Emor: The Rogatchover's recurring dilemma and the Students of Rebbi Akiva

This Torah class is brought to [music] you by torahanytime.com. Okay, welcome everyone. Parshat Emor, we have really fantastic information tonight. This year is will be a little bit different than usual and you're going to have to put on your thinking caps to really appreciate the nuances of tonight's year. So in Parshat Emor, we're given the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem. The says in 12:32, do not defile my holy name. And I will be sanctified among the Israel. I am Hashem who sanctifies you. Okay, so here the says the you should be I will be sanctified among the Israel. From here we learn out a the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem. That when faced with the ultimate challenge, a Jew would be responsible and obligated to give up their life Kiddush Hashem. But the also dashes from here the concept of that there are certain matters of holiness that can only be be accomplished and be performed with 10 people. The says in number two on your sheets. I have a lot of bravado. How do I know that an individual does not say Kiddushah? Like the says I will be Israel. I will be sanctified among the Israel. Now, from here we learn every matter of holiness should not be less than 10. So the says, how do we see from this that you can't say a matter of holiness unless than 10? My old says it maybe even one Jew could sanctify maybe you need three, maybe five, maybe seven. How do you know 10? So, Gamora says we make a gazelle shava. The Tanya Rav Noy Ahua the Rav Noy the brother of taught ask your toy toy. We make a gazelle shava toy toy. It says here and it says by the A death core off says he bought Lou me toy. So, it says toy by Kida Hashem and it says toy by the Ada of Kora. Now, how much is an Ada? The possuk says Mal just like by Kora who was 10. How do I know 10? Cuz it says the word Ada and by the Maragalum it says and most I are and the Ada by the Maragalum was 10 cuz he had 12 but you subtract Yeshua and Kora. So, basically you make a double gazelle shava. Toy toy Ada Ada. It says toy by the Ada by Kora and it says Ada by the Maragalum. Interestingly, where do we learn out the word shava minion? We learn out the word shava minion. We learn out the word shava minion. We learn out from Kora and the Maragalum. It's interesting, you know, next time you want to think should I dive in with the minion? Even Kora and the Maragalum dive in with the minion, you know? Actually, you learn from here that if you have nine guys and a Kora you can bring them to the minion because Rashi tells us that the Maragalum were Kora. They said if not now then They were Kora. So, from here we learn out you could be a Kora to a minion. This is the source for any word shava Kora minion. Let's try to understand philosophically. Why would Why would you need a minion to say the word shava here? You want to learn You want to learn from the Torah or you want to say Kadosha? You want to say Kadosh? You want to say Baruch? So, here you have Feinstein, Rav Aaron Cutler and Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky and I can't imagine you could you could come up with three bigger Kaddish in one era. And they want to say Kadosha. Sorry. Imagine you have nine Adar and all of a sudden you know they want to say Baruch now can't say Baruch. So what do they do? They they start calling they start whatever that I don't think they text it they trying to get a 10. And they see a some guy walking by no yarmulke on tattoos all of his over his body not micro pigmentation real tattoos. And he has a gun and the gun is smoking he just came back from killing people. And they say no at center at center at center once let me get this. These nine they can't say Baruch they can't say Kedusha they can't say Kaddish and they bring in the murderer and all of a sudden they could say Kaddish what exactly is this murderer how is it how is he elevating their their congregation their their collective entity. What what's the concept in over Shabbat Park may a Sarah how do we explain this? I mean you would think you have nine Adar then to add anybody else is just diminishing no. You add the Russia you elevated it. You the Russia's not there they've been demoted what's the understanding of this? Okay we're doing the sphere and the well-known is that on the page number three on your sheets the tells us that Akiva had 12,000 pairs of them ranging mega vast anti-virus. Says the they all died during one period of the year with me shall I know covered zealous because they were not they did not accord each other the proper respect. The says the world was desolate there were no coming until went down to the south and he taught the five great stages of the order of Shimon of Shimon the him him entirely Israel. >> the Ben Shamua, the him him amid the Torah l'Yisrael. We're talking about Sadiqim. We're talking about Gedolei Hador. They couldn't show honor to each other. The Shem Mishmuel, Shem Mishmuel, the the Sukkah of Rebbe, the son of Rebbe Eliezer, he asked, "We're dealing with people whose emotions were fully in their control. They could not muster the emotional discipline to say, 'How are you? Shalom Aleichem. How is your day? Is there anything I can do for you? You That was a beautiful chiddush that you said. You're really learning.' They couldn't do that. We're We're not dealing with me and you. We're dealing with people who are tremendous Sadiq and we're dealing with people who are fully in control of their feelings. What exactly was it that Why was it so difficult for them to control themselves? They couldn't show a little common respect one for another?" This is a question of the Shem Mishmuel in this week's parashah in his entry on Lag B'Omer. I would like to add a new question. And uh this year is sort of a a conglomerate of somebody sent me some makom of shiur of Rabbi YY Jacobson. And a little Shvilei Pinchas taf shin nun hey. And uh a few chiddushim, few humble chiddushim, and we'll see we'll see how it fits together. There's one one question that always troubled me. And that is there were many Tana'im in that era. Times of Rabbi Akiva, you had Rabban Gamliel, you had Rabbi Yehoshua, you had Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah, and I'm sure they all had talmidim. Nowhere in Shas do we find the students of Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah had a hard time according each other honor. Nowhere do we find Rabban Gamliel's students, Rabbi Yehoshua's two students. There were really dozens of Tana'im during that era. Why specifically Rabbi Akiva's students? Why were they the ones who had a trouble on this issue? After all, Rabbi Akiva is the one who taught "V'ahavta l're'acha kamocha." So you say maybe that he taught that after. That was cannot honor each other. Rebbe Akiva then had to teach the world the after. But even so, even so, why is Rebbe Akiva's students the one who had difficulty in this area? And I would like to like to address that question uh this evening. Want to revisit one of my favorite Gemaras, the Gemara that we've spoke about already here a few times. The Gemara Kiddushin daf lamed vov. And don't tell me, "No, you already spoke about that Gemara." You'll see we're going to say Kiddushin with this we didn't say. The Gemara in Kiddushin daf lamed vov brings down the famous machlokes between Rebbe Yehuda and Rebbe Meir, whether we are always considered the children of Hashem or only when we deserve that title are we considered that? And when we don't deserve it, we in fact are not. The Gemara brings down in Kiddushin lamed vov on the pasuk in Re'eh, Banim Atem l'Hashem Elokeichem, you are the children of Hashem. Says Rebbe Yehuda, "B'zman she'atem lo yagim minag banim, Atem k'ruyim banim. When we act like children, we're called children. Ein Atem lo yagim minag banim, when we don't act like children, ein Atem k'ruyim banim, we're not called children. Right? You take your kids to the park and they're fooling around, people say, "Those your kids?" No. No, I don't never saw them before. Right? I don't know who they are. I don't know, you know, we're we're we're we're we're we're watching them for the day. We're having rachmanus on their parents. Right? That that's what but we would that's obviously ridiculous cuz when it comes to one's children, they're your children doesn't matter how they act. Rebbe Yehuda says, "Not so with us and the Ribono shel Olam. When we act like children, we're children. When we don't act like children, we are not the children of Hashem. We're avadim." Rebbe Meir omer, "Bein kach u'bein kach Atem k'ruyim banim. Whether we act like tzaddikim, whether we act like resha'im, we are called children. And Rebbe Meir marshals four psukim. She'ne'emar, "Banim sichalim, foolish children." V'omer, "Banim lo eimun bam, children with no trust." V'omer, "Zera mareim bonim mashchisum, corruptive children. V' omer, and it says, instead of being called not my nation, you will be called the sons of the living God. In other words, R' Meir is marshalling four psukim. Doesn't matter what we are, we could be foolish, we could be without emunah, we could be ovdei avodah zarah, we are always the children of Hashem. And the Gemara asks, why does R' Meir need four psukim? One pasuk is enough. And the Gemara says, well, you would think, when are we called children? That's only when we're foolish. But when we don't have emunah, then we're not called children. R' Meir says, no, even when we don't have emunah, we're still called bonim lo emun bom. And you'll say, maybe only when we don't have emunah, but when we serve idols, maybe then we're not called children. No, bonim mashchisum, even when we're corrupt, we're still called children. And you'll say, okay, you're called a kid, but maybe you're called a bad kid, a bad boy. No, bnei chelcha, we're called good children. The famous machlokes of R' Meir and R' Akiva. And if I were to ask you, who do we pasken like, R' Meir and R' Akiva, you would probably say, what do you mean pasken like? This is not a halachic machlokes, this is a machlokes, a hashkafic machlokes, this is a philosophical machlokes, we don't pasken in such machlokesin. But even if I were to press you, who do we hold like? Do we hold like R' Meir, or do we hold like R' Akiva? Well, there's a well-known rule in the rule in the Gemara Eruvin, we never pasken like R' Meir. Ever. Except once. And essentially, if you remember a shiur from Purim, then you remember the exception. And if you don't remember that shiur, then I could just say, we never pasken like R' Meir. We never pasken like him. The Gemara says, the reason why we don't pasken like him is cuz R' Meir was so deep and so profound, that the chachamim were never yored l'soif da'itoi, they never really plummeted the depth of his logic. So, for all intents and purposes, we don't pasken like, we don't pass again like Ramir, yeah? We don't pass again like Ramir. And yet, in this instance, we pass again like Ramir. Why? The Chuvus Harajba writes, the Raja writes in two places in Siman Kuf and in Siman Mem Bet. I figured one is good enough. You'd see one one citation is good enough. You don't need You don't need both, right? But the Raja writes in two places that we pass again like Ramir. And the reason why we pass again like Ramir in this instance, says the Raja, is cuz Ramir marshals four Sukim, which is sufficient grounds to pass again like Ramir over over Rabbi Judah. Okay, that is well known. That's something we spoke about in the past a number of times. That in this instance we pass again like Ramir. Now, so let's take it a step further. What's the logic of Ramir? Why does Hashem consider us his children, no matter what we do? We could be bad, we could be foolish, we could not have Emunah, we could serve Avodah Zarah. And not only does Hashem say, "You're my You're my Zina Shi, you're my son, you're my daughter, you're my child." Hashem says, "Good boy." Here you have a guy, he's bowing down to the Buddha and Rebbe Nachman is going, "I'll get the Yingeleh." We get I get the Yingeleh. If there was a Beis Din, we we basically throw him off a roof and stone him to death. What do you mean get the Yingeleh? But the Rebbe Nachman says, "Bnei Kel Chai." No matter what you do, you're always the good son. Well, are you a good son? The guy's Mechalel Shabbos and Hashem, you take him, you throw him off a cliff, and you stone him to death. He's not a good son. No. Bnei Kel Chai. What makes him a good son? So, this is now This is where we we begin to delve into a new area, and we come to the Drashos of the Ran. The Ran wrote a famous Sefer Drashos of the Ran, and the Ran begins philosophically. He says like this, In this world an entity or an item always transcends the limitations