The CHAZAQ Weekly Chaburah On The Parsha | Acharei Mot - Kedoshim | with Rabbi Avrohom Walkin

foreign [Music] at this time I'd like to thank like I always do um for hosting and sponsoring and tour anytime for taking the videos and posting the videos online so we can other people in learning toha so thank you both of you this week's parshyot are two obviously most and kidoshima remote has 28 minutes votes and kidoshim has 51 Miss vote so Barack Hussein between the two there are 79 mitzvot and obviously each each mitzvin itself is is uh big enough and and and and and and Broad enough that you could spend weeks upon weeks learning each one of the myths vote so 79 mitzvotes in one week's worth of studying for the parashar is a daunting task but you take it one one Mitzvah at a time you study a few minutes was here and a few minutes there and every year you just keep adding and hopefully you'll have a tremendous amount of knowledge in all the mitzvot now so akrimos I actually I just want to mention just a few things that achary most talks about and then we're going to get to our main topic in kedoshim um which is in kadoshim tu so one of the mitzvotes is that about two Aaron's two children that that died because they actually brought um incense into the and they weren't um told to do so so they paid they were Nifty in partials before but in this week's power shotgun actually most tells um our own and that he should tell his children and kohanim in the future that you can't just go into the code whenever you want you need once a year Aaron Cohen went in mosharabeno though was able to go in whenever he wanted whenever he needed to ask Hashem a question moshrabenu was allowed to go in whenever he wanted into the code but Aaron only went in once a year on Yom Kippur so it was a warning there that they that our own and the future generations of quanim should not go into the kodashak dashim in order that shouldn't happen to them what happened to Aaron's two sons even though he had two remaining so that's one of the the first things that the parish talks about it also talks about um certain forbidden relationships which are actually discussed in that we've discussed which is actually read in on Yom Kippur by middle time and about forbidden relationships it also talks about the midst of do not give one child to mola and there's a bunch of other Mitzvahs and pastures what I want to focus on is a mitzvah that is mentioned in the words conduction to you Hashem says you should be holy be a holy nation now obviously if you follow all the mitzvos in the Torah you will automatically be a holy person if somebody followed all the myths of the Torah he will be obviously a holy person and I don't think anyone would disagree that if someone who follows all the Mitzvahs in the Torah he becomes obviously uplifted and he does the ratsun Hashem and that's very special yet Hashem says besides for following all my mitzvotes there's something called kedoshim tihyu be exceedingly holy because I Hashem holy and I want you to emulate Mi Hashem says therefore you should also be holy now what does that mean what does that mean to you that you should be holy what does that refer to so I just want to mention also that all the midfields that we're giving to the car you saw to the Jewish people were actually given in groups I don't know how the groups worked but different groups would come in and and and many different people from the Sanhedrin motra been himself many times but there were different groups that were brought in here who tells Moshe I want you to gather all of Claud Israel that they should be there all at the same time when we discuss these Mitzvah now the question is does it refer to all the mitzvos in parashas kadoshim or does it refer to Something's particular called kadoshim to you that you should become holy and that you should be a holy nation so I want to mention four stories I have four maybe even five stories if we can get to it amazing amazing stories that referred to two aspects of kadoshum to you Story number one actually took place a few years ago and Eric Israel I saw it in a in a safer called Elena I saw it in that particular safer and it's really a magnificent very special story and he actually brings it down Silverstein shlita he brings that in a different pursuit of what it means to be holy what it means that we should serve Hashem in Holiness so he says over a story like this my wife happens to be a shayta mocker I'm not advertising to wear Shay tools or Not to Wear shayto's I'm not getting involved in the long ramifications if you are allowed should you not wear them should you wear mits pahat that's not what this discussion is but the story is an incredible story and I do remember when the question in the story was raised among all all of claudisrell I don't remember how many years ago I think it was around 10 years ago eight years ago there was a question about Indian hair that arose in the Jewish community that certain hairs that in the shaytals were coming from India and being that in Indian Customs they would use here for their avod the Zara was the hair in question might have been used for avodeizara so there was a big debate going around America and in Earth's troll about human hair can it be used can it not be used besides for the issue with everybody USF has in general would pay out