Transcript
Okay, בוקר טוב boker tov, we continue our study of ה נתיבות שלום haNesivos Shalom, the Slonimer Rebbe. I'm actually away this week so no full פרשה parsha class, so this is our פרשה parsha learning formally and publicly for the week. Quick trip. מירצאשעם Mirtzashem for a beautiful wedding and right back.So the Slonimer Rebbe is addressing, and I feel like we may have done this piece, but it bears repeating because I find it so powerful and so resonant. But the נתיבות שלום Nesivos Shalom, the Slonimer Rebbe is dealing with the section of our פרשה parsha when Ephraim and Menashe appear before their grandfather for a ברכה bracha and there's this exchange between Yaakov and Yosef in which the hands are switched. וישלח ישראל את ימינו וישת על ראש אפרים והוא הצעיר ואת שמאלו על ראש מנשה Vayishlach Yisrael es yemino vayashess al rosh Ephraim vehu hatzair v'es smolo al rosh Menashe. So Yaakov, who in this context is referred to as Yisrael, which is its own study, when is Yaakov Yaakov, when is he Yisrael? The only of the אבות avos who even after his name is changed, he continues to maintain his previous name. And each of the names reflect a different component. Yaakov is the more vulnerable, the weaker, Yaakov is the individual, while Yisrael represents the Jewish people in our glory, in our destiny, the greater כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael, Yisrael. So in this context of giving the ברכות brachos, he's not doing it simply as a בשר ודם basar vadam, as a man, as a father, as a grandfather, but rather he's a patriarch of an entire nation, of an entire people who is bestowing this ברכה bracha and really presciently giving this blessing, representing their destiny, their future. So he places his hand on Ephraim, who is the younger one, his right hand, and his left hand he puts on Menashe. שיכל את ידיו כי מנשה הבכור Sikel es yadav ki Menashe habechor. He switched his hands, why? Because Menashe is the בכור bechor. The right, we always give preference, precedence to the right. The right should be the greater honor on the one who's older. ויברך את יוסף ויאמר האלוקים אשר התהלכו אבותי לפניו אברהם ויצחק, האלוקים הרועה אותי מעודי עד היום הזה, המלאך הגואל אותי מכל רע יברך את הנערים ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבותי אברהם ויצחק וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ Vayevarech es Yosef vayomar ha'Elokim asher hishalchu avosai lefanav Avraham v'Yitzchak, ha'Elokim haro'eh osi me'odi ad hayom hazeh, hamalach hago'el osi mikol ra yevarech es hane'arim v'yikarei vahem shmi v'shem avosai Avraham v'Yitzchak, v'yidgu larov b'kerev ha'aretz. Okay, we all know the פסוקים pesukim. וירא יוסף כי ישיב אביו, לא כן אבי, כי זה הבכור Vayar Yosef ki... lo chen avi, ki zeh habechor. So Yosef now corrects his father and he says, making a mistake, Menashe's the בכור bechor, Ephraim's the younger one. וימאן אביו ויאמר ידעתי בני ידעתי Vayema'en aviv vayomer yadati vni yadati. To picture Yaakov patiently, calmly says, ידעתי yadati, son, you think you're telling me anything, you think you're teaching me something? I know, relax son, I know. גם הוא יהיה לעם וגם הוא יגדל ואולם אחיו הקטן יגדל ממנו וזרעו יהיה מלא הגוים Gam hu yiheyeh l'am v'gam hu yigdal, v'ulam achiv hakaton yigdal mimenu v'zaro yiheyeh melo hagoyim. Says relax, I know, I know what I'm doing here. Trust me, I'm in the capacity of Yisrael right now, I'm not in the capacity of Yaakov. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. And this one too, this one too, Menashe also will emerge to be a leader. But his brother, his younger brother, this resonates a lot for me. He's the smart one, he's the overachiever, he's the successful one. He can do the math problems at the Shabbos table. אחיו הקטן יגדל ממנו וזרעו יהיה מלא הגוים Achiv hakaton yigdal mimenu v'zaro yiheyeh melo hagoyim. יש להבין בעניין המחלוקת בין דעת יעקב לדעת יוסף Yesh l'havin b'inyan ha'machlokes bein da'as Yaakov l'da'as Yosef. So what exactly, and this is not the Slonimer Rebbe's חידוש chiddush, all the מפרשים meforshim going back to the ראשונים Rishonim and earlier, the מדרשים midrashim, are analyzing what exactly is this debate between Yaakov and Yosef about who should get the premier position, the greater ברכה bracha. ואנו רואים שלמרות דברי יעקב ידעתי בני ידעתי ואולם אחיו הקטן יגדל ממנו, בכל זאת כותבת התורה גם את דעת יוסף V'anu ro'im shelamros divrei Yaakov yadati vni yadati v'ulam achiv hakaton yigdal mimenu, b'chol zos kosves haTorah gam es da'as Yosef. ויאמר לא כן אבי Vayomer lo chen avi. So with Yaakov's authority and Yaakov saying relax, I know what I'm doing, trust me, nevertheless the Torah feels it significant to publish Yosef's opinion. היינו שאכן יש בזה ב' דיעות ושיטות Haynu she'achen yesh b'zeh beis deos v'shitos. The fact that it presents Yosef's protest, if it were insignificant, it would have omitted it altogether and it would have just described the way Yaakov gave the ברכה bracha or it would have said that Yaakov corrected Yosef and said don't worry, I got it. But the fact that it records Yosef's protest tells us there's significance to that position as well. עוד הקשו המפרשים ויברך את יוסף, דלא מצינו כאן ברכה ליוסף, כי אם למנשה ואפרים Od hikshu ha'meforshim, vayevarech es Yosef, d'lo matzinu kan bracha l'Yosef, ki im l'Menashe v'Ephraim. המלאך הגואל אותי מכל רע יברך את הנערים Hamalach hagoel osi mikol ra yevarech es hane'arim. He's referring to the נערים ne'arim. These young lads are Menashe and Ephraim. What happened to giving a ברכה bracha to Yosef? The other שבטים shvatim, Yosef's brothers all received ברכות brachos, unusual ברכות brachos, we've spent a lot of time on that, unusual ברכות brachos in the sense that it's much more criticism, some of it hyper-criticism. It's the Jewish view of a parent giving a ברכה bracha is criticism. So here too again, the מפרשים meforshim explain it is the Jewish view of a ברכה bracha and it's a great Jewish view of a ברכה bracha. And it may be explains our disproportionate representation in innovation and progress and breakthrough and Nobel Prize winning is because our parents didn't just say, you're the greatest and here's a participation trophy and you're amazing and you're the best and anyone who doesn't think so, they're wrong and trust me. No, the Jewish way is to say you have the potential for greatness and you have the potential to be the best, but here's what you got to work on. ראובן Reuven, you're impetuous. ראובן Reuven, you've got to be a little bit more mindful of what you're doing. And right, you go through each of them and he gives not a ברכה bracha of, you should have גזונט gezunt and נחת nachas and פרנסה parnassah and ברכה והצלחה bracha v'hatzlacha, הוא b'hua. He doesn't give a ברכה bracha, יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, in that sense. He says to each one, you have incredible potential, here's what needs to be worked on. It's very insightful and very instructive about what a real ברכה bracha, what a real ברכה bracha looks like. So he gives it to the others but he doesn't give it to Yosef. Yosef has been alienated, estranged, he was absent, he didn't get access to his father for all those years. You'd think that he'd be the first to get this affectionate ברכה bracha and yet it's missing. And yet it's missing. כי ביום ההוא לאמר בך יברך ישראל לאמר ישימך אלוקים כאפרים וכמנשה Ki v'yom hahu lemor b'cha yevarech Yisrael lemor yesimcha Elokim k'Ephraim v'chi'Menashe. The רמב\"ן Ramban פירש peirush, כי בברכת הבנים היא ברכה לאבות ki b'virchas ha'banim hi bracha la'avos. So the רמב\"ן Ramban says very simply, you know what the greatest ברכה bracha a person can have is seeing their children be blessed. That's one's greatest ברכה bracha. If our children are the recipients of a ברכה bracha, if our children are given a certain destiny, set on a certain trajectory and path, what greater ברכה bracha could there be for parents? אך מקשה על זה בעל אור החיים הקדוש, דאף על פי כן למה לא יתברך יוסף עצמו בדברים הנוגעים אליו בפרטות Ach maksha al zeh ba'al Or HaChaim HaKadosh, d'af al pi chen lama lo yisbarech Yosef atzmo b'dvarim ha'nog'im eilav bifratus? Okay, that's true, it's satisfying for a parent to see their children get a ברכה bracha, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the parent also wants a ברכה bracha, live a long life, have good health and so on.המפרשים על פי דברי חז\"ל, שה בסוד הברכה היה ביד אברהם, מפתח הברכות היה ביד אברהם, ומסרו ליצחק, ויצחק מסרו ליעקב Ha'meforshim al pi divrei Chazal, she b'sod ha'bracha hayah b'yad Avraham, mafteach ha'brachos hayah b'yad Avraham, u'masro l'Yitzchak, v'Yitzchak masro l'Yaakov. The key to ברכה bracha giving was in the hands of Avraham, and Avraham transmitted it to Yitzchak, and Yitzchak gave it to Yaakov. ועתה מסרו יעקב ליוסף V'atah masro Yaakov l'Yosef. הוא אומרו ויברך את יוסף, פירוש, מסר בידו מפתח הברכות Hu omro vayevarech es Yosef, peirush, masar b'yado mafteach ha'brachos. Yaakov did something even better than giving a ברכה bracha to Yosef. He gave him the key to ברכות brachos. He gave him the capacity to be the source, to be the ברכה bracha giver. That's interesting, we say ברוך אתה השם Baruch Atah Hashem, doesn't mean Hashem is blessed, it means he is the source of blessing. Exactly. רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya says in his כד הקמח Kad HaKemach, ברוך baruch means בריכה breicha, like a flow. You are the source from which ברכה bracha flows. So just like, I'm making you a חסידישע רבי chasidishe rebbe, right? I'm knighting you to be the next רבי rebbe, that you will be the source. They'll come to you for the ברכות brachos. So even better than my giving you a ברכה bracha, you have the other brothers I'm gonna give a ברכה bracha, they should have אריכות ימים arichus yamim and גזונט gezunt and נחת nachas and די קינדער di kinder and וכולי v'chulei. But you I'm doing even better, I'm telling you you're going to be the רבי rebbe. You're going to be the one to give the ברכות brachos after me. That's even better than getting a ברכה bracha.אך עדיין קשה לפי זה, המשך הפסוק, ויאמר, אלוקים אשר התהלכו אבותי לפניו, שאין כאן שום רמז שמסר את מפתח הברכות ליוסף, אלא ברכה לאפרים ומנשה Ach adayin kasha l'fi zeh, hemshech ha'pasuk, vayomer, Elokim asher hishalchu avosai lefanav, she'ein kan shum remez shemasar es mafteach ha'brachos l'Yosef, ela bracha l'Ephraim u'Menashe. So there's a question, so the אור החיים Or HaChaim doesn't like the רמב\"ן Ramban and gives his interpretation. The Slonimer Rebbe doesn't like the אור החיים Or HaChaim and of course is setting himself up now for his interpretation. יש לומר בזה, דהנה העניין שיוסף נתחלק לשני שבטים, מנשה ואפרים, ולא מצינו כן בשאר שבטים, הוא כי איתא בדברי שמואל, דמידת יוסף יש בה ב' חלקים Yesh lomar b'zeh, d'hinei ha'inyan she'Yosef nischalek lishnei shvatim, Menashe v'Ephraim, v'lo matzinu ken b'sha'ar shvatim, hu k'isa b'divrei Shmuel, d'midas Yosef yesh bah beis chalakim. Now the truth is it's not surprising to find that Yosef's children receive ברכות brachos and he doesn't necessarily, because his children take his place among the שבטי קה shivtei kah. אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו לי Ephraim u'Menashe k'Reuven v'Shimon yiheyu li. Rather than Yosef be counted, once you take Ephraim and Menashe, that's two, your number is off now about your שבטי קה shivtei kah. You're gonna have to redo the T-shirt that lists all the שבטים shvatim. So, אלא מאי ela mai, they replace Yosef. It's not that they're in addition to Yosef. אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו לי Ephraim u'Menashe k'Reuven v'Shimon yiheyu li. When Yaakov says your sons, they have the status of not grandchildren, they have the status of children. They are beloved to me, precious to me, my relationship with them is such that they have the status of children. And they replace Yosef in that sense. And why is that? They're not replacing Yosef so much as they are themselves expressions of Yosef. Is the interpretation of the דברי שמואל Divrei Shmuel. That Yosef has two qualities, two approaches. Yosef lives with this dichotomy or this tension within him. Whereas each of the other שבטי קה shivtei kah have a defining characteristic, they each have a defining personality, a hallmark of who they are. We can talk about each one what that is and פרשת ויחי Parshas Vayechi is the פרשה parsha to talk about it because Yaakov's ברכות brachos to them reveals to us what their hallmark is or should be. But Yosef doesn't have one defining hallmark or character trait. He has two. סור מרע ועשה טוב Sur me'ra v'aseh tov. ומנשה עניינו סור מרע, כדכתיב כי נשני אלוקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי, ואפרים עניינו עשה טוב, כדכתיב כי הפרני אלוקים בארץ עניי, שגם בארץ עוניי, בסוד החושך, הפרני אלוקים בעשה טוב U'Menashe inyano sur me'ra, k'dich'siv ki nashani Elokim es kol amali v'es kol beis avi, v'Ephraim inyano aseh tov, k'dich'siv ki hifrani Elokim b'eretz onyi, shegam b'eretz onyi, b'sod ha'choshech, hifrani Elokim b'aseh tov. So says the Slonimer Rebbe, Ephraim and Menashe represent these, these competing qualities within Yosef. On the one hand, he's withdrawn, he recoils, he's guarded, he's protecting himself from סור מרע sur me'ra. He identifies the negative influence, he identifies that which can impact him negatively, or negative trait, and he is withdrawn from it. He's protecting himself. On the other hand, he's עשה טוב aseh tov. He's running after it. By the way, this is a theme, if you learn Slonimer Rebbe as we have now for several months, the נתיבות שלום Nesivos Shalom has several themes in almost every piece. Somewhere among all the pieces on a פרשה parsha, he's going to reference סור מרע ועשה טוב sur me'ra v'aseh tov. Somewhere he's going to see this, Reb Chaim had תרי דינין וחד גברא trei dinin v'chad gavra. So the Slonimer Rebbe has תרי דינין trei dinin in every פרשה parsha where there's a סור מרע ועשה טוב sur me'ra v'aseh tov. And he'll always also bring it back to שבת Shabbos. And this is בחינת שבת bchinas Shabbos, and this is what שבת Shabbos means, and this is why שבת Shabbos is the source of גאולה geulah. Those are the two themes you'll find in almost every, in every piece. This is who he is. So this is what he's saying Yosef, Yosef has these, these both qualities simultaneously. Whereas others are עשה טוב aseh tov people. They're out there doing good, pursuing good, chasing good with alacrity, enthusiasm, they're just grip it and rip it for good. Others are סור מרע sur me'ra. They're guarded, they're withdrawn, they're vigilant, they're mindful, they're intentional, they're excessively careful, they're סור מרע sur me'ra. Different people have different kind of personalities. We're learning this on Wednesday mornings in מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim where the מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim in his 12-step program towards perfection identifies this as two different character traits, namely a זהירות zehirus and זריזות zerizus. זריזות Zerizus is the עשה טוב aseh tov. You see something, go do it. Don't wait, alacrity, run after it, pursue it, be driven for it. זהירות Zehirus is whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Before you go run after it with abandon, identify what are the things that are going to knock you down, knock you off course. What are the things that are going to cause you to fail? So do you, you know, are you out there announcing like, that's it, I'm on a keto diet, I'm on Atkins, I'm never eating that again. I'm just whatever, or I'm gonna run a marathon my first day running. Is it the עשה טוב aseh tov? I'm just, or do you say זהירות zehirus? One second, I know that when I go to a שמחה simcha and I'm starving because I haven't eaten anything beforehand and I get to the שמארג shmorg, I eat the things I swore I wasn't gonna eat because I think I was behaved that day so I deserve it. I'm going to זהירות zehirus, I'm identifying where I go wrong and I'm going to eliminate that. Which is the one? It's interesting, the רמח\"ל Ramchal puts which one first? זהירות Zehirus. זהירות Zehirus is before זריזות zerizus. Because the רמח\"ל Ramchal says, if you don't live with a sense of vigilance and caution and mindfulness, if you don't know what's going to cause you to fail, then then before you get started, don't bother getting started because you're gonna trip right over yourself coming out of the gate. So you have to know that there's a pothole five feet in front of the gate. If you don't see the hole five feet in front of the gate, you're going to trip right over it. You're going to trip right over it. It's like two ways to play golf. There are people on the tee, they grip it and rip it. They don't look where the water is, where the sand is, how far the hole, they don't care. They think that they're Tiger Woods, or the old version of Tiger Woods, and they're going to take out their driver, they're gonna grip it and rip it. And then there are people who they study for a minute. Now there's the water, there's the sand, it's that distance, this is exactly how far I want to be from the hole if I hit this club. That's the club I'm going to use. That's the difference between זריזות zerizus and זהירות zehirus, a loose definition or metaphor for זריזות zerizus and זהירות zehirus. So Yosef has both these qualities within him. You have the סור מרע sur me'ra and the עשה טוב aseh tov. So Menashe is the סור מרע sur me'ra. How does Menashe derive his name? כי נשני אלוקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי Ki nashani Elokim es kol amali v'es kol beis avi. What does the word נשני nashani mean? Made me forget. Now there's a lot, we're not gonna spend time on now, that talks about, if you name your son, he caused me to forget, there's one thing I know, you don't want to forget, you haven't forgotten. That's one thing I know. So there's a beautiful Reb Hirsch who says נשני nashani doesn't come from the word forget, but to be נושה nosheh, like think about שמיטה shmittah, is to have a debt, to have a debt. And he says what Yosef is saying is, I thought that I was so bitter and miserable and everything had gone wrong and that's why I ended up here, but Hashem has a master plan and I can't pay that debt back to him. כי נשני אלוקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי Ki nashani Elokim es kol amali v'es kol beis avi. Even though I lost all of that and I thought that that was my end, it turns out that I'm indebted to Hashem because he's put me in this incredible position. That's his creative פשט pshat. Because you have to come up with a פשט pshat. If you name your son, he caused me to forget, good riddance, I don't need to remember them, I forgot them. My son's name is I forgot and don't care at all anymore about my family. One thing we know, you have not moved on. And Ephraim, so that's סור מרע sur me'ra. And Ephraim is עשה טוב aseh tov, הפרני אלוקים בארץ עניי hifrani Elokim b'eretz onyi. He caused me, הפרני hifrani like פרו ורבו pru u'rvu, he's caused me to spread, to propagate, to promulgate. So he's the עשה טוב aseh tov, he's going in the positive. ועל פי זה יש להבין ויכוח יעקב ויוסף למי משפט הקדימה V'al pi zeh yesh l'havin vikuach Yaakov v'Yosef l'mi mishpat ha'kdima. So now we understand what was this debate between Yaakov and Yosef, who gets the ברכה bracha first? In this context, דאיתא במדרש שמואל מפרש עוד, וירא יוסף את בני יוסף ויאמר מי אלה d'isa b'Midrash Shmuel mefaresh od, vayar Yosef es bnei Yosef vayomer mi eileh? So Yaakov sees Yosef, בני יוסף bnei Yosef, and he says מי אלה mi eileh, who are these kinder? Who are these, who are these children? So מי אלה אותיות אלוקים mi eileh osios Elokim. שהשם הקדוש הזה מורה על מידת היראה She'hashem hakadosh hazeh moreh al midas ha'yirah. That when Yaakov asked Yosef מי אלה mi eileh, who are these kids that you've brought? Which is a really strange question because supposedly he's been learning with his kids every single day since he got to מצרים Mitzrayim. He's really familiar with them and he really knows them well. So what is he asking? And could there be a less affectionate way to begin giving a ברכה bracha from your Zayde than, who are these kids anyway? What's going on over here? Who are these kids? I visited someone in the hospital the other day, I think I'm okay saying this, I recorded, they're not going to hear it, but I visited someone that and and after spending several minutes talking to the husband who was the patient in bed, his wife who may be understandably disoriented, her husband's been there for a long time. So after like five minutes in she says to me, excuse me, I just forgot which doctor are you? So I said so and so, no no it's me it's Rabbi Goldberg. Oh it's Rabbi Goldberg, I'm so sorry it's Rabbi Goldberg. So don't be sorry my parents would be so happy you confused me for being a doctor you can't imagine how happy you'd make them so don't feel bad. So in that context, in that circumstance, maybe I told it to you, it's understandable, right? She got confused in the hospital, disoriented, different place, different context. I was wearing that white lab coat, and I wasn't. So it might be it might be confusing. But for Yaakov to say about his grandsons, מי אלה mi eileh, who are they? That's a peculiar question. So the Slonimer Rebbe says the word מי אלה mi eileh are אותיות osios, those are the same letters as אלוקים Elokim. That אלוקים Elokim is מידת היראה midas ha'yirah. ויעקב ראה שהם עומדים בשם יתברך בעיקר במידת היראה, ועל כן שאל מי אלה, מדוע עיקר עבודתם במידת היראה ולא במידת האהבה, שמידת האהבה היא גבוהה יותר V'Yaakov ra'ah she'hem omdim bashem yisborach b'ikar b'midas ha'yirah, v'al kein sha'al mi eileh, madua ikar avodasam b'midas ha'yirah v'lo b'midas ha'ahavah, she'midas ha'ahavah hi gvoha yoser. Yaakov's turning to them and saying, what's going on? These kids, they walk in, their head is down, they're wringing their hands, they're living with מידת היראה midas ha'yirah, יראת השם yiras Hashem, יראת שמיים yiras shamayim. They look so focused and intense and concentrated and fearful and in awe. And Yaakov says מי אלה mi eileh? What's with all the awe? What's with all the fear? What's with all the neuroses? What's what's with all this יראה yirah? Where's the אהבה ahavah? Where's the love? Someone get me a guitar. Let's have a קומזיץ kumzits. Where's the spirituality? Where's the love? Where's the affection? ועל זה השיב יוסף, בני הם אשר נתן לי אלוקים בזה, היינו שהם נולדו ונתגדלו במצרים שהיא ארץ טמאה, הרי בכדי שלא ישפיע ויחשור מהשפעת מקום טמא כזה, הוצרכנו לעבוד את השם יתברך במידת היראה, להחדיר בלב דין וחשבון, שהבורא יתברך שמו יודע כל מעשה בני אדם וכל מחשבותם V'al zeh heishiv Yosef, banai hem asher nasan li Elokim b'zeh, haynu she'hem noldu v'nisgadlu b'Mitzrayim she'hi eretz tme'ah, harei bichdei shelo yashpia v'yachshor me'hashpa'as makom tamei kazeh, hutzrachnu la'avod es Hashem yisborach b'midas ha'yirah, l'hachdir b'lev din v'cheshbon, she'haborei yisborach shmo yodea kol ma'asei vnei adam v'chol machshevosam. He says, טאַטי Tati, Abba, Dad, whatever Yosef called his father, you don't get it. You've had the luxury, not that Yaakov had so many luxuries in his life, but you've had the luxury of living in כנען Canaan. You're living in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. You could walk around looking like that and acting like that. You could have a קומבאַיִאַ קומזיץ kum-ba-ya kumzits in the middle of the street. And you could have the פאות pe'os flying, and you could walk around the way, and you could live so freely in אהבה ahavah and love. You know where we are? We're in the heart of מצרים Mitzrayim. We're in the palace. I've been raising them with this foreign influence, foreign culture, foreign values, and if they're not guarded, if they're not filtering everything through מידת היראה midas ha'yirah, if they're not living with a sense of awe and fear and the recognition that one wrong move, they could assimilate, they could integrate, they could intermarry, it could all be lost. Here we don't have that luxury of אהבה ahavah. Here we walk around on eggshells, we tiptoe with מידת היראה midas ha'yirah because we're in this foreign country, foreign land, foreign influences, so vulnerable, so susceptible. I've raised them in order to avoid absorbing that טומאה tumah that is contaminant all over and that is contagious. Therefore I have tried to shroud them in a force field of יראה yirah. What a great commercial you just made for עליה aliyah. Well, I'm not done yet. We've only heard Yosef's side. We haven't heard Yaakov's side yet. So that's what Yosef is telling him, that that's why you see this יראה yirah, because we're no longer in כנען Canaan, Abba. We're in מצרים Mitzrayim. And to survive in מצרים Mitzrayim with the טומאה tumah, we have to focus. יש דין ויש דיין Yesh din v'yesh dayan. It's not just love and love, and he loves you, and let it go, and he loves you. יש דין ויש דיין Yesh din v'yesh dayan. Every step we take, the consequences are incalculable. יש דין ויש דיין Yesh din v'yesh dayan. Every move, every change, every expression, every love, we're worried. הבורא יתברך שמו יודע כל מעשה בני אדם וכל מחשבותם Ha'Borei yisborach shmo yodea kol ma'asei vnei adam v'chol machshevosam. He knows everything. אילו היו עובדים את השם יתברך במקום כזה במידת אהבה, עלולים הם ליפול באהבה נפולה Ilu hayu ovdim es Hashem yisborach b'makom kazeh b'midas ahavah, alulim hem lipol b'ahavah nefulah. If all we focused on was אהבה ahavah, then they could collapse, they could crumble, they could fall, they could trip over that אהבה ahavah. And by the way, we see this, we see people, we see holy Jews who they're focused on the אהבה ahavah, they leave out the יראה yirah. Not strict with כשרות kashrus and strict with שבת Shabbos and strict with הלכה halacha and strict with the laws and strict with the rules, it's all about love and just loving one another and loving Hashem and feeling love. And if you don't have the framework, if you don't have the infrastructure, if you don't have the foundation of a healthy יראה yirah, of a יראת שמיים yiras shamayim, all that אהבה ahavah will make you crumble, all that אהבה ahavah will fall apart. ולכן יוסף בעצמו במצרים