Charlie Harary | The Unique Power of Sukkos

Good evening. Welcome everyone to tonight's very special shar. I think gives a just a few hours notice. Of course, we still have a crowd to hear the renowned Mr. Charlie Arari. We have Kazak. We want to thank of course Shamuna um Rab Sabah. We want to thank of course Morty behind the scenes. Give a round of applause. [Applause] [Laughter] Want to thank of course Five Town Sancho for for helping promote tonight as well for as well as for streaming. Of course, everyone everyone's encouraged to join us right here at Charamuna for this tremendous year. But if of course if um if anyone's watching online or here of course share at the link to your friends, families, they can all join just a few short hours before the great of Sukkot. Um share the link out to time.comlive toime.comql. Of course I want to thank of course um cirali which is a amazing organization in in initi land of Israel which provides food clothing emotional support for thousands of families and of course um it's a great great merit of course to support it at.org or and um of course um we um we uh anukote anuk. So what happens? You take the you take the four different species. You take the the hadas, the the lul and the right it represents the different types of Jews. Maybe those who have Tor who have mitzvot maybe who maybe some who maybe who who don't. And what do you do it? You have to take you take you take all four of them. And what is that? What what is that trying to show us? Is that is that when you take the lula of the estrog everything this year? Remember every single type of Jew, they're all you take them and you have to view it all as one because you take them all as one. So of course when you when you're when you maybe on tomorrow in the next few days you're in shul maybe maybe somebody is your neighbor maybe who isn't so religious or maybe you see outside the window and there maybe somebody's not even in sh and remember that that you have to think of every Jew as one and of course um somebody who does that inspires people all over the world people of all all different backgrounds is our dear friend let's call upon Charlie [Music] It's a big close to be here and thank you so much for Kazak for organizing this really in in in the last minute and to Shahimuna a shul that is a staple of my family my parents and ourselves the love that we have for the shul for the rabbi for everybody here we thank you it's a big to be part of this um you know it's interesting I just be just to begin before we jump into this year um on chabas I was reading at beerman and um I turned the page and really in right away in the front page something just struck me um and it really got me thinking he says and I and I'll read it here that he says that um the shuva says it's proper to give a lot of stuck on Arab sukus would distribute the entire stuck pushka to the poor people on this day of sons would give a lot of stuck he would say it's more it's nicer than the decorations shod would say is a special day to give stuck so I was thinking why that is why Is Arab sukus so special? I don't have an there's probably a lot of answers and I'm sure people have better answers than mine. Sukus is this incredible transition. Sukus is the time in which we transition from that world of asking of going up to the and trying to reach the top and saying give me give me give me give me have I want please please. And I think what we're really saying is trust me trust me trust me trust me trust me. I'm a steward of your capital. As I say by RXR Scott always says, I'm a steward. I can do it. I can if if you bless me, I'm not going to hold it. If you bless me with abundance, I'm not going to put it on my pocket. I'll take care of your people. I help me give me I think we're saying is trust me. And sukus is when it starts to starts to rain. Hopefully not physically. It starts to rain. Shea and this transition period is where we start saying to the before we even get into where you're going to give me and you're going to start giving me I'm already going to start to show you who I am struck me so very in particular just for this I just want to say as as as one of the sponsors of tonight's events is a really important organization called it gives out tons of to people throughout our you never heard of it because it there's no overhead I'm involved in it for almost maybe eight to 10 years. The what they're doing is mind-boggling. So if you can tonight, tomorrow, please.org, whatever you give goes literally to somebody who's poor and it gives us the ability to start to live in this space of giving sukus if you cantali.org and give generously so that everyone in has whatever they need so they can join the antiff as well. So drav I want to share with you maybe a couple of ideas we can think about during sukus. Sukus is a very interesting yontiff. In fact I think it's a yontiff that in many ways again I I'll I'll just share my experience. In many ways I don't want to say it gets shafted. It's a little extreme to say that it gets shafted. In many ways, we get so pumped. We get so focused on Rashashana yum kipper. And maybe the reason why we do that for is because we're scared when you when you grow up in life and they tell you when you're younger and no matter what your background or education is, it's hard to not get to a place where yum kipper has a little bit of the mimos. If you're smart, you don't have nano tok. But if you're Ashkanazi, you do. And when you go through and you're going out of your minds if you're paying attention to the words and if you're see is this who's going to make it who's going to make it who's not going to make it. So you really have to have a lot of to like blow off yum kipper to be like it'll be fine and a lot of our attention goes to getting us pumped because we understand yum kipper. Yum. Kipper is a holiday that makes sense. And the reason why it makes sense is because it could fit within a narrative that is American. In the American narrative, it makes sense to us as Westerners. Even though it's not the same thing, but at least we can draw a parallel where we say, "Okay, there's a season in which somebody has things. I