The Blessing over Learning The Torah with Rabbi Kalman Flaks

Heat. Heat. My birthday [Music] Oh [Music] shame is all of our Torah be for the protection of the whole Jewish people >> all of our one should be protected and we should see holy things good things come down to Israel. Okay. So we're learning tonight about and the has an amazing guarantee. A person who says Torah with kavana opens it says it properly the whole day he won't come to sin. Okay. So try it. See if he's right. Try it out for yourself. Another guarantee heard a different version. If you say with kavana the whole day your Torah will be sweet. You'll enjoy your Torah study. We're going to learn about. So, where do we start? If we have time, we'll get back to bar. What does mean? Remind me. We have time to circle back to that. I just I'm not sure how much time we'll have. So, I want to go explore. What every letter means, what every word means. And we will if we have time. But first, let's just introduce the concept of bureaus itself. The garra in Nadarim, it's also brought down in Yuma. Nadarim 81st page and in Yuma in the ninth page asks why was the temple destroyed? Why were the Jewish people sent into exile? Now I know we've heard different explanations. The second beta mdasham, first mdash, the three cardinal sins. But the garra here actually gives a different explanation and says why was the world destroyed? Why did the Jewish people what terrible sin do we do that we had to leave our holy land? It says they abandon my Torah. How did they abandon their Torah? Which is quoting a meow. The garra says they failed to make the bra on Torah. you know that they were learning Torah but that was not good enough because they weren't saying to they weren't blessing before they said uh before they and that sin alone is the reason why the bet was destroyed why we got exiled from our land and all the tragedies of Jewish history and of course that is a very surprising garra okay first of all because we have other gar telling us about the sins they did besides for the back to tell me that they're all day. They're mammish, but they just forgot to say bir and for that little thing, the whole nothing was worth anything. The whole Jewish people get exiled from their land. So everyone's trying to figure out why how it could be that the mdas is destroyed because they didn't say yeah in fact so much so that the brings down in that when you say you have to have extra special goes out of its way it doesn't say about every blessing doesn't say make sure when you say that you thank God make sure by that you have good but by the Torah you have to have okay and Mish explains because of this that the B was destroyed because they didn't say Torah so we don't want to mess that one up says when you say you have to d in the depth of your heart you have to beg hem that when you learn Torah you're that's what the says you have to you have to not just bench it get it over with you have to beg Hashem Please let my Torah be sweet. Let I let me enjoy my Torah study today. You have to be very careful with the way we says the when you say the you have to have more than when you say your let's say you really have a gishmak coffee every morning. That's what you look forward to every morning. You go before all of holy bagel. You say you're anticipating a delicious coffee. So you have to have all the more so much more says the byra and it's rooted back to these say destroyed because we didn't say with but how why very nice but why should that be that if I'm learning Torah all day so then based I'm interest because I didn't say why wouldn't they say in the first place like what's what's holding them back so many Many many we could write a whole bookload bookcase of explanations on this question but I want to share with you a few beautiful ideas that some of them far and bring down. Okay, you with me? Okay, so explanation number one is I think the most classic explanation explanation mentions and I believe it's also mentioned by Yona. He says like this before you open up your newspaper every morning or before you open up your biology book, you say a blessing, right? Has anyone ever done that? and say [Music] that you know the stem cells and the cells and the oxygen and you open up the book. No, you don't do that. Even though it could be that by learning biology it's a mitzvah seeing the wonders of God and all these things at the end of the day we don't say. So why didn't they say a blessing when they learned Torah? because they were looking at Torah the same way they look at biology. I don't know if they had bi biology in the second temple era. The same way they studied uh whatever they were studying, you know, physics and uh history and mathematics. They looked at it as an interesting science, fascinating like some academians look at Tom study today, they fascinating different texts, Bible study, it's very interesting, you know, makes your brain smarter. And that's all great, but what what's the one ingredient missing when you study Torah like that? >> Spirituality. >> Spirituality. Hashem, God. Because you don't change when you learn Torah like that. Could learn all different theories about why titus is a fascinating idea, but it doesn't make you feel closer to Hashem. And you're not necessarily even going to wear titus. It's just an ancient uh study. Like if I were studying the ancient Alaskans, they were learning Torah, but they