Rabbi Dr. David Gottlieb - The Experience of Rosh Hashanah

it can go through the experience of Rosh Hashanah how it feels it's not consistent there isn't a single tenor to the experience of Rosh Hashanah you start an evening with a prayer service which is not very long hour and it's clearly serious but people aren't generally good mood and after sober they wish each other a good year give a smiling and happy home and you have a festive meal with good food good drink company song or the Torah there's a relaxed happy atmosphere come to shul next morning first of all it's a marathon and go on for six hours and the prayers have much more serious some of them quite serious talk about possible futures all of which are equally happy positive optimistic blowing the shofar which you can tell from the attitude of the congregation is a very serious business anything to Musa was a very long prayer and its global in scope from the creation to the end of the world if a dynamics a particular what's going to happen in the coming year the petition of the reader goes through some poetry which is really quite detailed and explicit about the dangers of the coming year and people are in a very serious to search sent apprehensive worried panics moved so i crying prayers are over people work out smiles on their faces which each other good here it's another feast good food good drink songs very happy presentation then the first day there's a ceremony in visible sight of some body of water if you have one in your vicinity otherwise people do it dirty intermediary days before your Kippur but there's a symbolic a symbolic sloughing off of the transgressions of the past year it doesn't have a consistent tenor it varies between reacts happiness on the one hand and worried fearful anticipation of possible disasters on coming here now how can you have a single day that's experienced in such contradictory ways I think we would expect that a day has a theme different holidays each of different themes are dedicated to different principles different pieces of Jewish history different experiences bay south is liberation day freedom Shiva celebrates receiving the Torah at Sinai circus is God's providence as we went through the wilderness here you have a day which on the experiential level varies between two poles and it's not obvious why that should be the truth is there is a theme but it's a complex it's a single thing which is complex a single thing that has two parts what I want to do is explain the two parts to you and show you how they fit together logically and then we'll come back and see how it's expressed in the experiences that we describe and what moral we should derive from the fact that there are two themes is X is expressed by a prayer which is very very familiar that's the video marketing / our father our King that prayer we say on all the first days of the year over 1 and it sits well home the phrase avena volcano my father our King appears elsewhere in the prayers every day and thus on s rate we say it's always in that order always it is never reverse never our King our Father it's always a father I came and that tells a very important story Rosh Hashanah and the 10 days 3m Kippur the emphasis is on God being King indeed at one point we changed the prayers instead of saying oh holy God say the holy king Tamela Hakadosh but we have to understand is that king is a role of God place it's a role but it's not sort of speakers central role or as essential identity for us there's essentially identity for us his father his father playing the role of King that's very different from King a father is a relationship of love care commitment responsibility sometimes the strategy by which the father acts out his love and his responsibility is playing the role of King but he does it as father maybe you've heard the term which 10 years ago became popular in psychology tough love that's exactly what tough love is the starting point is love the basis of the relationship is love but how can i express my love in such a way that it will be beneficial sometimes way too express the love is through toughness but it's love it's not just for the sake of justice it's not just fairness stop playing by the rules it's love which needs this type of presentation under these conditions this idea of our father our King is absolutely fundamental to Jewish philosophy there's a famous Midrash who josh says that God's so to speak first thought and created the world was created with strict justice but then he saw that it wouldn't stand you sort of encouraged naively here to think of a kind of projection you know run a simulation on the computer the latest Intel chip and see what's going to have a thousand years 2000 years 2000 down the road crash well that's not a good formula and God added mercy to the mix so that it would survive I'll take it literally that's absolute nonsense God doesn't need to run simulations God doesn't make mistakes decisions aren't short-sighted but to me josh is saying and bad were there many reduction like this but the me josh is saying is there is a point of view which would lead to this conclusion there's another point of view which contradicts it and forces a modification and when the two points if you are taken together the result is X so there's a point of view from which strict justice would have been right there's a competing consideration which says no and therefore the result is a kind of compromise it's not first second and third in time it's logically what principles are being used what were you can see this is to go back to them through the Midrash again and ask a very radical question God first thought to create the world of street justice well if that's when he first thought then that's got it right that doesn't make mistakes in these second thoughts now he saw that the world won't stand so why doesn't he just give it up give it up the world demands a definition to throw the strict justice is not going to