First Blessing - Protective Shield of Abraham (Shemoneh Esrei Prayer #2)

Good evening. Good evening. Bashem welcome back to our uh second shure instra the meaning ofestra and uh so happy to see here all again this sure let's uh let's pray that this sure to do about prayer should be successful we have to pray to be able to pray davin to davin so uh by the way you know say davin davin comes from the auhon the fathers that's why say dav the from the from the from the from the which makes a lot of sense because we put a lot a lot of emphasis the first which is the most important one the first one and the one that if you don't have kavana in the first bra it's a big problem the first braha is the one you should have kavana if you don't have kavana in the first braha it's a big problem so that's why we better learn uh uh the meaning of the first braha Today we're going to still focus on the first braha and the relationship between this braha and the other two first brahood all three the entire three first brahot they are connected. So this year like all my other shim is given for the memory of my father for the all the people who are unfortunately in jail we shouldn't be there people we should all that should come soon for the okay so we're in the middle of the first but I would like before we talk about the word for word meaning to uh to promise you that at some point during the year we're going to figure out why this is the most important one. There's a reason for it but this is one that you have to have and we're going to understand why hem and good to see you here and also we're going to talk a little bit of the names of Hashem to talk about the different names of Hashem is a huge very very vast topic I just want to concentrate about one name of Hashem that appears more than once in this braha and does not appear in the other two brahot the first three brahot Each bra represents something else and each one has to do with a different name of hem. The name that we see here in the let's see okay that's standard and then etc. And then it says yeah and then again it says twice the word keel. It doesn't say it in the second or third only here it says keel. What is the meaning of the name Kel and why is it so central in our bra the first one of Amida? And the answer is Elohim. The name Elohim, the full name of Elohim means one thing. The name Kel is basically shorter form of Elohim. The same applies to Yudh and Yud which is a shorter form. Elohim everybody knows is midatin so loosely translated to English usually it's translated as harsh judgment interesting and ke is a shorter form of that which actually means something which is the same and yet it's the opposite at the same time what do I mean imagine yourself that a person is a very strong person he's a bodybuilder he's a my students call it the object up that's a new word that I learned from my basically the guy is a guy he has he has muscles he spends every day in the gym whole hour in the gym every day he has big muscles what can this guy do he can do two types of things he can help you build and shle tables and shle heavy furniture but you and I can't do together this guy will slap you you know half of IKEA to your house you know in 2 minutes and also the guy can punch someone in the nose and sometimes Somebody has to be punched in the nose, a terrorist, right? So when you have kak, you can either build with a kak or you can destroy with a kak, right? Yeah. And not necessarily bad. I'm not being judgmental. I'm just saying kak is either for building and creating. And kak is also there in order to overcome, you know, other forces. So this is the difference between the first and the second of the first the word I'm quoting here word for word by something that was written by one of the biggest in my opinion the biggest bala in this generation a very great rabbi who was nifar a few years ago Ravl Minsburg the head of the mmidim community msberg says as follows mash amit galb Yeah. The the strength of Hashem as it manifests itself in Hashem's action in creation. That's which means when you see a huge waterfall, earthquake or actually everything that's created in the world, there's a lot of force in the world. So much energy, positive energy is here in the world that is ke. In other words, it's power. Power that comes to fruition through creation. We see Hashem created great things. Look at this big mountain as opposed to which is the next is what's to overcome the I have tremendous yet to speak and to eat my third cone of ice cream. Tremendous to scream at my child. Yeah. And I'm overcoming. Yet is not about creating something new. It's about winning over. There's a competition here. And in gi that's why the first braha is about who? Who is the star of the first braha? How is the first braha called avot avot? And the star of the star of the show is how does the end? We're going to get there eventually. Yeah. The says rash says the the end the climax of the of isu. Why? because he is the av of all the avot and Abrainu he was all so ke is strength yeah through or through strength that's the first of rainu because it's all about the power he is the creator gdib as we said but