Ki Sisa | Likkutei Sichos Vol. 1

Ava Sunday morning 10:30 approximately from the soulward's house and before we get rolling with the weekly shear I just want to mention uh there's there's a lot going on in the world right now but I want to tell you about something I have um here on the table um this is a Reb wanted that Tanya should be printed all around the world in every place where Jews live and you said maybe you can say >> I'm live here. >> Yeah, hold on a second. Says it's live right now. >> Maybe you look in the wrong place. This is Kissesawa looks live to me. >> Kissa hold it up. >> No. Um, one second. Okay. So, yeah. What? So, on the I just want to show you this. This Tanya was printed right on the eve of the revolution in Tehran. And the date is lammed uh 1978. Okay, here. Why don't you show up close? Is going to hold it up [sighs and gasps] and turn it around. Show the back and and get it in focus. Yeah, very good. Yeah, there it says should say where does it say where it was printed. Now, but also on the in the first front pages, it also says pro. I can show it to you where it says it, but it's on the bottom. Should say no. Okay, here. Give it to me. At any rate, so this Tanya was printed right on the eve of the revolution. Um there are only a very limited number of copies that exist in the entire world. Barashem I happen to have one of them and uh >> yeah they should be printing many more very very soon and many other cidis and learning sides all over the world and uh I can't find where it says it inside Okay. At any rate, we uh we do what we can do and we learn to and toyra is a is a and a protection and a uh a merit. Uh it's a way of invoking safety and strength to is the ultimate strength. So uh we pray for good things for all people all over the world. All good people all over the world. really truly. And uh that's that. Now tonight's or today today's share is sponsored by an anonymous donor in honor of and the year and the breakfast. That's right. Because you could just sponsor the class and not the breakfast or just sponsor the breakfast and not the class. But our anonymous donor generously sponsored both the class and the breakfast which you know there's a saying our sponsor sponsored both the kamak and thera this is in the merit of a speedy and complete recovery for rifas kana. So thank you for the sponsorship and the harabim the merit of communal Torah study not just to people who come here Sunday mornings to the soulwards house but to the thousands of people who join us online should be a merit again for rifabas kana okay oh and one more thing pes is coming if por is coming that means pes is coming uh I have a hagada here that uh we made a couple of years ago called the four cups hagoda and it is for the recovery community. There's a commentary on the different parts of the sedar that is uh based on the spiritual tenets of recovery. So if you're a fan of my book God of our understanding uh Jewish spirituality and recovery from addiction, this is the hagod you want to have at your pesak seder. And uh I have a few copies of them here. If uh if you show if you come to if show up if you come to the shar at the house, I'll give you a copy. I have them on my desk. You can just walk right up and take one. Okay, we're ready. Why is the light flickering? You know why? Why? You can take care of it. Thank you. You takes care of everything. Without us, I would just be sitting in a parking lot by myself streaming from an iPhone 8. That's what I would be. Yeah, that's what I'll be doing. Okay. All right. Page 178. Thank you so much. All right. You already have it pulled up. on the verse. This is what you should do. This is what you should give. I'm sorry. This is what you should give. Thei says mayor. It says this is what you should give. This generally implies like this. You're pointing to something. You're saying this. It's not a concept. It's a it's concrete. this. So the shami says, "Yeah, that's what happened." Um, Hashem took out a mat, a a coin of fire from beneath the kayak, the throne of glory. And Hashem showed it to Ma and he said, "This this this is what you should give just like this. Something something like this." Why why did Hashem do that? M is given because it was difficult for he couldn't conceptualize what exactly what was supposed to be given that's why Hashem showed him okay very simple that's means hashem showed an example of the shekele the half shekele that was uh contributed as the flat tax for the census that's described in the beginning of paras key. Okay. in intensif explains what exactly was perplexing to Misha. It wasn't that he was confused about what constituted a half shekele because he knew that that's a currency. you know that that's what it is. Instead, what he was wondering about was how that could serve as a as an atonement. It's a PK actually from uh from Eio from the book of Job. Skin for skin and all man has he'll give for his soul. Meaning no matter how much you give, it's never enough for an atonement for your soul. A person will pay any price. That's basically what that pock means in Eio. So how can you get an atonement for uh max shakle? What a bargain. It seems a little bit cheap. You're going to get a You're going to get a a kite for an for a shackle. Even was like, are you sure? Okay. Accordingly, if that indeed like says that was what was perplexing, then how was that settled by showing him the coin of fire from under the throne of glory? How does that explain it? Okay. Base. Oh, he's bass. Sufashain [clears throat] does. Why is it flickering? Okay. So, let me explain something to you. So, you've been walking around doing stuff which is very helpful, but you have not been looking at the screen. I've been looking at the screen. The screen is flickering like crazy. It's giving me a headache. Yeah. Um any I just hope nobody here um is uh susceptible to seizures because it's flip it's flickering like a strobe light and it's making me insane. Yes, please. >> I would guess it's probably a loose connection or something of the like. This is the thrill of live TV. Just watch that. It keeps flicking. Okay. All right. base. Now it's not doing it now that you're watching the observer effect. Okay? Just watch it the whole time and it won't do it. Okay? So we have we have to explain three things. What's a coin? What's a fire? And what's a throne of glory? Okay, now it's not flickering. I think the the the text comes from your laptop. I think the wire to your laptop was loose. I >> was texting or was >> the text was flickering. Only the text was flickering. Okay. I don't know. It was only the text flickering. All right. Anyone out there in TV land, you see the same thing? Did you see the text flickering? Please write in the comments so that I know that I'm not crazy. I see a comment from Baker Coffee Maker saying, "You're live." Yeah, that was probably from a while ago. Baker Coffee Maker. That's a great YouTube name. >> You know what? A name like that, you should be sponsoring some breakfast. >> Fresh. >> Fresh. [snorts] What email? Yeah. >> Soulwards. Soulwards.org. org is a website. >> What? Soulstudio 7685gmail.com. That's Israel's business email. >> Okay. >> Zenzou says, "Looks fine on my screen." Okay. He probably wasn't paying attention to He's looking inside the safer. Okay. What's a coin is the says what's a coin. You know means legal tender. Legal tender. And you know what that means? It means you can spend it. Some things, you know, I found in my wallet a uh a card from a arcade where you get a stamp every time you go to the arcade. And if you get 10 stamps, I think you get like some like maybe go free bouncy can bouncy castle or something and it's like 10 years old, but I don't throw it out because maybe and it's not even in New York. Um it's in Pittsburgh and I but I didn't didn't throw it out cuz I don't know maybe you know what I could go I I could open my wallet. I don't maybe it's Funfest. I don't remember which one it is. Is that what it was called? Funfest. So I didn't throw it out cuz maybe I'll be able to use it. Okay. But that's the opposite of that's not legal tender. That's not something that um they're not going to accept that as currency everywhere you go. All right? But a coin a coin means you could spend it. It's ready to spend. People will accept it as uh currency. That's the difference between a coin and something that's worth money. passive shots up alike [snorts] things that are worth money. Not everyone, you know, you go to the pawn shop and you say, "How much is it worth?" And one guy tells you it's a h 100red bucks. Another guy tells you it's 200 bucks. Some people value it more because, you know, supply and demand, they want it more, so they value it more. So he values it more. some people some another guy doesn't want that object as much is so it's worthless and then a third guy he doesn't need it at all so he says I I wouldn't Would you buy an elephant for $100? No, I I don't need an elephant. How about if it's two for 100? No, I still don't need it. Okay, but a coin is legal tender is by Alam. It means it has a fixed value that is the same for everyone. Okay. So that's a coin. Coin means it's acceptable. It's worth its worth is is is fixed. It's locked in >> inherent. [clears throat] Yeah. [snorts] Although nowadays the coins are not really intrinsically valuable and they're not worth the metal that they're minted on. But in the olden days coins were coins. Okay. What's a what's fire? Keep finger on the trigger. You know the You know the throw. What are the dollar you say? >> You got to go in order from the highest to lowest. Fire. That's the highest. Then >> air then water then earth. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So there's dalides. The Reba writes in a in an English letter that people translate it as elements but it's not really elements. It's four states of matter. He calls it uh plasma, gas, liquid, solid. Okay. So anyways, you have the four yoid. What is different? What is unique about a the other say either they go down or even um wind which doesn't go down but it stays in its place like it says the the spirit of Hashem in the beginning of creation was hovering over the water of and it stays in its place. Okay. So every other all the other either go down or they just stay put. Fire is different. It strives upwards. mayor until you actually have to figure out ways to keep the fire, hold it down, to keep it down here because fire always wants to escape. It wants to go up to its source underneath the uh gala. So, you have to hold it down here. That's what you're doing when you're like when you have uh fuel and a and a wick. It's holding the fire down here otherwise it it'll run away. So that's what fire is. Okay. So you coin means legal tender. Fire means escaping upward. What's the third thing we have to define? We had three things we had to define. No, you're not listening. You're doing the program. The logistics. We were defining matea a and kisa co. So we defined mbaya means legal tender. We we defined a it means it goes up. Now we got we got to define ketan covered. Now got to break it down. Covered breaks down in two things. Kay and covered. What's a kaya? A chair. What's a covered? Covered. Honor. K is malashian kisoy. K is kisoy. Kisoi means covering. Kay is a throne or a chair. But kisoy means a covering. And it says that in. So don't ask me. That's just what it says in covet. What's covet? Covet mean as mace of covet that it's a chair that brings honor. A covet. chair that brings honor. Not a chair that you honor. It's a chair that brings honor. Is thus of covet for instance a a king of flesh and blood through the fact that he sits on his throne. It brings him honor. Now seemingly these are two opposite things. Honor, glory, let's call it, comes to revelation. You're revealing the glory. It's a whole spectacle. Whole awesome chair he's sitting on. Wow. Amazing. Grace kite. When the king reveals his greatness, it throws a little little shock, a little awe into everybody. But when he's concealed, when he's hidden, it doesn't instill that type of awe. It doesn't evoke the the glory, the honor of to the contrary. So how is it possible to have this oxymoron that means covering concealment is inherently an act of revelation so it's covering revelation that's an oxymoron okay maggot but the explanation is like the mag explained the mag means the meri mag the mag god as that if the intensity of the revelation of Hashem would be fully revealed, no created being would be able to receive from it. They'd be overwhelmed out of existence. Therefore, there must be a cover which conceals the intensity but not a complete concealment. It just filters out that which the created beings are unable of receiving. And then only the light which is within the range of the created beings to receive is revealed. And then that revelation, the revelation that they can handle causes them to honor Hashem. But if it wouldn't be concealed at all, it would just overwhelm them out of existence and there would be no honor. So, ironically, you got to conceal a little bit in order to reveal because if you reveal too much, then it just blows the fuse and then nothing happens. No honor. Okay, that's how the mag explains it. And that's also the concept of a literal chairman. You sit on you sit on a chair. Now sitting is lowering. If you stand, you're taller than when you sit. Right? Okay. When you stand, you're taller. When you sit, you're shorter. That's what it means. Hashem is sitting. What does it mean? Hashem is sitting. It's an anthropomorphism. You got to think metaphorically. Hem is sitting means Hashem is lowering himself. What does it mean he's lowering himself? Tumsum is that concept of divine self-contraction that Hashem is concealing himself in order that the created beings can have a relationship with him. Okay, so that's what kay is. And so kakov makes sense. It's that self-containment that Hashem puts himself through in order that created beings can have an experience of him without being overwhelmed out of existence. So now actually the oxymoron makes perfect sense. It's a beautiful paradox. of them. Sorry, the case al and the letters if you break it down show this concept too because is alfum. Alf means alum the infinite one himself the master of the world but it covers himself case his covering case through the covering and through being covered he reveals himself you follow that it's a little bit paradox conceals himself in order to reveal himself there's a mimer from the rebab called vadita they call it vadita Musk because he said it in Moscow. Um, and he says over there that the perfect mushel for this, the perfect mushel for the fact that Hashem conceals himself in order to reveal himself. The perfect mush for that is a mush. Cuz what's a mush? A mushel is seemingly a diversion. If you want to talk about the topic, talk about the topic. Why why you using pretend things? You're not really you don't really that's not what you're really explaining. you're trying to talk about a a topic and then you're giving like pretend examples that aren't real. Like why are you doing that? But yet we all know that if let's say an expert is talking about something that's above the grasp of the listeners, if he'll just speak about it the way that it is, they won't understand anything. So he seemingly changes the subject. He talks about something that's just a pretend example, but through that it actually makes the point and then they understand it. So the mushell for this is a mushell itself. Metaphors seemingly are obscuring the topic because it's not speaking about the thing the way it really is. It's speaking about some pretend example. But then by doing that it actually makes the point more clearly than if you would have just said it the unfiltered way which nobody but the expert understands. So the same thing similarly if Hashem completely reveals himself then no one has an experience of Hashem because they just get overwhelmed out of existence. But if Hashem [snorts] conceals himself then we can be blown away in a way without losing our own existence. We can therefore give covet. So that's the concealment that brings about divine glory. Okay. And that's what Kisakov is. It's the relationship of of Hashem and his created beings. And as we know that that takes place in the world of Bria. You know you have the four worlds, Bria, Aia. And Bria is also called Alamakis because that's where the throne is. The throne of glory is in Bria. It's the same kind. Priya is the beginning of creation, beginning of concealment. Concealment for the sake of revelation. Boom. Okay. So, we have three concepts. We have MadBa. MadBa means legal tender. We have a it means it's going up. It's striving, trying to get out of here. And we have, which is the paradox of divine concealment for the sake of revelation. Boom. Okay. Gimmel. You see we're on 179 bottom of the second columno. I made a braha earlier by the way just so everybody knows. I learned that from Josh Gordon always show me he always says I made a braha earlier. So I just want everyone to know I made a braha earlier because I don't know if the video was rolling when I made the braha. Okay. So the revelation that comes about through kisakov that paradox of concealment for the sake of revelation it summons or elicits two different responses which means running which means returning the angels were running and returning from uh of the of the of the common concept in kabala and this this pulsating energy where things are running meaning they're returning to their source in the oneness and then shu returning meaning returning to their uh separate selfhood and they're sort of like in flux all the time going back to the source and becoming like dissolved out of separate existence and then being reinstated into their separate created self. Yeah. Okay. that I better explain right here. So what does it mean running? Because created beings sense the wondrousness of godliness, the richness of godliness which they cannot contain in their vessels. It's way beyond them. Not intellectually, not emotionally, just they don't have vessels to contain it. So if that elicits in them a feeling of expiration, they go out of their own limitations, their vessels, and they just want to be absorbed in godliness. So that's one thing. You realize that godliness is so so so beyond and you just don't want to be separate anymore. You don't want to be contained in your own little selfhood and you're just beam me up Scotty take me away and you want to become one with Hashem is. Now, interestingly, the the the level which is higher than will not elicit that response from a created being because it's so high. It doesn't elicit a feeling of yearning for it because it just literally goes over your head. You don't even know what you're dealing with. So, you're not you're not yearning for it. you're just totally like oblivious to it. Interestingly, but the level is low enough ironically that you will sense how high it is and you will yearn for it at least you're going to at least sense how it's wondrous meaning wondrously removed from your normal experiences. Okay, so that's roti. Rotti is that when there's something that's wondrous enough that you're like, "Wow, this is totally beyond me, but it's not so wondrous that you're not even conscious that it exists. There's a sweet spot. Just the right amount of hlaw." Okay, then is return. knowing that Hashem's ultimate desire is to have a dwelling place in the lower realms which is after all why Hashem concealed himself through the he wanted there to be a created world and he wanted to dwell in that created world of he wanted to come down into the created realm makes you want to return to the created world that you should receive the yoke of uh the kingdom of heaven and remain in the physical world obeying the divine commandments. Okay? So you have two within kisak you have two responses that he evokes. One is get me out of here let me just return to hashem become one with hashem let me leave behind my separate selfhood. The other is no no let me go back to my separate selfhood so I can act as a uh a soldier. I can follow orders and I can do things because actually what Hashem wants if if this is all about Hashem and not just about my own spiritual desires, spiritual self-indulgence. If I'm truly being selfless, ironically, I have to go back to my separate selfhood and serve Hashem down here because he wants Okay, you got to flip the page. So, are you preoccupied? Are you helping Tyel right now? You're not even helping Tyel. His sister had a baby this morning. Were we allowed to say that? Public knowledge. Maztov to my daughter Tyel. >> I had a grandson this morning. Yeah. Last night >> next next Sunday if everything is there should be a bris next Sunday. Yeah. So, Mazatov to uh my daughter Tiba Bas Braha and my son-in-law uh Misha Ben S and um to my new grandson. It's a grandson. They had two daughters. Now they have a son. Now I have total two granddaughters and two grandsons. Yes. Okay. Okay. So you're not even helping Tyel. Does she need anything? See if she needs anything. You reached out. Okay. So I saw Table. She she was she was at her house for Shabas and so were you. You said you and Mali and everyone was there. And oh is Esther's Bas Mitzvah Mazov. Esther Esther my daughter. Esther Basa. So, uh, Mazotov [cough and clears throat] and, um, yeah, it was totally normal and she left. And actually, I texted Tybo at like 11:50 about uh, some Soul Word stuff. Table runs the back end of everything. Soul Words back end, not like you. So, you're like front facing. Everyone sees you. You're you're the face of Soul Words. What? >> If not for you, I'd be in a parking lot with an iPhone 8. And if without Tyel, well without Tybel, there would be no office. There'd be no actual organization. Um I would be standing in front of Calave asking people for money so I could [laughter] I would say, "Can you give me a dollar so I could do some live streaming?" I'd be selling chocolate bars to buy uniforms for my basketball team. >> [laughter] >> Okay, you [clears throat] have to redeem yourself. Okay, you