Vayechi | Rabbi Baruch Taub | January 1st 2026

Okay. Um, good morning everybody. >> Uh, today's shear is being sponsored by uh, Fivy and Reena Berman who are the parents of Rabbi Avi Burman. And uh Reena's sister uh was uh in memory of her sister who's they're in Schlloam now. Donna Chan over uh was a a very special person. Uh we're okay. So >> that's available for Thursday. >> Let me check. So the shar is being sponsored in memory of uh of Donna and uh Donna was a very special person. She was a cousin of ours. We related to the Burman family. I was actually his cohain. He was a bor Rabbi Burman or I didn't have to hold him on my lap. But uh she was a very special very special woman. uh she in fact she she came to Toronto for my children's our children's weddings and uh had a very close relationship with with the family and was a very special person and she is missed one of four daughters and uh the other three should only have simas and uh and nakas from their children and families and Donna should be a meosher for the whole family and for all of Kalisrail. Okay, there are two things I want to do today. Um, first take the the sheet says par. Um, it's uh front and back and then we're doing the other sheet from last week. There was something that we didn't finish on the number two on the other sheet. So, we'll get to it. Okay. So, here we go. Um um so we spoke last week about the fact that probably last week's para was the most dramatic moment in the entire Kish when Yseph uh reveals himself to his brothers and now or the aftermath when you know everybody caught their breath and he revealed himself [clears throat] and um so now uh 17 years later Yoseph If his father Yakov Ainu calls him, he wants to talk to him. Now this is significant in itself because uh Yakov did Yoseph did not go to visit his father in Gan for 17 years. Why not? Ephraim went to learn with him every day. His grandson went to learn with him every day. But why didn't Yoseph go? He didn't go because he was afraid he'd come there and he'd sit down with him and Yakabina would say to him, "Tell me what happened exactly. What happened exactly with your brothers?" Right? And he didn't want to he did not want to have that conversation. So he never went. So now Yakovinu calls him and what did he ask him? Israel and Israel. He was going, he knew he was going to die. I want you to do with me, right? What's burial, right? It's called because there's no reward, right? anyone who works in a kadisha that's a it's it's it's let's let's say a thankless job because the person they're working for is not going to say thank you and I've always found over the years that people who are involved in kadisha are very sensitive people generally speaking you know it takes a a special person to do the work that these men and women do okay um so what don't bury I want I want to be in the in our family plot of the um I want to I don't want to stay in the third P that's the important one we're going to focus on he said um I want you to swear to me that you're going to do this right and of course he said he's going to do it right he says I'm going to do exactly what you said. So then you have the swear to me that you're going to do it. And he swore to him and Jacob bowed down. So let's start with the question we're going to deal with is what's this all about? Why why did he have to swear? So here you have here you have Rahutner in thekum yum kipper. And the question is really, you know, what is this? What is the utility of an oath? If he promised, if he said he's going to do it, what what is added by the by the by the promise? What is an what is the definition of an oath? Right? So, let's see. He's going to we're going to get there. Shalom. So, here he's talking about we learn something that says there are two basic components to chuva. One is kar remorse or regret of what I did. I'm doing chuva. So I regret what I did. That's number one. And the other thing is kabala is kabal for the future that I accept upon myself to be a different person. These are the two elements of basic elements of chuva right and ali. made notwithstanding the fact that these are the two pillars of chuva the mitzvah of chuva that being said there's a a dramatic distinction when you get out of the mitzvah of chuva for any other mitzvah meaning this business of this pillar of being having remorse and regret of my past. This only exists in the mitzvah of chuva does not exist in any other mitzvah and not if not for the great love that granted us the grace that he granted us this power of chuva uh you know to to do chuva in other words chuva is an amazing thing it doesn't make sense it's as if when you wear bouva It's as if your your past is wiped out, right? That can't happen in a in a human court. You know, you you get a conviction, you get you're not a conviction, you're freed, whatever. But you can't you can never wipe out the past, right? With chuva, the past is gone, right? That's the from But that's because plays a role. Okay. all the other mitzvah all the other mitzvah in the Torah is no such thing as as remorse right only but accepting for the future for the future this exists outside of the world of chuva rightab right there's a concept of shabas of accepting shabas certain things we do to accept shabas right to prepare for it right but what's the real source of this that kabala is so sweeping it's a grand the whole grand enterprise of Torah you have to have kabala acceptance for the future where did that come from our introduction to kabala is for every Jew in where we receive the Torah. What do we call receiving the Torah? Torah, right? We accepted the Torah. The Pik says, right? The famous moment when Israel were gathered by Harriim in Harville and they were given brahas on one mountain. They had it say to and claws that we'll stay away from on the other. So what what we will always uphold to be Mikayam the Torah that's a a statement for the future and cursed is the person who does not is not mabel for the future for Torah and we said amen right that was cababala we made a cabala for the future we will do everything in the Torah right [gasps] says there this is the whole Torah and we accepted upon us. This was a this was an oath. We accepted the Torah with an oath. We promise we are going to we swear we're going to keep the Torah. Right now afterwards it says we said a when you say right uh it means that you're accepting everything. Now listen to this question in Toshus and that's really going to be what we want to get into a little bit in Gmoran. I have a question. What is the utility of an oathor? If I let's say let's say I made an oath not I'm not going to do keep I'm not going to or worship idols, right? So, uh, if I'm afraid I'm I'm not I'm going to back out of my commitment, right? I'm going to start worshiping idols, you know, I might I might back out, right? I might not be strong enough to do it or shabas or whatever, whatever the mitzvah is, right? So, you make an oath. So, I'm afraid, you know, maybe I'll I'm going to I don't want to I want to keep this dismissive for the future, but I might slip, right? But what does the shu help? You might slip on the shu. I made an oath. I might slip on the shu. I can't I can't keep this promise. Right? So, what what are you adding? You're just adding uh you're adding fuel to the fire. Insult to injury, right? That's what you're really adding here. Insult to injury, right? I could back out of this. What What is the shua helping me? Right? If it's supposed to protect me from not backing out, but I can back out on that too, right? So that's obviously not what the is about. Okay, okay, that's the question of of that's what Toss asked. Let's deal with this. When Moshe was to make we accepted this this promise, we made an oath, right? of our of of our it's not shu is not to protect me to give me the strength not to back out. That's not what a shu is. And generally we think that's what it is. I swear I promise I won't do it anymore. So what are you thinking? I'm I'm going to this the shu is going to No, no, I make I swear. Right? So you think that that it's going to help me not back out. stronger than saying, "I'll do it, but I'll make an oath. I, you know, that's stronger. I'm not going to back out." He says, "No, it doesn't work." If he's suspect, if he's a weak person, he's suspect on breaking Shabas. He decides he's going to keep Shabas or or whatever and he he backs out on that, he's going to back out on the shu, too. If he's weak in the in his hashem, so what what does the shuad the So, listen to what he says here. The shu is not about helping him to to break not to break off the relationship, right? I promise something to you prom a person promises to somebody or he promises to the raon in this case or or here he promises to his father, right? What is the shu? It's not if I if I decide I can't get you know what I can't get there. It's Israel. I can't get there. I got a problem here. I'm the viceroy of Egypt. It's hard for me to go. I'll have the kids go, right? I made I said I'd do it, but I can't do it. So, he makes a shu and no, I'm going to do it. But if I can't do it because of the the my telling my father, maybe I can't do it even. But that's not what a shu is about. It's not about helping me so I won't back out. It is an addition to the relationship. I'm making a statement about my relationship to Boru that I'm I'm going a step further of embracing you. He gives the example of a student to to his rebi right I if I make a an oath to you it's not that I'm I'm swearing that I'm you know it'll hope hopefully help me you know not to break my word. No a shu is is the opposite. It I'm making a statement. I'm embracing you more. I'm coming I'm I'm really coming closer to you. That's what is the closer you feel with someone, right? The more you're you're on yourself to do the right thing. The relationship that Talmet has for his rebi, let's say, is not because he's afraid he's going to back out of having any relationship with him. He he just feels close to him, right? So the closeness a relationship for the sake of the relationship. So the just strengthens that, right? It's not a a tool to keep me from backing out. It's a tool to embrace to go further into the future. The relationship that the student has with his stronger vash, it's more palpable. You can feel it over page. So his his he's a cle he he's a vessel of love to Israi or for Yseph or his father or for the when we do mitzvah to him and it just strengthens strengthens it right even if we say maybe the will help it will help him think twice about backing out and getting out of this thing I it's too much I'm out of here Right. So even if it does help in terms of not backing out but it's there's a much stronger thing involved here and it will make the the commitment that much stronger for people who are not serious the sh is okay I promise you know I promise you right I mean you know maybe we're all in that category to a certain extent you know we go yum kipper We clap al right and you know everything is uh is wonderful. So what happens after Yam Kipper? You know, a woman once asked me, a lady once asked me after Marav, after Marav, one of the few ladies that stayed for Marav for uh which women don't have to stay, we went home to do another mitz to prepare the sura, right? But she asked me like I I said all these I asked I did au what what did I do wrong? So I said, did you have when you said for? So she thought, "You know what? I was I was thinking about the menu, right? So we're we're human, right? We're human. So um that's what happens, right? We do the best we can, right? And the Rabon knows we're human and and he is not and he loves us nonetheless. And we we do the best we can." But he says even though it it's we want to we want to not do it, but we do get a little closer, right? We do we get much closer. There's a tremendous sense of right and the question that asks to the believers you know to us it really strengthens our relationship to God and that's all we're asking bottom So by by you have two things you have um in the past right and you have kabala for the future it's the only mitzvah that has kar there's no such thing as kar here I only have kabah for the future right that and that is the I make it's not a protection for the negative or getting getting out of here. It strengthens our our relationship with so we become you know like a vessel a glass vessel holding wine could become a crystal vessel holding wine right that's what we become now back to Yseph and Yakov that's the whole utility of the shuah here he asked him to swear right he asked him to swear because he wanted him to have that that that stronger relationship with with him and feel a stronger relationship to him. Not that he was worried yak yseph is not going to back out right but he wanted him to have that that close how many more days were left for him to live right so that's the definition of why we make ashua right and we talk have to stay away from making shu it's a danger dangerous business and nadarim but that's the sh okay um this next piece um we were going to do last week uh but it it's it's kadai to do it right It has to do with the month of Tate. We're still in the month of Tate. It has to do with and it has to do with Kanek. So this is from Ser from Rabion and David. And when he gave the shir he said this is so this was when he gave the Shir the night of the night of but we're we're still no G for us. Now what is a we just went through this fast. It's the beginning of our goal is when started to break the walls of was the beginning of the end the walls of to start to be right. It's the first of the four that the speaks about. That's when he started to attack Jerusalem started to break the wall the the right [snorts] in the commentary he says something interesting about this and the quotes here the drram actually the first purish we have the earliest perish we have on the sitter they talk about hilanis it's there's something unique about about the tinness of right so um I skipped out a few things but now he says what's a one of the unique facets of of the fast of um alan all the other fasts that we have for the yudamos Right. Shiva would tell us come in the summer with this strength. It's the hot time of the year. Even though it's after the equinox, but it's still in the summer. It's on the other side of the calendar. the shortest day of the shortest days of the of the year. So far away from the power of the sun, right? We don't have the power of the sun, right? You know, the psychologists always speak about, you know, climate. Why are we so interested in the weather? Because if it's raining, we feel lousy, right? The weather affects us, right? The miracle here is, by the way, today we we left a little early from Natona because we figured it's going to take us forever to come. Apparently, a lot of people didn't didn't go to work or something. We got here at an hour and 8 minutes, right? Which is like almost record record time and uh and it's still not ready. It was raining on the way. So, but we're not the day is not over yet, but okay. But we were very happy to see the sun. You're happy when you see the sun. So all the other fast days are at least there's a certain but this is really a downer is really a downer. So, and over there that sorus is even we have sorus over there, right? Yeshua this is a time of it's also by the way calendarrically speaking in terms of our this is a happy time of the year just the opposite right so in a certain sense from a climate from a sun thing is kind of a contradiction right it's a bit of a downer but it's a happy time right we have sukusan goes all the way in the middle of the salvation. All of a sudden, there's a crash by Kaneka we're talking about now. It's very strange right in the middle of Kaneka and we'll see there's a certain uniqueness to the celebration of Kaneka that does not exist by any other any other Yamto right there's a crash all of a sudden we have in the middle of in the middle of Kanek we're going to right [gasps] there's something to talk about but what does it what does it mean next line the let me say or right that's that's saying now really the first days are days of a few days before the fast it was and there is a time for tremendous aliyah tremendous elevation for on Kaneka remember um why don't we have a feast on a sura on Kaneka? There's no den of a surah in Khan. There's a den. One of the five mitzvah of purim is to have a sura. So the classic answer is that that purim was a physical. We were we're threatened with physical annihilation. So the response to that miracle is to do something physical to have a sudo which which is a physical expression of thanksgiving to a gurish. by Kaneka. Kaneka was an attempt to destroy our our spirituality, take away the Torah from us. That was the whole purpose of Yavan, right? That was the distinction of Yavan and Cl Israel. Yavan, you know, uh backtrack a little bit. Yav yavan is about myself. It's about um the only thing we have left from Yavan is about competition. It's all about not that God doesn't play a role. It's about I it's about me and I have to compete with you. I have to be better than you. Right? So, uh the only thing we have left from Yavan, what do we have left from Yavan? The Olympics. That's the Olympics, right? Because it's all about and and unfortunately, you know, we fall prey to it. You know, sports fans, you know, um they kids kids they'll get the kids the same jersey that the parents wear to watch the football game and and you know what do you the kids say? We're going to kill them. We're going to slaughter them. Right? Those are the terms that that's we use those terms, right? This comes from Yavan because that's what Yavan was all about. You don't you don't fit into my right every we're all about us and being better and and um by the way Israel is just the opposite. As we know, Torah is just the opposite. I have to be concerned about someone else. There's a a fascinating halok in Kaneka little a little bit bit of a deviation here but it'll it'll help us understand there's a strange halok in Kaneka it's called bat haro um I don't know if everybody's familiar with it [snorts] but uh if one does not have a minor because really academically it doesn't really today it doesn't happen let's say someone doesn't have a minor he doesn't have a house because the lighting of the minora has to be at home right you can't you're not yay the mitzvah if you light it in the tree. Now, [snorts] that's not to say that when Kabad has all of these candle lightings around the world, it's a it's a tremendous thing. It's pursuing Nissa and it's doing a great deal, but it's not the mitzvah of lighting candles. You have to light candles at home, right? Something about the family, right, which they wanted to destroy also. Yavan, right? They tore the medish says they tore made us tore down tear down the doorways of our houses. There was no privacy. There was no privacy. They made the rash into rash raim. But here's the if I see someone lighting a manura. I don't have a minora. I I make a braha. You makeim you make the second braha. It's called the braha of seeing the lighting of the candle. The only mitzvah in the Torah that you make a bra on someone else doing a mitzvah. Right? We all have bas mitzvah. Before we do a mitzvah, we make a bra. This is the only mitzvah that you're making a bra for another Jew who's doing the mitzvah, right? That's that that defines the difference between yavan and and and Israel. We care about the other. We're not we're not competing. He has a he has a minora, right? I don't have a minor, but I can make the bra for him. I'm happy he's he's lighting the minora, right? So love ye love Yeven was very superficial right that's why we say um the word panim face right so you have face you go to Latin you go superficial right you just see the superficial right that's what they were about their physicality right being being Olympic stars but panem also is panem the essence of a face of a panem is is the inside of the person. You see from a person's face face a little bit. You know, if you're a little discerning, you can see what what kind of a person is. A person is angry, a person is is is gentle, a person is this. So, you get to see in the inside of the person. So, this is the distinction of so so Kaneka the what are we celebrating on Kaneka? Right? You can go through Kaneka for for eight days and almost not know it's a Yumpt, right? You have matzah, right? You have no you have all kinds of reminders, all the tin foil in your kitchen, right on the counters. But you have uh and sukus you you're in the suka on Kaneka. What do you have a half hour at night? You light the manora. So you can almost go through the entire Kaneka that it's not a special day. What's the answer to that? The answer is that the miracle of Kaneka is that it is not a special day. It is a restoration to normal Jewish living. We can now get back to our families, get back to learning Torah, get back to the mitzvah that they tried to take away from us and the Torah they tried to make us forget, right? Like we say inim. So the absence of a mitzvah, constant mitzvah every day is the is the presence of all the 613 mitzvah. That's so that's the uniqueness of Kaneka, right? So imagine at this point in time there's a crash in the middle of Kaneka we have the the month of T is coming right so now let's continue this is in in the next paragraph right so um the headline he writes here before the tragedy God reveals to us the endgame it's going to be it's going to be tough but I'm going to give you I'm going to give you a taste taste of what what's going to be afterwards. You have to hold tough because the end of the end of the the game is going to be good for us. Okay. So, where does this come from? Look, this begins before you're born. Before we're born. Everybody is somewhat familiar with this famous medisho. When the baby is in uterine, utter, right? Baby's in uterine. So uh quotes a from memilo nero ali roshi of o we say in reference to that time that of the nine months of being in uterus when when the malik is teaching us the whole the whole Torah right. Oh if I could only have that halo. The word halo comes from this word halo. If I could only have the light of Hashem shining his light on me and and protecting me um and and he watches over me, the continues, right? He takes care of me. Oh, if I only had that time, that great time that let's call it Kaneka, right? That great time. So the said l So what do the rabbis learn from? This is the Gomorrah as we know the uber B do al Rosho when the baby is in the womb there's a light a candle burning over his head and he can see from one end of the world to the next the other end and he's taught the entire Torah by the way he says says he's given him his own he's shown he's given him every Jew has a unique unique portion in Torah every single Jew so that every single Jew is given is shown their unique contribution that they potentially can make in Torah when they're born right they come out of the womb right in uterine is over Aliv Malik touches the the child top of the mouth and Mishkra and he forgets all the Torah that he learned a crash right it's a crash from being in this great moment right which the quoting the from right by the doesn't mean that we're shown the geography the globe of the entire world his life spiritually he's shown Jewish history so in his right and he's also shown his own unique portion in Torah his purpose what we're challenged with what we're supposed to do. Everything he sees it sent to a place of darkness, right? At the place of of of hiding, of mystery. And we bring we begin everything we begin everything a new everything we saw is forgotten. Vanel this is a word a world a world that we're in is a world of forgetfulness a world of mystery. A word world we can't you don't really see everything properly in our world. He forgets everything. How does he reclaim these? By starting to learn by doing mitzvah. Torah mitzvah. Right. Next line. After he forgot everything, it's not over. That's what he's going to say now. There's something there. There's something there. We've all had moments that you know um this this sounds sounds familiar to me right you learn something sounds familiar to me now nine out of 10 times is you were taught it already and you forgot it right but one out of those 10 times is that maybe this is you remember something from from that that previous life it's part of your it's there in our mah If not, if not, what was the purpose of all of this? To make us miserable, it's going to be taken away from us. Can't be. There has to be some whatever we learn is deep deep down in in in in our in our and the only reason we have the capability of learning the entire Torah is because we already had a taste of it. We already we already learned it. The next column even though we we were sent we were thrown out to a world of darkness right of hiddenness right and we don't see the purp the ultimate purpose right we don't see it I mean neb look at all the people that in our world in the world of in the Jewish world the assimilation today the uh the the awful spiritual condition of American jewelry, right? And the maklo that's going on in this country between, you know, the country, the division of the country. We understand what is it, what's it all about. You know, it's not just it's not about the court. It's not about the draft. It's about all these things, but it's about do we want a Jewish country or we want a country like the United States of America. That's right. Right. They were yesterday there were um released statistics about this is the mo more people left the country this year than came to right so the condition right but everybody everybody saw it right which by the way answers the question why with all the sorus in this country right when it comes to let's say pesak I think 80 something% % a pew report of of of people of close to 90% of the Jews who live here keep some semblance of pes some semblance of a seder right now not might not be halox but they do something and and the percentage that don't eat that don't eat also astounding right all these people are screaming against the religious community right they're eating they're so there's a certain there's a certain what I want to say This is it says oh I missed the line it's on subconscious want to say maybe it's it's in our subconscious right no no he says well it's more correct to say our superconscious it's at the top of the top of our nishama hidden part of our nishama it's not it's not subconscious It's on top. It's ready to come out because this is really beyond our understanding. We we really don't have it. So somehow reveals it to us. He showed it to us. He hides it. He hides it. Okay. Next paragraph. That's what we've been speaking about. We were given a great revelation, right? Israel that that Malu the kingship dominion returned Jewish king returned to Claw Israel for 200 years. Right now, by the way, that's a statement also. It only it didn't last. So gula redemp the redemptive process comes in stages and we have to be prepared for that right what we're going through today right we had think you know for two and a half I've said this so many times for two and a half generations uh it was unbelievable you have kids grandkids who kid know what anti-semitism was really right and all of a sudden look what we're living with the new reality but the new reality the two and a half generations were a bleep on the radar ing the new reality is the old reality. This is Jewish history. The process of redemption of of gula comes in stages. Even the great Kaneka which we described earlier which he'll mention again right did not last 200 years there was Mus that's it right. So it it comes in stages but and but he add now he adds here that Khan is not only a celebration for the defeat of of Greece but it's a this galas is a defeat this gula of Khan is a defeat of all the other all the other diasporas gul at Bavl the redemption of Bavl listen to what you sing in Maur right each one of those paragraphs that we sing in Maur right one is Bavl right Right. Is also mentioned the hang of we end up we end up with our goal is today. The goal is please redeem us from from this. This verse by the way was added on later. It was not part of the original maur in fact we don't have time now to go into it maybe another time but there are certain references in the language to Christianity and even toka in some of the words here right but we're not going to get into that right everything is in ink right everything is in just skip down a couple lines the migosh. It really all relates to Jewish history is just a you know layers and layers of Yakov and Asov, right? The battle with Asov that Asaf son is Yakov. It's a mitz in the in the in the world in humanity that Asov hates Yakov that hates hates the Jew. You want to look for reasons for anti-semitism, you can find a thousand reasons. But but there's something that called and all of this point of Jewish history is we have a taste. He says so gives us that taste like the like we said the baby has in the mother's womb of perfection of a world of Torah. Kaneka, the celebration of Kaneka is a world of Jewish perfection where we've returned to all of of uh that's the miracle of Kaneka. And um and that's why all of a sudden there's a crash. We come out of the womb of Kaneka. We have Khan and we go into Soravves. So that's that's why Soravis is is here, right? Because this is the beginning of this downward, you know, this downward spiral domino effect of uh of the the the gulls coming out of Kaneka. Okay, that's it for today. Thank you all and uh this is wonderful. The sun is shining.