Hechaltzu chptr 14a- Ego comes in different forms, Reb Aron Strashele, Reb Shmuel Gurary- RC Dalfin

So good day. We're learning uh the country. We're now about to embark on chapter 14. But before that, I do want to read uh the introduction quickly that's in this textbook that we've been using. And if you don't have it, just listen please. So this is an introduction to chapters 14 and 17. In these chapters, the Reb Rashab revisits the theme that yeses ego can taint a person's divine service and create discord between individuals and within a community. He explains that even okay between individuals and a community now you understand that why did the Rashab write his countress? Remember what I told you way in the beginning? It's because there was discord in kabad in a kabad community in au. So now in chapter 14 through 17 THE RASHAB SOMEHOW ADDRESSES THAT. OKAY, let's continue. It is possible that one may ultimately be seeking his own satisfaction to the chagrin. I'm adding these words to the chagrin of the community. Moshe, he wants the window open because he's hot. Ah, everyone else is cold. He don't care. Don't sit next to me. Go sit in, you know, the other side of the shoe. Or, uh, someone says the minig was for years the rabbi taught us this way and now you're going to the and you're changing the min things like that. Let's go on. To avoid this problem, one needs one needs to need it's a mistake. One one needs to cultivate an approach of bit humility. Similarly, even aa inspired by humility and anguish can be tainted by yesesh by ego. Deep down a person [clears throat and snorts] may feel a certain sense of gratification from the very fact that he has come to experience the that humility and anguish. Moreever he will seek to make himself feel greater by disparaging others. When he sees someone else's success whether in divine service or in material matters instead of being happy for him he is envious. True that Rashab explains envy can be positive but only when or but only when one's service is characterized by bit. By contrast when a person is is is bloated with yeseshas his envy breeds friction and discord. At this point the rebashab distinguishes between yeses and other character flaws. A typical character flaw is associated with a specific negative quality, a product of one of the seven impure emotive attributes. Such a flaw can be corrected, even transformed and channeled positively for use in the realm of holiness. By contrast, yes, ego is a comprehensive failing that drags a person away from holiness altogether and leads to all the other negative traits. It is therefore crucial to carefully identify any traits of yeseshas and root it out of our characters entirely. based on the above concepts that Aba answers some of the questions raised at the beginning of the mimemer explaining the specific nature of clip of Midian which represents discord and baseless hatred and is therefore the antithesis of God's name utavaya the clip of midon is more harmful than that of the seven idolatrous Canaanite nations. Whereas the seven nations reflect the specific emotive attributes of Kipa. Midyan is a broader problem that characterizes Kipa as a whole and thus stands in direct opposition to the unity inherent to godliness. That is why the war against Midun is described as exacting exact the retribution of God from Midun for the two are diametrically opposed. Let's look inside now chapter the two methods of that we mentioned earlier of humility. There still could be within these two sacred is some residue of of of of ego and conceit. And he explains when we talk about the first style which is to serve Hashem with joy. Surely there could be a residue of ego brings this. In other words, the the notion the notion of love, attraction, warmth lends itself to I am still there. I have the love. I have the attraction. [clears throat] IT VERY MUCH COINCIDES with because when we talk about is this is a very deep point true joy and emotionalism means it's felt but it doesn't mean just it's felt it means it's felt in a ego oriented way WHEN A PERSON GETS ALL EMOTIONAL The ego is there. I think I told you the story of the great and the right who later split with the with the but he was into emotionalism and once he be he went into a state of ecstasy and he jumped on the table and the said to him arro his name was arro down in other words you're being we sense the refined ego in your emotionalism. HE WENT INTO A STATE OF ECSTASY. BUT THE felt that it wasn't PURE ECSTASY. IT WAS ECSTASY BASED ON SOME RESIDUE of Yesesh. That's what we mean by murb. This by the way is a very very um difficult and refined complicated issue that kabad deals with in various myorim and it's uh it's a challenging one. In other words, HEY, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T serve Hashem. HE'S A GREAT SERVANT OF HASHEM AND HE SERVES HASHEM WITH AVA. But within the Ava there is a a some leftover some feeling of ego still there. I'm in love with God. The I am in love. The I is the problem. THE LOVE OF GOD IS GOOD BUT THE I LOVE THE GOD. Like I told you yesterday Rabbi read spoke he read this letter about his mutin. And he said