stand forget it do something else meditate I don't know give it up where do the resources come from to say oh it won't stand this way then I'll shift the perspective and i'll ship the formula to something else or will stand obviously the thought of creating the world of street justice is a second thought not a first floor it's not the origin it's not the top priority there's a hidden top priority queue that top priority queue leads to the idea of a world of strict justice but then when the world crashes qreen asserts itself it says well I didn't I'm an interested in a crash I wishes the world that survives so instead of creating the world with strict justice which would have been a kind of pure expression of Q Hugh expresses itself in a more complex way to add in mercy so that the world will survive the key insight is to see that strict justice is the vice president not the president street justice is the vice pres and the vice president's activity going to lead to bankruptcy for the company then the president will call them in and say excuse me excuse me that was not the intention attention was that the company should flourish not go bankrupt and therefore your activity has to be changed modified but you can only do that if the street justice is the vice president if you thought that the street justice worthy add the absolute ideal and it was the starting point with the ultimate motivation did we know place a leverage for which to change it and the answer is that the president is loving kindness the world was created to express loving kindness other kindness is the only purpose of the entire creation that's all everything that gets in gets in under loving kindness so mean solving kindness or expression loving kindness everything and we see in the world all the things that are in the world or the events that take place all the qualities with which God deals with the world all of them must be traced back to love and kindness otherwise we don't understand this probably heard the name of the book the way of God by lieut Sato that's the project of that book is that soften chapter 1 by saying that God created the world in order to show love you kindness in order to benefit in order to keep good and then he traces the entire creation whole history of the world back to that route so now let's follow the logic of the Midrash through why would strict justice have been the first application of loving kindness the first thought so to speak the most natural derivative of loving kindness what do loving kindness on one hand mr. Jessel over him had to do with what Jesus would have to do was one another don't they contradict one in it let's suppose I want to show someone and I love what do you think of the following method of showing him that I love him I call him in and I say I have a job that needs to be done here's the contract fifty dollars an hour 40 hours a week for years here's the contract I pay you per hour he works six hours he gets those ten hours five hundred dollars that's I pay am I show him that I love him I don't know I gave him a job signed a contract he's working and I'm bangin that's not love how do I show something that I love him I give him something that he hasn't earned something he hasn't got a right to something he can't demands for me something I don't open give somebody a present that I don't owe him then I can show him that I care about it that have feelings for so that means interacting with a person love and strict justice are at odds with women they contradict one another the interaction kids interaction strict justice and an interaction of love if it street justice it's specifically not love now I told you the picture I'm describing is you have lovely kindness and as a consequence a derivative of loving kindness you're a strict justice that sounds impossible it just sounds a nozzle it may be a contradictory it's very hard to imagine a you pause week unless AZ this is pretty delicious baby face assist shouldn't apply something in the country exit it's still true and it's true p cause we're thinking it too narrow for context let me broaden the context for you and then show you how it works I manatees when he Qaddafi's the loss of charity gives eight levels eight different levels of cherry going up the ladder from one to eight level seven the next to best way of doing charity is anonymous the giver and the recipient should not know one another why because charity is always a symptom of failure the person who's receiving charity could not provide for himself he's dependent can't provide for himself it's best not to confront the person with that sense of it if a giver and the receiver don't know each other then the receiver has no one to be embarrassed in front of no one knows that he's receiving and the giver doesn't have any any tendency look down on him or feel sorry for him and and treated as inferior because there was no received it that's the next best what's the best the best says my manatee is giving someone a job now when you hear that you should think giving him a job but look if I give somebody a job he does know me he does know what happened to anonymity and by the way you probably know give me some of your job is a great great act of charity when people don't have work people can't earn money that's terribly debilitating it crushes a person's ego especially so women also so we was a crushed when the husband's can't make money but it's it's terribly debilitating came a person a job you're giving him something very precious but what happened to anonymity the reason you don't have to have my nativities because when you give somebody a job there's no embarrassment because at the end of the week when he walks over the paycheck he earned it he earned so he doesn't feel bad about getting it he's a success you've made him into a success you've given him a double gift he has money to live on and he has his dignity he has his self-respect he has his honor you given him a double