Transcript
Okay, good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov. Thank you for joining us. Sorry for the delay. Still trying to figure out the technology. I want to thank our sponsors for the series, פרשה Parsha series for the entire year, our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family. In memory of Becky's father, David Grossman, a very special man. לעילוי נשמת דוד מנחם מנש Leiluy nishmas David Menachem Manash. Our learning of פרשיות parshiyos two, בהר Behar and בחוקותי Bechukosai this morning should be לעילוי נשמתו leiluy nishmaso, should serve to elevate his beautiful soul. We have the privilege as I said of learning two פרשיות parshiyos today, בהר Behar and בחוקותי Bechukosai. We'll see how far we get. A lot of thoughts, a lot of ideas we want to get through in both. And with it we'll end the book of ויקרא Vayikra, תורת כהנים Toras Kohanim, the story of the laws of the כהנים kohanim. And it's hard to believe that this is the second חזק chazak that we're saying in quarantine, the second book that we're finishing without hearing קריאת התורה krias haTorah together. It's hard to believe, unfortunately, it's painful to believe, and yet is the reality that we are confronted with. פרשת בהר Parshas Behar is in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash on page 696. And the פרשה parsha begins: וידבר השם אל משה Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe, וידבר השם אל משה בהר סיני לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe beHar Sinai leimor. God spoke to Moshe at Har Sinai. דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם כי תבואו אל הארץ Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem ki savou el ha'aretz, and so on. And then it proceeds to tell us the laws of שמיטה shmita, when you enter the land, six years you work, the seventh year is a sabbatical, the seventh year you rest, and so on and so forth. And of course, the question is begged: מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Mah inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai? As Rashi quotes, what in the world does שמיטה shmita, the opening law of this week's פרשה parsha, what does it have to do with הר סיני Har Sinai? והלא כל המצוות נאמרו בסיני Vehalo kol hamitzvos neemru b'Sinai? In fact, all of Torah and מצוות mitzvos were given at Sinai. So why is שמיטה shmita singled out here? Why is שמיטה shmita isolated that this was given בהר סיני beHar Sinai as opposed to, as opposed to the other מצוות mitzvos? אלא Ella, so Rashi concludes: מה שמיטה נאמרו כללותיה ופרטותיה ודקדוקיה מסיני Mah shmita neemru klaloseha u'pratoseha v'diktukeha miSinai, just as שמיטה shmita, its general law, general theme, its general essence and idea, as well as its particulars and details, were all given at Sinai, אף כולן נאמרו כללותיהם ודקדוקיהם מסיני af kulan neemru klaloseihem v'diktukeihem miSinai, כך שנינו בתורת כהנים kach shninu b'Toras Kohanim. So just as שמיטה shmita what we're going to learn, all the big picture of שמיטה shmita as well as the details of שמיטה shmita, it was all given at הר סיני Har Sinai. So too all law is given at, is given at הר סיני Har Sinai. The אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, the vision of the Rebbe says, there's something more going on here. And it's telling us the following. He doesn't say this at the beginning of פרשת בהר Parshas Behar, he says it at the very end of פרשת בחוקותי Parshas Bechukosai, when the Torah ends the book of ויקרא Vayikra by invoking again the image of הר סיני Har Sinai. אלה המצוות אשר צוה השם את משה אל בני ישראל בהר סיני Eleh hamitzvos asher tziva Hashem es Moshe el Bnei Yisrael beHar Sinai. These are the מצוות mitzvos that God commanded Moshe to communicate and transmit to the Jewish people where? At הר סיני Har Sinai. So פרשת בהר Parshas Behar opens with הר סיני Har Sinai, פרשת בחוקותי Parshas Bechukosai ends with הר סיני Har Sinai. It's as if it's two bookends that capture our two פרשיות parshiyos. So why, why the emphasis on הר סיני Har Sinai here when the truth is all Torah was given at הר סיני Har Sinai? So the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim says the following. The vision of the Rebbe says: הר סיני מרמז על ענוה Har Sinai meramez al anava, כמאמר חז״ל צוה לשון התחברות k'maamar chazal tziva loshon hischabrus. הר סיני Har Sinai reflects the notion of modesty, of humility. And that is a prerequisite to receiving the Torah. The arrogant, egotistical person who thinks they have all the answers and thinks they have all the explanations, and thinks that they can micromanage and is in a power struggle with the Almighty, can't receive Torah. To truly receive Torah and have Torah be impressed upon our hearts, we have to be a טבלה ראסה tabula rasa, a blank slate. And Torah has to shape and mold our perspective, our השקפה hashkafa, our impressions. But a person who's arrogant and egotistical who thinks the Torah should conform to what they believe, cannot authentically and genuinely receive Torah. And therefore the prerequisite to receiving Torah and to observing מצוות mitzvos for that matter, is the capacity to practice humility, to understand מכיר את מקומו makir es mekomo, to see our place in, our place in the world. So הר סיני Har Sinai is a hint to ענוה anava. As חז״ל Chazal say, אלה המצוות אשר צוה השם Eleh hamitzvos asher tziva Hashem, צוה tziva is התחברות hischabrus. אלה המצוות Eleh hamitzvos, היינו תורה הקדושה אשר צוה השם את בני ישראל לחבר קודשא בריך הוא ואורייתא וישראל haynu haTorah haKedosha asher tziva Hashem es Bnei Yisrael lechaber Kudsha Brich Hu v'Oraisa v'Yisrael. The purpose of מצוות mitzvos and Torah is ציווי tzivui, מצוות mitzvos, to be מצוה metzaveh, to be מצוה metzaveh is התחברות hischabrus, it means a connection, a bond. It means the Jewish people and Hashem are connected. How? Through his מצוות mitzvos. The truth is, in every area, in every arena of our lives, in all of our relationships, husband, wife, parents and children, friends, colleagues, in every area of our lives, when we ask something of the other and they're willing to meet and fill that need of ours, that creates connection. When a spouse asks of another spouse, \"Do you mind? Would you? Can you please?\" and each is compromising and giving to one another, that is exactly what creates a sense of connection, a bond between the two. So ציווי tzivui, not in the form of a command, \"I demand you, I coerce you or I force you.\" But ציווי tzivui means, \"Here's my need, here's my request, here's what I'm asking of you.\" And your willingness to fulfill it is what creates the sense of a התחברות hischabrus. When are you willing to fulfill it? When you're willing to suppress or when you're willing to minimize or when you're willing to compromise, concede your need or your control or your power. So implicit within ציווי tzivui and התחברות hischabrus, the notion of a command of responding, that yields a sense of connection, implicit in there is the humility, the עניוות anivus that's represented by הר סיני Har Sinai. אל בני ישראל הכל על ידי הר סיני על ידי ענוה El Bnei Yisrael hakol al yedei Har Sinai al yedei anava. נמשלה למים שיורדת למקום נמוך כמאמר חז״ל השראת השכינה הקדושה גם כן על ידי ענוה Nimshala l'mayim sheyoredes l'makom namuch k'maamar Chazal hashras haShechina haKedosha gam ken al yedei anava. Just like water flows to the lowest common denominator, Torah is likened to water. We couldn't go three days in a desert without water, we can't go three days without learning Torah. And just as water flows down, so too Torah flows down. If we think we are above, superior to Torah, it doesn't flow up towards us. But the vision of the Rebbe goes a little bit further and he says in fact that is all included in the word הר har. הר סיני Har Sinai, or rather in the word סיני Sinai. הר סיני Har Sinai actually communicates this tension, this balance between two separate themes. And listen to this other section. אלה המצוות אשר צוה השם את משה על בני ישראל בהר סיני Eleh hamitzvos asher tziva Hashem es Moshe el Bnei Yisrael beHar Sinai. הר Har רמז לגאוה remez l'gaiva, שמגביה עצמו לרום shemagbia atzmo l'rum. A הר har, a mountain actually reflects haughtiness, feeling elevated, superior. You climb the mountain, you ascend the mountain, the mountain is high, the mountain has a peak, the mountain is above. סיני Sinai, נמוך שבהרים namuch she'beharim. We all know, we're taught as children that הר סיני Har Sinai, why did הר סיני Har Sinai merit that the Torah was transmitted on it? Because הר סיני Har Sinai is the lowest of all the mountains. Every other mountain said, \"Give it on me. I'm tall and I'm broad and I'm large and I'm impressive.\" And הר סיני Har Sinai said, \"I'm just a modest little mountain.