EMETTalk - Dr. Mark Rutenberg

Okay, without any other introductions, please help me welcome our next [music] speaker, Dr. Mark Wenberg. [applause] All right. Um, >> ready? >> No, you're on. >> Didn't [snorts] make a difference, did it? Uh, how many people here know the story of Honyagio? >> Honyi Hamagio. Just raise your hand if you know the story. All right. A lot of people don't know the story. So honaki was a sage who lived at the time bay sheni toward the end of bayasheni and there was a drought and [music] it was a very bad drought and we lived by the rain in Israel. Um, so Hony Mag goes outside and he puts a circle hon. He makes a circle around himself. [music] He draws a chalk around himself and he says, "Hashem, I'm not leaving this circle until it rains." Nothing happens. Says a louder, "Hashem, I'm not leaving the circle till it rains." It starts to rain a little bit. No, not that kind of rain. A real rain pours. Um, Rabbi Shiman Chhatak said to his wife, "You know, I could stand outside, put a circle around myself and cry all day long when rain had to drop." His wife said, "Does that mean Konamago is bigger than you?" Said, "No, it's [music] just different. It's like I'm an adviser to the king. He has a he has this board of adviserss, you know, his part his his cabinet, and they decide what to do, and I say this, and someone says something else, whatever." Um, and while this is going on, the king's seven-year-old, 5-year-old son climbs on his lap and says, "Aba, give me a chocolate." Now, that's honest. I'm one of the advisers of the king. He may or may not listen to me. Point is, that's one way of looking at this. But there's a much deeper way of looking at it. It doesn't mean he was being childish. It means he was immediate. So, we have to to understand that we have to go to his grandson. his grandson um was um Aban Hilkia. Uh so this is a very remarkable family. The Hon the Hamagio family honag family very remarkable. [music] His grandson the sages sent his um three people to his grandson because there was another there was another u drought and so we need you to pray for his grand his grandfather passed away. We need you to pray for rain. Um so they would they [music] he wasn't clear he didn't he didn't address to them quickly the go there in Tanis 23 goes into the gimmel goes into this whole thing it's very interesting he he did certain things that were strange and he w it doesn't matter but the point is finally goes into his house goes to his wife he says let's go up on the roof so she go they go on the roof he his wife goes in one corner he goes in the other corner and they pray for rain and it rains and and the the sages who came to recruit him noticed that it rained on his wife's corner [music] much earlier than it rained on his corner. So he asked him why is that? He said something very interesting. Um and he said that I give her the money. I bring the money into the system. That's my job. I set up the structure. [music] But she's the one who sees the poor people. She hears their stories. She knows what's going on with them. She's at the front door. I I just fund the operation. She's a hands-on direct connection to the operation. Hashem listens to that. That's the immediacy. That's why Hony that she wasn't. By the way, we think that Abhukia [music] was a son of a daughter of Honyagago. This is Abhilukia's wife. This is not a descendant, direct descendant. This is through marriage. But the but the concept was transmitted [music] that it's a direct connection. So the before should we talk about this in connection something very very important which is where did this all come from [music] and Rifka Yutsuk and Rifka are praying for a child they don't have a child yet um and the puss says [music] the says that um is an old word for prayer and prayed to Hashemishto Oh, what does that mean? Luna, it means [music] in in in Hebrew means like opposite, but not really opposite like in in in in um a good English word for it um in juxiposition with they they they they relate to each other [music] but they're separate. They're separate. He's in one corner just like Abahilkia one corner of the roof, the other corner of the roof over here by Yetska. He is in one corner of the room, she's in the other corner. Why? So before I go into this, it says men and women operate differently. [music] They pray differently. And there's a fascinating thing I just said. If I had another half a second, which I don't, I would tell you that this Why do you think we have a mita? You think it's because of steers? That's a 19th century idea. There are always two reasons. One was the other one is that men [music] and women pray differently. And why do people go to a Giants game? It's much better to watch the football game on TV. You're comfortable. You're not freezing. You're what off? You're you're able to hear a commentary. Why did they go? Because the environment gives them co-ak. Everyone else is cheering next to you. That doesn't happen in your living room, right? In Shul the [music] people who dive in next to you, they reflect off of you. And so [music] women and men have a different path. The nie talks about it. the sardic the the uh Abu Abu Janeer talks about it. It's a it's [music] it's we separate not just for sneers. It's another reason we separate because we want to be with people who pray like us and women have a different prayer. You guys are a corporation. You fund it. She does it. That's it. [applause]