Rabbi Frand on Parshas Tzav
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 92,
Selling Non-Kosher Foods. Good Shabbos!
One May Learn A Spiritual Lesson (Even) From Taking Out the Garbage
This week's Parsha contains the mitzvah of offering the Korban Olah [Burnt
Offering]. Aharon and his children were given the tremendous
responsibility of the Service of the Temple. The first task that Aharon
and his children are instructed to perform is the mitzvah of Terumas
HaDeshen -- the removal of the ashes that were consumed by the previous
night's fire on top of the Mizbayach [altar].
The Chovos Halevovos [Duties of the Heart, by R. Bachye Ibn Paquda; 11th
century Spain; classic sefer on ethics and mussar in Judaism] says that
the rationale is that the Torah is particularly careful that people not
let things go to their heads, lest they become ba'ale ga'avah (haughty).
It would only be natural for Aharon to consider himself special. He was
one of the select few who had the merit of performing the Temple Service!
Nevertheless, the Torah instructed him that the first thing that he must
do every morning is -- remove the ashes! The function of this job,
according to the Chovos Halevovos, is to lower the self-image of the
Kohanim and remove haughtiness from their hearts.
If we remember this concept, we will not let other thoughts, which could
mislead us into believing that we are better than we really are, go to our
heads.
The Torah Is Concerned With the Pride of the Poor
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The Torah is also very meticulous regarding the pride of the Ani (poor
person). On the one hand, the Torah is worried lest Aharon the Kohen Gadol
become haughty. On the other hand, the Torah is also worried that the
impoverished individual should not become despondent and emotionally
broken.
There is an interesting Gemara in Bava Kama. The Gemara says that when the
Jews would bring the first fruits (bikkurim) to the Kohanim in Yerushalayim
[Jerusalem], the rich would bring their bikkurim in gold and silver baskets.
The poor people, however, brought their meager crops in baskets that were
made out of reeds. They could not afford gold baskets.
The Gemara says that the Kohanim returned the gold and silver baskets to the
wealthy people but kept the reed baskets from the poor people. The Gemara
says this is an application of the old rule that (loosely translated from the
Aramaic) the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It's ironic! The rich
fellow's basket is returned to him, but the poor person's basket is not
returned!
Rav Aharon Bakst explains that the reasoning is as follows. The rich have
orchards full of fruit and bring large quantities of fruit to give to the
Kohen. The poor person has a meager crop and probably has a very small
quantity of bikkurim to offer. By keeping the fruit in the basket, at least
the bikkurim look a little more substantial. The Torah says that we should
let the Kohen keep the basket and let the Ani [poor person] suffer the
financial loss, in order to keep the Ani's pride intact. This is an example
of how far the Torah is willing to go to avoid shaming a person!
A number of years ago, a person who I know was going to raise money for
Hachnasas Kallah [bridal expenses], for another person, in the recipient's
own home town. The collector came to me with the following question: If he
told people for whom he was soliciting, there was no doubt that he could
raise a significant sum of money, because the person was a known and well-
respected individual. However, if he would make an anonymous appeal for
Hachnasas Kallah, he could not expect to collect so much -- because such
appeals are very common. The dilemma was if he should mention the person's
name and raise more money, or keep it anonymous and raise less money.
At that time, I asked the Rosh HaYeshiva (Rav Yaakov Ruderman z"tl) which
approach should be used for the collection. The Rosh HaYeshiva said, without
any hesitation, "It should be anonymous, because a person's honor is worth a
great deal."
That is the lesson of the baskets. A person's self-respect is very important.
It is even worth losing money to protect it. Money can always be replaced,
but a person's honor and pride are much harder to repair.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas
Tzav are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
