Parsha Perspectives for Today (Emor, 5780) - Kavod, Not COVID

Good morning Boca welcome back to the weekly partial perspectives for today. Thank you so much for joining me and hopefully today will be inspired by the privilege we have to learn partials amor together. I want to thank our generous sponsors for this year dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father David Grossman is David Manischewitz and also oops sorry sponsored today today's particular partial class sponsored by Rifka Schreiber in commemoration of the year site of her beloved mother by Jeffrey and Linda Miller in commemoration of the year site of his beloved father Chaim Ben Yosef Miller on the 12th of ER. Thank you all for your generosity, your sponsorship and our Torah learning should be in neshama should elevate the precious and beloved souls of those for whom it is dedicated. As I said we have the privilege of studying partials amor amor appears in the scroll Humash on page 672. We have a more cohanim and Aaron the amarta nefesh yitama be amav our partial begins with an instruction specifically to the cohanim directed specifically to the cohanim. In fact even Ezra understands this opening phrase amor v'amarta says the even Ezra we got a million of them open here we're going to try to balance it all. If you have your kedusha which I always encourage you to have we'll see some of them in partial inside this morning says the even Ezra amor cohanim in last week's partial the second partial we read last week is called partials kedoshim it is the mission is the mandate it is the charge for all of us to live lives of holiness of sanctity being elevated and enriched however we define holiness not for now. So last week we instructed the totality the community the people kedoshim to you everyone should be holy and we continue this week and more cohanim his shem neshama v'yitachem pirsha cohanim partial torah be adam. So the even Ezra understands amor v'amarta amor last week's partial kedoshim we're all intended and meant to live transcendent lives to live lives the best version of ourselves to be holy separate apart distinguished elevated from the rest of the world and even above and beyond that the instruction to the totality of the Jewish people above and beyond that in this week's partial v'amarta says the even Ezra is now the cohanim on top of the cohanim is the cohen gadol. So the even Ezra sees the theme of our partial as built upon and continuation of last week's partial the kedusha the sanctity the holiness that mandate that was introduced in last week's partial we continue with and we expand in this week's partial. However Rav Volbe Rav Volbe the great mashgiach of Yerushalayim has a very different interpretation that I want to share with you this morning a very very beautiful insight he has that runs throughout our entire partial it struck me as I saw his insight in particular this year because of the play on words. He says that the theme of our partial is not kedusha it's not building on sanctity it is but it's not directly but rather the theme of our partial is kavod not covid but kavod. What is kavod kavod is honor kavod is glory kavod is also living a life of dignity kavod is living a life that we can be proud of and he says if you look through our partial it says Rav Volbe that is the theme that carries us throughout. First kavod shamayim the kavod of Hashem seeing and feeling and having an awe and reverence and the honor due Hashem then kavod of the cohanim the kavod of the priests their distinguished role within our people then the cohen the kavod of the cohen gadol within that unit of the cohanim of the priests the cohen gadol has an even elevated status and then we have the kavod of the korbanos the sacrifices and then we have the kavod of benei Yisrael to know our capacity the honor and the dignity that we're meant to carry ourselves capacity to channel and to be the conduit of shamayim and then of course we have the moadim the yamim tovim the notion of the kavod we should have for time that time is not endless and the time should not be depleted or absent of value or meaning but rather mikra kodesh when we call the holidays when we sanctify time we honor our time we honor the time that we've been given. So says Rav Volbe the theme that permeates throughout our partial if you have to look for one common denominator or one common thread it's not covid-19 but it's kavod. It is the notion and the role the place of honor and then he gets into a few specific examples of it. So in our partial we read parsha pasuk the partial is beginning by telling us about the instruction to cohanim not just for adults cohanim but even minor cohanim to preserve their sanctity they're not allowed to contaminate themselves they can't expose themselves to a corpse to death to draw that contamination but there are exceptions. So the Torah tells us in parsha pasuk aleph v'al shows meis lo yavo l'aviv l'imo lo yitama. The cohen is not allowed to contaminate himself to his father or to his mother. In contrast to the other cohanim we're talking about the cohen gadol the high priest the cohen gadol is commanded to continue the avodah in the Beit Hamikdash even after the death of a parent even after the loss of a parent the loss of a parent life comes to a standstill. The first writes that the word avel which is the Hebrew word for mourner comes from the word aval however a person's life is changed forever there's a new normal. Person with time can recover can heal first a scab and then a scar will form from that sense of loss the person has endured but aval however but life is different life changes forever and the cohen gadol who goes through that traumatic experience the grief of losing a parent is not given the license to pause and to grieve and to mourn but the cohen gadol the show must go on has to continue to serve in the Beit Hamikdash why? So the Rashbam if you go back all the way to parsha yud pasuk gimmel the Rashbam back in parsha pasuk gimmel gives us the basis of this law. Says the Rashbam parsha yud pasuk gimmel v'yomer Moshe Moshe l'eimar l'eimar bikrovai ekadesh v'al pnei kol am echabed vayidom Aharon. This is talking after the death of Nadav and Avihu and Aharon remained silent silent and the Rashbam there says why was Aharon silent? V'must of Hashem yaakesh shamar v'yotzei v'lo avon avonav. Immediately Aharon wanted to stop and mourn and grieve his sons v'yomer Moshe l'Aharon al tisa bel Moshe said you can't mourn al tifka v'al tach tam min ha'avodah. Do not wane do not stop do not pause in your service ki hadavar hazeh Hashem omer l'cha hu asher dibar Hashem bikrovai ekadesh. Bikohanem gedolim krovim elai l'shareseini ani rotzeh l'hiskadesh v'lo yishal shmi v'avodasi. So the Rashbam gives the reason the cohen gadol has this unique position this singular distinguished position. The cohen gadol has to serve and the show must go on. The cohen gadol has to set aside their own feelings and continue the avodah because if there was a cessation if there was a break in the avodah it would be a desecration of God's name. It is that avodah which energizes and imbues the entire world with a sense of holiness and a sense of sanctity and so the show must go on as painful and as difficult it is for the cohen gadol. However Rav Volbe draws our attention that even though the cohen gadol cannot interrupt the avodah to mourn a mother and father nevertheless nevertheless the Torah here tells us that if the cohen gadol encounters a meis mitzvah the cohen gadol is on their way to perform the avodah on Yom Kippur the holiest person on the holiest day of the year about to enter the holiest place and poof they run into a corpse. Somebody passed away and we don't know their identity and there's no one else willing to step up and over to