Parsha Perspectives for Today (Terumah, 5782) - Introvert or Extrovert?

Okay, good morning, Boca Tova and a good hold ash. Hold ash to me tomorrow is officially the first day of Adar. But you can never be too early for feeling Simcha. So, Marven Simcha, a good month, a good hold ash. Mazel tov and Kallah who are here on Pam. Amazing. It's great to see you. Want to thank our generous sponsors of the Parsha series for the year Becky and Avi Kaplan family memory of Becky's father David Grossman and the neshama of David Ben Menachem Mendel Schneerson. She is also sponsored by Arlene Jacobson and honor of Paul and Elki Shrink. By Evie and Stanley Right Wise, Gloria and Al Fine in memory of their father Lewis Wise on his yahrzeit on the 3rd of Adar Aleph. By Judith Rosen, Judy Rosen commemoration of her beloved husband's yahrzeit Rabbi Marvin Rosen who I was privileged to know. And I want to dedicate our shear this morning all the shearum all the learning in our shul for two young members of our community in need of a speedy, painless, and full of a shlema Esther Tehillah bas Aryeh Tziporah and Carmela Shai ben Reiza that she should have a full and speedy refuah shlema. This week is a big transition. We go in Parshas Shemot. We're still in the book of Shemot, the second book of the Torah. However, we are moving from the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim. We are transitioning from the story of the Exodus to the building of the Mishkan. Terumah begins what seem to be in some ways repetitive parshios and yet there's so much to glean, so much to extract, so many perspectives for today. Terumah and Tetzaveh and then Ki Sisa we take a little detour to read about the story of the Cheit HaEgel. I'm all twisted up here. To read about the story of the Cheit HaEgel. And then we come back to Vayakhel Pekudei that seem to be redundant, that seem to be repetitive and yet they too add something more. So, page 444 in the ArtScroll Stone Chumash "Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe lemor" Hashem speaks to Moshe. Maybe that's him calling right now. Saying "Daber el bnei Yisrael" He tells Moshe, "Speak to the Jewish people." And what is the message? What are they to say? "Veyikchu li terumah me'et kol ish asher yidvenu libo tikchu et trumati." Tell the people, "Let them take a portion for me from every person whose heart motivates take a portion." From each "yidvenu libo" from everyone whose heart motivates. There's so much to say. We could spend a full hour just on this opening pasuk. By the way, just two more opportunities to learn together today. I'm going to shamelessly promote. One is a lunch and learn that we're having at 12:30. If you didn't order the lunch, then you're just coming to learn. 12:00, but I'm speaking at 12:30. I only care about what I have to do. You can get there where you can stay from now until then if you want, but the shear part will be the learn part will start at 12:30. If you did not order, you will not be provided with lunch, but you can feel free to come, join us, bring a snack nonetheless at 12:30 the shear will begin. Also, tonight 7:30 Rabbi's on the run. With the privilege of studying tonight, I'm very excited. Fascinating topic. Really fascinating topic. The Friediker Rebbe, the last Lubavitcher Rebbe, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe who was saved from the Nazis by a German secret service officer, by essentially a Nazi who himself was half Jewish. It's an extraordinary story. And without his being saved, we wouldn't have had the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Rebbe of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and all Chabad that we have today. You on vacation would have no kosher food, nowhere to daven, and no mikvah to use. So, be very grateful for that. We'll hear about that story 7:30 tonight. "Veyikchu li terumah" Hashem through Moshe says, "Everybody give a donation with a generous heart, a generous soul, and generous spirit, give a donation." Ah, so much to talk about here. Why are we beginning with a donation? Why are we beginning with a donation? So, we'll start with an insight from the Meged Yosef. Meged Yosef again, my neighbor Elimelech Sirota and his father Yosef Yehuda Leib Sirota and his beautiful sefer Meged Yosef that he shared with me says the following. "Tam d'vei Elio Keivan shmei Yisrael na'aseh venishma miyad amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu leMoshe 'Veyikchu li terumah'" This is an amazing medrash. Listen carefully, I'm tempted to save this for our capital campaign. I will promise you I'll bring it up again then. Medrash tells us that last week's parsha we read Hashem offers the Jewish people the Torah and they say "We're in." "Na'aseh venishma." He says, "But I didn't even tell you what it says." They said, "It doesn't matter. We love you. We're in." Tell a good friend, "I need a favor." The friend says, "Done." So, what do you mean done? I didn't even tell you what it is yet. Doesn't matter. I love you. I care about you. I'm there for you. Done." When we have somebody that we love going through a hard time, we're lining up whatever we can do. You don't have to tell us what it is. "Na'aseh I'm in. Done. I'm in. All in. I'm moved. I'm in." The medrash says, "As soon as the Jewish people said na'aseh, as soon as they said we are all in, Hashem said, 'Oh, yeah? Okay, good. Veyikchu li terumah. Veyikchu li terumah.'" Says the Meged, says the Meged Yosef understanding this medrash and others say similarly, it's really easy to say I'm all in. But then they say, "Great. Can I get your credit card number?" "Great. Would you like to make a donation? I'm all in, Rabbi. I love you. I love the community. I love everything the shul stands for. I love the vision. I love the values. I identify. Would you consider being a member of our pillars society? Well, I don't know if I love it that much. You know, the egg salad I would get a different brand. I don't know. I once couldn't find a parking spot the Parsha shear." Na'aseh venishma doesn't mean anything if you're not ready "Veyikchu li terumah." The measure of how committed we are is how much you're ready to give. I'm not to say you have to go into debt or act irresponsibly in what you give. The talk is cheap. It's lip service. It's easy. And this isn't my insight. This is the medrash. "Miyad" immediately after "Na'aseh venishma" "amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu" Na'aseh venishma? Interesting. Really, you're in?" "Yeah, we're in." "No matter what?" "No matter what." "You love me?" "Oh, you have no idea how much we love you." "Fantastic. Open your checkbook." "Well, I don't know. It wasn't such a good year. Corona. I can't. I You don't know what I give. I pay my grandchildren's tuition. You don't know that." Every excuse under the sun. But be real with yourself, says the Meged Yosef. "Tach adamah she'na'aseh venishma she'he'ish galuiot al nafshos tachas hashba'ah she'lo yimaru ad yom matan Torah." Na'aseh venishma was a high. Na'aseh venishma was an unbelievable moment. At the end of the Moshe of Moshe Weinberg farbrengen the other week, the lights were dimmed, everybody was singing and dancing and jumping and hopping and bopping. He touched our hearts and our souls. And if I would have said, "Everyone, you're in." "I'm in. I'm never missing a minyan again. I'm going to daven. I'm going to learn. I'm going to chassid. I'm on fire. Fantastic." The havdalah havdalah matan Torah was many many multiples of that. "Avraham Avinu shlema einam lo hakdamah venishma lanetzach olamim." But a real nation cannot forever feel, can't remain on that level of that spiritual inspiration, that enthusiasm, that energy. It wanes. "Einam lo hakdamah ve'acharonah b'iskasut amalah b'ofen temidi." You can't stay on top of the mountain all the time. You can't. The feeling you had on your way out of Neilah, the feeling you have at a magnificent sunrise sunset, the feeling at a phenomenal farbrengen, the feeling that you have in a moment of great joy, of a simcha, you can't stay on top of the mountain. "V'cheim she'matan Torah kiblu Yisrael kol hadoros ro'eh b'cheil Baruch Hu she'kiblu Torah mitoch shiklu da'as yedidah berurah." So, Hashem said, "But I want this to last." So, what happens? If I leave it at the enthusiasm, if I leave it after the energy of matan Torah, what happens as soon as that energy