Parsha Perspectives for Today (Yisro, 5785) - No Identity Apart from the People

good morning Boro welcome back to para perspectives for today as always huge gratitude to our generous sponsors big thank you to Becky and Nai cats and family who sponsor in loving memory of David grman nishas David benim manes we're so grateful to the cats family and the Grossman's and our learning is in his memory I think his granddaughter is here this morning is here Grossman welcome so happy you're here sponsored as well by Harriet Goldman in commemoration of the Year side of her husband H and garan Hilton Goldman Al and and BR in memory of Irving bra MOS elzar's beloved father grandfather and Isaac as well and we are very grateful to all of our sponsors before we dive back into the Pasha Pas page 394 in the Arts girl Stone a reminder that we have some special opportunities first of all tonight haon raash one of the greatest rabbis of Our Generation the G is will be speaking here men and women 8:00 tonight be here be here early expect a nice crowd he'll be speaking about insights into the war in Israel he's been at the Forefront of answering shilas for the Army the mosad shic hospital and more and he's visi visiting Shiva homes and soldiers and he'll be speaking tonight 8m men and women are invited R and we will be recording it and sharing the recording please God also this Sunday night the shabas will be here and then a concert Sunday night the great AKA AKA turjan not only a great singer in Israel and a great person he to has been serving in milim fighting in Gaza the better part of a year and only the Jewish people are celebrity singers when necessary put on a uniform grab a gun go to the front lines and fight for our people we're excited he'll be here for chabas and the concert on Sunday night there are a few tickets available but they're almost sold out page 394 yro yro had heard yro the the priest of midan had heard all that Moshe all that God had done for Moshe and for the Jewish people that he took the Jewish people out of MIT and as tempted as I am every week to share my favorite Tor par I will refer you to previous years and I I will not get into what exactly did yro here why does rash that entertains three possibilities of what ISRO heard after all itself tells us he heard so what do you mean maybe he heard of the splitting of the sea maybe he heard the war with amalik may be hurt what are the three possibil the Torah itself tells us why do we have three possibilities and what's so special about hearing a war with amalik did we win in the war with amalik the end of last week's para how did we leave off it was a draw amalik survived we survived we didn't defeat them they certainly didn't defeat us it was a draw that's so impressive that that's what ISRO heard is that we fought to a draw we survived to fight another day that's what excited him so much that he came question number two number three the whole world heard so what do you mean heard everything that happened everyone we say every day in yashir the whole world heard so those are three questions on the opening PK that I will not get into because we've gotten into it previously and it's tempted as I am I'm not going there but the and thees Deals differently and he says the following we'll begin with a Insight of's arrival his reception by mosha the advice he gave in his departure are related in this chapter which immediately precedes the giving of the Torah the war with Malik is also recounted immediately prior to mat Torah why are these incidents a prolog is getting into we know there's a famous debate is the Torah written chronologically is the Torah written thematically does the Torah mean to follow his hisor order or is the Torah not trying to recount history and stay accurate to history it's not precise in historical order but rather trying to communicate a message and it does so by rearranging so according to many yro came when did yro come after Matan Tor it's one of the three possibilities about what he heard that motivated and inspired him to come if that's the case why does the Torah Place y's arrival before Matan Torah if historically accurately he came came after why does the Torah cut and pce take it out of order put it beforehand what message what theme is the Torah trying to transmit or communicate say RAB salich yra was a gentile essentially he was the Archbishop of midam he came to the Jewish camp with an open mind he wanted to observe for himself what the Jews had accomplished and were about to engage him he was so overwhelmed by their conduct that he renounced paganism he embraced Judaism kazal did not describe y as a saintly Gentile he's portrayed as a decent person whose positive reaction should have been emulated by other Gentiles who witnessed the exhibition of Matan Torah this incident illustrates one possible reaction of a non-jew to Jews in Matan Torah one possibility is that the non-jewish spectators of the world who see the events of October 7th who watch the footage of how heinous how egregious how inhumane those crimes against humanity against the Jewish people who see how the Jewish people United and Rose together and one reaction is the reaction of and I will tell you something astounding in fact when we're done today just this morning I have two and a half hours scheduled of but meetings of meetings of our bason we have a Bas of gas a bason for conversion it's made up of rabbis from South Florida we are pure volunteers we're not paid a penny we do so simply of service to help those who want to join the Jewish people we do so under the umbrella of the Bas of America America I don't know have to sell myself but acknowledged and accepted in Israel and around the world do you think since October 7th we have fewer meetings because nobody wants to become Jewish nobody's interested why would you want campus protests the rise of anti-Semitism heinous anti-semites in the halls of Congress you have Kanye tweeting the most horrific we shouldn't even talk about him or give oxygen to him clearly a mentally depraved mentally ill deeply disturb person not even worth our attention but with the rise of anti-Semitism do you think that we have fewer do we have less people knocking down our door we can't we can't have enough meetings they're knocking down the door people want to become Jewish more than ever in my lifetime and we can't schedule enough meetings because we're volunteers and we have other things we have to do and people have to wait and they're knocking down the doors reminiscent of the story of purum at the end of the Milla that people were Miss after the Jews were targeted and were threaten and the response of their prayer and their perseverance that the people of