Day #32–Rambam DAILY Sefer HaMitzvos

[Music] day number 32 of our daily study of the namham say from Mitzvahs and as mentioned yesterday we are going to be studying the same biblical commandment every day for a few days because uh in the three chapters a day of mishna Taylor we're in helkhas barakas the laws of blessings which is 11 chapters and there's only one biblical commandment in all of that and that is well let's say it properly here positive commandment number 19 beer customizing the grace after meals which we spoke about yesterday now we're gonna go a little bit more into depth not about the Mitzvah itself but something related to it and it's based on one of the three chapters that we're studying in the mishna Taylor today which today we're on chapters four five and six of the laws of blessings so I want to share with you something from chapter six specifically from chapter six aleph the first paragraph the first halacha from chapter six the damam says anyone who eats bread that you make a before blessing you have to wash your hands first this is the Mitzvah of say hold on a second that's also a Mitzvah how come we've been saying only one Mitzvah only Grace after meals what about isn't that also a mitzvah all right great question is a rabbinic Mitzvah so it's not one of the 613 biblical Commandments it's urbanik mitzvah that's why it's if we make a blessing when we wash the hands we make if it's urbanic mix we make a blessing art but it's uh it's now one of the six thirteen now listen to what the ramam says even though the bread is not sacred not holy what's that I'm referring to here we're not used to this whole concept of holy not holy um get ready when we get into the entire book of Tara when we talk about ritual Purity and impurity because that's very foreign to our lives unfortunately uh we don't have the ashes of the red heifer today so we can't remove the impurity imparted by a corpse so most of those laws are foreign to us which is why it's very good that we learn it in the rambam to familiarize ourselves but at any rate this this idea of past colon what it's talking about is as opposed to when the kohanim eat a meal where the food is taken from truma truma is a a portion of the crop we're going to learn all about this Tuma is a portion of the crop that is taken and consecrated and can only be consumed by a kahin so uh the crane has to consume that in a state of Purity and he has to wash his hands it's an enactment that the coin has to wash his hands now interestingly the enactment that the rabbis made that the the kahanam should wash their hands before they have a meal because they might consume uh truma in their meal was applied not just to condom but to all of us I'm going to read to you right now from the often referred to as the from that's chapter 158 which is the laws of washing your hands for a meal the altareba says very similar to what we just read from the Rama anyone who eats bread that you may comeitzi on as a before blessing you have to wash your hands first and I'll skip ahead in that paragraph but he also says we take no and they meaning the rabbis established this even when you eat non-sacred food shiagi Lulu they made this so that the kahanum should be accustomed to washing their hands before they eat and then not forget to do it when they are eating trauma in other words the only time they really need to wash their hands is before they eat truma we just made them wash their hands before any meal as a safeguard now listen to this they didn't want to distinguish meaning the rabbis who made this enactment list between kohanim and the rest of the Jewish people who don't eat Tuma only kohanimi Tuma so interestingly the enactment of washing the hands before the meal was made so that the kahanam shouldn't forget to wash their hands when they eat truma and then it was applied to all the Jewish people not just to the kohanim now you're gonna say like this but even today the kohanim don't eat truma because they cannot achieve the level of Purity required in order to consume such Foods so listen to what the altareba says don't eat trauma because of the impure state that they can't remove because we don't have the ashes of the red heifer this rabbinical enactment has not been negated why kadeshior Israel so that the Jewish people are used to this when the base hamidash which will be speedily rebuilt is standing again and then the kahanam are going to be able to eat truma so isn't that an inspiring thought that natilicidaim that we wash our hands before a meal is related to our expectation that very soon the temple is going to be rebuilt and we're going to have all the laws all the 613 Commandments that we're learning around them are going to be practiced again and we need to be ready that that inspires me okay we'll see you tomorrow God willing