8. The pasuk that begins the discussion on how to purify utensils states (31:21) ה ַבָּא ִים ה ַצָּבָא ֵׁיא ַנְש אֶל ה ַכֹּהֵן א ֶלְע ָזָר וַיֹּאמֶר ֶׁהמֹש אֶת 'ה צִוָּה ֶׁראֲש הַת ּוֹרָה חֻק ַּת זֹאת לַמ ִּלְחָמָה, "Elazar the kohen said to the soldiers returning from battle, 'This is the law of the Torah that Hashem commanded Moshe.'" Reb Moshe Feinstein zt'l (Darash Moshe) asks why it states הַת ּוֹרָה חֻק ַּת, "This is the law of the Torah"? It sounds like an introduction to halachos that have a connection with the entire Torah, but it is exclusively about כלים הגעלת, purifying utensils from forbidden foods. Why should this be called הַת ּוֹרָה חֻק ַּת? The answer is that this parashah teaches us a fundamental lesson related to the entire Torah. Just as cooking utensils can be purged and purified from the issur that were in them, so too, can a Yid do teshuvah and purify himself from the tumah that he contracted due to his aveiros.
9. After World War Two, the Brisker Rav zt'l traveled to Eretz Yisrael with his five sons and two daughters (Rebbetzin Feinstein and Rebbetzin Shiff). His rebbetzin and two of his daughters were niftara during the war, r'l. Rebbetzin Shiff, at this time, was seven years old. She missed her mother terribly, and she had only one item from her mother, which she guarded with all her heart. It was a necklace her mother used to wear. The necklace was broken, it couldn’t be worn, but the girl kept this necklace with her, near her heart, at all times – when she slept and wherever she went.
The ship that brought them to Eretz Yisrael arrived ten minutes after shkiyah. Obviously, because of the prohibition of carrying on Shabbos, they couldn’t carry their belongings off the ship. They all wore as much clothing as they could, and left the rest of their belongings on the ship. But now came the question of how to convince the young girl to part from the last remembrance she has of her mother. The Brisker Rav, with his wisdom, was able to convince his daughter that keeping Shabbos is more important than the necklace. This is what he said to her (as retold by Rebbetzin Shiff, years later). First, the Rav hugged her lovingly and spoke with her about the specialness of the memorial item she has from her mother. Then he said, "But we love Shabbos even more than the necklace," and in this way, he warmed up her heart to love Shabbos, and she agreed to leave the ship without her necklace.
Rebbetzin Shiff said, "Are there any words that can convince a young girl to depart from a necklace, which in her eyes was her connection to her mother, whom she loved so dearly? But my father introduced me to the love for Shabbos, and to realize that our love for Shabbos was greater than all other loves. That helped win the battle and keep the sanctity of Shabbos intact. She added that this is the meaning of the tefillah we say on Shabbos, קדשיך שבת וברצון באהבה אלקינו 'ה והנחילנו, when there is love for Shabbos, והנחילנו, we can inherit and keep Shabbos with all its details. There are many material matters we feel attached to, but if we increase our love for our Father in heaven, this love will give us the strength to overcome all other desires and loves, and do Hashem's will.
