Maamar Vata Titzave 1981, #6 - Do you know what true faith is? A Rebbe will teach you - RC Dalfin

So good today. We're learning the Sava 1981 that the Reb said and um delivered to each individual in ' 92 shortly before he had his stroke. And this is a last will and testament. And the Reb is explaining here the idea of the of Moses. Moses, who is Moses? Mosher Raenu. And the Reb explains that this Mosherenu is someone who helps us internalize faith in God. This is what we learned until now. Yesterday, I really spent a lot of time explaining it. So, I want to go right away to the page 364, top of the page. based on this we can explain what's written in the that is the loyal shepherd the faithful shepherd why is he called the faithful shepherd because he feeds the faith he feeds the faith this isn't only forenu of the Torah. It's for the extension of Mosha. Look, it says in the brackets parenthesis, the extension of Mosha within every single generation is the individual that is feeds faith. the Israel, whoever the Mosher Raenu is in the generation or even if there are several Mosher Rabenus, which doesn't really chive with the whole concept of one Mosher Raenu. There wasn't multiple Moses. There was one Moses, right? There was Aram, the high priest, etc. But there was only one Mosha. So whoever the mohenu is today and in each and every generation his job is to strengthen the faith that a Jew has that the Jew will ultimately use this faith to stand strong with self-sacrifice giving away even if it means giving away their soul giving up their soul dying for the sake of God. Seemingly the fact that sustains feeds the faith who was explained elsewhere in here to as well in the m of the previous It's not because he he strengthens our faith. It's because strengthens our knowledge in God. You hear knowing God, perceiving God is very different than having faith in God. So the Reba now is going to look at this or reconcile this rhetorical question next page. It's brought elsewhere in that the way that is internalized is through understanding God. You understand Hashem better and better. your faith is stronger. And here we're not saying that. Here we're saying something else that the that that leads to. That's the that's the rhetorical question at this point. And this aspect that the faithful the the leaders of of of Jews of Israel in each generation strengthen faith. It's so that it should be in a manner of SO MAKE UP YOUR MIND. THAT'S HIS QUESTION. Is it or is that's what he's asking says I can reconcile it based on what we learned earlier we could reconcile that the primary idea of a a loyal a faithful shepherd Yeah, we remember in the beginning of the mimer, he said there's two ways of understanding this idea of a faithful shepherd. One is that he feeds faith to the Jewish PEOPLE AND THE SECOND ONE IS THAT HE FEEDS FAITH. WHAT FAITH NEEDS. So the Reb says that since the primary idea of a faithful shepherd is that it feeds you see over here that the should not be just as a manifestation. I'll explain in a moment. which he said earlier means that because the soul sees God. IT SEEMS IT SEES HASHEM, IT HAS FAITH. It's clear. It's vision. THAT IS NOT THE PRIME IDEA. ALLAH. Next page 366. The concept of of feeding the faith is that it's who you are. Not just what you do, what you have. It is who you are. And the second aspect that we learned that that Eb brought earlier from another mimer that he that he asked a rhetorical question on how to reconcile the contradiction. He says in this idea that faith inter causes faith to be internalized through comprehension and understanding and he teaches you about God who look at that word that's the main word here it is a result from the fact that feeds faith FAITH NEEDS TO BE FAITH. NOW, let me just for a second. You know, WE FLIPPIDLY SAY FAITH, FAITH, FAITH. That's narish guy nonsense. We're talking here about a very, very profound, deep experience of faith in God. And the question is, is the faith really faith or is it a madeup faith, a fabricated faith? a colorful faith, an exciting faith, but it's not really deep uh faith. Okay? MOSENU'S JOB IS THAT FA THAT FAITH BE FAITH. So in other words like this before we can talk about listen to this is A DEEP THOUGHT BEFORE WE CAN TALK ABOUT faith being experienced by a Jew for GOD YOU HAVE TO ASK IS THAT THE FAITH THAT IS THE REAL FAITH. Plenty of people WALK AROUND WITH AN IMAGE OF FAITH AND IT'S NONSENSE. IT'S NOT FAITH. YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS? IT'S YOUR VERSION OF FAITH. SORRY, YOUR VERSION OF faith is not real faith. It might be helpful at times, but it's not real faith. So, what's job? His primary job is to teach faith, what faith really is. And that faith once taught to a Jew what by Mosher Raen in each generation then using your mind in UNDERSTANDING GOD WILL INTERNALIZE THE EXPERIENCE. So this is a yes yes go ahead. I'm I'm not sure what you mean by um the I I guess a person's own understanding of faith as opposed to true faith. Could you give an example of of what a mistaken like personal experience of faith might be? >> Yes. The word mistaken has to be weighed carefully. But um whether it's mistaken, erroneous, selfish, this are many levels in in a mistake you know. But take for example this is from the difference between Rabi Aka and Abrainu. The Gmorra says Rabi Aka said when will I have the merit to give away my life for God? And when the Romans killed him as one of the 10 martyrs, he fulfilled his bikest, his desire, and his ambition. Says that that's not the ultimate of of Midas nephesh. And I'm using it for faith as well. Why? Because he had an agenda. His agenda was to die