The Light and the Splendor - Taste the Redemption of Tu B'Shevat

this Torah class is brought to you by Torah anytime.com and welcome everyone to this very special event special the light and the Splendor event hosted by our uh good friends kazak raban May RAB Yaniv May thank you so much for hosting this event yet again um in order to uh have the opportunity to speak about uh a new safe that came out and of course we want to thank our wonderful sponsors rababi Newman chickens for chabas who are sponsoring this event the new once again we had a number of sh in honor of the release of the saer de an and now rabi Newman and chickens for shabas are sponsoring the saer the light and the Splendor now I do want to mention I mentioned the safer anini the safer is now on sale at our website rabo dg.com the SE is considerably discounted and you could get free delivery and all the are available there but tonight we're speaking about the saer the light and the Splendor and I want to thank rabi Newman and chickens for shabas which are dedicated simply for the most basic Jewish need to to feed y that don't have food especially Mal especially R and yes because without our rim without our teachers there is no CLA without a dedicated rim to teach the Next Generation we don't have any hope for a future so this is an organization which is literally upholding CLA iSell there's no overhead and if you'd like to donate you could go to their website uh the Yad eler.com the Yad elzar website and you go to the special icon for malam aun and please uh contribute generously you are not just supporting um a few individuals you are literally supporting all of CLA Israel now tonight's uh event is dedicated in uh honor of the safer the light and the Splendor and you ask we already had an event in honor of the safer why are we doing it again I knew you would ask that question and that is because the safer has two parts there's the light part and the Splendor part and until now we spoke about the light and so many people have been waiting with great anticipation when are we going to speak about the Splendor when will be the time for a splendorous evening so tonight is the splendorous evening the Splendor part of the saer is uh the part that speaks about tubish which amazingly is coming this Thursday is already now is not just the month the of what is in but actually is according to and as we're going to see it is of the future of because in the future we will like Bai but stay tuned for that there is an incredible saer called saer H hug of the kahal kesa worms now that's a very interesting name worms um that's uh not every city that you live you've been to is called worms that's not a typical name to call a city why is it called worms in fact uh for those who are students of Jewish history the name of that city was not always worms but for example one of the great the he is called Al of G so is G the same thing as Vara so the brings and actually I'll tell you a little bit of an inside um scoop on the on some of the inner workings of art scroll see I quoted from a saer I'm going to show you what saer it's in don't go anywhere the name of the saer is of the the recorded his travels in a diary called mag now the traveled all over Europe collecting money for theas of is he was one of the sh one of the who collected money for the is and the and the published his uh diary in the many say he had no intention to publish it or perhaps he didn't even want it to be published but he did record his travels and it's now available a in English the Diaries of in Hebrew it's called and there in it he records a legend now what's very interesting is not in every edition of the magal to is this Legend recorded and therefore at first um I was being recommended not to include this story in the light and the Splendor because this is not necessarily universally accepted and some even claim this has a basis in German uh ancient German Legend but nevertheless the does quote it and I was told not in every Edition but my argument was in my Edition it does appear it appears in the Freeman edition of the and that is hundreds of of years ago there was a wild beast that entered the city and began to plague the residents of the city and this Beast had a strange appetite it consumed doed one human being every day in its entirety now one day a particular individual was selected to be the beast's meal for the day and he strapped a St sword to his body and he was fed to the Beast after being swallowed and surviving he took the sword and stabbed the beast from the inside of its belly killing the animal and from here on the name of this location was no longer called gisa but rather verisa after this very strange Beast okay so in the city of Vera here was the Min of tuat the of tuat was they would close the yes and they would tell the students stay home and by the way this is also brought in not only in the ofes of but also in in min mik so the custom in Vera was to close the Yesa in on tubish now I know a lot of kids who are now considering moving to the city of Arisa now I don't recommend that to move to Germany right now especially if your parents live here in New York or in the United States of America or anywhere else but that was the ancient custom of the city of Arisa and this is certainly worthy of our attention and in his on the page wonders why would the custom of the Jewish people be to close the yeshivas after all there's nothing more important to the continuity and vitality of Jewish children and all of Cl then the learning of why would they have closed the yes and offers the following thesis to try to explain this ancient custom he quotes theat the Kover who was a student by the way the Kover was the last rash ofin the rashash after R Shapiro and he was a student of the S theal Borstein and he says over in the name of his halba theal that the elal writes that