Rabbi Binyamin Yuhanan - Parashat Ekev

foreign is having with the Jewish people in the last few weeks of his life and he reminds the Jewish people that there is reward for keeping mitzvot that is it is actually beneficial for a Jew to keep the law of God in verse 12 it starts with the word and it will be as a result of and it shall be the reward when you hearken when you listen to these ordinances and You observe and perform them Hashem your God will safeguard for you the Covenant and the kindness that he swore to your forefathers Hashem made a deal with avraham is and the deal was that if their children will be loyal to God then God will be loyal to them that he will be their protector guide as verse 13 says he will love you bless you and multiply you he will bless the fruit of your womb means your children and the fruit of your land and examples are given your grain your wine and your oil The Offspring of your cattle and the flux of your sheep and goats your animals will produce a lot of offspring on the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you and all that Bounty you will receive on the good land that Hashem promised to our forefathers not only we will have happiness but we will also be in our homeland verse 14 continues the blessings for keeping the Torah you will be the Most Blessed of all the peoples there will be no infertile male or female among you or among your animals Hashem will remove from you every illness and all the bad diseases of Egypt that you knew Hashem will not put them upon you but will put them upon your enemies you will destroy all the nations that Hashem your God will deliver to you your eye should not pity them and you should not worship their gods for it is a snare to you it means that when you are victorious do not feel bad for the evil people if you're if you're gentle towards evildoers and you have pity on them and you leave them as is and allow them to continue their evil ways it will be a snare for you it will be a trap for you eventually you might get used to them become their friends and eventually you might actually start copying them and therefore our sages say the one who is merciful towards evil eventually he will become cruel towards good people rather you have to fight against the evil and be merciful towards righteous now we continue verse 17. perhaps you will say in your heart these nations are more numerous than I how will I be able to drive them out more often than not almost always the Jewish people fought against an enemy greater than it and they could rightfully ask how will I fight against this Mighty enemy they have more people more horses and more chariots more bows and arrows and in modern day they have more tanks and airplanes and of course they have much more people how can we fight them this is a question that could have stopped us from even trying but Hashem gives us assurance in verse 18 do not fear them you shall remember what Hashem your god did to Paro and to all of Egypt where the the Jewish people were slaves no weapons no Army surrounded by their masters the Egyptians who were beating them and killing them and and killing their babies without a rebellion without a shot the Egyptians were punished and the Jewish people were taken out the great tests that your eyes saw and the signs and wonders and the strong hand and the outstretched arm with which Hashem your God took you out all the descriptions of the Miracles that took place in Egypt just remember them and that will serve as your assurance that Hashem is always with you and you have nothing to fear because even if you are small in number God the most powerful is on your side and therefore no Nation on Earth can go against the Jews when they do the will of Hashem because Hashem himself will fight for them do not fear remember the what Hashem did to Paro and verse 19 continues so shall Hashem your God do to all the nations before whom you fear in our time we can remember our recent history Jewish people fighting against numerous armies when they were just a Young Nation and when they were surrounded by enemies on all sides from the ground and from the air and from the sea and from within the country itself and they did not give up they did not lay down in front of their enemies rather they turned to God they said Shema Israel and they went to fight and all their enemies were destroyed and instead of wiping our land of the face of the Earth we got more and more land with every war social Hashem your God do to all the peoples before whom you fear also the Hornet swarm will Hashem yoga sang Send among them until the survivors and hidden ones perish before you which means Hashem will cause that natural um reasons or animals and insects and birds will fight on your behalf it will be miraculous and our enemies are the first ones to admit we might not see what's going on on the enemy uh territory but they are witnessing it on their own skin you shall not be broken before them for Hashem your God is among you a great and awesome God and here I want to give an example of the the words that the Jewish people fought with their army and thank God they won all of them but in every war that they fought they were casualties however there was one war that the Jewish people were involved in but they didn't fight and in that war even though they were passive there were no casualties why because someone else was sent by God to fight for them and this is of course the the Gulf War in the early 90s when Saddam Hussein declared war against Israel and was throwing scud missiles huge