Hashem Called Him to Come Inside:
The Medrash Tanchuma states: “Hashem said. ‘Build me a Mishkan.’ He got up and built a Mishkan with zeal, and he stood outside because he was afraid to enter the Ohel Moed, as is stated (Shemos 40:35): ‘And Moshe was unable to enter the Ohel Moed.’ Hashem said, ‘It is improper for Moshe, who made the Mishkan, to stand outside while I am inside. I will call him to come inside. Therefore, it is stated that He called Moshe.”
Moshe Fled From Honor:
The Medrash Tanchuma states further: “’And He called to Moshe.’ This is as is stated (Mishlei 29:23): ‘A man’s haughtiness will humble him, but one of humble spirit will grasp honor.’ Anyone who chases a position of authority will have the position of authority run away from him. But if one flees from a position of authority, the position of authority will chase after him.”
The Medrash proceeds to list numerous times when Moshe Rabenu fled from a position of authority: When Hashem told Moshe to go to Pharaoh as His messenger (Shemos 3:10), Moshe tried to refuse and asked Him to send a more appropriate person, claiming that he was unworthy for this task. Rav Levi says that it took seven days for Hashem to convince Moshe to be His messenger. Despite his reluctance, Hashem said, “I promise that you will do it in the end!”
When Moshe told Pharaoh that Hashem orders him to send out His nation, Pharaoh asked, “Who is Hashem?” Moshe began to say, “I already fulfilled my duty”, and he turned to leave. Hashem then told him again to go to Pharaoh. So too, before every time he spoke to Pharaoh, Hashem ordered him to go, as he fled from the position of leadership and had to be told each time to do it.
Moshe ultimately served as Hashem’s messenger to take the nation out of Egypt, split the sea, bring them to the desert, bring down the mann, provide them with the be’er and the slav, and erect the Mishkan. He then said, “What is left for me to do?” So he stood outside. Hashem said to him, “I promise that I have a bigger job for you than anything you have already done. You must teach Klal Yisroel about tumah and taharah and how to bring korbanos before Me.”
This also shows us that Moshe only was willing to enter the Ohel Moed after Hashem called him and said to go inside. Again, we see how extremely humble he was.
Hashem Called Him Because He Left The Ohel Moed:
Moshe was so humble that he didn’t think he was worthy to enter the Mishkan at any time. Avos D’Rebbe Nosson (2:3) asks why Moshe did not enter the Ohel Moed until Hashem called to him and answers that Moshe thought to himself: My brother Aharon, who was anointed to be the Kohen Gadol and who wears the holy garments and does the holy avodah was told by Hashem not to enter the kodesh any time he wants (Vayikroh 16:2). I certainly cannot enter whenever I want. Therefore, he stayed outside the Ohel Moed until Hashem called him to go inside.
Bringing Korbanos Today:
Rav Itzikel of Pshevorsk zy”a related that the last thing the Divrei Chaim of Sanz zy”a said in public before his petirah was: “Don’t think that only Odom Harishon sinned. All of us are included as part of the sin and we all must bring korbanos to atone for it. What is our korban? Teshuva!
“For example, when a Jew finishes davening in the morning and he wants to sit down and eat breakfast, but he holds himself back for a little while and takes out a sefer to learn – everyone can learn whatever is on their level, be it Chumash with Rashi, a perek of Mishnayos, a page of Gemara, or Chok L’Yisroel – or if a person overcomes his yeitzer hara and refrains from following his desires or avoids speaking senseless or harmful words, it is considered as if he literally brought a korban!”
Similarly, the Kamarna Rov zy”a (Sefer Zohar Chai, Chelek 3, page 13) writes that the “ohr hageulah’ (light of redemption) grows stronger every day. In our generations, even the smallest Jew can reach a great level of illumination of the soul. What would have needed thousands of days of fasting for someone to attain in past generations can be attained by us very easily if one simply wants it and puts forth some effort. However, in order to reach this level of spiritual pleasure, one must refrain from the pleasures of this world.
Equal With Every Jew:
The Izhbitzer Rebbe zy”a (Sefer Mei Hashiloach) notes that the pasuk actually says that one brings a korban “from you” (rather than saying that a person from amongst you brings a korban). This indicates that when a person brings a korban, he should not feel haughty and superior than his friends. Rather, he should feel that he is equal to all other Jews. When he brings his korban, he should feel that he is “with you”, meaning that he is just like every other Jew.
One Who Acts Like He’s Mute Merits Drawing Close to Hashem:
Rav Yaiv”o of Ostroha zy”a says that this pasuk is teaching us how one can draw close to Hashem and benefit from His great light. The pasuk can be read as saying that if one wants to draw close to Hashem, he should be “from the animals.” This means that he should act like an animal. Just like an animal cannot speak, he should refrain from speaking unnecessary words. This is because most damage that affects a person is the result of improper and forbidden speech. If one acts like an animal that cannot speak, he will be saved from many sins and will be able to draw close to Hashem.
Why Was It Called Nevel?
