Thursday, April 12, 2018

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shemini

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

This week's parsha contains the tragic story of the deaths of two of Aharon's sons - Nadav and Avihu. The Torah recites in Vayikra 10:4 that after their deaths, Moshe called Mishael and Eltzafan in order to remove the bodies from the Mishkan. 

R' Frand quoted the Da'as Zekeinim M'Ba'alei Tosfos which cites the Toras Kohanim which explains that we learn from here that Kohanim cannot be mitamei to the dead. The Da'as Zekeinim asks two questions on the Torah Kohanim: (1) we have a pasuk in Parshas Emor which explicitly teaches that the Kohanim cannot become tamei, so why is this cited as the source for the law, and (2) since Elazar and Itamar were regular Kohanim (as opposed to the Kohen Gadol) they were allowed to be mitamei to relatives!

The Da'as Zekeinim answers these questions by stating that we learn from the appointment of Mishael and Eltzafan that a Kohain on the day that he is first anointed and performs his first service has a halacha like the Kohain Gadol. Since this was the first day for Elazar and Itamar as well as their (deceased siblings) they were not permitted to be mitamei to dead relatives. Furthermore, this explains what the Toras Kohanim meant by saying the law is novel.

R' Frand next quoted R' Asher Dicker of Lakewood, NJ who had relayed to him some thoughts on this vort, including R' Elyashiv's take on the issue. He first stated that we learn from this that the beginning of a process (like in this case, the appointment of the Kohanim and the dedication of the Mishkan) needs to be perfect. So if the process for Elazar and Itamar would have included their becoming tamei on their first day (even for a legitimate reason) the beginning of their time as Kohanim would have been less than perfect. 

He also tied this into the Pnei Yehoshua's famous question about the miracle of Chanukah. The Pnei Yehoshua asks - if the entirety of the Jewish people were tamei, why could they not have lit the Menorah with tamei oil, since tumah is hutrah (permitted) when the congregation is entirely impure? R' Dicker answered based on  this vort --it was because it was the first day after they recaptured the Beis Hamikdash from the Greeks, so the oil for the lighting of the Menorah needed to be perfect.

He also opined that this may be the meaning for the Hebrew expression - Kul Haschalos Kashos - all beginnings are difficult. Its not that things are difficult in the beginning, but rather that in the beginning we try as hard as possible to make it a perfect start.

He also quoted R' Elyashiv who discussed how a Kohain on his first day of service brought a special flour offering - the Minchas Chinuch. While he only brought that offering on his first day, the Kohain Gadol brought one every day. Why? Because for him, every day needed to be like a perfect first day.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting to Beha'alosecha in which it states (Bamidbar 8:3) in connection with the Menorah, "Vaya'as Ken Aharon" that Aharon did this act. Rashi explains that we learn from the pasuk that Aharon never deviated from the way it was to be done. Many meforsim ask about this Rashi --of course he did not deviate, he should never deviate! R' Frand answered that Rashi's intention was that Aharon never changed his attitude and treated each time as if it was the first day, and wanting it to be perfect.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

No comments: