Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the Mizbeach all night until the morning; and the fire of the Mizbeach shall be kept burning on it: The priest shall put on his linen garment, and he shall put his linen breeches upon his body; and he shall remove the ashes from where the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the Mizbeach, and he shall put them beside the Mizbeach: He shall take off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place: The fire on the Mizbeach shall be kept burning on it, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning. And he shall arrange the burnt offering upon it, and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.
The Ohr Hachaim explains this Parsha as hinting at our final exile, and the final redemption that we eagerly await. His revenge will be complete, and its details are alluded to in this Parsha.
In which merit will we emerge from this exile?
The golus that encompasses us is beyond anything we have experienced in the past. Our first golus was for four hundred years; the second was for seventy years, in total - 470 years. This golus has lasted for 1672 (this was true in the times of the Ohr Hachaim, now we have added almost another 300 years, and the number is 1954) years, with no end in sight. How much longer can this take? How can we survive and accept anything more than this? Our exile is not merely geographical; we have suffered from our subjugators, with difficult decrees, death sentences, and dispersions being commonplace throughout our bitter history. There is a danger of people despairing of any redemption, thinking that the evil forces have won and no positive future awaits us.
The Torah is answering this claim, sending a message to Klal Yisroel, and most of all, those who learn Torah and dedicate their lives to serving Hashem.
זֹאת תּוֹרַת הָעֹלָה - This is the law of the ‘olah’. This, and only this, is the one who ‘arises’, the one who is important to Hashem.
Who is this? הִוא הָעֹלָה – this is the burnt offering. The possuk in Shir Hashirim says מִי זֹאת עֹלָה מִן הַמִדְבָר - Who is this that comes up out of the wilderness? Klal Yisroel emerged from the wilderness. The ‘olah’ referred to here as the only ‘olah’ is Klal Yisroel.
עַל מוֹקְדָה עַל הַמִזְבֵּחַ - on the hearth on the Mizbeach. These are two of the great characteristics of Klal Yisroel. We have Hashem’s Torah to follow and learn, and the other nations do not. Second, we suffer in exile with trials and tribulations.
על מוקדה – on the hearth, where the fire burns, alludes to the Torah. Torah is considered fire in the words of the Navi, and the Gemara says that a Talmid Chacham who gets angry, really has the Torah inside him getting angry.
על המזבח – on the Mizbeach, alludes to the suffering that we have undergone. Our suffering is a Mizbeach of forgiveness.
These two things are the cause of our tremendous elevation, and the Torah will now tell us what will happen with us.
When will this golus end?
The possuk continues that Klal Yisroel will have these two qualifications כׇּל הַלַיְלָה – all night. Our exile is compared by the Neviim to nighttime, and this will hold until עַד הַבֹקֶר – the morning. Hashem will shine the light of the Geula on us, which is known as the morning. This will take place after five hundred years of the sixth thousand has passed (corresponding to the year 5500, 1740 in the secular calendar). The source of this is the Medrash, which says that the day of Hashem is one thousand years. A day is divided into night and day, and the morning of the sixth thousand begins at the halfway mark, which is 500 years in.
A person may be unsure as to the true time of this morning; is it the morning of the fifth thousand or that of the sixth thousand? The golus began at the end of the fourth thousand, so it certainly did not mean the fourth thousand, but it could have meant the fifth thousand, and indeed, the Medrash has a Machlokes about this point. Hashem revealed His secret through His servants, the Neviim, who told us that it refers to the second morning. The Navi Yeshaya said הֱיֵּה זְרֹעָם לַבְקָרִ ים – be their right hand in the mornings. He is referring to the two mornings, inferring that the golus will include two of these; one during the first ‘day’ and one during the second.
This situation of golus will last until הַבֹקֶר – the morning. The specified morning, which is the second of the two.
The Navi Yeshaya may have been alluding to this when he said אָמַר שֹמֵּר אָתָא בֹקֶר וְגַם לָיְלָה - the watchman said, ‘the morning has arrived, as well as the night’. He means to say that even though the first morning has arrived, it was insufficient, and a night came afterward, i.e., we were not redeemed.
It is also possible that if Klal Yisroel had perfected themselves, they would have been redeemed on the first morning. The Medrash says that the decree of golus was only for one day, as the possuk says יַעַנְךָ ה' בְ יוֹם צָרָה – may Hashem answer you on the day of troubles. The troubles are only supposed to last one day, which was really only 672 years. The fourth thousand was almost over when the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, only 172 years were left. Add that to the five hundred years of the next ‘day,’ and we have 672 years. At that ‘morning’ they were to be redeemed. However, they did not behave as they should have, and the redemption was postponed for another thousand years.
