There was once a man named Yosef who held Shabbat so dear,
He was rewarded with a diamond so rare,
Which he found in the belly of a fish,
Because to honor Shabbat was his wish.
How do you think the fishermen would feel,
If they knew that the fish they sold contained a diamond so real?
A great opportunity the fishermen did miss,
But there is a great lesson we can learn from this.
Everything that Hashem did create,
Has a diamond within that is truly great,
But this physical world conceals,
G-dliness is covered with layers and peels.
In Parshat Vayikra, we learn how to bring a sacrifice,
Kiling an animal doesn't seem very nice,
But through this act the physical layers were peeled away,
Revealing its G-dly spark, on that day.
For the animal there is nothing greater,
Then being used to connect a man to his creator,
In truth, Korban means to draw near,
To revealing a diamond it does compare.
The sacrifice accomplished even more,
It elevated all of creation, that is divided into four,
On every sacrifice salt you could find,
Elevating the first category, the mineral kind.
Every sacrifice included things that grow,
Elevating the vegetable world it did show,
Flour, wine and oil are examples three,
The sacrifices they did accompany.
Flour made from wheat that grows from the ground,
Wine from grapes, on a vine is found,
Oil from olives grow on a tree,
The actual animal, elevated category number three.
Category number four, is the man that would bring,
The actual Korban offering,
From here we see that the Korban gift,
Gave the whole world a lift.
To turn physical into spiritual we are taught,
This was seen when a sacrifice was brought,
On the alter a heavenly fire burned,
To it's heavenly source the physical returned.
Souvenir: diamonds for decoration
This poem was inspired by
ReplyDelete"Vayikra - Offering"
by Rabbi Benny Rapoport
and by
"The Meaning of Sacrifices"
by Rabbi Moishe New
from Chabad.org
ReplyDeleteYosef Who Honored The Shabbos
There was once a man by the name of Yosef who so loved Shabbos that he would honor it with the finest of foods, with fish and meat, never hesitating even if the price was very high.
The fact that Yosef behaved in this manner soon spread through his city and he became known as Yosef Mokir (Yosef who appreciates and honors the Shabbos).
In the same city there lived a very wealthy man who was also very wicked. The astrologers came to him and told him, "We have seen in the stars that all your wealth will fall into the hands of a Jew called Yosef. Be forewarned and plan how to avoid this."
He Plans To Foil The Prediction
The man became very frightened and he sat down to figure a way to prevent his wealth from falling into the hands of the cursed Jew.
Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. This would be the perfect plan! Taking all his wealth, he bought a precious stone. Putting it into his hat he sewed it in and smiled, "Let us see the Jew get my wealth now!"
While walking along the banks of a river one windy day, the hat was suddenly blown off his head by a gust of wind. "Stop!" he cried in terror, as the hat sailed into the river. "Someone get my hat for me."
It was too late, however. Though he hired many people to search the river and its banks, there was no trace of the hat or of the valuable diamond that was in it.
The evil man was bitter at the loss but he said, "At least I have some comfort in my poverty. At least Yosef will not have the stone, either."
A Fish For Shabbos
That Friday a group of fishermen were busily at work when they caught the largest and most beautiful fish they had ever seen. Immediately the same thought struck them, "Yosef will pay a great deal for this fish to be eaten on Shabbos. Let us go to his home and sell it to him."
Arriving at the house, they told Yosef, "We have caught the most beautiful fish we have ever seen. Would you be interested in buying it?"
Yosef saw the fish and was truly impressed.
"I have never seen such a fish," he said. "I must have it so that I may honor the Shabbos properly."
Even when he heard the very high price he did not hesitate but paid it. He then took it to the kitchen and began to slice it so as to prepare it for Shabbos. Imagine his amazement when he saw, inside the fish, a magnificent precious stone. He took the stone, sold it and with the money he became wealthy and a doer of good for the rest of his life.