Transcript
Okay, good morning, בוקר טוב boker tov. It's good to see everyone. I see the migration up north has begun, which means that פורים Purim and פסח Pesach must be shortly upon us. I want to thank this morning's sponsors, Sandy and Sidney Goldschmidt in memory of his beloved father, החבר אפרים בן החבר משה יהודה HaChaver Efraim ben HaChaver Moshe Yehuda, and her beloved mother, צביה בת אברהם Tzivia bas Avraham Matisyahu, and Rita Geller in memory of Howard Geller, חיים דוד בן יהודה לייב Chaim David ben Yehuda Leib. Thank you for your generous sponsorship. And for those who will remain behind for the spring and summer, if you'd like to sponsor, you can speak to the the shul office.Alright, we have a lot to cover as פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh is rich, as every parsha is, a lot to talk about. We also have תענית אסתר Taanis Esther this week on Thursday, and פורים Purim is rapidly approaching. And I want to begin by trying to wrap together the parsha, תענית אסתר Taanis Esther and פורים Purim a little bit, and then we'll do our overview of the parsha as we do every week and delve into the specific פסוקים psukim as we like to do. The bulk of our parsha is תצוה Tetzaveh deals with the issue of the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. Last week we studied the construction, the dimensions, the architecture, the symbolism of the משכן Mishkan. And this week we continue having defined what the משכן Mishkan is and the vessels therein, now the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah, what the כהנים kohanim were to wear. We'll come back to shortly why they needed special uniforms. We talked about it at length in the past. You could listen online, the notion of what a uniform does. Rav Soloveitchik says, a uniform not only unifies those who wear it towards a specific mission and towards a purpose, but by wearing the uniform which is external to you, you are reminded that whatever power that you have, whatever talents that you have, are not internal, they're not intrinsic, they're not permanent, they're external, they're bestowed upon you from the outside. They're only due to the graciousness and the goodness of the Almighty that could be withdrawn any moment. So whatever uniform it is, be it the police, be it an army, be it the Israeli baseball team, miraculously just won the second game, they're two and 0, and every sports, CBS sports, ESPN, they're all talking about Israel's baseball team that has won two games in the World Baseball Classic. It wasn't even supposed to make it there, and it's undefeated, it'll be on to the next round, בלי עין הרע bli ayin hara. So, yeah. So Israel's baseball team, the success of that baseball team, of course is their own hard work and talents and efforts, but they wear a uniform. The uniform is on the outside. The talents and the skills, says the Rav, come from the outside. They're on loan. They could be withdrawn at any moment. We should never feel they're owned by us. And so our parsha goes through each of the priestly vestments for the regular week, for יום כיפור Yom Kippur, for the כהן גדול Kohen Gadol on יום כיפור Yom Kippur, and so on and, and so forth. What is their purpose? Torah tells us: ועשית בגדי קדש לאהרן אחיך לכבוד ולתפארת v'asisa bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha l'chavod u'l'tifares. The purpose of the garments are to bring, to bring כבוד kavod, to bring glory, and תפארת tifares, to bring splendor. For whom? For whom is the glory and splendor? So there's מחלוקת ראשונים machlokes Rishonim. The commentaries debate. Does the fact that one is wearing a fancy uniform, the fact that one is beautified themselves, is it to bring glory to the כהנים kohanim themselves? According to some מפרשים mefarshim, yes. They are distinct and distinguished in their high status, and therefore in their dress. And the כבוד ותפארת kavod v'tifares is for the כהנים kohanim. Others say no. The כבוד ותפארת kavod v'tifares is for the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam. The way we dress, the attitude we bring to the work we do is ultimately in the service of the Almighty. It brings greater glory and greater splendor to him. But my question is very simple. The משכן Mishkan, בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash are the epicenter of spirituality in the world. It's not only true for the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. My question applies to all the vessels. The vessels are ornate. The vessels are made from gold, from precious metals. They have crowns and molding. The garments of the כהן kohein are very attractive, to a degree ostentatious. Their entire purpose is לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod v'l'tifares. Isn't that antithetical to spirituality? Wouldn't one expect spirituality to be all about plain and simple, understated, modest, and humble? Shouldn't our shuls not be beautified and glorious and ornate and magnificent? But shouldn't they be the most basic simple structures in the community? In other words, the place of spirituality should be the place of the least materialism. It should draw the least attention to the external, helping us all focus on what matters most, the internal, the spirituality. If the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, the משכן Mishkan, our מקדש מעט Mikdash M'at, our shuls, are places of great רוחניות ruchniyus, the symbols of holiness and piety and virtue and sanctity, then why לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'tifares? Glory and splendor and beauty and ornate, isn't it antithetical? Isn't it something which is which is a contradiction?And I'd like to suggest that perhaps the answer to our parsha, our פרשיות parshiyos, and really a modern answer, as our community is looking to do some campus renovations and other shuls when they think about the shul, they don't just put up a plain box, unpainted, simple. They try to make it beautiful. Anyone ever been to the Belzer shul in ירושלים Yerushalayim? Still haven't gone on a tour there yet, but it's just passing by the outside. It's לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'tifares. It's magnificent. It's magnificent. Why should that be? Isn't it antithetical to who we are and everything we believe? Why the lavishness and the opulence? Why not a more minimalistic approach? So Rav Hutner has an incredible insight. This week we're going to read פרשת זכור Parshas Zachor as we always do before פורים Purim. פרשת זכור Parshas Zachor reminds us that when we left Egypt, when we were still fragile, and we were vulnerable physically, when spiritually we were on a high, we had seen the incredible revelation of the Almighty, the 10 plagues, the splitting of the sea. We were on fire. What happened? עמלק Amalek attacked. They came up behind us. They approached the most vulnerable among us. They attacked us. They attacked us. And ultimately we triumphed and we remember. We fulfill the mandate, what is likely, according to many, the only portion of Torah we read that is biblically mandated, that is מדאורייתא m'd'Oraisa, according to most opinions. And why? Because we're obligated, זכור zachor, to remember it and לא תשכח lo sishkach, to never forget it. Why both? If you remember, obviously haven't forgotten. If you haven't forgotten, clearly you're remembering. We've talked about that another time. But we have to remember what עמלק Amalek did to us. By the way, that war, did we win that war with עמלק Amalek? No. We did not win that war with עמלק Amalek. Had we defeated עמלק Amalek, they would no longer have existed. They not only continue to exist, they continue to be a thorn in our side, not only for the Jews in the desert and when they came into ארץ כנען Eretz Canaan, not only in the time of שאול Shaul when he failed to wipe them out, but throughout Jewish history. Certainly according to the Rav that עמלק Amalek is not a genetic nationality or ethnicity, but עמלק Amalek is a mindset, a philosophy, a way of being. They have continued to haunt us עד היום הזה ad hayom hazeh, until this very day. And yet, though we didn't defeat עמלק Amalek, we limped away. The great victory with עמלק Amalek was we survived. You know the old Jewish joke about Jewish holidays. Tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat. So we survived. The bar is so low that it's not the פורים Purim story that we defeated the enemy, we took over, we were משנה למלך mishneh l'melech. That's unusual, that's why פורים Purim endures. Throughout history, the מגילת תענית Megillas Taanis was full of more minor days where we didn't defeat the enemy. What was victory? What did it look like? Survival. You made it. Even if you limped away, even if the other remains strong, but that was victory was simply to survive. And yet, a few weeks ago, when we read that יתרו Yisro heard all that had happened to the Jewish people, and he came, he was drawn to join our story, our journey, our destiny. The גמרא בזבחים Gemara b'Zvachim wonders, what did he hear? Rashi quotes at the beginning of פרשת יתרו Parshas Yisro. We're going backwards. That's how slow we're going in our parsha class, that we're going backwards now. פרשת יתרו Parshas Yisro. So what were the three alternatives the גמרא בזבחים Gemara b'Zvachim, Rashi quotes two in the beginning of the parsha? Either יתרו Yisro heard about קריעת ים סוף Krias Yam Suf. He heard about מתן תורה Matan Torah, which only happens after in the parsha chronologically, or he heard about מלחמת עמלק Milchemes Amalek. So I ask you, heard about מלחמת עמלק Milchemes Amalek, what did he hear? עמלק Amalek attacked the Jewish people and it was a draw. They survived. Ooh, wow, I got to join that people. It wasn't the, it wasn't the the fact that the the many fell to the few, or the mighty fell to the weak. They didn't fall. עמלק Amalek survived. And we limped away. And yet, יתרו Yisro was drawn, why? So it's always occurred to me, and probably because of the era in which we live, that what יתרו Yisro was probably drawn to was, he knew and we know that עמלק Amalek represents evil. עמלק Amalek is wickedness. עמלק Amalek is the worst of what humanity does with free will. And יתרו Yisro understood that if the ultimate, the pinnacle of evil, targets one nation and one people, people who are so fragile and vulnerable, that just got out of slavery, and yet עמלק Amalek, the symbol of evil feels so threatened by that other people, what must you know about that other people? If עמלק Amalek is evil, that other people must be good. If עמלק Amalek is wicked, that other people must be holy. And יתרו Yisro says, if עמלק Amalek is consumed, they're obsessed. All they have it in for is this little people, no one ever heard of, they were just born. They're barely even emerged from the womb of Egypt. And yet עמלק Amalek is obsessed with destroying them. I don't care what the result of the war was. The very fact that they're targeted, there must be special about them. Why do I say that resonates for us? Because the fact that ISIS, the fact that all these horrific terrorist entities are obsessed and consumed with Israel, a little country in the Middle East, who should care about? If they represent the worst of humanity, if they represent evil and wickedness, then that is a point of pride for us. We wish that they'd pick on someone else. It's not a point of pride that we invite it, that we welcome it, that we want it. It's not a point of pride that we're happy about it. But if they are so obsessed and consumed by targeting one small, tiny little people, there must be something very special about that people. So עמלק Amalek chases the Jews out of Egypt, they attack them from the rear. And the pasuk says, אשר קרך בדרך asher karcha baderech. The whole essence of what עמלק Amalek did wrong was, אשר קרך בדרך asher karcha baderech. What does it mean אשר קרך בדרך asher karcha baderech? So שמעו עמים ירגזון sham'u amim yirgazun, the nations heard and they trembled. They heard about how nature was suspended and interfered with on behalf of the Jewish people, were filled with awe, respect, and admiration, but עמלק Amalek comes along and אשר קרך בדרך asher karcha baderech. And Rashi says, you know what אשר קרך בדרך asher karcha baderech means? It means that we, the Jewish people and all who had heard what happened to us, were on fire, enthusiastic, excited, dedicated, devoted, certain, beyond any shadow of a doubt, not only of God's existence, but his guiding hand in our life. And עמלק Amalek came and they splashed cold water on our fire. Says Rashi, אשר קרך asher karcha, מלשון קור milashon kor, cold. They doused our fire, they extinguished our fire with their cold water. It wasn't just a physical attack, it was the cynicism, it was the sarcasm. We were red hot, and they cooled us off. How did they do it? What was the source of the cynicism and sarcasm? Oh, you're so inspired, you just came from a שיעור shiur, you think you're all that, you're so sure this השם Hashem, you're so sure there's a purpose, you're so פרום frum, you're so sincere, you're so, ah, let me tell you, the rabbi's a fraud, let me tell you the class he gave, why it's not really right, and let me tell you there is no God, and let me tell you there's bad things happen to good people, and we know people like that. You're busy telling them you just came from this incredible class, you just read this amazing book, you just saw this incredible thing that changed your life, and they splash cold water on your fire. They put it out with sarcasm and cynicism. And what is its source? Says Rashi, the second interpretation, אשר קרך בדרך asher karcha baderech is מלשון מקרה milashon mikreh. What's מקרה mikreh? Chance. Happenstance. Coincidence. You come, you say, you're not going to believe this thing that happened to me. השגחה פרטית Hashgacha Pratis, סיעתא דשמיא siyata d'Shmaya. Oh, השם Hashem loves me. Listen to this amazing thing. And you finish telling the person the story. השם Hashem loves you? סיעתא דשמיא Siyata d'Shmaya? What are you talking? It's just a coincidence. There's no השם Hashem. There's no God. You think he cares about you and the thing and it worked, it's just a coincidence. They splashed cold water on us. עמלק Amalek splashed cold water and put out the Jewish people's fire with their attitude of מקרה mikreh, of chance, of happenstance. And says Rav Hutner, עמלק Amalek in perpetuity, עמלק Amalek time immemorial was our archrival, our arch nemesis, because their philosophy is the very antithesis of ours. For us, for we the Jewish people, everything is חשוב chashuv. Everything is significant. Everything finds a source in the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam. Nothing is coincidental, nothing is random, nothing is chance. Even that which we perceive and experience as painful or bad is by design, and somehow is in our best interest. Somehow is for the good. We don't always understand it, but we root everything back to the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam. That is the Jewish philosophy. It is the Jewish way. It is how we endured oppression and persecution and attempted annihilation and extermination is to understand that we are not just creatures of randomness and chance, but everything is by design and everything is for a reason. And because we live our lives in that way and inspire others to see השם Hashem, עמלק Amalek is threatened, because their philosophy is the antithesis. And what's their response? To mock and to make fun and to denigrate. They see others who peace see awe, and they undermine, they seek to demolish, to grade, and to vilify. You know, I was yesterday in New York with my parents at a funeral and we had to get back somewhere. There was a big מחלוקת machlokes between the person driving us, my mother, and Waze, which way to go. It's a big question. The מחלוקת machlokes your mother and Waze is a no-win situation. I don't know how you פסקן pasken in that. But, you know, I've written before about the symbolism of Waze in our life. The notion of someone calling out directions and if you make a mistake, they reroute us without criticism and there's a lot of lessons to learn from Waze. But here's another that occurred to me in the back seat yesterday. Is that sometimes Waze gives you a directions and you say, why in the world would it send me that way? I know how to go. There's a much faster, much more direct route. Why would it take me this circuitous route? I know better. And every time I've done that, I know better, I sit in horrible traffic, I'm stuck in an accident, something, there was a reason. Waze knew better. We agreed on the destination, but Waze knew the better way to get there. You know, in life, we sometimes think we know the direct route to our happiness. The destination is our happiness. And we think that's the direct route. And we're getting rerouted. Why are we getting rerouted? Because we don't know that if we would have gone the route that we wanted, we would have hit all kinds of obstacles. We would have hit all kinds of impediments that would have been painful, that would have been challenging, that would have slowed us down, that would have been hard to endure. And so we're rerouted a different way, a way we don't recognize, a way we didn't choose, a way which is foreign, a way which is unfamiliar. But really it's because our best interest is in mind about how to get to the destination we want, called fulfillment and happiness. And we don't even appreciate or know what was avoided in the interim. So the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, everything from a Jewish perspective is good. We're charged to live life with the exact opposite approach of עמלק Amalek, of מקרה mikreh, of chance and of happenstance. Rav Hutner describes the different philosophies as what he calls כח החילול koach hachilul and כח ההילול koach hahilul. כח החילול Koach hachilul is to be מחלל mechalel, to take sacred and make it profane, to be cynical and sarcastic about even that which is holy, to splash cold water on everything. That was עמלק Amalek. כח החילול Koach hachilul is cynicism and skepticism. It's the little voice inside our own heads also that says, eh, wasn't so impressive. Eh, that's not worthy of awe. Eh, maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was chance, maybe it wasn't השם Hashem. The כח החילול koach hachilul is the voice that mocks and denigrates. But the כח ההילול koach hahilul, to be מהלל mehalel, הַלֵל Hallel, is that capacity to be to live with awe, to see everything as incredible, to identify that which is admirable and worthy of honor, to admire the beauty and the greatness and that which is the most meaningful. So עמלק Amalek and יתרו Yisro, for example, saw the exact same events unfolding. And יתרו Yisro says, wow, there's a God. Wow, so unusual, this is extraordinary. I have to see what it's all about. And you know what עמלק Amalek says? Eh. It's a new expression that didn't exist when I was growing up. You hear it all the time today, particularly among teenagers and millennials. Millennials struggle with being impressed by anything. How was the show? Eh. How was the speaker? Eh. How was the food? Eh. How was the orchestra? Eh. How's your wife? Eh. Your children? Eh. How are you? Oh, I'm great. Everything's eh. כח החילול Koach hachilul, to be מחלל mechalel everything. Nothing is worthy of awe. In other words, for something to be worthy of awe, you have to be humble. If you're the greatest, then nothing is greater than you and worthy of awe. That's the battle of עמלק Amalek and the Jewish people is the כח החילול koach hachilul and the כח ההילול koach hahilul. I wrote about it last summer. I told the story about the piano of, of, whose piano was it? Beethoven or Mozart? I forgot whose piano it was already. Beethoven's piano, I wrote about. And the story of a young girl who came and played it and played some modern song and her friends all clapped when the great pianist of all time would stand at a distance and say, I'm not worthy. I can't touch it. There used to be a capacity for awe. And the Wall Street Journal article that quoted science that talked about how important it is for our well-being to have experiences that induce awe on a regular basis. See nature, see something great, study, be exposed to something which is which is magnificent. So that I think is what we remember every פרשת זכור Parshas Zachor. When we reread עמלק Amalek and we remember, זכור zachor, remember what עמלק Amalek tried to do. They tried to make you cynical and sarcastic. עמלק Amalek tried to introduce the word eh into your vocabulary. That was עמלק Amalek. אל תשכח al tishkach. Don't ever forget that's not who we are. We the Jewish people, you know what we're about? לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'tifares. Oh, wow. Look at the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. That is magnificent. That is incredible. That's gorgeous. Wow, look at the משכן Mishkan, look at the כלים keilim. They're unbelievable. Wow, get to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. Come to the מקדש מעט Mikdash M'at, the shul. It's ornate, it's beautiful. It draws, it elicits a sense of awe, of כבוד ולתפארת kavod u'l'tifares, that there are things worthy of praise, that there's beauty and splendor in the world. And so perhaps that's why, one would think that the place that is the center of spirituality would be absent beauty and ostentatiousness, but it's the opposite. If we're going to be victorious in our battle with עמלק Amalek, then we need to see awe not only in the palaces and the mansions and in the secular world, but we need to see and react with that sense of awe, דוקא davka, in our holiest of places, דוקא davka, from the holiest of people. This was the philosophy of סלבודקה Slabodka. It's a big מחלוקת machlokes among the schools of מוסר mussar. סלבודקה Slabodka, נברדק Navardok, קלם Kelm. גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam or שפלות האדם shiflus ha'adam? Does one grow when we emphasize the greatness of man or do we grow when we emphasize the lowliness of man? קלם Kelm and נברדק Navardok partially emphasized שפלות האדם shiflus ha'adam, the lowliness of man. They would, they would compete who got to clean the toilets in the ישיבה yeshiva. They would put themselves in situations which were humiliating and embarrassing, because when one realizes I'm a nothing, I'm a גורנישט gurnisht, then one can attain greatness. But סלבודקה Slabodka had the opposite. סלבודקה Slabodka was גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam. Do you understand who you are? You're a child of the Almighty, you are angelic, your potential, לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'tifares. So the אלתר מסלבודקה Alter of Slabodka had a tailor on staff of the ישיבה yeshiva. And if you were missing a button, you were not allowed into the בית מדרש beis medrash. To understand the mindset and philosophy of סלבודקה Slabodka. If you were missing a button, let alone you wore the same shirt two weeks in a row and you had dandruff all over your shoulders and your pants were wrinkled and you, if you were missing a button, it wasn't like in סלבודקה Slabodka they had massive wardrobes in their walk-in closet. You had what, it'd be legitimate to be missing a button. But if you were missing a button, you couldn't come in the בית מדרש beis medrash. What do you mean, בטל תורה bittel Torah? The אלתר Alter would deny someone learning Torah missing a button? Yes. גדלות האדם Gadlus ha'adam, לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'tifares. The more you're a בן תורה ben Torah, the more you symbolize and stand for learning of Torah, the greater you need to appear, with stature, with dignity. You know, the philosophy of סלבודקה Slabodka endured, not to say that קלם Kelm and נברדק Navardok didn't produce greatness, but almost all of the giants, particularly in America of the 20th century, who allowed Orthodoxy to not only survive but to thrive, were the product of סלבודקה Slabodka. Almost all. And what they had in common was a regality, a royalty in the way they carried themselves, in the way they appeared, in the way that they presented. I didn't have the privilege of meeting these תלמידים of סלבודקה talmidim of Slabodka with the exception of one. My grandparents who lived in Elizabeth, Rabbi Titz, and you saw the way Rabbi Titz carried himself and appeared in the stature, and it wasn't arrogance, it was, it was גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam, it was לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'tifares. It was a mindset that if we're going to have awe, we have to live with a sense of grandeur and splendor and beauty. Not cynicism and, who cares about buttons, who cares about clothes, who cares, cynicism, greatness and a sense of awe, and that's the, that's the combination of זכור Zachor and פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh, the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah, לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'tifares.One thought on תענית אסתר Taanis Esther before we get back into the parsha. Another component of תענית אסתר Taanis Esther. תענית אסתר Taanis Esther is a very unusual fast day. Very unusual fast day. And it's a, in some ways, a fast day which is hard to understand. Generally, fast days that fall on שבת Shabbos, you defer until after שבת Shabbos. We have a principle that פורענותא לא מקדמינן puranusa lo makdiminan. That we don't advance something which reflects or represents something sad, something tragic, commemorating something tragic. And yet, תענית אסתר Taanis Esther is the exception, though it falls on שבת Shabbos, פורים Purim is Saturday night, Sunday, we will observe תענית אסתר Taanis Esther when? On Thursday. Why is that so? Question number one. Question number two, we generally have a rule that when there is a holiday, the day before, the men who go to shul are familiar with this rule. What do you omit at מנחה Mincha the day before a fast day? תחנון Tachanun. Because the day, day before a holiday rather, the day before a holiday, the day after a holiday are quasi holidays themselves. You're not allowed to fast, you're not allowed to give a eulogy. And yet, תענית אסתר Taanis Esther in an ordinary year falls when? ערב פורים Erev Purim. It's a really bizarre dichotomy. The end of a fast, you're going to מנחה Mincha to hear the לנינג laining and הפטרה haftorah of the fast day, you're already getting dressed in your costume. You're already lining up your bottles of wine. You're already getting festive and happy while you're yet still fasting, it really is a contradiction. Doesn't work. And how is it, aren't we violating the rule that ערב erev of a holiday you're not allowed to fast? And here we are, תענית אסתר Taanis Esther is institutionalized as occurring when, in ordinary years, ערב erev a holiday of פורים Purim. So the רמב\"ם Rambam, when he codifies the different fasts, the רמב\"ם Rambam has a stark contrast between all the other minor fast days and תענית אסתר Taanis Esther. Writes the רמב\"ם Rambam, הלכות תעניות Hilchos Ta'aniyos, the fifth chapter. יש שם ימים שכל ישראל מתענים בהם מפני הצרות yesh sham yamim shekol Yisrael mis'anim bahem mipnei hatzaros. The four minor fast days are why? מפני הצרות Mipnei hatzaros. How do you define צרות tzaros? צרות Tzaros. צרות Tzaros. We had a lot of צרות tzaros. They tried to kill us, they tried to exile us, they tried to force convert us, they tried to destroy us. We know it's one word you don't have to translate for the Jewish people is צרות tzaros. We know what צרות tzaros were. Says the רמב\"ם Rambam, the goal of the ordinary, of the other minor fast days is to commemorate the צרות tzaros of our history, and by invoking the צרות tzaros, be motivated to תשובה teshuva. I don't want any more צרות tzaros. I'm done with the צרות tzaros. How do we avoid צרות tzaros? תשובה Teshuva, righteousness, virtue, worthiness. If we are worthy, we can avoid future צרות tzaros. So by reflecting on the past צרות tzaros, we're motivated to תשובה teshuva, and that is the goal of a fast day. כדי לעורר הלבבות ולפתוח דרכי התשובה kedei le'orer halevavos v'liftoach darchei ha'teshuva. To awaken and arouse the heart. Watch some sad Holocaust movie, don't want another Holocaust, be a better person. It's a simple formula. It's not such a simple formula, but the goal is a simple formula. The prescription is a simple formula. So the רמב\"ם Rambam, what about תענית אסתר Taanis Esther? Where does that fit in? What צרה tzara is it commemorating? Writes the רמב\"ם Rambam, נוהגו כל ישראל בזמנים אלו להתענות בשלושה עשר באדר, זכר לתענית שצמו בימי המן nohagu kol Yisrael bazmanim eilu l'his'anos b'shlosha asar b'Adar, zecher l'taanis shetzamu bimei Haman. Why do we fast תענית אסתר Taanis Esther? Not מפני הצרות mipnei hatzaros, not because of the calamities. Why do we fast תענית אסתר Taanis Esther? זכר לתענית Zecher l'taanis. To commemorate the fast. What does that mean? Not זכר לצרות zecher l'tzaros, but זכר לתענית zecher l'taanis. To commemorate the fast. Now I understand fasting when reflecting on a calamity to motivate תשובה teshuva. But why commemorate a fast? Why fast to commemorate a fast for the sake of fasting? What does תענית אסתר Taanis Esther commemorate? If it's not to motivate תשובה teshuva, then what does it do? Why must we fast? And why do we advance it rather than delay it, and why is it allowed to happen right before a holiday? And the answer, an answer, the answer is all about why we fasted in the first place. Why is it the fast in the times of Esther and Mordechai worked as the catalyst to bring the ישועה yeshua, to bring the salvation? So we know the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash had been destroyed, and here again is a second connection between תענית אסתר Taanis Esther and פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh, the פרשיות parshios we're reading right now. אחשוורוש Achashverosh had predicted it would not be rebuilt. And when in fact, based on his miscalculation, the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash had not been rebuilt, how did he celebrate? that God's glory and splendor, the כבוד ותפארת kavod v'tifores represented by the משכן Mishkan and the מקדש Mikdash was over. Done with, finished. Achashverosh's competition with God was done. Achashverosh saw himself as the victor. God was disappeared. בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash is destroyed forever. How did Achashverosh celebrate? He made a party. And what did he do with that party? What were the serving utensils he used at the party? He used the very כלים keilim of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash.Titus was not the first to celebrate by displaying that he had conquered the vessels. Achashverosh takes the temple vessels and wears the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna. What we read about in our פרשה parsha, תצווה Tetzaveh, these holy garments that were to bring כבוד ותפארת kavod v'tifores to the כהנים kohanim and to God, Achashverosh flippantly, like עמלק Amalek, wears them. He profanes them with his כח אכילה koach achila. Mordechai tries to persuade the community, how could you go to that party? How could you go? They're serving out of the utensils, the כלים keilim of the משכן Mishkan. Achashverosh and his colleagues are wearing the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna, making a joke of our entire religion. How could you go? But the Jewish people went nonetheless, and they toasted and they admired the clothing, and they just wanted to fit in. They were afraid to stand out.Haman himself noted, אין עם מפוזר ומפורד בין העמים Ein am mefuzar u'mefurad bein ha'amim. These are a scattered and fragmented and broken nation. This is not just referring to the geographic location that the Jews had been exiled and they were now spread far and wide. The בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash no longer was the centralized geographic place that united Jews everywhere. Perhaps Haman was not only referring to a geographic location of the Jewish people, but to their mentality. They were מפוזר ומפורד mefuzar u'mefurad where? בין העמים Bein ha'amim. They had assimilated into their host countries, into their host nations. They had acted as individuals, independent of each other without unity that had helped them survive the millennia. And when we are מפוזר ומפורד mefuzar u'mefurad, geographically scattered and when we are existentially scattered, mentally scattered, religiously, emotionally, psychologically scattered, assimilated into our host countries, separate and disparate and apart from one another is when we are the most vulnerable. And Mordechai understands that.So what does he do? When it's time to go appeal for salvation, when he convinces, this is your Esther moment. This is why you were created, מי יודע אם לעת כזאת הגעת למלכות mi yodea im l'eis kazos higat l'malchus. This is why you are in this position. And don't worry, Esther. רווח והצלה יעמוד ליהודים ממקום אחר Revach v'hatzala ya'amod l'Yehudim mimakom acher. I have complete confidence God's going to take care of it. You don't want to be the heroine of the story? No problem. We'll fill in someone else's name. But know, who knows if this is why you are in this position at this time. And then Mordechai and Esther say, you know what we need to do before you go in uninvited? What is the antidote to being מפוזר ומפורד בין העמים mefuzar u'mefurad bein ha'amim? The antidote is לך כנוס את כל היהודים Lech knos es kol haYehudim. Go and gather all the Jewish people. In an incredible display of Jewish unity and camaraderie, the people agree to fast and pray. They withdraw from that assimilation and integration. They withdraw from participating in the feast of Achashverosh, and they unite over their common identity and their common cause of the survival of their people. כל היהודים Kol haYehudim. They come back again to a sense of being the Jewish people. And they fast and they davened and supportive of Esther on behalf of כנסת ישראל Knesses Yisrael. And so when we fast זכר לתענית zecher l'taanis, when we fast, we're not commemorating, oh, they fasted, let's relive that. It's like, you know, you'll get dressed up like those knights and the horses, they get dressed up in the park and the Renaissance fair. Like the Renaissance fair, we'll get dressed up and we'll recreate what it was. We'll do a Civil War recreation. תענית אסתר Taanis Esther is not, oh, let's recreate the way they did it. They fasted, then the miracle came. We'll fast and then we'll celebrate פורים Purim. Let's just recreate. That's not why we fast. זכר לתענית Zecher l'taanis doesn't mean let's recreate. It's not the Jewish Renaissance fair. The reason we fast זכר לתענית zecher l'taanis is we are reliving the experience of לך כנוס כל היהודים lech knos kol haYehudim. We're recognizing that the prerequisite to a פורים Purim, to a ישועה yeshua is no longer being מפוזר ומפורד בין העמים mefuzar u'mefurad bein ha'amim. That we have to be unified. We have to be united. We have to be together.The ראש Rosh answers that question. Says the ראש Rosh, רבינו אשר Rabbeinu Asher, how could תענית אסתר Taanis Esther fall right before a holiday? You're not allowed to fast on ערב erev of a holiday. זאגט דער ראש Zogt der Rosh, זמן קהילה לכל zman kehila la'kol שנקהלו ועמדו על נפשם למלחמה she'nikhalu v'amdu al nafsham l'milchama ובקשו רחמים u'vikshu rachamim וגם זה הוא מעיקר הנס v'gam zeh hu me'ikar hanes. Incredible insight of the ראש Rosh. The fact that they united and they gathered, and they fasted, and they prayed, that too וגם זה הוא מעיקר הנס v'gam zeh hu me'ikar hanes. תענית אסתר Taanis Esther is not a sad, somber day. It's not a day in contradiction to the joy and happiness of פורים Purim. According to the ראש Rosh, גם זה מעיקר הנס gam zeh me'ikar hanes. תענית אסתר Taanis Esther is the beginning of the joy and celebration. You don't tell a joke on עשרה בטבת Asarah B'Teves. You don't have a huge smile on שבעה עשר בתמוז Shiva Asar B'Tammuz. You're not filled with laughter on צום גדליה Tzom Gedaliah. תענית אסתר Taanis Esther, you're already feeling געשמאק geshmak and joyful. Why? Because you're not fasting over something sad. You're fasting to recreate the sense of unity, the sense of praying for one another, the sense of togetherness. And so תענית אסתר Taanis Esther is a happy day. It is a prelude, it's the preface, it's the very beginning of פורים Purim itself. So it doesn't violate the rule you can't fast before a holiday. You happen to be fasting, but it's not a fast day. It's פורים Purim. It's ערב פורים erev Purim. What do you do on ערב פורים erev Purim? You fast, just like they did. But it's not a fast day, it's ערב פורים erev Purim in which you happen to fast. And therefore it doesn't violate the rule. And therefore we advance it rather than delay it because it's not because of פורענותא puranusa. It's not the result of, oh, we were threatened, we were almost annihilated. It's the source of our solution. And just as it was the source of our solution then, so too it's the source of our solution now. The ריב\"ד Raavad writes that attempting to relive the great act of Jewish togetherness and oneness, unlike other fast days is not sad or somber, but the ריב\"ד Raavad says תענית אסתר Taanis Esther has an element, a tinge of שמחה simcha. The שמחה simcha of being together. Okay, you're hungry. Okay, you're thirsty. But don't forget that hunger and thirst brought us together then, and when we use it to bring us together now, that togetherness yields a sense of שמחה simcha of satisfaction, of being part of something much greater than ourselves. Okay, פרשת תצווה Parshas Tetzaveh. Page 464 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. We've been talking about תצווה Tetzaveh all along. Just also תענית אסתר Taanis Esther and פורים Purim.ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך V'ata tetzaveh es bnei Yisrael v'yikchu eilecha shemen zayis zach. Begin פרשת תצווה Parshas Tetzaveh with the oil which is going to be used. And then we get to the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna. ואתה הקרב אליך V'ata hakrev eilecha bring אהרן אחיך ואת בניו אתו Aharon achicha v'es banav ito. Moshe, bring your brother Aharon, his sons, מתוך בני ישראל mitoch bnei Yisrael. They are distinguished from the Jewish people, לכהנו לי l'chahano li. They are to serve me. ועשית בגדי קדש V'asisa bigdei kodesh, make them these garments that are holy, לכבוד ולתפארת l'kavod u'l'sifores. And what is their purpose? Why do they wear it? The next פסוק pasuk? ודברת אל כל חכמי לב אשר מלאתיו רוח חכמה V'dibarta el kol chachmei lev asher mileisiv ruach chachma, ועשו את בגדי אהרן לקדשו לכהנו לי v'asu es bigdei Aharon l'kadsho l'chahano li. To sanctify, ולכהנו לי u'l'chahano li. To sanctify him, to minister to me. Is לקדשו לכהנו לי l'kadsho l'chahano li talking about the same thing or talking about two different things? So this we said is the מחלוקת machlokes, the רמב\"ם Rambam, the ספורנו Sforno, and others weigh in. Is לכבוד ולתפארת l'kavod v'l'sifores the glory and splendor of the כהנים kohanim or of the Almighty? You know there's a הלכה halacha, the כהנים kohanim are forbidden from bringing the sacrifices if they're not wearing the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna. A prerequisite. Wearing the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna transformed their status that empowered them to bring the קרבנות karbanos. Without the uniform, they lack the superpowers. They lacked that ability to bring the קרבנות karbanos. Which makes a certain רמב\"ם Rambam peculiar. The רמב\"ם Rambam in ספר המצוות Sefer HaMitzvos, מצווה למד גימל mitzva lamed gimmel, interprets the two terms לקדשו ולכהנו לי l'kadsho v'l'chahano li as referring to two different functions of the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna. The רמב\"ם Rambam counts the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna, which is strange, because the רמב\"ם Rambam in his introduction to ספר המצוות Sefer HaMitzvos tells us that when one מצווה mitzva is subsumed under another, he doesn't count those other מצוות mitzvos. So the fact that the כהנים kohanim have to wear the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna to bring the קרבנות karbanos should be subsumed under the מצווה mitzva to bring the קרבנות karbanos. Why does it have its own separate unique מצווה mitzva? Why is it counted separately? So the ספר לב שמח Sefer Lev Sameach, a commentary to the רמב\"ם Rambam ספר המצוות Sefer HaMitzvos, suggests that the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna actually serve a dual purpose. It's not a debate is the is the כבוד ותפארת kavod v'tifores to the כהנים kohanim or to God. The answer is it's to both. The בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna have a dual role, and the dual role is represented here in לקדשו l'kadsho and לכהנו לי l'chahano li. לכהנו לי L'chahano li is to be a כהן kohein is not just about your genealogy and your genetics. That's part of your status. But you really gain your כהן kohein power when you wear the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna, only then can you bring the קרבנות karbanos and be of sacrifice. But the other role is even when not bringing the technical sacrifice is לקדשו l'kadsho. לקדשו L'kadsho is reminiscent of the פסוק pasuk in ויקרא כ\"א Vayikra chaf aleph. וקדשתו v'kidashto. The פסוק pasuk there says, we have an obligation to treat the כהנים kohanim differently. וקדשתו v'kidashto. You can't use a כהן kohein, you can't ask a כהן kohein to bring you a drink. The כהן kohein gets the first עליה aliyah. The כהן kohein is invited to lead the בענטשען bentshen. A כהן kohein has a distinguished status. וקדשתו V'kidashto. We treat them differently. And that, says the לב שמח Lev Sameach, is what לקדשו l'kadsho is וקדשתו v'kidashto. So one of the the כהנים kohanim wear the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna partly in service of God, לכהנו לי l'chahano li, and partly to distinguish themselves as their uniform, to bring their unique status and their stature of who they are, and that's reflected in the לקדשו l'kadsho.The שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch in אורח חיים Orach Chaim, צדיק ח tzadi ches says it's proper for a person to have specific בגדים begadim, designated garments for דאווענען davening. And why, says the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries? We have special clothing for דאווענען davening. Some have a דאווענען davening jacket, some have a דאווענען davening hat, some have a דאווענען davening גארטל gartel. Why do you have designated clothing? Says the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries, similar to the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna. That just as the כהנים kohanim felt transformed in their attitude when they donned their בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna in service to Hashem, they elevated themselves, their stature, so too we transform our sense of feeling, our sense of seriousness when we wear designated clothing for דאווענען davening. So I saw someone quotes this לב שמח Lev Sameach and offers a beautiful comparison. If the לב שמח Lev Sameach is right, that לקדשו l'kadsho and לכהנו לי l'chahano li reflect two components of the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna, that one component is in the service of Hashem, and the other is to instill within us our status to reflect our elevated identity, then the same is true with the דאווענען davening clothing. Part of it is to give greater honor and glory to Hashem by wearing designated special clothing, and part of it is to feel elevated and to feel enriched. Part of it is our own self-image and our own self-worth, our own sense of dignity and of who we are when we when we wear it. Okay, the פרשה parsha goes on to tell us all of the different garments and the different vestments and tells us on page 466 about the אפוד ephod. ועשו את האפוד זהב תכלת וארגמן תולעת שני ושש משזר מעשה חושב V'asu es ha'ephod zahav tcheles v'argaman tola'as shani v'sheish mashzar ma'aseh choshev. You make an אפוד ephod. How do you translate אפוד ephod? Look at the Artscroll, אפוד ephod is translated as ephod. It's hard to understand exactly what the אפוד ephod is. Look at רש\"י Rashi, what is the אפוד ephod? אין בסדר לפרש מעשה אפוד והחושן ועשיית המקראות פזורים בפרקים ומסורסים וצריך לכנסם על סדרם ולכך אני כותב מעשיהם כמו שהוא Ein b'seder l'faresh ma'aseh ephod v'hachoshen v'asisis ha'mikraos p'zurim b'prakim u'mesurasim v'tzarich l'chansam al sidram v'lachach ani kosev ma'aseihem k'mo shehu, and so on. And then he quotes, the אפוד ephod also came in סינר של נשים רוכבות סוסים sinar shel nashim rochvos susim. The אפוד ephod looks like this belt, this garment that women wear when they ride, when they ride an apron that women wear when they ride on a horse. How would Rashi know what women look like when they ride on a horse? Okay. He couldn't have seen it in the Jewish newspaper, there wouldn't have been pictures of women. So how did he know? Okay. וחוגרו מאחוריו כנגד לבו למטה מאציליו V'chogro