Rockets each one could destroy a whole um High riser and he threw hundreds of them and 39 of them actually hit their target and buildings were falling all over but not even one Jew died why because of what we see over here when God fights our battles we have nothing to fear not even one Jew will be hurt the Jewish people didn't have to send their soldiers in they didn't have to lose any soldiers Hashem inspired other countries to come deliver weapons protect the Jews and fight for them against Saddam Hussein and overpower Iraq so when we rely on Hashem we are the most successful when we say Hashem let me help you let me do my part Hashem makes us successful as well but there are losses it costs us something to keep in mind and the more we rely on Hashem the more successful we're gonna be because Hashem is perfect and our actions are not now we are in verse 22 this is chapter 7. here there is a a prophecy that the victory of the Jewish people over the Nations that live in their land will be slow but there will be a reason for it in order to allow for proper settlement Hashem your God will thrust these nations from before you little by little you will not be able to annihilate them quickly lest the beasts of the field increase against you which means Hashem wants us not only to win but also to settle the land and keep it habitable if we destroy or Scare our enemies and they run away the land is going to be desolate by the time we go and are able to occupy everything there will be thorns and thistles the the land might turn into desert and it might have wild animals instead Hashem says as you progress the Nations will be pushed away however the neighbors are going to be very close to you they're not gonna run away because I need them to cultivate the land take care of the houses that they shouldn't collapse and to keep away wild beasts so sometimes even when we don't experience a fast rate of success we have to keep in mind that that is actually better for us and it's going to be more productive when we go slow Hashem your God will deliver them before you and will confound them with great confusion until their destruction he will deliver their kings into your hand like it happened with Saddam Hussein and many others and you shall cause their name to perish from under the heaven no man shall stand up against you until you have destroyed them again all this is a promise of God for the Jewish people who keep the Torah as the Parsha begins this shall be the reward when you listen to these laws and perform them we have safety we'll have peace Hashem will show his love shower us with blessings we're going to have many children our animals will reproduce all our businesses will Thrive and we will live in the land of Israel now however there are some conditions as we conquer One Nation after another and we destroy them we have to make sure not to follow their Customs as it says the carved images of their gods you shall burn in fire you shall not covet you shall not desire and take it for yourself the silver and gold that is on those idols anything that was used for idol worship becomes forbidden and even if it's precious metals don't desire them destroy them lest you be ensnared by because if you keep it it will remind you of the idol the idol will always be on your mind and one day you might turn to it verse 26 and you shall not bring an abominant Abomination into your home and become banned like it Abomination here refers to idol worship um anything that is related to idol worship idols themselves as well as ornaments that were put on them and anything that God does not approve of should not enter our homes now chapter 8. motion recounts what we went through in the desert and he shows it to us in a different light chapter 8 verse 2 you shall remember the entire Road on which Hashem your God LED you these 40 years in the wilderness so as to afflict you you think it's to afflict you to cause you pain no it's in order to test you the Affliction is a test if we pass it we are rewarded greatly if we fail it then Hashem will continue testing us and strengthening us and testing us and strengthening us until we will be able to pass all tests So the faster we pass our tests the faster we will see the blessing the more person says let me go slow the more he will be subjected to tests as it says that a person is created with a certain amount of predetermined suffering he has to go through a certain amount of effort he has to put in and if he's slow and he says you know what I don't want to work hard I'm not going to put in effort he'll have to work longer if he says I want to have easy comfortable life I don't want to pass tests then Hashem will send him suffering from elsewhere it's not going to be suffering of doing the right thing but rather it may be suffering of popped tires of a ticket of IRS audit of diseases and so on and so forth instead of saying God you want me to do something and it's not comfortable I have to keep Shabbat I have to eat kosher I have to wear keypad I have to wake up early to go to Minyan and I have to go to sleep late because I can't just plop into the bed I have to first say shma before I go to bed I can't just eat I have to wash my hands and I have to make a blessing I have to make sure it's kosher there is effort involved but that effort is already pre-desting and if a person chooses not to go through that effort Hashem sends him empty effort toothache and other kinds of headaches without earning a reward so again Hashem LED you these 40 years and Afflicted you in order to