Parshat Pinchas 5777
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the middle of this week's parsha that Moshe Rabbeinu requests from Hashem to appoint a leader to lead Bnei Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael. Moshe was hoping to pass on his position to his sons (see Rashi on Chapter 27, Pasuk 16), but Hashem tells him to pass on the mantle of leadership to his student Yehoshua Bin Nun. Immediately after, we read the different sacrifices that are brought on the different days of the year. Rashi on Chapter 28, Pasuk 1 teaches that it's as if Hashem says to Moshe, rather than you tell me to take care of my children, let my children fulfill their obligation to me.
Rav Tzadok explains a deeper connection between the laws of the Karbanos being brought here at this juncture. There is a well known Medrash in Bereishis Rabbah (3, 5) which teaches that the word "Ohr" appears five times in Bereishis by the creation of light, each one corresponding to a different sefer in the Torah. The one that corresponds to sefer Bamidbar is the pasuk which states (Bereishis, Chapter 1, Pasuk 4), Vayavdeil Elokim Bein Ha'Ohr U'Bein Ha'Choshech, Gd separated between the light and the darkness. The Medrash teaches that this represents the transition from the generation which left Mitzrayim with the generation that entered Eretz Yisrael.
The generation that left Mitzrayim and lived in the desert represents the light of Torah Shebichsav. They ate from the mahn, drank from the be'er, and had a direct relationship with Hashem. The generation which entered Eretz Yisrael represents Torah Shebe'alpeh. They no longer would have this idyllic connection with the Divine and would have to work hard in order to be connected to Hashem. Eretz Yisrael is the place of Torah Shebe'alpeh; only through the yegi'ah b'Torah, working hard in Torah, would they be able to be connected to the light of Torah.
The pasuk in sefer Yeshayahu states (Chapter 9, Pasuk 1), Ha'Am Ha'Holchim Bachoshech Ra'u Ohr Gadol, the nation walking in the darkness saw a great light. The Medrash Tanchuma on parshat Noach teaches that this is a reference to those who study hard in Torah Shebe'alpeh. The Ameilus B'Torah, the process of hard work in Torah is described as moving from the darkness to the light. This is the transformation experienced by Bnei Yisrael; moving from a nation that experience the Divine light automatically every day, to a nation that would have to search and work hard to feel the light of Hashem as expressed through Torah Shebe'alpeh, the appreciation and understanding of Torah.
The Ramban teaches in parshat Emor that the daily sacrifices and the Musafim were not brought in the desert. This is why they are brought here and not previously in parshat Emor. As they are about to enter Eretz Yisrael, precisely at this point of transition from the generation of Yotzei Mitzrayim to that of Ba'ei Ha'Aretz, from Torah Shebichsav to Torah Shebe'alpeh, the laws of the sacrifices are brought. Just as each member of Clal Yisrael has a portion in Torah Shebe'alpeh, so too each member of Clal Yisrael has a portion in the daily sacrifices, the Tamidim and the Musafim.
The Zohar Hakadosh teaches that the daily sacrifices enable Bnei Yisrael to have a better understanding of Torah. The animal brought daily is the keves, a sheep, and this is the same root as kavash, which means to capture or keep hidden. The closeness established through Karbanos is described as being like the intimacy between a husband and a wife, and it is through this closeness that one can achieve a deeper understanding of Torah. This also explains why a non-Jew who studies Torah is chayav misah. It is an infringement on the intimacy between Hashem and the Jewish people.
Today we don't have a Beis Hamikdash so we have Tefillah in place of the karbanos. And the first bracha we say is Chonein Ha'Da'as; we ask Hashem to give us the ability to understand Torah. And on Shabbos the middle bracha we say is V'Sein Chelkainu Be'Sorasecha, give us our portion in Your Torah. We can infer from here as well that the focus of Avodah is to have a better understanding in Torah. And this is why precisely at this juncture of transitioning from Torah Shebichsav of the midbar to Torah Shebe'alpeh of Eretz Yisrael, Hashem commands us the daily sacrifices. For it is through our Avodah that we are able to move from the darkness of the world to the light of Torah Shebe'alpeh. Ha'Am Ha'Holchim Bachoshech Ra'u Ohr Gadol.
Good Shabbos
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