R' Moshe Tzvi Weinberg - Reawakening our Desire in the Month of Adar

[Music] as we just mentioned we're in the month of Adar which is the month of simcha and there's really no greater simcha in the world than the opportunity to study Torah what I'd like to discuss tonight and talk about tonight is what it means to to really fall in love with Torah sometimes we spend a lot of time doing Torah and doing mitsos and if we do Torah and mitzvos for any reason that's a good thing but I want to try in the in the spirit of the month of Adar and we'll talk about why it's Unique to the month of other to try to reconnect the Torah in a more in a deeper way in a more meaningful way to do Midsouth not only because we have to but because we want to so let's jump in a few Pirate shows to go Empire Source number one I hope everyone has the sources they're optional no obligation to follow in the sources if you'd like the sources you're welcome to use them it's first of all the plastic that we're all familiar with sometimes from one year to the next we forget that this puzzle actually appears in partially as opposed to parsha's ISRO because chronologically we're used to thinking of it in terms of of something that came before the Jewish people came to cabal sator and that is what the plastic thousand Source number one we know that one of the greatest statements arguably the greatest statement the Jewish people ever said was NASA venishma that they expressed a willingness to do whatever it is that akadash was going to ask for them before they even knew what it was going around the world and Hashem is trying to find someone who's interested in this Torah and no one seems to be interested until finally who comes to the Jewish people and says would you be interested in my Torah and they say Nas seven Israel will take the Torah before we even know what it is you don't even need to present it to us we're not interested in finding out the details of the mitzvos we don't even need to hear the big picture this plastic appears again at the end of Paris Mishra now there's a big discussion that we shown and when exactly this possible said was this in fact said prior to Cabana Satora was it said after cabal satars it appears seems to appear if I were to read the Torah simply followed by parts but if you look at the gemara in Source number two the gemara seems to understand and certainly the reason understood it this way that this project was said prior to Kabbalah Satora because what happened at what happened when the Jews actually stood at the mountain Source number two says the Jews stood at the foot of the mountain because I weren't satisfied with the Jewish people standing at the foot of the mountain one step further um lifted the mountain suspended it over their heads and threatened the Jewish people to accept the Torah Allah Hashem said to the Jewish people if you're willing to accept my Torah then mutav then everything's good shall put down the mountain and the Jewish people will be able to continue in a beautiful relationship with that'll be the end of the Jewish people there you shall be buried Hashem threatened us so to speak into accepting the Torah now what's so strange about this this explanation of the gemara and possible they stood at the foot of the mountain says the gemara no it means they stood Under the Mountain held the mountain over the head and threatened them into accepting the Torah what's so puzzling about this this Kamara so toes was right there on the side of the page Source number three it says didn't the Jewish people already say they want the Torah didn't the Jewish people say NASA venishma isn't it true the Jews said to Accurate before they were even told what the Torah is we're excited about it we're enthusiastic about it we're prepared to keep it at all costs and then afterwards threatens us to take the Torah we had signed up for it already toast was rights and Source number three kafale America's the rhetorical question didn't the Jewish people already say NASA venishma didn't they say well do it wholeheartedly before we even know what it is you know simple muscle imagine you go to your neighbor you go to your neighbor's home it's a snowy day it's been a light winter but imagine it's it's a snowy day and you're outside with your shovel and your neighbor has uh has a snowblower you figure instead of breaking your back shoveling snow I'll go to my neighbor he's a good friend of mine maybe he'll lend me a snow blower so I'll go over to my neighbor and knock on the door and I see his driveway has been clean for hours and I'm just getting started I said would it be possible to borrow your snowblower so he says I would I would be thrilled it would be an honor I'm happy and then you pull out a gun and say if you don't give me yours whoa I already said yes I already agreed 100 100 committed next thing you notice I'm threatening us into accepting his Torah so say the ballietosos what was the threat how did that come to be explains toast first and Source number three where it's bolted [Music] when the Jews originally signed up to accept the Torah so they had a certain image of what it was going to be like what it would mean to come to the mountain what do we mean to hear God speak what do we mean to receive the Torah they show up at the mountain and because who starts to speak and there's lightning and there's Thunder and there's chauffeur and there's darkness and there's bright lights and it's it's a very intense scene every time he speaks on their souls are flying out of their body literally between each of the others in order to bring the Jewish people back and at that point the Jewish people said well this is too much we didn't sign up for this we signed up for a Torah you know a tour that's Pleasant it's