Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Tzav

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.

Although Parshas Vayikra contains most of the Karbanos, the Karban Todah is found in Parshas Tzav, which is mostly about the Kohanim. R' Frand then asked - why was this Karban mentioned in Tzav and not Vayikra?

Before answering the question, R' Frand quoted the Gemara which sets forth the four categories of people who are obligated to bring a Karban Todah: (1) someone who recovered from an illness; (2) someone who traveled across the sea; (3) someone released from prison, and (4) someone who traveled across the desert. Rashi explains that these people bring a Karban Todah because a miracle was performed for them. But are these truly miraculous? Certainly all four categories had some element of danger, but is the recovery from surgery or the completion of a sea journey, miraculous?

R' Frand quoted R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld who explains that - yes these are miracles, but they are miracles of nature. He explains that there are many things that happen daily which are miracles, but because they are part of nature, we don't recognize them as miracles. This can include major events such as childbirth, or even the fact that a person is capable of producing speech.

The reason that the Karban Todah is mentioned in Tzav, which is dedicated to the Kohanim is to remind them that miracles are truly miraculous. R' Frand quoted Pirkei Avos which states that there were ten daily miracles in the Beis Hamikdash. Because the Kohanim saw and lived these miracles every day, they needed a reminder that these were miraculous and that they should thank Hashem for them.

R' Frand mentioned a Shayla that was once asked to Rav Shach by a young couple who had been married for a year and then had a baby girl. They wanted to know whether they should make a Kiddush. He answered them - if you had been married for 7 years without children and then had a baby, would you be asking the same question?

R' Frand next quoted the Rabbeinu Bechaye who cited the Gemara about the four categories of people who are obligated to bring a Karban Todah, but then also mentioned a Chassan and Kallah, quoting a pasuk in Yirmiyah. But why would they bring a Karban Todah?

R' Frand first quoted the Imrei Emes who cited the famous Gemara that making a Shidduch is as difficult as Kriyas Yam Suf - a miraculous event. 

R' Frand said a second answer that a person is half a person before meeting one's mate, much like a sick person who is not whole when ill.

R' Frand quoted R' Shamai Gross who states that there are two forms of Todah - those brought because there is an obligation and those brought voluntarily. And a Chassan and Kallah who find each other is a miracle in nature and can count themselves in the category of bringing a voluntary Todah.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Pikudei

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.

In Shemos 38:24, the Torah writes כָּל־הַזָּהָ֗ב הֶֽעָשׂוּי֙ לַמְּלָאכָ֔ה בְּכֹ֖ל מְלֶ֣אכֶת הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ וַיְהִ֣י | זְהַ֣ב הַתְּנוּפָ֗ה תֵּ֤שַׁע וְעֶשְׂרִים֙ כִּכָּ֔ר וּשְׁבַ֨ע מֵא֧וֹת וּשְׁלשִׁ֛ים שֶׁ֖קֶל בְּשֶׁ֥קֶל הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ . R' Frand commented that he does not know the weight in pounds, but he is sure that it was very significant.

He then quoted a Medrash on Parshas Terumah which states that Hashem had no need to create gold as the world would have been fine without it. (R' Frand quipped We could have used silver as gifts for our spouses). The reason that Hashem created it was to beautify the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash. 

R' Frand commented that we learn from this that there are many things which are not truly necessary, but Hashem created them only for a specific purpose.

R' Frand quoted the sefer Yismach Yehuda which writes that the Choftez Chaim said that the reason that Hashem put in the mind of a person to create trains was to make it faster and easier for bochurim to get to yeshiva. Prior to the train, people travelled by horse and buggy and the buggies often got stuck in the mud when it rained. R' Frand theorized that in our generation, if one needed to take a horse and buggy to go to yeshiva he would probably not go.

R' Frand connected this with a Gemara (although he did not mention which mesechta) which told of a man who would travel three months to get to yeshiva and then he would stay and learn for a day, before commencing a three month walk back to his home.

R' Frand also said in the name of R' Aryeh Leb Gurvitz of Gateshead that the seforim today are so plentiful and the print is so beautiful, whereas a few generation back the seforim were scarce and the print was not as clear. R' Frand mentioned that in Slobodka there was one copy of the Ohr Sameach and the boys would take turns learning it. When it was R' Ruderman's turn it was nice and he went out to learn it by moonlight. 

R' Frand also told of R' Birnbaum who when he was learning in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Europe was thought of as having come from a wealthy family since he had a Kitzos HaChoshen. But the truth was that his mother sold her silver candlesticks to buy it for him.

Again, in our generation there would not be this level of Mesiras Nefesh.

R' Frand told a second vort based on a Medrash which states that Hashem said that gold that was donated for the Mishkan was an atonement for the gold donated for the Egel. Hashem said - when you created the Egel you angered Me, as you stated in Shemos 32:8 -אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶֽעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם. But when you built the Mishkan and said in Shemos 38:21 - אֵ֣לֶּה פְקוּדֵ֤י הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ מִשְׁכַּ֣ן הָֽעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר פֻּקַּ֖ד עַל־פִּ֣י משֶׁ֑ה you made Me happy.

What is the connection other than the use of the same word? 