want things. I need things. I have to go to the thing that has it and show I'm worthy of it. We do it by final seasons when you're little. When you get older, we do it by review season and bonus season at the end of the year. It makes sense. Not exactly what happens. That's not it's Hashem is not a a boss. But at least in our western mind, we can somehow draw a parallel to find a way for us to understand Rashashana and Yum Kipper from that place of era. But sukus sukus is in in my I think much more misunderstood in part because of the anxiety of that it's the the release of anxiety right everyone has that like we said by the yum kipper here everybody has that like excitement when they break their fast on yum kipper that first moment where you're like I don't got to do this again for another year that's called simha you're like oh of course I got a holiday celebrating that we're done there's There's a buildup that like the anxiety gets released and you're cool and you start making calculations. You're like tisha bubove. So I'm going to die. I'm done. As one person on my table said the next one's a big day. That's like that's that's that's cake. Like we're good for a while from like guilty and I'm not enough and I got to fast. I got to dive in all day. There's like a lot of let's get it. And there comes the yunt to feel like perfect. all that food that I I took one day off from eating and I ear I earned eight days of gorging myself. It fits. And two, there's a lot to do in the four days. It's hard to go to shoe room. It's hard to figure this out. No one's grabbing storm off the shelf after 40 days of going at it or even later even. You you're you're like almost like burnt out a drop. You had so much to read and so much to hear and so much to listen to like you got to make a suk bar him and you got to cook it and so sukus comes rolling in and maybe the most important part of this whole stretch which is sukus gets shafted a drop. So let's delve for a few minutes with help put the right words in. We'll make him hopefully to make him proud. Let's just for a few minutes tonight like sit back and relax. We got food in the system. There'll be food tomorrow. Mashem, let's just sit back and relax and let's see if together for a few minutes we can try to understand what's so big about sukus. So sukus the gammorra speaks about that we have this mitzvah to sit in sukas and the gumar has a discussion as to what the suka is and the opinion of ezra is that suka is actually kisu came out of Adam out of it it's the desert it was boiling hot but the truth is they came from the desert so they're like they know how to handle boiling hot they didn't come from Europe not yet so they can handle the desert Hashem brings them out and when Hashem brings them out he provides three miracles for them food man water the be and their non and says what was unique about this the the non is that the cover was aa it was a hug it gave the Jews more if you're if you're running a trip it's still a gift from Hashem no question and is a gift from Hashem but if you're running a trip and you're catering the trip. If you're the trip leader, most likely you've thought about food and drink, but did you have to get them the coach bus that flies over traffic? Not necessarily. Do they have to go first class? Not necessarily. They can say, "Coach, do they have to have that special service when you land in Israel when you get to the separate airport and like you run around like no, you don't have to do that. You can sit in a regular line. You don't have to do extra. I got to feed you. You got to you got to live." This says that this what the cover represent is something that's totally different. Hash didn't have to bring you out and create the walls around you that was like between 68 and 72° didn't have to have you walk. You could have dealt with this with the scorpions. He didn't have to have it that every time you walked he lifted the ground and he lowered the ground so that it was perfect and cool and everything worked beautifully. You don't have to go in style. You don't have to fly first. But Hashem loves us. And when you leave Mitsim and when you're a people that's willing to walk in and take a lamb and slaughter it and do the carbon pes and you're willing to fight for Hashem the says you want to fight for me. Do you have any idea what I got in my arsenal? You're giving me a little bit. You're opening up a tiny little Are you kidding me? I I remember I I'm so in love with you that I'm not going to take you out of Egypt. Anak would represent not that I needed to provide for you. Anakov represents that I wanted to give you everything that I can. Your kid could walk 30 minutes at night from his friends. I'll pick you up. I could I'll you know I I'll take care of it. And the holiday of sukus represents that unique miracle. But the question the tour people asks is but wait when did we get when do we get another cup? We get it when they left that first moment when they walk out of Egypt and they're worried about the little kind and they're worried about the wife and the husband and he likes it cold. look like it's hot and they come out of Egypt that first time. That moment of panic when they're walking out into the desert and they see and they feel the clouds of glory. That's the moment where we should be representing and having the miracle under that covenant should happen. There should be a there should be a a holiday at the back end of Pesak as soon as you come out of the Yam. We should have a special holiday, the day. We're on top of the Yamsuf at the last day of Pesak. We should have a special day that says, "Oh my gosh, we came out of Yamsuf and we're starting our journey. And as we started our journey and the Egyptians are gone, we're it's boiling hot with with scorpions. What? Hashem is flying us first. What? Hashem's giving us the real holiday should have been when we got the gift. Tish 6 months later. This is in the middle of the story. You randomly picking tish just that's the only cover. You're telling me it's because of this that fine say then say it's for something else. If you're telling me the reason why tissue because it's getting this fine