Transcript
Good morning, welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. Every week as Jews we are privileged to tap into our timeless messages, our beautiful insights of our פרשה Parsha. None of which are coincidental or random but are designed to be able to communicate to messages for us, for that week. And this week we have the privilege of learning פרשת כי תבוא Parshas Ki Savo, page 1,068 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. I want to thank our generous sponsors of the פרשה Parsha Perspectives series for the year, our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family in loving memory of Becky's father, לעילוי נשמת דב בן מנחם מנש leilui nishmas Dov ben Menachem Manush, David Grossman. Thank you so much for your generosity. Also this morning שיעור shiur is sponsored by my new dear friend, the Saka family, in honor of the יארצייט yahrtzeit of בגיה בת שמואל Bagia bas Shmuel, may her נשמה neshama have an עלייה aliyah. Thank you so much for your generosity and your newfound friendship, so deeply, deeply appreciated. If you'd like to sponsor a future פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur, brsonline.org/sponsor. We made it easy, one stop, you can pay, choose the date, put in the language, brsonline.org/sponsor.And with that we begin כי תבוא Ki Savo. והיה כי תבוא אל הארץ אשר השם אלוקיך נותן לך נחלה וירשתה וישבת בה Ve'haya ki savo el ha'aretz asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lecha nachala, virishtah ve'yashavta bah. Moshe is continuing the speech on his final day. He's continuing this charge, this mission to the Jewish people. He tells them, it will be when you enter the land, the culmination, the fruition of all of this effort, of this redemption, of leaving Egypt to realize our mission, our goal, our mandate as a nation. Hashem will give you this land as an inheritance, and you will possess it and you will dwell in it. And then you will encounter, you will fulfill a מצוה mitzvah. ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה אשר תביא מארצך אשר השם אלוקיך נותן לך ושמת בטנא Velakachta me'reishis kol pri ha'adama asher tavi mei'artzecha asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lach ve'samta ba'tene. You're going to take your first fruit and you're going to put it in a basket. והלכת אל המקום Ve'halachta el ha'makom, and you're going to take that basket and you're going to trek, you're going to make the way all the way to Israel, to המקום אשר יבחר השם אלוקיך לשכן שמו שם ha'makom asher yivchar Hashem Elokecha le'shakein shmo sham. We spent time, we won't review now, why the Torah never tells us exactly where this place is. It leaves it mysterious. Give us the coordinates. Tell us the name of the city. Where is this מקום makom? Where is the שכינה Shechina? Where is Hashem שוכן shochein? Where can we feel He's a neighbor, He's accessible, He's right there? It just tells us mysteriously, it tells us very ambiguously, go to that place. Go to that place. Rabbi Soloveitchik describes, we studied at length, the notion that we are to hone our spiritual GPS, our spiritual antenna. We're supposed to feel and be drawn like a magnet to spirituality. It is not laid out, it's not described to us. We're not given the coordinates. We don't plug it into the GPS. We have to go and find it. So the farmer takes the first fruit, puts it in the basket and brings the basket to ירושלים Yerushalayim. ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם U'vasa el ha'kohein asher yihyeh ba'yamim ha'heim, and brings it to the כהן kohein in that time, and then gives the כהן kohein the basket. והניחו לפני מזבח השם אלוקיך V'hinicho lifnei mizbach Hashem Elokecha. The כהן kohein places the basket next to the מזבח mizbeach, the altar. וענית ואמרת Ve'anisa ve'amarta, and then you call out and you say, and you have this entire proclamation. You review Jewish history until that point. ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi. We're going to look at all of this in depth in a moment. And you present, והבאתי את ראשית פרי האדמה ve'heiveisi es reishis pri ha'adama. Now I present my first fruit. והנחתו לפני השם אלוקיך V'hinachto lifnei Hashem Elokecha, I'm giving it before you, God. You bow down, ושמחת בכל הטוב ve'samachta be'chol ha'tov. And the farmer is overjoyed by all the good. אשר נתן לך השם אלוקיך ולביתך אתה והלוי והגר אשר בקרבך Asher nasan lach Hashem Elokecha u'leveisecha, ata ve'ha'levi ve'ha'ger asher be'kirbecha. Rejoice with all the goodness that Hashem has given you and your family, your household. You, the לוי Levi, the גר ger, everyone who is in your midst.The משניות mishnayos of ביכורים Bikkurim and the רמב\"ם Rambam elaborate on exactly what this process was. The farmer took that first fruit and led a parade. There was a musical accompaniment. First, the farmer, first of all, with the local farmers would go to sleep outside, would wake up and call out, \"Come, let's ascend to ירושלים Yerushalayim together.\" They'd be accompanied by a musical accompaniment, flute and other instruments. People from other cities would come out, would greet them, would accompany them on their entourage, on their parade to ירושלים Yerushalayim. The כהנים kohanim, the priests would come out and would greet them and would escort them in. The holiest place they would take these baskets, they were placed next to the altar. Why such pomp and circumstance? Why such a parade? Why such attention? All for what? We're not talking about a huge donation, a large dedication. Talking about the first fruit. A little fig, a little produce, a little גאָרנישט gurnisht, a little insignificant, a little inconsequential, a little negligible nothing. We know the משנה Mishna says that when that bud of the first fruit would come, a farmer would tie a string around so they could identify it as the first fruit. Taking a little fig, a little גאָרנישט gurnisht, a little nothing. And for that, music and parade and pomp and circumstance and a כהן kohein and a basket and a ceremony and a ritual, what is going on here?We shared with you before an insight I heard from Rabbi J.J. Schacter that in contrast to תרומה truma and מעשר maaser, which represents 10%, different amounts of our income, our tithe, the farmer would take a percentage, a portion of the produce and allocate differently. There was תרומה truma, תרומה גדולה truma gedola, there was מעשר maaser, there was מעשר עני maaser ani, there was מעשר שני maaser sheini. There was the מעשר maaser given to the לוי Levi, there was different tithes that were given to different directions. But the farmer had to take a much more significant percentage, unlike a little fig, unlike a first fruit, one fruit, the farmer took much more, and yet, no pomp, no circumstance, no attention, no parade, no music. Why the difference? The answer is, by the time the farmer took that 10%, by the time a farmer allocated a percentage, the farmer knew how much they got to keep. They looked at 90% of that income, and the farmer got to keep it. This 10%, beautiful, wonderful, that they're sharing it, they're allocating it, they're designated as they are demanded. But they get to keep 90%. Hashem is much more than 90% responsible for the success of that farm, of that produce, of that income, and yet, he says to the farmer, \"You, you keep the 90%. I only ask for 10% for you to share with my other children, with your siblings.\" The farmer to give out 10% when he was responsible for less than 10% of the success, that is not necessarily remarkable. So there's no pomp and circumstance, there's no parade. But ביכורים Bikkurim represents the first fruit. It's the beginning. And as the beginning, and as the first, the farmer has no idea what is yet to come. The farmer doesn't know will his field, will his produce, will it produce anything more? And yet, the farmer takes that little amount, that first, and gives it to Hashem, gives it to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, gives it as he was designated to do. That, in fact, is deserving of a parade, of pomp, of circumstance.The בעל שם טוב זצ\"ל Baal Shem Tov zatzal, ליקוטי שיחות Likutei Sichos has a different interpretation. And he says, you know, every farmer brings their basket. And they put that first fruit in a basket. And every farmer gets their moment to shine. They come before that כהן kohein, their basket is placed at the מזבח mizbeach. And you know, what's in one farmer's basket might be very different than what's in the other farmer's basket. One farmer might be overcome with magnificent, flourishing, thriving, blossoming, succulent, beautiful produce. And the other, dried out, shriveled up, barely holding on. But each farmer is to only look in their basket, to not compare, to not compete, but to only look in their basket. And ושמחת בכל הטוב אשר נתן לך v'samachta be'chol ha'tov asher nasan lach. When a person, when a farmer, when every one of us with our income, look in our basket, what we have, what we need, how we're living, and we do with a sense of gratitude and attitude of gratitude, then ושמחת בכל הטוב v'samachta be'chol ha'tov, we'll feel good and we'll feel happy. The parade, the pomp, the circumstance was to celebrate the individual success, was to celebrate an attitude of not comparing, not competing, of not needing to live up, not needing to live someone else's life, but to only look in one's own basket, to be happy and satisfied with one's own lot, with what one finds.The מדרש Midrash in בראשית רבה Bereishis Rabbah on our opening of our פרשה parsha writes, רב הונא בשם רב מתני Rav Huna b'shem Rav Masni, בשכות שלושה דברים נברא העולם bis'chus shlosha devarim nivra ha'olam. In the merit of three things the world was in fact created. בשכות חלה ומעשרות וביכורים Bis'chus challah u'maasros u'bikkurim. In the merit of חלה challah, taking off a portion of dough, originally given to the כהן kohein, once we lost track or confidence of who are, who has the lineage of כהנים kohanim, today our מנהג minhag, our practice is to burn or to dispose of the חלה challah that we separate. מעשרות Maasros, the tithe, וביכורים u'bikkurim, the first fruit. שנאמר בראשית ברא אלוקים She'ne'emar, Bereishis bara Elokim. It says, in the beginning God created. ואין ראשית אלא חלה Ve'ein reishis ela challah. דכתיב ראשית עריסותיכם de'chsiv reishis arisoseichem. ואין ראשית אלא מעשר Ve'ein reishis ela maaser, דכתיב ראשית דגנך de'chsiv reishis degancha. ואין ראשית אלא ביכורים Ve'ein reishis ela bikkurim, דכתיב ראשית ביכורי אדמתך de'chsiv reishis bikkurei admas'cha. So that word ראשית reishis, first, is used three times. It's used in the context of חלה challah, it's used in the context of מעשר maaser, and it's used in the context of ביכורים bikkurim. And therefore used in all three of those contexts, we learn and we deduce that ראשית reishis, first, it's in the merit of those things, בראשית ברא אלוקים bereishis bara Elokim, God created the beginning, in the beginning, and therefore these things that are beginning, that are ראשית reishit, it is in that merit.One asks Rav Druck, but מדרש נמרא עוד דברים רבים שבשבילם נברא העולם Midrash nemra od devarim rabbim she'bishvilam nivra ha'olam. The מדרש Midrash lists other things that in its merit the world was created. The world was created in the merit of Torah and ישראל Yisrael, the Jewish people. כי הקדוש ברוך הוא ותורה וישראל חד הם ki Hakadosh Baruch Hu ve'Torah ve'Yisrael chad heim. We know the Jewish people, God and Torah are one. We are intertwined. The whole world exists for the Torah, which is a blueprint of creation, for the Jewish people who are the pinnacle and responsible to shape and mold and bring redemption to creation. וזהו תכלית בריאת כל העולמות שיעסקו ישראל בתורה Vizhu tachlis bri'as kol ha'olamos she'ya'asku Yisrael ba'Torah. And that is the goal, that is the purpose of the world, to use Torah as the tool to navigate. of חז\"ל על הפסוק יום הששי of Chazal on the pasuk Yom Hashishi שמרמז על יום מתן תורה שניתן בששה בסיון she'meramez al yom Mattan Torah shenitan be'shisha be'sivan. Torah was given on the 6th of סיון Sivan. And it says יום הששי Yom Hashishi, that's a reference to the 6th of Sivan when the Torah was given, the world was created for when the Torah was given, the world was created for Torah. זה דבר שאין מובן כלל, מה הביאור בזה שהעולם נברא בשביל ביכורים Ze davar she'ein muvan klal, mah ha'biur be'zeh she'ha'olam nivra bishvil bikkurim? But what does it mean that the world was created for ביכורים bikkurim? ביכורים Bikkurim is a law in an agriculture, agrarian society, for the farmer who merits to collect, to harvest his or her first fruit. So ביכורים Bikkurim is a law. Torah is filled with a litany of laws. We have תרי\"ג Taryag, 613 מצוות mitzvos. ביכורים Bikkurim is just one of them. So Torah is an overarching principle, Torah is foundational. Jewish people, ישראל Yisrael, foundational. But ביכורים Bikkurim? ביכורים Bikkurim is a מצוה mitzvah like many, many others. So why in the world does the מדרש Midrash credit in the merit of ביכורים bikkurim the world was created? What is special about ביכורים bikkurim?So רב מרדכי דרוק Rav Mordechai Druk, the דרש מרדכי Drash Mordechai, explains, what is at the core of the מצוה mitzvah of ביכורים Bikkurim? Why is the farmer enjoined? Why is the farmer charged to take that first fruit that he worked so hard? First he plowed, then he planted, and then he watered, and then he took the weeds out, and then he back-breaking labor and toil in the hot sun watched and tracked and supervised and protected until finally he harvests that first fruit, and gives that first fruit to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, to ירושלים Yerushalayim. And what is at the core? מצוות ביכורים עיקר ענינה ללמד על הכרת הטוב Mitzvas Bikkurim ikar inyana le'lamed al hakaras hatov. At the core of the מצוה mitzvah of ביכורים bikkurim, we learn the concept of gratitude. שהאדם מביא ומקריב לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא את ראשית ביכורי שדהו She'ha'adam meivi u'makriv lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu es reishis bikkurei sadeihu. Even though really you'd think that what comes first is most precious to us, people hang their first dollar they earned on their wall. People remember their first of everything in life. The first is the most precious. The first represents all that hard work. The first captures what led to it, what came before it. And yet, the farmer takes that precious first and gives it not on the wall, and doesn't put it in their own hall of fame. The farmer takes that first and presents it to Hashem. ומודה בזה, שכל אשר לו אין לו בו קנין אמיתי U'modeh be'zeh, she'kol asher lo ein lo bo kinyan amiti. And the farmer is making a statement, the farmer is affirming that they know that everything they have, everything they produced, everything they bring in, everything they harvest, it is all from Hashem. רק כל הארץ של הקדוש ברוך הוא היא Rak kol ha'aretz shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu hi. ומכיר ומודה טובה להשם יתברך על כל הטוב שנותן לו U'makir u'modeh tova la'Shem Yisborach al kol ha'tov she'nosein lo. ביכורים Bikkurim is an expression, it is an exercise in gratitude. That's ביכורים bikkurim. The world was created for ביכורים bikkurim, in the merit of our living with an attitude of gratitude, of being appreciative, of having a sense of context, of being מכיר טוב makir tov, identifying and recognizing and pointing out and calling out and communicating our gratitude. בעבור ענין הכרת הטוב ראוי לברוא את העולם Be'avur inyan hakaras hatov, ra'ui l'ivra ha'olam. And therefore for the purpose of gratitude, the whole world is worthy of being created. Like the הרמב\"ן Ramban writes at the end of פרשת בא Parshas Bo, שתכלית כל בריאת העולם שישתבחו בני אדם ויודו לא-ל שבראם והמציאם she'tachlis kol bri'as ha'olam she'yishtabchu Bnei Adam ve'yodu le'Kel she'baram ve'himtziam. The תכלית tachlis, the goal, the purpose, the essence of being created is to communicate our appreciation to Hashem for everything that came before. זה גדול מעלתה של מדת הכרת הטוב Ze gedol ma'alasa shel midas hakaras hatov. That is the core of הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov. At the core of הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov is humility, to recognize I was incomplete without what you did for me. Rav Hutner we counted and we've recounted it countless times that Rav Hutner points out the same word, מודה modeh, הודאה hoda'ah, the same word means gratitude and it means admission. מודה ל... Modeh le... and מודה על... modeh al.... Because every time I say thank you, I am making a confession. I needed you. I benefited from you. I am better because of you. So a person who's unable to confess and is unable to admit to another, is not going to be able to express gratitude, to say thank you. To say thank you is an exercise in humility. It is a statement that I admit that I needed you, that I benefited from you, that I'm grateful to you. And that is why the world was created. For us to be humble and modest, for us to be selfless, for us to be appreciative, for us to be grateful. In the merit of ביכורים bikkurim, the world was created, an attitude of gratitude.An attitude of gratitude. And then Rav Druk continues, וטרם ניגע לביאור נוסף בזה, יש להקדים בשלוש u'terem niga le've'er nosaf b'zeh, yesh l'hakdim b'shalosh. But before we can offer another interpretation, we have to add two more questions, he says. We find in the mitzvah of ביכורים bikkurim that there are place והשתחוית לפני השם אלוקיך ve'hishtachavisa lifnei Hashem Elokecha, that the farmer bows down to God in the process, in the ritual of bringing the ביכורים bikkurim, the farmer bows down to God. The צורך ביאור tzorech biur, we have to understand. ומהי המעלה המיוחדת במצות ביכורים הדורשת השתחוות u'ma'hi ha'ma'ala ha'meyuchedes b'mitzvas bikkurim ha'doreshes hishtachavus. What is the nature of this bowing down? שלא מצינו כן בכל המצוות שצריך להשתחוות She'lo matzinu kein be'chol ha'mitzvos she'tzarich le'hishtachavos. ומהי המעלה המיוחדת במצות ביכורים הדורשת השתחוות לפני השם U'ma'hi ha'ma'ala ha'meyuchedes b'mitzvas bikkurim ha'doreshes hishtachavos lifnei Hashem. What is this great, noble, exalted idea that the farmer has to bow down? We don't bow down when we take the לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog. We don't bow down when we blow the שופר shofar. We don't bow down when we light the Chanukah candles or walk into the sukkah. So we don't bow down when we put on our תפילין tefillin. Why bow down? ביכורים Bikkurim is a מצוה mitzvah, תרי\"ג Taryag, 613. Why bow down with this מצוה mitzvah when we don't for others? So we find that the Torah forbids שׂאור ודבש se'or u'dvash. Two ingredients that are forbidden to be offered on the altar are שׂאור se'or, leaven, and דבש dvash, honey. כי כל שׂאור וכל דבש לא תקטירו ממנו אשה להשם Ki chol se'or ve'chol dvash lo saktiru mimenu isheh la'Hashem. Why? A פסוק pasuk in ויקרא פרק ב' פסוק י\"א Vayikra perek beis pasuk yud-alef. We do not, one of the ingredient, two ingredients that we do not include in many sacrifices are leaven and honey. And the ראשונים Rishonim explain, בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim and others. The time, the היצר הרע דומה לשׂאור ha'yetzer hara domeh l'se'or. We know that the evil inclination, the desire, the voice of temptation, the voice of of animal impulse and instinct, it is likened to leaven. וכמו כן היצר הרע מתעים ומתוק לאדם כדבש u'chemo kein ha'yetzer hara mat'im u'matok l'adam ke'dvash. So why is the יצר הרע yetzer hara like leaven? Because leaven is inflated. And when our ego gets inflated, when our desire, when our drive, when our insatiable appetite gets inflated, and we pursue it with reckless abandon, and we give into it and indulge it, then it's also compared to דבש dvash. It's sweet, we think it's delicious, like honey שתחלתו מתוק וסופו מר she'techilaso matok v'sofo mar. Honey begins by being sweet and it ends bitter. קרבן ראשית תקריבו אותם להשם ואל המזבח לא יעלו לריח ניחוח Korban reishis takrivu osam la'Hashem v'el ha'mizbeach lo ya'alu le'reiach nichoach. What says Rashi, מה יש לך להביא מן השׂאור ומן הדבש קרבן ראשית Ma yesh lach lehavi min ha'seor v'min ha'dvash korban reishis? The שתי הלחם של עצרת הבאים מן השׂאור shtei halechem shel atzeres ha'ba'im min ha'seor. The exception is the שתי הלחם shtei halechem on שבועות Shavuos. They come from leaven and they're sweet. The question is asked, if the Torah generally doesn't want us, so why in the מצוה mitzvah of שתי הלחם shtei halechem and in the מצוה mitzvah of ביכורים bikkurim is it an exception? Why can the mitzvah of ביכורים bikkurim come from leaven, come from honey, which is something which is repulsive, something which is rejected when it comes to all other קרבנות korbanos, when it comes to all other קרבנות korbanos? And moreover, one there is a of Druck. Rashi writes, מראשית ולא כל ראשית mei'reishis ve'lo kol reishis. The only, the only fruit that is eligible to be brought as ביכורים bikkurim are the seven species alone, not everything else. As the פסוק pasuk says, ארץ חטה ושעורה eretz chita u'se'ora and so on. Just like the שבעת המינים shivat haminim, just like the land of Israel is praised with and through the seven species, so too is the מצוה mitzvah of ביכורים bikkurim only with the seven species. So therefore, you could ask, why are these seven species called ראשית reishis? They should be called ולקחת משבח הארץ velakachta mi'shevach ha'aretz, take from the best of the land. Why are they called take from ראשית הארץ reishis ha'aretz, the first or the beginning of the land? So Rav Druk answers as follows. He suggests the following. The first interpretation we brought was from his father, the דרש מרדכי Drash Mordechai, רב מרדכי דרוק Rav Mordechai Druk, that ביכורים bikkurim is an exercise in gratitude, in הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov, which itself is an exercise in humility, in ענווה anavus. And perhaps that's why, by the way, the farmer has to give a recounting of history until that point. Because the farmer remembers with humility where he comes from. Farmer doesn't think, you know what, I'm the end all and be all. I came יש מאין yesh mei'ayin, something from nothing. I remember my humble beginnings. I remember how grateful I am. I remember the miracles of why I got here. And then the farmer presents the new fruit because according to רב מרדכי דרוק Rav Mordechai Druk, the ביכורים bikkurim is an exercise in, in humility. But רב דרוק's Rav Druk's son, ישראל מאיר דרוק Yisrael Meir Druk, offers a different suggestion based on these two questions about the leaven and about the honey and why are these seven species specifically called ראשית reishis. He says, we find many times in the Torah that דורשת מהאדם את ראשית שלו doreshes mei'ha'adam es reishis shelo. The Torah wants us to give, God wants us to give, to dedicate, to devote our first. You bring the כהן kohein ראשית פרי האדמה reishis pri ha'adama. We find פדיון הבן pidyon ha'ben, a first son is given to the כהן kohein, has to be redeemed. With Reuven, כי ראשית אונו, לו משפט הבכורה ki reishis ono, lo mishpat ha'bechora. We have a דגש degesh on the ראשית reishis. ראשית הגז Reishis ha'geiz, פטר חמור peter chamor, we have many מצוות mitzvos in the Torah that begin with our first. Like יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, כחי וראשית אוני kochi v'reishis oni. What we do first has a חשיבות chashivus. Our first accomplishment, our first achievement, our first return, our first פירות peiros, literally and figuratively, represents, has a חשיבות chashivus, has a significance, has a special place for us. אזאי כל ההמשך נגרר אחרי ההתחלה Azai kol ha'hemshech nigra acharei ha'hatchala. Everything follows the beginning. וכל חייו והליכותיו של אדם יהיו מוקדשים לשם שמים Ve'chol chayav ve'halichosav shel adam yihyu mukdashim le'shmei Shamayim. So if we get our beginning, if we get our first right, everything will follow it. Everything follows the beginning. The beginning is so important. It's important to get it right. It's important to start with the right attitude. It's important to create some momentum and some traction because everything follows the beginning. And that's as Rav Druk is the idea, the Torah tells us in Shulchan Aruch, the very beginning of Shulchan Aruch, התגבר כארי לעמוד בבוקר לעבודת בוראו שיהא הוא מעורר השחר Hisgaber ke'ari la'amod ba'boker la'avodas Bor'o, she'yehei hu me'orer ha'shachar. Wake up the right way. Wake up with zeal and enthusiasm and energy. Wake up with a positive attitude and optimism. Wake up and greet the day. Don't sleep in, don't snooze, don't let half the day disappear. Wake up and roar like a lion. Because everything follows the beginning of the day. And now we understand, when it comes to other קרבנות מנחות korbanos menachos, when it comes to other flower offerings, you can't have שׂאור ודבש se'or u'dvash, you can't have leaven and you can't have honey. Why? כשמדובר בראשית של אדם, הראשית יש לה ענין אחר Ka'she'medubar b'reishis shel adam, ha'reishis yesh la inyan acher. So when it comes to the beginning of the מנחה mincha, you can't have those ingredients. But when it comes to the beginning of a person, now, the ביכורים bikkurim, the שתי הלחם shtei halechem, they include it to tell us that we have that ability to inflate ourselves to see ourselves, our capacity, our potential, to see what we could achieve, to see who we could be, to see the greatness, the Godliness of אדם adam, to recognize and to appreciate what we could do and who we could become. The idea that the world was created for ביכורים bikkurim is that the world was created for us to dedicate our firsts, for us to dedicate our best selves, for us to dedicate our personalities, our skills, our talents. It's what the קאצקער רבי Kotzker Rebbe says in a פסוק pasuk, השמים שמים להשם, והארץ נתן לבני אדם Hashamayim shamayim la'Hashem, ve'ha'aretz nasan livnei adam. שנתן הקדוש ברוך הוא את הארץ לבני אדם כדי שיעשו מהארץ שמים She'nasan Hakadosh Baruch Hu es ha'aretz livnei adam kidei she'ya'asu mei'ha'aretz shamayim. What a beautiful קאצקער Kotzker. Says the heavens belong to Hashem and the earth is for man. It means that God gave the earth to man to turn the earth into heaven. That's our mission, to build that bridge, to create that connection, to transform the earth into a little piece of heaven and to be able to make that difference here on earth, to wake up with that attitude and to make that difference and to be able to create that, to be able to create that reality. You come وبאת אל הכהן המזבח u'vasa el ha'kohein, ha'mizbeach. So very interesting, we say in our על המחיה Al HaMichya, in our על המחיה Al HaMichya, we say על תנובת השדה al tenuva sadeh. We thank God for the food that we just ate. If we eat from the five grains, we eat from the seven species, we drink wine, we make an על המחיה Al HaMichya, על הגפן al ha'gefen, על הפירות al ha'peiros. So we say על תנובת השדה al tenuva sadeh, for the field, ועל ארץ... ועל ארץ חמדה טובה ורחבה שרצית והנחלת לאבותינו לאכול מפריה ולשבוע מטובה ve'al eretz... ve'al eretz chemda tova u'rechava she'ratzisa ve'hinchalta l'avoseinu le'echol mipirya v'lisboa mituva. And for this desirable, beautiful, broad, wide open, wonderful land that you bequeath to our ancestors, for us to eat from its fruit and to be satiated from its goodness. רחם השם אלוקינו על ישראל עמך ועל ירושלים עירך ועל ציון משכן כבודך Rachem Hashem Elokeinu al Yisrael amecha v'al Yerushalayim irecha v'al Tzion mishkan kevodecha. The shame have compassion on your people, the Jewish people, and on ירושלים Yerushalayim, your city, and on ציון Tzion, ועל מזבחך, ועל היכלך ve'al mizbechecha, v'al heichalecha. Based on the גמרא Gemara in ברכות דף מ\"ד עמוד א' Brachos daf mem daled amud aleph. This is the על המחיה Al HaMichya that we recite. The supposedly shortened version of, of בענטשן bentsching. And yet, it mentions על מזבחך al mizbechecha. So the question is asked, wait, בענטשן bentsching itself doesn't include that theme. על המחיה Al HaMichya is supposed to be a succinct, consolidated version of בענטשן bentsching. So why would the consolidated, abbreviated version of בענטשן bentsching known as על המחיה Al HaMichya, have a theme that doesn't even appear in the בענטשן bentsching itself, namely על מזבחך al mizbechecha. What is it doing, what is it doing here? So רב דרוק Rav Druk quotes from his brother רב שלמה זלמן דרוק Rav Shlomo Zalman Druk. We heard from רב מרדכי דרוק Rav Mordechai Druk, ישראל מאיר דרוק Yisrael Meir Druk, and now שלמה זלמן דרוק Shlomo Zalman Druk. Why does it say על מזבחך al mizbechecha? It's supposed to be a consolidated abbreviated form. So he says the following. He says the following, maybe, maybe it's an allusion to here. We know you say על המחיה Al HaMichya not just on the grain but also on the שבעת המינים shivas haminim. And when you brought the first fruit of the שבעת המינים shivat haminim, they were placed next to the מזבח mizbeach. When we say the על הפירות al hapeiros, when we say this ברכה bracha, which references those species, we miss, we long for, we feel the absence of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, and that's why we include the theme, that's why we mention מזבח mizbeach specifically here.Now, when the farmer recites this formula when he brings these first fruit, he says this review of history, ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi. ארמי אובד אבי וירד מצרימה Arami oved avi va'yered Mitzrayma. An Aramean tried to destroy my father. I came down to Egypt, and he descended to Egypt and sojourned there. We were few in number. From there we became a גוי גדול עצום ורב goy gadol atzum va'rav. We became a magnificent nation. What does it mean ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi? Who is the ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi? So רש\"י Rashi quotes לבן ביקש לעקור את הכל Lavan bikesh la'akor es hakol. We reference this in our הגדה Haggadah. Last year in the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur, we quoted from Rav Yosef Tzvi Rimon, we quoted from the chief Rabbi of Gush Etzion, Rav Rimon alone should. In his beautiful הגדה Haggadah, he has a wonderful interpretation of what are we doing here? ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi, Lavan wanted to uproot everything. Lavan was, was worse than Pharaoh. What does that mean? Lavan didn't try to destroy the Jewish people. Pharaoh tried to annihilate the Jewish people. What's going on over here? That's what we quoted last year. But I want to share with you an insight from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I got this magnificent set of חומשים Chumashem and I'm very grateful to the editor for sharing it with me. Thank you very, very much. It's a beautiful new set of חומשים Chumashem that recently came out. Here you could see it, מקראות גדולות פרדס Mikraos Gedolos Pardes. What is מקראות גדולות הפרדס Mikraos Gedolos HaPardes? Listen to the commentaries that are on every page of this Mikraos Gedolos. A very unusual new Mikraos Gedolos. Classic commentaries, אונקלוס Onkelos, רש\"י Rashi, ספורנו Sforno, אור החיים Or HaChaim, דעת זקנים Daas Zekeinim, אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, כלי יקר Kli Yakar, רמב\"ן Ramban, classic commentaries, בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim. But also זוהר Zohar, בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov, בעל התניא Ba'al HaTanya, גר\"א Gra, ליקוטי שיחות Likutei Sichos, the ליובאוויטשער רבי Lubavitcher Rebbe, חיד\"א Chida, שפת אמת Sfas Emes, ליקוטי הלכות Likutei Halachos of Breslov, האר\"י HaAri, הבן איש חי HaBen Ish Chai, בית אהרן Beis Aharon, החוזה מלובלין HaChozeh of Lublin, קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi, המגיד ממזריטש HaMaggid of Mezritch, נועם אלימלך Noam Elimelech. Amazing, amazing. All neatly laid out, a beautiful, beautiful new חומש Chumash. So I'm very grateful for and looking forward to going through more in depth. So here he quotes from the ליקוטי שיחות Likutei Sichos from the ליובאוויטשער רבי Lubavitcher Rebbe who writes, ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi. צורך ביאור, מדוע מזכירים דווקא את הצלם מלבן ופרעה, ולא שאר ניסים שנעשו לאבותינו Tzorech biur, madu'a mazkirin davka es ha'tzalam mi'Lavan u'Paroh, ve'lo she'ar nissim she'na'asu l'avoseinu. Why, this farmer, the farmer brings his first fruit, and he makes his way with pomp and circumstance and a parade as we talked about to ירושלים Yerushalayim, to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. And he's greeted, he's met by the כהן kohein. The כהן kohein takes his basket. And the farmer offers a declaration. He recites this magnificent formula. And he says, Lavan wanted to destroy us, and here we are. And boy am I grateful. Why does he specifically mention Lavan and Pharaoh? Why does he invoke those two villains? Why doesn't he mention other great miracles? קריעת ים סוף Krias Yam Suf, the המן man, the הבאר be'er. There are countless miracles that escorted us through our journey in the midbar. Why doesn't the farmer review the other miracles? Why specifically these? The Rebbe says the Rebbe, כי הנה חיובא ביכורים הוא לאחר ירושה וישיבה Ki hinei chiyuva bikkurim hu le'achar yerusha ve'yeshiva. The מצוה mitzvah of ביכורים bikkurim only kicks in after we conquer the land and settle the land. כי הודאה הוא לא רק על נתינת הארץ ופירותיה לבני ישראל Ki hoda'ah hu lo rak al nesinas ha'aretz u'peiroseha livnei Yisrael. Because the gratitude the farmer's meant to feel is not just for the gift of the land and for the fruit, אלא על נתינתם באופן של קביעות ושמחה ela al nesinasam be'ofen shel kvias ve'simcha. The Jewish people have been journeying 40 years. We have been unpacking and packing and unpacking and packing on the run. We've been mobile. We've been on the move. The Jewish people have been journeying, and now finally they get to settle down, get to unpack. קביעות ושמחה Kvias ve'simcha. There's a sense of consistency, a set of settling in, a sense of joy. ולכן מודים דוקא על הצלה מלבן ופרעה, שאז היו אבותינו במעמד ומצב במקום קבוע Ve'lachein modim davka al ha'tzala mi'Lavan u'Paroh, she'az hayu avoseinu ba'ma'amad u'matzav be'makom kavua. Because we had been settled in in Mitzrayim, we had been settled in with Lavan. ובמקום ההוא לא היה להם טוב U'vemakom ha'hu lo haya lahem tov. אדרבה, במקום ההוא רצו לכלותם Adaraba, be'makom ha'hu ratzu le'chalosam. That last sense of settled in was with people who wanted to destroy us. Lavan wanted us to assimilate. Assimilation is in some ways even worse than physical persecution. Assimilation, we utterly disappear. ומודים שאכשו הגיעו לארץ ישראל, באופן של קביעות וניתן להם תכלית הטוב U'modim she'achshav higi'u le'Eretz Yisrael be'ofen shel kvias ve'nitan lahem tachlis ha'tov. The Lubavitcher Rebbe says we specifically invoke these miracles because now the farmer is turning to transition to settle in, but to settle in with safety and security, with joy and optimism, with continuity, and with a Jewish attitude, a Jewish mentality, a Jewish community, a Jewish future, as opposed to the last time we settled in when all of that was at risk, all of that was in threatened. So קריעת ים סוף Krias Yam Suf, incredible miracle. The המן man falling, unbelievable miracle. The הבאר be'er, tremendous miracle. But we're not simply mentioning miracles. The farmer is not only reviewing miracles, the farmer is reviewing those who wanted to annihilate, who wanted to destroy, and with gratitude, making an offering, a recognition, the miracle of being here today, the miracle of how many things had to go right to survive. So you could bring that first fruit and all you think about is the first fruit, or you could bring the first fruit and realize everything that went into that first fruit, not only. You know I have a first fruit because I'm here. And I'm here because I have parents. And my parents are only here because their parents survived the war. And they survived the war because of these miracles that happened. So every moment, you know, in a Jewish שמחה simcha, Baruch Hashem our extended family has been זוכה zocheh to have several שמחות simchas recently, and we should all have many, many more. אויפרוף Uf'rufs and שבע ברכות sheva brachos, weddings, בר מצוות bar mitzvahs, and בת מצוות bas mitzvahs, and ברית'ן brissim, and births of girls, and all kinds of wonderful שמחות simchas. And very often what happens, you find it's probably unusual. I won't say uniquely Jewish, but it's unusual. You're speaking at a שמחה simcha, and someone or someone, often several people, will invoke previous generations, grandparents, great-grandparents who are no longer here. Not only because maybe the the person we're celebrating that שמחה simcha about, they're the namesake of someone who lived before, but when we have a שמחה simcha, we don't just freeze the frame and pause in that moment to celebrate that שמחה simcha in real time. But it becomes an excuse to talk about everything it took to get to that שמחה simcha, who came before, and how we got here, and what were the miracles that we experienced. Our community just suffered a terrible loss in the loss of of מרדכי בן שלמה Mordechai ben Shlomo, Mr. Martin Judewitz, a Holocaust survivor. He was an extraordinary, extraordinary individual. Like all survivors who had an amazing life story, but it didn't bring him down, having lost his parents and his siblings and aunts and uncles and cousins, everything and the world he knew, he was devoted and dedicated to rebuild it. His life was about bringing six million more into the world. It was about continuing the Jewish people. At the end of his book he has an autobiography, amazing, amazing memoirs, and called Destruction and Rebirth. And in it, in it, at the end, he has a chapter that recounts all the miracles God did for him. He goes through his life and says, you know, people wonder, how do I believe in God? So here is a chapter that recounts and recalls all the miracles of how I got here. This is my memoir, the end of my life. He was 94 years old. He says here are the miracles throughout my life of how I got here. ושמחת בכל הטוב Ve'samachta b'chol ha'tov. His grandson-in-law at the funeral that just happened on Friday, his grandson-in-law spoke beautifully about him, on me, and at the end he said, סבא Saba, you won, you defeated Hitler, you accomplished all you set out to do, עם ישראל חי Am Yisrael Chai. And that's this farmer. ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi. They wanted to destroy us, they wanted to eliminate us. And the farmer says, but here I am. Despite פרעה Paro's best effort and despite לבן Lavan's nefarious plans, here I am in the בית המקדש Beit HaMikdash, in ירושלים Yerushalayim, presenting my first fruits to the כהן kohen, celebrating with ושמחת בכל הטוב ve'samachta b'chol ha'tov. We won, we defeated those enemies. Here we are, עם ישראל חי Am Yisrael Chai. השם Hashem, we thank you with a הכרת הטוב hakaras ha'tov, ביכורים bikurim, ושמחת בכל הטוב ve'samachta b'chol ha'tov with the tremendous sense of gratitude. And the farmer then continues with a וידוי מעשר viduy ma'aser. פרק כ\"ו, פסוק Perek chaf vav, pasuk פרק כ\"ו, פסוק י\"ג perek chaf vav, pasuk yud gimmel. And he says the following, וידוי מעשר viduy ma'aser. Rejoice with all the goodness השם Hashem has given you. כי תכלה לעשר כל מעשר Ki techaleh la'aser kol ma'aser. We now go on and the farmer offers a confession about his תרומות ומעשרות terumos u'ma'asros, a confession about the tithes, the tithes that the farmer brings. They have to be taken from crops based on a three-year cycle. Every year, the first tithe is given to the לויים L'viim. During the first and second years, מעשר שני ma'aser sheini has to be taken to ירושלים Yerushalayim. During the third year, instead of מעשר שני ma'aser sheini, מעשר עני ma'aser ani is brought and distributed to the poor, and it's repeated every three years with the exception of the seventh year. Next year for us, which is a שמיטה shmita year, and the fiftieth year, which is a יובל yovel year. And by the day before פסח Pesach, after each of the three year cycles, the owner has to make sure that he delivered each of these three-year responsibilities, these taxes, these tithes, and the farmer would get up the last day of פסח Pesach, the fourth and the seventh years, he would recite this וידוי viduy. He would recite this confession that he got it all right. Now, it's a big question, we've discussed in the past, we're not going to discuss right now, because there's so much more to cover, but this is a confession. The משנה Mishna calls this וידוי מעשר viduy ma'aser. תורה Torah doesn't call it, but the משנה Mishna calls it וידוי מעשר viduy ma'aser. It is the confession of the מעשר ma'aser. What kind of confession? If you look at it, let's examine this confession. What does the farmer say? He says, בערתי הקדש מן הבית bi'arti ha'kodesh min ha'bayis, I destroyed everything that was meant to be purged from the home. וגם נתתיו ללוי ולגר ליתום ולאלמנה V'gam nesativ l'Levi v'la'ger la'yasom v'la'almana, I distributed everything properly where it was meant to be given. ככל מצותך אשר צויתני K'chol mitzvas'cha asher tzivisani, I did everything the way I was commanded. לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי Lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha v'lo shachachti. I didn't violate anything and I didn't forget to do anything. Imagine, we spoke about this last year, two years ago, I come home and I tell my wife, I have a confession to make. She says, interesting, let me hear. I'm not happy, but what is it? We'll work it out. What's your confession? So I have a confession to make. My confession is I'm perfect. My confession is I did everything right. I've done nothing wrong. I must confess that I'm perfect. That wouldn't go very well. That's hardly a confession. So why do we call this וידוי מעשר viduy ma'aser, the confession of מעשר ma'aser? We've offered several answers in the past. We're not going to get into that now. But what does it mean? What does it mean? So the beautiful אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the הייליגע וויזניצער רבי Heilige Vizhnitzer Rebbe says, what does it mean לא אכלתי באני ממנו lo achalti v'oni mimenu? פרק כ\"ו פסוק י\"ד Perek chaf vav pasuk yud daled. לא אכלתי באני Lo achalti v'oni. So he says, I did everything as I was commanded. I did not violate any of your rules. I did not forget or leave anything out. לא אכלתי באני ממנו Lo achalti b'oni mimenu, I have not eaten of it while I was in a state of mourning, ולא בערתי ממנו בטמא v'lo vi'arti mimenu b'tamei, nor did I destroy it when I was in a state of טומאה tumah. ולא נתתי ממנו למת V'lo nasati mimenu la'meis, and I did not I did not give any of it for the needs of the dead. שמעתי בקול השם אלקי עשיתי ככל אשר צויתני Shamati b'kol Hashem Elokai asisi k'chol asher tzivisani. I heard your voice and I did exactly as you asked. What does that mean? What does that mean? So וגם נתתיו ללוי ולא עברתי ממצותיך v'gam nesativ la'Levi v'lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha. Says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, גם בעת נתינת צדקה עליו לעבור על מצוות gam b'eis nesinas tzedakah alav l'avor al mitzvos. שלא יחשוב שבצדקה סגי Shelo yachshov she'b'tzedakah sagi. He said וגם נתתי ללוי לגר לא עברתי ממצותיך v'gam nasati l'Levi la'ger lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha. I distributed it and I gave it out to everyone including the poor and I didn't violate your מצוות mitzvos. Says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, some people have a tendency to say, you know, it's okay that I cut corners and bend rules. It's okay that I cheat and steal. It's okay that I neglect מצוות mitzvos. It's okay that I'm not vigilant and scrupulous and I'm not observant of תורה Torah and מצוות mitzvos. You know why? I give a lot of צדקה tzedakah. I wrote a big check. I give a lot of צדקה tzedakah. And therefore I pay my way out. I give a lot of צדקה tzedakah. So by giving a lot of צדקה tzedakah, I excuse myself from the other things that I come up short. Says the תורה Torah, that is an incorrect and inappropriate attitude. וגם נתתיו ללוי ולגר V'gam nesativ la'Levi la'ger. One should give what they need to give, and at the same time, לא עברתי ממצותיך lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha. It's not an excuse, giving צדקה tzedakah is not an excuse. It's not a payday or a payoff from being able to get out of doing מצוות mitzvos. And then he continues the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, the Vizhnitzer. The farmer says לא אכלתי באני ממנו lo achalti b'oni mimenu. ממנו Mimenu as in ממון mamon. The word ממנו mimenu is the same letters as the word ממון mamon, which means money. אף פעם לא נפלתי לעצבות בגלל ממון Af pa'am lo nafalti l'atzvus b'glal mamon. לא אכלתי באני Lo achalti b'oni means I didn't eat the tithe, I didn't eat it in a state of mourning. באני B'oni, אנינות aninus. I didn't eat it in a state of mourning, ממנו mimenu. ממנו Mimenu, read it, don't read it ממנו mimenu, but read it as ממון mamon. Says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, what the pasuk is telling us is, I never got sad over money. I never let money bring me down. Money can create real problems. People who have a deficiency, a shortage, it's not easy, it's not simple. It could be a real struggle, but it doesn't have to rob or steal us of our happiness. And so the farmer says, no matter how well my produce did, whether it was a great year, or whether it was a poor, a weak year, either way, nevertheless, I wasn't ever, my happiness was not influenced by ממון mamon. ממנו Mimenu, ממון mamon, לא אכלתי באני lo achalti b'oni. I never got sad from a lack of, from a lack of money. That is the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim. That's the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim. But listen to the שפת אמת Sfas Emes. Oh, wow. It was worth turning into, tuning in to the whole פרשה שיעור parsha shiur today just for the following שפת אמת Sfas Emes. So if you're multitasking while you're watching or listening and you tuned out for the last couple of minutes, tune back in. Yeah, I'm talking to you. Tune back in and listen to this שפת אמת Sfas Emes because this is worth the entire thing. לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי Lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha v'lo shachachti. Wonders the הייליגע גערער רבי Heilige Gerrer Rebbe, wonders Rabbi יהודה לייב פון גער Yehuda Leib of Ger, of שפת אמת Sfas Emes. He says, what do you mean לא עברתי ממצותיך lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha? I didn't violate any of your מצוות mitzvos. ולא שכחתי V'lo shachachti, and I didn't forget, I didn't neglect. הרי בהכרח אם אדם מקיים את המצוה, בוודאי לא שכח אותה Harei b'hechrach im adam mekayem es ha'mitzvah, b'vadai lo shachach osah. Isn't it redundant? Isn't it repetitive? לא עברתי Lo avarti, I didn't violate. לא שכחתי Lo shachachti, I didn't forget. Of course, if you didn't violate, you didn't forget. If you did the מצוה mitzvah, you obviously didn't forget to do the מצוה mitzvah. You just said and acknowledged you did the מצוה mitzvah. So why the redundancy? What does it mean? לא עברתי ממצותיך Lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha, I didn't violate your מצוות mitzvos. ולא שכחתי V'lo shachachti, and I didn't forget. So says the Gerrer Rebbe, says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, מכאן אנו לומדים שאדם יכול לשכוח את המצוה אף בעת שהוא עוסק בקיומה Mikan anu lomdim she'adam yachol lishkoach es ha'mitzvah af b'eis shehu oseik b'kiyuma. What do you see from here? You see that a person can forget the מצוה mitzvah even while they are fulfilling it. They're