Chanukah Farbrengen Part One , Rabbi Yossi Paltiel, 5783

I talked and talked and talked and talked and talked I'm actually sick of him I'm hearing myself to it some people I don't know I I that's what I do I talk for a living okay let's drink it it's better for everybody health is one of those things that we all need God even those of us who think we don't need them so much and then we need to have another thing which only God can give but another unfortunately not all of us seek is so that important and that's Seiko we need to have health and wisdom and the other things will fall into place Hashem should give us health and Hashem should give us enough that we value the value to have good priorities and to build our lives in a way that are meaningful and purposeful and full may I dare say hard hard is not bad hard is the way it's supposed to be we just want success we want success we want fruit biological fruit Financial fruit and the fruit that we leave we do good in this world those are our fruit my pedi mitzvahs till they say Michelle The Offspring of the righteous are the good deeds so we should be blessed with all of those all of us including myself we should and we should use the gifts that God gives us to do good not waste the gifts and the greatest gift of all is the minutes time time everybody happy birthday I have to tell you four or five birthdays it's a holy Community what are you gonna do that's meant to live long that's very important some Giggles have a short trip make sure you have your Google got a long trip foreign I had two agendas when I got here the first agenda had when I got it was to make up with spivack Last year me and Steve I got into an argument which is okay but I got regarded from that argue with wait one second but I got regards from that Army I went to another Chabad house your track time and there was a guy there he said no don't bring patil he's no good and he's lost his name was also Spivak so I said I got to fix my relationship with this vivex so I the first thing I did is I walked into the door the first 12 months I'd be back I don't remember faces and names but I guessed right I heard the Russian accents be back we we made friends but Hashem that's my first agenda so we took care of that the second thing is out of my mind I told you anyway but the thing is this I've talked about you since yes live and I've talked about you this yes live I could repeat the same speech again I could I really don't mind but I don't want him I've talked so much about YouTube and you know what happens I I've been talking Shabbos I was in one place Saturday night my brother made a wedding so I couldn't do Sunday night Monday night Tuesday or Wednesday night you end up repeating the same speech even though you don't want it there's a difference it's a different audience but you're the same yante and you you wanna you wanna feel like you're saying something original so I want to talk about chanukkah it's close enough we're coming from you to kiss live we're close enough to Hanukkah don't worry I'll fall back and do this schizophen anyway it's not going to help it's the way it is it's where I am but I want to try if I may talk to us about Hanukkah so at least I'll tell myself that this fabrangian is um is a little different than the fabrina that I did last night and the night before so first of Allah let's be back with friends we're friends what is your name yes right it's also means shy which means a gift that's what you tell your wife at least right that's what you tell your wife so I want to start with this there's a lot of very odd things about Chabad many many other things about and one of the oddest ones is the way we lie to monitor of course we are The Advocates of public minority lightings we are then tumblers the noisemakers who are making a Monada in the most public and the most demonstrative place I want to tell you something you need to get a hold of this video I need to have your Wi-Fi I'll tell you you have to see this this is 1991. 92 92 it was the end of 9192. the rabbit had was called the machines all Development Fund which meant that certain people who donated a certain amount of money got to meet the Reba in a semi-private way and talk to him and there are clips of these incredibly moving exchanges so one of these groups thank you uh one of these zip couples approached it ever and I don't know how this subject comes up but they're talking about Russia now this is 30 years ago this is 1991 I mean Russia Today We just expect Russia to be a Place full of Judaism like we discussed before but in 1991 it was all so incredibly new and exciting and delightful and also difficult to the shlokimo went then the Raj was kind of hard so um the devil's having a conversation with these balabata that is very well to do Jewish people and the Rebecca says they made and represented in English but you could see how important it was to the dev I don't even want to use the word pride although there was a lot of Pride you could see that the devil was saying it was very important to him they made a lighting in the Red Square this is in English they made a lighting and their dad in the Red Square and thousands of Jews came and they lit the Minotaur and the excitement was so great that it makes with his hand they danced around the manure they danced around the manure and you could see as the rabbit talks how much he valued that you know the letter sat in his tiny little room in Brooklyn but he was out and about that everyone was not in his Crown Heights with the future Cinema lived in Crown Heights the devil was where his were the devil was on the front lines that have been new every activity that every schlier is doing he oversaw it he edited it he corrected it he fine-tuned it and directed it and in this case the public Nora Enlighten has ever personally defended Deborah wrote letters to the government and to the head of the reform movement arguing in favor of the public mineral lightings when there was a huge push back the route to the head of the reform had you written me your letter two years ago I would have thought about it he says now when I see what it's accomplished so the devil was a very big advocate for the public Memorial lightings and the fact is these public minora lightings are very important events you know the person is goes to show every Shabbos and he participates in all kinds of release activities so