Embracing the Torah with Faith - Rabbi Lazer Brody

My [Music] lord, it's from you my [Music] lord. It's all good, my lord. Lord, tonight's lesson as our preparation for sh and we're going to talk about receiving the Torah with a muna. And this if receiving the Torah, maybe our Noahide friends think that that's not for this. It's just as much for them as it is for our Jewish brothers, sisters, and we'll soon see how. Okay. So, we ask ourselves a question. Well, if there's a tal if we go back uh 3,348 years ago, 349 years ago when the Torah was given a mountain si at this time of the year, this was only seven short weeks after the e to the exodus of Egypt. In other words, seven weeks ago when the Jewish people came to Mount Si on the six of seven weeks prior they were still slaves in Egypt. So 7 weeks before when we received the Torah Mount at Sinai that was the Exodus and uh even 8 weeks before they were still slaves in Egypt. So now the Jewish people are accepting a different type of servitude and this is the servitude the yoke of Torah and commandments rather than the yoke of slavery under Pharaoh the yoke of Torah and commandments under Hashem. So you think would how would they be willing to go from uh from servitude to servitude? This had to be something very special. And when they came to Mount Si the seven weeks they knew they had to perfect themselves. They had to rid themselves of the the slave mentality. How do you do that in seven weeks? But they did. That's a omare that the 49 days of the omare correspond to 49 different character traits that we work on every single day. These are mentioned in ethics of the fathers. But the what changed the game changer was three words in Hebrew that we're going to learn tonight. Three words in Hebrew that was the gamecher and this triggered the greatest sound and light show that history ever saw. That was the revelation of Hashem on Mount Si that 2 million people saw. So that's the difference between our people and our Torah and everyone else in history. Everyone else in history has this one prophet that he saw the light. If everybody saw the light, not with us. We have two million people and they passed it down from father to son, from mother to daughter, to rabbi to pupil, all the way down generation after generation. And it's not that long ago. In Judaism, 3,000 years is not that long. When we consider my generation is only 110 generations since Mount Si. And we have the generations documented all the way back. And so my my children's generation 111, my grandchild 112, my great-grandchildren only 113 generations from Mount Si. So not long. So we ask ourselves, okay, what is the holiday of the holiday of commemorates the receiving the Torah on uh Mount Si? When Moses went up to Mount Si, he got the written Torah from Hashem. Later he spent 40 days and 40 nights with Hashem learning the oral Torah. He had three sessions, three 40-day and 40 night sessions uh learning the oral Torah with Hashem. And we ask ourselves, okay, our sages say that on Shot, we receive the Torah a new. Well, what do we need to receive the Torah a new for? We ask ourselves, we received it last year and we've all been learning every day and we've been observing the Torah's mitzvah every day. So, what do we need to learn it again for? What do we need to receive the Torah again for? And this is what our our lesson tonight is going to answer us. Uh have a key in the prophet Hosea Hosea 14. He says you have to come back. You have to return until you reach Hashem. Not return to Hashem. Somebody says return to Hashem somewhere else. But here he says return until you reach Hashem. It's a double meaning return. It means repent but they use return when the soul comes back to Hashem because the soul came down to this world and left Hashem. So our entire job here like we learned in finding the lost princess is to make our way back to uh to to the divine presence find our way back to Hashem. And so how do we do that? How do we do that? Well have a power a power that Hashem gives us to keep us going. I'll give you an example. There's not a single balua that I know of and many many have told me this also. Uh there are many many many people that have said that before they got stronger in serving Hashem, they had this Eureka moment where all of a sudden they had the warmth of this divine light and it filled them up and it filled them up and they don't know how to describe it. It was maybe a split second. It seemed that it was a year, but in a split second it came and it left and then they've been yearning for that ever since. But so many times when they get these brick walls and and people that as if they represent the institutionalizer establishment Judaism that just doesn't talk to their souls and we call the highbrows. So who are you? You upstart your newcomer and newcomer. I who am I? I'm somebody that's thirsty for Shem. I come to Hashem. I'm I'm one. My soul was at Mount Si. This is a thirst I remember back at Mount Si. And Hashem told me three words. And those three words, I've been looking for Hashem ever since. So what are those three words? Ani, Hashem, Ela. Hashem told us the three words that we find both in Exodus and in Deuteronomy where the the ten commandments written a part of and exos in Exodus and part of Deuteronomy. I am the Lord your God. Those three words in Hebrew an I am hem your God. I am the Lord your God. I'm Hashem your God. These three words are the mitzvah of amuna. These three words are the very first three words of the ten commandments. These three words are common to both Jews and noites. When I was with David, we were driving on the car from London to uh Manchester. It was a 4-hour drive and we talked about everything I did for getting it to end and all the things and it slipped out of my mouth. I said, "David, you know something? Uh I'm so happy about the amunahides that attend our sharim. And he realized this was a a shemian slip, not a sliad slip. Amunahides because what's an amunahide noahides? So many people tell people don't like the word noahides. My friend Yishi Fleer as a broadcaster on on Fox News and Israel national news