Parsha Perspectives for Today (Bereishis 5784/2023) - Man Doesn't Need to be Told Don't Murder

Okay, good morning and a good winter. Welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. It's awkward to even use the word good relating to the morning or the day. I know I struggled over Yom Tov to even say good Yom Tov to anyone or Chag Sameach to anyone. Obviously, as we're all so attached and connected to everything that's going on in Israel, it's even difficult to tear ourselves away for this hour to feel disconnected to the news and the updates and what's happening. But uh we dig deep to find the will to do it knowing that learning Torah from our perspective and our vantage point, from where we are geographically, is the weapon that we have at our disposal. It's our contribution to the war effort among many others. We had a large rally yesterday and we are making contributions and donations and continue to daven, but the zechus, the merits that we earn, including by learning, are the contribution that we make. So, while it's incredibly difficult to tear ourselves away, but every moment that we spend not only glued to the news, getting enough information that we are informed, but then turning our attention to what we can do, learning and davening and advocating and donating is uh is our mission, is our purpose, it's what we can do. I want to thank our Parsha Series sponsors again for the year, Becky and Avi Katzin family in memory of David Grossman, l'il nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Mendel ben Monish. We remain very, very grateful to the Katz family for their generosity, for their friendship, and for supporting this uh shiur. This morning's shiur in particular is sponsored by Ryan Snowman in memory of his father-in-law, Mark Friedgood, whose yahrzeit was on the second day of Sukkot, and who introduced Ryan to the Parsha shiur, so we're so grateful to him for listening and it should be l'il nishmas Mark. And by Eli Mandelbaum in memory of his father on his third yahrzeit, Reb Avraham Dovid ben Shmuel. Reb Avraham Mandelbaum, Abraham Mandelbaum, whose love for Torah has not been forgotten, and of course our learning is in memory of the more than 900 lives that were lost. It's an number. And uh and in honor and s'chus that the captives be brought home safe and secure, that our soldiers, the members of the IDF, are protected as they protect us. Bereishis, page two in the ArtScroll Stone Chumash. Bereishis bara Elokim, here we are again at the very beginning. And we won't spend time on this now, but this is one of the unique weekends of the year that has a name based on the parsha. It's Shabbos Bereishis. We won't call next week Shabbos Noach, or Shabbos Lech Lecha, or Shabbos Vayeira. We don't call it Shabbos Devarim, but it's called Shabbos Bereishis. Why does the whole Shabbos get a name? What is the significance of Bereishis? We'll talk about it more more maybe on Shabbos, but Bereishis is more than just the name of a parsha. Bereishis is a mentality, it's an attitude, it's a focus, it's a philosophy, it's the way that we are beginning. Chacham einav berosho, the wise person, their eye is berosho, on the reishis. Everything follows the beginning, and therefore this is not just parshas Bereishis, it's an important week in all that we do, because it's not just parshas Bereishis, it's also Shabbos Bereishis. And how could one help but not start at the opening Rashi? A Rashi we all know so well, and yet it bears repeating, particularly with current events all around us. Rashi tells us Amar Rabi Yitzchak, lo hayah tzarich laasok baTorah ela me'Rosh Chodesh haZeh lachem. Where should the Torah have begun from? Where should it begin? Should begin from the very first mitzvah. After all, the Torah is communicating, it's transmitting all the laws, all the statutes, all of Hashem's vision for how to live in his world, how to regulate ourselves. So, what is the very first law, the first mitzvah that we were given? HaChodesh haZeh lachem, to sanctify the new moon, and with it to control the calendar. So, why doesn't the Torah begin with parshas Bo? Why doesn't the Torah begin with HaChodesh haZeh lachem? Why does it start earlier? Ma'atam pasach be'Bereishis? We have this entire book, it's a storybook of patriarchs and matriarchs. Most of it is not flattering. It's a lot of struggles and navigating family relationships. It's about trying to get it right, sibling rivalry, and parenting. So, why do we have this whole book? It's a law book. Why don't we begin from the first law? "A condition is a law of him. You control the calendar that we have control over sanctifying the new moon." Mission master of he give the ammo. It's going to a passage from to him. The uh lesson master of his going in. She him your room of all of the Israelites to my time to come out to my house. Those She will go in. He will come over them call the earth of the condition of the whole who brought who knows the law of a show you show the way enough. Return of the master of him. Return of the not the him and not the law of him. Rashi tells us a tradition he has from his teacher. You know why we have this entire book? For the opening of the book. And the opening of the book reminds us that Hashem created the heaven and earth. This is his world. This is his globe. This is his earth. This is his universe. These are his galaxies. And it's his to do what he wants with. And to whom he bequeathed and gave and allotted and allocated each of the parts of that globe, that earth, and that world. And when the nations of the world will say, "How dare you? You're occupying land. You're occupying territory from the river to the sea. Try to drive us." Make no mistake and it's a terrible mistake people make. I don't want to say as shocking. Nothing is as shocking. But also shocking of the images and visions and stories we're seeing of the images and stories the opera house in Australia and the streets of Manhattan and the streets of Fort Lauderdale and Paris and for all over. Those waving Hamas flags, Palestinian flags, and aligning themselves with brutal brutal animals who could take captive and rape and murder as we know how deeply disturbing. This has nothing to do with a peace process or a dispute over land of which there are legitimate conversations to be had and different positions that people can have. This is brutal. Rashi reminds us that when the umma when the nations of the world will say, "You're thieves, you're robbers, you're bandits, you're gangsters, you stole this land you're occupying." You show them the beginning of safer bracious. Hashem wrote the entire book so that we would be able to point to it and say, "We didn't take anything that's not ours. The creator of the universe who owns everything gave it to us. It is ours rightfully." And Ramban is already bothered, but everyone else can also weigh in and be equally bothered by the absurdity of the question. Are we really You think the nations of the world will be satisfied? Can you imagine you're going to go to the UN? The Israeli ambassador to the UN is going to say, "You You know how terrible things are