Shmini - HaMaaleh

 Because I am Hashem Who raised you up from the land of Egypt in order to be for you Elokim, and be holy, because I am holy. Georah - usually says vehotzeiti, here, unusual, hama’aleh etchem, unique.  Rashi - on condition that you’ll accept/receive my mitzvot, and I will raise you up through them. Why this statement, here, in midst of forbidden food, specifically.


Ramban - Kedoshim Tihiyu, kadesh atzmechah bemutar lach.  After listing assur things it adds not to be navel bireshut haTorah.  That explains too why after forbidden food rules comes this- veheyitem kedoshim, to make yourself holy with what is permitted.  All eating/consumption should be done in holiness and purity.  This meaning of “I am Hashem Who raises you up…” It was on condition of being holy. 

Yetziat Mitzrayim has 1- being taken ut from the bad, the fleshpot of the world and the JP were embedded in the 49th level of tum’ah. 2- To be for you a G-d.  By being brought out we were taken to be Chosen People and devukim - close to Hashem. The preparation for 2 is to become holy…


As we’ve explained regarding the general nature of Galut Mitzrayim: Hashem said, Know, know that your descendants will be strangers in a strange land, and  you’ll serve and be tortured.  Strange - not, mipnei chata’einu galinu mei’artzeinu.  Here ublemished holy people went in and came out on the 49th level! What was this Galus’ purpose, meaning?


The purpose was to be machshir - prepare us to be the Am HaNivchar. We could only get there via all these afflictions.  This is what hashem said, surelyknow, to get to be Am HaNivchar, it can only happen via purification!


I raise you up from Eretz Mitzrayim… There’s a cheilek that’s about leaving the ad and part that is being raised from Egypt.  That aliya, was one of becoming the Am HaNivchar of Hashem.  Regarding this it says that we need to be Holy to be Chosen. This means not just guarding from forbidden but regarding the permitted to fulfill being holy and via this reach the level of “because I am G-d Who raises you up.” This is the one place this language is used!


Avodas Yisrael, magid of Koznitz- How do we get to high level of “because I amd Holy,” only by making oneself holy through every aspect of this world. This is what we say pr mitzvot - asher kideshanu bemitzvotav.  It means set aside for G-d, hekdesh, assur to world, set for one person, that’s what kiddushin is - forbidden to others, holy to one man.  We’re married, as it were, to hashem, Kidushin, by being holy we’re forbidden/set aside to all like hekdesh. All worldly matters are forbidden for our own pleasure. That brings us to the level of being appointed specifically for Hashem… 


Beis Avraham re Mincha hi shelucha to my master, to Eisav - all a Jew does ia micha- gift sheluchah-sent to Hashem if done right, or G-d forbid, the opposite then it’s a gift to Eisav.


Yesod ha’Avodah cites Rambam: The characteristics of a person, his thoughts, haskefotav - attitudes, are based on what he eats! If the food has the purpose of kashrut, the highest level of fitness, and are eaten at the highest level of yishuv hada’at.  This is because food becomes blood, the foundation/root of our nefesh, ruach, neshamah in line w bechol derachehah da’eihu.  Not eating right affects blood and opinions, thoughts, concepts that are unfit.  Re Tehilim 107 Besht says “Hungry and thirsty - re’eivim gam tzemei’im, their soul grows faint within them - that this pasuk contains a sod gadol.  Why did Hashem give us an appetite to eat? We have holy sparks and their purpose s to raise us up.  We desire to eat/drink because our souls are faint and in the food is wrapped a soul that will be fixed by our eating it.  We have holy sparks - nitzotzot in us, that are meant for us to lift them up.  


Beis Avraham told about R Shmuel MiKaminker, a hungry poor man came, he offered him a big piece of chicken, the man cut it and ate it hungrily, and the Rabbi Reb Shmuel took it away and cited Yirmiyahu Cursed ia man who trusts in man and puts meat/flesh his strength.  Fever is the chicken with a high soul needing to be elevated, trusting that will be done with intention, so it can become basar zeruah, rwow from flesh to strength.


NS - I heard that the Divrei Shmuel said once on Erev YK - we eat souls, drink souls, trample souls.  If this is high, it also applies to applies to all Jews, each of us.   


In every generation we must see ourselves as if we went out of Mitrayim.  This includes 1- leaving the bad, and becoming The Holy People.  And we prepare by being holy, in order to be raised up. 


Vehitkadashtem veheyitem kedoshim: Beis Avraham says there’s a saying that you become drunk by drinking one cup and then another and eventually you become drunk.  Similarly Vehitkadashtem… How do you because holy? You watch yourself once regarding that which is allowed for you, and then again, and again, until you have become holy. 


This is the idea of biur chameitz, it is preparation to “I am Hashem who lifts you up…” to be the Am haNivchar.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Early Mistakes of the Book of Breishit: Deep Darkness Corrected By Lofty Light

 The Torah is an instruction book for life.  So why does it start with stories of major mistakes? The Cheit Eitz HaDaat makes sense to be included because it is something that all mankind yearns to see rectified. But what about the other stories? The way G-d created the world is that there was darkness for 2000 years before there was the era of light.  This is how it is, erev-night and then from it boker-morning light, the peel and then the fruit, sur mirah - keep from the bad and then asei tov - do good. Avraham with his chesed - kindness, Yitzchak with his gevurah - strength, and Yaakov with his tiferet - balance, began the tikun-correction of the world.  Before that tikun came about there was darkness.  The three things the world cannot tolerate were being done, as we're told by Chazal: Kin'ah - jealousy, ta'avah - desire, and kavod - honor, remove a person from this world.  Kin'ah - Mishlei says that jealousy rots a person's bones.  Kayin fell down...
Read more

Breishit: Why the Torah Starts Here

 Rashi cites Rabbi Yitzchak giving a reason for why the Torah doesn't start with the first mitzvah given to the Jewish People.  He says that the Torah starts where it does so that we can tell other nations who call us thieves that G-d created the world and gave them The Land.  He then took it from them and gave it to us. But this only explains the need for the start of the book.  The Nesivos Shalom says that the reason for starting with the book of Breishit is because it is, as Chazal say, Sefer haYashar - the book that teaches us how to be refined in character.  He cites Rav Chaim Vital who says that our midot are the foundation of our Torah, and - in a way - are more important than the rest of the Torah.   Rav Chaim Vital says that the midot are not in the Torah itself because they are the prerequisite to Torah.  The Nesivos Shaom teaches us that everything is in the Torah, and it must be that midot are in the Torah too.  How could it be th...
Read more

NS Vol 2 - On RH Kuf Lamed Daled L'David Mizmor (27)

We say this on the night of Rosh haShanah which teaches of the designation and purpose of the world and all that fills it - all for G-d, to bring a Jew closer to G-d.  Relates to this world being ike an antechamber before a hall, the point of this world is to go through it on your path to The Hal/Parlor/Place To Bel. This world is a pathway.  Yet it can seem that this world of desire does the reverse of bringing you to Heaven.  Also we need to understand the concept of Dirah BeTachtonim, the the Lower will be a place where the higher resides. How can that be?  Answer: Maggid of Mezirich - The world is filled with kinyanechah - not things G-d owns, but things through which we gain ownership of/connection to G-d. All the loves and lusts - arousals -  in the world are manufactured in a way, in essence, to bring us to acquire connection with G-d.  Fits w Baal Shem Tov’s statement that no bad descends from Heaven.When seemingly bad lust or love rises in a person...
Read more