how big a deal is a public minor relating you for people who are not religious I walk through an airport in Florida in New York City you're not going to see it so much because New York City is a very sensitive place that means crazy for those who don't speak English um it's full of decorations literally you're walking through trees and I'm walking to this airport I'm saying wisdom and I never having sex and I sort of feel entitled you know I am a laborator and there isn't a night on the airport it was the airport that was in Petersburg I don't know what airport I flew in and out of Tampa Airport I think it's called yeah so it was so decorated it was It's a Small Town relatively speaking so the airport is very Hamish you know it's like a little mom-and-pop kind of situation and it's so full of these trees and decorations it's all over the place and I'm looking for my monitor where's them and you walk through an airport and you suddenly see him in Noida it lights up your Shama and we're talking about millions of people we're talking about the average American Jews the average American Jew is not sitting yet if I'm bringing like this one the average American Jew maybe goes to show three days a year maybe today there's so many unaffiliated unfortunately and for them that Menorah is an elixir of life it's mummish and elixir of life you know every winter one of the many projects that we have is Shabbat does is what they call she teens see teens they make us see teens have a winter shove a tongue and at this point they're bringing into Crown Heights probably 3 000 children it's amazing it's a lot of people with their counselors and their rabbis and they all have to stay in people's homes and every month of Shabbos everyone do the sea teams they go to they go to Midtown they go to 42nd streets Times Square and they have a concert and a whole half dollar ceremonies and it's incredibly cool it's made for teenagers and they appeal to them they get performers that the kids like concert performers entertainers and they do a whole thing and when you look at anything what are they wasting time it costs so much money it cost an enormous amount of money to to get the venue it's I don't know how it works public private a mixture of both yeah you can't just show up in Times Square with 3 000 children and and make a dollar but there are children in that assemblage who are not going to marry a guy because they participated in this how important it is that's how important it is it's a it's a it's a phenomenon of Jewish identity that goes extraordinarily deep it goes very very deep now let's talk about the reform I think it's about the reform I I mean this is not a lecture not a class so not the time to give you long speeches but in the last few centuries this is this is the way I understand it and I'm saying this as a preface so in case you disagree you won't take it personally that I'm not saying it's a fact I'm simply telling you it's my opinion in the last several centuries the Jewish people have had two great movements that were both founded to eliminate anti-semitism and they're Polar Opposites the first movement was the reform movement the reform idea was be a Jew at home and I mention the street when you walk out in the street you're German finished we're a keeper and the street you know we're a keeper why why do you have to call attention to yourself and the reform movement believed that the solution to anti-Semitism is cultural assimilation not religious assimilation but cultural assimilation meaning don't stand out don't be an us you don't walk around with a long coat that's torn and dirty and a beard that's disheveled and pathed comb but you know be a German and we that great movement got us the gas Chambers I hate to say it um that was one philosophy so their idea was the reform idea was that you deal with anti-Semitism through assimilation by not being different not standing out then more recently we had a Zionist movement which is so interesting because designers was nationalist it's the opposite of the reform a nationalist move means I'm a proud Jew eat your heart out I'm not assimilating I'm distinct I'm My Own Nation my own land my own language my own culture if you don't like me tough luck it was a very different concept the problem is in the 19th century nationalism is very cool but nationalism ran out of Vogue before Israel became a state because the Nazis were nationalists so after the second world war nationalism became a bad idea and Israel's been suffering from this from before it was born how do you have a nationalist movement which isn't racist I mean I'm telling it to you straight It's Tricky and we're trying to figure it out that you may how do you talk the talk and walk the walk you understand but these are two Big Ideas that have dominated the landscape of the Jewish Ashkenazi Jewish lands of the last 300 years that both wanted to to stand the tide of anti-Semitism the reform idea was to simulate don't be different the number one enemy of the Chabad was the reform for an understandable reason because Chabad is in your face kabad is not only in your face if you're a Jew how about that in your face if you walk the streets of Manhattan of Brooklyn of Los Angeles of Chicago of Miami Beach Chabad believes in making noise now why does come out believe in making noise it's very simple because America believes in making noise they never got to this country I already got to this country was a very smart man very sensitive very astute and he's checked out the culture what what are Americans like there's a letter from the previous web for the free education written in 1929 where he writes to his wife have come to a country where everybody is showing everything off everything you do you show off I'm an idiot have a big placket look at me I'm an idiot I have my rambam someone gave me what years ago the card with his name on it and his phone number this address and then it says um h s g so he gives me his card let me know what Ace SG stands for I said no high school graduate I I still have the card it must have been 15 years every time I learned on them every year so every year I come across I forgot what the madness but hsg high school I graduated from home so did I demonstrate everything we're going to demonstrate Judaism too did I've been started parades in 1942 as soon as you got here Jews should March in the streets and be proud show