shushan the non-jews saw what happened and wanted to convert happening again now and that's the reaction the one option of yro where non-jews see that the most evil barbaric inhumane animals of the world are obsessed with targeting one people I want to find out more about that people I want to learn about that people I want to possibly become part of that people that's the yro reaction amalik said we're also impressed with the Jews but their reaction differed from that of Israel they belied that a nation which could defy Egypt and parro gain freedom from parro and defeat the Egyptian regime while having different laws from those which prevailed all over the world they should be exterminated amalik came and attacked the Jews the Jews had not threatened amalik in any manner yet amalik attacked them anyway this was their reaction to Matan Torah what did we do to amalik we didn't start up with a Malik we weren't involved in a Malik we didn't occupy a Malik's land we weren't taking over amalik culture appropriating a Maliki culture what do we do to am Malik we didn't occupy their land we didn't take their culture we didn't use their language we had not live and be happy amalik what do we do to amalik amalik were threatened by who we were and the life that we're living and the mission that we accepted for ourselves and Matan Torah and that's the second possibility the world can watch the Jew and they could react like a yro knocking down the door I want to see more learn more become more the world can knock down the door Heroes Like A Douglas Murray non-jews who stand up who learn who are stronger advocates for our people than many of our people and you can have the opposite the Kanye and other troubling deeply troubling I don't even want to mention their names I don't want to give them oxygen certain media personalities who see the rise of the Jew who see our backbone who see we won't disappear to the dpin of History who see us unite and fight on seven fronts and win and miracles like a pager operation and you know what it does instead of being impressed instead of they're wanting to learn more instead of they're wanting to come and explore they become anti-semites they become like amalik what did we ever do to them some of these media Personalities in the biblical account writes the r the presentation of the first set of luos given to is Mount Si were accompanied by tremendous Fanfare in the words of the chauffe for a section of rashash with voices and thunder you revealed yourself to them and through the sound of a Chau did you appear Hashem wanted the world to know that the Jews have received the luos and the lus contained a new moral code a new outlook a new set of laws it was not necessary for the other nations to accept the code it was however crucial they' be aware of it why was this awareness among the non-jews necessary the purpose of this public spectacle of Matan Torah was so Hashem can eventually convert the entire universe to become the residence of Hashem all will accept the reign of God the time will come when the whole world must realize that the L given to Jews contain the truth and it's worthwhile to accept it just as the Jews accepted them so many years ago the purpose of Matan Torah was not for the individuals but to convert the entire Cosmos the whole universe into a Divine residence the Torah was offered to everybody and must eventually be accepted by everybody the non-jewish nations of the world they don't have to keep 613 just the seven but they have to get rid of their idolatry and their paganism and their foreign worship and recognize that one day as we D in every day for a time when the whole all the nations of the world will realize so mat and Torah had to become that historical precedent that we could point to that they'd look and see that we are a light on to the Nations that we're trying to mold and shape this world repair it in hashem's image this offer was extended to every human being yet the Jews were the only nation who took advantage of the offer the Jews were sensitive understanding the exaltedness and beauty of a life which has lived in compliance with the laws of the Torah No Other Nation understood this concept still Hashem exposed all humankind to this event to allow them the opportunity to accept it will humankind eventually accept this reality and ultimately realize the greatness of a Torah Lifestyle the Torah answers in the affirmative and offers the story of is as proof in the eschatological era which is a fancy way of saying Masia the same event will occur on a universal scale is if we need even more evidence that we are in the beginning of those times I'm telling you as somebody who's involved with a based in for conversion we have more people knocking down our door more people who are interested more people who are gravitating to us more people who are answering that question I've been asking for 20 years and it hasn't been a real question you know the Jews are targets of hate there's anti-Semitism do you accept that and for the last 15 years it was a theoretical question that was on our checklist of questions but to the average person in Booker Aton it meant nothing but over the last couple of years to say are you ready to put that Target on your back are you ready are you ready to be the focus with our people of that hate it means something and they're still knocking down the door Torah wants us to know there are certain people who will never be converted they understand that Jew represents something unique but the response to that realization is one of malice vicious hate desire to destroy amalik was the Incarnation of evil and regard him out in Torah in a completely different manner he attacked us without provocation for no reason other than that we were unique and separate entity a mik and their descendants will continue to react this way through history the non-jews will react to us says the r in conclusion in one of two ways a yro or anik and we have to be prepared for both and the r is writing this a long time ago and here we are and we're seeing it again not another mat T but another another miracle of a splitting of a sea another miracle of what's happened since October 7th and again this precedent Sal is writing that what happened to mat Torah there were two reactions diametrically opposed there's the yra reaction and the amalik reaction the nons of the world will react to Monumental Milestone events in Jewish history in one of two ways like a yro or like an amalik be prepared for both and yet again once again we are seeing both soem took us out Moshe comes with moshe's wife comes rather with moshe's wife and children so much to say so much we've said on this I'm not giving giving you