Ari Goldwag - Shemini - Spiritual Elders

you're listening to the weekly paral podcast recorded with hashem's never ending assistance in ra Israel 2016 this week's paraa is par sh the very beginning of the par we have the Eighth Day verse says in chapter 9 verse one it was on the eth day Moses called to Aaron and his sons zik Isel to the Elders of the people of Israel and Moshe commands Aon to go through all the different sacrifices a different service which was involved in inaugurating the Mish and the Tabernacle bringing the divine presence Into the mishkan Now what's interesting in the verse which I'd like to talk about at length before ask the question and they discuss it they don't give a clear answer but the question is that what is is AUM doing here the Torah refers to the fact that Moshe calls Aon and his sons it makes sense Aaron the high priest his sons they're involved in this whole this whole ceremony they're involved in this whole inauguration they're involved in the sacrifices but the zik Israel the Elders of the people of Israel don't seem to have any purpose here the the Torah as the verses continue don't tell us that that they've done anything or that they're involved in any way why does the Torah bring them what is the idea what is the purpose of the zakum the Elders of the people of Israel being invited to participate or to be present any more than anyone else what is the concept also who are these zum who are these Elders we see reference to them in a few different places as we'll see but who are they what is the concept of the zakum of the Elders of the people of Israel so I'd like to share with you a medish and the mes discusses who are these people what are these people what is the idea of the zakum the Elders of the people of Israel what is their purpose what is their tkit so we'll see that there are a few different aspects of it hopefully by the time we're finished we'll be able to paint a picture to get an idea a broader idea of what is their purpose what is their role says the Jewish people is compared or analogous to a bird just like a bird the only way that it can fly is with its wings so to the people of Israel they can't do anything without their Elders meaning the Jewish people they're a bird the function of a bird is not just to walk around the function of a bird is to fly what are the wings of the Jewish people the zakum the Elders of the Jewish people are that which allows the Jewish people to fulfill their function to fly as it were so that's the first part of the magesan there we see the relationship of the zakim to the Jewish people that the Elders of the Jewish people are connected of course to the body of the the bird as it were which is the Jewish people they are the wings they help the body fly says great is the concept of Elders what is the idea of Elders so the he points out that when we speak about Elders it doesn't just mean people who are old it does mean people who are old but it means specifically people who as our say the word Zak is composed of two words Z it's somebody who has acquired wisdom so we're speaking about people who are elderly in their wisdom in their intellect in the way that they've submitted themselves to God's wisdom to the Torah to to that which guides the Jewish people helps them fly as we said so says says that this great wisdom is something which is an amazing thing it's a great thing if we're talking about people who are literally elderly so that's Beloved the fact that they have so much experience that they have so much wisdom it's beloved very interestingly if they are young and they are still wise so we will still call them zakan we will still refer to as elderly because they are they are elderly in so far as they have great wisdom but if they're young so the fact that they are young is just secondary to the fact that they have wisdom the fact that they have wisdom is of Greater significance than the fact that they are young brings us a proof to the fact that this idea that wisdom is great that that's true how do we know we see not in one place and not even in two places we see in numerous places that God gives honor to the elders to those who are wise to those who are great in Torah wisdom it's something we see numerous times we see that when hem spoke to MOS to Moses at the burning bush he says go and gather together the Elders of the people of Israel Bim in Egypt itself few verses later and you and the Elders of the people of Israel will come together to Pharaoh Mount Si the verse says you are to go up you and Aaron and his sons and 70 of the Elders of Israel byid we see in the in the wilderness the verse refers to the fact that God asks Moses to gather together 70 men also these elders and finally our verse in reference to the inauguration of the Tabernacle the Z verse says call to the Elders of Israel so we see that God is constantly giving honor as it were to the zikel to the Elders of Israel and thus we see that the concept of zika of elderly of those who have wisdom is something which is important which is great which is significant we read this we need to understand what does it mean what is the idea that God gives honor as it were to the elders what is that concept and what does it mean that zna is great it's something which is so significant what does that teach us what is the me trying to bring across to us what are we supposed to take from this now the mes continues and says it's going to be a similar thing in the future time when the Messiah arrives again God is going to give honor to the elders to those who are wise those who have acquired wisdom those who have submitted themselves to God's will this is what the verse says in Isaiah CH 24:23 in referring to what's going to happen in the future when the moon and the sun they're going to lose their light which is a reference to the Future time to Messiah why because it will become clear that The Luminaries which until now have had a certain role in bringing about light into the world and bringing about God's goodness into the world they will be embarrassed because it will become clear that the light is God's light that God is shining through them but the light is not their own what does it say in regards to that time when is going to come that in front of the elders there will be honor in front of the Elders of the Jewish people there will be great honor so we see that in the future when Messiah comes as well just like in the past in the times of the Torah so God gave honor to the elders there going to be the same thing is going to happen again God is going to give honor to the elders now listen carefully to the next section of the of the medish because it's very interesting and beautiful the following statement was said now if it didn't say it in this m I would not be able to say it but this is what the words say in the future time Hashem is going to create a sit down as it were with his Elders his Elders the ones who are his we you to know what that means that they are his that's what the verse says the verse says that when God will be the king in the the mountain of Zion which is a reference to Jerusalem of the in front of his Elders there will be honor so it refers to the elders as his elders and the me points this out doesn't say in front of the elders it says in front of his Elders so the verse is teaching us that God is going to take his elders his close ones the ones who have submitted themselves to him and he's going to make a sit down with them as it were we need to know what this means but the M continues to expand on this he said as follows hasem is going to sit he's going to sit and have the the righteous sitting in a semicircle in front of him like the verse says the verse refers to the fact that the king of Israel and Y who was the king of Judah they set surrounded by their advisers and in a similar way just like they sat in that way Hashem is going to sit he's going to have a sit down and the wres are going to surround him as it were in a semicircle in front of him now the word that it uses in this PK in this verse for semicircle is the word Goran the word Goran actually means a threshing house so the me wants to understand what were they sitting in a threshing house kings don't sit with their advisers in a threshing house the the language of a g in a threshing house is a reference to a semicircle like we find that the Sanhedrin which was the Elders of the Jewish people they would sit in a half circle when they were coming to judge a certain case they would sit in a half circle why they wouldn't sit in a straight line sh the idea was so that they be able to see each other it was important as they were judging that they each be able to see the other person who is involved in the Judgment it wasn't enough that they sit in a straight line they need to see each other there needs to be back and forth there needs to be eye contact there needs to be a conversation about the Judgment that's taking place so it's very interesting we see that the Sanhedrin sat in a semicircle we see that in the future time Hashem is going to have a sit down with his zakum with his Elders they're going to sit in a semicircle what's the idea here what's the concept we see that they need to see each other they need to be a conversation what does that have to do with the idea of Elders what does it have to do with the fact that they are his Elders God's Elders as it were what is the idea that hasem sits with them in this fashion what's the teaching and the M finishes off over here with thiso King Solomon said I saw he had a he had a vision divine inspiration he was able to see that vision of of that future sitting and he saw and he referenced it in the verse that says in Proverbs 31:23 it's the verses of that speak about that woman of Valor that wife of Valor which is actually a reference to the Jewish people that the husband of this woman of Valor is known in the gates when he said sits amongst the Elders of the land God as it were is the husband and the Jewish people are the wife so to speak and somehow there's some interaction here and God is becoming known of course through the Jewish people but also through the Elders of the people of Israel the zik erit so what's the concept here what is the idea that this mag is teaching one last piece in the maish which is also beautiful is something that you may have heard before I've mentioned it before but it's said in a in a slightly different a slightly different version than I've heard before so really want to share this with you these said as follows God is going to be at the head of a circle of the righteous in the future time when the Messiah comes there's going to be a circle not just a half circle as we've spoken about until now there's going to be a full circle a circle dance as we've spoken about Hashem is going to be in the in the front or in the head or in the center of this circle dance and interestingly this mag brings a p into in Psalms 48 verse4 let your heart pay attention what is the word the me points out that if you look at the way that the verse that that word in the verse is written it's written which means a is a circle dance so pay attention to the circle these verses are speaking about the concept of Messiah it's talking about Jerusalem it's talking about encircling encircling Jerusalem it's talking about this circle this dance in Jerusalem in the future when the Messiah comes M continues and says that they rise up to higher Realms to higher worlds and they Point as it were to God and they say they say this is our God forever it speaks about the fact is forever it's a reference to the higher realm to to the world to come to the next Transcendent realm now the end of the verse says and the M continues and explains refers to the fact that God will guide us Alm what's the word Alm it's a word which is difficult to translate but the M explains but Alm the word can mean as a young person so God is going to guide us with the Vigor with the alacrity of Youth like those who are young we find the word Al means those who are young you know as I was reading this I was trying to imagine this picture because I never pictured it this way before you know I always pictured the circle you know you have the righteous in a circle in circling God as it were everyone's pointing to the center and they're dancing around God but the picture that I get here from this magish is slightly different it almost seems like God is the RO as the verse you know as the M says here he's a he's the head of the circle meaning it almost sounds like I mean it's almost it's it's going to sound funny to say it but it almost sounds like God is the one who's leading the dance everyone is dancing around God but God is leading the dance God is leading Us in this dance as as the elders that we're speaking about those who have submitted themselves to God who have tried to find the wisdom of God throughout their lives tried to live a life of godliness throughout their lives they are surrounding God and they're all in this dance and God is leading the dance God points in a certain direction as it were and these point in that direction he raises up as it were his right hand and those on the right raise up their hand and God raises up his left hand as it were and those on the left raise up their left hand as it were it's important as we think about this you know we're not to be makim we're not allow to give God any form God doesn't have any form God Is Not a Human Being but just in concept here the idea I believe that's coming across that the meish is trying to bring out is that what is the concept of zakim what is the concept of this circle where we actually see something that we don't see in this world we don't see it clearly that the zakum are those who are following and completely committed to God's will yeah we know that we know that intellectually perhaps but what we see in this amazing dance is that Hashem is the is the leader Hashem is the dance leader as it were God is the Divine dance leader who is leading everything that we see God wants all of us to follow in his steps to follow in his ways to follow those dance steps as it were to the degree that we are willing to follow those Dan steps to the degree that we submit ourselves that we surrender to the Torah so then we are called zakim we are called elders and interestingly there's an amazing uh Paradox because they're elders and and yet they are they are Al God is guiding us that even though that they're Elders yes there's an aspect of elderliness which reflects the fact that the more the more I'm old the less I'm involved in myself the less selfish I am the more I'm willing to give up my will to try to understand and to do God's will so that's the the Milo that's the advantage of zna of elderliness literally but there's another Mila and that is in the youth Hashem wants us to be guided he wants us to dance he wants that youthful vigor to invigorate the dance steps the Torah the instructions for life that we find in the Torah are dance steps there's a there's a youth there's a lightness in our step when we're serving Hashem we're trying to fulfill God's will now let's work backwards through the and try to address the questions that we asked we wanted to know what is the idea of that God is known through the Jewish people of course God is not it's so beautiful because it's this exact idea God instructs us he gives us the Torah and it's through the when we sit when the Jewish people sit with the elders we follow their example we see the greatness of those who indeed fulfill the will of God who submit themselves surrender to Godliness or willing to give up their own egos or willing to follow the Dan steps of God when we see that so then we see godliness in the world through them we imitate them we follow their dance steps and God is known throughout the world also because of us we have to sit in this circle in a semicircle or in a full circle whichever it is but the idea of the circle is as we said that each of them need to see the other one I need to respect the specialness of how you reflect God godliness in the world you have a certain way of expressing that dance step that I don't have and that's okay because we're looking for a bigger picture we're looking to express God as well as we can as greatly as we can if I'm looking to an elder and I'm recognizing that they have something that I want that I want to imitate I need to give up how I see things need to be and try to respect the way that they see that things need to be because they have given up how they think things should be in order to do the will of God and so that comes along with being in the semicircle where I can see you and you can see me and we can each respect each other for our own unique way of reflecting and bringing God into the world and that's also the idea of what it means that God gives honor to the elders and the fact that someone is an elder is something which is significant it's it's so important what does it mean it's significant what does it mean that God gives honor the idea is that Hashem says I don't want to just manifest in the world and everything is blown away by my greatness and everything is just everyone is just robots doing what they're supposed to supposed to do I want you to be part of this I want to give honor to the zum I want to give them honor so that you will see that there are those who have chosen to reflect my greatness in the world who have chosen to learn these dance steps and in this way you can also choose to learn these dance steps and they are not separate from the Jewish people they are those who are the wings of the Jewish people they lift up the Jewish people they encourage the Jewish people through their example to not be connected and stuck on the ground but rather to soar to the heights of spirituality and that's the beginning of the medish but the first question that we ask which I think that we can now answer we as on the eth day on that transcended day they're entering into a new world a new Transcendent world like we spoke about at the end of the medish they're entering into this new place and mosha calls not just to Aaron not just to his sons but also to the Elders of Israel what is the idea it doesn't seem like they're doing anything here and I believe that the answer is that it could be that they didn't do anything more than stand there but the fact that they stood there the fact that they were there in front of the glory of Hashem in front of the greatness of Hashem represented the fact that not only were Aaron and mosha and Aaron's sons being called to serve God not only were was God going to be reflected in the world through them alone know that that could be a big turn off man I come to this thing hey this is only for people who are really great only for people who have perfected themselves beyond anything that I can possibly do but where do I get in how can I also have a relationship with Hashem where do I also get to serve Hashem and the answer is the zik Israel the fact that the Elders of Israel were also there meant that anyone has the possibility anyone can come in and have an opportunity to serve Hashem and to be a conduit for God's light to come into the world this is something that becomes clear becomes clear as we enter into a new realm was the e day the eighth concept is always the concept of transcendence hasem his divine presence is about to come out to the mishon and now we can see these aan these Elders they who have acquired wisdom who have submitted themselves to God they are now going to be in that inner circle they're going to reflect the light of God out into the world and so we see that and they serve as an example of what we can do of how we can also join into that dance how we can also follow those dance steps I want to bless you and please bless me back hasm should help us that we should be able to learn those steps that we should be able to find that wisdom that we ourselves should be called those of Canim the elders should help us to acquire that great wisdom whether we are literally Elders or whether we are young and we are Elders so to speak at heart hasm should help us to retain that youth even when we become elderly to be able to serve him to be able to be light-footed to be able to dance with him for all time thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shabus this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcasts like this please visit www.wag.com or search on iTunes Ari goldwag [Music]