The Kiddush was sponsored by Reb Shalom Huss in memory of his father. Once a person continues on to the next world, he is no longer able to do Mitzvos and reach higher levels, he is no longer a מהלך. However, the living are able to make a Brachah לעילוי נשמתו and it can affect the נשמה. The Gemara says about a son ברא כרעיה דאבוה that a son is like a leg of his father which can be understood to mean that one’s father can continue walking through the Mitzvos that his son performs in this world.
Contradiction of זכירות
The Rav said the following in the name of his father Reb Avraham Weinfeld Zatzal. The Pirkeh D’Reb Eliezer in Chapter 44 says the following:
אמר משה זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים [דברים כה, יז]: אמרו לו ישראל, משה רבנו, כתוב אחד אומר זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק, וכתוב אחר אומר זכור את יום השבת לקדשו [שמות כ, ח], היאך יתקימו שניהם, זה זכור וזה זכור. אמר להם משה לא דומה כוס של קונדיטון לכוס של חמץ, זה כוס וזה כוס, זה זכור לשמר ולקדש את יום השבת, שנאמר זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, וזה זכור להשמיד ולהכרית את כל זרעו של עמלק, שנאמר זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק.
Klal Yisrael said to Moshe Rabbeinu that there is a contradiction in Psukim. One Pasuk says זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק and another Pasuk says זכור את יום השבת לקדשו so how could they fulfill both זכירות. Moshe Rabbeinu answered them with a mashal that one can’t compare a cup of wine and a cup of vinegar and they are each separate cups. The cup wine is to remember Shabbos and be מקדש it and the cup of vinegar for Amalek is זכור לעונש.
There are a few questions one can ask on this Midrash. Firstly, what did Klal Yisrael find so difficult about these two זכירות? There is no expectation on a person to do both these זכירות at the same time so a person should be able to separate his thoughts to fulfill both זכירות. Furthermore, what exactly did Moshe Rabbeinu answer them when he said זה זכור לשמור ולקדש וזה זכור לעונש. This was seemingly obvious that Klal Yisrael already knew. Lastly, what exactly is the meaning of the mashal? It’s only because they are two different substances in the cups, wine and vinegar, that one can drink both? It would seem from the mashal that because these two זכירות are different במהותן that a person can fulfill both.
Reb Avraham Weinfeld Zatzal explained as follows. Regarding the Mitzvah of לא תיקום-taking revenge, The Sefer HaChinuch in Mitzvah 241 writes the following:
משרשי המצוה, שידע האדם ויתן אל לבו כי כל אשר יקרהו מטוב עד רע, הוא סיבה שתבוא עליו מאת השם ברוך הוא, ומיד האדם מיד איש אחיו לא יהיה דבר בלתי רצון השם ברוך הוא, על כן כשיצערהו או יכאיבהו אדם ידע בנפשו כי עוונותיו גרמו והשם יתברך גזר עליו בכך, ולא ישית מחשבותיו לנקום ממנו כי הוא אינו סיבת רעתו, כי העוון הוא המסבב, (ב) וכמו שאמר דוד עליו השלום [שמואל ב' ט"ז, י"א] הניחו לו ויקלל כי אמר לו השם יתברך, תלה הענין בחטאו ולא בשמעי בן גרא.
The Sefer HaChinuch explains the root of the issue of לא תיקום is the lack in Emunah. A person must understand that everything that happens to him, be it good or bad, is all from Hakadosh Boruch Hu and its כגרזן ביד החוצב. When someone does something bad to a person, he can’t have any hard feelings towards him because he has to understand that if it happened to him, it must be for a reason and Hashem wanted it to happen to him. Therefore, there is no room for him to have any hard feelings towards the individual who did him harm.
Shabbos represents the idea that Hashem is not only the creator of the world but also that He runs the world-בורא ומנהיג לכל הברואים. Therefore, Klal Yisrael found it difficult because if they are commanded to be זוכר את יום השבת לקדשו, then they are internalizing the message that Hashem’s hashgacha is on all creations. But if that is the case, then how could they be זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק and hold onto the hatred towards them for what they did to us if Klal Yisrael is to believe and understand that whatever happens to them, even Amalek, is just the messenger from Hashem?
