Transcript
Okay good morning בוקר טוב boker tov, welcome back to our פרשה parsha perspectives for today. So good to be together again and to resume our learning of the פרשה parsha with a focus on perspectives for today, what we can glean, how we can grow, how the פרשה parsha can inform and inspire our lives. I want to thank our generous sponsors for our פרשה parsha series, as always, Becky and Avi Katz and family in loving memory of David Grossman, Becky's father, לעלוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנשה l'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Menashe. I also want to remind everyone that our one-in-one campaign continues, one minute a day of תורה Torah learning, one dollar a day of giving. An incredible program, daily giving, that we cooperate or partner with enables you to give a dollar a day and make a difference all over the world. And the minute a day of learning, we have a tremendous amount of people learning one minute a day, all for אסתר טילא בת אריה צפורה Esther Tila bas Aryeh Tzipora and all כל חולי ישראל kol cholei Yisrael should have a רפואה שלמה refuah shleimah. This week we have the privilege of learning פרשת שופטים Parshas Shoftim. You can sign up brsonline.org/oneinone. That's where you can sign up for the campaign. פרשת שופטים Parshas Shoftim is in the Artscroll חומש Chumash page 1024, 1024. שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך Shoftim v'shotrim titen lecha b'chol she'arecha. משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu is continuing his soliloquy, Moshe continues his monologue to the Jewish people, he continues to inspire them as they're about to cross the threshold into the land of Israel and realize their dream, their whole growth as a nation, their purpose in creation. And he continues to try to warn them and position them and inspire them that they should be mindful of the threats that loom, of the dangers that they could fall prey to, of how they can make sure to be focused on who they need to be. And tells them שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך Shoftim v'shotrim titen lecha b'chol she'arecha. We're not going to repeat, we've spent a lot of time on this opening פסוק pasuk in previous years. The השל\"ה הקדוש HaShlah HaKadosh, לך lecha, the word לך lecha, what does it mean? Judges and officers place לך lecha for you. The notion that שעריך she'arecha, the human being, we all have many openings and entrances into our body, and through that into our mind and into our soul, our eyes, our nostrils, our mouth, our ears, שעריך she'arecha, we have many gates, we have many entrance ways. And we need both שופטים ושוטרים shoftim v'shotrim. We need judges, we need to show good judgment, clear judgment, unclouded judgment, prudent judgment, and as or maybe more importantly, שוטרים shotrim, we need police officers. Meaning, you could have all the judgment in the world, you could have all the clarity in the world, you could have all of the correct perspective in the world, but if you lack the discipline, if you don't have the שוטרים shotrim, if you're not disciplined in being able to show the self-control to be able to enact or to be able to express or manifest that good judgment, then what's it worth? Then what's it worth? The חז\"ל Chazal teach us אין שוטרים אין שופטים ein shotrim ein shoftim. Without police, without law enforcement, you can't have judges, you don't have good judgment. We spoke about last year what that means, and we'll leave it, we'll leave it there. But I want to share with you a fascinating מדרש midrash. The מדרש midrash says הדא הוא דכתיב שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך hada hu d'chsiv shoftim v'shotrim titen lecha that we should have judges and police officers at all of our gateways. And the מדרש midrash says about this, לך אל נמלה עצל ראה דרכיה וחכם Lech el nemala atzel re'eh dracheha v'chacham, go look at a lazy ant, ראה דרכיה וחכם re'eh dracheha v'chacham, see its way, its path, how lazy it is, how lazy it is, and become wise. Be inspired. אשר אין לה קצין שוטר ומושל תכין בקיץ לחמה אגרה בקציר מאכלה Asher ein la katzin shoter v'moshel, tachin bakayitz lachma, agra vakatzeer ma'achala. So the מדרש midrash says, this is what it means. The ant is lazy and lethargic and procrastinates and you, we, should look at that and recoil and be inspired. To what? To be different. How should we be different? What does the מדרש midrash tell us? Look at לך אל נמלה עצל lech el nemala atzel, according to the פסוק pasuk in משלי Mishlei, ראה דרכיה re'eh dracheha, see its ways and what would you say? וחכם V'chacham means be smart, be wise, but that's, what would you say? Look at someone something lazy and how should you react? Don't be lazy, be, what's the opposite? Industrious, act with alacrity, zeal, enthusiasm, be energized, go pursue. What is וחכם v'chacham, be wise? The opposite of laziness is not wisdom. The opposite of laziness is action, activity, zeal, enthusiasm. So what does the מדרש midrash, what does the מדרש midrash mean? רבי אליהו לופיאן Rav Eliyahu Lopian in the לב אליהו Lev Eliyahu explains and answers the following. He says מקור העצלות makor ha'atzlus, what is the source of laziness? טיפשות Tipshus. Is ignorance and foolishness. טמטום הלב וחוסר הרגשה Timtum halev v'choser ha'ragasha. Laziness is not, I mean it could be, a person could go for a lab report and figure out why are they slow, why are they lethargic, why do they lack energy. Sometimes there can be a chemical issue, sometimes a person needs some intervention medically. But generally speaking, says the לב אליהו Lev Eliyahu, רבי אליהו לופיאן Rav Eliyahu Lopian, that laziness stems from foolishness, from ignorance, from stupidity. חכמה תליא בידיעת השכל אלא בהרגשת הלב Chachma tliya b'yidias hasechel, ela b'hargashas halev, as הרמב\"ם HaRambam emphasized, אין מחשבת עריות מתגברת אלא בלב פנוי מן החכמה ein machsheves arayos misgaberes ela b'lev panui min ha'chachma. You know where עריות arayos, why does a person mistakenly pursue promiscuity? Why does a person look at the wrong thing? Why is a person drawn to the wrong thing? Why does a person behave in the wrong way or with the wrong action? Because of their heart. Meaning that where does laziness come from? Laziness comes because we're not smart enough to say that's a dumb way to live. What a waste of life, what a waste of time, what a waste of potential, what a waste of possibility. A person who's smart, who's wise is the person who pursues with alacrity goals and aims and makes resolutions. נימצא שהעצל בשכלו יודע מה יהיה לו בסופו Nimtza she'ha'atzel b'sichlo yodea ma yihye lo b'sofo. So the lazy, lethargic, good for nothing, they know intellectually what will be in the end, אלא שטמטום הלב גורם לו לעצום את עיניו ela she'timtum halev goreim lo la'atzom es einav. But what happens? טמטום הלב timtum halev, their heart is closed. Their heart closes their eyes, ולישון שינה מתוקה v'lishon sheina mesuka, they sleep the good sleep, they just want to take a nap, they just want to דרימל drimel, they just want to שלאף shluff, ולא לחשוב על העתיד v'lo lachshov al ha'asid, they don't want to think about the future. למראש שהוא ודאי יודע אותו היטב Lamarosh she'hu vadai yodea oso hetev. So therefore, says the מדרש midrash, the opposite of laziness is wisdom. Be smart. The answer, the way to get somebody lazy to act is to say be smart. Look at the potential, look at the possibility, what you could accomplish. Look at the difference you could make. Look at the opportunity that you have. It's not that the opposite of laziness is zeal. What gets you to the mindset of zeal? What puts you in the position of זריזות zrizus? חכמה Chachma. חכמה Chachma. If you're wise, wise up. Be mature, be smart. Be smart. That's what will get a person, that's what will get a person going. So the פרשה parsha opens with this notion that all of us are שופטים ושוטרים shoftim v'shotrim. לך Lecha. We all use judgment. We've spoken about this a lot recently, that every time the Torah is giving this warning, this caution, these rules and regulations to judges, it's not only talking about technical judges who serve in courts formally, but it means every one of us. We all use judgment regularly. We all use our judgment. Use our judgment to judge favorably. Use our judgment to judge clearly. Use our judgment to judge fairly. Don't have clouded judgment. Don't have distorted judgment. Don't rush to judge unfavorably, and so on and so forth. Okay, moving along. פרק טז פסוק כב Perek tes zayin pasuk chaf beis. The Torah tells us, ולא תטע לך אשרה כל עץ אצל מזבח השם אלוקיך אשר תעשה לך lo tita lecha asheira kol eitz eitzel mizbach Hashem Elokecha asher