raham he's great in the high heavens and then he's gau but his gra is mentioned here but in context of creation he's one who's moving the wheel says Abu Rahim And then and then he creates the like wow. We're wowed by his creation that's all about starting its positive power. And the second which we'll discuss later is that is right. What's the second? It's called and what's the what's the end of the because wow the guy's dead and nobody believes I mean we do believe in it because we are from Jews. Yeah. If I wasn't Jewish I wouldn't have believed in it. Right. to see a dead body. It's been decaying and already all dead for 500 years ago and any power can overcome death. Yes, greatness is him fighting over other powers. Really there are no other powers outside Hashem of course but from our point of view the unlooker is fighting and managing and winning overly to overcome a different force so to speak and that is while which we're dealing with right now is creating positivity through strength that is theot and that'su was extremely strong person rich it's not a dirty word the rishim already I think I've seen it in all the way till um until recent was a rich person because he had to be influential was outspoken was out there was everywhere all over the world he was there if there was internet in his times you'd seen every second there I'm saying like the internet would be kosher yeah >> influencer >> he would be good influencer is yeah you know you know the lingo good so basically that'su its hour called Kel that's relating to the name Kel. So I already explained the first braha the beginning of the braha we explained last time this was just an introduction before we continue I want to say that there's an excellent excellent cafer in English that was written by the roshiva of I teach during the day raari marcus he wrote a very very good safer in English about the the meaning the bilah the explanation of I highly recommend it and you can ask me later about the whatever how to purchase it or and um I based some what I wrote what I prepared I prepared partially using his sepher of raari marcus okay so we are now in the words of khak we're going to finish today and the next will be next week what does mean k simply meaning you ask an Israeli like me what's kh he buys everything what buys shalom he shouldn't he shouldn't even joke you know we're buying ramy Costco I don't know buying Safeway right what do you mean what buys what does Hashem buy so K there's a that says that K if a person took something from let's say you you gathered some pieces of wood not owned by anybody you didn't steal it from anybody don't worry and you didn't purchase it at all you just collected it from and you had no covenant that it should be yours and from those pieces of wood those planks of wood that are randomly lying out there You created a chair. The chair is yours. This written it's based on sugakama. Basically, when you create something, you purchase it. It's not purchasing. It's owning. In other words, again, >> acquiring. >> Acquiring is a much better word. Thank you very much. That's a better word and I thank you for that. Right. It's not purchasing, it's acquiring like acquire taste. It's something that you have, right? You you're not buying with money. It becomes part of you, becomes yours. Yeah. Spontaneously. And that's the acquisition of Hashem. That's what's called. Imagine now when you want to go to one second to the emotional side. Every single atom, every single billions of anything, every single thing. Think about it. When you say, every tiny tiny thing in the biryan in the creation, all belongs to Hashem. From the tiniest thing to the biggest most amazing planet and Milky Way and galaxies, everything was created by Hashem. That's the wow. That is the the the magnitude of which you can't even fathom. Everything was created therefore belonging to Hashem. >> He own he owns everything >> and therefore he owns it. Of course the result is that he owns it. You're right. But K doesn't mean to own. K means to the process of I agree. Of course, Hashem owns everything. He owns it because he created it. Likot is not to own. Once I'm k I own, right? I buy it and then I own it. Hashem acquires it through creating an easy owner. Fine. Now, oh this is the the the theme here is again that's the main theme of the bra. Hashem remembers the of the fathers of the forefathers says Abu Hashem will give us Hashem will redeem us because of the because he promised our forefathers of to redeem us and therefore he will this according to the Abu Dra I'm quoting the Abuham listen to the beautiful words of Abu Draam. Yeah. Says everything in this. Everything we say here relates to the past. The fathers, the forefathers all the way from the present. We're present with hem in the future. Because what's the next line? He remembers things that happened thousands of years ago. Okay. It's Hashem remembers everything. Yeah. way better than any computer. He remembers I'm standing right now in a very intimate face-to-face situation with Hashem as we spoke about last time and we're dabbling about the future. We're not asking Hashem to do anything in this. We're