B"H
Wednesday, Iyar 3, 5779 / May 8, 2019 (18th day of the Omer)
This week's Parsha in the Diaspora is Kedoshim. In Israel, where they are one Parsha ahead, Parshat Emoris read this Shabbat.
Parshat Kedoshim begins, "G-d spoke to Moshe saying; speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, You shall be holy for I the L-rd your G-d am holy."
Parshat Kedoshim contains 51 mitzvot. Mitzvot between man and G-d and mitzvot between people. Mitzvot which have logical reasoning and those which have no reason, except that G-d commanded them.
The name of the Parsha, "Kedoshim," means "holy," for through observing the mitzvot, we attain a level of Kedusha - holiness.
The mitzvah of Tzedaka-charity is in this Parsha, "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not totally reap the corner of your field; and the gleaning of your harvest you shall not gather. And your vineyard you shall not glean; and the fallen fruit of your vineyard you shall not gather; for the poor and for the stranger you shall leave them: I am the L-rd your G-d."
The following mitzvot are also found in this Parsha: "You shall not steal; You shall not deal falsely; You shall not lie one to another.. You shall not oppress your neighbor... You shall not curse the deaf and before a blind person you shall not place a stumbling-block... You shall not be a tale-bearer amongst your people; You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor... You shall not hate your brother in your heart; You shall rebuke your neighbor and you shall not bear sin because of him... You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am G-d."
Q. Why is the commandment, "You shall rebuke your neighbor," written between the commandments of, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart," and, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself"?
A. This teachs us that the act of admonishing someone must be done with loveand only out of sincere concern for that person's benefit. One has to be very careful not to rebuke someone in public.
According to the Baal Shem Tov, "Love your neighbor as yourself," implies that just as you love yourself, in spite of all your shortcomings, so too, you should love the other person regardless of his or her faults.
Q. What is the reason for the connection between, "Love your neighbor," and, "I am G-d?"
A. Rabbi Chaim Vital explains that the Hebrew word for love -Ahavah, has a numerical value of 13(1+5+2+5=13). When there is love between two people there is two times"Ahavah" which totals 26. The numerical value of G-d's name is also 26(10+5+6+5=26). Thus, the Torah tells us that when there is love amongst us, G-d dwells amongst us.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL & WONDERFUL DAY