בס״ד
Acharei Mos
Like Efraim and Menasheh the two goats stand,
To Aaron’s left hand and his right,
As if blessing his sons this one last time,
In his garments of linen and white.
Yitzchak was offered up at G-d’s command,
But HaShem took a ram in his stead,
Nadav and Abihu brought an offering unwanted,
And God’s fire rendered them dead.
The goats of Yom Kippur that follow herein,
Will atone for our “fire zara”,
Henceforth just these kids,
Not the children of man,
Shall be chosen to bring kapara.
בס״ד
Shabbos Pesach
The blood of the korban Pesach,
Fills the saf to the very brim,
And with the azov branches,
We lock ourselves within.
Outside the macah passes us,
The door posts standing guard,
The dom the sign that keeps us in,
The gate securely barred.
Transformed within our chrysalis,
As Yisrael we emerge as one,
On His wings we pass our doors,
With the rising of the sun.
בס״ד
Metzora
The dove, unbound,
aloft,
soared free,
mayim chayim and blood
on her wings.
A voice,
reborn
through silence.
Joyful
once more,
to sing.
בס״ד
Tazria
The expression “He-nay” is invariably used,
In describing the Kohen’s inspection,
Sometimes this word translates as “Behold!”
As if shocking to find an infection.
Perhaps it was rare to behold such a p’gam,
As s’eis or baheres or sapachas,
And Aaron was hoping for ways to avoid,
Declaring that one had tzara’as.
It meant the metzora must be kept apart,
From the Mishkan and all its kedushah,
His family and tribe,
To stay outside the camp,
And not least, to suffer the bushah.
בס״ד
Shemini
Nadav and Abihu darshan Torah Sh’Baal Peh,
Without first consulting their father,
And are in the wrong place,
At the very wrong time,
When HaShem takes His korban through fire.
But Aaron knows how to apply the Torah,
To an unusual case or problem,
As he poskens now,
With Moshe’s assent,
About Onen-im, and eating a korban.
We grapple as well with the list of the birds,
Including the crowned Duchiphat,
Why we can’t eat them is not very clear,
It’s for the birds we’re not given the pshat.
בס״ד
Tzav
We are taught to consider Moshe,
As the peak of all humility,
Yet our parsha hints
It’s a family trait,
That accounts for his nobility.
Moshe strove to turn down the job,
Assigned at the burning bush,
And made every excuse
To avoid it;
HaShem had to give him a push.
And thus it seems with Aaron,
As Rashi himself has stated,
Moshe “took” for the Mikdash
Aaron and his sons;
Meaning - they had to be persuaded.
So Esther HaMalcha didn’t think she could do,
What it was that Mordechai asked,
The stakes were too high,
The chances too slim,
So she took on a three-day-long fast.
Best suited for leading a people, it seems,
Is the soul who thinks he’s not worthy,
Not the baal gava, who claims,
to be made for the task,
Though to some this may seem topsy-turvy.
בס״ד
Vayikra
If, b’shgaga, one does something wrong,
A korban provides the kapara,
It’s type, and the manner of offering it,
Detailed clearly here in the Torah.
Yet, for three particular things,
We are called upon to assess,
What manner of korban one should bring,
On the basis of one’s assets.
Bearing witness, and then denying it;
Becoming tameh, and then being negligent;
Oaths that are false, or are not kept;
For these there must be acknowledgment.
That is to say that the guilty one,
Must surely make a confession,
As well as being out of pocket,
Which perhaps makes a stronger impression.
For most lapses writ down in this parsha,
Intent is not part of their essence,
But implicit, in this trio, is selfishness,
Which wants a more open penance.
