Rav Kook: Attaining Awe of the Almighty | Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider | January 21st 2026

We welcome everyone and uh great to be back together learning and just to announce the uh our sponsor the uh the academic year is sponsored. So we thank we thank our sponsor. All right. Good morning everyone. to and uh we continue with our uh with our learning of Ravk the beautiful safer of RVuk which is called midotaya you have that at the very top of page one midotaya these are the thoughts of ravk related to the different different midot that we are to uh to work on and to enhance in our life and what we're going to look at today is um to some degree a part two for those that were here last week it's the topic of y and we're making our way through the safer alphabetical order. We're in the section of y which is fear of god and rfuk is going to talk about two aspects of of fear or two ways actually translate the word and to think about the idea of ya we have yat on y on in which we are afraid there's there's a fear of committing a sin and the punishment of that sin we'll see in a moment he says that's appropriate that's healthy to have that sense of ya but then there's also what's called mimmoot and that's going to be our topic for today. We're going to emphasize more of that idea of ya and that is a sense of awe the awesomeness of God and to be in awe of God and according to the sino this is one of the six mitzvot that we live with this every moment of our life every day of our life a sense of yatima so rufk and I want to begin with actually two interesting examples or parables that uh that RV cook opens with in his uh in his discussion of yah and let me just share the two um orally I'll share it with you and then I want to see the words always to appreciate the the language of RV cook in the first uh parable that he gives and here those that are enjoy gardening maybe you can help me with this and I find it interesting that RV cook uses a parable from the world of of agriculture, of gardening. It's something that he was very much exposed to as he's here in Israel and he's working with the the pioneers with the kadutim that are working the land that are planting in the land. And he talks about the following. He says that when we plant seeds or we plant a sapling at times we take that sapling, it is planted in one area. We we uh we nurture that sapling and then we take that sapling we bring it to a much larger area and there that sapling grows into a tree and produces fruit that there there are two stages I don't know is that something that anyone is familiar with maybe no okay maybe in in a greenhouse or something along those lines right that it begins there you first plant it it's nurtured and then you bring it out into the uh into a larger space into a larger garden. And he says that that's true of ya as well. Yera we begin the first step of yera is onesh a sense of a sense of fear a sense of onesh of reward and punishment. But then we move on we replant so to speak and we move on to the uh the a sense of awe. So let me just share that with you in the words of Ravkuk. This is in the section of and he says the following. I can compare the idea of when you first plant seeds or a sapling and at that point you don't eat from it. You first plant it in a row that's small, that's narrow. there. It does not reach its fruition when it finishes that first stage where it's now ready to begin to produce fruit. You then uproot it from that place. You then bring it into a large and a spacious garden. There in that place it will reach its purpose, its fruition. In that place it will be a delicious fruit that people will enjoy the fruits. So this is an allegory. This is a parable, a way of describing two stages of yera. Yes, the idea of yata onesh and then yata ramoot. That's the fruit. That's really the beauty when we speak about the idea of yera. And now he um and now he shares another parable. And this also anybody anyone into wine or wine making? >> No. Okay. Not such a sophisticated group here. Um so here he's going to talk about the the sediments in the wine. So I don't know if we really have this today. We buy a bottle of wine. We don't have I think they remove the sediments. But u or maybe there are maybe maybe there is. I don't know that much about wine. But he speaks about the sediments in the wine. And the sediments, that's part of the wine that we don't necessarily, we don't want to drink that part. Those are kind of the leftover of the of the seeds of the grape or of the of the uh of the outside of the grape. Um that's left there. But he says that that's necessary. That's part of what gives the flavor to the wine. And we want the dregs to be there as well. The uh that which preserves the wine. I was thinking about maybe we don't really have that today. I don't like in a pickle a pickle jar you have the pickles but with that you have the sediment as well and you need that right all of the the spices. You wouldn't necessarily want to take a spoon and eat all those spices, right? But but that's what gives the the taste to the