of its particles. So, for instance, um life used to be very good for me for many years, for about 35 years, life was wonderful until one day somebody gave me a metal rectangle. And this metal rectangle is made up of scraps of metal which are basically worthless. And made up of many wires which is basically worthless. And made up of a glass. Someone gave me a computer. You think it makes your life easier? Uh hard to make that case. Very hard to make that case. But sometimes I got to upload the sheer room, so like I do. Now, take a look at the particles that the computer is made up. Not one particle could do anything. You take a scrap of metal, nothing it could do. You take a wire, can't do anything. You take You take the glass screen, it can't do anything. You take the individual buttons, can't do anything. You take the rubber under that, nothing. Now, one of the particles can't do anything. And somehow you put it all together and the entity transcends limitations of each particle. Same thing with any matter in this world. What are What is What is a human being made out of? Cells. What is an animal made out of? Cells. What is a plant, a stone? It's made out of cells, it's made out of atoms, atoms, it's made out of out of protons, electrons, neutrons, yeah? Move. So, let's say let's isolate an electron. Could an electron talk? No. Could it think? No. Could it Could it write? No. Does it have feelings? No. Does a cell Does a Does an atom Could it do anything? No. Could it see? No. Could it feel? No. Could it think? No. Could it talk? No. Take a cell. Cell can't do anything either. And yet somehow all the cells of the body come together and you have an entity that thinks, talks, feels, has has sensitivities, has emotions. How is that? That's life. Life is that the particles that make up an entity, despite their individual limitations, when they come together to form an entity, the entity transcends limitations of its parts. That's the way it is in everything in life. Okay. Says the run, it's the same thing with the Jewish people. You take me, you take you. What am I? I'm a noiche over there. What is my worthiness? Nothing. I can't do anything on my own. What is your worthiness? Also, we're all very limited. Yet, you take 10 of us and we come into a room, bam! All of a sudden, the kedusha generated is so powerful and so awesome that we could say, "Yisgadal v'yiskadash shmei rabba." We could magnify and glorify God. Me? What am I? I'm just dust and bones and flesh and blood. Me glorify God? I can't do it. Neither could you. Neither can nine other great people. If you bring Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Aaron Leib Shteinman and Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef and you know, Rabbi David Feinstein, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, you bring them into one room and you have nine of them, as great as they are, they also cannot sanctify the name of God. And you bring in a guy off the street who had a bris milah and even if he didn't, all of a sudden, they are elevated above the limitations of the individual and they are transformed into a new entity called the tzibbur. And that tzibbur is much greater than the sum total of its parts. You ever hear, "A whole is greater than the sum total of its parts?" That's the way it is in the physical world, in the the world of science and in the world of halakha. Says the run, that is why tells us the oilam to hey oilam to tzeeborah alecha. You get up in front of the tzeeborah, you should be afraid of the tzeeborah. Afraid of the tzeeborah? You think I'm afraid of you? Not afraid of you. Not what I'm not afraid if I would see you in a dark alleyway, I would not be afraid of you. But all of you together, I'm very afraid. I'm very scared. Why? Which who? Point. Point to which guy am I afraid? I'm afraid of the tzeeborah because the tzeeborah is now elevated to an untouchable status. The tzeeborah as a whole is greater than the Godol Hador. The tzeeborah as a whole is greater than a Tana. You could have Moshe Rabbeinu, Moshe Rabbeinu cannot say Yiskadal v'Yiskadash shmei rabba. Moshe Rabbeinu cannot say Barkhu. Moshe Rabbeinu cannot learn from the Torah. And yet 10 average Jews could say Barkhu. This is the concept of the oilam to tzeeborah alecha. That is why when Moshe Rabbeinu criticized Korach, he so he said, "Shim'u na am omerim. Listen up you rebels." We find that Moshe Rabbeinu was severely castigated. He was punished very severely when he said Shim'u na am omerim. Why? Why do you say Shim'u na am omerim? Why why was he punished? He called them rebels. What's wrong with that? He's a rebel and he's a rebel and he's a rebel and this one's a Every one is a rebel. The answer is yeah, every one is a rebel. But as a tzeeborah, they are elevated and are they transcend the limitations of the individual and as a whole, they are untouchable. There's no Despite the fact that each one might be a and a it doesn't matter. The tzeeborah is elevated above the individual personal limitations of the That is what the run says. That is why the ketores you know consists of 11 materials, right? One of them is called chelbonah. Chelbonah smells very bad. Chelbanah reeks. And yet, you put it in the mix of the other 10, and it's not a coincidence that there are 11 spices in the Katoris. You put the Chelbanah, and somehow this foul-smelling spice enhances the smell of the other 10 items. How is that? This is the concept of the particles transcend when they come together, and they become a composite. They become one entity. They transcend the limitations. So, you here you could have, you know, you have nine tzaddikim, bring in a murderer, the nine tzaddikim are elevated. Why? Cuz without him, they're just nine yechidim. With him, they're an entity in and of itself. Says the Ran, and this is a chiddush mufla, and this is maybe the most important chiddush of the shiur, but we'll see what we're going to do with this. Says the Ran, "You know why Beinkachu Beinkach Nikrau Banim?" You know why we are always considered the children of Hashem? How How How could you say a Jew who murders is a child of Hashem? How could you say a Jew is mechallel Shabbos is a child of Hashem? The answer is, as an individual, he's unworthy. But no Jew stands on their by themself. As a member of Klal Yisrael, he could then be subsumed by the klal. He sort of attaches himself to the