Parashat Mishpatim - How to deal with hate? - Rabbi Alon Anava

[Music] Shabu, we are going to dedicate this class and the rest of the classes today for the for the for the health of Rael Dora and her baby [Music] should be speedy. recovery and uh strong health. Amen. Amen. So, I heard a funny story that one time a Jew, he's flying on the highway 100 miles an hour, 2 hours before Shabbat. And on his way home, he's afraid he's going if he's going to make it, he's not going to make it to Shabbat. As he's driving on the highway, he sees a car pulled over. The hood is open and he's already seeing the car from far away. And as he's getting closer, he sees next to the car somebody outside standing with a yamaka. Says, "Oh, now now this guy, I'm rush in a rush before Shabbat. This guy is now not going to make it even for Shabbat." He doesn't know what to do. He makes a quick decision and stops. goes out, looks what's going on. After a few minutes, they're recognizing the problems. They jump start the car, and they're ready to go. He was so in a rush, he didn't even ask to the person's name or anything. He just comes to him, shakes his hand, tells him, "Shabbat shalom." The person's like looking at him like, "What is he saying?" He says, "Okay, maybe he doesn't know what's Shabbat shalom." He says, "Gabis." person is looking at him like, "What are you saying?" He doesn't understand. He didn't understand Shabbat shalom. He didn't understand gabish. He's like, "What's going on?" And he's like, "You don't understand what I'm saying?" He's like, "No." He's like, "You're not Jewish." He's like, "No." He's like, "So, why are you wearing a yamaka?" says, "Ah, this many years ago before my grandmother passed away on her deathbed, she reached out to a draw drawer. She opened the drawer, she took out this piece of cloth and she told me, "Whenever you stuck on a highway, put it on your head. Somebody will stop." So, wow. So, our Torah was a Jew. He wasn't a Jew. No, of course it's a story. What was the grandmother doing with Well, she she knew that she knew that when you need help, you put a yamako on a Jew will stop and help you. So, our Torah is full of mitzvot about helping Israel and charitable acts. Our entire Torah is full of commandments and and statements and teachings that we have to be good that we have to do charitable acts and bet you see the Jews in most cases not talking about about non-Jews right now I'm concentrating now on the Jews you see that we have a character trait that we do help you see somebody from far away with a yamaka he right away says okay it's he's Jewish I'll go and help him and We see that the entire Torah is promoting charable charitable acts. But in this week's para we meet certain act that shows us that also in the Torah there are people that we hate or the people that hate us. And in this week's para we read about a verse that it says When you see the donkey of your enemy of somebody that hates you or you hate him falling under the pressure of what's on his back, then you should help him. So this comes to bring a great wonder that the Torah is basically telling me there is such a possibility that you will hate somebody or that somebody will hate you which kind of contradicts the Torah. The Torah tells me I should prove my my friend when he's doing something wrong. meaning that I should that's what the says you should not hate somebody in your heart you're not allowed to hate somebody in your heart and we see so many prohibitions in the Torah the Torah tells me you shouldn't hate somebody or you're not allowed even to hate somebody nevertheless sometimes people hate me I mean to have somebody that doesn't have an enemy that doesn't exist the greatest sadikim had enemies enemies. Even Mosher Rabenu had enemies. So, it doesn't even make sense that somebody is so popular that everybody likes him. But in one way, it's a big wonder because the Torah kind of tells me you should not hate another person, but then it tells me I know that you're going to have people who's going to hate you. So, it's kind of like what's going on here? So really what I want to know is I want to know how should I deal with the people that hate me because sometimes somebody will hate me for something I didn't even do or he thinks I did something. The reality is that sometimes I I get pulled into a situation and the result of that will be somebody that doesn't like me. This an argue with my neighbor and argue with my landlord and argue with my boss. I walk into a store and something goes on and becomes an argument and now this person might hate me. So I want to know how to deal with the situation that somebody hates me. But more than that, I want to know how to deal with the situation when I hate somebody. The reality is that I hate people. whether I agree with it or not, whether I'm willing to say that or not, but deep down in my heart, I can see an individual across the street and see, I don't want to talk. I don't want to talk to this person right now. I don't want to have a confrontation right now. Or I move away to the other side of the street or really I I I can't stand this person. That person will will be a gathering, will be a class, will be whatever it is, and that person sits across the room and and in my heart, I'm like, I can't stand this person. And this is not what the Torah tells me to do. The Torah tells me you should not hate another person. But how can I control it? Hate, dislike. I'm using the word hate because in Hebrew the the word is so I'm just translating it. The word that the Torah is using is s is hate. So maybe I'm using the wrong word. I'm just translating literally the word. So yeah, I will say dislike. Oh dislike is not very no I can dislike somebody. So let's stick with hate because unfortunately