Weekly Parasha Insights by Rabbi Eli Mansour



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Description: Parashat Vayikra- Positive Peer Pressure





The Torah in Parashat Vayikra speaks about the procedure for offering sacrifices.  Describing a person who brings a sacrifice to the Temple, the Torah uses the term “Yakrib Oto” (“He shall offer it” – 1:3), which Rashi (Rabbi Shelomo Yishaki of Troyes, France, 1040-1105) explains to mean that he brings it even against his will.  Meaning, if a person is required to bring a sacrifice, but he refuses, the leaders force him to bring the offering.  Yet, Rashi notes, the very next word in the Torah is “Li’rsono,” which means “willfully.”  Right after requiring that the individual bring the sacrifice even if he refuses, the Torah then stipulates that sacrifices must be brought willfully, rather than under coercion.  To reconcile this contradiction, Rashi explains, “Kofin Oto Ad She’yomar Roseh Ani” – “He is coerced until he says, ‘I want’.”  In other words, the person is subjected to coercive measures until he decides to bring the sacrifice willfully.



What exactly does this mean?  How can a person be forced to do something willfully?  Is this not inherently contradictory?



The conventional explanation of Rashi’s comment is that each person, deep down, wishes to do the right thing.  At the innermost recesses of the soul each person experiences a genuine desire and longing to fulfill God’s will.  Our inclination to sin is external to our true, inner beings, the product of the Yeser Ha’ra (evil inclination) in all its many manifestations.  When a person is coerced to fulfill his obligations, what really happens is that the external pressures are removed so that his true, inner desire can be fulfilled.  He is not forced to act against his wishes, but rather to eliminate the emotional blockades that have prevented him from fulfilling his true wishes.



The Hatam Sofer (Rabbi Moshe Sofer of Pressburg, 1762-1839) suggested a different explanation of Rashi’s comments.  We can easily imagine a farmer, for example, who commits a sin that requires offering a sacrifice, but is very reluctant to do so.  He has a large agricultural enterprise to tend to, as well as family and communal obligations, and he is less than eager to take time off to journey to Jerusalem and invest in an expensive animal as a sacrifice.  Plagued by guilt, he ambivalently purchases an animal and prepares for his trip.  His townspeople, of course, hear about what he is doing, and mock him.



“Hey,” they jeer, “you’re going to Jerusalem?  What do you expect to get out of it?  So you made a mistake, what’s the big deal?”



All along his trip, he meets people who poke fun at him for being “so religious” and bringing a sacrifice in the Mikdash.  He actually shares their skepticism, and feels no desire whatsoever to make this trip.  But he figures he might as well go through with it, and eventually, less than halfheartedly, the man arrives at the Bet Ha’mikdash with his animal.



But at the holy site of the Mikdash, his attitude suddenly changes.  He looks up and sees the Kohanim, dressed in their magnificent attire, diligently tending to the sacrifices and other Temple rituals.  He hears the beautiful, inspirational music of the Leviyim, and sees the Rabbis of the Sanhedrin, the greatest sages of the time, convening to discuss the most pressing and difficult Halachic issues.  The sight of the Mikdash and the flurry of activity fills the visitor with awe.  By now, he is no longer reluctant.  He feels overjoyed that he came to the Mikdash, and happily gives the Kohen his sacrifice.  And he even decides to extend his trip so he can spend more time soaking in the special Kedusha of Jerusalem and the Bet Ha’mikdash.



This is how a person can be coerced and yet bring his sacrifice willingly.  He might require some coercion, but once he arrives at the Temple, he offers the sacrifice willingly, lovingly and joyously.



This insight of the Hatam Sofer underscores the critical importance of placing oneself in an atmosphere of positive peer pressure.  As long as the farmer was in his hometown or on the road to Jerusalem, he was discouraged from doing the right thing.  But once he placed himself in the Bet Ha’mikdash, his entire perspective changed.  Suddenly, fulfilling his religious duties was the natural thing to do.  It was not even a question anymore.  The encouraging and spiritual aura of the Temple aroused his heart and stirred him to lovingly fulfill his commitments as a religious Jew.



It is critical for every Jew to ensure that he is, at all times, in the right crowd, in the right community, in the right neighborhood and in the right surroundings.  Peer pressure, as we all know, is a powerful force that exerts a very strong influence on a person and his behavior.  It behooves us all to ensure that the peer pressure we are under is a positive peer pressure – one which pushes us to remain faithful to our tradition, to the study of Torah and observance of Misvot.  We must place ourselves among peers who will encourage us to do the right thing, to live the way we are supposed to live.  This is the peer pressure that we want – the pressure to live meaningful lives, lovingly committed to God and His Torah, and eager to fulfill all His Misvot.

