Transcript
Good morning and בוקר טוב Boker tov, welcome back to פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. It's fantastic to be back together again and I want to thank our generous sponsors, Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father David Grossman. Our learning should be לעילוי נשמת le'ilui nishmas דוד בן מנחם מנוש Dovid ben Menachem Manush. This morning's שיעור shiur is also dedicated by dear friends Jeremy and Meryl Strauss in commemoration of the יארצייט yahrtzeit of Mr. Michael Strauss, עליו השלום alav hashalom, Jeremy's father, and by Fay and Murray Eisenberg in honor of the publication of their son-in-law's new ספר sefer on תהילים Tehillim. Here's a copy. Everyone should purchase it. Well worth it. תהילים Tehillim, Songs of the Heart. שלמה דוב Shlomo Dov Letterstein. שיהיה לכם הרבה נחת Sheyihye lachem harbeh nachas, מזל טוב mazal tov on the publication of the ספר sefer.This week we have the privilege of reading and studying פרשת בהר Parshas Behar. Page 696. Often בהר Behar and בחוקותי Bechukosai go together, and then we can't fully appreciate either. But this year we're reading this separate and apart, and we have the opportunity to delve into it a little bit further. וידבר השם אל משה בהר סיני לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe be'Har Sinai leimor, the פרשה parsha begins. השם Hashem spoke to משה Moshe, and here the Torah sort of deviates from its norm and tells us the topography, the area in which השם Hashem spoke to משה Moshe. He spoke to him where? בהר סיני Be'Har Sinai. Spoke to him at הר סיני Har Sinai. Now again, we know that all of Torah comes from הר סיני Har Sinai. Everything comes from הר סיני Har Sinai. רש״י Rashi of course famously asks this question: מה עניין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Mah inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai? We're about to be introduced to the laws of שמיטה shmita. This is a שמיטה shmita year. We find ourselves right now in a שמיטה shmita year. What in the world does שמיטה shmita have to do with הר סיני Har Sinai? And רש״י Rashi answers, and in רש״י Rashi's words, והלא כל המצוות נאמרו מסיני Vehalo kol hamitzvos ne'emru mi'Sinai? שמיטה Shmita is not the only מצווה mitzvah that was given at הר סיני Har Sinai. Every מצווה mitzvah. משה קיבל תורה מסיני Moshe kibel Torah mi'Sinai. משה Moshe received the totality of Torah, our entire framework of מצוות mitzvos, all of the written Torah at סיני Sinai. So why שמיטה shmita? אלא, מה שמיטה נאמרו כללותיה ופרטותיה ודקדוקיה מסיני, אף כולן נאמרו כללותיהם ודקדוקיהם מסיני Ela, mah shmita ne'emru klaloseha u'pratoseha ve'dikdukeha mi'Sinai, af kulan ne'emru klalosehem ve'dikdukehem mi'Sinai. So רש״י Rashi answers, just like שמיטה shmita has general broad principles and has specific details, and all of it comes from סיני Sinai, so to all מצוות mitzvos, the broad general principles and the fine details, all of it comes from סיני Sinai.The אור החיים Ohr HaChaim points out that רש״י Rashi kind of pulls a fast one on us. Did רש״י Rashi answer his original question? רש״י Rashi wants to know, all מצוות mitzvos are given at סיני Sinai. If all מצוות mitzvos are given at סיני Sinai, what's special about שמיטה shmita? And he answers, well שמיטה shmita is a paradigm. שמיטה Shmita is a model, it's an archetype. Just like שמיטה shmita, the general principles and the details were given, so too all מצוות mitzvos. Okay, but all מצוות mitzvos, the general principles and the details were given. We still haven't answered why is שמיטה shmita chosen as the archetype? Why is שמיטה shmita the paradigm? Why is שמיטה shmita the example from which we learn and apply to everything else? That's the question of the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim. We've discussed it in the past, I'm not going to answer it now, but it is the way our פרשה parsha begins and therefore I wanted to raise it again for you. So we're introduced to the laws of שמיטה shmita. דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם כי תבאו אל הארץ אשר אני נותן לכם Daber el Bnei Yisrael ve'amarta aleihem, ki savou el ha'aretz asher ani nosen lachem, when you enter the land that I'm going to give you, ושבתה הארץ שבת להשם ve'shavta ha'aretz Shabbos l'Hashem. You should observe, the land should observe a שבת Shabbos, ושבתה הארץ ve'shavta ha'aretz, a שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem. שש שנים תזרע שדך ושש שנים תזמר כרמך Shesh shanim tizra sodecha ve'shesh shanim tizmor karmecha, six years you plant your field, six years you prune your vineyard, ואספת את תבואתה ve'asafta es tevuasa, and you gather the crop. ובשנה השביעית U'va'shana ha'shvi'is, and on the seventh year, oh, שבת שבתון יהיה לארץ Shabbos Shabbason yihyeh la'aretz, שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem. Your land is tired. Your land has worked hard. You've worked hard. You deserve a sabbatical. You deserve a break. You deserve time to yourself. שדך לא תזרע Sadcha lo sizra, וכרמך לא תזמור ve'charmecha lo sizmor.Some of the commentaries point out that the Torah here is out of order. When presenting שמיטה shmita, how should it have been presented? First, six years you work, six years you prune, six years you harvest, and then the seventh year, now שמיטה shmita, now you have the sabbatical year. The Torah sort of tells it out of order. First, the Torah tells us, ושבתה הארץ ve'shavta ha'aretz, you're going to rest, and then we begin the cycle of six years of work. Why does the Torah tell it to us out of order? This too, I'm just giving you questions right now. I have to give you some homework. To give you for your own שבת Shabbos table, some things to consider. So here too the commentators point out, it's out of order. Why is it out of order? What does it tell us? We know in fact that when they came into the land of Israel, they did not start by observing שמיטה shmita. They didn't in fact start till the 21st year. There was seven years of conquest and seven years of division, and only then seven years of a שמיטה shmita. So the first שמיטה shmita was the 21st year after they entered the land. Which makes the question more compelling. We don't begin with ושבתה הארץ שבת להשם ve'shavta ha'aretz Shabbos l'Hashem and then six years you work the land. It began with first you conquer, then you divide, then you work the land, and then the 21st year, the seventh year, the end of the first שמיטה shmita cycle, that's when you observe שמיטה shmita. So why does the Torah give it to us seemingly, what sounds like, somewhat out of, out of order? ובשנה השביעית U'va'shana ha'shvi'is, on the seventh year, oh, שבת שבתון Shabbos Shabbason. את ספיח קצירך לא תצקטור Es sfiach ketzircha lo siktzor, and then we get into some of the details of how שמיטה shmita is observed. ושבתה הארץ שבת להשם Ve'shavta ha'aretz Shabbos l'Hashem. So we said the Torah describes, ושבתה הארץ ve'shavta ha'aretz, the land has to rest. And why? Why does the land rest? There's a lot to talk about here. We've spoken about much of it in the past. Is שמיטה shmita about the farmer or is שמיטה shmita about the land? The answer is both. On the one hand, we're not environmentalists in the sense that we serve the land, the land serves us. But for the land to best serve us, it needs to rest. You cannot overwork something. You cannot overwork it. Sometimes it needs to shut down. It needs to rest. It needs to rest in order to return, in order to recover, in order to be at its optimal production, efficiency, productivity, and so on. You know, 90% of the time if you have a problem with your computer or your phone, just turn it off, and let it sit for a couple minutes, and it will resolve itself. Sometimes it's so clogged with noise, with information, with apps, it's running too much memory, it just needs to rest. And when you disconnect it and let it rest, then it's going to work again.I must have told you the story in the past of the time that I was on a plane, and we were about to take off. We actually went down the runway, picked up speed, and the nose of the plane was about to lift off, and suddenly at the last minute, the pilot slammed on the brakes. And he came on a loudspeaker and he explained, a light came on on the panel saying there was a problem, and he didn't want to take off with the light on, which I thought was a very wise decision. Was grateful for it. So he said, we're just going to fix it and then we'll take off, no problem. So we sat on the plane, and time began to pass, and then the engineers came on the plane, and time began to pass, and they couldn't figure out why this light was on, and what needed to be corrected in order for the light to go off. So they announced, you know what, we're going back to the gate while we fix this. If you like, feel free to get off the plane, come back on the plane, you can go shop, get something to eat, it's going to take a little while. So as we got off the plane, I whispered to the pilot as I was passing the cockpit, somewhat of a smart aleck, I said, 'Why don't you just try what I do with my computer and phone? Just turn it off and turn it back on again.' They didn't appreciate that. Anyway, I got off the plane, got something to eat, came back on, still took a little bit while. The pilot came on the plane and he said, we haven't figured it out, but we shut down the plane, we turned it back on, the light did not come back on, so we're going to take off. And we took off and here, and here we are. So, the point is that the land needs to be shut down. Sometimes you need to disconnect and you need to let the land rest, and then the land could be productive. It's about the land, but it's also equally or even more about the farmer. The farmer too needs to rest. And the farmer needs to be rooted, and the farmer needs to recalibrate his and her compass. They need to dedicate themselves to not only the service of a land of the physical world, but of השם Hashem, of אמונה