to the pickle. So this is what he writes. So in in the parable, so how do we bring that into y? What does that have to do with y? So again you have the yat onesh you have kind of the pickling that which preserves but then it's that's not the that's not the essence it's the wine itself or let's say in the example it's the pickle that you enjoy it's the wine that you enjoy and that's the higher level of let's read in the words of cook we should not uproot the crude basis shall y again that's very very um kind of the very fundamental to some degree even I would say like an immature way of thinking about uh about ya but Ruk says we should not uproot that that's something that we need as part of our sense of from the thought when we think about our spiritual thought of of even though that's at a very that's at a low place when We think about the levels of but it needs to have its place the fear of sin punishment we should think of in that sense and our relationship with God in that sense as well and those sediments actually give a strength to the wine the wine that is uh that's a good and a good tasting wine the fact that they're sitting at the bottom. Now, they should sit at the bottom. We don't that's not the way to that shouldn't be the ultimate in our relationship with God. That's not not the ideal in our relationship with God. But it's part of and it's the basis of when we speak about. Okay. So, these are two I think interesting um parables and to think about these two aspects of yat onesh and yat rom. I want to share with you the following idea that comes from a very very interesting uh personality and you see the name on the right side of your page. His name was Harav Yeitzk or Isidor Turski. I'm not sure if that's a name that you're familiar with. He lived in Brooklyn. He married the daughter of Rabbi Salvetic. He was Rabbi Salvich's son-in-law. He was a kidic rebi. He was known as the Talner Rebi. He had a base medish in Brooklyn. But this kasidic rebi if you're thinking about a kasidic rebi. So he didn't really look so much like a kasid. He he wore a regular suit and a hat. Didn't really dress as a kidic rebi. But he spent his week. Anybody know where he was? He was in Harvard. He was professor at Harvard of teaching uh Judeaica and philosophy and considered to be one of the great scholars of uh of our generation. He was just a a an outstanding remarkable person and again so during the week he was more the professor at Harvard Rabbi Turski and then he became a rebby over Shabas in his base medish um at Shalashudis he would give deterra as rebies would give deterra and there was a collection um Rabbi David Shapiro who was a student of his at Harvard he was a also served as principal in my school in Boston he lives was here in Shalime made aliyah a number of years ago and he was there during those years and he sat at the shallahudas and right after shall a shabas would end he would write down what the rebi said what the tal rebi said rabbi Isidador turski so this is a dvar that he gave on parat this is that again just relates to just a couple of weeks ago as we've just started in the uh in our tour reading para it talks about moheren at the and the PK says the following Moshe Moshe says as he sees the burning bush I will turn away and I'm going to take note of this great site why is the bush not burning so Rashi what does it mean I'm going to turn away what what is what does that mean I'm going to turn away. What is he turning away from? Okay, good. So, Rashi says I'm going to move away from what I'm doing, what I'm involved in sham to move closer to the snare. In other words, I'm I guess shephering the sheep as surah. Now, let me move away from what I'm doing. I'll leave the sheep or whatever I'm doing aside and I'm going to move towards that's the way that Rashi understands that puk. But the Rebi said, "I want to share with you a clear." The clear has a different way of interpreting what it means. And what it means is he's not turning away from what he was doing, but he was looking at the sn already and that he need he needed to turn away from the sn itself. A sur I need to turn away. The the the light that is emanating from the is so strong, it's so overwhelming that I need to turn away from it. And when I turn away and when I move back, I can now see little a little bit more of the snad. Let me let me just share with you and I'll just for the sake of time just to read the translation of this kyakar. Very interesting. I shall turn aside and look. The purpose of Moshe turning aside is to distance himself from that place. For the further away he would be from that place, the more his eye would be able to focus on it. One can derive this lesson from the light of the sun. When one is too close, its light is blinding. When however, the sun is further removed to the east or the west, the vast distance allows all to look at it. So too, the intensity of the bush's light prevented Moshe from looking and reflecting upon its essence. Interesting. So this is what the cleer says. What does it mean that he turned away? He was turning away from the