whether I'm willing to agree with it or not to acknowledge it or not there are certain individuals that I can say I hate them. I mean maybe not me but I'm sure some people will be able to say oh that person oh yeah I can't stand him. So let's just talk about the idea instead of the word. Let's focus about the idea because the reality is that there are certain individuals in my life that that some people and not not in my case but in some people would say I hate him. I can't stand that person. We get to hate Hitler. Excuse me. We get to hate Hitler. You can hate Hitler, but that's not But I'm talking right now on somebody that's in in your How about we just concentrate on the on the idea instead of the word. So that that's the problem with with translating the Torah because in Hebrew inesh in the Torah it says the one that hate you or hate. So that's why I'm saying hate. Let's not get h get hooked on the word. But the point is, how can it be that I should have anyone that I don't like, needless to say, hate? How can it be when on the other hand, the Torah tells me I should not have resentment or hate against anybody. So we find it in this para, this para is called mishpatim, the laws. And we find this para right after we get the Torah. Last week we were in uh you know in a Hollywood production. Hashem is coming down on the mountain. Mosha is going up on the mountain. Thunder, lightning, a whole production going on. And we're like in a in a different sphere. And this week we land into the world. The entire para is talking about laws between a man and a man. A woman and a man does a man. a man and a woman between one person and another and all the laws that have to do with basic things. All sorts of damages. My my I set up a fire and the fire went into my neighbor and it burnt his crops. I have to compensate him and I dug a hole and his ox fell into my hole and all these basic things that first of all neither one of us wants to get into this situation. what is called nizikim that I did damages to somebody else or somebody did damage to me every every day we experience that somebody bumps into my car hey it was your fault no it was your fault you backed out no but you backed in and and then we have to go to court so all day long people are battling these these laws what's called nikim of damages the entire Torah the entire para that's what it's talking about about these particularly laws that nobody wants to know Now, there's a big question, of course, why why is that coming right after the receiving of the Torah? Teach us right after that about the Torah, about Shabbat, about about great mitzvot. I just received the Torah. We just saw God with our eyes. We just received the 10 commandments. And the next day, that's what you're teaching me. How to to compensate another person when I did some damages. I mean uh I don't see even the connection. So there are two opinions when this parasa was said. The first opinion it was said by the Ramban and he said that this parasa was said to the to to Mosher Rabenu while Mosha Rabenu was 40 days in the on the mountain wasn't even said when he the next day rather when Mosha Raben was in the mountain on the mountain for 40 days if you remember Moshe was going up and down up and down like a yo-yo the last set of the 40 days that's when Moshe Raenu already got all the oral Torah. The Raman says Mosher Rabenu was receiving this these laws while he was even on the mountain. Just when he came down, he just right away started teaching us the the actually I'm sorry the Ramban was the one who said that on the day of Matanto these laws were given meaning that they went off the mountain instead of going home and getting all excited right away everybody went to their place and Mosha Rabenu was right away called to and Hashem told him right away these these laws The other opinion is is said by Rashi. Rashi says that that para was said while Mosher Raen was in the mountain for 40 days. So the question is why? The question is why did the kadosho wanted to tell all these laws right away and not any other thing? The answer is by all the commentators is that the kalu wanted these particular laws to be our foundation are the first thing that we learn the first thing that we say when we wake up in the morning we say I didn't even open up my right eye only one eye started opening up and the first thing that I say thank you I thank you for giving me back my soul that if you translate it again we're having problems with translation with is I thank you. But can also be translated as I admit I admit that this is right. When we pray towards the end there's a part that we say a lot of people translate it or understand it is I thank you or we thank you. But the truth is that in this particular part in Ding in in the prayer of is we admit that what you're saying is true. So that's why the words in Hebrew sometimes they they have different meanings. Means I admit I I I admit that this is right. If I get caught doing something and they will tell me do you admit to stealing this thing? Yeah. I I admit. So when I wake up in the morning and I say yes I am thanking the for bringing me back my soul but I also take some type of an oath of saying that you are the king. I admit you are the king. I'm nobody. I'm just a I'm just just blood and flesh and blood. So the first thing that we acknowled the first thing of our day is we acknowledge that the kalahu he's in power and we acknowledge that I'm just a human being. That's the first thing that I do when I wake up in the morning. So the bahu wanted us to receive these laws first thing after we get the Torah so we can understand and acknowledge this is the Torah. The Torah here to Torah is Torah is not in the heavens. The Torah is in this world and the foundation of the Torah is how I behave with another human being between me and the says don't worry we'll we'll settle our our issues but the entire Torah comes to teach me the Torah comes from the word it comes to teach me how to behave with another human being therefore right after we got the Torah the most important thing in Hashem's eyes is all the laws of how Do I become a mench? Torah says, "First be a mench. First be a kind person, then start following the Torah." So we see that the the the that the cause for this to be said right after Matanra is for us to understand that what's important to the kadosh is how I treat another person. Now there's a story in the in the inracted Sanhedrin that there was a certain epic a certain person that goes doesn't doesn't believe in God and he came to Raban Gamiel who was the the the biggest rabbi in the generation at the time and he told him I agree that the kosh created the human beings but only the top part of the person. So tells him okay why why do you think that he only created the top part of the person? So he says the top part of the person God created and the bottom part from the waist down the demons created that and the reason why is because you see in the top part of the person is the brain is the heart is is the vital organs which makes sense that God will create something vital to serve him and all the part belief it's the you know dirty parts and and and the impure parts and blah blah blah and that therefore they're not serving God. So the demons created that. That was his opinion. So Gabriel says no. Just by looking at the lower part of the body, you understand that God created the entire body because the lower part of the body serves the upper part of the body. My legs move my body wherever I need to go. And a human being eats and after that the waste comes out. It has to come out from somewhere. If I don't have a lower part of my body, where will the waste go? And he started explaining to him and showing to him how the lowest part of the body actually serves the higher part of the body. And he said just from that we understand that the koshu created the entire body. So we see that the Torah is one part. We have a bad habit that we want to make a separation between the the Torah being Jewish and for me being me. And a lot of people says, "When I'm in sh I'm Jewish. When it's Shabbat around the table, I'm Jewish. I'll do kdush. I'll do the mitzvot. But when I'm outside on the street, I don't have to be Jewish. I don't have to follow the Torah. I'll follow the Torah when I when it's comfortable for me to follow it. And when I'm outside, when it comes to an argument with another human being, I'm not going to follow the Torah. I'm going to follow my rules, so to say." Or in many situations like that, a lot of people say, "Oh, no. Here I follow the Torah." what the Torah will tell me to do here. I don't want to follow the Torah. It doesn't make sense to me right now. The Torah, but the point is that there's no separation. The Torah is my entire life. The Torah is not only about keeping Shabbat and putting fill in and going to the synagogue and doing the mitzvot that seems so noble and so holy. the Torah is also in the things that I don't want necessarily to so to say involve the Torah or consider the the Jewishness in it. And this comes to tell me that there's no separation even if even with dealing with another human being on a daily base has to be done according to what the Torah tells me and not what I think I should do. Sometimes I run into a situation that the local law will be more to my side rather than the law in the Torah and I rather at this point say, "Okay, I don't want to be so Jewish right now. I rather go to the local court because it's more to my benefit." And here the Tua tells you, "No, the Torah is for everything. The Torah you have to follow in the things that you that you like and the things that you also don't so much like." But the Torah is not only about me sitting in a show and learning holy things and doing all these rituals. The Torah is my daytoday behavior is based on the Torah. And here is the core concept of this connection that the Torah one day we seeing the Torah on a mountain and we're seeing very holy things and on the next day we're learning basic basic rules between one person and another. And this is where the Torah comes and says, "No, even the most simple things, even the most basic things that you do not give any place to the Torah in it, it says no, the Torah also has to be done by the Torah." We see that the that the word the name of the par is called and we know that there are three types of mitzvot that we do. One of them is called Mishbatim. One is of them is called and one of them is called. These are the three types of mitzvot that we do is the testimony. There's a group of mitzvah that we do that is a testimony for something that happened. We celebrate the the holiday of Purim. It's a testimony that's a miracle happened 2,000 years ago. We celebrate the the holiday of Kanuka. We celebrate the holiday of Pesak. Pes is a testimony that we left Egypt. So and and and even Shabbat is a testimony that the world was created in seven days. So we have a group of of mitzvot that we follow because it's a testimony for something that happened many years ago. Then there's another group of mitzvah that are called is a law. These are all the mitzvah that don't make sense like red heer and mikvah and kosher. All sorts of mitzvah that there's no common sense to it but I still do it. Why? Cuz the told me to do it and I I'm not asking questions. I just put it. I just do it. And the third group is called Mishbatim. Mishbatim is the is the rules that make sense actually. Don't kill, don't steal, don't commit adultery. And all these laws that actually my common sense allows me to do it even with if the Torah would not tell me to do it. And these are the rules that even if the Torah would not be given, most likely normal human beings will not do it. go now to the furthest place in the world where you're not going to find a Jew that never saw the Torah and you tell him is it normal to kill? No. Is it normal to steal or create a dowry? No. So these are these rules that are called mishim that are rules that I don't necessarily need the Torah and that's why the Torah or more to say the gave these rules right after giving the Torah for us to understand that it's all about these basic rules. notes. The Torah is not about being fancy. The Torah is being practical. Now, what is the Torah really telling me? It's telling me when you see the donkey of your somebody that you hate is falling down from the pressure and you're not going to help him. Rather, the dua says you have to help him. means with him. Now, if we want to compare it to our generation, I go out now from my business and I see on the other side of the street the person who opened the exact same store like me few stores down. He's taking all my customers. He's dropping prices. I I'm not happy with him. I don't like him. He's ruining my business. And he's outside now stuck with the car and the hood is open. Am I going to go and help him? Most people will be like, "Ah, let him let him be stuck there. He deserves it." That's the natural reaction of most people. But the Torah tells me when you see your person that you don't like in pro in a problem in despair, you go and help him. And how does it says with him? You have to go and to do it with him. Torah is actually telling me, yeah, there will be an option that you're not going to like somebody with him that you're going to help him. You're not going to come and send somebody and say, "Okay, you go help him." You yourself go and says, "Okay, let me help you. Let me move my anger for me. Let me move my hate right now. I'm going to go and do it with that person." And we do find ourselves in these situations that I meet somebody or a situation that I don't want to help. And in my heart, I'm like, "Ah, good. He's getting it now." And the Torah comes and commands me, "No, don't don't be happy." Now, go and help him. Now, there's a a funny question here. What was the problem of the Torah when it said this pil was the problem with that the donkey is caving under the pressure or was the problem of the Torah that my if that person is in a problem right now right cuz the Torah is eternal and there's no donkeys now there's a car there's trucks I will not see my the person that I hate his donkey falling down with the weight. So what is the Torah caring about about the sorrow that the animal now is suffering under the weight or that the person now that the that his cargo so to say is crushing? That's a big question. What did the Torah is what is the Torah caring about? Because really there's no donkeys now. So if the Torah is telling me this commandment means that the Torah is also seeing forward to the time when there's no donkeys. Meaning that the Torah cares about the person and not the donkeys don't have the cars don't cave even a car can crash. But because one pe one person might say listen the Torah is talking about donkeys. Leave me alone. I don't have donkeys. I'm in 2017. I I don't go by prehistoric rules. So the question here needs in order to to be clarified, the Torah cares about the person that his donkey is now falling down or the cargo is falling down off the the donkey, not the donkey itself. Even though the Torah is also specific about we should not have that animals should not have any sorrow. It's called we're not allowed to put an animal into into a situation of sorrow. And that's a prohibition from the Torah. But the Torah here is talking about the the the problem of the person and not necessarily the donkey. Now what's the what's the meaning behind this whole erh advice or this whole commandment so to say. Now there are two meanings here. There is a very simple meaning that this is brought down by the wisest man in history king Solomon Schlommoik that says in the books the book of Mish that if you see your enemy hungry then feed him feed him bread. He says if you see your enemy that is hungry just just give him bread to eat. Meaning that you can hate somebody. Let's again we're using the word hate. Don't get hooked on the word hate. Says if you see somebody, yeah, there will be a chance, a situation that you're not 100% liking this person or you hate that person or you dislike that person or whatever it is, doesn't matter the word right now. But don't let it go too much. Keep it to a certain level. And if he comes to a point that he's already hungry, meaning at the last point of his life or the lowest of the lowest, don't don't let him go too far. Feed him. Feed him. Feed him something. Feed him bread. You don't have to give him sushi or steaks. Give him bread. Give him something. And where do we see that? We see that that there is a mitzvah from the Torah that it says that when I see somebody who is my friend, so to say, do doing something bad, I have to prove him wrong. And we see that in a situation in our history that somebody didn't do that. He suffered from that and that was Abraino. And where did we see that? Because he did not prove Ishmael when he did wrong things. Ishmael did all sorts of bad things and he did not prove him wrong because that's the thing. He he had too much kindness, too much and and Abraham says, "Okay, he he he will get better by himself." He didn't prove him wrong that at some point he his wife Sarah told him he has to go. He's uh making problems and he's affecting our sons. You got to kick him out of the house. Now, if he would prove him wrong initially, then maybe he wouldn't be a troublemaker and then he could have him in his home. He didn't prove him. He didn't prove him wrong. So, at some point, his wife told him, "He got to go out. You got to kick him out of the house." And that's what Abraham had to do. He had to kick Hagar and Ishmael out of the house which I can assure you it wasn't easy for Abu Ramino being such a dominating power of I'm sure it was very hard for him to kick Ishmail out of the house but when he kicked him out of the house what did he give him he gave him a a bag not a bag like a how do you call it wine skin wine wine skin of water and a little bit of So even though he kicked him out, he gave him he gave he gave him still something to eat and something to drink. So says if your somebody that you hate is hungry, don't don't continue the hate so much that you're not willing to give him food. Give him food. So what we learn from that is that the Torah is kind of telling me, yeah, you are going to have situations that you're going to dislike somebody or using the word that I'm cho that I chose to use. You're going to hate somebody. But don't let it go to to a level that you're not willing to feed that person that he can lose his life. This is the simple explanation. The Torah says, "Okay, I understand you don't like a certain person, but draw a line. Don't go too much. Don't go beyond your way to to present this resentment and hate towards that person. Keep it in in some type of a definition. But the the the more deeper uh meaning to this is explained by the alter by the balatana that says if I see if I hate somebody so much if I see something bad in somebody if somebody else suffers means that I will suffer too because essentially in our roots we're all coming from the same place. If I hate somebody so much, it means I hate myself the exact same level. And if I can see somebody else suffer, I just need to understand from that that at some point I suffer too because essentially we're all the same thing in our in our root. We come from the same place and we're equal. Not only that we equal, we're one. That if I can find something negative in somebody else, it's only because it bel. And if I get to a point that I hate somebody so much that in a very deep way I I hate some that thing in me just that it comes out towards somebody else. And there was once a story that there were two brothers that constantly fought with each other. All day long they were fighting with each other, beating each other up. This is my toy. It's my toy. Get out of here. All day long they would fight with each other. It was not normal that from morning to night constantly fighting with each other. One time they're going down the street and the one brother is holding a stick and he's hitting his brother with a stick and they're fighting. Suddenly comes a dog out of one of the the houses and starts attacking the younger brother. The older brother that was hitting him with the stick takes the exact same stick and starts hitting the dog and saving the brother and pulling the brother away and saving him. Later on, the mom saw it from far away. And later on, she came to the brother and she told him, "I'm very proud of you that you helped you came to the rescue of your brother. You usually don't do that. And I'm very proud and very happy to see that in the time of danger, you actually helped your brother. But I just don't understand why. Where did that came from? The answer is what do you want? It's my brother. I mean, I can fight with him all day long when it comes to save him. It's my brother. Then I don't fight. So the reality is that the Torah tells me, listen, let's cut to the chase. You are going to hate people. People are going to hate you. Let's be honest here. We're still not at the time of Msiah. We're still living in bodies. We still have situations. People are going to hate me for my acts. And you're going to hate people for their acts. Doesn't matter right now if you're right or wrong. It doesn't matter if it if it's worthy or not. Some people might say, "Listen, that person did a very bad thing to that person. I can understand why they hate them. I mean I deal with a lot of youth that unfortunately gets uh molested. They have hate towards the molester. Can you blame them? Can you blame such a person? No. You can't blame that person at all. So, and this is one example out of many. We're not going to start getting into personal examples here. Why a person can come and say, "Hello, I don't agree with you. I hate this person and I'm going to hate him until the day I die." Sometimes the hate as real hate here you can use the word hate and as one might say there's a good reason for that person to hate that individual he went through something bad he she this is one type of hate and a lot of times the hate doesn't okay that person just said something to me he just told me I'm not dressed nice so whatever it is the point is doesn't matter the level of how much I hate the person the point is the Torah says Let's let let's be honest here. I know that will be situation that you're not going to like somebody or you might hate that person. You can look at it in a very I wouldn't say superficial way but more on a simple way by saying listen okay I understand but make a line don't don't hate that person with a passion. Hate the act hate what the person did but don't hate the actual person that if you see that person starving you're not going to be willing to give him something to eat. So let's put the hate in some type of a definition and don't go too overboard. But if you want to look at it in a more deeper way that if I see another person suffering in one way or another it means I will suffer. There's a story in the that it gives an example that a person works with a tool and then by mistake the right hand cuts the left hand by mistake. But the left hand is going to come now to revenge. It's the same body. Yeah, it was a mistake. So the left hand will never think of, okay, now I'm going to revenge the right hand for cutting me. Essentially, we're all connected. So if you suffer, it means I'm suffering too. And if I can find hate in me towards another person at some way, in a very refined way, I hate something in me that I cannot stand in me that it reflects on you. So I hate you. This is in a much more deeper way. The point is that the point is that one should not hate another person. We should not we should should not have hate towards another person. And the Torah comes and tells me, I know you will have it, but don't have it. I heard a funny joke that there was some person that he had a donkey and the donkey made him rich because the donkey was able to carry all the merchandise from one foot place to another and he became very attached to the donkey and the donkey made him a lot more money and more money and he attributed his wealth to the donkey. He's like, "If I didn't have the donkey, the donkey, I wouldn't be able to carry all this merchandise, I will never make money." At some point, he became extremely extremely wealthy and and the donkey was his partner for many many years. And one day, the donkey dies. Okay? He buries the donkey, makes a beautiful mata, and then he comes to the rabbi of the show and tells him, "Listen, you know how close I was to my donkey? I want to donate $10,000 to your shoe and I want you to put a sign lemat for the elevation of the soul by donkey. So the rabbi tells him listen I'm sorry I mean it's a donkey. I mean we don't do that. This is a holy place. This is a holy synagogue and the I can't do it. It's for, you know, it's more more applicable to do it to a person, but it's a donkey. With all due respect, I understand you like the donkey, but we don't do it. It's a holy place. So, he tells him, "Okay, I'll give you $20,000. Just write something. I want to dedicate to the elevation of the soul of my donkey." He says, "I'm sorry. This is a holy place. It's a synagogue. if you want to just donate money for the place, I I understand, but I cannot put a sign on the wall to the elevation of the soul of the donkey. So the person tells him, tell me, Rabbi, if I go to the reform show across the street, do you think that if I give them $100,000, they will accept my donation and put a sign to the elevation of the soul of my donkey? So the rabbi tells him, "Oh, why didn't you tell me the donkey was Jewish?" So So why does the Torah like donkeys? This commandment is not talking about a donkey. Now, we just said that it's telling me it's not about the donkey. It's about the the the person. 3,000 years ago was donkeys. I understand. It says you you see the donkey of your the person you don't like. What does the Torah have with donkeys? Exactly. What? But I want to know what's the point with the donkey. You just said right. Abrahamu goes and sacrifice his son. The Torah goes out of its way to tell me that he was riding on a donkey. Same donkey. Excuse me. The same. The same donkey. Then when Mosha Rabenu goes to save the Jews from it, it says that he puts his wife and his kids on a donkey. Constantly we have a donkey. And you just mentioned, yeah, Mashiach is going to come on a donkey. 2017, you would think Mashiach is going to come in that Cadillac that they took Netanyahu out to meet BB that he will come at least with a with a nice Cadillac. Yeah. So Mashia is coming on a donkey. So what's the Torah has with a donkey? It's not such a special animal. In fact, we see that it's, you know, it's not only it's not such a special animal. There's nothing to this animal. It doesn't have certain strength. There are much stronger animals that take weight like camels. uh uh kings always decided to ride on horses which means a horse is a much more noble and powerful and fast animal. So a donkey it doesn't produce food like a cow. It's not a an animal that we eat even I mean there's nothing even one might say not that I have anything against the donkeys. I actually had a donkey when I was a little kid. I don't have anything against donkeys but it's not such a special animal. It's not strong like a camel or an ox. It doesn't produce his food. But it's not kosher. We can't eat it. You can ride it. It's not, you know, when you go now, you know, the there's a lot of sports with animals. There's no sport with a with a donkey. I mean, the sports with horses. Maybe in some towns they have some sports with donkeys. But but the most famous sports are with different animals. Maybe will be dogs, will be horses. So what's so special about this animal? Why is the Torah keep telling me about donkeys? Donkeys. Donkeys. Donkeys. Do you have an opinion? Could be could it be share the trait of stubbornness with them? Maybe that's a good thing. Yeah. So the balmtos gives us an answer that we don't have to think why a donkey in Hebrew is kamore in Hebrew material sounds the same it's the same root of kamo represents the materialism or more to say represents my body. And this is my main struggle in my life now and 3,000 years ago. The struggle of materialism that this world is built from from material. Even when the Jews were in mit last week when we read it says that Beno was slaving them. He slaved them with hard work with with materialism and bricks. So the when we trying to picture the the slavery in Egypt, we're imagining pyramids and people building pyramids and Egyptians with miniskirts whipping them and telling them to to work harder. The reality is that the slavery in Mitsim was materialism. Leanim Lev is a brick. And the same way that a brick is heavy and to carry a lot of bricks is a burden, the slavery in Mitim, they used to burden them, not necessarily carrying the bricks, rather they used to give them jobs that were a burden. And the slavery was slavery to materialism. So now 3,000 years later, nothing changed. We're still burden. We're carrying a burden. Whether it's my job, whether it's my kids, whether it's the education of my kids, whether whatever it is, I'm all constantly carrying bricks. It's a burden. Most people, they wake up in the morning to a reality of I can't stand my job. I have to go and work now in this horrible job or now I have to deal with this lawsuit and that neighbor and this problem and this kid that's not listening to me. So, my life is full of burdens like carrying bricks. And the next thing that I deal with is the the problem of materialism. That if there wouldn't be materialism in the world, I wouldn't have a burden. I wouldn't have I wouldn't have to worry about money. Imagine now a a bus will come, a truck will come once a day and deliver food to me and and I wouldn't have to pay rent. Then so to say, I wouldn't have any burdens of of of of problems. I wouldn't have money problems. But hell, that's one burden. That's another burden. The problem is that their health is goes under the category of materialism because it's what's the the problem with health is my body not my soul. My when my soul is sick that's a whole different thing. But right now we're concentrating about the donkeys. So we're concentrating on the on the materialism. The explains this is my body. My body is the one that the Torah is talking about. The one that I hate or the one that hates me. It's talking even on my body. It's not talking about the neighbor that I hate. Because really, the Torah doesn't even give place to to me to hate another person. When the Torah says, you're going to see the of the one that hates you. It's talking about your body. It's not talking about the neighbor. The Torah doesn't even give a place for me to hate another person. The Torah says you should not hate another person. Now, up until now, the last 40 minutes, I'm talking about me hating another person that did something to me. The Torah says, "No, no, no, no, no, no. You should not hate anybody. There's no such a thing. It's a sin to hate another person. You're not allowed to hate another person. If I hate another person, that's a sin. The Torah is not even talking about me hating another person cuz the Torah says, "No, you should not hate any other person. I don't care what he did to you." The kal who sent that personal is the one who sent the the dog to bite you. When the Torah comes and tells me, when are you going to see the donkey of the one that you hate? Come and says, when you're going to see your own body that hates you or that you hate him is falling under the pressure, you have to help him. Meaning that the body doesn't like me. Me is my soul. I'm the soul. The body doesn't like me. He doesn't want me to wake up at 7:00 in the morning. He tells me one more hour. One more hour. I don't want to wake up now. The body is not the one who tells me, "Stop eating these cookies." The body's not telling me. He's not the one who's telling me now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sit down and watch this movie now for 2 hours. You don't need to do now acts of charity. The body doesn't like me. This is the the one who hates me. Me is my I want to do. I want to do good. I want to help that person. and I want to do charity charitable acts. The body tells me I don't want to. I hate you. So there's some type of a relationship of hate between me and my body. The Torah comes and tells me your body will cave under the pressure that it wants to be lazy right now. It doesn't want to carry the burden of the Torah cuz the Torah is considered to carry a burden. All Torah, the the the yoke of the Torah, like a donkey that is carrying a heavy weight, he doesn't want to carry it. Even the Torah, even though the Torah is great, our sages compare it that carrying the Torah is carrying a yoke. Waking up in the morning, again, going to sh again saying a blessing again doing this. Now I have to watch my eyes and watch my mouth and watch my ears and watch my this and watch my that. I don't want to leave me alone all day long. I have to be on guard. Don't say this. It's wrong thing to say. Don't listen to that. It's don't look here. It's a bad place to look. It's come on. Leave me alone. The bomb is like leave me alone. Let me be what I want to be. So the body is the one who hates me and so to say me the nama hates the body. The Torah comes and tells me when you see your body caving under the pressure or the weight you have to go pick up the body. Pick it up. The commandment here is for me to have compassion to my body and to bring my body to a level that my body wants to serve Hashem. If I'm looking at in a very superficial way, the fact that I do hate another person, that's already a problem in itself. I should not hate another person. Doesn't matter what they did to me because things that happened to me, they happened to me because Hashem decided that it will happen to me and he chose that individual to be the the to be the the one who will do that to me. I should not have any hate or resentment toward another person. That's why you were right in the beginning of saying hate. How can you hate another person? I just translated the word. You're right. I should not have hate to anybody. Anything that happens to me happens to me because it happens because the kadu said it to for it to happen. If I had to if I have some type of a problem, the problem has to be with the kadosh, not with the person that did something for me. But if I'm already looking at it in such a superficial way, then don't have hate towards another person, help the other person, see the good in the other person that you can actually lift that person up and find the bridge where I can bridge with another person. You know that the best relationships start with a fight. That's usually the case that the best relationship with a friend or a business partner, whatever will start with an argument or a disagreement or a fight. why the doesn't want you to hang out together. He'll make he'll make a a fight between you. So if I have a fight with somebody, that's because there's something that has to come out of this relationship. So I have to be beyond my my my limited level to come and reach out and says, "Okay, let's see how we can work it out. Maybe we can help each other. I'm sure there's something here that we can work together." So the Torah comes and says, of emo with him. Don't do it separate or send somebody else to help. You go and do it. You initiate and says, "Okay, if I hate this person, if I dislike this person, if I had an argument with this person, means that we're supposed to do something together." Now, I have to go beyond my ego and see, okay, how am I lowering myself to start now dealing with this individual? But this is one way of looking. That's why I said the simple way what says if your if your enemy hates you, if your enemy is hungry, go and give him food. It's a complete the the reverse psychology. You hate him, but go and feed him. This is the the simple explanation. But the says, "No, this is your is you. Your body hates you. Your body now wants to sleep, eat, procreate, watch movies, relax. You have to come and lift up the body that the body will come, not your enemy. That your body will be part of your avat to pray right now. And that's the point of this commandment to me to be able to know to bridge with the one that I define as the one that I hate. Because usually if I define something as something that I hate, there's not going to be any any work from me coming to bridge towards that person or this individual or this act. The Torah comes and tells me, "No, when you are placed in this situation, you go and initiate it. You go and pick pick it up because that's where you the the the the message is is is hidden. This is what you're supposed to do." Not to now go and push it away. Rather, you create the bridge. In any successful relationship, it's because someone from the relationship at least one creates some type of a bridge. two people they hate each other sometimes one will initiate say let's let's let's talk if not if it's not that person then a third party will come the Torah comes and tells me in any situation that there's going to be a disagreement or an argument or hate or whatever it is whether it's between me and another person maybe I hate the person or the person hates me or in my own domain my me the me wants to grow spiritually. I don't want to talk. I don't want to hate. I don't want to steal. I don't want to cheat. I have a body that's disturbing me. My body has all these all these desires that I don't want. I don't want right now to look over here and I don't want now to say that and I don't want now to eat 70 pieces of cookie right now. I don't want to. I want to be here. I hate this this body right now. So, the Tua comes and tells me don't hate the body. pick it up. Bring it to your level in your way. So, what I want to take from that for my my mission for this week at least for something to concentrate on is to look at what I have in my life that I dislike. If there's an individual in my life that I dislike, how can I bridge to that individual? If there's somebody that I that doesn't like me, then how do I bridge to that person and make peace at some way? And more than that, how do I make peace? How do I bridge to the things in me that I don't like? Not to to to emphasize and to empower what I don't like. Rather, how do I bring it to my level? There's a certain a certain lust that I I'm battling with. Doesn't matter. Each one has something they they can barely control. Then not to hate it, not to resent it because the hate is a very negative act. The result will be negative. is how do I transform it? How do I utilize it to to holiness? And in anything in my life that I would meet something negative that I will define as hate. Now it's very easy to say oh I hate that place. Oh I hate this food. Oh I hate this. You teach your kid don't say I hate just say I don't like. But you know we teach our kids don't say I hate. But we ourselves say oh I hate this song. Oh I hate this movie. I hate this person. Constantly this motion of the hate. Now in English again English is one word. In Hebrew you would say son. The point what I want to take from that is to understand that the Torah was given to me last week physically and spiritually. The Torah was given to me to understand that right right after I get the Torah is all about the basic things. What's called first be a mench and is between me and another person and is between me and me and myself. I'm my best friend and what I want to take from that is that I should not have any hate in me towards anything and any situation that is presented in my life that has to do with resentment and hate and doesn't matter if it's towards the outside the inside it's only for me to find the way how to bridge to it and to be able to refine it and to elevate it as if we will do this type of work with oursel and refinement we will merit to see the last donkey in ministry of Mashiach coming riding on a donkey which we when we explain many times what that means but if we will be able to remove this hate from within me towards anything else by default we'll be able to receive the ultimate coming of Msiach that will be coming have a beautiful Pick shove. [Music]