Transcript
Shavua tov everyone, good morning. We continue this week studying פרשת כי תבוא Parshas Kisavo. Page 1,068 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. As always, we'll do our overview of the פרשה parsha and then delve into specific פסוקים psukim together. Reminder if anyone wants to ever sponsor the פרשה parsha class in loving memory, in honor, you can contact the שול shul office and do so, and we appreciate your support. פרשת כי תבוא Parshas Kisavo begins with the מצוה mitzvah of, famously, of ביכורים Bikurim. ויהי כי תבוא אל הארץ Vayaki Savo el ha'aretz, when you come into the land, and you inhabit, וירשתה v'yirashtaba, you take מראשית כל פרי האדמה me'reshis kol pri ha'adama, the first of your fruit. חז\"ל Chazal pick up on this word. ראשית Reshis is the first of your fruit. The Jewish people are נקרא ראשית nikra reshis, the Jewish people are called the first. ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael is נקרא ראשית nikra reshis, the land of Israel is the first. And there's an idea here of the combination of all three. We take our first fruit, we bring it to the chosen place, המקום אשר יבחר השם לשכן שמו שם hamakom asher yivchar Hashem l'shaken shemo sham. If you remember when Rabbi Menachem Leibtag was here earlier this year, he talked about how ירושלים Yerushalayim is not identified in חומש Chumash by name, but rather by designation, by its purpose. It is the place where Hashem will intensely dwell. And he kind of hangs it out there to figure out where it is, but here we see an explicit reference לשכן שמו שם l'shaken shemo sham. You come to the כהן Kohen, and the basket of the first fruit, and there's all pomp and circumstance, and a wonderful ceremony, including a recitation, the מקרא ביכורים mikra bikurim, you review Jewish history. Because, I think the message is, when you see God's guiding hand through Jewish history, you realize that God's guiding hand is also behind that first fig. He's behind that little fruit. He's behind that little growth that you are celebrating, that you're inaugurating, that you're building, bringing to the כהן Kohen to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. The miracle of that little fig in your life is no less significant than the miracle of יציאת מצרים Yetzias Mitzrayim, of anti-Semitism and oppression, and yet our stubborn perseverance. That Hashem's guiding hand is behind everything in our lives, from the unfolding of history to nature. These are the two themes of פסוקי דזמרא Psukei d'Zimra. Why were those מזמורים Mizmorim, why were these chapters chosen every morning to wake us up, to get us ready, to put us into the proper mindset to stand before the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, the Almighty in prayer? The themes of פסוקי דזמרא Psukei d'Zimra are God's guiding hand in history, particularly Jewish history, and God's guiding hand in nature. Both overlap. Historians will tell you there are laws of history. There are certain rules that apply normally in history. For example, when a larger nation swallows up and conquers a smaller one, the smaller one is absorbed into the larger nation. They adopt their language, their culture, their laws, their lifestyle. Who is an exception? Jewish people. Since the exile, since we were sent out of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, dispersed across the world, swallowed up by larger nations, we've maintained our language, our culture, our laws, our lifestyle. What's on Isha Torah, I think Rabbi Motti Berger has the seven wonders of Jewish history. Jewish history has seven ways that it defies the normal laws of history. So just like we have laws of nature, if you let go of something, gravity makes it fall to the ground. Laws of nature, somehow about the eco-cycles and hurricanes, and the hurricane highway which we find ourselves right in the middle lane, in the fast lane. So just like there are laws of nature, there are laws of history, and God has interfered with history on behalf of the Jewish people, and God can or does interfere with nature and manipulate nature. It's a מחלוקת רמב\"ם maklokes Rambam and רמב\"ן Ramban we've studied in the past, whether there is even such a thing as nature. For the רמב\"ם Rambam, there's a natural world and a natural order. True, God set the laws of nature in motion 6,000 years ago when he created the world. But then there are laws of nature which the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam has to suspend or interfere with. Whereas the רמב\"ן Ramban writes explicitly there's no such thing as nature. Everything is השגחה hashgacha. What looks like it's natural is a direct will and hand of the Almighty. There's not some other independent system called nature. מחלוקת רמב\"ם Maklokes Rambam and רמב\"ן Ramban. But these two themes go hand in hand. God in nature, providence in nature, and providence in history. And perhaps what the Torah is telling us is that when the farmer collects his little fruit, his first fruit, after toiling and working the land and harvesting that first fruit, which he wants to bring to his own table and enjoy, finally bask in all of his hard work, instead he brings it to ירושלים Yerushalayim, to the כהן Kohen, to this whole ceremony, and what does he recite? This whole מקרא ביכורים mikra bikurim. ויוצאנו השם ממצרים ביד חזקה Vayotzeinu Hashem Mitzrayim b'yad chazaka. Hashem will even going back, going all the way back, what we say on Pesach. ארמי אובד אבי וירד מצרימה Arami oved avi vayered Mitzrayima. I had a persecutor, the wicked Lavan persecuted my father Yaakov, and we lived there and we grew to be a great nation, and the Egyptians tortured us, and we cried out to God, and God heard our cries, and He liberated us from the hand of Egypt with an outstretched ביד חזקה ובזרוע נטויה ובמורא גדול ובאותות ובמופתים b'yad chazaka u'vizroa n'tuya u'v'mora gadol u'v'osos u'v'mofsim. ויביאנו אל המקום הזה Vay'vienu el hamakom hazeh. And he took us to this place, and he gave us this great land. And now in this great land, I've produced this fig. And here, כהן Kohen, with music and a parade and pomp and circumstance, הנה hinei, עתה הנה הבאתי את ראשית פרי האדמה atah hinei heveisi es reishis pri ha'adama. כהן Kohen, in this incredible backdrop, I now present to you my fig. What does all Jewish history have to do with the fig? Unless you see the two as going together, that no less is it the guiding hand of the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam. How many people plant and don't produce a fig? You got a fig, that is the equivalent of a קודש ברוך הוא Kodesh Baruch Hu saving us from מצרים Mitzrayim. The one of the expanded מזמורים mizmorim we say on Shabbos morning, פסוקי דזמרא Psukei d'Zimra, that we don't have time for during the week, is what חז\"ל Chazal called the הלל הגדול Hallel HaGadol. The two columns, כי לעולם חסדו ki l'olam chasdo. כי לעולם חסדו Ki l'olam chasdo is the same refrain over and over again, the chorus, and all the things. What are the themes of הודו לה' כי טוב Hodu l'Hashem ki tov? If you go through it, what are the themes? You won't be surprised to learn that the themes are, what did we just say? תהילים קל\"ו Tehillim kuf lamed vav. The themes are history and nature. First you have nature. לעושה נפלאות גדולות לבדו Lo'osei niflaos gedolos levado. לעושה השמים בתבונה Lo'osei hashamayim b'svuna. לרוקע הארץ על המים Leroka ha'aretz al hamayim. לעושה אורים גדולים Lo'osei orim gedolim. שמש לממשלת ביום Shemesh l'memshales b'yom, ירח yareach. First you have nature, sun, the moon, the constellations, the eclipse. First you have God in the hand of nature. And then, למכה מצרים בבכוריהם l'makei Mitzrayim bivchoreihem, ויוצא ישראל מתוכם vayotzei Yisrael mitocham, ביד חזקה b'yad chazaka, לגוזר ים סוף לגזרים l'gozer Yam Suf l'gzarim. פרעה וחילו בים סוף Paro v'cheilo b'Yam Suf, למוליך עמו במדבר l'molich amo bamidbar, למכה מלכים גדולים l'makei melachim gedolim, סיחון Sichon, עוג Og, ונתן ארצם לנחלה, נחלה לישראל עבדו nachala l'Yisrael avdo. We conquer the land. And what is the great climax? What is the culmination of הלל הגדול Hallel HaGadol? God, you created this magnificent world. And then God, you guided us in it through history. And how does it culminate? נותן לחם לכל בשר כי לעולם חסדו Nosen lechem l'chol basar, ki l'olam chasdo. Wow, God. When I go to Publix, there's bread on the shelf. Wow. כי לעולם חסדו Ki l'olam chasdo. Are you kidding me? Sun, the moon, the constellations, the eclipse, 10 plagues, splitting of a sea, inheriting a land. Oh, and also, when I put flour and water in my bread maker, I get חלה challah. כי לעולם חסדו Ki l'olam chasdo. It's kind of anti-climactic. It's a bizarre ending unless you understand that what דוד המלך David HaMelech is telling us is when I put flour and water in my bread maker, and it produces a delicious חלה challah, that is no less miraculous than the sun, the moon, the splitting of the sea. That what is the difference between what we call natural and supernatural? There's only one difference: our expectation of it. Nature, we've come to expect, there are rules. Supernatural defies our expectation. But really the natural is no less miraculous than the supernatural. It's just our expectation. And that's what דוד המלך David HaMelech and every Shabbos morning, נותן לחם לכל בשר nosen lechem l'chol basar. Ah, געשמאק g'shmak, a delicious חלה challah, it worked out. Wow, I went to the supermarket, there was bread. That's a miracle. What's the difference between the מן man that fell from שמים Shamayim or the bread that grows from the land? Is there any difference? There's one difference: our expectation. I expect bread to grow out of the ground. Not bread, grain. Wheat to grow out of the ground. I don't expect it to fall from the heavens. That doesn't mean that when it grows from the ground it's any less miraculous than when it falls from the heavens. So perhaps that's the מקרא ביכורים mikra bikurim. The farmer brings his first fruit and the reason he recalls history is to see Hashem's hand in in both. We continue. After the first fruit, we get to the וידוי מעשר vidui maaser, which is the section we're going to study together. The farmer has this confession, it's a bizarre word, confession. It's a very unusual confession, we'll see in a moment. And then we have this renewal of the relationship of God and the Jewish people. I'm in the middle of page 1070. היום הזה ה' אלוקיך מצוך לעשות את החוקים האלה ואת המשפטים Hayom hazeh Hashem Elokecha metzavcha la'asos es hachukim ha'eileh v'es hamishpatim. Today, היום הזה hayom hazeh, it's a theme we see in ספר דברים Sefer Devarim over and over. Moshe is banging into them, היום הזה hayom hazeh, today. Live today, in the moment. Don't be stuck in the past, and don't be lost in the future, and therefore forfeit the present. The present is a gift from Hashem. That's why it's called the present. Embrace the present, היום hayom. And every day to see it anew over and over. ושמרת ועשית V'shmarta v'asisa. וה' האמירך היום להיות לו לעם V'Hashem he'emricha hayom liyos lo l'am. ללכת בדרכיו Laleches b'drachav. We have a מצוה mitzvah and obligation ללכת בדרכיו laleches b'drachav, what we call הלכה Halacha חז\"ל Chazal saw as... this is the few Latin words every Jew knows, Imitatio Dei, to imitate God, to walk in His ways. והלכת בדרכיו V'halachta b'drachav, which חז\"ל Chazal interpret to mean, מה הוא רחום אף אתה רחום ma hu rachum af ata rachum, God is kind and merciful, you have to be kind and merciful. God clothes the naked, you have to clothe the naked. God visits the sick, you visit the sick. God comforts the mourner, you comfort the mourner. To be godly and God-like. The greatest way to serve God. What is the greatest form of flattery? Imitation. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. You want to flatter, you want to praise the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam? Then emulate Him, be like Him. How do you know what God is like? If you can't hear Him, see Him? We have His תורה Torah. He gave us His diary. We study it and we see His essence. תורה Torah is the blueprint of Hashem's essence. And חז\"ל Chazal bring psukim for each of these things. Hashem was מבקר חולים mevaker cholim, מנחם אבלים menachem aveilim, and מלביש ערומים malbish arumim. And so we too. But if you want to flatter God, if you want to praise God, the highest form of flattery is imitation, והלכת בדרכיו v'halachta b'drachav, ללכת בדרכיו laleches b'drachav. God told us להיות לו לעם סגולה l'hiyos lo l'am segula. I'm not going to review this. I have one of the previous פרשה שיעורים parsha shiurim online was all about this. God told us להיות לו לעם סגולה כאשר דבר לך l'hiyos lo l'am segula ka'asher diber lach. God said I want you to be for me a nation that is a סגולה segula. How does Artscroll translate it? A treasured people. What does it mean in this context, a סגולה segula? If you tie a red bendel around your house, will the hurricane hit your neighbor instead of you? If you tie a red bendel, will the hurricane go out to sea? Is that what it means? להיות לו לעם סגולה L'hiyos lo l'am segula, be a nation who is a סגולה segula? Of course not. What does it mean to be a nation who's a סגולה segula? Not a superstitious nation. We just finished reading how Hashem took us out of מצרים Mitzrayim. מצרים Mitzrayim, Egypt was a culture saturated in superstition and magic. It is exactly what God took us out of, he extracted us from. We just read, תמים תהיה עם ה' אלוקיך Tamim tihiye im Hashem Elokecha. Be pure. תמים Tamim, be תמימות'דיק t'mimus'dik, rely and lean only on Hashem. תמים תהיה עם ה' אלוקיך Tamim tihiye im Hashem Elokecha. What does it mean to be an עם סגולה am segula? What are the next words? ולשמור כל מצותיו V'lishmor kol mitzvosav. You know what it means to be a סגולה segula people? It means to be a people who observe all the סגולות segulos. What are all the סגולות segulos? Saying פיטום הקטורת Pitum HaKtoret from a קלף klaf, and tying a red bendel, and not stepping over your little brother, and never pouring backwards, and... No! What are all the סגולות segulos? The פסוק pasuk says it explicitly. להיות לו לעם סגולה, ולשמור כל מצותיו L'hiyos lo l'am segula, v'lishmor kol mitzvosav. We have 613 סגולות segulos. We have 613 סגולות segulos, they're called... they're called... מצוות Mitzvos. Do the מצוות mitzvos, that's how you become an עם סגולה am segula. Again, we spoke about that online. The next section is the new commitment, the new covenant we form with Hashem. Hashem tells us that when we come into the land of Israel, we're going to experience another miracle. What happens with the Jordan river, the ירדן Yarden? It splits, not like the ים סוף Yam Suf. The ים סוף Yam Suf split into two, at least two. In fact, the Midrash, excuse me, the Midrash says that there were 12 lanes. It split into many. Each שבט shevet walked its own lane. But minimally the ים סוף Yam Suf split into two. The ירדן Yarden, how many walls? One wall. The water all rises to form one wall, dry land for the Jewish people to cross over. And what are we told to place into that dry land? וכתבת עליהם את כל דברי התורה הזאת בעברך למען אשר תבוא אל הארץ אשר ה' אלוקיך נותן לך ארץ זבת חלב ודבש V'kasavta aleihem es kol divrei haTorah hazos b'avrecha l'maan asher tavo el ha'aretz asher Hashem Elokecha nosen lach, eretz zavas chalav u'dvash, and so on. You're supposed to engrave on stones the Torah when you cross through the ירדן Yarden, and it will sit there and it will be a perpetual testament and testimony to our relationship with Hashem. The Torah is written on these אבנים שלמות תבנה avanim shleimos tifne. I'm sorry, that's for the מזבח mizbeach afterwards. But the Torah is written on these large stones, written in 70 languages. The אלשיך Alshich says, why do you do this? So that when everyone enters the land, beginning with you, the Jewish people in the conquest, and then every tourist and visitor afterwards, what will they see? These are miraculous stones. How can you engrave on stones the Torah in 70 languages? It's impossible. And yet, this miracle, this supernatural, they'll realize they're not entering any ordinary country, and they're not encountering any ordinary people. That's the אלשיך Alshich. The אברבנאל Abarbanel has a different beautiful, I probably shared this before. The אברבנאל Abarbanel, this is I love the imagery. The אברבנאל Abarbanel says these stones are to ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael what a מזוזה mezuzah is to a house. Before you enter the house, there's a מזוזה mezuzah on the door. Before you enter the land of Israel, this is the מזוזה mezuzah on the doorway of the land of Israel, these stones with the words of Torah on them. You encounter the מזוזה mezuzah, you kiss the מזוזה mezuzah, you embrace and invoke the values of the מזוזה mezuzah that as you enter the house and as you exit the house, it's the מזוזה mezuzah that guides our lifestyle, our behavior, our thoughts, our actions and deeds. So too, ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, this is the מזוזה mezuzah before entering and exiting ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. Yes. The שומרונים shomronim gave a מזוזה mezuzah is around the door. Around the whole door. Interesting. Not a קלף klaf. I just bought a new מזוזה mezuzah this summer when I was in Israel. It's made of Jerusalem stone and it's it's on an angle, it's like a triangle. You hang it on the door, so when you walk in, it says ברוך אתה בבואך b'ruch ata b'voecha, and when you leave it says וברוך אתה בצאתך u'vruch ata b'tzeisecha. I like that מזוזה mezuzah. I got excited about that. That was my gift to myself. And I convinced Chevra that it was for her. The Torah continues, the פרשה parsha continues now with the ברכות brachos and קללות klalos, הר גריזים Har Grizim and הר עיבל Har Eival. Once we do enter the land, remember Moshe's monologue, this is Moshe's charge to the Jewish people in the last days of his life. We're about to enter the land. He says six tribes on the top of this mountain, six tribes on the top of the other mountain. The elders of the לויים Leviim stand in between. They read out these ברכות brachos and קללות klalos and the people answer אמן Amen, acknowledging that they have heard and that they are committed to these ברכות brachos and קללות klalos. We studied this as well in the past, what each of these ברכות brachos and קללות klalos mean. ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת Arur asher lo yakim es divrei haTorah ha'zos. פרק כ\"ו פסוק כ\"ו Pasuk kaf vav, perek... page 1074. Cursed is the one who doesn't uphold the Torah. The רמב\"ן Ramban, the famous רמב\"ן Ramban on this פסוק pasuk, describes one option is that it's referring to הגבהה Hagbah, אשר לא יקים asher lo yakim את דברי התורה es divrei Torah, who holds up the Torah. But the רמב\"ן Ramban quotes a tradition that we have, very powerful. This is part of the fundamental values of the BRS, of the Boker Tov Synagogue. The רמב\"ן Ramban says, what does this פסוק pasuk mean? If you have the ability to inspire another Jew in Torah and you forfeit that ability, you don't take advantage of it, you're cursed. So someone bagles you in Publix, right? You're you're at the checkout line, and someone's emptying their carriage and they say, אוי וויי oi vey, this hurricane is coming. Why are they saying אוי וויי oi vey? They want you to know they're Jewish. They're begging you to invite them for a Shabbos meal. They're begging you to ask them what they're doing for ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah. They're begging you to engage them. They see you're an observant Jew, and they're what's called bageling you. So I would have thought if you say, yeah, make sure to stock up on water, and you pay for your groceries and leave. Okay, you don't get the outreach award at the shul dinner, but you're not a bad person. You just didn't... you didn't, you were walking through the mall and someone covered in tattoos, some Israeli says, Shabbat Shalom to you on a Thursday or Friday, and you say Shabbat Shalom and you keep walking. Okay, you don't get an award, you don't get מפטיר יונה maftir Yonah, but you're not a terrible person. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, no, ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת arur asher lo yakim es divrei haTorah hazos. You have the opportunity to inspire Torah? You could learn with someone, you could invite someone, you could uplift someone, you could enrich someone, and you neglect the chance? ארור Arur, you're cursed. Very daunting, very daunting description. פרשה Parsha then continues with the תוכחה tochacha. First we have the ברכות brachos, and then the תוכחה tochacha, the harsh, devastating description of what happens. First we had it in בחוקותי b'chukosai, this is the second תוכחה tochacha. First was from Hashem's words, this is the תוכחה tochacha through Moshe's mouth. The תוכחות tochachos differ also, לשון רבים lashon rabbim, לשון יחיד lashon yachid, in the plural and in the singular. This is the source of the concept of ערבות arvus, כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה kol Yisrael arevim zeh b'zeh. The reason that we now receive the תוכחה tochacha in this way, we are guarantors, we are responsible one for another. As we're facing this potential hurricane, we're going to identify all the people who need help, shuttering their home, making sure they have a generator for their medicine. We have elderly, infirm people who live alone. Why? כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה Kol Yisrael arevim zeh b'zeh. When the rest of the world does that, it's just a nice thing. It's a generous, magnanimous thing, it's a wonderful thing. When we Jewish people do it, we have a legal responsibility to do it. כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה Kol Yisrael arevim zeh b'zeh. We have a legal obligation to take care of one another. And I love to quote, it's said in the name of different חסידישע רבי'ס Chasidishe Rebbes, but I think the Rebbe Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, who just had his קבר kever this summer. The Rebbe Rebbe Elimelech said, what is the לשון lashon, כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה kol Yisrael arevim zeh b'zeh? Is, ערבים arevim means a guarantor. If you go to a bank in Israel, you want to take out a loan, they'll ask you, do you have an ערב arev, do you have a guarantor, a cosigner? We can go to them to collect if you don't. But another translation of ערב arev is from שיר השירים Shir Hashirim. The פסוק pasuk in שיר השירים Shir Hashirim says, כי קולך ערב ומראך נאוה ki kolech arev u'marech naveh. Your voice is ערב arev, sweet. So the Rebbe Rebbe Elimelech says, כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה kol Yisrael arevim zeh b'zeh means the Jewish people have a responsibility to sweeten one another's life. We think that we have a responsibility to give each other grief and misery. That's just a חומרא chumra. The real הלכה Halacha, I'm just joking. The real הלכה Halacha, כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה kol Yisrael arevim zeh b'zeh, we're responsible to sweeten one another's lives. Not just to be the guarantors for one another, but to sweeten one another's lives. The first תוכחה tochacha, the רמב\"ן Ramban says, is referring to the destruction, it's foreshadowing the destruction of the first בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. The second תוכחה tochacha is foreshadowing the destruction of the second בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. And Rav Schechter loves to quote that we have sources that say that when we will return to the land for a third time, that's when it will be permanent. We can't take anything for granted. We've seen with the גוש קטיף Gush Katif withdrawal and others that not anything is possible in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, we can never take anything for granted. But Rav Schechter quotes that we have a tradition, based on the fact that there's only two תוכחות tochachos, that when we return for the third time, it will be the beginning of the process of receiving the third and permanent בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, the גאולה geulah for which we all yearn so desperately. Brachos and klalos at length. And then the parsha ends with Moshe's final, final message, final lesson, final charge to the Jewish people, that Hashem gave you a לב לדעת ועיניים לראות ואוזניים לשמוע עד היום הזה lev ladaas v'einayim liros v'oznayim lishmoa ad hayom hazeh. Again, the word, the theme, Sesame Street, ספר דברים Sefer Devarim is brought to you by the word היום hayom, over and over again, today, today, today, today. That God gave you לב לדעת lev ladaas, a knowing heart, which is a funny expression. We've studied it in the past, again all the things that I referenced we've studied in the past, you can listen to four or five previous פרשה שיעורים parsha shiurim online on Why You Torah. So לב לדעת lev ladaas is a funny expression. I would think you've been given a head to know and a heart to feel. You've been given a heart to know? Isn't it mixed metaphors? Isn't it a mixed expression? Should be given a brain to know and a heart to feel. But here Moshe tells us we've been given a לב לדעת lev ladaas, a knowing heart, eyes to see, ears to hear. And so on, that God walked with us for 40 years in the desert and we were had all of the great benefits and luxuries. And then the פרשה parsha ends, ושמרתם את דברי הברית הזאת v'shmartem es divrei habris hazos. You know why? Embrace God's magnificent Torah. ועשיתם אותם V'asisem osam. Why? למען תשכילו את כל אשר תעשון L'maan taskilu es kol asher ta'asun, so you can become a משכיל maskil. Now, over the last couple hundred years, that's a very derogatory term. You don't want to be a משכיל maskil. A משכיל maskil is the enlightened person. Enlightenment. משכיל Maskil literally translates to like the root of משכיל maskil of תשכילו taskilu is שכל seichel. A thinking person. Do you have any שכל seichel? Where's your שכל seichel? למען תשכילו L'maan taskilu. דוד המלך David HaMelech, those who say ויתן לך V'yiten l'cha on מוצאי שבת motzei Shabbos, it says משכיל maskil, that we yearn, a ברכה bracha, the blood to be a משכיל maskil. To be a משכיל maskil is we as I said is derogatory in terms of the enlightenment, those who shed the yoke of Torah and Mitzvos. But in the Torah it's formulated as a positive. למען תשכילו L'maan taskilu. What does it mean תשכילו taskilu so that you will succeed in all that you do? How do you succeed in all that you do if למען תשכילו l'maan taskilu? Look at the תרגום Targum. It says the תרגום Targum, ותטרון ית פתגמי קיימא הדין דתעבדון בדיל דתצלחון ית כל די תעבדון v'titrun yapisgamei keina hada d'ta'avdun b'dil d'titzlichun yas kol di ta'avdun. תצלחון הצלחה Titzlichun hatzlacha. You'll have הצלחה hatzlacha in all that you do. How do you gain הצלחה hatzlacha in all that you do? If you are a משכיל maskil. I've spent time on this in the past as well. What does it mean to be a משכיל maskil? This was our שבת שובה דרשה Shabbos Shuva drasha of last year. It means to be mindful, mindfulness. למען תשכילו L'maan taskilu is the Torah source, the מקור makor in the Torah for a life of mindfulness. Mindful eating, mindful speaking, mindful meditation, mindfully tie your shoes, mindfully come out of the bathroom and appreciate the miracle that just took place, mindfully... to be mindful in all that we do. Torah and mitzvos are designed as a platform for mindfulness. From the moment a Jew opens his or her eyes in the morning to the Jew closes his or her eyes at night, all of Torah and mitzvos are there to reinforce a lifestyle of mindfulness. What order did you tie your shoes? How did you get dressed? You make a ברכה brocha acknowledging each of those wonderful things. Are you thinking about what you put the food in your mouth? Are you thinking about the words that come out of your mouth? All of Torah and mitzvos are there in order to help us be mindful in all that we do. And Onkelos says, when you lead a life of mindfulness, למען תשכילו l'maan taskilu, then you will lead a life of הצלחה hatzlacha. That's a successful life, to be mindful in everything you do. Okay, let's go back and look at the פסוקים psukim that we are going to analyze today. You can find them on the last word on page 1068, 1,068 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. פרק כ\"ו פסוק י\"ב Perek kaf vav, pasuk yud beis. Let's go back to פסוק י\"א pasuk yud aleph for one moment. פסוק י\"א Pasuk yud aleph is the end of the מקרא ביכורים mikra bikurim. First the farmer brings his first fruit and so on. How does it end? ושמחת בכל הטוב אשר נתן לך ה' אלוקיך ולביתך V'samachta b'chol hatov asher nasan lach Hashem Elokecha u'lveisecha. There's a מצוה mitzvah to be happy, which is also one of the themes of our פרשה parsha. The מצוה mitzvah to be happy. When the תוכחה tochacha it says, why why are these horrific results, why are these harsh consequences visited upon you? Why? תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלוקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב Tachas asher lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'v'tuv levav. You have so much to be happy about, and you weren't happy. Happiness is a decision, happiness is not an emotion. Happiness is a decision, it's not an emotion. So the farmer comes with his basket, presents it to the כהן kohen, and the Torah says you have an obligation when you present that basket of fruit to be happy. How can you obligate an emotion? The answer is it's not an emotion. It's a decision. When you focus on what you have, you're happy. When your happiness is determined by what you don't have, you can never be happy because there's always more that you could have. Rav Gifter has a magnificent insight. Rav Gifter says, there's no מצוה mitzvah to be happy when you observe Shabbos, keep kosher, take לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog. Why is there a מצוה mitzvah to be happy דוקא davka with ביכורים bikurim, not with these other things? Says Rav Gifter is that solid beautiful insight. You know why? The farmer gets to ירושלים Yerushalayim, and he's all proud of his first fruit in his basket. But then he looks over at the farmer next to him. Wow, his basket is overflowing. His produce is twice as large, succulent, juicy, delicious. His bounty is so much greater. And now the farmer who harvested his land, the farmer, sorry, who plowed and planted and watered and harvested and schlepped the first fruit and came to ירושלים Yerushalayim so proud with a smile on his face. Looks over at the other basket. All of a sudden his smile turns to a frown. He feels pathetic, inadequate, resentful, angry, miserable. What? I thought, look at his basket! Rav Gifter says, it's דוקא davka this מצוה mitzvah that the Torah says ושמחת בכל הטוב v'samachta b'chol hatov that you have to feel a sense of שמחה simcha. Look what's in your basket. Don't compare it to the basket next to you. Be grateful for what's in your basket, because that's what you needed. The אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh says, and there's a few interpretations. Some ראשונים rishonim say ושמחת v'samachta is because this מצוה mitzvah is where? כי תבוא אל הארץ Ki savo el ha'aretz. This is the מצוה mitzvah of ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. It's the first fruit in that first land of Israel. That's ושמחת v'samachta, that's where the joy comes from. True, ארץ ישראל נקנית ביסורים Eretz Yisrael nikneis b'yisurin. It's very difficult to acquire Israel. Those who made aliyah before נפש בנפש Nefesh B'Nefesh will tell you how difficult it was, and even those who heroically who do it today will tell you, as easy as it's become, it's still not easy at all. And nevertheless ושמחת v'samachta, the joy and the happiness that you can find. But the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh has a different interpretation. Says the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh, גם ירמז באמרו בכל הטוב לתורה Gam yirmiz b'amar b'chol hatov laTorah. What does it mean ושמחת בכל הטוב v'samachta b'chol hatov? The farmer with his fruit in ירושלים Yerushalayim, with the כהן Kohen, what is he thinking about? He should be joyous. Why? בכל הטוב B'chol hatov, because of all the good. What's the good? Rav Gifter said, it's what's in your basket. Don't look at anyone else's basket. The good is in your basket. But says the אור החיים Or HaChaim, no. What's the טוב tov? The טוב tov is, אין טוב אלא תורה ein tov ela Torah. גמרא ברכות דף ה' Gemara Brachos daf hei. אין טוב אלא תורה Ein tov ela Torah. שאם היו בני אדם מרגישין במתיקות וערבות תורה תורה Sh'im hayu b'nei adam margishin b'misikus v'arvus Torah Torah. If Jews, if the Jewish people would feel, if we would ממש mamish feel the sweetness, וערבות, מתיקות וערבות v'arvus, misikus v'arvus. You see the word ערב arev again is being used, bless you. The word ערב arev is being used again as sweet. If you would sense the sweetness, how delicious Torah is, היו משתגעים ומתלהטים אחריה hayu mish'tag'im u'misla'atim achareiha. ולא יחשב בעיניהם מלא עולם כסף וזהב למאומה V'lo yechshev b'eineihem m'lo olam kesef v'zahav l'uma. כי התורה היא כוללת כל הטובות שבעולם Ki haTorah hi kolleles kol hatovot sheba'olam. You wouldn't pursue money and material possessions. All you would, all you would thirst for is Torah. If you felt the sweetness, if you understood its immeasurable value, all you would pursue and chase, all you would care about and accumulate is Torah. Bless you. ושמחת בכל הטוב V'samachta b'chol hatov, be joyous, be happy. Where is the שמחה simcha derived from? בכל הטוב B'chol hatov. אין טוב אלא תורה Ein tov ela Torah. Taste the sweetness of Torah. The אור החיים Or HaChaim as well, a little bit later פסוק י\"ז pasuk yud zayin, when it talks about the relationship, והלכת בדרכיו v'halachta b'drachav, God and the Jewish people, it says, וה' האמירך היום להיות לו לעם, ללכת בדרכיו, ולשמור מצותיו וחקותיו ומשפטיו, ולשמוע בקולו v'Hashem he'emricha hayom liyos lo l'am, laleches b'drachav, v'lishmor mitzvosav v'chukosav v'mishpatav, v'lishmoa b'kolo. Says the אור החיים Or HaChaim again, what does it mean ולשמוע בקולו v'lishmoa b'kolo? How do you hear God's voice? Anyone here ever hear God's voice? We would make an appointment for you if you heard God's voice. We'd be very concerned about you if you tell us that you heard God's voice. Have you ever heard God's voice? ולשמוע בקולו V'lishmoa b'kolo? Zogt Or HaChaim HaKadosh, ולשמוע בקולו, זה תלמוד תורה v'lishmoa b'kolo, zeh Talmud Torah. Yeah, you absolutely heard his voice. You know when you heard his voice? Right now. You're reading his חומש Chumash, you're listening to the מפרשים mefarshim, you learn the דף daf, you go to the שיעור shiur. Then you're being לשמוע בקולו lishmoa b'kolo. ודקדק לומר בקולו על דרך אומרו V'dikdeik lomar b'kolo al derech omro, what does it mean to hear his voice? מניין שאומרים פקודי ה' Minayin she'omarim pikudei Hashem... שמים פי הגבורה Shamayim Pi HaGevurah and so on. אף על פי כן לא יאמר עלי למד תורה Af al pi khen lo yomar alai lomed Torah, אלא מדעת מעשה ישראל הנה ידעתי וקיימתי כל דברי השם ela midaas maasei Yisrael hinei yadati v'kiyamti kol divrei Hashem. אלא אף על פי כן חייב הכוסב תלמוד תורה ela af al pi khen chayav hakosuv Talmud Torah. If you say, well the whole purpose of Torah is to know what to do. I know what to do. I have a great Jewish education. I know how to keep Shabbos and kosher. I know what to do. I'm already 80 years old. I'm 100 years old. What do I have to keep learning Torah for? I've already reached that age. What do I have to keep learning for?Says the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim because you're not just learning to know what to do. You're learning to hear Hashem's voice. לשמוע בקולו lishmoa bekolo. Every time we sit down to learn, we're back at הר סיני Har Sinai. We're back hearing Hashem's voice again. We're on a journey through Jewish history. We're transcending our place, לשמוע בקולו lishmoa bekolo. Rabbi Soloveitchik, some quote it from Rav Kook, said that when you דאַוון daven, we're talking to Hashem. And when we learn Torah, Hashem is talking to us. When we דאַוון daven, we're talking to Hashem. When we're learning his Torah, Hashem is talking to us. לשמוע בקולו lishmoa bekolo. says the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, that's תלמוד תורה Talmud Torah. זה תלמוד תורה Zeh Talmud Torah. מצות תלמוד תורה היא מצוה בפני עצמה שאין זמן ליפטר ממנה עד יום מותו Mitzvas Talmud Torah hi mitzvah bifnei atzmah she'ein zman leipater mimenah ad yom moso. You're never done. You never do check. Every day לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog, לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog. ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah I heard the שופר shofar, check, שופר shofar. Put on my תפילין tefillin, check, I put on my תפילין tefillin. תלמוד תורה Talmud Torah, you can never put a check in the box next to תלמוד תורה Talmud Torah. You're never done. לשמוע בקולו lishmoa bekolo. What are you going to say to Hashem? Am I going to tell my wife, you've used your quota of talking to me today. We're done. Talk to me tomorrow. We're done for today. Check. I'm done. I don't have to listen to your voice anymore. That's not a relationship. There are marriages where they say that and they usually, you know, end up in someone's office. A relationship says I'm never done. I could listen to your voice all day long. I could talk to you all day long. לשמוע בקולו lishmoa bekolo, we want to hear Hashem's voice. Never a check next to Hashem's, Hashem's voice. זה תלמוד תורה Zeh Talmud Torah. So one of the other themes for the אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, ושמחת בכל הטוב v'samachta b'chol hatov, אין טוב אלא תורה ein tov ela Torah. And what does it mean לשמוע בקולו lishmoa bekolo? זה תלמוד תורה zeh Talmud Torah. Learning Torah, learning Torah, learning Torah, it's transformative. You set aside a time, we literally experience and we hear Hashem's voice when we are learning his גישמאקע תורה geshmake Torah. Okay. פרק כ\"ו פסוק י\"ב Perek chaf vav pasuk yud beis. You ready? Here we go. כי תכלה לעשר את כל מעשר תבואתך בשנה השלישית שנת המעשר ונתתה ללוי לגר ליתום ולאלמנה ואכלו בשעריך ושבעו Ki sechaleh la'aser es kol ma'aser tevuascha bashanah hashlishis shnas hama'aser, v'nasata la'Levi la'ger la'yasom v'la'almana v'achlu bish'arecha v'save'u. When you finish taking the מעשר ma'aser, the tithe of your produce, in what year? The third year, the year of the tithe. Then you give the לוי Levi, you give the גר ger, the יתום yasom, the אלמנה almana, all the people who need, ואכלו בשעריך ושבעו v'achlu bish'arecha v'save'u. And now you can eat in your city and be satisfied. What are we talking about here? What are we talking about here? The laws of produce tithing operate in a seven-year cycle, 50-year cycle, seven-year cycle, three-year cycle. All are true. What do I mean? What do I mean? In years one and two, the farmer harvests their produce. The מעשר ראשון ma'aser rishon, the first מעשר ma'aser they take, 10%, goes to the לוי Levi. During the first and second year, they take another מעשר ma'aser, called מעשר שני ma'aser sheni. מעשר שני Ma'aser sheni has a קדושה kedusha, a sanctity, that it has to be taken to ירושלים Yerushalayim and can only be consumed there. If the farmer lives at a great distance, is not planning a trip in the near future, the farmer can redeem the קדושה kedusha, can transfer the sanctity of the produce onto a coin, bring the coin to ירושלים Yerushalayim at a later date, redeem it back onto food which is consumed in ירושלים Yerushalayim. That's called מעשר שני ma'aser sheni. In the third year, מעשר ראשון ma'aser rishon is taken every year. But in the third year, and the sixth year, rather than מעשר שני ma'aser sheni, instead, what's taken is מעשר עני ma'aser ani, the tithe that's given to the poor person. So this is repeated each three years. All years, מעשר ראשון ma'aser rishon is taken, תרומה trumah is taken, and then you also take מעשר שני ma'aser sheni in years one and two. Year three, you take מעשר עני ma'aser ani. Then year four and five, you take מעשר שני ma'aser sheni. Year six, you take מעשר עני ma'aser ani. Year seven is a שמיטה shmitta year, where there is no מעשר ma'aser, and then you start the cycle over again. After the in the third year, right, by the day before פסח Pesach, of the year after each three year cycle, so the owner has to make sure that they in fact, it's like you have to go through your taxes, did you pay your taxes? So you review all your taxes have to be in by that time and then on the last day of פסח Pesach of the fourth and seventh years, which are the year after the three-year cycles, then the farmer recites this passage. Okay, you understand? It's a little confusing. Basically, there's a cycle, farmer has to designate and allocate all the tithing properly. After year three and year six, it's a three-year cycle. So after year three and year six, namely year four and year seven, the farmer ensures that they've designated, they've allocated everything properly, and then they recite the passage that we are, that we are reading. It also applies to נטע רבעי neta revai. נטע רבעי neta revai means that when you grow fruit for the first time from a tree, the first three years is ערלה orlah. You can't consume it, it's אסור בהנאה assur b'hana'ah, you can't benefit from it. Year four is נטע רבעי neta revai. You have to redeem that first fruit, and then the coin or the fruit are cast away. It's a whole, the הלכה halacha of נטע רבעי neta revai. Okay, that's included in the confession here, too. So the Torah says that now read the pasuk again, כי תכלה לעשר ki sechaleh la'aser when you finished כל מעשר תבואתך בשנה השלישית שנת המעשר kol ma'aser tevuascha bashanah hashlishis shnas hama'aser, when you finish it in the third year, the year of the tithe, you give it to the לוי Levi, you designate it all properly, ואמרת לפני השם אלוקיך v'amarta lifnei Hashem Elokecha, and now, in year four and year seven, you make this recitation. בערתי הקודש מן הבית וגם נתתיו ללוי לגר ליתום ולאלמנה ככל מצותך אשר צויתני Bi'arti hakodesh min habayis, v'gam nesativ la'Levi la'ger la'yasom v'la'almanah k'chol mitzvos'cha asher tzivisoni. You say, I have removed the holy things from my house, I gave it to the proper address, according to what