we're not discussing that like I said so there was a certain School in benebrock where most of the teachers actually wore me pachats they wore actually head coverings and there were a few teachers very few that actually wore payout that wore actual shaytals and there was one teacher in particular that actually wore every day a shaytel to school she wore fatal to her class one day she comes in wearing a mitpaha she was not wearing the shato a second day she came in not wearing a shade till a third day she was wearing them with Pacha head covering and the girls in the class were wondering after a while what is it about armor that she used to wear a shato and now she comes in only around so one of the girls had the courage in the middle of class raised their hands and said Maura can I ask you a question the Lord said of course why are you wearing a mitzpahat instead of the normal shato that you used to wear to to school so the teacher said the mother said let me tell you why and then she went on to explain the issue with the the Indian hair and the question that arose and she said over that rebelie yashiv pask in at that particular time that until he's my Vare until he does the research that's needed everyone should be very careful not to wear shaytals to find out all the ramifications and questions that arose regarding this Indian hair and he'll decide within a few weeks or whatever it takes until then everyone should be careful not to wear um payout so a girl gets up and says Moore can I ask you a question and the Lord said yes so the girl said Maura I have a question for you can you please repeat over can you please repeat over what rebelius said about wearing a wig can you repeat it over so this teacher this moral thought that why did the girl want to know because she's going to go home and tell her mother she's going to go home and tell her mother so the more repeated oval Rebel yashov said that Rebel yahshuf said that until he's about the Whigs people should be careful not to wear wigs and this girl said thank you so much Maura and she sat down and she proceeded to take off a wig that was on her head this girl never had cancer and no one in the class knew she had it she was only in sixth grade they bought her they made her a special wig it was embarrassing she didn't want anyone to know so she took off the wig in front of the rest of the class because Revel yoshif said that a person should be careful and she sat the whole day not wearing away so Republican wanted to tell us say thank us and he says in the story that you see that a simple girl has such a Muna and the love that if a God delhadur says something even if it means that her whole life will change because of it because people are going to know now and the embarrassment of sinning in the whole day the whole day without a a payout without a shaytal would be embarrassing for her bald head but because Revelation poskined it she decided she is going to take off that wig so that's a very beautiful story and he brings it down on the words of them that you are a holy nation that we are and therefore regarding to you I wanted to mention that story that's one story I also want to mention his story about what it means for the eyes for the eyes because we're going to discuss what it means a person to be marked by smear to Naim part of kadoshim the rabbis teach us is a person should be keep away from things that are in the nature of arayat our Arias things that are our relationship oriented where a person has to stay away from certain things therefore smiris and I am forced into the category watching one's eyes so before I get into the situations of a rayut of watching smears and I am a person watching his eyes I just want to mention a story about what it means to watch one's eyes I had a rebbe many years ago and I'm not going to discuss now um how he became my remedy but it's an amazing amazing Story how I accepted this particular individual as my rebbe very holy man his name was a very big a tremendous tremendous brilliant man when it came to Musa Musa and understanding the human intellect and his children were very very very popular when I was growing up he really lived in Eric Israel he was an American he lived in artswell and then he had to come to America the last five ten years of his life and stay here because of medical reasons but it was a very very holy man and I would make it my my duty my job to not miss history whenever he gave them whether it's in Brooklyn or in the five towns I always intended but when I started listening to him he actually started giving shoe room and Eric's thrall when I started listening to him and then afterwards he moved to America I actually followed you know him his move in the sense of learning and going to his classes so he sent over a story that when he was 17 years old when he was 17 years old he was a student and the famous Yeshiva of panovish a famous Yeshiva one of the Harvard the Harvard of Yeshiva LA havdil and today it's still one of the top yeshivas in the world but then it was like known with shock with the receiversky big dollar bigadol and big rabbanim where the Russia vote in this Yeshiva and they still are reprovarsky um Edelman there was many many big dolim in this Yeshiva one of one of the big mashki theme of Kali Israel in the past hundred something years was the mashiach in in