Rav Kook: Honoring God & The Dignity of Man | Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider | January 28th 2026

All right, I think we can I think we can get started. Great to see everyone this morning for being here and um let me just begin with the sponsors. We have a regular sponsor uh who has dedicated the year of and we have an additional additional dedication from Reggie Commons who is here this morning. Thank you very much for this very beautiful dedication memory of her friend Amy Miriam Tobabas Ephrien. May your memory be a blessing for all of Clam. Thank you very much. Okay. So we uh continue our learning in a very beautiful seafair called Midotaraya the character character traits based on the teachings of Rkook the writing of Rkook and as we mentioned weekly it's a uh it's a book that goes in alphabetical order. So we started with alf aava and uh we made our way we're we're on our way now and we're in the letter or up to the letter and the topic today is cavode cavode honor. So let me um let me introduce the uh our learning today with something that I listened to and something that took place uh this past week at yeshiva university. Uh I'm a graduate of uh of yu and of reit of the smika program. One of the outstanding um Tamid Rabanim Rashi Yeshiva of Wu is Rome Turski Schlita. He is the the grandson of Rabbi Salvichek. He is the son of the Talner Rebi uh the uh Ravski of Brooklyn and >> my son and grandson's Rebi. >> Very nice. And your son and grandson's rebi Yes. Yes. Many many tamid are in his many tamid have been in his there's a weekly dra muser that uh that that the rabbis give I think it's on a Wednesday night either Wednesday night Thursday night where they have like a 20-minut slot for the rasheshiva and you know it's every rashiva has an opportunity to do it and he spoke about the following topic which is very interesting and and I'll share with you why I think he did speak about this topic it's actually the topic that we're going to talk about this morning and it's cavode or cov habrios which is the honor that we give to every individual and to see the dignity in every in every person to to honor every person and his talk was the following just to summarize it in just uh just 60 seconds or so. He said that you know when we get into an argument with another person when we argue with another individual. So one way of looking at that argument is that there are two legitimate arguments. I have my position. I have my way of looking at things. You have your way of looking at things. And um does one hold a grudge? Does one get angry when one has that kind of discourse or argument with with another individual? You're sitting at the shabas table. There are guests. this individual has this way of looking at things and and you look at things differently. Do you become agitated? Do you become angry at the other person? What's the answer? >> Oh, hopefully not, right? Hopefully not. In other words, okay, I have my way of looking at things. You have your way of looking at things. And and and then we can we can be peaceful. There's a shami and there's a hil. Two different ways of looking at the same ha. And we say that you have your way of looking at it. I have my way of looking at it. We can we can agree to disagree. Okay, that's one way of of uh I guess disagreeing or where we have a bit of a conflict with somebody else. But how about in a situation where I have my position, but your position is is just inaccurate. Now there's where it's false where you have sort of you you've gone beyond the the boundaries of of what is acceptable. Your position is is wrong, right? Objectively it's wrong or my position may be objectively wrong. So what do you do in that case where you argue with somebody let's come back to our shabas table. You're sitting with somebody and the position that they're taking is just dead wrong. In other words, they just they just have it wrong. So at that point in terms of the relationship or or agitation, so what happens at that moment where that person that you're disagreeing with is taking a position that is that's just inaccurate. So do you get angry at that person? >> So the answer is that we don't get angry at that person either. And why not? Well, one reason is because of the cavode habrio kavrios. In other words, even if that person has a position that is inaccurate, that's false, we're not going to get angry, maybe we'll, you know, the the position itself may anger us, but the person, right, the relationship towards the person is need one needs to maintain a sense of their the dignity of the other individual and then not not to embarrass the other to still respect the other person. Now, why did Rabbi Tski talk about Rav Torski talk about this issue in particular last week and he actually didn't spell it out but as he began his talk he said this is something that I'm thinking a lot about these days and it's something that within Israel within the Jewish people is something that we need to think about in a very serious way that we need to be very sensitive to this issue of cover what was he does anybody know what he possibly was referring referring to >> Trump. >> What? >> Aliyah. >> No, I don't think I mean I don't Aliyah. What's that? No. >> Usually thinking of Trump. >> Trump. Okay. Maybe. No. Maybe. But he was talking about the Jewish people. This is what I think he was talking about because the day that he gave this talk, I actually I was walking to Harotim. That's where the OU office is. And I was walking through the religious neighborhood Ezra's Torah and Gula Mayarim. And there were demonstrations that were going on. Things were as I was walking. I never saw this. I've been here 13 years and you hear a lot about it. It was the first time that I that I witnessed it. The first time that I saw it of