בּ“ה
Parshas Vayikra
This edition of Shabbos Sparks is dedicated l’zechus refuah shleimah mi’heira
to my Rebbe, HaRav Elyakim Getzel ben Sarah.
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‘And He [Hashem] called to Moshe -- ויקרא אל משה’ (Vayikra 1:1)
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In a Torah Scroll, the letter א in the word ויקרא is written small. The Seforim explain that this comes to hint to us that Torah study (alluded to by the letter אלף spelled out -- see Iyov 33:33) will not endure except in someone who “makes themselves small” i.e. humble.
(Quoted in Maayanah Shel Torah)
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‘And He [Hashem] called to Moshe -- ויקרא אל משה’ (Vayikra 1:1)
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Many, many lessons and things are derived from the small א (see above). But overall, one of the big lessons we learn from the small א is how much can be derived from every last detail in the Torah: From one letter -- a small one even! -- there are so, so many insights and lessons to be gleaned. Just imagine one word, or sentence! Indeed, the holy Torah is endlessly deep.
(Tal U’Matar)
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Tells us Rebbe Shlomo of Radomsk zt”l: Just as with a simple animal, when a Jewish person says over it “Korban” (“Offering”), immediately it is sanctified with a high level of holiness, so much so that its blood is sprinkled in the Sanctuary, kal vachomer (all the more so) if a person accepts upon themselves and declares: “From today and onwards I will be holy to Hashem!” then certainly, immediately, great holiness is rested upon them.
(Vi’karasa L’Shabbos Oneg)
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‘If his Offering is an Olah. . .’ (Vayikra 1:3)
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We are taught that one of the things that an Olah-offering atoned for was a sinful thought.
Explains Rabbeinu Bachya zt”l: The Olah-offering is listed before the rest of the offerings in the parsha. And by way of the simple interpretation, it is because thought comes before everything, and a sin of thoughts about something bad comes before the actual sin in action.
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|~Maaseh~| There was once a young man who had, let’s say, taken an “alternate route” to end up in Yeshiva: He had left his home in Brooklyn many years earlier to move out West, and explore Native American culture.
For many years, he lived amongst Native Americans in Montana, and had essentially become one of them. However, when he met with one of their elders, who was said to possess the deepest of wisdoms, she encouraged him to return home and pursue Judaism!
Feeling very disheartened and confused, he made his way back home, and somehow -- through Divine Providence -- ended up knocking on HaRav Shlomo Freifeld zt”l’s door. Rav Freifeld listened to the young man's story and was genuinely fascinated! He asked the young man what his greatest interest was, and the man said he is very interested in horses.
They conversed about various types of horses for a while, and then Rav Freifeld had to go, but invited his young guest to meet him again at his office the next day. The young man was impressed by Rav Freifeld’s willingness to speak with him about horses, so the next day he returned, and again began to speak about his interest in wildlife and nature for quite some time.
Their daily meetings continued on for some time, until one day, Rav Freifeld had to leave his office to tend to an urgent matter. The young man was waiting in the office for a few minutes when he saw out of the corner of his eye some books lying on the floor behind Rav Freifeld’s desk. The young man knew enough to know that Jewish books are holy and shouldn’t be left lying on the floor, so he bent down to pick them up and put them on the desk.
However, when he bent down to pick up the books, he saw that these were actually not Jewish books. . . they were books about horses from the library! It turns out that Rav Freifeld went to the library and took out several books on horses to read, in order to familiarize himself with the topic to be able to maintain a conversation with this young man.
Needless to say, this young man was deeply moved and overwhelmed by Rav Freifeld’s effort to connect with him, and it made a lasting impression upon him.
(Told over in a Dvar Torah of my Rebbe, HaRav Binyomin Goldstein
shlit”a. For the unabridged version, see the book ‘Reb Shlomo’)
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Gut and meaningful Shabbos to all!
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