emunah. It's an exercise in בטחון bitachon and in אמונה emunah. So the פסוק pasuk says ושבתה הארץ ve'shavta ha'aretz, the land should rest. Why? שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem. And רש״י Rashi here writes, what does it mean שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem? Everything is for השם Hashem, isn't it? Every מצווה mitzvah we do is for השם Hashem. Sunday through Friday are for השם Hashem, and שבת Shabbos is for השם Hashem. The six years we work the land is for השם Hashem, and the seventh year of the sabbatical, the שמיטה shmita is for השם Hashem. So what does it mean שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem? Says רש״י Zogd Rashi, לשם השם le'shem Hashem. לשם השם Le'shem Hashem, לשמוע lishmo'a. Let the land rest not because you belong to some environmental club. Let the land rest not because it makes sense to you, but לשמוע lishmo'a, לשם השם le'shem Hashem, do it for God. So the רמב\"ן Ramban is bothered, and the רמב\"ן Ramban asks on רש״י Rashi. Every שבת Shabbos and every מועד moed is לשם השם le'shem Hashem. So why does רש״י Rashi specifically tell us, or why does the Torah specifically tell us that שמיטה shmita is שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem? Every holiday, every שבת Shabbos, every מצווה mitzvah that we do, we do in order to draw close to השם Hashem. We do because he tells us, not because we thought of it on our own.So in his דעת תורה Da'as Torah, Rav Yerucham, the משגיח mashgiach of the Mir, explains based on a comment of the ראב\"ד Raavad. The ראב\"ד Raavad in his introduction to his ספר בעלי הנפש sefer Ba'alei Nefesh says, כוונת המצוות כדי שידע האדם שיש לו בורא שבראו ומושל עליו Kavanas ha'mitzvos kedei she'yeida ha'adam she'yesh lo borei she'b'ra'o u'moshel alav. The purpose of all of מצוות mitzvos is that God says jump, we say how high. The purpose of all of מצוות mitzvos is for us to admit and to concede and to submit and to surrender that we don't navigate the world based on the way we want or what makes sense to us, but all מצוות mitzvos are an exercise in our submitting to השם Hashem. השם Hashem says I created, I designed this world, you're a guest in it, and here is how to operate. Here is the best way to live, here's how to get the most out of it. Here's how you'll find the greatest happiness. Here's how you can be of the highest service. Here's how you can fulfill your mission in it. All of מצוות mitzvos are to know that we have a בורא borei. That's why we make a ברכת המצוות birchas ha'mitzvos. We say a ברכה bracha before we do a מצווה mitzvah, because we return and remind ourselves of the fact that there is a creator and he charges us to do this מצווה mitzvah, and that we don't have the luxury or the freedom to simply live the way we want. We don't make sense of the world in a way that is convenient or comfortable for us, but we're here to serve. We are here to serve Him, He doesn't serve us. We are here to fulfill a mission. We're here to give, not to take. We're here for a reason. And every מצווה mitzvah is a reminder. The root of the word מצווה mitzvah is לצוות letzavos means to connect. The מצווה mitzvah is the means through which we connect to השם Hashem. It is a connection. We bind ourselves to השם Hashem. We surrender to השם Hashem. We listen, and we have an interest in fulfilling his will and his word. So according to this, שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem doesn't mean שישנו ציווי לכוין לשם השם she'yeshno tzivui le'chavein le'shem Hashem. אלא שהאדם להיות ביום השבת קודש להשם ומופדל מכל אנוכיותו שששת ימים עוסק כל אדם במלאכתו ובסופו של כוח ועוצם ידו הוא זה שעשה לו את חילו. לכן נתן לנו הקדוש ברוך הוא את השבת, יום שכולו שבת ומנוחה. האסור בכל מיני מלאכות כדי שיוודע לו מופדל כולו להשם ומסולק כאילו כל מלאכתו עשויה Ela she'ha'adam lihiyos be'yom ha'Shabbos kodesh l'Hashem u'mufdal mi'kol anochiyuso, she'sheshes yamim osek kol adam bi'mlachto u've'sofo shel kocho ve'otzem yado hu zeh she'asa lo es cheilo. Lachen nasan lanu ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu es ha'Shabbos, yom she'kulo Shabbos u'menucha, ha'asur be'chol minei melachos, kedei she'yivada lo mufdal kulo l'Hashem u'mesulak ke'ilu kol melachto asuya. So you're right, תפילין tefillin and ציצית tzitzis and כשרות kashrus, every מצווה mitzvah is supposed to be לשם השם le'shem Hashem. They're all supposed to be done and designated in the service of השם Hashem, לשמוע lishmo'a. Why then does it specifically say שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem for שמיטה shmita? And the same language is used for שבת Shabbos that comes at the end of each and every week. What do the two things have in common? says Rav Yerucham, at the end of a long week, at the end of a long six years, a person can mistakenly think, this is my world. My success, my ingenuity, my creativity, my entrepreneurship, my hard work, this success is mine. I've broken through. I've made progress. I've mastered the world. I've manipulated the world. כחי ועצם ידי Kochi ve'otzem yadi, it's my strength, it's my wisdom, it's my hard work, it's my diligence. שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem. Hey buddy, relax. Disconnect. You can't so much as turn on a light switch. You think this is your world? You think you control and manipulate? You think everything is your success? You think you can micromanage and power and be in control? You can't even flip on a light switch. You can't even take the jelly bean you like from the ones you don't like or the ones you don't like from the ones you like. You can't even, all the מלאכות melachos of שבת Shabbos, 39 categories of creative labor, sit tight. Be passive to nature and to the world. Make peace. השם Hashem says, a little שטיקל shtickel reminder, it's my world, you're just a guest in it. I am in charge. Yes, six days of the week, work, כיבוש kivshu, conquer, control, manipulate, learn, master the world. But then one day a week, instead of being active, we're passive. One day a week, instead of being in control, we relinquish control. And we sit back and we say השם Hashem, you're in charge. So therefore, לשם השם le'shem Hashem. There is no אנוכי anochi, there is no I, there is no ego, there is no power struggle. One day a week we stop and we let go and we let God. One day a week we stop trying to control his world. זה הצד השווה בין שבת לשביעית Zeh ha'tzad ha'shaveh bein Shabbos li'shvi'is, says Rav Yerucham, this is the connection, the common denominator between שבת Shabbos and שמיטה shmita. ביטול מחשבת הבעלות שהאדם מדמה לעצמו ושייאשש בקרבו שיש מנהיג לבירה המושל עליו ולא הארץ ומלואה Bitul machsheves ha'ba'alus she'ha'adam medameh le'atzmo u'she'yeshish be'kirbo she'yesh manhig la'bira ha'moshel alav ve'lo ha'aretz u'mlo'ah. The common denominator of שבת Shabbos, which is the seventh day of the week, and שמיטה shmita, the seventh year of the seven-year cycle, notice everything is in similar units and parallel in time, but the common theme is work, conquer. You're not holy and righteous, by the way, if you say, you know what? God loves שמיטה shmita so much. God wants to respect the earth and let it rest. God wants me to be a בעל ביטחון ואמונה ba'al bitachon ve'emunah, he wants me to not work. I'll tell you what. I'm going to keep every year a שמיטה shmita year. I'm not going to work. I'll collect from the community. I'll walk around and rely on the קופת צדקה kupas tzedakah. I'll let קרן השביעית Keren HaShvi'is operate not only in the seventh year, but support me all seven years. Rav Moshe Feinstein points out, notice that the Torah says שש שנים תזרע שדך shesh shanim tizra sodecha. It doesn't just tell us the מצווה mitzvah of שמיטה shmita, it tells us there's also a מצווה mitzvah to work the six years. And the same is true when it comes to שבת Shabbos.See, unlike other religions where work is a concession, really in the ideal we don't work, but we have to work, because how else will we live? How else will we survive? So it's a concession to a reality. Judaism sees work not as a concession. Judaism sees work as a value. How many משניות mishnayos, פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos and elsewhere that tell us, the Torah learning that doesn't have מלאכה melacha with it is סופו ליבטל sofo l'vatel, it's not real. A person has to be diligent and work. We were born to derive an enormous satisfaction and self-worth by the work that we do, by the difference that we make, by a sense of accomplishment that we gain and that we have. We're meant to make a difference in this world, to master his world, to work in this world. The same is true with שבת Shabbos. We're told six days work and then the seventh you rest. And how do we know that's noble? How do we know it's meaningful? How do we know that in itself is a מצווה mitzvah? We're emulating the ריבונו של עולם Ribbono Shel Olam, השם Hashem did it. Doesn't just say that השם Hashem created the world. He could have created the world in one moment and then had seven days of שבת Shabbos. It says six days he was occupied with creation. Now for הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu creation was just speech. He spoke and the world came to be. For השם Hashem there was no work involved, but כיביכול kiviyachol, as if he worked six days, to model for us and create the precedent for us of the idea of working for six days and then being able to rest in the seventh. So Rav Yerucham says, why does רש״י Rashi comment here, לשם השם le'shem Hashem? שמיטה Shmita is לשם השם le'shem Hashem, unlike other מצוות mitzvos? Every מצווה mitzvah is לשם השם le'shem Hashem. The רמב\"ן Ramban asked that question. So Rav Yerucham explains, no. שבת Shabbos and שמיטה shmita have in common is, I might swell with pride. I might grow arrogant and egotistical and think, these are my accomplishments. I'm in control. Every seventh day and every seventh year, we stop and we say, השם Hashem you're in control. You are in