were slow on the trigger with Okay. Wow. Plugs back in to now it all makes sense. It's starting to make sense. Running is like fire cuz fire goes up expiring trying to leave. But returning is like a coin of which is legal tender by everybody accepts it and everybody accepts it equally is because what's the difference between is the feeling that a created being has he feels the wondrousness of God how it's way beyond his own capacities. It causes him to feel an expiration of the soul. And therefore, there are different levels. Why are there different levels of that feeling? Because the the degree to which one will feel that yearning of going up and becoming one with Hashem is totally dependent on it's proportionate to the person's capacities of his will and his intellect and his emotions. So obviously someone who's a spiritual giant is going to have a more intense feeling of yearning to desire to want to become one with Hashem and somebody who's maybe spiritually numb maybe on a good day you'll have a little bit of a flash of that experience but it's not going to be as intense. So there's >> the soul >> expiration of the soul the expiration of the soul just means that you're sensitive to how Hashem really is the real existence and you want to be you want to leave behind your private existence. You want to be one with him. So people who feel that more people who who understand that more have a greater intensity for that. And it's obviously it's it's on a scale. Not everyone not everyone experiences that equally because it's just dependent on on your spiritual sensitivity. Okay. But in contrast of returning returning means get back down here into your body and do mitzvah. That's not from feeling the wondrous degree to which Hashem is beyond beyond. No, that's not that's not but rather it's the opposite. It's just accepting the yoke of heaven just submission. You want to do Hashem's will is by therefore it's equal by everyone. Remember we spoke about oh very good the the sockets the adonim the silver sockets shekele everyone gives rich or poor everyone gives the same amount because that is kabala soil when it comes to kabala soil everyone is kabala soil is kabala soil if you do it all artsy and you put your your special flare on it that's not kabala soil you could put your special flare on other things which you said the intellect and the emotions which correspond to the 10 amatl crushim very good you remember okay I feel good that you will remember from previous weeks. Okay, but cabalis if that's not where your personality is meant to shine. There are plenty of areas in Yiddish kite where your your special traits and talents are going to be expressed for sure. But kabalisil is not that part. Kabalisil is just be a soldier and just everyone is equal. All right? And that's what that's what means. It means a coin is a coin. Like if you say, "Oh, this is my family heirloom. This is my aunt Glattis's uh necklace. How much is this worth? I don't know. Go to 10 pawn shops, you're going to get 10 different answers. But you say this is a $10 bill. A $10 bill is a $10 bill. Okay. So that's kabalis. Kabalis is by Alam equal for all of the way just doubling down on this whole theme. The word mada which means coin is also related etmologically not entomologically. Entomologically is the study of insects. Etmologically the study of word origins shr like we call it in lushian kadesh. Madba coin is related to the word teavat nature. It's also a sandal company isn't it? Teava sandals. >> Birkenstock is goish. Teva. Teva is a Yeah, right. Isn't Teva a sandal company? >> It's a pharmaceutical company. They used to have I don't know. When I was like uh when I was your age, all the cool kids had tea sandals. I didn't. >> I wasn't cool. Please don't talk about it public. I don't want to be triggered right now. Where are the cool kids now? Yeah. Okay. So these two explanations of are connected a coin is legal tender and it has a set worth is it's not subject to the feeling of the person who uses it. Like I said before the family heirloom if you have a feeling for it it's worth more. If you don't it's worth less. It's totally relative. But currency, currency is worth currency. It's a set value. Nord is in quotes the calls it this is like a a nature result. It it it has to do with whatever the coin is made out of. And everyone will treat it as the same worth even though they themselves have all sorts of differences between them. Easy to pack, easy to wear. Is that sandals? You googled it. It still exists. Oh, David Google it. >> They should pay me sandals. That's and that's the great equalizer is and it comes from a recognition that Hashem wants to be here in the physical world. So you understand if we're talking about your desire to fly out of your body and go up and be one with Hashem, that has to do with your sensitivity to spirituality. And everyone has different degrees of that. Everyone's going to have that on a different level. But when you talk about obeying Hashem and going back into your body and and submitting to his order of the day and doing the mitzvah, that's the same. That's that's uniform. That's every Hey. Yeah. Middle of page 182nd column is and this is a classic. The Reba says the ultimate is a paradox. You know what you get when one PhD marries another PhD. A paradox. I by the way that's why I'm a paradox. I was born in which is Gemini which is contradiction which is that's why I'm very paradoxical and I am the result of a paradox because my parents Alam were both PhDs and that's why I am interesting. I'm using the euphemism. Okay. At any rate, so here's the paradox. says uniform be in your body submit to the yoke make that's settled that's equal everyone's the same in the physical world a spiritually sensitive everyone has different levels you want to leave the body you want to go up you want to fly out of here completely the opposite ma is is the amalgamation of two opposites in one paradox. Pretty cool because we said is also a paradox is covering. Covet is glory. You cover in order to have glory. There's another paradox. The grounding that comes from flying out. I love paradoxes. Yeah. So that's the ultimate. Where are we on? Okay. When you're talking about the nature of people when you do something with feeling because you feel it, you sense that it's important. So you do it with greater passion, with greater fire so to speak. And that's by the way why we say that um that is called a because it's that feeling of you're sensitive to the importance of it and so you have a greater desire for it. [laughter] What? Yeah. an Indian. But when you do something out of submission to the yoke of heaven, you don't have a a means passion or a vitality. You just do it. You just do it. We're going to have the best of both worlds. I'm going to have my cake and eat it, too. both together should be the coin which is acceptance of the yoke of heaven discipline don't be fancy just do what you're told at the same time nevertheless should have the passion the excitement that how do you manage that that the excitement shouldn't be in what excites you the excitement should be in receiving the yoke of the kingdom of heaven. So you know some people say I'm spiritually excited and I want to serve Hashem because it's so meaningful to me. But they lack discipline. I know guys like that. >> Inspired. >> That doesn't last. >> Right. Those are the guys who wear white sneakers very commonly. By the way, I've just noticed that trend. it >> white basketball shoes. >> I'm not saying it's a onetoone, but I'm just say I've noticed that people who get very inspired often wear white basketball shoes. That's just my observation. >> People wear tough sandals. [gasps] Those are the cool kids in the '9s. >> Those are the grounded ones. Yes. Anyways, don't distract me. Some people know how to get all excited and they wear the basketball shoes, by the way, so they can dance. >> [sighs] >> They also carry around water bottles with them. And if you understand the way of the world, you understand the connection. I'm not going into it. >> They get very excited, but they're not so great with discipline. They don't wake up for srishma. Then there are other people, they're very grounded, very by the book, but they they lack excitement. They don't get passionate. >> We're not going to say that. I You said I didn't say that. I didn't say. Okay. I did not say that. Strike that from the record. >> The deba says we want both. Which one should I be? Be both. Be excited about kabalas. Ultimate paradox. That's cool stuff. V. [sighs] Get ready. Going to have to flip the page. So, how do you pull it off? How do you manage to have this paradox from the power of a created being? You can't pull it off. But it comes from the revelation of Hashem who is above um limitations. He can carry he can tolerate opposites. We spoke about before remember that Hashem transcends [snorts] all limitations. Spoke about the remember we spoke about that. Okay. So Hashem is not contained by these categories. That's what it means that the is fiery coin from underneath the throne of glory. Where do you get the paradox of which is discipline and uniformity together with a which is excitement and passion. How do you manage that? You pull it out from underneath the throne of glory. is which is after all what we said before the beginning of revelation above that is stuff that is too high for revelation and therefore doesn't elicit any reaction in us is the beginning of revelation meaning it's just concealed enough that we can experience it as a revelation is. Now more specifically when we talk about the nishama itself is the level of the soul which is the essence which is what we call hune from beneath the throne of glory and it has within it a spark of the creator and that's what makes possible the mada shall a that that connection that inherent connection that the soul as to the creator. Zion. Now we're going to understand how showing a fiery coin was the answer to his being perplexed about how this is going to serve as an atonement. Because the effect of sin, even the worst sin, you know what the worst sin is in history? The sin of the golden calf. But sins only affect the level we call the revealed part of the soul. But the essence of the soul remains pristine, untouchable, uncorruptible. Even at the time of sin, it remains faithful to Hashem. You know where that lash is from? Yeah, but >> but but that doesn't affect the Yeah, you're right. We said that the brought back the effect of the You're right. We did say that. But all of that's in the level of giloim the level of which we also call cannot be affected by that. That's how cap works. That's what >> what >> on the deepest level where the nishama is one with Hashem that part like we say you said oh come here help me with the with the migilla because that was your like no come into the mic come say it say it for us >> no do the rest >> I don't know what's next >> it's the end of a what's the beginning of the puk on Shabas. Every time I would say a few words of the migilla, you would rattle