Vayikra
(Leviticus: 1:1-5:26)
(Parshat Hachodesh)
(Rosh Chodesh)
(Haftara: Yechezkel 45:16-46:18)
- [Vayikra] Many commentators believe that there will be animal sacrifices in the messianic Third Temple. Rav Kuk believes that there will be no animal sacrifices, but there will only be flour offerings. Why is it so important for the Jewish people and the individual Jew that there should be offerings offered at the Temple?
- [2:14] “If you bring an offering of the first grain…” The first of fruits and grains are offered to God. The first is special. However, in our tradition old age is more respected than youth. In which situations is the first or the new more respected, and in which situations is the old more respected?
- Eating chametz on Pesach is considered a much greater sin than eating other forbidden foods the rest of the year. Why is eating chametz such a serious sin?
- [Haggadah] At the Pesach seder, we remember the Egyptian experience by retelling the story. We also remember the bitterness of the slavery in Egypt by eating bitters; we remember the haste of the liberation by eating matza; and we remember the liberation by drinking wine. Why are talking and eating our main ways of reliving the Egyptian experience and the redemption? Why not something more experiential, similar to the sukkah on Sukkot?
5, Haggadah of Pesach] One of the commandments of Pesach night is to tell the story of our liberation from Egypt. The story is supposed to be told through questions and answers. What does the question-and-answer format contribute to the seder and what does this rule (question-and-answer) tell us about Judaism and the Jews?
Commentary
When one forgets the essence of one’s soul; when one does not look into the depths of one’s inner life; everything becomes confused. The first tshuvah, which immediately lights up the darkness, is the return to oneself—to the root of one’s soul.
–Rav Avraham Y. H. Kuk, 1865-1935, Lithuania and Israel.
This study page is dedicated to the memory of Eli ben Avraham Zucker and
Sarah Bella bat Yitzchak Kummer, Chaim Yosef Yechiel ben Eliyahu Kummer and Eliyahu and Margaret Kummer