The possuk in Yeshaya indeed begins ה' חָנֵּנוּ לְךָ קִוִּינוּ הֱיֵּ ה זְרֹעָם לַבְקָרִ ים אַף יְשוּעָתֵּנוּ בְעֵּת צָרָה – Hashem, grace us, we have hoped unto you, be their right hand in the mornings, as well as our salvation in times of trouble. The Ohr Hachaim explains that we are saying to Hashem that we have hoped unto you – we hoped that the first ‘morning’ would be our time of redemption, and it would not be postponed to the next ‘day.’ We are begging Him that He should at least fulfill the second promise and bring us the full redemption at the second appointed time.
What will happen when the golus ends?
וְאֵּש הַמִזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בוֹ – when the ‘morning’ arrives, and the time comes that Hashem will redeem His nation, His Divine fire and anger will burn them up. He will punish all of those who made us suffer for generations; He will avenge every bitter cup they forced us to drink and all of our pain and tribulations. The fire of the Mizbeach, which we explained earlier to allude to the suffering that causes us to have a Kappara, will then turn around and burn those who did this to us.
The ‘fire of the Mizbeach’ also alludes to the fire of the Akeda of Yitzchok. That fire will burn at the end of days to avenge Klal Yisroel’s suffering.
The Mizbeach often alludes to Midas Hadin – Hashem’s strict judgment, as the Zohar tells us. Hashem’s strict judgment will be awakened in the nations of the world who had the gall to fight against Hashem by making His people suffer. Hashem will treat them to His strict, untempered judgment, and their suffering will be great.
וְלָבַשׁ הַכֹּהֵן מִדּוֹ בַד - The Cohen shall put on his linen garment. The Heavenly trait of compassion and kindness is called a Cohen. The Cohanim bring Divine compassion and kindness to the world, and when Hashem wishes to bring kindness to the world, He calls Himself a Cohen. In this case, even Hashem’s middah of compassion agrees with His treatment of the nations of the world.
The Cohen wears מִדּוֹ בַד – his garment of linen. Chazal tell us that whenever someone kills a Yid al Kidush Hashem, Hashem etches a picture of that dead person on His spiritual clothing, and that is what He will wear on His day of revenge. The Cohen – Hashem with his Middah of compassion, will wear His special clothing of בד – literally linen. Here the Torah means it as the clothing of ‘aloneness.’ Hashem’s nation – Klal Yisroel – lives alone among all other nations, and Hashem will wear the clothing of revenge for His alone nation. The word בד also denotes uniqueness, which alludes to the fact that Klal Yisroel were killed through the ages for refusing to associate Hashem’s name with other deities. For announcing Hashem as One and refusing any partnership with anything else, Hashem avenges our troubles.
וּמִכְנְסֵּי בַד – and breeches of linen, refers to that which the nations of the world have killed people who draw others close to Hashem and impart Emuna and Bitachon into the hearts of Klal Yisroel. These are the beloved ones to Hashem, and nothing stands in between them and Hashem. The word for ‘breeches’ is מכנסי – which can also mean an entrance. The term מִכְנְסֵּי בַד now means the entrance of uniqueness. This is עַל בְשָרוֹ – on his flesh. These people, who teach Torah to the ignorant, and encourage their belief in the One Hashem, are close to Him. Of course, Hashem has no flesh, but the Torah uses corporeal expressions to explain matters to people who cannot appreciate the abstract.
וְהֵּרִ ים אֶת הַדֶּשֶן – and he shall remove the ashes. The decrees and suffering that the nations of the world have done to us throughout the generations is worse than that of the Mitzrim. They indeed subjugated us, but they fed and clothed us. We were given fish and vegetables for free. But nowadays, not only are we subjugated by the nations of the world, we need to pay taxes to them to boot. We often end up paying more than we can afford, and our suffering is deepened. Hashem will uplift and remove the ashes, which alludes to the troubles that they caused us for generations, that was consumed by the fire - אֲשֶר תֹּאכַל הָאֵּש.
What will they be punished for?
עַל הַמִזְבֵּחַ – on the Mizbeach. The Rambam in Hilchos Teshuva discusses the punishment that is due to the Goyim who make Klal Yisroel suffer during the golus. He asks that Hashem decreed this on Klal Yisroel, due to their aveiros. Why are the perpetrators punished?
