“…Why do schoolchildren begin their learning with Toras Kohanim (the Book of Vayikra) and not with Beraishis? Since the children are pure and the sacrifices are pure, let the pure come and deal with the pure…” – Vayikra Rabbah 7:3 מפני מה מתחילין לתינוקות בתורת כהנים, ואין מתחילין בבראשית? אלא שהתינוקות טהורין והקרבנות טהורין, יבואו טהורין ויתעסקו בטהורין – ויקרא […]

“…A man who shall bring from you an offering to G-d…” – Vayikra 1:2 אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַה’ – ויקרא א, ב The significance that the Torah attributes to animal sacrifice is mystifying. Why would the physical slaughter and burning of an animal be our primary form of Divine worship (see Avos 1:2 and Yerushalmi, Taanis 4:1)? Would […]

“…And he shall remove the linen garments that he had worn when he came into the Holy, and there he shall leave them…” – Vayikra 16:23 וּפָשַׁט אֶת בִּגְדֵי הַבָּד אֲשֶׁר לָבַשׁ בְּבֹאוֹ אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ וְהִנִּיחָם שָׁם – ויקרא טז, כג On the words “and there he shall leave them,” Rashi comments that the Yom Kippur garments of the Kohen […]

“…And he shall confess upon it all the willful transgressions of Bnei Yisrael…” – Vayikra 16:21 וְהִתְוַדָּה עָלָיו אֶת כָּל עֲוֹנֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל – ויקרא טז, כא One of the essential components of the Yom Kippur service – the Kohen Gadol’s as well as the individual’s – is Vidui, to confess one’s sins verbally before G-d, asking for His forgiveness. […]

“…And if you should say, “What will we eat in the seventh year? We will not sow, and we will not gather in our produce!” I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield produce for three years…” – Vayikra 25:20-21 וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת הֵן לֹא נִזְרָע וְלֹא נֶאֱסֹף אֶת תְּבוּאָתֵנוּ: […]

“…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 […]

To build a healthy relationship is required to not only have love for your fellow friend but also the minimum of respect for one and other. Rabbi Anava addresses this issue in depth Duration of class: 47:29              

“…Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and say to them: Let none [of you] defile himself for a dead person…” – Vayikra 21:1 אֱמֹר אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם לְנֶפֶשׁ לֹא יִטַּמָּא – ויקרא כא, א The words “Speak to the kohanim…and say to them” seem repetitive. Having instructed Moshe to “speak to the kohanim” about the […]

“…You should love your fellow as yourself…” – Vayikra 19:18 וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ – ויקרא יט, יח There are two well-known sayings of the Sages regarding the mitzvah to love your fellow Jew. Rabbi Akiva said, “You shall love your fellow as yourself” — This is a fundamental principle of the Torah” (Sifra, Vayikra 19:18). Meaning, that this mitzvah is the […]

“…You shall judge your fellow with righteousness…” – Vayikra 19:15 בְּצֶדֶק תִּשְׁפֹּט עֲמִיתֶךָ – ויקרא יט, טו This verse commands us to judge people justly and righteously. In addition, Rashi suggests that this verse can be interpreted (not in the legal sense, but) as instructing us, “Judge your friend toward the scale of merit,” meaning, to judge other people favorably. Generally, […]

“…Speak to the entire congregation of Bnei Yisrael, and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am holy’…” – Vayikra 19:2 דַּבֵּר אֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי ה’ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם – ויקרא יט, ב Rashi notes that G-d instructed Moshe to teach this passage to “the entire congregation of […]

“…And he will initiate atonement for himself and for his household….” – Vayikra 16:6 וְכִפֶּר בַּעֲדוֹ וּבְעַד בֵּיתוֹ – ויקרא טז, ו One of the integral components of the Kohen Gadol’s service on Yom Kippur was the bull offering, the blood of which he sprinkled in the Kodesh Hakadashim, the Holy of Holies, to atone “for himself and for his household.” […]

“…When you come to the land of canaan… and i will place a lesion of Tzora’as upon a house in the land of your possession…” – Vayikra 14:34 כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן . . וְנָתַתִּי נֶגַע צָרַעַת בְּבֵית אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם – ויקרא יד, לד When tzora’as appeared on a person’s skin, its initial and most obvious effect was the impurity […]

“…He must immerse all his flesh in water – Vayikra 15:16 וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם אֶת כָּל בְּשָׂרוֹ – ויקרא טו, טז The Torah’s laws concerning ritual impurities and their means of purification are in the category of chukim, divine decrees that transcend any reason or understanding. Nevertheless, writes the Rambam, there is an important lesson in character development hinted by one of […]

“…This shall be the law of the Metzora, on the day of his purification…” – Vayikra 14:2 זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְּצֹרָע בְּיוֹם טָהֳרָתוֹ – ויקרא יד, ב The Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a) records a conversation between Eliyahu Hanavi and R’ Yehoshua ben Levi regarding the whereabouts of Moshiach. Eliyahu tells R’ Yehoshua that Moshiach can be found at the entrance to […]

“…All the days the lesion is upon him… he shall dwell in isolation; his dwelling is outside the camp…” Vayika 13:46 כָּל יְמֵי אֲשֶׁר הַנֶּגַע בּוֹ . . בָּדָד יֵשֵׁב מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה מוֹשָׁבוֹ – ויקרא יג, מו The impurity of a metzora, a person afflicted with tzora’as,is unusually severe in that a metzora’s mere entry into a home conveys impurity […]

“…It is a lesion of Tzora’as; when the kohen sees it, he shall pronounce him unclean…” – Vayikra 13:3 נֶגַע צָרַעַת הוּא וְרָאָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן וְטִמֵּא אֹתוֹ – ויקרא יג, ג A person afflicted with tzora’as can only be deemed pure or impure by a kohen. “If the kohen present does not know how to assess the skin discolorations [to determine […]

“…And it was on the eighth day… And Moshe said, “This is what G-d has commanded that you do, and the glory of G-d will appear to you…” – Vayikra 9:1-6 וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי . . וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ תַּעֲשׂוּ וְיֵרָא אֲלֵיכֶם כְּבוֹד ה’ – ויקרא ט, א-ו The Zohar compares Moshe and Aharon to shushvinin, […]

“…The owl, the shalach, and the little owl…” – Vayikra 11:17   וְאֶת הַכּוֹס וְאֶת הַשָּׁלָךְ וְאֶת הַיַּנְשׁוּף – ויקרא יא, יז   Rashi comments regarding the identity of the shalach bird, “Our rabbis explained that it draws up fish from the sea.” This reflects the name shalach, similar to the Hebrew word for drawing out, sholeh, indicating that the […]

In this weeks Parasha we read about the sacrifices that were given on the altar and all the rules that have to do with those commandments. Since we still don’t have the holy temple and can not offer sacrifices, what is the sacrifice we have to give in our generation?   Duration of class: 1:30:02           […]