Ari Goldwag - Haazinu-Rosh Hashana - Affirming Commitment

you're listening to the weekly partial podcast with Ari Gold wag recorded with a showman's never-ending assistance in rubbish Mitch's rail 5777 our last partial podcast for 5777 2017 this week's precious precious has a new and naturally we have our Shoshanna this week so we have two days of Rosh Hashana when Wednesday night Thursday and Friday then we have Shabbos partials has Ino is this Shabbos it's the first day of a Saracen mokuba the ten days of repentance and we have these three these three days back-to-back and oftentimes we have the partials that we're reading right now we have the end of the Torah coinciding with Rosh Hashanah and I'd like to think about what is the message perhaps of our parsha how does it connect to Rosh Hashanah why is it that we always read these parts just now what is the general concept of Rosh Hashanah what take-home can we have what can we put into play put into practice this euro Shoshana that will help our whole year because Russia Shona is the beginning it's the head of the coming year today that we are judged a sham looks at the previous year everything that occurred until now and a sham decides what's going to be for us in the coming year so the first thing that we can observe there is that this point in time is significant for last year and a significant for the coming year right so it's a connecting point we spoke about this last year and how Sarah seemed a true the ten days of repentance would seem to be like they seem to have to do with the previous year and they seem to have to do with the coming year clearly because Rosh Hashanah person is judged and the decision is made what he was gonna look like but we still have ten more days to get her act together so to speak and so the ten days of repentance which are the beginning of the next year are also in some ways the end of the previous year we can still fix things from our previous year we can still atone we can still do chuhwa we can still change our ways change our change judgment so we see that it's a cross over time is cross over place so we need to understand how is it in Russia Sharna is the road she's the beginning of the year but at the same time it's the end of the previous year what's the idea of that also interesting our parshas so it's Moshe Rabbeinu speaking to the Jewish people also they're about to go through a transition from one realm to another right now we're gonna go from 5777 to 5778 the Jewish people were standing at the transition point at the threshold between their sojourn in the mid Berlin wilderness and their entrance into the Land of Israel and also there was going to be a switchover in leadership Moshe Rabbeinu was going to pass on from the world yoshua Joshua was going to take over so unsure of a know on a personal level as well is about to transition from his life the end of his life into the world to come into what happens in the world of the souls what happens after person dies so it's very interesting that we have the Torah the the that which were reading about now is the point of transitions the point of switching over it's also very much connected to Circus which is also coming up in just a few weeks and it's connected to the concept of what we read kokumo Gogol of the the great war that's going to take place before Messiah comes before the Messiah arrives that transition time so we need to know that we're in a time of transition the month of Tishrei is the end of the previous year at the beginning of the next year as we said and we're holding at the end of the tour and of course at the end of the Torah we always complete the Torah and then we start the tour again we always go back so the end is always the beginning there's a new beginning that we start again but it's always connected we're starting a new year it's always connected to what happened in the last year all that we've brought with us all that we have accomplished all that we've done is the foundation of who we are and it will affect and it will be the foundation for what our coming here will look like now that's that's just like a general overview of what's going on but I wanna to I wanted to give you just a thought about the vs Ozzy Masha my mother Vera Monsieur Sh'ma how are you Murphy Moshe Rabbeinu says he's calling as we saw in the previous partial but he's calling the heavens and the earth to be a witness to be a witness to a covenant to the Brits that Hashem is making with the Jewish people and in these verses so there's beautiful poetry and it speaks about the end of days what things are going to be like we need to understand why it's talking about that the future time it's not gonna happen for another 3,000 years at least right but it's speaking about a future time and why is that going on here in the Parsee us over here but I actually want to specifically focus on why is there has you know Shammai about that baby Sushma Harrison Rafi the heavens and the earth Moshe Rabbeinu is speaking he's saying listen to me o heavens and here let the earth hear the words of my mouth why is he speaking about the heavens and the earth what is the aspect of the heavens and the earth why are they they Edom why are they the witnesses which serve - why are they the witnesses which serve I'm sorry about that - why are they the witnesses which serve to testify to the relationship of Hashem the Briss the Covenant that Hashem has made with the Jewish people was the idea and and also again how is it connected to the fact that they're about to transition into the Land of Israel and I thought that I was thinking about a few different thoughts but the thought that I was thinking about here is that we're talking about a bris talking about a covenant talking about a relationship and this has very much to do with what's going on on Rosh Hashanah but the relationship that we have with God we're talking about we're looking at it we're taking a look we're taking an accounting through the ssme chuhwa Hashem is is looking at what our relationship looks like with him and we are looking at it we're taking stock we're looking at our deeds we're saying these are the things that we believe we don't we done wrong in our relationship we're trying to rectify them Hashem promises the Jewish people in our partial sham promises us that there's a future an eternal future for the Jewish people that will always be maintained until the end of days and there's a bris it's an amazing thing and I've spoken about this previously not long ago how you know when a couple get married so there's a love between them there's an incredible relationship that's being formed and that love is intense at the moment that they're getting married but there's a commitment there under the chuppah as they stand there the man hands his wife acts Suva which is a statement that no matter what I will stick by you I was thick by you till death do us part as they say in the Western world right that there's a commitment because there's a recognition at the onset that not always is the relationship rosy not always do I feel that love but when I feel that love now I'm committing to a relationship but come what may I will be committed to this relationship I will continue this relationship I will be committed to I will be faithful to our relationship and that's what a bris is this sort of that's what a covenant is God is creating a covenant with the Jewish people and God is saying I'm bringing you now into the Land of Israel and I am creating a relationship with you that will be for all time I will never give you up there will never be another nation that I will take to be my special chosen nation only the Jewish people have that special status only the Jewish people are the connectors between heaven and earth and this cut this comes to the the idea of heaven on earth because having an earth represent the spiritual realm heaven is the spiritual realm and earth is the physical realm and we of course the human being are that unique creature that new unique creation which has within it both of the aspects of the higher realm and a lower realm we have the spiritual aspect of ourselves we have the neshamah we have a goof we have the body and these two aspects join within the human being in in in this realm in this earth in this place Hashem God is the spiritual aspect of the physical reality which he created so remaining votes represent the the bringing together the coming together of the spiritual aspect which is really the male aspect and the female aspect which is the the physical aspect these two aspects come together and they form the the relationship between heaven and earth the human being the pinnacle of creation whole reason for existence of course what is the day of creation of man that day is Rosh Hashana that's the day that Hashem created the human being and human being came into the earth into the world and so it's a special day of a covenant between Hashem and the world between God and reality and all of the physical reality so when Hashem speaks to the Jewish people and he says I'm creating a covenant with you so we're gonna get back to Rosh Hashanah soon but Hashem says I'm being made I am creating that there's gonna be a testimony of heaven and earth heaven I call heaven and earth to be my witnesses because what we're speaking about here is a confluence to bring it together of the spiritual realms and the physical realms and whenever we have that coming together it comes together we call it the male the female aspect coming together it's number six and seven coming together it's Friday night it's the aspect of male and female it's heaven and earth it's God in the Jewish people we always have these two aspects coming together it creates a bris by the way of course the place but of course but it's clear to see based on this idea to place the the physical place where the man and woman physically come together to create another human being is that organ which we have a bris which we have a covenant which represents our relationship with Hashem and our commitment to using that ability in the correct way and the way that a Shem is laid out for us it's called a bris it's called a circumcision in English but the word bris means covenant it's the same exact idea that commitment if that relationship which is between the human being the man and his wife between God and the Jewish people and so in that relationship in that in that statement of relationship so there's a bris there's a covenant so that covenant is a guarantee it's a commitment and that's the the bottom line of everything here is that it's a commitment Hashem commits to us and here's what we're gonna get into Rosh Hashanah Shem commits to us and that's what we're talking about here as you know Sherman vada beer mr. Schwarz Murphy were speaking about God's commitment to us and the testimony we need something to remind us about God's commitment to us and our commitment to God so the heavens and the earth are a great example of something that no matter where we go in life the heaven and earth can always remind us and the cut they're coming together of heaven on earth us you know what they represent the spiritual realm connecting to the physical realm it's a reminder of our relationship with Shem our relationship with God and now God recognizes that and speaks about that in the Parsis as the Jewish people are about to transition from the gull is from the exile from the wilderness into the land of Israel that place of cross over so there's it there's the speak about the Covenant there's Yahshua is now going to take over for Moshe Rabbeinu new leadership new realities in the same way Rosh Hashanah is that cross over as we said and the way that we express our relationship with Hashem our commitment to the Covenant is by speaking about Hashem malkos his kingship speaking about God is our king amela Hakodesh throughout Rosh Hashanah throughout the ssme chuhwa one of the main themes with perhaps of the theme of these 10 days Hashem Marcos that Hashem is the is God that God is all that there is and we are committed to our relationship with Hashem and we express that by speaking about the places that we were not committed because we want to recognize that when it comes to commitment just like a man and his wife so sometimes they feel that love and sometimes they fall out of love and to recommit and come back into that relationship and rectify those places where they weren't as committed we too in our relationship with Shem we recognize and we remind ourselves and we come back to our commitment we come back to our relationship wash em and we speak about his kingship we dedicate we rededicate ourselves to a Shems kingship so the fact that God is our king when we do that by expressing of course the things that we feel that we've done we haven't done as well as we could have and we speak about that on Rosh Hashanah