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Back in 1996, Rabbi Finman was asked to speak to the niece of one of his students. After spending many hours answering her questions, the woman gave Rabbi Finman her e-mail address. Rabbi Finman wrote the woman a note and included in it a short insight into that week's Parsha and a short Chasidic story.

Realizing that this was something no one was yet doing,, Rabbi Finman sent the missive to his mailing list of about 30 people. Requests from recipients friends came pouring in. The next week Rabbi Finman sent the e-Parsha to 100 people. Within a year more than 2000 people were receiving it. Today, more than 14,000 receive the e-Parsha weekly and the requests keep coming in.

Tzav 5784
Vayikra 5784
Pekudei 5784
Vayakhel 5784
Ki Sissa 5784

Tzav 5784

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This week's YouParsha Tzav https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu_MrZqOguc&t=22s Doing what You're Told.

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This week's Parsha, Tzav, Leviticus 6 - 8, discusses many of the details of various sacrifices. Our sages tell us that one who learns the laws of the sacrifices is considered to have offered the sacrifices. This statement is puzzling. Mitzvahs are an expression of Divine will. Will is encompassing. When a person says, "I want something," it is not any specific part of them that wants it, it is their entire being. Mitzvahs can therefore, be called, a product of an encompassing level of G'dliness. The performance of a mitzvah causes a person to be "bathed" in this very powerful encompassing light. The Torah, on the other hand, is the wisdom of Hashem. Intellect is limited only to the brain, it is not as totalistic as will. It is a much greater thing to actually perform a mitzvah than to learn about it!

The above dilemma is strengthened by another statement of the sages. They compare the Torah to bread. Bread sustains the body when one consumes it. This bread is incorporated in the body and becomes the very flesh, blood and fat of the body. Torah sustains and satiates the soul when one learns it. That which a person learns becomes internalized and becomes a part of their intellect.

It is described in the Zohar (Basic book of esoteric wisdom. The Kaballa is based on the Zohar.) that seven lights were created before the creation of the universe: The lights of the Torah, gehinom, garden of Eden, throne of glory, the holy Temple, repentance, and Moshiach. The purpose of these "lights" is to facilitate the purification of the creation, the purpose of our existence. When a person learns Torah, they are "bathed" in this pre creation light. It therefore follows that learning about a specific mitzvah which one is unable to perform causes a similar very powerful light to encompass the learner.

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Reb Elchonon Shagalow, may Hashem avenge is murder, was a true Chasid. For many months he hid with his family in the attic of a shul in Stalinist Russia rather than be forced to work on Shabbos and send his children to the Russian schools. Keeping kosher in Russia during the '30's was a great challenge. One of his daughters commented that she never had cheese until she left Russia.

Once it happened that some kosher butter became available. unfortunately, the merchant used the same knife to cut lard. A plan was devised to procure this precious commodity without raising suspicion. Their four-year-old daughter would buy the butter.

The child walked cautiously to the store, carrying the kosher knife. She walked up to the counter, which she could hardly see over, and asked the man for some butter. She stipulated that that the butter must be cut with her knife, as her brother was allergic to lard and if he ate even the smallest amount, he would have a seizure.

The man dutifully took the little girl's knife and cut a healthy slab of butter from the uncut side. The girl skipped home with her treasure in hand.

That night, as the Shagolow family enjoyed their delicacy, Reb Elchonon made a remark that planted itself deeply in their souls. "You see, children, if a Jew really wants to keep kosher, Hashem will help him succeed."

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In memory of Chaim Elozar ben Dovber HaLevi Niftar Lag B'Omer 5783

May their families be comforted among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

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