gift that's why it's the best form of charity any other form of charity at the very least makes the person who received the charity feel like a failure this makes him feel like a success that's why it's so exquisite that's why it's the greatest gift that's why if I wanted to give charity out of love and love means I want the best for the person I'm giving love the charity too I'm going to give him a job now let's review what happens when I give him a job we sign a contract we signed a contract fifty dollars an hour forty dollars 40 hours a week isn't that justice sure of what love motivates here is setting up a relationship of justice and ongoing continuous relationship of justice and that can be the greatest gift of the of love a contradiction we will find if the single interaction either i give you pay or i give you a gift like if you pay it's just that i give you a gift it's love but if i set up an ongoing long-term relationship of justice where you can earn the money that you get at the end of the week setting up that relationship is an act of love that's how justice can be born out of love wanting to do the best of the person who needs who's in need you give him a job which case is setting up a relationship with justice in that way you're giving you the best possible gift i'll be together so far okay but now suppose we do that so when we imagine that as a kind of global policy my example is George Soros I don't know if you've heard of George Soros but he's a fabulously wealthy chilled with unfortunately lots of wrong ideas in his head George Soros is so wealthy that with their whole country's in danger of bankruptcy he can go into bought and bail him out and he does that from time to time bails out countries a lot of money now I imagined George Soros saying oh I heard this fascinating taped by somebody named godly I'm sure he's not a rabbi cuz i dont listen two rabbis but if somebody you know really get philosophical background and he said the best gift you can give anybody is by giving him a job and wats california that sector of los angeles which is desperately underprivileged so sore thumbs in he says i'm setting aside a quarter of a billion dollars which is yesterday's spare change and i'm setting up a job corps for wats californee way wants a job we'll give them a productive job 40 hours a week good pay job benefits that's how i'm going to help the people of watts California how satisfactory is that going to be how success was going to be a very little success because the vast majority of people wats California can't hold a job they can't hold a job they don't have work skills they don't have work habits I don't have a work ethic many of them are on drugs alcohol many of them have psychological problems what they need is a massive rehabilitation program yes yes maybe there's ten percent who you could give jobs and give them the idea I'll come right away the rest need rehabilitation people the fish is going to be straight cherry and not going to earn it but that's what they need they can make it up here you have a conflict between quality and quantity if you insist on the highest quality gift which is a gift or setting up a relationship of justice a job then very few people are going to make the motivator at the top of the branch is loving kindness loving kindness will not tolerate so limited and effect so few who are going to benefit so loving kindness reasserts itself and says okay if loving kindness is going to give birth to a procedure whereby the gift is top quality in the quantity is going to be very small so we need is a mixed strategy the top quality should be available for that small group that can can take it and benefit from it and a lower quality where more of it as a gift more even is unearned more of it is a pure gift will be available for those who can't earn and only a sliding scale depending upon the person's capability to earn so what happens is let me kindness expresses itself twice first time as a motivator for high quality and second time is a motivator for spreading the quantity by tolerating a mixed strategy with lower quality that's in cept for second and third in time it's that you have to know what the principles are and how they affect the outcome and that's what the Midrash is talking to that first thought that is to say this the direct application of loving kindness is strict justice and then secondary application is eddie mercy so this is the same pattern of evil volcano our father our King father is the first essential relationship a king is something that God act out as a as a role when maximizing the amount of kindness that you can do requires it and sometimes it's acted out straight because some people can take it so they get the highest possible gift another times it's acted out less there are many more applications this has yeah I won't go back to a shot explain what I started with I'll stop and take questions and then we have time i'll show you some of the other applications it's a very deep and far-reaching idea none of what I'm telling you is mine I'm just putting things together from various places i'm just i just made the structure because one of the things that I do as a philosophy book I don't think any of the ideas are original with me we're going into Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah is a date and which serious consequences are decided by the cover year but last year's performance is judged and evaluated and decisions are made for the coming year that's serious business did anyone dream last Russia Charlotte that there would be war in this country the Sun has 72 Jews would be killed do we know what we were thinking about what we were anticipating what the stakes were for the coming year and as it is this was the outcome the outcome could have been very different both more positive and morning all right I'm morning if we hadn't discovered the tunnels as some people have pointed out the three boys had not be killed