my my highlights M's his father-in-law and moshe's Sons and his wife come he is he is residing there he is camping there comes says says the this P describes where where mosha is hanging out in the desert say this is a gratuitous fact we already know it rash is not adding anything new where did Y come in order to meet up with Moshe and the people in the well where else do we think they are they're not in Disney where else are they they're in the desert so what's Rashi adding what's the Torah adding says Torah y was sitting in the comfort of the palace he had he had central air conditioning and he had a delicious Seltzer dispenser from his kitchen sink and he had an unlimited supply of diet Peach Snapple he had it all he sit in Comfort he had a recliner and he got up and he left and he gave it all up in order to go where to the midbar he went to the hot and dry desert to join a Jewish people and why did he do it lmoa div Torah I was in Israel last week for two and a half days recruiting for our Yesa a wonderful trip and a fantastic opportunity I went back to the Yesa I learned in Ken bavna I happen to speak to them in the last slot of the night started at 7 AM and that slot was 10m so they were not nearly as entertained or humored as I was humoring Myself by recounting and recalling to them my time in K bavna which happens to have felt like it was yesterday but it was more than a few years ago and I said to them I remember when I got here that the dorm that I was in because I was a noname and didn't have any siblings who went before me and made no large donation in that dorm you had to walk outwards to get to the bathroom and there was no air the only place on the whole campus that had air conditioning was the Bas medish it was a brilliant move how do you get guys out of high school you're trying to encourage and teach to learn you put them near yava near ashto In the Heat of the summer the beginning of El I think it might have been the hottest day of my life the day that we arrived in karav in 199 to might have been not and the only place on the campus with air conditioning the base medish everywhere else smelled terrible the chicken coops the cows the Farms B me smelled good at air conditioning it drove us it got us all the the guys in kav we're about as interested as you are right now so I'll go vter I'll come back so yro gave it all up he left the air conditioning and where did he go he went to the desert T he went to the desert and now MOS begins to tell his father-in-law AR and Moshe says father-in-law you got to hear what happened what's been going on it's unbelievable unreal Next Level listen to what God did for us so MOS when Moshe Moshe is busy in fact that's going to be is's observation in a moment and true to all fathers-in-law sins he gives some unsolicited advice different than all sons-in-law sins Moshe Embraces it I'm a father-in-law tun now by the way so I'm I'm on both sides I'm allowed to talk like this when Moshe tells his father-in-law everything that happened zakashi why why was Moshe interrupting his incredibly busy schedule to tell everything that happened considering is already knew why says rash in order to inspire him and motivate him and drag him and draw him to more Torah learn more Torah be further engrossed in Torah immerse in Torah one why does to be why is he trying to inspire he's taking him out of sh CH and coule learn more Torah he's uh he's given him some impressive havala shabas is waning away why ebing why is he doing all this to yro yro already gets it he believes in it he showed up he's here he buys in he because yro came came in the category of a volunteer he was a non Drew was interested he came to explore to listen to learn he came as a volunteer to learn so says you know what happens with the spirit of volunteering it lasts as long as you're inspired You're motivated you're excited and the moment that wears off you're done you're out because you don't feel bound and you don't feel obligated you feel I'm a volunteer so as long as I'm inspired I'll do it the moment I'm stopped I'm no longer inspired or motivated I drop out I give it up to go out to the desert for a seminar a shab a week you can do to stay and to last even if it'll mean to be there forever that's a lot harder that you have to go from the spirit of a volunteer to being to join the crowd to become part of this people to take it to the next level and that says baram is why that's why mosha felt the need because the first stage was came curious I want to explore I'll sit in the periphery I'll stay here as long as I'm inspired but mosha wanted to secure mosha wanted to he wanted to make sure that it would last and it would be forever says another interpretation the first level was who can climb to the top of the mountain so the first stage is being motivated enough to climb the mountain climb it's hard it's hard takes effort what you have to give up the effort that you have to express to exert climb the mountain but there's an even greater a it's even harder and what is who can stay on top of the mountain climb the mountain a burst of energy a burst of inspiration climb the mountain that's hard but who has what it takes to stay on top of the mountain that's even harder and that's why tells us there are four things that need constant reinforcement in our lives what are the four things that need constant reinforcement you can never say I'm done I've arrived I'm inspired I'm motivated I'm on the plan I'm good to go what are the four things that need constant reinforcement Torah and learning Torah doing good deeds daving so easy to get distracted and rash says what does it mean if you take your foot off the gas you're finished if you ever stop pushing on the gas you're going to Screech to a complete halt without even pushing on the brake but you have to keep your foot on the gas it's not enough to climb the mountain what are you gonna do to stay on top of the mountain stay on top of the mountain he doesn't quote this but the writes writes when he talks about theity Zeal enthusiasm we think of when do you need zus to start something I want to start learning the DFI I want to start a project to finish I want to start a project to expand a campus I want to start a project to convert my garage with permits I want to start a project when do we need zus aity and Zeal and energy when at the beginning writes the but that's only the first step ofus you know when you need Jus for real because in every project whatever you undertake diet and exercise lifestyle change you're going to start to take the plunge on the ice bath join the movement it's life changing gamechanging you're going to start to go to Shear you're going to start the Coler you're gonna