undertake their their burial or proper send off. In that circumstance the cohen gadol does stop the avodah. Not only avodah in general the cohen gadol would even stop the avodah of Yom Kippur not even perform the holiest holiest service of the year why? Because you see the kavod of a meis mitzvah the kavod of a meis mitzvah the honor and the dignity that this corpse deserves when no one else is there to take care. The cohen gadol loses a mother and father cohen gadol probably has siblings cohen gadol has children the cohen gadol has others who can take care. Cohen gadol has the rest of the nation the rest of the people but when it comes to a meis mitzvah you see the notion of kavod ha'briyos the honor and dignity due to another that the cohen gadol does what he doesn't do for his mother or father he does for a complete stranger because they deserve that dignity that honor even when no one else is taking care and Rav Volbe extrapolates from here if that's the honor due a meis mitzvah then imagine the kavod the honor that we owe a chaim mitzvah. We honor a person who's alive. If that's how you treat the corpse who's unidentified the anonymous corpse then even all the more so how we treat other people the kavod that we have to give one another. In fact we know that in this period we're mourning we're grieving we haven't trimmed or shaved or taken a haircut or listen to live music like Boomers not until next week why? Because Rebbi Akiva's students 24,000 died. 24,000 funerals 24,000 eulogies 24,000 shiva calls. You know until this year we could never imagine what that means to get that flow of death notices and of shiva notices. This year, baruch Hashem, it's not 24,000, but it's really this pandemic has opened our eyes to what it means to be losing great people and at such a great rate. How painful, how overwhelming, how traumatic that is. Why did those students die? Chazal tell us because lo nago kavod zeh bazeh, they failed to honor one They were chavrusas, they were learning Torah, and yet the Torah did not was not absorbed, it didn't transform them, it didn't elevate them. It remained intellectual, cognitive, abstract. It didn't transform them into bnei Torah Torah personalities who knew how to treat one another with honor. The kohen gadol doesn't mourn his mother or father, does not interrupt the avodah, does so for a simple, anonymous meis mitzvah. Why? Because kavod, because the honor we have to show. If that's what we show for a meis, says Rav Volbe, even more what we show a chai mitzvah. And therefore, the Gemara Brachos daf yud tes amud beis tells us that kavod habriyos is docheh lo saseh shel Torah. That kavod habriyos supersedes the negative commandments of the Torah. We're allowed to forego, passively uh violate a negative commandment in the Torah in order to preserve the in order to preserve the dignity, the kavod haTorah. And Rav Volbe continues along these same lines. I want to share with you from Alei Shur Chelek Beis, page reish chaf hei, page 225, and I want to learn it with you inside because Rav Volbe here summarizes our entire parsha, Parshas Emor. And again, we are fighting and we are confronting COVID, but we have to understand part of the way is by embracing kavod, the kavod habriyos, the way we treat one another. Kavod habriyos is the antidote to COVID-19. So, Rav Shur Rav Shur Rav Volbe says the following. Olamenu hu olam harachamim, our world is a world of value, of worth. The chol davar yesh erech chamishim batay mikdashim mashlimim avodah. Everything has a value. Everything has a worth, whether it's something that you're transacting, you're purchasing, you're buying. And the question is, how much does it cost? How much is it worth? Whether you're negotiating on eBay or Amazon or for a piece of real estate, or you're watching the stock market go up and down its evaluations, everything has a value. Gam lo umnaso adam yesh erech chamishim batay mikdashim mashlimim avodah. Uman omer chacham chachmasi ani mocher lach beshalosh kesafim gedolim im odin omer lo ah. When it comes to a person's skill set, talents, person's allowed to negotiate. You want me to speak? Here's how much I'm worth. You want me to sing in a concert? Here's my value. I'm a carpenter, I'm a craftsman, I'm a doctor, I'm a lawyer. Here's my value. Gam lo adam betur adam yesh erech achas meah meyas batay echro. Every human being has a value, but how do you evaluate what it is? Are the kesef yesh erech shavah shavah tzocho, yesh na ofen acher laaricho. You can't put a price tag on a person, on a human being, on a neshama, on a tzelem Elokim. So, what's the value? You know, in the person's shidduch resume, maybe it has your height, maybe your dress size, what yeshiva you learned in, whether you want a metzuyanim, but I've yet to see a value that this person is worth x amount of money. Kavod I'm not suggesting that be introduced, although I can't imagine others think it should. Hakavod More like, what's the father and mother's value in their bank account? The truth is, when it comes to the value of a person, it's not by their looks, and it's not by their talent, and it's not by their portfolio. It's by their neshama, it's by their soul. Who is their neshama? What makes them tick? What is their spiritual contribution to the world? In what way are they a tzelem Elokim? What is their mission? Kol adam zakuk leharachamim bechayav leinba. Every person needs to know they have a worth. The Saba of Slabodka, the Alter of Slabodka, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel zatzal, would say, "Haadam eino yachol lichyos bli kavod." A person cannot survive, a person cannot live without kavod. Now, that doesn't mean they can't live without kavod, "Honor me at the dinner, give me mafter Yonah, I need to see my name in lights." Although there are those people who can't live without the kavod, and that is a very very bad character trait, a bad quality. What he means is that we know that there's a mental illness. We know that there's a danger of depression when a person says, "I'm invisible." When a person says, "I'm inconsequential, I'm worthless, no one cares about me, nobody honors me, nobody recognizes me." When a person has no self-confidence, when a person has no self-worth, then they are in danger. V'ilu atzmi sheyechum me'eres kol kvodo, yamus, says the Alter of Slabodka. If you would take away the entire honor and dignity from a person, if they felt absolutely worthless, like they mean nothing and make no difference to the world, they would literally die. And the Alter of Slabodka was ahead of his time. I don't think it was being diagnosed then as a mental illness, the challenge of a lack of self-worth. Baal mala makir es erech atzmo ve'eino toleh bedaas acheirim. A person who really has worth knows that what gives them their sense of worth is Hakadosh Baruch Hu and their ability to look in the mirror with pride that they are pursuing their mission, that they are doing their best. Their sense of worth is not drawn from others, it doesn't come from the honor that they're given, but rather that the honor that they live an honorable life. Honor is earned. Person has to live an honorable life. And how do you live the honorable life? By paying tribute and giving honor to others. And that's what Chazal tell us, the Mishna in the fourth perek of Avos, "Eizehu mechubad? Hamchabeid es habriyos." We're going to read it this Shabbos. Who is Who is mechubad? Who is honored? The person who's mechabeid es habriyos. So, somewhat paradoxically, how do you live that honorable life? Not by pursuing the honor of others. You are honorable when you honor others, not seek the honor of others. What the Alter of Slabodka says is we all need to be honored by ourselves. We need the acknowledgement and the validation of Hashem, but if