Chayei Sarah - The Big Picture

you're listening to the weekly par podcast with Ari goldwag recorded with aam's never running assistance in Israel 20124 this week's para is par and in our para we have the death the great loss of two great simik andik passes away at the beginning of our paru passes away towards the end of our par and in talking about the death ofik there's a beautiful M qu from and also giving us a bunch of stories about the death of sikim in later times there's an important discussion which addresses a certain angst that the human being has somebody who's trying to do the will of Hashem somebody who's trying to be spiritual in a very non-spiritual world world trying to do God's will in a world which defies very much defies hashem's will the mes tells us like this and I'd like to read to you first the and then we'll look at theim which It quotes because the context of the PK is really beautiful this is in chapter 25 verse S of our par the PK tells us lived to be 75 years old when he passed away sorry man was 12 127 when she passed away says the knows the days of those who are whole the days the amount of time that a sadic is going to live he looks at it he understands it he knows that this person is going to fill their life with so many good things so much spirituality they're going to make themselves holy to hasem they're going to make them make themselves great and their portion their inheritance is forever yeah says what does it mean that hm knows the days of the T of the whole ones the perfect ones it's a reference to Abraham abah says Hashem says to him you should go in my ways and be whole be be perfect be spiritually great soem knows the days knows the ways of those I like to read to you from the he says God looks and he watches carefully over the days of the righteous not just generally speaking but every single day the is speaking about the fact that God Is Watching Over the in an extra way when a person does the will of Hashem to the be to the greatest extent that they can the greater the person is the more the more Divine Providence that person experiences the second half of the P says that their that their inheritance will be forever be alien PK says these are the days of the years of ab the life of ab the T tells us reveals to us exactly how many days how many years he lived so that we're going to see that there's going to be an aspect of the inheritance which speaks about what they're going to receive the reward they're going to receive in the world to come that's going to be one aspect but besides that says the M the T wants us to know that this person lived a full lifeu sahu they lived full spiritual lives we see descriptions of the kindness of Abraham in last week's paraa we see how he takes care of his children to make sure that they follow in the spiritual path that they are me to follow this is aad says that the whenever we remember and mention aad it's for blessing and blessings BR always has to do with something that's given over for us to access for us to grow spiritually from when we hear about it sadic when we hear about the righteous individual and how his days were filled with goodness it inspires us I I think I've mentioned recently I'm reading again the biography of my rebi the malal of Yeshua farak RAB Rabbi Aaron brofman and just this past week my rebi from 11th grade Rabbi KES rebua Kish passed away and in thinking about these great people and in coming going to AI going and hearing the eulogies of great person inspires me when I read the biography of Rabbi brothman it inspired me to want to make sure that I'm more connected to gray people and it and it moved me to indeed search out such people and connect to them and when I hear about Rabbi KES who finished Shas 40 times in his lifetime 40 times learning seven do a day when you hear about that it inspires you it makes you want to learn more makes you want to be a better person and that's a that's an inheritance that we all have access to that's the me's telling us Hashem acknowledges and knows the greatness of the righteous individuals and wants to bequeath that greatness to us we need to look to those who are the great ones in our lives great ones who the sikim who we may we may never ever be on their level but still their lives are an inspiration for us and we can always take something into ourselves can always try to develop a Mida if the Mida is incredible h diligence and continuous learning we can all develop that in our own lives on our own level is kindness of of it's an amazing thing we always speak about is and yob we talk about them every single day three times a day in our and we are reading the Tyra over and over again every single year we hear these stories all the time they're supposed to inspire us these people are alive for us they're still alive that's the inheritance so that's one aspect but I'd like to read to you from the theim the context in in chapter 37 of so the verse that we quoted which speaks about Hashem knowing the days of the righteous and and giving over an inheritance forever so the Pim speak as I mentioned before they speak about a certain angst leid chapter begins with saying that this is the psalm of David don't compete with those who are doing evil don't try to be like them in any way they're going to disappear quickly they're just like I would say not exactly the words of the P but like a flower it's very pretty right now but doesn't take very long before it Withers and dies says King David and do good live in the world and be a be a shepherd of Faith place your enjoyment what do I want to enjoy in life we choose what's our enjoyments in life some people enjoy sports some people enjoy movies some people enjoy a good novel but D says what should be your enjoyment it should be spiritual Pursuits it should be a it should be a it should be a these are the things that we should enjoy and hashm will give you all that you want right the the Russ of the evil person he tries to squeeze everything out of life through his through his pressure through his efforts but us a different way he says trust in Hashem focus on spirituality that's the right way to go let Hashem be the one who guides you trust in him he's going to do it for you and here the P says and we're not going to read the whole entire chapter here we're just going to read a few more P but we're going to skip over to our says God is going to bring out your righteousness and you're going to see it as clear as the afternoon because there's there's a certain tension there's a tension that exists when a person does good when a person is pursuing spirituality when a person is learning a person is sitting and learning going to KY not involved per se in the day-to-day Pursuits of all the people around them were trying to earn a living person places his trust in Hashem and he says you know what I'm going to be a spiritual person I'm going