Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov. Welcome back to פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. The faithful, the all-year-rounders who are still here, who have not fled Florida for the cold and the rain. I don't know where they went or why they'd want to leave. But anyway, thank you for being here this morning. פרשה Parsha series is as always generously sponsored by Becky and Avi Katzen family in memory of David Grossman. לעילוי נשמת Le'iluy nishmas Becky's father, דוד בן מנחם מנש Dovid ben Menachem Manash, and we remain very, very grateful to the Katzes. We are have the privilege of learning this morning פרשת שמיני Parshas Shemini, page 588 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. ויהי ביום השמיני Vayehi bayom hashemini. ויקרא Vayikra is a little bit interrupted. Till now, תורת כהנים Toras Kohanim, this book, which has been communicating essentially the laws for the priests how to operate in the משכן Mishkan, the different קרבנות korbanos, the details, the מנושא menusha of all of the sacrifices, their responsibilities. And here we have some narrative, some story, unfortunately some of it, much of it tragic, but really a blueprint for how to respond. But first ויהי ביום השמיני קרא משה לאהרן ולבניו ולזקני ישראל vayehi bayom hashmini kara Moshe l'Aharon ul'vanav ul'ziknei Yisrael. And it was on the eighth day. And of course, that begs the question, several questions. First of all, how do you begin a pasuk, how do you begin a verse with and? ויהי Vayehi, and it was the eighth day. But moreover, what do you mean the eighth day? It was the first day. What are we describing? How is our parsha beginning? ויאמר אל אהרן קח לך עגל בן בקר לחטאת ואיל לעלה תמימם והקרב לפני ה' Vayomer el Aharon kach lecha egel ben bakar lechatas v'ayil le'olah temimim v'hakrev lifnei Hashem. Moshe turns to his brother Aaron. He says you've been appointed, you've been elevated, you've been designated as the high priest, the כהן גדול Kohen Gadol. It's time to throw out the opening קרבן karbon. It's opening day at the משכן Mishkan. The inauguration is complete and the test run in which Moshe for seven days went through the motions as if he were the high priest, he got a chance and an opportunity, we'll talk about in a moment. It is all now complete, and it's no longer rehearsal. It's now the real deal. The stage is set. It's time to begin. And if the stage is set and it's time to begin, what day is that? Opening day is the first day, not the eighth day. So why does the Torah introduce this as ויהי ביום השמיני Vayehi bayom hashmini, and it was on the eighth day. להבדיל Lehavdil, not to make a comparison, the baseball season has begun, but if spring training had, I have no idea, let's call it twenty games, the first game of the real season would not be called the twenty-first game, it'd be called the first game. So if the seven days were the rehearsal that Moshe led, and now it's opening day, it's the real deal, it's time to begin, call it ביום הראשון bayom harishon, it's on the first day. Why ביום השמיני bayom hashmini? We've addressed, we've asked this before. But I want to share with you a different and new insight this year. It comes from the Rabbi Sacks חומש Chumash, which I don't believe yet is out, but I still have this preview edition and you should get it. It's a, they they put together all of Rabbi Sacks's insights on the parsha through his writings, organized it on the parsha in a beautiful חומש Chumash. To understand the symbolism of the eighth day, writes Rabbi Sacks, the phrase that gives this parsha its name, let's go back to creation itself, more specifically, to the conclusion of the first שבת Shabbos. The מדרש Midrash tells us, with the going out of שבת Shabbos, the celestial light began to fade. אדם Adam was afraid that the serpent would attack him in the dark. Therefore, God illuminated his understanding, and he learned to rub two stones against each other and produce light for his needs. It's a מדרש Midrash. What do we do to commemorate the invention, the discovery, the innovation of fire on that first Saturday night, that first מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos? What do we do? הבדלה Havdalah. In הבדלה Havdalah, we make קידוש kiddush to sanctify שבת Shabbos in its beginning, and then we have a bookend on the other end to transition from שבת Shabbos back into the week, we make הבדלה Havdalah. We distinguish between שבת Shabbos, the holiness, the sanctity of שבת Shabbos and the weekday. We do it like קידוש kiddush on a cup of wine, but הבדלה Havdalah on the other end, we add other components. One, the בשמים besamim. We take in the wonderful, beautiful fragrance of the בשמים besamim with a blessing to comfort ourselves from the loss of our נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira, the expanded additional, more highly attuned soul that we get on שבת Shabbos. And we also light a fire, we make a ברכה bracha, בורא מאורי האש Borei Me'orei Ha'eish. We acknowledge God as the creator of fire. Why do we do that on Saturday night? By the way, when יום טוב Yom Tov ended on Sunday night, when we just concluded פסח Pesach here in חוץ לארץ Chutz La'aretz, part of our punishment for living outside of Israel, two days of יום טוב Yom Tov, when we concluded יום טוב Yom Tov, we made הבדלה Havdalah. Did you do it with a candle? Why not? It was Sunday night, not Saturday night, not מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos. So the candle is reserved only for מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos. Why? Why do we have a candle in הבדלה Havdalah? We are commemorating that first discovery of fire. אדם Adam is created Friday, and then he observed שבת Shabbos, he's at rest, he's at peace with nature. Comes Saturday night, he's already been expelled from the garden, and now he's afraid under the cloak of darkness that the serpent, the snake, who's already tried to take his wife from him, and already enticed him into such an error and poor judgment that left him in this exile, is now going to attack him. He rubs his stones together, creates a spark, discovers fire, and this since then every מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos, we acknowledge God with gratitude for the gift and the ability of fire. So listen to what Rabbi Sacks says. That's the מדרש Midrash, that's what we know, that's what we do and we observe when we make, when we commemorate הבדלה Havdalah. But listen to Rabbi Sacks's insight. There's a fundamental difference between the light of the first day when God said ויהי אור vayehi or, let there be light, and the light of the eighth day. The light of the first day was created by God, the light of the eighth day is what God taught us to create. It symbolizes our partnership with God in the work of creation. On שבת Shabbos, we remember God's creation. On the eighth day, מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos, we celebrate our creativity as the image and partner of God. We usually think of Saturday night, Sunday as יום ראשון Yom Rishon, as the first day. But Rabbi Sacks is encouraging us to read it as Saturday night, Sunday are really the eighth day. Seven days of creation, the seventh day we rest, we're at peace with nature, we acknowledge God as creator, and then the eighth day we begin to create. Six days God created, the seventh he rested, the eighth day he invited us, now be my partner, now you create. He creates light the first day, he invites us to create light the eighth day, the night after the seventh is the eighth day. We believe that השם Hashem, I skipped. On the eighth day, מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos, we celebrate our creativity as the image and partner of השם Hashem. This, according to חז\"ל Chazal, is the reason we light a הבדלה Havdalah candle, as we said, פסיקתא רבתי Pesikta Rabbasi. We believe that God wants human beings to exercise power responsibly, creatively, within limits set by the integrity of nature. The rabbinic account of how God taught אדם וחווה Adam v'Chava the secret of making fire is the precise opposite of the Greek myth of Prometheus, who stole the spark of fire that Zeus wanted to keep as a divine secret. השם Hashem seeks to confer dignity on the beings he made in his image as an act of love. He doesn't hide the secrets of the universe from us. The creative God empowers us to be creative, begins by teaching us how. That is the symbolism of the eighth day. So when you hear the number eight, suggests Rabbi Sacks, eight should immediately elicit an image of our partnering