and that triggered the war I discover the tells they had a plan for a massive attack on Russia Shannon 32 tons erupting simultaneously taking control of the Isha beam taking women and children as hostages back into the tunnels what would we have done bed what would we have done bound the tunnels with dozens of hostages there how would we negotiate what would we have done as it was they lost their infrastructure so we're coming to a day in which there are consequences evaluations and very serious but who's doing avi Lewis to e our father is doing and he's doing it only for the sake of our good so underlying the trepidation of anticipating the consequences is the confidence that whatever they are whatever they are ultimately therefore are good it's a little bit like and what was you to send buddy by going to the surgeon and he doesn't work up exercising our eyes and all the rest and he has look this is this is the problem he's invasively approaches this is how we have to handle it if certain things happen then maybe this will have to be cut out that will have to be cut out there may be partial loss of function of this most other than that but you live you live and it won't get worse it won't get worse when you're standing out you do nothing it'll get worse and if we do the surgery you won't get worse now you're hearing the surgery surgery is frightening surgery serious that's consequences but the surgeon is dedicated to making you health has helped to use you to possibly be so you don't go in with a feeling of being attacked or feeling of a cold impersonal judge get it on get by the way what is the symbol in Statuary for justice in the rest of world and he comes from Greece that's right i remember why it's a woman she's holding scales and she's flying folders why is your blindfold it makes the difference who you are what gets evaluated as your action stole you cheated misrepresented you hurt somebody these are the payments that have to be big these are the consequences what you did who you are makes no difference whatsoever that's not our concept of justice that would be a king or isn't your father but a king was you funny he's taking you into account he wants this to work for you he wants us to be the best for you knowing that we have a double expression of Russian there's an expression of confidence of happiness it was what I'm going into is a certain interaction with my father who loves me and cares about yes there's a period of time which these decisions being made and they may be insistent that hurt surgery also hurts but in the end it's for your own good and by someone who loves you so one who cares about you and that's why you can have the trepidation hearing the chauffeur blown most of prayers trepidation of the coming year together with the happiness of the meals and the confidence of the meals the research says that a Jew takes a haircut goes to the bath dresses holiday finest for the day of judgment that's not a person who's afraid of getting used I won't say it it's too painful nowadays getting a negative judgment on the day of judgment who go in sackcloth and ashes and wailing and weeping and and and pleading for his life no because as I said we're going before the one who is our Father before more fundamentally than being our cake however together so far ok now this idea of our Father I King that justice comes first it's a long time first justice comes afterwards has another number of other applications one other application on Rosh Hashanah the main prayer the main subject of paranoia Shana is mercy one might have thought this is a day of judgment you're coming before the king to be judged today of judgment the time of mercy how can you appeal tumors the wrong subject indeed in our courts when you make an appeal for mercy when is it relevant to ask the court reversed huh when you're guilty after you've been judged guilty before we judge guilty if you think you're innocent you don't want know see you want justice I want to be declared innocent because I'm innocent if you lose the case then you're stuck once it's been declared you guilty you accept the fact that you at least judge guilty then you ask for mercy the day of judgment when the judgment is going on seems like is the wrong time to ask for mercy if you think of the heavenly powers that are operating strict judgment is operating how does mercy apply to strict judgment the answer is if it was strict judgment all by itself mercy wouldn't apply Lucy wouldn't apply because mercy is always a contradiction to strict justice tell you that was not well known I heard it on a tape by the other chromevox who was much gear from baltimore before i got there 1969 but it was i think was a brilliant idea mercy is always a contradiction strength justice just as he said you appeal for mercy after the verdict of guilty why are you feeling worse because guilty means 20 years in jail when I asked for versus what am I asking don't do what the verdict says don't do what the verdict says I'm a first-time offender I have a good support system I have the physical frailty zingia will kill me i I've all sorts of reasons why I don't want you to carry out the sentence of strict justice mercy always opposes strict justice not just imagine this as a contest strict justice has 20 years in jail and I say no sweet justices know who are you what did we know strict justice is a moral imperative who you say no my only leverage is I can appeal over the head of street justice I can go up a level i can say to strict justice i remember seeing the nameplate on the door of your office and if i remember correctly it said vice president not President by vice president ah ah that's all you are you a vice president well round the corner is the office of the president that's the office of loving kindness and I'm appealing to loving kindness over your head now what about the idea but that today's the day of strict justice answer nothing is independent of lava highness