The Raavad answers that Hashem indeed decreed that Klal Yisroel go to golus and lose their land. But the Goyim added to the decree, making us suffer, pay taxes, and kowtow to their whims. This was not included in the original decree, and the Goyim deserve punishment for this. They did not do what they did because of Hashem’s decree, as we see from their enthusiasm and alacrity in making us suffer more than necessary for the decree.
The Rambam’s answer is that they are punished for everything. Even though Hashem decreed this punishment on us, nobody told them to come and punish us, and they deserve a punishment for all that they did.
The Ohr Hachaim himself proved the Rambam’s opinion as being correct, and he adds to his opinion now. When the Goyim add to the decree that Hashem announced and make Yidden suffer more than originally decided, they suffer for what they did to fulfill the decree as well. They show by their actions that they never meant to follow Hashem’s directives and commands, they just hate Hashem’s nation.
This is alluded to with the words עַל הַמִזְבֵּחַ – on the Mizbeach. The Mizbeach alludes to the suffering that serves as a Kappara for a person. The Goyim made us suffer above and beyond that Kappara, and that is why Hashem will punish them for everything they have done.
וְשָמוֹ אֵּצֶל הַמִזְבֵּחַ - and he shall put them beside the Mizbeach. Hashem will place the suffering they did to us beside the suffering that we deserved, and He will use the extra suffering to punish them for the Mizbeach suffering too. They show by their actions that hatred is their only motivation, which is why they will be punished for everything.
The Ohr Hachaim offers another explanation too. Even though the time for the final redemption has not arrived, Hashem will add the suffering that we have undergone through the years to reduce the time of golus. He will place the ashes, corresponding to the fiery pain we have suffered, next to the Mizbeach, corresponding to the basic golus that was decreed on us.
Another explanation given by the Ohr Hachaim is that Hashem will take the ashes, meaning the trouble that we underwent, and place it before the Middah of strict judgment, alluded to by the Mizbeach, in order to take revenge on our enemies.
As we live our redemption, their punishment will not end
Then the possuk continues with a new aspect of the redemption. Until now, the possuk has been discussing the punishment for the Goyim. Now we transfer to the wonderful future that is promised to Klal Yisroel.
First, וּפָשַׁט אֶת בְגָדָיו – he shall take off his garments. He will remove his clothing of avengance and don the clothing of compassion, kindness, and bounty. Hashem will not delay the ingathering of the exiles until He has punished all of the evildoers. He will immediately gather us in and remove us from the camp of evildoers and bring us to Eretz Yisroel. The Holy Land is pure, as the diaspora is impure. Its earth and even its air is impure. The only place that can be considered pure is Eretz Yisroel. He will remove the ashes to a pure place. He will bring Klal Yisroel to the only pure place on earth, which is Eretz Yisroel.
But the fire on the Mizbeach will not be extinguished. This Heavenly judgment will not stop, and Hashem will add more wood to the fire as He continues to punish them for everything they have done. This is the וְהָאֵּש עַל הַמִזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בוֹ לֹא תִכְבֶה וּבִעֵּר עָלֶיהָ הַכֹהֵּן עֵּצִים - The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning. The fire will continue, and Hashem will add wood to it.
This will be בַבֹקֶר בַבֹקֶר – every morning. As we wrote earlier, there are two times for the final redemption, one at the halfway mark of the fifth thousand and one at the halfway mark of the sixth thousand. Even if it is pushed off to the second ‘morning’, the Goyim will not be freed from the punishment they deserved from the first appointed time. The redemption may not take place, but the punishment certainly will.
וְעָרַךְ עָלֶיהָ הָעֹלָה – and he shall arrange on it the Olah. Chazal tell us that a person’s liability for damages done to someone by shaming them depend on their social status. An important person who embarrasses an unimportant person pays less than a street urchin who embarrasses a powerful politician. Hashem will reckon the punishment based on Klal Yisroel’s lofty position as an Olah. Moreover, he will do this reckoning with the highest level of Klal Yisroel - וְהִקְטִיר עָלֶיהָ חֶלְבֵּי הַשְלָמִים – he shall burn on it the fats of the Shelamim. The fattiest parts of Klal Yisroel, which are the most important of all, will be the ones included in the reckoning Hashem will make with those who made us suffer. He will charge the highest price for every drop of our pain throughout the ages.
Let us hope and daven that these times will be here soon, and Hashem will punish those who have made us suffer as He redeems us and brings us home again.
