Transcript
Good morning. בוקר טוב Boker tov and welcome back to our Parsha Perspectives for today. This week we have the privilege of learning פרשת עקב Parshas Eikev together. As always, we want to thank with great gratitude our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family who sponsor the Parsha series for the year in loving memory of Becky's father, David Grossman, דוד בן מנחם מניש Dovid ben Menachem Manish. His נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah through all of our learning, through their generosity, through their leadership. Thank you so much. If you'd like to sponsor a future Parsha שיעור shiur, then please go to BRSonline.org/sponsor. BRSonline.org/sponsor, and you can easily choose your date, put in the language, pay, all conveniently in one place. BRSonline.org/sponsor. Okay, פרשת עקב Parshas Eikev begins in the Artscroll Stone Chumash on page 980. Page 980 in the Artscroll Stone Chumash. והיה עקב תשמעון את המשפטים האלה ושמרתם ועשיתם אותם V'haya eikev tishme'un es hamishpatim ha'eleh ushmartem va'asisem osam. We are continuing משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's beautiful, passionate, inspiring monologue, his soliloquy, his message to the Jewish people in the final day of his life, the lessons he's learned in his life, and the charge that he has for them as they're about to go into the land of Israel and fulfill and realize his dream and his life mission that he's not able to do. And he says to them, והיה v'haya, and it will be עקב תשמעון eikev tishme'un, if you will listen, to what? את המשפטים האלה es hamishpatim ha'eleh, listen to these משפטים mishpatim, ושמרתם ועשיתם אותם ushmartem va'asisem osam. Observe them, keep them, do them. ושמר V'shamar, and protect them. ה' אלקיך לך את הברית ואת החסד Hashem Elokecha lecha es habris v'es hachesed, then Hashem will safeguard for you the promise, the covenant he made with you, אשר נשבע לאבותיך asher nishba la'avosecha, that which he not only promised you, that which he promised your forefathers, that which he promised your ancestors. I got a wonderful new ספר sefer, אמת ואמונה Emes V'Emunah, a collection of the teachings of the קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe. And the great Kotsker says the following, ר' מנחם מענדל מקאצק Reb Menachem Mendel of Kotsk, says, והיה עקב תשמעון V'haya eikev tishme'un, he says, he wrote it in the Yiddish, I'll read it in the Hebrew. הסוף, הרי יהיה שתהיו מוכרחים לשמוע, מוטב שתשמעו כבר עכשיו. Hasof, harei yihyeh shetihiyu muchrachim lishmoa, mutav shetishme'u kvar achshav. והיה V'haya, and it will be, עקב eikev, in the end of days, the end of time, the word עקב eikev is like עקבתא דמשיחא ikvesa d'meshicha. In the eschatological era, at the end of times, in the end of days, then what will be? תשמעון Tishme'un, you will be forced to listen. You won't have a choice. When Hashem will reveal himself to us, when there will be a clarity, when we will be undeniable God's existence, our responsibility, our accountability to him, עקב eikev, in the end of days, תשמעון tishme'un, like it or not, we'll be forced to listen. So therefore, we might as well listen right now. והיה עקב V'haya eikev, since in the end we'll have to listen, תשמעון tishme'un, so therefore, might as well ושמרתם ועשיתם אותם ushmartem va'asisem osam, we might as well listen and we might as well observe right now. That's his first interpretation, the קאצקער Kotsker, sort of a classic קאצקער Kotsker biting, somewhat cynical קאצקער Kotsker. עקב Eikev, in the end of days, it won't be a choice, it won't be elective, we won't be volunteering to listen. We will have no choice, we'll be obligated. So since that's what will be at the end, we might as well listen right now. But then he has a second interpretation, a little bit more upbeat, a little bit more positive. Says the קאצקער Kotsker, והיה עקב תשמעון, והיה הוא לשון שמחה V'haya hu lashon simcha, quoting from the מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah, that והיה v'haya, every time we see the word והיה v'haya in the Torah, it's a לשון שמחה lashon simcha, it's a reflection of joy, of happiness, there's something positive. So where is the שמחה simcha here? השמחה תהיה כאשר תשמעון לי Hasimcha tihiyeh ka'asher tishme'un li. If you live a life of listening to Hashem, there will be great joy, says the קאצקער Kotsker. So והיה v'haya, why is the section introduced with the word והיה v'haya? The קאצקער Kotsker is dealing with a question he doesn't articulate the question, but he's essentially answering a question that he doesn't even articulate, which is, why doesn't the pasuk just begin, עקב תשמעון eikev tishme'un, if or when you will hearken, you will listen. Why do we need the word והיה v'haya? So the first interpretation is והיה v'haya, you're going to one day. The second interpretation is, it is a לשון שמחה lashon simcha. There's something joyous, there's some happiness, there's some happiness in it. That's the קאצקער's Kotsker's interpretation. But there are others. The אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, רב חיים בן עטר Rav Chaim ben Attar, explains the word is not extra. It doesn't, it couldn't begin עקב תשמעון eikev tishme'un, it's critically important. אין והיה אלא שמחה Ein v'haya ela simcha, what does that mean? Says the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, serenity, peace, peace of mind, joy, happiness are the תכלית tachlis, says the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, they are the goal of a Torah way of life. עקב Eikev means the goal. עקב Eikev is the purpose, עקב eikev is the מטרה matara. The essence of a Torah way of life is והיה v'haya, is שמחה simcha. Some of us, many of us, too many of us are raised with an attitude, with an approach that Torah, a Jewish, a Torah, a הלכתית halachic observant lifestyle requires us to give up our happiness, sacrifice, compromise, be of service. It doesn't matter, you don't get to eat what you want, go where you want, live the lifestyle you want, but you have to be of service and sacrifice. That's what religion means for Hashem. Says the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, no, עקב eikev. You know what the essence, the goal, the תכלית tachlis of תשמעון tishme'un of listening to Hashem's Torah way of life is? והיה V'haya, שמחה simcha. Look around this world and see so many others who are struggling to navigate, to make sense, to get through this complicated, difficult world. And we have והיה v'haya, לשון שמחה lashon simcha. We have the opportunity, we have the privilege that the Torah is our tool, the Torah is our navigation, the Torah is our GPS. The Torah doesn't eliminate and doesn't remove challenges and hardships, but it gives us the ability, the road map to navigate. והיה עקב V'haya eikev, being בסמחה b'simcha, living with peace of mind, being calm, serene, joyous, עקב eikev is the goal of תשמעון את המשפטים האלה tishme'un es hamishpatim ha'eleh. It is the תכלית tachlis. What a message. What a message for us and what a message for us to convey, how critically important for us to convey to our children, to our grandchildren, to the next generation. Because, so how does that work? What is the mechanism, the mechanics of this אור החיים Ohr HaChaim insight? תשמעון Tishme'un, if I listen to Hashem, the והיה v'haya, I have joy and happiness. What do you mean? Turns out a lot of people are living observant ways of life and they're giving up happiness. Where are they going wrong? What does he really mean? So I suggest to you it means the following. And this is a theme really throughout our entire parsha. It is, I think, the central message that Moshe is conveying in the part of his speech, his monologue that we read here in פרשת עקב Parshas Eikev. When we think that we're in control, when we think that we're in charge, we have an endless pressure, an endless anxiety. We think it's all on us, it's on our shoulders, it's our responsibility. When we believe that even after we've tried our hardest and we do our best, that the outcome is just random, it's just chance, it's just happenstance, it's almost impossible to be happy. When you look at others and you see that they have, and we feel we deserve more, we deserve what they have. And then we can never be happy with what I have, we'll never find serenity. When others disappoint you, or worse, they hurt you, and you think it's all on them, and they're the ones who've hurt us, and we don't deserve it, we get angry and resentful. We may even have a burning desire for revenge. So when we think we're isolated and alone in this world, we think it's all on us, it's our responsibility. And when we think that when others do things, it's their free will which did it. And when we think that we're responsible for the outcome or