you told me. לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי lo avarti m'mitzvotecha v'lo shochachti. I have not violated any of your mitzvos, ולא שכחתי v'lo shochachti. I haven't forgotten anything. לא אכלתי באני ממנו lo achalti b'oni mimenu. I haven't eaten anything when I was a mourner. ולא בערתי ממנו בטמא v'lo bi'arti mimenu b'tamei. I didn't consume it when I was impure. ולא נתתי ממנו למת v'lo nasati mimenu l'meis. I didn't have any benefit from it like giving it to someone who's dead. שמעתי בקול השם אלוקי עשיתי ככל אשר צויתני shamati b'kol Hashem Elokai asisi k'chol asher tzivisoni. God, I listened to your voice, I did everything exactly like you told me. השקיפה ממעון קדשך מן השמים hashkifa m'ma'on kodshecha min hashamayim. Look down from me from above, Hashem, וברך את עמך את ישראל u'varech es amcha es Yisrael, and bless the Jewish people. ואת האדמה אשר נתת לנו v'es ha'adamah asher nasata lanu, and this land that produced for me all that produce that I tithed, כאשר נשבעת לאבותינו ארץ זבת חלב ודבש ka'asher nishbata l'avoseinu eretz zavas chalav u'dvash, like you promised our forefathers. That is the section. Let's go back and start with Rashi. Says Rashi, כי תכלה לעשר את כל מעשר תבואתך בשנה השלישית ki sechaleh la'aser es kol ma'aser tevuascha bashana hashlishis. Says Rashi, כשתגמור להפריש מעשרות של שנה שלישית, קבע זמן הביעור, ועשה וידוי בערב פסח של שנה רביעית k'shetigmor l'hafrish ma'asros shel shana shlishis, k'va zman habi'ur, v'asei vidui b'erev Pesach shel shana revi'is. Established the time for burning whatever was left over and reciting the וידוי vidui on ערב פסח Erev Pesach of the fourth year. As it says, מקץ שלוש שנים תוציא miketz shalosh shanim totzi. נאמר כאן מקץ ונאמר להלן מקץ שבע שנים בענין הקהל ne'emar kan miketz v'ne'emar l'halan miketz sheva shanim b'inyan Hakhel. מה להלן רגל אף כאן רגל mah l'halan regel af kan regel. אם להלן חג הסוכות אף כאן סוכות לא תלמוד לומר im l'halan Chag HaSukkot af kan Sukkot, lo, talmud lomar. כי תכלה לעשר מעשרות של שנה שלישית, רגל שמתעשרות כלים בו, זהו פסח ki sechaleh la'aser ma'asros shel shanah shlishis, regel shema'asros kalin bo, zehu Pesach. Rashi's way of telling you, it's not סוכות Sukkot, like הקהל Hakhel, it's ערב פסח Erev Pesach and מוצאי פסח Motzei Pesach. That's when this is recited. Next Rashi. We'll skip the next Rashi. פסוק י\"ג Pasuk Yud Gimel. ואמרת לפני השם אלוקיך V'amarta lifnei Hashem Elokecha. התוודע שנשאת מעשרותיך hisvadeh shenasata ma'asrosecha. Reciting a וידוי vidui that you have given the מעשר ma'aser. What does Rashi call this? וידוי Vidui. Rashi's referring to this as וידוי vidui. Did the Torah call it וידוי vidui? Look again, from pasuk yud beis through pasuk tes vav. Did the Torah ever refer to this section, this recitation as וידוי vidui? What does וידוי vidui mean? Confession. Did the Torah call it a confession? No. Why does Rashi call it a confession? Because the משנה Mishnah in סוטה Sotah on דף ל\"ב daf lamed beis calls this recitation וידוי מעשר vidui ma'aser. This is the confession that you've tithed, confession of the מעשר ma'aser. So Rashi says, ואמרת לפני השם אלוקיך v'amarta lifnei Hashem Elokecha, there is a מצוה mitzvah when you've completed the מעשר ma'aser to recite a וידוי vidui. התוודע שנשאת מעשרותיך hisvadeh shenasata ma'asrosecha. Which is exactly what we're going to study momentarily, what makes this a very unusual confession? Come on, people. Wake up. What makes this an unusual confession? Let me walk you through this. What normally do you say when you're confessing? You did something wrong. And what is this confession? I did everything right. Good. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, you're still with me. What kind of confession is this? I confess I owe you money. I confess I spoke לשון הרע lashon hara about you. I confess I violated your trust. I confess I ate non-kosher to the רבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam. Imagine I woke up to you and I say and you say to me, look, I want to talk to you about something, I say, first I have to make a confession. I have to tell you, I have to make a confession. My confession is I'm perfect. My confession is I listened to everything you told me to do. I have not neglected anything. I did everything exactly the way you asked me to. And my confession is I'm perfect. What kind of confession is that? Why do חז\"ל Chazal call this וידוי מעשר vidui ma'aser? Rashi says התוודע שנשאת מעשרותיך hisvadeh shenasata ma'asrosecha. לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי lo avarti m'mitzvotecha v'lo shochachti. On and on and on. I didn't do this wrong, I didn't do that wrong. I did this right. I did everything right. I'm perfect. That's my confession. What kind of confession is that? Come back to that in a moment. Let's keep going in Rashi. בערתי הקדש מן הבית Bi'arti hakodesh min habayis, that's מעשר שני ונטע רבעי ma'aser sheni v'neta revai. This is talking about מעשר שני ma'aser sheni because from the home, and נטע רבעי neta revai gets destroyed. ולא למדך שהיו מעשרותיו של שתי שנים ולא העלם לירושלים, צריך לעלותם עכשיו v'lo lamdecha she'im shamar ma'asroso shel shtei shanim v'lo he'elam l'Yerushalayim, tzarich l'alosam achshav. Two years go by and you did not bring the מעשר שני ma'aser sheni as you were supposed to do to ירושלים Yerushalayim, the נטע רבעי neta revai, you bring it now. וגם נתתיו ללוי זה מעשר ראשון v'gam nesativ la'Levi, zeh ma'aser rishon. The לוי Levi receives מעשר ראשון ma'aser rishon. Why does לוי Levi get מעשר ראשון ma'aser rishon? לוי Levi gets a free ride. Every farmer is giving 10% of their income to the לוי Levi. Wow. Why does the לוי Levi get that? Because the לוי Levi doesn't get land. Because all the other tribes are given designated territory in Israel. It was an agricultural society. The income came from farming. לוי Levi would דוקא dafka not given land. Why were לוי Levi not given land? They were given cities within the territories of everyone else because as I've said many times, they were the original community כוילל kollel. They were designated to learn, to teach, to inspire, to be the role models of the people. You can't do that at a distance. You do that from being integrated within the people. Ah, if you're not given land, how do you support yourself? Community כוילל kollel. You learn and teach, we'll take care of you. We'll support, we'll provide for you. לוי Levi was supported and provided for, a Torah mandate, through מעשר ראשון ma'aser rishon. וגם לרבות תרומות וביכורים v'gam l'rabos trumos u'bikkurim. לגר ליתום ולאלמנה זה מעשר עני la'ger la'yasom v'la'almana zeh ma'aser ani. Why are we referring to the גר ger, the widow, the orphan? They are the recipients of in the third year and the sixth year, מעשר עני ma'aser ani. ככל מצותיך k'chol mitzvoscha. נתתים כסדרן ולא הקדמתי תרומה לביכורים nesatim k'sidran v'lo hikdamti trumah l'bikkurim. I gave everything in order, says the farmer. I didn't do the תרומה trumah before the ביכורים bikkurim or the מעשר ma'aser before the תרומה trumah or the שני sheni before the ראשון rishon. תרומה Trumah is called ראשית reishis, שיהא ראשונה משיעשה דגן she'yehei rishonah mi'sheyaaseh dagan and so on. לא עברתי ממצותיך Lo avarti m'mitzvotecha. לא הפרשתי ממנה שאינו מינו lo hifrashti mimena she'eino mino. I didn't violate your rules. I separated it properly from the right category, from the right timing, the right age. ולא שכחתי v'lo shochachti, מלברכך על הפרשת מעשרות milevarcha'ch al hafrashas ma'asros. Oh, Rashi says, I have also not forgotten מלברכך על הפרשת מעשרות milevarcha'ch al hafrashas ma'asros. What did he not neglect? מלברכך milevarcha'ch to say a ברכה bracha. To say a ברכה bracha. So if you look at the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim here, the super commentary on Rashi, says the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim, כתב רבי אליהו מזרחי פרש מלשבחך ומלברכך בעת הפרשת המעשרות kasav Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi, peirush mil'shabeyach'cha u'mil'varech'cha b'eis hafrashas ha'ma'asros. I didn't neglect to praise you and to bless you, God, while I was separating the מעשרות ma'asros. Why is it so significant to praise God and bless God while you separate מעשרות ma'asros? Because you might have been cursing God. I'm separating, 10% I got to give away. God, I worked so hard for this. Are you kidding me? I have to give away? What did he do to deserve this? Why am I supporting him on welfare, this לוי Levi? This is mine. I worked hard for it. No, you praise God, you