Matot Masei | Rabbi Baruch Taub | July 9 2026

The uh shir this morning is sponsored by the Jewish Legacy Foundation and uh let's go. Parat Mat Masai. Um I'm going to start with a piece from the paditsk is number one and um then we're going to do another theme really. But this is um it deals with it deals it comes to the issue of nidarum. This is the part of Nadarum of making vows. We take vows very seriously. Uh as we'll see at the end of this piece uh when one has to be very careful making not to make not to make vows. The whole mitzvah of vows is you should try not to make vows, right? Because a vow becomes like the 614th mitzvah of the Torah. In fact, what we're more most familiar with about vows is binetta, right? We say bleeder bleeder. We want to make sure that we're not making a vow, right? So we're going to get to that a little bit here. But this is a piece from Hutner actually from Yum Kipper and he's talking about a chuva a concept in chuva which will take us to adorim but he's talking about a concept um he brings moral says the phrase celuc hagashami word celuc hagashami literally means uh to remove the materialism to remove physicality so the morel mentions this phrase many times in various in various different themes. But what does it mean? It doesn't mean a rejection of this world. Right? Let's be clear that the whole purpose in life is celu kagashi. It doesn't mean to re to live in a cave to reject uh physicality and materialism but to remove the dominion of physicality. That that's not should be what what rules our lives. The spirituality is what should rule our lives. Right? You we live in a material world. We enjoy it. But to limit the physicality and to put it under the rubric of the spirituality which is more of an enduring kind of a thing, the spirituality. So again, the challenge is not to destroy the physicality um but to prevent it from governing our lives. Now this relates to something I said a few weeks ago and I've said it many times that the world was created with assuras with 10 statements and then you have the Torah was given with 10 dbra commandments and in the middle you have the 10 plagues right so we've said very often what's what's 10 10 is perfect right so the physical world was created with 10 right but and most of the world Today most people outside of our world of the faith community of Torah live in the world of briess of bri of creation the physical world right without spirituality but the purpose of life is to get to the saras the spirituality how do you get there through the 10 plagues right so 10 10 what does it mean because when you live in the spirit in the physical world it looks complete right it's finished it's done like a walnut take a walnut, right? That's always the example I like to use. It looks like it's something, right? But what do you do? You smash it, right? Kind of the plague, the Makkah. You hit it and a fruit comes out. And that's the that's Cabala Torah. So that's the world that we live in, right? That's the ultimate. But not not that we uh we we love the world. we live, we use the physical world for um our spiritual purposes for Torah. But gashami. Okay. So now he's going to give a classic example of and he's going to relate it to one other thing that we have and that's so let's see what he says. Okay. So he starts out he says many places the moral mentions this phrase of removal of the physicality. So here's what he wants to talk about. Now he's going to explain here that the whole concept of repentance is really a function of this idea of getting rid of the physicality outside of the physicality. In what way? Notwithstanding the fact this phrase is used in many areas in the moral everywhere is this it's defined according to its topic he's talking about I want to he says I want to explain this concept of um rejecting the physicality or of not allowing the physicality to to dominate our lives with chuva and it's really it's going to be beautiful and it's something that's so obvious to us that he's going to make make bring out for us we have to understand getting rid of the lady it's talking about chuva itself the the process of chuva the ability to chuva to take place. What does it mean? The rule of the fact that chuva works that I can say to the I'm sorry and he forgives me and it's as if it never happened. Real chuva is that it's gone. You didn't do anything wrong. Right? That is does not exist in this world. That's the silashi in our world. There's no such thing as retroactively getting rid of something completely. You can't do it in the world of senses, in the sensory world, right? There's no such thing as something that disappears retroactively forever. It's completely gone. Right? Our senses, our our brains, our heart generally only accepts from now on. We accept things that you know that from here to the to the future, right? Present and future. But the past that to disappear, the past disappear. No shafa anything that's like retroactively disappears. retroactive retroactivity is is something that is in the mind is in the mind it's something that comes from Torah it's in the mind it's in the heart sham but that's where it lives it doesn't live in the world in the sensory world in this world it's an abstract concept right it doesn't live in the physical world to have chuva It's the whole thing of chuva is right wiping out your past. Your history is different, right? In fact, the Rambam says that a Balchuva should change his name. It's like a witness protection program, right? Get get change your name. Change everything. You're a different person completely. A different person to Baltua. But yeah, we have to we have a few weeks of kofishure to start thinking about that until we get to Roshana. But it's an amazing concept, right? It's so obvious, but we don't he's fleshing it out for us. This repair you don't have this in the physical world, in the sensory world, retroactive repair completely. You know, you can fix your car and your guy, your mechanic is going to tell you this car is going to last for you. Right. Right. We had a two weeks ago when we came here in our car, we had a pop. We heard a pop in the car and miraculously we made it home and we weren't accelerating and I went I called the Garage, come right in. What happened is the main pipe of all of the gears came out of its socket. Right. So, they fixed it. It was was really great that they fixed it. He said, "You're never going to have a problem again." You know what I mean? You know, you have a car or you had a car. Okay. So, this this idea of retroactivity takes us outside of the world of our material our physical world. So, it's it's inexplicable in our world, right? There's one powerful example, another powerful example of this that he's throwing in at the end of this and that's why I brought this and it's at least nadarim that uh is done by there's two ways to be maternet right that's in this week's para the husband or the father a he can null a vow. His wife makes a vow or the daughter makes a vow. You you can enull the vow. They have the power to enull it. But it's only from now until the future, right? But there's another way. There's another way to cancel a vow, right? The power of Torah. That's not the power of the the person, but he's a persona of Torah. That Torah has the ability If one goes to a the is gone it's it's it's dis it disappears from the past also this is the idea of again with you only have this idea in the of Torah in our intellect Right? That power of retroactive disappearance beyond the physical. We have it in two major areas in chuva and also in hat and being material. This is the moral. So he's back to chuva. It's the disappearance. It's the removal of the physicality. So this is and this is okay. All right. That's what I wanted to bring out from this. And now the next two pieces uh I want to are related. concept that I >> do this afterwards because >> we're we're recording. >> Oh, so but save the question till afterwards. Okay. I want to hear it. I don't know if I'll be able to answer it, but I want to hear the question. Okay. Um the next issue is about a theme that goes through safer pameidbar. We're coming to the end of a midbar and uh and it pops up very much very often. It's a theme of the the shvatim we speak about the Jewish people asim as tribes right in fact um remember in last week's parha uh the Torah gives us the lineage of Pinas and he goes all the way to Aron. Why does it go? So Rashi says because the tribes were saying ah he comes from his is from who was a zoro right that's where he comes from but why does it say that the right doesn't say but the he killed the head of a we lost a and who does he think he is to take a shaven away from us. Right? We have to we have to understand what what that's all about. Why not simply say right Ben is people in Ben Israel who were the same people as theatim. Right? Why does it say? So we're going to talk about we're going to talk about a little bit now. Okay. And first we're going to do number three. Okay. Number three on the sheets. This is from the no dea from from David who is actually the son-in-law uh the one and only son-in-law of the pakut of Rahutner. So he has a very short piece in the end of um Mat Masai the end of this week's para the end of this week's para here's the last few it's not the last few but it's the it's the actually the first few the last short per beneath Benashb. So you have these are the descendants of Yoseph right from the tribes of Benot. They were cousins to Slafad's daughters, right? They came and they were brothers and nephews, right? Remember what happened in this week's para that through what happens you know inheritance in is in in Torah only goes to male children ma only male children can inherit right so the bino came and they said what happens if um what happens if there's no men there's no sons right so Moshe didn't remember the hala and pinas remember the and the was what then that was the was changed for us there was now a that if there are no sons inheritance passes to the daughters right so now of course there are ways to go around this by the way in hala one can make a we do a compl it's a complicated thing but it's really not