Maamar Byom Ashtei 1971 #2- G-d has no partners, sun & moon are facilitators - RC Dalfin

So today we're learning the was said by the in 1972 on his birthday n we're at we're on page 193 the third chapter just to briefly recap the brought a medish here which says God chose us the Jewish people and we chose him and the question the language language of choice why choice when it's uh you know it's not a question uh when you compare you know the different souls between Jews and non-Jews uh both are important but the Jewish soul comes from a higher place and all of that anyway so that was one question he also questioned another medish where the med says that u a king was uh walking with his deputies and Each of the deputies, the various different departments said that they want to, you know, hang out and become close to this department, that department. And once March fellow said, I want to be close to the king. Everything else is is ancillary. Then his question was why what why does it take someone who is a pa shrewd fellow to make that remark? It seems to be obvious. There's no comparison between the king and his deputies. Those are the two questions primarily and it all centers around the opening verse which is the 11th day of Nissan when the tri the tribe Asher brought sacrifices. Usher means lucky and fortunate. Ashray like the word ash how fortunate is it to sit in the home of god and praying and all that. So in conjunction with that these midr would brought and as we learned the mime and we'll continue now we'll see how things get clarified. So let's learn inside. By the way if something's not clear raise your hand stop me and you know when if I if I'm in the middle of a thought I'll get back to it. But you know this isn't uh learning isn't uh you know if something is not clear or you disagree with something voice your opinion. Okay. So the Reb says now possibly we could explain this choice of the word choosing that God chose us and we chose him based on what we we know that in the early generations on page Those people who worshiped the stars, the constellations, they knew that the affluence that is given to the earth, meaning the result of those prayers, they praying to the sun, the moon, and the constellations. They knew they knew that it's it's from Hashem. It's from God. But God uses the moon and the and and the sun to facilitate to facilitate the hashbah the the the the affluence the the product. Look at the parenthesis. And he quotes what it says in the meas. The sweetness of of produce of comes from the sun and the sweetness of cucumbers comes from the moon. The good taste of cucumbers and the good taste of tu of produce is associated with the sun and the moon. That's a PK in the TA. How do how did they understand the PK that God Hashem is the one who gives it? If Hashem, if God doesn't want to give the produce, Mark, you wouldn't have any produce. SO, GOD GIVES THE PRODUCE. HOWEVER, the sun and the moon are also players and that they decide when to allow Hashem's affluence to come into the world. Let's continue. And what I just said is now in the text. Look at the text. Not that they themselves the son and the moon are mashim are independent and they give the affluence. Next page 194 rather hashem he conveys the sustenance through them through the son of the moon. They are good emissaries. They made a mistake. Those that worship the sun and the moon made a mistake and they thought that the affluence coming from Hashem from God through the through the constellations through the stars and the constellations cost some they can decide and they do decide byem when to give the hashbah right think of it you work for a a CEO the CEO is everywhere in right he's not to be found so he has managers so he gives permission to the managers when to allocate funds when to say we don't have funds. In other words, the manager has the right to make that decision. So the mistake is what what was their mistake? That the sun and the moon is like that manager. That's a mistake because they don't have the they don't have choice. They are given by God a task. I want to have sweet cucumbers. I'm going to allow the effluence to flow through the moon and that will result in sweet cucumbers. So is Hashem using the sun and the moon? Absolutely. But the sun and the moon don't have a say in the matter of of choosing when to give, when not to give. That's what he says. Continue. The Reba says, "And those that worshiped the son of the one the constellations didn't know the truth that they don't have any choice whatsoever." And these are very famous important words to remember like an axe in the hands of the chopper. based on a there's a gar, there's an axe. If you don't apply the axe to the tree to cut the wood, you don't have any wood. But it's the chopper who tells the axe, "Now I want you to chop. Now I don't want you. AND NOW I DON'T WANT you to chop." In other words, the axe has no free will whatsoever. So too in the moral, Hashem, God Almighty is like the chopper. The sun and the moon, the constellations is like the axe. That's the perspective of Tyra, of a believer. the perspective of those that had what we call partnership the whole concept in Christianity of partnership for a Jew is idolatry and and and that's why the Muslim religion is not idolatry it's not our religion but it's not idolatry because if you believe in in one god mono mono mono ism that's the Jewish belief the concept of partners what does it mean partners I also have a saying for a Jew that writes rules it's idolatry this belief that the Reb cites here is what he's alluding to that the sun and the moon are also partners with God no they're not they are employees of God and when God says do your work son of the moon you you have TO YOU HAVE NO CHOICE NOT TO DO it if you're because you're the sun and the moon THE SUN CANNOT DECIDE I DON'T WANT TO SHINE TODAY if God says I want you to shine it's not going to help the sun the