Parsha Perspectives for Today (Re'eh, 5780) - Extend Your Spiritual Antenna

Good morning everyone. Thank you for joining. Thanks for coming back for our para perspectives for today. Every week an analysis of the para with an emphasis on lessons that we can learn, ideas that we can take out that inspire us in contemporary times that we can apply to our lives in a very real way. I want to thank our sponsors, our generous sponsors for the year. Our dear friends Becky Navi Katz in memory of David Gman, Becky's father, Leila Nishma and Mish. Also, this morning's class is sponsored by David and Sharon Carpel in memory of Reverend Herman Rockov Rabbi Caner Rakov Shalom Benim. Thank you for your generosity and for your sponsorship. Today we have the privilege of studying together Pares. Paris Ray appears in the arts girl stoneish on page 9998 and it starts with the iconic words. And believe me friends as I know you do that if we wanted we could spend several hours literally hours analyzing just these words just this opening behold see look I place before you today blessing and curse. What do these means word? What do these words mean? Rashi tells us saying what is Hashem putting before us? What is Moshenu conveying? What is he communicating? Says Rashi of this is a reference to the brahas that will be delivered at Harrisim and at Haral. He's instructing them that when you enter Israel, when we enter the land, there'll be these two great mountains will divide the tribes and they'll stand on either side and you will be given blessings and curses that will be recited. You'll answer a and re that's what you should behold. That's what you should see. That's what you're going to get. But the Ramban disagrees and the Ramban famously says that this tuk is in fact giving us something different, something fundamental, something axiomatic, says the Ramban. This is the Torah source for free will. The idea that we are empowered with autonomy, that we make decisions, that we have choices, and that the choices we make have consequences, that we create a reality around us. We make the right choice, we draw closer. make the wrong choice and we create distance. We put a wedge. It's true in our relationships. It's true in marriage. It's true in friendship. And it's true in our relationship with Hashem. So, behold, I give you choices. You're not pre-programmed robots. Your life is not fatalistic. What you do does matter. Says that this is the Torah source for the concept, the idea, and the ideal of free will. Look and embrace and see and know that what you do will that what you do will in fact matter. Says that this notion of free will is very significant. I'm reading to you from the paract. Note the grammatical shift. If we begin means in the singular you individual look singular and then saying where before you in the plural. Why the shift? Why the change from the singular to the plural acknowledges that many interpretations many answers have been offered to this question. And maybe this is a hint. Our great rabbis tells us a person should live their life and look at the world and say imagine the entire future of the world hangs in the balance. Everything is half Zak and half. call him. It means to say that a person should live their life and say the entire world the outcome of this pandemic the outcome of Elon Omar's election today please God she should lose and we should celebrate the outcome of the enemies and their plans against us the outcome of whatever it is that we're hoping or looking for in this world even if it's global even if it's something which is international or national a person should bring the mentality and the attitude of it depends on me the whole world hangs in the balance 5050 50 and my next act, what I look at on the internet, what I say to my friend, how I conduct myself in business, how I occupy myself with my time, my next decision, my next act, it matters. It has cosmic implications. It makes an enormous difference. This next decision seems so insignificant, so negligible. What does it matter? Do I make a braha? Did I not make a braha? Did I bench on a bencher? Did I say an ashy when I got out of the bathroom? Did I call and check in on someone? Did I actually give stuck? What does it matter? It's inconsequential. It's negligible. It's invisible. It's immeasurable, says the no. That's what the Torah is telling us. We change from the to the single to the many to know that the fate of the many depends on the act of the individual. Look into your heart. Look into your life. You the individual. To say all the time, you the individual look in front of all of you, the whole world, your next act will determine if it's a oral, a blessing or a curse. Your next decision, your next thought, your next speech, your next interaction with the world will determine so much for more than just you, for more than just your family, but on a much larger and more global scale. That is, on the one hand, an awesome responsibility. It's one we don't necessarily ask for. It's one we didn't invite. It's one we didn't ever sign up for or even accept. It's an awesome responsibility, but it's also amazingly empowering to know that we're not invisible or inconsequential. that what we do, what we say, what we think, it matters. It makes a difference. It shapes and it molds the very future. It's incredibly empowering to us. It matters. It matters. In the Golinski asked, he said to him, "What's the emphasis?" He was a great darke inspired. He was a Jewish motivational speaker. And he asked, "What should I emphasize? What's the most important thing to draw attention to? And he said, you should awaken people that everyone needs to know big that whatever is happening in the world, good or bad, is because of them. That should be our mentality. That should be our attitude. You know, when I was a little kid, I used to think whether the Yankees won or lost that night would deter was determined by whether I was a good or bad boy that day. I loved the Yankees. I rooted for the Yankees. I cared about the Yankees. And in a very immature, unsophisticated view of sports and philosophy of the world, I used to think that how well the Yankees did and whether they would emerge from the playoffs was not determined by their skill set or their worthiness or by the worthiness of the owners or stakeholders. But a young boy in Tene New Jersey was determined by me. On the one hand, that was immature and unsophisticated and it was grossly misapplied to a world of sports. But what Ra was saying was it should be our attitude. It should be our attitude to the world at large. My community, my sh, my family, my people, the outcome, their outcome will be determined by me and my behavior. It's a great responsibility, but it's also enormously empowering. Where did he get this from? Where did he get this from? Where did this from get this from? They