reasonable this is too intense for us and with at that point after having said massive and ishma assuming that Tower is going to be a certain way now all of a sudden they were overwhelmed and they decided to sneak away from the mountain and it was at that moment Hashem says to them you're not going anywhere come for lamb harki gigas who says you're here to stay and it was at that point Hashem forced them and pressured them to accept the remainder of the Torah that's how the valley of toast was understand this question offered a different answer you know when it comes to Torah there are parts of Torah that are easy to learn easy to understand not overly Technical and our parts of Torah that are very very difficult to understand and it takes tremendous effort for a person to learn says the measures and Source number four is the Jewish people did not accept threaded them into it so says the Madras but I thought the Jewish people wanted the Torah why did Hashem have to pressure them into accepting the Torah the IM tomar and if you'll say Allah maybe Hashem had to threaten us into accepting the Torah says the measures not at Allah when Hashem offered them the Torah the Torah let's think about torsa for a moment it's a tiny little book you could print it the size of this ezrael you can carry the entire in your pocket it's a very small book 5845 sentences 5845 it's a lot of stories what does it mean to keep Shabbos according to Taurus what is okay it's a lot easier than all the mission of Brewers and so many others you know Rabbi Ruby it's four volume uh work on on Shabbos so keeping the Taurus it's not so scary it's not so threatening so the Jewish people thought they were signing off an exciting storybook a couple of laws not too complicated not too detailed all of a sudden they come to the mountain and Hashem says surprise I have something else to give you and I've got his brother who lifts up the mountain reaches under the mountain and pulls out a beautiful leather-bound set of shots 2711 pages of impossibly difficult legal terminology to understand one page of it could take a lifetime and yeah who says here this is It's a package dealership comes with and if that's not enough right you've just won instead of foreign and it was at that point the Jewish people said whoa we didn't sign up for this says the magician whom and Source number four where it's bolded in the middle of the paragraph what were they forced into accepting is made up of the finest details some things are easy some things are very difficult this is the language of hazal these are our greatest stages speaking because I'll say can be as painful as death itself also come of us it could be as difficult as the grave itself a painful experience Consortium has something to say about everything tells you how to tie your shoes in the morning tells you how to take a shower Taurus around pet controls every single detail of your life and therefore Claudia sauce that this is too much for us we can't handle this it was at that point Marky gigas even though they said not sevenishma they showed a basic desire to accept it was far too much leafish with all your heart and all your soul and all of your faculties all of your money to invest in tourism to investor Schwab has a tremendous tremendous investment and the Jews thought they weren't ready for it and as they tried to sneak away from the mountain of course well the mountain over their head and said you're not going anywhere so these are the two classic explanations that are offered the toaster on the side of the page and the majority all of this changed on Purim California gig is that coercion that pressure to accept the Torah entirely changed what do I mean by that the Martin Shabbos goes on in Source number five because tomorrow tells us what would happen if a person comes to the olama MS you come to the world of Truth after 120 years and you're sitting down with and Hashem says come let's see how you did on your life and Hashem he opens up to the first page let's see let's see if you if you were mikaim all the midst of the Torah let's see how you did and Hashem opens up the I'm reminded one time the great maghribution saw him he saw him one morning he looked exhausted particularly exhausted that morning so Sean goes over to him and he says uh he says Rebellion what's what's going on you seem you seem very very tired so he says yeah Sean I got up this morning at about 3 30 4 o'clock he said so early Yeshiva minions at 7am what were you doing out of bed at three o'clock so he says you know one of the first really the first to jump up like a lion to greet a karishbach in the morning so he says it just so happened this morning 3 30 3 45 I opened my eyes and I was up so I figured is when you wake up you gotta jump out of bed I know I thought a couple hours until the Yeshiva minion but I I wanted to be Makai and a value of Beyond said could you imagine after 120 years I get to the old Ms and Hashem pulls out you know the entire puts it down on the table so to speak and Hashem says come let's begin your examination Hashem opens the cover cracks it open the first page the first Hashem says did you get out of bed like a lion do you think I want to get out on the first question it's a big test they want to get out on the first question right so a person has to have a certain enthusiasm so a person comes to the whole of my MS you sit down with Hashem and Hashem says and you didn't do so well you aren't you aren't the best Jew you could be so what excuse do we have he turned to God I I told you at our Cena I wasn't cut out for this I told you long ago I can't handle this you pressured me into this says the gemara until the time of Purim the Jewish people in fact had that excuse it was a legitimate excuse to turn and say I never wanted this you pressured me into this says the good modern Source number five armor of Akbar yaakov from the fact that we were forced into it Mikan from here is a modal rabba a tremendous excuse little Raisa for Torah we can excuse ourselves from a poor performance in Torah don't get too excited because all that changed on Purim says and told the story of Purim the Jews were still operating under coercion once Purim cameos in the time of the Jewish people re-accepted the Torah 's they really accepted that which they had previously accepted at arsena they were forced into it but they really accepted you don't have it on the page of funny Rashi says they were so thankful to Hashem they felt so beloved by Hashem that they were saved from that madman Homan that it could have been a holocaust and not a single Jew lost his life her life right they were so thankful to Hashem they said we want to re-accept the Torah not out of coercion but out of love and from that point forward the Jewish people are expected to find that inner strength to be able to keep all of Torah and that's what changed now I want to just mention parenthetically okay we'll just pause this part of this year for a moment but since we read this message which spoke so critically of the the Torres Strait experience the painful experience of learning gemara I want to just show you a little bit it would only be fair to show you a little bit of the sweetness of gumar and now a person who is willing to wear a card and is willing to look carefully despite again the nitty-gritty details of a couple of lines of gemara but if you look carefully you find the sweetest things in the world I wanted to give you one example again in the spirit of the the sweetness of Torah from an example that emerges from the Gambar okay but really just parenthetically but it's worth a thing it's an amazing Insight from the villanue the gemara says it's Source number six the guitar is discussing how do we know that Esther and McGillis Esther was written with ruachakodesh how do you know it's not just a history book the truth is you get to the end of the Mcgill and it says if you want the history so go look in the secular history books that's how the Miguel ends clearly indicating that this is not a secular history book but even though you read through the McGill rashem's name doesn't even appear in the text how do I know that this is part of kisfayakodesh how do I know it's a divinely inspired work so the market has many explanations things that are found in Miguel's Esther that we can only have known if we had this foreign Homan said in his heart how are we supposed to know what Hamman said in his heart how can we possibly tell tell the reader of Miguel sister what hamon was thinking what Haman was feeling the only way we can know such a thing is if what is if Hashem tells us Hashem told us what happened was thinking so therefore said in this heart is an indication that the mcgillah was taught to us by Hashem divinely divinely inspired okay comes along and he says I'll give you a different proof the plastic says that Esther found favor in the eyes of anyone who met her everyone tried to claim that Esther was was their girl from their Nation right we know Esther concealed her her nationality and everyone wanted to take credit for Esther so again how do I know what everyone was thinking how do I know that each of the nations of the world wanted to take credit for us or it must be that Miguel says the matter became known to mortify again how do we know how do we know what Mordecai knew or how about the fact that after the Jews won that unbelievable military Victory not a single Jew took from The Spoils of War how do you know how do you know that there wasn't one Jew who reached into the pocket of some amaleki and stole his wallet how do you know how can we testify to such a thing the only way we could say any of these things is if the McGill was divinely inspired okay a variety of opinions how we know the McGill is written with roach comes along shmuel three lines from the end of source six and schwul says if I would have been there I would have given the best answer of all I would have given the knockout punch the greatest proof that McGillis Esther was written by Hashem was was taught to us by Hashem what proof would I have brought he says because the plastic says they they upheld and they accepted so says it was accepted what they accepted down below says that's the greatest proof of all it says rava I could ask a question on all the other approaches but shmuel glad kosher no questions on shmuel keyword Hashem said this is a beautiful work they were writing down below Hashem was signing off on says something in his heart how do I know what Harmon was thinking because without the mcgilla we see how Harmon's acting right it could be we're suggesting it's obvious what Harmon was thinking at that point as there was a a beautiful woman she was the pride and joy of the kingdom of course everyone wanted to take credit for Esther so again I could try to disprove all the other attempted proofs but Kim of akiblow Untouchable says rava it's an Untouchable proof that Esther was written with ruachakodesh what's so interesting about the fact that rava of all people is saying this is the most beautiful interpretation of the pasok because it was rava himself who in Source number five told us a different interpretation of kimovikivelu why do we how do we learn kimovika Shabbos that the Jewish people re-accepted that which they had been forced into at our Sinai how are we learning Source number six gave them the wisdom to write Miguel assessor down below so which is it which is the true interpretation of the Posse and rava you of all people are espoused in the opinion of yourself