The Diversity of the Jews - Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz

And about the RA Lavian, which is really a total digression, but I I think it's [clears throat] a worthwhile machshava to share. Uh so, remember that Shevet Levi is divided into four chalakim. We have Kohanim. We have the rest of Kehas. Then we have Gershon, then we have Merari. And uh this is a division that we already find in the Torah that Shevet Levi was divided into subgroups. And in the Midbar, you see, this is where it gets a little complicated. In the Midbar, we understand why there's a Gershon, Kehas, and Merari because they had three different jobs. Remember again, the job of Kehas in the Midbar was to carry the Aron Hakodesh and the Mizbeach from place to place. And they did this on their shoulders, avodas hakashef. Gershon transported the yerios, the curtains, and the tapestries of the Mishkan through wagons. And Merari transported the boards and the beams of the Mishkan again through wagons. So, the reason why Shevet Levi is in three distinct groupings is because they were assigned three distinct jobs. Now, once we come to Eretz Yisrael and we have the Mishkan in Shilo and certainly later when we have the Mishkan in the not the Mishkan, the Beis Hamikdash in Yerushalayim l'chayira, there there is no longer a distinct differentiation. Like, what difference does it make if you're a Levi from Gershon or a Levi from Kehas or a Levi from Merari? Since [snorts] uh the Mishkan is not being transported from place to place, your job is the same. Now, it's true that even when there's a Beis Hamikdash, Leviim have different jobs. Some Levium are gatekeepers. And some Levium are singers, etc. But the problem is, and if we ever get to Divrei Hayamim, we'll see it there. The differentiation between the singers and the gatekeepers was did not correlate to the Gershon, Kehas, and Merari. Meaning to say, there were singers from all three Levi groups. There were gatekeepers from all three Levi groups. So, yeah, there were divisions based on subfamilies. But it didn't match up with Gershon, Kehas, and Merari. So, I'll leave you with a little question, which I actually don't have a good answer to for is, why was there a necessity I mean, there are separate cities, right? The breakdown of the city says, these are Gershon cities. These are Kehas cities. These are Merari cities. And then there were cities just for Kohanim. So, I So, I understand maybe Kohanim are different than other Levium, so they have their own cities. That's fine. But it's not really clear why the RA Levium were divided based on the Gershon, Kehas, and Merari. Given the fact that their functions were not separated once they came to Eretz Yisrael. LMI, are we simply dealing with family connections? Meaning that became your tribe. Yeah, you didn't have a distinct job anymore, but I guess, well, I guess you can make the same argument for every Shevet, you know. Why is there a separate Chelek for Yissachar, like Yissachar and Zevulun, Gad, Naftali? The answer is, this is my family. Our family had a separate area. So, maybe it just turned out that Gershon, Kehas, and Merari were the were the family divisions, even though there were no activities that differentiated them. Yes, that might be the simplest answer to the question. >> When I did have that way down, that's why you would tell all compared it to have like a good voice. Like what what if you were in the picture? >> Yeah, that's also a very good question because it's a very excellent question. Because Divrei Hayamim is mashma that the singers versus the gatekeepers were family-based organization. If you were born into the family of singers or musicians, that was your job. If you were born into the family of gatekeepers, that was your job. Now, you can immediately see the problem. What if a guy that's born into gatekeepers has a magnificent voice? >> [clears throat] >> Or more seriously, what if a guy that's born into the singing family happens to have a bad voice? Uh It's a real good question, meaning there seems to have been no opportunity for lateral movement. Meaning you were was like a case a caste system, you know, a benign caste system in which you were assigned into the family you were born. And that is a good question. I mean, something I've been thinking about for many years, actually. In terms of the mahalach, is there any provision for a person to move from gatekeeper to singer based on talent and ability? So, we'll continue to think about that. Yeah. >> Do we know if that actually happened? Or is it a possible explanation that Hashem just made sure that everybody had a good voice who was born to the singing family? >> Yeah, you know, that's possible, you know. Yeah. I'm not aware I'm not aware of any case where a singer had a bad voice and uh whatever it would be. So, it could be that Hashem worked it out that way, that everybody there was, you know, even though normally we don't create arrangements based on miracles, but you know, sometimes we do and that might be the the situation. Uh it's actually similar, just to give you an analogy, it's uh similar to uh the point that we said in Rashi. [snorts] Remember, Rashi