Parsha Perspectives - Shmini

Good morning, Booker To. Welcome back to Pure Perspectives for today. The faithful, the all year rounders who are still here who've not fled Florida for the cold and the rain. I don't know where they went or why they'd want to leave, but anyway, thank you for being here this morning. Precious series is as always generously sponsored by Becky and Aviat and family in memory of David David Grossman Leishmas Becky's father David Benish and we remain very very grateful to the cats as we are have the privilege of learning this morning parmini page 588 in the arts scroll stone is a little bit interrupted till now to kanim this book which has been communicating essentially the laws for the priest how to operate in the Mishkan the different carbonos the details the minutia of all the sacrifices, their responsibilities and here we have some narrative, some story unfortunately some of it much of a tragic but really a blueprint for how to respond. But first is and it was on the eighth day and of course that begs the question several questions. First of all, how do you begin a how do you begin a verse with and it was the eighth day but moreover what do you mean the eighth day? It was the first day. What are we describing? How is our para beginning? Moshe turns to his brother Aaron. He says, "You've been appointed. You've been elevated. You've been designated as the high priest of going. It's time to throw out the opening carbon. It's opening day at the Mishkan. The inauguration is complete." And the test run in which Moshe for seven days went through the motions as if he were the high priest. He got a chance and an opportunity. We'll talk about in a moment. It is all now complete and it's no longer rehearsal. It's now the real deal. The stage is set. It's time to begin. And if the stage is set and it's time to begin, what day is that? Opening day is the first day, not the eighth day. So why does the Torah introduce this as it was on the eighth day? Not to make a comparison. Baseball season has begun. But if spring training had I have no idea, let's call it 20 games, the first game of the real season would not be called the 21st game. It'd be called the first game. So if the seven days were the rehearsal that Moshe led and now it's opening day, it's the real deal. It's time to begin. Call it why. We've addressed, we've asked this before, but I want to share with you a different a new insight this year. It comes from the Rabbi Sax Kum which I don't believe yet is out but I still have this preview edition and you should get it. It's a they they put together all of Rabbi Sax's insights on the para through his writings organized it on the para in a beautiful to understand the symbolism of the eighth day writes by Sax the phrase that gives this para its name let's go back to creation itself more specifically to the conclusion of the first Shabas the medish tells us with the going out of Shabas the celestial light began to fade was afraid that the serpent would attack him in the work. Therefore, God illuminated his understanding and he learned to rub two stones against each other and produce light for his needs. It's a medish. What do we do to commemorate the invention, the discovery, the innovation of fire on that first Saturday night, that first mo Shabas? What do we do? Havdala in Havdala, we make kdish to sanctify Shabas in its beginning. And then we have a bookend on the other end to transition from Shabas back in to the week. We make havdala. We distinguish between Shabas, the holiness, the sanctity of Shabas and the weekday. We do it like kdish on a cup of wine. But havdala on the other end we add other components. One the bisim we take in the wonderful beautiful fragrance of the bisam with a blessing to comfort ourselves from the loss of anisher. the expanded additional more highly attuned soul that we get on Shabas and we also light a fire we make no we acknowledge God as the creator of fire why do we do that on Saturday night by the way when y ended on Sunday night when we just concluded pes here in part of our punishment for living outside of Israel two days of yontiff when we concluded yontiff we made havedalah did you do it with a candle why not it It was Sunday night, not Saturday night, not mo Shabas. So the candle is reserved only for moes Shabas. Why? Why do we have a candle in Abdullah? We are commemorating that first discovery of fire. Adam is created Friday. And then he observes Shabas. He's at rest. He's at peace with nature. Come Saturday night, he's already been expelled from the garden. And now he's afraid under the cloak of darkness that the serpent, the snake, who's already tried to take his wife from him and already enticed him into such an error and poor judgment that left him in this exile is now going to attack him. He rubs these stones together, creates a spark, discovers fire and since then every moes shabas we acknowledge God with gratitude for the gift and the ability of fire. So listen to what says that's the med that's what we know that's what we do and we observe when we can make when we commemorate there's a fundamental difference between the light of the first day when God said he or let there be light and the light of the eighth day. The light of the first day was created by God. The light of the eighth day is what God taught us to create. It symbolizes our partnership with God and the work of creation. On Shabas we remember God's creation. On the eighth day, Moz Shabas, we celebrate our creativity as the image and partner of God. We usually think of Saturday night Sunday as yum rishon as the first day. But Rabbi Sax is encouraging us to read it as Saturday night Sunday are really the eighth day. Seven days of creation. The seventh day we rest. We're at peace with nature. We acknowledge God as creator. And then the eighth day we begin to create. Sixth days, God created. The seventh he rested. The eighth day he invited us. Now be my partner. Now you create. He creates light. The first day he invites us to create light. The eighth day. The night after the seventh is the eighth day. We believe that Hashem I skipped on the eth day is we celebrate our creativity as the image and partner of Hashem. This according to Kazal is the reason we light a havala candle. As we said, we believe that God wants human beings to exercise power responsibly, creatively, within limits set by the integrity of nature. The rabbitic account of how God taught the secret of making fire is the precise opposite of the Greek myth of Prometheus who stole the spark of fire that Zeus wanted to keep as a divine secret. Hashem seeks to confer dignity on the beings he made in his image as an act of love. He doesn't hide the secrets of the universe from us. The creative God empowers us to be creative. Begins by teaching us how. That is the symbolism of the eighth day. So when