Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov. Welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. I want to thank as always our generous series sponsor, my dear friends Beck and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father David Grossman. Our learning should be לעילוי נשמת le'ilui nishmas דוד בן מנחם מנש Dovid ben Menachem Manesh. There are opportunities each week to sponsor the שיעור shiur, in addition to the series sponsor. If you'd like to you can go online brsonline.org/sponsor. We'd love and appreciate your support. A great opportunity in honor and memory of someone to sponsor the שיעור shiur itself or to sponsor the write up that you can get delivered right to your inbox. Every week a write up on the Parsha Perspectives. Okay. This week we have a double parsha. We're finally catching up with ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. מטות Matos and מסעי Masei. We begin with פרשת מטות Parshas Matos, page 900 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. And there the Torah tells us, וידבר משה אל ראשי המטות לבני ישראל לאמר Vayedaber Moshe el roshei hamatos livnei Yisrael leimor. Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes and he said the following, זה הדבר אשר צוה השם zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem. This is the thing that God has commanded. What did God command? איש כי ידר נדר להשם ish ki yidor neder l'Hashem, if a person takes a vow, if a person makes a pledge or a promise, או השבע שבועה o hishava shvua, or you take an oath, לאסר איסר על נפשו le'esor isar al nafsho, לא יחל דברו lo yachel devaro. The word יחל yachel Rashi tells us comes from the word חולין chulin, in contrast to קודש kodesh like we say in הבדלה Havdalah, להבדיל בין קודש לחול lehavdil bein kodesh lechol, to distinguish between that which is holy and that which is profane. So holy, we use our words to create and to build holiness. Don't profane your words. Don't make your words חולין chulin. Speech is sacred, it's holy. We can construct, we can build or we can destroy, we can eliminate, we can knock down. If we use our power of speech properly, we can create and build. And if we abuse the power of speech, we misuse it to slander, to gossip, to criticize, to complain, then לא יחל דברו lo yachel devaro, we've taken our very word, we've turned it into something חול chol. The potential for holiness and sanctity, we've made it something which is profane and mundane. ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה kechol hayotzei mipiv ya'aseh, rather, everything you promise, everything you pledge, everything you say you're going to do, you need to and you must do. Last year we focused on this פסוק pasuk and shared several interpretations of it. I told you an amazing story of מורי ורבי mori v'rabi רב שכטר Rav Schechter, who to this day does not take sugar in his tea because he once told someone he doesn't. לא יחל דברו lo yachel devaro, ככל היוצא מפיו kechol hayotzei mipiv, whatever you say has to be true. Whatever we say, we have to follow through. Our word has to be our bond. It has to mean, it has to mean something. Rashi says לא יחל דברו lo yachel devaro, כמו לא יחלל דברו, יחלל דברו kmo lo yechalel devaro, yechalel devaro, לא יעשה דברו חולין lo ya'aseh devaro chulin as we said, don't turn it into something which is חולין chulin. רב זאדל אפשטיין Rav Zaidel Epstein, the great רב זאדל אפשטיין Rav Zaidel Epstein we've been quoting from his ספר sefer, הארות Ha'aros. רב זאדל אפשטיין Rav Zaidel Epstein said that he heard from ר' ירוחם Rav Yerucham, the משגיח mashgiach of the Mir, who said we learn פרשת נדרים Parshas Nedarim and מסכת נדרים Maseches Nedarim, it needs to awaken and it needs to arouse us, it needs to make us aware of the power of speech and the greatness of man. We don't only have a world that we navigate and operate in in which Hashem said this is permissible, this is forbidden, this you can do, this you can't do, but we have the power to transform that world. So take this chair. This chair according to the rules of Torah, it's permissible. There's nothing wrong with it. It's not הקדש hekdesh. It has not been consecrated to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. There's no status to it that precludes us from using or benefiting it. But what if a person makes a vow? And they say, the chair is forbidden to me. We can turn and transform the chair into a piece of חזיר שמץ chazir shmatz. You could turn the chair into a piece of pork, of bacon and pig. We have the ability through our words to transform a status and transform the status so it is as binding as if God himself said it. If Hashem says this is not kosher, of course it's not kosher. But we could take something that is entirely kosher and maybe we would do well to say, this bag of Cape Cod potato chips, הרי עלי harei alai, I take a נדר neder, I'm not saying it, בלי נדר bli neder. בלי נדר bli neder, just for the record, בלי נדר bli neder. But I'm taking a נדר neder, this bag of Cape Cod potato chips, these Trader Joe corn chips, בלי נדר bli neder, just for the שיעור shiur, I'm taking a נדר neder that I'll never eat them, I'll never touch them, I'll never benefit. So for the person who says that, the potato chips and the corn chips, they are as forbidden to them as a piece of pork, as a piece of bacon. That's the power of man, that's the power of speech. And when we read this section, the opening of פרשת מטות Parshas Matos, when we engage the הלכות halachos of נדרים nedarim, or we learn through מסכת נדרים Maseches Nedarim, it should awaken us and remind us the power of speech, power of speech. לשנות את מהות של בהמה של חולין, להפוך אותו לבהמת קדושה leshanos es mahus shel beheima shel chulin, l'haf'chah oso l'behemas kedusha, על ידי שיקדיש אותה בפה al yedei she'yakdish osah b'peh. ומשם והלאה נמי בהמה זו אסורה משום מעילה umisham v'hailah nami beheima zu asurah mishum me'ilah. If you're מקדיש makdish an animal and you say it's consecrated, it is forbidden as a enormously severe penalty to the prohibition of מעילה me'ilah. You cannot violate consecrated property. כח מיוחד זה ניתן לישראל koach meyuchad zeh nitan l'Yisrael. This is a unique power given to the Jewish people. בכח פיו של אדם טמון וגדולה עצומה b'koach piv shel adam tamun v'gadlus atzumah. In our mouth is hidden, in our power of speech is embedded an enormous power, an enormous responsibility. לא לחינם נקרא אדם מדבר lo lechinam nikra adam medaber. And that's why Jewish people we are called, beginning of בבא קמא Bava Kama, we are called a מדבר medaber. We are called the מדבר medaber. תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos translates the פסוק pasuk ויהי האדם לנפש חיה vayehi ha'adam l'nefesh chaya. What does it mean that we became a living, animated, vibrant being? זאגט תרגום אונקלוס Zogt Targum Onkelos, לרוח ממללא l'ruach memalela, the power of speech is what differentiates us. What makes us different than animals? We don't grunt, we don't bark, we don't meow. We use the power of speech. We articulate thoughtfully, mindfully, strategically. We're present in everything we say, we say what will be helpful and useful and constructive, and we don't say what we shouldn't say, what will be a waste. That's גדולת האדם gadlus ha'adam. And that's what Rav Soloveitchik said, you know why we begin the holiest day of the year with what seems to be the most bizarre practice of the year? יום כיפור Yom Kippur. We parade the תורות Torahs to the בימה bimah. The חזן'ס chazzan's decked out in white surrounded on either side of חשובע העיר chashuvei ha'ir, holding the Torah, and leads us with the harrowing tune of כל נדרי Kol Nidrei. I would sing it for you, but even in the three weeks you don't deserve that kind of punishment. The tune of כל נדרי Kol Nidrei. כל נדרי Kol Nidrei? Holiest day of the year, holiest night of the year, let's get it started, let's kick it off. How do we kick it off? You ever read כל נדרי Kol Nidrei in English? Try singing the tune of כל נדרי Kol Nidrei to the English version of כל נדרי Kol Nidrei. And it might just send you right off the דרך derech. It's the strangest thing in the world. All these vows and promises and כל נדרי Kol Nidrei, vows and promises and oaths, whether I meant them, whether I didn't mean them, we start to get into the minutia and the details and the laws and the intricacies, and I'm bound by it, I'm not bound by it, I said it, I meant it, every formula, however I said it. What are we doing? What are we doing, the holiest night of the year? Said Rav Soloveitchik, you know how we begin יום כיפור Yom Kippur? By saying my words matter. I'm about to spend 25 hours saying I'm sorry. I pledge and I promise to be better. I express my regrets and remorse and my remorse and my apology. And I paint a picture and I promise I will be a better version of myself. So you know how we start out, we say, whoa, one second. Before you make any promises, before you apologize, before you make any big bold statements, let me remind you, words matter. They change reality. They create נדרים nedarim and שבועות shvuos that we are as bound by as the laws from Hashem. So really embedded within the opening of our פרשה parsha, says Rav Zaidel Epstein, is גדולת האדם gadlus ha'adam, is the power and the greatness and the strength that we have with our words. Not only true in the הלכות halachos of נדרים nedarim and שבועות shvuos that we change the status of something from permissible to forbidden as forbidden as if God said it, but it's also true how we use our words to change the world for the