we have no worth, if we think we make no difference, if we have no meaning or purpose in our lives, we cannot live. We cannot live. And then he continues, reading parts of it, it's really well worth reading in Alei Shur Chelek Beis, page reish chaf hei. It's perek shmini, the title is kavod. And he says the following, listen carefully. "Kadosh kadosh kadosh Hashem Tzevaos, melo kol haaretz kvodo." It's a pasuk from Yeshayahu. Obviously, it's the kedushah that we say, the kedushah we long to say together. Please God, bimheira v'yameinu, we'll be together to hear divrei Torah shebidushah again soon. It's the kedushah that we say, kedushah d'sidra in Uva Letzion. It's the kedushah that we have several times in our davening. Kadosh kadosh kadosh Hashem, we say Hashem is holy holy holy, whatever that means. We have to define the word holiness. "Melo kol haaretz kvodo." It fills the whole world kvodo. What is the whole world's I'm speaking fast cuz I always have so much I want to get in the parsha. Someone last week or two weeks ago texted me asking me if I was okay if I drank a a 5-hour energy or Red Bull right before the parsha class. I didn't. Natural. I just want to get so much across. So, the pasuk in Yeshayahu says, "How do we describe Hashem? Melo kol haaretz kvodo." He fills the whole kvodo, his honor. Kadosh Baruch Hu kadosh, kol amar muvdal umufrash mikol chomer vegashmiyus. What does it mean that God is holy, says Rav Volbe? He is transcendent. He's not limited or defined by the physical. There aren't boundaries or parameters in the physical. He is transcendent, he's spiritual. He's elevated. He is holy. He is above. So, if God is invisible, so to say. If God is transcendent, if God is not bound by time, by space, if we can't capture him in a picture, then how do you see him? "B'zeh sh'melo kol haaretz kvodo." You know where you find God? In Look around the world, and "Melo kol haaretz kvodo." This entire world is filled with God's kavod, with God's glory. When you identify and you see the expression of God in this world, you're seeing His holiness. He's everywhere. He's in the Grand Canyon, the Swiss Alps, He's throughout Eretz Yisrael and the kedushah that's found there. You could see Hashem in the chesed, the extraordinary acts of chesed people are doing for one another. You could find Hashem, I said this last week in the Living with Emunah shiur. You know where you see Hashem? You know where you see Hashem? In the fact that He designed the human body that can recover from an illness and then become the chemical manufacturing plant that would biotechnology and pharmaceuticals are struggling to invent, the human body can donate plasma that can heal others with the same disease. U'mafli laasos, we conclude the brachah Asher Yatzar. U'mafli laasos Hashem, what a wonder. The human body is the most sophisticated, is the most advanced, the human body is the most brilliant and genius manufacturing plant there is. What medicine has yet to develop, the human body itself can do. We know those who've recovered from the illness are donating the plasma to heal others. "Melo kol haaretz kvodo." Look around this world and you see Hashem. So, kadosh kadosh kadosh, you know what holiness is? Holiness is when your kavod is being expressed. "B'zeh sh'hu barah melo kol haaretz misgaleh, misgaleh es hakavod." "Kach ratzah Hakadosh Baruch Hu she'nifla laakir b'midos mah." "Kol anikrabeishmi lehavdil b'rashei yisrael af al pi asasi." So, whoever is involved, whoever's engaged, whoever dedicates their life to being marbeh What's the expression that we use? To be marbeh kavod Shamayim. I'll tell you something personal. I include in my own personal tefillos almost on a daily basis, as a rabbi, as a teacher, as an educator, I ask Hashem, "Hashem, give me the right words, and Hashem, give me the right expressions, and give me the right energy to successfully be marbeh kavod Shamayim." That's what I ask, it's in my personal tefillos regularly. And we should all Hashem, help me advance kavod Shamayim. I want others to fall in love with you, to see you, to want to feel close to you, to appreciate your support, your love, your guidance, to feel your presence and the meaning that you give to our lives. I want everyone to be part of this team trying to advance your mission. This is why we're here, to be marbeh kavod Shamayim. We'll get to later in the parsha, "V'nikdashti besoch bnei Yisrael." The mission of kiddush Hashem, what Rav Yashaiv zatzal said, is the mission statement of our generation. So, says Rav Wolbe, Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh, melo chol ha'aretz What does it mean Hashem fills the whole world with his honor and that is holiness. So those who are engaged and involved in the mission of filling the world with Kavod Shamayim, of telling everyone about God's greatness and his contributions and his wonder and feeling his love are themselves living lives of Kedusha, of holiness. Parshas Shmini Yishlach Torah Maves says Yachas bein Kedusha u'Kavod. And why am I telling you all this this morning? Why am I taking up so much time in our Parsha Perspectives class? Because says Rav Wolbe, we have an entire Parsha dedicated to this relationship between Kedusha, sanctity, holiness and Kavod, Parshas Emor. We begin with Kehuna Gedola, the Kohen Gadol and the honor the Kohen Gadol is distinguished. He has to carry himself in a distinguished manner. And then we continue with the Kedusha of Korbanos. V'Halachas Kavod Shelachem. U'Misham l'Kedushas Shem Yisbarach. U'Mitzvas Kerias Shema. U'Mitzvas Kerias Shema. HaParsha Gomeres b'Kedushas Shabbos v'HaMoadim. V'Halachas Kavod Shelachem. U'Maaseh HaMikdash. Kavod, and listen to this, listen to what Rav Wolbe says now. The word Kavod, not COVID, the antidote to COVID is Kavod. Proper Kavod, treating one another with Kavod, being advancing the Kavod of Hashem, not pursuing and chasing our own Kavod. Kavod comes from the root of the word Kaved. The root of the word Kavod is Kaved. What does the word Kaved mean? You're checking in in an airport. The mayor of your town will be able to fly. And you know that moment of truth when you put your suitcase on the scale and you're hoping not to have to reshuffle all your luggage. And believe me, Baruch Hashem, if you have a large family and travel with many suitcases and each one is right on the cusp, that is a moment of truth. And if you put your suitcase down and it weighs too much, they tell you it's Kaved me'od, it's too heavy. The word Kaved means heavy. Says Rav Wolbe, the root of the word Kavod is Kaved. It's heavy, it's weighty, it's significant, it's meaningful. V'Hafoch K'lala. What's the opposite of the word Kavod? HaKitzoni hu K'lala. A K'lala, a curse. You know what the root of the word K'lala is? Kal, light. When do you curse something? When you treat it lightly, when you take away its significance, when you rob it of any meaning, when you're willing to curse something you're treating it as Kal. You are exhibiting that you are Kal. You're a lightweight. You don't see your own meaning, your own purpose, your own worth, your own dignity, your own value. So Kavod, to treat and to honor things with Kavod is to see Kaved. They're weighty, they're heavy, they're significant. K'lala, to curse whether with words or in our actions, it's because you treat it as Kal. It is being treated lightly and you're treating yourself lightly. K'she'ani mesayaches el mi she'b'chavod rosh ani mechabdo. When I take when I when I have an attitude and I relate to somebody in a weighty way, I think about it, I'm thoughtful, I care, I'm honoring them. Im makilim bo, but if I take them lightly and I take our relationship lightly, if I'm too casual with it, m'kalel oso. As a result, I'm cursing them. Kol echad u'metzaveh l'kashiach