Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
Parshas Pinchas 5756
(Numbers 25:1-30:1)
"This is the fire-offering that you are to offer to G-d: male lambs
in their first year, unblemished, two a day, as an ongoing (tamid) elevation
offering." (Numbers 28:3)
***
Our parsha describes the commandment of the ongoing burnt-offering, known
as the korban tamid, which was burnt entirely upon the outer altar. The
korban tamid consisted of an unblemished male lamb in its first year offered
once in the morning and once in the late afternoon, everyday of the year.
Thus the offering is called tamid, ongoing, because it is brought regularly,
day in and day out. This sacrifice was a communal sacrifice, purchased
with the annual half-shekel contributions, especially designated for this
purpose, collected from the entire nation. The tamid sacrifice atoned for
the sins of Israel. The morning tamid was a festive event in the Temple.
The Levites sang an instrumenally accompanied Song of the Day from the
book of Psalms [A specific Psalm was designated for every day of the week.
Today, we recite the appropriate Psalm at the end of our daily prayers.]
When the service was concluded, everyone bowed, including the king if he
was present.
Our parsha begins with the recounting of the episode of Pinchas
(Phineas), who, acting on behalf of Hashem, speared and killed Zimri the
son of Salu, leader of a father's house of the Shimonites. Pinchas. By
killing Zimri, Pinchas put an end to the devastating plague which Hashem
(G-d) sent to punish the Jews for their immoral behavior with the daughters
of Midian and Moab. The plague claimed 24,000 lives. The parsha ends with
the commandments to offer the korban tamid and the additional (musaf) offerings
that were brought on the Sabbath, new moons, and festivals. By definition,
they were to be offered as an addition to the tamid. What connection is
there between the incident of Pinchas and the tamid and musaf sacrifices,
that Hashem felt it necessary to include them together in the same parsha?
Based on the teachings of Rabbi Nachman and his student Rav Noson, we will
examine the connection.
INSECTS AND THE FORCES OF EVIL
The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) says, "Worms that live in fruit
[only] when [the fruit is] detached [from the tree] are permitted to be
eaten. For the Torah prohibited the consumption of only those worms that
crawl on the ground. (Shulchan Aruch: Yoreh Dayah 64:4) [Note: Please refer
to the Halacha section, found on the back page of this sheet for details
concerning the exceptions to this law.] All worms, insects, moths, etc.
are connected to the spiritual energies of the primeval snake and the forces
of evil. The main goal of the forces of evil is to destroy the world and
everything in it, using any means possible. Rav Noson says this is why
you will find bugs everywhere and in all things, trying to destroy our
homes, clothing, food etc. If we wouldn't take the proper counter measures
to stop them, there wouldn't be anything that they wouldn't destroy. The
Talmud teaches, "The earthly kingdom resembles the Heavenly Kingdom." (Talmud:
Berachot 58a) Th is means, just as bugs which try to destroy everything
are found everywhere, in the same way, on the spiritual level, the forces
of evil are found everywhere, and try to destroy everything, especially
man's eternal bliss in the hereafter.
THE BITE OF THE SNAKE
The evil inclination and its forces are everpresent, encircling every item
of holiness in its attempt to prevent anyone from attaining holiness and
closeness with Hashem. This is generally why, when it comes to performing
an act of holiness, one suddenly becomes tired, lazy, sad, and unenthusiastic.
All these negative feelings are associated with spiritual energies of the
primeval snake, as the verse says, "And Hashem said to the snake..., 'Dirt
shall you eat all the days of your life.'" (Genesis 3:14) Laziness and
sadness are associated with the negative side of the spiritual essence
of dirt, as the verse says, "Cursed is the ground (dirt) because of you
(Adam); through sadness shall you eat of it all the days of your life.
By the sweat of your brow shall you [work the soil to] eat bread(" [Having
to always work hard in futility makes one unenthusiastic, which breeds
laziness.] (Genesis 3:17, 19) By associating the snake with the energies
contained in the dirt, the verses indicate that all creatures which live
and crawl in the dirt are connected with energies that cause laziness and
sadness. Rav Noson says that these characteristics are vividly apparent
in all creatures who live in the dirt. For instance, worms appear to be
slower, more lazy, and have less vitality than any other creature. These
negative characteristics are called the 'bite of the snake', which one
must be extremely careful to avoid.
OVERCOMING LAZINESS AND SADNESS--
AS EASY AS KILLING A BUG
Rav Noson says that with a little bit of thought, planning, discipline
and enthusiasm, a person could easily overcome the negative characteristics
of laziness and sadness and he proves it from the laws of nature itself.
