Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov and welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. Our weekly study of the פרשה Parsha trying to extract the lessons for our daily lives. I want to thank our generous sponsors, as always, the Parsha series for the year, Becky and Avi Katz and family in loving memory of David Grossman, Becky's father, לזכות נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנוש leiluy nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manush. Thank you so much for your generosity and for your friendship. Also the shiur this morning is sponsored by Sandy and Sidney Goldschmidt in memory of their parents, החבר אפרים בן החבר משה יהודה Hachaver Ephraim ben Hachaver Moshe Yehuda and צביה בת אברהם מתתיהו Tzivya bas Avraham Matisyahu, משה בן שמחה Moshe ben Simcha in honor of their יארצייט yahrzeits in the month of Adar. This week's shiur is also dedicated to Eddie Braun on her birthday by her by her children, grandchildren, and ברוך השם Baruch Hashem her great-grandchildren. They wish her many, many more, and we wish her many more healthy and happy years עד מאה ועשרים ad meah v'esrim. What a beautiful, beautiful sponsorship, what a beautiful, beautiful ברכה bracha and במרצה השם b'mirtzas Hashem it should fully come true. We have the privilege this week of learning together פרשת כי תשא Parshas Ki Sisa, page 484 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. And פרשת כי תשא Parshas Ki Sisa, we now transition. We've gone through the story of the development of the birth of a Jewish family. We've gone through the birth of a nation who emerged from מצרים Mitzrayim. We received the תורה Torah. We then put the תורה Torah into practice and applied it with the detailed laws of פרשת משפטים Parshas Mishpatim. תרומה Truma and תצוה Tetzaveh introduced us to the concept of the משכן Mishkan, of creating a house for השם Hashem. And now we get into trouble. For the first time, the Jewish people really get into trouble. Of course, our פרשה Parsha contains within it the עגל הזהב Eigel Hazahav. But before we get to the עגל Eigel. וידבר השם אל משה לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, God speaks to Moshe saying, כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל לפקודיהם Ki sisa es rosh Bnei Yisrael lifkudeihem, ונתנו איש כופר נפשו להשם בפקוד אותם v'nasnu ish kofer nafsho laHashem bifkod osam, ולא יהיה בהם נגף בפקוד אותם v'lo yihyeh bahem negef bifkod osam. Hashem said, when you take a census, it's time for another census of the Jewish people. We know, we've seen, Hashem loves the Jewish people. And how do you express affection for that which you love? You count it, you review it. Some people know their stock portfolio, some people know their real estate holdings, some people know sports scores, some people know their grandchildren's names and birthdays. We count and we review that which we have the most love and the most affection for. And so רש\"י Rashi tells us that Hashem continues to continuously count the Jewish people. אש תמיד Eish Tamid. We begin with the אש תמיד Eish Tamid, the great רבי ישראל מאיר דרוק Reb Yisrael Meir Druk. We're going to do several beautiful pieces in the אש תמיד Eish Tamid. כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל Ki sisa es rosh Bnei Yisrael. So the פסוק pasuk describes, how was the census done? זה יתנו כל העובר על הפקודים מחצית השקל בשקל הקודש Zeh yitnu kol ha'over al ha'pekudim machatzis hashekel b'shekel hakodesh. I'm on the second פסוק pasuk, פסוק י\"ג pasuk yud gimmel. זה יתנו כל העובר על הפקודים מחצית השקל בשקל הקודש עשרים גרה השקל מחצית השקל תרומה להשם Zeh yitnu kol ha'over al ha'pekudim machatzis hashekel b'shekel hakodesh, esrim geirah hashekel machatzis hashekel trumah laHashem. This they give, everybody who is included, everybody who's passing through the census, a half shekel of the sacred shekel. The shekel was twenty geira, half a shekel as a portion to Hashem. רש\"י Rashi here on the spot tells us, זה יתנו zeh yitnu, הראהו כמטבע של אש her'eihu k'matbe'ah shel eish, ומשקלו מחצית השקל u'mishkalo machatzis hashekel. Moshe said, I don't know what you're talking about. How do I do this census? What are you talking about a half shekel? What does it look like? How does it feel? I don't know what you're talking about. So Hashem gave him a vision, Hashem showed him, you don't know what I'm talking about? Here is a half shekel on fire. ואמר לו V'amar lo, and Hashem said to Moshe, כזה יתנו kazeh yitnu. You see this half shekel, you see this coin on fire? That is what they are to give. That is the instruction you are to give them. So wonders of Druk, יש לאיין yesh l'ayein. בשלאמא מנורה מוכן שהתקשה כיוון שמנורה קשה מאוד לעשות Bishlama menorah muvan shehiskasheh keivan shemenorah kasheh me'od la'asos. So the menorah was made out of, was fashioned out of one piece. So I understand it was difficult. It had very intricate detailed form, and I understand Moshe was confused. What exactly should it look like? And how exactly do I make it? So Hashem had to give him the architectural plans. Hashem had to show him an example of what it meant. But this? It's a coin. Who hasn't seen a coin? Who hasn't interacted or transacted with a coin? What was exactly the source of Moshe's confusion, and how was that confusion solved by Hashem showing him the image of a coin and a coin on fire? ונראה לוהרן and says Druk the following, listen to this lesson. שלא התקשה משה בצורת המטבע הזו אלא התקשה שנאמר ונתנו איש כופר נפשו Shelo hiskasheh Moshe b'tzuras hamatbe'a hazu, ela hiskasheh she'ne'emar v'nasnu ish kofer nafsho. Moshe wasn't confused, what does a coin look like? Anyone who's been alive knows what a coin looks like, knows how to transact with a coin. What was the source of Moshe's confusion? Moshe says, I don't understand. I don't understand, God, you're telling me that the Jewish people, they're giving this half coin is כופר נפש kofer nafesh. It's going to redeem their soul. Why does a soul need to be redeemed? Because the soul has made mistakes. We're all human and we make mistakes. We've come up short, we've failed Hashem, we've failed the people around us, we've failed ourselves, and we need to redeem ourselves. We need to believe in ourselves. We need to atone for those mistakes. We need to pledge and promise and come back better than ever. So says Moshe, someone who in fact has made mistakes and somebody who needs to repair and return from those mistakes, a half shekel? You pay your way? A coin? What is so special? What is so magical about this coin, says Moshe. How does that work? כופר נפש Kofer nafesh, to redeem the soul, to atone for mistakes, a coin? ולמועט הערך מחצית השקל יוכל להיות כופר נפשו של אדם v'lamu'at ha'erech machatzis hashekel yuchal l'hiyos kofer nafsho shel adam. אין שיעור וגבול מה שאדם צריך לעשות כדי לכפר נפשו Ein shiur u'gvul mah she'adam tzarich la'asos kedei lechaper nafsho. It's the same half shekel for everyone. How could it be? Are you telling me that צדיק tzaddik, the righteous person, needs the same redemption as the wicked? The person who fails infrequently needs the same opportunity for repair as the person who can never get it right? How could it be the same half coin? That our Parsha continues by telling us the wealthy can't give more and the poor don't give less. You're not allowed. It's the only appeal ever. BRS Global campaign, still going, give whatever you want. There is no minimum. Give a dollar, we're grateful for your partnership. Give a million dollars, we'll never cut you off. What kind of campaign is this that you're not asking for more or less? And how does it work? How can everyone give equal when we haven't equally led the same lives or made the same mistakes? וכן הדברים מלוקטים בדברי המדרש V'chein hadvarim melukatim b'divrei ha'Medrash. So says Druk, look at the מדרש תנחומא Medrash Tanchuma. כיוון ששמע משה כל אשר לאיש יתן בעד נפשו keivan sheshama Moshe kol asher l'ish yitein b'ad nafsho, ובזה נתקשה ולא ידע איך מחצית השקל יש כופר נפשו u'v'zeh niskasheh v'lo yada eich machatzis hashekel yeish kofer nafsho. How does it redeem the soul and how does everyone get an equal redemption? So here is the answer. הראה לו הקדוש ברוך הוא מטבע של אש Her'a lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu matbe'a shel eish. ורצה לומר לו בזה שאם אדם נותן את המטבע עם כוונה שלימה להשם יתברך עם נתינת לב עם בער והתלהבות פנימית אז גם מחצית השקל יוכל להיות כופר נפשו V'ratza lomar lo b'zeh she'im adam nosen es hamatbe'a im kavana shleima laHashem Yisbarach, im nesinas lev, im be'er v'hislahavus pnimis, az gam machatzis hashekel yuchal l'hiyos kofer nafsho. Externally, superficially, it looks like everyone's giving the same half shekel. But what is the fire? What is the bren? What is the energy that you bring with it? There's the external superficial act, but then there's the intent, then there's the passion, then there's the mindfulness and the concentration and the intentionality. What do you bring with it? And that's what Hashem was showing Moshe. Says Moshe, all כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael have the same תרי\"ג מצוות taryag mitzvos and all כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael have the same מחצית השקל machatzis hashekel. And all people, no matter how righteous, no matter how wicked, no matter what level they're on, no matter who they are, we are bound by the same external actions. But you know what differentiates us? You know what makes us unique and distinct from one another? You see this coin that's on fire? What is the fire you bring? Are you ice cold? Are you extinguished? Are you casual? Are you distant? Or are you on fire? Do you care deeply? Are you passionate? Do you invest and give your all? That's the כופר נפש kofer nafesh. What Hashem was showing Moshe was, the כופר נפש kofer nafesh, the redemption of the soul doesn't come from the half shekel. That's the manifestation, the external act. Where does it come from? The אש eish, מטבע של אש matbe'a shel eish. What is the fire that you bring? כשאר אדם נותן את מחצית השקל עם הפנימיות ומהאש והבערה שלו הוא נותן את הנשמה K'she'adam nosen es hamachatzis hashekel im hapnimius u'meha'eish v'habe'eirah shelo, hu nosen es haneshama. Where we give our soul is not in the money. That's giving our bank account. Where we give our soul, and we give our time, and we give our resources, where we give our soul is what we put of ourselves in it. That's the מחצית השקל machatzis hashekel which is כופר נפש kofer nafesh. Druk doesn't quote this, but the same can be said when we read the פרשת נשיאים Parshas Nesi'im, the story of the princes of the Jewish people who seemingly all brought the exact same sacrifice. We read this on חנוכה Chanukah. They all when they erected, when they celebrated the inauguration of the tabernacle of the Mishkan, they all brought the exact sacrifice, פרשת נשא Parshas Nasso. And yet the Torah goes out of its way to tell us over and over, 12 times, it repeats the same passage, painful on the ears, painful on the Shabbos morning. You're listening 12 times to the same paragraph, the only difference is the name. And why couldn't the Torah have simply said, this was the קרבן korban of the נשיאים nesi'im. These are the sacrifices that each of the princes brought, times 12, here are their names, they each brought the same one. Terribly inefficient to take up so much space in the sacred Torah to repeat over and over and over again. And the commentators explain, yeah, on the outside, superficially, it looks like they're going through the same act. But you know, each one brought a different piece of themselves. Each one dedicated different invested, whether they were on fire. Look around the shul, look around the community, and we're all operating out of the same סדר siddur, we're saying the same words of the same שמונה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei, but not everybody in the room is דאווענען davening the same. So externally you're giving the half shekel, externally you're giving the same עמידה amidah, but what fire do you bring? Is it a little spark barely holding on? Is it a raging fire? And that's what Hashem was showing Moshe. The מטבע של אש matbe'a shel eish, here is a coin on fire because it's not about the coin, it's not about the act, it's about you. What part of your נשמה neshama, how sincere, how mindful, how invested are we in what we're doing? And whether it's דאווענען davening, whether it's תורה Torah learning, whether it's the מצוות mitzvos, טלית tallis, תפילין tefillin, candle lighting, we just had פורים Purim, listening to the מגילה Megillah, משלוח מנות mishloach manos, are we going through external acts mindlessly, putting a check mark when we're done, or is there a מטבע של אש matbe'a shel eish? Are we on fire? Are we invested and drawing close to Hashem? Are we transforming ourselves? Are we trying to operate in this world and to live and to extract the most meaning from it? How present are we and how on fire are we? But there's a second interpretation Druk has, and I love it. Listen to this. זה יתנו Zeh yitnu says רש\"י Rashi, הראהו כמטבע של אש her'eihu k'matbe'a shel eish that Hashem showed Moshe the image of a coin on fire. ואמר לו כזה יתנו V'amar lo kazeh yitnu, this is what you need to give. מה רמז במטבע של אש Ma remez b'matbe'a shel eish? What is the illusion? What is the hint? What is the deeper message? We just said one. Here's number two. You ready? ונראה לוהר שא רמז בזה על דרך שאדם חושש לתת צדקה מחמת שיחסר בממונו V'neira l'varev sheha'remez b'zeh al derech she'adam choshesh laseis tzedakah machmas she'yachsar b'mamono. A person should never hesitate to give צדקה tzedakah because I have a finite resources. Money is a finite commodity. If I have X in my bank account and I give you part of X, I have X minus what I gave you. So a person might hesitate, a person might resist giving צדקה tzedakah because they think if I share, if I give, there's less for me. So Hashem's answer is no, כזה יתנו kazeh yitnu. You see this fire? You know an amazing quality of fire? You take a candle, you take a torch, you take fire, and you can light an infinite number of other fires without diminishing the original fire at all. Take that candle, take that light, take that fire and light everyone and everything around you and the original candle is burning as bright as it was. It's not depleted, it's not diminished at all. And that's what Hashem was telling Moshe. When you're talking to a people and they're hesitant and they're resistant and they think, my resources, they're finite. If I share, if I give, if I partner, if I invest, there's less for me. I can't do that. I don't want to do that. Show them a coin on fire. And like fire, let them realize that for Hashem, there's infinite resources. כמובן בנתינת תרומות צדקה לעולם לא יחסר מממונו כלום K'muvan b'nesinas trumos tzedakah, l'olam lo yachsar mimamono klum. ועוד נראה לוהר שכמו שהאש מועיל לחיי האדם V'od neira l'varev she'k'mo sheha'eish mo'il l'chayei ha'adam. Just like fire is an indispensable commodity, we need fire in order to create energy. Fire gives light, fire gives warmth, fire is critical. שהיא מחממת ומבשלת shehi mechames u'mevasheles. We can cook with it and we can warm ourselves up. Ask the people of Texas how important fire is. אומנם היא גם יכולה לבא ולחזק ולצרוף Omnam hi gam yechola lavo v'lachzik l'tzrof but it can also destroy, it can burn, it can consume. כמו כן הממון Kmo chein hamamon. Money. This is the mission statement about money. Hashem says contribute and donate to the building of the Mishkan or contribute and donate to a census to be counted, but you need to be acutely aware of the potential of money. Money like fire, fire can create, illuminate, warm, bring energy, fire can consume, it can destroy, it can obliterate. או נראה לוהר רמז בזה Od neira l'varev remez b'zeh, or here is a fourth interpretation. שאדם חושב לעצמו כי פרוטה קטנה שנותן לצדקה מה תועיל She'adam choshev l'atzmo ki pruta ketana she'nosen l'tzedakah ma to'il. A person says to themselves, I'm giving such a negligible amount. Yeah, I'm a member of the BRS global community because I appreciate and enjoy what they offer. All I can give is a dollar. So why bother giving the dollar? It's humiliating, it's negligible, it's nothing. No, every dollar counts. You don't know which dollar puts it over the top. And where do you see that in a fire? Because a little spark can launch a fire that rages. A tiny spark can launch a fire that obliterates and destroys or that creates and warms. It begins with a tiny thing that turns into something great and the same is true with צדקה tzedakah. So we saw from Rav Druk four answers to the question. Moshe didn't know, זה יתנו zeh yitnu, what are you talking about, Hashem, everyone should give a half shekel, that's a כופר נפש kofer nafesh, that will