start the tum you're gonna start the whatever you want to start you need zus just to get started but inevitably and invariably you know what happens to everybody you hit the proverbial wall and it's not fun and it wears off and you stop talking about the ice bath and now it's cold you're not in the mood now you're tired now it got old and now you're halfway through the project or now you missed a few days of of the dafi or now you took a break because you went to Israel and the bake products are so good there that nobody can keep their diet when they go to Israel impossible so now you hit that wall are you gonna get are you gonna run through it now you had that break are you gonna get back on the wagon back on the horse back on the bicycle back on whatever metaphor you want to use the second burst of zus right is when you're halfway through that project when you hit that wall what are you going to get do is the wall going to knock you down or you're going to find a way to climb over it or around it or dig a tunnel under it or if necessary run right through it will you get that second birst of zus to finish what you start it's not easy so yro came who wasn't curious who didn't see those headlines who wasn't Blown Away by what happened he came that's step one he climbed the mountain who can stay on top and that's why Moshe wasn't enough that yro heard and came now Moshe interrupts and stops what he's doing to be how am I going to make sure that you didn't just stop by here but you stay you didn't just climb the mountain you stay on top of the mountain how do we make sure it wasn't just the initials Reus but there is the second Reus to run through whatever will get in your way as we learned that the fourth things need they need that which is in order to constantly come back and continue to reinforce one of most famous gives his advice mosha takes the advice delegation you got to delegate again we've discussed all this in the past page 400 it's now the third month on this day they came they left they came to the desert they encamp there one of the most famous in the Torah famous of course because it's on the BRS logo and all the BRS literature and why is it famous rash make it famous why did we switch tense why grammatically did we shift we are inconsistent in congruous on the one hand it should say not it should say why did we shift is in the plural is in the singular to teach us like one person with one heart and of course that is our motto diversity Unity look around this room look around every shabas look around our shabas morning we're proud of it we'll keep talking about it it's why we're building it to expand it to continue to inspire with it to make room for each and every single Jew and to continue to recognize the individuality of the Jew and to be United not to be divided diversity not divisiveness Unity not uniformity you have to have both I think I've told you before when schin was in our communities at and he was preparing to speak and he was making himself a cup of coffee and he said to me Rabbi what's special about your community so I had my pitch I was ready to go Unity diversity I was ready to go he's stirring his coffee and he looks up and he says if you have Unity of course you have diversity because if you didn't have diversity you wouldn't have Unity you'd have uniformity so your logo is redundant then he went back to stirring his coffee and took a SI okay that was Rabin Al's genius on the spot if you have Unity of course you have diversity if you didn't have diversity you wouldn't have Unity you'd have uniformity brilliant it's brilliant we talk about Jewish unity all all the time so the question is Unity with whom so far I didn't tell you anything you don't know one of the most famous rashis on the Torah good now I'll ask you with whom happens to be in these in the pledge of allegiance of the United States which I will not ask you to rise and recite with me see how many of you know it what does it include we are one nation undivided what does it mean to be undivided anyone know when that was added by the way Pledge of Allegiance was originally written in 1892 in 1954 as a result of Communism spreading President Eisenhower wanted to emphasize the difference so they added the words under God to the Pledge of Allegiance under one nation under God indivisible was added and it is a miracle no one's taken it out since then if you think about it God you Ed I don't know what country that's talking about but it's a miracle it's still in there so when America when we pledge to be undivided what do we mean undivided what do we mean well as Jews what do we mean with whom so one one sense of it means that when we stood at the base of that mountain when we came to our no no fighting no dismissing no judgment no marginalizing no hyper criticism find your find your shavit find your minion find your yamaka find your head cover but be United be together be together that's the simple understanding ofin the of writes that what it meant is means United in our relationship with hem not only Vis each other but United meant we were United in our Allegiance loyalty we were United how one nation under God that's what made us United our Unity was that we were under God was ahead of his time he added the words to the Declaration to the pledge inma we say that we worship we serve AEM how which means to direct it doesn't say the mishna points out to serve Hashem with our one heart grammatically it would say one heart what is with our two hearts at in the moment before we receive the Torah we didn't have two hearts a in that moment in that high in that place at that time we were we were one people not not with two hearts positive inclination negative inclination in that moment we we only had one heart we had one heart but I want to share with you one other interpretation and it's from thein the second Who quotes his father the you see there are two ways that we can see ourselves we can live our lives and our very identity is interwined with our being individuals individuals separate distinct distinguished Unique Individuals we each have our own needs and our own wants we each have our own drives and desires we each have our own Ambitions and our own goals we each have our own agendas sometimes they overlap sometimes they intersect sometimes we collaborate and coordinate but essentially we're individuals we're distinct and we're different and we're individuals or or says the same shm one can see themselves as part of something so much bigger as part of a family part of a community part of a people part of a relationship with hasem part of a greater Mission says the sh ISM quoting his father the ad means in the moment before we received the Torah at Ari