to I'm going to believe that my spiritual Pursuits will sustain me but there's a tension because as you look around it feels like hey all the people around me are doing something which seems to make more sense they're involved in parosa they're involved in trying to earn a living they're succeeding they're making millions they're whatever it is it seems like and I don't want to call those people Wicked they're not they're regular people but it seems like those who don't go in a spiritual path succeed it seems seems like it's it works out for them and those who go in the spiritual path it seems to be much harder hey I'm doing what's right I'm raising my kids to the that the focus is Torah that learning is important that not just learning is important but learning is the foundation of who we are of to the spirituality of closeness to Hashem it doesn't it doesn't necessarily seem to work out and that's the tension that's the angst but says Russ I'm skipping a just wait just wait a bit you'll see that the the wicked won't succeed he's going to disappear you'll take a look over at the place where he seemed to be the success that he seemed to have and it just it just is gone and after a few more descriptions of how the righteous person suceeds in the end and the wicked person eventually is is falls on his own sword he says he says Hashem knows the days of the whole ones of the what's the what does it mean go with God with Simplicity behold the word t means whole but it also means simple we refer to a t as in in modern Hebrew t means a person who's a little bit of a fool he's not per se you know worked out doesn't have everything worked out in the ways of the world the the those who are whole those who are simple it means that they don't make so much they don't try to figure everything out they put their trust in hem they say I'm going to do what's right I don't know how it's going to work out per se but I know it's going to work out that's the spoken about this many times in the podcast but the the one who trusts he's more simple he says I'm going to learn it will take away from my time of work I'm going to be simple with God I'm gonna it's going to work out I know it will you made to me him the p is giving us a broad view it's a bird's eye view but it's hashem's eye view as it were Hashem is saying I know the days of those who are simple and whole and go with me with Simplicity don't try to figure everything out there's attention if you don't look at things from a broader perspective there's attention hey how's it going to work out it looks like those who are thought out and worked out they're it works out for them they get rich they figure out all the tricks of the business that you can find out about in magazine but you know I'm saying there it's not this p over here but praiseworthy is the one who's simple Hashem knows the ways of those who are simple and ultimately says person might seem to Succeed In This World by having figured out how to make it but the one who really succeeds the one who really makes It ultimately it's not the one who's super focused on this world it's the one who is super focused on on God and having a relationship with him and ultimately the the reward is going to be there for him now I'd like to read to you from the of the continuation of the Mish which speaks about this very idea says the we say this every week in is not just speaking about the the wonderful wife the the woman the the woman of Valor it's speaking about us it's speaking about the Jewish people who we seem to be doing what's right and we seem to have faith in hem and we're returning to Isel and it seems that all the all the cars are stacked against us all the OD odds are against us the sadik who has the tension not knowing what's going to be in the end we're going to see about some sadik who at the end of their life they didn't even know if they were going to have if they're going to have a place in the world to come but this this is incon dressed in power and in Beauty and the end of the P says she laughs on the last day which means that ultimately there's a recognition at the end as we'll see at the it's on the very last day it really means what it says when you get to the when you get to the end and you see the whole picture you see the you look back and you see the entire story of one's life ofad of Etc so there's a there's a laugh at the end there's a there's a I was right we were right we were right there's a sense of we were right all of the giving of the reward of the righteous is ready for them for the future says the a very interesting thing Hashem shows the righteous individual his reward right before they pass away the person is able to see exactly what it's going to look like for them in the world to come as it were they get the picture they recognize at the end that their whole it was all worth it all the tension it was worth it Hashem shows them I'm just reading the literal translation of the shows them their reward that they're going to that they're entitled to that they're going to they're going to gain in the future and once their soul is satisfied they go to sleep as it were they're they're ready to pass from this world the says the tells us that it's very precious very difficult for God it's very heavy for hasem to take away a sadic a righteous individual it's hard for Hashem to bring that person out of this world to take them and and bring Mis bring death upon them so what is hasem do as Hashem he doesn't want to do it it's hard for him also the righteous individual doesn't really want to die he wants to accomplish more he wants to finish shots again does God do says that shows the righteous individual the reward that's waiting for them in the world to come and then once the sadic sees that he's like okay I'm ready to go says what we see from here the purpose of showing them the reward is for them to quest to pass on from this world right the the way that the Mish ends off is saying that their soul is is full they feel they feel satisfied and out of that sense of satisfaction they're ready to move on from this world so in trying to think about trying to think about they lived the P tells us they lived a very full life P says that when when s Mana was 100 it was like when she was 20 when she was 20 it was like that she was seven it really what it's saying and and interestingly the Maru says that about aru as well when he was it says he was 170 and5 he was 175 it so the Maru says when he was 100 it was like he was 70 when he was 70 it was like he was five there was a certain fullness in his life that never went away throughout his entire lifetime there was a fullness Sor Mayo as well throughout her lifetime there was a fullness of their life and at the end of their life the Torah is giving us the perspective kind of a a post viw and you know what what's the what's the epilogue here we see that their lives were