you hear the number eight suggests Rabbi Sachs, eight should immediately elicit an image of our partnering with God in creation in being creative. God doesn't hide or protect his creativity. He doesn't secure the blueprint in a safety deposit box and deny it from man. He shares his secrets. He more than shares. He bestows. He confers. He grants them and he challenges us be my partner create six days I created I rested on the seventh and now you pick up and now with your first day Sunday but really the eighth day now you create do that for six days and then rest we now understand the symbolic significance of the eighth day in relation to the mishkum as we've noted elsewhere says sachs the linguistic parallels in the Torah show the construction of the mishkum in the wilderness mirrors the divine creation of the world. The Mishkan, the building of the Mishkan was is paralleled language to creation. What creation is for the physical world is what the Mishkan is the creativity and the house of God for a spiritual world. The Mishkan was intended to be a miniature universe constructed by human beings. Just as God made the earth as a home for mankind, so too ben Israel in the wilderness build the Mishkan as a symbolic home for God. Hashem creates a universe as a house for us, we then turn and use our creativity to make a house for him called the Mishkan. Is this incredible? Such a different way to view it. What a beautiful insight. He creates invites us to create. Saturday night, Sunday is the eighth day, not only the first day. He makes a house for us. Then we reciprocate and we partner by making a house for him. That's why the language is parallel. Thus, the day it begins is figuratively as well as literally the eighth day. If the first day represents divine creation, the eighth day signifies human creation under the toutelage and sovereignty of Hashemi. It's not the first day. Doesn't begin with us. We pick up. It is the eighth day. A day of creativity, a day of beginnings. Such a beautiful, beautiful insight. It's the eighth day in another way. The great points out I mentioned that Moshe only gets to serve in this capacity. One that he never really earns or never really has. He wanted it but he lost it. He forfeited it and it was conferred instead to his brother. But he does get he's almost teased. It's almost unfair. Mosha, you want to be co-ango? Nah, you can't. But I'll tell you what, for rehearsal, you can dress the part. You can wear the costume, you can dress the part. You can go through the motions. You could do it for the seven days of rehearsal. But come eighth day, first day of the real beginning of the Mishkan. It's not you, it's your brother. You're going to anoint him. You're going to give him the clothing. You're going to give him the instruction manual. And he's going to get started. Why? Why did Moshe lose it? Why did Moshe not get it? Because we know the Torah tells us, the Medish elaborates when God first recruits Moshe to be the quintessential leader of the Jewish people to free them from to grant and gift them the Torah and he says, "I need you. I want you. This is what you're meant to do." What does Moshe say? Not I'm up to the challenge. Not I'm so honored. Thank you. I'm here to serve at your pleasure. What does Moshe say? I'm not really cut out for that. I don't really have the resume for that. I'm not an ortor. I'm not a speaker. I'm not good at that. My brother, think of somebody else. And for seven days, Hashem has this back and forth argument, persuading, convincing. For seven days, Moshe demurs, he hesitates. Takes seven days for Hashem to say, "This is not under discussion. You're the man. This is what you're meant to do. This is why you were born. This is your mission." So because for seven days in the sarafi Moshe realizes and recognizes that corresponding for the seven days he hesitated he negotiated he debated God now he only gets to serve what he wanted seven days then it's taken from him and it's instead given to his brother it's given to it's given to Aram the medishar elaborates because the Torah tells us it's on the eighth day Moshe calls Aon of his sons. They're all alive at this point. Who else does he call? The elders says the Jewish people are compared to a bird. Just like a bird can't fly without its wings, the Jewish people can't fly. We can't flourish. We can't blossom. We can't fly without our wings. Who are our wings? The empty nesters. Who are our wings? Which is our flattering nice way of saying the age to perfection group. The senior population. Ziknaim. Zika. Our wings are our elders. Our elders. The Jewish people are likened to the bird. It's the Jewish people. The other nations of the world are not that way. They can conduct, they can act, they can proceed without their elders, without the wisdom and sagacity, without the life experience, without the authority of the elders. Why? What's the difference between the two? the great rash of the mirror in the mus explains he says the other nations of the world are likened to a behemoth which we'll come back to in a moment in another context and an animal doesn't have wings so they can act and conduct and function without wings because they're more like an animal that doesn't have wings we are more like a bird and a bird without its wings is not a bird without its wings is grounded a bird without a wings is not is not really a bird a functioning bird. Why are the Jewish people more likened to the bird that we need wings even to exist to see ourselves? So doesn't explain it this way. He is more speaking in our attitude and it's critically important and it's dangerous in our times. It's the partial perspective for today. The greater the more the proliferation of technology, the more advanced, the more sophisticated, the more it enhances our lives, the more young people subconsciously are trained to think who's smarter, who's more advanced, who's made more progress, who's a greater authority, their parent or grandparents who need their help to work their technology or they who using AI have terabytes of information at their fingertips. Who's smarter? Who's more advanced? Who knows more? Who speaks with more authority? We're struggling in our generation. Children respecting teachers, young people respecting teachers, children respecting parents or grandparents or adults. And I think it's for this reason in the information age. It used to be when I was younger. When I was younger, it used to be when I was younger, one of the reasons that you admired and deferred and submitted to the teacher in the front of the classroom or to the older people in your life is they knew more. They were smarter. They had more life experience. They had more knowledge. They had more expertise. they had more authority. But today, you know how to talk into your device and have it access all information across the whole globe