Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Acharei Mos - Kedoshim (5786)

Good morning Auckland. Good Shabbos everybody. Tomorrow we have the privilege of reading two parshios of Acharei Mos and Kedoshim. Wow. Between these two parshios, we have no less than 79 mitzvahs. Acharei Mos contains 28. Two positive and 26 restriction. And Kedoshim has 51 mitzvahs. 13 positive and 38 restrictions. Just a comment on these numbers, you'll note that both Acharei Mos and Kedoshim are tilted in terms of the division of positive and negative. What does that mean? Kedoshim has 51 mitzvahs. It could very well have been 25 and 26. No, it's not 25 and 26 half and half. 13 of these mitzvahs are positive, but 38 are restrictions thou shalt not. Wow. More restrictions lead to more kedusha. A beautiful thought that I heard from the rav of my family as I was growing up, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, zichron tzaddik livracha, and he explained very beautifully why. Share this at your Shabbos table. Take note. When you do a positive act, you are putting on an object, a pair of tefillin. You are building a succah. You are in all these cases eating a piece of matzah. These are objects. When a person exercises and performs a lo sa se, "Thou shalt not." It is not on an object, but rather on the gavra, on the person themselves. It's curbing their appetite. It's restricting them. And they are yielding to a higher authority by denying themselves as opposed to a positive mitzvah, whereby the idea of giving charity is a positive mitzvah. But not to speak evil about the next one as found in Parshas Kedoshim is a lo sa se, is a restriction, which is, as many of us know, sometimes a lot harder to do than even to give charity. Okay. I'd like to point out something very interesting, a similarity between both parshios, the way both parshios end, and that is as follows. One can well understand that one is to be law-abiding and follow rules wherever they live in the world. That's understood. One has to be a good person. However, I want you to take note that Parshas Acharei Mos ends with the parsha of arayos, which is starting in chapter 18 of the book of Vayikra, starting with Shishi, when it's a independent parsha, chapter 18, verse six, the Torah goes on to list many many of the forbidden arayos that you are to be moral. Wonderful. This is understood. What is challenging to understand is how the Torah ends this concept. The Torah says that don't you become contaminated, altitamu kol ela, because all of these, the nations of the world, have become contaminated, and the Torah goes on to say, as a result of their actions, batitma ha'aretz, the land itself became contaminated. What does that mean? That the land itself became contaminated. It means very simply something beyond our initial understanding, that an act can be wrong clearly, universally, wherever it is done. I will give you the perfect example. The Torah says at the end of the fourth book of the Torah, where we have parshas Masei, the Torah says in the fourth book, chapter 35, verse 31, 32, 33, is the following. You shall not accept ransom for the life of a murderer who is worthy of death. We have somebody who unfortunately committed an act of murder. The Torah says, you are to use that capital punishment if he was warned, witnesses, etc. You shall execute that person. Now, what if that person happens to be wealthy, and the person says to the court of law, "Okay, if you kill me, that's it. I'm gone. If you allow me to live, I will give you $20 that you can build a new hospital. Wow, just think how many lives you'll be able to save with this new hospital. So, maybe maybe one could entertain and say, "What do you think? Is it a good deal or not?" So, the Torah has a separate prohibition and says, "No, you are not to accept ransom for the life of a murderer who's worthy of death. But then, the Torah says in pasuk 33 in chapter 35 at the end of Bamidbar, lo sachnifu et ha'aretz. Wow, you shall not bring guilt upon the land. What are you talking about the land? The act was a forbidden act anywhere. So, the Torah is teaching us not only is it forbidden anywhere, but it's especially so in the land of Israel. I'll give you one other proof to this. In the fifth book of the Torah, in chapter 19, in parshas Shoftim, chapter 19, verse 13, the Torah says "Lo sasiq givul re'acha." You shall not move a boundary of your neighbor which was clearly established before you by your ancestors. You are not to do this act in the land that Hashem your God gives you to possess it. Now, I ask you, stealing is something which, as we find in the second of the parshios that we're going to read this Shabbos in Kedoshim, chapter 