Mystical Insights on Rosh Hashanah - Talkline With Zev Brenner

this Tower class is brought to you by torahanytime.com talk line with Zev Brenner America's Premier Jewish broadcast on the air since 1981. and now here's your host welcome back to the program I'm Jeff Brenner Our Guest is a prolific writer he's an inspirational leader uh he is the congregation to kahilas to Ferris Mordechai in the five towns and I met him over the pace of holiday we and I enjoyed some of his works and he's written a new book called The Mystery and the Majesty for Elohim and the rum and circus Rabbi Daniel J glossy and thank you for joining us good luck good thank you I I enjoyed your book it has some very interesting ideas in fact uh let's look at the chauffeur because I love how you blend the chauffeur and mashiach and messianism and and you know tying it into the arcade to the near sacrifice of yitzuk and according to what you brought down and we'll talk about it too is that according to some those in the Zohar that actually yitzuk actually died and we'll look at that yeah you really go into a whole in-depth about I found that the very interesting as well yeah that's actually a very surprising idea so when you're in school they sort of water down the story for the general audience and they make it a little bit uh more acceptable to kids but actually it was quite uh quite a uh difficult um encounter for Yitzhak to the extent where there are many sources and and actually died at the acada he made the blessing of Mahaya masim that Hashem resurrects the dead and it's interesting you know we make such a big deal about the akedan Rosh Hashanah if yes most people why do we talk about that um you know it happened on Rosh Hashanah and not necessarily according to many sources that happened on Yom Kippur other sources that happened in Nissan so why we focused on Rosh Hashanah because actually what is happening to us on Rosh Hashanah is nothing less than the resurrection of the dead we're our lease is over come Rosh Hashanah and we're asking God to resurrect us and the source of that power is actually the akeda and that's why the akeda is so Central to Rosh Hashanah that was perfectly but let's go a little bit more because the Zohar and you look about the ashes is also about the ashes of Yitzhak right it's not just that he was killed yeah the ashes uh continued to lay there forever and actually the concept that all sacrifices work are only because set sacrifice into motion had it not been said how does the sacrifice work well we say to God this animal if if we had the choice we would offer ourselves so God says really who said you would do that and the answer is look at the Arcada so the Arcada really empowers all sacrifice for all time and it's the it's what inaugurated that the Temple Mount and the base time mcdosh as a place of uh where we worship Hashem and you also put down our connection to the temple mountain and in dealing at the end of days and uh that's my favorite piece yeah Stouffer represents one of the listen to two horns that are taken from the animal that uh that when avraham you know some if you don't go the fact that yitzoo was killed that he that he actually killed and and slaughtered and made a carbon of the animal there the two horns from the animal that were stuck in the bushes there one represents the okay then one represents the great show but they'll be blown into the Messianic age the resurrection of the Dead yeah so let's look at who's compared to hamar let's look at you know Ace of you small the end of days yeah that's very uh powerful idea how you know if you look in the uh in the uh Koran they had they switched the story where the main character they have as Ishmael and uh it's interesting because the Christians don't tamper with that story but uh Ishmael does and that's because the the whole function of the akedah was to demonstrate the superiority of yitzhakt Ishmael and our rights to the Temple Mount over Ishmael because the reason teach us that even though Ishmael had been long gone he had been banished for over 30 years the night before the Arcada he returned back to the house of Abraham and God intended specifically to bring Ishmael back to the house so then so that when God tells Abraham take your son Abram says well uh now I have two I had the other one just walked in the door and God said no the one that you love he said well I love both of these kids and Hashem said what Hashem was saying this will signify forever superiority Ishmael because hashem's telling Abraham I don't want you to reject you smile because your wife told you to because a lot of a lot of us we do things because our wife tells us too it doesn't mean we want to do it no but avraham listen to sorry he told he told me yeah right he didn't live in the Sun but in his heart Hashem didn't want avraham to think really I love your smile but what could I do God told me to listen to Sarah God wants Adam to come to that decision on his own so he has both of these kids there and he's bringing both of them to the Temple Mount and they're both going to stand there and Hashem tells uh avraham turns to Ishmael he says you see the Divine president Temple man and you smell still nothing and and everyone turns to see it's okay which means avraham was now seeing firsthand that Ishmael has no claim to the Temple Mount and it belongs to Yitzhak and that's why the terminology used at the akeda is now you will inherit the Gate of oyev oh yeah they're two kinds of enemies there's a Sinai Asaf is called the Sinai he's called and then there's an oyev ayev is Ishmael the purpose of the akedah was to demonstrate the superiority and to ascend over Ishmael Ishmael was there but he had no connection to it he didn't see the shrina he couldn't Ascend and he was forever rejected and established to have the connection of a hamar to the Temple mount now you you relate hamar equate is equivalent to your small and the sure the is equivalent to Ace of yeah