Torah Down Under

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah: וְאֵת שְׂעִיר הַחַטָּאת דָּרֹשׁ דָּרַשׁ מֹשֶׁה וְהִנֵּה שֹׂרָף וַיִּקְצֹף עַל אֶלְעָזָר וְעַל אִיתָמָר בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן הַנּוֹתָרִם לֵאמֹר. מַדּוּעַ לֹא אֲכַלְתֶּם אֶת הַחַטָּאת בִּמְקוֹם הַקֹּדֶשׁ כִּי קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים הִוא וְאֹתָהּ נָתַן לָכֶם לָשֵׂאת אֶת עֲו‍ֹן הָעֵדָה לְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיהֶם לִפְנֵי ה'. הֵן לֹא הוּבָא אֶת דָּמָהּ אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ פְּנִימָה אָכוֹל תֹּאכְלוּ אֹתָהּ בַּקֹּדֶשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוֵּיתִי. “Moshe investigated what had become of the goat that was brought as a chatas and found that it had been burnt. He became angry at Elozor and Ithamar, the remaining sons of Aharon, and he said; “Why did you not eat the chatas in the holy place, as it is kodesh kedashim. It was given to you to bear the sin of the congregation and to attone for them before Hashem. Behold its blood was not brought inside the mishkan, you should surely eat it in the holy place as I have been commanded.” The mishna says in Pesachim (ketzad tzolin 82a): הפסח שיצ...

Ketores was burnt twice a day in the beis hamikdash, once in the morning and once in the evening. The mishna in Tamid (5:4) explains that the cohen would take a bowl full of ketores which he would place into a large ladle, and then he would carry the ladle to the heichal where the ketores was burnt on the mizbeach hazahav; מי שזכה בקטרת, היה נוטל את הכף… והבזך היה בתוכו, מלא וגדוש קטרת… “The cohen who won the lottery to do the ketores would take the ladle …and the bowl was in it, heaped full of ketores.” The Bar Tenura explains; מלא וגדוש קטורת - והיתה בתוך הכף הגדול. שאם לא היה הגדול, כיון שהקטן גדוש היה מתפזר הקטורת לארץ בהולכתו. ובכף הגדול לבד לא סגי, דכבוד הוא כלפי מעלה לערות מכף גדוש על הגחלים בשעת ההקטרה “The reason that the bowl was placed into a ladle is because the bowl was overflowing so some of the ketores would fall out onto the ground while the cohen was walking. [The ladle was used to catch the ketores that fell out.]   You can’t place the ketores directly into ...

The main avodah for all korbanos is the avodas hadam – the avodah of the blood - which culminates in the zerikah – the sprinkling of the blood on the mizbeach (or the paroches ). For example, if the meat of the korban was lost after the zerikas hadam so that the limbs were not burnt on the mizbeach or the owner and the cohanim were unable to eat the meat, the korban is still kosher as long as the zerikah was done properly. The avodas ha’dam – the service of the blood – consists of four steps: Shechitah – shechting the korban  Kabalah – accepting the blood of the korban in a mizrak (the kli shores which is used to accept the blood)  Holachah – carrying the blood to the mizbeach Zerikah – sprinkling the blood on the mizbeach Generally speaking, if one of the steps in the avodas hadam was passul then the korban is passul . For example if a yisroel accepted the blood instead of a cohen, the korban is passul and this cannot be rectified. However there i...

The passuk says in perek מ׳, possuk ב׳: וַיְדַבֵּר ה׳ אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר. בְּיוֹם הַחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ תָּקִים אֶת מִשְׁכַּן אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד “Hashem spoke to Moshe saying; ‘You should raise the mishkan of the ohel moed on the first of Nissan.’” The Yalkut Shimoni (yalkut shimoni, melachim alef: 184) says that the mishkan was completed on the 25th of Kislev. Why did Hashem tell Moshe to delay the hakomas ha’mishkan till the 1st of Nissan? The Medrash Tanchuma (39:11) relates that when the mishkan was completed and the benei yisroel were unable to raise it, the benei yisroel became anxious and came to Moshe to ask him why they were not able to put the mishkan together; ...נכנסו כל ישראל אצל משה, אמרו: משה רבנו, כל מה שאמרת לנו עשינו, וכל מה שצויתנו ליתן ולהוציא נתננו הכל, והרי כל המלאכה לפניך, שמא חסרנו שום דבר או ויתרנו על כל מה שאמרת לנו, ראה הכל לפניך. והיו מראין לו כל דבר ודבר, שנאמר: ויביאו את המשכן אל משה וגו'. וכתיב: וירא משה את כל המלאכה וגו'. אמרו לו...