A man who was a big talmid chochom and lamdan once came to visit the Chiddushei Harim zy”a. The Chiddushei Harim told him some chiddushei Torah, and the scholar tried to refute his ideas through various questions. The Chiddushei Harim remained silent and did not attempt to answer the questions, and it looked like he was admitting that he was wrong.
The chasidim who heard the conversation went and learned the sugya, and clearly saw that the Chiddushei Harim had been correct and the visiting talmid chochom was mistaken. They approached their Rebbe and asked, “Why were you silent? Why didn’t you answer his questions?”
The Chiddushei Harim answered, “I knew he was wrong but I did not want to embarrass him by pointing out his errors.” The chasidim then went to that talmid chochom and showed him how he had been wrong and what his mistake was. He immediately ran to ask forgiveness from the Chiddushei Harim, who told him, “There were many musical instruments in the Bais Hamikdosh. One of the them was the ‘nevel’ (flute). The Yerushalmi (Sukkah 5:6) states: ‘Why was it called a ‘nevel’? Because it embarrassed the other musical instruments. The Korban Ha’eida explains that it produced such a sweet, beautiful sound that it shamed the other instruments.
“This leads to an obvious question. Why would such a beautiful sounding instrument be called by this name? The answer is that it is called by this name to teach us an important lesson. A person can be very great, but if his greatness causes others to be embarrassed, he is a ‘nevel’. He is considered to be a disgusting person.”
Mourning in His Heart and Happiness on His Face:
Rav Menachem Mendel of Amshinov zy”a (Sefer Imrei Kodesh) writes: “Break it into pieces – on the inside, you should be broken into piece. And pour oil over it – but on the outside, you should be overflowing with joy. (Oil is symbolic of joy, as in Tehillim 45:8: ‘Oil of joy.’) And then it is a Minchah (present).”
Raising Up Neshamos:
The Bais Avrohom of Slonim zy”a (quoted in Sefer M’Zekeinim Esbonen) relates that Rav Noach zy”a (who is mentioned in Sefer Toldos Yaakov Yosef on Parshas Vayeshev) once left a position as Rov of a certain city due to a specific reason that came up. He was in need of parnassah and he looked for a job as a Rov in another city. He boarded a wagon and traveled with his family from city to city until Hashem sent their salvation. One Friday, they arrived in a village, where one of the villagers recognized Rav Noach as a distinguished person. He invited the family to be his guests for Shabbos, and the invitation was accepted by Rav Noach, on condition that his family be given their own separate place at the table.
During the seudah on leil Shabbos, the host and his family sat at one end of the table, while the tzadik and his family sat at the other end. As they were eating the fish, they heard the sound of bells, which meant that the Poritz’s carriage was nearing the house. The host ran to greet him and escorted him into his home with much honor. The Poritz sat down and the homeowner presented him with a portion of fish. As the Poritz stuck his fork into the fish, Rav Noach let out a very loud scream and fainted. This led to much panic in the home until they were able to revive him. Once things calmed down, the Poritz again lifted his fork, and Rav Noach began to scream again, and he fainted a second time. Again, he was revived and the scene repeated itself, with him fainting a third time.
When the Poritz saw that he wouldn’t be able to eat in peace, he got up and left. The tzadik, however, would no longer agree to stay at the table, and he and his family went to the lodging place the homeowner had prepared for them.
In the middle of the night, the homeowner began to suffer from excruciating stomach pains. He was in so much pain that he felt like he was near death. His wife ran to Rav Noach and asked him to say Vidui with her husband before his death. The tzadik ran over and told his host that he could still be saved if he promised that from then on he would never give his Shabbos food to a gentile. The man gave his promise, and he was healed.
Rav Noach then explained by saying, “You should know that there are some souls who pass on from this world and receive a decree that they must be reincarnated as one of the four forms of being – either as an inanimate object (such as a stone), a growing object (such as a plant), an animal, or a human being. If the soul has enough merits, it comes back to this world as an object that is used for a holy purpose. For example, if it comes back as a stone, that stone is used for a bais medrash. If it comes back as a food, that food ends up being eaten by a Jew as part of his avodas Hashem. If it comes back as a non-kosher animal, its skin will be used to make clothing for a Jew. If it has even more merits, it will come back as a kosher animal that a Jew will buy for his Shabbos seudah. This is of great benefit for the neshama, as it is considered like a korban.
“Sometimes, a soul has to come to this world numerous times before it can reach this level. It may come back to this world as dirt, and when grass grows from the dirt, it will transfer to that grass, and when an animal eats the grass, it transfers to that animal. Even then, it still needs to merit Hashem’s kindness to be a kosher animal – and not to be found to be treif. Therefore, it is best off if it is a fish, which cannot be treif, and for it to be bought by a Jew in honor of Shabbos. Very few neshamos are granted this merit.”
Rav Noach concluded, “The fish that you offered the Poritz contained a neshama that davened excessively to Hashem until it merited ending up on your Shabbos table. And then you went and offered it to a gentile! If he had eaten it, the soul would have had to start all over again and would have needed to come back to this world once more. I heard the neshama screaming in agony, which caused me to scream as well, and I fainted from the pain.”