off and our argument is Chabad argument is the best way to dispel anti-semitism stop being a secret tell people who you are reveal don't hide so now I remember a few years ago the first time a reformed congregation put up a public minority so wait I want to finish my thoughts historically Chabad has always been at odds with the reform on every issue they disagree with us and it's always the same principle the reform is concerned with anti-Semitism and keeps making noise every issue I'll give you examples of critical issues as strong positions on the devil was very very in favor in the 1960s they called it the non-denomenal non-denominational prayer in the public schools more recently the devil was in favor of the moment of silence the previous schools and the Christian organizations wanted to Institute in the public schools prayer and the Jewish organizations both the Orthodox and the reform were against it and the devil was for it that was for it they felt whatever they felt everybody got their own arguments but the reform position was don't make noise the Jewish religion is a personal Affair keep it in the walls of your synagogue keeping the walls of your temple this is a Christian country don't make noise Chabad is in the noise business and sometimes with the noise business because we're not so efficient it's not always with intent it's not always good noise it's irresponsible noise but it's noise now so I remember about five years ago one of my students in seminary my girls my post high school students comes to school with this advertisement that I reform congregation is having public normal lighting and they hired a Chabad publicist to prepare the Flyers and to what they're going to serve latkes and dreidels and chocolate coins oh shtick and I'm thinking to myself this is hysterical why is it hysterical because the entire philosophy to form in the conservative movement is hide and they're not hiding they're not hiding they want to demonstrate this is the influence of that ever this is the influence of that habit that Jews will dispel anti-jewish sentiment and hatred by being public by being forward they never told many people he says in America you don't have to be a big theologian you have to just be honest so I went to school in Berlin today I went to school in Berlin I had to defend every practice I had to explain everything and they would ask me questions he said but Americans are not Germans you don't have to explain things you have to just show do you really believe what you're doing and they'll leave you alone if you really believe in the principles that you're espousing that you're putting forward there'll be an incredible amount of their credits um and that's enough it's enough and America is enough and this is uh this is the story Hanukkah we're the most public haha would it be lighter overnight huh on the kitchen table no haredi Jews light dominated inside their home if you live in America you like them they're in the window because the whole point of light eliminators that the street should see so if you go to Queens you go to borrow Park you go to Williamsburg during Hanukah in every apartment or every Upper House there's him a night in the window you come to Crown Heights there are no more letters in the windows it's quite the miners of the cars [Music] sitting on the kitchen table and this is one of the many examples of you know where we have a public persona and we have a private custom and they seem so incompatible you know our public who doesn't associate a public landing of a native and that same Chabad Rabbi is going to go home and write it by his little door surrounded by his few kids and that's it sword so now here's the question can this be wrecked out how about is full of contradictions don't all people of all the contradictions Jews are certain translations and we're the inventors of contradiction but nevertheless is there a way to resolve this blatant contradiction and I think there is and I want to share it I just need to say that I did not hear this from the river in other words I don't have I didn't make this up I heard this from someone else but I forgot was one of my students and I thought it was so wonderful that I I stole it I put it into my rapid wire I've been using it but I forgot from whom I heard it and I don't know how it came to me but it's a wonderful idea and I want you to consider this okay there is one of the most famous all the scholars know this ramban it's impossible where the 12 tribes get together the 12 tribes get together and they collectively bring offerings each when the base I make this when the mission was inaugurated when the Tabernacle was initiated on the first of Nissan India 2449 each one of the princes of the various tribes donated a gift a very generous gift and they did it collectively and they were not fair about it they excluded Levy and shiman lady they skipped yahudah is the skipped lady Adam he was the high priest and he was the one who carried the whole burden and he suffered when the shrina didn't come down it was very disappointed What About Us so God Almighty says my system I should have been tested Moses to tell Aaron don't feel bad that you didn't collaborate in these incredibly generous offerings of all the other 12 tribes because your offering is greater than theirs your offering is greater than theirs what is your offering that you like the minute okay that's all now there's a lot of cases it's a classic commentary and there's all kinds of wonderful explanations but there's a ramban the ramban quotes on this pasok where hashems when you light the candles pardon me they're gonna burn so the ramban quotes a message that says these candles never go out your candles are never extinguished they're never extinguished in other words says to Aaron the twelve princes brought offerings those are offerings have a time frame there's going to be a time when they're going to run their course the Michigan is going to become obsolete we're no longer going to use it it's going to be replaced by a permanent Temple and then the significance that they're offering is over your offering is timeless the candles are never interrupted asks a question says to Moses tell Harry that his offering of the candles of the menorah is superior to the offering of the 12 princes because it lasts forever and by the way on Hanukkah we read the clear satire the Torah reading that we do