Saying the Shema Like Rav Kook | Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider

Thank you for being here this morning. Nice to have a beautiful uh a beautiful group of people that have come to uh to study Rufk. And let me begin with the sponsor today this year for today and throughout the academic year 2025 Eloyas Miriam Basalento. Okay. The topic today is a uh is a wonderful topic and uh something that's not only a you know philosophical theor theoretical ideas from but hopefully something that can be what what I would callis something that we can bring into our lives and something that we can bring into in particular our ding and that is the way that we recite and we're going to see five different ideas. We're going to make our way through five different insights from and all of them relate to kavana the kavana that we are to have as we recite. I'll begin with a mission in pyavos. This is the season of pavos the weeks between pes and there's the meaning of learnavos and the second perk we have a mission that says that a person should be that all of us should be zahir. What does it mean to be zahir? One should be careful, one should take extra care when they are saying the schma and when they are saying the amida and we know that the says that we should have kavana even if it's difficult it's challenging to have kavana throughout but when it comes when we come to that we should think about what we're saying that we should have kavana there's even a question in Jewish law in if you fulfill the obligation if your mind is somewhere else and you say kachma and you're thinking about the email that you have to respond to or the the grossly list and you're saying have you fulfilled the mitzvah of Schma. So many say you have not that you have to have in mind that you have to focus. So the question is what do we need to focus on and uh what is the ideal kavana that we are to have. So that's what we're going to look at today. We're going to look at the way that Rafuk um understood and the kind of kavana that we should have when we recite kachba. So uh we are fortunate that we have a lot of insights from Ravkok on kriachma because kayachma is the very first topic that is addressed in the Talmud that's in begins gamar brahos the mishnayos and the garamara and he has commentary on braos the agada so we have a lot of beautiful uh beautiful insights from so we're going to begin here and the garos says the following at source number one greater is the recitation of the schma in its correct time. Year the Torah is greater than one who is studying Torah. So where you have that uh a decision so to speak to make you have the tension between do I say the schma or studying Torah was considered greater and often by the way we say the Torah study outweighs every other mitzvah but here we say that creatma is more important. And why is it that creation is more important? And Ruk says the following. He says, "When it comes to tamaturra," and we'll read the words in a moment inside, but I'll just share with you. When it comes to tamora, essentially, we're ga we are engaged in tamora. Everyone on a personal level. We've all come this morning to a class. We all want to gain from this experience. We all want to learn. Yes, we're sitting together in a room, but essentially it's there's a personal goal. It's individualized that we are studying Torah. However, creatma when it comes to reading the Schma, interesting, it's also a kind of TMA Torah as well. In other words, we're taking passages, we're taking sections from the Torah, we're reading them, we're learning them, we're understanding them. But what do you have in that kind of Tamatura? That's a Tamatura of the Rabim. That's the entire Jewish community coming together for that study of Torah. That's a greater study of Torah than individualized study of Torah. You know, when I uh you can think about the example of of the sim hashas, right? When they Madison Square Garden in in Manhattan or Metlife Stadium in New Jersey where they have uh 80 90,000 people coming together. Tamora of the Rabim to bring everyone together. What an awesome event that is to have a 100,000 people together studying Torah. So what is Creatma? Creatma is the entire nation of Israel all coming together around Torah. We don't we don't necessarily think of it that way, but that's what creation is as well. Let's look at the the language of and this is his commentary on this uh passage in the Garra. when it comes to Torah that everybody individually as they study Torah as they open up ash as they open up a damar whatever it may be. So a person is benefiting from that a person is is elevating their uh their spiritual their spiritual life. But if we think about an example of the Jewish people coming together around the study of Torah and where they all come together and they unify around that Torah study, it's not only in Madison Square Garden or in Metlife Stadium. When does it happen? It happens every single morning that the Jewish people that all of us come together around the study of Torah and specifically at its right time. Now we know that there's a specific time particular time for reading of the Schma in the morning and the night and being that there's sort of this one moment or we could say within a few hours that we're supposed to be reciting it. So it means that all of the Jewish people are coming together at that time and reciting these words together that the entire nation is being uplifted. And by the way, we see here one of the one of the themes of Rivkuk and one of the things that he loved so much and that was Clal Israel. When we as Clal Israel together, there is nothing that is more holy. There's nothing more sacred. As sacred as Torah is. That's a beautiful thing. But Schma is a kind of tamaturra dab. It's when all of us