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The Shem
Mishmuel on Shemini
Rabbi
Shmuel Bornshtein
zt”l on Parshat Metzora
(from
Shem
Mishmuel Vayikra, Metzora 5673, "V'hizartem
. . .," p. 247)
Preparing
for the Festivals
Print
Version
Our parsha discusses the laws of purity and impurity
connected with leprosy and bodily discharges. These
laws are for practically relevant only for one who
wants to enter the Beit Hamikdash (Temple in Jerusalem)
or eat sacrifices or Teruma. There is no prohibition
of being impure, only of entering the Temple or
eating holy things while impure. This is expressed
in a verse in this week's Parsha (Vayikra 15:31):
Distance the Children of Israel from impurity, and
they should not die because of their impurity through
making my Sanctuary that is amongst you impure."
Since the Temple has been destroyed and the sacrificial
service temporarily discontinued these laws are
not applicable today.
Even in the times of the Temple the laws of purity
and impurity were usually only obligatory for the
Kohanim. However, before the three Festivals - Pesach,
Shavuot and Sukkot, all of Israel would have to
retain purity so they could enter the Temple in
Jerusalem and eat of the sacrifices they would offer
there. Preparation for the holidays therefore had
an extra dimension, distancing one's self from impurity
and undergoing the purification process.
Today, there is a moral and spiritual parallel to
the special preparations all Jews would make before
the festivals in the times of the Temple. There
is a whole dimension of spiritual and moral perfection
that is not obligatory all year round and we often
perceive as being beyond our levels. However, says
the Shem Mishmuel, before the holidays, even today,
all Jews must ready themselves for the encounter
with the Divine Presence on the festivals. As preparation
for the festivals we must purify ourselves from
spiritual and moral flaws that might have legitimately
been ignored the rest of the year. The encounter
with the Divine Presence demands a higher standard
of behavior today just as, when it was standing,
entry into the Temple demanded a higher level of
purity than the rest of the year.
We should all merit to properly prepare for the
festivals.
[prepared
by Eliezer Kwass] |
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