and the rebba writes about the shabud he I told you this yesterday right he says that when I was speaking to him and learning I didn't feel that he is the big RASHIVA HE'S THE BIG SCHOLAR AND THE REBBA SAYS this is set you this is not MOST PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THIS MOST people you feel them them themselves in what they teach in what they learn in what they contribute it's it's an And that's what the is talking about here. So with even within the there still is a yes. Let's continue the content of this person's love and attraction and yearning who it is TO FULFILL HIS WILL, his desire. HE WANTS TO BE CLOSE TO GOD. If this in there because this is so in this scenario therefore what's mixed into this is called selflove and self-realization. You know, when you when I read this and I think about it, it it it's in in a way it's not in a way, it's so true. And and that's why you have to really really check yourself out if you're really being genuine 100%. The 99% is for most people's great, but it's not 100%. And and and by the way, if the Rashab says that we could he's he's he's he's criticizing criticizing this, that means you can attain it where you're not felt. The ego your ego is not felt in the pursuit of the emotional ecstasy for Hashem, love of God. As it says elsewhere, look what he says in the parenthesis. Look, look at this. WE NEED ADVICE. WE NEED an how one's once and love and one's joy should be totally you with B. This was the actual service of Arin the high priest when he elevated when he lit the candles of the minora. You know what Aaron was doing with look what it says what he was doing he he he drew he drew down which is bal into the candles which the candles are the emotions. Yes is sir but it was because he did not offer the the corbutos the gifts that the other tribes did. So he had he had a feeling that he was missing out on something and he was rewarded with this aod of lighting the manura for for his his all his generations but initially he had he had a why come I'm not included so that is a literal reading of the text and the the commentaries and then that's correct what the rashab is sharing and this is I think from the alterb yet maybe even from the BMP and the Mid is is a deeper concept that that his motivation and expressed itself because he felt he didn't get a chance but really what was driving him was thema within Aon to to exude and that the the BL within the NOS. Yes. So the answer to your question is that alpine it see it seems like a different reason a contradictory reason I understand what you're saying but the rashab is is is is I would say another way I would say another way you're talking about the rashab is talking about when he did the avod he's not talking about why he did the avod what you what you so we could answer that very simply that way. But I I I was thinking even deeper that that itself that motivated him to feel that way is because Hashem wanted him and Hashem saw him as an embodiment of which is B TO EXPRESS ITSELF in mid and that was for him not is like pure is is pure is pure B the is that within the of elevating the midos that should be it should be predicated on the that's a big that's so the rash now senses that we need to explain this idea and he does the idea is that the ble of came from the shining in of what's into his soul the superal light we explained earlier one meditates upon the greatness and exaltedness and wonderness of the infinite god that's when the god's eminence that's when hashem shine is goes into the person's soul And this being that it's pure, it's pure godly life impacts the person's soul. There needs to be preparation of the recipient, right? um a heart transplant, a lung transplant, the kidney, whatever. You can have the kidney and the heart and the lung there and they're all [clears throat] functioning, but if the macab if the recipient there's issues in the body and I mean the is of course the doctor knows better what I'm talking about and maybe could correct me if need be, but the isab has it has to be a match, right? The same thing over here. Moshe, you could have a gavaldic, right? People went to the Reb. You think everyone that went to the Reb was inspired. No. And if you think so, YOU MAKE A MISTAKE. PEOPLE, SOME PEOPLE WEREN'T. WHY NOT? CUZ THEY WEREN'T A MABBLE. THEY CAME IN WITH A PACKAGE. THEY CAME IN WITH AN agenda or they just didn't work on themselves. They said, "Oh, but Baba, I hear he's a great sadic. HE TEACHES TORAH. LET ME TAKE a a ride into Quran Heights. Let me go into Fabang." No. You have to be a mabo. You you have to work on yourself. You know, you have to refine yourself and realize that you you know you're you're stuck in in in in Yesesh and here is a who's a servant of. So when you go with that attitude, it makes an impact. That's what the says here. Behold, if the preparation of the recipient is such that he look he feels the goodness and the tastiness in the exaltedness and in the wonderness of of the infinite Hashem. He'll have ecstasy. HE'LL HAVE GET TURNED ON. But there's always the yesesh that's left. Why? Because in his preparation, he never rooted out his