79: Purim: Building Achdus, with R' Avi Lieberman

hi this is Deborah Orlowski and welcome to the rabbi Lau ski show and whether you're watching on tour anytime or whatever you watch or listen to your podcast I understand that our listening audience as opposed to our watching audience is growing faster so if you're listening anyway so it's really very exciting to have you along this exciting journey a year and a half we're doing this already it's already Shabbos Navarre Caen and the special visits which Kurdish other is right around the corner and as we know mission deafness either mobbing be simcha the simcha continues to grow and grow so Hashem one of the greatest sources of simcha is the fact that I get to have this time to spend it with you and I hope you enjoy spending the time with me and we're a happy family I feel like I heard that line someplace and we have a sponsor this week in Jewish podcast dot org that's with an S at the end Jewish podcasts podcasts that organ and they help you create your very own podcast I know it looks 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almost all the forum songs are in created incredibly annoying the gone forgotten forgotten forgotten forgotten forgotten become become forgotten forgotten pecans pecans pecans began think I'm forgotten forgotten forgotten forgotten pecan pecan pecan begat begat begat carvanha and you get the idea so um I have with me rabbi Abby Lieberman the author of Purim now and forever and if you will note forward by rabbi Dovid Orlovsky that's actually that's my ride the podcast this way that's that's actually more is actually more input than I put into the book this actually has my name on and I have with me the author of this important work on Purim my view Lieberman avi welcome to the show thank you for having me avi is originally from Queens and has shown a Shamir and is not working and you should be sort I am and the wrote a book important yes isn't that the first thing you've written it's the first piece I published but it's not the first thing I've written what have you written I mean I've been writing for many years I've been writing articles then write a little contras him the same type of topic same you know like to inspire through writing so he's been a mode evolving yeshiva learning and teaching it's always been uh so you've been doing this you're not making any money off of this you're just doing it basically to be able to spread Torah yes that's a truth well anyway oh he's doing they read my biography it's gonna be called all for the bucks but anyway I've actually I was an attorney for many years but finally a few people said it's time to publish a book and waste someone put he said it's you write some countries and put out some pages it's very nice for each quality stroll you published you can get out you can aspire more people I came close to publishing a book I actually wrote a book I'm I wrote one book I finished it I never put it out it was called the last book you read before you assimilate and it's a book for Jews who aren't interested in reading a book about Judaism I used to teach and discovery people said I have a relative or a friend who's not that interested so I wrote that book but I never published it because I found publishing to be quite daunting so so you decided to write a book on poem forum now and forever now I assume if you go into the average farm store today there are many books on Purim that are available what inspired you to write this one so it's true there are many books on Purim that books on explaining the Megillah explaining oh yeah God atone and halacha I really you know my mode of writing throughout life has really always been to inspire and perm is in a way out of all of them all the topics like you write on it is something that we need to bring out the inspiration I think why why boy you know because two reasons one reason is because the day of prom itself is very short and you're very busy very busy with a lot of things and you need a you know the Morris farm prepare yourself beforehand the better I'll tell you interesting story I I once asked mr. Shapiro I used to go to him on Purim and I asked him once about you know they have these yeshiva model hiya hoody we're in the middle of Purim with everything going on to make a seder you know sit down with your son whatever it is to have learning an extra moisture Shapiro about this and he said Zelo ha both ahuyama that's not what parm is about interestingly enough and then he looked at me and he says there is an onion to learn Torah at the perm sudha but that's a failing of the sudha but as far as taking our time in the middle of learning it which means that you know these people they try to dive in with these never know the names of all the books you know that have this running commentary your son us and so they dive in like this and you just reading it's impossible you have to do the preparation before you get ready to damn it so obviously you have to prepare for him before Pearl right now wake up so Konica you have you have eight days you can learn before you can learn during Sookie's pace I'm The Rime you know beforehand and if you know enduring obviously it's ironic because conical is like a tiger and people make parties then but that's not really the purpose of Chanukah is the mr. Brewer says yeah the purpose of Chanukah is to actually see them learned my thinking and Purim depart for the purpose are