Transcript
Good morning. בוקר טוב Boker tov and welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. So glad and grateful to be learning together once again, to resume our study of the פרשה parsha. And so grateful to our generous sponsors of the פרשה parsha series for the year, Becky and Avi Katz and family in loving memory of David Grossman, Becky's father, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש le'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manash. Thank you so much to the Katzes for their sponsorship of the series. If you'd like to sponsor a particular שיעור shiur, a particular episode of Parsha Perspectives, please email lee@brsonline.org, lee@brsonline.org.We have the privilege this morning of studying together פרשת שמיני Parshas Shmini, page 588 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. ויהי ביום השמיני קרא משה לאהרן ולבניו ולזקני ישראל Vayehi bayom hashmini kara Moshe l'Aharon u'levanav u'leziknei Yisrael. It was on the eighth day that Moshe called to Aaron and his sons and לזקני ישראל l'ziknei Yisrael. The eighth day from what? So Rashi quickly jumps in, and Rashi tells us, ויהי ביום השמיני vayehi bayom hashmini, שמיני למילואים shmini l'miluim, הוא ראש חודש ניסן hu Rosh Chodesh Nisan. It was the eighth day of the מילואים miluim, it was the eighth day of the inauguration service, which was, which coincided with ראש חודש ניסן Rosh Chodesh Nisan. שהקים את המשכן בו ביום ונטל עשר עטרות שבסדר עולם She'hikim es ha'mishkan bo bayom v'natal asara ataros she'b'Seder Olam. This was when the משכן Mishkan was first inaugurated, when it was first celebrated.Comes along, we'll jump in with our first אש קודש Aish Kodesh, our first Rav Druk of the day. Says the ויקרא רבה Vayikra Rabba, an amazing מדרש medrash. Listen to this מדרש medrash. Says the מדרש ויקרא רבה Medrash Vayikra Rabba, ולזקני ישראל אמר רבי עקיבא למה נמשלו ישראל לעוף u'leziknei Yisrael amar Rabbi Akiva lama nimshlu Yisrael l'of? Why are the Jewish people compared to a bird? מה עוף הזה אינו פורח בלא כנפיים mah of hazeh eino poreach b'lo knafayim, because just like a bird can't get lift, a bird can't take off, a bird cannot fly without its wings, כך ישראל אינם יכולים לעשות דבר חוץ מזקניהם kach Yisrael einam yecholim la'asos davar chutz mi'zikneihem. Similarly the Jewish people cannot achieve anything, we cannot fly, we cannot get lift, without our elders. Rabbi Akiva ממשיך בדברי המדרש שזקני ישראל כנפיים של עוף mamshich b'divrei ha'medrash she'ziknei Yisrael k'knafayim shel of. In this מדרש medrash Rabbi Akiva compares the metaphor of the Jewish people, the elders, the זקנים zekeinim, the empty nesters, the elders of the community are compared to the wings of a bird. וצריך ביאור מה הוא סוד של דמיון זה v'tzarich biur mah hu sod shel dimyon zeh. Says Rav Druk, what is this comparison? Of all the metaphors you can give of the significance of the importance of the role of the זקנים zekeinim of the elders, what is the significance of comparing them to wings? ומדוע נמשלו דוקא ככנפיים של עוף u'madua nimshlu davka k'knafayim shel of? And why specifically the wings of a bird? ונראה לבאר בזה דמיון בג' אופנים v'nireh l'va'er b'zeh dimyon b'gimmel ofanim. Says Rav Druk, I'm going to offer three explanations, three commentaries or options of what it means.Number one, ראשית reishis, יש לומר yesh lomar, הביאור בזה ha'biur b'zeh, שלכך נמשלו הזקנים דוקא ככנפיים של עוף shel'kach nimshlu ha'zekeinim davka k'knafayim shel of. כי עוף בלא כנפיים יכול להישאר בחיים ואינו מת מיד ki of b'lo knafayim yachol l'hisha'er b'chaim v'eino meis miyad, אבל לא יוכל להזרומם ולפרוח aval lo yuchal l'hizromem v'lifroach. If a bird has an injured wing, a bird has a clipped wing, if a bird is born without a wing, the bird can live. The bird will not die, but the bird cannot fly, the bird cannot elevate, מה שבסופו של דבר עלול לקריב את מותו mah she'b'sofo shel davar alul l'karev es moso. So a bird who is limited, a bird who is grounded, a bird who remains on the floor is not going to survive, because a bird is born to fly. That's how the bird operates, that's how the bird lives, that's how the bird elevates, that's how the bird accesses food. כך ישראל אף שבלא זקנים, תלמידי חכמים, ומנהיגי הדור kach Yisrael af she'b'lo zekeinim, talmidei chachamim, u'manhigei ha'dor, similarly the Jewish people, without our elders, without our תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim, without our righteous leaders, נדמה להמון העם שיכולים להתקיים אף בלאדיהם nidmeh l'hamon ha'am she'yecholim l'hiskayem af biladeihem. You'll say we could survive. We're alive, we could live even without them. אבל האמת היא aval ha'emes hi, but the truth is, says Rav Druk, כי אף שנראה שיש קיום גם בלי זקני הדור ki af she'nireh she'yesh kiyum gam b'li ziknei ha'dor, even though it appears the illusion that we can survive, that we have life, even without these elders, מכל מקום לפרוח mikol makom lifroach, לעלות ולהתרומם la'alos u'l'hisromem, to fly, to elevate, to lift off, אין אפשרות בלי הזקנים ein efsharus b'li ha'zekeinim. So as opposed to a religion who says that we are all in and exclusively invested on the youth and the future and the tomorrow, we know that the root and the source of our strength, the ability to fly is a focus and an emphasis on our זקנים zekeinim. We cannot live exclusively in the tomorrow. We have to remember the yesterday and the today, represented by the זקנים zekeinim. ולכן בלא זקני ישראל יש סכנה עצומה v'lachen b'lo ziknei Yisrael yesh sakana atzuma. So without the זקנים zekeinim, without the elders, we have a dire threat, בסופו של דבר לקיום של עם ישראל b'sofo shel davar l'kiyum shel Am Yisrael, that we may not survive, just like a bird without wings lives in the here and now but doesn't have a long-term survival. So the significance and the role of the זקנים zekeinim, don't write them off, don't ignore, there's so much to learn, so much to gain, there's so much to live, there's so much lift they elevate us and we cannot elevate without the presence, without the participation, without the leadership, without the contribution of the זקנים zekeinim. All of that's number one.עוד יש לומר Od yesh lomar. Number two says Rav Druk, ולבאר את הדמיון בין זקני ישראל לכנפיים של עוף u'leva'er es ha'dimyon bein ziknei Yisrael l'knafayim shel of. What is the comparison between the זקנים zekeinim, our righteous elders, and the wings of a bird? כי העוף כשהוא ללא כנפיים נמצא על הארץ ki ha'of k'shehu l'lo knafayim nimtza al ha'aretz, אינו רואה דבר רק מה שנמצא בסמוך אליו ממש eino ro'eh davar rak mah she'nimtza b'samuch eilav mamash. I love this second interpretation. When a bird is on the ground, what happens? All the bird has is a ground-eye view. All the bird can see is the finite, very limited perspective of what appears right before the bird when they are on the ground. כשמתרומם בכנפיו מעל פני הארץ k'she'misromem b'knafav mei'al pnei ha'aretz, when a bird uses the wings to lift from the ground, ככל שמתרומם גבוה יותר k'chol she'misromem gavoah yoser, the higher the bird ascends, the higher the bird climbs, כך ראייתו מרחבת וכוללת יותר kach re'iyaso marchaves v'koleles yoser, the broader and the further and the farther the bird can see, כמו כן יכול לראות למרחק רב יותר k'mo kein yachol liros l'merchak rav yoser. Today it's common to have drones. You go to a חופה chuppah, you go to a concert, you go to an event and you see a drone in the air. The photographers don't want to be limited from the picture they take on the ground. The higher the drone flies, the further it can see, the broader, the bigger the scope of what it can take in, the more of a encompassing vision it has. כיוצא בדבר זקני וחכמי ישראל k'yotzei b'davar ziknei v'chachmei Yisrael, אשר עלו ונתעלו בתורה הקדושה וקירבת השם asher alu v'nisalu b'Torah ha'kdosha u'kirvas Hashem. So when we are limited, when we're on the ground, when we're relying only on our life experiences and our age, all we can see is what's right in front of us. But when we rely on, when we lean on the זקנים zekeinim, the elders who have a long life experience, who've persevered, who've lived with faith and fortitude, when we ride their coattails, we have lift. We have a much broader perspective. We can see so much further and we can see so much farther. מפני שהם נמצאים למעלה למעלה mipnei she'hem nimtza'im l'maala l'maala. The זקנים zekeinim, the תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim, the righteous, they are at a higher level, and the higher they are, the further that they can see. You know if you're on the ground and you're trying to see traffic, all you can see is what's right in front of you. But if you're taller than the building on the corner, then you can see the car that's speeding around the corner and you can safely get out of its way. So the higher you are, the more you can see. The more you can see, the better prepared, the safer you are, the more you can plan, the more vision you have. Says Rav Druk, comparison number two, understanding number two of the מדרש's medrash's comparison between the זקנים zekeinim and the wings of the bird are the ability to fly. Number one, can you get lift? Can you get off the ground? Do we fly? And number two is, what is the capacity of our perspective?Number three. אמרו חז\"ל Amru Chazal, a גמרא in בבא בתרא דף י\"ב Bava Basra daf yud beis, חכם עדיף מנביא chacham adif mi'navi. Who is greater? The נביא navi, the prophet? Or the חכם chacham, the wise individual? שנאמר ונביא לבב חכמה she'ne'emar v'navi l'vav chochmah, a פסוק in תהלים Tehillim. מי נתלה במי? הוי אומר קטן נתלה בגדול Mi nitleh b'mi? Hevei omer katan nitleh b'gadol. לכאורה אינו מובן מהו הביאור בזה שחכם עדיף מנביא l'chora eino muvan mahu ha'biur b'zeh she'chacham adif mi'navi. הלא הנביא מקבל דבריו באופן ישיר Halo ha'navi mekabel devarav b'ofen yashir. The נביא navi, the prophet is receiving the word of God directly. The חכם chacham is learning the word of God and has to extrapolate and interpret and apply. So why is the חכם עדיף מנביא chacham adif mi'navi? You'd think the נביא navi should be greater than the חכם chacham. How could it be? So the מהר\"ל Maharal, in the beginning of his ספר גבורות השם Sefer Gevuros Hashem, the מהר\"ל Maharal explains, כי יסוד ההבדל בין חכם לנביא הוא ki yesod ha'hevdel bein chacham l'navi hu, שהנבואה דומה לאחד החושים שמרגיש את המוחש מחוץ she'ha'nevuah domah l'echad ha'chushim she'margish es ha'muchash mi'chutz. ואף שאיננו כמו השגת החושים הגשמיים v'af she'einenno k'mo hasagas ha'chushim ha'gashmi'im, מכל מקום בזה ידמה לחושים mikol makom b'zeh yidmeh l'chushim, בכך שהנביא משיג את נבואתו מחוץ לו b'kach she'ha'navi masig es nevuaso mi'chutz lo. The נביא navi, the prophet perceives prophecy as an external sense. They pick up on and they perceive the prophecy, but remains external. החכם עדיף מנביא ha'chacham adif mi'navi, but the חכם chacham, the חכם chacham is using their brain, their intellect, is applying their heart. The חכם chacham is absorbing and studying. העניין בזה שהנביא רואה רק מה שהקדוש ברוך הוא מראה ha'inyan b'zeh she'ha'navi ro'eh rak mah she'HaKadosh Baruch Hu mareh, וכדמיון החושים u'ch'dimyon ha'chushim. So the the נביא navi is limited by their sense of prophecy and by what they perceive and pick up on externally. But the חכם chacham, the wise person who's using their own faculties is able to see further, is able to see more, is able to see greater. So that's all part of the second interpretation.Now the third. באופן נוסף יש לפרש b'ofen nosaf yesh l'faresh, the third and final interpretation, why are the זקני ישראל ziknei Yisrael compared to the wings of a bird? Why not to the bird itself? Why not that the זקנים zekeinim are like the bird? Why the wings which are an appendage, which are a limb of the bird? And the answer is, כי הכנפיים הם ההגנה של העוף ki ha'knafayim hem ha'hagana shel ha'of, מבני תורפים ומזיקים mipnei torfin u'mazikim. The wings protect the bird. The bird uses the wing to fend off the enemy. על ידי כנפיו יכול להזרומם מהארץ ולברוח Al yedei knafav yachol l'hizromem mei'ha'aretz v'livroach. The wing allows the bird to lift and take off and climb and rise above those who threaten her. כך ההגנה של כלל ישראל kach ha'hagana shel Klal Yisrael, הם זקני ישראל עצמם hem ziknei Yisrael atzmam. So who is our strength? Don't think that the person with the wheelchair or the walker, the one who's older or infirm, not to suggest that all older people need those things. But don't assume or conclude that the one who looks like they're a little slower, who looks like they're more debilitated or infirm, don't think that they're weak and we protect them. They are protecting us. Their merits, their life, their אמונה emunah, they are the ones protecting us. And just like the wing protects the bird, so too the זקנים zekeinim protect us.So again, the מדרש medrash, at the beginning of our פרשה parsha, ויהי ביום השמיני vayehi bayom hashmini, Moshe called Aaron and בניו banav and זקני ישראל ziknei Yisrael. He's calling Aaron, I understand he's his brother, his partner, the high priest. בניו Banav, I understand, the continuity, the next generation, the successors. זקני ישראל Ziknei Yisrael, that's yesterday. זקני ישראל Ziknei Yisrael is so yesterday. Why is he summoning the זקני ישראל ziknei Yisrael? What room is there for the elders? That's where Rabbi Akiva said, זקני ישראל ziknei Yisrael? Are you kidding me? They're the most essential. They're the most important. They are like the wings of a bird. They give us lift, they enable us to fly. They give us perspective, they enable us to have a a broad vision, and they protect us. They fend off and ward off the things that threaten us. I think this insight is particularly significant, Parsha Perspectives for today, the week in which יום השואה Yom HaShoah occurs. Because we honor the Holocaust survivors while we still can, please God they should be well and among us for a long time, but the world they saw, they lived and they survived, the faith they live with, what they represent and they teach us, the honor that we must show and the opportunity to learn from them, that's the זקני ישראל ziknei Yisrael. In every generation we'll have our זקני ישראל ziknei Yisrael, but while we yet have survivors with all they went through, those are זקני ישראל ziknei Yisrael, those are those are incredible, incredible wings that truly enable us to fly in the greatest way.פרק ט', פסוק ו' Perek tes pasuk vav. Moving right along. So it was again inauguration day, it was the eighth day and the priestly service begins. It was time for Aaron and his sons to begin their practice. And that's what Moshe tells Aaron, קח לך עגל בן בקר kach lecha egel ben bakar, bring a חטאת chatas, bring an עולה olah, bring these sacrifices and the nitty gritty and the details of the sacrifices. פסוק ו' Pasuk vav, ויאמר משה זה הדבר אשר ציוה השם תעשו Vayomer Moshe zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem ta'asu, וירא עליכם כבוד השם v'yera aleichem kvod Hashem. Moshe tells Aaron, this is the thing Hashem has commanded, then the glory of Hashem will appear to you. So this is what you should do. Here are the details, here are the rules, here's what is expected of you. Here's how to begin your service. And then once you do, then in that order, וירא עליכם כבוד השם v'yera aleichem kvod Hashem. Says Rav Moshe of Kozhnitz. Says Rav Moshe of Kozhnitz. זה הדבר אשר ציוה השם תעשו Zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem ta'asu. Listen to his interpretation. He says sometimes a Jew is living in life, a person's living through life, and they don't know, what am I meant to do? What is the right thing to do? We have a moral or ethical or הלכתי halachic dilemma. I don't know what to do. So how should one resolve this ספק safek? How should one resolve the dilemma? What should one think? Says Rav Moshe of Kozhnitz, כשמתעורר הספק בליבו של אדם על דבר פעולה כלשהי k'she'misorer ha'safek b'libo shel adam al davar pe'ula kol'she'hi, when a person has a doubt, when a person has a dilemma, when a person is unsure and uncertain what to do, האם זו מצוה או חלילה ההפך ha'im zu mitzvah o chalila ha'hefech? What is the right or righteous thing to do? Is what I'm doing noble or חס ושלום chas v'shalom, God forbid, the opposite. עליו לבחון האם ממעשה זה יצא כבוד לשם Alav livchon ha'im mi'ma'aseh zeh yitzei kvod la'Shem. There is one barometer, there's one metric, there's one measure, there's one filter through which to interpret and to ask, is this the right thing to do? And you know what that is? Will this be מרבה כבוד השם marbeh kvod Hashem? Will this increase the honor to God? אם לאו im lav, will this diminish God's honor? Will this diminish God's name in the world? Or will this add to God's name in the world? That's what we are created for. נקדש את שמך בעולמך Nekadesh es shimcha b'olamecha, we are here to sanctify God's name. We are here to bring greater honor to God's vision for his world. So every time we're stuck, and every time we're unsure, and every time we ask ourselves, what should I do? What am I meant to do? What's right to do? Ask ourselves, what will bring greater כבוד השם kvod Hashem? Says Rav Moshe of Kozhnitz, this is alluded to, this is hinted to in the פסוק pasuk. How? It says זה הדבר אשר ציוה השם תעשו zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem ta'asu. רק אם נראה שיצא מזה כבוד שמיים Rak im nireh she'yitzei mi'zeh kvod shamayim, וירא עליכם כבוד השם v'yera aleichem kvod Hashem. When וירא עליכם כבוד השם v'yera aleichem kvod Hashem, when you see this will increase the כבוד השם kvod Hashem, then you know זה הדבר אשר ציוה השם תעשו zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem ta'asu. Then you know this is what he wants you to do. How do you know what's right? וירא עליכם כבוד השם V'yera aleichem kvod Hashem. Will you see a greater כבוד השם kvod Hashem? Will you see an increase? Will you see an improvement? Will you see a greater honor to God? Then זה הדבר zeh hadavar, then you know this is the thing he wants you to do. But if you won't, if that won't be the result, if it won't bring a greater כבוד השם kvod Hashem, then it is not the thing he wants you to do. That is the barometer, that is the metric, that is the measure, that is how we know.So it's time for Aaron to begin the service. So Moshe turns to him and he tells us in פסוק ט' pasuk tes, פסוק ז' pasuk zayin, sorry, פסוק ז' pasuk zayin. ויאמר משה אל אהרן קרב אל המזבח ועשה את חטאתך ואת עולתך Vayomer Moshe el Aharon krav el ha'mizbeach va'aseh es chatascha v'es olasecha, וכפר בעדך ובעד העם v'chaper ba'adcha u'va'ad ha'am, ועשה את קרבן העם וכפר בעדם כאשר ציוה השם va'aseh es korban ha'am v'chaper ba'adam ka'asher tziva Hashem. Moshe says to Aaron, it's time. You ready? You ready? קרב אל המזבח krav el ha'mizbeach, my brother, my big brother, Aaron, come. Come to the מזבח mizbeach, come close to the altar and ועשה את חטאתך va'aseh es chatascha and it's time to begin your service. On these words קרב אל המזבח ועשה krav el ha'mizbeach va'aseh, comes along Rashi and tells us, קרב אל המזבח krav el ha'mizbeach, שהיה אהרן בוש וירא לגשת she'hayah Aharon bosh v'yarei la'geshes. Why does Moshe have to offer encouraging words? Why does Moshe have to draw Aaron close? Didn't Aaron want to come close? Didn't Aaron know to come close? Why did Moshe have to encourage and draw him close? So says Rashi, you know why? מפני שהיה אהרן בוש mipnei she'hayah Aharon bosh, he was embarrassed, he was ashamed, וירא לגשת v'yarei la'geshes. אמר לו משה amar lo Moshe, למה אתה בוש lama ata bosh, why are you ashamed, why are you hesitating, why are you resisting, לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta. You were chosen for this. You were made for this. My brother, what are you hesitating? What are you ashamed? What are you embarrassed? Why are you reluctant? לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta, step up. It's time. This is why you were chosen.Says Rav Druk, יש לדקדק בלשון רש\"י yesh l'dakdek b'lashon Rashi. We've talked about this before, we've shared insights, but let's see what Rav Druk says. It says שהיה אהרן בוש וירא לגשת she'hayah Aharon bosh v'yarei la'geshes. הרי שהיה לו גם יראה וגם בושה harei she'hayah lo gam yirah v'gam busha. Aaron had both fear and and shame. והלא לאחר כך אמר לו משה v'ila l'achar kach amar lo Moshe, למה אתה בוש lama ata bosh, but Moshe only addresses the shame. He says why are you ashamed? This is why you were chosen. Moshe doesn't address at all the יראה yirah. שהיה אהרן בוש וירא לגשת she'hayah Aharon bosh v'yarei la'geshes. Aaron was ashamed and afraid. So Moshe says, why are you ashamed? Come close. This is why you were chosen. What happened to the fear? Why does Moshe only address the shame? Why doesn't he address the fear? רואים מכאן דבר עצום Ro'im mi'kan davar atzum. Says Rav Druk, you see from here something profound. כשאנחנו ניגשים לעבודה במקדש ויש יראה k'she'anachnu nigashim la'avodah b'mikdash v'yesh yirah, זה דבר טוב zeh davar tov, כך צריך להיות kach tzarich lihiyos. You know why Moshe doesn't address it? Because he doesn't want to erase it. The fact that Aaron had a healthy sense of awe, the fact that Aaron had a healthy dose of fear, that was good. Moshe doesn't address it because Moshe doesn't want to relieve Aaron of it. רק כיוון שהיה גם כן מתבייש Rak keivan she'hayah gam kein misbayesh, אמר לו למה אתה בוש amar lo lama ata bosh. Moshe is only concerned, is why are you ashamed? Why are you embarrassed? You you're filled with awe? That's good. You should be filled with awe. You're about to enter the sanctuary. You're about to do the עבודה avodah. You're about to come incredibly close to God the Almighty, the creator. So awe, fear, that's good. Keep it. Maintain it. Moshe only addresses the בושה busha, the shame, because that is what is unhealthy. Shame is an unhealthy, unhealthy thought. Shame is an insecurity. Shame leads to self-sabotage. Shame leads to underachieving. Shame leads to self-hate. Shame is a negative, negative attribute. Think, shame is a very, very negative attribute. But awe, awe is something we strive for. Awe is something we aspire to. So Moshe says, my brother, יראה yirah? Good. Feel a little awe. But בושה busha, why בושה busha? לכך נבחרת L'kach nivcharta for this you were chosen. Number one.Number two. בפשטות כוונת הדברים B'pshatus kavanas ha'dvarim, שמשה רבינו אומר לאהרן, למה אתה בוש? she'Moshe Rabbeinu omer l'Aharon, lama ata bosh? The simple understanding is he's telling him, why are you ashamed? הרי כבר נבחרת לעבודה זו Harei kvar nivcharta la'avodah zu. God has tapped you. God has asked you to do it. So you were recruited, you were elected for the cabinet position. You were recruited, you were elected to be the president, the committee chair, the rabbi. So what are you ashamed? What are you embarrassed? If you were asked to do it, לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta, you were chosen. אם כן עליך לעשות את עבודתך בלא בושה v'im kein alecha la'asos es avodascha b'lo busha. So get to work. Get to work. Why are you embarrassed or why are you ashamed? Why are you resistant? Why are you reluctant? This is why you were chosen. By the way, what was he embarrassed about? So the מדרש medrash elaborates further. When Aaron approached the מזבח mizbeach, what did he see? The way the מזבח mizbeach, the altar is constructed, there are קרנות המזבח karnos ha'mizbeach. The מזבח mizbeach has horns protruding from the corners. So if you're walking towards the מזבח mizbeach and you see something with horns that come up, what does it look like? It looks exactly like a calf. It looks like an עגל egel with horns. What did Aaron think? He's approaching the מזבח mizbeach, he's trained, he's prepared, he's purified, he's gotten ready, and it's opening day in the משכן Mishkan. And he's about to throw out the first קרבן korban. But as he walks up to that מזבח mizbeach and he sees those horns protruding, all of a sudden he recoils, and all of a sudden he says to himself, whoa, I can't do this. I'm not qualified. I'm not adequate. After all, I participated in the עגל הזהב Egel HaZahav. After all, I was part of the horrific mistake of the sin of the golden calf. And that's when Moshe tells him, no, no, no. לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta, despite that, God chose you to do this. So don't hesitate. Don't be reluctant, don't demur, לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta, for this you were chosen. And that's the simple understanding.But says Rav Druk, and many others, אולם יש לפרש בעניין אחר ulam yesh l'faresh b'inyan acher, you can answer differently. משה רבינו אומר לאהרן Moshe Rabbeinu omer l'Aharon, Moshe is telling Aaron, למה אתה בוש, לכך נבחרת lama ata bosh, l'kach nivcharta. היינו, דוקא מפני הבושה שיש בך, לכך נבחרת heinu, davka mipnei ha'busha she'yesh b'cha, l'kach nivcharta. Not don't be ashamed or hesitant, you were chosen, because you feel shame, because you hesitate, לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta. Because you're modest and because you're humble, that's why you were chosen. The arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic person, the person who thinks they deserve, they're entitled, that is not the person we want. We want the person who says I'm not qualified, I'm not adequate. No, לכך l'kach, לכך l'kach means not לכך l'kach for the job of being the כהן גדול kohen gadol, לכך l'kach meaning because אתה בוש ata bosh, because you're hesitant, לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta. And this we see in a גמרא בברכות דף י\"ב Gemara b'Brachos daf yud beis. כל העושה דבר עבירה ומתבייש בו kol ha'oseh davar aveira u'misbayesh bo, מוחלים לו על כל עוונותיו mochlin lo al kol avonosav. There are two types of shame. When I mentioned shame is bad, then that's the shame we daven on ערב ראש חודש erev Rosh Chodesh, the Shabbos will bentch Rosh Chodesh, and we say in the יהי רצון yehi ratzon, we don't want a life of חיי של בושה וכלימה chayei shel busha u'chlima. We're trying to avoid a life of shame. That's a negative shame. That's a shame which beats ourselves up and lowers us. It's an unhealthy shame. But there's also a very healthy sense of shame. The healthy shame is the shame I feel if I've done something wrong. If I don't feel ashamed, ashamed when I do something wrong, then I don't realize that there is something that needs to be fixed and repaired. That's what the גמרא בברכות Gemara b'Brachos says, כל העושה דבר עבירה ומתבייש בו kol ha'oseh davar aveira u'misbayesh bo, if you make a mistake and you're ashamed of it, then you're forgiven. If you make a mistake and you're brazen, you're bold, you're proud, then you're not forgiven. But if you make a mistake and you're ashamed of the mistake, you've learned from it, you're ashamed, you know you're capable of more, of better, then you are forgiven. So that was the healthy shame according to this interpretation that Aaron felt. He had a healthy shame, לכך l'kach, because you have a healthy shame, נבחרת nivcharta. That's why you were chosen. Because the person with the healthy shame is the one who is the one who grows.Okay, moving along. Turn the page. פרק ט', פסוק כ\"ג Perek tes, pasuk kaf gimmel. ויבוא משה ואהרן אל אהל מועד Vayavo Moshe v'Aharon el Ohel Moed, opening day at the משכן Mishkan, Moshe gives Aaron the instructions, Aaron hesitates, Moshe encourages, קרב אל המזבח krav el ha'mizbeach, step up, step forward, you got this. And then the sacrifices, the קרבן korban, they're offered. ויבוא משה ואהרן אל אהל מועד Vayavo Moshe v'Aharon el Ohel Moed, ויצאו ויברכו את העם vayetze'u vayevarchu es ha'am, וירא כבוד השם אל כל העם vayera kvod Hashem el kol ha'am. The pasuk tells us Moshe and Aaron came to the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed, and they went out and they blessed the people. What ברכה bracha did they give? Says Rashi, אמרו ויהי נועם ה' אלוקינו עלינו omru, yehi noam Hashem Elokeinu aleinu, יהי רצון שתשרה שכינה במעשה ידיכם yehi ratzon she'tishreh Shechina b'ma'asei yedeichem. May God's presence dwell on the work of your hand. שכל שבעת ימי המילואים שהעמיד משה את המשכן She'kol shivas yemei ha'miluim she'he'emid Moshe es ha'mishkan, ושמש בו ופרקו בכל יום v'shimesh bo u'ferko b'chol yom, לא שרתה בו שכינה lo sharsa bo Shechina. Rashi tells us that the whole seven days of the inauguration, Moshe assembled and disassembled the משכן Mishkan, Hashem didn't dwell there yet. והיו ישראל נכלמים ואומרים למשה v'hayu Yisrael nichlamim v'omrim l'Moshe, משה רבינו כל הטורח שטרחנו שתשרה שכינה בינינו Moshe Rabbeinu kol ha'torach she'tarachnu she'tishreh Shechina beineinu, ונדע שנתכפר לנו עוון העגל v'neida she'niskaper lanu avon ha'egel. Moshe, lovely that you're assembling and disassembling, lovely that you're doing a practice run, but we want to know we're forgiven. We want to know that we can move on. We want to know that God will dwell among us. So where's the שכינה Shechina? לכך אמר זה הדבר L'kach amar zeh hadavar, אשר ציוה השם תעשו asher tziva Hashem ta'asu, וירא אליכם כבוד השם v'yera eileichem kvod Hashem. Follow what Hashem said, and then he will appear. Again going back to Parshas Ki Sisa, this is what the Kuzari tells us. The עגל egel was when we tried to do it on our own. The antidote to the עגל egel, where we have too much religious creativity, independence, individuality, innovation, the antidote is כאשר ציוה ka'asher tziva, the building of the משכן Mishkan. Here too, when כבוד השם kvod Hashem, when will God be found, when does he dwell among us? After we follow כאשר ציוה ka'asher tziva, after we construct the way Hashem tells us.This is a very, very interesting פסוק pasuk because it's the eighth and final day of the inauguration. Seven days Moshe has been going in and out and doing a dry run. Eighth day Moshe, sorry, Aaron makes his first appearance as the כהן גדול kohen gadol. And after being hesitant at first, he finally comes and he performs the appropriate עבודה avodah, the opening service and sacrifice and he gives a ברכה bracha to כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. And yet, the שכינה Shechina, God's presence doesn't come down until it's all done. And Rashi tells us, Aaron wasn't sure about his involvement. He was he expressed his disappointment to Moshe, and Moshe said, no worries, come forward. Says Rav Volbe. Says Rav Volbe in his שיעורי חומש Shiurei Chumash on Parshas Shmini, says Rav Volbe there's a very, very important lesson that we see from this פסוק pasuk. A lesson that applies to every one of us in our daily lives. That בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael, the Jewish people had spent many days and months, they've contributed, they have devoted, they've donated, they gave the the ingredients, the materials, they gave the resources, they gave their time, they gave their energy, and the construction of the משכן Mishkan is now complete. And the כהנים kohanim spend eight days inaugurating it. And yet, they were not successful bringing Hashem's presence down until one more thing had to happen. So they gave their donations and they built the campus and they started the עבודה avodah. Aaron gives a ברכה bracha to the people and yet the שכינה Shechina doesn't come down until one more thing happens. What still had to happen for the שכינה Shechina to come? תפילה Tefillah. They had to daven. Even when we toil greatly, says Rav Volbe, even when we invest our effort in spiritual growth, our עבודה avodah is incomplete until we daven. You can have amazing faith and you can sing beautiful זמירות zmiros and you can learn all day long and you can do and you can try and you can believe, but until you stop and talk to Hashem, until you open your heart to him, until you ask him, until you rely on him, until you lean on him, until we add prayer and davening, then Hashem's presence is not felt.There's a גמרא בנדה דף ע' Gemara in Niddah daf ayin. The גמרא Gemara there relates that people asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, what is the proper way to acquire wisdom? And he answered, you have to devote much time to studying Torah and limit the time to work. So they said, but I don't understand, many tried this. Many tried, they learned long hours and they limited the amount of interaction with the world and yet they didn't break through, they didn't succeed. So he said, you know why? Because they forgot one component. They learned all those hours and they limited their interactions with this world, but they forgot to be מבקש mevakesh, they forgot to ask from the one who has all the wisdom. You have to daven. You have to daven. You can study for the SATs from today till tomorrow, the MCATs, the LSATs, להבדיל l'havdil, you can sit and pour over a Tosafos in Chullin and Yevamos, you can give all your heart, but if you don't ask Hashem for success, then you're going to hit a wall. The גמרא Gemara says the same thing. The גמרא Gemara asks, if acquiring wisdom is dependent entirely on prayer, then why did Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya originally answer that the wisdom is the result of intense, diligent study? So the גמרא Gemara says one without the other is insufficient. If you sit back and you daven, Hashem, I want to wake up tomorrow morning, I want to be a huge תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. I want to wake up tomorrow morning knowing ש\"ס Shas. Hashem says that's lovely. Did you open a גמרא Gemara? Have you spent any time? He's not going to do miracles. But if you open the גמרא Gemara and you pour over it from morning till night, and you don't ask Hashem for help, you're also not going to be successful. The נצי\"ב Netziv of Volozhin, Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, I mentioned this in the Seder snippets, we resumed the Seder snippets. days of פסח Pesach and we're learning the magnificent second ברכה Bracha of קריאת שמע Kriyas Shma, אהבה רבה Ahavah Rabbah. If you haven't joined yet, join for אהבה רבה Ahavah Rabbah. Such insights into our תפילה tefillah. אהבה רבה Ahavah Rabbah, סדר Seder snippets, you can go back all the way to the beginning and start from מודה אני Modeh Ani or you can join us in progress. We're 250 snippets in and we're on אהבה רבה Ahavah Rabbah. So the נצי\"ב Netziv of Volozhin, the great ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin, רב נפתלי צבי יהודה ברלין Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin said, any day in which he didn't say אהבה רבה Ahavah Rabbah where he was moved to tears, he didn't succeed in learning that day. This is the great נצי\"ב Netziv, ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin. He poured out his heart over the learning, but he said if his learning was not accompanied with דאווענען davening, he did not succeed in that learning. רב חיים בריסקער Rav Chaim Brisker was asked, how come in Volozhin there was no מוסר סדר Mussar Seder? He answered there was. The מוסר סדר Mussar Seder was watching the way the נצי\"ב Netziv said אהבה רבה Ahavah Rabbah every morning, that was our מוסר סדר Mussar Seder. So the נצי\"ב Netziv understood, the נצי\"ב Netziv didn't have a ספר sefer open instead of אהבה רבה Ahavah Rabbah, he was learning from the ספר sefer. He understood that when you're saying אהבה רבה Ahavah Rabbah, שמע Shma, שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreh, עמידה Amidah, close the ספר sefer and pour your heart into your prayer and ask השם Hashem for help. You need both. You need both. You need the effort and the initiative, and you need the prayer that accompanies it. So that's this פסוק pasuk says רב Rav. משה Moshe and אהרן Aaron, the people had donated the ingredients, the materials, the vessels. They had built. The campus was complete. The inauguration was celebrated and marked. First עבודה avodah was done, the blessing was given to the people, and yet, still no השרעת השכינה hashra'as haShechina, because God doesn't come and dwell until we דאווען daven. Until we דאווען daven. We have to דאווען daven for השם Hashem to be successful. He quotes יערות דבש Yaaros Dvash in רב Rav in יערות דבש Yaaros Dvash, the הייליגע Heilige רב יונתן אייבשיץ Rav Yonason Eibshitz writes, he was a genius, רב יונתן אייבשיץ Rav Yonason Eibshitz. But he said the days that he דאווען davened with כוונה kavanah, he was more successful in his learning. If he didn't דאווען daven with כוונה kavanah that day, he struggled in his learning. He struggled in his learning. Whatever we're doing, going to work, going to work out, going to the supermarket, raising our children, going to the doctor, collecting the lab report, or sitting down to דאווען daven, to learn. Sometimes we need to דאווען daven for success in דאווענען davening. Ask השם Hashem that the דאווענען davening should flow, and that we don't find it to be difficult, and that it should come easily, and that we find the words, and that we're able to concentrate, and it all goes together. פרק י Perek Yud, פסוק pasuk י Yud. Sorry, פרק י Perek Yud, פסוק א Pasuk Aleph. Turn the page, page 592 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. We now turn to the tragic, tragic episode, the death of נדב ואביהוא Nadav v'Avihu. ויקחו בני אהרן נדב ואביהוא איש מחתתו ויתנו בהן אש וישימו עליה קטרת ויקריבו לפני השם אש זרה אשר לא צוה אותם Vayikchu vnei Aharon Nadav v'Avihu ish machtaso vayitnu bahen eish vayasimu aleha ketores vayakrivu lifnei Hashem eish zarah asher lo tzivah osam. The sons of נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu, our sons of אהרן Aaron, נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu, they each took their fire pan, they put a fire, they placed incense in it, and they brought it before השם Hashem, this foreign fire. What does it mean that it's a foreign fire, an אש זרה eish zarah? What does it mean that it's foreign? It means אשר לא צוה אותם asher lo tzivah osam. They weren't commanded, they weren't told, and they weren't instructed to do it. אשר לא צוה אותם Asher lo tzivah osam. What did they do wrong? Where did they go wrong? What did they do wrong? There are no shortage of opinions, no shortage of suggestions that are offered where they went wrong. But I want to tell you what the great the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe, the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim says. חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim says, עיקר קיום המצווה ikkar kiyum hamitzvah, בכח הציווי b'koach hatzivui. The core of fulfilling a מצווה mitzvah is the very fact that we are commanded. משום כך אנו אומרים בכל ברכה Mishum kach anu omrim b'chol bracha. And this is what we say every ברכה bracha before every מצווה mitzvah we do, we recite a ברכה bracha. אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וציוונו Asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu. שכן וציוונו זהו עיקר העיקרים Shekein v'tzivanu zehu ikkar ha'ikkarim. The very fact that we are commanded is the עיקר עיקרים ikkar ikkarim. The core and the greatest thing is that we were charged and we were asked and we were commanded to do it. נדב ואביהוא נענשו בכל חומרה ודין בגלל שהקריבו אש זרה, אשר לא צוה אותם Nadav v'Avihu na'anshu b'chol chomra v'din b'glal she'hikrivu eish zarah, asher lo tzivah osam. נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu are punished severely. Why? They brought a foreign fire. You know where they went wrong, נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu? They had very noble intent. Their heart was in the right place. There are people who practice religious creativity, ingenuity, entrepreneurship. They try to introduce new practices and rituals. They try to change the ones we have, and maybe they're nobly motivated. Maybe their intent is in the right place. However, אשר לא צוה אותם asher lo tzivah osam. We learn from the עגל Eigel, and we learn from נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu, and we need to continue to learn עד היום הזה ad hayom hazeh until today that while there's room for individuality, on the other hand, God is the master, and he is the one who has given us the blueprint and the manual, the instruction book. אשר לא צוה אותם Asher lo tzivah osam, we cannot do things we're not commanded. We cannot do things we cannot command it. So therefore, what is the most elevating part of a מצווה mitzvah is not just the particulars of the מצווה mitzvah, but is the fact that we say the words אשר קדשנו במצוותיו asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav. You've sanctified us, how? וציוונו V'tzivanu. You gave us, you gave us the instruction. So the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe says, אדם פשוט Adam pashut, העושה ומקיים את המצווה רק כדי לקיים את רצון הבורא ha'oseh v'mekayem es hamitzvah rak kedei l'kayem es r'tzon haBorei. You take a simple Jew who doesn't begin to understand the פנימיות pnimiyus of the מצווה mitzvah, doesn't even understand the depth and the profundity and the deeper meaning and the mindfulness of the מצווה mitzvah. שאינו משיג את עומק הכוונה She'eino massig es omek hakavanah. נחשב לו הדבר כאילו קיים את המצווה בכל כוונותיה, פרטיה ודקדוקיה Nechshav lo hadavar k'ilu kiem es hamitzvah b'chol kavanoseha, prateha, v'dikdukeha. If we pause before doing the מצווה mitzvah and simply concentrate on the fact that God, you commanded me. What I'm about to do is fulfilling your wish, your will for me. וציוונו V'tzivanu. וציוונו V'tzivanu. I'm doing something you want. I'm doing something that matters and means something to you. The וציוונו v'tzivanu. Says the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim, that's where then they went wrong. We cannot simply introduce and create on our own. But rather, we have to respond. We have to respond to what הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu asks of asks of us. That's where they went wrong. There are all kinds of other suggestions, many long suggestions of what they did, of what they did wrong, but we're not going to share for now. Yesterday I spoke, the OU, every day, 1:00. My friend, Naftali Herman hosts a 1:00 תהילים Tehillim call every day. A rabbi gives a short דברי תורה Divrei Torah followed by the recitation of תהילים Tehillim. So I spoke yesterday and I spoke about the fact that here we have the story of נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu in the first half and with all the suggestions that are offered, נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu never got married, never had children. Maybe that was the mistake. They entered into the sanctuary drunk. That was their mistake. They brought this foreign fire that wasn't commanded of them. That was the mistake. There are no shortage of suggestions, but in the end of the day, it's a חוק chok. In the end of the day, it's a mystery. In the end of the day, we don't understand. And maybe that's the connection between the first half of the פרשה parsha and the second half. The second half of the פרשה parsha is going to be the laws of כשרות kashrus, the laws of eating, of food. How do you connect them? The ספורנו Sforno connects them and says both of them are holiness. נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu defiled the משכן Mishkan. כשרות Kashrus is how we connect to השם Hashem. Both of them are about שכינה shechina. One finds השם Hashem in the משכן Mishkan, one finds השם Hashem in the food we eat, and therefore we have to be careful and vigilant in both. That's the ספורנו Sforno. But a high school רבי rebbi of mine, רב אשר בוש Rav Asher Bush, suggests maybe the common theme, the common thread is just like the second half of the פרשה parsha is a חוק chok, is the laws of כשרות kashrus, רש\"י Rashi says is a חוק chok. We have חוקים chukim. We have incomprehensible, we have things we can't understand in law, and we have things we can't understand in life. First half of the פרשה parsha is something we can't understand, a mystery in life. Second half of the פרשה parsha is something we can't understand in law. What binds them together is what comes in between. But I don't want to spoil it, so go find it and listen to it online from the OU call yesterday. In between the two halves of the פרשה parsha, we find two words in the middle of פרשת שמיני parsha Shmini, and I think that is the answer of the theme, of the thread that binds the two themes, not just that there's a חוק chok, חוק chok in life and a חוק chok in law. What do we do? Do we become apathetic and complacent? Do we ignore and move on? No. There's something nevertheless for us to do. Listen to that call and you will and you will find what I suggest it is. Moving along to יין ושכר Yayin v'shechar. So we have the tragic story, אהרן Aaron loses his sons. וידום Va'yidom, how does he respond? With silence. We've spoken about this many times. You could find online if you listened to previous שיעורים shiurim. We don't know the nature of אהרן Aaron's silence. Is he silent in protest? Is he silent in surrender? Is he silent in speechlessness? Why is אהרן Aaron silent will never know. But it appears it's not really silence. שקט Sheket is quiet. וידום Va'yidom is something so much more. We've quoted the קלויזנבורגער רבי Klausenberger Rebbe that we can learn, you know what the וידום אהרן va'yidom Aaron is? בדמייך חיי, בדמייך חיי B'damayich chayi, b'damayich chayi, the connection between בדמייך חיי b'damayich chayi and וידום אהרן va'yidom Aaron. That through not a passive silence, but through sometimes silence speaks volumes. Sometimes silence is louder than anything that we say. The Holocaust survivors among us, this week of יום השואה Yom HaShoah, the survivors who maintained their אמונה emunah, their בטחון bitachon, their faith, the survivors who put one foot in front of another and rebuilt and moved on. Their silence about their suffering speaks volumes, inspires and motivates us. וידום אהרן Va'yidom Aaron. It wasn't just a passive silence and absence of speech. It was actually speaking volumes, but through a silence. And said the קלויזנבורגער רבי Klausenberger Rebbe who lost his wife and I believe 11 children, the קלויזנבורגער רבי Klausenberger Rebbe said that's בדמייך חיי b'damayich chayi. בדמייך חיי B'damayich chayi is the with the וידום של אהרן va'yidom of Aaron. בדמייך חיי b'damayich chayi with the וידום של אהרן va'yidom of Aaron, חיי chayi, that's how we live. That's how we move on. That's how we move on. By not allowing our suffering, by not allowing the tragedies to derail us. Do we have questions? Absolutely. Are we in pain? 100%. But we put one foot in front of the other, בדמייך חיי b'damayich chayi with the וידום של אהרן va'yidom of Aaron. It's not a coincidence that the very next passage, the very next section, top of page 594. וידבר השם אל אהרן לאמר, יין ושכר אל תשת אתה ובניך אתך בבואכם אל אוהל מועד ולא תמותו, חוקת עולם לדורותיכם Vayidaber Hashem el Aharon leimor: yayin v'shechar al tesht, ata u'vanecha itach, b'voachem el ohel moed v'lo samusu, chukas olam l'doroseichem. You're not allowed to drink wine, you or your sons when you come into the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed. ולא תמותו V'lo samusu, death penalty. Death penalty. You come drunk, intoxicated, inebriated into the sanctuary, you are put to death, capital crime, death penalty. Wow. Seems kind of harsh. Seems sort of severe. Death penalty for coming in drunk? So first of all, now you understand why some commentators deduce that this was the mistake and sin of נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu. Why is the very next section that you're not allowed to enter drunk? Because it's revealing and telling us what they did wrong. They must have come in after a few לחיים l'chaims. That's where they went wrong, and from there we know it's a capital crime and you're put to death. Isn't that severe? Isn't that enormously severe? So I want to tell you an insight of רב שמחה בונים מפשיסחא Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa. This insight is so important for our time. This insight, this פסוק pasuk, I think, is the source of Alcoholics Anonymous. What do I mean by that? This is the source of AA, NA, GA, SA, all the anonymous, the 12-step program. The wonderful 12-step program. What do I mean this is the source? So the מדרש Midrash says the following. In מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah, פרשת יב Parshas Yud Beis it says the following: יין ושכר אל תשת Yayin v'shechar al tesht. הדין דכתיב Hodu dichsiv: פקודי ה' ישרים משמחי לב Pikudei Hashem yesharim, m'samchei lev. A very cryptic מדרש Midrash. The מדרש Midrash cryptically says, wine and intoxicating beverages don't drink and that's what the פסוק pasuk means in תהילים יט Tehillim Yud Tes, פקודי ה' ישרים Pikudei Hashem yesharim, the laws of God are straight, משמחי לב m'samchei lev, they gladden the heart. This is the source of the פסוק pasuk, this פסוק pasuk is the source of the fact that an אבל avel is not allowed to learn תורה Torah. Someone who is grieving is mourning cannot learn תורה Torah, only the sections that relate to the mourner. Why? Because the mourner, the one in grief, is supposed to be concentrating on their mourning. But פקודי ה' ישרים משמחי לב pikudei Hashem yesharim m'samchei lev. It's why in תשעה באב Tisha B'Av we can't learn תורה Torah. When we're supposed to feel down, when we're supposed to be somber, when we're supposed to be sad, learning תורה Torah is incongruous. Learning תורה Torah is משמחי לב m'samchei lev. It gladdens, it gives us joy, gives us happiness. So what in the world is the מדרש Midrash saying? wonders רב שמחה בונים מפשיסחא Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa. What? When the כהן kohen enters, he's not allowed to be drunk. That's what the פסוק pasuk means, תורה Torah gladdens the heart. What does one thing have to do with the other? So listen to what רב שמחה בונים מפשיסחא Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa says. He says you want to feel relief? Do you want to feel joy? Do you want to get high? משמחי לב M'samchei lev, פקודי ה' pikudei Hashem. If you submit to a higher power, if you know that you're not in charge and you're not in control, if you live with faith and awareness that there's a God and that he loves you and that he gives you the strength, if you submit to a higher power, then you won't need to get intoxicated or drunk on anything else. You won't need to turn to any substance or behavior to get high on it when you can get high on God. At the core of addiction and at the core of substance abuse is the effort and desire to numb oneself to a pain. There's a hole in one's heart, there's a vacuum, there's a pain. What the source of it is different for everybody. Feeling you don't belong, feeling unloved, feeling unworthy, whatever the reason is, feeling stress, anxiety, pressure, they're all kinds of very legitimate reasons people feel in extreme pain. And usually at the core of addiction is an effort to escape and to numb from that pain, to get high on something which is fleeting, counterfeit, inauthentic, in which you just need to get high or escape again. And in the 12-step program, of which I am no expert at all, but I've learned so much and believe in, in the 12-step program, I refer you to my friend רב מנחם פזננסקי Rav Menachem Pazananski's wonderful book on תורה Torah and the 12-step program and of course all the great work of the late רבי ד\"ר טברסקי Rabbi Dr. Twerski, ז\"ל z\"l. But in the 12-step program, one of the core steps is submitting to a higher power. And it's not a coincidence that the success of a program of recovery includes accepting a higher power and submitting to him. And that's what רב שמחה בונים Rav Simcha Bunim is saying. What is the מדרש Midrash meaning, יין ושכר אל תשת yayin v'shechar al tesht? You're not allowed to become drunk. Ah, that's the פסוק pasuk that השם's Hashem's תורה Torah is משמחי לב m'samchei lev. What does one thing have to do with the other? The answer is if you tapped into, if you turned to, if you rely on the higher power, then you don't need to rely on יין ושכר yayin v'shechar. If you're not addicted and you can consume in moderation, there's nothing wrong. A glass of wine, we just drank four of them two nights in a row. There's nothing wrong with a glass of wine in moderation, if you can do so safely. But to get drunk, to get intoxicated, to escape, to live that way, that is a failure of submitting to a higher power. The individual who lives with the פקודי השם pikudei Hashem, if you live with the lessons, the messages, if you live with the presence of השם Hashem and the משמחי לב m'samchei lev, the joy it brings, if you successfully submit to and welcome the higher power, then you don't need the escape of the יין ושכר אל תשת yayin v'shechar al tesht. You don't need that in order to survive and in order to live. I think it's such a powerful and such an important message. It's an important message for us to tell the people around us and the קידוש kiddush clubs and the community or segments of the community that celebrate things not in moderation. It's one thing to enjoy, הקדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu gave us and he said enjoy. He created it in moderation, safely. But to use it as an escape or to numb, it is counterfeit. It's counterfeit. We're living in a very high-pressured world. The stress is enormous. There are a lot of reasons to want to get high. There are a lot of reasons to want to escape. But we have the opportunity and ability to do it within our own religion. The פסוק pasuk says in תהילים Tehillim, the רמח\"ל Ramchal quotes it in מסילת ישרים Mesillas Yesharim, we have the ability להתענג על השם l'hisaneig al Hashem. We can להתענג l'hisaneig. We can get high על השם al Hashem. You can get high on God. Submit to the higher power. All of this is, it feels like it's a new lesson or a new teaching since the 12 steps of the program, but it's ancient. It goes back to נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu themselves. It goes back to the תורה Torah itself. יין ושכר אל תשת Yayin v'shechar al tesht, ולא תמותו v'lo samusu. Because it's a it's a capital crime. If you get drunk as a way of escape, by the way, what's even more egregious here? What do נדב ואביהוא Nadav and Avihu do wrong? Why does this פסוק pasuk come afterwards? The more egregious thing is if you think that you're getting drunk as a religious activity. If you think, I'm not talking about פורים Purim, but if you think that getting drunk every Friday night, every Thursday night, every שבת Shabbos morning, if a person thinks that getting wasted and drunk and they miss the meal with their family and they say things they're embarrassed about later, if you think that getting drunk is even religiously motivated or has a religious merit or value, לא תמותו lo samusu. That is the death of you. That's a capital violation. But rather, פקודי ה' ישרים משמחי לב pikudei Hashem yesharim m'samchei lev. Don't get high on substances, get high on God instead. Okay, now we move over to the laws of כשרות kashrus. פרשה Parsha, as I said, has זאת החיה אשר תאכלו zos hachaya asher tochlu. We have all the detailed laws of כשרות kashrus. Birds, fowl, animals, fish, and so on. Here, פרק יא Perek Yud Aleph, פסוק ט Pasuk Tes. פסוק יט Pasuk Yud Tes. Go to page 600. Page 600. את החסידה האנפה למינה Es hachasida ha'anafah l'minah. When it comes to fish, they need fins and scales. When it comes to animals, split hooves and chews its cud. When it comes to birds, which birds are כשר kosher? We are not given סימנים simanim, we don't have signs, but we're given species. We're given species. That's why there's some הלכתי halachic controversy surrounding turkey. מורנו ורבנו רב שכטר Moreinu v'Rabbeinu Rav Schechter doesn't eat turkey, there's no מסורה mesorah. Turkey was a new world bird, discovered in America. No מסורה mesorah. And therefore, רב יעקב קמנצקי Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, מורנו ורבנו רב שכטר Moreinu v'Rabbeinu Rav Schechter and many others don't eat turkey because there is no מסורה mesorah for it. Birds, when it comes to birds, we're not given signs, but rather we are told species. One of the species, ואת החסידה האנפה למינה ואת הדוכיפת ואת העטלף the'es hachasida ha'anafah l'minah, v'es haduchifas v'es ha'atalef. פסוק יט Pasuk Yud Tes. Pasuk says, the חסידה chasida, the אנפה anafah, according to its kind, the דוכיפת duchifas and the עטלף atalef. These are all species of non-כשר kosher, forbidden fowl, non-כשר kosher, forbidden birds. The חסידה chasida. חסידה Chasida is a stork, רש\"י Rashi tells us. The stork is not a כשר kosher bird, others disagree with רש\"י Rashi and say it's a different form of a bird. But why is it called a חסידה chasida? So רש\"י Rashi tells us it's called a חסידה chasida, שעושה חסד עם חברותיה במזונות she'osah chesed im chavrusah b'mezonos. Because most animals when they get food, they keep it for themselves. The חסידה chasida when she gets food, shares it with her friends. In the שבת הגדול דרשה Shabbos Hagadol drasha, we spoke about community. You can find it online here on our YouTube channel. And I'll give a shameless plug for a moment to subscribe to the YouTube channel if you have not, then go down and press subscribe and you'll be notified every time we go live and we can learn together. So, in our שבת הגדול דרשה Shabbos Hagadol drasha, we talked about, the slave keeps all the food for themselves. We talked about from Primo Levi and others that in the Holocaust and כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael when they left Egypt, when you're willing to share what you have with others, it's an expression and reflection of truly being free. When you are unwilling to share, what you have owns you. When you're willing to share, you own it. That's why at the סדר Seder we begin כל דכפין kol dichfin, and anyone who's hungry, come and eat. We're showing our willingness to share. So the חסידה chasida has the very flattering name, whose root is חסד chesed because she's willing to share, which begs the question from the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim. I don't understand. If the חסידה chasida is willing to share, why is she not כשר kosher? The רמב\"ן Ramban, נחמנידיס Nachmanides tells us that the birds that are not כשר kosher all have a common trait: מידת אכזריות midas achzariyus. They're cruel, they're predatory birds, they're birds of prey. So how does that שטים shtim, wonders the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe, the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim, if this bird is not כשר kosher because it's predatory and it practices מידת אכזריות midas achzariyus, cruelty, how does that שטים shtim, how does that fit with the fact that it's called a חסידה chasida because it does חסד chesed? גוואלדיגע Gevaldike question. A great question from the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim. So you know what the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim answers? Yeah. The bird does חסד chesed. But look again at רש\"י Rashi. With whom does she do חסד chesed? With her friends. She doesn't do חסד chesed with anyone who's not in her inner