5782 Connection Between Vayikra and Zachor In a שנה מעוברת, which occurs seven times in nineteen years, we read Parshas Zachor together with Vayikra. In spite of the fact that the reading of Vayikra is based on the yearly cycle of פרשה השבוע and the reading of Parshas Zachor is מעיניא דיומא as the Chinuch writes in מצוה תרג that Zachor should be read the Shabbos before Purim because Haman was a descendent of Amalek, nevertheless we can find a connection between the two....
5781 פורים משולש First In Megilah Esther, the Pasuk says קימו וקבלו היהודים עליהם ועל זרעם ועל כל הנלוים עליהם (ט,כז). The Gra says on the words ועל זרעם that it’s referring to קטנים, that the Jews were מקבל on themselves and their children. But קטנים are פטור from all Mitzvos so how were they מקבל for their children. It would seem that this Mitzvah, קריאת מגילה, is an exception to the rule and the Mitzvah of Megilah was taken upon the קטנים as well....
5782 Yahrzeit of the מהרי"ט אלגאזי This Shabbos, ב' אדר שני, is the Yahrzeit of the מהרי"ט אלגאזי-Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi who lived in Yerushalayim, who was nifter in 1802. He authored a commentary on the הלכות הרמב"ן on בכורות and חלה. Reb Avraham Weinfeld came to the concentration camps when he was fourteen and he had already learned the מהרי"ט אלגאזי on בכורות. He said that it was such a popular לימוד that people would learn בכורות just in order to learn the מהרי"ט אלגאזי....
5782 Necessity of Togetherness and Readiness The Parshah begins ויקהל משה את כל עדת בני ישראל. Moshe Rabbeinu is congregating כל עדת בני ישראל to tell them the ציווי of בנין המשכן. The fact that the Torah emphasizes the ויקהל, in the context of the ציווי of בנין המשכן shows the importance of ויקהל- togetherness, for בנין המשכן. Similarly, the Haftarah for Parshas Pekudei which discusses the Beis HaMikdash that Shlomo Hamelech built, writes אז יקהל שלמה את זקני ישראל וכו' ויקהלו אל המלך שלמה כל איש ישראל וכו'....
5782 Qualifying Actions The Minhag to call up a Levi for the Aliyah which has the חטא העגל is brought down in the Magen Avraham Siman 428:8 . The reason is as explained in the Magen Avraham in the end of Siman 138 in the name of Sefer Chasidim 768 that we don’t call up someone, who is suspected of doing a particular aveira, for the Psukim that mention that aveira in order that we don’t embarrass him....