for God. NOW AGAIN FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON, SOMEONE WHO'S READY TO DIE FOR GOD, FOR HASHEM, FOR Tyra is the highest of the high. That's when you look at it without comparing it to Abrau. But when you compare it to au's faith was deeper because he didn't have I'm looking to die. I'm looking. He didn't say I'm looking. I'm yours God. I'm yours. You want me to die? I'll die. You want me to live? I'm going to have the same pleasure in living for God as dying for God. In that scenario, he found more pleasure in death for God than in living for God. It's it's you know it's it's I WOULDN'T SAY THIS ON my own if doesn't say it. So in other words, you ask me about an example, faith, belief in God. You have TO ASK YOURSELF WHY AM I BELIEVING? Why am I believing? And and and and it's very easy to make the what you call the mistake of believing in Hashem because you were raised that way. Your parents taught you, you learned it in in in in there is this is who I am. It's inseparable. It has nothing to do with what I learned and where I come from. this is who I am. That's a very different faith teaches us, teaches a Jew, the mohen of every generation as well, how we should we should have the right kind of faith, not the not a wrong kind of faith or a mistaken faith as you call it or erroneous faith or a degraded faith. Th those are all very high levels. Halavi most halavai we would have that. But but but but if when you go deeper and deeper into the concept this is the idea. And by the way this isn't just u play on words. This is experienced. You know, I I I just remind myself I think we spoke about it one of the soldiers in the after October 7th and you know, he wrote that letter that letter that we I think we we we spoke about how he he wrote to his parents and his community like in other words, I'm not doing this because I have to show someone something or I want to kill another Arab. That's not that's not at all. He's saying this is who I am. I don't know if you remember that letter. It touched me a lot because he really got to the nuda of Ms. The nephesh means like we learned yesterday at the end of the mimer, it is impossible to deny. I can't deny. When you say, "I'm going to jump into the fire. I'm going to give my life for Hashem. I'm going to do what God wants." It's a proactive thing. It's very nice and very important. But there's still I am going and I choose when. When you say IT CAN'T IT CAN'T BE OTHERWISE. Why can't it be otherwise? BECAUSE IF IT'S otherwise I'm not alive. I'm not here. Even even if I'm physically here I'm not here because it's it's inseparable. And if Hashem wants a certain thing I cannot. Just like with bum right with HE SAYS I CANNOT DESECRATE the mouth OF GOD. I WANT TO DESECRATE IT, BUT I CAN'T. You know why I can't? Cuz this is who I am. I don't know if that helps, but that's my thought. Let's go on. Um and he says, As we learned earlier that the drawing down of faith in an internalized way through knowledge it's only by revealing the essential bond of a person's essential soul. Based on this we could say next page 367 the fact that in earlier generations listen to this mark it was necessary in previous generations to have self-sacrifice in the time of Hmon in the time of Kaneka and the THE CRUSADES MANY OTHER TIMES the Spanish Inquisition OUR ANCESTORS ers needed to have literally SELF-SACRIFICE DO OR DIE BOW to the cross or not and if you don't you get killed or even during the Nazis and and the Stalin right all those periods there was actualization of necessary come along the leaders the the the shepherds of Israel extend and and they strengthened the faith the and every Jewish that it should be with the ultimate self-sacrifice. So at that time this galo what was revealed was the ultimate idea of the faithful shepherd the in this matter of self-sacrifice more so this is again a very big theb says here that during those times WHEN SELF-SACRIFICE was needed that reveal revealed the essence of the Jew more than MOSHE HIMSELF HAD BECAUSE MOSES HIMSELF DIDN'T HAVE TO GO through and when you have to go through SELF-SACRIFICE IT brings out the deepest because the draw the drawing down and the revelation of the faith as it is from the essential soul. Next page through and his extension of every generation the primary way that it manifests itself is through actual actual self-sacrifice. So in other words, you're very holy and you're very great and you're a leader, but you didn't have the avoid of self-sacrifice. So although you are this faithful shepherd, BUT THE MANIFESTATION OF THE faithful shepherd is specifically seen in a time and in a place in a generation that need self-sacrifice. So therefore, what do we understand from this? This also explains what we learned in the beginning THAT WHAT MOSHE GETS an elevation through teaching fa the faith the right faith to the Jewish people. Moshe Moses the leader NEEDS US BECAUSE WE ARE THE FOOT SOLDIERS AND WE'RE WALKING ON THE ground right and we're we're WE'RE WE'RE FACING THE CHALLENGES. MISHA DIDN'T FACE THOSE CHALLENGES. SO HE'S A HOLY MO holy roller the leader very good and he teaches about faith and he instills the faith the faith should be the right faith but when is it manifested when it's actualized actualized means are you ready to give your life Stalin Nazis Spanish inquisition someone SAYS TO YOU BOW TO THE CROSS NO WAY. No way. I'm shooting you. I'm killing you. Kill me. That's actualization. Let's read the summary, please. Bottom of 368. A Jew's willingness to sacrifice his life for his faith stems primarily from the faith rooted in the essence of the soul. Why will a Jew give up his