עבד את השם במידת היראה, כמו כן גם בניו אפרים ומנשה היו עיקר עבודתם במידת היראה V'lachen Yosef b'atzmo b'Mitzrayim avad es Hashem b'midas ha'yirah, kmo chen gam banav Ephraim u'Menashe hayu ikar avodasam b'midas ha'yirah. So Yosef survived and Yosef persevered and Yosef preserved who he was, never compromising his values, his identity, because he was focused on that יראה yirah. What he communicated was that יראה yirah. Yeah, there's room for אהבה ahavah. Yosef didn't eliminate any אהבה ahavah. They had קומזיצים kumzitsim in the palace too. They had רוח ruach on ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh in the palace. It meant which was the primary? Which one was the עיקר ikar focus? Which one dominated the curriculum? And in מצרים Mitzrayim, for Yosef, that was יראה yirah. כמו המאמר מהאדמו\"ר הבית אברהם זכותו יגן עלינו על הפסוק יראת השם היא תתהלל, שכנגד תאוות אלו, העצה היחידה היא רק יראת השם, שבעת התגברות התאוה אין דבר שיכול להציל האדם מחטא, אלא היראה שהשם יודע דין ויש דיין K'mo ha'ma'amar me'ha'Admor ha'Beis Avraham, zechuso yagen aleinu, al ha'pasuk yir'as Hashem hi sishallal, she'keneged ta'avos eilu, ha'eitzah ha'yechida hi rak yiras Hashem, she'b'eis hisgabrus ha'ta'avah, ein davar she'yachol l'hatzil ha'adam mei'chet, ela ha'yirah she'Hashem yode'a din v'yesh dayan. Yeah, אהבה ahavah is lovely and it's wonderful, it's empowering, it's enriching. But in that moment where you're tempted and where you're overcome by desire, by temptation that's ruthlessly pursuing you, what will make you persevere is יש דין ויש דיין yesh din v'yesh dayan. There's consequences, there's accountability, there's expectations of us to live with a sense of awe and to live with a sense of of fear. I hate the translation of יראה yirah as fear. I think it's very unhealthy. We did a Shabbos Shuva drasha once for like all of them, an extended period of time on defining, because I think that our community, the Modern Orthodox community, needs a revival of a healthy dose of יראת שמיים yiras shamayim. Not in place of אהבה ahavah, we still need אהבה ahavah and maybe אהבה ahavah should dominate wherever geographically we are right now, spiritually we need אהבה ahavah to dominate, but we need a healthy return to a little, a little יראה yirah. But the יראה yirah is not fear. There are different types of יראה yirah. There's יראת העונש yiras ha'onesh and there's יראת הרוממות yiras ha'romemus. יראת העונש Yiras ha'onesh is, I'm afraid lightning's going to strike. So if I do everything right because if I do it wrong, lightning's going to strike, or my income's going to go down, or my health's going to fail. And that's a very, very tenuous way to have a relationship with Hashem. Because first of all, then if you do, lightning does strike in in however sense, you'll walk away because you'll say, well, I was a good boy, the lightning strike struck anyway, so what's the point of it all? Right? Or it's just an unhealthy. Think of ourselves as parents vis-à-vis our children. Our children can either follow in our footsteps and pursue our values and lifestyle because they're afraid. And when they're under our roof, often that's the case. I don't want to lose my device, I don't want to be grounded, I don't want to be put in timeout, I don't want to be deprived of what I want to do. So they do what we do because of fear of punishment. But hopefully they mature and what we as parents crave, it's them to get to a place not of יראת העונש yiras ha'onesh but יראת הרוממות yiras ha'romemus that says, I'm in awe of the way my father lived, the way my mother lived. And I want my Shabbos table to look like their table. And I want to have the same schedule that includes learning like they did. And I want to change the world or be involved in leadership or volunteer like they do, because I have such awe of who they were and the life they lived. I don't have יראה yirah of my parents in the sense of fear, you know, they get to a mature place that they're going to take away my device or turn off my cell phone. The יראה yirah of יראת הרוממות yiras ha'romemus is I'm in such awe of who they are and what they've accomplished, how they live their life, that that's why. So הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu craves not our יראה yirah of יראת העונש yiras ha'onesh, although there's a Reb Yisrael Salanter is quoted as saying that יראת העונש yiras ha'onesh is higher than יראת הרוממות yiras ha'romemus, but everyone else, יראת הרוממות yiras ha'romemus is higher than יראת העונש yiras ha'onesh. That what we strive for, we aspire to live with a sense of awe of God's vastness, His greatness. To want to do the right thing not because we're afraid if we do the wrong thing, but from a different perspective. יראת הרוממות Yiras ha'romemus is, I don't want to disappoint the person in, I'm in awe of. So our, we want our children to go from a place of, I'm doing the right thing because I don't want to be grounded or lose my device, to a place of, I'm doing the right thing because I never want to disappoint my mother, my father. I'm in such awe of who they are, their values, their lifestyle, that I don't want to disappoint them. And that's what, and that's what drives it.So Yosef is telling his father Yaakov, one second, מנשה סור מרע Menashe sur me'ra. He's got to go first. This is יראה yirah. And when Yaakov sees these kids at first and he says מי אלה mi eileh, who are these kinderlach? מי אלה Mi eileh is אלוקים Elokim, is מידת הדין midas ha'din. He's saying, what's with all the יראה yirah? What's with all the awe and fear? ויש לפרש דעת יעקב דגם כן ידע שיטתו של יוסף שבמקום כזה במצרים צריך לעבוד את השם יתברך במידת היראה דוקא כדי שלא יכשלו בטומאת ארץ ערות הארץ V'yesh l'fareish da'as Yaakov, d'gam ken yada shitato shel Yosef she'b'makom kazeh b'Mitzrayim tzrich la'avod es Hashem yisborach b'midas ha'yirah davka, k'dei shelo yikashlu b'tumas eretz ervas ha'aretz. Yaakov too understands the importance of vigilance and caution and to have to tiptoe around the גלות galus. They have to realize that assimilation lurks around the corner. And not only for the unaffiliated, non-observing community, but if we're not, if we're not living with a healthy dose of יראה yirah, then there's assimilation even within the observant community. Reb Meir Twersky has a magnificent article online about that, about where we've become assimilated in our values. You could be keeping שבת Shabbos and כשרות kashrus and learning the דף daf and going to מנין minyan three times a day and giving צדקה tzedakah and doing חסד chesed, and