Rabbeinu Yona on Pirkei Avos 2:4 Are You An Am Ha'aretz?

okay friends a of chabas recording in progress it's great to see everybody we're continuing in per Mish with the commentary of r as we mentioned um you could join us in our SAR mishura that we have every Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 9:15 we're beginning a brand new subject Monday morning 99: am Simon pest in the mission Bah uh you'll be very grateful that you joined the say there also uh we're we're presenting the new trip for the upcoming summer you could take a look on our site or in today's email uh we're going to be visiting Greece and Malta there were many many hundreds if not more of who lived in this area and uh you'll learn a lot about the history of the early okay so we're learning per we're learning perak B Mish now friends I want to ask you a very interesting question what's anat how do you define Amat nation of the land what is the what is that mean nation of the land and another question we have to ask ourselves are are we now one thing you should know is that's usually not a complimentary term it's usually not something that you want to be so we have to identify this term what this means and we're continuing in the teachings of the sh namely H said he would say an empty person cannot fear sin let's explain we'll read it we'll say it outside but then we'll explain what is an empty person an empty person is someone not only does he not have Tyra but he is not acclimated in the ways of the world which means he doesn't know how to associate properly with people you see if he doesn't know Tyra obviously he won't be able to keep the Mina of the law but you he would be able to keep the basics the problem is he doesn't even associate with people you see if he would go to sh or have a a job and be around Jews so he would pick up the basics like shabas like Kos like y but he's a boore not only does he not have T he doesn't have human interaction so he won't even pick up you know how people say oh I never heard that I never heard that to me the most painful expression uh when somebody says oh I never heard that as if whatever they learn is based on what they hear it's not really that relevant what you hear you have to learn something yourself but at least people who oh I heard that I heard that they'll pick up certain basic things not aore aore is completely empty but now let's talk about an you know what an is he does have human Association he goes to sh he has a job he goes to the Bungalow Colony he's with other Jews but that's the basis of his Judaism you know what the basis of his Judaism is what people are doing what people are doing you know everything he does is based on what other people he uh do that's why he's an he's a person of the land and is someone who does what other people do now it has some benefits because he'll do the basics he'll go to sh but he also might talk he'll go to sh but he also might come late he'll go to sh but he might step out in Middle for a conversation or for kides or he'll do certain basic things but he'll never get the Mina right cuz he never doesn't have independent knowledge he's an and is he does what other people do he's a sheep he's a sheep he just follows another sheep in front of him he has no independent education he will never be righteous people who do what other people do where do you DAV I don't I D with my friends DAV okay where do you go in this I go where my friends go where where do you make your way I do what my friends do what kind of sim do you make I make like my friends okay you're a Jew but you're a sheep you're an sorry I could do a much better version but I have you know I'm keeping it I'm keeping it toned down right now okay I don't know where this is going to go but say somebody who just observes based on what he observes from others will only be observant of but will never be a he's empty he has no he doesn't have he doesn't even have Civility and courtesy like theum says on the and the land will not be desolate so we see is a a language of desolation now we it goes without saying that someone who's empty won't be righteous not only he won't be righteous he won't even fear sin he won't even stop sinning he's so empty he doesn't know how to be careful from sin but at least someone who is he's not empty he's a person of the land he is associated with Society he could fear sin he has some courtesy and character traits he has some some good proper attitudes he knows how to guard himself from sin and he could be righteous he could do the right thing and fulfill what he's told but to be he can never approach and he can never attain to be Pious it's not enough to be one of the guys if you consider yourself one of the guys you might be a good guy but you're you're also having extricated yourself from the category of and is one of the guys he does what the guys do but in order to be a you need to be it needs purity of heart and purity of Soul someone who is in does not have the wisdom to tilt him from the middle of the road to the upper echelon to go beyond the measure of the law that's why he's called because he's with the people in their ways because most people are like him nobody wants to be an AM it don't do what other people do never say well uh you know that's what that's what everybody does okay no problem you want to be an amet you could have that attitude the mishna continues one more one who is shameful cannot learn one who is bashful will not learn now this is very interesting to me because on the one hand we say that buha is an impediment to for example the maral tells us of the four nations that subjugated the Jewish people the one only one of them tried to make us forget the Tyra that's yavan yavan tried to make us forget the Tyra why is that yavan is compared to the leopard the num the maida of the leopard is boldness boldness the opposite of bush because they were so bold they had a connection to so they had a connection to they wanted to abolish our Tyra so we see that bu is an impediment to wisdom boldness is a Mida one has to have to gain wisdom what's interesting is if you look inim in he says shame is understanding and understanding is shame remember when ad and ate from the eight they were embarrassed a baby who has no Das is not embarrassed the more Das you have the more embarrassed you have embarrassment you have so on the one hand bu is not only a it is Def you know why did God create the world to give man the opportunity to get so I have a great idea just put us in you ever think about that question if God created the world for so just put us there the answer is no if we he would just put us there we would be embarrassed we would feel we didn't earn it so I have a question so let God put us there and make us not [Applause] embarrassed the answer is embarrassment is Aid you can't not make us embarrassed it's Aid it's the epitomy of wisdom but like all mid even though it is the epitome of wisdom at the same time it's also antithetical to M wisdom says the the is a good for all things except for learning itself like it says and I will speak about your statutes in the presence of kings and I won't be ashamed King David when he ran from or when he stood before the kings of the nations of the world he was not ashamed to speak about even if they would mock him and Scorn his words would not allow to stop him from learning likewise a student should never sayp a fool like me a person should never say how could a fool like me ask a question of such an eminent Sage so seasoned in wisdom I have no understanding of no knowledge now I'm ashamed to ask my question if a person has that attitude where will he get from if such will will be a person's conduct and behavior where will wisdom come from this is what the sages of mus have taught us ask of wisdom the question of the fool and guard the preservation of the generous which means just like generous people don't just scatter their money but they also don't keep it to themselves a generous person doesn't open up his window and throw out um $100 bill um airplanes you know do you know rich people who open up their window make paper airplanes out of $100 bills and throw it out of course not but they also don't hold it to themselves rather they give it to appropriate places willingly like we explained above likewise when it comes to wisdom when it comes to wisdom speak about it with wise people at the appropriate time not with everyone not at a time when you know your words will not be heated person should ask every question he has not be ashamed in order to learn what needs to be learned have a wonderful shabas C again please join us Monday 9:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. for Misha Simon payest cul of everyone recording stopped thank you for the elevator store right