Transcript
נסיב שלום, סלונים רבא. We'll begin the third book of the Torah, ויקרא Vayikra. So a short piece by the סלונים רבא Slonimer Rebbe, but I think a very beautiful piece. So we begin. It's page יוד\"ל yud-dalet. ויקרא אל משה וידבר השם אליו מאהל מועד לאמר אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן להשם Vayikra el Moshe v'yedaber Hashem eilav mei'ohel moed leimor adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem. Moshe, Hashem called out to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the אוהל מועד ohel moed and he said, אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן להשם Adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem, if a person offers a קרבן korban to Hashem. So of course this is introducing the whole תורת כהנים Toras Kohanim, third book of the Torah, ויקרא Vayikra is all about the קרבנות karbanos that we bring. The Rebbe points out, the root of the word קרבן korban is קרוב karov. The purpose of a קרבן korban is not some barbaric, ancient, outdated, archaic, carnivore ritual. The purpose of a קרבן korban is to create, to yield a result of קרוב karov. We draw close to Hashem. How do we draw close to Hashem? When we slaughter the animal in us. Every human being is made up both of a נפש בהמי nefesh bahami, we have a animal instinct, an animal impulse, an animal temptation, an animal drive. Could be to eat incorrectly, could be to talk in shul, could be to the animal voice inside us that just says satisfy the that urge, scratch that itch. And we also have a צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim, a חלק אלוקה ממעל ממש chelek Eloka mima'al mamash with the capacity to rule over, to be disciplined over it. So that's what the Torah is telling us, אדם כי יקריב מכם adam ki yakriv mikem, from inside us. And why does the Torah use the word אדם adam, not איש ish? It's a beautiful כתב סופר Ksav Sofer who says אדם Adam is reminiscent of the original אדם Adam. It's reminding us that every time we make a mistake, every time we have poor judgment, every time we do something wrong that requires us to bring a קרבן korban, it's because we emulated the original person, אדם Adam. אדם Adam passed the buck, he didn't take responsibility, and we take responsibility by bringing the קרבן korban. So it's not איש כי יקריב מכם קרבן ish ki yakriv mikem korban, it's אדם כי יקריב מכם adam ki yakriv mikem. Anyway, איסב בבית אברהם Eisav b'Beis Avraham, says the Slonimer Rebbe, בהאי דרכא ויקרא בלשון נסתר, ולא נאמר מי הוא הקורא b'hai darka Vayikra b'lashon nistar, v'lo ne'emar mi hu ha'korei. It says ויקרא אל משה Vayikra el Moshe. He called to Moshe. Moshe was called. But it doesn't tell us who called him. שמרמז בזה על בת קול היוצאת בכל יום ואומרת שובו בנים she'meramez b'zeh al bas kol ha'yotzeis b'chol yom v'omeires shuvu banim. So the בית אברהם Beis Avraham says that the reason it says ויקרא אל משה Vayikra el Moshe, it's very ambiguous. ויקרא אל משה Vayikra el Moshe. And Eli was called. Who called them? When did he call them? Why did he call them? Very mysterious. It's a reference to the בת קול bas kol, the heavenly voice that goes out every single day, and it calls, what does it call? שובו בנים שובבים shuvu banim shovavim, it calls us to return to Hashem.היא הקריאה שהקדוש ברוך הוא קורא בכל יום ללב יהודי Hi ha'kriah she'HaKadosh Baruch Hu korei b'chol yom l'lev Yehudi. ויקרא אל משה Vayikra el Moshe, this ויקרא Vayikra, the notion that we are each called upon, that we're called, is not just to Moshe, it wasn't a one-time event, but it's something that happens in the heart of every Jew all the time. כמבואר מהבעל שם טוב הקדוש ששאל, שבכל יום בת קול יוצאת, דקשה מן מה נפשך, מדוע אין שומעים אותה? ואם אין שומעים אותה, מדוע יוצאת? K'mevoar me'ha'Baal Shem Tov ha'kadosh she'sha'al, she'b'chol yom bas kol yotzeis, d'kasha, m'man nafshach, madu'a ein shom'im osah? V'im ein shom'im osah, madu'a yotzeis? So the בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov asks about this בת קול bas kol, he says מן מה נפשך m'man nafshach, either way, if we don't hear it, so why is it going out? And if it's going out, why don't we hear it? What's going on? What's the purpose of a בת קול bas kol going out that we don't hear? וביאר U'vei'er, and the בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov explained, שהקריאה הזו שהקדוש ברוך הוא קורא מהר חורב, מולידה התעוררות בליבו של כל יהודי she'ha'kriah ha'zu she'HaKadosh Baruch Hu korei me'Har Chorev, molida his'orerus b'libo shel kol Yehudi. that this בת קול bas kol that goes out, basically the message of הר סיני Har Sinai continues to reverberate throughout the year, throughout the air. That the values, the ideals, the inspiration, the spirituality, the access to הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the