Preparation for Shavuot: Torah Is My Life - Rabbi Asher Weiss

our great just hard to believe it's the first time in my life that I'm in there are very few Jews in the entire world in the F world that didn't hear of our this is maybe first foremost definitely one of the greatest centers of in the entire world and for decades so for me it's a s and a privilege to be here I have quite a few TM throughout the years that have gone through this magnificent moid I have members of myo the teacher in for many years one of them is yov my dear friend so I just moved to stand here in this beautiful Bas Med so just a week and a half we all will be standing at the foot of the mountain everyone is familiar with a every generation each and every Jew is to see himself as if he is the one that was redeemed from and we find a similar M similar statement he is standing at the foot of the mountain and he is shouting out Nas vishma the Kela used to say mat to was once in history but kab could be and should be each and every day of Our Lives definitely each and every year of Our Lives voice this is the day this is the day in which our forefathers and all of us stood there and and all together we shouted out so what exactly is the Jew supposed to feel as he tries to get into the mood of Nas nishma maybe some of you are familiar with the I don't know this is not really institution but as you look at me I look like Aid I consider myself one so the P was a great sadic and a great educator he was murdered by the Nazis Hashem yo and he left us something that was unheard of in the Kish world and even in the godish world somewhat of a personal diary in which he talks to AES his most intimate feelings between him and hasem and in one passage he writes and when I first read this I remember that moment it was many years ago Z de Mo tears stream down my cheeks and literally not not as a not as emotional not allegoric Ally so he writes my father in the heavens I would like to give you something I would like to do something for you what could I offer I should learn Tyra I've been learning as much as I can learn for many years I don't feel I could do much more I should DAV with cavana I've been trying my best since since I remember myself I don't think I could do much more I would like to convert but what could I do I was born a Jew and it sounds as if he is complaining that he was born a Jew so the only act that would really fulfill his his yearning his thirst of the only act that will already satisfy his vus and his yearning to come closer to would be to convert but I was born a Jew so I can't convert and reading those lines I thought to myself and who said that a Jew can't convert maybe we could sounds strange but what is Gus what does conversion demand so we learn all about GIS from and that's a lengthy in all the details of it's a lengthy so circumcision obviously we can't do that because our parents did it for us when we were babies eight eight days old you could go to the Mikvah but it's not the same many of us go to the Mikvah all the time but that is not g what is the third component of gatos CIS oil mitz the acceptance of this Yoke the acceptance of mitzvas we are all very selective in our mitzvas all of us you and me we love some mitv and usually we ignore some others we know some people that really are diligent in shabas and they know the M but not so much in and their integrity and the way deal with other people and monetary issues and not only in monetary issues and on the other hand we know some people that are so okay in but they when it come to the details of but again when he comes to convert the convert says I am with willing to take upon himself almost everything 612 could you give me a break just one Mitzvah that I have difficulty with and we need to turn him down and we say no way so convert again doesn't have the Liberty to decide which misses appeal to me and which do not we require him to take upon himself the entire package with no exceptions so maybe each and every one of us could stand once in a while before a KES and just try to imagine you're coming in from the cold we want to convert and yes we are willing to take upon themselves the entire package so in that aspect I think maybe you could convert maybe we should at least at least once a year when voice comes and this is the time in which our forefathers yes they came in and maybe we should do the same to the mik but the real thing is and this is the time so every yam has its own spirit it's Unique say sh is so what is the difference between sh and it's not very reasonable that we have two that have the same Essence so what is the fundamental difference between and it's not coincidence no way that developed into so what is the fundamental difference between these two I like words I like words and I like and definitions I think the difference is I'll say ites and I'll try to translate it in English but it's better our is that chose us amongst all the other nations and he found us fitting and he gave usra Rejoice with the that we received so and we dance with the manifesting how much we love T the is that we receive the this is the day in which our forefathers stand stood before and we try to do the same so every day in the morning we have is two maybe two and a half but fundamentally two first second number two this is the day in which we thank for choosing us for giving us T this is the day in which each and every one of us tries to develop a mindset we are standing there there together with our others and we are the ones crying out NASA vishma we are the ones that are coming to convert coming to be part of aes's family so most commentators this week in came out in English which is for me a tremendous so most commentators on theice to every human being what is unique about us we are's children we are's family and that is what we feel in and we thank so what happened ask there seems to be a contradiction in the same da shabas p on one hand exalt the moment n what a magnificent moment that was because by human nature a free man would never take upon himself something before he knows what it is what it is that I am required to take upon myself by human nature a sensible human being says nishma V but we were different and we said without even knowing what it is we trusted and we said we love you and we don't even know what it is you want whatever it is you want we are there we are with you so that was a magnificent moment but on the other hand in the same turned over the mountain and he threatened us then your story is over tus writes was afraid has never afraid but this is the way we need to try to understand KES was afraid maybe when the people will see the fire maybe they'll retract maybe they'll regret and therefore even though even though they did say yes this is what we want this is what we'll do nevertheless The KES turned over the mountain to say there's no way out there's no way out and I want to share with you my feeling comes to CL and he says I want to offer you instinctively they would say of course yes I mean they had quite a good time out there you know man man every day in the morning slav so sandwiches every day in the morning fling a meal every day in the afternoon they had mineral water wherever they went in middle of the desert and they had air conditioning the N covered and something else to offer of course they would say w and says no no no you know what K is