Rav Kook: Clinging to God from Earth | Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider | January 7th 2026

Okay, good morning everyone. Booker to Booker to nice to see everyone. What a beautiful day in your shim this winter day with the sun out and uh I was spitzing as I was walking over here. So um okay, let me just begin with the uh the sponsor this morning is dedicated nishmas abraalento. All right, we continue our uh we continue our exciting learning of Rifuk and the midoaya, the character traits that Rafuk speaks about and the ones uh that he highlights and hopefully something that's uh that's practical that we can be inspired to take away ideas that will enhance uh our own lives and our relationship with Israel and with Barafu. Um I just wanted to point out something interesting just to kind of uh set the tone for our learning this morning. Um you know there's this idea of chuva of course chuva that begins that we're working on ourselves that begins in and it makes its way through rashana chuva yam kipper and then we say it doesn't end on yum kipper it continues right it continues till oh shana right then we learn this idea I heard somebody call it out we learn this idea that that chuva of rashim kipper extends all the way to kaneka as well right the say well that's the like that's the final the final stamp on a person's cha so you're making your way all the way to tanaka and then we have this idea of chauvinim have you heard that idea of chauvin chauvin I was in a base mish the other day I live across the street from yeshiva called erloy the earloid anybody know any so I was in the base mish I ma and on the wall they had a big sign chauvim now what chauvim chauvim are the days of chuva that were in right now and it's based on the parote it's based on this cabalistic idea that when we begin reading schmos all the way through Mishbatim that each para each week is a time of of chuva as well so now we have the coming weeks five six weeks which is chuva related then we'll go to make our way to purum and to uh and to pes then we begin spherosa omare then they talk about sphera omar that all the spheros all represent different aspects of god we'll talk about that this morning also a time of all those weeks moving from PES until Shab that's the time of Chuva we'll go to the summer we'll talk about the three weeks the nine days tishov time of chuva so you see that like we can't go a few weeks without without it being a time of chuva for the Jewish people and I think that highlights a very very important idea very beautiful idea and that is that a Jew is always always working on themselves thinking about their mido thinking about their growth thinking about how to improve as a person how to improve in their abodas hashem. So uh so that's the idea and uh yes please >> there's something with tishbad also >> tishbat I don't know it could be I'm sure there's I'm sure I'm sure there is but but not that not not that comes to mind I mean you talk about every holiday and every day as uh but we see actually throughout the year that it keeps coming up in a very significant way there's a time of chuva there's a time of chuva there's a time of chuva and it seems like we're always doing chuva yes we we we're always thinking about uh who we are and how to improve and character your improvement. Okay. So, the topic that we're going to look at this morning is a uh a topic that actually was made famous, I would say, in the kidic world, but it's something that's very much a part of the Torah and very much a part of and our tradition. And the topic is dutus. DUS means clinging to God to cling. And uh when I was growing up, there was a a Jewish band by the name of Dus. >> Oh, yeah. Anybody remember the Vegas? A lot of great songs, a lot of great albums. That's right. Narayi Ni, that was their song. They a lot a lot of hits. Um, so what was Dus for them? Deus for them was the idea. Why would they name their group and their their music? Really based on this idea that through singing and through a shalashis and slow songs that a person feels an attachment to God, God, a bond with Hashem. And I think that's one way of thinking about devut or detas. How do we cling to God? How do we feel a closeness with God through prayer through song? But Rafuk is going to talk about another idea which is really very much based on the Torah, very much based on kazal. When we think about how do we go about experiencing experiencing closeness, a bond, the clinging to God. So here we go. This is uh we read now from Midotay. This is a section of B by the way I'll remind you that it goes in alphabetical order the book. So we're up to Daled. We're making our way. There's more to come. But we're in the section of and the word that he uses for is so he writes the following. We learn in the By the way we have a translation below one and two if you want to take a peek at that as well. Is referring to Kabala. When we study the cabala and it speaks about the midote of God, it speaks about the character traits of God elote. When we learn about this sphero now spro is again not I don't know much about the spirro but I'll just translate the word spirro into English sphere. Spirro are God's spheres or there are those that say spher is related to the word cipur which means the story of god other words when we learn about who god is how god reveals himself that is spirro so we talk about midote and we talk about the spher of god by the way that's one of the things