yesesh. His yesesh is still there. The little eye. Famous story that he didn't come out. One and all the are waiting for him to come out. And he said they finally came out. He said, "It took me a long time uh to to get rid of the he wanted to dance with me. I don't want him to dance with me. Get out of here. There's dancing. But who's who the LITTLE HORSE IS COMING ALONG. YOU'RE DANCING. I WANT TO DANCE WITH YOU. BUT YOU'RE A STICKER. I want to dance. Right. So the said, "No, no, no, no, no. First become NO HORSE. THEN I'LL LET YOU dance with me." Okay, that that was the implication of his words. So the Reb Rashab is saying something similar here. is saying that if the macab if the recipient hasn't [clears throat] you know reached the point of ble then that then the ecstasy that that that that's given to him through the shine of god I is one that is going to be tainted it's tainted it's tainted blood because it's not pure let's continue therefore the first has to be the preparation OF THE RECIPIENT TO SENSE THE GODLY light on its own. Don't don't put God's light into your sear, into your image, into your box. you know had discussions over the year you know how people they have an idea and based on their IDEA THAT'S HOW THEY WANT THE GOD'S inspiration orb's inspiration you understand I need this and this for myself therefore I'm looking for a certain reba or a certain teacher a certain mashp or rabbi to fulfill that need very nice but that's yesesh that's all about you it's not about Hashem. It's not about the sadic. The the WHOLE IDEA OF HASHEM THE bit to Hashem or B to a Reb sadic is COMPLETE SUBSERVIENCE TO THE HIGHER to the HIGHER ENERGY FOR THE SAKE OF THE energy not NOT HOW I WILL benefit from it. the famous story where the schmugari lived you know the 18 1800s into the 1900s and he was a very big contributor to the marash and the rashab and he was a lumber salesman he had many different business in katuk in Ukraine very successful and then they came they told him one time that the logs went down the the river and it was all you know it was a uh a um a a Jamaica uh like um rainstorm, a hurricane, whatever, and you lost all your money. So they said, "Are you still?" And and and the Reb or the Marash or one of the two, THEY GAVE HIM THE ADVICE TO GO INTO THAT business and do that business deal. So they said, "You're still of the of the of the Reb. He gave you advice and you lost all your your money." SO HE SAID NOW AM I JUST NOW I BECAME A real you got it [laughter] to be a when when when you're making you know everything's going fine and dandy and everything else it's no big deal. It's it's your image of of so it's JUST STRENGTHENING THE YOU THE YESESH the the [laughter] we shouldn't be no is looking for you know to lose their they have to have a neg a negative experience to test themsel whether they're true or not but when it happens and it does happen in different ways in our life don't bow out don't bow out you know forever right for many that were very close to and others, they could have forget about cracking up and, you know, going to an asylum. THEY COULD HAVE SAID GOODBYE, GOOD LUCK. You know, we're we're working for Msiah thousands of years and and the Reb is pushing, you know, this thing and it didn't happen. No, that's not aid. That's a that's your own agenda. you. That's what I said when after Gibble Thomas the hardest thing for Baba JASS AT THAT TIME WAS TO ACCEPT GOD. YEAH. The same God that the guy near gets these Israelis with the cuckulus to believe in God in one God. And in in in in our way is the same thing, right? Who took the reban doodle? God [laughter] took a takes a prison. So David took so that means it's the will of God. Does that mean I shouldn't try to do everything else to bring back that and everyone else to absolutely what I'm saying is that's you know that's the point are are you really connected is this really for the or is it for your same thing and the same as with a beard and with the everything else in everything else we do when when people now I'm not talking about when someone has you know a mental illness situation which it does happen to to very good normal people. The stress it it it does hurt and kill, god forbid. That's that's an ex that that's an exception. That's not what we're talking. We're talking about someone who's not not that way. And all of a sudden, h I used to go by the Reb, the person says, AND GET DOLLARS, so I had to have a beard. Now that the Reb is not giving out dollars on Sunday, and I don't have to pass him by and look into his eyes, and he look into my face. Let me start playing with my beard. BUT YOU'RE AID THAT always had a beard. It's not that you didn't have a beard. What? What are you doing? What? What are you doing? Oh, the Reb is not around. Oh, so that's the type of Reba you had. Or like Zolan Pner Pnner would say, I heard him say it once that his in the name of his father of Shan P was in Pittsburgh for years. He had this argument with someone says I don't believe in God. God forbid an atheist. So he said to him, the God THAT YOU HAVE IN MIND, I don't believe in him either. and [laughter] that God I agree with you. So it's