that the outcome is not if it's beyond our control, then it's just subject of chance. All of that leads to a life of tension, of anxiety, of unhappiness. But if תשמעון tishme'un, if we can successfully listen to the messages around us, if we see Hashem in the blessings in our lives, if we recognize the infinite omnipotent, all-powerful source of all existence, that the רבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam, the master of the universe is in fact intimately involved in our lives, nothing is random and chance, everything is carefully planned and executed from above, then I can sit back. Then I can be common and serene. Then I can find happiness and joy because I know someone much bigger and much smarter than I am pulling the strings. We'll see this in a moment with the mitzvah that's repeated twice in our parsha and several times in ספר דברים Sefer Devarim, and that is the mitzvah of דביקות deveikus, of clinging to Hashem, sticking to Hashem. That Judaism, Torah, הלכה halacha, an observant way of life, אמונה emunah, בטחון bitachon, living with faith and clinging and cleaving to God, they're not about burdening us, and they're not about restricting our lives, and they're not about an act of service or of giving up or depriving us of pleasure like people mistakenly believe. But Torah is exactly the opposite. והיה V'haya, you want happiness? You're looking for joy, peace of mind, you want the tools to navigate this crazy, complicated world? עקב תשמעון Eikev tishme'un, then listen carefully, pay attention, heed the message, the instruction manual, the blueprint of Hashem. Believe in him, lean into him, submit to him, surrender to him, and then follow in his ways. And it doesn't mean that we won't encounter illness. It doesn't mean that there won't be challenges, financial crisis, and infertility and conflict. But it means we have the tool to be able to navigate. רבנו בחיי Rabeinu Bachya, not in our parsha, but רבנו בחיי Rabeinu Bachya back in ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar in פרק ד' perek daled. He writes a person must always try to feel happy and joyous when doing מצוות mitzvos. After all, that's the point of doing מצוות mitzvos. A מצוה mitzvah is a ציווי tzivui. It's a צו tzav. It is the connection point. It is the invitation to be able to rendezvous with Hashem. That's what a mitzvah is. So when we do a mitzvah out of a sense of a burden, when we do a mitzvah like we'd really rather not, then we're missing that opportunity, that invitation to connect with Hashem. But when we embrace the mitzvah and lean into the mitzvah and we accept and recognize that the mitzvah is our ability to connect to Hashem, then then our relationship deepens, bringing deep satisfaction, profound joy. Writes רבנו בחיי Rabeinu Bachya, השמחה במעשה המצוות מצוה בפני עצמו hasimcha b'maaseh hamitzvos mitzvah bifnei atzmo. Being happy and joyous when doing a mitzvah is a mitzvah into itself. And I would say it's exactly like marriage. Spouse asks you to do something and you do it begrudgingly, and you do it miserably, and you do it with a פנים panim with a sad face and you do it with snide comments and passive aggressiveness, then why'd you bother doing it? The fact that they asked you to do something was not only because that thing needed to be done, but that which they asked you and that which you agreed was the opportunity to draw close, was the opportunity to invest and contribute and make a deposit in the relationship. But when you do it with negativity and sadness, then you miss that opportunity. Yeah, you've discharged the obligation. Yeah, you could put check next to, you got thing done. But it didn't yield the transformation in the relationship that it could have had. So therefore says רבנו בחיי Rabeinu Bachya, השמחה במעשה המצוות מצוה בפני עצמו hasimcha b'maaseh hamitzvos mitzvah bifnei atzmo. Not only do we need to do the mitzvos God has asked of us, which really are not for him, they're for us to begin with, but not only should we do those mitzvos, we should do them בשמחה b'simcha because there's a corollary, there's a parallel mitzvah and that is to do mitzvos בשמחה b'simcha, to do the mitzvah with a sense of joy. Some mistakenly think that to be religious or to pursue a life of righteousness, you have to look serious, somber, sad, that the most righteous people walk around like this all day and they walk around, I'm so serious and mitzvos and יראת שמיים yirat shamayim and I'm afraid of Hashem and I'm so scared, I'm so afraid and I tremble and I tzitter. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. The Gemara in שבת Shabbos on דף ל' עמוד ב' daf lamed amud beis tells us, אין שכינה שורה לא מתוך עצבות ולא מתוך עצלות ולא מתוך שחוק, אלא מתוך דבר שמחה של מצוה. Ein shechinah shorah lo mitoch atzvus v'lo mitoch atzlus v'lo mitoch schok ela mitoch davar simcha shel mitzvah. That spirituality, that connecting with the divine doesn't happen with an attitude of sadness or gloom. That if we want to connect with our creator, it happens with a sense of joy. And if I ask you, that makes total, total sense because we know when it comes to ourselves, we are drawn to be around people who are happy. We don't want to be around for miserable people. We don't want to be about negative, hypercritical people, complaining people. We want to be around the people who are positive, who lift us up, who are filled with joy and a positive energy. God also doesn't want our negative energy. He doesn't want our pessimism. He doesn't want our frown or for a face. He is more predisposed to be with us, and therefore we are more likely to feel his presence when we are positive and optimistic and upbeat and when we put a smile on our face, even when we don't feel like it. אין שכינה שורה Ein shechinah shorah, God does not want to be around עצבות atzvus, sadness, or עצלות atzlus, laziness, or שחוק schok or frivolousness. אלא מתוך דבר שמחה של מצוה Ela mitoch simcha shel mitzvah. He wants authentic and genuine joy for life, to focus not on what's missing but what's there, to be happy for our lot and what we have, to be able to make the decision because happiness is not an emotion, it is a decision. And so it's no wonder the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch tells us in אורח חיים סימן צ\"ג סעיף ב' Orach Chaim Siman Tzadi Gimmel Seif Beis, לא יעמוד להתפלל אלא באימה וכובד ראש lo ya'amod l'hispalel ela b'eima v'koved rosh. ולא מתוך שחוק וקלות ראש V'lo mitoch schok v'kalus rosh. When you stand up to דאווענען daven, be serious, of course, be focused. Don't be frivolous with דברים בטלים dvarim b'teilim, don't think about extraneous thoughts. ולא מתוך כעס V'lo mitoch kaas, and not out of anger. What is the dominant feeling you should have when you stand up to daven? concludes the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch, אלא מתוך שמחה ela mitoch simcha. Happiness. Now you'd say happiness, you're about to have an audience with the king of kings. You're about to have an audience with the most powerful God, happiness, should be serious, somber, focused. And the answer is, of course we take it seriously, but you should walk in with a smile and with a joy. אלא מתוך שמחה Ela mitoch simcha. יעמוד להתפלל Ya'amod l'hispalel, stand up, take those three steps forward. So when you דאווענען daven your עמידה שמונה עשרה Amidah Shmoneh Esrei, when you take your three steps back, leave behind any sadness, leave behind any negative energy. When you take those three steps forward, before Hashem's, put a smile on your face because the king wants an audience with you when you walk in with a smile. לא יעמוד להתפלל אלא מתוך שמחה Lo ya'amod l'hispalel ela mitoch simcha. Stand up to דאווענען daven from joy. It's a great image, but not only an image, an exercise, it's a great practice to have. Three steps forward, a smile, ה' שפתי תפתח Hashem sefasai tiftach, Hashem move my lips, give me the words to be able to connect with you. The רמב\"ם Rambam on the last הלכה halacha of הלכות לולב Hilchos Lulav, the רמב\"ם Rambam writes, השמחה שישמח אדם במעשה המצוות ובאהבת הקל שציוה בהן, עבודה גדולה היא hasimcha sheyismach adam b'maaseh hamitzvos u'v'ahavas ha'kel shetzivah bahem, avodah gedolah hi. To feel joyous is a huge עבודה avodah. We don't always feel it. It's a decision, not a feeling. And it's hard to make that decision, to take that leap, to transform our feeling by having made that decision. It's an עבודה גדולה avodah gedolah describes the רמב\"ם Rambam. וכל המונע עצמו משמחה זו ראוי להפרע ממנו V'chol hamonea atzmo m'simcha zu raui l'hipara mimenu, is deserving of a great punishment, is deserving of a great punishment. So we have to choose happiness, choose happiness. The כוזרי Kuzari writes, כלל של דבר שלושה יסודות עבודת ה' על פי תורתנו klal shel davar