Transcript
Good morning and welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today, our weekly analysis of the parsha with contemporary lessons, relevance specifically for that year and for this time. I want to thank our generous Parsha sponsor series for the year, Becky and Avi Katz, our dear friends and family in loving memory of Becky's father David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש l'ilui nishmas David ben Menachem Manish. Also this morning class is sponsored by our dear members and friends, Pam and Pasquale Abitbol in commemoration of Pam's father, Lester Greenberg's יארצייט yahrzeit, אליעזר בן מאיר Eliezer ben Meir on the 12th of אייר Iyar, may his נשמה neshama have an עליה aliyah. If you'd like to sponsor a future שיעור shiur, please email Lee l-e-e @brsonline.org, l-e-e @brsonline.org. This week we have the privilege of reading and learning two פרשיות parshiyos, אחרי מות Acharei Mos and קדושים Kedoshim. An enormous amount of material, we're not going to get through it all but we'll see how far we will get. And as always I encourage you to listen to previous years' שיעורים shiurim, you can find them on our website rabbiefremgoldberg.org or on YUTorah.org or YouTube, our YouTube channel. Page 636 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. וידבר השם אל משה אחרי מות שני בני אהרן בקרבתם לפני השם וימותו Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe acharei mos shnei vnei Aharon b'karvasam lifnei Hashem vayamusu. Our parsha, which teaches the detailed laws of יום כיפור Yom Kippur, the unique and distinct role of the כהן גדול kohen gadol in leading the יום כיפור Yom Kippur service. In our time יום כיפור Yom Kippur is equally experienced by everyone, but in the time of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, the overwhelming majority of the Jewish people were spectators to the כהן גדול kohen gadol who led the service on יום כיפור Yom Kippur and achieved atonement for us all. But it's introduced with a context, with a reference. The פסוק pasuk tells us when are these laws given? אחרי מות שני בני אהרן Acharei mos shnei vnei Aharon, a reminder, as if throwing it in Aaron's face, when is it given? After the death of Aaron's two sons. Now by the way, why doesn't the pasuk tell us their names? נדב ואביהוא Nadav v'Avihu. Tell us their names, say their name. Why is the pasuk leave it ambiguous, שני בני אהרן shnei vnei Aharon, after the death of Aaron's two sons, without mentioning their names. I'll leave that to you as a question to explore. בקרבתם B'karvasam when they tried to draw close to Hashem inappropriately, without having been commanded to do so, it was a capital crime, וימותו vayamusu, and they died. One thing the Torah teaches us, the pasuk is teaching us is אחרי מות acharei mos. There is an אחרי מות acharei mos. There is an after death. There is the notion that we're able to continue, we're able to rebuild, we're able to not only survive but we're able to thrive. It's very interesting to note the way that a mourner comes out of mourning. The custom that we have, it's not a הלכה halacha, but the custom, the מנהג minhag that we have is we take the mourner for a walk. Why do we take the אבל aveil? Why do we take the mourner for a walk as the way in which they emerge from שבעה shiva? So many answers or explanations are given, but one is just like when you go for a walk you put one foot in front of the other, so too in life as you emerge from the deep grief and mourning, particularly of a tragic loss, you put one foot in front of the other. There is no magic wand, there is no easy solution to be able to re-engage, to be able to re-enter life and society. But just like when you go for a walk you put one foot in front of the other, so too in life, one has no choice but to put one foot in front of the other. And perhaps it's part of what the Torah is telling us here when it comes to Aaron is, אחרי מות acharei mos, there is an אחרי מות acharei mos. There's an afterlife, first of all we don't grieve excessively because we believe there is a world to come. And the largest pain of loss is our lack of access, our inability to feel, touch, hear, connect with the person who's no longer here. But from that person's perspective, אחרי מות acharei mos. There is an אחרי מות acharei mos. Bodies die, people don't die, and rather they ascend to heaven. ויאמר השם אל משה דבר אל אהרן אחיך Vayomer Hashem el Moshe daber el Aharon achicha. Hashem tells Moshe, speak to your brother Aaron. ואל יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש מבית לפרוכת אל פני הכפורת אשר על הארון ולא ימות כי בענן אראה על הכפורת v'al yavo b'chol eis el hakodesh mibeis laparoches el pnei hakapores asher al ha'aron v'lo yamus ki b'anan eiraeh al hakapores. Aaron tells Moshe, speak to your, Hashem tells Moshe, speak to your brother Aaron and tell him he can't just come in whenever he wants within the פרוכת paroches in front of the cover of the ארון aron that's on the ארון aron because if he does he'll surely die, for in a cloud I will appear to him above the ארון aron. We spent a lot of time on this last year if you want to listen to last year's parsha shiur. What does it mean? לא יבוא בכל עת lo yavo b'chol eis. You cannot come whenever you want, but rather the next pasuk, בזאת יבוא אהרן b'zos yavo Aharon. This is how he has to come. He can't come however he wants, whenever he wants. But בזאת b'zos, only in this way. רב חיים שמואלביץ' Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz we spoke about last year. ולא יבוא בכל עת V'lo yavo b'chol eis. You know what the killer to holiness is? Familiarity. When a person is too comfortable, too casual, too familiar, it's hard to feel a sense of holiness or a sense of sanctity. And that's what the Torah is telling us. ואל יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש V'al yavo b'chol eis el hakodesh. Don't become too familiar, don't become too casual, don't take it too lightly or too easily, why? Because then it won't remain קודש kodesh. It won't remain holy or sacred or sanctified. And I think the same is true in our marriages, the same is true in our lives. We have an expression that familiarity breeds contempt. I don't know that it breeds contempt, but it definitely loses the edge, the romance, the fireworks, the excitement, the energy. Don't be too familiar with your סידור siddur. Go buy a new סידור siddur every few years and mix up what סידור siddur you דאווען daven from. Don't be too familiar or casual. אל יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש Al yavo b'chol eis el hakodesh. Take seriously, prepare and have a mentality and an attitude which will lead to a sense of sanctity. כתונת בד קודש ילבש k'sones bad kodesh yilbash and then we have the specific parameters of how Aaron has to dress and what he needs to do when he comes in. פרק טז פסוק ו Perek tes-zayin, pasuk vav. What happens? והקריב אהרן את פר החטאת אשר לו וכפר בעדו ובעד ביתו V'hikriv Aharon es par hachatas asher lo, v'chiper ba'ado u'va'ad beiso. We reference this in the יום כיפור Yom Kippur davening in מוסף Mussaf, that the כהן גדול kohen gadol earns atonement. The כהן גדול kohen gadol through this service earns forgiveness, a fresh start, a new beginning. On whose behalf? First of all on his own behalf, he needs atonement, he's made mistakes, he needs to come close. Then בעד ביתו ba'ad beiso, he does so on behalf of his entire family. And then the pasuk if we skip to pasuk yud zayin, we've now progressed from earning atonement for himself, to his family, וכל אדם לא יהיה באהל מועד בבואו לכפר בקודש עד צאתו V'chol adam lo yihyeh b'ohel moed b'vo'o l'chaper bakodesh ad tzeiso. We'll get to this in a moment. No one else can be in the אוהל מועד ohel moed when he is there doing his thing. Why? Because that is the way in which וכפר בעדו ובעד ביתו ובעד כל קהל ישראל v'chiper ba'ado u'va'ad beiso u'va'ad kol kehal Yisrael and for the entire Jewish people. My question to you is very simple. Aren't he and his family full members, participants in כל קהל ישראל kol kehal Yisrael? Wouldn't it be more efficient to say that he earns atonement for the entire Jewish people? And obviously included among them is he and his family. Why so inefficiently does the Torah list out separately that the כהן גדול kohen gadol earns atonement בעדו ba'ado for himself, בעד ביתו ba'ad beiso for his family, and then בעד כל קהל ישראל ba'ad kol kehal Yisrael. And I'd like to suggest to you this morning, there's a very powerful lesson for each and every one of us. You know management schools and professionals and researchers and gurus have studied the process of how you can change others. How do we affect change in others? How do we inspire and motivate and transform and change the people around us? I once saw an article published in the Journal of Management Inquiry and the title of the article was Changing Others Through Changing Ourselves, The Transformation of Human Systems. And the thesis, the argument of the article was that the number one mechanism to change others is to change yourself. You want to influence, you want to impact the people around you, don't lecture, don't give feedback, don't give frontal direction. But rather the number one way is to change ourselves and by changing ourselves and modeling for others, then we will be what we seek in others. And what the management gurus only concluded through their research now, is what the Torah knew all along, and perhaps that's why the Torah suggests it in this inefficient way. You want to earn atonement for your family, don't go lecture your family, don't give feedback and criticism to your family. Where does it begin? בעדו ba'ado. On יום כיפור Yom Kippur, a day that's characterized by growth and development, we have to first commit to change ourselves, בעדו ba'ado and only then can we change and impact others. The גמרא Gemara in בבא מציעא Bava Metzia on דף קז daf kuf zayin tells us, קשוט עצמך ואחר כך קשוט אחרים Kshot atzmecha v'achar kach kshot acheirim. First examine yourself and then examine others. Look in the mirror, evaluate your own life. Are you the change that you seek in others? Are you living the principles, the values, the ideals, the life, the lifestyle that you are expecting and that you're asking in others? קשוט עצמך kshot atzmecha. קשוט kshot means to examine, it also means to be truthful like אורייתא קשוט oraisa kshot in בריך שמיה brich shmei. We call the sky, Hashem is true and His Torah is true and so on. So קשוט kshot means be true, be honest with yourself before you lecture others. The גמרא Gemara in שבת Shabbos, דף ק\"ג daf kuf gimmel tells us, הרגיל בנר הויין ליה בנים תלמידי חכמים Haragil b'ner havyan lei banim talmidei chachamim. A person who accustoms themselves to be near the candle will merit children who will be righteous, who will be Torah scholars. Many point to this גמרא Gemara as the source for a custom that we have that women דאווען daven for their children when they're lighting שבת Shabbos candles. They daven to have children, they daven for the success and the merit of their children when they're lighting candles from הרגיל בנר haragil b'ner. Which candles are we talking about? The ראשונים Rishonim discuss, are we talking about שבת Shabbos candles, are we talking about חנוכה Chanukah candles. However, I saw a beautiful, beautiful insight. What it means is הרגיל בנר haragil b'ner. You want בנים תלמידי חכמים banim talmidei chachamim? You want children who care about and value and dedicate time to study Torah? הרגיל בנר Haragil b'ner. Then make yourself time to sit at the candle and study Torah. You can't just lecture, you can't just tell them. Did you learn Torah today? Did you דאווען daven? Did you make a ברכה bracha? Are you being kind? Are you a מענטש mentch? Do you have דרך ארץ derech eretz? Do you not speak לשון הרע lashon hara? You can't just tell others what to say what to do but rather you have to model it. בעדו, בעד ביתו, בעד כל קהל ישראל Ba'ado, ba'ad beiso, ba'ad kol kehal Yisrael. It begins, the change you seek among the entire Jewish people, the change you want among your entire community, the change you want within your family, begins with ourselves. There's a quote that's often attributed to רב ישראל סלנטר Rav Yisrael Salanter and others attributed to the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim and others attributed to different חסידישע רבי'ס Chassidishe Rebbes. But if we're being intellectually honest, it traces itself back to the tomb, to an inscription on a tomb of an Angelican Bishop in Westminster Abbey who lived about a thousand years ago. Doesn't mean that there's not truth to the quote, but we have to give credit where it is due. And listen to the quote. When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it too seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me. But alas, they would have none of it. And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize, if I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. And from their inspiration or encouragement, I would have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world. You want to change the world, it begins בעדו, בעד ביתו, בעד כל קהל ישראל ba'ado, ba'ad beiso, ba'ad kol kehal Yisrael. The change has to begin, must begin with ourselves. Let's take another look at the pasuk we just read. וכל אדם לא יהיה באהל מועד V'chol adam lo yihyeh b'ohel moed, no person can be in the אוהל מועד ohel moed, in the holy place, בבואו לכפר בקודש עד צאתו b'vo'o l'chaper bakodesh ad tzeiso, when the כהן גדול kohen gadol enters in order to achieve holiness, לכפר l'chaper, when the כהן גדול kohen gadol enters the קודש kodesh עד צאתו ad tzeiso until he leaves. וכפר בעדו ובעד ביתו ובעד כל קהל ישראל V'chiper ba'ado u'va'ad beiso v'va'ad kol kehal Yisrael. And that is where he seeks and searches for that atonement. Why is that? So, רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik writes in the OU רב Rav Chumash. He says the רב Rav, a person cannot be in the tent of meeting when the כהן גדול kohen gadol comes in. According to הלכה halacha, the revelation at Sinai symbolizes אירוסין eirusin, the betrothal of כנסת ישראל Knesses Yisrael to הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu. We have two stages of marriage. אירוסין Eirusin is the first part, it's where the groom puts the ring on the כלה'ס kallah's finger. And then נישואין nisuin. נישואין Nisuin is, it's a debate among the ראשונים Rishonim, what exactly is the fulfillment of the second part of the marriage. According to some, it's being under the חופה chuppah together. According to others, אשכנזים Ashkenazim, it is the experience of יחוד yichud. The fact that they seclude themselves, which is something only a husband and wife can do, they act, they demonstrate marriage, they are alone in יחוד yichud room, that is the completion, that is the נישואין nisuin. So says the רב Rav, says רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, that according to הלכה halacha, the revelation at הר סיני Har Sinai symbolizes the אירוסין eirusin, the betrothal. The entire כנסת ישראל Knesses Yisrael stood at the foot of the mountain ready to enter into this relationship. When they built the משכן Mishkan, the marriage, the נישואין nisuin was completed. In this view, אירוסין eirusin was translated into נישואין nisuin with the building of the משכן Mishkan. The משכן Mishkan and בית מקדש Beis Hamikdash then are the symbols of marriage of כנסת ישראל Knesses Yisrael to הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu. I will arrange my meetings with you from there. And that is the יחוד yichud, that is the חופה chuppah. The verse says, the pasuk says, no man shall be in the tent of meeting when he comes to affect atonement, why? Because the service of the מקדש Mikdash is an act of marriage, and since חופה chuppah is יחוד yichud, no one else can be present. The presence of a stranger destroys the יחוד yichud. So the image that we're meant to have when we read this pasuk, that no one else can be there, is because the כהן גדול kohen gadol is having יחוד yichud with הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The כהן גדול kohen gadol is secluding himself. There's not a casual relationship, there's a marriage. There's an intimacy, there's an affection, there's a privacy. ר' שלמה קרליבך Reb Shlomo Carlebach says, normally we think about נעילה Neilah, we're talking about יום כיפור Yom Kippur, learning the laws of יום כיפור Yom Kippur. So normally we think about נעילה Neilah in a very punitive sense. The gates are closing, they're going to be locked. Quickly, sneak in, דאווען daven, pray, work hard, earn merits, ask Hashem. Why? נעילה Neilah, the gates are closing and the gates are going to be locked. Says ר' שלמה Reb Shlomo, don't think of it as the gates are going to be locked, but think of נעילה Neilah as, the whole יום כיפור Yom Kippur, it's the ציבור tzibbur. The whole יום כיפור Yom Kippur, it's all of us דאווענ'ן davening together. I look to the people near me and around me, I feel connected with all those others in the room. But says ר' שלמה Reb Shlomo, comes נעילה Neilah, when the when the everything's on the line, comes נעילה Neilah, the culmination of the day, נעילה Neilah. I go into a room alone with Hashem and I lock the door. The image is not the gates are locking and I'm outside of it. The image is I'm going to a private room with Hashem and I am locking the door behind me. It's time to be alone, it's time to be earnest, it's time to remove any inhibition, it's time to pour out my heart, נעילה Neilah, I go into יחוד yichud with Hashem and I lock the door behind me. That is the opinion of רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, that the reference in our pasuk on יום כיפור Yom Kippur to the fact that the כהן גדול kohen gadol needs to be alone, that reference is a reference to the fact of that there needs to be a sense of יחוד yichud, of privacy, of affection, of intimacy, of closeness. But Rav Druk has a different interpretation. Take a look at our first Rav Druk of the day, of course in his wonderful work, אש תמיד Eish Tamid. מפסוק זה יש להוציא הערה גדולה Mi'pasuk zeh yeish l'hotzi ha'ara gedola. From this pasuk we can extract a very powerful lesson. Namely, התורה מדגישה שכל אדם לא יהיה באהל מועד כאשר נכנס הכהן גדול HaTorah madgisha shekol adam lo yiheye b'ohel moed ka'asher nichnas hakohen gadol. The Torah emphasizes, the Torah demands and requires that no other person can be in the tent of meeting when the כהן גדול kohen gadol enters to do his work on יום כיפור Yom Kippur. הנה בזמן זה זוכה הכהן הגדול לעלות לדרגה הגבוה ביותר Hinei b'zman zeh zocha hakohen hagadol la'alos l'darga hagvoha b'yoser. In that moment, at that time, the כהן גדול kohen gadol elevates, the כהן גדול kohen gadol rises to a level that no other person can achieve. ומדוע פרט זה חשוב כל כך U'madua prat zeh chashuv kol kach? So why is this detail so important? Shouldn't the כהן גדול kohen gadol be oblivious to who else is around him? Shouldn't the כהן גדול kohen gadol be so lost in his righteous service that nothing else matters in that moment? Why does the Torah demand that no one else can be there? Says רב דרוק Rav Druk, אש תמיד Eish Tamid, דרך ענין הוא שהתורה מלמדת, כי אם מבקש אדם לעלות ולהגיע לדרגות גבוהות בעבודת השם, ללא שום פניות זרות, בלתי להשם לבדו, יכול להגיע לזה רק כאשר עבודתו נעשית בסתר, הרחק מעיניהם של בני אדם d'ha'inyan hu shehatorah m'lamedes ki im mevakesh adam la'alos u'le'hagia l'dargos gvohos b'avodas Hashem, l'lo shum p'niyos zaros, bilti laShem l'vado, yachol lehagia l'zeh rak ka'asher avodaso na'ases b'seiser harchek me'eineihem shel bnei adam. If you want to do a gut check, if you want to really look in the mirror and evaluate yourself, if you want to know how sincere is your religious growth spurt, what is motivating it? What is driving it? How real, how sincere, how authentic? Then do it when no one else is around. Then ask yourself, are you doing it for others to see? Are you doing it to impress? Are you doing it to be praised? Are you doing it for honor? Are you doing it to be considered among the righteous? Or are you doing it authentically to draw close to Hashem? Such a powerful lesson of religious growth, such a powerful lesson when we aspire for righteousness. שאם כאשר אף אחד אינו רואהו, יכול לעבוד את השם לשם שמים, ללא פניות אחרות, ועל ידי זה להגיע לדרגות גבוהות. she'im ka'asher af echad eino ro'eihu, yachol la'avod es Hashem l'shem shamayim l'lo p'niyos acheiros, v'al yedei zeh lehagia l'dargos g'vohos. Because only when there's no one else there, and that's what the pasuk demands, that's the language of the pasuk. וכל אדם לא יהיה באהל מועד v'chol adam lo yiheye b'ohel moed. No one else can be there בבואו b'vo'o when you come in order to atone. It means physically nobody else can be there, it also means mentally, in your head. No one else should be in your head when you are deciding who you want to be and how you want to atone. You're not living more righteously or religiously. Is your שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei a fraction of the time when you're all alone than when you're in שול shul? Who are you when no one else is around? Do you learn when there's no one else there to see and applaud? I remember when I was in רב יצחק חנן Rav Yitzchak Chanan, when I was in YU learning, one night late at night I went to there was a shul in the basement of the dormitory where I lived in Morgue, fourth floor Morgue, best floor. Great roommates, great floor. So in the basement of Morgue, there was a shul. And I remember being down there late one night for whatever reason and I saw a friend of mine and he was sitting in the corner, he was learning. And I always knew him to learn late in the main בית מדרש beis medrash at YU. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem the main בית מדרש beis medrash at YU was, probably is still packed way past midnight. So I asked my friend, why are you here? What are you doing here? Why not in the main בית מדרש beis medrash? So after a little pushing and prodding, he finally said to me, he said, you know, late at night, I like to come to learn here. Because I want to make sure that I'm learning late at night, I want to make sure that I'm staying up not because I want to be known as the guy who's the latest in the בית מדרש beis medrash. Not because I want people to be impressed or praise me for burning the midnight oil. I want to make sure I'm learning for the right reasons that I am driven to learn. And that's exactly what Rav Druk is saying, the פשט pshat is here. וכל אדם לא יהיה באהל מועד v'chol adam lo yiheye b'ohel moed. Nobody else can be there, physically, nobody else can be there in your head when you are seeking righteousness. The הרמב\"ם Rambam writes in הלכות תלמוד תורה Hilchos Talmud Torah says Rav Druk, אף על פי שמצווה ללמוד ביום ובלילה, אין אדם למד רוב חכמתו אלא בלילה Af al pi she'mitzva lilmod b'yom u'v'laila, ein adam lomed rov chachmaso ela b'laila. When is the most ideal, when is the most propitious time, when is the most, the best time to be able to learn, is at night, not during the day. לפיכך מי שרצה לזכות בכתר תורה, יזהר בכל לילותיו L'ficha, mi she'ratza lizkos b'keser Torah, yizaher b'chol leilosav. Therefore a person who wants to merit, to wear the crown of Torah, should make sure to learn at night, ולא יאבד אפילו אחד מהן בשינה v'lo y'abed afilu echad meihen b'sheina, don't waste them, don't binge watch, don't waste them on absurd activities ואכילה ושתיה ושיחה וכיוצא בהן, אלא בתלמוד תורה ודברי חכמה v'achila u'shtiya v'sicha v'chayotzei beihen, ela b'talmud Torah v'divrei chachma. Night seder, at your home, in the בית מדרש beis medrash, open up a ספר sefer, listen to a שיעור shiur, read a book at night. אמרו חכמים אין רינה של תורה אלא בלילה, שנאמר קומי רוני בלילה Amru chachamim ein rina shel Torah ela b'laila, shenemar kumi roni b'laila. וכל העוסק בתורה בלילה, חוט של חסד נמשך עליו ביום v'chol ha'osek b'Torah b'laila, chut shel chesed nimshach alav b'yom. So the Rambam significantly encourages learning at night and the benefits of learning at night. מבואר כי עיקר של עסק התורה נעשה בלילה Mevoar ki ikar shel eisek haTorah na'aseh b'laila. So Rav Druk notes, you see that the greatest benefit of learning is coming at night, not during the day. Now the simple understanding, the simple explanation is because at night you have the least distractions. During the day we have a whole to-do list, during the day you got to earn your livelihood, during the day there are people around, during the day there's so much going on, so therefore your learning will be with distractions and it's hard to acquire, it's hard to absorb and embed what you're learning if it's competing against the background of all kinds of distractions. So the simple understanding of the Rambam is that the Rambam is encouraging us, the best time to learn strategically is at night. However, Rav Druk offers another explanation based on what we just saw in our pasuk. נירא ברור כי לילה הוא זמן שאבו אין בני אדם רואין אותו Nireh barur ki laila hu zman sh'bo ein bnei adam ro'in oso. The answer is at night people won't see you, like my friend in YU. בזמן זה הרחק מעיניהם הרואות של בני אדם B'zman zeh, harchek me'eineihem ha'ro'os shel bnei adam. People are not going to observe or see you one another, and therefore that will be your best learning. Your best learning is when it's not to impress, your best learning is when it's not to compete, but your best learning is when it's authentic and genuine, when it's internally driven, and it's not in order to keep up with anybody else. Moving right along. פרק טז פסוק ל' Perek tes zayin pasuk lamed. It's a pasuk we're all familiar with. On Yom Kippur last year we spoke all about the שעיר לעזאזל se'ir l'azazel. What is this bizarre ritual of pushing the one goat off a cliff, the other goat is offered, we spoke all about that notion how we see ourselves in that goat and what it represents and that voice of Azazel in our own head. You can listen last year if you want to understand more about it. Pasuk lamed. כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם Ki vayom hazeh yechaper aleichem, we all know this from יום כיפור Yom Kippur, the חזן chazan, כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאותיכם לפני השם תטהרו ki vayom hazeh yechaper aleichem l'taher eschem mikol chatoseichem, lifnei Hashem tit'haru. On this day Hashem provides atonement to purify from all of our mistakes before Hashem we should be purified. What a beautiful beautiful pasuk. What is it, what is this pasuk getting at? So the אמר חיים Imrei Chaim, our first vision of the day, the אמר חיים Imrei Chaim says, what does it mean לפני השם תטהרו lifnei Hashem tit'haru? לפני השם Lifnei Hashem, says the Imrei Chaim means, תטהרו את הדבר שגלוי רק לפני השם, המחשבה tit'haru es hadavar shegalui rak lifnei Hashem, hamachshava. So a continuation of the last idea from Rav Druk. לפני השם תטהרו Lifnei Hashem tit'haru. Where is it that you really become pure? Where is it that you really grow? Where is it that it's most important to do a gut check? לפני השם lifnei Hashem. Namely, תטהרו את הדבר שגלוי רק לפני השם, המחשבה tit'haru es hadavar she'galui rak lifnei Hashem, ha'machshava. Ask yourself in your thoughts, ask yourself when your mind wanders, in your motivation, in your intent, are you sincere? We're living in a time where people are trying to religiously one up, holier than thou, compete with others. But that's not right, that's not the right way. True קנאת סופרים תרבה חכמה kinas sofrim tarbeh chachma. It's true that a competition among scholars improves or benefits wisdom. If a person is motivated to publish a book, a sefer, to have a חידוש chiddush because of קנאת סופרים kinas sofrim, because of scholarly competitiveness, then there's increased חכמה chachma in the world. However, that's true when it comes to חכמה chachma, when it comes to the discipline of חכמה chachma. But when it comes to our righteousness, when it comes to who we are in our core, we should not be driven by competing with others, we should not be driven by pursuing honor or glory, but it should be rather pure, it should be authentic, it should be an honest and sincere yearning and longing to come close to Hashem, to be what's right and righteous, to do what's true. So לפני השם תטהרו lifnei Hashem tit'haru. Says the Imrei Chaim, says the visionitzer, where is תטהרו tit'haru? Where is the most important place to תטהרו tit'haru to become pure? לפני השם Lifnei Hashem. In the aspect of our life that only Hashem knows. In the deepest recesses of our hearts, in our thoughts that no one else has access to, that's תטהרו tit'haru, that's where it's most important in order to come close to Hashem. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar has a different interpretation. לפני השם תטהרו Lifnei Hashem tit'haru says Rav Luntschitz, says Rav Shlomo Efraim Luntschitz, the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. לפני השם תטהרו Lifnei Hashem tit'haru. כי אין יום כיפורים מכפר כי אם לשבים ki ein Yom Kippurim m'chaper ki im l'shavim. The גמרא Gemara in יומא Yoma tells us that יום כיפור Yom Kippur works to atone only for those who make the effort, who seek atonement. קודם שיכפר עליהם השם, חייב כל אדם לטהר עצמו מכף רגל ועד ראש מכל טומאת עוון V'kodem she'yichaper aleihem Hashem, chayav kol adam l'taher atzmo mikaf regel v'ad rosh mikol tumas avon. Before you can appear before God and ask Him for a pardon, before you appear before God and ask Him to wipe your record clean, ask Him to forgive, ask Him to forego any punishment, a person has to put the effort in. לטהר עצמו l'taher atzmo. לכך נאמר לפני השם תטהרו L'chach ne'emar lifnei Hashem tit'haru. לפני משמש לשון קודם Lifnei mishameish lashon kodem. Says the Kli Yakar, the word לפני השם lifnei Hashem is telling us chronologically. If you appear before Hashem and you say Hashem, I'm genuine, I'm real, I feel such remorse, regret, I've made a commitment not to repeat this again. I'm confessing to you I've made a mistake. Let it go. I'm asking you to let it go. Says the Kli Yakar, there's work that has to be done beforehand. And that's the לפני lifnei. And here he's encouraging us take advantage of חודש אלול Chodesh Elul before you pour it appear before Hashem on ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah and יום כיפור Yom Kippur, first take advantage of the month of אלול Elul. לפני השם Lifnei Hashem, before you appear before Hashem, תטהרו tit'haru. Put in the hard work in אלול Elul, put in the hard work to prepare before you first appear before Hashem. But I want to tell you a beautiful thought of the בעל התניא Baal HaTanya, the Alter Rebbe, that I saw from רב אליעדה Rav Eliyada, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem in our wonderful סמיכה smicha program. Says the Baal HaTanya the following, take another look at that pasuk. כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם Ki vayom hazeh yechaper aleichem. Because on this day, God gives atonement, לטהר אתכם l'taher eschem, in order for us to be able to be pure. מכל חטאותיכם Mikol chatoseichem, from any of our mistakes. What word in the pasuk is extraneous? What word in the pasuk is extra? Doesn't seem to add anything. The word is עליכם aleichem. The pasuk could have easily just as said, כי ביום הזה יכפר ki vayom hazeh yechaper, on this day you atone, לטהר אתכם l'taher eschem, so that you're pure, מכל חטאותיכם וכו' mikol chatoseichem v'chulu and so on. What does the word עליכם aleichem add? So listen to what the Baal HaTanya with the Alter Rebbe said. He said you're punctuating the pasuk all wrong. חזנים Chazanim, you're going to have to pivot and adjust in the way that you sing this pasuk on יום כיפור Yom Kippur. Don't read it, כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם, קאמה. Ki vayom hazeh yechaper aleichem, comma. On this day, just try to translate the words, it's difficult to translate. יכפר עליכם yachaper aleichem. עליכם Aleichem means on you. On this day atonement on you. What is it like? Atonement, blessings on your head. מזל טוב, מזל טוב mazel tov, mazel tov. What does atonement עליכם aleichem, atonement on you? What does the word עליכם aleichem mean here? Says the Baal HaTanya the Alter Rebbe, don't read it יכפר עליכם yechaper aleichem. But read it כי ביום הזה יכפר ki vayom hazeh yechaper. The Gemara tells us about רבי Rebbi, רבי יהודה הנשיא Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi teaches, עצומו של יום מכפר itzumo shel yom m'chaper. The essence of the day itself provides atonement. It is a national forgiveness, national amnesty day. Imagine, it's not so hard to imagine, that our elected leaders legislate that there's a day of amnesty. You owe money to your college, you have college debt, hereby forgiven, wipe the slate clean, start again. Imagine you owe money in taxes, amnesty day. We're forgiving any back taxes, just do better going forward. Amnesty day, turn in your illegal firearm, just drop it off, amnesty day, we're not holding anyone accountable. So says רבי יהודה הנשיא Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi, says רבי Rebbi, עצומו של יום מכפר itzumo shel yom m'chaper. On יום כיפור Yom Kippur we have an amnesty day. God says whether you work for it, whether you deserve it, whether you've earned it, amnesty. עצומו של יום Itzumo shel yom. When you wake up on יום כיפור Yom Kippur, whether you find yourself in שול shul or not, whether you're even fasting or not, עצומו של יום מכפר itzumo shel yom m'chaper. You've entered the day on the calendar called יום כיפור Yom Kippur, you have been forgiven, you're granted amnesty, fresh start, new beginning. So technically, on our chart upstairs that Hashem has chosen to purge, he pressed control all delete, amnesty. That doesn't mean that we have a life of merit or of meaning, that doesn't mean that we have a life of purpose, that doesn't mean that we're on the right trajectory of life. So says the Alter Rebbe, read the pasuk the following: כי ביום הזה יכפר Ki vayom hazeh yechaper. On יום כיפור Yom Kippur you're forgiven. עצומו של יום itzumo shel yom, amnesty day. עליכם לטהר אתכם Aleichem l'taher eschem, but it's on you to purify. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik the רב Rav in his על התשובה Al HaTshuva talks about the difference between כפרה kappara and טהרה tahara, two separate things. There is on the one hand when I do something wrong, when I make a mistake, there is the consequence, there's the punishment, but then there's also the impact. There's also the impact. You know the, the Rambam. The Rambam, the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch codified based on a גמרא Gemara, that a person who's a degenerate gambler, that a person who lies or cheats in business is ineligible to be a witness. Is פסול לעדות pasul l'eidus. So why don't you say the day after יום כיפור Yom Kippur, עצומו של יום מכפר itzumo shel yom mechaper, amnesty day, they were forgiven for whatever they did wrong. So can they be a witness now? Are they a כשר עד kasher eid now? The answer is no. Why not? So the Rav says because the impact of mistakes we make, the impact of what we call sin is dual. On the one hand, there's a punishment, there's a consequence, and on the other hand, it's מטמא metamei. On the other hand, it contaminates our soul. It absolutely leaves a residual impact. Excuse me on who we are. So there are two levels of תשובה chuvah we have to undertake in order to remove it. Number one, we have to get rid of the punishment. So that עצומו של יום מכפר itzumo shel yom mechaper, amnesty, takes away the punishment. That's כפרה kapara. But we also want טהרה tahara. I also want to get rid of the contamination. I want to get rid of the residual impact. I want to get rid of the way it transformed my soul. I want to earn to be able to be a כשר kosher witness again. That's טהרה tahara. See שיח על התשובה Siach al HaChuvah, the Rav writes describes very, very beautifully there. So says the אלתר רבי Alter Rebbe, that's what's going on over here. כי ביום הזה יכפר Ki v'yom hazeh yechaper, עצומו של יום itzumo shel yom. You want to get rid of the punishment, you want to be off the hook for the punishment for the consequence, עצומו של יום itzumo shel yom. The day itself earns that. But עליכם לטהר אתכם aleichem l'taher es'chem. If you want to achieve טהרה tahara, you want to elevate, you want to enrich, you need to want a life of meaning and of purpose, don't wait for the calendar day. Don't wait for passively to happen to you. עליכם Aleichem, it's on us. It's on us. And this is a theme that you see elsewhere in our פרשה Parsha. When it talks about שבת Shabbos, פרשת קדושים Parshas Kedoshim, we're going to talk about שבת, את שבתותי תשמורו Shabbos, es Shabbasosai tishmoru. There are two שבת Shabboses that we have to observe. There's an aspect of שבת Shabbos that happens automatically, it happens to us. When the sun sets on Friday, ready or not so שבת Shabbos here I come. שבת Shabbos happens to us. But then there's the עליכם aleichem. There's the part of שבת Shabbos that we make. Do we prepare, did we cook, do we set the table? Do we come with דברי תורה Divrei Torah with זמירות zmiros with a great story, with a great question? Are we going to play board games, are we going to laugh, are we going to enjoy? There's the עליכם aleichem. Each of our encounters with religion, there's what is provided automatically, there is what the day brings, but then there's the עליכם aleichem. There's what is on us in order to create. There's what is on us in order to produce. Okay. פרק י\"ז פסוק ג' Perek yud-zayin pasuk gimmel. Moving right along. We continue with the different service of the עבודה Avodah of the דם dam, the הלכה halacha, the place of the laws of blood, and with the blood and covering the blood. And then we move over to the world of forbidden relationships. עריות Arayos, the world of עריות arayos. And this is a very complicated area. In our times, in contemporary times, the line has been blurred. There are no boundaries. We are living in a time of סדום ועמורה Sdom v'Amora. We're living at a time that the world is saying, be who you want, see yourself how you want, declare what you want, do what you want, as long as it doesn't harm others, if it makes you happy. And the Torah here telling us that's not the barometer through which we look at life. We're not, we don't live for happiness. We don't live for happiness. The next פרשה Parsha what אחרי מות Acharei Mos goes right into is that we don't live for happiness. What do we live for? Holiness. It's a very, very different standard. It's a very different goal. We don't live for happiness, we live for holiness. And one, if not the prime area of living a holy life, is the area of interpersonal relationships, of sexuality, of identity, of who we are and how we see ourselves. Now I don't share these thoughts with you in a insensitive way. I recognize and I respect that we're living in complicated times. As a community רב rav, I have and do engage regularly with people who are struggling with orientation and identity, people who are struggling in these areas enormously. And anyone who is flippant, anyone who is cynical, anyone who is insensitive about such people and the struggles they endure has a special place for them because there's, it's absolutely intolerable and unacceptable to act in a way, to speak in a way, which is derogatory, to act in a way which is insensitive. These are very, very complicated areas that when you speak in the abstract, and when you speak academically, and you simply read פסוקים psukim in the Torah, you can dismiss. But when you meet real people, with real נשמות neshamos, with real struggles, it absolutely changes your perspective. And so, through as we read these פסוקים psukim, and we recognize the significance of forbidden relationships, of orientation, of identity, of this area, I just saw an article this week that said there was a movement to legalize incest with consent. Why shouldn't, within a family, if there's love, why shouldn't they with consent be able to marry? Why shouldn't they be able to have incest? And the answer is because there are moral boundaries, there are moral standards, there are right and wrong which transcend a person's desire for their own happiness. There is an aspiration for holiness. There is the word and the dictate and the blueprint and the vision of the Almighty for us in this world. And if we have inclinations, I have an inclination, let's say to get angry. I have an inclination or I have a drive, others for ego, for their id, towards their drawn towards their own sexuality, even if it is not forbidden explicitly here. And yet, we are challenged to confront, to struggle, to overcome. And so I think what is the driving message or balance that we have to strike as we read these פסוקים psukim of עריות arayos on אחרי מות Acharei Mos, be it in the area of משכב זכר mishkav zachar, be it in the area of homosexuality, of orientation, of identity, of practice, what drives us is to recognize that we have to be sensitive and warm and welcoming and make a place for those who don't fit or don't feel like they fit. We have to recognize and respect they too want to remain part of our community and part of our life and part of a Torah lifestyle, but among those to whom we must be sensitive is the רבונו של עולם Ribbono shel Olam himself. Sometimes in our pursuit of being so sensitive that we warm and welcome anything and everything in a way in which we don't ever want to seem that we have principles or values or boundaries, we are in fact violating the sensitivity towards the רבונו של עולם Ribbono shel Olam. We have to love him too and we have to be sensitive to him too and to his Torah and to preserving it and to representing it and to standing for it and to having boundaries. So our mission, our job, our responsibility as we relate to these topics and as we relate to people in our own lives, I have in my life and many of you in yours, is to do so with respect, with dignity, with love, with dialogue, but also with an awareness, I think, an acute awareness of not compromising our principles in a way in which it's ultimately a חילול השם Chilul Hashem and in the effort to respect one, we're disrespecting or being insensitive to the others. writes specifically in the פסוק pasuk, י\"ח פסוק ג' yud-ches, pasuk gimmel. Torah here is telling us, כמעשה ארץ מצרים אשר ישבתם בה לא תעשו k'maaseh eretz mitzrayim asher yeshavtem bah lo sa'asu. God says I took you out of Egypt. Egypt was a morally corrupt, decadent, licentious, lewd, morally depraved country. Egypt was a place of billboards and magazines, of pop culture. Egypt was a place of dress and activity in public. Egypt was a place that was so upside down in its immorality. I took you out. I emancipated, I liberated, I took you out, I rescued you. Don't recreate, don't go back there. Don't embrace, וכמעשה ארץ כנען אשר אני מביא אתכם שמה לא תעשו u'k'maaseh eretz knaan asher ani meivi eschem shamah lo sa'asu. So, I want you to be distinct and different. Just because in contemporary times, the moral mores dictate that such a thing is a civil right, or such a thing is a value, or such a thing is a something doesn't mean that that's the Torah perspective. We have to educate ourselves, what does Hashem want me to believe and think? How does he want me to execute on that belief in a way which is warm and welcoming, which is loving and sensitive, which is dignified and respectful? How does he want me to execute on the belief? But it has to begin with not how do I impose on Hashem what's my belief? But how do I listen to Hashem, what does he want me to believe? Not כוונת התורה לאיתים kavata Torah l'itim but כוונת האיתים לתורה kavata itim l'Torah. It's not that I make Torah conform to the times, but כוונת האיתים לתורה kavata itim l'Torah. Do I make the times conform to Torah? So it's challenging not to get swept up in what is the culture. It's challenging not to get swept up in what we're told that we are disrespectful or that we are violating other core principles. But how do we find and strike that balance? How do we live in that perhaps very narrow space that on the one hand respects Hashem and respects people, that is dignified in both directions, that is principled, but principled with a sense of perspective, with a sense of respect. Don't be like where I took you from, don't be like מצרים Mitzrayim, and don't be like where I'm taking you to, don't be like כנען Knaan. The Jewish people, we are likened, וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ v'yidgu l'rov b'kerev ha'aretz, we're likened to the fish because the fish are willing to swim upstream. We have to be willing to swim upstream. We have to be willing to go against that which is popular. We have to be willing to, it's unpopular in two directions. In some communities, it's unpopular to have a belief and a principle that sees these things as moral issues, as issues of sanctity and holiness, as boundaries that Hashem has placed for us. It's unpopular to swim upstream. And in other segments of the community, it's unpopular we're swimming upstream if we say we have to be respectful and we have to make a place for everyone in our community to be able to still live rich Torah lives, even if in one particular area they're choosing not to. You know, the Torah uses the word תועבה to'eivah when it comes to these areas, when it comes to living against עריות arayos. Person who is violating these moral boundaries of the Torah, עריות arayos, included among them is, זכר לא תשכב משכבי אשה תועבה היא zachar lo tishkav mishkvei isha to'eivah hi, that a person who lies with a man the way one is meant to lie with a woman, the Torah calls it a תועבה to'eivah. So some, some use that word תועבה to'eivah as a weapon in order to beat others, in order to degrade and knock down others. But do you know the word תועבה to'eivah is used many times in the Torah? Person who eats non-kosher, it's also a תועבה to'eivah. Person who has dishonest weights and measures, you cheat in business, you misreport your business expenses or your tax returns, it's also a תועבה to'eivah. You wear שעטנז shatnez, it's also a תועבה to'eivah. And so a person needs to know and you need to have perspective that the word תועבה to'eivah, the word תועבה to'eivah, why does the Torah specifically call these things? Once heard from Rabbi Dr. Lam, זכרונו לברכה zichrono l'vracha, a beautiful explanation of why specifically, כשרות kashrus, business dealings, שעטנז shatnez, interpersonal relationships, משכב זכר mishkav zachar, why תועבה to'eivah, why abomination? Why are these specific things labeled an abomination? But if you're going to use the word abomination in order to marginalize people from the Jewish community, then you better marginalize equally. You better marginalize those who aren't entirely honest on their tax returns. You better marginalize those who aren't entirely consistent in their eating of כשרות kashrus. You better marginalize those who aren't getting their clothing expecting, inspected for שעטנז shatnez. You better marginalize others. You can't use that word תועבה to'eivah as a weapon. Again, we have to strike that balance and live in that narrow place. Principled, respectful to Hashem and to others. So writes, what does it mean כמעשה ארץ מצרים k'maaseh eretz mitzrayim? Don't go back to Egypt. Don't be, don't walk like an Egyptian. Don't be the way the Egyptians are, but also don't be like the people in כנען Knaan where I'm taking you. So says of, the contrast between Israel and the rest of mankind is emphasized to an extreme in this section. The key message of this particular passage in the Torah is in its introductory verse. The Jewish people are separate and distinct from the nations surrounding her. We must uphold this unique identity. Under no conditions are we to consider assimilation. Egypt and כנען Knaan are mentioned specifically. These are nations representing the two polar, the two poles of secular civilization in biblical times. Egypt was the most urbanized and technologically advanced civilization of the time, while כנען Knaan was pastoral and primitive. The Torah emphasizes here that as different as they were from each other, neither of these fundamentally immoral societies should serve as role models. Don't assimilate. Don't become integrated into the morals and values of those around us. It's a very, very big challenge for us. You know, you can be observant of Torah and mitzvos, you could be entirely observant but assimilated in our thoughts and our perspective and our attitude, in our values and our principles. We're struggling with that. Not only those who are assimilated in their lifestyle, not only those who are assimilated and חס ושלום chas v'shalom among those 75% who are intermarrying, but even among those who are observant, we are at risk of being assimilated in the way we think, in our attitude, in the perspectives that we have. And that's why the Torah says the Rav is telling us, כמעשה ארץ מצרים k'maaseh eretz mitzrayim, don't be assimilated in your values and your principles. Don't be assimilated. Our values are not formed and molded by the contemporary world around us, by the mores around us. They are molded by the רבונו של עולם Ribbono shel Olam, by the creator of the universe, by the infinite, omnipotent being, who created all of us. And among them with challenges and with hardship and people who are in positions that we should have tremendous sympathy for, that we don't envy, who are born feeling or struggling with certain predispositions, with certain identities, certain challenges, certain ways in which it's difficult to figure out how one fits in and how to fulfill certain drives and desires in ways that are not inconsistent with Torah. Very, very, very difficult. And we have to be sensitive, our heart has to go out, we have to care. But ultimately, we cannot become assimilated in our thinking, neither, says the Rav, כמעשה ארץ מצרים k'maaseh eretz mitzrayim, nor כמעשה ארץ כנען k'maaseh eretz knaan, neither. We have to be respectful. פרק י\"ח פסוק ד'-ה' Perek yud-ches pasuk daled-hey. We'll finish אחרי מות Acharei Mos with this, and then we'll go over to קדושים Kedoshim for a little bit. It says את משפטי תעשו ואת חקותי תשמרו ללכת בהם es mishpatai ta'asu v'es chukosai tishmeru laleches bahem. Carry out my laws and safeguard my decrees to