nourishment of our נשמה neshama, all of that, the radio waves are out there. But you got to pull up your antenna. Right? there could be radio frequency playing all the time. The question is whether you're picking it up. אפילו בפחות שבפחותים ישראל לפעמים הוא מתעורר. וזה נובע מכח הבת קול הזאת Afilu b'pachus she'b'pachusim Yisrael l'fa'amim hu mis'orer. V'zeh nove'a mikoach ha'bas kol ha'zos. So sometimes a person has their antenna extended. It could be you've witnessed a miracle, the birth of a child. Could be you've experienced a coincidence. It could be something's worked out for you that you never thought would. It could be that you just have some epiphany, some breakthrough. It could be you went through some cathartic moment and you healed from a trauma in your life. Who knows what the reason, what the impetus is, but a window opens in which at that moment for whatever reason your antenna is extended and you pick up on this בת קול bas kol. And we see it all the time. Person has this this burst of inspiration. A person feels alive. A person goes from a place of of darkness and withdrawn and despair to a place of hope and optimism and and feeling a skip in their step. They feel alive. Instead of הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu being cloaked in darkness, instead of wondering whether he's there or making purpose, making meaning of your life, you feel like everything makes sense. And you have no doubt, absolute confidence there's a השם Hashem and he loves you and you feel purpose-driven. So what is the cause of all that? Because in that moment you've picked up on that בת קול bas kol. In that moment your antenna is extended and you're hearing that message, you're heeding the call of ויקרא Vayikra. והחכם שאינו בורח מקיים את ההתעוררות הזאת בבחינת החזקתי בו ולא ארפנו עד שהביאותי לפנימיות נפשו V'ha'chacham she'eino borei'ach m'kayem es ha'his'orerus ha'zos b'vchinas achaztiv v'lo arpenu ad she'heiveisiv l'pnimius nafsho. A חכם chacham who's אינו בראשו eino b'rosho, so a wise person who understands that this moment is fleeting, right? I just I sat in an incredible kumzits, I lost myself in song. I had an incredible שיעור shiur, an incredible conversation that really transformed me. I went on an amazing vacation or trip, I read a book. I did something that makes me feel alive, that makes me feel on fire, that makes me just can't wait for the next שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei. Can't wait for the next act of חסד chesed. Can't wait for the next moment of learning Torah. Can't wait for I'm so in love, I just I can't wait for the next moment of conversation with my spouse, which is making me feel alive. So a person, a חכם ואינו בראשו chacham v'eino b'rosho, realizes that that's fleeting, it could disappear. So they try to capture it, try to bottle it, be able to come back to it later. וזה מוסיף לו כח להתעלות. וזהו פירוש ויקרא אל משה בלשון נסתר. קריאה שהקדוש ברוך הוא קורא ליהודי, מדבר על כל יהודי לבד בעניינים השייכים לו V'zeh mosif lo koach l'his'alos. V'zehu peirush Vayikra el Moshe b'lashon nistar. Kriah she'HaKadosh Baruch Hu korei l'Yehudi, m'daber al kol Yehudi l'vad b'inyanim ha'shayachim lo. So what it means that הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu calls us is that he tapers, he individualizes, he calls us in the area and the arena that's relevant for us. כמבואר חז\"ל k'mevoar Chazal, the גמרא Gemara in יומא Yoma says, משה שמע וכל ישראל לא שמעו? כפי שהקריאה הזאת מדברת אל כל יהודי בפרט בעניין השייך לו על ידי מיוחד Moshe shama v'chol Yisrael lo shamu? k'fi she'ha'kriah ha'zos m'daberes el kol Yehudi b'prat b'inyan ha'shayach lo al yedei meyuchad. If Hashem called out to Moshe, you're talking about the omnipotent, infinite God calling to Moshe. So if he literally physically called, why didn't the rest of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael hear? You know, true that it's a pretty big people and it's a large camp, so maybe the other side of the camp couldn't hear. Whoever was sleeping in the tent next to Moshe's, why didn't he hear God call the ויקרא Vayikra? And the answer is הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu calls to each of us in different ways. You know, sometimes you can listen to the same שיעור shiur as someone, you go, 'That was incredible!' The דאווענען davenen, you walk away, you say, ah, bounce in your step. My נשמה's neshama's on fire, that was amazing. Someone else tells you, read this book, you got to read this book, it changed my life. You read it and you say, I don't know what you saw in it. Different things speak to different people. And I'll go even further and tell you, different things speak to different people at different moments of time. I sometimes come across a דבר תורה dvar Torah. I'm like, ah, that's not a good drasha. And I put it in my file, and the next year I come across it, wow, that's געשמאק geshmak, that's unbelievable. So sometimes different things speak to you in different moments of time. Different personalities, different speakers, different דברי תורה divrei Torah, different books, different moments. עוד הביא שם הבית אברהם באופן אחר, דויקרא כתיב באלף זעירא Od heivi sham ha'Beis Avraham b'ofen acher, d'Vayikra ksiv b'aleph ze'ira. We know the word ויקרא Vayikra ends with a small אלף aleph. וקרי ביה ויקר מלשון מקרה u'kri bei vayikar mi'lashon mikreh. If you want, you can read the word ויקרא Vayikra, if you omit the small אלף aleph, you choose to overlook it, then you read it as ו-י-ק-ר vav-yud-kuf-reish, מלשון מקרה mi'lashon mikreh, happenstance, chance. כל אותן מקראות שעוברות על היהודי, הרי הן קריאה נסתרת מהשם יתברך Kol osan mikra'os she'ovros al ha'Yehudi, harei hein kriah nisteres me'Hashem yisbarach. You could read it that all the calls from הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu are really just chance. הקריאה ליהודי בלשון נסתר מתוך המאורעות ha'kriah l'Yehudi b'lashon nistar mitoch ha'me'ora'os. שובה ישראל, שוב וחזור לשורשך ומקורך Shuva Yisrael, shuv v'chazor l'shorshecha u'm'korecha. הוא אדעתא דמה שאמרו, המלך ששלח את בנו למרחקים, הוא שולח אליו תדיר מכתבים עצומים ורמוזים ונסתרים על כל מה שיעשה ואיך שיתנהג Hu adas ma d'amrun, ha'melech she'shalach es bno l'merchakim, hu shole'ach eilav tadir michtavim atzumim u'rmuzim v'nistarim al kol ma she'ya'aseh v'eich she'yis'naheg. So he sends his son far away, and then he sends him letters where he gives hints and allusions to how he should behave. כמו כן שולח הקדוש ברוך הוא ליהודי רמזים נסתרים על ידי כל מאורעות שעוברות עליו, שהם דבר השם אליו ואיך לו להתנהג K'mo chein shole'ach HaKadosh Baruch Hu l'Yehudi remazim nistarim al yedei kol me'ora'os she'ovros alav, she'heim dvar Hashem eilav v'eich lo l'hisnaheg. So this is so clichéd and we all know this, I understand that, but it's worth reviewing and being mindful of is that we go through in life and so many of the things that we dismiss as, 'Oh, what a coincidence. What were the odds?' That's really הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu calling us. We're supposed to interpret everything in our life not as chance and not as coincidence, but there's a message. ויקרא Vayikra. What looks as מקרה mikreh is ויקרא Vayikra. It's not chance, it's not happenstance, it's really הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu calling us. Told the story a million times, but it best illustrates this, the guy who's running late for an important interview and he can't find the parking, you all know this, I've said it so many times. And he can't find the parking spot, and he starts negotiating with הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, 'Help me find the parking spot, השם Hashem, I'm gonna learn a דף יומי Daf Yomi and I'm gonna be quiet in שול shul and I'm gonna give צדקה tzedakah. I'm going to do all these things.' So he circles one last time and punk, there's a spot that opens up right in front of the business in the front of the building where he has his interview. So the man pauses as he's about to pull into the spot, he looks up and he says, 'Never mind, השם Hashem, I found one.' Right? So you know, when the parking spot opens for us in that moment, so do you say, 'Oh, מקרה mikreh, chance, happenstance. Huh, what are the odds?' Or do you say ויקרא Vayikra? הקדוש ברוך הוא's HaKadosh Baruch Hu's calling me. He's calling me minimally to notice that he just did that for me. But really he's calling me on to more, to examine my life, to reflect and to talk about where am I, where am I going, how am I going to get there? How can I be the best version of myself? Every experience that we have, every moment, is either מקרה mikreh or ויקרא Vayikra. We have the choice which one it's going to be. It's either chance or Hashem's call. Maybe that's why the אלף aleph is small, to tell us that if you look for it, Oh, ויקרא Vayikra. As opposed to ויקר vayikar. I thought you were going to say something different. The אלף aleph is small, you got to look for it. You got to look for it to turn it from מקרה mikreh into ויקרא Vayikra. Beautiful. געשמאק Geshmak, Eli Neger. Thank you very much. But maybe also the only way that you see הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu is if you make yourself small. You have to with humility. Or maybe the אלף aleph is small, the אלף aleph is אלוקים Elokim, the אלוף aluf, and he's small. So what jumps out at you is ויקר vayikar. Oh, it's מקרה mikreh, that's what jumps out at you. But that's