Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov, welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. As always, we begin with gratitude. Thank you to our generous sponsors of our series for the year, Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father, David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש l'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manish. We're very, very grateful. I want to bring two other opportunities to your attention. Number one, that we have begun a beautiful write-up of the Parsha Perspectives. We often share eight to ten or more דברי תורה divrei Torah. We're taking three and writing them up so you can say them at your Shabbos table. And they are distributed to tens of thousands of people through our website and the weekly online and offline and YU's Parsha Reader and other mechanisms. If you'd like to sponsor a write-up of the Parsha Perspective, we could use your support and help because I'm not doing it, someone is doing it for me and there's a cost involved. So we're not making money, we're simply covering the cost to provide the write-up of the Parsha Perspective, 180 dollars to sponsor, just like the shiur itself. And you could do it in honor and memory of anyone. Please be in touch with Lee, L-E-E at brsonline.org.And also, and more importantly, we've begun a campaign. Our beloved Esti Moskowitz, daughter of Rabbi Phil and Ariella Moskowitz, we know is continued need of a רפואה שלמה refuah shleimah. And we've begun a one-plus-one campaign. One dollar a day to צדקה tzedakah and a minute a day of learning. Today you're going to get much more than a minute coming to the parsha class, but you can join a WhatsApp group where there's a one-minute 60-second דברי תורה divrei Torah posted every day. One minute of Torah learning, one dollar of tzedakah giving, all in her merit, אסתר טילה בת אריאל ציפורה Esther Tila bas Ariel Tziporah. You can go to brsonline.org/oneandone, the number one, a-n-d, one, one and one, and join daily giving, a dollar a day. BRS are not recipients of the money. This is not a ploy for us to make money, God forbid, but it's an opportunity to give tzedakah and to diversify the giving elsewhere. brsonline.org/oneandone, brsonline.org/oneandone in the merit of Esti, she should have a רפואה שלמה refuah shleimah, speedy, painless, and complete.This week we have the privilege of reading פרשת בחקתי Parshas Bechukosai, page 708 in the Artscroll חומש Chumash. And on these opening words, there is so much to say. We could spend our entire hour just on these opening words, just on this opening פסוק pasuk, this opening sentence. Often, בהר and בחקתי Behar and Bechukosai are read together and we don't get the chance to do a deep dive into the פרשת בחקתי Parshas Bechukosai because we don't know how to plan or allocate accordingly. We spend all of our time at the beginning. But this year is different, פרשת בחקתי Parshas Bechukosai, so here we go, let's dive in. אם בחקתי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אותם Im bechukosai teileichu v'es mitzvosai tishmeru va'asisem osam. Torah sets up a paradigm. If you follow my חוקים chukim and you observe my מצוות mitzvos and you perform them, ועשיתם אותם va'asisem osam, then, quid pro quo, here's the deal. Hashem says, God says, scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Observe and be compliant of my מצוות mitzvos, and I'll make you happy. I'll make it rain. ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם V'nasati gishmeichem b'itam. I'll make it rain in the right time. ונתנה הארץ יבולה ועץ השדה יתן פריו V'nasnah ha'aretz yevulah v'etz hasadeh yiten piryo. And the land will give its produce, the tree of the field will give its fruit. והשיג לכם דיש את בציר ובציר ישיג את זרע V'hisig lachem dayish es batzir u'vatzir yasig es zara. ואכלתם לחמכם לשובע V'achaltem lachmechem l'sova, and so on. Your threshing will last until the vintage, the vintage until the sowing, you'll eat your bread till you're satisfied, and you will dwell securely, וישבתם לבטח בארצכם vi'shavtem lavetach b'artzechem. Boy, isn't that a hope and aspiration for us to be living peacefully in our land, no more terror, no more enemies, but to live peacefully. What will precipitate this reality? When will Hashem make it rain? That's the vernacular when we earn a פרנסה parnassah, when the livelihood flows, when the money's coming in. We talk about being a rainmaker or making it rain. When will Hashem make it rain in our lives, when will the stock market go up instead of down? When will that happen? אם בחקתי תלכו Im bechukosai teileichu. First pasuk tells us, that's the condition. That's the rule. That's what it will take.So let's see several interpretations of what that means. Says Rashi, יאכל זה קיום המצוות yachol zeh kiyum hamitzvos, so maybe בחקתי תלכו bechukosai teileichu means fulfill mitzvos. After all, what are חוקים chukim? This is framed, it's phrased as, walk with my חוקים chukim. What are חוקים chukim? A form of מצוות mitzvos. But that can't be, says Rashi, כי כשהוא אומר ואת מצותי תשמרו הרי קיום המצוות אמור ki'ch'she'hu omer v'es mitzvosai tishmeru, harei kiyum hamitzvos amur. We're already referencing separately and independently the observance of mitzvos. So we're about to say and if you keep my mitzvos, so חוקים chukim can't be mitzvos, because then it would be repetitive or redundant. We're about to mention mitzvos, חוקים chukim must mean something different. What does it mean? הרי מה אני מקיים בחקתי תלכו Harei mah ani mekayem bechukosai teileichu? Famously Rashi quotes חז\"ל Chazal that tell us, what does בחקתי תלכו bechukosai teileichu mean? It can't mean mitzvos, mitzvos we're about to say. So what does it mean? It means שתהיו עמלים בתורה she'tihiyu ameilim baTorah. It means toil, effort, sweat, tears, work. Don't have a casual attitude towards Torah. Don't take it lightly. Don't take it as something pedestrian. עמלות ameilus, effort, and work, and toil. How is that hinted to in the words בחקתי תלכו bechukosai teileichu? I understand that it can't mean mitzvos because we're about to say mitzvos. מצותי תשמרו mitzvosai tishmeru means mitzvos. חוקים, בחקתי chukim, bechukosai needs to mean something else. But how do I know it means עמלות בתורה ameilus baTorah? How do I know it means take a serious attitude and approach, effort, work towards Torah? So Rav Shmuel Rozovsky zatzal, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh says, in the word תלכו teileichu, נאמר שצריך הליכה והתקדמות תמידית בחיים ne'emar she'tzarich halicha v'hisgadmus temidis ba'chaim. What does הליכה halicha means? To walk, to go. How does one walk? You put one foot in front of the other. You proceed, you make progress, you advance, you grow, you journey towards a destination. לצוד ולהפיל במעלת התורה l'tzoed u'lehafil b'ma'alas haTorah, ולהיות במצב תמידי של עליה v'lihiyos b'matzav temidi shel aliyah. To be a הולך holech, to be in הליכה halicha, to be following הלכה halacha means to refuse to stand still, to never have arrived, to never be complacent, to never be done, but it means to make progress, to climb, to go. ללכת ולצוד כל החיים לאור החוקים של תורה Laleches v'l'tzoed kol hachaim l'or ha'chukim shel Torah. To be drawn to and to work on and to advance towards understanding the mysteries and the secrets and the revealed and the beauty of Torah. אי אפשר לעשות זאת בלי לעמול בתורה Ee efshar la'asos zos b'li la'amol baTorah. And how do you do that? With work. It doesn't come easily. Nothing in life that's worth it comes easily. We can't download Torah into our mind, and we can't be half asleep while we listen or learn. Takes work, and it takes effort, takes commitment, takes ambition, takes aspiration, it takes drive. It takes drive. You have to be שטייגען shteigen. תלכו Teileichu meant to שטייגען shteigen, on שטייגען shteigen, said the Ponevezher Rosh Yeshiva. It means to שטייגען shteig, it means to toil, it means to put in that effort, it means to work. There is no neutral. You know, in Florida, there are no hills. If you leave a car in neutral in Florida, it can remain there forever. You can go have lunch, you go to the parsha shiur, you come back. But if you're in ירושלים Yerushalayim, the holiest place on earth, and you put a car in neutral, it's going to go downhill, you'll probably never see it again. And if you can catch up with it, what it will take to stop it and to make it climb again. In a place of hills, of holiness, there are no, there is no neutral. There is no having arrived, there is no apathy, complacency. You have to be in a permanent state of climbing, of growing, of advancing, of working. We spoke about it a little bit this past Shabbos in shul, I won't repeat the drasha, but I'll tell you something that I left out. Which is the following, when we went on our fly-in to New York, we met with Rav Avraham Schorr, and Rav Schorr shared with us, he heard directly from the Pnei Menachem, the Gerer Rebbe, was once asked, why did God create the world with gravity? Why did Hashem invent a world where there's gravity? Gravity is terribly inconvenient. If I'm holding something and I let go, I wish it would just remain where it is. The fact that if I want to lift my cup to say לחיים l'chaim, ברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro. If I want to lift my cup, I have to oppose and fight the forces of gravity. It's inconvenient, why? So the פני מנחם Pnei Menachem, the Gerer Rebbe said, because gravity in the world of physics is a משל mashal for gravity in the world of metaphysics. Gravity in the physical world is a metaphor for gravity in the spiritual world. That just like when it comes to the physical world, one can't be in neutral. There's a gravitational pull. If you want to lift something, if you want to make it go higher, you have to oppose the force of gravity. So too in the spiritual world, there is no neutral. There is no פרווה parve, you can't remain still or stable. But there's a force, עולם הזה olam hazeh is pulling us down. The יצר הרע yetzer hara is pulling us down. Gravity in the physical world and gravity in the spiritual world is pulling us down. And how do we oppose it? You have to fight the force of gravity, you have to lift. You have to lift, and how do you lift? You have to engage your muscles. Now this cup, or this sefer, with a little bit more effort. But when something is heavy, the more significant the heavier it is, the more muscle you have to engage. What does it take, what does it require? עמלות Ameilus, effort. So to lift our נשמה neshama, to lift our souls, to pursue holiness, not happiness, that's heavy. Takes עמלות ameilus. To lift and to fight the force of spiritual gravity, the עולם הזה olam hazeh, the gravity of this world, of the יצר הרע yetzer hara, that says, schlaf, sleep in, don't go to shul. Eat whatever you want, where you want, when you want, don't make a ברכה bracha, don't care if it's kosher, don't care if it's healthy. Say what you want, look at what you want, do what you want. That gravitational pull is pulling us down, אם בחקתי תלכו im bechukosai teileichu, says the Ponevezher Rosh Yeshiva Rav Shmuel Rozovsky, that הליכה halicha, why is it in בחקתי תלכו bechukosai teileichu? What was the hint, what was the giveaway that we're talking about עמלות ameilus? תלכו Teileichu. Because it takes effort, תלכו teileichu. Takes effort to walk. It's tiring, you have to lift your legs, it's hard. Stairs, wah. It's hard, climb stairs, you're tired easily, your muscles give out. So תלכו teileichu, to climb life, takes עמלות ameilus, שתהיו עמלים בתורה she'tihiyu ameilim baTorah. Torah is telling us it's not just observe mitzvos, casually check, did the mitzvah, good enough, done, שתהיו עמלים בתורה she'tihiyu ameilim baTorah. Any life that's worth living takes effort. The reward is according to the effort, לפום צערא אגרא l'fum tzara agra. And the hint, the giveaway were תלכו teileichu. If you want to walk, if you want to climb, it takes effort, עמלות בתורה ameilus baTorah. The great mashgiach of Ponevezh, we're in Ponevezh today apparently. We're in Ponevezh. The great mashgiach of Ponevezh Rav Chaim Friedlander, the Sifsei Chaim, he asks, how do they know bechukosai teileichu is ameilus? Maybe it means learning Torah, maybe it means ידיעת התורה yedias haTorah. Maybe it simply means acquiring Torah knowledge. Maybe it means being occupied and preoccupied with Torah study. How do we know it means ameilus, to toil, and effort, and effort? So he says, כשאדם הולך למטרה מסוימת, העיקר התוצאה שתצא מההליכה k'she'adam holech l'matara mesuyemes, ha'ikar ha'tza'ah she'tetzei mei'ha'halicha. When you're going towards a certain effort, towards a certain goal, so you only measure success by how much you have achieved what, the goal. להגיע למטרה, אז הוא l'hagia la'matara, az hu... If you're trying to solve a mathematical equation, did you come to the solution or not? ולם עצם ההליכה אינה חשובה Ulam etzem ha'halicha einah chashuva. Now, okay, it's a bad example maybe because teachers say show your work. And the work matters. But we know that what matters is the bottom line. What we care about, what this world teaches us is what matters is the bottom line. Did you achieve the goal, were you successful? Did you arrive at the outcome? The journey, it's not important. Did you get to the destination or not? איך תמצא להגיע למטרה Eich timtza l'hagia l'matara. The journey is simply איך תמצא eich timtza. The journey is the necessary what you need to do to get to the destination, but no one cares about the journey. But Torah is different. בחקתי תלכו Bechukosai teileichu. What we care about is תלכו teileichu, the הליכה halicha. Are you on a journey of growth? Did you arrive? It's important, but it's not the sole measure. It's not the sole metric. Did you arrive, did you complete? It's not the destination alone, it's the journey. בחקתי תלכו Bechukosai teileichu. Were you on a journey? A הליכה halicha. It's not a coincidence that the Jewish law, the code of Jewish law is called, when we observe, what are we observing? הלכה Halacha. הלכה Halacha comes from הליכה halicha. It's not law. American law is not the American guide book. It's law. It's dry, sterile, boring law. But Torah, Jewish law, is הלכה halacha. It's הלכה halacha. It's guiding us on this journey called life where it's not only the destination, it's not only did we arrive at the solution, but it's did you enjoy and did you engage and did you make an effort on the journey? Did you try? Did you try? עצם ההליכה בתורה היא תכלית Etzem ha'halicha baTorah hi tachlis. והיא איננה רק איך תמצא v'hi einena rak eich timtza. The journey is the תכלית tachlis, is the goal. The goal is not the only goal, the journey is the goal. שתהיו עמלים בתורה She'tihiyu ameilim baTorah. My future son-in-law actually said this this past motzei shabbos. We had a vort, my daughter Leora got engaged. And Hillel, impressed, I don't know if he impressed others, at least he impressed me, and frankly that's all that matters. But he gave a beautiful dvar Torah. And he quoted his Rebbe, Rav Kalish, about an esrog. That an esrog, the Gemara tells us that the taste of the bark and the fruit is the same. What does that mean? It means the bark, the tree, is simply the means to get to the fruit. So normally all we care about is the taste of the fruit. But here the bark and the fruit are the same because it's the effort, it's the journey, it's the growth of the bark of the tree that yields the fruit that also matters. That's the same, that we also care about, that we also taste from. We don't only care about arriving at the destination, we care about the journey. הליכה Halicha, הלכה halacha, תלכו teileichu. The Torah is our guide book through life, and we're not a failure if we didn't get there. We actually say this in every siyum. The Chofetz Chaim points out and others as well. What do we recite in a siyum? אנו עמלים והם עמלים, אנו עמלים ומקבלים שכר, והם עמלים ואינם מקבלים שכר Anu ameilim v'hem ameilim, anu ameilim u'mekablim schar, v'hem ameilim v'einam mekablim schar. We are עמל amel, we put in effort, we toil, and we are rewarded. They toil and they are not rewarded. They're not rewarded? Aaron Judge is on pace to hit four billion home runs. And they're talking about his contract being renewed for 350 million dollars. I would say, אנו עמלים והם עמלים והם מקבלים שכר anu ameilim v'hem ameilim v'hem mekablim schar. That's a pretty good שכר schar. Anyone know Aaron Judge? Anyone know what I'm talking about? The Yankees? What's the matter with you people? הם מקבלים שכר Hem mekablim schar. We know there are people, they trade Bitcoin, they buy this, they build a business, they sell real estate in South Florida. מקבלים שכר Mekablim schar, of course they get reward. So how can we so confidently say we toil and we are rewarded, they toil, they're not rewarded. So Chofetz Chaim says, that's not what it means. What it means is, you open up a Gemara and you're breaking your teeth on a Tosafos. You're breaking your teeth to understand the Gemara. We're in the middle of Yevamos in Daf Yomi. Yevamos is among the three most difficult mesechtos. It's a difficult, difficult mesechta. Parts of it are terribly, terribly difficult. You know the mesechta is difficult when you're relieved to get to Pitzu'ah Dakka and Krus Shofcha sugios. It's a tough mesechta. It's a tough, tough mesechta. So you're breaking your teeth and trying to understand the Gemara. You're aspirational, so you're trying to get through a Tosafos, and you work on it for an hour, two hours, four hours, you listen over and over again. You listen to Rabbi Rozner and you listen to Tzvi Bornstein, and you listen to, you're listening to everybody. You're breaking your teeth and you can't get there. Did you waste your time? If you sit with a math problem, and every which way, without a calculator, you sit with your number two pencil and you can't figure out the answer, four hours, five hours, six hours, you have scribbles. Did you figure, did you waste your time? Yes. If you don't have the solution to the math problem, you have nothing to show for the four hours you spent on it. But if you broke your teeth on the Gemara, if you toiled on Tosafos, and you have nothing to show for it, you have everything to show for it. Those four hours were the best use of your time. You were engaged, you were working, you were on the journey. You were בחקתי תלכו bechukosai teileichu. Stefansky, I don't want to leave out Stefansky. You were בחקתי תלכו bechukosai teileichu. You were on the journey. So says Rav Chaim Friedlander the Sifsei Chaim, בחקתי תלכו bechukosai teileichu. Ameilus baTorah is described as not learning, it's a journey, and it's not only the destination, it's not only the solution, מקבלים שכר mekablim schar. Whether you understand or not, if you put in the effort, if you worked, if you toiled, that in itself is the goal, that in itself is the destination. The Alter of Slabodka has another interpretation. Because it says later in the parsha, אם לא תשמעו לי im lo tishme'u li. If you don't listen to me, what's that talking about? We're going to talk about it more when we get there. But what does אם לא תשמעו לי im lo tishme'u li mean? יכול אלו המצוות yachol eilu ha'mitzvos. Maybe it means that you neglect mitzvos. You're not obedient or compliant. You don't follow or keep halacha. But that can't be what it means. This is the inverse, it's the parallel to the beginning of our parsha, to our opening pasuk. How could that not be what it means? Because the Torah is going to tell us, ולהפרכם את מצותי אלה u'le'hafrechem es mitzvosai eilah. We're already going to say if you don't keep mitzvos, so what does it mean? לא תשמעו lo tishme'u. לא תשמעו lo tishme'u can't mean not keeping mitzvos because we're going to say that explicitly in a moment. So what does אם לא תשמעו לי im lo tishme'u li mean, says the Medrash? להיות עמלים בתורה l'hiyos ameilim baTorah. If you neglect putting in an effort, if you want it to come easy, if you take the easy way out and the passive way of learning, if you don't actually open up a Chumash and learn the parsha for yourself also, if all you do is listen to Parsha Perspectives, then it's not much ameilus. You have very comfortable chairs. Coffee, granola bars. If you're watching or listening at home, you're sitting back in your comfortable recliner, that's not a lot of ameilus. For me it is, I have to prepare the shiur, but for you, you get to just show up. So, if you're not putting in ameilus, no ameilus baTorah, that's im lo tishme'u li. You see the brachos and the klalos, everything that comes in our parsha, the tochacha we're about to read, all results, the measure, the determining factor about how Hashem interacts with us, what kind of life we will lead is all determined by what? Not if we keep mitzvos, because the assumption here is we're keeping mitzvos. What is it determined by? How we keep mitzvos. Do we do it the lowest common denominator? Do we get away with good enough or do we strive for great? Do we have a casual attitude towards halacha and Torah learning? Or are we amel, do we toil, do we work, do we push our boundaries, do we leave our comfort zone? Do we try to strive to be greater and greater and lift ourselves higher and higher? Says the Alter of Slabodka, that our measure of who we are and the determinant of the life we will lead is not only do we do mitzvos, it's not only do we set aside time for Torah learning, but it's the quality of that Torah learning. Are we amel in Torah? I'll tell you another dvar Torah. This is really a shmooze for yeshiva. But it's not. It's not only for yeshiva bachurim in yeshiva in life, kollel avreichim or yungerleit. It's for you and me, it's for all of us at every stage. Arguably we have more time now. Many who are retired or many whose life has slowed down, what do we fill that time with? We have this time. The Gemara says מבטלין תלמוד תורה מפני מקרא מגילה mevatlin Talmud Torah mipnei mikra Megillah. מבטלין תלמוד תורה Mevatlin Talmud Torah. If you're sitting and studying Torah, holiday of Purim comes, close the Gemara, get up and leave the beis medrash, go hear the Megillah. And the meforshim and the commentaries ask, one second. מבטלין תלמוד תורה מפני מקרא מגילה Mevatlin Talmud Torah mipnei mikra Megillah? We should abandon or מבטלין mevatlin, להיות מבטל lihiyos mevatel, we are nullifying Torah to go hear the Megillah? Last I checked, where is the Megillah? Where is it printed among what book? The Megillah is a book of Tanach. The Megillah is Torah. Is it not a fulfillment of Torah learning? What do you mean מבטלין תלמוד תורה מפני מקרא מגילה mevatlin Talmud Torah mipnei mikra Megillah? If you're in the beis medrash and you're shteiging gevalt, and it's time to hear the Megillah on Purim, close the Gemara, bittel Torah, to go hear the Megillah. Bittel Torah? You're going to hear the Megillah. The Megillah is one of the 24 books of Tanach. How is that bittel Torah? Rav Ovadia Yosef has a little sefer in there he and others answer, you know why that's called bittel Torah? Because when you're listening passively in shul to the adorable story of the story of Purim, of the Megillah, but you could be breaking your teeth on a Tosafos. You could be sitting with the Megillah and learning the Megillah with the Radak and the Rashi and the Mesudas David. You could be learning it in depth and all you're doing is listening superficially, that's also called bittel Torah. It's a justified bittel Torah because you have to hear the Megillah. But what do you see? That bittel Torah is not only in quantity, if I stop learning, bittel Torah is also in quality. If I'm not pushing myself to learn the depth, the profundity that I can, that too is bittel Torah. It's a pretty high standard. We are a nation of overachievers. We're not satisfied with good, but collectively we strive for great. That's our parsha. אם לא תשמעו לי Im lo tishme'u li means not that you didn't learn. You get upstairs, Hashem says you don't listen to me. So I, I didn't, I didn't listen to you? Hashem says, yeah, you didn't listen to me, that's why I didn't make it rain. Literally or metaphorically, I didn't make it rain in your life. You didn't listen. I didn't listen? I learned the daf yomi, I went to the daf. Then I went to the parsha shiur. Then I went to the afternoon kollel. Then I put on 17 shiurim at home when I went shopping, when I walked around the circle, when I cooked. I didn't listen to you? What are you talking about, Hashem? Hashem says, yeah, you did that and if that's all you could do, that's amazing and you get enormous credit for that and I'm not minimizing that or disparaging that whatsoever, particularly if you listen to my shiurim, but what I'm saying, says Hashem is, beautiful you did all that. But could you have pushed yourself more? Could you have done more? Could you have challenged yourself to have a chavrusa, to open a sefer, to learn in a different way on a higher level, to click the advanced shiur not only the beginner when you were listening? That's ameilus baTorah and that is the measure. Kotzker, share one more insight and then we'll move past this first pasuk. Kotzker Rebbe. I love the Kotzker. זאגט דער קאצקער Zogt der Kotzker on our parsha. Quotes a Medrash, אם בחקתי תלכו im bechukosai teileichu. The Medrash says that our opening words in bechukosai teileichu are an allusion to a pasuk in Tehillim. Tehillim perek kuf yud tes, pasuk