when the UN condemns Hamas. When the EU is willing to talk about sus- suspending aid, you know that things are terrible and how low the bar and threshold that when we see anyone, any celebrity, the NFL, Major League Baseball, they put out a notice sympathizing with the victims who were brutally murdered and we're so grateful that the world How low the bar We're grateful that you agree we shouldn't be murdered. It's pathetic. It's pathetic how low the bar is for the Jewish people in the world. So, those same umma You think the Israeli ambassador to the UN is going to say, "I want to read a Rashi. You think we're occupying land? We don't belong? Others are entitled to try to drive us out? Let me read a Rashi. We can resolve this entire conflict. Let me read a Rashi." So, several have suggested this Rashi, this tradition is not for the umma olam. When the umma olam will raise this protest and objection, we the Jewish people need to remind ourselves and one another about our right to this land. It is our homeland. It is the one and only Jewish homeland. It was given to us by God. It is our divine right. And we need to remind not only the nations of the world, many of whom won't listen, though we have so many friends among them and should be grateful. In this country elected leaders, Congress and the president, past president, we're grateful and we should be grateful. But we have many who align with us and many who don't. But the message has to begin this Rashi in this tradition, this teaching of Rebbe Yitzchak is really firstly for ourselves. It is for ourselves to remember. Never doubt, never be uncertain, never question Hashem's world, it's his earth, and he gave it to us, and he told us this is our land. This is our land. There are legitimate conversations to have, but not about our right to live there and to be there, to be recognized, to exist. To even debate someone's right to exist is insane, the definition of insanity. Bereishit bara Elohim, the message is for the Jewish people, so many of whom don't understand and don't get it and are on the wrong side. And we need to be reminded and we need to stick together with unity, with one voice, without politics, to stand up for our people at this time. The Zera Kodesh, the Rubshitzer, says on this pasuk, Bereishit bara Elohim, Rashi says, "Matan pasuk Bereishit mishum koach ma'asav higid la'amo." Koach ma'asav, the strength, the power of his actions, higid la'amo, he told his people. It's a pasuk Tehillim kuf yud aleph. We're all saying so much Tehillim right now. We should know what it means. Koach ma'asav, the strength, the power of his deed, of his actions, of his creation, higid la'amo, he transmitted, he told his people says the Halacha Rav Shitzer again in Lashon Hamshacha, he gid to tell means Hamshacha. It means to drag, to give to transmit. His strength, his power his creativity his capacity to create he gid him shich he transmitted, he gave over L'amo to we his people. He invited us to be his partner in the creation of heaven and earth. Like the Gemara says Kol Omar Vayechulu Gemara Shabbos Kuf Yud Tes Kol Omar Vayechulu Nasa Shutaf L'Hakadosh Baruch Hu B'Maaseh Bereishis. If you say Vayechulu, if we acknowledge God as the creator, we become partner with him in creating heaven and earth. And it says Al Bnei Yisrael Keilu Bonim Shamayim Va'aretz. U'Me'eichan Yish L'Bnei Yisrael Koach Hazeh L'Olam? Where do we have that right? Where do we have our building license? Where did we pass that test to build? To be his partner. The answer says the Rav Shitzer, this pasuk. Rak She'Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himshich Lahem She'Yal Lahem Koach Hazeh L'Olam She'Nasa Keilu Im Osam Im Shamayim Va'aretz. Zeh Koach Maaseh He Gid V'Himshich L'amo. Hashem says be my partner in the creation, in completing creation. She'Im Shutfin Imo B'Briat Shamayim Va'aretz. He began the process of creation, but he wants us to finish. We spoke about this a couple years ago in our parsha class on Bereishis. Na'aseh Adam B'Tzalmeinu. In the plural Na'aseh, let us make man. What do you mean let us? Already Chazal say we should worry. Hashem left open the door for heretics to see see there's more than one God. What do you mean Na'aseh? Let us make man. The Zohar Hakadosh says who's the us? Let us? Hashem says no, I got you started. I gave you DNA. I gave you genetics. I I physically brought you into this world. NASA, no? Come, be my partner. Now express your free will, make choices, take actions, be my partner, finish off your creation. The whole idea of the bris milah, Hashem left the tag, the tail it leaves the the suit stitched, and you have to tear open the pockets, you have to remove the final label, the flap. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, I'm the tailor, I created you, and now cut off the final flap, remove the orlah, the bris, be my partner. Be my partner, the bris in the area where you might most likely might give in to your lust and instinct and animal impulse, specifically in the area of your greatest impulse and yetzer hara. We'll see in our parashah Adam and Chava don't even recognize their nakedness before the yetzer hara, before the pull to do the wrong thing becomes internalized, when it's only externally manifested in the eitz ha da'at, they don't even realize they're naked. Because because intimacy physical intimacy you're not ashamed or embarrassed to eat in front of somebody else, and that act had no shame or embarrassment or impulse or lust around it. It wasn't something of the yetzer hara. But once they ate from the eitz ha da'at and the yetzer hara became internalized and absorbed from within, all of a sudden the very next pasuk Adam and Chava say, "Ooh, did you feel that breeze? Feels kind of cool in here." They realize they're naked. And we'll see a beautiful insight of of the rav, how do they clothe themselves, how do they protect themselves? Both from the elements, but also from shame. How do they introduce the notion of modesty? But it's when the yetzer hara becomes internal. So it's specifically on that organ and in that place that the bris milah Hashem says, "No, come, be my partner. Be my partner." So says the Rav Shitz sir that's why where do we get the power to be Hashem's partner? Why do we have the right to have an army to defend ourselves, to defend our homeland? What right do we have to stand up and try to redeem the world, repair the world, improve the world? Who are we to try to influence and mold and shape the world? We don't just have the right. However, we have the responsibility, we have the obligation. Hashem says, "Na'aseh, come be my partner." Hashem says, Hashem says, Mishum koach ma'aseh vigidlah amo, koach ma'aseh Hashem says the koach to be my partner, la'amo, you my people, you bnei Yisrael, you my children, you my eldest children, you my bechor, be my partner. Let's redeem and repair the world. Let's mold this world in the image. We have to root out evil. We have to purge evil from this world. Get rid of the dark and have only light. We have to shape this world. We have to do it literally and our heroes are courageously already and