has told us a different interpretation what's going on here this is this is the world of gabbar that makes you so crazy and Toes doesn't say how do you learn two things from one possum so look at the sweetness of the gemara look at the a person who's in love with Hashem and is willing to work hard you find unbelievable things it's interesting with avram sure and one of the Contemporary uh great minds in Brooklyn writes many many farm so if I'm sure right to one of his farm that the Gematria of the word amalus the numerical Valley of the word amalus is the same as the word matoke because if you're willing to work hard you'll see something very sweet the villain of gold was willing to work hard and the villagoon showed us something very very sweet a little present a little early childhood this year for porn look what he says this is my uh this is my present too I hope you enjoy if you don't like you can give it back and I'll give you like a pineapple and a little thing of grape juice or something okay says the villain they're gone how do you learn two things from one possuk so they've only gone says an amazing thing if I were to open up a mcgillos Esther right now what would I find if I looked inside to see those words what would it look like it would look like a creonic sieve what does it mean a Korean exiv it means if I unroll the Magilla right now I would see the words in front of me Kimu Vicky Bell how do I hear it every time I go to school Kimu Vicky blue it's written one way it's written Vicky Bell and it's annunciated it's pronounced Vicky blue so says the villagon how could it be that I learned two things from a single pasok from a single phrase which is it says they've only gone well there's a Cree and there's a Sith is is expounding the way that it's written says it's explaining it the way it's written right who was mccabilit originally in singular who is the one person who is on top of the mountain so to speak when everyone else was under the mountain so means that the Jewish people re-accepted on Purim what the individual accepted at arsena he was the only one who wasn't forced into it what about him says that's following the way that the words are actually pronounced Ki movie kiblu okay beautiful so he shows us how we can extract two things from one person is not done yet because take a look look only the villain gone only a mind like and a heart like the villain they're going to catch such a thing look at look what I underlined if you're in Source five and six what is the gemara saying foreign to be able to pick up on such a such a Nuance to catch such a thing is really an unbelievable insight and again that's the sweetness that comes for the person who's willing to work hard and to try to to try to crack one's out on some of the intricacies of gemara okay but now back to our topic so the Jewish people had an amazing excuse they lasted until perm Purim came and that was it no more excuses the Jews fell in love and the Jewish people accepted the Torah willingly and that's what the way that the Swarm talks to be able to apply something to our life that's really what I want to focus on for the remainder of our share what does it mean what does it mean to accept the Torah willingly not by force because I feel that I have to but to do missiles because I really really want to and I find pleasure in it and I see it as an opportunity not only a response it's also a responsibility but I see it as a privilege as an opportunity as a gift that Hashem has given me the opportunity to practice history so I want to share with you my own insight into a possible ancestor it's uh it's an interpretation that I came to based on something I saw from a great static name of sweetheart so let me show you how he reads the pasta and then I'll show you based on his you saw based on his foundation I'd like to suggest the following okay in verse number nine on us let's go back to the beginning of McGillis Esther is having an amazing party and the drinking at the party is kadat is in accordance with the law ainones no one is being pressured to drink oh pressure you could drink if you'd like to drink if you don't want to drink you don't have to drink alcohol that was the rule there was an abundance of Pleasures party but no one was pressured there was no coercion you could drink what you desired lazos the king set up the rules to do in accordance with the will of each and every person no one was pressured in accordance with your razum I think about his many interpretations a person was offered wine in accordance with their age so if you were 40 years old they brought out a 40 year old bottle of wine if you're 50 years old the 50 year old bottle of wine it was all the all the Delicacies in the world but was forced you didn't have to drink if you don't want to drink there was no peer pressure to drink okay says it's rehears of riminov a very deep prosthetic interpretation of this plastic he says what else could shashia mean besides drinking where else do you recognize that word from so he brings us to a mishna in we know that during the second temple period when the calling gullible would go into the Kurdish kadashim walk into the holy of holies you know in the good old days during bias reshone we would walk in to perform the avodan Yom Kippur there was an Arun the Arun was there the arancodis was there with the Lucas with the safer Torah unfortunately during bias Cheney the arm wasn't found there either had taken it into captivity when he conquered when he destroyed the first base of miktush or the king yoshio had hidden it away but the bottom line is how depressing he'd walk into the Kurdish kadashim and the room was empty so when he would come in to sprinkle the blood what was he sprinkling towards what was he sprinkling