in spir I'm sure you may be familiar with this if you if you look at a sitter you'll see that each day each day of the spirit it talks about different spher as well now spirro counting but then the cabala said it also relates to sphero which means different characteristics or elements of god or the story of god or the spheres of god so that's wrote so says we study this for what reason in order to know that the character traits of god so here is the of which I'm not sure if this is his we're going we're going to see that it's in the in the classic sources. What does it mean to cling to God? It means to cling to the characteristics of God, to emulate God. And that's what it means when we study the importance of studying the midot of God is in order for us to be able to emulate his character traits, his midot. And we'll see that in a moment. Um, and the second piece from this is that's piece number one, the section of second piece. When we study all the different names of God, how many names are there of God? >> That's right. The cabala says there's 70 names of God. 70 names. So what does it mean to study the names of God? What does it mean that God has all of these you know various names? So RVuk says that we study the names of God and we study and we study the characteristics of God. the wrote and we study the spears of God. It's in order to know that we are to cling to the ways of God of the Mak of God. So what does mean again? Is it sitting in a shallow and singing slow songs according to that's not to say that's not an experience of but what RVuk is teaching us is when we emulate the traits of God when we cling to and emulate the characteristics the ways of God and we'll see that in a moment that we are able to cling to because what does it actually mean to cling to God right God who is So distant God that's not a physical being. God that we can't totally totally grasp. >> Is that how we get the word can mean? >> It's Yes. Yes. Absolutely. And that's a word in the Torah. We're going to see it that this isn't a kidic idea. This is not an esoteric idea. This idea, it's a puk in the Torah that we'll see in a moment. A number of suk in the Torah that say that a Jew is to be det is to cling to God. We'll see that in in just a moment. Reading on now in we are able to cling to the character traits of God. The only way in which we are going to be able to cling to God is through his character traits emulating copying the way of God in our own lives. If we if we do not see this light or appreciate or understand this insight then we do not understand really what we are speaking about when we talk about the midot of God. We are interested in talking about the midote, the character traits of God, the sphere, the spirro, the spheres of God, the names of God for one or for one maybe not one reason only but for one very important lesson and that is to learn from those midote to emulate them and when we emulate them in our lives that is a moment of devot of clinging to God. So just to read to the very end here even what is considered to be the most esoteric the most cabalistic the most secretive section of all of what's called the the vision of the reason why we study that is for one reason only in order to learn how we can emulate those characteristics. characteristics in our own life. Look at the following. The PK is in and it says the following. If you observe this or the mitzvah of the Torah that I command you to do to love God, to walk in the ways of God. And here underline the following words bo. Right? The word dev is not a new word for glue. It's not modern Hebrew. It's found in the Torah. And God says to us, God is teaching to teaching us to love God, to walk in his ways. And when you walk in his ways, then then you reach that state of clinging to God, of feeling closeness with God, of being one with God. Yes. >> It's interesting though that he's saying the first time a word is used in the Torah is extremely important. So >> first time the maker, the woman. >> Ah, okay. Good. That's true. That's true. Yep. Something to think about. Very interesting point. Now what are the midot of God? We just said that we are to emulate the midot of God. So what are the midot of God? So one of the one of the most well-known areas of uh of speaking about midot of God is a that we're all familiar with. And the gamarra actually says the following gamar rashashana. It says when it comes to doing chuva that you are to say the following words. And when you say these words, that will be a a moment of of God turning to you and a moment of forgiveness. That's what the Gar in Rashashana says. And we know that when it comes to this, when we're asking forgiveness of God and the day of Yum Kipper, if you think about the end of the day, what is that? What's that phrase that we keep coming back to again and again as we're closing out Yam Kipper and we repeat it again and again and again? In that last hour, the last hour and a half of the we say hashem, hashem, some shs will sing it together. We'll come back to that line again and again. Now, why do we keep coming back to that line? What's so important about that? The garra says that Mosha comes to hashem and says, well, how do we do chuva? And hashem says, if you do the following, if you say the following, that will be chuva. That will be helpful in your chuva. But actually, the language of the gamarra is It doesn't say you should say these words. It says now what does it mean to to do? Do these