Thought for the Week Parshas Naso Endless Blessings, Rabbi Yaakov Winner - 5786

Hello, how are you? I hope everyone is I hope everyone is healthy, strong and happy physically and spiritually. Today first we'll start with now then we're going to say a prayer which is directly related to the para of the week. In this week's para we have the mitzvah that have to bless the yidden and as we will say from the prayers that we say in the and the says and they repeat say blessed bee who has sanctified with the sanctity ofu and commanded us and he commanded us to bless his people Israel with love. So in this week's para we have the wording. This is the blessing which the bless the Jewish people in today's day and age. It's it happens in when the bless us. But we say these verses every single morning right after before right after. So we see how essential it is that straight away before we shakus in the morning. I think we already said these verses and we also say it in every day by and sometimes by so the truth is I'm not going to do it justice. I feel terrible. The time is very very late. It's a short Friday here. So we're going to have to make it short. This is going to be today more like a fabbran than a she. But I can't help myself when I see blessings. And everyone today needs blessings. Everybody today wants blessings. I don't think there's a person in the world who feels completely content. not not feeling content because he's greedy but because there's so many areas we need you need you need we're asking for Hashem understood that we need and therefore this is so first I'm going to say that the basis what what triggered me to speak about this giml 33 which we'll first say what the Rebb says in the point then we might go back to it in the end. The Reb asked a question there already been many before in the before these Jews got blessings and already written before blessings that if they do what they want like which is already before what's the novelty of these blessings? So the Reb explains that over here we're talking about blessings that are unconditional and infinite which means way beyond standard way beyond natural resources something supernatural something miraculous that's what it means over here and and the Reb explains that's why Rashi says means that there shouldn't be theft and the Reb explains how over here the blessing There shouldn't be a theft comes immediately after because because over here when it says that you'll have many possessions, it doesn't mean just a regular level of possessions. It means an abundance. It means humongous. It means epic. So therefore, you become a target. You know, like when you're an important person, you need security. When somebody's a billionaire, you really have to worry that there are people that are going to be interested in in scamming you and ripping you off and stealing from you. So therefore, comes the after that nothing of that should happen to you even though you'll be an amazing target because you're going to be supernaturally wealthy. That's the point that the brings out in the there and I'm going to hopefully quote it at the end what it means on a certain level. But before that just to bring a to what the Reb is saying is the right away on the he says two things that when you learn and this is the point of the to bring out how in the light of this things become so much more richer. The B says in the words of the and the K and the VV equals 26 which is the numerical number of like which is equal to that of the that's what he means of so then you can ask what do you mean the himself says it three times It says already three times. Why is the bal mentioning over here? And he continues, he sees your question and then he says sorry. And then he says in the first the end letters of each word is ends with ends with a ends with which corresponds to okay guards you as you depart. your departure and your arrival. What is trying to say over here is that even straight away in the first of the there's already in the first letter because we're counting all the first letters we get 26 and also from the final letters. So in other words he means to say from the beginning of the blessings and the end of the blessings we get the idea of which is a higher name. So I want to bring out that when you look see this it says about that is called the united name united name the explicit name and the explicit name oh and the name of the essence. So a lot of without elaborating going to a very deep discourse to see this. Now we say the shame of and there's the other sheas we spoke about this probably many times before the difference is that every other name of the refers to a concept that we understand which means that it's a definition it's a word it's a meaning which is related to the world. In other words it has some limitations. So if we say hashem is our father Aenu we know what the word ainu means muo. We know what the word muo means. Hashem is our father. Hashem is our king. Obviously, it's not like a physical king. Obviously, it's not like a physical father. But the concept, the word has meaning, has definition. So therefore, ultimately it's related to something of this world. And the same thing, call God a master, call him a producer, call him a director, call him a boss, call him a whatever you're going to say. All those words are as Hashem entered say something of this world. And then we have to tell ourselves that it's not exactly as it is by us. Let's say we say Hashem goes on. So there's kindness that's limited kindness. And then there's unlimited kindness. We understand that since it's an attribute of Hashem, so therefore the kindness is unlimited. But the word kindness is kindness. We can't graduate from the word kindness. Then there's a higher level. And that's why she all the other names are names that are associated with certain um channels, certain avenues, certain ways where limited himself to be particular into something that we understand. But if we're talking about the word means an existence, anything we're going to add to an existence is not him. Because the only thing we could say about that level is that it exists. Once we begin to define it, it's not that level. is the definition of that it has no definition. It's unlimited infinity itself. So it's a shame. It's a ray a light of but a light which brings out it's something that reveals where it's coming from its source not where it's going to the world. It's a reflection of Hashem's infinity. And the same thing is the explicit name. It's it's Hashem in all his glory with all his force and power not being diluted or diminished in any way. That's the name which is still shows in its house. It's united with its source in a revealed way because it didn't become affected at all by coming down into this world. So basically now we understand why the emphasizes this point without without and without the you might have just read it the point is that it comes from God as we'll