loving kindness is the purpose of the entire creation everything the creation exists only to go to trace it back to loving kindness there can't be a day and item a thought and idea a principle of Q cut off for loving kindness it can't be any such thing because Q wouldn't exist if loving kindness didn't motivated if loving kindness didn't demand it so whenever you're dealing with any Q you could always say q okay fine but loving kindness because of the kind is behind everything so even on the day of strict justice loving kindness is relative there couldn't be a day of strict justice unless loving kindness wanted it so the day of lovely kindness I can appeal over the head of love of justice to loving kindness and love you kindness can say to justice yes yes I created you I put you in place for a certain purpose but at this point you're too strong you're too strict i duel contradict my overall plan of maximizing loving-kindness and therefore I'm going to restrict you going to hold you back modify you delay you if you want to source for this you can look at the way of gaba lose out to part two chapter eight but he says the words I'm telling you now wear to work plus some more than enough on you to the mall so that's why an appeal for mercy on Rosh Hashanah is appropriate as an appeal even though it's the day of strict justice before strict justice is itself an offshoot of loving kindness very interesting the great leaders of the Jewish people Jacob a particular said was an enormous tonic holy pure servants of God but when he asked for something he asked for it as a free gift he did not trade on his own merit he did not assume that he had earned it and deserved it so we follow in their footsteps I thought it to me to keep God's books it's hidden for me not only that but not objective looking myself full of rationalizations and hopes and fears I don't see myself objectively I have to assume that I'm not deserving of it and I presume therefore they asked for the basis of Mercy could be that I'm to down myself it could be that I do really deserve it but I can't assume that so you're right you're right the basic appeals in appeal for mercy um we have a phrase in this in the sitter a next-to-last blessing if you're going to carefully think about it logically it's really quite puzzling hatov hillo hollo raha Martha I'm a rocking hello Samuel class adecco I'll treasure it literally then I tonight the few concepts and then I'll explain you are the good one for your mercies have not run out you are the merciful one for your loving-kindness have not run up your good because of the mercies and your merciful because of the loving-kindness now good and loving kindness are almost synonyms in our language so if i put it consistently one terminology would be you are the one of loving kindness because of your mercies and your merciful because of your loving kindness collie why do it that way why not say that you're you are the one of loving kindness because they're loving kindness and your the merciful one because their mercies why across the way out what cross the wires because the phraseology of the city there is telling us to very profound things God is the one of loving kindness oh goodness and as loving kindness goes so far that not only does it dictate the highest quality of good but it also makes room for lesser quality of good so as to maximize the extent of the good and that's mercy you are the being of loving kindness even to the extent of practicing mercy that's the first here that's not obvious and here the merciful one mercy could come from many different sources I don't mean to apply to anybody here hope doesn't fight everybody here but there was a a phrase that was used by conservatives referring to certain political group called the bleeding heart liberal and I knew a bleeding heart liberal was I see somebody you paint I just gotta give him money he said hey he's suffering just I can't believe him like that I've got a given money without thinking yeah but suppose he becomes dependent upon you suppose instead of learning a trade and becoming independent he comes to just rely on your hand asked himself of his own what about the long-term what about alternatives no he's in pain so if he's in pain I'm in pain so hey I handed out lots of things that could motivate mercy the prayer is telling you that what motivates mercy in our case is loving kindness up bleeding heart Lucy I can't stand to see people in a motor its mercy is an investment in the president's long-term development is a long-term benefit that's the way in which diversity is originated and those two then become very rich statements together so far there's one more application which i think is very important and that's in the Shema um we have various names for God according to the Talmud each of these names refers to some type of relationship that God has with the world that's the communicative of the Kabbalistic iceberg and the gigantic amount of Kabul on that subject and the Talmud refers to it as it does often refers the Kabbalistic themes with a kind of passing light touch and the unsuspecting reader doesn't notice that anything going on when you then read some of the Kalos League works you come back and say ah ah that's what they were doing just then you know wavin flag I can tell you that that's what it was about the name that spelled Hewitt and the hay and above and hate would suppose let us be God's proper name is associated with the quality of mercy this was the quality of mercy that's not obvious because the name yurt and a high end of albany says they're on bond is the name that describes God as the source of existence of the whole universe the root of that name is ho ho ho vet in Hebrew means to be so he's the source of existence all universe in our modern terminology that means he's the creator he makes everything beat well I thought for many years what quality what relationship is behind the creation I just told you about 