and to call co call it together. And AI and chat GBT can give you the answer to anything in a in a moment. And so the more you can utilize that, the more you know how, the smarter you are. And likely that's the younger generation. And that's having a negative impact. And that's the world around us, a secular world around us. But the Jewish people don't believe that and that's not how we live because there's knowledge and there's wisdom. There's information that chatbt and AI and all the technology in the world will never have the way the person who survived the Holocaust. Yashawa this week we have a survivor coming to speak. We don't know how many years we have left to listen to their story but their learned life experience. There's nothing chat GBT or Google or any or any technology can spit out that can compare with what they went through and what they know and what they live and the example that they are. Zika Israel, our Zakanum, our elderly, their life experience, their wisdom is indispensable to us. It is the wings that let us fly. Without our past, without our history, without the access of the links in the chain that take us back and create a continuity to the present and the future, we're lost. We're grounded. We have no wings. We cannot fly. And that's why we're liken we're like a bird. We need wings. We need to fly. And to do it, we need to listen. We need to learn. We need to surrender and submit to those who came before and not think we're smarter, we're better, more advanced. Just because we know more information, more terabytes, more data, that doesn't necessarily make you smarter. That doesn't make you smarter. Where did I see this quote? What was the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in fruit salad. Knowledge you can get from the internet. Wisdom is something different. But I think it goes even further. It goes even further. There's a story, a famous story of Yakov Kabanetski was once flying on a plane with a grandchild with one of Zanl and that grandchild the whole flight wasn't seated near him next to him but kept checking and doing on him. Zeta, can I bring you a drink? Zeta, do you need help? Zeta, do you need to put it up in the overhead compartment? Zeta, what can I do? And Ryakov was sitting next to uh a professor at a university who marveled at how often his grandson came to check on him, the treatment, the affection, the love, the respect. And he said, "I can't get my grandchildren to even call me, to talk to me. I'm lucky if they call me on my birthday, to see me, to visit me, and your grandson can't get enough of you. What's your secret? What's the answer?" Ravakov turned to him and he said, "You teach evolution. You think the world came into existence by chance, the big bang, and we are evolved from monks, from monkeys and chimpanzees and apes. We I believe that God created the universe and he created man. And the highest point, the most seminal moment in history was Mount Si when God granted his blueprint for creation, his instruction manual for life when he gave the Torah. So your grandson looks at you and he sees you're a couple steps closer to being an ape and a monkey and a chimpanzee and he has evolved and he has developed and he has progressed. You should respect him. Why should he respect you? My grandchildren look at me and they see me as being a couple of generations closer linked to standing at scenai. I was closer to that moment. I am closer to having that experience and passing that baton. They therefore respect me and want to be able to draw the wisdom from me. So the zakanim are our wings. They are closer to that moment to that revelation which was unprecedented. That moment that revelation which was never repeated. And therefore we look back at our elders as having that greater wisdom being just that much closer to that they are the wings. They grant us that ability that capacity to fly. Skipping a little bit. It's all set. Stage is set. Mishkan is built. The inauguration, the orientation, the dress rehearsal, it's all complete. It's all done. And Moshe turns to his brother and he says, "No, big brother. It's time. Approach the altar. It's time. Offer your sacrifices and achieve atonement for yourself and for the people." No, it's time to get it done just like God commanded. Now you'll note achieve atonement for yourself and for the people because before you can achieve atonement for anyone else first you have to do it for yourself. You can't criticize others until you look in the mirror when you point a finger at the three pointing back at you. It's first be honest with yourself, repair yourself, be self-critical, evaluate yourself before you then turn to criticize or receive or achieve atonement for others for others. But why does Aram need that encouragement? Why does Moshe have to say approach approach? approach makes it sound like what was Aaron doing? Stand off. He was retreating. He was recoiling. He was standing away. And Mosha says, "What are you doing? This is what we train for. This is the big moment. This is our mission. This is your moment. What are you doing? Come close. Come close." So Rashi tells us Aron was ashamed. He was embarrassed. He was hesitant to approach the altar to begin. Moshe says, "What are you embarrassed? What are you hesitant about? This is why you were chosen." The med elaborates what made Aonz the Misbak was constructed. It had Kronos. It had corners and the altar had these corners that protruded. And if you were looking at the altar head on, it had it was level. And then the corners protruded up and it looked like horns. And what did it look exactly like? It looked exactly like a calf. And what did it remind Aaron of? Theel, the sin, the mistake, the miscalculation of the golden calf. Soon says, "Me? How could I possibly? How could I be this leader? How could I have this moment? How can I play this role? I'm unqualified. I'm inadequate. I'm unworthy. I was part of that mistake. How can I do it? And Musha says, "What are you talking about? Why ashamed? Why are you embarrassed? It is for this that you were chosen." To the Alikut Torah, others and this we've shared in the past. They say, "You know what Moshe was telling him? For this you were chosen." What does that mean? For this you were chosen. What's the for this? Because you're ashamed and embarrassed. Because you're hesitant. Because you're humble. because you recognize and realize and take responsibility for a mistake. That's why you're perfect for this role. God doesn't want people in prominent positions who are arrogant, who have inflated egos, who think they never make mistakes, who have no sense of shame or guilt. Because because you are ashamed, because you are hesitant and reluctant, because you feel you've known you're humble, you've done things wrong. That is the very reason you're the right man for the job. So the thing