is a uh famous spokesman for for Israel and Israel advocacy. And he says that though his his friends that they prefer to be called uh uh Abrahamic the Abrahamic nations Abrahamic nations okay people have that but I think amunahites why amunites because amuna is the common denominator between all of humanity because all of humanity this governs us. So what are these three words? Why are these three words magical for all of humanity? Well, the fas first rebur he says at paras something amazing. He said when the children of Israel heard those three words, you got to remember we said as they're coming out of Egypt, they're slaves and now they're receiving the Torah. They don't know what to expect from the Torah. What's inside the Torah? And this is what created such invoked such divine compassion because the nations of the world wanted to know what's inside there. And when the French heard that they can't commit adultery, no, we don't want the Torah. And when the Americans heard that they that they can't chisel, they want the Torah. And when the Romanians heard they can't lie, they don't want the Torah. And when the Ishmaelites heard that they can't murder, no, we don't want the Torah. Come on, get out of here. And the Israelite nation, the Jewish people, they said, "Nasma, we will hear and we will do." In other words, the army, you don't your commander gives you a a a command and say, "Oh, sir, what is the logic of that command?" You don't say logic in battle. you do it. If you got a complaint that after it's all done, after you fulfill the command, then you can appeal it. But no, this is what the Jewish people said on Mount Si is we will do what you tell us to do, Hashem, we will do and then we'll look for the logic. When we look for the logic of it after we do it and if we can understand the logic because we can't understand the logic of most of the mitzvah like King David tells us in Psalm 119 mitzvah amuna that all the mitzvah are basically amuna and just as amuna is above nature and where nature leaves off that's where human intellect leaves off amuna is above human intellect it's divine intellect it's divine wisdom so these three words tells us is that when The two million people that heard those three words on Mount Si, they permeated their soul. And what he says this embodied this penetrated amuna penetrated their soul. What Hashem did, Hashem put amuna in their souls. By putting amuna in their souls, they could receive Torah. Now we can understand when our sages say that if we receive Torah properly, it's if we received it on on Mount Si. So what does it mean to receive Torah properly? Not the Torah is an intellectual exercise where I know Gomorrah better than you or I know religious law better than you. No, that's not the first. If you think you would be better than anyone, it means you're super arrogant. You haven't learned the first word of Torah. It means when I feel my soul feels connected to this divine light and I have to share it with myself and share it with all of humanity. And what is it? Wherever and this is uh a metaphor but we also read on which is the migill of Ruth where Ruth says to Naomi that uh wherever you go I go your nation is my nation your laws are my laws your Torah is my Torah this is the soul telling to the divine presence Ruth is the soul and naomi is a metaphor for the divine presence from the word naim that's a pleasantry and Ruth is the word comes from that she sings songs of praise to Hashem that's her great-grandson King David songs of praise for Hashem so she said where you go I'm going to go and when the soul heard these three words the soul said to the divine presence where you go I'm going to go so then why does the divine presence leave us because if we're right with the divine presence the game's over that's it Hashem wants Hashem created us the Ramal explains in the first chapter of Dar Hashem Hashem created us with the bodies of a animal and with the souls of an angel. So when we combine our body and soul together and fulfill the mitzvah of the Torah, the commandments of Torah, we are above the angels. But when the soul is vanquished by the body and falls into bodily lust, then it is below an animal. Animals, they have basic instinct, basic animals instinct. But when a human takes the divine soul that's part of the human and reduces it to materiality and to lust and all different types of lust whether it's lust for the other sacrifice love of lust of eating lust of money all different types of lust but lust brings the soul down where it is below the level of a behemma of a beast and we can see anyone who is pursuing lust rather than pursuing Hashem is really when do anything lower than an animal to fulfill the lust. That explains why people understand the great leaders of great great countries. There's scandals leaders all over the place scandals and and the World Bank and the British government and and the French government and the American government that the president of the United States and doing something in his office. What are you doing? How long did you work to become president of the United States? And now you're playing with the secretary in your office. I don't want to be graphic. We're learning Torah. But this is to show how lust even it penetrates. So even the president of United States or the prime minister of Great Britain when they don't have the laws of Torah, at least at least the seven no commandments, the seven no mans don't allow adultery. If they would pay attention to seven no commandments, they would have gotten into trouble. But here they do. They're willing to throw their whole lives away. So what does this mean? When our souls heard, I am the Lord your God. Our souls had a double reaction. First of all, they were overcome by this indescribable love and this indescribable desire. And that's what Hashem gave us. So that we'll have the power even when Hashem is in concealment that down in this lowly world, we will search him. We'll yearn for him. We'll search him. That's what we're doing on a moon hour. We're all trying together to get close to Hashem, to strengthen and get close to Hashem. No matter