with God in creation, in being creative. God doesn't hide or protect his creativity. He doesn't secure the blueprint in a safety deposit box and deny it from man. He shares his secrets. He more than shares, he bestows, he confers, he grants them. And he challenges us, be my partner, create. Six days I created, I rested on the seventh, and now you pick up, and now with your first day, Sunday, but really the eighth day, now you create, do that for six days, and then rest. We now understand the symbolic significance of the eighth day in relation to the משכן Mishkan. As we've noted elsewhere, says Rabbi Sacks, the linguistic parallels in the Torah show the construction of the משכן Mishkan in the wilderness mirrors the divine creation of the world. The משכן Mishkan, the building of the משכן Mishkan, was, is paralleled language to creation. What creation is for the physical world is what the משכן Mishkan is the creativity and the house of God for a spiritual world. The משכן Mishkan was intended to be a miniature universe constructed by human beings, just as God made the earth as a home for mankind, so too בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness built the משכן Mishkan as a symbolic home for God. השם Hashem creates a universe as a house for us, we then turn and use our creativity to make a house for him, called the משכן Mishkan. Is this incredible? Such a different way to view it. What a beautiful insight. He creates, invites us to create. Saturday night, Sunday is the eighth day, not only the first day. He makes a house for us, then we reciprocate and we partner by making a house for him. And that's why the language is parallel. Thus, the day it begins is figuratively as well as literally the eighth day. If the first day represents divine creation, the eighth day signifies human creation under the tutelage and sovereignty of השם Hashem. ויהי ביום השמיני Vayehi bayom hashmini. It's not the first day. It doesn't begin with us. We pick up. It is the eighth day, a day of creativity, a day of beginnings. Such a beautiful, beautiful insight. It's the eighth day in another way. The great בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim points out. אמר משה Omer Moshe, לפי שסרבתי שבעה ימים בסנה lefisha saravti shiva yamim basneh, לא זכיתי לשמש אלא שבעת ימים lo zachisi l'shamesh elah shivas yamim, שבעת ימי המילואים shivas yemei hamiluim. I mentioned that Moshe only gets to serve in this capacity, one that he never really earns or never really has, כהן גדול Kohen Gadol, he wanted it, but he lost it, he forfeited it, and it was conferred instead to his brother. But he does get, he's almost teased. It's almost unfair. Moshe, you want to be כהן גדול Kohen Gadol? Nah, you can't. But I'll tell you what, for rehearsal, you can dress the part. You can wear the costume, you can dress the part, you can go through the motions. You could do it for the seven days of rehearsal, but come eighth day, first day of the real beginning of the משכן Mishkan, it's not you, it's your brother. You're going to anoint him, you're going to give him the clothing, you're going to give him the instruction manual, and he's going to get started. Why? Why did Moshe lose it? Why did Moshe not get it? Because we know the Torah tells us, the מדרש Midrash elaborates, when God first recruits Moshe to be the quintessential leader of the Jewish people, to free them from מצרים Mitzrayim, to grant and give them the Torah, and he says, I need you, I want you, this is what you're meant to do. What does Moshe say? Not I'm up to the challenge, not I'm so honored, thank you, I'm here to serve at your pleasure. What does Moshe say? Ah, I'm not really cut out for that. I don't really have the resume for that. I'm not an orator, I'm not a speaker, I'm not good at that. My brother, think of somebody else. And for seven days, Hashem has this back and forth argument, persuading, convincing. For seven days, Moshe demures, he hesitates. It takes seven days for Hashem to say, this is not under discussion. You're the man. This is what you're meant to do. This is why you were born. This is your mission. So because for seven days in the בסנה סרבתי basneh saravti, Moshe realizes and recognizes that corresponding for the seven days he hesitated, he negotiated, he debated God, now he only gets to serve what he wanted seven days, then it's taken from him, and it's instead given to his brother, it's given to, it's given to Aaron. The מדרש ויקרא רבה Midrash Vayikra Rabbah elaborates because the Torah tells us, it's on the eighth day, Moshe calls Aaron, ולבניו ulevanav his sons, they're all alive at this point, ולזקני ישראל ul'ziknei Yisrael. Who else does he call? The elders. Says the מדרש Midrash רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva, נמשל ישראל לעוף nimshal Yisrael l'of, the Jewish people are compared to a bird. מה העוף אינה פורח בלא כנפים mah ha'of einah poreach b'lo knafayim, כך ישראל אינן יכולין לעשות דבר חוץ מזקניהם kach Yisrael einan yecholin la'asos davar chutz mi'zikneihem. Just like a bird can't fly without its wings, the Jewish people can't fly. We can't flourish, we can't blossom, we can't fly without our wings. Who are our wings? The empty nesters. Who are our wings? Which is our flattering, nice way of saying the aged to perfection group. The senior population. זקניהם Zikneihem. Our wings are our elders, our elders. חז\"ל Chazal say נמשל ישראל לעוף nimshal Yisrael l'of, the Jewish people are likened to the bird. It's the Jewish people דוקא dafka. The other nations of the world are not that way. They can conduct, they can act, they can proceed without their elders, without the wisdom and sagacity, without the life experience, without the authority of the elders. Why? What's the difference between the two? So רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, the great ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir, in שיחות מוסר Sichos Mussar explains. He says the other nations of the world are likened to a בהמה beheima, which we'll come back to in a moment in another context. And an animal doesn't have wings. So they can act and conduct and function without wings because they're more like an animal that doesn't have wings. We are more like a bird, and a bird without its wings is not a bird. A bird without its wings is grounded. A bird without its wings is not, it's not really a bird, a functioning bird. Why are the Jewish people more likened to the bird that we need wings even to exist to see ourselves? So רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz doesn't explain it this way, he is more speaking in our attitude, and it's critically important, and it's dangerous in our times. It's a פרשה Parsha perspective for today. The greater the more the proliferation of technology, the more advanced, the more sophisticated, the more it enhances our lives, the more young people subconsciously are trained to think, who's smarter? Who's more advanced? Who's made more progress? Who's a greater authority? Their parent or grandparent who need their help to work their technology, or they who using AI have terabytes of information at their fingertips? Who's smarter? Who's more advanced? Who knows more? Who speaks with more authority? We're struggling in our generation. Children respecting teachers, young people respecting teachers, children respecting parents or grandparents or adults, and I think it's for this reason. In the information age, it used to be, when I was young, when I was younger, it used to be when I was younger, one of the reasons that you admired and deferred and submitted to the teacher in the front of the classroom or to the older people in your life is they knew more. They were smarter, they had more life experience, they had more knowledge, they had more expertise, they had more authority. But today, you know how to talk into your device and have it access all information across the whole globe and to call it together and AI and Chat GPT can give you the answer to anything in a, in a moment. And so the more you can utilize that, the more you know how, the smarter you are. And likely that's the younger generation, and that's having a negative impact. And that's the world around us, a secular world around us. But the Jewish people don't believe that, and that's not how we live. Because there's knowledge and there's wisdom, there's information that Chat GPT and AI and all the technology in the world will never have. The way the person who survived the Holocaust, יום השואה Yom HaShoah this week, we have a survivor coming to speak. And we don't know