the demonstrations and things kind of getting a little bit out of hand that that things were being strewn into the streets and they were holding up surrounding buses. You had these very large vehicles from the police or from the army that that that were going through the streets that were spraying water and spraying like some kind of blue water. I'm not sure what that what that was exactly. And and with the with people kind of like hiding running into stores and and a little bit of you know bedum that was going on on the streets of Urusion. And I think what Torski was referring to, he didn't spell it out, but I think he was referring to within AmIrael, within our nation, especially here in Arit Israel, where we disagree with one another. And we can disagree. By the way, there are two kinds of disagreements, right? A disagreement where both sides have a legitimate argument. And if both sides have a legitimate argument, so why are we getting why are we getting all flustered? Why are we getting all angry? We have a Shamai and Hill. There are different positions. And we respect the other position. We come from different backgrounds. We have different ways of looking at things, different communities. We need to respect one another. And even if the other community has it totally wrong, right? And even if they're totally off base and even if they've gone to the extreme, right? [snorts] How about the simple notion of cavio? Just the the honor and the dignity that the other person and that the other side deserves. And this is what interesting this is what what he spoke about and this is the topic of the uh of our of our learning this morning and this is what Rkook is going to speak about in cavo. know usually when I I don't know throw out the word cavode I think the first thing that comes to mind is like cavode it's not really appropriate for a person to to uh you know to see kavode but here rufkook is talking about a different kind of cavode and it begins with the cavode shamayan the cavode that we have that we recognize the godly cavode the cavode that we give to heaven so to speak the cavode to hashem and as an extension of that covet hashem that every individual has within them a piece of godliness iness and if we recognize the co of shamim the coem of God so we are to recognize that in in every individual as well that every individual has salamelo that every individual has a spark of godliness nama within them so how can we get angry how can we raise our voice when we also see in that person and should see in the person that salim that's the dignity of man that dignity is an extension of God of God's uh of God's holiness that's found within every individual. So now let's see let's see the words of Ravk. So this is the section in mida called cavode cav and this is the uh this is the first piece and he says the following cavode shamayan the honor that we have the dignity of heaven when it's understood correctly in an enlightened way. It uplifts the value of manim and the value of all that God creates. By the way, all I think he means because the term cavode by the way is not cavodei. It's not honor that we have for fellow Jew. It's caviote. The honor that we have for every barrier of every creation of God of all humanity. And why does every human deserve that cavode? Because every human is created. Not only the Jew, every individual, every human when they're created, they're created. So everyone is deserving of that dignity and to recognize the dignity in every individual. Yes. You >> remember if you look at it in a broader uh way of looking at all the animals. >> Ah, okay. Good. So then it it extends. Yes. And you're right. Interesting. It says kolaitsurim which is really all of God's creation. I I agree with you. Okay. Yes, please. >> Ricky has instructed his followers in Israel not to participate in street protest until got killed. Yes. >> He said yes that protests have become dangerous block roads and safety has >> very nice. Very nice. I'm happy to hear that. And yes, it's just um it is absolutely tragic. There were two young people that were killed in the last two demonstrations. Can you imagine your a 15-year-old boy killed in a demonstration? >> Throwing rocks >> what as things Yeah. as things got out of hand in both situations. It it led to the it it led to the death of young of these young men. Okay. So yes, this something that we and I believe this is Rwski when he gave his talk last week. I think this is something that as he said it's something that was heavy on his heart and something that he's been thinking about and something that we need to speak about and to reinforce and and that just the that that's that essential notion that fundamental notion of cavote habrios the honor that we give to another individual no matter what the position no matter you know what what position they take whatever they're arguing that that makes no difference when it comes to the honor and the respect that we give to every individual. Did you want to? Yeah. >> The root is salad. Cafe salad. Yes. Which is hard. >> The heaviness right >> difficult. So why is it that difficult to honor? >> Yeah. I I don't know if I didn't think about it from the sense of of the difficulty to do it. But cave meaning the heavy the weightiness the weightiness of the the salameloim within a person. In other words, how essential that is, how how core that is, that the importance of it. That's the way that I that I see the word cavode. In other words, the weightiness of this and we'll see that in a moment actually the weightiness of the concept of of cavio and we'll see the gamar is going to say that it even overrides at times mitzvot in the Torah which we'll see how important it is. Okay. Okay. So let's just read to the the end of and this recognition shall goes when you recognize