suns access to Hashem is such that through the sun their produce is produced well or let's say outside now right it's below freezing it's 25 or to 30 here in in in Brooklyn right but it's very sunny Hashem wants to be sunny now but it's freezing outside meaning it's be so who know I don't probably the sun is not going to melt the No, WHO CARES? HASHEM WANTS TO BE SUNNY. IT'S SUNNY NOW. Let's continue. So, and therefore that's why the pagans worshiped. They kneel to the stars and the constellations because they they considered them a partner of God of Isam top of page 105 195 I'm sorry and they serve them. This is brought by the way in those that learn one chapter a day and I encourage you too. You could learn it with Rabbi Gordon. It's very good quick and beautiful and put it on two times the speed. So it goes very quick or one and a half times 1.5. So the Rambams talks about these ideas in in in in the where you learn it in the let's go back to the text based on their error that the affluence coming through come that that comes through the stars and the constellations they do have a choice. They make the decision when to give that affluence and therefore it is proper to acknowledge the sun and the moon i.e to worship them and they use similar to the concept this is brought in the gum says the wine belongs to the owner but the waiter deserves favor right the without the waiter pouring the wine for you in in in right you don't get have the wine in that situation so so they say look the wine the wine is the wine is is the owners but if not for the waiter I wouldn't have the wine so you have to give credit to the waiter that was their thinking so we have here two interesting slogans I want you to remember these the axe the gar in the hand of the chopper THAT IS THE PROPER TORAH view of the one of the constellations and the false view the heretical view is that it's similar to and the quote is it's Aramaic wine that belongs to the owner but the waiter deserves credit comes from the word to credit Good lak means the waiter. Let's continue. Next page. Another result of their mistake in considering the sun and the moon. Players who deserve credit. They make the error. that the sun and the moon are meaning they have free choice. So they came up with the idea which follows their line of thinking that if I serve and worship the sun and the moon and the constellations, I'll get more. The more I acknowledge and bow to them, the more they'll give, right? The more you uh we used to call this in yeshiva. I don't know if you guys had this in high school or in college. TLC. You know what a TLC is? I don't want to say it online, but the the T stands for the Yiddish word which means your backside, your behind. T LC. LC means a leer. Le is the Yiddish word for a licker. Someone who licks, excuse me, sucks. Someone who kind of sucks up to someone. Okay, that's the idea. In other words, uh, a goody goody. What What's What What would be a good English word to express this idea? Is there one? Anyone can think of of an English word? >> Brown nose. >> What' you say? >> Brown nose. >> Brown nose. Okay. I've never heard that. Okay. >> That would be the equivalent of your Yiddish. >> Okay. But why why uh why brown nose? translate your Yiddish. >> I got it. I got it. Okay. Okay. Okay. I now got it. I I NOW UNDERSTAND. OKAY. Let's go back. So, we're on the same page. We're on the same page. So, the Reb says that the that the the um the they're sucking up to to to I'm sorry, the people who worship the the stars and THE MOONS, THEY SUCKED UP to them. IN OTHER WORDS, HEY, I'LL DO MORE for you. Come on, GIVE ME A FEW EXTRA SHEKELS. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? I I'll you know that idea. So, and and and that's that's nonsense. If you have free will and you're in charge, it's not nonsense. The more you suck up to me, the more you right, the more I'll give you. The more you, you know, YOU'RE MR. NICE NICE, I'LL HOOK THE OTHER WAY. But when YOU HAVE NO CHOICE, IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. That's what he says. Let's go back at that text. Um, and this led to a till they made even a greater mistake of SO THEY CONCLUDED GOD SAID, "BYE-BYE. I'M GOING ON HIATUS. I'M GOING ON A HONEYMOON. I'm going on a vacation. Why? I HAVE GOOD DEPUTIES. I HAVE GOOD I HAVE GOOD I have the sun and the MOON THE CONSTELLATIONS. THEY'LL TAKE CONTROL ALREADY. I have a good manager. SO THE CEO CAN GO AWAY FOR months and weeks and and everything will run fine. That's why I hired him. And that's a great mistake because then YOU'RE SAYING GOD IS NOT INVOLVED IN CREATION. God is on, you know, on he's interested in the big makers on the Riviera, you know, cutting the deals over there in THE IN THE SWISS ALPS. BUT US COMMONERS HERE, FORGET HE DOESN'T NEED US. FOR US, HE GAVE US THE sun and the moon. That's a that's idolatry. Let's continue. And their belief was that the conduct of the earth of the world DEPENDS ON THE SUM OF THE CONSTELLATIONS. That's what I said. And this would be compar comparable to a king who appoints ministers to run his country. Although how do these ministers have the ability to control the country to manage the countries because the king appointed them? Nevertheless, after they were appointed The actual PRACTICAL CONDUCT OF THE COUNTRY DEPENDS ON THE MINISTERS. Next page and the king doesn't get involved in that. He says I allow you to conduct the country as you see fit. The only time it gets involved is very un select times when it's absolutely necessary and you got to call the CEO the king back to deal with the situation. SO THIS WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE TO THE WAY the the idol worshippers i.e. The worshippers of the sun and the moon and the constellations BELIEVED THAT HASHEM LEFT THE earth and he left IT UP TO HIS PARTNERS, THE SUN AND THE MOON, THE CONSTELLATIONS TO ACTUALLY implement what he wanted, which is meaning Hashem is not