“…When the camp is about to travel, Aharon and his sons shall come and take down the dividing curtain, and they shall cover the Aron of Testimony with it. They shall place upon it a covering of tachash skin and on top of that they shall spread a cloth of pure blue wool…” – Bamidbar 4:5-6 וּבָא אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו בִּנְסֹעַ […]

“…They shall take charge of all the vessels of the Ohel Moed and the charge of B’nei Yisrael, to perform the service of the Mishkan…” – Bamidbar 3:8 וְשָׁמְרוּ אֶת כָּל כְּלֵי אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְאֶת מִשְׁמֶרֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַעֲבֹד אֶת עֲבֹדַת הַמִּשְׁכָּן – במדבר ג, ח The Rambam writes that the extraordinary sanctity that G-d conferred upon the tribe of Levi […]

“…And the tree of the field will give forth its fruit…” – Vayikra 26:4 וְעֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה יִתֵּן פִּרְיוֹ – ויקרא כו, ד The Torah’s reference to “the trees of the field”—as opposed to trees planted in an orchard—denotes trees that do not currently bear fruit, according to the Midrash (Toras Kohanim, cited by Rashi on Vayikra 26:4). The promise that “the […]

“…If you follow my statutes and observe my commandments…” – Vayikra 26:3 אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ – ויקרא כו, ג The term chok, statute, has a number of meanings. In the context of Torah study, Rashi interprets the phrase “If you follow my statutes” as a requirement to “toil in Torah.” Generally, however, the Torah uses the term chok […]

“…You shall not make idols for yourselves…you shall keep my sabbaths…I am Hashem…” – Vayikra 26:1-2 לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם אֱלִילִם . . אֶת שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ . . אֲנִי ה’ – ויקרא כו, א-ב The final verses of Parshas Behar caution us in the observance of a number of mitzvos stated previously in the Torah. Rashi explains that the Torah directs these […]

“…and your brother becomes destitute with him and is sold to a resident non-jew among you or to an idol of the family of a non-jew…” – Vayikra 25:47 וּמָךְ אָחִיךָ עִמּוֹ וְנִמְכַּר לְגֵר תּוֹשָׁב עִמָּךְ אוֹ לְעֵקֶר מִשְׁפַּחַת גֵּר – ויקרא כה, מז The Talmud (Kiddushin 20a-b) views the series of laws discussed in Parshas Behar as depicting the downward […]

“…And the kohen shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave-offering before g-d, with the two lambs…” – Vayikra 23:20 וְהֵנִיף הַכֹּהֵן אֹתָם עַל לֶחֶם הַבִּכֻּרִים תְּנוּפָה לִפְנֵי ה’ עַל שְׁנֵי כְּבָשִׂים – ויקרא כג, כ The shtei halechem is a wheat flour offering brought in the Beis Hamikdash on the holiday of Shavuos. Two loaves of bread […]

“…You must bring an omer, the beginning of your harvest, to the kohen… You shall not eat bread or parched grain or fresh grain, until this day…” – Vayikra 23:10-14 וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת עֹמֶר רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם אֶל הַכֹּהֵן . . וְלֶחֶם וְקָלִי וְכַרְמֶל לֹא תֹאכְלוּ עַד עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה – ויקרא כג, י-יד The Omer is an offering of barley flour […]

“…I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel…” – Vayikra 22:32 וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל – ויקרא כב, לב The Torah’s directive to cause G-d to be sanctified teaches us the obligation of mesirus nefesh, meaning, that in certain situations we must sacrifice even our lives in order not to disobey G-d’s commands. For when a Jew exhibits his […]

“…You should love your fellow as yourself…” – Vayikra 19:18 וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ – ויקרא יט, יח The Torah’s command to love your fellow man—and to the same degree that you love yourself—raises a number of difficulties. How can we be “commanded” to experience an emotion, in this case, to love our fellow like ourselves? The average person can choose how […]

“…You shall not stand by the blood of your fellow…” – Vayikra 19:16 לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ – ויקרא יט, טז The Baal Shem Tov taught that from everything that a Jew sees or hears he must take a lesson in his service of G-d. This teaching finds its roots in the words of the Talmud, “Of all that […]

“…Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, “you shall be holy”…” – Vayikra 19:2 דַּבֵּר אֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ – ויקרא יט, ב In Parshas Kedoshim, G-d tells Moshe to address the entire congregation of Bnei Yisrael, and instruct them “to be holy.” The commentaries ask, what is the meaning […]

“…He who traps a wild animal or fowl that are permissible for consumption, when he sheds its blood, he must cover the blood with dust…” –  Vayikra 17:13 אֲשֶׁר יָצוּד צֵיד חַיָּה אוֹ עוֹף אֲשֶׁר יֵאָכֵל וְשָׁפַךְ אֶת דָּמוֹ וְכִסָּהוּ בֶּעָפָר – ויקרא יז, יג The Torah instructs us to cover the blood of any fowl or non-domesticated animals that we […]

“…And G-d spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two sons, when they drew near before G-d and they died…” – Vayikra 16:1 וַיְדַבֵּר ה’ אֶל משֶׁה אַחֲרֵי מוֹת שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן בְּקָרְבָתָם לִפְנֵי ה’ וַיָּמֻתוּ – ויקרא טז, א The above verse seems redundant. Having said that the commandments in this parsha were stated “after the death of […]

“…And g-d spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two sons, when they drew near before G-d…” – Vayikra 16:1 וַיְדַבֵּר ה’ אֶל משֶׁה אַחֲרֵי מוֹת שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן בְּקָרְבָתָם לִפְנֵי ה’ – ויקרא טז, א The first thirty-four verses of Parshas Acharei Mos speak of the holiest person, place, and time in the Jewish experience. Namely, they detail the […]

“…And he went down to Egypt” (Devarim 26:5)—forced by Divine decree…” –  (The Haggadah) וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה אָנוּס עַל פִּי הַדִּבּוּר – הגדה של פסח The Haggadah asserts that Yaakov descended to Egypt against his will, compelled by Divine decree. This statement seems self-contradictory. Yaakov, as we know, was devoted to G-d with all his being. If he knew that G-d […]

TORAH TALK: Parashat Acharei with Rabbi Alon Anava Guest Speaker Rabbi Alon Anava Parsha Acharei Leviticus 16:1–18:30 855-95-BIBLE Watch the class on www.tenaktalk.com Get more updates on future live classes on the Facebook page            

“…This shall be the law of the metzora, on the day of his purification; he shall be brought to the kohen…” – Vayikra 14:2 זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְּצֹרָע בְּיוֹם טָהֳרָתוֹ וְהוּבָא אֶל הַכֹּהֵן – ויקרא יד, ב  A metzora, a person afflicted with tzora’as, must remain outside the encampment of the Jewish people until his tzora’as has healed. The metzora’s […]

“…A person to whom shall occur in the skin of his flesh a se’eis, or sapachas, or baheres [patches of varying degrees of whiteness], and it be in the skin of his flesh the plague of tzora’as…” – Vayikra 13:2 אָדָם כִּי יִהְיֶה בְעוֹר בְּשָׂרוֹ שְׂאֵת אוֹ סַפַּחַת אוֹ בַהֶרֶת וְהָיָה בְעוֹר בְּשָׂרוֹ לְנֶגַע צָרָעַת – ויקרא יג, ב The […]

“…If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be unclean for seven days…” – Vayikra 12:2 אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ וְיָלְדָה זָכָר וְטָמְאָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים – ויקרא יב, ב Parshas Tazria addresses several impurities associated with the human body and teaches us their means of purification. Rashi notes that this discussion follows the discussion in the previous […]