Transcript
Good morning and בוקר טוב *Boker tov*. Welcome back everyone to פרשה *Parsha* Perspectives for today. So grateful as always to our generous sponsors, dear friends Avi and Becky Katzen family, in loving memory of Becky's father David Grossman, the נשמה *neshama* of דוד בן מנחם מנוש *Dovid ben Menachem Manush*. Thank you for your generosity. Also this פרשה שיר *parsha shiur* is sponsored by Elaine Jay in honor of the 45th יארצייט *yahrzeit* of her father, מרדכי בן יצחק *Mordechai ben Yitzchak* Figenbaum, עליו השלום *alav hashalom*. His נשמה *neshama* should have an עלייה *aliyah*. Thank you as well for your generosity.We have the privilege of studying together פרשת וישלח *Parshas Vayishlach*, as we continue to make our way through ספר בראשית *Sefer Bereishis*, the story, the narrative of the formation of our family, with its ups and its downs, with its function and its dysfunction, with its challenges and its complications. And we continue where the story had last left off. פרשת וישלח *Parshas Vayishlach* can be found in the ArtScroll חומש *Chumash* on page 170. וישלח יעקב מלאכים לפניו אל עשיו אחיו ארצה שעיר שדה אדום *Vayishlach Yaakov malachim lefanav el Eisav achiv artza Seir sdei Edom*. Yaakov is now about to reunite with his brother. He's going to reunite with Esav and he fears for his life, of course, because Esav is an adversary. Esav is a foe. They've had a very competitive and contentious relationship all along. Esav perceives that Yaakov stole the ברכה *bracha* from him and that Yaakov tried to assert himself over Esav, and therefore, he does a lot to prepare. Now, there's a lot, a lot, a lot to talk about on this פרשה *parsha* and the opening of this פרשה *parsha*. And we spent last year our פרשה *parsha* class discussing the opening few psukim, how Yaakov planned and what he was worried about, קטנתי מכל החסדים *katonti mikol hachasadim*, how he felt perhaps diminished from all of the goodness that Hashem had shown him, and somehow as if he was unworthy. And so if you want to see more about that, I refer you to last year. I want to try to get into some other, some other things this year.So פרק ל\"ב, פסוק כ' *Perek Lamed Beis, Pasuk Kaf*. He says to his messengers, I want you to go in advance. I want you to go and I want you to meet Esav and I want you to go and represent me in advance. And here's what I want you to do. I want you to tell him, כה אמר עבדך יעקב *koh amar avd'cha Yaakov*, this is what your, your master Yaakov says, עם לבן גרתי ואחר עד עתה *im Lavan garti v'echar ad ata*. We haven't met each other, we haven't seen each other because I was living with Lavan. 14 years in ישיבת שם ועבר *Yeshivas Shem v'Eiver* Yaakov stopped, another 20 years he's living with Lavan. So it's been 34 years before they have this reunion. I've been occupied. I've been busy. I've been working for a living, I've been working for wives. עם לבן גרתי *Im Lavan garti*, I was living with him, ואחר עד עתה *v'echar ad ata*, and I've been delayed. I've lingered until now. We haven't had a chance to have this reunion, to reconcile until now.Rashi famously tells us on the words עם לבן גרתי *im Lavan garti*, לא נעשיתי שר וחשוב *lo na'aseisi sar v'chashuv*, lest you think that the reason I was delayed, I was hung up is because I became some prominent, some esteemed individual, some distinguished diplomat, prince or leader, no. אלא גר *Ela ger*, גרתי *garti*, I was a גר *ger*, I was a stranger, I was a foreigner, I was a sojourner. אין אתה כדאי לשנוא אותי על ברכת אביך שבירכני הוי גביר לאחיך *Eincha k'dai lisnos osi al birkas avicha she'beirchani hevei gevir l'achecha*. We're about to reunite. He sends this agent, this messenger, give Esav the message, don't hate your brother thinking that he has risen, he's elevated to some position of stature, that he has some celebrity status, that in fact the ברכה *bracha* that our father gave him, that our father gave me, Yaakov is saying in his words, הוי גביר לאחיך *hevei gevir l'achecha* has come true. שהרי לא נתקיימה בי *Sheharei lo niskayama bi*, it has not come true through me. Rather, גרתי *garti*, גר *ger*, I've been a wanderer. I'm an outsider. I don't really belong. And Rashi then throws in, דבר אחר גרתי *davar acher garti*, גרתי בגימטריא תרי\"ג *garti b'gematria Taryag*. The word גרתי *garti*, I lived, I sojourned, I traveled, I journeyed, is the same numerical value, the same gematria as תרי\"ג *Taryag*. כלומר *Klomar*, his message was, עם לבן הרשע גרתי ותרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *im Lavan harasha garti v'Taryag mitzvos shamarti*. I lived with Lavan the wicked one, but I never ever compromised. I kept and I observed תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*. ולא למדתי ממעשיו הרעים *V'lo lamadeti m'maasav hara'im*. I never learned from his evil ways. I never learned from his negativity. I never learned from that which he taught.So first of all, on the word גרתי *garti*, Rav Wolbe writes in שיעורי חומש *Shiurei Chumash*, we mentioned this last year in the name of Rabbi Soloveitchik. The Rav has it in his חומש *Chumash*. This year we'll mention it in the name of Rav Wolbe in שיעורי חומש *Shiurei Chumash* on our פרשה *parsha*. But he points out that the word גרתי *garti* is not ישבתי *yashavti*. Yaakov does not send a message saying ישבתי *yashavti*, I lived with. Because that would suggest that he had some level of comfort. It wasn't he was living, it wasn't he resided, it wasn't that he integrated or that he was absorbed. But rather, גרתי *garti*. The word גר *ger* means a foreigner, a sojourner, an outsider. And what he was telling him is, you should know, the reason תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*, says Rav Wolbe, how was I able to do it? How did I avoid assimilating and integrating? How did I maintain with resolve and tenacity my values, my priorities, my principles, that of our parents that we learned, says Yaakov to Esav. You know how תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*? You know how I was able to do it? Because גרתי *garti*, because I always saw myself as an outsider. I always saw myself as passing through. I always saw myself as not really or fully or truly belonging. And because of that, I was successful. I clung to who I am, who we are. And this message of Rav Wolbe is a very powerful message for all of us today, that we are living in a country which is not hostile, quite the opposite. It's loving and it's inviting and it's welcoming. I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago that in the past our enemies have tried to destroy us with hate, and now we're destroying ourselves because with love, we are invited to integrate, to assimilate, to be absorbed, to fully belong, to ישבתי *yashavti*, to be a תושב *toshav*, to be a full resident with full status. And we need to have a healthy dose of גרתי *garti*, of being a גר *ger*. We need to remind ourselves that if we're going to succeed in living תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*, if we're going to succeed in maintaining a vibrant and devoted and committed and enthusiastic Jewish life, then גרתי *garti*. Then yes, we contribute to and we take from the beautiful society in which we live, but we do so with a mentality and an attitude, with a status of גרתי *garti*, that I don't ever fully belong, I don't ever fully integrate, that I remain to some degree, I remain to some degree an outsider. So says Rav Wolbe, how is it תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*? Because עם לבן *im Lavan* only גרתי *garti*, not ישבתי *yashavti*.But I want to go to רב דרוק *Rav Druck*. This year we've been focusing on the wonderful ספרים *sfarim*, אש תמיד *Eish Tamid* by רבי ישעיהו מאיר דרוק *Rav Yeshayahu Meir Druck*, magnificent set of ספרים *sfarim*. And he quotes this Rashi and he asks, צריך ביאור רב *tzarich biur rav*. We all know this Rashi. Who doesn't know this Rashi? עם לבן גרתי תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Im Lavan garti, Taryag mitzvos shamarti*. It rhymes, the gematria works out. It's a perfect thing for a kid's parsha sheet. We all know this Rashi. We all know this Rashi. But asks Rav Druck the question that maybe didn't occur to many of us, or at least we didn't think to ask, which is, why exactly is Yaakov sending this message to Esav? Do you think that Esav will be impressed by this message? Why does he think that Esav is going to be impressed by sending the message, תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*? That doesn't impress Esav. Esav's not religious. Esav's antagonistic to religion. Esav's unimpressed by religion. So Rav Druck quotes his father, אבי מורי זצ\"ל *avi mori zatzal*, his father, the דרש מרדכי *Drash Mordechai*, רב מרדכי דרוק זצ\"ל *Rav Mordechai Druck zatzal*. בתוך תוכו של אדם כל אחד מבין ששכר גדול מגיע למי שמקיים את המצוות. ההערכה פנימית, המוכרת, קיימת גם בקרב מי שאינו שומר תורה ומצוות, כלפי אנשים שומרי תורה ומצוות. *B'toch tocho shel adam kol echad meivin she'sachar gadol magia l'mi she'mekayem es ha'mitzvos. Ha'ha'aracha p'nimit, ha'mukeres, kayemes gam b'kerev mi she'eino shomer Torah u'mitzvos, klapei anashim shomrei Torah u'mitzvos.