on every tubish he felt a chain for the better in the quality of his he felt an elevation he felt a difference in his in his Torah NOA and in fact says this that we say that he says since man in the t is compared to a tree and therefore man's fruits are his so if we say that is it's a new year for the tree and we are the tree we are compared to the tree as thear says inness says to why don't you say something so R said I'm too weak and I can't so R said why don't you say some so said let me tell you what said that a man is compared to a tree the says is man tree this is talking about when the Jewish people go to war so the is that you can't uh you can't destroy the fruit trees it says the is you can't def destroy the fruit trees but the terminology of the PK seems to compare man to a tree So based on this analogy that man is comparable to a tree then his are his fruits so says the the name of that when say that a deeper meaning is it is a rash for man for what aspect of man for man's in fact theal says that is the primary role and purpose of it is a its function is it serves as the new year for the and it is a time that a person could experience a inspiration and a Rejuvenation and great Mo motivation to say hence felt a change in the quality of his beginning on Tu in fact cites many that liken man to a tree and what are man's fruits man's fruits are his for example says why does the Torah say to bring an say let this egla that doesn't make fruits and let it be destroyed in a that doesn't produce fruits as a kapara for killing someone who can no longer produce fruits so the question is if this refers to peria Veria the gamar asks well if somebody kills a Zak or AIS so then we should not have to go through this procedure because they were not capable of producing fruits so the gar says rather it refers to mitv so we see that the T that one's one learns and the mitzvas that one performs are likened to the fruits of a person and therefore this is a day that one could gain extra in praying for the ability to say and to create and to innovate new therefore suggest perhaps that is the reasoning behind the custom Anda of why they Clos theas onat we're sending a message to our youth we're saying typically the way that you grow in your learning and in your development is going to theiva and conversing with the rebi speaking in learning with the rebi seeing how the rebi learns and learning from his methodology but there are times in the year where one will develop most if one is left to be able to cultivate their own to be able to develop and um innovate their own and since is the day which a person could sense and re realize new Innovations and Tor thought so we close theas and we tell our youth this one's for you today is for you today don't rely on the rebi today try to cultivate and develop your own it's it is a new year to be able to develop your own Torah Nela now we find an amazing thing we know we have we have the we have we have the oral law we have the but there's an element of our that has a dimens of it namely calls said it in his own music with his own terminology in his own voice as opposed to the first four books where he was merely saying over what God told him but say for it has an element ofa's voice to it it has an element of when Didu teach saim to the Jewish people well in the beginning of and it was in the 40th year in the 11th month on the first day spoke to the Jewish people in a accordance with everything in accordance with everything that hasem spoke to them why did is the is the Adam is thead the teaching are the P so since say there's a concept of that this physical world is merely a manifestation of the spiritual world what happens on tuat tuat is R we'll explain that soon it is the day that the sap begins to rise in the tree and that is when starts that is the earliest stage of the development of the fruit where the sap on the inner mechanism of the tree begins to rise up in the tree now if the sap is rising in the tree and that's the beginning of the process of the fruit that is just merely a physical manifestation of the spiritual phenomenon that transpires on namely the kernel and the seed of ideas of begin to rise in the consciousness of man in the inner mind of a person and this is the earliest stage of Torah teaching and Torah ideas and therefore it is this day of the year which is most mugal for teaching for Torah no for delivering and disseminating and therefore M began to teach the to ones so you'll ask what's going on over here the the fact that um says only the opinion of but disagrees B maintains that is says so it comes out that what is doing is only in accordance with B but B's opinion is that it's on and comes the in the and he says wait a second mosu very logically is in fact going with the opinion of B and that is because we just read andam is trying to persuade mosha take the Jewish people out of Egypt you're the man for the job I need you to be their leader I need you to be their guide I need you to be their Shepherd and mha says the following expression is I am not a man of many words says ends with an Al is ends with a shin ends is saying I'm a Shai man I'm not the right guy to take the Jewish people out of Egypt I am a man of I uphold the law to the letter of the law I am similar to shamai who when AAR came in and said teach me the Torah standing on one foot Shai said I can't do that I am someone who upholds the law and I cannot allow somebody's preference or idiosyncrasy to cause me to bend or deviate from the normative letter of the law M says I'm the I'm the lawgiver I'm a shi man I can't be the leader of the Jewish people so Hashem said in a way you're right I'm gonna cause I'm going to have Aon be your helper Hashem says abouton who he will be for you as a mouth as a voice piece this is because as we know says be from the students oface was a h man soem