As mentioned above, worms and bugs are found in abundance everywhere. We
also mentioned that worms and bugs are associated with the spiritual energies
of laziness and sadness and seek every opportunity to destroy all things.
Even though a house may be infested with thousands of bugs, due to the
fragile constitution of all worms and bugs, they can be easily exterminated
through just a little thought and effort. This can be compared to a person
who has acquired the bad habits associated with bugs. His persona has become
infested with millions upon millions of spiritual and mental bugs that
breed laziness and sadness. Such overwhelming multitudes gives the impression
that eliminating them would be impossible. However, just as the multitudes
of insects are easily exterminated by the tens of thousands, the negative
characteristics of laziness and sadness associated with them can just as
easily be eliminated. The following verse supports this contention: King
Solomon taught that the nature of the lazy man is to view even life's small
problems as big obstacles, as the verse says, "The lazy man says, 'There
is a lion outside; I will be murdered in the middle of the streets.'" (Proverbs
22:13) [Because he is too lazy to go out to do his work, he fabricates
stories of dangers lurking in the street. He says that there is a lion
outside and that he is in danger of being murdered by robbers lurking in
the middle of the streets. (Metzudas David)]
DON'T LET THE WORM OUT
Rav Noson says, regarding the aforementioned law of worms in fruits, that
this law has a practical application which teaches us how to deal with
our bad thoughts. He compares our good thoughts and intentions to fruit.
For all our good deeds are the outgrowth or extension of our good thoughts.
Thus, the fruit of our good thoughts or intentions are good deeds. As mentioned
above, the forces of evil are always present to oppose our efforts for
good and to thwart our good intentions. This is manifested by the negative
or bad thoughts that always seem to pop up every time we think or intend
to do something positive. They are like a worm found lodged within a fruit.
Just as a worm tries to consume and destroy a fruit from within, so the
evil inclination plagues us with negativity, trying to destroy our good
thoughts and intentions before they can be implemented. Just as we would
do our utmost to prevent a worm from destroying the fruit from within,
so we should make every effort to prevent bad thoughts from consuming our
potentially fruitful or productive thoughts. The way to do this is to simply
ignore the evil thoughts. In the language of our sages, this is referred
as preventing the leavening of the mind. Just as dough leavens when it
is allowed to rise, someone who allows his evil thoughts to rise will cause
the leavening or pollution of his mind. If a person is unable to prevent
his evil thought worm from eating away at the fruits of his mind, he at
least should not allow the worm to exit to the exterior of the fruit where
it will become forbidden, meaning to say he should not do a forbidden act
as a result of allowing his bad thoughts to exit to the outside of his
mind. [Note: Evil thoughts which are ignored are harmless. However, if
one dwells upon them, they can damage the spiritual roots of his thoughts.
Acting upon the thoughts damages the spiritual root of action as well.]
THE PROFIT IN HOSTING ELISHA THE PROPHET (AND OTHER TZADDIKIM)
Rav Noson now explains how we can overcome the mental and spiritual worms
that haunt us. The book of Kings describes the dealings of Elisha, the
prophet with a certain woman: "...Elisha went as far as Shumen, and there
was a prominent woman who prevailed upon him to eat a meal; and it was,
whenever he would pass [through Shumen], he would stop there to eat a meal.
And she said to her husband, 'Behold, now I know that [the prophet Elisha]
is a holy man of Hashem, who passes by us regularly (tamid). Now let us
make a small, walled, upper chamber, and place there for him a bed, a table,
a chair and a lamp; and it will be that when he comes to us, he will turn
into there.'" (2 Kings 4:8-10) As the verse relates to our teaching, the
expression "prominent woman" means a G-dfearing woman. (Targum Yonason)
She was great in the performance of good deeds, surpassing other women
in hospitality. (Zohar: Beshalach 44a) The Talmud explains how the woman
was able to tell that Elisha was a holy man, "Rebbe Yosi [son of] Rebbe
Chanina said, 'From this [the fact that the husband wasn't as adept as
his wife in determining that Elisha was a holy man, we derive that] a woman
is better able to assess [the nature of her] guests than a man. 'He is
a holy man'--How did she know this? Rav and Shmuel, [two great sages, debate
this point]. One said, "She never saw a fly pass over his table, and the
other said, 'She spread a sheet of linen over his bed, and [never] saw
any pollution on it." (Talmud: Berachot 10a) Alternately, when she made
his bed in the morning, she found that the sheets were sweet-smelling like
the Garden of Eden, rather than malodorous as used linen usually is. (Zohar:
Beshalach 44a)
In another teaching, the Talmud indicates that the absence of
flies is a sign of the presence of great holiness, "Ten miracles were performed
for our ancestors in the Holy Temple...no fly was seen in the place where
the meat was butchered; no [sexual] pollution ever occurred to the High
Priest on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)..." (Talmud: Avoth 5:7) The fact
that no fly was ever found within the precincts of the Temple, even in
the area where the sacrificial meat was butchered, indicates that places
and persons of extreme holiness, such as the Temple and holy men of Elisha's
caliber, repulses impure creatures, such as flies. Based on the verse and
the Talmud's analysis it is established that Elisha was a holy man and
that men of his caliber are able to repulse the impure creatures of the
world.
