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Emor | 15 Iyar 5780 | May 9th, 2020 | Issue 842
This edition is dedicated
in loving memory of
Mordechai Yosef ben Yitzchak David Friedland z"l
Menashe z"l ben Mordechai Yosef z"l and Miriam Friedland
Jerome Yechiel Schostak z"l
Yaakov Aharonov z"l
Our sincere condolences on the passing of Rosh Yeshivat Birkat Moshe (Maale Adumim) Rabbi Prof. Nachum Eliezer Rabinowitz zt"l
Mazal Tov to Marcelo and Adira Ellenberg, President of Torah MiTzion Uruguay, on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Yair Yisrael
Mazal Tov to Rabbi Avi and Rachel Goldberg (Rosh Kollel in Memphis 2008-2011), on the birth of their son, Naveh Yeshaya
Mazal Tov to Gilad and Ester Lavi (Shlichim in Perth), on the birth of a son
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What is in this week's newsletter
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Online learning opportunities
Divrei Torah on the Parasha in English and Hebrew
Beit Midrash Boker in English, every Thursday morning starting 9:00am
Videos from our 'Lilmod' program in Russian, German and French
Shiur in Hebrew - HaRav Kook and Orot HaTeshuva, by Rabbi Natan Kotlerov
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Dedicated in memory of Yaakov Aharonov z"l
 I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel
By Yedidya Bejell
Former Shaliach in Chicago (2007-8)
Currently a structural engineer
Click HERE for the PDF version
''They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not desecrate their God's Name, for they offer up the fire offerings of the Lord, the food offering of their God, so they shall be holy". (Vayikra 21, 6).
"You shall sanctify him, for he offers up the food offering of your God; he shall be holy to you, for I, the Lord Who sanctifies you, am holy". (Vayikra 21,8).
Our parasha opens with special commandments which apply to our holiest members - our elite team of kohanim, the priests who man the worship of Hashem in the temple. Nearly every order here comes with a warning, along the lines such as, "You must sanctify them" and "do not desecrate my name".
These reflect a higher standard expected of those who represent complete holiness, and are tasked with dealing with "our Lord's bread", that if not kept will cause G-d's name to be desecrated.
This continues the line started in last parasha, commanding Bnei Yisrael "You shall be holy" - we are expected to go beyond just preforming mitzvot; we need to aspire to be holy.
"You shall not desecrate My Holy Name. I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel. I am the Lord Who sanctifies you". (Vayikra 22,32).
Our objective as a people is to sanctify Hashem's name in the world. The kohanim represent the highest standards of kedusha toward the rest of Am Yisrael. This sanctity imposes a great deal of responsibility on us to represent it to the world. If we don't keep up to these standards, not only do we fail our potential but we directly disgrace G-d's name.
The difference between the levels of kedusha of Yisrael and kohen, is in the fact that only a small part of the nation can be living in the palace if G-d, while the rest are obligated to live a life of holiness through our everyday lives.
With a sharp turn the parasha shifts to discuss the Moadim, our holidays:
"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The Lord's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My appointed [holy days]. [For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. These are the Lord's appointed [holy days], holy occasions, which you shall designate in their appointed time"
One may question what does this belong in the context of kedusha of kohanim. But here is one aspect in which our kedusha is practiced.
The first Moed mentioned is Shabbat, which we practice every week. After mentioning Shabbat the parasha repeats the introduction to the Moadim before continuing. There is a difference between Shabbat and the rest of the holidays. Shabbat was created with the world. G-d's builds into the weekly cycle a break to connect to Him.
The other holidays in our annual cycle we are partners in creating. We are to proclaim them in their season.
We are granted some control over the calendar by deciding when Rosh Chodesh wil ltake place, or if we need to declare a leap year.
Our holiness grants us this ability. Our judgement will determine which day would be holy. Furthermore, these holidays are tied to our annual routine. Hashem makes us holy and in turn we make the times holy.
One mitzvah mentioned here is sefirat haomer which we are practicing at these very days. We bring our first wheat which we toiled for in the previous year, to the Mikdash and the we count up 49 days until we reach day 50 - Shavuot Chag Matan Torah. Every day we rise in holiness until we are ready to receive the Torah. At that timewe bring Bikurim, our first fruit, to the Mikdash. This reminds us everything we do day to day needs to be lived in kedusha.