better, to build up and to complement and to elevate, or we could use it to destroy. He goes on by אריכות arichus, he goes on at length, but he ends by invoking the פסוק pasuk in משלי Mishlei שלמה המלך Shlomo Hamelech tells us, מות וחיים ביד הלשון maves v'chayim b'yad halashon, death and life are in the hands of the power of speech. Power of speech. You could slander, you could knock down, you could malign, you could criticize, you could complain, or you could compliment and you can build. מות וחיים Maves v'chayim, death and life are in the hands of the power of speech. What a powerful reminder. And here the פרשה parsha then goes on and tells us, and again we've studied so much of this, we happen to read the same פרשיות parshiyos every year. So I'm trying to always introduce new ideas and new angles, but it's so tempting because we said such great stuff that I want to remind myself and you of it. But we're going to see some new angles. So the Torah tells us, do not mundane, profane your words. לא יחל דברו lo yachel devaro. אשה כי תדור נדר להשם isha ki tidor neder l'Hashem, ואסרה איסר בבית אביה בנעוריה v'asrah isar b'veis avihah bin'ureha, if a woman takes a vow, her husband has the right to annul it if she's an adult. When she is a child her father has the right and the ability to annul it. And yet the Torah tells us something very interesting here in פסוק ו pasuk vov. ואם הניא אביה אותה ביום שומעו v'im heini avihah osah b'yom shomo, כל נדריה ואסריה אשר אסרה על נפשה לא יקום kol nedareha v'esareha asher asrah al nafsheha lo yakum, והשם יסלח לה כי הניא אביה אותה v'Hashem yislach lah ki heini avihah osah. If her father, what happens if her father on the day that he hears she made a vow, so his daughter said, I will never ever ever ever go to the mall again. And he knows his daughter, that that's an impossible vow for her to keep, it'll never ever ever ever happen. So quickly even though she doesn't know, he just overheard it. Or he sees her WhatsApp status and she proudly takes a whole selfie video about her vow I'll never go to the mall again. And he sees the WhatsApp status and he says, uh oh, I need to save her from herself. So what does he do? He annuls the vow even without her knowing. And then what does she do? Not an hour later, she can't help it. She has to go to the mall. There she is in the mall, shopping, window shopping, actual shopping, and as she's walking through the mall, she's thinking to herself, I blew it. I just posted on my WhatsApp status for the whole world to see that I'm never going to the mall again and here I am. The sale was just too strong, it lured me in, I can't help it. So her father annulled the vow but she didn't know, says the Torah, והשם יסלח לה v'Hashem yislach lah, she will need to be forgiven. What does that mean she will need to be forgiven? והשם יסלח לה Hashem yislach lah. זאגט רש\"י Zogt Rashi, what does Rashi say on those words והשם יסלח לה v'Hashem yislach lah, פסוק ו pasuk vov, small Rashi, need the glasses. במאי קא עסקינן, באשה שנדרה בנזיר ושמע בעלה והפר לה והיא לא ידעה Bamai ka askinan, b'ishah she'nadrah b'nazir v'shama ba'alah v'hefer lah v'hi lo yad'ah. It's a case where the husband heard about the vow and annulled it before she could violate it, or the father heard and annulled it before she could violate it. זוהי שצריכה סליחה אף על פי שהוא מופר Zuhi she'tzricha slicha af al pi shehu mufar. Even though the vow was annulled, she still needs atonement, she still needs to be forgiven. Which from a legal standpoint makes no sense. If I were her lawyer, I would have the easiest and most slam dunk case of all time. I'd come to court and I would say, Hashem, let's look at the timeline. Let's go to the videotape, let's go to the audio recordings, let's go to the mall security cameras. Let's see what time she made the vow. I annulled the vow before she went to the mall and seemingly violated it. So why does she need atonement or forgiveness? True, she didn't know that. True, she thought she was violating it, but so what? Look, technically, and the law follows the technical timeline, technically I annulled it before she violated it. Why does she need forgiveness? Why does she need, why does she need atonement whatsoever? So, טעם דקרא Ta'am d'Kra, new sefer for today. טעם דקרא Ta'am d'Kra, another gift from my good friend of Mendy. טעם דקרא Ta'am d'Kra is the sefer, and maybe the first that רב חיים קנייבסקי זצ\"ל Rav Chaim Kanievsky zatzal published. I believe he was a young man, maybe in his teens when he published טעם דקרא Ta'am d'Kra, and it is an astounding sefer. It goes through the פרשה parsha, several books of תנ\"ך Tanach, תפילה tefillah, דאווענען davening, and his מראי מקומות mareh mekomos, רב חיים קנייבסקי Rav Chaim Kanievsky at such a young age was so prodigious, was so brilliant, was such a genius that even the beginning he writes he says, I took notes as I learned when it reminded me of other sources, and they've asked me to put it together in a ספר sefer, so fine here it is. And it doesn't even publish originally, his name wasn't even in the on the title page. So טעם דקרא Ta'am d'Kra of Rav Chaim Kanievsky in the year of mourning for the loss of the great שר התורה Sar HaTorah, this great גדול בתורה gadol baTorah. So here's one example, אשה שהפר לה ושם יסלח לה isha she'hefer lah v'Hashem yislach lah. מכאן למתכוון לאכול בשר חזיר Mikan l'miskaven le'echol basar chazir, says Rashi according to the גמרא Gemara in נזיר Nazir, here we learn that a person who intended to eat שמאלץ schmaltz, a person who intended to eat pork, bacon, ואכל בשר טלה v'achal basar taleh, and instead ate a piece of kosher meat, צריך כפרה tzarich kapparah, that individual needs atonement. But why? They thought they were went and bought a piece of bacon, they fried it on the stove, it's crispy and it smells great and it has a great crunch and as they bite into it, ah, delicious געשמאק geshmak, bacon. Always have to pay for it later but I've always wanted to taste it, delicious. And little do they find later that it turns out the package they took out of the fridge to make this bacon, they they failed to see the the tiny print that said kosher bacon. It was from a kosher animal, sliced similarly, and they just prepared it. So, צריך כפרה tzarich kaparah. Why? It was kosher meat. It was kosher bacon, I know that's an oxymoron, but it was kosher bacon. לכאורה אין עונש על אכילה שהרי אכל טלה, אלא על הכוונה, ולמה מצייר אכל טלה אבל לא נסח ואמר נתכוון לאכול חזיר, אפילו לא אכל, צריך כפרה L'ch'ora ein onesh al achilah she'harei achal taleh, ela al hakavanah, v'lamah metzayer achal taleh, aval lo nisach v'amar niskaven le'echol chazir, afilu lo achal, tzarich kapparah. The גמרא Gemara Rashi, our פרשה parsha, says Rav Chaim, should have been formulated differently. Why did the גמרא Gemara tell us, you intended to eat pork and you ate kosher meat, you need כפרה kapparah? No, you intended to eat pork, even if you ate kosher meat, because you had the poor intention, you need כפרה kapparah, atonement for the wrong intention. Why don't we formulate it? In other words, when you get upstairs and God, you say, what are the charges? You say one count of having the wrong intent, one count of wanting to eat pork or bacon. Why is it and you ate the kosher animal, you're liable, you need a כפרה kapparah, you ate the kosher animal. ועוד הרי מחשבה רעה אין הקדוש ברוך הוא מצרפה למעשה V'od harei machshavah ra'ah ein haKadosh Baruch Hu metzarfa l'ma'aseh. Also I thought that Hashem only credits us when we have the right thought or a positive thought, then Hashem credits us as if we did that thing. But not the inverse, when we have the wrong thought, he doesn't credit us as if we did the wrong thing. So what's going on over here? Says Rav Chaim, ויש לומר דבאוכל איסור נהנה ממה שמרגיש טעם איסור V'yesh lomar d'b'ochel issur neheneh m'mah she'margish ta'am issur. That when you eat something which is prohibited, you're benefiting from the taste of prohibition. In other words, when you eat something that's prohibited, there are two parts. Number one, you're actually imbibing, you are digesting that which is prohibited. You're not supposed to eat it, it's אסור assur, and you're eating it. But there's another layer or level, which is you're getting הנאה hana'ah, there is the pleasure and the benefit of eating that which is forbidden. אתה אומר טעם האיסור, היא כל חוריות דף י' עמוד ב' אין יצר הרע תאב אלא דבר שאסור לו Ata omeir ta'am ha'issur, hi kol choryos daf yud amud beis, ein yetzer hara ta'ev ela davar she'assur lo. And why is that? The strongest יצר הרע yetzer hara that a person has is for that which is forbidden to us. We know this phenomenon, in modern psychology it has a name. What is it called? The forbidden fruit syndrome. What is the forbidden fruit syndrome? אדם הראשון Adam Harishon was told, enjoy the שמאָרגעסבאָרד shmorgasbord. גן עדן Gan Eden. All you could eat, whatever you want. Here it is. You see the one tree? A little apples... it wasn't apples, the one thing we know despite Renaissance art, it was not an apple. It was a date, it was a fig, it was an אתרוג esrog, it was all kinds of, it was a grape. It was not, it was not an apple. But you see that one tree, the עץ הדעת eitz hada'as? just stay away. שמאָרגעסבאָרד Shmorgasbord. שמאָרגעסבאָרד Shmorgasbord, whatever you want. Eat till your heart's delight. Delicacies, delicious, whatever, just don't eat that. The snake, חווה Chava, אדם Adam, what is it all they crave? What is it all they want? By the way, had Hashem not said you can't eat that thing, they