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Torah and Jewish Idea => Torah and Jewish Idea => Topic started by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 02:04:42 AM

Title: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 02:04:42 AM
Shalom JTF readers,

This week we are reading the portion of Behar (On the mountain) which relates the command of the Sabbatical cycle (every seventh year) and the greater cycle (50 year) of the Jubilee.. Here again we see the number seven playing out in the cycles (as we are counting the omer which is 7 weeks of 7 days)...

Also I just realized that the command against charging interest, which I brought up in a thread in the general section this week, is in this weeks portion. This is the second place where this command is mentioned in the Torah..

Chapter 25
35. If your brother becomes destitute and his hand falters beside you, you shall support him [whether] a convert or a resident, so that he can live with you.
36. You shall not take from him interest or increase, and you shall fear your God, and let your brother live with you.
37. You shall not give him your money with interest, nor shall you give your food with increase.

Quote
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2033/jewish/Behar-in-a-Nutshell.htm

On the mountain of Sinai, G‑d communicates to Moses the laws of the Sabbatical year: every seventh year, all work on the land should cease, and its produce becomes free for the taking for all, man and beast.

Seven Sabbatical cycles are followed by a fiftieth year—the Jubilee year, on which work on the land ceases, all indentured servants are set free, and all ancestral estates in the Holy Land that have been sold revert to their original owners.

Behar also contains additional laws governing the sale of lands, and the prohibitions against fraud and usury.


As usual I will start with posting the latest video posted by Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa8u_AEvy_A
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 02:37:04 AM
Once again this week we are reading the portion of Behar, which is read most years along with Bechukoti for a double portion. But since we are in a leap year we read many portions alone...

Here Rabbi Trugman gives some insights into this portion...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqKG2kurZ0M
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 02:50:27 AM
Rabbi Chaim Miller of TorahInTen discusses the kabbalah of our portion.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcS6zdcHRfk
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 03:03:31 AM
Rabbi Miller mentioned the reason Mount Sinai was chosen to be the mountain from which Hashem gave us the Torah...

In order to provide another insight into this teaching, the great Rabbi Meir Kahane would often relate this wisdom of the Talmud.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGRUO3hYsSo
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 03:07:00 AM
While thinking about proud Jews, let's see what the great Rabbi Levi Chazen has to say on our portion..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxkfdDNUMeo
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 03:16:41 AM
From the 'in your face' style of Rabbi Chazen, to the introspective chassidus of Rabbi Svirsky...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkHDVpwrlSE
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 03:27:52 AM
Time flies when I study Torah, I don't know if it does for other people... I've been at it for a little over 2 hours now...

Rabbi Bentzion Shafier with a short shmuz on Behar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljrAyoJGZ8g
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 03:33:25 AM
One more and it's off to sleepville for me...

What better to end the day that a quick shiur from the great Kabbalist of the settlements, Rabbi Yitzok Ginsburg...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piYrbLWxy8M

Yitzchak Ginsburg (born 14 November 1944) is an American-born Israeli rabbi. He is a follower of the Chabad Lubavich movement, and currently Rosh Yeshivah of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah in the settlement of Yitzhar in the West Bank, and the leader of the kabbalistic Gal Einai organization. He has published numerous books.
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 04:03:12 PM
Rabbi Ginsburg talks about the number 10 being Holy in Judaism.... There are many famous 10's in the Torah...

1) The Ten Utterances of creation.
2) The Ten generations from Adam to Noach
3) The Ten generations from Noach to Avraham Avinu
4) The Ten plagues
5) The Ten 'commandments'
6) The Ten days of Awe/Teshuva (between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur)
7) The Ten miracles which occurred in the Beit Mikdash HaRishon (1st Holy Temple)
8) The Ten Sefirot
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 04:04:37 PM
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter5-2.html

The World's Fallen State
By Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld

"There were ten generations from Adam until Noah. This shows us how slow to anger G-d is, for all those generations increasingly angered Him until He brought upon them the waters of the Flood."


As I mentioned two weeks ago, much of Chapter 5 of Pirkei Avos contains lists. Mishna 1 discussed the Ten Utterances with which G-d created the universe. This mishna continues with the earliest generations of man.