in that moment before we were united we were United the prerequisite to becoming a people was the capacity to practice what he calls Chua B Maho to nullify and can cancel any sense of self there is no me that's not connected to my wife and children there's not me and then there's my wife and there's my children we happen to live under the same roof we happen to have the same last name we happen to have a history together we happen to have a destiny together really we're a group of individuals Bound by the same last name and a WhatsApp group that posts way too often but we're the we're the same should post more and more and more we're we're we're just that's all unites us no if you wake me in the middle of the night if you stop me any time of the day my whole identity there's a b Chua there is no me not intrinsically inherently connected intertwined with my identity to my family I don't have any other agenda or Identity or drive or Mission that is not intrinsically inherently connected with my family now being part of a collective doesn't mean denying individualism it doesn't mean you conform to some Conformity it doesn't mean you can't have personal shos aims and goals it means that we're dedicating all of our individuality to our role and our place within the greater hole within that which is bigger than ourselves bigger than ourselves a soldier in the Army has those dog tags where's that P shabas David fish spoke at the end of daving about his son at who was killed fighting in Gaza spoke about his son and then he reached into a shirt and he took out his son's dog tags and he says I wear them he's with me 24/7 every second on my heart every Soldier has their name their number their role their place on the one hand they're an individual but on the other hand their individuality their role is directly intertwined with being part of that arm not acting on their own their agenda or their drive or their ambition is not different than the Army as a whole says the that's what it means to reach the level of is each within our own sense of selves and our identity it wasn't that you and I were getting along there's no fighting there's no name calling we got it together for a few minutes you know you say to the kids we're on vacation just don't ruin it you fought until now you go back to fighting when we leave but on this vacation just don't spoil it that's a very low level of understanding of like just don't fight at har let us have some good pictures good videos good memories let us walk away from our CI feeling good about this you go back to fighting calling each other names dismissing disregarding you'll get back just for these few minutes Ari just get along that's a very lowlevel understanding of says the no is he says there is no me separate and apart from am that's who I am and that's what I am about that's my life he said doid fish that his next son is going into the army next month he's dreamt his whole life of being in combat if you've lost a child in combat then automatically no sibling goes into combat unless the parents are able willing to sign something and the son came to him and said you have to sign it this has been my dream I want to go into combat how did parents make that decision but how does a child have that dream lost a brother fighting and he says I'm not going to take advantage of this out with no guilt the opposite you must sign I want to go fight that is B chuva B Maho how does a young man a picture of the teenagers in America for these teenagers a teenager in Israel B chuao says there is no me who's not in a combat unit ch so I have a nie who do any moment and her husband is in his what number round of miluim he's in what's happening this moment in Gaza but he's still been there and he's entitled to be out because his wife is doing any moment and he's been alternating nights going in and out of Gaza to be with her why because he says my precious nephew a How Could my guys be in and I'm not with them Chao there is no me there's no my wife is expecting there's no my brother was killed so I'm out there is no me separate than my am Sal says the word comes from IM with together United that's that's what the a is writing that's what was born at Hari yes we got a Torah we're going to come to this in a moment salv has this Insight yes we got the Torah yes yes receiving the Torah was the seminal moment of har he gave us the Torah hasem Tora Tor Tora he gave us this blueprint this instruction manual for Life yes har was all about dos and don'ts and they're nonnegotiable and we have to be strict and Vigilant and absolutely was about chabas and and was about and honesty in business her was about the do and don'ts and the details and ribus and and everything else yes absolutely we know what else AR was about you know it was the prerequisite chuo there is no me without you there is no me without my guys there is no me without my people there's no Drive there's no ambition there's no life mission I have that doesn't include at the Forefront what's my role in this people called am CL this is the that we've seen this last year and a half this is the of of is not just we didn't fight we didn't call names we got along we got it together for a few minutes called says the says the Sher in his father's nameer Cho there is no individuality individual identity there's no drive that is separate apart distinct yes I'm an individual yes I have my dog tag is my number yes I have my unit but it's all what's my role in the bigger what's my role in the greater part that's that's the miracle of har that's the prerequisite to the dos and don'ts of kabalas Tor that's what happened in that moment per sorry peric yeah you test let's keep going says you saw what I did and I borne you on the wings of eagles I brought you to me it's a great P we've talked about it in the past what it means the wings of eagles again we're seeing these miracles in our time Ethiopian jeury so jury the wings of eagles hasem says I'm bringing you to me even while we were in Hashem took us to Har well yet in on that fateful night if you listen to my voice You observe my BR and you will be for me a translate the word seula what does it mean to be a seula how are you a seula what does it mean to be a seula funny Superstition we think of schulas I was at the kotel last week I did not buy a red string a red string is not a seula a red string is to wres it is paganism and idolatry and Superstition and forbidden it is a wonderful wonderful thing for parnasa of the woman on the steps of the cotel selling you the red string it's a fantastica for her parasa but meaningless for yours it does nothing and in fact it is Idol it's not me it's a TOA so what's a skoa we're a people of skoa be for me