how many years we have left to listen to their story. But their learned life experience, there's nothing Chat GPT or Google or any or any technology can spit out that can compare with what they went through and what they know and what they live and the example that they are. זקני ישראל Ziknei Yisrael, our זקנינו z'keineinu, our elderly, their life experience, their wisdom is indispensable to us. It is the wings that let us fly. Without our past, without our history, without the access of the links and the chain that take us back and create a continuity to the present and the future, we're lost, we're grounded, we have no wings, we cannot fly. And that's why לזקני ישראל l'ziknei Yisrael, we're likened, נמשל ישראל לעוף nimshal Yisrael l'of, we're like a bird, we need wings, we need to fly, and to do it, we need to listen, we need to learn, we need to surrender and submit to those who came before and not think we're smarter, we're better, we're more advanced, just because we know more information, more terabytes, more data. That doesn't necessarily make you smarter. That doesn't make you smarter. What did I see this quote? What was the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in fruit salad. Knowledge you can get from the internet, wisdom is something different. But I think it goes even further. It goes even further. There's a story, a famous story of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky was once flying on a plane with a grandchild, with one of his einiklach. And that grandchild, the whole flight wasn't seated near him, next to him, but kept checking and doting on him. Zeida, can I bring you a drink? Zeida, do you need help? Zeida, do you need to put it up in the overhead compartment? Zeida, what can I do? And Rav Yaakov was sitting next to a professor at a university who marveled at how often his grandson came to check on him, and the treatment, and the affection, the love, the respect. And he said, I can't get my grandchildren to even call me, to talk to me. I'm lucky if they call me on my birthday, to see me, to visit me. And your grandson can't get enough of you. What's your secret? What's the answer? And Rav Yaakov turned to him and he said, you teach evolution. You think the world came into existence by chance, the Big Bang. And we are evolved from monks, from monkeys and chimpanzees and apes. We, I believe that God created the universe and he created man, and the highest point, the most seminal moment in history was Mount Sinai when God granted his blueprint for creation, his instruction manual for life, when he gave the Torah. So your grandson looks at you and he sees you're a couple steps closer to being an ape and a monkey and a chimpanzee. And he has evolved, and he has developed, and he has progressed. You should respect him. Why should he respect you? My grandchildren look at me and they see me as being a couple of generations closer to linked to standing at Sinai. I was closer to that moment. I am closer to having that experience and passing that baton. They therefore respect me and want to be able to draw the wisdom from me. So the z'keinim are our wings. They are closer to that moment, to that revelation, which was unprecedented, and that moment, that revelation, which was never repeated. And therefore we look back at our elders as having that greater wisdom, being just that much closer to that. They are the wings, they grant us that ability, that capacity to fly. פרק ט פסוק ז Perek tes, pasuk zayin. Skipping a little bit. ויאמר משה אל אהרן קרב אל המזבח ועשה את חטאתך ואת עולתך Vayomer Moshe el Aharon krav el hamizbeach v'asei es chatas'cha v'es olasecha, וכפר בעדך ובעד העם ועשה את קרבן העם וכפר בעדם v'chaper ba'adcha u'va'ad ha'am v'asei es korban ha'am v'chaper ba'adam, כאשר צוה ה' ka'asher tziva Hashem. It's all set. Stage is set, Mishkan is built, the inauguration, the orientation, the dress rehearsal, it's all complete, it's all done. And Moshe turns to his brother and he says, no, Aaron, big brother, קרב אל המזבח krav el hamizbeach, it's time, approach the altar, ועשה את חטאתך v'asei es chatascha and it's time offer your sacrifices and achieve atonement for yourself and for the people. No, it's time to get it done just like God commanded. Now you'll note, Moshe encourages and instructs Aaron, achieve atonement for yourself and for the people, because before you can achieve atonement for anyone else, first you have to do it for yourself. You can't criticize others until you look in the mirror. When you point the finger, there are three pointing back at you. It's בעדך ובעד העם ba'adcha u'va'ad ha'am. First, קשוט עצמך ואחר כך קשוט אחרים kshot atzmecha v'achar kach kshot acherim. First, be honest with yourself, repair yourself, be self-critical, evaluate yourself before you then turn to criticize or receive or achieve atonement for others, for others. But why does Aaron need that encouragement? Why does Moshe have to say, קרב אל המזבח krav el hamizbeach, approach, approach. Approach makes it sound like, what was Aaron doing? Stand off. He was retreating, he was recoiling, he was standing away. And Moshe says, Aaron, what are you doing? This is what we trained for. This is the big moment. This is our mission. This is your moment. What are you doing? קרב אל המזבח Krav el hamizbeach, come close, come close. So רש\"י Rashi tells us, שהיה אהרן בוש וירא לגשת shehaya Aharon bosh v'yarei lageshes. Aaron was ashamed. He was embarrassed. He was hesitant to approach the altar to begin. אמר לו משה למה אתה בוש לכך נבחרת Amar lo Moshe, lama ata bosh, l'kach nivcharta. Moshe says, what are you embarrassed? What are you hesitant about? This is why you were chosen. The מדרש Midrash elaborates. What made Aaron hesitant? The מזבח mizbeach was constructed, it had קרנות kranos, it had corners. And the altar had these corners that protruded. And if you were looking at the altar head-on, it had, it was level, and then the corners protruded up and it looked like horns. And what did it look exactly like? It looked exactly like a calf. And what did it remind Aaron of? The חטא העגל Chet Ha'Egel, the sin, the mistake, the miscalculation of the golden calf. So Aaron says, me? How could I possibly, how can I be this leader? How can I have this moment? How can I play this role? I'm unqualified, I'm inadequate, I'm unworthy. I was part of that mistake. How can I do it? And Moshe says, what are you talking about? Why are you hesitating? Why are you ashamed? Why are you embarrassed? It is for this that you were chosen. So the אריז\"ל Arizal, ליקוטי תורה Likutei Torah, others, and this we've shared in the past, they say, you know what Moshe was telling him? לכך נבחרת L'kach nivcharta, for this you were chosen. What does that mean for this you were chosen? What's the for this? Because you're ashamed and embarrassed, because you're hesitant, because you're humble, because you recognize and realize and take responsibility for a mistake, לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta, that's why you're perfect for this role. God doesn't want people in prominent positions who are arrogant, who have inflated egos, who think they never make mistakes, who have no sense of shame or guilt. לכך L'kach, because אתה בוש ata bosh, because you are ashamed, because you are hesitant and reluctant, because you feel you've known, you're humble, you've done things wrong, לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta, that is the very reason you are the right man for the job. So the thing that's making you not approach is the very reason you're the right man for the job. לכך נבחרת L'kach nivcharta, that's why you are the man. But the מגלה עמוקות Megaleh Amukos has another פשט pshat. You know what Moshe was telling him? The following. לאמיתו של דבר אני הייתי עומד להיות כהן גדול La'amito shel davar anee hayisi omed l'hiyos Kohen Gadol. Moshe is telling his big bro, his big brother, Aaron, you want to know the truth? I was supposed to have this role. I was supposed to be the Kohen Gadol. משום שהייתי בוש ואמרתי שלח נא ביד תשלח Mishum shehayisi bosh v'amarti shlach na b'yad tishlach. When God recruited me, when God appointed me, you know what I said? I was בוש bosh. Nah, who am I? I'm unworthy, I'm incapable, it's not for me. לכך עברה הכהונה ונתנה לך L'kach avrah hakehuna v'nitna lach. That's why Hashem took away the priesthood from me and gave it to you. The גמרא זבחים קב Gemara Zevachim Kuf Beis. So לכך l'kach, your behavior is אתה נבחרת ata nivcharta. I should have had this role, but I behaved the way you are right now. God took it from me and