Tomer Devorah with Rabbi Avigdor Miller's Commentary 23 Ch 9 VeTashlich Bimtzulot Yam Kol Chatota

Shalom. We are learning Tom Devor the ninth chapter. He hashem will throw all their sins into the depths of the sea. This is as it says he casts their sins into the depths of the sea just like he threw parro into the sea. Why did parro the pharaoh deserve to be drowned in the sea? Why was it necessary to drown the Egyptians? This is the question we asked at the beginning of this chapter. Hashem could have made them forget about the Ben Israel and say they left us already. We had trouble with them. Why should we pursue them once more? we had enough from them. Let's forget about them. But Egyptians didn't do that. Hashem persuaded them to follow the Ben Israel so that Hashem can throw them into the sea. And so too, the sins that would have been visited upon the ben Israel would instead be upon the heads of the Egyptians. Hashem wanted the Egyptians to run after the Jews so that they become like the goat of Yum Kipur. So that we put all our sins on their head and we throw them into the sea just like we throw the goat to Aazel. That is a cabalistic approach. This means the power of the judgment that was then visited upon the Ben is will be thrown on those who are called Mitsulot. the depths of the sea. Hashem throws into the depths of the sea all our mistakes are called all our enemies. Why are the evil nations called the depths of the sea? This is hinted in the verse. The wicked are like the driven sea. They cannot be quiet and the waters drive before them mud and sediment. A rash, an evil person, is never satisfied. He is always disturbed. He's disturbed by his evil thoughts. What I want to do illegal. How I want to take advantage of my victims. He's constantly making plans. How illegally make gain and at the same time he's constantly worried about the punishment that is coming to him. He wants to do evil and get away with with it. So he's constantly planning evil and then he has to constantly plan his getaway. He has to constantly protect himself because he knows Hashem is after him to punish him. Rasha is never at peace. He is always disturbed. And therefore the ocean eludes to the wicked. So we say Hashem will throw our sins into the depths of the sea. That means Hashem will put our sins on the evil people. On Roshah there are three books open. the book of sadikim, the book of the righteous who are written in the book of righteous and sealed right away. Then we have the book of the evil. They are sealed written and and sealed in the book of evil. And then there are we the the middle uh slice of the nation people who have some sins but mostly we are good. And Hashem says you know what since you're mostly good I'm going to take your sins and I'm going to put them on the evil people. The evil people are written for death. They're written for evil. They're going down anyway. Let them take your sins and I'll drown them together with your sins and you will be written in the book of life. How do we do that? Just like um the Jewish people on Yum Kipur, they repented. They abandoned their sin and they put their sins on the goat. They said, "We don't want our sins. Let's put our mistakes on the goat and throw them away. We do not identify with them. It's not us. And then Hashem says, "Oh, if you identify yourself with good, then you're right. Mistakes don't belong to you. I'm going to give them to people who identify themselves with evil. those that are majority bad. And uh the same way as in the olden times when we had beta mikdash, we would put our sins on the um goat and throw it away. So too now, even though we don't have beta mikdash, but we still have yum kipur and we still have touva every day. Hashem takes our mistakes, those mistakes that we do not want to continue, and he throws them into the sea. He throws them to those who like evil. Of course, Hashem wanted it to be so, but because they are the ones who carried out the judgment of suffering on on the Jewish people, Hashem will pay back all their recompense on their heads. Which means we said that um the evil people are not only those that make mistakes between them and God. Evil people are also those that hurt others. Evil people are those that hurt Jews. Whether whether it is a non-Jew who hurts a Jew or God forbid if it's a Jew who hurts another Jew, they did something bad to um a Jew. that Jew deserved it because we believe that nothing happens to anybody and especially to a Jew if Hashem didn't decree it upon them. If Hashem did not want it to happen. So a Jew had to receive some kind of discomfort whether from another Jew or from a non-Jew. He deserved it. So then why should Hashem punish the attacker? If Hashem wanted it to be so, why is the attacker guilty? And the answer is because usually 99.999% of the time [snorts] the attacker does not have God in mind. When someone gets angry and they scream at their victim, they're not thinking of fulfilling God's command that possibly this victim deserves this discomfort. No, they're only thinking about themselves and how to protect themselves and how to ease their anger. And therefore, Hashem says, "You caused suffering to that Jew not because you were seeking justice and truth and you were trying to fulfill God's will. Rather, you hurt that Jew because you wanted to hurt them. And therefore, Hashem pays them back onto their head all the punishment that they deserve for hurting another Jew. That's reminding us how careful we should be never to hurt another Jew. Not in words and not in action. And we might say, "But he deserves it." Yes, but let me not be the one to punish him. Because whoever punishes the Jew, even if the Jew deserves it, God forbid, will be punished himself. So because after all, they did what they did of their own free will. Even though Hashem put them in that place for that purpose and gave them the power, they acted with their free will. So they deserve the punishment. And even after they have disappeared, meaning even after this non-Jew will die, Hashem will reconstitute them once more on the day of judgment and demonstrate that he is punishing them for