what you're saying. The אלף aleph, the God is small, you got to look for him and write him into the story. Which of course is everything we're saying is we're approaching Purim, this is the story of Purim. This is the essence of Purim. Hashem's name is not in the מגילה megillah, you could read it and omit Hashem's name and so and dismiss it as as chance and happenstance. Oh, what a string of coincidences. And our mission is מגילת אסתר Megillas Esther, to be מגלה את הנסתר megaleh es ha'nistar, to reveal that which is hidden. עוד אופן, יש לומר ויקרא בלשון נסתר V'od ofen, yeish lomar Vayikra b'lashon nistar. A second suggestion. דנהוג אצל יהודי יש לו עיתים קשים שפוקד לו יצרו ועובר נסיונות קשים ומרים D'nehog eitzel Yehudi yesh lo itim kashim she'poked lo yitzro v'over nisyones kashim u'marim. A Jew sometimes goes through difficult times. יצר הרע yetzer hara overwhelms us and we overcome difficult tests. עד שמרגיש שאין בו כח כלל להתגבר על זה ad she'margish she'ein bo koach klal l'hisgaber al zeh. Then a person feels that we don't have the strength to to endure. הרי יבוא חס ושלום לזלזל במצוותיו של יתברך. שנדמה לו שאיש מלבדו אינו סובל מיצר הרע כל כך קשה, שאינו מסוגל להתגבר עליו Harei yavo chas v'shalom l'zalzel b'mitzvosav shel Yisbarach. She'nidmeh lo she'ish milvado eino sovel mi'yetzer hara kol kach kasheh, she'eino mesugal l'hisgaber alav. So you can have טענות tainos on Hashem. 'How come the next person doesn't seem so challenged? They don't have to work so hard in order to overcome.' הלא אמת כן, כמו שאמרו הצדיקים, שכל יהודי לא בא לעולם כדי לסדר איזה עניין Halo emes kein, k'mo she'amru ha'tzaddikim, she'kol Yehudi lo ba l'olam k'dei l'sader eizeh inyan. But the truth is, as we spoke about yesterday in shul, that we're not competing with other people, the only one we're competing with is ourselves. It's not a matter of finishing the race, the marathon ahead of anyone else. It's a matter of finishing the marathon. The only one we're competing with is ourself. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu put us in this world to overcome our own challenges, our own obstacles. How come my how come my יצר הרע yetzer hara, how come my challenges are so much more difficult than the next person? First of all, I would contend, you have no idea that they're more difficult. You have no idea what the challenges are of the next person. You have no idea. And if you learned, you probably wouldn't switch. The famous, everyone would pick up their פקלא pekel'ach and go home. So first of all, your challenges likely are not more difficult than the next person. But second of all, because your challenges are meant for you. Wherever we have a we have a מסורה mesorah that wherever area is our greatest struggle is also it's revealing to us it's our area of our greatest strength. That if we could overcome, endure in that area of struggle, we would also then realize our greatest potential. ופרט המיוחד אשר בזה מתגבר על יצרו הרע ביותר U'prat ha'meyuchad asher b'zeh misgaber al yitzro hara b'yoser, שמניח לו לקיים את כל מצוות השם ומעשים טובים, ומבטל ידו מלסדר עניין הזה, שהוא תכלית ייעודו בעולם she'maniach lo l'kayem es kol mitzvos Hashem u'ma'asim tovim, u'mevatel yado mi'l'sader inyan ha'zeh, she'hu tachlis ye'udo ba'olam. So this is where the יצר הרע yetzer hara is is the strongest on us. Because what happens? We say, 'Hey, how come I have to deal with this יצר הרע yetzer hara that my friend doesn't?' So what do we do as a result? We neglect trying to fix that יצר הרע yetzer hara. Because we're resentful of the fact that we struggle with it and our friend doesn't, we fix everything else but it. So really the יצר הרע yetzer hara has a double win. It wins on the detail, on the specific thing in which it's bringing you down, and it wins on the bigger picture where it's gotten you to concede or forfeit even trying to confront them at all. וזהו פירוש ויקרא אל משה בלשון נסתר V'zehu peirush Vayikra el Moshe b'lashon nistar. הדבר הקשה ביותר הרי הוא קריאה נסתרת מהקדוש ברוך הוא אליו על תכלית ייעודו שעל זה לסדר Ha'davar ha'kasheh b'yoser harei hu kriah nisteres mei'HaKadosh Baruch Hu eilav al tachlis ye'udo she'al zeh l'sader. As we were saying, we have this מסורה mesorah. What's the ויקרא Vayikra, in לשון נסתר lashon nistar? It means that the hardest area that we face is the area that Hashem put us in this world to correct. It's our destiny, it's our fate to have to struggle, to battle with it. Some people have a יצר הרע yetzer hara with food, others will have a יצר הרע yetzer hara with substances, others have a יצר הרע yetzer hara with anxiety, others have a יצר הרע yetzer hara with sexuality, others have a יצר הרע yetzer hara not to learn, some have a יצר הרע yetzer hara to talk in shul. People have different יצר הרע'ס yetzer hara's. So wherever is our greatest יצר הרע yetzer hara, הקדוש ברוך הוא's HaKadosh Baruch Hu's ויקרא Vayikra, he's calling out to us, he's hinting to us that in the area of our greatest struggle is the area of our greatest breakthrough. If we can conquer that area of our greatest struggle, we will have experienced the area of our greatest breakthrough. וכמרומז מה שאמרו חז\"ל בגמרא יומא U'ch'merumaz ma she'amru Chazal b'Gemara Yoma. היכי דמי בעל תשובה? באותו פרק ובאותו מקום ובאותה אישה. הוי יש לו אדם נדמה לו שבפרק הזה ובפרק הזה אינו מסוגל להשתלם במקום אחר ודומה. התנאים בהם הוא שרוי וקשורים בהם, המונעים בעד התעלותו, אלא דרך כלל כי היכי דמי בעל תשובה Heichi dami baal teshuva? B'oso perek u'v'oso makom u'v'osah ishah. Havi, yesh lo adam nidmeh lo she'b'perek ha'zeh u'v'perek ha'zeh eino mesugal l'hishtalem b'makom acher v'domeh. Ha'tna'im bahem hu sharui u'kshurim bahem, ha'monim b'ad his'aluso. Ella d'kol heichi dami baal teshuva שמתקן ייעודו בעולמו, דייקא באותו פרק ובאותו מקום ובאותה אישה she'mesaken ye'udo b'olamo, davka b'oso perek u'v'oso makom u'v'osah ishah. So the גמרא Gemara there says, what's תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura? The רמב\"ם Rambam codifies this. It's famous, kind of paradox in the רמב\"ם Rambam, that if you do תשובה teshuva properly, you never get to תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura. תשובה Teshuva is, stay away from the influences, stay away from the enticements, stay away from the temptations, the things that brought you down previously, don't expose yourself in the future. That's תשובה teshuva. Then the רמב\"ם Rambam writes, what's תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura? To be back in the exact same situation with the same person, and he writes even it's the same level of lust. Meaning, if when you were 22 years old, you had יחוד yichud in a room with a woman or you weren't married to and you violated, you crossed the line, it's not תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura if you go back in there when you're 80 and you have no temptation, no lust, no capacity to act on it. So you have to have the same capacity and the same level of attraction and the same energy and the same temptation and the same place, and yet you persevere, you endure, that's תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura. So the Slonimer Rebbe's play on this is that why is it that it's only תשובה teshuva if you go back to the same woman, the same place, the same thing and you persevere? Because you're going back to the same area of your temptation, that's his point. What makes you a בעל תשובה baal teshuva? What makes you a בעל תשובה baal teshuva, בעל תשובה baal teshuva here he's using euphemistically means, what makes you a person who's had the greatest breakthrough? What makes you a person who's met his purpose, who's conquered his greatest temptation? When you're in אותו מקום, אותה אישה, אותו זמן oso makom, osah ishah, oso zman. That you're going back to the same circumstance. שהרי הזמין לו הקדוש ברוך הוא בפרק זה ובמקום זה תנאים אלו She'harei hizmin lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu b'perek zeh u'v'makom zeh tna'im eilu. If הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu invited you, presented you in this time, the same place, and the same conditions, הלא אות הוא halo os hu, it's a sign that דייקא בתנאים אלו הוא יכול לסדר עניין זה שלמענו ירד לעולם davka b'tna'im eilu hu yachol l'sader inyan zeh she'lema'ano yarad la'olam. Why is he putting you back in the same circumstance? that's the answer to the paradox in the Rambam is that, you should do תשובה teshuva. תשובה גמורה Teshuva gemura is not something that you can seek out, it can only happen to you if you happened to find yourself. But that's exactly what the Slonimer Rebbe is saying. And why is it that you happen to find yourself back there? He says ריבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam. I spent the last five years doing תשובה teshuva. So I've stayed away from those circumstances which have brought me down, and you put me back here? Like, whose side are you on? The answer is Hashem says, I'm on your side. I want you to be your best self. And to be your best self, to break through and realize who you are and who you could be, you have to go back to there because that's why I put you here. I put you here to conquer this. Don't eat those potato chips at 12 o'clock at night. Don't look at that thing on the internet. Don't share that לשון הרע lashon hara. Don't cut corners in business. Don't lose patience. Don't whatever your biggest struggle is, that's why I put you here. So don't run away from the struggle as if bitter and resentful and in denial that you have it. Embrace the struggle because in that struggle is the window to why you're here. אדרבה, תנאים אלו מסייעים לו למלאות חובתו בעולמו Adaraba, tna'im eilu mesay'im lo l'male'os chovaso b'olamo. These conditions help you to fulfill your purpose in this world, your duty here. שלמלא הם לא היה באפשרויותו לסדר עניין המיוחד שלו She'l'malei hem lo haya b'efsharuso l'sader inyan ha'meyuchad shelo. If you didn't have all those conditions, i.e. same person, same place, same temptation, you would not be able to fulfill this distinct purpose, reason you're here. וזהו עיקר עבודתו של יהודי V'zehu ikar avodaso shel Yehudi. This is our עבודה avodah. לסדר עניין המיוחד שלמענו ירד לעולם l'sader inyan ha'meyuchad she'lema'ano yarad la'olam. So most of us just want to coast through life. And we most of us spend our lives imitating other people's lives. I just want the I just want the peace, I just want the serenity, I just want the tranquility, I just want the comfort and the ease that the next person has. Or on the outside seemingly has. Again, as a as a rav who has the opportunity to the privilege of being invited into people's private life to to help them and support them, I can tell you that many or most of the people who on the outside look like they have it all, have next to nothing. You know, what's the expression? נבעך Nebach, there are some people who are so rich that all they have is money, for example. נבעך Nebach, there are people so rich, all they have is money. The person who looks like they have it all, a lot of them don't. So we spend our life, I just want to coast through life. I just want simple. I just want to go to work, come home, crack open my beer, binge watch my Netflix, maybe open my Daf Yomi and call it a day. But that's not why we're here. That's not why we're here. And and if you get that life that you crave, you'll find quickly it's feeling very unfulfilled and very empty, very hollow. But when we conquer, when we have an area of challenge and we conquer it. And it's never conquered, it's really managed. The moment you think it's conquered is the moment you're most vulnerable to to lose. So you have to realize that it's a lifetime of managing whatever that area of challenge is. But when we when we're able to successfully manage it, the level of fulfillment of of purpose, of happiness, of joy far outweighs and far supersedes whatever you gave up in the process. So whatever געשמאק geshmak you got from the alcohol, the drugs, the addiction to pornography, the losing your cool and flying off the handle, whatever area a person has to conquer. Whatever immediate gratification that gave is is insignificant compared to the satisfaction of living a disciplined life where you're in control. So Hashem says, ויקרא Vayikra, wherever you're struggling, that's Hashem calling out to you that this is where, this is why he put us here. This is what we can work on. This is what reveals to us who we're meant to be and how to get there. And what a gift that ויקרא Vayikra is. Because if you woke up in the morning and you lived your life and you said, I don't know what I'm here. What am I supposed to be working on? What should I take on next? Why am I here? What am I meant to be doing? It would be a very mysterious life and you'd never have the satisfaction of knowing. So the ויקרא Vayikra is that הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu calls out to us when it becomes clear what we're struggling with. And that struggle is revealing to us. It's a gift. It's a ממשי mamash gift from Hashem to have revealed to us what we need to work on. שתיקון הפרט הזה הוא תכלית שלמענה ירדה נשמתו לגוף she'tikun ha'prat ha'zeh hu tachlis she'lema'anah yardah nishmaso la'guf. This is why our נשמה neshama was put in our גוף guf. Hashem could have put us in a different גוף guf, a גוף guf that didn't crave those things, a גוף guf that didn't get pleasure from those things. Why did he put us in this גוף guf? He put us in this גוף guf on purpose because he wants our נשמה neshama to transcend the גוף guf. ממילא הרי לא יועיל לו כלום אם אף אם יעבוד כל ימי חייו בכל המצוות והמעשים טובים, שכל זמן שלא תיקן הפרט הזה לא מילא את תפקידו בעולם M'meila harei lo yo'il lo klum im af im ya'avod kol yemei chayav b'chol ha'mitzvos v'ha'ma'asim tovim, she'kol zman she'lo tiken ha'prat ha'zeh lo milah es tafkido ba'olam. If you fulfill and you achieve countless other areas, but that area you've conceded, you just give in, and you just do, so then you have not fulfilled the reason you're here. וזה אומר הכתוב, אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן להשם V'zeh omer ha'kasuv, adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem. And that's why, what is the calling? ויקרא Vayikra Hashem calls out to us. And where is it? What is he calling out to us? כי יקריב מכם ki yakriv mikem. פירוש, ממכם ומהעצמכם. מהמידות שלכם, מהעניינים הקשים ביותר שלכם, זאת תקריבו להשם יתברך לקרבן Peirush, mimchem u'mei'atzmachem. Mei'ha'midos shelachem, mei'ha'inyanim ha'kashim b'yoser shelachem, zos takrivu la'Shem yisbarach l'korban. So it's אדם כי יקריב מכם adam ki yakriv mikem. He wants you to give up something from you. It's inside you. Inside you wants to drink, inside you wants to smoke, inside you wants to look, inside you wants to speak, inside you wants to behave a certain way. So מכם mikem, he's asking you to give up that thing inside you, מכם mikem. אדם כי יקריב Adam ki yakriv, the most precious gift you could give Hashem is when you're willing to do the right thing even when it means giving up what what you think makes you distinctly you, or what you crave the most. וזה נקרא קרבן להשם. כדאי עשית וטרחת ועמלת. שני מיני קרבנות הם, מבן בהמה, מבן בקר ומבן צאן, קרבן זה אינו אלא בבחינת קרבן חם V'zeh nikra korban laShem. K'dai asisa v'tarachta v'amalta. Shnei minei karbanos heim, mi'ben behemah, mi'ben bakar u'm'ben tzon, korban zeh eino ella b'vchinas korbanchem. So when you sacrifice just the animal, so that's קרבן חם korbanchem. אבל עיקר עבודה היא אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן להשם Aval ikar avodah hi adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem. Don't just go through the motions superficially of bringing the animal, that's the easy part. Buy the animal, slaughter the animal, barbecue the animal, that's the easy part. What's supposed to be occurring, the result of doing the external, right there's the מעשה maaseh and the קיום kiyum. The מעשה maaseh is you bring the animal, but the קיום kiyum is supposed to be כי יקריב מכם ki yakriv mikem. It's supposed to be you've changed something inside you. שתקריב את הקרבן מעצמותך, מפנימיות הנפש She'takriv es ha'korban mei'atzmusecha, mi'pnimius ha'nefesh, where you've changed something inside yourself. וזה עניינים הקשים ביותר שלך, אותו שם תקריב להשם יתברך. וזה נקרא קרבן להשם v'zeh inyanim ha'kashim b'yoser shelcha, oso sham takriv laShem yisbarach. V'zeh nikra korban laShem. כדי עשית וטרחת ועמלת. שאין קרבנות מבן בהמה, מבן בקר ומבן צאן, שיצר הרע מפתה את האדם להניח לו לקיים את כל מיני מצוות ומעשים טובים, שלא ידע מהו עיקר עבודתו שלו K'dai asisa v'tarachta v'amalta. She'ein karbanos mi'ben behemah, mi'ben bakar u'm'ben tzon, she'yetzer hara mefateh es ha'adam l'haniach lo l'kayem es kol minei mitzvos u'maasim tovim, she'lo yeida mahu ikar avodaso shelo. So the יצר הרע yetzer hara it confuses us and it tells us to do all kinds of מצוות mitzvos and good deeds, but we don't understand why. ועל דרך זה האויב במלחמה שמתעמש בצבאו כדי להסיר כוונתו האמיתית מאיפה לתקוף. בעבודתו אין אלא בחיצוניות, בבחינת קרבן חם, ולא עיקר עבודה היא הדבר הקשה ביותר שזהו קרבן להשם V'al derech zeh ha'oyev b'milchama she'misamesh b'tzva'o k'dei l'hasir kavanaso ha'amitis mei'eifoh l'itkof. B'avodaso ein ella b'chitzonius, b'vchinas korbanchem, v'lo ikar avodah hi ha'davar ha'kasheh b'yoser she'zehu korban laShem. Sometimes the enemy tries to ensnare you, so it gives you the illusion that you're winning so that it can then come up on the other side and that's when it's going to really take you down. That's when it's going to really take you down. Who was here recently and described the Air Force, the planes they sent up in the air? Which speaker? Oh, it was Ben-Gurion's grandson. He told that story. That the you had the air force sent up the plane and and when the was it Egyptian? Egyptian, then he quickly dunked and the other guys came in there. So you give the enemy the illusion that they have you. And then they get cocky and arrogant and then you can swoop in and and you take them out. So that's how the יצר הרע yetzer hara works with us. The יצר הרע yetzer hara says, 'Yeah, yeah, you're winning. You got the Daf Yomi. You make it to minyan. Yeah, you're winning, you're winning.' And then now when you're alone at night with the internet, now you're vulnerable because you feel pretty good about yourself. 