don't just say them and this many of them say I saw this brings in his oner means you are to act this way just mouthing it and saying it again and again. Okay, that's that's nice. But that's not what God is is after. That's not what God is looking for. So when you do now, so how do we emulate God? Hashem Hashem that God is a God who is merciful, slow in anger, abundant kindness, truth, preserver of kindness for thousands of generations, forgiver of iniquity, willful sin, error, and who cleanses. So one of the things that we know about God is God's compassion and God's mercy and God's sensitivity. So when we do that, that's what it means. That's what Ravuk says. We'll see it right now. The Gamarra says it. And this isn't Ravuk's. It's not his novelty. The Gamarra itself says exactly this. Let's look at what the Gamarra says. Famous Gom. What does it mean in the P when it says what does it mean the and we just saw that similar language? What does it mean when the Torah says you are to walk in God's ways? What does it mean to walk after God? Right? God is in here. And what does it mean to walk after God? So the Garra says the following. What does it mean to walk with God, walk after God, to be close with to God? It means to follow his midot. This is the gamar. This is what the gamar says famous. Just as God gives clothes to those who are naked, it says that God provided clothing for you also give clothing. You also provide clothing. provide for those that are impoverished and that is a moment of and that's how one achieves what do we know about God that God visits the sick where does it say that very good that he came to him after the circumcision when he was sick when he was in the midst of healing or in the midst of the painful few days be careful then the Gamarra says just as God buries the dead, you should do the same. Where does God bury the dead? Good. Mosenu. So interesting. What does the Gamar say? What are all the examples that are brought about walking in God's ways and and emulating God and attaching yourself to God? They're all about interpersonal relationships. It's all about compassion. It's all about sensitivity. It's all about caring for others. And those moments of caring for others and compassion and mercy and seeing the pain of others and responding to that says the gamarra and what the cookook is teaching us that's a moment of it's a moment that you are channeling that aspect of hashem that sphere of hashem that mida of hashem that you are bringing into this world into your life you're emulating that mida that hashem has a moment now that you're clinging to hashm them. And maybe I would suggest maybe perhaps we should take a moment even to be conscious of that that kindness that we do for somebody else and we feel very good about that and feel closeness to that other person and we do feel a high. I think we would all agree we do something good and we go out of our way, we do a favor for somebody, it really makes us there's a good feeling there. But maybe with that good feeling also to take note that that is that's a moment of connecting with Hashem. That's a moment of channeling Hashem's mida and I've brought that into my life and I brought it into this world. That's a moment of clinging to Hashem. That's the way again maybe there is devus of being out of shallas and closing your eyes. I'm not saying that that's not a dus but that's not the dus that rufkook speaks about. Ravk is speaking about this idea deveus which the gamarra says as well is dup. Let's look at the following. Now let's turn the page to uh to a very interesting source which comes from Rabbi Salvich. Rabbi Salvich also points out the importance of in many of his writings when he talks about spirituality and he talks about connecting with God he speaks about the importance of this mitzvah and he says that when we davin in the morning and he highlights this is from a sitter beautiful sitter by the way it's one of the kuran sitters they have many sided one of them has the some commentary that they have collected from rabbi salvation it's called the I think msor tarav or something like that koren consider I recommend it uh in the section the very first the braot in the morning that list of the bureakar so rabbi salvichek makes the following comment he says first of all the language that we use of zok kuim matim all the language he says is really based on language that we find in tanakh that kazal wanted to use they didn't want to come up with their own language they wanted to find sources they wanted to find language that the nim used and to use that so we use that language. And then Rabbi Salvasik says the following and this is page two, second paragraph. We're skipping the first paragraph. Just shared with you essentially what he said paragraph number one. Look at this. A second reason these terms are employed. Why do we speak about all these different aspects what God does for us and thank you God as we begin the day is that they have moral and ethical connotations. God heals the blind, frees the prisoners, lifts up the oppressed. Each utterance of praise is filled with an ethical motif, a moral principle that must also be realized by man himself. When we pronounce these braha, we not only thank God for the normal physiological functions of man, but we acknowledge God's all-inclusive morality. And here's the key line. And announced publicly our commitment to imitate his ways. Now this is really a fascinating way of thinking about