what they did to the Jewish people. We have uh stories like this from the Talmud where various people brought up from the dead [snorts] ancient characters and they asked them how are you fairing over there and they told them whenever our punishment is coming to us they bring us back to life and they punish us and they kill us again. For example, the Talmud says that the the three famous enemies of the Jewish people were brought up to life by Unkus the convert. before he converted he said let me ask famous people in history. So he went and with the help of um special kind of witchcraft, occult practices, he brought up the spirit of Bilam, the one that uh wanted to curse the Jews. And he asked them, "How are you doing?" This is the real question. How are you doing? And he said, "I'm not doing so well. Why? And he said, "Because they are punishing me every day for my evil tongue, for my um plans and actions to hurt the Jewish people." And he explained to him the terrible punishment that he receives daily. And then and then um Unlas asked him so should I join the Jewish people. If you are telling me that for hurting the Jews you are punished means Hashem loves the Jewish people. Should I join them? And Bam couldn't overcome his evil character and he continued singing the same song and he said no you should fight them but you got punished for hurting the Jews still I am programmed I programmed myself during my life and that's what our sages say that um what we put into our mind stays with us forever we cannot change We cannot hope that when I die, I'll finally see the truth and everything's going to be good. No, we program our thinking forever. Our soul is um affected by the thoughts that go through our brain when we're alive. And so Bilam told him, I can't help myself. I still wish to hurt them. Then he brought up his uncle. Uncleus brought up Titus, the enemy of the Jewish people, number two. And um the one that destroyed the beta mikdash. And he said, "How are you doing, my uncle?" And he said, "I'm not doing well." What happened? They reconstitute me and they punish me and they burn me every day. So he said, "So uncle, do you regret for hurting the Jewish people and do you advise me to join them?" Then he said, "No, I cannot give you good advice because I program myself to think badly." And so he told him the same thing. like Bam pursue the Jewish people and hurt them because if you want to become famous in this world, you have to go after the Jews, hurt them. There is a special um pact, a special agreement that Hashem made that anyone who wants to volunteer to be the stick in God's hand to punish the Jewish people for disobeying God. Hashem says, "I will make you great." Why? Hashem says, "I will not allow my people to be given into the hand of a simpleton. I will not allow the Jewish people to be um overtaken by a lowly nation. I will only give the Jewish nation into the hands of the greatest nation around because Jewish people are royalty. It wouldn't look good for them to be beaten by a lowly nation. And therefore, if any nation or any individual tries to start up with the Jews, what will I do? I will raise them up. I will bring them to the height of the world. I will make them famous. I will make them rich. I will make them powerful. And then they're going to go against the Jewish people so that the Jews throughout their history will have encap encountered all the great powers and then when the uh the punishment is over, I will bring that country or that individual and I will throw them down to make the miracle greater. that I love the Jewish people so much that anyone who hurts them will lose everything and the more they have the better the fall will be. So Tus told um Unclus if you want to become great in the physical world you have to attack the Jews. That's how you will become famous. That's how you will go on um the front page of every newspaper. And then Uncle said, "Let me try one more time." And he brought up the enemy number three of um the Jewish people and that is Yashka, the the the leader of Christianity. And he asked him, "How are you doing in the next world?" And he told him, "I'm not doing so well." So he said, "What do you recommend?" And he told him, "You know, even though in my life I was against the Jewish people, but after all, I am Jewish and now I see their greatness." Greatness, and I would not do this again. That's the difference between a Jew who sins and a non-Jew who sins. A non-Jew who sins is set in his ways stays like that forever. Even in the next world, a Jew on his deathbed might regret and have thoughts of tshoua. And therefore, when he dies, he will have a more honest regret. And Hashem will reward him. Somehow this enemy number three of the Jewish people got certain merit that with his encouragement unlus became a Jew. He told him anyone who touches a Jew it's like touching your own eyeball. Anyone who hurts a Jew is like sticking your finger inside your eyeball. So, UNL saw that um everyone that he asked the poll that he conducted 100% of them said that if you hurt a Jew, you will be suffering forever. And the only one with proper with proper mind. The enemy number three of the Jewish people who himself was Jewish. He is the one that gave him the correct answer and told him protect the Jews like you protect your eyeball. Join them and never hurt them. So even though the Jewish people may deserve the punishment, but whoever volunteers to be the stick in Hashem's hand, Hashem raises them up like a person would raise a stick to smite someone and makes him great. But then he brings him down all the way, never to be lifted up again. So what they did was of their own free will. Even though Hashem put them in that place for that purpose and gave them the power, they nevertheless acted with their free will and therefore they deserved punishment. Even after they disappeared, Hashem reconstitutes them and punishes them for what they did to the Jewish people. Now, Tom Dor continues, "The reason is because the Jewish people accept Hashem's punishment with love. They say, "Hashem, you are right." and they repent. This is what we say every day