Rav Kook: Eretz Chefetz 8:5 - Rediscovering Our Mission By Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider

all right so let me wish everyone a uh a good morning Booker to and thank you very much for being here this morning and uh we have the special SCH of learning together the teachings of Rook this morning so let me just begin with the um with the sponsors of today's Shear so we have a regular sponsor and uh we thank that sponsor and also thank my brother Hillel gold shider who is sponsoring the share today in memory of my father whose yard site is this evening and tomorrow Ben aaham so the learning today should be naso and he is buried in New York in uh in Queens okay so this morning barem we uh we woke up to to good news to very positive news of a uh of an operation that happened last night and freeing two hostages this morning so we thank Hashem bar MIM who frees the captives and we should continue to see hatah and and Yeshua for uh for all of am Israel and for those that are in captivity were they were uh they were in Gaza and there was an operation last night thank God that uh RA in Rafa so let let me begin let me begin the learning this morning uh in the following way with a little uh just a short introduction and uh you know all of us are very much engaged in uh in davening for uh for our soldiers ding for the the difficult mat the difficult situation that we're in and daving is one way in which we beseech Hashem that we turn to Hashem and ask Hashem for Rim but but there is another way as well and that is through Tam Torah the learning of Torah that we are doing that we learn Torah bis our soldiers and the hostages those that have been injured and it's interesting we have this idea and it's actually highlighted in theic literature and it's F found in rnasin of breev the great student Rasam of neav and he took actually all the teachings of his re and he put them into prayers and he wrote a safer called in which he took learning T Torah but he turned them into prayer one of the ideas is that when one is learning that one can take that idea of learning and one can bring those ideas of learning before Hashem that learning isn't just the academic or the scholarly but it's also a way of turning to Hashem with those ideas with that wisdom of learning and asking Hashem for raim through that learning and it's interesting that we find this not only in the writings of rnasen or inic literature but Sal speaks about it as well and it's interesting he quotes a rambam the rambam in Tor where it says Kumi Roni Bala It quotes a verse where it talks about learning at night the special quality of learning at at night and it says Kumi Ron Bala which means that I'm singing out to you or I'm crying out to you with my learning so Rabbi salic says that there's not only the learning of the uh the intellect the knowledge that we gain from learning but in the learning itself self that we take that learning and those ideas in learning and that we bring those learnings that learning before Hashem and we ask Hashem for ra so the learning that we're doing right now it should be it should be a as well it should be a prayer as well and especially as we're learning the words of rook and ideas that attach us to to erel to Amel that in particular at this time that this learning should be a uh a so what i' like to look at right now is is uh very beautiful piece in ruk and we continue in our in our learning we're forging ahead in the the saer eret and we're learning we're going to learn this morning a piece which is found and here we are in chapter 8 and it's piece hey it's the uh the fifth piece and it speaks about the Jewish people returning to the land of Israel and uh some of the ideals and some of the the ethics and the deeper teachings of Judaism that uh that uh that come to fruition as the Jewish people return to the land of Israel so let's take a look at uh let's take the words the take a look at the words of ruk to read the words of ruk as we do as we begin studying his beautiful words and uh so we're at the top of page one the top of page one and we'll look at the first two paragraphs we'll read and translate below you have a translation as well the ideals sh cor Israel that are at the heart of Israel when we return to the land of Israel as we return to the land of Israel uh so it's the if you I think you have to turn it over it should it's a page page one no go to the uh turn it all the way over Ah that's right okay all right good yes page one the staple is on what side on the Israeli side or on the yeah it is okay Where in Israel okay so we begin again the ideals of the Jewish Nation they continue to uh to grow they become they become even larger even greater as we are returning to the land of Israel and we have to talk about what that means what are the ideals of the of the Jewish people I'll bring the following uh I'll bring the following example actually this is just coming off of uh did any anybody here stay up all night and watch the Super Bowl last night no you probably wouldn't be here right now if you're were up all night watching so I I saw a lot of uh advertisements for uh for shurm for classes that would be given during halftime so no it's yeah you laugh at that but yeah so in other words people are watching the game it's a 5H hour game but the idea is that at least in that 5H hour game in that half hour 40 minutes in the halftime not to watch the halftime show but you should be Le and there's a program through yiv University I saw Rabbi pesak cron was uh was teaching other rabbis that are giving shuram during that time the cost of per second per second well they I don't think they pay for the commercial time for that but I was thinking about that so what is that's a that's a beautiful beautiful ideal in other words that we're a person who's watching the game that they should take a half hour 40 minutes to uh to be learning Torah but I don't know if that's the ideal of the Jewish people I think the ideal is not necessarily to spend 5 hours watching the football game correct so that is the ideal and R cook says as we are returning to the land of Israel those ideals of the Jewish people The Inspirations of the Jewish people the vision of the Jewish people becomes greater and greater that's a galute Jew that watches 5 hours of football and listens to 20 minutes of R pesak cron at halftime but the Jew living in AR Isel what do we know of the Super Bowl right would we sit for five hours and watch watch a football game so that's kind of a maybe maybe an example that we can we can begin with and that's R cook says so the ideals of the Jewish people they become enlarged they become even greater as we return to the land of Israel it also awakens a spirit that is ready to accept ready to receive those ideals but it's being received with thundering might and there is a great desire to fulfill that and to prepare the Kim the vessels in other words we have we have great ideals a great vision but we also need the Caleb we also need practically how to implement those ideals Kim great vessels that are that are needed sh dur raanan we need people that are souls of bar that are healthy Souls of a generation that's ran that is that is fresh that is alive that is sitting in the land of Israel dwelling in the land of Israel and that it's girded with strength the strength of Salvation so again we have great ideals ideals that we uh that we' have carried with us through the Exile but as as we returning to the land of Israel those ideals become even greater that Vision becomes even a more profound even a more Majestic vision and we also practically need powerful people and it could be that he's referring to theim literally the the power of coming back from you know the stto life the Jew that is bent over right here we have the Jew with a lot of uh with spiritual strength with physical strength they were ready to engage in in a life in which we can f fulfill that great vision of the Jewish people and we're going to talk about what that great vision is or those ideals that's the opening word of ruk here the Alim theim the ideals of the Jewish people so what is part of that great vision of the Jewish people and here the second paragraph mikash We have a vision of rebuilding a bet mdash that prophecy will return to the Jewish people the kingship that we'll have here in the land of Israel and all of their infrastructures that they're sending to us their waves right their their their light this light that is implanted in the land of life in other words we may not have those in place today we don't have the bet mikash we don't have n we don't have Mal but here we're sensing that we're getting we're inching closer to that and those ideals and from those ideals from that Vision that is giving us a spiritual strength that's giving us a vision of who we really are and what we can accomplish as a Jewish people we have lost some of that along the way we have forgotten some of that along the way in this long 2,000 year Exile and that is a based on a PK that's found in kakuk that there is the uh this light that is that we are receiving from them receiving from again these great ideals of mikdash g a very poetic line that the gal that the waves of their light that they're hitting alenu that they're hitting our eyelids there words there's this great light that's coming to our eyes it sounds like he's he is using sort of the imagery of waking up in the morning or you walk in a room with you put the light on and all of a sudden that great light is almost almost too much to bear and as the Jewish people are returning to the land of Israel there's this great light that is emanating from these great ideals that that they're almost overwhelming and what does it mean to us niua we could really reach all of us could reach nbua here in the land of Israel that's what the kusari writes the kusari says only when we return to the land of Israel can every individual you know possibly have have the potential to have nag again but these are ideals that are almost Beyond us that they almost blind us the light of these ideals they are closed there words we have been sleeping in the Exile we've been there's a certain Slumber or spiritual Slumber and we've forgotten some of the great spiritual um possibilities and potential of the Jewish people and what it means to return to Israel but now we are preparing to receive that great light we now want to find out as we returning to the land of Israel who we really are what is our what is our purpose and what is it that our soul is really asking of us so as we return to the land of Israel sayar of cook there there are great lights that are uh that are present that we are now privy to see for the very first time it's not easy to receive them but we're ready for them we're now ready to see what those lights and what is it that our true tkid is what is our purpose for ourselves and for our nation okay so now I want to begin to analyze what R cook is referring to s sheets there should be a few more in the back on the very back are there any more sour sheets at the very back okay if not if there's anyone that can possibly I think we just need one more copy okay thank you yeah there's one more copy here okay uh a few month month back we had a uh we had a meeting at the OU they they brought a a group together and uh I was invited to that meeting and um it was a meeting which we sat down for a number of hours just to talk about what is the mission statement of this of this organization here in particular oh you Israel right in a line or two what is what is the mission statement what is our what is our goal what is our purpose and I guess every few years every number of years you need to look at that again even if there was a mission statement in the past maybe it's changed maybe we now have you know more people people that have made alah we have to put more emphasis on that area whatever it may be so the question that I would would that I would begin with and this is what R cook is alluding to that somehow as we're returning to the land of Israel we have to ask that question again what is the taid and that's the term that he uses as we return to the land of Israel what is our purpose what is our goal who are we really and what is our mission and what is it that our soul our soul in all of its strength what is it that we are to accomplish what is it that we are to attain what is it that our soul our Collective Soul we can talk about the individual soul as well but collectively as a nation what are we here for and it's a good question right why why did God choose the Jewish people and is our mission as a Jewish people so I'd like to I'd like to address that sounds like a simple question but maybe there isn't a simple answer to that or maybe there is but let's begin with the following this is one of the um one of the uh beautiful teachings of rev cuk actually quoted by Rabbi salvic and I've quoted here in the past it's actually one of the few times maybe the only time that RAB salvic quotes a vort an idea from from ru cook and it's something that we say in the uh in theer and we say and in that line that we say at the end of the amida we say to AEM that you created me at this time before you created me and put me here on this Earth I really had no purpose and now that you've created me and this is the difficult part of this phrase in daving now that you have created me it's as if you did not create me now what does that mean you've created me but you have not right and ruk says you have to read between the lines here and what it really means is the following if you created me and you brought me here to this earth and I do not fulfill myid then then you've brought me to this Earth at this time in this place and and I've lost out I've lost out on that opportunity and that's something in the daving itself rasham Kipper we are to think about as individuals right what is it that is uh that God has created me and placed me here on this Earth at this time in this place to accomplish that's on a personal level and it's something that RAB salvic talks about and R cook talks about that we all need to think about on a on a regular basis on a consistent basis what is our role what is our purpose what is our mission that's on a on a personal level but what I'd like to look at right now is really the question of what it means as a nation because that's what of cuk is referring to here in terms of the tkid of Amel what is our tkid so let's look at the Torah itself and I think there is a source again if we think about the Torah and all theim in the Torah where does the Torah speak about our our role our mission as a people as a nation so so a couple of weeks ago we read parro right before theer we have the following PUK which is a well-known PUK we're now on page two the top of page two and Hashem tells us and I think this could be this could be highlighted as a mission statement for the Jewish people right before I I give you the Ten Commandments the I want you to know the following about yourself who you are as a nation and what does Hashem say to the Jewish people and you are to be to you Lee you are to be to me a you are to be a kingdom of priests and you are to be a holy nation so again why I to ask you the question the question that I asked just a few moments ago what is our mission statement who are we what is our tkid so one tkid of ours is that we are to be a kadosh we are to be a holy nation okay we could talk a lot about that what that means to be a holy nation but there is actually a term that's used before holy nation you are to be a and what does that mean you are to be a so let's look at twoim one is Rashi we always start with rashi rashi says what does it mean now it doesn't mean right away we think kimim in the sense of that we are to be kohanim well we can't what does that mean for our nation to be kohanim so Rashi says the following Source number two SIM you are to be princes you are to be like we use ministers like a minister in the knesset assar you are to be AAR you are to be a leader you are to be a head that's it says says the children of David or The Descendants were kohanim it doesn't mean that they literally were kohanim but what does it mean that they were the leaders now Rashi doesn't quite explain or elaborate what that means exactly well what does that mean you are to be leaders well one way of interpreting that what does it mean you are to be you are to be leaders amongst who what do you say leaders of what leaders leaders of leaders well to be a leader in this context you are to beim you are to be a kingdom ofanim of leaders you are to be leaders well what does that mean leaders of nations of all nations of the world that's right you are to be the leader of the world right you are to be the role model of the world that's certainly a way to read Rashi it's it's the way that the sparno understands this as well and I just want you to see the the language of uh of the you are to be this is Source number three and in that way you will be unique you will be singular mikul mikam means who from all the other nations of the world world to you you are to be the people of understanding and the teachers you are to be the teachers of all mankind you are to call out with the name of God to all of them that's a uh a quote from apes you are to be a leader as the Jewish people will be and destined to be in the future you are to be a you are to be a leader teaching the Oneness of hem interesting look at how the ends this P Tor that out out of Zion will go forth the Torah so were I to ask that question again what is the role of the Jewish people what is the tkid of the Jewish people what is the mission of the Jewish people according to Rashi according to this farno according to this P you are to be according to Hashem not to rash according to and what does that mean you are to be a role model you are to be a leading nation and what is it that you are to bring to the world you are to bring according to thisno you are to bring you are to call out to all B Hashem that the world knows God that the girl that the world knows the Oneness of Hashem okay good so that is mission statement and again just let's keep this in the back of our minds R cook says when we come back to the land of Israel when we we return to the land of Israel we will now have the ability to fulfill those great ideals or the great ideal of the Jewish people one of the great ideals of the Jewish people is this is this mission is this tkid that we are to be a light to the nation we are to be a role model we are to be a leader yes we say we should be a light unto to the Nations is that correct yes yes yes absolutely absolutely R cook writes the following this is from orote this is Source number four it's in the Hebrew above you have the translation below we'll read one pos one the first line the first sentence from ruk in the Hebrew all of the different cultures of the world when we come back to ourselves when we fulfill our role and we develop our ruak our unique spirit this will bring a Great Awakening and a revolution to the world all of the different ideologies will straighten that they will find their path all of life will be filled with the light of joy that they will have an Awakening a new Awakening with our hu as we as we return and build ourselves revive ourselves in the land of Israel all of the religions of the world they will take on wear new clothing by the way that doesn't necess that we're not saying here and I'll just make the point we're not saying that we're converting the rest of the nations in other words it's a light to the Nations doesn't mean that we're interested in converting and prizing but what we do want is to spread the wisdom the righteousness the ethics the um the message the light of the Torah to all the nations and the Oneness of Hashem we have 613 mitzvot how many mitzvot to non-jews have they have seven that's correct in other words we share a Torah together I don't know if you ever thought about it that way that we share mitzvot with non-jews have you ever thought about non-jews as sharing mitzvot with us I don't think that's the way we think about Gentiles Gentiles are Gentiles we have mitzvot they don't have mitzvot no they have mitzvot they're part of Torah they're part of the will of hasem to bring the ethics wisdom the goodness of the Torah to them as well again not to convert them but that they know the message of the Torah the Oneness of Hashem yes do you want [Music] to they they mitv for them they their obligations for them as well their mitzvah for them that they receive for doing them as well never thought about it yes that's yes and that's uh that's exactly the point of Riv cook and what we're seeing this morning is to think about this aspect this ideal this mission of the Jewish people that has been lost along the way so he says let's just end that sentence that they're going to remove the dirty clothing upon them again poetically and they will place upon them clothing that is uh that is yakar that is precious okay so yes we've lost uh we've lost certain things along the way we've lost we we have forgotten this as part of the message of the Jewish people as part of the mission the Jewish people I always bring the uh always bring the following anecdote or analogy and that is uh we made Aliah 11 and A2 years ago to uh to Israel 11 and a half just about right now and uh we're still just settling in it feels like we we just got here and uh we moved through shalim we uh we were here we tried beish for a year we missed us sh we came back to sh in the 11 years 11 and a half years that we're here we moved six times six different apartments you know you get a lease for a year or two here and then you move on to another apartment and uh so we've moved a number of times that's a lot of times in a short period of time somehow in every move we've lost something along the way something very very precious to us there was a picture that somebody an artist that uh that was very precious to us that we lost in one of the moves uh my mother made a uh made a needle point kala cover for my daughter it was lost and won the moves the things that we're most careful about we were very very careful every time to make sure that it was you know placed and in just the right suitcase and we knew it but somehow somehow it was lost so I always think about that in terms of what rev cook and R cook speaks about this idea as well over 2,000 years of moving from country to Country we've lost some of some of the valuable things in Jewish life and who we are as a Jewish people and one of the things that we've Lo one of the things that we've lost is this idea is this idea that we are to be a light to the Nations that we are to be a a leader a we've lost that that idea along the way one of the reasons why we've lost it and we're going to see a very interesting uh very interesting Insight from R cook why why we've not been effective doing it but we have not been effective or we've lost it because it's almost been impossible for us to uh to fulfill that role how do you do that right when you just trying to survive how do you do that when you're being run run out of a country right how do you do that when people are are murdering re Mur murdering you and and you're being expelled right how do you how do you share the message the light of Torah with people that have no interest in hearing it so the question is or or as R Cook highlights here as we return to the land of Israel that we have the opportunity for the first time to fulfill a role and to fill to fulfill a mission that somewhat has been lost over time now where do we see that mission that mission we saw Robert did you want to say something yeah please there's no question about it that nation that you feel identifies with anything that he says here you're asking the question practically is it H has it have we accomplished this no but it's not only it's not only for us to accomplish he's talking about the nations of the world react to our yes yes we don't accomplish for ourselves all right so that's a no no that's an interesting discussion that's an important idea as well it's a combination also being the in other words it's we have to be a holy nation we have to to act in a way that uh that others want to emulate the Jewish people that we are an inspiration to the world maybe we're lacking on that front I'm not sure I think I think we are I think we I I I think there are other nations that are looking to the Jewish to the Jewish nation and in particular the Jewish nation in the land of Israel and that we are we do we do serve as a role model to others well are are you arguing that we're that that it's uh that we're ineffective doing this that it hasn't play that it hasn't played out this way arguing not way shape or form identifies right with who and what we are okay I mean I mean one one example comes to mind are the in the last three months yeah yeah well one of the one of the examples evangelicals which you have I don't know 100 million evangelicals that are that are following Israel very closely and are inspired by the Jewish by the Jewish nation and so no I I I think I think it is I think it's uh I think I think it is playing it's playing out slowly slowly but surely it's a it's a slow process but we're at a very important juncture right now in terms of what's happening in Israel in terms of the war in Israel and in terms of of uh of Good and Evil and and uh Israel representing good to the world and the whole world is looking at Israel right now every day everybody is looking towards Israel everybody is reading and watching what is Israel doing and what this war represents and yes as rev cook says as we come back we we haven't we haven't been able to do that for the last 2,000 years the other nations weren't looking at the Jewish people what they were doing we were all hiding in our in our Shettles and just trying to survive for the very first time the nations of the world are getting up every morning and they're reading the internet and seeing what are the Jewish people doing and the fact that they see an ethical Army a moral Army the nation are saying look at this people they are a light to the world whether they admit you're saying they're not they're not moving quick enough they're not they're not being inspired as they should make two make two lists what our our greatest enemy Germany has has seen the goodness of the right right I've seen the good okay so that's we we we we have a lot of work a lot a a lot of work to do but this is something that for the very first time ru cook is saying that we have the opportunity to do and I think we I think we are making inroads I think the potential is there yes I I don't know we want to make a major discussion around this yeah I this simar to this is being a message to us it is a message to us very good yes what they do is whatever they're going to do the message is strongly for us we very good very good there's only so much I I think that's a good yeah I think it's a good answer the results we have to be good this paragra is talking about the nations of the world Riv cook Riv cook sees that this is going to happen that it's going to unfold this is part of the Redemptive process this is part of the optimism of rev cook this is where some would say rev cook is not you know not grounded or doesn't kind of see reality some would be critical of rev cook but rev cook is a REV cook is a Visionary rev cook is a prophet to some degree and he sees this as as unfolding by the way amazing he's writing this again I always point this out writing this not today he's writing this in the in the early 1900s with a handful of Jews here but he sees how it's going to begin to unfold that our nation will be a nation and can we say this our nation will be a nation that the nations of the world are going to be looking at and going to be judging that's happening right that has happened whether they're judging you know positively or negatively but everybody is looking towards Israel today the entire world is watching what's happening using a different standard okay using a different standard and some say maybe that's that that's that's that kind of represents that's a good thing in a sense that they that they they see the Jewish people as as an ethical as an ethical people yes yeah please wa wa they okay very beautiful yes you're absolutely right Korean students um learn T yes yes no I think I think it I think we are making inroads we are making inroads in uh in terms of inspiring inspiring the nations of the world it's a slow slow slow but uh slowly but surely okay let's come back to our uh let's come back to our to our learning let's come back to our sources and um where does this begin this idea where's the very Foundation of this idea of the Jewish people that the mission statement of the Jewish people is that we are to be a nation that brings the goodness of the Torah and Hashem to all mankind to All Nations we go back to Abraham and that's really the very mission statement the very first statement that is made to Abraham with the change of name that abam is told that you're no longer going to be abam but you're going to be Abraham and what does abah represent or what is the additional hey that you're going to be an a honim which is really fascinating because you think if a if Hashem is going to bless arah with a name change that it would be something to do with the fact that he now is the father of am Israel but hem says to abah no you're going to be Abraham aim that you're going to be a father of many nations meaning you're going to be that role model you're going to be the leader you're going to be the one you're founding a religion you are the father of religion that's going to bring my name to all mankind a honim and that's what the gamar says the gamar says this is a gamar in chabz and uh it's the top of Page Three KU Alf if we just go to the three lines down it says that sometimes we have words in the Torah that are really abbreviations noon and what does Aon stand for according to gamar means that you are to be a father you are to be a leader to all the nations B the BET of means you are you're the chosen one the of hon stands for that you are the most beloved amongst the Nations me the next of hon the Me Is You Are The King The V of hon is you are the um you are the distinguished one of the you are the trustworthy the trusted one of the Nations so what does aamon stand for according to gamar it has all of these different implications but all of them re lay to the idea that you are now going to be a role model you are to be a leader you are the Mel that the rest of the nations are to learn from you you are to be in an inspiration for them R cook says the following on the Kish that we say on Friday night the Kish that we say Friday night so we talk about the shabas as being that reminds us of creation that God created at the very beginning of time and then we talk about The KES in The KES that it refers to shabas that it is a remembrance of leaving Egypt I don't know if you ever thought about these two ideas that are brought in The KES that chabas what we highlight in The KES is the fact that it's that reminds us it's reminder it hearkens us back to God creating the world and also the fact that we left MIT ruk says the following and here we have ruk this is in the sitter of ruk it's in some of it's translated Below in number five but reading the Hebrew so what is this idea this duality of and two one I'm reading in the that God created the world that God wanted perfection in the world that God wanted his and oer that there should be happiness that there should be fullness for for the world and for the people of the world that God is creator of all and if God created the world that means means that God had a particular purpose in creating the world in order to fulfill this mission that God wanted the world to have a Perfection therefore God created and God chose one particular Nation Miss that they will live a life according to the will of God that they're going to live in such a way that they're going to model it that the the entire world is going to learn from the Jewish people and that says something very interesting here and that is when we think about chabas and we think about the role of the Jewish people our role as a Jewish people has a lot to do with creation itself creation itself means that God created man and woman Adam and K that we have an obligation to perfect that world that God created and then we have we have a particular role that we have to fulfill in terms of our nation and with that with our remembrance of leaving MIM we then have the notion the idea that we have a particular role to play in terms of our own nation that we have a goal for our nation Cesar of cook in a word that we have a dual role a dual purpose and that is that we are there is a universal component to what it means to be a Jew and to be a part of the world and we have a particular role to play as well that we as a nation that we left Egypt and we also have but we also have the role that we are to play in terms of what we are to bring to the world the Perfection that we are to bring to the world as a whole and let's go to the following the last page and um this is froma this isri yes from his sitter his Parish on the sitter you're right I didn't write the uh it's at the very end there in the uh in the translation the the o r is okay let's look at the following Source again just to establish this idea that Rus establishes that we have or that he's highlighting the Dual role that we have for ourselves in terms of being an am kados and we also are to bring that kadus we are to bring that Holiness and that message of Hashem and the Torah to the entire world and where do we see that so we saw it in we saw it in Abraham in the change of name of abah to but here I want to show you one other source and um this is something that we all recite every single day and that is the shma and the meaning of the shma what is the kavana that we are to have when we recite the shma what is the meaning of that of that phrase of that statement so this is the last Source this is Source number four so what is ISU what does it mean so let me say let me suggest the following is is means listen in Israel meaning I'm about to make a statement about my belief in Hashem and I want all of Israel I want the Jewish people to know that and that's what we do every day every morning every night that we say shma Israel listen Israel I'm turning to my people I'm turning to the Jewish people and I'm making a statement and all of us make that statement to one another as we say sh is Hashem elu Hashem Hashem is our God but then we add to that and we said hasem that God is one now one way of interpreting that is just it's a statement about God that we're saying that God it's a single God that God is Not is a Unity God is not many gods Rashi does not read it that way Rashi says that when we say this statement is we should have the following kavana and I want you to see what Rashi says Rashi says El God who is Our God right now the elot and he is not the god of the Nations who he is destined to be the one God as it says in the na'vi that I will change the Nations to speak a clear language bam Hashem that all the nations should call out knowing one God with the name of God the as we say on that day all the nations will will say that there is one God and there's one name of God according to ra according to Rashi ISU what is the cavana that we are to have when we say shma every day shma Isel here Israel hemu the Lord God is our God Hashem what is is that a according to Rashi what is it what is that that we what is it that we are saying what is it that we are praying for as we say Hashem according to Rashi that all the nations I don't want to just Isel right it shouldn't only be that Israel hears that there is one God all the nations that that our goal that our mission as a Jew and as a Jewish people is to bring that Oneness of Hashem to all the nations that everyone will know that as well that's quite astounding by the way because we say the shma every single day and the meaning of that statement and according to Rashi again this idea that the Jewish people the mission of the Jewish people this ideal of the Jewish people is that the whole world should know the Oneness of Hashem should know the wisdom of the Torah the light of God that that's something that we say every single day as we say dma that's the statement that we're making that's the prayer that we are offering is every Jew should know the oness of Hashem I declare that every Jew should know it but I want everyone to know that Oneness of Hashem is well that's how Rashi interprets the PUK and by the way Rashi is suggesting that's the kavana that we are to have when we say the shma every single day I'm not sure if Jews think about that kavana when they're saying the shma according to Rashi that's what you're supposed to have in mind that we're anticipating that day and that we're working towards that towards that attainment of all Nations knowing Hashem did you want to make a comment yes no a question actually please who's actually saying who saying who say is a Jew is obligated talking about talking about the so it must be that it's somebody it's Amel that's saying it right it's Amel who's saying it actually you have mosenu that is in part it's in it's in Saar who's giving these messages it's his teachings to to Amel so in a sense it's a it's a combination of uh of moshu and receiving it of course KES so you're right it's not hasem saying it it's a teaching which really comes from moshu teaching us to to recite the shma does anybody agree with Rashi does anyone agree does anyone disagree with Rashi I don't know I don't know if anyone disagrees with Rashi I don't right I don't know if everyone reads it that way I don't know if everyone read it that way interesting we have to look through the mafam on that but Rashi we all know we begin with rashi rashi it's the basic interpretation it's not rashi's idea it's from uh from a medish from a gamarra so let's let's look at one last source and this is uh this is interesting one last source and that is we open with the idea that ruk says that when we come back to the land of Israel we can we can finally begin to fulfill our mission we can fulfill our mission as as a Jewish people ideal the ideal the tkid of am that we have not been able to fulfill up to this point one of the what is the tkid again let's go back let's kazer what's the tkit of the Jewish people according to the Torah according to ainu according to the shma what is the tkid of am Israel to be a not not only to be a holy nation but to be a holy nation that bring that teaches others that's right that leads others that's a Cohan to other that's by the way it's interesting is you can almost argue a secondary the first statement is to be so shma tells us we are to be leaders and bring this message to others we are to bring this message to others so we have again it again what is again we to ask you that question and we can walk out of the room today what is the mission of Amel what is the purpose what are we here for so we are here to bring we here to be a holy nation I think everyone would kind of like be begin with that RI cook would say we've lost a little bit along the way we've forgotten a little bit of this this other mission that we have this other tkid but why have we why have we lost it well I would suggest we've lost it because it's been very very difficult for us to kind of to do it we just haven't had the opportunity to do it for so long we finally can do that begin to do it today I think we are doing it Rob sa says we're having a hard time doing it but I think we're we're doing it we're working on it we're we're making our way little by little but R cook brings another very interesting idea as to why we have been ineffective in sharing that message for so long for the last 2,000 years why have we been ineffective doing that so I want to highlight that I wanted to share that with you and we'll essentially close with this so R cook says and this is from this is uh page number four Source uh the very top of page number four this is from OTA kodes this is one of the one of the great and one of the most important collections of the teachings of ruk which was uh compiled by the Nazir his student Ren and he writes the following and I'm not going to read all of it let me read the first line and you have it in Translation as well it's called the tourer a period of time the tour or the era ofer that there's what's that there's what wealth or yeah the wealth it's wealth and joy and actually they're they're related right there's going to be a period a period of time an area an an era of where there's happiness the joy of Life the wealth of life so so until we have reached this point of of uh the beginning of of redemption we have um contributed or we have had has influence Alam on the world on the world what have we been teaching the world and what have been what have we been trying to teach to some degree is what are obligations we've been trying to teach them ethics and righteousness that come from Godel interesting R cook makes the following argument outside the land of Israel in this Exile yes we've been trying to some degree to convey a message of who we are but what is the message that they've seen from the Jewish people they've seen a very limited message from the Jewish people they've seen they've seen obligations because who are we outside the land of Israel we're keeping chabas we're keeping kosher right all of the all the that we have and also sort of a limitation in terms of our in terms of who we are as a nation and the joy that we have as a nation they haven't seen that and if you try to teach them the Gentiles obligation and restrictions they're not really interested in receiving that message and that's why they haven't received that message up to now let me just let me just get through I'll take your comment but once you enter this stage a new stage and Rook says we're entering a new stage in terms of of what is it that we can now convey that we can teach to the world and what does the world want to hear from us they want to hear from us the joy of living a Jewish life they want to see the success of a nation of Israel they want to see spiritual success of the nation they want to see economic success of the nation of Israel then they want to be open then they're going to open their heart s to hear about the Jewish people and about the Torah but the Exile what what do they see in the Exile they see Jews walking to SCH on chabis they see that they you know that they can't get into their cars they hear about that they have all these restrictions in terms of keeping kosher right is that a is that a very attractive message to the non-jew so if Cook says yes we we've shared that message or they've seen that message but it's not a message nobody wants to be told what they what they can't do that they have to live a more restricted life but when we return to the land of Israel what they're going to see what they're going to begin to see is the on is the joy of the Jewish people is the energy a new life of the Jewish people it's interesting there's a there's a kir organization called momentum um Lori patnik I'm not sure if you're familiar with her group she brings 5 to 10,000 women every year to Israel unfortunately during the last four or five months there have been no groups coming over from that in terms of Kira again the war affects so many so many different people in so many different ways she brings them to Israel and what and she doesn't talk about chabas and she doesn't talk about kashus and this is birthright also how does it work bringing young people to Israel how does that turn them on to Judaism what are they seeing here in Israel that they that they're not seeing otherwise and one of the things that they're seeing the women are seeing the young people are seeing Birthright momentum they're seeing a nation that's just that's full of life they're seeing a nation that's that's that's that's self-sacrificing and young people that are committed and they're not even necessarily bringing them to religious things per se they do that as well but they're just seeing a nation that's come back to life and the joy of of families and the joy of life and and the streets and the restaurants and and R cook says when we come back to the land of Israel will be able to begin to convey this message to the nations of the world because they're going to be open to the message because they're going to see on they're going to see joy of the Jewish people here in the land of Israel I'll close with the following there was a um there was a talk that was just given a 20 minute muser talk that was given at Yeshiva University by Rabbi Assaf bnar I'm not sure if anybody here knows that name uh he is the Ros Kel or the Sagan Ros Kel in the uh the K yiv universities K here in uh here in Israel so he was back in New York he was at Yu and he was giving once once a week they have uh like div muser that they invite a rabbi to give words of muser so uh I listened to that online and um and he said the following he said he made Aliyah he said he made Aliah 20 years ago to Israel and he said the following he said this is a r k rash Rabbi bnar that's okay that's okay he said the following he said that I made Aliah 20 years ago to Israel and he said it was all worth it for the last 4 months here in Israel I made Aliah 20 years ago but it was all worth it for these four months and he explained and he said the following the unity that I'm seeing in the land of Israel today and the willingness of people and of our young people to give their lives for the land of Israel the the spirit of of Amel at this time the volunteering how people have given of themselves of their time of their energy the Oneness the unity the octus that I'm feeling right now in the land of Israel is something that I've not experienced in the past and it's all worth it that I'm seeing something that I never that I never experienced before and then he said the following to uh to the students he said to the Yu students y University students he said that I'm not asking anyone here to give their lives to sacrifice their life for uh for the nation there are those that are doing that unfortunately with the news this morning of uh the two hostages that were freed we also receiv received news of two another two soldiers that were killed in the last day as well so he said to the students that I'm not asking one to be moster nephesh to give their lives for am Israel but what I'm asking you is to think about how you are going to live your life for am Israel and the decisions that you're going to make in terms of where you're going to live and the occupation that you're going to choose and your future you should be thinking about Amel as well that that's part of theone and a very important part of the kbone that you're going to make in terms of the path that you're going to take not to give up your life for am Israel but how you're going to live your life for Amel and very often Theon that we make is aeson that's a very selfish one right what's best for me what's best for for my family for my children that is part of the kbon and must be part of the kbon as well but sometimes we miss out and we don't think about the Amel factor in making thaton in terms of decisions that we're going to make that's best for the nation of Israel what is best for the nation of Israel what kind of decisions choices am I going to make that's going to help the nation as a whole and this is what R cook is speaking about what we open with this morning in terms of what it means for the nation of Israel for am Israel to be back in the land of Israel and once we come back to the land of Israel as we're living in the land of Israel as we're building the nation in the land of Israel they were able to achieve things they were able to attain goals and aspirations and ideals that are simply not possible outside the land of Israel and RI cook saw that unfolding and it's something that I believe that we're that we're seeing today we should be to see the nation of Israel continue to to build here to grow in the land of Israel and that we should be Z to uh to only yeshu amen amen