test you to know what is in your heart whether you would observe his commandment or not yes he Afflicted you and he let you hunger however it was for your benefit because of lack of food he fed your man and man was something that you didn't know nor did your forefathers know why it was the greatest lesson in order to make you know that not by bread alone does Man live you don't need bread that comes from 10 kinds of Labor that a person has to put in in order to have a piece of bread not by bread alone does Man live not only by the work of your own Hands by the sweat of your own brow rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of Hashem does Man live you can rely on God and God will make a statement will come as if by miracle and Moshe reminds the Jewish people about their life in the desert your garment did not wear out upon you yes because there were no morals to go to the more often you go to malls the more you order online the faster you will notice your clothes are being worn out they're getting small in size and you have to replace them those that don't go to stores too much their clothes seems to last longer and because the Jewish people were in the desert Hashem said for the next 40 years you don't have to change your shoes you don't have to change your pants you don't have to change your shirts and dresses the same dress lasted for 40 years not only that if it was a child who was wearing his child clothes as he grew the clothing grew with him because there was no place to buy new clothing no marketplaces and your feet did not swell even though you were walking on hard dry Earth your feet did not get damaged these 40 years and you should know in your heart that just as a father will chastise his son so Hashem your God chastises you parents out of all people are the most critical people in a human being's life why because parents love the child the most and they see greatness potential in the child and they therefore are pushing the child you didn't do this perfectly do this why don't you do this why didn't you get better grade of course that's not the recommended attitude to have but we can understand why parents do it for our own sake and that is why Hashem chastises us that is why Hashem rebukes us because he expects a lot from us because we he knows that we are capable of a lot and like a loving parent Hashem will take us out of our comfort zone and push us towards new experiences and he will encourage us to be more enthusiastic and move faster and put in more effort but as a loving father you shall observe the Commandments of Hashem your God to go in his ways and hear him for Hashem your God is bringing you to a good land why should we serve Hashem because we're going to get the reward we're gonna go to the land of Israel and we might say who needs it God forbid we're comfortable here in America we have Subway system and we have um baseball stadiums and we have airports and the highways it's very convenient who needs to go to the land of Israel and Moshe explained to explains to us that the land of Israel is better than any other land it is a land with streams of water of Springs and underground water coming forth in the valley and in the mountain a land of wheat barley grape fig and pomegranate a land of olive oil and date honey a land where you will eat bread without poverty you will lack nothing there a land whose stones are full of iron and from whose mountains you will mine copper and we might say this is only partially true yes the land is blooming the desert is turning into a garden we don't have so much water in the land of Israel and we don't have so many natural resources but that is only because the Jewish people are not 100 doing God's will there is a large um percent of the Jewish nation that are following God's will to the last letter and therefore we have food to eat we have prosperity we have technology our land is beautiful tourists love it but it's not perfect and Hashem is waiting until the rest of the Jewish Nation joins the ranks and also serves Hashem and then all the blessings are going to come upon us you will eat and you will be satisfied fully and bless Hashem your God for the good land that he gave you this is a Mitzvah to say after eating a good meal to your full satisfaction if you eat bread meal and you're satisfied it is a total requirement to bless Hashem for food and for land now verse 11 Moshe is warning us against the danger of prosperity when people become rich and wealthy they might fall into a trap what is it take care lest you forget Hashem your God by by not observing his Commandments his ordinances and his degree decrees which I command you today why why would we forget Hashem and verse 12 explains lest you eat and be satisfied and you build good houses and settle and your cattle and sheep and goats increase and you increase silver and gold for yourselves and everything that you have will increase so what's so bad about it you will eat and be satisfied you will have nice big houses you'll settle you'll have a lot of cattle and sheep and goats your silver and gold will increase and everything you have will increase we are living this time so what are we have to be worried about verse 14. and your heart will become haughty and you will forget Hashem your God who took you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery who leads you through the great and awesome Wilderness of snake serpent Scorpion and thirst where there was no water who brings forth water for you from The Rock who feeds you man in the wilderness in order