Transcript
Okay חבר'ה chevreh, we have the privilege of continuing to learn in נתיבות שלום Nesivos Shalom. Getting back to the great Slonimer Rebbe, פרשת שמות Parshas Shmos. We begin a new safer. ספר שמות Sefer Shmos is an amazing transition from the story of the development of a family into the birth and development of a nation. By the end of ספר בראשית Sefer Bereishis, at least supposedly or superficially, we've worked out some of the tension and conflict and dysfunction of the development of a family, parenting issues, sibling rivalry issues, and now we're ready for the birth of a nation. And the birth of our nation happens not comfortably. It doesn't happen in a in a way which evolve in a way which is comfortable, but in fact, it's the כור הברזל kur habarzel. We're forged and we're formed like metal is heated and refined in the fire. So too the Jewish people are refined, we're formed in the fire of גלות galus, in the depth of מצרים Mitzrayim. So we're going to do this piece in the Slonimer Rebbe. We're actually going to start a little bit into the piece with אות ב' os beis.But the beginning of the piece, just to give you the background, the Slonimer Rebbe is quoting the מאור עינים Meor Einayim of the Chernobyl Rebbe, רב מנחם נחום Rav Menachem Nochum of Chernobyl, who says הנה גלות מצרים היא מדת הדעת היתה בגלות hinei galus Mitzrayim hi midas hada'as haysa b'galus. The idea of גלות galus is not just a physical manifestation. It's not physically being exiled. It's not just the geographic description of being outside of ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, nor is it just a geographic existential description of being in bondage or being in servitude to others, but most of all, גלות galus is a mentality, it's a state of mind. Viktor Frankl made it famous, Man's Search for Meaning, his experience in the Holocaust, that even when the Nazis were able to imprison his body, Man's Search for Meaning is that through our free will, when we choose who we are and how we act and how we respond, we can't always influence the circumstances around us, but we can choose how we respond, how it makes us feel, and the identity that we choose to have. And with that we find meaning even in those circumstances. So that's really what the what the Chernobyl Rebbe was saying, הנה גלות מצרים ומדת הדעת היא בגלות hinei galus Mitzrayim u'midas hada'as hi b'galus. The notion of דעת da'as, our capacity to not only think, our capacity to self-define, self-awareness, mindfulness, intention, all of that is what it means can that can be in exile, or that can be redeemed. Our whole lifestyle. Right, so so we can picture this in our world of of we spoke about this, I spoke about it yesterday morning in the דרשה drasha, but the idea of connectivity. Rav Aaron Lopiansky in this wonderful sefer he wrote this year about being a בן תורה ben Torah, he talks about connectivity, right, the the the a מכה makkah, the plague of our generation with technology. We're always connected, we're always on, we're always accessible. And he says we use this word connectivity, which is such a politically correct word for the fact that we're enslaved to all these to this technology. He said, imagine a dog describes his leash as connectivity. It's not it's not connectivity, it's a leash. So this technology for us is a leash. So when we're always scatterbrained and fragmented and running and chaotic, and we feel anxious and and worried, when we're always absent presence, we're in a million different places at once, so our head, our נשמה's בגלות neshama's b'galus. It's only when we have a מנוחת הנפש menuchas hanefesh. We have a peace and a serenity when we're able to be fully present. Right, that's what we said yesterday from רבי משה לייב מסאסוב Reb Moshe Leib Sassover, that Yaakov gave Ephraim and Menashe the ברכה bracha ויברכם ביום ההוא vayivarchem bayom hahu. What was the ברכה bracha he gave them? ויברכם Vayivarchem. The ברכה bracha was ביום ההוא bayom hahu, to be in the moment, to be present, not to be all over. So that's what the Chernobyl Rebbe is saying, is the גלות of מצרים galus of Mitzrayim was not just the geographic description that we were outside of ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, and the גלות of מצרים galus of Mitzrayim was not just the bondage that we were being enslaved physically and shackled, that we were being persecuted, but the ultimate גלות galus is when we are without דעת da'as, when we don't have the capacity to think, to be, to have a sense of serenity, to exist, when our דעת is בגלות da'as is b'galus. We see it all around us. We have greater freedom than we've ever had, we have greater opportunity than we've ever had, we have greater comfort than we've ever had, had, greater luxury than we've ever had. All the technology, all the ease, washing machines and dishwashers and automated cars and and and speech recognition and Alexa turning on your lights and life is easier than it's ever been and there's more people on anxiety medications and having mental illness than ever before. Why? Because as much as all of that has blessed our lives and given us so much, it's also stolen our דעת da'as. We're just we're not living with the serenity and tranquility that a human being craves and that a human being needs. So we see people all around us who have all the physical freedom in the world and they're living בגלות b'galus. When a person is struggling with not clinical depression, which is a legitimate real illness, but I'm saying struggling with