that's making you not approach is the very reason you're the right man for the job. That's why you are the man. Has another Mosha was telling him the following. Mosha is telling his big bro, his big brother, you want to know the truth? I was supposed to have this role. I was supposed to be the co. But when God recruited me, when God appointed me, you know what I said? I was n who am I? I'm unworthy. I'm incapable. It's not for me. That's why Hashem took away the priesthood from me and gave it to you. So your behavior is I should have had this role but I behaved the way you are right now. God took it from me and gave it to you. So cut it out because if you keep it up, you know what Hashem's going to do? Moshe, no. Aon, no. He's going to find a third person. So brother, cut it out. Cut it out. What you're doing right now is why I didn't get the kahuna and it was given to you and if you keep it up, Hashem's going to take it from you and give it to a third person and therefore cut it out for your very behavior that I lost it and you were chosen. Wow. It's a different interpretation. So the simple understanding of the rashi is why are you embarrassed? This is your mission. You know, it's like the rabbi, he's voted in by the community, by the congregation. It's time to get up and give his drusha. He says, "Who am I? I'm not I'm not worthy. I don't know." Someone says, "Buddy, what are you doing?" You took a vote. We appointed you. This is your mission. This is why you were chosen. Get up there and give the dr. That's the simple understanding. This is why you were chosen. But the says it means more. This quality that you're demonstrating is exactly what we're looking for in a leader. And that's why you're the man for this job. The migalamuk says the exact reverse. No, cut out this quality. It's no good. It's why I lost the job and you will too unless you cut it out. So, three different interpretations or ways of seeing it. But the great GB quotes another interpretation, a fourth and he says the following. He quotes. The great cabalist student of the says every one of us come into this world and we have a mission we have a purpose we have something we need to work to repair to fix that's why for those who believe and not all do in gilgulum reincarnation until a person corrects repairs fixes fulfills their mission what they need to work on what they need to accomplish and do they will keep coming back until they do. Others reject that notion and don't subscribe to it. But Raal's essential premise is that each of us when Hashem creates our nish there's something unique and distinct about us in the way we are made that we have something specific to repair to work on to accomplish to achieve a mission and whatever we're meant to be doing whatever is our personal mission whatever area we're meant to have breakthrough and work on is where we will find the greatest resistance. This is a teaching of whatever you're finding the greatest friction, wherever you're meeting the greatest resistance is what you're meant to do. Is who you're meant to be. Is what you're meant to break through. Is what you're meant to break through. So, how do I know? What am I meant to repair? What am I meant to work on? What's my mission? What's my purpose? Why am I here? How do I know? Says, "One of the ways to try to figure it out is to ask myself, where am I struggling the most? Where am I meeting the greatest resistance? Where's the Yatesahara fighting back and telling me I'm unworthy. I'm incapable. I can't do it. Procrastinate. Push it off. Don't get it done. That's what you're meant to break through. That's where you should focus. That's where you can accomplish. That's what you could achieve [Music] in. You're struggling with ding. You're going to be unbelievable. You got to work. You got to break through. You're struggling with learning. Break your teeth, get it done. Be diligent. Stop procrastinating. You could break. You're struggling to be generous. You're frugal. You don't like to give away stucka. You don't want to volunteer your time. You don't like to show up and do. This is your moment where you meet the greatest resistance is revealing where you can have the greatest breakthrough, where you can accomplish the greatest, where you can repair the most. And that says, "No, the fact that you right now are hitting resistance. There's friction. You see what looks like an eagle. You don't want to approach. You're recoiling. You're resisting. You're moving back. That resistance is revealing. This is why you were chosen. This is your mission. This is your purpose. This is who you are meant to be. This is who you are meant to be. I've recommended before. It's a very short book. You'll read it in one sitting, which is the um the war of art. Steven Presfield's book. We have to follow up with him. The the war of art. I got to get him on behind the bea a yid. And he has I think the most eloquent description of the Yates Sahara I ever read. And this is one of those books. I can name a few that had an enormous transformational impact on me. And this is one of them. Short book, brilliant, brilliant book. Not the art of war written by whoever wrote that, whatever Chinese general or whoever wrote that. Yeah. This is not the the art of war. It's the war of art. And the war of art, he was he was a um an aspiring writer who was so unsuccessful and couldn't get published that he was homeless and living in his car. And then he broke through and he wrote books like the legend of Bagger Vance which was a book before it was later a movie and he wrote the Lion's Gate about the six- day war incredible book and he's written many many books and he had enormous breakthrough and he talks about the resistance which is an incredible description of the Sahara how the resistance works its methodology and how you break through it and overcome it the war of art and that's what Vital is describing where you meet that resistance The Yates Sahara is the most pernitious. It's working overtime. It's fighting the hardest. It's fighting the hardest because it knows that's where you can have your breakthrough. This is why you were chosen. This is your mission. So the war of art, fight that resistance and become who you are meant to be, says the Im. That's what Moshe is telling his brother. The fact that you are recoiling, you're resisting, you've met resistance, it is revealing that this is indeed why you were chosen. Moshe and Aaron come to the tent of meeting. They go out. They bless the people and the glory of Hashem appears to the entire to the entire people. Says thee to Ferris. still doesn't overcome yet this imposttor syndrome is he approached he succeeded he fulfilled he offered the carbonos he was meant to offer and yet and yet he perceives the doesn't descend he doesn't feel the divine presence so he thinks to himself oh boy I know God was disappointed