Q&A: Obligatory War, Evil Eye & Demons - Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz

is any yes that's an excellent question the question basically is what is the source for the prohibition against hugging kissing uh some affectionate touching with women so there's a very big the r and the ran as to what is the source of what we call the prohibition of n according to the rambam it is in Isa uh because we learn out from nid Because by nid the Ty says do not come near a as opposed to having course it says don't even draw near to the nid so the rambam says that that is an isisa of what we might call affectionate sex uh sexual contact like hugging and kissing and the rambam then says we learn out from nid to anything else that's an AA and the era would would therefore be an Isa that is the opinion of uh rambam ramban however says that the whole prohibition of of nigia is only a fence around the Torah it is only a rabic Prohibition in order that you shouldn't get aroused and come to forbidden intercourse so there's a big is or and let me point out that although the word N means touching uh the real prohibition of nigia uh is only when it's affectionate touching hugging kissing and the like uh and that's why there is a Big M I'm not going to give a right now about shaking hands at a business meeting or the like some say that that's not n inia and some say at least if the woman puts out her hand first you're allowed to take it other people are M on it that's a separate issue but affectionate uh uh contact according to rambam would be Ina according to ramban would be in Ran now the question you're asking is a very good question we read uh that uh that when Yakov sees Rael yakob goes ahead and kisses her I mean gee if if Yakov would be in uh the center or DK he would have gotten would have gotten kicked out of Yesa y what's going on how is that possible and even though you're going to tell me it is before Matan Torah before that's the easy answer before mat Torah they could do whatever they want but the answer is no we do have a tradition kazal had a tradition that the OS kept the whole Torah before it was given now like the ramban this would be an Isa for sure they would keep and even like the ramban that's ra that there are certain that even ran they kept okay but maybe like the ran would be an easier situation like the r the would so there are two uh or three POS three possible answers you can give to this question answer number one is the isod of the ramban himself which would could be used by the ramban that the AOS kept the Torah only when they were inel when they were in they did not feel an obligation to keep the Tyra so even if n is in is when yob sees RA in he could transgress it because the aice only kept the Tyra in ER Isel uh a second answer is maral that says that the avice only felt they had to keep positive Commandments uh they didn't feel a to keep negative Commandments that's how Yakov could marry two sisters which is also forbidden under the law of the Torah uh the third answer is a little more complicated and that is the uh iser of ngia the iser of of of affectionate touching uh whether it's or only applies to someone that has a din of an AA now today today every single girl who has already had her period and didn't go to the Mikvah has a din of erva because they're Ina but technically if a single woman had not menstruated if a single woman had not had her period or or even if she had her period if for whatever reason she went to the Mikvah technically she would be a pya that is not a nid and there actually is no is certainly of a p uh that's not a nid uh because that's not Ana so we might assume uh that perhaps Rael actually practiced going to the Mikvah that was her righteousness and if she practiced going to the Mikvah so she would have the din of a there is technically uh no iser of of ngia right so those are three possible answers to that to that question but the so it's a big and the ra yeah um how is um able to have against B yeah yeah yeah so that's a that's a very packed question uh you know it's interesting that uh we do have uh a lot of sers who listen to this podcast it's kind of maybe a guilty a guilty pleasure uh they don't yeah they even tell me their names but you know they probably want to be confidential uh let me just say this first a little uh background for people who may not know all the references you're referring to uh everyone knows that the satar rebi was very much against uh the establishment of the state of Israel and it's important to understand it was not only because of the leadership not being religious uh that's that is something he was very much against also and he felt that you weren't allowed religious people are not allowed to create entities together with people who don't believe in Hashem or violate the shabas that is one aspect of it but it's important to know that the SAR of ideology was even if every member of the knesset and every Cabinet member and every prime minister was the was the was the it would still be user to have a Medina and uh the primary passage that was used to establish that point is the famous gamorra uh the end of M which is called the three sh three Oaths and it's a gar that says that at the time of theb mikash Hashem administered three shu to Ben Isel which are binding upon us uh one is we will not climb the wall which is interpreted to mean we will not try to gain ER Israel by military action uh the second uh is we will not rebel against the Nations uh that we are living under we will be loyal to those Nations and the third is we will not third is also very interesting we will not try to bring mashia early by forcing mashia to come meaning we bring mashiach by Torah and Mitzvah but not by some apparently cabalistic formulas that could bring mashia early because if you bring mashiah too early before we're ready for it that could destroy everything but in terms of satar ideology they look at the first shua and the first sh is the one that says hey you're not allowed to establish a state by military action until presumably until the coming of mashiah and it's based on the ideology that Galos is a punishment from God and therefore you have to wait for God to end the Gus you can't uh do it on your own and that's why uh to this very day nura which follows the S ideology again okay I don't want to get too far a field n is not the same as s sair was AOS which has an anti-zionist ideology uh narta uh is a movement which primarily was a nonic movement a movement of M that had that ideology but it attracted many as well soarta and sat are not the same uh and I'm talking about even when even when the character was sane now they're insane so they're not not the same I mean the T character was anti- Zionist that's what the organization is but they weren't like these characters today that meet with Iran and meet with Holocaust and Iris I mean that's the uh Insanity of the tur cart which I'm I'm not going to address but be it as it may uh based on these shos the SAT rebi took the position that it is absolutely forbidden to have a Medina until Masia and to this day uh they fly the Black Flag and they call it this is a rebellion against the kingdom of heaven so uh you're raising the question uh and S wrote I mean more than one book but his famous famous book uh is has a very a very witty title it's called Al alur on the Redemption and on its fake substitute the reason why it's catchy is the the words actually appear from millas Rus he took words from millas Rus which we're not talking about this at all and he applied it the whole thing we have is a fake Redemption so you're raising the question well okay it's an a right if it's an a how can it be used as the basis for you know that is a good point and indeed uh that is one of the points not the only point that is one of the points that those who are the makes that the number one is an number two it is not brought in the rambam it is not brought in the it is not brought in any Source uh that there is uh there is uh such a thing uh but still as I say there's something R wrote a whole book so the three is not his only his only point and I think in a more basic level uh certainly can can express a certain philosophy of Life Meaning even if you're not going to turn it into a it indicates how K understood in hash how a Jewish person would live live so we don't we don't ignore a like any view we do have to look at it but on the other hand if the a is not brought in h sources that would indicate that it doesn't necessarily inhibit us um again I'm going to get a lot of mail about this one where way the other because this is a huge huge topic that deserves you know two or three hour Shear at least on it let me just say that uh some people understand that the three shivu are not violated here because it only prohibited military action if we initiate it in order to establish a state by contrast uh when uh Israel or it was called Palestine was under the British mandate and the ballord Declaration was issued which uh kind of authorized or legitimated a Jewish State and the United Nations resolution approved the state of Israel so we did not establish a state of Israel as a rebellion against the Nations we established it with the Hasa of the Nations we are then attacked and our military action is defensive rather than aggressive so that would be why it wouldn't be a violation of the shua that's answer number one answer number