Transcript
Good morning. בוקר טוב Boker tov. Welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. Last week we missed because of celebration of שבועות Shavuos, but we are back for פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Behaaloscha. And as always, we thank our generous sponsors for the Parsha series for the year, our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family, in loving memory of Becky's father and their grandfather, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן נחום מנש l'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Nachum Manash, in memory of David Grossman. Today's שיעור shiur is also sponsored by Jennifer and Dr. Ronnie Herman in memory of שרה צירל בת יידל פרייס Sara Tzirel bas Yidel Price, a courageous woman who never lost her אמונה emunah, despite the hardships of the Holocaust, their Oma who lived to 100, was privileged to see many generations. נשמה שתהיה לה עליה Nishamah shetihyeh lah aliyah. Also co-sponsored by the Lowenstein family in honor of their mother, Tammy, a big listener to the Parsha shiur, in celebration of her, I'm going to get in trouble. It says her 60th birthday. I'm sure it's really her 30th birthday. A very, very happy birthday. Thank you for listening and learning with us. And lastly by Colin Stein, Haylia Astrovsky, Ruth Sadowitz and family in memory of פייגא בת משה Feiga bas Moshe. May her neshama, her very special, Eves is very special neshama, have an aliyah. Thank you to all of our sponsors. If you'd like to sponsor a future episode, a future shiur, please email Lee at brsonline.org, l-e-e at brsonline.org. This week, we have the privilege of reading, of learning, of studying, of being transformed by פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Behaaloscha. Page 774 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash if you are following, and by definition you are doing it at home. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר, דבר אל אהרן ואמרת אליו, בהעלותך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, daber el Aharon v'amarta eilav, b'haaloscha es haneros el mul pnei hamenorah yairu shivas haneros. Hashem speaks to Moshe saying, speak to Aaron and tell him, when you kindle the lights of the מנורה menorah, towards the face of the menorah should you light all seven lights. There's a lot to talk about in this opening of the parsha. In our many years of parsha classes, you can find online, we have spoken about it. We have a lot of other things to get to in the parsha. I'll just say very briefly, one thought from the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, we've said it before. The seven branches of the menorah represent the six branches of wisdom, all leading towards the seventh branch, which is Torah. All the other wisdoms, all the other disciplines out there in the world, we believe חכמה בגויים תאמין chochmah b'goyim ta'amin, and we believe there is value and virtue to those wisdoms, but they have to serve Torah. They have to compliment Torah. They have to be subservient to Torah. Torah is primary, Torah is central, Torah is the authoritative understanding of the universe of the world. And that's why the six branches lean in towards that central branch, which is Torah. The אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim has a different interpretation. Who says ששת הנרות מרמזים לששת ימי החול sheishes haneros meramzim l'sheishes yemei hachol, the six branches represent Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, והנר האמצעי v'haneir ha'emtzoi, and the middle branch, רומז לשבת קודש romez l'Shabbos kodesh. The middle branch is the holy of the holy Shabbos. בהעלותך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה B'haaloscha es haneros el mul pnei hamenorah, אם תעלה ותכוון את ששת ימי החול im ta'aleh v'techaven es sheishes yemei hachol, if we succeed in directing all the six weekdays, כל השבוע אל מול שבת קודש kol hashavua el mul Shabbos kodesh. יום ראשון בשבת, שני בשבת, שלישי בשבת Yom rishon b'Shabbos, sheni b'Shabbos, shlishi b'Shabbos, if Shabbos is at the forefront of our mind, if all week we're looking forward, we're longing, and Shabbos is תכלית מעשה בראשית tachlis ma'aseh Bereishis, Shabbos is the goal and the ambition of our life, אז יאירו שבעת הנרות az ya'iru shivas haneros. Then all seven candles, that middle candle, the candle of Shabbos, illuminates, energizes the entire week. יהיה כל השבוע בבחינת שבת Yihyeh kol hashavua b'vchinas Shabbos. We can make the entire week in the status of Shabbos when all the six arms all lean towards, all lean towards the middle arm, which is the heiliga Shabbos. The אש תמיד Eish Tamid, Rav Druk, and we have a special treat in store for you today. Rav Druk is in Boca. So earlier this morning, he gave a little דבר תורה dvar Torah on the parsha, which we are going to incorporate into our shiur this morning. We've been learning Rav Druk's wonderful ספר אש תמיד sefer Eish Tamid inside. We have the privilege of hearing directly from Rav Druk this morning. But first, let's look inside Eish Tamid. דבר אל אהרן ואמרת אליו Daber el Aharon v'amarta eilav. Says Rashi, a famous Rashi, למה נסמכה פרשת המנורה לפרשת הנשיאים lamah nismicha parshas hamenorah l'parshas hanesi'im? Why is this parsha of the menorah, this mandate, the charge to Aaron and his children after him to light, to ignite the candelabra, why is it adjacent, why is it juxtaposed to what we read at the end of last week, the story of the נשיאים nesi'im, how each of the princes, each of the heads of the tribes brought the exact same קרבנות korbanos? לפי שראה אהרן חנוכת הנשיאים, חלשה דעתו L'fi she'ra'ah Aharon chanukas hanesi'im, chalshah da'ato. When Aaron saw the inauguration, when Aaron saw each of them, the gifts, the korbanos, the sacrifices they were able to bring, חלשה דעתו chalshah da'ato, he was so saddened. He became impacted negatively. שלא היה עמהם בחנוכה Shelo hayah imahem b'chanukah. He was so sad, said Aaron, it's not fair to me. Why don't I get to give? Why don't I get a chance? Why am I not included? Why am I not participating? לא הוא Lo hu, neither him, ולא שבטו v'lo shivto, nor his tribe. אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא Amar lo haKadosh Baruch Hu, so the Almighty responds, חייך, שלך גדולה משלהם chayecha, shelcha gedolah mishelahem. Aaron, what are you crazy? What are you upset about? Aaron, don't be sad. Your portion, your lot, your opportunity is greater. שאתה מדליק ומיטיב את הנרות She'atah madlik u'meitiv es haneros. You are lighting and you are igniting the candelabra, the menorah. You're doing so לדורות l'doros for generations to come, nothing to be said about. We've spoken about this too in the past. A seemingly bizarre exchange. Aaron sounds like an impetuous child. It's not fair to me. How come my brother, my sister, how come they get the, how come they get to go? How come they get to sleep? How come their bedtime is later? Says Aaron, not fair to me. How come the rest of them to see him get to give and I don't? To which Hashem doesn't say, Aaron, you get what you get and you don't get upset. Hashem doesn't say, Aaron, come on, you're better than that, which is what we would have expected him to say. Instead, he tells him, yours is greater. What are you upset about? You have a greater portion. Don't tell your siblings. Don't tell the others, but yours is in fact bigger. Yours is in fact greater. What kind of a conversation? We've raised this question before and we've spoken about it in the context of קנאת סופרים תרבה חכמה kinas sofrim tarbeh chochmah. I am not competitive whatsoever. But for competitive people, it's good to know that here the Torah endorses spiritual competitiveness, spiritual. To be competitive for material things, to be competitive for attention, glory or honor, to be competitive for your car or your clothing or your house, that is an unhealthy competitiveness, unless it gives you a drive to be the best you can. But competitiveness in the arena of רוחניות ruchniyus, in the pursuit of the spiritual and the holy, when a person says, I want to דאווען daven like that. I want to learn like that. I want to do חסד chesed like that. I want that opportunity. I want that skillset. I wish I could sit like that. That that ambition, that competitiveness for רוחניות ruchniyus, it breeds greater learning. It breeds greater behavior. Our rabbi said, קנאת סופרים kinas sofrim, that competitiveness among scholars, תרבה חכמה tarbeh chochmah. It creates and it promotes greater wisdom in the world. So here you see the source that Hashem doesn't say to Aaron, Aaron, what's the matter with you? He says to him, Aaron, I like it. Bring it on. I like the competitiveness, but don't worry. Your opportunity is greater than them. That's what we've spoken about in the past. But here Rav Druk quotes, מבואר ברש\"י Mevuar b'Rashi, שהדלקת המנורה ניתנה לאהרן כנחומים shehadlakas hamenorah nitnah l'Aharon k'tanchumin. It seems from Rashi like Hashem giving Aaron the opportunity to light the menorah was given as a comfort, a consolation prize. He was saddened that he couldn't bring the gifts, the korbanos with the nesi'im, and what was the consolation prize? Don't worry, you get to light the menorah. And the Ramban, Nachmanides, asks a series of questions on Rashi. Writes the Ramban on our parsha, ולא נתברר לי למה נוחם בהדלקת הנרות, ולא נוחם בקטורת בקר וערב ששבחו בו הכתוב, ישימו קטורת באפך v'lo nisbarer li lamah nucham b'hadlakas haneros, v'lo nucham b'ktores boker v'erev she'shavchu bo hakasuv, yisimu ktores b'apecha. Why in the world is Aaron satisfied? He is appeased when God says to him, don't worry, what you have is greater, you get to light the menorah. Why is he appeased by that? Why wasn't he already appeased by the privileged, by the unique opportunities that he had that others didn't, i.e., namely, bringing the katoros. He got to bring the incense. He played that special role. ובכל הקרבנות, מנחת חביתין ועבודת יום הכיפורים שאינה כשרה אלא בו U'vchol hakorbanos, minchas chavitin v'avodas Yom HaKippurim she'einah kesheirah elah bo. There's a whole list of korbanos that only Kohanim got to bring, and even among the Kohanim, only Aaron the Kohen Gadol got to bring. ונכנס לפני ולפנים V'nichnas lifnai v'lifnim, he's the only one who got to enter the קודש הקדשים Kodesh HaKodashim. Those learning the דף יומי Daf Yomi today's daf. שהוא קודש ה' עומד בהיכלו לשרתו ולברך בשמו V'she'hu kodesh Hashem omeid b'heichalo l'sharso ul'varech bishmo. So Aaron already had a unique position that came with unique privileges and opportunities, even more than the menorah. So why is Hashem answering Aaron, I'm giving you the menorah? He was already answered by the other opportunities that the Kohanim and certainly the Kohen Gadol, the high priest, got. What does the menorah add? And moreover, why was Aaron sad to begin with? His karbon, his karbon as the Kohen is the Kohen Gadol, was greater than the the korbanos, the sacrifices of the nesi'im. So why would he be saddened by seeing what they're bringing, which is less than what he ordinarily brings, let alone all the other unique opportunities that he has. And the Ramban offers a incredible, incredible interpretation here. The Ramban says you see in this conversation between Hashem and Aaron a hint, an allusion to the בית חשמונאי Beis Chashmonai. We're talking about second temple times, the Chashmonaim, who established the lighting of the menorah l'doros. And he says here is an allusion to the story of Chanukah, to the story of Chanukah, the Beis Chashmonai were Kohanim. They were not part of the lineage of מלכות דוד malchus Dovid. They broke from the rule that לא יסור שבט מיהודה lo yasur shevet m'Yehudah. Really, the monarchy was supposed to always emerge from Yehudah, and here the Chashmonaim broke with that as Kohanim Gedolim, as Kohanim. The Rambam deals with that. Did they make a mistake? Was it a special time and so on. But here, the Chashmonaim, who were able to light those candles, established the holiday of Chanukah. And that's what the posuk is really referring to, says the Ramban. However, Rav Druk wants to answer the Ramban's question on Rashi differently, and he answers based on the following. I'll tell it to you outside because we have an enormous amount we want to cover today. He basically says the following. Moreover, he asks another question. He says, what is this doing here? Really doesn't this belong, the menorah, the whole story of the menorah belongs back when we had parshiyos Terumah, Tetzaveh, when we had Vayakhel Pekudei, we had the introduction of the keilim earlier. What is it doing here? So he suggests that really there are two dinim, שני דינים svei dinim. There are two aspects or there are two laws to the lighting of the menorah. One is, like every other behavior performance, עבודה avodah in the מקדש Mikdash, the lighting of the menorah was part of the service of the Mikdash. But there was a second role the menorah had. יש בו גם בנין הבית, שכיון שהבית זקוק לאורה, בכל מעשה הדלקה כאילו בונה ומשלים את הבית Yesh bo gam binyan habayis, she'keivan shehabayis zakuk l'orah, b'chol ma'aseh hadlakah k'ilu boneh u'mashlim es habayis. You could have a home, and the home can be fully furnished, but if the light's not on, and you can't enjoy, and you can't navigate, and you can't make your way around the furnished home, then you're not really having an established full home. When is the home inhabitable? When the electric company turns the lights on, when the electricity is flowing, when you've got the certificate of occupancy, when you can turn the light on and inhabit the home, that's when it's really inaugurated, that's when it's really established. And therefore, suggests Rav Druk, what Hashem was telling Aaron, Aaron wasn't upset in an ongoing fashion. He knew that he had a greater and a more special opportunity. But rather, what bothered Aaron was in the הקמת המשכן Hakamas haMishkan, the special, special designated day, this distinguished unique opportunity to celebrate the inauguration of the Mishkan, Aaron felt sidelined. He felt like he wasn't participating. He felt like he didn't have a role, to which Hashem responds, you think that the entire inauguration is complete with the gifts of the nesi'im? It's waiting for you to turn the light on. It's waiting for you to turn the light on. When you turn the light on, that's when there's a real certificate of occupancy. That's when you've really entered. And therefore he suggests the following. בשעת כל העבודות והקרבנות לא נתפייס כיון שכל ענינם וחיובם אינם מדין בנין הבית B'shas kol ha'avodos v'hakorbanos lo nispaeis keivan she'kol inyanam v'chiyuvam einam mi'din binyan habayis. All the other sacrifices, all the other unique distinct roles of the Kohen, don't include something that's part of inaugurating or building the special home for God. ולא נתפייס אלא במצות הדלקת המנורה, שחובתה באה מפני השלמת בנין וכבוד הבית V'lo nispaeis elah b'mitzvas hadlakas hamenorah, she'chovasoh ba'ah m'pnei hashlomas binyan v'kvod habayis. But turning on that light was the מכה בפטיש makah b'patish. It was the final act. It was the completion of this building. It brought the glory, it brought the functionality, it made it inhabitable. It really made it complete. ונמצא שהוא משתתף בבנין הבית V'nimtza she'hu mishtatef b'vinyan habayis. So by turning the light on, Aaron did have that role. וזהו עיקר דין כהונה בהדלקה V'zehu ikar din kehunah b'hadlakah. And when the Kohanim turned that light on each and every day, when they light that menorah, ניתנה לו הזכות להשלים בנין הבית על ידי האור בהדלקת המנורה nitnah lo hazchus l'hashlim binyan habayis al yedei ha'or b'hadlakas hamenorah. It's as if the בנין binyan, it's as if the building, to a certain degree, was deconstructed, was destroyed, and each time you turned the light on, you build it anew. So everyone else only got to inaugurate once and once only, Aaron, through the daily lighting, got to inaugurate daily. And that's what Hashem meant, what you have is greater. So you have to understand what troubled Aaron was not impetuousness or was not an unhealthy competitiveness. What troubled Aaron was a desire to participate in the glorious day of the inauguration of the Mishkan. He didn't want to be sidelined. He didn't want to be a spectator, to which Hashem said, don't worry, not only are you not a spectator today, but every day when you light that menorah each and every time, you are in fact reinaugurating, reestablishing, rebuilding, you are making it inhabitable once again, you're turning the lights on, and you are therefore illuminating not only the Mikdash, but from the Mishkan in Mikdash, you are illuminating more broadly, and you are illuminating out much more further. Okay, פרק ח Perek Ches, which is the beginning of Behaaloscha, פסוק יוד ט pasuk yud tes. Turn the page. The consecration of the לויים Levi'im, making the Levi'im have their role, their uniqueness. We've talked about in the past a contradiction, did the Levi'im 25, 30, when did they serve? How many years of apprenticeship to a person can identify whether they're cut out, and if they're not, they should move on to another job. We've talked about that in the past. פרק ח' פסוק יוד ט Perek Ches, pasuk yud tes, chapter 8, verse 19, page 776 in the ArtScroll Stone Chumash. ואתנה את הלוים נתונים לאהרן ולבניו V'etnah es haLevi'im nesunim l'Aharon ul'vanav. The pasuk describes that I assigned the Levi'im to be presented to Aaron and his sons from among מתוך בני ישראל mitoch bnei Yisrael. And what was their mission? לעבוד את עבודת בני ישראל באהל מועד La'avod es avodas bnei Yisrael b'Ohel Moed, they were here to serve the Jewish people from the Ohel Moed, ולכפר על בני ישראל ul'chaper al bnei Yisrael, and to achieve atonement for the Jewish people, ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף בגשת בני ישראל אל הקודש v'lo yihyeh b'vnei Yisrael negef b'geshes bnei Yisrael el hakodesh. So the consecration of the Levi'im, you have a job, you have a responsibility, you have a mission. The Rambam writes, today, anybody can be part of שבט לוי Shevet Levi. If you want to study Torah, you want to be a communal leader, you want to be a role model and an influencer, not a social media influencer, a Torah communal influencer, an example of how to live the most virtuous, meritorious life of Torah, of chesed, of sensitivity, of kindness, of middos, of derech eretz, then we can all electively join that symbolic mission or role of Shevet Levi. So here the Torah tells us, they are consecrated, they are designated from among the Jewish people to serve from the Ohel Moed. Why? So that there will not be a נגף negef. Why? ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף v'lo yihyeh b'vnei Yisrael negef, so there will not be a negef, בגשת בני ישראל אל הקודש b'geshes bnei Yisrael el hakodesh, when the Jewish people approach holiness, holy activity, holy service of God, let there not be a negef, let there not be a plague. What does that mean? So Rashi here says the following. Rashi says, shelo yeheyeh b'negef. Where is Rashi, pasuk yud tes. V'etnah. חמשה פעמים נאמר בני ישראל במקרא זה Chameishah pa'amim ne'emar bnei Yisrael b'mikra zeh. Look back at this pasuk, Perek Ches pasuk yud tes, 8:19, and you'll see bnei Yisrael are mentioned five times, five times. V'etnah es haLevi'im nesunim l'Aaron, sorry, v'etnah... mitoch Bnei Yisrael, one, la'avod es avodas bnei Yisrael, two, l'chaper al Bnei Yisrael, three, v'lo b'vnei Yisrael, four, b'geshes bnei Yisrael el hakodesh, five. Seems a little excessive, no? A little redundant. Five times I have to mention bnei Yisrael, but when you see the number five, like Sesame Street, the number five should remind you, what is the symbolism of the number five? להודיע חיבתן שנכפלו אזכרותן במקרא אחד כנגד חמשה חומשי תורה. וכן ראיתי בבראשית רבה L'hodia chibasan she'nichpilu eskarasan b'mikra echad k'minyan Chamishah Chumshei Torah. V'chein raisi b'Bereishis Rabbah. Says Rashi, when you see something five times, the number five is an allusion, it's a signal. Five means חמשה חומשי תורה Chamishah Chumshei Torah. So Bnei Yisrael are mentioned five times in the pasuk as a reference or illusion to the five books of Chumash, the five books of the Torah. What does one thing have to do with another? What does this pasuk, the idea that negef, a plague should not be brought to the people, what does negef have to do with Chumash? So before we get to that, I want to share with you an insight of Rav Meir Premishlan. Rav Meir Premishlan says the following. He says, you know, normally, I'll read it to you. בנוהג שבעולם כשעה שמתרגשת על האדם צרה, חלילה וחס B'noheg sheba'olam she'sha'ah she'mitrageshes al ha'adam tzarah, chalilah v'chas. Normally, when a person endures, when a person undergoes a challenging time, a crisis, God forbid, אז הוא מתחזק ומתעלה ברוחניות az hu mis'chazek u'mis'aleh b'ruchniyus. What happens in a crisis? You dig deep. Dig deep in your emunah, in bitachon, in your faith and trust in God. You dig deep concentrating on your prayers, on your davening, on your Tehillim. You dig deep, being on your best behavior and trying to earn the merits in order to endure, to persevere the crisis, in order to persevere the challenging time. ומיטיב את דרכיו לבלי הכר u'meisiv es derachav l'vli heker. And you transform yourself on best behavior, all kinds of promises and pledges, doing everything at the top level. And what happens? מדרגה גבוהה אלו יש לשאוף שיעשה לעבוד את ה' בכל לבבו גם בעתות טובה ושפע ברכה, ולא רק בעת קושי וצרה Madregah gevohah eileh yesh lishof she'oseh la'avod es Hashem b'chol levavo gam b'itos tovah v'shefa bracha, v'lo rak b'eis koshi v'tzarah. To live on that level, on that plane, to live with that concentration, with that faith, with that trust, with that virtuous activity, one should strive, one should aspire to live that way all the time. It shouldn't take 15 months of a Corona pandemic. It shouldn't take 11 days of 4,000 rockets. It shouldn't take the growth of anti-Semitism, the fear, the threat, the danger, the concern that we all have to say, ooh, I better be on my best behavior. I'm going to daven hard. I'm going to say Tehillim. We're going to have Tehillim gatherings. We're going to have rallies. We're going to have Torah sessions. We're going to, we're going to pledge learning of Torah. It should be something that we're striving for all the time. And said Rav Meir Premishlan, that's what it means. ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף בגשת בני ישראל אל הקודש V'lo yihyeh b'vnei Yisrael negef b'geshes bnei Yisrael el hakodesh. We shouldn't need a plague in order to draw close to Hashem. It shouldn't take a crisis. It shouldn't take a plague. It shouldn't take a pandemic. It shouldn't take rockets. It shouldn't take a rise of anti-Semitism in order to draw close to Hashem. It shouldn't be b'negef. It should be at all times when shefa bracha, when there's an overflow of blessing into our lives, good health, safety, security, happiness, prosperity. In the best of times, and that is a parsha perspective for today, a beautiful insight of Rav Meir Premishlan, a חסידיש דרוש chassidish drush on the pasuk. It shouldn't be בבני ישראל נגף בגשת אל הקודש b'vnei Yisrael negef b'geshes el hakodesh. It shouldn't take a plague or a crisis to drive us to to holiness, to the kodesh, even in the happy times, the best of times, the successful times, the non-crisis times, we should also be driven and we should also aspire. But back to our question. Rashi says bnei Yisrael is mentioned five times in the pasuk. When you see the number five, five means חמשה חומשי תורה Chamishah Chumshei Torah. What does that have to do with this? Says Rav Druk in his Eish Tamid, he quotes from the sefer Pri Tzadik, Rav Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin, the holy Rav Tzadok. On, he writes the following in parshas Ki Sisa os zayin. ולכן, this is Rav Tzadok, ולכן בפסוק ואתנה את הלוים נתונים לאהרן מתוך בני ישראל נזכר בו חמשה פעמים בני ישראל, להודיע חיבתן שנכפלו... רק במקום שהוזכר שהבדיל הלוים מתוך בני ישראל, זכר גם קדושת ישראל, שלא תאמר שקדושתם כלה מהלוים. The whole section is telling us about the consecration of the Levi'im, the distinction, the elevation of the Levi'im. So a stam Yisrael like me, a gurnisht, nothing, just a Yisrael like me will say to ourselves, I guess I'm a nothing. I'm a gurnisht. Kadosh Baruch Hu is not machshiv me. The Almighty doesn't value me. The Levi'im, they're consecrated. The Levi'im are charged with a mission. The Levi'im are elevated. The Levi'im have this whole special role. I'm just a Yisrael. What am I? So therefore, rak shehaLevi'im, kedushasan novea mi'kedushas Yisrael. Kedushas Yisrael kolel kol hakdushos. V'lachein davka ramaz b'zeh b'pasuk she'nizkar bo bnei Yisrael chameishah pa'amim k'neged Chamishah Chumshei Torah. Says Rav Tzadok, specifically in the portion that is talking about the consecration and the elevation of the Levi'im, we mentioned bnei Yisrael five times to say the Levi'im only have their distinction, it emanates from bnei Yisrael. And bnei Yisrael has it the five times, from the Chumash. We are who we are because the Torah, the mandate, the mission, the charge, the responsibility, the obligation of Torah, that is what informs and inspires who we are. Klal Yisrael have kedushas Yisrael, the Jewish people have a sanctity of the Jewish people because we're charged with the Toras Yisrael, we're charged with the Torah of the Jewish people. And Levi'im emanate from there. So says Rav Tzadok, specifically in the portion where we might have erroneously concluded that the Levi'im are categorically better, we are reminded the Levi'im come from bnei Yisrael five times, five times. That is Rav Tzadok HaKohen's answer to the connection. However, of Druk, not surprisingly, offers one of his own. ונראה לפרש באופן אחר V'neira l'fareish b'ofen acher, שכל פעם כאשר ניגשים לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא, יש ענין להזכיר חיבתן של ישראל לפניו she'kol pa'am ka'asher nigashim lifnei haKadosh Baruch Hu, yesh inyan l'hazkir chibasan she'Yisrael l'fanav. Each time that we approach God, when we come close to God, when we appeal to God, protest to God, express gratitude to God, but each time that we are drawing close to God, it is worthwhile to remind God of his affection for us. And we see this in several places. In Shacharis, in davening in the morning, Shmoneh Esrei, what is the bracha, what is the blessing we recite right before we step up to the Amidah before God? צור ישראל, קומה בעזרת ישראל, ופדה כנאמך יהודה וישראל, גואלנו ה' צבאות שמו קדוש ישראל, ברוך אתה ה' גאל ישראל Tzur Yisrael, kumah b'ezras Yisrael, u'fdeih k'neumcha Yehudah v'Yisrael, Goaleinu Hashem tzvaos shmo kdoshe Yisrael, Baruch atah Hashem ga'al Yisrael. So the sefer HaManhig writes, we say Tzur Yisrael, kumah, and how many times does it mention Yisrael there? Five. כנגד חמשה ישראל K'neged chameishah Yisrael. So every time we stand up in the morning to say Shacharis, every time we stand up for the Amidah, the most important part of prayer, the part of prayer we're talking to Hashem, the rest of it is preparing to talk to Hashem, the rest of it is meditating and reflecting on Hashem, so we're better positioned to talk to Hashem, but the only part we're actually communicating, the only part that we are actually having a rendezvous with Hashem is the Amidah. And right before the Amidah, we say this formula. צור ישראל Tzur Yisrael, קומה בעזרת ישראל kumah b'ezras Yisrael, ופדה כנאמך יהודה וישראל u'fdeih k'neumcha Yehudah v'Yisrael, גואלנו ה' צבאות שמו קדוש ישראל Goaleinu Hashem tzvaos shmo kdoshe Yisrael, ברוך אתה ה' גאל ישראל Baruch atah Hashem ga'al Yisrael, five times. The Manhig says, why do we mention Yisrael five times before the Amidah? It corresponds with the five times when Yisrael are mentioned in our parsha, in our posuk here in Behaaloscha, which is a reference to Chumash. And the Rokeach also brings this, b'shem Rav Meir shliach tzibur. So מבואר שקודם שניגשים לתפילת שמונה עשרה, שאז האדם עומד לפני הקבו\"ה ממש mefuar she'kodem she'nigashim l'tefillas shmoneh esrei, she'az ha'adam omeid lifnei haKadosh Baruch Hu mamash. Says Rav Druk, you see, based on this pasuk, that before we approach Hashem, literally, before we take those three steps forward and begin this conversation with Hashem, שאז הוא זמן להזכיר ה' פעמים ישראל להודיע חיבתן sh'az hu zman l'hazkir hei pa'amim Yisrael l'hodia chibasan. We remind Hashem his love, his affection. שנכפלו אזכרותן במקרא אחד כנגד חמשה she'nichpilu as'karasan b'mikra echad k'neged chameishah. Hashem, you love us so much, you mentioned our name five times in one pasuk, five times. Talking to your child, you're talking to, I was just zocheh to have a new granddaughter. I'm still trying to learn her name. Shoshana Esther, Shana. So every time I see, I come, I give her a little kiss, Shana, who loves you? Zayde loves you, Shana. Shana, you're the best, Shana, you're amazing, Shana. You keep saying a name because the more you use a name, the closer you draw. The use of a name expresses affection, it expresses love, it expresses a desire for connection. So Hashem used our name five times in this one pasuk to say how much he loves us, how much affection he has for us. And we want to draw on that. We want to tap into that affection so that he sees us and listens to us and answers us most favorably. So before we begin our Amidah, the Manhig says, we mention Yisrael five times before we step up and begin our Shmoneh Esrei. We also see this at night. כן מצינו בתפילת ערבית, גם כן כשמזכירים ה' פעמים ישראל מאמונה כזאת עד שומר ישראל לעד K'mo kein matzinu b'tfilas Maariv, gam kein k'she'mazkirin hei pa'amim Yisrael mei'emunah k'zos ad shomer Yisrael la'ad. From right after Shma, Emunah k'zos, until the close of the bracha of Hashkiveinu, שומר ישראל לעד shomer Yisrael la'ad. Yisrael Amunah, Ohel Moed, Moshe u'vnei Yisrael, Ga'al Yisrael, shomer Yisrael la'ad, five times in Maariv we mentioned Yisrael. So you see, in the morning we say Yisrael five times, at night we say Yisrael five times. Both in the morning and at night are modeled after our parsha, Behaaloscha, and the five uses of Bnei Yisrael, the reflection of Hashem's love and affection for us. על פי זה יש לברר התם Al pi zeh yesh l'vareir ha'tam. So now we know why here. כי אחר חנוכת המשכן, כאשר צריך להסכלת העבודה Ki achar chanukas haMishkan, ka'asher tzrich l'haskales ha'avodah, the Mishkan is complete, the inauguration has been celebrated. It is time to step up and come close to God. Specifically, והבדלת הלוים מתוך בני ישראל v'hivdalta es haLevi'im mitoch bnei Yisrael, ומיד אחר כך מגיע פסוק זו u'miyad achar kach magia pasuk zu, ומיד ואחרי כן באו הלוים לעבוד את עבודתם באהל מועד u'miyad v'acharei chein ba'u haLevi'im la'avod es avodasam b'Ohel Moed. Right before the Levi'im step up, right before they step out in order to begin their avodah, each time we draw close to God, we remind him how much he loves us. We invoke the fivefold formula. We have a formula of five. God mentioned us five times to express His love for us, and His love is expressed by His giving us the Torah. Yisrael five times in our pasuk, Yisrael five times in Tzur Yisrael, Yisrael five times in Maariv after Shma till Shmoneh Esrei, the five Yisraels, Chumash, right before we talk to Hashem, we remind him how much He loves us, and we ask for that to be to our benefit. Moving right along. פרק ט פסוק ח Perek Tes pasuk ches. Consecration of the Levi'im, their apprenticeship, their responsibility, and then we get to the Pesach. וידבר שם משה במדבר סיני בשנה השנית לצאתם מארץ מצרים Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe b'Midbar Sinai b'shanah ha'sheinis l'tzeisam mei'eretz Mitzrayim. We are in the second month they've left Egypt, in the first month of the second year rather, first month of the second year they have left Egypt. פרק ט פסוק ג ח Perek tes pasuk ches. This is the פסח שני Pesach Sheini. We are not going to spend time on Pesach Sheini. We spent a lot of time on it in the past. I encourage you to listen. I've written about Pesach Sheini. Pesach Sheini in Buchenwald after liberation. Rav Herschel Schachter, Rav JJ Schachter's father, זכרונו לברכה zechrono l'vracha, who led the Pesach Sheini סדר Seder in Buchenwald after it was liberated. What a story. The story of Pesach Sheini of למה נגרע Lama nigara, of this group of people who said, why should we lose out? What a powerful message. By the way, this is perfectly consistent with the way the parsha began. Aaron said, why should I lose out? And now the people who were טמא לנפש tamei l'nefesh, the people who were impure and therefore, the people who were, who were ineligible to participate in the first Pesach, they step up to Moshe and they say, it's not fair to us. We want Pesach. We long for Pesach. Something that no man or woman has ever said since, not fair. If we got an exemption and didn't have to cook or clean, nobody would be complaining today. And yet, this group of righteous people said, למה נגרע Lama nigara, it is not fair to us. We want it. We want an opportunity. There's a question, we're not going to study it now. I'll leave you with this one for your homework. What do you mean, Lama nigara? Why did you lose out? Because you were tamei. People lose out all the time on things because they are not eligible. I'm not eligible to duchen. I'm not a Kohen. We've already established that. I'm not bitter about that at all. I'm not a Kohen. I can't duchen. I don't get the first aliyah. I can't do the avodah in the Beis haMikdash. Men, women, Kohanim, Levi'im, Yisraelim, those in Eretz Yisrael, I can't go to my garden in my backyard and do mitzvos hatluyos ba'aretz. It has to be that which grows in Israel. There are circumstances that enable and allow and invite different mitzvos. So what do you mean, Lama nigara? You were ineligible because you were tamei. How is that a legitimate argument, Lama nigara? If I step up and if a woman steps up and she says, Lama nigara, why am I exempt from time bound mitzvos? I want to be obligated. If I step up and I say, Lama nigara, why don't I get to duchen? I'd like to get up on the bimah and duchen. Would Moshe Rabbeinu go to Hashem and say, taka, it's a good tainah. How come he can't? Of course not. So why was this a legitimate argument? And why not only is it a legitimate argument, but once Moshe confers with God, God comes back and says, that was a good argument, giving you second, the holiday of second chances, the holiday of Pesach Sheini. It's a good question. We are not going to study it right now. Why were they tamei? They were carrying according to the opinion that we follow, there are three opinions, but we follow the opinion they were carrying the bones of Yosef. Yosef, the master of second chances. He gave his brothers a second chance, and now these individuals who were tamei because they were carrying the bones of Yosef, they want a second chance, and God gives them that second chance. We're not studying this right now. We move on to the desire, the signs, when it was time for the Mishkan to pack up and head out. We're traveling, we're journeying. When God determined it was time for the Mishkan to go. So page 780, 780 in the ArtScroll Stone Chumash, פרק ט perek tes, chapter nine, verse יח yud ches, verse 18. על פי ה' יסעו בני ישראל ועל פי ה' יחנו, כל ימי אשר ישכן הענן על המשכן יחנו Al pi Hashem yis'u bnei Yisrael, v'al pi Hashem yachanu, kol yemei asher yishkon he'anan al haMishkan yachanu. They according to the word of Hashem, they would head out, they would journey, and according to the word of Hashem, they would stop, and they would encamp, all the days. the cloud would rest on the משכן Mishkan, they would encamp. So when the cloud was on top of them, it was time to stop. When the cloud lifted, it meant go time. So each time they stopped or they went was not simple. There was an enormous, enormous amount of work to disassemble and to reassemble, to pack up, to head out. Anyone who's traveled with their family, children, you know, passports, TSA, packing, packing the hand luggage, arguing, you know how difficult, how challenging it is. And yet here, על פי השם al pi Hashem. When Hashem said it's time to go, and when Hashem said it's time to encamp, and how did he communicate those two messages? He did it, how? He did it based on על פי השם al pi Hashem. He did it by the cloud of glory lifting.So says Rav, says first of all the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh. First let's look at the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh. של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh says, על פי השם al pi Hashem. I love the של\"ה Shlah. שני לוחות הברית Shnei Luchos HaBris, ב\"ר ישעיה הלוי הורביץ B'Reb Yeshaya Levi Horowitz. Says the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh. The the של\"ה Shlah. מצאנו שלשה פסוקים סמוכים שבכל אחד מהם נאמר פעמיים על פי השם Matzinu shlosha psukim smuchim sheb'chol echad meihem ne'emar pa'amayim al pi Hashem. We have three successive פסוקים psukim. We have three פסוקים psukim in a row that all twice in each פסוק pasuk say על פי השם al pi Hashem. Three פסוקים psukim in a row that each one of them twice in the פסוק pasuk say, על פי השם al pi Hashem, based on Hashem. דבר זה אמר השל\"ה הקדוש Davar zeh amar haShlah haKadosh. This is a ספר sefer quoting the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh. It's a great ספר sefer. החסידות שבכתב HaChasidus Shebichtav. I love this סדר seder. Much of my ר' מאיר מפרמישלאן Reb Meir miPremishlan came from here. The של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh comes from here. It's a wonderful ספר sefer that collects the best of the חסידישע ווארטלעך Chasidishe Vartlach. That's the name of the ספר sefer, not me. It's not disparaging. א חסידישע ווארט A Chasidishe Vort is the name of the ספר sefer. So he quotes the של\"ה Shlah. בא ללמדנו ולמדנו, שבכל פעולה שאנו עושים Ba l'lamdeinu v'lamdeinu, sheb'chol pe'ulah she'anu osim, this comes to teach us, any activity that we are undertaking, any activity that we are engaging in, קטנה או גדולה ketana o gedola, small or big, consequential or inconsequential, יש להקדים ולומר, אם ירצה השם או בעזרת השם yeish l'hakdim v'lomar, im yirtzeh Hashem o b'ezras Hashem. A person should always start the activity by saying, אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, this kugel should come out good. אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, this surgery should come out good. אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, the drasha should come out good. אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, the drive should go well. אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, the flight should be smooth. אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, the court case should be favorable. אם ירצה השם בעזרת השם Im yirtzeh Hashem b'ezras Hashem. You see it from here. על פי השם Al pi Hashem. על פי השם יחנו, על פי השם יסעו Al pi Hashem yachanu, al pi Hashem yisa'u. על פי Al pi meaning when a person mentions Hashem you head out, when the person mentions Hashem you rest, it means that all that we do big or small, we should invoke this little תפילה tefillah, a tiny little prayer, we think of Hashem. Whether it's the kugel, the court case, the surgery, the דרשה drasha, whatever it is we're about to do, the drive, the flight, whatever we're about to do big or small, we do it על פי השם al pi Hashem. We do it by invoking אם ירצה השם בעזרת השם im yirtzeh Hashem b'ezras Hashem, with Hashem's help.The pasuk says, ועצת השם היא תקום v'atzas Hashem hi sakum. We mention it in יהי כבוד yehi chavod. עצת השם Atzas Hashem, the advice of Hashem is, היא תקום hi sakum. There's a lot, there's a beautiful גרא Gra on this. There's a דבר תורה dvar Torah I don't suggest you try at home. I mentioned it last week. At our Shabbos table, my daughter came home from the hospital with the new baby. I said, רבות מחשבות בלב איש rabos machshavos b'lev ish. People have many thoughts. Baby cries in the middle of the night, who should get up? Should it be the man? Should it be the woman? Who should get up to take care of the baby? עצת השם Atzas Hashem, Hashem says, היא תקום hi sakum. She should be the one who gets up. It didn't go over well on שבת Shabbos, and I'm sure it's not going over well right now either. But in any case, the של\"ה Shlah says the word היא hi, I should have quit while I was behind. The של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh says the word היא hi is ראשי תיבות roshei teivos reverse. It is an acronym in reverse for אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem. אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem. You know, we say אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem. We say it really quickly. We say it in the Yiddishized version, אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem. But really it's אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, if God wills. אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, if God wills. So the reverse acronym for אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem is היא hi. עצת השם היא תקום Atzas Hashem hi sakum. Hashem's advice, אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, to mention that whatever we're doing, it should be done with Hashem's help. The Gemara says, הלוואי שיתפלל כל היום כולו halevai sheyispaleil kol hayom kulo. Wouldn't it be amazing if a person davened the entire day? Which we know is impossible. What do you mean davening the whole day? Got to go to work, you got to shop, you got to sleep, you got to cook, you got to eat, you got to do a lot of other things, legitimately do other things. So what do you mean, הלוואי halevai, wouldn't it be amazing if we davened the entire day? So some of the commentaries explain, it doesn't mean that you'd be in shul with a siddur opening davening the whole day. It doesn't mean you'd be sitting at your table with a תהילים Tehillim open. It means הלוואי halevai, הלוואי halevai that whatever you were doing the whole day, שיתפלל כל היום כולו sheyispaleil kol hayom kulo. הלוואי Halevai you davened when you got in the car, let it be a smooth drive. הלוואי Halevai when you had the conversation, let it go well. הלוואי Halevai, the cooking, let it be successful. The court case, the surgery, whatever one does in life. הלוואי Halevai that we introduce, הלוואי halevai that we preface whatever we're doing, קטנה וגדולה ketana u'gedola big or small with a little תפילה tefillah, a millisecond תפילה tefillah, אם ירצה השם בעזרת השם im yirtzeh Hashem b'ezras Hashem, a תפילה tefillah to Hashem that it, that it go well. But back to Rav Druk. Rav Druk says the following. על פי השם Al pi Hashem.Says Rav Druk, פרק ט' פסוק י\"ח perek tes pasuk yud ches. He says פסוקים אלו מעוררים תמיהה רבתי psukim eilu me'or'rim t'mihah rabasi. These פסוקים psukim raise a big question. The פסוקים psukim that describe וביום הקים את המשכן u'v'yom hakim es haMishkan, the day that the משכן Mishkan was inaugurated, Hashem covered it with the cloud and he said, when I lift the cloud, go, and when I lower the cloud, stop. There are a lot of questions here. Why is it so repetitive first of all in this section? Why is it that I mentioned three פסוקים psukim in a row that each say על פי השם al pi Hashem twice? Why is it so repetitive? So the Ramban writes, הטעם והאריך ענן, לאמר, כי אם יאריך הענן על המשכן ימים רבים, והמקום ההוא איננו טוב בעיניהם, והיו חפצים מסעו מאוד לנסוע מן המקום, אף על פי כן לא יעברו על רצון השם ha'ta'am v'he'erich anan, lomar, ki im ya'arich ha'anan al haMishkan yamim rabim, v'hamakom ha'hu einenu tov b'eineihem, v'hayu chafetzim maso me'od linso'a min hamakom, af al pi kein lo ya'avru al retzon Hashem. Let's say the cloud is on top of the Mishkan. It means it's time to stop. Get off the highway, this is where you're staying. It's time to stop, unload, unpack. But you say, but I don't like these accommodations. I'm not happy in this neighborhood. I'm not happy with the amenities. I'm not happy here. I want to go. The answer was, you can't go 'til God says you got to go. ושמרו בני ישראל את משמרת השם ולא יסעו v'shamru Bnei Yisrael es mishmeres Hashem v'lo yisa'u. כי מיראת השם ומשמרם משמרות מצוותיו לא יסעו ki miyiras Hashem u'mishomram mishmeros mitzvosav lo yisa'u. From a sense of fear, awe, or respect of Hashem, don't go. He says this is where you belong. At this time, in this place, this is where you belong, we don't argue. It means that's where we belong. And if we're there for only two or three days, and you know what, we say this is pretty comfortable. It's got a pool, they've got a Jacuzzi, a workout room. They've got a wonderful cafe, they've got a golf course, they've got all the amenities. I could stay here for a long time. And all of a sudden the cloud lifts. Quick, pack up. Time to head out. I don't want to go. I want to stay. I love it here. It's perfect. It's amazing. It's comfortable. The cloud lifts, it's time to go. It's time to go. So the Ramban says that the מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael here, the tremendous love and loyalty they showed to Hashem, is that even when they didn't want to stay, if Hashem said stay, they stayed. And even if they didn't want to go, but Hashem said it's time to go, then they went. And therefore, it's an enormous, enormous מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh. It's an enormous praise, it's an enormous affirmation of the loyalty of the Jewish people. And it's also a partial perspective for today, because the message for us, says Rav Druk from here, and he quotes a story about Aaron, a פסוק pasuk said we read earlier. ויעש כן אהרן אל מול פני המנורה vaya'as kein Aharon el mul pnei ha'menorah. Earlier in the פרשה parsha, when Aaron was instructed how to light the Menorah, the פרשה parsha testifies that Aaron did all that was asked for him, כאשר ציווה השם את משה ka'asher tzivah Hashem es Moshe, just as God commanded him. And Rashi says, ויעש כן אהרן vaya'as kein Aharon, Aaron did what was asked, להגיד שבחו של אהרן שלא שינה l'hagid shivcho shel Aharon shelo shinah. What a praise of Aaron that he did not deviate, that he didn't abandon, he didn't distort what God had told him to do. He did it exactly the way it was written up. And many, many, many have asked and Rav Druk joins the group and says, what, I would have been suspicious that Aaron would have done it differently than the way God commanded? God said do it this way. Would I think for a moment that Aaron would have tried to do it a different way? So the answer is it's not what it means. להגיד שבחו של אהרן שלא שינה L'hagid shivcho shel Aharon shelo shinah means that Aaron never, it never got old. For Aaron it remained new and fresh. שלא שינה Shelo shinah means it didn't get old, it didn't get old and tired, it didn't get stale, it remained fresh and exciting as the first day that he was asked to do it. And so for the Jewish people, it doesn't matter. שלא שינה Shelo shinah, לא משנה באיזה מצב הוא נמצא, או כמה קשה לו lo meshaneh b'eizeh matzav hu nimtza, o kama kasheh lo. Whatever circumstance we find ourselves, however challenging it is to do what God wants in that moment, שלא שינה shelo shinah, just like Aaron didn't deviate, didn't change, didn't alter, just like he didn't stay a little bit longer when God said go, or he didn't go when God said stay, same too with us. אמונה, ביטחון, דביקות emunah, bitachon, dveikus, to cling to God means to believe that if God put you there, in this time, at this place, it's where you're meant to be. על פי השם Al pi Hashem. It's only when we feel that God wants us to move. It's only when we feel that God says it's time to go, that's when it's time to go. But otherwise, we belong in that place and in that time. על פי השם Al pi Hashem, אם ירצה השם בעזרת השם im yirtzeh Hashem b'ezras Hashem, all that we do, הלוואי שיתפלל כל היום כולו halevai sheyispaleil kol hayom kulo, says the של\"ה Shlah, all that we do, big or small, we should introduce with with God's help, and wherever we find ourselves in life, we should recognize that that's where we're meant to be. Lean in, embrace it, and make the best of it, because for right now, for whatever reason, that is where Hashem determined we were meant to be. פרק י' פסוק כ\"ט Perek yud, pasuk chaf tes. Moving along, skipping a couple pages. We had the חצוצרות chatzotzros, the order of breaking camp, how the camp journeyed, how the camp went to battle, went to war, a lot to learn from here, but not for now. Page 784. ויאמר משה לחובב בן רעואל המדיני, חותן משה, נוסעים אנחנו אל המקום אשר אמר השם אותו אתן לכם Vayomer Moshe l'Chovav ben Reu'el haMid'yani, chosen Moshe, nos'im anachnu el hamakom asher amar Hashem oso eten lachem. Now, all of a sudden Moshe has a conversation with his father-in-law Yisro. Yisro is ready to head back home, and Moshe does something, another unusual departure. He begs his father-in-law to stay. I can make father-in-law jokes because I'm a father-in-law now. He makes father-in-law, he says, can you stay? Don't go. We need you. Please, come with us. לך איתנו והטבנו לך כי השם דיבר טוב על ישראל lecha itanu v'heitavnu lach ki Hashem diber tov al Yisrael. Come with us. It will be good for you as well. Hashem has spoken well to the Jewish people. Moshe pleads with his father-in-law, with his שווער shver, you have to stay. Don't go. Now, does Yisro stay or go? We don't know. I've spoken about this in the past, we're not going to elaborate now. The Torah never fills in. It's a blank. Does Yisro listen? Does Yisro acquiesce? Does he stay or does he go? We don't know. It's a מחלוקת המפרשים machlokes ha'mefarshim. It is a debate among the biblical commentators. What does Yisro do in the end? Why wouldn't the Torah tell us? Why does it leave it a mystery? Obviously, it's not as important to know whether he stayed as knowing first that he came to begin with, and second that Moshe wanted him to stay. Why did Moshe want him to stay? So let me read to you from Rabbi Soloveitchik. The הרב's חומש Rav's Chumash. Rabbi Soloveitchik said the following. With this conversation between Moshe and his father-in-law, we get a glimpse into Moshe's mood during the day after the second Pesach. As the people begin to march, he speaks in a climate of serenity, of peace of mind, of unqualified assurance. He expects great things as he speaks of the final journey to the promised land. No delays, no procrastination. It's going to happen right now, not tomorrow. Said Rabbi Soloveitchik, listen to this. Sometimes I want to cry when I read this parsha. Look, first of all, we think of the רב Rav as this intellectual בריסקער Brisker, emotionless. And the רב Rav describes that when he reads פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Beha'aloscha, sometimes he wants to cry. You know, we live backwards, so we all know how it ends. We know the Jewish people wander 40 years in the desert. We know that generation doesn't make it and we know Moshe doesn't make it in. So we know already when we're reading these פרשיות parshiyos now, as we do every year, we already know how this story ends. But said Rav Soloveitchik, he says, imagine, imagine living it. Moshe is serene and peaceful. He's excited. They've got their ticket, their flight, their נפש בנפש nefesh b'nefesh, עלייה aliyah, they're on their way. No delay, no procrastination. It's about to happen. The journey, the flight's tomorrow. Sometimes I want to cry when I read this parsha, said the Rav. Look at the simplicity with which the great Moshe, the master of all wise men, the father of all prophets speaks. He uses the grammatical first person, we are traveling. Come with us. We will be good to you. Join our triumphal march toward destiny, Moshe says to Yisro. It may become your destiny as well. This was not simply an invitation extended by an individual to his father-in-law. Moshe spoke as a representative of כנסת ישראל Kneses Yisrael, inviting every generation of converts to join in the march, provided they subject themselves to the same divine discipline required of the Jewish people. The symbolism here says the Rav is so powerful that Moshe is not only talking to Yisro. It's not Moshe the individual talking to Yisro the individual. It is Moshe on behalf of the Jewish people speaking to Yisro on behalf of every future convert. You want to join our people, you want to join our destiny, you want to join our march to the promised land, you're welcome. Come. We're not a discriminatory, biased people. We are not a people who feels superior. Anyone can join us. And a גר שנתגייר ger shenisgayer, when a convert joins our people, they have just as much a part of the Jewish people. In fact, the most often repeated מצוה mitzvah in the Torah is to love the convert, is to not remind them of their conversion. Moshe was certain there wasn't even a shadow of a doubt in his mind that he was going to enter the promised land. He and the entire congregation would be classified not as יוצאי מצרים yotzei Mitzrayim, those who departed from Egypt, but as באי הארץ ba'ei ha'aretz, those who had come into the land. He was convinced that he would see the beautiful land, the hills of יהודה Yehuda, the prairie land of the שרון Sharon Valley, the mountain of לבנון Levanon. Later, he would fervently pray, let me cross over and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, the good mountain, Lebanon. His prayer did not come true. At this time, however, he had no doubt about his destiny. The whole operation of successfully brought to a close would have lasted several days. There was no need for spies and scouts to explore the land, to see whether the land was good or bad, whether the cities were walled or open, whether the population there was strong or weak, healthy or sickly. Intelligent work is necessary only if one has doubts. This was the pre-doubt period in Jewish history. What a powerful description of Soloveitchik who says he cries when he reads פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Beha'aloscha, when he hears the confidence, the excitement in Moshe's voice when he invites and he talks to his father-in-law Yisro. Unfortunately, his dreams are shattered, his dreams are smashed because ultimately Yisro, Moshe doesn't enter, Yisro doesn't enter. It's so, it's so sad to be able to see it in this, in this way, in this direction. Okay, for the next insight, we move over to פרק י\"א, פסוק ל\"ג Perek yud alef, pasuk lamed gimel. We have the upside-down nuns, the two nuns that bracket off ויהי בנסוע הארון vayehi binso'a ha'aron. And why do we have these two nuns that bracket them off? We have the complainers. And here the Torah wants to distinguish, wants to break between the פורענות and the פורענות puraniyus and the puraniyus. We want to not have two negative things in a row, two negative experiences build upon, no negative momentum. So the nun, the backwards upside-down nuns are brackets, sectioning this off to break it up. What are the two negatives? ויסעו מהר השם דרך שלשת ימים Vayis'u mehar Hashem derech shloshes yamim. They left the mountain of God. They left the experience of הר סיני Har Sinai. They left הר סיני Har Sinai for the journey that should have taken them directly into ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. But there were three things that got in their way. It should have been a three-day journey and they would have been in the land, but they didn't. And one of the things they did wrong, Rashi tells us, they ran away from Har Sinai. It says, להפסיק בין פורענות לפורענות l'hafsik bein puraniyus l'puraniyus. כדי שיעשו בכל כתבי הקודש k'dei she'ya'asu b'chol kisvei hakodesh. There's a סימן siman before and after to tell us this is not really where it belongs. But why is it here? To break between the פורענות puraniyus. And what were those פורענות puraniyus? They were like a תינוק הבורח מבית הספר tinok haboreiach mibeis hasefer. They were like children who ran away from school. So this morning, Rav Druk was here in my office, and he shared the following thought with you.אז אני אגיד לכם, אני אגיד וורט קצר. בפרשת השבוע, בפרשת בהעלותך כתוב, ויסעו מהר השם. חז\"ל אומרים שזה נקרא פורענות, כי הם נסעו כתינוק הבורח מבית הספר. והשאלה שכל המפרשים שואלים, הם נסעו על פי השם יחנו, על פי השם יסעו. הם נסעו לבד? הם ברחו לבד? הענן עלה, אז הם נסעו. כל עוד שהענן לא עלה, הם לא נסעו. אז מה פתאום זה נקרא כתינוק הבורח מבית הספר? אז מפרשים, שיודע, הקדוש ברוך הוא יודע תעלומות לב, ויודע שבפנים הלב הם רצו, הם רצו כבר ללכת, הם רצו. אבל איפה זה כתוב בפסוק? איפה חז\"ל ידעו? כתוב ויסעו מהר השם. איפה כתוב בפסוק שזה היה כתינוק הבורח מבית הספר? מאיפה חז\"ל ידעו מהתורה שבויסעו מהר השם זה כתינוק הבורח? Az ani agid lachem, ani agid vort katzer. B'parshas hashavua, b'parshas Beha'aloscha, kasuv vayisu mehar Hashem. Chazal omrim shezeh nikra puranus, ki hem nas'u k'tinok haboreiach mibeis hasefer. V'hashe'elah shekol hamefarshim sho'alim, hem nas'u al pi Hashem yachanu, al pi Hashem yisa'u. Hem nas'u l'vad? Hem barchu l'vad? He'anan alah, az hem nas'u. Kol od sheha'anan lo alah, hem lo nas'u. Az ma pit'om zeh nikra k'tinok haboreiach mibeis hasefer? Az mefarshim, sheyodei'a, haKadosh Baruch Hu yodei'a ta'alumos lev, v'yodei'a shebifnim halev hem ratzu, hem ratzu kvar laleches, hem ratzu. Aval eifoh zeh kasuv bapasuk? Eifoh Chazal yad'u? Kasuv vayisu mehar Hashem. Eifoh kasuv bapasuk shezeh hayah k'tinok haboreiach mibeis hasefer? Me'eifoh Chazal yad'u mehaTorah she'vayisu mehar Hashem zeh k'tinok haboreiach?The pasuk says that when they, when they journeyed, when they went on, it was like a children who leave at the end of the school day, they ran away. And Rav Druk asks, but every time they traveled, they journeyed, it was only based on the instruction of Hashem. So how could we hold them accountable? So the answer is, yeah, maybe Hashem said it was time to go, but inside, they were relieved, they were grateful, they were excited to run. But yet, where do you see it in the pasuk itself? This דרשה drasha that they were running like children at the end of the school day when the bell rings, where do you see it in the pasuk itself?אז אני רוצה להגיד שני אפשרויות. אפשרות אחד, אתה הרי זוכר שאחרי ביזת הים בפרשת בשלח, ויסע משה, הסעו בעל כורחם. היה צריך לסחוב אותם. למה? כי הם כל הזמן עשו כסף. למה כאן משה רבינו לא היה צריך למשוך אותם בכוח? הוא, לא כתוב ויסע משה. ויסעו, הם רצו ללכת. מכאן חז\"ל הוכיחו שזה היה מרצון. כי אם הם אהבו את זה כמו ביזת הים, אז היו צריכים ש... צריכים לשכנע אותם, להסיע אותם בעל כורחם. ויסע משה. פה לא כתוב ויסע משה, ויסעו לבד. זה סימן שהיה רצון בפנים, כתינוק הבורח מבית הספר. Az ani rotzeh l'hagid shnei efsharuyos. Efsharus echad, ata harei zocher she'acharei bizas hayam b'parshas Beshalach, vayasa Moshe, hisi'um b'al korcham. Hayah tzarich lischov osam. Lamah? Ki hem kol hazman asu kesef. Lamah kan Moshe Rabbeinu lo hayah tzarich limshoch osam b'ko'ach? Hu, lo kasuv vayasa Moshe. Vayis'u, hem ratzu laleches. Mikan Chazal hochichu shezeh hayah meratzon. Ki im hem ahvu es zeh k'mo bizas hayam, az hayu tzrichim she... tzrichim l'shachne'a osam, l'hasi'a osam b'al korcham. Vayasa Moshe. Poh lo kasuv vayasa Moshe, vayis'u l'vad. Zeh siman shehayah ratzon bifnim, k'tinok haboreiach mibeis hasefer.First possibility, in פרשת בשלח Parshas Beshalach, it says ויסע משה vayasa Moshe, Moshe had to drag them away. They were at the Yam, they were collecting, they were collecting all the gold and all the silver, they were collecting all the money. They wanted to stay. Moshe had to drag them away. Here, Moshe didn't have to drag them away. They were happy to go on their own. חז\"ל Chazal understood from the fact that they were happy to go on their own, they weren't as excited to stay for the experience of Torah as they were for the experience of collecting material things, and therefore they understood they were running, כתינוק הבורח מבית הספר k'tinok haboreiach mibeis hasefer, they were running like children who are running from school.אבל יש עוד כיוון שאני חושב. כתוב ברמב\"ן בפרשה הקודמת, בפרשת נשא. למה נזיר צריך להביא קורבן כשנגמר הנזירות? אומר הרמב\"ן, בירושלמי כתוב, בגמרא כתוב, שהסיבה היא בגלל שצער עצמו מן היין. אבל הרמב\"ן אומר, היית בדרגה כל כך גבוהה, נזר אלוקים על ראשו. כשאתה מפסיק להיות בדרגה הזאת, זה חטא. היית בכזאת דרגה גבוהה, אז עצם זה שבן אדם מפסיק, אפילו שהוא לא, הוא לא אמר שיהיה יותר, אבל אתה יורד בדרגה. היית בדרגה גבוהה, אז כבר צריך להביא קורבן על זה שאתה יורד בדרגה. יכול להיות פשט חדש. היינו בהר סיני, היינו בדרגה גבוהה. הנה גמרנו את ה... נכון שאנחנו לא אשמים, כי נגמר הזמן. אבל ירדנו עכשיו בדרגה, זה כבר פורענות. זה כבר, אחרי הכל, אנחנו, יצאנו מבית הספר. גם ילד שהולך מבית הספר, כשהוא גמר את הדרגה הגבוהה, הוא כבר משהו אחר. זה כבר, זה כבר דרגה אחרת לגמרי. רואים שאפילו צריך נזיר להביא קורבן, סימן שכשאדם יורד מדרגה זה פורענות. זה זה זה זה זה בעיה. בן אדם צריך להיות, אז עצם זה שהם נסעו מהר השם, הבן אדם היה צריך כל הזמן לרוץ חזרה להר השם. הם נסעו, אפילו בלי שום דבר. ירדו מהדרגה הקודמת, זה כבר הבעיה, זה כבר פורענות. Aval yeish od kivun she'ani choshev. Kasuv b'Ramban b'parsha hakodemes, b'parshas Naso. Lamah nazir tzarich l'havi korban k'shenigmar ha'nezirus? Omer haRamban, baYerushalmi kasuv, baGemara kasuv, shehasibah hi biglal shetzi'er atzmo min hayayin. Aval haRamban omer, hayita b'dargah kol kach gvoha, nezer Elokim al rosho. K'she'ata mafsik lhiyos b'dargah hazos, zeh chet. Hayita b'kazos dargah gvoha, az etzem zeh sheben adam mafsik, afilu she'hu lo, hu lo amar sheyihiyeh yoser, aval ata yored b'dargah. Hayita b'dargah gvoha, az kvar tzarich l'havi korban al zeh she'ata yored b'dargah. Yachol lhiyos pshat chadash. Hayinu b'Har Sinai, hayinu b'dargah gvoha. Hineh gamarnu es ha... Nachon she'anachnu lo asheimim, ki nigmar hazman. Aval yaradnu achshav b'dargah, zeh kvar puranus. Zeh kvar, acharei hakol, anachnu, yatzanu mibeis hasefer. Gam yeled sheholech mibeis hasefer, k'she'hu gamar es hadargah hagvohah, hu kvar mashehu acher. Zeh kvar, zeh kvar dargah acheres l'gamrei. Ro'im she'afilu tzarich nazir l'havi korban, siman shek'shebenadam yored midargah zeh puranus. Zeh zeh zeh zeh zeh be'ayah. Ben adam tzarich lhiyos, az etzem zeh shehem nas'u meHar Hashem, haban adam hayah tzarich kol hazman larutz chazarah l'Har Hashem. Hem nas'u, afilu bli shum davar. Yardu mehadargah hakodemes, zeh kvar hab'ayah, zeh kvar puranus.Second possibility is that just like the נזיר Nazir we read last week, when they finish, when a נזיר Nazir finishes his vow, has to bring a קורבן חטאת korban chatas. The Ramban explains, he was on such a high level, he was so ascetic and and living transcendently, he has to bring a קורבן חטאת korban chatas for the fact that he came down a level, that he came back to earth, that he went back to the way it was. So you see that when a person, even when they're finished, even when it's understandable, even when it's based on the instruction of Hashem, but when they come down a level, it's something which we see as a פורענות puranus. It's a negative. A person has to acknowledge and see. So here too, they were on such a high level, it was such a lofty experience, and when they were leaving, even when a child leaves school, even when the school day is over, but in the end of the day, they were immersed in learning and growing, and now the school day is over, and that's the פורענות puranus is the transition from the high level to now this low level.We thank Rav Druk so much for the דברי תורה divrei Torah that we learn each and every week, that we share the magnificent תורה Torah on his תלמידים talmidim. We thank Rav Druk for for all the דברי תורה divrei Torah and inspiration he provides.Wow, what an opportunity to hear Rav Druk in person this morning. For those who are listening online and not watching, it's worth going on YouTube to watch for a moment that insight, because first of all, as I said previously, we learn Rav Druk's השתמד Hishtamed each week, and we have the the privilege of learning it. It's learning a text and you don't know the person alive, did they live a hundred, 200, 500 years ago. When you see and you meet the person whose insights we're sharing, it makes the insights themselves come more alive. But more, we recorded that at 7:00 this morning after our earliest minyan, and Rav Druk when he gives over a דבר תורה dvar Torah, his face lights up. There's such energy, there's such excitement, there's such vigor, it's contagious. It's worth seeing it, it's worth watching it, and not just hearing it. So go online on YouTube if you're only listening and you will find it there. So beautiful insight here are the two explanations of how the rabbis knew that the פורענות puraniyus, what was the negative activity that they were trying to break up and not have momentum around, was the children as if כבורח k'voreiach as if running מבית הספר m'Beis HaSefer. Moving right along, the next פרשה parsha, פרק י\"א Perek yud alef, bottom page 786. The next narrative, the next part of our story in בהעלותך Beha'aloscha. ויהי העם כמתאוננים רע באזני השם Vayehi ha'am k'mis'on'nim ra b'oznei Hashem. The people took to seeking complaints. וישמע השם ויחר אפו ותבער בם אש השם Vayishma Hashem vayichar apo vativ'ar bam eish Hashem. We have the complainers. מתאוננים Mis'on'nim is התפעל hispa'el, it's the reflexive verb. It's not just that they had complaints. It's legitimate to have complaints. People have things that they complain about, but you cannot be a complainer. You cannot transform yourself into a person defined and characterized by complaining. There's a difference between a person with a legitimate feedback, constructive criticism, and being a complainer. There's no room to be a complainer, מתאוננים mis'on'nim, to be a complainer. What were they complaining? The אספסוף asafsuf, פסוק ד' pasuk daled. והאספסוף אשר בקרבו התאוו תאווה V'ha'asafsuf asher b'kirbo his'avu ta'avah. You had the Rabble Rousers among them. They gave into this enormous appetite, this temptation. וישובו ויבכו גם בני ישראל ויאמרו מי יאכילנו בשר Vayashuvu vayivku gam Bnei Yisrael vayomru mi ya'achileinu basar. Bnei Yisrael also wept, and they cried, and they said, 'Nu, where's the beef? Where's the meat? Who's going to feed us? Where's the barbecue? Where's the flesh?' Sounds like me on Shavuos. זכרנו את הדגה אשר נאכל במצרים חינם Zacharnu es hadagah asher nochal b'Mitzrayim chinam. We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt. את הקישואים ואת האבטיחים ואת החציר ואת הבצלים ואת השומים es hakishu'im v'es ha'avatichim v'es hechatir v'es hab'tzalim v'es hashumim. They mention all these ingredients. Cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlics, we had it all. Fresh fruits, salad, meat, barbecue, it was a buffet. It was incredible. But now, עתה, נפשנו יבשה אין כל atah, nafsheinu yeveishah, ein kol. But now we're so parched. בלתי אל המן עינינו bilti el haman eineinu. We have nothing but manna. We're so sick and tired of the manna. Enough already. This is a complaint Moshe Rabbeinu's had it. Moshe Rabbeinu can't take it anymore. I want to zone in on one word. One word. In this complaint, they lose their credibility. Because in this complaint, they say we're hungry, there's nothing to eat here. Where's the beef? Where's the meat? We remember, זכרנו את הדגה zacharnu es hadagah, we remember the fish, אשר נאכל במצרים חינם asher nochal b'Mitzrayim chinam. In Egypt, we got fish for free. The word חינם chinam means for free. Free? What what are you talking about free? Rashi says free, חינם chinam? Are you kidding me? אם תאמר שמצרים נותנים להם דגים חינם, והלא כבר נאמר ותבן לא ינתן לכם Im tomar sheMitzrim nosnim lahem dagim chinam, v'halo kvar ne'emar v'seven lo yinasein lachem? אם תבן לא היו נותנים להם חינם, דגים היו נותנים להם חינם Im teven lo hayu nosnim lahem chinam, dagim hayu nosnim lahem chinam? Rashi says, in Egypt they wouldn't even give them straw for free. In Egypt, they didn't get a glass of water for free. So if in Egypt they didn't even get that for free, you think they got free fish, free food? No chance. So says Rashi, what do they remembering inaccurately? Are they distorting the truth? How could they possibly say we're hungry, there's nothing, we long for, we remember the way it was in Egypt. In Egypt, we had free fish. Free fish? No chance. The Ramban disagrees. The Ramban says, טאקע יא takeh ya. Because in order to keep your worker have stamina, for your worker to have strength, for your worker to be efficient, for your worker to produce for you, you got to feed them. So yeah, they didn't give them the straw, and they didn't give them any other luxuries or even necessities. But food, they did give them. And that's why the Ramban writes, Rashi's wrong. The people nostalgically remember the free fish because טאקע takeh they got free fish. That's the Ramban. But Rashi says, no, impossible, impossible. But moreover, you call that free? That was free the fish? חינם Chinam? The Ramban has to deal with this also. You worked for it. 210 years of slavery. Call the fish your reparations. Call the fish your compensation. חינם Chinam, we got it for free. You broke your back, you killed yourself, you were indentured slaves, and you got fish. Ooh, we got free fish. That's not called free. That's called you killed yourself to be able to get it. So Rashi concludes, what does the word חינם chinam here mean? Says Rashi, חינם chinam, חינם מן המצוות chinam min hamitzvos. The people did not need to do מצוות mitzvos. In Egypt, the Torah had not yet been given. They weren't bound with these responsibilities, these obligations, these limitations. And they were longing for the חינם chinam, not the free fish, but to be free from mitzvos. Rabbi Moshe Bush, in his wonderful book called Teachings, Rabbi Moshe Bush, Rabbi Asher Brander, I apologize. Rabbi Asher Brander in his great book called Teachings, in-depth reflections on the parsha. It's a wonderful sefer. It's a wonderful book, Teachings, by Rabbi Asher Brander. So Rabbi Asher Brander asks, this is a people that just stood at Har Sinai. They said נעשה ונשמע na'aseh v'nishma. They voluntarily said, give us the mitzvos. We want to be bound by them. We accept the whole Torah and everything in it. And now they're complaining חינם chinam, we long for the time when we didn't have מצוות mitzvos? How could that be? So he has a very, very interesting insight. And he suggests the people they thought, when would we earn more reward? When would our מצוות mitzvos be of a higher value? When we're doing it out of a sense of obligation or when we're volunteering? They thought volunteering is more noble. We miss the חינם chinam. We miss the days that we did all the same things, but we did them voluntarily, that we performed all the same מצוות mitzvos, but we did it of our own volition. They missed that time. What they didn't understand is that we have a rule, גדולה המצווה ועושה ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה gadol ha'metzuveh v'oseh mi'she'eino metzuveh v'oseh, that in fact, the one who is obligated has a greater reward and is greater than the one who does it voluntarily. It's counterintuitive, as Tosafos explains, because the person who does something voluntarily is internally motivated. The reward is their internal motivation. But the person who does not feel like doing it at all, a person who has no interest in doing it, and yet does it anyway, that person deserves the greatest reward. If you're, take the garbage out in anticipation that the significant other in your life wants you to, they didn't ask you to. You're not responding, you're not obligated, you're not bound, you're not doing it because they asked. You initiate, you volunteer, you do it because you're excited to show them, took care of the thing you care about. So the reward is the internal motivation and drive. But if you don't want to take it out and they ask you to, and you get up and you stop and you interrupt, you get out of bed and you take that garbage out because it's being picked up the next morning, that is a greater expression of commitment, of loyalty. It doesn't have the internal reward or satisfaction of doing what you internally want to do anyway, and therefore גדולה המצווה ועושה gadol ha'metzuveh v'oseh, greater is the one who is obligated than the one who volunteers. They didn't understand that, and therefore they longed for a time of חינם חינם מן המצוות chinam chinam min hamitzvos. They longed for the time when they were free, free from מצוות mitzvos. I had many other insights I wanted to share with you this morning.I'll ask you these questions for you to think about as we end. Miriam gets in trouble for speaking לשון הרע lashon hara. Miriam and Aaron speaking לשון הרע lashon hara about their brother Moshe. Moshe, the Torah testifies, Hashem says about him, והאיש משה עניו מאוד v'ha'ish Moshe anav me'od. Moshe is the most humble of all people. If he's so humble, how could he have written that down in the חומש Chumash? If he's so humble, how did he actually record in the book about him about his humility? Isn't that a contradiction to humility that Moshe, who Moshe only took dictation from God. God actually authored the Torah. Moshe took dictation. Why didn't Moshe object? Why didn't Moshe say, I'm not putting that in the book? That's not me, God. You know that. I don't like the spotlight, the limelight, I don't want the accolades. I'm not putting in the book that I am more humble than anyone else. Isn't the very fact that Moshe included it in his own book, or not his own book, in the book of Torah that he took dictation for, isn't that a contradiction to his humility? Number one question. Number two, after that לשון הרע lashon hara is spoken, the pasuk describes that God appears to to Miriam and Aaron suddenly. פרק י\"ב פסוק ד' Perek yud beis, pasuk daled. ויאמר פתאום אל משה ואל אהרן ואל מרים, צאו שלשתכם אל אוהל מועד. ויצאו שלשתם Vayomer pit'om el Moshe v'el Aharon v'el Miriam, tze'u shlosht'chem el ohel mo'ed. Vayetzu shloshtam. God speaks to Moshe, Aaron, and Miriam and says the three of you out. The three of you need to leave right now. But he appears to them פתאום pit'om, suddenly. We don't see the word suddenly in the Torah only in two places. This is one of them. Why does it have to say that God spoke to them suddenly as opposed to suggesting he took his time and spoke to them later. Why suddenly? Please God, we'll address both of those questions next year, פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Beha'aloscha. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy.