we speak about the fact that God is our king he is our Mellet he is our king and we also speak about interestingly the future time we speak about the goal of all of reality we have that focus a bris a relationship between a man and a woman is focused where are we going where are we headed make sure we're on the same track before we get married right make sure we're heading in the same direction but there's a commitment there's an eye on the goal all of the time the entire time that they're involved in their relationship and that goal keeps them connected was a famous most famous analogy that you know an airplane takes off so there's a flight plan waits planned to go but 99% of the time it's not precisely on the flight plan but you know you're gonna get there as long as the goal remains constant you're trying to get to that place throughout we remind ourselves of the goal on Rosh Hashanah we read about that in our precious we're speaking about that relationship Shem has of the Jewish people he promises us and there's also promise that no matter what we will come back to him interestingly there's that promise that we will also keep our side of the Covenant and so we commit to that every Rosh Hashana throughout the acerra seam hu of we make Hashem our king and I want to offer I want to offer you and you can think about this but you know classically you know there's New Year's resolutions and those are very nice but they may not last as long as we would like them to we have Russia Shana and we are expressing our commitment - I mean we keep coming back it's important to remember that we might not have been perfect and we may have been far from perfect in our relationship with Hashem but we still keep coming back and we still keep re committing and remembering that Shem is our King and we know what our relationship we would like it to look like and we keep expressing that and we have to ask a Shem for that and but the idea here is that in relationship and specifically on Rosh Hashanah and through a series mokuba community and Kippur commitment commitment pick something small firm in Russia she would say pick something small and then cut it in half so pick something very small that you can do perhaps it's saying three times a day Abraha with qivana seeing the Braco with a blessing of intent thinking about the words perhaps it's saying ah sure yachts are on time of day reading it from the from from the words reading in the side whatever it is picking something that we can be committed to come what may that no matter what I will do that action no matter what every day I'll be committed every day perhaps it needs to be limited to 90 days perhaps P needs needs to be limited to 30 days whatever it is but something that no matter what I'm gonna be committed to in my relationship with Hashem I don't want to offer you one last thought which I was thinking about today and that is that naturally in our world so the the way that we are motivated always think about motivation what motivates us one of the ways that we're motivated is you know there's things that our money motivates us the things that really draws him really motivate us if a beautiful person asks somebody to do something person is much more motivated to do that thing if a famous person would ask somebody to do something they're much more motivated to do that thing there are certain things in the world that motivate us but you feel it inside of your Ragus you feel it inside of your your body excuse me something that you feel inside of your body and it doesn't necessarily feel good afterwards right it feels it's it's there's a motivation that pulls us at sucks us in perhaps looking at the news all kinds of different things that are really yes Mac we really enjoy eating food whatever it is but there's another way to be motivated and that's what we're talking about here it's a different kind a completely different kind and that's to do things to do something just because just because I made a decision that this is what I'm going to do and it's much different much different I'm not gonna do it because I have to do it I'm not gonna do because I should do it those words are those words are loaded to do something because I should do it is now I'm drawn there's something pulling me to do it just doing something because I made a commitment to it without energy around it without without the daf without the push the overwhelming pull or push of many things that we do to create Drive within us right and that's important too we need to have some kind of balance but what I'm offering is that it's possible to be motivated to do something just because I made the decision just simply because I made the decision this is what I want to do and I'm gonna be committed to it no matter what and it's not an easy thing to do but it's a muscle that needs to be it needs to be worked out the muscle of being able to do things not because it feels good but to do something that's a little bit uncomfortable just because just because it's the something that I have not even because it's the right thing yes I decided to do it before because it's the right thing but now I'm doing it because that was my decision I decided that but someone I want to offer that for you offer that to you for Rosh Hashanah this year seriously makes you uh perhaps we can think about something that we can do we can choose in our relationship with our Shem or with our relationship with others with our spouse with our children our friends something that can bring us to a different level and exercise the muscle of being able to do things just because just because we decided to so I want to bless you and please bless me a shrimp should help us we should have a sieve abacus hematoma which we written signed and sealed into the book of good life for this year 5778 coming up and we should be able to see how what we've built until now shrimp should help us that are you know that that should infuse and build up what's coming and the relationship that we have with our Shem shrimp should continue to show us that he is in our lives and we should be able to commit to our relationship with Hashem and crown him our king and in so doing bizerta to exceed whatever a good get benched your beautiful blessed here thank you so much for listening have wonderful yontiff and a wonderful Shabbos this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcasts like this please visit www.gfi.com/webmonitor [Music]