Torah Down Under

The possuk in this week’s sedrah says: וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר. דַּבֵּר אֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת הַנֵּרֹת אֶל מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת. Hashem said to Moshe to say; Speak to Aharon and tell him, “When you light the lights [of the menora] you should make them shine towards the centre of the menorah.”  The possuk seems to say that a cohen, in this case Aharon, should light the menora. The Rambam, however ( הלכות ביאת מקדש, פרק תשיעי, הלכה ז '),  says that a non-cohen is allowed to light the menora: וכן הדלקת הנרות כשירה בזרים לפיכך אם הטיב הכהן את הנרות והוציאן לחוץ מותר לזר להדליקן “Lighting the lamps is kosher with a non-cohen therefore if the cohen prepared the lamps [in the heichal] and brought the menora into the azara (where a non-cohen is allowed to be) it is mutar for a non-cohen to light them.” The Ra’avad asks on the Rambam: אמר אברהם הפליג כשאמר מותר לזר להדליקן אלא שאם הדליקן כשירות “The Rambam is exa...

In this week’s sedrah the Torah describes the halachos of nezirus . The Torah changes the title of the nazir as it relates the different halachos : The Torah begins by describing the issur on wine. Here the Torah describes the nazir as a nazir la’hashem . ...אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה כִּי יַפְלִא לִנְדֹּר נֶדֶר נָזִיר לְהַזִּיר לַה'. מִיַּיִן וְשֵׁכָר יַזִּיר חֹמֶץ יַיִן וְחֹמֶץ שֵׁכָר לֹא יִשְׁתֶּה ... “A man or a woman who expresses a neder (promise) to become a nazir to Hashem. From wine and mead he should refrain, he should not drink wine vinegar or mead vinegar…” Then the Torah adds the issurim of not eating any part of the grape and not having a haircut. Here the Torah does not call him a nazir la’hashem , it merely refers to him as a nazir : כֹּל יְמֵי נִזְרוֹ מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר יֵעָשֶׂה מִגֶּפֶן הַיַּיִן מֵחַרְצַנִּים וְעַד זָג לֹא יֹאכֵל. כָּל יְמֵי נֶדֶר נִזְרוֹ תַּעַר לֹא יַעֲבֹר עַל רֹאשׁוֹ However when the Torah adds the issur of not becoming tame le’mes , the Torah calls him...

At the end of this week’s sedrah the Torah desribes the mitzva for the leviim to carry the mishkan. The Torah says that the family of Kehas had to carry the kelim from the kodesh hakedoshim including the aron hakodesh : זֹאת עֲבֹדַת בְּנֵי קְהָת בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים. וּבָא אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו בִּנְסֹעַ הַמַּחֲנֶה וְהוֹרִדוּ אֵת פָּרֹכֶת הַמָּסָךְ וְכִסּוּ בָהּ אֵת אֲרֹן הָעֵדֻת... וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יָבֹאוּ בְנֵי קְהָת לָשֵׂאת “This is the work of Kehas in the ohel moed – the kodesh ha’kedoshim . Aharon and his sons should come when the camp travels and they should take down the paroches and cover the aron hakodesh with it. After this the children of kehas should come to carry…” Whatever the leviim were carrying, they could only work to the age of 50, as the passuk says: "ומבן חמשים שנה ישוב מצבא העבודה" “A levi who is older than 50 should return from the cohorts who do work.“ The Rambam says that both of these halachos are no longer applicable: In Sefer ha...

At the end of Bechukosai the torah specifies the halachos of eruchin. If a person says  - ערך פלוני עלי - “I will give the value of someone ,” the Torah fixes the amount that he has to pay to the beis hamikdash. This varies according to the age and gender of the person whose value he is giving. Heseg yad If the donor cannot afford to give the full erech then the cohen estimates how much he can afford: וְאִם-מָךְ הוּא מֵעֶרְכֶּךָ וְהֶעֱמִידוֹ לִפְנֵי הַכֹּהֵן וְהֶעֱרִיךְ אֹתוֹ הַכֹּהֵן  עַל-פִּי אֲשֶׁר תַּשִּׂיג יַד הַנֹּדֵר יַעֲרִיכֶנּוּ הַכֹּהֵן “If he is too poor to give the full erech then he shall stand the person whose value he is donating before the cohen and the cohen shall value him according to the amount that the donor can afford.” The Rambam in Hilchos Eruchin (3:6) talks about a case where a poor person obligated himself to give the same as a wealthy person: עשיר שאמר ערכי עלי או ערך פלוני ושמע העני ואמר מה שאמר זה עלי הרי העני חייב בערך עשיר שהוא ערך שלם ...