We know very little of the people of the antediluvian era. The great Deluge has left little meaningful trace of this prehistoric age. The lives, cultures and societies of the ancients of that time have been all but forgotten. Were they advanced or primitive, cultured or savage? Did they reap the wisdom and lessons of Adam and Eve and live with the knowledge of G-d, or did they degenerate into a primitive, animalistic existence in search of food, shelter and conquest? Scriptures does little more than list the names and superhuman lifespans of the patriarchal leaders, leaving us with little knowledge of their true lives and natures.

Scriptures (Genesis 6) does provide us a brief summary of the wickedness of the generations leading up to the Flood -- and the Sages draw for us a clearer picture. Genesis 6:2 tells us that the "sons of the lords" -- either the noblemen or actual heavenly angels -- saw the beautiful daughters of the common folk (or the humans), and took wives of whomever they chose. In verses 5-8 G-d observed that the wickedness of man was great and that his inclination was "only evil all the day." G-d resolved to destroy man -- all except for Noah who "found favor" in G-d's eyes. Finally, verse 11 refers to the earth as having become "corrupt" before G- d, and filled with violent robbery.

So, the world suffered from lawlessness, lust, and intermarriage -- possibly of the extraterrestrial kind. (The Talmud writes further that the people of the time mated animals of different species both with each other and with humans (Sanhedrin 108a).) How did people who lived so close to Genesis -- who could hardly *not* know of G-d and His wondrous creation -- degenerate into such corruption and debauchery?

Our Sages elucidate further. The Talmud writes: "The generation of the Flood was arrogant on account of the great good G-d had bequeathed unto it" (Sanhedrin 108a). The Talmud there, in a few brief comments, depicts a people blessed with natural bounty and physical beauty. The earth was richer and more bountiful than it is today. Humans lived longer and led more fruitful lives. They were not shackled by physical weaknesses of any kind -- old age, arthritis, hemorrhoids, bad backs, nearsightedness, etc. The flesh was strong: they were invincible. How did they respond? How did they use the far superior gifts G-d had blessed them with?

They lived totally and wholly for themselves. Each man looked out for his own, enjoying and indulging in every pleasure his dark heart fancied. Rather than using comfort and physical well-being as goads towards spiritual growth, they used their endless potential towards their own selfish ends. They felt their invincibility; they had nothing to fear. There was nothing they could not solve with their own great strength and ingenuity -- and nothing to humble them before G-d. They did not experience the challenge and frustration which would be the lot of latter- day man -- battling the elements for food, clothing and shelter, and consequently they saw no reason to turn in prayer to G-d. They lived lives of eternal youth -- in endless pursuit of physical pleasure, without the maturing effects of aging and of sensing one's mortality. They were eternally virile and youthful -- and they never had to grow up. And such a world left little room for a G-d of morality and accountability.

G-d realized that man had become irredeemably evil. But G-d did not content Himself with punishing man alone. G-d "reconsidered" His creation of man, states the Torah (v. 6). G-d was to refashion Creation in a far more fundamental manner. He was to break the divine levees, wash away all that existed, and begin anew. Why was this necessary? Why destroy the entire earth on account of puny, obstinate man?

In the days before the Flood, the physical world was far superior to the postdiluvian world. The earth was richer, people were stronger, and generally speaking the world was a closer reflection of the G-d who created it. And this was no mere coincidence. There was a reason for this: the physical world was more closely tied to the spiritual worlds above. We discussed last week the close correlation between the physical world and spiritual, metaphysical worlds above, and how the physical world is "energized" by the spiritual forces which emanate from above and which work their way down through the worlds. (One of the more kabbalistic lectures I've written... ;-) In the time before the Flood, these forces were much more closely aligned. The physical world -- and the human race -- had so much more vitality and potential because they drew from the infinite wellsprings of the spiritual worlds. People lived infinitely longer and the earth was infinitely richer because the physical reality of the world below was a much stronger reflection of the spiritual one above.

