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This week we feature a Parsha class by Rabbi Hershel Reichman from the Naaleh series Chassidic Sparks 2.  The class is called Proper Thinking: Parshat Vayikra .  In this class Rabbi Reichman  presents the inspirational Chassidic ideas of the Nesivos Shalom on this week's Parsha Vayikra. 

Click on the image below to view the class now.

chassidic sparks 2

This week's edition of Torah Imecha is on Parshat Vayikra and Pesach and is available on our  Newsletter page  Click here  for the printer friendly version, to share at your Shabbat table! Be sure to visit the homepage as well, for many more inspiring Torah classes! 

Shabbat Shalom!

-Ashley Klapper and the Naaleh Crew
For Tehillim list please click here to view our Refuah Shleima page
Silver Setting
Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Mrs. Shira Smiles
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein

At the Pesach Seder , it is customary to set a beautiful table complete with silver vessels and other fine utensils. What is unusual is that the Jews are not an ostentatious people. At no other holiday do we make a point of displaying our riches on our tables. What is unique about the Pesach Seder ?  
 
Kos  (kiddush cup) numerically equally  Elokhim , 86, God's aspect of judgment. K e s e f (silver) can be translated as love and desire ( Ni ch[k ] s o f  ni chs[k ]a f ta lebeis avicha /You longed for your father's house  Bereishit  31:30). By displaying our silver and other riches before we actually begin the Seder , we are setting the stage for unfolding the story we are about to embark on through the Haggadah .
 
While it is certainly true that setting our table opulently reminds us of the great wealth with which we left Egypt in fulfillment of Hashem's promise to Avraham, Rabbi Roberts offers a different take. Our Sages tell us that our ancestors were ultimately redeemed because of their deep faith in Hashem. Our ancestors understood that borrowing expensive utensils from their Egyptian taskmasters would be extremely dangerous. Their former taskmasters would undoubtedly regret their donation and pursue them to their death. Nevertheless, at Moshe's urging, the Jews put their lives in danger and asked for these utensils, maintaining their faith in Hashem's promise of protection. While one Medrash notes that the Sea split in deference to the remains of Yosef Hatzadik, Rabbi Roberts cites the Medrash that the Sea split upon seeing the great riches the Jews carried with them symbolizing their tremendous act of faith. We too should remember and try to emulate this as we observe the Seder ritual.
 
It is toward this end that the Torah says, " Lema'an tesaper b'oznei bincha  /You should tell it into the ears of your children." It is the task of the parent to tailor the message in a way that the child will accept, whichever model of the four sons he may be.  The Seder night is a most propitious night to embed faith in our children.
 
The three matzot of the Seder represent the intellectual approach of our Patriarchs, but at the Seder we also have the four cups of wine symbolizing the emotional approach to faith representative of our Matriarchs. As the wise King Solomon says, "Hear, my son, your father's instruction/ mussar  and do not forsake the  Torat/ teaching of your mother." It is the wine that has the ability to bring joy to the heart of mankind. Therefore, the wine is spread through the entire meal, to feel the emotional connection that should carry us throughout even difficult aspects of our lives. And the silver  kos  reflects that knowledge and emotion back to us so that we want to communicate with Hashem every day in every situation.
 
Rav Tzadok Hakohen asks why Hashem wanted us to take the gold and silver out of Egypt to begin with. He notes that everything in creation has some spark of sanctity within it. This sanctity was imprisoned in these objects in the hands of the depraved Egyptians. Hashem wanted Bnei Yisroel to transform the mundane and immoral  kesef  of physical silver into the holy and pure desire and love ( kesef ) for Hashem.
 
In spirituality, the night of the Seder and the night of Yom Kippur share many similarities. For example, they both have the word  kol /all at the beginning- " Kol Nidrei /May all my vows be annulled," and  "Kol dichfin /May all who are needy come and eat," and they both end in, "Next year in Jerusalem." But, notes the  Netivot Shalom , while we approach Hashem in awe on Yom Kippur, we approach Hashem in love on Pesach. As Rav Meislish adds, we were once idol worshipers, but on Pesach Hashem has brought us close to Him, He has taken the broken matzah and joined it with the whole matzah, and now we must do the same with our lives and our relationship.
 
Rabbi Pincus z"l notes, one must ask oneself, "Would I have merited being among the twenty percent who were redeemed, or would I have been one of the eighty percent who perished in Egypt?" Only those who had an emotional connection and were drawn to follow Him were saved. Those who didn't desire a connection died in Egypt. The Seder should arouse in us the same desire, not remain an empty ritual. The purpose of our redemption, writes  Halekach Vehalebuv , was for us to desire to become servants of Hashem. To this end, the round matzoh symbolizes the wedding ring that unites me with Hashem not only intellectually, but also with love, that wants to connect with Him and communicate with Him regularly, that wants to burst out in songs of praise and joy.  
Rav Soloveitchik z"l explains that generally when a slave leaves his master he is still viewed derisively. But Hashem wanted Bnei Yisroel to leave with dignity, and so when they asked their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver vessels, Bnei Yisroel found favor in their eyes. This was the greater "wealth", the dignity and self - respect that Hashem had promised they would have at their departure. When we set the table with our finest utensils, we are exhibiting the royalty Hashem invested in us when He redeemed us.

