Thought for the Week Parshas Vayakhel The Unifying Leader , Rabbi Yaakov Winner - 5784

how are you I hope everyone is I hope everyone is healthy strong and happy physically and spiritually today it's also and and we're going to speak the thought of the week but first as usual in the past couple of months we've given Israel we should win the war and all H should return home safely now then we're going to say a prayer and this prayer is going to be connected to the thought for the week and this we say every single day in three times a day father bless us as all are one bless us all together that's a simple meaning and explains in chapter 32 of that What Makes Us the greatest vehicle for blessings when we're all as one when we have Unity okay today we're going to speak and I hope we'll cover most of what I want to talk about sometimes when you're so involved in something it's hard to limit and the truth is I want to talk about some subjects today that are all comprehensive and encompassing to yish family shabas and Leadership so I hope I'll be able to cover all the subjects maybe each one will not be given due a lotted amount of time but you know similar to the famous story with the said when he speaks how could he speak when he used to give sermons and and say how is it that he has something to say that everyone could relate to and theed said that he's like a he's like a a hat store someone walks into the store and they find a hat which is measured to their size so he speaks so much there's so much content and what he's saying that there's something for everyone so to today even though usually I like to focus on one thing today we're going to speak about a couple of things connected to the Pasha and hopefully everyone will have some something to take from it that's relevant to their lives so this week's and the says the entire [Music] congregation these are the things that the has commanded you to do and then he says work may be done for six days Etc but on the seventh day it shall be holy for you a day of complete cessation of work designated for so over here is the very many famous questions that all the commentaries ask and that is number one man what's this time that the speaks that that before he spoke to them it says that he assembled them all together how come it doesn't say like every else in the Tah spoke to all the what's this time that he dressed the nation different than every other time throughout the entire tah also what are these are the things he says then he mentions shabas and then he mentions the construction of the Mish but seemingly both of those things were already mentioned before in we had about shabas and in we had all about the Mish already so what's the novelty over here what's the difference so first I'm going to speak on one subject and that is the of the which is based on a MIM of the discourse that he said in 1952 you have to see them for more details I'm just going to say what he says there beiter but the main vert applies to everything I'm going to say afterwards and that is that over here there's a major headlines with the words that says this was the day after him Kipper so in other words this was the major headlines a major event and what was that the first time was going to address the after so he had the worst sin that was ever committed by the nation the sin of the golden calf and now forgave now the day after him Kipper M was now going to deliver a talk which was going to be so to speak an antidote how such a thing could never happen again what would be the antidote that the sin of should never happen again where was the mistake where did they go wrong and how can you live your life in such a way that this mistake shall never happen again so in that discourse and in the the Reb explains means idolatry means that we give Credence to something else which is outside of Hashem that's one of the main points of that the idea of the idea of one Hashem means that there's only one reality there's only one power not only just one God and therefore what does idolatry mean when you begin to believe that it's your toil and your involvement in work that's giving you sustenance that's idolatry which is also connected to the idea that the golden calf was made out a gold of as you see the b in the beginning of K and also many other places it speaks about one of the ideas of the of of the golden calf was the idea of money money money bowing down to the Mighty Dollar so how do we prevent that we prevent that by understanding and this is what the means of it this way the explains work may be done to doesn't mean you should do work but work may be done it's it's in such a language means if your involvement of work is in such a way that it's not your you sold your soul for a dollar but you realize that it's only it means to an end and it's only that it's really the of and you have to do something so that's how you're living your whole week your whole week is not about the materialism and it's not about that you're obsessed with financial gain your life revolves around spirituality your life revolves around you get up in the morning you learn and you go to the m whatever you do first you focus you connect spiritually and then you go out into the world and then your whole day is different because you have the right foundation and you understand what it's really about and that's what it means in other words what was one of the questions over here that we knew already before about chabas and we knew already before for about the over here the p is going to tell us a new thing called shab sh if you want to really have a shabas then your whole week has to be lived differently if you make spirituality primary during the whole week then your shabas is a shabas but if your whole week your focus is primarily on the material then the shabas won't be a shabas that's what the PK is telling us over here and that's why this was a way a lesson of how to live our lives in such a way that we should never come to idolatry and the answer is as long as we focus on the True Values and true Virtues Of what it is his spirituality that's what it says in the mare so that's one point now I want to speak to another Point very interestingly and I'm speaking about things I'm speaking to my students I'm not a preacher L preacher preacher I'm not a preacher I'm not a Son of a Preacher but there's some things that I see around around in and it I I feel that these things have to be corrected and I hope that we could see Improvement in all these areas beginning from ourselves and that is for example speeches sermons on chabas recently someone asked me to speak by a of their child so the B asked me to speak before I spoke during three people came over to me and said make sure not to speak more than 10 minutes you can understand how I felt my my