Rabbi Frand on Parshas Vayikra
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi
Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah
portion: Tape #3, The Korban Pessach Today. Good Shabbos!
G-d Speaks to the Jewish Prophets by the "Heat of the Day"
The Medrash on this week's Parsha states as follows: Rav Yehuda says,
G-d appears to the nations of the world only at night, at a time when
people are separated from one another, as we find "The L-rd appeared
to Avimelech in a dream at night...", "And the L-rd came to Bilaam at
night..." However, in regard to Jewish prophets we find that He comes
during the day, as it is written regarding Avrohom, "And he sat at the
gate of the tent, in the heat of the day..."
What significance is there in the fact that G-d only appears to the
Gentile prophets at night? The answer is that there is a very basic
difference between Judaism and other religions. I do not claim to be
an expert in Catholic theology, but it is quite well known that the
reason why the Catholic Church insists that its priests and nuns
remain celibate is because the Catholic religion has a tremendous
problem with the blending of the physical and the spiritual. As a
result, they believe that the people who are "truly close to G-d",
i.e. -- the priests and the nuns -- cannot be involved or associated
with the physical side of life. Therefore, they should not have wives
or husbands, because this would take away from their devotion to G-d.
As Jews, we believe that there does not have to be a dichotomy between
the physical and the spiritual. The `tachlis' [end-goal], in fact, of
a Jew is to sanctify the physical. A person can live a physical life
that is permeated with `kedusha' [the spirit of holiness]. A person's
eating, his business dealings, and even his marital relations with his
wife can be conducted on a holy and spiritual level.
This is what the Medrash is telling us. G-d says that when He appears
to the nations of the world, He only appears "at night" -- when people
are normally isolated from one another. When can a Gentile have
association with spirituality? Only when he is disassociated from the
rest of mankind -- at night. But a Jew can have a relationship with
G-d "in the heat of the day." This is what Judaism is all about --
living as a human being in all aspects of existence, but doing so in
such a way that the physical becomes holy and all ones actions are for
the sake of Heaven.
The Kotzker Rebbe once said that immediately after receiving the
Torah, the Jews were given the command "Return to your tents." The
Talmud interprets this as a command to return to your marital
relations with your wives (which were suspended for 3 days prior to
the giving of the Torah). The Kotzker explained this very point. Now
that we have received the Torah, that we know what Torah is all about,
it is time to return to our tents and to apply the spiritual
principles of the Torah to our everyday lives.
Levites Make A Positive Choice to Serve in Beis HaMikdas
The Medrash on the verse "The rest of the meal offering shall belong
to Aharon and his sons..." [VaYikra 2:3] connects this pasuk with a
verse in Psalms [Tehillim 17:14]. The Medrash interprets the verse in
Psalms as follows "There are mighty people, who took their portion
from Your hand". The Medrash identifies these mighty people who took
their portion from G-d's hand as the Tribe of Levi. This tribe was so
strong, the Medrash says, that they declined to take their portion in
the Land of Israel, but took their portion instead directly from G-d.
The Ateres Mordechai, by Rav Mordechai Rogov, zt"l, offers a beautiful
interpretation of this Medrash, which teaches us a great moral lesson
for our time. The Ateres Mordechai says that a person could perhaps
think that Leviim, who were historically employed in the Beis
HaMikdash and who were the teachers of the children of the Jewish
people, were a tribe of `nebechs'. Yaakov Avinu had 12 sons. Thank
G-d, eleven of them were successful and talented children; one was a
`lemech'. So what does one do with a son who is unfortunately a
little `shlmeilish'? He stays in the Beis HaMikdash; he becomes a
teacher; he becomes a Rebbe.
There is an expression in the secular world `Those who can, do, those
who can't, teach'. This means that one who has any brain in his head
and any head on his shoulder will go out and be a doctor or a lawyer
or an accountant or computer analyst -- something important! At least
work for the government! But, nebech, if you can't do anything else,
then, and only then, you teach.
The Medrash tells us that this was far from the case. Do not think
for a minute that the Tribe of Levi were a bunch of nebechs. The
Tribe of Levi was mighty. They were talented and capable and they
could have done anything. They could have had the job of Zevulun or
Naftali or any other tribe. But they were mighty. They made a
conscious deliberate decision not to take a portion in the Land. They
gave up the transitory and temporal world for the sake of a lasting
world which is `chai v'kayam'.
What is the proof that they were happy with their decision?
A doctor usually wants his son to go into medicine. A businessman
wants his son to take over the business. If one is pleased with what
he is doing, he wants his son to follow in his footsteps. But one who
is not pleased with what he is doing, chas v'sholom, does not want his
child to continue in his profession. "I had it rough, I couldn't go
to school. But you? You're going to have something decent in life."
The Medrash is telling us that the Tribe of Levi was not a cop-out.
They didn't do what they did because they had no other choice. It was
because they made a positive decision and were attracted to the
spirituality of the job for themselves and for their children.
This is what the Tribe of Levi chose. They did not chose it because
they had nothing else to do. They chose it because they knew which
profession had true value.
Elementary School Teachers are the new Tribe of Levi
Today, we have a new generation of Leviim. These are our Rebbeim and
Teachers. I particularly refer to the teachers of elementary school
years. Teachers in primary grades get very little respect. Here are
people that could have become the same lawyer or accountant or
computer analyst, but they chose to educate our children. They chose
to stay and provide a new spirit to a new generation of children, to
stay and spend 6-8 hours a day with little kids. We all know that
this in no simple task.
They are the new Tribe of Levi. It is not because they could not do
anything else. These are people who voluntarily chose "Not to take a
portion in the Land". We all know that it is a crying shame that our
educators receive sub-standard wages.
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky once said that both the president and the
janitor have keys to the bank. The way to tell which one is the
president and which one is the janitor is to look at their paychecks.
The money lets us know (HaDamim Modi'im). We pay for that which we
consider important. If, because of our many sins, we cannot show our
appreciation to the educators of the generation through their
paychecks, at least we should give recognition and appreciation and
show our gratitude without limit to these people who have, on a daily
basis, devoted their lives to experience the hardships of elementary
school education, thereby passing up the transitory world and
acquiring a world that is Chai v'Kayam'.
Glossary
shlmeilish -- (Yiddish) descriptive phrase for someone who is a bit
awkward [The Shlmeil is the one who spills the soup on
the Shl'mazal; the Noodnik is the one who upon hearing
this explanation asks `What kind of soup was it?']
-- troubles
lemech -- (Yiddish) descriptive phrase for someone who is not too bright
nebech -- (Yiddish) descriptive phrase for someone who is to be
pitied; also used for "What a pity"
chai v'kayam -- alive and with continuing existence.
Personalities & Sources:
Kotzker -- Rav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (1787-1859).
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky -- (1891-1986) Lithuania, Toronto, New York;
Rosh Yeshiva Mesifta Torah Vodaath.
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi
Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah
portion (#3). The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is: #3 is:
The Korban Pessach Today. The other halachic portions for Parshas Vayikra from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through Project Genesis On-Line Bookstore:
http://books.torah.org/
