Transcript
Good morning everyone. I want to thank our sponsors this morning, Zeldi and Benji Henner, in honor of the 95th birthday of their beloved grandfather, Egan Henner, and in honor of the BRS security team. And I'll add Benji just had some surgery, should have a רפואה שלמה refuah shleima, a complete and speedy recovery. Very grateful to them for their sponsorship. It's so great to have them in our community. They moved recently.Okay, this week we have the privilege of reading פרשת נצבים Parshas Nitzavim. It's a short פרשה parsha, but an action-packed פרשה parsha. Very inspiring פרשה parsha and a very timely פרשה parsha. Because נצבים Nitzavim really, we said about all of ספר דברים Sefer Devarim, many have said long before me, but נצבים Nitzavim in particular is really a מוסר ספר mussar sefer. The פרשה parsha itself, you don't have to open מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim or שערי תשובה Shaarei Teshuvah. You just have to listen to the פרשה parsha of the שבת Shabbos. Just read the פרשה parsha, listen with open ears, listen with an open heart, and the messages are so penetrating, they're so deep, and they're so powerful, that hopefully they are also so transformative. We're on page 1086 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. The פרשה parsha begins: אתם נצבים היום כולכם לפני השם אלוקיכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem lifnei Hashem Elokeichem. Reminds us, Moshe tells the people, you're all standing this day before Hashem, the leaders of your tribes, ראשיכם שבטיכם זקניכם ושוטריכם כל איש ישראל rasheichem shivteichem zikneichem v'shotreichem kol ish Yisrael, everyone. טפכם נשיכם וגרך אשר בקרב מחניך tapchem n'sheichem v'gercha asher b'kerev machanecha, מחטב עציך עד שואב מימיך mei'choteiv eitzecha ad sho'eiv meimecha. From woodcutters and water carriers, you have the aristocracy, the wealthy, the prestigious, the less prestigious. This is all about our diversity and our unity. Everyone is represented. אתם נצבים היום כולכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. You're all here. Everyone is here. For the Jewish people to be functional, for הקדוש ברוך הוא's HaKadosh Baruch Hu's vision for his world to be realized, it only can be fulfilled with a proper balance between our diversity and our unity, the recognition of all.Now, who is listed in this wonderful list? Men, women, children, the heads of the tribes, but included or singled out is גרך אשר בקרב מחניך gercha asher b'kerev machanecha, the convert who's in your camp. And I just want to spend one moment on this before we really get into the פרשה parsha. Because I think it's very significant, גרך אשר בקרב מחניך gercha asher b'kerev machanecha, the convert who is in your camp. I was talking recently, I have the privilege of working with our regional בית דין beis din for conversion. We are a subsidiary of the בית דין beis din of America, the RCA's umbrella, and we run the South Florida בית דין beis din for conversion, and we meet regularly, a group of רבנים rabbonim, pure volunteers, and meet every single month. And we're involved tomorrow, we're doing two conversions tomorrow, helping two people realize their dream of becoming Jewish before the new year, going into ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah as members of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. So I was talking to someone we converted several years ago last week. And very sadly, she was telling me about a boy she was dating, but whose family wouldn't really accept her, wouldn't really endorse the שידוך shidduch. Why? Because she's a convert. And it was so deeply troubling because not only are we enjoined to show love, אהבת ישראל ahavas Yisrael, to every Jew, but the most often repeated מצוה mitzvah in the entire Torah is ואהבתם את הגר v'ahavtem es ha'ger, is the מצוה mitzvah, the obligation, the responsibility to be particularly sensitive and loving to the convert. הלוואי halevai we should line up for the opportunity to make a שידוך shidduch, to welcome somebody who's chosen to be a Jew. Somebody who had the freedom to only have to keep seven מצוות mitzvos and takes upon themselves the yoke of 613, that we are born into it but somebody who elects. Last, I think it was last week's פרשה parsha class, I don't remember which classes anymore, but we spoke about the notion of היום hayom, of re-accepting Torah anew every day, and the פיאסצ'נא רבי's Piaseczna Rebbe's dream, if only he could have converted to Judaism, says to the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, \"So sad I was born a Jew. If I could have showed you my love by choosing, by electing to become a Jew.\" So here Rabbi Soloveitchik points out in his חומש Chumash, the new חומש Chumash that came out just recently on ספר דברים Sefer Devarim, that the Torah in this whole list, גרך אשר בקרב מחנה gercha asher b'kerev machaneh, it doesn't say and the תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim and the great צדיקים tzaddikim and the צדקניות tzidkaniyos, the תהילים זאגערס Tehillim zagers, and the people who say תיקון חצות Tikkun Chatzos, and the people who שׁאַקל shokel the hardest, and the people who... It doesn't give that in the list. Who does it single out in this list? אתם נצבים היום Atem nitzavim hayom, look around, know whom you're standing with, and before God you connect with, and who's listed, who's singled out? גרך אשר בקרב מחניך Gercha asher b'kerev machanecha. Writes the Rav, \"A convert is considered to be a Jew in every way. He too must receive both types of sanctity, that of the patriarchs and the sanctity of the self.\" In the previous piece, which I'm not reading to you, the Rav talks about אתם נצבים היום כולכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem, that we are all, we all have a relationship with Hashem because of a dual responsibility as descendants of ancestors who entered a contract with Hashem. We turn to our אבות ואמהות avos v'imahos, our patriarchs and matriarchs, but also individually and independently, we've developed our own relationship. אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו Elokeinu v'Elokei avoseinu, we begin the עמידה Amidah every day. You are our God, ואלוקי אבותינו v'Elokei avoseinu, and also the God of our forefathers. So even the convert's included in that dual relationship, having earned his own relationship with Hashem, but also having a relationship through ancestors. So you'll ask, how can a convert assume the sanctity of the patriarchs? He doesn't descend. He goes on ancestry.com or whatever genealogical website, get whatever email from the family who keeps you abreast of all the recent שמחות smachos and birthdays and the like. And he doesn't connect. He's not on our family tree, she's not on our family tree. So how can they legitimately or accurately say, ואלוקי אבותינו v'Elokei avoseinu? Where's the covenant of the patriarchs? Says the Rav from the precept based on the פסוק pasuk, because אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu was made an אב המון גוים av hamon goyim, ah, he's the father of many nations. It has been ruled that a convert should pray to Hashem with the same familiar formula, אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו Elokeinu v'Elokei avoseinu. Upon converting, the convert formally assumes the heritage of sanctity which belongs to all of Israel, as an integral part of the nation concerning whom it is written, \"For you are a holy people to Hashem.\" A convert assumes sanctity of the self by accepting upon himself the yoke of the commandments. Through this acceptance, he undergoes a re-enactment, אתם נצבים היום כולכם atem nitzavim hayom kulchem, an assemblage which explicitly included גרך אשר בקרב מחניך gercha asher b'kerev machanecha.The רמב\"ן Ramban on the Torah suggests that even later converts were included in the covenant made with every individual who is part of the congregation of Israel. Otherwise, the convert would lack one of the two types of sanctities which distinguish the Jew. Such exclusion is not possible. Converts judged by the same laws as every other Israelite. So the convert is equally included as a beautiful זוהר Zohar which says that every convert's soul actually was present at הר סיני Har Sinai. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, who is timeless, understands which souls were destined to make the extraordinary choice of joining the Jewish people. Those souls too were present at הר סיני Har Sinai, which is another explanation or defense of why they're entitled to see themselves as part of of בקרב מחנך b'kerev machanecha, that are part of the calculation of אתם נצבים היום כולכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem, of those who are standing before us. So it's just a reminder that גרך אשר בקרב מחניך gercha asher b'kerev machanecha, the convert is called out, that we have to be especially sensitive, loving, accepting, warm, and eager to enable, to integrate all of those wonderful, wonderful people who have converted and who inspire us. רש\"י Rashi on this opening פסוק pasuk, אתם נצבים היום כולכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. I probably mention this דבר תורה dvar Torah every year. If you've been in this class, you noticed that I have some favorite דברי תורה divrei Torah that every year I encounter that פרשה parsha, to me it informs that פרשה parsha, it inspires me. So רש\"י Rashi here says that we stood before Hashem, אתם נצבים היום כולכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. It's not the first Rashi, it's a few Rashis in, I'll tell it to you outside, and רש\"י Rashi says, isn't it amazing, what's the connection, the סמיכת פרשיות smichus parshiyos? What's the juxtaposition at the end of last week's פרשה parsha we had the תוכחה tochacha, the harsh rebuke, and the beginning of this week's פרשה parsha, Moshe says, אתם נצבים היום כולכם atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. You're all standing here. So רש\"י Rashi says, what happens? The people say, \"Moshe, did you hear that? What you just delivered to us, what you just transmitted was essentially a threat from Hashem. Who can meet his expectations? Who will survive? We're all going to suffer. We're going to suffer the תוכחה tochacha, the heinous, graphic consequence of disobeying Hashem, who can survive?\" To which Moshe turns and says, \"Ah, relax. אתם נצבים היום כולכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. You've blown it before and here you are standing today.\" So clearly, you did okay, you made it till now, you're good.The מפרשים meforshim point out, is משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu calling the רבונו של עולם's Ribono shel Olam's bluff? This is like a parent says, \"Look, if you do this one more time, one more time, you're not going to...\" One of my heroes, I won't mention his name because I won't embarrass him, a member of our שול shul. I'll tell you the story, that's why he's my hero. Because only he would do this. Only he would actually pull this off. Took his kids to Disney when they were young, and they were fighting the whole way. And finally, as they're pulling into the park, which you spend extraordinary money to buy tickets and to pay for the parking pass and to make the arrangements, as they're pulling into the park, he says, \"If you fight one more time, if I hear one more time a fight from the back seat, I'm turning this car around. I'm not doing it. I'm not spending the day or days with you.\" So they pull into the parking lot, they pull into the spot, and the kids in the fight in the back get into another fight. He, without turning the car off, he puts the car in reverse and drives back to Boca. It's my hero. My total hero. So, he's my hero because he actually did it. I'll tell you, next time he said, \"If you fight one more time,\" I guarantee his kids did not fight again. I can guarantee it. So what happens with most parents? We say, \"You do it one more, one more time, I'm going to take away your technology, you're going to be in time out, you're not going to the party, I'm not...\" And the older brother looks at the younger brother and says, \"Ah, we've heard that before. They always say that, the one more time.\" So משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu is telling us, \"Ah, the תוכחה tochacha, אתם נצבים היום כולכם atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. You're standing here today, you're good, you're breathing, it's all good. Don't, relax, don't worry, it's not so terrible.\" Could Moshe be calling out the רבונו של עולם's Ribono shel Olam's bluff? How could it be? Moshe is the mouthpiece of Hashem. Moshe is the one who encourages the word of Hashem.The מפרשים meforshim point out, what was Moshe telling them? חלילה chalila, he wasn't calling Hashem's bluff. He's not undermining Hashem. What was משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu saying? Do you know when the תוכחה tochacha applies? When you're a group of individuals, when you're isolated, when you're apart, when you're separate. When each of you is measured alone, you come before Hashem and you fail and you disobey him, you neglect him, you don't meet the expectations of him. So then, the harsh תוכחה tochacha, the harsh rebuke, that's going to be your consequence. But if אתם נצבים היום כולכם atem nitzavim hayom kulchem, if you stand together today, if you come together as a community, הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu will judge you differently. Because we complement one another and we supplement one another, and we rise together as one. And then, look then, we will be able to surpass even the threat of the תוכחה tochacha. He wasn't calling Hashem's bluff nor undermining him. He was saying, when does the תוכחה tochacha apply, when do you have to fear? When you're alone. But if you connect and combine with community, and that's what the מפרשים meforshim say, what's the היום hayom, is ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah. אתם נצבים היום Atem nitzavim hayom, if you're standing היום hayom, come to community, be part of community, be involved in community, and when we do, that's when we can triumph in דין din. That's when we can triumph. But I saw another פשט pshat this year. So that's the דבר תורה dvar Torah I quote every single year. But I saw another פשט pshat, which is that what משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was telling them is that Hashem is forgiving. The תוכחה tochacha is true. When Hashem says that he meant it. But you know what? We're about to invoke the י\"ג מדות yud gimmel middos. We've started saying סליחות slichos. השם השם קל רחום וחנון Hashem Hashem Kel rachum v'chanun and so on. We don't just say them. The גמרא Gemara in ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah doesn't say אמרו לפני imru l'fanai, it says יעשו לפני ya'asu l'fanai. Don't just repeat the 13 attributes of Hashem, imitate them, walk in His ways. And among those attributes of Hashem is he's רב חסד rav chesed, he's נושא עון ופשע nosei avon v'fesha. He's קל רחום וחנון Kel rachum v'chanun, he's ארך אפיים erech apayim, he's slow to anger, he's forgiving. If you take the time, the תומר דבורה Tomer Devorah, ספר תומר דבורה Sefer Tomer Devorah goes through each of these attributes and explains, they're not pure synonyms, what do they each mean? The deep beauty and the deep meaning of each of them. But we have a mandate of והלכת בדרכיו v'halachta b'drachav, ובו תדבק u'vo sidbak, we have to cling to Hashem, we walk in His way, we emulate Him. If we want to succeed this time of year, then we should mold and shape our lives to be more like Hashem. And maybe what רש\"י Rashi is saying at the beginning of this פרשה parsha is that when we imitate Hashem by being forgiving and by being foregoing, and not standing on ceremony, and not necessarily always following through. I'm not talking about parenting now, because parenting it's really important to follow through, you can't make empty threats. But it means in the relationship with our lives, not to be so, so calculating, such accountants keeping a spreadsheet, but rather to be forgiving. We spoke about last week in a שיעור shiur on anger. Not to be accountants who have a spreadsheet of everyone who ever hurt me and the people who always injured me, and who didn't, who gave a present to my children that was less money than the present I gave their children, and the שמחה simcha and the family invitations, how many times I had them versus how many times they had me. But כל המעביר על מדותיו מעבירין לו כל עונותיו kol ha'maavir al midosav ma'avirin lo kol avonosav. If we're forgiving, Hashem will be forgiving of us. If we're foregoing of כבוד kavod, if we don't stand on ceremony, Hashem won't stand on ceremony with us. And maybe that's what the beginning of our פרשה parsha, אתם נצבים היום כולכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. Moshe wasn't calling Hashem's bluff, but Moshe was reminding us that we should be like Hashem. That enable people to stand before us, give a second chance, that despite the threat of a תוכחה tochacha, that they can somehow nevertheless go on.The פרשה parsha is very short. It warns against idolatry. We have the prediction that ultimately we will return. We've spoken about it at length in the past. You could listen online on YU Torah. At length about this prediction, כי יבוא עליך ki yavo alecha, that we're going to return, והשבות v'hasheivosa, ושבת עד השם אלוקיך v'shavta ad Hashem Elokecha. עד Ad. ושבת עד v'shavta ad. Is it עד ולא עד בכלל ad v'lo ad b'chlal? עד ולא עד בכלל ad v'lo ad b'chlal. You're going to return עד ad, until. Just before, not all the way. What does that mean? That's what we discussed in the past. As I said, you can listen online. And we have the מקור makor for the מצוה mitzvah of תשובה teshuvah, the מקור makor for the idea of וידוי vidui. לא בשמים היא Lo bashamayim hi, מי יעלה לנו השמימה mi ya'aleh lanu hashamayma? Where is it? בפיך ובלבבך b'ficha u'vilvavcha. The Ramban says, בפיך b'ficha. So what's בפיך b'ficha? וידוי vidui. When we confess, when we articulate our mistakes, we express remorse for it in the past and regret, we make a commitment going forward in the future. What I want to study together, this week we're going to actually get to our פסוקים psukim, is the end of the פרשה parsha. It's on page 1092 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash, and it's פרק ל' פסוק ט\"ז perek lamed, pasuk tes vov. The end of the פרשה parsha. פרק ל' פסוק ט\"ז Perek lamed, pasuk tes vov. ראה נתתי לפניך היום את החיים ואת הטוב ואת המות ואת הרע Re'eh nasati l'fanecha hayom es hachaim v'es hatov v'es hamaves v'es hara. As I said, this is a מוסר ספר mussar sefer. It's a מוסר ספר mussar sefer. I've placed before you today life and good and death and evil. אשר אנכי מצוך היום לאהבה את השם אלוקיך ללכת בדרכיו ולשמור מצותיו וחקותיו ומשפטיו Asher anochi metzavcha hayom l'ahava es Hashem Elokecha laleches b'drachav v'lishmor mitzvosav v'chukosav u'mishpatav. I command you today to love Hashem, to walk in His ways, to observe his commandments, וחיית ורבית וברכך השם אלוקיך בארץ אשר אתה בא שמה לרשתה v'chisah v'ravisah u'veirachacha Hashem Elokecha ba'aretz asher atah va shamah l'rishtah. You're about to go into this land. And if you want to inhabit it, you want to live a long life, a blessed life, a rich life, not materially rich, but meaningfully rich, then you need to embrace and fulfill and follow through on the formula that Hashem has given. ואם יפנה לבבך ולא תשמע ונדחת והשתחווית לאלהים אחרים ועבדתם V'im yifneh l'vavcha v'lo sishma v'nidachta v'hishtachavisa l'elohim acheirim v'avad'tam. You're gonna worship celebrities and athletes and money and style and fashion. You're gonna assimilate your values into the host nation, to the secular culture, into society. הגדתי לכם היום Higadeti lachem hayom. So listen to me, I am telling you today, I'm making you a promise as Moshe. Listen and listen carefully. If that's what you do, אבוד תאבדון avod toveidun, you will disappear. You will be lost. לא תאריכון ימים על האדמה אשר אתה עובר את הירדן לבוא שמה לרשתה Lo sa'arichun yamim al ha'adamah asher atah oveir es haYarden lavo shamah l'rishtah. You're not going to have longevity, you're not going to live a long life. Are we not sadly seeing this prediction come true in our lives?We had a panel on מוצאי שבת Motzaei Shabbos, a community conversation with rabbis called 'Behind the פרוכת Paroches.' Life in the rabbinate. Ben Friedman did a great job. We went through a gazillion questions, our panel of rabbis. And one of the questions that he asked was about how we see the future and we're talking about the levels of assimilation. Or I think he asked us to summarize in one word, what gives us the most fear about the future for the Jewish people. And each of us gave our answer. What's the biggest threat? And I said it's freedom. Freedom has given us incredible opportunity and ברכה bracha and it's also, it's also creating unprecedented challenges. Because when the rest of the world reminded us we were Jews, through pogroms and inquisitions and expulsions, not that we welcome it or want it, God forbid, חס ושלום chas v'shalom, God forbid. But they didn't, they didn't give us the opportunity. We didn't have the chance to assimilate, to integrate. That wasn't an option. That wasn't an alternative. And in America, we are accomplishing more than Hitler ever dreamt of. Because there's a disappearance of American Jewry. The statistics and the data all show, it's exactly, הגדתי לכם היום higadeti lachem hayom, Moshe says, 'I promise you that what happens, ואם יפנה לבבך ולא תשמע v'im yifneh l'vavcha v'lo sishma, if you don't listen to what makes you new, uniquely Jewish, והשתחווית לאלהים אחרים v'hishtachavisa l'elohim acheirim, and you assimilate your values and you want to fit in, you want to be like everybody else, and you, your priorities and your life choices and your judgment is all influenced by the people around you, you will be lost. You're going to be lost. And we're losing our people, sadly, tragically. העדותי בכם היום את השמים ואת הארץ Ha'idosi vachem hayom es hashamayim v'es ha'aretz. The heavens and the earth testify today. We're gonna go through this all in a moment. החיים והמות נתתי לפניך הברכה והקללה Hachaim v'hamaves nasati l'fanecha habracha v'haklalah. I placed life and death before you, blessing and curse. ובחרת בחיים U'vacharta bachaim, choose life, למען תחיה אתה וזרעך L'ma'an tichyeh atah v'zar'echa. Everyone's stumbling around looking for happiness. And I'm giving you the formula. I've placed it before you, says Hashem. I'm telling you how to interact with food and time and relationships and sexuality and morality and fashion and modesty. I've given you the formula. Choose life. You want meaning and purpose and fulfillment? Not pleasure and not making it easy. We've said countless times, a life of Torah, a life of observance doesn't take away the challenges of loneliness and fertility, of illness, of disease, of financial crisis, but it gives us the tools to navigate them. ובחרת בחיים U'vacharta bachaim, choose life. לאהבה את השם אלוקיך לשמוע בקולו ולדבקה בו L'ahava es Hashem Elokecha lishmoa b'kolo u'l'davka vo. Love Hashem, listen to his voice, cling to him. Hashem says, 'Stick with me.' You could ignore me, pretend I don't exist, and try to figure it out on your own, and you know what? You're going to get addicted to substances, you're going to be searching for happiness, you're going to be empty inside. כי הוא חייך ואורך ימיך Ki hu chayecha v'orech yamecha. It's your life, it's your longevity. לשבת על האדמה אשר נשבע השם לאבותיך לאברהם ליצחק וליעקב לתת להם Lasheves al ha'adamah asher nishba Hashem la'avosecha l'Avraham l'Yitzchak u'l'Yaakov lases lahem. Are these last פסוקים psukim of פרשת נצבים Parshas Nitzavim not a מוסר ספר mussar sefer, not an incredible reminder of how to calibrate and align our lives? Unbelievable. So let's go back and take a look. ראה נתתי לפניך Re'eh nasati l'fanecha. Hashem says, \"Look, see, I've placed before you today, החיים והטוב hachaim v'hatov, life and good, המות והרע hamaves v'hara.\" What are each of these things?So Rashi says, את החיים ואת הטוב es hachaim v'es hatov, זה תלוי בזה zeh talui b'zeh. One depends on the other. אם תעשה את הטוב הרי לך חיים Im ta'aseh es hatov harei l'cha chaim. If you do good, then you are really alive, you have life. ואם תעשה רע הרי לך המות V'im ta'aseh ra harei l'cha hamaves. And if you do poor, bad, הרי לך המות harei l'cha hamaves. ובקצרה מפרש והולך היאך U'viktzara mefaresh v'holech heiach. So what's bothering Rashi? Every Rashi you read, Rashi's answering a question. There's a book, a series of books called 'What's bothering Rashi'. Rashi is always answering a question. Something was bothering him, something provoked or stimulated his comment. His comment is not a comment, it's an answer. And he usually omits the question. It's up to us to figure out what was bothering him, what was his question, and he's giving an answer. So what was his question? Oh. Why is the order a question? Who said that? Why is the order a question? Oh, the contrast is not set up properly as a contrast. How should the פסוק pasuk be presented if it's properly contrasting these things? חיים ו... chaim v'.... I place before you life or death. Good or bad. That was good. Well done, people. Getting ready. חיים ומות, טוב ורע Chaim u'maves, tov v'ra. It's not, it doesn't, it doesn't stylistically work. It doesn't create a contrast. It should be I place before you life or death, not life and good, evil and, and death, death and evil. So why did he present it in this way? So look at the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim. The שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim is a commentary on Rashi. So the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim writes, קשה לרש\"י היה לו לומר דבר והיפוכו, את החיים ואת המות, את הטוב ואת הרע, כדבסמוך kasheh l'Rashi, haya lo lomar davar v'hipucho, es hachaim v'es hamaves, es hatov v'es hara, k'd'b'samuch. In a few פסוקים psukim, in a פסוק י\"ט pasuk yud tes, look at פסוק י\"ט pasuk yud tes, that's how we have it down there. החיים והמות, הברכה והקללה Hachaim v'hamaves, habracha v'haklalah. So why doesn't he present it here as contrast, as opposites, juxtapose it? ועוד קשה, ראה נתתי, דמשמע ביד הקדוש ברוך הוא הוא מסע אדם וזה אינו, שהמרא הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים. לכן פירש זה תלוי בזה V'od kasheh, re'eh nasati, d'mashma b'yad HaKadosh Baruch Hu hu masa adam v'zeh eino, she'hamra hakol bidei shamayim chutz m'yiras shamayim. Lachen peireish, zeh talui b'zeh. שאם