saying the takar in the morning. This is what Rabves says. When we speak about all these praises of God and this is what opens with as well. We speak about midot of God and the spheres of God and we praise God. Very beautiful to praise God. We should do that. But there's something else that's that's critical when we speak about God. We're talking about the midot of God. It's a lesson for us. How do we emulate that in our own lives? If God provides, if God is kufim, well, how do we do that for somebody else? How do we lift somebody else up who is suffering? If that's what God does, if God opens the eyes, if God provides clothing, how do we do that as well? And when we do that and that's what Ra Salvich says we should have that in mind. I don't know how many people have that in mind. I don't know if I've ever had that in mind when I say the in the morning to have in mind that this is as Salvich says this is an ethical this is a moral teaching for us. This is a moment of to teach us how we now are to to live our day where we are to uh put our efforts. Okay. So that interesting another example in Daven and Ruk says something similar a very similar idea um he writes um in his commentary in gamar gamar brah talks about kana kana's prayer we learn the garamar itself says we learn so much from the way that kana prayed which is really fascinating that so many that we have the way that we pray today is based on the way that kana prayed that's the gamarra statement so actually that's the actually what the gamarra says to quote it verbatim in English there are so many that we learn about dinging based on the way that kana prayed one of the one of the things that we learn from kana is the following the garra says this is to page what do we learn from there that when you d you need to move your lips now we're really talking about the amida here in particular that when in other words it's not enough just to meditate ate on the words to look at the words you need to say you you're you need to enunciate every word there's actually a difference of opinion in if you should hear it slightly or not hear it at all I'm not sure what you do right to hear it slightly to your ear it's almost like a whisper or not to hear it at all I would say most people you don't really hear it at all because in the silent amida do you hear like a whisper in shul >> I would say not right I would say not that people are just really enunciating that they are moving their lips even though there I think it's the zoha or some that holds that you should hear it slightly okay but that's like a side point so we learned from her she was moving her lips but the but she you could not hear her voice you should not raise your voice when you are dabbling so how do we say the amid based on this combination the combination of moving your lips but not hearing it at all so Ruk has the following comment and I'll We'll we'll read a line in a moment. I just want to share I'll share it with you and then I'll just share share one line from the language of RV cook from the actual writing of cook. He says when it comes to daving there are two parts of daving. Two things should be happening. On the one hand it's something that's very internal. It's something where we're thinking about our lives. That's the very meditative part of David. But then Daviding also requires that we bring it to action as well. And that's represented by the action or the movement of the lips. In other words, davining has to include both. And that that like Rabbi Salvich said before, we are praising God. It's a moment that is a spiritual moment, but that spiritual moment needs to be turned into something that is active, that we bring it to life, that we bring it to our lives. Let me just read the last line from uh from Rkook. Two lines up at the bottom of this paragraph. He writes, commenting on those words, and one needs to move their lips. So if you want to follow along in the Hebrew page two at the very bottom of paragraph 2, what does that teach us? That the way a person reaches a wholesomeness and mit here he used the way the Rambam does refers to character traits. If you want your character, your midote, if you want to be that to be improved, to make that whole, that's that must be done in an active way. In an active way, it's not enough. We do not believe as Jews that we just meditate on ideas. It's something that actively needs to be needs to be uh engaged in which brings about a completeness of character. So this similar to rabbi salvetic the idea of daven is that we combine both one is it's a spiritual moment we would think about in that sense of just feeling the presence of god but requires that next step as well that we how do we bring this how do we actively bring this how do we actualize these ideas in our life very nice so here I want to share with you the the is famous for his work. He's known by that title. He writes another work. I'm not sure if you're familiar with this, not as well known, but considered to be one of his classic works. It's known as he writes a book about the importance of and all the it's one of the interesting things that the does. He he he codifies law like in Lashen. People just thought, okay, there's like a basic like, you know, principle of of not speaking gossip, not speaking badly. But he writes a book where he goes through you know every and how many that one can transgress and how many you know one can fulfill by by being careful in also he goes through all the