what we're doing, no matter what we're learning, no matter what holiday, no matter what phase of our lives, but it all comes down to amuna. And this is what King Solomon said that all the rivers lead to the sea. What's the sea? That's the sea of ammuna. Sea of Amuna. We'll see that the sea of Torah. And that's everything. That's the the person's whole spiritual and material existence. So by clinging to Hashem, we yearn for him. We love him. Serve him with enthusiasm. The whole time out on the field, whoever is enthusiastic from day and night, whoever we get a moment of enthusiasm and then it's uh home drum, we're back at routine. So what it means when we don't feel enthusiasm, we don't feel love. What happens? Okay, particular time your love goes up sometimes right before Shabbat. Shabbat comes in, you feel this love of Hashem and and you want to be together with divine presence and the middle of week and a drag. So what do you do? So this as he says like this he says when we feel this tremendous love we serve Hashem with all our heart we cling to him but when the love leaves us now we go into our second mode of service of Hashem now we serve Hashem as loyal servants that serve their master it doesn't matter when the king's servant he feels like it he doesn't feel like it he has to serve the sh serve the king his tea he has to shine the king's shoes he has to do what he needs to do if they're not he's in big trouble So this by nullifying, how do we do this? How can we serve Hashem with willingness when we don't feel love? Because we nullify our own will to do Hashem's will. So how can we nullify our will on that down? We know that the heart works with expansion and contraction. The lungs work with expansion and contraction. The soul does the same thing. We have expansion. When we love Hashem, we serve him enthusiastic. And then we have contraction. Contraction and cabal is called the sinsum. That's we don't see the light track to where Hashem seems to to be hiding from us. Hashem is concealed. Then put aside maybe I would have wanted I would have wanted animal laser would have wanted to do AB and C. But no, that goes aside even though I don't feel the love I nullify myself divine will. What does Hashem want me to do? Ask myself what does Hashem want me to do? Feel like it not feel like it? Get up and you have to make a living. You get up in the morning when the army you got to guard your post. You got you got to be on your your your battle station. You like it or you don't like it. Nobody's asking if you like it. This is what you have to do. This is our job in the world. So when we nullify our own will, we can do Hashem's will. When we do Hashem's will, we feel the love. But how can we nullify our own will? One word, amuna. By knowing that we have hem, those three words, I'm the Lord your God. And know that that's a fact. Then we know we have a higher power. And people say, "I don't understand Hashem." Thank goodness you don't understand Hashem. Because if you could understand Hashem, that means that Hashem would be on your intellectual level. So, who needs a creator and almighty that's on my intellectual level? Oh, wow. Wow. Hashem, thank you, Hashem, that you're not on my intellectual. Okay. So, King David says in Psalm 56, he says, "This is maybe the source that the fat is took from." In Psalm 56, King David says and then he says is the divine name of stern judgment. King David says in Psalm 56, if Hashem at Rashi is explaining that King David is talking to Midatin to the measure of stern judgment and he says to Hashem, if you punish me stern judgment, you give me a rough time. It's basic training. I know basic training is for the best. It's advanced training that's even tougher. Okay, Hashem, if if I'm if I'm in training and you're giving me a rough time, I know it's you and you're a loving father. So, I'm going to serve you with love. But you act with me with divine compassion. That's easy. It's easy to serve you with love. So, either way, King David had both these mindsets also. He had the mindset of amuna. And this is what Rabbiudin in the midish. Rudan, he was a Atana Rabbi a mid he's explaining what King David says that King David says whether the times are good good time Charlie where the times are difficult that we're going to serve Hashem we're going to sing to Hashem and this is what King David was telling us and for that you need amuna all over your body not only your brain all over your body so even we don't feel in your heart okay don't feel in your heart some people tell me oh I'm a good person in my heart wow my friend you are really putting a lot of pressure on your heart because uh we'll we'll see how whether you are a Jew and obliged to do 613 mitzvot and they have the the Jewish anatomy of the soul or you are an amunahide noahhide and you have seven mitzvot and also the noahhide spiritual body split up into seven parts. I explained it in divine direction that people had a difficulty to understand. Imagine the difference between a diesel engine and a combustion a benzene engine. That's the same thing. Same thing. The difference between a noahide soul and a Jewish soul is the same difference between a diesel engine, a benzene engine. Neither one is better than the other, but they have different jobs. They have different jobs. You'll find a diesel engine in in a tractor and uh you won't find it in a nice race car that benzene has to it needs to go fast and needs to go quickly. But see the power is different. They have different jobs and just like the two different types of engines. We have two different types of spiritual engines. So a person doesn't have to be insulted that they're this or the seven the 613 and even though even the six we as we wrote in amuna and the noahide the seven are really about 33 35 they're more than the actual seven okay so Moses had this amuna in his whole body where do we learn this from Exodus 17:12 uh it's at night and the Israelites are fighting a mollik and Moses is raising his hands when he raises hands that the children of Israel are overcoming their army. When Moses gets tired, they lowered his hands. Then they