Emor | Rabbi Baruch Taub | April 30th 2026

Today's shir today's learning is dedicated for a refu veracot for Liam Yakov Nissan Benura. Um okay. So um I have uh two pieces today that we're going to do. The first piece is from Raviak of Kamki. [clears throat] And what's the most unusual thing about this ward is that it was also which I'll share with you after we go through it that it was also unbeknownst to Ryakov simultaneously in Europe I guess it was written by someone else. So I'm going to get we'll get to that. It's a fascinating story. So the PK says the mitzvah of the Torah is right. So there are a number of problems with this. It's a mitzvah. So why doesn't it say right? Why is it in the passive? My name shall be sanctified among in Israel. Also the Rambam. He might mention this. I just have to look at it but I think it's there. The Rambam when the Rambam brings this mitzvah of kushem he says mitzvah I'll call is the kadesh and hashem right to sanctify God. Now we all know what a kdeshm is that a person has to be mikadesm the most extreme kdesm is the three cardinal mitzvah that if someone sticks a gun at your head and says you have to kill somebody. So you had the din is that you have to die rather than transgress that is the ultimate example of kidush hashem. The other the general example is the department of someone who is associated with the Torah community with the with who are people like us that it's very important for us to uh to be kind to be gentle to be uh you know not to riot on on highway 4 and hold up traffic for half of the country which is really right that's what we have to do we have to that's how we deport ourselves right so uh but the ram says B Israel. Now that's a very strange language. It's an individual mitzvah. And you have to know there's a we have a general rule with two rishonim with the with um barashi in the Rambam. There's not an extra word in the Rambam, right? Why does he say called B is the every household the whole household has to be u fulfill the mitzvah of [clears throat] Kirashem? >> Can I help you? Do you need a sheet? >> No. Thank you. >> Okay. Um Okay. So, let's see what he says with that introduction. Brings the Rambam here. Okay. Torah. Here's the Rama brings the shakon. Quote, callsim Hashem. The whole house, every house amongst the Jewish people is obligated. called Israel. Why? So he says he goes right into it a tanim even under bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah are and keshm that's what he wants to suggest is going on here and he's going to prove it that unlike all other mitzvot this mitzvah of keshm applies to children and he quotes a yeanim the children and the elders. And let me suggest why this is so because it does not say you help to sanctify my name as I pointed out then you could say right speaking to the people who are that I should be sanctified. So it's it's messim also by it can be accomplished by a child also and I have a a a a sniff for this a proof. Now you know the Rambam wrote to Zorim on all of the mitzvah of the Torah. What we first quoted from was the Mishna Torah which is his elaborate presentation in depth 14 volumes of the in depth of all the mitzvah in the Torah. But he also wrote a safer just just one or two paragraphs on each on each mitzvah which by the way was originally written in Arabic and was has been translated to Hebrew right of mitzvah. So this is in the ninth mitzvah. So he said he bring what's the proof text he brings for the mitzvah to sanctify God's name he brings apostle from when my have fear of me they should be mikadesh my name which means they're children right and now he brings a historical uh proof to this is the middle ages. In the middle ages when there were attacks on the Jewish people, right? Crusades uh for example that people would take their children with them to the stake that the children also were taken to be to be killed right I mean we speak of a million and a half children who died in in al-Qa but here it's more dramatic IC in the middle ages in the sense that their parents took them with them right why did they do this so they shouldn't be taken and converted they themselves that's the den they have to for to to be they have to die rather than transgress but children they're not really obligated in mv what was the license that parents had to take their children to the stake here. But this makes sense. He says, "If these children would convert out of these, they would be taken by all these people, right? Remember the crusades was a was a a religious a religious war. That's what the king of England was doing, right? He was he was I mean he served in the as king I don't know maybe a year and a half but for 16 years he was he was traveling around killing Jews and killing people right and he was the king and he was out of 16 years I think he was there a year and a half I mean maybe many people would like their rabbi to be like that to be around maybe a year out of 16 years but this is this is what he was doing and it's a it was a religious war Right. There would have been a tremendous tremendous all these children becoming converting out of the faith. Therefore, the children are also commanded to do this. Now, you know, I I always say that our problem today with uh with the the the Arab nations around us and Iran and you know, they're fighting a religious war. They are rel they are really truly religious people, right? And they're fighting a religious war against us. If we were collectively fighting a religious war and not fighting with each other, right? If Jews would be doing what Jews are supposed to be doing, we wouldn't have this war, right? We'd be closer to Msiah, right? We wouldn't have such a war. And that's why you see, you know, that saw on the news last week that the kamas is recruiting 12year-old kids, right, into the kamas army. But this is this is it. They're fighting a religious war, right? So here's the point. This is Ryakas. It's a beautiful idea. But here's the amazing thing. Um, you've all seen the picture of Ravlau and his brother who was who was an