weren't learning Torah in a way to integrate it into their avodatem into their service of God. And that's why they ended up doing all these other terrible sins. Cuz if you're learning, you can learn Torah all day, but if you don't have the right orientation to make it bring it into your life, so then it's just going to remain on the outside. And and we have to remind ourselves constantly when we're learning Torah, the Ramban writes at the end of a Torah session. We have to ask ourselves, what did I learn? And how do I bring that into my personal service of God? How it couldn't just have been a good bub mat? I have to ask me what what did I take from that? We'll do it today. We'll take moment and think what am I going to bring into my a little bit easier because it's a very practical topic. You dive in every day. So it's going to help my kavana. But sometimes you hear a shir and it's not as obvious how I bring it into my practical life. And that is what they were missing. And that was the Mishna and Rabino's explanation if I'm not mistaken as to what was missing from their Torah study. And that's what it means when it says they didn't bless Torah. Are you with me? Explanation number one. A beautiful explanation. On a related note, the Bach gives a kind of similar explanation. the Bahel circus is a very spiritual person although he writes and he writes a commentary on on um he's actually great ancestor um and he writes by the way the story of the Bah and he he didn't have enough money he couldn't pull enough funds to write his safer and he was trying everything and he just couldn't figure it out and uh he didn't understand so he dabbed to Hashem that they should have a revelation from the heavens to explain to him why he was not successful and he had a dream and in his dream he said yeah you know why cuz you're you're not doing that you're not staying up late and and dabbing for is now there's an element of I'm doing it for my own arrogance for my own you know to write a so he started dabing and then his safer was published and everything went smoothly pretty crazy story so the bach writes the following the right writes. And why do we learn Torah? We learn Torah to bring the into the world to make a to make a a place where can be felt in the world. That's why we learn Torah and that's why we do all mitzvah. And that's what was missing. They didn't say because they were learning again as an intellectual enterprise and maybe they're just going through the motions but they weren't doing it to bring the into the world and that's what the the purpose of the ber is to remind us that we are here to bring theina into the world. That's the goal of the bas. Isn't that beautiful? It's beautiful. That's why we say also because I'm thirsty, but also to bring God's presence into the world. Right? That's the goal of a braha. That's it. That's what it's about. The Garra says that Ravish the son of Alisha was the coal and he once went into the keshim to bring the ctor and who did he see there? Hashem sitting on his throne of glory, the Lord of hosts. That's what the garra says when. And then he he he prays and he says may basically God indicated he wanted him to give a prayer to bless him. I'm sorry to bless me. So he blessed him that may your mida your attribute of mercy overcome your attribute of justice and God nodded. Okay. So what's the the Gamarra trying to teach us a is when we're expressing our to bring God into the world. We're saying we're praying God, we want more is like a lot of a lot of you God. And by expressing our to have more God in the world, we're actually bringing God into the world. Yeah. That's why the garra another teaches that if I don't say a braha on this water, I'm stealing. Why? Because if I say the braha, then what happens? I bring blessing. I bring shea down to the world. And if I don't say a bra, so I'm kind of stealing from the universe, right? Because the world needs my shea my blessing. And so I mean not blessing, I'm kind of holding back. I'm I'm not allowing the blessing to come into the world. Yeah. So, so we're bringing the theina into the world when we say this and that's what they were lacking. They were doing it like a body without a soul. On a related note, I read the most beautiful explanation from the last night and I was preparing for this year says you know what we're doing we're we're saying a scribe before he writes God's name is to stop and have lashe I don't know I'm not a scribe is it lashim the mitzvah of writing fill in he has to do with lishma You have to write God's name with with with holy intentions. And many sim even go to the mikvah before they write God's name to make sure they have the right intentions. But without that it's it's it's useless. Our kavana switches this cloth this cow into a safer Torah. That's what similarly let's say tomorrow we're going to go to the base of mush. We're going to need to bring some right. So we're going to take our cow and we're going to maktish it. What is it? How do we makish it? We simply take the animal and we say I am setting you aside to be a corban for the beta mdash. All I did is speak but I actually lifted this corban up and I made it into a holy holy sacrifice just through my words. Now I can't use this animal for anything else. Okay. So says that that's true with animals. So all the more so with people when we think and speak we create new realities right through our speech. So when