Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Pinchas (5786)

Good morning. Good shabas everybody. Tomorrow we have the privilege of reading pas contains six positive mitzvos and I find it nothing less than especially exciting and we'll come back to this in a moment but in the three weeks which began with yesterday's fast of shaseramuz and as we will talk about in a moment. One of the five tragedies listed in the Mishna in Tannis page alf 26a. One of the five tragedies was that bot hatid the daily sacrifice of tid which means constant every morning every afternoon a Torah prescribes that a male lamb in its first year was brought every morning and a second lamb in the afternoon. It is just this time of the year that we read in paras about the carbon tid about the carbon mus of shabis roesh of shvuos of the m of the mitzvah of blowing of the chauffeur. In other words, just at this time when we mourned the yesterday's fast, the beginning of the end of the second temple, we are reminded and are shown the light at the end of the tunnel that there will be, we are promised the restoration of Corbanos. And that's why when I begin the program by telling us that there are six mitzvos, we are not just talking about remembering the historical past. But we are talking about as we say every day in our prayer at least three times a day. We pray to Hashem to restore the sacrifices and it will be as we're going to read Hashem in Paras. I was fortunate to come across a talk of the late Raar Likenstein Zatal who gave this talk to his Talmidim in the year and it's as relevant today as on the day that he said it. He begins by quoting the Mishna in Tanis that five terrible happenings happened to our forefathers on Shivasamos. Number one, the tablets Moshe broke the luos. Number two, the daily sacrifice Tamil, as we mentioned a moment ago, ceased. The city of Jerusaleim was breached by the Romans. And three weeks later, then yesterday we unfortunately come to Tish Aba A, the day that they actually put the Bikdash ablaze. So yesterday's fast marks the beginning of the three weeks, no haircuts, no weddings and the idea is that we are to remember these five phenomena. So this is the beginning of the end starts the three weeks yesterday. The fourth event is Apostamus burnt the Torah and placed an idol in the temple. The Bartonura brings two opinions. Does this apply to the first or second P mikdosh? clearly on the 17th of Tamuz goes on to say that it's most difficult to rank these five events in order of importance. Each one was terrible in its own way and had horrible effects in the long term. On the other hand, most people would have little difficulty in declaring that the bail hatid, the sessation of the daily sacrifice, most people wouldn't hesitate to say that's the least terrible. And especially after nearly two millennia, we are used to living without the daily sacrifice. and we don't really feel its absence. But even if we were to try to imagine ourselves in the situation of the people of Jerusaleim at the time of the there is no comparison between the cessation of the daily sacrifice and the other four tragedies. Okay. So then goes on to say, "Hey, wake up everybody and realize that we are still mourning but hated." What does that mean? Not only in the literal sense that the carbanid was um halted, ceased, but on an individual as well as communal basis. Unfortunately, we have become dulled by the routine. Oh, I dabed this prayer last night for Mina, last night for my this morning for Shakis. Been there, done it, and it lost a lot of its excitement. Now the idea clearly that he stresses so beautifully is that we need to ignite the fire within ourselves and to literally become excited by the everyday and the opportunity that we have every day. And interestingly the mi that the Jews says every day and thank you Hashem for another day great is your trust your Hashem's belief in us. In other words while we face all kinds of difficulties in our lives Hashem knows we can do it. Now what does it mean we can do it? So goes on to say that we are affected by our environment and the environment as such constantly looks for newness something which is not routine something which they can get excited about. So in our society without casting any aspersions the celebration of the anniversary of America 250 years now there'll be fireworks throughout the country people will go to see it they get excited about it because it happens once a year similarly on the night of December 31st Many will foolishly go in the cold to time square and others will watch it and stay up watch it on their machines to see ooh this oo you and I know is silly but because it is something out of the routine man looks for that which is out of the routine except for the Jew. Now listen, there's a famous medish quoted in the