redeem the soul. Hashem, what are you talking about? Hashem showed him a coin on fire. How did that answer? What did Moshe not understand? And in what way did Hashem help? Says Rav Druk, Moshe didn't understand, כופר נפש kofer nafesh, how do you redeem your soul? And how is everyone redeemed equally when they're all different? The answer is, it's not about the coin, it's about the fire, the bren, it's about the energy and the enthusiasm and the passion that you bring to it. Number one. Number two, just like fire is not depleted or diminished when it's shared, so too our resources, Hashem can replenish and restore. We are not at all diminished when we give what we have. Number three, just like fire is double-edged, it can create or destroy, so to money can be used constructively or destructively. And lastly, number four, just like a tiny spark, a little bit of fire can grow and rage, so to that one dollar, that little bit of money can be the thing that puts it over the top. Four beautiful insights of Rav Druk. The אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh is bothered by something else. We go back to our Mikraos Gedolos. It's been a while since we've been in the Mikraos Gedolos. This parsha shiur originally began, a small group of people sitting around a table, we would explore certain psukim in the Parsha and see the מפרשים meforshim in the Mikraos Gedolos, the רמב\"ן Ramban, the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, רש\"י Rashi, the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim, the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, how did they all see it differently? And it grew Baruch Hashem to the parsha shiur we have today. Let's go back to our roots and look at an אור החיים Ohr HaChaim. So the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim wonders, we're taking a census, and what does one do when they take a census? They count. So what word should the Torah use to introduce the taking of this census? A word that's reflective of counting. But we don't. What word do we use? כי תשא את ראש Ki sisa es rosh. צריך לדעת says the אור החיים הקדוש אור החיים אבן עטר Ohr HaChaim Ibn Atar. צריך לדעת tzarich lada'as we have to wonder. טעם אומרו תשא ולא אמר תפקוד ta'am omro 'tisa' v'lo amar 'tifkod'. Why do we say lift rather than count? We're talking about a census. A census doesn't include lifting anything other than a clipboard. So why do we describe a count as lifting rather than counting? שאלה יתבאר בתחילת הדרך בזאת אומרו את ראש she'yitba'er b'tchilas haderech b'zos omro 'es rosh'. ולחשבון מה לא יאמר כי תשא את בני ישראל v'lecheshbon mah lo yomar 'ki sisa es Bnei Yisrael'. שאין לומר שלא יצוה השם למנותם אלא ראשים she'ein lomar she'lo yitzaveh Hashem limnosam ela roshim. כי הנה אמר אחר זה צאך ג' צאך דע כמה אומר לפקודיהם ki hinei amar achar zeh...'v'od tzarich l'daas kavanoso omro lifkudeihem'. It says כי תשא ki sisa, lift the head, לפקודיהם lifkudeihem, according to the count. So which is it? Are we lifting? Are we counting? What's going on over here? Listen to this אור החיים Ohr HaChaim. The אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh says, because החוטא גורם בחטאו כפיפת ראשו hachoteh goreim b'cheto kfifas rosho. When a person makes a mistake, when a person gives into the animal instinct, the animal impulse, the animal in us, when a person is drawn to the taiva, the desire, the temptation of this world, of the physical, of the material, we hang our head. Think about it in the vernacular we describe it that way. The posture of the person who has failed, who's made a mistake, who feels guilt or shame, the posture of such a person is to hang their head. כפיפת ראש kfifas rosh. We look down. כבחינת אמרם אם עשיו יהיה לארץ תביט כי שפלה היא k'vichnas omram im aso yihyeh l'eretz tabit ki shfela hi. We feel low, and when we feel low, we look down. We feel we've failed our spiritual ambition. We're no different than an animal, so we look to the ground. ובחינת הקדושה היא נשיאת ראש והרמת מזל ואיכות u'vichnas hakdusha hi nesias rosh v'haramas mazal v'eichus. So you know what holiness is? You know what it means to be counted? Is to lift your head. Lift your head. Hold your head high. To say something encouraging that will help someone else lift their head. That's what we are as human beings. He continues the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, and he says that's why כי משה נמלך שתישא ראש בני ישראל שראשם נמוך לצד חסרון במעשה העגל ki Moshe nimlach shetisa rosh Bnei Yisrael sherosham namuch l'tzad chesron b'ma'aseh ha'eigel, והוא אומר לפקודיהם ולא נפקד מהם איש שלא נמצא בהם עוד רשם חטא v'hu omer lifkudeihem v'lo nifkad meihem ish shelo nimtza bahem od roshem chet. He says animals walk on all four, they look to the ground, they hang their head low, they're material, they're physical, and they make mistakes. But human beings, we have spiritual ambition, we have drive, we have aspiration. We reach and we stretch for the heavens, we walk on two legs and we hold our head high. And that's what it means. You know how to make somebody count? You make somebody, you lift their head, you lift their spirits, and you make them count. That is what the אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh says. Now the Parsha continues, and it tells us, as we said, this is a very unusual appeal. A very unusual appeal. In this appeal, there is an explicit instruction, you cannot give too much. There's a even, everyone's got to give the exact same amount. You can't give too much. העשיר לא ירבה Ha'ashir lo yarbeh. פסוק ט\"ו pasuk tet vav. We're still on page 484. העשיר לא ירבה Ha'ashir lo yarbeh, the wealthy cannot give more, והדל לא ימעיט v'hadal lo yamit, and the poor, the indigent, the impoverished cannot give less, ממחצית השקל mimachatzis hashekel, from a half shekel, לתת את תרומת השם לכפר על נפשותיכם laseis es trumas Hashem lechaper al nafshoseichem. Says רבי אלימלך מליז'נסק Rebbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, הרבי רבי אלימלך the Rebbe Rebbi Elimelech, there's an allusion in this pasuk. We're not just talking about money, and we're not just talking about the census. But listen to what הרבי רבי אלימלך the Rebbe Rebbi Elimelech said. העשיר היינו העשיר במצוות ha'ashir hainu ha'ashir b'mitzvos. Somebody who is wealthy in mitzvos, somebody who's blessed to have a strong background, somebody who's blessed to have had role models, somebody who's blessed to be spiritually inspired, somebody who's blessed to be passionate and on fire with mitzvos, לא ירבה lo yarbeh. לא ירבה להתגאות lo yarbeh lehhisga'os. Don't become arrogant. לא ירבה Lo yarbeh, don't see yourself as greater, don't feel inflated. אלא יזכור תמיד שהגיע רק עד חצי ela yizkor tamid shehigi'a rak ad chatzi. Know that you're a half shekel. You're only halfway there. No matter what you've accomplished, you finished shas for the 17th cycle, you gave away the most tzedakah, you daven with the most kavanah, you treat people with the most chesed, no matter what you've accomplished or achieved, no matter how great you've become, לא ירבה lo yarbeh, don't become arrogant. Don't let your ego be inflated, ממחצית השקל mimachatzis hashekel, because you're just still a half shekel. There's still so much to go. והדל לא ימעיט V'hadal lo yamit. הדל במצוות adal b'mitzvos, says the Rebbe Rebbi Elimelech. Somebody who's impoverished with mitzvos, they don't have that background, they don't yet have that knowledge, they're not on a journey to learn, to grow, to do. They're not necessarily feeling at the top of the inspiration of their life. לא ימעיט lo yamit. לא יחשוב עצמו קטן מידי ולא ראוי lo yachshov atzmo katon midai v'lo ra'uy. Don't diminish, dismiss yourself. Don't see yourself as inconsequential or unimportant. Do not minimize the contribution of what you're doing. So you're not on fire, so you're not maximizing your observance, so you're not yet reaching your potential. לא ימעיט lo yamit, the dal, the one who's not on fire with mitzvos, do not minimize, or do not dismiss, nevertheless, what your contribution means. יתחזק מאוד בעבודת השם yischazek me'od b'avodas Hashem. Strengthen yourself in the service of Hashem. Of course, this is not the פשט בפסוק pshat b'pasuk. It's not what the pasuk means, but I love the message of רבי אלימלך Rebbi Elimelech, הרבי רבי אלימלך מליז'נסק the Rebbe Rebbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, who's telling us that העשיר ha'ashir, wealthy isn't only with money. Wealthy isn't with money. One of my favorite lines, I don't know who said it. נבך Nebach, there are some people so poor, all they have is money. נבך Nebach, there are people so poor, all they have is money. Wealth can be defined in many different ways. And for this purpose, הרבי רבי אלימלך the Rebbe Rebbi Elimelech defines wealthy here as מצוות mitzvos. So if you're wealthy with מצוות mitzvos, you're on fire, you have a great account of mitzvos, לא ירבה lo yarbeh. Don't be arrogant because you're a מחצית השקל machatzis hashekel. You're still only a half. But a דל dal, this is equally important. There are people who feel, you know what? If I'm not doing it all, I might as well do none of it. And if I make this other mistake, and I'm so terrible, I'm such a failure, why bother either trying? הדל לא ימעיט hadal lo yamit. Even if you're a דל במצוות dal b'mitzvos, you're poor, you're indigent, you're impoverished, you're lacking in mitzvos, לא ימעיט lo yamit, do not minimize, and do not underestimate, and do not fail to give yourself the benefit of the doubt. פרק ל\"א פסוק כ\"ז Perek lamed alef pasuk kaf zayin. פרק ל' פסוק י\"ח perek lamed pasuk yud ches. Next page, 486. So we move on after the census, Torah tells us ועשית כיור נחושת v'asisah kiyor nechoshes, we now have the כיור kiyor. Ah, the כיור kiyor, the lavern, the laver, the uh basin where the priests would wash when they entered the holy tabernacle in order to do their service, their עבודה avodah. What in the world is doing here? Where would you have expected it? Back in Parshas Truma. That's where we were given the gift of the different utensils of the tabernacle. We were told about the ארון aron, the ark, and the מנורה menorah, the candelabra, and the שולחן shulchan, table. So the כיור kiyor, the laver belonged there. What is it doing here? Why is it out of place? I leave you with that question. We've discussed it in parsha shiur in the past. We're not going to look at it again right now. But it continues now with the anointment oil. The anointment oil was that Moshe was going to make this mixture. Moshe was going to create this compound, spices and oil, and it would be used to anoint and to consecrate, to uh invest holiness in these utensils and in the priests who were going to serve in the Mishkan. What was involved? קח לך בשמים ראש מר דרור kach lecha besamim rosh mar dror. מר דרור Mar dror is Mordechai. חמש מאות וקינמון בשם מחציתו chameish mei'os v'kinamon besem machtziso, and so on and so forth. This mixture and the spices and the fragrances, and there's a lot to say here about what is included and what isn't included. But פרק perek, I'm sorry, I skipped, before you get to the oil. Go back to the laver. פרק perek uh פרק ל' פסוק י\"ח perek lamed pasuk yud ches, 486. I apologize. I want to just say one inside in this pasuk. The laver, the basin that the priests would wash when they came into the עבודה avodah, says the pasuk, ורחצו ידיהם ורגליהם ולא ימותו v'rachatzu yedeihem v'ragleihem v'lo yamusu. They wash their hands and feet and not die. והיתה להם חוקת עולם לו ולזרעו לדורותם v'hayta lahem chukas olam lo u'lezaro ledorosam. And this is the decree for them and for their children that will follow. Says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, says the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, says the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, ורחצו ידיהם ורגליהם ולא ימותו v'rachatzu yedeihem v'ragleihem v'lo yamusu. ולא ימותו V'lo yamusu here does not mean physical death. Do you want to achieve immortality? Do you want your soul to be alive? There are people who are dead while they're alive. There are people who continue to live even after they die. How do you remain alive while you're alive, not dead while you're alive? Says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, ורחצו ידיהם ורגליהם ולא ימותו ויקדישון v'rachatzu yedeihem v'ragleihem v'lo yamusu, v'yakdishun. תרגום Targum, the תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos translates the word ורחצו ידיהם v'rachatzu yedeihem, says the תרגום Targum, ויקדישון ידיהון ורגליהון ולא ימותון v'yakdishun yedeihon v'ragleihon v'lo yimuson. ורחצו v'rachatzu means to wash. So why is he translating wash as ויקדישון v'yakdishun, to make holy, to consecrate, to make sacred? Says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, ידיהם היינו הרשות yedeihem hainu hareshus, רגליהם היינו הרגילות ragleihem hainu ha'hergelus. ידיהם Yedeihem, your hands mean the optional things that we do. ידו רשותו Yado reshuso. Your hand is your רשות reshus. רשות Reshus means your, within your possession, within your domain. רגליהם Ragleihem, your legs, are רגילות hergelus. The word רגילות hergelus means a habit, a pattern. אם רוצים לקדש את הרשות ואת הרגילות אז ולא ימותו im rotzim lekadesh es hareshus v'es ha'hergelus az v'lo yamusu. לא יבאלו הזמן בשינה שהוא אחד משישים במיתה lo yevlu hazman b'sheina she'hu echad m'shishim b'mitah. ורחצו ידיהם ורגליהם ולא ימותו v'rachatzu yedeihem v'ragleihem v'lo yamusu. If you want to truly live, then don't sleep. Sleep is a portion of death. Now you need sleep. You need a healthy amount of sleep. You need to get the right amount of sleep. But there are people who are lazy and love sleep and sleep too much, and they're sleepwalking through life, they're wasting, they're squandering. ורחצו ידיהם ורגליהם v'rachatzu yedeihem v'ragleihem. You want to create and form the right habits, holy habits, then be careful ולא ימותו v'lo yamusu, then don't sleep, don't die through your day by overindulging in sleep, which is a portion of death. פרק ל\"א פסוק כ\"ב Perek lamed alef pasuk kaf beis. פרק ל\"א פסוק כ\"ז perek lamed alef pasuk kaf zayin. Moving right along. We're skipping the incense, and בצלאל Betzalel is now recruited. ראה קראתי בשם בצלאל בן אורי בן חור למטה יהודה re'eh karasi v'shem Betzalel ben Uri ven Chur l'mateh Yehuda. Why is בצלאל Betzalel chosen as the architect of the Mishkan? What an unbelievable appointment. What a position of prominence. Hashem says, ואמלא אותו רוח אלוקים va'amaleh oso ruach Elokim, I'm going to fill him with a godly spirit, בחכמה ובתבונה ובדעת b'chochmah u'v'tvunah u'v'da'as. This is חב\"ד ChaBaD. חכמה בינה דעת chochmah, binah, da'as. ובכל מלאכה u'v'chol melacha. בצלאל Betzalel was the first חב\"ד'ניק ChaBad'nik. חכמה בינה דעת chochmah, binah, da'as. What is the difference? They're all different forms of knowledge. What is the subtle difference, חכמה בינה דעת chochmah, binah, da'as? They seem to be three synonyms that are all describing knowledge. What's the difference between them? Why was it critical for the architect of the Mishkan? What is the philosophy of the בעל התניא Ba'al HaTanya and חב\"ד ChaBaD? We've discussed this all in a parsha shiur in the past. You can find it and look it up there. But we continue the next section. All of a sudden, we're talking about the Mishkan. Hashem has just appointed or recruited its engineer, its architect. We have solicited the donations, the materials. We have defined the dimensions of its utensils, and all of a sudden out of nowhere comes Shabbos. פרק ל\"א פסוק י\"ב י\"ג Perek lamed alef pasuk yud beis yud gimmel. We're on page 490. ואתה דבר אל בני ישראל לאמר אך את שבתותי תשמורו v'ata daber el Bnei Yisrael leimor ach es Shabso'sai tishmoru, כי אות היא ביני וביניכם לדורותיכם ki os hi beini u'veineichem l'doroseichem, לדעת כי אני השם מקדשכם lada'as ki ani Hashem mekadeshchem. Hashem says, speak to the children and tell them, observe my שבתותי Shabso'sai. How do you translate the word שבתותי Shabso'sai? Observe my, I would have translated it as, observe my Shabbos. But that's not what the word means. What does the word שבתותי Shabso'sai mean? שבתותי Shabso'sai is plural. It's the plural form. Observe my Shabboses. Why is it observe my Shabboses, in the plural? In the plural. So some say it's a גמרא Gemara, the גמרא Gemara says, אילו היו בני ישראל שומרי שתי שבתות ilu hayu Bnei Yisrael shomrei shtei Shabbosos, if we would keep two Shabboses, מיד נגאלין miyad nig'alin, immediately we'd be redeemed. Which two Shabboses? שבת חזון Shabbos Chazon, שבת נחמו Shabbos Nachamu, which Shabbos, ערב פסח Erev Pesach, שבועות Shavuos, which two Shabbos? If we only keep two Shabboses, maybe that's why it's in the plural. Others say that there's a physical Shabbos and a spiritual Shabbos. The כתב הקבלה Ksav HaKabbalah writes, בא בלשון הרבים ba b'lashon harabim, כי טעם שבתותי בעבור כי שבתות השנה הם רבים ki ta'am 'Shabso'sai' ba'avur ki Shabbosos hashanah hem rabim. The Ramban says, you know why it's in the plural? There isn't one Shabbos. There's one Yom Kippur a year, there's one day of Purim a year, there's one Shavuos a year. Shabbos, every week. 52 Shabboses. So Shabbos is שבתותי Shabso'sai. Shabbos is the holiday that's in the plural. All the other holidays are in the singular because there's one a year. Shabbos is in the plural because Shabbos comes every week. That's the Ramban. But the Ksav HaKabbalah says, no. It means בשבת יש פי שנים בחינות b'Shabbos yesh pi shnayim b'chinos. There are two dimensions of Shabbos. האחד ענין הביטול וההפסק ממלאכה Ha'echad inyan habittul v'hahefsek mimelacha. There is the passive, there is the negative, there is no longer working, rest from creative labor. והשני ענין ישוב הדעת v'hasheini inyan yishuv hada'as. But then there's the result. Shabbos is not just abstaining, refraining from labor, physical and creative, Shabbos is also about introducing something new, an environment, a culture, a climate. Shabbos is about tapping into a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira, we'll talk more about in a moment. Shabbos is about elevating. אם כן Im kein says the כתב והקבלה Ksav V'hakabalah of Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, יש בכל שבת ושבת שתי שביתות yesh b'chol Shabbos v'Shabbos shtei shvisos. שביתת הגוף מעסקי עולם shvisas haguf me'iskei olam. I'm resting my body. I don't go to work, I'm not showering, I'm not driving, I'm not working in the backyard of the field, I'm not connected to technology. ושביתת וישוב הנפש להתעסק בענינים רוחניים אלוקים u'shvisas v'yishuv hanefesh l'hisasek b'inyanim ruchni'im Elokim. So my body rests, but my soul is also resting and invigorating. There's a מנוחת הנפש menuchas hanefesh, there's a peace of mind and a tranquility that is the margin and the space to think and to live and to be, to tap into some of the fire that we were talking about with the מחצית השקל machatzis hashekel. ואין שביתת הגוף לבדה עיקר ותכלית קיום מצות שביתת שבת V'ein shvisas haguf l'vadah ikar v'tachlis kiyum mitzvas shvisas Shabbos. And says the כתב והקבלה Ksav V'hakabalah make no mistake. Resting your body is not the main reason. Resting your body is not the main goal of Shabbos. It's not all about the physical rest. It's not about how long you can שלאף shluf and about your nap Shabbos afternoon, and about how much you can eat and drink and imbibe. כי אינו רק סיבה הגורמת לשביתת וישוב דעת הנפש Ki eino rak sibah hagoremes l'shvisas v'yishuv da'as hanefesh. All of that is a platform to achieve the peace, the serenity, the tranquility of the soul. To spend time with people we love and to have conversations that we neglect all week long, and to play board games, to sing זמירות zmiros and to laugh. It's all about finding the space for the soul to come back alive, for the soul to expand, for the soul to be nourished. And so yes, there is a dual component. We rest the body and then we get a result of a rested soul. But understand which one is the core and which one is secondary, says the כתב והקבלה Ksav V'hakabalah. להיות שתי שביתות אלו זו לזו כמסובב מן הסיבה לא יפרדו V'lihyos shtei shvisos eilu zeh lazeh k'mesovev min hasibah lo yipareidu. They are intertwined. There's a cause and effect, and you cannot separate them out one from the other. כי באמת אחת הנה ki be'emes achas heinah, they're really one and the same. השביתה הראשונה היא הכנה לבד לתכלית השביתה האמיתית Hashvisah harishonah hi hachanah l'vad l'tachlis hashvisah ha'amisis. Resting and abstaining and refraining from labor and creative labor is the necessary prerequisite. It's what we have to do in order to arrive at a rested soul. ולכן אמר הכתוב על שתיהן שהן אחת, באמת לשון יחיד, כי אות היא V'lachen amar hakasuv al shteihen shehein achas, be'emes l'shon yachid, ki os hi. And that's why the pasuk transitions, we talk about Shabbos in the singular. It's an אות os, it's a sign in the singular, but then we switch to and we say שבתותי Shabsosai. Because there is on the one hand the singular notion of Shabbos, but it's made up of the integration and the relationship of its two components of resting the body and resting the soul. And that's what it means when חז\"ל Chazal say אילו שמרו ישראל שתי שבתות מיד נגאלים ilu shamru Yisrael shtei Shabbasos miyad nig'alim. It doesn't mean, suggests the כתב והקבלה Ksav V'hakabalah, we're not talking about two separate Shabboses on the calendar. We're not talking about this week and next or last week and this. What does it mean when חז\"ל Chazal say if we would have only observed שתי שבתות מיד נגאלים shtei Shabbasos miyad nig'alim, if we'd only observed two Shabboses we'd be redeemed, it means if on one Shabbos we'd only experience both parts. There are a world of people, those listening among them, who are שומר שבת shomer Shabbos. What does it mean that we're שומר שבת shomer Shabbos? The rules. I don't grind, I don't winnow, I don't plow, I don't plant, I don't cook, I don't use electricity, I don't drive, I don't touch my phone. There's a world of people, but they're only keeping half Shabbos. It's funny. The expression or the term a few years ago of half Shabbos were people who keep Shabbos but can't help but texting. But what comes out of the כתב והקבלה Ksav V'hakabalah is the opposite definition of half Shabbos. The half Shabbos is, all you're doing is not texting, but you're not experiencing the other half of Shabbos, which is the soul on fire, the rested soul, the soul with the margin and the space to truly live, to not only disconnect from the wrong things, but to reconnect to the right things. And so the statement of חז\"ל Chazal that אילו שמרו ישראל שתי שבתות ilu shamru Yisrael shtei Shabbasos, if only we would keep two Shabboses, it doesn't mean on the calendar two Shabboses, it means in the one Shabbos day we would be living and tapping into the two components of Shabbos. מיד נגאלים miyad nig'alin, the redemption that we would feel, if we didn't just abstain, we didn't just refrain, we weren't just engaged in the minutiae of the laws, but we actually also created the beauty of Shabbos as well. כי אות היא ביני וביניכם לדורותיכם Ki os hi beini u'veineichem l'doroseichem, it's a sign between Me and you, says God, between me and my children for generations. לדעת כי אני השם מקדשכם ladaas ki ani Hashem mekadeshchem and to know that I am God who sanctifies. אש תמיד Eish tamid. Rav Druck on ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת v'shamru Bnei Yisrael es haShabbos. Says Rav Druck. The Gemara says, אמר רבי שמעון בן לקיש Amar Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish. We learned from here, and those who come on Friday, Friday's 10 minutes before candle lighting, בוקא טעם boka ta'am, we turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. We have a WhatsApp group you can wake up every Friday to a short message, an idea that will turn your Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. We have a WhatsApp group, you can join on our website in the WhatsApp section. And we have a shiur, 10 minutes, 10 minutes. We listen to a little music לכבוד שבת קודש l'kavod Shabbos kodesh to get in the mood, and 10 minutes, a quick nugget, a quick idea, we transform our Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. So we spent a long time going through 15 interpretations of what it means to have a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. What's a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira? Is this some modern neo-chasidic heebie-jeebie idea? Maybe. But it also goes back to the Gemara. The Gemara in ביצה דף טז עמוד א Beitzah daf tes zayin amud alef, a straight Gemara. אמר רבי שמעון בן לקיש: נשמה יתירה נותן הקדוש ברוך הוא באדם ערב שבת Amar Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: neshama yeseira nosein haKadosh Baruch Hu b'adam Erev Shabbos. God gives us a soul on Erev Shabbos. Now we have a soul. He doesn't give us a new soul, we have a soul. It's a יתירה yeseira. It's an additional, it's an expanded, it's on fire. It's a soul which is alive. It's a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. All week long my soul is crying for attention, it's crying for help, it's crying for nourishment, but it is neglected because I'm too busy on Netflix, too busy going to work, I'm too busy shopping, I'm