* גם עשיו הכיר והבין שהברכות מגיעות למי ששומר תורה ומצוות. *Gam Eisav hikir v'heivin she'habrachos magios l'mi she'shomer Torah u'mitzvos.* אך כיוון שהאדם מודד את חברו לפי עצמו, חשב עשיו שאף יעקב כמוהו, כמו שהוא אומר, 'היאך מעשרים את התבן', ובאמת אינו שומר מצוות, כמו כן יעקב שהיה איש תם, אינו אלא מן השפה ולחוץ ואינו אמיתי. *Ach keivan she'ha'adam moded es chavero l'fi atzmo, chashav Eisav she'af Yaakov k'mohu, k'mo shehu omer, 'hei'ach me'asrim es ha'teven', u've'emes eino shomer mitzvos, k'mo kein Yaakov she'haya ish tam, eino ela min hasafa v'lachutz v'eino amiti.* You see Esav, Esav was a fraud. Esav's a fake. When Esav wanted to impress his parents all along, he presented himself like the pig sticks out its split hooves but doesn't chew its cud. Esav would ask halachic questions with an effort to impress the audience, in this case his father, to suggest that he is somehow vigilant and scrupulous in observance of mitzvos. So he would ask for example, how do you take tithes? How do you take maaser on teven, on straw or on salt? He would ask on things that halachically you're not required to tithe, but he would invoke tithing. It's kind of like beguiling his own father, or the Jews who have a little knowledge, which is a dangerous thing. So they know a few terms, they know a few halachos, they know a few sayings of Chazal, and they invoke them whenever they can. Why? Because you look more religious, you look more righteous, you look like you belong, you look like you got a fast pass to the world to come if you could keep reusing those few Jewish expressions that you know. So that was Esav. Esav was not the real deal. Behind closed doors, Esav was inconsistent, but he liked to present himself. He liked to create an impression on others as if he was observant. And we have a tendency, said Rav Mordechai Druck, we tend to project onto others the way we are. We assume that others behave or are motivated or rationalize the way we do. What we think in our own mind, the conversations in our own head, we assume others are having in their head. So said Rav Mordechai Druck, לכן אמר יעקב לעשיו *lachen amar Yaakov l'Eisav*, so Esav says, \"Yeah, Yaakov, I got it. You're the righteous kid, איש תם יושב אוהלים *ish tam yoshev ohalim*. We grew up, I was the troublemaker, I was always suspended, you were the goody-two-shoes, you were in the honor society. I got it. You were trying to impress Mom and Dad, I was trying to impress Mom and Dad. But let's be honest, the reality is both of us are probably faking it. Both of us are frauds, both of us are imposters.\" So Yaakov sends this message ahead to Esav and he says, no, אך בישיבתו בבית לבן גם היה שומר את כל המצוות, ושם אין ליד אביו יצחק, ואין צורך ואין תועלת לעשות את עצמו כשומר מצוות, ומכל מקום שמר תרי\"ג מצוות. כיוון שכך, הרי הוא שומר מצוות באמת. *ach b'yeshivaso b'veis Lavan gam haya shomer es kol ha'mitzvos, v'sham ein l'yad aviv Yitzchak, v'ein tzorech v'ein to'eles la'asos es atzmo k'shomer mitzvos, u'mikol makom shamar Taryag mitzvos. Keivan she'kein, harei hu shomer mitzvos be'emes.* Yaakov sends this message ahead and he says, \"Listen, Esav, I want you to know, without judgment, you're who you are, God bless you. But me, I'm the real deal. I'm consistent, I'm constant all the way through. I didn't behave one way when we were in front of Mom and Dad, I didn't act one way when we were in Yeshiva and then the moment I graduated, our home or the moment I graduated our Yeshiva, I then became who I really was all along. No, I've been consistent. I am and I believe and I behave the way I do because it's who I am, not to impress others.\" וידיעה זו תשפיע על עשיו יותר מכל טענה אחרת להכיר את יעקב, ולהבין שהברכות מגיעות לו, שאז נסתם רידיפתו הפנימית ותיפסק מחמת ידיעת פנים שהברכות מגיעות למי שמקפיד על המצוות. *V'yediah zu tashpia al Eisav yoser mikol te'ana acheres l'hakir es Yaakov, u'l'havin she'habrachos magios lo, she'az nistam r'difaso ha'pnimit v'tifsak machmas yediat p'nim she'habrachos magios l'mi she'makpid al ha'mitzvos.* And what Yaakov was trying to communicate to Esav is, \"I really deserve those brachos. I'm really the destiny. The future of our father is really through me, because let's admit it, you're an imposter. You don't really believe it. And the evidence is the moment that you were away from Mom and Dad, the moment you escaped them, you behaved however you wanted. But I, I'm consistent all the way through. So if there's anyone who's going to receive the mantle, there's anyone who's going to take the baton to be able to pass it forward, it's going to be me.\" That was the message. So Rav Druck asked, \"תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*, Esav's gonna care? Esav's gonna be impressed?\" Tell him that you won, you know, you were the captain of the basketball team. Tell him you won the intramural league. Tell him you became a hunter. Tell him you know how to shoot a bow and arrow. תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*, that's what's going to impress Esav? And the answer is, no. What will impress Esav is to make contact, to be exposed to somebody who's real, who's authentic, who's genuine, who's consistent, whose תוכו כברו *tocho k'varo*, the outside and the inside they they they are they are consistent, they are the same. כלל תמידי, שאדם רואה את חברו כמו שהוא במדרגתו, ופי שהוא עצמו נוהג, כך הוא סובר שכולם נוהגים. *Klal timidi, she'adam ro'eh es chavero k'mo shehu b'madregaso, u'fi shehu atzmo noheg, kach hu sover she'kulam nohagim.* We assume that the way we behave and what motivates us and who we are and how we rationalize is the same conversation everyone else is having in their head. And that's what was being, and that's what was being corrected.But Rav Druck, the son, Rav Yeshayahu Meir Druck, the author of אש תמיד *Eish Tamid*, has a different interpretation. And I love it, and I can't wait to share it with you this morning. I'm so happy that you're here to learn it with me. And he says the following. עוד יש לפרש באופן אחר *Od yesh l'faresh b'ofen acher*. Says Rav Yeshayahu Meir Druck, I want us to offer us another suggestion. And I want to explain it based on the גמרא *Gemara*. גוי אחד שבא לפני הלל הזקן *Goy echad sheba lifnei Hillel ha'zaken*, and we all know this story. It's the גמרא *Gemara* in שבת דף ל\"א *Shabbos daf lamed alef*, that there was once a non-Jew, a Gentile, who came before Hillel the elder. And אמר לו למדני כל התורה כולה על רגל אחת *amar lo lamdeini kol haTorah kulah al regel achas*. He stood on one foot and he said, \"Teach me the whole Torah on one foot. This book, what is it all about? Teach me the whole thing and teach it to me on one foot. What's it really all about? What's it really saying?\" So what did Hillel answer? If you were unmuted, you could all say at once in unison because you know, ואהבת לרעך כמוך, מה דסני עלך לחברך לא תעביד *v'ahavta l're'echa kamocha, ma d'sani alach l'chavrecha lo sa'avid*. You have to love your neighbor as yourself, and what you don't want done, don't do to others. And ואידך זיל גמור *v'idach zil gmor*, the rest is commentary. You want to know the whole Torah on one foot? It's easy. It'll take one moment. ואהבת לרעך כמוך *V'ahavta l're'echa kamocha*. Love your neighbor as yourself. Don't do unto others what you wouldn't have done. צריך ביאור במעשה, אם אותו גר התכוון ללעג ולהתלוצץ, מה צורך אמרו 'למדני כל התורה כולה על רגל אחת', אם כן למה נזקק להלל? *Tzarich biur b'ma'aseh, im oso ger hiskaven l'la'ag u'l'hislo'tzetz, mah tzorech amro 'lamdeini kol haTorah kulah al regel achas', im kein lamah nizkak l'Hillel?* ואם התכוון לגייר באמת, למה הלל לא אמר לו בוא אלינו ללמוד. *V'im hiskaven l'gayer be'emes, lamah Hillel lo amar lo bo eleinu lilmod.* So he says we can explain based on an insight of the אור החיים הקדוש *Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh*. The אור החיים הקדוש *Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh* says, Hashem commanded every Jew, תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*. You open the Torah, and the מונה המצוות *moneh ha'mitzvos*, the גמרא *Gemara* at the end of מכות *Makkos* tells us we have a tradition, 613, a combination of every Jew's luggage and every Jew's briefcase. If it doesn't work, try 1967 and you'll get in any Jewish lock. תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*. The גמרא *Gemara* מכות *Makkos* tells us that we have a commandment 613 mitzvos. ומי הוא הנמנע שימצא אדם אחד שיהיה בו קיום כולם? *U'mi hu ha'nimna she'yimatzei adam echad she'yihiyeh bo kiyum kulam?* So we have a tradition that we've been commanded 613 mitzvos, but we cannot find an individual who himself or herself would in fact be obligated or even be able to fulfill all 613. זה לכהן וזה ללוי וזה לישראל, נשים *Zeh l'kohen v'zeh l'levi v'zeh l'Yisrael, nashim*, men and women, כהן לוי ישראל *kohen, levi, Yisrael*, time of the בית המקדש *Beis HaMikdash*, no בית המקדש *Beis HaMikdash*, קרבנות *karbanos*, no קרבנות *karbanos*, in Israel, outside of Israel, it's impossible. You cannot find one person who themselves can either volunteer or be obligated in all of them. אלא ודאי שתתקיים התורה בחברסא כולה שיזכו זה מזה *Ela vadai she'tiskaiem ha'Torah b'chavresa kulah sheyizku zeh mi'zeh*. The answer is that achieving the level of תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*, for כלל ישראל *Klal Yisrael*, for the Jewish people to actually get to a place where they are fulfilling תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*, it can only be done in combination. It can only be done in cooperation. It can only be done in community. You have to have a sense of community. So the kohen's doing what the kohen needs to do, and the levi does what the levi needs to do, and the yisrael does what the levi, the Jews of the diaspora and the Jews of Eretz Yisrael, the Jews of this and the Jews of that. And then in combination, in cooperation with a sense of community, then and only then can you really fulfill תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*. ולזה רמז באומרו ואהבת לרעך כמוך *V'l'zeh ramaz b'omro v'ahavta l're'echa kamocha*. And says Rav Druck, that's what Hillel was answering the convert. \"You want all of Torah on one foot? ואהבת לרעך כמוך *V'ahavta l're'echa kamocha*. It's going to take, it's going to take the cooperation and the collaboration of all the Jewish people.\" Because not, no one person, it's the Ohr HaChaim. The Ohr HaChaim says, \"No one Jew can either volunteer or be obligated on all תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*. So if you want to get to the level of תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*, it's going to take tremendous sense of cooperation. It cannot be done alone.\" And that's ואהבת לרעך כמוך *v'ahavta l're'echa kamocha*. You want all Torah on one foot? Here it is. ואהבת לרעך כמוך *V'ahavta l're'echa kamocha*. Be connect and combine with others. ובזה יש לפרש את המעשה ההוא, שאותו גוי התכוון לרצונו לגייר באמת, ולכן בא לפני הלל. *U'vezeh yesh l'faresh es ha'ma'aseh ha'hu, she'oso ger hiskaven lirtzono l'gayer be'emes, v'lachen ba lifnei Hillel.* That's what was going on. ובזה יש לפרש גם את דברי יעקב. *U'vezeh yesh l'faresh gam es divrei Yaakov.* So says Rav Druck, let's take this Ohr HaChaim and let's apply it to Yaakov Avinu. That's what Yaakov was saying. שכן יעקב בעצמו בירר את מטרת השליחות *She'kein Yaakov b'atzmo beirer es mataras ha'shlichus*. Why did Yaakov send these angels, these messengers? Rashi says מלאכים ממש *malachim mamash*, they're not angels. These are actual physical messengers. He's sending agents and ambassadors ahead. And he gives the reason why. Tell them למצוא חן בעיניך *limtzo chen b'einecha*. שהרצון היה לגרום אהבה וקירוב ביניהם *She'haratzon haya l'grom ahava v'kiruv beineihem*. The goal was, you know, feel him out, break the ice, make some comfort level. ולכך אמר תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *V'lachach amar Taryag mitzvos shamarti*. וכיצד שייך לקיים את כל תרי\"ג מצוות? *V'cheitzad shayach l'kayem es kol Taryag mitzvos?* הלא אי אפשר לאדם אחד לקיים את כל המצוות *Halo iy efshar l'adam echad l'kayem es kol ha'mitzvos*. אלא על ידי הערבות והאחדות והחיבור בין כולם *Ela al yedei ha'arvus v'ha'achdus v'ha'chibur bein kulam*. Really it's only going to be because we are a community in collaboration. So the same way Yaakov, so Yaakov was embedding a message for Esav, says Rav Druck. He was embedding a message. And what was the message he was embedding? \"עם לבן גרתי *Im Lavan garti*, I lived with Lavan. ותרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *v'Taryag mitzvos shamarti*, and I observed all Taryag.\" \"Ah, how can one Jew observe all Taryag? It's impossible.\" It means I lived with Lavan, but I didn't live selfishly. I didn't live egotistically. I didn't live only about myself. תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*, I brought an attitude of collaboration, community, cooperation. And the same way I did that to achieve fulfilling תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*, I want to create collaboration and cooperation with you, my brother. I want to reconcile. I want to come together. So Yaakov was embedding this message of reconciliation and cooperation within the words, תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*, which are impossible for any one or singular Jew to achieve themselves. But it's the next pshat in Rav Druck that I'm really excited to share with you. He again, he quotes Rashi here, Taryag mitzvos is gematria, in Lavan garti, garti is gematria Taryag, Taryag mitzvos shamarti. And he now says the following, another question. You've heard and read this Rashi a million times. You may not have asked any of these questions, but this is his next question. Why did he say תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*? שמרתי *Shamarti* means I guarded, I protected. What should Yaakov have said? If indeed he wanted to communicate to Esav, I kept, I observed, I fulfilled all 613 commandments, then he shouldn't have said שמרתי *shamarti*, I guarded, but rather he should have said קיימתי *kiyamti*, I fulfilled. It makes more sense when talking about a mitzvah to talk about קיום *kiyum*, fulfilling it, than it does to talk about שמירה *shmira*, protecting it. So listen to what Rav Druck says. The pasuk in parshas Eikev says והיה עקב תשמעון את המשפטים האלה *v'haya eikev tishme'un es ha'mishpatim ha'eleh*, and it will be if you heed, if you listen to these laws, ושמרתם ועשיתם אותם *u'shmartem v'asisem osam*, and you guard and you perform them. ושמר השם אלוקיך לך את הברית ואת החסד *V'shamar Hashem Elokecha l'cha es ha'bris v'es ha'chesed*, then God will שמר *shamar* you back. ואהבך וברכך והרבך וברך פרי בטנך *V'ahavcha u'veirachacha v'hirbecha u'veirech p'ri vitnecha*, and so on and so forth. What is the לשון *lashon* there? What is the language there? ושמרתם ועשיתם *U'shmartem v'asisem*. If you guard and if you do, what's the difference between guarding and doing? ושמרתם ועשיתם *U'shmartem v'asisem*. Guard them and do them. What's the difference between guarding and doing? So in order to answer them, the answer them is the following, the answer them is the following. He says, the answer is that the word שמר *shamar* means not only to guard or protect, it certainly doesn't mean to do. The word שמר *shamar* means to anticipate, to look forward, to be excited. The pasuk says in דברים *Devarim*, chapter 12, verse 28, שמור ושמעת את כל הדברים האלה אשר אנוכי מצוך למען ייטב לך ולבניך אחריך עד עולם *Shmor v'shamata es kol had'varim ha'eleh asher anochi metzavcha l'ma'an yitav l'cha u'l'vanecha acharecha ad olam*. שמור *Shmor*, guard, and ושמעת *v'shamata*, and listen, all the things that I am commanding you. And Rashi there says, שמור, זו משנה שאדם צריך לשמור בבטנו שלא תשכח *Shmor, zu mishna she'adam tzarich lishmor b'vitno shelo sishkach*. This is your learning that you have to protect in your kishkas, in your gut, to never ever forget it. The learning that you put inside you that you absorb, that transforms you, never ever forget it. משנה לשון שמור מורה על משנה, שצריך לשמור בבטנך *Mishna l'shon shmor moreh al mishna, she'tzarich lishmor b'vitnecha*. שמור *Shmor* refers to your learning which is not external, is not academic, is not theoretical, is not scholarly, but a learning that is in fact absorbed, it's embedded, it's imbibed inside us. לשנות ולשנן היטב בכדי שישמר *Lishnos u'l'shanen heitev b'kdei she'yishamer*. Learn it well so you can safeguard and protect it. Learn it well so it becomes a part of who you are and you remember it and carry it forward and it transforms you. And that's what it means, ושמרתם את מצוותי ועשיתם אותם *u'shmartem es mitzvosai v'asisem osam*. Rashi says, ושמרתם, זו משנה *u'shmartem, zu mishna*. Whenever you see the word ושמרתם *u'shmartem*, Rashi says, זו משנה *zu mishna*. ושמרתם *U'shmartem* means not the fulfillment of mitzvos, it means the learning and the observance of mitzvos. It means how we do the mitzvos. It means how we do the mitzvos. And so therefore, similarly here, שמור *shmor* means תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti* means it's not I fulfilled them. We already pointed out it's impossible to fulfill all 613 by ourselves. What does it mean? What does it mean שמרתי *shamarti* not קיימתי *kiyamti*? It means I learned about them. I never stopped having my mind on the mitzvos, on Torah learning, wherever I was, on vacation, at work, in a hostile environment, in a foreign culture or in my own home. Wherever I was, תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*. Not קיימתי *kiyamti*, not I fulfilled, but שמרתי *shamarti*. I never stopped learning. I never stopped thinking. I never stopped growing.But the word שמר *shamar* means something else also. And lastly, and then we'll move on. The word שמר *shamar* has another connotation. Like later when Yosef is sold by his brothers and disappears and Yaakov is inconsolable, Yaakov cannot find closure. And the pasuk describes, ואביו שמר את הדבר *v'aviv shamar es ha'davar*. ואביו שמר את הדבר *V'aviv shamar es ha'davar*. What does that mean? ואביו שמר את הדבר *v'aviv shamar es ha'davar*? It means that his father Yaakov held on to the matter. He looked forward to being reunited. He never gave up hope. He counted down to when they would be together. ואביו שמר את הדבר *V'aviv shamar es ha'davar*. The word שמר *shamar* means not to safeguard and hold, it means to protect with anticipation. You see, if there's an idea, a concept, a value which you easily dismiss, which you don't care about, which you're casual about, then you've not protected it, you've not safeguarded it. But if there's something you're excited about, you're looking forward to, it's part of what defines you. If you hold on to it, that's to be שמר *shamar*. That's what it means. ואביו שמר את הדבר *V'aviv shamar es ha'davar* that Yaakov was inconsolable, שמר את הדבר *shamar es ha'davar*. What was he shomer? He was shomer his son Yosef, that they would be reunited, that they come together again. The Apter Rav, the Ohr Yisrael, I've shared this many times, the Apter Rav, Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, he writes, that's what it means to be a שומר שבת *shomer Shabbos*. שומר שבת *Shomer Shabbos* is not to observe the laws of Shabbos. שומר שבת *Shomer Shabbos* is not to keep the 39 categories of creative labor. שומר שבת *Shomer Shabbos* is not to make kiddush and havdalah. שומר שבת *Shomer Shabbos*, he writes boldly, doesn't even happen on Shabbos. To observe the laws of Shabbos is not to be a שומר שבת *shomer Shabbos*. You know what שומר שבת *shomer Shabbos* means? When you said this morning at the end of davening, היום יום שלישי בשבת *hayom yom shlishi b'Shabbos*. Today's not Tuesday, what's Tuesday? Today is the third day in the countdown to Shabbos. When your life is a countdown to something, that's what it means to be שמר *shamar*. Shabbos is coming. היום יום שלישי לשבת *Hayom yom shlishi l'Shabbos*. Today is the third day in the count to Shabbos. So that's what it means to be a שומר שבת *shomer Shabbos*, says the Apter Rav. And that says Rav Druck is what it means, that's what it means, תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*. תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti* doesn't mean, doesn't mean that I קיימתי *kiyamti*. Why doesn't it say קיימתי *kiyamti*? Why does it say שמרתי *shamarti*? What it means is Yaakov says, \"I can't wait. I'm holding on to this idea. I'm going to, I'm going to transmit it to my children and their children after them. The whole enterprise of Torah and mitzvos, this entire life and lifestyle, תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*. I cherish it. I love it. I celebrate it.\" And that's also a contemporary question for us. תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*, none of us can fulfill all תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*. Not because we're not dedicated or devoted, but you cannot simultaneously be a kohen, a levi, and a Yisrael, live inside Israel and outside of Israel. There is no Beis HaMikdash today. And therefore we are precluded from תרי\"ג מצוות קיימתי *Taryag mitzvos kiyamti*. It's impossible to observe or fulfill all תרי\"ג מצוות *Taryag mitzvos*, whether we want to or not, it is simply an impossibility. However, תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*, that we can all do. We can all be שומר תרי\"ג מצוות *shomer Taryag mitzvos*. Our attitude and our passion, our priority, what we transmit and communicate to those around us, is it תרי\"ג מצוות קיימתי *Taryag mitzvos kiyamti*? Impossible. But תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *Taryag mitzvos shamarti*, this life and lifestyle, a Torah life, that is not only a possibility, but it is our responsibility.פרק ל\"ב פסוק ט\"ז *Perek Lamed Beis, pasuk tes vov*, moving right along. Pasuk describes that Yaakov sends ahead of him with his malach. He spends the night there, and he sends these gifts to his brother. The pasuk says in pasuk Yud-Zayin, I stopped too soon, and Yaakov instructs his servants, he says, \"Make sure that each of these groupings of animals, that there's space, that there's margin between them. Make sure that each goes separately.\" ורווח תשימו בין עדר ובין עדר *V'revach tasimu bein eider u'vein eider*. Leave a space, leave margin between each of these droves, between each of these units of animals. Says Rashi, \"Why would you have that separation?\" Yaakov wanted each grouping of animal to be separated, to be distinct, to be apart. Why? Because he wanted to trick Esav. You know what happens with the mind's eye? When from a distance, you see the animals all spread out, it will look like even many more, exponentially greater. Not just 610, which what's Esav going to do with 610 animals? It's enormous. Not just 610, but if you put that margin and space between it, and you spread it out, it will look like even more, and that will seem like even a larger gift. It'll be even more impressive and it'll make Esav even more predisposed, even more likely to be willing to reconcile. So Rashi says, what's the goal, what's the purpose of the distancing? In order to further appease Esav, in order to give him the greater impression that that there's even more coming, he will be more impressed and it'll be even more likely to reunite with him. It's a marketing strategy. It is a perception issue. The Sforno gives another interpretation. And look at the Sforno. Again, we're on פרק ל\"ב Perek Lamed Beis, it's the Artscroll page 174. פרק ל\"ב Perek Lamed Beis, פסוק pasuk י\"ז yud-zayin. ל\"ב י\"ז Lamed Beis, Yud Zayin. So says, that was Rashi. Says the Sforno. ל\"ב י\"ז Lamed Beis, Yud Zayin. כדי שיֵרָאֶה שיש בכל מין מנין זכר ונקבות, כפי הראוי למלאכת המקנה, שיוכל לפרוץ לרבות Kedei sheyera'eh sheyesh bechol min minyan zachar u'nekeivos, k'fi ha'rauy l'meleches ha'mikneh, sheyuchal lifrotz lirbos. כאמרו, 'כך נשא ברכתי', שעשה מנחה מוכנת לברכה, שהיא תוספת ברכה Ke'emro, 'kach nasa birchasi', she'asah mincha muchanes l'bracha, shehi tosefes bracha. Says the Sforno, you know why he wanted him to spread it out? Each group would be alone and spread it out. וְרֶוַח תָּשִׂימוּ V'revach tasimu. So first he says send male and female, because he wants Esav to know you'll be able to put them together and they will promulgate and promulgate and they'll be able to reproduce, and what starts out of 610, I'm sending you even much greater gift. Rashi says spread it out, it's marketing, it looks like more. Sforno goes even more and says, no, by sending male and female, you are empowering and enabling Esav to not only receive that gift, but for it to expand even more going forward. Sforno continues and place a רֶוַח revach between them, שלא יקפצו הבהמות מאלו לאלו ויסרבו shelo yikpetzu ha'beheimos me'eilu l'eilu v'yisarvu. so that these different animals will not jump out of their pen, won't jump out of their grouping and intermingle, ולא יבין הרואה חכמת המנחה וברכתה v'lo yavin ha'ro'eh chochmas ha'mincha u'virchasah. And then if somebody were to see, they would get mixed up, the onlooker wouldn't understand the wisdom of the gift and its blessing. Says the Sforno, you know why it's important to place a רֶוַח revach? You know why it's important? Because the Sforno is placing an emphasis on the notion of סֵדֶר seder, order. Be organized, keep it together. Yaakov is not doing so because he's doing it to impress Esav. According to the Rashi, this comment of תֵּן רֶוַח tein revach, place margin and space between them, is all part of the strategy and effort to impress Esav. According to the Sforno, no, this is a value Yaakov has, a value of living with סֵדֶר seder. Be organized. Be organized, live with order. Everything's got to be neatly and laid out, and you need to have a sense of margin. That רֶוַח revach, that margin is a very critical value and a very critical lesson in life. We spoke about the notion of סֵדֶר seder of order before Pesach, of why we celebrate freedom with סֵדֶר seder, with order, because in fact, there's freedom, freedom comes through discipline. You think the opposite. You think that freedom means you could be undisciplined, do what you want, enjoy life. It's the opposite. When you're disciplined with money, you have more money. When you're disciplined with time, you have more discretionary time. The more disciplined you are with your things, the longer they last. Freedom through discipline. So Yaakov is communicating according to the Sforno a message here, that order. You have to be organized and live with order. Put them in such a way where there's clarity, not confusion. Don't let them intermingle. Don't let them jump one to another. Don't let other people not appreciate the value and the idea of margin in our life. Margin is very important. In fact, it's a הלכה halacha. It's a הלכה halacha. This is a tangent, but a worthwhile one for a moment. A הלכה halacha in the קדושת סופר תורה, תפילין ומזוזה kedushas sefer Torah, tefillin u'mezuzah, in סת\"ם STaM, תורה, מזוזה ותפילין