says you're right who ye he will be for you as a mouth he will be the H he will be someone who is able to tolerate people's queer idiosyncrasies he will be able to flow and Sway and ride the tide and ride with the people however you you continue to be you continue to follow the dictates of Shai as we know the Mal teaches us teaches us and further in fact was a Shai man andon was a h man in the future will be like sh even though that's only in this world but that's because Hashem created the world and he recognizes the world cannot last onid so we have to live in a world of in the world that we live in today we live in a world of H and therefore M had he brought CL is straight into is he the Mia would have come and the would have always been like sh so says I'm a shi man and therefore and that is why M says in the world of shamai the most opportune time to give over to to disseminate to engender Torah is but in the world that we live in today we can't pass in that way we live in a world of and therefore in our world we follow B that is that is the day that is most opportune to develop and cultivate that's why Ina they did not go to Yesa onat they Instead try to cultivate their own on the day which is most mugal for that which is the day that the sa begins to rise in the tree and therefore the ideas and the Wellspring of Novel thought begins to rise in the mind and the soul of the Jew that we could develop our own Torah thoughts now the in a rare mention of tuat because tuat is barely mentioned in it's only mentioned twice says on tuat we don't say now why in the world do we not say t on tuat because the sap rises in the tree I mean hierarchically the only significance of the fact that the sap rises in the tree is explained in the gumar that it's that whatever grew before or you have to take Myer off of it from last year and whatever uh and from here on whatever is afterwards the you take off Myer for the upcoming year meaning and is merely a line of demarcation of whatever was previously you take my from the previous year and whatever the occurred after tubish you take Myer for the upcoming year tubish in no way is a day of judgment quotes that there is a erroneous misconception actually all misconceptions are erroneous but there is a erroneous perception and a grand misconception that Tu is a day of judgment we say it's a rashash it's not a day of judgment you have to know simple the second M talks about the days of judgment the first mishna in rash talks about New Years is is these are not days of judgment these are lines of demarcation of when shita starts of when a king's year begins so what yum of quality does tubish have that it would be a reason not to say on Tuan so there's a very mysterious and cryptic statement of the GR the says it's aash just like all four rash which are a and this always troubled me because actually none of the rash Shas are a is not a it's a y because it's a rash it's a y because it's the it's it's rashash but it's not a yam because it's the beginning of the year for shita or for y that doesn't give it any yum quality is not a y yes it's a line of demarcation for kings and it's so it's excuse me so you're not going to say but it doesn't have ative quality certainly is not a so why is what does the mean like all four Hashem should illuminate our eyes to help us understand this difficult teaching of of the v in his which is an autobiography he writes that on by the way the stands for sh and says the Adas he would learn in the and he would Endeavor to be something on in the in the area of these now based on what we learned from said this is the most opportune day to begin creating and cultivating new perhaps this would explain why theas would be on this day and he says after being he hoped that it would be considered as if he was MIM the Mitzvah of mas and then I he he says he was that should be him to actually fulfill the Mitzvah of says that it seems to him that the reason why the were not to say is this day will then serve as a reminder to the Mitzvah of because we know always remind us to remember our past sh she remember what our forefathers did the concept of so is so to speak a monument and a memorial to the great institution and of Trum and therefore it was designated as a day as a memorial to all the and it is particularly a day Su suited to study now we come to a very interesting teaching of none other than two summers ago I had this to be at the K ofar and RAR in posna and wrote the g a commentary on and his son wasar who ironically became a under the influence of uh the M the isz and asks a very incisive question he says he wants to know the M brings that the Min among Asim and today this is a widespread custom the Min is to eat many fruits on tuat askar what is the purpose of eating fruits on tub bishvat tub bishvat is the day that the sap begins to rise in the tree preparing ing the preparing for the new crop of fruits whatever fruits are available on tubish are from last year's fruits why eat last year's fruits on the day that marks the beginning of the process of the new fruits why celebrate New fruits by eating last year's fruits why would you eat old fruits on the day which is the beginning of the new fruits the says in that anyone who gets benefit from this world withouta is stealing from God and stealing from the Jewish people what are you stealing from God says Rashi you're stealing the blessing the Braha what are you stealing from the Jewish people you're stealing the Braha because when you don't make a the fruits are stricken say that comes at if by not making and fruits you cause damage to fruits by making a proper bran fruits you infuse fruits with blessing and success and they become more Lush and more delicious and more tasty and more Bountiful so we specifically on the rashash of fruits the beginning of the process of the new fruits we eat a lot of