
era (Zecharia, Ezra, Nechemia) and in Megillat Ester and are often used alongside
the original numbers of the months as in “In the first month, that is, in the
month of Nisan,” (Ester 3:7). Through the names of the months we remember our
second redemption as we have done until then with regard to the first one.

Today,
we are living during the era which we hope is “the first flowerings of the
third redemption” so it actually makes sense to use the secular date (as
in March 1) to remind us that we were once again in exile and now Jews from all
over the world are returning to Israel as part of what we hope is the process
of the third redemption.

What
is interesting is that most Israelis call the secular months by the number of
the month so March 1 would be called the first day of the third month which
sounds a lot like the way the dates are outlined in the Torah.

Before
long, checks will become obsolete as all banking will be done online so this
won’t even be an issue at all.

In Parshat Vayikra (Vayikra 4:13-15)
we read:

If the entire congregation of Israel
erred and the matter was concealed from the eyes of the community and they did
transgress one of the commandments of God that should not be done, they icur
guilt. When they realize the sin which they committed, the community shall
bring a young bullock as a sin offering and they shall bring it to the front of
Ohel Moed, the Tent of Meeting. The elders of the congregation shall lay their
hands on the bull’s head before God and he shall slaughter the bullock before
God.

Rav Assi teaches in the Talmud,
Horayot 3a:

In regard to the sacrifice brought
for an erroneous ruling (the communal bull) follow the majority of the
inhabitants of the Land of Israel and do not take account the Jews living in
the Diaspora. For it stated in Melachim I 8:65 “And Shlomo (King Solomon)
instituted at that time the celebration and all of Israel was with him, a huge
congregation from the approach to Chamat until the River of Egypt, before God…”

Rav Assi explains that we learn from
here that only those Jews who live within the borders of the Land of Israel are
referred to as the “congregation” but those Jews who live elsewhere are not
referred to as “congregation.”

The Rambam states that the people of
Israel are called “congregation” and God called them the entire congregation
even if there were only ten men living there.

We see from here the power of those
who settle the Land of Israel. The fact that even small groups of Jews lived in
the Land of Israel throughout the ages still made them count as the entire
congregation.

Now that we are living at a time
where the State of Israel is open to immigration we are able to build large and
impressive congregations throughout the Land of Israel from the north to the
south the same way that the land was settled in the days of King Solomon.

 The beginning of the Maftir of Shabbat HaChodesh (Shmot
12:2), describes how the Jewish calendar is set up: “This month shall be for
you the beginning of months it shall be for you the first of the months of the
year.”

What is the meaning of the words “for you”?

Ramban points out that the month of the Exodus is not the
first month of the year. However, it is the first month of the redemption from Egypt so it is
meaningful for the Jewish people and therefore it is the first month on the
Biblical calendar. The Torah counts the months from the redemption from Egypt so that
the redemption will constantly be on our minds.

In the Yerushalmi, Rosh HaShana 1:2 the Rabbis taught that
the names of the months (Nisan, Iyar etc.) were brought to the Land of Israel
when the Jews returned from Babylonia thus fulfilling the prophecy of Yirmiyahu
(Yirmiyahu 16:14-15) “Therefore behold days are coming, says the Lord, when it
shall no more be said, as the Lord lives that brought up B’nai Yisrael out of
the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives that brought up B’nai Yisrael from the
land of the north and from all the lands into which he had driven them: and I
will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers.”

We call the months by the Persian names (Nisan, Iyar etc.)
which we see in Megillat Ester 3:7: “In the first month which is the month of
Nisan, in the 12^th year of King Achashverosh the lot was cast…” to
remind us of the redemption and the ingathering of the exiles which took place
after the destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash.

By using the Persian names of the months, we are
commemorating the fact that against all odds the Jews were able to return to
the Land of Israel and build the second Beit
HaMikdash.

Today, once again we are experiencing the prophecy of
Yirmiyahu and Jews are returning to the State of Israel from all over the
world.