come around the Torah. When all of us come around those paragraphs, those uh that learning of the Torah. So it's everyone Everyone within those hours come together in that study of Torah. And what happens at that moment that all of us are strengthened that the Jewish people are strengthened as we all say the in the morning saying at night and actually it has a it has an overflow that affects everyone's individual learning as well. So this is lesson number one and I would say kavana and again I want to kind of bring each of these ideas into our own that we should think about in our own reading of the kayachma. What do we have in mind when we read kayachma according to we should be thinking about Israel that the entire Jewish people right now that we are gathering together with all of Israel here init throughout the world and we are all connecting with one another as we are proclaiming our belief in Hashem. Interesting. What do we say? We say schma Israel here, O Israel. We don't say here, Hashem, I am a believer in you. We say here, Israel. We're turning to one another. We're turning to the Jewish people. We as a people are being strengthened. As Rafuk says, this is this is a moment that we're being elevated as an um and that's actually what we're doing that we're turning to one another. We're saying Israel, I want every Jew to know that I'm part of this great people who believes in God. that this is my god and this god is one. So that is uh I think very very much in line with uh one of Rafuk's great loves and that is the strengthening of amrael the unity of amrael and to think about I don't know if we think about the schma that way I don't think I've ever really thought about kachma that way I think about it's my right my declaration of faith in god suk says it not so much a personal even though it's it's everybody is doing it themselves but a sense that we're all doing it together that we're all joining together in that proclamation now there's another midrash which is a well-known midrash which also highlights the schma's idea or notion that it really is very much Jews coming together the nation coming together when was the very first time that the schma was recited when is the very first time the schma was ever said beautiful the very first time it was ever said according to the gamarra is around the deathbed of Jacob Jacob was passing away and he had all of his sons come together and they recite the now interesting that first according to the Gamar that's the very first time that we have the that's our tradition actually which we'll see in a moment that comes from Jacob and that's why it's included in the Schma because Jacob said that that's the source for but what do we have what what's the story line right what is what's the context of the Schma the context of the Schma are all the children are theatim all coming together gathering around gathering around their father, right? It's a it's a moment of Israel. It's a moment of togetherness of bonding together and together exclaiming our belief in Hashem. And here's the garam. This is the source teaches the following. He called his children. This is a from. And I want to tell you what's going to be at the end of the day. He wanted to tell them what will happen. The future of all of a sudden he didn't feel the presence of God. There was a certain spirituality that left him. And now he was concerned. What's going on here? Maybe one of my children is not living a you know a a fully Jewish or committed life belief in Hashem. And that happened. It actually happened in the past. Abram had a child. Ishmael who was not a believer. We also have Asov. So maybe that's what's happening here as well. So his children all say together and this according to Gar is the very first time that we have the Schma and they say Shama Israel. And what does Shma Israel mean in this context? It means that they're speaking to their father whose name is Israel. It's just as you have belief in one God and all the children said we are all believers. And then Jacob said that's where we have that phrase. By the way, that phrase does not appear in it does not appear anywhere. And yet we have it in the Schman. Where do we have it? Is from here. It's from this Garra. It's from this tradition that we have that Jacob says. Now the Garra goes on and asks the question, well, what do we do about this? So what should we do when we recite? Should we include it? But Mosherenu did not include it. Meaning if you go to the Torah itself, you do not find that phrase. But if we don't include it within our but did say it after that first the line of Israel. So what do you do? We don't want to offend anyone. It wasn't Mosher. It wasn't in his in his formulation. Wasn't in the Torah that he received from Hashem. On the other hand, Yakov said it. So, should we put it in or should we not put it in for the rest of time when the Jewish people say the schma? So, what do you say? Who wins out? So, well, so the Garra says, "Let's get it in, but what are we going to do?" But we'll do it quietly, right? We'll try to This is the compromise. Jews, we try to find a way to compromise even not always easy to do that. But here, the gamarra is compromised. It's shuomto. So let's say it quietly. Let's say it quietly. That way Mosher Rabain is not offended. It's really not part of the text. On the other hand, we want to we want to give honor to Yanov. Okay. Yes, please. Say that. Uh we say out loud. Yes, we say that aloud on. So there's another tradition that's correct that it's the Malim say this in Shamayim and we also were like Malimer. So yes, very good. Now I want to share with you the following and RK has an amazing interpretation of the following. The gar now continues and gives another gives a mushel gives a parable to why to the and this is what the