'I'm a decent Jew. I go to the Daf, I go to learning.' Or, you know, so you're impatient with your wife, your children, or at work you're cutting corners a little bit, and you're not really reporting everything on the taxes. But the יצר הרע yetzer hara gives you the illusion that you're winning in other areas, so you're guard is down because you think you're winning, and that's when it boom, it goes in for the attack. So that's exactly here. You know, you're going through the motions. קרבן חם Korbanchem, you're bringing בקר וצאן bakar v'tzon. You're bringing yeah, you go to the minyan, you go to דאווענען davening. Ay, but you talk the whole time, you come late, you leave early, you have no כוונה kavanah. It's okay, you said פתח המכתר p'tum ha'ketores from a club, so you're good to go. עוד יש לומר, עניין אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן להשם. מה אמר הבעל שם טוב הקדוש, זכותו יגן עלינו, כשהיצר הרע מפיל יהודי לעבירה, או יראה רעה, על כל זה דעס כי אין רע יורד מן השמיים Od yesh lomar, inyan adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem. Ma amar ha'Baal Shem Tov ha'kadosh, zechuso yagen aleinu, k'she'ha'yetzer hara mapil Yehudi l'aveira, o yirah ra'ah, al kol zeh da'as ki ein ra yored min ha'shamayim. So the בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov also says, אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן להשם adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem means, when the יצר הרע yetzer hara makes a person have a an impure love or an impure fear or, you should realize that nothing impure comes to this world from שמיים shamayim. רק שנמסר לו כעת מתנה מן השמיים את מידת האהבה, שישתמש בה לאהבת השם ואהבת ישראל Rak she'nimsar lo ka'eis matana min ha'shamayim es midas ha'ahava, she'yishtamesh bah l'ahavas Hashem v'ahavas Yisrael. ותפקידו אך לבחור במידת האהבה להכניסה לקדושה ולאהבת השם ואהבת ישראל V'tafkido ach livroch b'midas ha'ahava l'hachnisah li'kdusha u'l'ahavas Hashem v'ahavas Yisrael. If you feel this tremendous influx of love, so you're drawn to loving the wrong thing. You're loving food, you're loving you're loving images, you're loving substances, you're loving money, you're loving power, you're loving celebrity, you're loving If you feel this tremendous swelling of love, our mission is to channel, to redirect the love. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu doesn't give the מידה midah of love to be applied to something that's less than holy. So when you feel the love, great. Embrace the love, lean into the love, and now redirect the love to something worthy. וזהו אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן להשם V'zehu adam ki yakriv mikem korban laShem. כדי עשית וטרחת ועמלת. שמכם K'dai asisa v'tarachta v'amalta, she'mikem is ראשי תיבות מידה כנגד מידה rashei teivos mida k'neged mida. You should be מקריב makriv a קרבן korban, מידה כנגד מידה mida k'neged mida. Where should you bring the קרבן korban from? מידה כנגד מידה Mida k'neged mida. שים מתעורר אצלו יהודי איזה מידה רעה She'im mis'orer eitzlo Yehudi eizeh midah ra'ah. So if a person feels a swelling of a מידה רעה midah ra'ah, they're tempted to feel anger or envy. על כל זה אורה מידה כנגד מידה, שיעלה מידה זו להשם יתברך Al kol zeh orah mida k'neged mida, she'ya'aleh midah zu laShem yisbarach. So אדם כי יקריב מכם adam ki yakriv mikem, מידה כנגד מידה mida k'neged mida. So this is our mission. How do we make the how are we מקריב makriv? We're מקריב makriv מכם mikem. You know when you have to sacrifice is that when you're feeling that emotion towards something else, redirect it, rechannel it. כעת איש מסוגל להדביק מידה זו לקדושה Ka'eis ish mesugal l'hadbik midah zu li'kdusha. כי מאחר שאתה מתעורר בך מידה זו, הרי זה מתנה מן השמיים. כשהיהודי מקיים זאת ומקריב את המידה לרבון של עולם, הרי מקיים תכלית בבחינת קרבן להשם Ki me'achar she'atah mis'orer b'cha midah zu, harei zeh matana min ha'shamayim. K'she'ha'Yehudi mekayem zos u'makriv es ha'midah l'Ribono Shel Olam, harei mekayem tachlis b'vchinas korban laShem. שאין כן מבן בהמה מבן בקר ומבן צאן, שזהו רק קרבן חם She'ein kein mi'ben behemah mi'ben bakar u'mi'ben tzon, she'zehu rak korbanchem. When you only bring it from an animal, that's just קרבן חם korbanchem. You're bringing it superficially, externally. You're trying to get away with it just bringing the animal. But when you bring it from inside yourself, you elevate yourself, you redirect and you channel it to transform yourself, then you're giving it מכם mikem, מידה כנגד מידה mida k'neged mida, then you're giving it from inside us. So it's a very powerful piece. ויקרא Vayikra, the small אלף aleph is we should interpret everything in our life as not happenstance or chance, but it's Hashem calling us. Now the challenge is what do we answer? What what is he calling us to do? That he doesn't explicitly we don't have the play call. That we've got to come up with. And it's a process of elimination and we have to play with it and we have to try to settle on it. So what's the hint? The hint of the ויקרא Vayikra, what he's calling us to do is, where's our area of biggest challenge? What do we want to do the least? What is the hardest thing to do? That's what we're meant to do. That's who we're meant to be. And if we can conquer or manage or grow in that area, that's our area of biggest breakthrough to help realize who we are meant to be.