greater entity. He's then in the general umbrella category of Klal Yisrael, and he is now elevated above his personal limitations. And that that is why Beinkachu Beinkach Nikrau Banim. How Why? The Koach HaTzibbur. So, now we know why it's so important to daven with the tzibbur. You could have the biggest tzaddik in the world, his tefillos are almost nothing compared So, here you have a guy, he davens a five-hour Shmoneh Esrei. You tell him, "Go to Kehilas Yaakov Yisrael, the corner branch in Peninsula. Say there, they take some three minutes to daven Shmoneh Esrei." So, it's okay. It's okay. Eventually, they'll slow down. And even even until then even until then you're davening with the tzibur. And when you daven with the tzibur, your 5-hour Sicha is elevated to a status it had not achieved before. Yeah, but then I'm going to have to daven much quicker. Doesn't matter. Whatever you could accomplish in yachid is nothing. Just attach yourself to the tzibur. What about women? And if specific question about them? What about them? Why do they daven individually? Why do they daven um A woman is considered a private citizen because kol kvoda bas melech penima and therefore she does not join up with the tzibur. So, does could she enjoy that status? Maybe in some dimension. But that's a different area that we're going to discuss perhaps on a different occasion. I want to bring your attention to six different pieces in the thought the in the Seforim of Rabbi Yosef Rosen. Rabbi Yosef Rosen was the Rogatchover Gaon. The Rogatchover lived from 1858 to 1936. One of the great all-time gedolei Yisrael who interesting was born into a Chassidic family of Chabad and was actually very close to Chassidic Chabad. He actually gave the last Lubavitcher Rebbe smicha. He went to learn in Slutsk when he was 13 years old and he was learning in the yeshiva together with Rabbi Chaim Brisker. They were learning together from the Beis HaLevi. And then he went to learn from Rabbi Shmuel Leib Diskin. Interestingly, in the year 1889, Rogatchover assumed rabbinic post in the city of Dvinsk. City of Dvinsk So, he was like the Chassidic Sharav in the city together with the Litvish Sharav Rabbi Meir Simcha, the the Meshech Chochma, and the two of them for 50 years were the Ars Mayor Simcha, Mayor Simcha's Ars Mayor. And the two of them got along excellently. They were very close to each other. And the Rogatchover had a unique methodology of learning where he adopted the the methodology of the Rambam in the Moreh Nevukhim. So, what the Rambam in the Moreh Nevukhim did to philosophy, the Rogatchover applied that methodology to Shas. And often he'll quote a Chakira of the Rambam in the Moreh Nevukhim and apply it to a Lomdish Sugya. It's well known the Rogatchover would not speak out Sefarim Acharonim. So, he would not quote people past the Rambam. He he felt that he was on a high enough level to sort of go straight to the source, go straight to the Rishonim. Okay. The Rogatchover in at least six places, and I believe many many more, poses the following philosophical Lomdish Halachic Chakira. And we're going to apply it to a number of Halachic situations, and it's actually very intriguing. And that is this is this first one comes from a Sefer Mikhtavei Torah. Mikhtavei Torah is a collection of letters from the Rogatchover. Actually, interestingly, um the Rogatchover's letters were all left in Latvia where he lived, and they were smuggled out to the Saffron family in the Bronx at the outbreak of World War II. And those who were involved in smuggling out his manuscripts were ultimately they were caught by the Nazis, they were killed by the Nazis. Um many of his manuscripts were published by Rav Nachum Kasha. And many of them were also published by Rav Mordechai Pinchas Teitz. Okay. Says the Rogatchover, a Chakira, a philosophical dilemma, he says he quotes the Rambam in the Moreh Nevukhim, and he says the Rambam mocks and scoffs at those who want to say that reality in an entity is different than the composite of its particles, well says the Rogatchover, this is a machlokes and this is a dilemma that could be strung through the entire Shas. And that is do we say do we say that the individuals are components of the tzibbur or do we say its tzibbur is a entity of an entity of itself? Let me explain in the following terms. In other words, let's talk about this shul. What's this shul? Is this shul the p'shat is we'll take out the membership list? You know, every 3 minutes I get another message. Put in your information for the new journal that's coming out, right? Just in case I forgot from 3 seconds earlier, remind me. There are more there are more emails for that even than the shiur. So unbelievable. Right? So what's p'shat in the shul? Is the p'shat in the shul let's go we'll go in alphabetical order all the A's and all the B's and all the C's. Ah, and 110 members. So the shul is this list. Oh, but somebody moved into the neighborhood. Okay, now the shul is one more person. Oh, but somebody's moving in in 2 weeks. Okay, then we'll we'll have to add to the list. The p'shat is no, the shul is not just a list of the members. The shul is an entity of itself. You're right, it's composed of of people. But bottom line is a person moves in, a person moves out, it doesn't matter. The shul is the shul is the shul. It's an entity, it transcends the peoples that consist and make up the shul. So what's the nafka mina? This is all semantics, this is all philosophy. I'll tell you a big nafka mina. Why do you need a big nafka mina? Asher, Asher wants to be a big nafka mina. Like there's Gemara Brachot in Daf Nun. The Gemara says you know, when you make a mezuman, you have so you have three people, you say Baruch she atem Hashem Elokeinu she achalnu mi shulchan Baruch Elokeinu she achalnu mi shulchan Melchai. Fine, that we all know. What if you have 100 people? So the Gamara brings down an opinion the Gamara brings down in Brochos look at number nine. If you have 100 nevorech Hashem Elokeinu. Yeah? And what if you have 1,000 people? Says the Gamara nevorech Hashem Elokeinu Elokei Yisrael. And what if you have 10,000 people? Nevorech Hashem Elokeinu Elokei Yisrael Elokei Tzeva'os yoshev bakruvim. That's a mouthful. Right? That's In other words, 10 people, one nosach. 