meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Daat Zkenim/Torah/Daat Zkenim on Leviticus/English/Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009.txt"}
text: Daat Zkenim on Leviticus
  דעת זקנים על ויקרא
  Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009
  
  
  Daat Zkenim on Leviticus
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  And He called to Moshe. The Midrash Tanchuma explains that God called to Moshe because he stood outside, afraid to enter the Tent of Meeting which was enshrined by the Cloud of Glory. God did not want Moshe to wait outside, so He immediately called to him.
  
  Verse 2
  
  Of [domesticated] animals. Toras Kohanim explains that this teaches us Gods humility, because He asks us to bring easily accessible animals and not wild animals from the forests.
  
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  He shall skin. The Torah needs to specify here that even though it is entirely burnt it still requires skinning and the hide is not burnt, because there are sacrifices such as the burnt bulls and he-goats in which the entire animal is burnt, including the hide, flesh, and dung.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  A person (נפש). The Torah uses the term נפש (soul) and not man, and similarly it says (Yechezkel 18:4): The soul that sins, it shall die. This can be compared to two men who committed a crime against the king; one was a stranger and the other a member of the royal court. In judgment, the king pardoned the stranger and sentenced his court member to painful torture. The members of the royal court asked: Why does the king pardon the stranger who committed the same crime? He answered: This stranger knows nothing about my benevolent reign, but the member of my court, who knows my goodness and yet rebels against me, deserves this punishment. So too, the body is a stranger, as it was created from the lower worlds, but the soul is formed from the upper worlds and should be pure, yet it sinned in any case. Thus, the body is laid to rest in the grave but the soul is afflicted with sufferings.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  And do not make molten gods for yourselves. Why does it say, “for yourselves,” since even to make for others is prohibited? The answer is that Hashem is saying, “Do not make molten gods for others, and those made by others you shall not accept as gods”.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  A husband among his people. HaRav Bechor Shor explains that this should be understood as if it said לבעל בעמיו — which means to say he may not defile himself “for a master among his people,” i.e., even for a Kohein Godol who died, who is a master and lord, and his holiness is great. Even so, another <i>kohein</i> should not become impure for the Kohein Godol if he is not one of the relatives mentioned here.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Verse 40
  
  
  On the first day. The <i>lulav</i> (palm branch) we take on the first day is the sign that we triumphed in judgment on Yom Kippur, as it says (Tehillim 96:12-13): “Then all the forest trees will sing praises. Before God, for He has come, for He has come to judge the earth.”
  Fruit of the beautiful tree. The <i>esrog</i> (citron) is the one of the four species that has both flavor and scent, and this is comparable to the righteous who have the scent of the Torah and the flavor of good deeds. The palm tree upon which the <i>lulav</i> grows has flavor but no scent, and this corresponds to the average Jew who has the flavor of mitzvos but not the scent of Torah. The <i>hadas</i> (myrtle) has scent but no flavor, corresponding to someone who has the scent of Torah but no mitzvos, and the <i>aravah</i> (willow) has no scent or flavor, which corresponds to the people of the land who do not have the scent of Torah or the flavor of mitzvos. We bind the four together, which is a hint that Hashem is not pleased with Israel until they are all united, as it says (Amos 9:6): “Who built His upper stories in Heaven and has founded His unity on earth.” When is Hashem elevated? — At the time that we are all united. Another interpretation is that the <i>lulav</i> resembles the backbone, the <i>hadas</i> resembles the eyes, the <i>aravah</i> the lips, and the <i>esrog</i> the heart. There are no other limbs greater than these and they are equivalent of the entire body. This is what David said (Tehillim 35:10): “All my bones shall say, O Hashem, who is like You?”.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  If your brother becomes impoverished. We find in the days of Yirmiyahu that Eretz Yisrael was sold to the non-Jews because the people of Israel desecrated the Sabbatical year …  
  And a close relative comes — this is Hashem, as it says (Devarim 4:7): “For what great nation is there that has Hashem so close to it.” 
   And redeems that which his brother sold — Yirmiyahu said to Hashem: Master of the Universe, you caused the following verse to be fulfilled through them: “If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his ancestral land” — fulfill with them, “And redeems that which his brother sold,” for You called them brothers, as it says (Tehillim 122:8): “For the sake of my brethren and my companions, I shall now speak of peace in you.” And this is what it says (Yeshayahu 43:14), “Because of you, I was sent to Babylon”.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Verse 2
  
  You shall keep My <i>Shabbosos</i> and you shall fear My Sanctuary. The Mikdash is connected to keeping Shabbos, which tells you that just as keeping Shabbos is forever, as it says, “It is forever a sign,” so too, the fear of the Mikdash is forever, and even when it is destroyed it is prohibited to enter there.