I'm saying to I'm actually sanctifying myself and sanctifying the Torah and lifting it up to much higher level. I'm like that sofur who's you know preparing myself before I do the avoid of writing God's name. That's what I'm doing when I'm doing bas. I'm preparing myself to do the holy avoid of what we're doing right now of Torah study. Yeah. Now you're understanding why I think it's important to sing before we learn Torah. Okay? Cuz that's like the preparation. I'm not going to say Torah all day over and over and over again. But when we sing a little bit and we, you know, bring ourselves into the headsp space of wait, I'm not just doing an intellectual exercise now. I'm actually bringing the into the universe, right? And says, you know, when 10 people learning Torah brings into the world, even three people learning Torah, even one person uh learning Torah bringsina into the world. So I'm right, it's only if you're verbalizing the words, then you bring the into the world. But either way, that's when we're learning Torah right now, the is with us. Okay? So that's that's what's happening when we're learning Torah. Okay? So that's explanation number two and 2 A and B and C as to why we need to say the bra of the Torah and the B was destroyed because of the lack of that. A third beautiful explanation I heard I read last night. So a saper called Mayaron by Rabarap very esoteric beautiful teachings uh beautiful beautiful teachings on on filarap writes that yeah they were learning Torah but there's two levels of learning Torah there's one level I'm learning Torah because it's a mitzvah another I'm learning Torah because I know it's good for a Jew it's good for me I know that I know the G that says every word of Torah is is a mitzvah right don't worry show me also listening counts it counts so I should talk a lot right every word of Torah I want my my b you know connected gulam I want my spiritual uh bank account to be very very high that's good that's it's good but a much higher level is to be learning is to be learning for the sake of the whole Jewish people I don't think it hurts you could learn for the whole world some explain is the language of aras of responsibility you know and that is what was missing when they were learning Torah but they weren't learning with a bra they weren't recognizing the source of the Torah is and from him comes all the shea down and the shea comes down to all of Isel and And they were lacking that awareness. And that's a big mistake. Actually, I was at the hotel right before this. I was, you know, in a tour and then I I was I had a few minutes before Marv. So I took out, you know, a safer this safer which is an amazing safer which I used to prepare this year. I was learning learning at the Kota giving you know reminding me myself some ideas. Some guy comes over to me and says uh can I have something? So, you know, at the hotel he's asking for saddaka. Okay. I'm like trying, you know, sifting through my pockets. I have like a half a shekel. I know it's really illegal to ask for at the hotel, whatever. And then he's like, "No, no, I don't need money. They have some Torah for me." So, oh yeah, come sit sit down. So, we had a nice this nice guy named Sagi. I told him I'm going to record this year. I'm going to give him a copy. So Sagi and I were smoozing and he gave me a chance to review this year. So then after I was sharing these ideas he was like you know I learned in a ko and um I suggested in this colo that 80 bakim I suggested that at the beginning of the war that just like in the army it's 247 and everyone is doing shifts. There's never a time that someone's not doing a shir. So also in our yeshiva, it's a yeshiva, it doesn't matter. We need to um have shifts constantly Torah study to protect the Jewish people. I thought it was such a beautiful idea, right? You were yes like that. Betel famously was one of those yeshivas which had shifts where the learned 300 years ago. Nowadays, I don't know so many yeshivas that are doing that. Sometimes they have a mishmar, right? I said such a beautiful way of expressing this idea that I'm not learning for myself, right? I'm learning for all of Israel. So I said, you gota you got to work on that idea and I'll tell you by now maybe we'll, you know, we'll set up shifts all night learning. It's such a a way of showing that I'm learning for the sake of the Jewish people and for you know I think I actually really think it would be a beautiful idea to before we start learning we should have a picture of a you know we should specifically have in mind this Torah study you know should be for that their sake you know I'm just imagining someone I'm learning for my neighbor who's who's supposed to be in Aza but then he he got called back so he's home now but he may have to go back again if the ceasefire doesn't you know go group, you know, we should have a picture to to make it clear that we're not learning for our own selves. We're learning for all of Israel. We're domining for all is and that's the level of consciousness in our generation. We need used to say sometimes Bakar is walking down the street and you know he has a certain and like a secular guy will like be connected to him another yeshiva bakar you want to run to the other side of the street. So what's the difference? They're both you know all day. So he says the difference is that the first guy was learning all day. He's learning for the sake