all different related to this is the introduction of the book the this is how he begins this work and he's going to talk about the importance of the let's take a moment just to see the words beautiful beautiful few lines from the by the way I just put a picture of on the page. Nice to see his face. But I also bring it because it's from a book called Bane Schneanimole. That's the name of the book. The relationship between two high priests. And it's a book about Rafuk and their relationship with one another, how they over overlapped, how they studied with one another, ideas that they shared with one another. And this it says right below the picture, there's a picture of the rabbi, the great This was a picture that was taken right before his planned trip to Israel that he was making aliyah. He never made it. There were a couple of times and the last time his wife was sick and he ended up not going. But he already we have the letters that he wrote to the community bidding farewell and giving instruction to the community that I'm leaving. He was ready to leave. According to the book, this was a picture that was taken maybe for a passport or for some documents right before he was leaving for Erit Israel, which is interesting. >> Picture >> what >> some say it's not the real picture. I don't know. The book has this picture and claims that this is the picture that actually he took right before leaving that he was planning to leave Terrell. So, okay, we we'll have to do more research. Yeah, there are questions if this is even a picture of the sky. I know there that's discussed as well. Okay. >> What year is it? >> I hope it is. What year is it? Um I'm not sure the exact year. It's I'm trying to remember if he passes away in the I think 29 possibly if we can you can you can Google that very easily. >> 33 >> 33 33. Okay. 33. So yeah this is the end of his this is at the end of his life. He was planning in aliyah again we have we we have letters that he wrote you know to the community saying I'm I'm on my way out and I'm leaving and uh etc. Okay, let's let's take a look at this beautiful introduction to the where he's going to talk about this principle that we're talking about this morning of so God who is all good God who is kind to all of his creations as it says in the God provides food bread for everyone even more so the love that God has to the Jewish people, those that love him very much. He calls the Jewish people his children that we are a portion of God. And here you can underline this. And what did God command of his people, his beloved people? He commanded his people to walk in his ways. And what is that? That the what God wants from the Jew and to walk in my ways is especially in the area of kindness and of mercy and which is also mercy and sensitivity. And there's a that says and now God wants you to fear him. And we also find in the mid says the following. These are the ways of God. We speak about God. The mid that we highlight about God is all about the God will save all those that are called in his name. How is it that you are called by God or in God's name? Not that you're calling to God, but you are called godly just as God is called merciful. You should be giving to everyone. Here's the line that I wanted to highlight to you. The low not a single time. It's not only one time. This is mentioned in the Torah. Eight times in the Torah. And by the way, that's rare to find a mitzvah to find an obligation that's mentioned eight times again and again and again and again and again. And he has all of the if you want to look up the sources has it here in brackets, all the the eight times that are found in the Torah. Not only that, not only these eight times, but you'll find it in other places. It's filled the Torah is filled with this idea of emulating God that I'll explain in the in the book. This is the opening words of the what I find interesting. By the way, this is the doesn't say this, but I'll add the following. Eight times in the Torah, it says, "What does eight represent?" >> That's right. have a meaning when when you act compassionately to another person what are you doing you are now attaching yourself with God this is a moment of transcendence it's not just the act of you are now connecting you now have what's called if we want to talk about what is dut that's a moment of dut of clinging to God now again it's it's a it's like a paradigm shift to think about in that way Because I I I thought that's that's when I'm sitting out of shalis or I'm closing my eyes or when I'm praying and I feel close to God. The garra says no that's not I mean that could be as well. We're not we're not saying that's not a moment but the way it's defined that highlights the gam the puk says and then then you have when you emulate God that moment of mercy of kindness of being close to another person that's a moment that you are now channeling that mida of God that's a moment of being close to Hashem fascinating okay >> please please >> um let's say you have two people and people who come they do exactly the same thing. Yeah. But let's say theoretically two people do exactly the same thing. They do unbelievable heights of >> Yes. >> According to Yahoo. >> Yes. >> And then one of them is observant. >> And the other one doesn't believe in God but believes in goodness. >> Yes. Interesting question. >> It doesn't do that. >> Right. >> So, do they get exactly the same in >> Right. I They're doing exactly >> right. Right. Exactly the