The Bais Avrohom adds that his father, the Divrei Shmuel of Slonim zy”a, said in the name of his grandfather, the Yesod Ha’avodah zy”a, that, “We eat neshamos and we drink neshamos.” He quotes the Kisvei Ha’Ari (Shaar Hagilgulim) as saying that the reason Yochanon Kohen Gadol became a tziduki after serving as Kohen Gadol for 80 years was because he ate a food that had a bad neshama in it. He should have lifted up the neshama but, instead, it brought him down. He says that the neshama can only have its tikkun if the person eats it in order to have strength to serve Hashem, and not to satisfy his desires.
The Bais Avrohom concludes, “This is why Hashem commanded us to put salt on every korban. This is done for the neshamos upon whom it is decreed that they must return to the world as an inanimate object. We put salt – an inanimate object – on the korbanos so that these neshamos should be able to have a tikkun as well.”
Suffering is For Our Benefit:
The Stefenishter Rebbe zy”a (quoted in Sefer Ner Yisroel, Chelek 6) relates the following story that occurred with his grandfather, Rav Avrohom Hamalach zy”a:
Rav Avrohom had two wealthy chasidim who would travel together to see him. Both of these men suffered from their own problem. One of them had a very difficult wife who caused him a lot of hardship. He wanted to divorce her but the Rebbe would not allow it. The other one owned a field worth 100,000 rubles but he also had debts amounting to 10,000 rubles. His creditors were pressuring him a lot and making his life very difficult. He wanted to sell the field in order to pay his debts, but the Rebbe forbade him from doing so.
One day, the chasid who owned the field decided that he had suffered from his creditors enough, and he sold it without the Rebbe’s permission. He made a lot of money from the sale and used it to pay off his debts. However, immediately afterwards he got sick and became bedridden. He asked his friend to go to the Rebbe for a bracha for him to get better.
When the second chasid – the one who had a difficult wife – came to Rav Avrohom, the Rebbe asked, “Why didn’t your friend come with you?” The man answered, “Because he is sick in bed.” He then handed the Rebbe a kvittel with his friend’s name and asked the Rebbe to daven for him. When the Rebbe heard that the chasid was sick, he said, “Oy vei! He must have sold the field that I told him not to sell!”
The other chasid tried to defend his friend and explained that he had no choice but to sell the field in order to pay his debts. The Rebbe replied, “I usually do not reveal hidden matters but I will make an exception and explain this to you. The pasuk states (Iyov 33:29-30): ‘Behold Hashem does all these, twice or three times with man to bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightened with the light of life.’ The Zohar Hakadosh explains that the pasuk is saying that if a man sins and dies without doing teshuva, Hashem sends him back to this world two or three times in order to atone for his transgressions. If he comes back three times and still does not rectify himself, he can no longer be fixed.
“Still and all, Hashem has mercy upon him and wants to help him. Therefore, Hashem gives him a fourth chance and sends him to this world once again. The man doesn’t really deserve a fourth chance at life, so Hashem gives him a life that really is no life at all. For example, He gives him a difficult wife or a lot of debt. He won’t be able to enjoy life, but that is the only way he can live on this world and have the opportunity to rectify his soul.”
The Rebbe concluded, “Both of you are such gilgulim. You only are able to remain alive if you keep your problems, and this is the only way to fix your souls. It is unfortunate that your friend wanted to live in peace and sold his field to pay his debts, as this means that he no longer as a right to a long life.”
Rectifying Souls:
It is related that Rav Mottele of Chernobyl zy”a would spend every night finding tikkunim for the souls of those who had already left the world and were in need of rectification.
When Rav Mottele once came to a certain city, the chasidim were speaking about him and saying that neshamos came to him at night in search of a tikkun, and he would help them find atonement for their sins so that they no longer had to suffer in the Upper Worlds. There was one misnaged who lived in that city who did not believe it. He decided to prove them wrong by spying on the Rebbe at night.
One night, he successfully snuck into Rav Mottele’s room and hid in the closet. Once everyone else had left the Rebbe alone, the Rebbe closed the door, and the souls of the dead began to come to him and to tell him their problems. When the misnaged heard the Rebbe speaking to the neshamos and giving them tikkunim, he became full of fear and he began to tremble. He was very remorseful for having doubted the Rebbe and for hiding in his room.
He suddenly heard one female neshama that was crying and asking for tikkun, but the Rebbe said, “You never once gave me a penny. How can I give you a tikkun?” The neshama asked, “What can I do about that now?” Rav Mottele answered, “There is a woman buried next to you in the cemetery who once gave me five silver coins. If she is willing to give you the zechus of one of those coins, I will be able to help you. Go to that neshama and tell her that I sent you.”
“What if she doesn’t believe me?” the neshama asked. Rav Mottele got up and walked over to the closet where the misnaged was hiding. He opened the door and said to him, “Go escort this neshama to the cemetery and say in my name that I am asking the other neshama to give over the zechus of one of the silver coins to her!” The misnaged ran out of the closet in fear and begged the Rebbe not to make him go. He said, “How can I go to the cemetery in the middle of the night with the soul of a dead person?” The Rebbe told him, “Don’t be afraid. Take my stick with you and you will fly with the neshama...