In a senior center in Jerusalem
where I teach there are six women who immigrated to Israel
from Persia
soon after the founding of the state. When we were studying about Purim they
mentioned that they all come from Shushan HaBira! They celebrated Purim on
Shushan Purim just as they do now in Jerusalem.
They had the opportunity to visit the graves of Mordechai and Ester and they
tell stories about how they prepared their own Shmura Matzah every year in
honor of Pesach.

In Israel
today we still go by the names of the Persian (now considered Jewish) months.
When referring to the months on the civil calendar, Israel uses the numerical dates
rather than the names of the secular months. Both the Jewish and civil dates
are listed on the front page of the newspapers and we have the option of writing
out checks using the Jewish or civil date.

At the Pesach seder, we can collectively celebrate all of
the times that the Jewish people were redeemed throughout the ages. There are
even Hagadot that describe the different times that the Jewish people were
redeemed throughout history including the founding of the State of Israel.

For those of us who have already made aliya, the seder is a
good opportunity to celebrate our coming home from the Diaspora. For those who
have not made aliya, the seder is a time to reflect on making the words “Next
year in Jerusalem”
a reality!

The Haftarah for Parsha Vayikra is from Yishayahu
43:21-44:23 and takes place when B’nai Yisrael are already in galut (exile)
after the destruction of the First Beit HaMikdash.

Yishayahu explains that when B’nai Yisrael had the Beit
HaMikdash, they didn’t take the service of bringing Korbanot (sacrifices
outlined in Parshat Vayikra) seriously, at times they were even focused on worshipping
other gods. God therefore destroyed the Beit HaMikdash and exiled the Jewish
people. When He sent them into exile, God also forgave them for their sins. Now
God is ready to start a clean slate, return them to the Land of Israel and rebuild the Beit HaMikdash.

Yishayahu 44:22 states “I will have wiped away your willful
sins like a thick cloud and your errors like a mist, return to Me (shuva elai),
for I have redeemed you (ki gaalticha).”

Since the Neviim (the books of the prophets) were written
both for their own time period as well as for future generations, this pasuk is
calling on all of the Jewish people in all of the generations to do tshuva and
return to God. When a person does complete tshuva, all of their former sins
will be erased (in the same way that clouds fully disappear) making room for
the full redemption to take place.

The Rabbis adapted this concept into the Yom Kippur Musaf
service:

Elokeinu v’Elokei Avoteinu, Our God and the God of our
forefathers, pardon our iniquities on this Day of Atonement. Wipe away and
remove our willful sins and errors from before Your eyes, as it is said
(Yishayahu 43:25): ‘I have wiped away your willful sins for My sake and I shall
not recall your errors.’ And it said (Yishayahu 44:22): ‘I will have wiped away
your willful sins like a thick cloud and your errors like a mist, return to Me,
for I have redeemed you.’ And it said (Vayikra 16:30): ‘For through this day He
will atone for you to cleanse you; from all your sins before God you will be
cleansed.’…For you are the  Forgiver of
Israel and the Pardoner of the tribes of Yeshurun in every generation and other
than You we have no king who pardons and forgives, only You! Blessed are You HaShem,
the King who pardons and forgives our iniquities and the iniquities of His
people, the family of Israel
and removes our sins every single year, King over the world Who sanctifies Israel and the
Day of Atonement.

We see from here that this call to do tshva is applicable in
every generation.

Amos Chacham in his commentary (Daat Mikra on Yishayahu)
points out that the words “shuva elai ki gaalticha” mean that the Jewish people
should leave Bavel (Babylonia) and return to the place where the Shechina
(Divine Presence) rests in the Land of Israel.

Since these words are true for all generations this is also
a reminder for us to constantly work on returning to God by fulfilling the mitzvot
and there is no better place to fulfill the mitzvot than in the Land of Israel.

Parsha Points- Vayikra 5772

The Small Alef Teaches Humility

There are many different interpretations of why the Alef in
the word Vayikra is written smaller than all of the other letters. The
interpretation that we will focus on is the one from Rabbi Bunim of Peshischa.

Rabbi Bunim teaches that even though Moshe was on the
highest level possible, he still carried himself in a very humble manner. Just
as someone who stands on top of a mountain knows that he is only tall because
the mountain is making him tall, so too Moshe knew that all of his greatness
was a gift from God.