further positioning themselves to do it physically. But all of us can do it in our own way. We're all serving in different units. We're all called up as reservists in this fight to add greater light, to repair this world, how we treat one another, how we speak to one another, what we do with our time, how we share our resources. We're all serving. We are all serving in this mission and mandate to repair and redeem Hashem's world for light over dark, for life over evil that celebrates death. And where do we get the right to be his partner? Mishum koach ma'aseh vigidlah amo, cuz he invited us. Where did he invite us? This opening pasuk, pasuk, this opening pasuk of Sefer Bereishit. Perek aleph, pasuk aleph. Vayikra Elohim la'or yom, Hashem calls light day, ulachoshech karah laylah, and then darkness he calls night, vayehi erev vayehi boker yom echad. It was night and it was dark. That is one one day. I want to tell you a beautiful thought. This I shared again two years ago. The rest of the parsha shares all new. But it's so important and it's so relevant and so bears repeating. And I didn't remember it. I don't want to challenge anyone else, but I wonder if others would anyway. Vayehi erev vayehi boker yom echad. It was evening, it was morning, the first day. Rebbe Ze'ev of Strikov has a beautiful chassidishe interpretation, a teitch, beautiful vort in the pasuk. Erev evening represents darkness, exile, gloom, struggle, suffering, distress. Erev, yerubya, darkness. Erev is the cloak of darkness. Dark. Boker is light, redemption, salvation, clarity, Hashem's kindness. How do we go from erev to boker? Vayehi erev vayehi boker. We're in a state of exile, state of suffering, a state of struggle. We're in a place of horrific darkness. How do we go from erev to boker? From darkness of suffering to the light of redemption? Vayehi erev vayehi boker yom echad. We need a day of achdus. How do you go from erev to boker? Yom echad. A day of achdus, of unity, of coming together, of harmony. When the Jewish people are united, when we are unified, which is what we're seeing all over the world. A unity government about to be announced. People sitting around that table you never could have imagined could cooperate. Setting aside differences that are important and that undoubtedly they will return to. But yom echad, we need a day of achdus if we want to go from erev to boker. Because literally our enemies prey on our divisiveness. And Hashem, our father in heaven, when children are fighting, a parent withdraws. When kids just have conflict and call each other names and can't get along and have tension and no harmony, the parent says, "I'm out of here. I don't want to be around you, and I'm not intervening to rescue you. You're killing each other, let others kill you, you're on your own." But when the children set aside those differences and come together and say, "Father, Avinu Shebashamayim, we're all getting along. We're hugging, we're holding hands, we're singing, we are one. It's a Yom of Echad. It is a day of unity. Vayehi Erev, Vayehi Boker, we can go from Erev to Boker, we can go from darkness to light, we can go from exile to redemption when we have a Yom Echad. We say in the Bracha of Yotzer Ohr each morning, "Oseh Shalom Uv'reiah Hakol." Once there's shalom, then there's everything. For embroiled in conflict and strife, we remain in darkness. It's only when we can transcend those differences and we can join together with love and with harmony that we can go from Erev to Boker, from darkness to exile. Now, Echad does not mean uniformity. We do not all have to be the same. The army is made up right now of many different units. Hashem's army has many different units. We don't have to be the same. But we have to be Echad, we have to be with a sense of Achdus. Perek Beis, Pasuk Yud. We go through, of course, all of creation, we studied this in the past, so we're moving through it. All of the six days of creation, man is created, of course, on the sixth day, and then comes the creation of the seventh day, Shabbos. Vayechulu Hashamayim V'ha'aretz V'chol Tzva'am. Hashem rests. That too is an act of creation, we don't think of it that way. We don't think of it that way. Rest is creativity. When you are creative, you rest. When you're not creative and you're just carried by momentum, when you're on autopilot, you stay in motion, you stay in movement, you keep working. Rest is also an act of creation, of creativity, and that's what Hashem did. Vayechulu Hashamayim V'ha'aretz V'chol Tzva'am, that's why it says, "Vayechal Elokim Bayom hashvi'i." And then it says it was after six days. But it was also bayom hashvi'i. So, when did he rest? The answer is it was the last act of creation was introducing and creating rest, and that's what we emulate and imitate. That's the gift of Shabbos. We have a lot more to say on this, but you can listen every Friday to turn Friday into Erev Shabbos. That's what we talk about for 10 minutes every Friday when we prepare for Shabbos. Baruch Hashem bayom hashvi'i Kodesh Baruch Hu blessed the seventh day, sanctified it "ki vo shavas mikol melachto" because he rested from all that he had all that he had created. And then we have the Garden of Eden. Elokim told us "behivaram" Kodesh Baruch Hu creates heaven and earth, and we go to pasuk yud. "Venahar yotzei me'Eden l'hashkos es hagan." There is a river that issues forth from Eden, from the garden, that waters the garden. "Umisham yipared l'arba rashim." And from there it's divided into four different rivers. "Shem ha'echad Pishon." Some of it goes to Havilah. And the Torah then names the four rivers that come out from this major river that leaves the gan, that leaves the garden. What does it mean venahar? Yotzei. So, a teaching from the Kedushas Levi, the holy Kedushas Levi of Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. He says the following. I actually got uh the author ArtScroll just put out three volumes Kedushas Levi in English. It's a remarkable Kedushas Levi is not an easy sefer. Levi Yitzchak has beautiful deep teachings. And they put it out to make it accessible and usable. I'm grateful they shared a copy with me, and I want to share with you. And uh with gratitude to them and encourage you to study it your yourself as well. The Levi of Levi Yitzchak says the following. "Venahar yotzei me'Eden l'hashkos es hagan." "Ki amar Rabbeinu Zevulun "kalakim atzei matan Torah mitzvos." Our sages taught me as careful the performance of what we call a minor mitzvah as a major one for you do not know the reward given for mitzvahs. We do not know the divine joy that God gets from every mitzvah we do. But this we know. The idea behind this is that we cannot comprehend the pleasure derives from performance of a mitzvah. We know that the result of a mitzvah that is God affords us the opportunity to perform is another mitzvah. Since he sees we desire to do mitzvahs, just as when a father sees that his son understood some idea the father asked him to consider yet another idea. When sees we get a from a mitzvah, it gives us another mitzvah. He nourishes us with another opportunity invitation