still American values and how we view the certain ethical dilemmas of the time, the mores of the time, and how we're living, we can become assimilated if not in our practice, but assimilated in our thinking and values. And so that's how, that's how infectious it is. That's how, how, how insidious, it pervades, it's able to penetrate into us even when we preserve our lifestyle, doing the right thing, we can become assimilated in how we think. So therefore you need יראה yirah to protect you. יראה Yirah is the, is the virus software on your, on your drive. It's to live with יראה yirah, it protects you from that virus. אלא שישב בדעתו של יעקב דכח תפארת היא תורה, כמו דכתיב תתן אמת ליעקב, והתורה נקראת אמת, בזוהר הקדוש תורת יעקב. ובכח התורה אפשר לעבוד את השם יתברך גם במידת אהבה אפילו במצרים Ela sheyashav b'da'ato shel Yaakov d'koach Tiferes hi Torah, k'mo d'k'siv titen emes l'Yaakov, v'haTorah nikreis emes, b'Zohar haKadosh, Toras Yaakov. Uv'koach haTorah efshar la'avod es Hashem yisborach gam b'midas ahavah afilu b'Mitzrayim. So Yaakov says, I got it. I'm not telling you to scrap יראה yirah. I'm not telling you to never give a שמועס shmuess about יראה yirah or write a ספרים sforim about יראה yirah, don't live with יראה yirah, don't recoil with יראה yirah, don't be overcome with יראה yirah with awe. I'm not telling you to not have any sense of יראה yirah. But what I'm telling you is that if you're learning Torah, then you can afford to have some אהבה ahavah. Torah is enough of a protective force that you don't need to overemphasize the יראה yirah, then you can afford yourself some אהבה ahavah. והנה מכיוון שבכללות התורה נכלל גם מידת יראה וגם מידת אהבה, שהתורה יש בה כח אש, כמו דכתיב, הלא כה דברי כאש נאום השם, אש מרמז למידת היראה, וכן נמשלה תורה למים, שנאמר הוי כל צמא לכו למים, אין מים אלא תורה, ומים הם מידת אהבה, שהכח התורה מכה בקרבו כח אהבה גדול מאוד. כמו דכתיב, אם על אהבן ועל שלוחו תדבק יבואך בכל עת באהבת תתגבר תמיד. כמו דאיתא באור החיים הקדוש, שאם היו בני אדם מרגישים במתיקות ועריבות טוב התורה, היו משתגעים ומתלהטים אחריה. V'hinei mikeivan sheb'klalus haTorah nichlal gam midas yirah v'gam midas ahavah, she'haTorah yesh bah koach eish, k'mo d'k'siv, halo koh d'vari ka'eish ne'um Hashem, eish meramez l'midas ha'yirah, v'chen nimshla Torah l'mayim, shene'emar hoy kol tzamei lechu l'mayim, ein mayim ela Torah, u'mayim heim midas ahavah, she'koach haTorah meikah b'kirbo koach ahavah gadol me'od. K'mo d'k'siv im al ahavan v'al shlucho sidbak yav'cha b'chol eis b'ahavaso tisgeh samid. K'mo d'isa b'Or HaChaim haKadosh, she'im hayu bnei adam margishim b'misikus v'areivus tov haTorah, hayu mishtag'im u'mislahtim achareha. If we would really taste the sweetness and the goodness of Torah, we would go crazy to run after it. דהיינו כאשר כל יחיד לפי ערכו משיג את מתיקות ועריבות הצפונה בתורה, הרי הוא משתגע ומתלהט אחריה Dayeinu ka'asher kol yachid l'fi erko masig es misikus v'areivus ha'tzefunah ba'Torah, harei hu mishtage'a u'mislahet achareha. When a person, whoever at their level, does taste the sweetness, you hear a גישמאַקטע ווערטער geshmakte vort from our Torah. It's, it's, you hear a phenomenal חקירה chakira in לומדות lomdus at a חבורה chaburah. You see disparate pieces of Torah all integrated and come together. You heard five קושיות kashos with one יסוד yesod answered them all. You learn some פנימיות התורה pnimiyus haTorah or some חסידות chasidus that touched something very deep inside you and transformed you and lit a fire in you. When you have contact and access with the depth of Torah, the sweetness, the goodness, the transformative quality of Torah, you're משתגע mishtage'a, you go, you you're insane in trying to pursue it. When a person is in the courtship with their wife and they're all there, that that wife, that woman that they're in courtship with is all they can think about. They're going crazy. It's just constantly distracted, they're daydreaming, they're thinking about, they're making plans for, they're devoted, they're running after. So when we taste the sweetness of Torah, that's how we feel towards it. ובכח זה שבכל התורה ממתיק ומבטל כל האהבות הרעות. לכן סבר יעקב אבינו שכח התורה יכול אפילו במצרים לעבוד את השם יתברך גם במידת אהבה מבלי לחשוש לתקלת נפילה Uv'koach zeh she'b'kol haTorah mamtik u'mevatel kol ha'ahavos ha'raos. Lachen savar Yaakov Avinu she'koach haTorah yachol afilu b'Mitzrayim la'avod es Hashem yisborach gam b'midas ahavah mibli lachshosh l'takalas nefilah. So when you feel the sweetness of Torah and it gives you that drive to pursue, to run after it, to chase it, to daydream, to imagine the way the Rambam in הלכות יסודי התורה Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah describes אהבת השם ahavas Hashem, that a person is filled and מתאווה תאווה גדולה לידע את השם mis'aveh ta'avah gedolah leida es Hashem. And the Rambam there likens it to a woman. You're overwhelmed with a תאווה גדולה ta'avah gedolah, the תאווה ta'avah that we use in the negative sense of this drive that's insatiable. So the Rambam uses the insatiable drive in terms of the pursuit of Torah. When you have the right contact and you feel the right thing from it, you have this insatiable appetite and drive for Torah. So if you have that insatiable appetite and drive for Torah, you're much less vulnerable to being knocked off course and therefore you're allowed to able to deemphasize the יראה yirah and to emphasize the אהבה ahavah. כמו שמצינו שמיד בבוא יעקב למצרים כתיב, ואת יהודה שלח לפניו להורות, ופירשו חז\"ל, שיכין לו שם מקום תורה, שם מקום תורה. היינו לפי שיעקב סבר שהדבר הראשון שצריך במצרים הוא כח התורה, ועל ידה יוכלו לעבוד את השם יתברך בכל המידות, ויהיה להם שמירה שלא יכשלו בערות הארץ Kmo she'matzinu she'miyad b'vo Yaakov l'Mitzrayim k'siv, v'es Yehudah shalach lefanav l'horos, u'feirshu Chazal, she'yachin lo sham makom Torah, sham makom Torah. Haynu l'fi she'Yaakov savar she'hadavar ha'rishon she'tzarich b'Mitzrayim hu koach haTorah, v'al yadah yuchlu la'avod es Hashem yisborach b'chol ha'midos, v'yiyeh lahem shmira shelo yikashlu b'ervas ha'aretz. So when Yaakov sends Yehuda down and they identify that place they're going to set up as the Jewish ghetto in Mitzrayim, Goshen, חז\"ל Chazal say, what was Yaakov telling him to found first? Before the שול shul, and before, I'm sure there was a מקווה mikvah of course for their wives. But before a בית מדרש beis medrash. You need a בית מדרש beis medrash. If we're going to survive there in the גלות galus, if we're going to move to מצרים Mitzrayim where there are overwhelming influences all around us trying to penetrate and