but that's not somebody gives you a gift and six months later you give them a thank you card. Why is the holiday which is ana covered why is it taking place now? But I'm going ask you one maybe two more quick questions then we're going to build something together. Mr. throughout what's what's amazing about Yiddish kite is that Judaism is a religion with a standard. This happens a lot where we people are trying to climb towards Hashem and it's hard and they almost want to feel as if Hashem is saying this doesn't really apply to you. We almost would want Sasham to say like you can fast kipper if you can and you have to do kosher if you can shabas if you can and maybe people say that but Hashem doesn't say that. Hashem says there's chabas. Now you can grow but there's still chabas. And whether you just showed up a minute ago to Yiddish kite or you you're inkite your whole life. It's still just shabas. If it's hard for you, you're not put through from shabas. Okay, you can grow to shabas. Everyone has their path. But the doesn't say if it's hard for you, honey, you know what? Just do the night. If it's hard for you, I know yum kipper is difficult. If by two o'clock you feel faint, you could drink water. Doesn't work that way. If it's hard for you to leave work at two o'clock on a Friday and half of April and all of October you can work. It doesn't work like that. We have this mitzvah called suka and the halaka tells us you see suka you got to sit in it. But I'm sty if you're uncomfortable like if you're sitting there and it's like too cold for you like if it's the blankets don't work and the heater is broken you can go inside and if it's boiling hot and you're schvitzing we don't want you tovitz you can go inside what there's no other in you there's always workarounds go to your competent rabbi to help you through them But built into the system is a backend. You can walk into a suka and book out because it's 100° in Arizona or you're or you're sitting in Alaska and it's freezing cold. Well, I understand and then I'll give one more question then we're going to delve. Last one. Every yontiff has what's called it's called but every also has a theme and we say is the theme of and is the theme of matano if you look at the and you see what does it say for sukusman what there's nothing else wait I know Simka is the back end. Simka is the default. Everyone has SIMA. You ever you almost think like wait you couldn't think of anything else? So Simka is like what? Like if you have nothing else put in Simka again. So it's Simkha and Simka. But don't we have Simka? What do we need double SIMA for? Okay, got the three questions in your head. Now let's delve together. Let's get into the history. You saw comes out of Mitsim. And for a second, if you want to understand this mitem, you have to get back into the system and be for a minute. Kiso comes out of Mitz. And when they come out of Mitsuru says to them, you're my people and I can't believe you left and I love you like crazy and we're going to change the world together. You have no idea what you just signed up for. Mitsry is the pivotal moment in our lives. Which is why I was telling my son today we always go back to everything that we do every day every is always because is when we became a nation. Hashem came to us and said who wants to come out with me believe in me and take me to the world. 80% said it's too hard for us. 20% walked out into the wilderness with nothing in their hands except for faith in Hashem. And Hashem said, "This is the moment where me and you are going to change the world together. Trust me, you have no idea how good this is going to get. You came out with me. I'm Hashem. I created everything. You came out with me. You're going to have a book that's going to be the most influential book in the world. You're going to be my people. We're going to have a special relationship. You're going to open up a sitter anywhere you are, anywhere in the world that I'm going to listen. You're going to you're it's going to be so obvious to you that you're not going to think it's cool anymore to hear a miracle. You're going to hear miracle stories about Sadik. You're not even going to be like impressed anymore. You're going to be sitting in a room and hear about doctors who said this and you said tell him and went that way and no one's going to be blown away. You know why? Cuz you're going to be a people that is so connected to me that you know you're miraculous. You're going to be connected around the world and the book that I'm giving you the whole world is going to use. They may mess it up a drop but they the whole underlying co world is going to use this book. And Clausalis comes out with Hashem and they are engaged to Hashem and Hashem gives them the and says, "I could fly you, coach. I'm flying you first. You know why? Cuz I'm your dad. I'm your mom. I love you. You kidding me? Of course I'll pick you up. My pleasure. You don't have to walk. You don't have to take a bus. I'll pick you up." And Cla begins the journey. Yamsuf Mountain Tyra one onone with the creator of the humanity. They get engaged, they get married, there's there's auba. A lot of the wedding, a lot of the wedding customs comes from that moment of matra. And then something happens. Mosha's delayed a drop. Claiso makes a mistake and Moshe comes down and sees to his horror. Again, this is higher level than us. Just the stories that we read, not the people that we're talking about. We can't talk about people like that are in the Torah. This is for what we understand the stories to his horror sees bowing to an idol as the Gamarra says alubala it's as if god forbid we can even say it's if like somebody a a kala a bride who who unfort was unfaithful at by her canopy of her wedding because it was literally by the by the foot of mat tora and hashem the next day they wake up and there's food And there's drink. But you know what's missing? You're not covered. You know why? Cuz you left me. You left me. I guess we're not engaged anymore. I guess it's the eagle taking you now to the end. I'm out. and for a second be called Israel in the desert having been following Hashem that wakes up in the morning and ate