gave it to you. לכך נבחרת L'kach nivcharta. So cut it out, because if you keep it up, you know what Hashem's going to do? Moshe, no. Aaron, no. He's going to find a third person. So brother, cut it out. Cut it out. What you're doing right now is why I didn't get the kehuna and it was given to you. And if you keep it up, Hashem's going to take it from you and give it to a third person. And therefore, cut it out. לכך L'kach, for your very behavior that אתה בוש ata bosh, I lost it and אתה נבחרת ata nivcharta, you were chosen. Wow, it's a different interpretation. So the simple understanding of the מדרש Midrash of רש\"י Rashi is, למה אתה בוש לכך נבחרת lama ata bosh l'kach nivcharta, why are you embarrassed? This is your mission. You know, it's like the rabbi who's voted in by the community, by the congregation. It's time to get up and give his דרשה drasha. He says, who am I? I'm not worthy, I don't know. Someone says, buddy, what are you doing? We took a vote, we appointed you. This is your mission. This is why you were chosen. Get up there and give the drasha. That's the simple understanding. לכך נבחרת L'kach nivcharta, this is why you were chosen. But the אריז\"ל Arizal says it means more. This quality that you're demonstrating is exactly what we're looking for in a leader, and that's why you're the man for this job. And the מגלה עמוקות Megaleh Amukos says the exact reverse. No, cut out this quality. It's no good. It's why I lost the job, and you will too unless you cut it out. So three different interpretation or ways of seeing it. But the אמרי אמת Imrei Emes, the great גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe quotes another interpretation, a fourth, and he says the following. He quotes רב חיים ויטאל Rav Chaim Vital. The great kabbalist רב חיים ויטאל Rav Chaim Vital, student of the אריז\"ל Arizal, says, שכל אדם ואדם יש לו נקודה מיוחדת שמוטל עליו ותפקידו לתקנה shekol adam v'adam yesh lo nekudah meyuchad shemutal alav v'tafkido l'sakna. Every one of us come into this world and we have a mission, we have a purpose, we have something we need to work to repair, to fix. That's why for those who believe and not all do, in גלגולים gilgulim, reincarnation, until a person corrects, repairs, fixes, fulfills their mission, what they need to work on, what they need to accomplish and do, they will keep coming back until they do. Others reject that notion and don't subscribe to it, but רב חיים ויטאל Rav Chaim Vital's essential premise is that each of us, when Hashem creates our נשמה neshama, there's something unique and distinct about us in the way we are made, that we have something specific to repair, to work on, to accomplish, to achieve, a mission. ודווקא משום שהדבר מיוחד לו, יש לו עליו הסתר גדול, ויצר שתופל בכל כחו להכשילו בדבר זה יותר מבכל העניינים אחרים V'dafka mishum she'hadavar meyuchad lo, yesh lo alav hester gadol, v'yetzer she'tofel b'chol kocho l'hakshilo b'davar zeh yoser m'bchol ha'inyanim acherim. And whatever we're meant to be doing, whatever is our personal mission, whatever area we're meant to have breakthrough and work on, is where we will find the greatest resistance. This is a teaching of רב חיים ויטאל Rav Chaim Vital. Wherever you're finding the greatest friction, wherever you're meeting the greatest resistance, is what you're meant to do, is who you're meant to be, is what you're meant to break through. It's what you're meant to break through. אדרבה Adaraba, לפי הקשיים והמניעות שנשקל בהם בעניין מסוים מיוחד l'fi hakashim v'hamni'os she'nishkal be'hem b'inyan misuyam meyuchad, יבין האדם כי זה גופא הנקודה המיוחדת שלו yavin ha'adam ki zeh gufa hanekudah hameyuchedes shelo, שעליו לעמול ולתקן she'alav la'amol ul'saken. So how do I know what am I meant to repair? What am I meant to work on? What's my mission? What's my purpose? Why am I here? How do I know? Says רב חיים ויטאל Rav Chaim Vital, one of the ways to try to figure it out is to ask myself, where am I struggling the most? Where am I meeting the greatest resistance? Where is the יצר הרע yetzer hara fighting back and telling me I'm unworthy, I'm incapable, I can't do it, procrastinate, push it off, don't get it done? That's what you're meant to break through. That's where you should focus. That's where you can accomplish. That's what you could achieve. אם כן Im kein, המניעות והקשיים שיש לאדם בעבודת השם hameni'os v'hakashim she'yesh l'adam b'avodas Hashem, הם בעצם סימנים מותמרים לאדם כי אדרבה עבודתו רצויה לפני השם heim b'etzem simanim mutmarim l'adam ki adaraba avodaso r'tzuya lifnei Hashem. You're struggling with דאווענען davening? You're going to be unbelievable. You got to work, you got to break through. You're struggling with learning? Break your teeth, get it done, be diligent, stop procrastinating. You could you're struggling to be generous? You're frugal, you don't like to give away צדקה tzedakah, you don't want to volunteer your time, you don't like to show up and do חסד chesed, this is your moment, where you meet the greatest resistance is revealing where you can have the greatest breakthrough, where you can accomplish the greatest, where you can repair the most. And that says the אמרי אמת Imrei Emes, זהו שאמר משה לאהרן קרב אל המזבח zehu she'amar Moshe l'Aharon, krav el hamizbeach. No, the fact that you right now are hitting resistance, there's friction, you see what looks like an עגל egel, you don't want to approach, you're recoiling, you're resisting, you're moving back, לכך נבחרת l'kach nivcharta. That resistance is revealing, this is why you were chosen, this is your mission, this is your purpose, this is who you are meant to be. This is who you are meant to be. I've recommended before, it's a very short book, you'll read it in one sitting, which is the, the war of art, Steven Pressfield's book. We have to follow up with him. The, the war of art. I got to get him on Behind the Bima. A איד Yid. And he has, I think, the most eloquent description of the יצר הרע yetzer hara I ever read. And this was one of those books, I can name a few that had an enormous transformational impact on me, and this is one of them. Short book, brilliant, brilliant book. Not the Art of War, written by whoever wrote that, whatever Chinese general or whoever wrote that. Yeah. This is not the, the Art of War, it's the War of Art. And the War of Art, he was, he was a, an aspiring writer who was so unsuccessful and couldn't get published that he was homeless and living in his car. And then he broke through. And he wrote books like The Legend of Bagger Vance, which was a book before it was later a movie. And he wrote The Lion's Gate about the Six-Day War, incredible book. And he's written many, many books, and he had enormous breakthrough. And he talks about the resistance, which is an incredible description of the יצר הרע yetzer hara, how the resistance works. its methodology, and how you break through it and overcome it. The War of Art. And that's what Rav Chaim Vital is describing. Where you meet that resistance, the יצר הרע yetzer hara is the most pernicious, it's working overtime, it's fighting the hardest. It's fighting the hardest because it knows that's where you can have your breakthrough. This is why you were chosen. This is your mission. So the war of art. Fight that resistance and become who you are meant to be, says the אמרי אמת Imrei Emes, that's what Moshe is telling his brother. למה תבוש Lama tabosh. לכך נבחרת Lekach nivcharta. The fact that you are recoiling, you're resisting, you've met resistance, it is revealing לכך נבחרת lekach nivcharta that this is indeed why you were chosen. פרק ט פסוק כג Perek tes, pasuk kaf gimmel.Turn the page. 590. ויבא משה ואהרן אל אהל מועד ויברכו את העם וירא כבוד ה׳ אל כל העם Vayavo Moshe v'Aharon el Ohel Moed vayivorchu es ha'am vayera kvod Hashem el kol ha'am. Moshe and Aaron come to the tent of meeting, אוהל מועד Ohel Moed, they go out, they bless the people, וירא כבוד ה' אל כל העם vayera kvod Hashem el kol ha'am, and the glory of Hashem appears to the entire, to the entire people. Says the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel. Shmuel Barenbaum. Rashi. דבר אחר Davar acher, כיוון שראה אהרן שקרבו כל הקרבנות ונעשו כל המעשים ולא ירדה שכינה לישראל היה מצטער ואומר יודע אני שכעס הקדוש ברוך הוא עלי keivan shera'ah Aharon shekrivu kol hakorbanos v'na'asu kol hama'asim v'lo yarda shchina l'Yisrael, haya mitzta'er v'omer, yodea ani sheka'as Hakadosh Baruch Hu alai. Aaron still doesn't overcome yet this imposter syndrome. קרב אל המזבח krav el hamizbeach, he approached, he succeeded, he fulfilled. He offered the קרבנות korbanos he was meant to offer. And yet, and yet, he perceives the שכינה shchina doesn't descend. He doesn't feel the divine presence. So he thinks to himself, Oh, boy, יודע אני שכעס הקדוש ברוך הוא עלי yodea ani sheka'as Hakadosh Baruch Hu alai, I know God was disappointed in me. ובשבילי לא ירדה שכינה לישראל u'bishvili lo yarda shchina l'Yisrael. And it's my fault. I'm inadequate. I'm unworthy. I am why the שכינה shchina, the divine presence has not yet rested. אמר לו משה Amar lo Moshe. אמר לו למשה Amar lo l'Moshe, he tells his brother, Moshe אחי achi, Moshe my brother, כך עשיתי לי שנכנסתי ונתביישתי, מיד נכנס משה עמו ובקשו רחמים וירדה שכינה לישראל kach asisi li she'nichnasti v'nisbayashti, miyad nichnas Moshe imo u'vikshu rachamim v'yarda shchina l'Yisrael. He says, No, I'm embarrassed, I'm ashamed. Come with me. Come with me. Moshe joins him, דאווענ'ס davens with him, and the שכינה shchina comes down. Wonders Rav Shmuel Barenbaum. מה הביאור שאהרן טען על משה רבינו על דבר שנראה כקפידא על כבודו? משה אחי, כך עשית לי, עשית לי שנכנסתי ונתביישתי. Ma habiur she'Aharon ta'an al Moshe Rabbeinu al davar shenireh k'kpida al kvodo? Moshe achi, kach asisa li, asisa li she'nichnasti v'nisbayashti. This is your fault. Because I went in, I was embarrassed, you made me offer it anyway, and yet, שכינה shchina didn't come down. So now you've got to help me, bail me out. Pray with me. So why did Aaron blame Moshe first? Why not simply start by saying, דאווען daven with me? Why isn't the שכינה shchina descended? Bring שכינה shchina with me. ויש לומר שאהרן לא דאג על כבוד עצמו V'yesh lomar she'Aharon lo da'ag al kvod atzmo. Aaron wasn't worried about his own honor. אלא היה דואג על כבוד שמים Ela haya do'eg al kvod shamayim. He was worried about Hashem's honor. שאחר שכלל ישראל תרמו למשכן בנדיבות לב she'achar she'klal Yisrael tarmu la'Mishkan b'nedivus lev. After the Jewish people so generously fulfilled the campaign, and they donated with a full heart, ועשו הכל בדקדוק כאשר צוה ה' את משה v'asu hakol b'dikduk ka'asher tziva Hashem es Moshe, and they fulfilled to a tee, to the detail, to the minutia, everything that God had commanded. ועכשיו גם נגמרו עבודת שבעת ימי המילואים v'achshav gam nigmru avodas shivas yemei hamiluim, and the seven days of dress rehearsal were over. ונכנס אהרן לעשות עבודתו הראשונה ביום השמיני v'nichnas Aharon la'asos avodaso harishona b'yom hashmini, and he began the eighth day, the first day. ואחר כל זה יראו שאין אש יורדת מן השמים v'achar kol zeh yir'u she'ein eish yoredes min hashamayim, and the fire didn't descend from heaven to consume the sacrifice, God's divine presence wasn't intensely felt. יחשבו Yachshevu, they'd think, הקדוש ברוך הוא עדיין לא מחל להם על חטא העגל Hakadosh Baruch Hu adayin lo machal lahem al chet ha'egel. It's our fault. God hasn't forgiven us. I know, God, you said we're all good. We're all good. You know that expression? Say we good, we're all good. We're all good means we're not good. But I don't really want to deal with it or talk about it or process it. So we're all good. We'll pretend like we're good. But there is that person that you hurt, and you tried to apologize and you were sincere, and they gave you a, \"we're all good.\" There's something lingering. You're just waiting. You know it's going to come up. You know it's going to come back. You know the person's put it in the bank. You know it's going to come to the surface at some point. So when the people perceive the שכינה shchina doesn't descend, they're going to say, Yeah, God said we're all good after the עגל egel. God said we're all good after we donated and built the משכן Mishkan. We're not all good. Look. Look, the שכינה shchina hasn't descended. I knew it was just a matter of when, not if. I knew we would feel one day he's not really all in. That's what bothered and worried Aaron. How will the people feel if after all they did to repair, they still feel you haven't forgiven? ויהי מזה חילול ה' חס ושלום מיעוט כבוד שמים, שנראה שאין הקדוש ברוך הוא מקבל תשובתם V'hayah mizeh chillul Hashem chas v'shalom miut kvod shamayim, shenireh she'ein Hakadosh Baruch Hu mekabel tshuvassam. And what will they conclude? That God didn't really forgive them. That repentance and repair doesn't work. That when you've made a mistake, it's irreparable. You could never go back to the way it was. You can never go back to the way it was before. But what happened to Hashem's promise? When he taught the י\"ג מדות yud gimmel midos, the 13 divine attributes, ה' ה' קל רחום וחנון Hashem, Hashem, Kel rachum v'chanun, we just sang them on פסח Pesach. Why did it say ה' ה' Hashem Hashem? Why does God introduce the 13 attributes with his name twice? ה' ה' Hashem Hashem. The גמרא Gemara there says, famously, ה' קודם שיחטא ה' לאחר Hashem kodem sheyechta, Hashem l'achar. I'm the same God before, I'm the same God after. It's me, I'm the same one. You did not diminish, you did not compromise our relationship, you didn't corrupt it. I'm the same God before and after, we can go back to the way it was. In fact, not only go back to the way it was, we can make it better than ever. And that's why it was called משכן העדות Mishkan Ha'eidus, because the משכן Mishkan was a testimony to the intimacy, to the relationship, to the repair, to the power of תשובה teshuva, and the power of forgiveness, and the power of not only going back, but even surpassing. I've shared this also before, Esther Perel's famous for Ted Talk, and the ability that when a relationship, when the trust or loyalty is broken in any capacity, and it can be in many ways, if it can be fixed, it can actually be not only as good as it was, but better than ever, because the breakdown revealed something that was broken. And if you're able to address it and fix it, you can make it not only as good as it ever was, but in fact better than ever. And the same was true with the Jewish people and God, and that's what God was communicating. The power of תשובה teshuva is the mistake reveals something that was wrong or off. And if we just superficially gloss over, if we just offer lip service and we want to move on, then it won't. But תשובה teshuva that's sincere and that's authentic, you can make it, you can repair, so it's better than ever. And that's what Aaron is telling Moshe. Oh, this is not good. Forget me, my ego, my honor. But the people, how will they feel about the power of תשובה teshuva? They'll give up going forward. They'll think their mistakes are irreparable, irredeemable. That they'll be stuck where they are. And therefore you have to, you have to solve this with me. You have to bring down the divine שכינה shchina so we can turn this, so we can turn this around. פרק י' פסוק ב' Perek yud, pasuk beis.New פרק perek, 592. ויקחו בני אהרן נדב ואביהוא איש מחתתו ויתנו בהן אש וישימו עליה קטורת ויקריבו לפני ה' אש זרה Vayikchu vnei Aharon Nadav v'Avihu ish machtaso vayitnu vahen eish vayasimu aleha ktores vayakrivu lifnei Hashem eish zarah. one of the most tragic narratives of our Torah, if not the most. The story of the two sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu. Aaron had four sons, two Nadav and Avihu. They teach take their own fire pan, and they bring a fire, and they put incense, and they offer it before God, and what they offer is an אש זרה eish zarah, a foreign, unfamiliar, non-commanded fire, אשר לא צוה אותם asher lo tziva osam. God didn't tell them. This wasn't part of the plan. There was no instruction, there was no formula. This was their own creativity, ingenuity, spiritual entrepreneurship. Their idea of what God probably would want or love or like, religious creativity. ותצא אש מלפני ה' Vateitzei eish milifnei Hashem. And what happens? It is entirely unsuccessful, tragically so. That very fire that they offered boomerangs on them, ותאכל אותם vatochal osam, וימותו לפני ה' vayamusu lifnei Hashem. Instantly, abruptly, tragically, they are struck down, they die that day. This same opening day that Aaron is serving in the משכן Mishkan, the most prominent position of the כהן גדול kohen gadol should be a glorious, joyous day of his life, his two sons try to creatively join the party and offer something they weren't asked and practice religiously in a way they weren't commanded, and it's a capital crime with a death sentence. And the two are struck down and die instantaneously. And the Torah never tells us exactly what they did wrong, what they did wrong. Leaving one of the ראשונים rishonim, one of the great biblical commentaries to say, they made one mistake and our rabbis suggested they made hundreds. Why? Because we have so many suggestions of what they did wrong that even though they only did one thing, if you sit and study and go through all the commentaries, is it that they went into the משכן Mishkan that day drunk? Is it because they refused to marry and have children? Is it because they offered a foreign fire they weren't commanded? Is it because there's a litany, a list of suggestions of what they did wrong. נבוך Nebach, they only did one thing wrong, but we think of all these things because they were all offered as suggestions. But the Torah is ambiguous. The Torah never tells us specifically exactly what they did, exactly where they went wrong. It's a fascinating suggestion. They know they didn't marry or have children. Intentionally. Why? Because they said to themselves, \"How'd that go for Uncle Moshe?