תעשה, פירש אם תעשה מעצמך הטוב, אתן לך אני את החיים. אם תעשה אתה הרע, אתן לך את המות. כי בידך לבחור מהטוב ומהרע ואיזה שתירצה תבחר. She'im ta'aseh, peirush im ta'aseh mei'atzmecha hatov, eten l'cha ani es hachaim. Im ta'aseh atah hara, eten l'cha es hamaves. Ki b'yadcha livchor mei'hatov u'mei'hara v'eizeh she'tirtzeh tivchar. What do you mean life and death are not up to us? Everything הכל בידי שמים hakol bidei shamayim. Everything's in Hashem's hands. Everything. So why is the פסוק pasuk presenting as if we have free will, as if we have free choice? Because we do. What's the one thing we have free will about? הכל בידי שמים חוץ מ... יראת שמים Hakol bidei shamayim chutz mei... yiras shamayim.I wrote about it, we put out our second volume of ידים Yadran, the Torah journal of the Dr. Yitzhak Balzan בית מדרש Beis Medrash of the BRS. We're grateful to our sponsors. Thick volume, by many articles from prestigious תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim and גדולי ישראל gedolei Yisrael and local otherwise people. So I wrote an article about יראת שמים yiras shamayim and we referenced this גמרא Gemara, הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים hakol bidei shamayim chutz m'yiras shamayim. Everything's in Hashem's hands. The only choice we make, the only choice, we don't get to choose how tall, how short, our IQ, our memory, how athletic, how artistic. We don't get to choose whether we're born in the 20th or the 21st century or we were born in the 14th or 15th century, whether you're born in Eastern Europe or in America or South America, a time of persecution, a time of freedom. We don't get to choose all these things predispose our entire lives. So much of our life is pre-programmed based on the talents, the skills, the character traits, the DNA that we were given, the socioeconomic status that we're born into. So much of our lives are pre-programmed. What's the only choice that we make? What's left? What's left? On the one hand, it's disheartening because we think we're choosing. We're not choosing barely anything about our lives. It's all pre-designed. What's the one thing we're choosing? יראת שמים Yiras shamayim. What do I do with all of that? What do I do with that what I've been predisposed, the talents, the gifts, the skills, the situation, the status? What am I doing with it all? The meaning, the fulfillment, the life I live, the יראת שמים yiras shamayim component, that's the thing I choose. That's what I am down my life with. So says Rashi in the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim, that's what the פסוק pasuk is telling me. What am I choosing? What I'm choosing is חיים chaim. If I choose life, meaning a life that includes יראת שמים yiras shamayim, if the decisions of my life are calculated based on what does Hashem want from me, what is he asking of me, what will give him נחת רוח nachas ruach, what will make him proud, then את הטוב es hatov, then I have good, then I have happiness, then I have joy. ואת המות ואת הרע v'es hamaves v'es hara. But you could be dead while you're alive. A selfish life is a life of death. A self-centered life, a life in which you've eliminated the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam. I'll tell you another beautiful insight I saw from Rav Zilberstein. He quotes a ספר sefer, מאיר עיני ישראל Meir Einei Yisrael, a ספר sefer about the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim. And towards the end of the חפץ חיים's Chofetz Chaim's life, the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim was frail, and he wasn't davening in the ישיבה yeshiva in Radin, they made a מנין minyan for him in his home. But on one of the days of ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah at the end of his life, he said, \"I have something to say. I want to come into the בית מדרש beis medrash and I just want to say one quick message.