in me. It's my fault. I'm inadequate. I'm unworthy. I am why the divine presence has not yet rested. He tells his brother, "My brother," he says, "No, I'm embarrassed. I'm ashamed. Come with me. Come with me." Moshe joins him. Davs with him and the comes down. Wonders of this is your fault because I went in. I was embarrassed. You made me offer it anyway. And yet didn't come down. So now you've got to help me. Bail me out. Pray with me. So why did Aaron blame Moshe first? Why not simply start by saying with me? Why isn't the descended bringina with me? Wasn't worried about his own honor. He was worried about Hashem's honor. After the Jewish people so generously fulfilled the campaign and they donated with a full heart and they fulfilled to a tea to the detail to the minutia everything that God had commanded in the seven days of dress rehearsal were over and he began the eighth day the first say, "And the fire didn't descend from heaven to consume the sacrifice. God's divine presence wasn't intensely felt. It's our fault. God hasn't forgiven us. I know God, you said we're all good. We're all good." You know that expression? Say we good. We're all good. We're all good means we're not good. But I don't really want to deal with it or talk about it or process it. So, we're all good. We'll pretend like we're good, but there is that person that you hurt and you tried to apologize and you were sincere and they gave you and we're all good. There's something lingering. You're just waiting. You know it's going to come up. You know it's going to come back. You know the person's put it in the bank. You know it's going to come to the surface at some point. So when the people perceive the doesn't descend, they're going to say, "Yeah, God said we're all good after the eagle. God said we're all good after we donated and built a Mishkan. We're not all good. Look, look, the hasn't descended. I knew it was just a matter of when, not if. I knew we would feel one day he's not really allin. That's what bothered and worried. How will the people feel if after all they did to repair, they still feel you haven't forgiven? And what will they conclude? That God didn't really forgive them. That repentance and repair doesn't work. And when you've made a mistake, it's irreparable. You can never go back to the way it was. You can never go back to the way it was before. But what happened to Hashem's promise? When he taught the 13 divine attributes, Hashem, and we just sang them, why did it say Hashem, Hashem? Why does God introduce the 13 attributes with his name twice? Hashem, Hashem. And there says famously, I'm the same God before. before. I'm the same God after. It's me. I'm the same one. You did not diminish. You did not compromise our relationship. You didn't corrupt it. I'm the same God before and after. We can go back to the way it was. In fact, not only go back to the way it was, we can make it better than ever. And that's why it was called mishkan hedus because the mishkan was a testimony to the intimacy to the relationship to the repair to the power of chuva and the power of forgiveness and the power of not only going back but even surpassing shared this also before pel's famous fat talk and the ability that when a relationship when the trust or loyalty is broken in any capacity and it can be in many ways if it can be fixed it it can actually be not only as good as it was but better than ever because the breakdown revealed something that was broken. And if you're able to address it and fix it, you can make it not only as good as it ever was, but in fact better than ever. And the same was true with the Jewish people and God. And that's what God was communicating. The power of chuva is the mistake reveals something that was wrong or off. And if we just superficially gloss over, if we just offer lip service and we want to move on, then it won't. But Shouba, that's sincere and that's authentic. You can make it, you can repair. So it's better than ever. And that's what Aaron is telling Moshe. Oh, this is not good. Forget me, my ego, my honor. But the people, how will they feel about the power of truth? They'll give up going forward. They'll think their mistakes are irreparable, irredeemable, that they'll be stuck where they are. And therefore, you have to you have to solve this with me. You have to bring down the divine so we can turn this so we can turn this around. B new peric 592. One of the most tragic narratives of our Torah, if not the most. The story of the two sons of Aron and Aaron had four sons, two they teach, take their own fire pan and they bring a fire and they put incense and they offer it before God. And what they offer is an ash z a foreign unfamiliar non-commanded fire. God didn't tell them. This wasn't part of the plan. There was no instruction. There was no formula. This was their own creativity, ingenuity, spiritual entrepreneurship, their idea of what God probably would want or love or like. Religious creativity. And what happens? It is entirely unsuccessful. Tragically so. That very fire that they offered boomerangs on them. Instantaneously, abruptly, tragically, they are struck down. They die that day. This same opening day that Aram is serving in the Mishkan, the most prominent position of the Coen should be a glorious, joyous day of his life. His two sons try to creatively join the party and offer something they weren't asked and practice religiously in a way they weren't commanded and it's a capital crime with a death sentence and the two are struck down and die instantaneously and the Torah never tells us exactly what they did wrong. What they did wrong leaving one of the rishon one of the great biblical commentaries to say they made one mistake and our rabbis suggested they made hundreds. Why? Because we have so many suggestions of what they did wrong that even though they only did one thing, if you sit and study and go through all the commentaries, is it that they went into the Mishka that day drunk? Is it because they refused to marry and have children? Is it because they offered a foreign fire? They weren't commanded. Is it because there's a litany, a list of suggestions of what they did wrong? They only did one thing wrong, but we think of all these things because they were all offered as suggestions. But the Torah is ambiguous. The Torah never tells us specifically exactly what they did, exactly where they went wrong. It's a fascinating suggestion. They they didn't marry or have children intentionally. Why? Because they said to themselves, "How'd that go for Uncle Moshe?" Moshe married Cipura. He had children, but his pursuit of attaining that level of holiness, he withdrew from his wife and he was never present with his children, which is its own tragic story. We don't see or hear much from his children. You may not even be able to name them. Moshe's children. Unlike the