100, you add. 1,000, you add. 10,000, you add. That's the opinion of Rabi Yisrael Gamliel. Says Rabi Yisrael Gamliel in the Mishna Brochos lefi rov hakol him ovarchim. Depending how many people, corresponding to the number of people, that's how you you bless Hashem. Omar Rabi Akiva, Rabi Akiva says no. In a shul, if there 10 people, you say Borchu. And if there 100 people, you say Borchu. And if there 1,000 people, you say Borchu. No, we say Borchu. There's no difference between 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, a million, 500 million. What's the machlokes between Rabi Yisrael Gamliel and Rabi Akiva? Why does Rabi Yisrael Gamliel say 10 you say this, and 100 you say that, and 1,000 you say that, and 10,000 you say that? And Rabi Akiva says it's all the same. Says the Rogatchover, and you can find this in the introduction to the Sefer Tzafnas Paneach on Sefer Breishis. These Tzafnas Paneach are the Rogatchover's chiddushim on Chumash, which was put together by Rav Nachum Kacher. He says, says the Rogatchover, what's the machlokes? Machlokes is how do you view a tzibbur? If a tzibbur is merely the list of peoples in the tzibbur, then a tzibbur is dramatically different when there 10. Well, when there 100, it's a bigger tzibbur. And when there 1,000, it's an even bigger tzibbur. And when there a million, it's an even bigger tzibbur. The more the people are, if a tzibbur is merely a list of the individuals, well, the more individuals there are, the bigger the T-Rex is. It makes a difference. 10, 100, 1,000, a million. That's the sheet of the Galilee that it's T-Rex is just a list of the individuals. Comes to be a keeper, that's not how you look at it. It's T-Rex is not just the general list of all the individuals. A T-Rex is an entity of a lot of people. But it transcends the limitations of a lot of people. And it also is not elevated by the respective qualities of the individuals. In other words, it don't matter. A congregation is an entity. It doesn't matter whether you have 10, 100, 1,000 cuz a congregation is not just a list of the particles and the components. A congregation is an entity if it in and of itself and therefore there's no difference between 10, 100, 1,000, a million. So it seems to be that we pass what is it T-Rex? It's not a a list of individuals. It transcends the limitations. And as well as the good qualities and the and the abilities of the individuals. By the way, who holds that? The keeper. The keeper holds when it comes to a T-Rex, 10 is 100 is 1,000 is a million. There's another safer on the called Neah Tzvunois. Also put together by Kasher who says that this is an age-old philosophical dilemma whether the philosophers clear like this. Some philosophers say a human being is really the only reality. And the components of the human being are is merely conception. Other philosophers say no. >> [clears throat] >> The only reality is you have fingernails, you have skin, you have veins, you have blood, and the concept of human, that's only a figment of your imagination. But, we're just a sum total of particles. Okay, so this is also a philosophical debate, but let's try to view it halakhically. Again, Rebbi Yosi agrees he holds there's no difference in the amount of men, 10, 100, 1,000, 1 million, it's that that's Rebbi Akiva Sheeta, that a tzibbur transcends the individuals. Rebbi Yosi agrees says no, the tzibbur is merely commensurate with the number of individuals. Let me pose another question to you. A guy makes a neder, "I'm not going to derive benefit from all the inhabitants of Cedarhurst." How long do you need to be living in Cedarhurst for you to fall under the category of inhabitants of a city? The Gemara says in Bava Basra, daf ches, number 13, you need to be living there 12 months. So, you could still come to my house. It's okay. But, you're not an inhabitant of Cedarhurst until you're living there 12 months. So, a guy makes a neder, "I will not derive benefit from anyone living in this city." What would you say the halakha is if somebody moves into the city after the neder was made? So, a guy made a neder, "I I am not deriving benefit from anybody who lives in this city." I'm not deriving benefit. And then a guy moves into the city after the vow is made. So, comes the Ran, Maseches Nedarim, number 14, and the Ran says that the Gemara doesn't qualify. The Gemara says definitively that if someone makes a neder from the residents of the city, it if the guy moves in after, as long as he lives there 12 months, you're allowed to have you can't get han'ah from him. What? The Gemara doesn't say only someone living in the city before the nether? Presumably, even if somebody was moved into the city afterward, that's the opinion of the Ran and perhaps the Ramban. The Ritva says no. The guy made a nether from the inhabitants of the city. Whoever was living in the city beforehand, you're also to them. Whoever moves in after, you're muttar to them. What would you say this machlokes is? Here the Ritva says if you move into the city after, the person who made the nether is allowed to derive benefit. The Ramban and the is not allowed to derive benefit. The Ran and the Ramban say no. Their Gemara is unequivocal. The Gemara doesn't qualify. So, if you're not to get benefit from the residents of the city, presumably even someone who moved into the city afterwards. What's the machlokes between the Ran and the Ritva? Why does the Ran say you can't even derive benefit from someone who moved in after? And the Ritva says, "You know what? If the guy moved in after, you could derive benefit from him." Says the Rogatchover, this is in Shailos u'Tshuvos, Tzafnas Pane'ach, number 15 on your sheet. The machlokes the Ran and the Ritva is exactly this chakira. How do you view a tzibur? If a tzibur is merely a list of all the members, so the guy took out the the new journal, he took out the new Knesset Yisrael list, and he says, "Okay, it says all these people in the journal. I'm not getting han'ah from any of them. A guy moved in later? I didn't mean him. I meant the tzibur. What's the tzibur? The tzibur is merely a group list of all the individuals. This person happened not to have been an individual at that time. So, therefore I never prohibited myself to him." But if you view a tzibur as an entity that transcends the individual, that sort of is a composite and an entity even in and of itself, so the person prohibited himself from an entity called tzibur. And if you live in the city for 12 months, you are part of