and drank and looks around and goes, "Oh man. Oh man, what did we do? Oh man, we are alone. He's not picking us up. My ticket didn't go first anymore. I can't get in the family seating area. I'm sorry. You're not on the list anymore." No, you're not. you must not be family anymore. And Clausro comes to the reality that this is this hug that they were used to is gone. So Mosha start goes back up and for 40 days this is from the villagon. This is all from this is the villagon's approach to to to the zantiff. Moshuenu goes back up and for 40 days Mosher Rabain does chuva for and brings back new luos. And then on which is why by the spire we start saying on Moshe goes back up and for 40 days Moshe does whatever Moshe does and on our behalf gets us chuva and on the 40th day which is the day of Yom Kipper he comes down good news everybody we're good we're good forgiven In our in our world, Shiva Sabatamus starts all the destruction just like Shivabatamas was when they served the golden calf. And if you look at our calendar, you can begin to see destruction be building Shiva Saratamuz and that whole stretch of Shiva Sabatamus and Shiva and Tishab. It's all that stretch of impact of destruction and of leaving Hashem. And then comes l and we climb the ladder and we start saying and we come down on yum kipper and on yom kipper we hear it's a parallel to what happened and the next morning ki soul wakes up you know what they're expecting to see you are covered we're back right so I used to work at a law firm my first firm that I worked for and uh and when a work when you work in a law firm especially When you're a junior associate, you're working like non-stop. It's a crazy nutty experience. And so your colleagues that are your age become like your brothers because you're there 2:00, 1:00. Forget it. I'll never forget one day a colleague of mine comes to work as if he got hit by a bus. A bus. And the guy looked he walked it was a very waspy firm. you have to dress a certain. It's a very like waspy culture. You have to shave and everyone wears blue suits and it's a very like and he's disheveled and he's not even tucked in and it's like and he comes into my office and he sits down. When you're the Orthodox Jew, you're also like the rabbi, clergy, priest, you're like the whole thing. Therapist, whatever it is. If you're Orthodox, you must have some connection to Hashem. So, if someone's going through an issue, it's in your office. He walks in. He goes, "You have a minute?" I said, "I probably need more than a minute." He closed the door and he says, "My wife just kicked me out of the house." What happened? As if I know, you know what I'm saying? Like only 22. He said, "I'm a What do I tell you? I got married, but I still am a single guy. In my head, I'm still a single guy, and single guys that go to secular environments don't act appropriately." And my wife caught, you know, heard of whatever. He didn't give it me enough details. And she said, "Get out. Gasta leego. I'm not interested." She kicked me out. I said, "What are you gonna do?" He's like, "I don't know. What do you think?" I'm like, "I don't know." Like, "I'm a lawyer." You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not. So, he says, "Uh, I'm like, maybe you should like talk to someone." So, he's like, "Yeah, whatever." He gives me a couple of things. I'll say, "I'm sorry." I'm like, "That's a good start, I would think." Fine. He leaves. He disappears for a couple days, comes back a few days later, and he doesn't look as broken, but he looks he looks off. So I said, "What happened?" So he says, "She forgave me." I said, "Wow, Masletov." I said, "So why do you look like you're terrible?" So she said, "I spoke to her last night and she said to me, I forgive you. I I know the way you were raised and I know how person you are and I I know where your your background was and I I I know you you weren't trying to hurt me. What you did wasn't it wasn't a hurt you weren't directing it at me. Your life is a very selfish life and you're not good at not being about you and it's not about me. And it took me a couple of days to really to really understand. She said that what you did wasn't it wasn't a knock against me. It was just you being you and so I know wasn't malicious and so I forgive you. He said, "That's amazing. It's so nice of you. That's so kind of you." He says, "So when can I come home?" And she goes, "Oh, oh, I didn't say you can come home." Goes, "What do you mean? I thought you forgave me." She goes, "No, I forgive you. I don't know if I want to live with you." She's like, "No, I I I I legitimately forgive you, but do I want that in my life? I want I don't know if I want to deal with it. Like I don't know if I want to deal with you. I I forgive you. I don't know if this anyone is in business. Sometimes this happens. You're in business with somebody, they do something and you're like, "Oh man." And then yum kipper comes or whatever it is. You speak to the I had one guy come up to me and a guy came never forget guy came to shul wasing in the morning once and a guy come up to me literally. He said to me that he came to shul. This is a cool story. And in the corner was a guy who he was in dispute with in business. And if you're a cayenne, you're not allowed to den if you're in a fight with somebody. So he was stuck. Can you imagine? He didn't know if he should den or not. The rabbi says, "You can't den if you're in a fight." This guy came to he walked over to the guy. He hugged him and said, "I forgive you. It's okay." And he went back up to the he went up to the and he den he wasn't giving up one day of you. You imagine Israel? You think the guy's going to do business with him tomorrow? I forgive you. I'm the money. You want my business partner? N this forgiveness and he's welcome back home. They're very different. wakes up in the morning on and Mosha comes down and goes and they go and they wake up on the next day on the 11th of Tish and they go where are my ananim wait a second I thought he forgave us could it be could it be that we're good but we're not together anymore could it be that we're I'm forgiven, but Hashem doesn't want to be in my midst. Did