We will now demonstrate how this information applies to our teaching.
The Talmud explains another phrase from the above verse, "(who passes by
us regularly (Hebrew: tamid)." Rebbe Yosi [son of] Rebbe Chanina said in
the name of Rebbe Eliezer ben Ya'akov, 'Whoever shows hospitality to a
scholar in his house and lets him enjoy his possessions, the Scriptures
credits him as if he had brought the continual burnt-offering (the korban
tamid).'" (Talmud: Berachot 10a) Our sages associate the word tamid, "regularly",
mentioned in this verse with the word tamid, used by the Scriptures to
describe the requirement to offer the continual or ongoing burnt-offering,
as the verse says, "...This is the fire-offering that you are to offer
to Hashem: male lambs in their first year, unblemished, two a day, as a
continual (tamid) elevation-offering." (Numbers 28:3) The Talmud goes on
to prove that the word tamid--continually--does not necessarily mean constantly,
but rather something that happens consistently, at certain intervals. When
the verse mentions that Elisha passed through Shunam continuously, Elisha's
visits, no matter how often, could not have been tamid in the sense of
consistently at set times. Therefore, our sages understand the word tamid
in this verse to allude to another verse where the word tamid is also mentioned,
which is the verse that describes the law of the tamid, continual burnt-offering.
There are many other verses and commandments, besides the korban
tamid, that employ the word tamid, such as the commandment to kindle the
lights of the menorah and the commandment of the show bread. How did the
sages know to connect the word tamid of our verse with the korban tamid
and not to some other reference of or commandment involving the word tamid?
The reason the sages connect the hosting of a righteous man to the offering
of the korban tamid is that these two cases have several common denominators
which are not present in the other instances of the word tamid in the Bible.
The tamid burnt-offering is considered to be one of the holiest sacrifices,
[and serves as soul food, activating certain energies that nourish the
spiritual realms]. Like the korban tamid, a righteous scholar embodies
the highest level of holiness. The righteous scholar, in using the strength
derived from his physical nourishment to serve Hashem, creates energies
which, like the korban tamid, nourish the spiritual realms. His very act
of eating is comparable to the serving of heavenly food. Thus the Tzaddik's
table is likened to a altar, and the food he eats to the korban tamid.
Therefore, hosting a righteous scholar leads to the creation of very high
spiritual energies which are the same energies as those engendered by the
korban tamid. (MaHarsha) In summation, from all of the above it can be
derived that all impure things (including flies, bugs, bad thoughts, laziness,
sadness etc.) can be repulsed or eliminated by high levels of holiness.
The high levels of holiness needed to overcome all impurity can come from
hosting a righteous scholar, and from the spiritual energies of the tamid
burnt-offering. Hosting a righteous scholar can mean hospitality, and it
can mean hosting his thoughts by learning his teachings. Both ways help
activate the spiritual energies needed to drive out impurity and inculcate
the mind with holiness. The spiritual energies of the tamid sacrifice can
also be activated even today, despite the absence of a Temple, through
our daily prayers. The recitation of the verses associated with the tamid
offering found in the Torah activates the same great spiritual powers of
the tamid sacrifice, as if one had actually offered the tamid sacrifice
in the Temple. (Lekutai Halachot: Yorah Dayah: Hilchot To'la'im 1:1-3)
THE KORBAN TAMID'S ABILITY TO DESTROY EVIL
Rav Noson further elaborates on the tamid's ability to destroy the forces
of evil and impurity that are associated with worms. The holy Ari says
that the main reason the korban tamid was sacrificed in the Temple and
why, even today, we recite the verses of the tamid twice daily in our prayers,
is to neutralize the forces of evil that are associated with the very powerful
spiritual energies derived from a spiritual mechanism known as the tola'at--the
worm. Tola'at resonates with some of the strongest negative energies that
exist in our world. In fact, the Ari states, these energies as so powerful
that each and every morning, they threaten to swallow up the entire world,
but Hashem, in His great mercy, gave us the korban tamid to neutralize
them. The korban tamid neutralizes the negative energies by activating
the spiritual energies associated with the worm of holiness, alluded to
in the verse, "Fear not, worm (tola'at) of Ya'akov (Jacob)." (Isaiah 41:14)
(Pri Etz Chaim Sha'ar Olam HaAsiyah 3 pp. 28b)
THE WORMY ARROWS OF DEPRESSION
When the lamb was ritually slaughtered, the spiritual energies released
via the ritual slaughtering knife would neutralize the spiritual energies
associated with Esau's sword of depression and remove the piercing arrows
from the Jews.