that the nephesh of every person when you recognize the godell the weightiness the greatness the the cavote of every individual it also connects with it's also relates to the anava in other words the humility like with that sense of of godliness that we have within us is also relates to humility. Great is and here and we'll see this in a moment that is citing great isra how great it is that it overrides a prohibition in the Torah. We'll spell that out in just a minute or two. And this allows us to see the greatness of the Shamayu that magnifies with its goodness. As I said before, the more that we recognize cavote Shamayim, the more that we recognize God's honor, the more we recognize the honor that we are to give to every individual because every individual has a spark of godliness within them. That is the teaching, the opening teaching of RV cook. Now, where is this idea, by the way, of cavode shamayim? I was just thinking about that. It's not a term that I think we're that familiar with that we sort of is like on the tip of our tongue. Cavode shamayim. Do we do we use that term? Well, we do use that term every single day in the schma. So, just to just to kind of, you know, put it into uh into that context as we say and what do we say right afterwards? blessed cavode his honored name his kingdom lad is everlasting. So here just to just to give it a to to ground it and to see where we say that we speak about the honor of God. We say it every day as part of katchma that we speak about cavode the honor of Hashem. Um there was a great rabbi his name was Rav Schwab. He was in Washington Heights. Those that are familiar with uh the Bruyers community, he was the RV of the Bruyers community. There's still a very beautiful community of uh of German Jews that are living there in Washington Heights not far from university. There's a beautiful safefair based on his teachings he would give shurim in prayer in every week in the shul and they put together based on and I just want to share with you the following which also highlights the depth of kavot shamayim the awesomeness of kavot shamayim and then to think about that when we relate to other individuals that cavode shamayim that honor and the honor that we are required or we should be sensitive to see within our fellow man. So he writes the following. Where do we get that line? This line where does it come from? It's interesting. It's it's not found in any it's not a tan which is a very strange thing because you would think that we're going to say especially here where we're quoting from the Torah every single day we would have a puk from the Torah itself. It doesn't come from the Torah >> accusated. Uh so one explanation and there are a number of explanations and we're going to see a new explanation right now which which I I was not familiar with. So one is that the Rambam quotes that midrash that it goes back to the story of Yakov that he turns to his children do you believe in do you do all of you believe in God and they all call out and then Yakov says and that's the source that's what the Rambam writes that's the source for it it's a tradition that goes back to Jacob that this is what he recited but here Rafab quotes another midrash that says the following shame You'll tell me if you've heard this interpretation which Mosherenu heard from the Malim while he was near the cavode during the thrice repeated 40 days in harai is cavode elohim honor of God which is to be said quietly in deference to its very esoteric nature. Where does come from? [snorts] Moshe heard the Malikim saying this in Shamine when he was on I don't know if you ever heard this when he was on hari he was able to hear the malim and this is how the malim praised God every day so when Moshe heard that he said you know what this is really a beautiful way to praise God let me bring this down from the mountain let me share this with Am Israel let's let's make this a part of our you know our daily worship of Hashem as well in fact the mid compares the reciting of these words to a piece of jewelry which was stolen from the king's palace which is really an interesting way of looking at it. It's a piece of jewelry that was stolen. You we weren't supposed to take it. Moshe, you were not supposed to take that line. That was supposed to stay in. That's aim, you know, thing that they can say. That's not for us to say. That's what the midra says. B. So the husband says, "I have a piece of jewelry for you that I just The husband says to the wife, I have a piece of jewelry. I stole it. You can wear it, but only wear it in the house." Right? Don't go to shul wearing this piece of jewelry. Somebody's going to see it. That's what the That's what the Midrash says. And we can compare that to that it was not supposed to be taken down. And therefore we do it. Why do we do it quietly? That's like saying to your wife, don't do this in public, right? Don't say this that loudly. Somebody might might hear it, might realize that we took it from >> Shamayan. >> The meaning is >> ah very nice. So that's the one day a year that we say out loud and as the teaching is because we're Malikim, we're allowed to say it out loud on that day. But the other days, 364 days a year, we're saying it quietly. We're saying it hush hush because it's not something that we really should be saying. That's the that's what the midrash says. The meaning is the did not know that Moshenu had heard them say these exalted words and that he would later trans uh transmit them to Ben is through to we therefore say quietly to ourselves to stress the very exalted nature of the meaning of these words. So that's quite an amazing thing, quite an amazing interpretation of and I share this with you because if we speak about Hashem's cavode in this sense and how exalted it is and that we almost can't say it like we're saying a a we're using a phrase, we're using a a word that we shouldn't even be saying out loud because we can't really conceptualize, we can't really grasp what that really means. Is it really appropriate for us to say that about Hashem? How awesome is the cavode Hashem? If that's true of Hashem, the awesomeness of Hashem and every Jew contains also a spark of Hashem. So that's the kind of covo that we need to give to every person as well. That's the honor, the dignity that everyone deserves, even those that you disagree with. And we'll see that in a moment. Okay. Ruk quoted the Gar which we're see which we're going to see right now that says that Abrias is so important. There are times that it overrides even a Torah obligation or a prohibition, a lot said in the Torah. So this is the garos. We're on the top of page two. Garos tshma come and hear the following teaching. It is so important to have honor and to give dignity the appropriate appropriate dignity to your fellow man that it overrides a lot. Now what does that mean? And the gamarra asks well give me an example of that. What are you referring to that it overrides? So here's the example. The example is hasha. I was just walking from the office through gula and you see signs along the way which is such a beautiful thing. Hasha and they list what they found that people hang a sign and they take this mitzvah this obligation very seriously. If you find something you have an obligation to try to find the owner if you can and I just saw that right now just a few minutes ago walking over here and I said wow just beautiful to see that I was about to teach that that you've signed up for Hashaba. If you found something, we don't say like as we grew up as kids, finders, keepers, >> losers, >> weepers, right? What does that mean? If you find it's yours, the guy that lost it, weep. You can cry about it all you want. It's mine, right? That's how we Everybody here knows that line, right? That's how that's how we're raised in America. That's not the Torah way. The Torah obligation is just the opposite. You find it. You have an obligation to try to find the owner. What a beautiful idea that is. Hold on. So the Garra says, "So what does the PK say?" So let's look at the POS. The PK says, this is we're right in the middle of page two. This is the mitzvah of the returning a lost article. You are not to see if you see the ox of your friend. say or if you see the sheep of your friend that it's lost and you ignore it. You just turn away. There's a lost item and you don't respond to it. There's the word and that repetition. Make sure to give it back to why does the Torah use the word here? >> Because all Jews are >> Yeah. Yeah. And when to return something to someone means you care about that person. He's your a he's your hey brother like let me you're my brother like let me take care of this for you let me try to help you out the the PK itself emphasizes think about this person as your not just that somebody lost something that's your a brother that's a family member that lost something that they that they would love to to be returned so try to do what you can the Gar says something really striking here it says you could read the pig a little bit differently means and you can ignore it. The simple reading of the P is don't see it and ignore it. Or you can read the P don't see these items being lost. You can ignore it, ignore it. Look at what the Gamarra says. There are times that you have to take that object and return it. But there are times that you can ignore it. Does anybody know the garb is going to go on and say when are you allowed to ignore an object? If you see the object that you don't have to return the object. >> Ah so shab is good. You would think that and yeah that would that is true. The gumar doesn't give that answer but that's would be accurate. >> Okay good. No see my name. Okayeneath. >> Ah there it is. Very good. So the garra says if it's beneath your covet and this is going to be the source and a very very important source for the dignity of man and woman of a person. The garra says if it's beneath your honor to do so if it's an item that would be embarrassing for you to carry and to bring back then you don't have to pick up that item. That's what the gamarra says. Now, you could argue that point and and different scenarios, but that's the that's the the reading of the gamarra. I was trying to think about an example of that as I was walking, you know, you have, let's say, uh, you know, a uh, a rebby or somebody who's very dignified and he's walking in the street and he sees a pair of women's shoes or a purse. >> Gown. >> What? A night gown. Okay, good. Thank you. A night gown, right? Does he need to pick that up? He finds a lost item and does he need to walk through the street with that? The Garra says he does not need to do that and that we're concerned with the dignity of a person. Now, you could say, well, why not and just have the humility, but here the Garra establishes the idea that we're concerned with the dignity of man as well and how important that is and that that's sourced in the Torah itself. That's how the Gamarra reads this this puk. You could read the puk the dalantem that you're obligated not to to ignore not to pick up the item. So let me let me share with you how this kind of plays out in Rabbi Salvich says the following. Now by the way Rabbi Salvich was not a post. He was not he didn't give saka that wasn't like his his expertise. It's not wasn't his focus. He was what's called a lambdan. He would he would teach gamar and every day for hours and his life was a life around the gamarra adaf gamarra and the great lumbus of brisk and uh that that was his life but there is a collection of pisque hak from rabbi salvichek he didn't really give it as absak but he said things in sheer a rabbi aron ziggler zer does anybody know that name he taught it with in the for many years the first two classes >> what's that >> his aunt was here >> his aunt was here okay so he wrote beautiful volumes. He has like six, seven volumes of Rabbi Salvetic's pis decisions in Jewish law. Here's the question. There is a um somebody is laning shabas morning and the person is making mistakes and what do we do when the person makes a mistake? So we correct him, right? Maybe the gaba should do it. Often the whole shul jumps on that person. Why? >> Depends what the mistake is. >> All right. Okay. It depends on the mistake. What happens if the person is making mistakes again and again and it's getting to a point where it's really becoming embarrassing for the person? Do you have to continue to correct the person? Do you have an obligation to have creases Torah correct? You have 100 people in Shu Shabas morning and they're not going to be yay the reading possibly if it's not a correct reading. At some point do you say because of cavode habrios because of the embarrassment of the person that you stop correcting and rab salvich was that you do stop he says that that based on this that is that at times that it pushes off now he points out something very interesting and that is he said shabas morning what obligation is that is that a dissa is that a den from the Torah itself to read the Torah every shabas morning is there any p in the Torah that says and you shall read the Torah every Shabbat. No. Where does it come from, by the way? Where is he? Where's reading? Where did that come from? Who was the first to do it? Ah, so it could be Ezra. There's also say that Moshu institutes already a reading of the Torah. Even going back, there's a message that says in Mitim that he set aside time, the Jewish people had already begun to study. But it's a minhug, right? It's something it's not even it's a dindaban, minhug, something along those lines. So Rabbi Salvich says the reading of the Torah itself is minhug duraban something in that category embarrassing another person cover what is that what what what is where does that fall in terms of derabana >> it's a dis from the Torah where is it from the Torah we just learned it we just learned this pita that there are times not to that the person is told don't pick up the item the dignity of man that's a that's in the pock itself that's a teaching that's a dindera and he says clearly that overrides the dindera overrides a dinderaban so you stop correcting the person that's very interesting sak of which I uh have sort of put into practice a couple of times in my uh in my rabin [clears throat] um there's a yes please >> yes it's mid rice yeah yes it's me that's right as we I we just I'm I'm sharing we're sharing together the puk where we learn the den of kavrios. >> So, so it will only override. >> Ah, so there now the question is okay. So listen to the following. So listen to the follow another example. By the way, there's a great book. There's also another rash at Wu Rabbi Danil Feldman who's an outstanding Tam younger the younger uh RV or rabbi at at YU. He has a book called the right and the good. The right and the good. And actually he's put a lot of a lot of emphasis a lot of his of a lot of his writing and studies is around this area of benadro and kavrios and he has a whole chapter in the book just about this topic of kavrios he shares the following question that was asked of raajio safe raajio safe za there's a woman and a man husband and wife who are celebrating their first child first boy pedion haben the celebration of pedion haben so the woman writes her raio and says that my what my husband doesn't know that I had an abortion that I had another child before we were married. >> So the question is again I'm not sure abortion but had a child. The question is >> yeah the question is can you can we still have the pinhaben other words do I have to reveal to my husband that there was another child in my life that I gave birth now what does that mean to have the pyon to the pinhen means you're going to be doing a mitzvah you're going to be reciting a braha you're going to be reciting shem so can I do that and rab writes back in the chuva you can look up the chuva and he quotes in the book that because of the issue of cavote abrios your dignity your honor your marriage that you can go through and have the pion so again here we see another example many examples in where where that's what the gar says how great is this notion is this idea is this principle of kavrios that it's do at times it pushes off even a Torah law a prohibition the Torah yes Please. >> Yeah. Yes. Yes. Okay. So, you have to look very very carefully. It's a very complex issue exactly where you know where we implement this when we don't. But that's a principle and these are examples. Just shared three examples you know from the Torah and from modern day postkim. Yes, please. >> Amazing. Very strict about >> Yes. And he's very strict in general. Yes. And we are all very strict about yes. It's one of the ten commandments. That's a serious that's a very serious issue. And that's what the says at times that you can have that overrides alet. The Torah itself says do not take my name in vain. Shame. And here says you can do it. You can override that overrides this prohibition of the Torah. Yes. Yeah. >> He considers a woman and something she's not. >> Okay. Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Okay. Good. So you see this here. Yes. The seriousness that that of this issue. Yes. Please Reggie. >> Ah okay. Good. Very nice. Very. That's a beautiful example as well. Beautiful example. So the example is regarding sot that the gamarra says that god says take my name and you can erase my name you can blat blat out my name you write the name and that's put in the waters itself for the sake of shalam bias which is also yeah very much relates to the same idea of kavrios and bringing a marriage beautiful great example yeah >> the story that that melo said was when he did what he did want and He uh Abraham uh he said that Sorah said that uh was the lacking what you mean that they in other words that Hashem like covered up for for sorrow so to speak also cover okay okay we have to look at no that that might be a very nice example as well very nice all right let's let's focus on two other things actually from Rabbi Salvich from the teachings of Rab Salvichek he spoke a lot about this issue of the the dignity of every human being and the importance of that the value of that. Let me just read a few lines from Rabbi Salvetic. This is uh page two source number four in the middle of the page. Every individual is endowed with the divine image that the importance and here he talks about of having guess that one when one has guests that one is being sensitive to and fulfilling really this this uh ideal of habrio. The importance of receiving guests is underscored because because it reflects appreciation for each individual not only as a fellow human being but as a unique creation before God. The RV once observed that the fact the second of the second book of the Torah is called shimote names conveys the importance of every individual in God's eyes because a name signifies the uniqueness of its bearer. Strikingly, the ten commandments are addressed to the Jewish people not in the plural but in the singular to emphasize that God relates not only to the collective but to the individual as well. Okay. So talking about the ten commandments the yaser the uh one of the great students of rabbi salvichek refers of yeshiva university talking about this idea of dignity of man looks at the aseradro now we know that the dbro we have five on one side five on the other now why did not just give us one tablet one luak with all 10 from top to bottom maybe it would have been a little too heavy I'm not sure for mosher bring it all down. He has it on I don't know not sure but he and but he has it on on two sides right you have five on one side five on the other so what's on >> very nice very nice so one explanation is right between Adam and Adam very nice there's another explanation that's brought and shakar brings it in the name of the miri in his introduction to shas in his commentary on shas and he says that the five on one side and the five on the other that they directly relate or parallel one another. Number one parallels number six, two seven and that's and it was brought that way in order to see it uh to to to learn that lesson to see that lesson. Now we're not going to go through all of them and I'm not sure how they all relate but he highlighted the first one right the first one and I have it just on the bound just to see it which everyone is basically familiar with. to believe in God. And what's the one on the other side is low tier, not to murder. What's that? >> What's Oh, behind me. Okay. Right. They're good. I know. And low tier. All right. For the rest of this year, you could try to figure out how they all how they all relate to one another. But the first one is to believe in God and not to take somebody else's life. Why not? Because every person has the celameloim. Every person has a spark of God within them. And ultimately that's the idea of the kavrios that we are to see uh in every single person. Yes. >> Think from Rabbi David. >> Yes, please. On the last one. >> Okay. The last one what he parallels. Yeah. >> And >> good. What does he say in the connection between those that sometimes you may not appreciate your parents and you may not realize that this is what Hashem really wanted for you. If you realize that if you honor your parents and know this is your your maturation in life to be with these parents. Yeah. >> Then you will not desire what somebody else has. Okay. >> Because [clears throat] you have to be satisfied. to be satisfied. >> What? >> Even with your parents, if you were stuck with your parents, >> the parents that you had, >> you have to appreciate everything in life. Okay. All right. Well, [laughter] that's >> it's very difficult to get. >> Yes. Very good. Right. So, I'm not sure how they all work out. We can think about that. But that according to quotes, the first one, the first example is the godliness. Believe in God and to believe in the godliness that's found the extension of that holiness that's found in every single person. Okay, let's uh let's move forward. A few other items. Um so this idea of of kavrios is something that's very important in the muser movement. There was a great rabbi, a name that you are familiar with, Rafimit, who was a rashiva, the Russash Shiva of the Mir, not that far from here. And he gave famous Sikhos Muser talks in Muser and this was a topic that he would come back to again and again, the importance of the covet, habrios, covet of every single human being, of every Jew, of every human being. And uh this is a talk that he gave on Dvarim. comes up at a number of times in his in his classic work sikos muser just two examples that I want to share with you one is safer dvar is mushain who is coming to the end of his life and he wants to give a message to the Jewish people he's giving dra muser he's actually giving muser to the Jewish people but how does he do it he does it sort of in a with a bit of a camouflage he does it in a hidden way he's going to talk about the sin of the golden calf and he's going to talk about moraglin but he doesn't want to say it outright and this is what Rashi says says Rashi says, he points out all the places, this is top of page three, reading in the Hebrew, all the places that the Jewish people had sinned. He kind of hid what he was actually saying and he only alluded to it in a hint. Why is even though he had to give that muser at the end of his life and you would think if you have to talk about you know the last messages and to give muser well let's talk about those sins he doesn't want to talk about them outright but rather he does so in a hidden way in a sensitive way and here's this term or shelvio the kav that we give and here one other this is really to me like the most amazing example the most striking example And by the way, there's the Hebrew volume and art scroll also has a uh translation adaptation. Um so I just took the paragraph from there where it talks about Rashi says when it comes to Bum when Bum was killed that his dunkey was killed as well. You don't have thatim don't say that but the dunkey was killed as well when Bum was killed. Why was the dunkey killed? What did the dunkey do wrong? So the the midra says and he highlights this that people would have seen the donkey and they would have said that's the donkey of bum and that would have that would not have been again this is quite an amazing idea that that would have been too much. In other words he did something wrong he was a Russia but we still have a sense of his dignity as well. It's it's like a mind-blowing idea. Let let me just read it to you in the uh the arch girl adaptation of it. Hashem even went so far as to set aside his own honor in order to preserve the dignity of Bum. We are told that Bum's donkey was slain so that people would not point to it saying this is the donkey that brought about Bum's downfall. This is despite of the fact that had the donkey remained alive, it would have constituted a a tremendous kadeshm sanctifying God's name. People would have pointed the donkey and proclaimed God's wonder and justice. It would have been a living testimony to Hashem's creation and control the universe. The humiliation that bum would have suffered would itself be honoring God's name. Yet here's the key line. The dignity of a human being even of a bum is so valuable that Hashem preferred that his own honor be set aside for the sake of bum. >> Yeah. Which is quite quite an amazing idea. >> Are we allowed to disagree with that construct? >> Yes. [laughter] Right. It right. It sounds to me it almost go right. How do you say that about a Russia? But in God's estimation, he received the punishment that he deserved. He received the embarrassment that he deserved. And any more than that is not necessary. >> Okay? >> More than that is not necessary. >> Murder. >> Okay. Good. Very nice. Very nice. Good example. So when it's true when you you don't leave a murderer to hang overnight that there's still the Salamelo um that we are to be sensitive to. So here I want to come back as we're coming to a close. As we are coming to a close, you know what? Let's let's go to the last page, you can take a look at that Rambam on your own. The last page, Kavrios. So, just thinking about this idea of Kavrios. So, we we've spoken about Yeshiva University and Rufski and and Rabbi Salvichek. Uh Rabbi Salvich as you know he lived in Boston and um one of the most important issues for on the agenda of Rabbi Salvich in the 40s in the 50s and the 60s was the issue of the conservative movement. He was trying to uphold the halaka and the importance of uh of the shul and sitting sitting with the makita not mixed seating and that became a very very important issue for him and something that he was vocal about. Rabbi Salvich for the most part did not get involved with politics and but this was something that he felt was essential and uh something that he was you know that he that he drew the line there that we we have to recognize that that's an unacceptable you know form of deting and it's it's a break with it's a break with tradition and uh he was famous for that and he and there were different sakim also I said before he didn't really come out with but he said better not to hear the chauffeur in a conservative synagogue better not to to enter aer conservative synagogue that became a very important issue for Rabbi Salvich. What's fascinating is that there was a conservative rabbi who lived in Brooklyn in Boston. His name was Joseph, Joseph Schubo. [snorts] He was a conservative rabbi and they had a very very close relationship with one another. And we have, and it's actually not that well known, but there there was a a eulogy that he gave for this rabbi, for Joseph Schubau, and it was just printed recently in I don't know if you're familiar, it's called Khakira, the Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought. And he describes the following, which I just which which I found really quite moving. And he describes actually the the night that his wife that Rabbi Salvich that that his wife passed away and it was something that was traumatic and something that he spoke a lot about. There was a tradition of the Salvatics not to go to cemeteries and he broke with tradition. He went every Friday to visit his wife's grave. He was very very very close very much in love with his wife and um this was you know a traumatic event for him. They say that he changed after the the loss of his wife that it was no longer the same you know Rabbi Salvetic. Um and he this is I I have to read this to you and I want to share this with you. Um where he talks about his friend and one of his best friends who was a conservative rabbi. Now just think about that for a moment. Here you have Rabbi Salvich who is fighting tooth and nail, right? The issue of the conservative movement mixed seating, but this rabbi who is a conservative rabbi a few blocks away, he has a loving relationship with let let me just share with you the following. This is not that well-known. It's really that I mean if you want to take a look you can look it up