got it from the we're not yet at but it's never too early to start getting ready. Everyone should every day approach the world and say the world hangs in the balance. The scales are weighed ent exactly and entirely even. And my next deed, my next act, my next thought, my next speech is going to be placed on one side of the scale or the other and it will tip the scale in one favor or the other. And we also see this in the when one person transforms their life. When one person takes stock in their life and changes their life, it can bring great merit not only to them, their family, the community and to our people. And that's the attitude we need to know. And and it's it's on the one hand great creates great guilt. That's not the goal. supposed to empower us and drive us and give us an ambition to live the kind of lives we're capable of living. Said it's true in the world of mazik and his if a person damages someone else indirectly they are exempt. But can you was quick to point out that that's true that's true in a human court. We'd be exempt if we damage indirectly. But so when we don't take advantage of every moment, every opportunity, every invitation to tip the scale in the favor for the people we care about, that's benikin. That is an indirect damage for which we will be liable. So as I said, that's great. that's greatly um obligates us but it's also greatly it's also greatly empowering and it's very consistent with what was telling us the shift from the to the to the that the outcome for the whole world depends on us is supposed to be empowering that our free will matters. So much of the spike of mental health illness in our time, particularly with young people, is the result of FOMO, of looking around in social media and thinking everyone else is living such glorious, incredible lives, such perfect lives. They're all mattering. They're all make such a difference. And me, I'm invisible. Nobody cares. Nobody would notice if I disappear. I've had that conversation with so many. And it is so profoundly and deeply painful to hear that so many no matter how connected they are online offline feel invisible inconsequential like we don't matter and that's what the Torah is empowering intelligence no look Hashem says I'm giving you your next act your next deed it makes a difference it matters it shapes the cosmos it has a global impact and implication I want to share with you from told us Jacob Ysef of Jacob Ysef of Pna who was the um principal Talmet of the Bashtov who really captured the Bashento the founder of's teachings and spread them. He was really the one who recorded the Bashento's teaching and is the one who shared them with the world. And he writes one has to know when it comes to humility there can be extreme humility in a bad way. There can be humility in a bad way. Actually before we look at this I want to read share with you from because also expanded on this notion with a very beautiful interpretation aic interpretation. He says you know the says the sense of when Mosher Rabenu two paras ago is reminding the people of the story of the giving of the Torah. says after the first two dibbros which were given directly by God you panicked you had a meltdown and you weren't able to hear from God directly and I had to communicate the rest I had to give it to you says Moshe I stood between you and Hashem and I gave you the rest of the dibros I transmitted to you the rest of Torah but the Mus and the say don't read it that way it's not I Mosha stood between you and God and gave you the rest of the way to read it is do you know what stands between us and God. Do you know what the biggest obstacle is between our connecting to the divine, feeling his presence and his love, expressing gratitude, dependence, loyalty to him? The biggest obstacle or impediment that stands between us and him is an sense of the eye, the ego, the id, the ego, the arrogance, our need, our wants, our view of the world, our honor. It stands between us and God. made sort of takes this wonderful shot of and he says maybe that's what's going on over here I've given you a sense of I've given you a self-confidence a sense of self oral you see a sense of self can go one of two ways you know there's another form of mental illness people who have no self-confidence people who have no self- value people who don't see themselves as mattering what we're talking about as making a Then is a person has to know I matter. I make a difference. I'm we'll have later in the par we'll talk about this morning. We are children of Hashem. I need to know I'm prince. I'm a princess. I'm royalty. I descend from the almighty. There's a piece of him in me. My matter. I make a difference. I'm here in this world for a reason. Anohi. A healthy sense of self, of self-confidence, of self-worth. It's critically important. So a healthy notion and sense of an isha. But an ani that says my way or the highway ani that says that I have to overpower everyone around me. The ani that says everyone has to honor me and bow to me and bend to me and yield to me. That anal person with arrogance and ego too much arrogance too much ego. That in fact is a curse. So says maybe that's the look and see a sense of I've given you a sense of self oral it can go either way too little sense of self that's a mental illness suicidal ideiation depression that's mental illness when you have too little sense of self it's a braha to know that you matter too much sense of self arrogance and ego cla then then in fact it's a curse so let's go back to the told Jacob Yseph that's what he's expanding on as well even when it comes to humility you need to be measured and moderate as I heard from the too much humility false humility when you think who am I what difference you think it really matters to God if I make if I if I keep to if I get stuck if I do does it really matter to him the omnipotent the infinite one little me Little nothing me, little insignificant me. That's a kala. Such a form of humility is not humility. It's simply a misunderstanding and a misconception. You don't realize that your next deed, what you look at on the internet when we're done, where you go, what you say, the next text you send, it has cosmic implications. It matters. It shapes the entire world. Every moment of Torah you learn, every heartfelt fil that you offer, it has cosmic implications. The angels are nourished with it. If you only understood that, if you had that view of the world, if you were able to see from that perspective, we would live every moment to its fullest. We would embrace every second and every opportunity. We would realize the inestimable value of every deed. The way we would dive in slowly with concentration. If we understood that the outcome of elections and the outcome of a pandemic, let alone the outcome of the Yankee score depends on you. It depends on me. is giving you a