always the image the creation that we create in our mind that is the that's what he's saying over here. Let's continue. But if it's not that way, if there is true, then it will impact you. So if you accept the God's light in the pure state without your agenda then later your joy and your taste and your emotionalism with joy and it's now you see the word he adds the words what does mean you know it means simple English get out of the way. There is BTO is proactive is just let the shine and get out of the way in Yiddish it means in English PUT YOURSELF ASIDE PUT yourself to rest the means putting aside right the place in other words your essence your should be placed aside don't get in the And and this is even that's the point in this in this here this is even a deeper than or better said this is true B true B is and and this too we've seen people and see that have B but at some point they just can't get out of the way they and it's very refined but that's remember years ago it was elections at Crown Heights for the for the rabbi for the RV. It's a it's a right a prominent position. They had a they had different candidates speak in 770 and one of them who had the he came from such kabad lineage with such a pedigree I mean and he was a a buck and shas and in zera I mean right and it was it was voted or it seemed that way that he's not going to get the position but rather an American uh well not an American a European/american uh person who became became a big he was getting the position and HE STORMED OFF THE platform and people couldn't believe it like you're THE TRUE FATHER was a secretary by the previous etc etc you're the bianas he is in your eyes just a a a Johnny come lately you about he wasn't about THE SHUVA BUT YOU know we say you know he CAME HE'S AN ADJUNCT TO KABAD HE HE HE JOINED the club you know he wasn't um born into it and you're THE ONE THAT STORMS OFF BECAUSE YOU CAN YOU CANNOT TOLERATE THAT YOU LOST THE vote there's the word you gota you gota you got to It's over the side. So, and so this a moh is even [laughter] you're shaking your head. I see this a is you know this is why just an aside the real they didn't make a big deal about what you know and who you are. It was all small change cuz they made a big deal by the Jew that has or I told you there was a there's a maybe well in California when he was in the yeshiva Montreal in Kabad in the Yeshiva someone told me they saw the the Mashak um little booklet where he took attendance 7:30 starts in Kabad yeshivas by his name FOR THREE FOUR FIVE YEARS THAT HE WAS YESHIVA WAS A A CHECK EVERY single day. But he wasn't the biggest head. He he you know he liked learning. He tried but there was that were better better knew much more but they didn't have checks next to the name every day but he did inad a we call this cabus oil. He is the real McCoy. Not the big the big with the big and he's good but he's better because he has kabil is the same thing. So you should know and the ourb in a way changed within that this should be the case. Do you know that the rebel was not fathomemed by any and all of these Russian? And there's no question after they came out in the 60s and 70s, he asked them to come up to the Beimma when he blew because they were in the gulag and futifas and bashetski you know all the wor the the kaset you know the sailors right that's a different but if you [laughter] tried if you tried you know flowering um the rebba with oh my it meant nothing to him nothing nothing and by the way it's based predicated on's motto for that writes in the introduction to he says anyone that's willing to work and to d and to learn and to prove their character is a is my boy. Yes. Yes. User was don't tell me who your grandfather was tell me who you are. >> Yeah. Exactly. But you know a lot of people say that but they don't live they don't they don't live that way and and and I don't want to go into it but including grabbas I mean I don't want to go into it but you know it's who's sitting with you on the airplane right or who's you know funding whatever with this raman from Toronto >> wanted to see him and give $1 would give out dollars for each person at the time was 134 million the told this is what they say I didn't you know the reb said, "I don't want to see him. This this I no thank you." Cuz he he went against something that the Reba said the week before, two weeks, whatever. So the said, "I'm not ready to see him yet." You know, 134 million I'm handing you to give out to every Jew in the world. No, thank you. You can't buy him with money. It didn't It didn't exist. So this is a very important thing. We'll continue to We'll continue Monday. By the way, Monday, we are going to learn the regular time. I my schedule doesn't allow it. I wish I could do it earlier, but it it just doesn't work out. My wife has to take the car. Whatever the case. Anyway, HAVE A GREAT SHABAS and we'll see everyone on Monday at your time is going to be my 2:45, right? >> When Yeah. When when when do you guys change the CLOCKS THIS >> SHABAS? We're just one week. One week. Yeah. So, it makes it easier. Okay. Z doesn't have a great chabas. Any good chabas? Byebye. Bye.