Jen Airley -Hallel and Gevura: Are our Days Greater than Chanukah?

just mumbling first. Um I don't know if Zamira realized when she asked when she asked for a topic of this year and I gave her the idea of the topic that I wanted to speak about and then she said, "Well, can you just mention the word vurra in it because that's the topic, the theme." Like did you realize at the time that of that it was paras to is the only para that's dedicated to yet. Hashem just is he's he's so cool. He's really amazing. It's the only para that's dedicated to and we know is his mid which I'm always every year baffled and fascinated by because what are we learning from we have I mean Abraham has he has three parios yes and he lives this beautiful long life 175 years old and we know all we all know his stories we all know all about his about his about all of it. We know we can all like if I were to ask what do we know about every raise their hands and the same thing really goes for Yakov who has many many many more parot right from this week on next week onwards it's the rest of say for is about Jacob and we can all go on with different stories about Jacob's and how he's blending all the of and the or the or the We all know lots and lots of stories about Yakov and his connection to Torah. But what do we know about yet? And why am I extra fascinated and baffled by this the last two years in particular is because para has told us the para of isyammen's para not his bar mitzvah para but the para that he went up to shamayim on this week this shabas is 105 shabbat without This is the guru of binyamin and every time I keep learning more about yakur I wasn't going to talk about this at all by the way I [laughter] really had a whole thing about hallelu kaneka but you can tonight the fact that I was asked to come speak and and and and I'm I I search so deeply on understanding and what it means to have gura because anybody who knows binyam knows he's the gibbore. Not because we call all gibbor gore, which they all are, but binyam was known to be like the gibore. Going into aza, people said like, one of the guys said, "Oh, when I go into Gaza, I want to fight next to him because next to him, I'm not afraid because he's the gibore." So, what is gura? And the more I learn about yak, the more I realize I understand beyan a little more now. So what do we know about Abraham and his it's expansive and he's giving and he's doing he's all about rising to the occasion nine out of the 10 he does out of out of pure love the 10th okay obviously he's got to pull in some in there you're not going to do a without feeling a sense of obligation but you know you're not doing it out of love yes but and comes and he's all about restraint. I mean it's not stop the Mishna talks it's restraining yourself over and over if we look through the para we can see about that it's a little more uh pull back he's doing things much more calculated he's doing things out of really restraint out of holding himself back yes where we know about the brah what is when he wants to give the brah to why does he want to give as of the brah because he actually sees the potential in as he wants to say I know this guy's like a crazy you know par I know he's difficult and I know he's got the worst traits but I know he is capable says the message of being mashiach he has such ability and as wants to give him the he wants to give him the because he wants to say as I actually know he's he's the master parent I know that you really can I'm going to positively reinforce you I believe in you I trust you I know you can do this Rifka understood things very differently and she had a different kesh and she understood the differently and it had to be the way it became. But yet had to hold himself back in order to do that. It wasn't that he was blind and he didn't really know what he was doing. He had to say, you know what, Zifka, I'm going to follow her. I'm going to understand. I'm going to hold back. The same thing happened with the wells. And the same thing happened with Avi and all these different stories had to hold himself back. And I I I mean just a pinty anecote. I mean this is this is Vinyam's life. There were so many things he could have. He was the center and the Mr. Energy, Mr. and he always like he never wanted to be that. He never wanted to be acknowledged. He never wanted to be thanked. He never wanted to let people know that he was doing things. It was natural for him to have gura. Why? Because when you realize how great you are, you don't have to be out there and show it. You don't have to make sure everybody knows. you can say, you know what, I I actually know what's going on and I don't have to get my way. I'm going to do what's right instead of what I need to show. And this is really a lot about and actually this is probably everything about our times. Not just because you'll hear stories, I'm sure today of all these mush heroins of women out there who I'm blessed to know and be involved with who could choose to say, "I'm going to just stay in my family. I'm going to just do my thing," but are choosing actually to go out there because of gura. Not because they want to. Trust me, I can tell you that for a fact, but