May we be zoche to achieve a kingdom of kohanim and holy people.
"I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel. I am the Lord Who sanctifies you".
comments: yhbeej04@gmail.com
For more Divrei Torah on the parsha click here
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Montreal's Shlichim are continuing to run the weekly 'Bekiut Club'! Every week the children learn about a different topic in accordance to the age group and afterwards, some of the children put on a short play about what they learned that day. This week the children learned about Herzl Day!
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Amitai Berkowitz gave a Chabura for the girls of Melbourne on 'The Essence of the Mitzvah of Learning Torah'
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Cape Town's Shlichim are continuing their weekly learning with the children from the Shul in Camps Bay
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With the understanding that Greater Washington was headed towards a shutdown, over a month ago, Torah MiTzion's Shlichim and the Bnot Sherut created a giant flag with the students of the Berman Hebrew Academy.
The assembling of the flag, which was done in uplifted spirits and with music and dancing, was videoed and edited into a short clip and sent to the community as part of the Yom Ha'atzmaut celebrations. Thousands of members of the community took part in the Zoom event that took place on Yom Ha'atzmaut!
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Meet the Alumnus!
This week, with Haim Roash (Cape Town, 1996-1997)
Currently works in management of a home for senior citizens in Jerusalem
What led you to your decision to go on Shlichut?
Simply, I was looking for an environment in which embodies volunteer work for the nation and the Jewish community. Contribution in the spirit of values I got in Yeshiva High school, the youth movement and Hesder Yeshiva, all this prior to moving on to Higher Education.
What was the highlight in your Shlichut?
Baruch HaShem, the year was successful both on the personal and the group level, but asked to name the most successful point of the Shlichut, I believe it might have been surprisingly after coming home… following the return to Israel, you start finding out and meeting people from the community that made the brave and meaningful decision to make Aliyah.
At that moment, you realize that your efforts – throughout the years – bear beautiful fruit. During the Shlichut you sow seeds, trying to connect, learn, teach, guide, and as time passes you actually see the fruit. And as I said, when you see families and youth making Aliyah therefore strengthening Am Israel - this is the most meaningful moment in my eyes.
What do you do today and what does the job include?
I manage an Old Age Home in Jerusalem. The home was established prior to the establishment of the State of Israel.
Primarily my role includes responsibility for the well-being, health and safety of the many senior citizens on campus and keeping in touch with their families. Managing a multi-leveled professional staff, and preparing the institution to meet the regulations of the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health.
Can you share a personal experience/ a story from your 'day to day' life during the Corona Pandemic?
As you are well aware, the residents of Old Age Homes are considered at high risk from Corona. Consequently, and under the strict orders of the Ministry of Health - the gates of the facility were shut and we are unable to allow entry of family members or non-essential workers.
The residents and their family members cannot personally meet as in regular times in this very delicate situation. This situation entails conflicts and misunderstandings and we are certainly awaiting the day that we will be able to reopen our gates and once again the home will be full of visitors, volunteers, children and grandchildren - bringing with them life and laughter as was happening not so long ago.
Do you feel that the Shlichut had an influence on your choice of occupation in any way?
In my case, I reached the decision to postpone university studies in light of the Shlichut that I wished to undertake. Happily, the university adhered to my request to postpone my studies and promised to save my spot for the following year. Actually, I was part of a group of friends who reached a joint decision to go on Zionist Shlichut together. Looking back, I have no doubt that the instant chemistry and the guidance we got from Zeev Schwartz was the catalyzer that helped us turn the idea into a reality. We were simply overtaken by his charisma. From the meetings and discussions with Zeev, we understood we are facing a life changing experience that will change our outlook forever as well as the community members' we were about to meet.
He was absolutely right!
It was a magical and forceful year that guides us daily and is an inseparable part of who we are today.
Thank you Haim!
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Torah MiTzion was established in 1995 with the goal of strengthening Jewish communities around the globe and infusing them with love for Torah, the Jewish People and the State of Israel.
