Our Levi

I think it's Kadai, you know where this is going, to go back to the raid of the last few days and to talk a little more about Shavei Tzion. So, the topic of the raid on Daf Daled and Daf Hey was the unique role of Shavei Tzion. And what we learned to examine was that Shavei Tzion, like the Rambam says in the beginning of the third chapter of Hilchos Klei Hamikdash, was separated from amongst the rest of Klal Yisrael to do work in the Beis Hamikdash. What's his role? Number one, to watch. He's from the Shomrei Hamikdash. Number two, the Levites that were singers, they were responsible to open the doors and close the gates. There were those that were Levites that were singers and musicians. When there was a Mishkan, they either were in the Midbar and they traveled and they camped, the portions that we're learning right now, then the Levites had a very important role. And that is they had to take care and be in charge of all the logistics of all things associated with the transportation. We also spoke about an idea that's not so much written in the Torah, although once you are made aware of the idea you see it, but something that the Rishonim talk about in different places. And that is that the Levites from a high level were the assistants of the Kohanim. We mentioned it in the Torah and the Torah says that the Torah in Parshas [clears throat] Korach and the Torah in Parshas Korach and the Torah in Parshas Korach and really once you start looking, you'll see it scattered around the Torah in different places. Where the Levites were literally the assistants of Aaron. They were literally the assistants of Aaron. And everything that Aaron needed to do that didn't have to be done by a Kohen, anything that was not done by a Kohen, just the work have so many doors, he would farm out to the Levite. And that's why you find that in Divrei Hayamim Bet, perek 35, perek 13, that's talking about the korban Pesach that was brought by Chizkiyahu Hamelech. And Divrei Hayamim Bet, perek 13, hey, the korban Pesach that was brought by Yoshiyahu Hamelech. And as in perek 6, the korban Pesach that was brought in the beginning of Bayis Sheini, you find the Leviim are assisting the Kohanim via chazak um [clears throat] cuz the Kohanim were so overwhelmed. And the Leviim are coming and they're chiming in. It's because that is really part and parcel of the job of what the Levi is supposed to do. His role is to assist the Kohein. In fact, if you want to crystallize the idea, the Kohein's role in the Beis Hamikdash is to serve Hashem, and the Levi's job is to assist the Kohein, almost serve the Kohein if you could say that, but assist the Kohein in the Kohein's service of Hashem. And they cut that Hagoyim Hagodol me Simcha in Meshech Chochmah in Parshas Bamidbar says, that's why the Torah always refers to the Kohanim as being kedoshim, and the Leviim, you never find such a thing. The madness Kehuna are all kodesh, but madness Levi may serishin is not kodesh. Even made that also also is there, but it's not the tumah. It's because the Kohein was tashmishei kedusha, as opposed to the Levi is tashmish detashmish. And see Megillah 26, where it's mevorar that tashmish kedusha is kodesh, but tashmish detashmish is not kodesh at all. That's a very high level, very brief zikun of some of what we we spoke about the last few days. But the truth is, there's another very critical role that shevet Levi played. Now, just to be maktim, the inyan that we're going to talk about now is something that we've spoken about several times over the years, but the in Beis Medrash below chame chiddushim. And that is in what's arguably the most famous Rambam in his Yad Chazakah, certainly in Kisei Beis Medrash, certainly in the mussar shmuzin of Kisei Beis Medrash. The Rambam in the very end of Hilchos Shmita and Yovel. This is in Perek Gimmel Halacha Yud Beis. The Rambam says, "V'lama lo Levi ben Nachlas Eretz Yisrael u'v'visos imach?" Why is it that Levi was excluded from being able to get a chelek in Eretz Yisrael? Mipnei says the Rambam, It's because Levi was separated to serve Hashem. Additionally, Levi was set aside to teach Shenemar as the pasuk says, L'fichach says the Rambam, "Chuvdu m'dakei oilam." It's for that reason Levi was set aside from the ways of the world. They don't have to wage wars like the rest of