speak soon the simple meaning but with the saying these words he's emphasizing it over here it's a major point this idea that these blessings are coming from a higher level the highest level of blessings And the same thing is over here where he says that the end letters of the words equal to 45 it goes on shame. So over here too now there's no time to elaborate but the shame and the shame usually those are the contrast and ma is higher than ban is it shows in a godly level as it descends into the worlds is it represents a light which is transcendental so too over here. So in other words whether it's idea whether it's we're talking about shows an infinity or we're talking about is the same idea transcendental light which is also the idea of a higher level of spirituality and that's what the Reb basically answers what is the novelty of the blessings over here that all the other previous blessings that mentioned in the Torah were not a straight up blessing of infinity but these words are blessings of infinity So now we see the preciousness of and when you want to give a blessing to somebody say that includes all the blessings straight up infinity unconditional. Okay. Now I want to let's land a bit more down to earth. First of all on a moral ethical level we say that the were given this blessings because They were sanctified with the holiness of what is we have this week's par this week's has explained that Aaron was the one who just loved every single being because it's a creation of Hashem and has a spark of divinity in it and he saw that divinity. So the lessons over here are many. Number one, if you are a a man of love, you'll be seeking to bless a person. Could mean two meanings. A person is a generous person gets blessed from Hashem. But somebody who has generosity is seeking to bless others. A good person who is a kind person and has generosity is always looking to give to give to bring benefit to others. So you want to give blessings, everyone should have it good, everyone should experience only happiness etc etc. So what does it mean that the were sanctified that they all have this mid of kindness and therefore they could bless love begets love when you have love and it's coming from a pure heart from a good place so then the blessings only bring positivity and another is and is brought down is not only that they bless out of love out of their love but that we should have love. They give us the most important blessing before everything else that we should have love. They give us love that we should have love between ourselves that there should be love reigning residing in the Jewish people because that will bring the greatest blessings and that's why the last word of the blessings is if you'll have love then you'll come to peace and if you have peace then is you'll be whole you'll be complete everything will be there okay so that means if you're a person By the way, this is like a metric. If you're a person that you consider yourself a kind person, you should be filled with a feeling that you want to bring blessings to others, bring benefit to others. Okay. Now, there's another point we spoke about once before about and how it works. If you have Hashem, why do you need? And I said there and I'm repeating it over here again but this time we're going to talk again more more ethical service of hem right away the says that even though we're getting the from the we're emphasizing it's a that's coming from hem have no power. They're just like the bank manager. They're given they have a special relationship with Hashem. So they have access to the divinity and they make it in a better way. See the other time we spoke about it. But it's not their blessing. They have zero autonomy. Just it's a it's it's a it's a conduit that the uses to bless you. And therefore we have to emphasize that again and again. You have to always remember the blessings come from. But wait there's more. We emphasize it three times. It's called the but it means you got to knock it into your head three times. It's hem. I'm so important for us to have to know that there's no power. There's only one power blessings only come from Hashem. But a second point is and this is in life sadly. Now we're going to talk a bit about like the P says bless you. So now we're not going according to about the infinity aspect. We're talking a simple shot. Rashi says that he's going to guard you from thieves. The wealth that you have will be actually a blessing. That's what it means. That it's not only be that you have a lot of money. You could have a lot of money and one day, God forbid, curse out your money because if every single one of your children, God forbid, turns out to be a spoiled brat and a miser because he was brought up in a wealthy home, but that didn't emphasize how everything you have is not your own. You were just a trustee of Hashem. Then one day you might even look at it and say, "It only brought me bad, not good. It shouldn't happen to any Jew. But that's one of the meanings of means many things. Number one means that you should remain the same person with humility and never come to a situation. The say speak about many times that says sometimes wealth brings arrogance. I'm on top of the world. I'm a millionaire. I'm a billionaire. I'm Mr. Important. As the famous song of if I were a rich man. And there's many many many we don't have to talk about. This is like obvious in life. We're not talking, God forbid, against people that have money. The Rebi used to always emphasize Rebi used to give honor to rich people because God gives them honor because he trusts them with so many sparks. But now let's just speak about the other side of the coin for a second. If someone is wealthy and super wealthy, he has to be on guard. You have to bless Hashem that you should remain the same humble person and not let it go to your head and for a second describe your success to your brains and to your talent and your decisions. That was the blessings of then the request is and the blessing is the you should become wealthy but Hashem should guard you that it shouldn't affect your humility, your character traits. And the same thing is true concerning charity. It goes hand in hand. If you realize that it was, if you realize that it wasn't due to your brains and you're being a smart alec and you're being a wheeler and dealer, but if you realize that it came from hem, so then you'll be just as generous as before and even more because you'll demand more from yourself. And that's what it means. In other words, you shouldn't get affected by the money because the Pik also says sometimes through money a person becomes coarse as the famous expression don't bow down to the mighty dollar. I'm sure we spoke about this other times on a certain level of interpretation theel the golden calf was because it was overabundance an indulgence of gold. There's a famous saying, I don't know if I ever saw inside, but always repeat it and I'm sure