there's aar you can go to bezdon and bezdon makes the inheritance it's not an inheritance. It's a gift that the the person who died gave to gave to gave to his children the moment before he dies. So he can give he can gift all of his children equally because also the problem Bakor gets a double portion right. So what you do is you go to bezdon and bezdon has a form right it's a form of and basically that form says that everything that I have is going to be gifted to my children a moment before I die so then you avoid this this problem but this was the issue by the way there are other strange things with with right um there's no obligation for a parent there's no obligation for a parent to give an inheritance to a right? There's no obligation. Um if he wants to, he can do it, right? But he doesn't have to. There's no mitz in the Torah that a father, a mother have to give an inheritance to their children, right? Secondly, there's no support for children and according to the Torah after the age of six. Parents don't have to support their children after the age of six. This is a basic law in the Torah. So these two laws, right? How do we deal with those two laws? No. Is there any parent in the world, >> any parent in the world that doesn't first of all leave an inheritance to their children, right? Uh even though the children might complain they're spending too much of it their in their twilight years, but it's okay, right? Um but and also is there any parent that doesn't support their children after six years old? Right? So what is it? What's it what's the here? The kdish is the Torah wants to have an avenue, two avenues where the children will appreciate and love their parents more. They'll recognize because they also study Torah and they discovered these points. And yet, even though there's no obligation to give an inheritance, there is a will. And even though there's no obligation to support me in uh in all areas until after six, they do support me, right? And it doesn't go away. I'm just speaking from everyone's experience. It doesn't go away after marriage either, right? Helping our helping our children, right? Etc., etc. Okay. So, this is one of the strange. So, what happens? So, they came to Mosher Rabenu all the heads of the tribes, right? Theim theatim came that's the and it lists their names all because this was from the tribes of they spoke to the leaders of Israel you the commandment we have in this parha that all of the is being given here it's talking about the Isl the inheritance of Isl that's what we're they're focusing on Israel is given out by tribes by Mishbatim depending on the size of the tribes and it was miraculously done right there was a lottery there were two pieces of paper one said the name of all the 12 tribes and the other piece had the 12 areas geographical areas in the coin would you pick you would pick out in for two things from the two different uh boxes and you'd get the name of one tribe and you'd get the portion right problem is this is only for Ben Israel. So this is unfair. You pro you promised you promised the the um inheritance inheritance to daughters. Now we have a problem. What's going to happen? This is this first paragookim in the Torah. Then they're they're going to marry out. They're going to marry into another and we're going to lose the right. So, so what does he say? I don't have the rest of the Torah says Kain you spoke well. Just like Kain byl it says Kain you spoke well here. So now it was it was established that this den of giving the to the daughters of that they have to marry within the Okay, which is not a problem you're talking about thousands of people. They had to marry within the So the land it was protected in the Okay. Now my question is this is the end of right which is really he says in a certain way this is the end of the Torah because after all the last of the five who Mishna Torah it's the Mishna Torah it's like the com compendium to Torah it's basically mostly Mosha's dras right bedshel So why is the end of the Torah really it's mo as we'll see next week we might talk about it that most of the is a repetition of things that are mentioned in in in all the other for so why is the end of that the fourth say forbar why is it with nakllo with me with mishbatim with the with the shuvatim rather with the tribes veneer the virus I want to say and it's a very short comment he But we'll get into it a little more in a minute. Inheritance is not like a personal thing. Who gets this and who gets that? That's not what it is. Every individual has his own obligations. Every Jew, we spoke about this before. Every Jew has his own unique unique spiritual part of his nishama that no other Jew has. That's the whole idea of counting the omare right to re discover my uniqueness right every Jew is different right similarly and this is the whole point of it every tribe each tribe has its own specific area of spirituality and physicality contribution to make to cl Israel they each have their own flag right they their own stone own right on the on the right on the shoulders of the coal. Listen, we know