We ask guidance 
From the wise

For we all have
Free will
So that when we are uncertain
What the healthy choice is,
We have reached a crucial point
In our lives

Yet we must know
Even after a wrong choice
There is great opportunity
For growth and for health
To know that things were made to be
The way they are

It’s a paradox
Makes no sense
To the human mind
Yet, it’s the truth

We need to have faith
As well as guidance
To know
When to apply our free-will
And when it is time to surrender
To what was always
Meant to be

Light Notes # 7-“Different Clothing, Same Pure Heart ”-(Adar 2-5771)-Tzav

Dear Friends,

Life is complex. There are so many dimensions to our lives. We live in a world of multi- tasking. When we deal with 20 different situations during the course of a day, we feel like 20 different people. Because we have lost the ability to connect the 20 situations to a one unified purpose. We have not learned how to build the bridge between painful times and joyful times. We have lost the tools to have us aware that we are the same core personality when we are on a very relaxing vacation as when we are in a very hectic point in our lives. It is true. It’s a different situation, but it’s the same “you” that you need to see. It’s the Same One God you are serving. Your diverse life is really one and simple.

One can be an “Oved Hashem” every second of the day. I know that this thought can make people very tense.  Like a heavy burden. But it need not be so. It’s natural to feel inadequate when serving God in a time of tenseness or business or when you are not feeling well. Your basement flooded, and instead of going to your steady shiur or chessed project, you are stuck in your basement dealing with the mess and the major headache

A father lost his young child. At the funeral, he talked about the fact that he was in the hospital at his young son’s side on Shavuos night. And aside from the obvious suffering of seeing his son very ill , the father cries over the fact of how “pathetic”  this Shavuos looked like. Every year, Shevous night, he learned with great diligence in the Bais Midrash, but this Shevous he was a wreck. Broken, He could barely concentrate. He felt that God did not think there was much value to his Shevuos night. After all, for the first time in decades,he was not in the Bais Midrash that holy night, and there was no geshmak in the learning. His head was in a fog. What was that Shevous night worth?
The next speaker corrects the father. You may feel this was the worst Shevuos night in your life, But after 120,it will be revealed that this was the best ,the highest, the most sublime Shevuos night of your life. The few minutes here and there that you squeezed in learning when you were able to in the hospital room. That Shavuos night was even more precious. Yes, normally I like to see you in the Bais Midrash. But this night I wanted you right here. This room where your son is now is the Koidesh Hakodoshim. Don’t be concerned about your inability to learn well. You did the best you can .Ashrecha!!

This profound yesod I saw many years ago in a Slonimer sefer called “Avodas Penim”,and its lesson is still with me today

There is no obstacle that stands in the way of a person serving God, It’s just that the manner/mode of the services changes. Like changing a mesichta. Taking off one garment and putting on another. It’s a different task, but it’s the same God you are serving. Nothing really changed. True, the clothing worn when cooking for a king are different cloths than the clothing worn when serving him wine. That is why the Kohen changed his clothing when removing the ashes from the Altar. But if that is what the King wants you to do that moment, then there is no reason to yearn for a more “refined” service. Your service to the King is beloved no matter what your situation is at any given time. 

(Meditation for Monday nights)

Tuesday is a very special day

True, it’s not Shabbos

But how can we take lightly
The Infinite One’s Words
Doubled
That the world is Good

When Tuesday rolls around
We are usually
Back in the work grind
The mundane, the business
The pressures, the headaches,
So when Monday night comes
Our heads are spinning
And often
Our hearts are heavy

So now it’s time
On Monday night
To take a deep breath
Give yourself a few moments
Before you go to sleep
To feel the day
Of Double Good
That has just arrived

I posted this on the married forum and I felt I should post it here as well

Tznius is either breached on one extreme, or grossly misapplied on the other

Physical Beauty is either inapproprately displayed on one extreme or stifled completely out of existence on the other.

If "Tznuis" creates a feeling of unattractiveness in a woman , then she is misapplying it,and this feeling of unattractiveness,will harm her relationship with herself, as well as her husband.

I wish I would have hebrew fonts ,but I don't, so I will do my best but please look this up yourselves

Yechezkel (16-25)

V'Sisavi Es Yafyaich" -"You have made your beauty disgusting

The Mezudos Dovid comments as follows (loosely translated-someone with hebrew fonts , please post it from the original)

"You disgraced and made disgusting your beauty by displaying it to whomever you desired,and you did not hide it as you hide something desirable and precious"

Beauty,Physical attractiveness, was not intended by God for us to eradicate off the face of the earth.

It's not Amelek.

It's not Haman.

It's meant to be there.And when a woman is observing the laws of tznuis properly and is hiding her beauty from the outside world,she is doing just that,Hiding it ,but she is not hiding it with self shame,she is hiding it "as you hide something desirable and precious" to be revealed and expressed in the relationship with her husband.