ta'aseh lach. Don't plant an idolatrous tree. אצל מזבח השם אלוקיך אשר תעשה לך eitzel mizbach Hashem Elokecha asher ta'aseh lach. Don't plant next to the altar. ולא תקים לך מצבה אשר שנא השם אלוקיך V'lo sakim lecha matzeiva asher sanei Hashem Elokecha. Don't erect for yourself a מצבה matzeiva that God despises and that God hates. What is this warning? Don't erect for yourself a מצבה matzeiva. What does that mean? רש\"י Rashi tells us, ולא תקים לך מצבה v'lo sakim lecha matzeiva, רש\"י Rashi says, מצבת אבן אחת להקריב עליה אפילו לשמים matzeves even achas l'hakriv aleha afilu l'shamayim. One solid piece of stone to offer on it even to heaven. אשר שנא Asher sanei, God hates that. מזבח אבנים מזבח אדמה ציווה לעשות mizbach avanim mizbach adama tziva la'asos. וזו שנאה כי חוק היתה לכנענים v'zu sinah ki chok haysa l'Knanim. ואף על פי שהיתה אהובה בימי האבות v'af al pi she'haysa ahuva b'mei ha'avos, עכשיו שנאה achshav sinah, מיאחר שעשאוה אלו חוק לעבודת זרה meyachar she'asuha eilu chok l'avodah zara. In the days of the אבות avos, Hashem loved it, and now Hashem's come to hate it. Why? What's the difference, what happened? Because idolaters embraced it. And since idolaters embraced it, that's why Hashem now hates it. So we have to understand, so what that the אומות העולם umos ha'olam, so what that the nations of the world that non-Jews are doing this? הרי גם מזבחות הם עשו מקרבים עליהם קרבנות Harei gam mizbachos hem osu makrivim aleihem korbanos. They also have altars altogether. They offer sacrifices altogether. In fact, the רמב\"ם Rambam in מורה נבוכים Moreh Nevuchim says that the whole origin for sacrifices in the Jewish people is a response. Non-Jews offer sacrifices, Jews are going to crave to go through the same or similar ritual. So God says I'll appease you. You need something tangible, you need something physical. You need to slaughter, you need to smell, you need to burn. So I'll give you a בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash with an altar. So altogether we're doing a similar thing to the non-Jews by having a מזבח mizbeach. So how it's constructed, one piece, separate pieces, that's what Hashem cares about? That's what he, that's what matters. Listen to this insight by רבי משה פיינשטיין Rav Moshe Feinstein. ר' משה Rav Moshe has an incredible insight in דרש משה Drash Moshe. He says the following בדרך דרוש b'derech drush: המזבח בנוי מאבנים רבות לעומת המצבה שהיא בנויה מאבן אחת Ha'mizbeach banui mei'avanim rabos l'umas ha'matzeiva she'hi b'nuya mei'even achas. What is the difference between a מצבה matzeiva and the מזבח mizbeach? The מזבח mizbeach was constructed by separate stones. You put them together, you piled them up, and you created an altar. What's a מצבה matzeiva? Today we have a הקמת מצבה hakamas matzeiva. Person loses a loved one, רחמנא ליצלן rachmana litzlan, and our custom in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael right away, here, within the first year, we erect a monument. We have הקמת מצבה hakamas matzeiva. Place a monument, a מצבה matzeiva. Every, every unveiling that I officiate, I always begin by saying it's not an unveiling. We don't believe in unveilings. That's a non-Jewish concept. You get to the cemetery and they have a piece of cloth taped over it. Family gather arounds, voila! Thousands of dollars later, and family disputes what to say on it later, and finally an agreement later, and supply chain issues, so it's longer than anyone ever thought later. Voila, here it is. That's not what we believe. We don't believe in an unveiling. Jews don't have an unveiling. What do we have? A הקמת מצבה hakamas matzeiva. הקמת מצבה Hakamas matzeiva means the erecting, the installation of the monument. We are, we are marking, recognizing the fact that there's a monument. What's the difference between the monument and a מזבח mizbeach? What's the difference between a monument and a מזבח mizbeach? So רבי משה Rav Moshe says the following. He says, לפני מתן תורה הקדוש ברוך הוא מרוצה כשאדם עשה מעשים טובים והפסיק lifnei Matan Torah HaKadosh Baruch Hu merutzeh k'she'adam asa ma'asim tovim v'hifsik. Before מתן תורה Matan Torah, before we had the Torah, Hashem was satisfied if you did a few nice things and you stopped. You were fixed in your way. You said, you know what, I resolved to be a decent person, a good person, a moral person, a kind person, and I'm done. I'm pretty moral, I'm pretty good, and this is who I am, and this is what you get, and now I'm fixed like a מצבה matzeiva, like a מצבה matzeiva. אינו מחויב בהם Eino mechuyav bahem. אמנם אחר מתן תורה צריך אדם תמיד להתעלות בתורה ובמצוות באיכות ובכמות Omnam achar Matan Torah tzarich adam tamid l'is'alos b'Torah u'b'mitzvos b'eichus u'v'kamus. Says רבי משה Rav Moshe, the Torah gave us the tools. תורה Torah gave us, Torah gives us the prescription, Torah gives us the formula how to live the most meaningful, the best life. Grow, add on, make progress, improve, advance, always. Don't be stuck and don't be, don't be stable, don't be complacent, but always advance and always grow and always add on more. So the image of a מצבה matzeiva, says משה Moshe, is a monument, one piece of stone, still and stagnant, and one piece of stone. The image of a מזבח mizbeach in contrast is what? Stones piled on one another. You can continue to add more and more. He doesn't say this, but a מצבה matzeiva is when you're dead. Person is gone, person's life is over. It's done, it's finished. Hopefully they leave a beautiful and rich legacy. Hopefully the מצבה matzeiva tells the story of the difference that they made, but they're done. They're no longer among the living. So no more difference they can make. So it's a מצבה matzeiva. But a person shouldn't have a מצבה matzeiva while they're alive. If you have a מצבה matzeiva while you're alive, what, you're so done? You say, while I'm napping, put a מצבה matzeiva next to my bed. In my seat in shul, put a מצבה matzeiva next to my chair. Put a מצבה matzeiva? A מצבה matzeiva says you're fixed, you're done, you're finished. That's it. It's all you have to offer. It's all you're going to contribute. It's all you're going to live. מצבה Matzeiva is for after we're gone. מצבה Matzeiva is for after we die. While we're alive, we have a מזבח mizbeach. We add stones, we grow. לא תקים לך מצבה Lo sakim lecha matzeiva. Don't establish for yourself, don't worship God with the mentality, don't worship God with a מצבה matzeiva mentality. I went to ישיבה yeshiva. You spoke to somebody recently who tells me, I invited him to learn to get involved. What could the shul do? We have so many learning programs. Our ערב שבת קולל Erev Shabbos Kollel, our men's afternoon kollel, our women's מדרשה Midrasha, advanced, beginner, intermediate. He says I went to ישיבה yeshiva, my ישיבה yeshiva years are done. I'm done. I put in my time. I killed myself. Burn the midnight oil. I excelled. Ah, years ago, I'm done. Now, ah, kill it in business, שמועסן shmuessen back in shul during דאווענען davening, hit the קידוש kiddush, multiple קידושים kiddushim. My learning? Ah, I'm done. A person is living a מצבה matzeiva life. Put up the מצבה matzeiva, which מסכתות masechtos did I learn? Put up the מצבה matzeiva, how much פרשה parsha I explored? Put up the מצבה matzeiva, which שיעורם shiurim I went to. I'm done. I'm fixed, I'm finished. The way I understood it, what I learned, I'm done. So the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam says אשר שנא השם אלוקיך asher sanei Hashem Elokecha. Hashem hates that. He hates that. You're done. 21, 22 years, 23, whenever left ישיבה yeshiva, you're done? You're finished? Hashem hates that. Don't lead a מצבה matzeiva life, lead a מזבח mizbeach life. Add and grow and build and expand and do more and more and more and more. That's what Hashem wants from us. Not a מצבה matzeiva while we're alive. He wants us to worship through a מזבח mizbeach that we build and we grow and we add and we do more and more and more. In fact, what do you call somebody who is an enormous scholar? What's the name for them in יודאישקייט Yiddishkeit? You praise somebody. Someone's a huge what? תלמיד חכם Talmid chacham. We don't say they're a huge חכם chacham. We don't say they're a brilliant scholar. What do we say? They're a huge תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. You know what makes them a great scholar? They're not a מצבה matzeiva, they're a מזבח mizbeach. If they're a מצבה matzeiva, they're not somebody we should admire. If they're a מצבה matzeiva, they're not somebody that we should learn from. If they're a מצבה matzeiva, they shouldn't be the ראש ישיבה rosh yeshiva, the רבי rebbe, the מגיד שיעור magid shiur, the משכיל mashgiach. If they're