umdo oso u'miskashel l'chvod acherim. B'zos u'm'dei she'roeh es atzmo k'merkaz kol ha'olam asher kol ha'kavod magi'a em rak lo. When a person wants honor, then it's hard for them to honor others. Why? Because if you're not honoring you, then I live life that I'm the center of the universe. And if I'm allocating a portion of honor in the universe to you, there's less for me. So the person who seeks honor struggles to honor others. But the person who seeks no honor for themselves has no problem living a life trying to honor, being forgiving, being happy with the joy, the success, the triumph, the blessings of another person. And so, dear friends, that says Rav Wolbe is what Parshas Emor is all about. Parshas Emor is a curriculum in Kavod, not the pursuit of our own Kavod, but how to be marbeh Kavod Shamayim, marbeh Kavod acherim. And how are you marbeh Kavod? How do you give greater weight and heaviness and significance? The Parsha is this curriculum. Kohanim, Kohen Gadol, Kohanim, Klal Yisrael, Hashem, Korbanos. We how do treat things as Kaved, as weighty and heavy and significant in time, in space, in food, in service, in relationships, ourselves, Hashem, those around us. Says Rav Wolbe, it's what the entire Parsha is about. It's such a beautiful explanation. So the Ibn Ezra says, Emor el Aharon u'Elazar. Last week we learned about Kedoshim tihiyu and this week we continue with the Kohanim, but Rav Wolbe says, "No, we've not left Klal Yisrael, Bnei Yisrael. We are continuing with this mandate of Kedoshim tihiyu. How do we achieve Kedoshim tihiyu? This is the curriculum. This is the action plan. You know how you achieve Kedusha? By a life of giving Kavod, of treating Kaved, the significant weighty things around us. And we see this every day in our lives. There are people who take the holiest things there are, davening, learning Torah, spirituality, chesed, family, our neshama, our tzelem Elokim, and we treat all that lightly and casually, insignificantly. And we talk about it without the the the awe and reverence it deserves. And then you talk to them about sports scores, the stock market, the Netflix series they're seeing. Ooh, Kaved, Kavod. The weightiness, the analysis, the significance. Have it backwards, it's upside down. What you do for recreation is to help you recreate, it's to help you re-energize. It's Kal, it's light. Enjoy, but it's light. Don't put too much attention. What deserves the Kavod, what reflects who we are and what we care about, our priorities, is what we treat with the most Kavod. Do we treat Hakadosh Baruch Hu with Kavod? Are we careful, even in these pandemic times where I'm davening by ourselves, do I daven, do I put on something proper? If I'm wearing shorts, do I put on pants? If I'm wearing slippers, do I put on shoes? If I normally daven with a jacket, do I put on my jacket? Am I presenting myself properly because I'm about to engage in conversation with Hashem? It's Kaved, it's heavy, it's weighty, it's significant, it's meaningful. It's not casual, it's not lightweight, it's not Kal, then it's a K'lala, I treat it like a curse. If I treat it as Kaved, as heavy, then I'm showing the proper Kavod. And Kavod, my friends, I think is an antidote, is a response we can be having in this time of COVID. Okay, let's keep going. Emor el Aharon u'Elazar. We're going to get past the first pasuk, I promise. I don't know how much fast, but we're going to get past. V'Aharon u'Moshe says so. Moshe says, "Emor el haKohanim v'amarta." Famous Rashi. Emor el Aharon u'Elazar l'hachzir gedolim al ketanim. This is to instruct the gedolim al ketanim, to instruct the adults about the children. A simple understanding of Rashi. Rashi is quoting Chazal Yevamos. The simple understanding is that even though normally someone who's not yet at the age of being responsible or accountable is not yet mechuyav in mitzvos, so here the Torah is instructing a Kohen that you need to know, teach your son. Not only can you the Kohen not go in the hospital if there's a corpse, not only you the Kohen can't go to the cemetery, but your child, your minor son the Kohen can't go either. Can't go either. What about a female Kohen, a bas Kohen, an isha Kohen? Can they go in a cemetery? Can they go to the hospital? So Chazal say no, they can. Why? Because the pasuk says, "Emor el haKohanim bnei Aharon, v'lo bnos Aharon." The sons of Aharon, not the daughters of Aharon. A bas Kohen and isha Kohen can go to a funeral, they can go to the hospital. Ah, let me throw you a curveball. What about a pregnant isha Kohen? Ooh, ah. She doesn't know what she's having. Is l'hachzir gedolim al ketanim, does that include a fetus, an embryo? Can the in utero male Kohen go to a cemetery, go in the hospital? So this is actually a discussion in the halachic literature. What if a pregnant isha Kohen has a sonogram? Is that enough to determine the gender of the baby? If she knows she's carrying a little girl, can she rely on that that she can go into a hospital? If she sees it's a little boy, can she not? Does this whole thing even apply to the fetus to begin with? Believe it or not, a fascinating discussion in the area of halacha, in halachic literature. So Rashi says, "L'hachzir gedolim al ketanim." And the Ramban expands on this Rashi. We don't have time already to read the Ramban inside, but the Ramban expands on this Rashi to say this is not only true in the area of a Kohen and uh contamination, it's true in all areas. A person shouldn't feed their minor child non-kosher food. A person can't ask their minor child to turn the light switch or adjust the air conditioning on Shabbos. That l'hachzir gedolim al ketanim, we are obligated to teach our children and to hold them accountable, to educate them on the way. However, there are so many other deeper messages embedded within this one sentence of Chazal, l'hachzir gedolim al ketanim. Let me share just a few of them with you. The Heiliger Noam Elimelech, Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk, those who came with us to Poland a few summers ago, we went to his holy kever and we had a tish in the Beis Medrash of the Heiliger Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk. So Noam Elimelech says, "L'hachzir gedolim al ketanim." is teaching us the following very, very important principle, that if you want to uh give mussar, someone's a katon in a certain area, says the Noam Elimelech, it doesn't mean they're a katon chronologically in age, they're katon in behavior. They're acting like a minor. They're they're they're under achieving in who they could be in a certain area of life. And you're trying to give mussar, you're trying to encourage, you're trying to instruct. So l'hachzir gedolim al ketanim. If you direct your mussar at the person acting like the katon, they're likely to reject it, they're likely to push it away. But if l'hachzir gedolim, but if you turn not to the person who's failing, you turn to the one succeeding and you give a general, not the small specific mussar, then the individual. So if you have children or if you're talking about a family, or you're talking to somebody who you need to give some pushback to, if you direct it personally to them, they're likely to put up a defense mechanism, a shield, and to reject it. But, if you say we all need to work on it, and even the best and the greatest among us need to work on it, they'll be more predisposed, they'll be more open. And that's why it says the Noam Elimelech, we go from the lashon yachid to lashon rabbim, "Emor ve'amarta aleihem." Emor Emor in the singular to the Kohanim, but "Ve'amarta aleihem" in the plural. Why? Because if you're giving mussar, don't single somebody out. If you single someone out, they won't accept or embrace it. But, instead, if you say it balashon rabbim, if you deliver it