Transcript
Yes, בוקר טוב Boker tov everyone. נתיבות שלום Nesivos Shalom on פרשת כי תבוא Parshas Ki Savo.So we're doing the last piece in the נתיבות שלום Nesivos Shalom on the פרשה Parsha. Many beautiful pieces, mostly on ביכורים Bikkurim. And he says the following: לא נתן השם לכם לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמוע עד היום הזה Lo nasan Hashem lachem lev ladaas v'einayim liros v'oznayim lishmoa ad hayom hazeh. Our פרשה parsha says that God did not give you a heart to know and eyes to see and ears to hear until today. Now one of those expressions is peculiar. Eyes see and ears hear, that we all know. But you wouldn't necessarily think that your heart knows. לב לדעת Lev ladaas. Usually your head knows, your heart feels. And yet, the Torah talks about a a feeling heart. I'm sorry, a knowing heart. So what does that mean? ורש\"י שמעתי שאותו היום שנתן משה את ספר התורה לבני לוי V'Rashi shamati she'oso hayom she'nasan Moshe es sefer haTorah l'vnei Levi, on that day Moshe gave the Torah. כמו שכתוב ויתנה אל הכהנים בני לוי K'ma she'kasuv v'yitna el kohanim bnei Levi. באו כל ישראל לפני משה ואמרו לו Bo'u kol Yisrael lifnei Moshe v'amru lo, the Jewish people came to Moshe and said, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, אף אנו עמדנו בסיני af anu amadnu b'Sinai, we too stood at הר סיני Har Sinai, וקבלנו את התורה v'kibbalnu es haTorah. ומה גדול מה שבני שבטך עליה U'mah gadol mah she'bnei shivtecha aleha? How come you're favoring your tribe? Why do Levi get access to the full art scroll library and we who too who earned the Torah, should have access to Torah, the right to Torah, why do we not have access? ושמח משה על הדבר V'samach Moshe al hadavar. So Moshe wasn't disappointed by their protest, he was very happy. ועל זאת אמר להם היום הזה נהיית לעם V'al zos amar lahem, hayom hazeh neiyeis l'am. היום הזה הבנתי שאתם דבקים וחפצים במקום Hayom hazeh hevantee she'atem dveikim v'chafetzim b'Makom. So today you truly are a nation. Because this is not a matter of coercing you, you're not coming to class because you have to, the fact that you initiate, that you proactively are saying it's not fair to you, the fact that you're protesting is in itself evidence that you are a nation, that you are a people, that you are clinging and desire to be connected to Hashem. ובתורת אבות שם מברר מה ראה משה דוקא ביום הזה U'v'Toras Avos sham mevarer ma ra'ah Moshe davka b'yom hazeh? So what was it that motivated Moshe on that day? What did he see? הלא ראה את ישראל במצרים, קריעת ים סוף, קבלת התורה, איך שמסרו את נפשם Halo ra'ah es Yisrael b'Mitzrayim, Krias Yam Suf, kabbalas haTorah, eich shemasru es nafsham? The fact that they said we too want access to the library, we want the Torah also, why are you favoring your tribe? That's what moved Moshe to be impressed? The the fact that they endured the servitude of מצרים Mitzrayim, or the heroism of of walking into the split sea, or the fact that they stood at הר סיני Har Sinai, all this מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh, that didn't move Moshe? That didn't that didn't impress him? מה היה ביום הזה במיוחד Mahaya b'yom hazeh b'meyuchad? What was it about this day in particular? אלא שביום הזה ראה משה את גודל החביבות וגודל האהבה שיש לישראל להקדוש ברוך הוא Ella she'b'yom hazeh ra'ah Moshe es godel hachivivus v'godel ha'ahavah she'yesh l'Yisrael l'haKadosh Baruch Hu. שהם חפצים בתורה She'heim chafetzim b'Torah. What was different was on this day Moshe noted that they weren't just doing things because they were commanded. Even the most obedient who does exactly as they're told, but maybe they're just their nature, they're designed to be obedient, so they do what they're told. How do you know it's what they desire? How do you know they've made their want conform to the will of Hashem? How do you know that they really yearn for a piece of it? So it was the fact that these people said, it's not fair to me. You see, based on what a person feels is not fair to them, you learn a lot about them. You learn a lot about them. You have in the beginning of פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Beha'aloscha when Aaron says after the נשיאים Nesi'im at the end of פרשת נשא Parshas Naso, Aaron says, it's not fair to me, the נשיאים Nesi'im got to bring all these קרבנות korbanos, the section we read on חנוכה Chanukah, which seems redundant and repetitive. So says Aaron says it's not fair to me. I want to bring a קרבן korban. I want access. I want opportunity. And what does Moshe say on behalf of Hashem? I'll tell you what I would have expected him to say. I would have expected him to say what we say to our children when they say it's not fair to me. We say you get what you get and you don't get upset. Life's not fair. Life's not fair. Tough nuggies. But Hashem through Moshe doesn't say that. What does he say to Aaron? Oh, oh, you're upset? You you also want to try? Oh, you know what, you don't get to bring a קרבן korban, but you and your progeny are going to be the ones who light the candelabrum. בהעלותך את הנרות B'ha'aloscha es ha'neiros. What do you mean? Hashem should have put Aaron in his place and say, what are you talking about? So אלא מאי elah mai, what do you see from here? That sometimes envy or jealousy, competitiveness for a good thing, for a noble cause is healthy. It motivates. That maybe you should say איזהו עשיר השמח בחלקו eizehu ashir ha'sameach b'chelko when it comes to your material, physical things, but when it comes to your spiritual opportunities, don't necessarily be happy with your lot in life. You should want more. You should turn to Hashem and say it's not fair to me. Aaron says it's not fair to me. קנאת סופרים תרבה חכמה Kinas sofrim tarbeh chachmah the גמרא Gemara says. That when we have jealousy and and competitiveness among scholars, it yields greater wisdom. Everyone's trying to publish and make a name for themselves and in the end of the day, you have more Torah. You have more חכמה chachmah as a result. So here, true, the Jewish people had been obedient. They did what they were told. Got out of מצרים Mitzrayim, they walked through the ים סוף Yam Suf, they stood at הר סיני Har Sinai, but they hadn't shown proactively this this competitiveness, this desire, this drive, that they also want a piece of it. And when Moshe sees that they too have this inner yearning, they want a piece of it, they have the drive for it, that's what moves him so much. ואומר הזה, שאין יהודי יכול להגיע למדרגה של לב לדעת, לדעת את השם, ועיניים לראות את גדלות הבורא, וכן אזנים לשמוע, אלא על ידי חביבות V'omer hazeh, she'ein Yehudi yachol l'hagia l'madreigah shel lev l'da'as, l'da'as es Hashem, v'einayim liros es gadlus haBorei, v'kein ozanyim lishmoa, elah al yedei chivivus. How do you have a heart that knows? How do you have a knowing heart? How do you have eyes that see, how do you have ears that hear? Only when there's חביבות chivivus. When you have drive, when you have affection, when you have love, when you want something badly. שכאשר יש ליהודי חביבות, אז מגיע הוא למדרגה שיש לו לב לדעת, ועיניים לראות ואזנים לשמוע. עד הארבעים שנה שהיו ישראל במדבר, למדרגה הראויה של לב לדעת ועיניים לראות She'k'asher yesh l'Yehudi chivivus, az magia hu l'madreigah she'yesh lo lev l'da'as, v'einayim liros v'oznayim lishmoa. Ad ha'arba'im shanah she'hayu Yisrael b'midbar, l'madreigah har'uyah shel lev l'da'as v'einayim liros. So when you're obedient, when you're passively obedient, when you're just mailing it in, when you're doing what you have to do and you put in a check, so then you don't have that wisdom, you don't have that insight. You don't have that drive. What gives you the capacity to really see the depths, to really penetrate, to have eyes that really see, ears that don't just hear the superficial, the surface, but they hear the depth, they hear the insight, to have a heart which doesn't just feel but a heart that knows? What gives you that is this inner drive. והרה\"צ ר' יהודה לייב, זכר צדיק לברכה, כתב V'haRav haTzaddik Reb Yehuda Leib, zecher tzaddik l'vracha, kosav, שהכאשר מרן הסבא קדישא מסלונים she'k'asher maran haSaba Kaddisha miSlonim חזר על מאמר זה chazar al ma'amar zeh, when the Rebbe would go over this, נאנח בראשו ואמר ne'enach b'rosho v'amar, אוי חביבות, אוי חביבות oi chivivus, oi chivivus. That when the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe would say this שטיקל shtickel, he would say, אוי חביבות oi chivivus. That we go through life and we mail it in. You could be the holiest Jew and you came to דף יומי Daf Yomi, then you went to דאווענען davening, you דאווענען בכוונה davened b'kavanah, you put on your טלית tallis, you put on your תפילין tefillin, you made ברכות berachos before and after you ate, you were honest in business, you made it back for מנחה Mincha, you did, you put a check next to all the to-do list of being a Jew. All 613, you're obedient, you do everything. That doesn't mean that you have drive, desire, חביבות chivivus, affection, love, that it's what you want. Maybe you put the check next to each of these things and you quickly discharge and dismiss it as if you're done with it, but now, oh, check the box score, or to watch the Netflix, or to count your money, or to review the stock market, that's where the חביבות chivivus is. So you see a lot about a person based on where the חביבות chavivus is. Where's the love? Where's the affection? Where's the drive? What's the desire? A פסוק pasuk says in משלי Mishlei, איש לפי מהללו ish l'fi mehalalo. Which is usually translated to mean a person according to how they are praised. In other words, if you want to know about David K, so how is he praised? What do people say about him? What is it what is the greatness they praise him for? So that's how you get to know him. But רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah has a different פשט pshat. רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah says איש לפי מהללו ish l'fi mehalalo means איש ish, you want to get to know somebody? לפי מהללו L'fi mehalalo. Check out what they praise. Look look at what they admire. Check out what they pursue. Check out what their hobby is. Look for where their drive is. What drives them? What drives them? So when Moshe sees that the Jewish people are not just passively obedient, they're not just checking off, they're not just doing the right things, which you can be doing all the right things. But more than that inside they have this חביבות chivivus, this drive, this yearning. This is where their love, this is where their passion is. This is where their passion is. העיקר אצל יהודי הוא חביבות להשם יתברך שמעורר בעבודתו Ha'ikar eitzel Yehudi hu chivivus l'Hashem Yisbarach, she'me'orer b'avodaso. ומצוה בלא כוונה ובלא חביבות היא כגוף בלא נשמה U'mitzvah b'lo kavanah v'lo chivivus hi k'guf b'lo neshamah. When you do a מצוה mitzvah, even though again, you put a check. You bought the most expensive ארבע מינים arba minim, you heard the perfect שופר shofar. So you can put a check. Who can challenge that you did the מצוה mitzvah? Not only did you do the מצוה mitzvah, you did the מצוה mitzvah at an extremely high level. But you do it בלא חביבות b'lo chivivus, there's no drive, there's no affection, there's no love, there's no depth to it. It's כגוף בלא נשמה k'guf b'lo neshamah. It's like a body with no soul. וזהו שאמרו חז\"ל V'zehu she'amru Chazal, למה תוקעין ומריעין כשהן יושבין ותוקעין ומריעין כשהן עומדין lama tok'in u'meri'in k'shehein yoshvin v'tok'in u'meri'in k'shehein omdim, why do we blow שופר shofar both standing and sitting, כדי לערבב את השטן k'dei l'arbev es haSatan, in order to confuse the שטן Satan. ופירש רש\"י U'feirush Rashi, the גמרא ראש השנה טז Gemara Rosh Hashanah tet zayin. So רש\"י Rashi explains there שלא ישטין כשישמע ישראל מחבבין את המצוות, מסתתמין דבריו she'lo yashtin k'she'yishma Yisrael mechabvin es ha'mitzvos, mistatmin devarav. What why are we trying to confuse the שטן Satan? What we mean is we don't want the שטן Satan to prosecute against us, to to work against us, to undermine us. So when he hears the Jewish people מחבבין את המצוות mechabvin es ha'mitzvos, you blow the שופר shofar standing, you blow the שופר shofar sitting, you're mixing it up, you have drive, you have affection, you have love, you have passion for what's going on, he's silenced, he can't say anything. הנשמע עצם קיום המצוה כל פרטיה ודקדוקיה עדיין אין השטן מתערבב Hanishma etzem kiyum ha'mitzvah kol prateha v'dikdukeha adayin ein haSatan mis'arbev. רק כאשר הוא רואה את גודל החביבות של ישראל בקיום המצוה Rak ka'asher hu ro'eh es godel hachivivus shel Yisrael b'kiyem ha'mitzvah, שמקיימים אותה בכל אופנים יושבין ועומדין she'mekaymim oso b'chol ofanim yoshvin v'omdim, מזה מתערבב ומסתתמין דבריו mi'zeh mis'arbev u'mistatmin devarav. So when Satan sees us just fulfilling the מצוה mitzvah, he has nothing to say. You came to shul, you slapped on your טלית tallis and תפילין tefillin, you made your way through the words, you closed the סידור siddur, you put a check next to דאווען daven. Satan's not threatened by that. Who's the Satan of course, not the devil sitting on one of our shoulders. It means the inner voice of self-sabotage, the voice inside us that says what's the point of this. So the Satan's not threatened. That inner voice is not threatened when we mail it in, when we barely when we barely do it. It's when we do it with passion, with drive, with enthusiasm, with excitement, with energy. So when we stand and sit for the שופר shofar blowing, when we mix it up, when we keep our level of excitement and enthusiasm high, that's when the Satan's worried. וזה גם גודל ענין מצות ביכורים שנאמר בפרשתינו V'zeh gam godel inyan mitzvas Bikkurim she'ne'emar b'parshaseinu. The פרשה parsha begins with the מצוה mitzvah of ביכורים Bikkurim. The farmer brings his first fruit. He's got to bring it to ירושלים Yerushalayim. And he has this this recitation. כתיב במדרש כל העולם נברא בזכות מצות ביכורים K'siv b'Midrash kol ha'olam nivra b'zchus mitzvas Bikkurim. The מדרש Midrash says, ביכורים Bikkurim are called ראשית reishis, the first, first fruit. You see, the whole Torah is created for things that are firsts, including ביכורים Bikkurim. שאף שישראל היו מצות שהן קשות הרבה יותר מקיום מצות ביכורים She'af she'Yisrael hayu mitzvos she'hein kashos harbeh yoser m'kiyem mitzvas Bikkurim. We have 613 מצות mitzvos, and we have many that are much more difficult. After all, what does the farmer have to do? He ties off his first fig that grows, his first fruit that grows, and then when it's ripe, he plucks it and he brings it to ירושלים Yerushalayim. How big a deal is that? Giving מעשר ma'aser is much harder. 10% is much bigger deal than a fig. Rabbi J.J. Schachter has a beautiful וורט vort. I think he may have heard from his father on on this. He says when it comes to ביכורים Bikkurim, you know, you look at the רמב\"ם Rambam based in the משניות in ביכורים Mishnayos in Bikkurim, there's pomp and circumstance and drama, when you way you bring the ביכורים Bikkurim. There's a whole parade. מעשר Ma'aser is is much much more proportionally, you're bringing 10% and there's nothing. You bring it, you deposit it, you allocate it, you're done. Why is there a big party for ביכורים Bikkurim, pomp, circumstance, parade, fanfare, and מעשר ma'aser which is much more, there's nothing, barely take notice? He says because מעשר ma'aser, you take the last 10%. So what happens? The farmer the farmer plows and plants and works the field and harvests and brings it all in, says, oh, got a good crop this year. You know what? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Nine out of ten, 90%, I get to keep. 10%, you know what? That's a pretty good deal. God's the senior partner. None of this could happen without Him, and he only asks for 10%. He doesn't even keep it for himself, he asks for me to give it to his other children. That I can live with. When I get to keep the 90%, it's easy to live with giving away, easier, to live with giving away the last 10%. But when it comes to ביכורים Bikkurim, the first fruit, so the first thing that grows, the farmer has to take and bring to ירושלים Yerushalayim, he has no idea what's to come. What if that's not the first fruit? What if that's all the fruit? What if there's nothing more coming? But he still says, you know what, ביכורים Bikkurim the first. The success of this whole project depends on Hashem. So the very first is not mine, doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the real owner, the real senior partner. So he takes the first and he brings it to ירושלים Yerushalayim. It's a much bigger deal, the ביכורים Bikkurim. Even though it's smaller quantitatively, but qualitatively what it reflects in terms of our expectation and and our appreciation is much, much greater. So back to the סלונים רבה Slonim Rebbe. So he says ביכורים mitzvas Bikkurim, the מדרש Midrash says that the whole world was created for this מצוה mitzvah of ביכורים Bikkurim. Now we have much harder מצוות mitzvos, as I was saying, that told I got ahead of it. מעשר Ma'aser is much harder. שבת Shabbos is harder. Fasts, יום כיפור Yom Kippur is harder. We have many, many harder מצוות mitzvos than bringing the first fruit. So why is ביכורים Bikkurim considered, why is the מדרש Midrash say the whole world was created for ביכורים Bikkurim? משום שמצות ביכורים מורה על גודל החביבות של יהודי להקדוש ברוך הוא Mishum she'mitzvas Bikkurim morah al godel hachivivus shel Yehudi l'haKadosh Baruch Hu. Because ביכורים Bikkurim is reflective of the love, the enthusiasm, the zeal, the affection, שמוסר את ראשית פרי עמלו לאחר שעמל ויגע בשדהו כל השנה she'moser es reishis pri amalo l'achar she'amal v'yaga b'sadehu kol hashanah. You worked your field the whole year, you got ready, you anticipated, you looked forward, you finally see that first fruit and what do you do? אייבישטער Eibishter, I want you to have it. רבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam, it's yours. It's yours. והפירות הראשונים האלו חביבים לו ביותר ושווים אצלו מאוד מאוד V'hapeiros ha'rishonim ha'eilu chavivin lo b'yoser v'shavim etzlo me'od me'od. וכיוון שרואה תאנה שבכרה קושר עליה גמי ואומר קודש להשם V'keivan she'ro'eh te'einah she'bikra kosher aleha gemi v'omer kodesh l'Hashem. You see this fig and you tie a a band around it, and you say this is holy for God. שמוסר להשם יתברך דבר יקר וחשוב לו ביותר She'moser l'Hashem Yisbarach davar yakar v'chashuv lo b'yoser. You've worked so hard, you've invested, you've put in your time, your energy, your risk, and and now you're ready to get your return, this first fruit. Instead of keeping it and celebrating it, instead of putting it on your wall, instead of framing it, what do you do? You say, Hashem, קודש להשם kodesh l'Hashem, this is for you. So that's love, that's affection. זה מורה על גודל החביבות, כל הבריאה כולה היא בזכות גודל החביבות שבמצות ביכורים Ze morah al godel hachivivus, kol ha'bria kulah hi b'zchus godel hachivivus she'b'mitzvas Bikkurim. So what does it mean that the whole world is created in the merit of ביכורים Bikkurim? Doesn't mean the particular מצוה mitzvah, but it means the manner in which we do that מצוה mitzvah, the attitude with which we bring to the מצוה mitzvah, is the reason Hashem created the world. You didn't get married for your spouse to mail it in to you, and for you to mail it in to your spouse. You know, here, here's the plate, here's dinner. Slap it in front of you. You know, here's a gift, here's your card, it's your birthday, here's the gift card, here's whatever, put it in front of you. Well what's your what's your time now? What's your problem? I gave you a card. I did the thing. Check next to card. Check next to flowers. Check next to I took the garbage out. Check next to whatever it is. So that's not a marriage, that's not a relationship. That's external, that's superficial, that's a that's a business merger, and maybe even not that. So what is the core of a healthy marriage? Why do we go into marriage? What do we get out of marriage? Is חביבות chavivus. It's the love, it's the affection, it's the passion, it's the enthusiasm, it's the willingness to compromise, to sacrifice, to give to one another. And that's exactly what ביכורים Bikkurim represents. Not just, God, here's your first fruit, take it. It's it's the חביבות chavivus, it's despite what this means to me, I want you to have it. Despite everything it means to me, it's yours. I want you to have it. And when we bring that attitude, that love to every area, that's why Hashem created the world. ועניין זה ישנו בשבת קודש V'inyan zeh yeshno b'Shabbos Kodesh. כתיב בספרים הקדושים שבת ראשי תיבות שבת בא תשוב K'siv b'sfarim ha'kedoshim, Shabbos, roshei teivos, Shabbos Bo Tashuv. ש' ב' ת' Shin, Beis, Taf, the acronym of שבת Shabbos stands for שבת בא תשוב Shabbos, it's time to return. כי התשובה בשבת קודש היא מתוך גודל החביבות שיש ליהודי להקדוש ברוך הוא Ki ha'teshuvah b'Shabbos kodesh hi mi'toch godel hachivivus she'yesh l'Yehudi l'haKadosh Baruch Hu, ואיך עבר ועשה נגד רצונו v'eich avar v'asah neged r'tzono. שבת Shabbos is a time of reflection. You look back on the previous week, at the mistakes we made, and we energize for the coming week, how it's going to be the best one yet. As it says וקראת לשבת עונג v'karasa l'Shabbos oneg, the פסוק pasuk says, אז תתענג על השם az tisaneg al Hashem. When you call שבת Shabbos עונג oneg, then you are able to תתענג tisaneg. תתענג Tisaneg is התפעל hitpa'el, so a reflexive form of the verb. We make ourselves joyous, we make ourselves happy, we bring pleasure. In other words, how do you get high? Not just on a on a delicious, incredible, expensive bottle of wine, or a fine single malt scotch, or the delicious high-end, fat-free, lean corned beef or delicacy that was served at the שבת Shabbos table. Those are all wonderful, and there's no doubt they are a קיום kiyem of עונג oneg, of וקראת לשבת עונג v'karasa l'Shabbos oneg, there's no question they yield a great sense of pleasure on שבת Shabbos. But אז תתענג az tisaneg, the highest high you can get is על השם al Hashem. The highest, most lasting high is, every other high, so, you know, as soon as you've digested the corned beef, or the alcohol's out of your system, so it's gone. It was fleeting, it didn't last. It was pleasurable while you experienced it. You probably want to go back to it again. In fact, because it doesn't last, you have a craving to go back to it again, but it doesn't last. The only high that's lasting, that's transformative, that stays with you, that changes you, is תתענג על השם tisaneg al Hashem. The עונג oneg, when you get high on God. When you experience that פינטעלע ייד pintele Yid, you experience that spark, staying up all night, sharing דברי תורה divrei Torah, and singing זמירות zmiros, and being with your family, and feeling connected, and that's transformative. That just that energizes you and powers you to the next שבת Shabbos. עיקר העבודה בשבת קודש היא אז תתענג על השם Ikar ha'avodah b'Shabbos kodesh hi az tisaneg al Hashem. ובתשובה של שבת קודש מתוך גודל החביבות של אז תתענג על השם U'v'teshuvah shel Shabbos kodesh mi'toch godel hachivivus shel az tisaneg al Hashem. So the reason that שבת Shabbos is transformative and is such a catalyst of תשובה teshuvah is because it is the day that we're disconnected from the to-do list, we're disconnected from everything we have to do at work, we're disconnected from all the pressures and the chaos of the world, we're disconnected from the news cycle, and what's left, אז תתענג על השם az tisaneg al Hashem. שבת בא תשוב Shabbos Bo Tashuv. We're able to be reflective, we're able to disconnect in order to connect, we're able to be mindful. וזהו כתיב במדרש תנחומא V'zehu k'siv b'Midrash Tanchuma, כבוד שבת עדיף מאלף תעניות kovod Shabbos adif me'elef ta'aniyos, that honoring שבת Shabbos is greater than fasting a thousand fasts. Why? לפי שעונג שבת מורה על גודל החביבות שיש ליהודי להקדוש ברוך הוא שמתוך כך הוא מתענג בשבת L'fi she'oneg Shabbos morah al godel hachivivus she'yesh l'Yehudi l'haKadosh Baruch Hu, she'mi'toch kach hu mis'aneg b'Shabbos. על כן תענוג שבת אחת עדיף מאלף תעניות Al kein ta'anug Shabbos achas adif me'elef ta'aniyos. שבת Shabbos is maybe the greatest example of that. It it can be experienced in exactly one of those two ways. You can experience שבת Shabbos superficially. Like, what's your problem God, I didn't violate any מלאכה melachah. You can't show, I didn't turn on the TV, I didn't drive my car, I didn't, I was gonna say swim on שבת Shabbos, but after last year as Rabbi Schachter. I didn't, check my email. I didn't check my email, I didn't text, like what's your problem? I didn't do anything wrong, and I did everything right. I made it to the מניין minyan, I said קידוש kiddush, we had the quick meal, what's your problem? I did everything. You can be יוצא yotzei, you can put check marks next to שבת Shabbos. Did, did, did, done, done, done. Good, good, good. But that's not what שבת Shabbos is. That's not שבת Shabbos. שבת Shabbos is is transformative, it's immersive. You immerse yourself in שבת Shabbos and you're you draw your energy from שבת Shabbos. There's no rush from there's no you get a rush from שבת Shabbos, you don't rush out of שבת Shabbos. So it's perhaps the greatest example of it, and that's why when a person experiences real תענוג שבת ta'anug Shabbos, which is to get high on Hashem, singing those זמירות zmiros, moved by song, that the לחיים l'chaim is there not to indulge in in an alcoholic experience, not to get inebriated to escape from the world, but it's taking away inhibition or relaxing you to be able to to tap into the true world. So everything can be used in in either direction. So שבת Shabbos is a prime example of exactly this. על פי זה יש לומר מה דכתיב בפרשה פרשת תוכחה Al pi zeh yesh lomar mah d'kasiv b'parsha, parshas tochachah. Our פרשה parsha כי תבוא Ki Savo has the second. We had בחוקותי B'chukosai. Now in כי תבוא Ki Savo, we have the harsh rebuke. ובאו עליך כל הקללות כי לא שמעת בקול השם אלוקיך לשמור מצוותיו וחוקותיו אשר ציווך U'va'u alecha kol ha'klalos ki lo shamata b'kol Hashem Elokecha lishmor mitzvosav v'chukosav asher tzivcha. The פסוק pasuk says that all the curses will be visited upon you because you don't listen to God. You didn't observe his מצוות mitzvos, all the things he commanded you. ואחר כך כתיב ונהפך תחת אשר לא עבדת את השם אלוקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרוב כל V'achar kach kasiv v'nehapach tachas asher lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav meirov kol. ועבדת את אויביך V'avadta es oyvecha. Why do we experience the קללה klalah? Why is the curse visited upon us? We are visited by this horrific graphic devastation. Why? Because we didn't serve Hashem בשמחה ובטוב לבב b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav. Which is it's an incredible comment. Again, what do you mean? What right do you have an opinion about how I feel about what I'm doing? I'm doing it. God commanded the world of action. How could you command the world of emotion? Tell me what to do. How could you tell me how to feel? So imagine saying that in your marriage. Honey, I took out the guy, I bought you the anniversary card, I gave you the flowers. Don't tell me I have to do it with love or with affection, how to feel to you. Check, check, check, check. Here's the jewelry, the flowers, the chores, the check. She says check, that's not why we stood under a חופה chuppah for you to check off the to-do list. It's not why I I pledged to spend the rest of my life with you so that you can just say you were יוצא yotzei, you did the things externally. It's all about the feeling, it's all about the connection, it's all about the intimacy, it's all about the love. That's why we went into this. So הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu says the same thing. Don't just put check, check, check. תחת אשר לא עבדת את השם אלוקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב Tachas asher lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav. Where's the שמחה simcha? Where's the joy? Where's the love? Where's the affection? That's what it's all about. בעיקר המפרשים אמרו דהקללות הן בשביל שלא שמעתם בקול השם וכו' V'ikar ha'mefarshim amru d'ha'klalos hein bishvil she'lo sh'matem b'kol Hashem v'chulu. What do you mean? We already said that the reason you're visited by these curses is because you didn't observe. מה זה שנאמר אחר כך תחת אשר לא עבדת את השם אלוקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב Mah zeh she'ne'emar achar kach tachas asher lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav? So why are we giving a second reason? It's a different reason. We already said the whole reason that you're visited by these curses is because you neglected Hashem, you dismissed his will. Oh, and also, you didn't do things with love and affection and enthusiasm. So which is it? וזה מדורש הביאור מדוע מגיע עונש קשה כל כך על שלא עבדת את השם אלוקיך בשמחה V'zeh medoresh ha'biur madua magia onesh kasheh kol kach al she'lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha. Really? The most harsh, the most strong, powerful, potent punishment comes because you didn't smile, because you weren't happy, because you didn't do it with a joyful life? והאור החיים הקדוש מפרש דכי לא שמעת קאי על קללות שנאמרו עד כאן V'ha'Or haChaim haKadosh mefaresh d'ki lo shamata kai al klalos she'ne'emru ad kan, ואילו ההמשך תחת אשר קאי על דלהלן v'ilu ha'hemshech tachas asher kai al d'lehalan. So the אור החיים Or haChaim, in fact, is bothered so much by this question, he breaks the קללות klalos into two. And he says that the first the first set of curses are visited upon you, why? Because you didn't listen to God, you neglected his will. But the curses that we're going to enumerate now, the next set, are because you didn't do it with joy. אך הן על פי האמור יש לומר דקאי גם על דלעיל Achen al pi ha'amur yesh lomar d'kai gam al d'le'eil. But says the סלונים רבה Slonim Rebbe, unlike the אור החיים Or haChaim, no, they're both talking about the exact same thing. על כל פשעים תכסה אהבה Al kol p'sha'im techaseh ahavah. ואף אם עצמו פשעים יהודים וראויים לשלם תחת אהבה V'af im atzmo p'sha'im Yehudim u'r'uyim l'shalem tachas ahavah, שמעורר חביבות שיש בין אבא להשם יתברך she'me'orer chivivus she'yesh bein aba l'Hashem Yisbarach. You could make up for a lot of failed check marks with a little bit of love. The checks that you missed, I forgot to take out the garbage, I didn't get you the thing, I didn't pick up the kids, I didn't do the whatever. But you know what, a little bit of love now, not fake counterfeit love, a little bit of authentic, authentic love, affection, commitment to do the next things right can compensate for the things that were done wrong. וזו עיקר התביעה על יהודי V'zu ikar ha'tviah al Yehudi. And this is what's expected, this is what's demanded of a Jew. שגם אצל מחטא היית על התגברות היצר הרע ותאוות הרע כונס She'gam eitzel machet hayisa al hisgabrus ha'yetzer ha'ra v'ta'avos ha'ra k'ones. So you looked at that thing, you said that thing, you ate that thing, you went that place, you your יצר הרע yetzer hara overcame you. You gave into the יצר הרע yetzer hara, it overwhelmed, it overpowered you. אבל אחר שחטא למה לא התחזק והקים על ידי האהבה המכסה על כל פשעים Aval achar she'chata lama lo hischazek v'hekim al yedei ha'ahavah ha'mechasa al kol p'sha'im. But after you made the mistake, you could you could come back. When there's passion, when there's love, when there's commitment. ובכוח התשובה של שבת בא תשוב ובבחינת אז תתענג על השם U'v'koach ha'teshuvah shel Shabbos Bo Tashuv u'v'vchinas az tisaneg al Hashem, ועל ידי חביבות שהיהודי מעורר בקיום המצוות v'al yedei chivivus she'haYehudi me'orer b'kiyem ha'mitzvos, whether it's through שבת Shabbos. שבת Shabbos is all about תשובה teshuvah. We give a שבת תשובה Shabbos Shuvah about that once. There's a lot of themes. אדם Adam, אדם וחווה Adam v'Chava, where שבת Shabbos fit in with them being expelled and שבת Shabbos is the theme, we don't think of it, we think of it זכר ליציאת מצרים וזכר למעשה בראשית zecher l'Yetzias Mitzrayim v'zecher l'ma'aseh B'reishis, how it relates to the Exodus and creation, but תשובה teshuvah is a major theme of שבת Shabbos. That on שבת Shabbos, we earn the right for the week ahead. We're reflective of the previous week and we power ourselves for the week ahead. So how do we express love and affection? Whether it's through experiencing שבת Shabbos in its most authentic form or simply everything that we do that we do with love. כשהוא עושה תשובה מתוך גודל החביבות להקדוש ברוך הוא, מקבל לב לדעת K'she'hu oseh teshuvah mi'toch godel hachivivus l'haKadosh Baruch Hu, mekabel lev l'da'as. How do we get a knowing heart? A discerning heart, a wise heart, an insightful heart? We achieve it, we acquire it when we do things with love. ועיניים לראות ואוזניים לשמוע V'einayim liros v'oznayim lishmoa. We can truly see and we can truly hear. שמזכה לראות את גדלות הבורא She'mezakeh liros es gadlus ha'Borei, ומתקן כל הדינים מכוח החביבות u'mesaken kol ha'dinim mikoach ha'chivivus. It's like in marriage. When can you really finish the other person's sentence? When can you really see the depth of their soul, the goodness in them? When can you really gain the highest appreciation of them? Not when you are living a superficial external life where you're just checking off the column, but when there's a חביבות chavivus, when there's a love, when there's affection, when there's a commitment, when there's a passion, when there's drive. וזהו פירוש, תחת אשר לא עבדת, הפסוק, תחת אשר לא עבדת V'zehu peirush, tachas asher lo avadta, ha'pasuk, tachas asher lo avadta. שאמנם הקללות באות כי לא שמעת בקול השם אלוקיך לשמור מצוותיו She'amnam ha'klalos ba'os ki lo shamata b'kol Hashem Elokecha lishmor mitzvosav. True that the curses, the punishment comes because we neglected Hashem. אך בכל זאת הרי היה בידו של אדם לקחת עצמו ולשוב בתשובה בכוח האהבה והשמחה Ach b'chol zos harei hayah b'yado shel adam lakachas atzmo v'lashuv b'teshuvah b'koach ha'ahavah v'ha'simcha. היא הממתקת כל הדינים Hi ha'mamtikes kol ha'dinim. But we can sweeten, we can we can lessen the harshness of the punishment, if we would just now return and restore a sense of love and a sense of longing. נמצא שבאתם כל העונשים באים תחת אשר לא עבדת את השם אלוקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב Nimtza she'b'etzem kol ha'onshim ba'im tachas asher lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav. Are we miserable for פנים bissen and negative Jews? I wish I didn't have to keep שבת Shabbos, but I got to do it. I wish I didn't have to keep כשר kosher, there's so many restaurants I'd want to go to, but what can I do? I wish I lived a country club life, but נבך nebach, I have to live an observant Torah life because otherwise I'm afraid or I'm scared or there's social pressure, or that's what my family's done or whatever. What kind of love, what kind of life, what kind of marriage is that to השם יתברך Hashem Yisbarach? This is supposed to be a romantic relationship with Hashem. Confide in him, and we and we trust him, and we experience a rendezvous with him and intimacy with him and love with him and longing for him. It's supposed to be there's supposed to be romance. So when we do these מצוות mitzvos, when we come to do these מצוות mitzvos, we're doing them with a sense of love. מה שהיה ביד לסכן ולתקן שלא בא כבעת שיש ליהודי Mah shehayah b'yad l'saken u'l'taken she'lo ba k'va'es she'yesh l'Yehudi, שאין לאף אחד מאומות העולם she'ein l'af echad me'umos ha'olam, וראוי לחביבות ואהבה מכסים על כל פשעים v'ra'ui l'chivivus v'ahavah mechasim al kol p'sha'im. This is something that only we have. This is something that only we have. You know, like your wife's best friend crossed her and did something terrible to her, it's not enough that now she says something nice and affectionate to her. That doesn't make up for it. Only when you're an insider, when you're a husband, and you have a shared history and a shared connection and a shared destiny, can you compensate and make up for some missed things on the checklist with a little חביבות chavivus, a little romance, a little love. Again, it's not to suggest that you can sugarcoat, right? You can't really mess up and then just buy some chocolates and flowers and everything goes away. But it means that even the things that you're doing now that are not just superficial, chocolates and flowers, but are real, are done with a חביבות chavivus. So we, the Jewish people, are the inside track with the רבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam. We can be forgiven for the mistakes we've made if when we come back, what we do, we do with more sincerity, mindfulness, presence, with more love than ever before. And this is what it says in the ספרים הקדושים משיב מדרש תחת אשר לא עבדת את השם אלוקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב Sfarim ha'kedoshim mesheiv Midrash, tachas asher lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav. זה עונג שבת Zeh oneg Shabbos. What is it talking about when it says that you you mailed it in, you didn't live with joy? שבת Shabbos. והנה כמו שאם חטאת כבר ולא שמעת בקול השם אלוקיך לשמור מצוותיו V'hinei k'mo she'im chatasa kvar v'lo shamata b'kol Hashem Elokecha lishmor mitzvosav, הרי יש לך את כוח התשובה של שבת קודש harei yesh l'cha es koach ha'teshuvah shel Shabbos kodesh, בבחינת אז תתענג על השם המכסה על כל פשעים b'vchinas az tisaneg al Hashem ha'mechaseh al kol p'sha'im. Yes, during the week you messed up. You ate without making a ברכה brachah, you looked at things on the internet you shouldn't have looked at, you forwarded jokes you shouldn't have forwarded, you did things in business you shouldn't whatever the examples are. During the week we messed up, we spoke לשון הרע lashon hara, it's hard, it's very hard. The יצר הרע yetzer hara is an incredibly powerful force, we messed up. But come שבת קודש Shabbos kodesh, and now you get to see the best version of you, the real version of you. The weekday, ווכדיקע vochedike version of you, the version of you that's trying to earn enough money to pay the bills, that's trying to get through the day, that's trying to succeed in overcoming the temptations of the internet. The weekday version of you, that doesn't necessarily represent the real us or the best version of us. But שבת Shabbos, שבת Shabbos is the best version of us. שבת Shabbos is when we are disconnected from those distractions, from those temptations, when we are immersed. שבת Shabbos is when you have time to learn, to sing, to listen, to דאווען daven. There's no rush, there's no place to be, there's no to-do list, there's no work to be done. שבת Shabbos is that potential for the best version of ourselves, and that's why the מדרש Midrash says when you don't do so בשמחה ובטוב לבב b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav, that was שבת Shabbos. If you blow that chance of שבת Shabbos, the week, 24 hours in a week, we have an עיר מקלט ir miklat, we have a city of refuge, 24 hours a week, we have a safe space to go to, called שבת Shabbos. Take advantage of it. אף אם חטאת כבר ולא שמעת Af im chatasa kvar v'lo shamata, even if you made a mistake and you didn't, now you can overcome. ולכן אף אם עבד עבודה זרה כדור אנוש אחר כך שומר שבת כהלכתו מוחלין לו V'lachen af im avad avodah zarah k'dor Enosh achar kach shomer Shabbos k'hilchaso mochlin lo. The גמרא Gemara says even if you worshipped idols like the generation of אנוש Enosh, but then you kept שבת Shabbos, you're forgiven. Really? That's a bit that what? All week you you worship idols and you keep שבת Shabbos. Not it means that you you you tapped into the power of שבת Shabbos. ולכך במצות כשופר שעניינו המתקת הדינים V'lachach b'mitzvos k'shofar she'inyano hamtakas ha'dinim, הרי יותר מעצם המצוה מתערבב יותר השטן בגודל החביבות שישראל בקיום המצוה harei yoser me'etzem ha'mitzvah mis'arbev yoser haSatan b'godel hachivivus she'Yisrael b'kiyem ha'mitzvah. שהוא ממתקת כל הדינים She'hu mamtikes kol ha'dinim. So the standing, the sitting, the mixing it up with the שופר shofar is all to confuse the שטן Satan. What we're showing him is that we're not just passively listening to the שופר shofar, curious whether the בעל תוקע ba'al tokea is going to mess up, will he get it, how look how red his face is, look how big his cheeks are. We're not just passively listening, we're closing our eyes, and the alarm of the שופר shofar is arousing us, it's awakening us. Like the רמב\"ם Rambam, עורו עורו מישינתכם uru uru mi'sheinaschem. Awaken from your slumber, from your sleep. Stop sleepwalking through life. Basically, you can be doing all the right things and sleepwalking through your marriage and sleepwalking through work and sleepwalking through your relationship with Hashem. At the end of the day, did you put a check next to everything you were supposed to? Yes. Does it make you a good boy? Maybe. But it doesn't make you a good husband, it doesn't make you a good a good businessman, it doesn't make you a good servant of Hashem. It doesn't make you really present in the relationship. You can't vote present. You know, in Congress you can vote present. But in a relationship, you can't just vote present. You got to affirm, you got to you got to vote positively. You got to more than just show up. תחת אשר לא עבדת את השם אלוקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב Tachas asher lo avadta es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'v'tuv leivav. So שבת Shabbos is the prime example of not just showing up, not just voting present, present, I'm present, I didn't do מלאכה melachah, I did the מצות mitzvos, present, fine. No, it's the time to really experience a honeymoon with Hashem. It's an opportunity at the end of each week and the beginning of the coming week, and this period of אלול Elul, בכלל b'chlal, in general, is a time to review everything we're doing so we're not just doing it as a checklist, but we are energizing it and empowering it with a sense of meaning, a sense of presence, a sense of affection, a sense of love, a sense of passion, a sense of excitement for what we're doing. Remember the first time you put on תפילין tefillin as a בר מצוה bar mitzvah boy? Putting it on, I didn't get it right, did it again. Oh, what does it mean? What does it represent? What's the symbolism? On the arm, on the head, וארשתיך לי לעולם v'erastich li l'olam, saying the words, looking in the mirror, getting it just right. And now, do you even remember you wore תפילין tefillin? That sounds familiar. I think I put תפילין tefillin on. I remember bringing my תפילין tefillin back to shul. But do you really do you remember the presence of just for a moment? It's brought down by the ספרים sfarim when you put on your טלית tallis, להתעטף בציצית l'his'atef b'tzitzis, that you're not just draping yourself like an Arab merchant and wrapping it around your head, but the moment when you make the ברכה brachah and you actually wrap yourself, you're supposed to. feel the ריבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam's giving you a hug. You are encased in השם'ס Hashem's love. You feel his embrace. So when you're running it in and you slap it on and you quickly, who has time for that? But when you put it on, and you're supposed to wait כדי הילוך ד' אמות k'dei hiluch daled amos, the time it takes to walk six feet, which is very little. But you feel it wrapped around you and you just take a moment to feel that love. You woke up that day. You woke up that morning. Are things going well? How's your family? Do you have a roof? You have a job to go to? Do you have a car to get to שול shul? Do you have a good day planned ahead with things that you look forward to? Feel the love of השם Hashem. It's romance. Just like marriages and just like relationships can get stale, and they need an injection of passion and of love and of romance, so too our relationship with השם Hashem. And that's אלול Elul. אני לדודי ודודי לי Ani l'dodi v'dodi li, is not just to be mailing it in, but to inject a sense of passion into our relationship as well.