succession that we think of today, great Gdollam whose sons and grandsons names you know who have dynasties where there's a continuity that you know Moshe does not pass a baton to his children. You may not even know their names. Tragically, he's not present in their lives because he's giving it all for the people. And they says the sofur erroneously look at their uncle Mosha's life and conclude if we too want to make a difference and be effective leaders then it means that we shouldn't marry or have children rather than be absentee parents rather than be never present in our marriage we'll just abstain refrain we'll never marry or have children but that was a tragic mistake because that was unique to Moshe and not the example and you can and should do both and that was a tragic mistake that's one interpretation So they made one mistake but we have many suggestions exactly what it was because the Torah intentionally is ambiguous ambiguous about it. How does react Moshe tries to comfort his brother and he says I sanctify with those closest to me. I didn't kill them because they're evil. I took them because they're closest to me. Is Aaron comforted? Is he not comforted? How does he react? How does he respond? What does he say? We don't know. All we see is silence. And we don't know the nature of the silence. Silence can be deafening. There can be a sound of silence. Silence can be passive. Silence can be active. Silence can say much. Silence can say nothing. It's all kinds of silence. We don't know the nature of this silence. But we know he is silent. In some ways that's a model for us because he continues to put one foot in front of the other while he still is silent. I'm going to speak about those two words Thursday night at our Yamashawa program. Our wonderful incredible uh survivor who will be who will be speaking. We don't know the nature of Aon's response. He responds with a sense of silence. Rabbi Sax in the new points out a fire came forth. The story of Nadir reminds us yet again of the warning first spelled out in the days of Cayenne and Hel. The first act of worship led to the first murder. The first act of worship. What made Cen rise and kill his brother? He didn't get into a fight over a bad call on a basketball game. You fouled. I didn't foul. It was out of bounds. I wasn't out of bounds. You traveled. I didn't travel. They didn't get into a fight. You flopped. I didn't flop. That wasn't the source of their fight. What was the source of their fight? It wasn't an argument over money in the business. Who deserves the credit? Who should get a bigger part? What should the split be? What was it? They weren't fighting over a woman. What was the fight over kind in hell that led to the first murder in history? It was an offering. It was a carbon. It was worship. It was a sacrifice. It was service of Hashem. The first act of worship led to the first murder. Worship generates power which can be benign but can also be profoundly dangerous. The episode of is written in three kinds of fire. First there is the fire from heaven and that's from before hashem fire came forth that consumed the burnt offering. This was the fire of favor consummating the service of the sanctuary. Then came the zar the unauthorized fire offered by the two sons the we just read that they offered unauthorized fire and then there was the counter fire. A fire came forth from Hashem and consumed them. and they died before Hashem. The message is simple and intensely serious, writes Rabbi Sachs. Religion is not what the European Enlightenment thought it would become. Mute, marginal, and mild. It is fire and like fire it warms, but it also burns. Another incredible talk about tragic premature loss. Every time you see an insight from Rabbi Saxs, you're both uplifted by it and also saddened by how abruptly and tragically and too soon he was taken from us. But what an insight. You see, unlike the European Enlightenment that ah religion it's mute, it's marginal, it's mild, who cares, it doesn't matter. Religion is like fire. It can warm source of energy, a source of light. It can consume. It can destroy. It can It can burn. It's like fire. And that's what the Torah is telling us. Sacrifice was received with fire. They tried to bring a strange, non-commanded, nonauthorized fire. The result, they're consumed by fire. And you see it. You see it. What is the biggest infighting in the Jewish people? The biggest danger and threat to our unity are on issues surrounding religion. Religious coercion from the religious to the irreligious. Hate and venom from the irreligious to the religious. Judgment marginalizing from this religious to the other set of religious. You see, the biggest threat to our unity that seeks to undermine us and our success, the Jewish people, is fire of religion, religious fervor and fire and judgment. You see it also in the danger and threat to the Jewish people. The biggest sources of anti-semitism are not the atheists and agnostics. It's the people driven by religious fervor. I'm sure a lot is already being and will be said about this pope that passed away who was not the friendliest and most supportive of the Jewish people or Israel. And while we were spoiled so to say in quotes over the last several years by this image of a new church that was friendlier to the Jewish people, if you study the long history of the church, it is the greatest vehicle of murder, annihilation, extermination of the Jewish people, absolute accompllices to the Holocaust and those who perpetrated the crusades and killed the biggest genocides in Jewish history and human history was the church and fundamental Islam, what it has done and is doing to the Jewish people. All of this is a result of religious fervor. The crusades were the result of religious fervor. The march to conquer and liberate Jerusalem and on the way, oh, let's just do pumrums and kill every Jew we find on the way. It's religious fervor was all the result of religious of religious fther fervor. Kamas, by the way, Zam, I just saw this referenced in an interview. Kamas are the spiritual heirs of the Grand MUI and and the the Egyptian brother is the same who aligned with Hitler and who was driven by religious fervor to eliminate the Jewish people and the Jewish problem. It's not a territorial dispute. It's not a debate over land or occupation. It is religious fervor. It's religious passion. It's a religious call. And that's what Rabbi Sax is teaching here. The use of the word ash of fire with religion both when Hashem is so to say endorsing or condoning or accepting favorably our sacrifice is also the same is that when offered inappropriately by a results in an ish in a fire that consumes him because religion is like fire. It warms but it also burns. First act of worship led to the first murder. Religion is like fire. It can uplift. It can build. It can destroy. It can be the