on there was no Arun there's no Aaron in the Quran once the RN had been removed the RN had been taken there was a rock there was a rock in the quotation that rock was there Mia most Naveen rishonam it had been discovered truthfully it had been there long before November but had been recognized and discovered during the period of the November showing him vicious and it was called the Evan shastia what does Evan chasia mean where today the Dome of the Rock stands right that rock that Dome of the Rock where unfortunately it's no longer in our hands right but that rock the Evan shasia is translated as the foundation stone because that's where Hashem founded the world when Hashem was creating the world where did it begin where did Hashem first so to speak place his presence down in this world and then build the whole world around it it was that Evan shastia the foundation stuff so says drink but shasia could also mean the foundation so now let's go back to the plastic and I'll show you a very very deep prosthetic interpretation of the plastic look how he interprets it the foundation he's using the word the foundation of that the foundation of religious life the foundation of the religious experience is ain't onus so let me tell you what a sweethearts of ruminover says it says the following one more word in the prosthetic terminology what's the concept of Ain or iron nothingness bittles complete self-negation Foundation of having a healthy relationship with Hashem is that Ain one self-negation has to be onus has to be forced it's very hard as human beings it's very hard to to crack to break our ego it's very easy when we work hard and a person is doing well financially a person is doing well spiritually first it is having any type of success in this world it's very easy to say was my strength and you pat yourself on the back and you take credit for it and you feel that I worked hard I deserve the credit if you want to have a real relationship with Hashem it's going to be hard but ain't be humble and onus and force yourself to be humble it's not so easy to do but challenge yourself force yourself to be humble and to give Hashem the credit for really everything that happens in your life that's what it's three horse women of ourselves but I think I can imagine that many of you understand where I'm going with this and I'd like to offer a different interpretation foreign the foundation of a religious experience is a in onas is that I serve Hashem not because I'm forced to serve Hashem but because I want to serve Hashem and if it's so beautiful at the end of the past like how does the plus again that this is what the king decreed who's the king incestor the manager says whenever it says the king without mentioning his name is talking about the king that's the foundation of a healthy and authentic religious experience is ain't onus that Hashem doesn't have to twist my arm to get me to do Toren mitsos wants the relationship to be so that's how you established it for all people La SOS what's the end of the past look in accordance with the will of each person that tormental is something that we desire to force us into it doesn't have to force ourselves to do but we're so excited to do so enthusiastic to do that I want to do it on my own that I'm longing for I'm not doing it just out of a sense of responsibility which is also true it is there a sense of responsibility but to get past that that more immature relationship with Hashem and to have a deeper connection to Hashem that I I feel privileged to be a Jew I feel honored to be a Jew I feel thankful that I have all of these opportunities to serve you in so many ways who takes away that Joy who tries to make Judaism a burden for us of course if Purim is the time when we're accepting this this degree of of simcha of excitement to be a Jew then of course the enemy of Purim is the one who takes it away from us who's the enemy of Purim it's Haman and Haman comes from a Malik comes whenever the Jewish people are developing an authentic keshire an authentic relationship connection to Hashem a Mali comes and tries to squash tries to destroy the simple that you has the joy the authentic Joy of being a being a Jewish person says the plastic and Source number 11. foreign the Jews came to a place called to feed them and lo and behold who shows up in her feed them none other than our arch nemesis amalek what's your feed why was your freedom called her feed them so the guy has two interpretations the first one happens to be I find very very interesting think about it said hedger and Source 13 says my Lush of your feet and why was that place called where feed them ready for this for those who are very practical people you'll like this answer a lot why was it called to feed them because their freedom was its name okay thank you very much all right why is it called to feed them because the sign when he got up on the exit said repeat them that was what it was called don't read into it so much okay good I'll go one step deep tells me about the nature of that place and when I understand the nature of that place I understand how it was that a Malik was able to attack how did a mullet get the upper hand in your feed them Yeshua where it's bolded in source 13. review that there was a weakening that there was a loss of connection to DeVry Toro or as Rashi brings it as often people refer to this what's the push-up shot the Jews were learning as well as they should be they weren't as connected as well as they should be but it's deeper than that it's much worse than that when a mother comes to town or in the language of the gemara Sharif I once heard a beautiful interpretation that their hands felt weak men that they felt the Torah was a burden it's not that they weren't as connected to Torah they