Rabbi Nachman says that all forms of depression are like arrows
that pierce the flesh of each Jew. Depression, derived from the spiritual
energies of the tola'at, is the greatest single cause of sinning and suffering
in this world. The world is dominated by the spiritual energies and philosophies
of the descendants of the wicked Esau. Esau lived by sword which is considered
the implement of depression, as the verse says, "By your (Esau's) sword
you shall live." (Genesis 27:40) [The sword is an implement of death and
destruction and its victims and/or the surviving relatives sink into a
state of depression as a result. Therefore, the sword represents depression
and the verse could now be read, "By depression you (Esau) shall live."]
Esau's hedonistic values lead to depression which is associated with the
spiritual energies of the worm. The act of using a slaughtering knife to
slaughter the lamb for the korban tamid would break the negative spiritual
energies associated with Esau, neutralizing any that had been absorbed
by a Jew as a result of having to deal with world. This would happen because
each Jew has a share in the daily korban tamid. Since one's possessions
contain fragments of his soul, a part of the every Jews' soul would be
contained in the tamid lamb. When the lamb was ritually slaughtered, the
spiritual energies released via the ritual slaughtering knife would neutralize
the spiritual energies associated with Esau's sword of depression and remove
the piercing arrows from the Jews. Alluding to this is Rashi's explanation
of Deut. 32:41, "The nature of a human king is that when he shoots an arrow
he cannot bring it back; Hashem however, shoots His arrows and it is in
His power to bring them back as though He is still holding them in His
hand." If a person repents and returns to Hashem, the source of all joy,
then Hashem will remove the arrows of depression from that person. When
all of the arrows of depression are removed from the world, then both physical
and spiritual healing will emerge. Amen! (Lekutai Halachot: Yorah Dayah:
Hilchot To'la'im 4:7)
PINCHAS SLAUGHTERS ZIMRI LIKE A SACRIFICIAL LAMB
Through the tamid and the other sacrifices, atonement was achieved. Rabbi
Nachman described and emphasized the greatness of repentance. One may have
fallen to the lowest depths, but no matter how low, it is still forbidden
to give up hope. Repentance is higher even than the Torah, [for it is derived
from keter, the crown, the highest of the spiritual emanations, whereas
the Torah is derived from chochma, wisdom, which is a step lower.] The
main thing is never to give up, but to continue to cry out and pray to
Hashem. (Sichos HaRan 3) Based on Rabbi Nachman's words, we see that Hashem
has always provided us with ways to return to Him. The tamid and the other
animal sacrifices that were slaughtered and then burned on the altar eliminated
the spiritual energies of animalism that are the root of all sin. Zimri,
through his immoral act, descended to the level of an animal. Pinchas who
was justified in killing Zimri for his brazen and public display of gross
immorality, destroyed the spiritual energies of animalism created by Zimri's
behavior, and just as any animal sacrifice would, brought atonement to
the Jews. This is why Zimri's incident and the sacrifices described above
are mentioned together in the same parsha. It is the Torah's way of telling
us that we should strive to live a sanctified life, above that of the animals.
But, if due to human weakness, one happens to fall, the Torah offers hope
and reaches out to that person by giving him the opportunity to repent
and to achieve atonement through sacrifice and sincere repentance. Amen!
[Zimri's case was different. He was a prominent leader who influenced others
to stray and he committed his act in public in an attempt to rebel against
and undermine the law.]