charge, not me, not me. ובשנה השביעית שבת שבתון להשם U'v'shana ha'shvi'is Shabbos Shabbason l'Hashem. The פסוק pasuk said the seventh year is a שבת Shabbos, a שבתון Shabbason. We have a year-long שבתון Shabbason for השם Hashem. We just said ושבתה הארץ שבת להשם ve'shavta ha'aretz Shabbos l'Hashem. So why are we repeating it? פסוק ב' Pasuk Beis it says ושבתה הארץ שבת להשם ve'shavta ha'aretz Shabbos l'Hashem. פסוק ג' Pasuk Gimel... sorry, in פסוק ד' pasuk daled again, ובשנה השביעית שבת שבתון יהיה לארץ u'v'shana ha'shvi'is Shabbos Shabbason yihyeh la'aretz. Why are we repeating ourselves? So Rav Elazar Lopian, ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of תורת אמת Toras Emes, he said, ד' Daf think ששנת השמיטה היא מנוחת צרכי הגוף ניסו לתועלת הארץ שתחליף כחה. שבת להשם, כל השנה השביעית שנה של עבודת השם, שנה של עבודת השם, שנה שלמה שתוכל להקדיש כל ימיך ולילותך לתורה ויראת שמים ומידות טובות. Don't think she'shnas ha'shmita hi menuchas zarchei ha'guf nisu le'toeles ha'aretz she'tachlif kocha. Shabbos l'Hashem. Kol ha'shana ha'shvi'is shana shel avodas Hashem, shana shel avodas Hashem, shana shleima she'tuchal le'hakdish kol yamecha ve'leilosecha le'Torah ve'yiras shamayim u'midos tovos. Do you begin to know the schedule of a farmer? We had a farmer speak in our shul earlier this year, and then we interviewed her on Behind the Bima. It's well worth listening, you can find it online in the archives of Behind the Bima. Alana Twig. She and her husband Doron have a farm for many years, intergenerational, and she described the life and the schedule of a farmer who rises before dawn, who is exhausted and who works the land all day, who doesn't have time for other important pursuits like the study of Torah or התבודדות hisbodedus, being in conversation with השם Hashem. Farmers working in that field diligently, toiling tirelessly. So the seventh year, when I asked her in the interview, 'Nu, what are you doing with your time off?' It is an unpaid sabbatical. It's one thing to have a paid sabbatical. The farmer in שמיטה shmita has an unpaid sabbatical. So she said, 'We're learning. We've picked up ספרים seforim and we're learning. We're learning, that's what we're doing.' And that's שבת שבתון, שבת להשם Shabbos Shabbason, Shabbos l'Hashem. Yes, the land is rejuvenating. Yes, the farmer is resting and recuperating. But ultimately, what's the reason for שמיטה shmita? The reason ultimately is שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem. It's about finding השם Hashem back in our life, returning and restoring our sense of feeling his presence each and every day in everything that we do, knowing that he's with us wherever we go, always at all times.Okay, let's keep going. פרק כ\"ה Perek Kaf Hei. We go through some of these land laws of שמיטה shmita and then we move over to יובל Yovel. After the 49th year comes, after seven שמיטה shmita cycles, is יובל Yovel. Is יובל Yovel. And the פסוק pasuk here says, פרק כ\"ה פסוק י\"ז Perek Kaf Hei pasuk yud zayin. Turn the page 698. In this context, we're talking about יובל Yovel, and in יובל Yovel the slaves go free, the land returns to its ancestral ownership. אל תונו איש את אחיו Al tonu ish es achiv. You're not allowed to aggravate or grieve your friend. פסוק י\"ז Pasuk yud zayin, ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ויראת מאלוקיך כי אני השם אלוקיכם Ve'lo sonu ish es amiso, ve'yareisa me'Elokecha ki ani Hashem Elokeichem. Each of you shall not aggravate, aggrieve, basically loosely translates as don't be a jerk. Don't be obnoxious. Don't be mean. Be kind, be sensitive, be compassionate. Have מידות טובות midos tovos and basic דרך ארץ derech eretz against other people. This is the prohibition of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. We have two prohibitions of אונאה ona'ah in the Torah. We have a prohibition of אונאה ona'ah in the Torah which is financial, economical. You're not allowed to charge extreme interest, exorbitant interest. What's defined as exorbitant interest? So the גמרא Gemara distinguishes between a sixth, more than a sixth, and less than a sixth. A sixth over the market rate or the market price. If you're charging less than the sixth it's forgiven. If you're charging a sixth you got to return it but the sale stands. More than a sixth the sale is nullified because you are charging an exorbitant markup. You can't charge such a markup. So we have a prohibition of אונאת ממון ona'as mamon. When it comes to the world of money, you cannot just overcharge. There's an enormous shortage right now of formula. So let's say you happen to have a six-pack of formula, and you know somebody who needs. So you decide, you know what? My time has come. This is how I'm going to finally get rich. I have formula, nobody else does. I'm going to charge $1,000 a bottle of formula. What mother won't pay whatever it takes in order to help her baby survive? It's hard to believe that in 2022 we're like a third, a fourth world country that we can't produce basics, a necessity for a baby formula. So that's a prohibition of אונאה ona'ah. So there's something called אונאת ממון ona'as mamon that has a specific measure. And here you have the prohibition of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. אונאת דברים Ona'as devarim is when you mislead. It's an example of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. Let's say you go to the hospital to visit your friend, and on the way in you learn someone else is in the hospital. You visit them and they say, 'Wow, you came to the hospital just to see me? I'm so honored and touched. It means so much that you came to see me.' It's a little אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. On the one hand should you let them down, to know that actually I was coming anyway? Could be אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. Could be a prohibition of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. My daughter got engaged recently, everyone's invited to the ווארט vort on מוצאי שבת Motzaei Shabbos, 9:30 here at the shul, love to have you. But the לחיים lechaim was in New York. So one of my רבנים rabbanim, Rav Willig came to the לחיים lechaim. My רבי rebbe and the new מכותן'ס mechutan's רבי rebbe. So Rav Willig, because it's a צדיק tzaddik, came in and must have said five times, 'I didn't come all the way from Riverdale to Woodmere for the לחיים lechaim. I needed to be here anyway. I just scheduled why I needed to be here so that I could be here for the לחיים lechaim as well.' He went out of his way to make sure he wasn't violating אונאת דברים ona'as devarim, lest he mislead us to think that he schlepped and came all the way and we would be honored by something that wasn't true. And then we find out later that really, he also had to pay a שבעה shiva call. Really, he was also giving a שיעור shiur. Really, he also had a meeting. So there's also a prohibition of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. The גמרא בבא מציעא Gemara Bava Metzia says, which is worse? Which is more severe? The prohibition of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim or אונאת ממון ona'as mamon? Overcharging someone or misleading, aggravating them emotionally? זאגט די גמרא Zogt di Gemara, גדולה אונאת דברים מאונאת ממון שזה בגופו וזה בממונו Gedolah ona'as devarim me'ona'as mamon, she'zeh be'gufo ve'zeh be'mamono. אונאת דברים Ona'as devarim is worse because what you do to a person's psyche, what you do to manipulate a person's emotions or mislead them is much more damaging, it's much more injurious than what you do to them financially. It's just money. Can recover money. I don't mean to minimize people struggling with money, we're going to talk about it in our פרשה parsha momentarily, כי ימוך אחיך ki yamuch achicha, when someone is struggling financially it is very, very significant, it's not just money. But money can be recovered. But when you mislead someone, when you steal their trust, when you violate their trust, when you aggravate and manipulate them emotionally, על זה נאמר ולא תונו איש את עמיתו כי אני השם al zeh ne'emar 've'lo sonu ish es amiso, ki ani Hashem'. And that's why the גמרא בבא מציעא Gemara Bava Metzia, the פסוק pasuk says, אני השם Ani Hashem. So the בעלי מוסר Baalei Mussar explain, say the בעלי מוסר Baalei Mussar, אונאת ממון ona'as mamon has a set measure. Less than a sixth, a sixth, more than a sixth. But when you're פוגע בחברך בדברים pogeia be'chaveircha be'dvarim, when you say something hurtful or mean, when you call a nickname they don't want to use, when you distort or lie, when you violate the trust, so only הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu knows the שיעור shiur. Only הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu knows the depth of how much you hurt them. And that's why אני השם Ani Hashem. The פסוק pasuk ends, ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ve'lo sonu ish es amiso, why? ויראת מאלוקיך Ve'yareisa me'Elokecha. When you go to that hospital room and you go to that לחיים lechaim and you mislead the person to believe that you made this great effort for them, nobody will ever know. What's the problem? Why not be thought of as such a צדיק tzaddik? Why not make a deposit in the bank account of that relationship they think that you went so far for them? Who's going to know? So the פסוק pasuk says, ויראת מאלוקיך ve'yareisa me'Elokecha. You know who's going to know? God always knows. השם Hashem knows why you're there. השם Hashem knows what you're thinking. השם Hashem knows the truth. אני השם Ani Hashem. Because I am השם Hashem, and I am everywhere, don't think that you could mislead. You can fool yourself and you can even fool others, but you cannot fool השם Hashem. And therefore it's more severe says the גמרא Gemara. אונאת ממון Ona'as mamon has a set measure, a sixth. That's the הלכה halacha. But אונאת דברים ona'as devarim, you may think that nobody knows and you'll get away with it, you have to