16 times loving-kindness and we said the kindness and mercy aren't the same quality they're different qualities they're connected ones related to the other of they aren't the same quality why would the quality associated with a four-letter proper name which is the name of God as creator why would it be mercy instead of all the kinds I really ought to be loving guides that was mysterious to me for many years just just doesn't fit doesn't fit all the background that I know what I told you already solves this problem we just have to look at it in a little more detail a little more precision actually what I told you already solves this problem let's go back to that major I should watch the procedure again loving-kindness says I want to give the highest quality gift it turns out that only a very few will receive it the quantity will be too strict it very much restricted so loving kindness says isn't carefully loving kindness says I'm going to introduce mercy as a way of expanding the quantity of the gift because mercy will allow me to give even when it's not completely earned so now what exactly is mercy mercy is loving kindness second time around that's what it is it's a second application of loving kindness as we said that mercy is fighting an uphill battle against justice and mercy is appealing over the head of justice loving kindness that is to say mercy is lovely kindness second time around again loving kindness says top quality street justice they're loving kindness is but the extent that a gift is going to be too small since it's going to be too small I lovely kindness can't tolerate that so I lovely kind doesn't want to restrict justice hold it back modify it weaken it that's the upper battle against strict justice that's what we call mercy mercy is loving kindness second time around so ready half the gap is covered it isn't as if loving kindness over here mercy over there I got a name for the creation I know the creation comes with loving kindness and shock surprise astonishment we call it mercy you know like apples and sand no it's Macintosh apples and delicious apples it pretty close to one another still you now have two applications of loving-kindness the first to generate strict justice in the second that modify strict justice of them in the direction of maximizing the quantity of the gift why is it the second application of loving-kindness its associated with the name of God rather than the first I no longer have a problem but when the tradition says loving-kindness tomorrow will be second lat loving-kindness number to sell our guides number one well we're left with a query not a cash it not an objection but a query why is it loving kindness number two rather than kind of number one I think the answer is this well okay appreciation but I've been fine exactly appreciation for what let's go back and personify loving-kindness again let me kindness says I want to give a gift I want to be a top quality gift street justice now there's a projection in the projection there were a lot of people a lot of people and as long as the project is run in terms of strict justice very many of them aren't going to make it they aren't going to make and that's where God says but I don't want you to be lost I don't want you to be lost you I'm committed to you I want you to succeed that's what Mercy's mercy is the expression of God's care and commitment for the individual not for the class of people not for the quality of the project which the first application is I don't mean to belittle it it's very important but mercy which is loving kindness up to the second application Olivia kindness is commitment to the individual and i think the word Hebrew said we translated loving kindness I think in the translation loving kindness would you know when you have the second application but what loving is much stronger it's because of love the individual I don't want you to fail God is sometimes described as Savior that means I'm drowning I've no way out I have no powers to save myself and god saves me because he doesn't want me to fail that's the loving kindness that we the tradition associates with the name of God's creator or we have to know is that God as creator does so have a care and concern for each and every one of us together so far now in the Sh'ma you have an exquisite expression of this because the Shema start with six words schmeyer al-sham lantana Shama HUD roughly I mean there's an infinity of material packed in here tonight we do it from time to time I came to it tonight anyway I share my flight is something like a stable of monotheism and then I Shem there is no good in the hay in the van a it's that popper name of God one the next word is you shall love God and be careful reader says why is that why is that because God is one I should love him and if there was 16 I couldn't level 60 and one must definitely be the object of love and how do you get from a shame upon that a sham is 12 you shall love God what was the connection given what I've told you the connection is pretty clear yeah well we will have to talk about this at some length I don't think we can make any literal sense out of being part of God or being one with God God is create tour and we are created God is infinite we are finite that is certainly not physical at all I mean in parts of him are fizzle well but the soul is a creature created ex anillo out of nothing just as much as the material world is created X near out of nothing just as much as an angel created exnay lot of nothing and when the tradition uses the phrase helical came out this hole is a piece of God on high which should not be encouraged to think of God as a salami that you can slice it the pieces it is this business business piece that's a metaphor it's poetry and it's meant to communicate a certain idea but strictly speaking the gulf between create tour and creature is an infinite belt the speaker being part of god's own and so on is just not appropriate the are