in vidi. We say, "Hashem, you are righteous in everything that you bring upon us. If you want your punishments to stop, you have to what's called sidukin. You have to make Hashem's judgment righteous. The best thing you can do after a judgment is to tell the judge you judged correctly. Thank you. And then the judge sees that you accept upon yourself the punishment. That is the uh step towards repentance. You do not deny anymore and he eases your punishment. So when the Jewish people accept God's punishment and as many have wondered why did the Jewish people go to their death as sheep and that is because they accepted their punishment peacefully and they said yes we are guilty we will submit to the punishment of Hashem and that is the only way to survive long term. If not we, our children will survive and we are the survivors of countless pags, persecutions, murders. We are alive. Why? Because somewhere in our history, our forefathers and mothers accepted God's punishment. Whether it was death or exile or suffering, in order to survive, you have to accept everything that happens to you. Anything that comes to you, you have to understand it's coming from a loving creator, our father in heaven. And therefore, Hashem will say, "You are you fulfilled your punishment and I am removing the punishment from you." The reason is because Israel accepted Hashem's punishment. They said, "You are right, Hashem, and we repent." Hashem regrets not only their current suffering, he regrets even what he did before. And he demands some compensation for their suffering, for the shame they endured. And he says, "Who gave them the punishment? Who volunteered?" And he goes to the the enemies of the Jewish people and he then puts all the punishment and all the sins on them and he drowns them. The author adds another reason why the nations deserve to be punished. Hashem says, "My anger was minimal and they added more evil than I intended." Hashem decreed punishment to come to the Jewish people. However, the volunteers, the nations of the world, our enemies, they took it overboard. They took the opportunity to hurt the Jews and they excelled at it. And Hashem says, "My anger was minimal, but they added more evil than I intended." Therefore, not only Hashem punishes them for giving a just punishment to the Jews, but rather Hashem punishes them for overdoing the punishment of the Jews. Therefore, the nations are not innocent and their punishment is deserved. [clears throat] But why will there be such a demonstration of reconstituting the nations to receive this punishment? Just get rid of them once and for all. So Rab Miller explains there are different judgment days each year. There is a day of judgment on Rosha Shana. Then there is a day of judgment when someone dies. So every year we're being judged. Then upon our death we're being judged. And then there is the ultimate judgment day. The great and fearsome awesome judgment day when the whole world will come together to be judged by Hashem. When the entire history of the world will be summarized and the judgment will be passed upon everyone. That judgment is more fearsome than any of the previous judgments because we're not only judged on our actions, but everything that our actions produced, all the effect our actions had on us and on all generations. That judgment is more fearsome than any of the previous judgments. The nations of the world will come back again and Hashem will put upon them all the things they did to us and even more. They will suffer for all the things that they did to pers persecute the Jewish people. And whatever we are missing now is going to be their fault as well. And whatever we could have accomplished with extra people and extra resources, all that is going to be put as their blame. That spectacle when the world will see how the enemies of the Jewish nation are being paid up is part of the amii. Be consoled my people. The words of consolation and vengeance are related in the Hebrew. Nema means consolation and ne means vengeance. The head is replaced with a cuff. And because they're both gutal, come from the same part of the body of the person, they are related. And therefore, they are replaceable. And when do you get when do you receive consolation? When there is when there is vengeance, payback. And even though we are not allowed to do vengeance, we are not allowed to uh hurt someone just because they hurt us. But that's because we are not a true judge. We will judge emotionally and we will hurt someone more than they hurt us and therefore that is forbidden. Plus we have to recognize our own guilt and admit our part in the argument. But Hashem can judge and he can give um vengeance. And the great consolation is the vengeance when we see how Hashem judges the evil. When is Hashem elevated in the world? When he pays his recompense upon the arrogant. This is what uh the verse inhaleim says. Then Hashem will show more than he shows. Now even today the wicked are being paid off in gam as well as in this physical world. And that sadim are rewarded in Ganedan. And the sadim are viewing all the suffering of the inabah. There is already a great of even right now while sadikim are waiting for the great day of judgment. They are already witnessing temporary punishment of the evil. However, the judgment of the yomador will be an even greater demonstration. Then that sadikim will see the full recompense that Hashem will re revisit upon all the nations for everything they did to b and he will punish them even more. Aba Miller says that even in our um lives we can see that the evil people are punished. Anyone who is involved in bad evil behavior we see does not end well. We see that they are punished now. They lose their livelihood. They lose their families. They lose their health and they lose their lives. Most bad people end up bad in front of our eyes and most good people have good lives in front of our eyes. Hashem, we should follow the clear example. If you are good, you will have good. And if you're bad, God forbid, you'll have bad. And may we make the right choice. Choose good. Choose life. Thank you for listening. Have a great day.