we ruin it? And now, Hashem says, "I got you. I'm forgiving you. I'm not going to zap you, but to be the same Hashem that you were before, I don't know." And Cla held themselves in suspense for a few days during a period of time in which they didn't know. And Moshu Benu said, "Don't worry. Hashem said, "He's he wants to be with you. He wants to build a house with you." And they started gathering those those parts for the mishkun. And they woke up the next morning and it wasn't there. And they woke up the next morning and it wasn't there. And they're gathering that Mishkun and they're gathering those parts. And they wake up on the 14th of now it's already a couple days now. And they wake up and they look around. They're still not in the list. And on the 15th of Tish as they started to put the Mishkan together and it begins they wake up and what do they see? The nanover go says we're not celebrating. You know we're celebrating the return of the Hashem says I'm back. And not only am I back says in his kindness he says here's what I'm going to do for you. I got it. I got it. Climbing to me may be hard. I'm going to I'm going to find a way to bring my shina and bring it into your world. I'm going to create with you a mishkun. I'm going to create something you didn't have before. Beforehand, when you came to me, you had to climb up to Mount Tyra. Beforehand, when you came to me, you purified yourself for three days and walked up to a mountaintop to Kosraim. Now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to build for you a house where you're going to see every day my presence where you're going to bring me things like carbonas and we're going to have and in this world where you're going to be able to wake up in the morning and see kahan walking around and when you have a sin you're going to walk up with a and you're going to be able to interact with me. You'll be able to feel my presence in your life in the stuff you can touch and the stuff you can smell. You're going to walk on show and you're going to cook something and it's going to be mire people. It's going to be you're going to be able now what I'm going to do for you in order for us to have a relationship. I'm not going to expect you to always climb a mountain anymore. What I'm going to do for you is I'm actually going to have myina come into this world and now me and you could be together so to speak on your terms. It's the greatest gift ever given to us. The could have said listen you don't do it toughen up for the few of you that can climb the mountain climb. I'll take and he offered it to Moshe could have said Moshe and Aaron and a few people and you get up and the rest of them forget about it. We're we're we'll be a nation of Navy Seals in his kindness says I love you so much and I want to be together so much. What I'm going to do is I'm going to recreate a concept in which I can take myina the R that I bring into this world the light that is in everything and I can take it and I can put it into something that's digestible for you. I can put it into a mishkun. I could put it into a into into into a clea which is the greatest concept that Hashem could somehow mam him some part of himself that's in a clea that you as a human being could onash could on a on a reg and you can feel like you're connected and you could bring something to the mishkun and feel like hash and you can watch a fire come from the front you can be in a place where me and you can actually live together. That idea that me and you have a shot at having Shina in our mundane little lives was the greatest gift we ever got in our entire lives. Mom and dad said, "I could sit on top. You're one. I can't talk to you." I had a friend of mine who was so broken. His father was a genius philosopher. We were in Israel together. He was such a bro. I hope he's okay. I haven't seen him in so long. He was such a broken kid. You know why? His father was a genius philosopher and he would say they would sit at the table and talk about their day. There were kids hockey and football and and and his father be like, "What is wrong with you people? Hockey and football. Don't you understand that life is meant for them?" And they're like, "What did daddy just even say?" And he his father was unable to somehow be masig that a 15-year-old kid cares about sports because his father was in this the next world and he was broken cuz he never had a father. He had a physical father but he never had a father because every time he spoke to him he's looking at him like are you kidding me what are you an ant? What are you what are you caring about? Don't you understand that the body is only a temporary? And he's like I still don't know what you're talking about. It's like Aristotle says and he's like I I that's not even English. Aristotle didn't speak English. Hashem could have been like listen I'm sorry I'm Hashem. I'm the greatest horrible time. You're a kid. You're a person. You go to the bathroom. You sleep. You can't eat for one day and you're crouching. You know what I'm saying? Like you have a couple less carbs and you're having a panic attack. Are you kidding? Okay. If you can climb to the top, climb to the top. If you can't climb to the top, okay, it's not for you. be like everybody else. But dad, who's the most brilliant philosopher to get on his knees and sit with the kid and play one black, two black, three black, four alif b, the biggest god of all time, you know, shas by by his fingertips to go al joking me. You're the god. It's the greatest in the world. You have a shot with your father now. you have a shot with your mother now cuz she's willing to bring herself down to be with you. There's nothing sweeter than that. There's no gift we got better than that. Cuz if Hashem would have stayed in the heavens, we never would have gotten to him. If Hashem would have been up there, the game would have been over for us. Hashem would have said, "I forgive you. Good luck on the next climb. Start learning how to fast. Start learning how to not worry about your thing." Climb. You're getting married. You joking me? Kidding me? Mundanity. climb. None of us would have been at least I wouldn't have been part of it. Sukus is the moment where Kalisro for the first time in their lives in their lives stopped and said, "We're not going to make it. There's no way. We served an idol. He doesn't love us. It's not going to happen. We're dead." And he forgave us and he's still not going to be with us. He doesn't want us home. we can't do it. And that panic, that insecurity of Kalisrael flipped to the greatest joy of all time, which is not only did he was he want to be with us is he's willing to make an accommodation to come down to us. There's nothing more joyous than being able to be connected that which you love when the person you love is willing to accommodate you. You can accommodate they say you don't speaking you know they say when what is communication you don't speak in the way that you speak you speak in the way that they hear the ability for a person to say I will live my life for the way you see the world is the greatest joy for the person receiving it because it shows more than anything in the world that person really loves me beforehand maybe beforehand I thought he loved me but He loved me only if I was the best. But if he loves me when I'm broken, if he loves me when I'm human, when he can see me without makeup on, when she could see me when I fail, the person who gets to see me when I'm not the way I look in front of public and they still love me is the greatest gift in the world because then I know I don't have to be on for them. Hashem says, "I love you so much. I've adapted my whole world to build a way for me to connect to you on your terms. You're still going to be on my terms. You're not going to be commoners. I'm not making animals. I got to lift you a drop. But I'm lifting you just a drop. And you're going to live in this world. And you're going to be regular people. And you're going to be able in your regular life. Now, think about this. To have schina in your life. Think about what it's like to be a Jew and you look like a normal person and you're nothing but a normal person and you go to work and they go you're like us and you're thinking oh my gosh you know what I did yesterday I was in sho I was in you know did you ever you ever walk the streets on Yum Kipper and be like how are they driving they have any idea what's happening in the cosmos you go think about rash shana and go this is the day of the melik what where is everybody Sukus was when it all started to happen. The joy of sukus is a joy that hashem says you don't have to be a yum kipper Jew to find because in yum kipper was a day of kulo r. But to get to the kulo r you had to get rid of all your kipas. You have to get rid of all the blocks. You have to get rid of your comforts in your shoes and you got to rid of the survival instinct and your food and all the desires in your marital intimacy and all the cosmetic. You have to get rid of things in order to be worthy of the light and that comes to you on sukus. Hashem says I'm changing it up and now what I'm doing is I believe you once said to me says you understood I was once on the phone with you while I was going out. He goes where are you? I'm like I'm on the way. He goes on sukus. He goes how come? I said cuz I'm doing he goes you have any idea what goes on in a suka? I'm like I guess I don't. Here it goes. He goes are you kidding me? It's like digestible shina in your in your bot. You get to walk into a place with aina. Are you kidding? You get to hang out with Hashem. Do you know what goes on? He explained to me I don't know. I couldn't follow the what takes place when you're in a suka. Where are you running? Hashem's in the suka. What are you doing? Hashem's in the suka. You don't got to fast. You don't got to be You don't get You don't get a 5,000page moxer for day one sukus to finish to the end. The moxer and sukus is like, you know, mina before young kipper. You're eating, you're chilling, you're hanging out. This is what you're doing on suckus. But Hashem's in there. It's the flip. And the reason why we don't get it for is cuz it's not in our world. The American western mind says, I get kissing up to the deity for a few moments. I can do it. I can muster the energy to bow to the deity to get what I want. But to live with him, that's a different story. Fear, I don't like, but I get. Love, that's harder. And sickles comes every single year. And Hashem says, "You told me you loved me a minute ago, didn't you? Cuz I was there. I came down your kipper. Man, you were so convincing. I mean, you were screaming and crying at the end. I couldn't believe it. You said, "I run the world. Hashem little kids." You were like screaming your head off and you're all inspired. It was awesome. I was really Oh, my luck were there. We were so impressed. The son took a day off. It was all free. We were watching you. You said you wanted me. Didn't you throw you like why? I want you. And okay, I'm here. Here. Let's build a house together. And Sukus comes and we turn to Shem and go, "Yeah, the whole love thing. No, I actually don't love you. I really love myself. I just need stuff from you." And I was told that if I don't show up in your kipper, you're not giving me stuff. But now that I got stuff, or at least I'm not scared of not getting stuff, like I get to go back to my life. We're cool. And Hashem says, "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm actually going to create a litmus test to see if you actually were real in Yom Kipper. It's called sukus. And if you show up on sukus and you're really with me, the whole yum kipper thing, you're real. And if you show up on sukus and I can't find you, or better, this is the best. You show up on sukus and it's not exactly the temperature of your house and you're losing it. If I fly to Israel to surprise my child who's there for the year and I take him out to dinner and he can't stand to be in my presence because it's not with his buddies or because I'm not as quick in my conversation or I'm not his age or better. If I haven't seen him in a year and I see him for the first time and the temperature in the restaurant is a few degrees warmer than he likes and he's annoyed that he has to be there. You know what it feels like? You want to know what the greatest slap in the face of somebody who loves you is? You don't want to be with them. Because love means I want to be with you. Love is not I I'm with you. Amazon will be at your door every day. See you in a year. Love means I want to call home at night. Love means if I don't see you for a couple months, I'm losing it. Love means I want to be in your presence. And watch how this works. I'm almost done. Watch how this works. Sukus is the litmus test of Yom Kipper. You see, sukus, Hashem says, "No, I I got it. I scared you a little bit and you got here. I got it." Okay, guess what? Now we're going to do something a little different. Now you get to eat. Now you get to sleep. And all you got to do is do it with me. But watch what's going to happen on sukus. The temp's going to drop a little higher or a little lower or there's going to be a bee 10 ft above the sk or better. It's going to be a little tight and not have much room. It's going to be a little something. Some kind of drip's going to fall onto the table. It's going to be a little bit eh and Hashem's going to watch. I got a friend of mine who was fetching about his suka because was one of those years where it dropped to like 50 or whatever 40. I'll never forget this. I said to him, we were hawking three weeks later. I said, "What was one of your happiest moments of your life?" You know what he said to me? Watching my time five more just few more minutes. What was the most happiest go? What was the most happiest moment of your life? He said to me, honestly, he said, "Giant Stadium, when I was younger, I went to the game when they clinched the Super Bowl." And I was there, it was freezing cold. And I'm sitting in the stadium with 50,000 people. And the day that they clinched to go to that Super Bowl, the place was rocking. I couldn't feel my fingers. I was hugging every guy with tattoos. I felt like we were one people, one Giants nation. I said it's amazing because when the suka goes down to 40 you're panicking for the aster it's annoying but for some dudes in the front that are playing football and those watching best not only was it not annoying the cold weather was the best day of your life you remember it being cold. You know why? Cuz you love football. And when it comes to Hashem, you don't love Hashem, you love yourself. Hashem is your provider of your needs. He's not the object of your love. Hashem is Amazon.God. You go to him when you need him. But the truth is you don't love him. You love you. Sukus is the test. Sukus is the test. Which is why we have a rule. Now there are extremes. Rashem says Yehuda Israelian gave me the greatest line. He said to me, he said, "Maybear means Hashem saying I'm not even there for you. Mishna throws it in your face." Okay, rain's too cold. Maybe saying, "I'm sorry. You're not worthy." But let's forget the extremes. It's raining. It's raining. You got to go inside. Ask you Rob what level? I'm not talking about rain because the word is also somewhat subjective. Hashem is saying to you, I have so much to give you. You have no idea. And I'm building a home for us for the year together. And this suka is going to be your life. And my braas are going through this suka. And everything you davened for, it's now. Do you love me or do you love you? I love you. I love you, Hashem. Really? No. No. No. I love you. He goes, "Okay, fine. I got it. 61° 51° 48° you're panicking that you're leaving the box that I'm in or you pumped that you can go inside finally and your father's letting you go inside. You know why? Roy CL I flew to Israel to see you. I came from Shmayam down to see you. We only got a week together. You leaving? Where you going? What's the matter? It's not exactly the way you like it, but I'm here. You do for me. Where you running? Oh, it's really you you love, not me, you love. I understand. Hammed dire. It hurts you, honey. Pinasuka, you don't belong here anyways. >> You're upset. You annoyed. It's not sh for you. I came for my beloved. Suka is an suka. It's cuz I love you. Cuz we're in a relationship. If you're not in a relationship, it's not Shia for you. Inside's warmer. You should go into tea. That's probably better for you this year. Maybe that's why. You know what is you're not happy honey but I'm here. You're not blown away that the creator of humanity is coming down. You fetched about the food this you're eating. You fetched you were standing all day. You're sleeping. You fetch it into your family. They're all hanging around. What? You still unhappy? Oh, you're unhappy. They say why? Asia always says because Hashem does not like grouches. You don't want to be here. Don't be here. It's a to be in Hashem's embrace. Don't do me a favor. You passed the kipper. Fine. But now we're talking about living in my house. Can you imagine the pain of a parent whose kids come home for one weekend a year and the kids fetching cuz they're home with their parents? Mom and dad are like, "You're joking me. I pay for everything that you've done your whole life. You're spending a week in my house and you're fetching. You're pumped to go home. You know what you should do? You should go home. I'm your mother. I'm your father. I'm your brother. Imagine if it was your wife. Imagine you see your wife once a year. Can you imagine a husband comes home once a year to see his wife and he's pumped to go back on the road for real? We're walking into sukus now and the kureshu is giving us the greatest gift we've ever gotten. He's giving us himself in our lives. He's saying, "I'm coming to your house. You don't have to don't go to the mountaintop. Come to I'm coming to you. I really say to me goes, "Chill, relax, sit in the suka and enjoy yourself. I'm not telling you to fast. I'm not telling you to dive in. I got it. It's hard. You're a human being. You stay up all night. This, that. I'm telling you, you got a couple of days a year where you get to become you with me. It's the most incredible. It You don't get holidays like this. It's us but with Hashem aim to duru. He says just do what you do. Whatever. Just do what you do. Aim to duru. Just step it up a notch. You can't go to the bathroom in the suka. You can't speak wrong in the suka. I'm not telling