online just to see the entire such a beautiful eulogy that he gives for his friend Joseph Schubo Rabbi Joseph Schubo who was the conservative rabbi near him in Brooklyn. Let me share the following. Let me record here another instance of Rabbi Schubo's kindness and loyalty to me I'll never forget. When my private little world was destroyed and I found myself sitting on a pile of ashes and smoldering debris, submerged in rootless desolation and numbness such that I could not even cry out in despair and grief. Shou, that's his friend Rabbi Shou, emerged like a friend and comrade. On that cursed evening, this is the night that his wife passed away. On that cursed evening on which she was taken away from me, Shoubo came immediately to my home where the hostess referring to his wife dead took up the center of the parlor. He sat down beside the Auron the whole night reciting tollum not being able to hide his tears. I sat with him dozing and waking up time after time to his rhythmic recital. He spent the night with me. Whenever in the sick anguish of my heart, in speechless, in incommunicable sorrow, I think of that black, dreadful, weird night, I see Joseph Schubo. Now, to me, this is just amazing. Who spent the night with Roy Salvetic when his wife passed away? >> Conservative. >> This conservative rabbi who he was best friends with. Now, how can you be best friends with a person that you disagree with so strongly? So, you can the answer is you can you can disagree with somebody but you also see that salamelo in that person and that's what Judaism is teaching us. Judaism is teaching us that you can disagree about everything but you can still love the person. Now, that's not easy to do. It's not easy to do. And this is the greatness of Rabbi Salvich that he was able to do that. And by the way, the name of this talk is and he quotes a PK that he comes back to again and again. It's aim just the first four words. It's seven Zion that a person should walk in that a person walks with it. In other words, that he that's what he saw in um in this individual. That was that's that's how that's how he titled the talk and again that relates to the idea of the salum of seeing the salohim in every individual. Let me just let me conclude with the following. We're talking about the teachings of uh we're talking about the teachings of RVuk. So Ravkuk, one of his most precious students was known as the Sadi of Shalim Levin. And I'm sure you you know those names. He walked these streets. He lived by Mach Yehuda, but he was here. His good friend was down the block, Rabbi Kalap, Rabbi Yakab Moshe Khalap. and he spent a lot of time on these streets and visiting visiting people visiting shutins and uh those that were suffering those those that were ill of health. So the story is told by the following actually I don't remember the name you can look this up he was uh he became like a famous Israeli writer and he tells the story when he's a young boy of Levvin. So it's between the days of Yum Kipper I'm sorry Rashashan Yam Kipper sorry Yum Kipper and Sukis between those days and his people are preparing to to buy their Lulov and Esrog and uh he's in Mayim this young man and he sees Levvin that he enters a store where they have like they still have it today that the store is like kind of turned over from whatever they're selling and they have all the esroim and that people are spending time looking at the estrogen and picking out the most beautiful esrog. So as a young boy he sees Ravar Levin come into the store. He looks at an esrogue. He says to the store owner, "How much is it?" Gives him the price and he buys the esrog and he and he moves on from the store. Now this young man found this to be a bit surprising because people generally spend a lot of time like looking at the estrog have a son who will spend every day you know for hours and hours just fighting and many many people do that. It's very a very beautiful hedor. So the young man follows Ravari Levvin and he stops Ravari Levvin and says like I don't understand like why did you why did you buy the essics so quickly you didn't you didn't look at it very carefully so he said let me tell you the following he says that there are two times in the Torah that the word is used it says prehar when it refers to the esro and it also says zak and you are to give honor you are to see the hed in a zen in an elderly person and he says, "I know an elderly person that I was helping out and he's he gave his dentures to the dentist to work on the teeth and he hasn't really been able to eat properly over the last couple of days without his dentures." And I'm quickly running there before he closes shop so I can get it from him and I can bring it bring it to this man that he can have his dentures that he can eat properly to give kavrios to give an honor to a person. And he said well when I have a choice between the hedor of an esrogue and the hadarta pakain and the honor that I give the kavrios the kav that I give to a person at that time I rather give the covet to the person. So that's why quickly I took an estrog whatever esrog it was but that hedor to me is the most important hedor. So this is a very very important topic as I open with Ray Torski said that this he said he cannot exaggerate how important it is for Jews today to be thinking about this and to treat other Jews our fellow Jews even the ones that we disagree with. First of all to recognize that there are disagreements that are valid right your side has validity my side what are we getting angry about to begin with right and even where the other side may be wrong right to see the celamelo the co that we need to give to every individual okay we will we'll stop here if anybody want to ask any questions we can do we we can follow up with that all right yes to everyone Yeshua. Yes.