Vayikra 18:4 אֶת מִשְׁפָּטַי תַּעֲשׂוּ וְאֶת חֻקֹּתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּּ – You shall fulfill My ordinances and observe My statutes. Generally, chukim seem to be irrational: if not for the divine imperative, we would never observe them. We assume a divine purpose and value, but we cannot fathom them. Mishpatim, on the other hand, reflect cultural and humanistic considerations. Yet the force ...

Vayikra 16:16 וְאִישׁ כִּי תֵצֵא מִמֶּנּוּ שִׁכְבַת זָרַע וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם אֶת כָּל בְּשָׂרוֹ וְטָמֵא עַד הָעָרֶב A man from whom there is a discharge of semen, shall immerse all his flesh in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening. One who experiences a seminal discharge is known in Talmudic literature as a ba’al keri. Such a person is tamei, and ...

Vayikra 13:46 מִחוּץ לַֽמַּֽחֲנֶה מֽוֹשָׁבֽוֹ – his dwelling shall be outside the camp. The occurrence of a festival during the mourning periods of shiva or shloshim annuls the mourning: the mourner must now rejoice on the festival. The nullification of mourning grows out of the person’s presence before God, as the essence of festival joy is the bonding between the ...

Vayikra 10:1 וַיַּקְרִיבוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָֹה אֵשׁ זָרָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוָּה אֹתָם – and they brought before the Lord foreign fire, which He had not commanded them. On the day of their installation, wearing their priestly vestments, Nadab and Abihu were overcome by ecstasy and by the desire to express their emotions. The incense that they burned was identical to that ...

Vayikra 8:10 וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת שֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה וַיִּמְשַׁח אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן- And Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Sanctuary. Moses anointed the walls of the Mishkan with the special anointing oil required for its sanctification. The Mishnah in Shevuos (14a) states that when expanding the area of the Beis Hamikdash, there is a procedure that must be followed to ...

The Vort from the Rav feature restarts, courtesy of Dr. Arnold Lustiger, adapted from his newly published Vayikra volume of Chumash Mesoras HaRav וְנִרְצָה לוֹ- and it will be accepted for him. In our weekday Shemoneh Esrei prayer, we end the petitionary section starting with the words שְׁמַע קוֹלֵֽנוּ: Listen to our voice, Lord our God…and in compassion and favor ...

Lev. 18:19: וְאֶל־אִשָּׁה בְּנִדַּת טֻמְאָתָהּ לֹא תִקְרַב And to a woman during the uncleanness of her separation, you shall not come near. Shir Hashirim Rabbah illustrates the meaning of the verse in Song of Songs (7:3), “Thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies,” in this way: It often happens that a man takes a wife ...

Lev. 13:46: בָּדָד יֵשֵׁב he shall dwell isolated Many commentators have noted the similarities that exist between the requirements of a metzora, as outlined here, and those that apply to a mourner. Both must rend their garments and allow their hair to grow (compare Lev. 10:6 and 21:10), and just as a metzora must live in isolation outside his city, ...

Lev. 10:6: רָאשֵׁיכֶם אַל תִּפְרָעוּ וּבִגְדֵיכֶם לֹא תִפְרֹמוּ Do not leave your heads unshorn, and do not rend your garments Moses enjoined Aaron and his two surviving sons from mourning for Nadav and Avihu. The inalienable right to which every parent is entitled of mourning the death of a child was denied to Aaron and his sons. Why? Because the ...

Lev. 6:21: וּכְלִי־חֶרֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר תְּבֻשַּׁל־בּוֹ יִשָּׁבֵר וְאִם־בִּכְלִי נְחשֶׁת בֻּשָּׁלָה וּמֹרַק וְשֻׁטַּף בַּמָּֽיִם An earthenware vessel in which it is cooked shall be broken, but if it is cooked in a copper vessel, it shall be purged and rinsed with water. It is not coincidental that the festival of Pesach always follows the reading of Parashas Tzav. The reading of specific ...