Transcript
Okay, good morning. בוקר טוב Boker tov and גמר טוב gmar tov to everyone. Hope you're having a good year so far. Welcome to the first פרשה שיר Parsha Shiur of the new year, פרשת האזינו Parshas Ha'azinu, שבת שובה Shabbos Shuva. We read a פרשה parsha, we have a פרשה שיר Parsha Shiur. The פרשה שיר Parsha Shiur is generously sponsored, our series, by Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman, לילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנוש l'ilui nishmas David ben Menachem Manush. We remain as always very, very grateful to the Katz family for their generosity. This morning's שיר shiur in particular is sponsored by my parents, Posh and Mari Goldberg, in memory of my aunt, Malki Lazar, Esther Malka bas Yenta Rochel b'n Shmuel, on the occasion of her yahrzeit. It's particularly gratifying for me this year to dedicate a שיר shiur in her memory, memory of my aunt Malki, as a couple months ago I had a granddaughter born whose name is Malka, Mali, named after my aunt Malki, and I hope she'll have her qualities. She was a wonderful woman. She was a strong woman, and a courageous woman, and a bright woman, an accomplished woman, an educated woman, and she was an educator. She inspired others in a lot of educational capacities throughout her life and raised a beautiful family and is sorely missed, my aunt Malki. And lastly, sponsored anonymously in loving memory of Rebbetzin Leona Mandelbaum, איטא ליא בת סענדר ופעגא Ita Leah bas Sender v'Feiga. Her wit and humor are sorely missed. It's her third yahrzeit. And for a רפואה refuah for יפה עדינה בת חיי טובה Yaffa Adina bas Chaya Tova. Thank you to all of our generous sponsors. Parshas Ha'azinu appears in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash towards the end, as you would imagine, page 1100, 1,100. האזינו Ha'azinu is a song. The end of last week's פרשה parsha, at the end of the last פרשה parsha we read, I should say, פרשת וילך Parshas Vayeilech, we read of the obligation, the 613th מצוות mitzvas to write a Torah. כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת Kisvu lachem es hashirah hazos, to write the שירה shira, write this song. השירה הזאת Hashira hazos could be understood in multiple ways. So because last week introduces this week's פרשה parsha, some understood it to mean השירה הזאת hashira hazos is this song, the song of האזינו Ha'azinu. We of course interpret it to mean the whole Torah and the obligation of each individual to write a ספר תורה sefer Torah. How do we fulfill that? Do we fulfill that in our time? Do we fulfill it by buying ספרים sfarim? Do we fulfill it by buying a letter? Do we fulfill it by actually authorizing the writing of a ספר תורה sefer Torah? But that was כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת kisvu lachem es hashira hazos, brings us to האזינו Ha'azinu. האזינו Ha'azinu is the song that Moshe spoke about. And we saw last time, I don't remember if we got to it or not, Rav Soloveitchik describes why is Torah referred to as a song? Because Torah is not dry. Torah is not just academic or conceptual. Torah is the song of life. We sing and we dance to it and we create symphony and harmony with it and around it. And Torah is the song of life that we sing and that we כאילו k'ilu hear being sung for us. Hear being sung for us. Did I lose the internet? Oh, hold on. Oh, okay, I think I'm on better internet now. Okay, so פסוק א pasuk aleph, פרק ל\"ב פסוק א' Perek Lamed Beis, Pasuk Aleph. האזינו השמים ואדברה ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי Ha'azinu hashamayim v'adabeira v'sishma ha'aretz imrei fi. Give ear, listen, heavens, and I will speak, and may the earth hear the words of my mouth. So משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu is calling on the heavens to listen and calling on the earth to pay attention to what he says with his mouth. I lost the internet connection. Bear with me one more moment for those who might be trying to watch.Okay, are we back? I don't know if anybody's watching, tell us if you can hear us. Write in the comments so we know. האזינו השמים ואדברה Ha'azinu hashamayim v'adabeira, listen heavens and I will speak, ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי v'sishma ha'aretz imrei fi. Rav Soloveitchik writes on these words, 'Listen, O heavens,' it's a funny and it's a peculiar saying. If you have a speech to give, if you have something you want to say, so say it. Why do you have to introduce it so fanciful, so bombastically, heavens, ואדברה v'adabeira pay attention, earth, give heed. So Rav Soloveitchik says the following, why did Moshe invoke heaven and earth to witness the covenant he had made with the Jewish people? Rashi cites the מדרש Medrash, which explains that the heaven asks the Jewish people, have you ever seen the sun rising in the west and setting in the east? Have you ever planted wheat and reaped corn? Right? That's what Rashi says. שאני מוסר בכם עדים וכו Sheani moser bichem eidem v'kholei, heaven and earth are serving here as witnesses. אמר משה אני בשר ודם, למחר אני מת, אם יאמרו ישראל לא קבלנו עלינו את הברית מי בא ומכחישם לפיכך העיד בהם שמים וארץ Amar Moshe ani basar v'dam, l'machar ani meis, im yomru Yisrael lo kibbalnu aleinu es habris mi ba u'machchisham l'fichach heid bahem shamayim va'aretz. Moshe invoked heaven and earth. We know that you need witnesses, heaven and earth are the two witnesses who pay attention. And what do they say? The מדרש Medrash tells us, the heaven turns to the people and says, did you ever see nature uncooperative? It's uncooperative when a hurricane forms, it's uncooperative when it rains and we don't want it to. But uncooperative mean unresponsive or disobedient to the will of השם Hashem. You could look at a calendar, open up My Zmanim. It's one of the most remarkable things about our monthly sunrise מנין minyan at the beach. Whatever it says on My Zmanim, you ever you open up the calendar and it says sunrise is at this time, and פונקט punkt, you look over the ocean and exactly at that moment that it says sunrise, to the second, to the millisecond, the top of the bowl of the sun will make its way above the horizon. It's extraordinary. It's absolutely extraordinary. It's never late. It's not early, it's not late, it doesn't have excuses, it doesn't procrastinate. We say in קידוש לבנה Kiddush Levana after we sanctify the new moon, שלא ישנו את תפקידם shelo yeshanu es tafkidam. Their nature never abandons its mission, its role, its job. Whatever God says, whatever time the sun is supposed to rise, no excuses, it rises. Whatever time it's supposed to set, no excuses, that is exactly when it, exactly when it sets. Nature abides strictly by the laws that were implanted in it. By following the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology, the world follows השם's Hashem's law. No one dares violate the dynamics of the cosmos as represented by the heaven and earth. His primordial will created and regulates all creation, both organic and inorganic matter, intelligent beings as well as the beast. Nature behaves in accordance with regulated patterns of behavior which attest to his absolute sovereignty. Nature doesn't have a mind of its own, a will of its own, a want of its own. Nature doesn't have free will. Nature is pre-programmed, and whatever the רבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam, whatever the מלכי המלכים Malchei HaMelachim, this is we המלך הקדוש HaMelech HaKadosh, המלך המשפט HaMelech HaMishpat, we're ממליך השם mamlich Hashem. We're between ראש השנה Rosh Hashana and יום כיפור Yom Kippur, it's a time that we're coronating, we're celebrating the coronation, we're celebrating הקדוש ברוך הוא's HaKadosh Baruch Hu's sovereignty and His power over the world, and it's demonstrated through nature and through nature's obedience. There is no nature outside of God, the רמב\"ן Ramban says. So yet as far as the moral law is concerned, השם's Hashem's sovereignty is not universally accepted. Man tries to devise his own moral code and decide on his own what is good and evil. The vision of the מלכיות Malchiyos section of ראש השנה Rosh Hashana expresses our belief that man will ultimately accept his moral law in the same way we now acknowledge the natural law. So מלכיות Malchiyos, the whole institution of מלכיות Malchiyos, our wish and our hope, right the Vilna Gaon and others explain a מושל moshel is a dictator. And we say והיה ה' למלך על כל הארץ v'haya Hashem l'melech al kol ha'aretz, we long for the time when the world will universally accept not השם Hashem not as a מושל moshel, not as a dictator but as a מלך melech. אין מלך בלא עם Ein melech b'lo am. A king is elected, a king is inaugurated, a king is celebrated, a king is desired and accepted. A מושל moshel, a dictator, dictates. A dictator simply demands. So הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu could be a מושל moshel. He's in charge, he's in control whether we recognize it, whether we accept it or not. But we דאווען daven and we hope and we long for the day that he'll not just be a מושל moshel, a dictator, he'll be a מלך melech, a king, that he and his name will be one. He and his name will be one. So, right now we understand that you can't, you can't negotiate with gravity. Gravity is a force of nature and you can't fight it. Gravity is fixed, you can't debate it. And you can't make the sun rise later or set earlier. You can't control time. These are all parts of nature, chemistry, biology, physics, we can't control it. Morality we think is subjective. Morality we think changes. There's different cultures, there's different mores. Some people think biology is also subjective and you can change it and you could redefine it and it's negotiable and it's what you want and how you feel. But until now, throughout history, we understood that science including biology is objective, it's factual, it's absolute, it's non-negotiable, while morality we think is relative. Morality we think is relative. Maybe the biggest demonstration of that was in the early 20th century when in Germany they elected the Nazi party and Hitler came to power and through democracy and through a vote, a genocide was passed. It was a relative morality. They thought morality is relative and and murder and genocide, they thought, it's hard for us to even understand how anyone could have subscribed to, are sometimes legitimate and they're warranted, because when morality is relative, when morality is subjective, when morality is negotiable and debatable, then you can result in a in a genocide and a Nazi Germany and a Holocaust. That's an extreme, but that's what happens. We recognize now, and we דאווען daven and long for the time that the world will recognize that just as nature is non-negotiable, just as nature is absolute, just as nature is objective, so too morality is no different than nature. It's absolute, and it's binding, and הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu is the authority of it, and what he tells us is what is upon us, what is incumbent upon us. So all of this is implicit in the Rav's interpretation here of האזינו השמים ואדברה Ha'azinu hashamayim v'adabeira. Why is he invoking the heavens and the earth? Let heaven and earth, representatives of nature, testify that just as nature is immutable, it's non-negotiable, it's binding, just as nature is absolute and it's not controlled by us, so so too morality. So too the covenant of the Jewish people with השם Hashem. So too our role and mission in this world is something which is binding and which is and which is absolute. The אמורס טהורס Amros Tehoros we've been quoting, the Rachmastrivka Rebbe, passed away very recently. He says the following, he quotes the moreh naim. The Gemara in Rosh Hashana says something fascinating. The Gemara at the very end of Rosh Hashana, on daf lamed aleph, the Gemara tells us, we're not usually accustomed to this. But do you know how are the פרשיות parshios divided? How do we decide what to read and where to put the break? Where's the break between פרשיות parshios? Where's the break between ראשון rishon and שני sheini and שלישי shlishi and רביעי revi'i? Where did that come from? How do we have that? It's a fascinating discussion. In fact, in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, there was a triennial reading of the Torah. And the division of 53 פרשיות parshios is found in very early sources. How do you divide it weekly? How would you divide it to finish it every every three years? And the debate of the frequency, how the עליות aliyos are divided, is it equal? Why are some עליות aliyos short? Others are very long? Who made that decision? When was that decision made? It's a fascinating study for another time. But when it comes to our פרשה parsha, it's particularly relevant because the Gemara in Rosh Hashana tells us that there's an acronym for the division of פרשת האזינו Parshas Ha'azinu. The source in מסכת סופרים Maseches Sofrim. The Gemara in Rosh Hashana quotes it. The רמב\"ם Rambam, the רמב\"ם Rambam quotes it in two places. It's codified by the טור Tur and later by the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch, they quote it להלכה l'halacha. And they say the following, שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch in אורח חיים Orach Chaim, סימן תכ\"ה siman taf chaf heh. פרשת האזינו מחלקין פרשיותיה כדרך שהיו מחלקין אותו במקדש Parshas Ha'azinu, mechalkin parshiyoseha k'derech shehayu mechalkin oso b'mikdash. They used to read פרשת האזינו Parshas Ha'azinu in the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash every Shabbos. Every Shabbos, we read it once a year, but its theme is so significant and important they would read it in the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash every Shabbos. שהיו קורין השירה פעם אחת לששת ימי השבוע Shehayu korin hashira pa'am achas l'sheishes yemei hashavua. And they would, there's a debate, the טור Tur quotes as if they read the whole האזינו Ha'azinu every Shabbos, others suggest that they would divide האזינו Ha'azinu into six and then have a six-week cycle of reading one-sixth of it each week until you completed it every six weeks. And what's the acronym? הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach are the letters that begin the פסוקים psukim which delineate where to break up the six parts of האזינו Ha'azinu. האזינו Ha'azinu, זכור Zechor, ירכיבהו Yarkiveihu, וירא Vayar, לו חכמו Lu chachmu, כי אשא Ki esa, השמים hashamayim, עד סוף השירה ad sof hashira. והשביעי קורין מסוף השירה עד סוף הפרשה V'hashevi'i korin m'sof hashira ad sof haparsha. And the רמ\"א Rama writes, ודווקא בשבת מחלקין הפרשיות, אבל במנחה בשבת ובב' וה' אין לחוש v'davka b'shabbos mechalkin haparshios, aval b'mincha b'shabbos u'b'beis v'he' ain lachush. So האזינו Ha'azinu, we have a tradition where maybe it's debatable where to break up the other פרשיות parshios, האזינו Ha'azinu, we have a tradition of where to, of where to break it up and you can't deviate from this tradition. The tradition is הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. So the רמ\"א Rama says when can you not deviate? On Shabbos. On Shabbos מנחה mincha, Monday and Thursday, everyone's in such a rush, you could take that first עליה aliyah and divide it in three. It's the rest of the times that you read האזינו Ha'azinu that you have to divide it based on הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. Rav Soloveitchik disagreed. And Rav Schechter often quotes the practice of Rav Soloveitchik and that's the מנהג minag in our שול shul, instituted before my time, following the custom of Rav Soloveitchik, that even during the week, even Monday and Thursday, in Shabbos מנחה mincha, we divide האזינו Ha'azinu by הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach, not taking the first עליה aliyah and dividing it into into three. There's actually a disagreement, the acronym הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach, what, which פסוקים psukim because there's multiple פסוקים psukim with begin with those letters, so which one, which one it is. And this was the שירה shira that the לויים Leviim sang on Shabbos. השר שהיו לויים אומרים Hashir shehayu Leviim omrim, and then we say it at the end of עין כאלוקינו Ein K'Elokeinu. And we, what was the שיר של יום shir shel yom of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on. So in the morning, at the עולת התמיד olas ha'tamid, they would say מזמור שיר ליום השבת mizmor shir l'yom ha'shabbos, and מוסף musaf they would say either the whole האזינו Ha'azinu or one-sixth of האזינו Ha'azinu, and at מנחה mincha they would say either part of עז ישיר Az Yashir or the שירה shira of הבאר ha'B'er from פרשת חוקת Parshas Chukas. And as I said there's a debate, did they say all of האזינו Ha'azinu or one-sixth of האזינו Ha'azinu, but the שיר של יום shir shel yom of Shabbos at מוסף Musaf was from פרשת האזינו Parshas Ha'azinu. The רמב\"ם Rambam in הלכות תפילה Hilchos Tefillah, the רמב\"ם Rambam writes, כל העולה לקרות בתורה פותח בדבר טוב ומסיים בדבר טוב Kol ha'oleh likros ba'Torah poseach b'davar tov u'mesayem b'davar tov. How did they choose how to break up the עליות aliyos? Everyone who reads from the Torah starts and ends with something positive. Each עליה aliyah was broken up so that you begin and you end, it's like constructive criticism. You know, they teach parenting or employees when you're giving the review, you start with a sandwich. You start with something, you're amazing, you're great, this is good about you, you do that well. However, I have to share with you, and by the way, overall things are great, you do well, everything is wonderful. You're supposed to make a nice constructive criticism sandwich. You start with something positive, you end with something positive, and you slip in that feedback somewhere in the middle. That is the, the ancient wisdom on it. So the רמב\"ם Rambam says that's the tradition when it comes to קריאת התורה krias ha'Torah too. That every עליה aliyah starts with something positive and ends with something positive, but here it's different. אבל פרשת האזינו, קורא הראשון עד זכור ימות עולם. והשני משקורא זכור ימות עולם עד ירכיבהו. והשלישי מירכיבהו עד וירא ה' וינאץ. והרביעי מוירא Aval parshas Ha'azinu, koreh ha'rishon ad zechor yemos olam. V'hasheini m'shekor zechor yemos olam ad yarkiveihu. V'hashlishi m'yarkiveihu ad v'yar Hashem v'yinaetz v'harvi'i m'v'yar and so on. And he divides it all up. ולמה פוסקים באנינות אלו? V'lama poskim ba'aninus eilu? And wonders the רמב\"ם Rambam, why do we break it up in this way? And he says, מפני שהם תוכחה כדי שיחזרו העם בתשובה mipnei she'hem tochacha k'dei she'yachzeru ha'am b'teshuva. It's organized in this way in order to arouse, in order to elicit a return to תשובה teshuva. The רמב\"ם's Rambam's juxtaposing the division here and that it's different than all other readings, than all other readings. And that's how רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya understands it as well. The acronym הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. What does the acronym הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach mean? Ziv means glory, splendor. Lach is yours, to you. So Ziv is used throughout ספר דניאל Sefer Daniel, special glory of the human face. And that's this, return, restore your glory, restore and return, return your purity. Go back to who you were meant to be. The word תשובה teshuva that we translate as repentance, I don't know what repentance means. We've adopted words and translations from other peoples and religions. We need to translate those words, we don't know what they mean. The word תשובה teshuva doesn't mean repentance, I don't know what repentance is, it means return, come back. Come back to who you're meant to be. Come back to the pure פינטעלע איד pintel yid. Come back to the חלק אלוקה ממעל ממש chelek Eloka mi'ma'al mamash. Come back to we spoke about on ראש השנה Rosh Hashana. ראש השנה Rosh Hashana is not a day of judgment. ראש השנה Rosh Hashana is a day of remembering, יום הזיכרון Yom HaZikaron. We remember השם Hashem and השם Hashem wants us to remember our potential, our capacity, who we could be, that our best moments are our most real moments, that's who we are and that's who we are, and that's who we are meant to be. And that's who we are meant to be. And that's האזינו Ha'azinu, הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. האזינו Ha'azinu, הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. The תפארת עוזיאל Tiferes Uzziel says, כשהאדם מבקש מהשם יתברך על ענייני תורה ותפילה שאר דברים רוחניים, יכול לבקש את זה בחוזק כי אין למישהו עסק. מה שאין כן כשהוא מבקש על גשמיות, אז צריך לבקש בדברי ריצוי ותחנונים. K'she'ha'adam mevakesh me'Hashem yisbarach al inyanei Torah u'tefillah she'ar devarim ruchaniyim, yachol l'vakesh et zeh b'chozek ki ein l'mishehu eisek. Ma she'ein kein k'she'hu mevakesh al gashmiyus, az tzarich l'vakesh b'divrei ritzui v'tachanunim. When you ask for spirituality, you could be sort of non-nuanced, you could be demanding, you could be more aggressive. השם Hashem, help me work on my מידות middos, help me דאווען daven with sincerity, help me learn Torah and be transformed. Then you could be a little bit more aggressive. When you ask for גשמיות gashmius, help me earn a living, help me have my health, help me have a nice house and a nice car, then you need דברי ריצוי ותחנונים divrei ritzui v'tachanunim. You have to beg and you have to plead. And that's האזינו השמים Ha'azinu hashamayim. כשהאדם מבקש על האזינו, לבקש על ענייני שמים, לשון קשה, האזינו אדברה. אדברה דיבור לשון קשה. K'she'ha'adam mevakesh al ha'azinu, l'vakesh al inyanei shamayim, lashon kasha, ha'azinu, adabeira. Adabeira dibbur lashon kasha. You can speak strongly, you can speak aggressively. אבל ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי Aval v'sishma ha'aretz imrei fi, when you're asking for ארציות artziyus, when you're asking for גשמיות gashmiyus, for physical things, then you need אמירה amira. אמרי פי Imrei fi, אמירה amira is רכה raka, אמירה amira is soft, gentle, pleading, begging. A beautiful תפארת עוזיאל Tiferes Uzziel. האזינו השמים Ha'azinu hashamayim. When it comes to my spiritual aspirations, אדברה adabeira, speak strongly, confidently, aggressively, demandingly to השם Hashem. But when it comes to הארץ ha'aretz, when it comes to the things down here, the physical things, אמרי פי imrei fi, אמירה imrei, gently and plead and beg and ask kindly because you're not necessarily really really worthy of it. So האזינו Ha'azinu, שבת שובה Shabbos Shuva, between ראש השנה Rosh Hashana and יום כיפור Yom Kippur, what are we trying to do? הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. Put the glory back on your face. Put the purity, put the belief and the confidence. Know that השם Hashem doesn't just believe in you, השם Hashem doesn't just love you, השם Hashem needs you. We are needed by him. We're needed. We need to know that we're needed. We're not here randomly, we're not here by chance, we're not here for no reason. If we woke up this morning, we are needed. So הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach, הצלם אלוקים HaTzelem Elokim על ידי זה שאנחנו ממשיכים השפעות טובות לכלל ישראל al yedei zeh she'anachnu mamshichim hashpa'os tovos l'klal Yisrael. Put that purity, put that light, shine in other people's life. Restore and reboot and reset. Get back to where you were going and where we're meant to be. It's never too late to become who we're meant to be. And that's האזינו Ha'azinu, הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. האזינו Ha'azinu, הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. The תפארת עוזיאל Tiferes Uzziel says, כשהאדם מבקש מהשם יתברך על ענייני תורה ותפילה שאר דברים רוחניים, יכול לבקש את זה בחוזק כי אין למישהו עסק. מה שאין כן כשהוא מבקש על גשמיות, אז צריך לבקש בדברי ריצוי ותחנונים. K'she'ha'adam mevakesh me'Hashem yisbarach al inyanei Torah u'tefillah she'ar devarim ruchaniyim, yachol l'vakesh et zeh b'chozek ki ein l'mishehu eisek. Ma she'ein kein k'she'hu mevakesh al gashmiyus, az tzarich l'vakesh b'divrei ritzui v'tachanunim. When you ask for spirituality, you could be sort of non-nuanced, you could be demanding, you could be more aggressive. השם Hashem, help me work on my מידות middos, help me דאווען daven with sincerity, help me learn Torah and be transformed. Then you could be a little bit more aggressive. When you ask for גשמיות gashmius, help me earn a living, help me have my health, help me have a nice house and a nice car, then you need דברי ריצוי ותחנונים divrei ritzui v'tachanunim. You have to beg and you have to plead. And that's האזינו השמים Ha'azinu hashamayim. כשהאדם מבקש על האזינו, לבקש על ענייני שמים, לשון קשה, האזינו אדברה. אדברה דיבור לשון קשה. K'she'ha'adam mevakesh al ha'azinu, l'vakesh al inyanei shamayim, lashon kasha, ha'azinu, adabeira. Adabeira dibbur lashon kasha. You can speak strongly, you can speak aggressively. אבל ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי Aval v'sishma ha'aretz imrei fi, when you're asking for ארציות artziyus, when you're asking for גשמיות gashmiyus, for physical things, then you need אמירה amira. אמרי פי Imrei fi, אמירה amira is רכה raka, אמירה amira is soft, gentle, pleading, begging. A beautiful תפארת עוזיאל Tiferes Uzziel. האזינו השמים Ha'azinu hashamayim. When it comes to my spiritual aspirations, אדברה adabeira, speak strongly, confidently, aggressively, demandingly to השם Hashem. But when it comes to הארץ ha'aretz, when it comes to the things down here, the physical things, אמרי פי imrei fi, אמירה imrei, gently and plead and beg and ask kindly because you're not necessarily really really worthy of it. And that's how Rabbi from Lublin. ללמוד דף קמח השחר קודם התפילה, עצה לקבלת התפילה. כי לימוד תורה מחרז כל מפריגים, ומשבר כל הקליפות, ובזה עושה אדם שביל ודרך לעלות התפילה. Limud Daf Kama Shachas kodem ha'tefillah, eitzah l'kabbalas ha'tefillah. Ki limud Torah machriz kol maprigim, u'meshaber kol ha'klipos, u'v'zeh oseh adam shvil v'derech l'alos ha'tefillah. There's all kinds of barriers and blockages. We're offering this תפילות tefillos, but it's buffering, it's not getting upstairs. How do you clear out the highway to make sure that our תפילות tefillos can ascend as as quickly as possible? Learning Torah. Learning Torah is what clears out the highway. And that's יערף כמטר לקחי Ya'arof k'matar likchi. יערף Ya'arof is לשון שבירה lashon shvira. And then תזל כטל אמרתי tizal k'tal imrasi. First clear out the highway, and then אמרתי imrasi, the תפילות tefillos can ascend on high. So spirituality, we have to be devoted to this spiritual, to the שמים shamayim before we're focused on the, before we're focused on the, on the ארץ aretz. הזי\"ו HaZiv is the joining of the month of Elul to the month of, from יציאת מצרים, ספירה, מתן תורה Yetzias Mitzrayim, Sefira, Matan Torah. י\"ב אלול Yud Beis Elul is a lot of ideas about Ziv also, its significance in terms of, in terms of the months of the year. How you categorize the months of the year. There's a beautiful insight that I think it's Rav Kook has, also about הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach. Each of the פסוקים psukim of הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach, of this acronym, the six parts, the six פסוקים psukim are a framework and a recipe for תשובה teshuva. האזינו Ha'azinu, listen. זכור Zechor, remember. ירכיבהו Yarkiveihu, ride up to the high places of earth. And then וירא vayar, then God saw, then God will see you. לו חכמו Lu chachmu, if only they would be wise and know. כי אשא Ki esa, I lift my hand to the heaven. If you look at the האזינו Ha'azinu, again in this open of האזינו Ha'azinu, the reason we read it שבת שובה Shabbos Shuva, הזי\"ו לך HaZiv Lach, is because it is the formula for תשובה teshuva. פרק ל\"ב פסוק ג' Perek Lamed Beis, Pasuk Gimmel. כי שם ה' אקרא הבו