phrases like that and they have to be understood let me let me put it just take two minutes for a commercial here because I find as a certain prejudice that some people have and needs to be put on the table in the Tanakh the Hebrew Bible God is described as having arms and legs and head and eyes and ears salt and shoulders and we say all of course that's not manly really of course not that's God is in the physical body it's to describe qualities actions powers or something it's that man liberal and we all take that for granted of course then people see statements in the top or they see state was quoted from the Zohar and it says there's no place empty of him or the soul is a piece of God on high take that absolutely literally and they do not tolerate any budging from the literal dictionary meaning of each word why why would I have one attitude towards the written scriptures on the one hand and on the other hand the oral sources indeed if anything the rabbis who memorized the entire written scriptures would be affected by the style of the written scriptures and adopt the same staff or themselves no reason whatsoever to think that the rabbi's every word with literal when the written scriptures the source of all our literature and all of the divine injection into us is not that way and in fact the rabbi say over and over again that they don't speak always in a literal fashion so I'm just cautioning you that the idea that we are part of God he's part of us and he fills the room in the table and so forth and so on and there's nothing but guidance over the zone it's not gonna wash it's not how much not in philosophical source is not a Kabbalistic sources back on wash I think that the it's to my question is much simpler and it's which were on the surface can you be told to love someone can you command love that's a whole subject assaults a whole literature on that but at the very least if someone shows love to me it's very natural for me to respond with love it's very natural it's a little bit like I hope you ever taupe and told this but you can try this as an experiment if you smile at someone they cannot it's almost impossible not to smile that they could mean a lousy mood and they walk up with a big smile on your face this mile breaks so something to embarrass know what's why I know because well sometimes I'm upset my wife some how's it made or less and then I can't maintain it I just can't maintain it I can't keep it up she breaks it that way smiling the whole world smiles with you Ryan you cry a little frown your family it's true tried some morning why they say how are you I see the person found see how long can keep it from them and you when you're creating that way love is that way for sure like the sauce a combined party of a pudding I think movies a verse I like when you look in the water you see reflection when you show love so God is showing love that's a shame i cud Hashem is the name of God which describes him as the one who creates the world out of mercy what is mercy mercy is the second application of loving kindness where he says I care about you I want you to succeed I'm going to lower the standard so as to make sure that you also be able to succeed that's love so I said Sheamus hug well I should meditate on is the fact that God loves me then to say I should love him is an actual thing if I can feel his love for me it's natural for me to be told to respond and love to him I think you can see at this idea of a big volcano our father our King that is fundamentally father that loving kindness is the source of all creation is gigantic subject and its relationship to strict justice is one of the fundamental ideas of the Jewish philosophy and of Jewish and of Jewish mysticism and what you cut tonight is at least a scratching of the surface and it applies to to Russia sugar the ways that we said advice and spades okay I know necessary with the Midrash is communicated to certain people and it wants to communicate a particular idea doesn't want necessarily to fight several battles at the same time similarly the British often says this was created before the creation oh yeah it was created at a time when nothing was created try that again wouldn't mind if it made sense rather than just talk nonsense I can't create something for the creation it means its purpose is so fundamental of the whole creation depends upon its not a chronological statement it's a logical state there's a lot of statement of logical priorities right and you have to get used to the fact that that's the way as I'll express themselves yes so that good that's it that's a good point God did not have a piece of parchment with ink marks on it you know and help him scroll all thought the Torah is the record of God's ultimate intentions in the creation and it's a plan it's a plan that has a structure this is part of another very fundamental principle the way God created the world is so that we'd be able to understand it so he suspect limited himself to acting according to certain principles he's infinite hasni principles everything he does could come out of his infinity and then would just be totally unintelligible to us he created us with minds and he won once our minds to grasp what he's doing so he sort of speak on his own limits himself to operate according to the principles that mine's are created to grasp now so that means looking at the tourists is the picture of an architect as an architect's plan it tells the contractor put the concrete there put the wood there put the glass there because he has a plan its operating according to the plan since this a plan is possible for someone who had access to the plan to know how the world was created but its fundamental principles are the Torah is that that plan when we started the throat we're getting access to that kind of information but there when he goes into the tour it doesn't mean the scroll that means he had this plan and he operated according to the plan very good ok you