Community Magazine June 2016

16 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Dedicated in memory of the pure neshamot of the Sassoon children A boss calls in his secretary and hands her a document. “Please make me seven copies of this by the end of the day,” he politely requests. The secretary takes the papers, returns to her desk, finishes the work she had been doing, and then goes to the copy machine and makes the copies. She knocks on her boss’ door, enters the room, and hands him the papers. The boss counts the papers and sees that seven copies had been made just as he had requested. “You are an outstanding secretary,” he enthuses. “You made exactly seven copies, not six or eight. You did exactly what I asked. That is really outstanding. You do amazing work. You’re terrific!” Most of us would agree that the boss’ response is a bit overdone, to the point of being comical and bizarre. After all, the secretary just did a relatively simple task she was told to do. Certainly, a warm and sincere “thank you” is warranted, but does she deserve such effusive praise for making seven copies as she was asked? This is a question that many rabbis asked concerning a comment made by Rashi to a verse in Sefer Bamidbar. In thebeginningof Parashat Behaalotecha (8:1-2), Gd conveys to Moshe the basic laws concerning the kindling of the menorah in the Bet Hamikdash , a ritual performed by the kohanim . The Torah then tells that Aharon, the kohen gadol (high priest), complied with these instructions (“ Vaya’as ken Aharon ”). Rashi comments that this verse is intended to give praise to Aharon, “ shelo shina ” – for not deviating from Gd’s commands. Aharon was deserving of special praise, Rashi tells us, for kindling the menorah the way Gd instructed him to, and not deviating at all from these guidelines. Aharon, as we know from numerous other sources, was a towering spiritual giant. He was beloved by the entire nation for his peacemaking efforts, and was chosen by Gd as the first kohen gadol and founder of the only priestly tribe. And for what does he receive special praise? “ Shelo shina ” – because he complied with Gd’s commands to kindle the menorah . What was so spectacular about this particular mitzvah that warranted such effusive praise? What was it about Aharon’s kindling of the menorah that made it so special and noteworthy? Kosher Addictions A little over a decade ago, a group of wonderful congregants from my synagogue approached me and asked that I deliver a daily Daf Yomi class, studying a daf (two sides of a page) of Talmud each morning. Words of Rabbi Eli J. Mansour "Our challenge is to avoid the harmful addictions and develop the “kosher” addictions. We need to establish healthy routines and then stick to them until they become habitual and difficult to break." Keeping the Flame Alive