19, verse 13, the Torah says, 1 2 3, "Lo s'a'shoq." You shall not cheat your fellow. "Lo sigzol." Do not rob. And don't leave your employee E overnight without his wages. Wow. So, the Torah is telling us that we are to be very careful in our behavior man-to-man. Wonderful. Why does the Torah then tell us again not to steal your neighbor's feet by moving neighbor's property by moving the border a few feet further into his property, thereby taking for yourself and stealing his land? If the Torah says in this week's parsha, in 19:13, "Don't steal." It means don't steal his jewelry, and don't steal his car, and don't steal his land. And who asked this question? Rashi on the spot in 19 14 in the book of Devarim, Rashi asks and says, "Wait a second. Does not the Torah say in this week's parsha of Kedoshim, lo sigzo, you're not to commit robbery? Why does it have to speak specifically about the land of Israel?" And what does Rashi say? Unbelievable. Lomad, it comes to teach us that if one violates this and steals the next one property, while it is forbidden all over the world, if one does violate it in Israel, over bishnay lavin, whoa, they violate two biblical prohibitions. One, the act of robbery. Two, that you committed this wrongdoing, this transgression, not just any place, whoa, you committed it in God's land. Whoa, and that makes the atrocious act even more atrocious. Whoa. Now listen carefully. Why is this so interestingly, there is a long Ramban that I recommend that you read at the end of Acharei Mot. It's found in chapter 18, pasuk 25. And there the Torah tells us that the land itself became contaminated, and the Torah tells us that the land, forgive me, vomited those nations that preceded you in the land of Israel, and they acted immorally. And because of their immoral behavior, they were told, or excuse me, Am Yisrael was told, "Come into the land, and you are to be partners with God in ridding the land of those who defiled it." Unbelievable that on this verse 25 in chapter 18, the Ramban explains a very important thesis as to what makes the land of Israel different from the rest of the world. And he says, based on the verse in the end of the Torah in Ha'azinu, Ba'am Chel Elyon which means that when God allocated real estate, land, to each of the nations of the world, he did so, and he appointed, says the Ramban, a guardian angel on behalf of each nation. And so, upstairs in heaven, there is a guardian angel, as I just mentioned, who looks out for the welfare of that nation on their behalf. Every nation has a guardian angel except the land of Israel because this is chelek Hashem amo. This is literally Hashem's portion Hashem's land is that of his people Yaakov chevel nachalaso. The idea is that this is the inheritance of the Jewish people and who guards and watches them? None other than Hashem himself. A beautiful Medrish Tanchuma in Parshas Toldos in paragraph five we have the following Adrianus Caesar right, a famous Roman Caesar said to Reb Yehoshua ben Chananya and he said to him, "How is it that Israel the land, the people are like one sheep surrounded by 70 wolves, unbelievable, and we are still here and stronger and kicking. How do you explain it?" And the answer said Rebbi Yehoshua was as follows. He quoted from the Haftorah of Parshas Re'eh Parshas Noach whereby Hashem says through the navi Zecharya. Here it is. The pasuk says that kol kli yutzar alayich lo yitzlach. Any weapon sharpened against you shall not succeed. Any tongue that rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servant of Hashem, and their righteousness is from me, the words of Hashem. Listen carefully, my friends. I really was excited to hear. And we should just think about this. The United States has provided Israel with the Iron Dome. The United States has provided the Ukraine with the Iron Dome. It was trained by the same technicians, worked at in the same manner. Yet, the Iron Dome is only effective less than 65% of the time in Ukraine, and the Iron Dome is, thank God, effective more than 95% in the land of Israel. How do you explain it? So, the answer is nothing has changed. Rebbe Yoshua explained it by saying one word. This verse from the prophet Isaiah, and the answer is it's the shepherd, the ro'eh shematzila. God protects us. And we should not say to ourselves, "Don't worry. The Iron Dome don't came through last month. It came through 2 months ago, and we can rely on that, and go to s- No, no, no. We know that it's all the ro'eh gadol hu ro'eh shematzila v'shomra. Amazing with all the 79 mitzvahs in Achrei Mos K'doshim emerges the special loving relationship between Hashem and his people, Hashem and his land. Shabbat Shalom to all.