Speech with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg Shnayim Yomi - Sefer Vayikra Launch Event - Boca Raton, Florida

First of all, a huge thank you to Allah for his incredible vision, hard work, putting this together for several years and inspiring and empowering so many to be learning something fundamental and core that we should be learning all along. So, thank you so much for all that you do. Really greatly, greatly appreciate it. Good. Also, big thank you to Ellie. Ellie, thank you for your leadership and encouragement and hosting and organizing all this. I'll echo the sentiment of the Rabbon Kashu. My dear precious colleagues, uh this was a very short trip for me. This is our sh. It's very easy. But for everyone else who made their way here on one of the busiest days leading up to the busiest time of the year, it says everything about your commitment to mikra tala to building a makum Torah and it's deeply deeply deeply appreciated. So I know everyone has a very busy day ahead. I'll try to keep it short. A thank you to my dear friend and former guy. This for a short time to learn medish with got a little taste of the creativity. We called it learning. He was teaching me how to think, how to analyze, how to go back and look at medish and thank you for those beautiful, beautiful words. We have to be on fire to learn is not not easy. It's a it's an obligation. It's a den that's quoted in it's a responsibility that we have. It's no different than other areas of ala that are non-negotiable. We don't take for granted and yet so many neglect it because it's hard arguably maybe never harder than say for vayikra. If you've already made it through the first para of Schneik, you know, it's helpful if you're learning dafos, you're like ah cross-section hyperl, you know, it's coming together, but it's still not necessarily relatable and familiar and to fight through and push through and nevertheless not neglect that obligation of mikra. It requires a person to be on fire. And this coming Torah tells us that that fire has to be burning always. It can't be extinguished. It can't go out. We have to protect it and preserve it and make sure that the flame, the fire is always raging. It's always burning. So writes if a person neglects, doesn't allow, and that fire goes out, they violate two. The Mishna in the fifth parabas tells us among the 10 miracles that happen daily in the mdash the rain rain comes down we know in in Florida we're familiar we're heading to that season now you could get a torrential downpour out of nowhere and it will put out it will wash out it will wash away whatever is in its way and yet the Mishna lists among the miracles that no matter how hard the rain that fell the fire of the it never went out. He asks if Hashem wanted to make a miracle, he wanted the fire to continue to burn, why did he make it that the fire even lasted through the rain? Why not make a different miracle, namely that it not rain on top of the misbeh? We're also familiar with this from Florida. I never had it anywhere else in my life. You could be driving on a street and it's sunny and clear and then all of a sudden it's pouring. You keep driving a little further down the street and it's sunny and it's clear. Mononttoya circle where you are. Half the circle could be in the middle of a torrential downpour and the other it's a beautiful day. For Gersh wants to make it that it would never rain in the Mika. She could have made a miracle it'll never rain there and then the fire will burn consistently. Why was the miracle that it even lasted and withtood the rain? And if says such a beautiful, beautiful yod of what it means to be on fire, to be a yid, who is passionate, who's enthusiastic, who's energized, who's committed, who's devoted, who's on fire in the pursuit of living a Torah life. For it, the fire to burn when no rain falls. Nice. It's impressive. Fire never dimmed. The fire never went out. Fire was never extinguished. It's lovely. It's nice. It's beautiful. But you know, in life sometimes you encounter rain. You encounter obstacle. You encounter resistance. You encounter people, things, circumstances that try to extinguish your fire. They try to put you out. Your schedule goes crazy. An unexpected thing happens. Family that needs you. Parnasa change health. We experience the rain, the downpour, the storm of our life. And the question is, will the fire fight through? Will the fire last? Will the fire persevere? Will the fire continue to burn even when it faces the rain that's trying to put it out? That's the message of the not just Hashem made a miracle. It never rains but the image of the fire burning through the rain is that we too need to stay on fire. That no matter what's happening in our lives that nevertheless we are committed, we are devoted. Certain things and parts of our life always remain non-negotiable. There are things that can and will never change and that's the attitude it takes to get through and mikra because every week at least I'm speaking for myself starts with the certain farm that bring down you should do it all preferably Friday maybe after shak is Friday after is Friday all kinds of different marakcomos and sources and opinion of when is the optimal time to lunchtime mikra I think I have the best shot when I do reishon on Sunday and sheni on Monday and divide it by the week and every week starts out that way and that way and inevitably and invariably Something happens in the schedule that is Thursday, Friday, you realize how long the para is, how little dent you made in it. And will you finish? Will you still get it done and stay on schedule? Will you go into Shabas or on Shabas finish? The schedule what you anticipated, the way you planned your week, it starts to rain. Literally, figuratively, we face this obstacle and it takes us it takes us off of what we planned. And yet has to stay on fire and devoted. It has to be a a non-negotiable. It has to be a priority. And if there's anything that should be, it should be because say about it and not about other things fulfilling with all the silly superstitions and scholas that people follow just looking to find a shortcut to promise of in life. Here's one Kazal gave us. You want to live quantity, quality, a long life, however you define it. It's having a life informed by a non-negotiable commitment to so much so that you learn it without without ever without compromise. Was a big proponent his he was well known brought down in many including his biography about how much he advocated and encouraged and advanced learning mikah. It's a den in it's not an outside min or a or a custom or a schula. It's a den. But part of his argument was to turn to people and say if you could do something that would give you you could do something that's going to give you a long life, a meaningful life, quality of life, how could you neglect it? Why would you neglect it? Why would you neglect it? So he brought down the each day or each time that you sit to learn advance it, introduce it with this affirmation, with this statement that the way I'm going to achieve life and long life, the way I'm going to cling and cleave to Hashem, my fire that's going to burn, that I won't allow anything to lower it or extinguish it is this commitment to Mikra. And I'll tell you he brings down this is from the he quotes and he brings down many he says it's a school of so on and so forth and he brings down here in a footnote it's very interesting I'll close with this you know we're living in a time resumes reference checks everything we look into all the questions that are asked. I've never heard this qu. I get a lot of questions. I get a lot of phone calls, a big to have the privilege to be involved in that part of the job helping people with nobody once has ever asked this about a boy. But he brings down here. If you want to know if someone's aim the number one question that should be checked the number one thing to put on a resume I learned here here are my friends here are my I learn that's the that's the metric that's the gut check that's the test if somebody has so if we want to be counted among those who have if we want to be and tap into this who doesn't in this world where we're all trying to find quantity of life and quality of life to in our lives lives and our families. We have the answer, but we need to know going in. Don't think you're going to take on this project and say, "Hashem, never never have it rain when I'm supposed to learn. I want everything to be perfect and comfortable and on time and it'll work out and I'll get it done and I'll put my check mark." We have to go in knowing it's going to rain. It's going to pour. It's going to throw us off. And nevertheless, that fire has to burn and has to rage. And with that commitment each and every week, week in and week out, we'll get it done. will learn it. It should bring a bra to us and to our families, to our communities and our learning. And this morning should be as we're gathering comfortably here without any fear of interruption. Our brothers and sisters are running in and out of shelters should give them safety, security, peace, victory, and triumph over all of our enemies. That they should be that we should all be in this to live with peace and the peace that we deserve. Thank you so much.