Part of any success in my Shiras Eynayim, is this humble knowledge that the gift of beauty is specificaly designed for her husband.So that even with a single girl, you have a respect for this beauty designed for herself and her future husband and so you look away.because by not doing so,you are invading her privacy.And the privacy of the person she has or will be married to.

But over here we are discussing the internal realm,within the privacy,where what is private is needed to be expressed.And this is where is is suppose to be expressedThat is when what is precious and desirable is revealed,and that is why ,when thinking along in this framework,any encouragement of a husband towards his wife even in the most physical realm is an act of giving.

To reiterate,I admit the dangers of percieving one's wife in a one-dimensional way when a person only focuses on the physical aspects of the relationship.

That is shallow,and even dangerous

But that in no way takes away any of the importance of what is discussed above, does not in any way diminish the significance of this most physical aspect of the relationship.the bringing forth that which up to that point was hidden which now,in this special moment, is taken out of the box and expressed the way it was meant to be expressed.

If men and women would understand this , it would make the concept of tznius very special,unique,and joyful

because in some circles,the application and attitude of tznius , even in "frum" circles, is downright depressing.

to the extent that I fully understand why many rebel and fight this so-called "tznuis" tooth and nail

(again,someone with hebrew fonts,please post the original)

got this e-mail this morning

Dedicated to the holy martyrs of the Fogel family of Itamar
"May G-d avenge their blood"

Purim During Pesach!

This amazing story was told annually by Rebbe Yosef Meir of Spinka, after the Seder on the second night of Pesach.

Once, on the second Seder night, after finishing all the hagada and songs, a certain young man was still not tired. The thought entered his mind that as it is written that evil Haman was hanged on the second day of Pesach, it would be appropriate to now read the Megillah (Book of Esther). He decided to do so.

Upon finishing the reading, suddenly a soul of a deceased person appeared to him. "What do you have to do with me and what do you want from me?" he asked it.

The poor soul explained:

There are souls that even after being judged and receiving theirs (i.e., their punishment), they are still unable to enter the Garden of Eden until they have a special merit. However, there is one time in the year when anyone can enter, and that is on Purim at the time of the Megillah reading. Many months before Purim, there is already a line of tens of thousands of souls waiting for the gates to be opened. Still, the duration of the Megillah reading is only two or three hours. Whoever succeeded to enter attains his place, but the rest must wait until the following year. Every year, I also get on line, but because of the great crowding, the time ends and the gates are again closed before I can get in.

This year, I decided not to leave the gate; I would wait there until Purim the next year. But after only a short time, a month, I suddenly heard the Megillah being read, on Pesach night! I knocked on the gate of Gan Eden, until the guardian of the gate came out and asked me why am I knocking. I told him I heard the Megillah, so please let me in. He said, true, someone is reading the Megillah, but now is not the time for Megillah. I said, if the Megillah is being read, you must admit me.

In the midst of this dispute, a member of the Heavenly court came out and asked what we were arguing about. He listened to our explanations and agreed with the guard that now is not the time for Megillah. But he also said that if I were to go down to that young man who is reading Megillah, and he should decide that I can enter, then I will be permitted inside.

The veteran Spinker chasidim like to point out that whenever Rebbe Yosef Meir told a story about one of the tzadikim, he was always careful to include full details, and especially the name of the tzadik involved. Therefore, if he every year left this young man nameless, it could not be otherwise than that it was he himself!

(I assume he got in.I remember hearing a tape from R Moishe Wolfson and I believe he said that they allowed this soul in)

wow! shkoiach

Every Yid
Has unlimited potential
Yet, it is sealed
No access to it
Until one yearns intensely
To bring it forth

Even with intense yearning
You still need
The aid of God
Asking Him
To allow it to come out
In a healthy way

Hey Yechida!
If you write
3 words per line
Does that automatically
Make it a Poem?

Or do you
think that somehow
it is easier to read?

So sorry.
It's that nastiness
in me.
Sometimes (well often)
I just can't help it.
You know I love you.

you bring up
a very good
point

not sure
why I
write this
way

but it seems
to work
for
me

words are percieved
differently
in a up-down formation
than the typical
left to right format

but thank you
Me3
for observing
and bringing this
strange habit of mine
to my attention

Proper Rebuke
Is 99% obsolete
For no one
Is capable
Of giving rebuke
properly

Whether rebuking other
Or self-rebuke
It needs to be done
With great care

For we tend
To crush
Our own soul
Beyond repair
Being the victim
Of our own
Unbridles scathing
Rebuke

When instead
One should count on
The Infinite Kindness
Of our Creator
Who sees the depths
Of our heart
Where there is yet a seed
From which beautiful things
Will grow 

very true, and beautifully put

thank you Zemiros

I would have said it
like this

ZemirosShabbos wrote on 17 Mar 2011 15:43:

Me3 wrote on 16 Mar 2011 17:00:

kutan shel hachabura wrote on 07 Nov 2010 01:29:

;D