Recap for 5 Nisan 5777 (Parsha Vayikra)

This Shabbos we discussed Parsha Vayikra, including commentary by Rav Yeager.  We continued our discussion of the upcoming holiday of Pesach.  David Schlesinger led discussion.

This Shabbos it was good to welcome back Howard to our kiddush and learning.  Please keep his mother, Bracha bat Malka, in your thoughts and prayers.  Yaki shared that there are prayers for refuah shlema within the Shemona Esrei.  There are also Psalms that speak about recovery and healing.  

If there is anyone else who is not well that I should mention in the notes, please let me know.

This Shabbos we discussed why the detailed instructions for building the Mishkan, were repeated again in the parsha.  Why did the Torah not simply state the Mishkan was built as instructed?  Howard shared his thoughts that the repetition may have been to indicate that we completed all the details we were instructed to do, however we may not have done them in the same order as instructed.  If the Torah only told us we did things in a different order, we would think we probably left out some details as well.

We discussed that when things are repeated in the Torah, there is a meaning to this repetition.  By including all the details for building the Mishkan more than once, we are also reminded that those commandments that are more briefly described are brief for a reason.  That reason could be that Hashem wants us to figure out the details, or that the details may differ depending on the time period we are in.  However, for building the mishkan, Hashem did not allow for much variations in the details.

We discussed one of the central ideas of Judaism - that Hashem plays an active role in our lives, and has preferences for us.  However, he gives us free will to make our own choices.  We discussed that if Hashem prefers we satisfy the desires he gave us in certain ways, and we use our free will to choose different ways, Hashem may still help us along.

We discussed an example of this, which is with the Golden Calf.  Hashem created us to want to connect to a higher power - however gave us free will to choose this higher power.  Hashem’s preference for us was that we choose him as our higher power.  However, as Norm pointed out, when we choose to have an idol instead, it seems that Hashem actually helped us with its creation – as the idol simply appeared after we had done our part.

We discussed how we built the Mishkan with a lot of enthusiasm.  In fact, when Moshe asked us to bring materials, we brought so much that he had to ask us to stop.  Although we also had enthusiasm with the Golden Calf, the enthusiasm when building the Mishkan indicated our willingness to repent.  It also reminds us that it is important to have enthusiasm when carrying out the commandments in the Torah.  Enthusiasm is great, but we need to be careful how it is channeled. 

We discussed how when we traveled in the desert we were followed by a cloud.  This can be seen as a cloud over the oil that is used in the tabernacle.  The oil represents miracles.  The cloud represents the fact that some of Hashem’s preferences are cloudy, and we may not be able to see crystal clear what his will is for us.  If things were always crystal clear, it would take away free will.

This Shabbos, we discussed some more the upcoming holiday of Pesach.  We discussed how the rising dough which occurs when making bread, represents our ego.  David shared his thoughts that once a year we need to put aside our ego and acknowledge that we are the “junior engineers” relative to Hashem, when it comes to creation.  Hashem did give us an ego for a reason, and during the year we feel good about our abilities and what we accomplish.  This is why we eat bread year round.  However once a year we acknowledge that the ultimate power rests with Hashem and not with us.

We discussed some more this Shabbos, that to get ready for Pesach, it is not necessary to do a complete “spring cleaning” of the house.  It is important to focus on all aspects of this holiday, and not just the preparatory work.  We discussed that although we try to rid our homes of all Chumatz, it is permitted to retain possession of small amounts that are less than about 1 cubic centimeter. 

We discussed some miscellaneous situations.  Rob pointed out that it is ok if a non-Jew brings a sandwich into our homes, although we want to be absolutely sure that this does not increase the odds we will end up consuming some of this chumatz!  We also discussed that if a baby or a pet spits out chumatz, the composition has changed and it is no longer considered chumatz.  We discussed that we only need to clean out rooms in which chumatz was brought in during the year.  And we do not need to be concerned about property that we rent out, that has become the homes of others.

This is a summary of what we discussed.  No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.