garra says rebel now this is a parable to reciting mashall there's a I'm presenting a parable says the garra this teaching me to a daughter of a king a princess that she smells. She gets a whiff of different translations of that. Some say it's the burnt part of the of the pot. Some food that's burnt on the bottom of the pot. Does anybody like the burnt part of the chellon like that? Yeah. Okay. So, so the the princess likes that part, but it's somewhat embarrassing to bring that to her. She should not be eating the burnt stuff, but she likes the burnt stuff. So, what do you do? That's what the Gamarra says. The m the now the mush, this parable of what it means to say is like this princess who likes the burnt part of the uh the dish. If we tell her that we have that these are the servants of the of the uh the bad that would be inappropriate to tell her that it's available in the kitchen that we can bring it to her. We don't want to bring her the burnt stuff. But if we don't tell her she's going to be pay she wants that. We know that that's her favorite part of the chin. But how do we bring that part of the chalin to her? [Music] So what did they do? They brought it to her in secret. That's what the Gumar said. That that's the Gamar's interpretation of what it means to says the following. What is this mash? What does this possibly mean? So he says the following. He says is really like a secondary and not an ideal way to speak about God to to express our belief in Hashem. It's very limited. In other words, that we're we're blessing the honored name of God that his kingdom is forever and ever. That's a nice idea, but that's not really the essence of what it means to believe in God. to believe in God is but that idea is not an easy idea. Now we can we can translate the words but what does it mean hashemad the oneness of god by the way one of the interpretations of and cook brings this others bring it as well that when you say the word that the alf is one meaning one god the is eight which is this world and the seven heavens above and then the dal is four which is the rufot so what is it that you're supposed to have in mind when you say the word e you're supposed to have in mind oneness seven heavens, right? That God is endless, that God is everywhere in the world. Is that easy to comprehend? Is that easy to grasp? Not easy at all. Right? Not easy at all. So, we're Cesar Cook. We're the princess. We're the Jewish people. It's hard for us, not easy for us to grasp that um this more esoteric, more mystical idea of God. We have to say something that's a little bit easier. That's kind of like the burn part of the chlet. It's not the not the ideal. So we include that that's kind of helpful to us in terms of expressing our belief in God to talk about God as Malath that's easier right to comprehend to grasp. But there's a king a king in heaven that oversees oversees the world. He's the ruler. But that's really not what God is. I mean God there is an aspect of God that is that. But that's not really the way we should be thinking about God. We should be thinking about God in a much more profound way. I'll take your comment in a second. Let me just read the words of here. Israel the bottom of uh of the page. And according to the grasp or what a Jew is able to ascertain that a Jew is able to grasp really um very um uh very deep ideas, very profound ideas about God. It's a little bit embarrassing to say just he is a mel that he's a king of the world. But it's impossible to attain really that higher conception of God. We have to start with a little bit of a lower a little bit of a simpler idea of God. That's that God is mel but the truth is and I don't know this may sound like a surprise to all of us. We we shouldn't be thinking about God as Melik. We should on one level but it's really beyond that. That's somewhat simplistic just to think about God that God is a mel that he's overseeing this world. There's much more to God than that. And that's the idea of we need to say it. That's the way that interprets interprets the in the way that the Gumar is presenting it. And what I would suggest here in terms of when we say the Schma, when we say the opening line, the Schma, Rifuk says there's really a very profound and awesome almost overwhelming idea of God that we are to that we are to envision that we are to think about that we are to connect to. We then go to which is a little bit easier for us and that's why that's included. Yes, please. many instances throughout history in which uh one when one Jew was um testing in doubt as to whether another person was Jewish or not and he said he recited Israel was in so it was apparently the consciousness of so many people Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Okay. We can turn now to the second side of the page. So that's lesson number two from RVuk. We go now to the third lesson of RVuk. The third idea and I think this is a very profound idea as well. When we read the Schma, the Gamarra says that we should extend the word when we say the word. I think we're familiar with that. We probably hear that and it may be something that we do. The Rambam says we should do it. The says we should do it. When you say, we are extending that word. That word is a bit longer. We're supposed to say it longer. They were supposed to have a particular. Now, by the way, that's what I just mentioned a moment ago. You extend the word and maybe that's what you do at that moment. You think about oneness of God, right? You see that right away, the right and in that word you say, here is one God. One God that is the God of of the cosmos. endless the endlessness of the universe that god is part of to have that in mind that's the eight this world and the seven heavens and then the dalufo that god is everywhere so to kind of take that in