This Saturday is known as shabbos ha'gadol, or "The Great Sabbath," because it precedes the Exodus from Egypt and Freedom and Independence. This special Sabbath has traditionally been set aside by Rabbis and Preachers for sermons about shabbos in general – the Sabbaths of all the year. The theme of this sermon, therefore, as was the theme of Rabbis for generations before, is that "Every Sabbath is a Great Sabbath." Particularly in our times, and especially in our neighborhood – the heart of the business center – must Sabbath Observance be stressed.But before a Rabbi criticizes and berates and flays his congregation—which is his privilege and duty, especially on SHABBOS HA'GADOL—he might first be asked to explain. For to us, SHABBOS is more than a "day-off"; quite the contrary, it is perhaps a “day-on.” Because while it urges us to desist from work, it does more than release us from all duties—it adds the duties of the soul and the heart and the mind. It is a day of active holiness. SHABBOS KODESH. And therefore Jews have a right to ask: why should I assume these obligations?Rabbis of the Mishna understood that such questions would be asked. And so the great R. Joshua answered the question and pointed out the three results of Sabbath Observance. Bible (on Manna): *VAYOMER MOSHE, ICHLUHU HAYOM KI SHABBOS HAYOM LA'SHEM*. R. Joshua: give this day to G-d, and He will give you three gifts in return: *IM TIZKU LISHMOR ET HASHABBOS, ASSID ANI LAHASOT LACHEM SHALOSH MOADOT—PESACH, ATZERET, SUKKOT*.A strange reward indeed! Ask a housewife about PESACH, and she'll tell you of the difficulties of housecleaning (Sholom Aleichem on Pesach preparation). Ask a husband of the discomfort of eating in the Sukkah on a chilly autumn day. But obviously, the Sages intended not so much the festivals themselves as the symbols they are.**PESACH** is the symbol of Freedom (explain why). What sort of Freedom does Sabbath bestow upon its observers?—Freedom of being different, which follows up…

Our sages, who normally adhere strictly to principle and are unconcerned with popular reactions and public opinion, show a remarkable divergence from this method in a comment that has relevance to this morning’s Torah reading. The end of our Sidra tells us about the מילואים, the consecration of the Priests for their service in the Temple. In addition to the various ceremonies that had to be performed, they were commanded, ומפתח אוהל מועד לא תצאו שבעת ימים, “and from the door of the tent of meeting shall ye not go out for seven days.” For a full week they were required to stay within the “tent of meeting,” that miniature sanctuary which was later to become the institution of the Temple. The Talmud (Yoma 2b) derives therefrom other laws as well, among them that the כהן גדול, the High Priest, had to remain within the Temple for seven days before Yom Kippur. Every year he was to set aside this week and remain completely within the Sanctuary, in a chamber known as the לשכת פרהדרין, there to prepare himself for the holiest day of the year. Now, as we all know, any room or house which serves as a residence requires that we affix a mezuzah to the doorpost. Nevertheless, for certain reasons, the Temple rooms were exempt from this obligation of mezuzah. Hence, the לשכת פרהדרין did not require a mezuzah. However, R. Judah (Yoma 10b) is of a somewhat different opinion. He maintains, together with his colleagues, that no chamber of the many within the Temple required a mezuzah. The לשכת ,פרהדרין the chamber where the High Priest stayed for seven days, similarly did not require the mezuzah insofar as the law was technically and officially concerned. However, R. Judah maintains that the Rabbis promulgated a special decree requiring only of the לשכת פרהדרין that it be adorned with a mezuzah. The reason offered by R. Judah is amazing: שלא יאמרו כהן גדול חבוש בבית האסורים, so that the people will not say, “the High Priest is imprisoned in the Sanctuary!” R. Judah feared that when th…

The rabbis were intrigued by the word צו, which gives the name to today’s Sidra and which concerns, specifically, the קרבן עולה. They detected in it a certain directness that is not as evident in the synonyms most frequently used in the Bible, אמר and דבר, say and speak. Thus, the תורת כהנים, as quoted by Rashi, reads: אין אמירה בכל מקום אלא לשון זירוז מיד ולדורות. The relevance of the element of זריזות is obvious: the קרבן עולה is one from which there is no benefit for the כהן because it is completely consumed on the altar. However, in what manner does the word צו imply זריזות -- zest, eagerness or avidity? The author of ספר החינוך tells us as follows: the Talmud decides that גדול המצווה ועושה ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה, and Tosafot explains that one who is under a command is always concerned and nervous, lest he not do enough, lest he be a failure. However, one who is not under command performs with verve and eagerness, volunteers his performance, and is not beset by this anxiety, since his non-performance is not marked as a failure, and therefore does not imply guilt. Hence, one who is not under command may be lackadaisical in his performance. The concept of צו therefore implies urgency.Now, whereas the Sages here were concerned with an individual law, that of קרבן עולה, I believe that the same concept applies to the totality of the Torah. After all, in the Torah itself the entirety of Judaism is referred to as מצווה, as in the expression תורה ציווה לנו משה, that the entire Torah was commanded to us, or is in the category of a צו. One of the great problems of modern Jewish theology is the element of autonomy. Since the times of the German philosopher Kant, Western thought has been committed to the idea that man himself is the ultimate authority, that the life of man should be spent in pleasing man, not in pleasing God or some other external power. This idea of the autonomy of man has exerted an enormous influence on Western thought. Hence, many Jews who are searching…