Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Emor (5786)

Good morning, good shabas everybody. Tomorrow we have the privilege of reading paras and more. Not only are we getting closer to shuos, but whoa, these parios have been jam-packed with mitzvos. Parasore according to the contains 63 mitzvos, 24 positive and 39 restrictions. Whoa. Now these restrictions and positive mitzvos apply to so much of our life including the para of the moadim which you have including the mitzvah of counting the omare which we counted last night 29 days in the omare we have interestingly in the beginning of the para we'll come back to this in a moment. laws that are specific Torah's kohanim Torah for and the laws of the kohanim including interestingly that we learn out from this para to whom each and every Jew unfortunately when the time comes is to sh sit shiva the seven relatives ives for whom one is to mourn sit Shiva and let's begin with an interesting law that the Torah teaches the key dash to we as a community are to recognize that the Cohen has certain special privileges and we are to be careful not to deprive the cohen of these privileges of his getting the first aliyah of his being the first one to be served to lead the benching etc. And the idea is that the coane has certain mitzvos positive negative. He has the prohibition that he cannot marry a divorce. He cannot go to the cemetery and funerals. But at the same time while we are obl obligated to put him on this pedestal interestingly he is obligated to bless the people as we find in paraso this is the formula with which you are to bless the Jewish people are more Elohim, you are to say to them and we know that this is a biblical obligation, not just a right that he has that if tomorrow he's in the mood he'll bless the people and the next day if he's not he won't he is obligated. It's a kind of what you would call pay forward meaning has given him certain privileges. Wo, a gift. And even though you might not be able to define precisely holiness, what that means for kitashto, but that we are to ensure that he retains a certain higher degree of holiness than be it the rest of the Jewish people, Levim, Israelim, Gaim, he has a higher standard. Whoa. God has allocated this kadusha as they say in their blessing kitu sha aaron. He has given us some of the sanctity of aaron kohhane. And interestingly, he has to pay forward. Meaning, how does he pay back Hashem and the Jewish people? By koshu, by blessing the Jewish people. I believe there's a certain formula we might see that this applies not only to a cohane who receives from the Torah and is to quote give forward pay forward to the Jewish nation. It's not simply one hand washes the other, but rather we have an obligation to others. When bestows and gives us gifts, we have to then utilize these gifts for and on behalf of others. And that's why the Torah says in parasim where the Torah says that a Jew is obligated to lend money to another Jew if he knows that he can live up to his laws as a lender. What does that mean? The Torah tells us in Mishim that when and if a Jew lends money to another Jew, Lucia lo Kenosha, you are not to treat him as a creditor. So for example, Mr. A borrows from Mr. B $1,000 for 30 days. So Mr. B can't after the third day, the fourth day, the 24th day, say, "Don't forget you owe me $1,000." That is being like a creditor. And if you know yourself that you're going to remind him, whoa, don't lend the money. Amazing. It's a mitzvah to end, but only if you can do it in the right way. So much so listen carefully. I love this. You can go for a walk on Shabas afternoon because you had a little bit too much ch and it's the weather's turning nice and what's going to be you cannot walk intentionally on the block to whom you've lent the money. You can't walk in front of the lender because he might say to himself, "Oh, there he is. Mr. B is walking in front of my house to remind me that I owe him the money." Whoa. If this is the possibility that the lender is going to feel this way, you have to take every precaution not to be to him as the Torah says, do not act toward him as a creditor. But what does the Torah say? To whom are you lending money? The poor. the poor who is with you. What does that mean? The poor who is with you. So the rabbis explained so beautifully that why did Hashem give you a little bit more? And why did Hashem intentionally give him a little bit less? And the answer is in order that you should be able to take the blessing that Hashem gave you to help others. So this is the first thing I'd like to point out that we have regarding the cohen who receives and is obligated to give. Let's move on to today. Today happens to be pesi. The Torah teaches us in the fourth book in paras. The Torah is teaching us that if a Jew when we had the BA mikdash and please God when we will have the third BA mikdash this law will once again be in effect that if a person missed the 14th of Nissan the 14th of Nissan era of Pesak the 14th of Nissan is the day that we bring the corbes we bring it on Pes and we eat it at the Pesir as we will do. Okay. So the Torah tells us that if a Jew could not bring the corbes, the pascal offering in its right time, namely in the first month, then the Torah says you are to bring it in the second month. Now the Torah tells us that these individuals who were unable to bring the carbon pes is because they were either or to a nephesh. They were literally doing a mitzvah of carrying perhaps the bones of Yoseph or a mace mitzvah. But the Torah says that these persons who are exempt because if you are in a state of tuma you cannot participate in the carbon. You can eat matzah. You can eat mor. But you can't participate in the kurban. Oh. So now listen carefully. They are exempt. But what do they come and what do they teach us? They say to Moshe, "We don't want the exemption. Why should we be oh my goodness have the rug pulled out from between us? Why should we lose out on the privilege? Oh, thus showing that even though they were ex exempt, that's not quote the Jewish way. They want to participate. The corban pes wow is found in several places but let's go to b where the Torah says that one would think if a proelite a was living amongst you. So we could sayuim we were slaves and our parents were slaves but his parents were not a slave. So how can he do it? So the Torah says a gay a guores a convert to Judaism have to participate in the corban pesak. Why? Because the pesak and the Torah repeats this twice in B and in among the many laws of the PES is that you are not you're not to break a bone in the carbon. Why not? Explains the because it is poor individuals that eat in such a way to try to get as much marrow as they can from the bone. But royalty, a prince, a princess doesn't have to do that. They can get as much as they'd like. On the night of Pesak, we become all of us royalty. We weren't only freed from parro but we become from slavery to freedom to royalty. Ah you are part of royalty and you have to participate again with royalty. Something very interesting. You have to give and pay forward for what we received. And finally this coming Monday night and Tuesday is Lagba Omare. Now traditionally people will tell you what do we celebrate on Lagba Omr and you'll say rightly so that the 24,000 students of Riaaka stopped dying. But many of the commentaries tell us that we don't celebrate that they stopped dying. What we do celebrate is that Ribba who lost 20 12,000 pairs of students. Ribaka did not throw the towel in but rather according to the medish either five or seven talmidim he continued our misor by giving to them and therefore Torah was perpetuated for and from the next generations paying forward word. Now listen carefully. What did the 12,000 pairs as the Gomorrah identifies them? What did they do? They did not show respect one to another. Does that mean they didn't hold the door? Does that mean that they didn't say good morning and good night? So the medish rabba in Cohelis chapter 11 says to these new students we shown him you want to know why the earlier ones died their eyes were sor means shortsighted in the sense they did not share their Torah soros they unfortunately had a competitive nature to Instead of one appreciating the other one, instead of each one realizing how much they get from the other one, no, it was like a duel. Who can outsmart the other one? Who can answer? Haha. And you couldn't. So this is the exact opposite as to way Torah is to be. Torah is to be given to you in a meaningful loving way. And this is what we have an obligation to pass on to the next generation. We learn it from the Cohen. We learn it from Pesar Sheni. And we learn it from Lagr. Wishing everybody Shabbat shalom, a happy sheni. And please God, a very joyful lagba omare to Oh,