This arrangement made for a more bountiful and vibrant world, but it also wreaked havoc on the fabric of the universe. A more strongly interconnected world meant that the sins of man would corrupt the earth itself -- far more severely than they do today. And this is exactly what happened. Adam, for eating of the Tree of Knowledge, was punished that he would plant grain and weeds would flourish (Genesis 3:18). When man became steeped in immorality the animals followed suit. There were few animals still loyal to their own species which Noah could allow on board the Ark. The others had all followed the evil ways of man. Man's sins corrupted and damaged the physical world about. The result was that the earth itself had become evil -- so much so that it became doomed to the same destruction man had brought upon himself.

To correct this situation, G-d did more than destroy man. He destroyed the very bonds which coupled heaven and earth so tightly. And this could only be achieved by destroying the entire earth -- that spiritually-charged place which so closely reflected man's spiritual state. And so, G-d washed away all. The Midrash tells us that the Flood washed away the top three handbreadths of the world's topsoil (Bereishis Rabbah 31:7). The very rich and verdant earth which -- as reflection of the spiritual worlds -- had become corrupted by man, had to be removed forever. The one that would remain would be far coarser and earthier, but it would not be so vulnerable to the rises and falls of fickle man.

And with this came a Divine pledge: G-d would never again destroy the earth on account of man. "All the days of the earth -- planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night -- they shall not cease" (8:22). Why? "For the inclination of man is evil from his youth" (v. 21). Precisely because man's propensity is so thoroughly towards evil, G-d saw fit to sever the world from man's influence -- so that the world would no longer be utterly dependent on man's rises and falls. G-d recognized that man would not always reach the lofty pinnacle G-d had intended for him, and He would not allow His world to suffer irreparably on account of this. The world would no longer be the spiritually-attuned place it had once been. It would be more earthy, stubborn -- and physical - - and yet it would have the stability and permanence it needed to survive.

So the world after the Flood had a new beginning. The world lost much of its lushness and vitality -- as reflected in the many inches of topsoil the Sages state were lost. It would no longer have the same physical potential -- and would never be quite the same reflection of G-d it had once been. But man was not able to handle this awesome task -- of serving as caretaker for the entire physical reality of the universe. The physical world was here to stay -- a message attested to by the dazzling yet delicate beauty of the rainbow, and man would -- till the time of the Messiah -- walk in smaller, more humbled mission before G-d.
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 04:06:59 PM
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter5-3.html

Abraham's Legacy
Chapter 5, Mishna 3
By Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld

"There were ten generations from Noah until Abraham. This shows how slow to anger G-d is, for all those generations increasingly angered Him until our forefather Abraham came and received the reward of them all."

This week's mishna parallels the previous. Both mishnas list ten generations which were fraught with wickedness and which culminated in a righteous man. Last week's mishna discussed the ten generations from Adam till Noah while this week's discusses the ten from Noah till Abraham.

The commentators note an important difference in language between the two mishnas. Last week's mishna mentioned ten generations who increasingly angered G-d until He brought upon them the Flood, whereas this week's mentioned ten generations who angered G-d until Abraham "received the reward of them all." Noah and his family were simply spared the fate of their generation, while Abraham went so far as to "take the reward" of his predecessors. What is this concept of taking someone else's reward, and what was greater about Abraham that he was able to do so?

Further, we find that the Sages often compare Noah to Abraham, invariably finding Noah inferior. Scriptures state, "Noah was a righteous man; he was perfect in his generation" (Genesis 6:9). The Midrash, noting the phrase "in *his* generation," makes the following comment:

Some interpret this favorably: Even in that wicked generation he was righteous, how much more so had he lived in a generation of righteous people. Others interpret this unfavorably: Compared to this wicked generation he was righteous, but had he lived in Abraham's generation, he would have counted for nothing. (See Rashi to that verse, based on Midrash Tanchuma.) The Sages evidently see some point of comparison between these two great men. Noah was great, but his greatness must always be viewed in light of Abraham's far superior greatness. What precisely is this distinction the Sages intend to convey?

