The Weekly Shtikle - Vayikra

This past Wednesday, 2 Nissan, was the yahrtzeit of my Bubbie. This week's shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmasah, Yehudis bas Reuven Pinchas.

In this week's parsha, we are taught the procedures involved in the various sacrifices. The kohanim, the ones performing most of the duties, are almost always referred to as "b'nei Aharon hakohanim."  In one instance, however, with regards to the placing of the fire on the mizbei'ach, (1:7) the term "b'nei Aharon hakohein," is used. The singular form is used instead of the plural. Initially, I understood that the reference to the kohanim was simply reconstructed. Instead of being referred to as "the sons of Aharon," COMMA, "the kohanim," here they were simply referred to as "The sons of Aharon HaKohein." The sudden change was quite puzzling.

 

However, a number of commentaries comment on this anomalous structure. The sefer Moshav Zekeinim suggests that the placing of the fire took special skill and thus, a specially appointed kohein was needed. R' Chaim Kanievsky writes that the other procedures were in fact performed by numerous kohanim whereas this particular one was performed only by one. Clearly, they are understanding that this term is merely a singular version of the common term used to refer to the kohanim. "HaKohein" refers to the kohein himself, not to Aharon as I had suspected.

Have a good Shabbos.

Mishenichnas Adar Marbim beSimchah (see Rashi, bottom of Taanis 29a)

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

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The Weekly Shtikle - Vayakheil / Pekudei

A Weekly Shtikle mazal tov to my niece, Ruti Levy, on her forthcoming marriage to Yoni Epstein of Scranton. Mazal tov to the extended Levy, Bulka and Jakobovits families.

 

The pasuk (40:22) recounts the placing of the shulchan in the north before the placing of the menorah in the south. However, points out R' Chaim Brisker, the mishkan was arranged from the kodesh hakadashim and out, i.e. they began in the west and moved eastward. There is a general rule in matters pertaining to the holy service, kol pinos she'atah poneh, lo yehu ela derech yamin.(Sotah 15b and various other sources). This is to say that any time there is a choice between turning to the left or to the right, one must turn to the right. If so, when facing east, one should theoretically turn right to the south and place the menorah first and then place the shulchan in the north.

 

R' Chaim answers that when detailing the layout Moshe was commanded (26:35) that aside from being in the south, the menorah should be nochach hashulchan, opposite the shulchan. Therefore, it had to be placed after the shulchan so that it would face it immediately. This is also the reason why the outer altar was put in its place before the kiyor which was closer to the mishkan for in the description of the kiyor (30:18) we find it is to be placed bein ohel moed uvein hamizbeiach, between ohel moed and the altar which is only possible if both are in place beforehand. R' Chaim Kanievsky gives this answer as well.

 

Chazak, chazak venischazeik!

 

Have a good Shabbos. Mishenichnas Adar Marbim beSimchah!

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: Ve'asa Vetzalel

Dikdukian: Kikar Zahav

Dikdukian: Ve'asa Vetzalel

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The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com

The Weekly Shtikle - Ki Sisa / Parah

A special Weekly Shtikle mazal tov to my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Esty & Tiki Yeres, on completing the Jerusalem Marathon today, leading a team that raised over $20K for Yachad in memory of my sister-in-law, Batsheva Yeres, a"h. Chazak ve'ematz!

After listing the ingredients and process for the production of the shemen hamishchah, the Torah then goes on to detail what it will be used for. Among them (30:27-28) are the shulchan and all its utensils, the menorah and its utensils and the outer mizbei'ach and all its utensils. The term "kol keilav/keileha" is used for the shulchan and mizbei'ach but for the menorah, simply "keileha" with the notable absence of the word kol. Shaarei Aharon explains that the shulchan and mizbei'ach had more utensils associated with them than the menorah. Additionally, some of the utensils associated with the shulchan and mizbei'ach did not serve the larger items directly, such as the utensils needed for the preparation of the lechem hapanim or the korbanos whereas all of the utensils associated with the menorah were used directly to serve it. Therefore, the Torah needed to be more inclusive with regards to the shulchan and mizbei'ach to make it clear that all of those ancillary utensils are also to be anointed with the shemen hamishchah.

Interestingly, a little later, we find that the structure is flipped. When listing the items to be constructed it states (31:8) "v'es hashulchan v'es keileha, v'es hamenorah hatehorah v'es kol keileha." This time it is the menorah that gets the kol treatment and not the shulchan. In this case, Meshech Chachmah explains that we are referring to all of the components of the menorah including the cups, flowers and buttons that were actually part of the body of the menorah. These are independently significant when discussing the construction and thus, in that sense, there are for more "utensils" involved with the menorah than with the shulchan. However, since these items are mostly all fused together in the final product, they are not significant when discussing the anointing whereas the utensils used with the shulchan were not attached and therefore, more numerous with regards to anointing.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Kol Annnos

Dikdukian: Yeiaseh vs.Taaseh by Ephraim Stulberg

Dikdukian: Velo Shasu

Dikdukian: Minimizing Sin

Dikdukian: Need to Bring this Up

Dikdukian: Oops (Parah)

Dikdukian: Let Your Heart Not be Desolate (Parah)

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The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com

The Weekly Shtikle - Tetzaveh / Purim

As part of the process of producing the priestly vestments, pasuk 28:40 commands, "Velivnei Aharon ta'ase kutanos", and for the sons of Aharon you shall make tunics. This can be interpreted in two ways - one tunic for each kohein or many tunics for each kohein. This is the subject of a dispute in the Yerushalmi (Yoma 3:6). Rabanan hold two tunics for each kohein and R' Yose holds one tunic for each kohein suffices.

 

In the gemara (Megilla 7a) Rav Yosef learns that when it says in Megillas Esther matanos la'evyonim, it means 2 total matanos for 2 evyonim - only one for each poor person. Turei Even in Chagiga and Avnei Shoham in Megilla (same author) comment that this gemara goes like R' Yose in the Yerushalmi who holds one tunic for each kohein. However, asks Mitzpe Eisan in Megilla, from Tosafos (Chagiga 3a) we see that the halachah in regards to the dispute in the Yerushalmi is like the Rabanan - two tunics for each kohein. If Rav Yosef in Megilla is going only according to R' Yose then it is not in accordance with halachah.

 

Mitzpe Eisan answers from Pri Chadash (Orach Chaim 694) who writes that if the pasuk had written "vela'evyonim matanos" then it would have implied two to each but now that it says it the other way around it only means one to each. Therefore, the rule is that if the subject is written before the object then it may imply that to these plural subjects you will give plural objects to each. That then is the subject of dispute in Yerushalmi where the pasuk in question is "Velivnei Aharon ta'ase kutanos", the subject coming before the object. However, with matanos la'evyonim where the object comes first, it means that these objects shall be distributed amongst the following subjects and everyone will agree that it is one per person. [This also explains why the gemara in Yoma entertains the possibility that there were two lots on each goat in the Yom Kippur procedure because the pasuk states, "al shnei hase'irim goralos" the subject before the object.]

 

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In case I am not able to put together something new for Purim, please check out all of my previous Purim posts here.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Dikdukian Posts on Megillas Esther

Dikdukian: Ner Tamid

Dikdukian: Of Plurals and Singulars

Dikdukian: The Lord and the Rings

Dikdukian: Tarshsih veShoham

Dikdukian: Sham and Shamah

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com