shlosha yesodos avodas Hashem al pi Toraseinu. We have three principles when it comes to serving Hashem, the כוזרי Kuzari writes in מאמר ב' ma'amar beis in מ\"ט mem tes. And what are those three character traits? What are those three qualities? What are those three conditions? What are those three attitudes in the service of Hashem? יראה Yirah, awe, אהבה ahavah, love, and שמחה simcha. The third pillar is שמחה simcha. Finding the ability to smile, to be positive, to focus on what's important, to trust in Hashem, to let go. שמחה Simcha is a fundamental part of what it means to be a Jew, to let go and let God to feel שמחה simcha. And all this is in the opening word of our parsha, והיה v'haya, not extraneous, not עקב תשמעון eikev tishme'un, it doesn't just begin in the negative, עקב תשמעון eikev tishme'un, but והיה v'haya, שמחה simcha, שמחה simcha. We have to model this for our children. Being a ייד Yid is not געפערלעך geferlach, being a ייד Yid is not שווער צו זיין shver tzu zein. It's not difficult, it's not sacrifice. Of course, we have to be willing to sacrifice. It's not only good times and happiness, there are sacrifices which we're asked to make, but ultimately when we make them, we do it with joy, שמחה simcha, we have to feel שמחה simcha. The לובאוויטשער רבי זצ\"ל Lubavitcher Rebbe zatzal, we're still in חודש אב Chodesh Av, we're in the month of אב Av, and we've passed תשעה באב Tisha B'Av, we've passed ט\"ו באב Tu B'Av, the happiest day on the calendar. But the Mishna tells us, משנכנס אב ממעטין בשמחה mishenichnas Av mema'atin b'simcha. When the month of אב Av enters, we are supposed to reduce or diminish our sense of joy. But the לובאוויטשער רבי זצ\"ל Lubavitcher Rebbe zatzal read the Mishna differently, and he said, משנכנס אב mishenichnas Av, when the month of אב Av enters, ממעטין mema'atin, we diminish, we withdraw, we quiet. How? Even that is בשמחה b'simcha. It's not ממעטין בשמחה mema'atin b'simcha, we're not diminishing the joy, we're ממעטין mema'atin, and how are we ממעטין mema'atin? The way we're ממעטין mema'atin is בשמחה b'simcha. שמחה Simcha is a pilot light. Times we turn it up, חודש אדר Chodesh Adar. There are times we turn it down in the month of אב Av, but we never turn it off, because עבדו את ה' בשמחה ivdu es Hashem b'simcha. והיה V'haya, you want a life of happiness, serenity, peace of mind, then עקב תשמעון את המשפטים האלה ושמרתם ועשיתם אותם eikev tishme'un es hamishpatim ha'eleh ushmartem va'asisem osam. Embracing a Torah way of life, submitting, surrendering to a relationship with Hashem, living with an אמונה בטחון emunah bitachon and דביקות dveikus, that is the means, the mechanism, it is the way in which we can and will connect. We ask Hashem again, the parsha is so rich, there's so much to unpack, we have so much we'll see if we'll get to. So we're going to make our way through. If we do this, Hashem gives us a promise. ואהבך וברכך והרבך V'aheivcha u'veirachecha v'hirbecha, He'll love you, He'll bless you, He'll multiply. Our children will multiply, our material possessions will multiply. ברוך תהיה מכל העמים Baruch tihiyeh mikol ha'amim, that we will be more blessed than all the other nations. לא יהיה בך עקר ועקרה ובבהמתך Lo yihiyeh becha akar v'akarah u'vivehemtecha, there will be no infertility among us, among our animals. והסיר ה' ממך כל חולי V'hesir Hashem mimcha kol choli, Hashem will remove illness, disease. I'll just share with you a couple of questions we're not going to get to, but we know, we know that the Mishna tells us, don't serve God על מנת לקבל פרס al menas lekabel pras. The Mishna in פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos says, don't serve God on condition to be rewarded. We don't serve like a like an עבד eved, like a servant who does so for the reward. We do it altruistically, we do it nobly, we do it sincerely. So why is the Torah here telling us these rewards? Number two, we don't find that the people who are observant in fact don't struggle, don't suffer, don't confront these challenges. So the promise the Torah is making here doesn't seem consistent, compatible with what we measure empirically when we look around this world. Number three, והסיר ה' ממך כל חולי v'hesir Hashem mimcha kol choli, it says Hashem if we live the life that we're meant to, will remove from us all illness. Why remove from us the illness? That pasuk implies, it suggests that first the person's ill, they're struggling, but if you live a righteous life, והסיר v'hesir Hashem is going to remove the illness. Why not not have the illness to begin with? Why not have the person be healthy and not have to struggle? והאכלת את כל העמים אשר ה' אלקיך נותן לך V'achalta es kol ha'amim asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lach, we'll conquer our enemies, and so on. But כי תאמר בלבבך רבים הגוים האלה ממני ki tomar bilvavcha rabbim hagoyim ha'eleh mimeni, but what's the alternative? If we're not righteous and religious, if we don't submit and surrender to him, if we don't recognize and we say, איכה אוכל להורישם eicha uchal l'horisham, how am I going to drive out these enemies? How will I surpass them? How will I survive them? לא תירא מהם Lo sira meihem, don't fear them. זכר תזכר Zachor tizkor, you have to remember, remember. Why did God, here the Torah tells us, when God took us out of Egypt, he did it with pomp and circumstance. God took us out in extraordinary ways. Why? Was he arrogant? Is he egotistical? Was he showing off? The answer is no. God did so so in perpetuity, we could look back and point back and say, when we fear the modern current enemy, he took care of them, he'll take care of this them now. That God, look what he did then, and he'll do it again now. That's why he did it that way, and that's what we are meant to remember. That is the assurance, that is the promise of Hashem. לא תביא תועבה אל ביתך Lo savi soeva el beisecha, don't bring a תועבה toeva to your to your home, which the רמב\"ם Rambam, the רמב\"ן Ramban agree is an idol. We cannot bring idolatry. Don't worship the mighty dollar, don't worship celebrities and influencers, don't worship other forms of power. All there is is Hashem, we're supposed to exclusively connect to him. But it also means גאוה gaavah. תועבה Toeva, we know the pasuk in משלי Mishlei describes that גאוה gaavah, arrogance is an abomination. So the Torah says, don't bring that abomination into your house, it means arrogance. Leave your ego at the door. Don't walk into your house and be a micromanager, don't power struggle, don't dictate or be a dictator within your home. לא תביא תועבה אל ביתך Lo savi toeva el beisecha, don't bring that תועבה toeva called arrogance, don't bring that תועבה toeva, that abominable thing called ego into your home. כל המצוה Kol hamitzvah, now the next פרק, פרק ח' perek ches, deals with the lessons of food, the attitude to food. We could speak about this for hours at length. Food for us is not a concession, food is not secular, profane, or mundane. Food is an invitation and a platform towards religiosity and righteousness. Food is a way in which we come close to Hashem. When we engage in it in the proper context and attitude, it becomes a means through to connect, to grow. When we don't, and we eat in an animal way, we become base and we lower ourselves. So the Torah tells us in this in this context, that Hashem tested us. למען ענותך לנסותך לדעת את אשר בלבבך התשמור מצותיו אם לא Lema'an anosecha l'nasosecha ladaas es asher bilvavcha hatishmor mitzvosav im lo. When we were in the desert, when we were following God, he tested us. He wanted to know if we were loyal to him. And what was the means, what was the test? He gave us the מן mon. ויענך וירעיבך ויאכילך את המן אשר לא ידעת ולא ידעון אבותיך למען הודיעך כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם כי על כל מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם Va'yaanacha va'yar'ivecha va'ya'achilcha es hamon asher lo yadata v'lo yadun avosecha lemaan hodiecha ki lo al halechem levado yichyeh ha'adam ki al kol motza pi Hashem yichyeh ha'adam. God tested us, he afflicted us, ויענך va'yaanacha, he made us suffer, struggle, ויענך va'yaanacha, he afflicted us and he let us go hungry, and then he gave us the מן mon. And he taught us that we don't live off of bread alone, we live off of that which comes from Hashem. And the question of course is the test, the מן mon was a test. God, test me in that way. I welcome such a test. Give me endless פרנסה parnasa. Give me income without effort. The מן mon fell, descended from heaven. It tasted like whatever one wanted. It predictably fell every single day. What kind of a test is that? So I refer you to the last Parsha shiur, I think we didn't give last year, but two years ago, we spent a long time looking at different מפרשים meforshim, what kind of a test was the מן mon, and what can we learn from that today about our פרנסה parnasa, about our income, and about our relationship with Hashem. I'm not going to review all the interpretations and insights we saw two years ago, about what was the test of the מן mon. But I take you to the end of the pasuk. The end of the pasuk is, כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם ki lo al halechem levado yichyeh ha'adam. A person cannot survive on bread alone, rather what do we live off of? על כל מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם Al kol motza pi Hashem yichyeh ha'adam. And here there's an insight, a beautiful insight of the הייליגע אמרי חיים Heilige Imrei Chaim, the great ויזניצער רבי Vizonitzer Rebbe. And the ויזניצער רבי Vizonitzer Rebbe says, he refers us to the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh in the name of the ארי Ari, but then he says, אפשר לומר, דהנה על ידי אכילת שבת קודש, אפשר לרומם המאכל לרוחני, ולעשות מחומר צורה על ידי שאוכל לשם שמים בשכל ודעת. Efshar lomar, d'hinei al yedei achilas Shabbos kodesh, efshar l'romem hama'achal l'ruchni, v'laasos mei'chomer tzurah, al yedei she'ochel l'shem shamayim b'seichel v'daas. The pasuk is describing our Shabbos table. We come to the Shabbos table. I once got in trouble for writing an article about this. I'm not criticizing the people who enjoy and want to invest themselves in elaborate, complicated, expensive Shabbos menus. Three color, five color, 20 color gefilte fish, three fishes, four meats, 17 side dishes, 19 courses to serve on a charger with a plate, with the matching thing, with the matching the other, with bottles of wine that are more expensive than the other. If it's all done לכבוד שבת l'kovod Shabbos, if a person enjoys it, puts their heart into it, can afford it, and it's done לכבוד שבת l'kovod Shabbos, then תבוא עליכם ברכה tavo aleichem bracha, enjoy, beautiful, delicious. I love as much as the next person. But we have to remember, says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, the ויזניצער רבי Vizonitzer Rebbe, that when we come to the Shabbos table, what matters most, not the food, it's not the delicacies. We're eating that food לכבוד שבת קודש l'kovod Shabbos kodesh. We have that Shabbos table to be with the people who are around it. The conversation and the זמירות zmiros and the relationship matter much more. מענגים את השבת קודש בשמחה, בזמירות, שירות, ותשבחות, שמחננו ה' יתברך בשלחן אשר לפני ה' Ma'angim es haShabbos Kodesh b'simcha, b'zmiros, shiros, v'tishbachos, shemachalanu Hashem Yisborach b'shulchan asher lifnei Hashem. וזהו כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם אלא על כל מוצא פי ה' שמשבחים עם הפה לה' יתברך בזה יחיה האדם V'zehu ki lo al halechem levado yichyeh ha'adam, ela al kol motza pi Hashem, shemeshabchim im hapeh laShem Yisborach, b'zeh yichyeh ha'adam. You want to achieve a life? You want your children to embrace Shabbos? You want your children to want to recreate and emulate the Shabbos experience? Then don't only pressure them to spend and to work hard to recreate your menu. Let them remember the זמירות zmiros, the singing, the happiness, the joy. Let them remember the דברי תורה divrei Torah. Let them remember the stories. Let them remember the guests. Let them remember the conversations. על ידי מוצא פי ה' נהנה נפש רוחני Al yedei motza pi Hashem neneh nefesh ruchni. Says the הייליגע ויזניצער רבי Heilige Vizonitzer Rebbe, the food is wonderful. The delicacies are wonderful. The accoutrements are wonderful. The utensils are wonderful. But ultimately, לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם lo al halechem levado yichyeh ha'adam. Your spiritual life and your spiritual continuity does not depend on the menu alone. It's על כל מוצא פי al kol motza pi, it's what you speak about Hashem. If you're sitting and you have the most expensive delicacies, you have 14 of the most expensive herrings, you have an amazing, what's it called? All of the jerkies and the beef. I'm blanking out on the name. Now many communities have a competition on the wooden board that you're serving all of the, I'm blanking out on the name. All of the dry meats and the cut up salamis and the expensive, לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם lo al halechem levado yichyeh ha'adam. Our spiritual existence, our spiritual health, our spiritual life, and our spiritual continuity are not about the charcuterie. They're not about the herring, they're not about the martini, the whiskey, or the tequila bar. But it's על כל מוצא פי ה' al kol motza pi Hashem. It's what we speak about. Do we invoke Hashem at that Shabbos table? While we're enjoying those delicacies, which I'm not criticizing, charcuterie, thank you, it's about, it's about כל מוצא פי kol motza pi, it's about what leaves our mouth, Hashem. Is Hashem part of the conversation? Are we talking about him? Are we engaging him? Are we relaying his messages? Says the ויזניצער רבי Vizonitzer Rebbe, לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם lo al halechem levado yichyeh ha'adam, not about the menu, not about the charcuterie, it's על כל מוצא פי al kol motza pi, it's how much we from our mouth speak about Hashem, יחיה האדם yichyeh ha'adam, that is, that is the determinant of our life. Okay, with that we go over to our first אש תמיד eish tamid of the day. Our first, we don't have a lot today of רב דרוק Rav Druk in his אש תמיד eish tamid. And he says the following, what does it mean ויענך וירעיבך ויאכילך את המן va'yaanacha va'yar'ivecha va'ya'achilcha es hamon, that God caused us to suffer to struggle, and then he fed us the מן mon, and he fed us, he supplied us the מן mon as a test. Why? Because we can't live alone. And רב דרוק Rav Druk points out, he points out that the pasuk, the word is mentioned ב' פעמים beis pe'amim, לשון יחיה lashon yichyeh. Twice in our pasuk we have the word יחיה yichyeh. לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה Lo al halechem levado yichyeh. We can't live alone off of bread. Rather, על מוצא פי ה' al motza pi Hashem, it's Hashem's word, יחיה yichyeh, that's what we'll live off of. Why do we have that word twice in the pasuk? But moreover, asks רב דרוק Rav Druk, if you look at the תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos, if you look at the Aramaic translation, the second century convert, אונקלוס Onkelos, he translates the word יחיה yichyeh differently in the same pasuk. In the very same pasuk, the word appears twice, and in each time, אונקלוס Onkelos translates it differently. The first time he writes, יחיה yichyeh, מתקיים אנשא miskim ansha. The second time, חיי אנשא chayay anasha. So why does he change his translation? What does that reflect about the interpretation of the pasuk? So says Rav Druk, נראה לי יושר בדברי התרגום אונקלוס בפשיטות. Neira li yosher b'divrei hatargum unkelos b'pshitos. The way to understand this insight, the interpretation of תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos, תחלת הפסוק מדבר על הלחם tchilas hapasuk medaber al halechem. כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם Ki lo al halechem levado yichyeh ha'adam. The first time we're talking about bread. הלחם איננו עצם החיים של האדם Halechem eineno atzem hachaim shel ha'adam. We don't live to eat, we eat to live. Bread is not life. Bread is not life. לא שהוא רק של הלחם אין אדם יכול להתקיים Lo shehu rak shel halechem ein adam yachol l'hiskim. We can't live without bread, we can't live without eating, we can't live without nourishment. A good friend of mine in the community's father tragically is an end of life, has end of life שאלות shailos and is making the enormous decision, does one provide nutrition, put in a feeding tube, a G-peg, what needs to be done? Because if we don't provide nourishment and nutrition, then a person won't die from illness, they'll die from malnourishment, they'll die from starvation. Halachically complicated end of life issues, even if one doesn't have to provide what we call heroic measures, do we still have to provide oxygen and nourishment? Because you can't live without food. You can't live without nourishment, without nutrients. Therefore, תרגם בזה אונקלוס לשון מתקיים אנשא tirgem b'zeh Onkelos lashon miskim ansha. שעל ידי הלחם יש קיום לחיים She'al yedei halechem yesh kiyum l'chaim. So the first time that the Targum translates the word יחיה yichyeh, he translates it as מתקיים miskim. Bread keeps us alive. מתקיים אנשא Miskim ansha. Bread keeps us alive. However, the pasuk continues, כי על כל מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם ki al kol motza pi Hashem yichyeh ha'adam. It's not bread alone which keeps us alive, it's על כל מוצא פי ה' al kol motza pi Hashem, it's also on Hashem's word. We need a healthy physical diet and we need a