just the anxiety of life and they're in a dark place and describes, they're in exile. They're their brain, their נשמה is בגלות neshama is b'galus, it's in exile. So all of that's background, so let's start this piece. הודיע שלמה מהקשר של הגלות למדת הדעת. ובתורתנו הקדושה ניתקן שגם פרשיות אלו המדברות מעניני גלות וגאולה הם נצחיות ושייכות לכל הדורות בכלל ובפרט Odi'a Shlomo mahakesher shel hagalus l'midas hada'as. u'v'Toraseinu hak'dosha nitkan shegam parshiyos eilu hamedabros m'inyanei galus u'geulah hem nitzchiyos v'shayachos l'chol hadoros b'chlal u'v'prat. Says the Slonimer Rebbe, we're about to embark on Sefer Shmos and we're going to read the story of our going into bondage and the redemption of coming out, and know that it wasn't just part of our ancient past, part of history, but whenever the Torah records something that seems like it's part of history, it's also part of destiny. It's describing not just a piece of the past, but it also is relevant and it also resonates for the present and for the future. And that's why he gives us all these details and all these specifics because we learn and draw from all of them. כלל ופרט Klal u'prat, like that means. Klal means the the broad, the general, and u'prat are the specifics. ולימדנו מהם את גורמי הגלות והגאולה v'lilmodeinu mehem es gormei hagalus v'hageulah. And we can learn from here, we can extrapolate from here what are the causes that bring to this sense of גלות and גאולה galus and geulah, exile and redemption. ומתכסיסי פרעה נלמד מה הגורמים המביאים לגלות, כדכתיב ויקם מלך חדש ויאמר אל עמו הנה עם בני ישראל רב ועצום ממנו פן ירבה U'm'tachsisei Pharaoh nilmad mah hagormim hamevi'im l'galus, k'dichsiv vayakam melech chadash vayomer el amo hinei am bnei Yisrael rav v'atzum mimenu pen yirbeh. From Pharaoh's thoughts, inclinations, his worries, we can understand what brings us to גלות galus. Because the Torah describes, the Torah testifies, ויקם מלך חדש vayakam melech chadash, there was a new king who rose, ויאמר אל עמו vayomer el amo, and he said to his people, הנה עם בני ישראל רב ועצום ממנו פן ירבה hinei am bnei Yisrael rav v'atzum mimenu, pen yirbeh. We got to figure out what to do with these Jewish people. They're about to proliferate, they're about to spread, they're going to promulgate, and they're going to overcome us, they're going to overwhelm us, they're going to rebel against us. So we need a plan. He convened his strategic planning committee. וזה על פי ספרים הקדושים שמלך חדש כוונה ליצר הרע, מלך זקן וכסיל V'zeh al pi s'farim hak'doshim she'melech chadash kavana l'yetzer hara, melech zaken u'ch'sil. What does it mean that a new king arose? We know the famous רש\"י Rashi. Was it the same king but he just forgot Yosef? Was it a new king who never knew Yosef? So the ספרים הקדושים s'farim hak'doshim, חסידות Chasidus tells us what it means this new king arose if we're reading it through this personal lens, not just a historical lens. The new king arose means that our יצר הרע yetzer hara reawakened within us. דכוחות הסטרא אחרא חוששים פן ירבה כח הקדושה. D'kochos hasitra achra chosh'shim pen yirbeh koach hak'dusha. So what is the biggest fear of the יצר הרע yetzer hara? The יצר הטוב yetzer hatov is going to be turned on. That's the biggest fear of the יצר הרע yetzer hara. When the יצר הרע says, oh, he just heard an inspiring שיעור shiur and now he's thinking about going to מנין minyan, being more on time, not talking during דאווענען davening. Now he's thinking about being more honest in business, being more patient at home, being more generous with צדקה tzedakah. When he says, \"Ooh,\" the יצר הרע yetzer hara, he read something, he listened to something, she saw something that's going to inspire them. When the יצר הרע yetzer hara perceives that the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov has been inspired, aroused, that's when the יצר הרע yetzer hara kicks in. ויקם מלך חדש Vayakam melech chadash. פן ירבה, פן יפרוץ pen yirbeh, pen yifrotz. When it sees the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov is about to spread, boom, that's when it kicks in. Because the world was designed as a פסוק in נביא pasuk in Nevi that זה לעומת זה zeh l'umas zeh. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu created equal opposites. If the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov is on fire, then the יצר הרע yetzer hara, in order for us to have a a real free will, there has to be an equilibrium and a balance. So if you're overwhelmed with inspiration and you have no temptation and desire, you haven't really made positive choices. You don't really deserve to be acknowledged or rewarded for making positive choices because you've overwhelmed by your positive inclination. So to keep us honest and to make the free will have a certain sense of balance, זה לעומת זה zeh l'umas zeh, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu created equal opposites. so that there's a a balance, a tension that exists. So when the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov, that's when you have to be careful. That's when you have to look out. The יצר הרע yetzer hara can be dormant, it can be asleep, as long as you're asleep. It doesn't have to really kick in and really lead you down a bad path. But when it sees the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov is being inspired, that's when it goes to work. That when it goes to work. So putting this in more kind of sophisticated or mature terms, not just the image of the angel on one shoulder and the the devil