Another issue with our mishna is as we raised above -- the concept of "taking" someone else's reward -- which Abraham merited to do while Noah did not. How can one person receive someone else's reward? Doesn't G-d's justice system reward and punish each person exactly according to what he or she deserves? How could a righteous person -- certainly rewarded fully for his own righteousness -- receive someone else's reward as a bonus?

This concept becomes even more perplexing when we consider that the wicked person does not even *have* good deeds for the righteous one to take! Isn't he wicked to begin with? If so, what does it mean to take the "reward" of the wicked man if he never earned any reward to begin with?

(In truth, the Talmud mentions such a concept. Chagiga 15a writes as follows: Every person has two portions -- one in the World to Come and one in Purgatory. If the righteous person merits, he acquires his portion in the World to Come and that of his wicked fellow. If the wicked person becomes liable, he acquires his portion in Purgatory along with that of his righteous fellow. So there is some spiritual concept of "zoning" -- that plots in the future worlds are subdivided into pre-ordained shares (which one may claim with the right "deeds" ;-) . But again, what claim does the righteous person have to reward for deeds he or she did not perform?)

Let's begin with our first issue. What is the point of comparison between Noah and Abraham? I believe it is most evident in the manner in which they related to the rest of the world. How did Noah react when first confronted with the imminent destruction of mankind? He built a boat. His first reaction was self-preservation. In doing so, of course, he was following G-d's command -- to the letter: constructing the ark, gathering food, caring for the animals -- saving his family as well as the animal kingdom for a new beginning.

Noah did not, however, do one thing: We do not find him praying to G-d to *save* his wicked generation. Nor is their more than occasional reference to his effort to bring his generation to repentance. His role was much more passive -- following G-d's orders, allowing G-d to carry out His plans of destruction while safeguarding himself and his family. Although the Midrash does state that Noah warned the people -- and this was in part G-d's intent in having Noah publicly construct such a huge watercraft (G-d has many other ways of saving people -- or destroying a world for that matter) -- this seems less Noah's primary role -- not in his earlier life nor in the period preceding the Flood. For the most part, Noah lived the private, insulated life of the pious, neither being influenced by -- nor influencing -- the wicked of his day. His life's work -- and his main fulfillment -- came in the sheltered environment of the sealed ark.

Abraham was very different. He was a man among men. He and his wife Sarah not only discovered G-d themselves, but made it their life's mission to teach the world about Him -- to spread the truth and beauty of G-d's ways to all who would hear. Their house was open to all. All guests and travelers would be fed and cared for, and would then be enlightened as to the true source of the food they had just been graced with (Talmud Sotah 10b). And when others were threatened -- even the wicked people of Sodom -- Abraham dropped all and prayed. He *challenged* G-d's resolve to destroy Sodom -- to the point of "bargaining" with G-d for their salvation (see Genesis 18:20-33).

For this reason both Abraham's and Sarah's names were changed by G-d: Abraham went from "Avram" -- father of the nation of Aram, to "Avraham" -- father of a multitude of nations. Sarah went from "Sarai" -- *my* noblewoman, to "Sara" -- noblewoman (to all). Each transcended his or her role of being an individually or nationally great person to become leader - - and caretaker -- of the entire world.

As a result Abraham, as well as Sarah, became worthy of "taking the reward" of the wicked of their time. The commentator Rashi explains here that Abraham received the reward the wicked people *would have received* had they heeded Abraham's advice and repented. We can now understand. Abraham tried his best to bring others to repentance. Perhaps everyone he came in contact with did not follow -- but Abraham was not faulted for that. He did his utmost to influence them for the better. As far as he was concerned, they *did* repent -- and Abraham and Sarah had brought the world that much closer to G-d. If others did not heed Abraham's wise advice, they had sacrificed their own share of eternity. Abraham had done his part. He had earned their share of eternity -- the share he had done everything in his power to bequeath to them.

So Abraham and Sarah transcended their roles. They were not merely individually great people, living lives of sheltered asceticism. They achieved an infinitely more sublime level of G-dly service: they lived for mankind. They saw their life's mission as sharing the wondrous and wonderful knowledge of G-d they had acquired with all who would hear. They became instructors and role models for the world. And so would G-d establish as the mission and calling of their descendants. The Jewish People would carry the message of monotheism, of a just, moral -- and personal -- G-d to mankind. We were not only to be righteous. We were to become "light unto the nations" (Isaiah 42:6), lighting the world with knowledge of G-d through our teachings and righteous, G-dlike example. And so, Abraham's life-mission and legacy would be perpetuated for all future generations.
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 04:08:47 PM
I forgot one of the ten..... Abraham was tested TEN times...


http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter5-4.html

Abraham's Simplicity
Chapter 5, Mishna 4
By Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld

"Our forefather Abraham was tested with ten trials and withstood all of them. This demonstrates how beloved our forefather Abraham of blessed memory was [to G-d]."

Throughout Jewish literature, the Sages make frequent reference to the ten trials of Abraham. Through them Abraham was accorded special status as servant of G-d and progenitor of the Jewish People. It's not entirely clear, however, exactly what the ten trials were. Many, of course, are evident from Scripture -- Abraham's exile from his homeland for the Land of Israel, his willingness to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. Others are a matter of dispute among the commentators. Below I list a total of 11 trials -- a combination of the opinions of Maimonides and Rabbeinu Yonah in their commentaries to our mishna, noting those trials which are a matter of dispute.

(1) Abraham's allowing himself to be cast into a fiery furnace by Nimrod for opposing the idolatry of his day (Rabbeinu Yonah only).

(2) Abraham, on G-d's instruction, leaving his family and homeland for the Land of Israel (Genesis 12:1).

(3) Abraham's forced exile to Egypt shortly after arriving in Israel on account of famine (ibid., v. 10). Rabbeinu Yonah explains that athough G-d promised Abraham blessings for moving to Israel and Abraham instead suffered hardship, he bore no ill will towards G-d -- even in his heart.

(4) Sarah's abduction into Pharaoh's palace (ibid., v. 15).

(5) Abraham's battle against "the four kings" (Genesis 14). Abraham and his students battled the mightiest armies of the time for the sake of G-d's honor and in order to rescue his nephew Lot.

(6) Abraham's taking Hagar, Sarah's maidservant, as concubine after failing to have children with Sarah for so many years (16:1-3) (Maimonides only).

(7) Abraham's being commanded to circumcise himself, in spite of his advanced age (Ch. 17).

(8) Sarah's abduction into Avimelech's palace (20:2).

(9) Abraham's expelling of Hagar and Ishmael from his home -- on Sarah's instructions and G-d's sanction (21:9-14). Ishmael proved to be a wicked son who would have exerted a harmful influence on Isaac. As the Torah there attests, the incident was terribly distressing to Abraham, in part because he had to send his elder son away and in part because of the realization of his elder son's failings. (Maimonides lists the banishing of Hagar and Ishmael as two separate trials.)

(10) The binding and near slaughter of Isaac on Mount Moriah (22:1-19).

(11) Abraham's purchase of a burial plot for Sarah (ch. 23). After G-d many times promised Abraham the Land of Israel, he was forced to spend an exorbitant amount in purchase of a plot to bury his wife (Rabbeinu Yonah only).

There is a fascinating unifying thread running through many of the tests of Abraham. To some degree, each time the issue wasn't just the physical inconvenience -- traveling to Egypt, purchasing a burial plot, etc. It was the sense that what Abraham had to do ran contrary to everything G-d had promised him -- and everything Abraham might well have expected for being G-d's trusted servant. Abraham and Sarah dedicated their lives and very beings to the teaching of G-d's reality to mankind. G-d in turn promised them success, recognition, children, and the Land of Israel. Yet none of these blessings were realized until years later, if at all in their lifetimes.

It's quite natural for someone to feel that if he or she is serving G-d properly, the *least* G-d could do for him is respond with health, success and honor. And Abraham and Sarah were as justified as anyone in this regard. Yet their lives were far from serene -- often on account of their beliefs: Nimrod's attempt at Abraham's life, Sarah's abductions, Abraham and Sarah's years of childlessness. The L-rd *is* a G-d of reward and punishment, isn't He? That's certainly what Abraham and Sarah had been teaching the rest of the world! So why had they not received their own due?