Torah, mezuzah, and tefillin. The הלכה halacha is that the writing has to be מוקף גויל mukaf gvil. מוקף גויל Mukaf gvil means that around the letters, around the ink, has to be parchment, blank parchment. If letters run one into another, פסול pasul, no good. No good. Can it be salvaged? Can it be saved? You need a proper and capable and competent scribe, a סופר sofer. But if the letters of a Torah or tefillin or a mezuzah, if the letters are touching, even if they're touching in a barely perceivable way, it will פסול pasul, it will invalidate the mezuzah, the tefillin, or the sefer Torah. The letters have to be מוקף גויל mukaf gvil. Why? There has to be margin. There has to be space. Each letter represents another Jew. 600,000 letters of the Torah, every Jew is its own life. Our lives need to be filled with margin. We need the black letters, but we also need the blank space. The blank space is the margin we live with in our lives. We live with such noise, and we live with such running one thing into the other, momentum. But it's really not momentum, it's motion sickness. We have no margin. There is no break, there are no boundaries, there are no borders. You know, why is it that every book, every ספר sefer you own, why don't they make the letters run from the edge of the page to the edge of the page and the top to the bottom? Why are there margins in a book? It would save a lot of money. The book could be a lot shorter. Print the print, the text over the whole page. Why is there margin? There's a חכמה chochmah, there's a wisdom to the layout that publishers use when they produce books with margin, because what is most appealing to the eye? The eye needs to rest, the eye needs a break, the eye needs margin. So according to the Sforno, Yaakov is, Yaakov is expressing his commitment to the concept of margin. There has to be רֶוַח revach, there has to be space between the עדר eider and the עדר eider. Between these groupings of the flock, between these animals, there must be a space. It's communicating. So Rashi says it's for Esav, marketing, to impress him. The Sforno says, there's זכר ונקבה zachar u'nekeivah, they're male and female animals. He's telling Esav, I'm not just sending you this group of animals, I'm sending you the possibility of their reproducing and you'll have many more enemy, more animals as well. And why does he have the space, the margin? It's Yaakov's commitment to margin. But there's a beautiful מדרש midrash. The מדרש midrash writes the following in בראשית רבה Bereishis Rabbah. אמר יעקב לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא Amar Yaakov lifnei HaKadosh Baruch Hu, ריבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam, אם יהיו צרות באות על בני im yihiyu tzaros baos al banai, אל תביאום זו אחר זו lo tavieim zu achar zu, אלא הַרְוַח להם מצרותיהם ella harvach lahem mitzaroseihem. I'm about to reunite with Esav. Esav is an enemy and an adversary. I don't know how this is going to go. This could be a צרה tzarah, it's an עת צרה eit tzarah. It's a moment of crisis, a moment of difficulty, a moment that I need you. Hashem, if my life or the lives of my children and progeny will be filled with צרות tzaros, please do me a favor, space them out. Put some margin between them. Create perspective and context for them. One of the challenges of going through crisis and hard time is we begin to think that that's forever. This pandemic, these eight, nine months, I don't even know what we're at, and how long it's been. It's way too long, that I know. But it begins to feel that this is a new normal and this is life forever. I have a grandson who's one years old and it occurred to me the overwhelming majority of his life he has seen adults wearing masks. He doesn't know there's such a world in which you don't have to wear a mask. It doesn't occur to him. He's never seen people shake hands. He doesn't see people stand within six feet of one another. He's one years old, the majority of his life, almost his entire life has been this pandemic. Please God he'll grow out of it and he'll learn what normalcy really looks like. But we also, like that one-year-old, can easily think that this is normalcy, that this is life. We've forgotten the ability to zoom out the lens and to see a bigger context and to see a bigger perspective and to see a bigger timeline and to know where we are on it. And that's Yaakov's תפילה tefillah, says the מדרש midrash, to Hashem. His תפילה tefillah is, the same way I spaced out these animals in anticipation of reuniting with my brother Esav, please space out the צרות tzaros that will come to my children and to me in life. Create a perspective and a context. Let me see them as part of a greater whole and not be too focused in on them that I can't see anything else. That's also the role of margin. You need a break. It can't feel like it's piling up and compounding and overwhelming and suffocating. There needs to be a break between them so that we can we can reinvigorate ourselves to be able to withstand them, to be able to, to be able to overcome them. He tells the angel, the messengers, keep calling them angels but they're actual messengers. He says you're going to see my brother, וַיְצַו אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹן לֵאמֹר vayetzav es ha'rishon leimor, he tells his messenger, כִּי יִפְגָשְׁךָ עֵשָׂו אָחִי וּשְׁאֵלְךָ לֵאמֹר ki yifgashcha Eisav achi u'she'eilcha leimor, when you encounter my brother and he will ask you saying לְמִי אַתָּה lemi atah, to whom do you belong? וְאָנָה תֵלֵךְ v'anah seilech, and where are you going? וּלְמִי אֵלֶּה לְפָנֶיךָ u'lemi eileh lefanecha? And what's all of this? What is all of these property and children and people and things? What is all of this? וְאָמַרְתָּ לְעַבְדְּךָ לְיַעֲקֹב מִנְחָה הִוא שְׁלוּחָה ve'amarta l'avdecha l'Yaakov mincha hi shlucha. So you're going to answer him, this all belongs to my master Yaakov, your brother who sent me to bring it to you. And he owns all of this. And these are his children and these are his things and so on. Rav Soloveitchik in the Rav Chumash in the OU Rav Soloveitchik Chumash, Rav Soloveitchik says the following. 'My brother Esav,' Yaakov told his agents, 'will ask you three questions. To whom do you belong? To whom do you as a metaphysical being, as a soul, as a spiritual being belong? And where are you going? To whom is your historical destiny committed? And to whom have you consecrated your future? What is your ultimate goal, your final objective? Who is your God and what is your way of life? These two inquiries are related to your identities as members of a covenantal community. However,' Yaakov continued, 'my brother Esav will also ask a third question. And for whom are these before you? Are you ready to contribute your talents, capabilities, and efforts towards the material and cultural welfare of the general society? Are you willing to pay taxes to develop and industrialize the country? This third inquiry is focused on the temporal aspects of life.' So Rav Soloveitchik interprets these three questions not as being mundane. They're not simply a common courtesy. Esav's not just asking, you know, who are you, where are you going, but these are actually existential questions that Esav is trying to understand who has Yaakov become and what is the life that he's living. And the Rav doesn't write it, but he's כביכול kivyachol telling us that these are the questions that are asked to each and every one of us. I spoke under a חופה chuppah on Sunday and I told the young חתן וכלה chosson v'kallah that in that moment, in this transitional moment in their life, they too are asked these questions. למי אתה lemi atah, where do you come from? Parents, grandparents, what are your roots? And ואנה תלך v'anah seilech, and where are you going? What is your mission? What is your ambition? What are your aspirations in life? וּלְמִי אֵלֶּה לְפָנֶיךָ u'lemi eileh lefanecha? And all of the things that you have, all the resources and the strength and the skills, all the material possessions, למי lemi, what are you going to do with it? How you going to channel it? How are you going to make the world a better place with it? Why do you have it? These are the questions that are asked not just from Esav towards the messengers of Yaakov, but these are the questions that are asked to each and every one of us. Yaakov told his agents to answer the third question in the positive. 'It is a gift sent to the master.' We feel obligated to enrich society with our creative talents, to be constructive and useful citizens. Yet in regard to the first two questions, he commanded his representative to reply in the negative. Clearly and precisely, boldly and courageously. He commanded them to tell Esav that their soul, their personality, their metaphysical destiny, their spiritual future and sacred commitments belong exclusively to God and to his servant Yaakov. למי אתה Lemi atah, ואנה תלך v'anah seilech, ולמי אלה לפניך u'lemi eileh lefanecha are not just three questions that were asked from Esav towards Yaakov, these are the three questions that are asked towards us and to which we all need to formulate answers. They reunite Yaakov and Esav, I want to get on in the parsha. They reunite and Esav challenges his brother. They have this encounter, he hugs and he kisses, there's dots on top of the word וישקהו vayishakeihu. We have the literal, he kissed him, but we also have the tradition that it was insincere, he was trying to kill him. Rashi quotes one that he too was the son of Yitzchak and Rivka. Esav had a soul, there was a spark, there was a inside of him of where he came from and there was sincerity in that moment. There was authenticity, וַיִּבְכּוּ vayivku, that he cried. Even this, this hunter, even this jock, even this athlete, even this Esav had a soft spot inside of him. Even he broke down in tears. Even he was capable of crying in that moment. Rashi quotes that חז\"ל Chazal. So they raise their eyes and they see all of this and Esav inquires, מי לך כל המחנה הזה אשר פגשתי mi lecha kol ha'machaneh ha'zeh asher pagashti? And Yaakov says יש לי רב yesh li rav. So Esav answers, he says, 'All this? My stuff. I have a lot. יהי לך אשר לך yehi lecha asher lach, take what you have, I don't need, יש לי רב yesh li rav. Esav says, 'I have seven cars and four vacation homes and three Lear jets. יש לי רב Yesh li rav, I have a lot. I'm good to go. I'm not going to try to take from you.' ויאמר יעקב Vayomer Yaakov, so Yaakov says, they have a back and forth. And what's Yaakov's response? When Esav asks him about his life, Yaakov doesn't say יש לי רב yesh li rav, I have a lot. What does Yaakov say? יש לי כל Yesh li kol. יש לי כל Yesh li kol. I've got everything. I've got everything. כי יש לי כל ויפצר בו ויקח ki yesh li kol vayiftzar bo vayikach. That's a contrast. The Esav mentality is יש לי רב yesh li rav. I have a lot. I can never have enough. I always want more. No matter how much I have, I have a lot, but it's never enough. I always want more. And the Yaakov mentality, the Yaakov attitude is יש לי כל yesh li kol. Whatever I have, I have everything because it's what was destined for me, it's what God determined is the right thing for me. Where did Yaakov get that from? That attitude, that lesson, that that approach of יש לי כל yesh li kol? Where did he get that from? He got that from none other than of course his father Yitzchak who got it from his father Avraham. We're not going to spend the time on this now. There's a beautiful in אורות התשובה Oros HaTeshuvah, Rav Kook explains the mentality of of כל kol. The attitude of what I have. The pasuk says ואברהם זקן בא בימים v'Avraham zaken ba bayamim, and והשם ברך את אברהם בכל vaHashem berach es Avraham bakol. Avraham had כל kol. What is כל kol? So the Ibn Ezra there says, and עשר בנים osher v'banim, he had a lot of things. He spells out what the כל kol is. But other interpretations say, no no, יש לי כל yesh li kol means that Avraham had a mentality, a philosophy, an approach and attitude towards life of having everything. He had a very panoramic view of the world and he saw the way it all worked together and he understood that Hashem was pulling the strings and he was the one behind it. And no matter what he had or he was lacking because when does it say ברך את אברהם בכל berach es Avraham bakol? When does Avraham begin this attitude of כל kol? Once he's lost Sarah. He's lost his life partner, his other or better half, and that's when he says I have everything? It's in that moment that he feels he has everything. Because he sees the world operating with synthesis, in harmony, a panoramic view of the whole world. And he takes that כל kol and he hands it off to Yitzchak. Avraham takes his sense of כל kol and he gives that ברכה bracha to Yitzchak. It's not a coincidence that when Yishmael was born, the Torah warns us that Yishmael is ידו בכל yado bakol. That his hand will be upon that sense of כל kol. Yishmael is trying to fight, destroy goodness and optimism and hope and synthesis, that Yishmael, the whole life is to introduce tension and conflict. ידו בכל Yado bakol, but יד כל בו yad kol bo. We stubbornly hold on to our attitude of כל kol. Even though Yishmael is trying to compromise or corrupt the כל kol, ידו בכל yado bakol, יד כל בו yad kol bo, we hold on to it. It says ויתן אברהם את כל אשר לו ליצחק vayiten Avraham es kol asher lo l'Yitzchak. Avraham took this כל kol and he gave it to Yitzchak. And now Yitzchak gave it to Yaakov. Yaakov says, יש לי כל yesh li kol. I have everything. Very very fundamental. And what do we ask for when we בנטש bentsch? Each time in בנטש bentsching we say, הרחמן הוא יברך אותנו ואת כל אשר לנו HaRachaman Hu yevarech osanu v'es kol asher lanu. Hashem should bless us and the כל אשר לנו kol asher lanu. Bless the sense of כל kol that we have. Bless this tradition of כל kol that we've been given, the ability to look at life and say whatever I have, I have what I need, I have what's meant for me. כמו שנתברכו אבותינו אברהם יצחק ויעקב בכל מכל כל Kemoshe nisbarchu avoseinu Avraham, Yitzchak, v'Yaakov bakol, mikol, kol. Hashem berach es Avraham bakol, with Yitzchak it says mikol, and now in our parsha Yaakov says, יש לי כל yesh li kol. Bakol, mikol, kol. Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Hashem, you let them and you gave them that ability to live with that. Give it to us. הרחמן הוא יברך אותנו ואת כל Harachaman Hu yevarech osanu v'es kol, bless us with that sense of כל kol, that when we're living in life, we too can look at it life. Why do I share that with you דוקא dafka today? Because I share it with you uh it's Giving Tuesday, which came after Cyber Monday, which came after Black Friday. Every day now has a week. We call it יום שלישי בשבת Yom Shlishi B'Shabbos. We are שומר שבת shomer Shabbos. For us, the days of the week are defined by how we're counting down towards Shabbos. But the world around us is defining the days of the week by what we can buy for ourselves. It's very interesting, Black Friday. Do you know Black Friday where it got its name? It traces itself back to 1951 and it was called Black Friday because people would call in sick. They wanted a long weekend. Thursday they're off Thanksgiving and then was the weekend. In order to bridge the gap and get the weekend off, a long weekend, they would call in sick. So they called it Black Friday. Everybody was sick, taking the day off. That's the origin of Black Friday. Later it came and caught on with the Philadelphia Police Department to describe the congestion, the traffic, Black Friday. The highways were packed because people were going to shop. And now it's Black Friday because what people are willing to do, they trample one another, they kill one another, they elbow and fight one another in order to buy things. Isn't it amazing? Does it ever strike you, the contrast of Thanksgiving, the day where you say, 'I'm grateful for what I have.' And then not one day later, not one day later, it's not I'm grateful for what I have, but I don't have enough. Black Friday, I need more. I'll elbow and trample and break through glass, I'll go online, I'll I'll accrue great debt because I don't have enough. So in the world we're living in, we go from Thanksgiving, we go from the day where I say I'm grateful for what I have. Really it's an attitude of יש לי רב yesh li rav. I'm thank, I'm Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving for יש לי רב yesh li rav. But clearly you don't feel יש לי כל yesh li kol or there wouldn't be some of the horrific, embarrassing, shameful behavior on Black Friday. We are the progeny of Yaakov Avinu, we don't say יש לי רב yesh li rav. We live with an attitude of mentality, we say יש לי כל yesh li kol. The מידת הסתפקות middas hishtapkus. The mentality and the attitude of, I have enough. Whatever I have, it's enough. It doesn't mean I don't have ambition and aspiration, doesn't mean I don't work harder, doesn't mean I don't try to do more, doesn't mean I'm not allowed to treat myself to things, but I do so within a context and a perspective that Hashem has given me what I need, what I deserve, what's right for me, הסתפקות histapkus. And therefore I can live with an attitude of יש לי כל yesh li kol. I always have enough like Yaakov Avinu. Moving right along. פרק ל\"ג, פסוק י\"ח Perek Lamed Gimmel, Pasuk Yud Ches. Now, they depart ways after this reunion. ויבוא יעקב שלם עיר שכם Vayavo Yaakov shalem ir Shechem. Yaakov comes whole to Ir Shechem. And we already described how he was שלם shalem, בגופו b'gufo, בממונו b'mamono, בתורתו b'soraso. There's a beautiful בני יששכר Bnei Yissaschar. The הילולא דבני יששכר heilula d'Bnei Yissaschar says something very beautiful. The Bnei Yissaschar says he comes שלם shalem to Ir Shechem. And he says ראשי תיבות rashei teivos, the word שלם shalem is שם shem, לשון lashon, and מלבוש malbush. What does it mean that he came whole, he came with harmony, he came feeling at peace? Here he spent 34 years on the road, 14 in Shem and Ever, 20 working for Lavan, he survived Lavan, תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי Taryag mitzvos