again. And this is the idea of the river that issues forth and splits into four smaller rivers. Because he says the brain the skull houses the brain in four cavities. It's third cavity is divided into two and then he goes on to liken this but he continues in the next piece and he says another another idea that I want to share with you. Another interpretation is as is known every Jew must constantly cleave to the virtuous and upright behavior in order to give Hashem nachas ruach. We don't think of it that way. We think we're so sophisticated intellectual and rational. The omnipotent infinite being he doesn't need anything he doesn't get anything. But Hashem is himself he constricts himself the infinite one so that we can relate to him in a way that we experience him getting nachas ruach from our actions. From our actions, you know? Spoke to my parents yesterday in Eretz Yisrael. How's the rally? How was Sukkos? How did the Yizkor drasha go? I'm whatever age I am, and I still get an enormous pleasure from giving my parents nachas. I get a huge pleasure from giving my parents nachas. It doesn't matter what age you are. You can get enormous pleasure from getting your parent giving your parents nachas. We have members of our shul 100 years old. Their children in their 70s are still giving their parents nachas. In their 70s. That's how we designed the world. Is that among the greatest pleasures that we get is that when there's someone we respect that we admire, somebody that we defer to, and they get joy from us, psst, that's unbelievable pleasure. It's an incredible pleasure that we get. It's one of the motivating pleasures. In the world of business, they talk about knowing the employee, what will motivate. Positive words of affirmation, money. For some, having a kind word from a boss is better than a bonus. I'm not sure how big a bonus, but then a Starbucks a Starbucks gift card. More saying job well done. We couldn't have done it without you. You're an incredible asset to our organization. Wow, you know what that does for somebody? So, we are meant to live in this world in this life knowing you came to the rally yesterday? You opened the Tehillim last night? You showed up at the parsha shiyur? You know what that means Hashem? Do you know what it means? You attempted to watch something and you said it's not right for a ben Torah. I'm not going to watch that image, that show. You know what that means Hashem? The nachas ruach that you're giving him? The intention of such shiyur should be that Hashem is proud of us. As it says in Pirkei Avot, as the traditional lady quotes, Mishnah Pirkei Avot min ha-Adam. So, Rebbe teaches Rebbe Yehudah ha-Nasi in Pirkei Avot, which is the right path that a person should choose? All that is honorable to the one who does it and brings him honor from humanity. The phrase of the Mishnah stated in its eloquence, all that is honorable to the one who does it, can be read Rabbi Yitzchak is suggesting an alternative reading of the teaching from Pirkei Avot. What does it mean? What does it mean kochi hu tiferes lo osehah? We normally read it to mean, all that is honorable to the one who does it. Rabbi Yitzchak suggests it should be read, all that is a source of pride to lo osehah doesn't mean the one who does the act. Lo osehah means you're giving pride to the one who made you. Hashem. Giving nachas ruach to the Ribono shel Olam. A deeper level, a person ought to follow the right path so Hashem will take pride in him. Interpreting the subject of the verb who makes him to be Hashem is justified in as much as the one who makes everything. Aval b'emes, lo chalah kasha. Mazel Hashem Yisboruch m'nei Adam. Haleyish lo kamah malachim malachim shavchim l'vorei. But then Rabbi Yitzchak is left with a question. Bothered by a question, what does Hashem need our mitzvahs? What does Hashem need our discipline? What does Hashem need our good deeds for? After all, he's surrounded by malachim, he's the angels in heaven. And the angels are perfect. They get nothing wrong. They do everything right. They don't struggle. They never give in to temptation impulse. So, what does he need us? So, says Rabbi Yitzchak, that's what it means tiferes lo min ha-Adam. Angels doing the right thing is meaningless to Hashem. If you have a robot and it responds based on the way it was programmed to what it was meant to do, you don't go over your little Amazon Echo or whatever say, "I'm so proud of you. Laptop, I'm so proud of you." "Smartphone, smart house, I'm so proud of you." "Smart thermostat, way to go. You turned the AC on in time. You maintained the right pressure, the right the right uh temperature. I'm so proud of you, thermostat. Couldn't have done it without you. Nobody talks about the nachas they get from their thermostat. Why? Cuz it's just programmed. It's automated. Doesn't have a soul. Hashem doesn't get nachas from the angels. They're just thermostats. They're vacuum cleaners. They're smartphones. What gives Hashem the nachas is this tiferes low min ha'adam. When we struggle with temptation, when we could be doing the wrong thing, and nevertheless we do the right thing, shh. Gives the nachas ruach to the Ribono shel Olam. V'zehu tiferes l'adam min adam dai min adam. I gave up ton of hours in this party mode. U'shada machshava atzmo b'china zu az magiya ton of hours l'vadei. V'az golem machshavto l'chol olamos. When a person gets the joy and the pleasure and the pride in giving pride and pleasure to Hashem, uh wa, that brings down such light, such sparks that transforms, that redeems the world in such a way. Yadu Husha naharu ashba. And that's the meaning of the pasuk. What in the world does this have to do with this parshas breishis, with this pasuk? Says the K'dushas Levi, that's what it means. The nahar yotzei min ha'eden l'hashkos. A river is a metaphor for stream of divine bounty. So, that's what it means, this flow. A river issues forth from Gan Eden to water the garden. That from Gan Eden the delight and pleasure that Hashem derives from one's service of him, a stream of goodness issues forth to Gan Eden, and it nourishes the whole world. Nourishes the whole world. What a beautiful teaching, no? Thank you, ArtsGo. Thank you to the author. You sent it. So grateful. Moshe Silk, thank you so much for your work and sharing it with me. A beautiful teaching of Reb Levi Yitzchak. Says the K'dushas Levi, we give Hashem nachas ruach. When we give Hashem nachas ruach, we derive incredible pleasure, and we become incredibly motivated. And that's what elevates and transforms this world, and that's what brings down. So, that's the tight vinaya yotzei may Aiden. There's a river that leaves Gan Eden. We know what the river that leaves heaven that brings down the goodness and the blessing in this world is that has power the sparks that come from Hashem when he gets pride that we do the right thing. We're needed by him. We have a role to serve. All of us can keep living life exactly the same as we were before Shmini Atzeres 5774. We could just be in motion. We could be exactly the same or we could be inspired to change, to accept his invitation to be his