because we need to. And we're doing it out of I don't want to say the but we're doing it because when you do things because you know that you must when sometimes it's not really what you want to do but what you should do. So this is really um brings us now into the topic of understanding the howl that we'll be singing tomorrow and we'll be singing through Kislave when we get closer to Kaneka on Kaneka. And I want to just go through a few sources of what we're celebrating with Kaneka, why we say hallel, and then how this very much relates to our time, and ultimately actually even questioning that perhaps perhaps we're living in times way greater than the Kaneka story. And I don't even think it's a very small perhaps. Okay, we know Kaneka was established out of yes of the strength of the Kashm again the way I understand gura is really Yeshua Hashem a divine assistance in internal strength it's nothing less than that which is again what goes back to all the fighters from Israel right now why they have where is this courage and bravery it's because Hashem is giving it to them there's every reason why they should be fearful as anything to go out to the fields but they're not because Hashem is giving them the so is celebrating is celebrating this this divine assistance that's given to the we know it's a time of times days of praise and thanksgiving for the miraculous salvation that we experienced. Okay. By the way, why do we not say halal? As we know, when do we say halal? Let's just go back. When do we say halal? We know an hodes. When else shalim and so we can all understand why actually let's go through a tiny bit of parameters. Why do how do we know when we can say halal and when we cannot? This is actually a very good question. When the Gumar talks about this yes when can we say hal on what do we say hal when yes a n that was obvious that it's for the Jewish nation when it's a y status and when there's is this is this is yes when there is an isur of doing any a prohibition of any work when there is a yif and when there is uh overt miracle or there are miracles for the Jewish nation as we understand why and shalom. Okay. Pes the grand exit the grand and shabuis hari and sukkot divine protection. So now what's with rashan? What's with rash kodesh? Why are we saying then we have the what doesn't apply now the we are allowed is it a yiff we have korban musaf so it has like a partial status any miracles >> not so much >> okay so not exactly the moon's been renewed so roesh has a status of renewal It's actually a bit of a minhug that we do on rashes, which is why it's not a full hollow. So, this is actually a little bit of a trick question, but anyway, what about PM? Why don't we say hal on pur? >> We have the migila. The migila is in place of halal to many opinions. It didn't happen. >> It didn't happen in Israel. The gumar is very clear about that. What? There are other reasons. What are the other reasons? Anybody know? >> It was a hidden >> it was the most obvious but hidden. >> Okay. >> Also, we were still we still were serving, right? what happens right after this grand oh and we're now paying taxes it's not a complete process but yes so because we're still we're still serving other kings and because it didn't happen init and it's all these reasons are why pim is not uh we don't have the status Ella the migila which is its own unbelievable story not just because of the story story but because the fact that the migila is teaching us really really what we're living in right Now these last two years, every step of the way, everything we've experienced, Reverend Moon talking about this. I don't know if you've heard Ravi Moon speak about this. He says it, he describes it so brilliantly of how everything the last few years has been like reading the migill. When we read the migill, we know we can't jump around. We can't even if you don't read it in order, you're not yay because everything was a buildup to the next step and a buildup to the next step. And by if you miss a step and he shares about this by the way our war right now that it actually you can even go back to understanding why the Ukrainian Russian war which at the time I remember feeling devastated by I don't even know why but I really was so affected by but oh that's all part of it because Russia got busy with their war so then Iran was busy with them instead of able they lost their proxies Russia was busy couldn't help Iran every single piece of this story if October 7th was jumped around in between Iran we if everything happened all at once If Iran and Syria and everything happened at once, we would have been actually destroyed on October 7th. Like literally done. But Elma, this one didn't participate. This one this the story progressed gradually gradually gradually. And even though I keep saying Jen's out of Sablan no more I'm finished with this goalless. I have I'm done. But I understand that each piece everything has to be step by step by step. And that's the PM story. Can't jump around. Can't lifya. can't just go from this chapter to that. No, no, no. Every single bit, the fact that Syri Syria dropped when it did gave us the ability to fly over Syria to be attacking Iran and then everything