of the whole Jewish people. And the second guy he's learning for himself. So you can feel it. You can feel it. You can smell it. Okay? That's what says. So we have to please God remind ourselves when we're saying the Torah. We're not learning for only for our personal spiritual bank accounts. And by the way, it doesn't take away. It's not like if I learn for another person, that takes away. It's like lighting a fire. It only increases it only increases our we're not just learning for our own personal, you know, selves. We're we're learning for right. So that's that's okay. So that's explanation number three as to why when they said it wasn't good enough and um and and and and the B was destroyed because they lacked that consciousness. So we're doing that tik when we have the Torah with a proper kavana. Okay, a fourth explanation and I think we'll stop in terms of our explanations and then we'll go back do a little rewind on the background behind the Torah and then hopefully we'll get into some of the words of Bus Torah. Um I think this is my favorite explanation explanation of Morai. Yeah. And uh he says something so sweet. He says, "No, they said a brah." But the thing is they got the braha wrong. They said the wrong bra. What braha were they saying? They were saying they were saying the braha of mitzvah. They thought that this bra was like any other braha. Before I wrap fill I say before I wash my hands I say before we do lula we do a braha to remind me to have but he says it's not true. You know what the essence of has to be? It has to be a blessing like a pleasure like the bra I say before I have my dinner tonight that we're going to have that's then I'm starving and I'm right that's the the braha because our Torah study has to be one of it has to be enjoyable has to be pleasurable and they didn't understand that they thought to go to the basement oh my gosh I have to Like unfortunately, like some kids, you know, high school, I have Talmud class. I have a test. I I'm stuck. I'm going to get in trouble if I ditch class, but I wish I could go on my no because the Torah has to be sweet. And they didn't understand that Torah it has to be sweet. And that because they had that wrong attitude, they looked at all of Torah in the wrong way as a burden, as a policeman forcing me to do it, but not in its essence, which is that it's sweet. And because of that that they had the wrong attitude and that's what poisoned all of their Torah. Yeah. In fact, you could break up the mitzvah. There's some say there's you we'll see there's two or three blessings in the Torah. So you could understand that's the language we use before every is a blessing on pleasure. There's really two elements of the mitzvah. On the one hand, to recognize I have to do this and this is a mitzvah and I'm connecting to my source. But on the other hand, what is what a pleasure and would say if you don't find Torah sweet and you got to find a new Rebi or a new way of Torah studying, right? And yet sometime obviously you have to work hard sometimes, right? the the sweetness comes when you break your teeth a little bit like explains that the rush he's not using his teeth you have to work hard you have to chew the Torah out right you're learning sometimes it's not so easy but then when you take a pen and pencil out and you work on it in step one steps through step four and then by the end of it it's so sweet there's nothing more special and it doesn't have to be garra it could be anything could be learning it could be learning but as long as you're working hard then from this hardness comes the sweetness But Torah has to be sweet. If it's not sweet, then I'm the problem, right? Like the famous Marshall, right? There's a man comes to the doctor. Doctor, I'm starving. I'm going to die. Says, "What's wrong? Why are you What's Why are you starving?" Says, "My wife, it's my wife's cooking. It's so salty. I I can't eat anything. I'm going to die. I'm going to wither away. What am I going to do?" >> Doctor, you know, does an operation. looks and says, "My friend, it's not your wife, it's you. You have a disease that everything you taste tastes super salty." >> So if Torah is not sweet, if mitz are not sweet, we're the problem. So we've come to value the wrong things and think physicality is the essence of life. But if we change our orientation to recognize that is the essence of life, the Torah mitzvah is the purpose of life. If we change our orientation, go on a 30-day spirituality diet, our our teeth are going to start appreciating Torah again. And that is what we remind ourselves when we say the Torah has to be sweet. And that's what they missed. That's what it means. They didn't beautiful. Okay. So, what's the source? What's the source of Torah? Is it does it say in the Bible? So the truth is if you look in the Na'vi there is a little bit of a story in where they it seems to be he initiates Torah but not in an individual level rather on a national level a communal level which nowadays we would recognize as the we say before we go up to the safer Torah. It could be that already goes back that that institutes that uh blessing on on on saying uh on a on a communal level to thank God for the Torah. But on a personal level, what's the source that I have to say a blessing for you know before I learn Torah? So this is already indicating that in the temple times they should have been saying Torah. Does it go back even