Not Just An Average Joe - Mordechai Burg

where not for that day meaning the giving of the torah how many yose would there be in the shank meaning if it wasn't for the giving of the torah i would literally just be another average joe but because of the giving of the torah i'm not just yoshi but i'm raviosi i'm different but when we look at this some questions appear before us and they are the flowering of some very important ideas the first question is what does it mean when it says why doesn't it say ilav matantora it seems like there's something about the day of matantora not just the giving of the torah but the day on which it happened that's transformative for of yossi the second question is why does it say kamayosi ikeba why does it say how many average joes would there be in the shook i would just be like any of the other average joes why not how many yossi's are there in the base mattress why specifically in the shook individuality is a hard thing we are made to be radically individualized every single soul is different but we lose our individuality we give up our individuality because we want power every one of us wants to fit in we want to be a part of the marketplace in the marketplace there's commerce happening i have the power to purchase and you have something to purchase which means that i need to have the power to purchase and i also want to get it from you and you want to be able to take from me so there's a lot of power happening in the face of power we often lose ourselves to become like everybody else so that we are acceptable that's what we want there's a certain power that comes with being part of the group and so we could lose ourselves in the marketplace of life i want to be accepted i want to be loved i want to be part of the group i want to be able to get what i need i want to be able to be a part of this community but we lose something so precious when we do that we lose the gift of the soul we are all a piece of this puzzle called life and when we start playing somebody else's role we've lost ourselves and that's an exceptional tragedy raviosi says were it not for that day the day of the giving of the torah specifically the day what does that mean of course the torah itself demands that we are individualized it it demands of us that we are the unique soul that our kadasha from created us to be but even more than that yoshi was saying we must be mindful of the day in other words the giving of the torah was an event that occurred in time and when we're mindfully aware of the time in which we are living when we're present in reality living in this moment it gives us the capacity to be deeply connected to ourselves the challenge for so many of us is that we're not mindful of the present we lose ourselves to the need for power but we're not aware of the soil that we are firmly planted in in this moment and so the antidote to losing ourselves to the marketplace and the desire for power is mindfulness being present in this moment and recognizing that in this moment a torah was given for me to access my unique and creative soul and this is what raviosa was saying hashem the torah wasn't given just in the beginning of creation there was a day we can attach ourselves to a moment in time and be present in reality if it wasn't for that if it wasn't for the mindfulness of the day i would have lost myself to the need for power and i would have been like everybody else and that is a tragedy and as we come upon matantora this year again i know for those in america it's a three-day yantha if i know here in arizona it's a two-day unto them people are losing their minds but as we come to the day of matantora let's take stock let's take a moment and say what was i created for why is that giving me a torah today and then taking that mindfulness that we have and applying it to our lives becoming with tremendous courage the person that you are and yes it's vulnerable and yes it's scary will i be accepted will i not be accepted but if you're not really you who's accepting you anyway my boss i have a beautiful yamcha [Music]