panavisionsteinstein so this rebrev there was a student of Republic and he says over the story once this is the story an amazing story he says over he says when I was 17 years old I was in this Yeshiva and there was a wedding that was taking place in yerushalayim from one of the students in partnovich so the they rented a bus where the husband rented it or the Yeshiva rented it I don't know but they rented a bus to take them to yerushalayim and they would the book there was a whole busload of students that went to yerushalayim to go in for this for this wedding and some revda says that on the way back from this wedding refractical was sitting two rows in front of him we're sitting two rows in front of him he was sitting two rows back and he was sitting next to one of the Russia srivas in the Yeshiva doesn't say who I don't remember because I heard the story 30 years ago 28 years ago 30 years ago and he was sitting he falls asleep falls asleep was a the wedding was over at 10 o'clock at night they were on the way back they were tired and he falls asleep on his head on the on the on the window he wakes up a little bit later in a state of panic which says because he wasn't true if he missed his his uh his stop and then he sees the Republic is not sitting it's not sitting in the normal seat that he sits it he wasn't sitting there so he was wondering how could it be because he looked out the window and he knows there are cat schools stop is at least two three more stops ahead because there was a certain route that the bosses always took when they went from the Yeshiva from the weddings to panovich wasn't the first wedding they've been to so there was a route see scenes with classical's not in his seat so he's won the weird way of how it still goes then he sees he leans over he gets up a little bit he sees with hot skull sitting in his seat bent over leaning looking downwards in his seat as if he lost something on the floor like as if he was looking for something so he gets up with Summer brev to help him so as he gets up to help him the Russia Shiva that was sitting next to Costco says he doesn't need help it's fine he didn't lose anything and he sits back down no problem some breakfast it's backed out two stops later or like a few minutes later refractical sits up straight continues the conversation he had with this Russia Shiva and then gets off a few minutes later two stops after that gets off was very curious he said I was curious to know what was doing that he was leaning all the way downwards as if he was looking for something on the floor so we move then it slides and next to the seat of this Russia wasn't getting off yet either and neither was the Silver breath there for a few more stops if cops go stop was a few stops earlier and he asks the Russia Shiva excuse me you know what was it that was doing that he was bent down as if he was looking for something so he says let me tell you why if hospital was leaning all the way down he said there was a movie theater that opened up on the route that they took all the time the bus takes a certain route this is a rental bus takes a certain amount when they drop off different people and this movie theater opened a few weeks ago and hot school has been to one or two weddings since then and the lights of the movie theater would flash into the bus the lights at night in the movie theater would flash into the bus as the bus was passing and it would cause you know sometimes you pass certain lights and you see if you absolutely you're trying to fall asleep in a bus or a car at night and you pass certain like Bridges you know the lights shine in and wakes you high school was worried that the lights of this movie theater would shine into the bus and would cause a certain amount of Tim tum contamination that he got some kind of enjoyment or noticing of the lights of the movie theater therefore he put his head down that he shouldn't even be affected by the light of a movie theater that flashed in now you think to yourself it's a little wild right come on let's be honest so I will tell you that my son my own particular son young he's only 18 years old very marketed to never touch an iPhone he won't even touch it he won't he sits and learns all day and night pizza they know I don't give a in her eye or anything but he's very marked never to touch an iPhone you should know that even when I get a phone call even when I get a phone call he'll say to me Abba and I'm not near my phone should I should I pick up the phone I'll keep it off of aim I go no don't touch the phone now why I have it that's a different question that's a good question too but he is very careful and I'm proud of him that he doesn't touch it and you know he's very mad even a flip phone he's very careful not to carry with him while he's in Yeshiva when he comes home for the you know for you know every two three weeks my wife needs to reach him otherwise he uses the pay phone he has a flip he has a flip phone he keeps it in the dorm but he uses the Payphone in Yeshiva when he wants to call my my wife and call me to wish me good night he's my pin so I want to tell there is there is something to being very careful not to not to pass by something that can cause Tim to my life so those are two stories one story about kedoshim to you about the girl in general what it means to be a holy nation a a second