a מצבה matzeiva, they're finished. So they're not a חכם chacham, they're a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. A תלמיד talmid is a student. They continue to study and learn and grow and add up. Now I'll leave off one postscript, again רבי משה Rav Moshe doesn't say this either, but I say this at every הקמת מצבה hakamas matzeiva. Every time we have an unveiling, which is really a הקמת מצבה hakamas matzeiva, we launch, we recognize, we read the מצבה matzeiva. The person who's no longer here is captured, their legacy is communicated through that monument. But what do we do before we take leave of the cemetery? We have a custom, we have a מנהג minhag. We reach down and we find what? A stone, a pebble, and where do we put it? On top. You know why? They're gone. They're a monument. But we build a מזבח mizbeach out of the monument. We say I'm going to continue. I'm going to build. I'm going to add. Their, they may be done, but what they've invested in me. And what do we place? דווקא dafkа stone. How do you say stone in Hebrew? אבן Even. אבן Even. אב בן נכד Av Ben Neched. Father, parent, child, grandchild, or a conjunction of אב av and בן ben. אבן Even is אב av and בן ben, or an acronym for אב בן נכד Av Ben Neched. And אבן even, a stone is continuity. And when we put a stone on top of the monument, we say the monument is their legacy, and they're gone. But I put a post, I put a stone on it, I'm going to build higher. I'm going to add to it. I'm going to turn the monument into a מזבח mizbeach, because I'm still alive. Their monument informs my מזבח mizbeach life and I'm going to continue to grow. So that's what says רבי משה Rav Moshe, לא תקים לך מצבה lo sakim lecha matzeiva. Don't worship Hashem as a מצבה matzeiva. אשר שנא השם אלוקיך Asher sanei Hashem Elokecha, He hates that. He hates that. You're fixed, you're finished, you're done? 19, 20, 21, 22, that's your understanding of יודאישקייט Yiddishkeit? It's an enormous tragedy in כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. There are people walking around and that's it. They're done. They're understanding of the פרשה parsha, the quality of their עמידה Amida, their שמונה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei. Again, shameless plug for our snippets, we're learning the עמידה Amida now. We just began, you didn't miss much. All we did is השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sfasi tiftach. Like nine different snippets on it. But השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sfasi tiftach. There are people דאווענענען שמונה עשרה davening Shemoneh Esrei at 80 years old the same way they did when they were 8 years old. You could see because you could clock it, the length of their עמידה Amida, their level of concentration, their comprehension of the words. There are people whose understanding of פרשת שופטים Parshas Shoftim is the same as 80 as it was at eight. Is there a greater tragedy? אשר שנא השם אלוקיך Asher sanei Hashem Elokecha, Hashem hates it. He hates that. Grow up, mature. Literally, grow up. Grow up. Be a מזבח mizbeach, grow up. Don't be a fixed monument. Grow up. Most of us grow out. We don't grow up. We got to stop growing out and start growing up. It'll be a lot healthier way to live. פרק יז Perek yud zayin. לא תזבח להשם אלוקיך שור ושה Lo sizbach l'Hashem Elokecha shor v'seh, blemish sacrifice you can't breathe, bring. כי ימצא בקרבך באחד שעריך Ki yimatze b'kirb'cha b'echad she'arecha, איש או אשה אשר יעשה את הרע בעיני השם ish o isha asher ya'aseh es ha'ra b'einei Hashem. You find somebody who is violating Hashem's will, who threatens to compromise and corrupt the people, worship idols. What do we do with such a person? These are the rules, על פי שנים עדים או שלושה עדים יומת המת al pi shnayim eidim o shlosha eidim yumas ha'meis, testimony is through two credible witnesses, לא יומת על פי עד אחד lo yumas al pi eid echad, we do not carry out capital punishment with one witness, and so on. פסוק ח Pasuk ches. פרק יז פסוק ח Perek yud zayin pasuk ches on page 1026. כי יפלא ממך דבר למשפט Ki yipalei mimcha davar la'mishpat. If a wonder befalls you, כי יפלא ממך דבר במשפט ki yipalei mimcha davar ba'mishpat, בין דם לדם בין דין לדין בין נגע לנגע bein dam l'dam, bein din l'din, bein nega l'nega, דברי ריבות בשעריך divrei rivos bish'arecha, וקמת ועלית אל המקום אשר יבחר השם אלוקיך בו v'kamta v'alisa el ha'makom asher yivchar Hashem Elokecha bo. If a matter of judgment is hidden from you, it's an issue, a question, a matter of judgment, בין דם לדם בין דין לדין בין נגע לנגע bein dam l'dam, bein din l'din, bein nega l'nega, and it's in any of the areas of Jewish law. There's an allusion here to all the areas of הלכה halacha. יורה דעה Yoreh De'ah, חושן משפט Choshen Mishpat, אבן העזר Even Ha'ezer, אורח חיים Orach Chayim. בין דם לדם בין דין לדין בין נגע לנגע bein dam l'dam, bein din l'din, bein nega l'nega. דברי ריבות בשעריך Divrei rivos bish'arecha. These four descriptions of possible questions that arise are describing the four areas of pillars of Jewish law. What should you do? וקמת ועלית אל המקום אשר יבחר השם אלוקיך בו v'kamta v'alisa el ha'makom asher yivchar Hashem Elokecha bo. Get up and go to the place that Hashem has designated. Where is that place? Last week we wrote in the weekly, that you could find it online. Hashem never reveals it. He wants us to be מבקשים mevakshim. He wants us to hone our radar and calibrate our compass and be spiritual seekers and go find that place. So כי יפלא ki yipalei, what is the word יפלא yipalei? יפלא Yipalei is a פלא pele, a wonder. A wonder befalls you, you have a question, something doesn't make sense, למשפט l'mishpat, about justice, something seems unjust, something seems unfair, something seems confusing, unclear. What should you do? וקמת ועלית V'kamta v'alisa, get up and go, rise to that place. And the פסוק pasuk is speaking specifically, ובאת אל הכהנים הלויים ואל השופט אשר יהיה בימים ההם u'vasa el hakohanim haLevi'im v'el hashofeit asher yihyeh bayamim hahem, go to the judges that you have in that day, ודרשת והגידו לך את דבר המשפט v'darashta v'higidu lecha es dvar ha'mishpat and seek out their wisdom, seek out their, their sagacious advice, seek out what they think is just and correct. But there's a beautiful חתם סופר Chasam Sofer on this פסוק pasuk. ר' ויינפלד שליט\"א Rav Weinfeld shlita quotes the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer who says the following. כי יפלא ממך דבר למשפט Ki yipalei mimcha davar la'mishpat. Something for you is a פלא pele, a question. What should you do? What should you do? Now, what kind of a question? Sometimes there's a question which is not earth-shattering. It's a question which doesn't paralyze or debilitate. It's a question that doesn't rock your אמונה emunah. So for example, I get those questions regularly. Rabbi, I found a מילכיק milchig fork in my פליישיק fleishig dishwasher. I have yet to see somebody who walks away from יודאישקייט Yiddishkeit. I've yet to meet somebody whose אמונה emunah is rocked, whose faith is broken because of a פליישיק fleishig fork and a מילכיק milchig dishwasher. Fine. However, there are people who go through horrific pain, difficulty in life. כי יפלא ממך דבר למשפט Ki yipalei mimcha davar la'mishpat. Hashem, where's the משפט mishpat? Where's the fairness? Someone around me I love is suffering. Someone is sick, someone is lonely, someone is, someone is suffering. כי יפלא Ki yipalei, it's a פלא pele. Hashem it's a wonder. It's an absolute wonder and it feels and it seems so unjust. What should you do with that feeling and what should you do with that question? Does יודאישקייט Yiddishkeit expect you to suppress it and bury it? Are we meant to deny it? Is it a failure of faith to be filled with that question? Should you say, well, Hashem is perfect and omnipotent and infinite and all-knowing, so I have no questions. It's wonderful that they're suffering. It's wonderful they're in treatment. It's wonderful they don't have children. It's wonderful they're single and they can't find their בשר basheret. It's wonderful they're homeless because Hashem is amazing. And everything Hashem does is for our best. So I have no questions. Is that the way that we're meant to live? Says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, no. כי יפלא ממך דבר למשפט Ki yipalei mimcha davar la'mishpat, if you're filled, something's a פלא pele, a wonder, it's confusing, it's unclear, it's painfully difficult, למשפט la'mishpat, specifically when it comes to an issue of justice or fairness, וקמת ועלית אל המקום v'kamta v'alisa el hamakom, get up and bring it to Hashem. Challenge him. Ask him. Protest him. Object to him because that's how you grow. Don't use it as a pretext or an excuse to walk away from him. Don't use it as a cop-out to give up on him. But וקמת ועלית אל המקום v'kamta v'alisa el hamakom, get up and bring it up and present it and get closer to Hashem from it. וקמת ועלית אל המקום V'kamta v'alisa el hamakom. We don't shy away from questions, says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer. כי יפלא ממך דבר Ki yipalei mimcha davar, something's a פלא pele, וקמת ועלית v'kamta v'alisa, get up and raise that question. Raise that question. Such an important חתם סופר Chasam Sofer. Such an important insight on our פסוק pasuk. How many young people we know, not young people, people of all ages we know who walked away from יודאישקייט Yiddishkeit because when they asked questions, they were shunned, they were silenced, they were told we don't ask that. They were quieted. And we live in a world where today, you know, if that were true in years past where a רבי rebbe, a מורה morah, a teacher didn't want to be challenged, didn't want to answer a question they couldn't, didn't know the answer to, didn't want to validate or acknowledge something which was questionable, so they, they quieted it, and they even shunned or shamed the person who was asking. And there are people who walked away from יודאישקייט Yiddishkeit. They walked away because first of all, they were embarrassed or they were shamed for having the question, or they were simply dissatisfied because they never got an answer or they never at least felt validated that it was a legitimate question. על אחת כמה וכמה Al achas kama v'kama, all the more so today, any young person who has a question doesn't need to go to an adult or an authority, what do they do? They just need a keyboard. They just need a connection to the internet, and they have terabytes of information at their fingertips. So if Google or Siri will answer your question, but your רבי rebbe or your מורה morah or your parent won't, then what's going to be the source of your truth? So it's so important to communicate to our children, כי יפלא ממך דבר למשפט ki yipalei mimcha davar la'mishpat, וקמת ועלית v'kamta v'alisa, whatever question you have, bring it. I don't know that I'll have the answer. I don't know that it'll be so compelling. I might be filled with the same question, but we're going to search and look together. We don't discourage and we don't silence and we don't shame for having a question. That's not our religion. That's not our religion. That's not who we are and what we believe. It's a great rabbi in Yerushalayim. He spoke here many many years ago. He gives tours at Yad Vashem. And he's a convert. His name is escaping me at the moment. Anyone know who I'm here I'm talking about? What's his name? Rabbi so and so? רבי אשר וייד Rabbi Asher Wade. I knew that if I crowdsourced that, that I'd get some help. רבי אשר וייד Rabbi Asher Wade. So רבי אשר וייד Rabbi Asher Wade tells the story when he was rising in the church, not only as a low-level priest, but he was rising up and studying more, he was filled with questions. And he brought those questions, I don't remember, archbishop, whatever level superior person above him, expecting to get the answers. And he asked all of his questions on scripture. And the person superior to him turned and said, you know, I have those same questions. And he felt, wow, that's wonderful, great, I'm going to get answers. And he said, ני nu. He didn't say ני nu yet because he wasn't Jewish. But he said whatever the equivalent of ני nu was before he converted. And the superior turned to him and said, yes, when I have those questions, I get on my hands and knees and I pray that they go away. And then he began to explore Judaism and he said, questions? Fantastic. We love questions. פסח Pesach night we have four questions at the בסדר Seder. And the בית מדרש Beis Midrash is filled with questions. And in the Hebrew language, there are six, seven, eight synonyms for question. תיובתא tiyuvta, קשיא kashya, שאלה she'eila. We have incredible number of synonyms for question. רבי אשר וייד Rav Wade points out, very few words for answer, because we're filled with questions. We have many ways to describe our questions. We welcome questions. We want questions. We want curiosity and inquisitiveness. We want people who are engaged and who are searching and who are looking. We love, love, love questions. We love questions. And so, כי יפלא ממך דבר ki yipalei mimcha davar, when a question rises במשפט ba'mishpat, when a question rises, it feels unjust. I'm confused, it's unclear, it feels unfair, וקמת ועלית v'kamta v'alisa, get up and bring that question up. Raise the question. Raise the question. You may not get a perfect answer. You may not get a satisfying answer. But don't be afraid to raise the question. We are a people of questions. We encourage and we promote questions. We welcome and we encourage and we should reward our children for asking the questions. There was a Nobel Prize winner. Isidor, my mind is a little slow. Not operating on a lot of sleep. I forgot his name. I wasn't planning on saying any of this, that's why I didn't prepare and don't know. These are just the things that come to me, for better or for worse. So he was once interviewed in New York Times, his obituary tells the story, how he became a Nobel Prize winner. What differentiated him? What made him better? He was a Jewish man. So he said when he was a child, when he was a child, all the other kids would come home that day and the mother, the parents would ask, did you answer a good question today? What'd you get on your test? Did you raise your hand? Did you answer a question from the teacher today? And his mother would ask, did you ask a good question today? Did you ask a good question today? And he credited becoming a Nobel Prize winner, his curiosity, his inquisitiveness, his search for wisdom, his discovery. He credited it all with the fact that his parents didn't say, did you answer a question today? But did you ask a good question today? Did you ask a good question? כי יפלא ממך Ki yipalei mimcha, you're curious. We don't discourage, we reward. We don't shame, we elevate. וקמת ועלית V'kamta v'alisa, get up and raise that question and pursue it and use it to get close to Hashem, to get closer to Hashem. We're not afraid. We're not afraid of questions. We believe in Hashem. There are חקים chukim. There are things that defy explanation, the things that we won't have great answers to. But nevertheless, we can get close to Hashem through the questions that we ask. פרק יז פסוק יד Perek yud zayin pasuk yud daled, moving along. King. Page 10 1028. כי תבוא אל הארץ אשר השם אלוקיך נותן לך וירשתה וישבת בה Ki savo el ha'aretz asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lecha v'rishta v'yashavta bah. When you come to the land that God gives us, when we conquer it, when we inhabit it, and we're going to want something. ואמרת אשימה עלי מלך ככל הגוים אשר סביבותי v'amarta asima alai melech k'chol hagoyim asher svivosai. We're going to look around and we're going to say, wait, everybody else has a monarchy. Everybody else has royalty. Everyone else has a kingdom. We want to, we want a king. Hashem says, you know what? Fine. You can have one. שום תשים עליך מלך אשר יבחר השם אלוקיך בו מקרב אחיך תשים עליך מלך som tasim alecha melech asher yivchar Hashem Elokecha bo, mikerev achecha tasim alecha melech. You can appoint for yourself a king that has to be from among your brothers, which eliminates, excludes a. convert and others. מלך ולא מלכה melech v'lo malka, the Sifri learns שררה srarah, positions of authority and leadership, men not women. Why that is, לא תוכל לתת עליך איש נכרי אשר לא אחיך הוא lo suchal laseit alecha ish nachri asher lo achicha hu. And the king here is cautioned, and the king here is warned, רק לא ירבה לו סוסים ולא ישיב את העם מצרימה rak lo yarbeh lo susim v'lo yashiv et ha'am Mitzraima, למען הרבות סוס l'maan harbot sus, והשם אמר לכם לא תוסיפון לשוב בדרך הזה עוד v'Hashem amar lachem lo sosifun lashuv baderech hazeh od. The king can't have too many horses, because then we'll turn to Egypt to go get horses for his collection. ולא ירבה לו נשים V'lo yarbeh lo nashim, ולא יסור לבבו v'lo yasur l'vavo. The king can't have too many wives. They'll be distracted. It'll be difficult. Too many credit card bills to pay. וכסף וזהב לא ירבה לו מאד V'chesef v'zahav lo yarbeh lo me'od. And he shouldn't pursue too much money, he shouldn't be consumed by materialism, the pursuit of materialism. והיה כשבתו על כסא ממלכתו V'hayah k'shivto al kisei mamlachto, וכתב לו את משנה התורה הזאת v'chasav lo et mishneh haTorah hazot על ספר מלפני הכהנים הלוים al sefer milifnei