what creatives tell us create Yamsu, right? We have a picture of create Yamsu from the movie. Maybe that there's one path, but that's not how create Yamsu worked, right? We talked about this in the past too. There were 12 paths in the sea and every went out differently and shalom because every shave it going from that physicality right the cuke hagashi beautiful example of hagashimi leaving mitimity mitraim and going to receive the Torah is a classic example of celuc hagashami leaving behind the gashami right but taking it with us, right? What we can do with it together with the spirituality the the our ine depends right on the on the independence right and the essence shall of the sh itself right um right that's why we once did this years ago ravineski has a piece that all the uh they had flags, right? They were given flags. So So why was the Mishkan put in the center? Because there was a fear that every tribe would say, you know, my my flag is better than yours. So, so the Mishkan's in the center that we all have that unified that unified co of and that's why by the way when Yakov gave the braas to theatim he gave them individually but he gave the bra in front of all the heard the of each shave it so each one got a unique piece the if there's going to be such a thing as an inherited concept in spirituality in physicality in the Jewish people. It has to do with what our obligation is. the end of the Torah is the end of the whole discussion of inheritance to realize the uniqueness that each of us has but that it's based on the so now go to two. So this is a classic piece from the basi. Okay. The basi was salvik salvichek who was the grandfather who was the father of uh of Salvik who was the grandfather the actually the great-grandfather of Rabvesik from our generation. Right? So he was the the basi and he has a a beautiful presentation on this in parades uh because it has to do with with Yoseph and Jacob and he brings out the from this. Okay, because where did theatim create? Where did begin with Jacob? Okay. So listen to this piece. Beautiful. Yakov had a horrible life. He had a lot of pain till the last 17 years of his life. Right. Yakov had tremendous sorrows. Right. Al Yosef because of Yoseph. 22 years he suffered. Not right. Didn't know he was didn't really know if he was alive. Right. He didn't know. Yitsk knew he was alive. Right. Yakov was not sure ain't no move on what what's going on here why didn't he get a why wasn't he able why wasn't he able to move on from the loss of Yoseph right medius raisy's quoting a medish and this is the question this this matrona a ma matron mat matrona is the word for an important woman like the queen or something matrona She asked a question, right? It says that he was comforted, right? He whatever Torah, other Taurus he had, he was to some extent comforted. Yakovu. So what was bothering him? What was bothering him? That we was lacking dominion. Yim when when without Yoseph that was the end of the 12 tribes Israeli. So here he says clearly there's such a thing as a covenant of and the essence of Israel is we only survive via theatim. We are only complete via theatim. And with Yoseph's death in his mind, it's the end of the Yvatim of the of the of the 12 tribes, right? Okay. Listen to the medish. Another part Natal Natalov. That's the Medish right now. Natal Yakov. Where does it start from? Everything is 12. Everything is 12. Right? There's something I mean there's something that is expressed in mathematical terms. It's a number. Right? I've mentioned in the past that one of the underpinnings of understanding Torah is via mathematics. I think I mentioned in the past that Mishlov was a student of the Bill Nagon. There was a manuscript that was discovered in the 1990s that he wrote a whole cafer on mathematics as a as a found cornerstone of of Torah. Right? So he took 12 stones, right? He's traveling took 12 stones. He was promised that he have 12. Now by the way, he didn't Why didn't he take one stone, right? Because he had a he had an avua there. He's going to have 12. It's not a but what did he do with those 12? He put them together in one stone and he slept on those 12 stones together. Right. Abram did not create the didn't come from I through bringing these 12 tribes together the 12 stones together to rest myself when he was traveling right I know says I am I have this responsibility which is the ultimate The ultimate development of Kali Israel. This is how we come into Israel. This is how we build Israel. This is how we get ourselves to Mashiach. Right. This was the entire desire goal dream not Israel. Yakov's whole dream. He's going to build Beth Israel, right? Just like everybody has a dream how I'm going to build my family, right? What I want to happen, right? And we we hope that there are not things that happen to us that take away from that. So this is what the BI is saying that Yakabinu had this dream of building Israel, right? So here's what here's what what that's where we ran into problems. So that's why he says that's why he worked 20 years by which he suffered from and all the pain he had