not in the singular, but if you deliver it in the plural, in a larger way, they will be more predisposed, they will be more likely to listen to it. That is the Halacha Noam Elimelech. The Chozeh of Lublin has another p'shat. Oh, sorry, he says in the next pasuk. We'll come to the Chozeh of Lublin in a moment. Coming back. The Imrei Chaim. You know I was going to give you an Imrei Chaim, the Halacha vision of Tzerer. The Imrei Chaim says the following. "Emor ve'amarta." Oh, I love this p'shat. "Laha'azir gedolim al haketanim, al hagdolim laha'ir et haketanim bezohar oram." Laha'azir can mean to warn or to caution. Laha'azir from the Zohar can mean to illuminate, brightness, to shine. Says the Imrei Chaim, this is a mandate to us, the gedolim. If you want to teach your children, you want to inspire them, it can't just be with words. "Laha'azir gedolim al haketanim." Laha'azir, through your personal conduct, through your personal actions, through your personal behavior, be a role model. "Laha'azir shine and illuminate al haketanim" onto the minor. Isn't that great? Laha'azir, let your modeling, let your passion and enthusiasm, let your example shine onto the children. Who is the great I don't remember the great author who said once, "I can't hear what you're saying because your actions are speaking so much louder than your words." We as parents sometimes struggle. We speak, but our actions don't match. "Laha'azir gedolim al haketanim." You know what the answer to the Chinuch is? Don't just speak, but our children "Beshivtecha beveisecha uvelachtecha baderech." "Uvelachtecha baderech." When we have the privilege of leaving our homes, we teach our children how we conduct ourselves when we go to business, when we go to the store, when we go to the gym, we go to the park, we go to life. These days, we still have in Palm Beach County a stay-home order, and we are being asked to teach our children and to create an environment within our family "Beshivtecha beveisecha." When we have to and we're forced when we're ordered to remain in our homes. "Laha'azir gedolim al haketanim" means that the way that the children are going to learn from us is laha'azir. We illuminate, we light up, we shine onto them based on the example that we're living with. That's how the Imrei Chaim understands Rashi in this Gemara in Yevamos. The Medrash has a different understanding. The Medrash says the following. The Medrash says "Laha'azir gedolim al haketanim." It's the Medrash Rabbah Parshas Chava. The Medrash Rabbah says the following. "Melamed she'arahu Hakadosh Baruchu leMoshe dor dor veshofdav dor dor umanhigav." "Emor ve'amarta el hakohanim." Emor el hakohanim "Ve'amarta aleihem." Says the Medrash that Hakadosh Baruchu showed Moshe, he gave Moshe a little bit of an insight, "Dor dor veshofdav." This is the generation and their leaders. "Dor dor umanhigav." The generation and their leaders. Asked Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa, shouldn't it say "Manhig vedoro"? "Shofet vedoro." First mention the leader and then mention the generation. Why does it say "Dor dor" the generation and here's the leader? Moshe got an insight. In 2020, here's who are going to be the gedolei Yisrael. Lehavdil, here are going to be the leaders of the secular world, of industry. Here are going to be the leaders of of different disciplines. "Dor dor" the generation and their leader. Shouldn't it be the leader and then the generation? And listen to what Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa says. He says if Hakadosh Baruchu showed Moshe in the order first the leader then the generation, when it got to the leader, Moshe would look and say, "That? Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? That's the president, that's the prime minister, that's the Rav, that's the principal, that is Are you kidding me? That's who it is?" So, says Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa, that's why Hashem showed Moshe "Dor Let me show you the generation, and when you see the generation, then you'll understand the leader that they got is the leader that they deserve." Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa, this is a theme not for now, and please don't apply to anything contemporary. This is a political comment. However, we have a principle in Judaism that a generation gets the leader they deserve. "Yiftach bedoro K'Shmuel bedoro, dor dor umanhigav dor dor veshofdav." The generation gets the leader they deserve. If we're dissatisfied with our leadership, if we are terribly disappointed in the options of leadership, then we should look in the mirror and see who we deserve, how we are living, what is the culture and atmosphere, and what have we cultivated in the leadership that has arisen or the options of leadership we have. So, says Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa, who certainly was not commenting on anything in the United States of America in 2020, or in Israel for that matter in 2020, but "Dor dor umanhigav dor dor veshofdav." First is the generation then the leader, so Moshe would not be surprised when he would see those future generations, he would then understand the leadership, they got the leadership that they deserved. Okay, continuing on. Torah says, I'm sorry, still in this opening pasuk. "Ve'amarta aleihem." What was the message they are to get? "Lenefesh lo yitama ba'amav." The Kohen Gadol, the Kohanim are not allowed to contaminate, they can't become impure from tum'ah, from anyone in their nation, anyone in their people. Says the Chozeh of Lublin, the Halacha Chozeh of Lublin says the following. Listen to this insight. "Emor el hakohanim." Tell the Kohanim that what? "Bnei Aharon." "Emor el hakohanim bnei Aharon." Says the Chozeh of Lublin, "Bnei Aharon" is not identifying who they are. Speak to the Kohanim. Who are the Kohanim? "Bnei Aharon." We know they're bnei Aharon. What does it mean then? Says the Chozeh, "Emor el hakohanim." Tell the Kohanim what? "Bnei Aharon." You're the children of Aharon. And what does it mean to be the progeny of Aharon? What do we know about Aharon? The Mishnah tells us, how is Aharon characterized? He is "Ohev shalom verodef shalom." Aharon is the quintessential paradigmatic teacher of peace, harmony. "Ohev shalom verodef shalom." "Ohev et habriyos umekarvan laTorah." This is Aharon's mission statement, this is who he is, and this is who you're meant to be. "Emor el hakohanim." Tell the Kohanim "Bnei Aharon." You are meant to continue in the tradition, you're meant to continue in the mission of Aharon. So, what's going to happen then? The Kohen's going to say, "Kiruv? Ohev et habriyos umekarvan laTorah? I have to love people and bring them close to Torah." Aharon is the initiator, Aharon is the first father of kiruv. "Umekarvan laTorah." Kiruv. So, what's the Aharon going to do? He's going to say, "You know, I'm going to go to the bar, and I'm going to hang out in very seedy places, and I'm going to go be the same kiruv. I'm going to lower myself, contaminate myself, compromise myself for kiruv." "Ve'amarta aleihem." So, the Kohanim need the second message. "Lenefesh lo yitama." While you are dedicated to the pursuit of kiruv, but lenefesh, when it comes to your own neshama, "Lo yitama." Be careful not to compromise yourself. This is a challenge in the world of kiruv. This is the mission of those who are involved and engaged in kiruv. How can you lift others without lowering yourself? How can you inspire without becoming compromised? So, "Emor el hakohanim." Remind the Kohanim "Bnei Aharon umekarvan laTorah." That's your mission, that's who you're meant to be. But, lenefesh, when it comes to your nefesh, your neshama, "Lo yitama." "Al titzchaber larasha." Don't attach yourself to people whose values are different than yours. If you