Yet such complaints were never heard from Abraham's or Sarah's lips -- nor even sensed in their hearts. If G-d's will were that Abraham and Sarah serve Him through suffering and exile -- or that they return the one son G-d had blessed them with -- they would do so with no sense of hurt or betrayal. G-d's will was their will. None other existed. Their devotion to G-d was complete. They were in it for G-d, with no thought of their own personal goals or agendas.

Thus, in passing G-d's trials, Abraham demonstrated that he was not serving G-d with even the slightest consideration of personal gain -- nor even because teaching the world about G-d was what he *liked* doing. Had that in fact been the case, Abraham was certainly prepared to sacrifice it all along with the sacrifice of his son. The binding of Isaac -- the most difficult and (according to most) final test of Abraham -- would have ruined Abraham's life -- not only through the loss of his beloved son but in that it would have flown in the face of everything he and Sarah had spent their lives preaching. After devoting his life teaching of a just and moral G-d -- rather than -- as much of the world then believed -- an angry god who must be appeased with human sacrifice -- how could he ever continue his works after apparently lapsing and offering a human himself? But Abraham was willing to give up everything -- his sacred life's works along with the entire unborn Jewish People -- for the simple yet profound reason that such was G-d's will.

We can now understand many other statements of the Sages regarding Abraham. The Sages many times state that Abraham's merit stands with us till this day. Why did Abraham's deeds achieve such timelessness and immortality?

The answer is that had Abraham served G-d with any personal motives in mind -- because he *enjoyed* serving G-d or in the hopes of receiving his due, his deeds, however great, would have been no more than *personal* acts of greatness. They would not have carried over to future generations. As it was, Abraham's achievements were wholly pure and devoid of self -- and so, immortal.

And so it would be with Abraham's descendants. Generations of Jews, men and women possessing no more than Abraham and Sarah's "simple" faith, would be able to accept G-d's yoke and mission in spite of discrimination, suffering and hardship -- even though G-d's promises of plenty and fulfillment were anywhere to be seen. We serve G-d not because we expect immediate gratification or even to make sense of G-d's inscrutable ways. We serve Him because we know that ours is to proclaim G-d's Name and that ultimately an all-loving G-d will not forever forsake His children. Such selfless and unquestioning dedication to an infinite G-d became the hallmark of Abraham and Sarah, and through it their descendants would grow to become the Jewish nation.
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 04:11:31 PM
The Tenth red Heifer will be found when Moshiach has arrived:

http://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/tenth_red_heifer.htm

The Tenth Red Heifer
 

From Moses to the Second Temple: Only Nine Red Heifers

The Mishna teaches that up until the destruction of the Second Temple, ashes had been prepared from a total of only nine red heifers. The very first red heifer was processed by Moses himself - as the verse states, "... have them bring you a red heifer." The second was done by the prophet Ezra in the days of the First Temple, and during the entire era of the Second Temple only seven more heifers were used for ashes. This was enough to provide for the nation's needs for purification throughout all those years.

The names of all the High Priests who prepared those seven heifers during Second Temple times are recorded by the Mishna: Simon the Just and Yochanan each made two; El'yhoeini ben Hakof, Chanamel HaMitzri and Yishmael ben Pi'avi processed one heifer each. Thus, from the time that Moses received the commandment of the red heifer from the Holy One, blessed be He, until the destruction of the Second Temple, purifying ashes had been produced by the hands of these great leaders from a total of nine red heifers.

The Tenth Red Heifer Will be Prepared by the Messiah

In recounting this historical record in his commentary to the Mishna, the great Maimonides ends with the enigmatic statement: "... and the tenth red heifer will be accomplished by the king, the Messiah; may he be revealed speedily, Amen, May it be God's will."

With this amazing statement, Maimonides recounts an ancient tradition - that the tenth red heifer is associated with the Messianic era. Does this perhaps mean that the appearance of a red heifer in these waning end times is an indication, a forerunner of the appearance of the Messiah himself, who will officiate at its preparation?