lose. So what's the raising the hand? Lower the hands. Finally, Aaron and Hur uh Moses' nephew, they had to put boulders under each of Moses's arm so that his arms wouldn't be tired and he could maintain his hands outstretched the heavens. The Torah says and Moses's hands were amuna. That that sounds cryptic. What does the Torah mean? When Moses's hands were amuna, it mean Rashi explains right there that his hands were extended in prayer. From this, King David learns that amuna and prayer are synonymous. Well, see, the prayer. Why? Because a person can't pray with at the least bit of intent if he doesn't have a if he or she doesn't have a muna. Okay? So the kidic masters uh uh they explain that when a person is pursuing they have an expression that his or her legs are legs of amuna. When you walk to the synagogue you walk to help a person you help a little old lady off the street your legs are amuna because your legs are doing Hashem's commandments. looks an amuna. So you have it in your arms and your legs. The Arizal tells us that by raising our hands when we wash them, we invoke amuna in our hands and they're different. Now the saferim, who is Rebel Curry, he's the same one that composed the the Yadid Neph, the beautiful sonnet that we only sing on Shabbat but during the week. He wrote a book called Sepheredim. Uh the book of uh what's the best word in English for those that have awesome fear of Hashem. It's not uh they they're worried that they don't fulfill every single iota of a mitzvah. So in he writes which commandments correspond to which parts of the body. Their commandments correspond to the hand, to the feet, to the blood, to every single part of the body. Okay? So, we learn that we have 613 commandments in the Torah. Guess what? There's 613 parts of the body. There are 248 positive commandments that correspond to the 248 limbs. There are 365 negative commandments that correspond to the 365 tendons. So we take the 248, the 36, the 248 and the 365, we come out to 613. Now it's very interesting. There's 300 and 630 parts of the body. So now the Noah, they have a legit legitimate question. Wait, what about us? We're chopped liver. We have seven mv. Ah, but Rabbi Yitzkab Ginsburg, he's a kabad rabbi. He's one of the greatest Ashkanazi kabolis alive. He keeps a very low profile but uh his teachings are really fantastic. He writes that the spiritual anatomy of a noahide he takes the seven mitzvot the seven noahhide commandments and corresponds them to the seven noahhide mitzvot. I did the same thing. I disagree. But I what was happen when I checked what I thought compared to what he taught. Then uh I put mine aside and say we'll take his but this is would be a whole hour just to explain this. You can see the Jewish soul is split up. It's not only 613 physical parts of the body, but it's 613 spiritual parts of the body. The Noahide soul is different. The Noahide soul corresponds to the major parts of the body. Let's go the whole body. We say the whole body very quickly. The Noahide soul because the head, right arm, left arm, torso, the reproductive apparatus, right leg and left leg. That's it. like with the feet the hands the arms could hands and the feet this is the this is the noahhide spiritual anatomy so the lights of a noahhide soul they correspond to these parts of the body and these are the seven noahhide mitzvot said that there is add but I want to go into that because that's not our part but what I want to say tonight that receiving the Torah is just as important for noahide as is for Jew people tell you that why is it just as important Because a noahhide is depends on we said wait a second that's not accurate. The first noahhide mitzvah is not to do idol worship. Oh thank you. Thank you sir. That's the second commandment in the ten commandments. But how do you not do idol worship and spirituality there's no void. You tell a person don't do this. Okay I don't want you to eat. I don't want you to drink. What am I supposed to do? Starve when you take that noahide soul tell it to starve. No way. So we see that that negative commandment is really the positive commandment of that Hashem is much the God of all of you creator the God and creator for an amunahide anahide okay for as he is for for the Jewish people. So don't feel like you're a secondass citizen. And and sometimes it just just this trip a person came up to me and person was very interested in converting and I said what do you need the headache for any have a great life living the life of the seven no commandments okay there was in Manchester I said what do you need you know something what have I told you you won't be able to attend Manchester City games you can't won't be able to see the Manchester United the Red Devils no more cheeseburgers no you have excited They don't know how to get wig about getting the death penalty for going with your peep finger open a light bulb. It's a death penalty. You're like, "Oh, really?" He said, "I didn't know that." I said, "Sure." Find out. People get they they they look at you're not a secondass citizen. You're a first class citizen. You're premier of humanity. And that's why boashm we see in our lessons we talk about amuna and the cherished beloved appreciated members of our group hashem I think our group is is almost half and half now but uh be don't don't have a wonderful life as a no okay so king David now comes now that we learned that okay no too they have their spiritual anatomy but uh there's something very important because it's so important I mean so Many knowhives that they're down on themselves. They feel down. They say I'm not accepted. My old society and my new society not accepted. Well, come here. Come to want to come to our group. Join our group. You'll be certainly accepted and with open arms. We accept everyone. Every single one. Bashem. We have our own jobs to do. But uh we everyone is certainly welcome. All cherish brothers and sisters. Your sons and daughters of Hashem. You are welcome. Okay. You're welcome. That's all. just no seven no mitzvah no idolatry. No idolatry means yes amuna. Yes amuna. Yes am this the first mitzvah for all of