the Jews do. They don't inherit. Says the Rambam, "You want to know why Levi doesn't have a chelek in Eretz Yisrael? Because Levi is different." He was set aside. He was separated. What was the havdalah? That's number one. two. Now that we know. That's the second one that we just did of the last few days of raid. It's the Rambam in Perek Halachos Klei Hamikdash. What's the second thing? So the truth is Rambam brings a pasuk for this. Now where does it say that pasuk? It's in Parshas V'zos Habracha. By the Birchas Moshe, the name Moshe. U'l'Levi yomar. And one of the things that Moshe tells Levi is Which literally means that your shevet are going to be the ones that are going to teach Torah to Klal Yisrael. In fact, I'm going to take the Gemara says in Yuma daf kuf vov amud alef, amar Rava, "Lo yishkach shivtei Yisrael b'Yisrael." You will never find that shivtei Yisrael and the paskins shailos. That's a meira Rabbi Yisrael Elazar Shmuel shivtei Yisrael. Levi, how do I know Levi? "Dichziv Yisrael umishpatecha Yisrael." There's a different pasuk to be marbeh shivtei Yisrael. But "Yisrael umishpatecha Yisrael" Rashi Yisrael says that Levi was going to be that Levi was going to be from the morei hora'ah in Klal Yisrael. And the Rambam includes this one pasuk, which in the Rambam's world is not a tolda, it's an av, in his definition of shevet Levi. Shevet Levi was hufdal la'avodas Hashem u'lisharto number one, u'l'horos derech hayashar u'mishpatim tzaddikim l'rabim. That is number two. Now, you have to be medayek the Rambam very carefully. The Rambam says that Levi was hufdal la'avodas Hashem u'lisharto, u'l'horos derech hayashar u'mishpatim tzaddikim l'rabim. It's m'vu'an in the Rambam that this that Levi has a job to teach Torah is not just a job. There was a havdalah. It's part of what separates shevet Levi from the rest of Klal Yisrael. Right? The Rambam, when he begins his perek gimmel of Hilchos Klei Hamikdash and he talks about the role of the Leviim, "Zera Levi kuloi mufdal la'avodas Hamikdash she'ne'emar "Eisah hi hivdalah Hashem es shevet Levi." But the Rambam is saying that the havdalah of Levi was not only as it relates to Levi's going to be different, Levi's going to serve at the Beis Hamikdash, "Yisrael umishpatecha Yisrael" is a manifestation of this havdalah between Levi and between the other shvatim. And the question is when did that havdalah happen? "Eisah hi hivdalah Hashem es shevet Levi" kipshuto is referring to the the of the Beis Hamikdash, what the Rambam talks about in perek 3 halachos of klei mikdash. Where do you find that Levi was moved though with regards to this inyan of Yoreh umishpat l'Yaakov? The seiras klal Yisrael. But the rest of the story is in the Meforshei Rambam. And this is a Rambam that's in the conversation of being maybe even more famous than the Rambam that we just mentioned. So the Rambam we just mentioned is we're not ranking Rambams based on popularity, but the Rambam that we just mentioned is the Rambam in soif halachos of mitzvah 4. This Rambam is in the beginning of halachos of avodah zarah. In the beginning of halachos of avodah zarah, the Rambam goes through the history of avodah zarah. And he talks about how it all began in the dor enosh. Fast forwards to Nimrod and to Terach. Avraham Avinu who grew up in the house of Terach, he was an oved avodah zarah. Kivan she'nigmal eisan zeh, hiskil shoteh b'da'ito. And he would think about Hashem in the morning and the night until finally came to hakara, he realized that there's one creator and it's that one creator that a person is responsible to to serve and to worship. And as soon as he came to that hakara, kivan she'hikir b'yodo hiskil tzu v'eish. And he b'yikrei shem Hashem, he started traveling around the world and he started preaching and teaching his story. The Rambam continues towards the end of the first perek and the Rambam says that Avraham Avinu, when he came to to his hakara, so he taught it to whoever wanted to listen, but specifically v'hoydi'a l'Yitzchak b'no. He taught it to his son Yitzchak. V'yashav Yitzchak umelamed And then Yitzchak went into the family business. He also started teaching the fact that Hashem exists. V'Yitzchak hoydi'a l'Yaakov. Yitzchak taught it to his son Yaakov. Uminahu l'lamed. And he appointed him to be a melamed. V'yashav melamed umachzir