just stating a fact. He will bring to the children of the children of man. Now continues the every second Hashem remembers past future it's all one. Hashem has no time dimension. It's above the time dimension. Everything is together. He redeemed us from already. Then there were there were descendants each and every day right now saves you from trouble. You have no idea how lucky you are, how miraculous it is. We're sitting here and we were not to use a very simple example. We're not kidnapped by kamas. Yeah. How come there's no missile that's flying from Iran? It's not Trump and it's not schmump and it's definitely not anyone in our government. Yeah. I want to get political over here is saving us. Hem is redeeming us each and every second. He redeemed. He does it to us and will do in the future. That this is something which we have to remember. This braha is about all all three dimensions of time merged together. And by the way now this is a give in to what I said before. This is one reason and uh I saw this today in the seph ofasha. This is one reason. Well this braha is the most important one because this braha is the one that encompasses the entire history. It's me standing in front of Hashem realizing the magnitude of Hashem. Not just his greatness as we spoke also that there's no time by him. He's controlling everything that was is and will be. And this kind of sensation is unique to the first. Welcome. Okay. Now, what does it mean? Continue the next line. What does it mean? He brings the redeemer. Well, we all wait for the redeemer from Mashiah very urgently now nowadays with everything that's going on in Israel, in England, in America, in Canada, all over the world. We need the guah like right now. And he will bring us the gula to who? to benheim literally again speaking from a he modern Hebrew point of view to just simply translate the words you know and they ask me sometimes to translate one word you know in the middle of the garra and then I see in context of the gummor means something completely different yeah the translation of one word and it see the big picture what's bm well I have grandchildren simp that's what it means banim means children right grandchildren Well, we're obviously not the grandchildren of of right. We're way after. So, you could say banim means offspring in general, descendants. Yeah. What's benim, right? Ben kind of make up your mind. Yeah. You either say ben, right? Or you say somebody. Oh, the point is that ben means the level of banim. If we would say benheim that means there's first there's kind of like there's still direct connection between us and the fathers and then there would be a kakob had right now a generation or two or three until the eel until the egel up until then we still had the of the fathers am was connected with everything they've been through in mitim they were like they didn't know I don't They had their time in but at the beginning we were mashim of we had direct the merit of the fathers affected us very nice doesn't mean generational second generation means that they're more removed we are unfortunately this is again a budraham as far as I remember his we lost it we are not bim anymore we're not in a high level of really being connected to so sad to admit but our level today is way removed from we are not you know that oneonone we're not directly connected we are once removed because our spiritual level already descendant in the eel and other so you know why does he hashem bring us originally hem would brought us because of now unfortunately as it says in theot there's no anymore wow that's So you know why Hashem brings us even though we are we are not directly connected what does it mean for Hashem's good name in this week's para what does if you kill and mass in one go everybody else the would say killed his people because he can't fight against the gods of the seven nations in meaning Hashem cares about his good pain. Hashem doesn't want to see us suffering too much because then it's so that's very nice is the the original idea. We have the we follow their ways. We are their children proudly carrying their uh their um uh tradition tradition and what and we no it's not like that anymore. We have been so why would Hashem give us the ga? Because Hashem says, "You guys don't really deserve it, but I promised it. I promised your forefathers to redeem you. I have to keep my promise." Yeah, you don't really deserve it, but even if you don't deserve it, do it for the sake of Hashem. This shouldn't be. People shouldn't say people would read the go would read the Bible. God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be nice to the children. Now all the Jews died. Boom. Shalom. Holocaust, everyone's dead. Hashem seems to be shalom as if he's not keeping the truth. That's for the sake of the good name of hem which I remembered as as I was reading this idea from the Hashem brings us the we don't really deserve it. We are already we are long not long ago lost the level of the Hashem wants to keep his good name and keep his promises. Hashem is a gentleman who keeps his promises. Wow. That's a wow. Whenever I say the second touches my heart says imagine yourself