off the whole rest of the the migilla. And now now I'm putting him on camera and he can't pull it off. You said is a beautiful bala of the migilla. >> Accurate that well to me accuracy is beautiful. A lot of people swallow words. Even really good people, they swallow words. They slur words and their trop is good. But the the cutting of the words is not Yeah. Is it really what you saw does not miss a letter? Yeah. He's a very good bala from McGill. Okay. Um so the the essence of the soul even at the time of sin is one with Hashem remains faithful to it's a crazy concept. The person is sinning. So there are parts of the person that are being shlept into spiritual dirt. But the nephesh remains at one with Hashem the whole time because it's unassalable. It can't be affected by sin. when you reach to that level of from under the which we said is the level of so what happens is you're taking and you're bringing it into giloim that's a lot of Hebrew words you're taking the essence of the soul which is normally nonexpressed because essence is just there just is and you're pulling it into the world of giloy of revelation of that which not just is but that which does function performance action and then there's aap means atonement but it also means wiping clean. It wipes away all of the blemishes and even more so it makes the person desirable before Hashem as he was before the sin. >> Yeah. [clears throat] >> Yeah. [snorts] >> Wiping is the surface. >> Okay. Is makes a point that the wiping is only the surface which shows you that the blemish was all along only surface level. Very good. So the point is like this is this paradox of the which is at one with Hashem at all times and it comes from underneath the throne of glory which means the highest level the beginning of revelation and the reason it serves as atonement cap is because this is how the mechanics of atonement work. By the way, the word atonement in English is actually etmologically pristine, perfect, impeccable. Atonement is actually at onement. That's it is it's [clears throat] not just a backronym type of like retrofit. It actually Yeah. Well, it's the level of the essence of the soul which is one with Hashem. So when you return to that level or more accurately here, it's not saying you go to that level, but that level comes out in your the way you're you express yourself. So then all of the damage that happened on the external levels becomes wiped away. So that's why it can be an atonement. So in answer to Mosha's being perplexed, how is this going to affect an atonement? So it's not about how much the coin was shak whatever. It's not about the value. It's not about how much it is. So and and you could buy atonement for $100 for 50 cents. It doesn't make sense, but it doesn't make sense for for for and if if they'll say a million dollars. Oh, now it makes sense. It's not about the the amount. It's about the paradox mbea sh the and the yearning to be one with Hashem and leave this world and the returning to be a soldier in the world and that that paradox comes from the essence of the soul and when the essence of the soul is revealed on the external layers of the soul then all the damage to the external layers of the soul are wiped clean. Okay. Bottom of first column of page 181. [sighs and snorts] Now with that understanding of the half shackle these spiritual concepts we just explained now we're going to also understand some of the some of the practical laws about everything in is consistent with everything inhat and everything inhat is consistent with sid it's all one when you understand the spiritual you understand the literal and vice versa. Okay. Yes. Yeah. Said that is the law of the rich person shouldn't give more. The poor person shouldn't give less. If he's rich, why not increase since with the shackle they bought communal offerings and we know there's a law about offerings that a rich person who buys a poor person's offering is not fulfilling the mitzvah. So therefore, why shouldn't the rich person give more? The shak fund is buying communal offerings. When it comes to offerings, if a rich person gives less than he's capable of giving, he's he's not even doing the mitzvah. So why shouldn't he give more? He doesn't, but he doesn't give more. So why why is but according to what we explained now it's understood the difference between rich and poor is in the revealed capacities. But in the level of the what's higher than giloyim the um the the the internal kis and how much more so the essential aspect of the soul well there there's no rich and poor rather like it says in pedigog of that they all fit with each other they're all interconnected and they all have one father So if there's something that we're doing to express our essence, then everyone's going to do it the same. So that's why the rich doesn't increase because expresses the essence. When it comes to the essence, every single Jew is equal. So when we say a Jew is a Jew is a Jew is a Jew, we're not fooling ourselves in saying in levels of gilly and where you reveal your talents and your special abilities that everyone's the same. We know there are people who are more into and people who are more into and there's different generations have different emphases. Of course those parts are different but the basic underlying connection with Hashem that is equal for every single Jew. I you mention with people and uh he didn't speak English and it was I guess there were a bunch of Americans on the plane was either coming from New York to Israel or coming from Israel to New York. [snorts] So he goes over to this guy and he's holding his fill and he says yuilm. That's how he explained it. >> It's true. >> And it's true. That's what it is. We're all the same. And that's what it means that you express the inalis oil. I put on film, you put on film. There's no difference. There's literally no difference. We're all the same. And that's what mak is. It's the same amount. Everyone just does the same thing. Okay. levels in the shamas is all in gillium like it talks about pedic right but it's a it's an interesting thing it says the higher in the shamas and loweras but ultimately they all come from the same level so then how does that so it says that as it as it comes down into this world through you you end up with different levels meaning different different nishamas are affected differently by that descent into a body but if you trace it to the source then they're all the same. They're all the same like it says in pedagog base. Okay. [sighs] Where are we up to? So we're doing the laws of mak as they reflect the spiritual truths. So the first thing is everyone gives the same amount because it's an expression of the shama which is the same by every single Jew. Um yeah base Hutman Gaddaf, you have to give silver and not the equivalent. Don't come in and say, "Uh, how much can you evaluate my my car?" No, I'm not taking cars. Silver, please. while because since it's expressing the essence of the soul, it has to be the thing that is equal for everyone. Meaning equally acceptable. That's what we said. Currency is you can spend it the same everywhere. Okay. So the reason it has to be money and not some barter type thing where you take it to the pawn shop we were talking about before because that's subjective and that's different and that has different values at different times in different places. But here we're talking about the expression of the nama that's going to have equal value everywhere at all times. What? >> Cross the board. Okay. Unitkain corbinous. We said before that the money that was collected from the half shackle was used for the funds to buy communal offerings like uh the timid every day. In private personal offerings there are different levels and a rich person who brings a poor man's offering is not even doing the mitzvah but communal offerings is that represents the oneness of the Jewish people which are all one entity together. So therefore, everyone gives the same because it's representing the the equality of the shama of every single Jew. If it's if it's a corbin, if it's your personal corbin, yeah, then you have to give fitting to your personal situation. But if it's a corbin, which represents the oneness of the Jewish people, then dava, everyone gives the same. Shakutmanka also from Shak they made the silver sockets that's in the midbar I mean later on they took mak shakle for cobist as well but in the in the mishkun in the midbar they took the maka shakle to use for remember we said in para that there were three different uh maka shako collections or three different trumis rather I'm sorry Um, so two of the tumis were Makashako. One was for Adna Mishkan, the other was Corbinist. At any rate, so we're talking about the ones that were for Ada Mishkan for the sockets, the silver sockets that served as the base of the Mishkan, not the curtains and not the planks. When it came to the other parts of the Michigan like the curtains and the planks, everyone would donate as much as he was personally moved to give because we mentioned it in par that those parts of the mishk represent the parts of the person which makes each one of us different. So everyone's going to give differently but the silver sockets the base the foundation is that represents the acceptance of the yoke of heaven now after the destruction of the basd where we don't have corbonist to the communal offerings. So we give symbolically by giving charity. You can give it any time but specifically a good time to give is in the morning before davening like it says about Rabbi Alzar in the Gumar. He would give a coin to a poor person and then he would turn around and pray is so what's the connection between davening and connected was established to correspond to the communal offerings to the the the sacrifices which specifically which sacrifices the communal offerings That's the first thing based is the foundation of the day. That's why you d in the in the morning. It's the beginning of the whole service of the day. And it's supposed to consume you to the point of ringing out the soul. Colossian like the says and therefore we understand the connection of to prayer because the expression of all of your life force explains in Tanya especially that money you earn it from working and working sometimes at least at some moments you put your heart and soul into it and then you take that money, you spend it on you're taking your heart and soul and you're pouring it out into a mitzvah. And similarly, you're supposed to you're pouring out your heart and soul. So, and stuck are connected in that they both are just pouring out your heart and soul. Okay. By the way, you with us, huh? Okay. So just like with we spoke about the fusion of the paradox. So we have a similar fusion of the paradox in means you give your money away to a poor man. Now earning money is compared to fire. Why? Kent because either you had to work hard to uh to uh make the money or you ha you have the ability to buy needs of your physical body for the uh with the money. So money represents a uh an investment of hard work. Either