were doing Toran mitzos but they felt burdened by they felt heavy from it they didn't feel privileged by it they felt that someone was punishing them by giving them the Torah and therefore we have to remind ourselves we have to always go back to that first encounter we have with the courage if we want to go back what's the foundation of the relationship what was it supposed to be just go back and listen in to the way that Hashem spoke to the Jewish people the very very first time Hashem spoke the very first damage and waited all those years to introduce himself and what did he say what was his opening sentence how did this time introduce himself to the world I am a Sam your God so immediately the Jewish people panicked oh you're going to try to control us you're going to place all these demands upon us says Hashem slowed down what does it mean to be your God why do I want to be your God and I took you what I took you out of captivity I freed you from the house of slavery says not only did I free you physically but I freed you mentally I allowed you to to leave that slave mentality behind you know how hard it is for a person who's coming out of jail who's coming out of captivity to transition back to regular life and Hashem set them free they were spiritually okay the emotional trauma didn't stop them from functioning when they left Messiah so Hashem says hold on a second I took you I freed you physically I freed you emotional emotionally mentally right I'm introducing myself as as your God so let's ask ourselves a very simple question if someone is wallowing in a dungeon for 210 years if someone is being held a slave and being forced to work back-breaking labor for 210 years and someone comes and saves them if I were to ask you one of two possibilities is the person saving them a someone who loves them and it frees them from that captivity because he loves them or B is the person freeing them because he hates them so I think we were all very obviously respond that the one who's freeing that person from captivity after such a long difficult period of time clearly loves them if the person hated them he would have left them in captivity let them suffer so Hashem says to Claudia Israel I am Hashem your God and I'm going to ask a lot of things of you but I don't want you ever to forget why I took you out of it sorry I took you out of mitzrayim very simply because I love you so guess what everything else dot dot dot everything else I'm about to say keep cautious but it's expensive but I'm giving it to you because I love you keep Shabbos but it's so restrictive I'm giving it to you because I love you I'm giving it to you simply because it's a continuation of this is the interpretation of Urbana one of the great reasons and if you want to know what that means if you want to know what my motivation in becoming your God is it's the exact same motivation I took care of its Ryan because I love you and I'm giving you all of the mitos simply because I love you and when a Jew stops and he thinks about that it's a different relationship is that a punishment it's not a burden it's not hard to get up in the morning and to face the responsibilities that a Jew has to himself or to herself in this world and I'd like to explain based on this comment to Robin something we say every single day in Shema what do we say in Shema as we accept upon ourselves the responsibility to serve Hashem is vahaya the major says that any time you see the word it's a magic word means something very joyous the way begins always something something treasure something bad he could go either way says so look at this plastic it's so beautiful it'll be a tremendous Joy it'll be a tremendous but how do you listen to my midsource do you listen to them as as God being some evil Taskmaster trying to control you or do you listen do you listen back into the voice do you hear the voice of Hashem I gave you mittos because I loved you and I freed you and if you hear if you could tap into that if you can understand why Hashem is giving you missiles then the higher there's going to be a tremendous symbol in your life and you'll be able to serve Hashem as the pastor concludes you won't spend your whole life serving God out of fear you'll serve a cottage out of love because we recognize that every single thing that a Kurdish baraku gave you is because he loves you know emotional Feinstein used to say an entire generation of Jews was lost because in the early years in America when it wasn't so easy to be a Jew when there was what to complain about Baruch Hashem I think we have it a lot easier today I think we could all recognize that but in the early days in the 1920s the 1930s what it meant to be a religious person in America men losing your job every single week that you are looking but you told your boss you're not coming in Saturday your boss said look for a new job and for week three there were people literally from week to week with mysterious but they carried it around like a heavy burden and they would often emotion finds he says they would say to their children to be a yid it's so broken it's so heavy it's so difficult to be a Jew and the truth is it's true a Jew is losing his job every week that is difficult to be a Jew but what didn't they tell their children they didn't finish the sentence it is sometimes hard to be a Jew it is a big commitment to be a Jew it is costly to be a Jew it is demanding of our time and resources to be a Jew but they didn't finish the sentence yes sometimes it should have to be it's hard to beat it's difficult to be a Jew but it's so worth it to be a joke it's so worth it and for all the struggles for all the challenges for all the for all the money that we have to invest and the time and the all the things we have to give up