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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua

פורסם ברביעי, 25 נובמבר 2020 07:55

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Portion VayikRa - the stories of Hans and of Doctor Bing

Dedicated to Alan and Bonnie and Janice and Jeff 

The third book of the 5 Books of Moses starts with the word VayikRa -
with the word having a tiny Alef (first Hebrew letter) - instead of a normal size. 

To Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's (and his father's) synagogue in Manhattan there came all sorts of people.
Some were German Jews who escaped Hitler, and some were holocaust survivors, and some were American Jews who moved uptown from the Lower East Side - and some younger people..

VayikRa talks about types of sacrifices and who might need to offer a sacrifice in the Mishkan or Temple (or in their lives) to expiate what mistakes.

At first it uses the word "ADAM" (the first G-d-created human) to describe "people" and then later it uses "NEFESH" - meaning "souls".

WHY? 

ADAM was created perfect (and later EVE was created perfect from him and to complement him) - 
and NEFESH? SOULS? Emotions? Feelings and connections to G-d? Why that term?

So there was a man named Hans who would sometimes come to Friday Night Prayers with Rabbi Shlomo.
There it was all Torah and singing and dancing. He sat peacefully in the back. 

The rest of the week poor Hans would walk up and down the Avenue talking to himself. 

He had been a famous concert pianist before the holocaust. 

Saturday afternoon we had the Third Meal (Shale Shudis) at the shul - and someone named "Doctor Bing" would come and recite his poetry. It didn't resound with the majority of the members - but as Mr. Lunzer once said to quiet the complaints - "Give the Man a Chance". 

We are all ADAM and EVE and also SOULS - and who knows what each of us needs to fulfill their place in this world? 

The portion of VayikRa tells us that every little Alef (the letter ADAM starts with) needs it's own way to come close to G-d's purpose (sacrifice in Hebrew is KORBAN - means a "bringing closer"). 

May we all be blessed to help others feel at peace no matter what they are going through or went through. 

And may the memories of those who came before us and went through what they went through - give us al strength to be closer to G-d's purpose. 

Shabbat Shalom 

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

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