cause and source of murder. And that has been true since the very beginning and has been true still until this very this very day. Rather top of page 594. After this ep episode, after this tragic narrative, God speaks to Aaron and he teaches him a law. You can't drink wine, alcohol, beer when you come into the into the sanctuary, into the tent of meaning, into the house of worship. If you do, it's a crap capital crime. You are put to death. This is what leads some to to think that's what they were guilty of. Their mistake was coming into the sanctuary drunk, serving Hashem while intoxicated, inebriated. And how? Why? What leads them to that conclusion? Because this is what's then taught next. It must be this is where they went wrong. And while technically this is a law relevant to the Mishka and the B mikdash and not necessarily to our mikdash to our but it's very instructive and there's a lot to learn genuine religious experience is without any substances. You don't need the help or support of anything else material to get you high. We are meant as Schlommo sang to get high on God. Lord get me high. Get me high. Get me high. That's how we're meant to get high. The ultimate, the most authentic, the most lasting, the most transformational, the most permanent high is to get high on God. A religious experience. Other highs afterwards come with big low, a big dip, a big craving to get it back because it's inauthentic. It's counterfeit. So, one should never substitute an authentic high for an inauthentic counterfeit one. And to bring to bring in this counterfeit high in a place in which you can get an authentic one is the ultimate affront to God. Get high on God. Don't get high on something else claiming you need it to get near and close to God. It's a big statement about kdish clubs and kdishes and people taking edibles to get through shul. If that's the case, there's something very often very wrong. And there's nothing wrong. I enjoy it. Off the record after ding a nice and a good conversation and a thought-provoking dialogue and debate. It's beautiful. Nothing wrong with a good at lunch. Delicious bottle of wine. In fact, we just drank eight cups in two nights. And many of us didn't stop there after the seda during the day. Nothing wrong with it. It's wonderful. But not in the context of worship. Not in the context of a conversation with Hashem. Not in the context of an audience with Hashem. So if in the middle of you're going out and coming back a little bit inebriated and intoxicated something off something wrong if that's what you need to get through ding that is not the way or what it's meant to be. Imagine one goes on date night and you say before I can go out with you I need to get I need a there are people like that too. It's terribly sad. There are people who sit in their driveway before they walk in the house and they have to take a couple hits of something, couple puffs of something, couple sips of something, eat a few little something because in order to be able to get through the rest of that day with their spouse or children, they need something to take the edge off. That's tragic. That's sad. That's not the way it's meant to be. It's not the way it should be and that's not the proper solution to whatever needs to be fixed. That's sad. It's sad before going into a house of your loved ones, your family, and it's said before entering the house of Hashem. It is not the solution and the way out. It's a place and a time for everything. And it's wonderful to have a good I enjoy as much as the next. A good leaf frog, a good lavan. Oh, a smoky pey delicious scotch. Everyone had what they wanted to go back to after Pes. You know how much Slivovitz could you drink the tequila? You know, you wanted a good scotch after Pesak, a good nice Lafroy, a nice lav and a nice pey smoky delicious. nothing wrong in the right place in the right time with the right people. But it's not an alternative or it's not a escape. It's not what one should need in order to get through a conversation and an audience with not the way it is meant to be. Points out something else. He says the following. Rashi Rashi tells us was rewarded that he was silent even after this terrible loss he endured what was the reward he received that God communicated Allah to him not to Moshe his reward was a private audience with Hashem where Hashem transmitted and communicated Allah through him not through Moshe this para you'll notice It's introduced by not God communicated this law specifically and uniquely and only through and that was his that was his reward says that the an incredible beautiful idea who what did he give him the newest Tesla a bigger house all expense paid trip to Cancun. Aon remained silent despite his tragedy. And God gave him a reward. And what is the ultimate reward? Winning the lottery, a massage, a Manny Petty, spa day. What's the ultimate reward? An audience, a closeness, a connection, and an intimacy with Hashem. That's the greatest. That's the most authentic. That's the most everlasting. It's the most eternal, the most immortal. that is the greatest reward he could have. He goes on and he elaborates. I wish we had more time. This was true with he brings up several examples. This is the case. This was the case of the greatest. So when we dash and we say, "Hashem, shower me with with blessing. Shower me with your great blessing. I crave and I want your great blessing." What is the blessing that we want that we crave? What is the greatest blessing we can have? You. A feeling of closeness and intimacy, a connection with you. And again, I'll come back to our parallel because we're meant to. We just read Shir. It's the book Shir, the Song of Songs is the holiest holiest book in Tanakh of the 24 because it is the blueprint. We are meant to aspire to a relationship with Hashem which parallels a love affair, romance, a connection, an intimate bond. So imagine the ultimate reward a spouse is you know you made a beautiful pes you were amazing the detail the cooking the cleaning the shopping the cautering you were incredible what can I get you what can I give you there are a lot of answers to that question a lot of suggestions one can offer but I would say in addition not instead of in addition to buying something material or physical getting a real gift you know what the one who did the hard work says The greatest gift you could give me first of all is the fact that you acknowledge and appreciate is feeling close and connected. Is spending time is having love. Is your willingness to compromise or sacrifice to make time to communicate to be vulnerable to confide that connection is the ultimate reward of marriage. In marriage we don't reward our spouse or partner with some external reward. The greatest reward is the reward of feeling connected and close and in love and companionship and that the other person is