in this world in order to be a Jew but it's so worth it and we're so fortunate that Hashem gave us that opportunity remember I once read a story little kid went to school it's an Arab shoppess right so the motor says okay you know we're gonna have a Shabbos Abba right the kid comes in just just in his shop is closed it's very cute and he gets to make kiddish for the class so the kid comes he picks up the Kiddush cup and he starts the Silverside Kiddush and he goes what's that what's the I where'd you get that I so he says my father he says I got it for my father every week my father comes home after a long you know a long week of work there's so many emails that have to still be checked there's so many clients so the kid picked that up right oh yeah I have to shut off my cell phone to keep Shabbos such a terrible tragedy but unfortunately if we're not if we're not living a life of inspiratory mitsos if we're not living a life or we're filled with simcha or with the opportunity to be a Jew then God forbid that's what we pass on to our children so he passed on to our community so he passed on to Claudia Stone a Claudia so who feels burdens still standing under that mountain Cafe gigas where hashem's threatening us take my Torah or else it's true torah's a big responsibility the Boston of all people the founder of Hashem of all people was the one who said that was necessary because there's going to be moments when you're not inspired that right now NASA and nishma were so excited the boschemto who is filled with with excitement and joy for Yiddish kite said they're going to be mornings where you need to force yourself where you need to put a mountain over your head to get yourself up and to do it but that's not the way it's supposed to be that's not the ideal relationship with Hashem the ideal relationship with Hashem is the foundation of the relationship with relationship is really supposed to be ain't honest I don't need to be forced I don't need to be coerced I see it as a beautiful beautiful opportunity to live the life of a Jew who's observant of Toren the villagon said that there were three Mas chalim that the Dublin the famous the great Magid of known for his amazing Parables the villagon said there were three mashalem of the Magid where he explained with his Parable exactly what the posix's truest intent was and I want to share one of them with you because said about those same three mashallam they must have been said with because the muscle so precisely captures the feeling of the plastic of the word of the navi who is trying to express something says says the following mushroom the plastic is shy I want to jump to source 19. the plastic is a positive the project says before I even translate the public let's learn the muscle of the market the same Source 20. he brings he brings this muscle is the only place in the Savory quotes the Magid he brings this martial and again the Wilma Don said about this muscle this is exactly what ishaiah Navi was trying to express the clay itself in in expressing this process in paragraph so here's the muscle says the magnitude of verse 20. imagine a fellow he's been traveling by boat he's got a large suitcase with him and he arrives he comes from the road right he comes to the port let's imagine and he gets off the boat or he steps off a train and he has his bag with him he's holding his back and he says to the fellow there's a young man who's standing there looking for a little business and he this fellow turns him and he turns to he turns to him and he says would it be possible for you to carry my bag back to the house you know I've been traveling for so long I'm a little worn out he asked him can he can would it be okay for you to take the bag to my house I know I know you charge and I'm happy to pay and he asks him what his fears and he says I charge by the pound they charge by the distance no problem I'm happy to pay you and they come back to the house the fellow walks ahead and the sky's coming behind you swapping the suitcase he gets back to the house he gives him the bill and he sees it's an exorbitant amount so he says I don't understand you told me what your rate was you told me you charge by the pound why why is the bill so expensive he says what do you mean why am I charging you so much look at me I'm so worn out from carrying your back I'm schwitzing from head to toe I'm soaked I'm done for the day that was the heaviest bag I ever carried in my life and the owner turns to him the homeowner turns to him he says there's been a terrible mistake if you look that worn out and if this is my bill at the end of the day then I'm telling you without even opening the contents of this bag I can promise you that's not my back that's not my back I know my back what was in my bag he says is something that's what he says it's in the key of the kala it was light it was clean I don't know what you were schlepping you were slopping someone's gym bag filled with heavy weights or something but I can I can assure you if you're that burnt out from carrying my bag then you don't have the right back that's not my bag is exactly what ishai was saying on behalf of a courage go back to the plus again Source 19. the low OC caressa yaakov Kia got to be Israel if you've got to be Israel Jewish people if you're so worn out from being a Jew then low OC karasiako Hashem says that's not my back that's not my Yiddish that's not my Judaism that's not what Torah mitos is supposed to be yes of course it's hard work preparing for pesach of course it's hard work scrubbing the floor but if you can't do it with some degree if you're burned if you feel tied down by your feeling in the morning Hashem says that's not feeling that's not my intention it's filling that's not what my Torah looks like that's