same thing. I I don't know the answer to that. I thought you were going in a little bit of a different direction. And that is does a person does a person like accomplish that voot even if they're like a non-religious person who who does acts of so I think on the one there is like an automatic in other words that's what it means to be to to to channel that mida of God that there is that connection of God whether you know it or not other whether you know it or not you are channel you are connecting with Hashem because that's a mida of Hashem that you're bringing into this world bringing into your life but the more aware you are of that and the more that you believe that the more the possibility and the and the experience of the doot. Yes. Comment please. It's a puzzle the way the question is asked because it seems like it's a righteous thing to do to deal with compassion. But the motivation behind the hooks and the um victim is to emulate what this person is doing is not believing God's decided his own compassion is >> right >> not God's definition. >> Okay. >> And therefore he can decide what true compassion is such as don't kill that animal. >> Right. Okay. That's true also. So that No, that's a good point. That's a good point. Yeah, good point. Okay, let's take one more comment. Yeah, just one. >> And the thing is that Hashem sees into men's hearts and Hashem knows the extent of a person's belief >> and the sincerity of his action. No matter how good the action, >> right? >> Up to the side, we have to do. >> Right. Very nice. Okay, let me highlight one other. So we have the ideas of compassion, the ideas of sensitivity that that's what the Garra highlights as Rabbi Salvetic wanted to expand on the idea of and he says the question that he asks is the following. What is the very first thing that we know about God? When we talk about the midote of God, the character traits of God, the spheres of God, to be in God's sphere to know something about God, what's the very first what what's the very first thing? >> Not sure what's the ve the very first thing if you open a if you open ash and begin the story of of of God. >> Okay, I would say okay. No, maybe these are good. I would go to the what's the very first puk >> God as creator so Rabbi Salvichek says and we'll see it right now beautiful language of Rab Salvik says to emulate God is when we are creators when we create things and he talks about when we create ourselves or recreate ourselves and that's part of what it means to work on ourselves of chuva means we are creating ing and recreating ourselves. So look at just the language I just want to share with you. It's just very beautiful. Rabbi Salvich by the way this in the writings of Rabbi Salvich he comes back to this again and again. This is something that just speaks to you know his what he sees to be as as a central motif of the Torah. And he begins with why so much emphasis in the Torah on the creation story when we know so little about what it all means. Right? We can read we can read all those but they're very mysterious. What's the lesson? What's the takeaway from according to Rab Salvich? Perhaps this elaborate emphasis on the book of Genesis on God's creation was meant to be converted into a moral challenge to man that as God created so should man. The foundation of our morality is you shall walk in his ways that we imitate God. So by the way that line is in poor line. He says that's the essence of that's the bedrock of our morality of ethics is how do we in our lives emulate the ways of God? Man like God is often faced with toou vavu utter desolation and he does not know where to begin. He doubts his ability to say yor let there be light. It seems that the world can never be illuminated. Such is the prevailing gloom hos. Yet man is bidden by the principle of imitatio dei. So this is salvation was famous for this line he quotes. That's a Latin I think I'm pronouncing. I might be pronouncing it correctly. I think it's imitatio de and what does that mean to imitate the divine to imitate God to create to be a sh of a partner initi fashing form out of chaos of course man does not create ex nilo as did god though at times it seems to man that his task is as formidable as it were yes from absolute nothing adds another beautiful idea how do we cling to god how do we feel that closeness with god when we are creative in life. When we keep learning, when we keep growing, when we take a situation that's a dire situation, a dark situation, and we bring light to that, those are moments that we are uplifting ourselves, but it's a moment. It's a godly moment. It's a a moment that we're touching the divine when we do that. Yes, please. >> An answer to my question about why the first one is >> right. The first time it's said because it says that when in bi when it says Jacob kissed. Yeah. >> And they say the answer is question. Excuse me. Why did why did he cry after her? And the answer they give is that he said I just came from yeshiva chain and I was only pleading to Hashem and now I meet a woman I fall in love. And Hashem says no that's the way you love me. That's the way you can cling to me. Beautiful is after you know how to cling to a woman. Very nice. We know the first mitzvah is peruv and the person can't have children but they can create Torah with the woman. They could go out and and teach. They could do and create children. And that's that's >> that's right. That's right. How to bring that that sense of clinging