here. And that's how idolatry next the brackets. So this that the non-Jewish nations call God THE THE GOD OF gods the two affforementioned categories are are included. Even those that think that Hashem left the earth to be conducted and controlled and managed by the stars and the constellations, they too call God the God of all gods. In other words, in addition to the fact that Hashem is greater than them and dominates over them that itself say in their opinion this the the mere fact that they consider themselves the i.e the that the stars and and the constellations considered themselves as a god, right? Not the god, but a godam meaning that they have the ability to to control and conduct the world and have it and have the affluence be given to them. That's not due to their own. They know they WERE GIVEN THAT BECAUSE Hashem gave it to them. Next page 198 gave him the ability just like the example we mentioned earlier of the ministers of the king that they conduct and control the the the country BECAUSE HASHEM GAVE HIM THAT ABILITY. So in other words, so they so they acknowledge there is a god but there also a god. The God is God Hashem Ela. BUT THERE IS THE GOD OF OF GODS AND THEY HAPPEN TO BE ONE OF the gods. On the other hand, this mistake that the they have a choice to decide when to facilitate the effluence in a refined way. This is also incorporated in the in the in the in the concept of the god of gods. This that they're able to decide whether to give or not means that they have some control gods. When you say gods, you mean control. And when we say in the Torah, right, what does it say in the ten commandments? I am God your God. Do not have other gods. It's the second commandment, right? says that that the the idea OF NOT HAVING OTHER GODS ISN'T JUST OTHER deities like God, but even other partners are included in that commandment. There is nothing other than God, including the sun, the moon, the constellations. Next page. When is this commandment fulfilled properly by knowing that all intermediaries i.e. the sun, the moon, the stars, the constellations is only like a ax in the hand of the chapel. now is using this whole concept to explain the shrewdness of the one who said I want the king. We can understand the cleverness of the one that said I don't want to hang out with the deputies and all the ministers but I want to be with the king. This refers to Jews knowing the truth. All intermediaries upon which Hashem allows the hashbah to filter itself through the effluence to filter itself through. It is only in a manner of ax in the hand of the chopper whom that's because of the very great maturity, SOPHISTICATION because they see the inner because outwardly next page it seems the that the fact that the effluence comes through the stars and the constellations. Next page. Why would Hashem allow the effluence to go through the stars AND THE CONSTELLATIONS? OBVIOUSLY, THEY HAVE SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL. SO, THE MISTAKE that could be made is that they're also players. They also have free will. That's why it took a it took a a a pa it takes A CLEVER SHREWD FELLOW TO SAY, "NO, YOU HAVE IT all wrong. You're not a PLAYER AT ALL. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE AT ALL. YOU WERE WHEN GOD SAYS HE WANTS YOU to to to facilitate and shine. You will do it. And when he says he doesn't want, it won't happen. Let's continue. The fact that we Eden are not like the idoltors and we know that the sun and the moon are only like a axe in the hand of a chopper whom It's because of our very great das knowledge meaning that God imposed within us and I'm thinking as it you know it was mentioned in shu this morning so this comes to mind global warming the WORLD'S GOING TO BURN ITSELF UP that's not the Torah's view why because in science and nature maybe there's an ARGUMENT FOR THAT BUT HASHEM IS THE ONE WHO CAUSED THE SHOTS, not not the sun and the moon. So yes, IF YOU JUST LOOK AT THE SUN AND THE MOON INDEPENDENT OF GOD, YOU CAN COME TO A CONCLUSION is global warming even though we've had already two major storms this year and it's been freezing. OKAY, BUT WHATEVER THE CASE, but that whole argument from a Torah perspective is not is not an an acceptable argument or not a Torah belief. WHY? BECAUSE HASHEM IS THE ONE THAT TELLS THE MOON AND THE sun when to to do to do whatever it should do. So even if according to nature and science it seems like this WOULD BE THE RESULT, God transcends nature. And that's the exact same point here. And for that you have to be a you got to be clue you got to be shrewd and clever. It doesn't only mean I want to make it clear to to the it doesn't only mean you have to like have your excuse me your head screwed on right which of course you have to you know like you know a rabbi is not just knowing the four parts of the code of Jewish law it's the fifth part WHAT'S THE FIFTH PART COMMON SENSE TO know when to say and when not to say and that's not written down and that's not studied in the four sections you have to have so we're talking about this level of das and who gives us the das who gives the yen the das Hashem, it's up to us whether we access the DAS or we don't access the DAS. That's the answer so far because the Reb is going to refute it in the next chapter, I believe. But that's the answer so far to the question why the Medish says it took a shrewd clever person to choose THE KING OVER THE DEPUTIES. And the answer is IN SHORT BECAUSE YOU MIGHT THINK THE DEPUTIES also are makers players big shots because they have a choice and the Jewish people KNOW THAT THE DEPUTIES ARE ONLY DEPUTIES and they're they have to listen to the king at the end of the day. And even though they they they have access to the king and they're given permission to um facilitate the king's wishes, but at the end of the day, they're just like all of us, subjects of the king. Clear? We'll continue tomorrow is good news. Have a great day, everyone.