story what it means about watching one's eyes in the sense of symptom but what I want to discuss now is a story about about actually smears and I am person guarding is always production to you watching one's eyes it's not an easy topic and it could be daunting and it can be very difficult but most doli and most rabbanim most people that are on high spiritual level they're careful they're careful not to you know many of them don't have women come into them some do some don't I'm not here to judge but many of them especially there is initials of the world there are shocks of the world the the stipulates of the world they were very marketed not even to read not even to read a handwriting not even to read a handwriting from a lady that actually gave a thing it had to be I know the Baba Sally if I'm not mistaken was very careful not to read handwriting from women so a person that has to be very careful not to you know at least on their level how they were careful so I'm not here to judge anybody how special on but there is a very big holy Indian called smears and I am guarding one's eyes so I just want to tell you two stories about guarding one's eyes I went for blood work a few months ago nothing dangerous I went from blood work to a doctor in Forest Hills um the person that actually checks the blood is a very very popular doctor I was told she's a woman doctor but she checks the blood in other words you get taken the blood gets taken by a by a male nurse or a woman everybody gets taken by a nurse and she oversees the blood work and then she comes in and she tells you you know what it is what she sees her name is saveleta I don't even remember her name but she's a very big blood doctor in Rego Park bahayan lady so I came to do some blood work I needed to check for for diabetes whatever it was I needed to go so after she checked my blood work she closes the door the other there was a male doctor inside the room that was doing all the typing of her of what she was telling me and she tells me these words she goes Rabbi my children are becoming fanatic that's what she tells me they're becoming fanatic famous Makai in word she's becoming fanatic so I'm thinking to myself I don't know how religious this woman is who knows what she calls fanatic do I know what she calls fanatic maybe the fact that they eat kosher I have no idea what level she's on I did see mezuz on the door she seemed like a very nice person but I wasn't sure what level religiously you know religiousity what she was so I said what do you mean they're Fanatics she goes they're becoming too religious and she's laughing I saw in her little Joy she was actually happy to tell it to me but she was like laughing I said what do you call Fanatic she says my kids are 12 last year they were 12 and 13 respectively two boys and they go to a school called West Chester Hebrew High School and she tells me that last year we were going to Cancun and they said to her mom whatever I don't know they called her we can't go on this trip unless unless you we bring only kosher food I don't care we're not eating not you know non-kosher cheese or non-kosher salad or not you know a lot of people I know people that go on vacation as long as it's not not Kosher meat they'll eat it if it's Pizza dairy they'll eat it they'll eat salads ah it's not so bad these children both of them said Mom whatever they called her I cannot go we cannot go unless this completely kosher food from A to Z with us otherwise we can't go on this trip or we're not going to eat from whatever the food that they're serving in wherever we're going she tells me I said wow that's I was very impressed she was no no it gets worse she tells me but she's laughing I I saw she took pride a little bit she said this year on President's weekend whatever the week we're going also again someplace in Cancun but they don't want to go at all unless I promise them a particular thing I said what is it this is what these two kids 14 years old 13 years old was Justin Bieber High School is a wonderful place I don't know if it's on the level of really you know fanaticism or very very yeshivish in certain ways like panovis or or other yeshivas or Lakewood Yeshiva I don't know but I was amazed I was amazed what these two kids said they said we we are going to go on this trip because you want us to go but you you have to promise US that we you will not let make us leave our hotel room I go why so this is what this 14 and 13 year old boy said because of the sneot the immodesty that walks around in the hotel lobbies on the beaches in the streets we don't want to be privy to any of this we don't want to show them see any of this so if you promise US that we don't have to leave the hotel room will come for the five six days that that you're going on this trip so I was amazed by it to be honest with you because the Purity the innocentness the Holiness of a 14 year old 13 year old that's going on a major vacation where their parents do not care what what they end up seeing yet these two boys were so careful that they said we will go as long as you do not make us leave our hotel room because of a modesty very special in my opinion you know everyone can have their own opinion if they felt what level that it was in and I looked at her and I said I want to tell you so this is what what bothers you and she laughs and I want to