גודל לאלוקינו Ki shem Hashem ekra, havu godel l'Elokeinu. כי שם Ki shem, when I call out the name of השם Hashem, ascribe greatness to our God. When I call out the name of השם Hashem, ascribe greatness to our God. The תפארת עוזיאל Tiferes Uzziel and it appears in the באר מים חיים Be'er Mayim Chaim as well, as according to the אמורס טהורס Amros Tehoros, כי שם ה' אקרא הבו גודל לאלוקינו ki shem Hashem ekra, havu godel l'Elokeinu, על פי מה שכתבו תלמידי רבינו יונה והרא\"ש al pi ma she'kasvu talmidei Rabbeinu Yonah v'ha'Rosh. We say in מודים דרבנן Modim d'Rabbanan, the end of מודים דרבנן Modim d'Rabbanan, when the חזן chazan says מודים modim and we get up to at the end of the עמידה Amida, we offer our own מודים modim. We offer our own מודים modim. Why do we offer our own מודים modim? One of my favorite Abarbanels, the Abarbanel says why? Because what is מודים modim? Gratitude. You can't outsource gratitude. You can't tell someone, 'say thank you for me'. If you are sincere in your gratitude, you have to offer it yourself. So even though it comes to the rest of the repetition of the עמידה Amida, we rely on the שליח ציבור shliach tzibbur to represent us, מודים modim, you can't outsource gratitude. If you are genuine in your feeling of gratitude, you don't send someone else to express it, you have to express it yourself. So at the end of the מודים דרבנן Modim d'Rabbanan ends with a clumsy expression. We begin מודים אנחנו לך modim anachnu lach, we are grateful to you. And how do we end מודים דרבנן Modim d'Rabbanan? על שאנחנו מודים לך Al she'anachnu modim lach, for the fact that we're grateful to you. We're grateful to you for the fact that we're grateful to you. It's not clumsy at all. It's actually very beautiful. It means among the things that we're grateful for is that we're grateful. How many people are living their lives and all they see is what's missing. They're filled with such bitterness and resentment and anger and frustration, and they're unable to see the blessings in their lives. They're incapable of feeling gratitude for what they have. So מודים אנחנו לך modim anachnu lach, השם Hashem we're so grateful, על שאנחנו מודים לך al she'anachnu modim lach, for the fact that we're in a place that we can feel gratitude. We're grateful for being grateful. כשהאדם משבח את הקדוש ברוך הוא, צריך אחר כך להודות לה' יתברך על זה גופא שהיה לו הזכות להודות לו. K'she'ha'adam meshabei'ach es HaKadosh Baruch Hu, tzarich acharei kach l'hodos l'Hashem Yisbarach al zeh gufa she'haya lo ha'zechus l'hodos lo. מען דארף געבן א הודאה אן דעם שבח, אז מען קען געבן א הודאה פארן אייבישטער. Man darf geben a hada'a an dem shavach, az man ken geben a hada'a far'n Eibishter. How was that? That wasn't bad. That's what he says. זהו הפירוש של אנחנו מודים לך, על זה עצמו שזכינו להודות לך ברוך קל ההודאות. Zeh hu ha'perush shel anachnu modim lach, al zeh atzmo she'zachinu l'hodos lach, Baruch Keil HaHodaos. So תפארת עוזיאל Tiferes Uzziel says, that's what's going on over here. הודו לה' קראו בשמו Hodu l'Hashem kir'u bishmo. על זה עצמו שיש לכם הזכות לקרוא בשם השם, על זה עצמו הודו להשם. Al zeh atzmo she'yesh lachem ha'zechus likro b'shem Hashem, al zeh atzmo hodu l'Hashem. That which we can call out השם's Hashem's name, I'm so grateful. I'm grateful that I'm grateful. I'm grateful that I have a relationship with you. I'm grateful that I see you. I'm grateful that I lean on you. I'm grateful that I rely on you. I'm grateful that I have the confidence to know that everything's from you. I'm grateful that I'm grateful. And that's the פשט pshat in the פסוק pasuk. כי שם ה' אקרא, הבו גודל לאלוקינו. Ki shem Hashem ekra, havu godel l'Elokeinu. When I call out השם's Hashem's name, הבו גודל לאלוקינו havu godel l'Elokeinu. על זה עצמו שזכינו לקרוא בשם ה', יש לנו לשבח ולגדול לשם יתברך. Al zeh atzmo she'zachinu likro b'shem Hashem, yesh lanu l'shabei'ach v'ligdol l'Hashem Yisbarach. כי שם ה' אקרא Ki shem Hashem ekra, when I call out to you, when I call your name, הבו גודל לאלוקינו havu godel l'Elokeinu, ascribe greatness to God. In other words, one of the greatnesses I ascribe is that I call out to you. I'm so grateful that I don't live life thinking I'm in charge, I'm in control, I'm not competing with you, but I'm so grateful כי שם ה' אקרא, הבו גודל לאלוקינו ki shem Hashem ekra, havu godel l'Elokeinu, similar to על שאנחנו מודים לך al she'anachnu modim lach. פרק ל\"ב פסוק ד' Perek Lamed Beis, Pasuk Dalet. הצור תמים פעלו כי כל דרכיו משפט קל אמונה ואין עול צדיק וישר הוא. Ha'tzur tamim po'olo, ki chol derachav mishpat, keil emunah v'ein avel, tzaddik v'yashar hu. We describe השם Hashem as הצור תמים פעלו Ha'tzur tamim po'olo. הצור תמים פעלו Ha'tzur tamim po'olo. השם Hashem is the rock, the original prudential. השם Hashem is the rock. הצור תמים פעלו כי כל דרכיו משפט Ha'tzur tamim po'olo, ki chol derachav mishpat, קל אמונה ואין עול keil emunah v'ein avel. The rock, perfect in his work, for all of his paths are justice, a God of faith without iniquity, righteous and fair is he. קל אמונה Keil emunah. He has אמונה emunah, ואין עול v'ein avel. What does the word אמונה emunah here mean? קל אמונה Keil emunah. Who does he have faith in? We have faith in God. He's a God of faith, so the simple understanding, קל keil. emunah is that God is faith means he's dependable, he's reliable. Faithful means you're faithful that your word is your bond. You do what you say you're going to do. You're reliable, you're dependable. קל אמונה Keil emunah, God is a faithful, reliable God. You can lean on him, you can rely on him. He shows up. He has your back. He's קל אמונה keil emunah. But I would humbly suggest that maybe it can also mean, or alternatively it can mean קל אמונה keil emunah, we've said this many times, go all the way back, 500 cities of credit, to מודה אני Modeh Ani. How do we end מודה אני Modeh Ani? What are the last two words of מודה אני Modeh Ani? מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקיים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה Modeh ani lefanecha melech chai vekayam shehechezarta bi nishmasi bechemla, unlike the way we were taught to sing it as kids, it's שהחזרת בי נשמתי shehechezarta bi nishmasi not comma בחמלה רבה bechemla raba, שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה shehechezarta bi nishmasi bechemla, you restored my soul to me with loving kindness, graciously, comma, last two words, רבה אמונתך raba emunasecha. Your faith is great. That's how we start our day. God, your faith is great. We have faith in him. In whom does he have faith? What's the answer? In us. You woke up this morning, he has faith in you. He's renewed your contract. רבה אמונתך Raba emunasecha, he has faith in us.As important as it is to wake up every morning saying thank you to השם Hashem, as important as it is to wake up every day expressing our faith in him, is as important as affirming that we know he has faith in us, that he believes in us, that he wants us, that he needs us. That's why we're here. By the way, this is all throughout our דאווענען davening. All throughout our דאווענען davening right now. What do we say? זכרנו לחיים מלך חפץ בחיים Zochreinu lechaim melech chafetz bachaim, וכתבנו בספר החיים vechosveinu besefer hachaim. All of that I understand. זכרנו לחיים Zochreinu lechaim, we want to live. השם Hashem, help me live. זכרנו לחיים Zochreinu lechaim, מלך חפץ בחיים melech chafetz bachaim, you value life, you cherish life, you believe in life. So, I'm calling you out. If that's what you believe, then give me more life. זכרנו לחיים מלך חפץ בחיים Zochreinu lechaim melech chafetz bachaim. And how can you do that? How can you ensure that? וכתבנו בספר החיים Vechosveinu besefer hachaim. So write me in the book of life. And then we end very peculiarly. And therefore, למענך אלוקים חיים lemaancha Elokim chaim. What's our last argument? And by the way, if I'm unworthy and you're not ready to do it for me, למענך lemaancha, do it for you. אבינו מלכנו Avinu Malkeinu we're saying every day now, multiple times a day. And what do we say? עשה למענך אם לא למעננו Asei lemaancha im lo lemaanenu. עשה למען שמך Asei lemaan shemecha. עשה למען Asei lemaan, over and over again. God, if you're not ready to answer me for me, do it for you. Do it for you? God is perfect, omnipotent, infinite. He doesn't need anything, right? Right. However, he chooses for us to understand him as needing us. It's true, he's omnipotent, he's infinite, he's perfect, he has no needs. But he expresses himself, he manifests himself to us כאילו ke'ilu, in a way that he needs, because he wants us to feel and to know that we are needed, that we are needed. To not be so concerned only with our needs, to be concerned with being needed. למענך Lemaancha. We're doing it for you, השם Hashem. How can I walk around and make a קידוש השם kiddush Hashem? How can I repair and redeem this world which needs repair and redemption as much as ever? How can I do that if you don't extend my life? If you don't give me resources? If people around me, God forbid, are sick or struggling and I have to focus on them, I can't do the work for you. So השם Hashem, even if I'm unworthy, עשה למענך asei lemaancha. עשה למענך Asei lemaancha. That's what we're saying over and over again. It's all for you. I'm here for you. That's why that's why we're doing it. That's what it's really all, that's what it's really all about. So הצור תמים Hatzur tamim, קל אמונה keil emuna. קל אמונה Keil emuna, you're a God of faith. I have faith in you, and in whom do you have faith? You have faith in me. And how do I know you have faith in me? Because I woke up today, I'm here. I'm alive, I'm breathing. My heart is beating. So that means there's work to be done. There's work yet to be done. השם Hashem is not done with us yet. There's work yet to be done. Figuring it out is the harder part, but maybe that's the pshat, קל אמונה keil emuna. קל אמונה Keil emuna means you're a God of faith. You're a God of faith, not only reliable, dependable, but God of faith that you continue to have faith in me. The מגיד יוסף Magid Yosef, of רב יוסף סרוצקין Rav Yosef Serotzkin, focuses on the words הצור תמים פעלו Hatzur tamim pa'alo, the Rock, perfect in his work. איתא במדרש הכל ברא הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו חוץ ממידת השקר Isa b'Midrash hakol bara Hakadosh Baruch Hu be'olamo chutz mimidat hasheker. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu created everything in the world except for one thing. You know what he did not create? שקר Sheker. שקר Sheker is deceit, lies, falsehood. שנאמר הצור Shenemar Hatzur. ובפסיקתא דרב יוסף אלא בריות בדעתן של לבם, והנה אם מידת השקר אין, הרי כמה מידות מגונות יש, ומשמע שאותן מידות מגונות הקדוש ברוך הוא כן ברא, רק מידת השקר היא המצאת של הבריות, זה דבר אומר דרשני U've'pesikta d'Rav Yosef ela briyos b'daatan shel leebam, vehinei im midat hasheker ein, harei kama midot megunot yesh, u'mashma she'otan midot megunot Hakadosh Baruch Hu kein bara, rak midat hasheker hi hamtza'at shel habriyot, ze davar omer darsheini. So the מגיד יוסף Magid Yosef, רבי יוסף סרוצקין Rav Yosef Serotzkin is bothered. It sounds like he created everything in the world, including stubbornness, jealousy, arrogance. He created everything, including some bad מדות midos. The only thing that השם Hashem says I didn't create is man-made, is שקר sheker, deceit, lies, falsehood. So you're saying השם Hashem did create those other bad מדות midos? What does that mean? הצור Hatzur, God is a rock. The rock of truth. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is חותמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא אמת chosamo shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu emes. His signature, if הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu signs on a כתובה kesubah, if הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu signs on a loan, if הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu renews a שול shul membership, his signature is truth. That's how he signs his name. That's who he is. He's a צור tzur, he's a rock. He's truth. Unbendable, unshakable, inflexible. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't negotiate with the truth. שקר Sheker, that's man-made. But what, the other bad מדות midos and qualities do come from God? How do you understand that wonders the מגיד יוסף Magid Yosef? And he answers the following. Listen to what he says. הנראה בזה דכל המידות הן לבוש של נפש האדם מלביש על עצמו Hanireh bezeh dechol hamidos hein levush shel nefesh ha'adam malbish al atzmo. Qualities are external garments that we wear. האמת היא מהותו של האדם וחודרת לעצם הוייתו Ha'emes hi mahuso shel ha'adam vechoderes le'etzem havayaso. When it comes to those other behaviors, they're not the essence of who we are, they're how we express ourselves in the world. Sometimes we express ourselves with anger or rage or jealousy or envy or arrogance or impatience or stubbornness. They're not, they don't speak to our essence. They're simply the the לבוש levush, they're the wardrobe, the garment of how we're expressing ourselves in this world. But אמת emes, being truthful and honest and having integrity, that speaks to the עצם etzem. That is the core identity of who we are. Where do you see this, says the מגיד יוסף Magid Yosef? When it comes to the other מדות midos, we say בעל baal. You're a בעל חסד baal chesed, a בעל גאווה baal gaavah, a בעל תאווה baal taavah. We say it in the positive, a בעל חסד baal chesed, a בעל צדקה baal tzedaka. But we say it in the negative, a בעל גאווה baal gaavah. What's a בעל גאווה baal gaavah? An arrogant person is a בעל baal, a master of or married to גאווה gaavah, to arrogance. So you can be married to doing חסד chesed and צדקה tzedakah, you could be married to arrogance. A בעל גאווה baal gaavah, a בעל תאווה baal taavah, a בעל חסד baal chesed, a בעל צדקה baal tzedakah. But you don't call somebody a בעל אמת baal emes. What do you call them? An איש אמת ish emes. An איש אמת ish emes. An אדם ישר adam yashar. Why? Because when it comes to the qualities of אמת emes and יושר yosher, when it comes to truth and integrity and being upright and straight, that's not a לבוש levush, it's not a garment or a wardrobe you wear. It's not simply how we manifest or express in this world. It is to the essence of who we are. So when it's a wardrobe, a garment you're wearing, then you're a בעל baal. Right now, you're married. They say this vort about a about a בר מצוה bar and a בת מצוה bas mitzvah for a boy and girl. Why are they called a בר מצוה bar mitzvah and a בת מצוה bas mitzvah? בר Bar is Aramaic for בן ben, son. בת Bat or בס bas, however you want to pronounce it. Don't judge anyone for the way they pronounce it. It doesn't mean anything about them. By our sixth daughter's, בת מצוה bas mitzvah, on the invitation we said, you know, we're just going to put it in the Hebrew, בית תיו beis taf, mitzvah. You read it however you want to pronounce it. Don't assume things about us just because of the way that we printed it. Finally figured that out by the sixth one. So why is a בר מצוה bar mitzvah boy and the equivalent in a girl, why are they called the child of a מצוה mitzvah? We call them a בעל חסד baal chesed and a בעל צדקה baal tzedakah, and yet we call somebody a בן תורה ben Torah and a בר מצוה bar mitzvah. Why? So famously they say, because when it comes to צדקה tzedakah, when it comes to חסד chesed, when you're doing it, you're married to it. So you're known by the חסד chesed you do because you perform חסד chesed. You're philanthropic, you give צדקה tzedakah, you're known by the צדקה tzedakah that you give. You're married to it. But you know, just like you could be married, you could also get divorced. And if you stop doing it, you're no longer married, you no longer earned the title. You're no longer a בעל חסד baal chesed or a בעל צדקה baal tzedakah, you got divorced from that behavior that you once did. But when it comes to תורה Torah and it comes to מצוות mitzvos, you can't ever get divorced. A child, I know this you can emancipate, but the Torah doesn't view that you could ever emancipate. A child is a child is a child for life. So therefore, we're trying to communicate to this child, you're not a בעל מצוה baal mitzvah, you're not a בעל תורה baal Torah. It's not just for this בר מצוה bar mitzvah, we made you a logo and an insignia and a party and fanfare and we're throwing candies at your head, you get married to the Torah and the for the weekend, and then you'll go back to your life. You're a you're a בר מצוה bar mitzvah, you're a son, and it's part of who you are forever. So says the מגיד יוסף Magid Yosef, you're a בעל תאווה baal taavah, because hopefully you'll get divorced from תאווה taavah. You're a בעל עבירה baal aveira, hopefully you'll get a divorce from the עבירות aveiros that you're doing. You're a בעל חסד baal chesed, hopefully you'll stay married, happily married forever to חסד chesed. בעל צדקה Baal tzedakah, you'll be happily married forever to צדקה tzedakah. But all those are external manifestations, descriptions, garments, wardrobe. But your essence, your integrity, your honesty, we call you an איש אמת ish emes, an אדם ישר adam yashar, because that speaks to the to the that speaks to the core, the essence of who you are. If you take the אלף alef away from אמת emes, what do you have left? מת Meis. אלף Alef, if you take away the singularity, if you take away the אלוף aluf, the השם Hashem, the the godliness, the integrity, if you take the אלף alef, you know what you have left? You're dead. Without honesty and integrity, you're dead. You're dead. If your word doesn't mean your bond, if it doesn't mean anything, then ובמקומו בא איש אחר uvimkomo ba ish acher, there's somebody else. So all the other מדות midos are not predetermined. They can be harnessed for good or for bad. We channel them, we direct them, that's why they're called מדות midos, that's why they're in a measure. But אמת emes, אמת emes is essential. אמת Emes is core. אמת Emes is fundamental. יעקב Yaakov is an איש תם ish tam, תתן אמת ליעקב titein emes leYaakov, because that's part of fundamental who we are. And where do we get all this from? We get it all from the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam himself. The רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam is הצור תמים פעלו Hatzur tamim pa'alo. הצור Hatzur, he is the rock, and the rock, הצור תמים פעלו Hatzur tamim pa'alo, the rock the Midrash says means he is a rock of truth, and just like the rock doesn't break, is impenetrable, השם Hashem is a rock of truth. What else הצור Hatzur? How else can we understand the word הצור Hatzur? There are in the first 52 פרשיות parshiyos, the word צור tzur appears how many times? Three. Here in פרשת האזינו Parshas Ha'azinu, five. הצור Hatzur over and over and over again, a rock. We don't find השם Hashem being referred to, we always find the rock. יעקב Yaakov slept on a rock, יעקב Yaakov made a a מזבח mizbeach out of rocks, he made a covenant with the rock. השם Hashem is not described as a rock, a rock is not a metaphor for השם Hashem until now. What does it mean that השם Hashem is a metaphor for a rock? And why now? So רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya on the parsha has a beautiful interpretation. רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya says the following. על דרך הפשט נקרא הקדוש ברוך הוא צור מלשון תוקף Al derech hapshat nikra Hakadosh Baruch Hu tzur milashon tokef. והנה הביטו אל צור חצבתם Vehen habitu el tzur chutzavtem. כי כשם שהצור תקוע יסוד הארץ כן הקדוש ברוך הוא יסוד העולם Ki keshem shehatzur takua yesod ha'aretz kein Hakadosh Baruch Hu yesod ha'olam. So the first interpretation of of a rock is like Prudential. Prudential, get it? What why is the bank called the rock? It's reliable. It will always be around, it's strong, it's dependable. צור Tzur is יסוד הארץ yesod ha'aretz, the bedrock. The bedrock is the foundation of the earth. So משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu says רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya משה יצא לדבר על אדם Moshe yatza ledaber al adam, ויאמר אדון זה שאני רוצה לדבר עליו הוא צור ותקיף שאין כמוהו Vayomer adon zeh she'ani rotzeh ledaber alav hu tzur vetakif she'ein kamoho. Moshe says, I'm about to remind you about this covenant, this relationship that we have, our obligation, our duty and responsibility, our mission to be of service to him. Why? Who is he? What do you owe him? The answer is he's the יסוד עולם yesod olam. He's the he's the צור tzur. He is the rock. He is the bedrock of this world and of life. That's who he is. אבל תמים הוא. אינו בא בתוקף ובריאותיו אלא תמים פעלו בתמימות וענווה הוא מתנהג עם בריותיו. Aval tamim hu. Eino ba betokef uvriyosav ela tamim pa'alo bitmimus v'anavah hu misnaheg im briyosav. On the one hand he is הצור Hatzur, he's a rock, he's the bedrock, he's the foundation of this whole world, השם Hashem. At the same time he's תמים פעלו tamim pa'alo. So you think he'd swell with arrogance. להבדיל אלף אלפי הבדלות Lehavdil elef alfei havdalos, the wrestler, the Rock, the actor The Rock. Why is the rock? He's so built, he's so buff, he's so huge, he's so arrogant, he's so egotistical, he's so... השם Hashem is הצור Hatzur, he's the real rock. He's the real rock, but תמים פעלו tamim pa'alo, he's תמים tamim. But he's humble. He's תמים tamim. At the same time, says משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, he's תמים tamim. So all of that is interpretation number one of רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya, הצור Hatzur means like Prudential, הצור Hatzur means the rock, reliable, dependable, the bedrock of this earth, and that's why Moshe invokes him to start this speech. Number two, רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya continues and he says, a second interpretation. Then he says, ושמעתי מפי מורי עם שם שנצטרך לומר בברכת הלבנה פועל V'shamati mipi mori im shem shenitzrach lomar bevirchas halevana poel, he quotes, uh, sorry, sorry, sorry. Uh, הצור תמים פעלו כי משה רמז כאן על יצירתו של אדם הראשון ועל חטאו ועונשו Hatzur tamim pa'alo, ki Moshe remez kan al yetzirato shel Adam Harishon v'al cheto v'onsho. Oh, sorry, the second interpretation. When you hear the name משה Moshe and you hear the word rock, what comes to mind? Moshe hit the rock. He hit the rock. So משה Moshe lived for and dreamt of what? Going into ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. ואתחנן Va'eschanan he davened 515 times and was rejected. He was answered, but the answer was no. He wouldn't go in. And despite that, what does השם Hashem call him? A rock. What does משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu call him? A rock. Because Moshe is demonstrating and modeling for the people that even when השם Hashem sometimes says no, he's still your rock. Moshe is invoking. I failed with the rock, but השם Hashem is the rock. It's a play on words says רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya. I came up short with the rock when I hit the rock instead of speaking to it. Because of that, השם Hashem said no. Even when השם Hashem sometimes says no, he's still our rock. He's still, wow. What a musser. And he's demonstrating, he's modeling that musser. He got a no for his dream, for what he desperately wanted, and he was still able to surrender to השם Hashem as the rock, even after he got the no. And then there are quotes a third interpretation. The third interpretation is that the word צור tzur sounds like יצר yatzar. על שם שייצר כל הצורות כולן Al shem she'yitzar kol hatzuros kulan. What does, what is the the root of the word צור tzur, רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya says is יצר yatzar. יוצר אור ובורא חושך Yotzer or uvorei choshech. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu created us. He created the world. He created the world. אין צור כא-לקינו Ein tzur k'Elokeinu and the Gemara learns, אין צייר כא-לקינו ein tzayar k'Elokeinu. Don't read it אין צור כא-לקינו ein tzur k'Elokeinu, read it אין צייר ein tzayar. God is a creator, God is the artist. צור עולמים Tzur olamim. צר שני עולמים Tzar shnei olamim. וייצר ה' א-לקים את האדם Vayitzer Hashem Elokim es ha'adam. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu created, וייצר ה' א-לקים את האדם Vayitzer Hashem Elokim es ha'adam, he created man. So says רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya, these פסוקים psukim, that same root means both to create and means rock. Why? Because in describing the describing our relationship with השם Hashem, we remember with this reflection. השם Hashem created this whole world and he is the sustainer, he is the rock of this whole world. And it's no more demanding to ask us to surrender to him as our rock than to realize that he is the creator. He's the great artist, he's the great creator of this world and he is the rock that continues to hold up this world. פרק ל\"ב פסוק י Perek lamed-beis pasuk yud, turn the page. Many of these פסוקים psukim that we're skipping we've spoken about in previous years with beautiful, beautiful insights, not my own, we quoted from others that are worth reviewing and listening to. פרק ל\"ב פסוק י Perek lamed-beis pasuk yud. ימצאהו בארץ מדבר ובתהו ילל ישימן יסובבנהו יבוננהו יצרנהו כאישון עינו Yimtza'ehu be'eretz midbar uvetohu yelel yeshimon yesovevenhu yevonenehu yitzrenu ke'ishon eino. He discovered him in a desert land, in desolation, in a howling wilderness. He encircled him, he granted him discernment, he preserved him like the pupil of his eye. השם Hashem is talking about the Jewish people. We discovered השם Hashem where? In the desert. Wandering in the desert after we came out of מצרים Mitzrayim, in desolation, in a howling wilderness. And then השם Hashem encircled us with what? The סוכה sukkah. Protected us from the elements. Granted us discernment, preserved us like the pupil of the of the eye. And here again the the אמרות טהרות Amaros Tehoros, the Rachmastrivka has beautiful interpretations. Number one, quotes from the אור לשמים Or LaShamayim. ימצאהו בארץ מדבר Yimtza'ehu be'eretz midbar. אדם צריך לדעת שהוא תמיד קרוב אל השם יתברך Adam tzarich lada'as shehu tamid karov el Hashem yisbarach. אך בשעה שמרגיש עצמו כמדבר שהוא ריק ושמם Ach besha'ah shemargish atzmo kemidbar shehu reik veshameim, but we have to know that sometimes we feel like we're spiritually dehydrated. We're spiritually in a desert and we're spiritually dehydrated. We can't find השם Hashem anywhere. We're empty. מקום נחש שרף ועקרב Makom nachash saraf ve'akrav. We're in a place of snakes and scorpions, dangers and threats that loom, that surround us. שמרגיש בעצמו שאין שווה מאומה Shemargish be'atzmo she'ein shaveh me'uma, we feel unworthy, we feel worthless, we feel distanced, we feel far from השם Hashem, we're spiritually dehydrated. גם אז יכול למצוא את השם יתברך Gam az yachol limtzo es Hashem yisbarach. We need to know ימצאהו בארץ מדבר yimtza'ehu be'eretz midbar. We can even find השם Hashem in that circumstance and from that place even in a desert. Rav Soloveitchik has a very similar language as well in describing ימצאהו yimtza'ehu. Man's search for God expresses itself in intellectual activity. When the seeker reaches the boundary of reality they become alarmed and retreat. When they confront eternity with its terrifying spaces, they both attract and repel. Here השם Hashem reveals himself above nature, from beyond the world bound by time. A person has to know that even when they reach the boundary and they feel like they're far away and they're gone, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu can be found. That's what he says here also, the Rachmastrivka. העצה למצוא את השם יתברך בארץ Ha'eitza limtzo es Hashem yisbarach ba'aretz, because what do we say, ימצאהו בארץ מדבר yimtza'ehu be'eretz midbar. Where do you find him? בארץ Ba'aretz. לדבר דברי תורה ותפילה Ledaber divrei Torah u'tefillah. ימצאהו בארץ Yimtza'ehu ba'aretz how? מדבר Midbar. Repunctuate the word מדבר midbar. Hasidic vort. How can you repunctuate the word מדבר midbar? מדבר Medaber. דברי תורה ותפילה Divrei Torah u'tefillah. האמנתי כי אדבר He'emanti ki adaber. Talk about השם Hashem. If you feel like you're in a מדבר midbar, you feel you know my family, we're in a bad place right now. We're far, we're uninspired, we're in a deep descent, we're spiritually depressed, we're spiritually dehydrated, we're in a bad place. You know what the antidote is? You know what the answer is? If you're in a מדבר midbar, become a מדבר medaber. Learn Torah, speak Torah, daven, האמנתי כי אדבר he'emanti ki adaber. If you talk about השם Hashem, you'll believe in השם Hashem, see him, talk about him, thank him, protest, object to him, talk about him. ובתהו ילל ישימן Uvetohu yelel yeshimon, רמז ליצר הרע remez l'yetzer hara, שהיצר הרע חפץ להניע את האדם shehayetzer hara chafetz lehonia es ha'adam. היצר הרע Hayetzer hara tries to hold us back. יסובבנהו יבוננהו Yesovevenhu yevonenehu. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu surrounds us, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu protects us, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu has our back and ensures that we're going to be okay. פרק ל\"ב פסוק יא Perek lamed-beis pasuk yud-alef. כנשר יעיר קינו על גוזליו ירחף יפרוש כנפיו יקחהו ישאהו על אברתו Kenesher ya'ir kino al gozalav yerachef yifros knafav yikachehu yisa'ehu al evraso. Continuing with this beautiful song. משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's magnificent poetry of האזינו Haazinu. כנשר יעיר קינו על גוזליו ירחף יפרוש כנפיו יקחהו ישאהו על אברתו Kenesher ya'ir kino al gozalav yerachef yifros knafav yikachehu yisa'ehu al evraso. Pasuk says, he was like an eagle arousing its nest, hovering over its young, spreading its wings and taking them, carrying them on pinions. So I got a new sefer just this week. It's just came out, my friend, רב אהרן גולדשיידר Rav Aaron Goldscheider, Torah United. He has a הגדה Haggadah United. If you've ever learned his Haggadah, his Haggadah has every paragraph in the Haggadah a vort from a הרב Harav, רב קוק Rav Kook and שלמה קרליבך Shlomo Carlebach. Now he has Torah United. Every פרשה parsha, he has Torah from רב קוק Rav Kook, רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik and the חסידיק Chassidic masters. He has from from all. I want to thank Rabbi Simon Posner who was one of the editors who was kind enough to give me a copy of this beautiful new sefer. So he has here on the section, on and under השם's Hashem's wing. So he has again, from רב קוק Rav Kook, רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik and the חסידיק Chassidic masters on each פרשה parsha. Two volumes. Two volumes. This is the end of obviously ספר דברים Sefer Devarim, האזינו Haazinu. He says the following, if you read it carefully, you'll find messages that resonate for our generation embedded eons ago in the multi-valent fabric of the poem. Focus on a single evocative and vivid line to see how it has been read by some of our greatest exegetes. He was like an eagle rousing its nest hovering over its young spreading its wing carrying them on its opinion. רש\"י Rashi lays out the foundation. What does רש\"י Rashi say on this pasuk? What does רש\"י Rashi say, פסוק יא pasuk yud alef, כנשר יעיר Kenesher ya'ir? It's compassion. נוהגם ברחמים ובחמלה כנשר הזה Nohagam berachamim uv'chemla kenesher hazeh. Whenever we talk about השם Hashem and an eagle, what's different of the eagle than other birds? The eagle carries on its wings. The eagle flies the highest, so the eagle absorbs the arrows in order to protect the young. So רש\"י Rashi here again, says when the eagle comes to move them from place to place, it doesn't clutch them with the talons like other birds do with the legs underneath. The eagle lets us ride on its wings, so therefore we're protected. It it absorbs the arrows. According to רש\"י Rashi, the imagery of the eagle protecting its young represents השם's Hashem's protective and loving relationship with his people. חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim, רבי יצחק מאיר אלתר Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, the גער Ger Rebbe says, השם Hashem was taking a bullet for his people at the sea in more ways than one. In the heavenly court, a dangerous confrontation was occurring. A prosecuting angel confronted the הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu and claimed no difference between the Jewish people and the Egyptians. Both these and those are idol worshipers. What's the difference? We were in the מ\"ט שערי טומאה mem-tes sha'arei tumah. We were in the lowest level. We were idolaters. So we were no different. הללו והללו Halalu v'halalu, we were the same, said the prosecuting angel. So השם Hashem himself stepped in to protect his charge from the barbs of the accuser. Perhaps the Jewish people were guilty and did not deserve to be saved, but השם Hashem loves his children all the same. The image of the glorious eagle taking an arrow for its young symbolizes השם Hashem as our eternal guardian, even when we are unworthy of his care and devotion. So now you understand we read this שבת שובה Shabbos Shuva. We read this between ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah and יום כיפור Yom Kippur. Even in the בית דין של מעלה beis din shel ma'alah, these ימי דין yemei din, even as we're approaching יום כיפור Yom Kippur, and the prosecuting angel is trying to make the case for our demise, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu has our back, he protects us like the eagle. Many have the practice to recite a prayer before wrapping the טלית tallis which incorporates this exact פסוק pasuk from this פרשה parsha. Though the מצוות ציצית mitzvas tzitzis may may my soul, spirit, breath and prayer be saved from the outside forces. May the טלית tallis spread its כנפיו k'nafav, its corners over them and save them as the eagle arouses its nest hovering over its young. In the תפילה tefillah that you say when you put on your טלית tallis is this פסוק pasuk from our פרשה parsha. The word for the corners of the טלית tallis is the same word for wings or pinions, כנפיים k'nafayim, making the connection to the imagery of our pasuk. As we wrap our body in the טלית tallis, we imagine ourselves being screened by the wings of the שכינה Shechinah, the divine presence, which protects us from the spiritual forces of evil. So when a man puts on his טלית tallis in the morning, he does עטיפה atifa, and he wraps it and he throws it over his shoulder, don't in one motion wrap and unwrap. You're supposed to stay that way כדי הילוך ד' אמות k'dei hiluch daled amos. Hold that position with wrapped in that טלית tallis, the amount of time it takes to walk six feet, it's a very short amount of time, but basically take a breath, take a pause, take a moment and say this פסוק pasuk. Say, השם Hashem I feel you spreading your wings over me right now. I feel you're giving me a hug right now. I feel like you're protecting me in a cocoon right now. Whatever forces, whatever I'm going to face, whatever's going to be in my day, whatever I have to confront, whatever I have to overcome, when we put on that טלית tallis, we're wrapping ourselves in a hug of השם Hashem. כנפיים K'nafayim, כנפיו k'nafav, the wings of this eagle, just like protects its young, is protecting us. Images are in the eye of the beholder. The קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi of רבי לוי יצחק מברדיצ'ב Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev interpreted the avian metaphor a different way. השם Hashem is still represented by the mother eagle, but we should not overlook the fact that Jews are young eagles themselves. What is special about the eagle according to Jewish lore, its soaring capabilities aside? A pasuk in ספר תהלים Sefer Tehillim holds the key. A pasuk in תהלים Tehillim says, your youth is renewed כנשר kanesher, like the eagle. תהלים ק\"ג Tehillim kuf gimel. רש\"י Rashi there explained that the eagle molts completely every year, its name being derived from the annual shedding. Why is it called a נשר nesher an eagle? Because the שורש shoresh, נון שין ריש nun shin reish means to shed. The eagle sheds its feathers and regrows them every year. I have no idea if that's still true, if it's true, but that's our tradition, so it must be true. The eagle sheds something and regrows it every year. השם Hashem has instilled in the Jew a similar quality. One can always start over no matter how bad it gets. The Jewish people, we possess the spiritual resolve to recommit and rededicate even after repeated failures. In the same way the mother eagle gently awakens her young, so God arouses us with this divine gift to press on in the wake of spiritual defeat. So just like the eagle can shed and replenish, we too can shed and then replenish and soar once again. It's a beautiful, beautiful image of the קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi of רבי לוי יצחק Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. רבי מנחם מנדל מרימנוב Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov adopted yet another interpretation. So we had רש\"י Rashi, and then we had, we had רש\"י Rashi, we had the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim, the גער Ger Rebbe, the קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi, here's a fourth. רבי מנחם מנדל מרימנוב Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov adopted yet another between יעקב Yaakov and the eagle in the mystical literature. The passion to serve השם Hashem within every Jew ultimately stems from our forefather יעקב Yaakov who passed it down to us. Even today with the passing of millennia, we continue to be the beneficiaries of spiritual gifts that he bequeathed to us. We are בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael, the children of ישראל Yisrael. Our ancestor is present in our life, hovering over us in our spiritual strivings. As רש\"י Rashi noted, the image of the protective eagle already appeared in פרשת יתרו Parshas Yisro. Is this line in האזינו Haazinu recalling the seminal event? Yet while we were in מצרים Mitzrayim before the 10th and final plague, it says, ועשה אתכם על כנפי נשרים ואביא אתכם אלי Va'esa eschem al kanfei nesharim va'avi eschem elai. השם Hashem says I'll carry you on the wings of eagles and I'll bring you close to me. So is there a connection between האזינו Haazinu's eagle and השם's Hashem's promise to us while we were yet in מצרים Mitzrayim, I'll carry you out on the wings of an eagle? So, נחמה ליבוביץ Nechama Leibowitz, the eminent Torah teacher, נחמה ליבוביץ Nechama Leibowitz argued that the two eagle metaphors are not identical. In יתרו Yisro, the people are born aloft on the eagle's wings. As השם Hashem shelters his vulnerable nation in the wilderness. In האזינו Haazinu, young eagles are raised up by beating wings as השם Hashem teaches his children to fly. She quotes the philosopher Martin Buber, the great eagle spreads its wings over the nestlings. He takes up one of them, a shy or weary one, and bears it upon its pinions until it can dare the flight itself and follow it in his mountainous gyrations. The first metaphor describes the relationship between השם Hashem and the people in its infancy. The second serves to capture the maturing relationship as the people are about to enter the land. השם Hashem is prodding his young, inhibited child to take flight for himself. So it's the same image, but really expressing very different. From needing to be rescued and taken care of to giving us wings to fly. Right, isn't that what we talk about when you send your child to their year in Israel, when you send your child off out of the nest? Hopefully you've given them wings that they can fly. So in יתרו Yisro, השם Hashem says, you'll ride on my wings, I'll take care of you. Now in האזינו Haazinu, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu is saying, I've given you wings, now you can fly. So the one image of the eagle, so many beautiful interpretations from רש\"י Rashi to the גער Ger Rebbe, to רבי לוי יצחק Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, to רבי מנחם מנדל מרימנוב Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov, to נחמה ליבוביץ Nechama Leibowitz, very, very beautiful insights, wonderful sefer Torah United. Thank you again for the gift and the beautiful Torah that is in it. פרק ל\"ב פסוק יט Perek lamed-beis pasuk yud-tes. Yeah, we had a lot more. Some things don't change. New year, same lousy Parsha teacher. פסוק יט Pasuk yud tes. וירא ה' וינאץ מכעס בניו ובנותיו Vayar Hashem vayin'atz mika'as banav uvnosav. Where's the pasuk I'm looking for? Not that one, פסוק כ pasuk kaf. ויאמר אסתירה פני מהם אראה מה אחריתם כי דור תהפוכות המה בנים לא אמון בם Vayomer astira fanai mehem er'eh mah acharisam ki dor tahapuchos hemah banim lo eimun bam. He will say, I will hide my face from them and see what their end will be. They are a generation that is upside down. דור תהפוכות Dor tahapuchos. Someone wrote a sefer already 10 years ago about transgender and halacha. It was called דור תהפוכות Dor tahapuchos. In reference to this pasuk and Rashi, a דור תהפוכות dor tahapuchos. It's an upside down generation. בנים לא אמון בם Banim lo eimun bam. בנים לא אמון בם Banim lo eimun bam, children whose upbringing is not in them. What does that mean? בנים לא אמון בם Banim lo eimun bam. So Rav Soloveitchik has a comment on it. So Rav Soloveitchik says the following, There are no, there is no faithfulness in them. לא אמון Lo eimun. Right we said השם Hashem is a קל אמונה keil emuna. We in contrast getting rebuked now from משה Moshe, לא אמון בם lo eimun bam. While God is קל אמונה keil emuna, there's no faithfulness in them, לא אמון בם lo eimun bam. One of the elegies. which we're just talking about on Tisha B'Av, איכה ישבה חבצלת השרון Eicha yashva chavatzelet hasharon, there is an enigmatic phrase: ענות אמן לא אבו anot amen lo avu. They did not desire to respond amen. Jewish people's failure to answer amen is one of the reasons for the חורבן churban. Why would this be an accusation that would warrant the destruction of the בית המקדש Beit HaMikdash?Okay, you're supposed to answer amen. Is omitting amen so bad, it's a capital crime?Somebody asked me to repeat. Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider, Torah United. Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider, Torah United. I don't get any royalties, I don't get a piece of the action. It's well worth it. I got a free ספר sefer. But it's it's well worth it for your Torah learning, it's beautiful. So wonders the Rav, in that קינה kina we say, we were punished, the חורבן churban came because we didn't answer amen. The idea that the Jewish people refused to answer amen finds expression in the מדרש Midrash. The מדרש Midrash says Rav Dusta ben Yehuda said, do not read the פסוק pasuk לא אימון בם lo eimun bam, it should be read לא אמן בם lo amen bam. There was no amen in them. They didn't wish to respond amen to the prophets when the prophets were blessing them. We didn't answer amen. The קינה kina indicates they deliberately refused to answer amen, not that they simply failed. It's not that we were so busy reading Rabbi Sacks's פרשה parsha sheet, you didn't hear חזרת הש\"ץ chazarat hashatz and didn't answer amen. It means that they intentionally protested by not answering amen. This act of refusal demonstrates that they refused to accept the basic principles of our faith and to surrender to השם Hashem. Recitation of amen constitutes האמנת דברים ha'amanat devarim, a declaration that words are true. They lacked the quality of ויאמינו בהשם ובמשה עבדו vayaminu b'Hashem u'v'Moshe avdo. In effect, by refusing to answer amen, they were guilty of the transgression of עבודה זרה avodah zarah. If you don't say amen, you don't say ditto, amen, אמונה emuna, I agree, I have faith, I believe, then it's an expression of heresy, of idolatry.In general, people should recognize, concludes the Rav, the importance of amen during the repetition of the עמידה Amidah. When the שליח ציבור shliach tzibbur recites a ברכה bracha and one fails to answer amen, there's an element of implication that one is not fully in agreement with the words of the שליח ציבור shliach tzibbur. In fact, according to the רמב\"ם Rambam, the ברכות brachot are not ascribed to the ציבור tzibbur during חזרת הש\"ץ chazarat hashatz unless they answer amen. You need to have nine people answering amen. לא אימון בם lo eimun bam, לא אמן בם lo amen bam. משה Moshe is giving מוסר mussar that you're in שול shul, or, you know, I try to impress this upon my children and I try to be good with it myself. I'm not always great. Someone's having a cup of water. You're sitting down eating dinner, you're having lunch. Don't mumble it. Don't swallow the ברכה bracha faster than you're going to swallow the food. Say the ברכה bracha out loud. Give people a chance to answer amen. Give a chance, one of the sweetest videos you'll ever see in your life. I'll try to remember to post it on the פרשה parsha WhatsApp group. If you're not part of it, be part of the פרשה parsha WhatsApp group. That's how you know when we're on, when we're off, get bonus material, you get the פרשה parsha write-up, and you'll get this video בלי נדר bli neder. You can find it at rabbiephraimgoldberg.org/whatsapp. You ever see the video of Rav Chaim Kanievsky and Rebbetzin Kanievsky? Every morning they would start out each reciting ברכות השחר Birchos HaShachar for the other to answer amen. It's like the sweetest video you ever saw in your life. The great Rav Chaim and his Rebbetzin standing by a שטנדר shtender, and she is all the ברכות השחר Birchos HaShachar one by one, and he's answering amen to them. It's the sweetest thing between a couple. It's beautiful. לא אימון בם lo eimun bam, לא אמן בם lo amen bam. We have to be more careful with our amen. Amen is ditto, amen, אמונה emuna. השם is a א-ל אמונה El emuna. We have to be people of אמונה emuna. We have to be faithful and worthy, and we have to be reliable and dependable, and we have to express and affirm our belief and our trust. Wishing everyone a גמר חתימה טובה gmar chatima tova, should be a good קוויטל kvittel. We'll pick it up again after סוכות Sukkot, אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem. Tomorrow we have 10 minutes of meaning, still living with אמונה emuna. But for פרשה parsha class we'll pick it up. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy.