with the pitchfork on the other, but in more mature forms, what it means is that there's a psychological phenomenon where when a person begins to taste success or has a drive towards success, that voice of insecurity, of self-sabotage kicks in. You're not really worthy, you're not really going to accomplish this. Who are you to think that you can do this? It's never really going to happen. So you sabotage your own successes as you begin to taste it. We know people are like this all the time. As soon as they taste, they have a window of success, there's something in them that sabotages it. So their own insecurity or their own feeling of inadequacy or unworthiness. So when the יצר הרע sees the יצר הטוב, it gets a taste of the success, that's when it goes into overdrive and it kicks in. That's the ויקם מלך חדש vayakam melech chadash, it's reawakened. Why? Because פן ירבה פן יפרוץ pen yirbeh, pen yifrotz, it sees the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov is doing good work. ויחזק יצרו מכח הסטרא אחרא על ידי זהב ועושר ועניני הארץ, שהגשמיות ישלוט על הרוחניות. ולכן היתה עצתו וימררו את חייהם בחומר ובלבנים ובכל עבודת פרך. v'yechazek yitzro mikoach hasitra achra al yedei zahav v'osher v'inyanei ha'aretz, shehagashmiyus yishlot al haruchniyus. v'lachen haysa atzato vayemareru es chayeihem b'chomer u'v'leveinim u'v'chol avodas parech. So that's why, what's the what's the strategy of the יצר הרע yetzer hara? What was Pharaoh's strategy? Bitterness. Let me make their lives bitter. Let me give them so much work. Let me overwhelm them with such busyness. This is the plague too of our generation, by the way, busyness. And we shouldn't confuse busyness with productivity. There are a lot of really busy people who are really unproductive. Busyness. I got to finish 10 series on Netflix, I'm so busy. That's the most unproductive thing you could do. That's an extreme example, but people confuse busyness with productivity. It's a terrible mistake. But it's the plague of our generation. People wave it like it's a precious commodity. How are you? Oh, I'm busy, I'm crazy busy. I have no time. I'm so busy. Busyness is גלות galus. When you're over busy and when you're intently busy and you have no serenity and you're not driving your life but you're a passenger in your own life, then that is גלות galus, that is exile. So Pharaoh understands, how can I suppress the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov? You know the best way to suppress the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov is just when you're getting a taste, oh, I'm listening to شيور shiurim on YUTorah, instead of listening to that garbage in the car, I'm listening to شيورים shiurim, I won't say which garbage because we're being recorded, I don't want to embarrass anyone in particular, say a very tall Jew with long hair, but instead of listening to that stuff, for Israel and anti-BDS and anti... I know he's pro-Israel, we're grateful for his pro-Israel. Yeah, exactly. We'll make sure to give him mafter Yonah next Yom Kippur. So, and he has a religious daughter, okay, we know all the wonderful ma'alos, but instead of listening to that narrishkeit at best. So the יצר הטוב says, you know, you're turned on, I just discovered this great shiur on YUTorah on TorahAnytime and I listen every free minute I have. So you know what the יצר הרע does? Makes you really busy. Just when you started going to the shiur or going to minyan or listening to the shiur or volunteering, the יצר הרע kicks in and you this this wicked plague of our generation, busyness. Now וימררו את חייהם בחומר ובלבנים vayemareru es chayeihem b'chomer u'v'leveinim, Pharaoh says, let me make him busy. If you're busy and distracted distracted and anxious, then you have no time for the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov. יש לומר הכוונה בזה שרצה שיהיו שרויים בבלבול הדעת, ולכן וימררו את חייהם, ואז אין כח הקדושה יכול להעיר רמז. yesh lomar hakavana b'zeh she'ratzah she'yihyu shruyim b'bilbul hada'as. v'lachen vayemareru es chayeihem, v'az ein koach hak'dusha yachol l'ha'ir remez. קדושה Kedusha, to experience holiness, you have to have serenity. You have to have a certain peace in your mind. You have to have a certain space to think. You have to have the capacity to experience and to be mindful and to meditate and to dwell, to absorb what's happening. We don't pause to absorb. Just life is moving, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, next, next, next, next, next. So you can't taste קדושה kedusha, אין קדושה בלי הכנה ein kedusha b'li hachana. In order to have holiness, you have to have space. You have to be able to think. So that's exactly Pharaoh's methodology. Pharaoh says, you know what I'm going to do? In order to rob them of the capacity for holiness, for goodness, I'm going to make them really busy. I'm going to make them busy. As it says in מסילת ישרים שהטרדות ודאי גורמים הם המפסידים החסידות. Mesilas Yesharim sha'tirdos vadai gormim hem hamasidim hachasidus. The הייליגע heilige רמח\"ל Ramchal says that טרדות ודאגות tirdos u'daagos, worry and anxiety and fear are what rob you of the capacity to live a life of virtue. בלבול הדעת הוא גרוע מכל. Bilbul hada'as hu garua mikol. Being confused and scattered and fragmented is the worst. ועי\"ז נופל הוא כבר בכל שאר ענינים בידי היצר הרע v'al yedei zeh nofel hu kvar b'chol she'ar inyanim b'yedei hayetzer hara. You fall into the trap of the יצר הרע yetzer hara. I know that when I am overworked and overwhelmed and anxious, that's when I'm eating poorly. I'm just eating garbage because who has the serenity, the peace of mind, the strength to say, I'm going to plan my day, eat right. You just eat whatever garbage comes your way and you finish a whole bag of potato chips at one in the morning. And that's when you're your יצר הרע is at risk of looking at the wrong things, saying the wrong things, doing the wrong things. Because when you're busy, busy, busy and scattered and anxious and that's when you're too weak. You're just, you know, when you're paddling to keep your head afloat, to be able to stay alive, you don't also, could you imagine you're paddling, you know you're what is it called, paddling? You're doggy paddle, whatever, you're in the water, you're about to drown, so you're paddling, you're just treading water just to keep your head above water. And then someone says to you, I want to do a difficult רמב\"ם Rambam with you, a difficult תוספות Tosfos. I want to go to therapy with you and work out our relationship. I want you right now to solve this complicated math problem. You're like, dude, I'm trying to stay alive over here. Do you see me paddling? Do you see me, I'm trying to just float, I'm trying to stay afloat. So when a person is a mentality in life that I'm literally just trying to paddle, I'm trying to stay afloat. Someone once described to me, a person who's very anxious described, said, you know, I'm like a duck. They, I forgot exactly the term they used, but the duck is said on the top, I look like I'm calm, cool, collected, I'm just floating on the water. But under the water, my feet are paddling like crazy just to stay alive. So a lot of us are like that. Externally, someone sees us, we're just floating on the water, calm, serene. But just beneath the surface, we're paddling like crazy just to breathe, just to stay alive. So the יצר הרע knows that טרדות ודאגות tirdos daagos, that if you're paddling like crazy to stay alive, that's the best way to deprive you and suffocate you and deny you the ability for your יצר הרע to work. וזהו בזוהר הקדוש שהס\"מ וכל כת דיליה כביכול אותיות ראשונות של בילם בלק הן בלבול. V'zehu b'Zohar hakadosh shehaSamech Mem v'chol kat dilei k'viyachol osiyos rishonos shel Bilam Balak hen bilbul. What is בילם בלק הן בלבול Bilam Balak hen bilbul. ואותיות אחרונות של שניהם הם עמלק. עיקר כליפת עמלק היא להפיל אדם בבלבול הדעת, ועי\"ז נופל הוא כבר בידי יצר הרע. Ikar klipas Amalek hi l'hapil adam b'bilbul hada'as, v'al yedei zeh nofel hu kvar b'yedei yetzer hara. So whether it's עמלק Amalek, or whether it was פרעה Pharaoh, בילם, בלק Bilam, Balak, they all understand, you know how you bring the Jew down? You know how you you you attack the person? Stress them out, make them busy, create busyness. You can stress them out by persecuting them, you can stress them out by giving him affluenza, having too much. מרבה נכסים מרבה דאגה Marbeh nechasim marbeh da'aga. Sometimes you have too much or you're too competing to keep up. Right? We become stressed out when we have too little, we become stressed out when we have too much. Jews are just have predisposed to be stressed out. So the יצר הרע knows if I stress you out and I make you busy and I make you worried and I make you anxious, who has the כח koach to to grow, to work on the good? וזהו מרמז במה שאמרו בטור על הפסוק ואלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה, שהוא ראשי תיבות שביה. v'zehu merumaz b'mah she'amru baTur al hapasuk v'eleh shmos bnei Yisrael haba'im Mitzrayma, she'hu roshei teivos shivya. שמות בני ישראל הבאים shmos bnei Yisrael haba'im, the names of the Jews who came to Mitzrayim, the beginning of our parsha, the first letter of each of those words spells שביה shivya. שביה Shivya means captive, held captive, hostage. דפרעה רצה לשבות את בני ישראל ולקחתם לשביה, כשידע שבגופם לבד עדיין אי אפשר לשבר את ישראל. על כן זמם לשבות אותם בנפש וברוחם שהם בידו. d'Pharaoh ratzah lishbos es bnei Yisrael v'lakachtam l'shivya, k'sheyada sheb'gufam l'vad adayin ee efshar lishbor es Yisrael. al ken zamam lishbos osam b'nefesh u'v'rucham shehem b'yado. Pharaoh first tried to oppress the Jewish people, persecute them physically, but he saw the Jewish people are so internally strong that we can withstand any physical persecution. So he realized, you know how you bring the Jewish people down? Not just by imprisoning them and oppressing them physically, but denying them the freedom, the mentality, the serenity, persecute them by overworking them, by making their lives bitter. ועל דרך זה מפרש הרב בעל הטורים את הפסוק גם כן על הס\"מ שהוא מפתה יהודי לחטא אין כוונתו כל כך לעצם החטא, אלא לנפילת הרוח והיאוש שלאחר החטא. דאז כשנופל בדעתו הרי הוא תחת שלטון הסטרא אחרא. v'al derech zeh mefaresh haRav ba'al haTurim es hapasuk gam ken al haSamech Mem she'hu mefateh Yehudi lachto, ein kavanoso kol kach l'etzem hacheit, ela l'nefilas haruach v'haye'ush shele'achar hacheit. d'az k'she'nofel b'da'ato harei hu tachas shilton hasitra achra. Incredible insight from the Old Slonimer Rebbe, who says, you know the יצר הרע works, יצר הרע is not so interested in your doing the particular עבירה aveira. You know what the יצר הרע thrives on? The feeling you have after you do the עבירה aveira. Okay, you ate that thing, you looked at that thing, you said that thing. That's bad enough, and the יצר הרע is satisfied that it got you to do that, good. But the real goal of the יצר הרע is not just for you to eat that thing, look at that thing, say that thing. The real goal of the יצר הרע is that afterwards, you feel terrible about yourself, you feel guilty, you feel unworthy, you feel why bother trying because you're just a nothing who does this חטא cheit. The feeling, the יאוש ye'ush, the despair and the despondency and the disappointment and the self-hate and the and the insecurity and the guilt that are all created by the mistake that you made, that's what the יצר הרע, that's its real goal, and that's what it thrives off of. וזהו פירוש שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה ראשי תיבות שביה. עיקר כוונת פרעה במררו חייהם היתה להפילם על ידי זה בבלבול הדעת. v'zehu peirush Shmos Bnei Yisrael haba'im Mitzrayma roshei teivos shivya. ikar kavanas Pharaoh b'mereru chayeihem haysa l'hapilam al yedei zeh b'bilbul hada'as. Pharaoh's real goal is not the work, make the pyramids. Pharaoh gave us busy work, right? Dig the hole, fill the hole. He just had us do busy work. Why? Because the goal was not the result of the work, but rather through the work and the busyness, your mind is held captive. Your mind is in prison. וכמו שהאדם נשבה בגוף ואין לו כל טוב וכל עניני הגוף, עצם זה שהוא שבוי ואין בידו לעשות מאומה הוא תחת שלטון אחרים, גורם שחייו אינם חיים. כך יצא יהודי לא ידע מצבו הטוב ויצא מדעתו מבולבל עליו, הרי הוא בידי הסטרא אחרא וזה בחינת גלות הגרוע מכל. k'mo sheha'adam nishba b'guf v'ein lo kol tov v'chol inyanei haguf, etzem zeh she'hu shavuy v'ein b'yado la'asos me'uma hu tachas shilton acherim, gorem she'chayav einam chayim. Kach yetzah Yehudi lo yada matzavo hatov v'yatzah mida'ato mevulbal alav, harei hu b'yedei hasitra achra v'zeh b'chinas galus hagaru'a mikol. So we have the greatest freedom that we've ever had in the 21st century in America, around the world, we have greater freedom than ever, and we are more imprisoned, enslaved, and in exile than ever through this wonderful gift of technology, connectivity. You walk around, you ever walk, I love walking down the streets of Manhattan because there you see it most intensely. You just just stand, just stand and watch. Everyone's looking down or has something in their ears. There's a frown. Everyone's intensely running, pursuing, chasing something. Nobody's walking calmly. Nobody's got a smile. Nobody's actually present in their moment. Nobody's experiencing what they're experiencing. Even going down the street. When someone comes to a red light. At a red light, look at all the cars around you. We have an inability to be in our own thoughts. We're we're not comfortable with margin or space in our lives. We're we're addicted to having a בלבול הדעת bilbul hada'as. We're addicted to the noise and we're addicted to the to the busyness. Busyness is an addiction. FOMO and so on. So we have greater freedom than ever and we're in more exile than ever and we're suffering from it. The statistics about unhappiness and mental illness and relationship breaking down and so on, it's all there and and and particularly among children who have the most connectivity and the the greatest addiction. והיפך מזה הוא בקדושה, שהשער והפתח לכל דבר שבקדושה ישיבת הדעת v'hefech mizeh hu b'kedusha, shehasha'ar v'hapesach l'chol davar she'b'kedusha yishuv hada'as. So the inverse, the opposite of this, says the Slonimer Rebbe, is how do you achieve קדושה kedusha? You want to grow the יצר הרע yetzer hara, and you want to achieve holiness, it comes through יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as. It comes by quieting the noise, serenity, disconnect. כמו שכתוב במאמרי קודש, זכותו יגן עלינו, כל חכמה ודעתא לא שריא אלא במוחא דשכיך ויתיב על דעתיה, ודעתיה מיושבת. k'mo shekasuv b'ma'amarei kodesh, z'chuso yagen aleinu, kol chachma v'da'asa lo sharya ela b'mocha d'shachich v'yasiv al da'atei, v'da'atei meyusheves. היינו משום שישוב הדעת הוא מקור הקדושה, המפתח לכל הענינים הרוחניים. כשהיהודי עומד בישוב הדעת, אין כח הסטרא אחרא יכול לשלוט בו. ורק כאשר דעתו מתבלבלת עליו בכחם לשלוט עליו, על כן כל חכמה ודעתא לא שריא אלא בישוב הדעת. Haynu mishum she'yishuv hada'as hu mekor hak'dusha, hamafte'ach l'chol ha'inyanim haruchni'im. K'shehayehudi omed b'yishuv hada'as, ein koach hasitra achra yachol lishlot bo. v'rak ka'asher da'ato misbalbeles alav b'kocham lishlot alav, al ken kol chachma v'da'asa lo sharya ela b'yishuv hada'as. The moment you experience, Rav Friedlander has an entire sefer called מנוחת הנפש Menuchas Hanefesh. It's an incredible, incredible sefer, מנוחת הנפש Menuchas Hanefesh. And uh, and he talks about, that's what, that's what the גמרא Gemara says that תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim are בבחינת שבת b'vchinas Shabbos the whole week long. What does that mean? They don't do the למ\"ט מלאכות lamed-tes melachos all week? No, what it means is שבת Shabbos provides a serenity. שבת Shabbos is, we spoke about yesterday, that's why we give the ברכה bracha Friday night to our children, because that's when their children are not competing for our attention and our time is Friday night. שבת Shabbos comes, we turn off the devices, we disconnect from work, we disconnect from the responsibilities, the obligations, the chores that take us outside our home. They first have our attention, that's the biggest ברכה bracha we can give. The biggest ברכה bracha we can give is us. ויברכם ביום ההוא Vayivarchem bayom hahu, to be with them in that moment. יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as. So the תלמיד חכם talmid chacham is בבחינת שבת b'vchinas Shabbos the whole week means that the more righteous are able to experience שבת Shabbos, they're able to experience being disconnected even during the week. That's our