humanity. So King David tells us in Psalm 119 we said that amuna is synonymous to prayer. Amuna is synony now tells us in Psalm 119 that all your mitzvot are amuna. Wait a second. What do you mean your majesty? Oh, your mitzvah. What does it mean that when I have to give in order to keep my new baby donkey alive by by my my donkey, my female donkey, she gave she gave birth to her first fer donkey f. And we can't sacrifice a donkey. So if I have to give in lie of that donkey a lamb to the holy temple. Okay, that's called pamo. We we redeem we redeem the firstborn donkey with a sheep. Hey, wait a second. What's that got to do with amuna? That is everything to do with amuna. It is so illogical. We say our firstborn, it's like bringing the first fruit. But why a dunkey and not a camel? What do we have to do with camel? You don't have to bring your firstborn camel and change that for sheep. You don't have to bring your firstborn horse. You don't have to bring your firstborn uh your firstborn the the litter. You got the champion dogs. You raising champion dogs and and and you you you make a living breeding poodles and you breed poodles and your pups are world champions and you get $5,000 a poodle. So you think logic would say logic would say, "Wait a second. If I got to be a firstborn donkey, then I take my firstborn poodle and can't sacrifice a dog in the base of Mida. Oh, I'm going to buy a lamb, nice suffen lamb from Midlands and bring it to the holy temple. No, no, you don't need to. You don't need Well, then why a donkey? Why a donkey? Why is it crooked later? We don't ask that. It's a muna. Everything we go one by one, every le amuna, it is above nature. Even the mitzvot that we think we understand, you should not murder. That comes along a holy war and we have to go to war. go to go there's animations idolattors in in the land of Israel and idolattors in the land of Israel we don't want Hashem doesn't want us learning from them and the Torah says wipe them out so we don't ask question oh but amnesty international would say that is not humane we must foster humanitarian aid to the idolattors no way no way what do they do they take their kids and they burn them in a fire they have human sacrifices and we're not going to give we're not going to give humanitarian aid to people human sacrifices and kick them out of the land of Israel out you go when we go all the one by one one by one so this again reiterated we said the same thing throughout our our sages theamer who was the he he's our hungari kept he kept uh loyal loyal Judaism alive in in Hungary when in the 17th century when 18th century when There was so much enlightenment and emancipation. It was enlightenment and dark. And he this is the sufferer says that the moment Israel accepted the Torah. They received the muna. In other words, he was accepting the Torah, they accepted the Torah on faith. They accept without knowing what was in it. So they received the Muna. And so therefore tells us that nobody can properly serve the Torah without amuna. So properly observe the Torah. So where did he get that from? He learned that from Hashem. That's why Hashem said something on Mount Si. I am the Lord your God. Hashem gave us an intravenous injection of amuna with those three words. Hashem put it into our jugular right into the vein. Intravenous. Because Hashem knew that if we didn't have amuna, wow, we'd be long gone. What's happened since? S since slavery in Egypt. and we've suffered the the Greeks and we've suffered the Romans and we've suffered the Babylonians and suffered exile and destruction of the first temple and destruction of the second temple and the crusades and the crusades. They they murdered half a European jury way before the Holocaust. And what they did kicked the Jews out of England and moved Richard the Lionhearted. What they Richard the Lionhearted he killed 60% of the UK's Judia. There were there were Jews back then in England and in 11th century Richard the Lionhearted with this cross and representing the the the church of England. He killed more than half of England's Jews. the ones in that did they they left they went across English Channel they went to France they fled to France they fled to Spain well they had it okay there for another 250 years ah they thought they could breathe but in 1249 the French burned the Talmud and they were chasing the Jews and in 1492 the Jews were expelled from Spain and anyone that didn't agree to be a Catholic would be burned at the stake that's with the Spanish Inquisition and many were many of our our our South American friends. They are from the Anusim, the ones that under duress. They sec secret secretly remain Jews. But through the years, they've lost their identity. But many that are coming back now, we're from the times of Spanish Inquisition when their families were forced into the underground. Okay? So, we couldn't have withtood all that. Holder, we're not finished. That's 1492. What's been 1492? How about the pgrams and and Holocaust? the the decrees of 1648 and 1649ki in Ukraine Ukraine half a Ukrainian jewelry and a third of European jewelry were killed in 1648 and 1649 way this isnitki and we see the Ukrainian government where I have no pity for them everywhere you go in Ukraine there's a town called Nitzki there's Kalnitzki square in Oman in Oman where Rabbi Nman is buried there's Kalnitzki square big statue statue of Klnitzki and he is the Kasak that is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews. Ginte who slaughtered 33,000 Jews in Oman. Ginte was one of the it was a a continue this was later. This was uh 80 years afterward uh right before Rebman was right before Rabbi Nakman was born and we have the pogm after Paul Grom and and and and then this is turns into Holocaust and if the Holocaust Holocaust and then look what happened in Russia. Okay, maybe the Russians didn't kill they killed plenty of Jews and the Stallics out in in Siberia, but uh Russians killed souls. They killed souls. They wouldn't allow them to keep Torah. So if we didn't have amuna, why the quick long run in history is that we didn't have amuna, we would not have the power. It's