light itself. The fear of that light. maybe that yat har the awesomeness of the of the light of being the presence of god that he needed to move away from that and the rebi says the tal rebi says that we need to see a ramam and by the way he was an expert in the raam they had a lot in common he shared with his father-in-law with royal lovers of the the writings of the rambom the mishna tora and he says in order to understand this we should look at the following words of the rambam And let me read the words to you of the Rambam. And again the Rambam now is going to talk about what is Ahava and what is Y. And let me read the words here. Let's see the words of the Rambam in the uh you have it in translation but let's read it in the Hebrew says the Rambam and this is from this is the very beginning of the Rambam. It's a peric the very beginning where he talks about a relationship with God. God who is awesome. He says that every Jew has an obligation of love of God and fear of God. And that's our topic for today. The topic is the so the Rambam writes every Jew has an obligation to love God and also fear of God. When a person thinks about the actions of God and God's creation, the awesome creations of God and you see within them the great wisdom that there's no end to the the wisdom, the intelligence of God. At that moment a person falls in love with God and a person now gives uh gives thanks to God and speaks of God's greatness and a person then has a great yearning to know the name of God to know the greatness of God as King David said that I have a thirst for the living God. So that's the way the Ram describes the ahava as you look at the world and this is interesting the Rama puts great emphasis on nature and on science and to see the greatness of God through that then a person falls in love has a great love for God however here's the line that I'm interested in in highlighting this morning and as you begin to contemplate this idea and this love of God near at that moment You now are overwhelmed by the awesomeness of God. Actually near tala. What does that mean? Near tala. You actually have to what? Recoil. Nice. You have to move back. Interesting. That's like almost like and that's what he's pointing out. What Mosher Rabenu did. There was you're so awed by God. You're so overwhelmed by the greatness of God. That's what we're talking about. Yra. There's love of God. You come close to God. But as you come close and the more that you know of God and the more that you feel close to Hashem at that moment you also feel the awesomeness of God and at that moment you are afraid of God and you know one one moment and at that moment you feel so little in the within this awesomeness of God and you realize how little you know and how little you are before the awesomeness of God. Does somebody Yeah. >> similar to >> Very nice. Very nice. Right. You have that as well. So that's so says the Rebi. This is this is this is Yera. Now, by the way, this is a yer that maybe combines both a sense of fear, but ya, the awesomeness of God to feel that sense of of awesomeness. I was uh I was back in New York about a month ago, a month and a half ago and I was at Yeshiva University and um I wanted to meet a few minutes with Rabbi Rehearsal Shaft. Reversal Sha is one of the gadole Torah of uh of our community. I was in his shir for a couple of years when I was uh about 40 years ago when I was in my early 20s and I was meeting with uh and I just set up a meeting a short meeting with him. I was working on something based on the writings of Rabbi Salvichek and I wanted to meet with him and as I sat down before like in his presence. I would describe that experience almost like this this like near tala that I really felt like a sense of of to be in the presence of a man that that just that knows so much Torah a man who's such a sadic a man who's just a remarkable an individual and I was thinking about it afterwards was I when I was 20 years old and I was in his sheer did I have that sense of fear or here I I'm I'm 58 years old and now I'm I'm afraid I this path that I have, the awe that I have for him is so much greater. And I think the all that I have now is so much greater. Now, why is that? >> Because when I was 20, I didn't I had no idea like I I didn't appreciate how much this man knew. And now as I'm studying the last, you know, 40 years since then, I realize my learning. I realize the learning of this individual, this rabbi, just how awesome he is. So this is compared >> that we have the same with our parents >> about about what's that say again >> the same with our parents >> our parents yes okay no that's true >> we get all >> that's true very nice very nice so this is to be in the presence of God to be in the presence of God we talk about y so the ram says that this is the year this is the year that this is the era that according to the raam all of us have there's ahava we move forward with that love right to be in the presence of god and as we learn more about God, as we get closer to God. There's also the near tal that we take a step back and uh we recoil before