be very, very careful.There's a story, Rav Dessler on שבת Shabbos would make קידוש kiddush from a cup, a קידוש kiddush cup that he got as a gift from his uncle, Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. He got a special קידוש kiddush cup from his uncle, Rav Chaim Ozer. And this קידוש kiddush cup Rav Chaim Ozer himself got from the grandfather of his first wife, Rav Yisrael Salanter, the great founder of the Mussar movement. So Rav Chaim Ozer used the קידוש kiddush cup, and he gave his as a wedding gift to Rav Dessler who used it as a קידוש kiddush cup. When Rav Dessler went to live in בני ברק Bnei Brak, he became aware that the חזון איש Chazon Ish had his own שיעור shiur, had his own measure for the minimum amount of a קידוש kiddush cup to be יוצא yotzei קידוש kiddush and הבדלה havdalah and the like. And this קידוש kiddush cup that he had through his wife, this קידוש kiddush cup that he got as a gift from Rav Chaim Ozer, that his wife very much cherished, this קידוש kiddush cup was less than that minimum measure of the חזון איש Chazon Ish. So the question was, what should he do? He's in בני ברק Bnei Brak, the city of the חזון איש Chazon Ish. Do you adopt the measure of the קידוש kiddush cup of the חזון איש Chazon Ish or do you continue to use the קידוש kiddush cup that is the family heirloom that's meaningful to his wife? So Rav Dessler continued to use the קידוש kiddush cup that meant so much to his wife, and the first שבת Shabbos after his wife passed away, he said that קידוש kiddush cup, put it in the breakfront, he used a new קידוש kiddush cup that would be that minimum שיעור shiur. You see that he prioritized אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. It would have aggravated his wife. It would have caused her pain to not use or to suggest that the earlier generations hadn't fulfilled קידוש kiddush. And so though he himself wanted to adopt the stricter position, he waited till it would not be a violation of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. אונאת דברים Ona'as devarim is worse than אונאת ממון ona'as mamon. פרק כ\"ה פסוק כ\"א Perek Kaf Hei pasuk kaf alef. And I love this next דברי תורה divrei Torah I'm about to tell you. So, I hope you've been listening carefully, but if you haven't, listen up now. פרק כ\"ה פסוק כ' Perek Kaf Hei pasuk kaf. The Torah tells us the following: וכי תאמרו Ve'chi somru. You know what's going to happen? שמיטה Shmita. The farmer is charged, again, we don't live in an agrarian, agricultural society, other than our new friends Alana and Doron, we don't really relate. But can you imagine the farmer is told every seventh year, unpaid sabbatical? Sitting here and watching live or later are people, lawyers and accountants and doctors and entrepreneurs and business people. Imagine every seventh year you're told, sit and learn, don't work, no work this year. And by the way, it's not like a rabbi or a professor at a university that you've earned your paid sabbatical. Be nice. It's not earn your paid sabbatical. It's an unpaid sabbatical. So you can't help but ask, וכי תאמרו ve'chi somru. You're going to say, מה נאכל בשנה השביעית Mah nochal ba'shana ha'shvi'is? On, got it, God, I got it. Land should rest, like the airplane, you got to just shut it down so it could rejuvenate, it can reset itself, I got it. Land's going to rest, I'm going to rest, I'm going to be in a כולל kollel all year, I'm going to שטייגען shteigen, I'm going to learn with you. But I have just one little question, what am I supposed to eat that year? How am I supposed to pay the mortgage that year? How do I pay the bills? וכי תאמרו Ve'chi somru, you'll ask, מה נאכל בשנה השביעית Mah nochal ba'shana ha'shvi'is? הן לא נזרע ולא נאסוף את תבואתנו Hen lo nizra ve'lo ne'esof es tevuaseinu. We're not planting and we're not harvesting. We're not taking in or drawing in an income, what are we supposed to eat? וציויתי את ברכתי לכם בשנה השישית Ve'tzivisi es birchasi lachem ba'shana ha'shishis, says the Torah, a promise. The sixth year will grow so much, you'll have enough for the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth year. ועשת את התבואה לשלוש השנים Ve'asas es ha'tvua li'shlosh ha'shanim. Some point out, they want to suggest, you see from here, this is one of the pieces of evidence of the divine authorship of the Torah. We have several places in Torah where a promise is made that only a divine person, a divine individual could fulfill that promise. No man or group of people who would have authored a document would make a promise they couldn't fulfill. If a group of people wrote the Torah, how long would this religion last? Seven years. In the sixth year when you didn't grow enough for the sixth, seventh, and eighth year, in the seventh year when you had an unpaid sabbatical and nothing to eat and you starve to death, that would be the end of the religion. The fact that the Torah promises, relax, don't worry. You're going to grow enough for the sixth, seventh, and eighth years, you will be good to go. You have nothing to worry about is in itself some say evidence of the divine authorship of the Torah. That and the fact that the Torah tells us exactly the species of which are the exceptions to fins and scales and split hooves and chewing cud and the laws of כשרות kashrus. The Torah doesn't just tell us generically. It makes a promise, and it names the exceptions of the species. Again, how long would a religion last until you find that there's more exceptions? And you say the Torah was wrong, it was off. A group of people would never make that promise that they couldn't fulfill. They could never know all the species across the globe, only השם Hashem could. So, some suggest that is evidence of the divine authorship. But I want to share with you a different insight. A famous קשיא kasha of the נועם אלימלך Noam Elimelech. The הייליגע נועם אלימלך heilige Noam Elimelech, Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk. And he asks the following. Why does the Torah present this in a roundabout way? Why does the Torah present us, השם Hashem says, don't worry, I got your back. You're going to grow enough for the sixth year for the sixth, seventh, and eighth year. Why doesn't השם Hashem just tell us that? 'Keep שמיטה shmita, six years work your field, six years prune your vineyard, in the seventh year rest and don't worry, there'll be enough for the sixth, seventh, and eighth year.' Why does the Torah not just tell it to us as a reality? Why does it couch it? Why does it communicate it in an indirect roundabout way by saying, 'וכי תאמרו Ve'chi somru, when you'll ask, when you'll be bothered, when you'll worry...' Why does it tell us that when you'll worry? Why not just tell us the דבר davar? in that what? In the sixth year, you'll grow enough for the sixth, seventh, and eighth year. It's the קשיא kasha of the normally. Many answers are given. But Rabbi Bender, רב יעקב בנדר Rav Yaakov Bender, in his beautiful ספר sefer on חומש Chumash. I'm a big Rabbi Bender fan. In the ספר sefer he says the following answer. Such a beautiful answer. Listen carefully. It's fantastic. He says, שמיטה shemittah is a ניסיון nisayon, it's a test of faith. The גמרא Gemara praises the strength of the farmers who after six years of toil and single-minded focus, turn their back on their field and let their entire life forsake in the hand of השם Hashem. By the way, just think about that also. You build a business. It's your baby. You love it. It's yours. And now the תורה Torah says, turn your back on it. Neglect it. Let it go for a year. Again, we don't relate to it necessarily in the form of the farm, but you could think of it as a business. You're an entrepreneur, you've worked hard, you've built up a website, an e-commerce business, a business offline. You've worked tirelessly to build up a business, and the seventh year we say, start all over again. You're going to lose all the reviews, you're going to lose all the momentum, you're going to lose all the customer base, you're going to lose all your clients. Turn your back on your business. That's what the farmer is being asked to do. Turn your back on your business after working hard to build it up for six years. Every seventh שמיטה shemittah in the cycle is another year. יובל Yovel. The farmer has to wait a second year. The field into which he invested such energy and heart, lying fallow, overgrown and overrun. It's not easy. It's a ניסיון nisayon. And נסיונות nisyonos are not meant to be easy. ניסיון Nisayon means test. The תורה Torah is saying it's okay to ask, to express the worry and fear, what will we eat? What will be? How will we manage? Will we be okay? How will we pay the bills? You hear what רב בנדר Rav Bender? ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of דרכי Darchei. His answer to the normal question. Why didn't the תורה Torah just tell it to us, there'll be enough in the sixth year for the sixth, seventh and eighth? Why does it tell it to us in the roundabout way, וכי תאמרו vechi somru, and when you'll ask? Says רב בנדר Rav Bender, you know why? The תורה Torah here is giving license to worry. The תורה Torah is saying it's okay to ask what's going to be. It's okay to worry. It's okay to have this question in the first place. He writes in many homes children are protected from the harsher realities of life, assured that everything's going to be okay. Over the months of the COVID-19 pandemic, this became impossible. Children were very much part of every conversation and deliberation. They heard the doubt, felt the worry, and the uncertainty. And they wondered if it is okay to complain to express their own frustration and anxiety. And the answer is a resounding, yes. The תורה Torah here is saying, yes. It's okay to say what will be? When will this pandemic end? When will I be off Zoom and back in school? Will we be okay? Will everyone I know and love survive? Can you imagine what it's like for our young people in school, out of school, shuttled here and there in lockdown or quarantine? We cannot always make the situation perfect, but we can reassure them within the challenge, and letting them share what they are feeling is part of reassurance. And we all know it's not just children. Adults also need to unburden themselves sometimes, to קרעכץ krechtz, and to deprive someone of that chance is cheating them. To tell someone, no, you should just live with perfect faith and everything is amazing. It's not realistic to tell someone who's waiting for lab results to return or for a medical test which could have grave consequence to come back, don't think about it. It's all good. It's all from השם Hashem. Yes, every Wednesday morning we work on living with אמונה emunah. Yes, when you live with אמונה emunah, we gain the strength and the resilience and the fortitude to face whatever comes our way. But it's only natural and it's only normal to קרעכץ krechtz and to worry and to express a little concern about what will be. And says רב בנדר Rav Bender, here the תורה Torah is giving license. The תורה Torah communicates it in this way, don't perseverate, don't become totally debilitated by your thoughts, anxiety, and worry, and fear. At some point one has to lean into their faith. But the fact that there is concerns, of course there are concerns. You're normal. How do you know? The גמרא Gemara in פסחים דף נ Pesachim daf nun. רב אחא בר חנינא Rav Acha bar Chanina taught the next world is not like this world. In this world when you hear good news, you say a ברכה bracha. What ברכה bracha? You win the lottery. What ברכה bracha do you say? Not just win the lottery. You buy a new home, you buy a car, something others will benefit from, you make a ברכה bracha, הטוב והמטיב HaTov veHaMeitiv. In this world, if you hear bad news, what do you say? A person loses a loved one, or you lost your fortune. Stock market's been down. A lot of people have lost a lot of money. So far they've lost it on paper. But if in reality a person loses a lot of money, a fortune, they recite this ברכה bracha, the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch says, ברוך Baruch. ברוך אתה השם אלוקינו מלך העולם דיין האמת Baruch ata Hashem Elokeinu melech ha'olam Dayan HaEmes. Whereas in the next world, the גמרא Gemara says, in this world good news you say הטוב והמטיב HaTov veHaMeitiv. In this world, bad news you say דיין האמת Dayan HaEmes, God, you're the judge of truth. But in the next world, on all news, good or what seems bad, you'll make the ברכה bracha הטוב והמטיב HaTov veHaMeitiv because in the next world we'll understand how all is for the good. Says רב בנדר Rav Bender, the גמרא Gemara is telling us that in the world to come, even tidings that seem bad are perceived in the truest sense, we'll see them as innately good. רב יצחק הוטנר Rav Yitzchok Hutner, the great פחד יצחק Pachad Yitzchok, in his pithy way would remark, שטייט דויטש Shteit Deutsch, what we see here is that in this world, if a person who hears bad news, let's say you hear bad news in this world. You hear that your loved one died, you hear that you lost a fortune, you hear that your house burned to the ground. And you're such a צדיק יסוד עולם tzaddik yesod olam, you're such a מאמין בביטחון ma'amin b'bitachon, and you want to prove to the world how much faith you have, that when you hear that your house burned to the ground, when you hear that you lost your loved one, you say ברוך אתה השם אלוקינו מלך העולם הטוב והמטיב Baruch ata Hashem Elokeinu melech ha'olam HaTov veHaMeitiv. השם Hashem you're the best. Said רב הוטנר Rav Hutner, you know what that is? A ברכה לבטלה bracha levatala. The גמרא Gemara says that's a ברכה לבטלה bracha levatala. You're not supposed to make that ברכה bracha on bad news in this world. You're not supposed to be such a גרויסע צדיק groiseh tzaddik. Don't pretend to be something you're not. We have אבלות aveilus, you grieve, you mourn, there's a sense of loss, you lose your home, all the more so you lose a loved one. It's natural and it's normal to grieve. You don't make a הטוב והמטיב HaTov veHaMeitiv hotshot. That's called a ברכה לבטלה bracha levatala, faker. That's a ברכה לבטלה bracha levatala. In the next world we'll make a הטוב והמטיב HaTov veHaMeitiv even on bad news, but we're living in this world. And in this world, we're governed by our nature and our natural instinct, and in this world, a הטוב והמטיב HaTov veHaMeitiv on bad news would be a ברכה לבטלה bracha levatala. It's okay. It's okay to say וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעית vechi somru ma nochal bashana hashvi'is. It's okay to say what's going to be? And when will this end? And what will it look like on when we come out of it? It's okay to ask those questions. The תורה Torah is telling us, and the תורה Torah is telling us to tell our children that we shouldn't have anxiety, that we shouldn't be overly fearful, that we shouldn't have a crisis of faith. We have to work on ourselves to realize that השם Hashem is in charge, השם Hashem is in control, whatever will be is what's meant to be, and that should give us the calm that we need. But to first face the fear, to feel וכי תאמרו מה נאכל vechi somru ma nochal, to ask the question, is only normal. Jews don't grumble or express grievance, of course, but to share the pain, to speak it out, is not just all right, it's healthy. פסוק Pasuk in משלי Mishlei says, דאגה בלב איש ישיחנה da'aga b'lev ish yashchena. If you have worry in the heart of man, ישיחנה yashchena. The גמרא Gemara in יומא דף עה Yoma daf ayin hey teaches, what does it mean ישיחנה yashchena? ישיחנה לאחרים yesichena l'acherim. ישיחנה Yashchena, the word comes from a שיחה sicha. Have a conversation with others. When you're worried, express it to others. Articulate the worry. Speak. Speak to parents, speak to friends, speak to רבנים rebbaim and teachers, and speak to the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam, tell him about your worries. We don't have a religion that השם Hashem says, I want you to lean in with such faith in me that there's no room for you to ever express worry. No. וכי תאמרו מה נאכל vechi somru ma nochal. Turn to השם Hashem and say, השם Hashem, frankly I'm worried about my kids. I'm worried about myself. I'm worried about my marriage. I'm worried about my פרנסה parnassah. It's okay. It's a געשמאק ווארט gishmak vort, no? What an insight. What an answer to the הייליגע heilige Normali Melach. Why didn't the תורה Torah just tell us the הלכה halacha? Why didn't the תורה Torah just tell us the reality that in the sixth year השם Hashem will give enough for the sixth, seventh, and eighth? Why did it couch it first, וכי תאמרו vechi somru, when you'll ask? What if we don't ask? Why does it tell us when you'll ask? Strange. Says רב בנדר Rav Bender, to tell us it's okay to ask. It's okay to worry. Oh, what a געשמאק ווארט gishmak vort. פרק כה Perek kaf hey, פסוק כג pasuk kaf gimmel. Moving right along. והארץ לא תמכר לצמיתות כי לי הארץ כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי Veha'aretz lo simacher litzmisus, ki li ha'aretz, ki gerim vesoshavim atem imadi. The land shall not be sold in perpetuity. The land is mine. You are simply sojourners and residents with me. You're guests. You're simply guests. You don't have an attitude at the hotel as if it's your room. You know you checked in, you know you're checking out, and you're there temporarily. You are a guest. The famous story of the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim who lived in simplicity when asked why, he said, how come you don't bring all your things to the hotel room? Your furniture, your furnishings, hanging the paintings and the pictures on the wall. Why don't you set it up as your own? The answer is because the hotel you're only there temporarily. You're only passing through. For the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim, this world was like a hotel room, only passing through. So the תורה Torah here says that the laws of יובל Yovel in which the land reverts to its previous owner is a reminder to us that we never have a true ownership over the land. It's never really fully ours. We don't have a true ownership over that land. הארץ לא תימכר Ha'aretz lo simacher... the פסוק pasuk says, והארץ לא תמכר לצמיתות Veha'aretz lo simacher litzmisus, כי לי כל הארץ ki li kol ha'aretz. It's mine. רב ירוחם Rav Yeruchem writes on this פסוק pasuk, again, this is רב ירוחם Rav Yeruchem in his דעת תורה Daas Torah, משגיח mashgiach of the מיר Mir. יסוד מצות השביעית מונח במילים אלו Yesod mitzvas hashvi'is munach b'milim eilu. The whole source, the whole core, we are in a שמיטה shemittah year. This is relevant to all of us outside the land of Israel when it comes to שמיטת כספים shemittas kesafim, when it comes to the end of this year, the forgiveness of loans, unless you sign a פרוזבול pruzbul. But it's relevant. I was in Israel last week for three days and observing שמיטה shemittah in Israel today is complicated. Do you hold of היתר מכירה heter mechira? יבול נכרי yevul nachri? What food do you hold? Which כשרות kashrus? How do you observe שמיטה shemittah? A שמיטה shemittah year in Israel is very, very significant. זמן ביעור Zman biur, you have to know the specific time for each food, when is the last time it's available. Then it's subject to ביעור biur, you have to do um, you have to be מפקיר mafkir it. You have to relinquish ownership over it. It's complicated. So what's at the core of these complicated laws of שמיטה shemittah, of שביעית shvi'is? Says רב ירוחם Rav Yeruchem, in these three words. It's all captured in these three words. We are in a שמיטה shemittah year, חבר'ה chevra. If you want to feel שמיטה shemittah, think about and work on these three words. What are they? כי לי הארץ Ki li ha'aretz. God says, the land is mine. סוד מצות שביעית שיגיל האדם את עצמו להכיר את מציאותו, כי לי כל הארץ, שהוא אינו בעל הבית Sod mitzvas shvi'is