kiss that we give and he goes on and on has a very similar idea on last week's and now Jewish people what does he hashem want from you and says you should have too little sense of self you should dismiss the difference that you make realize he calls he goes so far as to say When it comes to making a difference, when it comes to being of of importance, when it comes to the difference that your mitzvah make, if a person thinks too little of themselves, false humility, you say, what does Hashem care about my daf? If I drop it, will he even notice? What does he care if I tend? What does he care if I make it to minion? What does he care if I get stuck? What does he care if I hold the door for another? It's heresy. has just like when we do the right thing, we give our parents and that feels so good for us. We do the right thing, we give Hashem such and that too should feel so good for us. So, so far we saw the we saw the why the shift from the single to the plural to know that what we choose to do makes a difference to so many based on that what did Hashem give us a sense of a sense of self too much sense of self too little sense of self I'm sorry too little sense of self too much sense of self just the right sense of self that I matter I make a difference that in fact is an enormous an enormous The Alexanderb had a different understanding of this said the Alexanderb the emphasis should not be on we're going to move past this pak I promise you but I told you we could spend a week just on this opening p it's so rich it's so beautiful it's so said the following he said the emphasis in this p should not be on the word an what exactly did hashem give us what is Moshe telling us what did hashem give us that could either be We saw it's the sense of self says the it's not that it's the sense of what am I giving before you a concept of today of mortality a concept of impermanence a concept of being temporary and fleeting of of knowing that you're a mere mortal that you won't live forever all you have is the here and now all you can live in is this moment of Hyom and that realization that acceptance of our fragility and our vulnerability and our mortality. The notion that all I have is Hayom. I don't know what tomorrow will bring. Who would have predicted six months ago where we are today? And who can predict today where we will be six months from now? All we have is we are mere mortals. We are fragile. We are vulnerable. And that concept itself can go in either direction. Tonight will be the final installment of being our best selves. We've been focusing on this notion of mindfulness of living in the present as the foundation to be our best selves. We'll continue tonight at 9:00. It can go in either direction or if we allow that feeling of vulnerability of to bring us to a state of despair and depression. If we allow it to make us give up or give in, it's a clala. If I say all I have is today and all I do is focus on my vulnerability, then I'll have great anxiety and worry and fear and then it's a cla. But if the recognition of mortality if it makes us embrace every moment and live it to its fullest and becomes a catalyst and a stimulus of change then it's a so says Alexander I've given before you homortality temporary what do you do with it how do you feel from it and we see contrast these two perspectives on the one hand our rabbis discourage us from approaching life with an attitude of don't to eat and drink and be merry because you could die tomorrow. Don't just live today carefree and recklessly because you could die tomorrow. Recognition of our own mortality for some is a license for hedonism to live selfishly. And that's wrong. It's a if that's the approach then it's a it's a curse. But instead say live and say if not now when make that phone call repair that relationship make that change start that new life earlier in says the concept of isosum when we think about the word it should drive us it should move us to move to act do should be a springboard for change and to make a difference mortality should encourage us to take advantage of every moment and perhaps that's what The Torah is telling us the go points out note that the doesn't say I gave you but it says it in the present I give to you in the present tense. Why no in the present tense and says because you don't only have free will when you're young. You don't have free will at the beginning of your marriage or the beginning of your parenting or the beginning of your career or the beginning of your life as an observant to Jew. It's in the present tense. I give you every day the opportunity to start again. Every day is the opportunity to embrace today as if it's the first day. Dav like you never den before. Learn like you never learned before. Have new ambition in your career, in your profession. Have new ambition in your marriage, in your parenting. says the every day is a new day, a fresh start. Every day is a new opportunity to redefine ourselves. It's never too late to become the person that we were meant to be. Lastly on this, the great says the following says the following. door. One can arrive at the conclusion that there's a god because of one of two reasons. It could be what we call simple acceptance. My parents who I see are listening today. I love seeing them on Zoom. My parents told me that there's a there's an abisher. They have a relationship with him. He's been involved in their lives and he's involved in mine. How did they know it? They heard it from their parents who heard it from their parents who heard it from their parents who were at harina and heard from Hashem directly. And I don't have to investigate. I don't have to analyze. I don't have to take philosophy courses. I don't have to rec read or take discovery seminars. I don't have to look at Bible codes. How do I know there's a My parents told me. My parents told me. How do I know there's Hashem? Because I see the sunrise in the morning. How do I know that there's Hashem? Because I look out at this world. And there's another type of the person who says, "Prove it to me. Where's the evidence? How do I know? Prove it to me. I want proof. Where's the evidence? I want to see it for myself. I want to analyze. I want to investigate. I want to take that course, read that book. I want it proven." But the truth is, if you're waiting for a absolute ironclad proof, you'll never get it. Parenthetically, I believe, as I shared with you, that there's overwhelming evidence that God exists. Conclusive evidence he exists. The same amount of evidence exists that there's a God as that you should take the medicine that you got at the pharmacy or believe the brakes on your car will work. And we can share that evidence in another context and at another time. But but for the skeptic or cynic, for the person looking for the whole, you will never have an absolute proof. Just like in