If there has been no red heifer for the past 2,000 years, perhaps it is because the time was not right; Israel was far from being ready. But now... what could it mean for the times we live in, to have the means for purification so close at hand? With the words of Maimonides in mind, we cannot help but wonder and pray: If there are now red heifers... is ours the era that will need them?

On this note, it is fitting that we pay particular attention to a Midrashic teaching:
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 09, 2014, 12:49:45 AM
The always interesting and erudite Rabbi Chaim Richman, on Behar...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfJcOp3lq74
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: Israel Chai on May 09, 2014, 11:58:36 AM
Quote from: muman613 on May 08, 2014, 04:11:31 PM
On this note, it is fitting that we pay particular attention to a Midrashic teaching:

Which one?
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: Ephraim Ben Noach on May 09, 2014, 12:02:51 PM
Quote from: LKZ on May 09, 2014, 11:58:36 AM
Which one?
"Each day in the Holy Temple, the Levites sang a special daily song. The order of the daily songs have a deep significance, and there is a mystical connection which each song had for the particular day it was sung. The Oral Tradition has preserved the listing of the Levitical songs that were sung each day in the Holy Temple, and various commentators and sages have explained some of the connections which can be seen between these songs and the days of the week..

According to tradition, the Second Temple, like the First, was destroyed at the conclusion of Shabbat - on a Saturday night. Both Josephus and the Midrashic writings describe how even though the flames of destruction raged all around, and the blood of the slain flowed through the Temple, the priests nevertheless continued to serve atop the altar, and the levites did not cease to sing, right up until the very end.

Yet despite the fact that the actual destruction of the Holy Temple took place on a Saturday night, the Midrash records that at those moments the Levites sang the song for Wednesday - "O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs; O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!"Why did they not sing the song for that day of the week, which was Saturday?

Perhaps the levites were addressing their song to the destruction itself, and consoling Israel by reminding her that God has sworn vengeance against His enemies. In this context perhaps their song was even meant to "remind" God to keep His word, and to "shine forth" at the proper time, to manifest Himself in the garb of Divine vengeance.

But we know that there is a close relationship between each day of the week and its respective song. We have seen something of the great insight and understanding which the sages of Israel possess. It is possible that in our own generation, we can shed new light on this perplexing question... based on our own contemporary knowledge, and the wisdom and experience that we have acquired from hindsight in our own times. For although the sages of yore were great and inspired, we in our own generation, are privy to new understanding to which those great men had no access; in short, we have new evidence.

For on that fateful evening of destruction, it is true that the priests and levites consoled each other and all of Israel with the knowledge that God will avenge His honor; perhaps their song summarized the entire epoch. It is certainly possible that they chose to remind the Holy One of his own vow, as well.

But while all of these explanations are acceptable, it is also quite possible that as the Levites stood atop the platform in that place of sublime inspiration and holiness for the last time, all of a moment they received the most profound flash of prophetic revelation...

And they prophesied, they saw with perfect clarity of vision, that although the terrible destruction now loomed all around them on this Saturday evening, the continuation of their service would most certainly come about as well. The day would come when the Holy Temple would be rebuilt. Though it may be far off in the distance, it would certainly transpire, for it is a Divine promise...

At that moment they could see that it would truly come to be. The rebuilding would happen, even if it happens very slowly, and in stages, one step at a time. For like the morning dawn, "such is the way of Israel's redemption. In the beginning, it progresses very slowly... but as it continues, it grows brighter and brighter."

So too, the Levites perceived that the long process of Israel's redemption, hinging on the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, would begin again on a Wednesday... thus they sang the song of Wednesday, for they sang not of destruction, or revenge, but of promise continuation, renewal and rebirth:

The Levites saw that Jerusalem and the Temple Mount would stand desolate for nearly two milenia... but they would be regathered by Israel once again on a Wednesday: Wednesday, June 7th, 1967 was the day they saw. This day could be considered the first step towards the rebuilding of the Holy Temple. For this day marked a turning point in Jewish history, and began a new era, which progresses in our own time, and moves towards the great destiny of the Jewish people, to be a light to the nations and a people who walk with God in their midst."
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: Ephraim Ben Noach on May 09, 2014, 12:04:18 PM
^ http://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/tenth_red_heifer.htm
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 09, 2014, 04:54:31 PM
Quote from: אפרים בן נח on May 09, 2014, 12:04:18 PM
^ http://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/tenth_red_heifer.htm