me'achorav k'neged libo l'mata me'atzilav, and he tells us what it looks like. And then Rashi throws in, I'm sorry, where is it? It's a long Rashi here. I can't find it in this long Rashi. But Rashi writes, I'll tell it to you in the English, Rashi writes, I have not heard nor have I found a ברייתא braisa which explains the אפוד's ephod's design. However, לבי אומר לי libi omer li, my heart tells me that it's belted around its back. So we have no ברייתא braisa that delineates exactly what the אפוד ephod looked like or how it worked. But Rashi says, לבי אומר לי libi omer li, my heart tells me that this is probably how it worked.Where in the world does לבי אומר לי libi omer li give Rashi the authority to say what he thinks it looked like? לבי אומר לי Libi omer li. My heart tells me. Where does Rashi gain authority from his לבי אומר לי libi omer li, from his heart? How can he provide a detailed picture based on his intuition? What is intuition worth in הלכה halacha? So Rav Soloveitchik writes, in the אבות דרבי נתן Avos D'Rabbi Nosson, בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael was crowned with three crowns. We know כתר כהונה keser kehuna, the crown of priesthood, כתר מלכות keser malchus, the crown of kingship, כתר תורה keser Torah, the crown of Torah. כתר תורה Keser Torah does not nearly signify gaining Torah knowledge, but elevation and pure purification, personal purification. תלמוד תורה Talmud Torah engenders a refinement of personality, depth of understanding replaces superficiality as the individual undergoes a total transformation. One who is crowned with כתר תורה Keser Torah gains a new sensitivity and וועלטאנשאואונג veltanschauung, a different view of the world. Rav Chaim Soloveitchik said the Rav, his grandfather, would compare his approach to resolving a difficult passage in Maimonides with a traveler who must reach his destination in the darkness of night. In the distance, he sees the flashing of a dim light that signals his ultimate destination, pointing him in the proper direction. Even if Rav Chaim was only in the initial stages of formulating his ideas to resolve the difficulty, he intuitively knew the approach to take. He had the sensitivity and perception to underlying to to to the underlying message and theme of a סוגיא sugya, to look beyond the simple words on the page to be able to uncover the treasure that lies within. One must perceive the faint blinking light and instinctively move in its direction. כתר תורה Keser Torah means that the individual is entirely enveloped and gains a certain intimacy with Torah. He's elevated, he's absorbed in inner holiness. He gains a special intuition and insight. He has the ability to feel the Torah's pulse and infer it through process its thought processes. The Rav here describes that one who is worthy of the כתר תורה keser Torah, one who in their level of learning combined with their level of piety has earned the crown of Torah, is not just have data. They haven't just downloaded information. They don't just have an incredible thumb drive with incredible amounts of information. But they have transformed themselves. The כתר תורה keser Torah leaves them a different person. It transforms their heart so that לבי אומר לי libi omer li, they gain not only Torah knowledge, they gain a Torah intuition. They're able to perceive, they're able to identify the רצון השם ratzon Hashem based on being steeped in Torah, their vast, vast knowledge which has transformed that has expressed itself in their personal piety, leaves them changed people. They become instruments and vehicle for the Almighty to intuit the רצון השם ratzon Hashem. The Rav put it a little bit differently, it's not quoted here, but the Rav put it a little bit differently in the הספד hesped he gave for his uncle, the בריסקער רב Brisker Rav, ר' יצחק זאב סולובייצ'יק Reb Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik. When the Rav gave a הספד hesped for his uncle, he said, you know, there are two stages in marriage. There's אירוסין eirusin and there's נישואין nisuin. אירוסין Eirusin is הרי את מקודשת לי harei at mekudeshes li. The חתן chosson puts the ring on the bride's finger, behold you are betrothed to me כדת משה וישראל k'das Moshe v'Yisrael. They have a union, but it's a partial union. On the one hand, to dissolve that union, it requires a a גט get. But they don't yet live together. They haven't achieved נישואין nisuin. He hasn't brought her into his home. They don't experience that level of intimacy. There's a bond which can't be ignored if it's broken, and yet the bond has not solidified to the point of נישואין nisuin. We have two stages. And the Rav said, in our relationship with Torah, there are these two stages. Some achieve an אירוסין eirusin. Some have a betrothal to Torah. You learn the דף היומי Daf Yomi every day. You're קובע עתים לתורה kovea itim l'Torah, you set aside time for Torah study. You have a familiarity, you have a literacy, you have a knowledge. There's a bond with Torah. You're not an עם הארץ am ha'aretz. You're literate in Torah, you have an אירוסין eirusin. But there are a rare few who don't only have a familiarity that betrothal breeds, but they have attained the level of נישואין nisuin. They're married to the Torah. Marriage, marriage is a bond so strong that spouses can finish one another's sentences. It's not just you can finish the other person's sentence because you've heard the story so many times that you could finish the story, the joke, the anecdote. It's not only that's why you can finish the sentence of your loved one. If you're in a healthy marriage, you can finish the sentence because you know how your spouse thinks and feels and operates, what they want, what they crave, what they need, what they can't stand. You are them, they are you. You intuit. So if your spouse is not here and a decision has to be made on their behalf, you have a friend who has a casual relationship, you have someone who's familiar with them, they're literate in who they are. And then you have the spouse who has lived with them, breathed with them, knows them. Who better to intuit their רצון ratzon? Who better to represent their will, what they would want? And the Rav in talking about his uncle said that we have some righteous תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim who reach the level of נישואין nisuin with Hashem. They're not just אירוסין eirusin, it's not just betrothal, they're married to Torah, they're married to the Almighty. They can finish Hashem's sentences. They can intuit what Hashem would want. That's the level of devotion, commitment, selflessness, that's the level of knowledge, familiarity, and intimacy that they can intuit that רצון ratzon.I think that's what the Rav is driving at with Rashi. What does Rashi come from? לבי אומר לי Libi omer li. My heart tells me this is what it means. Rashi had נישואין nisuin with Hashem. The Rav said his uncle the בריסקער רב Brisker Rav had נישואין nisuin with Hashem, could finish Hashem's sentences. לבי אומר לי Libi omer li, it doesn't say it anywhere. I can't pinpoint a place. I don't have a tradition, but my intuition tells me this is what Hashem wants. That's, I can finish his sentence. You know, we're living in a challenged generation that people who barely have אירוסין eirusin with Hashem act as if they have נישואין nisuin. The people who have נישואין nisuin to Hashem have humility and modesty, and they still hesitate to finish Hashem's sentence. And they still are incredibly careful not to suggest they know what Hashem wants. And yet we have so many who because they have Google or the בר אילן Bar Ilan CD or they're super geniuses themselves, but they're not married to Torah, present themselves as if they know exactly what Hashem wants. Our tradition has never confused information with wisdom. Geniuses can download information to their brain. That doesn't give them the wisdom and the intuition that virtue and righteousness, that tradition and מסורה mesorah, that שימוש תלמידי חכמים shimush talmidei chachamim, that being part of a מסורה mesorah community provides. Information is not wisdom. And we're living in a world where there are suggested changes and evolutions and revolutions within Torah Judaism itself. And historically we always have and in this generation we should continue to lean on those who have the right to say לבי אומר לי libi omer li. Not those who are barely literate or familiar but those who are steeped in Torah, who have been empowered to be the next links in the chain of the transmission of Torah, those who are not only betrothed to Torah but married, have been living with Torah for so many years. They go to sleep with Torah, they wake up with Torah, they think about Torah every waking moment of their lives. They are Torah, Torah is them. They are the ones positioned and empowered to tell us לבי אומר לי libi omer li on the things where you can't pinpoint the place. Yes and no, you can't find exactly where it is. We've always relied on the בעלי המסורה baalei ha'mesorah, the גדולם gedolim of every generation to direct us when you can't find the exact place. You know, we live in a generation, the information age, maybe now becoming with fake news, the misinformation age, that you know, if you can't show me where it's wrong, then it's right. If you can't show me the paragraph, the סיף sif in שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch, which סימן siman does it say it's ussur, then it's muttar. That's not the way Judaism ever was. Because we have the text, we have the הלכה halacha and then we have the meta-halacha. And the ones who are empowered to direct us with meta-halacha, we have חז\"ל Chazal, you know, sometimes the Gemara says, you know, technically that might be okay, but אין רוח חכמים נוחה הימנו ein ruach chachamim nocha heimenu. The rabbis weren't comfortable with it. So why can't we read the Gemara and say, I don't care about the רוח חכמים ruach chachamim. I like the first half of the sentence. First half of the sentence said, technically it's okay. The fact that אין רוח חכמים נוחה הימנו ein ruach chachamim nocha heimenu, that's their business. That's not my business. That was never the Jewish way. The Jewish way is to care about the רוח חכמים ruach chachamim. What does it mean רוח חכמים ruach chachamim? אין רוח חכמים נוחה הימנו Ein ruach chachamim nocha heimenu. What is a רוח חכמים ruach chachamim, the spirit of the חכמים chachamim? It means their intuition. It means their לבי אומר לי libi omer li. Technically they say you could make an argument it's okay, but I'm not comfortable with it and where it can lead. And I'll give you one example in closing. We didn't get to the parsha class. I wanted to go through the פסוקים psukim about the קרבן תמיד korban tamid. Such magnificent stuff on the קרבן תמיד korban tamid. But I'll give you one example which is often referenced, I heard it recently referenced by רב אשר וייס שליט\"א Rav Asher Weiss shlita. You know, when the reform movement began, the biggest change they wanted to make was davening in German. That was the biggest change. It was a הלכה halacha community, they were committed to הלכה halacha. If you go to the famous the temple in Poland, you'll see that it was separate seating to begin with. They began as a הלכה halacha community. And the first change they wanted to make was davening in German. Is that a radical suggestion? If you know הלכה halacha, the answer is no. It's a מפורש משנה meforash Mishna in סוטה Sotah. תפילה בכל לשון Tefila b'chol lashon. You're allowed to daven in any language. One can argue you should daven in the language with which you're most familiar, it'll be the most meaningful. תפילה בכל לשון Tefila b'chol lashon. And the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer came out and he said, no. The חתם סופר Chasam Sofer said my רוח ruach, I'm a חכם chacham and my רוח ruach, my לבי אומר לי libi omer li, this is not going to go good places. This is not going to end in a good place. And the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer of ר' משה סופר Rav Moshe Sofer of Pressburg came out adamantly, vociferously in protest of that that early innovation. That was nothing. Davening, when you get to the Shemoneh Esrei, say it in German. You'll understand it better. תפילה בכל לשון Tefila b'chol lashon. It's a מפורש משנה meforash Mishna in סוטה Sotah, it's brought down in the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch. There is nothing controversial about that earliest innovation. And yet the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer said my רוח ruach, my לבי libi is אומר לי omer li, this is a bad thing, it's not going to go good places. And the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer came out fire and storm against it. Was the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer in retrospect right? Yesterday the conservative moment movement voted, and I don't say this triumphantly, I say it with terrible sadness. The conservative movement voted 95% of those who voted to allow non-Jews to have membership in their synagogues. Non-Jews now qualify for membership in conservative synagogues. So you tell me looking back, was that first innovation wise? Or maybe the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer and the his רוח ruach, his לבי אומר לי libi omer li knew something. Ah, I'm sure the newspapers in his generation, I'm sure the blogs and the Facebook posts and the articles, all said, but you can't show me where it's wrong. Where does it say it's wrong? אדרבה Adaraba, it says it's right. תפילה בכל לשון Tefila b'chol lashon. I'm sure everybody who had a keyboard wrote an article and a blog saying חתם סופר Chasam Sofer is a fundamentalist and he's a radical and he's not in touch with our community and what does he know and he doesn't see the future. He saw the future more than anyone else. He saw that future. That's exactly why he was so concerned because his לבי אומר לי libi omer li. So when Rashi says on the ephod, I can't find a braisa that tells me what the ephod looks like but לבי אומר לי libi omer li this is where it looks like. And the Rav says from where does he derive the authority of לבי אומר לי libi omer li? When you're married to Torah, not just betrothed to it, you are granted a סייעתא דשמיא siyata d'ishmaya. סוד השם ליראיו Sod Hashem l'reiav, the פסוק pasuk says. The סוד השם sod Hashem, the secret of Hashem, what Hashem wants is given ליראיו l'reiav, is given to those who have the greatest awe, the most familiarity, those who live with him, those who are married to him for the longest who think about him all day, every day in their sleep. They are the ones we turn to as the בעלי המסורה baalei ha'mesorah to direct us using their רוח ruach and using their לב lev, what the רצון השם ratzon Hashem really is. Have a meaningful fast Thursday, not a sad fast, as the ריב\"ד Raavad said, a happy fast, a fast of אחדות achdus of לך כנוס כל היהודים lech knos kol haYehudim, and בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem will merit the ישועה yeshua like they had then.