science, nothing's absolutely proven, which is why we keep changing it on a regular basis. So the more you investigate, the more you're chasing something that you can never find. And that's the says that if your relationship with Hashem is dependent on a sense of you have to see it for yourself. You have to have it proven to you. You have to investigate and have your questions answered. If you find satisfactory answers, then that attitude towards amuna will be a maybe it's enhancing your relationship with Hashem. But maybe you won't find satisfactory answers. Maybe you'll still be searching. Maybe the whole thing is an excuse to walk away. Then that attitude of prove it to I have to see it for myself. is a however the next says the visioner is you want an am which is exclusively not that's listen to your parents listen to your za listen to those who came before except with an amun that there's in the world So an attitude and an amuna of can yield either oral. An attitude and an amun of will yield alone. The choice is ours of which is the approach and the attitude that we're going to bring towards our relationship towards our relationship with Hashem. Okay, that is the vision. I promised you we were going to move on and we will. So continuing the para again this is Mosha's monologue to the Jewish people the greatest Musl ever ever ever authored incredible you should read it and dive into it kills me to be skipping and so on these are the laws you got to destroy the idols you got to purge the contaminants from the land when you come in you got to start with a clean slate his vision for Israel and from there it will project out to the world Everything I'm telling you to do to these idols, destroy, eliminate, purge, erase. Don't do that. That's why we have a whole institution called Sheamos. You're not allowed to throw away the name of Hashem. You can't destroy it. You can't throw it away. Fascinating chosen is a great chuva. He says, "One neighbor was angry at another neighbor in Israel and he decided to get revenge." And how was he how did he decide to get revenge? Don't try this at home. His revenge was that in Israel, where there's no rain in the offse and the windshields often get covered terribly with dust, he decided he was going to write shame hashem in the dust on the back windshield of his neighbor's car. And now the neighbor wanted to know what to do. Could he clean his car? Could he clean the car? What to do? Sheamus. Could you clean such a car? The institution of Sheamus. But it's the next I want to draw your attention to. on page 10,000 in the arts scroll stone only the place that Hashem your God will choose from among all your tribes to place his name there that's where you shall seek out his presence and come there that's where you should go what is this mysterious place says where am I telling you to do this erase and eliminate all the paganism and the idolatry don't do that to me we're going to be a microcosm from the world is to Israel and we're going to do it at that place that I want you to come to. Where is this mysterious place? Why didn't Hashem give the address? Why not give the coordinates to plug into ways the GPS to get there quickest route? No traffic, no police, no accidents, no construction. Why is Hashem so mysterious? What does he say? The place that I choose to put my name, you should inquire after it and come there. Where? What's the address? Hashem left out the most important part. It's a romantic description of what we're going to achieve there, what we're going to do there, who we're going to be there. Beautiful. I love it. Great. What's the address? So, the here says it took time for the B mdish to finally be built in. And before the precursor of the Mishka and moved around so a specific place to find Hashem's presence was not provided. Hashem doesn't give a location, a GPS coordinate because it moved around. In fact, Rashi comments that Shama there is not in fact talking about the Bdish at all. Look at Rashi. Sha Rashi says it's talking about the Mishkan. It's talking about the Mishkan which was in Sheila for 369 years. The Raan is an entirely different way of understanding the word. The Ramban says that there first suggests the adverb there is referring to the Bikash. If that's the case, why not give the specific location? What am I says? It's by design. Hashem wants us to seek it. Hashem wants us to calibrate our compass towards holiness. Hashem wants you to close your eyes, take a deep breath and say, I want to be drawn towards holiness. Where do I go next? Not everything, you know, ways is making us stupid. We have no sense of direction. There are articles that have been written, studies that have been done that the more that we have GPS coordinates, the more that we have in our car, built into the car or smartphone or CarPlay, then we have no sense of direction anymore. I can't get to my neighbor's house without ways, without Google Maps. It's making us stupid. So that's true geographically, but it's also true spiritually. So the Ramban says the reason Hashem doesn't give a location is he wants us to calibrate our compass to holiness. He says, "I'm not bailing you out. I'm not making it easy for you. I want you to find it. I want you to be drawn like a magnet towards holiness. So instead of giving us a location, he says, I want you to come to the holiest place on earth and confirm it with a nvi. Intuitit it feel it intuitively and then confirm it with the nvi. And that's what happened when David first studied the Torah text and geography of the land with that information he posited where the future location of the B mikdash was haram and later God confirmed that David was correct. So it happened exactly the way it was drawn up here. But the Ramban offers a second interpretation. And the Ramban says the word Shama is not referring to a geographic location at all. My friends, listen carefully to this. It's so fundamental, so foundational. It's so important. I think we've studied it before and that's why it bears repeating. He says that in the second for the sake of time, we're not reading it inside. It says that Shama is not the Mishkan. Shrawn there is not the BTS. Where is shama? Shama is mashik. No, shama is going to that place where you feel Hashem's presence. Going to the place where you feel his influence. Going to the place where he's involved in your life. Torah is saying, if you want to feel Hashem in your life, seek him, look for him, reveal him, connect with him, let him in. And this is so significant for us because I don't know where you're joining from, but many locations were still very much shut down. Shuls are open in very minimal ways. and what we've relied on and counted on to defi draw inspiration from singing together in shul in minion from attending shurim from socializing at akdesh from coordinating it's been taken from us snatched from us robbed from us and so many have given up and they cop out and they say I can't go to shu I can't generate spirituality so basically I'm taking a loss sometimes you made a bad investment you just take the loss and you write it off so I'm taking a spiritual loss this year corona's been a bad spiritual investment ment and I'm writing it off and I'm taking a loss. But that's the wrong attitude. It's for us to be drawn to holiness to let Hashem in wherever we are locked down, quarantined, only minimally seeing one another and integrated. We have to generate that spirituality. It's up to us. It's up to us. We were talking yesterday and our LOL campaign this year is going to be exactly this that the answer is in us. What we've relied on in the past for We will not have this year. We can't congregate 2,000 strong that goes on and on that we sing out loud. We don't have that choice. So, do we write it off? Do we walk away? Do we give up? No. It's up to us and his beautiful suggest two understandings are really one. Whether it's the geographic location of the bas mikdash or the spiritual experiences and the moments that we're longing for the coordinates in both cases are not provided to us. We're not given the map to arrive at the destination. But we have to calibrate our compass and we have to find it. Ask questions. Search. Yearn. Look, be drawn. Extend that spiritual antenna. Be receptive to picking up the signal of Hashem. Tidrashu. Be a do. Go look for him. Go look for him. This is a mahlo between uncle mishi and the katskarba. What do I mean? A mahlo and the katskarb doesn't appear in your mros gdolos. This mahloi who I love and is my friend uncle mishi sang and says hashem is here. Hashem is there. Hashem is everywhere. And it's true. Omnipotent infinite. Hashem is absolutely everywhere. But the katskarba was a young boy and at the time he was challenged by another rebba and he said where is hashem? Where can he be found? And the Kutzkar as a young boy looked up and said, "Only where you let him in." Hashem is found only where you let him in. He is here, there, and everywhere. It's true, but he's also only where you let him in. It's up to us to have that relationship to let him in. In we distinguish between a whole list of things, said the we distinguish and we contrast light and dark, Jews and non-Jews, seventh day and the first six. And the RV points out light and darkness are clear. We can perceive it. Even animals understand the difference between light and dark. But the between what's holy and what's profane, it's not visible. It's not measurable. It's not scientific. Can't be perceived by the naked eye. You have to have a special intuition. You can only see it with your heart. The separation can only be sensed. It cannot be seen. And that's what the Torah is telling us. Calibrate your spiritual compass. Extend your spiritual antenna. Pick up Hashem's signal. Look, live your life where you're looking for him. You feel him. You know him. It says when Aram went with his entourage to the he saw Haram from a distance and he turned to Yets and he said, "What do you see?" And Yitz said, "I see a beautiful and a praiseworthy mountain. I see him. I see a cloud that envelops it." And he asked Elezar and Yishmo, the other two in the entourage, "What do you see?" He said, "What do we see?" See nothing. It's a barren desert. So turns to them. He says, "You see nothing. Ah, you stay here with the donkey. The donkey doesn't see and you don't see. You see a beautiful mountain enveloped in a cloud. You come with me." The there where were they going? This place that Hashem chose to put his name from intuited holiness. And he checked also had the same intuition. He was drawn to that holiness. And the others, they saw a desert. They saw nothing. They saw mundane. They saw nothing. To be a Jew is to be a Yid is to make to distinguish between kes and spiritual mundane. It's to calibrate that compass. It's to open that magnet. It's to be extend that antenna. It's to be drawn towards holiness. A donkey only sees the superficial a surface. A donkey wants to satisfy its appetite. But we see what's more. Sh. And we're drawn to want to go there, to go to him, to go to Hashem. The answer is not outside ourselves. The answer is in ourselves. And the answer is up to us. The answer is up to us. We Jews have incredible creative spiritual imaginations that when others look and they see nothing, it's a sunrise. It's a sunset. It's a natural phenomena. We say natural phenomena. The birth of a child, the marriage of a child, of a grandchild, a sunrise, a sunset. That's the rebon shalom. Are you kidding? There are no coincidences. You see a desert. I see a mountain enveloped in a cloud. Continuing. What's the point here? When we get there, we eat there in front of the Bd and we offer carbonos there. And the goal is we offer our that's where we eat our holy consecrated foods in the place Hashem chose all the members of our household. And we should be happy, happy before Hashem with all that we send our heart. Happy before Hashem. Salvet describes that it's not a coincidence that these words appear together. Whenever you find the word in the Torah, you find it in conjunction with two other words. When are we when are we happiest? When do we find that greatest happiness? [Music] Listen to the RV. This phrase suggests that when one is in the presence of God, there's joy. God's presence must be a constant experience in our lives. Though we can neither see it nor hear him, each Jew must still experience the presence of Hashem. A Jew is required to develop the ability to feel closeness to Hashem, to feel his breath on one's face, to see him in every phenomenon, in historical events, and the majesty of nature. One must perceive Hashem not only in miracles, but in natural phenomena, and in particular in one's own destiny. The sensation of experiencing that one is Hashem is a comparative. Prayer, for example, requires more than intent. It requires that man experience God in his immediate proximity. Hem wants our heart. There's no greater joy than sensing that one is hem. Joy is the sensation that one feels when he's close to his origin, the creator. He's aware that someone guides and cares for him. The experience of Hashem is enhanced through the study of Torah. Survival of the Jews throughout generations of persecution and abuse is due to the sublime experience of being in his presence. How did a Jew running from a pgram? How did a Jew fleeing from an expulsion? How did a Jew surviving an attempted extermination? How are they? How are we during a pandemic, a corona virus with enemies? How can one be bimh? The answer is the more that one is, the more one is. They correlate and they go together. If you live in a world where you think that you are simply a subject of randomness and chance, then you'll be