STORY
We mentioned that the power of the korban tamid was able to defend the
world against the assault of the forces of evil. We also mentioned that
a polluted mind can produce bad fruit or actions. The following true story
from the Talmud illustrates these points:
Our Rabbis taught, "When the kings of the Hasmonean house [or
dynasty] fought one another, Hyrcanus was outside [the city walls of Jerusalem
together with the Roman army, who were his allies, (Rashi)] and Aristobulus
was within [the walls of Jerusalem]. [The two Hasmonean brothers, Hyrcanus
and Aristobulus fought against each other to become king. (Rashi)] Each
day, [those who were within] used to let down [to the other party] denari
in a basket, and [in return] haul up for them [lambs for] the continual
(tamid) offerings. An old man there [among the besieged within the city],
who was learned in Greek wisdom, spoke with [the besiegers outside the
walls] in Greek saying, 'As long as [those within the city are allowed
to] carry on the Temple service, they will not be delivered into your hands
[because the merit of the sacrifices protect them].' [The man spoke Greek
because the people in the city did not understand Greek, therefore he was
able to convey this information to the besiegers, which helped them conquer
the city]. On the next day when the basket of denari was let down, a pig
was sent up. When the pig reached the center of the wall it stuck its hooves
into the wall, and the land of Israel quaked over a distance of four hundred
parasangs. [The land of Israel measured 400 parasangs. The statement means
that the entire populace of the land of Israel was shocked upon hearing
of this outrageous incident (Ein Ya'akov), of the desecration of Hashem's
Name (Rashi)]. At that time [because of this tragic incident, the sages]
proclaimed, 'Cursed be the man who would breed pigs and cursed be the man
who would teach his son Greek wisdom!'" (Talmud: Sotah 49b)
HITHBODEDUTH (secluding oneself)
Rabbi Nachman taught that as well as reciting the mandatory daily prayers
contained in the prayer book, we should also speak to Hashem, just as we
would confide in our best friend: in seclusion, in the language and style
with which we feel most comfortable. This is based on the advice of our
sages, just to mention two sources: "Rebbe Yitzchak said: 'Why were our
forefathers barren? Because Hashem desires the prayers of the righteous."'
(Talmud: Yevamoth 64a) "Hashem seeks nothing other than to hear the prayers
of Israel." (Medrash Tehillim 116:1) The following is an example of such
a session:Woe to me for the exile of the Shechina (Divine Presence)! Woe
to me for the destruction of the Temple! Woe to me for the burning of the
Torah! Woe to me for the murder of the Tzaddikim (saints)! Woe to me for
the desecration of Hashem's Holy Name and His holy Torah! Woe to me for
the enemy has prevailed! Woe to me for the young children who study the
Torah which has been discontinued! Woe to me for the anguish of all the
worlds! Woe to me for the suffering of the holy patriarchs and holy matriarchs!
Woe to me for the suffering of the prophets, the Tzaddikim, and the pious
ones in the Garden of Eden (Paradise)! Woe to me for the pain of Messiah!
Our sins have caused this [suffering], our rebellion has lengthened our
exile and our sins have kept us from good. Woe to the children who have
been exiled from their Father's table. How many bad days and years have
passed since the Temple has been destroyed! Every generation in which the
Temple is not rebuilt, it is as if it was destroyed in [that generation's]
days. (Tikun Chatzot (The Daily Midnight Lament) A Lament composed by Rabbi
Ya'akov of Emden (also known as the Ya'avetz))
HALACHA
Based on the advice of our sages (Talmud: Megilah 28b), Rabbi Nachman stressed
that everyone should study at least one law from the Shulchan Aruch (Code
of Jewish Law) [or its equivalent, other books which are based on the Shulchan
Aruch] everyday without fail. (Sichoth HaRan 29)
Worms that live in fruit, [only] when [the fruit is] detached
[from the tree] are permitted to be eaten. For the Torah prohibited the
consumption of only those worms that crawl on the ground. However, [even]
those worms that live in fruit are prohibited to be eaten if they leave
the inside of the fruit, even if the worm hadn't actually touched the ground.
Even if [only] part of the [body of the] worm had exited from the fruit's
interior, or if the worm had positioned itself on to the exterior of the
fruit or upon the seeds within the fruit, or according to some if the worm
had died within the fruit, or if the worm crawled from one fruit to the
interior of a second fruit, [in all these instances] it is forbidden [to
eat the worm]. Even if we find a hole on the exterior of the fruit, as
long as the worm is found within the fruit, [the worm] is permitted to
be eaten, for we don't assume that the worm crawled to the fruit's exterior
and then returned to its interior again. (Maran) However, there are those
[authorities] who prohibit [the consumption of the worm] if a hole is found
on the fruits exterior, [for we do entertain the possibility that the worm
exited to the fruit's exterior and then returned to the fruit's interior
again] this [latter view] is the accepted practice. (Rama) (Shulchan Aruch:
Yoreh Dayah 64:4)
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