partner in redeeming and repairing this world. We could take advantage of every moment, daven, learn, chesed, tzedakah. We could be better people to each other. And when we do and we give that nachas to Hashem, more is going to be yotzei may Aiden. That river's going to flow. It's going to overflow. It's going to deliver and bring all of that bracha that we so desperately need. And that is the way we make the river flow. That's the way we make the river overflow, says the holy Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. All right, base pasuk 12. This garden that Hashem put man in, he also gave him a charge. Vayikach Hashem Elokim es ha'adam vayinichehu began Eden l'avdah ul'shamrah. He put man in the Garden of Eden l'avdah to work it and to guard it. And all the environmentalists and environmental groups, and there's nothing wrong with that. We have a responsibility. This is their favorite pasuk and bumper sticker and motto in the world. L'avdah and the next word? Ul'shamrah. That why are we here? To not only work this world, but l'shamrah we have to protect and guard this world. We have to protect and guard it and indeed we do. But why do we have to protect and guard this world? Not because the world deserves it, but because man, who is the pinnacle of creation, man who is the centerpiece of creation, man for whom there is a creation. Man is what Hashem cares about, and so we ul'shamrah we don't see creation as the ends and man as the means. We see man as the ends and creation, the world, the environment is the means, and so we have a responsibility to ourselves to work and guard the garden. Rabbi Chaim ben Attar This is not an ordinary garden. Ordinarily, when you have a garden, I had a garden for about 15 minutes during Corona. Maybe 16 minutes on a good day. I had a garden for a very short time. What I was told, the reason it was a very short time is that I was only told it, I didn't actually do it. You've got to water it. It's got to be in the right spot to get the right sunlight. There are weeds that you've got to pull the weeds. You've got to build a little protective fence around it to make sure the rodents and the insects aren't going to get to it. A garden has to be taken care of. But this garden, this garden, the garden of Hashem, Gan Eden, that narrow is your say, what do you mean love and guard the garden? It doesn't take ordinary soil from Home Depot or Lowe's. I prefer Home Depot cuz we had Bernie Marcus on Fine the Bima and he gives tremendous amount of money to Israel and is on the right side of Israel. So, you can't buy the the shovel and the hoe and the soil and the nutrients at Home Depot. So, how do you fulfill love and guard the garden for this garden? The Mishnah teaches about the upper worlds. The whole description of Breishit, everything that exists in this world is really a metaphor for the upper world. The Gan Eden, right, our connection, our image of a garden below is a metaphor so that we can picture what a garden above means. There's a garden above in the heavens and we nourish it not with anything you buy at Home Depot and not with your hose or sprinkler system, but with Torah and mitzvahs. Le avda are the mitzvahs as I say. Le shamra or avoid the lo s'aseh. That garden upstairs, do you know how you take care of that garden? Le avda we nourish the garden with the positive things we do and le shamra we protect the garden by not doing the negative harmful things. And the Or HaChaim concludes that Adam HaRishon saw palpably, tangibly, he saw exactly how his doing the right things improved the garden for him. And when he violated the one thing he wasn't meant to do, how that harmed and damaged the garden. Our impact on the cosmos, on the heavens, on the sparks of shamayim, le avda u le shamra are true. And far be it from me to disagree with the Or HaChaim HaKadosh. He says Adam saw in real time the result of his le avda u le shamra on the garden. But we don't, we just believe that somewhere up there, but I disagree. I think our garden is our holy community. Is the environment. Right? What is a garden le avda u le shamra? It's an environment. And the environment that we create around ourselves, and when we fill it with u le avda, when we do Torah and ma'asim tovim, we create a beautiful environment. A beautiful place to raise our children, a beautiful community. U le shamra, and we have to protect it. We have to protect it from divisiveness and sinah and tension. We have to protect it from immorality. We have to protect it from the influences and the forces and the values that seek to corrupt it and to compromise it. L'avdo U'Lishmora is true from the Gan. Each of us have a Gan. Our home. Our family is a beautiful garden. How do we nourish it and how do we protect it? With mitzvahs as I say and lo sa'aseh, Torah Masim Tovim and avoiding the yetzer hara. We want the garden to flourish. You want it to be like my 15-minute Corona garden. That was extremely short-lived that when I first planted it, my kids were already making fun of me. "Aba, you're only doing this for a drasha." And they were 100% correct. So, do we want the garden of our family, of our home, of our community to last only as short as my Corona garden? Or do we want it to be going on for generations and generations to come? To plant to plant things that will blossom, that our great, great, great, great grandchildren will be tasting the sweetness of what it produces. So, the way to nourish our garden like the Gan Hashem, L'avdo U'Lishmora, are the same values of Orach Chaim Hakadosh of the Masim Tovim, Torah and mitzvahs, and protecting from the yetzer hara. Torah then continues. Pasuk Tazri'a, the very next pasuk. Vayikach Hashem The next pasuk, Vayitzav Hashem Elokim al ha'adam lemor, "Mikol eitz hagan achol tochel." And now Hashem says, "This beautiful garden I've deposited you in, safeguard and protect it, take good care of it, nourish it and nurture it and guard it. And there's one one tree Mikol eitz hagan achol tochel. All of the trees you could eat. From the Eitz Hada'as Tov U'Ra lo sochal mimenu. Some say, by the way, what's the first mitzvah in the Torah? The first formal mitzvah of Taryag is in Parshas Bo. That's what we opened up and spoke about. That's Achodesh Lachem. But the first tzivui Hashem says, even before he says go propagate is "Bechol etz achol tochel." Enjoy my beautiful world. Enjoy it. Sweet, delicious, go out there and enjoy it. We don't believe in ascetic lives. We don't believe in lives of celibacy. That's not our religion. We, our motto, "Bechol etz hagan achol tochel." Hashem says go and enjoy. It's delicious. It's wonderful. It's not an ends again, it too is a means to living a virtuous, meaningful, purposeful life of service to Hashem. But go. "Min ha'etz hada'at tov ura lo sachem menu." Only one tree do not eat from. "Kee veyom achalcha menu mot tamut." You will die. It is poisonous. The moment you eat from it, you are done. What is that tree? "Etz hada'at tov ura." It is the tree of knowledge. What knowledge? "Tov ura lo sachem menu." Don't eat from it. What kind of tree was that? The one kind of tree we know it wasn't