two why it's not a violation of the shu is uh is based on the idea that the gar goes on and says the Nations just as Hashem made us swear Hashem made the Nations swear that they would not oppress us y me so there's a package deal here we agree to stay put in the Gus and they agree not to persecute us since they violated their oath we're putter from our oath these are the two MIM there's a third Mahal from the which is not the way Rashi learns the the learns that the whole prohibition against force and Conquest is referring to trying to build the Bas of mikash it doesn't refer to the state state at all it means don't build the Bas until tells you to do so so there are different now I want to point out the was not in so all of the defenses I'm giving you for the other side the SAT rebbi brings and then he he he argues against them so it's not as if he was ignorant of of these other possibilities but he did he did reject them uh now I do want to point out that the second issue which is not the three shivu how can you collaborate in a state where the leaders are non-religious or anti-religious that Still Remains an important issue meaning you're correct it is not the foundation of the satarov ideology but there is absolutely no question and he wrote about this that he was very very very very concerned with the compromises that will happen uh in in religion when uh religious Jews are collaborating and working with people who are anti-religious so that factor is never to be never to be forgotten that that certainly was a major factor as well although that's not toy on the three sh uh but yeah okay uh you know I I don't want to be cynical about this uh when you say that how can a be a basis of the answer is it normally isn't except when it is meaning to say there are times in which even great pokim will use a to establish a certain Norm within CLA Israel it's a complicated question why this why why you know when do you do that when don't you do that but there's no question that a sometimes has a powerful hash on on on uh yeah yeah a couple we somebody asked about Tyra affecting and Rabbi explained that for that to happen Tyra to be learned in the right way so what do re mean by saying that has to be learned in the right way in order for to affect our me us as a person to our heart yeah again just to go back a little bit uh we were dealing with a complicated question uh not not that it's in not that it's complicated but in the sense that it's unclear and there are contradictions and that is uh on one hand we have kazal that say that even if a person is a Russia even if a person is doing aod Zar Hashem says let him learn Torah because the light of the tah will bring him back to Hashem that's that's kind of one approach that tah will cure you Torah will heal you Torah will Elevate you Torah will refine you uh that's one aspect but then we have another aspect where the Von says in Mish and it's quoted or cited in the Evan scha uh Evan scha I should say Evan scha uh and that is that tyus compared to water because just like water uh whatever you pour water on is going to grow whether it's weeds or something a beautiful flower so Tyra will intensify whatever your MOS are so if you're kind and if you're good the Tyra will talk and make you better but if you're a baliva or you're cruel not only will the Tyra not make you better the teror is going to make you worse because it's going to it's like water it's going to come into you and it's going to make you more of a b so the question becomes well so so what's our position what what what do we believe do we believe that Tyra refines you and makes you better or do we believe no Tyra will accentuate T will exaggerate whatever it is you are but you got to work on muser and the like in order to improve your meas right so so there seems to be a stera and it's especially problematical because the GR in different places brings both ideas that will be even if you have bad MOS that's one of the ways you get to be a better person so I offer it as an answer I don't want to say it's a definitive answer so one of the answers that I suggested is well maybe it depends on uh your kavana when you learn Tyra meaning to say if I learn Tyra with the intention that I want to be a better person I learn tah because I say I want to be closer to Hashem I want to be a better person then maybe the K of the toah will beia on you even if you have bad meos it'll make you better because you want to use the Tyra for that particular purpose Mas if a person learns Tyra and doesn't care he's happy with what he is he's happy with those bad meas it makes no difference to him then for carot then maybe it's possible that like the GR says that not only will the Tyra not improve you the T might even make you make you worse so this is an example of where your motivation is important now the gr himself does not give this as a as an answer but he does use this in a different context uh there's a well-known statement of kazal that say a person should always learn T even shalma not for the sake of Heaven because by learning you will eventually come to right that's a famous so the interprets it this way you have when you learn your has to be that I want to come to in other words is not just the consequence it's your kavana when I learn sh it has to be so I'm just taking that idea of the gr kind of applying it to the inion of of Tik of TK now I think I mentioned before that I've I've mentioned this this amazing idea of the gr that the ter could be M you I mentioned it you know a number of places and something times I get a lot of push back somebody how dare you say that the terror could make you worse so of course my I have the perfect defense it's not me it's the vill M go right what do you want uh don't don't blame me for anything uh but then I said well how do you explain the fact that there are people who learn who are B GAA and everything so the person answered they would have been worse without the ter so that would be the answer meaning to say you know as bad as somebody is the Ty is still improving him how cuz he would have been worse without it that's that's what they say okay I hear I hear that's an unprovable assertion because you can have like the worst guy in the world and you could always argue ah without the tah he would he would have been worse but the gr is suggesting I think a fairly radical proposition you know this is not like coming from somebody who wasn't to of learning T I mean was the highest highest highest possible level of learning Tyra the V learned Tyra for a lot of his life 22 hours a day he only slept two hours in a 24-hour period and those two hours were divided into four periods of 30 minutes each he didn't sleep more than a half an hour at a time so obviously he's M he measured his b Torah in terms of minutes per year minutes not not minutes per day minutes per year and I'll tell you this those minutes that he considered B Torah you know I I don't know what he did I don't I don't have his diary but uh I assure you that wasn't it wasn't what we would call batala either so the Von cannot be accused of not being the learning of but said that Tyra without working on one's mid could be a Kil it's a tremendous the fact that it comes from the makes it even a a a much much bigger but I think that might be a for it was ass for example to czv eating while other Mitzvah they not yeah that's a very excellent question uh we know that as a general rule uh the and you're very correct it's a rabic requirement is from they were making bros before we do MIT and yet there are many many mitzvos that we do not recite a br uh your father or mother ask you to bring them a cup of coffee uh when you bring them a cup of coffee you are fulfilling a Mitzvah of of we don't make the bra we don't make the right there are many many mitzah we do not make bras for so so the question becomes what determines when do we say Bros mitz and when do we not say Bros mitz so the truth of the matter is this is a question that's already asked by theim this is discussed actually not in the gar beish but theim do talk about uh what are the criteria um if you ever uh have the desire to really really look at this Bean so let me just give you one M that talks about this exhaustively I think this was RA ki's first safer I think it may his first man maybe I'm wrong in that and this is a safer on egla arua very obscure subject about you know you have a corpse and uh the corpse is found near a city so there's the canum of the city and parim uh they bring a calf and they break the neck of the calf Etc it's the last peric of sa very obscure I believe this may be the only safer that ever existed but K's first safer on Hil egla arua it's called n and uh in that safer uh he has many many long digressions on many many topics so he discusses for example the BR that was made on the Mitzvah and once he does that he uses that as an excuse to talk about all of the different reasons when you make a br when you don't make AA so he goes through all of the shetos there uh but the general rule the general rule is that we don't don't make a if you think about your examples we don't make a we only make we uh between man and God we generally do not make on interpersonal mitz like like now why is that so so there are different reasons for that one reason that Rim actually give is let's takea that you can't make a because what if the doesn't take it meaning to say I'm ready to give