mission. יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as. Turn that device off, disconnect, be present, think, meditate, reflect, make time, have space, experience יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as, יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as. והוא התיקון נגד בלבול הדעת, ותיקון זה הוא על ידי יישוב הדעת v'hu hatikun neged bilbul hada'as, v'tikun zeh hu al yedei yishuv hada'as. How do you offset this יצר הרע yetzer hara? So, if you're trying to give advice to somebody about how to overcome their anger, how to diet, how to exercise, how to achieve more professionally, how to stop fighting with their spouse, with their children, the biggest advice, the foundation for whatever advice you're going to give afterwards is, first achieve a serenity. You're not going to work on your patience and controlling your anger if you're busy, busy, busy, your head is filled with noise and scattered. יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as. The יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as is the backdrop through which you can say, \"Do I really want to be eating this thing? Do I really want to be saying this thing? Do I really want to be going this way? Do I really want to be reacting this way? Do I really want to be thought of this way?\" But busy, busy, busy, busy and you don't think, think, think, think, you just do, do, do, do, then the יצר הרע yetzer hara is winning. The יצר הטוב yetzer hatov wins when we can introduce, stop, think, experience, feel, יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as. Serenity now. והאיתן נגד בלבול הדעת, ותיקון זה על ידי ישוב הדעת. V'ha'eisan neged bilbul hada'as, v'tikun zeh al yedei yishuv hada'as. והזמן המסוגל זה הוא שבת קודש. וזה על פי ספר דברי שמואל על הפסוק יעקב איש תם יושב אוהלים, סופי תיבות שבת. ובכח השבת קודש סילק ג' בלבול הדעת. v'hazman ham'sugal l'zeh hu Shabbos kodesh. v'zeh al pi sefer Divrei Shmuel al hapasuk Yaakov ish tam yoshev ohalim, sofei teivos Shabbos. u'v'koach haShabbos kodesh silak gimmel bilbulei hada'as. So once a week, we go back and revisit and retaste. It's forced upon us. Really, we should be בבחינת שבת b'vchinas Shabbos all week long. Really, we should be trying to bring שבת Shabbos into the whole week. But even if we can't, once a week, we turn off, we disconnect, and we just experience. Just sit at the שבת Shabbos table, actually talk to one another, sing, enjoy the לחיים l'chaim, taste the food, כבוד שבת קודש kavod Shabbos kodesh. We don't even taste food all week long, we shovel the food. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. You got to be able to have יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as, יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as. כי יום השבת קודש הוא יום של ישוב הדעת, יום מנוחה וקדושה לעמך נתת. ועיקר המנוחה ישוב הדעת, ועל ידי זה מגיעים לקדושה. לכן שבת הוא בין ישראל. Ki yom haShabbos kodesh hu yom shel yishuv hada'as, yom menucha u'kedusha l'amcha nasata. v'ikar hamenucha yishuv hada'as, v'al yedei zeh magi'im l'kedusha. Lachen Shabbos hu bein Yisrael. So that's exactly why שבת Shabbos is a taste of the world to come. שבת Shabbos is the symbol of redemption. No matter how enslaved and imprisoned we are all week long, once a week we go taste redemption, we experience real freedom. שבת קודש הוא בחינת גאולה, כיוון שהוא יום מנוחה וישוב הדעת, ועל ידי זה נכנע כל כוחות הסטרא אחרא. Shabbos kodesh hu b'chinas geulah, keivan she'hu yom menucha v'yishuv hada'as, v'al yedei zeh nichna kol kochos hasitra achra. ובמצב העקה של ישראל, שבת קודש מביא את הגאולה לישראל. u'v'matzav ha'akah shel Yisrael, Shabbos kodesh mevi es hageulah l'Yisrael. So in the most difficult circumstances, no matter what's going on in your life, look forward to and crave שבת Shabbos, because שבת Shabbos gives you that that feeling. וזה מדרש, ויאר בסיבלם, אמר משה שאין להם מנוחה, הלך ואמר לפרעה, שהעבד שאינו נח יום אחד בשבוע הוא מת, ואילו עבדך אם אינם נחים להם יום אחד בשבוע הם מתים. אמר לו לך ועשה להם כמו שתאמר. v'eizeh medrash, vayar b'sivlam, amar Moshe she'ein lahem menucha, halach v'amar l'Pharaoh, she'ha'eved she'eino noach yom echad bashavu'a hu meis, v'ilu avadecha im einam nochim lahem yom echad bashavu'a hem meisim. amar lo lech v'asei lahem k'mo shetomar. Moshe goes to Pharaoh and he says, if you work them seven days a week, you're going to burn them out. It's just poor strategy on your part, Pharaoh. If you want them to be efficient and productive, you got to give them time off to reenergize. You'll get the most out of them when they work the other six days a week. So Pharaoh says, oh, you know, it's pretty compelling. No problem. Give them off that other day of the week. So what happens? הלך משה ותיקן להם את יום השבת לנוח. halach Moshe v'tiken lahem es yom haShabbos lanuach. So Moshe achieved for them the gift of שבת Shabbos. וזה היה התחלת הגאולה שתיקן להם משה רבנו עליו השלום לישראל. v'zeh hayah haschalas hageulah she'tiken lahem Moshe Rabbeinu alav hashalom l'Yisrael. This was the beginning of the redemption. When Moshe got for them שבת Shabbos, it was the beginning of redemption. You know, it says that the pasuk says, they couldn't hear Moshe. Why? מקוצר רוח ומעבודה קשה m'kotzer ruach u'me'avodah kashah. I quote this every year. אור החיים הקדוש Or Hachaim Hakadosh says, what does it mean? רש\"י Rashi says קוצר רוח kotzer ruach means they were out of breath. You're working someone so hard, they don't have time to breathe. It's another problem. I think science shows, research is showing today that