and again it's not easy to do that and that's that idea of of coming back to but look at what the garra says says one of the a person who extends the word that person will have a long life if you I want to have long life, long days. So this is what the Gamarra says. Here's the advice of the Gamarra. The Gamarra says you should do if you extend that's going to be a blessing for long life. Now the question is what is the relationship between the two and this is what Rkook is is going to interpret. So let's read Rkook. Let's see the way that he and he interprets this in a very beautiful way. What is the benefit? What is it that we gain when we say it's in order to embed in our souls that we understand that God is one that he oversees this world in his oneness that everything that God created that God created with a purpose. Now, by the way, here we go. The word doesn't just mean there's a God in heaven who's one. But what does one mean? One means that there's a oneness to this universe. That everything that is here in this universe and let's talk about this room, every person in this room right now that God has brought into this world and to be here at this moment in this time that God has a purpose that God has a role that there's a mission for you to play. Otherwise, God would not have brought you into the world and you would not be here otherwise. Your nishama would not be here. So, that's what it means when we think about that God is one. Not just that God is one, there's a one God in heaven somewhere, but there's a unity that everything that we see that the world around us that the universe and our lives that they're all interconnected, that there's a unity of that of of a will of God and we're part of that will of God. Let me just And therefore and we need to follow that path. And therefore we have to live our lives in a in a in an uplifted way with great with a great purpose, great goals. So therefore you will have you'll have long days in order for you to fulfill all that you are to fulfill the holy things that you are fulfilled in this world said that before he says you should start doing a lot of start doing more and more get involved in people's lives why he says because God is going to look down from she is going to make an assessment if it's time for this person to leave the world or not. And if he sees that this person is involved in so many people's lives, God will say, "How can I possibly take this person from the world? I'm not ready to take him from the world yet. He's helping this one and he's reaching out to this one and he's providing for that one. I can't possibly take him from the world." And I think that's part of what Rkook has in mind here as well. Now, look at look at the idea here. So, when you say, and again, here we go to a deeper idea of a not just that God is one. That's sort of and to some degree that's obvious. Okay, God is one, right? We don't believe in idolatry. God is one, but one in the sense that there's a unity to all of existence and we're part of that unity. There's a purpose for all of us in this world. And when you say and you have that in mind, not only the one God, but a oneness of universe and that I'm part of that. So what that means is that I have a particular role to play and therefore my days and my years are extended. Now you could you can learn that in two ways. It means that I'm going to live my life now that every day and every year I'm going to live in a meaningful way and maybe even means that God if you live that way maybe there is a braha of of longer life as well. So that's where says when we say by the way the gamarra says when you say the you're supposed to be that's what the gamarra says and what that means is that when you say I believe in god it's not just that I believe in god but I believe that I have a task to fulfill I have the yoke of heaven upon me there's some that's the word means and is a yoke we don't really know yolks today in the in the old days and I think that's why they use that language in the gamar every everyone knew what that was but a yoke on an aunt on an animal. And what that meant is that I have something great to uh to accomplish to achieve. By the way, one of the uh the early commentaries say that if you read it backwards, the isol is malut and the shin is shine. All shine. Another kavana that one can have when they say the say the word that they see that before them as well that I believe in hashem. But Jews, it's it's never about just saying I'm a believer. believer means that you now have obligation, right? That I believe in God means that now now I need to do something great with my life and that God has put me here with that in mind. So that's Cook's interpretation of if you extend the word meaning you understand what that really means. Again, not just there's a hocus pocus here, just say long and God gives you long life. That'd be nice if it was that simple. But if cook understands that to mean if in that word that you understand that you're part of that oneness you're part of that great plan that will of God so then I fulfill then I need to fulfill a great task in uh in life and I have a great mission to fulfill in life. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. That's right. Good. Excellent. Excellent. Yes. It's one of the beautiful interpretations. Right. The iron is large and the dow in the safer Torah which is aid is testimony that I give witness that I testify to to God's existence there. Yes, please. Is there anybody who says you're not supposed to do that and therefore will happen if you extend because it's just written simply by extending it. You're listening to the maybe there's some commentary that says the opposite that you shouldn't. Not that I I mean not that I know of. The garra says that when you say that that you're supposed to add to that you're supposed to extend it. The Rambam brings that the brings it other words. It's something that should be done and that gives you time that gives you that extra time with that word to think about what does that mean? And here we're touching on some very profound ideas of what the word means, right? Not just that God is one. That's a kind of a simple idea and that's good to know that God is one but one now we're talking about one in terms of a unity right of a will of God that we're part of that oneness of God that we have aim that we are actually we have a divine spark within us so all of that so if you can begin to think about that or as I mentioned before extend the word and as you're saying you're thinking al right You see that word and again those that are familiar with the gamatri it becomes and if you train yourself it's something that you can easily do as you say the word aad one god eight this world god is everywhere god is the cosmos the endless universe that god to think about it that way and then the dal the dalotar that's a I mean that's to take that in for a moment as you take and this by the way is cook says that it's as the gamarra says it's difficult to have these very profound ideas so we say it as best as we can then We go to a little bit quietly and we say God is mel. He's king. We all know what that means. He reigns. He oversees the world. A little bit of a simpler idea. Yes, please. The concept of an old directs the direction in a certain direction. Yes. Yes. So would seem to me and I was considering that the idea of means that you're doing the mitzvah. You're doing that going the direction. Yes. Beautiful. Yes. Absolutely right. keeps you keeps you on the right path in the direction of Kim Mitzvah. Beautiful. That's a great kabana as well. All right. So now we've seen three ideas. We're going to see a fourth and fifth insight from Rkook. So the Gumar says the following. The Gamarra says if you recite the Schma without wearing of course men that are wearing for the morning. It's as if you are giving false testimony. Why? What? What's the meaning of that? Why is it false testimony? Because you're saying in the Schma itself that there's a mitzvah of and here I am saying the and I'm not wearing the so that's not a good thing to be doing. And then the next statement in the Gar is so it says if and here we're going to need the interpretation a beautiful one from it as if you are bringing a carbon but with that carbon you do not bring the min which is with a carbon you bring a flower offering and also with a zeb with certain carbonos you bring is you bring the you bring wine that wine is poured word on the misbay along with the with the uh with the carbon. So what does that mean? Why that in particular of all things to say that it's missing it's missing those items. So look at what Rook writes a beautiful interpretation. So this again from his where does the carbon and where does it come from that are brought with the carbon they're things that grow from this earth right what is the ma the is flour it's coming from wheat where is the coming from those are grapes it's coming that's it's wine it's coming from the grapes the carbonote the carbon that you actually put on the altar you put on the right that's a living animal that's a a level even higher the and it's being placed on the what's made of that's made of the earth itself it doesn't have it's not something that has any life it's not something that even similar to plant life and here's the key look at what Rook writes wrote so what does this teaching us that we serve God with every aspect of our lives, with every domain of our lives. If we just serve God with sort of the the more elevated uh qualities or strengths of a person like the just the debour the low and not the lower qualities we will not reach. So what is Rook referring to? He's referring to the idea that when we say the schma and the way that we are o hashem we are o hashem with every aspect of life in everything that we do right with the plant life with animal life that everything now interesting we're talking about the what'sin is taking the leather of an animal and placing the leather straps of an animal and putting it on the body is that a way to serve Hashem would do you think that that's the way that Hashem wants us to serve to take the leather to take the the uh a part of the animal and to put it on our body. But yet what do we see and cook highlights that that also is it's all a question of how we choose to serve God and in every part of life in every way. It's not only in the spiritual. It's not only when we enter a shul with a sitter or read from a safer Torah as we all it's in our interactions. It's with our daily life. It's the work that we do. And by the way, I think this piece and I'll take your question a moment. I think here he's also highlighting for Rafuk what's very very important and we've mentioned this many times. What what do you think he has in mind when he's talking about those that are talking about the earth and the soil and that we bring that to Hashem? Who is he who do you think he's the way that I read it? What he's talking about theim he's talking about the pioneers, right? We think that we are the religious. The religious community is the religious community. Is that the only way to serve God? Is that the only way that there's holiness and sanctity? Soldiers aren't also those that are building the land, those that are protecting the land. Those are the doctors, those that are the lawyers. Those that are the bus drivers that say hi to you when you come on the bus in a nice way that becomes a that are that are carrying you that are carrying you throughout that are driving you throughout the city. So every person and in every way potentially it can be kaduca