you to be everything. I'm saying you're with me. But be you. Just do what you would do. Eat the meals. Hang out. Just be you. But be you with me. I just want you to be near me. You know when the kids are little, when the kids are little, they play toys. They just want to be near mommy and daddy. They just want to know that you're around. You play toys and I'll cook. I just wanted you to be near me. And for one week of our entire year, the Keshu says, "Be you. Just be you. But be with me. I'll go all the way down from Shay and I'll be with you and I will create an environment where you get to walk says you get to walk into the shade of the I get to bring my presence into this world. I create something for the reason that it's holier sometimes than a bas than a bish. I get to create an environment that is so filled of kaduca that you get to be you. And by you being you, you are filled up with me. It's an incredible opportunity that happens one week of our year only because we are who we are. And Hashem is watching to see how many of his kids are running from him and how many of his kids are running towards him. Not with fear, not with ya. You have to have you have to have awe. So because that time with a how many kids walk in and say Hashem, I just want to be with you. I want to be me with you and I want this to be with the rest of my life, Hashem. That means that suka that I'm in right now, this is the beginning. It ain't going away cuz when I walk back into my house in a week from now, I'm I'm keeping you. I'm keeping you. I'm just moving you into the dining room and my dining room's going to look like the suka cuz for the rest of my life I wasn't joking and I wasn't playing you and you're not on Amazon.God. I really meant it when I said yipper. I really meant my whole life is about looking for R and the R is in you and I want you. It's harder sometimes in yum kipper and my braha to us and my for us is that when you go to the next few days you watch your simka it's a big test you want to know where we're holding I can tell you for myself it's not so simple I'm a regular dude trying to figure it out I'm not holy that's for sure the next few days will give us more information about how we see Hashem than maybe the days that we're just passing cuz everyone knows how to step up when it's when when when your life is on the line. But now Hashem's like we're cool just to see what we do. And if for the next few days you spend time in as much as you can and everyone has sukas. It's complicated. I got it. Guess what? You know the good news with Hashem is he sees your heart. That's the good part about Hashem. You don't have to kiss up to him. He sees the next few days if we go into that suka and we have kavano. I'm going in for the mitzvah. I'm going in says I'm going in cuz you gave me and I'm telling you I feel like I'm going to have a life in a year with you surrounding me first class. I trust you. And if we walk into our suka and if you're if you're zoka to have your own children and you walk into that suka they're watching. And if you're zoka to have parents or siblings and you walk into that suka and your face is smiling ear to ear they're like what are you on? What's up? Why are you so happy for you say because I'm with Hashem or whatever you want to say to not get anyone to like make fun of you. But what you mean is I'm with Hashem and for the next seven days we don't miss a minute and we walk into that suka and we look up to Hashem and we make ourselves enjoy. Can you imagine this is what we're we have to fight for enjoying ourselves like this is what this is our voda now be happy to walk in and to make other people happy and to make your suka a place that has sim to turn we are fetchers by nature weak fetch for attention weak fetch for conversation people how's everything going You okay surviving? Really? You're surviving? You came out of the Holocaust. Oh, you're surviving. We fetch as part of our com. We don't. Hashem's like, don't fetch. And if we we can take upon ourselves today that tomorrow night when I walk into Hashem's home, I'm coming to see my father who came all the way to see me, who loves me, who wants to give me a first class year. I can't even wait to walk in. I can't wait to show him my family and my life. I can't wait to thank him for everything he's given me. And if I get to spend every second in that suka, it's cleaning me. Every second of being at the is building me. Every second that I'm in that suka, my whole insides are being built and cleaned and connected. And every second for seven days that I could be with him and every moment that I can show him that his presence brings me more happiness than the world around me. I'm giving nas to my dad in heaven and I'm showing him that his decision to come down was the best decision for my life and he'll stay with me the whole year. This is the litmus test. Aa may we be z to be those kids who when the parents walk in that room their eyes light up. May we be z to be those kids that when hashem shows up he looks at us and shows the world and goes look how excited they are to see me. I'm going to play with the temperature of love. They're not going anywhere. It it hurts them more to leave than it is to stay. It's bigger than the giant game. Hashem would give us $50 million if we spend seven days. I don't know anyone that wouldn't spend seven days is worth much more than $50 million bra. And we could be those kids. We could be those people. Why not? We should be those people. If you can tomorrow, please give money zal.org and tomorrow night put yourself in the head right head space and walk into that suka and don't come out unless you have to. And every second you're in there, remember you're sitting with Hashem. And it is the greatest joy in our lives to have Hashem as part of our lives. Nothing comes close. And then maybe, just maybe, after sukis, we leave and Hashem goes, "Oh, you were first class in Sukus. You know what? I kept first class for the whole year. It's on the house. You should be Zoh to be those people. give the and be able to live a real relationship with until he sayeshu puts the suka on the whole entire world with our days. Amen.