the money and I say the thinks you're not giving him enough and this this happens by the way uh so the Y throws your coin back or doesn't want to take your coin if that's the case you have a brala because he didn't accept your stuck I what are you going to say so let me defer the braa till after give him the money that's not going to work because azah has to be recited over before you do the Mitzvah so so the actually say you know maybe your parents won't like your cup of coffee or whatever it would be so anything that's totally on another person accepting what you're doing there's novah uh because maybe he won't accept it and if you make the it's a now Al there's actually a a deeper answer that's given in the name of the altar of slatka this is a very very this is a very powerful idea he says when it comes to he says is not appropriate because what is a that God commanded me or he Sanctified us with his Commandments and he commanded me to honor my parents to give staka to do the implies I'm doing it only because Hashem commanded now here Mom and Dad I'm giving you a cup of coffee because God made me do it now when it comes to Lula vanro that's perfectly correct if Hashem wouldn't command me I'd have no reason to make up black boxes with parchments in it but with says the alar ofka Hashem wants you to have a natural desire to be grateful to your parents to be compassionate when you help a poor person in other words you don't give Stucker because God commanded you you give Stucker because Hashem wants you to be a person of so the says is is where the Tyra wants you to have a certain personality that you want to give you need yeah you want to give I want to help I want to Express gratitude and that's why you don't make a on those in fact I I once saw a commercial many many years or read a commercial many many years ago not many years 15 years ago uh for one of the stus and erel and it said something which was certainly well-intentioned I'm not knocking the intention but it rubbed me the wrong way based on this idea it says when you give sta to an thei is like your Lula vrogue he's like your Talis and Fillin thei becomes the object of your Mitzvah and therefore the same way you know you honor your Talis and Fillin you have to honor the an okay I hear but do you see I I think a sensitive person might have a a little bit of problem with that because that's turning the Ani into an object that will enable me to get oh you're my ticket you're my meal ticket TOA and that is not the right attitude the attitude of the is I have to have for him I have to care for him not that he's my to go to and that's exactly what the AL is saying the alra is saying that you don't use people for objects people are not your objects to get Mitzvah but the Tyrus wants you to have a certain media where you naturally want to help them and therefore if I say that's a contradiction to that attitude so um I don't know where this is found in the writings of the Alka his great one of his great T the Weinberg brings such an idea uh and the says it on his own in fact let me give you an example which doesn't fit this answer directly uh now this is why don't we make a on the before we read the we ought to say and all of the answers I just gave you do not answer that case of you make a mill you make a on lighting Kaneka candles why don't you make AA on the so the's answer is that the idea of is an expression of the I have to for the Redemption that should be a natural feeling I shouldn't be doing it because God commanded me to do it I should be doing it because of so therefore that doesn't have a that does not have a a right so do they say it is t a very very big subject that is discussed in in the yeah my friend recently told me something about a seance or a sance yeah my question is to what extent do um negative spiritual forces such as shadeen have effect on us or also like are we able to call upon them yeah so this is the issue of SES uh Ouija boards I don't know know what the particular mechanism which summon up spirits of the dead and there can be communication so your question really breaks down into two points uh first of all is there such a thing can this be done is it real does it affect us uh the short answer is that uh it's fairly clear that the tah does believe does say that such things can happen there is such a thing as contact with the dead now whether these particular techniques do it or don't do it I don't know mean lot a lot of things are fake but that there is such a misus we do very much see uh remember in in the book of Shmo after after Shmo hanavi died sha went to the witch in aor to that she should summon up the spirit of shmu from the dead so that sha could ask Shu for advice uh and what happened was shmu told him that you shouldn't have done this and he told sha that you're going to die in in war so we do believe in such things but again again that doesn't mean any given Seance is authentic there's plenty of fake now the second question is okay we believe in it but the Tyra also prohibits doing it there is an Isa called you are not allowed to bring up the dead now if a dead person comes to you in a dream right it might be a parent or a rebi that's fine F if the dead person contacts you you can engage in them in some way but to deliberately do various techniques to connect to those Spirits so one has to be very very careful it's very difficult to imagine any possible heter to participate in a seance unless it's just a joke and it it's a joke there's no purpose mean meaning if there's any purpose to it you wouldn't be allowed to do it because of do now in terms of how it affects you spiritually uh that is a serious issue uh when you bring up these Kos you are connected to certain elements of Tuma and impurity and it can drag you dag you down in various ways uh it can also be a physical danger it can actually be dangerous to your life uh to connect to those forces so you should avoid it but but the bottom line is it's an isisa so you know it's not just the reasons uh why it's the reasons why you shouldn't do it l you shouldn't do it because it is us it is US di uh yeah why would Hashem allow for a secondary Force to affect you well uh this goes this goes back to the issue of demons in general now now again I'm not equating I'm not equating dead people who might be great sadik with shad it's not exactly the same but this is part of a Nether world this is part of an alternative Universe whether it's dead Souls whether it's demons or the like that are called have Kos of Tuma and our vehicles of Destruction uh if they're summoned in improper ways now remember I've mentioned a number of times that do talk about shad and in there's even a formula what you can do to see Shad apparently it's not us to summon a shade it's us to summon up a dead person sh you don't see beer that it's user but warn us that it's very very very very dangerous and then we have Aus most say if talk about Shad there Shad there is such a thing uh the r famously says no such thing as Shad no such thing at all these are metaphors these are M these are not real things shadam can refer to fears and anxieties it does not refer to no real creatures that are sh uh the Von in the beaga is very antagonistic to the r he says the rambam has been LED astray by his preoccupation with philosophia harura cursed Greek philosophy that is based on rationalism says of course there are Shad if kazal say there are Shad how can the ROM philosophically say there's no such thing as Shaden so someone asked to kutbi and then 19 century so is the like the r or is the like the so he says well say there are Shad there are Shad of course the gr is right so then he asked the katare so how come we don't see Shad if if the is like the like the gr so he says well the gr is right but once the r there are no sh even the Shad listen to the R so the Shad disappear so who know on shadom I can't automatically answer now your question why does God put those forces in the world the short answer is that the role of evil forces in the world are a facilitator of free will that that's the idea that God puts into the world negative forces that can lead me astray because they become The Temptations over which I have to be mcab so in a sense the evil is a necessary evil for good this goes back to the beginning of cre creation what was the I mean Adam was created perfect but the was the of RA in the world that was designed to test him so you need it because goodness is goodness only when it is a struggle of so there have to be these negative forces in the world yeah um can you just trust anyone in terms of we not like that yeah so the question is can you trust anyone for kasas based on the principle that's in the gar that even one witness right even one witness is believed on matters of is meaning when it comes to marriage or divorce or where it comes to making somebody pay money we know you have to have two witnesses right that's a well-known thing but when it comes to whether something is us or something is M we generally can rely on one witness and that one witness can even be a woman uh Etc in other words you don't need the normal rules of witnesses uh your mother tells you uh everything is kosher so the question is that would make life a lot easier right so if somebody tells me this is kulture why can't I eat eat there so generally speaking the reason why this is a trickier question than you might assume is that uh because