Understanding Tefillah: An Introduction by Rabbi Yossi Goldin

okay good morning everybody um it is a uh an honor and privilege to uh to see you all again some of you for the first time some of you not for the first time um I want to um this is my first time actually not officially taking over from my father's class but actually having the privilege to uh to teach a class by myself on my own so uh I thinkk oh you for the for the opportunity I thank those of you who may have said something or or requested it um um very much appreciated it's an honor to be able to uh to uh to come here and and learn with you on a on a weekly basis On A Kava basis um and also still have my father be here and enable him to be teaching you as well um I think his class is in in a couple of classes after me um so first of all it's just also this is exciting to me um because this is just continued expression of the OU in General trying to expand their their their learning and their classes all over I know that nsim was the first one to do this where they're that where where the learning that the OU is doing is not just uh in the OU Center but is now expanding to various different types of communities across Y and and eventually as well across Israel um so I think this is an exciting time for for that for that to continue to grow and of course the partnership with nsim was the first partnership and um it's wonderful to see it continuing in the way uh in the way that it has um so the topic that I chose when I was thinking about different topics that we could be doing um together uh um I chose understanding Fila and what I want to do today is it's really an introductory Shure it's not necessarily going to be indicative of what we're going to be doing moving forward but I wanted to kind of set the tone for why why I thought that it was important to be studying tilila in general and to look at some of the I guess what we would call the primary sources that talk about Fila because on one level when we think about DAV and we think about prayer um many of us say to ourselves it's somewhat natural the idea of prayer the idea that we would call out to our the need for that interaction between between us and the almighty is somewhat of a natural and almost instinctive type of relationship on the other hand I think many of us would also agree that Fila while it's instinctive and somewhat natural to us it also is probably one of the more challenging parts of our aodm uh there are moments there are times where is easier there are many moments where becomes habitual becomes harder for us uh depending on our life circumstances depending on we are depending on what's going on in our in our lives and I think F becomes something which is at the on the one hand fundamental to our to our to our service to Hashem but also sometimes becomes particularly challenging and I don't think that enough people or we in general tend to give enough time to understanding our and by understanding I don't just mean the words of the but understanding the concept of in Judaism where it comes from the development of Thea the development of daving why do we DAV three times a day why do we say the words that we do why did kazal set a set a text as opposed to just letting everyone doav it on their own there's there there are many various topics that that that that I I think are fundamental to understanding as it is today and what I hope to do is to be able to cover many of those different topics over the course of our of our learning together um and and the goal is I think one of the beautiful aspects of of studying tilil is that it becomes not just it can it can become not just intellectual exercise but also an opportunity to actualize the studying over the course of the week um because the hopefully the idea being the more that we understand the more that we understand where the comes from how it develops and aspects OFA that hopefully will then become a way to enhance our daily til and therefore it becomes a way where our learning is not just intellectual on some level but also becomes an opportunity to um to to improve and to grow in our in our overall AEM and that's why I'm excited to be able to study with you and to able to uh take this journey which I hope will not just help our understanding of but will ultimately improve our as well um what studying Tila also gives us the opportunity to do is also to not just have a a certain curriculum where we're understanding the the history and the nature of Tila but it also gives us the opportunity as the year goes on to focus on certain filot that are relevant around different and different and different and different times of the year so they while we're going to have a certain curriculum which you'll start with which which is really about starting with uh why do we Davin what are some approaches to why we Davin uh the history of the daving is there a Mitzvah DAV or is ding just an opportunity it's believe it or not that's actually Aus in theim whether there is a commandment to DAV if there is a commandment to DAV what do I have to say there's a there's a lot to talk about and I hope that we're going going to be covering many of the why three times a day why do we have to DAV in the sh the value of DAV in there's a lot of various topics for us to cover what we're also going to be doing is as different in different times of the year come up we'll be taking a break and looking at some of the special that are connected to uh to that time of the year which again with the goal of enhancing our ouro in general so we're going to open today with just an overall introduction to TOA seeing some of the primary sources about about ding in general and then the truth is given the the fact that we're now in L and approaching theim I wanted to also take the opportunity to focus on some of the that are connected so next week we'll probably talk a little bit about and and the Minh of blowing the chauffeur some of the things that we do during L and then we'll have an opportunity to talk about which are going to be coming up understanding the ne the nature the text of not going through every single word but the the framework of s I think many of us do it and and are familiar with what we're doing but not necessarily the the structure of this and the goal hopefully we'll also get to discuss some of the text of of the daving of rashash yur so we're we're going to kind of be coming in in the middle here where we're going to be doing an introduction now and then focusing on felo connected to the time of the year and then after after the we'll begin that M regular curriculum of really going back into the history of and then breaking for talk about Etc throughout throughout throughout the course of the of the year um I would also add that I I certainly welcome any any any feedback any suggestions in terms of anything specific that you have that you've wanted to learn about um I'm always open to to to to to you know to to hearing from you in terms of things that you that you'd like to uh like to learn about specifically when it comes to such an important concept uh an important topic like likea so what I want to do is I want to start as I mentioned by really just looking at a couple of the primary sources some of these sources are familiar to many of us but I think that it's important to see them and to also sometimes when you look at them um fresh to to to see certain themes that that come up the first sour I want to start with is probably one of the main sources uh that many of us are familiar with that talks about the the concept of Tila in Judaism although it's not so even at first glance it doesn't necessarily even seem to be talking about fil and that is the Mish Perot Source number one the second was from one of the remaining people of the of the he used to say on three things the world stands and okay many of us are familiar with this mishna it's one of the most well-known mishna probably in and the big question becomes we know what Torah is and we know what is but what is what does it mean to work now by the way it's fascinating to know we're not going to spend so much time on this but you should know there's there's a whole range of opinions as to what avod actually means there are some opinions that believe that avod actually means to work to have a job right some of you some of your parents grandparents might appreciate that right if you have K job go get a job right Believe It or Not There are some that believe that the word here is actually working being involved in the world improving the world okay reminds me I reminds me of of of a well-known concept of salic that when God placed into the into into the Torah says and talks about the fact that man was placed to master the world to be involved in the world and so there are some opinions that say that ABA here means work that there is a value to work that work is part of what we're supposed to be doing in our continued involvement in the world and ultimately as would describe our Mastery over the world another opinion I think probably the most standard opinion is aod means the aodot the corot the sacrifices back in the times of the mikash one of the main aspects of was the bringing of sacrifices everybody used to BR sacrifices for various reasons whether it was something personal or something communal and a here refers to the the sacrificial service but as many of us know the F yes this sh was already in the time where still is towards the end so there were still corbon at this time but it was but it was to but it was towards the end of that time correct but it's but it's a very good question um but many do believe that even if let's say he was later on which again the simple understanding he was during the time of the Corban note number one we're talking about in an ideal sense not just our reality but number two even if we connect it to which we're about to it's morea a replacement for Corban not than it is uh by itself right because the third interpretation would be a means our it refers to refers to actual actual service now it's important to note and we're going to we're going to get back to this that it's interesting to know the language that's used if the to mishna is referring to daving why doesn't it just use the word what is the word aote the number one it might canote that the is a replacement for corba note but it also hints to a certain type of way that we should be approaching our what is is work is hard is it's part of our service and it's not just something that we can expect is going to just come if we show up to daving boom I want to be inspired and I want it to work a f requires a certain type of effort and requires a certain typ amount of of of preparation so already the fact that one of the main sources for uses the language of aod I think is is very important if you look at source number two this is he's one of many many commentaries who understand the aod here referring to as a replacement for says due to our sins the mikdash has been destroyed and the a a has been has been has been has been nullified and now for us is in its place and just skipping a little bit of now in our days where we don't have a Corban that can achieve that atonement for either sins we do on purpose or sins we do by accident Hashem should open up our mouth and he should accept our instead of the Corban okay so is clearly understanding it be referring to daving but happening as a replacement as as coming in to replace Corban note which we also have to think about which we're going to talk about spend some time talking about as well which is what does it mean that F comes in to replace corbon does that mean there was no such thing as F before corbon when there were konot they D in do we do we see do we see happening in in the Torah sure all the time so what does it mean here and we're going to have we're going to have to confront this again we when we when we discuss the development of when this mishna said says that means well when the Mish seems to be saying that is coming to replace corbane what about the fact that there was such a thing as in the Torah did they have did they DAV in three times a day times the mdash these are all important questions was there but maybe it was a different type of and that's that's part of what we're going to eventually get to but it's important to see these different models we see being in we see replacing uh corote and that and that mean that's meant to teach us something about the nature of f yes if if the see is a replacement for the carbon note everybody didn't give carbon note every day also a good question right they basically theim brought the carbon the carb in the bik so therefore the should be maybe in an organized fashion that should be done for the seor and not by the seor okay I think I understand what you're saying I think I understand what you're saying correctly which is if if if F came came to replace Corban node we had different there were different types of Corban not there was Corban and Corban was brought under certain circumstances either a person not always right at different at certain times a person always had to bring it but different times he was not and then you had something called which were done so what you're suggesting is and I think it's an interesting point and again these are these are things we're g we're going to have to develop a little bit more which is well then maybe should be just something that a certain representation of the community does and maybe we don't do now let I'll throw that back at you for a second is there some time where where the community does have an official tilila that's not as part of our structure as part of our structure okay so I don't know again I'm just I'm throwing it out there I'm throwing it out there didn't correct correct correct correct the history of has an interesting but but there are some that suggest and we'll get to this again when we get to used to suggest that again not without getting into the history of it was what he would call not was what he call it was the of the that there was the of the then there was the of the coming together so again you're right the history of has an interesting history to it and why we do it and things like that but why so but you are asking a very good question which is with then why when F come came to replace Corb note was it done in in a different way such that every y has to now could that be connecting to an existing F that did exist so maybe when we say that just comes to replace it doesn't mean that the entire concept of comes to replace it means that the nature of shifted to take on certain characteristics of corbon node even if it didn't replace it entirely if that makes that makes sense but very good question a good point yes at some point okay well let me ask you that's a good question meaning maybe you could start with the opposite maybe there was such a thing as if I understand what you're saying correctly maybe there was something called Fila then corbano came to replace Fila and then Fila came back to replace corbano the only the only thing that that is was there such thing corbano back in the times of Theos as well did they bring corbano certainly at certain times was it the same as what we had in no but we know I mean the first the first people to do it in the Torah itself explicitly so explicitly who's the first person to bring a carbon in the Torah this is ironic he heenen Ken very ironic okay now there is a MC that says that adaro did there is a MC that says that Adar brought a car but it's not in the the first person to explicitly bring a Corban in the Torah ironically is Ken because we all it's ironic because we're so critical of Ken and according to according to the way that the Torah explains it Rashi and kazal say that he brought a corbon but it wasn't from the best right we all know the famous medish that says that the difference between he and Cen was that Cen brought something which wasn't from the choicest of the of what he brought whereas he did but at the one hand and that's true and that's why God accepted he as not kindes on the other hand let's remember the first person to actually bring it who maybe isn't given his quote unquote his due service is is Cen so it's just it's interesting so meaning I think we have remember and we're going to we're going to get to this again I know I keep uh pushing us off a little bit we're going to get to this in more detail but there was such a thing as Corban note in the times of the b in the times of the Yos there was such a thing as at some point Corban not become more institutionalized once once B Isel gets gets the the mishan and then eventually the mdash are not yet fully institutionalized that's going to happen a little bit later and it could be that we're going to see that once fot become institutionalized because of the lack of Corban note at that time it might take on certain aspects of Corban note as well meaning there was a type of fer that existed from the very from the very very beginning from from time immemorial meaning man is is his nature is to is to talk to but it changed a little bit maybe later where it became more institutionalized perhaps due to the lack of of core that's something that's very fascinating to think about we're here now maybe in Jerusalem but we wer in Israel for 2,000 years where we were able to do Corban note it has to be Corban note has to be in in Jerusalem correct okay so for 2,000 years we were all over the world correct and is come as a as a replacement on some level correct 100% the question just is question is now you know whether to go how you go back to getting the so that I'm not going to touch that one I'm not going to go that I'm not going to go into corot nowadays we we all we should be to bring very very soon in the in the third in the third bet in the third bet mdash that we all that we all that we all hope yes correct so important you can't imagine otherwise F was important F correct Fila was important and we're gonna and that you're 100% true but what what I'm just trying to show is that fil also existed when there was Corban note and before there was corbano it wasn't just instituted to replace Corb note but what does it mean and that we have to ask ourselves what does it mean when the mission says when the the maim here say that that it that it's that it's replacing corbane is that just one aspect of f so again that's something we have to think about yes one more question then we'll go on what concept is it for man to want to give a gift to God I mean it's such a foolish thing God has everything where do we come with I think it's an excellent question I think it's an excellent excellent question and I and I think it's a question more about Cor that it is about about okay but I think it's a good question I think I would answer it one I what I would say is the following let me ask you a question have you ever had anybody who's given you given you a have you ever had any grandchildren or great-grandchildren or or friends who have given you a gift given you a picture that they made okay thank God yes so when they what H that picture who does it mean more to you or to them to both probably to me to you okay great now when you accept it how does it make the child feel gratified gratified okay and as much as you cherish it and and by the way as a parent I will say sometimes I take those pictures from my children and I say wow and sometimes what happens right behind the back right okay you might you're better than I am okay you're better than I am now now why is it important that me as a parent when my son comes and says ABA look what I made for you why is it why is it important that I that I be able to graciously accept that even though I might be then turning around and putting it in the in the recycling afterwards because a relationship is developed there is something sometimes being able to receive something or the idea of allowing someone to give to you is an incredible part of your relationship and I would add it's not just about grandchildren it also has to do with marriage it's one of the most important things someone once told me right if your if your spous if you come home one night and your spouse prepares dinner for you and they make something which you tend to like but you walk home and you have no desire to have that that eggs that the omelet that they made for you okay what are you supp to do wow wow to enable someone to give to you sometimes is itself a gift and therefore you're right now corono is a great question is a corot for for for God is it not for God these are excellent questions and what ises God God does God need anything of ours God doesn't need anything of ours and this gets to the question of what our this is by the way this is going to get to our question of as well why do we D doesn't need our so these are all great great questions but I think on a fundamental level we have to remember that there's definitely aspect of us needing it there is absolutely an aspect of that and it's not just about the fact that we need it it's also about the relationship that is created okay and that's also very very important okay and so when I accept that that dinner that my wife made for me it's not just about enabling her it's also about the connection that's created and there's a lot more that's happening in this in in this relationship not to mention that there are some that say that even when God wants to give us things in order to receive it we have to first ask so there's there's a lot that comes from Fila there's a lot to uncover here um but I but I that's just you know a short a short uh highlight of what we're going to get to yes there's another thing what was considered a gift then a an animal coming forward today I have a friend who's a Coen who's a vegetarian it would not so that's yeah again we're not going to we're not going go animals to give it there's no question there's no question I'm just going to I'm just see if I can erase this if not it's fine uh there's no question we're going to get that's that is a question that I am not going to touch either no but um again my understand my understanding my understanding my understanding is that yes when the third B mdash there will be corote as as we believe there will be it's fundamental to to to the Torah it's it's a it's a whole it's a whole safer in the Torah it's a whole it's a whole you know it's a whole say there in in gar and yes I do believe that there will be Corban note will there be certain sensitivities or shifts or things that may change due to our heightened or want call heightened or different sensitivities I don't know the answer to that question but I do believe that it's going to happen you're right how is that going to look and how are we going to in our in the 21st century going to relate to the existence of corbon note it's a very very good question when I I always I always joke I always joke that when I this is just a little bit of a different a little bit of a side point but like when I think about what the thir bash will be like so one of the things I always joke I always think about is you know how when you walk into man I'm sure I can relate to this when you walk into like a okay so like you walk into right if there's a if it's a proper shock which has been y all around you have a screen and the screen says go over here for the 8 15 million go over here for the 830 million so I kind of Envision walking into the mdash and there's going to be this big screen and be like carbon Ola over here carbon schlam over here if you need you this that that's exact like using using modern technology to help us in what we're doing but fundamentally I do believe the avod is going to stay the same I know that there are people who disagree about that but that's that's my that's my understanding okay now so we've seen we've seen one primary source to Mission and AOS the next primary source that I wanted to to to do with you is another well-known the in Source number three the says how do we know that there is going to be this concept of we learn in the says we say it three times a day hopefully before we go to sleep as well to love Hashem your God and to serve him with all of your heart what is the aod that is believe this is the concept of okay now this isn't the other main source that I would think besides the mishna that we saw that discusses the concept of and once again what description what word does it use to describe aod however there's an addition to the way there there there's something different about the way that this gor describes the other one because here the gor describes as a but a I believe the mishna and the gar are highlighting two different types of CU When I think of as similar toot it's an active it's it's it's more physical it's much more it's much more I guess you know involved what's a what does mean what is em emotional internal internal so so I think that on the one hand they're both referring to as aod but they're highlighting two different aspects of what F can be on the one hand we're part of generally we're trying to be part of a minion there's a physical part you have to be there you have to say the words there's certain things that you need to do similar to corono corono had certain rules and certain things you need to do and we need to be active okay and if you're a then you got to be dancing also that's that's up that's up to you that's a personal thing but meaning there's F that's active there's there's also there's laning there's things we do there's things we say they're standing up they're sitting down there's active and then there's also an aspect of that is that is internal that is that is that is personal that is all about my emotional and how I am and how I relate to a and I don't think there's one or the other and it could be we go from one to the other we shift from one to the other it could be we're trying to find the combination between the two but what I think it's important to note is that these sources are highlighting different aspects of FILA and different things to think about as we think about our own our own Fila and what's fascinating is that if you look at source number five we're going to skip to s number five now another well-known G that discusses a regarding the source for three times a day and it highlights I think both of these aspects of of source number five says forefathers Theos Abra and yob they're the ones who established no it wasn't Theos rather correspond to the okay now what is this about fundamentally what it's about is where do we know that we're supposed to D in three times a day okay so the fundamental seems to be that's says well it comes from Theos we have three ofos each of them established a different and that's where we get three times established established and Y establish and by the way the gor goes in and shows from saer bous different language is where they indicate it says that means he got up and he doed the says went to converse again it's fascinating to think about the different types of languages that means that means toiz a conversation means it's something about us getting up and and and and and and engaging in the morning and yob yob is I'm actually forgetting the P if anyone remembers the PK you can remind me but I don't remember which P it is but yob was apparently was K okay and so we says that's where we got the three the three times comes rosu and says no it's not from the AOS it's from the it's from it's from the coronos because there were two corbon Tam there was a Corban means always this was the Corban that was brought every single day the first Corban that was brought every single morning was the Tam and the last carbon that was brought at the end of every single day was the that's the that corresponds to Shak and and if you're GNA s me wait a second what about Marv that's why fundamentally historically Marv is actually at when it was instituted was a it was not a it was not an obligatory daving nowadays we accept it upon ourselves to DAV and it is obligatory at least for men but back then it wasn't because there was no so that's why some will point out that Marv is kind of its own its own little beast okay but either way we see that there is a m here in the gar which one was the main one that established was it Theos or was it the Corb note continues the really the a were the ones who established it the then connected it toot because if you don't say this where do you get mus from because if the are the only ones who are the only source for there was no fourth of right responds to the Corban mus that was brought in the in the bet mikdash so therefore we definitely have to incorporate the Corban note as part of our establishing of answers the it must be that they were initially established by the aote and then kazal connected them to the to the Corban note now again there's a lot more to unpack here in terms of the relationship first of all we're we're seeing that there was such a thing as before corot it's not just a replacement for corot but what I think this is also doing is highlighting and I think perhaps the wasn't about what was the source it was what was the main aspect to if come from the AOS that's how much more aash right there was no set text there was no set time each of those AOS in their own way were connecting to in the way that was meaningful to them that's a f on the that we just spoke about but or is the main part of the connection to corote the physical the the part the active part of and perhaps with what what the was which one's more important which one should we focus on the answer is they're both important they're both fundamental to how we relate they're both fundamental to our aodm they're both fundamental to how how how doing is meant to be for us doing is a combination of in active experience we're meant to be a part of a community we're me to be part of a tore we have the physical aspect to it but fundamentally it's also very much an internal and a and and an emotional experience during the time of the during the actual time of was the ding done there at the same time you you think to yourself you wonder why did KH go there to D so it's an excellent excellent excellent question um we're going to get some more of that a little later when we discuss the history of fil the simple understanding is there was there definitely Wasa as it existed which again until at least we know until until until at least was more of a personal experience which was not necessarily defined by times not not necessarily defined by a certain text and then an were really the first ones who established this this text we know sh which was the beginning of it and then eventually it got so when you talk about KH for example that was a personal that existed from the times of the of Theos people came in and Dav daving was a personal experience some point it shifted to become a much more what we would call rigid um I I don't like the word rigid because it makes it sound like it's something bad but it or I would say defined it became much more much more defined now but we also but a didn't understand her because he didn't but it doesn't mean it doesn't mean that he he didn't know the concept of fil we know we see it all over the Torah and all over Nai the concept of the concept of praying to exists everywhere and that as we're going to see now soon the the concept OFA of prayer being at a what defines us as a nation and how we we as humans interact withes that's existed since time in Memorial it's just a question of at what point it's shifted to be the way that we look at it that we look at it now and that seems to be more around the time of the of the bet mikdash but I would say that there is a Mion that points out the Miss missan does point out that even when there were when there was such a thing as the a of the of of the the there was also something called ma there were there were groups of isim who used to gather in sh and pray we don't know exactly what they said we don't know exactly what they what they did so the concept of communal prayer did start to exist even even even earlier so it's a good question there's a lot of debate is exactly how that all started but there was a thing called we know it existed in the very very beginning there was definitely Corban note that that were established and at some point there was almost like a little bit of a of a of a com combining of the two um where took on more of the the the def defining characteristics of Corban notes while still trying to maintain the its initial you know power of being aash believe I hope that answers your question but it's of course yeah that's I'm saying F we know you're saying you're referring to all of saer to him all of saer to him of course no there's no question that there was something called f before it just didn't have the same characteristics only because he mentioned talk why then did he think that she was drunk if she was standing doing good question good question I don't no I it could it could be again I don't I don't I don't know the circumstance meaning meaning it could be he didn't understand it could just be a function of he just he just misunderstood her not that he had never seen Fila that was done that way it could simply just be that it was unique situation where he saw her he didn't know I don't know I don't I don't think that necessarily indicat that there was no such thing as as as F before because we know that there definitely was I might it could be there could be many different reasons why why he misunderstood what she what she was doing okay now what I wanted to just also point out yes take away this the spontaneous yes also a very good question again we're going to get to that meaning why would Kaz create a text when you have a text if you have something that you say three times a day every single day what usually happens to that text rotes doesn't that take away from the spontaneity excellent excellent question and especially if we if we understand F to originally be a spontaneous uh out outgrowth of emotion so then that's our challenge our challenge is we're going to see that it made a lot of sense why they would do that makes a lot of sense why kazal would set up that text but then how do you find that balance between keeping that text and continuously finding meaning within that text because we're going to see that it makes a lot of sense why they would do that whether it had to do with their the prophecy or or the importance of a text because we don't have a text then if it was only left to us how often would we doav in who knows right so there's a value to that rigidity there's a value to that to to to being defined in the way that it does but then the question becomes how do we keep to that while also making sure that we keep the the emotional the emotional aspect of f of as well now one other thing I just wanted to point out we mentioned that F fundamentally in both of these primary sources is referred to as aod aod now the R I didn't bring the source for you here there's a couple of sources that I wasn't able to get in on time so we're GNA I'll just share them share with them with you outside but the r in the r is there's a fascinating which we're going to get to again in the future whether or not there is an actual Mitzvah is daving one of the 613 mitzvas Believe It or Not There is Theon there's a m between the r and the ran a famous m r and the ran we'll discuss it in more detail in the future but the RAM says of course there is this is the gar the gar says then of course there's a mitah yet when the r in his in his list of the 613 Mitzvah he doesn't just list daving as the Mitzvah what is the title for his Mitzvah the Mitzvah is AEM says the ram there is a Mitzvah to serve Hashem aatm then he say and if you're going to say to me that's way too broad there is one main way that we express that hasem in real terms and that is that's an important context for us to be have in mind when we think about does not exist in a vacuum is not just something we do is part of our overall our overall means the things that we learn the way that we act the people that we are our entire Essence and how we serve a a part of that is and perhaps maybe one of the major parts of that is is our and so we have to make sure to to view in the proper context in order to really make sure that we use it in the way that it's supposed to be we're going to see that there are some people who say why do we havea three times a day and why is it spread out in the way that it is because that enables us to remind ourselves of what we're supposed to be doing at different parts of the day so that the rest of our day is enhanced we start the morning with something we take a break in the middle of the day to remind ourselves and we end our day with with with and all of that is to create this certain way that doesn't just become something we do three times a day it becomes the framework for our and that's probably why the rambam views or mentions with in the context ofat Hashem but there are also a number of different sources in already in the Torah which again I didn't I didn't bring it for you on the source sheet that hint to how we as as a nation are a nation of We're a nation of of of of of people who pray of people who who who D for example again just just to bring a couple of examples the famous one that we all know from sa Rous again in the context of that story it's not necessarily referring to this butal understand this P to be describing who we are when when when touches yob when yob pretends to be as what's the famous phrase that he says now obviously in that context it means something specific but take that phrase to not just be mean in that context but to be to be a type of type of Prophecy describing what the essence of Yakov is and what the essence of asov is okay the essence of Yakov our power is speech is our voice is the way that we talk the essence of asov is his hand now again doesn't mean that we shouldn't also sometimes use that right we're we're living in a time where we need to sometimes pick up arms and use and and and do that as well but we can never forget that one of the most powerful aspects we have what defines us as a people is our call in fact when Bill when balock decides that he wants to hurt the Jewish people why does he pick bam to curse them why doesn't he attack them so as many of us are familiar with it's a famous medish the medish says that moav turned to mijan that that that balak turned to midan and said mijan the leader of the Jewish people came from You mosha Who Came From mijan tell us what's their power what's the power of the Jewish people and what did they say the power is their speech the power and he said okay if that's the power I want to beat them with their with their with their with with their power okay so already we see other hints to the fact that Fila is a major part of who we are when Yakov is running away from asov right and we know that he does three things as he's preparing for to meet asov right he does on the one and he sends a gift he has a strategy right he doesn't he does he has trategy he divides the camp and what's the third thing he does he D to okay exactly again this is this is who we are this is who we are as a people uh another wellknown well-known source that that hints to this this is um when yob is talking to yose at the end of his life and he says to yob he says I'm giving you an extra portion because he and we're going to be both get get a portion amongst y sons and the Torah says I'm going to give you which I took from the with my sword and with my bow tumus famously on that says what is the simple understanding is yov meant he attacked says what isashi what is the and the keset of the Jewish people he translated it ASI UI in Aramaic that means my prayer and my iny and many people point to this to show that what is our main PR what is our main uh strength what is our what is our main weapon it's fil this is who we are this is who we are as a nation and therefore when we remember that when we remember that this is who we are it just puts a different context to the way that we approach it should put a different context to the way that we approach we approach fi as well I I was I was debating whether to do whether to write this or share this with you I not someone who is Ever involved in in in study of kabala in any way shape or form but I once was I once heard something that I thought was very very cool uh that is like more of a capitalistic that I think highlights exactly what we're talking about and I want to just share it with you okay so we know that the that the Hebrew word I'm sorry for those of you who over there but I'll I'll leave it up if you want to look at it or you'll just have to take or you'll just have to take my word for it okay Adam Adam is the right that's the that's the name for that's the name for a that's a person human being in Hebrew means Adam now apparently as I said I'm not really a real cabalist but apparently in the world of kabala one of the ways that you can understand the essence of a word is what's called is to find out means the hidden part of the word how do you determine the hidden part of the word so what you do is you spell out each of these words this is a letter Al okay so you spell it Al Al would be Alid would be that's what you say and me is me okay if you take these letters and you mix them around M again I'm not really a cabalist and I'm not s but I think this is very very cool what it shows personally I I haven't dabbled yet I haven't dabbled yet I mean I'm I'm over 40 no no nothing bad nothing bad I'm just I I think what this highlights is that the essence of a person is we are people who are we yearn human beings and by the way this is Adam this isn't just the Jewish people adish goes back right human beings yearn for for that connection there's a famous there's a famous another another well-known kazal that points out that in the in the creation of the world there was a steerer there's a contradiction in the Torah in terms of when certain things were created the Torah says on day three that the that that the grass began to grow on day three of of uh of creation and yet when we get to day six the Torah tells us again this isn't on your Source sheets I apologize I only I only found it later but it says if the the actual growth of the land hadn't yet grown the medis asks I don't understand this is a contradiction did it grow on day three or did it not grow on day three the kazal answered that what happened was it grew a tiny bit up until the edge of the ground but it didn't grow it didn't grow further above the ground why not said because Adam hadn't yet been created and didn't he wanted Adam to First dove in for the grass and only then to give the grass and therefore it was created up until the very and then when Adam marish was created he then saw there was a lack of growth around the world he doed for it and then God and then God created grass and and growth as we know it now again whenever we're dealing with midash we could always is this is this literal is meant to be taken literal not meant to be Tak literal but there's a clear message here the clear message is and the me says it itself wants even when he's going to give us something and even when it's something that maybe should be created and is going to be created waited at least in this situation until for it before bringing it into the world and so what that shows us again is that we as human beings are natural we're meant to have this interaction this this connection with AES it's something that we naturally want and it's something that AES is is looking for is looking for as well I want to just do a couple of more sources to just highlight this that that that I believe really capture the fundamental nature of in in a few different ways the kuari has a beautiful description in Source number six of the importance of and and and what accomplishes all of these things that he was describing above they are important to one's Soul just like food is to a person's body just like a person physically needs to eat in order to stay sustained in order to be able to to live his life and be a productive person so too a person's is to your soul and the goal if f is done properly is that the power that you get or the inspiration that you get from the first F takes you to the next F right just like one meal is meant to keep us satisfied until the next meal we're not really supposed to be snacking all the time time even though many of us do okay and you can also by the way we'll get into this at some point as well personal TW that aren't part of the of the of the you can also do that as well sometimes people need that extra boost they can also dve in extra but the three F Lord are done in a way where again we wake up in the morning we Infuse ourselves with spirituality that takes us to Min is meant to then take us to Marv now again nowadays in sh they Dov right after each other that's for practical reasons but the way it was originally designed M was meant to be early afternoon and Marva was meant to be later at night and the idea was for it to be spread out so that one Fela gives us the spiritual to take us to the to the to the next one just like a person's meal keeps them going until the next meal so too is meant to keep us until the next what natur what happens is as you get further from your previous your strength spiritually becomes it becomes a little bit weaker and and therefore just like you get hungrier as you get further and further away from your from your previous meal especially if you're involved in physical things and you're and you're around people who might not be the the best people what happens is you get affected just like physically you become hungrier and hungrier if you just it's longer from your meal when you're involved in the world the physical World especially if you're in a certain scenario that might not be the best for you spiritually then that's going to impact you spiritually happens is enables you to purify yourself to strengthen yourself spiritually for whatever you just went through and it then sends you and it also prepares you moving forward so the description here of of of the Kari of being like food being for the soul what food is for the for the for the body I think is a very very powerful concept that f is something that we don't just do it's something that's meant to give us the spiritual power to to move on in Source number seven pink who who inim ofakim now ofakim is a little bit more welln unfortunately because of things that happened in October 7th but before that ofakim was a development town uh for many many years and had a very well-known pus was the there and he was killed in a car accident many many many years ago he has a beautiful safer called it's actually been translated into English I believe um and again he his description the imagery he brings of describing the power of F I think is something that's very powerful Source number seven the source of and one of the pillars of it's to know and to be aware that is one of the foundations of the world just like learning Torah is one of the main pillars of the world so too prayer is a pillar in building a person and the world and it is a a limb that the is dependent on this is a very interesting description the imagery he's using is very in the world of when we talk about this is just again to understand what he's trying to say here in the world of when we talk about saving somebody's life for being able to do certain acts of on chab if you're so the part of the question is going to be is if a person let's say a person is going to lose a li or something like that or in various questions so one of the questions going to be is is this limb or not is this fundamental to the person's existence that if he loses this limb he loses this part of his body he's going to die or can he live without it okay now we're not going to get into that whole discussion but his rink's description of as an a sh is fundamental what he's basically saying is is part and partial to who we are it is part of it's as if we can't exist without it and therefore when we think abouta we have to understand it just like we feel like we can't exist without certain aspects of other aspects of our religious personality so too is something that we that is a part of who we are as as Jews and in Source number eight we're not going to see it inside he then goes on to point out that ironically even though T some might argue learning Torah is maybe sometimes at some level more important fundamentally inevitably a person will sometimes when it comes Hally will end up doing more than they will learn meaning fundamentally if a person doesn't have time to learn Torah let's say he doesn't have time for whatever reason doesn't have time so he can be with saying and he's fulfilled the mitvah T yet how much does a person need to fulfill fundamentally on a daily basis to feel kiss three times a day which means that will prioritize the amount of time that a person spends doing more than the amount of time that a person spends learning again ideally a person should spend a lot of time doing both but interestingly enough if you had to go minimum shba minimum you'd end up spending more time according to kaz's prescription in than you would in in in in Li and which means it shows us that is is just fundamental to who we are and something that we have to we have to make sure to and by the way it also is the first thing we do in the morning right you're not supposed to learn Torah until you say t as as important as Li Torah is Trump Li Tor in in in in in its relevance and in its importance I just want to end with two with two uh with two more sources in English that I'll read to you again trying to bring sources from various different way different people who capture the essence of and the importance of by Abraham J tki is also a beautiful book called TWY on prayer with a lot of a lot of unique and original insights so I'll just read this with you Source number nine there are three things that support the world Torah and our people are without in we have many fine Torah institutions and there is an increasing interest in Torah study and the formation of adult education classes and shools like this one we might think that two out of the three is pretty good but of what use is a three-legged table which is lacking one of the legs for whatever reason aod which essentially is prayer has not received its due we do have SED refine translations and commentaries but would be less than truthful to state that the quality of our prayer is of the same magnitude as our devotion to Tor even if we attend a daily morning minion the pressure of the pace of our service and the rush to leave for work indicate that our prayer is essentially perfunctory unfortunately for many of us that is the case this is precisely what the what the talud cautions us to avoid the word avod means as we said work but the character of our prayer Bears little resemblance to hard labor proper concentration on prayer is indeed work even on chabis when we spend more time in SHO the mundane conversation that is so often scattered throughout the pray the service bet betrays a lack of appreciation of the importance of prayer in as much as prayer is one third of the support upon which theam is dependent we will strengthen the World by improving the quality of our prayers so he's highlighting beautifully the importance of spending time working on hour f one more one more source for you again right there's no one in terms of the Mastery of the English language like in my opinion like her by Jonathan sack like like like like the next Source by Jonathan Sachs and just the way he describes it it's it's it's beautiful um I'll even just read it out loud just to just to uh to do it together with you prayer is the language of the soul in conversation with god it is the most intimate gesture of the religious life and the most transformative the very fact that we can pray testifies to the deepest elements of faith that the Universe did not come into existence accidentally nor are our lives destined to be bereft of meaning the universe exists and we exist because someone the one God author of it all brought us into existence with love it is this belief more than any other that redeems life from Solitude and fate from tragedy in prayer we speak to a presence vaster than un than the unfathomable Universe excuse me yet closer to us than we are to ourselves this is my favorite line the god Beyond who is also the voice within the language must fail though language must fail when we tried to describe a being beyond all parameters of speech or speech excuse me language is all we have and it is enough for God who made the world with creative words and who revealed his will through holy words listens to our prayerful words language is the bridge joining us to Infinity yud Le the 11th the great 11th century poet said that prayer is to the soul what food is to the body without prayer something within us atrophies and dies it is possible to have a life without prayer just as it is possible to have a life without music or love or laughter but is a diminished thing missing whole dimensions of experience we need space within the soul to express our joy and being our Wonder at the universe our hopes our fears our failures our aspirations bringing our deepest thoughts as offerings to the one who listens and listening in turn to the one who calls those who pray breathe a more expansive air just I I I no no that we're time and I don't want to I want to give you a break before before the next uh before the next Shor so we're going to stop there those of you who want to obviously read it on your own the final Source just talks about and this is just we say they say that we say this we say a different version of this but we say it every day that there are certain things that are that there are certain things where the fundamental reward is in this world but the benefits also continue until the next World and one of those is on this list is what's known as literally means the investigation the study of and I and I and I and I believe what what the kazal are hinting to is the importance of not just davening but of investigating of studying of of trying to understand and what I hope to do um with with all of you this year is to be is to take advantage of that opportunity to enhance our through the through the study of we're going to start next week with discussing some different connected to the and then after the we'll get more to the to the main to the main uh to the main study um really getting back to the history of F how it developed um Etc um but the hope is that through that it will enhance our and that our will become part of our overall a Hashem in a in a meaningful way have a great day everybody [Music]