trying to integrate and trying to transform us to assimilate, what will protect us is not יראה yirah, not living, walking around on eggshells, fear and neurotic and in awe and afraid. What's going to protect us is, you got to יכין שם מקום תורה yachin sham makom Torah. Make a בית מדרש beis medrash. Turn it into a מקום תורה makom Torah. In a place where Torah learning is happening, it is transformative. ברך השם Baruch Hashem, we've seen it in our community. The growth and opportunities of Torah learning for men, for women, families, individuals. When you're engaged, when you're involved in Torah learning, it changes who you are. It changes you not just for the hour that you're learning, it changes your day, it changes your family, it's brought back into your home. It's transformative. So Yaakov says, if you turn it into a מקום תורה makom Torah, then we don't have that much to be afraid of. Then you could worry less about the influence of מצרים Mitzrayim. If you have a מקום תורה makom Torah, then you can afford for the emphasis to be אהבה ahavah. ובזה מובא מה דכתיב וישלח ישראל את ימינו וישת על ראש אפרים, על פי המבואר דאפרים ומנשה עניינם ב' מידות הללו, דמנשה הוא בחינת סור מרע, כי נשני אלוקים את כל עמלי, שמורה זה על דרך היראה שהיה ירא יראת שמיים. ואפרים הוא מידת עשה טוב, כי הפרני אלוקים בארץ עוניי, שהיא עניין עבודה במידת עשה טוב שהיא מידת אהבה בחלק החיוב Uv'zeh muvan ma d'k'siv vayishlach Yisrael es yemino vayashess al rosh Ephraim, al pi ha'mevo'ar d'Ephraim u'Menashe inyanam beis midos halalu, d'Menashe hu bchinas sur me'ra, ki nashani Elokim es kol amali, she'moreh zeh al derech ha'yirah she'hayah yarei yiras shamayim. V'Ephraim hu midas aseh tov, ki hifrani Elokim b'eretz onyi, she'hi inyan avodah b'midas aseh tov, she'hi midas ahavah b'chelek ha'chiyuv. שאפילו she'afilu בארץ עני במקום טייבס, גם כן הִפְרַנִי אלקים, על ידי שמשקיע את כל הכוחות האהבה בעשה טוב. That's the difference. Do you want to live a מנשה Menashe lifestyle, do you want to live an אפרים Ephraim lifestyle? Are you walking around on eggshells afraid, or are you going to conquer the world with love and transform things and with drive? אפרים Ephraim is הִפְרַנִי hifrani, ארץ עני eretz onyi. Yes, it's ארץ עני eretz onyi, but with a sense of הִפְרַנִי hifrani. Whereas מנשה Menashe is כי נשני אלקים ki nashani Elokim with a sense of יגיעה yegia in יראת שמים yiras shamayim. וזה אמר יוסף לאביו לא כן אבי V'ze omar Yosef l'oviv lo chein avi, כי זה הבכור ki zeh habechor. ראשית עבודה הוא בסור מרע ולהגיע במידת היראה Reishis avodah hu b'sur meira v'l'hagia b'midas hayirah. As it says בזוהר הקדוש b'Zohar hakadosh, פקודא קדמא דיראת השם pekuda kadma d'yiras Hashem. ויראת השם V'yiras Hashem ראשית חכמה יראת השם reishis chachma yiras Hashem. Say it every morning when we wake up. ראשית חכמה יראת השם Reishis chachma yiras Hashem. Before you can attain חכמה chachma, the foundation of everything. Which is greater, אהבה ahavah or יראה yirah? That was a subject in the שבת שובה דרשה Shabbos Shuva drasha and then recently got into it in our in our ש\"ס סוגיא שיעור Shas sugya shiur on Monday afternoons and very early Friday mornings, with עשה דוחה לא תעשה aseh docheh lo sa'aseh. The רמב\"ן Ramban's understanding of עשה דוחה לא תעשה aseh docheh lo sa'aseh famously is, מצוות עשה mitzvos aseh are all אהבה ahavah. How do you show השם Hashem you love him? By going and buying flowers and cards and doing positive commandments and positive initiative. Whereas לאוין lavin, לא תעשה lo sa'aseh, negative, is all יראה yirah. How do you show that you are, have awe of people around you? You preserve their boundaries. You you observe and you recognize and you respect what they've asked you not to do. So which one is greater, אהבה ahavah or יראה yirah? So says the רמב\"ן Ramban, אהבה דוחה, עשה דוחה לא תעשה, אהבה דוחה יראה ahavah docheh, aseh docheh lo sa'aseh, ahavah docheh yirah. You see that אהבה ahavah is greater than יראה yirah. The משך חכמה Meshech Chachma reinterprets the רמב\"ן Ramban. He says not so fast. עשה דוחה לא תעשה Aseh docheh lo sa'aseh, אהבה דוחה יראה ahavah docheh yirah. Why? Because that יראה yirah is not the classic יראה yirah of of rebellion. עשה דוחה לא תעשה Aseh docheh lo sa'aseh because in that context, normally the לא תעשה lo sa'aseh is, don't do that negative thing and if you do it, you're rebelling. But what if the very reason that you're doing that negative thing is an expression of אהבה ahavah? Right, so if you tell your child, you can't be on your iPad after 8:00 at night. If you are, I'm going to take it away. Then you walk into the room and lo and behold, it's 8:30 at night, they're still on their iPad. But as you take it away, you realize, why were they using the iPad? Because they're still putting together that movie for your anniversary, for your anniversary party. And they've run out of time and they're desperate and it's coming from love and they're doing it for the right reason. They're not Snapchatting with their friends, but they're using their iPad past the לא תעשה lo sa'aseh time you gave to fulfill the עשה aseh of honoring you at your anniversary party. So in that case, maybe that אהבה ahavah is דוחה יראה docheh yirah, because that יראה yirah wasn't a יראה yirah of מרד mered, of rebellion, says the משך חכמה Meshech Chachma. That יראה yirah was a יראה yirah of אהבה ahavah. So that אהבה ahavah is דוחה יראה docheh yirah. But does it mean that standing alone, אהבה ahavah is greater than יראה yirah? Go look at the משך חכמה Meshech Chachma how he reinterprets the רמב\"ן Ramban. It's very, very interesting. And other interpretations about why עשה aseh should be דוחה לא תעשה docheh lo sa'aseh and how it applies in in הלכה halacha, of which one is greater. But that מחלוקת machlokes, which is greater, אהבה ahavah or יראה yirah, which is the core, which is the foundation? For every generation and maybe in different places, in different cultures and climates and atmospheres, which one do we emphasize? Do we live in a world of יראה yirah, do we live in a world of אהבה ahavah? That's the נקודת המחלוקת nekudas hamachlokes, that's exactly the debate that's going on here between יוסף Yosef and יעקב Yaakov. So יוסף Yosef is turning to his father and he's saying, no, כי זה הבכור ki zeh habechor. ראשית עבודה סור מרע, להגיע במידת היראה Reishis avodah sur meira, l'hagia b'midas hayirah. You don't understand, פקודא קדמא דיראת השם pekuda kadma d'yiras Hashem. יקם למנשה את משפט הבכורה Yakem l'Menashe et mishpat habechora. וענה לו יעקב ידעתי בני ידעתי V'onoh lo Yaakov, yadati bni, yadati. You think you're teaching