says that larger tribes got more land. Not like the Ramban that the the tribes were equal, but larger tribes got more land and smaller tribes got smaller land. And there's all be questioned that the the the part the parcels were assigned by lottery. So, if you're dividing up Israel into 12 different sizes based on tribes, then how can you do a lottery? What if a large tribe gets a small portion and a small tribe gets a large portion? So, one answer I gave you was the answer of the Gra that when they did the lottery, they just gave general borders, northwest corner, southwest corner, etc. They didn't determine the final size till the tribe got it. If a big tribe got it, they then drew a big boundary. If a small tribe got it, they drew a small boundary. That's how the Gra learns and that's to me very logical. But, there is a Mahalak that actually says it was a miraculous process that Hashem made the Goral that the big tribes got the big portions and the small tribes got the small portions and even though we would not know that ahead of time, that's the way Hashem arranged it. That would be similar to your thoughts that all singing uh were good singers and I guess uh well, I don't know if that means all the gatekeepers were bad singers. I I think you still have a problem that a good singer has nowhere to go, right? Okay, but maybe that's less of a problem. You accept your lot in life with Simcha. That that's what you take. Okay. Uh yeah. >> And Shimon when they were going in, they were going to have like a like everyone else did or was that part of the Goral? >> Say again, did what? >> Shimon when they were going in, did they have >> Yeah, so so once again, that's a big problem with the lottery idea that if Shimon does not have a distinct Halak, then when you divide up the land, you divide it up with somebody getting cities. Well, how do you know Shimon is going to get that? Um I I I think Shimon did know that all the way back from Yaakov's blessing Yaakov's blessing curse, they shall be scattered in Israel. Let me just remind you though, do you remember there's another way of viewing Shimon? I saw two different maps. The standard understanding of Shimon is Shimon had a bunch of isolated cities >> [snorts] >> scattered throughout Yehuda's territory. That's the standard map, the way we presented it. But there's another configuration that you divide Yehuda into kind of a 2/3 1/3 and the southern part of Yehuda. So Shimon cannot reach the rest of Eretz Israel except through Yehuda that Shimon did have its own territory south of Yehuda. Based on that, Shimon's chelek was like every other chelek. So there are two configurations of exactly how Shimon's shevet existed. Okay. All right, but the but the word I want you to share with you is really from Rav Tzaddok. Rav Tzaddok points out that if we go back to the desert configuration and in many many ways the Jewish encampment in the desert is the model is the prototype of an ideal Jewish society. Just as I mentioned yesterday the city of a Levi might be the ideal urban planning but in terms of ruchniyus Klal Yisrael in the midbar is the ideal society. You have What do you have as you're traveling? You have the Mishkan in the middle which is the the centrality of avodas Hashem. On all four sides you have three tribes per side, meaning all of the tribes are surrounding the Mishkan and marching with the Mishkan. And that's what it is. On one hand, each tribe represents uniqueness in avodas Hashem. This is an important idea, too. Why are tribes important in Klal Yisrael? Now, in modern Israel, tribes are not very important to us because we don't even know our tribes. If you're a Kohain or a Levi, you know your tribe. But, if you're a Yisrael, the lowly Yisrael, right? So, you don't know who you are. Are you a Ruvein? Are you a Gad? Are you a Shimon? You could be any one of the 10 tribes, by the way, because there were remnants of the 10 tribes in the Southern Kingdom, too. Even after the exile of the 10 tribes. So, you could be Yehudah, you could be Binyamin, or you could be any one of the tribes, cuz remember that there were remnants of the 10 tribes in the Southern Kingdom even after the exile of the 10 tribes. So, today, you're not going to find people arguing or debating, you know, which tribe is better, Ruvein or Yissachar, or whatever it is. Some people know their tribe. For example, we know that certain Gedolim can trace their Yichus to the Maharal. I I Not even Gedolim, certain people can trace their Yichus to Maharal. Well, if you trace your Yichus to Maharal, Maharal traced his Yichus to David HaMelech. Same thing with Rashi. Rashi also is uh connected to Malchus Beis David. So, there are people who can trace their Yichus to Shevet Yehudah, but most of us are not able to go that far. So, I would say today, tribal identification is not a major thought that people have. I don't even know my tribe. But, it's very, very clear that in the Torah, being part of a tribe was a real important thing. Tribes had their own portions of land. Tribes had their own Nasi. Tribes in the Midbar had their own flag, and I assume they kept the flags in Eretz Yisrael, too. It's almost as if they were nation states. It's very interesting. And certainly until we had a king, that was actually the case. In the period of the judges, it was kind of like Well, 12. Say that Levi is scattered, but you had 12 colonies. Each had their own nothing. Separate little countries that were ruled by the law of the Torah. In theory, we didn't always keep it. So, tribes are a big deal. Now, one might wonder why should Hakadosh Baruchu divide Am Yisrael into tribes? Isn't there enough disunity among us? We have to have a new element of machlokes. My tribe, your tribe. Why is it important? You know, every every child of Yakov is a Jew. Why tribes? So, there is a very big lesson here. The yesod is the following. Every tribe had a different type of way of serving Hashem. A different mahaloch. A different personality. And what Hakadosh Baruchu is saying is when you create a community of Am Yisrael, you don't want to create a homogeneous community where everybody is the same. You want to create a community where there are different mahalochim, different approaches, different ways of serving Hashem. The beauty of achdus is not sameness. The beauty of achdus is taking all the different derochim and combining them in avodas Hashem. Just like you might say the beauty of a tapestry or a mosaic are the different colors, the different colors. The beauty of a symphony are different notes. If you played the same note over and over again, it might sound like some new wave thing, I don't know, but it normally would not be a source of complete pleasure. The beauty of a garden for most people is not to look at 10,000 red roses, although that can have a beauty also, but to see different colors. So, the side of Shvatim is to see diversity within the achdus and commitment of avodas Hashem. Now, that's an important caveat, because we're not talking about a reform or something that rejects the Torah. But within the acceptance of Torah, differences can actually be good if they don't lead to machlokes. That's why we have Ashkenazim, that's why we have Sefardim. Within Sefardim, of course, it's not monolithic. You have whether it be Iraqi, Syrian, Moroccan, Algerian, Egyptian, Ashkenazi, Polish, German, Russian, Hungarian. Temani is actually a third group. People lump Temanim with Sefardim, but Temanim are actually a like different mesorah. And people say, "Why are there so many different things?" But the truth is, the differences can be a source of beauty and kiddush Hashem. And And where do we get that idea? We get that idea from the notion of Shvatim. That's why Shvatim are important, because they represent individuality within community. In the same way Shvatim are distinct, so then we would take it further, individuals within Shvatim also will have their own unique functions. And so, this is the yesod of shvatim that [clears throat] true achdus is not homogeneity but true achdus is the diversity, the different mahalchim. Now again, the danger is that different mahalchim can lead to machlokes and hatred. And then, of course, it becomes a destructive force. But when properly channeled, a person can uh can appreciate the beauty of klal Yisrael in all of these different all of these different minhagim. Ashkenaz, Sefard, different Within Chassidus, let's say, all the different types of Chassidus. Musar. One sees a beauty, right? So, one can't really ask the question, which one of these ways is right? Which is emes? The truth is, they're all emes. These are pathways that bring a person to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. >> What was the significance of the shvatim versus the avos who also had different mahalchim as it when it came to their avodas Hashem? It's not a unique idea by the shvatim. >> No, that that's very very true, but but remember, the avos were kind of laying foundations. So, we needed these different foundations, the chesed, the gevurah, the synthesis to be laid down. But in theory, once we laid down the foundations, we can have one building in which individuals will incorporate those things. By the shvatim, we see the individuation passing down to the nation itself. They're not just incorporating uh the yesodos of the avos, but they branch off. Branching off is a big deal. So, in this way, the mishkan, right? This is the model. Think about how they traveled in the desert. You have the mishkan in the middle. It's the focal point. Surrounded by distinct shvatim, separate flags, separate formations, separate missions, separate personalities. But they're all centered around the Mishkan of Hashem. So seen in this way what Sadiq says, the Levi'im are in the middle, right? In other words, I mean you have the Mishkan in the middle. This is when they're when they're at at camp already. The Mishkan is in the middle. Then you have the Levi'im around them and then you have the Shvatim around them. Obviously, when they're traveling it's a different formation because then you have the Levi'im carrying the Mishkan. But whether it's when they're carrying the Mishkan or whether the Mishkan is set up and the Levi'im surrounding the Mishkan, here's what Rav Sadiq says. The Levi'im are really the lifeblood of Am Yisrael. The Levi'im supply the spiritual teichan of what a Jewish life is. Now, Pirkei Avot says, Al shlosha devarim ha'olam omed. Actually, this is a ma'amar of Shimon HaTzaddik. Shimon HaTzaddik, one of the first Kohanim Gedolim of the Bayit Sheni, right? One of the first Kohanim Gedolim and uh one whose name you might recite every day whenever you have to give the address of of Or Sameach, Shimon HaTzaddik. And Shimon HaTzaddik was one of the last members of the Great Anshei Knesses HaGedolah. Because apparently as people died, they didn't replace members, so so it was not a continuing body. They it it it the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah ceased to exist when the last member died. Shimon HaTzaddik is one of the last members of the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah. And what did he teach? He taught the very famous ma'amar Chazal, Al shlosha devarim ha'olam omed. The world stands on three pillars. Al Hataira Al Haveda the Gemilas Hasadim, the learning of Torah divine service through carbonos or tefila and Gemilas Hashem. And of course it's well known, of course that this corresponds to the Avos in which Avraham represents the pillar of Hesed. Yitzchak who was a korban is the pillar of Avodah and Yaakov who studied 14 years in the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever is uh the the pillar of Torah. The Beis Hamikdash Yeshiva of Tzedek says the Tzedek wants to say the the division of Levi into three subgroups corresponds to these three fundamentals. Kehas represents the pillar of Torah. Gershon represents the pillar of Avodah. And Merari represents the pillar of Gemilas Hesed. And therefore we needed to divide Levi into three subgroups because like the others, each of them represented one of these [clears throat and snorts] critical pillars. So how is that so? So the case of Kehas is fairly obvious. Kehas carried the Aron Hakodesh. Right? They were the ones who carried the Aron Hakodesh. It's of course a remez to Torah learning. Torah study they represented the koach in Klal Yisrael that devotes itself to limud Hatorah. Now that doesn't mean necessarily that any individual Kehas learns more than any individual guy in Gershon. It could be there was somebody in Gershon who was a bigger masmid. But symbolically spiritually Kehas as a tribe or a subtribe represents the koach of Torah. Now, Rav Soloveitchik points out that although the world needs three three pillars, Torah, avodah, and gemilus chasadim. So, if a person only has Torah, no good. The Gemara in Yevamot says, "Anyone who says, 'All I have is Torah,' doesn't even have Torah." Because Torah's purpose is that we should do chesed and do mitzvot. But, it's also true that although you need three pillars, Torah is the most important of the three pillars. Because from Torah, you will come or you can come to gemilus chesed and miss avodah. But, you can't come to Torah from the other ones. Meaning, when I learn Torah, so by definition, I learn halachot, I learn how to serve God, I learn how to do chesed. So, Torah can bring me to the other things. On the other hand, >> but I I can do chesed you know, all day long. I'm not going to understand Rabbi Akiva Eiger unless I apply myself to that. >> So, we would say that all three pillars are essential, but Torah is what we say the first among equals. That's why Kohath is called in the Chumash kodesh kodashim. They are the holiest of the holy. They represent the koach of Torah. Now, Gershon this is going to be a little less clear. Gershon represents the koach of avodah. Why is that so? So, this is a little difficult. This is more symbolic. What did Gershon carry? Gershon carried or they through the wagons, they carried the curtains, the tapestries, the hangings, the yerios. Now, if you remember, the Mishkan had beams or boards and the Yerios were put over the boards creating the roof. Meaning until you put the Yerios over the boards, it was an unroofed structure. So, in essence, Gershon turned the Mishkan into a bayis. The definition of a bayis, just like the definition of a sukkah, right? Sukkah is sukkah al shem as chach. Meaning walls without a roof is not a sukkah. Walls without a roof are not a bayis. What makes a bayis a bayis is the roof. Gershon created the roof through the Yerios. We find the notion of bayis is connected to the koach of tefillah. In the famous verse in Yeshayahu that we recite in selichos, ki beisi beis tefillah yikarei, right? Before shma koleinu. Ki beisi beis tefillah yikarei l'chol ha'amim. Hashem says, "My house shall become a house of prayer for all the nations of the world." So, you see that tefillah is connected to a bayis. The reason is I mean, the reason that so is tefillah is about being sheltered by God, being protected by God. That's a house. Hashem brings you into his house where you're protected. So, since Gershon is connected to the notion of bayis, they represent the koach of tefillah and korbanos, which create brings you into the house of Hashem, the beis Hashem. Now, Merari represents Hesed. So, many of you might have learned the Gemara in Sukkah. The Gemara in Sukkah says, "What is the difference between tzedakah, charity, and gemilut hasadim and hesed? Right, tzedakah is hesed, too. What's the difference? So, one of the differences that it gives is that tzedakah is be mamono. Tzedakah is money. I write the check. I give you a $5. Gemilut hesed is not just with money. Gemilut hesed is with time, with effort, with physical exertion. So, you show somebody directions, you walk them to where they have to go. That's not tzedakah. You didn't give them any money. But, that's even a higher madregah. That's gemilut hesed. And you can combine it. When you give tzedakah, and all you do is give them the money, that's tzedakah. If you give the money be savey uponim yafos, and you make the person feel good and not embarrassed, you have added gemilut hesed to your tzedakah. Right, your tzedakah is much more valuable when there's also gemilut hesed. So, there can be tzedakah without hesed, there can be hesed without tzedakah. And then there could be tzedakah and hesed, that you combine them together. But, be it as it may, the hallmark of hesed, gemilut hesed, is you go beyond the money and you physically invest yourself. So, Merari had the physically most demanding job in transporting the Mishkan because they were dealing with heavy lifting. They were dealing with heavy beams. Now, granted, they didn't have to carry the beams, they put them on the wagons. That's true. But, they had to load the wagons. They had to pick them up and load the wagons. So, that was like, you know, weightlifting, bodybuilding. I guess Merari might have been, I don't know, physically the strongest. Who knows? So, the idea is, since chesed is correlated with physical effort in serving Hashem, so Merari represents the bechina of chesed. So, what the Tzedek says, "The Haas is Torah, Gershon is avodah, because they're connected to the bias of creating the roof. Merari, which had the physically most demanding job, correlates with chesed. And therefore, in the ideal Jewish society that the midbar represents, we have all of the shvatim that are encircling not only the Mishkan of Hashem, but are encircling the three pillars within Levi of Torah, avodah, and gemilus chasadim. This is what what the Tzedek says is the the ideal of a Jewish of a Jewish society. Um Now, this thing about chesed is interesting. The relationship of Torah and chesed in particular. Torah, chesed, and davening is very interesting, because sometimes people have chishbonos that they want to be mema'et in davening because of bittul Torah. Or, they want to be mema'et in chesed because of bittul Torah. I am told that, you know, Birkas Hamazon ends with al yichyeinu. The right says three brachos mid'oraisa, hatov umayitiv, but when you say al yichyeinu, you finish Birkas Hamazon. The harachamans are technically optional. Ad kdei kach that the Vilna Gaon did not say the Harachamans on Shabbos >> [snorts] >> because the Gaon said, "You're asking for needs on Shabbos, not within a mandatory benching." So, the Gaon did not say the Harachamans on Shabbos to say that. I understand that. But, I understand there are some yeshivas that don't even say the Harachamans during the week. Because they say, "Uh bittul Torah, bittul Torah. How can I say the Harachamans in benching? It's going to take 4 minutes out of, you know, out of my learning schedule. Or what? 5 minutes? Let's say 10 minutes. Now, if they would have been If the Vilna Gaon would have said he he he doesn't say the Harachamans even during the week because of bittul Torah, that would actually make sense because the Vilna Gaon counted his bittul Torah in terms of minutes wasted per year. Now, you're sure you would Those weren't even a waste anyway, but But what? But who are we to say, "I can't do an extra 4 minutes of benching because of bittul Torah." Yeah? A person counts that his bittul Torah that way? What about the more than 4 minutes getting coffee or whatever whatever it would be? It's a little crazy. In other words, to start using bittul Torah bedafka about mitzvahs when we're not so marked by on bittul Torah when it's not involved in a mitzvah. You know, what type of cheshbon is that? So, the idea that I should daven fast because of bittul Torah or I shouldn't do chesed because of bittul Torah seems to be a counterproductive idea. And perfect character through chesed and avodah and tefillah one is zoicheh to accomplish more in Torah. Uh somebody went to the Steipler. And uh complains that um his wife needed his help in a lot of things after he got married, and he felt it was taking away from his Torah learning. So, the Steipler said to him, "When a person is oisek in chesed, especially to your to your spouse, to your wife, but really to anybody, you're you're following you're emulating the midos of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. You're closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Mamila, the siyata d'Shmaya that you will get by the kirvas Elokim will enable you to accomplish in less time what would have taken you more time." So, let's imagine something that would take you 6 hours to understand, but you're oisek in chesed for part of the time, you'll get it in 4 hours. As the Steipler said, you