to test you to do good for you in the end this is the nature of all tests at the end we are rewarded with good for passing them but Hashem says that when the Jewish people have everything they stop relying on Hashem and they start thinking that they can be self-sufficient they forget about God they stop observing his Miss World and you may say in your heart my strength and the might of my hand made me all this wealth then you shall remember Hashem your God that it was he who gave you strength to make wealth in order to establish his Covenant that he swore to your forefathers as this day Jewish people should always remember where their blessing and strength comes from because only then it will continue but if we take credit for ourselves then Hashem will say you think you did it do you want to try doing it yourself here I will let you I'm gonna leave you alone for a little bit and let's see how you manage and then things start falling apart and we get a phone call from a bank that our account is closed and that someone hacked in and there is a rubber and a full and injury and a ticket and a so many problems Shalom can happen if there is no protection from God it's only when you remember that it was he who gave you strength to make wealth then you will continue to have peace and prosperity now chapter 9 here or Israel today you cross the Jordan soon the Jewish people are going to go into the land of Israel across the Jordan River to come and drive out the Nations that are greater and mightier than you cities that are great and fortified but you know today that Hashem your God he crosses before you don't think you're going to fight by yourself he is a consuming fire he will destroy them and he will subjugate them before you do not say in your heart now Jewish people might make a mistake and say why is it that we God the land of Israel from the Arabs or from the British and from all the other nations that were there do not say in your heart when Hashem pushes them away from before you sing because of my righteousness did Hashem bring me to possess this land and because of the wickedness of these nations did Hashem drive them away from before you yes those nations were Wicked and yes Jewish people compared to any other Nation are righteous but don't say that that was the reason the reason we got the land of Israel again it's not because we deserved it because of our good behavior and not only because the people who lived there were so wicked they live everywhere and they still survive not because of your righteousness you're coming to possess the land but because of the wickedness of these nations does Hashem you God drive them away from before you yes they lose their right to be on this land because of their wickedness however there is another factor and in order to establish the word that Hashem swore to your forefathers the reason why Hashem chose this land for the Jewish people and not any other land was because he promised avraham that he will give him and his descendants this land he promised similarly to his hug and he promised the same to yaakov and now he's Bound by that promise and you should know that not because of your righteousness does Hashem you God give you this good land to possess for you are a stiff-necked people from beginning of our nationhood until now we are as stiff-necked people it is a character trait that we can use for good to refuse to follow all the other nations and their Wicked Ways but unfortunately some Jewish people use it for their own detriment by being stubborn and denying God now we continue on page 9 7 987 verse 7. Moshe reminds the Jewish people of all the times that they rebelled against God remember do not forget that you provoked Hashem your God in the wilderness you have been Rebels against Hashem from the day you left the land of Egypt until your arrival at this place and remember Mount Sinai you provoked Hashem when you made the golden calf and Hashem became angry with you to destroy you and I had to ascend the mountain and stay there for 40 days and 40 nights red I did not eat and water I did not drink for 40 days Moshe became like an angel and Hashem gave me two stone tablets it was at the end of the 40 days and 40 nights that Hashem gave me two stone tablets and Hashem said to me descend quickly from here for your people that you took out of Egypt has become corrupt they have strayed quickly from the way that I commended them and they have made themselves the molten image Hashem continued and said I have seen these people and behold it is a stiff-necked people let go of me and I shall destroy them and erase their name from under the heavens and I shall make you a mightier more numerous Nation than them and Moshe understood that if Hashem is saying let go of me and I will destroy them that means that Moshe still has a chance to save the Jews so I turned and descended from the mountain and the mountain was burning in fire like a volcano and the two tablets of the Covenant were in my my hands and when I saw and behold you have sent to Hashem you made yourself a molten calf I grasp the two tablets and threw them from my two hands and I smashed them before your eyes then I prayed before Hashem for another 40 days and 40 nights bread I did not eat and what I did not drink or I was terrified of the Wrath and blazing anger with which Hashem had been provoked against you to destroy you verse 20 Hashem became very angry with Aron to destroy him as well and I prayed also for aharon at that time this means that since Aron participated in the building of