In our Shabbat morning liturgy, we say, "Moshe rejoiced... that you called him a faithful servant. (Bamidbar 12:7)" Moshe found joy in being Hashem's servant. Mankind finds it hard to submit to another's will. One's ego always seems to get in the way. For this reason, we are to be thankful for the enslavement experience, for it taught us how to serve another which we could them transform into serving Hashem through love, writes the  Sichat Eliyahu . That's why there is such stringency against having any  chametz  on Pesach, for the leavening that causes dough to rise is a metaphor for the ego which causes a person to become "puffed up," preventing him from submitting to the will of Hashem.
 
Eating the matzah should signal the search within oneself to find that pure part that wants to follow Hashem's agenda, writes the   Ohr Gedalyahu . This is the core of the father's answer to the wicked son. If you're not ready to see the beauty in following Hashem, if you are unwilling to submit, then you would not have been redeemed. You would have broken down, just as a machine breaks when used improperly. The Seder helps us focus on accepting the "yoke of Heaven."  
 
The Mahril notes, that one who is in possession of a surety owned by a non - Jew, on Pesach night would be permitted to make use of this vessel.  Likewise, notes the Chatam Sofer, Rivka and Yaakov were permitted to use the clothing of Esav.  Because of the blessings of Yitzchak, adds  Be'er Hchaim , the night of Pesach is a fortuitous time to pray for  parnassah /sustenance with dignity for all generations. The power of the Seder night extends far beyond just  parnassah , continues Rabbi Schorr. Because Yaakov wore the clothes of that  rasha  externally while internally, he remained the pure tzadik , this night has the power to facilitate anyone's  teshuvah , no matter how evil he seems externally. It is a night we give up hope on no one, no matter how cynical or anti - religious he may be. The scent of Gan Eden still adheres to every Jew as they adhered to Yaakov although he wore the garment of Esau. We retain that intimacy with Hashem. Perhaps it will not manifest itself in the current generation, but it is not lost. The connection will reemerge, sometimes generations later.
 
This is the night we connect the dry, intellectual matza with the sweet, emotional wine as we reaffirm our faith and trust in Hashem. We see our reflections in the shining silver on our table, and we burst out in song not only for all Hashem has done for us, but especially for the privilege of being His servants.


The Rambam never explicitly mentions that one is required to study the laws of Pesach 30 days prior to the holiday. This suggests that he may have held like the Ran that it is not an obligation. The Rambam also omits the opinion that Pesach questions get priority in the days before the yom tov . He does however mention that someone who leaves home within 30 days of Pesach is required to do bedikat chametz which indicates that he agrees that one should already be in the Pesach mode. In addition, in Hilchot Talmud Torah, the Rambam rules that if two people pose a question to the Rabbi, the one whose question is most relevant at the moment gets priority. By putting these two halachot together we can propose that he did concur with the idea that Pesach questions get priority. He does mention that one should study the laws of the holiday on that holiday.

Tosfot in Avodah Zorah notes that the original concept of reviewing the laws 30 days before Pesach was relevant in the days when the Jewish people were obligated to offer the Korbon Pesach . It follows that it doesn't apply today. The Maharil concurs with this.  What is the actual halacha ? The Shulchan Aruch seems to agree with the Ran. The Mishne Berura suggests that preference should be given to the opinion that an individual should begin studying 30 days before Pesach although there is no obligation. The Rambam in Hilchot Ishut makes reference to the fact that there was a custom to study the laws of the holiday 30 days in advance. According to the Maharsha it seems to be a Torah obligation. The Shulchan Aruch Harav writes that it is only a Rabbinic decree which applies only to Pesach as it is a holiday where one must be proficient in so many halachot . Other Acharonim say that for Pesach it's a Torah obligation while for other holidays it is only a custom.

The Chok Yaakov offers an intriguing explanation. Although some people are not so careful to study the laws 30 days before Pesach, many shuls recite special piyutim which include the halachot in poetic form and that is how they fulfill this requirement. Although there may not be a technical obligation to spend time reviewing the laws, Rav Soloveitchik points out that one cannot compare the observance of Pesach of someone who studies to someone who doesn't. A person who learns the laws of Pesach enters the holiday with a lot more  insight and excitement. So although it may not be an obligation, nonetheless the poskim say it's the proper thing to do and will enhance the person's observance of the holiday when it does arrive.


The Jewish People: Remnants of G-d's Inheritance Part II
 
The fourth attribute is sheirit nachaloso, the remnants of his inheritance. The Jewish people are referred to as sheirit or shear basar, a part of one's body. The Tomer Devora tells us that Hashem considers us His am kerovo, close nation.  We are referred to as "Am levado yishkon," a people alone. So too it says about Hashem, "V'nisgav Hashem levado," Hashem too is alone. Two loners who are separate from this world were united as one. In Shir Hashirim, Hashem calls the Jewish people, biti (daughter), achosi (sister), imi (mother), because we are like a close relative to Hashem.  The Gemara in Bava Basra notes that if a woman dies all her inheritance goes to her husband. Although one might think children are more closely related, upon marriage a wife becomes shear basar, a part of her husband. This is the relationship Hashem has with Klal Yisrael.
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