earlier? So the teaches actually it's goes all the way back to the Torah itself. a few parhases ago parasenu we have a puk I think it's the 27th chapter and the p goes like this when I call out in the name of god I will ascribe greatness to god asks where do I know that there's from theorah what's the source ah this is a verse when I call out to God, I will ascribe greatness to him. So according to this Torah is biblical. Okay? It turns out it's one of the three biblical mitzvah. What are the other two blessings which are commanded to us by the Torah? >> Exactly. That it's clear that God commands us to bless God. And what's the other biblical blessing? Right. All the other areical. But this Gar says >> is is biblical. Okay. It says a Rambam. Nah. The RAB does not take this literally. Rambam thinks is what's called ana. In other words, it doesn't make sense that the Torah actually is commanding you to bless because then it would say the word like rather the Gammorra is trying to tell you it's all it's stronger than a regular rabbitical blessing the concept is biblical but it doesn't actually think uh it's a biblical obligation to say okay this is enough for the Rambam if I'm not sure if I said or not. So don't say it or better you would say through another person's bra or some other way to get out of it because it's not actually a biblical just an it's an illusion but says and most no this gamarra should be taken literally. We should read the garra as it says. Actually, the Torah commands us to bless before we learn Torah. And this is the source. Okay? You with me? So, let's break it down. It comes out according to the Raman. When I call out in the name of God, then I should ascribe greatness. What does it mean ascribe greatness? I should bless God. So Ramban I would think when I call out in the name of God. When do we call out in the name of God? Like when do we do that? >> I maybe when I pray maybe when I say kadesh calling out praise the Lord almighty right that I can understand could be alluded to in the verse but it turns out says Ramban and Ra and Saul explains this in his beautiful safair. Every time I open up aish, every time I open up any Torah safer, legitimate safer, I'm calling out on the name of God. So what does it mean? It means the is the name of God. Every time I open up ash, I'm calling out in the name of God. The is the name of God. It's a pretty long name, right? Hundreds of thousands of letters. It's a very, very long name. So, what does that mean? It's the name of God. What's the name of something? When I call someone's name, what am I trying to say? I say, "Hey, Larry, are you late?" What am I essentially doing when I'm calling out in your name? >> I'm connecting to his essence. >> I'm trying to connect to you. So when we call out in the name of God, the Torah is in some spiritual mystical way which is beyond me the name of God. >> It's an attribute ex somehow trying to explain to us who Hashem is. And when I open up myish when I right now learn Torah, I'm trying to connect to I'm trying to get close to and that's why that's so necessary cuz you can't just come close. A deep connection doesn't come without preparation. You need to prepare if you want to make something deep and special. How deep is our shabas going to be? As deep as we prepare for it, right? If all week we're thinking about chabas, talking about chabas, learning about chabas, think of new ways of connecting to chabas, cleaning physically. That's one of the reasons why I love making big chabas meals >> because it forces me all week long to be thinking about chabas because I all I don't have a big car. I can't shop in one big on Tuesday I get the salat team and on Wednesday I go back to the shook and I get the wine and Thursday, you know. So all week long I'm I'm thinking about chabis. Yeah. So the more we it's it's also true with every relationship with every shear the more I prepare the the deeper it's going to be even in dating you know I often tell people and this is what I used to do when I'm when I was preparing especially in the the early stages of dating I would prepare myself I wouldn't just show up and say I'll just be myself I will just be myself but I also have to think to myself what do I want to talk about what are some of the and I try to do it like okay it's a first date can I ask every single question, right, that ever existed cuz it's going to freak the girl out. She's going to run away, right? But if I I'm going to ask a few questions and some of them more intent like like tless and some of them more just, you know, small talk and second date where we holding the third date. Try to think of games. Try to think oftik and and and you know that that the more you I think the more a girl sees that you prepared the more she's going to say wow you really mashka personally when I see it's not my style but I when I see someone with a speech written out for a year it impresses me like oh you know they they were mashka you know I every we try to think of writing a speech and somehow never am able to like you know make the put it together so just whatever flows flows But but I I think it's good when you show you prepare for the Shir. It shows you care. So in the same way, what are we talking about? We're talking about Torah. The more we prepare ourselves, the more the the deeper the Torah will be, right? It really the Gmorrah says before we walk into base met, we're supposed to also ask Hashem, please Hashem, let the words come out properly. Let me not make any mistakes. We need to prepare. And Torah is the deepest way connected to of connecting to but it's not gonna happen if we don't prepare for it. And so is that moment of preparation and uh truth is we we're right now preparing for preparing which is even deeper right we're preparing to prepare oursel properly so that we can learn Torah which is in itself a certain type of preparation because when I'm learning Torah it's so that I can you know do mitzvah on a deeper level. So it's this whole world is the preparation preparation and it gets deeper and deeper and deeper. Okay. So that is a little bit about the the the source of of of of [Music] in the garra itself in the garra in braus it actually brings down different texts of what is the right brings this language brings down I believe he says that's the highest level and says, "No, this should be the the dora. I'm forgetting the details." Another of says, "No, this should be the dora." What we do is we put all three braas together and we make it each one has what to teach us. It's interesting there were other gears of birkas and in it seems to be that in the tamuric early tmudic era there wasn't one set text of there was different like evolving different flowing um text and eventually you know we can't we canonized it we needed a set text which is what we all say but you will see different gears because we're different texts. Um, and some of those uh texts are still extent and have evolved into into different pew team etc etc. But that's just an interesting historical note and by the time we got to the you know already the the time of the we already had a set text of what is which is what we're going to now quickly uh delve into. Uh we're not gonna even attempt to um to to go into the actual and all that. We're gonna leave that for another but we're going to go try to quickly delve into the words of the itself. You ready? Let's do it. You are the source of all blessing. Hashem, which is basically a prayer. We want we want more of you, Hashem. Whereas the writes, we're recognizing that God is the source of all blessing. You are the source of all blessing, Hashem. Okay? And by recognizing Hashem, we are bringing Hashem into the world. Right? Like the says, where is Hashem? Wherever you let him in. So, we're recognizing God's presence and we're yearning to bring God more into the world. Okay? We'll leave deeper explanations for another year. God the king of the world who has sanctified us with his mitzvah who has made us holier with this mitzvah. Every mitzvah we do makes us holier and has commanded us Torah. What does so mean? to delve deeply >> to deep go deep into it. In other words, it's not just good enough to go through Wikipedia. What does a Jew need to do? You need to every single every ask questions and and and try to think your own answers and then look at what the Mafarim say and find who can make it deeper. That's our obligation. Schwab points out Osok is from the language of ESC which means to to argue right it's not a coincidence that in you know in a base mish you hear people screaming back and forth right there's a famous story of uh of lamb brought a church uh big like high up in the church and he walks into the wub base madish and he sees everybody screaming at each other and he's in shock he's like what's going on you know by us there's a church the the nuns They're studying to themselves in the library. It's like a pin drop and they're studying quietly. But by there's arguing. We're screaming at each other. But that's the mitzvah, you know, to to immerse ourselves. And if we're not working hard, then you're not going to get the sweetness of Torah. You have to work a little bit. Yeah. Torah. What does mean with the words of Torah? So what is that teaching us? You have to speak. God created the world through speech. We create universes when we speak. Okay? So it's when when you're learning Torah, it's very important to verbalize as much as you can. It's not there's a big mak and everyone else. Can I think Torah? Let's say I wake up early in the morning. Okay. Happens to me sometimes, especially because my 2-year-old and uh and I want to three in the morning and I want to open up a safer learn. So, do I have to say Torah? So, it says some would understand no because only speaking which is fulfilling the mitzvah on the highest level. But the GRA disagreed. The guru felt even thinking Torah is a mitzvah as the said even even thinking about it is a mitzvah. So we try to be mir if we can not to say the Torah and only then start thinking Torah. Okay, that's what brings down. But it's clear that the way to learn Torah is to speak it out. That's right. Traditionally when I'm opening up a safer, I put my feet up and I'm reading. It's very nice. But when I'm speaking it out, when I'm part of a when I'm part of so then it forces me to speak it out and that sanctifies my mouth and I myself am raised to a higher level when I speak it out even a little bit just to to say just like when you dab in we should speak. So al you have to speak. So when you when you learn ideally you should speak. Yeah you with me? Good. That's the first mitzvah. Like we said the bure of mitzvah that's how some understand it. There's many explanations can do a whole course. Some explain that this is all only about and the next is there a lot of explanations as to what is the breakdown of these two different uh two or three different elements of the bra. Let's just go through it though. Okay. Translate that. We already alluded to two different explanations. What does mean >> pleasure or >> exactly? It should either be sweet. We're saying please God make it sweet or arous like should be sweet or like arous like like responsibility. Okay. to reminding oursel that this Torah should lead me to communal responsibility should lead me to be more connected to the Jewish people and it should be sweet and it's not going to be sweet unless I said find a new rabbi find a good safer no you need to pray to Hashem that it should be sweet if you don't pray to Hashem that it will be sweet it won't be sweet okay and if let's say you you spaced out it happens to all of us and it was early in the morning and you didn't have so much kavana for your v Okay, you could still say it even before you learn Torah without God's name. You just say, "Please that this Torah be sweet and then it'll be sweet. But if you don't dab and for it, it won't happen." Okay. Once again, words. It has to be words. Your Torah, as much as we trying to make it ours, it's we have to recognize it's God. There it is. It's in our mouth. And who else do we care about? The whole Jewish people. It's not just about me. I have to be learning for the sake of the whole Jewish people. It can't just be me. Can never just be about me. And now we say something very interesting. And we and our us and our children and the the children of the whole Jewish people should all know your name. You have a little 13-year-old kid. He just got bit and he's dominating that his children and his children's children. But this is a Jewish people. We never stop thinking about the future generations. Right? That's us. That our Torah can never be just for us. It always has to be from for my future generations, for the next generations, for the whole Jewish people. And I'm praying that our Torah should be for all Jewish people. We should all know your name. How do we know your name? I gave it away by the preface. How do we get to know God? We learn Torah. We get to know God. We know his name by learning Torah. >> And we should learn Torah for his name. There's many different ways to explain lashma. On a basic level, it means I'm not learning Torah so that they should call me the rabbi. If I'm learning Torah so people should think I'm a big tom, everyone say, "Oh, he's so smart. He really knows how to learn." And that's not that we can all agree upon. You shouldn't be learning for money. You shouldn't be learning if they okay, they give you a little stipen as a bonus. Why not? But but that that's his but we we'll go with that opinion. So, so but it shouldn't be that I'm learning to be called a rabbi for honor you know even for so that you know it's a byproduct fine but you should learn just for the sake of getting close to that's why we should be learning that's what it means to be and when we learn all the blessing will come into our lives that's what the mission says and reminding ourselves of this every day when we say You were the source of all blessing Hashem [Applause] who teaches Torah to his people. When does he teach us Torah? When does God start get up on the standender and start teaching us Torah? >> We're still in the womb. >> That's when he started teaching us exactly the Gumar teaches us. He started teaching us Torah. And when is he teaching us Torah? Right now. Every single time that I am opening up a safe air, God is speaking through me. Right now, God is speaking through me. Hope that doesn't sound arrogant, but that's that's what we're saying. And we are opening ourselves up. Hashem is flowing through me, right? That's why it's a little bit good that I don't really prepare the exact speech I'm going to say. It leaves a little space for Hashem to direct my thoughts to the to say the right things. I hope I hope the right things come out. And that this is a fundamental concept in Judaism because otherwise how do we trust because we believe that anyone who's learning Hashem is guiding the process so that ultimately the right will come out with all the twists and the turns and the but ultimately you know if this text of the Torah is what we're saying then this must be the exact language that we're supposed to be using. It's true that there were different gear 2,000 years ago and that's interesting for us historians. But God's guiding the process whatever the is that's what Hashem wants us to do because God's teaching us right now. Okay. And finally that's why some explain that this refers to was given to is always being given. It's constantly every every discussion God's flowing or anyone who's dominating who's learning to come to the right conclusions by the way just do women have to say >> they do absolutely >> of course extra we learn from this that women also have an obligation to learn Torah shouldn't think that it's a man thing they have all the mitzvah that are practical for them which is a a lot. Okay, just start learning and you'll understand that you can you can learn your whole life practical. Okay, there's no no end and as long as it it's making Torah more meaningful, it's it's it's practical and they have to learn it to make it practical. Well, the only difference is a man as a mitzvah to learn something that has absolutely no ramification for their lives. You're