a what does that mean silly superstitions that's what it means the word seula canotes Singularity separateness yov loved Yosef differently than he loved his other Sons Yehuda described this relationship succinctly yakob soul is attached to Bin's there was a schoola dimension these special loves it involved an intertwining of souls a union Beyond verbal description AOA love is an ontological merger the people of Israel are a schoa people a nation which God is exclusively designated to preserve and disseminate his teachings every day we recite two bras regarding the B of Cl we bless hem sh we also bless hem one of these bras seems Superfluous if we bless God who made us Jews why do we rep repeat the assertion in another bra that he chose us from among all the nations if we make a you didn't make me a gentile then why do we have to have to say you chose me from all the nations which is another way of saying you didn't make me a gentile seems redundant repetitive why do we have two this is his question question says we are chosen in two distinct ways one aspect of our chosenness relates to being the progeny of aam and it is this aspect for which we bless Hashem for not having made us Gentiles there is however an additional as suggested in this P this comes through the study of Torah this chosenness involves a higher sanctification than is afforded through simple lineage by understanding The Duality of our kadush we can explain a puzzling area of Jewish law so essentially there are two parts to our chosenness one is we are a people the second is we have a Holiness because of Torah by understanding The Duality of our kadha we can explain a puzzling area of Jewish law the status of a Jew renounced his religion is complex although a status as a Jew is compromised it does not entirely disappear with regard toas an apostate Jew is considered no different than a non-jew so let's say a Jew converts out of Judaism they can't but they try they deny their Judaism so in some areas of Al we now treat them as a non-jew for example if they sh an animal we don't accept the if they write a sa for Torah it's p the Kos the Torah is no good on the other hand if he betroths a woman mes are they married yes how do we understand the hybrid nature of these wonders the r how do you understand these two denim if they're like a GU if a if somebody in a paste tries to convert out of Judaism we treat them as a non-jew if they she if they R for Torah so why do we recognize their Jewish status if they get married says Sal because the apostate je retains the sanctity afforded through his lineage a Heritage that cannot be renounced no matter what he does the kadus who has made me a gentile applies equally to the apostate as it does to the greatest of rabbis however the second Kusha the one suggested by who has chosen me from among the Nations is dependent on the sanctity of the individual attainable only through Li T the apost has renounced the second kadus a Jew has two levels of kadha he writes elsewhere of salc this idea that a Jew is part of two covenants there's bris OS and bris sini bris ofos means the Covenant of the Patriarchs we have a shared history and a shared Destiny we're part of one family we're part of one people and even the members of our family and people who don't observe who don't learn Torah who don't live Torah are we Bound by them and with them absolutely because they're family they're part of one family this bris ofos the Covenant of being a family and then there's bris we stood at that mountain together and we're bound and obligated by the Torah together this BR and this BR and they're both reflected in that Hashem you chose us from all of your people bris of us we are a people we are a family and you gave us your Torah which comes first the prerequisite to your giving us your Torah is we have to feel we're part of this people we have something extra special with a greater Unity a greater connection a greater togetherness with those who have both covenants but we still are a family and a People we're still United with those who have the first Covenant so a Jew can be an apostate from the second Covenant a Jew who reneges relinquishes the kadha of BR who tries to convert out who doesn't believe in or live by the principles of Torah so their is no good and they're sa for torah's p but they are still a Jew because bris of us binds us and Bounds us we are Forever part of one people per M Moshe comes and he says here's the Torah and what do the Jewish people say they answered together and they said whatever God says we're in we will do and Moshe brought back the message to God he came back and reported on it to God to God wonders once the Jewish people accepted the Torah we know the chabus tells us standing there her that day God held the mountain over their head he turned it over like a barrel and he said if you accept the Torah mut wonderful but if not there is going to be your burial place we've dealt with in the past we're not going to right now what should it say if God wanted to threaten us coers us accept the Torah he put a gun to our head accept my Torah fantastic and if not here you're going to die this will be your burial place that's not what God says what does he say sham over there why sham not po we've dealt with it in the past but much more fundamentally why did he have to threaten us why did he have to coerce us why do you have to invoke that image of the threat didn't we just read a moment ago Nas they said we're all in we're ready to do we're ready to obey we're ready to observe so it's not our question whose question is this wonders why do I need that God held the mountain overhead and threatened and you have to accept the Torah that's the learns that that on we accepted what previously we were coerced now it was of our own volition but first at God threatened us what have to get to purum we accepted of our own Vol at har we accepted of our own Vol we said NASA nasma what do I need har kigus that God held the mountain over our head so tosos answers you know why how was the Torah given with an Isa with a great fire pump and Circumstance sound and light show there was incredible fire says toos God was worried we said we're all in in principle but then the moment came and God gave us the Torah and the way he gave it to us was with this enormous fire enormous fire and Hashem was concerned that we'd be afraid and we'd say never mind keep it Return to Sender never mind in order to ensure that we wouldn't say never mind that we wouldn't be frightened from the fire what did he do he put them out over our head the famous comes along and he says I have a much simpler solution God God you gave the Torah the people said we're all in nasma you turn