\" Moshe married צפורה Tzippora. He had children. But his pursuit of attaining that level of holiness, he withdrew from his wife and he was never present with his children. Which is its own tragic story. We don't see or hear much from his children. You may not even be able to name them. Moshe's children. Unlike the succession that we think of today, great גדולים gedolim whose sons and grandsons names you know. חסידיש'ע רבי'ס Chasidishe rebbes who have dynasties where there's a continuity that you know. Moshe does not pass the baton to his children. You may not even know their names. And tragically, he's not present in their lives because he's giving it all for the people. And they, says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, erroneously look at their uncle Moshe's life and conclude, if we two want to make a difference and be effective leaders, then it means that we shouldn't marry or have children. Rather than be absentee parents, rather than be never present in our marriage, we'll just abstain, refrain, we'll never marry or have children. But that was a tragic mistake, because that was unique to Moshe and not the example, and you can and should do both, and that was a tragic mistake. That's one interpretation. So they made one mistake, but we have many suggestions exactly what it was because the Torah intentionally is ambiguous, ambiguous about it. How does Aaron react? ויאמר משה אל אהרן הוא אשר דיבר Vayomer Moshe el Aharon, hu asher diber... בקרבי אקדש ועל פני כל העם אכבד b'krovai ekadesh v'al pnei kol ha'am ekaveid. Moshe tries to comfort his brother and he says, \"I sanctify with those closest to me.\" I didn't kill them because they're evil. I took them because they're closest to me. Is Aaron comforted? Is he not comforted? How does he react? How does he respond? What does he say? וידום אהרן Vayidom Aharon. We don't know. All we see is silence. And we don't know the nature of the silence. Silence can be deafening, there can be a sound of silence, silence can be passive, silence can be active, silence can say much, silence can say nothing. There's all kinds of silence. We don't know the nature of this silence, but we know he is silent, and in some ways that's a model for us because he continues to put one foot in front of the other while he still is silent. I'm going to speak about those two words, וידום אהרן Vayidom Aharon, Thursday night at our יום השואה Yom Hashoah program, our wonderful, incredible survivor who will be who will be speaking. We don't know the nature of Aaron's response. He responds, וידום Vayidom, with a sense of silence. Rabbi Sacks in the new חומש Chumash points out, ותצא אש Vateitzei eish, a fire came forth. The story of Nadav and Avihu reminds us yet again of the warning first spelled out in the days of קין והבל Kayin v'Hevel. The first act of worship led to the first murder. The first act of worship. What made קין Kayin rise and kill his brother הבל Hevel? They didn't get into a fight over a bad call on a basketball game. You fouled, I didn't foul, there was out of bounds, there wasn't out of bounds. You traveled, I didn't travel. They didn't get into a fight. You flopped, I didn't flop. That wasn't the source of their fight. What was the source of their fight? It wasn't an argument over money in the business, who deserves the credit, who should get a bigger part, what should the split be. What was the they weren't fighting over a woman. What was the fight over? קין והבל Kayin v'Hevel that led to the first murder in history? It was an offering, it was a קרבן korban, it was worship, it was a sacrifice, it was service of Hashem. The first act of worship led to the first murder. Worship generates power which can be benign, but can also be profoundly dangerous. The episode of Nadav and Avihu was written in three kinds of fire. First, there is the fire from heaven, and that's פסוק כ\"ד pasuk kaf-daled. From before Hashem, fire came forth, it consumed the burnt offering. This was the fire of favor, consummating the service of the sanctuary. Then came the אש זרה eish zarah, the unauthorized fire offered by the two sons, the פסוק pasuk we just read. that ויקריבו לפני ה' אש זרה vaykrivu lifnei Hashem eish zarah, they offered unauthorized fire. And then there was the counter fire. A fire came forth from from Hashem and consumed them, they died before Hashem. The message is simple and intensely serious, writes Rabbi Sacks. Religion is not what the European enlightenment thought it would become: mute, marginal, and mild. It is fire, and like fire, it warms, but it also burns. Another incredible, talk about tragic premature loss. Every time you see an insight from Rabbi Sacks, you're both uplifted by it and also saddened by how abruptly and tragically and too soon he was taken from us. But what an insight. You see, unlike the European enlightenment that, ah, religion, it's mute, it's marginal, it's mild, who cares, it doesn't matter. Religion is like fire. It can warm, source of energy, a source of light. It can consume, it could destroy, it can, it can burn. It's like fire. And that's what the Torah is telling us. Sacrifice was received with fire. They tried to bring a strange, non-commanded, non-authorized fire. The result, they're consumed by fire. And you see it. You see it. What is the biggest infighting in the Jewish people? The biggest danger and threat to our unity are on issues surrounding religion. Religious coercion from the religious to the irreligious, hate and venom from the irreligious to the religious, judgment, marginalizing from this religious to the other set of religious. You see, the biggest threat to our unity that seeks to undermine us and our success, the Jewish people, is fire of religion, religious fervor and fire and judgment. You see it also in the danger and threat to the Jewish people. The biggest sources of anti-Semitism are not the atheists and agnostics. It's the people driven by religious fervor. I'm sure a lot is already being and will be said about this Pope that passed away, who was not the friendliest and the most supportive of the Jewish people or Israel. And while we were spoiled, so to say, in quotes, over the last several years by this image of a new church that was friendlier to the Jewish people, if you study the long history of the church, it is the greatest vehicle of murder, annihilation, extermination of the Jewish people, absolute accomplices to the Holocaust. And those who perpetrated the Crusades and killed the biggest genocides in Jewish history and human history, was the church. And fundamental Islam, what it has done and is doing to the Jewish people. All of this is a result of religious fervor. The Crusades were the result of religious further, the march to conquer and liberate Jerusalem and on the way, oh, let's just do pogroms and kill every Jew we find on the way. It's religious fervor. It was all the result of religious, of religious further, fervor. חמאס Hamas, by the way, ימח שמם וזכרם yimach shmam v'zichram, I just saw this referenced in an interview. חמאס Hamas are the spiritual heirs of the Grand Mufti and and the the Egyptian Brotherhood is the same who aligned with Hitler and who was driven by religious fervor to eliminate the Jewish people and the Jewish problem. It's not a territorial dispute, it's not a debate over land or occupation. It is religious fervor, it's religious passion, it's a religious call. And that's what Rabbi Sacks is teaching here. The use of the word אש eish, of fire with religion, both when Hashem is, so to say, endorsing or condoning or accepting favorably our sacrifice, is also the same אש eish that when offered inappropriately by Nadav and Avihu, results in an אש eish and a fire that consumes them because religion is like fire. It warms, but it also burns. First act of worship led