Torah Down Under

The gemara in Pesachim (50b) says; ...דאמר רב יהודה אמר רב לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ומצות אף על פי שלא לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה “Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav, a person should always learn Torah and perform mitzvos even shelo lishmah because by doing this they will come to keep the mitzvos and learn Torah lishmah .” Rb Chaim Volozhin z”l (Pirkei Avos, Ruach Chaim, 1:13) explains that even although the gemara says that it is permissible to perform the mitzvos and learn Torah for ulterior reasons, this is only in a case where a person intends to eventually come to a level where he will perform the mitzvos lishmah . However if a person intends to always keep the Torah and mitzvos shelo lishmah , this is not permitted. The Pachad Yitzchak (Shevuos, 6:4) asks as follows: The source for Rav’s halacha is provided by the gemara in Nazir (23b); אמר רב יהודה אמר רב לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצות אפי' שלא לשמן שמתוך שלא לשמן בא לשמן שבשכר מ"ב קרבנות שהקריב בלק הרשע ז...

The possuk says in this week’s sedrah; לֹא יַחֲלִיפֶנּוּ וְלֹא יָמִיר אֹתוֹ טוֹב בְּרָע אוֹ רַע בְּטוֹב וְאִם הָמֵר יָמִיר בְּהֵמָה בִּבְהֵמָה וְהָיָה הוּא וּתְמוּרָתוֹ יִהְיֶה קֹּדֶשׁ “[If a person makes a korban then] he should not swap it and should not exchange it, neither a good animal for a bad one or a bad animal for a good one. If he did exchange it then both the original korban and the animal that he swapped it for will be hekdesh .” There is a generally rule that you do not receive malkos for a lav she’ein bo maaseh – an aveira that does not involve an action, such as speaking lashon hara .   The Rambam (Hilchos Temurah 1:1) says that temurah is an exception to this rule; כל הממיר לוקה ... ואף על פי שלא עשה מעשה מפי השמועה למדו שכל מצות לא תעשה שאין בה מעשה אין לוקין עליה חוץ מנשבע וממיר ומקלל את חבירו בשם שלשה לאוין אלו אי אפשר שיהיה בהן מעשה כלל ולוקין עליהן “Anyone who swaps a korban for another receives malkos…and even although he did no action. Even...

Bikkurim When a person brings bikkurim , they read the pessukim of arami oved avi in which they thank Hashem for both the fruit and also the land: וְעַתָּה הִנֵּה הֵבֵאתִי אֶת רֵאשִׁית פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לִּי ה ' "And now behold I have brought the first fruits of the land that you have given me, Hashem." Subsequently, in order to bring bikkurim and also read the pessukim in the Beis Hamikdash, the grower has to own both the produce as well as the land which the produce was grown on. If someone buys land at a time of Yovel, then the person who bought the land only owns the land till Yovel, and they are not the permanent owner of the land. Do we say that this person can read the pessukim and thank Hashem for the land because he is currently the owner of the land, or do we say that because he will have to give the land back in Yovel he is only a tempoary owner of the land? The gemara in Gittin (48a) explains that the answer to this question ...

The Rambam says in Hilchos Klei Hamikdash (4:15): אין מעמידין כ"ג אלא ב"ד של שבעים ואחד “Only the beis din hagadol in Yerusholayim can appoint a cohen gadol .” However, when the Rambam enumerates the things that require a beis din of 71 at the beginning of the 5 th perek of Hilchos Sanhedrin, although he mentions appointing a king, he does not mention appointing a kohen gadol. Why is this? Dayanim today The gemara in Bava Kamma (88) explains that we do not have semicha in an unbroken line from Moshe Rabbeinu. Therefore, we are not qualified to judge any case where the Torah requires dayanim. Nevertheless, the chachamim said that in order to maintain law and order we still judge any type of monetary   case which is frequent and which involves a monetary loss . The gemara explains that we can do this becuase  שליחותייהו עבדינן   - beis din today are the sheluchim of the dayanim who did have semichah in an unbroken line from Moshe Rabbeinu. The Ra...

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah: וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וְשָׁחַט אֶת הַצִּפּוֹר הָאֶחָת אֶל כְּלִי חֶרֶשׂ עַל מַיִם חַיִּים. אֶת הַצִּפֹּר הַחַיָּה יִקַּח אֹתָהּ וְאֶת עֵץ הָאֶרֶז וְאֶת שְׁנִי הַתּוֹלַעַת וְאֶת הָאֵזֹב וְטָבַל אוֹתָם וְאֵת הַצִּפֹּר הַחַיָּה בְּדַם הַצִּפֹּר הַשְּׁחֻטָה עַל הַמַּיִם הַחַיִּים “The cohen shall command, and he should slaughter one bird into an earthenware bowl onto spring water. He should take the live bird together with the cedar wood, the scarlet thread and the hyssop. He should dip them and the live bird into the blood of the slaughtered bird, which is on the spring water.”   How much water? How much water should be placed in the earthenware bowl? The gemara in Sotah (16b) says; תנו רבנן שלשה צריכין שיראו …משום רבי ישמעאל אמרו אף דם צפור …הא כיצד מביא מים שדם ציפור ניכר בהן וכמה רביעית “The chachamim have taught, there are three things that need to be visibly discernible…in the name of Rebbi Yishmoel they said, also the bird’s blood for the ...

The passuk says at the beginning of this week’s sedrah; וְרָאָה הַכֹּהֵן אֶת הַנֶּגַע בְּעוֹר הַבָּשָׂר וְשֵׂעָר בַּנֶּגַע הָפַךְ לָבָן וּמַרְאֵה הַנֶּגַע עָמֹק מֵעוֹר בְּשָׂרוֹ נֶגַע צָרַעַת הוּא וְרָאָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן וְטִמֵּא אֹתוֹ “The cohen will see the disorder in the skin and hair in the disorder has turned white and the appearance of the disorder is deeper than the surrounding skin. It is a plague of tzara’as and the cohen shall see it and declare him tameh.” If there are a minumum of two white hairs in the white skin area, then the person is declared a metzorah. The hairs have to be of a minimum shiur (length), as discussed in the mishna in Niddah (52b); שתי שערות האמורות בפרה, ובנגעים, והאמורות בכל מקום כדי לכוף ראשן לעקרן, דברי רבי ישמעאל. רבי אלעזר אומר, כדי לקרוץ בצפרן. רבי עקיבא אומר, כדי שיהו נטלות בזוג. “The two black hairs that are stated regarding parah adumah, and with tzaraas, and that are stated in any place have to be long enough so that you can bend their top to ...

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...