the mountain over their head and you threaten them to accept it anyway why even though they said we're in because you're worried the way you gave it with the fire they might have said Return to Sender we're out says I've got a much better solution what just don't give it with the fire don't give it in such a frightful fearful way don't make them afraid don't give it with fire they won't you don't have to be concerned they'll back out you don't have to threaten with the har gigas holding the mountain over their head you're good to go why hold the mountain over their head because maybe they're gonna back out even though they already said we're all in just don't worry they're gonna back out because don't give it with fire it's a great question no says a beautiful idea a critical principle Leos there is no Torah Without fire you've got to be on fire learning Torah you've got to have energy and enthusiasm a Bren a fire you got to be on fire to learn Torah there is no learning Torah casually you don't kick back in your recliner you don't lie back on your couch and hold the say for the book over your face fact the gar learned from our para that the same way the Torah was given a Jew has to sit up properly you don't sit with your legs crossed you don't recline you don't sit with your shirt untucked you don't wear shorts you're never shirtless while you learn to you got to be show a certain level of dignity and awe you gotta be on fire when you're learning Torah because if you're not on fire then the Torah is just academic if you want the Torah to seep in you want a Torah that's a living Torah a Torah it has to be fire so it's not that Hashem could have not had to hold the mountain just don't give it with the fire giving it with the fire was necessary was an absolute a Jew has to be on fire when we receive the Torah the medish by the way has a different understanding of God didn't hold the mountain over our head because he wanted he wanted to threaten us it's a beautiful medish that says you know why he held the mountain over our head do you have any idea how hot it gets in the desert he held the mountain over our head to give a shade Hashem loved us and he was expressing affection to us and he was taking care of us and he held the mountain over our head not to threaten us he held the mountain over our head to show that love and to provide that shade and that's the image the Everlasting image that we should have of our CI not one of threat and coercion but one of love and affection and embrace that Hashem says come here come here bubah it's so hot let me give you some shade come here let me cool you off let me give you my Torah let it lighten up your let it light up your life let it change your life per now God says to Moshe I'm gonna appear in the thickness of the cloud they'll hear me and they will also believe in you forever they'll believe in you forever and ever and wonders it is a fairly obvious question did this promise come true Hashem says to mus come here we're going to appear to the Jewish people I'm going to appear through the cloud you're going to talk to them Transit my Torah they're going to believe in me they're going to believe in you forever and ever and ever ask what are you talking about we've lived through generations of and we've had people who've rejected Torah we have the Communists and we have the secular Zionist cites and we have whole movements of Jews who've been fighting back against the against God and against the Torah of Moshe where's the promise what happened what happened says you know the torah's promise was in every Jew there's a p there is a Jew who for the majority of his or her her life could walk around saying I don't believe the Torah is not written by God and I'm not bound by its laws and I have to observe its lifestyle but even that Jew inside her heart just waiting for it to be cracked and broken open there's a pin there's the one who believes the there's the one the only question is who's G to crack open that heart who's gonna pull back the oras that forkin covering the heart how are you going to get in but in every Jew is a p don't see don't see how many Jews don't live a Torah life and don't and claim to not believe in Torah as being a a question on this they do believe it's deep inside only question is who and how are you gonna get it out how are we gonna get it out there a famous ker we say inma that we learn how we live Torah and where do we place it it should say in your heart why does it say to place it on the heart the kater says so beautifully famously kater says our job as parents our job as Educators is to take all the inspiration put it on top of the heart sometimes the heart is hardened the heart has all kinds of layers of hurt sometimes the heart has a covering AA place it there because one day there's going to be a crack something's going to break it open and when it does all that was placed on top of the heart it's going to seep in it's going to fall into place our job as parents as grandparents as Educators is place all that inspiration all that Torah and when there's that crack when it breaks open it will seep in so it says what does it mean even though there these Jews who look like they're they don't believe they do believe m in their hearts they are fulfilling it's up to us to crack open a taken up open their hearts so that their belief will set in we learned it in the Amun several years ago he says what happens I'll tell it to you very quickly what happens a girl turns 12 a boy turns 13 and they're obligated and bound by Mitzvah and what's the Mitzvah they have to observe this speak they have to believe one of the Mitzvah is now they have to believe in God writes raan Aristotle the great philosopher he seeks evidence and proof for God's existence he had doubts but this 12 13y old little piter this little kid they're supposed to know and live with certainty that there's a God how could that be how could they be bound by that Mitzvah at that young age when many adults haven't figured it out yet says says an incredible Insight he says when we're babies we know that there's a God every baby every toddler every infant as we grow older no kid from the back seat from their car seat was listening to Uncle mhi and said Hashem is not here Hashem is not there Hashem is not anywhere no little kid ever ever rejected Uncle Mishi from the car seat so absolutely they sing along Hashem is here of course he's here I have a mother father they have a mother father they have a mother father so that there's a mother father of of course there's a father Hashem takm is here is there is where they gladly sing along what's our job as parents don't ruin it every C every child knows and believes that there's a