has a place. Hashem is Mashk als fit in why are we saying halal on Khan? Okay, what do we know? Why? What's the regular reason? And we all know the Gmorrah says why are we celebrating Kaneka? >> The nace the n of what? >> The she and >> the war. We won the war. But why are we saying hal for this? >> We're thanking Hashem. >> What? >> It's here. >> It's here. It's in Israel. It's days of work. So we have uh we don't have an isal. We are working and all the beautiful ideas in perush and we all know we're supposed to be working and bring kadusha into our regular workdays. Okay, beautiful. But uh we still are. It's not one of the parameters for saying hallelu >> what >> we gota >> but it didn't last. We did get complete sovereignty temporarily. We're going to come back to that. So when we have uh salvation from danger, check. We got that. And it has a national dimension. Check. And Hashem's hand was openly involved in that. Because if you were a little confused if the war was maybe m the oil was clear, right? Um okay. When we discuss these halakus of when do we say hal they're actually the Rambam actually bases it on he actually uses as the source and I'm just going to read it to you. Yavanaz in the days of the when put their when Greek put their zerot their decrees on Israel and then Hashem has mercy on us and mercy on them and saves them. So, Hashem has mercy on and the priests overcame them, destroyed them, and restored complete sovereignty to Israel for more than 200 years. So, theashur plus the divine salvation is our basis for Kaneka. He then says in the next legal hanes and so the courts establish that these eight days of rejoicing in halal are going to reveal used to be reveal and publicize the n. So here again we see okay so halal is said in order to praise Hashem uh for all the Yeshua the said what do we say by the way in alanim what's the alanim prayer hold on [clears throat] by the way I remember sharing this already last year and it's even stronger this year. If you understand the story of Kaneka, there were handed over in the hands of theim and you have the I don't have the words in front of me. They're handed over in in learners hands. >> What? skate to there's another one though I'm not remembering right now literally we're living this if you understand you look at the words actually you count on with women everybody you know you have your um okay you're fighting we had that in the story do we not have it now that the mighties were given over into the hands of the weak Except it's not now. That was then. >> We're not weak. We this whole war we're we were weak then. It was a tiny little group. And I want you to understand the tiny little group of the team, those very few that fought in the war probably compared to all the people we're fighting in right now, we're fighting against right now, were probably the same statistics of that few. We're not more than them. I know it was only a few, but they were fighting only against the Greeks were fighting against Iran and Syria and Jordan and Lebanon and Kamas and many other nations around the world too. Don't be confused about that. Um, okay. Check then and check now. Check then and definitely check now with our soldiers. But just that first one alone, it's again going to show that right now we're living in a time that was that's even greater now than them than them with the fighting. The one that we say halal about for eight days straight. Okay. I'm going to skip ahead a little bit. Sorry. There's another piece though that I did want to mention about our times. First of all, I I know we've all seen the most unbelievable miracles, and if we haven't seen them, we've heard them. Um, everybody knows stories of beyond miracles that have ex we've experienced, not just like the crazy ones of the Iran rockets, but if we look through the last two years, we should be able to keep saying nishmat every five minutes for all the miracles that have happened. We run a retreat center up north in fat that since Binyaman was killed, it's now been dedicated to anybody who's been directly affected by war. It's called Binyammen. I'm sure many of you have heard about it. You might even know people who went there. I'll just give you an example from last week. Last week we had a group. It's really meant It's meant for anybody who's been directly affected, meaning soldiers, reserveists and their families or um bereie families. And uh last week we had a group of NOVA survivors and I see them and I don't you know I didn't coordinate this. The Nova tribe did and they come and there's this one girl in her skirt. A few of the guys in their keepas I was showing somebody the house afterwards. I see there's a talis on one of the beds. the person running the program said, "You know, Jen, that they weren't doing this two years ago." When do you have a nation who has been through so much who people who have been in captivity are coming out talking about Hashem that never spoke about him? They're acknowledging Hashem. They're davening. They were fasted their very first yum kipper in captivity. This is not this is not normal by any means. We've become used to thinking that this is normal because we keep hearing stories so