too busy, too busy, busy, busy, busy, busy all week long and the soul's neglected. But Shabbos I carve out the space, the time. Shabbos I give it the attention it needs and deserves and so my נשמה neshama is יתירה yeseira. It is more on fire. ולמוצאי שבת נוטלין אותה הימנו ul'motza'ei Shabbos notlin osah heimenu. And then on Motza'ei Shabbos this neshama is taken from us. And that's why in Havdalah, incorporated into Havdalah, we make a ברכה bracha on בשמים besamim, and we smell the בשמים besamim. Hopefully, you don't have Corona. One of the ways before testing was readily available was, all of us on מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos would take in the בשמים besamim, and if you could smell it, you breathe a sigh of relief, you're good to go another week you are Corona free. So, before בשמים besamim was the first, the original, the low-tech Corona test, בשמים besamim was there in order to console us from the loss of the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. So Gemara ביצה טז Beitzah tes zayin, we get the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira on ערב שבת Erev Shabbos, Hashem takes the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira on מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos to comfort us on the loss of the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira, we have the בשמים besamim. By the way, that's why someone who has יארצייט yahrzeit in the coming week, the מנהג minhag is they daven מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos before. I have a יארצייט yahrzeit on Thursday. Why are you davening, leading the davening on the מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos before? So I recently heard a beautiful explanation. The יארצייט yahrzeit is the loss of that loved one's נשמה neshama. But the מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos before was their last מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos on earth. That was the loss of their נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. So the maariv you daven מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos before the יארצייט yahrzeit is to observe אבלות aveilus, you're grieving the loss of the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira even before the loss of when the נשמה neshama left this world. So we're gifted a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira on ערב שבת Erev Shabbos, an extra soul, and then we lose that extra feeling of soul on מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos, we comfort ourselves with בשמים besamim. Where do we learn this from? How does the Gemara in Beitzah know that there's a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira and why am I talking about it פרשת כי תשא Parshas Ki Sisa? Because the Gemara learns it from this פסוק pasuk. Our pasuk says וביום השביעי u'vayom hashvi'i on the seventh day שבת shavas, stop, and rest, וינפש vayinafash. Says the Gemara, וינפש vayinafash, don't read it וינפש vayinafash, read it וי אבדה נפש vai avda nefesh. Woe unto the one who's lost their soul. אוי על הנפש שאבדה oy al hanefesh she'avda, as Rashi. By the way, there's a געוואלדיגע קשיא gevaldige kasha, there's a great question. You get the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira on ערב שבת Erev Shabbos, and how do you get the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira through a פסוק pasuk that tells me that I lose it on מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos? On the one hand, there's a logic. If I lost something on מוצאי שבת Motza'ei Shabbos, then it means I got it on ערב שבת Erev Shabbos, so that's how I learn it. But shouldn't I have learned it from a פסוק pasuk that specifically tells me that I got something on ערב שבת Erev Shabbos? Wouldn't that have been a much more logical way to learn it? So the answer is no. Only when you've lost something do you really value it. When you understand and you know what you stand to lose, what it means to not have that additional נשמה neshama, to go back to turning on your phone and to go back to the troubles and the challenges and the struggles and to go back to the obligations and the responsibilities and the to-do, only when you lose that serenity, the tranquility, the peace of mind, the joy, the rest of Shabbos of the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira, now you can appreciate on ערב שבת Erev Shabbos when you get it. But what is this נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira? So Rashi writes נשמה יתירה זה רוחב לב למנוחה ולשמחה neshama yeseira zeh rochav lev l'menuchah u'l'simcha, your heart is more expanded to rest and to feel joy, ויאכל וישתה ואין נפשו קצה עליו v'yochal v'yeshteh v'ein nafsho katza alav. Eat and drink and your soul is no end to it. This is the the cliche that many quote, you can't gain weight on Shabbos because you have a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. So you can have cholent Friday night, Shabbos morning, and Shabbos at lunch, and שבת שלוש סעודות Shabbos Shalosh Seudos, and no matter what you eat, no matter how many portions of dessert, no matter how many pieces of חלה challah, you can't gain weight. Why? You have a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. It is a misinterpretation of this Rashi. Rashi is not telling you that you don't gain weight. What Rashi is telling you is not that you can eat all you want, but that you have a different type of eating. We spoke about this in the Turn Friday into Erev Shabbos series of שיעורים shiurim in the various definitions of נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. You have a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira means you're more calm, you're less likely to get angry. נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira means that you have greater clarity, you have ability to remember things better what you learn on Shabbos because you're not distracted, you're not fragmented, you're not divided. We shared so many beautiful interpretations. But one of them is on this Rashi and Rav Druck here echoes the same sentiment, which is, all week long in the battle between my body and my soul, my body is winning. After all, I'm pampering my body, I'm indulging my body. I'm going to work to earn money to take care of my body. My body is all week long in the driver's seat with my soul. But come Shabbos and my body is at rest. Now my soul is on fire. I have a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. It means I can transform, the soul is now leading the charge for the body. So all week long I live to eat. Shabbos I eat to live. All week long my experience of eating is a physical experience, but Shabbos when I eat, I'm transforming it into a spiritual and religious experience. Some have the מנהג minhag, I try to with the first bite of each food, לכבוד שבת קודש l'kavod Shabbos kodesh. Now, is it really לכבוד שבת קודש l'kavod Shabbos kodesh? It's לכבוד l'kavod my בויך boych. I love Yocheved's cooking. She's the greatest cook on the planet. That is not a platitude. I happen to not be in trouble with her. I'm not saying for any reason other than the truth. She's the greatest cook, and I love all of her food. So it's really for myself. But when you say the words לכבוד שבת קודש l'kavod Shabbos kodesh, you pause, you take a moment, a moment of mindfulness, a moment of breaking routine, a moment of interrupting the hedonistic, decadent, indulgent jumping right into the food. And you say לכבוד שבת קודש l'kavod Shabbos kodesh. In honor of, I'm eating this in a different way than I eat all week long. I'm eating it entirely differently. That's what it means to have a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. The Kotsker Rebbe says, says the Kotsker, בכניסת שבת b'knisas Shabbos, when Shabbos begins, מתעורר האדם לערוך את עצמו חשבון הנפש mis'orer ha'adam la'aroch es atzmo cheshbon hanefesh. When Shabbos begins, we start to evaluate my week. Part of going into Shabbos is to think, what was my week like? What did I achieve and how did I fail? What am I proud of, what am I ashamed of? כשעורך חשבון זה, מיד מגלה כי יצא ריקם מימי החול של השבוע שעבר, וי אבדה נפש k'she'orech cheshbon zeh, miyad megaleh ki yatza reikam mi'ymei hachol shel hashavua she'avar, vai avda nefesh. Says the Kotsker, וי אבדה נפש vai avda nefesh. What says וינפש, וי אבדה נפש vayinafash, vai avda nefesh means what were the wasted and lost opportunities of the week before. וביום השביעי U'vayom hashvi'i on the seventh day, וינפש, וי אבדה נפש vayinafash, vai avda nefesh. Part of what Shabbos is for or going into Shabbos is for is to reflect on the mistakes and where I came up short and what I could have done better. That's what the Slanimer Rebbe says, חייב אדם בערב שבת למשמש בבגדו chayav adam b'erev Shabbos l'mashmeish b'vigdo. You have to look at your clothing because maybe you're going to be carrying, maybe there's no עירוב eiruv. Make sure you're not violating the prohibition of carrying. Says the Slanimer Rebbe, למשמש בבגדו l'mashmeish b'vigdo, בבגידתו b'vigidaso. To be a בוגד boged is to be rebellious. Person has to investigate their rebelliousness. Where did I go wrong and how did I come up short, and how do I need to be better? I need to investigate my rebelliousness on the way into Shabbos. That's how I earn my נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. I promise I pledge to be better. I let myself off the hook for Shabbos. How do I have a restful Shabbos? By making amends with myself, by doing a proper review of the week before and pledging and promising how to be better. וי אבדה נפש vai avda nefesh and נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. פרק למד ב, פסוק טז Perek lamed beis, pasuk tes vov. Moving right along after Shabbos. After Shabbos. אוי Oy, פרק למד ב Perek lamed beis, page 492. וירא העם כי בשש משה לרדת מן ההר Vayar ha'am ki boshesh Moshe laredes min hahar. Now we get to the horrible, horrific story of the חטא העגל chet ha'egel. On the חטא העגל chet ha'egel, which we don't have time right now to unpack fully, we've talked about it previously. What is most meaningful and resonant for me is the interpretation of the Kuzari, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, that the Jewish people did not in fact practice infidelity on God. This was not an outright act of idolatry, but rather the Jewish people were used to connecting to God through something tangible. Moshe, that physical, tangible connection did not return. Their calculation was off, so they built something else that was tangible as a means to connect, not as an alternative to God, but without God's consent, without God's instruction. We cannot manifest our own way to connect to God. We have to listen to God and his instruction and his direction of how we're meant to connect to him. So Aaron, how do you understand Aaron's role? The people miscalculate, they think Moshe hasn't returned, they panic, they need another physical tangible thing through which to connect to the same God, so they build this egel. And Aaron's role seems really incomprehensible. פסוק ב pasuk beis. ויאמר אליהם אהרון פרקו נזמי הזהב אשר באזני נשיכם בניכם ובנותיכם והביאו אלי Vayomer aleihem Aharon, parku nizmei hazahav asher b'oznei n'sheichem, b'neichem u'v'noseichem v'havi'u eilai. And bring it to me. Bring it to me. Is Aaron really the leader? Is Aaron leading the charge of this insurrection to God? Why do we see Aaron as a hero not a villain? Why do we let Aaron off the hook? Moshe in his harsh reaction of breaking לוחות luchos, why don't we find a harsh or a harsher reaction to his own brother who seems to be leading this insurrection? So says Rav Soloveitchik in the Artscroll Rav Chumash, in the OU rather Rav Chumash, listen to the words of the Rav. We may note Moshe and Aaron's different reactions to the Golden Calf incident. The one denouncing, exhorting, and enlightening, the other working along with the people, procrastinating, hoping against hope to defuse the frightening confused masses in time for Moshe's return. Both approaches must somehow be combined. The people must not only be taught by instruction, but also by warm and friendly guidance. Rav Soloveitchik suggests that not only does Aaron not deserve criticism, but Aaron had a very strategic approach and that we need to learn in our own parenting and leadership styles to combine the approach of Aaron and of Moshe. What does he mean? The king-teacher represented by Moshe practices מדת הדין midas hadin, criticizing, exhorting, holding people accountable, transgressions and failures. The עם הארץ am ha'aretz, the ignoramus and the lax are censored. אמת Emes, truth demands unbending justice. In the eyes of the איש אמת ish emes, the man of truth, nothing must be given gratuitously. One must be rewarded according to one's merits. If a person is deserving, he should be loved. If he is undeserving, love should be denied him. Any deviation is unpardonable. The sinner is deserving only of reprimand and instruction. The saint-teacher represented by Aaron is primarily guided by חסד chesed, limitless compassion and overflowing kindness. The essence of חסד chesed expresses itself in the universality and in its ultimate love from which no one is excluded. The איש חסד ish chesed, the person of unqualified love, does not ask the recipient of his love to present moral credentials. His love is gratuitous as well as boundless. While the king-teacher rebukes the sinner in harsh language, the saint-teacher sheds a tear of sympathy. The king-teacher loudly scorns iniquity, while the saint-teacher is saddened by iniquity, speaks softly. The former fights for אמת emes through exhortation and instruction, the latter by reproaching the sinner the way a loving mother approaches a mischievous child. The sermon of the king-teacher is often harsh, saturated with prophetic indignation. The sermon of the saint-teacher is subdued, saturated with prophetic love. He teaches through love and concern. Moshe, says Rav Soloveitchik, was the model of the רב rav. Aaron of the רבי rebbe. Moshe was a כבד פה kvad peh, a non-verbal person, not given to small talk, easy socializing, or extensive negotiations. He was רבינו Rabbeinu, a scholar, a teacher, uniquely spiritually endowed, who communicated tersely with what he had to say. He was teacher primarily to יהושע Yehoshua and the זקנים z'keinim. The contrast between Moshe and Aaron was noted by the מדרש תנחומא Midrash Tanchuma: חסד ושלום chesed v'shalom is Aaron, אמת וצדק emes v'tzedek is Moshe. So Rav Soloveitchik describes that not only is Aaron not to be criticized, not only was Aaron not wrong, but Aaron also represents a very important model. You know, as parents, how do we react and respond when our children have done something wrong? Or when they come and confide to us about a failure or a struggle? Is it the Moshe, the saint-teacher, the judgmental stoop, the harsh criticism? Or is there the saint-teacher, the loving, compassionate, soft, non-judgmental there to help? As a rabbi, as a רב rav, רבנים rabbonim my colleagues and I deal with this regularly. When the people that we love, our precious members, they come and we hope they trust for counsel, do you react when you hear about a shortcoming or a failure or a gross violation of a boundary or someone's trust with harsh criticism and by knocking them down? Or do we listen non-judgmentally, trying to help and support and turn them around? These two models are the combination of the two, says Rav Soloveitchik, are the reactions of Moshe and Aaron in combination to the חטא העגל chet ha'egel, and neither is exclusively right. What we need is the combination of the two. Moshe comes down and he does something brazen, something bold, something that we have the luxury of retrospect to know that Hashem congratulates him for, ישר כחך ששברת yashar kochacha sheshibarta. However, at the time, can you imagine? Moshe is carrying these לוחות luchos, these divinely designed and built tablets. And in a great moment of frustration, he takes them and smashes them to the ground. And he finds out Hashem says ישר כחך yashar kochacha. But until then, you think he took a moment and said, uh-oh, what did I just do? He smashes them. So in this context, the Torah tells us about these לוחות luchos. Wow, these לוחות luchos were special. The bottom of page 496, פרק למד ב Perek lamed beis, chapter 32, verse טז tes vov. ויפן וירד משה מן ההר ושני לוחות העדות בידו Vayifen vayered Moshe min hahar u'shnei luchos ha'eidus b'yado. Moshe turns and he descends from the mountain and he's holding on to the two tablets. לוחות כתובים משני עבריהם Luchos ksuvim mishnei evreihem. These tablets are special. Their writing appears on both sides. מזה ומזה הם כתובים mizeh u'mizeh hem ksuvim. The writing appears on both sides of the tablets. What does that mean to have writing appear on both sides of the tablets? Listen to three interpretations of Rav Druck of the אש תמיד Eish Tamid on this pasuk. Rashi tells us, משני עבריהם mishnei evreihem, זו דרשי zu darshi, what means to, what does it mean that the writing appears on both sides? היו האותיות נקראות, וזה מעשה ניסים היה hayu ha'osiyos nikra'os, v'zeh ma'aseh nissim hayah. If you carve something through stone and it goes all the way through to the other side, one side it's going to read straight away, and the other side it's going to read backwards, inverted. And that was the miracle of these tablets, that even though the carving of the words was all the way through the stone, it nevertheless read correctly on both sides. How to do that? I can't tell you, because man can't do that. That's what made these divine tablets. The Gemara in מגילה דף ג Megillah daf gimmel and in שבת דף קד Shabbos daf kuf daled tell us something else miraculous about these tablets. שהיה נס בלוחות, שהאותיות מם וסמך בנס היו עומדים Shehayah neis baluchos, sheha'osiyos mem v'samech b'neis hayu omdim. Two letters that we have that are carved or engraved all the way through, so you'd expect the middle section to fall out. Moshe takes these tablets, and the letter mem, mem sofis, the ending mem, the letter samech, they are circled all the way around, so the middle part of the stone should have fallen out. And yet it was מעשה ניסים ma'aseh nissim, it was a miracle that that middle section remained suspended, it remained in place. רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya writes, שהיה בם נס נוסף שהיה אפשר לקרוא את האותיות משני צדדים shehayah bam neis nosaf shehayah efshar likro es ha'osiyos mishnei tzdadim, in the second miracle you can read it in both directions. ויש לעיין v'yesh l'ayein, and wonders Rav Druck, what is the מסר meser, what is the message? What is the deeper meaning that these two letters that miracle happened? If you're God and you're going to choose and employ a miracle, why is this the miracle? The miracle of מתן תורה Matan Torah, the miracle of הר סיני Har Sinai is that the middle of the letters מם mem and סמך samech didn't fall out? What's going on? So Rav Druck has three suggestions, and I love them all. Number one. יש כאלה חושבים כי הם מחזיקים את התורה Yesh ke'eileh shechoshvim ki hem machzikim es haTorah. There are people who erroneously think they are holding up the Torah. ולא ממעשיהם ופעולותיהם התורה תצעק חלילה ותשמעית, וזה צורך לדעת כמו שהמם והסמך בנס היו עומדים, והיו יכולים להחזיק את עצמם, אינם נצרכים שום סעד לתומכם, כך תורתנו הקדושה עומדת לעולם בנס V'lo mima'aseihem u'pe'uloseihem haTorah titz'ak chalilah v'tishma'it, v'zeh tzorech lada'as k'mo she'hamem v'hasamech b'neis hayu omdim, v'hayu yecholim l'hachzik es atzmam, einam nitzrachim shum sa'ad l'tomchem, kach Toraseinu ha'k'dosha omedes l'olam b'neis. Do we value and appreciate everyone who contributes to Torah? You're giving to a yeshiva, you've endowed a kollel, you've joined the BRS Global movement, you're donating to whatever cause of Torah learning, it's a beautiful thing. Be proud and you deserve a congratulations and a krav, a thank you. But never, ever make the mistake of thinking you are securing the continuity of Torah, that you are holding up Torah. Torah is holding up you. And just like the miracle that these two letters were suspended, these two letters of Torah were held up miraculously, Torah forever is held up miraculously, and it doesn't rely on your help. Yes, we need your help, and yes, you should give, and yes, you should partner, and yes, you should invest, but it doesn't rely on us. That's what the Gemara סוטה למד ה Sotah lamed hei tells us: הארון נושא את נושאיו Ha'aron nosei es nos'av. That the poles that went into the ark were never removed. We spoke about this a couple weeks ago, פרשת תרומה Parshas Trumah. The poles were never removed. Why? Because the ארון aron carries those who carry it. It's not the people carrying the ארון aron, it is the ארון aron who in fact are carrying those people. And that the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim said is what we mean when we sing when we put the Torah away, עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה Eitz chaim hi la'machazikim bah. It doesn't say למחזיקים אותה la'machazikim osah. It's not a living, a living tree for those who are מחזיקים אותה machazikim osah, but למחזיקים בה la'machazikim bah. We are strengthened not that we strengthen it, we're strengthened through it. So the same way that these letters were miraculously suspended, they were preserved, they were upheld, Torah will always be miraculously upheld. Torah's never at the risk of disappearing. Hashem's promise and our prophecy is that Torah will forever be here. So we need the people who contribute and it's an extraordinary mitzvah. Give to your yeshiva and your kollel and your cheder and your day school, give to the adult education, and most of all, give to the BRS Global campaign. Give, be part, partner, but never take credit or think that you're holding up Torah. Torah's holding you up. That is interpretation number one. Interpretation number two. Says Rav Druck, the fact that you can read it on both sides and it reads the same, means it's an allusion to the idea of the תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who needs to be תוכו כברו tocho k'varo. The תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who needs to be the same on the outside and inside, who needs to be consistent all the way through, who's not duplicitous or hypocritical, who's not trying to impress people by being so righteous on the outside but is rotten on the inside, or even somebody who's righteous on the inside but for whatever reason doesn't practice the righteousness on the outside. That a person just like this reads the same in both directions, that the person is a student of Torah has to read the same in all directions, has to be consistent, and has to be constant, has to be a person who's תוכו כברו tocho k'varo, whose insides and outsides match. And number three, says Rav Druck, that there's a miracle, נס זה שדברי תורה יש להם שני רבדים: נגלה ונסתר neis zeh she'divrei Torah yesh lahem shnei r'vadim: nigleh v'nistar. that it reads in two directions means there are two ways to read Torah. מזה ומזה הם כתובים mizeh u'mizeh hem ksuvim. מזה ומזה mizeh u'mizeh, from this side and from that side they're written means whether you're looking from the perspective of the revealed Torah or you're looking from the perspective of the פנימיות התורה pnimiyus haTorah or the נסתר nistar of Torah, the mysticism of Torah, we have layers of interpretation of Torah. מזה ומזה הם כתובים Mizeh u'mizeh hem ksuvim, it is written from different sides and different directions because we have different interpretations of Torah and they are all equally true. Alright, we had several other ideas we wanted to share. The קרן אור keren or, Moshe descends, and there's a light that emanates from him. Where did the light come from? The extra ink in the pen. Why did he have extra ink in his quill? Was Hashem off? Was Moshe off? Why was there extra ink? And why does the extra ink translate into his having what many have mistakenly think Jews have horns? Where did they get the image of Jews have horns? From Renaissance art. Renaissance art depicted Jews, Moshe, Moses, with these rays of light protruding from his head, led to the misinterpretation and the misconception that Jews have horns, that Jews have horns. Lift your hat, lift your hat, let me see your horns. We don't have horns. Moshe didn't have horns, but he had קרן אור keren or, he had rays of light. What are those rays of light and where did they come from? What does it mean there was extra ink and why did Moshe not himself even notice it? All will leave for next year, a lot more to talk about. If you are listening on YouTube, which is the majority of you are, in fact we are weaning off of Zoom. If you're listening on Zoom, this is the last week on Zoom. We're no longer going to be broadcasting on Zoom, but exclusively on YouTube and Facebook. If you're listening on YouTube, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. You'll be notified in real time every time we have a class, panel, conversation, or program. Please subscribe on the YouTube channel. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy.