ego but that's not the main point the main thing is let's depersonalize let's talk about the idea over here and that is one of the answers to this question of why over here it says and then he speaks about chab and the brings it down and that's the famous that's brought down in that from here we learn out that when it comes to shabas the rabbis have to gather the and then it speaks about shabas because on shabas has to be I'm going to read youim gim and this is actually a question this question is asked explicitly why over here does [Music] it make me Great Gatherings and assemblies in that the generations that will come after you will learn GA their congregations every single so here we see and this goes together we can look at it that one of the antidotes to is a strong community and a strong Community United around a common cause so I'm going to put it in two points what is the antidote to number one selflessness in contrast to Ego as we'll discuss it so just like we said before in the the person thinks he thinks it's his brains it's his street smarts it's his Innovations that's making him Theos that's so therefore the focus has has to be that he has to know it's not about you it's about the that gives you so it's not your ego selflessness will bring you closer to through your selflessness you get closer to hasem now comes the same thing over here by the rabbis preach giving sh on shabas about especially if the person lives his life and he thinks what does Hashem want and that's the first thought always in every situation what does hasem want then he won't come to do any the problem with was they decided to do this they didn't ask their spiritual leaders the they decided and when you decide that's when you make a mistake but if you're thinking solely what is it would be impossible to make a and the tour actually in some additions brings when the will go this person will run to his vineard this person will run to his field the T said before what's going to be with me m when they in the midbar they were all unemployed they're not in the city soone that's tired to sit and learn K all day but once they go into a city back to civilization once they go to a city and there work and there's the six days of the week Etc so what's going to be with listen I'm going to give you a partner like you'll be a couple you'll be married who's going to be your partner the name of your partner since shabas is a day we don't have to work so therefore shabas will be a day which is dedicated to so this is another sign every person looks at themselves and they feel they're they're good they try to do it wants but what's the what's the what's the test to see clearly if you have the right mindset and the right attitude and the right perspective or not and the answer is what does your shabas look like now that you're not working are you deding yourself you're dedicating yourself to too and this is the match shabas and T why because they both focus on spirituality shabas is Al we transcend the worlds and we go back to the source we're in spirituality we're focused on spirituality there's no emails there's no dumb phones there's no smartphones there's nothing there's spirituality and that's the same idea of is the same idea is our guide and it always shows us how we have to focus on the right values Hashem Hashem it's Etc so that's the second thing as an antidote to the is a sense of community and go to with a minion participate in because in the end is selfishness and it's also divisiveness and I forgot to mention this before there's a g in which just shows that how is playing PL and simple selfishness to give to your desires the says said knew that that has no substance there's nothing real to it why are you going for this piece of wood for this piece of bronze whatever it is the Jewish people knew that idol worship is of no substance they didn't really believe in it but why did they serve a z only to permit themselves to engage in Acts of immoral relations in public because many of theas had these immodest activities in public so in other words they simply had a a strong desire to to follow the lust that was in their heart and by joining this party they able to do it they want so again a brings out your selfishness your ego and your desires and being connected to means that you're transcending your desires you're transcending your ego and you're getting involved in something which is greater than yourself and that's what chabas is you know I I said this before sometimes when you think about that the abish to gave us shabas and he gave it to us even before M and that's why when it comes to when it comes to we say that the are the ones who according to re are the ones who decide when but set up shabas from the six days of creation and then you think about it that today the world is so obsessed with devices and everyone is thinking of different ways how to deal with this problem and how destroying the generation etc etc and then when you think that the preempted it he gave us 5,784 years ago unbelievable and we see today clearly that those that that that that it gives them a spirituality a recharge a rejuvenation for the entire week and it's an idea of strengthening a strong Community a strong family unit and these are the things that helps us stay on the right path and this is what the major message is over here so far we spoke about shabas shab connecting Etc and also to realize that all you work the whole week is of secondary importance that even while you're doing the work you realize that it's really a spiritual activity to to direct it towards now we come to another interesting point which some of first bring out and I think it's very important one of the reasons why over here was tell about shabas connecting with the Mish is the idea of people could have thought so inspired and galvanized to build a b MD to build a miss it's it's so You' think that the will push away shabas we say no it doesn't push away shabas why not whatever that's the abish who decides when you do this and when you do that this is find out what the is in every single situation and if you don't find out what is in every situation you will make a mistake and that's the message of is giving over again an antidote to people that made the they came up with all sorts of rationalizations and and um how do you call rationalizations and reasonings why they should do it self-justifications but there was one thing did not command him to do it and did not command him to do it in other words it was you decided who are you to decide as it says the story says sometimes the person can have the greatest rationalizations that sounds so holy but really it's coming from the other side from your and that's the message over here is coming down and he's telling in the message you might have motives