introduction to the anakov where the Gmorrah or the rabbis ask, wait a minute, what is the most important verse in the Torah? So you're going to tell me every verse and you're right. But there are three opinions and one opinion cites to love your neighbor as yourself manto man. The second opinion is our love for Hashem. And finally the third opinion which is the quote the strangest of all which comes from parasit in the book of schmos whereby the Torah speaks that during the seven days of inauguration there were to be care which means you are to offer one sheep in the morning, second sheep shall you offer in the afternoon. This mitzvah of the carbantomid is found again in paras. The idea clearly is that we should get excited about that which happens every day. Why the in explaining mitzvah 41 which is the mitzvah of the bringing of the tid the precept of the regular ola offering sacrificed every day. So it's interesting to note we're familiar with these but it's from the beginning of chapter 28 in paras. Listen to the words how the Torah talks about how special is this carbon that was brought every day. God says to Moshe, "Command the Jewish people, literally my offering, my corbon, literally my food. I for my fires, my satisfying aroma, you are to be careful and scrupulously to offer it to me in its appointed time. Now the goes on to explain so powerfully with all due respect, man needs to eat. Okay, Hashem doesn't. So what's the whole idea of these corbanos? So he says that his I quote from the English translation of mitzvah 401 from the safe the entire divine superal share of any offering. In other words, what does Hashem get out of the carbonos? Is nothing more than his capital H fulfilled desire. What does that mean? That the servant did what he commanded him. Hashem is happy that the Jewish people are listening. And even though we might not understand it, why do I have to bring a lamb every morning? Why do I have to bring a lamb every afternoon? Okay, put your hands down. If this is what Hashem wants, so Hashem is happy about it, as the Torah describes how much he personally is affected by this carbon that listen carefully in that man has now followed what God wants, man becomes virtuous to attain his good reward. So we think we're doing Hashem a favor by bringing carbonos. We're really doing ourselves nothing less than a favor that we will get reward for following what Hashem wants. Now then goes on to say that we should take just as the carbantomid framed the carbonos. It was the first carbon brought every day. It was the last carbon brought every day and all the other carbonos came in the middle. So interesting there is a debate in the Gmorrah Zahim B whereby what if we only have we know that which comes more frequent takes precedence over that which comes less frequent. But what if I have something which is more frequent but something which is holy namely I have in the B mikdash only one animal for shabas. What do I do? Do I bring it for the tid? Do I bring it for the musaf? The musf is holier. The tid is more constant. And the answer is we go to the carbanid. There's something about the Jew on a regular basis. Now very quickly in today's para right after the whole idea of the carbantomid what do we find? We find that Moshe says I need a replacement now that Hashem has told him to go up to the mountain there. is going to see Israel and there he's going to die. So Moshe, according to Rashi, as much as he found his job difficult, crazy as it sounds to us, that he was hoping that Yeru Bonai is that his sons would inherit his position. And God says, "No, take Yahosua because he's the narush who didn't leave his master." In other words, the fact that Yoshua was continuously day in day out the same way that Aaron Hako that Aaron lit the minora like Hashem commanded him. So everybody asks the obvious question, what do you mean? Would anybody suspect that Aron would not do it? No. But the answer is he did it with the same enthusiasm every day. Now let's be honest. It's the same shuna estray tomorrow morning and no it's shabuna estray but you got the idea the same one I said last shabas and everything could become god forbid routine and the theme of has to say to us and rear quoted the p the verse from mish chapter 5 verse 19. toid which means that we are to be infatuated with the love of Hashem always. Not an easy task but something that each and every one of us has to rise to the occasion that as we are in the the three weeks and there is this time of sadness for the Jewish people. Remember this is the para that has the corbanos cuz we will have the corbanos again and we can help bring it about by our becoming more tomid our becoming more excited with the shabas kesh with the shabasn with all of the privilege that we have of observing Torah and mitzvos. Shabbat shalom to all.