you worked hard to earn it, you invested your your your your energy, or even like let's say you're you're independently wealthy, so you didn't invest energy into earning it, but you could have bought needs that take care of yourself. And then when you give that away, so that's that's what's actually being transferred. And therefore, when you're giving it away, there's an automatic passion. There's an automatic energy transfer. [snorts] You're giving it to a poor man who doesn't have Fore says the very interesting if it's true to in its truest form Then literally the poor man has nothing. What does it mean he has nothing? Not just he doesn't have money cuz and therefore you give him money but he doesn't have any redeeming qualities that would serve as a reason or a rationale to give him because if he had some reason to motivate the donor to give then it's not pure charity because then you're giving him for a reason. He's he deserves the gift. But saddaka, pure tdaka in its purest form is kabalis. You do it because you're accepting the yoke of heaven. So if there's some quality about the poor man that sort of motivates you to want to give to him, okay, so then that's uh that's that's your personal feeling. But if there's no reason to do it other than than the mitzvah, that's the pure mitzvah. That's so and that is again that paradox of of he takes a which means passion and he turns it into mbea which we said before is submission to the yoke of heaven. Again that paradox that usually a excitement sort of conotes more my personal expression what I like and do my own thing and mba is discipline you do the norm you do what's what's uniformly required of everybody and usually the two are very separate but giving sodaka is again that unification of the two opposite I was calling for for you about five minutes ago I needed You know why? Thank you. But when you give to Dhaka, you're combining the passion of a meaning because you had to work hard to make the money or you had to or you could have spent the money on yourself and you're putting it into the cabalis of mba of a coin because you're just doing it because it's a mitzvah, not cuz you feel like it. So you have that paradox. Yeah. Um as even more than that, not just you have both Kabala soil and herish that the it's more than that. The cabalis oil is with her. Because when you give soda, you don't just give it here, take it, get out of here. You're supposed to appease the poor person. You're supposed to give him words of encouragement. And that means he's supposed to put a little bit of sensitivity into it, a little bit of personality. But the feeling you're putting into it is not a natural reflection of the feeling the person elicits in you. You're not being nice to him because there's something about him that makes you feel like being nice. You're being nice because that's the job. Acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of heaven requires not just give him the money but give it to him nicely and make him feel good. So it's the ultimate unification of these two opposites of discipline and feeling which are normally two separate worlds. That's why we call it for two reasons. You're giving away your energy, but you're doing it because that's the job. But an even higher level, the acceptance of the yoke of heaven itself is done passionately. [snorts] Almost done with the first flickered. Did you see it? >> You saw it before. Why is it flickering? You don't know. Maybe the connection isn't strong. Okay. Canal. And since like we said before that fusing the two opposites is [clears throat] only because of the atum the the the essence of the soul which is one with Hashem and which is above limitation and therefore transcends these these categories. That's why it can be an atonement. That's why your sins you will redeem with is an atonement for all sins. Even the worst sin, the sin of the golden calf, which we said is a reiteration of the sin of the tree of knowledge, which caused the toart through we atone and reinstate our desiraability before the king. Meaning we see the king's face and that causes the reinstatement of the dwelling amongst us. It says make dwell within you within each and every individual one of you. That's a from parcolum. It wasn't kisa. It was from Parishum but Scholm is from Kissa Zen summary. Now you're here to tell me summary. I needed you a bunch of times and you were nowhere to be found and now when it's time for you to tell me it all worked out. Took care of it. The thing that I needed you to do, you'll tell me later how you did it. Okay, fine. Good. [sighs] Summary. Um, Hashem told Misha, "This is what you should give. Why this?" The Shami says he literally showed him this. He showed him the mat because it didn't make sense. What didn't make sense? I mean, why is that so abstract? Uh, what didn't make sense is how it could be an atonement. So, we explain how is MB an atonement because MBA is inherently a paradox. Matta and a are opposites. Ma means you do what you do because that's what you do. Ah means with excitement. So means the combination of the two and that can only be through the expression of the essence of the soul which transcends all these divisions of the atonement because atonement is the revelation of the essence of the soul. My laptop is going to die. Take the charger for me please sir. Please sir. Uh, no. Why? Why should you answer the call? No. My phone rings all day. We can't answer every call. [sighs] Here, let's put the Let's put the laptop over here. No, over here. All right. Excellent. All right. Got it. All right. I'm going to say a little here. I'm going to take a minute of breather. I'm exhausted. It's 12:03 already. It's not my fault. >> You're looking all nervous. I pick up on your energy severely. You sort of I can tell your pacing and stuff. I can tell it makes me nervous. It stuffs up the uh the flow. I can't get in my flow state when you're nervous. When you're visibly nervous, palpably nervous. How [sighs] you doing? What? Table had a baby. I know we announced [clears throat] it already. Okay. Ah, [sighs] are you ready for the second sikha? Let's bust it out. So, you're implicitly urging me. I don't appreciate the rushing you throw. And see what happens when you rush. Okay. Page 183, middle of the page. Or not really middle of the page, but first column. CIF Yolif. Y Olive. All right. [sighs] Yes, please. In through the nose, out through the mouth. [sighs] And if you come, by the way, I said anyone who comes here can have a copy of the four cups. Agada, you here. Shabas, >> did you ever leave? You left and came back or you've been here the whole time? >> Okay. Well, you saw the Tean Tanya. Yeah, this is a Tanya was printed in Tehran right before the revolution 1978. Here, show them. Okay. >> What? >> It was No, but look on the back. Look on the back. >> Back. Back on the plastic. Yeah. Yeah. Hell lammed. It's our uh All right. Amazing. You want You want to come on camera for a minute? Just grab a chair. Just grab a chair. Okay. Okay. Okay. Cuz we're just doing We're doing a little intermission between sas here. Just grab a chair and come sit with with me for just one one minute. Okay. >> Okay. I just want you to talk about 30 letters in 30 days. Just just for for a minute. Just for a minute. Okay. Go ahead. Go ahead. Tell who are you? >> Okay. So, >> go ahead. >> My name is uh Yaz in France and uh what do you want me to tell about uh 30 letters? >> What should I say? And so what do you have? >> So um 30 letters in 30 days is a project. >> Say in French so classic. >> Uhhuh. [laughter] By the way, you said it right yesterday. >> You said Yeah, that was the right way to say it. Um so [clears throat] it was started in 2022. Um it's it's I guess it's every year it's a it's on one right >> most most of the year from one >> and and this year it's because it's it's uh they translated the the volume 12 was translated so it's a way to discover it by the way when I was a baker they tell me translated um many many letters and it was very similar to this project. So um and I worked on it for the VAD um so yeah is part of the raster that tells us not what to think but how to think. So that's one of the things I learned from you and um as many other classes that you made I uh I try to teach it in uh in French and uh to share it with people and it's also I mean it's mainly we're learning uh those letters because uh's birthday is coming up soon and in order to prepare and to give a a gift to the Rebe because the Rebe asked pretty clearly that the way to the the way to give him a gift was by learning some to and what is the best way to learn to learn the to that he that he taught. So um Kadesh is a very special to us. >> I'm giving a class every night 10 p.m. live streaming in a different letter from Goodbase volume 12 of Kadesh. It's a 30-minute class. Last night was 38 minutes but I try to keep it to 30 minutes. Now, if somebody knows French and they want to watch the same letter being taught but in French. >> Yeah. Or somebody who knows English but he has a friend who knows French. >> Okay. >> So, he can he can he can send them the the classes in in French on my YouTube channel which is inspiration inspir Jewish inspiration. And um yeah, my classes are shorter. I don't know why, but [laughter] my classes are like 20 20 to 30 minutes. All right. This is one of my favorite by the way. >> Yeah. >> This is You should I think you should make a You should make like a >> clip. >> Yeah. Like make two videos cuz it's like >> Yeah. >> I'm I'm very happy to be here to hear it from you. This one especially. >> Let's do it. >> Okay. Shakaya. So that's all right. You heard it here at the Soul Words House. If you, by the way, be a good way to learn French. If you want to learn French, you watch my class and then watch the French version and you'll like recognize certain words. Okay. Scooch back a little bit. Okay. Fine. All right. All right. Well, that was fun. All right. Page 183. Top of the se of the first column. Okay, this is not the para. It is the haftra means the reading from the prophets that's read after the Torah reading. And not getting into the whole history of when and where that started, but there is a custom for centuries and millennia among the Jewish people that after on Shabas after the communal reading of the Torah portion where we finish the entire Torah every year, um we read a selection from the prophets from the Naveim. And the Torah portion always has or the Ha Torah always has a connection thematically with the Torah portion. Obviously in parasis the Agel the sin of the golden calf is a big theme of the of the Torah portion. Similarly in Haft Torah it's talking about an unfortunate incident that occurred with mass idolatry um a later event that happened um in the land of Israel and Alio Elijah the prophet was the one who was fighting against it. Okay. So that's the connection why that haftra is connected this para. So at any rate we read in haftra about what did at the time of a calamity interesting that this calamity came about. Theba says like