your other half that makes you whole. So with Hashem too the greatest reward or greatest want that we can or should have and you see this from the that got is not some external reward. The greatest hope or want or wish we can have is is to feel close to feel connected to Hashem. Okay, we have time for one more. What should it [Music] be? Oh, such beautiful teachings. Okay, let's do Torah then tells us the next section here is the laws of Kash page 596. The second half of parini is we pivot to the detailed laws of how to keep kosher. An animal's only kosher if it what? Split hooves and choose its cut. How do you know if a bird is kosher? God gave us a list of kosher ones and we have to have tradition that they're connected to those which is why some don't eat turkey. It's a new world bird and there is no connection or misora of kamki. Others don't eat turkey of course many others do. Birds it has to be a misura. Fish have to have fins and scales. And did we leave anything out? Fins and scales. So and there's something to learn from all these things. What do fins and scales represent? What we can learn? What's the avoda? There's a plemius. There's an in avoda. In in working out ourselves, there's something going to learn of these criteria for each of these animals of what makes them of what makes them kosher. So, we have this long list of the animals and of what makes them kosher. What's the connection in the para para begins with the opening of the Mishkan, the loss of two sons, and then kashwas. Paras aren't random. There's a theme driving through them. So perhaps one of the themes one of my high school teachers by Usher Bush suggested is some say the laws of kash are they're a unexplainable law. We have laws which are logical and rational and they make sense to us. Honor your father and your mother that makes sense and you don't have to be Jewish in order to think it's a good idea. And then we have laws that areim they make no sense. We study, we examine and we can't draw the conclusion. We can't make sense of it. We don't know exactly why. So some say that is a is a so was the loss of just like in there are laws that are incomprehensible and we demonstrate our love and loyalty to Hashem. We observe them nonetheless. So too in our lives there are moments and experiences which areim which are incomprehensible and we demonstrate our love and loyalty to Hashem when we remain loyal nonetheless. In other words, the common theme or thread of the para is the notion of a of even when it's incomprehensible, we remain loyal nonetheless. But has one of these birds, one of the birds that we're told is these biblical names of the birds. What do they correspond with with our modern day birds? Fascinating. Not for now. But one of the birds is called the the what's the root of the word? The stork. Rashi tells us the is the stork. Is the stork. So why is it called? So Rashi tells us this bird shares its food that it has with its friends. So its name is the one who does the one who does the one who does loving kindness because this bird shares what it has with its friends. So it's called the it's called the one does the Now, if that's the case, why isn't it kosher? It's if it's a loving kind bird that shares what it has with others, so much so that his name is loving kindness, then it should be a kosher bird, not a non-coosher one. So, the Ramban tells us, why are the non-coosher birds non-coosher? because they're birds of prey. They have the mid of aaras. They are birds of prey. They're cruel. They're dorace. They stomp on other animals to destroy them, rip them, and eat them apart. And if we we believe that you are what you eat. That's not only true about carbs and white sugar, white flour and sugar and all the things that outlive, but it's true also in the very quality that the animal you're eating had. you absorb their qualities. And the laws of the Torah that tell us which animals we can eat and not eat is because animals have certain qualities. The Torah doesn't want us to absorb their qualities. So if that's true, then all the more so should be a positive quality. It does. So it should be kosher. We should want to absorb that quality and the should be a kosher bird, not a non-cooser bird. So therefore says that and many others has we don't have enough time. He also gets into this in his I'll just share it to you from the you know why it's non-cooser one key word in rashi this bird shares what it has with her friends is not when you share what you have with the people you know and love it's when you're willing to do it with a complete stranger the type where you only do with people you know and love is not the we want to eat and absorb into our being. Real is the you do for others. There are people who always have others at their shabas table. The shabas table's always full, but who is it filled with? Their friend group. They have a close-knit network, neighbors friends, and they rotate each other's homes and they always have each other over. And that's beautiful. Nothing wrong with it. no criticism of it. But those people should not consider themselves bal having a cro close-knit network of friends that you rotate and have each other over. It's beautiful. It's lovely. It's incredible. It's wonderful. It's great. Nothing wrong with it. It ain't when the sh puts out and says there are visitors. Someone has a loved one in the hospital needs a place to stay. Someone's checking out the community needs a place to stay. Someone's getting respit from a war in Israel needs a place to stay. Can anyone have them over? and you say sure me count me in they can sleep at my home or eat at my table that's a that's only done with friends is not we put out a meal train someone sitting shiva we're making them meals someone has illness in their family we're making them meals someone had a baby we're making them meals if you check the meal train and say are they a friend then I'll sign up and if not let others do it then when you signed up it wasn't if you look at the meal train and say who cares whether I know them, don't know them. There's someone in my community who needs a meal. Count me in. That's so the Torah is defining for us what's Yes, she's called the because she does, but only the type of with her friends. That's not the we want to emulate or imitate. That's not the we want to be. And therefore, that bird remains on the no list, the no-fly list. See what I did there? That was pretty good. That bird remains on the no-fly list because we don't want to eat such a bird who only does with friends. And therefore, even though yes, it's called the it is not the type of we want. There is more to say, but we are out of time. Please remain for all safer. We d the hostages should be home. Our soldiers should be safe. If everyone takes a booklet, we can finish in no time. Should be a day of Yeshua. Thank you very much.