follow them. אני ה' אלקיכם Ani Hashem Elokeichem. ושמרתם את חוקותי ואת משפטי Ushmartem es chukosai v'es mishpatai, observe my decrees and my laws אשר יעשה אותם האדם asher ya'aseh osam ha'adam, that a person does וחי בהם v'chai bahem. I think last year or two years ago in the פרשה Parsha class, we elaborated, we spoke more at length on the words וחי בהם v'chai bahem. This is the source that other than the big three cardinal sins, better to violate Torah to preserve our life. וחי בהם V'chai bahem. The whole purpose of Torah and mitzvos is to enrich and enhance our lives, to live with them. If it's going to cost you your life, then what's the point? So וחי בהם v'chai bahem, other than the three cardinal sins, וחי v'chai. They give us life, they give us חיות chayus. If you're going to die in order to observe them, then what's the point of observing them? So better to violate in order to preserve life and to go back to living them. וחי בהם V'chai bahem. But what I want to draw your attention to this morning is what seems to be a total and absolute redundancy. These two פסוקים psukim if you read them in succession, you realize how repetitive they are. את משפטי תעשו ואת חוקותי תשמרו Es mishpatai ta'asu v'es chukosai tishmeru, ושמרתם את חוקותי ואת משפטי אשר יעשה אותם ushmartem es chukosai v'es mishpatai asher ya'aseh osam. Both we have חוקים ומשפטים chukim u'mishpatim. Both we have שמירה shmirah and עשיה asiyah. So why the repetition? It's as if you're just reading the same thing over and over. The Torah doesn't do that. The Torah doesn't waste space. We have to be sensitized to ask such a question, to read such פסוקים psukim and wonder, what in the world is it doing? So I want to move over to פרשת קדושים Parshas Kedoshim, but I bring this question to your attention, and I refer you to רש\"י Rashi who addresses it, and I refer you to the אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh who addresses it beautifully, and I refer you to the משך חכמה Meshech Chochmah, רב מאיר שמחה מדבינסק Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, who addresses it. So why the repetition of these two פסוקים psukim in a way that doesn't seem to add anything? רש\"י Rashi, the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, and the משך חכמה Meshech Chochmah all who elucidate, all who point out that in fact the Torah is adding even if it's difficult to see. Okay, פרשת קדושים Parshas Kedoshim, page 656. קדושים תהיו Kedoshim tihiyu. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, God spoke to משה Moshe, דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם daber el kol adas Bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem. We'll see in a moment why this needed to be given in עדת בני ישראל adas Bnei Yisrael, gather the Jewish people. Don't do this in isolation, don't do it separately, don't send out private emails or voice notes, but עדת בני ישראל adas Bnei Yisrael, gather the Jewish people. And what's the message to them when they are gathered? קדושים תהיו Kedoshim tihiyu, be holy. And why should you be holy? כי קדוש אני ה' אלקיכם Ki kadosh ani Hashem Elokeichem. says God, because I am holy. Our mission, our mandate, we don't live for happiness, we live for holiness. We are meant to strive and to aspire to be a holy people. Now, what does it mean to be holy? What does it mean to be holy? It's a challenge. What does it mean to be holy? So the מדרש ויקרא רבה כ\"ד Midrash Vayikra Rabbah kaf-daled, wonders, if the mandate to be holy means, is our holy supposed to be, holiness supposed to be as great as God? After all, the pasuk tells us, be holy, strive to be holy. Why? כי קדוש אני ה' אלקיכם Ki kadosh ani Hashem Elokeichem. Hashem says I am holy and the greatest form of flattery is imitation. So therefore, if you want to flatter me, imitate me. I am holy, you should strive to be holy. So the מדרש Midrash concludes, no. The pasuk ends, כי קדוש אני ה' Ki kadosh ani Hashem, קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם kedushasi l'maalah m'kedushaschem. My holiness says God is categorically different. It's on a higher level than yours. What does that mean? What would we have thought? What was the הוה אמינא hava amina? What is the initial thought that maybe our holiness can be as great as God's? And what is the conclusion? No. קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם Kedushasi l'maalah m'kedushaschem. My holiness is greater than yours. רב שמעון שקאפ זצ\"ל Rav Shimon Shkop, zatzal, who was for a very short time ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva at YU, much more better known as the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of Grodna, in his introduction, his הקדמה hakdamah to שערי יושר Shaarei Yosher has a famous comment, a very beautiful comment. He says קדושה kedusha, holiness is about, what is holiness? How do you define holiness? So we'll mention momentarily רש\"י Rashi, the רמב\"ן Ramban, פרישות preishus, it is the ability to be disciplined, to be sovereign over our own desires, to live without our wants and needs and temptations. We just concluded Tuesday, Wednesday mornings, we learned the מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, 10 minutes a week, for 10 minutes a week, we can be on a path towards a better you. 10 minutes a week. So we just finished the מידה midah, the chapter of פרישות preishus, of living with discipline, of how to say no, of how to practice essentialism in our lives. So what is, what is קדושה kedusha, holiness? So according to רש\"י Rashi, רמב\"ן Ramban, it's פרישות preishus. It's living without a certain not asceticism, but it's living with the discipline to be able to say no. But רב שמעון Rav Shimon, רב שמעון שקאפ Rav Shimon Shkop understands קדושה kedusha a little bit differently. He says קדושה kedusha is about how we speak and what we look at and how we present ourselves, how we conduct ourselves, how pious and how righteous we are. But says רב שמעון Rav Shimon, at its core, you know what קדושה kedusha is about? How much we care about and how much we do for others. A life of self-centeredness, a life of pursuit of personal happiness is mundane. It's profane, it is secular. It is חול chol, it's חולין chulin. You know what is קדושה kedusha, holiness? Holiness is about caring about others. Holiness is about being useful. Holiness is about being of service. Holiness is about making a difference. Holiness is living a life that matters. So says רב שמעון שקאפ Rav Shimon Shkop, I might have thought that I can be giving and caring like Hashem. So the answer is no. Hashem is absolutely altruistic. Hashem is the ultimate of benevolence. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Almighty is able to give in a way in which he gets absolutely nothing in return. Pure goodness is given. And perhaps we aspire for that. That is our ambition, but we're not capable of it. No. קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם Kedushasi l'maalah m'kedushaschem. Says רב שמעון שקאפ Rav Shimon Shkop, my holiness is categorically different than yours, says God. Because Hashem says my giving is purely benevolent, purely altruistic, but we the human being are designed to get from giving. It's the way that we're made up, it's our psyche. Every time we give, we get. Even if nobody knows about our giving, so we get from the fact the pride, the joy, the satisfaction that nobody knows that we gave. That's what we're getting. But in every act of giving, there's some getting that we get. So it turns out that holiness and happiness are not contradictory and they're not competing. But when you act holy by giving, when you act holy by being of service, when you act holy by doing for others, that is in fact the source of happiness. There's countless research the hour is late. There's countless research that giving and caring and doing and volunteering hardwires our brain to generate pleasure. The benefits of volunteering and you know there's a study that shows that people were given a certain sum of money. One group spent it on themselves, others spent it on others, and then they measured happiness and there was more happiness from those who spent on others than on themselves. And רב שמעון Rav Shimon further explains the משנה Mishna in this way. משנה Mishna says in פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos, הוא היה אומר אם אין אני לי מי לי hu haya omer im ein ani li mi li. The משנה Mishna