the following in the in Europe you know or in the whatever in Mala in Morocco wherever that was there's one Jew and that Jew did a huge favor to his friend okay Jew saved his life Ruven saved Shimon's life Shimon is indebted to who to Ruven Shimon happens to be a wealthy man and Roveno Ruven saved Shimon's life Shimon can give money and he does and Jim says listen I'm signing a document here you saved my life I will give money to you and I'll give I'll support you financially and I'll support your children as well yeah I'm making a contract your children I don't know forever your children you have children I don't know you whoever I'll support them too and I'm signing a document okay so Shimon is the supporter right died at some point as you know people tend to die at some point in their lives and then what and then his children succeed him. Now the children Yousef and they behave so nastily to Shimon. Unbelievable. Shimon Yeah. is the one who's providing them with money and they are demanding and they are insolent and they're just nasty. Yeah. So now Shimon will keep giving the money. Yeah. He still comes to to the door. No no no money transfers by internet. You know he knocks on the door and gives them a monthly envelope with I don't know thousands of rubles or whatever. Dham, but then would you give it with a smiley face? Naturally, no. You guys are disgusting. Excuse my language, but I'm indebted. I signed a document and I'm a gentleman. Take your salary. That's what he would say, right? You piece of just take your money and okay, I owe to you. Your behaviors. Hashem doesn't do that. How many times have we rebelled against Hashem? Yeah. as a nation, as individuals, Hashem keeps his promise to us because of the fathers, but he does it. He doesn't do it to the sour face. Every time Hashem redeems you in in present and in future, he does it with love. Although we don't deserve it, not only we don't deserve it, how many times when we sin, we are actually being so to speak to use to use simple language, we're being disgusting. And yet is that's the beauty of the the of which are we in don't lose focus. Keep your eyes on the ball. We're in Abraham terms right now. We're in Abrau land. Abrain is all Hashem does such to us that even though we don't deserve anything, he's only kind of paying the check that he promised us. He's doing da that's a beautiful piece something to connect mentally when you say this word and we face him 10:00 tonight and and further. So now why is this the most important before we go into the last part of the of again that's another story we have another uh little debt that I have to pay you I told you I'm going to explain why is it so why is the most important one of the it's the most important yeah different people can say I connect more to I connect more to this that's all very nice I like people connecting but The most important is the first one. That is fact. Now why is it the most important? So we said first of all it's very all-encompassing. It's encompassing. It's it's our Jewish identity the fathers. It's about past, present and future altogether. It's very big. It's a big brah. It's covering all all grounds. There's another reason when we say at the beginning of the we don't say usually when begins last time I checked right and here we don't we say we mention the fathers right away before even saying you know why so this is based on um I don't remember I saw it in the seph of the roshiva he's quoting earlier sources basically very interesting idea you know how many People believe in Hashem. Generally speaking, especially in the outside world, yeah, people are not necessarily in our circles. They would tell you, I believe in God. Yeah. And what do you believe in? I'd like to see a rolling with laughter, but it's just inappropriate to make these jokes. You know, I'm going to go and perceive Hashem very funny, fantastic, excuse my language, idiotic ways, right? UFO, all kinds of clouds. And there's a lot of misconceptions what God is, right? I I once saw in the Torah site they wrote somebody was asking them that if you don't believe in extra in life out of space you don't believe in God right why am I saying this now why I'm involving this right now because the ones who borrow Hashem taught us what Hashem we don't know what Hashem is either we can relate to Hashem through his powers we can try and figure him out or at least we know what we don't know we know the shimmote we know that everything that comes is from him we know that hem is elohim which is a superpower the cause of all causes the power of all powers. We know these things at least we as believing Jews as children of our forefathers we know that Hashem is not a fluffy cloud or some UFO or even more bizarre things. Why? Why do we know that? And let us ask another question. We are facing a we have to know at least more or less who we're talking to. Imagine yourself. Yeah. A person who who doesn't know anything about the corporate world, you know, it's a guy, I don't know, from a society they don't know. And they're telling me, you know, you have is a guy's coming to collect money in New York and he's from a very small village in