the golden calf Hashem decided to punish him but Moshe prayed with for him and Moshe had the discussion with aharon and harun explained to him that his intent was good he was trying to stall for time and prevent even greater sins but nevertheless he was held accountable and moshe's prayer helped and instead of destroying all children of aharon Hashem only destroyed two of them nadavan avihu remained alive I took the calf and burnt it in fire and I pounded it grinding it well until it was fine as dust and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain and the Moshe took that water mixed with the powder from the golden calf and let the Jewish people drink and whoever sinned died and in verse 22 Moshe continues reminding the Jewish people of all the rebellions and in Tavera when they complained and in Masa when they didn't have water and they complained again and in kivrata Tava when they desired meat and they complain that they don't have sufficient food [Music] when they send the spies and they brought evil report verse 24. you did not believe him and you did not listen to his voice you have been a Rebels against Hashem from the day that I knew you I threw myself down before Hashem for 40 days the the same second set of 40 days I prayed to Hashem and said my Lord Hashem do not destroy you your people and your heritage that you redeemed in your greatness and you took out of Egypt with a strong hand remember for the sake of your servants and don't pay attention to the stubbornness of these people and Hashem forgave the Jewish people and gave us Thor a second time and then now Moshe is describing uh the second set of the tablets at that time Hashem said to me carve for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and Ascend to me to the mountain and make a wooden Arc for yourself so that when you bring the tablets you will have where to keep them so I made an arc of Cedarwood and I carved out two stone tablets like the first ones then I ascended the mountain with the two tablets in my hand the first set of the tablets were made by God himself but the second set was made by Moshe he inscribed on the tablets according to the first script the 10 statements that Hashem spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the congregation and Hashem gave them to me I turned and descended from the mountain and I placed the tablets in the ark that I had made now the death of aharon is described the children of Israel journeyed from Beirut binayakan to mosera there Aron died and he was buried there ministered for in his place now the commentate is explained that really Aaron didn't die there but what happened was when aharon died the Jewish people got scared because the Clouds Of Glory left and some of them started running back and the tribe of Levy pursued them and they forged them to bring them back and many people died and then they came back and they mourned for aharon and for the loss of people from there you travel to good God and from good God to yatrata and and it is yatwa is a land of Brooks of water now after the golden calf Hashem set apart the tribe of Levy to carry the ark the Jewish firstborn lost the privilege to serve Hashem in the betamic dash now this privilege was given to the tribe of Levy and the kohanim were selected out of the Levites to stand before Hashem to minister to him and to bless in his name now Moshe describes the third set of 40 days on the mountain when he actually received the second set of the tablets I remained on the mountain as for the first days 40 days and 40 nights and Hashem listen to me this time as well and Hashem did not wish to destroy you verse 12. tells us the famous words and now Israel what does Hashem your God ask of you only to fear Hashem your God and go in all his ways and to love him and to serve Hashem your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to observe the Commandments of Hashem and his decrees for your benefit why should we keep those of Hashem because verse 14 explains behold to Hashem your God are the heavens and the highest Heaven the Earth and everything is in it both the entire physical universe and the entire spiritual World belong to Hashem so of course we have to keep his laws because it's the smartest thing to do to do what your creator tells you to do the one that possesses the key to your life verse 15 even though Hashem is the master of the entire universe only your forefathers did Hashem cherish to love them and he chose their offspring after them you from among all the nations as this day and therefore cut away the barrier of your heart and no longer stiffen your neck stop being stubborn and look at Hashem listen to him follow him for Hashem you God he is the God of all the powers and the lord of the Lords the great the mighty and the awesome God who does not show favor and does not accept a bride if someone again goes against him there is no way to come out of it Hashem is not a human he knows everything he sees everything and he can do anything he is more powerful than the greatest dictator and you cannot bribe him at the same time Verse 18 explains that Hashem is the most humble and caring God he carries out the Judgment of Orphan and Widow he loves the proselyte he loves the converts to give him bread and garment and you should also love converts because you were once strangers in the land of Egypt you shall fear Hashem your God and you shall serve him and to him shall you attach yourself and in his name shall you swear he is your praise and he is your god who did for you these great and awesome things that your eyes saw and one of the Miracles was that with 70 Souls did your ancestors descend to Egypt and now Hashem your God has made you like stars of Heaven for abundance and verse 1 of chapter 11. we have first-hand knowledge of God and of the resolution at Sinai you shall love Hashem your God and you shall Safeguard his charge and his Commandments all the days you should know today that it is not your children who did not know or who did not see the chastisement of Hashem your God his greatness and his strong hand all the Miracles the signs and the Deeds that he performed in the midst of Egypt and what he did to the army of Egypt over whom he swept the Waters of the Sea of reeds and what he did to you in the wilderness and what he did to that Iran when the earth opened its mouth and swallow them it's not your children it's not hearsay rather it is your own eyes that see all the great works of Hashem which he did now the emotion is speaking to the Jewish people they are all those that were children until 20 years of age that left Egypt now they are in their 40s in their 50s 50s and in their 60s but they still remember the whole thing how Moshe came to Egypt and how Moshe performed all the Miracles and he took them out and they remember the last 40 years in Egypt they themselves witnessed it so Moshe is telling them I'm not telling you stories you yourselves witnessed them rather it is your own eyes that see all the great work of Hashem you shall observe the entire commandment so that you will be strong and you will come and possess the land to which you're Crossing and if you do that Hashem will prolong your days on the land the Hashem swore to your forefathers to give them and to their offspring a land flowing with milk and honey and now Moshe again lists the great Virtues Of The Land of Israel the land to which you come to possess it it's not even like the land of Egypt which at that time was the most fertile land because in the land of Egypt you would plant your seed and you would have to water it on food you would have to carry the buckets here the land of Israel is much better you don't have to work so hard it is a land of Hills and Valleys from the reign of heaven will it drink water if Jewish people follow the word of Hashem they don't need to work the land so much Hashem will provide the water and the Sunshine and all the nutrients at the right time then um it is it is a land then Hashem your God seeks out the eyes of Hashem your God are always upon it from the beginning of the year to the Year's End every time as soon as the need arises Hashem already sends the blessing it will be that if you listen to my Commandments then I shall provide rain for your land in its proper time and you may this by the way is uh the second paragraph of if you listen to my Commandments I shall provide a ring for you in its proper time and you may Gather in your grain your wine in your oil I shall provide grass in your field for your cattle and you will eat and you will be satisfied however beware for yourselves lest your heart be seduced and you will turn astray and serve gods of others and prostrate bow down to them then the wrath of Hashem will Blaze against you and he will stop the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its produce and you will be swiftly banished from the goodly land that Hashem gives you you shall place these words of mine upon your heart and upon your soul and you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm your hand to fill in and let them be an ornament between your eyes the head kefilian you shall teach them to your children to discuss them this is a Mitzvah to teach Torah to our children while you sit in your home and while you walk on your way wherever you may be you have to review and learn the words of Torah when you go to sleep and when you arise that is the Mitzvah of saying Shema twice a day when we wake up in the morning and before we go to sleep and you shall write them on the doorpost of your house and upon your Gates that is the Mitzvah of mezuzan this paragraph as well as the paragraphs of Israel is written in the mezuzah and if you do all these things teach Torah to your children learn Torah constantly put on te fill in attachment to all your doorways uh then Hashem will prolong your days and the days of your children upon the land that Hashem has sworn your forefathers to give them like the days of the heaven over the Earth as long as the Earth is in existence the Jewish people will have possession of the land of Israel verse 22 again at the conclusion of the Parsha Moshe reminds the Jewish people of the great reward for observing mitzvot four if you will observe this entire Commandment that I command you to perform it to love Hashem yoga to walk in all his ways and to cleave to him Hashem will drive out all these nations from before you and you will drive out greater and mightier Nations than yourselves every place where the soul of your foot will tread shall be yours wherever you step will become Jewish Land from the wilderness and the Lebanon from the river the Euphrates River until the Western sea shall be your boundary from the Euphrates River until the until the Mediterraneans see will eventually be the land of Israel no man shall stand up against you because Hashem your God will set your Terror and fear on the entire face of the Earth where you will tread as he spoke to you this concludes parshad akev we read time and again of all the great rewards that we will receive for observing the Torah thank you for joining