shamarti. Not he observed them, but either he was committed to community cooperation, collaboration, or as we said, תרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי taryag mitzvos shamarti, not קיימתי kiyamti. He continued to learn and he anticipated and looked forward. And now after 34 years, he's finally שלם shalem. He feels whole. He's reconciled, he's no longer afraid of Esav, he's no longer on the run from Esav. He comes to the city of Shechem, שלם shalem. Says the הילולא דבני יששכר heilula d'Bnei Yissaschar, Rav Tzvi Elimelech Shapira, he says what does it mean שלם shalem? שלם Shalem is a ראשי תיבות rashei teivos, שלם shalem is an acronym for שם shem, name, לשון lashon, language, and מלבוש malbush, dress. And that's what it means, ויבא יעקב שלם עיר שכם vayavo Yaakov shalem ir Shechem, שלמותו של כל יהודי shleimuso shel kol yehudi, for a Jew to be whole, a continuation, the Rebbe said, is dependent on him not changing his, even though he's coming from those three things. For a Jew to be שלם shalem, you have to have a Jewish name and a Jewish way of speaking and a Jewish appearance. That's what it means for a Jew to be whole. שלם Shalem. שם, לשון, מלבוש Shem, Lashon, Malbush. To be whole, you have to be whole in those three ways. That is what the בני יששכר Bnei Yissaschar says. What happens when they get to, no longer, doesn't take very long and ותצא דינה vatetze Dinah. Dinah goes out. Dinah goes out. Is she to blame? She she goes out. She's בת לאה bas Leah. Rashi says, לא בת יעקב lo bas Yaakov. She's not associated or identified with Yaakov. She's associated and identified with Leah. Why? It's an indictment of Leah. על שם יציאתה נקראת בת לאה Al shem yetzi'asah nikrais bas Leah. שאף היא יצאנית היתה she'af hi yatzanis hayesa. שנאמר ותצא לאה לקראתו shenemar vatetze Leah likraso. Leah went out and Dinah went out and what does it mean to go out? And this is a comment about women or men or all of us. It's an idea about boundaries. We need boundaries in our lives. And when we violate those boundaries, men or women, when we violate those boundaries, that's what it means יצאנית yatzanis is to go out. To go out means to be able to pierce through, to be able to break through boundaries. You know, we talk about breaking the glass ceiling. And that's important and it's lovely and we should. We're breaking down stereotypes and we're breaking down barriers and we're breaking down artificial limits. Break those glass ceilings. But don't break through boundaries. Boundaries are very important. Boundaries keep us moral and ethical. Boundaries keep us loyal. And when we break those down, when we're in יצאנית yatzanis, this quality of יציאה yetziah, of going out, going out beyond the boundaries that are set of appropriateness, of interpersonal, of moral behavior, when we break down those boundaries and יצאנית yatzanis, then problems arise. Now that's not to blame the victim. Dinah is an absolute victim and Shechem is the perpetrator. And one never, ever, ever should blame the victim. That's not what Rashi's telling us is the lesson. But Rashi is telling us, however, in response, that we should think about what we do in order to create a moral society, a moral society with strong boundaries that will enable and empower us to be able to live without these dangers. So Dina goes out and וירא אותה שכם בן חמור vayera osah Shechem ben Chamor. Shechem the son of Chamor sees her וייקח אותה וישכב אותה ויענה vayikach osah vayishkav osah vaye'aneha and he rapes her. He wants her, he likes her. #MeToo he violates her. ותדבק נפשו בדינה בת יעקב ויאהב את הנערה וידבר על לב הנערה Vatidbak nafsho b'Dinah bas Yaakov vaye'ehav es ha'naarah vayedaber al lev ha'naarah. Then he falls in love with her and he says you know what, I want to continue this. ויאמר שכם אל חמור אביו Vayomer Shechem el Chamor aviv and he says to his father, 'I want to marry her. Set it up. Call the שדכן shadchan, send the resume, get it done.' יעקב שמע כי טמא את דינה בתו ובניו היו את מקנהו בשדה Yaakov shama ki timei es Dinah bito u'vanav hayu es mikneihu ba'sadeh. Yaakov hears that his own daughter was raped. ויחרש חמור אבי שכם Vayecharosh Chamor avi Shechem and the Chamor comes out to negotiate with Yaakov. ובני יעקב באו מן השדה U'vnei Yaakov bau min hasadeh and they heard about this. And what do they do? We know the whole story ensues. Torah tells us this whole story of Shimon and Levi. Shimon and Levi take matters into their own hands. They take matters into their own hands and what do they do? They set up a phenomenal ruse. I don't know, when when when you killed the chief nuclear scientist in Iran. Come on, do you not swell with pride? Do you not say to yourself, really? There are Jewish people who can sneak into a foreign country and pull off a episode like that and kill this this terrible person and get out without anyone seeing them, knowing them and then never take credit for it. I mean, it's tragic that we need to do that. It's tragic that our people, our sons have had to learn that skill set and take those risks. But do you not swell with a little bit of pride that they can? So Shimon and Levi say here's the deal. Shimon and Levi are the are the commando unit. Shimon and Levi are the elite unit in Yaakov's army. And they say to themselves, we're going to take matters in our own hand and here's the deal. They say, Shechem, no problem. You can marry our sister, it's a beautiful שידוך shidduch. We'll have a fantastic wedding, a big orchestra, smorgasbord, it's going to be great. But here's the deal. Our sister can't marry somebody who's נשק מול nishka mul. Our sister can't marry somebody who doesn't have a ברית מילה bris milah. You and the entire nation need to need to circumcise yourselves and when you do, now you're eligible. Now you qualify for our sister. Shechem says that's all it takes, שטיקל shtikl surgery on myself. Painful, but for a woman, for love, I'll do it. Circumcises himself, they all circumcise themselves. On the third day when they're the most weakest and vulnerable and compromised, Levi and Shimon come and they wipe them out. They destroy them. We only have a few minutes left, but I want to touch on a few ideas within this. Number one idea is, how is that moral or ethical? How is that possible? Collective punishment. Shechem raped Dinah, so take Shechem behind the barn and do what you got to do. Pay him back, make a statement that nobody's ever going to do that to the Jewish people again. But how do you practice collective punishment against all the people of of Shechem, what we call Shechem, Chamor, of that whole city? How is that possible? The Ramban is bothered by this on our parsha and the Ramban writes, ויתכן שהיה קשה ליעקב שאורע אף על מה שהרגו אנשי העיר אשר לא חטאו לו v'yisachein shehayah kasheh l'Yaakov she'ora af al mah she'hargu anshei ha'ir asher lo chat'u lo. We know later in parshas Vayechi when Yaakov gives brachos to his sons, he calls Shimon and Levi impetuous. He's critical of them. He says, 'You put all of us in danger, you risked us with your impetuous behavior towards Shechem and Chamor.' והראוי להם שיכו שכם לבדו Ve'hara'uy lahem she'yakchu Shechem l'vado. They should have killed Shechem alone. What right did they have to kill more? So the Ramban quotes the Rambam. He quotes the Rambam and the Rambam says, 'You know why? דינים Dinin. One of the שבע מצוות בני נח sheva mitzvos bnei Noach, one of the seven Noahide laws is setting up courts and a system of justice and the fact that the people of the city didn't hold Shechem accountable, they didn't execute justice, pun intended, they therefore themselves became culprits, they became accomplices and therefore they were deserving.' Says the Rambam, one of the seven Noahide laws, you've got to carry out justice. And their failure to carry out justice against Shechem ben Chamor made them accomplices and made them themselves worthy of this attack. Says the Ramban, ואין דברים האלה נכונים בעיני v'ein ha'dvarim ha'eilu nechonim b'einai. Nah, I don't buy it. שאם כן היה יעקב אבינו חייב להיות קודם בזרוזם ובמסעם She'im kein hayah Yaakov Avinu chayav l'hiyos kodeim b'zeiruzam u'vemas'am. Yaakov should have applauded them. If that were the case, if what they did was right, Yaakov should have given them a big יישר כח yashar koach. Why does he become angry at them? So the Ramban gives another answer. The Ramban has his own explanation. But the Maharal of Prague on this pasuk, the Maharal in his Gur Aryeh, the Maharal says the following. He writes קשה אם שכם חטא כל העיר מה חטאו להרוג kasha im Shechem chata, kol ha'ir mah chat'u la'harog? Shechem made the mistake. Shechem raped Dina, what are the rest of the people of the city do? Where is the ethics of carrying out a collective punishment? And he writes נראה דלא קשה מידי דלא דמי שני אומות כגון בני ישראל והכנענים שהם שני אומות ולפיכך חוטל להם ללחום כדין אומה שבא ללחום אומה אחרת שהתירה התורה Nireh d'lo kashya midi. D'lo dami shnei umos, kegon bnei Yisrael v'ha'Knaanim, shehem shnei umos. U'lefichach choter lahem lilchom k'din umah sheba lilchom umah acheres, she'hitira haTorah. You know, the Torah has laws of murder. The Torah has laws of self-defense. The Torah has the interpersonal one-on-one laws. But what happens in a war? Why is one army allowed to ever kill the other army? Isn't that an act of murder? So the Maharal reminds us that war has entirely different laws than non-war. In a non-war context, there are rules that regulate how we behave with one another and in a war context, not that all is fair in war and love or war and whatever that quote is. But there are rules that regulate war also, but in war, there's a different barometer, there's a different threshold. Therefore, the Maharal understands that Shimon and Levi saw themselves at war. 