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Tsav This week's parashah begins with the mitzvah of terumat hadeshen taking a handful of ashes off of the altar each morning. The verse says: "The kohen shall don his fitted linen [garment], and he shall don linen pants on his flesh [Rashi: with nothing between the pants and his flesh], and he shall remove the ash" Rav Yaakov Yosef Hakohen zatz'l (a leading student of the Ba'al Shem Tov, author of the first chassidic work) offers the following homiletic interpretation: The "kohen" is the Torah scholar. The "garment" is the community of simple Jews who he is "assigned" by Heaven to elevate. The garment must be "fitted," i.e., he must not be so haughty that he cannot relate to them and they to him. There shall be nothing, such as jealousy or hatred, separating him from them. If these conditions are met, the kohen can remove the ash. "The ash"-"hadeshen"-has the same gematria as "hashanah"-"the year." (A difference of one is disregarded.) "Hadeshen" also has the same gematria as "Satan." This means that this Torah scholar will be able to use all of his allotted years productively, uprooting the satan from his constituency. (Toldot Yaakov Yosef) Rashi makes the following comment at the beginning of this parashah: "The word 'command' is used to encourage the present generation and future generations. Such encouragement is especially necessary when financial loss is involved." What is different about the "future generations" that they are singled out in connection with the mitzvot of this parashah? Rav Schwab ZT"L explains that, historically, the attitude of the Jews towards the sacrificial service changed from the first Temple period to the second. We see throughout Tanach that during the era of the first bet hamikdash, the Jews brought sacrifices, but without an understanding that action must be accompanied by proper thoughts. In contrast, as we see in Malachi 1:7-8, the Jews of the second bet hamikdash brought only low quality sacrifices. They felt that if man's thoughts were primary, why "waste" money on sacrifices?! Thus we see that the future generations needed particular encouragement regarding the sacrifices when "financial loss" was involved. Both of these attitudes exist today, concludes Rav Schwab, and they are both wrong. (Me'ayen Bet Hasho'eivah) Chazal say: "The 'Korban Pesach Todah' (the thanksgiving offering discussed in this week's Parasha) will never cease to be brought." Asks R' Aryeh Levin, zatzal (died 1969): Why is that a happy tiding? The Korban Todah is brought, after all, by one who has been saved from danger. If the Korban Todah will never cease to brought, that means that people will never cease to find themselves in danger! When Moshe asked (Sh'mot 5:22-23), "Why have You made things worse for this nation?" Hashem answered him, "You will see!" You will see, Hashem told him, that from every tragedy comes something good; from exile and persecution comes redemption. The Midrash says that when Yosef died, the Jews wanted to assimilate into Egypt. Hashem therefore made the Egyptians hate the Jews, thus causing the Jews to reunite and to support each other. Thus good-the continued existence of the Jewish people - - came from bad-the Egyptians' hatred. So, too, Chazal say that Eretz Yisrael is acquired through suffering. It is, however, as the Torah (Devarim 8:5) tells us, the "suffering" which a loving parent imposes on a child for the child's own well-being.(quoted in Ish Tzaddik Hayah p.303) |
