VOLUME 110 NUMBER 2
Adar 2 19, 5784
March 29, 2024
SPECIAL PARSHAS PARAH EDITION
Candlelighting Time 7:03 PM
After an enjoyable and lively Purim, we begin our ascent to the Yom Tov of Pesach. Of course, there is a lot more work that Pesach entails such as clearing the house of any remaining chometz and kashering the kitchen and buying only specially made food products for Pesach. There is another facet to this wonderful Yom Tov that is not extant at this time. Even though we refer to the special Pesach offering, we do not have the opportunity to actually bring that sacrifice. In times of old when we merited a Beis Hamikdash, everyone flocked to Jerusalem and brought their paschal lamb in groups and sang Hallel with joy and happiness recalling our exodus from enslavement at the hands of our Egyptian tormentors. What a sight it must have been to behold perhaps millions of our brethren ascending the Temple mount and the masses celebrating within the confines of the Beis Hamikdash. We aspire for that time when we will again have that grand opportunity!
However, to be able to enter into the Beis Hamikdash offer our sacrifice we had to first and foremost purify ourselves otherwise entry was forbidden. If anyone had been in contact with a corpse, then they had to undergo a course of treatment, the sprinkling of the ashes of a burnt red heifer mixed with special water obtained from a fresh spring of water. It seems rather interesting that a dose of burnt hide can really do the job. After all, what is truly problematic if one was in close quarters with a dead person? And how does this process alleviate that predicament?
S’fas Emes in a very profound essay advances that we are essentially grounded in physicality. And that characteristic is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we are lethargic in energizing ourselves to pursue what Hashem demands of us. We are slow to perform and inertia restrains us from our mission. On the other hand, our earthy composition suggests a certain aspect of nothingness. In other words, dirt is a rather nonentity which alludes to the power and strength to negate that which obstructs our path in life. Often we view a barrier as a total lack of ability to move forward when truthfully, we have the option should we ignore the obstacles confronting us.
Physical demise can actually adversely effect an individual. Because death is only a symptom of lack of passion to perform. We earthy creations born with the automatic drawback of indolence and sluggishness, suffer from that interaction. However, earthy substances also convey the theme of negation. When we choose to ignore that which shackles us from performing then we select to actively flout our built-in deficiency. The mitzvah ordained by the Torah to sprinkle the ashes upon one tainted by contact with a corpse spurs us on to recognize the innate ability that we have confront that challenge and successfully conquer that antagonist. Spring is that time of the year when the creation reenergizes and renews itself. When we observe the revitalization occurring with the added feature of the ashes, then we have the opportunity to indeed revive our hidden reservoirs of strength and power and serve Hashem as we truly should!
A BYTE FOR SHABBOS
When we do not merit the Beis Hamikdash to bring the offerings, studying the laws can also atone for our sins as though we brought the sacrifices. Torah is a tremendous remedy for our faults.
GOOD SHABBOS
THE WAR IS STILL RAGING AND THE WORLD TURNS AGAINST US. WE REALIZE THAT ALL IS IN THE HAND OF HASHEM AND WE MUST CONTINUE TO BESEECH HIS ASSISTANCE AND PLEAD FOR OUR DELIVERY FROM THE FORCES OF EVIL THAT PERVADE OUR WORLD.