ambassador were coming out of the Holocaust, right? Nali was older than him. He was tall. So when when their father was a ro in in Europe a very in Poland a very respected and um when he before he when he left them he said if you survive if you survive when you go to when you go to Palestine hopefully they'll you ask them to go to it's Israel then Palestine and go to see the chabiner go to the chbinov chabra was one of the great gdollim in Jerusaleim um who did not necessarily really have a position. There were a number of great giants of Torah like Rav Zevan for example who didn't have a official title right um so but he sent chabinarov he was obviously in touch with him chibin was um tremendous my own rash shiva the Baltimore Rashiva of Rudman was very much in love with the chibinv's Torah um so he they these children went to chinarov and he took them into the house and he said Your father wrote a cipher on Kdesh Hashem, but he sent me one and the cypher is gone. Obviously, it's in ashes, but he sent one chapter to me to look at and I'm going to bring it out to you. So, he went and he got the chapter and it's a chapter on Kdeshikan and he says the exact same thing that Ryak says. This is the only thing remaining from the senior of LA's safer ones and it's exactly you know there's an expression in Yiddish they say in Yiddish I don't know how your Yiddish is bution you know what it means if you go in a straight path you'll you'll come across good people right so that's the that's the PS on this on this board okay I want to do something here now which is really combin combine two pieces and this is from Kona. Kyona happens to be my say from the para in Hebrew but I'm quoting people right here. So let's do the Pik first. This is um from the beginning of the para right excuse [clears throat] me speak to uh the sons of Aon and speak to them. Right? So there are two questions. The first question on the pic is which we're going to deal with is why is amore mentioned twice right? Secondly is rashi's interpretation is amorea twice alakanim. The second am is not only that you adultanim have to be kanim and follow the rules the rules of kanim but you have to teach your children to do that. So the question on this rashi is where do children come into this? Why does he why does he mention this aspect? So we're going to deal with both those questions. Now first of all so here we're talking about telling the most important thing they have to know they cannot come in contact with a dead body. It's tuma they be they become tame. Now tame we generally imprecisely translate as impure. Right? Person is tame. It's actually a dead person. A person anishak nida is tame. But it's it's very imprecise. What does tame really mean? I don't know. There's no word for it in English. But what does what does tame mean? It means that you're in touch with the absence of life, right? Dumb that comes out of a body, dead person, that's the absence of life. Dumb is when it's functioning in a body. But once it comes out, it's it's the opposite of it's the photo negative of life, right? So um that's what tame is. So the first thing you have to teach a cohen is Tomas mace. He can't go into a cemetery unless it's the seven closest relatives, right? But here's the point. There's two ways of saying say, right? Amira, right? There's a word am there's rights like you know this is very strange generally speaking the Torah Moshe when when is giving over a lawm he uses the word to Moshe for aspect amira is not used for giving over a necessarily yet here we See clearly the these areot for the coen that he has to follow all the laws of tuma and t and all of the ab that he has to do in the beta mdash right so why does he use and not now it's important to understand that in lashon kesh in Hebrew there's no such thing as a synonym there's no such thing as two words mean the same thing each word that sounds the same but is not the same amore and dbor are two different words for speaking and they represent two different kinds of speaking. Okay, so let's see what he says. We know there's no synonyms. So since you use a different word obviously it has a different connotation here too also with the word rather than here's the classic example that what's the difference he brings the I want you to teach the women the right incidentally that's where The original the movement of bet yakov started for women's education was called beyakov based on this puk. So it speaks to the Bakov and the Ben Israel Mazashi explains what's the difference in these languages open how it's introduced. It's almost it's you know anamanopia sound word sounds like an it's harsh dbe is softer right it's softer so more more hard more straight it's less it's harder to you know so you want the guy to accept it to the women tells speak softly to the women, but to the men, right? Get their attention, right? You have to speak more elegantly and uh and softer rather than to the men. Okay. over the page right hand column. Let's continue. Uh tido shall ley. So now let's get back to so he now we're coming specifically to our puk dealing with ley the kohanim where they're being told what to do right uh these are the spiritual leaders and teachers sham Israel of Israelenu it's based on that were given by Mosherenu. You have to give over my Torah to the Jewish people. Right? This is first and foremost on the shoulders of the Cohen. He is an angel of God, right? He is serving the um by the way what does it mean that the are are angels right um the Rama brings this he calls he calls this are called angels what does that mean right every angel know I know plenty of rabbis including myself who are not angels right okay so what does it mean so I once heard from my revi weird he said he said," he said, "What does it mean?" Um, what's the difference between a malik and a human being? A a human being has a a human being, you know, has has he he has he can choose to go the right way, to go the wrong way. Aim the says they're sorry. When we say kadusha with our feet together, we to imitate the they're serving God. There's