right and and you say that and and that's who our protagonists are at the end of days before I get to that you mentioned the fact that there's a Prohibition of of two animals that the Torah says cannot be worked together that's the the show of the ox and the donkey and uh I find the fascinating thought is not the reason why is that we shouldn't when you have your small one you have ASO if you have the Islamic and the Christian world that opposed Judaism when their work together that works the detriment of us that's why you can have them both together working it's a metaphor is what you right I've never saw before it's in a is that an original thought none that that comes from the writing of rebellion of Izmir but it's it's a powerful thought we are we have this idea that if ASAP ever got together they would destroy the world and I'll tell you um a very personal thought and uh something that my grandfather wrote that as as a an experience he had seeing you know what happens when ASA and Ishmael got the other when he was in Auschwitz guest to Auschwitz the Mufti from Jerusalem and they were embracing arm and arm and the Jews would pass in front of them and they would beat the Jew specifically in a way that Jew would never be able to have children and my grandfather said that's the image of asavan Ishmael coming together Auschwitz that's Ace of any small coming together see grandfather actually saw aichmann and the Mufti of Jerusalem together yeah embracing each other watching Jews suffer in ashes I never knew that the Mufti was an Auschwitz that's the first hearing wow that doesn't get much attention no so but you also write that that the two Messiahs that will rescue the Jewish people in the name is the son of Joseph and mashiach Ben David the son of David King David now one of them now you say King David is also compared to hamura to a donkey yes so let's look at that and how that relates also to the concept of Rosh Hashanah the belong of the chauffeur the great show for devil heroin the Messianic age let's look at that yeah so uh yeah these are these are um subjects that really uh resonate in the soul but the same way we have two great enemies the ox and the donkey seven Ishmael we have two musayas is compared to the donkey he's called the poor man who rides on the donkey and Michelle is compared to the firstborn acts you always safe always destroys asab yay safe is the enemy of Asaf um it's interesting asov was destined to marry Rachel because when Aesop um when when yaakov married Leia so now Rahul is going to fall to Asaf and ultimately Hashem never let that happen not only that Hashem rewarded Rafael that she would have Josef who would destroy asaph is there an expression Yosef is is like a fire burning exactly the apple is the fire and Ace of is the flame rights yakovic with that so that's so therefore you'll have Michelle will battle we'll battle as of and then which which is a a very frightening thought which means we know that Michelle comes after Michelle which means first the first to full will be ace of the western world and only then in the end end of days only then the Arab world will be overcome by Michelle and thinking about the meaning of that I think most people don't don't think of it that way most people think that you know America will be standing last and then the chef will come but this teaching of the Villa going has it the other way around where Michelle and David will take us out of galaxies smile oh interest so it's the other way around so there's a difference of opinion of what Michelle Pena will do according to what you write in your book Michelle will deal with Asaf and will deal with his small yes is just the opposite I don't think according to the this is the tradition of the gun but most people would have thought that if not the last uh enemy standing you know most people would have thought it's the Western world right right but but it but it's more this the forces it's not everybody in the west with the forces that are inimical to Judaism which is represented by the Western World represented by Rome but that is strange because today you see a change where the biggest threat does not come from the Western will not come from those Christians that in the past persecuted the Jews today the biggest threat comes from the Islamic world we have those radicals those islamist fascists that want to kill the Jews but they also want to kill Christians yeah yeah on the other hand unfortunately more Jews are disappearing in uh the Western world through you know silent assimilation than anywhere else so in a certain way the assimilation is the greatest threat to our people so look we have two enemies they're both vying to be considered Top Guns against us and they're both doing a pretty good job so well but the assimilation really is is I hate to say it we have to do a lot more to educate our children because most Jewish kids don't get a Jewish Education it's easy to blame other people I think Russia Sean is a good time for us to realize and say we can make a change and I think the biggest challenge we have is to educate our kids so we have an obligation it's not just a parental obligation isn't a communal obligation to educate our children and we have Absolutely I'll tell you I'll tell you one more story um my grandfather would say over that's also mind-boggling when he was in the camps he would constantly be saying to him and the Nazi beat him would be me say Rabbi what are you praying for the Jews have no future we we Germans will destroy the Jews of Europe the Arabs they'll destroy the Jews in Palestine and the Jews in America they'll take care of themselves and unfortunately some Jews survived Europe many Jews were able to thrive and ultimately in Israel and uh he was most correct about the Jews of America because more Jews have disappeared in America in the last 70 years then between 1939 and 1945 unfortunately but I I from what I read the power of assimilation of culturation