right it's in English it's in all language there's not no other word like K so says I want you to understand what I'm offering now is not another chup it's not another gift what I'm offering now is a burden 6133 mitzvas I want you to be aware what you're taking upon yourself up to now you had seven and the Seven mitv of theah code boil down to one thing be a mench be a mench don't kill don't steal don't lie just be a mench what I'm offering now seven morph into 613 and what I demand is not only your deeds and your actions what you say and what you think and what you feel everything is for me I want you to Bear what I'm offering now is servitude slavery you thought you're leaving Egypt to be a free people yes you will be free from Human bondage but you will be what is the symbol of aus what is the symbol of being a slave that's aor says when your mat when an comes into the possession of a Jew he needs to do he needs to immerse in the mikah and as he sticks his head out of the water you put an overturned vessel on his head and that vessel symbolizes Abdus it is no coincidence that k the language it was one huge Collective vessel on the heads of the entire people and that symbolizes Aus so it's beautiful that you All Cried Out Nas isma but I want to be sure that you understand what you're taking upon yourself over the ctive head of an entire people and suddenly sunlight was blacked out and everybody looked up what did they see they saw a vessel and then they remembered that's Abus that is the symbol of Abus and nevertheless so tus writes was afraid when they will see the fire maybe they'll retract what did they do when they did see the fire what happened let us just learn a do you remember the and the mountain is burning with fire usually a big fire gives a lot of light and this was frightening spectacle huge fire on the other and what happened that anybody run away nobody looked for cover nobody ran out they all wanted to be under the mountain that is what happened so because he was afraid what will happen when they see the fire they'll retract they'll regret they'll run away no one ran away and that is the beauty and that was the greatness of M many years ago I heard a Isa story from the LA Sim was the in he was one of the three children of the IM emis the imis was a great G in Poland and as last years he was in y and he passed away he's buried right next to yes so the told me that he heard from the imis that it once transpired sukus this vasis even those that are not familiar with the everybody learns probably most of you are familiar with this so judging by your faces I don't think many of you understood what I just said so this said when you say you could achieve the greatest things and the IM said there was an argument between the elders them did he mean or did he mean and said but I understood he meant neither nor but rather so this is the story let me share with you my interpretation of the story The was a different word it's and who was the biggest of all theim and he explains is a plea we plea with please please please H with a hey is an expression of gratitude we thank we say thank you for what thank you for letting us serve thank you for having us and as your servants it is only twice in the entire Ram it is only twice in M that we find the expression twice and no more at the end of writes all the was the greatest where else we find this expression we don't say why now try to understand when you say suus that's the greatest Sim in the entire Jewish year Sim and you say we are so happy and we thank for what for for for the gifts he bestow upon on us we thank that he lets us serve that we are and we are that is our and that is the so we have less than 10 days for Sho and another 10 days we will all War be standing at the foot of the mountain and we try to feel together with our forefathers we shout out we want to be a people I have no words to thank I wrote 35 and one of my favorite is is about and I write there are 11 different inim 11 different categories times events and ways in which a ye a Jew supposed to be happy and how he expresses Sim and that is and many others I'm not here to G to give a but the most fundamental is whatever transpires and whatever happens in our lives we are happy to be AES people and out of the billions walking the face of Earth we are a small people that is the way planned it and that's the way he wants it because AES has a small family we are the chosen people so before even before and that is the of because an a happy evid an evid and evid by choice that is the highest level a Jew could ever achieve and that is what Shor is all about so in another week or so we will all be standing there and we all will stand before and once again say nishma this is where we want to be so I speaking many AAS but I think our here in our probably know more than most of the others what it is what it is to come to Har I AR of choice not having greatness thrust upon them but choosing this is what you choose and many of you came along way many of you came a long way to sit in this B Med to sing a learning to all of you first and foremost to you should have many more wonderful years of and from your magnificent family the family unto all the and all the and all the teachers of and all the of the we should all be we all be we are living in a difficult time as you all are very aware of this terrible War that's raging almost 8 months so you're sitting in the B medes I don't know whether many of you have relatives in the Army but I have many to meet them there I know many soldiers that lost their lives and many others that were badly injured and many families thousands of fathers and mothers that for months can't sleep by night I have a very good friend in lamot tells me a story which is amusing sad and maybe not so sad wonderful person has four kids in the Army so one night 11:00 there's a knock on the door when you have children in Azan there's a knock on the door in an unusual hour your heart sinks into your stomach and you're afraid to walk to the door and he hopes that knock will go away it doesn't go away and there's another knock and another one with a heavy heart he opens the door and there's an a asking for money he says my instinctive response was to kick him in the face and throw him down all the steps but then I was so happy to see him he said I brought him into my house I offered him food and drinks I gave him more money than I ever gave a schn I was so happy that it's you and no one else so many in our community don't really feel the pain and the suffering we are a small people and almost every day we're losing young people every day almers every day is Simon everyday fathers going to the levias of their young children children and it's heartwrenching and it's painful and we all need to feel a responsibility we firmly believe what the says in Israel doesn't win Wars just by might we are the people of Miracles nothing about us is natural yes we need to do all just like we do in medicine andos we need the best Army and the best weapons but we won't win Wars without toyra and without filler but we all need to feel this responsibility so we need to learn more and learn better ding more and D better more H more and is not only money is caring is compassion so when we are and we take upon ourselves to learn and to DAV and to be diligent in our mitz and to be closer toes and come every day closer toes only