every calamity comes from a confusion of world views and uh and the confusion of minds. It's very interesting. Every crisis ultimately begins from people being confused. Such an interesting concept. Like by the time you're seeing this happened, that happened in the news, that's already like the outer expression of it. But where does it begin? It begins when people start thinking in a crooked way. And we're going to explain what exactly was happening there. Okay. Um So, Elio gathered up all of the prophets of the Bal. That's a false god, an idol that was popular at that time. And they were gaining traction at that time. They were attracting people to their cult. So Iloilo gathered them and all of the Jewish people and he said to them, "Until when for how long will you jump between the branches literally?" Or if you'll say it in maybe fancy English, how long are you going to vacasillate? Are you going to waffle? Are you going to be wishy-washy? Pick a lane and stick to it. Rabbi asked a very simple question. Seemingly, why does he say, "How long are you going to jump between the branches?" Seemingly, he should have said, "How long you GOING TO WORSHIP THE BAL?" Cut that out. It's high time to stop worshiping this idol and start saying hashem by the way we say at the end of yimra at the end of nila but where does that originate from from this haftra from this story that after spoiler alert but the story is thousands of years old so you should probably apologize if this ruins the climax for you but in the end they see that god is the true god AND EVERYONE SAYS HASHEM WHO like a triumphant thing of clarity. God is the real God. Okay. So, the Reb asked a very simple question. Why does Ilo say stop jumping between two branches? Pick pick a side. Ilio should have said, "Will you stop worshiping Bal and start worshiping God?" By the way, I I noticed I'm sorry for this whole commentary. It's going to make me so even more nervous, but I noticed the weirdest thing. And probably I should stay off of social media, especially toxic platforms like X, but do you know the anti-semmites are obsessed? I don't know in French. I don't know. Do you look at English Twitter? But maybe this isn't, but do you know the anti-semites are obsessed with a conspiracy theory that the Jews are ball worshippers? Yeah. It's like a very common trope. It's a You've seen this? >> Yeah. Yeah. It's a big thing. The Jews are worshiping >> Bth, >> right? The Rothschilds are Bal worshippers. Okay, I'm not going to debate with anti-semites. I that's not my thing. I just among friends here. I think it's fascinating how whatever is the opposite of us is what they accuse us of. So yeah, we're pretty much anti-bal. About as antibal as you can get. In fact, probably the opposite of Judaism would be Bal worship. And it has been for thousands of years. JFYI. Okay, just to establish that. If that's confusing you, if like the Jews are for Bal or against Bal, if that part is like difficult for you, yeah, that's a there probably other issues that are going to be even more challenging for you cuz they're like more nuanced. Like this is not nuanced at all. It's pretty uh it's about as black and white as you can get. Judaism anti-bal like there's nothing good about it. There's nothing Yeah, we're very opposed to it to the utmost level of being you. We could not be opposed to anything more than we are we are opposed to idol worship in general but particularly Bal because it was a unfortunately I mean I'm gonna going to say the truth it was an idol that did make inroads and historically there were problems of people being led astray. Um it was highly problematic and there's a lot of stories in the Torah about how the leaders of the Jewish people had to stand up and and cut that stuff off and this is one of those stories. Okay, just wanted to establish that. And this is going to really do some funny stuff to my algorithm and I hope I won't get weird comments in the comment section. Okay, just going to have another sip of coffee. So says the rabbit, let's explain the difference between idol worship and waffling. How do you say uh what is it? Um what is it in French? Wait, hold on. Frenches and uh waffling. >> Jumping back for >> you. But not the literal like how would you say like stop being wishy-washy? Make up your mind like be straight like pick >> pick a side. Vasillating >> unstable. >> Unstable. Ideologically unstable. Like you you just you don't have a word for it. >> Okay. Think about it. You got to tell me what in in French how you going to say. Okay. So first of all, we don't even understand how could a Jew end up worshiping idols. Jews are believers, the children of believers. [snorts] They have no connection to to uh denial of Hashem. God forbid. So how does it even happen? We're going to understand it in accordance with the explains. The dam explains that idolatry began from a misunderstanding of reality. The influence that comes from heaven to the physical world translates into all the type of you know bounty and and uh good things it funnels through the constellations. That's true. That part is true. It it it funneled through the constellations. But the the mistake they made was they deferred to they gave honor to these constellations in order to elicit more influence from the stars. Now, the truth is that although the flow of energy does pass through these constellations, that part is true. It's real. But they're nothing more than than the axe in the hand of the wood chopper. They're just a tool. And therefore, they do not deserve any honor. And it's foolish to try to curry favor with them by serving them because they have no say in it. They are not in control. They're just the delivery system. Now this explains what's the difference between parents what you're supposed to honor your parents. It's a mitzvah. It's one of the ten commandments. and the constellations which you're not supposed to honor is with the constellations. Not only you're not supposed to give them honor, it's actually a grave sin to give them honor. What's the difference with between your parents and and the stars? [laughter] Because your parents have free will. They didn't have to get married. They didn't have to have children. They have free will. So now that they chose to have you, you should give them honor. But the stars have no free will. They just do what they do. They're just automated. So it would be silly to to give them any type of honor or to try to form any type of relationship with them. >> What is the word? >> Oh, indecision. >> And indecision. Indecision. >> Uhhuh. [clears throat] >> On DC. Okay. France. Okay. We're learning French over here. ations. That is from one of the gravest sins like says that anyone who denies idols is as if he acknowledges the whole that's saying it in the positive way. So the reason they served idols is because according to their faulty understanding it would elicit more goodies. It was based on self-interest, ulterior motives. They thought if we'll serve this idol, we'll get better stuff. We'll get better treatment, better customer service. And that's how Yidden who really are believers, children are believers. And it's totally unnatural for them and totally out of character for them to fall into a zor. But the way they do is because they start to falsely believe it'll have a better payoff. They don't actually serve the idol uh altruistically. It always originates from an an ulterior motive. They serve the idol because they think it will be more expedient for them. So in other words, idolatry always begins with some degree of selfishness where you're like, "Hey, if I'll get better treatment from this idol than I do from God, so I'll serve the idol. I'll get better treatment." Now, just in contrast, this that we serve Hashem is not because we're going to get the best treatment from him and he takes care of all of our needs. No. is but rather because we are totally dedicated to Hashem with a full heart. In fact, we are dedicated to Hashem in a way not for the expectation of receiving a reward. We serve Hashem because we serve Hashem. Reward is uh incidental. in order to but idol idol worship is always about the payoff. Okay, so that's the thing. Idol worship is about the payoff. Serving Hashem is about the relationship. And that's why What's up? Okay. So, you need the charger. Okay. And that's why they served the bow in that time like it says that ever since we stopped, we've lacked everything. Meaning in their faulty estimation, they said, "Oh, we better serve this ball again because when you do, you get better crops. It's good for you." Okay, so that's the thing. The whole thing is about selfishness. It's about ulterior motives. It's about this faulty belief that if I'll serve the idol, I'll get better treatment. That's where it comes from. Okay. Gimmel. Yeah. You with me? Yeah. Hagam. Yeah. Now although we say that a person serves idols because of the benefits that he thinks he's going to get, there are two approaches to that. There's straight idol worship and then there is onesy indecision vacasillating. I think I still think look up vacasillating in French. >> Vas. >> Vaselating. V A. It's a Latin root, so it's got to have a French cognate. Vaselating. V A S C. >> Oh, >> how do you say it? >> Vasier. >> It's very fancy, archaic. Okay. Nobody in English. No one says vacasillating either. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Okay. So, it's about the same. So, there are two different ways of god forbid having a relationship with with idol idol worship. One is straight up idol worship. He's an idol worshiper. That's what he is. He's an idol worshipper. The other is >> vasier >> vacasillating. Okay. Gonna have French lessons here afterwards. So our our monami my friend over here says to me it's giving me trouble. He says, "How does this how does this fit with how does it align with this that we tell people all the time?" Listen, don't it doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can >> what? >> You don't have to be perfect, >> right? You don't have to be perfect. It just start to do good things. And even learning, which is seemingly a very lofty thing, even if you're imperfect, you could start, right? Okay. So, as the Sikh is going on to explain, the problem with the vacasillation is not just that he's wishy-washy, he's inconsistent. It's that he makes a costbenefit analysis. What I think is going to work better for me. So, at one moment he's like, "This is going to work better for me." And the next moment say, "You know what? Let me switch up sides and see if that works better." That's terrible because that creates deep confusion. But if you tell somebody, listen, I know that you're in principle, you believe that Yiddishkite is good, but just you're not there yet. Maybe because it's new for you, maybe because you're you're afraid. Okay. So, do what you can do now. >> But in attitude, in theory, like you you're accepting that this this is this is the truth. That's very different than saying to somebody, listen, try it one way and when that stops working, jump over to