learning ba has never will come up in your life. You still have a mitzvah to learn that tomorrow because you're showing that I'm learning Torah. Just the words of Torah is bringing the into the world is bringing into the world. We need to make time in our life to also learn a little bit impractical Torah. But a woman doesn't have to do that. But a woman certainly is obligated to learn Torah, >> right? By the way, a non-Jew also really is obligated to learn not Torah but what he needs to do in order to be a good person. >> Seventh of what was shame and neighbor teaching right in this week's para all day long they were staging the seven mitzvah how to be honest and how to be ethical and how to support Israel and etc etc. Okay. So so but they don't have Torah at the same level that a Jew has. A Jew, as we're going to learn in a second, his is connected to the Torah. He was taught it in the womb. Okay. And that leads us to the final who chose us from all the nations. And how did he express how he chose us the he could have just you know gave us the basic laws and said okay now go become a pharmacist and like make sure like in a lot of religions you know do a few things but like live your life. No he gives us a Torah and says all day it's yours. is like the Mishna says, "This is my thing that I play with that I love and I'm giving it to you to be my partner in creation to learn the Torah all day with all your free time and get close to me." And that is how he he expressed his choseness for the Jewish people by giving us the Torah by allowing us to develop and develop our own personal and our own personal relationship with the he gave us his Torah which is unbelievable gift. You are the source of blessing. Hashem not to translate notain Torah. What does that mean? He's giving the Torah not he gave the Torah and harina right now right now. That's why you need to we need to always study the Torah of all the generations. We always have to be connected to all the generations of Torah. But certainly in our generation we we can't just paskin based on what was done uh 500 years ago and oh I read a p so I'm going to now pin. We have to be ask the reb of our generation. What do they what do they hold? Look, look and see because God is re-iving the Torah every generation and guiding the leaders of every generation to to to give it over in the right way. I have to find the right or giving it over in the right way in the right in the way which is connected to your soul because every nama every Jewish nama is was was there in harai and has his own special. So you have to find your rabbi who who you connect to and your in Torah, right? By the way, there was a dear asked the Rambam, can I also say? I wasn't there. Was I also chosen? And the Rambam writes, "Of course, because a your father is Abrau and Abrainu taught Torah to all the righteous Gentiles." And secondly, the Ram didn't write this, but others of course, right? every even non-Jew if he was a g he was destined to be a g he was there at harina he was there at harina just like everybody else so he also has this in the Torah just like a regular just like every other Jew in some ways in a higher level so we pray in some ways are even on a higher level we'll get to that but the point is that we are chosen don't let anybody deny it we do have a we're the most we have a special relationship with the the regular is also important. The regular nonju and with that said, maybe I'll close reminds us and Jonathan Sax would reiterate this. We're not chosen to think we're better than anybody else. We're chosen to remind the whole world that they're also chosen that they also have a mission. That's the mission of the Jewish people. We have to sit and learn Torah so that we can bring spirituality into our lives and spirituality into the world to let every one in the world, every every little Eskimo in Alaska know that they also have a relationship with the Kesh that they also have a special mission that only they can do. They have a tikun too. They have a soul force too. And it's our mission to connect to them and let them know. But it's hard to find the time and the day, you know, to to to to connect to everyone. That's why invented YouTube and and ways of of reaching, you know, Eskimos in Alaska, even if they're not being and we also have to know that every time I learn Torah, even if I'm in a med especially here in we, we have to know that we're affecting every Eskimo in Alaska. But also, if you meet someone, it's our obligation to bring him in some way into the fold of Torah. doesn't mean necessarily learning toos with him but we have to find a way of of bringing him into the connection with so that we're that has given us to remind us how special the Torah is and that we're learn here together and please God next time we'll go deeper into the actual words of Hashem of what does of of of the first words that has given us the opportunity to connect the first words of Torah that we're to learn uh every every week. So it's already food for thought. Well, when you're when you're dabbing every day, ask yourself why is the first the way we start off Torah learning? Why this Mishna? Why this Gomorrah? What are what what ideas they have to teach us? should have a beautiful week full of Yeshua and [Music] to sh my [Music] I I Hey, [Music] my birthday. [Applause] [Music] My foreign. [Laughter] [Music] I [Music] never [Music] my name Oh my god. Oh my