kol hanovlim. And he would go ahead, he would teach it to anybody again that wanted to listen. Here's what we need. V'Yaakov [laughter] Avinu lamed es banav kulam. And then Yaakov Avinu went and he taught it to all of his sons. V'hivdil Levi. But he set aside Levi. Uminahu rosh. and he appointed him to be the leader of this avoid for a shiver be a shiver and he put him in your shiver alarm that I can share with my mix with this one of the commander of his children shall they have seek that they should never be a have sick from the family of lazy mama generation after generation condition stock where I double massage of the Jacob open the master of through the family of Jacob what happened was there was a all of a sudden and a nation she has a shame and I am the Israel the one with my saying the love of until unfortunately the Jews regress happened in Egypt and they went back to be over the hot the shaver lazy show the mix with because they knew that they had this very important role and they were the only ones that held on to what the mission was only other shaver lazy and then the one says you should know shaver lazy was never over but the one of the I heard this from the Yankee in the end of the first paragraph looks like it says the Yankee of the Yankee of the lazy for you she will be a shiver when the one says in the end of the beautiful that lazy is separate they are cast aside they are a whole different in it right what is the meaning let's just appreciate this we make a dollar on the shaver will be Marvel being the shaver we Marvel being the shaver we Marvel being the Israel Amen I could have was Marvel between the two of them and the Marvel of them the Marvel between lazy and the rest of the Israel is on that level it's heavy it's on that level just like we understand the Marvel being the Israel Amen there's a Marvel between a year who is not from lazy and between a year that's from Levi. And that have dollar has a definition. What do you mean I'm I'm different? There is a night and day. By day you can see, by night you can't see. Are you with the guy is there's the whole world, right? What's the have dollar? The Levi has a job of your respect the actual but when did that have dollar take place? If you have a shade of Levi after the egg that was the way that went from the so went to the when did this have dollar take place? That's the end of the first America is on that dollar happened on the day of so again Clark the says the number one Levi said to me that's the number two Levi said to me that's the number three Levi said to me that's the number four Levi said to me that's the number five Levi said to me that's the number six Levi said to me that's the number seven Levi said to me that's the number eight Levi said to me that's the number nine Levi said to me that's the number ten where was the have dollar of Levi said to me that's the number eleven Levi said to me that's the number twelve Levi said to me that's the number thirteen Levi said to me that's the number fourteen Levi said to me that's the number fifteen where was the have dollar of the second part of the second part of the second part of the second part of the the second part of the second part of the second part of the second part of the second Levi has a huge role in terms of what it is he has to do in the base of but in addition to that Levi has a huge role in terms of what he has to do outside of the base of nothing to do with the base of as a matter of fact it's in the base of the that's the job of of the responsible for the of the responsible to make sure that you didn't have a baby properly and you didn't have a baby properly I once [snorts] thought that we know that we know that we know that we know that we know that we know Madrigal. Levi's job is to look out for the Israel's. It's no question, but also they're responsible for the Jacob's. They're responsible to be the craven, but also to be the and the truth is that that Rambam in the end of the first paragraph that defines the of Levi. Levi was doing the job of Jacob who is doing the job of who is doing the job of What was the job? Teaching the world of teaching the world That was the of He wasn't saying super long this. What he was doing was he was literally teach the terrorists because that's also included in Levi's responsibility. Levi's