B"H

Tuesday, Iyar 8, 5781 (23rd day of the Omer)/ April 20, 2021

This Shabbat we will read the two Parshiot of Acharei Mot & Kedoshim. Acharei Mot begins with the service of the High Priest in the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur. For this reason the beginning of Acharei Mot is also read on Yom Kippur.

Parshat Kedoshim begins, "And 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." The name of the Parsha, “Kedoshim”, means “You shall be “Holy.” Parshat Kedoshim contains 51 of the 613 mitzvot. For it is through the observance of the mitzvot that we are holy. 

The mitzvah of Tzedaka-charity is also 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."

Q.  When the Torah says, "And when you reap the harvest of your land,” the word “you” is written in the plural. Yet, the word “you” in, “you shall not totally reap the corner of your field… For the poor and for the stranger you shall leave them,” is written in the singular.  Why does the Torah change from the collective “you,” when speaking of the harvest, to the personal “you” when commanding to leave some of the harvest for the poor?

A.The story is told of a king who decided to visit one of his cities. When the people heard that the king was going to honor them with his royal presence, they invited everyone in town to a meeting to decide how to best welcome the king. As the town was known for its wonderful wine, the people decided to erect a great beautiful barrel in the center of town. Each person would bring a pitcher of wine, thus filling the barrel and the king would be invited to drink from the wonderful wine.

The big day arrived. The king was greeted with much honor and ceremony. He was brought to the center of town where the great barrel stood. After many welcoming speeches by the town's dignitaries, the king was handed a silver cup and invited to approach the barrel and enjoy the special wine. 

To everyone's horror, when the king came up and turned the faucet of the barrel, instead of wine, plain water poured into the king's cup. One can imagine the king's disappointment and the people's shame.

What happened? Each person thought, "What difference will my one pitcher of water make in such a huge barrel of wine…"

This is the reason the Torah uses the singular “you (“for the poor and for the stranger you shall leave them”).YOU shouldn’t think that because everyone else is contributing, the poor will have enough even if you don’t give your share. The Torah commands each individual to leave a share of their harvest for the poor. Otherwise, the poor may end up like the king with the barrel of wine.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY