Parsha Perspectives for Today (Mishpatim, 5781) - It Could Be You

good morning boker tova and welcome back to parsha perspectives for today this is a very special edition of partial perspectives for today because we are in the middle of the boca raton synagogue global community campaign whether you're living locally you're part of the brs community physically or you're living at a distance and you're unable to participate physically but you're part of the greater global brs community this is the opportunity to give back to say thank you and to be part of our community first i want to thank our generous partial series sponsors for the year our dear friends becky navi katz we don't take your sponsorship for granted thank you so much for your generosity and loving memory of david grossman becky's father david manosh who's your type will be next week and this morning class in particular sponsored by david and shoshi mayor fell down the sloshing of her beloved father zev goldfisher zeb and yosef halevi who was such a pillar of the elizabeth community and 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your appreciation and being part of this and being part of this effort okay practice mishpathan begins on page 416 in the arts crosstalk and it begins the following these are the laws that i place before you and these are the laws that i place before you every child going to school is learned in school every young child has been corrected by their parents to know that you cannot begin a sentence with the word end you don't begin a sentence with the word and so how does the torah get away with it hashem almighty the great grammarian in the sky how in the world does he begin a sentence with and the a la mash bottom first question is it should be a hamish bottom not so what is the valve coming to everybody salvation the great rav of the ou addresses this question we're going to come from three perspectives the rav we're going to see the perspective of we're going to come from the perspective of and then i'm going to offer you my own so it begins the rav following the giving of the assailants the torah should have proceeded immediately with chapter chapter 24 in which hashem tells moshe to seal the covenant with the people it's followed by the construction of the mishkan pasha's trumpet the required step to fulfilling the divine promise and when we come out of egypt and we come to the mountain and finally there's a return to the story of revelation the episode of of course the ego azov the golden calf partial represents a dramatic departure from these themes says thereof i don't understand a moment ago we were on har sinai a moment ago was niela it was the greatest clemsons a moment ago we were on the spiritual high and now pasha's mishpotem this major major dramatic departure and deviation from the track we were on we were on this track of holiness and sanctity and spirituality of being moved and being uplifted and all of a sudden we're talking about the laws of nezhikin the laws of damages the laws of civil law criminal or tort law what are we doing here apparently partisan spotting is an interpretation of the assailant says thereof without passions mishpotem there cannot be a guy kardashian almost all the fundamental principles of the mitzvos may be found here says the rav the reason pasha's israel continues with mishpatim and the reason is connecting the two is to tell me that pasha's mishpatin which is the framework for civil law the torah addresses not only our religious or our spiritual selves it doesn't just tell me how to connect with faith and optimism and spirituality but the torah is telling me what it means to be part of a mamlakh's konami kadosh in my everyday mundane life if i shuckle and shule if i have the longest shimona esre if i say oh say for taylor but i'm ruthless in business and i fail to hold the door i don't say please and thank you i'm unkind i cut corners i don't pay my taxes honestly i damage someone but i don't compensate i don't own up i walk away i don't know how to get along with others if i don't follow if i don't execute in practice in everyday life all that supposedly i stand for and i've learned that har sinai then our sinai is not really realized so the va vaccine why should the torah care about the situation about paid or unpaid watchmen pasha's mishpath discusses the issues of kenyan acquisitions and khazakos and star these monetary issues would seem to be out of place in the moral code the conclusion then is that a civil law carries religious significance destruction of property and trespassing are not merely violations of civil law they are moral transgressions it says thereof mishpatim which is all about interpersonal law which is all about damages and all about financial responsibilities is not separate and apart and distinct from my religious life and religious personality but they're all integrated they all overlapped they're all connected and that's why there is the va khibor that's why there is the vaphakibor in fact the last mission of bubba bastard by salvation points out that if one wishes to become a talmud you should study the civil monetary laws you want to become a khasid you want to become a talmud you have to learn and master the melee the nazi the study of these topics sharpens the mind allah is developing a precision of depth a study of ezekiel inspires the one who studies helping him develop the intuition and intellect it's a special capacity which the almighty implanted in the zika that inspires about the emotional intellectual level the best form of their shaman we're in the area of nazi and so it's not like why are we studying this dry area of law i want to be immersed in hispodedus and his boneness i want to talk about a moon and be talking all of which i also want to talk about and learn and try to teach however it must transmit and much translate it must be executed in our everyday real life we must bring it into the real world it can't be something that exists only in theory and concept and an abstract i can't be on her scene i and be living the principles of wanting to talk about god i've got to take it with me and go out into the world bring it with me execute on it and put it into and put it into practice thank you robert friedman for your sponsorship everybody take a moment in the middle of the past this year normally we run a campaign called friends of brs and every year we've raised tens of thousands of dollars for those who attend in person who aren't members of brs who give 180 in order to be a friend of brs with the benefits that it brings obviously we have that don't have that ability to be in person but we still need your help we need your support frankly we need it in order to continue to teach and share the inspiration and i dare say you need it in order to show the gratitude and not just be somebody who takes who listens who learns without contributing participating or doing your part so again in the next uh now 15 minutes as we learned together if you take a moment and hit the donate button if you take a moment be on go on brsonline.org global 100 or more donation although you can give any amount that donation will enter you into 180 dollar raffle you can make your money right back so that is rabbit salavich bottom parches yisro seminal event harsinai smoke we saw the sounds it moved us it was amazing it uplifted us we had goosebumps we left we cried and then civil law tort law yeah because that's where it's executed you can't only leave it in theory ravdruk also tackles this issue and ravjuk says the following says the following he says don't think to yourself i'll teach it i'll deposit it a couple times but i don't have to actually um i don't have to actually go through the great effort of explaining it to them and organizing it these are the laws and it doesn't say these are the laws of readiness of the law now continue give out the laws what are these words doing here lift nahim these are the laws that you're placing before them where else would the laws go of course the laws go before them where else do the laws go um so it says rashi we're all famous we all are familiar with it because it's the book that is the greatest authority that communicates jewish law called the shalhan arch of yosef karu the 16th century when he decides he's going to organize what he had previously offered as his commentary on the tour called the base yosef and yet people were not studying the base yosef very intricate very detailed very complex so he summarized his base yosef into a book and he writes in the introduction to that book listen carefully he writes in the introduction to the that you'll be able to review the entire code of jewish law once a year and that's why he condensed and consolidated he summarized his entire base yosef into because he'd be able to review the entire show once a year why did he call that book means a set table why did he call the set table because of this rashi rashi says asha testing with him because of our pasha pasha's mishpatim a set table take the laws organize them make them clear make them accessible and present them display them distribute them like a set table that one is ready to eat from and one does rav druki name of worship the same way that you put out you put out platters of food the same way that you serve someone you set up the buffet same one you have a set table should be arashi again a wonderful question why is the torah compared why is the teaching or transmission of jewish law compared to a set table to a great banquet what was what was rashid getting at what were our rabbis getting yeah hey moshe don't get away with the bare minimum don't just deposit the information and those who understand it will understand it and those who don't tough noogies take the time understand it and present it robert friedman you are in the lead to win the raffle so far you are a shoe and is anyone going to give them a run in 100 or more 180 tax deductible gratitude appreciation member of the brs global community with benefits what are you all waiting for press donate come online and join and be part of this so why is the description for atomic to make the effort to present it clearly why is that compared to a set table into food listen to this druk i love this insight a powerful powerful insight nero levar if you ever attempted to see them in the sem this is in the in the text the liturgy of the seed that's recited edisem 119 it actually was yesterday's says forever may i not your instructions your manual your torah why sunny because it is what gives me life i can't forget to breathe if i forget to breathe i'm dead i can't forget to eat if i forget to eat i'm dead if i forget to learn if i don't set aside time for learn howard gans thank you for your generous support if i don't set aside time to learn how can i live the answer is whenever you know you need to live you don't ever ever forget in fact breathing is a natural response when is the last time that you had to stop and think about breathing the people who god forbid get corona god forbid have to wear a device to track their oxygen and to ensure that they're able to breathe deeply they're acutely aware of the quality of their breath each and every moment god forbid it should god forbid it should go down but a healthy person an otherwise healthy person never even pauses or hesitates or thinks about or contemplates such a person doesn't have to think even for a moment about breathing it's a natural response to breathe we know we have to breathe we don't breathe you can't live a person doesn't go days without eating and go oh i forgot to plug in my phone and i forgot to eat no you know that you need to some people are more aware of the battery level on their phone than whether they've eaten but a healthy person knows whether they've eaten whether they've eaten healthy foods and so on and so forth so mamela is so therefore that's what was saying the good let me get to the point god that learning your torah is so fundamental so axiomatic so natural so instinctive so necessary that i realize that without it i'll die without it i'll die because the things that i know that without which i'll die i don't even have to think about i just do something writes in why do we send somebody who kills by accident and goes to near miklot the rebbe comes with them the rebbe comes with no shirt comes with them why because it says that we have to pride the person life so for some people life is i need my flat screen tv i need my netflix code i need my hulu i need my all you can eat sushi but for every one of us what should be natural to i need for life and i can't live without is torah is torah sunny i need it i need it i'm not alive if there's a day that goes by that i haven't been able to learn it's not the same day you don't have the same energy level you don't have the same life force you don't feel the same way that you're alive zero beer gank and so says maybe that's what's going on here israel this is hashem's instruction to moshe you are the ambassador the agent you are the great teacher moshe rabbenu go teach turkey so in order for a person to have the right attitude and the right access to have the right relationship with torah a person has to feel it's like a shokhan just like when i come to the table i'm drawn to the food i'm hungry i have an appetite i'm drawn i want to eat thank you linda and jeff miller thank you anonymous thank you broca kaplan thank you sam s thank you all those who are stepping up join them please everybody do your part be a friend of brs be part of the beerus global community so just like the food i have this appetite i'm drawn to eat it and i know that i can't live without it so too totally we have to have the same perspective and that's why when we think about the code of jewish law it is like a sh you walk into a set table mmm delicious i can't wait to dig in i'm hungry i can't wait to dig in i know i need to eat it to live you know i've said before you ever come home late from a business trip came home late from uh uh traveling you came home late from work and you can get a chance to eat dinner and you're exhausted you're ready to collapse you're passing out and yet you say you know i never had dinner so on my way to bed i'm going to open the fridge the pantry and i've got to eat something on my way to bed because even though my exhaustion far outweighs my appetite still a person needs to eat you can't go to sleep without eating dinner even though i'm more tired than i am hungry you can't go to sleep without any dinner so a person finds a way to eat even before they go to bed torah calva homer all the more so have deal if a person didn't get an opportunity to learn that day you didn't get a chance for whatever reason no matter how many times you tried you didn't get the chance to learn that day then even if you're exhausted before you can collapse in bed you must take a moment to learn some torah you must because torah is sunny it's our life force it's our oxygen thank you brochure kaplan thank you semester thank you barbara osbahn thank you very much barbara's been for your generosity greatly appreciated so that's why torah and learning torah is likened to a set table that is put out before us it's a set table that we have access to and we're supposed to have the same exact attitude the same way i don't have to be told i need to eat most of us have to be told stop eating you're full you've had enough that's not nutritious most of us don't have to be told to eat we have to be told to stop eating torah halawai someone would ever have to tell us stop learning should never stop learning she had the same draw the same appetite the same instinct the same desire has a fascinating when it comes to the comes to the code of jewish law code of jewish law is telling us how to wake up in the morning until how do we fall asleep at night code of jewish law is telling us how to eat how to speak how to do business how to tie my shoes how to do it governs and regulates every aspect of my life to lead towards a more mindful and meaningful jewish life that has to be the forefront of my mind so it says that's what the possibility is telling you these laws these rules of god this formula this blueprint this is inspect instruction manual for life ashitasim where should you place it where does it belong you got a new computer you got a new dishwasher you got a new refrigerator it came with an instruction manual you probably never took it out of the plastic maybe if you're really well organized you put it in a file somewhere if you're like most people it sat in a pile somewhere and eventually when you realize you're never going to look at it and you can find it online you throw it out and you never ever read it it sits somewhere in the back and the recess is the bottom of a pile ends up in the bottom of the garbage it's an instruction manual i'll figure it out on my own i'll only maybe benefit from 50 of what it could do but i don't need it to do more so i'll figure it out on my own and the instruction manual goes somewhere in the back says reciprocal god forbid a person should get the torah and say you know what god thank you for the manual it's in the plastic i appreciate it i'm going to figure it out in my own life i'll figure out my relationship with food and time and with people i'll figure it all out on my own this is the blueprint the manual this is how to live life this is instructions to mindfulness and meaningfulness and ashita sim what does it have to be lift it has to come before anything else so allah tells me this is how i have to conduct myself allah regulates me in this way who cares what society tells me who cares what my own instinct tells me who cares what the fashion or the culture of the time tells me that's not what i follow what i need to follow are the mishpathm that are placed where lift nahem before anything else unlike in the glove compartment and unlike the vacuum cleaner manual and unlike all the other instruction manuals that i never open and i try to figure it out on my own the instruction manual called torah has to be lifted i am first and foremost it has to be before me it has to inform and inspire my day my life my attitude my joy my relationships it has to move me to express gratitude to those who benefit me to do my part to participate like all those have given so far this morning and again i'm going to keep pounding i apologize but look the shear is free 51 weeks a year one week we ask you to do your part it's a pretty small price to pay in order to have access not to me but to the beautiful divrei torah that we're sharing from others again so many of you have joined friends of brs in the past take a moment press the donate button go on brsonline.org if you do it right now during the rest of this year in the next 40 minutes you're entered into a raffle who wouldn't want to be you can be a hero and give a 108 amazon gift card to your grandchildren you'll be the bubbie or the zadie of the year okay one last thought of the mishpatham because we have to get past the opening pasuk this morning bailiff these are the laws immediately following this transmission harassing as we mentioned moshe continues with civil law criminal law tort law religious law and laws and statutes that judaism is not the only one who has these laws and statutes every legal system in the world since antiquity earlier and beyond have legal statutes damages and loans and all kinds of rules and in fact many of the laws that we're going to read this week overlap with american law and many are most legal systems liability that you have for damages what are the rules of of watching the consequences of capital crimes payment for theft acts of self-defense shared values and these are shared laws but there's something fundamentally different about halacha fundamentally different about the way it's instructed to us in our powershell and quotes that just like the first ten commandments find their source in harshinai they were divinely transmitted so to the totality of jewish law not only was sinai not only that amazing comes it's that nila not only when i felt hashem and my kishkas but each and every detail of the law was given by hashem rashid continues by explaining the juxtaposition of the passages it teaches that the sanhedrin that the supreme court of the jewish people in fact was located near the base of dash in the basement itself and the major traditionally understood that in judaism we don't distinguish between religion and law like the rav said that religion is not just while i'm in shul or while i'm in the basement religion informs and inspires it regulates how i conduct myself at the gym and at work and in my kitchen in my home on the street and in all in every area and aspect of life but i think there's another layer here secular legal systems are constructed they're given they're designed from the perspective of the individual if you think about it american law is structured to speak about and to protect my rights and my entitlements and my privileges and my freedoms the laws designed to provide them and to protect them and i'm held accountable if i violate my own rights or i violate through my conduct the rights of other people pashas mishpotham is communicating something else that even though we have many laws that overlap with the secular law they come from a very different perspective they're not from the perspective of rights and entitlements but rather they're from the perspective of responsibilities obligations and duties only the jewish legal system has a mitzvah you have to learn you have to love your neighbor as yourself only as don't cause pain to the stranger only says you have to extend a free loan and you can't walk by you have to return a lost object in american law i'm a good american if i don't murder and i don't steal and i don't rape and i don't pillage which doesn't in fact make me good it just means i'm not bad to be a good jew you have to actually be good you have to be good in american law you're not a nice person if you're mean to the widow or the orphan but in torah law god himself and our parsha promises and pledges to exact retribution to take justice if you are cruel if you aggravate or agitate a widow or an orphan so you see the torah vision is not limited to creating this functional civil society some social contract it is a blueprint a blueprint for god's vision for how the world is meant to be and how we are to conduct in it and so i'd like to suggest to you that maybe what the medrash is telling us is that passionate is not a set of laws to serve god it is a set of laws to be like god it's not a set of laws to serve god it is a set of laws to imitate and to be like god god is not centered on himself and his rights and his entitlements and his privileges he selflessly is devoted to give and do good for us and pasha's mishpatim is a blueprint it is a description it's a vision for how we can live a life of virtue a life of giving a life of responsibility a life of a life of fulfilling a fulfilling omission of why we are here it's an entirely and totally different perspective and by the way it's one which is the the source or the very definition of what simcha is all about we're going to celebrate this friday in shabbos we're going to talk more about that momentarily when the month of adar enters we mentioned at the beach friday morning at our friday morning sunrise minute at the beach when we enters inside us the aloof the aleph is the one and only is god almighty so when god enters us when we see him and feel him and live him and love him in that sense when that attitude of dar enters us overcome we're filled with joy because instead of stumbling or struggling through life instead of trying to navigate and make sense we have confidence that this meaning this purpose is all organized it's all for a reason it's all from hashem than we are but what really is simcha and where does simcha come from simcha in judaism joy is not a feeling it's a decision and sencha joy is not being the recipient the taker who gets thank you to the newcombs and the cyclic family and another anonymous and another anonymous for your generosity please keep giving please keep contributing everyone do your part just click the donate button or join brsonline.org global simcha is not when i turn inward and it's not what i buy and it's not what i get and it's not when i shop and it's not what i take simha is when i give listen to this rambam and help us i have a choice and i share this each and every year but i have a choice i have a limited amount of funds and i can either buy more expensive wine a greater cut of corned beef from my purim souda or i can give more from matanos lavionam i can give more away to those who need which one should i do more a greater theme to my manas a more over the top costume a more over the top sudah or or do i give more matanas more to help other people listen to the rambam mood allah better if you have limited resources to give more allocate more to help those who need than it is to indulge in yourself now i would have thought the reason is because to be a good person care about others and so limit your simcha be willing to compromise or diminish your joy in order to provide joy for others thank you to the bash family for your generosity but that is not what the rambam writes what he writes is listen to this listen carefully foreign it's not that you should diminish or be willing to compromise or sacrifice your joy to provide joy for others it's that the greatest joy you could have is to give others because joy comes from giving not receiving joy comes by being on a mission joy comes by duties responsibilities obligations not rights and entitlements and therefore you'll have more joy when you share we don't have time but in fact study after study has shown this they took a group they divided in half they gave money half they said go buy something for yourself and half they said go buy something for someone else and they measured emotional spiritual physical well-being afterwards they found that the group who allocated at least a portion of the money they received to buy something for someone else in fact they were happier they were calmer they were better off than the people who bought only for themselves says the rambam if you have limited resources spend it on others not because you should be willing to compromise your simcha but rather because that is the source the driver of simha is your willingness to share with others it's a message so instead of more elaborate or sophisticated or trying to impress or compete misleft or costume or suda or wine or corned beef allocate and help others and this is a perfect opportunity to be part of the beers online global community join now thank you to those who are given throughout especially now during these next 32 minutes you'll be entered into a raffle there is no time like the present to click click donate and to be part of this mission okay we move on hey so of course pastor bishop begins with the story of the evid ivory why is this the very first story the evid ivory so much to say we don't have time but why is this the very first story hardly romantic or passionate hardly inspirational the story of the slave someone who stole and didn't have the money to pay it back and so they have to sell themselves into slavery and even though their term is up they decide to remain and so we pierce the ear parachute so what if the servant finishes their term the evident free and they say but i love my master and i love my living situation and i love the food and i love the home lloyd i don't want to go anywhere. so what do we do elohim we bring the individual to the court here elohim is not god but he needs to court the judges we take them to the door oh to the lintov we bring up the door the doorpost and we make a hole in his ear everybody is familiar with this so what's going on over here why do we why do we put a hole in his ear why specifically in his ear so we all know the main conditions this individual this year that was present at harcina in just last week's pasha and heard the almighty say among the ten commandments the decalogue you cannot steal and he went and stole and now he doesn't have the means to pay it back how could this individual steal after god said don't steal and that's why we choose the ear i might have said tattoo it across the forehead i might have said pierce the eyebrow or the nose or one of the other really new places that you can apparently pierce on the face or the body why do we pierce specifically the ear so rash's quotes together that tells us because that ear the ear that hurt don't steal and it went stole much more arsenal is sold himself but god said kilia vadim that there's only one form of slavery in this world the only form of mastery the only form of being a servant a slave is to god bahala vikana and this individual went and sold himself into slavery tirtsa such an individual's ear has to be has to be pierced the isla doctor and wonders last week we just read that arsenal how is it described the whole nation saw the sounds i am i won't tell you how old i am and how many years i've learned precious bishop and how many times i focused on this rashi and i can't believe i never thought of this question ever i wonder how many of you ever thought of this question the sounds that harsinai were described not by the sense of hearing or listening not that we heard the sounds but rather we saw the sounds so just one week partially now we're talking about piercing an ear why because the very ear that heard don't steal and went and stole in cain sarah b or mao ozinshashama kevin shirozakov it should have been the ear that saw ed harsinai don't steal we didn't deal with it last week in the parish class though many of you were with us last week and that's why you should contribute and be part and show appreciation for listening each and every week and be entered into a raffle i feel like i'm uh a broken record over here take a moment press donate do your part please thank you the year that heard at hassana i wouldn't mean the ear that heard it says which ibn ezra says means that the torah was broadcast to look like a billboard others say that god spoke it came so alive they were able to picture and envision the lifestyle that was being described however you're going to understand however you're going to explain the words however you're going to explain it in this week's parasha when you talk about the ear it should be the ear that saw not the ear that heard oh they should take and furthermore the pasta kilimanjaro vadim where does that appear when hashem says kilibine israel of adam you're only serves your only serve me kili benella where does that passage appear it appears in precious numbers so even though all torah was given a harshness this statement this clause this expression of god khilib israel of adam that wasn't said till later to pasha's bahar so why is the gemara why arashi referencing right now what in the world is going on wonders rav druk i never wanted it before i'm so grateful for his say for ishtavan he says the following furthermore you could ask another question the ear that hurted arsene i don't steal low signal but what did that low signal mean if you're a student of the talmud you know that low signoff we have low signoff of ando signovo and the torah goes out of its way to tell us that the low signal of of the asterisk is not talking about stealing money it's not talking about stealing property it's not talking about stealing divreitora or shiurim or benefiting without doing what's part what is it talking about it's talking about kidnapping a person it's talking about kidnapping so why when we talk about we pierce the ear of the slave who stole and didn't listen to don't steal and then stayed and violated kilimanjaro these three questions are so compelling number one why the ear who heard the ears saw what happened that the whole nation saw the sounds number two number two the expression kilimanjaro of adam isn't said to later parsha's bahar number three that which he violated low signal is a violation of kidnapping the senator didn't kidnap anyone he stole money he stole money so what's going on answers rav druk manira levar shivam sashmiya murakami we're not talking about hearing with the ear those in the ear that hurt at our sinai don't steal the ear that hurted are seen i can't even answer all about them we're not talking about hearing what it means is the following the first implicit in the first command implicit in hashem's instruction i am the lord your god i took you out of egypt i took you out of slavery implicit is i took you out of slavery i'm the lord your god now you're of adam to me dibros so a person who saw these debros heard and understood in their heart it penetrated deep into their soul to realize i didn't come into this world out of nowhere i'm not on my own i'm not independent i'm not entitled i have nothing coming to me it's all from god almighty it's only by his goodness and his graciousness go i and therefore i serve him i'm not here to take i'm not even receive it's not about my entitlements and my rights it's about my responsibilities it's about my duties about my obligation it's about my mission in this world and all that was implicit in the word anoki the moment god opened up and he said me i'm here i am the creator i'm the omnipotent i'm the infinite one i am responsible for everything in your life in that was everything else so ozan arsenal the year heard at our senate the early year significant not just what was explicitly articulated at har sinai but to have a listening heart to have a listening heart it's a very powerful druk it's a longer essay he has more to say but i want to cover more ground but the message the partial perspective for us today is to live our lives with listening hearts not just to pick up on the signals and the messages that are being articulated explicitly but to have listening hearts to the world around us to see hashem in the people and the things and the experiences in the news in the weather in nature in the world around us that we will be responsible and we will be accountable which is essentially what druk is saying not only for what we heard explicitly but neglected or rejected but we will be responsible even for that which we heard implicitly for a failure to have a listening heart a late shomaya a lathe a heart that is picking up the signal that being communicated to us from all around that's what's really going on here in this passage that's what's really being communicated now we get into the long litany of laws of which there are no shortage we could have chosen from so many vara for example this is the source of we have a school that's made up of uh almost 250 doctors people in the medical profession uh and our shul rapport those medical professionals are on the forefront uh who are who are uh risking their lives throughout corona have been compromising sacrificing thank you so much to the helpruns and the weber men's thank you to benji fine thank you to rosalie novik nancy eisenberg mark brandis rifky israel schelitzki and others who are continuing to contribute face stein please add your name to that list be entered into the raffle it's a no brainer press donate beersonline.org global beersonline.org global show your appreciation be part of this growing community and this growing movement i can't tell you personally how much i appreciate it it means the world to me that you come to learn with me and that you enable me to continue to learn with you and others going forward it really means the world and i appreciate it so thank you to those who are working on the front lines as medical personnel but right you have to do it a surgeon michael bruce is a surgeon he cuts people open for a living someone else knocks them out and puts them to sleep i am a similar profession i always tell the anesthesiologist that they and i are in very similar lines of work someone knocks the person out and then the surgeon comes and takes the scalpel and cuts them open cut a person open why are you entitled to do that moreover somebody's sick why are you entitled to heal them maybe that's what god wants for them maybe that's the best thing for them after all commander tawa that everything god does is for the best so it's this passing varapo yurape the gemara learns my conscientious little fellows from here we know that god wants us to learn to study to invent to break through medical progress and to be able to heal people to be able to make sick people better to be able to treat people and to improve them and make them better it's what god wants he gives license for our poor your pay why do we need the license isn't it obvious that doctors should be entitled to so as a big machole what the reason is some say the reason is because you're going against the will of god god determined the person that should be sick who are you to make them better so you need to be given permission god says no no whatever reason they're sick but i invite you i want you to make them better take the initiative try verapo others say the rambam says because you're violating the prohibition of havala you're not allowed to hurt or damage someone so if you cut them open let alone give a black and blue mark you are violating the prohibition of allah why are you entitled to violent prohibition of allah because a couple years ago on the patrick shir we spoke about the uh statement of the gemara to topship from the gahannam the best of doctors are going to what my kids would call he double hockey sticks so why would our rabbis describe the best of doctors the best of doctors to me are going straight to heaven best of nurses doctors pas nurse practitioners every medical personnel they're going straight to heaven especially for their selflessness over this year why would we say they're going straight to gehenna listen to the partial shield from a couple years ago we dealt with it there so parachute-based passage this is a very important insight everybody celebrates it the posix says what happens if a thief is discovered while they are tunneling or burrowing into your house you have cameras when the torah was given we didn't know how easy it would be to have these wireless cameras that you can simply put on your home and on your phone be watching and it picks up movement and you can catch a person and you know who's coming in so someone's trying to break into your home and they're armed and they're a threat and you kill them then there's no guilt you did nothing wrong you are entitled to defend your life there's a very powerful message that comes from here says rabbi salovey chick says rabbi salah where did he go rabbi he's right here behind me says thereof the following the majesty and dignity of a human being expresses itself in the fact that man has inalienable rights he has the moral right not only to self-defense but to defend his possessions and to fight for them if a burglar enters one's home there will be no danger to the homeowner if the home if the owner does not interfere with the burglary yet the torah gives the homeowner the right to kill the burglar on the assumption that the burglar will kill the homeowner if confronted by him one may defend his property even if that act of defense results in the act of killing did you hear the torah is weighing in on what are some contemporary debatable topics but according to rabbi salavechak the torah is saying the following in this law in bamakteras that you could hide under your bed someone's breaking into your home and they just want to take your things they just want to break into your safe or your vault they just want to take your jewelry or cash they just want to take your family heirlooms or possessions someone's breaking into your home so hide in the bed run out the back door escape let them what right do you have to confront them certainly what right you have to kill them to maim them let them take your possessions so the torah is taking a very strong position here and the torah is telling you you have inalienable rights you're on your property you're in your home those possessions that property is yours and you have a right to defend it even if your life is not threatened why because the assumption is that if there were a confrontation with that burglar then your life would be threatened so the assumption that if there were a confrontation with the burglar your life would be threatened you're entitled to take out the burglar the moment the burglar crossed that threshold into your property you that burglar forfeited the right to their safety and therefore you're entitled to take their life one way you defend his act of his property even if that act of defense results in an act of killing covenantal community is not now listen to the inside of the rev this is rabbi salavechuk not me the covenantal community is not a community of the meek it is not a community that subscribes to turning the other cheek covenento community is often called on to defend itself and affirm his rights and yet at the same time the covenantal community displays the trait of sacrificial action there are times covenantal man is summoned to lead a selfless life avram is the exemplar of this duality on the one hand he is portrayed as someone who has accumulated wealth on the other hand he's ready to give up his only son selfhood and selflessness dignity and sacrificial life are characteristic of the covenantal community says we're striking a balance on the one hand we're not these barbarians we're not aggressors we don't embrace violence god forbid we're sensitive and we're selfless and we're mission driven and we sacrifice and that is an enormous part of who we are but at the same time while we're all that we're not showing god forbid we're not meek and we're not a pushover and we're not soft we have the right to defend ourselves our guest on behind the bema tomorrow night is the great member of canes a former minister and candidate for prime minister naftali bennett he'll be our guest on behalf you don't want to miss that conversation with him about his background about his vision about his life he served in sayat makkah and other elite commando units in the israeli army and he fought he fought in battles he risked his own life and he recently put out a video this week when the international court claims that they're going to evaluate and potentially hold israel accountable for war crimes and natalie bennett our guest put out a video saying if you do then put me at the top of the list we did nothing wrong and you wouldn't have no jurisdiction and there is no moral army than israel and he took out of his pocket he said you see this this is the code of morality of every israeli soldier they carry it in their pocket next to their ammunition it is with them as part of their uniform and i think this is the beautiful commentary over by salvation is the notion that the jew whether collectively and nationally in the form of an army and tune in tomorrow night 9 pm each and every wednesday night we have amazing guests on behind the bema we're hitting our 40th episode and we've had incredible incredible guests so we have candidate for prime minister naftali bennett and even other incredible guests to come in the weeks ahead if you enjoy behind the bema join the brs online global community birasan.org globalbrsonline.org global if you do it in the next amount of time you'll be entered into the raffle if you're listening later still join still give still do so show your appreciation whether for the partial share behind the bhima or anything else so that's what the rav is describing imbacteras on the one hand we're sensitive on the one hand we're mission driven on the one hand we're willing to sacrifice on the one hand we are the flag of morality but on the other we're not meek and we're not weak and we're not a pushover and we are able to stand up for we're able to stand up for ourselves we're able to stand up for ourselves and to push people back is talking about the laws of shomaram the laws of guardians if somebody entrusts another to watch their property or their things what is the responsibility we have four types of guardians we have sahar a show out the four types of guards and depending on the benefit that you got will determine the level of liability that you that you excuse me that you carry so if a person gives something to someone else to watch then it gets stolen and you don't find the ghana you don't find the thief the nicker of balabayas elohim so then the owner of the object approaches the court and approaches the court that he had not laid his hand upon his fellow's property he's got to take a note that he in fact did not steal that he is not responsible mayor pramislam the great rebbe of uh in qasidas has a beautiful insight and he says homolytically of course the nikra the balabayas s to the one who was watching it the one who was guarding it who from whom it was stolen approaches the court and to say him that he did not put his hand he did not personally benefit or take it the court the judges but rather when is a person when do we merit to come close when do we merit to have a closeness with the almighty when do you merit to attach ourselves and glue ourselves and feel connected to him we merit it when when we don't harm or hurt another person the prerequisite to a relationship with god is loving his children if you are not derek says kadmala torah we spoke about last week from rev nevins also beautifully sora you cannot claim to love god if you're unkind to his children you can't claim to love me if you're cruel or unkind or mean to my children you don't love me if you don't love my children and you cannot claim to love god if you don't love his children and therefore the necrotic you want to become karov you want to draw close to god says don't ever harm or injure don't be cruel don't aggravate or agitate a fellow we're children of hashem we're children of hashem you can't king to love me and be cruel to my child you can't claim to love god and be cruel to another one of his children we spoke about the great mabit that's why the font of the being adam lachavero and the asera sadibros is much bigger than the font of being that's why derek is kadma latorah you can be scrupulous and vigilant in the minutiae details of halacha you could have the longest monastery that you could finish the entire book of tillam twice a day but if you then go out and gossip if you then go out and you're rude if you then go out you're unkind to people if you then don't show gratitude and don't do your part and don't reciprocate and don't contribute then you can't draw close to god you can't draw close to god you can't share his divay torah if you didn't do your part in order to enable them to be communicated and shared to begin with perfect moving right along in kasata one of the laws of mishpatim again we mentioned earlier the distinction between every secular system of law and the torah and pasha's misbottom and the verb israel these aren't just laws about our rights and entitlements these are laws about how to make not just a not bad society but how to craft and mold what is actually a good society a god-like society a holy society so one of those things is to lend there are people who will hit hard times who will need money and we have to generously lend we have to care thank you to lisha and to facetime thank you all for your generosity so we have to be able to step up and shop we have to be able to lend and in the context of this passage says in case of talvas and me first of all it doesn't say in doesn't mean if it means when because the nature of cycles of economic cycles is such that it's not if but when people will need the one who's on top today could be on the bottom tomorrow don't ever ever take it for granted if you have resources today that you will not be in a position to need the help of someone else tomorrow so not if but when until the sme you'll have to lend someone es don't be like a creditor the attitude that we bring you don't charge interest and you don't pressure of course we have all kinds of laws that dictate our attitude that govern our attitude when it comes to these loans why does it describe the poor person with why is the poor person with me why is the poor person with me i get a knock on my door five times a day from the sulachan i don't know them i don't have a relationship with them they're not with me they need help they've got some glossy certificate laminated certificate maybe it was this year or 10 years ago maybe it's genuine maybe it's not and if i want to give them i'm giving them but why is it imach why are they with me and what way are they with me listen to this insight of rabbi celavec based on this pasta rashi comments i want you to look upon himself you're the poor person the fact that you're the giver the poor person is the receiver is nothing more than a capricious act of fate really you could have been the poor person what do you think you're so much smarter what do you think that you're so much more entrepreneurial you think that you're so much more creative you think that you're so much better that you're in fact the one in the position to give and they're the one receiving it's all up to hashem it's a very fine line in fact we gave a shirt recently on shabbos that we know kashal azad kris yams if everybody knows it's as difficult to make a shirt as splitting the sea but the gemara also says parnassa earning a livelihood is as difficult as splitting the sea you could have two people the same iq they graduate the same institutions they have the same level of work ethic and one breaks through and is a millionaire and the other is struggling to put food on the table and we'll say it's mazel but mazel is just another name for god it's god god decides and god determines so don't you dare be arrogant and don't you dare be condescending and don't you dare be selfish and be and and give so little es doesn't mean the poor person with you as in lives in your community although ania iraq the poor of our community come first what it means with you means see yourself as the poor person there's such a fine line between the person who's donating to us and the person who is being supported from tamriel it is such a fine line so don't ever grow arrogant and the raw of someone uncharacteristically tells the story of one winter day with alejandras of lodge went to visit the home of a wealthy manufacturer by the name of paznanski and the butler answered the door and this rabbi mizells said i'd like to meet this wealthy man he needed to raise money to help poor people and he said come on in he wants to meet you in his office it's warm it's heated by the fire and this rev maizel said no no i want to meet him right here in the vest to build the entrance to the home and they went back and forth and he insisted i want and must meet him right here and he came out and they met there and mr buzzanski said to him i'm freezing i'm shivering why can't we go inside i have a heated home we could sip hot tea come with me inside and rabbi myself said to him this is mr poznan i wanted to meet you here because i wanted you to know the feeling of the cold i wanted you to shiver and shake i wanted you to know that discomfort and that fear i wanted you to be aggravated because that's what the poor people are going through and i need your help in order to offer them a warm blanket and warm clothing and a shelter and a home i wanted you to feel it historically jews have fared poorly when subjected to the trial of wealth when a jew acquires excessive wealth he becomes animal-like while the nations of the world divert a portion of their wealth towards spiritual matters towards culture higher ideals and similar circumstances the jew takes on trappings of vulgar cynical materialism and the rav points to certain sukkam to support that on the other hand we're confronted with the trial of poverty or suffering fared well a jew doesn't spill blood when he's hungry when he's hungry he senses the hunger of his fellow when he's cold he feels his brother's discomfort so the poor person with you doesn't mean in your vicinity geographically the poor person with you means the poor person is you we have to see ourselves as going through that we're living in a pandemic time and there are people who are out of a job there are small businesses who are struggling and suffering so if you have a decision if you can take out food and help a local restaurant because when this is over do you not want kosher restaurants to eat at and to go to small businesses to be there to service us if you have the capacity and you can do it is you it's a fine line between you and that small business or you and