the awesomeness of God. This says the saf is the way that a Jew is to live their life every moment with this uh the and the we're drawn to God, but we're also aed by um by the greatness of Hashem. So the question is how do we bring this into our life? So this is again a you know very beautiful uh uh very beautiful idea but how do we bring it into as practically into our life. So I want to bring the following puk and the following teaching which you may be familiar with is a puk that comes towards the end of the Torah. It's in safer devarim. We actually touched on it last week with a different idea. And this is Mosher Rabenu. The last message really, the last drusha, the last sermon and the last teaching that Mosher Rabenu is is bringing to AmI Israel. And he says this is perk. And he says, "Now Israel, Jewish people, what does God ask of you? Ah, you need to be year a. You need to live with a sense of awe. Sense of fear, sense of awe of God. That's what Mosher Rabenu says at the end of his life. Awe, sense of year. How important that is. The Gumarra says the following. The Garafos, which you may be familiar with. The Gamarra says that you can read the Pak a little bit different. Right? This is one of those times in the Gabra that you take one word and because in a safer Torah you don't have the vowels I'm going to suggest a little bit of a different reading this is he says there's an obligation of every Jew to recite 100 blessings every day because it says in the because the says What does God ask of you? So, by the way, how how is that? How do they learn that from the PUK? What's interesting is that the Gumar itself does not say this. But what the Gumar itself just it just presents it that way. Just as Mayor says based on this PUK, there's an obligation to say 100 blessings a day. What's the what's the what's the limood? How do how do you know that from what how do you know that from the PU? >> From what? >> Okay, good. So Rashi says and again it's not in the Gumar itself which is fascinating. Rashi says because the word ma you can also read as maya. What does God ask of you? He only asks mayha. He only wants a hundred from you. That's what that's the way to read the puk and that's what mayor says. By the way to says to disagrees. He says how do we know from the puk? And I have the the toos here the maya puk. You know how we know? Because there are 100 letters in the puk. That's what says it's based on the fact that there are 100 letters in this puk. And that's the limud here. Look at the hundred letters. And based on 100 letters is a hint to 100 and 100 bra you should say a day which is fascinating. So this is really really an interesting idea. How do we bring ya? And by the way this is exactly what the gar is is teaching. Well how do we how do we bring this ya? Moshe says to the Jewish people, "All that God asks of you is to have year a." So, how do you bring a into your life, into your daily life? What's the Gamarra's answer? >> Say, say, say blessing throughout the day. Say blessing. Say as you begin your day and as you and say throughout your day. By the way, the hundred goes beyond dabing, which is interesting. It sounds like it sounds like it actually it sounds like how to bring throughout your day there was not only within the deting itself but how do you bring it into the day itself I'll share with you the following story which interesting fascinating story the brisker rav talking about the salvich family so he was uh he was an uncle of rabbi salvichek of Boston of yeshiva university he was here inim and known for being very exact in his uh in hala and that was one of the salvic traditions was that idea of being so precise and so exact in fulfilling all the every he was very mocked on this as well by the way the Rambam brings this the Rambam codifies this that every Jew should in make sure that you have 100 every day brings this this isn't just sounds like just a nice you know gam like a nice you know dra to give to say 100 blessings it's actually brought in that a should do it. The Briskarov, he was actually in Switzerland at the time. He was vis visiting somebody. It was towards the end of Shabas and he asked the host, he said, "If you could bring me an apple and a banana, you know the story." Towards the end of Shabas, the apple and banana. They went to shul for Mina. And he was called up for an aliyah. And then he came home. He didn't eat the apple and the banana. So the host said, "I don't understand. You asked me for the apple and banana. you didn't eat it. So what happened? He said, well, I had counted where I was in my brahood. I was at 98 towards the end of Shabas. And that's why I asked for two different bros that I had the apple dama and aids. But then I went to shul and I got an aliyah and I had two brahos when I got an aliyah and shul so that I don't need to eat the apple and the banana. So this is the brisk in other words that he had a count in his head towards the end of Shabas that he knew he was at 98 at that point and that he was going to fulfill the 100 and actually the Rambam goes through in this it's in the seventh