circle, who's not her friend. That's cruel. That's cruel. The truly kind person doesn't only do חסד chesed with the people they know and like. They're willing to do חסד chesed with anyone who needs. If you only do חסד chesed with people you know and like, with your friends and your inner circle, are you really doing חסד chesed or are you really serving yourself? It's when you're willing to do חסד chesed outside your circle, when you're willing to do חסד chesed with a stranger, that is genuine and true חסד chesed. And therefore, on the one hand, the חסידה chasida is called חסידה chasida because of the חסד chesed she does with friends. On the other hand, she remains unkosher. Why? Because there's a cruelty in only doing חסד chesed with friends and not a willingness to do חסד chesed with others as well, with others as well. אוי Oi, so many further ideas that I wanted to share with you. Skip to פרק יא Perek Yud Aleph, פסוק מה Pasuk Mem Hey. Turn the page, page 604, 606. We're going right to the end of the פרשה parsha. Fast forward. כי אני ה' המעלה אתכם מארץ מצרים להיות לכם לאלקים והייתם קדשים כי קדוש אני Ki ani Hashem ha'ma'aleh eschem me'eretz Mitzrayim l'hiyos lachem l'Elokim, v'hiyisem kedoshim ki kadosh ani. After telling us the laws of כשרות kashrus, the intricate detailed laws of כשרות kashrus, the תורה Torah tells us, and why should you observe it? And why should you keep it? Because I am השם Hashem המעלה אתכם מארץ מצרים ha'ma'aleh eschem me'eretz Mitzrayim who takes you out of Egypt. I am God who elevates you from Egypt, and you should be holy because I am holy. So רב דרוק Rav Druck wonders a few questions on this פסוק pasuk. First of all, notice that it's in the present. המעלה אתכם Ha'ma'aleh eschem. God who takes you out, not who took you out of Egypt, but who continues to take you out of Egypt. Number one. Number two, I thought we were doing a piece here on רב דרוק Rav Druck on this. Yeah. Number two, you'll notice... What did I see this? Sorry, not here, in רבבות Revavot, not in רב דרוק Rav Druck, in רבבות Revavot. Normally when we talk about השם Hashem and Egypt, we describe... Excuse me. We described... not Corona, I'm vaccinated. We describe, think about in עשרת הדברות Aseres Hadibros, how we're introduced to השם Hashem. אנכי ה' אלקיך Ani Hashem Elokecha, המוציא אתכם ha'motzi eschem, who took us out. Note what it says here, says רבבות Revavot. Not המוציא ha'motzi who took us out, but המעלה ha'ma'aleh who elevates us out of Egypt. There's a difference. In עשרת הדברות Aseres Hadibros, it's the God who took us out of Egypt. Here in the laws of כשרות kashrus, it's the God who elevates us out of the land of Egypt. And says רבבות Revavot, because when we came out of מצרים Mitzrayim, we came out in stages. המוציא אתכם Ha'motzi eschem talks about our physical freedom and emancipation. המעלה אתכם Ha'ma'aleh eschem is that he took us out in order to be holy. And how are we holy? One of the ways we're holy is in the way that we eat. Are we gluttonous? Are we discerning? Are we capable of being disciplined? Do we have diet? How do we eat? How we eat is how we achieve... So המעלה אתכם מארץ מצרים ha'ma'aleh eschem mei'eretz Mitzrayim. Egypt is a place of decadence and gluttony. How do we achieve holiness? How is he המעלה אתכם ha'ma'aleh eschem? והייתם קדושים V'hiyisem kedoshim. God is elevating us above Egypt and he's having us become holy, how? Through being disciplined and dignified in our eating and in the laws of כשרות kashrus. And this is what רב דרוק Rav Druck says too, in the word והתקדשתם v'hiskadishtem. והתקדשתם V'hiskadishtem. Look at רש\"י Rashi. כי אני ה' אלקיכם Ki ani Hashem Elokeichem, כשם שאני קדוש, אני ה' אלקיכם K'shem she'ani kadosh, ani Hashem Elokeichem, so too you should be holy down below. The גמרא Gemara in פסחים Psachim says, לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ומצוות אף על פי שלא לשמה, שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה l'olam ya'asok adam b'Torah u'mitzvos af al pi shelo lishmah, m'toch shelo lishmah ba lishmah. Even if you do the right thing for the wrong reason, you'll come to do it for the right reason. The גמרא Gemara in סוטה Sotah learns this from בלק Balak. Then the merit of the 42 קרבנות karbanos that בלק Balak, the king of מואב Moab, Moav brought, he merited to have רות Rus descend from him. See that these sacrifices were done for the wrong intent. בלק Balak hated the Jews. בלק Balak rebelled against God. He did the right thing for the wrong reason. That too brings merit. Says רב דרוק Rav Druck, that's the meaning of this פסוק pasuk. והתקדשתם V'hiskadishtem. פירוש Perush, תתנהגו בקדושה tisnahagu b'kedushah. Act and practice with holiness. והתקדשתם V'hiskadishtem, התפעל hitpa'el. It means externally, outwardly, act holy. Fake it till you make it. Act like you're holy, והייתם קדושים v'hiyisem kedoshim. והתקדשתם, והייתם קדושים V'hiskadishtem, v'hiyisem kedoshim. Act like you're holy, walk like you're holy, demand of yourself like you're holy, and you will be holy. And that's what רש\"י Rashi says, קדשו עצמכם למטה kidshu atzmeichem l'matah. Meaning, be holy down below doesn't just mean God is holy up above and we're holy down below. It means be holy in the lowest level that you can be holy. What's the lowest level that you can be holy? When you're holy only externally, when you're holy in faking it till you make it. Be holy in a way that you're faking till you make it, and then you'll be holy for real. והתקדשתם, והייתם קדושים V'hiskadishtem, v'hiyisem kedoshim. A beautiful, beautiful insight. We'll conclude, רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik in the רב חומש Rav Chumash points out. He says, it's interesting to note, there's only one פסוק pasuk in the entire תורה Torah that mentions prayer. Only one פסוק pasuk in the whole תורה Torah that mentions תפילה tefillah, but there are many chapters that deal with dietary laws. Why? Says the רב Rav, because it's easier for a man to pray than to withdraw from the food that he desires. Man is ready to serve השם Hashem spiritually, but resents any interference with eating habits or with the manner in which he gratifies physical or carnal needs. You want me to stop by שול shul once in a while and דאווען daven? דאווענען Davening I can do, but don't tell me I can't eat at the buffet at the country club. Don't tell me I can't eat out the things that I want to eat. Don't tell me that that הכשר hechsher is no good. Don't tell me that I can't eat the dairy after the meat. Don't tell me what to do when it comes to my physical or carnal needs. Modern man, the רב Rav writes, is willing to worship God and participate in cultic performance and ceremony. Modern man does not object to singing hymns or visiting the sanctuary, never complains about the cost of cultic performance. At the same time, he resents being told that there are laws which guide him concerning behavior, not of the spirit, but of the body. תורה Torah is of the opinion, however, that it's impossible to hallow and inspire the spirit without disciplining the body. So therefore, we have to have so many more פסוקים psukim when it comes to כשרות kashrus than when it comes to prayer, because we are so much more resistant when it comes to כשרות kashrus, when it comes to being told about regulating and being disciplined over our body. Thank you again to our sponsors for the day. Again, if you want to sponsor a future class, Lee@brsonline.org. And subscribe and you'll be notified in real time. Join us tomorrow morning as we learn מסילת ישרים Mesillas Yesharim 8:15 AM here on our YouTube channel. We continue 8:45 tomorrow morning with living with אמונה emunah. And tomorrow night is יום השואה Yom HaShoah. We're going behind the בימה bima with Mrs. Ruth Lichtenstein, who is the editor-in-chief of המודיע Hamodia, great-granddaughter of the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe. Her father, actually, the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim who I quoted today, her father is the one who compiled חידושי הרי\"ם על התורה Chidushei HaRim Al HaTorah that we've been quoting from. She's a great-granddaughter of the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe and she's the founder of Project Witness, which, of course, keeps alive the memory of the Holocaust. You don't want to miss that special edition of Behind the Bima tomorrow night at 9:00. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy.