remember going all the way back to Sefer Bereishis, we once shared a beautiful insight based on the Medrash Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer, which we won't entirely repeat right now, but when Avraham Avinu asked Sarah, "Can you go check on Yishmael?" Even when he throws Yishmael out of the house, Sarah says, "On one condition. You can go check on Yishmael and maintain that relationship, but you can't get off the camel." Avraham travels several times, a beautiful Medrash that describes how Avraham walked that tightrope of that balance and maintained that relationship so that Yishmael knew he was loved. When Avraham dies, Yishmael shows up. The Torah tells us to eulogize and to mourn Avraham together with his half-brother, with Yitzchak. Why? Because Avraham communicated his love for Yishmael always, but Avraham did it in a very interesting way. He continued to visit Yishmael, but he never got off the camel. And some understand it to mean he didn't lower himself, he went, however, he continued to interact with Yitzchak with Yishmael, rather, but from a little bit of a distance, with boundaries, with barriers, protecting himself with a siag. He didn't get down off the camel. And that's the mission. I shouldn't retreat, I shouldn't isolate, I have to be part of bnei Aharon umekarvan laTorah, but I have to do it in a way that nefesh lo yitama, to be careful not to compromise our entire sense of selves. Okay, let's fast forward. You ready? Parshas Chava, now pasuk yud. Fast forward. "Vakohen hagadol me'achav." So, first this instruction to the Kohanim, and then we move forward to the Kohen. "Kohen hagadol me'achav." "Chavasha Yitzchak Avinu es Yishmael." This is the law of the Kohen Gadol. The law of the Kohen Gadol. Law of the Kohen Gadol is described as "Hakohen hagadol me'achav." It's a very funny language. The Kohen who's greater me'achav than his brothers. A little bit superiority, a little bit I don't love that language. "Hakohen hagadol me'achav." So, says the Imrei Chaim, you know what it means? "Hakohen hagadol me'achav." A Kohen who amani katzadik. The Kohen Gadol is the the example. How is he how did he rise to the position of such distinction? of prominence How coin at some of Miss Godel are you there after she miss captain a love a coin a Godel how did he become Godel? May I have by caring about his brothers by connecting with the people. You don't become great in Judaism by being superior holier than thou by being above others by sitting in a position of judgment of others. You know how you become a Godel a coin a Godel you know you become great may I have when you continue to and always define yourself as I have that you are part of your brothers that you care about your brothers. That you are remain may I have that you remain not different than but part of may I have a coin a Godel how are you Godel what is the source of being a Godel is may I have because you are from your brothers. Torah says the key to show we have a mix of the mandate that we have a halakhic obligation to honor the coin in and this comes out in several halakhic forms. The key to show we have to honor the coin and we treat the coin with greater sanctity why because the coin in the Jewish people we are the coin in of the world. Right we are a a nation of coin in mom lockers coin in the great Godel. So mom lockers coin in What does that mean so commentators explain just like the priests within any people not just the Jewish people the priests within any people are charged with a higher level of living and to be a model and example and teachers of others. That's what the Jewish people are meant to be among the nations of the world among humanity. Just like that responsibility comes with privileges of the Jewish people vis-a-vis the nations of the world so to the coin in within our people it comes with certain privileges the key to show we have to honor the coin in because of the lives that they are living. The even Ezra says it means the way that you think about coin in the way that you speak to coin in. The mugging of Rome says is this a dinner I saw dinner a bun biblical or a bit of the mugging of Rome says it is a bit of but it is an illusion it sends it to in this word the key to show we have a responsibility to sanctify through the way we treat. This is codified in show for an hour show for an hour says If you're calling us listening right now don't let this go to your head but the show for an hour says that if you have a coin who is a scholar then the coin goes first means for the first Aliyah that's why we give coin in the first Aliyah. We give coin in the right to lead benching. The coin in can say kiddush for everybody. It's how we honor the coin in not only in ritual ceremonies but even within casual things you're serving the soup the coin first. You're holding the door open the coin walks through first. We always give the honor to the coin they give precedence and preference because of their elevated status their role within our people and their greater obligation of responsibility their greatest responsibility to maintain a lifestyle of of holiness. The Rama and show for an hour explains and says the key to show it means not only do we show greater honor but it also means we don't take a favor. So if you're asking somebody to get you a napkin or bring you a cup of water if there's a Israel you ask the Israel not the coin. We don't ask the coin to do things for us you can't be a machine for coin in. You don't ask the coin to do things to do things for you. Coin can be mobile or available you see if it's a chew up but the coin can be mobile and bring you the and bring you the napkin or bring you the glass of water. Mugging of Rome wonders why are we not careful about this today? We still give the coin the first Aliyah the coin in the benching but we're not as careful as we should be in the key to show why aren't we today? And he suggests maybe because coin in them are not me you custom we don't know that the coin in today can trace their lineage back with such confidence as they once did and therefore the llama to show us one of the one of the considerations of why maybe we're not as strict with this as we should be today is that we're not as sure as confident in their you custom as we could be which has significance because when it comes to a pigeon a bun when it comes to a pigeon a bun is he really a coin? So for example some are strict my grandson who had a pigeon a bun earlier this year the coin's name was rapport and rapport is the shock of shock say coin rapport the name rapport those who descend from the carry the name rapport have a greater likelihood of being coin in me you custom can trace their lineage back. So some are careful specifically for pigeon a bun. By the way as in a side of by Salovey chick felt strongly and this appears in the O you rub homage by Salovey chick felt strongly the key to show it means that the coin has an elevated status. If there's no coin you don't give the Aliyah to a levy. If there's no coin you specifically don't give the levy in its stead you go right to you Israel and then come coin because you don't want to give the missing missing impression that the levy is on the same status or carries that level of obligation or the level of covered as the coin the levy is different than the coin. Okay paragraph of base possible on the base we're continuing and moving right ahead talked about the blemishes mum that would a mum within the coin that would disqualify the coin from performing the Avoda from giving us the brocha in duchanning if it's a distraction and so on. We have the obligation paragraph of base of safeguarding the the carbonos and the truma the sanctified and sacred things. Skip the paragraph of base possible on the base bottom of page 680 on