amuna that lets us get here today. So now if we want to immerse oursel in Torah and observe commandments then we have to permeate our whole bodies with amuna. Have to be amuna in our head amuna in our toes. Amuna everywhere. What's amuna in my whole body? Amuna is my gut reaction that when I hear something it's not the best, not opportune. It's okay. And this is what everything's for the best. So let's ask ourselves. We're still in the counting of the Omr. The right. We're still in the counting of the Omr. We're still in the 49 days between the the uh first day of of the second day of passover. And you know what happened these days? How come we don't have haircuts? Well, the spartim do after Logba Omar because the Gomorrah says that Rebea's 24,000 students that died in his time up to Logba Omar. But Ashkanazim especially theim uh we have wait until the Omar is completely over. So we have no haircuts and uh no no weddings uh until until after what went on there. Rebaka lost his 24,000 students. Rebeeka spent 40 years as a total ignoramis. Rea was an out and he he couldn't read. He couldn't read. He couldn't write. And when he married Raal, he promised that uh he would he would be a Torah scholar. And in the beginning, he was very difficult. 40 years he learned from time he was 40 to 80. And then he became a great reb. And during the time he was 40 until he was about 110. The next 30 years he amassed 24,000 students. They all died. Why did they die? They died because they properly didn't respect one another. And been a big plague that a terrible big plague. terrible plague where they had a disease in their tongue and the disease in the tongue went down into their intestines. The test king David says that the Torah should be in my intestines. So if the Torah is in my intestines, I'm not going to talk. I'm not going to think bad about anything. So why not properly respect one another? Oh, they were highbrows. I'm better than you. I know more than you. They didn't properly respect one another. Well, Hashem knew. And this what Hashem showed Moses in track page 29 the Gomorrah tells about it that the Torah would stem from Rabaka. But he wouldn't allow Torah to come from these 24,000. They would the 24 they weren't worthy of it. In order to have Torah you have to love what's the main mitzvah. You love your neighbor as yourself. You love your fellow human as yourself. You can't do that without amuna. If a person without amuna thinks, well, maybe this color is better or this nationality is better or this one is better and this. No, with amuna, you know, as we said before, this is the third time tonight. We're all Hashem's children and you love everyone. Everyone is your neighbor. You love them like you love yourself. So, the Gura tells us something very, very interesting. Okay, so Rabbi students died. Now, Rabbi is starting all over again. Rabbi Keva starts all over again and he gets five new students. He builds up five new students the last 10 years of his life. And these two students are the bullwark of the lights of Torah. Rabbi Shimon Bayai buried at Miron. He's the father of the esoteric Torah brought down the zor brought down rebi mayor Balines. Rebi mayor one of the chief stages of our our mission in Alanora. Rebudar Eli is chiefly responsible for as we know it today. Uh Rabiosa Rabiosi he had such a fantastic intellect. Most people couldn't understand him. They say in the upper world is like Rabiosi but down here often times is more like Reb Yehuda and then it was Rebazar Ben Shamore. Rabbazar Ben Sham. He was the youngest of the five students. But Rebel Azar ben Shimal was also one of the 10 martyrs like Rebaka. He was killed by the Romans. And we read about this on tishabove. So the Gammorate Khaga page 11a tells us an amazing fact. Does it reba learned 22 years by Kamsu? We ask ourselves a question most people don't know how to answer this. Wait, Rebaka, he's the father of the Ola Torah. Rebaka, he made the six orders of the Mishna. He created this extraordinct tates. Rebecka created the concept of trackctates that this trackctate will be about Shabbat and this trackctate will be about and this trackctate will be about marriage and this trackctate will be about divorce. the trackctates of marriage and divorce. We're going to put them into the order of women sedhi. There's a whole six of the mission that's about the laws that govern women that people that think that to chauvinistic didn't know anything about Torah. There is a whole section order of the Mishna that's about the different holidays. What about yum kipper? That's tract yum rashash shana tract rashash shana shabbat and six orders. I'm not going to teach the subtitles be a special lesson itself. The evolution of Torah. Rabbi aka he created this framework. It was his student Rebby Mayor Rebi Mayor Balines that perfected the language because the mission is written in very staccato language like we used to write telegrams back in my days we're in university that the 10 you had 10 words for a certain price and the 11th word would cost you double uh very language then came along Rabbi Mayor's student Rabi Judah the prince Rabbi Yudani we call him Rebe and he finally codified the Mishna all right so reba got this framework from his two great Rebes who all the light of Raban and Ben Zachai. The Torah filtered down by way of Reban and Zakai is two chief students who were Rebei Elazar Ben Horinus and Rishu Ben Khan. Rebea learned by both of them. From them comes all the lawsu that Rebika spent 22 years. He brings in one law. One law they know of one law. Rabbi Nakamish Gamsu says that if you can't make it to the mikvah then you could put nine buckets of water on your head and it's like like going to the mikvah called tesa kabin and this is gamsu that's the one law that we know about. So why did reba leave his two great rebes to spend 22 years by gamu it just doesn't make sense doesn't make sense. Not only that we open up the avot rabbiatan. Avote rebinatan is one of the minor trackctates of the tomwood. Avot rabbinatan tells us a really moving story. It tells a story about rebelzar benhinus. He's on his deathbed. Now