nun tes: חשבתי דרכי ואשיבה רגלי אל עדותיך Chishavti derachai v'ashivah raglai el eido'secha. חשבתי דרכי Chishavti derachai, I thought about my way, ואשיבה רגלי אל עדותיך v'ashivah raglai el eido'secha, and my feet took me towards your testimony. What is David saying? Zogt der Medrash, says the Medrash, you know what David meant when he wrote this word, this sentence? אמר דוד Omar David, רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, השם בכל יום ויום הייתי מחשב ואומר למקום פלוני אני הולך Hashem bechol yom v'yom hayisi mechshev v'omer l'makom ploni ani holech. ורגלי מביאות אותי לבתי כנסיות ולבתי מדרשות v'raglai mevi'os osi l'vatei knesiyos u'l'vatei midrashos. And that's what it means, ואשיבה רגלי אל עדותיך v'ashivah raglai el eido'secha. Hashem every day I wake up and I'm trying to go to work, and I'm trying to go to the gym, and I'm trying to go to the supermarket, to the shop. But you know what happens? I can't help it. My feet on autopilot, they take me to the beis medrash, they take me to the shul. I'm trying to go to these other places, but אשיבה רגלי אל עדותיך ashivah raglai el eido'secha. My feet are taking me back to the beis medrash, back to the shul. Asks the Kotzker, יש להבין yeish l'havin. How could it be? אם היא ברצונו ודעתו ללכת לבית פלוני למקום פלוני Im hu b'retzono u'v'da'ato laleches l'veis ploni l'makom ploni. Come on. We know neuroplasty, neurologists, your brain is telling your legs what to do. Don't blame your legs on leading your brain. Your brain's in charge. It's called the ראש rosh, it's the head. It's in charge. So the brain says go to the gym, go to work, go to the supermarket. How is it that the feet don't listen? How are the feet defiant? How do the feet lead to... איך יורגלי מביאות אותו בניגוד לרצונו לבית מדרש Eich yireglai mevi'os oso b'nigud l'retzono l'veis medrash? If you really are stating, says David Hamelech, if you David Hamelech really want to go elsewhere, how is it working that your feet are taking you to the beis medrash? Listen to the Kotzker. אם האדם מחשב דרכיו, אפילו בדברים הגשמיים Im ha'adam mechshev derachav, afilu b'dvarim ha'gashmi'im, נותן לו כח להשתוקק לתורה הקדושה nosen lo koach l'hishtokek l'Torah ha'kedoshah. If you are calculating your ways, even your physical actions are Torah, then you turn wherever you go into a beis medrash, a beis knesses. Psh... What a Kotzker. It's not that David didn't arrive geographically where he meant to go. It's rather where he meant to go becomes altogether different, is elevated, is transformed, because his mind and place makes everything a beis medrash. At the supermarket and at work and in the gym, through the conversations you have, through what you're thinking about, through the prism through which you filter and see all that happens, it's all in the context of Torah and avodah. You transform everywhere you go into a beis medrash and a beis knesses. That's what David Hamelech was saying. That's what the Medrash means. אם בחקתי תלכו im bechukosai teileichu, תלכו teileichu means it's not just when I'm in shul or when I'm in the beis medrash that I'm engaged in religious activity. And then is my secular life. But rather if I'm a religious personality, if I'm a ben or a bas Torah, everywhere I go is a beis medrash of life. I feel like that as a rabbi, because everywhere I go is drasha material. Whatever is happening in life is drasha material. Over Pesach, Yishai Ribo concert that happened, you may have heard of, whatever, he was a few songs in, neighbors complain, the police came and shut it down, they took him off stage. And my dear friend Rabbi Gibber's son, Chaim Gibber, was sitting a couple rows in front of me, and he turned around to me and he said something only a rabbi's child would say. He looked at me as they led Yishai Ribo off stage and abruptly ended this concert to the dismay of many people. He turned around and he said to me, 'Drasha material.' Only a rabbi's kid would say, 'Drasha material.' That's how we live life. Everything is a beis medrash for drasha material. But you don't have to be a rabbi to approach life and live everything and say, what's the Torah message? What's the Torah idea? How does this connect to the Torah that I've learned? David Hamelech turned every place he went into a beis medrash. Kotzker doesn't say this, the Slonimer Rebbe does, but that's what David Hamelech also means when he says, אחת שאלתי מאת השם אותה אבקש שבתי בבית השם כל ימי חיי Achas sha'alti mei'eis Hashem osah avakeish, shivti b'veis Hashem kol yemei chayai. David Hamelech says I want to be in Kollel all of life. That's what David Hamelech wants? He's a warrior, he's got to go to battle. He's a king, he's in charge of the people. What do you mean שבת בבית השם shivti b'veis Hashem? And and nobody, I don't care how generous your parents or in-laws are, nobody can sit in Kollel their whole life and learn literally all day. You got to go to the bathroom. You have to eat and sleep. You have to shower and bathe. You have to do other mundane activities. So how can you say שבת בבית השם כל ימי חיי shivti b'veis Hashem kol yemei chayai? Says the Slonimer, consistent with the Kotzker, what he's saying about David Hamelech, but David Hamelech was saying was not that I want to be in shul or beis medrash all day. I want wherever I go to become a beis medrash. I want to feel your presence, I want to connect with you. I want to be living and learning you wherever I am. שבת בבית השם כל ימי חיי Shivti b'veis Hashem kol yemei chayai. אשיבה רגלי אל עדותיך Ashivah raglai el eido'secha. My legs, my feet, what could I do? They brought me. So wherever I went was a beis medrash for you. That is life. Okay, next pasuk. Khaf vav, perek chaf vav pasuk dalet, we read, ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם v'nasati gishmeichem b'itam. It's going to rain in the right time. What does that mean it's gonna rain in the right time? What does that mean? What's the right time for the rain? What is the right time for the rain? Says Rashi, בעתם b'itam. בשעה שאין דרך בני אדם לצאת b'sha'ah she'ein derech bnei adam latzeis. You know when the right time is for it to rain? When you don't plan on leaving your house. Hashem is going to time the rain when you're not out and about. That's when he's going to make it rain. So when is that? When is the best time? כגון בלילי רביעיות ובלילי שבתות k'gon b'leilei revi'ios u'v'leilei Shabbasos. What are the רביעיות revi'ios? Sunday night through Wednesday night. That's what it means. That's when it's going to rain. And late Friday night. Hmm? Why is that the best time for the rain? What does that mean? What does that mean? So says Rashi, you know what the bracha is? You need rain. We need rain. But rain is also inconvenient. So Hashem will give us both. We'll get the rain. but at convenient times. Like a sprinkler you could set to go on while you're sleeping so it doesn't spray you while you're getting into your car. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu who sets the sprinklers of the world, the rain, that they operate in a time which is not inconvenient or uncomfortable for us. And when is that? Sunday night through Wednesday night and Friday night. Huh? Why is that? That's what רש\"י Rashi says. That's what רש\"י Rashi says. So why is that? So I'll tell you from the ספר sefer, the סידרא עליון Sidra Elyon, a turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos ווארט vort. That I'll tell you right now I may reuse during Friday, turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos, because so beautiful. Listen to this ווארט vort. Why is that? Why is it then? So we see this comes from מדרש Medrash. בימי רביעיות או אין לו בערבי שבתות. אמרו שנו כשני אליהו, גשמים יורדים בערבי שבתות, אין לו סימן קללה. ופירש רש\"י והראב\"ד, עד יום רביעי. שכל יום מתחילת השבוע עד יום רביעי, הוא יום ברכה לירידת גשמים. אבל ביום חמישי ושישי, שהם טרודים בצורכי שבת, אם יורדים בהם גשמים, אפילו מעשה ניסים כשנות אליהו, הם סימן קללה. B'yimei r'viyos o ein lo b'arvei Shabbasos. Amru sh'nu k'shnei Eliyahu, gshamim yordim b'arvei Shabbasos, ein lo siman klalah. U'peirush Rashi v'haRaavad, ad yom r'vii. She'kol yom mitchilas hashavua ad yom r'vii, hu yom bracha l'yeridas gshamim. Aval b'yom chamishi v'shishi, she'hem trudim b'tzorchei Shabbos, im yordim bahem gshamim, afilu ma'aseh nissim k'shnos Eliyahu, hem siman klalah. If it rains on Thursday and Friday, it's a curse. If it rains on Sunday through Wednesday, it's a ברכה bracha. Why? Because Sunday through Wednesday, you're home. But Thursday and Friday, what are you doing? You're shopping and preparing for שבת Shabbos. נפלא להתבונן Nifla l'hisbonein. Says, wondrous to think about. התורה מבטיחה שכר לעמלי תורה HaTorah mavticha schar l'ameilei Torah. So remember what this is a conclusion of. אם בחוקותי תלכו Im bechukosai teileichu. שטיגען Shteigen in learning. Sit and toil in Torah. And what's your reward for toiling in Torah? What is the reward? When you're preparing for שבת Shabbos, you won't be inconvenienced. That's the reward. The reward is you're turning Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. That's the reward. Wow. מהו השכר שלא יפריעו מצרכי שבת Ma hu haschar shelo yafriu mitzorchei Shabbos? ולכאורה ניתן היה לצפות לשכר יותר גדול לאדם V'lichora nitan haya l'tzapot l'schar yoser gadol l'adam. That's שכר schar? That's שכר schar. שכר Schar is make my bank account explode, make my portfolio go up. Give me Aaron Judge's new contract. That's שכר schar. שכר Schar is that you let me shop on ערב שבת Erev Shabbos in peace? So you know what the answer is? For a הייליגע איד heilige Yid, that's שכר schar. That's what you long for and look to. You don't need a bigger house or a nicer car. For a Jew, you know what you want? Help me turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. That's the שכר schar. עמלות בתורה Ameilus b'Torah, the שכר schar for a life of עמלות בתורה ameilus b'Torah is being able to turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. It's not beautiful? It's not incredible? That is the שכר schar. Peaceful ability to turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. I told the story in Turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. I don't remember if I told it in the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur. But when the Satmar Rebbe met with Rav Dovid Feinstein, זצ\"ל zatzal, he said, \"Our fathers were close, we barely know each other. We'd love to, we should really spend time.\" And Rav Dovid said, \"Absolutely, I'd love to see you.\" So the Satmar Rebbe said, \"How about Thursday night?\" Thursday night was a good night. So Rav Dovid Feinstein told the Satmar Rebbe, \"I can't. Every Thursday night my wife gives me a shopping list and I do the shopping for שבת Shabbos at the grocery store.\" I told that story in an email. I got an email from someone who lived on the Lower East Side who told me that Thursday night you knew if you went to the supermarket you saw Rav Dovid Feinstein, the גדול של אמריקה gadol shel America, arguably the biggest פוסק posek in America, and he was pushing a cart through the supermarket aisles shopping for שבת Shabbos. Because for a holy Jew, the reward for עמלות בתורה ameilus b'Torah is getting to go to the supermarket on ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. That's the reward. Not I delegate it to someone else. Not I'm too busy, don't ask me to do it. For Rav Dovid Feinstein, the שכר schar of עמלות בתורה ameilus b'Torah, of אם בחוקותי תלכו im bechukosai teileichu, was גשמיכם בעיתם gishmeichem b'itam. Let it rain Sunday through Wednesday, Thursday night I go to the supermarket. השם Hashem, let it not rain. The Lower East Side you have to say let it not snow. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu, let no one steal my hubcaps. Let... Lower East Side is a whole other set of תפילות tefillos that you have to say. השם Hashem, let me turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos in peace and in serenity. And that is the reward for a holy Jew, for a גדול הדור gadol hador, for אם בחוקותי תלכו im bechukosai teileichu. גשמאק Geshmak, no? Absolutely incredible. Absolutely incredible. So incredible I may repeat it again in Turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. פרק ב׳, פסוק ה׳ Perek Beis, Pasuk Hei. Moving right along, third פסוק pasuk. We read, והשיג לכם דיש את בציר ובציר ישיג את זרע ואכלתם לחמכם לשובע וישבתם לבטח בארצכם V'hisig lachem daish es batzir u'vatzir yasig es zara v'achaltem lachmechem l'sova v'yishavtem l'vetach b'artzechem. Threshing will last until the vintage. These are different harvesting seasons, but they'll be so plentiful, the bounty will be so great that they'll overlap. Until you'll eat bread, sated, you'll be full and you'll dwell securely in your land. והשיג לכם את דיש V'hisig lachem es daish. What is this talking about? What does this mean? So Rav Chaim Volozhiner, the נפש החיים Nefesh HaChaim, in his רוח חיים Ruach Chaim, פרק א' Perek Aleph, says the following. After the Torah offers us promises of עולם הזה olam hazeh to שומר תורה shomer Torah, why do we see that for many people it doesn't come true? This is a big question in פרשת בחוקותי Parshas Bechukosai. It's a big question in פרשת כי תבוא Parshas Ki Savo. When the Torah does allude to, it infrequently does, but when the Torah does, here it doesn't allude, it explicitly says, the system of reward and punishment. Keep Torah, it's going to rain, you're going to have peace, you're going to have children, life will be beautiful and good. And neglect Torah, you're going to struggle, you're going to suffer, you're going to be hungry, you won't have the money to pay the bills. Asks Rav Chaim Volozhiner, that's nice in theory, but empirically it's not true. We look around at this world and there are incredibly righteous people who keep Torah and מצוות mitzvos, and yet, there are bad things that happen to good people, and there are good things that happen to bad people. So it doesn't add up. It doesn't match what the Torah promises. ומדוע ראינו רבים מעובדי ה' שחיים חיי צער ודחקות U'madua ra'inu rabim mei'ovdei Hashem she'chayim chayei tza'ar u'dchakus. We see many people who keep Torah and מצוות mitzvos scrupulously, vigilantly, they're עמל ameil and they're יגע yageia, they're they're toiling in it. And yet, where are the ברכות brachos? Where's the rain? Where are the children? Says Rav Chaim Volozhiner in the רוח חיים Ruach Chaim, עשיית מעשה המצוות מעורר כללי ישראל שפע עצום של טוב וברכה בכל עולמות asiyas ma'aseh hamitzvos m'orer klalei Yisrael shefa atzum shel tov u'vracha b'chol olamos. Torah doesn't promise that when you do the right thing and the flow of blessing into this world that you will be the recipient of the flow of blessing. It's that you are the catalyst for the flow of blessing. You open the pipeline. You open the channel. How much of it you get, that's still up to השם Hashem. How it works in this world and the next world, there are bad things that happen to good people in this world and they have a ליכטיגע און א מערדערישע גן עדן lichtige un a morderische Gan Eden. They, the bad in this world leaves them only pure good in the next. And there are good, there are bad people who have good things happen in this world. They're living up all their גן עדן Gan Eden in this world, and there's nothing good left for them awaiting for them. We don't know השם's Hashem's calculations, we don't know how he works. And when the Torah here promises that if you are well-behaved and you're good, then good things happen, it doesn't mean good things happen for you. It means that you are responsible for the good things that flow and come down into the world and into the universe. And he says Rav Chaim Volozhiner, that's what the Gemara means in ברכות Brachos. כל העולם כולו ניזון בשביל חנינא בני, וחנינא בני די לו בקב חרובין מערב שבת לערב שבת Kol ha'olam kulo nizon bishvil Chanina bni, v'Chanina bni day lo b'kav charuvin mei'erev Shabbos l'erev Shabbos. The Gemara quotes that כל העולם כולו ניזון בשביל חנינא בני kol ha'olam kulo nizon bishvil Chanina bni, the whole world is sustained by my son Chanina. But Chanina, he lives with carobs from Friday to Friday. He lives with kale. רחמנא ליצלן, לא עלינו Rachmana litzlan, lo aleinu. He eats גורנישט gurnisht, he eats nothing. He subsides on the worst punishment for man from ערב שבת Erev Shabbos to ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. So while he is sustaining the entire world in his merit, he subsides and subsists on next to nothing. Says the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah Hakadosh, Rav Yeshaya Levi Horowitz, בשביל bishvil. What is the word בשביל bishvil? כל העולם כולו ניזון בשביל חנינא Kol ha'olam kulo nizon bishvil Chanina. What do you mean בשביל bishvil? It means לשון דרך וצינור, כמו שביל הרבים lashon derech v'tzinor, k'mo shvil harabim. בשביל Bishvil is like a שביל shvil. What's a שביל shvil? A pathway, a channel. בשביל Bishvil means that in Chanina's merit, there's a channel, the צינורות tzinoros open up, the pipes of holiness, of blessing, the שפע ברכה shefa bracha, the bounty of ברכה bracha, they flow down to this world. בשביל חנינא בני Bishvil Chanina bni. אבל חנינא בני, די לו בקב חרובין מערב שבת לערב שבת Aval Chanina bni, day lo b'kav charuvin mei'erev Shabbos l'erev Shabbos. His lot in life, he's מסתפק במועט mistapek b'muat. Chanina Bni has very little and is satisfied with little and needs little and doesn't challenge the calculations of השם Hashem. Ah, so where's the fulfillment of פרשת בחוקותי Parshas Bechukosai that if אם בחוקותי תלכו im bechukosai teileichu, then ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם v'nasati gishmeichem b'itam? Is not for the צדיק tzaddik himself, but he for society, he for the rest of the community is the one who brings the שפע ברכה shefa bracha. He's the one who brings the שפע ברכה shefa bracha. And this, says Rav Chaim Volozhiner, is how you understand the Gemara in חגיגה Chagiga. The Gemara in חגיגה Chagiga tells us, זכה, צדיק נוטל חלקו וחלק חבירו בגן עדן zacha, tzaddik notel chelko v'chelek chaveiro b'Gan Eden. If a צדיק tzaddik merits, he gets his portion and the portion of his friend in גן עדן Gan Eden. That doesn't sound very nice. The צדיק tzaddik, the righteous, receive not only their portion, but they כאפ איין chap arein the portion of their friend also in גן עדן Gan Eden? I'm throwing in every Yiddish word I know today if you didn't notice, by the way. I'm almost at the end of my limited list. They take their portion and the portion of their friend? באיזה זכות נוטל את חלק חבירו B'eizeh zechus notel es chelek chaveiro as the צדיק tzaddik? Why do they have the right to take a portion of their friend? So says Rav Chaim Volozhiner, בחלק שהרשע לקח ממנו בעולם הזה, תמורת זה יקח את חלקו של הרשע בגן עדן b'chelek she'harasha lakach mimenu b'olam hazeh, t'muras zeh yikach es chelko shel harasha b'Gan Eden. Where did the שפע ברכה shefa bracha that the רשע rasha took in this world come from? In the merit of the צדיק tzaddik. So now when the צדיק tzaddik gets to גן עדן Gan Eden, it's time to collect. Now he collects the corresponding portion that he gave up from the רשע rasha in this world. Maybe you're not fully satisfied, but I think this is the beginning of a path and I think it's a beautiful insight is that how do we understand this פרשה parsha? It seems empirically to be not true. The answer is it is true. You'll say that Rav Chaim Kanievsky lived in squalor and poverty. He lived with next to nothing, in simplicity. We know other righteous people who suffer with very hard and difficult lives. I won't say them by name, but there are ראשי ישיבה roshei yeshiva and צדיקים tzaddikim whose Torah we quote who have several children with disabilities, who have countless challenges, financial and otherwise. And you say, I don't understand it. The Torah they produced, these are the most righteous. Why are they suffering? The answer is, the answer is the promise of the Torah is fulfilled. In the merit of their learning and their עמלות ameilus, there is ברכה bracha. Just didn't go to them yet. But all the ברכה bracha around them and in this world, the prosperity of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, it's in their merit. So the Torah doesn't promise it's all going to correspond. It promises they open the channels and it's in their merit that the flow, the flow occurs and the flow begins. פרק כ\"ו, פסוק ט' Perek Chaf Vov, Pasuk Tes. One of the promises is, ורדפו מכם חמישה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה ירדופו v'radfu michem chamisha meah u'meah michem revava yirdofu. Five of you will pursue 100, 100 of you will pursue 10,000, the enemies will fall before you. And now פסוק ט' pasuk tes. ופניתי אליכם והפריתי אתכם והרביתי אתכם U'fanisi aleichem v'hifreisi eschem v'hirbeisi eschem. And I will turn my attention to you. ופניתי אליכם U'fanisi aleichem. And I will turn my attention to you and I'll make you fruitful and increase and I'll establish my promise, my ברית bris, my covenant with you. The חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim, the Gerer Rebbe had an interesting thought on these words, ופניתי אליכם u'fanisi aleichem, that ופניתי אליכם u'fanisi aleichem, על דרך דרוש al derech drush, this is not what it means literally. But the, the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim, the Gerer Rebbe said, that what it means, ופניתי אליכם u'fanisi aleichem, means שיהיה לכם פנאי לכל דבר she'yihiyeh lachem pnai l'chol davar. ופניתי U'fanisi, the word פנאי pnai means to have time available, to have space and margin in life. ופניתי אליכם U'fanisi aleichem. You know what the biggest ברכה bracha we can have is? Margin, space, to not feel overwhelmed and to not feel busy. ופניתי אליכם U'fanisi aleichem. To have some space and some margin. That no matter how busy we are, we are not overly consumed. ופניתי אליכם U'fanisi aleichem. שיהיה לכם פנאי לכל דבר She'yihiyeh lachem pnai l'chol davar. That you will have time, that you'll find the time, that you'll be able to take on projects and dreams and aspirations, and it won't be at the expense of your health or your learning or your children or your family. ופניתי אליכם U'fanisi aleichem, the ברכה bracha that we strive for that we want to merit is of ופניתי אליכם u'fanisi aleichem, שיהיה לכם פנאי she'yihiyeh lachem pnai, that there'll be time without it being a tradeoff, without having to give up something in the process. Okay, פרק כ\"ו, פסוק י\"א Perek Chaf Vov, pasuk yud aleph. Again, continuing with the ברכות brachos still. ואכלתם ישן נושן וישן מפני חדש תוציאו V'achaltem yashan noshan v'yashan mipnei chadash totziu. You'll eat the old grain and remove the old grain to make way for the new grain, meaning there won't be supply chain issues. Our פרשה parsha tells us, literally it tells us, explicitly it tells us, if you merit, the supply will flow. And if you're not obedient and compliant, and if you don't merit, there'll be supply chain issues. Torah literally tells us. You will struggle in 2022 like a third world country to have baby formula to give your children. Torah tells us, wake up. If that's happening, learn from it, grow from it, improve yourself from it, be better because of it. Children's lives are threatened, they can't be supported with formula. Is that generation valuing the life of a baby, of a child? Maybe there's something to learn. The value of life. I'm not creating a direct line or correlation between the two. These are complex subjects, they have to do justice, they take nuance. But it's a wake-up call. That's what this entire פרשה parsha is, a wake-up call. It says if things are not going the way the Torah promised, then look in the mirror and ask yourself, what can we grow, what can we improve? What do we need to make better? ואכלתם ישן נושן V'achaltem yashan noshan, there'll be so much supply that you'll have to throw out the oversupply to make room for the new crop. And if you don't, if you don't merit, you'll have supply chain issues. That's literally in our פרשה parsha. It's a wake-up call. So פסוק י\"א pasuk yud aleph continues, ונתתי משכני בתוככם V'nasati mishkani b'sochechem. I will place my holiness, my sanctuary, משכני mishkani, מלשון שכן mi'lashon shochen, you'll feel I'm a neighbor to you, you'll feel I'm right there, I'm accessible to you. בתוככם B'sochechem. ולא תגעל נפשי אתכם V'lo sigal nafshi eschem. And I will not reject you. ולא תגעל נפשי אתכם V'lo sigal nafshi eschem. I will not reject you. What is ולא תגעל נפשי v'lo sigal nafshi, I won't reject you? What does that mean? So let's go back to the איש תם Ish Tamed. Back to Rav Druck who was just here last week who spoke here between Mincha and Maariv, gave דברי הספד divrei hesped for his Rebbe, for Rav Chaim. What does ולא תגעל נפשי v'lo sigal nafshi mean? So אמר רש\"י amar Rashi, אין רוחי קצה בכם ein ruchi katza bachem. You ready for this? You know what the big ברכה bracha Hashem says is? You'll never make me throw up. I'll never be repulsed by you. You'll never make me nauseous about you. I'll never be so turned off by you. I won't be disgusted by you. Wow, that's romantic. Could you imagine? Imagine at the שבע ברכות sheva brachos, son-in-law stands up and he says to the כלה kallah, your daughter, \"I want you to know I'm so excited to live with you, to build a life with you, to build a home with you, to light up the world with you, to change the world with you. And I want you to know, in closing, that no matter what happens, no matter how much weight you gain, no matter how much ugly you become, no matter how many children or babies you have, I'll never be repulsed by you. מזל טוב Mazel tov.\" That's that's, could you imagine, ולא תגעל נפשי אתכם v'lo sigal nafshi eschem? הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, \"No matter what you do, no matter how much weight you gain, I'll never be repulsed by you.\" אין רוחי קצה בכם Ein ruchi katza bachem. כל גיאול לשון פליטת דבר הבלוע בדבר אחר Kol giul lashon pleitas davar ha'balua b'davar acher. Rashi spells it out. The word סיגעל sigal comes from גיאול giul, פליטת דבר הבלוע pleitas davar ha'balua. Something inside of something else that gets spit out. It's called vomit. You'll never make me throw up. I'll never be so disgusted and repulsed by you that I'll throw up. מזל טוב Mazel tov. Could you imagine for the anniversary? Even after all these years, you've never made me repulsed. I've never thrown up because of you. Happy anniversary. Imagine? So what does this mean? The Ramban is bothered by this question. ולא ידעתי מה טעם בזה שאמר הקדוש ברוך הוא, כי בשמרנו כל המצוות ועשותנו רצונו ימאס בנו בגאול נפשו V'lo yadati ma taam b'zeh she'amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu, ki b'shomreinu kol hamitzvos v'asosenu r'tzono yim'as banu b'giul nafsho. And the Ramban gives דרך על דרך הסוד derech al derech hasod. The Ramban gives a very mystical, very very difficult to understand answer. So what does it mean? So the Rav Druck in his איש תמיד Ish Tamid, we didn't get to this last year, that's why I'm saved it for this year. What does that mean? What does that mean? So he quotes from his father אבי מורי avi mori, from the דרש מרדכי Drash Mordechai, Rav Mordechai Druck. היה רגיל לפרש בזה כי התורה באה ללמדנו בזה שאין שום דרך אמצעי. ישנם שני מצבים ברוחניות ובקירבת השם. Haya ragil l'faresh b'zeh ki haTorah ba'ah l'lamdeinu b'zeh she'ein shum derech emtzai. Yeshnam shnei matzavim b'ruchniyus u'v'kirvas Hashem. When it comes to a relationship with God, there is no happy medium. There is no פרווה parve. There are two extremes. או מצב של למעלה לראש, וזה המצב בו ראויים אנו ל'ונתתי משכני בתוככם'. ואם לא מגיעים למצב זה, אין להתנחם בדרגה פחותה מזו. כי בלי שאנו מתרפסים לדרגה הגבוהה ביותר, עלולים לרדת מטה מטה, עד שמגיעים חלילה למצב נורא זה שהקדוש ברוך הוא כביכול אומר 'וגעל נפשי אתכם חס ושלום'. וכן עלינו לדעת יסוד זה שאין פשרה בשום דרגה רוחנית. ותמיד נשאף לעלות רק מעלה מעלה. O matzav shel l'ma'ala larosh, v'zeh hamatzav bo r'uyim anu l'v'nasati mishkani b'sochechem. V'im lo magi'im l'matzav zeh, ein l'hitnachem b'darga p'chusa mizu. Ki b'li she'anu mit'rapsim l'darga hag'voha b'yoser, alulim laredes mata mata, ad she'magi'im chalila l'matzav nora zeh she'Hakadosh Baruch Hu k'viyachol omer 'v'gaal nafshi eschem chas v'shalom'. V'chein aleinu ladaas yesod zeh she'ein p'shara b'shum darga ruchnis. V'tamid nish'af la'alos rak ma'ala ma'ala. There is no middle category. There is no neutral. We either are feeling His presence with us, or we have spit him out. We have vomited him from among us. There is no neutral. We're either living our lives that Hashem wants to dwell with us, or we're living our lives that we've not made room for him, that he wants no part of us, that we have vomited him out and he has vomited us out. We're either in love and living with love and showing love, or there's hate, there's repulsiveness, there's distance. Those are the two extremes. אדם עלול לשכוח את עצמו שהוא נמצא במצב בינוני. הן אמנם לא זכה להשראת השכינה, אבל על כל פנים גם לא מגיע לו שיגעל לו. ובמחשבה זו באה התורה להפקיע, אין מצב ביניים כזה. Adam alul lishko'ach es atzmo she'hu nimtza b'matzav beinoni. Hein amnam lo zacha l'hashra'as haShchina, aval al kol panim gam lo magia lo she'yigal lo. U'v'machshava zu ba'ah haTorah l'hafki'a, ein matzav beinayim kaze. There is no middle category. There is no middle. There is no middle. He says that's why in פרשת כי תבוא Parshas Ki Savo, which complements, that's the תוכחה tochacha there, לראש ולא לזנב l'rosh v'lo l'zanav. That's it? You're either the head or the tail? You can't just be the rib steak in the middle? Can't be the flankin'? You're either the head or the tail? The answer is yes. In a relationship with Hashem, you're acting either a head or a tail. That's it. There is no middle ground. And he goes on and gives many other examples and evidence there is no middle ground. I would humbly submit to you a different answer. And what we were just mocking a moment ago is in fact very romantic and very beautiful. Sometimes a woman turns to her husband, a husband to a wife, and they say, \"Would you still love me if I put on 100 pounds? Will you be attracted to me? Will you love me?\" And that's a moment of truth. And in a healthy and a good and a beautiful marriage, the answer is yes. There's nothing you can do that would make me feel repulsed by you. I love your character, and I love your personality, and I love the life we've built together. I love who we are. And my love is much deeper than skin deep. And there's nothing you can do that would repulse me. Eat a little bit more kale, but there's nothing that you can do that would repulse me. That would repulse me. In fact, it is very romantic. I wouldn't say it during שבע ברכות sheva brachos or under the חופה chuppah, but in a private conversation, it's a very, very romantic and a very beautiful statement to say that my love for you is so pure and so genuine and so deep that even though we may hit bumps in the road, and even though we might have friction, and even though you might disappoint me and I disappoint you, it is so deep and is so profound and it is so unconditional that we'll always find a way back. There's nothing you can do that would make me repulsed. Nothing you can do that would make me want to leave. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is turning to us and He's saying, you know what my ברכה bracha is? That when you're doing the right thing, there's nothing you can do, ולא תגעל נפשי אתכם v'lo sigal nafshi eschem. There's nothing that you can do. No matter how ugly you get, כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. No matter how ugly you get in exile, no matter how low you sink, no matter what you do, if first you do these merits and you do these מצוות mitzvos and you frame it in these beautiful things, the mistakes you'll make within the context of the beautiful relationship we have, ולא תגעל נפשי v'lo sigal nafshi, I could never be repulsed or driven away by you. He has another comment in והתהלכתי בתוככם v'hishalachti b'sochechem. But I want to move over because I want to make sure we get to. פרק כ\"ו, פסוק י\"ד Perek Chaf Vov, pasuk yud daled. If you're listening to nothing else, listen to this. פרק כ\"ו, פסוק י\"ד Perek Chaf Vov, pasuk yud daled. Now we have the inverse of what we began with. If you, אם בחוקותי תלכו im bechukosai teileichu, I'm going to make it rain. ואם לא תשמעו לי ולא תעשו את כל המצוות האלה V'im lo sishm'u li v'lo sa'asu es kol hamitzvos ha'eileh. If you don't listen to me and if you don't keep my מצוות mitzvos, ואם בחוקותי תמאסו v'im bechukosai tim'asu, and if you reject and you are repulsed by my חוקים chukim, ואם משפטי תגעל נפשכם v'im mishpatai tigal nafshechem, then there is a terrible consequence to that. So Rashi says, what is לא תשמעו לי lo sishm'u li? We referenced it earlier. What is לא תשמעו לי lo sishm'u li, you didn't listen to me? What does it mean? להיות עמלים בתורה L'hiyos ameilim baTorah. Not toiling in Torah is the definition of not listening. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, the great Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir, שיחות מוסר Sichos Mussar, he says, why is אם לא תשמעו לי im lo sishm'u li, שלא תהיו עמלים shelo tihiyu ameilim? Maybe לא תשמעו לי lo sishm'u li means you weren't learning. You know it has been said, דאווענען davening is our talking to השם Hashem, learning Torah is השם Hashem talking to us. When we learn Torah, השם Hashem is speaking to us. And when we דאווענען daven, we are speaking to him. So לא תשמעו לי lo sishm'u li, you're not listening to me, should translate as you're not learning Torah. Why does it translate as the higher or the deeper level of you're not עמלים בתורה ameilim baTorah? לא תשמעו לי Lo sishm'u li. So Rav Chaim explains, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz says, and he was an example of this himself, he was a מבקש mevakesh, he was מוסר נפש moser nefesh. He toiled and he had ambition and he had drive in Torah learning. And he said, what it means is that if you're not עמל ameil, then you're not listening. You can't superficially learn Torah. Torah doesn't lend itself to superficiality. Torah doesn't lend itself to surface learning. Torah doesn't lend itself to a sound bite. We're going to talk about this on שבועות Shavuos when we examine the Jewish view of abortion, pro-choice, pro-life, where do we fit in, who are we? And and one of the reasons that I want to look at it is not only about abortion, the topic per se, but as a case study of a contemporary issue which people have hijacked to try to misrepresent superficially. So you look on Twitter and you'll see some politically are inclined to say, Judaism is aligned with pro-choice. And others definitively say, Judaism is aligned with pro-life. And Judaism is neither. Torah doesn't conveniently fit into either. It's nuanced and it's complicated and it's filled with gray. And the Torah doesn't fit into 140 characters. Torah's not superficial and it's not simplistic. So Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz says, אם לא תשמעו לי im lo sishm'u li means you're not עמל בתורה ameil baTorah. Ah, you could be learning all day long, but if you're doing it casually and superficially, if you're doing it on the surface level, if you're doing it to fit into 140 characters for a sound bite, then you're not listening. אם לא תשמעו לי Im lo sishm'u li means עמלות בתורה ameilus baTorah. It translates as עמלות בתורה ameilus baTorah. It is the definition of עמלות בתורה ameilus baTorah. Rav Shlomo Wolbe, the great עלי שור Alei Shur, understands it a little bit differently. He says, why doesn't it say, ואם בחוקותי לא תלכו v'im bechukosai lo seileichu? Shouldn't it be the in fact exact inverse? Why aren't we, it should be the parallel, the opposite. If the פרשה parsha began, אם בחוקותי תלכו im bechukosai teileichu, now we should continue, אם בחוקותי לא תלכו im bechukosai lo seileichu. Why did we shift and change instead of אם בחוקותי לא תלכו im bechukosai lo seileichu, we became אם לא תשמעו im lo sishm'u, and אם לא תשמעו im lo sishm'u. So, Rav Wolbe quotes from the מדרש Medrash, the מדרש רבה Medrash Rabbah says, שמעו ותחי נפשכם shim'u u's'chi nafshechem. Listen and your, and your soul will live. And the מדרש Medrash says if a person fell off the roof and they broke every bone in their body, and they come to the doctor and the doctor bandages every bone in their body, so the doctor saying into their ear, \"I want you to heal,\" won't heal the bones of their body. The bones of their body have rods and casts and bandages and each bone needs to heal independently. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, \"Not so with you. The damage you've done to all of your limbs and your bones of your body through misbehaving, you can heal and you can fix with one organ, namely your ear. Simply listen, and by listening and learning, you can fix and repair and transform every limb and every bone of your body.\" אזוי זאגט דער מדרש Azoy zogt der Medrash. That's the מדרש Medrash. שמעו ותחי נפשכם Shim'u u's'chi nafshechem. Listen and you can restore the life of your soul. You can heal entirely through the one feature of your ear and it will, it will transform you. The משגיח mashgiach, Rav Yechezkel Levenstein said, when he was a בחור צעיר bachur tzair, when he was a young בחור bachur in Radin, he heard a a a שמועס shmuess, a מוסר שמועס mussar shmuess from the משגיח mashgiach Rav Yerucham. And afterwards he said, \"My ציצית tzitzis were never real ציצית tzitzis and my תפילין tefillin weren't real תפילין tefillin, and my אמונה emunah wasn't אמונה emunah, and now, now everything is different. Everything. I thought I was wearing ציצית tzitzis, I didn't know what ציצית tzitzis were. I thought I was wearing תפילין tefillin, I didn't know what תפילין tefillin were. I thought I said שמע Shema, I didn't know what שמע Shema was. I thought I had אמונה emunah, I didn't know what אמונה emunah was. Through our ear, we can repair and transform and redefine and recreate everything about who we are.\" That's the כח השמיעה koach hashmi'ah. It has the ability to transform. That's why אם לא תשמעו לי, עמלים בתורה im lo sishm'u li, ameilim baTorah. Through our ear and through that עמלות ameilus, it lifts and it changes. But it has to be beyond just the surface. It has to be beyond just learning the data and the statistics. It has to be something so much more. The Alter Rebbe is a famous story. The Alter Rebbe was once at home immersed in his learning, and he heard the cries of a baby. So what did he do? He stopped learning, and he went down the stairs, and he lovingly picked up his grandchild who had fallen out of his crib. And he held the baby, and he rocked the baby, and he soothed the baby until the baby stopped crying. He put him back in the crib and he rocked gently for a short while till he fell asleep. And the Alter Rebbe's son, Rav Dov Ber, who had become known as the Mitteler Rebbe, was in the room as the baby, same room, but was so engrossed in his learning that he was oblivious to everything that was happening. There's different versions of the story. He was in the next room and the Alter Rebbe was in the third room, whatever the version is. But the Mitteler Rebbe was in the room closer to or the same room as the baby, but he was so engrossed in his learning, he was so עמל ameil in his learning, he didn't hear the baby crying. So when Rav Dov Ber finally felt his father's presence and he looked up at his father, the Alter Rebbe, his father gave him מוסר mussar. And he said, \"You should never ever be so engrossed in Torah learning that it causes you to not hear the cries of a baby.\" Put differently, learning which prevents you from hearing a baby crying is not Torah learning. That's not Torah learning. Torah learning should make you more sensitive to hear the cries of a baby, not deaf to it, not less of it. That's in לא תשמעו lo tishme'u. That's what our פרשה parsha is telling us. In לא תשמעו lo tishme'u, you were not עמל בתורה ameil baTorah, because if you were עמל בתורה ameil baTorah, you'd hear the baby crying. עמל בתורה Ameil baTorah doesn't mean you don't hear the baby crying. If you were עמל בתורה ameil baTorah, you'd hear the baby crying. If you were עמל בתורה ameil baTorah, Rav David Feinstein, you'd be pushing the cart through the supermarket on a Thursday night. If you're עמל בתורה ameil baTorah, you'd be wanting to turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. If you're עמל בתורה ameil baTorah, you'd be kicking into action. You'd be putting what you're learning into practice, into actual practice.All right, we ran out of time but I'll tell you what you're missing. At the end of the פרשה parsha, we have a promise. First of all, it's strange, it's in the middle of the תוכחה tochacha. We're in the middle of the harsh rebuke. It's פרק כו פסוק נב Perek kaf vav, pasuk nun beis. I'm just going to ask it as a question. וזכרתי את בריתי יעקב ואף את בריתי יצחק ואף את בריתי אברהם אזכר והארץ אזכר V'zacharti es brisi Yaakov v'af es brisi Yitzchak v'af es brisi Avraham ezkor v'ha'aretz ezkor. We say this in our סליחות slichos. So it's worthwhile to know what it means. One day, when I'm 118, we'll be up to and consider the סליחות slichos. One day. We say in the in the פרשה parsha, and we say in סליחות slichos, I'll remember my ברית bris with יעקב Yaakov and even my ברית bris with יצחק Yitzchak and my ברית bris with אברהם Avraham I'll remember, and the land I'll remember. Why are we giving, why is Hashem giving comfort in the middle of the תוכחה tochacha? I'm going to destroy you, I'm going to kill you, you won't have babies, your children will die, you'll be at war, you'll have no peace of mind, you'll be on the run. But I remember, what is it doing here? It's out of place. And why is it in the reverse order? Why are you remembering יעקב Yaakov and then יצחק Yitzchak and then אברהם Avraham? And why are we equating the ברית bris with the land with the ברית bris with our forefathers? What is that all about? We'll set it aside, בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem, we'll do it next year. Have a fantastic שבת Shabbos, stay happy, stay holy. And it's not שבת Shabbos, it's only Tuesday. Have a good שבת Shabbos. Every day is בחינת ערב שבת b'chinas Erev Shabbos. Have a great שבת Shabbos. Have a great day, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy.