tell you I said you know what zahita I told her you married it to have children so holy so special so caring I said wow on all of claw Israel we should have children that are careful like that that's what I told her and I said you should take pride I said all your practice I told them all the money you make in all your practice is worth it that you can have two children that you could bring up and they could be lights on decline as well for this particular this particular type of of of of children that you can bring into the world that that could be lights on to the Jewish people I was very amazed very Amazed by the story I got actually very emotional about it also anyway I want to end with a midrash okay now before I say the midrash I think I said over this vart once before when yaakovino met Jose for the first time it says he for 22 years he didn't know if Yosef was alive he didn't know if he'd married to see Yosef alive ever again and here he comes face to face with Joseph so we know that he put aside his love for Yosef and he gave it towards Hashem and he said to Shema first we know that he said kriyashrama because it came time to save the Shema in the morning so he took he channeled all that love that was meant for Jose and he said I have to channel it to our brothers first and only then to Jose very very special but he says the certain words when he finally talks to Joseph after the Shema he tells Joseph and Musa I can die this time now that I've seen your face that you're still living again and Musa pami tells him I could die this time which means like a second time like in other words he died the first time when he thought Joseph was not living this time in reality physically now that I seen your face you're still living the question is why does it have to say now that I've seen your face all it has to say is I can die this time that you're still living now that I see you're still living I could die I could die in peace knowing that my Yosef is still living what is it now that I've seen your face after doing anything so I saw an unbelievable shot I don't remember I think brings it down from somewhere I'm not sure but I remember seeing this many years ago Joseph was one of the most beautiful people to ever live we can't even imagine the beauty of Joseph and Joseph was being challenged not just by potifier's wife but he was challenged by all the women that whenever he is carried would ride through the streets of Egypt women would throw things at him roses and flowers and just to get his attention just that he could look up for a second and they could see his face that would be enough for them satisfying enough to see the face of Yosef and yo said people would climb Windows it says to be higher in that almost miraculous powers of Tuma to see the face of Joseph because he was so beautiful yet it says yo saved never ever looked up once one time somebody threw something at him it was a chain and said that I am a daughter of yaakov and who was it it was his wife right and and therefore he ended up marrying her because he saw the chain he remembered the change he was kidnapped taken into hostage within Egypt and that's the only time he even noticed that something was thrown at it was a chain with the name it's I am from the daughters of yaakov anyway so jaakov looks at Yosef and says now that I've seen your face I that you're still living I could die so the med brings this down he says that if Yosef would have sinned one time in Egypt one time by looking or doing something you should not have done he never would have been able to look at the face of yaakov ever he never would have been able to look at his father in the face therefore yaakov tells Yosef I could die this time now that I see your face that you're still living spiritually because I know that if you would have sinned once you would not have been able to look at my face therefore I could die knowing that you are still the same Joseph because you were able to look me in the eyes because if you would have sinned you never would have been able to and therefore show that you're still living doesn't mean physically it means spiritually the fact that you're still living spiritually is for me a reason that I could leave this world knowing that my legacy with you is intact so we see again the power of a person of self-control self-control is not an easy thing not an easy thing and it's sometimes it's very difficult especially in the workforce especially when you're going out when you walk into certain neighborhoods Manhattan certain places you should know my son one of my children when I'm an error to throw and I walk with them in the streets takes off his glasses and we walk I walk him literally with my wife we walk him because he doesn't want to be contaminated by what's out there even in earth as well now some might say wow that's too much no it's not it's Holiness it's Holiness person wants to guard his eyes guarding your eyes is a difficult thing but it can be obtained when a person works on it and the great thing about guarding one's eyes and I want to tell you this I take it from you because I've many times worked on myself in guarding my eyes you feel instant gratification it's not something that you have to wait a day a week a month the every time you're driving your car and you know your work driving soon down the street and