is an apple tree. Christian, medieval artists decided it's an apple tree and corrupted the image in so many people's mind. But one thing we know is it was not an apple tree. Might have been an etrog tree, might have been a fig tree, might have been a wheat stalk. The Gemara, Chazal have many different suggestions of what it was. It was not an apple tree. Get that out of your mind. But it was the tree of knowledge good and good and bad. That's what I said before. The yetzer hara was external. This notion of the struggle between my godly soul, my chelek elokah mima'al mamash, and the animal impulse, the animal soul, it was outside, it was external. It's after man couldn't behave and gave in to the seduction, Chava gave in to the seduction of the nachash, of the snake, became absorbed internally. The Moreh Nevuchim has a beautiful insight. He says, "Harotzeh la'avod Hashem lo yireh chaseron acherav dero." "Rak yireh es hatov shebo." If you want to work on yourself, you want to serve Hashem, Don't see what's missing in your friend. Don't see their weaknesses. Don't see their pimples and warts. Don't see their liabilities. See their strengths. See what they excel at. See the good in them. You can't judge someone until you walk in their shoes. And you know what? You could never ever walk in anyone else's shoes. You don't have their background. You don't have their DNA. You don't have their life experience. You don't have their personality. You don't have their strengths and weaknesses. By definition, you can't walk in someone's shoes. Which means you can never judge anyone. So, don't be such a khokham that you think that you can sit and point fingers. You can sit and you can judge. If you're arrogant, you think you're in a position, you think you're poised from your porch to look down and to sit in judgment and criticism of everyone around you. But if you live with modesty, then you only choose to see the good in everyone. You choose to see their strengths. You choose to see their good. And that's the parish here. Don't indulge and don't eat from the buffet of judgment. Don't eat from the tree of judgment. You think that you can sit and eat from the tree that will give you the knowledge to be able to judge others? And that's what it says. Once they ate from that tree, they realized they were naked. You know what that means? It means they were unable. They were naked from being able to judge their neighbor, their friend. Means that they were exposed. Their shortcoming. They were exposed for their weaknesses. So, it's of course a homiletical shivart. But the dastovera from the buffet of judgement, from the tree of judgement, from the snack, the nosh of judgement, lo sochal. Don't ever indulge, don't ever eat from it. Because if you do, vi yedukei arumim hem, you're going to know that you're naked. You're going to realize how exposed and how vulnerable you are yourself. Perek Gimmel, pasuk tes, we move over from the Hasidic She'iltos to the Rav of Soloveitchik. Who also was very familiar with Hasidic She'iltos, including the Baal HaTanya, and even quoted the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch but he tells us the following. Perek Gimmel, pasuk tes. In the Artscroll Chumash, page, top of page 16. Vayikra Hashem Elokim el HaAdam. What happens? Man can't behave, indulges and eats from the Eitz HaDaas. We spoke two years ago, by the way, the Nachash spoke to Chava, what language? Hebrew, English, French, Aramaic? What language? The snake. What language? Is there a snake language? Did it hiss? Chava understood the hiss of the snake? What language? We saw I think five or six different interpretations, fascinating. What language? The last day of Rabbenu Asher said it was body language. What you do speaks so loudly I can't even hear what you say. You don't have to speak. You don't even have to speak. Chava saw what the Nachash did by eating, it looked so delicious, and had such a big smile, and had such drool running down its little snake mouth, that she followed in his footsteps. But, man misbehaves and as a result, Hashem calls out to Adam. Hashem calls out to Adam, Vayikra Hashem Elokim el HaAdam, Vayomer lo, and he says, "Ayeka?" Where are you? Where are you? What is Ayeka? Says Rav Soloveitchik, "Because Hashem asked Adam, 'Where are you?' and Adam did not confess to his sin, there will always be destruction accompanied with Eicha, with lamentation. The call from Hashem, 'Ayeka?' is not limited to the episode of Adam's sin. It comes quite frequently through history or through events in one's private life, but man often ignores the call. If man does not answer the ayeka, the call, he will be destined to say eicha, to mourn. If we don't answer the ayeka, then we will say eicha, and we will be in a state of of mourning. The the Rav of Soloveitchik, not to say that he got this from but the Baal HaTanya, Baal HaTanya very famously also spoke about eicha in this way. In the Torahs Menachem, the Rebbe quotes Friediker Rebbe, his father-in-law, related that when the Alter Rebbe was in prison, this is a translation of Torahs Menachem volume chof aleph. He was interrogated by a deputy minister who was erudite in the in the scriptures and an authority on Jewish affairs. One of the questions the official put to him concerned the plain text, "And the eternal God called to Adam and said, 'Ayeka, where are you?'" "Did not God know where Adam was that he had to inquire, 'Where are you?'" The Rebbe explains him the text. So again, when the Rebbe was in prison, one of the guards in prison who was familiar with Tanakh said to him, to the Friediker Rebbe anew, "What's your teitch? What's your understanding?" Sorry, when the Alter Rebbe was in prison. When the Alter Rebbe was in prison, the guard said to the Alter Rebbe, the Baal HaTanya, "What does it mean ayeka? God didn't know? God didn't have ways? God didn't have Google Maps? God didn't have GPS? He couldn't find him?" So the Rebbe answered, "The text is interpreted by Rashi." But the official said, "I'm aware of Rashi's explanation. I'd like to hear an explanation from the Rebbe." This is the chamishah shetakshim of Tanya going on in prison between the Baal HaTanya and the guard. The Rebbe says when a person is, for example, x years old, and here he mentioned the exact age of his interrogator, the Almighty asks him, "Where are you? Are you aware of why you were created on Earth? Are you aware of what you are expected to do and how much you have done? The Rebbe, my father-in-law, concluded the story by saying the Alter Rebbe's reply to that official saved him from Klesser Nefesh, from the flight of of the soul. For the Alter Rebbe was in a state of exaltation for having merited Excuse me, to be imprisoned and to suffer martyrdom for the teachings of the Ba'al Shem Tov and the Maggid. His ecstatic bliss brought him to the verge of Klesser Nefesh, but as he considered that Hashem asks every one of us, "Where are you? Have you accomplished your mission mission?" and impressed upon him he must remain here on Earth, a soul vested in the body to complete the purpose for which his soul had descended. Every Jew