haKohanim haLeviim. The king has an obligation when he sits on his throne to write for himself two ספרי תורה sifrei Torah. Two Torahs, two copies of the Torah. והיתה עמו וקרא בו כל ימי חייו V'haita imo v'kara vo kol yemei chayav. He must be with him all the time. He reads from it, למען ילמד ליראה את השם אלוקיו l'maan yilmad l'yirah et Hashem Elokav, in order that he will learn. למען ילמד L'maan yilmad, the Ibn Ezra on last week's פרשה parsha says, means he will become accustomed. He will train and condition himself to יראת שמים yirat shamayim. יראת שמים Yirat shamayim we have to become trained and conditioned to. Just on the side, the word למען ילמד l'maan yilmad. ילמד Yilmad like איש מלומדה ish melumada. איש מלומדה Ish melumada means, מצות אנשים מלומדה mitzvat anashim melumada means habit, rote pattern. למען תלמד L'maan tilmad means we should create positive habits. By the way, tonight 8 o'clock, I'm speaking on the book Atomic Habits. A Torah take on the book Atomic Habits. So habits can be good or bad. The fact that we are pre-programmed in our day, we are creatures of habits, can be an asset or a liability. If we have poor habits, it's a horrific liability. If we have good habits, fantastic asset. Atomic habits. How do we form the best habits? So למען ילמד l'maan yilmad, למען תלמד l'maan tilmad means to condition ourselves to habits, and the habits, not hobbits, habits, when we have good habits, they lead to what? ליראה את השם אלוקיו L'yirah et Hashem Elokav. We sometimes mistakenly think, this is a big insight of the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch, we think, you know, when intellectually I'm there, then I will carry out and follow through. But it's the opposite. When you start carrying out and follow through, then you're going to feel a sense of יראת שמים yirat shamayim.Love is a verb, not an adjective. Love is a verb, not an adjective. יראת שמים Yirat shamayim is a verb. יראת שמים Yirat shamayim, fear and awe of השם Hashem is action. It's how we behave. And when we behave and act in that way, then we feel connected. The Yiddish expression, with the eating comes the appetite. I'm not hungry, I can't eat, I'm full, I'll never eat again. Let me just take a taste of that. Next thing you know, three main courses later, six side dishes and seven desserts, Mr. or Mrs. I'm not hungry, with the eating comes the appetite. אחרי הפעולות נמשכו הלבבות Acharei hape'ulot nimshachu halevavot. After the actions follow the heart. We start to do, then we will behave. Dress for the job that you want, not the job that you have. So many examples. So למען ילמד l'maan yilmad ליראה את השם אלוקיו l'yirah et Hashem Elokav, the king has to write and carry and read and act and perform and behave and dress a certain way, because when we do, then we'll condition ourselves to feel what we're meant to be able to feel as a result. והחקים האלה לעשותם V'hachukim ha'eileh la'asotam. לבלתי רום לבבו L'vilti rum l'vavo. Why is the king doing all of this? To make sure he doesn't become haughty. לבלתי סור מן המצוה ימין ושמאל L'vilti sur min hamitzvah yamin u'smol. So he does not abandon God's right or left. למען יאריך ימים על ממלכתו L'maan ya'arich yamim al mamlachto, he will live a long life on his throne. הוא ובניו בקרב ישראל Hu uvanav b'kerev Yisrael, he and his family among the Jewish people. So lots to say here. Lots to say on this, on these פסוקים psukim. Where should we start? וכתב לו את משנה התורה הזאת V'kasav lo et mishneh haTorah hazot. He has to write the Torah. וקרא בו כל ימי חייו V'kara vo kol yemei chayav. He reads it all of his life. It should say, ולבלתי u'l'vilti, he writes the Torah, he reads from it all his life, ולבלתי u'l'vilti and also by the way, לבלתי רום לבבו l'vilti rum l'vavo, don't become haughty, don't become arrogant. Just because you're the king, just because you're the monarch, just because you're royalty, don't let it go to your head. It is a responsibility and a privilege. It's not a right. And therefore don't let it go to your head. Where's the ו vav? Should say, ולבלתי u'l'vilti and don't become haughty. So there was a great צדיק tzaddik who lived in ירושלים Yerushalayim, רב מרדכי צוקרמן Rav Mordechai Zuckerman. He was a תלמיד talmid of Kelm. He knew the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim. He was one of the last living תלמידים talmidim of the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim. And many years ago, 15, 16 years ago, ישיבת Yeshivat and I took a teen mission to Israel, a group of teenagers, and we had the privilege of taking them to go meet רב צוקרמן Rav Zuckerman in ירושלים Yerushalayim, and he told the stories of the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim. So for these young people to hear directly from him, to sit in the presence of somebody who was a תלמיד talmid of the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim, it was amazing. So he asked this question in his ספר לב מרדכי Sefer Lev Mordechai. Why doesn't the, why isn't there a ו vav? The king should have to write a Torah and learn from it, and don't become haughty. So he says the following: הביאור, יראתו ואימתו של מלך מוטלת על כולם Ha'biur, yirato v'eimato shel melech muteles al kulam. מצבו מביאו לידי סכנה של רום לבב תמידי Matzavo mevi'o lidei sakana shel rum levav t'midi. Because there is a fear and an awe of a king on everybody else, because the king knows they're in a position of power, there's the enormous danger of it going to his head. לכן כדי להצילו מזה נתנה לו תורה עצה Lachen kedei l'hatzilo mizeh natna lo Torah eitzah. וכתב לו וקרא בו כל ימי חייו V'kasav lo v'kara vo kol yemei chayav. These are not two separate statements. It's not king, you have a mitzvah to write a Torah. Oh, also by the way, try not to let it go to your head, don't become haughty. This is a prescription. על ידי זה ינצל Al yedei zeh yinatzel, ובלי שיעשה זאת u'vli she'ya'aseh zot, הוא שרוי חלילה בסכנה תמידית להכשל בעוון רום הלב hu sharui chalilah b'sakanah t'midit l'hikashel ba'avon rum halev. Do you know how you avoid becoming haughty and arrogant? By learning Torah. The reason the king need two Torahs is when you keep your nose in the book, when you study the Torah, when you continue to connect with it, then it will calibrate your compass. Then you will stay humble and modest. But if you ignore and neglect, if you stop reading and imbibing its messages, if you're not nourished by the Torah giving us a sense of context and truth, then you're in enormous risk. מזה עלינו ללמוד Mizeh aleinu lilmod. הרי כל אדם יש בטבעו ובמעמדו איזה תכונה או מידה רעה מיוחדת לו Harei kol adam yesh b'tiv'o u'v'ma'amado eizeh t'chunah o middah ra'ah m'yuchedet lo. So for the king there's a danger of arrogance. But for all of us, in our profession, in our personality, in our private lives, we have, we all have struggles. Some struggle with envy, some struggle with temptation, some struggle with anger, some struggle with jealousy. We all have challenges. What's the antidote? What's the answer? Like the king, keep your nose in the book. Every day you have to study Torah. Torah humbles. Why? Why does Torah humble? Why does Torah effectively work in that way? Because Torah is the diary of Hashem. Torah reminds us that we're not all and be-all. We're not in charge, we're not in control. Torah intellectually causes us to surrender to him. Torah helps us see us, ourselves in a context of a much bigger world around us. Torah enables us and enriches us and empowers us and challenges us to feel that we're here not to take, but to give, that we don't have rights and entitlements, we have duties and obligations, that we have a mission in this world. And when we engage in Torah, and we remember that we have a mission and a responsibility in this world, then we're going to be able to overcome whatever it is those obstacles in our life. And then וקרא בו כל ימי חייו v'kara vo kol yemei chayav, then we read it all the days of our lives. So the same way it's not a ו vav, ולבלתי u'l'vilti. It's not two separate things. Write a Torah and learn it. Oh, also, by the way, don't be arrogant. It's connected. The way to avoid being arrogant is כל ימי חייו וקרא בו kol yemei chayav v'kara vo. Read it every day of your life. Read it every day of your life. The higher a position you are in life, whatever position of power you're in, of office you're in, the more responsible you are to set aside time every day to study. People mistakenly think the less time that you have, the less time that you have. But the more important it is, the king, who had more pressure on their time, on their schedule than the king? But yet, וקרא בו כל ימי חייו v'kara vo kol yemei chayav. He had to