rebel rabel benhorin. He was very strong in his opinions and he opposed Rabbi Yeshua to a point where the rabbis the de rabbis exculated him. He was he was he was a nidi and as he died they came and they was about to die. So they came to relieve to up to lift the ban of of uh Nidui, the ban of him being banished from the the public. And they came to do it. He said, "Why did you do it?" Because you didn't understand me. And he said he said to all the rabbis that participated in banishing him, banishing him from the from the what we call nidi. Again, uh I don't know the proper word in English, but it's like a banishment. You're not allowed to pray with the public. uh you're not allowed to participate and you can't be counted in a minion all different things that people should talk to you to be distanced for distance from you it's like a pariah person create the pariah until the rabbis forgive him and uplift the ban well the rabbis heard that reb razer alazar benhorinus was dying and they came to uplift one of the great rabbis that was in that entourage was Rebaka he came all to the rabbis he says you know for what you're doing to me this was aic argument and I didn't want to accept it because he didn't accept the majority opinion they put the ban on him but now they uplifted it and he says uh I don't think that any one of you is going to live your lives fully and he looked at a ka came in to he said why didn't you come to learn with me why didn't you come to be my my understudy as you were once said I was busy this he said, "Oh, he says, Aka, you're going to have the worst death of them all. It looks like it looks like the great the greatest sage of all times, he and Rab Yeshua, Ben Khan, and he's cursing Rabbi Aka." And people understand that particular Mishna as a curse, not a curse. If you learn more, it's not a curse. Rabbi Elazar Ben Horinus he was on such a high level that he had a taste they say that a scholar a Torah scholar is wiser than a prophet. He had this inclination of prophecy and he knew he understood why Rebaka had to leave him because if Rebaka stayed in the realm of academic Torah it wouldn't be strong enough to keep the Torah going. Reba had to go to Nakumish Gamsu. What do we learn from Nakamish Gamsu? Nakamish Gamu is the Rebe of Amuna for the entire Talmudish Gamu goes through some really excruciating trials and tribulations. And what do you say to the the trackctate about the fasting? It gives all the stories of different tribulations of Gamsu. Uh you could you could see them in in three words of amuna. You can see them are 13 principles of Muna. Uh we'll talk about that when we get to 13 principles of Muna. Bzat uh a little bit later after we'll start that. But we see Rebaka stayed by Gamu to learn amuna. It's not easy. Rebaka could learn the entire Talmud faster than he could learn amuna to the extent that amuna penetrates every limb on his body. So he spent those 22 years. When do we see that Rebaka really knew how amuna and the same track tape it tells the story of Rebaka is on a hill in the Galilee and Rebeeka is walking with his three possessions in life. He's got three possessions in life. His his mind mindset is serving Hashem. He doesn't need money. Doesn't He had a candle. What's a candle for? Candles he can learn at night. And he had a rooster. What's the rooster for? And when he went to sleep late at night, the rooster would wake him up before sun up, before sun. So he go back to learning. And he had a donkey. A donkey. That was his that was his uh mercenes that took him from place to place. That was his transportation. Well, Rebecca is goes to a town and Rebea is looking for a place to lodge. She's looking for lodge for the night. Every single door gets slammed in his face. No, we've got no room for you. No room for you. No room for you. No room for you. Every door that got slammed in his face, he said what his teacher told. And then he said, that's an Aramaic that everything Hashem does is all for the very best. Here he's get frustrated. He's got no place to sleep. It's cold out night. Door slammed in his face. He's got no choice. So he leaves town and he looks for somewhere up in the hills where he can find he finds find this this hill and a amongst the trees a little flat piece of piece of ground where he could set himself sit down and uh give his dunkey to rest and he lights his candle. He lights his candle so he could sit and learn. And he puts his rooster right next to him so his rooster will wake him up in the morning. Comes a wind and blows out the candle. No more candle. Says that everything Hashem does for the best. Once he goes to sleep, nothing to he can't learn. So he's going to go to sleep. And all of a sudden he hears a squawking of his rooster and a fox ate his rooster. Grabbed the rooster and so he's got no more alarm clock. Well, says the same thing. This is also the best. Hey, excuse me. Rebe you're losing all your possessions in life. Hope it's all for the best. He left for nothing. Okay. But he's got his donkey. Okay. Put his donkey f to sleep. And then a a Galilee mountain lion comes and eats the donkey. He's got no donkey. He's got no donkey. The G mountain lion decided he wanted he wanted a donkey for dinner. For dinner. So they Rabbi Kea's Reba's uh uh Audi for dinner. Okay. That's his donkey. Rebea is left with nothing. and he says everything is all for the best. Rebeccave goes to sleep. In the morning he wakes up and there's this eerie eerie feeling that night Roman legion came into that Galilee village and wiped out every single last man, woman and child. Had Rebaka been accept lodging, he would have been among them. Okay. Now back on the hill, if his candle would have been lit, then they would have seen a candle. They'd know there's another Jew up on the hill. And looking around, they would have been happy to go and kill another Jew. And had his rooster crowed cockadoodle dude, they'd know that here that the rooster where rooster our people are. Where the roosters our people are. And if the dunkey dunkeys, you been in the Arab village in land of Israel and have the dunkeys duns they start nighing. When a roosters start crying, dunkeys are hungry already at 3:30 in the morning, an hour before sun up. They heard they're they're they're hungry in their name. They would have heard that they called him. So what did Hashem do? Hashem sent the cure before the sickness and all the things that would have exposed Rabbika killed him. This Rabbika but before he knew the logic and when things seemed the worst, he said this is all for the best. This is the mindset of amuna. This is the mindset that we need to learn Torah. This is the mindset we need to remain to remain if you and this to this day this day there are people that get weak there people they say how long can you see we've got this war that's been going on for uh a year and a half and and finally say oh we got quiet more or less we think there there's quiet okay no more rockets from Gaza no more rockets from Gaza now there's rockets from from Yemen no rockets from Yemen now there's something else always something. But if everything is for the best, it's all for the best. And a person puts himself in a a muna mindset that it's all for the best. David and I, we went to uh went to this beautiful forest talking to Hashem. I so busy talking to Hashem here. You know, when a person goes, I did brought a computer, got everything on the cell phone. Well, somewhere out in this beautiful Nottingham forest, uh, the phone decided it would jump out of my pocket. Where? I think we walked about 12 kilometers. Walk about 12 km. Now, go find the the phone somewhere in a forest. Okay, let's smile. It's for the best. And it was he had a lovely five, six days with no phone calls and no news and no media and could concentrate just on Torah. Everything is for the best and came back to Israel. Okay, we got it back. We got did not the same phone but a new one and a miracle thought that maybe the numbers lost. No, the phone company range had been given on the SIM card with a new number. Everything is hunky dory and it's even better because all the garbage I had on the old phone, it's not on the new phone. I'm going to even bother. Who needs they didn't need all those applications anyway? It's all for the best. Whatever shm does for the best. But when it happens to you, it's all for the best. It's all for the best. So the cardiologist says you need this procedure, you need that. It's all for the best. Now for Hashem because Hashem is a loving father. We learn the three words of amuna. And three words amuna says yes. If you haven't read three words of muna take a look at it, read it. Uh who is hashem? The shem. He runs the world. The first principle of ma. He alone did and will do everything. And who is that? Shem that did do and will do. That's my father in heaven. That also Rebaka told us that's what Rebaka's prayers were answered where the great highbrows their prayers weren't answered because Rebeeka was the first one to ever say oh mo our father our king and uh Rebea he was he was the the father he knew everything was all for the best. So if we know that everything comes from Hashem and Hashem is our father in heaven and it's everything he does is all for the best because he's our loving father in heaven. What is there to worry about? Absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. That's amuna. So with this amuna, my brain and my heart are free to accept the light of Torah. And this is why Rebecka became the father of the the oral Torah because he is the bull work of amuna. And he gave this amuna to his five students. They are all tremendous such a tremendous powers of amuna especially rabish andai because amuna brings us closer to Hashem. That is why we need the renewed acceptance of Torah because this year and convention for for myself and the whole group if we look back last year our Muna wasn't what it was this year because we've covered a lot of ground working ourselves ama and contact with everyone and bashem we all the time our goal is to get closer to Hashem and that's the beauty of our group we help each other encourage each other we love each other getting closer muna and this a little story and you can see this is a story don't don't think this is oh why you have to accept the muna David was with me yseph was with me and we're in Manchester and they invited me to speak to a yeshiva and came into yeshiva I looked at David we looked at me I said what I said they're so sad here the boys are sitting like this and then I looked at their teachers the rabbis they're sad do. They've got these frowns on their face. I said, "Wait a second. You tell me." And I said right away to the rabbis. I said, "You don't have a moon in the curriculum, do you?" "No." I said, "Does anybody somebody knows can tell me the 13 principal muna raised their hand?" Nobody raised their hand. So, these are boys in Yeshiva and they don't know amuna. So, no wonder they're not smiling. Maybe. And you know why they're not smiling? Because the rabbis don't know amuna. If the rabbi is no ma the rabbi can't give if you ask somebody uh to lend you 100 quid if you don't have it you can't lend it rabbi can't teach what he doesn't have. So he said with very cheeky I don't care so maybe I won't be invited back but that's okay that's wonderful Michelle will be here tomorrow anyway we're not going to interested in going back to Manchester going to Jerusalem. So they say maybe maybe they'll put it in the curriculum. I don't believe I wish they did. I don't wish they did but uh okay we did say what did you see if the boys in yeshiva aren't learning amuna what do everyone else is we all have to we all have to and nobody's going to change and nobody is going to improve themselves and it might be doubtful where they live a life of Torah observance if they don't have amuna because it's not enough to get through life's difficulties without amuna so we have to strengthen ourselves in amuna if we don't strengthen ourselves in amuna then we can't teach our children amuna we can't teach our pupils amuna so if we practice ourselves if we live it we can give it and that will enable us this to accept the yoke of Torah and have a wonderful and a wonderful wonderful year on [Music]