פרשת ויקרא-זכור

Dvar Torah

Humility

(ויקרא א:א) וַיִּקְרָ^א אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר:

“And He called to Moshe…” (1:1)

 After the completion of the Mishkan, which was made to bring G-D’s divine presence to dwell amongst The Jewish nation, the people were awed and did not want to come close to the Mishkan.  Even Moshe, who was the holiest person, was afraid to enter the building. So Hashem personally called Moshe to enter the Mishkan.  The Rabbis teach us that Hashem was calling Moshe lovingly.  This is learned from the words of the Pasuk “And he called...”, the word “Vayikra - called” is written with an Alef.  The root of the word Vayikra is “Kara”, which means “call”.  We find this same word used when Hashem calls Bilam, a prophet of Hashem, to the other nations of the world.   Bilam was also the deceiver who tried to destroy the Jews with the power of speech.  When Hashem called him, the Torah tells us “Vayikar” which means “and he called”, only it’s written without an “Alef”. 

Why did Moshe not want to write that Alef?

When Hashem was telling Moshe exactly what to write word for word in the Torah, Moshe did not want to add the “Alef” in the Torah.  Moshe wished to state his being called by Hashem in the same manner as the one of Hashem calling Bilam.  Hashem insisted that the Alef be written; so Moshe wrote it small.

Moshe was the humblest person who ever lived.  He could not bring himself to show us that Hashem called him out of love; this was brazen of him.

We see from here the importance of being humble.  We don’t always need to make ourselves look the best.  With this in mind, we realize the importance of how we should act around other people.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parsha Questions

1) Why is there a small א in the word ויקרא at the beginning of this ספר? (רש"י ויקרא א:א)

2) What double wording is there in פסוק א? Why? (רש"י ויקרא א:א)

3) From where did Hashem speaks to משה? (רש"י ויקרא א:א)

4) What is another name for ספר ויקרא? Why?

5) What is the meaning of the word קרבן?

6) What must an animal look like when it is being brought as a קרבן? (ויקרא א:ג)

7) What is the difference between מליקה and שחיטה? When is each used? (This question is not for Adele.)

8) What does a קרבן מנחה consist of? (ויקרא ב:א-ג)

9) What must be brought with every קרבן? (ויקרא ב:יג)

10) Why must this be brought with all קרבות? (רש"י ויקרא ב:יג)

11) What is done today to remember this?

12) What קרבן is קלוי באש? (רש"י ויקרא ב:יד)

13) When was this קרבן brought? (ויקרא כג:ט-יד)

14) If a person did a sin unintentionally, what type of קרבן should they bring? (ויקרא ד)

15) When was the קרבן תמיד brought?

Virtual Classroom Check-in!

Questions about what we are learning online!

1) Why are the Halachot of Etrog so different than the ones of Lulav, Hadasim, and Atavot?

2) What is wrong with using an Etrog of Maaser Sheni on Yerushalaim?

3) Why can an Etrog that is brown and spotted no be usable for the Mitzvah?

Click Here http://rpmishnah.blogspot.com/

 Torah Math

Korbanot (Sacrifices) and Prayers. The book of Vayikra is all about Korbanot - Sacrifices. Before we begin to learn all about them, let us take a moment to think about how they apply to us today.  The word "Korbanot" includes the word "Korov" (near or close); a sacrifice was a means of approaching Hashem, supplicating for Divine forgiveness or demonstrating appreciation for Divine assistance, and bringing oneself closer to Hashem. How do we achieve this today? Through prayer. Prayer  testifies to Hashem's mastery of the world, gives us an opportunity to thank Hashem and allows us to ask for Hashem's assistance.

TORAH TRIVIA!

Super Stumper Question:

This a question to ask others and discuss the answers.

Answer to last week’s question:

The Brachot that are made once each year outside of Eretz Yisrael are:  (1) The Bracha on a tree in Nissan  (2) Lighting candles on Yom Kippor (3) Checking/burning of Chametz (4) Nachaim Yerushalayim on Tisha B’Av 

Question of the week:

What Bracha is only made on a Wednesday or Thursday?

 FOOD Section!

Can you guess what this recipe connects to this week’s Parsha?

Passover Roasted Grown Sweet Potatoes

This pareve vegetable side dish is healthy, simple to make, special to serve, and complementary to any meat, poultry, fish or vegetarian main dish served for a Passover meal.

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

5 medium beets, peeled and cut into chunks

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks

1 red potato, scrubbed and cut into chunks

1 large red or white onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).

2. In a bowl, toss the beets with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Spread the beets out on a baking sheet lined with parchment baking paper. Begin baking the beets for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, mix the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place the sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, and garlic in a large bowl. Pour this over them and mix well to incorporate.

4. Take the pan out of the oven and add in this mix. Continue baking it all for another 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until all the vegetables are cooked through.

5. Serve warm, although if there are any leftovers, they serve great cold, too.