the parties the purpose of perimeter parties perfect perfect the perfect Purim party and thanks for sharing that with me anyway because porn is so is so short also and because there's a so much to do that sometimes the meaning of from itself can be possibly misconstrued the busier people are the less likely they are to focus on what's really important why your story sure you do I I had a student who was getting married and she calls me up and I get a call and looking and I see it's mama she like just before hope and and she goes up and she's almost in tears and she says this is the most important day of my life and someone's patching my dress and someone's doing my makeup and someone's doing my hair and someone's of that and what am I supposed to be focusing on I'm getting married in the absolutely amazing thing that people come to the most important days of their life and because they're so busy with stuff the often miss what's most important so what is the most important thing important so there are a lot of important things I'm into a few for a second the book of which there are not many in print yet left I've been selling like hotcakes I have never actually bought a hot cake so I don't really know how they sell no I have I haven't found any place where they sell my also it out the question that it's probably four years they sell like hotcakes my cake your money on up kids because they were all sold already on blue anyway so what so you're yours is a message did you want to bring your course it's different than what's out there what is that yes sir I wanted to really attack the basic themes a poem you know it's a specifically a smaller book to make all these themes accessible how many pages don't Doug tell me 170 476 unless you count this back page over here that's 178 anyway yeah do you know why you Kumari's start on that base there's two reasons one is that guys learning two covers kind will feel like they're covering ground but there's another reason I didn't know this is because the cover page is deaf out so there you go is Olivia for you coming in anyway I keep interrupting you yeah so you wrote this book because I saw really because there are a lot of amazing amazing forum but like I said there's you wanted to just focus on a lot of the points whether in terms of Actos that comes out of poem the message for us in galas like you know perm for example you know chronicle you have a victory and we get back to base and make gosh right and pesach we leave it's Ryan Peron we kind of stay put so you know the Megillah ends are still there the Vilna Gaon he explains how really it's a message for us today and gullets now let's try to explore that i tried i like to take themes that relate to us right now you know so it sounds like you're trying to sew the title for now and forever is the idea of trying to find the relevance in poem for us today right so to go into the deep theme is different different sources and but it's full of stories that are you know inspirational people that haven't never having sport inspiring stories or uh so what is the message for for us today I don't we give away the book but to keep on trying because it makes a difference and that's what we're here to do to sum it up the efforts we put in and may seem it's not building up towards anything it made seem like you're saying because since we're just and without any conclusion it's it's a holiday that celebrates the the effort and the journey rather than the conclusion right and that even though we remain in godless today but we still we still were succeeding that's the point uncle assist so make the effort and still try in Arvada that's what we're trying to accomplish so how does one go into poem in order to trigger because as you pointed out there's so much chef wadis has turned into something absurd the concept of drinking has been taken to again an absurd extreme but much as Marilyn said that a person shouldn't really drink until they're 40 because the whole purpose of drinking is that what's inside comes out and you really don't have anything to share until you're 40 so the way we should put it and and I added a caveat to that I said what's inside should really stay inside because I've had people at my suit that were what was inside came outside it it didn't help anybody and the only the only mention of drinking in the book is is what you said from emotion it's the fun though that's otherwise we you know stay away from drinking and because I said there's other a lot of other things that you have to prepare before hands come to the mindset and then that I think we're doing a good job about it okay so could you come into power and form night you have to get to show you have to have the Megillah then you come back there's a den that suit that night as well if you're a part of you achieve you go to the ship of mercy but yeah there might be a play there might be dancing it might be you know excited but you come back home you have to get up go to Magilla reading then you have to come back and wait for your wife to go them the Gila reading and then you start delivering the shelfs bonus and then before you know what it's done for the sudha and so now what is my focus why so that's the whole point because really all these you know obligations on purim have to do with what happened in these a permit sell for example this pseudo you know corresponds to the fact of eight fighters to the Parrish so that's a