Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב boker tov, welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. This week we have the privilege of learning together פרשת ואתחנן Parshas Va'eschanan in the Artscroll חומש Chumash page 958. As always, we express our gratitude to our series sponsors, Beck and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman. Our learning is לעילוי נשמת le'ilui nishmas דוד בן מנחם מנשה David ben Menachem Manash with a huge thank you to the Katz family. Also, a housekeeping note. I am going on vacation, אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem after תשעה באב Tisha B'Av, which means we are off for several weeks. We will resume the Parsha class August 29th. From now until then, you can listen to previous years of the Parsha class, you can listen to countless other incredible Torah teachers all over online and offline, and I encourage you to take advantage of those opportunities. Stay tuned if you are not yet part of the Parsha Perspective WhatsApp group for bonus דברי תורה divrei Torah, Parsha Perspective write-ups, schedule and links, and more information so you are up to date. פרשת ואתחנן Parshas Va'eschanan page 958. The Parsha begins ואתחנן אל השם בעת ההיא לאמר Va'eschanan el Hashem ba'eis ha'hi leimor. We know the Parsha continues this monologue, the soliloquy of משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, and Moshe mentions, Moshe tells us how he turned to השם Hashem and over and over and over again, he implored השם Hashem. He begged השם Hashem. He desperately, desperately asked השם Hashem to reconsider, like a child who relentlessly says to the parent, \"Please, please, please, I want to, you have to, give me, let me,\" and he was unwilling to give up. This is one of the synonyms we have for תפילה tefillah and it is one of the forms of תפילה tefillah that we have, which on the one hand very much feels like badgering השם Hashem, is unkind to השם Hashem. And on the other hand, to a certain degree, it's what השם Hashem wants. It's what he encourages and invites us to do because it means we believe, we're demonstrating that we believe he's in charge, he's in control, he decides, and it shows our our relentless desire for something or unwillingness to give up. We spoke about this at length in previous years, ואתחנן Va'eschanan from the לשון מתנת חינם lashon matnas chinam, asking השם Hashem even if we're undeserving. Give us graciously, generously, give us a מתנת חינם matnas chinam as a gift, nonetheless, even if we don't have the merit or we are undeserving. But משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu asked over and over and over again. How many times in total? 515 times. When did this תפילה tefillah begin? When did משה Moshe begin this relentless, badgering, mutchering, nudging הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu over and over again? רב פנחס בשערים בתפילה Rav Pinchas in his Shaarim b'Tefillah describes this is one of the modes, the models, this is one of the forms of תפילה tefillah that we follow, that we emulate, this ואתחנן Va'eschanan over and over to השם Hashem. So when did this begin? And the Otzar Plus HaTorah quotes that we find in חז\"ל Chazal and among the אחרונים achronim many different opinions, when משה Moshe began this process. One opinion is from the מדרש ויקרא רבה Midrash Vayikra Rabbah says, רבי לוי אמר, כל ז' ימי אדר היה משה מבקש תפילה ותחנונים שיכנס לארץ ישראל Rebbi Levi omar, kol zayin yemei Adar hayah Moshe mevakesh tefillah v'tachanunim sheyikanes l'Eretz Yisrael. All seven days of אדר Adar from ראש חודש אדר Rosh Chodesh Adar until the seventh, why did he stop on the seventh? He died. That was his יארצייט yahrtzeit. That's why. ובשביעי אמר לו כי לא תעבור את הירדן הזה uvashvi'i amar lo ki lo sa'avor es haYarden hazeh. So seven days, seven days of passionate, heartfelt תפילות tefillos, seven days משה Moshe beseeched and implored and begged over and over again, and on the seventh day, the day that would be his יארצייט yahrtzeit, השם Hashem said no, לא תעבור את הירדן הזה lo sa'avor es haYarden hazeh. So it sounds like from the מדרש midrash that all 515 תפילות tefillos were offered when? From ראש חודש אדר Rosh Chodesh Adar until the seventh of אדר Adar for seven days. The ספר זכר דוד Sefer Zecher L'Dovid, כתב טעם נפלא מדוע התחיל משה להתפלל בראש חודש אדר kosav ta'am nifla madua hischil Moshe le'hispallel b'Rosh Chodesh Adar. Why specifically did he start then? כי יום הולדתו של משה נחשב באמת ביום ראש חודש אדר ki yom huladto shel Moshe nechshav be'emes b'yom Rosh Chodesh Adar. Because משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu both was born and died on the seventh of אדר Adar, but, this is an interesting fact you may not have known, that a person's birth does not begin on when they're born nor does it begin necessarily when their mother started to have contractions. כי הנשמה מתחילה להיות ניתנת שבעה ימים קודם הלידה ki ha'neshama maschila lihyos nitaness shiva yamim kodem ha'leida. The נשמה neshama already gets ready for the exit, to depart. You know, some people get to the airport very early. The נשמה neshama gets to the airport seven days before takeoff, seven days before departure time, seven days before the baby will be born. נמצא שז' ימים אלו מראש חודש עד ז' אדר הם יום גינוסיא Nimtza she'zayin yamim eilu mei'Rosh Chodesh ad zayin Adar heim yom ginusya. These were the יום גינוסיא yom ginusya, the יום הולדתו של משה yom huladto shel Moshe. משה Moshe's birth was seven days long. Does that mean his mother had an incredible labor? Yes. But it doesn't mean all seven days was active labor, but I don't know if this has any correlation medically today, but seven days before the baby's born, there's already some baby activity going on. וביום גינוסיא לא במהרה אדם נופל לכן התפלל להבטיח שיזכה להיכנס לארץ ישראל בז' ימים אלו Uv'yom ginusya lo b'meheira adam nofel, lachen hispallel l'havti'ach she'yizke l'hikanes l'Eretz Yisrael b'zayin yamim eilu. אולי ירחם השם ויכניסו לארץ הקדושה ulai yerachem Hashem v'yachnisu la'aretz ha'kedosha. Those seven days, the birth experience is a time of רצוי ritzui, of רצון ratzon, of התרצות hisratzus to השם Hashem. So an auspicious time, השם Hashem is bringing one into the world, decided the world needs that person. So משה Moshe thought these seven days, maybe for him השם Hashem is more predisposed to listen, to answer affirmatively, maybe השם Hashem will find favor if he asks over and over. So this first opinion is when did משה Moshe offer these 515 תפילות tefillos? From ראש חודש אדר Rosh Chodesh Adar until the seventh. There's another opinion, the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer. חתם סופר Chasam Sofer of משה סופר Moshe Sofer and his דרשות drashos says, in the name of his Rebbe the בעל הפלאה Baal Hafla'ah, that the 515 תפילות tefillos of משה Moshe were ערב ובוקר וצהריים מדי יום ביומו erev v'voker v'tzahorayim midei yom b'yomo, ובשלוש התפילות שהתפלל כל יום הזכיר בהם בקשתו לעבור את הירדן uv'shalosh ha'tefillos she'hispallel kol yom hizkir bahem bakashaso la'avor es haYarden. He says it began from ט\"ז ניסן tes zayin Nissan. From the 16th of Nissan, every day, three times a day, משה Moshe davened. And the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer adds that תפילה הראשונה tefillah ha'rishona was on ט\"ז ניסן tes zayin Nissan, and the 515 ended בתפילת מנחה ביום כיפור b'tefillas Mincha b'Yom Kippur. אז עמד משה רבינו והזכיר תפילת נעילה שהיא יום הכיפורים az amad Moshe Rabbeinu v'hizkir tefillas Ne'ilah she'hi Yom HaKippurim. The 515th תפילה tefillah, says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, the final, the final before the gates closed on משה Moshe, the final תפילה tefillah he offered was what we know as נעילה Ne'ilah of יום כיפור Yom Kippur. Our נעילה Ne'ilah, our last call of desperation as the gates are closing is the 515th תפילה tefillah of משה Moshe that he authored. אכן אמר בעת ההיא בעת נעילה של יום הכיפורים achen omar ba'eis ha'hi b'eis Ne'ilah shel Yom HaKippurim. That's what the פסוק pasuk means, says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, ואתחנן אל השם Va'eschanan el Hashem, I implored השם Hashem, בעת ההיא ba'eis ha'hi, in that time. What's the \"in that time\"? At what time? What was the special time? What was the \"in that time\" that he implored him? says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, I implored השם Hashem בעת ההיא ba'eis ha'hi in that time, and what was the in that time? נעילה Ne'ilah. This auspicious time of נעילה Ne'ilah, this holiest time of נעילה Ne'ilah, the נעילה Ne'ilah that makes the walls of this incredible grand sanctuary shake and vibrate and rock, that נעילה Ne'ilah was introduced by משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, it was his 515th תפילה tefillah. As I said the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, that is the second opinion. There's a third opinion. חתם סופר Chasam Sofer quotes as well, that Moshe began to daven on the 21st of Nissan, which corresponds with seventh day of Pesach. מרים Miriam died on the 10th of Nissan, all seven days of mourning for her, the באר be'er did not, the well did not dry up until the 17th of Nissan. They went three days without water, and the water came out on the 21st of Nissan, which was the seventh day of Pesach. ואז נגזר עליו לכן לא תביאו v'az nigzar alav lachen lo savi'u. You are not bringing them in. So when השם Hashem told him, משה Moshe, you're not bringing them in. Moshe said, you're on. Now I'm going to daven hard. Now I'm going to daven hard. ומאז התפלל ג' תפילות בכל יום שהזכיר להיכנס לארץ u'me'az hispallel gimmel tefillos b'chol yom shehizkir l'hikanes la'aretz, and therefore the 515 תפילות tefillos ended when? The second day of Sukkos, שחרית Shacharis. So the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer has this other opinion, it went from the seventh of Pesach till the second day of Sukkos. אז אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד az amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu, al tosef daber elai od. Don't ask me over and over again. So it could be this ואתחנן Va'eschanan is incredible. I don't know why I never in my whole life thought about, we all know ואתחנן Va'eschanan גמטריא gematria 515, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu davened relentlessly over and over. He muttered and he nagged and he over and over again, but over what? In one day? In one sitting? Over one week? Over how long? Over the amount of time it took for the monologue of ספר דברים Sefer Devarim, that was 36 days. So the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, again, so far we saw with seven days, ראש חודש אדר Rosh Chodesh Adar to the seventh of אדר Adar, it's the מדרש midrash. Second opinion from the בעל הפלאה Baal Hafla'ah, that from the 16th of Nissan is when he began and it ended נעילה Ne'ilah of יום כיפור Yom Kippur. The 515th תפילה tefillah משה Moshe composed נעילה Ne'ilah of יום כיפור Yom Kippur. A third opinion, the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, it went from the seventh day of Pesach until the second day of Sukkos. The תשובות בית אברהם Teshuvos Beis Avraham has another opinion. שהתחיל משה רבינו להתפלל ביום ט\"ו באב she'hischil Moshe Rabbeinu l'hispallel b'yom tet vov b'Av. When did משה's Moshe's תפילות tefillos begin? On ט\"ו באב Tu B'Av, the 15th of Av. What happened on that day? יום שכלו בו מתי מדבר yom she'kalu bo meisei midbar. It was when those who were destined to die in the desert stopped dying. אמר משה omar Moshe, so they would all, right, they dug their own graves, they'd lie down in it. If they got up on the ט\"ו באב tet vov b'Av, they knew it was not yet their time. This was the last go around, and those who got up, got up. So משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu said to himself, if these, this generation was all supposed to be wiped out before they entered the land, and if those who found a reprieve and those who got another chance were able to get up and climb out of their grave, maybe I can too. Maybe if I keep davening, I can undo this גזרה gzeira, I can reverse this decree and go into the land. So ט\"ו באב Tu B'Av, the 15th of Av he began. He davened every day to be able to enter the land. He davened for 170 days, other than שבת Shabbos and יום טוב Yom Tov, because you're not allowed to offer בקשה bakasha on those days. So from ט\"ו באב Tu B'Av until ז' אדר zayin Adar, 515 תפילות tefillos. So again, there are other opinions as well, but Otzar Plus HaTorah collects these. When did he offer? This is a classic case where we study חומש Chumash, we know something to be true, he offered many תפילות tefillos. When? How? Where? Why? What precipitated it? Why did he choose those days? and so on and so forth. Other fascinating, other fascinating ideas that come out from his having offered these 515 תפילות tefillos. The בעל הטורים Baal HaTurim says ואתחנן Va'eschanan in גמטריא gematria is 515, you know what else it is? שירה shira. אמר לפניו שירה כדי שישמע תפילתו amar lefanav shira k'dei she'yishma tefilaso. משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu did not just recite his prayers. Some people open a סידור siddur, some people even in their own words, they recite, they say. I forgot which צדיק tzaddik we quote every year before סליחות slichos. You know, they'll talk about when are you, which minyan, when are you saying סליחות slichos? By you, if you want to really butcher the English language, by you, when do they say סליחות slichos? It's an act of murder to the English language. By you, when do they say סליחות slichos? So the צדיקים tzaddikim say we don't say סליחות slichos. You don't say סליחות slichos. You you beseech, you cry out, you call out, you heartfelt, sincere, authentic. So the בעל הטורים Baal HaTurim says Moshe didn't just say the תפילה tefillah. If a person gets a diagnosis, if a person feels there's a terminal situation, if a person is in an urgent crisis, if a person is trying to avert a catastrophe, they don't say a prayer. You don't say a prayer. You cry out, you call out with desperation, with urgency, or with song. So ואתחנן Va'eschanan is also in גמטריא gematria שירה shira. וכן כתוב בספר פענח רזא V'chein kasuv b'Sefer Pa'aneach Raza, ואתחנן Va'eschanan, גמטריא gematria תפילה tefillah, וגמטריא v'gematria שירה shira. This word is the same gematria as prayer, without a yud, and שירה shira, תפילה tefillah and שירה shira. הרוצה שיועיל בקשתו צריך להתפלל בניגון ובנעימת קול harotze sheyo'il bakashaso tzarich l'hispallel b'niggun uv'ne'imas kol. And what do you see from here? כבד את השם מהונך kabeid es Hashem me'honecha, ממה שיחננך m'mah she'yechanencha. You should daven to השם Hashem with a little sing-song. You gotta have a ניגון niggun. Don't just say the davening. אשרי יושבי ביתך Ashrei yoshvei veisecha. שמע ישראל Shema Yisrael. You don't just say the davening like it's a burden, you're unburdening yourself, like you're reading some bad script and you're the worst actor on the planet. You don't just say davening, you sing davening, you call out, you cry out davening. It has to reflect internally what we're feeling. We're not just taking some template, some script, and we're reciting it because it's the checklist of things I have to do. I take this prescription, I go to this place, I go there, I do this, oh and check, I said the davening. I said my davening. You don't say your davening, you sing your davening, you feel your davening, you emote your davening, you call out your davening. That's משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. ואתחנן Va'eschanan is בגמטריא b'gematria תפילה tefillah and בגמטריא b'gematria שירה shira, because for a תפילה tefillah to be a real תפילה tefillah, it's got to be a שירה shira. Sometimes it's a שירה shira, sometimes it's a happy sing-song. Sometimes you got great news, sometimes you're celebrating something wonderful. Sometimes you woke up and you're alive, and that's enough for you to know you're gonna have a great day. So you sing your תפילה tefillah, אשרי יושבי ביתך Ashrei yoshvei veisecha. Other days you're desperate, there's urgency, there's you need הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and so you're singing out a תפילה tefillah, you're you're crying out with a sense of song. But it always has to be with a song. It shouldn't sound like a library. A שול's shul's מנין minyan shouldn't sound like a library, shh, it's a library, shh. Everybody's saying their davening, shh. They're saying it to themselves. No, a מנין minyan should be, you ever daven in קרלין סטולין Karlin Stolin? ר' אהרן קרלינער Reb Aron Karliner left in his צוואה tzava'ah one of the things he said about davening. First he said, if you're not early to davening, you're late. If you're not on time, don't bother coming for davening. The קרלין סטולין בית מדרש Karlin Stolin beis medrash, if you're not on time to davening, don't bother coming. Then he said that you daven quickly. It's a very, very interesting, a fascinating minyan. On-fire חסידים chasidim davening so fast like a runaway train. Why? Because he felt the best shot you have of concentrating the whole time is not if you שלעפּ shlep it out and it's slow and it's boring and you get distracted. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I could focus for that. And the third thing he says is you should scream the תפילה tefillah at the top of your lungs. It'll keep you awake and alive and come from your heart. So, you got to get there early. Their davening is early. I went in Givat Ze'ev, the beis medrash of the Rebbe, and they're screaming at the top of their lungs. It wakes you up in the morning. They're screaming, it's quick and you got to get there early. For some people it's an ideal davening, at least parts of it. So you got to scream it out. It shouldn't sound like a library. People are saying their davening here. You got to sing out and scream out and call out your davening. כשקרבו הקרבנות היו הלויים משוררים שירה k'she'hikrivu ha'korbanos hayu ha'Leviim meshorerim shira. When the korbanos were offered, the Leviim accompanied it with song. היום יום שלישי בשבת שהיו הלויים אומרים בבית המקדש hayom yom shlishi b'Shabbos she'hayu ha'Leviim omrim b'veis ha'mikdash, they used to call out with song. חז\"ל Chazal say תפילה במקום קרבן tefillah b'makom korban. Our davening takes the place of a korban. If the korban was accompanied by a Leviim song, then our davening has to be accompanied with song. You have to sing out, you have to cry out, it has to be alive. I'll tell you a סגולה segulah for being able to do this. You listening carefully? You ready for the סגולה segulah? Have a cup of coffee before davening. If you roll out of bed and you're still half asleep and you're falling apart and the crust of your eyes has not yet been removed, and you're just going to say you davening. But if you wake up early, I'll give you a little plug for our כולל בוקר kollel boker, 6:15 a.m. And many bring this down, the notion of learning before davening. Learning before davening has a lot of value. The quality of your davening is different, you're on time to davening if you're learning at the שול shul before davening, and you're awake. And by the time you've davened, you're already in a conversation with השם Hashem. Learning Torah is השם Hashem talking to us, and davening is our talking to him. So if you learn before you daven, you already spent some time listening to what השם Hashem has to say to you, and now you're ready to talk to him. It changes your davening altogether. So whether you do it in our כולל בוקר kollel boker, whether you do it at home, whether you do it listening to something online, learn before davening, it's a big ענין inyan to be able to turn your תפילה tefillah into a שירה shira. ואתחנן Va'eschanan גמטריא gematria תפילה tefillah, ואתחנן Va'eschanan גמטריא gematria שירה shira. Turn your davening into a שירה shira. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, I want to share with you from רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik says the following, ואתחנן Va'eschanan, when he was told that he would not enter ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, משה Moshe pleaded for forgiveness. Had the people joined him in תפילה tefillah, listen to this point, this רב Rav is beautiful. And it's appropriate, Davka as we are on the brink, on the cusp of תשעה באב Tisha B'av, מירצה שם im yirtzeh Hashem we should come, we should be in ירושלים Yerushalayim. But this week and a שבת נחמו Shabbos Nachamu to follow, listen to this teaching. Had the people joined him in תפילה tefillah, the ריבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam would have been forced to respond. But they did not. Thus, we read with tears in his eyes, we read that with tears in his eyes, משה Moshe tells them, ואתחנן Va'eschanan. Now what's the significance of ואתחנן Va'eschanan? What did he not say? He did not say ונתחנן v'nischanan. What does ונתחנן v'nischanan mean? We davened. He turned to them and he said, you know how I got you out of every sticky situation? You know how I had your back your entire lives? You know how I saved you countless times? You know how I davened and I pleaded and I begged and I got you off the hook over and over again? Well, once השם Hashem told me I wasn't going in, ואתחנן Va'eschanan, not ונתחנן v'nischanan. I, I was all alone. I was, did we have a big תהילים Tehillim rally that I should be able to go into ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael? And you know who showed up? Me, myself, and I. Says משה Moshe, I was the only one there. I was the only one who opened the תהילים Tehillim for me. When it came to you, I had your back. For me and the decree against me and השם Hashem's decision about me and my fate, ואתחנן Va'eschanan, not ונתחנן v'nischanan. You can get emotional, you could cry for משה Moshe when you think about it. This leader who gave up his family, who gave up everything for these people. And in his moment, in his time, when he needed them, ואתחנן Va'eschanan, not ונתחנן v'nischanan. I was a lonely, solitary, prayerful person. I davened, no one else joined in with me. But השם Hashem became angry, he didn't listen to me, למענכם l'ma'anchem, because of you. משה Moshe did not enter ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael because instead of addressing the rock, he hit it. It's not the fault of עם ישראל Am Yisrael that משה Moshe made a mistake. But had the people possessed this sensitivity and the love for משה's Moshe's similar to that love that משה Moshe felt for them, that decree would have been torn to shreds. It was their fault למענכם l'ma'anchem. Last week's Parsha, in fact, we asked the question last week, why does משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu blame כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael? גם בי התאנף השם בגללכם לאמר gam bi his'anaf Hashem biglalchem leimor, because of you, I also wasn't allowed to go in. And רש\"י Rashi says he's talking there about the מרגלים meraglim. Because of what you did with the מרגלים meraglim, I couldn't go in. And we asked last week, what? You didn't get to go in because of מי מריבה Mei Meriva, you hit the rock instead of speaking to it. What are you playing the blame game? And the רמב\"ן Ramban, the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, we went through all these different interpretations of what משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu meant. In our פרשה parsha again, he says, yet again he says, למענכם l'ma'anchem, because of you. So רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik is teaching and is interpreting, what is למענכם l'ma'anchem? What does משה Moshe mean, because of you I didn't get to go in? Not because of you, the original decree. The decree was on me, says משה Moshe, I hit the rock instead of speaking to it. Alai, the decree was because of me. But what is your fault? Because if you would have showed up to that תהילים Tehillim gathering, if you would have poured out your לב leiv, if you would have had me in mind, then that decree would have been torn to shreds. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu would have let me in, למענכם l'ma'anchem, you don't have my back the way I had yours. In the list of מצוות mitzvos before הלכות תעניות Hilchos Ta'anios, the רמב\"ם Rambam says the section contains one מצווה mitzvah, right, there's a header before the mitzvos, and the רמב\"ם Rambam in הלכות תעניות Hilchos Ta'anios, in the laws of fast days, the רמב\"ם Rambam says there's one מצווה mitzvah in here and that is היא לצעוק hi litz'ok, to cry out to השם Hashem in times of dangers in the הקדמה hakdama to הלכות תעניות Hilchos Ta'anios. Then in הלכות תעניות Hilchos Ta'anios, in the הלכות halachos itself, פרק א הלכה א perek aleph halacha aleph, the רמב\"ם Rambam, he repeats the מצווה mitzvah, but instead of saying the מצווה mitzvah is לצעוק litz'ok with a צדי tzadi, he says the מצווה mitzvah is לזעוק liz'ok with a זין zayin. He changes the צדי tzadi into a זין zayin. Says the רב Rav, such a slight variation, sometimes unnoticeable, always intrigued me and still does. What is the distinction? What is the difference between לזעוק liz'ok and לצעוק litz'ok? Fascinating. The רמב\"ם Rambam doesn't do anything by accident. If he changed that one letter, he did it for a reason. So is the fast day about לצעוק litz'ok, as it says in the introduction, or is the fast day about לזעוק liz'ok, as it says in the הלכה halacha proper? Said רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, לצעוק Litz'ok with a צדי tzadi means to protest. A certain woman, the wife of one of the sons of the נביאים nevi'im, צעקה tza'aka to אלישע Elisha. In מלכים ב פרק ד Melachim Beis Perek Daled, the נביא navi tells us that there was a certain woman, the wife of one of the נביאים nevi'im, she was צעקה tza'aka to אלישע Elisha. She didn't yell at אלישע Elisha but complained to him. The word לזעוק liz'ok has an additional connotation of mobilizing, assembling, congregating. There are many passages in the Torah where the term is meant in the sense of prayer as well as a summons addressed to others to do likewise and to join. For example, the best example, ויזעק זעקה גדולה ומרה va'yiz'ak ze'aka gedolah u'marah, he cried with alarm with a bitter cry. Where's that? Where's that pasuk? ויזעק זעקה גדולה ומרה va'yiz'ak ze'aka gedolah u'marah. מגילת אסתר Megillas Esther. מרדכי Mordechai didn't do that because he became hysterical. He cried out with alarm, with a bitter cry. Why does it say that? ויזעק va'yiz'ak, זעקה ze'aka with a זין zayin. He wasn't hysterical. What was he doing? It was a phone tree, it was a mass text, it was an email. He was calling the community to join him in תפילה tefillah. Another example, ויזעק אל השם כל הלילה va'yiz'ak el Hashem kol ha'lailah. שמואל א Shmuel Aleph. שמואל Shmuel summons the people to join him in תפילה tefillah for שאול Shaul. Had the people done so, the wrath of השם Hashem would have been mitigated, שאול Shaul wouldn't have lost the kingdom. The people didn't respond. So ויזעק va'yiz'ak with a זין zayin is, 'Hey, everybody gather, everybody come together, we're having a Tehillim gathering.' זעקה Ze'aka expresses the love of the individual for the community and the dedication of the community to the individual. A solitary person davens in isolation, silently, in complete privacy. תפילה Tefillah is the monologue of the individual who stands before the Almighty, who is the one God, an individual in the absolute sense of the word. זעקה ze'aka on the other hand means that I exist only within the community, within the רבים rabbim. My existence is justified because I feel love for the community. I get involved with ציבור tzibbur, I summon the ציבור tzibbur to daven with me. Not להתפלל l'hispallel before השם Hashem but לזעוק liz'ok before him. It's totally different. The individual's תפילה tefillah on their own versus the individual who blends into a community and a קהילה kehillah that gathered and a community that comes together and a community that complements one another and the community comes not להתפלל l'hispallel to daven as individuals one plus one plus one plus one, but a community takes on a new identity. It is a new entity and it offers a new type of תפילה tefillah and that is לזעוק liz'ok, to cry out. To cry out. After the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel, when משה Moshe davened for the community for 40 days in succession, השם Hashem tolerated his intercession on behalf of the community. Indeed, he granted atonement to the people. On this occasion, when, however, when משה Moshe tried to daven to השם Hashem, השם Hashem stopped him in the middle. When משה Moshe's daven was recited in the plural, all the gates were opened and השם Hashem allowed him to intercede for the רבים rabbim. But when משה Moshe changed ואתחנן Va'eschanan to the singular, when no one else showed up, the gates were closed. And loving kindness was slammed in his face. השם Hashem rejected the תפילה tefillah. The הלכה Halacha has taught the individual to include fellow man in prayer. The individual must not limit himself to his own needs. No matter how pressing those needs are and how distinguished he is, הלכה Halacha has formulated תפילה tefillah in the plural. There's hardly a תפילה tefillah which avails itself of the grammatical singular. Even private תפילות tefillos, such as those offered on the occasion of sickness, death, or other crises, are recited in the plural. For example, המקום ינחם אתכם ha'makom yenachem eschem, even if there's one person sitting שבעה shiva. The גמרא שבת Gemara Shabbos says that when one visits the sick, רבי יהודה Rebbi Yehuda taught, you say, may השם Hashem have mercy on you and בתוך שאר חולי ישראל b'soch sha'ar cholei Yisrael. רש\"י Rashi there comments, through inclusion of others, your תפילה tefillah is heard for the sake of the רבים rabbim. The מדרש Midrash states that had the community joined משה Moshe in his תפילה tefillah, השם Hashem would have granted their quest. He would not have rejected the תפילה tefillah for the רבים rabbim. Unfortunately, the community didn't understand the secret of תפילה tefillah. As a consequence of their ignorance, משה Moshe died in the מדבר midbar. The word ואתחנן Va'eschanan implies supplication. The name for תחנון tachanun is derived from the same word as ואתחנן Va'eschanan, right, the root of ואתחנן Va'eschanan is תחנון tachanun. The idea that we can make no claim that we deserve to have our requests fulfilled. We have no merits. We recite the תפילה tefillah, in נפילת אפים nefilas apayim, תחנון tachanun like ואתחנן Va'eschanan is a מתנת חינם matnas chinam, we're undeserving, so we fall on our arm, and we desperately daven to השם Hashem to help us nonetheless. This image that the Rav paints is powerful, it's painful, but it's also a reminder for all of us, both as individuals, not to try to go at it alone, not to try to suffer in silence or solitude, but as חז\"ל Chazal tell us, that we should let others know about our ailments and predicaments, and we should invite others to daven for us. Because the תפילות tefillos of the רבים rabbim, when people unite in תפילה tefillah, when they call out, when together they are לזעוק liz'ok, זעקה גדולה ze'aka gedolah, when they call out, it is heard, it is accepted, it is received entirely differently. But it's also our responsibility as a community to show up. Is there is there a more painful description than משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu? He's all alone. He calls the Tehillim gathering. He starts a Tehillim WhatsApp group and he says, okay, someone take a few תהילים Tehillim. He gives out the booklets and no one takes one. He's all alone. They don't show up, they don't have his back the way he has theirs. It's ואתחנן Va'eschanan, not ונתחנן v'nischanan, and that's why, that's why it's בגללכם biglalchem, that's why it's their fault, because they left him all alone, and that's why it was not received, he wasn't, he wasn't entered. There's a beautiful קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi, brought down in the אמרות טהרות Imros Tehoros. קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi says the following, ואתחנן אל השם בעת ההיא לאמר Va'eschanan el Hashem ba'eis ha'hi leimor. The גמרא Gemara tells us when it comes to סמיכות גאולה לתפילה smichas geulah l'tefillah, we say גאל ישראל Ga'al Yisrael and right after we say גאל ישראל Ga'al Yisrael, boom, we go into the עמידה Amidah. אמר רבי יוחנן בתחילה אומר השם שפתי תפתח omar Rebbi Yochanan ba'tchila omer Hashem sefasai tiftach. But I thought we say השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach before we begin the עמידה Amidah. The עמידה Amidah proper begins with the first ברכה bracha which is אבות Avos, ברוך אתה השם Baruch ata Hashem. We introduce it with השם שפתי תפתח ופי יגיד תהילתך Hashem sefasai tiftach ufi yagid tehilasecha. So isn't that an interruption between גאולה לתפילה geulah l'tefillah? to which the גמרא Gemara concludes, כיון דתקינו רבנן לממר השם שפתי תפתח כתפילה אריכתא דמיא keivan d'takinu Rabbanan l'meimar Hashem sefasai tiftach k'tefillah arichta damya. The truth is it is an insulary, it does complement the תפילה tefillah, it's not part of the תפילה tefillah proper, but since its significance as a prelude, it is as if it's a תפילה אריכתא tefillah arichta. It is a prolonged, elaborated תפילה tefillah. So, wonders רבי לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב Rebbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, למה לא תירוץ לחורא הרי אלו אומרים כיון דתקינו רבנן לתפילה. כלומר מכיון שאנשי כנסת הגדולה שתיקנו התפילה והם גם תיקנו לאמר השם שפתי תפתח אין זה נקרא הפסק בין גאולה לתפילה. lamah lo teirutz la'chora harei eilu omrim keivan d'takinu Rabbanan l'tefillah. Klomar, m'keivan she'anshei Knesses HaGedolah she'tiknu ha'tefillah v'heim gam tiknu lomar Hashem sefasai tiftach ein zeh nikra hefsek bein geulah l'tefillah. What kind of an answer was this? Why don't we just answer, if it's a תפילה אריכתא tefillah arichta, just say it's תפילה tefillah. In other words, why is השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach not an interruption between גאולה geulah, גאל ישראל Ga'al Yisrael and תפילה tefillah? The answer should have been because it is, it's תפילה tefillah. It's not an interruption because it's תפילה tefillah. We didn't answer that. The גמרא Gemara answered, it's a תפילה אריכתא tefillah arichta. It's an extension of תפילה tefillah, it's the prelude to תפילה tefillah. What's a prelude to תפילה tefillah? What's an extension of תפילה tefillah? What is a תפילה אריכתא tefillah arichta as opposed to just תפילה tefillah? The same אנשי כנסת הגדולה Anshei Knesses HaGedolah who authored the עמידה Amidah are the ones who instituted saying השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach first. So call that תפילה tefillah. Why call it a תפילה אריכתא tefillah arichta? It's a little bonus siddur snippet for you because we're already past this in the עמידה Amidah. So listen to what רב לוי יצחק Reb Levi Yitzchak says based on our parsha. השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach, התפילה על זה שיוכל אדם לעמוד ולהתפלל תפילה זכה וצלולה ברורה לפני השם ha'tefillah al zeh she'yuchal adam la'amod u'l'hispallel tefillah zakah u'tzlula brurah lifnei Hashem. השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach is part of a תפילה tefillah but not part of a תפילה tefillah. It's part of davening in that we're offering it and saying it to השם Hashem, singing it to השם Hashem. But it's also not part of a תפילה tefillah, it's the introduction to the תפילה tefillah because what is it that we're davening for? We're davening that the davening go well. השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach, open my lips, let this davening go well, smoothly, let me articulate the words, let me be focused on their meaning, let me be present in this conversation, let them be heard and received well, let you find favor in responding to them. Before we begin the conversation with השם Hashem, before we daven, we daven about the davening we're about to daven to השם Hashem. Before we daven, you know, like the speakers say, before I speak, I'd like to say a few words. Before I daven, I'd like to daven a little bit. Before I daven, I'd like to daven that I should be able to daven, that my davening be a davening. It sounds funny, but it makes sense. The truth is, if you know where it comes from, it makes even more sense. Where do these words השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach come from? תהילים Tehillim, I think נ\"ב nun beis. It's a קפיטל kapitel where דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech is being held accountable by נתן הנביא Nasan HaNavi for the מעשה עם בת שבע ma'aseh im Bas Sheva. Now the truth is the גמרא Gemara tells us that anyone who says דוד חטא אין אלא טועה Dovid chata ein ela to'eh. You're making a mistake, don't oversimplify the situation between David and Bas Sheva. But דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech himself says חטאתי להשם chatasi l'Hashem. David says about himself, I made a terrible mistake. And here in this קפיטל kapitel, דוד Dovid is. owning up to the mistake, he is receiving the rebuke for the mistake he says he made. And there we have this פסוק pasuk. ה' שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach, ה' Hashem open my lips. It's as if דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech is saying, ה' Hashem, I goofed, I messed up. I really, really blew it. And I'm so far away from you, and I feel so inadequate, and I don't know that you even want to hear from me, I don't know that you'll even receive me, I don't know that I can find the words how to say I'm sorry. So ה' שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach, before I approach you to try to reconcile, before I approach you to try to repair, ה' שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach, help me find the right words. I דאווען daven that this conversation go well.Did you ever have to have a difficult conversation with someone you love, you care about in business, to repair and reconcile or to break up or end a relationship? You דאווען daven that you find the right words. You דאווען daven that the conversation go well. That's ה' שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach. Says the קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi, that is תפילה דאריכתא tefillah d'arichta. It's not part of תפילה tefillah, because it's the prelude, the introduction to תפילה tefillah. ה' Hashem, let it go well, let it go smoothly, give me the right words, let me find the right thing to say. It's the prelude, it's the introduction, but it's not a הפסק hefsek between גאולה geulah and תפילה tefillah, because it is the license to תפילה tefillah, it's the key to open the lips to start תפילה tefillah. הנה משה רבינו עלה במדרגה גדולה זו שבכל עת תמיד היו כל תפילותיו זכות וצלולות וברורות ושגורות בפיו Hinei Moshe Rabbeinu aleh b'madreiga gedola zu, she'b'chol eis tamid hayu kol tefillosav zachos u'tzlulos u'vruros u'shguros b'fiv. Says רב לוי יצחק Rav Levi Yitzchak, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, he didn't need to דאווען daven let it go smoothly. He was משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. He was מדבר פן בפן ה' medaber pan b'pan Hashem. Nobody had greater access, nobody had more comfort with ה' Hashem. He didn't need to. ממילא Mamela he didn't have to say this special תפילה tefillah before תפילה tefillah, I דאווען daven that I דאווען daven well. He never needed that. Except here. Why? Because over and over and over, it was no, no, no, no. So it wasn't working, it wasn't flowing. It wasn't happening. Says רב לוי יצחק Rav Levi Yitzchak, אזוי'ס אַ פּשט azoi's a pshat. ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא Va'eschanan el Hashem ba'eis hahi. בעת ההיא דוקא ba'eis hahi davka. In this circumstance, in this moment, when it comes to this thing where I keep getting no, no, no, הירגיש הצורך להתחנן להתפלל פני צורתו לאמר hirgish she'tzorech l'hischanen l'hispallel pnei tzuraso leimor. So ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא Va'eschanan el Hashem ba'eis hahi, he davened to ה' Hashem this time, what was the תפילה tefillah? לאמר Leimor. לאמר Leimor, give me the words to say. ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא Va'eschanan el Hashem ba'eis hahi, in that moment, what was the תפילה tefillah he offered? לאמר Leimor, help me find the right words. You're going into a difficult conversation, you're going into a complicated negotiation, you're going into some conversation which is critical and crucial and really important, and you're concerned about it. ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא Va'eschanan el Hashem ba'eis hahi, you could דאווען daven to ה' Hashem about that moment and conversation, לאמר leimor, when it comes to these words, ה' Hashem give me the words, give me the right words to say. And what did he say? Continuing, פרק ג פסוק כה Perek gimmel, pasuk chaf hei. אעברה נא ואראה את הארץ הטובה אשר בעבר הירדן Ebra na v'er'e es ha'aretz hatova asher b'ever haYarden. ההר הטוב הזה והלבנון ha'har hatov hazeh, v'haLevanon. Let me pass over, let me come into this land, let me see this land. ה' Hashem, please, so desperate, yearning. The אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pli'os haTorah has a collection here of מדרשים Midrashim. Moshe expressed his desperation to go into the land. He didn't say, and if it's okay, I'd like to go first class. And I'd like to stay only in the Waldorf. And I'd like to be upgraded to a suite. And I want the continental breakfast. And that driver with the limo, please have prepared for me. And I want to be able to go to ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael only the way I want also the VIP when I land, they take me right around, I don't want to wait on. That's how I want to go. For some, who are blessed after 2,000 years to go, that's the only way they want to go. If I can get the VIP, if I qualify for the upgrade, if I can have the. You know how משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to go? Listen to this. The מדרש דברים רבה Midrash Devarim Rabbah tells us, על תשוקתו של משה רבינו al tshukaso shel Moshe Rabbeinu. His תשוקה tshuka, his yearning, his thirst, his insatiable desire. Let me just get into, let me just put a toe, let me put a foot, let me just be on that holy land. Whatever it takes. אעברה נא ואראה את הארץ הטובה Ebra na v'er'e es ha'aretz hatova, let me pass over, let me enter into the land, let me see it. זאגט דער מדרש, אמר משה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא, רבונו של עולם Zoggt der Midrash, amar Moshe lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Ribbono shel Olam, אם אין אתה מכניס אותי לארץ ישראל, הניחני כחיית השדה im ein atah machnis osi l'Eretz Yisrael, hanicheini k'chayas hasadeh. שהם אוכלים עשבים ושותים מים וחיים ורואים את העולם, כך תהא נא נפשי כאחת מהם she'heim ochlin esavim v'shosim mayim v'chaim v'ro'im es ha'olam, kach teh na nafshi k'achas meihem. Let me go in like an animal. Let me go in like an animal. I don't know if he means reincarnated like an animal, let me go in on all fours and just eat from the grass of the field. If I can't go in in the Waldorf with the upgrade to the suite, I'm happy to go in like a cow. I'm happy to go in like a cat in ירושלים Yerushalayim in the dumpster. אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא, רב לך Amar lo Hakadosh Baruch Hu, rav lach. No. אמר משה לפניו, רבונו של עולם Amar Moshe lifanav, Ribbono shel Olam, אם לאו, הניחני בעולם הזה כעוף, שפורח בכל ארבע רוחות העולם im lof, anicheini b'olam hazeh k'of, she'porei'ach b'chol arba ruchos ha'olam. Let me go in like a bird. If I can't let my feet touch the ground of ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, at least let me like a drone, a bird, let me fly over, let me see it from the air. הקדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu says, רב לך rav lach. Stop asking. The answer is still no. The תורת מנחה Toras Mincha quotes another מדרש Midrash. ביקש משה אף שאעבור בכל הפחות כדג דרך המים Bikesh Moshe af she'e'evor b'chol ha'pachos k'dag derech ha'mayim. Let me swim in. Let me come in in the ocean, let me come in from the sea, let me come up the river, let me at least see it. אעברה נא ואראה את הארץ הטובה, אמר משה לפניו, רבונו של עולם, אעברה ברגלי ואראה Ebra na v'er'e es ha'aretz hatova. Amar Moshe lifanav, Ribbono shel Olam, evra b'raglai v'er'e. או אפרח באויר, או אעבור כדג דרך המים O efrach b'avir, o e'evor k'dag derech hamayim. או כהדיוט, באיזה ענין o k'hedyot, b'eizeh inyan, any way. Just let me in, get me in any way I can. Anyway, I'll take it anyway. Anyway, over and over. The מגלה עמוקות Megaleh Amukos, פרשת parshas, on our פרשה parsha, שהתפלל משה יבוא בעיבור נשמה she'hispallel Moshe yavo b'ibur neshama בעוף, בבהמה, בדג b'of, b'heima, b'dag. Let me be reincarnated, transmigrate my soul into some other creature. I don't need to come in with dignity. I don't need to come in as a human being. I don't need to be upgraded. Put me underneath with the luggage, like a dog in a box. However I it takes, I'll get there whatever it takes, however it takes. The דברי הימים של משה רבינו Divrei HaYamim shel Moshe Rabbeinu, ספר sefer called דברי הימים של משה רבינו Divrei HaYamim shel Moshe Rabbeinu, never heard of this ספר sefer. A ספר אגדה sefer Aggadah. The אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pli'os haTorah I heard of, of course. He says, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu said, אמר לו, רבונו של עולם amar lo, Ribbono shel Olam, הניחני על כנפי העננים כשגמל פרסותיהם למעלה מן הירדן hanicheini al kanfei ha'ananim k'she'yigmol parsoseihem l'ma'ala min haYarden. I'll come in on the clouds, let me ride the clouds, let me at least look down 30,000 feet. Anything. Let me put my feet on, let me be an animal, let me be a bird, let me be a fish, let me be a drone, let me go on the clouds. The ספר דברי הימים sefer Divrei HaYamim quotes another, רבונו של עולם, חתוך אותי אבר אבר Ribbono shel Olam, chatech osi ever ever, והשליכני אחרי הירדן, ואחייני ואראה את הארץ v'hashlicheini acharei haYarden, v'echyeni v'er'e es ha'aretz. Chop me up in pieces. Let me go in, my limbs in pieces to be buried there. כאילו Ke'ilu as if I and then it won't be that you violated what you said, I can't go in. So it will be that I didn't go in whole, but if you let me go in chopped in pieces and be buried there, at least I got in. Or the בינה לעיתים Binah L'Itim, בינה לעיתים Binah L'Itim quotes another, אעברה נא ואראה ebra na v'er'e, שלא ביקש לשבת ולשכון בארץ ישראל בדירת קבע shelo bikesh lishav lishaken b'Eretz Yisrael b'diras keva. He said fine. I can't live there? I can't settle there? I can't make עליה aliyah and bring the people there? Let me just go for an hour. Let me go in and out. Let me just come, one night. אעברה נא ואראה Ebra na v'er'e. אראה er'e means let me see it. Let me just go for one night, let me just see it. And he goes on and on and on, quotes many others. משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was desperate. Why do I share that? Because it shows the תשוקה tshuka, the love, the yearning, the thirst, the magnetic draw that משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu had for ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. And here we are. Here we are on the cusp, we're in the שבת שחל בו תשעה באב Shabbos shechal bo Tisha B'Av. There are legitimate reasons not to make עליה aliyah. But there's no legitimate reason not to be struggling with and planning for when we'll make עליה aliyah. The question is not if, but when. We should have that yearning for the land, we should be uncomfortable where we are, we should want like משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu and not insist on all the upgrades and all the comforts and all the luxuries and all the פרוטקציה protektzia and all the. However we can get there, what a gift, what a privilege, what a blessing, and what a time that we're living in that we can go. We have to be grateful so we don't, חלילה chalila, lose it. And we have to transform that gratitude and that yearning to take a little piece, a sliver of משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu's תשוקה tshuka ourselves to be able to fulfill that, not if, but when. פרק ד פסוק ו Perek daled, pasuk vov.תורה Torah now continues. ועתה ישראל שמע אל החוקים ואל המשפטים V'ata Yisrael shma el ha'chukim v'el ha'mishpatim. We mentioned last week ספר דברים Sefer Devarim is the greatest מוסר ספר musar sefer that we have. קחו עמכם דברים kichu imachem devarim. If you take דברים Devarim, then שובו אל ה' shuvu el Hashem, you're going to do תשובה teshuvah. So now we get to some of the מוסר musar. Now, Jewish people, listen to the חוקים ומשפטים chukim v'mishpatim that I'm teaching you so that you live, למען תחיו l'maan tichyu. You want to live? If you live absent תורה Torah and מצוות mitzvos, you might have a pulse, but you're not alive. You're just struggling through this world. You want to really be alive? You want to touch immortality, you want to touch eternity, you want to really be alive? Then, למען תחיו l'maan tichyu, then שמע אל החוקים ואל המשפטים shma el ha'chukim v'el ha'mishpatim. You have to be not only observing, you have to be listening. I'll tell you a פשט pshat in this פסוק pasuk I just thought of in this moment. Right now. Right now. What do you mean שמע אל החוקים shma el ha'chukim? You don't listen to חוקים ומשפטים chukim v'mishpatim, what do you do with them? You perform them. You act on them, you behave them. They regulate your life, your lifestyle. ועתה ישראל V'ata Yisrael it should say, now כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, are you listening? Listen closely. Step up. It's time to live like תורה Torah Jews, observe תורה Torah law. He doesn't say. He says שמע shma, listen. Why listen? Why listen? Because I think it's not enough to observe. There are many people who live checklist Judaism. Check, שחרית Shacharis check, מנחה Mincha check, קינות Kinos I said check, blow the שופר shofar check, let the, check, let the, put on the תפילין tefillin, check. Check, check, check, check. Were you present? Did you hear those מצוות mitzvos screaming out to you? Do you understand the פנימיות pnimius, the depth of each of these מצוות mitzvos? Did you take advantage of the invitation, the opportunity to connect with the divine, that they speak to you and who you should be and what your mission is? שמע Shma, are you listening to the מצוות mitzvos? What made me think of this right now? Because this just jarred a thought. שמע אל החוקים ואל המשפטים Shma el ha'chukim v'el ha'mishpatim, listen to the חוקים ומשפטים chukim v'mishpatim, what do we say every single morning? In between שמע Shma when we stand up for the שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreh, what do we say in עזרת ישראל Ezras Yisrael, what do we say? אשרי איש שישמע למצוותיך Ashrei ish she'yishma l'mitzsosecha. Wow. You know who's blessed? You know who's fortunate? You know who's lucky? אשרי Ashrei, you know who? ישמע למצוותיך yishma l'mitzsosecha. If you hear the מצוות mitzvos talking to you. If the מצוות mitzvos are calling out to you, if the מצוות mitzvos are calling your name, if the מצוות mitzvos are telling you their profundity and their depth. If the מצוות mitzvos speak to you, wow, that's our life, that's our mission, that's our purpose. Not just to perform them perfunctory, not just to observe them or do them, but to hear them, to listen to them. שמע אל החוקים ואל המשפטים למען תחיו Shma el ha'chukim v'el ha'mishpatim, l'maan tichyu. Only then are you alive. You could do everything on the outside right. You could live the checklist Judaism on the outside, but you're not alive unless you're listening to the מצוות mitzvos. And that's the reminder, not just in פרשת ואתחנן Parshas Va'eschanan, but every day when we דאווען daven. אשרי איש שישמע למצוותיך Ashrei ish she'yishma l'mitzsosecha. סורס על ישמח לבו Soras al yismach libo. אשרי איש שישמע למצוותיך Ashrei ish she'yishma l'mitzsosecha, not just do them. Listen to them. They're talking to you. The תפילין tefillin are talking to you. They say give me a kiss. Know the פרשיות parshiyos that are inside. Understand why you're binding your arm, your heart and your head. Why are you putting this animal hide? How are you elevating and trans... listen to it. You're lighting the שבת Shabbos candles. Don't just say I got to the קוגל kugel's still in the oven, I got I said the table, this kid's still not ready yet. Listen to the שבת Shabbos candles talking to you. They're calling your name. And they're saying bask in my light, feel the warmth of these candles, דאווען daven for your children, illuminate the world. Every מצוה mitzvah is calling out to us, it's speaking to us. שמע אל החוקים Shma el ha'chukim, only then למען תחיו l'maan tichyu, only then are you alive. Okay, that's my own interpretation. I never say original thoughts. You're not supposed to say a שהחיינו שבוע שחל בו shehecheyanu shvua shechal bo. I hope it's okay, I just had an original thought. But it wasn't an original thought. שמע אל החוקים ואל המשפטים למען תחיו Shma el ha'chukim v'el ha'mishpatim l'maan tichyu and אשרי איש שישמע למצותיך Ashrei ish she'yishma l'mitzvo secha.פרק ד פסוק ו Perek daled, pasuk vov. Turning the page. Continuing on this theme. ושמרתם ועשיתם כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים אשר ישמעון את כל החוקים האלה U'shmartem v'asisem ki hi chachmaschem u'vinaschem l'einei ha'amim asher yishme'un es kol ha'chukim ha'eileh ואמרו רק עם חכם ונבון הגוי הגדול הזה v'amru rak am chacham v'navon hagoy hagadol hazeh. פסוק ו Pasuk vov. תורה Torah tells us, safeguard and perform them, it is your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of the people who will hear these decrees and will say, surely a wise and discerning people is this great nation. I decided not to share with you, but the אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pli'os haTorah has a long discussion over here on this פסוק pasuk about the wisdom and the genius of תורה Torah, that everything really is in the תורה Torah and from the תורה Torah. Observe and keep חכמה chachmah because this is the חכמה chachmah and בינה binah לעיני העמים l'einei ha'amim. Among the nations of the world, they'll find it all in תורה Torah. And then he goes on and he has a whole essay. חכמים ידעו את החכמות קודם חכמי אומות העולם Chachamim yad'u es ha'chachmos kodem chachmei umos ha'olam. תורה Torah and our tradition knew the truths of science and even technology before the world. You say what are you talking about? You know what he's talking about? He collected, the אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pli'os haTorah. We, the תורה Torah knew the world was round even long before Columbus, Copernicus, this one, that one, we already had the tradition, תורה Torah sources that reference the תורה Torah is round. We had x-ray. X-ray. We had x-ray before the תורה Torah. The ability to see inside the bones, he quotes all this from the מונקאטשער Munkatcher. We have, he goes through all these חשבון התקופות cheshbon ha'tkufos, going seeing from space, technology, he has all these examples where science only caught up with תורה Torah. כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים Ki hi chachmaschem u'vinaschem l'einei ha'amim. You see from this פסוק pasuk. But I want to go a different direction, and that is from Rav Soloveitchik. Rav Soloveitchik number two. ושמרתם ועשיתם כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים U'shmartem v'asisem ki hi chachmaschem u'vinaschem l'einei ha'amim. And you should keep them and do them. This is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the people. The תורה Torah was not given to the non-Jews directly, but ה' Hashem has offered to all of mankind indirectly as a promise, a vision, an eschatological expectation, the ultimate end of history. The תורה Torah was given to us so many millennia ago. Our task was and still is to teach the תורה Torah to mankind, to influence the non-Jewish world, to redeem it from its orgiastic way of living, from cruelty and insensitivity, to arouse in mankind a sense of justice and fairness. In a word, we are to teach the world the שבע מצוות sheva mitzvos that are binding on every human being. This פסוק pasuk, says Rav Soloveitchik, is the motto and mission statement of a Jew. That the תורה Torah is not meant for the Jewish people alone. Don't hide in the corner and don't live so insular, and don't only worry about ourselves, our fate and our destiny. The תורה Torah was given for us to repair and redeem ה' Hashem's world, to be able to redeem mankind, to teach. And I don't know a time that the world needed the values and principles of תורה Torah more than now. I don't know a time it needed it more than now. I sometimes, you know if you look online Rav Manis Friedman, his teachings are watched. The numbers are outrageous. A million and a half people saw, a million people listened to this video, hundreds of thousands listened to this. So I was talking to one of the people who helps him disseminate his תורה Torah, and he said, yeah, the majority of the audience are non-Jews. He's talking about the wisdom of marriage, and of parenting, and of happiness, and of life. He's taking תורה Torah and he's expressing it in a vocabulary and making it accessible to the world. And that's our mission. That's our purpose. That's what we're here to do. Now, תורה Torah, you're not allowed to teach a non-Jew. תורה שבעל פה Torah she'ba'al peh you're not allowed to teach a non-Jew. That's meant for the Jewish people. In fact, one of the big discussions and debates around the translation of ש\"ס Shas. When Artscroll translated ש\"ס Shas, we take for granted today, Artscroll finished בבלי Bavli, now they finished ירושלמי Yerushalmi, now they're going through תוספות Tosefos, Artscroll, ממש mamash, unbelievable what Artscroll puts out. But if you look at the very first volume of the very first printing, I think it was מכות Makkos, when they started to translate ש\"ס Shas, you'll find the הסכמות haskamos the גדולי ישראל Gedolei Yisrael wrote and they gathered from everyone they could. You know why? There were people very opposed. They said, what are you doing? It's going to be in the Library of Congress, it's going to be in secular libraries, any non-Jew now can open up our גמרא Gemara, our ש\"ס Shas, and access our תורה Torah that's supposed to be בעל פה ba'al peh. It's in Aramaic and it's written in such a complicated way that requires to still have a Rebbe. And now you translated it and simplified it, you made it accessible to the masses. It was incredibly controversial, and there were those who were opposed to it. And it was very bold of Artscroll to push through. And look at the gift it's given the world, but it's not פשוט pashut. Because תורה שבעל פה Torah she'ba'al peh is meant for Jews alone. But תורה שבכתב Torah she'b'ksav, it's for the whole world. That's why it's in the dresser at every hotel room. And certainly the שבע מצוות בני נח sheva mitzvos Bnei Noach. The Rebbe זצ\"ל zatzal had major campaigns to teach and promote the observance of שבע מצוות בני נח sheva mitzvos Bnei Noach. The world is upside down and backwards. They don't know, they don't know basic biological definitions. We are reinterpreting basic institutions and policies and principles. The world is increasingly confused and not recognizable. And now more than ever we should not shy away. We should share with the world proudly and non-defensively and unapologetically what we stand for. Why? כי היא חכמתכם ki hi chachmaschem ובינתכם לעיני העמים u'vinaschem l'einei ha'amim. Because our תורה Torah, look at this פסוק pasuk. Our תורה Torah is the חכמה chachmah and the בינה binah לעיני העמים l'einei ha'amim. They should find you online and offline, at work and in the supermarket. And they should say, oh, that Jew taught me everything about marriage and about parenting and about life and about generosity and about health and about mental health and about. We've been assigned another mission, continues the Rav, to be the message carrier and mentor not only of the שבע מצוות sheva mitzvos that apply to the descendants of נח Noach, to the human race as a whole, but also a total outlook on life, the entire moral system to which Jews are committed. The non-Jewish world is expected to take note of the תורה Torah life we lead, to admire our ways, our customs and our mores, our משפטים mishpatim and חוקים chukim, our rational and non-rational. The Jew must stand out in society as exemplars. Our way of life must impress and attract people and fascinate their curiosity. You know, there's a podcast about Jews and money, which I would think is a terrible name for a podcast. What's it called? Maybe that's what it's called. Anyone know what I'm talking about here? Also, millions of views. You know who the audience is listening? It's non-Jews. In Korea, in China, why? Because they think, oh, if you want to make a lot of money, you know who's smart and good at it. Now they're tuning in. And that might be a very stereotypical reason, borderline anti-Semitic reason to tune in. But great, they're tuning in because the podcast are תורה Torah personalities sharing a תורה Torah perspective on finance and consumerism and materialism and an approach to life. Fantastic. The non-Jews around the world are tuning in to hear the תורה Torah view of these things because כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים ki hi chachmaschem u'vinaschem l'einei ha'amim. We're not meant to hold it back and keep it to ourselves. We should share it with the world. מתן תורה Matan Torah, the giving of the תורה Torah, initiated the Messianic process of redeeming the world from its crudity and profundity. תורה Torah was given to the Jew who was told to disseminate the word of ה' Hashem among pagans, atheists, agnostics, and hedonists, thereby bringing them to their maker. It is a piecemeal, slow movement and will be consummated into the era of משיח Mashiach when the mountain of ה' Hashem's house will be established on the top of the mountain. So this פסוק pasuk is a mission statement of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. And I think we all, we bear an awesome responsibility today to step up and to fulfill it. And then the next פסוק pasuk continues, פסוק ז pasuk zayin. כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלקים קרובים אליו כה' אלקינו בכל קראנו אליו Ki mi goy gadol asher lo Elokim krovim eilav k'Hashem Elokeinu b'chol kor'einu eilav. Because who, which is a great nation that has ה' Hashem who is close to it as is ה' Hashem our God whenever we call out to him? This should be reminiscent of another פסוק pasuk authored by דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech that we say every day three times a day. קרוב ה' לכל קוראיו לכל אשר יקראוהו באמת Karov Hashem l'chol kor'av, l'chol asher yikra'uhu v'emes. Here, תורה Torah, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu says, who is like a great nation who call out to ה' Hashem and who answers us בכל קראנו אליו b'chol koreinu eilav, whenever we call out to him. הקדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu. Now, whenever we call out to him? So the ירושלמי Yerushalmi in ברכות Brachos דרשנ'ס darshens this פסוק pasuk in another way. רבי שמעון בן לקיש אמר, בשר ודם יש לו קרוב, אם הוא עשיר, הוא מודה בו שהוא קרובו ומתגאה בו. ואם קרובו עני, הוא כופרו בו כאילו אינו מכירו Ribbi Shimon ben Lakish amar, basar v'dam yesh lo karov, im hu ashir, hu modeh bo shehu krovo, u'mizga'eh bo. V'im karovo ani, hu kofro bo k'ilu eino makiro. Says, you know, somebody's trying to get your attention, family member or an acquaintance, a friend. So with people, if that person is rich, powerful, influential, then you say, absolutely, we're related, we're close, sure. If the person is poor, powerless, has no influence, you say, leave me alone, I don't know you, we're not related, I don't know what you're talking about, back away. הוא כופרו בו כאילו אינו מכירו hu kofro bo k'ilu eino makiro, you pretend you don't even know him. אבל הקדוש ברוך הוא אינו כן Aval Hakadosh Baruch Hu eino kein. זאגט דער ירושלמי Zoggt der Yerushalmi, ה' Hashem's the opposite. אפילו ישראל נתונים בירידה התחתונה, הוא קורא אותם אחי ורעי Afilu Yisraelim nsunim b'yeridah hatachtona, hu korei osam achai v're'ai. A Jew, a ייד Yid, could be on the lowest level, poor in תורה Torah and מצוות mitzvos, poor in merits and virtues, and ה' Hashem still calls us למען אחי ורעי l'maan achai v're'ai, ה' Hashem still calls us אחי ורעי achai v're'ai. רבי יוחנן ורבי שמעון בן לקיש אמרו, בשר ודם שיש לו קרוב, אם הוא חכם גדול ועשיר, מספר בו ואומר שהוא קרוב. הקדוש ברוך הוא קרוב לכל ישראל קרובים Rebbe Yochanan v'Rebbe Shimon ben Lakish amru, basar v'dam she'yesh lo karov, im hu chacham gadol v'ashir, misaper bo v'omer she'hu karov. Hakadosh Baruch Hu karov l'chol Yisrael krovim. ה' Hashem is close to all who call out. He doesn't look at your bank account, he doesn't look at your social stature, הקדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu doesn't care how many friends or followers you have. Whoever calls out sincerely and genuinely, ה' Hashem says, absolutely, we're a קרוב karov. We're closely related. You have my ear, you can have my time, what do you need? And we call out to ה' Hashem in earnest, we call out to ה' Hashem sincerely, then it doesn't matter what our status is, it doesn't matter who we are. What matters is, לכל אשר יקראוהו באמת l'chol asher yikra'uhu b'emes. It has to be sincere and authentic, and that's all he's looking at. That's the only way that he gauges it. Now I want to share with you a teaching of Rav Weinfeld, שליט\"א shlita. Rav Weinfeld of Chatzka-Weinfeld, the רב rav in Ramat Eshkol, was here for שבת Shabbos a few months ago, who has fantastic תורה Torah. Really beautiful תורה Torah, and I want to share with you this incredible תורה Torah. And then we'll begin the פרשה parsha class. Because we barely started. אוי וויי Oy vey. The three שבתות Shabbosos before תשעה באב Tisha B'Av we know are called ג' דפורענותא gimmel d'puranusa. These are the weeks, the three שבתות Shabbosos we read the הפטרות haftaros of the חורבן churban. Instead of reading הפטרה haftarah which is מעין הפרשה me'ein ha'parsha, instead of הפטרה haftarah from the theme of the פרשה parsha, these three שבתות Shabbosos that culminated in this פרשת חזון Parshas Chazon, with three הפטרות haftaros that have to do with the destruction. And then, אם ירצה ה' M'irtzeh Hashem next שבת Shabbos, יבוא עלינו לטובה abo leinu l'tova, we begin the שבע דנחמתא shiva d'nechemta, the seven הפטרות haftaros of comfort and consolation. Now, the ג' דפורענותא gimmel d'puranusa I understand, because the destruction was coming, we put ourselves in the mood, we study the cause, it makes sense. But the שבע דנחמתא shiva d'nechemta, this is a classic question. Come this שבת Shabbos, if we have to observe תשעה באב Tisha B'Av, but we get up off the floor Thursday night, and this year because it's a Thursday night, you may be able to start preparing for שבת Shabbos. And Friday morning in a חצות chatzos you could turn on the music, and שבת Shabbos will be, ooh, שבת נחמו Shabbos Nachamu, singles events everywhere, קידושים kidushes everywhere, mass relief of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, music's back on, back in the pool, everyone will look slick with their haircut and trimmed beard. And wonder Rav Weinfeld asks as do so many others, what's different? What happened? What changed? Where's the נחמה nechama? What comfort? What does that mean? Thursday night the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash is coming? אם ירצה ה' Im yirtzeh Hashem. Friday morning the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash is going to descend from above? אם ירצה ה' Im yirtzeh Hashem. But even if it doesn't, will it still be שבת נחמו Shabbos Nachamu? Yes, but why? Where's the נחמה nechama? A classic question. We've addressed it many times, a classic question. Listen to Rav Weinfeld. The פרשה parsha begins with משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu davening to be allowed into ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, but he's denied. And a few פסוקים psukim after he's denied, I never noticed this, and I wonder if any of you have. Listen to this question. משה Moshe davens 515 times when, over how long, where? We started off, feels like a long time ago, but we started this year with that question. When, where, how? משה Moshe davened 515 times. And ה' Hashem said, nope. You can't go in. And how does משה Moshe respond? Who is like the Jewish people, so close to ה' Hashem, they call out whenever they want and he always answers, yes. I never noticed this question. We just turned the page. We went from 515 times being told no, with finally the door and the gate being slammed shut in his face, no. To a moment later, ooh, it's almost like it's cynical. Who is so great, what nation is so great, they can call out and cry out to ה' Hashem whenever they want and he answers, yes. How could the continuation of the פסוקים psukim be understood because he just davened, the answer was no. And it also has to be understood that after ה' Hashem tells משה Moshe he's not accepting his request, he tells משה Moshe, he says no, but I'll tell you what. Climb up on ראש הפסגה Rosh HaPisgah, ושא עיניך ימה וקדמה v'sa einecha yama v'kedma, וצפונה ותימנה ומזרחה, וראה בעיניך כי לא תעבור את הירדן הזה v'tzafona v'teimana u'mizracha u're'eh b'einecha ki lo sa'avor es ha'Yarden hazeh. Climb the mountain and look in every direction and you see that over there? Give a cook, give a look. You're not going in. Cruel. It's cruel. Why would he tease משה Moshe? Why is ה' Hashem not only can you not go in, I want you to look how good it is. And by the way, you still can't go in. Why would he do that to משה Moshe? Says Rav Weinfeld, to answer these questions, we see that משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's תפילות tefillos did not go unanswered. He got a very clear answer. It's not that משה Moshe wasn't answered. They were answered. And what was the answer? No. But part of that answer is ה' Hashem telling משה Moshe that even if you don't get where you want to go or you don't get what you want to get, yearning itself is creating a connection, and that in itself is a partial yes. You didn't get the answer you wanted, but the process of asking over and over brought you closer to me, gave you a greater awareness of me, heightened the relationship and the connection that we have, and that in itself is a yes within your no. When it comes to davening, אשר לו אלקים קרובים אליו Asher lo Elokim krovim eilav, it doesn't have to be that a person gets what he's asking for. It's through the תפילה tefillah a person makes that connection. When discussing a spiritual objective, a person creates a connection with that spiritual objection through תפילה tefillah, by yearning and wanting that objective, even if you never reach it. So even if the answer in the end was no, but the closeness, the connection, the transformation that you underwent was a yes within the no. When ה' Hashem answered משה's Moshe's תפילה tefillah with the answer of no, and then told them, now climb up and look in every direction, ה' Hashem was telling him to go and see in order to increase his yearning and longing, because משה's Moshe's connection with ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael is a belonging through longing. It was, it was specifically through the yearning that he was making that connection. That's what it means 515 תפילות tefillos he davened to enter ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, he was making the connection through the תפילה tefillah itself. He didn't get in. If there's someone you love and you דאווען daven over and over and over and over for them, do you think you love them the same at the end of the תהילים Tehillim that you said for them as you did at the beginning? You love them even more. You love them even more. Tonight, tomorrow will observe the fourth יארצייט yahrtzeit of my dear friend Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbut. It's hard to believe it's four years. And at the end, from when he was diagnosed on, the amount of תהילים Tehillim this community poured out and beyond. And as much as we appreciated and loved him before, at the result of there was a big no. It was a horrific no. It was one of the worst nos that we've ever gotten. But all those תהילים Tehillim and all that davening was not a waste. It was not for naught. It left us closer to ה' Hashem and it left us closer to Brian. A person pours out their heart. 515 תפילות tefillos that משה Moshe offered to go into ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, the answer was a no, you can't go in. But it left him feeling closer to ה' Hashem and feeling closer and connected with ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, with ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. It was a belonging through longing. That's Rav Weinfeld's language. A belonging through longing. It wasn't a belonging through entering, but it was a belonging through longing. The פסוק pasuk says ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם v'yisaber Hashem bi l'ma'anchem, simple meaning is ה' Hashem became angry. But the משך חכמה Meshech Chochmah has a different interpretation. משה Moshe wanted to enter the build the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash and do the גמר התיקון gemar ha'tikkun. He wanted to complete the תיקון tikkun כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael needed. משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's desire to enter the land was nothing to do with the physical pleasure, he wanted the spiritual heights attainable only in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. But ה' Hashem was showing him that the time had not yet come for the ultimate redemption. It was not time. It was not time. ויתעבר Vayisaber is from the word עובר over, expressing that in the middle of pregnancy, an עובר ubber, it would be premature to have the baby. Imagine someone דאווענ'ס davens in the third month, let the baby be born, it's such a tough pregnancy, let the baby be born, let the baby be born. You don't want the baby to be born then, it's not yet the time, it's premature, and it won't survive. And the redemption can't come before the time. A premature birth of redemption will end in a tragic stillbirth, a miscarriage. That's not what we want. The נחמה nechama, says Rav Weinfeld based on this, the נחמה nechama that's felt after תשעה באב Tisha B'Av is about reframing the גלות galus experience and instilling in ourselves the understanding that just just like when a baby is born, everything he is is a consequence of a healthy pregnancy, our עבודה avodah in גלות galus is what creates the גאולה Geula. We're in a gestation period. We're forming and forging and we are growing. And we're actually making the גאולה Geula with our עבודה avodah now. And that's the נחמה nechama. Even though come תשעה באב Tisha B'Av, when we get up on מוצאי תשעה באב Motzei Tisha B'Av, משיח Moshiach hasn't come yet, he's still not here. And there still may not be a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. He's still not here yet. So where's the נחמה nechama? The נחמה nechama is even after the no, I feel closer than I did before to a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, to משיח Moshiach, to כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, to אחדות achdus, to אהבת חינם ahavas chinam, to השם Hashem. The נחמה nechama is that even within the no, there's all these yeses of things I learned about myself, of all these new parts of me that I've acquired through this experience and through this and through this process. He goes on, he has more to say about this. I think it's a very, very beautiful idea. השם Hashem wasn't torturing משה Moshe by saying climb up and look out. He was trying to create more of a longing, because be a belonging through a longing. It would be a yes within the no. That was the reason. Why did משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu and how could משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu afterwards say, isn't השם Hashem amazing, he always says yes? He just gave you a big fat no, and you're singing his praises that he always says yes? The answer is, he didn't say yes to the big yes of going into the land, but he said yes to your feeling closer to him and feeling closer to the land. Even when we get a no, and we've had some terrible nos of late that we are still reeling in pain and don't begin to understand the pain of the people who got that no. But there are yeses that we can look at, having come together as a community, having done one and one, a dollar a day and a minute a day of learning, having come closer to the people who are no longer here, but we think and care and love them more than ever or we thought we possibly could. There are yeses within the no, and that's what משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was showing appreciation for, even after 515 nos, there was a yes. And that was a longing through belonging that השם Hashem gave him by saying climb the mountain one more time. And that's the נחמה nechama that comes on שבת נחמו Shabbos Nachamu, that even if we don't get the big yes that משיח Moshiach's not yet here, but we identify the smaller yeses within those nos.There's a big no that we're out of time. This פרשה parsha is action packed. We didn't even get to the עשרת הדברות Aseres Hadibros. We didn't get to שמע Shema, ואהבת v'ahavta. We didn't get to ועשית הישר והטוב v'asisah hayashar v'hatov. We didn't get to, we didn't, what we didn't get to is a whole other שיעור shiur unto itself. Wishing everyone a wonderful summer. We'll see you when we're back on August 29th. Until then, catch up on old שיעורים shiurim, old years, listen to other people, but come back afterwards to us too. And have a fantastic summer.