it can be holiness and therefore if you're missing the fillin right you're also missing that's what the garamar says it's as if you're bringing a carban okay that's holy but you don't have the saf but you don't have that which grows in the ground and you don't have the grapes right you have to have it's that's everything potentially has sanctity could be used for the sake of hashem it's just a question of how we do it so he said just saying schma is not enough we also have to have that in mind? Yes, please. Um, you were talking about how could the height of the the height, right? The height of the animal. Well, so just like our I'm saying it's a vessel just like our bodies hold the Exactly. Right. Yes. Beautiful. Beautiful. Absolutely right. Yes. this sheer I don't understand first ah the ad a shaker you know what this comment is not on the aid of sheer you're right no no no good good point it's on that's this comment is on the second is is on that second line okay great let's now go to the final the final idea from cook and I think also this is uh this is novel and not generally the way that we think about the schma but we're going to see that it really is a foundational idea of what we are to have in mind when we recite the schma Now, one of the interesting things about the is that it's a mitzvah that's done two times a day. That it's done in the morning, right? You do it in the morning and you do it at the night or the night and you do it in the morning. It's a two-time mitzvah. Now, some say it's two different mitzvah. Actually, it's do you count it as two or do you count it as one? That is two parts. Okay. But there are two parts. Everyone agrees there are two parts. It's done. It's done at two separate times, which is really a bit out of the ordinary. Like why do we need to do it two times a day? Interesting. Why not three times a day? Some say is right, but it's not part of the not part of Mina. It's done just twice. But why two times a day? Why not a single time a day? So there are many ways interpreting this and this is the way that Rifkook interprets it. This is the very first piece that Rafuk has in his beautiful this classic workah on brahot and he talks about why we read the both at night and the day and he writes the following the meaning of both of them and this is sort of the more philosophical meaning behind why we read the schma twice each one he says represents a different idea each one is unique so let's see what writes and right off right after the words Okay, here we go. We have the reading the recitation both the night and the morning. They teach us they both teach us about how we call out in God's name which is incumbent on the Jew. There are two different ways that we call out in the name of God. First, number one, or the one's not there, but number one, So that's we've spoken about that during this year this morning. Step one is that we are to take upon ourselves that we are accepting mitzvot and our dedication our loyalty to mitzvot. We as a Jew and as a Jewish people. Now here's number two and this is the new idea from Ravkok vif and we're also and this is going to be the second reading of the we're also supposed to activate that the one God that we have we want every person in the world to know the oneness of God as well Because the God of Israel, that God oversees, that God is the king of all humanity, of all mankind. Galut. And it's been a long galut. It's been a long exile. 2,000 years of living outside the land of Israel. That's like the night that can be compared to the night, the long dark night of the galut. The essence of our of our work, of our effort. We've been just trying to hold on to our own faith. And the Schma has essentially been a Schma just for ourselves, right? Which we're just trying to survive and trying to pass on to the next generation to believe in God. That's been the experience of the galute. Right? We've been trying to survive the waves that have passed over us all the suffering with the strength of Hashem. But Rafuk goes on to say, "But now that we have returned to the land of Israel," and this is a theme that you're going to be familiar with for those that have been with us. Now that we've returned to the land of Israel, there's another schma. That's the morning schma. And what does the morning schma represent? It represents the idea that we want to share the oneness of God. Not that we want to convert everyone to Judaism where we don't convert people unless they really want to convert. But we want everyone to know the Torah. We want everyone to know the wisdom. We want everyone to know the light of God, ethics, morality, goodness, kindness, everything that the Torah represents. We want every person in the world to know. And we're calling out Israel. Even though we're saying it to one another, we want everyone. This is our God. Hashem, this one God should be known to everyone. Now, what's amazing, this sounds very Ravuk like, right? This is Ravuk and loving the world and universal. There's only one comment that Rashi makes on the Schma. If you go to the Torah in the PK in the Torah, there's only one comment that he makes on the Schma. He doesn't say anything about that first part is he comments on. And what does Rashi say? Here it is. Rashi says, what does it mean? Hemloat God. This is Rashi. God who is our God right now. In other words, we the Jewish people believe in God. We have a unique relationship with God. The low elote, but the rest of the world does not know that God in the future everyone will know the oneness of God. It says in the entire world will speak a single language that all the nations are going to call to a single God. And here's a P that everybody knows. The last thing that we say alenu and we come to the very end and the day will come where everyone will know one