from his brother. So only that he should receive the of Abra over Israel and he'd get Israel and the carbon everything depends on this number 12 everything the whole of Israel is this number 12 that we it can only work with the now that Yseph was killed and he that he doesn't have 12 anymore. His whole life stream is up in up in smoke. So he mourned 22 years of mourning. He he didn't couldn't get this out of his mind. It was it was the end. He would say, "I'm going to die. You know, I'm going to the grave without my son. This is the end." This took away everything he dreamed, everything he worked for in his life. I have a question, says the Blevy. What was the problem? Why did he have such pain? led it. It's true that I s the four im his right his wives they couldn't give birth anymore they're not why couldn't he marry again take another wife get married again and then he have another son instead of Yseph So he'll have he'll have the 12 tribes and everything will be back to the way it was supposed to be. I'll have my 12 tribes. Why didn't he remarry? So this goes to paras and why we say how how serious a net is. To what extent to what extent you don't break an editor to the end of Israel? Listen, you know why he couldn't do it? Made him take an oath that he cannot take another wife besides his children. As long as one of they're alive, they could not take another wife. And another medish, she says, this is where he uses the phrase, the covenant of theatim has been torn apart. Has been broken apart. Batim. How hard I worked from the 10 from the 12 stones to the 12 tribes. Yud B. Everything is Yud Bait. Yud B Mazalot, right? The signs of the zodiac and Shamay are the 12 signs of the of the muzzle of our muzzle of the world. Right. 12 hours in the day. 12 hours at night. The year is divided into 12 months. Those 12 stones. No, now he says the we go from stones, we go back to stones. Right. So you go from stones to stones in the apron in the clothing of the co there were the 12 stones representing the 12vat right har so we started with stones and ended with stones right in a very beautiful way right I would just throw in something a little absurd um just just a throw is a throwaway you know I have a problem with texting people texting you just texting and texting to me it's a it's Mindboggling. This technical communication began with Morse code. That was the beginning. You remember Morse code? >> Sure. >> Right. Then from Morse code we went to what? I don't know the te walkie-talkies to telephones and then to whatever today we're at. Now we return to Morse code, right? It drives me crazy. Okay. Anyway, I'm just throwing that in. But it's going from avanim to avanim. He started with aim. you know the simple of him and they became the the the the priceless gem of stones that were in the coles begottim. Okay. So it fell apart with the death of Yoseph. Now why he didn't want to marry another woman? Because he made this with love on he's not allowed to take another wife. You see this everything we said I'll call upon him. So I'm just throwing in here this based on our para you see the severity of an is a little different than a net but it's the same concept right be careful what you swear right so he suffered so so much trials and tribulations and pain for 22 years he didn't want to get out of it get let me let me anal Right. He was afraid the love. It'll be it'll be to to do this, right? Can't you can't cancel it, right? Listen to this. the language language he says he says that this nission this test not to get married again and not to keep save Israel this is we're talking about saving claw Israel is a harder maleda this is probably harder it was harder for Jacob than it was for because he was much further ahead right it was hard the aada was devastating was the end of Kolustro of Rome for for Yizkar. That's it. The whole dream is up in smoke. But here, this is a generation later, couple of generations later, you've got the you've got children, you got grandchildren, you you're it's much further down. So he says, perhaps this is even more painful this this test of to not to get married like of doing the he thought he lost all of his hope. everything he worked for 22 years he suffered didn't want to untie the net of and he suffered so much for that right okay the okay so they just there's a lot more to this medish I just left out that this says the says the great merit of Yakov was the suffering that he went through for for for Kali Israel because of the loss of of Yoseph. Okay. So this really gives us an idea of the power ofatim the breath of the and it will all be returned to us in mashem right all the yudvatim will reappear right when mashia comes there's going to be all kinds of Jews there'll be yellow ones black ones green ones right everybody's going to come out you had a That is that is the silucashi. That's just another very important nikuda of chuva that if you do complete chuva that your aas become that your aes become yourot. Exactly. Excellent. That's that's just another nuda of this concept of gagash. Beautiful. Okay. Thank you very much.