R' Frand answered by quoting the pasuk in Bereishis 2:4 - אֵ֣לֶּה תֽוֹלְד֧וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ בְּהִ֣בָּֽרְאָ֑ם. This was Hashem's expression of pride in creating the world. When the Jews used the same term in describing the Egel it showed their level of pride about its creation and that angered Hashem. But when they built the Mishkan and again used that term, Hashem granted them atonement.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayakhel

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.

In Shemos 35:30, the Torah writes רְא֛וּ קָרָ֥א יְהֹוָ֖ה בְּשֵׁ֑ם בְּצַלְאֵ֛ל בֶּן־אוּרִ֥י בֶן־ח֖וּר לְמַטֵּ֥ה יְהוּדָֽה.

R' Frand noted that the Torah does not generally mention someone's grandfather and he asked why was Hur referenced in the pasuk. He also observed that at the time that Betzalel was selected to work on the Mishkan he was 13 years old! Lastly, he quoted Rashi who states that Hur was the son of Miriam. R' Frand then asked why did Rashi need to tell us this now, after having given the same commentary twice before?

R' Frand first addressed the mention of Hur by quoting the well known Medrash on Vaykhel which states that Betzalel received the honor in the merit of his grandfather who refused to bow to popular pressure when there was a swell of support for building the Golden Calf.

R' Frand then asked - in hindsight, was it proper for Hur to stand up against the masses when they did not listen to him and ultimately killed him for saying no? R' Frand answered that Hur did do the right thing, because sometimes a person needs to stand up for what he believes in, and even if he does not think that others will listen to him.

Where did Hur learn this from? The answer is that he saw this in his mother Miriam.

R' Frand identified four specific moments that Miriam stood up for ideas, even though unpopular and they seemed unlikely to succeed.

The first event was when Amram divorced Yocheved because Amram saw all the Jewish babies being killed by the Egyptians. Although Amram was the lead Rabbi for the Jews in Egypt, his toddler daughter Miriam reproached him for divorcing Yocheved and told him he was worse than Pharaoh. Although Miriam could not have believed that she would succeed in convincing her father, she knew that he was wrong and that she needed to try to influence him.

The next event took place when Moshe was placed by Miriam in the basket in the water. After Miriam saw that the daughter of Pharaoh had retrieved Moshe, Miriam approached her and told her that she should give the baby to a Jewish midwife. Again, this must have seemed like a longshot - why would the daughter of Pharaoh listen to a slave girl? Still Miriam stood up and spoke about what she believed in.

The third event involved the singing after the Jews crossed the Yam Suf. The women were upset and expressed to Miriam their displeasure in not being able to sing. The Tosafos Harosh explains that Miriam picked up a tambourine and encouraged them to sing - because she knew that they wanted to sing and that the noise of the tambourine would drown out their singing.

The final event involved the spinning of thread for the Mishkan. The gemara relates that the women spun thread into wool while it was still on the sheep. Miriam actually taught them to do this because the women wanted to participate, but were concerned that they would be unable to do so if they were niddos. To solve the problem, Miriam taught them to spin thread while it was still on the sheep and not capable of becoming tamei.

This is what allowed Betzalel at the tender age of 13 to become the architect of the mishkan - because he was the grandson of Miriam and lived her message. 

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Friday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Ki Sissa

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha last 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.

R' Frand asked in his first vort about the use of singular and plural forms in Shemos 31:13 -  אַ֥ךְ אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ כִּי֩ א֨וֹת הִ֜וא בֵּינִ֤י וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ . He first gave an answer in the name of the Ramban who states that  אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י refers to the Shabbosim of the year as a unit. 

But R' Frand quoted the Sefer HaKsav V'HaKaballa who says that there two aspects of Shabbos - one is to stop doing work and the other is to have a spiritual elevation from Shabbos. There is more to Shabbos than not to drive or turn on lights. But beyond your body not doing the usual work of the week, there is also a "Shabbos" for your soul. By not doing what you usually do during the week, there is more of a spiritual elevation for your soul. 

This is the meaning of the Gemara that says that if the Jews would only keep two Shabboses Moshiach would come. Why specifically two? He answers that it is not two discrete Shabboses, its that if the Jews will keep both aspects of Shabbos, Moshiach would come.

R' Frand said a second vort related to the breaking of the luchos. The Torah writes in Shemos 32:19 - וַיְהִ֗י כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֤ר קָרַב֙ אֶל־הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֔ה וַיַּ֥רְא אֶת־הָעֵ֖גֶל וּמְחֹלֹ֑ת וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֣ף משֶׁ֗ה וַיַּשְׁלֵ֤ךְ מִיָּדָו֙ אֶת־הַלֻּחֹ֔ת וַיְשַׁבֵּ֥ר אֹתָ֖ם תַּ֥חַת הָהָֽר. But since Moshe knew before he came down that the Jews had worshipped the Egel, why did he bring the luchos down? Why didn't he just leave them on the mountain?

R' Frand quoted R' Cooperman of Michlala who quoted the Seforno who states that Moshe knew that they had made the Egel, but he thought that if he came down with the luchos they would stop and repent. But when he came down and saw that they were dancing around the luchos and had made it into a holiday, he thought they were too far gone. So he broke the luchos.

R' Frand said that there is a connection between the two vorts. Just as Hashem wants us to elevate ourselves for Shabbos, there is a mirror image of the enthusiasm for Avodah Zara which is the antithesis. People make mistakes all the time, but if they turn it into a simcha which is done with passion, that is the opposite.

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