Israel. Yeah. And they're telling him, you know, you have a meeting with the CEO. He thinks CEO is the is I don't know the wife sweeps the floor. He doesn't know what CEO means. Yeah. So meet the CEO and tell him, "Ah, what's going on?" Like what? That's a CEO of the huge company of I don't know of Coca-Cola. Yeah. You have to know you're talking to when you're coming to talk to you know you're talking to what are you talking to what's heml that's why we mention the because the and we have to thank them for that it's mainly are the ones who taught the world what is the one who taught the the world what is a koshu it's not the sun who's god it's not the moon that's god it's a it's a power above them so before we even begin to talk about heem before we even begin that before we begin that with Hashem that meeting we're thanking the we're not thanking them directly we're talking to Hashem obviously but we're mentioning the because they're the ones who taught us what Hashem is and therefore now we can approach him and that's why avat we have real connection with real God and not with some funny ideas or some emotional you know biased emotional ideas that's why this braha is very important because before Ask Hashem for health and for wealth and for you know a Christian could also ask that you know they think about God it's all family over there father mother you know it's all right it's all they also do den for health and for wealth right so do we but the huge difference is and that difference should be already identified at the beginning we know as much as we think we know what hem is and that's what of the avot that's why is the first and the most important one. Now, let's go to the last three uh the four last words. Yeah, again. Okay, is that makes sense. Hashem is the king. We're not going now to talk about I'd like to talk more about the concept of before. Yeah, because also I think we'll still have a then I think. No, I hope. Yeah, about two months. Yeah, we'll see. In any event, so now Um Moshia um Jose is one who helps. Moshiach is one who saves. He's is a savior. Um is one who protects. Again, we're talking about the three aot. I never knew that. I never knew that until I saw today in the safe. I have to admit corresponds to Jacob. Moshia is to and is to Abraham. A why means Hashem helps. Sometimes the person's in trouble. Yeah. You need a loan of 5,000 shekels. You need something, you know, find a parking space. You need to change a tire. I mean, in human terms, help. Yeah. The helper comes. They come that was the life of it says in right needed's help was already more established than his fathers. Why? Because he's already third generation and all his children were good. The was already in more safer place. You're going to appreciate what I say when I compare it to Abraham. So is a person who was already with good he already had the good qualities of his fathers. He needed Hashem's help. He need a lot of help from and he got Hashem's help whenever he needed to with all that. Let's move above. Yeah, we're working. Yeah. Back to front. Yeah. needed Yeshua simply Yeshua means salvation meaning I'm dying literally yeah and an ambulance not me a guy is about to die he calls his wife calls the ambulance you can't say there are little helpers they saved his life yeah they resuscitate him yeah they do the CPU really was about to die if I have continued with as he was originally commanded would have died And that was an option. At least was supposed to believe that that can happen. The is supposed to die. And according to Sam, he died and come back. That's another opinion. Sakur resuscitated and really gave him life. He was and that's also we'll see later is corresponding to the second because it's kilo came back from the dead. The third one and this is the main persona in this is who? Well, that's a dead giveaway. It says at the end, why is why is protection particular about Yeah, I know. It says in the Torah, right? The Torah says he's right. I wrote it down right said, "I will protect you." Why does need more protection? Afka than anybody else. Men means what? Men means the something very different to the other two. Men means I'm protecting you that nothing bad will happen. The other ones already in trouble. And then comes the helper, Hashem. Yeah. Men means I'm a shield. I'm a protection that nothing should happen to you. Nothing bad should happen to you. Why is that particularly of Raham? Oh, that is a whole issue by itself. And there's a beautiful beautiful piece. First of all, I'm going to um explain the what I think is absinu this is my own idea by the way can take it or leave it. Abrainu was a person who was one was a rabin called was one individual at the age of three years old according to fighting against an entire world of course in his protection. It doesn't help. They're going to kill him and they were going to kill him, right? Abrainu needed a every second. Araminu was dealing with people of spiritually. He did Kiru. Everybody knows the people go to Kiru are risking themselves that they can be badly affected. You know that you have one color guy in a whole college campus with thousands of students that