two different accomplishments. These are two different measures, two different goals. Number one, לא עברתי ממצותיך lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha, do the מצוה mitzvah. But number two, ולא שכחתי v'lo shachachti, while you're doing the מצוה mitzvah, be mindful about the מצוה mitzvah. Pay attention to the מצוה mitzvah. Be present, be fully engaged in what you are doing. You see from here that you can forget even while you are engaged, even while you are engrossed, even while you are doing. כגון אדם המקיים מצוה בלא שימת לב, כמצות אנשים מלומדה K'gon adam ha'mekayem mitzvah b'lo simas lev, k'mitzvas anashim melumada. When a person by rote, by habit, on autopilot is mailing it in, אף על פי שבמראית עין המצוה נעשית af al pi she'b'mar'is ayin ha'mitzvah na'aseis, to those who are watching externally, to the spectator, to the observer, it looks like you're doing a מצוה mitzvah. אולם אם מוחו וליבו של אדם מקיים עסוקים באותו הזמן בדברים אחרים Ulam im mocho v'libo shel adam ha'mekayem asukim b'oso ha'zman b'dvarim acherim, but if your mind is elsewhere, אין לך שכחה גדולה מזו ein l'cha shichcha gedolah mizu. So somebody's shaking the לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog. The דף יומי is learning סוכה Daf Yomi is learning Sukkah, I've got a לולב lulav on the mind. Somebody's shaking the לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog. To the spectator in שול shul or walking by their סוכה sukkah, oh, there's a Jew, there's a איד Yid fulfilling a מצוה mitzvah. לא עברתי ממצותיך Lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha. But you know, the person shaking the לולב lulav, but their mind is elsewhere. They're thinking about a conversation they had, they're thinking about something they have to get done, they're worried about something in the future, they're thinking about something totally נארישקייט nariskeit, but their mind is elsewhere, that then they're not really there. בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov said we are wherever our thoughts are. So the הייליגע גערער רבי Heilige Gerrer Rebbe says, the beautiful שפת אמת Sfas Emes says these are two different levels we're trying to achieve. One, לא עברתי ממצותיך lo avarti mi'mitzvo'secha, the action, get the מצוה mitzvah right, get the act right. But לא שכחתי v'lo shachachti, and also don't forget while you're doing the מצוה mitzvah. לא שכחתי Lo shachachti. While you're doing the מצוה mitzvah, don't forget to be present for the מצוה mitzvah. Going through the motion of מצוות mitzvos, very good at. Our generation, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, we have opportunities. We're scrupulous, we're vigilant, we're מחמיר machmir, we're careful. We are beautiful at performing the מצוה mitzvah. But being mindful, being present, being there, not as good. This actually is relevant to the very last פסוק pasuk of our פרשה parsha. The very last פסוק pasuk says ושמרתם את דברי הברית הזאת ועשיתם אותם u'shmartem es divrei ha'bris ha'zos v'asisem osam, fulfill the words of this ברית bris, this covenant, the תורה Torah, and do them, למען תשכילו את כל אשר תעשון l'maan taskilu es kol asher ta'asun. One of my favorite פסוקים psukim, so neglected in the whole תורה Torah. Observe the words of this covenant and perform them. Why? למען תשכילו את כל אשר תעשון L'maan taskilu es kol asher ta'asun. What does למען תשכילו l'maan taskilu here mean? The word תשכילו taskilu means למען תצליחו l'maan tatzlichu, so that you are successful, so that you are successful in all that you do. How are you successful in all that you're do? So what does that mean למען תשכילו l'maan taskilu? ושמרתם למען תשכילו U'shmartem l'maan taskilu. So the תרגום Targum says, תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos says, למען תשכילו l'maan taskilu, למען תתבוננון l'maan tisbonenun. It means that a person has his התבוננות hisbonenus, his התבוננות hisbonenus, to be present, to be fully engaged. אונקלוס Onkelos here in our פרשה parsha says, ותטרון ית פתגמיא דילכון תעבדון בדיל דתצלחון ית כל די תעבדון v'titrun yas pisgama kamei hada b'tavdun yasun b'dil d'titzlachun yas kol di t'avdun. To be successful in all you do. Who doesn't have that aspiration? Who doesn't have that goal? Who doesn't have who doesn't have that goal to want to succeed in everything that we do? למען תשכילו, למען תצליחו L'maan taskilu, l'maan tatzlichu. Our goal, our mission is to be successful in everything, in everything that we do, in everything that we do. However, the תרגום ירושלמי Targum Yerushalmi, the תרגום ירושלמי Targum Yerushalmi is different than אונקלוס Onkelos here. אונקלוס Onkelos here says תשכילו taskilu is תצליחו tatzlichu. How do you define success? What is success for you? Is success your bank account? Is success your wardrobe? Is success followers and friends on social media? How do you define success? How do you define success? Observe the words of this ברית bris so you are successful. How do you define success? The תרגום ירושלמי Targum Yerushalmi differs from the simple interpretation of the פסוק pasuk and writes, guard the words of this תורה Torah. Why? תתבוננון Tisbonenun. So you will contemplate all that you do. מתבונן Misbonen, התבוננות hisbonenus. התבוננות Hisbonenus is the key, says רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe in עלי שור חלק א' Alei Shur Chelek Aleph on page פ\"ט pey tes. התבוננות Hisbonenus is the key that unlocks the spiritual treasure chest. Being contemplative, being present, being engaged, being mindful, being conscious with what we're doing. התבוננות Hisbonenus. So many people are mindlessly, callously, momentum is carrying them through life, and that is an unsuccessful life. It doesn't matter how big your bank account. It doesn't matter how many zeros. It doesn't matter what other whatever other society's measure of success is. If we're not מתבונן misbonen, if we're not present and mindful, and our mind is elsewhere, then where are we and what are we doing? לא שכחתי Lo shachachti. Not only did I go out to dinner with you, honey. לא שכחתי Lo shachachti, I was present and I was there. Not only did I take you to the park, kids, לא שכחתי lo shachachti. I didn't forget to be there while I was physically there. I was mindful, I was present. מסילת ישרים Mesillas Yesharim has an emphasis on this, that notion of of mindfulness, of presence, of being vigilant, of being where we are. מתבונן Misbonen. The secret of success says רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe, the very definition of success is התבוננות hisbonenus, to be מתבונן misbonen, to be present, to be mindful, to be engaged, to be engaged. פרק כ\"ז פסוק ט' Perek chaf zayin pasuk tes. Moving right along. פרק כ\"ז פסוק ט' Perek chaf zayin pasuk tes. וידבר משה והכהנים הלויים אל כל ישראל לאמר הסכת ושמע ישראל היום הזה נהיית לעם להשם אלקיך Vayedaber Moshe v'ha'kohanim ha'Lviim el kol Yisrael leimor, haskeis u'shma Yisrael, hayom ha'zeh ni'heisa l'am l'Hashem Elokecha. משה Moshe and the כהנים kohanim and the לויים Lviim spoke to the Jewish people and they said, הסכת ושמע ישראל haskeis u'shma Yisrael. What do these two words mean? הסכת ושמע ישראל Haskeis u'shma Yisrael. What's the difference between הסכת haskeis and שמע ישראל shma Yisrael? Two words, הסכת ושמע ישראל haskeis u'shma Yisrael. משה Moshe, the כהנים kohanim, the לויים Lviim are trying to get the Jewish people's attention and trying to communicate and impart this message, היום הזה נהיית לעם hayom ha'zeh ni'heisa l'am, today you became a nation, today you became a people. ושמעת בקול השם אלקיך U'shama'ta b'kol Hashem Elokecha, listen to God's voice, ועשית את מצותיו v'asisa es mitzvo'sav, and be observant, and you will live a beautiful and a rich and a powerful life. What do these two words means? הסכת ושמע Haskeis u'shma. שמע Shma, we know, we're familiar with. שמע Shma is a familiar word. שמע Shma means to hear, to listen. What does the word הסכת haskeis mean? So the ספורנו Sforno writes, הסכת haskeis means picture in your mind. Says the ספורנו Sforno, הסכת haskeis, have a vision, have a picture, have an image, ושמע u'shma, and then contemplate. And then you will hear and then you will understand. So רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe writes, רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe writes, הסכת ושמע ישראל haskeis u'shma Yisrael. This is in עלי שור חלק ב' Alei Shur Chelek Beis, on page ר\"ע ד' resh ayin daled. And רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe writes, הסכת ושמע ישראל haskeis u'shma Yisrael. Listen to this. Listen to this beautiful insight of רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe. He says you want to succeed in life. There is a concept called having vision, imaging. You know, להבדיל להבדיל להבדיל l'havdil l'havdil l'havdil, great athletes do this. Great athletes. The golfer before they swing is picturing exactly the trajectory, the speed, the target of their ball. The the football player is imagining and seeing that play unfold before it happens. The baseball player is picturing that pitch and how they'll hit it and where it will go. The great athletes להבדיל l'havdil, they use this incredible power, this tool that they're taught to have a picture, to have a vision, and that helps it become a reality. So says רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe based on the ספורנו Sforno, להבדיל l'havdil, we can do the same thing when it comes to אמונה emuna and when it comes to our relationship with השם Hashem. On פסח Pesach, חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים chayav adam liros es atzmo k'ilu hu yatza mi'Mitzrayim. Picture yourself like you left Egypt. Imagine that pillar of fire that is illuminating the way and the path. Imagine all the Jewish people collectively walking out and charging out. Picture with that אמונה emuna, make it come alive. Imagine the events, picture the בית המקדש Beit HaMikdash, picture עקידת יצחק Akeidas Yitzchak, picture יציאת מצרים Yetzi'as Mitzrayim, picture הר סיני Har Sinai receiving the תורה Torah. Take a few minutes and let your imagination fill with these images, fill with these details. Let the imagination run wild. This notion of using the imagination of imagery of vision, of creating a picture in order to create a reality, this is not new, and it wasn't discovered by star athletes. הסכת ושמע ישראל Haskeis u'shma Yisrael. Says the ספורנו Sforno, imagine it, picture it, ושמע u'shma, and then think about it, because we can create that reality. We have the vision, we have the picture, and then from the vision and from the picture, we create the reality, we bring it into reality, we bring it into into being. פרק כ\"ז פסוק כ\"ו Perek chaf zayin pasuk chaf vav. ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת לעשות אותם ויאמר כל העם אמן Arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos la'asos osam, v'amar kol ha'am amen. On פרשת כי תבוא Parshas Ki Savo, famously has the תוכחה tochacha. בחוקותי B'chukosai and כי תבוא Ki Savo. We read it in כי תבוא Ki Savo because חז\"ל Chazal tell us, תכלה שנה וקללותיה, תחל שנה וברכותיה tichleh shana v'kileloseha, tachel shana u'virchoseha. Let the year and its curses, let the year and its suffering, let the year and its challenges, its גזירות gezeiros, let the year and the tragedy of מירון Meron and the tragedy of the bleachers and the tragedy of the collapse of the building in Surfside and the tragedy of the boys who died in the plane crash and the tragedy of Covid and the tragedy and the tragedy and the tragedy. Let the year of קללות klalos of tragedies end. Let's read the תוכחה tochacha, let's get it out of the way, let's close the book, let's turn the page on the תוכחה tochacha. Let's get the curses out of the way and move on to a life of blessings. And that's why חז\"ל Chazal, our רבנים Rabbis instituted, and they designed the cycle of reading the תורה Torah, that we read כי תבוא Ki Savo before ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, that we end the year, we read the curses to conclude the year and to move on to a year of blessings. So one of these curses, the ארורים arurim that the people answered אמן amen to is, ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos. Cursed is the one who doesn't uphold the words of תורה Torah to perform them. And the entire people say, אמן amen. The רמב\"ן Ramban has several suggestions of what this means. And one of the suggestions of the רמב\"ן Ramban is, ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos, means that you have the ability to be מקיים תורה meikim Torah. We can uphold, we can lift, we can support תורה Torah, and we don't. You're online at the supermarket and somebody bagels you. You know what to bagel you is? A bagel is when somebody wants you to know they're Jewish, and they're essentially inviting and inviting you to engage the פינטעלע איד pintele Yid inside them. So they, uh, say, אוי וויי oy vey. They, uh, ask you, when is ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah going to fall out again? They say something to indicate to you that they're Jewish, and they are all but begging you, they're all but begging you to engage the Jewishness in them. You have an opportunity. Will you be ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos? Will you ignore, will you move on, will you neglect, will you walk away, and will you leave the conversation there? Or will you accept the invitation? Will you engage? Will you inspire? Will you uplift? Will you share? Will you go make contagious our love of תורה Torah? ארור אשר לא יקים Arur asher lo yakim. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, cursed is the one, ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos. You have the opportunity to lift the spirits of a fellow Jew. You have the opportunity to inspire. You have the opportunity to engage, to elevate, to enrich with תורה Torah, and you neglect it and you walk away and you ignore it, you are cursed. ארור Arur, you are cursed. But the רמב\"ן Ramban quotes a second interpretation based on the ירושלמי Yerushalmi and says, what is this ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos? The, the, uh, שמעון בן יקים אמר, זה החזן שהוא עומד Shimon ben Yakim omer, zeh ha'chazan shehu omed. Is the תורה Torah falling? The ירושלמי Yerushalmi wonders, does someone have to uphold the תורה Torah? Is it falling down? Is it falling down that it needs to be supported or upheld? Right? We we know that the תורה Torah carries us more than we carry it. So what do you mean, ארור אשר לא יקים arur asher lo yakim? Cursed is the one who doesn't uphold the תורה Torah. So the רמב\"ן Ramban quotes the ירושלמי בסוטה Yerushalmi b'Sotah. The ירושלמי בסוטה Yerushalmi b'Sotah quotes from שמעון בן יקים Shimon ben Yakim who says this is the חזן שהוא עומד chazan shehu omed, meaning the one who does הגבה hagbah, the one who holds up and opens up. Many from here see that everyone wants the עליה aliyah. The עליה aliyah to the תורה Torah comes with a speaking part. So that's the bigger כיבוד kibud. People feel, oh, it's a bigger כבוד kavod, it's a greater honor when I'm called up for an עליה aliyah to the תורה Torah, there's a speaking part. הגבה Hagbah? Eh, that's for the strong guy in שול shul. I really want an עליה aliyah. But you see from this רמב\"ן Ramban, from this ירושלמי Yerushalmi, that הגבה hagbah, the fulfillment to not be ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos, is to in fact lift, proudly lift the תורה Torah, and display the תורה Torah for everybody to see. But the question is, is that really such a big deal? Is that really such a thing? Here the תורה Torah has a list of ארור arur. And what is among the list of ארור arur? Don't worship idols, and don't, uh, strike or curse your parents, and don't violate business boundaries, and don't trip a blind person, and don't aggravate the, the convert and the orphan and the widow, and don't violate rules of promiscuity. Oh, and make sure when you do הגבה hagbah, everybody can see. Does that really belong on the list? Is that the culmination of the list, the pinnacle of the list, the climax of the list? At the end of the list is, don't do, cursed is one who does all those really bad things. And by the way, cursed is someone who doesn't do הגבה hagbah impressively. So what's really going on over here? So רב דרוק Rav Druk says the following in his אש תמיד Eish Tamid. He says, למדנו מזה יסוד עצום Lamdanu mi'zeh yesod atzum. We learn a very, very important foundation. איזה כוח יש לראייה של אדם Eizeh koach yesh la're'iyah shel adam. כל מה שאדם רואה משפיע עליו אין ערוך Kol mah she'adam ro'eh mashpia alav ein aroch. You see that what we learn from here is that what we see has an enormous impression upon us. What we see, what we see leaves an image. What we see creates a vision. What we see creates a reality. אם אדם רואה שמגביהים את ספר התורה בצורה ברורה וחזקה, הרי התורה משפיעה עליו עמוקות, כי רואה אותה ביפה תארה Im adam ro'eh she'magbihim es Sefer Torah b'tzura brurah v'chazakah, harei ha'Torah mashpia alav amukos, ki ro'eh osah b'yafeh to'arah. If there's somebody who barely unrolls it and barely turns around and is barely holding on to it as the תורה Torah itself is shaking, it leaves one impression. But when you proudly lift it and unravel it, when you can see it and put it on display, when it's held high, אם חזן המגביה ספר תורה עושה זאת בצורה רפה וחשש, כבוד התורה נחלש מליבו של אדם הרואה זאת im ha'chazan ha'magbia Sefer Torah ose zos b'tzura rafah v'chashash, k'vod ha'Torah nechlash mi'libo shel ha'adam ha'ro'eh zos. If the חזן chazan, the person who does הגבה hagbah is weak and frail and barely holding on, it's wiggling, it's falling, you're so nervous, you just don't want it to hit the ground, you don't want to fast, then you're not going to be impressed. But if a person is strong and regal and royal and holds it up and proudly displays it, you will feel lifted with it. You will have a certain image. תורה Torah will have a certain brand. What we see has an impression, has an impact on how we feel, on the reality of what we are. Similar to הסכת ושמע haskeis u'shma, see and think about, have a picture, have a vision. ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה Arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah. One was רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe, this is רב דרוק Rav Druk, that cursed is the one who doesn't lift it right. כוחה של הראייה והשפעתה הגדולה של אדם למדנו עוד מה ששבר משה רבנו את הלוחות Kocha shel ha're'iyah v'hashpa'asah ha'gedolah shel adam lamadnu od mah she'shavar Moshe Rabbeinu es ha'luchos. We see this also when משה Moshe broke the לוחות luchos. Why is it, wonders רב דרוק Rav Druk, משה Moshe first came down, he had to see the people, and only then did he break the לוחות luchos. And the מהרש\"א Maharsha wonders in his חידושי אגדות על יבמות Chiddushei Aggados on Yevamos ס\"ב ע\"א samech beis amud aleph, the מהרש\"א Maharsha wonders, why when משה Moshe was on top of the mountain and God tells him, לך רד כי שחת עמך lech reid ki shicheis amcha, go down, your people have, they've messed up, they've blown it, it's all wrong. When he hears that terrible news, why doesn't he shadow the לוחות luchos right then? Why doesn't he drop them and break them right then? Why does it take coming down? So the מהרש\"א Maharsha answers בשם ספר העיקרים b'shem Sefer HaYekarim, שהדבר הנראה לעיניים מצער אדם צער גדול יותר מהידיעה she'ha'davar ha'nir'eh l'einayim me'tzaer adam tza'ar gadol yoser mei'ha'yedia. Because seeing is believing. More than when someone informs you of something, when you see it with your own eyes, that's when there's real pain. האדם יותר מתפעל מהמורגש בחוש יותר ממה שמתפעל מהנודע באמיתית Ha'adam yoser mispael mei'ha'murgash b'chush yoser mi'mah she'mispael mei'ha'noda ba'amitis. What we feel with our senses, what we see with our eyes creates a reality more than even the knowledge that comes into our mind. So you see from here the power of seeing, the significance of seeing. ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת Arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos, הסכת ושמע haskeis u'shma. What we see creates a reality, which is a reminder, the negative impact of the wrong images, but the positive impact of the right images. Seeing the right thing and seeing it in the right way can have an enormous impression on us. You see this also with the notion of the סוטה sotah. הרואה סוטה בקלקולה יזיר עצמו מן היין Ha'ro'eh sotah b'kulkula yazir atzmo min ha'yayin. In פרשת נשא Parshas Naso, quotes the גמרא בברכות ס\"ג Gemara b'Brachos samech gimmel and the commentators on פרשת נשא Parshas Naso. Why does the story of the נזיר nazir vowing not to drink wine come right after the story of the סוטה sotah of the woman with infidelity? Because כל הרואה סוטה בקלקולה kol ha'ro'eh sotah b'kulkula, if you see what happens to a סוטה sotah, יזיר עצמו מן היין yazir atzmo min ha'yayin. Seeing, the impression that leaves, just seeing the reality that there could be a wayward woman, I heard about that in in movies and books, I heard in far away paces, in other societies and cultures, but there could be such a woman, I could know that, I could see that. הרואה סוטה בקלקולה Ha'ro'eh sotah b'kulkula, when you see that reality, when you know it's a possibility, you need to do something to dispel, to offset, to erase just the negative impact, the contamination of knowing, of seeing a רואה ro'eh a סוטה בקלקולה sotah b'kulkula. You have to take an action. And what's the action? יזיר עצמו מן היין Yazir atzmo min ha'yayin. You see that power. We see that power. So that's what's going on over here. מזה נבין היטב מהו ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת Mi'zeh navin heitev mahu arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos, זה החזן שמגביה ספר תורה ואינו מראה לעם כראוי את הכתב zeh ha'chazan she'magbia Sefer Torah v'eino mar'eh la'am k'ra'uy es ha'ksav. If the חזן chazan who does הגבה hagbah doesn't really open enough columns and doesn't really turn all the way around, and people can't see inside the תורה Torah, and they are not uplifted, they are not moved by seeing the תורה Torah. על ידי שיראו כך את חסרון כבוד התורה יכנס בליבם זלזול בכבוד התורה חלילה Al yedei she'yiru kach es chisaron k'vod ha'Torah, yikanes b'libam zilzul b'k'vod ha'Torah chalila, could have a negative impression, it could have a negative impact. You see, הסכת ושמע haskeis u'shma, picture and then there is the reality. And that is ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת arur asher lo yakim es divrei ha'Torah ha'zos, as well as well going on over here. Okay, we have time for one more. Let's do ברוך אתה Baruch Atah We'll do one more quick one. At the end of the תוכחה tochacha, כ\"ט מ\"ז chaf tes mem zayin. פרק כ\"ח פסוק מ\"ז Perek chaf ches pasuk mem zayin. At the end of the תוכחה tochacha, the תוכחה tochacha tells us, why is this harsh rebuke? Why is this harsh punishment, this graphic, painful, difficult, horrific punishment? Why is it visited, why is it meted out of the Jewish people? Because תחת אשר לא עבדת את השם אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרוב כל tachas asher lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav mei'rov kol. Says the תורה Torah, because you didn't serve השם Hashem with gladness, with goodness in your heart when everything was abundant, when you had it all, when you had so much to be grateful for. Instead of focusing on what was there, you focused on what was missing. Instead of focusing with gratitude, you focused on complaining. You weren't living with שמחה simcha. You see the power of שמחה simcha is so strong that when you lack שמחה simcha, when you don't have joy, the תוכחה tochacha is visited upon us. So the קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe, the great Kotsker, there's a wonderful ספר sefer that I've been sharing with you, אמת ואמונה Emes V'Emunah, the הייליגע קאצקער רבי Heilige Kotsker Rebbe, רבי מנחם מענדל פון קאצק Reb Menachem Mendel of Kotzk writes, כי מפני זה שלא עבד את השם בשמחה מגיע לו כל התוכחה ki mipnei zeh shelo avad es Hashem b'simcha magia lo kol ha'tochacha. You know, you could read this in one of two ways. Either that you didn't serve השם Hashem with שמחה simcha, meaning your service of השם Hashem was rote and sad and and miserable, that תורה Torah and מצוות mitzvos were a burden and a hardship that you wished you could unload it and you didn't have to do it. You could read it that way, or you could read, לא עבדת את השם אלקיך lo avad'ta es Hashem Elokecha, you didn't serve השם Hashem, and how were you not serving השם Hashem? Were you not serving השם Hashem but at least feeling a little guilty? Were you violating השם Hashem but feeling a little down? Were you violating and not realizing what you could have been in the service of השם Hashem, but feeling like you're underachieving? No. Not serving השם Hashem but how? בשמחה ובטוב לבב B'simcha u'v'tuv leivav. You were doing it with a full heart. You were neglecting השם Hashem and happy about it. You were לא עבדת את השם אלקיך lo avad'ta es Hashem Elokecha, not serving השם Hashem, and how were you not serving השם Hashem? בשמחה B'simcha, you were joyous in your not serving השם Hashem, ובטוב לבב u'v'tuv leivav. העניין שכל העבירות רחמנא ליצלן באו מחמת שלא עבד את השם בשמחה, רק עשה כמצות אנשים מלומדה Ha'inyan she'kol ha'aveiros rachmana litzlan ba'u machmas she'lo avad es Hashem b'simcha, rak asa k'mitzvas anashim melumada. Again we see that expression, that a person God forbid is not serving השם Hashem with joy and with with enthusiasm, with energy, with mindfulness, with meaning, with געשמאק geshmak, but rather rote and a habit and just getting by with the bare minimum. על ידי זה נתקרר האדם מאוד ושוכח שיש בורא עולם Al yedei zeh niskarer ha'adam me'od v'shoche'ach she'yesh borei olam. And this way a person becomes very cold, cold-hearted. It's a very cold Judaism. And they forget there's a creator, until they violate כל עבירות שגוף מתאווה להם kol aveiros she'ha'guf mis'aveh lahem. כי מי שיודע שיש בורא עולם, אף על פי שהחומר מתאווה, היראה מהבורא עולם עוכב אותו שלא יעשה אותם Ki mi she'yodea she'yesh borei olam, af al pi she'ha'chomer mis'aveh, ha'yirah mei'ha'borei olam okev oso she'lo ya'aseh osam. If you know there's a God, if you feel accountable to him, if you recognize there are consequences, even when we're tempted or drawn to do the wrong thing, we remember. בשביל שעבר על כל העבירות מגיע לו כל העונשים האמורים, כשיחקור עוד מסיבת העבירות יראה שהוא על ידי שלא עבד את השם בשמחה, על כן צריך לראות שיעשה המצות בזלהוות ובשמחה שזכה לעשות רצונו יתברך Bishvil she'avar al kol ha'aveiros magia lo kol ha'onashim ha'amurim, k'she'yachkor od mi'sibas ha'aveiros yir'eh she'hu al yedei she'lo avad es Hashem b'simcha, al kein tzarich liros she'ya'aseh ha'mitzvos b'zlavus u'v'simcha she'zachah la'asos retzono yisbarach. And you see from here says the Kotsker, what an important value, what an important idea. Not just to put a check next to the מצוה mitzvah. לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog check, תפילין tefillin check, דאווענען davening check, חסד chesed check, צדקה tzedakah check, check, check, check, דף יומי daf yomi check, check, check, check, check. It's not about a check. It's not about just doing it. It's how we do it. It's how we do it. With love, with שמחה simcha, with joy. That is the key to the continuity of our people. It is what's critical for our children to see that it's not, it's not געפערליך gefehrlich to be a Jew, that it's not something which is hard to be a Jew, but it's געשמאק geshmak to be a איד Yid. It's wonderful, it's beautiful. That it's, it's amazing, it's life-changing. בשמחה B'simcha, to feel בשמחה b'simcha in everything we do. Wishing you a beautiful day. If you'd like the notes, Parsha Perspectives. It's a beautiful PDF of the notes of Parsha Perspective. You want to be able to print them out and bring them to your שבת Shabbos table, share with others. Subscribe to our newsletter at rabbiefremgoldberg.org. rabbiefremgoldberg.org and you can sign up for the newsletter that has a PDF notes on the Parsha themes we spoke about today. Subscribe on YouTube and get notified in real time every time we go live. Learn together with us, including tomorrow morning, 8:15, 10 minutes of meaning with Mesilas Yesharim, 8:45 Living with Emunah. Tomorrow night we are going behind the bima with Rav Moshe Weinberger, the great Rav Moshe Weinberger, the rav of Aish Kodesh. Talk about being on fire. He is amazing. You will be blown away. No better way in the month of Elul to be getting ready for the Yamim Noraim. Join us then. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy.