life for his faith? Why? Because faith in God is the very essence of his being. So if he DOESN'T GIVE UP HIS LIFE, then he's not he's not a JEW AND HE'S NOT AND HE'S NOT AROUND. He he has no purpose. Similarly, the shepherds of Israel, the extensions of Mosha in every generation strengthen the faith of the Jewish people. inspiring them to manifest self-sacrifice for the sake of the observance of and its mitzvah by revealing the essence of their souls. In other sources, it is explained that MUA serves as a shepherd of faith by imparting this was the question knowledge to the Jewish people. Says the Reb there there's no contradiction between the two concepts. The primary activity of a shepherd of faith is to sustain and nurture faith itself. That is to lift our faith above the influence of our revealed powers by revealing the essence of the soul. Misha's achievement in in internalizing faith bringing it within the realm of knowledge and comprehension is an outgrowth. The Hebrew word for that was tot is an outgrowth of his efforts to sustain and nurture faith itself right through the revelation of the essence of the soul for the possibility for faith to be internalized comes from the revelation of the essential bond between God and the essence of the soul. The shepherds of Israel which the extension of Moshe who strengthened the faith of the Jewish people inspiring them to self-sacrifice express the qualities of a shepherd of faith to a greater extent than did Moshe himself. You hear that? The shepherds of Israel living at a time when they in spoke about self-sacrifice and encourage like like Morai of Sadi don't give in to Hmon and have self-sacrifice are greater in a certain extent than Mosh himself. Why? For the revelation of the dimension of faith which stems from the essence of the soul inspired by the extension of every generation is primarily manifest through actual self-sacrifice. I'm going to see you asked if he has as gives an example. No, I don't see that he gives an example. Uh hold on. Let's look at this note. Maybe there's a on bottom of 366 is the last note on the page. Faith represents a potential that transcends limitations. A person's conscious powers of intellect and emotion by contrast are limited potentials. Therefore, faith usually functions as an encompassing light. Internalizing faith thus represents a fusion of opposites. That's why so the the example I gave you I think is good because Arabinu had a level of faith that FUSED OPPOSITES. YOU WANT ME TO DIE FOR GOD, I'M RIGHT THERE. YOU WANT ME TO LIVE FOR GOD, I'M JUST as much there. THERE IS NO ONE UP IN DYING for God over living for God. That's true fusion. And such fusion is only possible because of the of the revelation of the soul's essence. I wanted to mention that um I should have said at the beginning this year but the class is dedicated to uh a friend of mine a doctor a psychologist his name was uh Ruain Ben Simha Calfman. I knew him from the 19 early 1990s in California. And um he actually had me on a panel at the APA, American Psychological Association in Manhattan, I think in 1997 or so. And that's when I presented a paper based on my book, Your Better Self, that was endorsed by Dr. Rabbi Dr. Abraham Turski Abram Tiski and uh you know he uh we stayed in touch although he's he was in California and I was here and um he just suddenly you know suddenly meaning he wasn't well but u um I didn't there was no indication that he's passing on he just went downhill in a few days he he was gone so he passed away on Zion on Zion year which was last u uh Friday I think Yeah. And uh may his nish have an aliyah and I just wanted to dedicate the class to his nishama. Um yeah was a was a good person and um did a lot he did a lot you know to help people. He I think he created some kind of bofedback idea within psychology and I think it was something that uh was uh adapted or you know the nursing homes and different agencies out there uh saw it as a a benefit for their patients. So he um contributed to the world of psychology and uh health ed and mental health. So uh we we stayed in touch and interestingly that his wife passed away two months ago at 70 and he was 76. Sometimes there's a calling. I feel like there's a calling. This is my own personal feeling like his wife's soul is calling him I want you here. I once heard from someone who who brought this certain to Kabad I'm talking about in 1920s30s and then later he had a difference opinion in him and he would hound him he would hound him many times. Anyway, after he passed on, the person who hounded this this brought the the the other toad, that became such a that he had issues with the one who brought him to Kabad. He passed away uh first and he came to his son to the son not to the he came to him in a dream and he said please come here I forgive you for everything but come here I need you here. He had the dream three consecutive nights and he said to him I'm not coming there. I'm not coming there. are not coming there and he broke it because when a soul when an calls for someone if this isn't just you know you and I talking to each other this is spiritual ideas lofty ideas and holy ideas it's a different realm so you have to be very careful in a sense not to fall into that trap because at the end it's a trap the trap is that your soul leaves your body, you pass on and your soul goes to another world. Anyway, I'm taking into you I'm taking you into some some other realms which uh be that as it may, it's uh the Gammora says, "You reveal things secrets only to those that are modest." You're all modest people, so I revealed a little bit to you. Have a great day. See you all tomorrow.