may not have even gotten to the end of the buffet. They may never have even noticed it there. But because Hashem said you can't have that, what happened? Ooh, that's all I want. That's why Rav Schechter explains, the גמרא Gemara in מגילה Megillah it says, המן מן התורה מנין Haman min haTorah minayin? Where do we see an allusion or a reference to Haman from the Torah? המן העץ Hamin ha'eitz, when God challenges, המן העץ Hamin ha'eitz, did you eat from the tree? המן Hamin, המן Haman, are the same letters, just change the vowels. But it's more than a cute play on words, המן hamin and המן Haman. It was the exact same phenomenon. Haman had every person in שושן Shushan bowing down to him, except for one. So Haman, don't sabotage your own success, your position, your career. Just don't pay attention. So you don't have the one. So the lowly Jew Mordechai is not bowing down, but everybody else is bowing down. You have everything and everyone. Why are you only focused on the one thing you can't have? Where is that phenomenon from? המן Haman, המן העץ hamin ha'eitz. It's the same phenomenon. So says Rav Chaim Kanievsky, that when we eat something prohibited, not only are we enjoying the ממשות mamashus, the food that actually we're eating, what else are we getting benefit or pleasure from? Ah, I wasn't supposed to be allowed to have that, that's what I crave more than anything. I'm enjoying that which is prohibited. I'm enjoying that which is forbidden. ניצול תם ביאה וניתן לו עבירה. מים גנובים ימתקו ולחם סתרים ינעם Mayim gnuvim yimtaku v'lechem s'tarim yin'am. והנזיר הוא היה לו קשה אכל, כיוון שחשב שהוא בשר חזיר והנאה זו אסורה על זה צריך כפרה V'ha'nazir hu hayah lo k'she'achal, keivan she'chashav she'hu basar chazir v'hana'ah zu asurah, al zeh tzarich kaparah. So that's what Rav Chaim says. When you thought you were eating the wrong thing, you got a געשמאק geshmak, you got a pleasure, you got a joy, you got a הנאה hana'ah, the forbidden fruit. Okay, you know, in my mind, this cognitive dissonance, I'll have to pay for it later, here's why I justify, rationalize it, here's why it's okay, but there's a pleasure. That which is specifically forbidden, that which is specifically supposed to be out of reach, there's a pleasure. So that's what you need the כפרה kapparah for. It turns out what you ate was kosher bacon. Turns out what you ate there was nothing wrong. But the pleasure you got when you thought you were eating real bacon, the joy, the rebelliousness, the joy, of being above the rules, or having that which you thought you couldn't have, that was it. שכן הוא הטבע באדם שמה שמחוייב לעשות יש לו יצר הרע דוקא להמרות לעשות להפך She'ken hu ha'teva b'adam she'mah she'mechuyav la'asos yesh lo yetzer hara davka l'hamros la'asos l'hefech. We specifically have this urge, this yearning, to want to rebel and have that which is out of bounds, that which is off limits, that which we can't have. וזהו כל מה שכתוב שיש בטבע האדם מרידה מיוחדת לעבור ולעשות דבר האסור V'zehu kol mah she'kasuv she'yesh b'teva ha'adam meridah meyuchadess la'avor v'la'asos davar ha'assur. People like to do that which is forbidden, against the rules. וזהו מה שכתבו חז\"ל, וזהו מה שכתבו חז\"ל בגמרא בבא קמא אומרת, גדול המצווה ועושה יותר ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה V'zehu mah she'kasvu Chazal, v'zehu mah she'kasvu Chazal, ba'Gemara Bava Kama omras, gadol hametzuveh v'oseh yoser m'mi she'eino metzuveh v'oseh. Who gets more reward? The one who's obligated or the one who volunteers? I would have thought who gets more reward? The volunteer. The volunteer is not obligated but shows up anyway, who does it anyway. So women are exempt from time-bound מצוות mitzvos, when they volunteer who gets more reward, the men who are obligated or a woman who is exempt? If a man is exempt from a particular מצווה mitzvah and he nevertheless volunteers, who gets more reward, the one who is obligated or the one who is exempt? I would have said the one who's exempt, does it anyway, who volunteers. But that's not the case. Why? כיוון שהמצווה יש לו יצר הרע מיוחד להמרות לעשות להפך Keivan she'hametzuveh yesh lo yetzer hara meyuchad l'hamros la'asos l'hefech. Because once you're commanded, now kicks in this instinct, this urge, this instinct to do the opposite. When you weren't commanded, you don't have to overcome a יצר הרע yetzer hara to do it. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The very fact that you're driven, this is the רטבא'ס Ritva's understanding, the גמרא בבא קמא Gemara Bava Kama. The very fact that you are internally driven to volunteer to do it makes it so much easier for you. You don't deserve a reward, because the reward is satisfying the internal urge to do the right thing. But the person that says I don't want to do it, I have no interest in doing it, I don't feel like doing it, and I'm overcoming and fighting and confronting and battling in fact the enormous urge not to do it. You know why? Because he told me to do it. And because he told me to do it, now I don't want to do it. So they get a bigger reward. The one who is commanded has to overcome the natural instinct to not do what you're told to do. The one who is not commanded or told to do it, has no natural urge that they have to overcome. ואין בכלל זה עושה ומקיים מצווה גדול שכרו ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה V'ein b'klal zeh oseh u'mekayem mitzvah gadol scharo m'mi she'eino metzuveh v'oseh. So that's what's going on over here. Beautiful insight of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, טעם דקרא Ta'am d'Kra. Namely, why והשם יסלח לה v'Hashem yislach lah, why do you need כפרה kapparah? Because you took a vow not to go to the mall. You took a vow not to eat the potato chips. So it's true that you could get off on a technicality, they're going to go represent you in court, you don't need the greatest lawyers to prove that based on the timeline you were already annulled, but it doesn't matter. When you did it, you got the געשמאק geshmak of מרידה meridah, of rebelliousness. You got the געשמאק geshmak of going against the rules. You got the געשמאק geshmak, that pleasure, that joy of thinking that it doesn't apply to you. For that, והשם יסלח לה Hashem yislach lah, that itself needs כפרה kapparah.פרק ל\"א Perek Lamed Aleph. After we move on from the נדרים nedarim, וידבר השם אל משה לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, פרק ל\"א פסוק א' וב' Perek Lamed Aleph pasuk aleph v'beis, נקום נקמת בני ישראל nekom nikmas Bnei Yisrael. It's time to get even. Who was it who said I don't get angry, I get even? Hashem, they took that line from פרשת מטות Parshas Matos. Hashem says I don't get angry, I get even. נקום נקמת בני ישראל מאת המדינים nekom nikmas Bnei Yisrael mei'eis ha'Midyanim, אחר תאסף אל עמך achar tei'asef el amecha. Hashem tells Moshe, it's time for revenge, take the revenge of the Jewish people against Midian, and afterwards we'll be gathered unto the people. I got something for you to do before you go anywhere. Before you are retired and before you leave this world, before you exit stage left, we've got something to take care of, we've got some scores to settle, we've got to take care of some things. It's not Hashem's wedding day, but he is child's wedding day, but he nevertheless takes care of all the people that he wants to eliminate. And the top of that list is מידין Midyan. מידין Midyan. What did מידין Midyan do? We all know from last week's פרשה parsha, two weeks ago's פרשה parsha. מידין Midyan seductively sent their women, what בלעם Bilam failed to do with his mouth, the women were able to do with their provocation, with their seduction, their temptation. They got the men to worship בעל פעור Baal Peor, the men violated that ethical boundary of promiscuity. Midian attacked, Midian took us down, 24,000 people died. 24,000 people died because we couldn't keep it together. So God says, you ready? It's time for revenge. נקום נקמת Nekom nikmas. נקום נקמת Nekom nikmas. There's a lot to talk about here. We've talked about some of it in the past, we'll revisit some of it now. Why is it called נקמת בני ישראל nikmas Bnei Yisrael? Hashem says to Moshe, go avenge the vengeance of whom? The Jewish people. We're not going to get into it right now. I'll pose it to you as a question because it's interesting to think about. Generally, are we allowed to take revenge? We have a Torah prohibition, one of the 613, one of the תרי\"ג taryag is לא תקום ולא תטור lo sikom v'lo sitor, two prohibitions. לא תקום ולא תטור Lo sikom v'lo sitor, the Torah tells us both. One of them is, this is what the גמרא Gemara gives as the classic example. What happens? I went to go borrow your lawnmower and you said absolutely not, I don't trust you, this is a high-tech lawnmower, there's no way, so sorry you can't borrow it. Then you come over to borrow my mixer, my bread maker. I say, so לא תקום lo sikom is, I say, no, you didn't let me borrow your lawnmower, you can't borrow my bread maker. That's revenge. The Jew is told you can't take revenge. לא תטור Lo sitor is, you know, by all means, please help yourself to my bread maker, because I'm not like you. You didn't let me borrow the lawnmower, but I am so much better. I would never behave that way. I'd never stoop to that level. So by all means, enjoy the bread maker. That's לא תטור lo sitor, with that voice and that tone. That's לא תטור lo sitor. So the Torah has two prohibitions, לא תקום ולא תטור lo sikom v'lo sitor. So how could it be that Hashem enjoins us you're not allowed to take revenge, and here נקום נקמת