MIN TORAH PORTION - PARASHAT MISHPATIM שיעור פרשת השבוע משפטים — 20

So we'll keep Shabbat. Shabbat will keep me. Keep what? I don't know. Keep me alive, keep me free, keep me happy. What do you think? Shalom. Good night from Israel. Again, I am okay. Good night from Israel. Shalom everybody. Uh do you hear me? You hear me, yeah? Okay. Um Thank you so much for joining us. Uh this is something that I'm trying for my for for the first time to do this live little bit uh late here in Israel. Um to see if it's maybe it's work better for you because I made a poll uh yesterday and most of you said that you want me to to to both to to broadcast the the the the portion lesson in Thursday evening. So, that's what I'm trying to do. So, now it's evening in New York, I think. And uh let's do it. So, this week we're going to talk about the portion uh Mishpatim. Uh last portion last week we spoke about few things about uh the 10 Commandments that the the Hebrew people got uh from God through Moses and through God. Um and now we're going to speak about a lot a lot a lot of rules that Moses give to the people of Israel, to the Hebrew people of the the Hebrew people. And before that I will start, I want to I want to remind you that you can send me here on on on on the chat uh names of people that need healing. I will do a a a small break in few minutes from now to to bless them uh with you. It's not that I'm blessing them, that I want that this lesson would be for those who need healing. So, please write me here in the chat if you have someone that need healing. And then we will mention the names. This is something that we are used to do here in Israel a lot of the a lot of time when we are doing lessons when we read Torah. So, we are blessing the that this lesson would be for their healing. Um so, please feel free to to write me in the chat names and I will uh uh uh do it very quick uh um couple of minutes from now. So, let's start. Um I must say that this this portion lesson that we are reading this Shabbat in the synagogue is is portion with a lot of rules. Uh we are just finished as I said at the beginning the 10 Commandments. Now, there's a lot a lot of rules uh about slaves, about um about money, about killing, about uh a lot a lot of things and it's very hard, I think, to to choose um what I want to to focus on because I can't go on everything because as I don't know if you know, there is a book called Talmud and a lot of books that was written on each one of the the verses that we're going to read in this portion. Like on every verse, you can find a book uh of explanations. So, it's a very hard portion to to to to to to choose. But just for example, I want to show you I will do I will show you the um Okay, so you can see here the the portion. So the portion um starting with uh um Should you buy a Hebrew slave, he should work six years and seven in the seventh year, he should go out freedom without charge. This is one example of something that we can see in this portion about that if you have a slave, so in in the seventh year if you have to to get free of only if he's a Hebrew slave. There's a lot a lot of rules that can go like let's go to 10. Uh to to 12. One who strike a man so that he died shall surely be put to death. Uh fifth And one who strike his father or his mother shall surely be put death. Uh and one who curses father or his mother shall surely be put to death. So there is a lot a lot a lot of rules here. Uh But I I want I want to choose something uh specific and then to talk as as we are doing every portion uh every week uh that I'm telling you that every week what I'm doing is to choose two things and then to try to go deeper. Um so there is a lot of rules as I said and in the end there is a kind of a ceremony that Moses do to all the Hebrew people after they get the commandment. So this is the portion. Now before that I will start as I said I want to read in the in the chat if there is people that need healing, they did less this lesson will be uh for them. Uh I'm going to read right now. Uh How is this now? Okay, let's finish with the the healing prayer and then we will go. Okay. Um so this portion lesson will be for the healing for blessing for healing for Ilana bat Sarah Naomi bat Naama Maria William Steve Krebs Tony Williams Sherry Donlan Itzik Chaim ben Leader mishpachat Chayetian And all the others that need healing um Elna refana lehem Elna refana lehem Elna refana lehem Amen. All right. So I'm going to choose uh one verse and I'm going to to speak on this verse um and I would love if you can please uh write me in the chat. Feel free to ask any question that you want. Uh I will try to answer or if you uh uh think to to say something uh feel free to say whatever you want. Um I want to talk about uh this interesting thing that we see a lot in this generation. Um I'm going to choose two things from this place. Um Okay. Uh 21 You should not oppress any widow or orphan. Because if you oppress him for his cries out to me, I will surely hear his cry. May what will kindle and will will slay you with a sword and you this is will be widow and your children orphans. This is one of the it's a very unique verses because we see that if you going to do something for a widow or for a orphan. If they are crying to God that God is like telling them you must know that you have a power. I give you a power because it's written in the Bible. You can see it in the Bible. If someone do something to you as a widow and you are crying so I'm telling you as God that I will do for him the same thing that that um I will put him in the same place you are standing right now. And and when I when I read this verse, I felt very strange because we know that that most of the time we don't deal with with prayers. We don't know if our prayer will be uh will be will be answered. We know that we need to pray because this is very important to pray to let God know what we want. But we know that sometimes the answer can be no. No, I I heard your your your your prayer but I don't I'm not going to do it because that I have a a different plan. Because it may be that your prayer is not something that good for you. But in this case, when you are doing something to a widow, God will answer her. And this uh thing that as I said before uh it it's it's it's it's it's catch my my attention. Uh because we we don't see a lot of places like this that God telling to to someone, I will answer you if you will cry for me and you will and I will do this and this and this. Um I I can I can take from this verse something very important um to know that then when we are seeing a widow or when we see someone that that we feel that he is not in a good situation in his in his life, we need to remember that God put him in this place. And because that God put him in this place, we are not allowed to hurt him more than what God did did to him. We need to help him. That's what why God put him in this place. And if we are going to hurt him, he is much stronger than us. He is he is he is more strong he he more stronger stronger than us, not more. He is stronger than us. Because he can speak directly with God and God will hear him. And I I am not in this place, I'm not sure that God will hear my prayer. So this verse show us that when we are seeing someone in in a bad situation, we need to remember that the more ease is going down it's the more you get closer to to God. This is what I understand from this verse. All right. Second thing that that put my attention uh is 24. When you lend money to my people to the poor person to my people to my poor person. Again, it's very connected to what I said. The more you are down, the more you connect to to God. Uh with you, you should not behave toward him as a lender. You should not impose uh interest upon him. We understand that interest is something that it's not allowed. And it's something that we see a lot a lot a lot in in our life. So, how can it be that so many people Jewish, non-Jewish not doing what's written in the Bible that uh uh that interest it's not allowed. What is what what is what do you think about it? What what do you think about what I said? So, interesting to me to see I'm just watching now in the chat. What do what do you think about What What do you think about all the banks? Uh what do you think about all of this when you read this verse? What is What is it's uh All right. For me, it's it's just catch my my attention. Um All right. Let's move forward. Let's read more. Um Eight. You should not accept a bribe for a bribe will blind the clear sight and and corrupt words that are right. Corrupt words, that's all. This is amazing verse, very famous verse that we use a lot um when we speak about um bribe that even the the the best people in the world um when they take bribe um they they can fell fall in in the place of bribe because this is something that even the the holiest people that the the most honest people can can fall and and I think that we see it a lot in this generation. When you see people when they have um a place that they have they have power in their hand, they have um um I'm not I'm not talking right now on on on on on the on the court. I'm I'm speaking about people with power that can can can judge things, can decide things. They decided to to to decide the things that they need to do according to the money that they get. And there is a beautiful story in the Jewish traditions that speak about um a judge um in the court um that he He he he he he he wasn't in the court. He He heard um the people in the court and then he he he back home he went to sleep. He had kind of a decision and then he went to sleep. He woke up in the morning and he suddenly saw everything different. And he didn't know he started to think maybe how can it be that yesterday it was looking like something like one thing and when he woke up in the morning he felt like he needed to to change his decision. And then he he he put his hand in in his pocket and pulled out money. He understand that they put him money in his pocket. He didn't know. What can we learn from this story? That bribe is not only when you understand that you get a bribe. It's even when you are getting closer to place that that you get you can get something for someone. Because we know that all the things that that we get like money like like like all the things that actually in any way we say parnassa. All the things that connected to money. All the things that that connected to to to to to our budget is from God. And when people working with this money to do bad things it can affect you even if you don't know that you got it. Because we know that money is something that have a deep deep deep uh connection to God. And this is what you can take from this very important verse and very famous verse, but the bribe uh that blind the the the good and the holiest people. All right, I want to read a little bit uh uh from the chat. Um Robby said, "I don't know if it's completely correct to say to put people in a bad situation. It's also result of our choices we make, but yes, point taken. Thank you, Robby. Yeah, of course that we are uh uh uh everything that we do is is result to what what we what we did, but sometimes and we know, I'm sure that you saw it in your life, that sometimes uh you see people that that that that they get uh something think uh that they not deserve. And you don't understand why. Sometimes it's happened. Um and I believe