no that's that's what it's all about, right? So that's why they're they're called are they're called because when someone reaches a level of service with purity, he's serving God, right? He's not reforming. It's not my job is not to reform, to change, to critic, to critique what God tells me to do and to change it. That's no longer Torah. Torah means that I is following the letter of the law, right? He is following the that's he's a malik he's following a tradition a tradition that Moshe gave to Yeshua Yeshua and so on and his rebi to my rebi and that's what a malik is supposed to do right not to reform the Torah now you can expand upon it that's what the the chua literature is all about the responsive literature but we don't change anything right so that's what we mean he's a but what he's going to explain here is there's is a dialectic. There's a duality to what the Cohen's responsibility is. V the rest of us, right? The job of the Here we're talking about Kohan specifically. His job is not just to teach Torah or to ask Shilas to answer questions. That's that's only half of it. He has to be an example how you serve God. He has to represent in his department. the kind of person that you're supposed to be and to be submissive to the when when the people come to the mikdash you you you see the coach he's busy doing his his aod rightem Watching the way he does his aod is going to make an impression on us when the people see the coin working when he's doing all the things with the the all the complicated ritual of he's doing it very meticulously right intensely. But how is he doing it? God forbid. Let's say you see the co and he's getting a little lazy. All right. Um he goes into the corner and takes a coffee just sits in the corner drinking coffee in the middle of the aod. Right. Oh no. Or he's like with less cav to his fellow while he's working. Let's say so here we go. That that leads us to to a terrible conclusion. You just have to do do the work. Do the work, but you don't have to enjoy it. Right? That's why he says there's a duality, two dimensions to what the Cohen is doing and to the impression he has to give and the way he does it. On the one hand, he's got to he's got to follow the letter of the law. Very complicated in offering a corb and what you're supposed to do in the beta mikdash. He has to be very very meticulous. The other side of the coin. If this meticulous uh attention to detail causes then it looks like he's not having a good time doing it. It's difficult. He's it's a it's a difficult work for him to do. That could be and it sends a a very negative message to people. Okay, I gotta do the mitzvah but you know okay I don't have to enjoy it right for this reason now remember we had original question this unlike all the other that Hashem commanded Moshe to command is this mitzvah to give over the is not usually right what's the most familiar phrase in the Torah here it's saying amore I am why. So you hear where he's going. For this reason the mitzvah's obligation on the lay give them over to them. Not right is right but right it's necessary to point to to highlight it's not enough that they're doing all the according to you know crossing every every tea and dotting every eye. They have to do it with so while they're doing their aod people are watching. It's a to see to watch how the are doing their aod with such so meticulously but so right. This applies to everybody who has some authority over other people, right? Can be the the um the boss in a business, right? How he deals how he does his work and how he deals with his employees, right? You know, many times you hear people, I have to change my job. I can't go into work. I have a stomach ache. the way he talks to us, the way we have to work and the way he works, it's just not an enjoyable experience. I can't work there. I can't accomplish my work. Can't accomplish my work. Right? So, you see it right by everybody. Right? And he says, "Such a person in a position of authority has an obligation, not just to be precise in what he does, his work. It gives over the right message. It's done with the proper right emotion the heart very much so people who are in who are teaching our children right they're teaching sometimes difficult things to a child right But they have to teach with a sense of love. Right? You can Who's the teacher that you remember the most from your experience? Who's the teacher you remember the most? But it's not the guy or that was the strictest rebi or teacher, right? Or mar. Not the one who was the strictest, but the one who was most loving and you really enjoyed coming into the class and listening and learning from that person, right? So listen, I bring here a story from my rash from a minute. It's a brilliant in okay on the here's the rail in the in the has a entire cafer on the laws of Torah study and here's this is in Torah the same way that a person has an obligation to teach his child. [gasps] He has to teach his grandson because it says should teach Torah to your children and your grandchildren. Not only your children and grandchildren and every wise man wise man is made at to teach all the children even though they're not his children. Now I just want to a little bit of a a curveball here though not the point he's making but remember we spoke out it earlier that in the Rambam there's no extra word in the Rambam every word is precise why does the Rambam say just say what is he adding by that right what does he mean so I think the rama is that everybody's if all I know is alfb I know how to read then I'm a in alb there's a Jew out there who doesn't know how to not know how to read Hebrew I have a mitzvah to teach that person to read Hebrew the everybody on their level it's a is a a relative thing right there's the great the great scholar and then there's little old me all I know is this right that know that but I have the same obligation to teach that that's the that's the here but let's stick to the point that Raan wants to say with this. Right. Right. Even though they're not biologically his children. Why is