sheyagil ha'adam es atzmo lehakir es metziuso, ki li kol ha'aretz, shehu eino baal habayis. You have a beautiful home you've worked hard to buy and to build. You have a beautiful home you've decorated. You have a beautiful home that you've renovated. You're so proud it's yours, it's mine. Homesteaded. Nobody could take it from me. It's homesteaded. No. You're not the בעל הבית baal habayis. I don't care what it says who has title. I don't care what it says in the official offices. I don't care if you have it homesteaded. It's not yours. We're not the בעל הבית baal habayis. It's temporarily. It's temporarily ours. כי לי כל הארץ Ki li kol ha'aretz. Everything belongs to השם Hashem. Everything belongs to השם Hashem. It's a story they tell. Two Jews were fighting over a piece of real estate, and they came to רב חיים מוולוז'ין Rav Chaim Volozhiner. They came to the הייליגע נפש החיים heilige Nefesh HaChaim. They were fighting over a piece of real estate. Each one said, it's mine. And the other one said, it's mine. And they're fighting, fighting, fighting, and they're bickering, and they're fighting over the piece of land. Each one said it's theirs. So רב חיים מוולוז'ין Rav Chaim Volozhiner got up and he said, come with me. And they went to the piece of land. And they were waiting to see what would the great רב חיים מוולוז'ין Rav Chaim Volozhiner, the great ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, great תלמיד הגר\"א Talmid HaGra, what was he going to do? Is he going to measure the land? Survey the land? Ask other people who owns the land? Why did he want to go to the land? So the great רב חיים מוולוז'ין Rav Chaim Volozhiner, you can almost picture it. He lay down on the ground, and he put his ear to the soil, to the earth, to the ground. And they looked at their great רבי rebbi, רב חיים מוולוז'ין Rav Chaim Volozhiner, dressed undoubtedly as a ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva. And he's lying on the ground that they're fighting over, the real estate that they're fighting over. And he puts his ear to the ground. And he gets up and they say, רבי Rebbi, what was that? And he says, you know, you say it's yours, and you say it's yours. So I wanted to find out from the ground, who does he think it belongs to? So I put my ear to the ground and you know what the ground said? Soon they'll both be mine. Soon they'll both be mine. So he turned to the two and he said, we're going all going to be buried, we're going to be worm food, we're going to return to the ground from which we came. We have very finite, mere mortal lives. This is not worth fighting over. He was giving them a message. You're fighting and you're bickering vociferously over this piece of land. Okay, so there are legitimate disagreements, you go to a בית דין beis din, you determine who owns it. But this is the fight that you're having, your families aren't talking. I listened and you know what the land said? Soon enough, I'll own both of them. Neither owns me. Soon enough they'll both be mine. I'll own both of them. כי לי כל הארץ Ki li kol ha'aretz. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, כי לי הארץ ki li ha'aretz. It's all mine. Lest you think it's yours, lest you think you have title, lest you think it belongs to you, כי לי הארץ ki li ha'aretz, it all belongs to השם Hashem. So Soloveitchik has a comment here as well. Says רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik on this on this פסוק pasuk. כי לי כל הארץ Ki li kol ha'aretz. כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי Ki gerim vesoshavim atem imadi. You're just passing through. It's like a hotel. You are just guests. You're going to check out. Writes the רב Rav, Judaism relativizes all human finite values and aptitudes, denying them unconditional commitment. Judaism maintains that creation as such has no ontic autonomy. God is not only the creator and governor of the world in a physico-dynamic sense. You need a dictionary just to read three sentences. You know the רב Rav, you know when he learned English? The רב Rav was in Berlin. The רב Rav came from חסלביץ' Khaslavich. The רב Rav didn't learn English in Europe. He first learned English when he came to America. And his English was better than everyone in this room combined. You need a dictionary to read what he says. I'll try to translate. God is not only the creator and governor of the world in a physico-dynamic sense whose will determines the mathematical regularity of the cosmic process in all phases, but also the master of everything on a juridic plane. God owns his creations, the endless stretches of the universe from our small earth to the outer fringes of the cosmos. In other words, one can think הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is in the heavens, he's far off and distant. He's the הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu of the cosmos, mathematical, enormous, huge, inaccessible, distant and far off. No. He is all that, but he's also הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu who owns and is involved in and is aware of and intervenes with everything in the here and now. Everything in the here and now. Everything, the land in its fullness are השם'ס Hashem's, the world and those who dwell therein. תהלים כד Tehillim, kaf daled. The status of man is that of a tenant, a sharecropper. This is the idea of שבת Shabbos. The תורה Torah demands temporary withdrawal from one's daily routine so we can shake off the hypnotic influence which material possessions exert over us and face the truth that we are managing someone's estate, not our own. It's not a beautiful description. This is what we said earlier, רב ירוחם Rav Yeruchem. שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem. Why is it לשם השם l'shem Hashem? What do שבת Shabbos and שמיטה shemittah have in common? The way the רב Rav says it, the hypnotic influence the material possessions exert over us. It's absolutely intoxicating to make money, to look at your bank account rise, to see your revenue, to see your profit, to cash your paycheck, to collect your things. It's intoxicating to think, I'm conquering the world, I'm building a business, I'm killing it in גשמיות gashmius. It's hypnotic, it's intoxicating. That's why every seventh day we stop. That's why every seventh year we stop. And we remind ourselves we're managing someone else's estate, not our own. We're just a manager. You know, the person who owns the magnificent estate versus the person who's hired to manage it. The one who's hired to manage it never makes the mistake and never confuses and never thinks they own it. In Hebrew, שבת Shabbos means discontinuation, withdrawal. A man retreats from something which never belonged to him, from a delusion and a mirage that the world is his. The status of man in this world is that of a guardian in whose care the works of השם Hashem have been placed as a precious charge. He governs the world on behalf of his master, representing him, yet he must not try to usurp privileges and prerogatives which are not his. Whatever man has at his disposal was entrusted to his care by השם Hashem, the legitimate owner of being. Whatever man earns and enjoys, to whatever he holds fast is not his but השם'ס Hashem's. When we beseech השם Hashem as the king of the universe, emanating by majestic splendor and magnificence, we ipso facto acknowledge his absolute mastery of the world. When we rest on שבת Shabbos, when we withdraw on שבת Shabbos, when we make the statement השם Hashem, I'm just a manager, you're in charge, it's your world, it's your property, כי לי הארץ Ki li ha'aretz. כי לי הארץ Ki li ha'aretz. We are just, as the פסוק pasuk says, where is the פסוק pasuk? As the פסוק pasuk says, כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי ki gerim v'toshavim atem imadi. We're just גרים ותושבים gerim v'toshavim. It's never fully ours. We're not fully the owners. We are simply the stewards. We're simply the managers of it. That is the mentality. The תורה Torah here is talking, of course, about in Israel. The תורה Torah is talking specifically in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael where the מצוה mitzvah of שמיטה shemittah is primarily observed. But really the philosophy of it applies wherever we are. כי לי הארץ Ki li ha'aretz. It all belongs to, it all belongs to השם Hashem. We're simply the stewards over it. Which takes us to the next פסוק pasuk. פרק כה Perek kaf hey, פסוק לה pasuk lamed hey. The next פסוק pasuk at least that we're going to look at, after שמיטה shemittah and after יובל Yovel are the Levite cities, the לויים Levi'im who do not get their own land but rather get cities within our land. The original model of the community כולל kollel. The לויים Levi'im are supported by the community so they could sit and learn and study and teach and preach and be role models to the community. So they're not given their own land but rather they're designated cities within the lands of others. פרק Perek, פסוק לה pasuk lamed hey. Page 702. וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו גר ותושב וחי עמך V'chi yamuch achicha umatah yado imach, v'hechezakta bo ger v'toshav vachai imach. If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, strengthen him so that he can live with you. וכי ימוך אחיך V'chi yamuch achicha. וכי ימוך אחיך V'chi yamuch achicha. Listen to this. Listen to this. The ויקרא רבה Vayikra Rabbah, the מדרש Midrash says the following on וכי ימוך אחיך v'chi yamuch achicha. וכי ימוך אחיך זהו שכתוב גומל נפשו איש חסד זה הלל הזקן V'chi yamuch achicha, zehu shekasuv gomel nafsho ish chesed, zeh Hillel haZaken. Who was the person who designated his life to doing חסד chesed? Doing loving kindness to others? Was הלל הזקן Hillel haZaken. שבשעה שהיה נפטר מתלמידיו היה מהלך והולך עמם Sheb'sha'ah shehaya niftar mitalmidav, haya mehalech v'holech imam. When he was done interacting with his students, he would walk and escort them. אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי להיכן אתה הולך amru lo talmidav, Rebbi, le'heichan ata holech? רבי Rebbi, where are you going? אמר להם לעשות מצוה אמרו לו וכי מה מצוה זו Amar lahem la'asos mitzvah, amru lo v'chi ma mitzvah zu? What מצוה mitzvah are you going to do? שילוח הקן Shiluach haken? Building a מעקה ma'akeh? פדיון פטר חמור Pidyon peter chamor? What are you doing? אמר להם לרחוץ בבית המרחץ Amar lahem lirchotz b'beis hamercḥatz. I'm going to take a bath. אמרו לו וכי איזה מצוה זו Amru lo v'chi eizeh mitzvah zu? Bathing is a מצוה mitzvah? It's good for our children when we're trying to get them to take their bath or shower at night. וכי מצוה V'chi mitzvah? Is that a מצוה mitzvah? אמר להם מה אם איקונין של מלכים שמעמידים אותם בבתי טרטיאות ובבתי קרקסיות מי שנתמנה עליהם מורקן ושוטפן ואין מעלין לו מזונות ולא עוד אלא מתגדל עם גדולי מלכות אני שנבראתי בצלם ודמות שנאמר כי בצלם אלוקים עשה את האדם על אחת כמה וכמה Amar lahem, ma im ikunin shel melachim shema'amidim osam b'batei tirtiot u'v'vatei kirkesiot, mi shenitmana aleihem morkan v'shotfan v'ein ma'alin lo mezonos v'lo od ela misgadel im gedolei malchus, ani shenivrati b'tzelem u'dmus shene'emar ki b'tzelem Elokim asa es ha'adam, al achas kama v'kama. על אחת כמה וכמה Al achas kama v'kama. A person who is designated to take care of and support royalty would look their best, would take care of their best. I, who are created as royalty, בצלם אלוקים b'tzelem Elokim, there's not a מצוה mitzvah to take care of our best? So the אלתר מסלבודקה Alter of Slabodka, רב נתן צבי פינקל Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, he would explain this חז\"ל chazal as follows. He would say hidden within here is a ידיעה yediah which can elevate a person. What is the message of this פסוק pasuk, וכי ימוך אחיך v'chi yamuch achicha? שאנחנו מורגלים לעשות חסד, הכוונה ללכת להיטיב עם הזולת. אבל האמת היא שכל טובה שאדם עושה עם זולתו, כולם באים לדסאו בבני הבית She'anachnu murgalim la'asos chesed, hakavanah laleches leheitiv im hazulas. Aval ha'emes hi shekol tovah she'adam oseh im zulaso, kulam baim l'dayso b'vnei habayis. הילדים אפילו עם עצמו, אין חסד אלא הליכה בדרכיו של הקדוש ברוך הוא Hayeladim afilu im atzmo, ein chesed ela halicha b'darkav shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu. We make the mistake of thinking, this is one of my wife's pet peeves. We make the mistake of thinking that when it's time to volunteer or do חסד chesed, we have to leave our home. When it's time to do חסד chesed, you go volunteer for חברא קדישא Chevra Kadisha. You go volunteer for תומכי שבת Tomchei Shabbos. You go volunteer for whatever worthwhile הצלה Hatzalah, חברים Chaverim, whatever worthwhile organization, you run to go and do and volunteer for חסד chesed for others. But the תורה Torah is telling us here, says the אלתר מסלבודקה Alter of Slabodka, that חסד chesed begins at home. וכי ימוך אחיך עמך V'chi yamuch achicha, imach. עמך Imach. חסד Chesed begins at home. That when you do an act of kindness for your spouse or for your children, you're doing חסד chesed too. What's her pet peeve? You know, children at all the schools have חסד chesed hours. They have an obligation of חסד chesed hours they have to volunteer for. So what happens? A mother says, could you watch the kids? Could you help me cook for יום טוב yontif? Could you help me clean for פסח Pesach? And they say, no, no, no, no, I have to go get my חסד chesed hours. So I have to go to the neighbor's house to clean for פסח Pesach. The neighbor's house to baby-sit their kids. The neighbor's house to be able to cook for יום טוב yontif. The mother's left. חסד Chesed begins at home. You should get חסד chesed hours for the חסד chesed you do at home too. You don't run out of the house to do חסד chesed, leaving the home wanting, leaving the home needing. חסד Chesed begins at home. And you see this as the אלתר מסלבודקה Alter of Slabodka from אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. On the פסוק pasuk, ואחרי כן קבר אברהם את שרה אשתו v'acharei chen kavar Avraham es Sarah ishto, that Avraham buried his wife Sarah. ואחרי כן קבר אברהם את שרה אשתו V'acharei chen kavar Avraham es Sarah ishto, רודף צדקה וחסד ימצא rodef tzedakah v'chesed yimtza, the the מדרש Midrash says, רודף צדקה וחסד rodef tzedakah v'chesed, רודף צדקה Rodef tzedakah is אברהם Avraham, חסד שגמל חסד עם שרה Chesed, shegamal chesed im Sarah. This was a צדקה tzedakah and a חסד chesed that he buried his wife? What kind of צדקה tzedakah and חסד chesed? It's his wife. He wasn't going to bury his wife? To buy a burial plot for his wife, that's called by the מדרש Midrash צדקה וחסד tzedakah v'chesed. What's the answer? Yes. חסד Chesed and צדקה tzedakah begin at home. When we show kindness, when we are selfless, when we inconvenience ourselves, when we care about the people closest to us, that too is called צדקה וחסד tzedakah v'chesed. וכי ימוך אחיך עמך V'chi yamuch achicha, imach. עמך Imach, with you. The חסד chesed and צדקה tzedakah for yourself as a צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim, but we're significantly, even for the people around us and with us, חסד chesed begins, חסד chesed begins at home. So a beautiful insight on this פסוק pasuk by the הייליגע רב נחמן heilige Rav Nachman. We've been learning this beautiful ספר sefer, שולחן השבת Shulchan HaShabbos, which is teachings of רב נחמן Rav Nachman, not directly on these פסוקים psukim, but teachings of רב נחמן Rav Nachman that connect to these פסוקים psukim. The פסוק pasuk says וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך v'chi yamuch achicha umatah yado imach. When your brother falters, when your brother fails, when he loses his livelihood, when he needs help, when he's struggling, עמך imach. What does the word עמך imach help? What does the word עמך imach add? With you. What do you mean with you? תומכי שבת Tomchei Shabbos needs, before פסח Pesach we had an unprecedented amount of people because of the unprecedented price of מצה matzah and chicken and meat and so on. So וכי ימוך אחיך v'chi yamuch achicha. We got up in שול shul and we said we have more people than ever that need help to make פסח Pesach. Please, cough it up, give it over. We need, מעות חיטים mos chittim. And you responded. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, the community raised almost triple what we asked for in almost one-seventh of the time we gave to raise it. It was incredible. And we brought in three truckloads of food and we gave money to people who needed it. So we did all of that why? וכי ימוך אחיך v'chi yamuch achicha, because אחיך achicha, your brother, our brother, our family needed. Why עמך imach? What do you mean with you? What does that word עמך imach mean, with you? So I'll share two interpretations. First from רב נחמן Rav Nachman. רב נחמן Rav Nachman says the following. He says that the way that הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world, that if you have a מנה רוצה מאתיים maneh, rotzeh masayim. Whenever you have in life, you always want more. You're never satisfied, you're never complacent, it's never good enough. But you always want more. The latest edition, the newest upgrade, the latest model. You don't buy a set of clothing 30 years ago and you wear it for the next 30 years. Fashion changes and you want the latest. You don't have the first edition of the iPhone that ever came out. They're up to whatever they're up to, 13. So you always want the latest addition. People for themselves, if you have a hundred, you want 200. We always want to upgrade, we always want to turn it in, we always want the latest model. So רב נתן Rav Nosson in ליקוטי הלכות Likkutei Halachos in קידושין Kiddushin, he says, ברגע שאדם נופל ומשתקע בתאוות הממון b'rega she'adam nofel u'mishtake'a b'ta'avas hamamon, the moment a person falls prey to this desire and temptation, to the ambition for money, תמיד הוא שואף לחיות ברמה גבוהה יותר tamid hu sho'ef lichyos b'rama gevoha yoser. So you're always trying to climb the ladder. You always want to raise your net worth. You always want more and nicer and bigger and better. That's simply the psyche of a person, that once we fall prey to תאוות ממון ta'avas mamon, once we find ourselves in the world of wanting material, physical, financial things, then we always want more. So now, יש לו מנה רוצה מאתיים yesh lo maneh rotzeh masayim, קהלת רבה Koheles Rabbah. Says רב נחמן Rav Nachman, that's what the תורה Torah is telling us. You know, when it comes to the poor person, you know what we say? You don't need the latest. You don't need more. This is good enough. This should be enough for you. This should cover you. This should be enough for the סדר Seder. This should be enough for you for your technology needs. This should be enough. When it comes to us ourselves, we always want more. The latest, the next level, the newest edition, the latest model. And when it comes to the poor and impoverished person we say, eh, good enough. Bare minimum, they should be happy to be able to subside on the bare minimum. Says רב נחמן Rav Nachman, סתם רב נתן stam Rav Nosson, that's what the תורה Torah is telling us. וכי ימוך אחיך עמך V'chi yamuch achicha, imach. Your attitude to the struggles of your brother should be עמך imach. The same standard you have for yourself is the standard you should have for your brother. If you're never satisfied with enough, then you shouldn't be satisfied with enough when it comes to your brother. The same standards you have for yourself are the standards that you should have for others as well. וכי ימוך אחיך עמך V'chi yamuch achicha, imach. I'll tell you one other interpretation on this quickly. From the הייליגע בעל שם טוב heilige Baal Shem Tov. שם משמואל טוב Shem MiShmuel Tov, רב ברנרד ויינברגר זצ\"ל Rav Bernard Weinberger zatzal in the שם משמואל טוב Shem MiShmuel Tov brings down the following. וכי ימוך אחיך עמך V'chi yamuch achicha, imach. What do you mean he falters with you? What does it have to do with you? If you hear about somebody who needs, whether you know them or not, whether you have a relationship with them or not, we should respond and we should step up and step in and help them. So what does the word עמך imach add? Listen to this inside of the שם משמואל טוב Shem MiShmuel Tov. He quotes from the בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov who understands the משנה Mishna in אבות Avos. משנה Mishna in אבות Avos says דע מה למעלה ממך da ma l'ma'ala mimcha. Know what is above you. עין רואה ואוזן שומעת וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים Ayin ro'ah v'ozen shoma'as v'chol ma'asecha b'sefer nichtavim. An eye sees, the ear hears, and everything you do is recorded. Now, for every generation that preceded us couldn't really understand this. Everything I do, somebody sees? Everything I say, somebody's listening? What does that even mean? But we understand that more than any other. There are satellites in the sky, there are cameras all around, and believe me, whether you want to or not, whether you've given permission or not, everything you do is being recorded. Everything we do is being listened to. And that's what it means, דע מה למעלה ממך da ma l'ma'ala mimcha. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the ultimate in the sky. He sees, he hears, and he is recording everything we do. But the בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov interpreted it differently. Said the הייליגע בעל שם טוב heilige Baal Shem Tov, דע מה למעלה ממך da ma l'ma'ala mimcha. Know who is above you, השם Hashem. There's a God in the world. And therefore because הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu orchestrates everything, your life is carefully, is carefully choreographed and curated, there are no coincidences. Therefore, עין רואה ayin ro'ah, whatever you see, you are meant to see. אוזן שומעת Ozen shoma'as, whatever you hear, you were meant to overhear. And now what do you do with it? You saw something, say something, do something. You heard something, do something. וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים V'chol ma'asecha b'sefer nichtavim. Everything will be recorded. It's an a beautiful בעל שם Baal Shem. דע מה למעלה ממך Da ma l'ma'ala mimcha, you need to know you don't live in a vacuum, you don't live in privacy, you don't live in confidential, there's a הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu who is watching, and he's organized. And if you happen to see or if you happen to hear, if you happen to become aware of something, it's not a coincidence, it's not by chance. It's by design, it's what's meant to be. What will you do with it? How will you react to it? Says the שם משמואל טוב Shem MiShmuel Tov based on this בעל שם Baal Shem, now we understand, וכי ימוך אחיך עמך v'chi yamuch achicha, imach. עמך Imach. You learned about someone's trials or travails, you learned about their hardship or pain, you learned about an opportunity to make a difference, you have to step up and step in. You cannot bury your head. You cannot cover your eyes. You cannot pretend you don't see. We have an obligation, a responsibility to respond, to respond. Moving along. פרק כה Perek kaf hey, פסוק pasuk לו lamed vov, finishing up. The תורה Torah tells us the prohibition אל תקח מאתו נשך ותרבית ויראת מאלוקיך וחי אחיך עמך al tikach mei'ito neshech v'tarbis v'yareisa mei'elokecha v'chai achicha imach. You're not allowed to lend with interest. We are prohibited to lend with interest. We're allowed to end with interest to a non-Jew, but to a Jew you cannot lend with interest. Why do we distinguish between a non-Jew and a Jew? If lending with interest is immoral and unethical, why can you lend with interest to a non-Jew? And if lending with interest is moral and ethical, why can we not lend with interest to a Jew? And the answer is very simple. The answer is, because there's nothing wrong with lending with interest. There's a time value of money. If my money were sitting in the bank, it wouldn't be earning a lot of interest, but it could earn interest. I could be making money from my money. And when I lend my money to you and I can't be earning money with my money, I've lost money. So when you pay interest, I'm not actually making a profit, you're just making me whole. There's a time value of money. There's nothing unethical or immoral of lending with interest. However, if my neighbor, if someone I don't know, if somebody's trying to make an investment comes and says, can I borrow money? Then it's ethical to say, sure, but there's a time value of that money, you have to pay me back with interest. But what happens if my brother or sister come? And they say, I've hit hard times. I don't know how to pay the bills. Can I borrow a few dollars? Can I borrow a few שקל shekel? What are you going to say? Yeah, 8% interest? 5% interest? You're going to charge your brother interest when they've fallen on hard times and they need money? The Torah is trying to condition within ourselves a sense that all Jews are our brother and our sister. Non-Jews are cousins, they're distant relatives. And if they want to borrow money, you could lend them with interest. But Jewish people are our immediate family, they are our nuclear family. And if a brother or sister comes and needs to borrow money, חלילה chalila to lend with interest, it's unethical and it's wrong.The מדרש Medrash here quotes, לפי שדעתו של אדם נמשכת אחרי הריבית lifisha daato shel odom nimsheches acharei haribis. A person's heart is drawn to want to lend with ריבית ribbis, ומורה לו עצמו היתר u'moreh lo atzmo heter. It's very easy to convince ourselves, you know, it's only right, there's a time value to money, I need to be made whole, there's nothing wrong with it. So therefore, therefore the Torah has to say, ויראת מאלוקיך v'yareisa me'elokecha. The test of your יראת שמים yiras shamayim is your attitude towards money. המלווה בריבית אינו ירא מן הקדוש ברוך הוא Hamalveh b'ribbis eino yarei min haKadosh Baruch Hu. The מדרש תנחומא Medrash Tanchuma in משפטים Mishpatim says if you lend with interest, you are not God-fearing. Why? Because if you lend with interest, you're concerned that you won't be able to make that money any other way, you don't believe in השם Hashem. If you believe in השם Hashem, then you'd lend a fellow Jew without interest and know that השם Hashem will make it up to you in another way. Our attitude towards money, our third or fourth רב ירוחם Rav Yirucham of the day. רב ירוחם Rav Yirucham says our attitude towards money, our attitude towards money reflects our relationship with השם Hashem.And I'll end by telling you a very discouraging story. That's a bad way to end. But it's a very discouraging story. So much more to tell you. But a very discouraging story. I had a meeting the other day. I won't say in which community or in which state. And I won't say with whom, and I won't say with which type of Jew. But I'll just tell you it was a meeting to secure somebody's services, and they said, don't forget to bring cash. I said, why would I bring cash? He said, so you don't have to pay the taxes. I said, why wouldn't I pay the taxes? It's a הלכה halacha. דינא דמלכותא דינא Dina d'malchusa dina. You have to be honest and have integrity, have to pay the taxes. So he said to me, you know, in 30 years of doing business, you're only the second person to ever want to pay taxes. And the first worked as a tax auditor and felt he had to. You're only the second person ever to pay taxes. So I said, you know, you're somebody who's שומר תורה ומצוות shomer Torah u'mitzvos. You're from a community that scrupulously observes שבת Shabbos and כשרות kashrus and טהרת המשפחה taharas hamishpacha. You follow every חומרא chumra you can find. Maybe you should be מחמיר machmir that it's stealing to not pay taxes? I'm a second client or customer you've ever had who wants to pay taxes? I didn't know that it was optional. I didn't know it was negotiable. It's גניבה geneiva, you're stealing from the other taxpayer who has to pay more when you don't pay your share. דינא דמלכותא דינא Dina d'malchusa dina, we live in this country, we benefit from its services, of course you have to pay taxes. ויראת מאלוקיך V'yareisa me'elokecha. Our attitude towards money is the true test of our יראת שמים yiras shamayim. I'll tell you, it was not a small amount of money to be saved on the taxes. But my עולם הבא olam haba is worth a whole lot more than that. I'm not selling my עולם הבא olam haba for the difference of that taxes. ויראת מאלוקיך V'yareisa me'elokecha. I'm not telling you to show off or I'm anything special. I think it should be hopefully obvious to us all. But רב ירוחם Rav Yirucham says, why ויראת מאלוקיך v'yareisa me'elokecha with the מצווה mitzvah of of interest? Because when it comes to money and the temptation of money and wanting to save a few bucks about money, that is the test of whether you really have יראת שמים yiras shamayim. Not how hard you שאַקל shuckle, and not how many חומרות chumras you keep, but are you honest and do you have integrity? Do we keep business practices? Are we honest in business? That says everything about our about our יראת שמים yiras shamayim.Wishing everyone a beautiful ל״ג בעומר Lag BaOmer coming up. ל״ג בעומר Lag BaOmer is הוד שבהוד hod shebehod. In the kabbalistic calculation, the seven weeks each have a theme for the week, and the days within the week have a theme. The theme of ל״ג בעומר Lag BaOmer is הוד שבהוד hod shebehod. The חתם סופר Chasam Sofer says the day the מן man first fell, it's the day of being grateful, seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. So wishing everyone tomorrow night, Thursday, a beautiful ל״ג בעומר Lag BaOmer. The fire should burn, should elevate the memory of those we lost last year, and the fire should burn in us. We should be on fire, תורה Torah and מצוות mitzvos and אמונה emunah. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy.