job is this jumps out of this Rambam over here in the end of the first paragraph But what comes out is that this two in them in the of and in the of Levi. One is of and the other one is and they're both crystallized so beautifully but the of in the of the of the of The last of the of the was the of Malachi. is the last of the the very last of the of the of who exactly Malachi was. One I think it's says Malachi was Ezra. It's a big We don't know 100% of Malachi is. But one thing I can't tell you. If you open up a of Malachi, it's very short, three Some of the most famous in are mentioned in of Malachi. In of of Malachi gives to the It's after after Listen to the He says of The of a son naturally respects his father and ever a servant respects his master them of on he says to the if I'm a father I why you not treating me like a father then my you want to tell me I'm not a father okay I'm the master of the universe I am I right or my to you the please who are literally embarrassing my name I'm out there and says the respond by you make a in what way are we embarrassing you we not treating you like a father we not treating you like a master says my cuz you taking disgusting bread and you putting it on my altar that I might them and you respond how so I'll tell you how they show because you're acting and behaving in a way as if the of is the evil in law the issue you take animals that are deformed animals that about and you put it on the how you try doing that to one of your local offices give the such a I am I and he goes on me I'm not interested I'm not going to be my with your carbon you literally from sea until shining sea God my name is so great amongst the nation somebody I don't know half of my life we know God my name is so great amongst the nation my name is so great amongst the nation my name >> This is after 15 or so we are the giving over the message of is giving very harsh rebuke to the guy on him and then and then in the middle of this it takes a little bit of a pivot smack in the middle this is base possible we started possible this is Perry possible smack in the middle you know I had a deal with the guy on him I had a good thing going with them as a matter of fact that really guy on him says a higher road a lot more and he goes they would preaching ms they never said anything that was inaccurate they were being people they saw people that were doing bringing them back because the the lips of a guy on him is what's supposed to protect the of a sham beautiful but what's the little shine in this because the guy is a guy on he's a and he gives over the word of God you're not bringing people back you did corrupted the lady on my what he says is a good guy and it goes on and on and on the lucky is giving to the guy on him [laughter] and if you go through the claw this two toichachas he's giving him. The first toichacha is, he says, "You're supposed to do avodah in the Beis Hamikdash. My gishum al mizbechi lachem l'gual." Hachrey zeh yo'no l'feycha secha, hayo'tsecha, o ya'yis upon acha. It's the fact that the carbonos are not being brought in the right way. A'mley cheifetz b'chem Am Hashem Tzvakos u'mincha lo ertzemiyachem. Ba'atem mechaleilim oi seve morcham shulchan Hashem nig'al. Second half of the toichacha is Toras Emes befiw v'avla lo nimtza b'sfasav. This is the original Kohanim. B'shalom u'vemishor halach imi devar Hashem me'avod. Ki sifsei Kohen yishmeru da'as u'Torah yevakshu mipiw. Ki malach Hashem Tzvakos. Every rishon teaches ki malach means shluchei shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu. You're supposed to be my shliach to give over the dvar Hashem. Over the arkan sartan min adar. Yishal Rabbi Batoro. Shechatin Rabbi Amram. What are these two dinim? It's the Rambam in Hilchos Shmita v'Yovel. It's because Levi had two jobs. Mipnei shehu oved l'avoda Hashem u'veshorashav. U'l'hora'as Torah v'yishpot tzedek im Yisrael. Levi was movedel in perek Halacha Halacha k'Yakov u'Mitzrayim Kotzim. And he was also movedel by Yakov Avinu. He was movedel in the end of Hilchos Avoda Zara to be the one that's going to go with the message v'Yakov Avinu Yisrael that's the avoda of Avraham Avinu. And the Kohanim corrupted both of those jobs. So, Malachi when he's giving toichacha to the Kohanim, the toichacha has two dinim. It's the reisha and the seifa. The reisha is the Rambam perek Halacha Halacha k'Yakov u'Mitzrayim b'Eisav u'Levi. And the seifa is the end of the first perek of Hilchos Avoda Zara Yirmush b'Yakov u'Levi Yisrael which is b'shlosha avdolos like the Rambam says. And who was the one that was movedel? It was Yakov Avinu. It's pashut. That's what's going on over here in these psukim here in Malachi. It's the two dinim of the havdala of Levi. It's the two brisim. It's the two jobs of the Levi. The Levi has two jobs. One job that the Levi had was to do avoda in the Beis Hamikdash. The other job of the Levi was he was a Roy for the news of the year. Once upon a time they will live here and they would walk around with a chip on their shoulder knowing that they had a responsibility to make sure that they are there were behaving and if they saw you that wasn't doing the right thing their job was to go and the job was to be a very rapid he should be open. That was his responsibility. That was his responsibility and it didn't matter whether that person was a big guy in a London and he needed help understanding something or if that person was a Shabbos. It didn't matter if he was on the level of Israel or if he was on the level of Jacob. Either way that was the it's because the have dollar came from Jacob and Jacob have dollar to Levy was that way to have a and have a was a way to have a thousand different times was an avoid of teaching people portion and prosper as a neighbor and that's all inclusive it's part and parcel of what the way to have a Levy is and by the way if you're not sure this is true who is the patriarch who is the spits of shape of Levy? It's right the mission says a person should be all you have shall learn the right of shall learn all you have briefs right that's that way to have a and the coins avoid the words was to be able to I saw the river in his seekers on the mission of this he said that when he hears me carry which is obviously very negative but when he hears me carry so he has to make sure that he's me carry the year to the terror not the terror to the year. This was a big theme in his he said you don't negotiate with the terror the terror is what the terror is you don't bring the terror close to the year or me carry you bring the person close to the terror. Now it's obvious that a person who's being exposed to the table for the first time can't be expected on day one to be able to keep Torah and mitzvahs. That's just like a child, said the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who's coming to learn how to read for the first time. So, you can't expect them the first day all of a sudden to go through Yotzros, right? B'nei Yisrael You have to teach them Komatz Aleph and Komatz Bet, and then eventually he'll be able to read Das Sera's B'nei Hamon. Right? It's not something you get to right away. There's a process of how you learn. But, the objective has to be Mekarev l'Torah, not be Mekarev l'Torah to the Yid. And his punchline was, "Who is the paradigm of Kiruv in Chazal?" Aharon HaKohen. Aharon HaKohen who's Mekarev l'Torah. What do we know about Aharon HaKohen? Vayasken Aharon. It's Parshas B'ha'alotcha. For the B'nei Yisrael, it's this week's Parsha. For the rest of us, it's next week's Parsha. Melamed l'Shina. Aharon HaKohen's Avodah b'Pnimiyus was Melamed l'Shina. And he was the Mekarev l'Torah. He did it from a place of Sholom Bayis. He brought the Yid close to the Torah, but he was never Meshaneh the Torah. He never brought the Torah to the Yid. But, this is Aharon, he's the Kohen Gadol, what's he getting involved in this Avodah for? Mekarev l'Torah. The Torah is this part and parcel of the Avodah of Levi. And the Emes is, I think another connection which is Emes. The Rambam Perek Gimmel says how Shevet Levi was Muftah. In Perek Daled, he talks about the Kohanim. HaKohanim Muftah l'Min Chalal l'Leviim, right? But, the Rambam says Avodas HaKorbanos. I don't know if there's any Avdalah between Levi and the Kohanim when it comes to the second Avdalah. In Yaakov Avinu's Avdalah, Kohen and Levi, I think they're all the same, right? It's Davka Avodas HaKorbanos in Klei HaMikdash. Perek Gimmel is the Avdalah of the Levi, and Perek Daled is the Avdalah of the Kohen. Hilchos Klei HaMikdash. Although in the Rambam, Sof Perek Kamah, it looks like he doesn't distinguish any Avdalah. That's why Aharon HaKohen, and I think any Levi is basically one and the same. But, here's the bottom line. The bottom line is, once upon a time you had a Levi who's walking in the street and he saw a Yid who needs Chizuk, and it doesn't matter how far or how close he was. He took that Yid and then the can budge shave it leave it. Not but at the same time he took the Yid whether he was a Yid or he was a Yid and it was a carbon just to end. We waited Mr. Fina. Maybe we could say a double and that is over the years we mentioned so many times what the guy in says in many different places. We found it in our shop. sons and hedgerows and that is When the base of was destroyed, the positive says in Torah. and The guy in said that that means that with base not only did we lose the but we lost the of Torah as well. The world stands on three Torah when the base of was destroyed obviously we lost the but the guy in said in addition to losing the we also lost the Torah and it's in this positive outcome of the government in Torah and over the years we've said over the shot in why with the base of was there all of a sudden a massive of in Torah. But could be in base matters like what are the words mean Malcolm by going? But we'll just attach since poetry obviously but Malcolm the king her kings and her ministers went into exile. The mayor in Torah it sounds like the dog is over here is the Torah is in God per se. It's [clears throat] Malcolm it's the leaders of the Torah. And Rashi says in Torah in by him so filled where did Rashi get that from? So positive Rashi's teaching in Torah so it's my but why did Rashi teach in Torah the way everyone understands in Torah means in Torah unfortunately because Rashi sees in that so much in Torah. Malcolm by going in Torah. Rashi is making this day. The problem was is that the leaders weren't there. And because the leaders weren't there is in Torah. When there was a Pesach Mikdash, there were Kohanim by awesome, there were Leviim by music. But when there was a Pesach Mikdash, there were also Leviim that would walk down the streets like Aharon HaCohen. And Aharon HaCohen was an obvious from the Kabbalah Torah. And when he saw you that needed chizuk, he was mekayem Yoru Mishpatecha L'Yaakov U'Sirael. Oh, but mit the churban Klal Yisrael went to galus. And when we went to galus, we lost all this. We lost the Beis Hamikdash. We lost Kohanim Yuchasim. We lost the Leviim. We lost the tzura of what Klal Yisrael was supposed to look like. And because we didn't have the Levi anymore, so we're lacking in the Yoru Mishpatecha L'Yaakov U'Sirael. Malchut Torah Bagoyim. The Leviim, the Kohanim, they went into galus in Torah. Ein Bahem Moreh Yorah Rashi. We don't have the Yoru Mishpatecha L'Yaakov U'Sirael. So that's the in Torah. It's the Yoru. That's his was fell. We don't have that Levi anymore. That's altered to be mekariv. When the Beis Hamikdash was charev, we lost the Levi of perek gimmel and perek daled of Hilchos Klei Hamikdash. And when the Beis Hamikdash was charev, we also lost the Levi of perek alef of Hilchos Avodah Zarah. We lost both of those bechinas of the Levi. Could be that's the oimek of Malchut Torah Bagoyim in Torah. Either way, we should be zocheh sheyibaneh Beis Hamikdash bimheira biyameinu. Same chelkeinu b'Sod Torah sheyibaneh Beis Hamikdash bimheira biyameinu. We should be zocheh that the Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt. have the shevet Levi of perek gimmel and perek daled of Hilchos Klei Hamikdash. And it's going to be the same chelkeinu b'Sod Torah. We'll have the shevet Levi of Yoru Mishpatecha L'Yaakov U'Sirael. That's rooted in the Havdalah that Yaakov already made. That's in the end of the first perek of Hilchos Avodah Zarah. And then it's going to be Orvah Lashem Minchas Yehudah U'Yerushalayim kimei oilam ukishanim kadmoniyos. And you know who said that? You know who said that? The Navi Malachi said that. And that's where it comes full circle. Malachi gives he gives to the Kohanim. He says we are doing the in the Beis Hamikdash. You're not teaching the Yidden Torah. And because of that, right now says that I'm not interested in all your Korbanos. But one day should you build the Beis Hamikdash and the Levi is going to do the Avodah. And the Levi is going to do his job of nation then Malachi he said Amen.