read it every day because the more position of power you're in, the more vulnerable you are, the more susceptible you are, the more that you think you're above the rules and above the law, the more danger you're in to become corrupt. If power corrupts, absolute power corrupts, absolutely. How do you avoid that? The Torah here gave a prescription, not only for the king, but for all who are like the king. And what is that prescription? Read Torah, learn Torah every single day. Every single day. כל הכבוד Kol hakavod to you who are here live and in person back in the ran sanctuary with coffee and, no granola bars today? And even granola bars, no granola bars. We'll have to bring them back. But you are learning Torah. Every day, multiple times a day, it grounds us. It informs us, it challenges us. But it enables us not to be as vulnerable to those issues. So you'll say, but I'm, I'm, I'm not a king. I'm not a queen. So first of all, we all are. We all are. We were on line in the airport coming back from our family trip, and they announced, you know, first class can board, and business class can board, and medallion members can board, and extra leg room, platinum preferred can board. So, one of my young daughters said, why aren't we boarding? I said, sweetie, we're nothing. We sit in the back of the plane. We sit among the peasants. We're the simple people. We're the simple folk. So she paused. I looked at my, then she said, אבא Abba, we're not peasants or poor people. We're princes and princesses because we're children of Hashem. He said, ah, every dollar of tuition paying off. That's why we couldn't sit by the way in the business class and the first class and wherever else because all those dollars of tuition. But what, right? What a great line from the mouth of children. I loved it. I loved it. She says, we're not peasants or poor people. We're the princes and princesses, we're children of Hashem. Says רב נחמן מברסלב Rav Nachman miBreslov. Says רב נחמן Rav Nachman. תחילת הפרשה תצוה התורה למנות שופטים ושוטרים Tchilat ha'parsha t'tzaveh haTorah l'manot shoftim v'shotrim. The beginning of the parsha says you have to appoint judges and police people. ובהמשך היא מצוה על מינוי מלך Uv'hemshech hi mitzvah al minui melech. And the continuation it tells us about a king. And the מפרשים mefarshim wonder, יש מצוה למנות מלך על עם ישראל yesh mitzvah l'manot melech al am Yisrael? או שאין חובה לעשות זאת אלא שאם מחליטים למנות מלך O she'ein chovah la'asot zot ela she'im machlitim l'manot melech? And there's a big debate, is there a מצוה mitzvah to appoint a king or is it that if you crave a king, here's the proper way how. Do we have a proactive obligation? Or no, if we crave it, here's how, here's how. בכל אופן, כפי שראינו לאל בעניין שופטים ושוטרים, גם מצות מינוי מלך נוגעת לא רק לכלל ישראל B'chol ofen, k'fi shera'inu le'el b'inyan shoftim v'shotrim, gam mitzvat minui melech noga'at lo rak l'klal Yisrael. The same way that the message for judges and police people is talking to each and every one of us, similarly, the prescription and the obligation for the king is similarly talking to each and every one of us. So writes רב נחמן בליקוטי מוהר\"ן, חלק א', סימן נ\"ו Rav Nachman b'Likutei Moharan, chelek aleph, siman nun-vav, שבכל אחד מישראל יש בחינת מלכות she'b'chol echad mi'Yisrael yesh b'chinat malchut, for every member of the Jewish people, for every one of us, we have a status of מלכות malchut, שבו הוא מושל ושולט she'bo hu moshel v'sholet. What is a מלך melech? A מלך melech is the ultimate authority. A מלך melech is the highest level of power. Every one of us are a מלך או מלכה melech o malka. בחינת מלכות זאת משתנה מאדם לאדם B'chinat malchut zot mishtaneh mei'adam l'adam. It's different for each of us. יש אדם ששולט רק בביתו Yesh adam she'sholet rak b'veito. Some people are only in charge of their home, themselves. They pay their bills, they make the rules. They're in charge of their home. יש מי ששולט על אנשים אחרים Yesh mi she'sholet al anashim acherim. Some are in charge of other people. They're in a position of management. They're a director, they're an administrator. יש מי שמושל על עיר Yesh mi she'moshel al ir. Somebody is a mayor, an elected official, או על כמה מדינות בעולם o al kama medinot ba'olam. Somebody is a governor. כמו שהיה בעם ישראל שרי אלפים, שרי מאות, שרי חמישים, שרי עשרות K'mo she'hayah b'am Yisrael sarei alafim, sarei me'ot, sarei chamishim, sarei asarot, just like we had hierarchy and a structure of leadership in the Jewish people. שכל אחד מהם ממונה על מספר אחר של אנשים She'kol echad meihem memuneh al mispar acher shel anashim. כך גם כיום יש אנשים בעלי מידת השפעה שונה זו מזו Kach gam ka'yom yesh anashim ba'alei midat hashpa'ah shona zu mi'zu. We're all in positions of influence. Some influence and are in charge only of themselves, some of their family, some of their community, some of their business, some of the local path, some of state, some of national, international and so on. מידת מלכות יכולה להתבטא בשתי דרכים, בנגלה ובנסתר Midat malchut yechola l'hitbatet b'shtei drachim, b'nigleh u'v'nistar. You could have implicit and explicit malchut, he goes on. But listen to what Rav Nachman says, or based on the teaching, צריך כל אחד להיזהר שלא ישתמש במידת המלכות לרעה tzarich kol echad l'hizaher shelo yishtamesh b'midat hamalchut l'ra'ah. We have to realize that power, with power comes great responsibility. With great power comes great responsibility. So melech and malka are not just you get to fly first class. They're not just you get to sit on the throne. They're not just you're in charge and you're in control of others. There's awesome responsibility and you have to use it for the good, not the bad. It can't be for personal pleasure. And now let's look at the pasuk in this context, says Rav Nachman. שום תשים עליך מלך Som tasim alecha melech, כלומר klomar, תשתמש בבחינת המלכות שיש בך כדי לגלות את מציאות השם לכל מי שיש לך השפעה עליו tishtamesh b'vchinat hamalchut she'yesh b'cha kedei l'galot et metziut Hashem l'chol mi she'yesh l'cha hashpa'ah alav. שום תשים עליך מלך Som tasim alecha melech, place upon yourself a king, אשר יבחר השם אלוקיך בו asher yivchar Hashem Elokecha bo, לאישה, לילדים, לתלמידים, לחברים l'isha, l'yeladim, l'talmidim, l'chaverim, on others around you. מקרב אחיך תשים עליך מלך Mikerev achecha tasim alecha melech with אחוה וקרבה achvah v'kirvah. Don't be a person of power, of authority, of control. Do it with camaraderie and companionship and love and empathy. לא תוכל לתת עליך איש נכרי אשר לא אחיך הוא Lo suchal laseit alecha ish nachri asher lo achicha hu. אל תשתמש במלכות שלך כדי להתנכר לאחיך Al tishtamesh b'malchut shelcha kedei l'hitnaker l'achecha. Don't use your power and your control to become a stranger, to think you're different or above others. אשר לא אחיך הוא Asher lo achicha hu. Don't think that you're not a brother, that you're somehow above. So Rav Nachman reads into it for each and every one of us, anyone who is in whatever position of power at whatever level, who sees themselves as a melech and a malka, see that only for the good like my daughter online at the airport, not in a way that God forbid corrupts or that God forbid brings us down. That's Rav Nachman and the לב מרדכי Lev Mordechai. הנגיד מסורוקין HaNagid miSorotzkin points out, Torah cautions the king from three things. לא ירבה לו סוסים Lo yarbeh lo susim, not too many horses, which today, ברוך אתה אדוני אלהינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro. Today, people in great positions of power or of great wealth, they're not at risk of amassing too many horses. What are they at risk of? Too much horsepower. Not horses, but horsepower. They want many cars, and the strongest cars and the horsepower, which is a fascinating thing because no matter what horsepower your car has, you're still bound by the same speed limit. So, what motivates the greater horsepower, the more horsepower, the more cars? So, לא ירבה לו סוסים lo yarbeh lo susim, לא ירבה לו נשים lo yarbeh lo nashim, כסף וזהב לא ירבה לו מאד kesef v'zahav lo yarbeh lo me'od. The third one is stated differently. לא ירבה לו סוסים Lo yarbeh lo susim, don't accumulate, don't have too many horses, don't have too many women or wives, and money, silver and gold should not accumulate it by him much. It's formulated differently. Says the מגיד ישרים Maggid Yesharim, שלשה דברים אסרה תורה למלך ישראל להרבות shlosha devarim asrah Torah l'melech Yisrael l'harbot, three things. Horses, women and money. בשניים מהם נתנה לנו התורה טעם B'shnayim meihem natna lanu haTorah ta'am. Two of them we have a reason. What's the reason? לא ישיב את העם מצרימה Lo yashiv et ha'am Mitzraima. Where do they raise horses? Where do they breed horses? Egypt. We are warned in three places in the Torah, we're not supposed to return to Egypt. If the king is consumed by accumulating the greatest horse collection in the world, where are they going to go? Egypt. Torah gives us the reason. בנשים B'nashim, not have too many wives, why? לא יסור לבבו Lo yasur l'vavo. This is not biased or whatever to women, but if he has too many wives and he's so in love with all of them, he's overcome by romance and love and care and support, he's going to be distracted. He's got to be a king. We just spoke about it. A king is not only about privilege, it's about responsibility. King is responsible for the welfare, safety, security, the well-being, the governance of the people. לא יסור לבבו Lo yasur l'vavo. He can't be distracted. Do you know how many anniversaries he's gonna have to mark? Flowers, he's got to buy and deliver, chocolates, how often he's going to be apologizing? He doesn't have time for all that. לא יסור לבבו Lo yasur l'vavo. ועילו איסור להרבות כסף לא נתן לנו טעם V'ilu issur l'harbot kesef lo natan lanu ta'am. But the money, there's no reason given. והדבר אומר דרשני V'hadavar omer darsheini. So Torah is calling and begging us, pursue, try to understand. וניראה V'nireh, שבתיבה המיוחדת לא ירבה לו מאד מונח הטעם she'bateivah ha'meyuchedet 'lo yarbeh lo me'od' munach ha'ta'am. Says Rav Sorotzkin, you know where the answer can be found, there's a hint. There's a clue in the pasuk. It doesn't give us a reason but it does use one extra word. And maybe that one extra word is a clue. What's the extra word the Torah says? When it comes to horses, לא ירבה lo yarbeh. When it comes to wives, לא ירבה lo yarbeh. When it comes to money, לא ירבה לו lo yarbeh lo מאד me'od. How is that a clue? How is that a hint? חז\"ל Chazal tell us in קהלת רבה Kohelet Rabbah, מי שיש לו מנה רוצה מאתיים mi she'yesh lo maneh, rotzeh mata'im. If you have a hundred, you want 200. יש לו מאתיים רוצה ת\"ר מאות Yesh lo mata'im, rotzeh taf-resh me'ot. You have 200, you want 400. Really? Do you ever meet a person who says, I'm good. I'm done. I have enough. No matter how much you have, you have more. You make your first thousand, you want a first million. Your first million, you want to be in the billionaire club. You're in the billionaire club, you want to be in the multi-billionaire club. You want to, you made it on the Forbes 400, you want to be in a 100. In 100, you want to make to number five, you want to make to number one. It's built into the human psyche to crave to want more and more. שריבוי ממון מגביר תאות הממון She'ribui mamon magbir ta'avat ha'mamon. Having money actually causes you to want more money. כדכתיב Kid'chtiv, pasuk in קהלת Kohelet, שלמה המלך Shlomo HaMelech, who knew and who struggled in this area, אוהב כסף לא ישבע כסף ohev kesef lo yisba kesef. If you love כסף kesef, לא ישבע כסף lo yisba kesef. The more you love it, the less satisfied you can ever get with it. You'll ever become from it. The more you love money, no matter how much you have, you crave and want more. You're never done. ולכך, על כן אסור למלך ישראל להרבות בנכסים al ken asur l'melech Yisrael l'harbot b'nechasim, שאז תתגבר עליו תאות הממון וירצה מאד she'az titgaber alav ta'avat ha'mamon v'yirtzeh me'od. If you want enough to live, if you want enough to live comfortably, beautiful, enjoy, have ambition, have drive. Those are wonderful qualities and enjoy the best and the beautiful of what Hashem has to offer. There's nothing wrong with that. But the more that you define and confuse your identity in the pursuit of money, who you are, the more that there's מאד me'od, you just want more, you can't be satisfied, the more it's מאד me'od, then it's all you'll think about, you'll be consumed by it. ולא יקדיש כל עיתותיו וכוחו במקום להנהיג את עם ישראל V'lo yakdish kol itotav v'kocho b'makom l'hanhig et am Yisrael, because then it's gonna corrupt your thinking and you won't be able to, you won't be able to lead in the most prudent way. וסמוכים הדברים לדבר מתרגם יונתן U'smuchim hadvarim l'dvar matargem Yonatan. ודחבא לא יסגי לה, דלא יזרומן לבי לחדה וימרד באללה דשמיא V'dahava lo yasgei leh, d'lo yizroman libei l'chada v'yimrod b'Elaha dishmaiya. If you look at the Targum Yonatan, the translation on this pasuk, it says, ודחבא לא יסגי לה v'dahava lo yasgei leh, don't have a lot of gold so that you don't raise your heart and you'll rebel against Hashem. שאת השם מאד לחדה הוא מפרש כחלק מטעם האיסור שלא ירום לבבו She'et Hashem me'od l'chada hu mefaresh k'chelek m'ta'am ha'issur shelo yarum l'vavo. If you have a מאד me'od, an insatiable appetite for materialism and money, then you can't be close to Hashem. חז\"ל דרשן Chazal darshan, אוהב כסף לא ישבע כסף ohev kesef lo yisba kesef. If you love money, you'll never have enough money. חז\"ל דרשן Chazal darshan, אוהב תורה לא ישבע תורה ohev Torah lo yisba Torah. Meaning, all of us have drive, we have temptation, we have appetite, sometimes insatiable. The question is how do we channel it and how do we direct it? If it's for cars or money, we'll never have enough. But it could be for רש\"י ותוספות Rashi v'Tosafot. It could be for Torah. And if we do it for Torah, now we've channeled it for the best in the most beautiful way. Good. לבלתי סור מן המצוה, פרק י\"ז, פסוק כ' L'vilti sur min hamitzvah, perek yud-zayin, pasuk kaf, we just read. And what happens? The king, לבלתי רום לבבו l'vilti rum l'vavo, he's at the danger of, the danger of what? The danger of becoming arrogant. And what else is he in danger of? לבלתי סור מן המצוה ימין ושמאל L'vilti sur min hamitzvah yamin u'smol. If the king has too many horses, too many wives, too much money, then he will become arrogant, an inflated ego, and he will abandon Torah, he'll turn away from Torah, ימין ושמאל yamin u'smol, right or left. And that's a bad thing. And that's a bad thing. And that's a bad thing. The עוללות אפרים Olelot Ephraim, the עוללות אפרים Olelot Ephraim, of אפרים זלמן מרגליות Ephraim Zalman Margolios says the following. Why right and left? What is the allusion to right or left? First of all, the king, I'll tell you my right and left, we use in our vernacular, the right wing and the left wing of religion, the right wing and the left wing of politics. לא יסור ימין ושמאל Lo yasur yamin u'smol. Don't be guided by ref, left or right. Don't be guided by conservative or liberal politics. What should you be guided by? Truth. That took a little too long. Truth. Truth. Hashem. Be guided by Hashem's truth, by the divine wisdom. So don't be partisan. Don't be predictable. If you're in a position of power, you're a melech or a malka, לבלתי סור מן המצוה ימין ושמאל l'vilti sur min hamitzvah yamin u'smol. Don't try to make the mitzvah fit into your paradigm or your politics right or left, right or left. You're an elected official, you're in a position of power, don't make legislation fit into your politics right or left. Pursue what's moral, what's just, what's true. What's true. ימין ושמאל Yamin u'smol. But the עוללות אפרים Olelot Ephraim says something else. The גמרא בבא בתרא דף ט\"ז Gemara Bava Batra daf tet-zayin tells us, הרוצה שיחכים ידרים, שיעשיר יצפין harotzeh sheyachkim yadrim, sheya'ashir yatzpin. If you want to become wise, turn south. If you want to become wealthy, turn north. Where did the Gemara get that from? The Mishkan, the Beit Hamikdash. What was in the south? The Menorah. Menorah was the source of wisdom. What was in the north? The Shulchan, the source of the bread, showbread, which was wealth. So to the south is where wisdom can be found, to the north is where wealth can be found. We've now put out four volumes of our Beis Midrash, the Boca Raton Synagogue Beis Midrash, has a Torah volume. We've put out four volumes. What's the name of our of our Torah journal? ידרים Yadrim. Why is it called ידרים Yadrim? Because of this Gemara. הרוצה להחכים ידרים Harotzeh l'hachkim yadrim. If you want to become wise, ידרים yadrim, דרום darom is the south, ידרים yadrim, turn towards the south. I wrote an introduction to all four. It's getting increasingly difficult, but in each of the introductions, I quoted a different pshat, a different understanding or interpretation of what does that mean turn towards the south for wisdom, turn towards the north. Some say it means halachically when you daven. We think that you turn to the east or wherever you are in the world, you turn towards Eretz Yisrael. And there is truth to that. The Gemara records that, Shulchan Aruch records that. However, Poskim say, for example, we should really be facing southeast. East towards Israel, but to the south also because הרוצה להחכים harotzeh l'hachkim. So some say the Gemara is talking