must know what to answer, "Where are you?" It's asked of everyone constantly. It applies to all from the greatest to the smallest, to each according to their own level. To one individual demand, "Where are you?" may be an admonition to withdraw from Klesser Nefesh. You must carry out your mission and perform your service on this Earth. It's not your time to go. To another, the call of Ayeka, "Where are you?" may be the admonition not to indulge in passions and worldly pleasures, for these will cause him to fall altogether. He's told to make vigorous efforts to study Torah and observe mitzvahs. This demand confers upon each one strength to perform his particular service and attain the destiny for which he was created and to do it with joy and gladness of heart. The relationship between the question of Ayeka and the imprisonment of the Alter Rebbe, he then went on to explain further. So, this is Ayeka. Hashem knew exactly where Adam was. Ayeka doesn't mean, "Where are you? Where are your coordinates?" GPS Ayeka means, "Where are you in life? Where are you? Is it you who you're meant to be? Where are you? Who are you? What is your life about? How will you define? What legacy will you leave? What is your reputation? What is your brand? How are you thought of? What difference are you making? Are you living a life of service to others? Ayeka, where are you? Where are you? And that is the call. And the Rebbe says if we don't answer the call of Ayeka, we end up with Eicha. Destruction and devastation and grief and mourning. We have to answer the call of Ayeka. And we're living in a time that there's a massive and a loud call of Ayeka. Are we standing up? Are we responding? Are we doing what we can all in limited fashions from where we are? If you're listening in Eretz Yisrael, we're thinking of you. We're davening for you. You're all answering that call in all. I have two nieces whose husbands are on the border right now outside of Gaza. They were done with the army, but they were called up and they moved in with my sister. And everybody, the wives who had to say goodbye to their husbands, children who said goodbye to their fathers, parents who took in children and grandchildren while their sons-in-law are away. And I don't share that with you cuz I'm any exception. Every one of you, every one of us. So, those living in Israel, all we do is think about you 24/7 and wake up and check what's going on with you and struggle to even give a sheer for an hour not knowing what's going on with you. And you're answering the call in your way and we have to answer the call in our way from where we are, davening and rally and staka and merits and learning. Ayeka. Ayeka. We don't want any Eicha. We don't want further Eicha. We have to answer the call of Ayeka. Rabbi Lord Sacks, Zechuto Yagen Aleinu Veracha, understood Ayeka a little bit differently. He pointed to the first stories of the Torah and he says, "You know what the first stories of this Torah are? The calamities? The failure to take responsibility." Hashem says, "Adam, where are you? Ayeka?" He says, "It's her fault." Cain kills Abel and he says, "Hey Cain, where's your brother Abel?" Shomer Achiyanuochi? Kadosh Baruch Hu can understand that man is fallible, man makes mistakes. What he doesn't tolerate is when we won't take responsibility. When we don't take ownership for our mistakes, that's what he can't tolerate. The call of Ayeka is, "Will you own up to your mistake? Do you take responsibility? Do you apologize and pledge and promise to try better? Hashem is very forgiving. We just came off that season of forgiveness and we believe he forgives. He can forgive. He's quick to forgive. He's ready to forgive. What he doesn't forgive is when we fail to take responsibility. That's what P'shat says of Rabbi Sacks in in Ayeka. Perek Daled Pasuk Vav. Cain rises and kills his brother Abel. Hashem says to Cain, "Why are you annoyed? And why is your countenance fallen?" Now, this is before he kills him. When he's offering the korban. Cain had the idea to offer the korban. Then Abel offered a korban. Whose korban was accepted? Abel. How does Cain react? He kills Abel. What's going on over here? So, our friend Rav Yosef Suratsky Shlita in his Maggid Yosef. The Sifrei Tzror HaMor finds guilt in Abel because why was Abel only motivated and moved to bring a korban to Hashem when he saw his brother Cain do it? He wasn't inspired on his own. He didn't initiate. That's why the Torah says that Abel Hevi Gam Hu. Abel he also brought a korban. The Torah is kinda giving a little bit of blame. A shtikel patch. Abel wasn't inspired on his own. He only did it cuz he saw Cain do it. Gam Hu. Meaning what motivated Abel to bring his korban? Only because Cain. He was keeping up. He was jealous. He was envious of what Cain was doing, so he did it too. Hashem turns to Cain and he says, "No, why do you look so sad? Why are you so down?" Cuz Hashem accepted Hevel's carbon, not Cain. He says, "Why do you look so sad?" What do you mean, why does he look so sad? Cuz Hashem accepted Hevel's carbon, not his. Sforno says, "What's the mussar? What's the patch Hashem's giving Cain?" He says, "You brought a carbon. You brought both carbonos. So, Hashem decided Hevel's is better? It's not a competition. Do better next time. Bring a bigger one next time." You know what drove Cain crazy? Whose idea was the carbon to begin with? His. And who said Hashem accept more? Hevel. Hevel stole the idea from Cain, and then he's the one who gets honored at the dinner? He's the one who gets all the fanfare in the spotlight? So, the Meged Yosef develops this idea here, and he says, "There are two types of envy and jealousy, good and bad. When envy and jealousy motivates and inspires you to do something good, you've harnessed that natural instinct towards envy to be driven to do something better. So, kin'as sofrim tarbeh chachmah. Jealousy among scholars increases wisdom. You saw somebody else learning, finishing shas, finishing masechta, going to the shiur, giving the shiur, and you want to learn more and do more? It's a fantastic envy. Envy and jealousy because they have a nicer car, a nicer house. They were honored, they got the spotlight, someone said positive things about them, not you. That is a very very destructive and negative kinah. All this is in this pasuk. All this is in this pasuk, and it's in the next pasuk, too. It goes on to say, "This is the failure of Kayin and Hevel's story." There's two stories of jealousy. We focus on one. Kayin was jealous of Hevel, and therefore he killed him, and that's what we focus on. But says the Meged Yosef, there's really two stories of jealousy going on here. Hevel was first jealous of Kayin, but that was a good jealousy, and that brought about a positive outcome, that he imitated him, emulated him, brought a korban, too. But it was followed by the jealousy of Kayin that brought about, of course, a terrible outcome. The Kli Yakar has an insight over here, second Kli Yakar in a row. The Kli Yakar is bothered. Hashem turns to him and he says, pasuk ches, Kayin speaks to Hevel, his brother, and they're in the field. Kayin