per he goes through exactly how you reach the 100 every day the minimum of 100 he goes through the if you say if you say the amida if you say the amida three times a day 19 times three you're already you're on your way um but so The brahos that we say uh the brahos that we say is what the mara is suggesting. How do we have yera? That's what does hashem want from us as mosher raenu may how do we bring that ya into our life say braos throughout the day when you have a cup of coffee when you have a cup of tea when you eat something that you're bringing hashem into your life. And again, we take a moment not just to, and again, we're all guilty of it, just to say it quickly, or sometimes we miss it as well, but to take that moment and think about the word to say, "Hashem, and a moment of thanks." And by the way, a moment of awe as well, right? The awe of wow, look at this banana. It has the color of the banana, the the color of an apple, the beauty of it, the taste of it. This is a wonder. This is an awesome moment. This is Mosheren at saying, "Wow, that this is awesome. I can't even. It's hard for me to look. I need to take a step back in order to look at this great light of Hashem, the awesomeness of Hashem. Yes. >> During the day, there's other things besides other >> there are, you know, >> when you go to the bathroom. >> Okay. Good. >> Okay. Good. Good. >> Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. So that's the good. Excellent. >> It brings the >> beautiful. So that's the that beautiful segue. That's exactly where I'm going. So if you look at the next uh if you look at the next page, top of page three. So the brasos that we say. So we know that we have the the regular brahos that we say the regular ding the bras on food. But then we have unique brahos that come along every so often. And um you know if you look at the the art scroller a lot of sided will have it right after shak or rabbi birka hamazone. I'll have the special braos of thunder lightning. I just I just um there are two that I want to share in particular. One of them is that he gave of his wisdom to a person. Who do we say that for? >> We say it for a king or Yeah, that's right. We say it and I was invited and not to say no. It's it's not uh with any gyo because I happen to know the a good friend of mine his name is Nathan Diamond. He was working he still works he's the last 30 years for the OU. He heads the U office in the uh in Washington dealing with government and he got me on the list. I didn't ask him but he just put me on the list when they invited rabbis to the White House for Kaneka. So I was there when President Bush goes back a few years was there and there was a whole discussion amongst all the rabbis. you make this braha and yes and everyone said that when you come you wait on a long line and you have about 30 seconds you just shake his hand and then you recite many of the rabbis recited the braha as we shook the hand of President Bush at the time but I want to share with you two other brahoot which are particularly special or really can only be said in the land of Israel I had a guest last shabas at my home a balcha somebody coming back to Judaism and I was talking about how special it is to live in Aritus Israel and he asked me well what are like the special mitzvah like what can only be done in the land of Israel it's like an interesting question and yeah so so I right what came to mind is micer and I said really all of agriculture like all of that we it's special here then I couldn't really think of like other examples per se but I want to share now two other examples of blessings that can only be said in the land of Israel which actually we can say Well, we there's the potential of saying them. So, one of them is the following and this is the second source. Anybody know that one? So, look at what it says. This is the directive right before it. If you look at number two, now means a very large gathering of Jews. Oh, here it says shahim shishimbo where there's 600,000 Jews. the Yahel only in the land of Israel. There's a bra that can only be said in the land of Israel. 600,000 Jews. Have we had gatherings of And by the way, in America like Dafomi, they had in uh you know some of the stadiums they had 100,000 Jews. But this you need 600,000 and you can't say it in New Jersey in the Netherlands. You can only say it with 600,000 here. >> Funeral. >> Yeah. So they speak they said that Raavajio says funeral had more than 600,000 Jews and the braha many recite the braha at that time interesting they said it's some of the some of the when they get together and army that they've also gathered with that number which is a little bit of an interesting example right at that time that you could possibly say this braha as well so it's 600,000 in the land of Israel and then Rkook has a comment he says what what's that number 600,000 And what's eritus? The 600,000 represents nationhood when we left mitim with a count of 600,000. So that represents nation and nation is only init. So the braha is only when we are a nation. We're not a nation outside the land of