you've heard it before. And the way the saying goes is about three things. If you drink mash, you get drunk. If you drink alcohol, you get drunk. You drank mash, you didn't get drunk. Mashka is because you didn't drink enough. Then there's one that we're talking about now, the subject of wealth. Guilt money will make you crazy. I have money. It's because you don't have enough money. If you have more money, you become a it's not true. I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be that way, but in many cases, it is. As the spoke the famous about Howard use see there when won't you become a because it's as long as you remember number one and number two you got the blessing that your your your character traits your humility your generosity your personality should not become affected by the wealth and then you don't become a sugar on the contrary then you reach higher higher levels and that's the blessing you have to remember that this is the blessing the blessing is not the wealth the blessing is how you react to your wealth that it only brings you good true good or more good by impacting you in the right way that you don't become changed to the negative and the last one is learning must refine you. Refined didn't learn enough. Okay. Even though according to the of the is unconditional but in general in general we say the idea of a and I'm not talking about according to the rebba we'll soon finish but I want to say in general about blessings because you know we all have to demand from ourselves when it come to another person we have to tell the let that person have to unconditional That's it. But when it comes to ourselves, there's a famous which says that a blessing is like rain must have a hold in something just as rain benefits only the plowed and sewn field etc. And he said, "A waste field unplowed and unsewn will benefit from neither soft rain nor the early or later heavy rains." So in the Reb's language, if he's talking to a person, the Reb would always give blessings, but then the Reb would say to do something to make yourself a vehicle for the blessings. So we got to as you got to sew and plow and that makes you can do it for the blessings. just to give another story which which might be a bit of a harsh story. It's a very famous story and I'm sure I said it before because I love the story in a way but it's a message each one has to look inside himself and and and and sometimes we have to ask that we we should learn it the easy way not the hard way and that is there was a person that once came to the rebab in his first early years of his leadership when he just became a Reb and he was the one who became the reb at the youngest age 21 years old and he became the world leader. So right away at the beginning of his leadership some some follower came to him and asked for a blessing and for help and the rebab told him I can't help you. Sorry. Anyways, he walked out of the Rebra Shab's room and his brother, the Rebab's brother who was older than the Reb by a couple of years was right there in the courtyard and he met this person. He saw this person was completely crushed, completely devastated. He asked him, "What happened?" He said, "I just went to your brother and I asked him for a blessing and he said, "I can't help you." Anyways, went into his brother's room and said, "What do you mean? How can you tell the person he can't help with you? You must always help him. Tell him something encouragement, words of encouragement, words of empowerment. How can you just leave the guy hang like that?" Anyway, so then said, "Call him back." And then he gave him a blessing and the blessing worked obviously and they lived happily ever after. And it was a miracle whatever the story was. So the Reb asked in a famous why did it have to go like that? Why couldn't the give him a blessing straight away? Why did he first tell him I can't help you and then he had to first feel crushed and devastated and then the Reb helped him and the Reb explained to him answer because at that point in time the blessing wouldn't work because he wasn't a vehicle. That person wasn't a vehicle to receive the blessing at that time. There was none of the there was no plowing. A person has to be a vehicle for a blessing or do something to be a vehicle from the blessing for the blessing. When the Reb told him that he can't help him, that was actually the antidote, the medication, the beginning of the healing. It was intentional the person not to go through that experience feeling that he's completely hopeless and he really then turn to Hashem with a greater humility. Sometimes you have to go through an extreme experience to really really turn to Hashem with all your heart. That's the way it is sometimes in life. They say some famous line in English which I love very much and the reb actually said in Yiddish but I don't want to say it in his words exactly but in English to translate it mildly we would say humble yourselves before you'll have to be humbled humble yourself before you'll have to be humbled because if you have to be humbled it's going to be much more painful so humble yourself and you prevent from being humbled in some other way which is going to be more hurtful. So in any case, I'm talking to myself now. It's the end of we have to look inside ourselves myself and to see how can I make myself a greater vehicle for Hashem's blessings. And one thing that can be said to make yourself a vehicle for blessings, give blessings. The Reb answered many people And I think I mentioned this once before in one of the videos that even though my for example or if you would go over to them and ask him for a blessing they would laugh at you. I don't have the power to give blessings and and and they don't want to make a tim about themselves draw attention to themselves. Who am I? And that's what you have to think of yourself on a certain level. But nevertheless, in this regard, as long as you don't think you're a reb, as long as you don't think you're a wizard, and as long as you don't think that you have special powers, give blessings 100%. And why am I saying that? For two reasons. Number one, because the Gmorrah tells us that do not belittle the blessings of a simple. So we see clearly there's a I'm the I'm a nothing and a nobody but still I want the best for another person. That blessing has power. Wow. Number one. And number two, maybe you could say that this is the meaning of the verse. The over there says the whole Jewish nation will be like, but maybe you could say what that means in a certain level. It's just like that are giving the power to bless. So too, every single one of us is given the power to bless. And I think the more each one of us will be a a a blessings machine just keep on turnurning out turning out blessings and blessings and blessings. So if we believe in the blessings will return to you rebound double double boomerang in all areas of life. posting from my home. Your man in Melbourne.