bless God. You're grateful with joy, with שמחה simcha, you separate it. But it continues the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim. ולא מילברך ברכת הפרשת מעשרות, שהרי נוסח הברכה שאומר אדם על המצוות, אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על, אינו אלא מדרבנן v'lo milevarech birchas hafrashas ma'asros, sheharei nusach habracha she'omer adam al hamitzvos, asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu al, eino ela m'd'Rabbanan. Says the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim, when Rashi says you're giving a ברכה bracha to God when you separate מעשר ma'aser, he's not talking about the ברכה bracha you do on a מצוה mitzvah. על תקיעת שופר, על נטילת לולב, להדליק נר של חנוכה, להניח תפילין Al tkiyas shofar, al netilas lulav, l'hadlik ner shel Chanukah, l'haniach tefillin. No, those are דרבנן d'Rabbanan. And here Rashi's talking about the פסוק pasuk, לא שכחתי lo shochachti, I didn't. So says the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim, it must be Rashi is referring not to the ברכת המצוות birkas hamitzvos, but to the general idea that you're blessing God, you're praising God while you're separating the מעשר ma'aser. You're doing it with the right attitude, you're doing it with a good attitude. Rabbi Maskowitz mentioned last night, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in his מנחת אשר Minchas Asher has a whole essay that some actually see from this Rashi, from this פסוק pasuk, that ברכת המצוות הן מדרבנן birkas hamitzvos hen m'deRabbanan. And the fact that the farmer says, ולא שכחתי v'lo shochachti, I didn't neglect, I didn't forget to make the ברכה bracha, you see maybe ברכת birchas, we פסק'ן pasken that they're דרבנן d'Rabbanan, like the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim is saying. But Rav Asher Weiss quotes numerous מקורות mekoros, many sources, to suggest that it's possible that saying a ברכה bracha before the מצוה mitzvah itself is דאורייתא d'Oraisa. Let's keep going. לא אכלתי באני ממנו Lo achalti b'oni mimenu, מכאן שאסור לאונן mikan she'assur l'onen. אונן Onen, who's an אונן onen? When you lose a loved one, one of the seven immediate relatives, mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, spouse, one of the seven immediate relatives, in between death and burial, one is in the status of אנינות aninut. One is in the status of אנינות aninut. It has biblical connotations in terms of not eating קדשים kodshim. Today we don't eat meat or wine when you're an אונן onen, but you're also forbidden from doing מצוות mitzvos. The אונן onen doesn't דאַוון daven, doesn't say ברכות brachos. The אונן onen cannot do, it's a מחלוקת רש\"י תוספות machlokes Rashi Tosafos, but we פסק'ן pasken, the אונן onen is forbidden from doing positive commandments. So לא אכלתי באני ממנו lo achalti b'oni mimenu means an אונן onen is forbidden from eating and that's what the farmer is confessing, I didn't eat it while I was an אונן onen. ולא בערתי ממנו בטמא V'lo bi'arti mimenu b'tamei. בין שאני טמא והוא טהור בין שאני טהור והוא טמא bein she'ani tamei v'hu tahor, bein she'ani tahor v'hu tamei. Whether I was impure and the produce was pure, or whether I was pure and the produce was impure, I never ate it the wrong way, in the wrong state. ולא נתתי ממנו למת V'lo nasati mimenu l'meis, לעשות לו ארון ותכריכין la'asos lo aron v'sachrichin. Nor did I take it to give it to a dead person. I didn't get benefit from it. שמעתי בקול השם אלקי Shamati b'kol Hashem Elokai, הביאותיו לבית הבחירה heveiosiv l'veis habechira. I brought it all to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash as I was instructed. עשיתי ככל אשר צויתני, שמחתי ושמחתי בו Asisi k'chol asher tzivisoni, simachti v'simachti bo. What was it that God instructed to be joyous? I was so happy. השקיפה ממעון קדשך Hashkifa m'ma'on kodshecha. We invoke Hashem. עשינו מה שגזרת עלינו Asinu ma she'gazarta aleinu. We did what you asked, God. עשה אתה מה שעליך לעשות Aseh ata ma she'alecha la'asos. We did what we were supposed to do. Now you do what you're supposed to do. And what is it you're supposed to do? You promised. בחקותי תלכו ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם B'chukosai teilechu v'nasati gishmeichem b'itam. You said that if we do what we're supposed to do, you'll make it rain. Either literally or the stock market go up. However you make it rain, you'll make it rain. השקיפה ממעון קדשך Hashkifa m'ma'on kodshecha. We did our part. רבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam, now you do your part, says the, says the farmer. Almost done, Rashi. אשר נשבעת לאבותינו ka'asher nishbata l'avoseinu, and bless the land like you did for our forefathers. לעשות לנו וקיימת ארץ זבת חלב ודבש la'asos lanu v'kiyamta eretz zavas chalav u'dvash. You fulfilled, you made good on the promise that the land would produce in this beautiful way. That's why we're here celebrating all of this. Okay, that's Rashi walking us through the technicalities of the mitzvah. Let's see some of the other מפרשים meforshim. The אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says, the farmer declares, I didn't use it למת l'meis. I didn't make the shrouds or I didn't make the coffin out of this. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, that doesn't make sense. Why in the world would you be using this for a מת meis? Rather, יש אומרים לעבוד עבודה זרה yesh omrim l'avod avodah zarah. למת l'meis doesn't mean literally a corpse, it means I didn't misdirect to עבודה זרה avodah zarah. to idolatry. The רשב\"ם Rashbam... says the רשב\"ם Rashbam, a person shouldn't, if you know that you have to declare that you did everything right, you're not going to want to lie to God who will know better. So it will ensure you that you did it right. Is your child, did you do all your homework today? Yes. I want you to tell me I did all my homework today. Because you want them to say it, because they're not going, hopefully, they're not going to want to lie. Okay, one thing I didn't get to, fine. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu obligates us to recite this statement because hopefully, in our fidelity to the truth, we'll make sure to actually bring everything and do everything the right way. Look at the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. השקיפה ממעון קדשך Hashkifa m'ma'on kodshecha. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, we already said we're going to do it the right way. And Rashi explained, I was happy and made others happy. Then Hashem should invoke you wanting me to be happier. Hashem shower with blessing because not only was I happy, I made others happy. מסכת חגיגה Maseches Chagigah... When does Hashem want to show kindness to us? When we show kindness to others. Hashem, this is a big theme for the ימים נוראים Yamim Noraim, for the month of אלול Elul. Hashem interacts with us directly based on the way we interact with others. If we are מעביר על מידות ma'avir al midos, if we are forgiving and forbearing, then Hashem is that way with us. But if we bear a grudge, then Hashem bears a grudge with us. If we have selective memory and let things go, Hashem has selective memory with us. And if we have a perfect memory of every slight and hurt that people have done, Hashem has that with us. So says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, Hashem does חסד chesed with those who do חסד chesed with his other children. Giving מעשר ma'aser is a חסד chesed. We don't finish taking the לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog and say השקיפה ממעון קדשך hashkifa m'ma'on kodshecha. Hashem, I took your לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog, make the stock market go up. We don't light the חנוכה Chanukah candles, put on תפילין tefillin, we don't do other מצוות mitzvos, blow the שופר shofar and say, Hashem, I did the מצוה mitzvah properly, השקיפה ממעון קדשך hashkifa m'ma'on kodshecha, now make it rain. Why do we do it specifically here? Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, because this is a מצוה of חסד mitzvah of chesed. You give מעשר ma'aser to the גר ger, יתום ואלמנה yasom v'almana, you're taking care of the לוי Levi. You're taking some of what you have and sharing it with others, say Hashem, I took what you gave me to share with others, give me more and I'll share it with others again. השקיפה ממעון קדשך Hashkifa m'ma'on kodshecha. If we prove to Hashem that we are good stewards of his money, that his investment in us gives him a good return, vis-a-vis his children, he'll give us more. So says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, it's דוקא dafka this מצוה of מעשר mitzvah of ma'aser, which is an act of חסד chesed, that we ask Hashem to show חסד chesed to us. Treat us the way we treated your other children. Moreover, I didn't overlook your mitzvah, I didn't neglect your mitzvah. I did it all exactly properly, and therefore, you should treat me the same way as well. Okay. Lastly, what's with the וידוי vidui? Hopefully I've built up enough suspense, it's bothering you like crazy. Why is this called וידוי vidui? It's not just מעשר ma'aser which is called וידוי vidui here. The רמב\"ם Rambam in an introduction to the מצוה of ביכורים bikkurim, the רמב\"ם Rambam writes, מצות עשה להתודות במקדש על הביכורים mitzvas aseh l'hisvados b'mikdash al ha'bikkurim. Right, what we began the שיעור shiur with this morning, the farmer brings that first fruit and he says, you know, לבן Lavan tried to kill my father יעקב Yaakov and you took us out of מצרים Mitzrayim and that whole statement, the רמב\"ם Rambam describes it as, the רמב\"ם's Rambam's introduction to הלכות ביכורים Hilchos Bikkurim writes, מצות עשה להתודות במקדש על הביכורים mitzvas aseh l'hisvados b'mikdash al ha'bikkurim. That's a וידוי vidui? Where's the וידוי vidui too? If I tell you about Jewish history, that's וידוי vidui? That's not וידוי vidui, that's history. Where's the וידוי vidui? Where's the וידוי vidui? So the רמב\"ם Rambam calls מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim וידוי vidui. חז\"ל Chazal מסכת סוטה Maseches Sotah call this recitation about the tithes, מעשר ma'aser, they call it וידוי מעשר vidui ma'aser. Why in the world is it called וידוי vidui? So I want to share with you a few of the ideas which are given. A few of the ideas which are given. The ספורנו Sforno inside, you can look at the ספורנו Sforno here. בערתי הקודש מן הבית פסוק י\"ג Bi'arti hakodesh min habayis pasuk yud gimel. Says the ספורנו Sforno, בחטאינו ובעוונות אבותינו הוסר עבודת הבכורות b'chateinu u'va'avonos avoseinu husar avodas ha'bechoros, שהם היו ראויים תרומות ומעשרות she'hem hayu re'uyos trumos u'ma'asros. Where should have we been directing our תרומות ומעשרות trumos u'ma'asros? Not to the לוי Levi, who should we have been giving it to? The בכור bechor, the firstborn. Why aren't the firstborns the recipient of the מעשרות ma'asros? What did they do wrong? The בכורים bechorim were punished. And as a result of their punishment, this position of distinction was transferred from them to the tribe of לוי Levi. So says the ספורנו Sforno, it's called וידוי vidui because when you are announcing I've given it to the right address, it brings to mind, you're not giving it to the firstborn, and to the mistake that they made in the past. וזהו וידוי המעשר שהזכיר רבותינו ז\"ל v'zehu vidui ha'ma'aser she'hizkir rabboseinu zal, says the ספורנו Sforno. The מלבי\"ם Malbim has a different answer. Says the מלבי\"ם Malbim, וידוי vidui doesn't really mean confession, the translation of וידוי vidui is verification. וידוי Vidui is our expression of making ourselves vulnerable. We want a relationship with Hashem. So we're, we're, we're speaking intimately, directly. It's an open communication. We're making ourselves vulnerable. We're telling them our innermost secrets, fears, failures, success. If I tell you how much money I make a year, I share with you my tax return, I give you very private information, that's a means of making a connection. When we tell הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, here's my, here's my income statement. Here's what I made this year, here's my מעשר ma'aser. We are, now of course the רבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam knows it without my telling him. He's the רבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam, but my willingness to divulge it to him is an expression of intimacy, of connection. So for the מלבי\"ם Malbim, וידוי vidui doesn't mean confession, it means, it means, it means telling him something very private, connection. It means building a, building a connection. The of Rav Pincus, Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus, or Rav Dovid Shimshon Pincus, sorry, has a different in his ספר sefer on on ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, he says the following. יש להקשות, ענין וידוי בענין וידוי Yesh l'hakshos, inyan vidui b'inyan vidui. In וידוי vidui in general, he asks. On יום כיפור Yom Kippur we recite the וידוי vidui 10 times, all within דאַוונען davening. So is וידוי vidui part of תשובה teshuva, or is וידוי vidui part of דאַוונען davening? He asks a series of questions, but he answers them based on this insight having to do with our topic. עצם ענין וידוי מצינו שלא שייך לחטא כלל. אין הענין של וידוי מעשר שהאדם מתוודה לפני השם ואומר שמעבר מעשרותיו, לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי, אין זה ענין של חטא כלל, אלא מהותו של וידוי הוא לבוא לפני השני ולשוחח עמו בדברים המקרבים את הלב. וכשזה בא אחרי חטא, מטרת על וידוי הוא לחזור ולהזכיר לקדוש ברוך הוא Etzem inyan vidui matzinu shelo shayach l'chet klal. Eyn ha'inyan shel vidui ma'aser she'adam misvadeh lifnei Hashem v'omer she'me'aver ma'asrosav, lo avarti m'mitzvotecha v'lo shochachti, ein zeh inyan shel chet klal, ela mahuso shel vidui hu lavo lifnei hasheni v'lesocheach imo b'dvarim hamekarvim es halev. U'k'shezeh ba acharei chet, mataras al vidui hu lachzor u'l'hazkir l'HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Similar to the Malbim. וידוי Vidui is not about confessing, וידוי vidui is about, is about giving confidential information. It's about connecting, it's about making oneself vulnerable, letting someone, letting someone in. And that's at the root, that's at the core of וידוי vidui. But what I want to really share with you is the insight of רבי סולובייצ'יק Rabbi Soloveitchik, because I think this is a most magnificent פשט pshat. Says the רוב Ruv, says the רוב Ruv, I love this פשט pshat. How is it וידוי vidui? I didn't forget anything, I didn't do anything wrong, I did everything exactly as you told me, and that's my confession to you, is that I was perfect. Says the רוב Ruv, you know how that's וידוי vidui? וידוי Vidui and תשובה teshuva are two sides of the same coin. At the core of every confession is the acknowledgement, the implicit acknowledgement, you know, I could have gotten it right. If you weren't capable, if you didn't have the capacity to get it right, you don't have to feel bad and you don't have to confess that you got it wrong. Somebody who רחמנא ליצלן rachmana litzlan has no legs doesn't have to confess that they couldn't run the 50-meter dash. They lack the capacity, there's nothing they can do. That's a bad example. If you're deaf, you don't have to confess, I'm making a confession, I wasn't יוצא the mitzvah of תקיעת שופר tkias shofar. You who has to confess you weren't יוצא תקיעת שופר yotzei tkias shofar? You're deaf. When you make a confession, what are you saying? I could have done it better. I had the capacity to do it and I didn't. So says רבי סולובייצ'יק Rabbi Soloveitchik, when the farmer comes to Hashem and he says, I got this all right, what is he confessing? Just like I got all this right, I could get everything else right, if only I cared enough, if only I tried harder. The confession is not vis-a-vis the harvest, the income, the produce, the מעשר ma'aser. The confession is if I got this right, I could get everything right. If I could stand before you and say I did this right and the other thing right and I did nothing wrong regarding this, then I could do nothing wrong regarding other things as well, and that too is a form of confession. וידוי Vidui is at the core of תשובה teshuva. The רמב\"ם Rambam counts וידוי vidui as the essence of the מצוה of תשובה teshuva. We'll get back to this more when we study the פרשיות parshiyos to come, כי המצוה הזאת ki ha'mitzvah ha'zos. This מצוה mitzvah, it's not over the sea, it's not in the heavens, it's not inaccessible. The רמב\"ן Ramban writes, what's this מצוה mitzvah? וידוי Vidui. The essence of תשובה teshuva is וידוי vidui, because what's the essence of saying I'm going to be better? Admitting I can be better. I have the capacity and capability to be better. If we don't believe we can be better, it's an empty promise to say I will be better. At the core of the promise to be better is the belief that we can be better, and that's why וידוי vidui is so critical. Have a wonderful day, and a safe day, and a beautiful, calm, sunny.