God according to and according to before according to Rashi. What is it when you cover your eyes and you say what are you supposed to have in mind? What kavana? He spoke about a few different kavanas according to Rashi. What kavana should you have in mind here? O Israel, the Lord is my God. The Lord is one. I pray for the day. I await that day that not only we know one God, but that the entire world will know one God as well. That's that's the messianic vision and that's in the Schma itself. That's the the power of the Schma. What's so pr profound about the schma is that idea that it's not only for us. Now, Rafuk says the night shama is more for us. That kind of represents we're like, you know, we kind of huddle together at night, right? We go into our homes, right? That's the Jewish people have to strengthen ourselves. But what's the morning? The sun comes up and that sun coming up represents gula. Now, here I'll just and I'll essentially end with this. There's a great teacher of Rafuk and Erit Israel today. His name is Ruven Sasson. He's writing many many books. I don't know he has like 20 30 books really based on the teachings of Rafkuk you can look him up and actually Mosha Weinberger in the five towns inhes he's teaching a lot of hisarim in uh in Lawrence or in Woodmir and he's he's brought him in to teach in Isul he's one of the most um one of the great experts and a very very special he's a young guy like 45 50 year old man and in his hagada he asked the following question he says you know that night that the rabbi sat and They sat all night long and the students came in and they said, you know, it's time to say the schma. He says, well, why do why do they say to the rabbis, it's time to say the schma? They just say it's time to time to din, right? Why in particular the schma, right? Why the per se? Ah, so it could be some some opinions do say that that it comes first. That's not You're right, by the way. That's that's maybe the the basic shot of it. But you could have the text say it's time to begin the day. Maybe it's time to wash your hands. We have to begin. Why specifically the And he writes the following. And this is from his of you can look in this in a very deep way. What's the secret of what is the secret of the deeper idea of the Schma? It's a prayer for God's revelation to all mankind that we want and that's that's the ultimate goal of the Jew. We want to build a great country and a great people here in Israel, but we want to spread that message. We want to change the world. We want a world of ethics and morality and a world that knows God and knows the Torah and the wisdom of the Torah. Can be compared to the morning. So when the students came in and they said to the rabbis, it's been a long night of talking about mit of talking about leaving Egypt. But that story of leaving Egypt is just the beginning of the story, right? That's just a that's a paradigm that represents the ultimate gula that God is going to bring a gula to all mankind. And therefore, it's time to say the schma. Okay, technically, yes, time to say the, you know, 5:38 time, you know, A.M. time to say the Schma. But time to say the in the sense that let's get ready, let's prepare, let's do what we need to do to bring the so that says and that's quite an awesome idea to think about as we're saying the schma again to think to think about this in practical terms the next time that we say the schma according to ra this is rashi by the way this isn't cook this is rashi rashi as everybody knows this the simple meaning of a verse and what to have in mind when one says a simple meaning of the verse. Um I'll just close with the following and that is the minhug that we have. This isn't fromuk but aidic interpretation. It's in the kyak as well. Why is it that we cover our eyes for the by the way ashkanas cover this way right? They cover their eyes the cover this way. They make a shin. They make a yud and the dalid. I don't know if you ever seen that. So two different ways of covering your eyes. So covering the eyes why do we cover the eyes? So the basic interpretation this was brought in the it says that one should not be distracted. There's a lot of distractions around you. Again we're talking about the importance of kavana of having the right kavana. We cover our eyes in order to do that properly. There's another beautiful interpretation and that is when we cover our eyes what we're saying is that we have a very limited vision of what we see in this world. We're very very limited in what we see. We need to believe in hashem right? Shead when we don't understand what we are seeing and that's the idea of covering our eyes and I was thinking just uh you know just this past week with the joy of a of a young man coming home Edan Alexander and the beautiful videos I'm sure that all of us have seen to be in the embrace of his family and and to be together and that there's soldiers you know a soldier who survived this and has come home on the other hand all the questions and all the you know why did he survive and so many suffer and so many die and and we're in a time of uh where things are not easy not easy to to understand certain not to understand what's uh what is being played out and what we see before our eyes. So the kidic interpretation is that we cover our eyes and we say we don't we don't understand everything around us. We understand very little around us but we put our faith in Hashem. We know that there is hashkah. We know that everything is for a reason. We know that Hashem oversees every detail of this world. So these are some ideas that we can think about that we can bring into our schma. And I wish everyone a a wonderful week. If anybody has any questions or comments, happy happy to take them. All right, call to everyone. Have a great day and a great week.