Transcript
All right, good morning, we're ready to begin. Welcome back. Post פסח Pesach. All right, פרשת קדושים Parshas Kedoshim, page 656 in the Stone חומש Chumash. Hopefully you have מקראות גדולות Mikraos Gedolos as well. I want to do is do the first few פסוקים psukim, which really are an introduction to the פרשה parsha. We know that this פרשה parsha is replete with מצוות mitzvos. This פרשה parsha has an incredible amount of מצוות mitzvos. It's considered to be a miniature Torah. It's considered to encapsulate the עשרת הדברות Aseres HaDibros, the Torah. Many מדרשים Midrashim describe it as such. So what I want to do is give a little bit of an introduction and an overview about what is the common theme and denominator. Why, and of course that's the challenge of learning פרשת קדושים Parshas Kedoshim. Anyone who's going through פרשת קדושים Parshas Kedoshim, the goal is to go through this incredible list of מצוות mitzvos and to understand what is the theme that unites them all, what drives them all. The Torah is not random. The Torah wouldn't have a random litany of מצוות mitzvos for no reason, but there's something that drives them all and the question is what is it. So before, and then we're going to skip and go into some מצוות mitzvos themselves proper. But let's first begin with an introduction, which is the famous introduction. Anyone who's ever studied פרשת קדושים Parshas Kedoshim knows. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר Vaydaber Hashem el Moshe leimor. God spoke to Moshe saying, דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם daber el kol adas Bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem. Speak to the Jewish people, the עדה eida of the Jewish people, speak to this unit of the Jewish people known as an עדה eida. ואמרת אליהם v'amarta aleihem and say to them, here is your mandate. קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה' אלוקיכם kedoshim tihiyu ki kadosh ani Hashem Elokeichem. Be holy, whatever that means, because I am holy. I, Hashem your God, am holy. So what's going on here? Let's look at רש\"י Rashi. מלמד melamed. First of all, why is this אל כל עדת בני ישראל el kol adas Bnei Yisrael? Some מצוות mitzvos, again, רש\"י's Rashi's sensitivity is the fact that sometimes the Torah, Hashem speaks to, tells Moshe to speak to people individually, speak to the כהנים Kohanim, speak to different groups or segments. Why here is it כל עדת בני ישראל kol adas Bnei Yisrael? It's an unusual thing to bring everyone, to unite them together. So רש\"י Rashi says מלמד שנאמרה פרשה זו בהקהל, לפי שרוב גופי תורה תלויין בה melamed shene'emra parsha zu b'hakhel, l'fi she'rov gufei Torah t'luyim bah. בהקהל b'hakhel. The, this was, this פרשה parsha was recited in הקהל Hakhel. פרשת וילך Parshas Vayelech tells us after at the end of סוכות Sukkos, at the end of the שמיטה shmita cycle, everybody gathers in ירושלים Yerushalayim, אנשים נשים וטף anashim nashim v'taf, men, women and children, and the king reads from a ספר תורה Sefer Torah. So רש\"י Rashi says this was some of the selected reading because רוב גופי תורה תלויין בה rov gufei Torah t'luyim bah. It's quoting from the מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah that רוב גופי ישראל תלויים בה rov gufei Yisrael t'luyim bah, that that you can, if you look at פרשת קדושים Parshas Kedoshim and you were to see the theme that drives this פרשה parsha, it includes most of the principles of Torah. In other words, the מצוות mitzvos that express themselves in this פרשה parsha are an expression of the principles, the core essential principles of יהדות Yahadus, of Torah. So what's the mandate of קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu?So רש\"י Rashi says, הוו פרושים מן העריות ומן העבירה hevu perushim min ha'arayos u'min ha'aveira. So a famous רש\"י Rashi, that קדושה kedusha means holiness. What does holiness mean? Not some Christian notion of holiness, but in Judaism, holiness means to be apart, to be separate, to be distinguished, to be distinct. Not separate and apart, removed altogether from the physical world in the form of asceticism. It doesn't mean to transcend the physical world to be apart, the way in Christianity it means a vow of abstinence or a fasting or a vow of silence. But it means פרושים מן העריות ומן העבירה perushim min ha'arayos u'min ha'aveira. It means you achieve holiness, you achieve sanctity when you are removed from promiscuity. עריות Arayos means promiscuity, ומן העבירה u'min ha'aveira and from sin, שכל מקום שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה אתה מוצא קדושה shekol makom she'ata motzei geder erva ata motzei kedusha. So רש\"י Rashi speaks of קדושה kedusha sanctity specifically in the area of sexual impropriety, specifically in the area of illicit relations, temptation, desire, and promiscuity. And he says it goes hand in hand. When a person, the greatest יצר הרע yetzer hara that we ever have, I spoke about this a few months ago, why אדם וחווה Adam v'Chava, when they, when the יצר הרע yetzer hara goes from being external to them in the form of the נחש nachash, the snake, and they eat of the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas, which we know is not an apple. They eat of the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas, whatever it was, a fig or a citrus fruit or an אתרוג esrog or a grape, whatever all the opinions are. When they eat of the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas, the יצר הרע yetzer hara becomes internal. The very first thing that happens to them is they say, there's a little breeze in here, it's a little cold in here. They realize they're naked. Why is it that they realize they're naked? רב שמשון רפאל הירש Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch says because now that the יצר הרע yetzer hara became internal, the greatest יצר הרע yetzer hara a man has, Freud was not altogether wrong, is the libido, it is the sexual desire that is the greatest יצר הרע yetzer hara that man, I mean both generically and specifically, women may be less so, but in today's day and age maybe even as well, that they, that they struggle with. So that is representative of, we studied this when we talked about in פרשת תזריע Parshas Tazria, the ברית מילה bris mila. Why did Hashem choose specifically that place for the ברית bris? So רש\"י Rashi is saying that if you want to understand something, you look at the two extremes and they're two sides of the same coin, then you understand it. The inverse of holiness is עריות arayos, is promiscuity, is sexual impropriety, is sexual distraction. So that means that holiness is the ability to be disciplined, distinguished, elevated above those desires and in that conduct. And that's how one achieves holiness. So unlike Christianity, it's not that you achieve holiness by being altogether removed from sexuality, a vow of abstinence, celibacy, and so on. In Judaism, פרושים מן העריות ומן העבירה perushim min ha'arayos u'min ha'aveira means to enjoy the physical pleasure that God programmed us to enjoy, but only in the proper context. It means to have it be distinguished means to have it be with the right person, in the right context of marriage, the right time of the month, and so on and so forth. That there is a notion of achieving sanctity in the most base physical experience that man is capable of having, the most base physical desire which can lower us to the status of an animal. We describe some college kids who are acting, like college kids, we describe they're acting like animals. They're acting like animals, right? Girls who make themselves the subject of videos where they're simply showing themselves inappropriately, guys who are pursuing, I once was, I was working with a college kid studying with him, trying to inspire this kid. So this kid tells me his, this is his mission statement in life, you ready? Any morning he doesn't wake up next to a a girl, it was an unsuccessful evening before. That's his mission statement in life. So I said to him, let me ask you a question. I said, I hope I don't offend anybody. I said, let me ask you a question. When you have to go to the bathroom, do you find a tree and lift your leg? So he looked at me, what's the matter with you? I said, well you're an animal. So once you're an animal, why find a bathroom? Why do that in a distinguished way if you're willing to also share your body in an undistinguished way? So the Jewish notion of holiness is not to be removed and apart, ascetic, but it is to engage, be distinguished. And that's רש\"י's Rashi's principle. אישה זונה וחללה לא יקחו כי קדוש הוא לאלוקיו, אני ה' מקדשכם isha zona v'chalala lo yikachu ki kadosh hu l'Elokav, ani Hashem m'kadishchem, ולא יחלל זרעו, אני ה' מקדשו v'lo y'chalel zaro, ani Hashem m'kadsho. קדושים יהיו, אישה זונה וחללה kedoshim yihiyu, isha zona v'chalala. Again, רש\"י Rashi is giving all these examples from throughout the Torah, particularly having to do with a כהן Kohen, but you see always that sanctity and promiscuity go together because promiscuity is the opposite of sanctity. Sanctity is to be disciplined and distinguished over one's sexual desire and impulse. That's holiness. By the way, I mentioned at the סעודת משיח seudas mashiach, the מהר\"ל Maharal has a very beautiful thing. He says, if you want to understand something, you need to see it and its opposite. You can only understand something if you look at the thing and its opposite. If you look at it isolated without its opposite, you'll never really understand it. And the מהר\"ל Maharal there talks about if you want to understand black, you need to appreciate white. You want to understand white, you need to appreciate black. And therefore he's getting into, it's his introduction to understanding גלות galus and גאולה geulah. It's a very beautiful piece by the מהר\"ל Maharal. He says we all anticipate and yearn for the גאולה geulah. We look for and hope for the גאולה geulah. If you want to understand the גאולה geulah, the redemption, you need to appreciate and understand the exile. And it's only when you understand the opposites that you really understand the essence of something. So רש\"י's Rashi's not spelling that out here, but I would say similarly, רש\"י's Rashi's saying if you want to understand קדושה kedusha, you need to understand עריות arayos, you need to understand ערוה erva. קדושה Kedusha is the opposite of ערוה erva.Isn't it possible that that's the reason why it had to say כל עדת kol adas? Because if one person deviates, then the whole people can't be קדושים kedoshim. It requires the totality of, you know, it's a system of people. Good. So let me expand on that. I'll tell you something else that's interesting. The, the what do we call marriage? אירוסין Eirusin. אירוסין Eirusin is the first step of marriage. There's two parts to it, אירוסין eirusin and נישואין nisuin, but overall we call it קידושין kiddushin. קידושין Kiddushin is marriage, from the same word of of קדושה kedusha, of holiness, because marriage is holy, marriage as an institution is something which is sacred. If you've been to a wedding recently, or you recall your own, you'll remember that the rabbi stood under the חופה chuppah and the rabbi made a ברכה bracha. The ברכות אירוסין birchos eirusin, the ברכה bracha for the first stage of this two-step process is called the ברכות אירוסין birchos eirusin. What's the ברכות אירוסין birchos eirusin? ברוך אתה ה' אלוקינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וציוונו על Baruch Ata Hashem Elokeinu Melech ha'olam asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu al, not על קידושין al kiddushin. The מצוה mitzva, if it's a ברכת המצוה birchas ha'mitzva, is getting married a מצוה mitzva? That's a question unto itself. The רמב\"ם Rambam sees getting married as a מצוה mitzva. Others see, for men, correct, others see getting married not as a מצוה mitzva, but it's a הכשר מצוה hechsher mitzvah. It's only, it's a הכנה hachana. You can only have children within the context of marriage. There's a מצוה mitzva to have children, so getting married is provides the framework for having children. So if you have an obligation to have children, by extension you have an obligation to get married. But whether it's a מצוה mitzva proper or not, what ברכה bracha do you say before taking a לולב lulav and אתרוג esrog? אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וציוונו על נטילת לולב asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu al netilas lulav. What ברכה bracha do you make before you light the שבת Shabbos candles? וציונו להדליק נר של שבת v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbos. וציונו לשמוע קול שופר v'tzivanu lishmoa kol shofar. The ברכה bracha always corresponds with the מצוה mitzvah. So what should the mitzvah be if it's a מצוה mitzvah to get married? The rabbi should say, first of all, why is the rabbi saying it? Why isn't the groom saying it if it's, if he's doing the מצוה mitzvah? So the ברכה bracha should be אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וציוונו על הקידושין asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu al hakiddushin. The ברכה bracha for getting married. That's not the ברכה bracha that we say. What do we say instead? וציוונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos. It's kind of, if you think about it, it's really peculiar. Here we are in the romantic setting of a חופה chuppah, open on four sides, surrounded by friends and family. The groom is wearing all white, his קיטל kittel. The bride is wearing all white, her dress. She has a veil reminiscent of רחל Rachel and לאה Leah. There's music playing. Perhaps the parents walk them down with candles, the flame. Such a romantic setting. It's such a beautiful union, the beginning of a Jewish home. And how do we introduce it? God commanded us not to have illicit sexual relations. וציונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos. This lovely couple is here today and they cannot have an affair. וציונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos. They are forbidden to be with other people. ואסר לנו את הארוסות v'asar lanu es ha'arusos, and he forbade us from being with just engaged. והתיר לנו את הנשואות לנו v'hitir lanu es ha'nesuos lanu, he only permitted us to be with those to whom we are married, על ידי חופה וקידושין al yedei chuppah v'kiddushin, through the mechanism of חופה chuppah and קידושין kiddushin. מקדש עמו ישראל על ידי חופה וקידושין m'kadesh amo Yisrael al yedei chuppah v'kiddushin. ברוך אתה ה' Baruch Ata Hashem, blessed is Hashem, who sanctifies his people through חופה chuppah and קידושין kiddushin. It's kind of strange. Why don't we make the ברכה על קידושין bracha al kiddushin? It's a very simple מצוה mitzva. If you're doing a מצוה mitzva, make a ברכה על קידושין bracha al kiddushin. You don't find, for example, שחיטה shechita. You're doing שחיטה shechita, your ברכה bracha is על השחיטה al ha'shechita. You שחט shecht the animal, על השחיטה al ha'shechita. What's going on? So you'll say, and even though שחיטה shechita is just removing a prohibition, so you'll say here also you're just removing a prohibition. This man and this woman are forbidden to be together. Now that you're going to make this ברכה bracha, now that they're going to have an act of קידושין kiddushin, they're permitted. So therefore the ברכה bracha has to be different. So שחיטה shechita, but שחיטה shechita is an example where also, all שחיטה shechita accomplishes when you properly slaughter an animal, you remove the prohibition of אבר מן החי eiver min hachai, of the prohibition of eating a limb from a live animal. So if it's true that that this מצוה mitzvah should be different because this מצוה mitzvah just removes the prohibition rather than actively creates a new circumstance, so then it should be similar to שחיטה shechita. Yet שחיטה shechita, the ברכה bracha is על השחיטה al ha'shechita. You don't say שהתיר לנו את שציוונו על אבר מן החי shehitir lanu es, shetzivanu al eiver min hachai. So what's going on here?So all of the ראשונים rishonim, maybe the reason is because otherwise you're taking for granted. When you say ברוך על הקידושין baruch al hakiddushin, he takes it for granted. You have to tell them why you can't do it. Okay, good. So, so good. So the truth is that the ראשונים rishonim all asked this question. The ריטב\"א Ritva and the רשב\"א Rashba and the רמב\"ן Ramban and רש\"י Rashi and תוספות Tosafos, they all deal with this question. Why is the ברכה bracha, the גמרא Gemara in כתובות Kesubos, first פרק perek of כתובות Kesubos, דף ז' daf zayin. Why, why is the ברכה bracha not על קידושין al kiddushin? The רא\"ש Rosh has a whole answer. The רא\"ש Rosh says because קידושין kiddushin is not a מצוה חיובית mitzvah chiyuvit. There's no positive commandment that you have to go get married. It's a מצוה קיומית mitzvah kiyumit. If you get married, you are in fulfillment of a מצוה mitzvah. So they ask on the רא\"ש Rosh, that's nice, but we have other מצוות קיומיות mitzvos kiyumis, like שחיטה shechita. There's no obligation for me to go slaughter an animal. If I want to eat meat, the only way to do it is if I first slaughter it properly. And yet there the ברכה bracha is על השחיטה al ha'shechita. So again, there's a whole back and forth. I don't want to take our time. We're here to study חומש Chumash. I just want to share with you the interpretation of the גרי\"ז Griz, רב וועלוול סולובייצ'יק Rav Velvel Soloveitchik. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik from ישיבה יוניברסיטי Yeshiva University's uncle. His father was רב משה סולובייצ'יק Rav Moshe Soloveitchik, his brother was רב יצחק סולובייצ'יק Rav Yitzchok Soloveitchik, רב יצחק זאב סולובייצ'יק Rav Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik, otherwise known as רב וועלוול סולובייצ'יק Rav Velvel Soloveitchik, otherwise known as the בריסקער רב Brisker Rav. So the בריסקער רב Brisker Rav says the following. He he gives a למדנות lamdus interpretation, which I don't want to dwell on, where he says that there are two types of עריות arayos in the Torah. There are two types of prohibited illicit relationships. There are those that are absolute and categorical, and there are those that we create for ourselves. So for example, the prohibition for a person to have an intimate relationship with their sister, that's an absolute categorical prohibition. That has nothing to do with the choices you make in your life. Your sister is forbidden to you by definition. But the prohibition you have to be with your wife's sister or to be with another married woman is only the result of that other woman getting married or you're getting married, therefore prohibiting her sister. So therefore the גרי\"ז Griz, רב וועלוול Rav Velvel says that the ברכה bracha, וציונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos, he says that it's corresponding, this ברכה bracha is different than all other ברכות brachos because here we, it's the only time that we ever have an איסור issur that is created through a מצוה mitzvah, a prohibition that is the result of a מצוה mitzvah. So I do the מצוה mitzvah of getting married, it results, וציונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos, know that through this act of marriage, now her sister is off, off limits, thank you. Now she's off limits to other men. She was allowed to marry other men. It's only the result of the מצוה mitzvah of my marrying her which makes her an אשת איש eishes ish, which makes her forbidden to other men. So the רב וועלוול Rav Velvel says the reason the construct of this ברכה bracha, this blessing is different, is because it's the only example we have of a מצוה mitzvah that results in an איסור issur, in a prohibition. Otherwise we have absolute prohibitions of the Torah, and we have מצוות mitzvos that the Torah gives us, but we never other, never find elsewhere a מצוה mitzvah that results in a prohibition. You follow? That's the first thing he says. But it's the second thing he says, which I think is so beautiful, so beautiful that I'm going to use it at a חופה chuppah someday. He says, you know, and this is also a subject of debate, whether non-Jews, from a Torah perspective, do non-Jews have the institution of marriage? If two non-Jews get married, is there a, is there a concept of marriage from a הלכתי halachic standpoint for non-Jews? And if yes, what's the mechanism? It's not חופה וקידושין chuppah v'kiddushin. It's not giving the ring, הרי את מקודשת לי harei at m'kudeshes li. Is there an institution of marriage or is there not an institution of marriage? רב וועלוול סולובייצ'יק Rav Velvel Soloveitchik, the בריסקער רב Brisker Rav takes for granted that there is no institution of marriage. קידושין לא תופסין בגוי kiddushin are not tofsan b'goy. There's no institution of marriage. Or if a Jew tries to have marriage with a non-Jew, we don't recognize that there's a marriage. There would be no need for a גט get, for example. She would not be considered an אשת איש eishes ish, she would not be considered a married woman. Correct, but I'm saying let's say a Jewish woman marries a, a Jewish woman, quote unquote, marries a non-Jewish man, and then another Jewish man sleeps with her. Has he violated אשת איש eishes ish? No, because she, her relationship with that non-Jew is not binding in any meaningful, in any meaningful way. So the בריסקער רב Brisker Rav says וציונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos is קידושין kiddushin. The very notion that God gave us an institution of marriage with parameters, with boundaries, with a sacred status of marriage is קידושין kiddushin. That is holiness. Holiness is found in the institution of marriage. So you don't look at the prohibition of illicit relationships, you don't look at the boundaries created by marriage as being something which is a negative result. It yields a positive result. It's not that the negative result of getting married are now there are all these people that are off limits or all these relationships that are off limits, it yields a positive result, namely of קידושין kiddushin. So as you stand under the חופה chuppah, what you're really saying, וציונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos, ואסר לנו את הארוסות v'asar lanu es ha'arusos, you say, what kind of romance is that? Where's the, this is a couple that's beginning their union, their marriage. What kind of thing is that to say? The answer is it's the perfect thing to say. As we stand under the חופה chuppah, it is a ברכה bracha acknowledging the beauty of the institution of marriage. And I got to tell you, I think we can appreciate this in our generation, perhaps more than most, because I don't know, I was at the gym this morning, talking to my trainer, talking, there's no one there who's been married who, who, who's marriage lasted more than a year. It's like just a disposable relationships that are there and the jokes that come about because of it and the relationships that don't last and the divorce rate that's out there or the infidelity rate that's out there, or the distortions of relationships that are out there, or the whole question of gay marriage, which I'm of course not speaking with insensitivity towards homosexuality, that's a whole other subject, that's a complicated subject, but the very, it's an oxymoron to talk about the concept of being able to have a marriage other than with a with a man and a woman. So the institution of marriage is under attack. It's under attack. And every time we stand under a חופה chuppah and the ברכה bracha that we begin with as we marry this couple is וציונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos, what we're saying is thank you Hashem for the institution of marriage. And in fact, again, I could talk for an hour on this, which I won't, and in fact, according to some ראשונים rishonim, this is actually also a subject of debate between the medieval scholars. But according to some ראשונים rishonim, the רא\"ש Rosh in particular, the ריטב\"א Ritva versus the רמב\"ם Rambam, this ברכה bracha is not a ברכת המצוה birchas ha'mitzva. It's not the ברכה bracha you say on doing a מצוה mitzva. If it were, then the חתן chosson should be saying it. What is it? It's a ברכת השבח birchas ha'shevach. It's a blessing of praise. Sometimes we make a ברכה bracha, when you see a rain, when you hear thunder, when you see lightning, you make a ברכה bracha. That's not a ברכה bracha of a מצוה mitzva. There's no מצוה mitzva you're doing by seeing thunder, hearing lightning. That's a ברכה bracha of praise, ברכת השבח birchas ha'shevach. So according to these other ראשונים rishonim, this is a ברכה bracha not of a מצוה mitzva. This is a ברכה bracha, the מסדר קידושין mesader kiddushin, the rabbi is representing not the groom, to fulfill his obligation of a מצוה mitzva, he's representing all those assembled because they are watching this couple get married, and they are as these collectively saying a ברכה bracha, וציונו על העריות v'tzivanu al ha'arayos. This is קידושין kiddushin. Sanctity, marriage is boundaries. Marriage is a sacred institution. That means other things are off limits. Marriage means that there is a union which is unique between these two, which is not to be shared with anyone else. And that's the ברכה bracha. There's a lot of נפקא מינות nafka minas, by the way, a lot of practical differences between the two opinions. Is the ברכה bracha a ברכה bracha on a מצוה mitzva and it's really the groom's blessing, or is it a ברכת השבח birchas ha'shevach, it's really a blessing of those who are spectators and he's representing everyone there? I'll give you two נפקא מינות nafka minas, two practical differences. One is, who gets to choose who's the מסדר קידושין mesader kiddushin? The groom. Oh, so where'd that custom develop? Because according to many, it's the ברכה bracha for a מצוה mitzva. So the rabbi making this blessing is really doing it on behalf, why doesn't the groom do it himself? Because we don't want to embarrass grooms who can't say the blessing. So therefore we institutionalized that always the rabbi will do it. It's like ביכורים bikkurim. The משנה Mishna says that when people would bring their first fruit to Jerusalem, there was a whole וידוי vidui, a confession that had to be recited. So the משנה Mishna describes that there was a big plaque in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. But ultimately it was recited on their behalf so as not to embarrass anyone who would bring their fruit. They wouldn't want to bring their fruit because they'd be embarrassed, they didn't know how to read or they couldn't recite the the proper liturgy, the text. So similarly here, for the רמב\"ם's Rambam's position that this is the ברכה bracha on a מצוה mitzva, so why is there a מסדר קידושין mesader kiddushin? He's fulfilling it on behalf of the groom. So, so then the groom gets to choose the rabbi. But if you hold it's a ברכת השבח birchas ha'shevach, then it's really on behalf of the spectators. So traditionally, who was paying for those spectators to be there? The bride's family. And that's the tradition. Right. Now it's much more 50/50, which I'm very grateful for as a father of six girls. So, so if that were the case, then it would be the bride's family who gets to choose the rabbi. I'll give you a second נפקא מינה nafka mina, a second practical difference, and this is a big question in הלכה halacha. What if the groom is deaf and he can't hear the ברכה bracha? Does the rabbi recite it anyway? So if the blessing is really on behalf of the groom, it's his מצוה mitzvah, then you wouldn't recite the blessing, because if the groom can't hear it, he can't answer אמן amen to it, he's exempt from it. If it's on behalf of the audience, they're ברכת השבח birchas ha'shevach, because they are observing a union, an institution of marriage, then it would be recited anyway. A third practical consequence is the bride. And here's a big question. You know we make the ברכה bracha בורא פרי הגפן borei pri hagafen before you make this blessing אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וציוונו על העריות asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu al ha'arayos. So if is she, is this blessing on her behalf as well? So if the blessing is on her behalf as well, she can answer אמן amen to it, and it will not be considered a הפסק hefsek or break to the בורא פרי הגפן borei pri hagafen which she's about to drink the wine from. But if she's not obligated in that blessing, then her answering אמן amen to it will be a הפסק hefsek, will be a break, and she then can't drink that wine or grape juice because now there's been a break. So in fact, there is a whole school that the rabbi will tell the bride under the חופה chuppah, don't answer אמן amen. Just answer אמן amen to בורא פרי הגפן borei pri hagafen, don't answer אמן amen to the second blessing, so that she can drink the wine. And similarly with the groom, to tell the groom, if you believe that the rabbi is saying the blessing on behalf of the groom, have in mind to be יוצא yotzei with me. I'm saying this blessing on your behalf. There's a lot that goes, you know, into the חופה chuppah when everyone's whispering and you don't really know what's going on. So there's a lot of these, a lot of these are stringencies and חומרות chumras. Why am I bringing all this up? I happen to be learning about this recently and found it fascinating, so I always love an opportunity to share something that I'm learning. But I bring it up because I think it it really reinforces רש\"י Rashi. רש\"י's Rashi's saying that these are two sides of a coin. Sanctity is the opposite of promiscuity. When a person has no boundaries, when that college kid says any morning when I don't wake up next to a girl is an unsuccessful evening before, that is the, that's the opposite of sanctity. That's the opposite of holiness. Holiness is distinction. It's leading a life of being distinguished. It's being elevated. It's being, it's enjoying the world but making it apart and holy and separate by giving it, by giving it distinction. That's רש\"י's Rashi's opinion. Yes.Um, trying to understand about this ברכה bracha. When we say בורא פרי הגפן borei pri hagafen and we say המוציא לחם מן הארץ hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz, we're really praising Hashem for creating these things, but we're not, we're still not getting to the thing about us eating them. Do you know what I'm saying? But it's not a מצוה mitzva. And those blessings also, if those blessings were a מצוה mitzva, it would be על אכילת מצה al achilas matzah. For example, when you're obligated to eat מצה matzah, there's a מצוה mitzva to eat מצה matzah, על אכילת מצה al achilas matzah. There's no obligation for me to go have lunch. But when I'm eating lunch, it's another category called the ברכות הנהנין birchas ha'nehenin. I'm not allowed to benefit from this world without. I can't go into Publix and take food out without paying. Well, I also can't take God's food, he's the real owner, owns the whole world, without paying. The currency with which I pay God are my words of thanks. So that's a ברכת הדעה birchas ha'da'a. It's a ברכות הנהנין birchas ha'nehenin. It's a blessing of deriving benefit. Same thing is true בורא מיני בשמים borei minei v'samim. People think that that's a blessing that's only for Saturday night, הבדלה havdalah. No, it's when. The truth is anytime that you're going to enjoy a fragrance within certain parameters, you have to make that blessing. So it's also a ברכות הנהנין birchas ha'nehenin. If I'm going to benefit from this world, how can I benefit without making a blessing beforehand? Another idea of a ברכת השבח birchas ha'shevach, by the way, there's an obligation to make a ברכת השבח birchas ha'shevach that is going to end soon. It's called ברכת האילנות birchas ha'ilanos. When you see a fruit tree that is blossoming, you have to make a blessing in the month of ניסן Nisan. We're running out of time. The truth is even if you miss it in ניסן Nisan, you can still do it in אייר Iyar if you see a blossoming, which means two flower, the flowers that precede the fruit. So you find a fruit tree, you make this blessing. That's a ברכת השבח birchas ha'shevach. You're you're praising and acknowledging God. So all of this is רש\"י's Rashi's opinion. But according to this רש\"י's Rashi's opinion, it doesn't really tell you why this is a preface to the rest of this פרשה parsha. The rest of this פרשה parsha, which is רוב גופי תורה תלויין בה rov gufei Torah t'luyim bah, the rest of this פרשה parsha, which is a huge litany of מצוות mitzvos, what's its unifying theme based on this definition of holiness? But the רמב\"ן Ramban gives a different definition of holiness. If you look at the רמב\"ן Ramban, the רמב\"ן Ramban says קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu. He quotes רש\"י Rashi first, הוו פרושים מן העריות ומן העבירה שכל מקום שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה אתה מוצא קדושה לשון רש\"י hevu perushim min ha'arayos u'min ha'aveira, she'kol makom she'ata motzei geder erva, ata motzei kedusha, lashon Rashi. ובתורת כהנים ראיתי סתם פרושים תהיו uv'Soras Kohanim raisi stam, perushim tihiyu. The רמב\"ן Ramban says, I found in the Midrash that it defines holiness as truth, as being separate and apart, but not only limited to promiscuity, to sexuality. וכן שנו שם וקדשתם והייתם קדושים כי קדוש אני כשם שאני קדוש כך אתם תהיו קדושים כשם שאני פרוש כן אתם תהיו פרושים v'chein shanu sham, v'hiskadashtem v'hiyisem kedoshim ki kadosh ani, k'shem she'ani kadosh kach atem tihiyu kedoshim, k'shem she'ani parush kein atem tihiyu perushim. That God, what's the comparison that we can achieve holiness like God is holy? Just like God is disciplined, just like God doesn't give into urges and impulse, just like God is elevated, so too must we be. ולפי דעתי אין הפרישות הזו לפרוש מן העריות כדברי הרב, אלא הפרישות היא המוזכרת בכל מקום בתלמוד שבעליה נקראים פרושים v'lfi daati ein haprishus hazu lifrosh min ha'arayos k'divrei ha'rav, ela haprishus hi hamuzkeres b'chol makom b'Talmud she'baaleha nikra'im perushim. This is a category that we have, מסילת ישרים Mesillas Yesharim gets up to it, it's one of the later stages in the path of the just, called פרושים perushim. פרושים Perushim is the notion of being apart, is living without. והעניין כי התורה הזכירה בעריות ובמאכלות אסורות והתירה הביאה איש באשתו ואכילת בשר ויין v'ha'inyan ki ha'Torah hizkira b'arayos u'v'maachalos asuros v'hitira habiah ish b'ishto v'achilas basar v'yayin. He says the Torah gives us parameters and rules to live by. So the Torah says, here are foods you can eat. There's a lot of delicacies, a lot of foods you could eat. And the Torah permits a man and a wife, a husband and a wife to be together. אם כן ימצא בעל תאוה מקום להיות שטוף בזימת אשתו או נשותיו הרבות ולהיות בסובאי יין בזוללי בשר למו וידבר כרצונו בכל הנבלות שלא הוזכר איסור זה בתורה ויהיה נבל ברשות התורה im kein yimtza ba'al ta'avah makom lihyos shatuf b'zimas ishto o noshav harbos, v'lihyos b'sov'ei yayin b'zolelei basar lamo, v'yidaber k'ritzono b'chol ha'nevalos shelo huzkar isur zeh baTorah, v'yihye naval birshus haTorah. The רמב\"ן Ramban coins a famous famous phrase here, which is the רמב\"ן Ramban redefines קדושה kedusha. He says, you know what קדושה kedusha is? The Torah and this פרשה parsha in particular are going to try to cover many of the specific areas of life. The Torah governs our conduct. Torah tells us how to be disciplined, how to be elevated, how to transcend the physical limitations and desires and impulses of this world. Torah gives us that definition. Here's how to wake up in the morning, here's how to go to the bathroom, here's the relationship, here's a relationship with time, here's what you can eat, here's what you can look at, here's what you can say, here's what you can listen to. But guess what? There's a lot of things that fall in between. There's an incredible amount of gray area. Most of your day will be made up with gray area. And if a person wanted to, says the רמב\"ן Ramban, they could abuse the system. They could find legal loopholes within the system and be violating the spirit of the law constantly. So I ask you, says the רמב\"ן Ramban. If a guy sits on his couch and stuffs his face with red meat and drinks wine all day and is a glutton, and the guy is sleeping with his wife five times a day, and it's all he thinks about and talks about and is, is that guy violating any Torah laws? So before the רמב\"ן's Ramban's comment, the answer was no. He's eating kosher food, he made a blessing before and after, he's with his wife and she's not a נידה nidda at the time and it's his wife to whom he's married, and so on and so forth. So technically he's not violating any rules. The רמב\"ן Ramban comes to introduce us and say, absolutely he's violating a Torah prohibition. And you know what the Torah prohibition is? Don't be a low life. Don't be a נבל ברשות התורה naval birshus haTorah. A מנוול meneval, a נבל navel means a disgusting, degraded, low-life, reject, whatever other synonyms you can come up with. Don't be a מנוול meneval. A מנוול meneval is a, is a disgusting, despicable person. Don't be a מנוול meneval. ברשות התורה birshus haTorah, within the framework of the Torah. You're eating kosher food, drinking kosher wine, making a ברכה bracha before and after. But if you sit on your couch and stuff your face all day and you're obese and you're burping and you're, you're a מנוול meneval, then you're a lowlife. And so you'll say, where's it, where does it say in the Torah I can't be a lowlife? I can't be a boor? So the רמב\"ן Ramban says it says it, קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu. קדושים תהיו Kedoshim tihiyu is an umbrella mandate that says when you're leading your life and you encounter what you think is gray area, when you're leading your life and you're doing things that you feel technically fall within the legal parameters, yes, says, but says the רמב\"ן Ramban, but if you're a lowlife as a result, if you're a boor, you're also violating a Torah prohibition of קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu. You're a boor. And the Torah said, don't be a boor. It said be holy, be sanctified, be sacred. לפיכך בא הכתוב אחרי שפירט האיסורים שאסר אותם לגמרי וציווה בדבר כללי שנהיה פרושים l'ficha ba hakasuv acharei sheperat ha'isurim she'asar osam l'gamrei v'tziva b'davar klali shenihye perushim. פרושים מן המותרות perushim min hamutaros. So the Torah now, so the Ramban is telling you, that's what the flow of this parsha. The Torah is giving you all the details throughout this parsha. Here's how to be honest with weights and measures, here's how to pay your workers, here's how to take care of the poor, here's how to observe Shabbos, here's how to keep this, here's how to keep that. Here are all the details. But it's as if the Torah says, I want you to know, before I get into the details, don't get so lost in the details that you don't see the forest for the trees. Before I give you all the details, it's like, it's like in accounting, can be, you know, להבדיל l'havdil.If the accountant starts out reading the book to say, I'm going to read the book so that I know all the rules so that I can do everything in between the rules. Even though it'll be bending the rules and even though it'll require creative accounting and even though it's going to be legal loopholes. If his intent in reading the book is to know how he can manipulate the book, then don't read the book. The Ramban says the parsha is introduced, קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu. כי קדוש אני השם אלקיכם ki kadosh ani Hashem Elokeichem. You, I'm about to give you a group of laws. Recognize that the goal of those laws is to elevate you. And if you think that you're going to read the laws and try to find the legal loopholes in between them, then then you're violating another law, which is קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu. There's the unwritten law which is to keep the spirit of the law. In other words, with any legal system, there's the letter of the law and there's the spirit of the law. קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu means don't get lost in the letter of the law. Focus on and care about the spirit of the law as well. That's the Ramban. That's the Ramban. Yes. What is he referring to?Rashi, he's talking about Rashi. Look at the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, it's just the last word of introduction I want to give. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, פרט parat, you see where the כלי יקר Kli Yakar is? פסוק ב' pasuk beis. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, פרט כל עדה כי אין עדה פחות מעשרה ואין דבר שבקדושה פחות מעשרה parat kol edah ki ein edah pachos me'asara ve'ein davar shebekedusha pachos me'asara. כלי יקר Kli Yakar says it's a very simple association between why Moshe gathered everybody. And עדה edah, we learn actually the number of a minyan. How many make up a minyan, a quorum? Ten. Ten. Where do we get that from? Because God calls the מרגלים meraglim, the spies, העדה הרעה הזאת ha'edah hara'ah hazos, this evil gathering, group. And how many were in it? Ten. There were twelve but you subtract יהושע וכלב Yehoshua v'Calev because they weren't wicked, you're left with ten. When God said עדה edah, he clearly meant ten. So you see that a community is made of ten. And we know the rule is אין קדושה, דבר שבקדושה פחות מעשרה ein kedusha, davar shebekedusha pachos me'asara. What's an example of a דבר שבקדושה davar shebekedusha? קדיש, קדושה, ברכו, קריאת התורה Kaddish, Kedusha, Borchu, Krias HaTorah. These things which are are sacred liturgy require a minyan to do it.So, על כן אמר דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל, כל עדה ועדה שהיו קדושים, על ידי שהם מותרים בכל דבר שבקדושה שהשם מקדש שמו יתברך, זה שנאמר כי קדוש אני Al ken amar daber el kol adas Bnei Yisrael, kol edah v'edah shehiyu kedoshim, al yedei shehem mutarim b'chol davar shebekedusha she'Hashem mekadesh shmo yisborach, zeh shene'emar ki kadosh ani. That's the connection, that's why he says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, Moshe specifically brought them together in an עדה edah because he was teaching about קדושה kedusha. Sanctity requires a community, that's why he gathered them. Which is why by the way, you know you can't say שבע ברכות sheva brachos unless you have a minyan. A minyan. This debate whether the ברכת אירוסין birkas erusin, that bracha, ציוונו על העריות tzivanu al ha'arayos, also requires a minyan or not. We say it's best to have a minyan but if you don't have a minyan you can still do that stage of the marriage. But it makes sense because if if that's, it's קדושין kedushin, if that's a דבר שבקדושה davar shebekedusha, if that union represents is is emblematic of what holiness and sanctity are, then it makes sense that that that is part and parcel that always goes hand in hand with the notion of community. הקדים לפרשה זו ענין קדושת ישראל hikdim l'parsha zu inyan kedushas Yisrael. So the כלי יקר Kli Yakar says the Torah prefaces the notion of the Jewish sanctity to this parsha. כמו שנאמר קודם מתן תורה ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש k'mo shene'emar kodem Matan Torah, v'atem tihiyu li mamleches kohanim v'goy kadosh. כך פרשה זו נרמזו כל עשרת הדברות, כדאמרי בלויקרא רבה, על כן הקדים הקדושה לחייב ולזרז על המצות, כלומר שעל ידיהם יזכו למעלת הקדושה kach parsha zu nirmezu kol aseres hadibros, k'da'amri b'Vayikra Rabba, al kein hikdim hakedusha l'chayev u'l'zarez al hamitzvos, klomar she'al yedeihem yizku l'maalas hakedusha. יעטומה שהקדושה נעלסת ותורסא עלי, כי קדוש אני, הקטן בעיניך מדמה עצמך להיות כביכול ya'atuma shehakedusha ne'eleses v'torisa alai, ki kadosh ani, hakatan b'einecha medame atzmecha lihiyos k'viyachol. It's a beautiful כלי יקר Kli Yakar.This parsha is again, a replete long list of mitzvos. So lest the person read this list and go, oy, woe is me, what a burden. Look at all these things I can't do. Look at this list that's designed to make me so restrictive and constrictive, it's so limiting, it requires me to give up so much. What a miserable life. No, says the Ramban, says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. God introduces this parsha and its mitzvos to remind you. You know why I'm giving you all of this? Not to cause you to sacrifice for sacrifice sake. Not to take away pleasure and enjoyment. Not to create misery for you and create a burden. Not because I'm the master who's telling you, I said so. You know why each of these mitzvos you have them? They are designed to refine you into a sacred person leading a meaningful and purposeful life. Now study them. In other words, it is an introduction to the mitzvos to say, here is your challenge. Every one of these mitzvos dissect it, analyze it, study it, delve into it because every one of them is there to refine you into a more sacred, meaningful life. Not there to make you give up. It's not there to make you sacrifice. It's not there because I just felt like giving it to you randomly, so that you'll be obedient to me. All of it is there to refine you. Just like מתן תורה Matan Torah, says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, just like הר סיני Har Sinai when God gave the Torah, he introduced it by reminding us you are a ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש mamleches kohanim v'goy kadosh. You are to be a nation of priests, a sacred people. What does it mean to be a nation of priests by the way? גוי קדוש goy kadosh? ממלכת כהנים mamleches kohanim, a nation of priests. What's the role of a priest? A priest is a spiritual leader, a priest is a spiritual role model, a priest is a spiritual teacher and mentor to the nation. So the Jewish people are to the world community what the priests are to any particular nation. We are a collective nation of priests to humanity, meaning we are to teach the world. And the mitzvos are our curriculum, they're our lesson plans. Go teach the world how to relate to time. Teach the world how to relate to food. Teach the world how to relate to sexuality. Teach the world how to relate to relationships. Teach the world how to relate to me, says God. All of mitzvos are the framework of how to mentor and teach the world. That's what it means we are a ממלכת כהנים mamleches kohanim. We are a nation of priests to the religion of the world. Just like priests are the mentors to that particular religion. We, whether you're a kohen or not, every Jew is a kohen. Within the Jewish people, we have a differentiation between kohen, levi, and Yisrael. But within humanity, the Jewish people are the kohanim, we are the priests. So just like at הר סיני Har Sinai, God introduces receiving the Torah by saying, you know why this you have this Torah? Because this is what defines you as a nation of priests. These are your lesson plans, go teach the world. So so to now, if parshas קדושים Kedoshim is a miniature microcosm of Har Sinai, it's introduced with קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu. Let me remind you why you have these mitzvos, because they are to refine you. And you think being holy is a small thing? You think it's insignificant? You think it's easy and it's petty? כי קדוש אני ki kadosh ani. God says I'm holy. It's good enough for me, it's good enough for you to work on. It's good enough for you to work on. Okay? So that's uh, that's the כלי יקר Kli Yakar.All of this is by way of introduction. How much time do we have? Fifteen minutes. Few minutes left. Okay. What? All of this was by way of introduction. So I thought we could look at a few of the mitzvos. I think they're interesting. So go to פסוק י\"ג pasuk yud gimmel. פרק י\"ט perek yud tes, chapter 19 verse 13. It appears on page 660 in the Stone חומש Chumash. Says the Torah, לא תעשוק את רעך ולא תגזול לא תלין פעולת שכיר אתך עד בקר lo sa'ashok es re'echa v'lo sigzol, lo salin pe'ulas sachir itcha ad boker. This is an incredible, I find it to be an incredible pasuk. Such a beautiful mitzvah. This is the Torah, by the way, part of the beauty of parshas Kedoshim, it really is a Torah in miniature, is that there's an amazing blend of מצוות בין אדם למקום ומצוות בין אדם לחברו mitzvos bein adam laMakom u'mitzvos bein adam l'chavero. An amazing blend of commandments between man and God and commandments between man and man. So this is one of those incredible social commandments that says לא תעשוק את רעך lo sa'ashok es re'echa. You cannot oppress your brother, your friend. ולא תגזול v'lo sigzol, nor can you steal. What does it mean you can't oppress? How is that defined? You can't cheat your fellow. What would be cheating him? לא תלין פעולת שכיר אתך עד בקר lo salin pe'ulas sachir itcha ad boker. You know what would be stealing? If you don't pay him his wages when they're due. If you delay payment. This is the level of morality that the Torah demands of us. And it's so interesting because the Torah calls it ולא תגזול v'lo sigzol. Don't cheat him and don't steal. So I would have thought what's stealing? Stealing is if I take something of yours, I've stolen. If I go into your house and remove something that belongs to you, I've stolen. If I take your wallet, I've taken something that belongs to you. Take your ring, I've taken something that belongs to you. But I have something of mine that you've earned. So if I pay you a little later, I haven't stolen, I just haven't paid you yet. Right? I think that secular notion would say that's not stealing. That's just not having paid. The Torah says that's stealing. Because once you've worked and earned it, now it's yours. And once you've worked and earned it and it's yours, my holding onto it is the equivalent of my having gone into your house and stolen it. It's an incredible imagery. If you've worked, if my housekeeper, this is, you know, comes up all the time. Actually in halacha you have this all the time. You have a babysitter, then you realize you don't have cash. You say, is it okay if I pay you tomorrow or next time? So can they be מוחל moichel, can they forgive it? So if they forgive it, have you violated the prohibition? But the whole idea that you say I don't have cash, I'm paying you next time. That's a biblical prohibition. That's the equivalent of you went to your babysitter's house and you stole their iPod. That's stealing. That's no less than stealing, says the Torah. That's לשון הרע lashon hara? לשון הרע lashon hara is different. We'll get to it actually in a second. But that's stealing. But if she works for you every single day, let's say. And she works for you on יום טוב Yom Tov, you can't pay her on יום טוב Yom Tov. And she knows in advance that she's not getting paid. Okay so that's different because the Torah, the Torah has, the Torah has different types of employee relationships. There are what's called a שכיר יום sachir yom which is a daily worker. They work on a wage and they're paid every day. And then you have contract workers who are given a more extended contract. They're working a salary. So, you know, if you work out with your worker a payment schedule, of course that's legitimate. But it means to honor the schedule. So if before יו\"ט Yom Tov they understand you can't pay on יו\"ט Yom Tov, you're either paying in advance or you're paying later, you're paying on schedule. If you have a housekeeper that comes twice a week but you only pay them at the end of the week, you're allowed to pay on schedule. But to violate the schedule, so again what I love is the contrast to a secular notion. The secular notion would be I haven't stolen, I just didn't pay yet, I got to get to paying. By the way there's a whole question in הלכה halacha, hold on one second, can you pay with a check? If you have a babysitter you come back at 10 o'clock that night from your shul dinner and and you want to pay with a check. So have you violated the מצוה mitzvah? There's no bank open. Does that check have any value when you can't cash it? They can't cash it until the next morning. Torah prohibition is לא תלין פעולת שכיר אתך עד בקר lo salin pe'ulas sachir itcha ad boker. Right? You can't, a day worker you have the whole night to pay them. You can't, a night worker you have the next day to pay them. So if the bank is closed until the morning, and I give a check at 10 o'clock at night, that check is worthless to them. Not if you can go to the ATM. What? ATM, you can go to an ATM. Yeah, but it won't show in their account. She can't use money based on that check until it clears. So you can't pay a check? So פוסקים poskim say you can, because the truth is a check in our time does have a cash value because people endorse checks and exchange them and you can use a check with a cash value. But but it's an interesting question. My point is there's a whole area of הלכה halacha that deals with this question about paying workers. And that that area of הלכה halacha, this is the beauty of Judaism, is as sacred, is on the same parsha of קדושים Kedoshim as keep שבת Shabbos. The whole area of הלכה halacha that says, can you tell a babysitter, I'm sorry I don't have cash, can I pay you next time? Can you pay them with a check even after a bank is closed? Can you, that whole area of הלכה halacha is as contributes to holiness as much as keeping Shabbos and keeping kosher. That's a beautiful thing about Judaism. Yeah, handshake. What about ישיבות yeshivas that don't pay their teachers on time? That is, that is an absolute scandal. It's scandalous. It's scandalous. But the teachers understand that. They don't understand. And I could tell you how they don't understand, because I've got some of those teachers who come and need an advance from the discretionary fund for פסח Pesach because they don't have money to buy the food for יו\"ט Yom Tov. Because they haven't... They understand means that they're part of a system which has become so desensitized that they don't realize that it's scandalous. But they don't agree to it. They're in a negative cash flow and they're borrowing from parents and from the Rav. It is, it is nothing short of scandalous. And the fact that תורה Torah institutions who pride themselves on Torah could be complacent in violating a Torah prohibition is is is nothing short to me of scandalous. And the parents are also for the same thing. They employ a teacher in the חיידר cheder and what happens, they don't pay it. Right. A parent who is neglecting tuition is essentially also not paying the teachers, a hundred percent. Look at the מפרשים meforshim a little bit here. The אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says לא תעשוק את רעך בסתר ולא תגזול בחילה, בגלוי, בחזקה lo sa'ashok es re'echa b'seser, v'lo sigzol b'chila, b'giluy, b'chazaka, or publicly with strength. That's the, the Ibn Ezra's comment. Look at the, the אור החיים Or HaChaim has a very interesting comment here. The אור החיים Or HaChaim relates this not only to the literal sense as we were just describing about workers, the אור החיים Or HaChaim creates it as a metaphor for us and Hashem. הקבלה ליושב תהילות שציווה השם על דבר הנעשה בין אדם לחברו בלא ידעתו hakavana liyoshev tehilos shetziva Hashem al davar hana'ase bein adam l'chavero b'lo yedi'aso. אל יאמר אדם שלא הקפידה תורה אלא בדרך גניבה, אבל גזילה בפרהסיא כשיידע אדם בהם אינו אזהרה Al yomar adam shelo hikpida Torah ela b'derech g'neva, aval gezela b'farhesya k'sheyeda adam bahem eino azhara. A person might think, ah, stealing means when you take something from someone without their knowledge. That's stealing. And that, that I would never do. But when I take something from someone and they know about it, that's okay, they really forgive me, it's okay. So that's what the Torah is coming to say, no, even if they know about it, i.e., you're obligated to pay them and you don't pay them, they know about it, that's no different than stealing. לזה חזר וציווה גם בפרהסיא, וזה ענין שאמר ולא תגזול בגלוי l'ze chazar v'tziva gam b'farhesya, v'ze inyan she'amar v'lo sigzol b'giluy. בפרהסיא, אלא אפילו יכבש ממון שכיר שכר יומו עליו אסור b'farhesya, ela afilu yikbosh mamon sachir sachar yomo alav asur. Delaying payment is no different than going into their wallet and taking out their money and stealing from them. Why does it say לא תעשוק את רעך lo sa'ashok es re'echa? You're not allowed to cheat... should just said don't cheat. But it specifically says you shall not cheat your fellow. רעך re'echa means your friend, רע rea, your friend. נתכוון לשלול טענת היצר הרע ואמתלאותיו, שיאמר כי אדם יראה בממונו ויאמר כרע כאח לו, בינו לבין עצמו ימחול לו ולא יקפיד עליו הנשם niskaven lishlol ta'anas ha'yetzer hara v'amtl'osav, sheyomar ki adam yareh b'mamono v'yomar k'rea k'ach lo, beino l'vein atzmo yimchol lo v'lo yakpid alav hanisham. You know why the Torah says that? Because the Torah is smart. The Torah knows the way we're made up. Nah, I would never steal from this babysitter. I love her like a daughter. She's my neighbor. I love her. I would never steal from her. I just don't have the cash to pay right now, and I'll pay her next week. That's not stealing. She's my friend. She's רעך re'echa. I love her. That's what the Torah warrants it says. Just when you are likely to say, you're predisposed to say, I love her, I love her like a friend, she's like a daughter, I'm not stealing. The Torah says, it's also stealing when it's your friend. In fact, maybe it's more stealing because when it's your friend, you'll take even greater advantage. If it's a stranger, you'd never take advantage. But because it's your friend and you have such a casual relationship with the person, you're even more likely to take advantage. So no, לא תעשוק את רעך, ולא תגזול lo sa'ashok es re'echa, v'lo sigzol. That's stealing. That's stealing. ועל דרך רמז v'al derech remez, continues the אור החיים Or HaChaim. ירמוז על דרך מה שדרשו חז\"ל בפסוק גוזל אביו ואמו, זה הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה עד כאן yirmoz al derech ma she'darshu chazal b'pasuk gozel aviv v'imo, zeh hanehene min ha'olam hazeh b'lo bracha ad kan. So the the pasuk in במשלי b'Mishlei says, stealing from your father and mother. So the Medrash says, that what does it mean stealing from father and mother? It means stealing from God. What does it mean to steal from God? How do you steal from God? How do you cheat God? This is what we were just talking about before. When you benefit from His world without paying it. When you walk out of Publix and shoplift, that's shoplifting. Well, when you eat food and you don't say thank you to God, you've shoplifted his food. ומה שאמר הכתוב כאן לא תעשוק את רעך, זה הקדוש ברוך הוא, דכתיב רעך ורע אביך, שלא יגזול ברכות שהוא חייב לברך על מה שנהנה בעולם הזה u'mah she'amar hakasuv kan lo sa'ashok es re'echa, zeh haKadosh Baruch Hu, d'chsiv re'acha v're'a avicha, shelo yigzol brachos shehu chayav l'varech al mah sheneheneh ba'olam hazeh. So when you delay thanking God, when you owe him a ברכה bracha and you don't pay it, now you've cheated from God. ואמרו ולא תגזול, רמז שגם בעושק זה יש גזילה לאחרים, שמה שרמזו בפסוק גוזל אביו ואמו ודרשו אביו זה הקדוש ברוך הוא, אמו זו כנסת ישראל, כי כשאדם מונע במצוה הצריכה עשות גורם רע גם לכלל ישראל v'amru v'lo sigzol, remez shegam b'oshek zeh yesh gezela l'acherim, shumah sheramzu b'pasuk gozel aviv v'imo v'darshu aviv zeh haKadosh Baruch Hu, imo zu Knesses Yisrael, ki k'sheadam monea b'mitzvah hatzricha asaos gorem ra gam l'klal Yisrael. So that's what he says. When you cheat God, how do you cheat God? By enjoying his world without saying thank you. You not only hurt him, you hurt the rest of the people, because you've distorted the balance of the world. And God will not only hold you accountable, but he holds the community accountable. ואמרו לא תלין v'amru lo salin. And what does it mean then when it says that you can't withdraw, withhold wages to a worker? שצריך לשלם לו חוקו יום ביומו, על דרך אומרם שאתה לוה ביום ופורע בלילה, ומה שרמז כאן לא תלין פעולת שכיר אתך, פירש תיבת אתך חוזרת לשכיר, שרוח השם אשר נתן באדם כי שכיר כי תושב, ושכרו הוא עשות מצות השם shetzarich l'shalem lo chuko yom b'yomo, al derech omram she'ata loveh b'yom u'forea b'laila, u'mah sheramaz kan lo salin pe'ulas sachir itcha, peiresh teivas itcha chozeres l'sachir, she'ruach Hashem asher nasan b'adam ki sachir ki soshav, u'schoro hu asaos mitzvos Hashem. We are Hashem's laborers. He gave us our neshamos and we owe him to carry out his will, to carry out his mitzvos, to do his, to do his work. Why does he hold community accountable because you don't give ברכות brachos? That's a good question. That, that's, leave that question for another time. It's a, it's a difficult question. It's a difficult question. But collective responsibility is a Jewish concept, actually. We do have a Jewish concept. You don't have any control of what you do. Correct, but you do have control of what I do because we, that's, that's what it means כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה kol Yisrael areivim zeh lazeh. It means that we are guarantors of one another. We are responsible for one another. And it means that if you're failing, then I'm failing because I failed to inspire you to do the right thing. So there's a notion of collective accountability, because if someone's doing something, I can't just wipe my hands and say, look, I didn't do it, it's not my problem. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar gives that beautiful image. It's actually I think in this parsha. הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך hocheach tochiach es amisecha. I believe there's a כלי יקר Kli Yakar here. Yeah. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar in this parsha. Yeah, the כלי יקר Kli Yakar says, משל, משלו בזה, מי שכודח בספינה תחתיו, צעקו עליו כל אשר בספינה, מה זה אתה עושה mashal, mashlu b'zeh, mi shekodeach b'sfina tachtav, tza'aku alav kol asher b'sfina, mah zeh ata oseh. You're on the Chabad house cruise with the Scotch listers. And you take out your drill and you start drilling in the bottom of the boat. What's everyone on the boat going to do? You're going to start screaming. You're going to start screaming at you. Hey, moron, what are you doing? You're going to kill us all. You're going to sink this boat. השיב להם heishiv lahem. So the guy says, what do you mean? I'm in my cabin. הלא תחתי אני קודח halo tachtai ani kodeach. That's my cabin, I rented this cabin. You can't tell me what to do in my cabin. I paid for this cabin. And I want to drill a hole in the floor of my cabin and you have no right to tell me what to do. So אמרו לו amru lo, they're all going to say to him, אם יכניסו המים תחתיך אז תטבע הספינה מכל אשר בתוכה im yaknisu hamayim tachtecha az titba hasfina mikol asher b'socha. What are you talking about? You drill a hole, the water is not only going to fill your cabin, you're going to, you're going to sink the boat. כך אמר איוב לחביריו, ואף אם אמנם אני שגיתי תלין משוגתי, מי השיבו חבריו ויעשף ויאמר אל תפרש, זה שיחתם של איוב kach amar Iyov l'chaveirav, v'af im omnam ani shagisi talin meshugasi, mi heishivo chaveirav v'ya'asef v'yomar al tefaresh, zeh sichasam shel Iyov. This is the conversation between Iyov and his friends. וסמך למצות תוכחה פסוק לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך v'samach l'mitzvas tochacha pasuk lo sisna es achicha bilvavecha. So the כלי יקר Kli Yakar says that's the root of the obligation to rebuke your friend. The obligation to interact with your friend is to say, he says to you, what do you mean? What do you care? I'm mowing my lawn on Shabbos morning. It's my lawn, it's none of your business. So he answers, what do you mean? The world is one big boat and you're drilling a hole. It might be under your seat, it might be in your cabin, but we're all going to sink because of it. Now again, הוכח תוכיח hocheach tochiach doesn't mean you yell at the guy who's mowing the lawn on Shabbos morning. Of course, הוכח תוכיח hocheach tochiach only applies if you know how to do it properly. חזון איש Chazon Ish already writes that in our generation we have lost the art of rebuking properly. Therefore we are not entitled, we have lost our license to rebuke. What's the in your family? The Gemara says just like it's a mitzvah to say that which will be heard, there's a mitzvah to remain silent from that which would not be heard. What's the proper way? So that again could be a whole hour class. How do you rebuke properly? Rebuking properly is predicated on the person believing that you care about them and their best interests. Rebuking is not about you. Rebuking must be about them. And if you can't love them for them and rebuking is a notch in your belt for you, then you are ineligible to rebuke. So חזון איש Chazon Ish says we've lost that art. In our day and age, we are all ineligible to rebuke. Which is why he says we don't hold responsible the whole category of תינוק שנשבה tinok shenishba. Why don't you say the whole non-observant, non-affiliated world are rebellious, wicked people today? So the חזון איש Chazon Ish says, how could you say they're rebellious and wicked? They've never been rebuked properly because we don't know how to do it. So therefore they're, we're to blame. It's it's our, it's our, our responsibility and they've therefore have the status of a תינוק שנשבה tinok shenishba, they're like children who are held captive, who are never educated. Even though they were educated, they're never educated because we don't know how to do it properly. But the כלי יקר Kli Yakar is giving that example that so the notion of collective responsibility is a big part of this parsha also. And then the very next pasuk, לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך lo sisna es achicha bilvavecha. So I see him mowing his lawn and I might hate him, he's drilling a hole in my boat, but I can never hate him in my heart. I can never ever hate him. A Jew can never hate another Jew. There's obviously so much more to talk about in this parsha, but our time is up. There's a million mitzvos here. But uh, we'll continue בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem.
