We are beginning the very special month of Nissan, the month in which Klal Yisrael was taken out of Mitzrayim, born as a nation, and set on a path to Matan Torah. As we have discussed in previous articles, everything depends on the beginning; just as the very first moments of a baby’s life are crucial thus everything in its vicinity must be sterile and perfect and minor mistakes can be critical, so was the birth of Klal Yisrael as a nation - the start had to be perfect. And the same applies to each individual - we all experience a rebirth during these days, hence they have untold significance.
Current Parshios
At first glance, the current parshiyos seem irrelevant to the current times and the special Yom Tov of Pesach. However, if we delve a little deeper we discover some wonderful insights in these parshiyos that are most relevant to the time of the year.
Sefer Vayikra primarily discusses the korbanos. It therefore comes as a surprise that several, seemingly unrelated mitzvos, such as the many dietary halachos or the laws of a yoledes and tzara’as appear within it. Moreover, the dietary halachos in particular, appear in parshas Shemini soon after the episode of the death of Nadav and Avihu. What is the connection? In addition, the Torah only picks up the story of Nadav and Avihu again in parshas Acharey-Mos. Why are these halochos placed right in the middle?
The Pelleh of Food!
In the bracha of Asher Yatzar we say, “rofei chol basar u’mafli la’asos”. What is the meaning of u’mafli la’asos? The Rema explains that it refers to the miraculous partnering of the physical body and the spiritual soul. Essentially the partnership should be impossible, after all, the two are like opposite poles of a magnet - the ruchniyusdike neshama wants to flee this physical world and man’s physical body. It is one of Hashem’s wonders that it works at all - a “pelleh”.
How do these two parts stay together? Through the act of eating. There is no greater revelation and connection to Hashem than eating. A person might feel faint, he might feel a lack of strength, perhaps even his life leaving him, but through eating he is revived and he feels connected to Hashem.
If a person does not eat, he begins to feel hungry, weak, and faint. If this continues he will lose consciousness, and eventually his neshama will slip away. Only food intake retains the “u’mafli la’asos”, allowing the body and soul to remain in tandem.
In a Bigger World!
The human body is a microcosm of the world. As we have discussed many times, the world is a mundane place, a place of gashmiyus. Hashem, by contrast, is entirely ruchni, the opposite of the mundaneness. Just as a person’s guf should essentially be repellent to his neshama, the world should be repellent to Hashem. So how does Hashem descend to this world and connect with it?
The answer is that it is the korbannos in the Beis Hamikdash that facilitate it. Just as the guf connects to the neshama with food, so does this world connect to Hashem through the food of the mizbe’ach.
Understanding Korbanos
With this we gain a greater appreciation of the significance of the korbanos, why they play such a central role in our relationship with Hashem, why there are so many halachos that govern them, and why even a slight wrong machshava can invalidate them.
Korbanos cannot be offered just anywhere; there is a special designated place, a designated kli - the mizbe’ach. The mizbeach also had numerous halachos and needed to be perfect.
The Mizbe’ach of the Body
Returning to the physical body. What is the mizbe’ach of the body on which we sacrifice our korbannos, and with which we create our connection to our neshama? It is of course is the mouth. And just as the mizbe’ach was the location for many sorts of korbannos, so are our mouths the forum for all sorts of connections to Hashem, not just through eating.
There are no coincidences in how Hashem created the world or indeed the human body. If an organ performs more than one function they must be different manifestations of the same function. The mouth, the mizbe’ach of the body, does not only serve the function of eating, but also talking. The two are greatly related. Just as food connects the body with the soul, talking connects people with one another and helps them develop a relationship. We similarly connect to Hashem who is far above in shamayim, by talking to Him in the form of tefillos, brachos etc. (This is why in galus, when we cannot offer korbannos, we connect to Hashem through tefila - u’neshalma parim sefaseynu).
A Higher Form of Connection
There is, of course, a third and higher form of connection that comes through the month, brought about by kissing. The greatest way of showing affection and love, something that transcends speech, is kissing. When a father wants to show great affection to his son, something that eclipses words, he does so by means of a kiss. We likewise kiss sefarim and the sefer Torah to demonstrate our deep and intimate love for them.
Whenever the Torah teaches us anything, there is the simple text - “ein mikra yotzei mi’yedey peshuto” and there are deeper levels of understanding. In sefer Vayikra we are taught about the korbannos - the means of connecting to Hashem through the food of the mizbe’ach. The importance and significance of this connection cannot be understated, which is why the Torah goes to great lengths to teach us what happened to two tzaddikey olam who miscalculated, and tragically lost their lives for a slight mistake in the offerings that are brought on the mizbe’ach.
However the Torah is also looking to teach us something deeper - something extremely relevant to us, particularly during galus when have no beis hamikdash. For this reason, specifically here in the middle of Vayikra, right in the midst of the story of Nadav and Avihu who misused the mizbe’ach, we discuss, in great detail, the importance of our mouths - the necessity of using them perfectly in their various functions, thus perfecting our relationship with Hashem.