Yiddish Kite and milk that and then when that stops working for you the way, you know, giving you the selfish payoffs you want, then jump to the other and just, you know, keep switching back and forth and just game the system as much as you can, just milk either side until you get that would be terrible advice. But what we tell people is do what you can do now. It's not about what's working better for you. It's not about what's paying off for you. It's about this is the right thing so do as much of it as you can do. You're gonna see here in the the main problem with the jumping back and forth is is the selfishness of it. It's the calculation of what can I do to get the best payoff for myself. Okay. So let let's look here. Um yeah. So means is mis gash. There's a certain sincerity to the idol worship, regular idol worship. He's wrong, but he sincerely believes it will work for him, that it will pay out. Vasillating, jumping between branches. He doesn't have that sincerity. He doesn't have that. He's a little bit more cynical. He's in doubt. And there are people who are constantly in doubt. Not just waves of doubt, but that's their default is doubt. Is from time to time they realize that the idolatry is totally without substance. And then there's another level or aspect of this. He believes in both. Okay. So we we said three basically three things. One is straight up he believes that it works. He's wrong but that's what he believes. Okay. He believes it'll pay off for him. Then we said is basically doubt. He's he doesn't he's not sure it'll work for him. He's basically hedging his bets is how we say it in English. He's hedging his bets and but he from time to time he even realizes that there's no substance to the order. And then there's another if I'm vacasillating where it's what this is a very technical theological term but it's called shito which means partnership which means he believes in God but he also believes that God created a system through which the bounty reaches us and therefore you have to sort of like you have to grease the bills and if you don't get responses from one area, so you you get it from another, you know, you just keep calling until you get the the phone rep who's going to help you. Okay? But you know who the CEO is. The CEO is God. But you just keep calling the different phone reps till you get whatever you want. But the truth is either of these two cases, serving out of hedging your bets or serving because you think it's the system that Hashem put into place. Even if it's done totally cynically where he's just doing it or he's saying it but he doesn't fully believe it is it's still a terribly egregious sin is and like it says in that will give his life not to do that not to do what? not to even pay lip service to an even if down deep in your heart you know that the whole thing has no substance. Okay. [sighs] Now, we're gonna understand how in many ways vacasillating between two sides is worse than being a consistent all the time idol worshipper. It's counterintuitive. You would think at least half the time this guy's, you know, like they said, what a broken clock is right twice a day. So, the guy flips back and forth. At least when he's serving Hashem, he's serving Hashem. No, we say in some ways it's even worse. just it would have been better just pick a side and we're going to explain how that is. Okay, the anti-semites are going to post rabbi says worship the Okay, let's context. Let's explain it. Okay. Orbin, I'm sorry. Even though serving idols consistently is worse because then he is far. He's in a in a debased state at all times and he's denying God at all times. But when it comes to chuva correcting his path is the one who bounces back and forth is actually going to have a harder time to do toua to rectify it to return because it's harder for the person who bounced back and forth to actually do real touva. France. There's two details to that. You understand the actual actions. It's worse obviously to serve idols all the time. But as far as the likelihood of effective repentance, it's going to actually be worse if the person is bouncing back and forth between the two. And then is going to break it down and explain. Olaf fil a person who believed in the idol. But now he realizes that Hashem, who elim, God is Hashem, only Hashem. He realizes he made a bitter mistake and he recognizes how bad the sin is that he did. And as a result, he's going to do it to Shova and he will repent and be healed. Again, in contrast from the vacasillator [snorts] since he also believes in hem even later, he doesn't fully sense how bad his sin was. He thinks, "What did I do that was so bad?" I didn't totally believe it. I had doubts the whole time. I'm like every I'm deep down. I'm a m I was even a m a believer. I was even a believer at the time. I was sinning. Therefore, his regret will not be complete and accordingly his tasha will not be complete because he rationalizes that his idolatry wasn't so bad. I I never really fully bought into it. I I I always kind of knew it was fake and and that's why, you know, uh the whole time even I was deep down connected to Hashem. And by the way, it's interesting because in the previous we said that concept of even when a yid sins, he's deep down connected to Hashem and the level of that's true. That concept is true. But this is a misuse of that concept. This is an important concept in this in general. Just because something is true doesn't mean that every iteration of it is helpful. [laughter] It's true that even when you sin yours and is one with Hashem, but that has its applications here. It's being this is a misapplication. He's using it to rationalize that his sin wasn't as bad as it looks. And therefore accordingly his chuva is never going to be completely sincere. Okay. Base another detail of why vacasillating could be even worse than than being just a pure idol worshipper. Base is A person who doesn't do that, we said before is he knows that God is the God of all gods, but then he thinks there's a system that God made and you're supposed to grease the wheels with the different intermediaries. But that's guy doesn't do. He does straight up. He thinks Bal is the ultimate. He thinks Bal is God. Okay, that guy is totally messed up. as now he's totally cut off from God because he's worshiping idols, but he does appreciate spirituality. He understands I mean he's totally messing it up, but he he is a spiritual person. >> [laughter] >> Ironically, but a person who is jumping back and forth and he's doing it what we call the the the type of idolatry. It's called where he says, "Hashem is the ultimate god that I know. I'm not mistaken about that. I just know that Hashem has intermediaries and middle management and I want to curry favor with them to get better service. This guy not only he has no connection to the real Hashem and hence he worships Shito but he actually shows he's not even a spiritual guy. You understand the pure idol worshipper at least he's spiritual. This guy's not spiritual. He's a materialist. What's the proof? He knows that Hashem is the ultimate God is nevertheless. God forbid he could switch worship of God. So, he could switch that for what he thinks will be better material payouts of like the word of the prophets, the wording of the prophets exchanging living water, wellsp springs of living water for broken sistns. It's a metaphor for idolatry. You have the wellsp springs, the fresh water that's limitless. And what did you do? You switched it for sistns, which is not living water. It's collected water. And then it's not even good sistns. It's broken sistns. That's what's so egregious about idol worship. You had the real deal. Like someone who had he didn't have the real deal. Okay. But you had the real deal. You had Hashem and you switched that for for for idolatry. So pathetic, right? So this guy he he who worships in a manner of shito where he says I know Hashem is the ultimate god but if you want better customer service you got to go to middle management. So he does a little shito there. So that guy is really really messed up because he knows that Hashem is the ultimate god but if he thinks it'll get him better material bounty he's ready to go and worship idols. That's really pathetic. A guy who's just a regular straight idol worshipper because he cares about spirituality. He is spiritually sensitive after all. So when he realizes his error, he'll do chv and he'll go back to only serving Hashem. But in contrast, the vasillator, he's not thinking spiritually. He's thinking materially. Even when he realizes the truth that the material only comes from hemis, he still won't do true to Hashem. Dash says he'll only do it for the materiality. In other words, he says, "Oh, I thought all along that I would get better material bounty by dabbling in a little idolatry here and there. Now I realize that you know what's even the best way to get my material needs met? Pure service of Hashem. Let me switch that. Let me switch over to that. Back to that." So, he's not really switching back to serving Hashem. He's just figuring out that that's going to be better for him. He's just doing it for ulterior motives. So, he didn't really return to Hashem. He's just changing up his his his game in order to get better treatment. >> Winner picker. >> Winner picker. Is that a term? >> Yeah. >> Winner picker. >> I'm a Patriots fan. >> Yeah. When since the Super Bowl, I follow Tom Brady. So, that means I'm a Buccaneers fan. Even though you're a Patriots fan, >> it's called a winner picker. >> Yeah. Fickle. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Stay loyal. That's right. Like a Cubs fan like me. I'm from Chicago. Cubs fan. You don't know what that is, do you? We have teams, you know, like soccer. Okay. There's other sports other than soccer. And >> the real football, >> right? So, some of these teams are perpetually. I mentioned the Rebbitson used to ask Dr. Weiss about the Cubs. Yes, >> I checked. >> Okay. Yes. The Reb because Dr. Weiss is from Chicago. The Rebbitson used to to tell him, "Oh, the Cubs won." The Cubs are like, it's a joke, but it's not a joke. They were like cursed. Like the worst team, >> never. Okay. But then they did later, but some people say it messed up the whole timeline when they finally won. But for a hundred years, they didn't win. And the point is, if you're a loyal fan, you're a loyal fan. That's it. You don't jump over when you think that a team is hot. Okay. >> Right. Being a Jets fan. Really? That's Yeah. Very good. Yeah. Yeah. If you have to be a a football fan, so a Jets fan, that'll make you a panini. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. Where are we up to? Um, >> tv. No, no, >> no. Hold on. >> Tazv, where is it? Oh, at the very top. At the very, very top. Okay. It's all about him. Oh, no. This is this is how you read it. Everything we just said is talking about the person. There's another element to how the vacasillator is worse than the pure straight up idol worshipper. And that is about his relationship with others. Person who worships idols. No other Jew is going to learn from him [snorts] because everyone knows this guy is a blaspher. So no one's going to do business with him. meaning no one no one no one deals with this guy. He's a he's a pariah. But the vacasillator, he says, "Oh, this guy, he's he's one of us. He's also a practicing Jew." I mean half the time is so he is one who makes the makes the many sin and someone who makes the many the multitude sin is one of the most severe transgressions. Meaning to say the guy who is a pure straightup idol worshipper, we're not worried about him being a bad influence because everyone wrote him off. the guy who dabbles back and forth. People aren't going to necessarily realize how bad this is because they'll say, "Yeah, well, you know, I saw him in sh, you know, he seems like yes, in some ways he's one of us. He's a normal guy." So, it's actually a much worse effect on others. So, that's another element of how the vacasillator is worse even it's counterintuitive at first. like a vacator is worse than the guy who's pure straight up constant idolatry and we say yeah this is another example how okay now yeah the hutman now the says that the power of the evil inclination for idol worship was weakened that's why you know we read about stories in in Tanakh about how people were so crazy pulled after idol worship and like it's so hard for us to relate to really that's that was like so enticing to them. Okay, because the the power of it was weakened. There's a whole story about but the vacasillator that actually is stronger today than ever before. Whether in a subtle manner or in a way that is not so subtle there are people that because of various different reasons that mentions three parosa that means moneyaduma uh honor or elucory honor, the honor that they imagine that they're going to receive and may means uh adult peer pressure trying to fit in assimilation. So there are people that for those reasons and other reasons they are they make certain compromises on mitzvah at least temporarily because of those motivations. of the poor tag. shelf. So for a few days or a few weeks, he takes the together with Hashem and he puts it on the shelf so that people won't say that he's old-fashioned or he doesn't understand what's going on today. They won't say he's not with it. in in America of the especially in America where the current fashion is you abandon whatever is old whatever is considered to be old-fashioned and you do whatever is the spirit of the times so he doesn't utterly abandon Yiddish kite But depending on the setting, he might uh take a break from kite, you know, just to fit in better. And so they won't say he's a batlin. A botlin is a untransatable word for like uh you know like sort of like a a rube. They won't say this guy, he's not with it. Who is this guy? This this ultraorththodox guy, he's totally out of it. Totally. He doesn't want people to say that about him. Why? Because he wants honor or he wants money. Wow. And the truth is, even the money he makes by compromising his values, he ends up spending on not happy things like doctor's bills. Why? Because if he's not following Hashem's rules, then what he receives doesn't have blessing and therefore it's not protected and therefore it gets spent on on negative things. that that itself by the way that's in parenthesis but that itself could be a whole faban that even somebody who seems to come out ahead by compromising Yiddish kite the net gain is is zero he doesn't keep it why because it doesn't come with blessing he doesn't get to keep it it gets maybe he has it but it just passes through his hands is and because of that attitude, this person is ready to uh to sell his soul, God forbid, and Hashem along with it. Pathetic, tragic. And he should realize that in some ways this is worse than real straight up pure idol worship in the ways that we explained above and that I was going to summarize and review right here. First of all, it's harder to sincerely regret it and do he doesn't feel the sin was that bad. He convinces himself his sin wasn't so big because look in general I am a I am an observant Jew. So what's the big deal if for a little time I made a few sacrifices for the sake of money? Okay. Big big whoop. All right. You know, all right. It's wrong. I won't do it anymore. I'm doing chauva. Fine. Okay. But that's not wholehearted base. It is uh he is debased. He's ready to switch to trade eternal spiritual things for temporary material things. Guilt and covet. He's ready to trade his eternal world to come for temporary money and honor of this world. That's like really pathetic. Really pathetic. Like you were saying before, at least the pure idol worshipper has some spiritual sensitivity. This guy is just a user. He's totally materialistic and totally just into it for his own ulterior motives. Totally selfish. Gimmel is his effect on others is much worse. If he would be an overt heretic completely, then he'd be ejected from any Jewish setting. is but the fact that he does things that are opposite of and he minimizes it says it's not important and then he supports his whole approach by quoting a verse or a saying of the sages it makes it seem kosher that's way more dangerous as far as his influence on others. Way more. Okay. Of them [sighs] of Now, let's go back to our original question. This is why the main challenge that Alio gave to the people was not how long will you continue serving idols but specifically he said how long will you continue vacasillating? How long will you continue to flip-flop? That's the word flip-flop. How long will you flipflop? >> What? No. Tea sandals. Not flip flops. How long will you flip flop? You don't have a word in French for flip-flop. Flip-flop. Like politicians, they try to when they're like running for office, they say, "You said this and then you said this. You're a flip-flopper. You're flip-flopping." Okay, you have to think. Now at the end of that story, everybody knew the truth because Elio ran a whole contest and he showed how the Bal was powerless and he showed that Hashem is all powerful. So then everyone in the end said, "Hashem is the real God." They said twice twice. That's even more than when Torah was given at Mount Si where it says I'm the Lord your God. But it says it once. This is twice. It's explained in many places that through Chuva you come to double. So when they did cha from their bal worship, it was double and not just quantitatively double actually even qualitatively the second time is not just a repetition of the first time. The second time is qualitatively a completely different new level than the first level. So too today. So that was then in the times of this is now in America. says the all those flipfloppers who vacasillate a little here, a little compromise and fitting in with the Joneses over there, they're going to do chova. And when they do chova, it's going to be double of what they used to have. They're going to come closer to Hashem in a redoubled way. The Jewish people are guarantors for one another. When we accepted the hari, we accepted guarantorship for one another. We are responsible. I am my brother's keeper. Now that's a pun because means guarantors, but it also means a mixture, you know, like in in mixtures. So So we are mixture. We are mixed. is a very important point. when the when the flip-floppers do cha which they will and they'll come to a double level of closeness with Hashem because the Jewish people are guarantors for each other and we are interconnected with each other. So when the flipfloppers do chuva that light that they draw down will also reach the people who they messed over. It's very gracious and kind the way the Eb is describing it because the Reb could use the Reb could invoke the same principle of how we're all interconnected to like further explain how terrible the making others sin really is like we're interconnected. Look how look how you affected other people. Here the Debb is saying in a positive way you know we're closing up the Sikh here. We're coming to a a positive conclusion. Simon betto would conclude on a positive note that I was saying when the flip-floppers will do chova even though it's hard to do chuva from flip-flopping which is why flip-flopping is even worse than regular a but when they do do chova and they say just like in the times of that even the flip-floppers said in the end when the flipfloppers do then all the damage that they caused in the people who were following them will also be healed. Here the is giving us and hashem is going to give it should happen in a kind way because chuva I mean I don't have to tell you sometimes cha is hitting rock bottom and it's not pleasant but the says it's going to be in a kind way in a merciful way. So the bad influence people and all the people that they led astray are going to do in a manner of double closeness to Hashem and say all together now that's from the Shabasis Tiny Z. [clears throat] Okay, that's the end of the second to summarize in seemingly should have said, "How long you guys going to idol worship?" That's what I would have said, but he didn't. He said, "How long you guys going to flip-flop?" The Reb proceeds to explain how flip-fpping can even be worse than straight up a zod in many different ways. Um, basically, it shows selfishness. It shows that everything you're doing is only for what you think the best payoff is. Also, it's a much worse influence on other people cuz you look somewhat like a normal Jew. Um, it's a terrible thing and it's hard to ever do fully do Chuva from because you rationalize. I was never that far gone. I always kind of knew it was fake. [sighs] So, it's a terrible thing. And today, when we don't even have a really the way that we used to in the ancient world, says the Reba, but we do have not only we still have, but in some ways we have it even more today than ever. It's a bigger uh it's a bigger pull unfortunately than ever. And uh we have to avoid it. And then the Reb gets all positive on us because the Reb is after all not just teaching us, he's empowering us and blessing us. And the Reba says everyone's going to do Chva and everyone's going to say aim aim and the bad influence people are going to change their ways. And the people who were messed over by them are going to change their ways and everything's going to be good. Okay, thank you for joining us. Uh, tonight at 10 p.m. we're going to have 30 Lives in 30 Days episode number two. When is the French episode air? >> Does it have a set time? >> I guess. >> When are you flying back? >> And you'll do the episode two letter two. >> When you land. Every day is going to be at 7:30. >> 7:30 New York time. >> Paris. >> Paris time. Okay. >> Oh, 7:30 a.m. Okay. So, if you're going to follow the 30 letters, 30 days in French, it's going to be 7:30 a.m. Paris time, which is like around like midnight. Yeah, like 1:00 a.m. 2 a.m. Oh, I get it. You're going to get up at 5. You're going to watch my class and then you're ah perfect. Okay. Have a good cup of coffee while you're watching it. Okay. All right. A can pour to everybody. We're gonna end the stream.