What Are We Guarding | Rabbi Yirmi Ginsberg

[music] >> No idea. [music] There was once a general that came into an army base and he told the soldiers he needs an elite group for a special mission. So a group of soldiers decided we're the guys [music] and he takes them on a long road out of the city to a desert and in that desert there was a building, a singular lone building. And he says, "Guys, you should just know inside this building is one of the most top secret technologies that the United States government has ever known. We need you to protect it at all costs. We'll give you any security measure you need, we'll give you any weapons you need. Set it up, patrol day and night and make sure that nothing comes in and nothing comes out." So the guys are excited, they're fired up, they get to do a special mission that no one else in the world even knows about. So they set up the security, they get the weapons, they're prepared, they patrol by day, they patrol by night, day and night, day and [music] night watching to make sure that nothing gets in and nothing gets out. After some time, some of the soldiers said, "Hey, what are we guarding? What's going on over here?" And nobody had any answers. And over time, some of those soldiers started to become lax in their guarding. If they don't know what they're guarding, it became a little bit difficult for them. Some of the soldiers said, "What are you talking about? Just guard, that's your job, just guard." But others were not satisfied with that. And eventually the general got word and he heard about this laxity in the guarding and he came and he said, "Listen, if anybody here wants to know what's inside, I'm going to show you." Now some of the guards didn't need to know. They're happy to [music] stay outside, to be on patrol, they didn't need to know what's inside to put in their efforts on the outside. But some of them did want to know. So some of the soldiers go inside and they look, they don't even know what to say. There's this bright light [music] in the middle of the room, different colors. What is this? What's going on over here? What is this technology? The general [music] said, "Listen, it would be impossible for me right now to teach it to you. It'd be impossible for me to teach it to you in a week. But if you really want to know what this technology is and what you're guarding, [music] then I will set up a teacher to come and over the next few months they will teach you and you will access the understanding [music] of what this is. Some of the soldiers said, "You know, it's a little bit too much for us. We're okay guarding on the outside. We'll go [music] with the other guys out there and we'll just keep guarding. We saw it. We don't understand it. That's okay." But there's a group of soldiers that really, really wanted to know. And they spent the time [music] and the focus and the energy learning day in and day out, what is this light? And over time, they start to experience that that light. They started to experience that light. [music] And when they finally got it, they were changed forever. And when they went back outside to guard, they guarded in a totally different way. >> [music] >> The Torah commands us about Shabbos two times. In parshas Yisro it says, "Zochor es yom haShabbos lekadscho." And in parshas Va'eschanan it says, "Shamor es yom haShabbos lekadscho." Now, shamor means to guard. Zochor means to remember and to connect. Now, we know how do you guard Shabbos? [music] Lamah tesma malchus? We learn what we're not allowed to do. All the different malachos and all the intricacies of halacha and Shulchan Aruch and Mishna Berurah. We know so much and there's so many shiurim. It's gavaldi. [music] And we know so well how to guard Shabbos. The question is, what are we guarding? What is this [music] zochor? What is this light inside the building? We all know how to stand around, but do we know how to enter in? This is what zochor es yom haShabbos lekadscho [music] is. And the Gemara tells us in Beitzah, says Hakadosh Baruch Hu to Moshe Rabbeinu, "I have a special present in my days kunoz. I have a matanah. Special present in my storage house in shamayim >> [music] >> and Shabbos is its name. Moshe Rabbeinu, go tell the people about Shabbos. Shabbos is a present. [music] It's a light. But what exactly is it? We know how to guard it, but do we know how to access [music] it? And like the general told the soldiers in the story, "I can't tell you with a short vort what it is. But if you're willing to spend time [music] learning, entering into that light, then you have a chance." And baruch Hashem, we have so many teachers nowadays and we have so many seforim, seforim kedoshim that [music] allow a person to enter into that light. We start from Mesillas Yesharim that speaks about Shabbos and so many types of seforim and so many teachers [music] teaching us about the inside of the building of Shabbos. Baruch Hashem, we're [music] so at guarding the outside and some people are satisfied with guarding the outside like a strong soldier of Hashem. But, there are many people who want to know what's What is that we're guarding? And if if you're that type [music] of person, you need to enter inside and spend time accessing that light because forever your guarding of Shabbos, your shmiras [music] Shabbos will be different. Ko >> [singing] [music] >> he am Shabbos >> [music and singing] >> as he said.