Mr. Zecharia Fruchthandler - Weekly Torah Portion: Balak - Part 1

thank you okay so so good morning sir not morning anymore um we'll be back here again for a second time uh the topic I'd like to discuss today which is evident in this week's Tower reading parashas balak and we're going to discuss reflection that one should reflect in life with an old commercial back in my day to put the pods that that refreshes we need to pause in life we need to take time out to reflect and we need to appreciate appreciate what the positive influences in our life are and to try to detect that if we're veering or of course that there's a problem with that so let's let's start by giving uh going back to some early fundamentals in in the in in the Torah in in the written lure if you notice if you open up uh most combustion not every kamish has it and the fact that not every commercial has it makes the question even stronger will not have it which in a way strengthens the question there as as we know of those that don't know the written Torah the Torah is written without beginning or ends to succumb to verses to sentences we don't know on our own we wouldn't necessarily know you can't even figure it out on your own you would make mistakes if you try to figure on your own where every sentence ends in the Torah or every pause is in the total within a sentence you would not be able to which that wouldn't be possible that's part of that's part of not only tradition as part of of the uralua or Louise how how do you take the Torah we have to send we'll do the sentence to start we'll do the end and there there are the vowelization that what you call the Trap there's there's there's there are musical notes to the to the Torah and those notes in addition tell you where there's a break in a sentence with the midpoint in a sentence or even within the midpoint of a sentence there are two words that go together as opposed to two words that were to stop and those notes it depends how they're shaped if it's shaped this way like America it means to go to keep going if it's shaped like a tipkha it's the opposite way it's like you're hitting a wall it's almost looks like an open parenthesis and closed parentheses you know to stop the only if we looked at the written Torah the only thing that you would notice that seems to be somewhat familiar is it seems to be paragraphs is a as a parish in theorem it's one subject and it sort of ends the subject and then nothing else will be written there's a space between there and the beginning of the next paragraph So you see at least where paragraph ends and the different types of paragraphs they're noted either with with the letter P or the letter samach and again in that hummus you're looking at you will not find it you will not find they because and again this is why I say it strengthens the question because what purpose does it serve if we're learning if you're learning Hamish so we we would learn and we would get we'd see obviously we where it ends because we do have in the Kudos we have the vowels we have we have the sentences where the sentences start and end and it's really rather obvious so Roger yes this question not if it's for Ashley's question Rashi mentions this question what now this goes back all the way and what what the partios what the paragus represent is is it's a stop you're supposed to stop and rashes questions that even again we're going back even to when Moshe to when Moses learn the Torah and accepted Torah directly from Hashem directly from God himself they were pasius there was and Russia yes what purpose do they serve Moses is being taught to Tower from God himself and what what's the problem you know Moshe was the quintessential student and God of course is is the quintessential teacher so what's the problem so much so and this again this makes a question even more even more difficult in other words stronger is when when Moshe finished the entirety the entirety of the Torah when God taught him turn it in tide he was after a 40-day period there no no eating no sleeping so it was 40 days that 40 days of multiplied every many hours a person is capable of learning a day but it's more than 40 regular days on a regular day you you have to sleep you have to eat you have to take care of other things and not they're not all that many free hours in a day this is 40 days Non-Stop and yet Rashi says it's not possible for a human even Moshe rabeno even even learning the Torah directly from God himself was impossible to comprehend The Tourette's entirely in a 40-day period which is why the verse said after he received it he said we read it one way another interesting thing that again we can only know from the Missouri from tradition but tradition is not really the best word to use again when the written total was given was given together with the oral law meaning with what we were taught orally how do we understand how do we comprehend the written lure and there's some there sometimes when there's what's called a Cree and exiv how you would read the word had you not been instructed specifically how to read it and how do you read it after your specifically instructed on how to read the word so the verse says this is how we read it when he finished when Moshe finished learning the Torah directly from God kalosa means Kalos the end he finished but if you would take just that one word and I would say how should you read this word if you read it kehaloso you'd be reading it incorrectly because you should read it like his bride we will know that word it should be read in a vacuum you'd read it because just like you give your bride presence when when you marry her so Moshe was given from God the Torah is the present even though he went through 40 days days and night no bodily functions no eating no sleeping at the end of the day it only could have been given as a present but yet at during those 40 days after every so-called end of aparsha and end of a subject and the veninyan there was there was it was a Parsha in order as Rashi says the hispanane to give a pause to reflect because whenever you come to an end of something what needs to pause one needs to reflect what what did I just what did I just study what what what what what what what did I just learn the ramban in his famous letter says when you anytime you learn Torah when you get it from the learning Torah you should try to say to yourself is that the question can I apply what I just studied can I apply to what I just learned how can I apply what I just learned into my life put into practice of course we changed every time we studied Torah it changes us it fundamentally changes us that's our connection with Torah but in addition to that if you want to enhance the experience how do how do I make Torah part of my life so I want to give a couple of examples um of where do we see the dangers of not causing and where we see the advantages of pausing so the message I think we mentioned him yesterday uh I'm not sure I mentioned this yesterday if I did they'll tell me we'll go over it quickly one of paro's designs when he Enslaved the Jewish nation in Egypt he he used this as now if you think about it it's not easy to any kind of easiest way into it was done like first voluntarily and he had the Egyptians involved as well he's enslaving basically in an entire nation which which is which was within his Nation but we had already increased we were quite a large multitude we were living in the land of Goshen which was part of Egypt and one of his designs were and speaks about this towards the beginning of his great work is once he saw when we were complaining some of the uh the offices that were that were over us over the over the regular Jews working and they were Jews as well they came to complain to Paro it's too hard you're telling us we have to make x amount of bricks a day it's not it's very very difficult to do it this may not even be possible to do it and uh can't be done so what did Potter do he said not only aren't I going to diminish your workload but until now I supplied you with destroy with the Tevin and from that one you have to collect the Tevin you have to collect this drawer and you have to make the same number I'm going to make that stronger because you you because you're already thinking you're thinking how do I get out of it if I if I make the the work so hard you won't even have the time to think and as the messenger points out because people if they would have time to think would change their ways people that are that are that are doing what they're not supposed to be doing they're going down the wrong path that's one of the evil inclination the yet Sarah that's one that's one of his weapons he makes you so busy and and as we all know the world with all its conveniences and all its Comforts it's not easier it's not simpler it's busier it's more difficult they're more distractions and that's all part of of the evil connect that's part of his design to make me so busy that you don't allow yourself the time to pause you know I always have a time to reflect now I'd like to give an example that we had not long ago two weeks ago and we read and passed a schlach the spies The Mirage familiar with that story very quickly we're gonna go we're going to go up into the land of Heritage Israel and Conquer it Israel and we sent out 12 Spies now these spies these 12 men were very very very righteous people right the representatives of each of the 12 tribes of amisrael the Jewish Nation um and and and the and the the Torah itself testifies that these were 12 great men they weren't just people that knew how to you know survey land or knew how they were good you know they're good you know reporting skills these were great learned and righteous men now I was in yesterday I went with the Jay Ali I went to Chevron in the winter I was hit with a thought which I think is extremely appropriate now College was one of the 12 who I went up to spy the land and when they came back 10 of them reported that there's no way we can conquer the land they're literally going to eat us up they're Giants their Warriors it's not happening now kalev who he was a little bit conniving but rather ingenious and his intentions are perfectly Noble he he made beliefs so to speak that he was together with them in their evil design and when they came back and the ten reported that it's not going to happen we're not going to be able to conquer the land so the verse says he he all of a sudden he said and Rashid gives the more the of the uh the verbiage what did he say he said and is this to us so everybody thought it was going to say more bad about Moshe he said he split the sea for us and he gave us the man it is he did all of these fantastic things for us he quieted the entire people now why why do we need to know that I want to tell you the thought that I heard just recently when I was still in New York from from one in front of the lectures that I attend in New York what happened he quieted everybody down and if you'll go through we're not going to go through the whole sequence of events he it didn't stop anything seemingly they eventually they wanted you know color and Yeshua tried to convince him they wanted to kill them and unfortunately the decree that that entire that that generation in its entirety the general generation was defined from the 20 to 60 year old male population it was agreed that none of them would be allowed none of them will go into the land of Israel into Earth Israel and that's of course a terrible terrible decree but what what did College stopped everybody and that's vayasi like I said he said like and he succeeded he got them quiet now we don't see what was gained from it but the Torah is not an empty book it's not a book at all if you get everyone to just stop stop and then once I don't know how I'm just remind myself of the story I don't know I had the foresight to do it remember when I was many years ago I was studying in Yeshiva in Lakewood and uh obviously it was summertime and the air conditioning that tremendous equipment the freon exploded it was a crazy explosion and the place went into a panic and there were the exit doors were insufficient in in a crowd against stampedes could be very dangerous I don't know how they had the sense of mind I stood up on my chin I just yelled stop and I don't know everyone just stopped and that's it the Stampede stopped I didn't say everything's okay everything will be okay it's all right don't worry just stopping slows you down it stops it stops what you were doing so even though we don't see directly here the benefit you know and in the lecture I was hearing it didn't say what specific benefit was but stopping it would have been worse stopping in itself especially if if you're if if you're sliding down you know stopping has a benefit it gives you time it gives you time to reflect so let's let's go to the to this week Etc and now in a regular homage again it won't show you all over in the tower you're going to see you're going to see and and what's going across the most commercial they will show you wherever there's either a pay or a samach if you go through this week Etc the Parish of Bullock you will get almost to the very very end before in the Torah there's an end before there's a pay you can get very you know you get all the way to the end of it's it's it's chapter Cafe chapter 25 and you actually saw bashita that you didn't you could look but you don't even need to look you're not going to see it in the squirmish on page 874 but the entire view turn all the pages back the entire total reading from the beginning is one paragraph if you're looking to talk about one long run on sentence now with that running sentences because we know through through the Minnesota where the sentences end but what what is what is eternal teaching us by putting this now there are logical places where one could have inserted a new paragraph because that was billum's mistake now I'm not going to quote the names of where I saw everything I'm telling you because I'm afraid I'm afraid especially since I'm being tight I'm afraid I may not give it over accurately um but whatever I'm saying is what I've seen in authoritative an authoritative forum what was what was billum how did billum appear on the scene what's what's the background what what's what what happened why why why did billum exist why was he given such such a level of Prophecy so rationing the beginning of of the toe reading begin to Cedric says because the Nations of the world had somewhat or maybe even more than some of a legitimate uh complaint a legitimate gripe they said look if you would give us great leaders with you know great profits so we too would would have Rose to the challenge just like the nation of Israel just like we did so God gave them bilam and not only didn't he didn't he and and the world not only didn't they elevate themselves but they sank to levels of immorality that heretofore they they were they were they were living by and and and and they were keeping and and even those they did it did away with so instead of knowledge didn't they go up not only didn't they stay the same unchanged but they but they actually went down so don't make the mistake again I'm not saying from my own that billum was by Nature an evil person don't don't think he was a person that had that he was he was sweaty he was selfish uh don't don't he was not he was not compassionate because that wouldn't how would that answered then the Gentile Nations you know gripe we had Moshe rabeno was was the most home he was the most a humble person as great as he was and of course it means he understood his greatness understood his greatness but his greatness but he was given tools to develop himself in into such a person now everybody when they're born anything any Katan anything especially when they're small we all have in US certain character traits we we can we have good character traits um what are we going to say in a one to ten whether it's anger hoardiness you know selfishness some people are best naturally with with good trades but there is there is somewhat a person that doesn't anger easily doesn't mean he you cannot get him angry so everybody everyone has to work depending and and our our roles in life and we were tested in life is perfectly suited to whatever personality traits whatever natural tools and gifts and talents that we were given was obviously blessed and he rose he used his tools and became as great as he was but the greater a person is with taught the Tama teaches us greater than his colleague his his Evil Nation is greater and it doesn't mean and they said it doesn't mean that that is even his evil in Galatians commensurate with his so-called enhanced talents he was given to I mean he actually has a hotter his difficulty in battling his even his evil inclination is more difficult than our than our battle our battles are going to be on on a level that's more based on a lower level you know and he's going to be is he more spiritual you know since he is looked up to by so many people you know how does he he have to continue to look at yourself that you know it's it's not you you're just you're just perfecting what the talents that God gave you but that's accepted billum was blessed with with with very with very he was he was a talented person and God blessed him with attributes of of patience and forgiveness and uh selfishness but but we know what what happens to a person a person gets put into position of Fame and Fortune and Power you know covered as we know is from is from the the strongest attractions especially as one gets older and again Levitt says is he says I can personally attest as one gets older the the the the desires inclinations that that that we have and you're younger than me they change but the the one desire that not only doesn't go weaker gets stronger and that's the desire to be respected and acknowledged you want to be somebody and on the expression English is that uh you know that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely so so billum so so God did answer the Gentiles he picked he picked the perfect specimen and gave him the opportunity to rise to a level to be a leader to to to be a leader that would that would bring the nations of the world to a level but they failed they they failed that miserably to finish the thought with with bilam is why there is no and that's exactly what's happening with billum billum was on he was he he was on he was on a treadmill he didn't a treadmill just keeps going if you don't stop it or you don't jump off you just keep going you have no choice you can't stay on the treadmill and just stop walking or running you can injure yourself you have to actively stop the treadmill and if you just stay on it you're just gonna keep going and billum just kept going he never paused he never stopped to reflect and and that's really a very important a very important exercise again strongly urges and not only urges is it it's something that you need to do at the end of the day it's supposed to be massive some say your master and he says both are true you have to examine what what did I do today what did I do this week what I do this month what I do this year you have to you have to examine what you've done am I doing a good deed am I doing a bad deed and as he says and even the goodies that I did that I did did I do them properly yes is that parallel to why they're already yes the parallel is that billum fell into that and he never reflected the entirety of the way the Torah treats the entire story of billum is one in the tower is like one long run on sentence there are no breaks no paragraphs exactly what the pay or the summer and the written Torah is supposed to tell you to do and even again even when God Tortura directly to Moses and even though he gave it to him as a present between every subject there was a stop lyten revac that's Bina to not just not just that you have the facts being a means when when when when you when you understand it's a deeper level of understanding you have to you have to realize what is happening where am I going what what what are the results of this analysis that Rabbi elovsky who speaks sometimes if I can use this line as he uses a line he said do you want to live the life you lived or do you want to live the life you chose and if it's most people but certainly a lot of people at the end of their lives this can why do you end up doing what what you did and a lot of times it just seems you know well I wanted I thought I was going to teach I thought I was going to do this but I don't know but then on my friends off with me and I ended up uh you know owning a chain of fast food stores and not that that's bad you know you can you can live a very Noble iPhone owning a chain of fast food stores but a lot of people and I'm going to say unfortunately because it's not only of of career choices how did you spend your leisure time what was important to you did you live your life doing what was important to you at the moment because it just yeah it feels good well of course it feels good we're human beings human beings like what feels good but when someone is older and even if you're not older yet antagon means when you when you're in your you should live to be on some he's 95 years old and he shall live to be more than 95 this fellow if you ask him what is what are his regrets is he going to regret that I didn't spend an extra hour in the office so you regret that I I should have went that other round of golf or whatever the leisure activities there were a couple of countries I wanted to visit and visit them or or is he going to say I wish I was closer to my children I wish I appreciated my wife more I wish I involved myself in activities in local and local you know crested organizations I wish I studied more Torah we know the answer to those questions at the end of your life what what really is Meaningful all of a sudden becomes so obviously it comes yeah that that that's what I should have done so if we kind of how do we live the life we chose is Project ourselves how do we okay imagine yourself absorbing 80 years old now what would you be proud of what would you tell what would you want to tell your children at the end of your life that this is what I'd like to see from you now people can live relatively you know commendable lives but yet have been very very selfish we live in a very selfish generation I remember reading many years ago an article from from Ravi salavechik from yeshiv University and it was almost prophetic and I remember reading I read this like 40 years ago and he wrote it I think 30 years prior to that at the coming time people become so selfish and I can have children which at that time would have been like but now that's commonplace of course they hide behind I was talking to a student yesterday he doesn't want to have children he wants to only adopt children because there's so many unwanted children in the world and there's already too many people in the world I said it's very commendable to want to adopt a child I certainly wouldn't try to talk you out of it it's not easy it's not easy but we're taught the one that gives life he gives sustenance we don't have to worry about the world's resources people get invite involved today in environmentalism now again it's a personal opinion because because everybody needs their own God that everyone needs their own religion and it's very easy just to say well I'm an environmentalist and that's the extent of my religion and I have to I have to do anything else I don't need the Torah on anything else I can just get angry at people that are seemingly like using plastic bottles you know they're not they're not living a green life now obviously it doesn't make sense to have a factory spewing out you know waste materials in into your drinking water I mean that you don't have to be too bright you know that doesn't make sense we also know the the carrier to an extreme you know the world was designed to live to just to be here for as long as you live the world we have to live sensibly but if that becomes what if that's your focus if that should not take up most of your day that should not be that they're they're one they're one they're one issue the vote in in in an election the voter politician what what was what was evil is based on is the pro-environment that's it that's it that's that's your only priority in life forget about getting into the the authenticity of of global warming and climate control which at best we don't know but we really like that's what they're going to devote and dedicate your life to so we need the lesson from the center is we need to focus on what is it that I know is Meaningful there are meaningful things in life that we know this family this children as your parents they're your friends does does being Jewish a fundamental being Jewish is to be good to to to focus on another person and I mentioned a few times but the story was so meaningful to me Levitz who was known as an extreme he was very diligent diligent in his learning he was he was amassment they say stories he would put his feet in ice cold water to stay awake and he was it was a tremendous very very diligent and he used to on the street with Yeshiva is in in in the base Israel neighborhood not far from here he would sometimes stop in front of a children's store and he'd look into the window of children's shoes and he just look into the store and the students would wonder like what what is the roshishiva what what why is he doing that one day when one of the students had the okay the girl whatever you know if he was such a formidable person I didn't meet him I didn't know him well unfortunately uh yes what is the receiver looking at he says I'm imagining a young mother coming in buying the first her her child's first pair of shoes and and I'm trying to relate to that level of Happiness to that level of simcha that's life the basic life is someone else's that someone else should be content we do acts of kindness the way most of us do acts of kindness and and it's very it's exemplary that we do it someone is in need is in need and and now that and where do we give well he's deserving of that need he's going through tough times and and you help him out it's extremely commendable but has it in its pure form is is somebody wants something and I give him what he wants it doesn't matter the level of necessity or need is not the issue because it is he wants it if he wants it and I can give him what he wants because then then you're emulating God himself because God created the world the haters in my Brios to bestow good he put us here he gave us the Torah he gave us him its vote he gave us the Commandments we should do them in order that what that he should reward us because God wants to give and once heard a beautiful thought on and to me it just you know it opened it up so beautifully you know we make a bracha men make a bracha every day men and boys didn't make us a woman makes it she says it's it's like you know I almost think I go so listen just say nothing you know you know okay you know you may do What I Am you know and and I heard a beautiful beautiful insights from from Shiva in in Philadelphia in in in the United States he said it's sunny kirtsono that that a woman says that I'm patterned after what motivates God himself could so know his desire what's God's desire God's desire is to bestow goodness and the woman said that that that's our Prime responsibility a woman is very different than a man you know God's willing soon at the right time you'll get married and of course if being a father is is without a doubt the most special moment of my life and thank God I have a large family the birth of my oldest child was a girl was a moment that yes I had other children and I love them all and now that they're well he I don't love the oldest one more than more than the other ones but that moment and and it's for a mother and again we will hopefully you'll get to see what it is a mother she just changes I mean just the the whole chemical with everything going on inside her of course she's the one the mother provides a man provides a man is very good at providing ideas and we're original but we want to do so many different things so many different things and and and the seat of a man you know one man could you know could have children for many many women and it's not and a woman you know each she creates one child at a time you know and there's only certain capability of x amount even even from birth on if uh if you dissect an embryo the certain amount she has the capabilities of only a certain amount of potential children a man has potential for many many each child has a different idea okay man technically could be the number the number is who knows what number the woman provides the environment the love the nurturing that that's where it takes place she is it doesn't bother getting up you know I remember my my children we we had to get up twice usually the baby got up twice had to get to do two feedings and you know so I always took the second feeding and I always hope that maybe the baby wouldn't get up a second time you know and my wife would get up and this first feeding the baby would like make the smaller sound eh my wife would jump out of bed and uh okay and then it's like 4 30 in the morning and the baby's crying and my wife says like I said look I didn't tell you how to handle your feeding the whole time I'd handle my feeding you know I want the baby to cry and get really hungry because you get it right away they're not really up yet and you know I really have the baby in mind no we were essentially different a woman naturally that's what she wants to give but of course we all have to try to reach that level so hopefully we we should all get get to the point take the lesson from this Etc and and realize that if we just if we're constantly on the treadmill if we don't stop if we don't when we learn we don't say what did I just learn how can I incorporate what what I learned like we mentioned from from the ramban and if we take time we set aside it could be 15 seconds it it doesn't take a lot of time like sometimes like once a week once a month am I you know where do I think I want to go am I headed there and hopefully God willing you and us and all of us we should take the lessons from this week's Torah portion and constantly because even I'm a bit older than you guys but uh I it's okay so midlife but midlife is that's it it's the only only midlife okay we can we can the circum tell us it's in in to heal him you have to you have to do work that works that's designed for your younger years and there's different work which is very much the same work which is for your middle age years and your older Years and we're instructed to have Rabbi instructed to deaf students students when the rabbis themselves are young students from the rabbis we're older they're what to be gained from every person anyone that's that's alive today in in the year 2015 wherever we live we're all part of this year's team we're all part of The A Team we're all part of the amuserow and we all have specific jobs to do we're all so fine the center field and the shortstop and the picture you may say they're more important than than the right fielder because you don't have that many lefties but everyone has a position to play and every the famous example there was once there was a master conductor listen listening to a symphony and it just so happened that at that recording instead of I'm not sure how many violinists are usually on a symphony but let's say we're supposed to be 13 and there's only 12. and he didn't show up so they recorded it anyway but the master conductor who had hadn't been at that recording when listening to good says as a violinist missing so we we don't hear that we think that the music that we're playing doesn't make a difference but there's a certain song that God wants to hear and every one of us here is playing an instrument that only he or she can play and only together will we create that ultimate like we say on the night of the Seder and that for the coming of and we'll all be playing all that beautiful music together thank you so much foreign