says in פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos, if I'm not for myself, who will be for me? וכשאני לעצמי u'ksh'ani l'atzmi, and when I'm only for myself, מה אני ma ani, what am I? ואם לא עכשיו v'im lo achshav, and if not now, אימתי eimasai, then when? So says רב שמעון Rav Shimon the following. A person has to care about themselves, not only others. We have to care about ourselves. We have to preserve ourselves, we have to pursue our own life, our own health, our own happiness, our own holiness. We have to care about ourselves. But if we exclusively care about ourselves, then what are we? We have to broaden our sense of who is myself. Who am I? בעדו, בעד ביתו, ועד כל כלל ישראל Ba'ado, b'ad beiso, v'ad kol Klal Yisrael. Who I am, my sense of self begins with me, but then it extends itself to my spouse, my children, my grandchildren, my neighbors, community, to people, and even to an extent the whole world. So when doing for others, then we see ourselves as really doing for ourselves. If others are an extension of us, when I do for you, I'm really doing for me. Davening with intent is important, being careful in the original mitzvos matters, but holiness is not measured by how hard you shuckle or how much you give. It's not defined by what you do for yourself, but rather by how much you care and what we do for others. That is the purpose, that is the mission of our lives. In fact, in our davening, we reference Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov. We invoke their character traits. We begin the Amidah, we take those three steps forward and we begin the dialogue, the conversation with Hashem, by invoking Elokei Avraham Elokei Yitzchak v'Elokei Yaakov. However, we conclude the bracha, Magen Avraham. Why do we single out Avraham? Why not Magen Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov Hashem, preserve and protect the sense, the spirit, the DNA of Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov inside me? So I once heard from Rabbi Yudin. Rabbi Yudin, the great Rav of Farilan, that the Torah is, our davening rather, is reminding us every day three times a day, Magen Avraham. Yeah, be like Yitzchak and be like Yaakov. Follow in the footsteps and absolutely try to go in the character traits of Yitzchak and Yaakov. But you know where holiness begins? Magen Avraham, with the middah of chesed, with chesed. Holiness is in all the other arenas. It's not to suggest as too many falsely believe, what matters is I'm a good person. So I'm not so careful with what I eat and I'm not so careful with Torah mitzvos and I'm not so careful with Shabbos, but you know I'm a good person, I'm a kind person, I'm an honest person, that's all that matters. No. Those other things matter and they matter enormously. Chalilah, it's not to suggest that all that matters is are you a good and kind person. But in the definition of kedusha, in the definition of holiness for Rav Shimon Shkap, it's about how we treat and interact and who we are to others. Winston Churchill once said that we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give, by what we, by what we give. So that is an alternative understanding to what is, what is kedusha, how do we aspire to it, how do we achieve it? Rav Druk has a different interpretation. Let's take a look at Rav Druk on kedusha. So Rashi said, daber el kol adas Bnei Yisrael, melamed she'ne'emra parasha zu be'hakhel. This parsha was given while we were all assembled. It was given while we were a community. Why, says Rashi? M'pnei sh'ruv gufei Torah t'luyim bah. If you look at Parshas Kedoshim, there are an enormous amount, a long litany of mitzvos. And why was it given while we were together? Because such important mitzvos were given, they were communicated, it needed to be done, it demanded to be done in an assembly. Tzarich l'havin, says Rav Druk, one needs to understand, mah chashivusa shel parsha zu shen'emra be'hakhel? What is it specifically about this parsha, which laws specifically, what is it about this parsha that it needed to be given together? Chasam Sofer perishes in inyan zeh, al pi ma she'kasav ba'Chovas HaLevavos. So the Chasam Sofer explained based on the Chovas HaLevavos. Be'godel maalos ha'preishus v'ha'bdidus. You see, our parsha says, how do you achieve holiness? Prushim tihiyu. You have to be able to be separate and apart. In fact, before we see the Rav Druk, let's go to the Imrei Chaim. Imrei Chaim says, melamed she'ne'emra parsha zu be'hakhel, romez l'madregas ha'bodedus bein anashim, v'zehu parsha, lashon ha'frashah. V'yizbodedus be'hakhel ne'emra, efshar gam bein anashim. It's a beautiful Imrei Chaim. The Visionist says, we know that there's a very big value to hisbodedus, the ability to be alone. On the one hand, we believe that we are connected with others. Chaver, chibur, friends, connection, tzibbur, kahal, community, these are core values. But we also know that people, we are built alone. We know that human beings were built alone. Adam nivreh yechidi. We were built all alone. So hisbodedus, we have to sometimes be alone to recover, to return, to recalibrate, to talk to Hashem hisbodedus. So says the Imrei Chaim, do you have to physically be alone in order to experience hisbodedus, to experience aloneness? No. That's what it means. Parsha zu nemra behakhel. Parsha, parsha means lifrosh, it means to be apart, nemra behakhel. You could be alone in a crowded room. Now sometimes we say that you could be alone in a crowded room in a negative way. You could be alone in a crowded room means a person can feel all alone, can feel the pain of loneliness even when there are others in the room. But here the Visionist Rebbe means it in a positive sense. You can experience hisbodedus even with other people around. You don't have to be absolutely alone. So back to the Chasam Sofer and the Chovas HaLevavos. She'ein ratzon haKadosh Baruch Hu she'yiheyeh adam porish v'yoshev le'k'ol b'yos makom she'ein anashim. God does not want us to go live on a secluded island all by ourselves, to withdraw from people. No, he wants us to be among people, to live among people. Rotsa Hashem Yisborach l'hiyos ohev es ha'brios u'mischaber imam l'lamdam binah v'haskel be'Toras Hashem. He wants us to connect, so much of Torah is interpersonal relationships, so much of Torah is how to relate to others. Af al pi chein, ha'rotzeh Hashem Yisborach ohev es ha'brios. We should love people, we should want to be connected with people. Al yedei zeh mekarevam l'Torah be'chibur v'd'veikus. We should want to bring Hashem's name and to be marbeh kiddush Hashem and to make kiddush Hashem in the world and among people. Vezeh she'be'er kein be'omro kedoshim tihiyu, she'tihiye be'preishus v'nuchal l'tos she'b'preishus ayno bedidus ha'guf. A person might mistakenly think that what is preishus it means physically living apart, being a reckless, being isolated, being alone. Le'kach nemra daber el kol adas Bnei Yisrael, v'haynu parsha zu behakhel nemra, she'yeheyeh porish v'hu me'urev bein bnei adam. So the Chasam Sofer says, the parsha of preishus was given where? Behakhel. The parsha of preishus was given where? Among kol adas Bnei Yisrael. To know that the mission and the goal is to experience, to find the balance, to strike the balance between the two. To not be alone physically, to be able to be alone mentally, but among all the people around us. Hu haya omer the Mishna of Avos teaches, kol she'ruach ha'brios nocha heimenu, ruach ha'makom nocha heimenu. In fact, whether Hashem has a positive relationship and a favorable view of us depends on the way we're thought of by other people. We have to be me'urev. Me'urev means integrated with like a ta'aroves, but me'urev means sweet. Do people consider us sweet? Is our presence among the community adding sweetness? Are we sweetening the world around us? So it's given among kol kahal adas Bnei Yisrael. We have to strike that balance of preishus among kol kahal adas Yisrael. I wanted to get into the laws of shatnez and so much more in Parshas Kedoshim, a million mitzvos. We spent too much time on Acharei Mos. We'll have to pick it up next year Parshas Kedoshim. Thank you for joining us. Tomorrow morning 8:15, 10 minutes of meaning and then 8:40 followed by living with the Emunah. Tomorrow night is a very special guest on Behind the Bima at 9:00 p.m. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy.