\" And therefore הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu said that modesty, that humility of Sinai, therefore earned it. וגם v'gam it's hinted to an ענוה anava. במצוות השם צריכים לדעת לפעמים להתנהג בענוות ולפעמים גם בגאוה B'mitzvos Hashem tzrichim ladaas l'faamim l'hisnaheg b'anivus u'lefaamim gam b'gaiva. Sometimes we have to know when it comes to the מצוות השם mitzvos Hashem, sometimes we have to act with humility, sometimes we have to carry ourselves with modesty. And other times a person has to have a שטיקל גאוה shtickel gaiva. When do you have a שטיקל גאוה shtickel gaiva? When is there ever room for arrogance? So, ויגבה לבו בדרכי השם Vayigbah libo b'darchei Hashem. It's a פסוק pasuk in דברי הימים Divrei Hayamim. When we have to realize that it's פאשעט pashet, it's beneath us to speak a certain way or act a certain way or dress a certain way. That's not arrogance, it's confidence. So, the Jewish people, our mission and mandate is to find that balance between confidence, not arrogance, but to know that we are בני מלכים bnei melachim, we are the children of royalty, we are princes and princesses. Certain behavior is beneath us, it's פאשעט pashet. We have to have a certain sense of גאוה gaiva, of pride on the one hand, and you have to have ענוות anivus on the other. And therefore the Torah was given on הר סיני Har Sinai. Just like שמיטה shmita was given on הר סיני Har Sinai, so to the whole Torah was given on הר סיני Har Sinai. What does it mean the Torah was given on הר סיני Har Sinai? It means the Torah was given in that space, in the balance between sometimes feeling we're a הר har, sometimes feeling that we have to know who we are and what is beneath us, and sometimes feeling like a סיני Sinai, realizing we're the lowest of all the mountains and therefore we have to carry and practice ourselves with a little humility. The מנחם ציון בפרקי אבות Menachem Tzion b'Pirkei Avos says this is the meaning of the opening משנה mishna of פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos, that it says משה קבל תורה מסיני Moshe kibel Torah miSinai, ומסרה ליהושע u'mesara l'Yehoshua. Moshe received the Torah at הר סיני Har Sinai, he gave it to Yehoshua, Yehoshua to the זקנים zekeinim and so on and so forth. Shouldn't the משנה mishna say משה קבל תורה בסיני Moshe kibel Torah b'Sinai? Moshe received the Torah at or on הר סיני Har Sinai? Why does it say משה קבל תורה מסיני Moshe kibel Torah miSinai, he received the Torah from Sinai? Says רב מנחם מנציון זק״ש Rav Menachem Mendel Tzion Zaks in his מנחם ציון על פרקי אבות Menachem Tzion al Pirkei Avos, because what it means is Moshe understood that just like הר סיני Har Sinai merited to accurately and authentically receive Torah, דוקא dafka because of its humility, Moshe understood and Moshe was עניו מכל אדם anav mikol adam, he was the most humble of all men, Moshe understood that the prerequisite to accurately and authentically receiving Torah is practicing humility and modesty. He didn't just receive the Torah at הר סיני Har Sinai, a geographic location. The משנה mishna is not just telling us the coordinates of where the Torah was given, but משה קבל תורה מסיני Moshe kibel Torah miSinai, he received the Torah of Sinai, namely the lesson of practicing humility. So the very opening פסוק pasuk, וידבר השם אל משה בהר סיני לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe beHar Sinai leimor, and Rashi asking מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני mah inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai? What does one thing have to do with the other? That just as it was all given on הר סיני Har Sinai with שמיטה shmita, so to the details of all Torah and מצוות mitzvos come from הר סיני Har Sinai, is a reminder to us as the vision of the Rebbe of this balance between הר har and סיני Sinai. We should see ourselves as great, as worthy, as capable, as confident, as the children of Hashem, that it's פאשעט pashet to not observe Torah and מצוות mitzvos is beneath us on the one hand we're a הר har, and on the other hand, we're a סיני Sinai. We have to learn that lesson and practice that sense of humility. What is this מצוה mitzva of, what is this מצוה mitzva of שמיטה shmita? What is this מצוה mitzva given to us? דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם כי תבואו אל הארץ אשר אני נותן לכם ושבתה הארץ שבת לשם Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem ki savou el ha'aretz asher ani nosein lachem v'shavsa ha'aretz shabbos l'Hashem. When you come to that land that I'm giving you, ושבתה הארץ v'shavta ha'aretz, the land needs to observe שבת Shabbos. We keep שבת Shabbos, we count six days, שש שנים תעשה מלאכה sheish shanim ta'ase melacha, six days we work. Work is not a concession. In Judaism work is a value, it is an ideal. We'll get to that at the beginning of בחוקותי Bechukosai. שתהיו עמלים בתורה she'tihiyu ameilim baTorah. That notion of עמלות ameilus, of toil, of work, of effort, that process is not just a concession. It's not, \"Really I want the result. I wish I could be born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I wish I won the lottery. I wish others would support and provide me. Really I want the result. I have to do the work if nobody wrote me the check, if nobody supports me, if I don't have the silver spoon in my mouth, what can I do? I have to get up and work.\" No. Even if you have privilege in your life, nevertheless, שש שנים תעשה מלאכה sheish shanim ta'aseh melacha. Work is not a concession. In Judaism work is a value, work is an ideal. And I dare say, work is a מצוה mitzva. It is a noble, righteous, and religious activity. שתהיו עמלים she'tihiyu ameilim, that a person has to exert and express, and וכבשוה u'chivshuha, go conquer the world, understand it, learn it, manipulate it, maneuver it, and conquer that world. However, as much as we are mandated and as much as our mission is to mold and shape Hashem's world, to repair it, to improve it, to interact, to engage it, nevertheless, we also have to know when we are, when we're done, when we need to rest, when the land needs to rest, and when we need to rest. And that is the essence of שמיטה shmita. We'll get to it in a moment. But the פסוק pasuk introduces it by saying כי תבואו ki savou when you enter the land, and which land? אשר אני נותן לכם Asher ani nosein lachem. It is the land that I am giving you. And רב נחמן מברסלב Rav Nachman of Breslov, the הליכות ברסלבר Hilchos Breslover wonders why does it say אשר אני נותן לכם asher ani nosein lachem? Why does it say the land I'm giving you? What should it say? אשר נתתי לכם Asher nasati lachem. This is the land that I have given you. Hashem made a promise to Avram, the ברית בין הבתרים Bris bein habesarim, he told him, \"I'm giving you this land.\" In סדר סניפץ seder snippets, we're up to ויברך דוד Vayevarech David, the second half, אתה הוא השם ata hu Hashem. And we're learning כורת עמו ברית koros imo bris. Hashem made a ברית bris with Avram, and he gave him the land of the all the nations that were living, the Canaanite nations living on that land, Hashem expelled them. והקימותי את V'hakimosi es... he fulfilled his promise to Avram, he fulfilled that ברית bris. Ah, isn't it stealing it from those other nations who had been dwelling there? The answer is the opening Rashi on all of חומש Chumash. Hashem created the whole world, it's his, and he allocated that land for us from the very beginning of time. They were living there temporarily, they were essentially squatters, and it was time for us to take that land back. כורת עמו ברית Koros imo bris, Hashem made a covenant with Avram. So if he made the covenant with Avram, shouldn't the פסוק pasuk say אשר נתתי לכם asher nasati lachem, \"when you enter the land I've given you\"? Why does it say אשר אני נותן לכם asher ani nosein lachem? We're reading this in 2020, in תש״פ Taf Shin Pey, why are we still reading אשר אני נותן לכם asher ani nosein lachem? And the הליכות ברסלבר Hilchos Breslover, Rav Nachman, says the following most beautiful idea. He says בכל יום b'chol yom when a Jew walks in Israel, when a Jew merits to live in Israel, visit Israel, please God soon in our time, בכל יום הוא מרגיש בטעמים חדשים ונעימים וערבים b'chol yom hu margish b'taamim chadashim v'neimim v'areivim. A person needs to feel the sweetness, taste the beauty, receive the ברכה bracha. כל יום מתוק ונעים מקודמו kol yom matok v'naim mi'kodmo. Each day it's sweeter, each day it's more pleasant than the day before. And therefore a person never, ever takes ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael for granted, ever. It's not the land אשר נתתי asher nasati. \"Ah, he gave it to us.\" 1948, the Six Day War, יום כיפור Yom Kippur War. \"Ah, we fought our wars, it's ours, it's ours forever.\" And therefore it's נתתי nasati, it's given to us and we can take it for granted. Says Rav Nachman, that this פרשה parsha is introducing us to the notion that when you enter that land, the mentality, the perspective that you have to maintain is אשר אני נותן לכם asher ani nosein lachem, that every day it's as if he's giving it again. Never take it for granted, never assume it will continue to be there. Always live in the miracle that it is and realize אשר אני נותן לכם asher ani nosein lachem, he continues to give it to us and to provide us that enormous, incredible ברכה bracha each and every day. We recently recognized that when we celebrated יום העצמאות Yom Ha'atzmaut, soon we'll be celebrating יום ירושלים Yom Yerushalayim. ירושלים עיר הקודש Yerushalayim ir hakodesh is not נתתי nasati, I gave it. It's אשר אני נותן asher ani nosein, to continue to feel it's being given with love, with affection, with sweetness and pleasantness each and every day, and more and more each and every day. We continue. שש שנים תזרע שדך ושש שנים תזמר כרמך ואספת את תבואתה Sheish shanim tizra sadecha v'sheish shanim tizmor karmecha v'asafta es tevuasa. Six years you plant, six years you plant your vineyard, and then you gather your produce. ובשנה השביעית U'bashana ha'shviis, and on the seventh year, שבת שבתון יהיה לארץ שבת להשם shabbos shabbason yihiyeh la'aretz shabbos l'Hashem. It of course is a sabbatical year, and your field you can't plant and your vineyard you have to lay fallow. It's very interesting to note, very important to note that the Torah