Tekin for that so it's interesting cuz we would think you know we think to stay away from this on Yom Kippur we still we don't worry you know jewelry and gold maybe stay away from the fear there you go right it's very interesting that on Purim we specifically attack and make reference to all of our many of Eros a time from the Shahs Manas is for the slow off that you know affairs sent out against us mm-hmm a lot of different things that we would want to stay away from right so as we're going through our a day and it's celebrating it in a way that he's making reference to you know all of these many bad things we did we went racing the Payette things we did we're embracing it but I wouldn't think I wouldn't want to bring it back up you know me will try celebrate around it right so yeah that's an excellent point so and put on Yom Kippur we stay away from any reference to the ego and and the bad thing that we did that caused this problem whereas here we're doing things in order to embrace what we did wrong apart so so we discussed in the book that it shows how much Hashem loves us and he realizes how angola's were weaker than in our prime and he you know he came he accepted us the meta well worth you know because of all of our efforts and he forgave us so clearly that it's all wiped out we can make reference that reference these things every single year and know that I sham loves us that's why I'm prone we accepted the tour again this time with from hava and from mirror-like it was by come on Satori RC night it's it's a higher level of forgiveness than we give on Yom Kippur slows Yom Kippur right well via Twitter asked us on Prem that we had by their head Michael etc we've seen that as exactly as we go through the day there's so many things we could have in mind while we're going about celebrating with their family with their friends just to bring out this Ava's Hashem and the beauty and what we're all about so it's counterintuitive because he a perm is this day which is supposed to be so holy and it's turned into a into a circus I mean mommy's a circus yeah the costumes have become bizarre the drinking has become bizarre the shallowness has become bizarre everything is as taken to a ridiculous extreme and and yet it's a day that has greater potential than Yom Kippur for us to be able to get close to couldn't make up for our mistakes so I mean how how is it possible you know the Weinberg used to say it's hard to remain sane in an insane world so how is a person supposed to figure out how to find these things when nobody around joy has any idea what's going on right so in terms of the the drinking I I grew up out of towns I didn't I wasn't exposed to so I got older yeah I grew up in Queens we didn't I didn't my first time I visited my friends you Shiva on Purim night I came in and almost Audino AVI we I love you and I started to cry and okay you know I wasn't I didn't I don't I don't really know but happens to be that time so fur explains that the drum in the Sun perm is a reference to the Gemara that says that from all of our very stirring colors will be acquitted because we have a defense that engulfs were like drunk people hmm we don't have a safe home we're not as strong as it used to be more defined he goes out and says he did a Saco gaedola in the street you didn't say anything didn't say it's feeling because we gave he gave like a drunken cry mmm so weak your people so I don't that shouldn't give legitimacy to what happens that everyone has their way but the concept of the drinking on Purim things carefully is it makes reference to our state now and how we still keep on trying the vice Shapiro once quoted the r-mo which says you're supposed to drink a revised and since this is a dendera bottom that would be 3.3 ounces and then take a nap and the idea is that when you're sleeping idle or yada you don't know what's going on when you're asleep and that's where the Camorra says yesh none on a hood it is one nation that's asleep so that somehow the avodah of Purim like you say is a drunk I'm sleeping I'm it's the antithesis of a vote is Hashem in Kippur you're in show the whole time you're supposed to try to stand for as long as you can you're not eating not drinking your your darkening the whole day and and Purim we're sleeping we're drinking we're eating we're running around with Charles Moniz were putting on funny costumes and that has a higher level of kedusha that's a question by the way I wasn't just looking for acknowledgment that is not very much describe the theme of Purim because it kind of mirrors how we are today so what am I supposed to do to prepare for him in order to maximize the spiritual potential of the day I mean to do things I bring on Brigante Octus I think we result also to be free many say because of the Optus that we that we had you know you know Hester for example she was fastening herself but she didn't want to make a move until the Jews finished their a time of Tuva because she said we have to be a colles well before I can go and defend these whoa Wow so do you have a recipe for creating actors today between people Jewish people in many ways I don't know if I could say we're more divided than we've ever been but certainly there's a fracture ization okay you just made up that word anyway a it's a fractured to use the correct Yiddish term and you know somebody told her to leave Damon is it where we're making a hater finally the best boys from the best