it's normal. Um anybody who's coming to the hall well I'm not going to say this because it's going to be a surprise but um if there if you are coming to the hall tomorrow at um the other just I'm bringing a surprise with me just so you know um the stories of these people are beyond unbelievable the different fights that we have now the shabas were up to bait pinyammen paras told us with binyamin's whole army and one of the guys coming was severely wounded at that event he had 11 surgeries at least that's the last one that I knew of and he is now coming for shabas with his wife and baby these are beyond miracles you understand that the statistics of the Iron Dome working and the arrow working the way they did. The creators cannot even get over how accurate they were. It doesn't make any sense. There are mo soldiers can define like can can describe moments. They walked into ambushes and they come out alive. I mean I I keep hearing story after story, personal miracles, national miracles, rescue missions. I I mean I can go on and on. I I but we've experienced non-stop miracles the last two years. I don't think other anyone can say that these are hidden miracles but probably the same way the perm story was a hidden miracle. Hashem's keeping his gur of keeping his name hidden from the story the same way it was in the pum story and the same way yet worked. I don't have to be upfront. I don't need I I'm gonna hold myself back from revealing myself. This is Gura. Now, when we discuss our times, I just think every single step of the last two years is worthy of saying hello. Every single bit, every single miracle, every single salvation. And if we go over all the requisites, divine salvations am coming back to and everybody flocking in record numbers of aliyah. I mean we we can go on and on. But here's the thing was king. We know that he um was one of the greatest kings. He had all the characteristics of being what he didn't sing. >> He didn't sing Shiva. This is from Sanhedrin. Hashem wanted to make mech and he wanted to make of the war of goats. But King David who would sing all his praises to you. You didn't you didn't make him. You did all these unbelievable But you didn't. How can you make him ach? Because he didn't sing Shir. What's the background of the story? Sees the destruction of Shaleim. Seesim in ruins. And also saw he witnessed 185,000 enemies just drop dead. But he saw you in ruins. He also lost soldiers. How can I sing Shira? How can I sing? How can I focus on only the amazing things when I I I'm in pain? Your is not It's not all built up. The garra continues actually that the earth the grounds wanted to sing. Even the earth opened up to sing Shira. didn't understood that the gula is not. He understood that we're not finished with this war. And because we're not finished, I I I'm not ready to sing yet. No. What are what are our times now? I'm petrified to lose the opportunity. I'm petrified. People are going to say, "But it's not." Yes, we're witnessing after we're witnessing after come true in front of our eyes. The land is flourishing. You know, this year we had we had a a drought this year. You ask any farmer, the yuv, the crops of this year were unbelievable. The grapes, you've gone to supermarkets, have you seen the mangoes? And the grapes, they're massive. the most delicious candies Hashem creates. How's that possible? We have a schnap that's we have a a drought because Hashem blesses this land when the countries around us are in drought and Iran can't even run its electricity because they're in drought. We got beautiful rains even when everybody was in tense. That was another story. We had fun you know. By the way, all the people who come in tents, I mean, we were invas I got to sleep in a gun. I didn't have to sleep in a tent, but you know, all these people that slept in tents covering all the streets and alleyways of the old city of of they knew the forecast. They came anyway. >> [laughter] >> This is Amis. This is Ms of being part of the being in Sarah's area, being in Abrau's area, being in Ara for such a special shabas, but we're in a time. But some people think we're I'm seeing Nibuot coming true. I'm seeing kibbut scalyot. I'm seeing gadut. I'm seeing the land flourish and grow. I'm seeing vineyards grow that talks about. I'm seeing vineyards grow in the shaman that talks about these are and we're witnessing them. I always think about when he was when he laughed when he saw and he laughed why we all know famously at the end of the mak he laughed because okay is in ruins that's a prophecy. The fact that I saw a fox running through the the destruction that was a prophecy. But I also says I also know that there was a that there's going to come a time when the elders will be walking around. Children are going to be playing and because that came true. I I know that that is going to come true. We're in no offense to any age in this room, but um are walking around. Children are playing. You go in the old city, it's filled with every age from the altacar all the way down to the babies playing in the streets of we're witnessing more than a did. But what's the problem? We feel we're not in the gulash. We haven't heard the voice the bat