dissipates, so do does this commitment. As soon as the energy dissolves, there goes this story, this experiment called the Jewish people. So, how do we solidify? How do we concretize? How do we get them invested? How do we make sure this is set up and positioned to last? You know what the answer is? Put some skin in the game. Reach into your wallet. Make an investment. Give what you've worked hard for, a piece of yourself, and now you have a commitment. Now you've concretized. Now it's real. "Miyad amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu leMoshe 'Veyikchu li terumah' einam lo yoser yoter lo havedalah she'einam lav she'chashuv b'etzem im hametzius mil'chaim tachlis mamon." There is nothing that will as quickly or precipitously bring you down from a spiritual high than writing a check. Nothing will ground you and nothing will root you and nothing will concretize you and nothing will test you how real this is like opening up your wallet. I could talk to you about checks. The young people that have Venmo, Zelle, they don't know what a check is. Nothing will ground you as quickly as having to cough it up, as having to be a stakeholder, as having to invest and give a piece of yourself. So, says the Meged Yosef, that's what it's going to be. Oh, last week "Na'aseh venishma" "Oh, amazing. Oh, you love me. Love and romance and energy and spiritual high on top of the mountain and it's a It's a It's amazing. It's amazing. You do anything?" "Anything." "Okay. Veyikchu li terumah. Are you ready to contribute? Are you ready to be counted? Are you ready to move the proverbial thermometer? Are you ready to make this new campus a reality? Let's see. Let's see that level of commitment. And that's why the medrash says "Miyad na'aseh venishma miyad veyikchu li terumah." Immediately. He tells the story once Rav Chaim Volozhin, a great talmid of the Gra, came to the Gra. "Rebbe, Slavos Gedolah." He was on fire, energized. He wanted to open up a yeshiva. And the Gra said, "Nope. You don't have my blessing." "Rebbe, I'm on fire. I can change the world. This yeshiva will be novel. Be incredible. Be almost as good as the yeshiva of South Florida." And the Gra said, "No. Now is not the time and you can't do it." Rav Chaim Volozhin was was very was very taken aback. He was very sad. So, Rebbe wouldn't give an endorsement for this yeshiva he was so excited about. So, a few weeks went by, a few months went by. Rav Chaim Volozhin came back to his Rebbe the Gra and he said, "I've given it a lot of thought and I've really sat on it and I've really created a strategic plan around it. And here's why I really believe this is right." And the Gra said, "Absolutely. I'm all in. You have my full support." He said, "Well, what happened?" He said, "When you were on fire and when you were, you know, enthused and when you were sa- What what happened when that enthusiasm would wane? Your yeshiva wouldn't succeed. You needed to come from a position of calm. You needed to come from a position of being concretized, real, thought out, strategic planning. That which is done only from being on a spiritual high, it won't last. It won't last. It needs to be manifest in in real world application and concretizing and so on. That's the shot in Vayikchulu Terumah, right after Na'aseh v'Nishma. I love that insight for some obvious reasons and I will be following up with some of you about that insight as well. That is the insight of the Maggid Yosef. Rav Nachman of Breslov has a similar insight. He says, "What's the shot in Vayikchulu?" Why does it say Vayikchulu? Why is it for me? Eicha efshar likachas Terumah l'Hashem? How can you take a gift for God? What do you get for the person who doesn't have everything, who is the source of everything? What gift do you give God, who doesn't just have everything, he is everything? Hachuvei k'fi she kasav Rashi. Rashi writes on the word Vayikchulu, "Li." Lishmi. As Terumah is a middas hadin, the same sh'mayim u'din stoka. Nachman also is man as it. What you're giving God is not really the financial investment. The Vayikchulu, Rashi says Vayikchulu. Accept from me a donation, a Terumah. Li, Lishmi. It's not about the check or how big it is, it's about what's in your heart. It's about how generous a spirit you have. You know, did they have to come do root canal to get the money? Did they have to do open heart surgery? Did they have to pin you against the wall? Did you give it because of pressure? But do you have a generous spirit and a generous heart? And are you doing it for the right reasons? Are you giving because you want to advance and further a cause you believe in and identify with? Are you giving because you want your name in lights, or you want the social accolades, or you want to meet the peer pressure? Why are you giving? So Rashi says, "Li." Lishmi. Don't just give something, a financial amount. The Li has to be Lishmi. It has to be for the right reason. And the same is true when it comes to tzedakah. You know, on the one hand tzedakah, did the check clear? That's all that matters. But on the other hand, that's not all that matters. Maybe for the recipient, what matters is did the check clear? But for the giver, it's about the manner in which you gave. What energy did you bring in the way that you gave? What Did you give a piece of yourself? Did you pay this so you wouldn't have to give some of yourself? Some people make large donations so that other people will practice what they're supposed to. So they write to the Yeshiva, the Kollel, the shul, the mikvah, the eruv, "You guys be religious. You're the religious institutions, and now I paid my dues so I can go live the life I want." Some people pay as the out to be able to go live the way they want. And Hashem said, "No, no, no, no, no. That's not what it's about. The Vayikchulu, Li, Lishmi." It's not just about writing the check. You're not paying your way out, but it's about giving a piece of yourself. He says the way that you get to a connection with Hashem, we have several types, we have many struggles, temptations, desires, compulsions that we that we confront, that we fight. Tonight, with Seder Snippets, we'll continue to talk about this Lo Sasuru Acharei Levavchem v'Acharei Eineichem. There's a beautiful insight of the Gra. We'll talk about the three different types of taiva that a person has, Seder Snippets tonight. We have lots of opportunities to learn together today. So just keep coming back. Just Uber Eats. Just stay here the whole day and send for your send for your stuff. So, but the Rav Nachman writes, one of the biggest taivas that really defines who we are is taivas mamon. What is our relationship and attitude towards our money? Are we the steward over God's money and therefore we use it and allocate and delegate it the way it's intended to? Or is the money ours and we hold onto it tight? And we hold onto it tight. You know, they say when a baby's born, their fists are closed. A baby's born, their fists are closed. And those who are in the Chevra Kadisha do a tahara, you know that a person passes away, their hand is open. When you come into this world, you're grabbing on tight. You're trying to hold on. You think it's yours and it's mine and I need and I need more and I need more. When you're ready to leave this world, you realize that you can't take any of that with you. It never defines you. And while it's nice to have and there's nothing wrong with enjoying it and there's nothing wrong with working hard for it, but you have to have it in the right perspective. Have to have it in the right perspective. So Rav Nachman says, one of the big metrics, one of the big tests of who we are and our relationship with Hashem is our attitude towards money. Now is not the time I once gave a whole shiur on this. Shuva drasha on this because we say that one of the three things that rips up the g'zeira and we speak about this the conclusion, the pinnacle of U'netaneh Tokef, arguably the most moving and stirring part of our liturgy, of our davening, we say one of the three things, u'tshuva, u'tfila u'tzedakah ma'avirin es roa' hag'zeira. Tshuva, you can transform yourself, entirely change, become a much better version of yourself. Tfila, you can daven, you can pray, you could be humbled. Or just write the check to the judge and he'll change your sentencing. Just how much can you slip the judge? How much can you write the check for? How much can you take? With tzedakah ma'avirin es roa' hag'zeira. We discussed this in the past. Tshuva, I understand. Tfila, I understand. Tzedakah is ma'avirin es roa' hag'zeira? So the quick answer, which makes you wonder why it took me an hour and a half that shiur was a God the shiur of tshuva, but the quick answer is because as transformative as tshuva is, as life changing as tfila is, is how transformational tzedakah is. Cuz it's what it says about our relationship with our money. Where it comes from, how much it defines us, and what we do with it. Work hard for it. Enjoy it. Enjoy fine things in life. Nothing wrong. Hashem put us in this world to do that. But do we give our share? Do we give what we're meant to give? So Rav Nachman writes, shviras taivas hamamon, breaking that taiva, that impulse, that instinct, that love, that definition of mamon. Ba'derech shviras taivas hamamon. So what's the test of your relationship with money? What's the test? Is tzedakah. Tzedakah. Do you run to give or do you wait to be asked? When you're asked, do you give readily and grateful for the opportunity to make that investment? Or do you give a hard time, forging excuses, say no, before finally give the bare minimum of what it will take to end the conversation? Im nimnam ilasei tzedakah u'mefazer es kaspo mishum she choshesh me'olas u'doyeg she'yeiten kaspo l'acheirim u'yishar lo es ha's'char u'l'fi Why? Why does a person not give? Why does a person not give? Believe me, this is on my mind. We have we're not announced yet, but this capital campaign, thank God, we're well on our way, but we have a lot of money to give. A lot of money to raise. And there are people who have capacity. Baruch Hashem, many, many times over, Hashem has blessed and people worked hard and deserve the credit and should be proud, who have tremendous capacity. I don't know You know why I know that? Because this is on my mind a lot. Because people will tell you how well they're doing and how much they're killing it and how big their business is and how everything is going. And then they say, "That's fantastic. I'm so happy for you. Would you help me with this cause that we're working on?" "Well, I'm not doing that well. And right now it's just, you know, on paper and I don't really have whatever." So people talk about how much they have and they say, "Well, Hashem has blessed you. So if you would help us in this way, it won't impact you, your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren. It will never impact anyone in your family forever and ever. And yet, you can change our community forever. What do you say? Are you in?" No. Why? What holds a person back? When it won't change a person's own quality of life or living, when it won't change the quality of life or security, financial security, of anyone in their family forever, what holds a person back? What holds a person back? So it's a lack of emunah, it's a fear, it's an anxiety. It's either a competitiveness, I have to have more, I have to have the most, I have to rank the highest. Or it's a fear, what happens if something could happen? What if there's a crash? What if there's a this? What if there's a that? What would happen? I'll be left without. Tzedakah is an expression of emunah. When you say, "You know what? 90% I get to keep. 90 90% I get to keep." Just 10% Hashem has said. Hashem is the senior partner in every endeavor I'm in. Every investment, every business, every entrepreneurship, everything I've ever done, Hashem is the 90% partner and I'm at best a 10% contributor. And yet Hashem says, "I'll tell you what though, you get to keep 90% and 10% I don't even want. Just give it to your siblings. Give it to my other children. They need help." And a person says, "No, I need 100%. I can't even give 10." Do you know what the Jewish people would look like if the Jewish community actually gave ma'aser? Every problem we have would be solved. The Jewish tuition crisis in Israel advocacy and chesed and mikvahs and yeshivas. Every problem would be solved if actually people gave 10%. Not not 11%. Just just the 10%. If we actually gave it. For whatever reason, we have this allergy. Some people have the allergy. They have not yet tasted the ultimate joy and satisfaction and meaning and purpose and happiness of using your resources in a way that makes a difference. They haven't tasted it yet. I'm sorry. I'm going off on this. That was not the point. Let's come back to Rav Nachman. But if you'd like to speak to me right after shiur, I'd be more than happy happy to talk to you about the future here. Ailei matan tzedakah b'yad rachavah u'mochiach adam as bitachono b'Hashem. So how do we express our our our bitachon, emunah? Hashem, I trust you. I'm not going to give away 100% of what I have right now. I was at Carlebach's funeral. A collection had to be made in order to pay for his funeral. You know why? Because had a problem. Every concert he did and every CD he sold and every time he was paid, the next poor person who said to him, "Hey brother, can you help me out?" He just gave the whole thing away. And he was left with nothing. He was destitute. This needed to be paid for. That's not right. That's not correct. In halacha, you're not allowed to give more than 20% of your income to tzedakah. A person shouldn't help others to the point that they then need help. I'm not here to criticize him. He had such a giving heart. He couldn't help himself. But that's not what's expected of us. And nor does the Torah say, "Give away everything so that you need help." That's not what the Torah's saying. But give away what you're meant to give away and that is an exercise in Emunah. Hashem, I trust you so I can give 10% away cuz you're going to replace it with 20% more. I believe. I trust. I know. And you're my partner and I know that I'm giving you such Nachas Ruach. I know how much pride you take in me when I do the right thing with our money. You're not worried what you're going to eat tomorrow. You're not worried about the future. Rebbe Nachman further writes in Likutei Moharan 25 Zion, a person who gives Tzaddaka may avoid sins. Like giving Tzaddaka helps protect you from making mistakes. That's what Chazal say, "Whoever is compassionate that a person is compassionate and kind to others, Hashem is compassionate and kind to you." When you bail someone out, Hashem bails you out. When you step up and support someone, Hashem's going to step in and support you. When you enable and empower and enrich others with your resources, Hashem will enable and empower you. It's directly proportional. There's a direct relationship, says the Gemara. And there's a lot more, but that's what Rebbe Nachman says, "V'yikchu li Terumah." That's why it's V'yikchu Terumah. V'yikchu Terumah. This also explains it doesn't say it explicitly, but this also explains the famous question. It should be V'yitnu, you should give. Why is it V'yikchu? It's a palindrome. V'yitnu backwards and forwards read the same. No. Which is the palindrome? Not V'yikchu. Not the Nasnu. Thank you. The Nasnu. Every time you give, you really receive. What are you receiving? You're receiving this boost in Emunah. You're receiving this relationship with Hashem. You're receiving becoming a better person. V'yikchu. V'yitnu. Kotsker. A few more on this opening pasuk and then I promise you we will move on. The Kotsker. Ah, such a great Kotsker. Kotsker Rebbe, Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Kotsk, had a close dear friend, colleague, named Rebbe Yitzchak Vorka. And they had a big disagreement. The Kotsker Rebbe loved to practice Hisbodedus. He wasn't the first. It goes back to Moshe Rabbeinu and it goes back to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov and it goes back to Adam HaRishon. The notion of Hisbodedus. The notion of being comfortable in our own skin, spending time by ourselves, connecting to Hashem, being alone. Being alone. Adam Nivra Yechidi. Man was created alone. The Shoresh Adam, in our core, is a comfort with being alone. Now, we're not meant to be alone. Lo Tov Adam Levado. It's not good to be alone. As Lo Ezer Kenegdo, Hashem says, "Don't be alone for life. I'm going to make a helpmate opposite. You go find companionship." But the Shoresh Neshamah, at the core of who we are, is Adam Nivra Yechidi. Adam was created not with Chava. He was all alone in this world. We should be comfortable being alone. You don't have to turn on the radio or a podcast. You don't have to have noise. You don't have to be on the phone. You could drive and just be lost in your thoughts. You could go for a walk. You could sit. You could be talking to Hashem from within your heart. So Rebbe Nachman was very far from the first, but he was an enormous proponent who really promoted and spelled out in detail Hisbodedus. Rebbe Yitzchak Vorka, on the other hand, would do his Chavrusas. Not Hisbodedus. Not spending time alone in his own thoughts and in conversation with Hashem, but his Chavrusas with other Chassidim. Connection with others. Camaraderie with others. This essentially a debate. And I don't mean to limit this or minimize it by simply saying it's a question of the Kotsker was an introvert and Rebbe Yitzchak Vorka was an extrovert. It's not that simple, but there's clearly a component of that. Where do you draw your energy? From when you are alone or do you draw your energy and inspiration from when you are with and connected to others? So once the two of them met, so said the Kotsker, "Derech Sheli Merumaz BaTorah. My path and my way, my Hisbodedus, it's alluded to in the Torah. Where?" Pasuk says, "Shteim Pasuk, V'yikchu Li." V'yikchu, take. Li, me time. Being alone. Im Rotzei Derech Emes, Rashi says, "Li, Lishmi. Eitzah Terumah. Li Os Toram Min HaAnashim." The word Terumah means a gift. But the word Terumah, as in the Mitzvah of Terumah, also means to separate. Terumah, when the farmer gives Terumah to the Kohen, they are separating. They're titheing. So Terumah. V'yikchu Li Terumah. You have to separate for yourself and be apart. You have to have the capacity for Hisbodedus. So said the Kotsker to his dear friend and colleague, Rebbe Yitzchak Vorka, he said, "You see, the Torah endorses my way. V'yikchu Li Terumah. Sometimes you have to take for yourself to separate. Sometimes you have to disconnect. Sometimes you have to be alone." So Rebbe Yitzchak Vorka said to him, And and he said the Kotsker, "Sometimes you have to even be willing to separate from others from others. Good people around you. Good Chassidim. Good righteous people. Of course they have a lot to offer. Of course they could compliment you. But still, V'yikchu Li Terumah. Sometimes you have to separate yourself away." So the Vorka Rebbe, Rebbe Vorka said, "No, no, no. Derech Sheli Gam Kan. My path is also alluded to in the very same pasuk. V'yikchu Li Terumah Ish MiKol V'yikchu Li Terumah Ish MiKol Ish. You should separate yourself with every person. Find what from every person you could draw from, you could learn from, what you could connect and how you could connect from them. So an interesting debate. It's in the Kotsker and Rebbe Yitzchak Vorka. Introvert, extrovert. Where do you draw your energy? What is going to inspire, elevate, enrich you more? When you're comfortable in your own skin, alone time, or when you are camaraderie, companionship, connection time? Of course the answer is both. You need a little bit of both. And you have to find that blend. Find that mix. Each of them tried to bring evidence from from the pasuk. Um Two more quickly. The Bal HaTurim on V'yikchu Terumah. The Bal HaTurim here on the pasuk. The Bal HaTurim says pasuk Ba'alei Bnei Yisrael Peos. Parsha begins Daber Lashon Peos, to appease, to satisfy. Like Daber Yerushalayim. Like the pasuk says, Daber Yerushalayim, we read on Shabbos Nachamu Haftorah. Bishlosha Keisan Keis, Peisan. Why in the world did you need to appease them? Why did you need to communicate this gently and softly? Because it's going to cost them something. It's going to cost them something. It's easy when it costs you Mincha Maariv. It's easy when it costs you, could you show up and help at the soup kitchen? Serve on the Chevra. Relatively easy. When you got to dip into your wallet, got to dip into your bank account, your savings. Chisaron Keis. It's going to cost you something. It needs Peos. You have to be gentle. You have to ask. You have to apologize. You have to appease. And so on. The Medrash says, "Amar Rebbe Avahu, Malach HaMavet came to Klal Yisrael, Amar Daber Bnei Yisrael Peos." HaDokinsin Sha'ar Neshamah Matay Alay. So we have to understand what's going on over here. Klal Yisrael, they need to appease cuz it's going to cost them? So I understand in 2022, Tavshin Pay Days, I understand that everyone in this room and everyone in this community, everyone around the world, we worked hard for our money. And therefore, we struggle to part with it. And by the way, Chazal acknowledge that. In the Gemara in the Talmud, what word do we use for money? Damin. You know why damin? Cuz blood, sweat, and tears just to earn that money. You gave up energy, time, opportunity. Little league games. You gave up dinner. You gave up There was a lot that was given up in order to earn that money. So we feel, rightfully, it's ours. It's who we are. It's a piece of me. I gave up for it. Damin. My blood, sweat, and tears for it. But asks the many, we'll see the Gra Alter of Kelm and others, but this generation, where did they get this money? Moshe Rabbeinu turns and he does the first capital campaign. We're raising money for the Mishkan. I'd like everybody to give according to their means. Everybody give according to their capacity. Everybody give a meaningful gift for them. And the people say, "Ah, no, it's my money." Moshe says, "Please, Daber Lashon Peos." What are you talking about? This is a generation that just experienced miracles. Minutes, moments ago, they were slaves, persecuted, oppressed. I don't know if Whoopi Goldberg would say it's not racism because you can't see it on the color of their skin. So even though millions were murdered, it doesn't constitute a real affront to humanity. It doesn't qualify. Shame to have the same last name. We're not related. As far as I know. As far as I know. It's a Busha. Not not even doesn't even deserve to get to be spoken about. So this is a slave nation. A minute ago, literally moments ago, they were persecuted, oppressed, murdered, holding onto their lives. On the way out, God said, "You won the lottery. Take gold and silver from the Egyptians. And then when they drown in the sea from their chariots, take even more. Collect, compile, take. You're good to go." So you liberate the death camp. On the way out, you say, "Every victim who's walking out of Auschwitz-Birkenau, here's a million dollars." And then a week later, you say, "By the way, could you from the million dollars, would you make a donation? Would you make a contribution? We're trying to build a Shul." Someone would say, "Hey, it's my money. No. How could you ask me? Be gentle, kind, appease." What are you talking about? Where did they get this money? They were going to die a minute ago. They're miraculously saved. They're entirely gifted this money. And now all of a sudden they're struggling to part with it? Need a Lashon Peos? B'ikar Tamor Mevakesh Mem Terumah Bnei Yisrael Mishkan. Umokir HaTovah Merum. Moreover, what's the Mishkan for? It's for them. We're not going to go into it now, maybe in 2 weeks Parshas Ki Sisa, but why why did they need a Mishkan altogether? The Mishkan, according to most, is the antidote, it's the repair, it's the reaction to the cheit ha'egel. You people wanted something tangible. God says, I was good to go going through the desert and into Eretz Yisrael, and we'd have a purely invisible spiritual relationship, but you you claimed you need someone to see, to touch, to hold on to, a place to go to visit, to stand in. And so you built an egel cuz you needed something physical. Wrong way to go. You can't do it for yourself, you can't experiment on your own. Don't take such bold initiative. I understand the sentiment, but you went about it the wrong way. But I'll tell you what, here's a Mishkan. So it's for you. But I need you to help pay for it. No, no, no, no. What's going on over here? Why? So the Gra The Gra says, you see from here, from the very inception of our people, how difficult it is to part with money. This is the yetzer hara. It's the yetzer hara. I'm not saying that cynically, sarcastically, critically. It's validating the feeling that we have. One of the biggest yetzer haras we have is financial insecurity. And the and the challenge with our willingness to part with our money. You see that even when we believe in the cause, even when we care about the cause, even when we won that money, we still struggle to part with it. In other words, the questions are so compelling that it leads the Gra to conclude that there's not an answer other than what an enormous yetzer hara we have, that Moshe had to be patient and sensitive and slow and kind. The Alter of Kelm The Alter of Kelm says, So imagine somebody says to you, I'm giving you a gift. I'm giving you a gift. I won the lottery, I have a billion dollars. And you're my friend, I care about you. I want to set you up, I want you to be happy. So here's $5 million I'm transferring to you. Transfers the $5 million and a week later says, by the way, I'm hosting a dinner for this cause I believe in, would you take out an ad? The person says, no. Last week I just gave you $5 million. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? That's what happened here. Hashem says, you're undeserving, you didn't work for it. I just gave you and granted you all this money, and now I'm asking for a donation and I say, no. How could it be? How could it be? How could it be? So he says, You see the capacity of the yetzer hara to even convince yourself that you deserve and you're worthy and you worked hard for that which just came to you. Even that which just was gifted or granted to us, we somehow have this capacity to manipulate in our own minds and to make ourselves believe that we worked hard for it. So much so that we struggle to part with it. Again, similar ideas of the Gra, reinforcing this notion of how strong this yetzer hara is. And many more ideas along this line, but I want to move on. One last interpretation. Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, zecher tzaddik livracha, who we just observed. What an incredibly special man. He said the following amazing insight. Amazing insight. He says, people don't like to receive. Many people don't like to receive. They're in a difficult situation in life and they need help, they need chesed, they need meals, they need carpool, they need help, and they don't want to. Why don't people ever want to receive? For two reasons, he says. Number one, pride. Person feels, my ego will be bruised. I'm the one who gives, I don't ever receive. I take care of others, I don't need to be taken care of. What does it say about me if I have to take? So people hesitate and they reject, they're reluctant, they don't want to do it. Number two, when you receive, what comes with it? A debt. You owe someone a debt of gratitude. Even in our vernacular, we use that language. A debt of gratitude. People don't want to have or carry a debt of gratitude. So they refuse to receive. Some people have no problem with this. They receive readily, they're grateful to receive. I always say, you you want to know about people, you could tell at the end of a meal. You go out to eat together, there are two types of people. There's the one who says, I found a way for the other person to pay. I didn't have to pay anything, they treated. And there's the person who says, let me cover, let me treat, you'll get it next time. Nothing makes me happier than I got it. There's just two types of personalities. There's nothing wrong with them, both say, let's split it. We both ate, we ate together, let's just split it, let's make it simple. Well, some people ate three appetizers, I ate two, you ate more expensive appetizer, I ate a less one. How do we calculate? Get out your calculator, algebra book, get out your What's the thing with the beads you move over? Yeah. You know, the people who sit there doing higher math to make sure it's even and fair. But you could tell how generous a spirit someone has. So there are people who have no problem receiving. But there are many who say, I don't ever want I don't want to get chesed, I don't want to get help, I don't want to receive, I don't want to take. So what Twerski said, the yikchu li terumah. Hashem formulated and expresses it in this way cuz he wants us to know there's nothing wrong with when you need to receive. There's a thing called the gracious giver and there's a thing called the gracious receiver. You have to know how to give graciously when you're called upon to show up and to step up and to give, you have to give graciously, and you have to know that when you're in a position to receive, it's not your fault. It's not your You didn't do it. You have to receive graciously. That's what Hashem wants from you in that moment, too. And that's what That's what's right for you. So Hashem says, you know what? In order to teach you, to show you, watch me. I'm going to do it. The yikchu li terumah. Moshe, go collect from me. Go teach the people. Hashem says, I'm not too big and I'm not too great and I'm not too worried to have a debt of gratitude than Moshe for you to go collect for me. It's an amazing insight, no? Rabbi Twerski. You see, there are people who struggle. And in those moments, I'm so happy to have seen this because it empowers me to tell people who sometimes hesitate and they push away and they're reluctant, they don't want help. That this in this moment, they're gracious giver and they're gracious receivers. Hashem was a gracious receiver. Kodesh Baruch Hu gave us a precedent of how to be a gracious receiver, of how to take graciously. Okay, let's start. The Tabernacle, all the components that go into it, the Mishkan and the Keilim. Perek pasuk zayin. Those who came to the rabbi's class last Shabbos, Rabbi Goldhar of Zichru, in 45 minutes taught us how to memorize all of Chumash. 12, 11, 10, 10, 11. So many parshas are in each, what's in every parsha, tells us all thing. Terumah, Tetzaveh, Vayakhel, Pekudei, gave us Terumah, Tetzaveh, Mishkan, Keilim, went through the whole thing. If you weren't here, you really missed something special. It was very, very cool. Avnei Shoham u'Miluim la'Ephod u'laChoshen. Says that Shoham stones and stones for the settings for the Ephod and for the and for the breastplate. So there's a beautiful insight of Rav Chaim of Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz here. materials that are listed. But pasuk daled, back in verse four, we've gold, silver, copper, turquoise, purple, scarlet wool, linen, goat hair, dyed ram skins, tachash skins, acacia wood, oil, spices, everything is listed and then at the end we get to these precious jewels. The last thing we list are the Shoham stones and the stones for the settings. So why they last? Why do they come after the last? Why is that a question? Because they are the most expens- expensive, they're the most precious. They have the greatest value. So you would have asked me, if I'm trying to impress you or if I'm soliciting, recruiting, let me first list the most impressive, the highest end. Ma yitzricham l'manas u'shanim. They should have been listed first, why are they listed at the end? So Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz says, you know why they're listed at the end? Because there was no effort in getting them. Stones are the way they appear. They're created, they're part of nature. They're part of nature. All these other materials needed to be worked, toil, effort, they needed to be cultivated, they needed to be created, they needed human intervention. So something might objectively have a greater value, but the truth is it's much less valuable. And that's why I tell you all the time that I don't give her a diamond, I just, you know, make up a card on the computer cuz it's my own initiative and just joking, I don't say that. But you see that the greater value to Hashem, and what should be a greater value to us, is not that which took no effort, was just created and made that way, but the materials that took a greater effort and that took more work. Ikkar terumah she Mishkan u'midvas lev. Because again, the giving is all about the effort. Giving is all about the energy. Giving is all about the attitude. So the stones, you find them in a quarry, you collected the stones. They had stones. They come ready to go. As opposed to the other materials that needed to be worked. So you see that even though objectively the stones have a greater value, but what is more valuable to Hashem is what's more valuable to Hashem is the effort. Is the effort. Is the effort. Okay, that is Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz. Moving right along. Also, let me mention Parshas Beshalach. We spoke about this pasuk at length previously, we don't need to get into it again. The shift from the um singular to the plural, make for me a Mikdash to dwell in them, should say dwell in it, not them. Why the shift? We spoke about it a lot in the past. We go to pasuk test the next positive. The establishment of Mishkan and establishment Kodesh Kodashim and so on. Everything I show you, the form of the Tabernacle, the form of all its vessels, so shall you do. Everything I'm showing you, this blueprint, this design, go get it done. Go get it done. Says the Nefesh HaChaim, says Rav Chaim Volozhin, "Go get it done." Quotes Rashi. Rashi says "Kein ta'asu l'doros, for generations to come." What is Rashi talking about for generations to come? We built the Mishkan once, we built the Beis HaMikdash twice, but in theory once. So, what do you mean l'doros? Torah is now going to spend four of the next five parshios. Torah is now going to spend second half of Sefer Shemos. Mishkan, korbanos take up 50% of the Torah, more. What do you mean l'doros, for generations to come? This is it. This is it. So, Nefesh HaChaim writes in Shaar Alef perek Daled, based on the Gra, "The kochlosha Beis HaMikdash and all its vessels and all its vessels and Beis Kodesh HaKodashim and throughout the Mishkan, that we should understand the following. It's not that the Mishkan was the mashal, is is the nimshal, and we are the mashal. V'asu li Mishkan v'shachanti b'socham. Hashem says I want to dwell not in it but in them. And we are supposed to be living and walking Beis HaMikdash. We are supposed to be godly and God-like. We are supposed to be vessels that communicate, vehicles that bring God and godliness and light into this world. The real charge here and the real description, and we'll get into a little bit, unfortunately we won't have time at length, but baruch Hashem we have four of the next five parshios to do it. The dimensions, the materials, the symbolism, it's all really about us. It's not about bricks and mortar. It's not about structure and vessels. It's really all about us, who we are, who we're meant to be, the vessels that we are meant to be in this world. So, you might say to yourself, "That's cute. That's a cute message." That's cute. V'asu li Mishkan v'shachanti b'socham, one of the most famous divrei Torah in all Chumash. Really, we're supposed to be the Beis HaMikdash. That's cute. So, really, you know, we are the mashal, and really the Beis HaMikdash is the nimshal. Rav Chaim Volozhin says that that's backwards. Kodesh Boruch created a Beis HaMikdash as the mashal, and we are the nimshal. It's not that the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, we don't have it, we're sad about it, so we came up with a cute vort, and we came up with a great song, "V'lav li Mishkan evneh", so that at challah shabbos night we had to at NCSY Shabbaton we had something to sing. It's not that we came up with this because we don't have the Beis HaMikdash, so we came up with a cute vort. We're getting it all wrong. We need to know fundamentally, we need to know we are the nimshal. The whole Beis HaMikdash and everything we're about to learn, everything we're about to study, and every detail and every prat is a description for us and for our lives and for who we are. Shmuel Auerbach, based on Gemara in Yoma daf hey, says, you know, at the end of Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol, we sing about this on Yom Kippur, would be escorted by the people. If he came out of the Kodesh HaKodashim alive, it boded well for the people that they were innocent, that their kaparah was received, and he was escorted out. And a big party ensued, everybody was joyous, it was incredible. So, the Gemara there tells a story that there was a Kohen Gadol after Beis HaMikdash, "Kol ha'am holech acharei lav oso", he was being escorted by the whole nation, a huge entourage, grateful, excited, joyous, happy, partying. And what happened? All of a sudden Shmaya v'Avtalyon came around. And when the people saw them, they quickly pivoted, abandoned the Kohen Gadol who walked the rest of the way home by himself, and went to go escort Shmaya v'Avtalyon. Because these two great scholars, Shmaya v'Avtalyon of the zugos, this pair of great scholars, scholars of Torah Shebaal Peh, so Shmuel Auerbach wonders, "What? What happened? I thought you were supposed to escort the Kohen Gadol. He's the one who just achieved the kaparah. He's the one who served the Beis HaMikdash. How could they have abandoned him to go walk and escort Shmaya v'Avtalyon?" So, he explains because the Kohen Gadol serves in the Beis HaMikdash, the Beis HaMikdash is the mashal. Shmaya v'Avtalyon were the nimshal. The people who are the living, walking embodiment of Torah, they are living, vibrant, dynamic Beis HaMikdash. So, if you can serve a living, dynamic, vibrant, mobile Beis HaMikdash, that's who you go escort. That's who you walk. That's what life is meant to be. I don't remember where I saw this, but I say that's the pashut in the pasuk, "K'chol asher ani mareh oscha, kein ta'asu." Moshe Rabbeinu was not saying "K'chol asher ani mareh oscha", "Everything I show you, you do" is not everything I show you on the blueprints, on the plans, with the materials. Everything I show you who I am. Moshe Rabbeinu is a Beis HaMikdash. What he was telling the people is, "My life is incorporating all of these teachings, all these vessels, all these dimensions, all these plans. That's who I am. K'chol asher ani mareh oscha, everything that I show you by example and how I live and who I am, that's what you should go incorporate and live and execute on in your life. That's what you're meant to be. V'chein ta'asu, that is who and what we are meant to be." The Aron, in fact, let's look at its dimensions for a moment. Perek Chaf Hey pasuk Yud. "Also, Aron atzei shittim." Let's go with the first vessel now. The Aron, the ark, ark of the Aron HaBris, Aron HaBris. It was made out of acacia wood, atzei shittim. "Ammasayim u'cheitzi ammah, cheitzi rochbah, ammah u'cheitzi komah oso." It was one It was two and a half cubits in its length, two and a cubit and a half in its width, and a cubit and a half in its height. Ammah, an ammah is a foot and a half, approximately a foot and a half. An ammah, a cubit. So, you'll notice the Kli Yakar does, even if you don't, and here right now I'm going to give you a perfect example of what we just spoke about. That it's the Beis HaMikdash the Mishkan and its keilim are the mashal. All these dimensions, all these materials are to give us insight into ourselves. It's not just a cute vort Torah for later. So, the Kli Yakar, I think, does it best. Rav Luntschitz, the great Kli Yakar, where he now goes through our parshios, Tzav u'Metzora, and he looks at the dimensions, the materials, the details, and he says, "What can we extract? What can we learn about how to incorporate that into who we are in the Beis HaMikdash that is our lives?" Beis HaMikdash that is our lives. So, he notes something very fascinating. He says some of the vessels, the unit of measure of their dimensions are whole units, and others are integers, others are fractions. So, here the Aron is a fraction, two and a half, one and a half. Why not use whole numbers? It's easier. If you've ever had to build or assemble anything, if you got a whole number, it's just easier. When you go to Home Depot or Lowe's and you say, "Could you cut me the board two feet?" is easier than one and one eighth, one and one quarter, or one or whatever. Anything that you don't have to do a lot of math with is easier. So, why why sometimes is it fractions? Why sometimes whole numbers? So, the Kli Yakar says the following. It's a long Kli Yakar. I wish we had time to review the whole thing, but you have time, we have time. It doesn't all have to happen in the parsha class. Look at the Kli Yakar inside. It's an amazing Kli Yakar. Terei bo l'daber b'momer b'daf gimel roshei keilim nasu zer zahav. There are three core utensils, vessels in the Mishkan. Each of them had a zer zahav, had a golden crown around them. And they are the Aron, the Shulchan, and Mizbei'ach. The Aron, the ark, the Shulchan, the table, and the Mizbei'ach, the altar, had a golden crown around them. And Chazal say in Yoma in Beis that these three vessels are connected "gimmel ksarim, keser Torah, keser kehunah, keser malchus." These three vessels correspond with the three crowns that we are given, and that each of us is meant to wear, with the keser shem tov, of course, being the greatest, the highest of them all. V'avdei Yemin orei ki gimmel keilim eilu yechaleku b'minyan ammos. And if you look, you'll notice, if you compare and contrast these three vessels, you'll see that the way their dimensions are communicated and relayed are all are all different. I hope your Kli Yakar is a bigger font than mine. Namely, Aron hayu kolam oso shvurot, u'Mizbei'ach hayu kolam oso shleimos, v'hashulchan hayu miktzas shvurot u'miktzas shleimos. "Halo davar hu?" "Halo davar hu?" It's like the Kli Yakar says, "Huh, isn't that interesting?" "Halo davar hu?" I love that expression. "Halo davar hu? Huh, isn't that interesting? Isn't that interesting?" You like these Torah personalities, they come alive in their peirush. You picture them, you could hear them, you're living with them. That's why we say the We don't say the Kli Yakar said. Think about it. Every parsha, every shiur we ever give, such a beautiful thing about Jewish study. We don't say the Kli Yakar said. I've never in my whole life heard Rashi said, Tosafos said, the Rambam said, Rashi said, the Kli Yakar says. He says He's saying to me this right now, "Halo davar hu? Huh, isn't that interesting?" He's saying that to us right now. So, what's so interesting? What's he find so interesting? These three vessels, the core three vessels, which correspond with the three crowns, keser Torah, keser malchus, keser kehunah, the three that had the zer zahav, the golden thing, and yet interesting, if you look at it, huh, it's interesting, the Aron, all of its dimensions were broken, fractions. The altar, all their dimensions are complete numbers. And the Shulchan, the table, some are whole numbers, some are fractions. That's not a coincidence, says the Kli Yakar. Okay, if it's not a Kli Yakar if it's not a coincidence, then what does it mean? Why? Why is it that way? Again, he elaborates, but I'll just tell you quickly what he says. He says "Aron hayu kolam oso shvurot, u'Mizbei'ach hayu kolam oso shleimos, v'hashulchan hayu miktzas shvurot u'miktzas V'tzarach l'lamdeinu davar echad kol shleimus kol ammah chaser u'moral davar chaser u'tzarach shleimus chaser u'moral chachmah d'ein timtza." He says, "You know why? The Aron held the Luchos. The Aron is the symbol of Torah." When it comes to wisdom, knowledge, Torah, you're never whole. You're never complete. You've never arrived. Nobody can say, "I know it all. I have it all. I hold it all." There's no such thing. So, each side of the Aron was a fraction cuz each side of the Aron corresponds with another aspect of Torah wisdom, but in all of Torah wisdom, we are incomplete. We're never done. We're never done. We're never finished. We have to see and recognize ourselves as forever incomplete, needing to grow. And then he goes on and he says, "Well, if that's the case, then you know, why does it come to the to the uh Shulchan? Why when it comes to the Mizbeach are you complete? And it comes to the Shulchan you're partially complete." Again, he applies it. I encourage you to see the rest of that Kli Yakar inside, but it's really very, very beautiful, a very fantastic insight. And an example of what the um Rebbe Volozhiner was saying, that we are the Nimshal. The Mishkan and its Keilim are the Mashal. And really, it's all a design and a program and a formula for us and for how and for how we live. So, another example. In Parshas Terumah, Perek Chaf Vav, Pasuk Yud Alef, Perek Chaf Vav, Yud Alef. "V'tzipisa oso zahav tahor mibayit u mibachutz t'tzapenu." When it came to the Aron, we covered it with pure gold from within and from without, and you make it of a gold crown all along. Now, gold on the inside, what a waste. What a waste. If you're the architect, the designer, and if you're a donor, I'd say to you, "Gold on the outside, I get it. Why? It's the superficial, the surface. Everybody sees it. You want it to be majestic and royal and beautiful. And so, it's golden on the outside, everybody sees. Gold on the inside? Nobody sees the inside of the Aron. Why would you waste money? Why would you spend money? Why would you use up this commodity of gold to put it on the inside? Why does that make sense? Why does that make sense? So, the Gemara in Yoma tells us, because "Amar Rabbah, talmid chacham she'ein tocho k'baro, ein bo talmid chacham." Because the Aron represents Torah. So, a person's going to be golden on the outside and be rotten, cheap, inexpensive on the inside? You're not a talmid chacham. You shuckle so hard in shul, and on the outside you look so pious and virtuous and righteous and religious, but really who you are inside is corrupt and contaminated and and duplicitous and hypocritical? That's not a talmid chacham. Talmid chacham must be tocho k'baro. Talmid chacham must be the inside has to match the outside. You have to be pure and genuine through and through. You have to be consistent. So, again, the Aron's designed that way not because the Aron's what matters, we matter. We who strive to be talmidei chachamim and we who are working and yearning and have ambition to be a living, vibrant, dynamic Aron need to know that part of our mission is to be tocho k'baro, for our inside and for our outside to match. Good. There's still one question then. Pasuk says it's gold on the outside, gold on the inside, and but it's made of acacia wood. Well, if it's gold on the outside, gold on the inside, so just make it out of gold. Now, why do you need the wood? So, I understand why you need the gold on the inside because you need to be consistent through and through. But once you're being consistent through and through, just fashion a nice piece of gold and make your Aron. Why do you need wood now at the core? Why do you need wood at the center? So, Rebbe Zalman Bloch, who was a Rosh Yeshiva, tells, says the following. It's a great insight. He says because even a talmid chacham needs to know that as golden as they are on the outside and the inside, inside of them is still wood. Wood grows from the ground. Wood is a part of nature. Wood is earth. Wood is material. Wood is physical. As holy, as spiritual, as high as we fly, as much as we try to be great, even the talmid chacham needs to stay rooted and know where they come from and what they're about. "Kol man she'adam m'lubash b'chomer gashmi, kama she'yigdal v'eizeh matzav shel kedushah v'taharah yehiyeh, einu yakhol l'hipared l'gamrei mikol inyanei hachomer shelola yischashev bahem." You can't ever think, this is when you're in danger. When you think that I'm detached, I rise above, I transcend the physical world. I'm so spiritual, so holy, then you're in trouble. So, a talmid chacham has to be golden on the outside and golden on the inside, but also has to have wood at the center, at the foundation to remember that we're rooted in this world, we're rooted down here on on earth. We have time for one more. Hmm. Such good ones. Perek Chaf Vav, Pasuk Yud Gimel. Still sticking to the uh Perek Chaf Vav, Pasuk Yud Gimel, sticking to the Aron. "V'asisa vadei atzei shittim." "V'tzipisa oso zahav." Sorry, not this one. Pasuk. I'm sorry, bear with me for one more moment. Yep. Uh No. Perek Chaf Vav, Pasuk Chaf Vav. I lost this pasuk. Hold on one second. The Yeri'os, we go through all of the Keilim, the Aron, and the Yeah. No. Maybe I'm not meant to do this one. "Amah mizeh v'amah mizeh b'odaf b'orech hayeri'ah ohel. Yes aru'ach al tzidei hamishkan mizeh umizeh l'chasoso." Perek Chaf Vav, Pasuk Yud Gimel. Yep. Perek Chaf Vav, Pasuk Yud Gimel. I'm sorry about that. Page 454. So, after we go through the vessels, we talk about the cover of the Mishkan. The Mishkan was made of curtains, 10 curtains, twisted with linen, turquoise, purple wool, a woven design on them, with the length of these curtains, how the curtains are hung, the loops that are made. But these curtains comprise the cover of the Mishkan. And here Pasuk Yud Gimel says, "Amah mizeh v'amah mizeh b'odaf b'orech hayeri'ah ohel." The curtains are a cubit on one side, a cubit on the other extra in length of the curtains of the tent. Why would they hang with extra material? "Yes aru'ach al tzidei hamishkan mizeh umizeh l'chasoso." They were hanging over the sides of the Mishkan on one side and on the other side in order to cover it. So, Rashi says, "Why would you make it extra material? Why would it be extra length?" Torah itself tells us, it hung a little extra over so that it would cover, says Rashi. "L'lamed Torah derech eretz l'yosif chos al hayofi." Torah here is teaching us derech eretz. And what is the derech eretz? The derech eretz is that we are careful of hayofi. It's beautiful. It's magnificent. So, we're careful. So, says Rebbe Simcha Zissel Broide, Rosh Yeshivas Chevron, "What does Rashi mean, chos al yofyam shel hayeri'os?" Are we being careful on the Mishkan's beautiful its beauty, these curtains and not get dirty and not get soiled and not get stained? What does that mean? He says it's impossible. Why? Cuz we know that in the Midbar, "Simlosam lo balu me'aleihem." Their own clothing they never grew out of. Their own clothing miraculously never wore out, never got stained. So, if clothing didn't wear out or get stained, certainly the Yeri'os of the Mishkan, these curtains of this holy place never did. They didn't need dry cleaning. So, why have it hang over extra? And what is the derech eretz? So, he says, "Mevuar she'kmo she'mi derech eretz yeish l'hatmin atzmi'us dvarim hayafim mishum k'vodam." "Tzivsa Torah l'chasos umas yofyam shel hamishkan b'hadaram." What you hold precious and what you value, you protect and you cover. When you expose, you don't really care. Simcha Zissel says this is the definition of tznius. Tznius is not about prudeness. Tznius is not about some religious coercion. Tznius is not about power. Tznius is for both men and women. Tznius is about, you know, your most precious jewelry you put in the safety deposit box. Your most precious jewelry, you didn't wear to the parsha shiur this morning. Your most precious jewelry is in your safe. It comes out on special occasions. You're grateful, you're glad you have it. But what you care about, you value the most, you protect and you cover. And the things that we expose and we share and make accessible to the world, we don't really value. And that's what the Torah is telling us here. Derech eretz l'yosif chos al hayofi. It's a middah of derech eretz to know what you value and what is precious and to care about, to protect, and to cover it. That we don't share, we don't expose, we don't overexpose. We don't overexpose. Rashi says, "Lamah nimshalu Yisrael l'egoz?" Why are the Jewish people compared to a nut? I have my own answer to that. "Mah egoz zeh atzei ra'ah v'chol ha'eitz ein nikach b'shum s'choy, potz'mo u'tzo'mo u'g'rushav u'g'rushav ochelim, kach Yisrael tz'nu'im v'anvim v'chol ma'aseihem b'tzina u'm'chubim." A nut on the outside it looks like a hard shell, a worthless nut. When you crack it open, you find delicious, nutritional, valuable food on the inside. Similarly, the Jewish people, modest, humble, covered, and on the inside you see what we value, what is true, what is real. So, Rebbe Simcha Zissel this is the middah of derech eretz. So, I thought this very much connects with an insight that Rebbe Soloveitchik has. I should have given the forward of a whole article about it once cuz I think that our generation arguably needs this more than any. And we'll end with this insight, which is a review. We've shared it before. "V'hivdil haParoches lachem bein hakodesh u'vein kodesh hakodashim." Later in the parsha, we're told about the Paroches. The Paroches, Perek Chaf Vav, Pasuk Lamed Alef. The Paroches is the curtain. And the curtain separates between the holy and the holy of holies. The holy of holies, the holiest place on earth, was sectioned off, was separated by the Paroches, by the curtain that separated it. Says Rabbi Soloveitchik the following, listen carefully. He says, "From the time I was young, I learned to restrain my feelings and not to demonstrate what was happening in my emotional world. My father would say that the holier and more intimate the feeling, the more it should be concealed. There's a hidden curtain that separates between one's interior, our kodesh and our kodesh hakodashim. What location is more sanctified than the inner sanctum of one's emotional life? If all is going well and one's heart overflows with happiness, reveal the deep interior of your soul to God. But you don't have to reveal it to others lest the stranger profane the holy of holies. If on the other hand, someone is in dire straits, mired in the cloud of pain and suffering, finding himself abandoned and alone, he should reveal his thoughts before Hashem. He should cry to him and supplicate behind the curtain. The stranger should not approach the holy of holies lest his empathy he profanes the sanctity of the mute pain that burdens the sufferer. Lo yavo, a person who is zar can't come. The kohen gadol's rendezvous with his creator is in solitude. Rabbi Soloveitchik describes him Here he describes, I think sadly, I'm not suggesting we emulate this. He says, "My father never kissed me. A count of the Litvak, a cold Brisker. The Rav said, "My father never kissed me. When he took leave of me, he would press his hand into my hand and say, 'Go in peace and may Hashem watch over you.' A casual onlooker, were he to hear these routine words, might have been taken aback and mumble to himself, 'Dry Brisker coldness.' But that observer witnessed only the exterior, that which was outside the curtain of my father's personality. Did not comprehend that his interior, his kodesh hakodashim, was full of mercy and compassion, contained a refined and bold love for his children, incessantly concerned about their welfare, sacrificing himself for their future. His entire being was overwhelmed with love. At the same time, he was careful not to violate the warning that no man shall be in the tent of meeting, protecting the modesty of his emotional life. I'm not suggesting I I I received kisses from my parents and I give kisses to my children. I think our generation needs a lot of love and affection, verbal and otherwise. I'm not suggesting that we imitate the Rav in this way. But is this in Is this insight not only not brilliant but necessary for our generation? Social media has peeled back the curtain. And everyone thinks that not only is it mutar, but it's a mitzvah today to share with the world every feeling, every experience, every emotion, every everything. Every dessert you have, everything. It's a mitzvah to share. And the Rav is saying again, the prescription for the Mishkan is a prescription for our lives. We need curtains. We need to have our own kodesh hakodashim. There has to be feelings and experiences that don't have to be shared with the world. That they represent the innermost sanctum, the innermost sanctuary, the holiest place within ourselves, the personal, the private, that we have them. And we have to reinstate that and we have to preserve that, we have to teach that within our children. Cuz the oversharing and overexposure, and again, I think this insight of the Rav about the role of the paroches really stems so beautifully with this insight that we saw from the Telzer Rosh Yeshiva about the cover and Rashi that derech eretz Derech eretz is to cover that which is yafeh. What you value, what you hold most valuable, what is most dear to you, you don't just share, you don't just expose, you don't walk down the street and say, "Look and see." Now, the application in the world of tznius, both for men and women, is that when a person lacks tznius, when they dress immodestly, what they're saying is, "I don't really value my body. I don't really value who I am. I don't save it for the right setting and the right person and the right time, but I just share it. I share it." So, just like we're living in a world where people share their nakedness physically, we're living in a world where people are sharing and exposing their nakedness spiritually and emotionally too much. And we need to put back the paroches. We need to put back the reos and the michseh and the cover. We need to recognize that derech eretz once again. And that, I think, will help our mental health. It We're not doing it punitively. We're doing it because perhaps that will help us with our mental health. So, thank you very much. The lunch alert is at 12:30. 7:30 tonight, we go with the Friediker Rebbe. And in between, I'm happy to have any conversation of what you'd like to contribute to our mikdash me'at and our future growth. Till next time, stay happy, stay healthy, stay holy. We've never cleared out a room so quickly as that.