Israel. We have nice communities in Woodmir, in Lawrence, right? In Baltimore, in LA. These are beautiful communities. That's not that's not the nation. We don't function as a nation. There's only one place here where we have an army. We have a government. So here in the land of Israel. So you can only make the braha here. Okay, that's that's one. But here's the braha. Yeah, please. >> Ah, okay. So what does the braha mean which is really interesting. So there's actually a few different interpretations, but this is the interpret or one very important interpretation. Who's the kam is actually referring to Hashem. And razim means who knows the raz are the secrets other words that every individual is distinct every of the 600,000 to recognize that every individual is singular the secrets of every individual that's the you can do more research on that but that's one explanation when you actually see this massive gathering of Jews you also recognize the singularity and the uniqueness of everyone okay that's one here's a second one and there's actually yeah I don't know what >> we thank God for creating a nation, this great nation where everyone is and to appreciate everyone's individuality within the within nationhood. That's what Okay, good. So, I was um actually this past this past Moz Shabas, I made a uh made a shiva call to Rakovot. It was the first time that I was ever in Raovot. I was never there. and very nice by the way very beautiful community and when I sat down at the Shiva so I uh so one of the things that I said I said you know I I think I could recite a braha possibly when you know at this moment now that I'm here in for the very first time so what braha is that so look at the following this is if you look at number four is if you see in the land of Israel Israel. When you see a community, a built community like it was in the time of the second temple, you make the following blessing. There's a braha that you can recite when you see a community, a built community or a rebuilt community in the land of Israel. when you see homes, when you see apartments, when you see a community for the very first time that you can make a braha, is anybody familiar with this? Now look, yeah, really fascinating. So what's the braha? Again, this is only a braha. A braha that can only be recited in the land of Israel, right? We don't get excited when we build uh you know, a new community in in Long Island, right? We're excited about the rebuilt communities of the land of Israel. am. So what is mativ like the word? >> What? Like a a a pillar or a a construct constructing within the within the boundaries of almana. And what's almana? That's a ref to the widow. What is that a reference to? Like the book of a talks about you shallim and talking about the land of Israel that we've been widowed. And what's the widow? that the land of Israel without its with without its husband the husband being Ben Israel am Israel that we see being constructed in the borders and where we were Almana that we're coming back to life that the Jewish people are returning and rebuilding this is a braha now there's a great rabbi his name I don't know if this is a rabbi you're familiar with Rabbi Elzar Mhammed he's one of the most significant rabbis in Israel today in the religious Zionist community he's the rashiv of harbra the yeshiva He came out with his his area of expertise is he's an expert in ala as a postk he has volumes called pin hala I don't know if anybody has seen that has about 20 volumes and all of it's being translated in Hebrew it has sold 500,000 half a million copies here which is an astounding number it's it's presenting all of and it's also there's a fellow by the name of Ellie Fiser who is translating he's heading the translation of uh of of the pan and he actually for the I think it was the very first time that he went to it said he left Israel he never wants to leave Israel but he felt that he wanted to share and he went to some of the schools he went to S he went to Ramas and he spoke in schools about and bringing his work to students there as well so he shares the following and I'll just share it outside he said for he was a Talmud of he was a student of Rafuk's son Ritzu the Zatsal he studied with Rasi the cook and he said whenever Rasi the cook would come to a new community again you're going back to the the 50s and the 60s when he would arrive so the cook said I should really make the braha as soon as I enter as they're building this new community as he went to Shilo he went to Kir arba right in those years they were just beginning to build to go to Ephra right when there was just a few caravans in uh in Ephra so to make a braha But he said, "I'm not going to make a braha just yet. I'll wait." Because he knew that he'd be speaking and that everybody, the crowd would be there, the hundreds, you know, hundreds of people, whatever it may be. And at that moment, he said, "I'll I make the brah." And that was his custom. That was his he would say the full and for everybody. And he would say, "You can say it along with me or you can be yay with my bra." And he recited that. And then as part of on his website, this is the Paka Revel, he was just asked a question, if I'm on a tour, let's say I go to Tel Aviv and the um and the tour guide is is describing, you know, what Tel Aviv was like and you're going to these cities that now are built cities, but now you appreciate and you see for the very first time what was here or what wasn't here and to see a rebuilt city. Can you make this braha at that time? And he said, "Yes, you can make the braha and it should be recited. According to Rammed, there's a braha that should be recited." I think about this when I go I go every so often to be bes to RBS and every time I go, I see another mountain that was, you know, that was a bare mountain and now it's and now you have apartments that are being built there. And interesting and he brings this that many of the sources say the following says you can only make the braha if you feel like a an inspiration. In other words, if you see it and you're inspired by that. So then you can recite the braha. >> If you're annoyed with the traffic, >> right? Well, it's a good thing to do when you're annoyed with the traffic to focus as you're coming into into RBS and to focus on that. I bring this by the way these examples and I'll take your question in a moment. I bring these examples because this idea of making a hundred braot a day that it should be a moment of inspiration a moment of ya the awe of hashem well think about this braha to think about reciting this braha to see a new city that's being developed to see the cranes and to just you know drive around your shalim to see the new communities that are popping up and to be inspired by that moment that's that can be a moment of of year a not fear not fear God from not fear of of punishment. That's the awesomeness of Hashem. That the prophecies are coming to life. That I'm here that I'm standing here at this moment. That I'm witnessing the the building of a country with my own eyes. That I'm seeing the words of Yeryahu and Yishi Yahu and Amos that I'm seeing that come to life. That's a moment that can that can be potentially a moment of awe. And I think that's what it means as well. It's unique. It's a a unique kind of braha. um that we haven't been able to say for a very long time which is part of that 100 brahar today uh of this beautiful braha which is mates gvul almana yes take a comment >> I was yesterday in there before but I haven't been there in a very long time >> so it says every 30 days you can make the braha says every if you've not made the braha and you come back to that place and you're inspired by that place you can make the braha again again I you can ask your local Orthodox rabbi you know what you should do but that's I saw that in the sources and Rabham in his safer and he's one of the great postkim says that there's a bra that should be recited today with the name of Hashem yes >> that let's say you haven't been there >> yes yes if you're I would add what I saw in the what he brings if you're inspired by it >> okay good yes absolutely right absolutely Right. Absolutely right. Okay. Let's uh let's close with the following. And this is if you want to turn to page four, we'll close with the following. So, Rafuk has the following line which almost sounds like a this again we go back to Midotaraya his writings on and it's almost like a riddle this uh this line. Let me read it to you. It's the top of page four. Having having fear or awe of Hashem it's necessary to accept upon it it's like a riddle needs that's what he writes. So what does that mean? >> He has Okay, good. the yoke. Okay. So this is the way that and looking some of the far um there was a a rebby the Katska rebi ra mendal of katsk and this is just I just took a picture I happened to have been there years ago also going back to my 20s. I was an adviser on what was called jolt which was an OU program that would spend two weeks in Eastern Europe and then come to Israel for two weeks. A very powerful program with uh with young people. Actually, one of the young people on that today is the head of all of NCSY, the international director of NCSY was a nice young 14-year-old boy uh on that trip with me at the time. And if you go to cuts, you can see this. You see the base medish, you see his home of the Katskarbi. And not far from there, you walk into the forest. And as you see in the picture, you walk into the forest and that's where he's buried. He's buried with his children and a grandchild next to him as well. Um the Kusker said the following. The Kusker said, you know, when it came to kasidas had like such um spiritual ideas, like all these awesome ideas and very mystical ideas. And he said whatas needed to do, they needed in some way to ground them, to kind of give them like a bit of like borders, boundaries. So he said that's what the did. Theid put on a gartle as a way to kind of like rein in these ideas that were you know so esoteric and they put a striml on their head to kind of like you know hold in the to bring down these ideas and to wear a becka to kind of garb again these ideas that are so awesome right so mystical to kind of bring them to tie them tie them down a bit so he says that's what was now says Benel of Katsk who also always had very like sharp lines and was somewhat critical of the kasidic movement. He said what are we left with today? We're left with just wearing the stryol and the gartel and the beakasha but we have very very little inside. That's what he said. >> That's what he said. We have all the we have all the trappings we have all the trappings now of of great spirituality but we're just left with the striml and the gart and the beck. That's that's what the kusker said. Yeah. >> When did he live? >> When did he live? I have to I'm not sure the dates about 150 years ago. You can you can double check the uh double check the date. Um so what was he saying? He was saying I think what Rav Cook was saying here as well that Shamayim really needs your shamayim. I mean, let's let's make sure that the things that we're doing that we're just sometimes going through the motions a bit of shamayim, but to ensure that that shamim it's something that that needs that sensitivity and and awareness that we really do feel a sense of godliness, that we do feel the awesomeness of hashem. It's not not an easy thing to do. Again, the the the advice of the gamarra to say bros throughout the day in order to bring that awareness of God. So, that's a great challenge, right? Not just to do it mechanically but to do it in a way that there's that yachamayim really has yra shamayim. So I'll just end with one other story. This is the samur the samur rav was famous for this is a famous story. I'm not sure if if you've heard this story. Uh the sat rav raviel titlebound. So he was uh he was attending a wedding. He was going to a wedding and there was a banan the I think they still have this today at the weddings. You have a bath, a bachan that would get up and and they would, you know, kind of make fun of this or tell stories and and kind of just to bring a humor and um and a warmth to the uh to the wedding. That was the entertainment of uh of that time. And again, I think I think they still do it today. So the bachan went to the sapmur rav and said that as part of my uh my presentation I'd like to kind of you know to to davin like the way that you dav in it's got like I think it's something that'll kind of bring it'll be a bit humorous the way that I'll do it and it's part of like thetick that I'm that I'm presenting and the s r said that's fine at a wedding and you're doing it for the sake of uh bringing joy and bringing happiness to the kala to everybody there you're welcome to do it. So the Bakan got up and as part of again this presentation thetick whatever it was that was part of uh part of his presentation the way that um the way that he emulated or the way that he that he prayed in the way that the the the samur prayed with a little bit of a high-pitched voice and some of the hand motions and chuckling the way that he did. and he saw that the satar rav began to cry as he was sitting right in front of him and he thought that he possibly offended the samur. So he went over to him afterwards. He said, "I apologize, you know, if there's something that I did and I act if I acted in a way that was inappropriate." And he said, "No, everything that you did was fine." But as I was watching you and watching the way that you were emulating the way that I davin, I was thinking to myself, when I davin every day like that, am I really being sincere in my davining or am I just doing what I do every day? Right? Am I just copying what I do every day or is there real depth to the daing that I do? I I thought that was just a an awesome story which really captures this idea of that our year at Shamayim that we have to be very much aware of this idea and sensitive to this idea that our year should really have shayim right to make sure that that there's uh that there's real depth and sincerity in our relationship with Hashem in through yera and I would just close that we're we're in the month we just started the month of Shvat what's special about is the planting of trees and the growth the beginning according to B Shamai we already started the first of is already the beginning of that period we go according to Basil we wait till the 15th of the month but it represents the beginning of of growth as we started today where cook spoke spoke about the uh putting a sapling in the ground and when it comes to midos it's something that we're always looking to improve always to grow and in this area also of our sense of the awesomeness the yataramut yatamut that that Moshe felt that the sn that we are to feel and ideally a little bit a little taste of that every time that that we say maybe even this brah we come even if we don't recite it just to think about it for a moment as we drive through Israel we come to map she driving around and we say uh we say how awesome it is how awesome you are hashem and that we uh have the greatli part of this wondrous time all right I wish everyone a good Okay. A pleasure to be with you as always and um look forward to seeing you soon.