there are different standards of kashus and different other words here's the thing if an tells me this is from the let's say so I can believe them but if if somebody just tells me it's kosher even if I believe them that it has a hexer but that doesn't tell me what heure in other words when you have a multiplicity of and a multiplicity of standards and for whatever reason only accept certain standards the is not going to help you unless the tells you what the standard is so you can't just rely on in the olden days there weren't it was either koser or so today that's not going to work uh the other issue is of course that keep in mind that even may not apply if the person is aab or the person himself is not careful in that area so you can't just believe any body on kasas because if they are on violating important Mitzvah of the Torah they might not have neus on the inion of kasas now here though let me just mention a very very very important Chua of mosha finstein which on some level is common sense but it is still a and this is a problem that may be faced by Bal Chua let's say let's say you come home to your parents and uh your family does not yet keep kosher uh but your mom in her infinite kindness has made a kosher kitchen for you and she will only cook with the ingredients that you specify and only in the special pots and pants okay so mom makes you a nice meal and she says this is what's in your pots and this is only things with the OU Etc but you want to be a real soic and say well Mom you don't keep kosher so you don't have nus can't believe you right what an INR but that's what says you don't have NE so what do you do with that so how can I rely on somebody who doesn't keep kosher to tell me it's kosher that doesn't work mha kind of invents a new and that is within a family context if you know that your mother doesn't lie to you now you know that also may be tricky sometimes but you know that she would never mislead you so even if the normal rules of namona she would not be reliable Vis somebody else but within the context of the family you can be because ra mosha considered that to be like we're Witnesses we are witnesses that if Mom says it's kosher it's going to it's going to be kosher so that's how the baluba can eat his mother's cooking and once the baluba can eat his mother's cooking so his friend can do it as well now it's a little tricky Hally well what if the friend is coming without the sun meaning to say uh like you know I'm passing through so I go to your mother's uh kitchen Etc uh am I allowed to believe her when I'm not with you so that's a bit of a makus how this plays out uh with respect to other people uh but certainly the son the child is allowed to believe his parent but again this is only if the parent has the knowledge for example let's imagine that the mother is not aware uh that you can't wash mil and fesic dishes and the same thing so she says kosher so yeah uh but what she means by kosher is not necessarily what you mean by kosher so once again is not going to apply there uh this reminds me though of a very very uh nice story with RAV Feinstein as as you probably know I always say everybody should read the Arts go biography of R David Feinstein R mosha son beautiful beautiful beautiful biography um but it di mentions two stories how that RAV Feinstein was very when the says to be and he was very M when the said to be M but he was never like M when the permitted something so they tell the story that he was with a bunch of other ranim and uh they were going around on a mission so they were eating it they were they they had a a parli meeting in two homes the first home was a more modern Orthodox person and the Russia Yesa did not eat any food there they only had water whatever and Feinstein ate regular food you know he ate he ate which people were very surprised I mean rash he's eating in this modern Orthodox home and then they came to another house which was really and very very strict and all the food had the biggest biggest hashas and all the rashash shivas finally felt they could eat because they were starving they didn't have anything all day and R feinste refused to eat so someone one of the Russ Shas asked Fe he says you know in the first home where know was kind of modern and uh the wife didn't even cover her hair uh you know you ate even though we think it's questionable the second house that's sadic you know and you don't need so Feinstein said well the first house aab man or his wife tells me the food is kosher why am I going to raise a question ah the second house it was already towards night says when you're a half an hour within my if you're not allowed to have a sud now we we routinely break those he says I'm not allowed to eat until I say he says so what's going on here you're where the says you can eat but when it comes to that you're not allowed to eat until you that wasn't a problem right this is a true man of meaning to say you know when the says not to he won't when the says you could you could he didn't have this artificial that he superimposed yeah at least the way that I always more was that and um I guess I was just thinking like to what parameter like that's that's relevant because like let's say in certain communities in New York let's say a person has like a a very very nice house or even let's say you know buys a Mercedes or buing Tesla that's a little bit out of Norm in certain communities and it's sticking out a little bit and I would think in some some sense some people might like might attract people's eyes to it I I guess relatively in other places you know let having a car all together you know in certain communities would would like generate let's say Kino or einar but my question I guess is is to what extent is it subjective what what extent is a person supposed to be concerned about it and what guess circumvent it yeah the issue of I in Hara the evil eye that someone looks at me and somehow it's almost described as if these death Rays come out of the eyes and and a person could suffer from the evil eye now kazal do talk about and in fact there's Bros that says that nine out of 10 people die not because of their sins they die because of aara and AAR is difficult to understand is it's some type of magical thing so again exactly as you said rev desler explains that aan Hara is really the jealousy that people have towards you because you have certain blessings certain attainments certain gifts and that jealousy is m in other words when people people are looking a scance at me why does he deserve this soes opens up the books in Shay and sees does this guy really deserve it in other words it's called rer understands that I in har is it awakens the theid which God forbid ifem applies strict we're all in trouble which means ultimately irari is connected to Aus but it means we're judged at a level based on that jealousy so the question and that's why you know people uh you know you don't show off you don't flaunt as it were your wealth even your children and the like these are in of so the question is how real is it so the gumar itself says a very strange thing about Ayan Hara that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that if it worries you the warry itself gives it strength and power over you meaning is it real or is it fake it's real but it's kind of dormant and it gets activated by the DGA the daa the anxieties that you have so it is brought down that if you're notes for thear it's not going to have any power over you uh we're also told that Torah learning Anda can defeat the ion hor uh but I'll tell you a a very cute story from reinman which is a wonderful story now ref Steinman uh lived in really object poverty you know even by the standards of poor people and he lived in he and his riton lived in a shack if you look i' ever saw pictures I mean like the the ceiling is coming down I mean it's really uh abject poverty and it was such an amazing thing because people felt comfortable he even though he lived on you know he lived in poverty uh his meal what did what did he have for supper every night something like um a a boiled potato and a cup of tea that was his supper and he used to joke when people would say you know how can the r just live in that he say no it tastes good you ought to try it he say much much better much better than you think he joked about it but was interesting is people could talk to him you know people sometimes had a sh should I buy a new car should have buy a new refrigerator you know we have a DEA with three bedrooms but the mishak is Big maybe we four bedrooms so in some sense you'd be embarrassed to walk into him and talk to him about whether you should get a four-bedroom apartment but he understood that not everybody was able to live on his madrea so he did not look down at people if they had needs in gmas because people some people need it right and therefore he was mayat he gave them the AA that would be appropriate so The Story Goes a very successful businessman and from neighbor came to Steinman and said you know I meet a lot of wealthy people in Tel Aviv and uh you know they don't respect me if I don't dress nicely or have a very good car so I have a big car that's like five years old and I want to get a new car to deal with the people that I deal with but I'm worried to have a fancy new car in B Brock is going to be an iron horror people are going to be jealous maybe iron horror so if Steinman says to him iron horr very