call say as the famous the beautiful song that's one of my favorites where we think you know what I I I'm not sure I know I'm not sure it's very clear that is here hello you don't see the beta mikdash come down from shmayim yet but that shouldn't stop us from singing hello that cannot stop us from singing all the praises to Hashem. We should be non-stop thanking for every drop of rain he just gave us. Every beautiful fruit, every Yeshua, every n every the ability that we're all here and we can just walk the streets of we've suffered losses. I can tell you. I don't want that to stop me from being able to recognize all the to that Hashem has given me. So while I don't want to say I'm not here to pass in any that we should be saying hala with a on our times I have no doubt that we will be but what it does mean is that during this time when we are going into when we will be saying halal tomorrow these are all the kavanote these are all the songs of praise that we'll be sang with a bra tomorrow and then the rest of the month keep singing them and then come Hanukkah. Keep singing them. All the Yeshua that we are celebrating now is worthy of having halal more than the Hanukkah story itself, which is mind-boggling because we all know to celebrate Hanukkah. But we're living in times that in my little eyes are more ginormous. There's more of us living here and living well, living comfortably. Yes, with Piguim. Yes, with Sarot. Yes, with needing and Yeshua, but we're here in mass and we're here and able to celebrate and joy and we're witnessing Torah come alive like it's never, you know, in the last 250 years, we've never seen more people become than Bash. This is the time that we're living in. More people are becoming more religious than becoming less religious. in the last 250 years. This is these are the these are the stats in warh in a in in in times that people should want to run away from our country because of all the threats and the piguim and loeno but people are flocking here still hotels are full doesn't make any sense but we don't have to make sense of it it's funny the other one time I I was going to one of binyamin's buddy's weddings one of his thee and uh and the original invitation told you know said where it was, whatever. And I said um I actually replied that we weren't going to come even though we my husband was getting a bra cuz I knew I wasn't going to stay. I was traveling whatever. So I said just put us down that we're not coming. Don't don't order us a seat. Yeah. Anyway, so I didn't get any updates because I wasn't coming. But I didn't know when I went to the uh original hall where the I thought was going to be. Um I didn't realize that was an old invitation. and they sent out a new place after they redecided where to make their wedding and I was never updated. So, as soon as I got to the hall and I see there are no cars there and I see everything is dark, I messaged one of the buddies, you know, one of the guys in the I'm like, "Uh, where's the wedding now?" It was 7:00 was called for seven and uh he tells me the wedding is in Ramaton. Now, we're in the gush at this point and my husband puts I I put on ways on my phone and it said like an hour and 9 minutes. not the worst thing considering it was now redirecting us from the gush back to beesh and then to in order to get there. My husband's like, "It doesn't make any sense. We're going to get there at 8:05 or whatever it was. If I was going to miss like there was nothing I could do about it, but called for 7, you know, it's going to be a little late. It's Friday. Could it be even later? Whatever. 8:05." But he's like, "It doesn't make any sense." And he starts looking on Google Maps, but from the house it should take an hour and 35 and plus. Stop. Stop calculating because then you're going to take away Hashem's ability to just do for us. No, I maybe it's my silliness, but don't count what's in the bank. Like maybe I should be more responsible, but anyway, that's I I leave it to Hashem. I give him space to do I do him I give him space for kits. We got there with plenty time before. I got to dance with the guys from my all the way to bring No to calculate. Don't try and figure out if it makes sense. Don't try and work on have See what he's doing. Understand we're part of something so much bigger. Understand we're living in a time of that everything is slowly slowly unfolding. on. I'm losing patience cuz I just want I want the presence and all over and the light all over and the all the Yeshua that come with the beta mikdash's presence but time to be able in this in heading there we want Hashem to open the shea you know by the way we discussed that story didn't stay so how was it that they were able to stay to say halal for that time. Give Hashem the opportunity. You just start. You just say halal. You just sing. Give Hashem the space to finish the way. And I think that that is the time we're living in. That's upon all of us. So with all the that we can sing and dance, please God, the Meliah will be revealed. Please God, the beta mdash will come down. We'll continue to enjoy the presence with us. We will continue to see all of Yeshu and receive everything that he wants to shower us with.