gets up and he kills him. What's missing from the pasuk? What did Kayin say? First of all, usually physical violence erupts cuz there's a failure of communication. Nobody's listening, they're not speaking, they're not communicating. You see that in this pasuk, there's a failure or breakdown of communication. Then Hashem turns to Kayin and says, "Ayekah Hevel achicha?" And he says, "I have no idea. "Hashem achiyanu achi." Pli'ah gedolah al Kayin. Eich amar "Lo yadati." How can Kayin turn to God and say, "I have no idea where Hevel is?" If he thought he's going to get away with it, God is a great God, he has no idea what's going on down here below, so he won't find out. Why did he bring a korban? The same Kayin that brought a korban because he thought God can see what's happening down here, then surely God saw that you just killed your brother. So how did you think you're going to get away with it when you say loyadati, I have no idea where he is? It's a matter of the kasha, no? It's a bum kasha, the kasha asks. If you don't believe God sees what goes down on Earth, then why do you bring a carbon? If you brought a carbon because you think God is connected to what's happening down here on Earth, then why do you why do you answer loyadati? The near lamar listens to the kasha says, Kivada haven kind of shalom alaykum nation loyadati and it's a lamar loyadati sheesh of on the davar harika. When did you tell me God that I can't kill? Where does it say? You gave one instruction, the tree of knowledge, good and bad, don't eat from, and my father, my parents blew it. You never said I can't kill. You put a few human beings here on Earth. You put a lot of animals, and you never gave instructions. You never said you can't kill. Hashem any lashon to me and I must have a loyadati camera loyadati and I wish my fish and I got it. It's not a shalom alaykum. You know okay? It's loyadati a shalom alaykum. I didn't know that I have to watch my brother and not kill him. Where does it say? Who says? Doesn't say anywhere. Shalom alaykum akash shalom kitan shalom alaykum and I wish my fish and I got it. I'm a lucky shalom alaykum. A shalom alaykum. How can you claim you didn't know? I wish my fish and I got it and I wish my fish and I got it. There are some things you don't have to be told. There are some laws you should intuit. There are some truths you should just know. They're basic and core human instinct. The value of human life is a natural knowledge. You don't need to be told, you don't need to be taught, it doesn't need to be written in a book. Hashem says to Cain, yeah, Hashem, yes, you have to safeguard your brother. I I didn't instruct it, I didn't explicitly state it, I didn't write it anywhere. So, what? It's a rational mitzvah, you should have known. Cold to me a shalom alaykum. What does it mean? Adamah the ground means our natural instinct. The The voice of your brother's crying out to me from the ground, meaning your brother is telling me that you should have known. It's not a excuse. It's not a defense. Well, you never tell me it doesn't say it anywhere. There are things that every basic moral, decent human being knows. And do not murder is one of them. Had the Torah not said, "Do not murder." we should know it. And so on. And this connection is obvious to our time. Barbarians, terrorists, immoral animals who forfeited the tzelem Elokim. I had a little bit of debate online with my dear friend Rabbi Pultowski. Cuz I said they may look like human beings. Some of my children saw these images and said, "Abba, I don't understand. They They look They're wearing a t-shirt and jeans. They smile and their hair is cut. And they look like they could be anybody. I don't understand." I said, "That's cuz you assume that they're human beings. They're in the guise of human beings, but their evil has purged the tzelem Elokim within them." Rabbi Soloveitchik writes this in a few places and believes this. That a person can purge writes it about Amalek. And he spoke about it about the Nazis. You could be so evil that you purge and you lose the very divine soul that you had. And all that you are left, he writes you take the form of a Satan here on Earth. I will say if you purged your godly soul, then all that you have left is that animal instinct. You are an animal. You're an animal in the guise of a human being. And I'm not taking away from their free will. That was the debate online. Of course, it began with free will. And they chose evil. But in choosing this evil, they are animals. Because every human being has a natural knowledge, a rational knowledge to know. Every decent and moral human being knows you cannot murder. Murder is illegal. So, Kayin says the And did you say Where does it say it? No one told me. And Hashem says nice try. That's not a defense. You're a human being, you have a divine soul. If you have a divine soul, then you value value life. You don't celebrate death. And if you're celebrating death and you don't value life, you don't have a divine soul. You're a Satan. You are a animal here on Earth. An animal here on Earth. How does Hashem will end with There's so much more to say. We're starting a new year no different than the way we always are. But, when they come out of the garden they realize they're naked and Hashem clothes them Parshat Toldot Pasuk Chaf Aleph. Daled Chaf Aleph. Vayas Hashem Elokim l'Adam ul'Ishto Kotnot Or, Shem made for Adam and his wife coats of skin. We learn that Adam and Chava first fashioned clothing for themselves. The Gemara explains they made these clothes out of fig leaves because the tree of knowledge was a fig tree. They therefore sought to create clothing from the very source of their sin, thus identifying themselves with a hedonistic pseudo personality they created through the eating of the fruit. In other words, by taking the very source of their mistake and using that to cover themselves up, they were permanently identifying themselves with their failure, with their mistake. They thought they couldn't overcome it. They couldn't improve upon it. They couldn't transcend above it. But, Hashem created different attire for man to wear. Instead of Kotnot Or, the Midrash relates that in Rabbi Meir's Torah the word Or, Ayin Vav Resh, leather, was spelled with an Aleph, Aleph Vav Resh, meaning light. Hashem designed clothing to cast light upon man's true essence, to accentuate accentuate man's ethical personality that man would identify with his unblemished self. Don't read it I in Vov Resh or leather. Don't read it identifying with a mistake and the failure. Read it Aleph Vov Resh light. We have the ability to restore our purity, to reboot, to return to who we once were. We have the ability to go back to once we were becoming. But we have to answer the call of Ayeka. Because if not God forbid the answer the call of Ayeka, God forbid God forbid God forbid there could be more Ayeka. God forbid. Stay now and we're going to say to Tehillim. Those who want will divide up all of Tehillim. We'll try to complete the Tehillim. Of course we daven and dedicate all of our learning and all that we do to the merit of those in Israel.