בּ“ה
Parshas Tzav
This edition of Shabbos Sparks is dedicated l’zechus refuah shleimah mi’heira
to my Rebbe, HaRav Elyakim Getzel ben Sarah.
From where do we know that one who does Teshuva, it is considered for them as if they went up to Yerushalayim, built the Beis HaMikdash and the Altar, and brought all the offerings that are listed in the Torah? From the verse (Tehillim 51:19), ‘The offerings of G-d are a broken spirit’ [i.e. referring to regret over transgressions, it would seem].
(Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 7:2)
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‘העלה על מוֹקדה על המזבּח’ -- ‘The Olah that burns upon the Altar’ (Vayikra 6:2)
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In a Torah Scroll, the letter ‘מ’ of the word ‘מוֹקדה’ (‘burns’) is written small. This comes to teach us that sometimes at first you might only “burn” a little while Davening -- i.e. you might only have a little passion. But keep trying! Good changes sometimes start small. For if you do, with the Help of Hashem, your fervor will grow and grow until you have very warmth-and-passion-filled Davenings!
(Tal U’Matar, based in part on a piece from Nesivos Shalom)
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‘And the fire upon the Altar shall burn on [lit. in] it, it shall not be extinguished (לא תכבה)’ (Vayikra 6:5)
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Famously, the Baal HaTanya {first Lubavitcher Rebbe -- Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi zt”l} interprets: לא (which means no) -- the negative within us, תכבה -- you should extinguish.
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‘Remember the Torah of Moshe My Servant, that I commanded him in Choreiv for all of Israel, Decrees and Ordinances. Behold I am sending to you Eliyah(u) HaNavi. . . etc.’ (Malachi 3:22-23, Haftarah of Shabbos HaGadol)
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Says the Chofetz Chaim zt”l: The last Navi (Prophet) ends his book with the warning from Hashem to remember the Torah of Moshe, the Servant of Hashem. And because of this, the Jews will merit the Redemption, like the saying of our Sages z”l, Sanhedrin 99b. . .
And the Navi concludes, from what Hashem said; ‘that I commanded him in Choreiv for all of Israel’ -- meaning, that there is not a Jewish person who is able to exempt themselves from the keeping the Mitzvos of the Torah.
And further in it is an exalted matter; that we were commanded regarding the Decrees and the Ordinances together, for only then the Torah is called complete -- if we uphold it with all its details and fine points.
And because we will do what what is incumbent upon us, surely Hashem will uphold His Word to send to us Eliyahu HaNavi to tide us of our Redemption.
The last Mitzvah of the Taryag (613) Mitzvos of the Torah is also regarding the matter of learning Torah, like it is written, (Devarim 31:19) ‘And now, write for yourselves this Song and teach it to the Bnei Yisroel, etc.’, which comes to teach us that the main thing of all main things is the learning of the Holy Torah and the upholding of its Mitzvos. And this is all of man [i.e. our whole life].
(Chofetz Chaim al HaTorah)
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There are 96 pessukim (verses) in this Parsha, which, it has been noted, is interestingly enough, the Gematria (numerical value) of the name of the Parsha itself: צו.
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|~Maaseh~| The following is a first-person account from the great Tzaddik (righteous person) and Holocaust survivor, Reb Yisroel Cohen shlit”a (or called Srulik in the following piece), related in his book, Destined to Survive:
“All the strain and nervous excitement had their effect on me. I had just suffered through a bad bout of typhus and several days of high fever. Falling back on my segment of board, I fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I felt dizzy, and my head felt very heavy. My bones, protruding as they did from my emaciated body, scraped against the wooden plank, stinging painfully as the skin peeled off. But who could pay attention to such trivialities? After six years in the ghetto and in three concentration camps, one’s body adjusts, and suffering becomes the norm.
Nevertheless, the hunger pangs were constantly renewing themselves, and since a hungry person can hardly think of anything else but eating, I began to calculate how much time remained until noon, when the “hot soup” would arrive. (This was a lukewarm liquid in which a couple of pieces of potato occasionally would float.)
With my head down on the wooden board, near despair, I began to conjure up images from my past, of my life with my parents and my two sisters, Gittel and Mirel -- how I used to learn in the Gerer shtiebel and belonged to the circle of young boys. Mostly, I remembered my grandfather, Reb Herschel, who loved me dearly and to whom I was strongly attached, who used to take me, his only grandson, along whenever he went to the Gerer Rebbe. I relived the memory of my entering the room where the Rebbe was, and the deep impression left in my heart by the Rebbe’s eyes, eyes that overflowed with wisdom and love, eyes that penetrated the very depths of my soul. While still remembering this brilliant, imposing figure, I thought to myself, “Will I ever have the zechus (merit) to press myself into the crowd of chassidim gathering around the Rebbe, to frequent his beis medrash and learn from him how to be a chassid and a G-d-fearing person?”
