Rabbi Nosson Muller - Steps to the Throne with Joy

[music] >> Welcome to Inside ArtScroll, where the books that we read and the people that write them come to life. It's a distinct pleasure to welcome Rabbi Nosson Muller back to ArtScroll Studios. >> Pleasure to be here. >> Thank you so much for coming all the way from Chicago. >> Pleasure's mine. >> That's next to Lakewood, right? >> Uh slightly. >> Rabbi Muller, mazel tov on yet another beautiful, beautiful book. So, the first one we spoke about, it was a really nice conversation, Steps to the Throne. But that wasn't enough. >> Correct. >> We needed to figure out how to take Steps to the Throne with joy. >> A step further. >> A step further. Okay, what does it mean step to the Steps to the Thrones with joy? What does that mean? >> So, the original Steps to the Throne was >> [snorts] >> an Elul, Slichos, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, however you'd rise up to the throne, getting closer to the Veyakol Hamelech Hashem Elokeinu, but as everybody knows, it's a journey. It's a journey which doesn't stop on Motzei Yom Kippur. It continues on Sukkos, Shmini Atzeres, Simchas Torah, Neilas Hachag, and the month of Tishrei encompasses so much, and we felt like we stopped in the middle. We were like halfway up the stairway. We got to do more, and there was such a bikkush, such a tremendous feedback of people feeling uplifted and wanting more. And the Yom Tov of Sukkos is really one of those things that not so much is written on. You know, on Yom Kippur, you know, there's so many seforim out there, but Sukkos, there's so many seudos in the Sukkah, so many Chol HaMoed opportunities to be able to say good words of Torah, and that was like almost missing on the market, and we said, "Let's jump in." So, we started again, again Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and straight through Sukkos. >> So, With Joy is kind of bringing to Simchas Torah, Simchas Sukkos, Simchas Yom Tov. >> Correct. Correct. >> But, even Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur that's what I wanted to hear. >> Got to be with joy. >> How do we make our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and Tishrei and you know the whole situation with Simcha cuz there's a certain year like it's a heaviness. >> It is. It is. It is. But, there's a balance. There's a balance. One of the we actually bring in the safer is from the Lubavitcher Rebbe Zatzal. He says which simply article translated means Tzadikim will see and be happy. He says perhaps it means it's going Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur there's a year. Maybe I shouldn't fear, but there's also Yismachoo. A Yid when he davens, he stands there in all and Slichos and Kippur. What's going to be? But, he said the moment davening is over and we go home Rosh Hashanah and we have a Seudah the Pasuk tells us we got to be be Simcha. There's a balance. Tzadikim have the ability to be That's how the Rebbe said. >> Which ones? And if we're not a Tzadik, we can still do it you said? >> We can still do it. We can still do it. You try and that's why you know you have that beautiful Seudah and you have to has to be be Simcha and everything you know the Torah. Unbelievable thing the Torah which is not in the regular part of the safer but the Torah writes that throughout the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur davening the word comes up a lot. He says what is this keep on coming up? He says go back to Megillas Esther. He says that's why it's in the davening. As I stated in Torah. It's trying to remind you about Purim. Here it is we're standing here Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Which Yom Tov would you think of the least? Purim, right? So, after Torah no. Because over here it's like a milk. That is how we're going to come to the Melech. Is through with the Simcha. Not only with the year of what the Simcha of what Purim brings down perhaps Rosh Rosh and Yom Kippur as well. >> So, can we start at the beginning? This book actually starts Rosh Hashanah. It doesn't start Elul. >> Correct. Correct. Correct. >> Okay. There's plenty to unpack in that. >> Plenty. >> Um so, we stand in front of the Ribono shel Olam on Rosh Hashanah. He's our Melech. Our life is is in his hands. Um it's like we we almost like I mean there's Elul, but like we didn't get Selichah. We didn't get Kapparah. We didn't get forgiveness. We didn't get atonement. Isn't that a scary thing? Shouldn't it be the other way around, Yom Kippur and then Rosh Hashanah? >> Great. The first piece in the book addresses that. And if >> everyone's going to buy the book and get the answers. But Reb Yisrael Salanter says that Hakadosh Baruchu, Chazal, the way it was set up, they were worried that a Yid's going to come. He's going to be too It's the connection wasn't there. You first make a connection and then ask for Selichah and Kapparah. If if you're not going to bask in the glory of the Melech, then the Kapparah will will not be able to almost connect with the with the Yid. He first has to, let's call it, go under the cloak, go under the umbrella, and then a person go ask for Kapparah. It's poshut, almost almost like therapy. Rosh Hashanah is there that Hakadosh Baruchu is saying, "I'm your Melech. I want to be your Melech. You want to be mine. Now let's talk about Kapparah." That's Reb Yisrael Salanter's Mahalach and why Rosh Hashanah came before Yom Kippur. And it literally, without even seeing, the first piece in the book. >> Beautiful. >> Somebody Somebody pointed out something to me recently which I'm a little nervous about. I think anyone who thinks about this is nervous. This year Rosh Hashanah is Shabbos on the first day. We don't have to blow Shofar. And in the past, whenever there's Rosh Hashanah like that, October 7th, it's it's always a scary time. Like as somebody who delved into the Sugya, what could we do to make sure that even though we don't have to blow Shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we'll still it's still going to be a good year for us? So, >> the real Mahalach is famously the Meshech Chochmah. The Meshech Chochmah says that we do what Hashem says to do. And that alone is the greatest chos. We're about them. We do as we're told. We put our emotions aside. Emotionally, your question's a great one. What's going to be? But if the reason we're not blowing the shofar, despite we know the sakana in it, we're still saying to Hashem, we know we know it might be dangerous, but if that's your ratzon, that's what we're doing, that alone is the greatest chos for a good year. >> This fellow said to me that like he holds, and again, this is just a random guy who came with me to a random show, I don't know his name. And he said to me that you know, Shabbos overpowers kavod ha tzibbur, if you want to call it that, the kiyum shofar. So he says to me, we need to invest in Shabbos more so that we can call on this chos of Shabbos. So having Rosh Hashanah that's also Shabbos is something that also could give us strength and power. >> Correct. But the Shabbos is not only the Shabbos of Rosh Hashanah, but the Shabbos throughout the year. >> That's correct. >> Throughout the year, if a person is mechabed Shabbos, then Shabbos comes and {quote} {unquote} sticks up for him or her during Rosh Hashanah. But if you're not a mechutan with Shabbos, if Shabbos says, "Hey, I don't know who this person is," so it's going to be very hard Shabbos Rosh Hashanah for Shabbos to come for you. But if a person invests in the Shabbos every week of the year, then Shabbos shall Rosh Hashanah will be there for him as well. >> Rabbi Miller, you know something something really interesting. Somebody interviewed me last week for a particular project. And they were talking about making Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur more meaningful. So they asked, "What's You give us like a a strategy to make Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur more more you know, like just cuz people dread a long davening. And we we talked about it last time. It's a mindset and you got to >> That's why we write books. >> Correct. So I said to them I said to them, I said, "Bring your ArtScroll machzor so you know what you're saying." I literally said that. Bring your ArtScroll machzor and then go out and buy a sefer like Rabbi Miller's and put it down next to you. And whenever you feel like it's too long, read a story, read a vart. It'll put you back in and then you you go back. >> Right back on track. >> They should be like this thing where you buy Artscroll Machzor, you get a discount off this or vice versa. >> Okay, we can talk about it. >> Okay, let's go let's go to the office and talk about it. Where does Tzom Gedaliah fit into the the whole progression? >> So, it's really honestly another another day in the calendar. Um not another day, an awesome day. Um if you look in Halakha it's brought down about fasting every day. Asara b'Tevet, believe it or not there were people who fasted even Rosh Hashanah. Big big Machlokes in the Rishonim. Um You have to know how it coincides with what we spoke about earlier. There's a Mitzvah of Simchas Yom Tov on Rosh Hashanah. Is there isn't there? It's a a lot a lot of talk in the Rishonim, but at least Tzom Gedaliah that happened to have fallen out on Asara b'Tevet, people look at it almost like an opportunity. Sorry to say that about a fast day, but it's an opportunity that even though most of us are too weak to fast every day of Asara b'Tevet, but at least being that Tzom Gedaliah falls out during Asara b'Tevet, that's a Kaparah. Tzom as we know from Teshuvah, Tefillah, and Tzedakah, Tzom fasting when we like use the word neglect our guf just a little bit that we give sometimes too much attention to throughout the year, it's a Kaparah. It's showing that Hashem we understand we're going to abstain just a little bit. >> If you think about it like it always strikes me. So, there's a Mincha to fast on Erev Rosh Hashanah half a day. >> Yes. >> Then if you if you don't eat before Tekiah Shofar, you're fasting another two half a days. Then you have Tzom Gedaliah, you you fasted another day. Then you have Yom Kippur, you fasted another day. Then you have Erev Yom Kippur, which if you eat on Erev Yom Kippur it's like you fasted. So, you fasted the majority of the days. >> you almost have it. >> You almost have it. >> You almost have >> I don't think we think about that. >> No. It's true. It's true. But again, you didn't live higher. You didn't live higher elo leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the true Jew comes out. You know, one of the things It's not we wrote in the past book. There's there's an unbelievable thing, you know, there's a lot of us. It says in the past a person should you know, lift himself up a little bit, elevate himself, do things or don't do things that he would do a whole year. And and one of the big questions people struggle with is why am I playing a game? Hashem knows everything. What am I doing? Okay, you know, I'm going to be marked but on on I call it past you know, not the past like who who you fooling? So, I want to say beautiful. The whole year I'm fooling everybody. These 10 days this is who I really am. It's the opposite of everybody thinks. The whole year it's not who I really am. It's just it's stuff. It's hard. It's stuff. It's stuff. You want to know who the true Jew is? Look at his face in the true way. Look by the ear. Look by his simple base of the way dance. Look at the office where even the most simple who's connected through Torah through a through an army Look how he dances with the Torah. Look how he dances with his kingdom. That's the true Jew. I'm a clue we say something that a a if if one of the most riveting rather in the in the book We say by by Yom Kippur many many times. We don't know me call simply understood it's going on the day. It's us with Torah and I don't know me call us. He gave us a lot of days which is more exalting than all other 70 languages. So, I'm a clue we say something. You know what I mean by the day means? We are so we are such an exalted nation. We call there are no language there are no words to express how special we are. We don't know me call us so it's so we're so special. There's nothing to describe us. There are no words. You know, indescribable? That's what it means by the day. But when do you see that? You don't see that always on a regular Tuesday. But when you come here you walk into a day of this day of this Slichos, Simchas Torah, Yom Tov, then Hakadosh Baruch Hu looks and says, "I'm telling them who they are." That's who we are. Beautiful. Indescribable. >> I had heard it just a drop different, and I'm sure that you've heard it I think far more in the Chassidishe world that being a Yid gives us certain experiences which are inexplicable. You can't There's no words to articulate them. You walk your child Listen, you did this You walk your child down the chuppah. You're so full of hakaras hatov. Like, ask Some- Someone comes over to you later and says, "Could you describe what the experience is like?" No, "I'm telling you who I am." There's no words I could ever say to articulate. Thank you, Hashem, for those experiences. I think I said that about my first daughter who should have a bracha or something. >> But it's the same It's the same thing. This is going on the cloud. >> This is going just on cloud in general. >> Who we are. Who we are. What our koach is. What our koach is in essence of a Yid. Which, again, don't always come out, but don't don't despair. I'm fooling somebody. It's the whole year that is a shpiel. Today, this is who you are. >> You know, Chazal said that the days between Yom Kippur and between Sukkos are like free We're clean. We're free of chet. We're busy with our lulav and our sukka and all the different things that we're busy with. So, it's a little bit of a challenge, though, because you think back the day after Yom Kippur, just one day ago, I was standing there in my kittel, like a malach. And today, no. I'm running around. I'm in my car, and there's music. Okay, that's good, too, but how do How do I feel? How do I capture? How do I take the feeling of Yom Kippur and bring it with me into Sukkos? Cuz if you can make it into Sukkos, you could really take it take it to a different level. >> So, it's it's interesting. It's really two parts, what I'll tell you. There's a a vertl many, many answers to it, but everybody asks the question, "Motzei Yom Kippur, you just finished. You're clean. You're perfection. And 30 seconds into Shemini Atzeres, you say slach lanu avinu ki chatanu. What's going on here? What's the slach lanu? We You didn't even have time to do an aveda. So there are many many different routes into this. One of the routes that the plain market used to say from his brother was that many times the husband by mistake will say a little a little. So you have to say slack one or cuz you said a little a little even though cuz you were used to it. So the name of him said that my brother didn't just say very good. He said what he meant to say was that a year has to understand that you can't remain a little a little. That's from a local. A little a little is for these 10 days. Now your job is get into your overalls and build your sucker. Go take your children and buy a little of them in this right here man. Yeah, it's it's pushing in the shock and wherever you are in the the pressure of everybody squeezing in and bringing down the mattresses for the sucker. All sudden, hey, doesn't seem to be a little a little but it is cuz the job of you is you don't stay as a local. You have keeper. We recharge ourselves. But right after you have keeper it's no more a little a little. We're back to the regular mundane world and that's who you are. So I'll just share that with a story of what you have keeper. I was actually for many many years. I think we spoke about this also last time to be by the river of Minsk ever since I'll meet you at the Abby for you have keeper. I was one of the I think it was the second to last year of the river's life and what you have keeper make a suda. I was just the river and I sitting there by the suda. I was going back to Chicago early the next morning. And the river I was after a whole day of a way there and I think it was a little of soup and he turns to me says No, you had a good game keeper? So I said I hope I guess ask me next year. Yeah, yeah, I said I I said I guess I'll find out. She says you know how you know if you had a good game keeper? I said no. It goes the day after. He said, "If you're davening, learning, and your shamayim is the exact same as it was the day before Yom Kippur, then you know you didn't have a good Yom Kippur." If you want to know the litmus test, you want to know if you had a good Yom Kippur, how's your davening look the day after Yom Kippur? How's your bittul Torah the day after Yom Kippur? How's your learning the day after Yom Kippur? That's how you know you had a good Yom Kippur. You don't have to wait a whole year. >> Very nice. So, those days are are hechreh days, the hoybeneh days. I bring also in the book Chasam Sofer's son said that his father, the Chasam Sofer, he wrote songs. And it was called He put it together in a in a in a sefer called Shiras Moshe. Shirei Moshe. Shirei Moshe. Specifically during the days of Yom Kippur and Sukkos, because he was on such an exalted, elevated level, he pushed it the Chasam Sofer, he couldn't learn the way he wanted to. He was so we'll call it in the himmelen, he wrote shiros v'sishbochos l'Kudsha Brichu during those days that you just called Talmudic, and and where where am I going to go? Chasam Sofer went and wrote songs. And and compiled them in a in in in a sefer. Specifically those days. >> Can I ask a personal question? Sure. When you pick up your lulav and your esrog the first time, and you say shehechiyanu, and you do the na'anu'im, besides of course that you're you're mechaven to be kayem the mitzvah, what else do you think about? >> I actually get very emotional. >> Okay. >> get very emotional when I pick up the lulav and esrog. Um as I mentioned again, written in in in the book, lulav and esrog is you read through the Medrash Rabbah, and I and I actually as a little bit of a hakdamah to the section on on the daled minim, or the four species as ArtScroll calls it, I write, "Dear reader, take a few minutes and read the Mitzvah Shul On no other Mitzvah is there so much written. How the dollar minium are compared to every year to the Shul Kodesha to the Emoise, to the others, to David and it it it's >> Our body parts. >> It's our body parts. It it There's about eight nine shots of and each one of them just talks to the year. I heard of from somebody recently. He said, "You don't find this anywhere." And he said, "Perhaps it's because it's after Yom Kippur. We can compare you to the others. We can compare you to the Shul Kodesha. We can compare you to