Vayikra: 5785 - "Adam ki yakriv mikem korban laHashem" (When a man among you brings an offering to Hashem): Seemingly the word 'mikem' ('among you') is superfluous? Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld, at the conclusion of the shiur of Rabbi Betzalel Mizrachi…

00:00 Speaker 1 Please.

00:02 Speaker 2 We’re starting a new book of the Chumash now, Vayikra. “When a person from among you brings an offering to Hashem.” At first glance, the words “from among you” are unnecessary. “When a person brings an offering to Hashem, from the animals, from the cattle or from the flock.” Why say “from among you”? It seems unnecessary. But I saw a very beautiful explanation: Sometimes a person does something wrong—he sins—but he isn’t aware that he’s committing a transgression. He doesn’t know it’s forbidden. As the Rambam rules in Hilchos Teshuvah, there are five things a person will never do teshuvah for. Why? Because he doesn’t know they’re forbidden. He doesn’t feel that he’s committing a transgression, so he won’t do teshuvah. What does Hakadosh Boruch Hu do to bring him to teshuvah? He brings suffering upon him that resembles what he did. Then, when the person thinks about it—“How did I suddenly end up with this problem? Why? How did this happen to me?”—he begins to understand: Maybe it’s because of something I’m doing. So Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in His great kindness, does something similar to awaken him, so that he’ll recognize there’s a problem, correct what he did, and do teshuvah. That’s the meaning of “from among you”: it’s measure for measure. Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings about something resembling the person’s own actions to awaken him to do teshuvah. “When a person brings an offering”—when a person wants to draw close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, then “from among you”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu enables him to recognize what he needs to correct so that he can draw close to Hashem. This also explains a verse in Tehillim. In chapter 62 it says, “To You, Hashem, belongs kindness, for You repay each person according to his deeds.” At first glance, the question is: If “to You, Hashem, belongs kindness”—kindness

02:21 Speaker 2 means going beyond the letter of the law. “For You repay each person according to his deeds” is a matter of judgment, of strict justice. The two seem to contradict each other. How can that be? According to the explanation we’ve heard, we can understand it. “To You, Hashem, belongs kindness”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu acts with kindness “for You repay each person according to his deeds.” He brings the person something resembling his own actions to awaken him to do teshuvah. That is Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s kindness, so that people will be awakened to do teshuvah. There’s another explanation of this verse, “To You, Hashem, belongs kindness, for You repay each person according to his deeds.” A parable is given: A servant in the king’s palace needed a piece of string to tie something. He looked around but couldn’t find any. Then he saw a very expensive chandelier hanging from the ceiling by a long cord. He thought, “I’ll take a piece of that cord.” He cut off a piece, and the chandelier fell and shattered. What a loss! To cause such damage in the king’s palace was very serious. So they took him to be tried. The king said, “Judge him only according to what he meant to do.” After all, he hadn’t intended to shatter the very expensive chandelier. He hadn’t intended to harm the king or his palace. All he needed was a piece of string. In the same way, when a person, G-d forbid, transgresses the Torah’s commandments, he causes harm throughout all the worlds. But that wasn’t his intention. He only meant to take a piece of string. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, “To You, Hashem, belongs kindness, for You repay each person according to his deeds”—only according to what he meant to do.

04:00 Speaker 3 Yes.

04:00 Speaker 2 May we have a peaceful Shabbos.

04:02 Speaker 3 Shabbos shalom. So, so.