will not lose by your chesed. Hakadosh Baruch Hu will give you the ability to understand things at a quicker pace. Now, l'maaseh, obviously, there're going to be limits here. I mean, nobody would say that a normal person in yeshiva should spend 12 hours a day on chesed and learn 45 minutes. You you know, there are going to be limits, but but the general idea that I can't be mevatel b'chesed because it's going to affect my learning is a cheshbon that you need to reevaluate because there is a factor of siyata d'Shmaya that Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives a person who is oisek in chesed because then you're medameh yourself to Hakadosh Baruch Hu's middos. There's another story about uh his husband complaining with nothing to do with this topic, but it's uh it's a very cute story. A person went to Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, and he had a different cheshbon. I think a cheshbon that's a little less noble. He said, "When he goes to yeshiva every day, his wife tells him to take out the garbage." And he says, "You know, a ben Torah, a talmid chacham, shouldn't do melachos bizuyos. Shouldn't do things that are you know humiliating he thinks it's not right that his wife tells him to get out the garbage or whatever whatever it is. So I'm so loving said to him you're 100% right of a person like you shouldn't have to do these types of things. So the next morning around a quarter to 7:00 in the morning the average is going to showers and right when he's about to leave there's a knock at the door. Who's coming so early? He opens the door with his beloved is standing right there. So he doesn't know what's going on. He says you know what you see but there's a big cover but there's something wrong is there an emergency? He says you know I was thinking about what you said a man like you shouldn't do these things. So I came to take out your garbage for you. He says I'll I'll I'll do it instead. So suffice it to say the guy learned a certain lesson in Derek and I think I don't think I should have had to come back the next day for that. So that's again these are these are things to think about sometimes you know um sometimes I don't want to get out of soap up but sometimes we tell the wrong stories or at least we don't there's a people will tell the story about how small about how brilliant somebody was how they knew shots when they were 4 years old or whatever it is and these are these are good I'm not going to call them the wrong stories these are good stories to hear about the badness and learning. But you also need to hear husband and wife how they related Derek Meadows we can't just focus on the badness and learning and pump it out it was their badness and tire that made them that way and the other way around too it was the that they were in that gave them the badness and tire it works both directions the tire causes the Hashem. And the Hashem causes the Torah. Yeah. >> Just out of curiosity, was there actually somebody who learned Shas before he was old? >> No, I I probably was exaggerating. But but you know, but if you're if you're if you're talking about No, no, you could If you're talking about eight, yeah, I think by eight we have we have people already who knew who knew Shas by eight. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, it's not it's not so much of an exaggeration and the like. I mean, even the Vilna Gaon, I'm just giving you an example. You're right, four is a little unreasonable. The Vilna Gaon at six did not does not say he finished Shas. It says he gave a very complicated Pilpul Drasha in the main Shul in Vilna at the age of six. So, even he didn't say he knew he knew all of Shas, but it's interesting. Just to show you how high the standards were. Some people were not impressed because they said, "Ah, his father must have taught him the Drasha." Now, think about this. Let's say his father did teach him the Drasha. But if the six-year-old could say it, that is pretty impressive. The answer was, "Vilna 250 years ago, if the six-year-old just repeated over what his father said, ah, no big deal." So, [laughter] the whole standard was was so much higher. They weren't even they weren't even impressed by something that we would say is amazing. Rav Moshe used to say Rav Moshe and people would talk about Rav Moshe the Godol HaDor and you know, he didn't he didn't like the praises. So, he said, "You know, in Europe, if you were the Rav of a tiny village, the basic educational requirement was you knew Shas and Shulchan Aruch. I mean, just like you know, a doctor went to medical school. Shas and Shulchan Aruch is how you got a job in a village. So, if you had Chiddushim, etc., you became a Gaon, but you know, here he says you come to America, you know Shas and Shulchan Aruch, you become the Godol HaDor." He says, Rav Moshe said, "I have the basic, you know, educational requirement that every village uh rabbi had to have had to have in Europe. So, standards have have gone down in a lot of ways. Okay, this is the camera. >> Thank you for listening to this awesome [music] OHR production. To find out more and to partner in our mission, please [music] visit ohr.edu.