we're not breathing. We're running, running, running, doing, our head is always down because we're looking at the device. So we're not, right, pulmonary, what's the right word? Increasing your tidal volume. We're not, we're we're we're not breathing. We're not doing the deep breathing or the amount of oxygen and it's negatively impacting our lives. קוצר רוח kotzer ruach, we're not breathing. Work, work, work, busy, busy, busy, you don't breathe. But the אור החיים Or Hachaim says, no, you know what קוצר רוח kotzer ruach means? רוח ruach is like vision. מקוצר רוח m'kotzer ruach, Pharaoh, by depriving them of any serenity, of מנוחה menucha, by anxiety and work and busyness, they weren't able to even picture themselves having a better future. They couldn't even dream of a different way of life. They couldn't even imagine what it was like to not be so busy. So when Moshe got them שבת Shabbos and he said, here's a taste, one day a week, here is a taste of what it could be like without the noise, without the busyness, to just experience life, to breathe deeply, to meditate, to experience, to be with people, to be mindful. That was the התחלת הגאולה haschalas hageulah that gave them hope. And that was the beginning of the redemption. That's why it says in the Midrash, שכשידע פרעה להודיע להשם, שהיו בידם מגילת שהיו משתעשעים בה משבת לשבת, ושבת אומרת לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא שאין שנוח בשבת. אמר להם פרעה תכבד העבודה על האנשים ויעשו בה, ואל ישעו, ואל יפלישו ביום השבת. she'k'sheyada Pharaoh l'hodi'a laHashem, she'hayu b'yadam megilas she'hayu mishta'ash'im bah m'Shabbos l'Shabbos, v'Shabbos omra lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu she'ein she'noach b'Shabbos. amar lahem Pharaoh tichbad ha'avodah al ha'anashim v'ya'asu vah, v'al yish'u, v'al yiflishu b'yom haShabbos. Pharaoh, when he saw that שבת Shabbos was giving them the margin in their lives of שבת Shabbos was instilling hope even in the other six days of the week, Pharaoh then took away שבת Shabbos. היינו כי פרעה ידע שהתחלת הגאולה היא על ידי שבת קודש, על כן לא הניחם לעסוק בשבת קודש. וכן אמרו חכמינו זכרונם לברכה על הפסוק לא תאספון להם לתת תבן לעם. כתוב בעל הטורים, כנגדם תתאספון, הגזירה הייתה שלא יתאספו יחד. שהיו ישראל מתאספים יחד בשבת קודש, הרי הם מתרוממים ומזדככים דעת יהודי, ועל ידי זה הם נגאלים מגלותם. Haynu ki Pharaoh yada she'haschalas hageulah hi al yedei Shabbos kodesh, al ken lo hini'cham la'asok b'Shabbos kodesh. V'chen amru chachameinu zichronam livracha al hapasuk lo sosifun lahem laseis teven la'am. kasuv Ba'al haTurim, k'negdam tit'asfun, hag'zeira haysa she'lo yit'asfu yachad. she'hayu Yisrael mis'asfim yachad b'Shabbos kodesh, harei hem misromemim u'mizdakchim da'as Yehudi, v'al yedei zeh hem nig'alim m'galusam. When Jews get together on שבת Shabbos and they're together. When we get together during the week, we're always running and going and doing and the thing is always buzzing and beeping and and and vibrating and ringing. But when we get together on שבת Shabbos and we're really together, that's the beginning of redemption. Pharaoh saw that and he took it away. As it says, כל עיצובינו בגלות הוא על ידי בלבול הדעת. וגלות היא מלשון גלי מבלי דעת, ועיקר הגלות הוא מחמת הסתלקות הדעת. kol itzuvveinu b'galus hu al yedei bilbul hada'as. v'galus hi milashon gali mibli da'as, v'ikar hagalus hu me'chamas histalkus hada'as. וענין מדת הדעת הוא כמו שאמר רבינו בביאור מאמרי ספרים הקדושים על שלום, שהיא כוללת חכמה ובינה. וזה בזוהר הקדוש, חכמה מוחא, בינה ליבא. יש מדת המוח, ענינה שייך למוח, ויש מדת הלב, מה ששייך ללב. והדעת כולל היא מדת המוח ומדת הלב. והגלות היא על ידי הסתלקות הדעת בשני החלקים. ויקם מלך חדש אשר לא ידע את יוסף. יוסף היה קדושתו בכל חלקי הדעת. v'inyan midas hada'as hu k'mo she'amar Rabbeinu b've'ur ma'amarei sfarim k'doshim al shalom, she'hi koleles chachmah u'vina. v'zeh b'Zohar hakadosh, chachma mocha, bina liba. Yesh midas hamoach, inyana shayach lamoach, v'yesh midas halev, mah she'shayach lalev. V'hada'as kolel hi midas hamoach u'midas halev. v'hagalus hi al yedei histalkus hada'as b'shnei hachalakim. vayakam melech chadash asher lo yada es Yosef. Yosef hayah kedushaso b'chol chelkei hada'as. Yosef had serenity. Where does serenity come from? The combination of the מדת המוח והלב midas hamoach v'halev. When your heart and your mind are aligned, when they're integrated, when they're working collaboratively, when there's symbiosis, that's when you have יישוב הדעת yishuv hada'as. But when your mind and heart are divided, when they're scattered, when they're fragmented, when there's a block between them, that's בלבול הדעת bilbul hada'as. So what does it mean? מלך חדש אשר לא ידע את יוסף Melech chadash asher lo yada es Yosef. This מלך חדש לא ידע melech chadash lo yada, the דעת da'as that Yosef had. Where does דעת da'as come from? Serenity. Serenity comes from your heart and your mind working together. ובמדת התשוקה הנמשך ממדת הדעת, מוחא ודעת, והמלך החדש מתיירא שיפרוץ ויפגום הדעת של כלל ישראל, וזה יגרום לגלות. ושבת קודש היא תיקון למדת הדעת. u'v'midas ha'tshuka hanimshach m'midas hada'as, mocha v'da'as, v'hamelech hachadash misyareh she'yifrotz v'yifgom hada'as shel klal Yisrael, v'zeh yigrom l'galus. v'Shabbos kodesh hi tikun l'midas hada'as. שבת Shabbos is the antidote. שבת Shabbos, lean into שבת Shabbos. I've come since this past summer, I experienced an amazing שבת Shabbos. I've come to, I I live for שבת Shabbos. I used to dread שבת Shabbos. שבת Shabbos was my hardest day of the week. I worked the most on שבת Shabbos. But I've instituted certain