בני ישראל nekom nikmas Bnei Yisrael. Here Hashem says to Moshe, you ready? It's time to get even. We don't get angry, we get even. I thought we don't get even. I thought we have a prohibition of getting even. You could ask that in אב הרחמים Av Harachamim. We say אב הרחמים Av Harachamim every שבת Shabbos and we invoke נקום נקמת nekom nikmas, we invoke this call. אב הרחמים Av Harachamim is the prayer for the martyrs, particularly of the Crusades, but really to all the martyrs of Jewish history. Every שבת Shabbos morning we interrupt our beautiful davening. People don't appreciate, we essentially recite a קל מלא Kel Malei. We recite a memorial prayer every שבת Shabbos morning and say, Hashem, as we are enjoying שבת Shabbos, do us a favor, get even with all those through our history who have murdered and pillaged and raped and oppressed and persecuted and exterminated and... get even with all of them. That's אב הרחמים Av Harachamim. Master of compassion, don't show compassion. Get even. Take care of our enemies. Payback time. What happened to לא תקום ולא תטור lo sikom v'lo sitor? I thought we don't take revenge. That's the question we're not going to talk about right now. But we will talk about is נקמת בני ישראל nikmas Bnei Yisrael. Why is it called the revenge of the Jewish people? שכן שהוא היה אדון המחתים אותם בשיטים She'ken shehu hayah adon hamachti'im osam b'Shittim. So Rav Leib Chasman, who was the אב בית דין av beis din of Stuchin and who was in חברון Chevron ישיבה Yeshiva, he says המחתה את חברו מבקש שיטען את הדין על מה שגרם לו לחתא, יקבל גם עונש על כך שהוא חלל הנענש שהרי הוא גרם לו כך Hamachti es chavero mevakesh sheyitein es hadin al mah she'garam lo lachto, yekabel gam onesh al kach she'hu chalal ha'ne'enash she'harei hu garam lo kach. Why is it the revenge of the Jewish people? It should be the revenge of God, the Midianites violated Hashem. And the answer is, the Jews had made a mistake. They gave into the temptation, but because Midian tempted them, they caused it, therefore they are responsible not only for what they did to Hashem, but they're responsible for what they got the Jewish people to do to Hashem. They bear both. But the opposite's also true. מידה טובה מרובה ממידת פורענות Midah tovah merubah m'midas puranus. מזכה את חברו לקיים רצון השם Mezakeh es chavero l'kayem ratzon Hashem, מלבד שכרו שנוטלים לנצח milvad scharo she'notlim la'netzach, ישוה שכר של כל הרוח בולם הבא, יוסף חייו למעלה, נמצא שעושה עמו גמילות חסד לעולם Yeshveh schar shel kol ha'ruach b'olam haba, yosef chaim l'ma'alah, nimtza she'oseh imo gemilus chesed la'olam. That when a person through their behavior not only does the right thing for themselves but inspires and motivates and is a model and encourages others, they get that other person's reward in addition to their own. It works both ways. That's why says Rav Leib Chasman, it's called נקמת בני ישראל nikmas Bnei Yisrael because Midian, not only do you have to pay for what you did, you have to pay for what you caused the Jewish people to do as well. The Alter of Kelm has another interpretation. הקדוש ברוך הוא אמר למשה נקום נקמת בני ישראל HaKadosh Baruch Hu amar l'Moshe nekom nikmas Bnei Yisrael, and Moshe says the opposite, he's bothered by another anomaly. Here it's called נקמת בני ישראל nikmas Bnei Yisrael to avenge the vengeance of בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael, but momentarily Moshe is going to call it נקום נקמת השם במדין nekom nikmas Hashem b'Midyan. In פסוק ג pasuk gimmel. If you just read a little bit further, Moshe calls it נקמת בני ישראל nikmas Bnei Yisrael. So which is it? Is it נקמת בני ישראל nikmas Bnei Yisrael or is it the revenge for Hashem? Which is it? Says the Alter of Kelm, says the Alter of Kelm, בורא את זה משה, שנקמת בני ישראל היא נקמת השם Boreh et zeh Moshe, she'nikmas Bnei Yisrael hi nikmas Hashem, היא טובה זו כביכול hi tovah zu k'viyachol. מבורר אם כן שמיטיב עם ישראל מיטיב עם הקדוש ברוך הוא Mevurar im kein she'meitiv im Yisrael meitiv im HaKadosh Baruch Hu. וכל אויבי ישראל זה בוז הקדוש ברוך הוא V'chol oivei Yisrael zeh buz HaKadosh Baruch Hu. What the Torah is communicating to us here very subtly is that the Jewish people and Hashem, we are synonymous and we are one. If you're cruel and mean to my children, you're cruel and mean to me. A person can't be unkind to my child and then come to me as if we're best friends. And when I say, whoa, one second. Hello. You just, the way you just reacted or spoke to or treated my child, we're not good. And they say, what do you mean? That's your child. What does that have to do with the relationship I have with you? And the obvious answer is, no, no, no, my child is me. My child is an extension of me. The way you treat my child is the way you're treating me. And the way you treat me is the way you treat my children. If you're cruel or mean or unkind to me, you're not going to go to a ballgame with my child. My child's going to say, how you treat my parent that way? We're not good. We're synonymous. We're intertwined. We're one. And so says the Alter of Kelm, that's what the Torah is communicating to us. It is simultaneously both נקמת בני ישראל nikmas Bnei Yisrael and נקמת השם nikmas Hashem. Because the way you treat us, we are agents and ambassadors, we are the children, we are the firstborn children, בני בכורי ישראל bni bechori Yisrael, of Hashem, of Hashem. וזה עניין ואהבת לרעך כמוך זה כלל גדול בתורה v'zeh inyan v'ahavta l're'echa kamocha zeh klal gadol baTorah. כי זה כולל גם בן אדם לחברו גם כל המידות במנהגו של הקדוש ברוך הוא עם עולמו ki zeh kollel gam bein adam l'chavero gam kol hamidos b'minhago shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu im olamo. כי אהבת ישראל היא אהבת הקדוש ברוך הוא Ki ahavas Yisrael hi ahavas HaKadosh Baruch Hu. When you treat the Jewish people well, you're treating God well. And when you mistreat the Jewish people, you are mistreating God. It is all one and we are all intertwined. And Rebbe Nachman has a very similar teaching, a very powerful teaching and a very appropriate teaching during these three weeks as we're grieving and mourning and longing for the rebuilding of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. And again, this beautiful ספר sefer, which is not on the פרשה parsha specifically, but the teachings on the פרשה parsha based on Rebbe Nachman. And he says the following, again he notes the contradiction. נקמת בני ישראל Nikmas Bnei Yisrael, לתת נקמת השם במדין laseis nikmas Hashem b'Midyan. Which is it? הים זוהי נקמת בני ישראל או נקמת השם Hayim zuhi nikmas Bnei Yisrael o nikmas Hashem? Whose this revenge on behalf of? Which is true? אפשר ללמוד מכך עד כמה חמור חטאם של אויבי ישראל שיוצאים למלחמה נגדם Efshar lilmod mikach ad kama chamur chat'am shel oivei Yisrael she'yotz'im l'milchamah negdam. So you have to know Hamas and Hezbollah, you have to know Nazis and inquisitors, you have to know anyone who's ever attacked us, our enemies, you thought you were taking out human Jews who you thought were lowly filth, you were actually taking on God himself. When you take on the Jewish people, you're taking on God. Is that arrogant and egotistical of us? We don't really care. If you take on us, you're taking on God. We bear that responsibility on the other end. You've got seven מצוות mitzvos, we've got 613. The entire world has and always will judge us on a higher standard. So you're judged at a higher standard if you take us on. If you take on the Jewish people, you're taking on God. you are taking on God. עוד מדברי רב נחמן, ליקוטי מוהר\"ן Od midivrei Rav Nachman, Likutei Moharan, and he says something very powerful here. You ready? Very powerful. שלמעשה הם יוצאים כנגד הקדוש ברוך הוא בעצמו. אבל גם אנחנו צריכים להיזהר שלא ליפול בחטא דומה לזה She'lemaaseh hem yotzim keneged Hakadosh Baruch Hu b'atzmo. Aval gam anachnu tzrichim lehizaher shelo lipol b'chet domeh lazeh. Says Rav Nachman, you know, it's easy for us to say, we're family, so we mistreat one another. It's you, the outsider, that's who we'll stand up against. That's what we won't tolerate. That's what we'll confront and reject and push away. We're entitled to mistreat one another. We're family. But you? You don't have that license. You don't have that right. Says Rav Nachman, that's all wrong. The same principle that we've just learned, that the Torah is subtly teaching us here, נקמת בני ישראל Nikmas Bnei Yisrael equals and equates to נקמת השם Nikmas Hashem. If you mistreat a Jew, you're mistreating God. That's not only true externally from our enemies outside, that's also true the way we treat one another. Rav Nachman writes in ליקוטי מוהר\"ן חלק א', סימן רצ\"ב Likutei Moharan cheilek alef, siman reish tzadi beis: צריך לדון את כל האדם לכף זכות, אפילו מי שהוא רשע גמור צריך לחפש ולמצוא בו איזה מעט טוב Tzarich ladun es kol ha'adam l'chaf zechus, afillu mi shehu rasha gamur tzarich lechapes v'limtzo bo eizeh me'at tov. On Shabbos over Tammuz, I spoke about this. I spoke about going from hypercriticism to hyper-compliments. I actually had this source but didn't get to it, story of my life. Rav Nachman writes in the ליקוטי מוהר\"ן Likutei Moharan that you need to judge others favorably. How? Why should I judge that רשע מרושע rasha merusha? Why should I judge that wicked, evil אוסוואַרף oysvorf, reject, obnoxious person positively? Haven't they forfeited and lost my benefit of the doubt in them? Why should I judge them favorably? Aren't I entitled and aren't I correct and accurate to judge them exactly the way I am? Aren't they a רשע מרושע rasha merusha? What's the answer? Says Rav Nachman, אפילו מי שהוא רשע גמור צריך לחפש ולמצוא בו איזה מעט טוב afillu mi shehu rasha gamur tzarich lechapes v'limtzo bo eizeh me'at tov. No, the burden's on you. If you would take the time, if you'd investigate and analyze, if you'd plumb the depths of the other person, you would find something redeemable in them. Even the people who on the surface, even the people who beyond the surface, seem irredeemable. And there are people like that. After the three weeks, I'll give you the list. I'm just joking. There are people like that. They're so irredeemable. There's nothing likable, attractive, admirable about them. Even those people, there's something inside. If we get to know them, if we learn about them, if we understand them, if we engage them, we'll find something in them. אין עוד מישראל שאין בו נקודה טובה כלשהי Ein od mi'Yisrael she'ein bo nekudah tovah kolshehi. כי כתב על כך רב נתן, רב נתן Ki kasav al kach Rav Noson, Rav Noson, the student of Rav Nachman, writes in ליקוטי הלכות, השכמת הבוקר Likutei Halachos, Hashkamas Haboker. הטוב הזה שמוצאים אצל כל יהודי זה נקודת הקישור שיש בו, כמו שכתוב טוב ה' לכל Ha'tov hazeh she'motzim etzel kol Yehudi, zeh nekudas hakishur she'yesh bo, k'mo she'kasuv Tov Hashem lakol. We say in our דאווענען davening in אשר יצר Asher Yatzar, טוב ה' לכל Tov Hashem lakol. כי כל הטוב שנמצא בכל מקום שהוא, הוא ניצוץ מטובו הגדול של ה' Ki kol hatov she'nimtza b'chol makom shehu, hu nitzotz mituvo hagadol shel Hashem. טוב ה' לכל Tov Hashem lakol. Hashem puts a טוב tov in everyone. In everyone, there's a spark of goodness. In everyone, there's something redeemable. In everyone, there's something you can connect with and attach to and find admirable. טוב ה' לכל Tov Hashem lakol. Hashem gives a טוב tov, he points and he plants something good in everyone. שיוצא מזה שכל יהודי יש חלק אלוה ממעל שנמצא בו She'yotzei mizeh she'kol Yehudi yesh cheilek Eloka mima'al she'nimtza bo. Every Jew is walking around with a piece of God literally inside them, שהוא נקודת הטוב שבו she'hu nekudas hatov she'bo. הרי שמי שיוצא נגד אדם מישראל Harei she'mi she'yotzei neged adam mi'Yisrael. So when you have a conflict with the fellow Jew, when you malign them, when you speak negatively, when you slander them, when you mistreat them, when you're having a מחלוקת machlokes, a conflict with them, when you marginalize them, when you stereotype them, when you fail to give them the benefit of the doubt or cut them slack, you know who you're taking on? Do you know who you're slandering? Do you know who you're marginalizing? The Almighty himself. Because that Jew is a unique expression of Hashem in this world. Now, again, it may be difficult to see it, but that's our burden and that's our responsibility, to find it. And when we marginalize or slander or when we are cruel or unkind to that ייד Yid, to that Jew, we are mistreating, we are maligning, we are neglecting Hashem himself. Hashem himself. מחלוקת ושנאה שמסורים מן היהודים Machlokes v'sinah she'misorim min haYehudim. לכן צריך להיזהר מאוד מריבות ומחלוקות ולא לקחת חלק בהם Lachen tzarich lehizaher me'od mi'rivos u'machlokos v'lo lakachas chelek bahem. Stay far away from conflict. Stay away from מחלוקת machlokes. That Shabbos table, that conversation over text message, that that WhatsApp group where they're speaking negatively about an institution, a leader, a person, a member of the family, get out, stay away, stay far away. Far away. You know why? Because Hashem takes revenge. Because when you marginalize or complain or hyper-criticize a Jew, that's how you're treating Hashem. נקמת בני ישראל is נקמת השם Nikmas Bnei Yisrael is Nikmas Hashem. And when Hashem will avenge them and write the wrong and stand up for the justice of the person who's been mistreated, you don't want to be anywhere near that. You know why? Hashem is not just doing it for that Jew, he's doing it for himself. נקמת בני ישראל is נקמת השם Nikmas Bnei Yisrael is Nikmas Hashem. They are intertwined and they go together. And that's why, and that's why says the אלתר פון קעלם Alter fun Kelm, that's why says רב נחמן Rav Nachman, that's why they're interchangeable. נקמת השם, נקמת בני ישראל. נקמת בני ישראל, נקמת השם Nikmas Hashem, Nikmas Bnei Yisrael. Nikmas Bnei Yisrael, Nikmas Hashem. We are an extension of him, and that is why they go to, that is why they go together. Okay, I'll tell you one more thing on this, נקמת השם Nikmas Hashem. Only because you pressured me to. The בעלי התוספות Ba'alei haTosfos say the following: נקום נקמת בני ישראל מאת המדיינים אחר תאסף אל עמך Nekom nikmas Bnei Yisrael me'es haMidyanim, achar tei'asef el amecha. משה Moshe, after you will be collected to your people. First we've got business to do. The בעלי התוספות Ba'alei haTosfos write on this, הקדוש ברוך הוא אמר למשה, נקום נקמה זו בעצמך, והוא משלח אחרים Hakadosh Baruch Hu amar l'Moshe, nekom nekama zu b'atzmecha, v'hu meshale'ach acheirim. Hashem tasked Moshe himself, go and avenge, go and take revenge for what happened. And Moshe says, I'll take responsibility, but I'm I'm sending somebody else. I'm delegating this one out. Why did he delegate this one out? Hashem asked you to do something, that's it's a great honor. It's a great privilege. Why would you delegate it out? אלא על ידי שנתגדל במדין, אמר איני בדין שאפגע בהם, שהם עשו לי טובה שנהניתי מהם Ela al yedei she'nisgadel b'Midyan, amar eini ba'din she'efga bahem, shehem asu li tovah she'neheneisi mehem. Said Moshe, I can't do it myself. Why not? Listen God, if it needs to be done, you said it needs to be done, I'll get it done. But I can't do it. Why not? I grew up in מדין Midyan. I was raised in Midyan. I went to those Midianite restaurants, I shopped in the Midianite stores, I saw the Midianite doctors. I grew up in Midyan. Those are my people. I can't. איני בדין שאבגוד Eini ba'din she'evgod. What is the word אבגוד evgod? ב-ג-ד beis-gimel-dalet is rebel. I can't rebel against them, given what they did for me. So I'll get it done Hashem because you said it needs to get done. כדאמרי אינשי, בירא דשתית מיניה, לא תשדי ביה אפרע K'de'amri inshi, beira d'shasis minei, lo tashdei bei afra. The well that you drank from, don't throw dirt in. Don't throw dirt in the well that you drink from. Don't throw dirt in the well that you drink from. I drank from the מדין Midyan well. That's where I grew, that's where I matured. So how can I be the one who takes revenge and who wipes them out? Says ר' שמחה זיסל ברוידא, the ראש ישיבה of חברון Rav Simcha Zissel Broide, the Rosh Yeshiva of Chevron, אבגוד Evgod? Rebelliousness? God says do it and you're worried about rebelling against the Midianites? The same provocateurs, the same Midianites who brought down 24,000 Jews, who caused the pandemic, epidemic, a plague of 24,000, and you're worried about rebelling against them, rather than the word of God? Hashem says go do it, and you say I'll get it done, but I can't do it. I can't rebel against them. What's going on over here? Says Rav Simcha Zissel Broide an incredibly beautiful and powerful insight. He says, you see הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov. You see the power and the responsibility of the notion of gratitude. To be grateful even to those who turn on you. Midianite now, kind and un cruelly and what they caused, but the role they once played, I can't rebel against the principle of gratitude. It's not מדין Midyan per se that משה Moshe refuses to rebel against, it is the principle of gratitude. Throughout our lives we have to always be conscious, conscious of the good that people have done. And even if that changed and even if they turned and even if we then later suffered, we have to remain loyal to the principle of gratitude. To remember what people have done. To be ungrateful, says משה רבנו Moshe Rabbeinu, is בגדה begidah, is rebelliousness, and he wants no part of it. So on the one hand, Hashem says it needs to be done, he'll get it done. If Hashem says it's got to get done, it's got to get done. But on the other hand, he says, I can't do it. Why can't I do it? I benefited from Midian. That would violate the principle of הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov. And we know we have so many examples. It's also why משה Moshe didn't do the first two plagues. Even though there was an inanimate object. Moshe says I can't strike the Nile. Why? It saved my life. I floated in the Nile. That's how I was saved. You say, משה Moshe, I don't know if you know, facts don't have feelings and the Nile doesn't have feelings. So what are you worried about hurting the Nile over here? So you miss the point, because gratitude is not about the recipient of the gratitude. Why is gratitude critical and important? Why is it crucial? For the one who gives the gratitude. We need to stay humble. Gratitude is an exercise in humility. Arrogant people can't express gratitude. That's the famous רב פוטנער Rav Hutner. מודה לי, מודה על Modeh li, modeh al, the same word in Hebrew, הודאה hoda'ah, מודה modeh means grateful and admission. Every statement of gratitude is an admission, I needed you. I benefited from you. Nobody can make that admission if they're arrogant. So gratitude is an exercise in humility. So we are grateful for us, not for the person. You say they don't deserve it. So well, I'm not I'm not saying thank you because they deserve it. I'm saying thank you because I need to experience that exercise in humility to say thank you. That was משה Moshe with the Nile, and it's משה Moshe now with מדין Midyan, and it's משה Moshe in his whole life. משה Moshe, who's the אב הנביאים av ha'nevi'im, משה Moshe who's categorically different than any other human being in all of history, that משה Moshe is the משה Moshe, the אב הנביאים av ha'nevi'im that we need to that we need to learn from to uh to forever be grateful and to never take anything for granted in our in our lives. ויקצוף משה. פרק ל\"א, פסוק י\"ד Vayiktzof Moshe. Perek lamed alef, pasuk yud daled. ויקצוף משה Vayiktzof Moshe. What happens? ויצאו משה ואלעזר וכל נשיאי העדה לקראתם מחוץ למחנה Vayeitzu Moshe v'Elazar v'chol nesi'ei ha'eidah likrasam michutz lamachaneh. Moshe, Elazar, and the leaders all go out to meet them outside the camp. And here Moshe gets frustrated and rebukes the officers of the Jewish people. What happened? Why is he rebuking? ויקצוף משה על פקודי החיל Vayiktzof Moshe al pekudei hachayil. Moshe was angry with the commanders. שרי האלפים ושרי המאות הבאים מצבא המלחמה Sarei ha'alafim v'sarei ha'me'os ha'ba'im mi'tzva ha'milchama. He's angry at them and he says, did you let the females live? They're the ones who brought us down. How can you show compassion? This was misappropriate compassion, you did it the wrong way. So Moshe Rabbeinu is rebuking them. ויקצוף Vayiktzof. A few things to say on this פסוק pasuk. Just cleaning up the YouTube. There we go. Someone inappropriately is bombing us still on YouTube. Hate crime. Okay, first is the אלתר Alter of סלבודקה Slabodka. Says the following, Alter of Slabodka. Sorry. Yeah. The גמרא in פסחים Gemara in Pesachim learns from here, כל הכועס חכמתו מסתלקת ממנו Kol ha'ko'eis chachmaso mistalekes mimenu. משה Moshe got angry. The word ויקצוף Vayiktzof, Moshe got angry. Is this the first time we've seen משה Moshe get angry? Where else did we see it? According to the רמב\"ן Ramban, we saw 24 different explanations, but according to the רמב\"ן Ramban, משה's Moshe's failure at מי מריבה Mei Meriva, when he hit the rock, was anger. He indulged that that response of anger. He got angry at the people. and here again ויקצוף משה vayiktzof Moshe. And the גמרא in פסחים Gemara in Pesachim in the דף daf tells us, we learn from here כל הכועס kol ha'ko'eis, if you get angry, you lose your wisdom. You lose your wisdom. So what do you see from here? הלא פשוט הוא דבר ברור, דכעסו היה על פי הלכה, ודין צריך היה להוכיחם מה שעיוותו בנקבות Halo pashut hu davar barur, d'ka'aso hayah al pi halacha, v'din tzarich hayah lehochicham mah she'ivsu ba'nekeivos. Moshe's anger here, is it misplaced or is it correct? Asks the Alter of סלבודקה Slabodka, this is an appropriate anger. They were sent out for a mission, for a task, and they came back and it was incomplete. They misapplied their compassion and they let part of Midian live, particularly those who in fact were the most responsible. Moshe is right and he's just to get frustrated and to get angry. So why is he criticized? הלא לא רק שנכון הוא, אלא יהיה מצווה Halo lo rak she'nachon hu, ela yihyeh mitzvah. Not only was Moshe right to get angry, he did something noble. It's almost a mitzvah he fulfilled. אלא שנכנס בתוך המעשה עצמו כעס כלשהו Ela she'nichnas b'toch ha'maaseh atzmo ka'as kolshehu, משהו שבמשהו של כעס שלא נצרך mashehu she'b'mashehu shel ka'as shelo nitzrach. What do you see from here? says the Alter of סלבודקה Slabodka. If God could be disappointed and if Moshe was caused to lose his חכמה chachmah as a result, it means even though it was a noble and justified anger, mixed in and laced into that anger was a personal anger. Was an anger that was unnecessary, was extra anger. And what is the result of personal anger? You lose your חכמה chachmah. You know why? Because when you get angry, this is what we spoke about on Shabbos afternoon several weeks ago. That פרשה parsha, פרשת חקת Parshas Chukas, Moshe's anger. When you get angry, you lose your judgment. When you get angry, you lose your humanity. A person who is angry, the blood flows from the unique part, human part of the brain, cortex, to the animal, fight or flight part of the brain. We lose our humanity. You literally become an animal. You become an animal. So Moshe Rabbeinu clearly laced into this reaction, not only a noble and just demonstration of anger, but there was actual emotion of anger. And look at how negative, look at how dangerous and damaging it is that חכמתו מסתלקת chachmaso mistalekes, that one can lose even their wisdom as a result. That is just how dangerous and how terrible it is. The ר' זלמן סורוצקין Rav Zalman Sorotzkin asks, why does it have Moshe's name twice in the pasuk? It says ויקצוף משה על פקודי החיל, ויאמר אליהם משה Vayiktzof Moshe al pekudei hachayil, vayomer aleihem Moshe. Why is Moshe's name here twice in the in the pasuk? So in his אזנים לתורה Oznaim LaTorah, Rav Zalman Sorotzkin says the following. He says Moshe's name is used twice to indicate that he paused between getting angry and speaking. Between his immediate reaction of anger and speaking. If he spoke to them from anger, it would have said what? What's the harsher word for speaking? We have several words for speaking, אמירה amirah, הגדה hagadah, דיבור dibur, סיפור sipur. We have many words, and they reflect where it's coming from. אמירה Amirah is a soft tone, a לשון רכה lashon rakah. אמירה Amirah, gentle, soft, sweet. דיבור Dibur is stern. דיבור Dibur is angry. דיבור Dibur is strong. But it says ויאמר Vayomer. It doesn't says וידבר Vayidaber. Why? Somehow, in between ויקצוף משה Vayiktzof Moshe and ויאמר משה Vayomer Moshe, he was able to gather himself. He was able to calm himself down. So says Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, how did he get from being angry to speaking gently? How did he go from this reaction of ויקצוף Vayiktzof, frustrated, angry, disappointed, to ויאמר Vayomer, communicated softly, effectively? How did he get from there to there? You know what the answer is? ויקצוף משה, ויאמר משה Vayiktzof Moshe, Vayomer Moshe. There was a pause in between. There was a break. We don't always have to react immediately based on how we feel. We're able to regulate our feeling, and we're able to gather ourselves, and we're able to focus, and we're able to regain control. He paused, and he spent some time in silence before he reacted. We rarely pause and experience silence. Not only in our conversations with others, but in our conversations with ourselves. We have a feeling and we indulge that feeling. We have a reaction and we indulge that reaction. Instead of pausing and saying, let me analyze, let me think about, let me consider, let me have a conversation with myself. ויקצוף משה, ויאמר משה Vayiktzof Moshe, Vayomer Moshe. Why is his name twice? Because there was a break. There was a silence. There was a pause. We read it in succession, as if it all happened simultaneously. But the reason his name is twice is because there was a pause. And that pause is the secret, it is the formula to how he went from ויקצוף Vayiktzof to ויאמר Vayomer. How do you go from anger? And how important is this in our relationships, in our marriage, and with our children, and at work? Just because our blood pressure is rising and our our pulse is speeding up, and our sweat glands are pumping out, and we're really angry. Okay. Don't shoot off that email. Don't write that text. Don't burst into that room. Don't let them have it. Go from ויקצוף Vayiktzof, take that pregnant pause, take that time, and make sure you can get to a place of ויאמר Vayomer. רבי אליעזר פאפו Rabbi Eliezer Papo in his פלא יועץ Pele Yoetz writes that silence is to anger as water is to fire. Silence is to anger as water is to fire. Water extinguishes fire. Water puts out fire. Look at what's happening in California. I saw last night, there was a fire because of a lawn mower or a washing machine, I forgot what. And 24 houses burnt down because of the heat. And now it's neighborhoods that are being ravaged by fire. Starts as a little spark in a lawnmower. A little spark in the lawnmower, 24 homes. One person's house burns down, the whole community is turned over by what happened. 24 houses is a neighborhood burned down. How does that happen? Because of that little spark. It's so dangerous, it spreads so fast, it consumes everything in its way and its path. And the same is true with anger. So how do you stop that fire? Water. Water puts out fire. And says the פלא יועץ Pele Yoetz, silence is to anger what water is to fire. Silence can extinguish, it could diminish the flames, it could control the rage, the fire. So not only does it not consume others, it doesn't consume it doesn't consume ourselves. So our חזל Chazal say, כי אתא רב דימי אמר: במערבא אמרי 'מלה בסלע שתיקה בתרין' Ki asa Rav Dimi amar, b'ma'arava amri, milah b'sela, shtikah b'trein. Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael, he came to Bavel, he said, in the West, in Eretz Yisrael, they say, they have an adage, if a word is worth a sela, silence is worth two. Silence is much more precious, more valuable than speech. But we, we go right to speaking, yelling, texting, emailing, in times and in moments when we should be silent. ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe writes that we teach a child to speak. They say their first word, so exciting, yay, candy, toy, ice cream, you said your first word. Hopefully it's זיידע zeideh. Yay! Yay! But you know what we never teach them? To stop talking. We never teach them, you were silent! Yay! That's the teenagers who make their presence known. They should just listen, but all of a sudden they interject. If they were sitting there quiet, they should say, \"Yay! You can go to the mall. Yay!