\" So the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim, Charlie, Charlie, do me a favor. The חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim made an effort and they took him to the בית מדרש beis medrash, and he came into the בית מדרש beis medrash to just deposit, to just say this one thing. What was the one thing that he wanted to say? What are the words that we change in our עמידה Amidah for עשרת ימי תשובה Aseres Yemei Teshuvah? Over and over, זכרנו לחיים מלך חפץ בחיים zachreinu l'chaim melech chafetz b'chaim. We ask Hashem, זכרנו לחיים zachreinu l'chaim, remember us, remember us for life. מלך חפץ בחיים Melech chafetz b'chaim, God who loves life, who wants life. You want life, Hashem. לא המתים יהללוכה lo hameisim y'haleluka. We do not, we don't long for, pine for, admire death. We don't celebrate death. Those are evil, evil cultures. And in the משפחה Mishpacha magazine coming out for ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, I have an article where I tell the story of Yocheved's grandfather who was in the concentration camp. He had a special relationship in his barrack with the חווסט רב Chuster Rav who kept him alive, that's a whole other story. Anyway, Yocheved's grandfather died shortly before his 99th birthday, and I asked him earlier in his 90s when he was a young man, I asked him, במה הארכת ימים bameh he'erachta yamim? \"Why do you think, Zaide, why did you merit to live a long life? How did you live a long life? Why do you think you merited to live a long life?\" So he told the story of when he was beaten by the Nazis and he made his way back to the barrack. He always couldn't see out of one eye and he walked with a limp, he carried those injuries his whole life. And he was ready to give up, he wanted to throw himself on the barbed wire, he couldn't imagine living another moment. And the חווסט רב Chuster Rav who was in his barrack stayed up with him all night giving him חזק chizuk, giving him support and encouragement, and said to him, \"You'll see, you'll see, the Nazis will be a distant memory, and you, said you'll see, you'll merit to live a long life, to survive, to have children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will serve Hashem.\" And מכח זה mi'koach zeh, that's exactly what happened.So anyway, he told the story that one, one night in the concentration camp, it was כל נדרי Kol Nidrei night, the חווסט רב Chuster Rav realized and invited some people to a barrack late at night. He was going to lead כל נדרי Kol Nidrei. And he got up before they started davening, he got up before כל נדרי Kol Nidrei, and he asked the following question. We say ספרי חיים וספרי מתים מונחים לפניך sifrei chaim v'sifrei meisim munachim l'fanecha. This time of the year, the books of life and the books of death are open before you. Everyone knows that גמרא Gemara. Everyone knows this is the most moving part of the davening and ונתנה תוקף U'nesaneh Tokef, the imagery of the books of life and the books of death, and which one will be inscribed with? Who will live and who will die and how will we live and how will we die? And he asked, why does it say ספרי חיים וספרי מתים sifrei chaim v'sifrei meisim? Isn't it one book of life and one book of death? ספר חיים וספר מתים Sefer chaim v'sefer meisim. Why ספרי sifrei? Why does it say the books? And he looked at this barrack full of skeletons, full of people who were barely alive. And he said to them, \"Because there's not one way to live and one way to die. You could live with freedom and prosperity, you could live in these camps prisoners and slaves. You could merit to die in a deathbed surrounded by family or you can die in a gas chamber and be burnt in a crematorium.\" And he said, \"Let us דאַווען daven that if we're alive, we merit real life. And that if we're destined to die, we merit, we merit a meaningful, respectful death.\" And with that, he turned to this barrack of skeletons and they began כל נדרי Kol Nidrei. They began כל נדרי Kol Nidrei. There's more to the story, but for another time. The עלשיך Alshich already asked that question, ספרי חיים ספרי מתים sifrei chaim, sifrei meisim, why does it say both? So I suggest the answer is because there's more than one book of life and there's more than one book of death. You could be alive, you could be dead while you're alive. There are people who are sleepwalking through life. There are people who forfeit all meaning of life. There are people whose priorities are misaligned in life. There are people who are dead even while they're alive. And there are people who left such an impact with their lives. There are people who planted such seeds, who gave such investments that they're drawing the returns, their, that which they planted, their saplings are sprouting and blossoming long after they're gone. They live long after they're gone. There's ספרי חיים וספרי מתים sifrei chaim v'sifrei meisim because ultimately the question is which book of life and which book of death are we writing ourselves into?