'When you do that to our sister Dinah, we are at war with you.' And in war, there's not collective punishment. There's a nation fighting another nation. What were the ethics of dropping the bomb on Hiroshima? What are the ethics of attacking a city which is harboring terrorists even if innocent civilians may die? What are the ethics, what are the laws, what are the morals of doing so? The Maharal says it depends. There's a difference in a one-on-one conflict or a war between nations. And a war between nations, כאן שהיו באומה זו שראו להם מותרים לבוא עליהם למלחמה וכן הן כל המלחמות Keivan she'hayu b'umah zo she'ra'u lahem, mutarim lavo aleihem l'milchama v'chein hein kol ha'milchamos. It's true with all wars, war is very different. Rav Shechter quotes this Maharal in his sefer איקבי דעון Ikvei D'Tzon, in איקבי דעון Ikvei D'Tzon. And he talks about the same is true in Israel. If terrorists are shooting rockets from Gaza and Israel has to figure out how to respond, is Israel bound by the laws of of war or is Israel bound by the laws of an interpersonal conflict between two people? And the nafka mina, the practical difference is collective punishment. What are the consequences towards civilians? Now, Israel, better than any army ever, tries to protect innocent civilians and civilian life. But in the context of war, it does what it has to do. And he writes there, ועל פי דברים האלה נראה לומר, דהוא הדין בזמן הזה, מדינת ישראל עומדת במצב של מלחמה v'al pi ha'dvarim ha'eilah nireh lomar, d'hu ha'din b'zman ha'zeh, medinas Yisrael omedes b'matzav shel milchama. You know, when did the, when did the War of Independence in the 1948 war end? I once took a group of teens to Israel and on the bus from the airport, our tour guide turned to those teens and he said, 'When was the war for independence?' And they knew, they answered 1948. And he said, 'When did that war end? How long did it last?' And this one said this date, this one said it lasted that long. And he turned to them, I'll never forget, and he said, 'It hasn't ended yet.' That war for Israel's independence has not yet ended. Israel remains, and Rav Shechter here writes, הלכתית halachically, it remains in a perpetual state of war against its enemies. That war has not ended yet. מירצה השם Im yirtzeh Hashem, it should in our day speedily. לכן נראה לומר, and he quotes the Maharal in Gur Aryeh, פרשת וישלח parshas Vayishlach, וכן נראה לומר, הוא במצב כארץ, הוא מצב של מלחמה, שאין להחזיק ספק פיקוח נפש היחידים, וכאשר הבאנו בדברי מחצית השקל וכן בצב, and so on and so forth Ho ha'matzav k'eretz, hu matzav shel milchama, she'ein l'hazik safek pikuach nefesh ha'yechidim. U'che'asher heveinu b'divrei Machatzis HaShekel v'khen b'Nitziv, and so on and so forth. There are different rules that regulate this all together, different rules. So that is the question of collective punishment, a very important one. I want to end with one or two more quick points. We learned from here, how old were Shimon and Levi? How old were they when they avenged their sister? How old were they when they stand up to intervene, to intercede and to say, not on my watch? We have a tradition that they were 13 years old, that they were בר מצווה Bar Mitzvah. And we see from here that the age of Bar Mitzvah is 13. If they were 13 and that's when they became men and they took matters into their own hand. We gave a shiur early this year in the afternoon called the Bar Mitzvah if you want to listen, it's on why you Torah or Rabbigober.org. The making of a גודל gadol, what it means to be בר ובת מצווה Bar and Bas Mitzvah, and a fascinating sources, we don't have time to run through all of them. It's a Mishna in פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos and why is it at 13 for a boy and 12 for a girl? Does it have to do with mental maturity, physical maturity? What does it correspond with? And physical maturity, why is physical maturity matter? Why is that age? We went through all these different sources and fascinating. and fascinating sources. I wanted to share with you one, which is the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Lubavitcher Rebbe writes in a שיחה sicha, י\"ט כסלו Yud Tes Kislev which is this coming Shabbos. The Lubavitcher Rebbe writes in a שיחה sicha in the volume five of שיחות sichos on פרשת וישלח parshas Vayishlach, it's in the Yiddish so I won't read it to you, not because you won't understand, but because I will butcher if I try to read to you the Yiddish. The Lubavitcher Rebbe says the following. He says, you know why you become a גדול gadol at 13, just because Shimon and Levi were 13 when they became a גדול gadol? Because you know what it means to be a גדול gadol? What it means to be a גדול gadol is to care about the people around you. To be a קטן katan, to be a minor, is to care only about yourself. A baby, a little baby, I'm hungry, I'm tired, I want to eat, I need my diaper changed, what I want, what I want, what I want. To be a גדול gadol, to be mature, to reach the age of maturity means to be able to say, it's not what I want. I care about other people. My sister, I'm going to step up and defend her. It's to care about the people around us. It's not a coincidence the פסוק pasuk says in שמות Shmos, ויהי בימים ההם ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלותם Vayehi bayamim hahem vayigdal Moshe, vayeitzei el echav vayar b'sivlosam. ויגדל משה Vayigdal Moshe. Moshe became a גדול gadol. What does it mean to become a גדול godol? ויצא אל אחיו Vayeitzei el echav, to go out and see the people around you, וירא בסבלותם vayar b'sivlosam, and to see their suffering, and to care about it, and to want to intervene and intercede, and to want to make their lives better. That's what it means to be a גדול gadol. If you only care about yourself, I don't care if you're a hundred years old, you're a little baby. And if you're four years old, but you've learned to care about people around you, you are already showing the signs of maturity. To be a גדול gadol, to be the age of majority, to be mature, means to see outside yourself, to care outside yourself. That is what Shimon and Levi do. And lastly, because we have not yet said an אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim. The אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe says, and we'll end with this, ויהי ביום השלישי בהיותם כאבים Vayehi bayom hashlishi bihyosam ko'avim, on the third day when they were in pain, Shimon and Levi killed all the males. הקשו המפרשים מה חטאו כל אנשי שכם שחייבו הריגה Hikshu hamforshim ma chat'u kol anshei Shechem shechiyvu hariga. The מלבי\"ם Malbim asked and the רמב\"ן Ramban asked and the רמב\"ם Rambam asked, and all these different commentators wonder, kill שכם Shechem? What right do you have, collective punishment, to kill everybody? The אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, the Vizhnitzer also asked. And he says, אלא כיון שקיבלו על עצמם כדי ששכם יוכל למלא תאוותו, משמע שגם הם בעלי תאוה כזו בכוח Elah keivan shekiblu al atzmam kedei she'Shechem yuchal l'malei ta'avato, mashma shegam heim baalei taivah k'zu b'koach. Why did the rest of the city agree to be circumcised? They weren't getting Dinah as a reward. Why did they agree? Because in order to pursue promiscuity and licentiousness for pleasure of the flesh, they were willing to endure pain of the flesh, it shows who they were all along, and therefore they need to be wiped out. A people who are בעלי תאוה baalei taivah, willing to give into such lust and temptation are people that are dangerous, that are, that are contagious, and therefore they were entitled to get rid of them, and therefore it was in their right. Much more to say, as always, but we end here. Tomorrow morning, we continue at 8:15 with מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, 10 minutes of meaning. 8:45 living with אמונה emunah and tomorrow night, I know you're waiting to hear who's our guest. We're going behind the bimah 9 p.m. tomorrow night with the one and only Rabbi Yoel Gold. It's going to be a fascinating conversation. He has a big announcement to make about an upcoming video. 9 o'clock tomorrow night behind the bimah. Thank you as always to our sponsors. If you would like to sponsor an upcoming week, please email Lee at brsonline.org. Lee at brsonline.org. Stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy.
