Pesach: The Dew And the Door - The Great Inspiration of the Avnei Nezer

Okay. And welcome everyone to this week's Monday afternoon national ag. Welcome everyone. We have a a special share prepared uh in preparation of the yumptiff of pesa. Make sure that for uh your pesak you have uh the hagada in English. This here as we mentioned it's available in Spanish and French. Uh we have a safer on pes and the hagada kadesh magaka. These are all available and if anybody wants to participate in upcoming the next safer in the queue is the safer pishua of the published by art scroll in English uh hashem for the upcoming three weeks. Okay. All are times of coming close to Hashem that we so to speak. It says man of we meet with Hashem. We come close to him and therefore as the Yumpt of Pesak is approaching a Jew has a great elevation and inspiration to try to take advantage of this time. But sometimes when we want to elevate ourselves, we sometimes feel bogged down. We feel sullied. We feel dirtied and we don't feel that we're worthy to take that step and to approach a bar. So what we'd like to examine is the special opportunity that uh Pesak presents to us that even so to speak if we're a meas we have the opportunity to uh make great advances and strides in a hashem. Let's begin with the well-known question of the she is in the hagada is asks the well-known question the one night of the year that we pride ourselves that we do things in order is le no other night of the year or time do we have this program where we read the program before the yam in other words on sukus we don't start off by saying uh kadesh leoi you know we don't list the order of operations we do with what we have to do without announcing it the night of the sedar we have a program however you sing it by the way this order is attributed to either rashi or one of the balattoyus And you would expect then that this order should be very specific. And yet normal the order the the regular order of operations is we first wash and then we sanctify. Like it says in usually you wash something and then you purify it. You p you clean something and then you polish it. You clean something and then you paint it. It's typically it's sra and the one night of the year that we pride ourselves that we do things in order. It seems like we're doing it out of order and then or sanctify and then wash. Isn't the regular order of operations? Now we know that in the of Mus the first day of Pes we say tal why do we pray for tal simply it's beginning um the rainy season is over the summer is starting and it's time to stop asking for the rain and to mention the do however there's a much deeper reason and a internal connection between an internal connection between the D, the prayers of the D and the of P. You know the Gmorrah says in Tusal even asked improperly and responded properly. What was the improper request and what was Hashem's proper response? The Pik says The Jewish people made an improper request. We said, "Hashem, be like the rain to us." God says, "My daughter, you ask for something." That's something sometimes it's needed, sometimes it's not needed. I will be to you something that is always needed. A very interesting garra. The garra says we made an improper request of aesh. We asked that hashem should be like the rain and hashem says no I'll do better than that. I'll be like the do. Why is rain an improper request? Why is do a proper request? Says thebish inash page. This is the first init. He says scientifically there's a basic difference between the rain and the D. The rain comes from the moisture in the atmosphere. It comes from the moisture in the air down here below. And when enough moisture is in the air and the sun shines on it and the uh water vapor rises, it then gathers in the clouds and when that water in the clouds condenses, then the rain falls. In other words, how would you describe the rain? The rain's origins are down here in this world. Actually, they're in the great bodies of water. They're in the oceans. They're in the seas. And the sun shines on the water, turns the water into water vapor. Water vapor is lighter than air. The the water vapor rises, it condenses into the clouds. And when enough water vapor gathers, it rains. So rain starts below and then comes from on top. Not so the de. Now the reason why it doesn't always rain is because there isn't always water available in our atmosphere. But de starts off in the upper heavens and there there's always moisture and that's why the de is never withheld. So the fundamental difference between rain and de is rain starts off down here in this world. The water vapor rises it condenses up in the heavens. Not so do de do. Every single morning you go out your grass will be moist. Why it didn't rain? The answer is it's not coming from the rain. It's the de. And the dew is never withheld. There's always water in the upper uh heavens and therefore there is always tal says the rain and the due reflect two different ways with which Hashem interacts with the Jewish people. They are called. What is isa deat? Isa is where we take the first step where Hashem says open up for me like the opening of a needle and I will open up the world to you. Means we take the first step and then Hashem responds in kind. You know the was very excited when the elevator was