that Seabor. He didn't ostracize himself from a list of particular individuals. He ostracized himself from this concept. I'll give you a martial. Let's say I say, "I'm not getting enough from you." And after you made that another, you grew a third hand. So, could you, with your third hand, serve me? Well, I only ostracized your right hand and your left hand, not the the third hand that grew out of your nose. I I I ostracized you. This is part of you. I ostracized your entity. In other words, there we see very clearly that the human being I ostracized you, whatever hands grow out of you afterwards, that's not a new item. That's merely part of your entity. So, again, the Rogatchover uses this Hakira to explain the Mahlokes the Ran and the Ritzva in Maseches Nedarim whether someone makes a Neder from the residents of the city, whether it includes people who move in afterwards. You want to hear another one? It's a rhetorical question. Let me tell you another one. The Halacha is that a carbon Mincha, a meal offering, can only be brought by an individual, cannot be brought by Shutfin. It cannot be brought by partners. Cuz it says "V'nefesh Ki Sakriv." A Nefesh, one person, not partners. Now, we know a Sotah, a woman accused of adultery, as part of her procedure, she brings a carbon Mincha, a meal offering. Yeah? Yeah, you get it? You got the question? What if So, so Tos says Tos. Tos in Maseches Sotah Daf Chof Gimmel. But, we know when a Sotah brings a carbon, it's really on behalf of her and the husband. Wait a second, says Tosafos. Her and the husband? But then shutfim are bringing a korban mincha, and we know shutfim cannot bring a korban mincha. So, says Tosafos, if a korban sotah, which is a korban mincha, is brought on behalf of the wife and the husband, this is a korban mincha of shutfim, and and shutfim cannot bring a korban mincha. That's the kasha of Tosafos. Says the Rogatchover, a husband and wife are not partners. No. It's whatever she says. No, just joking. A husband and wife, they're not partners. They're one entity. It's called marriage. We don't look at a korban that a husband and wife brings together as two partners are coming to bring the the korban. We're looking at it as marriage, not ish ve'isha, not man and woman, we view it as ishush. Marriage is bringing this korban. The unit is bringing this korban. Yeah, but it's a unit of two people. No, they for this purpose become one entity. They become one entity. They become a unit of ish ve'isha. Right? Ish ve'isha, shalom bayis, shchinah bayis, right? Chazal say the man, the ish, has the yud, the ishah has the hey, the yud and the hey come together, becomes one entity. So, it's not, says the Rogatchover, like two partners are bringing a korban. It's the unit, the institution of marriage, which is one entity. Yeah, but it's an entity, but let's look at the list, what what comprises the entity? The entity is on this list is man and woman. Throw the list in the garbage. We don't view an entity that way. In other words, the same way we don't view a sefer Torah possibly as a list of the members, we don't view marriage as a list as of the husband and wife. Marriage is not uh Mr. So-and-so and Mrs. Marriage is an entity called ishush, and therefore this is not considered a korban of a shutfim, of partners. This is the korban of one entity. Let me bring you another example. Okay, right. Right. Is it only certain things we say it other things we don't say it's hard to know when we say it. But yeah, that certainly enhances that idea. Yeah. We know if a coin we have coin in here Mr. So we built. If the coin during the or during this week has an improper thought thinks to be marked with the carbon the carbon becomes people carbon is disqualified, right? What about the bottom? What about the owners? What about the the owner of the carbon? Let's say he has an improper thought as to when the carbon will be brought. Does that disqualify the carbon? So there is an opinion in looking at number 19. Come on come on I'm saying says the Gamora that there's an opinion of that what? The bottom are able to be and disqualify a carbon with an improper thought. It's the opinion of of Yossi. Comes of Engel Yossi of Engel also one of the great going in of the end of the 20th century beginning of 21st century. The end of the 19th century beginning of the 20th century. And of Engel very often has similar concepts to the chamber. They they sort of have very similar approaches to learning. They're both going in who we're not just look at one but would would apply a certain logic to like numerous simultaneously. He says wait a second. If the owner of a carbon could destroy a carbon with an improper thought then how would any carbon see more ever work? Let's say the carbon tunnel. Who are the bottom? Who are the owners of the carbon tunnel? Every Jew. Me, you, all of you. So what if you have one guy who wants to be a real Russia, he's sitting back home in his hammock, and he's thinking, "Ha, every single carbon tamed, I'm thinking it should be slaughtered. Shal Yavis Manoy." So, what he could destroy every carbon tamed in the world cuz he's the bylam, and he's thinking that it should be brought, Shal Yavis Manoy. After all, the opinion of Levi Yitzchok is the bylam could disqualify a carbon. So, he's So, you could have one Russia, one riffraff, one min, one apikorus, one Sadducee, he could destroy every carbon tzibbur. Says Rebbe Akiva Eiger, "No, he can't." You know why? Because who are the bylam on a carbon tzibbur? The tzibbur. Who's the tzibbur? Isn't the tzibbur a list of all the members? Throw the list in the garbage. A tzibbur is not a list of all the members. A tzibbur is a new entity. I'm not one of the people in the tzibbur, and you one of the people in tzibbur. We together as a unit is the tzibbur. You can't even break us down into our components anymore. We transcend the limitations of the individual. So, if yes, if me and you as partners bring a carbon, and I have an improper thought, I could destroy the carbon. But, we don't view it that way when the tzibbur brings a carbon. The bylam of a carbon tzibbur is tzibbur. The same way we learned that according to Rebbe Akiva, 10 is 100, 100 doesn't make it bigger, 1,000 doesn't make it bigger. A tzibbur is unaffected by the greatness of the individuals, and a tzibbur is not diminished by the limitations of the individuals. A tzibbur is just