into marriage is not just in America you look at the whole world yeah yeah yes degrees and you find that and uh and that's our biggest challenge I believe is that we have to teach the beauty of yiddishkai where Moshe Feinstein is blessed memory said the biggest killer Judaism America was came from religious families where the father said you know I'm doing the Mitchells I'm keeping Shabbat such a burden Schwartz design Aid it's hard to be a Jew he said Schwartz designed a year to kill Judaism in America because if you're gonna go ahead and say that way and the kid's gonna say listen my father went through all the rituals he went through all the Mitchells to do what he had to do but he did a bit of cracks it's hard to be a Jew they chucked it all yeah and and I think that that Russian is a time of introspection I think we all have to do better educating both our religious kids and also reaching out to non-religious kids I think that's our biggest challenge it's easy like I said to blame others uh but I think that we have to do they'll do a lot more a lot more to educate our kids yeah look the word ELO is a is alluded to in the pasok yes so it's it's about uh also that's uh has to be our Focus during this time of the year absolutely in a few moment we have remaining what is some other Rosh Hashanah thoughts that you'd like to share with our audience so you mentioned the zai this is an amazing zeigar which I think is very inspiring that uh what when would one think of the first time anyone ever blew the Schaefer the first blowing of the ship in history we mentioned uh the resurrection and and Kabbalah at the akedah the zeigar says God blew the nashama into Adam like about Ikea like someone who blows A Schaefer that was the original blowing of the shifar so the blowing in the surfer symbolizes God instilling the soul unto man which is really an opportunity to to to recognize that on Rosh Hashanah God is recreating us as a chance for a new start it's a chance for rededication it's uh sometimes people feel hopeless helpless stuck in a rut but it's we're being recreated on Rosh Hashanah really A New Beginning for all of us and that was the first blowing of the show for in history and as we blow the chef and Rosh Hashanah realized God is giving us a renewed soul and A Renewed opportunity and I find that to be a very powerful thought I'd like one thought that you had in your book about the Jewish law is and their two Jewish laws regarding the show but number one you can't change the shape of the chauffeur and number two is is that you know the chauffeur has a small opening and a big opening but the is that if you blow the chauffeur from the big opening even though you blow it correctly you don't fulfill the obligation of hearing the chauffeur why is is that the case right so it just struck me that uh you know we say Min Hamid Sarah karasika from The Narrow Street we call out to you and only God answer us from the wide part so we build a Shepherd from a place of confinement and Hashem and his expansiveness answers us but I think the there's a very strong symbolism that if we do a small uh whatever small act we do to improve ourselves whatever small steps we take is looms very large in the eyes of Hashem Hashem is not expecting radical change over but even a small small act that we do down here in this world in the eyes of Hashem looms very large in fact you know so many Jews despite the danger they're going to uman you know you ever see that you ever see the these bumper stickers there's actually a very interesting system of numerical value gamatria where you take the first letter and then the first two letters and then the first three letters and the first four letters and so we know that teshuva repentance is great it reaches the Throne of Glory so actually if you take the words Throne of God you take the cuff and then you add the kafsama and then you add the kafsa and then and you do it you spell it out in that manner the numerical value of that is teshuva teshuva repentance indicating that the way to get to the throne of Glory is small step a small small steps one at a time all the little efforts we do to come closer to Hashem every thought of chuva that we have is very valuable in the eyes of Hashem Bloom's large in his eyes and ultimately will be a great source of bracha to us on the day of judgment and I I enjoyed that whole thought but the thought was is that you have a little opening but there's an expression that if when it comes to the tuber repentance that if you open up just a little bit like the eye of a needle then God will do an opening as big of Caravan so be a tremendous opening so that you purposely the metaphor is with the chauffeur you write this which are very powerful in your book that if you use the small opening that's what you need to do too but the Shelf represents true but it's not the big things it's the small things like you started to say before but just making a small effort then the rest just puts in place and therefore you don't want to go for the big way you purpose want to go through the small narrow opening where you blow the chauffeur as opposed to the big one uh to me that was a great great thought thank you very much thank you anyway I want to thank you for joining us I recommend the book it's called the mystery and the majestycus the Grandeur nobility of the days of war and joy it's by Our Guest Rabbi Daniel J glotstein who has written this I think is your third book right correct this is uh number four yeah number four we'll do one uh Hanukkah time if you have yeah exactly I enjoyed some of your mystical concept I thought it was very interesting so we appreciate your being here with us and look forward to that you'll join us again thank you very much Seth and uh wishing you sanatova mubarakas to you and your family thank you I thank you so much everybody Daniel J glazing here on the talk line you've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by torahanytime.com