here is employing the very same language for שמיטה shmita that it does for שבת Shabbos. שבתון Shabbason, sabbatical is the sabbatical of the yearly cycle. The שבת Shabbos is of the weekly cycle of days and of course שמיטה shmita is of the yearly cycle, and its goal is to accomplish the very same thing, to be able to step back and to realize what is ours, what's not ours, what are we in control of and what are we not in control of. The Torah here calls שמיטה shmita שבת שבתון Shabbos Shabbason. And here Rabbi Soloveitchik in the Rav Chumash writes the following. The idea behind שמיטה shmita and יובל yovel is that man does not truly own anything. The use of the term שבת Shabbos for both the seventh day and for the seventh year is not coincidental. What is the common motif? To keep שבת Shabbos is to bear witness that Hashem is the creator. Man professes faith he is the creator not in a homiletical sense but in the הלכתיק halachic sense. A שבת Shabbos violator is considered a מומר לכל התורה mumar l'chol haTorah, one who's violated the entire Torah because he denies the authority of Hashem over creation. The same motif applies to שמיטה shmita. It is a restoration of the authority of Hashem and the proclamation of God as the creator and the maker. The prohibition of 39 forbidden categories of work involve an extension of one's authority through productive work. שבת Shabbos violation includes only מלאכת מחשבת meleches machsheves, intentional actions that result in constructive work. מקלקל Mekalkel, destructive acts are permitted, they don't demonstrate authority. שמיטה Shmita is referred to as a שבת Shabbos because like שבת Shabbos it's a day of surrender. שבת שמיטה ויובל Shabbos, shmita, v'yovel all involve the surrender of authority to the true owner. So six days go, study, learn, conquer, manipulate, invent, innovate, entrepreneurship, control the world. And then lest you think you're really in control, lest you think that you really invented and created it all, it is so incredibly important to every now and then rest, to refrain, to abstain. We're act, act, act, and then be passive, be at peace with nature, stop trying to control and manipulate it, realize that it and we all serve the same master, namely Hashem, it is all his and he is the one in control. So essentially what Rabbi Soloveitchik here is saying, and what all the מפרשים mefarshim elaborate on, is that שמיטה shmita is an exercise in אמונה emuna. The whole essence of שמיטה shmita is an exercise in אמונה emuna. It's what it's really all about. It's what we're trying to achieve. An exercise in אמונה emuna, the ability to be submissive, the ability to be passive. And perhaps this is another explanation of the connection between שמיטה shmita and הר סיני Har Sinai. The אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh here asks, how did Rashi answer his question? Rashi asked, מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני mah inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai? What is the connection between שמיטה shmita and הר סיני Har Sinai? And then Rashi answers, it's the model or the archetype of all מצוות mitzvos. Just like our פרשה parsha continues by giving a broad principle, specific details of the מצוה mitzva, the principles and details of all מצוות mitzvos were given at הר סיני Har Sinai. Asks the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, how did he answer the question? שמיטה Shmita is the model of a מצוה mitzva, principles and details are given, but the question was why is שמיטה shmita chosen as the model, as the example, as the archetype or prototype? And he didn't answer that. He didn't answer that. So the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim gives an answer to why Rashi did answer, but I want to suggest to you a different answer to you this morning. By a show of hands, and you can't really, I don't see everyone simultaneously. How many people here have been to the the כותל Kosel, the כותל Kosel to the base of הר הבית Har Habayis, on הר הבית Har Habayis, whatever you call it. How many have been there? Probably almost all of us, if not all of us. How many have been to הר סיני Har Sinai? I'm going to guess none of you. We're not even exactly sure where הר סיני Har Sinai is. Josephus and other Jewish sources identify it with some location northwest in Arabia, east of the Red Sea. Others say it's in the Sinai Peninsula. We're not even sure exactly where הר סיני Har Sinai is, let alone is it a major tourist location of the Jewish people or of any people. So here you have הר הבית Har Habayis, you have the כותל Kosel, we all go to, you can't go on a trip to Israel, you can't make it through your first day there without making it to the כותל Kosel. And הר סיני Har Sinai where the Torah was given, and we're not even sure exactly where it is. Why is that? So, there's a fundamental difference between the two. Rabbi Soloveitchik explained that one of these mountains retained its sacred status permanently, and the other was only temporary. Why? Rabbi Soloveitchik explained that קדושה kedusha, sanctity is not a function of a geographic location. But rather קדושה kedusha is the result of human input, of human service, of human endeavor, of human commitment, of human effort. קדושה Kedusha doesn't come upon us, קדושה kedusha we have to begin with acts of קדושה kedusha, which we'll explain in a moment with שבת Shabbos. הר סיני Har Sinai was only sanctified with temporary sanctity, only as long as Hashem was there, because הר סיני Har Sinai was top-down. And הר הבית Har Habayis is bottom-up. הר הבית Har Habayis is a place of עבודה avoda. We go there for service, we go there for worship, we go there to act, we go there to do. We give, we do. הר סיני Har Sinai is top-down. Hashem bestowed, he gave, he gifted the Torah to us. We were passive spectators essentially. And therefore הר סיני Har Sinai reflects the notion of being able to be submissive, of passive. And maybe that's the connection between שמיטה shmita and הר סיני Har Sinai. For six years, we go to הר הבית Har Habayis. We work, we make effort, we toil, we do, we're of service. But the seventh year, we return to הר סיני Har Sinai, passive and submissive. And we recognize that it's top-down, with אמונה emuna, it all comes from Hashem. Maybe that is the connection of the theme of שמיטה shmita and הר סיני Har Sinai, this duality, sometimes top-down, sometimes bottom-up. שמיטה Shmita and הר סיני Har Sinai have this beautiful connection together. So שמיטה shmita is an exercise in humility. It's an exercise in אמונה emuna. In that seventh year, you can't work. In that seventh year, you're not padding your pocket. In that seventh year, you're literally relying exclusively on the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, on Hashem. I've been quoting to you a beautiful ספר sefer, אש תמיד Eish Tamid, which is רבי ישראל מאיר דרוק Rav Yisrael Meir Druck, a great ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva in ירושלים עיר הקודש Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh. He gave me beautifully inscribed this beautiful set of ספרים sfarim, which really has magnificent insights in דברי תורה divrei Torah. And here he talks about the following. Again, why is שמיטה shmita the one that's chosen? He is bothered by the same question as the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim. Rashi asked, what does שמיטה shmita have to do with הר סיני Har Sinai? And when he said, just like its details and principles are all from הר סיני Har Sinai, so to all מצוות mitzvos. But why was שמיטה shmita the one chosen to teach us that lesson? Why not any of the other 612 מצוות mitzvos in the Torah to say just like its details and principles, so to all Torah and מצוות mitzvos. So listen to what he says. עם ישראל קבלו את התורה בהר סיני ואמרו חז״ל במכילתא Am Yisrael kiblu es haTorah beHar Sinai v'amru Chazal b'Mechiltah. חז״ל Chazal, our rabbis teach us in the מדרש Midrash, לא ניתנה תורה אלא לאוכלי המן lo nitna Torah ela l'ochlei haman. The Torah was only given to those who eat מן man. אם כן ישנו קשר ישיר בין הנס שירד להם לישראל במדבר המן במדבר כל ארבעים שנה בין זה שזכו לקבל את התורה Im kein yeshno kesher yashir bein ha'nes sheyarad lahem l'Yisrael ba'midbar, haman ba'midbar, kol arba'im shana bein zeh shezachu lekabel es haTorah. וצריך להבין מה ענין זה אצל זה V'tzarich l'havin mah inyan zeh eitzel zeh. What is it about the fact that they lived off the מן man, the מן man descended from heaven that made them position best and most eligible to receive the Torah? צריך לאמר so he says the answer is the following. דור המדבר חיו באמונה פשוטה Dor ha'midbar chayu b'emuna peshuta, שכל הארץ של הקדוש ברוך הוא לא היה להם she'kol ha'aretz shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu, lo hayah lahem, לא עמל מלאכה ולא פרנסה רק ישבו כל היום ועסקו בתורה שקבלו מסיני lo amal melacha v'lo parnasa, rak yashvu kol hayom v'asku baTorah shekiblu miSinai. רק על ידי אמונה פשוטה זה ניתן להם התורה להבין ולקרוא ולא לשום דאגות וטרדות הזמן Rak al yedei emuna peshuta zeh nitan lahem haTorah l'havin v'likro v'lo l'shum de'agos v'tirdos ha'zman. The most authentic way to learn Torah is to realize the whole world is Hashem. Whatever I have comes from him. He provides, he gives, he sustains, he gives what we need, no more and no less. And then you're ready to receive the Torah. When you're competing with Hashem, when there's a power struggle with Hashem, then there's not enough room for you both. You can't accurately or authentically receive or learn or live his Torah. So what does it mean the Torah was given to the אוכלי המן ochlei haman? It means those who lived off the מן man in the מדבר midbar, they knew, they knew that it wasn't their פרנסה parnassa. They knew it wasn't their genius, their innovation, their entrepreneurship. They knew it was all from Hashem. So only the אוכלי המן ochlei haman, only those who have a mentality that whatever I have comes from above, he is in charge, he is in control, I am utterly and entirely reliant and dependent on him, only those with the mentality and attitude of אוכלי המן ochlei haman can truly receive the Torah. And that's what he says is the connection between שמיטה shmita and הר סיני Har Sinai. Because what happens in that year of שמיטה shmita? What do you live off of? You're back to having the status of the אוכלי המן ochlei haman. In that year of שמיטה shmita, when you can't work your field, and you can't draw in your income and פרנסה parnassa, but you're utterly and entirely relying on Hashem, you're back to the status, it's a throwback to the מדבר midbar to having the status of the אוכלי המן ochlei haman. So just like חז״ל Chazal said to begin with לא ניתנה תורה אלא לאוכלי המן lo nitna Torah ela l'ochlei haman, so too with שמיטה shmita, you're back to having the status of being אוכלי המן ochlei haman. You can't draw income, you don't know where your next paycheck's coming from. You're relying on and you're turning to and you're depending on Hashem, and now you're ready to receive the Torah. And that's why שמיטה shmita was chosen as this paradigm from which to derive this lesson and this law. And then he goes on and he explains, I think so beautifully, this is the connection to the continuation of the of the פרשה parsha he says. What happens in the continuation of the פרשה parsha? After שמיטה shmita we have the laws of ריבית ribbis. After שמיטה shmita we have the laws of how we lend. Of how we lend. So, בשנת היובל הזאת תשובו איש אל אחוזתו b'shnas hayovel hazos tashuvu ish el achuzaso. In the Jubilee, 50th year, land returns to its rightful owner, its initial owner. וכי תמכרו ממכר לעמיתך או קנה מיד עמיתך אל תונו איש את אחיו V'chi simkeru mimkar l'amisecha o kano miyad amisecha al tonu ish es achiv. And then we're introduced to this law that you're not allowed to extort your fellow. When you're selling, you're not allowed to overcharge. במספר שנים אחר היובל תקנה מאת עמיתך b'mispar shanim achar hayovel tikneh mei'es amisecha. And it's interspersed, they're all of a sudden in the middle of this law. So what in the world is that doing here? And then we get into the law of ריבית ribbis, of charging with interest. What are these financial, business, interpersonal, commerce laws doing right with שמיטה shmita and with יובל yovel? What does one thing have to do with the other? So listen what Rav Druck says. He says if the whole essence of שמיטה shmita is an exercise in אמונה emuna, to realize that what we have comes from Hashem, that it takes us back to when we were included and characterized as the אוכלי המן ochlei haman, it takes us back to a time when we realized that it all comes from Hashem. If you realize it all comes from Hashem, then you'll earn your income ethically and morally and honesty and with integrity. You're not going to extort and you're not going to overcharge and you're not going to pressure and charge interest to another. But rather, you'll do all your business dealings with honesty. If you live with אמונה emuna and you know that what you have, you're meant to receive, and you know that you can't, no matter what you do, get more, and you're not going to have less, that what you have is what's been determined as best for you from above, then you're not going to cross the line morally, ethically when it comes to business matters. And that's the connection between the laws, that's why they appear here in succession and even interspersed. לא לחינם lo l'chinam, he says, השאלה הראשונה שנשאל אדם כשמגיע לעולם האמת ועומד לדין לפני בית דין של מעלה ha'she'eilah ha'rishona she'nishal adam k'shemagia l'olam ha'emes v'omeid l'din lifnei beis din shel maalah. It's not a coincidence, the first question we're asked when we come upstairs, נשאת ונתת באמונה nasasa v'nasata b'emuna? גמרא בשבת ל״א ע״א Gemara b'Shabbos lamed aleph amud aleph. Did we do our business dealings באמונה b'emuna, with faith, with integrity, with honesty, ביושר ולא בשקר b'yosher v'lo b'sheker? כשהוכחתי מזה כאמונתו בקיומו של הבורא עולם והשגחתו על כל צעד ושעל בבריאה חזקה ואיתנה היא k'shehochacha mizeh k'emunaso b'kiyumo shel haBorei Olam v'hashgachaso al kol tzaad v'shaal b'vria chazaka v'eisana hi. He says, why is that the first question we're asked when we come upstairs? One maybe I'll turn to Hashem and I'll say, \"Look, I had an enormous יצר הרע yetzer hara to report inaccurately on my income taxes. I took things as business expenses that weren't, but הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, when it came to the other 612, I gave צדקה tzedaka, I דאווען davened with כוונה kavana, I had the longest שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei, I was the most scrupulous when it came to the laws of כשרות kashrus. I was so vigilant in every other area. Hashem, what are you harping on the business and the taxes and the interpersonal and the and how I marketed and did I promise and overdeliver, underdeliver? That's just one area of הלכה halacha, why is that the first question?\" Says Rav Druck, because that question says everything about your אמונה emuna in Hashem. If you're dishonest in business, if you have a תאוות הממון taavas hamamon and if your drive for money is so great that it clouds your judgment, that you act dishonestly in business, not only have you harmed and injured your fellow man, but you've actually compromised and corrupted your very self, your character. You've revealed your lack of faith in Hashem. The one who has faith in Hashem, it's not separate. Religion and interpersonal relationships. You can't be righteous in שול shul and then cutthroat and ruthless at work. It's all connected. It's all a reflection of your righteousness. It's all part of your religious character and identity. Not only because a religious personality is ethical and honest, but it means you have no אמונה emuna in Hashem if you're willing to cross lines and if you're willing to push boundaries, you have no faith that Hashem gives exactly what we need and that Hashem gives exactly what we, exactly what we deserve. Okay, continuing. Back to פרק כ״ה פסוק כ׳ perek kaf hei pasuk kaf. The Torah warns, the Torah worries. What's going to happen? What's going to happen? Hashem here just said forced sabbatical. Forced sabbatical. To a degree, those of us quarantining who've lives are turned upside down, we're still working, but for me, these שבתות Shabbosos have been שבתות Shabbosos כאילו ke'ilu of sabbatical. I've tasted what it's like to be a regular Jew, to experience a שבת Shabbos. You need a, you need a sabbatical. You need to return to your roots and restore and re-energize and rejuvenate not just the land but our souls with a sense of אמונה emuna and a sense of spirituality and a sense of רוחניות ruchnius. But there's a lot of fear. There's a lot of people with this forced sabbatical who are furloughed, who've been laid off. Look at the unemployment numbers. And therefore what's going to happen? The פסוק pasuk tells us פרק כ״ה פסוק כ׳ perek kaf hei pasuk kaf, top of page 700. What's going to happen? וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעית V'chi somru mah nochal bashana ha'shviis? You're going to say, \"What am I going to eat in the seventh year?\" It's a lovely idea, exercise in humility, exercise in faith, in אמונה emuna. Lovely idea. Who's covering my sabbatical? Is it a paid sabbatical or an unpaid sabbatical? How am I going to pay the mortgage? What am I going to have to eat? הן לא נזרע ולא נאסף את תבואתנו Hen lo nizra v'lo ne'esof es tevuaseinu. I'm not working the land, it's not going to produce for me. וציויתי את ברכתי לכם בשנה השישית ועשת את התבואה לשלוש השנים V'tzivisi es birchasi lachem bashana ha'shishis v'asasa es ha'tevua l'shlosh hashanim. So the Torah says, don't worry because the sixth year is going to provide enough for the sixth, seventh, and eighth years. So you're worried what you'll eat in the seventh year? No, that if you observe שמיטה shmita. שמיטה shmita properly? If you have an attitude of שמיטה shmita that's proper, you'll grow enough in the sixth year to provide the sixth, seventh and eighth year. By the way, אש התורה Aish HaTorah, the Discovery program, they always point out, this is one of the pieces of evidence, you can decide whether it's compelling or not, that the Torah is written by God, not man. Why? Because if a man or a group of people, group of men, were to sit down and author a religious document, would they make such a promise that they couldn't deliver on? Who would make such a promise? Only one who could deliver, only one who could make it come true. Otherwise, your religion would last one year, and or six years, and the first sabbatical, the first sixth year you encounter, where it didn't produce enough for the sixth, seventh and eighth years, that would be the end of your religion. Perhaps this is evidence for the divine authorship of the of the Torah.But what is who is exactly saying this? Who's saying this? וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעית V'chi somru ma nochal bashana hashvi'is. And if you'll say, what will we eat in the seventh year? Who's the if you'll say וכי תאמרו v'chi somru, when you'll say, if you'll say, who's the one who's saying this? So the ספורנו Sforno, you got to look here at the ספורנו Sforno again, פרק כ\"ה פסוק י\"ט Perek Kaf Hey Pasuk Yud Tes. I hope you're looking here inside with me. Those who pushed me to come back to the to the מקראות גדולות Mikraos Gedolos and to look inside. So the ספורנו Sforno says, וכי תאמרו מה נאכל, כאשר יסופק זה אצלכם, ולא תבטחו שיהיה מעט מספיק באיכותו V'chi somru ma nochal, ka'asher yesupak zeh etzchem, v'lo tivtechu she'yihiyeh me'at maspeek b'eichuso. Says the ספורנו Sforno, you know who we're talking about? You'll have enough. But are you מסתפק במועט mistapek b'muat? Is what you have enough? וכי תאמרו V'chi somru, you're gonna say, I'm used to lavish smorgasbords. I'm used to endless buffets. I'm used to unlimited options. And the seventh year all I have is a little bit. I'm sustaining and surviving on very modest. So the ספורנו Sforno says, the group who are asking this, it's because they're challenged in the area of being מסתפק במועט mistapek b'muat. Can they be satisfied with what they have or are they going to always crave more? If you look at רש\"י Rashi, skip to פרק כ\"ה פסוק כ\"א Perek Kaf Hey Pasuk Kaf Aleph. פרק כ\"ו פסוק ה Perek Kaf Vav Pasuk Hey. The Torah there promises, in the beginning of פרשת בחוקותי Parshas Bechukosai before we get to the תוכחה tochacha, the Torah in the ברכות brachos promises, והשיג לכם דיש את בציר ובציר ישיג את זרע, ואכלתם לחמכם לשובע V'hisig lachem daish es batzir, u'vatzir yasig es zara, v'achaltem lachmechem l'sova, you're going to eat bread to satisfaction till you're sated, וישבתם לבטח בארצכם vi'shavtem l'vetach b'artzechem, and you're going to live with בטח betach, with בטחון bitachon, with security in your in your land. רש\"י Rashi says, ואכלתם לחמכם לשובע v'achaltem lachmechem l'sova, אוכל קמעא והוא מתברך במעיו ochel kime'a v'hu misbarech b'me'av. You're going to eat very little but it's going to take little to satisfy you.Why is רש\"י Rashi interpreting the פסוק pasuk that way? It says ואכלתם לחמכם לשובע v'achaltem lachmechem l'sova. You're going to eat as much bread as you want. May not be good for you all those carbs, but you're going to eat as much bread as you want. You know the Israeli breakfast at the hotel, you have 17 kinds of breads and you cut them and they're piping hot and they're delicious. ואכלתם לחמכם לשובע V'achaltem lachmechem l'sova, that's my image. That's what I picture when you have every type of bread and hot פיתה pita and all the kinds of. What do you mean? Why is Rashi interpreting it means that אוכל קמעא ochel kima you're going to eat a little bit, but והוא מתברך במעיו v'hu misbarech b'me'av, it's going to fill your belly. You're going to feel like you're satisfied from that little bit. And some of the בעלי מוסר Baalei Mussar explain because רש\"י Rashi's telling us that the greatest ברכה bracha is not the ability to indulge. The greatest ברכה bracha is not the ability to stuff your face. The greatest ברכה bracha is that even the small amount will satisfy you. The greatest ברכה bracha is that even you'll be מסתפק במועט mistapek b'muat. So that is the criticism here and that is the ברכה bracha later, that our aspiration is not to have an endless amount, but it's to be satisfied even with a smaller or more modest amount. That is how the ספורנו Sforno interprets this interprets this פסוק pasuk. The רמב\"ן Ramban understands it a little bit differently. The רמב\"ן Ramban says, וכי v'chi. So וכי תאמרו v'chi somru, it means not וכי v'chi if you'll ask, but rather the רמב\"ן Ramban says וכי תאמרו v'chi somru means when you'll ask. וכי V'chi, when you'll ask. And why is the רמב\"ן Ramban interpreting it that way? For lack of time, I'll just tell it to you outside. Why is the רמב\"ן Ramban interpreting it that way, not if you'll ask, but when you'll ask? Because the רמב\"ן Ramban wants to make it clear that those who ask, unlike the ספורנו Sforno, that those who ask, it's not a reflection of a deficiency in them, but rather it doesn't come out of rebelliousness. You'll ask, you'll challenge השם Hashem. What will I eat? Where will you be, השם Hashem? Rather, it's coming out of a legitimate fear. It's not come out of rebelliousness, it's coming out of יראה yirah. It's come out of a legitimate anxiety and a legitimate fear, and you're going to have to overcome that with a sense of faith. The רמב\"ן Ramban here is very validating. If you're going through what we're going through right now, it's very easy to say, have faith. השם Hashem will provide, this will end, and the economy will come roaring back and you'll have your job and you'll make up what you're missing. It's so easy to say that, but for the person who's been furloughed, who's been laid off, who doesn't know how they're paying their bills next month, there's a natural and an understandable fear that comes, says the רמב\"ן Ramban. And therefore וכי תאמרו v'chi somru is not if you'll say, but says the רמב\"ן Ramban, it is when you'll say. The שפת אמת Sfas Emes understands a little bit differently. And the שפת אמת Sfas Emes understands it as not a physical fear but a religious fear. וכי תאמרו V'chi somru, if you'll say, says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, who are we to merit that miracle? God's making a promise, the sixth year will produce enough for the sixth, seventh, and eighth year. So what if you have such a lack of religious confidence, your religiously underachieving, and you have religious lack of self-confidence, and you'll say, השם's Hashem's not going to do miracles for us, וכי תאמרו v'chi somru, השם Hashem will never do, we're unworthy of his doing miracles for us. Says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, that's where it's coming from, and that's a mistake, because what הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is telling us is that even what looks like nature is in fact a miracle. Don't think that there are two separate worlds, the natural and the supernatural. The natural itself comes from השם Hashem. The natural itself is supernatural. And therefore, it is a a religious mistake to say, says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, וכי תאמרו v'chi somru, that if you'll say, I'm unworthy, I'm undeserving of השם Hashem doing a miracle, no, that even nature is a miracle and he can provide through what seems to be a natural means, a natural means as well. Okay, continuing. פרק כ\"ה, פסוק כ\"ג Perek Kaf Hey, Pasuk Kaf Gimmel. Making our way now through the laws of שמיטה shmita. The Torah tells us והארץ לא תמכר לצמיתות כי לי הארץ V'ha'aretz lo simacher l'tzmisus ki li ha'aretz. The land is not sold, now we've moved over to יובל yovel. We don't have time to talk about at length. יובל Yovel, the 50th year, the Jubilee year, its laws, slaves go free, land returns to its ancestral ownership. Why? Because land is not sold in perpetuity. כי לי הארץ Ki li ha'aretz. God says, lest you think it's yours, it's mine. It's mine. כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי Ki geirim v'toshavim atem imadi, because you are גרים geirim and תושבים toshavim together with me. Sojourners and residents together with me. The הייליגע בני יששכר Heilige Bnei Yissachar, the הייליגע בני יששכר Heilige Bnei Yissachar says here on this פסוק pasuk, גרים ותושבים Geirim v'toshavim means עמדי imadi. Whether you're בבחינת גרים b'vchinas geirim or בבחינת תושבים b'vchinas toshavim, עמדי imadi. When Jews are in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, השם Hashem is with them. And when we are גרים geirim, when we are in exile, עמדי imadi, השם Hashem is with us. That part of our mission is to know wherever we are and whatever state we're in, עמו אנכי בצרה Imo anochi b'tzara, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is עמדי imadi always. Again, this continues with this theme of אמונה emuna that permeates our פרשה parsha, that גרים ותושבים עמדי geirim v'toshavim imadi. Wherever we are and however we feel and whatever we're going through, he wants us to know עמדי imadi, he's right next to us, he's with us, we are always together. Right after the laws of שמיטה shmita, we go directly into וכי ימוך אחיך ומכר מאחוזתו ובא גואלו הקרוב אליו v'chi yamuch achicha u'machar me'achuzaso u'va go'alo hakarov eilav. What happens? וכי ימוך אחיך V'chi yamuch achicha, your brother, your brother finds a hard time, becomes impoverished and sells part of that ancestral land. The redeemer should come redeem it for him. And if he doesn't have a redeemer, the tells us the law. And then it tells us going right from here into these other laws. If they are impoverished, וכי ימוך אחיך, פסוק ל\"ה *V'chi yamuch achicha, Pasuk Lamed Hey*. ומטה ידו עמך *U'matah yado imach*. If your brother becomes impoverished and he falls in your proximity, והחזקת בו, גר ותושב וחי עמך *v'hechezakta bo, ger v'toshav v'chai imach*. Make sure that he can and you enable him to live with you. What do you mean וכי ימוך *v'chi yamuch*? If he falls, if he becomes poor? רבי סולובייצ'יק Rabbi Soloveitchik points out that you know, it's even harder to have your status changed, to become poor, to find yourself impoverished than it was to be born that way. A person who was raised that way and lived that way, a person who never knew what it meant to be independent and to be of means, it's painful, it's difficult, but not as much as the person who finds themselves וכי ימוך *v'chi yamuch*, they have fallen into a difficult situation. And that is supposed to invoke our greatest sympathy and empathy is not only for the person who's always known that state, but the person who now falls and finds themself in that state. And again, I think that is very significant for the time we find ourselves in and looking around and seeing such people, that obligation and responsibility that we have. The ימרא חיים *Imrei Chaim*, the ויז'ניצער *Vizhnitzer* says here on this פסוק pasuk, וכי ימוך אחיך *V'chi yamuch achicha* כאשר אחיך הוא מך ועני בדעת *ka'asher achicha hu mach v'ani b'daas*. So this פסוק *pasuk* is talking about physically, financially, they've fallen, hardship, they don't know how they will provide. Step up and step in, וחי עמך *v'chai imach*, it's our responsibility to step in and stand in to make sure that they can live with us. But both the ימרא חיים *Imrei Chaim*, the ויז'ניצער *Vizhnitzer*, and the אור החיים *Ohr HaChaim*, רב חיים בן עטר *Rav Chaim Ben Attar*, explain this in a very spiritual way. Listen to the ימרא חיים *Imrei Chaim*. כאשר אחיך הוא מך ועני בדעת *Ka'asher achicha hu mach v'ani b'da'as*. When your brother is distorted in his judgment, when your brother is far away from his heritage and hasn't lived a richly Jewish life, ומטה ידו עמך *U'matah yado imach*. And now they're hopeless and helpless, they need faith, והוא מטה עצמו אליך, רוצה ומשתדל לשוב ללכת בדרך השם *v'hu mateh atzmo eilecha, rotze u'mishtadel lashuv lalechet b'derech Hashem*. They're reaching out to you. והחזקת בו, תמכיהו ותחזקיהו *V'hechezakta bo, tamcheihu v'chazkeihu*. We have a responsibility not only to provide physically, but to provide and meet the needs and inspiration religiously as well. Listen to it in the words of the אור החיים *Ohr HaChaim*. We're on פסוק כ\"ה, פרק כ\"ה פסוק ל\"ה *Perek Kaf Hey, Pasuk Lamed Hey*. They've fallen on hard times. The אור החיים *Ohr HaChaim* says, פרשה זו תורה אדם על רוח השם אחינו. כי ימוך אחיך שהוא רוח החיים אשר נטע בסוכנו לחיוסינו *Parsha zo toreh adam al ruach Hashem acheinu. Ki yamuch achicha shehu ruach hachaim asher nota b'socheinu l'chayoseinu*. וכי ימוך אחיך, הרוח החיים *V'chi yamuch achicha, ha'ruach hachaim*, that נשמה *neshama* inside him or her has been extinguished. It's trying to hold on for dear life. It's on a it's on a respirator. אם ראה אדם שלא האיר בתורה ומצוות, כי אין עני כי אם מן התורה והמצוות. ומטה ידו והכשיך אורו והודו, עמך, לצד היושר, עמך שנשתומם שזו לו אורה מאיר מסוף העולם ועד סופו. ותמצא שיבקש השם להחזיר לו הרוח כאשר נתנה *Im ra'ah adam shelo he'ir b'Torah u'mitzvos, ki ein ani ki im min haTorah v'hamitzvos. U'matah yado v'hechshich oro v'hodo, imach, l'tzad ha'yosher, imach, shenishtomem she'zo lo ora me'ir misof ha'olam v'ad sofo. V'timtza she'yivakesh Hashem l'hachzir lo ha'ruach ka'asher natna*. It's our obligation to restore his soul or her soul, to give them back their spiritual life. והחזקת *V'hechezakta*, to strengthen them. And why? Why should we do this? The פסוק *pasuk* ends, you can't charge interest and so on and so forth. ויראת מאלקיך *V'yareisa me'Elokecha*. So the אור החיים *Ohr HaChaim* says, כי מאור חלק הנפשות התוריות השיב לו פקדונו, ומבקש עוד וחי אחיך עמך, שיחזיר לו הנפש בתוספות חיות *ki me'or chelek ha'nefashos ha'Torios heishiv lo pikdono, u'mevakesh od v'chai achicha imach, she'yachzir lo ha'nefesh b'tosefes chiyus*. We have to give back a חיות *chiyus*, a liveliness, a joy, a hope, a faith, an aspiration. Why? Because ויראת מאלקיך *v'yareisa me'Elokecha*. If we realize that there's a צלם אלוקים *tzelem Elokim* in every person, then we want to restore their soul because we're restoring השם *Hashem* in their soul. When you live with ויראת מאלקיך *v'yareisa me'Elokecha*, says the אור החיים *Ohr HaChaim*, when you live with an awareness of the divine and a commitment and a devotion, a loyalty to the divine, then you'll want to restore the divine within the soul of the within the soul of the other. What does it mean וכי ימוך אחיך עמך *v'chi yamuch achicha imach*? They fell into poverty with you. והחזקת בו *V'hechezakta bo*, and you have to strengthen them with you. What is this emphasis on they fell into poverty with you and you have to strengthen them with you? So I want to share with you an insight of the שמן הטוב *Shemen HaTov*, רב דוב זאב *Rav Dov Zev*, Bernard Weinberger. I shared it with you before, but I find it so beautiful, I can't help but share it again. Why is it עמך *imach*? To use twice, this word עמך *imach*, that he encountered or she encountered that hard time in proximity to you. Okay, so they were near me. I saw it. What's the big deal? So he says based on an insight of the בעל שם טוב *Baal Shem Tov*. The משנה *Mishna* in פרקי אבות *Pirkei Avos* says, דע מה למעלה ממך, עין רואה ואוזן שומעת וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים *Da ma l'ma'ala mimcha, ayin ro'ah v'ozen shoma'as v'chol ma'asecha b'sefer nichtavim*. And all of your actions are recorded. So the משנה *mishna* is usually translated to mean that there's accountability. You know, we're living this perhaps more than any other generation that came before, because there's surveillance everywhere. Google Earth, satellites are taking video everywhere we go. Our computers, our phones are listening in on everything we do. And therefore, עין רואה, אוזן שומעת *ayin ro'ah, ozen shoma'as*. I don't know about you, how often are you having a conversation with someone about something you're thinking about buying, and then you go on your phone or your computer and you find all of a sudden you're seeing ads for exactly what you were talking about. That's not a coincidence. It's because it's all listening. עין רואה, אוזן שומעת *Ayin ro'ah, ozen shoma'as*. Everything, וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים *v'chol ma'asecha b'sefer nichtavim*, and your browser history and your computer and your phone are recording all that you're doing, what you're looking at, the לשון הרע *lashon hara* that you're speaking. This משנה *mishna* is more relatable to us perhaps than ever before. That's the simple understanding. It's about accountability. But the בעל שם טוב *Baal Shem Tov*, the great founder of חסידות *Chasidus* explains it differently. And he says the משנה *Mishna* in פרקי אבות *Pirkei Avos* means the following. דע מה למעלה ממך *Da ma l'ma'ala mimcha*, know who and what is above you. There is a master, there is a creator of the universe. There's an omnipotent being who had divinely running the world, an omnipotent being. And therefore, therefore, this is his חידוש *chiddush*, therefore, עין רואה *ayin ro'ah*, what you see, you were meant to see. It's not a coincidence and it's not by accident. And אוזן שומעת *ozen shoma'as*, what you happen to overhear, you were meant to hear. וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים *V'chol ma'asecha b'sefer nichtavim*, and how you react and what you do with that, that will be recorded for posterity, that will reflect on who you are. So רב ויינברגר *Rav Weinberger* takes this insight of the בעל שם טוב *Baal Shem Tov* who says that עין רואה *ayin ro'ah*, because דע מה למעלה ממך *da ma l'ma'ala mimcha*, know that there's a God above. So if you happen to see or you happen to hear, it's not a coincidence and you can't choose to ignore or walk away. It was by design. And וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים *v'chol ma'asecha b'sefer nichtavim*, how you react and how you respond and what you do will be recorded and will reflect on you. So רב ויינברגר *Rav Weinberger* applies this insight of the בעל שם טוב *Baal Shem Tov* to our פרשה *parsha*. And he says, listen so beautifully. If a man becomes poor ומטה ידו עמך *u'matah yado imach*, and they're struggling עמך *imach* in proximity to you, והחזקת בו *v'hechezakta bo*, strengthen them, why? So that וחי עמך *v'chai imach*, he or she can live with you. Says רב ויינברגר *Rav Weinberger*, says the שם טוב *Shem Tov*, you have to look at a person struggling socially or economically or religiously, and you have to say, עמך *imach*, this wasn't a coincidence. The fact that it happened near you, you learned about it, you became aware of it, it happened near you, you saw it, you heard it, it wasn't a coincidence, it's not by chance, it's by design, because דע מה למעלה ממך *da ma l'ma'ala mimcha*. It happened by design. And therefore והחזקת בו *v'hechezakta bo* so that וחי עמך *v'chai imach*. You have an obligation to step up and to stand in and to be of influence of support, to help. הקדוש ברוך הוא *Hakadosh Baruch Hu* is the one who diagrammed the intersection of our lives to empower and enrich us both. The person who needs our help and for us to get the satisfaction, the meaning, the purpose of providing that help. והחזקת *V'hechezakta*, and then וחי עמך *v'chai imach*. You've renewed and re-energized them, but you've also renewed and re-energized yourself. And that's why it's עמך *imach*. השם *Hashem* put them in your sphere of influence. He put them in your circle. He made you aware. You saw or you heard of him or her because you're meant to stand up and you're meant to make a difference in their lives. That is our responsibility, that is our obligation, and that is how he understands this פסוק *pasuk*. That's how he understands this פסוק *pasuk*. We're not allowed to take ריבית *ribbis* from another person. We've talked about it in the past, we won't belabor now. You're not allowed to take ריבית *ribbis*. You can't charge interest. Why not? The רמב\"ן *Ramban* points out, go to ספר דברים, פרק כ\"ג *Sefer Devarim, Perek Kaf Gimmel*, the רמב\"ן *Ramban* points out, there the Torah doesn't only allow us to take ריבית *ribbis*, the Torah says you can or should take ריבית *ribbis*, interest from a non-Jew. So is interest unethical and wrong, then why can I do it to a non-Jew? If interest is permissible and ethical, then why can't I lend with interest to a Jew? And the answer is very clear. The answer is very clear. Because we're trying to cultivate and harness within ourselves the sense that all Jews are brothers and sisters, we're all family. I can lend to another human being, why? Because there's a time value to money. The amount of time that I'm without my money, my money can't be earning money. My money, I don't have the liquidity to spend my money. There's a time value to money that I'm losing out on. So when I in fact charge interest, I'm not making money, I'm simply getting back what I lost by not having that time value of that money. So it's completely ethical. So why can't I do it to a Jew? Because if my brother or sister asked for money, would I charge them interest? God forbid. That's what it means to be family, what it means to be fiercely loyal. And that's the attitude and mentality that we're meant to have with all Jews. They're all my brothers and sisters, we're all part of a family. And that's what the פסוק *pasuk* says, אל תקח מאתו נשך ותרבית ויראת מאלקיך וחי אחיך עמך *Al tikach me'ito neshech v'tarbis v'yareisa me'Elokecha v'chai achicha imach*. Don't charge interest. ויראת מאלקיך *V'yareisa me'Elokecha*, וחי אחיך עמך *v'chai achicha imach*. By not charging interest, וחי אחיך עמך *v'chai achicha imach*, that's how we cultivate and that's how we harness an attitude and a mentality of אחיך *achicha*, that he is our brother within us. רבי סולובייצ'יק *Rabbi Soloveitchik* captures this very beautifully. He says the following, the Torah emphasizes the calamity of becoming destitute. Sorry, not this comment. Following. The גמרא *Gemara* in בבא מציעא ס\"ב *Bava Metzia Samech Beis* teaches, if two are traveling on the on the way, we know the story of רבי עקיבא, בן פטורא *Rabbi Akiva, Ben Petura*. They have one canteen, it can only, only one can survive, if they share, they're both going to die, and so on and so forth. And רבי עקיבא's *Rabbi Akiva's* statement stresses the distinct character of עמך *imach*. Your existence should be coordinated with your brother. וחי אחיך עמך *V'chai achicha imach*. So on the one hand, there is אחיך *achicha*, and there is עמך *imach*. First you have to take care of your survival, and then the survival of another. As long as one is cognizant of the existence of others, one is characterized as a רֵעַ *rea*, an acquaintance or neighbor. But the very instant that one begins to perceive another, not just to know him, but to feel his existence, experience his joys and frustrations, his agonies and hopes, one turns from רֵעַ *rea* into אח *ach*, a brother. This is a higher degree of coexistence, of interrelatedness and companionship. Brothers are united by existential bonds, one destiny, one memory. In speaking of צדקה *tzedaka*, the Torah constantly employs the term אח *ach*, not רֵעַ *rea*. The precepts of צדקה *tzedaka* and גמילות חסדים *gemilus chasadim* are nurtured by the doctrine of the sympathetic brotherly open existence. In contrast, when the Torah speaks about civil law, not to inflict harm on someone, it says רֵעַ *rea*. לא תחמוד בית רעך, לא תסיג גבול רעך *Lo sachmod beis re'echa, lo sasig gvul re'echa*. The fact that he is my neighbor imposes a duty and obligation. I should respect his property and his rights. I must not inflict any harm or damage, but it doesn't entitle the רֵעַ *rea* to my support, that I share his troubles and be helpful. For that, the bond of רֵעַ *rea* is too weak, you need the stronger bond of אח *ach*. So the רב *Rav* calls our attention to the fact that sometimes the Torah says רעך *re'echa*, and sometimes the Torah says אחיך *achicha*, אח *ach*. What's the difference? רעך *Re'echa* means an acquaintance, a neighbor. And that governs the laws that I can't damage, I can't harm, I can't injure. But the positive, the notion that I have to rescue, that I have to step in, that I have to guard and protect, that I have to support, that is not dictated by the notion or the relationship of רֵעַ *rea* of neighbor acquaintance. That is dictated by the relationship of אח *ach*, of being a brother, of a connection. רב וולבה *Rav Wolbe*, the great משגיח *mashgiach*, points out that if I have to וחי אחיך עמך בגשמיות *v'chai achicha imach b'gashmiyus*, if I have to provide for him physically, then וחי אחיך עמך ברוחניות *v'chai achicha imach b'ruchniyus*. I have to make space so there's room for Jews to live with me spiritually. I have to reach out and I have to make safe space, and I have to support and I have to invite and I have to love my fellow Jew not only in the area of physically and גשמיות *gashmiyus*, but in רוחניות *ruchniyus*, in רוחניות *ruchniyus* as well. Okay, let's move now over to פרשת בחוקותי *Parshas Bechukosai*. We have a double פרשה *parsha* and we only have a little bit of time left. פרשת בחוקותי *Parshas Bechukosai* has in it, of course, the famous תוכחה *tochacha*. It has the harsh rebuke. הקדוש ברוך הוא *Hakadosh Baruch Hu* telling us what is the consequence if we are dismissive of our relationship with him or neglectful of that relationship. But before and we have the ברכות *brachos*. And we begin with a promise. אם בחוקותי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אותם *Im b'chukosai teileichu v'es mitzvosai tishmoru v'asisem osam*. If you walk in my ways and you observe my מצוות *mitzvos* and you do them, then I'll give you rain in its time, and the land will produce, and you'll have continuity, and you'll live with peace, all things we so desperately crave. And it's the promise השם *Hashem* gives us when אם בחוקותי תלכו *im b'chukosai teileichu*. The חידושי הרי\"ם *Chiddushei HaRim* points out that here the Torah captures how are we meant to observe, what is how are we meant to capture or characterize our Jewish lives and lifestyles? אם בחוקותי תלכו *Im b'chukosai teileichu*. It doesn't say אם בחוקותי תעמדו, תעמדו *im b'chukosai ta'amodu, ta'amdu*, if you stand firm in observing my laws. It says if you walk with my ways. Why, says the חידושי הרי\"ם *Chiddushei HaRim*? Because a person is on a journey. We are forever evolving. We're growing, we're aspiring, we're elevating, we're climbing. The מלאך *malach*, angels, are described as standing still, but human beings, we are growing, we're moving, we're changing, hopefully in the right direction. And that is why the entire area, the entire description of Jewish law is called הלכה *halacha*. הלכה *Halacha* comes תלכו *teileichu*. It's the same root. It means the journey, the the the the process. It means to be traveling. תלכו *Teileichu*. The Torah escorts us on our journey through life, not while we're standing still, but rather as we evolve as people, as we grow and as we learn about ourselves and as we reach higher and higher. חידושי הרי\"ם *Chiddushei HaRim* says, בחוקותי תלכו *b'chukosai teileichu*, not תעמדו *ta'amdu*, but תלכו *teileichu*. It's not about standing. Angels stand still, but human beings, we continue to evolve, we continue to grow, we continue to change. And that's what Torah is meant to do, is meant to do for us. רב סולובייצ'יק *Rav Soloveitchik* on these opening words draws our attention to a very, very important a very important idea. He says, a Jew has two distinct sources of covenantal obligation. The first is a communal קדושה *kedusha*, which derives from the covenant of הר סיני *Har Sinai* and the covenant of the patriarchs. This is the subject of our פרשה *parsha* signified by the fact that the blessings and curses are addressed in the plural. There's also a second covenant based on each individual's קדושה *kedusha*, a covenant detailed in פרשת כי תבוא *Parshas Ki Savo*. The wording of this covenant is in the singular. He says this תוכחה *tochacha*, the תוכחה *tochacha* in our פרשה *parsha* is going to be בלשון רבים *b'lashon rabbim*, in the plural, because it reflects the responsibility we have towards one another. And then there's also a second תוכחה *tochacha* in פרשת כי תבוא *Parshas Ki Savo* that is communicated in the singular because it speaks about the individual holiness. We need both covenants because we are chosen in two distinct ways. One aspect of our chosenness relates to being the progeny of אברהם *Avraham*, and it is for this aspect we recite the blessing שלא עשני גוי *shelo asani goy*. A second chosenness comes through the study of Torah, reflecting in the ברכה *bracha* אשר בחר בנו מכל העמים *asher bachar banu mikol ha'amim*. This chosenness involves a higher sanctification. By understanding the duality of our קדושה *kedusha*, we can explain a puzzling area of Jewish law. The הלכתית *halachic* status of a Jew who renounces his religion is complex. Although his status as a Jew is compromised, it does not entirely disappear. With regard to specific הלכות *halachos*, an apostate Jew is considered different from a non-Jew. On the other hand, if he betroths a woman, his betrothal is valid. So how do you understand this contradiction? The apostate Jew retains the sanctity afforded through his lineage, a heritage that cannot be renounced no matter what he does. This קדושה *kedusha* applies equally to the apostate as it does to the greatest of rabbis. The second קדושה *kedusha* is dependent on the sanctity of the individual, attainable only through לימוד התורה *limud haTorah*. This apostate has renounced the second קדושה *kedusha*. The holiday of שבועות *Shavuos* is associated with the communal קדושה *kedusha*, and for this reason, פרשת בחוקותי *Parshas Bechukosai* is read prior to שבועות *Shavuos*. The acceptance of the blessing and the curses by בני ישראל *Bnei Yisrael* was in the form of a שבועה *shvuah*, an oath. The Torah itself was accepted by the oath of נעשה ונשמע *na'aseh v'nishma*. These parallel oaths form another reason we read פרשת בחוקותי *Parshas Bechukosai* prior to שבועות *Shavuos*. The רב *Rav* here has developed what he calls elsewhere, we have two covenants, we have two forms of a relationship with השם *Hashem*, two promises, what he calls ברית אבות *Bris Avos* and ברית סיני *Bris Sinai*. Only the רב *Rav* formulated so beautifully. ברית אבות *Bris Avos* is the connection and the relationship, the bond I have with all Jews, whether they're religious or non-religious, whether they practice or don't practice, whether they have a background or or no education, there's a ברית אבות *Bris Avos*. We share the same genetic material, religious, spiritual, genetic material. We both come from, we all come from אברהם יצחק ויעקב, שרה רבקה רחל ולאה *Avraham, Yitzchak, v'Yaakov, Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, v'Leah*, and that creates a bond, a ברית אבות *Bris Avos*, a connection that we have. There's also a קדושה *kedusha* sanctity that comes from a ברית סיני *Bris Sinai*. I stood at הר סיני *Har Sinai* and I accepted the yoke of Torah and the commitment to learn and to live Torah. They're two separate and overlapping sanctities I have, through my commitment and acceptance of the ברית אבות *Bris Avos* and my commitment and acceptance of the ברית סיני *Bris Sinai*. Sadly, in our time, my dear friends, sadly in our time, a little editorial comment, we have segments of the Jewish community who are committed to the ברית אבות *Bris Avos*, Jewish unity, Jewish connection, Jewish live and let live, Jewish the the Jewish diversity, but they're not committed to ברית סיני *Bris Sinai*, to the binding authority of Torah and מצוות *mitzvos*, the non-negotiable nature of הלכה *halacha*, the קדושה *kedusha* that comes through our commitment to Torah and מצוות *mitzvos*. And then we have a community who are vigilantly committed to ברית סיני *Bris Sinai*. They observe Torah and מצוות *mitzvos* scrupulously. And yet, it's as if they're entirely unaware that there's something called a ברית אבות *Bris Avos*. Reform and conservative and irreligious and areligious Jews are also part of our family and our people and our nation. We have a shared history and a shared destiny. And unfortunately, it's only, it's too few who live in both of these בריתות *brisos*, who live both of these covenants and who live with both of these קדושות *kedushos* simultaneously, that there is a ברית אבות *Bris Avos* and there's a ברית סיני *Bris Sinai*. I have a commitment and a covenant with both, I have to see and live with both of these. My brother, Rabbi Dr. Judah Goldberg is actually putting out a book on exactly this topic, ברית אבות *Bris Avos* and ברית סיני *Bris Sinai* as seen through Torah and through practice. I highly recommend it though it's not out yet. You can read it on online on גוש, the virtual בית מדרש *Beis Medrash* VBM. He's been putting them out as essays, it'll be combined as a book. But this beautiful notion here the רב *Rav* introduces at the beginning of פרשת בחוקותי *Parshas Bechukosai*, אם בחוקותי תלכו *im b'chukosai teileichu*. And the פרשה *parsha* has both קדושות *kedushos*, has both covenants, the notion of ברית אבות *Bris Avos* and ברית סיני *Bris Sinai*. That's why it introduces אברהם יצחק ויעקב *Avraham, Yitzchak, v'Yaakov*. We have to remember the relationship we have with all the other progeny and descendants of אברהם יצחק ויעקב *Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov*, the ברית אבות *Bris Avos*, and also the קדושה *kedusha*, the sanctity that comes from the fact that we stood at הר סיני *Har Sinai* and we're obligated also in a sense of a of a ברית סיני *Bris Sinai*. Okay, one more point, and then we'll end. פרק כ\"ו פסוק כ\"א. is in the תוכחה *tochacha*. And the תוכחה *tochacha* tells us, אם תלכו עמי בקרי *im teilchu imi b'keri*. Again we have this notion of תלכו *teilchu*, we're on this journey in life and we could either be walking with God or we could be walking neglecting God, maybe walking on God, trampling upon him. So the Torah tells us, פרק כ\"ו פסוק כ\"א *Perek Kaf Vav Pasuk Kaf Aleph*, אם תלכו עמי בקרי *im teilchu imi b'keri*, if you walk with me בקרי *b'keri*. What does it mean to walk with God בקרי *b'keri*? What does it mean to walk with him בקרי *b'keri*? So רש\"י *Rashi* says קרי *keri* is לשון מקרה *lashon mikreh*. אם תלכו עמי בקרי *Im teilchu imi b'keri*, בקרי *b'keri* is לשון מקרה *lashon mikreh*. I lost the place, where is the אם תלכו עמי בקרי *im teilchu imi b'keri*? Sorry, it's not פרק כ\"ו פסוק כ\"א *Perek Kaf Vav Pasuk Kaf Aleph*. אם תלכו עמי בקרי *Im teilchu imi b'keri*, רש\"י *Rashi* says, what is קרי *keri*? לשון מקרה *lashon mikreh*. What is לשון מקרה *lashon mikreh*? מקרה *Mikreh* means casual. If we walk in our attitude, פרק כ\"ו פסוק כ\"א. Thank you so much Mark Flechner, our great sponsor, שבת לייט *Shabbos Light* of last week's behind the בימה *bima*. פרק כ\"ו פסוק כ\"א *Perek Kaf Vav Pasuk Kaf Aleph*. אם תלכו עמי קרי ולא תובו לשמוע לי *Im teilchu imi keri v'lo sovu lishmoa li*, if you walk with me with קרי *keri* and you don't listen to me, then this is what's going to happen. Says רש\"י *Rashi*, what does it mean you walk with me בקרי *b'keri*? רבי שמעון אומר עראי במקרה *Rabbi Shimon omer arai b'mikreh*. It's it's it's casual, a casual attitude, a casual relationship, a casual interconnection with השם *Hashem*. The רמב\"ם *Rambam* understands differently. The רמב\"ם *Rambam* in הלכות תענית, פרק א' הלכה א' *Hilchos Ta'anis, Perek Aleph, Halacha Aleph*, the רמב\"ם *Rambam* describes what קרי *keri* is. He says chance. He says a תענית *taanis*, the notion of a תענית *taanis* is to recalibrate our compass and to realize that there's no chance or coincidence in life, everything is from השם *Hashem*. Everything is from השם *Hashem*. So רב וולבה *Rav Wolbe* says, you know, you know where else we see the word קרי *keri*? A בעל קרי *baal keri*. בעל קרי *Baal keri* is a description of a person who encounters טומאה *tumah*. Someone becomes contaminated, someone becomes impure, someone becomes טמא *tamei* when is described as קרי keri, a בעל קרי baal keri. קרי Keri leads to טומאה tumah. Why does קרי keri lead to טומאה tumah? So Rav applies both the interpretation of רש\"י Rashi and the רמב\"ם Rambam. If you're casual in your relationship and your attitude to God, we have an audience and we are the offspring of the Almighty, of the King of Kings. And if we're casual in our identity and casual in that opportunity and that audience and that relationship, it leads to קרי keri, it leads to impurity. And for the רמב\"ם Rambam, if we interact with God in a way that we think what happens in our lives is chance and coincidence and happenstance, then that leads to טומאה-דיקע tumah-dikeh life. It's an impure life. A holy, pure life is not to be casual in our attitude and relationship with השם Hashem. A holy and pure life is not to see it as chance. In fact, the רמב\"ם Rambam says there that in the beginning of הלכות תענית Hilchos Taanis, the רמב\"ם Rambam writes that if your attitude is with השם Hashem, that קרי keri and מקרה mikra, that chance and coincidence and casual, it's an act of cruelty. Why is it cruel? It's cruel to God to ascribe what happens as chance rather than as seeing it coming from him. So my brother-in-law, oh, quoting a lot of family today. My brother-in-law, Joseph Fellerstein, actually said back in my שבע ברכות Sheva Brachos, just a few years ago. He said what it means it's cruel is the following. If someone's calling your name, someone's screaming, and you ignore them, it's cruel. Someone's trying to get your attention and you're ignoring their attempt to get your attention. You're in the other room, you hear them calling you, and you're willfully ignoring them. It's literally cruel. If you've ever called someone and you know they hear you and you see they hear you but they're not turning towards you, it's cruel. So he suggested maybe that's what the רמב\"ם Rambam means. When הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu interacts with us in our lives, he's calling our name. He's communicating with us. And when we don't listen and we don't respond, and instead we dismiss it as being chance or coincidence, that too is an act of cruelty. That leads to a life of טומאה tumah, קרי keri. If we want טהרה taharah, a life of purity, then you can't be casual and you don't dismiss as chance. We look and we see השם Hashem all around us, all in our lives. And wishing everyone a beautiful and a holy ל\"ג בעומר Lag BaOmer. I forgot I was going to talk all about ל\"ג בעומר Lag BaOmer too, but we're out of time. A beautiful and a holy ל\"ג בעומר Lag BaOmer. A wonderful week. If you're watching on YouTube, do me the favor of subscribing to our channel on YouTube, even if you're not. Do me the favor of going on YouTube to Rabbi Ephraim Goldberg and subscribing. It'd be a great help. Wishing everyone a beautiful and a