invented because said that the elevator is a perfect mush to where you press the button you put take a step forward you put your best foot forward then Hashem takes you the rest of the way up that is called sat where the the efforts start down here in this world but there's another way with which Hashem interacts with us and that's isa what's is susah is we're going on our merry business. We're minding our own business. We don't we don't make any advances. We don't take the first step. But Hashem comes to us. He grabs our lapel. He lifts us up and he says, "Rabid, let's get going where the inspiration comes from Hashem's advances toward us." Now, Hashem doesn't usually do that. Usually, Hashem expects us to take the first step. But sometimes we could say Hashem Hashem you return to us and then we will return. Hashem tells us no and then I will return to you. But these are two different modes of behavior. Two different modes of hash is where does the inspiration begin? Does it begin with us or does it begin with Hashem? The rain is symbolic of isarusa deat where we take the first step where just like the rain the moisture comes from down here and then it condenses in the clouds that reflects Hashem's expecting us to take the first step. The do on the other hand so to speak obiates the need for us to take the first step. The do is reflective of Hashem coming and inspiring us. So says the Garinus, we made an improper request from Hashem. We ask God, be like the rain. Be like the rain means when you see that we take the first step. Please respond in kind and accept our meager and small efforts. And Hashem says, I'll do better than that. I'll be like the dude to you. I will inspire you. I will awaken you. I will arouse you. So the rain represents us taking the first step. The D represents Hashem taking the first step says Ravier Shapiro in his hagada or hame. He says based on this yos dash we could explain why on sukus we d for rain and why on pes we d for because fundamentally there are two times of the year that are very different from each other. In the month of Tish, it's the month of Den. Rebelar says the world was created in Tish. Rebelar says Rebelar is a follower of Shamai. Rebelar holds the world was created with midas and therefore for anything to happen you need Shuva and the way the world operates is we always have to take the first step. Therefore in the month of tish we dive in for rain. We say, "Hashem, the the most we could ask of you is that after we take the first step, you respond in kind." Not so the of Pes. There's a different world order in the month of Nissan and the of Pes. In the month of Nissan, and the Yumpt of Pes, Hashem does even more than he does in Tish. In Tish, Hashem expects us to take the first step of Chuva and then he'll respond in kind. But think about the circumstances that Hashem performed the miracles of Pes. We were in Mema. We had no merit. We had no we were we were languishing. We were we were wallowing. We had a low morale. We had a slave mentality. And we had nothing to our credit. And Hashem came and he gifted us mitzvah. And Hashem lifted us out of Mitsim. So therefore in the month of P a month of Nissan and the PES what do we daven for do not because we need the do because asking for do is symbolic of the relationship that we're able to ask Hashem for during this time of the year and I want to add a special to this because we're going to come back to this and tus a little bit later when we see the this is a general idea that the Yumpt of Pes and the month of Nissan is of inspiration from above. In fact, you know, in the Yro foresh some people say it, some people learn about it. At least we'll learn about it. There's a phrase there. It says the month that salvations in it are surround. So the simple meaning is in the month of Nissan were surrounded by salvation. Pesak, exodus, redemption, the splitting of the sea. However, the word machif has another meaning. Mako could be on credit. The lion of mak, you know, sometimes you go to the store, you take orange juice, you take milk, you take a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread. The storekeeper says, "Okay, I'll write it in the pinas." Meaning at the end of the month, you'll pay me. You're buying it on credit. In the month of Nissan, all the salvations Hashem gifted us were on credit. On credit means we weren't deserving. We weren't worthy. We didn't get it because of anything we did. It's on credit. By the way, the also says that this expression in the in the in the indicates that we don't deserve it in this month. This month we're so to speak naked and bare meaning we don't have any merits. We don't have any. You know there's a beautiful idea that is said from of major of it's I originally saw it in the for later found it in the of the you So think about what's the name of this Yamiff. Anybody know the holiday coming up? Let's see. Do we have any? Come on. If somebody asked you where are you going for? Where you going for Pes right now? Why why is it go why is it called Pesak? Well, Hashem jumped over our homes. Wow, Hashem jumped over our homes. Amazing. What a what a great miracle. Really, of all the miracles that we see in the time, that's the most important miracle that we want to commemorate that Hashem jumped over our houses. And what if I mean what about what about what about why is that so significant that Hashem jumped over our homes? And it says he jumped over the door. So the quotes of that symbolically, Hashem typically asks of us, open up for me a hole the size of a needle and I'll open up the world for you. But you need to open up the door first. Usually God asks us to open up the door. He asks us to take the first step. But when it came to Pesak, Hashem jumped over the door. You know what that means? He obiated the need for us to open up the door. Hashem said, "I'm coming. I'm opening up the door for you." The significance of Hashem jumping over the door is not that he jumped over the door and he saved us. Although that's significant, the symbolism is he jumped over the need for us to take to initiate and to take the first step. invar and says that there are three to that had and it's really expressed in the med that the Raji asked what does it [Laughter] mean and then we know sometimes so God calls us his mother. Sometimes he calls us Bi. Sometimes he calls us Aoi and sometimes he calls us Emi. So, Hashem starts off by calling us his daughter, then he calls us his sister, then he calls us his mother. What's the meaning of this? These different names that Hashem calls us. So the kma says there are three yam for claw is sometimes God says okay I understand you're weak you're a rookie you're a novice you're low I will influence you I will inspire you sometimes it's mutual where we both together advance toward each other and sometimes it's on such a high level we're on such a high level where we initiate the whole thing the yumptiff of sukus were on the highest level. We're the ones who repented for the and we brought down the anan. So God unsukas were his mother. We influenced him. Shuis, we went up to Hari. We prepared ourselves. God came down to Hari. We're his sister. It's a mutual relationship. But the Pesak, we're his daughter. What does it mean we're his daughter? where his daughter means he influences us completely. It's initiates. I just want to add I never thought of this before. How beautiful it is according to the that when the Garin says that asked Hashem, Hashem be like the rain and Hashem says no that's not good enough that I should be like the rain that you should need. I'm going to do better. Look what Hashem calls us my daughter. Did you notice that in the Garus, Hashem refers to as his daughter because he's trying to explain why he's going to be like the dude to us. He's going to give us a he's going to take the first step. So sinceam is trying to be mashia on us with his in that context he calls us my daughter you know there's the night of the brings down some tough that we say and we open up the door in our family of a minog we open the door we say so loud that even if doesn't come just the decel of the shout of will wake up the dead that alone will bring that's our minhag anyway so what's the symbolism of opening up the door the night of the sedar shagada says the symbolism of opening up the door is to indicate the night of the sedar all the doors are open typ Typically in order to open doors you need to access them. You need to have the key. You need to turn the key. The night of the seder God advances to us. He takes the first step. He initiates. He opens up for us. Then the pes of Nissan is is and coming back to the you're right. The rest of the year there's a different order. The rest of the year is says first it's and then you got to wash and then you anoint. You wash and then you shine. You wash and then you paint. That's the typical order. But there's an unusual order the night of the sedar. The night of the sedar it's not in order. And therefore the quotes his father that since we were unworthy we were a so too in all generations Hashem is the night of the sedar we just jump into kadusha we do it the say that if you feel bogged down if you feel dirtied sullied the night of the sedar we just jump into kadusha First we do kadesh and then we do or the order of the sedar is a very unusual order. You know it's interesting Vikenzal points out on Russash heaven forbid to have nuts because nuts are gamatri the most common shilas I get on rash sh is my wife allowed to put pistachios in this and that it's and we have to stay away from I always tell people also you should stay away from because is gamach You know that just like when you you stay away from nuts because it's are also so that's also you should stay away from them. Don't just stay away from nuts. Stay away stay away from also anyway people should stay away from the way they stay away from nuts on rash. And yet the Ram says the night of the sedar you want to get kids to ask. So you give them nuts. Nuts. The night of the sedar onash you wouldn't even think about a nut. And the night of the sedar you're giving it out at the table. The night of the sedar. We're not afraid of nuts. We're not afraid of tuma. We're not afraid of the dark side. Because the night of the sedar is a night of great kaduca. We just jump into kaduca. We'll worry about the orat later. So you'll ask a very important question. You'll ask friends that really if the night of the sedar is so to speak a freebie where the says even if you do nothing on your part I will come to you and inspire you and awaken you and help you take the first step. Then you would expect the night of the sedar we wouldn't have to do so many mitzvah. The night of the sed we should just take it easy and allow God to inspire us. And yet the night of the sedar we do more mitzv than any other night of the year. Why are there so many mitzvah? I thought it's the last night of the year the last time of the year that you'd expect to do mitzvah is when is available and we do a lot of mitzvah tonight of the sedar. I don't know I might speak about it Wednesday night. First of all the avu says there's a minimum of 12 mitzvah zach 12 mitzvah and then there's a tradition from the that there are 64 mitzvah we do the night of the and wrote a about sedar he lists over 200 mitzv that we do the night of the sedar. So what in the world we're saying it's the night of if this is available then why are we doing so many mitzvah of student of the and he says this is such a good question. This is the question of the the asks with all this about and then or that is inspiring us and awakening us and arousing us. What are all these mitzvah we need to do? Why do we have to do these mitzvah? I thought Hashem is gifting us the night of the sedar. And the answer is we do these mitzvah. It's not for the night of the sedar. It's because if you want the roy and the influence of the isa to last, then you need to capture it through action. If you want the taste to linger, yes, God is arousing us tonight of the sedar, but how do you hold on to it? How do you ensure that this will last beyond pes? How do you ensure that when you eat the matzah the taste will stay in your mouth? The only way to do that is we got to capture the yes God is gifting us great spiritual energy but if you want to hold on to it you want to keep it you got to do many many many mitzv the purpose of the mitzv is not because we have to take the first step the purpose of the mitzvah is to hold on to all the great spiritual gifts that hashem is giving us that's why we tell the Just like if you eat the pes, but if you have a brownie afterwards, it's going to lose the flavor and you're not going to have the taste of matzah in your mouth. So too, you're right. God is spiritually gifting us great levels of kaduca, but if you want it to linger, you want it to stay in your mouth, you want to hold on to it, you got to do a lot of mitzvah. Otherwise, it's like So let's just end with this you know what do we call the last day of PES the day after so it depends in so you call it that's why you need to come to America and this way we have why do we have what does So the swarm tell us what what it takes us two days to accomplish in America you could accomplish it in one day in Aritz is but what is this name the last day of Pes oh what a brilliant name who ever thought of that what a creative name the last day of Pes we had nothing to call it so we just called a we don't call it a shukus Why we don't call what is this? What's the meaning of the name? The satireba says and this is not found in the deo my friend reblene showed me in the satireba wrote uh pamphlets or volumes called in that on the one hand it's very beautiful that hashem so to speak gifts us great spiritual levels on the first day of pes hashem says even if you didn't take the first step. Normally, you have to open the door. I'll jump over the door. I'll obiate the need for you to open the door. I'll inspire you. I'll influence you. I'll awaken you. That's beautiful. But there's an element of shame in that. There's an element of embarrassment in that. It's like it's embarrassed bread. You ever hear the expression? There's a question. Why did God create us? He created us to give us. So, I have a great idea. So just put us in. No, the says we'd be embarrassed to to get something for free. So Hashem put us in this world to do mitzvah to earn it so that we could get likewise the yumpt of pes reflects on their lowest level where we couldn't we couldn't take the first step. We were naked and bare. We are mente awaken us. But we're it's a this should be the last time that we should ever be on such a low level that the should have to initiate the relationship. Hashem should have to awaken and inspire us. We we're yearning for a time that we're on a higher level where Hashem doesn't have to call us where Hashem could call us where Hashem could even call us. That's the meaning of the phrase. But nevertheless there's this great rule the first step of entering into you have to remember we were in the we had no merits we had no we had no mitzv and even there hashem just said kadesh jump into kadusha you worry about cleaning yourself off later and I think that's the reason why we have this rare description where the Torah emphasizes that this communication. You know that when we say in the zoo, what was the divine revelation in that we refer to when we say the says the was Hashem revealing himself to and saying and the emphasis is on the fact that it was that anytime a person feels low, sullied, dirty, the there is There is a mode of operation where the says just jump into and there's no more dedicated and appropriate time to be able to do this than so may we be to heed the call of kadesh and hashem merit all the great spiritual gifts that hashem is waiting to give to us. Rabbi say have a great day. Thank you. Thank you. Sure. Sure.