healthy spiritual diet. We go for a physical, we need to go for a spiritual. We nourish our body, we need to nourish our soul. So that is an altogether different type of nourishment. That is a different type of life source. מוצא פי ה' איננו רק קיום החיים בלבד Motza pi Hashem eineno rak kiyum hachaim bilvad, אלא הוא החיים ela hu hachaim. חיים בעצמם chaim be'atzmam. says of Druk, the spiritual nourishment, unlike bread, where bread is not an ends and bread is not life, bread is just something that sustains life. But when it comes to פי ה', כל מוצא פי ה' pi Hashem, kol motza pi Hashem, when it comes to Torah, when it comes to spirituality, that is life. And therefore, Onkelos translates it as חיי אנשא chayei anasha. So Onkelos changes his translation in the two times that the word יחיה yichyeh is used in the פסוק pasuk. Why? Because there are two different meanings. The first time we're talking about bread, and bread is מקיים אנשא mekayem ansha. Bread keeps us alive, it sustains life. But when it comes to כל מוצא פי ה' kol motza pi Hashem, when it comes to Torah, spirituality, it's not just that it is a means, it is the ends, it is life itself. עליו נאמר כי הוא חייך ואורך ימיך Alav ne'emar ki hu chayecha v'orech yamecha. Torah is our life. התורה היא חיים בעצמם HaTorah hi chaim be'atzmam. Torah is life. לחם רק אמצעי שעל ידו ישקיים לחיים Lechem rak emtza'i she'al yado yeshkayem lachaim. Bread is an intermediary, it is a means, whereas Torah is an ends. There's a fundamental difference. And with this Rav Druk concludes his comment by quoting a story from the Gaon Rav Boruch Ber זצ\"ל zatzal.Rav Boruch Ber, once a Jew came to Rav Boruch Ber and said, Torah is like the air that we breathe. Just like if we don't breathe, we can't live, so too, without Torah, we cannot leave, live. And Rav Boruch Ber corrected him, and he said, no. Air you need, האוויר נצרך לאדם בשביל שיוכל לחיות ha'avir nitzrach l'adam bishvil sheyuchal lichyos. We need oxygen to live. אבל התורה הקדושה אינו כן Aval haTorah haKedosha eino kein. אינו רק אמצעי בשביל לחיות Eino rak emtza'i bishvil lachyos. Torah is not just like oxygen that we need it to live. אלא התורה היא החיים בעצמם ela haTorah hi hachaim be'atzmam. Torah is not something we need to live, Torah is life itself. A fundamental different attitude, a different perspective, a different outlook on it. Okay, so while we're in this section, פרק ח' perek ches, we're talking about the role of food, of bread in our lives. It is a means, a mechanism, a platform to come close, to grow to Hashem. לחם מלשון נחמה lechem milashon nechama. It is with bread that we battle, that we fight the temptation for food. There's the whole world, there's a whole עבודה avodah and attitude towards eating, an opportunity to draw close to Hashem through it. That every time תערוך לפני שולחן נגד צוררי ta'aroch lefanai shulchan neged tzorirai, we sing in מזמור לדוד mizmor l'David. In פרק מזמור כ\"ג perek mizmor kaf gimmel, chapter 23 of Tehillim, that השם תערוך לפני שולחן Hashem ta'aroch lefanai shulchan, you spread before me a table נגד צוררי neged tzorirai, across from my adversaries. Who are my adversaries? Am I inviting my enemies to break bread with me? No. You know who my adversaries are? My adversaries are the 17th piece of challah. My adversary is the fattening dip. My adversary is the Trader Joe corn chip. My adversary is to continue to eat even when I'm full. נגד צוררי neged tzorirai. The שולחן shulchan is the place that I wage that war. לחם ומלחמה Lechem u'milchama. It is the place where I fight that battle towards spirituality. And here, to not forget where it comes from and to express our gratitude, that's what the פרשה parsha continues.That we have to remember. The Torah tells us, את השם אלוקיך מביאך אל ארץ טובה es Hashem Elokecha mevi'acha el eretz tova, we're in chapter eight, verse seven, that God, you bring us to the good land, ארץ נחלי מים, עיינות ותהומות יוצאים בבקעה ובהר eretz nachalei mayim, ayanot u'tehomot yotzim babik'a u'vahar. You bring us to a land with streams of water, of springs, underground water, valley and mountain. ארץ חיטה ושעורה וגפן ותאנה ורימון, ארץ זית שמן ודבש Eretz chita u'se'ora v'gefen u'te'eina v'rimon, eretz zeit shemen u'dvash. A land of wheat and barley and grape and fig and pomegranate, of oil, date, olive oil, and date honey. ארץ אשר לא במסכנות תאכל בה לחם, לא תחסר כל בה Eretz asher lo v'miskenut tochal ba lechem, lo sechsar kol ba. A land where you will eat bread without poverty, you lack nothing there. ארץ אשר אבניה ברזל ומהרריה תחצוב נחושת Eretz asher avaneha barzel u'meharareha tachtzov nechoshet. A land whose stones are iron, from whose mountain you mine copper. ואכלת ושבעת וברכת v'achalta v'savata u'verachta, eat and be satisfied, be sated and bless השם אלוקיך על הארץ הטובה אשר נתן לך Hashem Elokecha al ha'aretz hatova asher natan lach. I bless and thank Hashem for the good land that He gave us. This, of course, is the מצוה mitzvah of בענטשן bensching, the source of the mitzvah of בענטשן bensching. We eat, we say thank you, and we bench. The דברי חיים Divrei Chaim, the Vizhnitzer, says, ושבעת v'savata is in the middle. Is ושבעת v'savata describing, were satisfied? Is that describing ואכלת v'achalta? Are we satisfied from the eating or וברכת u'verachta? Is our satisfaction from blessing, thanking, communicating with Hashem? Says the דברי חיים Divrei Chaim, are we excited? Are we satisfied? Is our belly full because we ate food or because now we have the opportunity to thank Hashem? ושבעת V'savata is not going on ואכלת v'achalta, says the דברי חיים Divrei Chaim, the Vizhnitzer. ושבעת V'savata is going on וברכת u'verachta. Be satisfied and feel full from the fact that you bless Hashem. The great Mr. Senders of our community, זאל זיין געזונט און שטארק zol zayn gezunt un shtark, we miss him in shul, he should continue to be well, always says to me, some people, some people bench because they ate. He says, I eat so I could bench. Why wouldn't? There are people who avoid eating bread at all costs, not because they're worried about carbs, but because they're worried about having to bench. They don't want to bench, so they don't eat bread. He says the opposite. He only nibbles on a piece of bread, really he's not interested in the bread. He eats the bread so he could bench. ושבעת V'savata, what makes us feel full? ואכלת V'achalta, the bread? Or וברכת u'verachta? Are we gratified, satisfied? Do we walk away from that meal feeling good about the fact that we just had the opportunity to connect to Hashem? And Rav Druk has a similar insight. He says, נסערתי לשאול על סדר הפסוקים Nis'arti lish'ol al seder hapsukim. He said it occurs to me to ask about the order of the פסוקים psukim. We just praised the land. ארץ ישראל נשתבחה בשבעת המינים Eretz Yisrael nishtabcha b'shivas haminim. Israel is characterized by these seven species, חיטה שעורה גפן תאנה ורימון chita se'ora gefen te'eina rimon and so on and so forth. So we should have immediately after praising the land of Israel and characterizing it by these seven species, continued, ואכלת v'achalta, and when you eat of them, ושבעת וברכת v'savata u'verachta, you'll be full and you'll bless. Why do we interrupt and interject פסוק ט' pasuk tes in between by describing it's a land whose stones are iron, it's a land we describe whose mountains will mine copper. הלא אכילה ושביעה אינם שייכים לברזל ונחושת Halo achila u'svi'ah einam shayachim l'varzel v'nechoshes. Eating and being satisfied has to do with the food that we just praised in the land. What does it have to do with the qualities of the stone and of the metal? We need a בברכה שנייה של ברכת המזון b'bracha shniya shel Birkat Hamazon. Says Rav Druk we can answer by asking a question on benching itself. The middle, the second ברכה bracha of benching is ברכת הארץ birkat ha'aretz, and in that second ברכה bracha, we say the following. We say, על בריתך שחתמת בבשרנו al brischa shechatamta b'vsareinu, we acknowledge You, God, for the ברית bris, for the covenant, for the promise that You have engraved on our skin, on our flesh, ועל תורתך שלימדתנו v'al Torascha shelimad'tanu, on the Torah that You've taught us, ועל חוקיך שהודעתנו v'al chukecha she'hodatanu, on the laws that You've taught us, you've made us aware of. We're מודים אנחנו לך modim anachnu lach, we express our appreciation in benching. Not just thank you for this calzone or for this pizza, not just thank you for this sandwich, for this hot dog, but גם כן על לימוד התורה וברית מילה gam kein al limud Torah u'vris milah. In benching our gratitude is not just for the physical, in benching our gratitude is for the spiritual. Thank you, Hashem, for Torah, thank you, Hashem, for bris. By the way, so much that the גמרא בברכות, תוספות Gemara b'Brachos, Tosfos deal with, women are exempt from Torah learning, women are exempt from bris. Are women obligated in benching? Do they do they include these themes, omit these themes? A whole discussion. But the question is, מה עניין זה לשבח ארץ ישראל שהוא עניינה המרכזי של ברכה זו ma inyan zeh l'shevach Eretz Yisrael shehu inyana ha'merkazi shel bracha zu? The second ברכה bracha of benching of על הכל al hakol is the beauty of the land of Israel. Why are we interrupting, interjecting our expression of gratitude, of praise, of admiration for the beauty of the land of Israel? Why are we all of a sudden bringing up and also thank you as well for learning Torah and for bris? So talk, שכאשר אנו מזכירים מודה ושבח לקדוש ברוך הוא sheka'asher anu mazkirim modeh v'shevach l'Kadosh Baruch Hu, when we're invoking, when we're remembering gratitude and praise to Hashem that He took us out of Egypt, that He brought us into Israel, we also remember גם כן שבח לא רק על דברים הגשמיים gam kein shevach lo rak al dvarim ha'gashmi'im. We do not just focus and emphasize the physical, that we got the land, but on the spiritual as well. Whenever we say thank you for physical, we have to remember to also say thank you for the spiritual. So in that second ברכה על הכל bracha al hakol, it's not just thank you for this magnificent land, for the beautiful land with fantastic minerals, what fantastic stone, what fantastic metal, what fantastic species. Oh, but while I'm praising the physical, I cannot imply or suggest that that's all I care about, that that's good enough, but I recognize and I'm grateful for the spiritual as well. And that's what the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer at the end of פרשת האזינו Parshas Ha'azinu says, ובברכת המזון אנו מזכירים ברית ותורה uv'Birkat Hamazon anu mazkirim bris v'Torah, כי אין ראוי לשבח הקדוש ברוך הוא על דבר מת שאוכלנו והולך לעולם ki ein ra'ui l'shabeach haKadosh Baruch Hu al davar mes she'ochleinu v'holech l'olam, לולי שהמאכלים קיימים אותנו על הברית ותורה, הדבר חי הנצחי lulei shehama'achalim kayamim osanu al ha'bris v'Torah, hadavar chai hanitzchi. If we're going to thank God for the physical world and for the physical sustenance, then we have to mention why we need it and why we're grateful for it. I'm grateful to be alive. Why? Because of the bris and so I can learn Torah. I'm grateful for food that sustains me, that animates me, why? So I can learn Torah and pursue and fulfill the bris. כן זה יש לומר אף כאן Kein zeh yesh lomar af kan. So that's why here too, ואכלת ושבעת וברכת v'achalta v'savata u'verachta, אין אנו מודים לא רק על האוכל בלבד ein anu modim lo rak al ha'ochel bilvad, אלא מרחיבים את הסעודה, כל שבח הארץ ela marchivim et ha'se'udah, kol shevach ha'aretz. We are expanding our gratitude not just for the species, but for the stone, for the metal, for the minerals. So the pasuk is inserted because the ואכלת ושבעת v'achalta v'savata is going not just on the food, it's going on the whole land. When we bench, we don't just say thank you for the food that's right in front of me, thank you for the ambiance, thank you for my experience, thank you for the context, thank you for everything.And then Rav Druk asks, what I think is a great question. I don't know if it's ever occurred to you, but this is a fantastic question. In benching, we say, על הכל al hakol, Hashem, on everything, I'm so grateful to You. מודים אנחנו לך Modim anachnu lach, thank you. Thank you that I don't have to work the field, backbreaking labor. Thank you that I don't have to sit in the sun. Thank you that I don't have to plow and plant and harvest and grind and winnow. Thank you, I can go to the supermarket and the kosher market and I can go and buy and eat and enjoy. על הכל Al hakol, on all of this that somebody else did that work, someone else manufactured, somebody else packaged, someone else distributed, and somebody else made it easy for me. Thank you for the פרנסה parnasa, the income that enabled me to be able to eat. על הכל Al hakol, on all of that and so much more, מודים אנחנו לך modim anachnu lach, I'm so grateful. And why am I saying thank you? ככתוב Kakasuv, as the pasuk says, ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את השם אלוקיך על הארץ הטובה אשר נתן לך v'achalta v'savata u'verachta et Hashem Elokecha al ha'aretz hatova asher natan lach. I'm saying thank you because the pasuk says that when we eat and when we're grateful and when we're full, we have to say thank you. And wonders of Druk, can you imagine, you go to your friend and you say, I want to thank you. Thank you so much for the favor. Thank you so much for the gift. And I'm thanking you because my father told me that I have to come and say thank you. I'm thanking you because my father told me, my mother always says you have to say thank you. יודע אני מפני מה אנו כל כך מודים לך? מפני שאבא שלי אמר לי להודות לך Yodea ani mipnei ma anu kol kach modim lach? Mipnei she'aba sheli amar li lehodot lach. אין לך תפיסת טובה גדולה מזו Ein l'cha tfisat tovah gedolah mizu. That's not an expression of gratitude. You're an ingrate. You're saying the only reason I'm saying thank you, it's not because I feel thank you, but because it says I have to say thank you. It's a rule. It's a law. It's a dictate. That's the rule in my home from my parents, that's the rule in my Torah from Hashem. I'm only saying thank you because I have to say thank you. Doesn't that take away from it being genuine, authentic?So why do we invoke it? Another words, the Torah says ואכלת ושבעת וברכת v'achalta v'savata u'verachta. When you eat and you're satisfied, bench. Great. Institute benching. Why do we invoke the Torah's obligation within the actual fulfillment, making it sound like we're doing it not because it's right or because we feel it, we're doing it because it says it? So says Rav Druk the following. The answer is, אדרבה ad'raba. מי אנחנו שנודה לאדון כל העולמות ברוך הוא Mi anachnu shenodeh l'adon kol ha'olamot Baruch Hu? Who are we to be grateful to God? איך אנחנו בני אדם קרוצי חומר יכולים להעז או להעיז ולתת שבח והודאה לבורא יתברך שמו Keitzad anachnu bnei adam krutzei chomer yecholim l'ha'oz o l'ha'iz v'latet shevach v'hoda'ah l'borei yitbarach shemo? He's omnipotent, he's infinite, he's perfect, we're finite, we're fallible, we're pathetic. Who are we to say thank you? הלא בושה צריכה לכסות פנינו Halo busha tzricha lechasot panenu. It takes the humility, should be shamed, cover our face because we can't possibly adequately express gratitude. We can't possibly appreciate and understand everything that goes into it. And therefore, who are we to say thank you? The answer is, our only license, our only justification to say thank you is because you invited us to do so, is because you allow us to do so. It's not from ourselves, it's that you gave us license, you empower, you enable, you invited us to do so, and that's why we are able to, we are able to do so. Okay, moving right along. The danger. We're on page 984 now, פרק ח' פסוק י\"ז perek ches, pasuk yud zayin. Still in this context. What's going to happen? What's going to happen? המאכילך מן במדבר אשר לא ידעון אבותיך Hama'achilcha man bamidbar asher lo yedu'un avosecha, God who fed you food, למען ענותך l'ma'an anosecha, again invoking this image he did it to test us, למען נסותך l'ma'an nasosecha, ואמרת בלבבך v'amarta bilvavecha. What's the test? Because we're going to say in our hearts, כוחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה Kochi v'otzem yadi asah li et hachayil hazeh. My full bank account, my flourishing portfolio, it's me. God, God didn't choose those stocks. God didn't put in those hours in the office. God didn't close that deal. God didn't shop and make that recipe and have this delicious meal turn out. It's all me. It's all me. We're going to say כוחי kochi, my power, my strength, my skills, עוצם ידי otzem yadi, my effort, my toil, עשה לי את החיל הזה asah li et hachayil hazeh. It's what brought about this result. That's the temptation, that's the the the desire. Says the קוז'ניצר, רבי משה קוז'ניצר Kozhnitzer, Rav Moshe Kozhnitzer, he says when a person is poor and they're down and out, then they never ever ascribe הכלכלה בעצמו hakalkala b'atzmo. A person says, הרי רעותי אז דוחק, על כן קפחתי את פרנסתי Harei re'uti az dochak, al kein kipachti et parnasasi. When a person is down and out they say, God, why are you doing this to me? God, where are you? God, what happened? God, turn it around. And then when they succeed, they say, no, that wasn't God, that was all me. He says it should really be exactly the opposite. בעת שאדם מתעשר ועולה לגדולה B'eis she'adam mis'asher v'oleh l'gedulah, when a person succeeds and triumphs, when a person, when a person rises to greatness, then they should say, it wasn't me, it's all Hashem. And when a person's down and out, they should recognize they could yet still try harder. Says the Kozhnitzer, we have it backwards. That's the fear, that's the danger, the כוחי ועוצם ידי kochi v'otzem yadi. That is the concern of where we're going to go wrong. I've said before and I'm invoking it again because I think it's so important and so critical to mention. And I believe the insight of of the ר\"ן Ran. The ר\"ן, רבינו ניסים Ran, Rabbeinu Nissim, in the beginning of his 10th drush in דרשות הר\"ן Drashos HaRan. He asks a question. He says, what do you mean we can't take responsibility? The Torah is filled with reminders that we have בחירה חפשית bechira chofshis. We're going to read soon, ראה אנוכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה Re'eh anochi nosein lifneichem hayom bracha u'klala. Behold, I'm putting before you today, blessings and curse, free will, choice, autonomy. So how come later we can't say with pride, don't we have a right to be proud? I put in those long hours. I worked hard and I studied. I had that great idea. I was creative. I had vision, I had drive, I had ambition. Why can't we take pride? Why can't we feel at least partially responsible for our success? How do we reconcile the Torah's endorsement and the personal responsibility of free will with the Torah here saying, never say כוחי ועוצם ידי kochi v'otzem yadi. It's a famous question but the insight of the ר\"ן Ran is life changing. So though I've shared it before, I'll share it again with you today. And the ר\"ן Ran writes the following. I'll read it to you in the translation because of the sake of time. He says the meaning is as follows. The truth is that people have different talents in different areas. Certain people are predisposed to receive wisdom, others are predisposed to devise strategies to gather and amass wealth. On account of this, the wealthy man can truthfully say, my ability and the might of my hand made me wealth. Nevertheless, in so far as that ability was implanted within you, be sure to remember who gives you the ability to make that wealth. And here, listen to the ר\"ן Ran. The ר\"ן Ran points out that Moshe did not say, וזכרת כי השם אלוקיך נותן לך חיל v'zacharta ki Hashem Elokecha nosein l'cha chayil. Moshe did not say, remember that Hashem is the one who gives you wealth, for if he had said that, he'd be minimizing the fact that the ability implanted within the person is an intermediate cause in the accumulation of the wealth, but that's not the case. What did Moshe say? Not וזכרת כי השם אלוקיך נותן לך חיל v'zacharta ki Hashem Elokecha nosein l'cha chayil, but וזכרת כי השם אלוקיך הוא הנותן לך כח לעשות חיל v'zacharta ki Hashem Elokecha hu hanosein l'cha koach la'asos chayil. It doesn't say Hashem gave us the wealth, it says Hashem gave us the strength, the talent, the wisdom, the ingenuity, the entrepreneurship, the creativity to amass the wealth. Says the ר\"ן Ran, the Torah is not asking us to deny or to not be proud of our accomplishment or achievement. It's asking us to recognize and to realize that whatever strength and whatever skill we had to to achieve it was from Hashem. It was on loan, never part of our permanent collection. We have to recognize that yes, we can take with pride responsibility for success, but where did we get the talents, the skills, the strength to be able to do it? It comes from Hashem. It comes from Hashem. Rav Moshe of Kutsi wrote a ספר sefer called the ספר מצוות גדולות, the סמ\"ג for short Sefer Mitzvos Gedolos, the Smag for short. and he identifies, he enumerates all תרי\"ג מצוות taryag mitzvos, he counts the minyan all 613. And towards the end of the introduction to the ספר sefer, he writes something remarkable. He finished his ספר מצוות גדולות, his סמ\"ג Sefer Mitzvos Gedolos, his Smag, his magnum opus, and then he writes that he was told in a dream, you have forgotten the foundational mitzvah, not to forget Hashem and become haughty. So when he woke up, he revised his whole ספר מצוות Sefer Mitzvos, his whole calculation of תרי\"ג of 613 mitzvos, and he included a prohibition of גאוה ga'avah, מצוה לא תעשה ס\"ד mitzvas lo sa'aseh samech daled, negative precept 64, never become arrogant. לא תביא סור ועוול בביתך Lo savi sor v'evel b'veisecha. Don't bring arrogance into your home. Yes, maybe you're smart, artistic, athletic, entrepreneurial, successful, but where did you get that from? It is on loan, not part of your permanent collection. It is not part of who you always are. I'll tell you, I'll give you a little sneak preview that Behind the Bima is coming back August 11th. We'll have four episodes before סוכות Sukkos. Very excited, we have extraordinary guests. One of them, one of them who is amazing is one of my, I've always been a fan of his, the greatest closer in all of history of baseball, the first unanimous entry to the Hall of Fame, 13-time All-Star, five-time World Series champion, Mariano Rivera. It's one of our, maybe our first, one of our first guests on Behind the Bima when we come back. So Mariano Rivera retired. Listen to his achievements. 13-time All-Star, five-time World Series champion, first ever inducted to the Hall of Fame, unanimous ballot. He is at the peak, the top of Major League Baseball. And when he retired, he was asked about his ability to throw the one pitch he threw that every batter knew was coming, which was the slider. And he said the following quote, \"Everything I have and everything I became is because of the strength of the Lord and through him I have accomplished everything, not because of my strength, only by his love, his mercy, and his strength.\" A person should never say כוחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה kochi v'otzem yadi asah li et hachayil hazeh. We say the opposite. We say the opposite. כי הוא הנותן לך כח Ki hu hanosein l'cha koach, that God is the one who gives us the strength for whatever we accomplish in life. You're going to want to watch that interview because he's a person of deep and profound faith who credits all of his success to God. Really, really inspiring. הוא הנותן לך כח Hu hanosein l'cha koach. What we're meant to remember, not to deny that we have gifts, talents, and strengths, not to not take pride in what we've accomplished and achieved with them, but remember that they come from Hashem. הוא הנותן לך כח Hu hanosein l'cha koach. He is the one who gives us that that koach. Rav Dessler says, I just got this new set of ספרים sefarim, the סתר עליון Seter Elyon, which is a collection of בעלי מוסר על הפרשה Ba'alei Mussar al haParsha. Very interesting. אונקלוס on these words, הוא הנותן לך כח לעשות חיל Onkelos, hu hanosein l'cha koach la'asos chayil, that God is the one who gives us the talent and the skills and the strength to achieve, writes אונקלוס Onkelos, Onkelos getting a lot of play today in the Parsha class, writes אונקלוס Onkelos, הוא דיהיב לך עצה למקנא נכסין Hu d'yahiv lach eitzah l'mikna nichsin. He is the one who put the idea in your mind how to acquire property. Who told you to buy airlines when the market dipped at the beginning of Corona? Who told you to invest in Bitcoin or to sell it short when it was plummeting? Who told you Tesla was a good buy? Who put that idea in your head? Says אונקלוס Onkelos, הוא דיהיב לך עצה Hu d'yahiv lach eitzah. כל יהודי מאמין, says Rav Dessler, every Jew believes, יודע היטב שאם הוא עושה חיל, הכל בא מסיעתא דשמיא yode'a heitev she'im hu oseh chayil, hakol ba m'siyata d'ishmaya. We know that if we do well, it is only with the סיעתא דשמיא siyata d'ishmaya, it's only with the divine insight, inspiration from Hashem. אולם אפילו אחרי מחשבה זו, לא נשארת מחשבת בלבו Ulam af acharei machshava zu, lo nish'eret machshavas b'libo. But however, we sometimes think, I'm the בעל כישרון, בעל מוח, סוחר ממולח, בעל מחשבה יצירתי ba'al kisharon, ba'al mo'ach, socher memulach, ba'al machshava yetzirti. I'm the entrepreneur. I'm the smart one. Even though we daven in shul and we daven we say פטום הקטורת, שמע קולנו pitum haketoret, shma koleinu and we wear the red bendel and we make the שליש'ס חלה shlisas challah, and we say Hashem פרנסה parnasa, Hashem פרנסה parnasa. I heard you did well on the market. Yeah, I'm pretty smart. I'm successful. I had the idea. It was my thought. It was my חאַפּ chap. So a person should realize, person should realize, says Rav Dessler, גם זה עצמו נותן לך הקדוש ברוך הוא gam zeh atzmo nosein l'cha haKadosh Baruch Hu. Who gave you the thought? Who gave you the idea? Who gave you the creativity? מרגלא בפומיה Margela b'pumei, what we often say, אנשים רגילים לומר, נפל לי רעיון anashim regilim lomar, nafal li ra'ayon. We'll often say, you know, this thought struck me. This thought struck me. I was in the shower, I was davening, I was going for a walk, I was driving my car and it struck me, this thought struck