In this week’s parshah, we encounter a game-changing episode in the history of Klal Yisrael. The meraglim, the spies, came back and gave a bad report about Eretz Yisrael. The consequences were terrible. These great tzaddikim ended up forfeiting their lives. It caused tremendous issues for Klal Yisrael. The Torah tells us about a group of Yidden who felt very remorseful after the whole episode came to an end.
In this week’s parsha, we are told about an episode with a group of people who expressed their regret and pain over the fact that their impurity prevented them from bringing the korban pesach. Their sheila was that if there was some hope for them not be left out from Klal Yisroel (Bamidbar 9:6-14). The emes is that this is a really strange episode because they understood that they were tamei, and someone’s who’s tamei cannot bring a Korban Pesach, so what were they asking? Did they think that Moshe Rabbeinui could provide them with a “new” Torah? Why did they even bother to come?
We’re coming down from the mountain. Shavuos is over. You know, there is one maalah of Yom Tov over Shabbos. The Ramban says that the neshamah yeseirah of Shabbos leaves by Motzei Shabbos. By Yom Tov, it doesn’t leave. But lema’aseh, after matan Torah, you know what Hashem said? שׁוּבוּ לָכֶם לְאָהֳלֵיכֶם, “Go back to your tents” (Devarim 5:27). Go home. Do you know what Hashem wanted us to do? To take the Torah we just learned, take the Torah we were just mekabel, and bring it home.
There was a great tzaddik and talmid chacham, R’ Yosef Caro (1488-1575). He was mechaber the Shulchan Aruch and many other works. He was zocheh to tremendous giluyim min hashamayim over a 35-year period. He had a malach appear to him constantly who related to him a lot of sodos (secrets). R’ Chaim Volozhin writes in his introduction to the Biur HaGra on Safra Ditzniusa, that it is not a pele that chachmei Yisrael are zocheh to such giluyim, that they open up the shaarei shamayim for them.
In this week’s parshah it says “all the males by their skulls,” by their heads. So the Rema miPano, who authored a sefer called Asarah Ma’amaros, writes that Moshe Rabeinu would look at every single Jew when they came before him to present themselves. Moshe Rabeinu was able to see with ruach hakodesh how many times this individual would be required to come back in the world through gilgul. That’s what the remez of legilgelosam means.
Parshas Bechukosai falls out almost every year right before Shavuos, or close to Shavuos. The subject of Parshas Bechukosai, as many people will tell you, is klalos and brachos, or tochachah. But the emes is that tochachah is only the end result. Many of us deal with symptoms but we don’t think about the reason for the symptoms. You always have to search for the reason for the symptoms.
The gemara Yevamos (62b) tells us about the 12,000 pairs of talmidim that Rabbi Akiva had. They didn’t learn in one building. They were spread out from a place called Gabos until Antifras – a network of yeshivos under Rabbi Akiva’s leadership. To imagine such a yeshivah is unbelievable.
We began to study the steps [based on pesukim in Mishlei 2:1-3] that are required during yemei sefiras haomer to bring out and connect us to our spiritual dimension. Not only is the dimension of ruchniyus of a person separate from the physical dimension, but it is also much more real and powerful. It endures lanetzach netzachim. The gashmiyusdike side does not endure at all. However the “muscles” that a person builds up in his spiritual dimension is what determines his true and real strength.
The Torah allots two parshiyos, Tazria and Metzora, to discuss nega’im, tzaraas. Chazal tell us that one of the main reasons nega’im and tzaraas come is for lashon hara. You have to understand, if the Torah makes such a fuss and elaborates to such a degree over the onshim of lashon hara, it behooves us to contemplate once in a while about the seriousness of nega’im and lashon hara. Therefore, Moshe warned Am Yisrael, when he said to them, ‘This shall be the law for a metsora – the law of the one that gives out a bad name.
The big mitzvah on Pesach is the Mitzvah of the Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim. We must know and understand what is the purpose of this night. Why do we make such a big fuss about repeating the same story of Yetzias Mitzrayim every single year? So if you are still not sure, listen carefully, because you’ve been doing it for so many years already and it’s a good idea to know why you are doing it.