that seem holy but remember one thing and that's the message also ofak the only thing that could unite the people is when it's really the and now I'm coming to the subject I really want to talk about I realize it's so late but this is really what I wanted to talk about we need leaders to have a strong Community you have to have a leader and we have to decide that this is someone who's going to be a leader a rabbi and then follow the rabbi and then you'll have a community which will be United and will serve the gets into the whole of explains over there how page B page 436 and 437 see there how the only way that we could have true Unity is when will we have a Unity only when it's when it's revolves around the will of hasem and we see this so true today all the isms You Name It Whatever the ism is theyve Will failed and today I don't want to get into it we have the polarization of entire countries whether it's United States of America whether in before October 7th whether in Britain whether in Canada whether in Australia and I believe there's a major problem there's a major problem connected to leadership but it's a major problem but I don't know what the solution is in the but in the f the more we the more the more that's the only Unity that is true when it's based on true foundations like for example says when he speaks about and he says because all are actually equal we all have a soul and we all have one [Music] father and therefore we're all called Mish brothers because of our souls and this is what brings out and this what connected with we have to remember and I want to connect this yesterday was it's 32 two years since the had a stroke and then the events of giml tamas followed and there is a a certain lack that we can't see a holy sad with our physical eyes and hear these Mak the Reb was the one who was M gathered us every single shabas and we heard and we heard spoke about this so we have to realize who's the one would achieve to bring together the whole community so is the ultimate of the Reb explains also that means a new entity it's not only just a gathering of individuals he's able to make him truly a new entity like we speak about a is a new entity the only one who could actually take an entire Congregation of individuals and make it one new unit ISU because m is the essence of the entire nation a true leader a true sadic but now let's take it down a notch in general you know if we talk about melburn we had a here Rabbi Groner he was an unbelievable leader he was like the glue of the community he knew everybody he knew everyone's parents he knew everyone's grandparents and he was worried about everyone he cared about everyone and he brought the whole Community together and this is something that you know we have to first have a concept of what it means there needs to be a leader this that ever spoke this s when it came to and the idea of a Mel is a king who brings together the whole nation and the Reber interpreted on a personal level to every person that the father is like the Mel he's the leader of his family and he has to be a role model to his children and just like we see in life as long as the children love the parents that itself is a unifying factor that brings together the whole family sometimes when the parents pass away then all sorts of happen but as long as they live with the spirit of the parents it was a unifying factor and the same thing is true when we talk about leadership qualities we have to talk and understand that a leader has to be a unifier which means he has to bring the people bring out the best in every single people because he cares about everybody because he himself is selfless is the level of total he's completely selfless selfless he brings out the selflessness in every single one every everyone else in all of is and he raises them to a higher Consciousness to be focused on Hashem to be focused on spirituality a common Mission a greater good and that's cuz he cares about everyone and he shows how everyone could r their individuality even as they become part of the whole and we see this again and again by the Reb he wants you to be a lawyer he wants you to be a doctor he wants you to be but we're all and the first when he said we are the last generation of Goos and the first generation of Gul he was saying we're making a revolution now I'm using that word and it galvanized the entire D that were focused now to bring Mia he was a unifier and he unified everybody the whole generation for the goal and to the mission to bring to elevate the entire world to pick up the entire world to transform the entire ire world and to make it a dwelling place for a better place and thereby bringing the so the same thing is true in general if we're looking for a leader if you are a leader of a company if you are a leader everyone's a leader so to speak of his family of a classroom of an institution we have to remember that one of the main important principles of leadership is to be vak a unifier and to be a unifier first of all you have to be a role model of selflessness and one certain expression I like it very much officers eat last officers eat last way I understand is that you know in the army they have let's say I don't know the dining room so the officer lets all the soldiers take food first and he eats last and you would think to yourself be the opposite he can go to the head of the line and take First no officers eat last that's the true role model he shows his troops he shows the soldiers that are under his command that he cares about them more than he cares about himself first you guys eat officers eat last so he's a role model of selflessness dedication devotion compassion care and concern and then he could bring them higher to reach levels of transcendence selflessness to dedicate themselves and the they should be dedicated and devoted to a higher cause a greater good and like we see by the rebba how the Reb accomplishes this with the entire generation of and all and he kept on repeating everyone's a everyone is in charged and galvanized to do what they can to being M so the should help we should remember all these points of what the message was and why this was a major major event and why over here it says because after the disaster of has to come the message now how to repair it we were forgiven and from here on in we should never make such a mistake so we spoke about the idea of number one the attitude towards work a whole week we spoke about what the shabas has to be like we spoke about the idea of community we spoke about the idea of holy motives socalled but are really wrong and we spoke about leadership if we keep in mind all these messages we'll do the right thing and the should see how we try to do what's right and this will be the to posting from my home your man in Melbourne