the art scroll stone homage and here the Torah tells us a phrase that we are familiar with. Why are we familiar with it because when you were a kid and you went on a class trip your teacher gave you a little pep talk before you went and said do not stick your head out the bus window. Don't throw spit balls. We're on a class trip and what do we have to be careful that we have to make? We have to make a kiddush Hashem. And what do we have to safeguard and protect ourselves from Hashem violating? Do not make a chillul Hashem. But my dear friends it's a terrible mistake and misnomer. Chillul Hashem and kiddush Hashem are not primarily within the nations of the world. Where are they first made? Says the Torah below how long paragraph of base possible on the base below how long Hashem Kodesh the next to the soul of the Israel and the Hashem the Kodesh him. Do not desecrate my name rather sanctify my name where? The soul of the Israel and this is our biggest challenge. This is our hardest effort. We talked about cure of Aaron from the carbon of the Torah. The overwhelming majority of the Jewish people today are unaffiliated. The majority of the Jewish people today are not a servant and one of the biggest obstacles driving them away from a life of Torah from fulfilling our mission and mandate of being mild by quote sham I am where we all but talked about covered is when they see Jews Torah Jews not living Torah lives. And we've seen it those who are not properly obeying the rules of this pandemic and are endangering others. The chillul Hashem that it's creating the headlines it is so painful there's an ache in our stomach it's a chillul Hashem where the soul of the Israel. So yeah the nations of the world we care about but you know what we care about first? The soul of the Israel. Don't worry about sticking your head out the window on the bus for the non-Jewish nations of the world in the class trip. Worry about the secular teacher in the Yeshiva who sees the way that you're behaving in the classroom. Worry about the the impression we're leaving on fellow Jews the soul of the Israel. That's where the first the first address of chillul Hashem or kiddush Hashem. Rebbe Nachman Nachman Nachman says below how long Hashem Kodesh the next to the soul the possible presents it as these two options. That word chillul Hashem the word chillul means a hole a vacuum something is missing. What is a chillul Hashem? So we just said this beautifully comes full circle to how we began. We began Kodesh Kodesh Kodesh Hashem below how long arts Kodesh Hashem's glory Hashem's honor the weightiness the significance of Hashem it fills the whole universe. Everywhere you look and everywhere you turn in the beauty and gift of technology in medicine advancement in spirituality in holiness and Kodesh Hashem is everywhere in nature everywhere you look below how long arts Kodesh Hashem is everywhere. You know what a chillul Hashem is? When you actually drive Hashem out of somewhere. You've made a chillul of chillul a vacuum a gaping hole. You've made an opening where Hashem can't be found. When you cheat in business when you don't obey the guidelines and you think you're above the law the rules when you are discourteous to someone else. When you make a chillul Hashem you've driven God out of a certain space. You've God driven God out of a certain time. You've created a chillul Hashem a hole a gaping chasm a hole a vacuum where Hashem cannot be found. Our mission is to be below how long arts Kodesh. That's how we become Kodesh. When you create a chillul Hashem you've driven Hashem out of that place. Says Rebbe Nachman Nachman Nachman what's the antidote what's the response what's the repair? Below how long Hashem Kodesh there's only one answer. The next to the soul of the Israel. The only one answer the next to the soul is now your response is you have to make a kiddush Hashem. The only answer to a chillul Hashem is a kiddush Hashem to obey the guidelines to do kind things to honor those in the front lines risking their lives to be have integrity and honest in business to be courteous in our personal conduct to be dignified in the way we treat others. The only answer to chillul Hashem is kiddush Hashem. In fact others suggest that there is no third option. You might say well I don't want to make a chillul Hashem but I'm also not so committed to a kiddush Hashem. I want to just be. Can't I just live my life? Isn't there a third option? Milk and fleishigs and pareve. There is no pareve when it comes to our personal conduct and our lifestyles. Some understand from here what you're doing is either a kiddush Hashem or a chillul Hashem. The way you speak the way you carry yourself the life you live how you conduct yourself at work, in the gym, at the supermarket, at home, with Jews, non-Jews, observant Jews, not observant Jews. The way we're living is either a Kiddush Hashem or a Chillul Hashem. If it doesn't fit into Kiddush Hashem, by definition, it is a Chillul Hashem. It's the two choices that we have, and one is the antidote, is the response to the other. Rav Nissan Alpert, zt"l, the great talmudist Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rosh Yeshiva Yeshiva University, in his Limudei Nissan, a beautiful sefer on Chumash, he says, "Notice the grammatical form of the word "venikdashti". "Venikdashti besoch Bnei Yisrael". "Venikdashti", says Rav Nissan Alpert, is nif'al. What is nif'al? The language, the lashon of nif'al, means that Kiddush Hashem doesn't only mean dying al Kiddush Hashem. It's not the great moment of dying al Kiddush Hashem. There's an article in the journal Kol Perspectives several years ago that a teacher quoted a student who said, that student said, "You know, I feel invisible and inconsequential. I don't matter. I wish I lived in the generation of the Holocaust. If I could have died al Kiddush Hashem, Kiddush Hashem, I could have been a hero." And the teacher was bemoaning that the impression our children may have is that Kiddush Hashem means I have to be willing to die al Kiddush Hashem. You know, sometimes even harder than dying al Kiddush Hashem is to live al Kiddush Hashem, to dedicate our lives not just to to be a meis mitzvah but a chaim mitzvah, not to die al Kiddush Hashem but to live al Kiddush Hashem. How do you live al Kiddush Hashem? Not in the monumental grandiose moments, says Rav Nissan Alpert, "Nikdashti nif'al". The small, seemingly insignificant Did you hold the door? Did you say please? Did you say thank you? Were you courteous? How do you treat others? Do you have integrity and honesty? In the small, seemingly insignificant ways, "Nif'al nikdashti" is the difference that we make. It's the impact that we have on the world. Rav Elyashiv says that this is the challenge. Every generation has their challenge. Every generation had their challenge of mesirus nefesh. And this is our generation's challenge is to live lives of Kiddush Hashem, to be marbeh kavod Shamayim. It's the theme of our parsha, and it's our mission in life. Rav Moshe Leib Sassover, the great Sassover, said something interesting. You know, what do we learn from here? And this is very relevant to what we're going through right now. He says the Gemara in Berachos daf chof alef says the following. "Amrah Rav Ada bar Ahavah minayin she'yachol omer kedushah?" How do you know that if you're alone, you can't say kedushah? We crave it. You know how long it's been since I answered a kedushah? How long it's been since you answered a kaddish, a borchu, "Dvarim shebe kedushah"? It's It's like going eight weeks without eating. It's like eight weeks without drinking. We're all spiritually malnourished by the inability to answer. So, why can't we just answer all alone, "Venikdashti", over Zoom? Why can't we answer? So, the Gemara learns, you