into one's life. And that's really the ideal. In other words, the ideal is how to be compassionate. This example of Rabbi Salvich, how to be creative. And these are moments of detected with Hashem. Beautiful. Let's go to the last page. You can look at a couple other sources that we're not going to highlight right now. Yes, please. One more. Yes. >> Yes. >> We are being asked to straighten the bed. >> Right. >> Okay. Those are Yes. Those are good questions. >> Yeah. Very very good. Very good. I don't think we have an answer to I don't think we have an answer to that. I don't think No, that's like the savic. There are things that we don't Yeah. Well, we're here to help the poor. We're here here to to straighten those that are bent over. God isn't God sort of responsible for all of that all the lack in this world so like sort of hashkuffically or or the you know how to justify that so I don't know the answer to that but we are we we we're obligated that God gives us that obligation God wants us to be actually one of the the term if you that paragraph that we just read God wants us to be autaf that God wants us to partner with him in being the tak in the world that's again But it doesn't doesn't answer that question fully. I think we do not have an answer to that. That's like the that's Mosha Sadi Veral. Why is there you know why is there tragedy? Why is there suffering? That we don't know. But what we do know and that's also famous Rabba Salvich. He says we do not ask why when it comes to suffering. We ask what. What can we do? The why we cannot answer. Right? We do not have that answer. It's a mystery that Moshe didn't know that we'll never know. But what we do know is that we have an obligation to respond. We don't ask why. We ask what. What can I now do to correct that? What can I now do to be mitake and to bring healing to the world? Okay. Let's close with the following. Let's close with the following few sources. Going to page four. >> What's that? >> As to whether we can ask >> whether I isn't enough as to whether we can ask. >> Oh, okay. Uh what's the other side? >> Yeah, there is. Yeah. Okay. There. Yeah. No, no, no. We can we can we can No, we can ask why. We can ask why. Rosich doesn't mean we can't ask why, but it means there's going to be a limit to that why. We're never going to have a full answer to that. We're never going to have a full answer. But what we do know, we need to put the emphasis. So, we need to concentrate on the what, on how how we respond to it. Okay, let's go to the uh the last uh the last few sources. Um so we have an obligation of and by the way one of the the said is something that you find throughout the Torah not only in those but you find it in so many places. This is I would say another example of it which is a famous verse which we probably never thought about in this way. The beginning of you tell the Jewish people to do the following. He you are to be holy. Why are you to be holy? Because I am holy. What does that sound like? Emulating God. You are to be holy because I'm holy. Emulate my holiness. Well, what does that mean? How do you emulate holiness? The orim has the following beautiful idea and this is sort of like the last the last message that I want want to share as part of our learning this morning is um is the ongoing pursuit of of this of perfection of look at what the oray says to you is I'm I'm reading from the where it says to you you are to be holy not you are to be holy in the present tu which means it means it's something that you are doing constantly moving towards the future and have mitzvah this is not a mitzvah that you do in a single shot it's not shabas you did your 24 hours and you're done you took your lula and esro you lit your shabas candles you took a scala you have completed the mitzvah >> this is not a mitzvah that you complete. It's a mitzvah that is ongoing. Any gate that you enter of holiness, then there's going to be another gate. In other words, that we're always ascending in holiness, ascending in our acts of kindness, ascending in our midot of being concerned with others. There is no end. And that's what it means. Kadosh means it's something God's holiness is is an endless holiness. And kadim to you means that this is something that through throughout our life, day in and day out, week after week, year after year that we're trying to grow, trying to grow closer to Hashem. How do we do that? According to Garra, it's doing a lot of it's being sensitive. The more sensitive, the more that we bring into our lives. He says you can even learn this idea from the one is higher than the next. Moshe was the highest. Is that the have you reached the top when you've when you reach the level of Mosher Rabenu? I would say yes. But the oraf says is one level higher than Mosher Rabenu. It doesn't end with Mosherenu. the and maybe there's a level that one can reach even higher than Mosherenuote these is these are the levels of the mashiach that's crowned with many crowns in so he says the messiah actually reaches a higher level than Mosha. But what is he teaching? He's teaching that it's an entire lifetime. The effort that we put in, it's not something that we do in a week. It's not like that we do in a few months. This pursuit of this pursuit of the dava, of being close to Hashem, of clinging to Hashem, this is a lifelong pursuit. This is something that we're growing, that we're moving, that we're moving, ascending, and ascending. Just reading from cook