are not dressed properly and and all the other problems. When you're going to Kiru, it's a problem. You can be affected yourself the bad way. Yeah, there could be mutual um influences and therefore needed a lot of protection of and that's why again we again relate to all three fathers now and this is what Hashem told I protect you I'll be with you you're doing my mission you're like shooting here and shooting there all four corners you're going to all the crazy places you're fighting with st and this and that I'll always protect you wherever you are cuz you're mine now again w another point about again and then one more point and then we'll finish again. This is another point. Why don't we say at least at the end of the Yeah. And what do we say? Why note? Okay, this is true also. But the other again we don't say we say here again why don't we say we don't mention even once right in every normal you say is very very common and it doesn't disturb us. It doesn't say melam will tell you why. Again, I saw this in the safer of Marcus. It doesn't say mel means somebody that's beyond our understanding. We are about to ask Hashem for some certain things. And I know that's a problem people have with I'm going to ask for such petty things, for small things. Yeah, people dive into Hashem for very small things. Maybe it's big in the eyes of Hashem, maybe not. So saying means so is so great maybe you can't relate to my small need but if you say again that proves that he can again breaks it down to Hashem yes being our helper is with every little thing it's not even Hashem will protect us in small things in the small details and that's why say we don't say now the end We're getting to the end of the into the end of the and that is at the end we'll finish off with okay says you'll be the one with a final blow with a mat the finishing touch will be not why because at the end of the day the credit goes to Abraham of course it's had his own way ine had his own way but the one who is the father of all fathers, the root of all root is of he's there's no no one like Abraham. He's the one who started the whole business of really believing in Hashem and really connecting to Hashem and really fighting with it's chose his own path but he grew in the house of Ara himself grew in the house of that's like I don't know growing with it's the worst I don't know I hope that's okay. Will you cut that piece? You don't have to. I allow you to leave it on. Yeah. So again is the one. Now I want to share a beautiful experience that I had today and that will be the finishing touch of the m of raham based on what says in the em the second gb the the reb of gurat. Yeah he says a beautiful idea. Why is it a personal experience of mine? Because I whenever I say I have this thing in mind what I'm about to tell you and the first time in my life I heard that idea from a relative of mine who is a Gasid he belongs to that I was about mitzvah then or even younger I think I was about 12 we were in Arad you know in Arad a lot of those a lot of them lived in Ira and I was there and he told me that vort and that vort touched my heart till today and I'm already a bit older than 12 you know and and I never knew what was the source and Today with the help of the book of mention I looked in the source I looked it up inside in the cpher of the fatimett look what the fatimett says beautiful beautiful words to finish the braha and to to to come with a with a lot of inspiration I think he's quoting his grandfather yeah the his grandfather promised ravenu each and every child of a ravenino that's all of us and all the brothers all the brethren all the irreligious people and all theim and all the all the and all the leftists and righties and all the everybody each and every yeid has a point in his heart from there's a kind of in your heart in my heart in yours and in theirs protects the little that's inside of you and then says the nobody can destroy your invenu of pure unfiltered amuna is always in there. Each and every Jew there is a great sadic and there is a guy who's of the d in the streets doing a ver each and everyone by his level has that protection in his little ofu that's inside his soul and that is again and I've heard stories of people who've been far away from yishkite the whole life and fighting against ydishkite at the end of their lives they cried or yumipper they cry and they regret unfortunately they go back why they regretting on yum Yamipur. Why do they fast on Yamipur? Why do they save you at the end of the life? Because that little what we call the pint, the Jewish point is really point and that is my friends what we can think every time when we say thank you. You have blessed Hashem again. I'm about to start to to to continue ding to you. You are protecting the Abraham within me and I'm so grateful to that and it feels so empowered by that Abraham which is within me which you Hashem protect. You don't allow any any you don't allow any bad influence to come and touch that little of that's within me and this is the way to start the and this is the way to continue. Thank you very very much. Thank you for filming. Thank you for participating and may we only see