God and what happens they overhear their parents the shabas table at carpool they hear the doubt the uncertainty the cynicism the sarcasm of the adults around them and we ruin it and the whole idea of is get out of the way don't ruin it reinforce it because every Jew in their heart and their soul the pin knows mosha MSS that there's a Hashem and that Moshe is the truth and now our job as parents and Educators and our mitzvah for ourselves is not to go explore and investigate and come to the evidence and believe it's to remove all the things that are blocking all the impediment and obstacles that are stopping us from believing you don't have to proactively believe eliminate the things are you froming you don't have to teach a child to believe you have to not not Expos the child to disbelief and really therefore we can fulfill This Promise This just get out of the way God speaks to us and we answer is a beautiful Insight here on what was so great about nasma receiving the Torah he writes was greater than all the Miracles of The Exodus even greater than splitting the sea even though we had the greatest prophecy there we said yet the receiving of the Torah far surpassed any of these experiences but is attain the level of the bless angels we were the level of Angels at Mat Torah kazal said that when we stood at our SII the impurity which the Primal serpent cast upon which he then passed on to Future Generations was removed we returned to our original uncontaminated state that moment clur completely negated themselves before Hashem and dedicated their Essence to him proclaiming with pride and might Nas and we got two crowns the gar says in chabas every Jew got 600,000 Angels came down and gave two crowns to Jewish people one for NASA one for nishma asks raash tonight 8 o'clock he'll be here live in person I hope he doesn't plan on giving this to our Tor what is the connection what is the connection between marting Royal Crowns and saying NASA before nishma it seems the significance of pre prefacing NASA to nishma is that by doing so B Isel demonstrated they accepted upon themselves the Yoke of God's sovereignty with joy and love this is indeed a high level of serving hasem for ordinarily the nature of man is such he does not accept any obligation upon himself unless he knows what he's getting himself into what the obligation entails here B Isel did not wish to be free their sole desire was to be Servants of Hashem to accept the Yoke of his kingship and therefore they preface nishma toos asks our question what do you mean they saidas to's answers the initially said but God was afraid L become frightened seeing the great fire he placed the mountain over their head to accept but Rasha wants to give another answer by the way several people asked me what language he's going to speak he grew up in Union New Jersey he moved to Israel the week before his bar mitzvah his English is as good or better than yours and mine he'll be speaking in English his in Israel he gives in English Hebrew and Yiddish but he'll be speaking tonight in English so to was asked that question toas gave his answer and rashar gives another we can offer another solution what really is so great about benel uttering NASA before nishma considering that the generation had witnessed God's God's Miracles like no other generation had it isn't all that surprising they were willing to accept the Torah the people of that generation were termed ddea the generation of knowledge they had witnessed God all to the laws of nature in Egypt in the Red Sea they witnessed hashem's promise to a they left with great wealth so it's not so surprising that they agreed why they pray so much and why did God have to uproot a mountain and put it over their head after everything they see they had seen and they lived of course they accepted because Hashem wanted them to realize that it wasn't Dominion which was being given to them rather servitude the gamar teaches he raised his head up from the water they placed a pale of cement on his head when a Canaanite slave immersed on a Mikvah to assume his status as soon as he emerged from the water a vessel was put on his head by doing this his status of slave was established so to receive the Torah Hashem placed the mountain over our head to show that they were not receiving Dominion but servitude and Ben still said NASA before nishma their sole desire was to be servants to Hashem we just wanted to serve Hashem we traded in servitude to parro to Servants of Hashem the gamar tells us that a slave who after six years wants to stay with his master has his ear pierced why next week's Pasha because the ear that hurted our SII that we should always forever be slaves to Hashem and not to a human being and disregards it wants to say slave to a human being has to have their ear pierced why do we wait till the end of six years why not immediately when this when this person selles himself into slavery to a person a person who sells himself into slavery is doing so out of financial constraints the kind of slavery is legitimate does not conflict with servitude to God but once the six years are up and the slave does not receive payment for his work and nevertheless he receives and nevertheless he says he wishes to stay with his master and wants to remain a slave forever it's clear his ear is pierced because when Crown God is King when we put NASA before nishma out of love and joy we merited Royal Crowns measure for measure the ministering Angels crowned each of us with two crowns because our willingness to be to and not only to hem but MOS is an em the greatest it goes on and on but we're very out of time the greatest compliment that you could offer Moshe is Moshe em to be an em I'll end he says I once heard the GB the author of Le Sim tell over from his father the EMS the following story which happened in the base M of his grandfather the EMS on one of the days of su told us when they say Hal they can stir the heavens when they say he didn't explain what he meant were divided as to what the Reb meant some concentrated extra hard when they said on others concentrated extra hard when they said the words but said he didn't joined them in prayer he understood that his father meant not or the but he meant what will bring great results when you concentrate on our greatest ambition and the greatest compliment the greatest praise that you can get is to be a loyal evidem not Dominion but servitude the crowns for NASA before nishma why wanted was the are willing to be you say JUMP we say how high we are all in it with you to serve that's why we are here as usual we had so much more we did not get to see you 8 o'clock tonight a few AA tickets left for Sunday night should be a day of BOS yesh