not my bag of Toren mitsos and therefore only a Jew who at the end of the day has worked hard and has put a lot of energy into tormentos but feels not burdened by it and not broken by it but feels energized by it that's the person who really has who really has bad of Torah and mitzvos my daughter I have a four-year-old daughter Hashem were blessed with four children my wife and I we have a four-year-old daughter I'm sure and some of the cover here knows and she's very cute and she likes to prance around the house and she has this little like princess crown that she likes to wear all the time it's beautiful you know every Jewish girl is a princess of urban sholom so so one of her big sisters said to the other day Mira isn't it annoying for you to always wear that crown it doesn't bother you isn't it like heavy isn't it awkward I remember once you're in a muscle someone said you know imagine a Prince when he first when he first becomes the King right and he has to wear the big the heavy Robes of the king and he has to wear the crown and and even before he used the prince he looks at his father sitting there with the crown and I said he says isn't that burdensome for you is that uncomfortable to wear that heavy crown with those heavy jewels and the King understands that what that the the privilege of wearing the crown makes it all worth it he doesn't even realize that it's a burden it's a little bit ear that says it's their big sisters not a very long time I'm used to it right she's excited about it it's annoying if you're not used to it if you're not if you're not natural with it but when it's a natural fit when Torah Mitchells becomes a natural fit it's not burdensome it's not heavy it's not uncomfortable it's something that we're proud to wear all the time and we walk around with and we feel we feel that it carries us not that we have to carry in remember a fry fell I once read or slow mo freifel the founder of had in his office he had a picture or maybe he had an actual key on the wall a little black key that he had imagine this was his desk he's had in his chair and he would be with students and the opposite on the opposite wall he added a frame either a picture of a black key or an actual black key that was framed and her Firefall used to explain that when he sits in his office and he's meeting with young men and he's talking about them about all their all their struggles all their difficulties right he looks at that key and he reminds himself that there's always a key to unlock a Jewish heart that was a reminder to himself that there has to be a way to solve this problem no matter how difficult it seems that there's a way to unlock the jewishness so remember I read that story a number of years ago and I was very very inspired by it and I must have mentioned it to my wife and she mentioned it to her mother to my mother-in-law and next thing you know my mother-in-law is out shopping and all of a sudden she comes back with like this huge black Wooden Key you know new generations like bigger problems you need bigger keys to unlock bigger problems so I have in my I have my office in NYU I have this huge black king and I had it on the wall that it fell off and it broke a little bit so it was sitting on my desk and one day a student walks into my office and he sees this huge black key on the desk and he picks up the key and he says well ready this Key's a lot lighter than I thought it was and I said exactly this key is a lot lighter than he thought it was looked like this big heavy metal he was this light wooden cake says you think it's so hard to carry my Torah mitzos you think it's impossible to unlock the treasures of Torah missiles it's not so hard it's not so heavy it's not so impossible it's very natural the foundation of a religious life is ain't onus it's really not that hard and the simple of other is the recognition that was giving us the opportunity not only to be forced into Torah but to choose Torah and I'll end with the final source a beautiful Ram is that I once saw on to save her if you look at the name Esther McGillis Esther the heroine the one who who taught us this lesson it describes the letters of her name Esther or Roche table spell out the first letters visofo sofo is actually the story of Esther and it's a very tragic story that SRI lasso owners at first he was forced to go to but in the end she went on her own before the king she entered archers without being forced to come on on the realm of shot that was a very sad moment in Jewish history when Esther had to submit herself willingly before and all the repercussions in her personal life but in Panama City on a deeper level Esther being Claudius at first Esther was forced to come before the malach but at the end of the day the salvation of the Jewish people came when Esther went willingly before the king when she came willingly before when the Jewish people despite the Esther despite the Hester upon Him despite the lack of clarity of hashem's presence in our world but to be able to say I still Choose You and I come before you willingly that's the simple of purp and that's what it means to really be a Jew so should help us as we fight off this enemy of amalik there's a Malik who wants Torah they wanted the Torah itself should be that heavy bag says he is you've never spoken to me if you think Torah missiles are a burden then that's not that's you've never spoken to me that's not who I am says the same way I took you out of captivity after 210 years because I love you every other detail of our relationship is an expression of my love we should be able to come to look at us the Jewish people shall once again accept the Torah at a tremendous tremendous love for and in that way we'll deepen our relationship with Hashem bring tremendous