miserable, worried, anxious, walking around all the time. But if you live a life and you live in a world where you say, this meaning there's purpose there's order it's by design is choreographing and calibrating and curating my life then even when we face hardship and challenge with then we're always ba on a festival the laws of morning are nullified in account of the joy associated with the day on a festival all Israel stands before he hashem and the festival's importance is identified with man's rejoicing before his creator the joy is an emotional expression of human experience of standing before he hashem and is this experience before he hashem that fully enols the morning For mourning and standing before Hashem are mutually exclusive because sin separates man and God. One merits happiness upon attaining forgiveness. True s occurs when one feels himself directly in God's presence. You want more sim in your life then work on living with amuna. work on being life that he's with us wherever and whenever that he's involved in our lives that we submit to him is the result of being and that's why we find those world words always uh always together moving right along talked about bringing these consecrated sacred foods to your shim permission to eat meat unconsecrated meat originally the intent was only corbonos could be eaten and one where we given license to hold our own barbecues and to eat our delicious steaks and jerky and all kinds of other fleshing delicacies. I mentioned in another context it wasn't the parasir someone said to me we had in last week's para we had the uh falling of the mun that the fact that the mun fell was a test for us and uh and somebody said to me last week a great insight they said it as a joke but I take it as true insight said where was the in the midbar in a cola lifestyle where hashem provided everything he provided our food our drink our security he gave us our our our parnasa our roof over our head so how did one do for another when the other had no So he said, you know, that's not true. There was an opportunity. We know the man tasted like anything that you wanted. So one person was going to have the mun taste like milk. And when another person said to him, what are you crazy? Picture a steak. That was a great act of when you said to the other person, what are you doing having having the man taste like milk? Have it taste like fleshik. That was the great act of that yet could be done in the midbar. None of you appreciated or enjoyed that as much as I did. So we will move right along. Pericut Gimmel yud we have the story of the three three stories in succession of those who try to lead us astray and media and the nishak and the kbu has a lot of opposition he faces a lot of opposition in this world people who try to put forth or advocate opposing forces or powers who try to spew lies there's a navisher there's the false prophet we have false prophets in our time who you know fake news and try to promote forces and truths other than hashem. We have messes those who try to lead us astray. We have technologies that are messes um we have mass- prodduced messes um with incredible force that has never existed before. And then we have the das the wayward city a city that is worshiping idols where the Torah gives us a very very harsh consequence that we are to eliminate that city. And that section ends with a awkward. You should not uh hold on to anything from that which was banned from this city of idolatry so that Hashem will return from the anger that he had. And he will show you compassion. He'll give you mercy and he'll be compassionate to you and he'll multiply you like he swore to your forefathers. What in the world is this second half of the pas doing here? What in the world does it mean? Here we're given the mandate the mission. You have to destroy it here in Das. It's so pernitious this attitude, this perspective. It can have such a impact on compromising and sabotaging the Jewish people as we take place in our residence in our land. You have to eliminate them. even your fellow Jew and is not non-Jews the is filled with fellow Jews and it's so dangerous so risky you have to eliminate them so upon whom is what's the compassion here where is this compassion placed so the med wonders this and the medish quotes first says this compassion is on the children it's on the children even though you're eliminating all the adults and you're eliminating even the animals of the year but the children the children should be allowed to live. So says this is a reference to the children in the maj disagrees says we're not talking about the children but we're talking about you and who's going to have compassion on you the surviving relatives of the people that you slaughtered in the year normally one person harms a family member of another that family member wants to avenge the blood the whole institution of the miklot is that you flee when you kill bashig from the family member wants to avenge the blood of their loved one so here I would think that the krom the loved ones the relatives of the members of the nidas who are wiped out are going to seek revenge are going to hate the people who who perpetrated the elimination of the comes along the Torah according to promises no there's going to be compassion there's going to be love there will be understanding that's the has a different interpretation If you have your says the following, you know what happens? Soldiers come back from war and even in the noble pursuit of defending their own people, they have to take up arms. When you hold a weapon, when you are forced with having to face it in the direction of an enemy, you're put in a position that you have to pull that trigger, it can't help but generate a sense of cruelty in you. People come back from war and they struggle with not being cruel themselves, says the He says, "You know, I had a a meeting and I heard from a group of terrorists and those terrorists, these murderous terrorists, they say that they learn to get a gishmak from killing and it breeds in them, it cultivates within them a sense of cruelty of of of says that's why the Torah is making a promise that no fulfill Hashem's word and eliminate and Hashem will have and he will make you compassionate. He will preserve your capacity for compassion that even though you will have to carry out what you will have to carry out, nevertheless, you will remain a compassionate people. That's what this PK means and that's Hashem's promise. The adds on to it and he says that's why Pinas got the bris Shalom. Pinas's reward was the covenant of peace. What a bizarre covenant. A covenant of peace. Pinas eliminated Kazby and Zimri. He killed them. He drove a spear through the two of them at once and he got the covenant of peace. The answer is yes. Hashem gave him the covenant to know that even though you had to do a graphic, gruesome act, even