and I think that what we can learn from the Bible that everything is from God. Um and our decisions is from God, too. Stomach I mean when you do something so you um you um creating something with God in every decision that you are doing. It's all the time you and God, everything that you do. Um one of the things that's very important for me um when I'm doing this portion lessons is to explain every time that every moment in our life uh in every place in our life we are with God all the time. And even if I'm a singer, I'm doing this portion lessons because I believe that in every place that I'm I'm I'm I'm in every place like on YouTube when I'm singing on YouTube, at the same time I need to to speak and to sing for God and and to play for God and to talk to to to the to the through the Torah as a thing that God I think want want everybody to know. So, um this is like one example for why is important for me to to do these things. So, this is the same thing in every aspect in our life. When we're buying a car, when we're speaking to our uh friends, when we are um um inviting someone to eat in our house, um to eat with us, to to everything that we're doing in our life is is the same time what we are doing and at the same time it's what God do with us. If God use us for good things, so we are blessing the world with the words of God. If God uh if we're doing a bad things, so God using us um to to maybe to to to see what people doing when when bad things happening to them. I don't know. I not really know. But everything is good. This is what I learned. Uh since money can override the fear of Lord. All right. Robby, yes, that's true, but when you are in relationship with God, he the he he really thinks to you. Yeah? Yeah, you're right. You're right. You're right. But I don't I'm not sure um I'm not sure that let's say let's say something like this. When you understand that everything that you do is from God when you understand it so there is a very high um presents that you will do good things. Let's agree on this. All right. Elinson, thank you. I'm completely understanding the Torah portion reading. Yeah, thank you, Eileen. Um all right. Let's move forward for something very interesting that we have in the in in our portion. Ah, I want to go back a little bit. Oh, this is very interesting. The very very interesting. At the beginning of the portion, let's I want to show you um one second. Um let let me know if you see it when I share it. Okay. If you have a slave okay? Um Mhm. Okay. I will do it try to do it a little bit shorter and then to to explain you why I focus on the um six. We see that there is like you have a slave and he's your slave and he want to get free and then he decided not to get he need to get free and then he decided to stay. There is a very strange ceremony that he need to do. Need to go look read six. His master should bring him to the judge and he should bring him to the door or to the door uh post. And his mate uh and his master shall bore his ear with an awl and he should serve him for So there is like a very interesting question here. What is this strange ceremony is what is the connection to the uh to the we call it a mezuzah uh um um uh uh door post. Okay? To the door post. And what is the the connection for for the slave that don't want to go get free to his ear? So again, what is the connection to the ear and what is the connection to the door post? What what what what is the reason of those two things in this strange ceremony? So I read a very interesting uh you everybody understood the the question? What is what is the the the question? A slave that want to get free uh that don't want to get free. He want to stay in uh with his master. Um he should do a very strong ceremony. So the ear in this strange ceremony represent just just to remind you that we are speaking about after the 10 commandment after the people of Israel heard the Torah. And that's why the ear have a a deep connection in this ceremony because if someone is a is a slave and you don't want to go and and and to to get free. So, what does he say? He said, "I don't want to be slave of God. I prefer to be slave of a man." I want I I prefer to be slave of my master. So, the ear that heard the 10 Commandments from God going to be hurt. The second thing is about the doorpost. The doorpost, if you remember, when the the Hebrew people just went out went out from from uh Egypt, um they put uh um uh blood on their doors and this was like the first doorpost. Um um so, this is the second thing. Because I took you from being a slave to be a a free man. How can you go back to be a slave? How can you do this? Huh? And and this is the reason of this very very strange ceremony. Uh this is the two reasons of this the ear and doorpost. All right. Uh I'm going to read uh your question again and I think that I will uh almost we are almost finished because I have another only one uh last subject. So, okay. I'm going to read your uh questions or things that you're writing in the chat. All right. Rabbi, uh he tells you why bad things is happening to us. Sometimes it's for our own good. You're right. Uh I agree with you. Um Both my ears have holes. Yeah, I have one, too. Uh thank you, Mark. Uh A thief can become a slave until his fine is paid off. Um Yeah, you're right. It's the beginning in in the beginning of the portion we see it, too. Um Uh but, yeah, if if you put yourself in a position of a slave, so yeah, it's all that you are a thief that you don't have money to pay, and then you become a slave. Uh but, when you're going to get free, as I said, if you don't want to get free after all the things that happened to you when you escaped from Egypt with God that God helped you to become to to to to to get free from your slave uh slavery. Uh so so It's very strange. Uh why did they uh uh they uh pierce the ear with an all on the doorpost? Can you give us Jewish insight on that? I think I think I explained it. I don't know if I see the question in delay. Um Uh again, the reason that the ear is is is symbolizing the the ear that heard the 10 Commandments. So, how can you uh uh steal How can you be a thief that become a slave or something like this? Or, how can you become a slave after you get the 10 Commandments and you you don't want to be the slave of God? You want to be a slave of a man? And about the doorpost, as I said, the doorpost is uh representing the the the blood on the doors that was uh uh that was the sign of the Hebrew people when they escaped from Egypt. Mark say thank you. Okay. Sean say this life is all to do with marriage to the master's daughter. Yeah. Um All right, there is a very interesting thing in in our portion that talking about um if there is a slave and this is very hard for me I have to say because we don't living in in in in in in these days when we have slaves. Maybe we have a different Maybe we all of us we are slave we don't know it but there is a something not about the daughter. Um Um he can get married with the the woman slave of the of the master. And then the kids of the woman slave of the master is on to the master. This is a very it's something else that was that's spoken in in the portion. Um All right. So I'm going to go to the to the last thing that I want to show you in our portion it's the end of the of the portion. So we saw all the all the rules that Moses give to the to the Hebrew people and then um it's kind of a teaser so to what going to be happen um in the end of the portion. Um That's it. Okay. So Moses um going up to the mountain and uh it is taking Yeshua is a student with him. You know, Yeshua is the one that's going to take all the Hebrew people to enter the the to enter to Israel. And then uh is going up. Let's see. Uh okay. And Aaron and Hur, Hur is the uh um the son Hur is the son of Miriam, the sister of Moses. They're staying in in in They're going up a little bit with Moses, but they're they're staying with the people. So, Moses telling them, "If you have any problem, call, ask Aaron and Hur." Uh they will judge for you right now what you do. Let's read uh 15. And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. He's going up. The the the cloud covered the mountain. And the and the glory of the Lord uh rested on the Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for 6 days. And he should called Moses on the seventh day from within to the cloud. And uh and then then this is like amazing what I'm going to read right now. And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain before the eyes of the children of Israel. They're seeing Moses going up to the mountain to the cloud, and then they're seeing fire like crazy things on the top of the mountain. And then let's read the last one. And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain, and Moses was upon the mountain 40 days and 40 nights. And this is kind of a teaser to explain about all the things that we're going to read next portion with the scene of the Israel of Israel that would have um uh that didn't want to and and tried to to to to pray to idols. Uh they didn't want to Moses. Because we see here that they they saw Moses going up to the mountain and then they saw fire and cloud and like and he didn't come back for 40 days. They thought that he died. Uh so this is kind of a teaser for next week uh about the scene of the uh the sons of Israel. Um And that's it I think for this week. What do you say? You have any questions? More questions? More something that you want to say? Or uh or that's it? Um Okay. Mark said, "Can you imagine this?" Yeah, this is crazy. This is crazy. It's uh something really hard to imagine, but it's uh it's happened. We believe in it. All right. So uh we will see you next week. Uh let me know. Please write me not in the chat, in the comment if you think that this hour is good for you. So please write me in the comments that you think that this hour is good. Um I want to know if to go back to the to the hour the to the time that we met uh last week or for this time because for me it's very important like to find the right time. Uh if I don't have a concert so to do it every week every week until we will finish all the Torah. Because we start from Bereshit from the first portion and we will finish in Bereshit next year. I don't know if we we will do it next year too. Uh but for me it's very important the to to to keep the traditions every week and every week. So if you have uh if it's good for you that this time that we met this uh portion so let me know. If you want to say something else anything that you want to say please write me in the comments. I'm answering to I think almost all the comments. Um thank you so much. I love you so much. Thank you for joining me. Uh I can say again that it's very very it's going to happen really soon that I will release the album. Uh thank you so much for all the things that you're sending me again and again. Sorry for all the people that sometimes waiting uh for my um response. Uh if it's very important please write me uh to my email. Uh it's crazy days with all the COVID and everything. Let's pray that COVID will disappear from the world and we will meet each other and I will see you in Jerusalem and maybe I will come to you to America and uh we will meet each other. Thank you so much for watching me. Thank you so much for being here with me. Um God bless you all. Shema Yisrael otchem. She tielahem Shabbat Shalom. Um bye-bye.