“It’s time to daven, Srulik.”
My friend’s voice shook me from my reverie. Immediately, my pleasant memories vanished and once again I found myself in the pit of hell.
Half-dazed, I picked myself up and said, “Yes, of course. Let’s wash our hands and daven.”
A sudden thought struck me.
“But it’s Purim today! We have to organize a minyan -- maybe we’ll even remember a few pesukim of the Megillah!”
And, wonder of wonders! In that instant, I forgot my pain, my suffering, my hunger pangs. Summoning up all my remaining strength, I went to wash my hands and face and then to find some men to complete our minyan, and inform any of my acquaintances who would want to daven betzibbur (with a quorum). Perhaps I could even find someone else who could still recall a few more verses from the Megillah, so that we could fulfill as much as we could of the obligations that are remembered and kept from generation to generation.
And then, as if to show that G-d desires those mitzvos that Jews perform with true mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), by some miracle a small Chumash Shemos was discovered with the complete Megillas Esther at the back. (Our friend, Itche Perelman, who was in the burial commando, had discovered it in one of the blocks.) Our elation was immeasurable! Such a find was awesome! It could only be a sign that our prayers had been received in Heaven and the redemption was about to begin. Excitement grew to a feverish pitch. Who remembered the hunger, who remembered the cold, the filth, the degradation? No one gave a thought to the dangers involved in organizing a minyan and reading the Megillah, if suddenly the Germans or a kapo would decide to drop into our hut. Even the irreligious ones… were filled with excitement at this great event.
“Who will read the Megillah?” the question was thrown.
The lot fell on me, for I had learned to become skilled as a baal korei (reader of the Torah) from the time I had been locked into the ghetto… And so, I found myself sitting on the edge of my piece of wooden plank, dressed in a camp uniform, a towel wrapped around my head in place of a yarmulke, reciting with my remaining strength, “and Haman sought to destroy all the Jews…” When I read aloud about Haman’s downfall, and that “The Jews had light and happiness, joy and honor,” the spark of hope deep inside every Jew’s heart ignited into a flaming torch. “Oy, Ribbono Shel Olam!” thought each person, “Make a wondrous miracle for us, too, as You did for our forefathers in those days, and we will also see the end of our enemies!”
When I finished, everyone cheered in relief. For a brief instant, the dreadful reality of the SS death camp was forgotten, the hunger and suffering were overlooked. Everyone realized that he was a Jew and a human being, and the savage atmosphere was transformed into a Purim atmosphere. And I, having exerted all my remaining energy in my reading of the Megillah, remained sitting almost without breathing, but with my spirit soaring.
When people’s actions are pleasing to Hashem, even their enemies are reconciled to them. Even the block elder, who usually strutted in with a cruel, arrogant demeanor and scowling face, allowed a smile to play on his lips as he entered that day, and handed out the soup without shouting or cursing at anyone who did not thrust out his can quickly enough. The ever-present jealousy turned into generosity, since instead of complaining as usual that someone else had received more potatoes, everyone cried out, “Let Srulik get a bigger portion of soup today!”
Instead of dwelling on the past, we began to dream about the future, with the hope that soon the German demon would inherit his own downfall, and that the end of Jewish suffering would arrive. And like a river overflowing its banks, its waters pouring out unchecked, so the festive atmosphere and the vision of redemption burst out of the broken hearts of the camp inmates, and, one mitzvah leading to another, more acts of heroism followed. Someone decided to forgo a small piece of yesterday’s bread, and offered it to his comrade instead. Another person donated a piece of potato, and these two “portions,” which only yesterday could have caused envy and hatred among friends, now became the means by which the inmates could return to what was written, “to fulfill the mitzvah of mishloach manos, one man to another.”
These precious mishloach manos were passed around from one to the other, until they finally landed on my lap. Everyone decided that I should be the one to keep them as payment for reading the Megillah. I thought to myself, “Ribbono Shel Olam! Behold Your great nation, that in one second can transform itself from the level of wild animals tearing at one another, to the level of courageous men, faithful Jews. And who is like you, Yisrael, a single nation of the earth?” With great emotion I turned to all present: “Yidden! Brothers in suffering! I don’t deserve this honor you have given me. We all have but one request from our Heavenly Father: L’shanah habaah biYerushalayim! Next year in Jerusalem!”
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Gut and meaningful Shabbos to all!
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