To this contradiction, Moshe Rabbeinu answered them the זכירה of Amalek is זכור לעונש. The purpose of the זכירה is not for the sake of getting back at Amalek rather it is for the sake of שכר ועונש. Amalek must get punished for what they did to Klal Yisrael. It’s true that Amalek were שלוחים של מקום to carry out what needed to happen against Klal Yisrael. Nevertheless, Amalek still must be held accountable for what they did and therefore the זכירה is only לעונש. That which we arouse within us שנאה is only to fulfil the עונש that Amalek deserves but not because of how we feel towards them.
According to this, the Mashal Moshe Rabbeinu gave can be understood. A person drinks a כוס של יין for his own pleasure. However the כוס של חומץ is not for pleasure rather one drinks it for רפואה so he holds his nose and drinks it quickly. זכירת שבת is compared to the cup of wine which want to embrace which is to remember all that happens is from Hashem. However זכירת מעשה עמלק is compared to the cup of vinegar which is not pleasant but it’s something we must do like for רפואה, so too with Amalek the זוכר לעונש is not pleasant but it’s something that we must do.
We can add that this might be an idea behind what we say on Purim when we say חייב איניש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי because for a Jew, it should be difficult to curse someone. Especially if he realizes that the negative which came through him was meant to be. We don’t really know the difference between the Ribbono Shel Olams proxies in doing us good or bad because either way they are merely שלוחים of Hashem. But nevertheless, those that made themselves available for the שליחות of evil have to be held accountable for their bad choices. However, we have no personal feelings about it. Therefore we say its לא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי but nevertheless the עונש has to be given.
The Yerushalmi in Megilah 7:3 says חייב איניש לומר ארור המן וברוך מרדכי and the Ran on the Gemara in Megilah that says חייב איניש לבסומי בפוריא וכו' says דאמרינן חייב איניש לומר ארור המן וברוך מרדכי and Rava is adding עד דלא ידע מאי קאמר. Why would we be told to say it and to not know what we are saying? But it must be that although we say it, it’s not because we really connect with it and feel a personal connection with the cursing of Haman but it’s merely because of the above mentioned that the ones who do us evil must be held accountable for their choices.
In the תיקוני זוהר it says that יום כיפורים is יום כ-פורים. On Yom Kippur we say in the davening יום שימת אהבה ורעות יום עזיבת קנאה ותחרות which is the essence of the day. However Purim is a higher level because Yom Kippur is talking about שימת אהבה ורעות between one Jew and another Jew but on Purim we experience this on a higher level because it includes all of humankind. Therefore we bring ourselves to a point of לא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי only because the evil needs to be punished but not because we have any personal grudge or need to take place.
Connection of Terumah to Mishpatim
The Parsha begins דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי. What is the connection between this Parshah and the previous week which was about Mishpatim? Especially according to those that say the צווי for the בנין המשכן was given after the חטא העגל, it needs to be understood why the Torah set it up in this order?
One explanation could be that now by the building of the Mishkan, they began taking people’s money. So first they needed to know the Mishpatim which dealt with how to deal with people’s money and only afterward could it be ויקחו לי תרומה that they could start dealing with other people’s money. As the Gemara says in the beginning of Perek Lulav HaGazul, the Pasuk says אני ה' שונא גזל בעולם. Therefore the donations should not God forbid be a מצוה הבאה בעבירה rather one must first insure that the money is rightfully owned by the owner.
But perhaps another explanation could be as follows. In the end of Parshas Mishpatim, Klal Yisrael said נעשה ונשמע as the Pasuk says ויאמרו כל הדברים אשר דבר ה' נעשה. But as the statement goes, “Put your money where your mouth is”. So the first צווי after they said נעשה ונשמע is that you have to actually be able to give up what you own. The biggest proof to if they are serious about the commitment of נעשה ונשמע is if they are willing to pay.
This connection is emphasized in the order of things in Parshas Terumah itself. The reason is because the beginning of the Parsha says ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי and goes on to say all the different materials they needed זהב וכסף ונחשת תכלת וארגמן וכו'. But there was no mention what the purpose of this collection was for. Only afterward at the end does the Pasuk say ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם that it’s a collection of materials necessary for a Mikdash. At the time of the initial collection, it was unknown what they were giving זהב וכסף ונחשת תכלת וארגמן for. This is the idea of נעשה ונשמע which is expressing the willingness to do before you understand and know the meaning behind the doing. By giving to the collection before knowing what for, Klal Yisrael were fulfilling נעשה ונשמע. This is the meaning of Rashi on the Pasuk ויקחו לי תרומה Rashi quoting the Tanchuma says לי לשמי. Meaning it’s not a donation for a particular designated purpose rather it is לי לשמי. The Ribbono Shel Olam is asking for it and we have no idea what it is for. That is the לי לשמי.