very serious let me ask you uh you know jealousy of other people can be very destructive he said to the person did you finish us he says no I didn't finish us he says uh do you learn Tyra every day are you Tyra so the person said well not every day soyman says so what are people going to be jealous about says why would people be just says don't worry about it who's going to be jealous because you have a car he said he that's nothing to be jealous about so he actually t t it to the person that there's no iron because that's garnish M garnish M garish but still I think the med properly is not to uh not to show off there is a k but uh the less you worry about it the less it has over you yeah is there any source inra for the custom that some people have to put on a red string to prevent H okay yeah yeah yeah so this is the old thing the red string uh and typically I think it's a string that somebody walked around Kev with that kind of sanctifies it as it as it were uh you know one of the things this is uh the idea of sigos the idea of talismans the idea of things that ward off the ionara are very very popular in ER Israel and uh without just without intending to be little sardam who are great great people uh spum tend to be more into it than ashkenazim but it has spread to ashkenazim as well uh there really is is no real M for this in fact some of this stuff is actually derived from the superstitions of nanus that that that part of the culture they say with r Schwab who was a great RV in Washington Heights one of the G in America that when his daughter came back from Seminary after a year in Israel she had a red string around her wrist and rash wasn't even familiar with this he asked her what this was and she said this war off so he took a scissors he just cut it off he says that's not what we do you ward off AAR by Torah and Mitzvah and Saka and not by magical things like that so again I don't want to be Mel in the cover the people that have such a tradition but generally speaking we have to be very very careful not to elevate those things to a a great position it's really the Torah and the what do they say with the brisar the brisar was not a fan ofas he had hisus withas but there was one that he very much was and this was a who didn't have a big following you he wasn't like a big rebi so someone asked the brisar RAB he says why do you why are you this R so much I'll tell you why because when someone comes to the re this Rabbi and says I have a daughter that That's not married I need aula I need something that will bring down the braa so this rebbi says Ah learn when someone says um I'm suffering in my business I need a siga says ahia that's going to be the key now there's the rebbi didn't give people the quick fixes he didn't give them the string or the water or the whatever it he says you learned this you learned this you learned this the bris says that's my type of Reby now the Reby didn't have a big following because yeah if I go to a Reby and he tells me to stand on my head for three minutes a day okay that I'll do tells me to learn six hours uh that you know that's not that that's not what I'm looking for that's not Thea that I'm looking for but the brisar says that's the real siga the real siga is the Torah the Mitzvah the Shay and when you start emphasizing gimmicks uh what you're doing is you're missing the point of of aod hasem and as I say uh some of this actually came from non-jewish Origins these were Arabic superstitions that just permeated the honam and became adapted I mean the ham the five fingers it's fairly and I'm going to get uh hate mail on this but uh there's very very strong evidence that it came from Arabic uh influence and uh on the lith to knock uh there's a custom that's many have called a I don't know if you heard of this that's the shabas the first shabas after PES schle is key a key in yish so they make a key now how they do it they different opinions some make the kala in the shape of a key and some put a key they actually put a key in the and some give all sorts of spiritual Kos but the Research indicates this was a Ukrainian folk Superstition that somehow attracted attention all right so that then you get into an interesting shil with some say okay maybe it came from the G but once it got adopted by am Israel it now has all sorts of mystical some go with that approach others just say hey he took things from the go that have nothing to do with yish and you know it shouldn't count so a lot of these scholas are a little bit connected to that yeah um yeah um are there any SS that a person cannot do Chum for in his lifetime and um the second part of the question is um when does a person know when his Chua has been accepted yeah so the first question is are there any uh sins any AOS that's impossible for a person to do chuva during his lifetime uh the answer is there is no AA that you cannot do Chua for but but but keep in mind doing chuba doesn't mean that you've erased the consequences you may need to purify you so if you're asking me are there a varus that even after chuva I may have gim the answer is yes there are a veras like that but in terms of being accepted by God as a result of that Chua there is no AA that you cannot do chuva for so that's a beautiful thing even aarish now it is true that the bring from the that if a person is a person masterbates a person emits uh seed uh not in a relationship with his wife there's no Chua for that there is a z that says it but even the alteri and Tanya others say that just means it's hard to do chuva you got to work and and be very devoted but aada if you work and really really strive to do Chua cha will help even for that so that's be fav so somebody might tell you the Z but remember that the alter Reb in Tanya says there's TR even even for that that OFA now uh your then question would be well how does a person know uh how do I know if my Chua was accepted is there ever a time that I know so the short answer is uh you don't necessarily know and you don't necessarily have to know uh you do your best and then have B in hasem that hasem is like we say in the am the merciful one who always grants forgiveness but I would say that one of the ways that you might know is that you feel inside of you that a certain burden was lifted you feel a bit of a lightness in your heart the AA is like a weight that pulls you down and when you feel it's not weighing you down so much that is often a sign Hashem has accepted your Chua uh yeah um my question is two parts first part is there are many Kum that are ferociously anti-israel yet live in Israel why do why why do they still live in is so anti it the second question is my Shiva read recently a a big Reb I think it was in the mirror some some other big aiva who basically came out against all the the soldiers even the religious soldiers and saying that we don't even need to feel bad for them if they get hurt get killed and even um someone I know personally whose parents live right here byi um both them were M were mgas and um their neighbors attack them um because they didn't want this in this in their neighborhood and my question is why would okay I understand they're against you know people in Yeshiva not going to the Army because you know we learned Torah and they were the Army why they why are there also so many that are against even they're against they being an army altogether what would they expect to be if there's no Army yeah yeah so so the first question is uh much easier to answer in in other words you just asked the question if somebody is against the state of Israel and believes there ought not to be a state of Israel then why are they living in erat Israel right so that's uh that has a simple answer and that is they'll say Isel and Med Isel are two different entities uh nobody's against the Holiness of er Isel the sanctity of erel even according to the ran the Mitzvah of living in ER Israel so they basically say just because I mean these are their words not my words just because there's an illegitimate occupying force of Tuma that I call the Medina they're not going to rob me of my homeland right so a person could certainly live in erel I mean theart is in London and in America but there's a lot ofart in erel itself now just as we have conservative and reformed Jews you have even with TARTA conservative and reform you can almost havea conservative and reformed if you're aart you have a very difficult life you're not going to use a bus ranl head of ter for many years he was committed he would not go to hadasa hospital he would not go to Shared hospital he went to Arab hospitals because he felt like anything Israel builds was illegitimate so he was consistent but you know the average an Carta in Israel is reform really reform I don't mean reform in terms of shabas of course they keep shabas but I mean well they allow garbage to be collected they take advantage of the Postal Service they'll go to a bank hi how could when you do that all of these things are us well okay you know okay meaning to live in the state of Israel and not take advantage of what the state has done I mean you're walking on a road you know so as you say even the charta you know has its reform so to speak okay but be it as it may ER Isel and Med Isel are two different things by the way a little hint you'll sometimes see a safer and the safer will say in English printed in Israel right so sometimes you'll see printed in E Period Israel and sometimes