\" We teach them to speak and we celebrate it, but do we teach them and are we celebrating also the power and the value of silence? Of silence. We think we have to fill every moment with speech, but silence is the real reflection of a relationship. But silence is also how we can control and regulate our emotions and our angers. The גמרא חולין Gemara Chullin says, אמר רבי אילעאי: אין העולם מתקיים אלא בשביל מי שבולם את עצמו בשעת מריבה, שנאמר 'תולה ארץ על בלימה' Amar Rabbi Ilai, ein ha'olam miskayem ela bishvil mi she'bolem es atzmo b'shaas merivah, she'ne'emar toleh eretz al blimah. The world stands in the merit of those who are silent in the moment of dispute. Someone posted about you, someone hung a poster about you, someone screamed at you, someone attacked you, someone embarrassed you, you just stand silent. You stand quietly. Quiet. Don't respond, don't match, don't elevate or increase. Silent. ויקצוף to ויאמר Vayiktzof to Vayomer. Don't lose yourself, don't forfeit your humanity. We learn more from being silent than from speaking. The power of silence here is far greater than the power of of speaking. And and what we get in return, מן הנעלבין ואינן עולבים, שומעים חרפתם ואינם משיבים Min ha'ne'elavin v'einan olvin, shom'im cherpasam v'einam meishivin. The ברכה bracha that comes to a person who could be attacked, who could be yelled at, who has every right to be angry and isn't? Psh. The ברכה bracha of such a person gets, wow. Wow. You know where we learn that silence from? השם Hashem. מי כמוך Mi chamocha. We just spoke about it in סידור siddur snippets before the עמידה Amidah, we just began the עמידה Amidah. Never too late to catch up on siddur snippets. מי כמוך באלים ה' Mi chamocha ba'eilim Hashem. The גמרא Gemara learns, מי כמוך באלמים ה' Mi chamocha ba'ilmim Hashem. Not how is great, how strong are you God? You could wipe out טיטוס הרשע Titus ha'rasha. You could wipe out the Romans. You could wipe out our enemies. You're not so strong and great because of what you do that's vocal. You know why you're so great God? Because you're silent. When you're quiet and you don't react, that is a greater show of strength than reacting. Who's stronger? The one in the fight who screams and yells and makes a whole scene or the one who has the inner strength to stay quiet. To stay quiet. That is a greater sign of strength. That is a greater sign of strength. פרק ל\"ג, פסוק ח' Perek lamed gimel, pasuk ches. We have to still get to מעשי Masei. We're running out of time. So what should we do here? פרק ל\"ג, פסוק ח' Perek lamed gimel, pasuk ches. ויאמר אלעזר הכהן אל אנשי הצבא הבאים למלחמה, 'זאת חוקת התורה אשר ציוה ה' את משה' Vayomer Elazar hakohen el anshei hatzava ha'ba'im lamilchamah, 'zos chukas haTorah asher tzivah Hashem es Moshe'. Ooh, the great קאצקער Kotzker. Cuz what's the פרשה parsha class without a great קאצקער Kotzker? The הייליגע קאצקער רבי heilige Kotzker Rebbe in his אמת ואמונה Emes V'Emunah says the following: Three קאצקערס Kotzkers, all the same theme, we're going through them quickly. Elazar Hakohen speaks to those who came back from war and he gives them a message, the division of the spoils and now we're going to get to the laws of kashering utensils. Because when they came back from war, so everybody knows when you come back from a trip, you got to bring your wife a gift. So what did they bring their wives as gifts? They they uh took all the spoils from the kitchen of Midian. They conquered מדין Midyan, they went to the kitchen, they said the bread maker and the spatula and the frying pan, the George Foreman grill and the... But what do you do? You got to כשר kasher it. The מדין Midyanites did not keep כשר kosher. So here's where the תורה Torah tells us the laws of כשרים kashering. Here's how you כשר kasher different utensils. So אלעזר הכהן Elazar Hakohen is speaking to these men and they're coming back הבאים ha'ba'im, what should it say? They're coming what? From war. They're on their way back from battling מדין Midyan. What does it say? הבאים למלחמה Ha'ba'im lamilchama, to war. It's wrong. It should be they're coming from war. לכאורה היה צריך לכתוב לומר הבאים מהמלחמה Lechora hayah tzarich lichtov lomar ha'ba'im me'ha'milchama. בנראה כי באו עתה למלחמה חדשה B'nir'eh ki ba'u atah l'milchama chadasha. Says the קאצקער Kotzker, you know why it says they're coming to war? Because they're coming to a harder, more difficult war. And what is it? שאחר שנאמר להם פרשת גיעולי מדין She'achar she'ne'emar lahem parshas gi'ulei Midyan, Hashem is going to say the utensils that need to be kashered. And you know what the Jewish people are going to answer? Why do they need to be kashered? They're cleaned. Look at them. Sparkling, spick and span, clean, shine to them. They're perfectly clean. Why do I still have to put them in boiling water, or why do I still pass them through a fire or blow torch them? Look at it, it's perfectly clean. And what's the answer? Why does it need to be kashered? Because we have a principle. What's the principle? טעם כעיקר Ta'am k'ikar. טעם כעיקר Ta'am k'ikar means that the absorbed taste is as potent and powerful as that which it absorbed the taste from. So when you cooked, when the Midianites, when they boiled up a a pork roast in the pot, even when you clean that pot and it looks sparkling clean, in the walls of the pot are embedded the taste of the pork roast. And you need to purge it of the taste, כבולעו כך פולטו k'bol'o kach polto. How do we purge a taste that was absorbed? Through the same way it was absorbed. If it was absorbed with water, it's purged with water. If it was absorbed with heat, it's purged with heat. If it was absorbed with steam, it's purged with steam. I'm giving you hives right now because it sounds like the Pesach workshop, kashering in the kitchen. But you get out the taste the same way it came in. Liquid, heat, steam and so on. Says the קאצקער Kotzker, ooh, געשמאַק קאצקער geshmak Kotzker. Says the קאצקער Kotzker, why are they described as coming to war, not coming back from war? Because the war they're about to wage is much harder than the war that they just won. The war they won was a physical war. The war they won was against the Midianite people. But now they've got to wage an even harder war. Who is this war with? Themselves. And what's the war they're waging with themselves? Just like the pot has absorbed the non-kosher taste, you've absorbed the non-kosher ideas and ideals of מדין Midyan. What have we absorbed? What's in our heart and in our mind? What non-kosher tastes have we absorbed and how do we get them out? ומזה מוכרח להוכיחם מעתה. על כן באו עתה למלחמה חדשה וזה הבאים למלחמה U'mizeh muchrach lehochicham mei'atah. Al kein ba'u atah l'milchama chadasha v'zeh ha'ba'im lamilchama. They're coming back to war, not from war. Why? Because just like the laws of how to כשר kasher a utensil, they're about to enter and wage the war, how to כשר kasher their brain and their heart. How do we כשר kasher ourselves? The רוח חיים, ר' חיים מוולוז'ין Ruach Chaim, Rav Chaim Mi'Volozhin writes this in פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos. פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos, it says, 48 ways the תורה Torah is acquired, תורה מכשרתו Torah machsharto. תורה כשרס Torah kashers a person. And the רוח חיים ר' חיים מוולוז'ין Ruach Chaim, Rav Chaim Mi'Volozhin wonders, what does it mean תורה כשרס Torah kashers a person? And the answer is, the same way that we use boiling water or heat in order to remove the taste that was absorbed, we need the study of תורה Torah is what purges the non-kosher tastes, the non-kosher ideas and images that we have absorbed. When we live our lives and we engage the world, we absorb non-kosher tastes and images and ideas. How do we get them out? It's through the study of תורה Torah. Then the נתיבות שלום Netivos Shalom, the Rebbe, by the way, writes, he says, השביבה שרק תעבירנה באש, כמו כן יש מלחמה מנגד כאש, אז אש אוכלה אש, אש הקדושה אוכלת אש היצר הרע Ha'shvivah she'rak ta'avirena ba'esh, k'mo kein yesh milchama mineged ka'esh, az esh ochlah esh, eish ha'kedusha ocheles eish ha'yeitzer hara. The same way that if fire is the way you absorb taste, you need fire to get it out. If you pursued the non-kosher taste that you've absorbed with fire, you need to become on fire to get it out. If you had a passion in your pursuit of the non-kosher experience of life, if you were on fire in the pursuit of that non-kosher idea, then you need to match it to purge it, to equally be on fire to get rid of it. It goes together. He continues the קאצקער Kotzker, כל דבר אשר יבוא באש תעבירו באש... מדוע לא נאמר מצוות הגעלה אחר מלחמת סיחון ועוג kol davar asher yavo va'eish ta'aviru va'eish... Madua lo ne'emar mitzvas hag'alah achar milchemes Sichon v'Og? Why weren't we given these laws after we won the battle of Sichon v'Og? And undoubtedly there too, we had to come back from the war with a gift for our wives, so we brought the bread maker and the George Foreman. שבמלחמת סיחון ועוג לא הוזכר כלל המחשבה של בני ישראל She'b'milchemes Sichon v'Og lo huzkar klal hamachshava shel Bnei Yisrael. The answer is, because when we fought Sichon and Og, we weren't exposed to and we didn't absorb those non-kosher ideas. So we were able to not need the laws then. But here when the תורה Torah is telling us the laws of הגעלת כלים hag'alas keilim, it's not just telling us about the כלים keilim, the utensils, it's really telling us about ourselves. How to remove it for ourselves. והביא קרבן ה' לכפר על נפשותינו, לכפר על הרהור הלב של בנות מדין V'heivi korban Hashem