families and he said I don't know when I was a kid we all went to fade it together and it worked fine you know so now you need you know she needs for this type but that kind of tight but this kind of family and that kind of kid this kind of thing and everything is is broken apart so so how how we supposed to you go into the apartment create seven like asked us well and whenever you're talking about the main issues of our day and it's very scary to say that you have a whole I know I I try to focus on a lot is them you know when she want to Esther day all of the brothels are and Thoreau Russian Robin and bracha that you think not to do that for is my slack London when we're talking about our own sins I think wouldn't be appropriate to mention other people but I think maybe that we have to switch how you look in Harrison's and other people since a lot of times our own sins we have answers and tea routes Tim and I leave brushing it off and if I really do a hezmana nefesh during my sloth Londo by the time I'm done I'm good it's for the other guy that I hold them I hold them up I hold them accountable I think the point is to kind of switch it it kind of realized that other people look at them in a positive understand that they might be coming from somewhere especially when I know less about their scenarios and myself personally it's the beginning just to try to change perspective to know that if someone's really a family member you know I would try to thatcher the more famous story with the brisket rove right where somebody was telling him about you know the the secular zionists they're doing this doing that and he says Yona Hanavi is on a boat filled with david azar idol worshippers and there's a storm and it looks like the boat is gonna sink and youngness says this is only because of me well because of me said the brisket rope when you see things are happening a society the only place to look is in ourselves they're not so good looking at everybody else you know and that's much easier since rabbi doctor torski wrote a book with a parish on peanuts cartoons I feel like I can quote from one where - says - Lucy everyone was put into this world to make people happy and she thinks about it she goes there's a lot of people out there not doing their job so that's it's obviously much easier to look at somebody else but you're telling me that / Llano is in the plural which means that we're looking at everybody sins not just their own we have to switch our perspectives or our own sins for our own personal vote and also I have a look at other people in a way when the strength we get for greed for greater alva sister all that is I think is on perm we kind of you know we put on costumes kind of help separate the barriers you know as you explained once I believe that we share each other's food hmm I actually heard this rumor you left yeah if they give credit recruiters do right as a friend of mine used to say call me Charlotte devil - shame on bro maybe gula Lola yeah who said that put that aside for a moment but everybody always quotes but the idea is that I send you what I like and you send me what you like I always said this should be motivation to develop much classier friends because you want to stay away from the loose nuts and I know and bumper people is that a fellow used to send me slice roast beef you know - I worked hard to maintain that relationship and that's how I'm looking for eyes what we're trying to say yeah but but I don't know sometimes you send out your shot off - to people and it makes them rounds and eventually you get back your own child - you know and I'm even happier because I like mine better than everybody so what's the idea the idea is I want you to enjoy what I like and I want to try to enjoy what you like and that's why you know I give a shout out to my good friend Benji Reisman whose father of course is a big gruff and his grandfather the founder of Reisman's bakeries and one year I spoke about the fact that there's no prune hamantaschen tonight's show and what a terrible burden that has been for me to bear it was one of the reasons I really considered moving from ericeira back to America and so he sent me a big box prune hamantaschen lasted a long time I'm not asking for anything out there I'm just I'm just making an observation but you know my gosh you said prune hamantaschen you know so israelis may or may not enjoy that they might like the ones that are filled with chocolate or dirt yes they also make they could they could pop you see but why in the world would anyone ever fill a pastry with poppy seeds the idea to me is so but so it's called Mon yeah Mon and Chicago and they want to see how strong your harvest escalators there wasn't easy face because I would hate to think what they gonna send me but anyway but the idea is that everyone is your own taste some taste you know as they say there it's time for a yeah yeah when it comes to smell a day's end but caftan I'd argue about what's right and what's wrong you know everybody everybody has their idea of what looks good what they can appreciate that's why there's an entire market nice Toronto in America for these pictures that are made up of like little like plastic bushes and things that are stuck together on a piece of velvet and they put a piece of glass on top of it and people hang these in their houses and it's really just the Jewish version of a satin pillow with frills on it that says Philadelphia