fruits and we make proper blessings on them that will Infuse the fruits the upcoming fruits with great vitality and great flavor and and Aroma and this will ensure that we have a successful upcoming crop but there's another important element of making a on fruits you know in the we say Have Mercy Our God we say bring us up into the Holy Land make us rejoice in its building and we should eat of its fruits and the Torah brings many reim including his father who would not say these words and eat of its fruits is that why we want to enter to eat of its fruits we want to enter to fulfill the that are but heaven forbid that we should say God bring us into Israel so we should eat the fruits however the B says that it's not that we're asking God to enter Israel to eat the fruits but it's we want to eat the fruits to be able to make a blessing on the fruits now why are we so keen on making a blessing on the fruits well one important aspect of making a blessing on the fruits is revealed by the writes in says that the would warn us to be very careful in in fact the brings the primary way that a person could attain the holy spirit is it's dependent on how careful a person is in the blessings they make on Foods because food has a certain impurity in it and when you make the proper braa it cleanses the food and when a person eats them and makes a proper bra you remove all the C and it purifies your physicality and you become and says warned me greatly that when I make have to make it with a proper because a person could be greatly elevated by making a but let's add one idea the inim says that actually there's an inherent value in eating the fruits of is and that is the fruits of are nourished from the Heavenly corresponding is which is nourished from the actual itself in other words there's a concept that the fruits of have an an embodiment of the sanctity of the and when you consume the fruits of is you are actually consuming sanctity and an embodiment of the Holiness of the itself and it's a great elevation therefore we pray yes God bring us into Israel why we will consume its fruits and thereby embibe and inculcate and ingest the Holiness of the will completely re Revitalize the spiritual makeup of our being in fact in the of the great-grandfather of the he asks why is it that we only had the man in the midbar in the midbar and by the way this B would explain the custum of the Ben the Ben would try to procure for tuat specifically fruits from is fruits from isra how why specifically the fruits of is if it's just am about making a blessing and sanctifying our ourself with the blessing why do we specifically need the fruits of is but now we understand because the fruits of are an embodiment of the on high says why was it that we only had m in the desert and not in Israel what Israel is not as holy as a desert in Israel you can't have M and said says in Israel we don't need the man in Israel you have the fruits of the arets and the fruits of theats was mes with the food and the kadus of is and in that case um and in that case we would be elevated and Sanctified merely through the fruits of is but in the midbar which was a place of CIP ice and darkness and Tuma if we were to consume the fruits of the desert that fruit was nourished and fed and S and got its sustenance from the am of the sitra it would defile us but once we entered the Holy Land the Holy Land didn't need the man when we were in the Holy Land the consuming the fruits of Isel was a greater elevation even than the man now I'll share with you the M was such holy food the G says the is what purified us to be able to receive the T but apparently the fruit of has an even greater degree of kadus and therefore when we're in we didn't need the man we had the fruit of is perhaps we could explain that this is the significance of the fact that tuat always falls out on the week that we read about the man indicating that yes in the midmar we had to come on to the man but even greater than the man even greater than the food from Heaven are the fruits of is if one could be a beneficiary of the fruits of is that would be an even greater elevation so if the says that is to consume the fruits of many fruits on tuat then like allh is which are Laden with so much significance and and meaning this minog is is surely one of them so we pick up a fruit if we make a braa properly it injects Vitality into the upcoming crop as taught byar and if we make a proper bra it elevates us it removes any impurity from the fruit and it will Elevate us as the it could even Elevate us to the m and if we're able to get our hands on fruits of Earth Isel that would be an even greater elevation but this is certainly is founded in great and uh dramatic meaning one time the were sitting around the Tish of the great sad m actuallyit is of Z and he was giving out the fruits and lo and behold there were so many around the table they ran out of fruits and says don't sweat it if you're seeking fruits if it's fruits that you want I have just the secret for you you want the following things a person eats from the fruits in this world the you want to eat fruits the greatest fruits are learning T so what better way to prepare for tuat then by learning T about the great custom of eating fruits because our greatest P aside of course from our and supporting by supporting chickens forab which will give us but our greatest especially on where theas were closed so that the could begin to cultivate their own learning and their own teaching and their own may this month ofat which is a month of sh may it bring us great influences of us and even more importantly May pour on us the rain that will cultivate within us a Chuka to learn and to connect to our and the may this month bring great wishing everybody thank you so much for listening you've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by Torah anytime.com