it'll say printed in Israel there's a difference if one said printed in E Israel that's like in ER Israel they won't say printed in Israel another thing I'll tell you a secret a bibliographic secret once in a while you see a safeair in which the M's first name is not given it only says an initial so it'll say uh the M of the saer is yud period Goldberg as opposed to Israel Goldberg yob Goldberg so when you see the initial that means a woman wrote it whatever so there are certain things in in uh that have conventions now your second question is very very painful very very very painful and that is the hatred towards the Army the hatred towards soldiers and the like the idea that if somebody goes into the army there may be people who might uh insult them might degrade them even God forbid might spit at them and the like and where does that come from so first I need to say d That's P that this is a totally despicable attitude and if you go back to a great great gdo like raitz during the Six Day War a long time ago he spoke in Yeshiva all the time how you have to have even to non-religious people who are Mish forel and Isel and to say we don't care as the speaker I know the speech that which you referring to you know I have to say I I I have to judge a person the C I did not hear the actual speech I heard an account of the actual speech the account of the actual speech was horrendous horrendous but I don't want to be that he actually said what he was quoted as saying and it's possible his words got distorted I understand that a lot of Mir guys walked out on the walked out on the speaker he walked out on this R because of this but what is reported and again I want to emphasize I'm saying what is reported I'm not saying what the what the Russia Shiva actually said he's not a Russ Shiva inm he was a visiting Russia Shiva speaking in to the guys in Mir uh he said we really shouldn't care what happens to the soldiers he says do you care about the garbage man first of all the answer is you should care about the garbage man even even the mush is CR says do you care about the garbage man he's doing his job so why do you care so you know the proof he's trying to bring is already crum in mid totally wrong so it's a that whatever your position about the Army is even if you feel it's absolutely user to force to take your Shiva guys and go to the Army you know let's assume you follow that but tell for the people people that are fighting you have to have and so it's and it's a and it's a lack of not to appreciate the sacrifices of other people religious or non-religious so that's a d p so I'm going to totally denounce and I hope you would denounce behaviors that have that type of attitude now in defense here is the problem the world has an enormous orous pet and maybe the poet is legitimate even though I don't think they're addressing it in a proper way and that is they're afraid that if we glorify the Army we look at them as the heroes we look at them as the big shots we look at them as the exemplars of selflessness then in a sense number one that's going to encourage a lot of youa guys to leave the Bas Mish and go into the army and that by the way maybe not a lot but that is actually happens and ultimately people will have less for the Torah there is a feeling the more we glorify that the less of Torah so I don't think you address that by denigrating the Army I I don't think that's a constructive strategy anyway but I can tell you there's a tremendous fear that we can't give in too much that's why for example why do Yeshiva guys why don't they visit Shiva houses of soldiers why don't they go to military funerals a little bit I mean you figure you know we're not in the Army but maybe we could be Mish you know shouldn't we I think we should you know subject to seder and everything else so why don't we part of it is there's a real P you start glorifying the soldier then the person's going to think oh why am I sitting in the basement medri when this person is risking his life for CLA and that's a mistake also that's a mistaken thinking because we have to know that's the of Torah that ultimately gives us the so I hope I'm making sense here meaning the attitude comes from fear that you're going to undermine kavra therefore we have to put the Army down in order that the Torah shouldn't be put down again I think that's a totally inappropriate way of doing it but this is where it's this is where it's coming from uh yeah all that Judaism knows thecar men tah yeah so this is a very interesting point uh we believe of course in afterlife both in terms of Haba the world of the soul and even the resurrection of the dead and yet if you just read just read the all the rewards that God gives you for the Mitzvah uh is all of it is all you'll have Prosperity you'll have health you'll have children you'll have victory over your enemies you'll be wealthy whatever it would be and there's no mention at all the of again there areos there are Illusions to it say but these are only Illusions if you just read the Pim you're not going to see this so it is a very very major question question why does the T not give us information about so the truth is the C if you look at the great commentary C in the beginning of he gives you no fewer than eight reasons why the terror does not mention might be a very worthwhile cleer to look at uh the basic idea is that people don't understand spiritual reward because is a totally spiritual reward like it's just say to you oh you know what's going to happen when you die and you do Mitzvah it's like you're sitting in a room that's totally white and you have your gamarra in front of you and imagine you're going to be doing this forever and ever and ever and ever without a break well from our perspective we might think hey which which which place is that is that is that the place or is that the gam place but the short answer is this is the greatest pleasure of the but the RAM writes we don't understand that so Hashem has to motivate Us by describing the things that we can appreciate but if you're asking me was mosha told about this yes this became part of the oral law this became part of the Tor shab so the t is written on the level that can every simple person could understand uh that there are good things that happen to them Thea is a more advanced level of spirituality so we don't believe as academics right this was made up later right MAV non-religious academics will often say ohaba was a madeup idea in Judaism after the temple was destroyed because that's why it's not in N it's only in rinic literature we don't believe that we believe of course that it's true and it goes all the way back to to mosha rabeno if not before but the Torah left it to the oral law rather than to the written law yeah is it considered aora to have somewhat of an image in your head with d I'll it's been impossible comprehend abstract IDE is that we pray to and also intensify the question of prophets spoke about God off yeah no this is a very very excellent question uh obviously one of the uh principles of faith in Judaism is that God does not have a physical form God is not a body God is not an old man sitting on a throne with a Long White Beard and yet in spite of that well-known idea in various Prophecies of Danielle and other form God is described quite literally an old man sitting on a throne with a with a white beard I mean I could find you the actual language uh that says that so so what's going on so there was a great great rebi he was the lasic rebi of the warto tremendous sadic the pet re clonus kman Shapiro um he wrote many many different thingses um his his life was was tremend well it was tremendously tragic but tremendously inspiring that in the wara we continued to give till the very last moment and if you look at his form they are kind of guides to AEM to growing in your relationship to God so in one of his essays he actually writes that it is permissible exactly as your question is it is permissible to visualize God in a physical image in order to be able to talk to him the way you would talk to your father or your grandfather as long as you 100% no this is just a visualization to help you to connect to the infinite that has no form and no body shape now many say this is a very dangerous uh thing because it might lead you to take the image as a reality which is totally forbidden but he points out that this is what the nvim did that in naua when they got prophecies the spiritual messages in their minds got transformed into visual images of things I mean look at the there's a throne in fact in that sense even angels see Angels really do not have a form it's like when AB who sees Three Angels that simply means their spiritual Essences were conveyed to him in a physical form but that's not the reality it's not like an angel is we think of angels like people with wings right that's how a picture of an angel will typically be but that's only the visualization an angel is a spiritual K so there is room there is room for visualization of evenes but one has to be very very very very certain that that's not it's not real it's just a crutch to help me relate to in that way yeah yeah so again um this is one of those things where uh maybe I won't get hate mail but whatever I say it's not going to be complete and the problem is I've talked about it many times so people will say oh if I say point one to four that well what about 567 well I did say 567 but maybe