to the first murder. Religion is like fire. It can uplift, it can build, it can destroy, it can be the cause and source of murder. And that has been true since the very beginning, קין והבל Kayin v'Hevel, and has been true still until this very, this very day. פרק י\"א פסוק כס... פסוק כס רבנן Perek yud-alef, pasuk khes... pasuk khes rabbanan. Top of page 594. וידבר ה' אל משה ואל אהרן לאמר Vaydaber Hashem el Moshe v'el Aharon leimor. After this episode, after this tragic narrative, God speaks to Aaron and he teaches him a law. יין ושכר אל תשת אתה ובניך אתך בבואכם אל אהל מועד ולא תמותו חקת עולם לדורותיכם Yayin v'shechar al tesht atah u'vanecha itach b'vo'achem el ohel moed v'lo samusu, chukas olam l'doroseichem. You can't drink wine, alcohol, beer when you come into the into the sanctuary. Into the tent of meaning, into the house of worship. If you do, it's a capital crime, you are put to death. This is what leads some to think that's what they were guilty of. Their mistake was coming into the sanctuary drunk, serving Hashem while intoxicated and inebriated, and how why, what leads them to that conclusion? Because this is what's then taught next. It must be this is where they went wrong. And while technically this is a law relevant to the משכן Mishkan and the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash and not necessarily to our מקדש מעט mikdash me'at, to our שול shul, but it's very instructive and there's a lot to learn. Genuine religious experience is without any substances. You don't need the help or support of anything else material to get you high. We are meant, as Rav Shlomo sang, to get high on God. Lord, get me high, get me high, get me high. That's how we're meant to get high. The ultimate, the most authentic, the most lasting, the most transformational, the most permanent high is to get high on God, a religious experience. Other highs afterwards come with big low, a big dip, a big craving to get it back because it's inauthentic, it's counterfeit. So one should never substitute an authentic high for an inauthentic counterfeit one. And to bring יין ושכר אל תשת yayin v'shechar al tesht, to bring in this counterfeit high in a place in which you can get an authentic one is the ultimate affront to God. Get high on God, don't get high on something else, claiming you need it to get near and close to God. It's a big statement about קדיש Kiddush clubs and קדישים Kiddushim and people taking edibles to get through שול shul. If that's the case, there's something very off and very wrong. And there's nothing wrong. I enjoy it on our off the record after דאווענען davening, a nice לחיים l'chaim, and a good conversation and a thought-provoking dialogue and debate. It's beautiful. Nothing wrong with a good לחיים l'chaim at lunch, delicious bottle of wine. In fact, we just drank eight cups in two nights. And many of us didn't stop there after the סדר seder during the day. Nothing wrong with it. It's wonderful. But not in the context of worship, not in the context of a conversation with Hashem, not in the context of an audience with Hashem. So if in the middle of שול shul you're going out and coming back a little bit inebriated and intoxicated, יין ושכר אל תשת yayin v'shechar al tesht, something off, something wrong if that's what you need to get through דאווענען davening. That is not the way or what it's meant to be. Imagine one goes on date night and you say, \"Before I can go out with you, I need to get, I need to...\" There are people like that too. נבוך Nebach, it's terribly sad. There are people who sit in their driveway before they walk in the house, and they have to take a couple hits of something, couple puffs of something, couple sips of something, eat a few little something, because in order to be able to get through the rest of that day with their spouse or children, they need something to take the edge off. That's tragic, that's sad. That's not the way it's meant to be, it's not the way it should be, and that's not the proper solution to whatever needs to be fixed. That's sad. It's sad before going into a house of your loved ones, your family, and it's sad before entering the house of Hashem. It is not the solution and the way out. There's a place and a time for everything, and it's wonderful to have a good לחיים l'chaim. I enjoy as much as the next. A good ל'פרויג LaFroyg, a good לגוולין Lagavulin. Oh, a smoky, peaty, delicious scotch. Everyone had what they wanted to go back to after פסח Pesach. You know, how much סליבוביץ' slivovitz could you drink? The tequila, you know, you wanted a good scotch after פסח Pesach, a good לחיים l'chaim. A nice ל'פרויג LaFroyg, a nice לגוולין Lagavulin, a nice, peaty, smoky, delicious. Nothing wrong in the right place, in the right time, with the right people, but it's not an alternative, it's not a escape. It's not what one should need in order to get through a conversation and an audience with Hashem. יין ושכר אל תשת yayin v'shechar al tesht, it's not the way it is meant to be. The תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, Shmuel Barenbaum points out something else. He says the following. Rashi. Rashi tells us on וידום אהרן Vayidom Aharon, קיבל שכר על שתיקתו kibel schar al shtikaso. Aaron was rewarded that he was silent even after this terrible loss he endured. ומה שכר קיבל u'ma schar kibel? What was the reward he received? שנזכה עמו הדיבור she'nizchah imo hadibur, that God communicated a law to him, not to Moshe. His reward was a private audience with Hashem where Hashem transmitted and communicated a law through him, not through Moshe. שנאמר לו לבדו פרשת שתוי יין She'ne'emar lo l'vado parshas shtuyei yayin. This פרשה parsha, you'll notice it's introduced פסוק ח pasuk ches, וידבר ה' אל אהרן לאמר Vaydaber Hashem el Aharon leimor. Not on Moshe, not on Moshe v'Aharon, but אל אהרן el Aharon. God communicated this law specifically and uniquely and only through Aaron, and that was his, that was his reward. Says the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, an incredible, beautiful idea. אנו רואים מזה שהשכר הכי גדול הוא Anu ro'im mizeh she'haschar hachi gadol hu, what did he give him? The newest Tesla? a bigger house? all-expense paid trip to Cancun? Aaron remains silent despite his tragedy and God gave him a reward, and what is the ultimate reward? Winning the lottery? a massage, a mani-pedi, spa day? What's the ultimate reward? An audience, a closeness, a connection and an intimacy with Hashem. That's the greatest. That's the most authentic, that's the most everlasting. It's the most eternal, the most immortal. That is the greatest reward he could have. He goes on and he elaborates. I wish we had more time. This is true with Avram with לך לך Lech Lecha. He brings up several examples. This is the case. This was the case of Aaron. The greatest מה שכר קיבל ma schar kibel, שנזכה עמו she'nizcha imo. So when we דאווען daven to Hashem and we say, Hashem, shower me with ברכה bracha, with blessing, שפע ברכה shefa bracha, shower me with your great blessing. I crave and I want your great blessing. What is the blessing that we want, that we crave? What is the greatest blessing we can have? You. A feeling of closeness and intimacy, a connection with you. And again, I'll come back to our parallel because we're meant to. We just read שיר השירים Shir Hashirim on פסח Pesach. It's the קודש הקדשים Kodesh Hakodoshim. The book שיר השירים Shir Hashirim, the Song of Songs, is the holiest, holiest book in תנ\"ך Tanach of the 24, because it is the blueprint. We are meant to aspire to a relationship with Hashem which parallels a love affair, romance, a connection, an intimate bond. So imagine, the ultimate reward, a spouse says, 'You know, you made a beautiful פסח Pesach. You were amazing. The detail, the cooking, the cleaning, the shopping, the כשר'ן kashering. You are incredible. What can I get you? What can I give you?' There are a lot of answers to that question. A lot of suggestions one can offer. But I would say in addition, not instead of, in addition to buying something material or physical, getting a real gift, you know what the one who did the hard work says? The greatest gift you could give me, first of all, is the fact that you acknowledge and appreciate, is feeling close and connected, is spending time, is having love. Is your willingness to compromise or sacrifice, to make time, to communicate, to be vulnerable, to confide, that connection is the ultimate reward of marriage. In marriage, we don't reward our spouse or partner with some external reward. The greatest reward is the reward of feeling