What Happens When Nothing Is Hidden? | Parsha Perspectives | Terumah 5786

Good morning, Boca Tow. Welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. Want to thank our generous Parsha series sponsors. Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father the neshama of Menachem Mendel David Grossman. Today's sheer is also sponsored by the Ashman family in honor of Yossi Leib ben Chava on his yahrzeit. By Jared Schar. Thank you to Parsha Perspectives the strength to complete his race to the base half marathon. Oh, listen to Parsha Beshalach and Yisro made it to the finish line. Amazing. And by Jay Lerman for the four children of Menucha bas Menachem and Devorah Shmuel ben Rivka and Dovid Yitzchak ben Blima. Anonymously in the merit of Avraham ben Avraham HaCohen shlit"a and Dovid ben Shmuel ben Dovid ben Shmuel ben Yisroel ben Shimon for Chaim ben Dovid and Asher ben Yitzchak ben Yisroel HaLevi. May their neshamos have an aliyah. Thank you to all of our generous sponsors. I have amazing news to report today. And the amazing news is I am done muttering you. We have reached our goal and surpassed it by far and I want it from the bottom of my heart. From the bottom of my heart thank each and every one of the nearly 800 families who contributed to our global campaign to enable us to continue to learn and teach. I told you two weeks it was two weeks and not a day more. You made that happen from the bottom of my heart. Really with the greatest sincerity and gratitude I thank you for your generosity. Thank you for making it happen. I have to tell you I'm incredibly proud. 800 nearly 800 families from 167 different cities around the world participated which means that our learning is global indeed. It's worldwide. There's I I can't describe how gratifying and satisfying that is. It means the world to me. I'm sorry that I muttered you. I'm not sorry I muttered you because we needed to make it happen. I thank you for responding. Page 444. And you saved me from having to weave it into this parsha even though it's the perfect setup. Hashem spoke to Moshe spoke to Moshe and he said, "Speak to the Jewish people and let them take from me a portion. From every person whose heart motivates him you should take a portion." Yikchu li truma. We know famously it should say viyitnu li truma. Give. Why does it say viyikchu? And we all know these divrei Torah. Because every time we give we really get. Every time we think we're giving we get the experience of dedicating and allocating our resources and the gifts we have towards good and indeed we're getting more than we're giving. And since we're getting more than we're giving the Torah formulates it as viyikchu li truma. There was a great rebbe who used to say not I give tzedaka I take tzedaka. I'm taking tzedaka. When he would give tzedaka he'd say I'm taking tzedaka. I'm not taking receiving. I'm taking mean through the act of giving. Nebach there are people who don't know this joy. There are people who don't know the incredible pleasure there is. They think the harder they tie it the tighter they hold it the longer they'll have it the more they can enjoy it and they don't realize they can't take it with them. And the only thing that we really ever have the only thing that actually defines our worth is what we give away cuz what we have what we have can disappear. What we have what we have we can lose. What we have we can't take with us but what we give away that's that's who we are forever. So Hashem tells the Jewish people and it's not a coincidence it's soon after being a slave nation. Slaves hold on tight to what they have they have so little so meager. They have nothing of their own. They borrowed money on the way out of Egypt and they lapped up money at the banks of the sea and they have a small fortune and now the slave nation who had financial insecurity and financial anxiety are now being asked viyikchu li truma. It's time to give because at the very beginning of our becoming a people what defines us as a people is not what we earn and what we take and what we have even though you know our enemies like to talk about Jews are rich and what Jews have. There's a um there's a podcast that is very popular called Kosher Money and it was designed for the Jewish people. How do you have a large family? How do you save? What do you do to invest? How do you ensure you could pay tuition? But it turns out that there are non-Jews all over the world who would love to listen to a podcast by Jews about money. So non-Jews those who admire and flatter us for having money and those who use that as a meme of their anti-Semitism as a trope about how we have all this money they shouldn't highlight what people have. What makes the Jewish people different what should differentiate us is not what we hold on to but what we give away. Let them look at the statistics which are publicly available about how much Jews give the philanthropy the generosity the charity. What differentiates us is not wealth what should differentiate us is what we share what we give the yikchu li truma the yikchu not viyitnu because when a person is charitable they're not giving they're getting much more than they're giving away cuz we only ever really have what we give not what we not what we hold on to. And nebach are the people who don't know that the incredible joy the satisfaction the meaning the purpose to allocate and dedicate our resources to good and to see. Why did Hashem have to say dabber bnei Yisrael? Listen, Moshe. Be gentle. Go lightly. Take it easy. People they're not going to part with their money so easily. You're running a campaign the campus campaign the global campaign the base medrash campaign that there's always a campaign. It's just which one this week. So be careful Hashem tells Moshe. Dabber gentle sweet sweet talk gently talk sweetly ease them into a belashon piyus. Sorry not Rashi's the Baal HaTurim. Says the Baal HaTurim you're asking for money it's easier to ask them for their kidney. Their kidney you can be strong and harsh and tell them they have to give but money gentle sweet careful piyus. You have to appease them. Speak gently. Baal HaTurim says you have to why? Because there's chisaron kis. Anytime that we're out of pocket anytime that we have to spend anytime that it costs >> [snorts] >> people are going to hesitate they're going to resist so speak gently. Dabber dabber alav Yerushalayim dabber is the language of gentle sweet sweet. There wasn't anyone in the nation who didn't have 90 donkeys laden with the gold and silver they took out of Egypt. They had incredible wealth. We walked away with everything that washed up on the bank of the of the sea. We walked away with everything that we borrowed really were compensated from the Egyptians. Everyone had 90 mules 90 donkeys schlepping the gold and silver. So that should be the easiest appeal in the world. Right? The wealthier someone is the easier it should be for them to give away money. Because they couldn't possibly spend all that money in their lifetime the lifetime of all their descendants that will come after them with that money will earn on its own passive income they couldn't possibly spend so it should be very easy to ask such a person for money. Cuz they couldn't possibly spend it. Why? Why tread lightly? Why be careful? Why be cautious? Why speak gently? You think if you got a meeting with Elon Musk he's closing in on the first trillionaire ever. Said Elon living with emunah you know $1,800. I can't describe how little that is to him if you're worth nearly a trillion. So you'd have to be gentle. I don't mean if it's okay there's no pressure please possibly if you don't mind. Really? Someone's worth almost a trillion? When it comes to so many other mitzvahs in the Torah there are expenditures. There is a cost to it. There's a budget needed for it. Giving tzedaka in general tzedaka tzedaka tzedaka tzedaka you got to spend money on dollar a minute. Got to spend money on kosher food. Got to spend money on tuition. I don't have to tell you what you have to spend money on. And yet there it doesn't say listen Moshe you tell them about that mitzvah. It's an expensive one. Break it to them lightly. Go gentle. Doesn't say that. So why specifically here when it came to raising for the Mishkan all of a sudden lashon piyus the piyus you got to be gentle got to be careful got to be sweet got to be endearing. wedding tonight I'm officiating we're going to and at the benching at the end of this wedding we'll say sha'simcha bima'onau that the joy is up in the celestial heavens. But we don't say that at a bris. Why don't we say sha'simcha bima'onau at a bris? Isn't Hashem happy and joyous? A new young boy entering the covenant of the Jewish people? Because this baby just had surgery with no anesthesia. This mother's cringing. If you look I'm pointing there cuz usually when the bris right here in this spot, the mother's standing right there. She's in more pain watching the bris than she is delivering the baby. Delivering the baby without an epidural would be less painful than watching her son get this bris. The oy, the look on the face. How can you make a bracha joy and happiness as a baby in pain? And if we down here can't be fully joyous then up there Hashem can't either. We have a least we don't make a bracha want to make a bracha want to make a bracha You take the for the first time that you're making a bracha It's in the circle the first time that you're making a bracha and a bris probably not having more than one a year you don't make a bracha Why not? For the same reason. You're going to MAKE A BRACHA BABY'S LOOKING UP SO YOU HAVE A BIG BRACHA OUCH. IT'S also maras. You know, the baby, the boys, when we open the door for Eliyahu last time we saw him we were sitting on his chair, we cringe a little bit. Some bad memories triggering. You know, bris is a big thing, very big thing. To bring someone in the covenant of Avraham Avinu on bris mila it says this is like 13 covenants formed with Hashem. There's only two positive commandments that if you don't fulfill it, you get the punishment of kares, spiritual excision. The korban Pesach and bris mila. And despite its uniqueness and distinctiveness, despite its significance, nevertheless, we don't make this bracha. You know why? Cuz if we can't fully be joyous down here then Hashem is not fully joyous up there. How could you say oh no that Hashem is so happy in the heavens if there's any pain in this process down here. You know, the day that we built the Beis Hamikdash is an incredibly joyous day for Hashem. Like the learns on the pasuk in Shir Hashirim that's the pasuk in Shir Hashirim on the day of your wedding and the day of the joy of your heart. So what is the day that is the most joyous and happy for Hashem is the day of the building of the Mishkan. So Hashem says I want this to be an incredible day. Opening day of the new shul of the expanded shul, I want it to be the most joyous happy day. Hashem says it's my joy my happy. The learning, the davening, the communion, the conversation, the connection that we're going to have there, the coordination of the chosson and kallah happen there. Unbelievable. I want to be completely happy. But here is the problem. I can't be completely happy up there if there's anyone unhappy down here. If anyone has tarumos If anyone feels you instituted a building fund, you forced them, you made them, you coerced them, you took that money, they're going to have they're going to be miserable. They're going to say they couldn't afford it. They're going to say it wasn't necessary. They're going to say it was unfair. Hashem says if anyone's miserable down there, I can't be happy up here. So here's the deal, Moshe. You need to run a campaign where everyone's giving out of the will of their heart. You need to find a way to run a campaign that everyone's invested, everyone's a stakeholder, everyone cares, everyone wants to give. We didn't institute with this big campus that's going up. Parsha Shiur is going to be in a new location. Unbelievable. We'll be able to fit three times as many people. Baruch Hashem. We'll stream it with greater technology and reach more people. Can't wait. Super exciting. I hope it's going to give nachas ruach to Hashem. But we didn't institute a building campaign. That was our promise and pledge to the community. We want everyone to we want everyone to give. We're going to do a campaign for 100% participation, but voluntary. Because just like the original, just like the Mishkan, it's got to be out of the will of one's heart. Person should have to want to give. They have to want to say I want a chelek, I want a part, I want to walk through that door and say I also made this happen. I don't just come in as a shlepper. I don't just come in as a taker. I don't just come in as a free loader. I don't just benefit from it all. I had a part in it. I contributed to it. I helped make this happen and I did it not because anyone made me. I did it because I wanted to. So dafka here, dafka here says dafka when it comes to the Mishkan building a house for Hashem, Hashem says I don't want to be in that house if someone thinks I made them contribute to it. I want to be there when everyone gave of their own will, their own volition, with their own excitement. And therefore Moshe, daver bnei Yisrael, speak gently, speak softly, speak affectionately, win them over, persuade them, convince them, don't compel them so that they want to give. It's a good word. Hashem doesn't want to be in a place where there's pain. He certainly doesn't want to be in a place where he feels he caused the pain. His mitzvah or his Mishkan created the pain. He doesn't want to be there. And therefore dafka here, just like a bris mila, you can't say oh no. Hashem wants to be able to say there's here and the only way to do that is if what? Everyone gives of their own, everyone gives of their own will. Good. Parsha pasuk hey There's so much I want to repeat cuz there's such incredible divrei Torah on parshas Terumah. You're going to have to listen to previous years. It's all there. It's all available. It's all up. Find it. Listen to it cuz they're not my own ideas. There's so many incredible ideas from so many others. I'm going to hold back so that we learn new ideas this year. Pasuk says we're not going to go through the measurements, the materials, the Mishkan, the kaylim, the utensils, everything that's going to go into this house of God. Interrupted by Ki Sisa the eggel we'll get to in a couple weeks. But by the way, no shiur next week. I'll be traveling in Israel. So no shiur next week. We'll resume in two weeks. Please note no shiur next week. We'll resume in time for the cheit ha'egel. So for Ki Sisa. So these measurements and these materials. So among these materials pasuk says red dyed ram skins, tachash skins, acacia wood, oil for illumination, spices for ointment oil, and the aromatic incense. What are tachash skins? What are tachash skins? Anyone know? A rose tachashim. The skins of the tachash. Zakta Rashi Zakta Rashi tachash skins. Rashi is the small print. Makes us look old. Pasuk hey min chaya v'lo hayisa ela sha'a shishim mispar begavna shel lo Says Rashi quoting the Medrash Tanchuma the Gemara in Shabbos that tachash was an animal that existed only at the time of the construction of the Mishkan. Gemara Shabbos chof chof tachash skins. That's why if you look at the ArtScroll, I don't know if anyone's looking at a Rabbi Sacks Chumash ArtScroll writes tachash ArtScroll writes a rose tachashim, tachash skins. What are tachash? Even ArtScroll doesn't try to translate. Does Rabbi Sacks try to translate? Anyone have the Chumash? The Rabbi Sacks Chumash tachash skins. So Rashi says this was an animal that existed only at the time of the construction of the Mishkan, had many colors, very colorful, very beautiful. And this says Rashi is why Targum renders it sasguna. Sas u'mispahar, joyful and proud of its colors. This animal was joyful and proud of its colors. Now, why would the tachash take pride in its colors? I thought pride is a bad thing. We're not supposed to be proud. We're not supposed to be arrogant. Pride pride leads to arrogance, leads to misbehavior. Isn't pride something negative? Don't we work on pride? Don't we suppress pride, overcome pride? And yet here Rashi somehow is complimenting this tachash, this colorful animal that existed only at the time of the construction of the Mishkan, that was sas u'mispahar, joyful and proud. Listen to this inside of Rabbi Shaul Alter. Says the Gaon Rosh Yeshiva because it existed only at the time of and for the purpose of the Mishkan it was entitled to be proud. You know what you see and you learn from here this Rashi? Someone whose entire existence is dedicated to avodas Hashem. Someone whose entire existence is to say what's my mission? What's my purpose? How do I serve Hashem? That person can be proud. What they're proud of is not their ego, they're proud of their Elokus. This is going to go in the book. They're proud of not their ego, they're proud of the Elokus. When a person says look at my wealth, look at my house, look at my car, look at my good looks, look at my charm, look at my spouse, look at my children, look at my athletic prowess, look at my artistic, look at my song, my voice. When you say ego, me, look at me, pride that's negative. That is something that's destructive. When a person says I'm so proud to dedicate my life to Hashem. So proud of the impact, of the influence. I'm proud of my mission, I'm proud of my purpose, I'm proud to be dedicated to Hashem. that's a pride which is permissible. That's what the tachash is called for joy. Sas u'mispair. True joy is experienced as of Shulchan Aruch, in his Bnei Yisrael and Shulchan Aruch page base, true joy is only by a person whose every action is taken l'shem shamayim. Somebody can look at their life, their actions, their behavior, how they use their resources and say, "It is all entirely and uniquely, it is entirely dedicated to the service of Hashem." Such a person is ta'am entitled to be proud. So, this tachash that existed only It's an animal we don't know of. It's an animal we have no evidence for before or after. The only thing we know about this tachash, this animal, is it existed when? At the time of the building of the Mishkan. It's many colors and it's sas u'mispair. It's proud and it's colorful. Why is it entitled to be proud? Because anything that exists solely to serve Hashem can be proud. And we, too, ego, don't be proud. The I, don't be proud. That's arrogance. That is something that will interfere. That's the anochi omed beini u'veineichem. That's the ego, the I, that stands between us and Hashem. But, if it's the Elokus in us, avodas Hashem, that we're entitled to be proud of. Parshas Terumah The also in Mishkan k'negdi We've spoken about this so many times before. Says Hashem Moshe to the Jewish people, "Make for me a sanctuary v'shachanti and I will dwell b'socham in them." Our Rabbis darshan, the Aruch Hashulchan quotes this, b'socham lo ne'emar ela b' socham. It doesn't say b'socham, it says b'sochum. I'm reading to you now from a new sefer, I'm very grateful. The one who published the new version of it, who is a grandchild, great-grandchild of the Kol Aryeh, who was here last week and gave me a copy. Who is the Kol Aryeh? Anyone know the Kol Aryeh? The Kevin and I were at his kever in this past summer. The Kol Aryeh was the Rav of Mad. Rav Avraham Yehuda HaCohen Schwartz, he was the Rav of Mad. Mad is near Kerestir. Everybody knows Rav Shayala Kerestir, the Khasid. What you may not know is a short drive from there, there was a shul in Mad. Magnificent. Was restored after the war. And there's no hachnasas orchim there, there's no stuffed cabbage and the chicken soup and rugelach and like the other stops we made in our trip through Hungary and Ukraine. Magnificent, beautifully redone. And we met the great grandson there, Reb Aaronreich, who goes every summer to bring that shul back to life. And this is his brother, who wrote the Kol Aryeh Torah Mordechai and put out a new version of it, a beautiful Kol a beautiful Kol Aryeh. And there's a cemetery there that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years. People buried there, and it's intact. And it's really extraordinary. There's actually a little museum attached to it. You can get a book about the history of the Jews of Mad and the Rabbanim of Mad and going back really, really special. So, the Kol Aryeh, the holy Kol Aryeh here writes, Parshas Terumah she kavanos Hashem Yisbarach cheftza v'ratzon Hashem Yisbarach hu ya'avish shemiya ma'on ha'Shchinah. Einam b'soch kol echad einam b'arichus. Noam d'var ha'Kadoshim. The Kol Aryeh quotes the Aruch Hashulchan who says, "Why does it say God tells Moshe, 'Build for me a sanctuary and I'll dwell in' What should it say? b'socho in it. It doesn't say that. It says, 'Build a sanctuary I'll dwell b'socham in them.' Who's the them? Who's the them?" The Aruch Hashulchan says the them is us. The sanctuary are the bricks and mortar. But the the actual place that Hashem wants to dwell is in our hearts. b'lavavi Mishkan evneh In our hearts we build a Beis Hamikdash. We are the Mishkan. We are the Mikdash. We are what make the shul come alive. The Admor of Belz says the Kol Aryeh, ha'kasuv k'chol asher ani mareh oscha tavnis ha'Mishkan u'tavnis kol kelav v'chein ta'asu Parshas Terumah, the very next pasuk, read it inside. Turn the page. k'chol asher ani mareh oscha The whole everything I'm going to show you, tavnis ha'Mishkan the form, the architectural plans of the Mishkan, tavnis kol kelav, I'm going to give you the detailed drawings of the utensils, v'chein ta'asu so shall you do. Zocher Rashi, v'chein ta'asu l'doros and the design, v'chein ta'asu so shall you do l'doros. For generations to come. Generations to come? What do you mean the Mishkan wasn't permanent? The Mishkan wasn't forever. The Mishkan was just a precursor for the Mikdash. So, what do you mean l'doros? All these details, all this architecture, all of these all of these diagrams, all these materials, everything about the Mishkan and in it is not l'doros. It's not for generations to come. It was just while we wandered through the desert, when we first came into Israel, and until we set up and built the Beis Hamikdash. So, what do you mean v'chein ta'asu l'doros? It doesn't for generations. Zefima she kasuv b'Zohar ha'Kadosh d'tziyura d'alma u'tziyura d'var nash u'tziyura d'Mishkana achadi. Says the Zohar ha'Kadosh, and it's referenced, says the Kol Aryeh, in the writings of the Rambam, that the designs for the world and the designs for the Mishkan and the designs for man achadi. Says Zelbazach, it's one and the same. One and the same. The architectural plans and designs for the world and for the Mishkan and for people, every person, it's the same thing. It's the same design. ki adam hu olam katan Because a person is a world in miniature. k'mo she kasuv b'Rabbenu Bachya like the Rambam writes, k'mo she yesh b'olam yesh b'adam, whatever exists in the world exists in a person. dugma ramach eivarim u'remech shasagidim Our 248 limbs and 365 gidim yesh lahem gam b'olam b'tziyur, k'mo chein haya b'Mishkan dugma zo she'yesh lahem gam b'olam. Everything about the makeup of a person, our anatomy, our build, is synonymous and has a parallel in this world and a parallel in the world of the Mishkan. k'mo avur l'ma'an olam u'l'Rabbenu Ramah she'mish l'zeh echa Mishkan k'mo olam she'yesh b'adam. Everything we're going to read, everything we're going to read about the design. The Mishkan had beams and it had curtains and dividers. It had a private area, a holy of holies, and a holy. Everything about it is not a building. Everything about it is a design and an architecture for a person. There's depth to it. There's profundity to it. There's a design for it, for us, and the way that we're meant to live our lives. u'mishkan k'ein Mishkan acher, and a person who in fact is living a life of service to Hashem, a person who has turned their body into a vehicle to serve Hashem, u'm'sakein kol eivarav u'gidav shel b'shleimus havei b'dugma Mishkan v'rosh tishkon Shchinah b'socho They are a moving, walking Mishkan. Moshe shalem b'emtza'im b'li chisarom, l'chein Mishkan atzmo b'tziyur l'gamrei u'tishkon Shchinah alav k'mo b'Mishkan. Just like Hashem dwelled, His intense presence could be felt through the Tabernacle, the Mishkan, similarly through a person who is a living, animated Mishkan, Hashem is mashreh Shchinah Hashem also dwells on and is visible and accessible on and through such a person. So, what's the point? What is the Kol Aryeh getting at is, as we read this parshios, as we read this psukim, we're not supposed to think we're just reading about measurements and materials, something outdated, arcane, archaic, it doesn't even exist. It's not even extant. We're reading about ourselves. We're looking in the mirror. We're understanding who we're supposed to be and how we're supposed to live and what is our best selves. Our best selves in our lives, our homes, will have a shulchan and a mizbei'ach and a menorah and all the vessels and utensils of the Mishkan. We ourselves will be made up of curtains. There's privacy, there's humility. We'll be made up of sockets, we'll be made up of hooks. All the materials and all the dimensions of the Mishkan are not speaking only about them and that. It's speaking to any and every one of that's why it says v'shachanti b'socham God dwells in each and every one of us. We are the moving Mishkan. We are the animated, living Tabernacle. That's how we're supposed to channel and direct and live our lives that people will see and comment that that's what people will say. Parshas Terumah pasuk chof beis So, first we have the ark. v'asu aron atzei shitim It's in the plural because the aron holds the Torah belongs to all the Jewish people. Many years ago, towards the beginning of Parsha Perspectives, we went through these parshios with the commentary of the Kli Yakar, Rav Luntschitz. The Kli Yakar has magnificent interpretations that each of the dimensions here are not accidental. They're by design and they have a meaning. Each of the materials, everything, all the language, singular or plural, it's worth reviewing the Kli Yakar on these parshios. Magnificent. Amos chaitzi amos, amos chaitzi amos, amos chaitzi amos Why are the dimensions of the aron, for example, integer? They're fractions, they're not whole. Why are they one and a half, two and a half? Why not whole? Why half? Because if the aron represents Torah, we need to know that we're incomplete. We're not a whole number. We're a work in progress. We're on our way. We should never feel we've arrived. We're never done, we're never finished, we're never complete. We're like a fraction. First of all, we only, like we read last week, Parshas Shkalim, it's only when we combine, complement with another that we become whole. We're only a fraction. But we're also only a fraction of who we could be. We're only using a fraction of our time. We're only using a fraction of our memory. We're only using a fraction of our capacity. We've only achieved a fraction of our potential and possibility. We're not a whole number, we're a fraction because we're just getting started. Our best is yet to come. We're on our way and we're never done, we're never finished. And all that says the Kli Yakar is just alluded to when the dimension of the Aron is given in that way. That's just an example. It's layered with gold on the outside, the inside. There are three bins or boxes, one put inside the other. So much to talk about. Parshas Ki Tisa, Parshas Ki Tisa, but turn the page, 448. Because on top of we're going to skip, on top of the Aron, V'asisa Kapores Zahav Tahor. On top of the Aron, the ark, is the cover of pure gold. And it has on it the Keruvim. It has the childlike Keruvim. Last year we spoke about it in Parsha Perspectives at length. That's the image we chose. Why not Gedolei Yisrael? Why not great people? Little children? They've earned being the image. They're the brand and logo of the Jewish people. That's who's on the holiest vessel that sits in the holiest place, the Holy of Holies, the Kodesh Hakodashim. Why the Keruvim? What are we invoking about the childlike purity, innocence, excitement of children? You could listen last year, that's what we spoke about last year. And it says, now get to our pasuk, it's what I want to get to. Chaf Beis, 22. Says Hashem, "It is there that I will set my meetings with you and I will speak with you from atop the cover, from between the two Keruvim that are on the Everything I will command you." Says Hashem, "Whenever I'm communicating to you, Moshe, I will appear to you from where? Between the Keruvim. That's where I'm coming to you from, between the Keruvim." Between the Keruvim. V'no'adti. V'no'adti. When we have an appointment, a set time, a rendezvous. What's the root of the word no'adti? We're familiar with it. What do we call a Jewish holiday? Moed. Moed, no'adti means an appointed time, a set time, a rendezvous point. That's when we're going to meet, that's when we're going to connect. V'dibarti I'm going to speak to you from where? From between the Keruvim. Listen to this insight from Rav Yosef Serotzkin in the Meged Yosef. I love this insight. What was between the Keruvim? That's where the place of Shechinah was. The Medrash describes as if God said, "I'm going to go down and I'm going to constrict myself so that I can appear to you from between the Keruvim." If you were going to designate a place from which it would appear that God is speaking to Moshe, to the Jewish people, to the world, what would be the place that you would say that's where it should seem like God is speaking from? Like l'havdil today, in these theme parks, you'd embed the speaker somewhere so it would seem and feel like that's where the voice is coming from. Where would you put that speaker, that microphone speaker? Where would you have the sound come from that it would feel like God's speaking from there? Where would you choose? For sure you would choose the Aron. The Luchos. There's nothing holier than the Luchos. And there's no holier vessel than the Aron, the ark. And instead we say, "No, we'll leave that. Where does God talk and appear from? On top of the ark." The cover. Between the Keruvim. That's where? Why there? B'eir Hadavar says the Meged Yosef near Leket M'Divrei Bala Turim, Shnayim Keruvim. So one image we have is that the two Keruvim represent two children. But there's another image the Bala Turim quotes, that the Shnayim Keruvim K'mo Shnei Chaverim She Nos'im U'Nos'nim B'Divrei Torah. The image of the two on top of the Aron is two friends sitting and schmoozing. Two friends, a cup of coffee. Two friends connecting and caring about one another. Two friends talking Torah. Living for the next world, not this one. Two friends achieving immortality by nourishing their souls through Torah. That was the image of these Keruvim. These two images on top of the Aron were two friends, two friends. You know, the angels said, "Why are you giving the Torah to people? They're fallible. Why are you giving the Torah to people? They're incorrigible. Give it to us, we're perfect, we're the angels." And God says, "My Torah is meant for this world, it's a Toras Chaim. The Torah informs and inspires life. That's why it's so precious and so dear that it's been the secret to our survival." You see the segments of the Jewish people who've given up Torah, who neglect Torah, who don't study it or live it. And you know what happens? Sadly, tragically, with no triumphalism, they disappear. They disappear. Eitz Chaim Hi L'Machazikim Bah. Torah is what we hold on to. With the winds and the waves of this world that are trying to wash us away with assimilation, anti-Semitism, the only thing that keeps us going is our commitment to Torah. That you know what parsha it is. That you could talk about who Moshe is. That you know what the next Jewish holiday is. That you understand Shabbos and kosher and davening and staka. And true that we know what a Mishkan is. This is what grounds us, this is our anchor, this is what holds us, this is what saves us, this is what nourishes us. In a world in which people, as we saw when the Jewish people went three days without water, and our rabbis instituted we can't go three days without Torah because without it we're dehydrated and malnourished. Torah is what keeps us alive. And there is no greater use of or expression of friendship than talking Torah. Talking Torah. Sitting and asking a friend, "What do you think of this? Listen to this D'var Torah. Listen to what I heard at the parsha shiur." And I will even use the term Torah here more broadly, not specifically a D'var Torah, not a gematria or a vort, but Torah means asking a friend, "How's your neshama?" How's your neshama? Not how's your guf, I saw the car you drove up in. And I see the fancy credit card you're going to pay for the coffee at Starbucks with. And I see you look better than ever, you had some work done, you didn't have work done, you just look great. You look fantastic. Your body I can fantastic. But how's your neshama doing? Usually when we get together and we talk to one another we say, "How you doing? How am I doing? I'm great. Yeshiva week we went to Panama. Pesach we're going to Malaysia." I don't know if it's Malaysia, there's probably a program there. Croatia. And the stock market, have you seen what's happening? My net worth, it's through the roof. And look at me, I look fantastic. On the way I stopped in Turkey and I got hair plugs. I look amazing. That's what we think we talk about when we say, "How are you? How are you?" But that's not what we mean. What we should mean, Shnayim Sheyoshvim B'Eim U'Veinem Divrei Torah. What it means to have Torah between us means you say, "How's your neshama?" How's your davening? How's your emunah? How's your neshama doing? What's your neshama? So the two Keruvim on top of the Mishkan were the image of two friends who are asking each other, "How's your neshama?" In Kein Ashrei Kedushas Luchos M'Yaldus Nikor, Aval HaShechinah M'Chapeses L'hiyos Davekah Bein Chaverim She Nos'im U'Nos'nim B'Divrei Torah. Hashem says, "I don't want to be within these two stones. I don't want to appear to you from two rocks inside a box. You know where I want to be? You know where I want my voice to come from? I want to be with the chavurah. I want to be with the chaverim." Because Hashem says there's nothing holier in the world than chaverim, than friends. Friendship is unbelievable. Kol Ashrei Toras Chaverim. Re'eh Chibas Am Yisrael Gam L'Chvod Hashem Az Zeh Merubah K'viyachol M'Tzudak Bein Shnei Keruvim. Chibas Am Yisrael U'Chaverim She Nos'im U'Nos'nim B'Divrei Torah, Chavevin L'Hakadosh Baruch Hu Yoser M'HaLuchos Atzmam. Holier to God than the Luchos, than the tablets themselves, are two friends talking about their neshama. Two friends nourishing the neshama. We sometimes underestimate. We sometimes fail to recognize the value of friendship. Friendship is holy. Friendship is the holiest of holies. Friendship is in fact even a mitzvah. It's a mitzvah. The Gra, the Vilna Gaon teaches, you know, on Shabbos there's a mitzvah of tchumin. You're not allowed to walk more than 2,000 cubits, amah, outside of a settled area. However, if you put an eruv tchumin, then you buy yourself an extra 2,000 amah. Why are you allowed, when are you allowed to put an eruv tchumin in order to buy more space? So the halacha is it has to be for the purpose of a mitzvah. So you can expand your boundary for the purpose of fulfilling a mitzvah, then you're allowed to put an eruv tchumin. The Vilna Gaon says, "You're allowed to put an eruv tchumin for sake of a mitzvah, two Jews meeting each other is considered a mitzvah." Someone's on the other side, you're on this side, you want to be able to meet in between, so you need an eruv tchumin to get there. Two Jews meeting. Two Jews getting together. Two Jews expressing friendship. Two Jews nourishing each other's neshama. That itself is included. That's called a tzorech. That's called a need. That's called the tzorech mitzvah. Two Jews, two Yidden meeting each other. For that you could put an eruv tchumin. That [clears throat] for the Gra is a mitzvah. That's a mitzvah. Friendship [snorts] is a mitzvah. And not only is friendship a mitzvah, friendship is the holiest thing. So when Hashem says, "My voice, I am going to be present and appear to you," you know where I'll always look like I'm speaking from? Not inside a box, not among tablets. I'm going to speak to you from two haverim, from two friends, because that indeed that taka is precious. Friendship is holy, friendship is real, friendship is precious. The friendship is something to cherish, to nourish, to not neglect. What we call even just to talk about casual conversation is holy when it's between two friends and when it's bringing friends closer together. What's the Hebrew word for friend? What's the word chibur? Friend is someone you make a connection with. You share a commonality with. Chaver is someone with whom you have a chibur. You're all my friends. I was blown away. I literally got emotional when we hit our goal because I really felt that nearly 800 families from 167 cities these are my friends. These are my friends. I'm not saying a prerequisite to be my friend is to give and donate to my causes. I'm not not saying that. I'm just not saying it. I'm undecided on it. But my point is you're my friend if we care about the same things. It's not that you're my friend cuz you took me to the front row at a heat game. You're not my friend cuz you took me out for dinner and paid for it or you dropped off a bottle of my favorite Lagavulin smoky peaty scotch. It's not what that's not what makes you my friend. That's also a way to become That's not friendship. Friendship is we care about the same things. We're working on the same projects. We want to make the same reality happen. We have the same dreams. There's a chibur. There's a chibur. There's a connection. You're a chaver because there's a chibur. There's a connection. There's a connection. So says the Ribono Shel Olam, when it's time for me to appear and to talk, you know where I come to you? I'm coming to you live from between the two keruvim. Says Hashem I'm coming to you live from between two haverim cuz that's the holiest holiest place. That's the holiest holiest place. Okay. Isn't that geshmak? Isn't that beautiful? Rabbi Soloveitchik also has a comment on Says Rabbi Soloveitchik in this Chumash. The command to build the sanctuary is very difficult to understand. It's linked to a great and sublime secret. A expressed this tfila after he completed the first Beit Hamikdash. It appears in Melachim Aleph. said but will God indeed dwell on Earth? The heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain you much less this temple I've erected. said the whole heavens can't hold you. You're going to come dwell here on Earth? If the entire universe is insufficient to contain him, how can he dwell in such a small limited space? When posed the question, Hashem apparently no response. Instead, continued with a request. There's a possuk in Melachim Aleph perekh ches. And you shall turn towards your servant's prayer and to his supplication Hashem to hearken to the song to the prayer that your servant's praying to you today. Instead of searching for an answer to how infinity can dwell in a place of finitude, requests that Hashem accept our prayers. Don't get stuck on the question. Don't get stuck on the riddle. Don't be puzzled. How could it be the infinite can live and dwell here in the finite? Channel and turn the question into a tfila. Why does Hashem want a house? So he can dwell among us. This is the true intent of the mitzvah. What do we say? Where they live is where I want to live in a home next to them. At any time you may knock on my door and talk to me to tell me your worries, your dreams, your desires without hesitation, without shame. That's the very reason I contracted my glory. It is appropriate for me to dwell between the the keruvim atop the aron. The infinite being limited to the finite ark for it is my will that my house will be called a house of prayer. This is very similar to the Meged Yosef. Says Rabbi Soloveitchik. Why does Hashem choose between the keruvim? Cuz that's why he's down here to begin with. He doesn't just live upstairs. He comes down here. I saw a beautiful Kotsker. Shamayim Hashem v'ha'aretz natan livnei adam. Says the Kotsker la'asot bahem shamayim. The heavens belong to God and the Earth belongs to man to turn it into heavens. The heavens that's God. The Earth he gave to us. Why did he give us the Earth? To turn it into heaven. Be his angels. Make space for him. Be in conversation with him. So that's what taught us in his tfila. Throughout our exile they direct our hearts times of prayer to his house as if they are there and divine presence is right next to them. It wasn't only true when we had a Beit Hamikdash even now when we lack it, when we daven, where do we still turn? To Yerushalayim, because we're still focused on that's where Hashem is. Prayer requires a feeling of closeness as if one is standing opposite him, in his embrace. Such intent is a central idea and a fundamental principle of prayer writes Rabbi Soloveitchik. Parshat Terumah perekh lamed aleph. Now we move over to the menorah. So far we covered the aron, we covered the kapores on top of it and now we talk about the menorah. The We have all the details of this menorah. This menorah was uber super complicated. There's no picture here, maybe in the back. This ArtScroll has magnificent colored pictures in the back. But if you look at this menorah you'll see it's really complicated and the hardest part about it is page 1358. Page 1358 in the back and you have both versions. The Rambam Chabad version with the straight arms, the curved version in case that's the case it was. Debate. But you see there are flowers and bowls and protrusions and details and ornaments and it all is made out of one solid piece of gold. Super complicated so much so that Mosha Mosha said I don't know how to make this. I don't know how to do this. This is super complicated. How do you build this? And Rashi tells us it will be made on its own. On its own. Mosha looked at me said I'm not a silversmith. I'm not a goldsmith. I'm not a Goldberg. I have no idea how to make this. Hashem said relax. I got you covered. I've got your back Mosha. Take a solid piece of gold, throw it in the fire and the menorah will come out on its own. It doesn't say therefore. It says it says on its own. On its own. Picture ask the Brisker Rav. Once it was so hard, once it was so complicated, once it was so detailed, so much so that Hashem had to make a miracle and make it on its own, why do you have to give us the details? If Hashem made a miraculous [clears throat] menorah on its own, what do I need the diagram? What do I need the instruction manual? What do I need the dimensions? What do I need all the details? Hashem made it happen on its own. Im kein Hashem b'atzmo. Why do I need the command? Why do I need the details? Why take up so much space in the Torah with these psukim? You're going to produce and provide the menorah miraculously on its own, good just give the menorah. As I frecht the Brisker Rav. That's his question. So here's the answer. Had Mosha Rabbeinu not learned, not seen, not held the diagrams in his hand specifically how to make it with all of its details, all of its flowers, all of its bowls, all of its everything, cuz he says oh when he when he threw the gold into the fire, it wouldn't have only when he worked to study, to learn, to examine, to analyze, it's only when Mosha Rabbeinu learned up the sugia of the menorah that he merited the miracle of the menorah being made on its own. You see from here >> [clears throat] >> Without learning and studying, without wanting to understand it, you can't merit the miracle of it. So maybe it's inefficient. You don't need to take up space and give it. Once you're making the miracle but you see the miracle couldn't have and won't have happened had Mosha not first learned up the sugia of the menorah. So Hashem said here are the details, here are the rules, here are the verses, here's what's going to happen. And only after Mosha said ah, let me study it, let me learn it, let me analyze it, let me seek to plumb the depths of it, then he merited the miracle of it. And we need to learn from here If you want to merit divine providence, if you want to merit divine assistance if you want Hashem's help with anything you're going to do in life, you have to work. It doesn't come handed on a silver platter. You don't get a silver spoon in your mouth. It takes work. It takes study. It takes plumbing the depths. It takes caring about it. If we take those first steps towards, then Hashem will meet us halfway and Hashem will help us. Sfas Emes has a similar idea. This is one of my favorite insights. I've shared it before. Sfas Emes the holy Sfas Emes says same question. Why did he have to? He he highlights a different thing. Chazal tell us not just that a miracle happened and the menorah came out but first Hashem showed him a picture of the menorah. He said oh you see? You see the picture? See page 1139 in the back of the ArtScroll? You see it Mosha? See what it looks like? Give it a kick. Look. That's what it looks like. Now throw the gold in the fire it's going to come out one menorah. Says Sfas Emes why do you have to see it first? Why do you have to look at it first? Listen to what he says. I'll just tell it to you outside. He says in life if you want to merit divine assistance, you first have to have a picture of what you want to be. Without having a picture, a vision, a plan you won't merit divine assistance in getting there. I'm working on a project right now I'm really excited about about spreading and bringing greater Torah out there. Someone has become a great mentor of mine has said, first you have to ask what's the mission. Do we have a picture of what we're trying to accomplish? If you don't have a picture of what we're trying to accomplish, if there's no strategy of how you're going to get there, then you're not going to get divine assistance to make it a reality. The only way to merit Hashem's help to bring it into reality, the only way to merit that miracle of it coming to be is to first have a picture of who we want to become. It's not going to just happen sitting back comfortably reclining in our chair on the couch. It's not the way it works. We have to have a picture, a plan. How are you going to finish Shas? How are you going to volunteer for that chesed? How are you going to be in a position to get much tzedakah? How are you going to have that health? How are you going to sleep that much, lose that weight, exercise that way? How are you going to make your marriage better than ever? How are you going to spend that time with your children and grandchildren? What's the plan? What's the picture? Hashem first Hashem is baruch. First Hashem showed it. He said, "Moshe, look." Cuz until you first look, until you have a picture, a dream, an ambition, until you have a plan, a resolution, then Hashem says, "I can't step in and bring a miracle." The first step is first you have to have a plan. Only once you have a plan can we then bring the miracle and make it a reality. Only then can we make it happen. Meged Yosef also has a comment here, but we're going to skip this Meged Yosef. The Yassi says Nerot Perek Chaf Hey Pasuk Lamed Zayin. Top of 452. Build the menorah. And you should make V'asisa Nerot Sheva. You should make seven branches to this candelabra. V'el Nerot Evar Paneha. And all the branches of the candelabra should face and be inclined towards the center branch, towards the center branch. The Perush Shmuel says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, the great Rosh Yeshiva in the Mir, Brooklyn, he quotes Rashi. Asah Pishshesh Nerot Musavin K'neged Amtzai. You see from this Pasuk that the six branches of the menorah all face towards the center branch. K'dei Sheya Nerot Mishtadlin Mishtadlin L'eiram Evar Paneha. So that the branches would illuminate, spotlight the center branch. Musav Oram Al Tzav Paneha K'naim Tzvi Shehu Guf Hamenorah. The simple understanding of Rashi is that the key or the core, the center piece of the menorah is what? The center branch. So just like a person l'havdil has art hanging on their wall in their home, so they install a special light above it that shines on that art, so the center piece of the menorah was the center branch and the other branches are like the spotlight that you shine on the center branch cuz that's the guf hamenorah. That's the core of the menorah. That's the most important part of the menorah. That's the Rashi. That's the simple understanding of Rashi. But there's nothing simple about Rav Shmuel Berenbaum. And he says Tzarchin Sheyadafkin L'eiram Makom Acher K'mo Chandelier. If you go buy a chandelier, you would never choose the chandelier where all the lights are bent towards the center light. Cuz the whole purpose of the chandelier is to illuminate the room. Illuminate your dining room table. Not to turn towards the center light. V'lamah Kan Kol Nerot Hamenorah Konim Ner Amtzai Shekol Ha'or Yadafkin Makom Hamenorah? If you have a designer working, a contractor working, you walk in the room and they put in all these lights and they all focus on one light, so what are you doing? Give me my money back. You messed up. The whole idea of the lights is to cover the whole space. It's to illuminate the whole space. So why here the menorah is different than any other chandelier, any other light fixture, unlike the way we light any other room, where all the branches are leading towards the center. What's going on? P'shuto D'Chazal Omru K'ilu Ha'or Hu Tzorech. Halo Kol Arba'im Shana Shehayu Yisrael B'midbar B'veit Olam She'ashkinu Sh'ar B'Yisrael. The menorah altogether was not needed for its light. Hashem miraculously lit up the Mishkan. So why do you need a menorah? Why do you light a candelabra in a lit room? The room was lit. Not like the kids say lit, like actually lit. The room was lit. So why do you need a menorah in a lit room? Eidus Shehayu Olam She'ashkinu Sh'ar B'Yisrael. It was a testament that anybody would see it would say God dwells among the Jewish people. Ikur Or Hamenorah Hu Semel L'chochmah Sheba'al Torah. The menorah stands for Torah Sheba'al Peh. The menorah stands for our holy and our precious Torah. Chazal Say Rotzah Sheyachkim Yadrin. Chazal D'Gemara Bava Basra Chaf Hey says that if you want to become wise, you move to the south. South Florida. South of Israel. Rotzah Sheyashir Yatzpin. You want to become wealthy, you face the north. How do you know that? Cuz the Shulchan was in the north and that stands for wealth. And the menorah was in the south and that stands for wisdom. So if you want we- wealth, then when you davven, you face a little bit the north. If you want wisdom, a little bit when you davven, you face the south. The name of our Torah journal, the new volume is coming out soon, it's called Yadrin. That's the Torah journal of the Beis Medrash Boker Tov Synagogue. It's called Yadrin. It's coming out the new volume soon. Why is it called Yadrin? I wrote L'chacham Yadrin. Turn to the south. Yesodah Davar says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, D'chedei L'hashpia Al Acherim Tzorech La'asos Zeh Atzmo Kulo Lichtig. She'or Gadol Shetorah Etzlo. The best way that you can light up others is to be lit up yourself. So therefore the menorah's message is get lit. The [clears throat] message of the menorah is be lit and get lit. Get all lit up. Be lichtig. Be a source of light. Be on fire. Aidei Zeh Yashpia Or Torah She'al Acherim. That's how you can illuminate and impact and influence others. It's not by telling other people what to do, but by being the example. If we're on fire, if we're on fire, if our children, if our neighbors, if our community see us on fire in emunah, if we're on fire in our davvening, if we're on fire in our learning, then they will be too. That's what will illuminate them and their space as well. And therefore they faced the center so it would be as lit up as possible cuz the more lit up it is, the more it can light up others. So unlike our candelabras that face out and illuminate outwards, it faces in because the more it is lit up, the more it will illuminate and that is a message for us. Um Perek Chaf Vav Pasuk Chaf Ches. V'asisa Krashim. No. Pasuk Yud Ches. Asher Kemach. Chaf Vav Yud Ches. Yud Ches Chaf Ches. Ches. Now, let's go to Chaf Vav Chaf Ches. Chapter 26 verse 28. Ha'briach Hatichon B'toch Hakrashim U'vriach Min Hakatzah El Hakatzah. And the the middle bar in the midst of all the planks should extend and penetrate from one end to the other. Ha'briach Hatichon B'neisaya Omed. It stood up miraculously. You had the planks that stood up, right? A bar that ran between them and that was the outer wall of the Mishkan that held it in place. And Rashi tells us it stood as a miracle. Rashi in the Gemara Shabbos explains what the miracle was. Shach She'krashim Kulu Asun B'dono Tzelem L'ma'alah U'dono L'ma'atah Lo U'vriach Shlosha Amot U'chotzei In L'chum U'nyach Al Hasis Kein B'neisaya Shpach Beilav. The miracle of it was there were sockets that these planks stood in, but it was done in such a way that no contractor today can make it happen those dimensions in that manner, in that way, and nevertheless Hashem did and it stood as a it stood as a miracle. What does it mean B'neisaya Omed? B'neisaya Omed. It should have said B'neisaya Nichnas. It entered as a miracle. Why the language B'neisaya Omed? It stood as a miracle. It stood as a miracle. So says Rav Rav Druck, what did they make these planks from? Min Ha'eitz Shenata Avraham B've'er Sheva. When Avraham was in Be'er Sheva, he planted. And when that wood grew, those tree, those planks grew, Yaakov took them down to Mitzrayim. And the Jewish people took it out. And that became the basis, the foundation of the Mishkan. Yatzminu U'vriach Amtzai Orach Hashem Omes. V'nifla'os Nasu B'krashim She'kimu Es Hamishkan Im Isgagel K'mo Nachash Al Hasulam M'toch Krashim Mishkan. V'shayim Isbarech Mispar She'kmo Makel. Ha'briach Hatichon Zeh Yesodo Min Ha'eitz Shenata Avraham Avinu. This plank, this miraculous one that wrapped around, this miraculous one that stood even though it defied physics, this came from the wood that went back all the way to Yaakov, all the way to Avraham. So Eish Shalom Shitas K'vanos Gemara Shabbos L'ma'alah Kol Briach Hatichon B'neisaya Omed. B'neisaya Nishmar Min Zman Avraham Avinu Ad B'niyas Hamishkan. She'itzrich L'oman B'chol Hazman Hazeh Ad She'banu Oso. The miracle was that we kept it. We held onto it. We believed in it. We knew one day we would use it. Intergenerationally, the miracle and understanding what gets transmitted. What holds us up, what makes us firm, what allows us to stand is that intergenerational commitment. Unlike the people who care about and live for the here and now, we're focused on a future, on a continuity. We plant so that our great-grandchildren can harvest. And that's that is the miracle of what stood. One last idea, just so relevant for today. Parshat Vov Pasuk Lamed Gimmel. Vov Lamed Gimmel. There was a curtain, a paroches, that stood between the holy and the holy of holies. A paroches between the holy and the holy of holies. Listen to the words of Rav Soloveitchik. I've quoted them before. I've written about this before. And it remains as relevant today as when he said it many years ago. We'll end with this, but listen to these words because I have to tell you technology is destroying this. Social media, technology, even podcasts, and I'm part of that world, and I'm trying to leverage the best of that world, but this comment I'm about to read you is what gives me enormous pause. It is a word of caution. It's what we have to be careful about. Says Rav Soloveitchik, "From the time I was young, I learned to restrain my feelings and not demonstrate what was happening in my emotional world. My father would say that the holier more intimate the feeling, the more it should be concealed. There's a hidden curtain that separates between one's interior and the exterior. Just like this paroches, the dividing curtain to separate between the holy and the holy of holies. What location is more sanctified than the inner sanctum of one's emotional life? If all is going well and one's heart overflows with happiness, he should reveal the deep interior of his soul to God, but he should not reveal it to others lest the stranger profane his holy of holies. If on the other hand someone is in dire straits mired in a cloud of pain and suffering, finding himself abandoned alone, he should reveal his thoughts before the creator. He should cry to him and supplicate behind the curtain. A stranger should not approach the holy of holies lest then his apathy profane the sanctity of the mute pain that burdens the sufferer." Lo yavo, that's why the pasuk says, you can't just come to the holy of holies. Going God's rendezvous with his creator is in solitude. Listen to what Rav Soloveitchik says. I'm not endorsing this. This is Brisker, and this is a little extreme. My father never kissed me. When he took leave of me, he would press my hand and say, "Go in peace and may God watch over you." A casual onlooker were to hear these routine words might be taken aback and mumble, "Dry Brisker coldness." But that observer witnessed only the exterior, that which was outside the curtain of my father's personality, and did not comprehend that his interior, his holy of holies, was full of mercy and compassion, contained a refined and bold love for his children, incessantly concerned about their welfare, sacrificing himself for their future. His entire being was overwhelmed with love. At the same time he was careful not to violate the warning, "And no man shall be in the tent of meeting," protecting the modesty of emotional life. I'm not endorsing not being affectionate. I think it's critically important to be affectionate and loving today. But what Rav Soloveitchik is pointing out is we need a paroches, a curtain, between the kodish and the kodish hakodashim of our lives. Just like the Mishkan had that curtain separating, the holier it was, the more separate it was. The holier it was, the less accessible to the public it was. Today people post every thought, every feeling, every experience. People are interviewed about the details of their marriage, how they almost got divorced, of their parenting, of their courtship, of every detail of their lives. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is holy. Nothing is holy of holies. There's nothing left just between them. Every thought is shared. Every experience is shared. Every emotion is posted about. Every experience you're interviewed and you share. Dating, marriage, parenting, hardship, good. Now, I I understand there's value. There's value. Other people can learn from our experiences. It can be mechazek other exp- people. I get it. I get it. And there are times we've participated in podcasts about things in our lives that we thought could be helpful to other. A stillbirth we experienced and so on. It was in a closed Zoom, and it was for people in that particular case, and it didn't include every detail of how we felt or how we experienced. There are things that have to be held back. There are things that are private. There are things that are emotional holy of holies. If we live in a world where there are no emotional holy of holies, if we live in a world where everything is secular and profane and shared to the public, then what's left of our lives? There's no holy of holies. There's no intimacy between us. There's no intimacy between us and God. If every conversation you have with God, you're also willing to have into a microphone and a camera, then is there any real intimate connection with God? If every conversation you're willing to have with your spouse, you're willing to have into a microphone and a camera, do you have any emotional intimacy with your spouse? If every feeling and thought you have that you'd share with your closest of friends, on top of the chruvim, on top of the aron, you'd share with a microphone and a camera, you'd post on your page, then there's no holy of holies. There's nothing left. We're in danger. Our generation has to restore the paroches. Put back the curtain. Section off and remember that there has to be that which is personal and private, our holy of holies. If everything is holy of holies, nothing is holy of holies. So we have to have that curtain, that area, that section that is our holy of holies, and find that balance. I want to be very clear. I'm not criticizing, certainly not anyone in particular, but find that balance between what we can share in a way that helps others, but what we also hold back, that we preserve and protect because we need our holy of holies. We're not on next week. We resume in 2 weeks. Once again, an enormous thank you, a mazel tov, and a thank you to all those who helped, all my friends, my chaveirim, who helped make our global campaign happy. Stay happy. Stay healthy. Stay holy.