know where you learn it from? She ne'emar, "Venikdashti besoch Bnei Yisrael". "Kol davar shebe kedushah lo yehei pachus me'asarah". Because a "davar shebe kedushah" can't be less than 10 people. "Venikdashti". And there it says in Parshas Shelach, "Vehi badlu mitoch ha'eidah". "Mal ha'olam asarah, afkan asarah". So, we learn from here that just like over there with the meraglim, subtract the two good ones, you had 10. So, too over here, "Venikdashti besoch Bnei Yisrael", "dvarim shebe kedushah", kaddish, kedushah, borchu, you can only say within a minyan. Says Rav Moshe Leib Sassover, the Heilige Sassover, it's an amazing thing. You see the power of Klal Yisrael. There could be nine Roshei Yeshiva, nine tzaddikim, nine geonim, nine of the greatest lamed vav tzaddikim conventionally, only nine of the 36 could get together. Nine can be together, they still can't say a "davar shebe kedushah". And then you could have 10 poshete Yidden, 10 illiterate Jews who can't even make a leining on a Gemara, 10 poshete, simple, illiterate, ignorant Jews. And you know what? They can say the "dvarim shebe kedushah". You see, says the Heilige Sassover, that the power is in the minyan. The power is in a tzibbur. The power is in community. You could have a community of ignoramuses, but the power of community enables them to do things that even nine great people can't do. The power is in community, and that is why we are so desperate. It is why we so desperately crave being able to come back together as community. Okay, a few more couple more quick thoughts. Parshas Emor packed solid, so much to talk about. Lachma Panim and the Mekallel, I don't even know if we're going to get to. We probably won't get to all of this, but good news. You're invited back Parshas Emor 2021, taf shin pei alef. There's so much more to talk about in Parshas Emor. There's a beautiful insight of Rav Yosef Salant, the Be'er Yosef, a beautiful sefer the Be'er Yosef, and he has the following. Again, we don't have time. This is one of his longer essays, pages and pages long. He sets it up with a series of questions. But in our parsha, and we are in this time that we are counting Sefiras Ha'Omer. We're counting the Omer. That same word Omer we find being used in four separate contexts. In four separate contexts, that same word Omer. I'll tell you what they are quickly. We have that same word Omer. We talk about the Omer as a count, we're counting the Omer. The Omer is a period of time. The Omer is a korban brought on the second day of Pesach. And the Omer is a flower offering. It is the measure of a flower offering. So, the word Omer is used in four separate contexts. And the truth is the word Omer means almost none of the above. What does the word Omer mean? Where does it come from? It is a measure equivalent of an issaron, a tenth of an eifah, 43.2 eggs, about 95 oz. So many mitzvos revolve around the Omer. We bring the Minchas Omer, a Korban Omer, Sefiras Ha'Omer, the time period of the Omer. Eifah. We have all this going around this word Omer in so many different contexts, meaning so many different things. So, the Be'er Yosef says, "What do they all have to do with each other? And if Omer means a measure, why are we naming a korban and a count and a time period over a measure? It's like naming a time period, or it's like engaging in a count, or it's like dedicating a sacrifice after the word court, leader, pound, ounce. We're calling it an Omer. Omer really is ultimately it is a measure. Where does it come from?" And listen to what he says. "Lefi hamavor", this is at the end of pages and pages, really worthwhile well worth studying this drasha inside. "She'tachlis kavanas mitzvas Omer becheimes mitzvas Omer she'Yisrael yasimu tamid neged eineihem u'libam es matzavam bizman achilas hamann bamidbar. She'Yisrael beshorash emunasam be tacham bakodesh baruch hu." You know what the Be'er Yosef says? Unbelievable. He says the first time the word Omer appears in the Torah, this measure appears in the Torah, is when? The falling of the mann. When the mann, the heavenly bread, fell in the midbar. And what the Omer is teaching us in every context that we engage and counter that word Omer again, it is a trigger. It's a hint. It is trying to remind us and take us back to the falling of the mann. So, an Omer was the amount of mann that we received in the midbar. "Veshakol yemei chayav yochal veyisnagu ka'osam hayamim". When we count the Omer, we're supposed to remember that Hashem provides, He gives us parnassah, He takes care of us, He nourishes us. We get the measure we need, the measure we deserve. It's the root of the theme of the korban, of the count, of the time period. Every aspect of anything named Omer is to shake us back to the falling of the mann and to remember that everything we have and everything we need comes from Hashem. "Uvezeh yutam emunasam u'vitachonam bachalukas ma'aseh merkavas Torah u'mitzvot Hashem. Ka'osam hayamim shel arba'im shanah shebemidbar". To take us and transport us back to those years in the desert where Hashem took care of us and gave us everything we needed, and our entire lives were dedicated to learning, to studying, to connecting, to living, to feeling His presence. That's what Omer is about. So, what's the count of the Omer about? So, what's the time of the Omer about? "Yemei Omer, Sefiras Ha'Omer". We should say "Sefiras yemei Ha'Omer". Why do we say "Baruch Hashem Asher kidishanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al Sefiras Ha'Omer"? Should be "al Sefiras yemei Ha'Omer". Says Rav Yosef Salant, the Be'er Yosef, because we are remembering the Omer, this measure of the mann that fell. No matter how much of the heavenly bread someone tried to scoop up, you tried to take more, you tried to take less, you always got an Omer. An Omer is what Hashem determined we needed, and an Omer is what He generously and miraculously provided. And these days we're not just counting the Omer, we're counting the Omer and realizing that we have, like the mann, what we have comes from above, it comes from Hashem. And what we have is the Omer, it is the measure of what we need. Many wish they had more, and life would be easier if they had more. And while very few, nobody wishes they had less, some people's lives would actually be better and less complicated if they had less. But in these 49 days, what we're working on when we're counting the Omer, we're not counting the days of Omer. We're counting the Omer, the mann in our lives. We're counting the exact measure of what we need. And in fact, this is what we're going to celebrate next week. I'll give you a little preview. Maybe we'll end with this. A preview of Lag Ba'Omer next week. The Chasam Sofer, the Moshe Sofer, says that the miraculous mann we celebrate Lag Ba'Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer, is when the miraculous mann began to fall from heaven. The 33rd day of the Omer corresponds on the Hebrew calendar with when the mann began to fall. And what is the cabalistic uh formula for that day? Lag Ba'Omer is Hod ShebeHod, which means gratitude of gratitude, thankfulness within thankfulness. It is a day dedicated The theme of Lag Ba'Omer is not only Rav Shimon bar Yochai and the yahrtzeit of the Rama, but Lag Ba'Omer is Hod ShebeHod, gratitude within gratitude. When the mann fell, this whole time period is "Sefiras not only yemei Omer but ha'Omer". It's a time in which we are grateful. Okay, I wanted to talk about the Lachma Panim, the miracle, the fact that it never got stale. I wanted to talk about the the Mekallel, the one at the end of our parsha, who curses Hashem and is killed as a result, the consequence. But we'll have to, b'ezras Hashem, incorporate those two themes next year. Wishing everyone a great day, a happy, a healthy, and a holy day.