connected and close and in love and companionship, and that the other person is your other half that makes you whole. So with Hashem too, the greatest reward, the greatest want that we can or should have, and you see this from the שכר schar that Aaron got, is not some external reward. The greatest hope or want or wish we can have is is to feel close, to feel connected to Hashem.Okay, we have time for one more. Which should it be? Oh, such beautiful teachings. Okay, let's do החסידה hachasidah. The Torah then tells us the next section here is the laws of כשרות kashrus. פרק י\"א Perek yud-alef, page 596. The second half of פרשת שמיני Parshas Shmini is we pivot to the detailed laws of how to keep kosher. An animal is only kosher if it what? Split hooves and chews its cud. How do you know if a bird is kosher? God gave us a list of kosher ones, and we have to have a tradition that they're connected to those. Which is why some don't eat turkey. It's a new world bird, and there is no connection or מסורה mesorah. So Rav Schechter, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, others don't eat turkey. Of course, many others do. Birds, it has to be a מסורה mesorah. Fish have to have fins and scales. And did we leave anything out? Fins and scales. So, and there's something to learn from all these things. What do fins and scales represent? What can we learn? What's the עבודה avodah? There's a פנימיות pnimius. There's an in a עבודה avodah in in working on ourselves, there's something to learn of these criteria for each of these animals of what makes them, of what makes them kosher. So we have this long list of the animals and of what makes them kosher. What's the connection in the פרשה parsha? פרשה Parsha begins with the opening of the משכן Mishkan, the loss of Aaron's two sons, and then כשרות kashrus. פרשיות Parshios aren't random. There's a theme driving through them. So perhaps one of the themes, one of my high school teachers, Rabbi Asher Bush, suggested is some say the laws of כשרות kashrus are a חוק chok. They're a unexplainable law. We have laws which are logical and rational, and they make sense to us. Honor your father and your mother, that makes sense, and you don't have to be Jewish in order to think it's a good idea. And then we have laws that are חוקים chukim. They make no sense. We study, we examine, and we can't draw the conclusion, we can't make sense of it, we don't know exactly why. So some say that כשרות kashrus is a חוק chok, is a חוק chok. So was the loss of Nadav and Avihu. Just like in הלכה halacha there are laws that are incomprehensible, and we demonstrate our love and loyalty to Hashem and we observe them nonetheless. So too in our lives, there are moments and experiences which are חוקים chukim, which are incomprehensible, and we demonstrate our love and loyalty to Hashem when we remain loyal nonetheless. In other words, the common theme or thread of the פרשה parsha is the notion of a חוק chok, of even when it's incomprehensible, we remain loyal nonetheless. But פסוק י\"ט pasuk yud-tes has one of these birds. One of the birds that we're told is, את החסידה, האנפה למינה, ואת הדוכיפת, ואת העטלף es hachasidah, ha'anafah l'minah, v'es haduchifas v'es ha'atalef. These biblical names of the birds, what do they correspond with with our modern-day birds? Fascinating, not for now. But one of the birds is called the חסידה chasidah, the חסידה chasidah. What's the root of the word חסידה chasidah? The stork. Rashi tells us the חסידה chasidah is the stork, is the stork. So why is it called the חסידה chasidah? So Rashi tells us, זו דיה לבנה, צגוניא, ולמה נקרא שמה חסידה? שעושה חסידות עם חברותיה במזונות zu daya levana, tzugunia, v'lama nikra shmah chasidah? She'osah chasidus im chavruseha b'mezonos. This bird shares its food that it has with its friends, so its name is the one who does חסד chesed. חסידה Chasidah. The one who does חסד chesed, the one who does loving kindness, because this bird shares what it has with its friends, so it's called the חסידה chasidah. It's called the חסידה chasidah. Wonders the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, Now, if that's the case, why is it not kosher? יש חסידה שם מדת החסידה שמשורש בטבעה Yesh chasidah shem midas hachasidah she'mshurash b'tiv'ah. לכאורה זו סיבה שתהיה כשרה לא אסורה L'chora, zu sibah she'tihiyeh kshera, lo asura. It should be a kosher bird, not a non-kosher one. So the Ramban tells us, why are the non-kosher birds non-kosher? Because they're birds of prey. They have the מדה mida of אכזריות achzarius. They are birds of prey, they're cruel, they're דורס doreis, they stomp on other animals to destroy them, rip them and eat them apart. And when if we, we believe that you are what you eat. That's not only true about carbs and white white flour and sugar and all the things in outlive, but it's true also in the very quality that the animal you're eating had, you absorb their qualities. And the laws of the Torah that tell us which animals we can eat and not eat, is because animals have certain qualities, and the Torah doesn't want us to absorb their qualities. So if that's true, then all the more so, חסידה Chasidah should be a positive quality. It does חסד chesed. So it should be kosher, we should want to absorb that quality, and the חסידה Chasidah should be a kosher bird, not a non-kosher bird. So therefore says the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel and many others, רב דרוק Rav Druck has, we don't have enough time. He also gets into this in his להבות אש La'avois Eish. I'll just share it to you from the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel. You know why it's non-kosher? One key word in רש\"י Rashi. שעושה חסידות עם She'oseh chasidus im חברותיה chavroseha. This bird shares what it has with her friends. חסד Chesed is not when you share what you have with the people you know and love, it's when you're willing to do it with a complete stranger. The type of חסד chesed where you only do חסד chesed with people you know and love is not the חסד chesed we want to eat and absorb into our being. Real חסד chesed is the חסד chesed you do for others. There are people who always have others at their שבת Shabbos table. Their שבת Shabbos table is always full, but who is it filled with? Their friend group. They have a close-knit network, neighbors, friends, and they rotate each other's homes and they always have each other over. And that's beautiful. Nothing wrong with it, no criticism of it. But those people should not consider themselves בעלי חסד ba'alei chesed. Having a close-knit network of friends that you rotate and have each other over, it's beautiful, it's lovely, it's incredible, it's wonderful, it's great, nothing wrong with it. It ain't חסד chesed. חסד Chesed is when the שול shul puts out and says there are visitors, someone has a loved one in the hospital needs a place to stay, someone's checking out the community needs a place to stay, someone's getting respite from a war in Israel needs a place to stay. Can anyone have them over? And you say, sure, me. Count me in. They can sleep at my home or eat at my table. That's חסד chesed. A חסד chesed that's only done with friends is not חסד chesed. We put out a meal train. Someone's sitting שבעה shiva, we're making them meals. Someone has illness in their family, we're making them meals. Someone had a baby, we're making them meals. If you check the meal train and say, are they a friend, then I'll sign up, and if not, let others do it, then when you signed up, it wasn't חסד chesed. If you look at the meal train and say, who cares whether I know them, don't know them, there's someone in my community who needs a meal, count me in, that's חסד chesed. So the Torah is defining for us what's חסד chesed. Yes, she's called the חסידה Chasidah because she does חסד chesed, but only the type of חסד chesed with her friends, that's not the חסד chesed we want to emulate or imitate, that's not the חסד chesed we want to be, and therefore that bird remains on the no list, the no-fly list. See what I did there? That was pretty good. That bird remains on the no-fly list. Because we don't want to eat such a bird who only does חסד chesed with friends, and therefore, even though yes, it's called the חסידה Chasidah, it is not the type of חסד chesed we want. There is more to say, but we are out of time. Please remain for all ספר תהילים Sefer Tehillim. We דאווען daven the hostages should be home, our soldiers should be safe. If everyone takes a booklet, we can finish in no time. Should be a day of ישועות ונחמות yeshuos v'nechamos, thank you.