me anything that יראת שמים yiras shamayim is the foundation? You think you're teaching me anything when you tell me that ראשית חכמה יראת השם reishis chachma yiras Hashem? Who do you think taught you all that, יוסף Yosef? It was me, I'm your רבי rebbi. ידעתי בני ידעתי ואולם אחיו הקטן יגדל ממנו Yadati bni yadati, v'ulam ochiv hakaton yigdal mimenu, שמידת אהבה הוא יותר גדולה she'midas ahavah hu yoser gedolah. Yes, the foundation is יראה yirah, but אחיו הקטן ochiv hakaton, his younger brother is going to outgrow him. When you're young, when you start out, you need a healthy dose of יראה yirah. But the younger brother אהבה ahavah is going to surpass him. והיינו שבכח התורה שהיא מדותיו של יעקב יכולים לעבוד את השם יתברך גם במידת אהבה V'haynu sheb'koach haTorah she'hi midoso shel Yaakov yecholim la'avod es Hashem yisborach gam b'midas ahavah. ואין לחושש מן הנפילה לאהבות רעות V'ein lachshosh min hafilah l'ahavos ros, בזרעו יהיה מלא הגוים b'zaro yehiyeh melo hagoyim. שעל ידי התורה אפשר להכניע כל תאוות הגוים She'al yedei haTorah efshar l'hachnia kol taavos hagoyim. So the נקודת המחלוקת nekudas hamachlokes is which is the foundation, which is the core, which one supersedes the other, but יעקב's Yaakov's trick up his sleeve is, I agree and I admit, I concede that יראה yirah is the foundation. But why is the emphasis on אהבה ahavah? Through the כח התורה koach haTorah. When you have a מקום תורה makom Torah, when you're engaged in לימוד התורה limud haTorah, when you have a תורה Torah community, then then you can afford to to emphasize the אהבה ahavah. So when can you have the קומזיץ kumzits and the רוחניות ruchnius and the feel good and the beauty and the meaning and the uplifting and the, when can you do that? When there's a foundation of a מקום תורה makom Torah, of כח התורה koach haTorah. But absent that foundation, that אהבה's ahavah's going to collapse, it's going to implode. You need a foundation of, a foundation of יראה yirah. So, is it a geographical issue? Is it a generational issue? In our generation, we know the famous רב משה Rav Moshe that writes in ציון הי' Zion HaYud, turns Jews off in America. You can't say it's difficult to be a Jew. You have to say it's wonderful, it's beautiful, it's magnificent. It's amazing. It's געשמאק geschmack to be a ייד Yid. Our children, our generation, they need to hear it's געשמאק geschmack to be a ייד Yid. They also need a little bit of יראת שמים yiras shamayim. A little less participation trophy, a little more you're graded for how well you did, and and a little bit more יראת שמים yiras shamayim as the foundation, as the foundation. We need the combination of them both. רב משה ויינברגר Rav Moshe Weinberger famously told the story earlier this year in in some of the debate he was engaged in on פנימיות התורה pnimius haTorah and it really had a powerful impact on me, this story, about the uh the young man who was um who was really distinguished in his ישיבה yeshiva for his excellence. He was one of the top בחורים bachurim in the ישיבה yeshiva, and in the high שיעור shiur and the apple of the eye of the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, and he started slipping. And he started learning less, and he left the שיעור shiur, and he was taking time from ישיבה yeshiva, and he started going off the דרך derech and he was off the דרך derech. And it hit a wall when his father found on his phone, which I don't know that his father should have been looking at, but his father found on his phone that he was listening to evangelical preachers, you know, Rick Warren and and uh who was the guy with his own XM station, Joel Osteen, and all these guys, right? So the son was listening to this. So the father couldn't tolerate his kid stopping learning and going off the דרך derech, but finding that he's listening to these preachers and pastors and as רב משה ויינברגר Rav Moshe Weinberger said, these גלחים galachim, that's what threw the father over the edge and he confronts his son. He said, how could you do this to me? How could you do this to השם Hashem? How could you do this to our family? How could you be listening to this? It's one thing to to abandon what we have, but to be switching teams, to be listening to this. How could you possibly be doing it? And this בחור bachur who was the the excellent, most distinguished, accomplished בחור bachur turns to his father and he says, you know, I went through ישיבה קטנה yeshiva ketana, and I came to בית מדרש beis medrash, I went through all this Jewish education. And when I listen to these preachers, in every time they speak, they say something I didn't hear my entire Jewish education. They say God loves me. God loves you. No matter who you are, what you've done, how you feel, it's never too late. God loves you. God has a vision for you, a mission for you, a place for you. God loves you. God wants to accept you, God wants to hear from you. God loves you. He says, I need to hear God loves me. I didn't ever hear it once, and that's why I listen to them, to hear it, to know that God loves me. If he went to the בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov, that's right. So we've reintroduced God loves you into the curriculum, the געשמאק geschmack to be a ייד Yid, God loves you. You know, hopefully we won't go too far in the other direction. God loves you no matter who you are, what you do and be whoever you want, do whatever you want to do, act however you want to act, dress however you want to dress, do what you want because God... you know, you can go in the opposite direction that God loves you, too much אהבה ahavah, no יראה yirah. Of course God loves you, but he also has expectations and there's also accountability. יש דין ויש דיין Is din v'is dayan. We need that healthy balance and that's exactly the tension, that's exactly what's going on here. He continues in this piece, which we won't, that's exactly this tension of where educationally and where in our homes and where even in our own lives for ourselves, how do we establish that balance? יראה Yirah and אהבה ahavah. We need both, but which one is the one that should dominate and at which time? Maybe not even every period of our life or every day of our life. The answer could be different and could fluctuate at different times, different generations, in different places. But that's the debate going on that יוסף Yosef stops his father, he says, don't you understand this is the wrong? He says, ידעתי בני ידעתי yadati bni yadati. However, through the כח התורה koach haTorah, you can afford to have a little bit more.