an untouchable entity. You can't bring it up, and you can't bring it down. And here's an example of where you can't bring it down. And Raboisai, where's another example of where you can't bring it down? The Ran says that why do we hold Ben Choch u Ben Choch Nikranam Banim? Why do we pasken like Rebbe That no matter how wicked we act, we're always the children of Hashem. This is the svara. The svara is the tzibbur transcends the limitations of the individual. The same way I cannot ruin a carbon tzibbur. The same way if we have 100 people, the minyan is not better and 1,000 people the minyan is not better. So too, a person who acts like a rasha, if he's part of the tzibbur, he is bnei Yisrael Hashem Elokeichem. What about the shliach tzibbur? He's He's good. He has to He has to be on our level. He has to be better. No, the shliach tzibbur is merely a reflection of the tzibbur. He's merely representing the tzibbur. That's why chazal say if he stumbles, it's a bad sign not for him, for the tzibbur at large. If he does a good job, that means Hashem is pleased with the tzibbur. It just struck me as an amazing thing then that who is the opinion that the congregation transcends above the limitation of tzibbur? That's Rabbi Akiva Lishita. Amazingly we find about Rabbi Akiva that even though when he would daven by himself, he would daven for hours and hours and hours. You could leave him in one corner of the shul, you'd come back, he'd be on the other end of the shul. When he would daven with the tzibbur, he wasn't b'mekantzeir ba'olah, he would daven quickly. He would do it concisely. Look at number 21. Amar Rabbi Yehuda, "Kacha hayah Akiva k'sha hayah mitpallel im hatzibbur." When he davened with the tzibbur, "Hayah mekanteir ba'olah." He would daven shorter. Why? What's the logic? This is Rabbi Akiva. I saw this in the sefer Shvilei Pinchas this prat. This is Rabbi Akiva Lishita'sei. Rabbi Akiva who holds that a tzibbur transcends the limitations of the tzibbur of the individuals, but it works both ways. Just like the congregation rises above the limitations of the individual, it's also not enhanced by the particular greatness of an individual. Says Rabbi Akiva, "When I'm davening on my own, I daven nine hours straight. My tefillah is only as good as me." But when I'm davening with the tzibbur, it doesn't do nobody no good that I'm davening nine hours. The The tefillah of the tzibbur is perfect in and of itself. No embellishments needed. No enhancements needed. So, I was wondering, what do you think Rebbe Akiva holds about are we always the children of Hashem? Or only when we act that way? What would you say? Well, Rebbe Akiva thematically throughout Shas always says that the tzibbur transcends the limitations and is also not elevated by the greatness of the individual, then like the Ran said, the same way Rebbe Meir holds "Bein kach ubein kach banim", Rebbe Akiva must hold also we're always the children of Hashem no matter what. Why? Because we always transcend our personal limitations. In fact, and this is also we spoke out, Rebbe Ovadia Yosef in his commentary to Pirkei Avot explains another reason why we pasken like Rebbe Meir, that "Bein kach ubein kach banim". I but we never pasken like Rebbe Meir. Because Rebbe Akiva agrees to him. Now, how do we know Rebbe Akiva agrees to him? It's a Gemara in Bava Basra. So, listen carefully. Turnus Rufus, the rasha, went to Rebbe Akiva. He said, "Does God like the poor?" Rebbe Akiva says, "Oh boy, God loves the poor." So, Turnus Rufus said, "Really? If he If he really loves the poor, so why doesn't he get them a job? Why doesn't he employ them?" Rebbe Akiva said, "So that we could be zocheh by giving them tzedakah." Says Turnus Rufus, a brilliant question. "Rewarded by giving tzedakah? You should go to Gehennom for giving tzedakah." "Gehennom? Yeah. It should be an aveira to give tzedakah." "What kind of aveira?" Rebbe Akiva says. Turnus Rufus says, "Imagine a king who says, 'This guy, he's so wicked, I'm going to lock him up. I don't want anyone feeding him. And somebody goes and feeds this slave secretly. What's the king going to do to this person? He's going to kill him. So, if God decreed that so-and-so should be poor, that means God wants him to be poor. For someone to give him charity, it's an avera. You're going against the decree of the king. Says Rabbi Akiva, you're not looking at it the right way. What if a king would say, "My My son is naughty. I'm locking him up. Nobody should feed [clears throat] him." If somebody secretly goes and feeds the son of the king, what's the king going to do? Reward the person handsomely, because this is not a servant, this is a child. Says Rabbi Akiva, we are all the We're the Jewish people are the children of Hashem. Yes, God decreed this person should be poor, but if somebody goes and sort of supersedes the decree of Hashem and feeds the child of Hashem, they're going to be rewarded. Says Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, that means Rabbi Akiva views every Jew, even someone who's suffering poverty and is wicked and is being punished by Hashem, Rabbi Akiva says, they're they're analogous to banim, to children. Ah, says Rabbi Ovadia, that means Rabbi Akiva holds like Rabbi Meir, "Ben kach u ben kach nikra banim." So, therefore, you know why we passkin like Rabbi Meir over Rabbi Yehuda, cuz even though there's a rule we never passkin like Rabbi Meir, but there's another rule, we always passkin like Rabbi Akiva. So, it's Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Meir against Rabbi Yehuda, that's why we passkin like Rabbi Meir. Plus, it's yachid v'rabim, halacha k'rabim. So, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Meir versus Rabbi Yehuda. So, just stringing this together, if you would take a tap dance through Shas and Medrish, Rabbi Akiva is always consistent with the following idea. Eitz tzibur is a completely different entity than the sum total of its parts. If you have a hundred, it's not any bigger. If you have a thousand, it's not any bigger. Rabbi Akiva also holds that if you have somebody who's a Russia, he doesn't he's not he's not taking away. He's still What would Rabbi Akiva hold if somebody of the tzibur had an improper kavana? He doesn't ruin the carbon of the tzibur. After all, a tzibur is untouchable. An individual's greatness does not enhance. That's why Rabbi Akiva would daven very quickly. That's why Rabbi Akiva said a hundred doesn't add. That's also why Rabbi Akiva would say "Both this and that are called children." In other words, if you were a student of Rabbi Akiva, what idea would you constantly be hearing from your rabbi? That the tzibur is elevated among the specific deficiencies of the achid, but you would also get the idea that the individual does not add to the tzibur either. That's why Rabbi Akiva paskens a hundred is the same as one man as ten. Comes the Shem Mishmuel, son of the Sfas Emes Rebbe, and he says, "Why do people respect each other? Where does it come from? Why why am I noheg kavod to you? Why would I Why would I show you respect?" The answer is I recognize that you have a certain quality which is worthy of respect. You may have a good quality that I don't have. You may have a good character trait that I don't have. You may have a good middah, a good mitzvah that I don't have. I recognize your unique qualities. I recognize that you have something that deserves respect. I recognize your individuality. But if everybody is merely lost to the greater picture of tzibur, hey, me, you, every we're all the same because bottom line is we all make up this entity called sebor. Rabbi Akiva says 100 people are not better than 10, 1,000 people are not better than 100. Rabbi Akiva says there's not When I davin but sebor, I davin like the the fastest guy in the back. We're all the same. Says the Shem Mishmuel, Rabbi Akiva's talmidim held this idea, they took it a little too far. It's almost like communism. They took it to the extreme where the individual loses any unique quality, any individualism. And that's why they were lo na kavod ze la ze. In other words, says the Shem Mishmuel, now he doesn't add what we're saying a chiddush that this is Rabbi Akiva la shitasa. Rabbi Akiva consistently throughout shas always says that sebor is unaffected by the individual. The individual is sort of subsumed, dissolved, disappears to the entity called sebor. Well, in that case, it's very hard for individuals to show kavod ze la ze. This is Rabbi Akiva la shitasa. The talmidim of It wasn't the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, they didn't get this message. Now obviously Rabbi Akiva taught it in the proper way. Nowhere was he ever criticized for this. But if you want to get an understanding why specifically the students of Rabbi Akiva, what we're suggesting is, the Shem Mishmuel says it comes from this attitude of the individual is lost and subsumed by the entity called sebor. And as we pointed out from numerous places, this is Rabbi Akiva shitasa. Rabbi Akiva holds bein kach ubein kach lekorban olam. Rabbi Akiva was mekatsir olam when he davined but sebor. Rabbi Akiva said 100 is like 1,000 is like a minyan. So the students said, "Look, at the end of the day, there's however great I am, however great you are, we're all nothing compared to the entity of Klal Yisrael. You don't deserve a special kavod from me. He doesn't deserve a special In other words, everybody loses their individualism. That was the mistake of the time of Rabbi Akiva. You know, there's a the Shem Mishmuel brings down a medrush. Says very briefly, the medrush says in one possible it says Hashem says about the stars, "L'chulam b'shem yikra." They're all called one name. Elsewhere it says, "L'chulam shem yikra." Each one is called an individual name. In Klal Yisrael, there are always two entities. Everybody has unique individual value to Hashem. And the tzibur is also valuable to Hashem as an entity. And the two of them are not in conflict, even though it can lead to conflict as it did to the students of Rabbi Akiva. But each one has a value in it of itself. Yes, there's a great entity of tzibur. And as a tzibur, it's not elevated by the yachid, it's not diminished by the yachid. But at the same time, the yachid retains his individual value. Says the Shem Mishmuel, that is why the students of Rabbi Akiva were punished in the month of Iyar. Most of the days of Sefirah Sefirah in the month of Iyar. The mazal of Nissan is the mazal of the sheep, the taleh. The sheep is one sheep for the whole family. The sheep represents the concept of Klal Yisrael as an entity where the Ribono shel Olam uh um "Ata v'chartanu mikol ha'amim." The Ribono shel Olam shows us as a nation. He chose us as one collective entity. That's the month of Nissan. Iyar is the shor, the ox. The Gemara says about the horn of the ox, the horn of the ox is composed of many various layers. In fact, the Gemara says to the extent where you could see two shofarois, it looks like three. It's very hard to tell. It's many entity entity after entity after entity. That's the month of Iyar. The month of Iyar is God finding favor now with "Ata v'chartanu mikol ha'amim," but rather with the individual in it of itself. Says the Shem Mishmuel, this is the mitzvah of Sefirah where the Gemara says, "Mitzvah lispor shavu'i o mitzvah limnos yamei." There's a mitzvah to count days, a mitzvah to count weeks. There's a mitzvah to appreciate the value of the tzibbur transcending the personal and limitations of the yachid, as well as not being elevated by the yachid, but at the same time we count each day separately to show the value of the tzibbur. And the mazal of Sivan is the te'umim, the twins. A tzibbur of two yechidim where we are nismach Hashem in both facets. So, what we're suggesting is it was the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva who their rebbe emphasized this idea, "A hundred is a thousand is a million. The tzibbur is not enhanced." Rabbi Akiva davened no longer than the rest of the tzibbur. Rabbi Akiva held "B'ein kach, b'ein kach nikra'in banim" because an individual is not affected by his personal limitations, but the danger is that could also lead the person not to appreciate the individualism of another Jew. And what's needed is the month of Sivan. Month of Sivan represents both of these aspects. The mitzvah to count the days, the mitzvah to count the the weeks. And this is the concept of why specifically it was the students of Rabbi Akiva that were nischal. And we should be zocheh during this month to be masakin a little bit, be zocheh liro'is pnei ha'Shechinah on the final day of Sefiras Ha'Omer. We ask Hashem I'll tell him here we are menachem amen. There's a very You've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by torahanytime.com.