The Ramban in beginning of the Parsha says that the Mikdash is a מקום for השראת השכינה- a divine dwelling place. This notion is clearly seen in the Pasuk that says ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם that it is to serve as a dwelling place for the Shechinah. However, the Rambam in the beginning of Hilchos Beis HaBchira says מצות עשה לעשות בית לה' מוכן להיות מקריבים בו הקרבנות. But how does that fit with the reason the Torah gives as the purpose of the Mishkan?
The answer is that of course the purpose of the Mishkan is to be the divine dwelling place. But only when a person gives sacrifices of himself does he make a space for the Shechina. Therefore a בית לה' מוכן להיות מקריבים בו הקרבנות means where people will actually bring sacrifices, that is what creates space for the Shechina. Not only by donating for the making of the Mishkan but also the ongoing sacrifices that took place in the Mikdash are what create the space for the Shechina. It’s said that every home is a מקדש מעט as the Gemara says איש ואשה שכינה שרויה ביניהם. But how does it become a dwelling place for the Shechina? Only when the איש and the אשה are willing to make sacrifices, that is what creates the space for the Shechina.
תוכו כברו
By the assembly of the Aron, the Pasuk says וצפית אתו זהב טהור מבית ומחוץ תצפנו (כה,יא) that the inside and the outside should be covered with gold. Based on this arrangement, the Gemara in Yoma 72a says that a תלמיד חכם who isn’t תוכו כברו is not a תלמיד חכם meaning that his inner character must match how he presents himself on the outside. Regarding this statement, the Gemara in Brachos 28a says the following:
תנא; אותו היום סלקוהו לשומר הפתח ונתנה להם רשות לתלמידים ליכנס. שהיה רבן גמליאל מכריז ואומר: כל תלמיד שאין תוכו כברו - לא יכנס לבית המדרש. ההוא יומא אתוספו כמה ספסלי. אמר רבי יוחנן: פליגי בה אבא יוסף בן דוסתאי ורבנן, חד אמר: אתוספו ארבע מאה ספסלי; וחד אמר: שבע מאה ספסלי. הוה קא חלשא דעתיה דרבן גמליאל.
On the day that Rabban Gamliel was removed from being the head and Reb Elazar Ben Azaryah took over, all Talmidim were allowed into the Beis Medrash. Because Rabban Gamliel had a policy כל תלמיד שאין תוכו כברו - לא יכנס לבית המדרש. But once he was removed and Reb Elazar Ben Azrayah took over, he allowed anyone to come in and there is a Machlokes how many benches were added to the Beis Medrash, if it was four hundred or seven hundred. As a result, the Gemara says that Rabban Gamliel was חלשא דעתיה.
How did Rabban Gamliel have a שומר that checked if the Talmid was תוכו כברו because how did he know the תוכו of the Talmid? So they say really the שומר didn’t let anybody in. But those whose תוכו is כברו they were so driven and so badly wanted to be in the Beis Medrash that they managed to get by the שומר. And that which Rabban Gamliel was חלשא דעתיה is that he saw even people who aren’t completely תוכו כברו could become תוכו כברו.
But in actuality, the Aron wasn’t completely gold through and through because it was three boxes and although the outer and inner one were covered with gold, the middle one was just עץ. So how could it be said based on the arrangement of the Aron that a Talmid Chacham must be תוכו כברו if the Aron wasn’t?
The answer could be that we aren’t actually setting the bar so high that the Talmid Chacham needs to be gold through and through. But what it means is as long as the inner motivation is pure, even if it doesn’t flow to his exterior, nevertheless, a person shouldn’t hold back from acting a certain way externally even if it doesn’t match up completely with where he is holding beneath. As long as his real inside motivation is to bring him to the right place. Similarly to what the Chinuch says in Mitzvah 15 that האדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו that a person is impacted by what he does. So as long as a person has the right intentions and he is doing things externally in order to bring himself internally to the right place, then it’s okay. Therefore when it says a Talmid Chacham needs to be תוכו כברו, it doesn’t mean that he needs to be gold through and through, rather it just has to be that his inner motivation for doing things externally is pure. Then, even if the purity doesn’t flow completely from the inside to the outside and his פעולות externally exceed where he is holding internally, it’s nevertheless proper and acceptable and the right thing to do things beyond where he is holding because otherwise he will never make any progress.