everything holy and that's why the Mitzvah just is almost like swimming in the in the ocean of of different shots of because there's so much and and and if you read the of the Kodesha We're holding the Isis of of of the Shul Kodesha in our hands. Mamosh you know, you say on our Shul Kodesha You're talking You're talking to the Shul Kodesha. It's it's it's it's It's a tremendous thing. So, it's interesting you you bring this up because two things come to mind. One of the one of the stories, a beautiful story we bring is in in in the in the Warsaw Ghetto. So, the Brisker of was was there with his children and believe it or not it was a few days before Yom Kippur and he sends out his son, Re Mayer to go find a little of an Esrog. It was dangerous. It was very dangerous, but Brisker of we need dollar minium. And it was dangerous. Re Mayer writes this in in his safer to go from one street to the next. If you were in the wrong street, they they could shoot you on the spot. And his father said, "Just go go go." And he went. And he bumps into Re Nachum Ziemba. Mamosh the Gola Don. Re Nachum Ziemba sees this young boy says, "Saqonus the Fashus, what are you doing here?" He says, "My Tata is the Brisker of and he asked me to look for dollar minium." And Re Nachum Ziemba was so taken he said, "No no the Brisker of could be thinking of such a thing. Here, there. Anyways, they tried. They they they got an esrog. He couldn't remember R' Meir is writing this. They got one or two arovos or hadasim. He couldn't remember which one it was. And a lulav they couldn't find. So, they used a lulav from the year before the Rosh. So, so the question was do they make a shehechiyanu? So, the Briskar Rav sent them to R' Nachum Ziemba back, should they make a shehechiyanu? So, R' Nachum Ziemba said, "Avada midaf nachas shehechiyanu." So, he came back to the Briskar Rav. Briskar Rav said, "Shehechiyanu?" These So, R' Meir says, he writes in the sefer, he says, "I don't know if this is what R' Nachum Ziemba meant. But perhaps what he meant was I be eaten in the ghetto knowing that life and death are hanging in front of them. And all they care about and all they're worried about is ich darf dalim meanam of dem alain mach min a shehechiyanu. On that alone we make a shehechiyanu. Just this this bikush that look at Kodesh Boruchu, look at your kinderlach that we want to do the mitzvah of dem alain kemach shehechiyanu. Cuz he says otherwise on the lulav and esrog we couldn't do it. Obviously, this is what R' Nachum Ziemba meant. That's what R' Meir writes. >> Unbelievable. >> And my question is if the if the Briskar Rav took it >> But yeah, I don't know. >> So, in Brisk b'chlalo they even a brocha >> Right. >> They didn't want to make on on the regular lulav because they were choshesh always for a murkav. >> Right. >> They were always choshesh. So, >> Okay, but >> R' Briskar Rav is famously said that if had he not seen his father make a brocha on the lulav, he wouldn't make it. Cuz he was so afraid that maybe the esrog wasn't the caliber that he wanted. But yeah, it is it's it's it's I mean, the Chinuch writes the dalim meanam are mamash the Kodesh Boruchu himself is telling them gadel. Kodesh Boruchu himself is is is the malach that stands Every other blade of grass has a malach standing over it. And the Adon Olam, Hakadosh Baruch Hu himself, is standing over them and being mechazek them to grow. So, you're holding dvar mitzvah kadosha in your hand. >> How do we make I'm moving I'm moving I'm moving up the steps. Just one step up. You know, Chol HaMoed is a challenge and to anyone who has children, there's always where are we doing where are we going what are we doing? What are the neighbors doing? Um I don't know about you, but like in my family it's for sure a big stressor. Um how do how do we make sure that okay, I'm not I'm not asking for advice where we should go. Of course you all should come to Chicago, but um how do how do we make Chol HaMoed meaningful? Like what are some practical strategies as a mechanech par excellence of what we could do that our kids should feel Yom Tov, that it should there should be simchas Yom Tov. >> So, like everything else, it starts on top. When a father and mother are dressed Yom Tovdik, there's a Yom Tovdik feel in the house. One of the, you know, we live in a more chilled-out society. You know, Chol HaMoed certainly to davening, you go in your Shabbos beged. A white shirt, a tie, a hat. If you're coming, you know, in in in your striped pants with the with with the white stuff on the side, then uh you know, automatically you it's a very hard to feel Chol HaMoed and set the tone. There there has to be a seriousness in in in the davening. Making a seudah. Many many people in the house to show it's like a given. There's a seudah just like on a regular Yom Tov after you come home from davening there's a seudah. Sit down with white tablecloth, you know, challahs, miris, niggunim Yom Tov, music. Every home that there has to be a seudah. It can't be it can't be cereal and tuna fish. You know, this is we're celebrating something. It's almost it's almost you think about it it's insulting. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, you know, zecher l'yetzias Mitzrayim, he took us out and you know, you know, pizza's good, but but but this is this is a suda suda zamela where the shpizen are there. We have to set the tone. You know, and it's an ice, you know, talk about a lot. There's a whole section on Hoshana Hoshana Rabbah also became, you know, a lighter day. Hoshana Rabbah is is a gamar din. It's Hoshana Rabbah you you read in the Swarm Kadoshim brought down about Hoshana Rabbah. One of the things we bring interesting of Zalman said, you know, we don't find anywhere in the Gamara about the chaimer hayom of Hoshana Rabbah. And he says he feels that the reason why it's not brought in the Gamara cuz Chazal were worried it would steer our Simchas Yom Tov. Zalman That's how awesome the day of Hoshana Rabbah is. At the same time people will come, you know, and they're weak and cold in Hoshana Rabbah davening. Hoshana Rabbah is a mini Yom Kippur. So, we we have to, you know, set the tone. And that's then yes, you can go on the trip. Do I think? But not before davening, not before learning, not before having a suda, not before maybe hopping at the tonsil. You know, just just and making sure obviously that the trips are not just a random trip. It should be a trip with a top. >> Okay, so let's say we got Chamei got maybe better Chamei got through us. Okay, Shmini Atzeres. This is a hard to ask to ask a question. Um what should we be thinking? What should we be doing? What's what's the feeling? >> So, the Zohar Kodesh says that the day of Shmini Atzeres let's go before the Zohar even though there's a Beis Medrash called Emunas Yisrael and Baruch Baruch Remusho Wolfson wrote >> Rabbi Rabbi Finkelman about the beautiful beautiful sefer. >> beautiful sefer. Not stop. Adam Gadol wrote. It was an intense show in the sense it is. The davening is long thought out in the way it's supposed to be, but not everyone can handle it. So, it would come Yom Tov and Remusho Wolfson would shmooze and he would say Pesach Pesach nacht little Pesach is is like wow there's nothing like it. A few weeks later he would talk about Lag B'Omer. Reb Shimon then he get to Shavuos and he'd say Shavuos by night by a loise wow explosions. Then he'd speak about Purim and he'd say Purim you know what are you going to do Purim? So somebody went over to him and said Rebbe about every month and a half you come up with a day that's wow wow wow. Tell me Rebbe honestly which day is it? Which day is the biggest of the big that there's nothing close to it? He looked him in the eye and he said Shmini Atzeres. He said hands down. Now you'll say Shmini Atzeres there's no Sukkah there's no Lulav and Etrog there's what's going on? But that's what it is. It's just you and Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And that is the Zohar Hakadosh like we started says that the Sfas Emes speaks about this a lot. We touch upon it in the in the sefer. It's you and Hakadosh Baruch Hu ask whatever you want. And the Sfas Emes writes if you'd ask me I'd ask him one thing. Achas sha'alti me'eis Hashem oisah avakesh you know what I would ask? That shivti b'veit Hashem kol y'mei chayai this meeting we're having I want it every day. If you'd ask me what I would ask is I'd ask that I have that easy pass to talk with you to be mishtasheya with you. And he says of course the way he does that is through the Torah hence we take the Torah with us and we say Hakadosh Baruch Hu that's how we're going to connect with you. >> Now we really should talk about some past Torah but we're out of time. >> Okay. >> So here's what I suggest if you are watching this video you should buy the book. We it was literally the tip of the iceberg about what's in here. And we all want like you said this is our day this is our time this is who we are. Go out buy the book and b'ezrat Hashem step by step >> step by step >> with joy >> towards joy >> My mother thank you for gifting this beautiful beautiful book to Klal Yisrael. And I think if everyone buys it, we'll transform entire Yom Kippur Sukkah season in a substantial way. And that that could probably bring the Geulah. >> I hope so. It's It's a true Tishrei companion. Takes you all the way through. All the way through. >> Yesher koach. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it. >> [music]