Rabbi Shimshon of Austropolly says that when Moshe wrote the
word Vayikra (and He called), he wrote the Alef smaller because he was
referring to himself. However, when he blessed B’nai Yisrael right before his
death, he wrote the pasuk referring to the Jewish nation using all large
letters: (Devarim 33:29) “Ashrecha Yisrael Mi Kamocha…”, “Fortunate are you O
Israel: Who is like you! O people saved by the Lord, the Shield of your help,
Who is the Sword of your excellency! Your enemies will try to deceive you but
you shall trample upon their bamot.”

The last few words, “but you will trample their bamot” can
refer to high places or haughty leaders. B’nai Yisrael will inherit the Land of Israel and neither the mountains nor the
haughty leaders will stand in their way.

As humble as Moshe personally was, he understood that the
Jewish people must take pride in themselves as a nation and with God behind
them they will overcome their enemies and inherit the Land of Israel.

Unfortunately, over the past few years there have been too many Jewish leaders who have ended up disappointing the Jewish community with immoral and unlawful acts.

There have been Rabbis removed from pulpits as well as members of the Knesset including a president who had to step down.

These “leaders” have desecrated God’s name, what is known in Hebrew as “Chilul HaShem.”

Should we be surprised? Is it unheard of for a Jewish leader to transgress?

In Parshat Vayikra, when we read about the Korbanot (sacrifices) that need to be brought after a person transgresses, it is not just the lay people who are expected to bring the korban, the rulers are expected to bring the korbanot as well.

In Vayikra 4:22 it says: “When (asher) a Nasi, a ruler, sins and does inadvertently something against any of the commandments of the Lord his God concerning things which should not be done and has incurred guilt. If the sin that he committed becomes known to him, he shall bring his offering, a male goat, unblemished.”

The Torah uses the word “asher”, “when” and not “im”, “if” since rulers are human and they are prone to sin. Sforno adds that often those who are wealthy and powerful may be more likely to sin.

The problem with many of the current scandals is that the leaders try to cover up their mistakes instead of owning up to them.

The hope according to Sifra is that a leader who seeks atonement even for his unintentional sins will surely repent for his intentional sins.

Let’s hope and pray that our new leaders will not repeat the mistakes of the past and that the new leadership will sanctify, not desecrate, God’s name and be a true Kiddush Hashem. As humans, our role models may err from time to time yet to gain our respect and God’s approval, they must be big enough to admit their wrongdoings and serve as examples that we should be proud to look up to.

Parshat Vayikra ends with the concept of the Guilt Offering: “And it shall be, because he had sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he took violently away or the thing which he deceitfully acquired, or that was delivered him to keep or the lost thing which he found, or all about which he has sworn falsely, he shall even restore it in the principal and shall add the fifth part more to it…and he shall bring his Guilt Offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish…(Vayikra 5:23-25)” Nechama Leibowitz points out that before bringing his guilt offering he must first redress the wrong by paying his debt. It is taught in Bava Kama 9:12: He who made restitution before bringing his Guilt Offering has complied with the law. He who brought his guilt offering before making restitution has not complied with the law. The Rambam stresses (Hilchot Gzeilah va-Avedah) the fact that the Guilt Offering is not to be brought before the robber has returned the principal to the owner. In Masechet Yoma 85b we find a similar concept: For transgressions committed against God, Yom Kippur effects atonement, but for transgressions committed against one’s fellow Yom Kippur does not effect atonement until he has appeased his fellow. Unfortunately when a ‘religious’ person turns out to be a criminal people say: “How can he be a criminal, we see him praying in the synagogue every week?” Sure he was in the synagogue- after all he had plenty of guilt that he was trying to get off of his chest! It is hypocritical for a person who has wronged other human beings to go directly to God to ask for forgiveness. Every day of the year, not just on Yom Kippur, we must be diligent in performing the mitzvoth ‘ben adam lechavero’, between a person and their fellow person as well as the mitzvoth ‘ben adam lemakom’, between a person and God.White collar criminals (people of respectability and high social status who commit a crime in the course of their occupation) must also be aware that if they steal, they must return the stolen item(s) plus more to the rightful owner or in God’s eyes (no matter how hard they pray) they will never be off the hook.