l'chaper al nafshoseinu, l'chaper al hirhur ha'leiv shel bnos Midyan. Because even after the plague, and even after we were done, we continue to fantasize and think about and pursue and hold on to and hold on to the the Midian. Reminded of a story that's told. It's told about a monk, you can tell it about a rabbi. There was a woman who was stuck, a woman who was drowning, and therefore they went in to save her and lifted her on their shoulders to carry her across the river. And two hours later, the young boy who was walking with the monk, the rabbi, whatever version of the story you prefer, says, I don't understand how you, she was beautiful and she was magnificent and she was attractive, and how is it you were allowed to lift her and to carry her, and and didn't that create a connection to her? And the monk or the rabbi turned to the young man and he said, I put her down two hours ago. You're still carrying her around. I lifted her across the river, but I put her down two hours ago. You're still carrying her with you. So they were still carrying the בנות מדין bnos Midyan with them. True, it was over and the plague was over and the war was over, but there's still הרהור עבירה hirhur aveirah. They're still walking around holding on to nostalgically that experience and the fantasy of it. And therefore they needed to purge themselves, they need to כשר kasher themselves of it. How do they כשר kasher themselves with it? תורה כשרס Torah kashers the same way this. And that's why we have the laws of כשרים kashering here. Oh, I had so much more, but let's go to Masei for two minutes, because we read Masei, we can't disrespect Masei. פרק ל\"ג, פסוק ח', פרשת מסעי Perek lamed gimel, pasuk ches, Parshas Masei. ויסעו מפיהחירות ויעברו בתוך הים המדברה וילכו דרך שלושת ימים במדבר אתם ויחנו במרה Vayis'u mi'Pi Hachiros vayavru b'soch hayam hamidbarah vayeilchu derech shloshes yamim b'midbar Eisam vayachanu b'Marah. Let's actually start from the beginning. אלה מסעי בני ישראל Eileh masei Bnei Yisrael. These are the מסעי בני ישראל masei Bnei Yisrael. Torah's telling us about the מסעי בני ישראל masei Bnei Yisrael. This is really the most important thing you have to know about מסעי Masei. We didn't get into בני גד Bnei Gad and בני ראובן Bnei Reuven who didn't go into Israel, who they learned that from. So much we didn't get into. Okay, so אלה מסעי Eileh Masei, how does it begin? So the רמב\"ן Ramban in the name of the רמב\"ם Rambam, the רמב\"ן Ramban here in this פסוק pasuk writes, כתב הרב במורה נבוכים, תועלת הזכר המסעים גדול מאוד Kasav ha'rav b'Moreh Nevuchim, to'eles hazכר ha'masa'im gadol me'od. אלה מסעי Eileh Masei is a very not fun פרשה parsha. These are the trips, these are the travels of the Jewish people, back and forth and back and forth and they left here and they came there and they came there and they left here and back and forth and we have a whole tune and a ניגון niggun just to get us through it. What do we care? So long. You know? It's like, you know, I don't know, somebody came to see you, children or children, grandchildren came up to visit you and they're like, I got in the car and I drove and then we stopped at the gas station, then we stayed overnight. And you're here. Hi, let's... Let's just enjoy each other's company. I don't need to know about every bathroom stop that you took. Okay, you took your 22 hours and can you believe it in the flight and that... I got it. Okay, I got it. It was miserable, it was difficult, traveling today is horrible. My children's flight that was supposed to get in last night at 7:00 p.m., I think we got home at 2:00 a.m. after they landed last night. Traveling today is miserable. I got it. I don't need to know about every little, okay, and then that and they didn't have blue chips and then the thing and okay, I got it. Why do we need to have it here in the Torah? Why are we elaborating so much? כי אני סומך על כל הסודות הנאמרים כי הם אמיתיות לכל אדם. אך באוסיפי דברים בשמו ויחז וישמע מאזות התורה ונפלאותיה עצומות. *Ki ani somech al kol hasodot hane'emarim ki hem amitiyot l'chol adam. Ach b'osifi d'varim b'shmo v'yichaz v'yishma me'ozot haTorah v'niflaoseha atzumos.* The Ramban quotes the Rambam that you know why we go into gory detail here? Because in the future, nobody would believe it. 40 years, 42 stops. What did you live off of? What did you subsist on? How did you survive the desert? There was a well, there were clouds, there was food that fell from heaven. There was clothing that you didn't get out of. Nobody's going to believe it. So you know what we need to do? We need to record it. We need to record the family narrative. We need to tell the story.Tomorrow night we have on Behind the Bima, Dan Grunfeld. Dan Grunfeld just wrote a book, By the Grace of the Game, about his father, Ernie Grunfeld. Ernie Grunfeld. Ernie Grunfeld, Ernie Grunfeld was born in Satmar, Romania. Didn't speak English 'til he came here, he was eight years old, and ended up being an All-Star of the New York Knicks, a coach of the Knicks, an executive of the Knicks, a radio broadcaster. You've heard of Ernie Grunfeld, no? Am I giving the shiur to a bunch of boors? You've heard of Ernie Grunfeld? So it's amazing because you don't know that he wore the number 18, for חי *chai*. Or that when Ernie Grunfeld was a little boy growing up in Satmar, he got a ברכה *bracha* from יואל טייטלבוים *Yoel Teitelbaum*, the Satmar רבי *Rebbe*. And that Ernie Grunfeld's mother, after surviving because of Raoul Wallenberg, had a relationship still with the Satmar רבי *Rebbe* in New York. Wild. Ernie Grunfeld. So Dan Grunfeld's tomorrow night on Behind the Bima. He took the story three parts. His grandmother survived, his father, what he became, and who he was, Dan Grunfeld, he has his own fascinating story, and that's the book. So we'll talk to him about why it's important to know and to record your family narrative. Why do you have to know all 42 steps of your journey? Okay, you're here now. Who cares how you got here? Who cares what your parents went through, your grandparents went through? Who cares about your own life? The bottom line is today. Where are you today and how are you living today? Why does what comes before matters? Why is it important? And the Rambam says it matters, because no one would believe it and you need to know and you need to be able to trace and see the hand of השם *Hashem* in how you got here today. You need to be able to see and trace the hand of השם *Hashem* guiding how you got here today.And this is the greatest miracle of them all. This is the greatest miracle of all the miracles that happened in the מדבר *midbar*. Of all the miracles that happened in the desert are these stops, is this journey, is the fact that we got here. You see this idea also when it comes to ביכורים *bikurim*. The farmer who would bring ביכורים *bikurim* comes in בית המקדש *Beis HaMikdash*, stands to the כהן *kohen* and says, here's my first fruit, by the way, I used to be in מצרים *Mitzrayim*, then God did miracles and he took us out of מצרים *Mitzrayim*, and then we went through the desert, and then this, and then that, דלינה *d'leina*. Yeah, just just give me the first fruit. That's the מצוה *mitzvah*. Tie a ribbon, first fruit, deliver it. Yeah, I got it. I don't need the whole background. What's the answer? When that farmer says, \"I'm grateful,\" the farmer's not just saying, \"I'm grateful for the first fruit.\" You know what the farmer's saying for? You know, this is this is our experience today. Every שמחה *simcha* in our family, and I'm sure it's the same in yours, somebody stands up, depends on the generation and the age and who is the matriarch or patriarch at that point in that שמחה *simcha*, and and says something about the family story, right? It's a birth, it's a ברית *bris*, it's a בר מצוה *bar mitzvah*, it's a בת מצוה *bas mitzvah*, it's a wedding, it's a שבע ברכות *sheva brachos*, it's an אויפרוף *aufruf*. They talk about the name, and they talk about your grandparents, they talk about your great-grandparents. What they're saying is, we're not just celebrating this moment in time. We're not freezing the frame on today. Let's talk about how we got here. השם *Hashem*, we're overwhelmed with gratitude. Do you know what your great-grandparents navigated? Do you know what they sacrificed? Do you know who they lost? Do you know what it means that you have this אויפרוף *aufruf*? Do you know what it means that you're naming the baby girl? Like the farmer with ביכורים *bikurim* and like פרשת מסעי *Parshas Massei*. That's the מסעי *massei* of our life. And every Jew, like the Jewish people then, and if we had more time, I would tell you this fantastic, thick, I hope they have one on דברים *Dvarim*. I haven't even looked yet, because I love it. It's so much fun. So fantastic. All this notion of this tradition that we have that every Jew goes through the same number of stops, from the בעל שם טוב *Baal Shem Tov* and the חתם סופר *Chasam Sofer* and others, that we have to look at our lives and try to trace the same journey and the same stops and see the same guiding hand of השם *Hashem*. We don't live in the present. Of course, we live in the present. It's the only dimension that we can impact. But we live in the present with an enormous awareness of the past, and tracing the past, because how do you know where your next stop is, if you don't know where your previous stop was, if where you're coming from. So, there's so much more to say, but we're out of time. So until next time, stay happy, stay healthy.