is a fun city so it's just there maybe one step up you know what those little glass figurine of my anyway I digress but yeah so so you're saying that perm helps break down the barrier how do you do that so I mean I how do you I always had this type of I never did it but I've always thought about it of making shutoff Moniz for geared towards the person I'm sending it to I never did it and I might not go with the theme of your costume it doesn't go it doesn't go with the theme of the cast this is very important yeah I know about everybody else in my house we have to have a theme she has to be a color or it has to be an idealist last year we had a newish Alliance Shushan Purim came out on Friday for like the fifth time in a row and so my kids did Freaky Friday we all dressed up like each other and what can I tell you I feel so jealous of the person who dressed up like me because as I mentioned that like in my own shop what is bad drains the cabbage it is this guy stood in because I'm a white American male I would rather be in bed than playing stupid parlor games Who am I so I remember one time I went to information firm and my friend Robby Nissel ratted on me to information and you know he says deaf it doesn't enjoy for him you know he's not caught up in the and the action of the day the happiness today you know ah services what can do he really understands it then permanent itself is a very serious day and and they always say there's a very fine line between comedy and tragedy yeah the mm oh man carvanha is Mel Brooks and this is Javits how many comedians he goes oh one time a tiger walks into the cave and this guy Murray grabs him by the tail and goes yeah ah yeah and the tiger turned around and ate him ha ha that sounds like tragedy this is what's tragedy tragedy is if I cut my finger what's comedy you fall into an open manhole and die so there's a very fine line between comedy and tragedy and and the absurdity that goes with it so unburn did he stop to think about it I mean the the implications of the day and everything that went into it was was dramatic I mean when she used to point out that that we were sold the demurrer says there was never anyone who's sold or bought by common and average bearish when very so the Jewish people determined and the Greek came out against us and the crew was signed with the royal seal and that can never be broken so much' pointed out that that Isaiah against the Jewish people exists till this day we're still hanging by a thread so there is a definitely a seriousness to it all the themes and the power to viola on Purim and free us from that in a way if you understood the power that we have with that we you know couldn't be we didn't break it that even if we're drunk and even if we're sleeping even if we're desperate so there's so much thing we've we gained a power of Octus on permed we came back a power of the realize that efforts our abode accomplishes we'd be free when coffers climb says you know what we need to just you have to work on our vices well specifically it's in a way that could be why maybe it's so hard to focus on that on problem well that's why Hashem this book is still available it's not something like hotcakes is selling like Teddy Ruxpin before the first holiday when it was being sold no one has any idea what I'm talking about but it doesn't make a difference because we have established I'm basically here to entertain myself and I want to thank rabbi Lieberman for taking out time being on our show where would you find us how if I wanted to get a copy of it I mean I have a copy a scribe yeah right so this actually to know any old bookstores were selling books are sold you can get it from the feldheim website the amazon for me personally it's accessible alright and that's it for this week if you'd like to find out more about the show you can go to every illowsky calm you can add comments see my upcoming event schedule contact me directly if you want to be part of our live ongoing and I can tell you my friends they are a lot of fun we have one on Sunday when on Monday in Mississauga we have da Theo me every single day except for Shabbos and you can still join it's really a lot of fun all right I just gave my last massage so sure sure that I gave and we just we got to talk about so much fun stuff I couldn't even believe it you know I'm usually laser focused and I never drift off topic and I was just surprised how I I was just brought into so many different topics because you know sometimes I anyway but so if you're interested in joining that you want to sponsor an episode of Alaska comma slash sponsor if you want to find out about making your own podcast and you want to go to Jewish podcasts dot org you have that opportunity and what can I tell you you know mission if Masada member tsimko I hope everybody I hope we've added to your simcha a little bit and I hope you get this book safer yeah to be able to help you keep that focus and that's it for this week I'm Deborah Orlowski Lieberman and this is the Reverend it's the rabbi Orlovsky show Turin simpler ready to go the rabbi Orlovsky show knowledge of wisdom will help you lots of fun in every episode of we don't have to ride [Music] it's the rabbi Orlovsky show a rabbi or laughs skis.com no rush anytime you to Lord it's rabbi Orlovsky show Torrance [Music] laughs quiche over till it's time so we meet again throughout my 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