“And the Cohen shall wear linen garments, and linen pants shall he wear on his flesh, [and he shall raise the ashes from where the fire has consumed the sacrifice on the altar, and he shall place them beside the altar].” (Vayikra, 6:3) “Garment,” (this is a special word for garment used only for the Cohen) is the ctonet, which makes atonement for anger (Arachin, 17a) and the spilling of blood. “And linen pants,” corresponds to lust, for the pants make atonement for forbidden sexual relations. These both hint that one who is clean regarding anger and lust may come close to God.², has the same root in Hebrew as karov—“close.” One comes close to God through the sacrifices.

footnotes: ² It must be remembered that the word for sacrifice, karban

“[And the Cohen shall wear linen garments, and linen pants shall he wear on his flesh,] and he shall raise the ashes from where the fire has consumed the sacrifice on the altar, and he shall place them beside the altar.” (Vayikra, 6:3) The removal of the ashes, where he would fill the coal pan with the inside ashes of the consumed sacrifice, teaches of the fear of God. “And he shall place them by the altar,” on the east side of the ramp, signifies how with the spark (point) of life among the nations, with the choicest of them, their main point is their fear. “As she has made fear her crown, so she has made meekness the sole of her foot” (Yerushalmi, Shabbat, Ch. 1, halacha 5). That is to say, what for them is their crown, the Cohen does before every time he performs the service. Yet it says, “and he shall place them,” of which our sages explained (Pesachim, 28a), gently, “so as not to scatter them, but that they shall be hidden in their place.” This means not to deride this attribute, as our sages said (Berachot, 33b), “is the fear of Heaven a small thing?”

“Speak to the children of Israel and say, he that offers the sacrifice of his peace offering unto God shall bring his sacrifice to God out of the sacrifice of his peace offerings. His hands shall bring the fire offerings of God, he will bring the fat with the breast, the breast to wave as a wave offering before God.” (Vayikra, 7:29–30) All of the sacrifices are set according to prayers, which is the service of the heart. Indeed, with all of the (other) sacrifices, “he shall bring his sacrifice … his hands shall bring” is not said, since those who bring the sacrifices do not have a portion in them.³ With an olah, or ascent offering, even the Cohanim cannot partake of them (as they are burned on the altar in their entirety). With all of the sacrifices and the prayers brought close before God, before they are offered the one bringing them must first remove all negiot (personal motive, partiality), from his side, and concerning this it is said that he shall bring “the fire offerings of God,” meaning to no other than God alone. That is why in this Parsha, which teaches of the eating of sacrifices, the verses mention “fire” several times, for fire teaches of the great fear of God, as it consumes everything. This Parsha is the garment in this world for the River Dinor in the world of Atsulut (emanation).⁴] issued and came forth …” Therefore before each prayer for any kind of good one could ask from God, one must precede it with the complete acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. This is precisely why we recite the Shema before praying the Amida. The recitation of the Shema hints at the removal of negiot (personal motive, partiality), from the side of man,⁵, in the selection “and Israel camped at Ovot,” for more from the author on the “removal of affliction.” for the Shema hints that man exists only by God’s will alone. This is as Shlomo haMelech said (Melachim 1, 8:39), “[Man] whose heart You know,” meaning that if this good that you ask for is really for the glory of God, in order to do the will of your Owner, then He will hear you. However, if the good you request contains within it something that would prevent you from serving God, then He will not listen to you. This is from God’s point of view, but man may go ahead and pray, as long as he first accepts upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, as mentioned, for truly God desires to improve and not to cast away any prayer of Israel to irrecoverable exile. This notion refers to the rest of the forms of sacrifice, but the Shlamim peace-offering sacrifice teaches that man prays to God that He may allow him to taste of the good that is hidden for him in the world to come. This is because he wants to see his place, to see to whom he is greater in comparison, for he desires a state of spiritual elevation. On this it is said, “he shall bring his offering … his hands shall bring [the fire offerings of God].” This means to deliver over all his requests and prayers to God, and not plead with brazenness, for from this it could happen that he could become indebted to his fellow man. At present he seems to be on a similar level as his fellow, and afterwards he is elevated above him. Yet truly, in the future all of Israel will set in a place as one, and each one will show how he is in some way elevated above the rest of Israel. Nonetheless, each one is “burned by the canopy of his fellow.”⁶, 75a), which reads: Rabbah in the name of Rav Yochanan said further: The Holy One, blessed be He, will make seven canopies for every Tsaddik; for it is said, “And the Hashem will create over the whole dwelling of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud of smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy” (Yeshayahu, 4:5). This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, will make for everyone a canopy corresponding to his status. Why is smoke required in a canopy? Rav Chanina said: Because whoever is envious of the scholars in this world will have his eyes filled with smoke in the world to come. Why is fire required in a canopy? Rav Chanina said: This teaches that each one will be burned because of his jealousy at the superior canopy of his friend. Alas, for such shame! Alas, for such reproach! This is as it is in this world, where there are many forms of wisdom, and one shows superiority in this kind, and another in that kind. Each one’s elevation is not equal, but rather according to the value of that in which he shows superiority. And in the future, even though it will all be in the realm of the Torah, still, great matters will be found where one’s kind of elevation is not at all similar to his fellow’s. This is taught through how it is formulated, “his hands shall bring,” meaning with two hands. If a man wants to taste from the good that is reserved for him in the world to come, and asks God to show him his place, then he must be clean. Then if God shows him that he is smaller in stature than someone whom it seemed to him that he was greater than in this world (if he is clean), it will not distress him. But if he does not pray over this matter in this world, it could be that he is greater than his fellow all the while in this world, and in the future he will not be at all distressed that he is now greater than his fellow. This too is a favor of God, who arranged that in this world he should become greater than his fellow. But, if he should want to make certain of this, it could be that he makes certain that he is smaller than his fellow, and it could be that he sinks lower than his fellow. Thus if he wants to make certain, he may still ask (for elevation) and it will not distress him, since he wanted to know it clearly, as we find with Mordechai (Megillah, 16b), “For at first Mordechai was counted next after four, but afterwards next after five.” (At first it is written [Ezra, 2:2], Who came with Zerubabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordechai, Bilshan, and later it is written [Nechemya, 7:7], Who came with Zerubabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordechai, Bilshan.) This is “and his hands shall bring,” for it is with two hands, right and left. Right, for it could be that he is elevated. Left, for it could be that he is brought low by means of this prayer. And if a man agrees that he wants to make certain, even if he makes certain that he is smaller in stature, it will not trouble him, and he will subdue himself before his fellow who is greater than him. He will be put at ease by knowing clearly where his place is. Then he can bring the slaughter of his Shlamim peace offerings. This is “his hands shall bring”—towards this end. Understand this.

footnotes: ³ Those who bring the sacrifices do not eat them afterwards; this was the privilege of the Cohanim. ⁴ See Daniel, 7:10, “a fiery stream [nahar di nur ⁵ See Parshat Chukat ⁶ This phrase is taken from a highly relevant passage in the Gemara (Baba Batra