full and there's a a sense of completion that they experience rear says this is comparable to a suda a meal that a particular King made he made a grand Feast he invites his his guests before he lets everyone into the feast he gives them of view they can see from above the whole Feast get ready for this Feast they're looking down at the at the wedding hall at the party hall and they're seeing their Ms are watering and they see what they're going to be able to eat and drink and they they feel just from from the spectacle of it they feel a a fullness and they go to sleep says the measure says brings a proof from it from the PK that once they see and they have a sense of satisfaction that's when they go to sleep as a person is about to pass away they see this reward as we said now brings a story the M tells us and there's another there gor we'll see if there's time to see it inside as well but when rabo was about to pass away was a great Sage of the gar of the talud was shown in a vision the way the gar says it in Tinus in regards to a different Amor as well was that he fell asleep and he saw this Vision in his sleep it was a it was is a prophetic type of dream and he saw 13 Rivers 13 rivers of oil Aaron Pimon oil which is a very beautiful smelling oil and as explained over Inus on that this oil he was going to frolic in the oil it was it was a mush for an incredible experience of spirituality right let's think about oil oil represents sheman is from the the same root as the word Shina which means e and the eighth aspect is the spiritual aspect oil Rises to the top when you put it into water right so he is going to enjoy the results this incredible perfume this oil perfume that he has been spiritual all of his life he's going to frolic in 13 and 13 here 13 isma which means a very large number but also the number 13 is the gatri of the word of Love Oneness he's going to enjoy the Oneness with hem the love of Hashem which he sought all of his life the M says that when saw this vision of the reward that's awaiting him this incredible spiritual Delight he said whose reward is this and they said to him this is your reward because he was concerned as explained had spent his life teaching Torah he had spent his life learning Torah but he wasn't completely involved in other Mitzvah in other in other Commandments he was completely focused on the intellectual spiritual side of life so he was concerned that maybe maybe he was missing something in other areas so he was concerned that perhaps when he gets he wouldn't have such a great reward but they showed him this incredible reward which again is a mush it's a it's a spiritual idea and he said who is it he didn't know that it was for him and they told him it is for him I'm sorry Omar elain davo he said really this is this is really my reward he was he was heartened he was he was worried before there's The Angst there's the tension that the sadic is worried maybe it's not going to work out for me in the end do we don't really know it's hard to tell in this world if being spiritual is going to really work out is it going to really work out and he was shown this he says I was concerned and I was worried that maybe I was working for nothing maybe I won't maybe I spent all of my efforts on something that's not really significant it's very interesting it's it's possible I would say even easy to to make a mistake and think that hey I'm not going to I'm not going to have this reward it's not going to work out for me in the end but the ends off I place myself in in the hands of hm as far as judgment I want Hashem to judge me Hashem knows hm knows that I was trying to be spiritual Hashem knows that I was trying to do my best to fill my life with good things with spiritual things with closeness to him with spiritual values I'm not going to continue reading in the Mish Mish goes on to speak about this as well and I don't have time to really read the the the gar and Tinus which speaks about a similar story where Amora saw these 13 rivers of of pmen oil but what I take out of this Mish and and what I want to bring home and offer you to think about is that we all live in this world and we all live with this tension and the tension is what we're doing when we're trying to be spiritual we're trying to you know kind of Veer away from all of the physical aspects all of the phys overly over involvement in the physical in Rabbi Bran's uh in in the book about Rabbi brofman and his biography it it speaks about the fact that he was so concerned about the over involvement of B in Gus too much physicality too many cars too much concern with a nice house it's fine a person needs to have a house a person needs to have a car if you're in a place that needs it a person needs to have the basics and the essentials but where does it pass essential and become become too much just heard on a recording from he talked about a Bak who just got engaged and he wants a different goal watch than the one his father-in-law is buying him he wants a watch which is $1,000 more expensive and Rabbi per was like said to the father let him pay for it he doesn't have the money what kind of expectations do we have for things that aren't essential what kind of expectations do our children have have we properly given over to our kids have we been an example of people who don't need beyond the essential don't need beyond the basics ab and SAR they spent their lives focused on kindness on bringing people closer to on creating a family which would follow in the ways of AES that's who they were that's their legacy the sikim around us we know we've got them they're everywhere some are greater than others some have books written about them some don't but when we look at them and we see their values and we see that ultimately it works out for them it be a didn't know is this the did I is it is it really is it really true there was that tension we all have that tension what's the answer the answer is who gives us an inheritance Shem shows the person and we have to look for it that's really what it means we have to look for the fact that those who pursue spirituality make that the main focus of their lives ultimately really those are the ones who see in their own children the greatest Nas there there's a continuation of that in the kids there's a continuation of that in the generations that follow and what greater inheritance is there than that and it's certainly representative of the inheritance that a person has waiting for them in the world to come so I want to bless you and I ask you to bless me that we should be able indeed to live a life like this such that ultimately we will be able to see that reward both in this world and in the world to come thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shamas this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcasts like this please visit www.wag.com or search on iTunes r goldwag [Music]