me. What does that mean, this thought? Who struck you with the thought? What did it fall from the sky? You banged your head on a tree? What do you mean the thought struck you? מי הפיל אותו אצלך? ומאיפה הוא הוצת? הקדוש ברוך הוא הכניס לך את המחשבה והרעיון Mi hipil oso etzlecha? U'me'eifo hu hutzas? HaKadosh Baruch Hu hichnis l'cha et hamachshava v'hara'ayon. God is the one who knocked you on the head with that thought. הוא דיהיב לך עצה למקנה נכסין Hu d'yahiv lach eitzah l'mikna nichsin. הוא הנותן לך כח לעשות חיל Hu hanosein l'cha koach la'asos chayil. What, the thought came coincidentally, randomly, out of nowhere? He is the one who provided the thought. That's where it came from. פרק י' Perek Yud, we're skipping all of פרק ט' Perek Tes, remembering our time, our time through the wilderness, through the מדבר midbar, the challenges, the trials, the tribulations, how we surpassed them. פרק י' Perek Yud. בעת ההיא אמר השם אליי פסל לך שני לוחות אבנים Ba'eis hahi amar Hashem elai, psol l'cha shnei luchos avanim. Moshe recalls, recounts, in that time God told me, take two stones. אהרון Aharon died. פרק י' פסוק י\"ב Perek Yud, pasuk yud beis. ועתה ישראל מה השם אלוקיך שואל מעמך V'ata Yisrael, ma Hashem Elokecha sho'el me'imach? And now, Jewish people, what does God want from you? כי אם ליראה את השם אלוקיך ללכת בכל דרכיו ולאהבה אותו Ki im l'yir'a et Hashem Elokecha lalechet b'chol drachav u'le'ahava oso. All God wants is to have awe of him, fear of him, walk in his way, love him, serve him with all of your heart, with all your soul. We have discussed this at length in previous פרשיות שבוע parshios shavua as well. I refer you back to them, you can find them online and listen to them. We've discussed what does it mean? Moshe seems to minimize. ועתה V'ata, what does he want? All he wants is the hardest things in the world to do? You're going to call that all he wants? What does he want after all? All he wants is what is the hardest thing in the world to do? We've discussed and unpacked that previously. So what does it mean here, all he wants? What does it mean here, all he wants? So ועתה v'ata, we've spoken about the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim. ועתה V'ata means now. מה השם אלוקיך שואל מעמך Ma Hashem Elokecha sho'el me'imach? What does God want from you? He wants you to live in this dimension. What does God want from you? He wants you to live in the here and now. ועתה V'ata. Don't be stuck in the past and don't be dreaming about the future, live in the here and in the now. But Rav Volbe has another interpretation here. And Rav Volbe reminds us, ועתה ישראל v'ata Yisrael, and now, what does he want? The גמרא במנחות on דף מ\"ג Gemara b'Menachos on daf mem gimmel learns something special from here. The Gemara reads, don't read it מה mah, what does God want, read it מאה me'ah. מאה Me'ah, not מה mah, מאה me'ah. He wants 100 ברכות brachos a day. מאה ברכות בכל יום Me'ah brachos b'chol yom. Discussed this also in the past. He wants us to recite 100 ברכות brachos a day. We have to walk around with a calculator, a calculation. How do you get to 100 ברכות brachos a day? Three שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreis are a great start. You got to have a few אשר יצר Asher Yatzars, some ברכת הנהנין birchos hanehenin, throw on a bench and you're at your 100 times a day. 100 times a day God wants us to make a bid for connection. 100 times a day he wants us to remember he is there. Rav Volbe writes in עלי שור, פרק קכ\"ב Alei Shur, perek kuf kuf beis. The Volbe writes, עבודה גדולה חייבנו חז\"ל Avodah gedolah chiyvunu Chazal, לברך מאה ברכות בכל יום l'varech me'ah brachos b'chol yom. Our rabbis deduced from our pasuk an enormous obligation, responsibility, to recite 100 ברכות brachos a day. לחזור מאה פעם בכל יום על האמת Lachzor me'ah pa'am b'chol yom al ha'emes. 100 times a day to become grounded, 100 times a day to recalibrate, 100 times a day to remember the truth, כי השם אלוקינו הוא מלך העולם ki Hashem Elokeinu hu melech ha'olam, that God, our God is the king of the universe, והוא שנתן לנו כל הנאה, את הגוף והנפש, התורה והמצוות v'hu shenasan lanu kol hana'ah, et haguf v'hanefesh, haTorah v'hamitzvos, and he gave us every pleasure, our body, our soul. ויסוד עבודה זו הכרת הטוב V'yesod avodah zu hakaras hatov. The core of the reason that 100 times a day we have to re-center, remember, is because הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov. You ever on Waze, and you want to see how far away you are so you scroll on the screen, you want to see where there's a gas station, a Dunkin Donuts, a 7-Eleven, you scroll on the screen, and there's a little button you can press to get back to where you are, to get back to seeing where you're meant to be going. What does it say? Recenter. You press recenter and it brings you back on the screen to where you actually are and the trajectory and path of where you're meant to be going if you're going to get to that destination. Says Rav Volbe, מאה ברכות בכל יום me'ah brachos b'chol yom is that recenter button. On life, we have a journey. There's a destination, there's a trajectory, but we can lose sight of where we are. We can get distracted and veer from the path, and we have to press that recenter to recalibrate, to recenter, to remind ourselves where we are and how we're going to go where we're going where we're meant to be going. And how do we recalibrate? What is that button of recenter? מאה ברכות בכל יום Me'ah brachos b'chol yom. Says Rav Volbe, 100 ברכות brachos a day, gratitude. מידה זו אינה נפרדת לחלק שבין אדם למקום ולחלק שבין אדם לחברו Mida zu einah nifredes l'chelek shebein adam l'Makom u'lechelek shebein adam l'chavero. המידה אחת היא Hamidah achas hi. Gratitude is the same between people and with God. That's ברכת הנהנין birchos hanehenin. He quotes a פסוק pasuk from חזקיהו Chizkiyahu. מכתב לחזקיהו מלך יהודה בחלותו ויחי מחליו Michtav l'Chizkiyahu melech Yehuda b'chaloso vay'chi mecholyo. This was Chizkiyahu got sick and he recovered from his illness and he said אני אמרתי ani amarti, ישעיה פרק ל\"ח פסוק י' Yeshaya perek lamed ches pasuk tes, ישעיהו הנביא Yeshayahu haNavi. אני אמרתי בדמי ימיי אלך בשערי שאול, פקדתי יתר שנותיי. אמרתי לא אראה ה' בארץ החיים Ani amarti b'dmi yamai elech b'sha'arei sheol, pakad'ti yeser shnosai. Amarti lo er'eh Hashem b'eretz hachaim. He said I don't see God in the land of truth. In פשט ישעיהו pshat Yeshayahu, חזקיהו המלך Chizkiyahu haMelech, the king Chizkiyahu miraculously recovered from a life-threatening illness. He wrote in a letter and he said, with my days cut short I will go to the gates of the grave, deprived of the rest of my years. I had said I will not see Hashem. So the רד\"ק Radak quotes from Rav Saadia Gaon who says, what does it mean I will not see Hashem? Says the רד\"ק Radak, פירוש רב סעדיה גאון עניין הודאה ונכון הוא, כי רואה השם קרי יהודה והשבח לפניו peirush Rav Saadia Gaon inyan hoda'ah v'nachon hu, ki ro'eh Hashem kri Yehuda v'hashevach lefanav. You know what it means to see God? It's to be grateful. If you're ungrateful, you don't really see God. And if you see God, you are filled with gratitude. How can you see Hashem? Writes Rav Volbe, through recognizing his kindness and thanking him for it. Review your day, review your meal, review your life over and over and say thank you. מה השם אלוקיך שואל מעמך Ma Hashem Elokecha sho'el me'imach? What does he want from us? אל תקרי מה אלא מאה Al tikrei ma, ela me'ah. He wants us 100 times a day to say thank you. You know, why do I have to say thank you for the same food? It's the same food. I said thank you for coffee yesterday, I have to say thank you for coffee again today? And the answer is yes, because we don't thank Hashem just once for giving us food or water or clothing, for giving us our spouse, our children, our life, our job, for giving us our house. Every day calls for an additional gratitude. Every day is a new us, every day is a new world, every day is a new context, a new background, every day is a new opportunity to say thank you. That's what he wants from us. So I say thank you. Thank you for joining for our שיעור shiur. Thank you to the Katzes for sponsoring. Thank you to whoever wants to sponsor future שיעורים shiurim. If you listen, you're not a member of BRS, you appreciate your joining, then please brsonline.org/sponsor. Sponsor a few episodes. It's a personal, perfect opportunity in honor and memory of someone else. Much more I wanted to get to, but the מצוה mitzvah of דביקות dveikus and about teaching our children, second paragraph of שמע Shema, we have to save it for a future year. Join us tomorrow morning 8:15, 10:00. 10 minutes of mini מוסר שיעורים *mussar shiurim*. 8:45 living with אמונה *emunah*. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, stay holy.