two years ago or a year ago um the basic idea is the follow I'm going to be very biter and for all of those who want to send me mail this is a kiter so it will not be complete I'm going to just give you a very uh encapsulated answer here is the issue R says there are three types of there's a against amalik there's a m against the Seven Nations there's a m against an enemy that is trying to destroy the Jewish people of those three categories of and the Seven Nations are gone so that's not the issue we're left with category number three and category number three is to fight against an enemy that tries to destroy the Jewish peopleas Hezbollah in all probability qualify as such an enemy and therefore this would qualify as now some say well that's not enough because the rambam says in that mitvah needs the approval of a m and if we don't have a it can't be a others say that when the r says Needs A he is only referring to amalik and Seven Nations he's not referring to a defensive War so that's issue number one is this aah is it not a Mitzvah and the shil there is going to be do we have do you need a m forah now question number two let's assume it is a what does that mean who has to serve in a so the gar says that the normal exemptions of based on the guy that has a house or the guy that married a woman only apply to which we don't have today it does not apply to Mitzvah mitvah everybody has to go so if you put two and two together if this is a Mitzvah and mitvah does not have exemptions then everybody who needs to go would have to go that would include Bashas even people are learning fulltime Yesa but then the argument goes the r says in that sh was even from and the reason is because shav Ley was a tribe that was set aside for Torah learning and Torah teaching and therefore they're p and then the rambam says every person who gives himself over to AES can have the status of shavid lady so the point I'm making is there are two issues that have to be addressed is this a and if it is aah is there an exemption for B Torah in in this and that's toally on shavid Ley and the extension of shavid Ley now here is the issue even if you assume that b who are learning full-time should be exempt even from aah that's not a exemption that's a a learning exemption so what about a who's not learning fulltime what basis would exempt him people confuse it and and you know learning full-time is not the same thing necessarily so what's the argument what what what is a argument I don't want my child to be put in an environment that may lead him astray from Mitzvah and that is an issue even in all units there are issues they haven't been fixed yet but the the painful question is where do you find that as an exemption I mean I hate to say this if the Tyra says every Jew has to fight then is there an exemption based on but the Army is not fir enough you know maybe that's not who says that's an exemption yeah the Army has an Aras to create an environment where MIT can be kept but to say I'm puder because it's not fir enough not clear not it's not clear it's not clear at all now some people will say well okay but when you have a war that is being conducted by a totally non-religious government that can't be a Mitzvah by definition I don't know I mean the ram says Mitzvah is when we are being threatened so all I'm saying is that the case for uh Yeshiva guys not serving in the Army is a weak case uh so well well let me let me qualify that the case for Yeshiva guys not serving the Army is not the greatest case but that could be justified based on the shav Ley comparison and the r does say shav Ley is from Mitzvah the case for a non full-time learner being putcher from the Army because of the frite issue although that's a major major concern but the ex case for an exemption under backrounds is very very weak it's very very weak so the truth of the matter is uh we used to make the argument all the time that there was no Manpower shortage in the Army there's plenty of therefore why why upset people who have a sheet not to serve uh and that was an an argument that was sustainable for a very long time but what's going on is that as the war is much much longer than anybody thought multiple FRS maybe now maybe it's winding down but who knows who knows what's going to go on in Syria the whole new confusion up there and there are people who have been in miluim for a year straight a year somebody 330 days straight without a real break so the idea that there's no Manpower shortage is I'm sorry that there yeah there is no Manpower shortage is no longer Ms so I have to tell you the Russia Yeshiva themselves are reconsidering some type of arrangement where if you're not doing full-time learning uh you go to a unit in other words the opposition that no goes to the Army is actually breaking down okay so this is very much biter but I gave you bullet points I hope you understand the the general what's going on yeah according to the the only reason why we have is because it was treated as a very big thing and so needed some sort of I'm sorry the reason we have what yeah only because allowed used in a way for the Jews so what about kind he that was before there was a or even yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah so good question everyone knows uh they should know uh the famous s of the ram in theim just just explaining what you said who says Hey Hashem doesn't like barbecues what's this what's this business about carbonos roasted meat great Aroma I mean Hashem doesn't need all that stuff so the rambam says that coros were a concession to our AAR that we lovar and we were attracted by the pantries and by the rituals and even human sacrifices and if Hashem were to say go cold turkey no carbonos only Davin and learn we wouldn't have been able able to stay away from the AAR so the rambam says as a concession to the idolatrous impulse and to we us away from AAR he gave us coros and he gave us a framework in which we use it for Hashem so it's not intrinsically desirable it is a concession to our weakness towards AAR so the kha is well we find Corban already in the time of Ceno AAR didn't exist then AAR didn't come until the generation of Enos which is afterwards in fact tell us other marish caranas as well and certainly a y and Yakov who were completely righteous they brought carbonos as well so how can you say carbonos is a concession to aara I would also add to your question the idea that we pray that when mashia comes the carbonos will be restored why would we pray for the restoration of carbos if there's not going to be AAR so you have a problem on the rambam both in terms of the past and in terms of the future so the EMS is uh your questions are you know your questions are the questions of the ramban the ramban asks your questions on the ramban and that's why the ramban learns that kbos are desirable by Hashem but not because of the meat but because of the submission that I recogn that there but for the grace of God I I deserve to die and therefore that transforms me and the the pleasant Aroma of Corban is the transformation of the gabra who brings Corban so but your question Still Remains so what would the rambam answer to that so the truth is we don't necessarily have a great answer the the the standard answer that him say is that the rambam of is ma that carbos have deep spiritual meaning that the 's tapped into that even when mashia comes we will be connected to but the marim was written for a particular audience the marim was written for a philosophically sophisticated audience that could not necessarily accept the more mystical parts of the Torah and everything had to be explained on a common sense rational philosophical basis so the rambam gave a reason but it was understood that this was not the whole reason there are deeper reasons that maybe the reader would not accept at that point in their life in other words the idea that theim had to express things in rational terms but that did not mean to negate which is as if to say like mtim salom even if you don't believe in these deeper meanings we at least have this meaning but there are going to be deeper deeper meanings yeah um follow one OFW when I'm sorry I'm having trouble hearing say say again yeah so oh okay okay and again I I apologize I I don't want to be Mel any any Min when you say is there a m yeah there's a MC only from the later time that they started doing it like from the 1700s whatever it is you don't have there's no Mak in K there's no m in cabala but when it came accustom so began to write about it now again the truth of the matter is the scha issue poses a very very interesting problem uh and that is the following when CL Isel or a segment adopts a practice from the go is there a concept that once they adopt it it becomes part of a m and therefore even if originally it had no connection to kadus it now becomes Kadesh and then we can give reasons for it as the give uh an example is even in Jewish music you know it's well known that many famous old I don't mean modern music which borrows from a rock that's a separate thing but I'm talking about the old from Europe were originally non-jewish folk music in fact tells stories about this in which the rebi Hears A Shepherd a singing a love song to a girl and the rebi says say the niggan again and I want to hear it again and the rebi hears it five times and the shepherd forgets the nigan and the rebi says oh this was really a song about the Shina and