that? Because the says teach them to your children. But our tradition tells us that means our misor tells us kazal tells your children means your students this is the words of the rabatim students are called children right this is the now here's the question that the rash asked the mishna is a this is beautiful this is very poetic right you have to teach your ch to every everybody has to be like your child the student has to be like your child but this is poetry this doesn't belong here this is what is the dimension of this the ra is bringing us here he's telling us a for teaching Torah so he said like this if a teacher does not feel that he loves his who are sitting in front of him like his children. He does not belong in the classroom. Very powerful. That's the Ram. Okay, that's what that's what we're saying here. Okay, next paragraph. the source of teaching of Jewish education is the whole mitzvah of teaching Torah comes from the mitzvah of a father teaching his own children or a mother teaching her own children. Right? So if only somebody who can do this has a right to teach. Now I want to point out what does he what does he mean here? What do the Rama is emphasizing that it's coming from the where a father teaches a son or a mother teaches a daughter. Where does that come from? I'll tell you where it comes from. Sociologists [cough and clears throat] say that the sociologists of education say that the Jewish people were way ahead of western world in terms of education because we had school a school system right before anybody right the 200 300 400 the years of the tano the amayam right and and look in in the great Britain for example did not have an organized system of schools until the 19th century till the 1800s hundreds. So the Jewish people were way ahead, right? So Rah Hutner once commented and wrote that they they're right, but they're making a big mistake. They're making a big mistake. That that we had a school system was avid. It was a a a a necessity that we had to do. The real greatness of the Jewish people is we didn't need a school system because originally every child was taught by a father and by a mother at home. Homeschooling that was the way Jews were taught. A father taught his son, a mother taught a daughter. But there came a time the Gmorrah says that people there was ignorance and people did not know and there were forced. Raishua Bengam of this great rabbi Rabbishu Bengam created a school system and he went out and he taught in different communities he would teach this tract date of this sader of mission in one town and another town and they would go back and forth and teach each other and he created a school system right that but that's that was a bidvit that was not a that was that was a necessary evil so to speak so the greatness of the Jewish people is because we didn't need a school system at the beginning. Okay. So that's why this is the whole basis of a parent of a teacher teaching a child is based upon a parent teaching his own child. That's the d that's the dynamic here. Okay, let's finish this third paragraph. Oh, so now the Torah wants to say what does it say twice? Why does it say I'm more twice to the kanim? I'm speak to the kanim and rashi says what is the other mu that the kanim should speak to their children teach them that too right it's important you know your child is a koim so you have to tell them listen I want to talk to you I'm going to I'm going to go out to play baseball now or I'm going to go out to play soccer now so his father said okay come I just want to tell you something you know when you play soccer field there next to the soccer field or the baseball diamond there's a cemetery right if the ball goes into the cemetery you have to let someone else get the Oh, you can't go home. Why? Because you're a co-aid and a Coen can't go into a cemetery. Right? So that's a lesson that a a co-en parent has to teach his child. Right? So that's the amore. He says with Rashi saying according from the commandment of the same amra has to be done with amir have to give it over to my children with not now do not go into the cemetery right that's not a way to teach a child who's a coate can't go into the cemetery Right. You got to you got to teach them but teach them with Why should you think that the second is talking about children? Right? It would appear that the two are for the older, right? What's the song? How did Rashi learn? How did Rashi brilliance of brilliance of Rashi? How did he know it's talking about speaking to the children, right? So, Raosha Feinstein explains why. The next paragraph and this is the name of Raos where we we usually know Ra Mos the great postk but he also wrote a great deal on Torah and he said beautiful things and here's one of them coming to teach us it's not enough just to be with your child right you can teach a child you know with a sense of fear, right? Got to respect, right? Even though it looks like he's listening, he's he's following the teachings of his teacher. He's doing the he's doing what he's supposed to do, right? But the teacher has to give over a sense of love, a sense of aa So the child sees his father. It's not a go learn, right? But he sees the father doesn't learn. Sees the father's not, you know, keeping sh okay let's go. We got to do this. It's like a burden. That's not that's not raising. That's not parenting. That's failure. No matter how many times he goes over and teaches the child about what mitzvah to do, it's got to be it's got to be it's got to be. So that's what he's basically saying. And final paragraph, but this is the reason it's to teach the child. But that's why how that's what Rashi brings out here or or Mosha Feinstein brings out here. What's bothering Rashi is not just that he repeats Amira, right? But there's there what's the purpose he's repeating it. And why am Amira, right? It's because he has to do what he's being taught. He has to give over to his children also. And it has to be done by Amira. It has to be softly with aa with sima with regish. That's how a parent has to raise a child. Okay.