this in a wa keshid the the drive the yearning that we have to purify our midote. It's not something that ever ends. I'm just going to the end of the paragraph that's a that's a phrase I think we're all familiar with go which means from strength to strength. They were always they were always looking to grow in this area. Always adding a little bit more, becoming better and better people, being more and more sensitive, doing more in our lives. Uh, and I'll end with just with just one other source. There is a um there is a book a bestselling book in America over the last few years. I don't know if it's a book that anybody has read. It's called Atomic Habits. Has anybody ever you read it? Atomic Habits. Sold millions and millions of copies in America. Very very worthwhile book. I didn't read the book. You know, today you can go online and just get the summaries of books. So in in two two and a half minutes you can get the you can get the book. But one of the I listened to a couple of summaries of the book. One of the one of the main things that he teaches in this book it's called atomic habits is he says that how important habits are in life and to um and to be resilient in one's habits. In other words, what you want to accomplish, the little bit that you do adds up. And he said, "A lot of people don't necessarily pursue certain things because they kind of see it as, you know, it's too difficult. It's too distant. Am I going to take up a musical instrument that I' I've never played guitar before or, you know, some area of uh of study that I've never done?" And he says that's a mistake that people are making because if every day you do just a little bit, and that's what he means by atomic habits. little habits, the few minutes a day, that little bit that you do every day becomes atomic. It becomes something that is huge, becomes something that is that's life-changing. And again, we often think that it, you know, it requires like massive change at once or that we're just like overwhelmed by achieving something, but he says if you just do something and you get 1% better at playing the guitar every day, so a year later or 5 years later or 10 years later, you're going to be really good at that. So I think this is very much a this is very much a Jewish idea, right? The idea of every single day, the discipline every single day just to do that little bit right that davening every day the every day the every day and over time what that what that accomplishes and what it does for us and this is what kadoshim the says that this is something that's ongoing this kaduca and this and connecting and feeling close to Hashem ongoing please God we're all we have 120 years on this earth, right? Every single day to grow a little bit more and that little bit every single day, that little act every single day and to add, right, to add just a little bit more atomic, it's something that that that has tremendous remarkable repercussions. Yes. And yeah, >> there was this um organization that was built on that principle >> called Daily Giving. >> Oh, that's right. That's nice. >> And the guy was saying if you give a dollar a day, >> right? Very nice. >> Now they're like huge. >> Right. Now it's like hundreds of millions of dollars. Right. This guy had an idea. Let's get Jews to give a dollar a day and he's raised millions and millions of dollars for different That's right. The little that little bit >> that becomes atomic in his words. All right. I'll I'll end with the following. This is uh this is a puzz that we say is part of Daviding and it's about doot. It's about dood. Now, it's a puzzle that sometimes gets a little bit lost, but maybe if we highlight it this morning, we'll see it right before the cre right before the reading of the Torah. We call the person to the Torah for an aliyah as we take out the Torah as we're about to begin the reading during the week on a chabas as well. And then the one who is calling up the Gabby says, "Blessed is God who gave the Jewish people the Torah." And the whole congregation is then supposed to say the following. Is this something that you do? Again, sometimes it kind of gets lost. Everyone's kind of like getting their ready or whatever it may be. But then everybody calls out and it's a puk from Dvarim. is the very bottom of page four right before the first aliyah we don't >> and what's the word there's a that we say right before the Torah is read out and every everybody in shul is to say these words and all of you the entire Jewish people we can cling to God that is Again, it's not an easy verse actually apostic to translate. You're all alive. Or I would translate it that this is life or this is the pursuit of life. Like the says this is our pursuit through our throughout our lifetime day to day, month to month, year to year. How to be more the how to bring the ways of God into our lives to emulate God. how to feel that closeness with God when we do acts of kindness towards others to feel the presence of Hashem at that moment is something that kind of happens automatically. But I would say maybe we should just take a step back and let that be a meaningful moment as we do that this is this is Hashem's this is an this is a a mida of God this is a sphere of God that I'm channeling that I'm bringing to the world and with that I feel a oneness with Hashem all we should all be z to uh to closeness and all good things uh yashikov everyone have a wonderful day thank you and look forward to seeing you next week.