the person who's hurting or you and the person who needs the scholarship or the school dues adjustment or needs to be on tam it is such a fine line it's in the gag it's a wheel that's an economic cycle that spins and the one who's on top today could be on the bottom tomorrow and so while on top feel the pain and be connected to those who are on the bottom so that you provide and support so even before you support the brs global campaign which you could do by pressing donate or go to beerus online.org global make sure the poor people around us have what they need they are provided for and they are able to sustain and go on paragraph i sent an angel before you to protect you on the way and to bring you to the place that i have made that i have made it ready this is a very strange and peculiar passage it is very very unusual that this is here tucked into our parsha in between the litany of laws in the first day of the parsha and before the story of nasa vanishment at the end of the parasha is an often overlooked and a very curious and peculiar conversation between hashem and moshe hashem tells moshe i'm sending an angel to escort you and to protect you on your journey where did this come from why does he need an angel moshe didn't need an angel until now and all of a sudden he needs an angel from now so that ramban says this is a prophecy that only comes to fruition later and what's the prophecy that after moshe's passing a guardian angel appeared to yehoshua and now yehoshua who's not as great as moshe has the benefit of the companionship of a guardian angel is going to escort the jewish people into the land azoyz ramban that is the interpretation of the rambam but rashi has a much more sobering suggestion says rashi this is alluding to the future building of the haita eagle of the egala zahav and the consequence of hashem withdrawn his personal providential care was withdrawn and instead there's this angel there's an agent hashem says i can't be around you i'm not taking care of you here's a babysitter here's someone else here's an angel pretty sobering pretty depressing now i'm not saying i fully understand what it means to have an angel instead of hashem i don't know exactly what that means but i want to ask a simple question why now why now the jewish people are standing on harassing sinai this unprecedented and unparalleled moment of revelation the celebrated iconic statement of nasa vanishment is in our pasha why in the world would god ruin this special moment we're on a high and we're spiritually uplifted and we're excited is really now the time to pretend and foretell of when a terrible mistake is going to happen like the ego you're in an incredible moment you're on a high now is when you interrupt the high i bring to you that you're going to have a collapse and a crisis and you're going to make a terrible mistake and you're going to cheat on god why compromise the joyous experience with something that hasn't even happened yet and perhaps the answer can be found in a ceremony that we've modeled after harsinai every single time that bride and groom stand under the chuppah they are recreating harsinai when the mountain was held over their head like that union the beginning of a family embracing that mission is a recreation and an extension of harshinai they pledge a love and a commitment of nasa the nishma to one another they say amen nasa even before nisma and the moment of hope is filled with incredible joy and yet very strangely what's the practice at the end of the chuppah we break a glass and many reasons are given for the origin of that custom worth exploring another time but one of the most important ones can answer our question according to some the reason we break a glass at the chupa is because it's critically important that before this star struck love struck hassan kala take leave of this most auspicious and joyous moment this young man and this young woman have to realize that things are going to break they have to know that obstacles will be encountered that not everything is going to go according to plan and that not everything in their life is going to remain whole when you stand under the hippa it's amazing and you're amazing and i'm amazing and everyone's telling us we're amazing and we've got singers on a band and delicious food and everything's incredible and not grown at times and it's just amazing and it's going to stay this way and last this way forever so what do we do we break a glass we smash something and we show them that things are going to break there will be broken moments things won't remain complete forever and so yes right here and right now in the most in the middle of the most seminal event in human history hashem tells moshe yeah right now you're on an incredible high but i want you to know you're not going to be able to stay there life has upside down ups and downs triumph and failure success and disappointment but you need to know that there's going to be a height to ego and that you're not going to have my providence and everything is still going to be okay you need to know that the glass is going to break and knowing that you and those around you in our lives themselves cannot will not be perfect is such a critical importance to finding happiness that is what happens you need to know that it's not going to be perfect life is not perfect we're not perfect you have to let go and let god and you have to realize that there's a plan and he's in charge and he's in control and so this parsha will end with this this week we begin pascal in the first of four readings that we do to lead us up to pesach every man over 20 was obligated to give a half shackle a weight of silver approximately worth about uh four dollars today and it was used to operate the base of mikdash and it required an unusual condition the rich person couldn't give more the first person couldn't give less everyone had to give the very same amount and the laboratory in volume 31 wonders why is everyone giving the same amount why not the rich person give more you don't hear me as we're promoting brs global community beerus online.org global i'm not telling everyone give the same 18 no one give more even if you're capable if you're capable give 50 000 if you're capable help us spread torah even more there's no equalizer there's no minimum we're not telling everyone to give the same amount so what kind of fundraiser was this what kind of appeal was this in the michigan and the baseline mikdash so the rabbit says because when it comes to the that which is going to drive the base i make dash the contribution of every one of the members has to be equal everyone has to realize you're a half you're not a whole every one of us is incomplete every one of us is imperfect everyone was inadequate every one of us is is imperfect we're all a fraction until we combine until we come together so may we all be filled with joy and happiness the happiness of letting go and the happiness of giving to others and may we all recognize our own imperfections the glass of life is going to break we're only a half shekel it's only by combining with others that we can become a whole thank you to those who generously donated will run the raffle momentarily it's not too late if you're listening later online or watching later online please subscribe on youtube please go to beersonline.org global please do your part any amount small or large to help us continue to promote and spread torah all around us stay happy stay healthy stay holy tomorrow night 9pm behind the bema the one and only the