though you had to do something violent, nevertheless, sometimes doing so is in the name of peace. And nevertheless, Hashem says, "I preserved your capacity for that's what is going on. That's what's going on over here in this." Moving along, Torah has a now a list and a litany of of rules of laws. First we have the laws of but before it's introduced with this statement. You are children of hem and because of that you're not allowed to make a bald spot. Don't cut yourself. Don't make a bald spot between your eyes. You cannot when grieving for the loss of a friend of a loved one. You cannot be so overwhelmed with grief that you'll grieve excessively such that you cut yourself. Cutting yourself is again a form of mental illness today. People who cut themselves describe that they have a buildup of such pain, such emotional, spiritual pain that they need to create physical pain as a form of release from the emotional, spiritual pain they're experiencing. It makes no sense. Why? Why would someone cut themselves? People with mental illness literally cut themselves. Not in a suicide attempt. They cut themselves. Why? Because they need to manifest the pain that they're feeling. It's the only thing that can give them relief. Interestingly, mental health professionals have an alternative for a person who feels that way. They say a person who's going through that trauma and has that unhealthy, very dangerous feeling should hold ice. Why? When you hold ice, the ice has a feeling like it's burning a hole in your hand. So, it has the effect of that release and you're able to give yourself inflict that pain. But without the risk of actually cutting yourself and what can happen now, that's not healthy either. It's not encouraging people to hold ice in order to cause pain, but it's a alternative to the opposite. So go to do that's not something only new. The Torah already way back when was saying don't cut yourself and don't create this bald spot. And why? You're the children of Hashem. We've studied this several times in the past in the par class, but I want to offer you a few new perspectives this year. We've seen the great Ramban Ezra a lot of different interpretations exactly what is going on over here. of um of Kashmir great sadic says the following. You know what it means? You are children of Hashem. Why not say includes your children? Why? What is the wording over here? So a different says this is these are the holidays that you call them. So there the Torah says we know the says that the basen is empowered to set the calendar. The first mitzvah we were given when we left miten is the one who sets the calendar. They hear the testimony of the new moon. They set the calendar and they determine when the holidays fall out. What if they made a mistake? What if intentionally they manipulate the calendar? What if they say, "I need to be able to catch the playoff game and I can't have it coincide with yum kipper. So, we're going to sanctify the new moon as empty or full in order to manipulate the calendar to fall out the way I want it to or let's say a much more noble reason. They want it to fall out that way. So even if they do it in per on purpose if they do it by accident even so that's what says the same way understand the word there to mean you are given that gift he applies it to our you are's children nothing you can do nothing you can do. We as parents tell our children that I may be disappointed in your actions, but there's nothing you could ever do to make me stop loving you. Nothing. I love you unconditionally. I love you to the end of the earth. I would take a bullet for you. I'd jump in front of a car for you. There are things you could do that would make me gravely disappointed. I could reject or disagree with some of your choices. But you as my child, you and your relationship with me, I feel there's nothing you can do. So very beautifully applied this interpretation the drussa from the gar elsewhere in rash about the to about you are no matter no matter what but I want to share with you has a beautiful shot here and says the following we've been learning his beautiful safer that he gave me called a great today he says the following what is the connection between and so Rashi says Rashi says because you're the children of Hashem you have to look like royalty you're princes and princesses modern royalty is running away from royalty whatever the name of that princess I forgot his name married to that celebrity so they said we don't want to be prince anymore we're done we're out we're out but we would never want to run away from this royalty we are princes and princesses we're children of Hashem so says as children of Hashem What are you going to carve a bald spot? You got to cut your skin. You have to carry yourself as royalty to look like royalty because because you're royalty, you need to appear like royalty. The Ramban is a different interpretation. And uh Ramban says you're not allowed to mourn or grieve excessively. Why can't you mourn or grieve excessively? Because to whom? When do you mourn or grieve excessively? When you think all there is is the here and now. There is no afterlife. There is no future. There is no world to come. will never be reunited with those that we lost then we are inconsolable then we are broken beyond repair but the person who believes in their heart of heart if you believe that we will be reunited with those who are no longer here if you believe that has gone to a better place if you do believe that we will all be in the world to come eventually if you believe then you're never going to grieve or mourn excessively because while there's a feeling of loss and you have to honor that feeling of loss. It's very real, but you're never going to be excessive with it. The Ibenezra weighs in and the Dasin and Batsos weigh in. They all have interpretations. How do you connect the two of the puzzle? We've seen many of them in the past. I want to offer you the new one of drugs this year. And he says the following. What's the connection between the two? So, has another interpretation of los of loss go to do. Lois go to do the pushup is you're not allowed to cut yourself. But the gumar there says losses go to do loasu agos audos you're not allowed to have different factions and different sects and different segments of the Jewish people there's a great we gave a shar in the afternoon col a few months ago about loss go to how it applies in ha can half the sh stand while half the shaw sits half the shade half the sh doesn't how do you have a fire dominating in the same sh how do you have a melting pot of different hugos do you're not allowed different practices and different observances and there shown them and the garra give different reasons why we have this prohibition. Rashi says because it shouldn't look like we have many toas. It shouldn't look like we have several