things in in my life, certain מנהגים minhagim, certain practices at the שבת Shabbos table, certain modes of dress, certain and and it's transformed my entire שבת Shabbos. And and certain rules for my family, where we host or go out Friday night, שבת Shabbos lunch, I want to be alone. After working all morning and giving multiple drashos and coming back for the class in the afternoon, I used to resent שבת Shabbos, as a rabbi, but it doesn't have to be, because we also with the short שבתות Shabbasos, you go from a long דאווענען davening to lunch, lunch goes on forever, which goes right into מנחה Mincha and right into the third סעודה seudah, Saturday night you have three events, and you wake up you're a שמאַטע shmatteh. And you say, you know, I work Sunday and I work the whole week. I I'm still trying to figure out when my my שבת Shabbos comes. But but now you have to you have to own, take extreme ownership and solve issues for ourselves. But if we structure שבת Shabbos with certain rules, when do we have guests, when do we not have guests? What are my מנהגים minhagim at the table? What am I doing to give שבת Shabbos a certain feeling? What do we do that makes it fun? So we introduce games at the שבת Shabbos table. We have, we have at my שבת Shabbos table, Rav Zilberstein, the great חשוקי חמד Chashukei Chemed. So somebody uh translated, Rav Shahar translated, I think they're up to three or four volumes already of his חשוקי חמד שאלות Chashukei Chemed shailos. Um but he organized it, translated to English and organized it based on the parsha. So, each of the questions are great business dilemmas, ethical dilemmas, fantastic dilemmas. So, at my table, we ask a question and then I make each of my kids say, \"Well, what do they think?\" And then we see what he answered. We had the most fun on שבת Shabbos because Rav Shechter was here. So we read the question and then we all thought we said what we thought and said Rav Shechter, what do you פסק'ן pasken? And then we then we read the book to get to hear Rav Shechter's פסק psak on each of these שאלות shailos was was a lot of fun. The point is if you introduce things, boundaries to שבת Shabbos, practices on שבת Shabbos, מנהגים on שבת minhagim on Shabbos, שבת Shabbos can give you the energy the rest of the week. It's ממש mamash of what they have serenity. When I'm with my kids all the time, when you're with your kids, it's all of us, not just a rabbinic plague. So that phone, that device, it could be an emergency, I got to check it, what's it going to be, it's buzzing, it's beeping. No, I have to respond to this. שבת Shabbos, they really have you. You're fully, fully present. There's nowhere to go, there's nothing to do. Enjoy the כבוד שבת קודש kavod Shabbos kodesh, enjoy the delicious food, the delicious company, the wonderful זמירות zmiros. There's no rush. Nobody has their must-see or not-miss or have to respond or check in or post or like or follow. You're really, really there. And that's the כח of שבת קודש koach of Shabbos kodesh. That's what he's saying here. שבת Shabbos is the התחלת הגאולה haschalas hageulah in our own lives. Six days a week we're in גלות galus. שבת Shabbos gives us גאולה geulah. And we bring that גאולה geulah, we strive, we thrive off of that גאולה geulah throughout the entire week. כנגד כל אלו התיקון בגלות הוא למדת הדעת. וזהו גם סדר הברכות בתפלת שמונה עשרה. k'neged kol eilu hatikun b'galus hu l'midas hada'as. v'zehu gam seder habrachos b'tefilas Shmoneh Esrei. This is the order of שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei. שקודם הבקשה על גאולה אנו מקדימים הבקשה על דעת. she'kodem habakasha al geulah anu makdimim habakasha al da'as. Before we say the ברכה of גואל ישראל go'el Yisrael, what do we say first? אתה חונן לאדם דעת Ata chonen l'adam da'as. And then we ask Hashem for redemption. ואחר כך על התשובה שהיא מדת הלב, ולבוא יום ויום לפני מלך מלכי המלכים, אחר כך הבקשה על v'achar kach al ha'teshuva she'hi midas halev, v'lavo yom v'yom lifnei melech malchei hamlachim, achar kach habakasha al... הדעת המידות הלב, *Hada'as hamidos haleiv*, and we're asking for גאולה *geulah*. כי אך שיש ארץ הדעת המידות המוח המידות הלב, *Ki ach she'yesh eretz hada'as hamidos hamoach hamidos haleiv*, אז היא הגאולה האמיתית *az hi hageulah ha'amitis*. אתה חונן, סלח לנו, השיבנו, סלח לנו, ראה בעניינו, גואל ישראל. *Ata chonen, slach lanu, hashiveinu, slach lanu, re'eh v'onyeinu, goel Yisrael*. When we ask Hashem for redemption, first we ask him for דעת *da'as*, אתה חונן *ata chonen*. Hashem give me the space, the peace of mind, the serenity to think. Give me דעת *da'as*. And when I have the peace of mind, the serenity, the ability to think, סלח לנו *slach lanu*, then I'm going to know what's right and recalibrate my priorities and ask for forgiveness. And when I do, גואל ישראל *goel Yisrael*, then redeem me. Because now that's the greatest redemption. והתורה היא נצחית שמעל הזמן לאמר לנו דעת מה הם גורמי הגלות שהיהודים יכולים להלחם בהם *V'hatorah hi nitzchis, she'maal hazman, lomar lanu da'as ma hem gormei hagolus she'hayehudim yecholim lehilachem bahem*. Torah's telling us eternally, timelessly, what are the things that cause us to have גלות *golus*, which is not a physical manifestation. It's not a geographic description. גלות *Golus* is busyness, and גאולה *geulah* is serenity. And we ask Hashem to provide it for us, but we also need to achieve it to ourselves. So we achieve it by transforming שבת *Shabbos* to be that which gives it to us, but also bringing שבת *Shabbos* back into the week.