Thank you Ephraim.... I am sorry I did not include that part in my post... My primary point was concerning the tenth red heifer.
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: Ephraim Ben Noach on May 09, 2014, 06:46:31 PM
Quote from: muman613 on May 09, 2014, 04:54:31 PM
Thank you Ephraim.... I am sorry I did not include that part in my post... My primary point was concerning the tenth red heifer.
I liked it, and he asked,  So I shared.
Title: Re: Video Study for Parsha Behar : G-d's revelation on the mountain
Post by: muman613 on May 09, 2014, 07:11:30 PM
Quote from: אפרים בן נח on May 09, 2014, 06:46:31 PM
I liked it, and he asked,  So I shared.

Good... Here is some more information (although not associated with this weeks portion):

http://www.torah.org/learning/tefilah/SongOfVengeance.html

A Song of Vengeance

The Temple was destroyed on a Sunday. According to the regular schedule of the Shir shel Yom, the Levi’im should have been singing, “Hashem is the earth and its fullness.” However, on the day that Hashem’s house was to be desecrated, He did not deem it appropriate that the Levi’im should sing these words.

On that Sunday, a miracle transpired. Instead of singing the correct song for that day, the Levi’im sang the song for Wednesday, “G-d of vengeance, Hashem.” At the last moment before terrible destruction would befall the Jewish people, Hashem wanted to give a sign that He would avenge what had taken place (Eirechin 11b).

The song of Wednesday concludes: “He will cut them off, Hashem, our G-d, will cut them off.” While this was an appropriate message for our enemies at the time of the Temple’s destruction, it is a harsh closing for us on a normal weekday. Therefore, we add the first three verses of the next chapter, “Lechu niranana – Come, let us sing to Hashem.” In addition to concluding on a more pleasant note, saying these verses, which open Kabbalas Shabbos, remind us that Shabbos will soon be here.


http://halakhah.com/pdf/kodoshim/Arachin.pdf

Talmud Mesechet Arachin 11b
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Come and hear: R. Jose said, Good19 things are brought about on a good [auspicious] day, and evil ones on a bad one. It is said, The day on which the first Temple was destroyed was the ninth of Ab, and it was at the going out of the Sabbath,20 and at the end of the seventh [Sabbatical] year. The [priestly] guard was that of Jehojarib, the priests and Levites were standing on their platform singing the song. What song was it? And He hath brought upon them their iniquity, and will cut them off in their evil.21 They had no time to complete [the psalm with] ‘The Lord our God will cut them off’, before the enemies came and overwhelmed them. The same happened the second time [the second Sanctuary's destruction].22 Now what need was there for song? Would you say that it was on account of the [daily] burnt-offering? But that could not be, for on the seventeenth of Tammuz the continual sacrifice had been abolished.23 Hence it was on account of a freewill burnt-offering! But how could you think so? Why should an obligatory-offering have been impossible and a freewill-offering available? — That is no difficulty: A young ox may accidentally have come to them!24 Said Raba, or, as some say, R. Ashi: But how could you think so?25 The song of the day was: The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof,26 whereas the verse, ‘And He hath brought upon them their iniquity’ belongs to the song due on the fourth day of the week! Rather [what you must say is.] It was just a lamentation text that had come to their mouth. But it says: ‘They were standing upon the platform’?27 [Rather, say] That is in accord with Resh Lakish who said: The song may be sung even without any [attending] sacrifice.28 But that principle might be applied to a voluntary burnt-offering, too?29 — That might lead to an offence.30 How is it therewith?31 — Come and hear: R. Mari the son of R. Kahana taught: Over your burnt-offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings;32 just as the burnt offering is Most Holy, so are the peace-offerings [referred to] Most Holy;33 and just as the peace-offerings have a definite time fixed for them, so have the burnt-offerings a definite time fixed for them.34