toas. Hashem gave one Torah, one authentic, one authoritative to Torah. We don't have many. Others say it shouldn't look like there's makus that we don't get along. So the there says load you're not allowed to have auds. We have to be a melting pot. We have to unite. We have to be come together as one. So says maybe that's the connection because do you see my children I'm very blessed I now have nine children I had seven children but when two of them marry you very quickly go to nine and it's beautiful I now have two sons that I didn't have to raise I didn't have to take them through adolescence and high school in the most horrible years it's the most beautiful thing in the world when your children get married you get to get them when they're already a mention of Bento it's such a beautiful thing so canara and our nine children. My nine children are diverse and different. And I hope they'll continue to grow to be diverse and different in their thinking, in their practice, in their dress, in their likes, and their wants, and their needs. But you know what? They're united in in their loyalty and love of family, in their commitment to our shared values and shared ideals. How do you achieve loss go to do? When will you not be audiar I don't care whether you follow of Mosha you follow it doesn't matter we can express and manifest our individuality as long as we're united as we are all children of Hashem and he suggests maybe that's the that's how you connect the first half and the last half of the not ones go don't cut yourself but god do don't be aud why and how should you not be audokes we've shared this interpretation before why do we give the Friday we bless our children we don't bless and be like Mosha we don't bless them to be like and yakov we don't bless them to be like Davido why do we bless them at they are not the most major figures of of our Tanakh of our Torah. The answer is they are the first to get along. They're the first to get along. There's no jealousy or enmity. There's no competitiveness between them. Ephraim and Manasha, even though it was switched, Ephraim is the younger one. And he is considered greater than Manasha. That Yakov pulled the switcheroo on the two of them. And that competitiveness didn't create a divide between them. They got along. And that's to our children. This reflects the ultimate hope of a parent. Hashem just wants us to get along. We give a to our children Friday night. You know what the most meaningful thing to me is? Just be like a be different. Be individuals but don't be competitive. Get along. Love one another. So we too can show that we show that love to Hashem. How? When do when we don't act as separate factions with when we all get along. Last I so much more as always that I wanted to share with you. But last idea for today. Last idea for today. Next week we'll be broadcasting back from our home. Can't wait to be back. You recognize this from the laning on. And here tell us tithe so that you can become rich. What? Tithe so that you can become rich. What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Teaches why do you tithe? Why do you separate? How do you give away? And the titus has a whole discussion with what do you mean? Are you allowed to test Hashem? If I give staka, Hashem is going to give me manifold manifold back. And the answer is yes. If you have an investment broker and they give you a return on your investment, do you not allocate more money to them? If you have another broker who gives you a loss, do you not stop giving them money? Is the same way as us. We are stewards over his money. When we make wise decision and give him a return on the investment he's given us, he gives us more because we're in fact fulfilling his vision, his will for that money. But if we in fact have a loss, we don't share it. We don't give it out. We don't take care. We don't repair the world. We don't help others with it. We selfishly squander and keep it for ourselves. Then he'll stop giving it. So on the one end, yeah, give me and it's the one area of total, the one mitzvah, the one area of that you're allowed to test God. God 10% I'm going to give it away and I'm counting on you to make it back. I'm counting on you to re replenish the coffers. I'm pl counting on you to put it back on the account. I'm allowed to test God in that way. I'm allowed to rely on that promise from him. But has another says maybe we should read it differently. Why? The rabbi you know the Gar tells us tell us that to be avi an authentic prophet you have to have several qualities and among the qualities that avi has to have is avi in order to get a to be avi to be a prophet to be a leader you have to be wise you have to be a warrior and you have to be wealthy. Now the simple understanding is when you have those things you're beyond reproach. No one can buy you out. No one can buy your opinion. You're independently wealthy. No one thinks they have such influence on you with money. You have wisdom. You're smart. You're discerning. Obviously, you're going to be a leader. And you're gor. You have what it takes. You have fortitude to stand up to the forces that you need to confront. So, a leader in order to be eligible qualify for has to be a however offers a different interpretation of the word. And the Rambam here says, what does it mean? We have gdola is we have the people of the past to be a ni you got to be wealthy. What are you talking about? They were all in real estate. They all did well with their investments. What are you talking about? Hedge fun managers. So says to qualify for you don't have to have a lot of money in the bank. You have to be happy with what you have. So based on that suggests here Torah says give away how will you become wealthy by sharing what you have. Does that mean literally you'll become financially wealthy? No. When you're willing to share what you have then you reveal that you're that you're happy with your lot in life. And when you're happy with what your lot in life is when you're really going to find happiness in your life. Soer to give micer so that you become wealthy either literally one interpretation or by sharing what you have you'll discover that you're happy with what you have and that is the greatest wealth that anyone can have. So it's good to be back with the para we continue at nine o'clock tonight the last the last um class for our best version of yourself nine o'clock tonight. Tomorrow evening we are behind the beimma again with Rojuda Michelle. Very excited to go behind the beimma with him. We have some incredible guests lined up for the next few weeks. If you're watching on YouTube, please subscribe to our channel. Even if you're not, please take a moment to go subscribe to that channel and help us share our Torah more broadly and widely. It's great to see everyone. Stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy.