מסירות נפש למען המקור | הרב אליהו ובר

Yesterday I reached the Jerusalem Talmud, Sheviit, Chapter 9, Halacha 2. It speaks there about the subject of disposing of Sabbatical year fruits, that the cattle in the valley do not eat of the fruits of...and so on in Jerusalem. An interesting story is told there that someone was bothering people , he had there...he was bothering the residents, so they said: "We will leave ." His departing ones said to him: "You have nothing to fear, they say they are leaving, but whoever leaves eventually returns." And they, uh...told him: " Conduct an experiment, it doesn't matter, it's clear exactly the difference in years." He sent there, uh ...colors And painted the...he painted silver on their horns, sent them to Africa, a very great distance. After 30 years, they all returned. So when The story is here, The first thing is the simple message there, the Halachic one, we won't go into that. I want to focus on a point that suddenly struck me in the Jerusalem Talmud, wow wow, it is written here in the Midrash that the People of Israel, even in exile In all sorts of Midrash Shir Hashirim, people enter here, come with self-sacrifice, come to the Holy Temple, to the Temple Mount, to such an extent that the Ran says that the custom continued even after the destruction, that until the 7th of Cheshvan, they do not ask for rain. Oh, there is no reason for that! That's it, it's over, there is no pilgrimage, it's not like the simple meaning of the issue, both in the Babylonian and in the Jerusalem Talmud, they should start asking for rain. He says: Why did they continue to observe it until Cheshvan? Because there were people who continued to ascend, because they continue to ascend after the destruction. The Midrash of Shir Hashirim describes it: people are like doves who are unable to leave the place . I thought about this, a very interesting point, there are people who , as soon as it was possible to reach the Land of Israel, made every effort. There were those who made greater efforts, some less. We won't go into the laws now of how much one must sacrifice one's life for this, for coming to the Land of Israel. Must one even sacrifice one's life at all, like the stories about the world's great figures who sacrificed their lives? Are we obligated to do this or not? A topic , a topic. It is more likely in the issue, it is simpler that one does not need to sacrifice one's life; certainly , one should not. That is a virtue—we won't go into that. One issue, the same thing, but really our point is our connection with the Holy One, blessed be He. Yes? The allegory of the Jerusalem Talmud, of a gazelle, is perhaps because the Land of Israel is the gazelle of all lands. But there is a depth here: we have the site of the Temple, And unfortunately, for many years We were prevented from reaching here. So there were people, like the story of the Rambam, exactly next Sabbath is the day that the Rambam designated for himself as a holiday for generations, not this Sabbath, not the coming Sabbath, the next Sabbath, the 7th of Cheshvan. He designated it as a holiday for generations, I don't know for generations, for himself, no, let's see, what is for generations? He established it as a holiday, a day on which he merited arriving here in Jerusalem. Whoever reads about this period, he reached the great and holy house; we are talking about a time when it was self-sacrifice just to enter Jerusalem. What was the Rambam looking for? The Rambam, didn't the Rambam know the Halacha that he himself rules, that one must not sacrifice one's life where it is not necessary? Didn't the Rambam know this law? After all, the Rambam wrote it, maybe he wrote it later, but ...what, maybe he knew the law that one shouldn't sacrifice one's life? The Rambam, with self-sacrifice, reached Jerusalem, reached the house, I entered the great and holy house. And instead of declaring it a day of mourning, what he went through, did he commit suicide? No, the Rambam declared it a festive day! Like the Rambam, what a, what an aspiration! How is it even possible? How is it possible, like the deer, the deer that were there, who oppressed them and caused them trouble, but they couldn't leave. A person cannot leave the rock from which he was hewn; a person cannot leave his source. So whoever's source is the Land of Israel, whoever's source is Jerusalem, whoever's source is the Temple, he cannot leave it. So if it was impossible to reach the Temple Mount, then they would reach the surroundings of the Temple Mount, the eastern gates, the Western Wall. They came and came with difficulties, they came with self-sacrifice. There is a story about Rabbi Orenstein, that they lived in a place where it was no longer possible to reach the Wall, and after the state was founded it was in the Jewish Quarter, but to go down to the Wall was already self-sacrifice, and he went down with dedication. There was a soul there that, with self-sacrifice, reached the Wall, they came to the Wall in order to reach the Wall, they came to the Wall to get as close as possible to God's house, and afterwards he also clarifies that it is possible to reach God's house. We break through as much as we can. Each one, and this is the test, each one, where is the rock from which he was hewn? Whoever's rock from which he was hewn is other places, then with self-sacrifice he reaches other places. But whoever's rock from which he was hewn, the source, the central point, his heart, his head, and everything, is in one place. It is in the place of the Temple, so as much as he can, he searches for how to arrive. So if he thinks it is forbidden to enter the south, for example—because he thinks the Temple moved south—he should at least go to the west. He should come to where it is permitted according to his view. But if not, it means it doesn't interest him, that isn't really the issue. Whoever cares about the Temple, he reaches the Temple , to where he can, to where he can— because that is the source, that is the place. This Jerusalemite cries out, this Jerusalemite calls to us and tells us: this is a test! Are you really like the chirping of the starling as the Kuzari calls it? Does it really interest you, or does it not interest you? A great test. And today, we have merited that one is doing this test, as he wants to, he is a Bar Mitzvah. So, where am I? Where do you receive upon yourself the commandments? Where does one become a Bar Mitzvah? But that’s not fair, he is a Cohen. A Kohen definitely has a place in the Torah. Wisdom is for the Israelis, and wisdom is also for the Kohen. This is the law of wisdom. Unfortunately, I know Kohanim who don't come here. But how can a person not come here at all? Here , we are fortunate; a Kohen is coming up with us, along with Aviv, the Bar Mitzvah boy. What joy, what a blessing. May the Holy One, blessed be He, bless him. >> Are you a Kohen? >> May you grow in Torah and good deeds. >> Amen. >> To see your roots, to be connected. >> To the Holy One, blessed be He, to be connected to the Holy One, blessed be He, just as the deer was connected to its habitat. >> And may the Holy One, blessed be He, truly adorn you with silver, as they adorned the Kohanim there. May He adorn you with silver and gold as is fitting for you, with abundance, and may you merit to serve in the Holy Temple. >> Amen. >> Two weeks a year, as per the priestly watches, and three more times a year during the holidays. Amen, may Israel and the Holy Temple be restored in our days. Amen.