about which direction you face when you daven. Other say it's talking about other qualities and other things. But this is הרוצה להחכים ידרים harotzeh l'hachkim yadrim. You got to move to South Florida if you want wisdom. That's where it's found. It's quoted. That's why in a shul, if you look behind me in our shul too, the rabbi sits to the left of the Aron and the shul president sits to the right. Why? Because when the rabbi is sitting to the left of the Aron, when you're davening, you're gonna face the Aron, so you're facing where? Southeast. You're looking, the rav is looking for wisdom as they face east. The president is responsible for the finances of the shul, faces the Aron, where are they facing? Northeast. הרוצה להחכים ידרים Harotzeh l'hachkim yadrim, the rav faces the south. הרוצה להעשיר יצפין Harotzeh l'ha'ashir yatzpin, so the president faces the, faces the north. Fine. That's why we started a new yeshiva, Baruch Hashem, started yesterday, Yeshiva South Florida. Flourishing, thriving, fantastic, we're so, super excited. We should have called the whole Yeshiva Yadrim. But, Yadrim, you come to the south. Why am I telling you all this? What does it have to do with our parsha? Says the עוללות אפרים Olelot Ephraim, הזהירו אותו התורה שלא יתכוין בעשיית מצוה לסור ימין ושמאל hizhir ota haTorah shelo yitkaven ba'asiyat mitzvah lasur yamin u'smol, כדי לזכות בחוכמה או בעושר kedei lizkot b'chochmah o b'osher. When the king does mitzvos, it shouldn't be for the ulterior motive of either wisdom or wealth, אלא יעשה הכל לשם שמים ela ya'aseh hakol l'shem shamayim. Don't turn ימין ושמאל yamin u'smol, don't turn right or left means, don't be doing it for wisdom or wealth, do it לשמה lishma, do it for Hashem. That's the allusion of ימין ושמאל yamin u'smol. Great. Let's keep going. Time for one or two more. Which should we do? Which one should we do? Let's do it of Bender, because I like Rabbi Bender. Rav Bender is a beautiful insight. We have the cities of refuge in our parsha. A person who kills accidentally, and they run to a city of refuge. אם ירחיב השם אלוקיך את גבולך כאשר נשבע לאבותיך Im yarchiv Hashem Elokecha et gvulcha ka'asher nishba la'avosecha, if he expands your borders, and somebody dies, and you set up ערי מקלט arei miklat, and the person who kills accidentally, they run there. And Rashi says, תכין לך הדרך tachin lecha haderech. You prepare for yourself the way. Prepare for yourself the way. Rashi says, מקלט מקלט miklat miklat, they had signs at the crossroads. They had billboards and street signs and highway signs that said, this is the way to the עיר מקלט ir miklat, road signs to make it clear. Maseches Bikkurim were told that the masses heading to Yerushalayim, and they made their way up with pomp and circumstance and singing and dancing, others would join them. And those who were on their way to bring the first fruit for the bikkurim would sleep in city squares as they went up, and they would wake up at the cry of קומו ונעלה ציון kumu v'na'aleh Tzion. Nu, let's get up. Come, who's coming? We're going to Tzion. We're going to the Beis Hamikdash. The great mashgiach of the Mir, Rav Yerucham, points out, now we appreciate the reason for this precise clear signage. Torah did not want them to have to ask for directions. When it came to bikkurim, there were no signs, because you'd announce where you're going, and you'd create a sense of an environment of enthusiasm, of energy, and you'd get other people to come with you. There were no signs. Specifically so that people would have to ask, and then they would encourage others. Aliyah l'regel, there were no signs. So that people would ask, and then you'd encourage, and you'd have a whole entourage, and you'd go together. But when it came to Ir Miklat, there were clear and precise signs. Why? Said Rav Yerucham, you know why? The Torah did not want these people to engage with others on their way to the Ir Miklat. Why not? So the simple reason is to save them from embarrassment or shame. They killed by accident. It's embarrassing. They have to leave their family, go to an Ir Miklat, it's embarrassing. To save them from that embarrassment, there were clear and precise signs. But Rav Yerucham says something different. He says because conversation itself creates culture, creates a reality. Did you hear this person has to go to the Ir Miklat, he killed someone. It would create a buzz around bloodshed. The commotion created by travelers causing the existence of the Ir Miklat and the reason for their existence would become part of the public discussion. Torah doesn't want that. We don't want people exposed to ra in any manner. Even the word shfichas dam, we don't want that to be the conversation at the Shabbos table. We don't want that to be the buzz. We don't want that to be what people are schmoozing about at the water cooler. The Mashgiach is showing us in this pasuk, but we see it in every day, when a child sees, what a child sees has an effect positive and opposite. It's important to bring your children to see gedolei Torah, to fill your homes with books and pictures of talmidei chachamim and tzadikim, to spend time in great yeshivas. Just like those who pass through a perfumery come out with the fragrance on their clothing, so too, there's a scent to a makom kadosh, and it leaves a lingering aroma. And the opposite is also true. The opposite is also true. And here he tells a whole story with the Chofetz Chaim, which we don't have time for. But the opposite is also true. So Rav Yerucham points out from the signage itself, that Chazal, Torah itself is trying to is trying to control the conversation, because what we talk about creates the culture, and the culture we live in creates the reality that we have. So we have to be very vigilant, we have to be very careful. But I'll close with one last thought from the Derech Mussar, who says, מכאן שתלמידי חכמים גולים עמהם mikan she'talmidei chachamim golim imahem. The Gemara in Makkos daf yud tells us that when the individual who killed by accident goes to an Ir Miklat, who goes with him? his Rebbe. Because the pasuk says, ונס לאחת הערים v'nas l'achas ha'arim, he goes to one of these cities, וחי v'chai, so that he can live, so that he can live. ורב שמגלה, מגלין ישיבתו עמו V'rav she'megaleh, megalin yeshivahso imo. And if the Rebbe has to go to an עיר מקלט Ir Miklat, who goes with him? Whole תלמידים Talmidim, his whole ישיבה Yeshiva. פלא פלאות Peleh plaos. Mind boggling. Because somebody in the חבורה Chavura killed by accident, the Rebbe goes and with the Rebbe, the whole Yeshiva goes? Mind boggling. Their whole lives are disrupted. How could it be? The Torah says, וחי v'chai. Because you have to support the person in the עיר מקלט Ir Miklat. How do you support them? With what? Food and water, shelter, maybe internet connection. But how do you really support them is with access to Torah learning. A person who's cut off from Torah learning is dead. We saw that, coming full circle to the Rav Zuckerman. The king has to learn every day to be grounded, because without being grounded in Torah learning every day, we're done, we're lost, we're finished. So the individual who is מגלה megaleh, that individual who's exiled, brings the Yeshiva with him. Brings the Yeshiva with him. The Gemara's telling us something absolutely so incredible, so incredible. כדי שיחיה Kedei she'yichyeh. So the Rambam writes in הלכות רוצח Hilchos Rotzeach, עשה לו כדי שיחיה, וחיי בעלי חכמה ומבקשיה בלא תלמוד תורה, כמיתה חשובין asah lo kedei she'yichyeh, v'chayei ba'alei chachmah u'mevaksheiha b'lo talmud torah, k'misah chashuvin. The life of a מבקש mevakesh without access to Torah, it's not a life. It's like one's dead. It's like you're dead. And that's why the Rebbe, and that's why the whole Yeshiva go, in order to sustain and in order to give life. They inconvenience and disrupt themselves because we have to provide life for the person who is there and do all we can to sustain them and to be able to take care of them. You see the centrality of Torah learning. You see the critical importance to be able to live our best selves, to be able to actually be alive. Without Torah, we're wandering dead. And with, nourished by Torah, we are alive. That's the role of Torah in our lives. It's great to be back. Tonight at 8:00, Torah Take on Atomic Habits. Tomorrow morning, speaking of habits, 10 minutes of מסילת ישרים Mesillas Yesharim, followed by Living with אמונה Emunah is back. So we have three weeks of stories to tell. אמונה Emunah stories, Living with אמונה Emunah is back. And tomorrow night behind the במה Bima, and so on and so forth. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy.