When a person thinks about how a Talmid Chacham needs to be תוכו כברו, it can paralyze him because he might feel that he isn’t really holding on that level and therefore he shouldn’t be doing what he is doing because he is not up to that level. But that is not the way to go. Rather as long as there is an internal motivation to do what he is doing on the ברו from himself completely and it expresses something within him, then even if his conscious self stands between that פנימיות-inner motivation and חיצוניות, it’s nevertheless appropriate. Because it is like the עצי שיטים which is in between the זהב מבפנים and the זהב מבחוץ.
But on a deeper level, even when a person’s פנים is not so pure, the פנימיות שבפנימיות of a Jew is always pure. The עצי שיטים is the in-between between the interior of interiors and the exterior. This idea is expressed in the Sefer HaTanya in Mamar 44:
רק שהארה זו היא בבחי' הסתר והעלם גדול בנפשות כל בית ישראל ולהוציא אהבה זו המסותרת מההעלם וההסתר אל הגילוי להיות בהתגלות לבו ומוחו לא נפלאת ולא רחוקה היא אלא קרוב הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך דהיינו להיות רגיל על לשונו וקולו לעורר כוונת לבו ומוחו להעמיק מחשבתו בחיי החיים א"ס ב"ה כי הוא אבינו ממש האמיתי ומקור חיינו ולעורר אליו האהבה כאהבת הבן אל האב. וכשירגיל עצמו כן תמיד הרי ההרגל נעשה טבע. ואף אם נדמה לו לכאורה שהוא כח דמיוני לא יחוש מאחר שהוא אמת לאמיתו מצד עצמו בבחי' אהבה מסותרת רק שתועלת יציאתה אל הגילוי כדי להביאה לידי מעשה שהוא עסק התורה והמצות שלומד ומקיים ע"י זה כדי לעשות נחת רוח לפניו ית' כבן העובד את אביו.
How To Meet Ones Creator
Regarding the כרבים, the Pasuk saysוהיו הכרבים פרשי כנפים למעלה סככים בכנפיהם על הכפרת ופניהם איש אל אחיו (כה,כ). The idea that the wings of the כרבים were פרשי כנפים למעלה is that to reach lofty levels, one must yearn and aspire to move upward. But the Pasuk concludes ופניהם איש אל אחיו that the כרבים were facing each other. The message is that if a person wants to move upward, then he has to move horizontally and be able to face another person. Only once a person can remove his own ego and see another will he then be able to meet his creator.
As the Gemara says in Bava Basra 10a about Reb Elazar רבי אלעזר יהיב פרוטה לעני והדר מצלי, אמר, דכתיב: אני בצדק אחזה פניך that he would give Tzedakah before he davened. The simple explanation of the Pasuk is “through righteousness I see your face.” But Reb Elazar read the Pasuk בצדק meaning צדקה that through צדקה he could see the Shechina. The idea is because if one could see the face of another human being, then he could see the Shechina but if he can’t see another human being, than he can’t see the Shechina. Therefore, the way a person is פרשי כנפים למעלה is through ופניהם איש אל אחיו.
Willing To Move
Regarding the poles of the Aron, the Pasuk says בטבעת הארן יהיו הבדים לא יסרו ממנו (כה,טו). The poles of the Aron had to remain in the rings of the Aron permanently as opposed to the other כלים such as the שלחן and the מזבח that there poles were removed while they weren’t traveling. The Chizkuni explains this is because the poles in the שלחן and מזבח were in the way of the constant Avodah that happened with them. However, the Aron was located in the קדש הקדשים which the Kohen Gadol only went in once a year and therefore the poles weren’t in the way of anything.
However, halachikally there is a לאו דאורייתא to remove the בדים from the Aron so it can’t just be for reasons of creating comfortable space. Therefore it could be that when a Jew learns Torah and makes himself into an Aron, he is compared to the Aron because the Aron holds the Torah and the Talmid Chacham learns Torah and holds it within him. However Torah must always be learnt על מנת ללמד. On any level that a person learns, he must make it accessible and available to other. The בדים having to remain in the Aron symbolizes the concept that the Aron must always be ready to move just like one learning Torah shouldn’t only be doing it for himself which is the Aron in its place but he should be learning על מנת ללמד, that the Aron is always ready to move and be carried out to other Jews.
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