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Why is the word for "crown" (zer) written in the Torah (תורה) as "zor" (stranger)? The three crowns of the Mishkan—Torah, Kehunah, Malchus—each carry a paradox: if you merit them, they connect you to Hashem (ה׳); if not, they estrange you. The shiur explores how Torah, avodah, and leadership can become sources of spiritual poison when a person loses sight that all reality derives from God, not from within oneself.
Rabbi Zweig examines a profound Gemara (גמרא) on Parshas Terumah concerning the three crowns (kesarim) of the Mishkan vessels: the crown of the Aron (Keser Torah (תורה)), the crown of the Shulchan (Keser Malchus), and the crown of the Mizbeach (Keser Kehunah). The Gemara notes that the word "crown" appears in the Torah written as "zor" (zayin-reish) but is read as "zer" (zayin-yud-reish). The Gemara explains: "Zacha—nasa lo zer" (if he merits, it is a crown for him); "Lo zacha—nasa zor" (if he does not merit, it becomes strange/estranged to him). The fundamental question is raised: Why does the lack of merit transform the crown into something "zor"—estranged or foreign? If a person doesn't merit the crown, he simply shouldn't have it. Why does it become a negative force, an alienating presence? The same pattern appears in the famous teaching about Torah itself: "Zacha—nasa lo sam chayim" (if he merits, it is an elixir of life); "Lo zacha—nasa lo sam maves" (if he does not merit, it becomes a poison of death). How can Torah itself become deadly poison?
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Parshas Terumah (Three Crowns of the Mishkan); Gemara Sanhedrin (Rabban Gamliel and resurrection); Gemara Yoma (mikra she'ein lo hechre'a)
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