on every day of Hanukkah is the offerings of The Twelve princes on the eighth day of we read the eighth Prince and Ninth Prince and the tenth Prince and the eleventh Prince and the 12th Prince and the summary of all the 12 princes together and we finish with reading Aaron's lighting the monoida that's the custom on the last day of Hanukkah is this year I think is going to be on a Sunday we're going to read the 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th Prince the summary of all 12 and we're going to mention Alan's lighting the binoda but that rabban asks the question the base of English was destroyed although his destroyed the Miss bear was rendered dysfunctional but so was the menorah and that a man says something incredible that when God Almighty said I don't acclaim that your candles are never going to be extinguished he didn't mean the candles of the benoiter he meant the candles of Hanukkah this is a ramban that God Almighty says your offering is forever because these candles will never be extinguished and it's a reference to the candles of the Khan Academy now what do we know about it is supposed to put in a public place and what if you're living in the gulag well if you have to show them in the concentration camp you hide it leaves space the expression is put it on the table you should do it publicly you should announce to the whole world that now is an eight Day celebration to commemorate whatever it was that happened all those years ago if you can't put it on your table it's enough so the Chabad custom nominator in the house because this demonstrates the timelessness of Hanukkah we do not display our own personal generators to the street we all have available and when you go out and you go to the public lightings I mean I don't need to tell you what about nickis are what we do and what we enjoy and what defines us and what makes us gives us passion but our own personal narrative with light in our home because we want to underscore the idea that these candles never go out so the lining it inside your house is saying to a Jews who lived in the gulags Jews who lived in in Auschwitz Who lit the menaida and they nobody was able to extinguish the candles of Hanukkah because the Hanukkah candles allow when necessary not to display them so we have two monitors a public one and a private one the public one nobody makes more noise than Chabad and the private one is done on the Privacy everyone home I think this is a wonderful Insight I think it's an incred I didn't make this up I heard from a student I wish I could remember who but it's a brilliant insight that you want to underscore when it comes to Hanukkah both of these ideas on the one hand that is demonstrates Jewish Pride we live in America be proud not to be ashamed and on the other hand that we it this it represents the immortality of the Jew you can't break there's been a lot of efforts to to quiet the public Moneta but the minute on the table never went out this is my commentary this is my insight so I want to say I'm to private and I want to say the crime to public to private the public first of all public means that you should never be ashamed of who he is what he is he says and he makes sure the whole world knows and this is the answer to anti-Semitism to absolutely I have a cousin who's a professional now he's a rabbi but for many many as a professional he worked in a bank in Australia now one of his co-workers was a Jew he's a very smart guy he's actually coming to my house Friday night and I'm delighted about it so he told me he figured out that there's two problems that goyum have with you and I'm sorry for saying those words two prophets of Gentiles have a Jews number one they don't understand us they don't know the first thing about us and people want to understand each other I mean that's the number one way dispelling any kind of judgment this church explains and number two refused to eat with people and food in America is very important food in America is incredibly important so he said I decided to dispel both of those problems he says whenever the office calls the party I bring the food and I bring it from the culture places he says some of my co-workers I see him coming to the coach of neighborhoods because they like the chocolates they like the kosher chocolates but he always brings the food so he can participate and then he wrote a book A 50-page book where he explains Jewish culture and he gave it out to his workers he wants them to understand everything from a bliss to an upshadow he wrote this little book and he gave it I'll ask his permission I I have it on my my computer I can send it to you if he allows it's BR it's so simple simple little book just for this is a it's a uh it's a I don't know what the word is a compendium it's a summary for non-jews to understand all the strange things that you see Jews doing you don't understand and he gave it out to his to his co-workers to his employees and to his employers and it dispelled so many of the uh moments of discomfort that normally exists I thought it was a brilliant cop a brilliant idea and this is the idea you have to be proud of and show off that's the public but then there's the private and the private is like he says in the possum is there are certain things that we have with God that are only ours nobody else has them right one of the great miracle people you don't know what you're saying and even if you knew you're not paying attention but Shabbos morning every Saturday morning we say a prayer foreign because the the the all those keep keep the Sabbath holy keep this so what am I supposed to do doesn't say what to do or just keep the Sabbath holy traditional they're from the downward and their hours and I think this is something to contemplate as we approach there's the public we have to explain to the world who we are so they should respect us and not hate us and we can be a light under the Nations as we must be and we have to know that there's some things that are is in our relationship with Hashem that are that are very special and they're private hi everybody he's saying that there are there were times in history when I had to believe because the Sorrows of God we kept going but it never stopped okay isn't that sweet it's a mood in the garage in the house you're saying this there's an aspect to it which is uh that never stops yeah what's your name I recognize you Muncie [Music]