Ma Chadash?Bites
6 Nissan l Parshas Vayikra l Mar 19

Vayikra- Tikkun Adam
For Year 2 of Parsha Lesson, I will be focusing on one practical middah, character trait, to think about in the week ahead and steps we can take to attain it.


Background
This week’s Parsha, and the new Sefer (Book of the Torah) that we start, is called ‘Vayikra’. This means ‘and He called.’ This refers to Hashem speaking to Moshe.

The Midrash points out that this teaches us that tzaddikim, great, pious people, are even greater than the heavenly Angels. How do we see this? For when the Angels hear the voice of Hashem they are overcome with trembling and fright. Tzaddikim, righteous people, however, are able to hear Hashem speak to them without disturbing their equanimity.

Question
How is this possible? Tzaddikim, as great as they might be are only people! They have regular human qualities, regular human frailties and are quite mortal and weak. Angels, on the other hand, as we learn from many of the Books of Neviim (Prophets), are amazingly powerful, and awesome creatures who are pure intellect and perfection. How can it be possible that tzaddikim can be greater than Angels!?

Answer
Hashem created different classes of life on this world- each one for a different purpose. Hashem created Animals- which are pure instinct, base desires and interests and purely corporeal. Angels, on the other hand, are amazing spiritual creatures who are pure intellect, completely unencumbered by any physicality.

Human beings are made from both. Humans have a physical, animalistic body which has base interests and desires, while also possessing a Neshama, or spiritual soul. As the Ramchal explains, the human was created so in order to provide a challenge, a boot camp of sorts, for the Neshama. When the Neshama is successfully engaged in the battle with the animalistic body into which it was placed, the Neshama then improves and becomes greater. 

It is therefore no surprise that a human can become better than an angel- an angel is a Neshama without the challenges that a human faces to become better.

Lesson
We have tremendous potential to attain greatness. Such high levels of greatness, that we are capable of attaining spiritual heights that Angels themselves cannot attain. It is our free will, endowed to us by Hashem, which we then must use to either seize on this opportunity to improve ourselves. If we do not and we allow ourselves to be pulled down after our Animal body we will become diminished and enfeebled spiritually.

First Step
The First Step, and according to the Chazon Ish- the only REAL step, is to resolve to improve on what our current situation is, on a personal level! This feeling of wanting to do better, to improve, to make good, is an extremely powerful force within everyone. 

The question is- will this force be focused on the world around us, on our physical comforts, on other people’s faults, or will we direct it in the proper direction: ourselves..?




Have a wonderful Shabbos!


Rabbi Eli Meir Kramer
 
What's happening...

Judaic Studies


Rabbi Yehuda Friedman- 5th/6th Grade Boys
Pesach is in the air in the 5/6th grade boys class. We are getting deep into the topics of the Haggada and have a lot of very interesting things to share by the upcoming Pesach Sedorim! 

Although the 5th graders are fairly new to the subject of Gemara, they have all been doing extremely well, mastering the new Gemara language and concepts. Keep up the amazing work!

General Studies


Rabbi Elchonon Cohen- 6th Grade
The sixth grade recently got the opportunity to begin testing their STEM bridge project. For the past several months, the 6th graders have been working in groups to “build bridges” (pun intended!), that is to construct the strongest possible 12 inch bridge using just popsicle sticks and glue. After much collaboration (and many sticky hands!) the bridges were finished and ready to be tested.

But the surprise was on me: Not only were the bridges structurally sound, but they were able to hold all the weights available in the lab! We are still waiting on the arrival of some heavier weights, to see just how far we can push these amazing feats of engineering!

Pre-School


Morah Shuly Amsel- Torah Tots
This week in Torah Tots the Matzah Bakery came for a visit! The Torah Tots had such fun learning about how shmurah matzah is made by hand!

First they each put on their aprons and their colorful baker’s hats and joined their Morahs in the matzah making center. At the first table they mixed flour and water together until they made dough. Once they each had a ball of dough they were ready for the next step in the matzah making process. They moved to table number two and there they rolled out their soft, flat dough and poked it with holes. It looked just like matzah looks before it goes into the oven.

After we made the matzah it was time to pretend to bake them. The children each got to take turns putting our big round cardboard matzahs into the special brick oven that they helped build in the beginning of the week. They laid the big round matzahs onto a paddle and carefully put them in the pretend oven. They came out flat and golden brown just like real matzahs! Our Torah Tots are ready to work in a real matzah bakery when they grow up!
 

 


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