somehow it got imprisoned it got captured by those negative forces and I have redeemed it so I think what you're facing a similar issue I think the case is very very strong that it it is of non-jewish origin the question becomes does it then get Sanctified and elevated by CLA Israel adopting it and apparently those who have the Min feel that there can be an Aliyah it's almost as if they're Redeeming the spirits of impurity uh they're I'm sorry they're Redeeming the Sparks of Holiness from the spirits of impurity I continue doing it like what so should should I do it now well let me ask you is this like a longtime Min hug or just your your parents adapted or or is this something that you've been doing your family for hundreds of years I don't know I just know my parents do it um I have to think about a little bit because you know on the other hand you know it is very important to to follow your your family M hug him and I don't want to tell you not to do it uh but it's probably better not to do it but but it's not it's not a final set uh yeah said I've heard before how could you read and also third the third part of or even putting it side by side it doesn't seem to be accurate reading so I think you have to differentiate you know the is written in three uh the first two are uh very very deep philosophical treatises on uh a discussion of the book of uh those are written at really the highest level of philosophical discussion uh on the other hand the third is a little different third is the easiest part of the to read the third are called reasons for the mitz and there the rambam is very much maker and he'll often give oh don't cut your pus because the priests of AAR used to cut their P don't cook meat milk because they there almost everything the RAB is saying oh it used to be aari therefore don't do it so I think there is maybe a bit of a feeling that the third may not be written at the same level of philosophical depth as the first two uh basically here's the idea the ramom is addressing sophisticated philosophers so when he's addressing sophisticated philosophers he gives them sophisticated philosophy but he also wants to convince them to keep the T So part three is almost like an appendix to tell a philosopher why should you keep the Tor so he comes up with with reasons that one could accept he introduces the the third part of it by saying this is the T of well I think what well yeah in the S it's true in one sense and maybe not true in another it's true that the rambam wants to make the point that the tless of philosophy is not that you should just contemplate your Naval the Tas of the philosophy is you should move to the Mitzvah of hasem that's very important otherwise a person might just stay with philosophy but in terms of the T I don't think he means the of the saer are the reasons that I'm giving you I think he means the Tas of the safer are the observances that I'm describing and then he offers you know one level of reason but but there are going to be other levels of reason and why would it not be better to somebody disagree well well that's fine you can disagree but but the question would be um why say it's written for someone else just say that they thought this and maybe I don't no no that's fine but that would be good if you wouldn't have kauas in other words if it would simply be a question of rambam and ramban disagreeing about carbos that's perfectly fine but the problem is is how will the ram answer how will the rambam answer theice how will the r answer why corbas are going to be restored when mashia Comer to say that he didn't mean what he wrote or perhaps maybe if you really think that you're right it's preferable to say that he was wrong well but it's I mean listen we we could say that he was wrong I mean I'm not against that per se but but but I'm just asking uh if there's an obvious if there's an obvious question we have to assume the rambam would have some answer to an obvious question that's all now maybe there are other answers that's fine if you if you come up with another answer that's fine but to Simply say oh because of this question the rambam is wrong I think it's very difficult because this is an obvious question uh this is not something it's not a question in it's a question from historical fact so I think uh it's very very share to say that uh the rambam doesn't have an answer to that question so this is one of the answers I'm not saying it is the answer um this goes back to what people call the split personality of the rambam this is a very interesting issue there that the rambam of the mishna Torah seems to be a different person in some ways than the rambam of the although not completely because the mishna Torah itself has for code it has quite a bit of philosophy in it I mean the has no philosophy whatsoever right but the ramb you know kind of sneaks it in you the first four are not at all the first four of the Mish Torah are all philosophy so the r couldn't control himself almost he had to get into philosophy but by and large the mishna Torah is and in some ways it's a different orientation than the right so if the r like two two people yeah what is the and is it wrong to give presents Hanah rather than money yeah yeah yeah so the Mak of Kana gelt the idea of Kaneka G so um so the Makar kind of CH the the practice changed over the years the original meaning of Kaneka G was you gave money to your kids to give to their rebit and the M of giving a gift to AER rebit kanah is based on the idea that chabas says if a person is ril to lightos and some say n that's aula that your children will become and therefore was a time to encourage your children in loving Torah and that's by giving gifts to their rebi later it became you give them the kids a gift uh is there a genuine well I can tell you this I mean a strong argument could be made historically that it's because of Christmas on the other hand I don't want to say it unlike the I don't want to say that because L said the greatest GM the greatest GM give Kana to their kids right so presents or money all right so they they typically give money they typically give money so the question you're asking is is there a difference between money and Gifts is gifts more of AOS ha because the Christian custom is I think gifts more than more than money um I've never seen the I've never seen that as a I hear what you're saying but apparently you know so giving giving gifts is uh the same as money aded as yeah well well it would at least be the same issue but all I'm saying is that even the people who would never do because they do they do they doil and they include and the like I mean I I read just gum would give to their children or grandchildren you know but uh the marker originally was to give it to give it to the rebi the rebi was supposed to get it was a time that Reb's got uh end of year bonuses okay but uh you don't have to pay me anything that's okay okay one more yeah is there any Jewish significant like birthdays and specific like yeah yeah okay uh birthdays interesting there are actually twoim two whole written about birthdays in Judaism uh you can get them on hebrewbooks.org uh and on kab.org there's also some good articles on birthdays uh now first of all we're talking about Jewish birthdays not English birthdays right the secular calendar birthdays don't count we're talking about Jewish birthdays so uh Rim keski felt that birthdays are because the only place in the T which talks about a birthday is y who remember parro let yose out of prison I'm sorry the sarkim the the Butler and the butcher uh so he let the saram maskim out of prison because it was y it was P's birthday kki when people would wish him sometimes that he said I'm not par don't give me birthday wishes y on the other hand the Isel writes that uh in a sa his will to his own children he says on any sibling's birthday you should give him a not not what you're give him a that should give him so the there was a Min in many many segments that you gave a person a Braha on a birthday now where is the maker that a lot of people uh hear about that on a person's birthday he should give a br right I'm sure you've heard this I in your question it's my birthday so I can give you a Braha on my birthday uh what is the m for that so the only M that directly talks about that is very late this is um rabar mikit he was the son of the mag of Kit an early great and he writes that on your birthday your masle in Shay is very strong and therefore you have a kak to give a he even had a remiss he had a certain drush on a that says the day that you're born you have a and some bring as a riot to this AI in I think in Suka which talks about amalik when a Malik would send soldiers to attack the Jewish people they would send soldiers whose birthday was that day because they would have a bigger kak and succeed a little strange that we would derive a Min from what amalik did of amalik and yet if it worked for them it's considered to be working so there are not a lot of makis here in other words there are not a lot of Maris but again rear mikit does does say that and he was uh a rebi in his own right and he was the son of an Adam so there is some source for it and anyway even if um there's no Source but every time you give somebody a theas of every s single person have a certain effect so why not why not give bras even if it may not be especially effective okay 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