you can easily look at something not not a modest even a woman passing in the street some and you don't even have bad thoughts for sure but you say to yourself do not look focus on the road try your best not to notice you feel unbelievable unbelievable Holiness you feel it's instant gratification you start feeling the strength right away within seconds you feel powerful you feel like I've overcome something and every time you do it you feel stronger and stronger so it gets I don't like the word gets easier because Shalom but yeah definitely Hashem sends you matano gifts that a person is able to control himself and I'm telling you that it's a very powerful thing it's a very I'm going to be honest I'm gonna say something maybe I don't you know I'm on video I get it but I'll say it many years ago I used to go to ball games I used to go in the name of key roof I used to take kids to basketball games I used to take to a baseball game and I used to go under the heading that I was such a great Rabbi and a great rebbe in the outside world and arts well they probably wouldn't think so but I'm taking my students to basketball games to Facebook what a great review now I'll be honest I enjoyed going to the game because I was a fan too a Nick fan a ranger fan whatever it was so I looked good going to a Met game taking my students when I probably didn't even notice they were there because I'm busy so into the game but I used to take and and then I started to get embarrassed I'm going to be very open with you because as we know in certain stadiums and certain um venues there's dancers discussion music there's uh stuff on the screen very difficult very difficult to be careful very difficult to say to yourself I'm gonna go there and be 100 holy now I know there's pictures and videos of Rabbi sitting with my road I'm not getting involved in that very special people that would go to a game and open a marath just because he had to take his kids I'm not going there with that but I do know for many years a few years already I stopped going for that reason because as much as I want to you know do key roof and should I be sitting there that's the truth should I be sitting there when the music non-jewish music is blaring in your head people are dancing on the court you don't know when they're gonna start dancing the people around me sitting there are not dressed the way they should be dressed people are men boys and women they're hugging each other it's not the issue I don't belong there I don't belong there so can I do here with the Citra I'm not judging anyone that goes I'm not judging anyone that takes their kids I did it for years 30 40 30 years I did it 20 25 years I did it I just made my own um you know work on myself not to go anymore not to go it's been a few years already maybe six seven five six seven years already that I haven't gone and believe me I want to tell you I'm very proud of myself and I'm an adult wow you're proud of yourself no I am proud of myself that I was able to say to myself you know what stop fooling yourself Abram stop fooling yourself you want to do kirif that's an amazing thing you shouldn't be sitting there I should meet me personally I'm not going to judge other people I myself said I should not be sitting there what message am I sending what message am I sending my children that they know they're old enough now that I went to a game that they wouldn't go to for the same reasons but I'm going for key roof again I'm not judging anyone this is something I took upon myself and I will tell you it's very very satisfying and it's a very good feeling to know that you self-control that you have for yourself so I'm going to end with that I didn't even get to the next story which maybe will save for another time it's a story from her masjidesh of how careful he was it's gouged out his eyes because of a certain situation but we're not going to discuss it now but I want to tell you kadoshim tea you a person has to learn to be holy and holy means that you that you go this name is I don't even call it the name insurance it's what you think you want a person is but a person goes listening that a person goes more Above the Law at times where he's careful and he's working on himself and that he should watch his eyes and guard his eyes and to guard himself because Torah can only be accepted in a Kaylee in a vessel that's that's Rubble for it that's capable of housing it Torres is a very pure and very holy thing and it could only be put in a case that's valuable and holy and special and we make ourselves that vessel we make ourselves that vessel not an easy thing to do but we create our vessels we patch our holes in our vessel ourselves so I give you a broker that we should become Caleb we should become vessels and we should be able to as it says Hashem said I created the Atara but I created the perfect and only medicine for the Atara which is learning Torah Torah is the medicine for a person to actually cure any ailment that he has spiritually and physically too in the olden days a person could cure anything with Torah but physically but spiritually any ailment is cured by enough sweating for Torah enough putting all your tishkas and effort into your learning of Torah when a person does that he sees bracha and He makes himself into the perfect daily thank you all for joining have a wonderful week