Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov and חודש טוב Chodesh tov and welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur is always sponsored by Becky and Avi Katz in loving memory of David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש l'ilui nishmas Dovid Ben Menachem Monish, whose יארצייט Yahrtzeit, I believe is today or this week. Tremendous gratitude to the Grossman family, the Katz family. He was a very special person, I knew him. Big, enormous heart, very, very generous soul and we wish נחמה Nachama to his beautiful family, to Becky and Avi, and the whole family and my dear friend Rabbi Seth. נשמה שתעלה בעליה nishama sh'ta'aleh b'aliyah. This morning's שיעור shiur is also sponsored לעילוי נשמת אליהו בן משה l'ilui nishmas Eliyahu ben Moshe, Ernest Kahn, beloved father of Susan Rajastan on his ninth יארצייט Yahrtzeit, the second of אדר Adar. Thank you, Susan, for your generosity and your sponsorship, greatly, greatly appreciated. And appreciate everybody's flexibility moving the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur to today instead of yesterday. We were on the road, so appreciate it. Just a reminder our global campaign is going to be starting soon, so keep an eye out for it next week. If you come and if you enjoy or if you're watching and you are listening and you enjoy the content, if your life is enriched in any way by the content that comes from the Boca Raton Synagogue, it's your obligation to do something. $18, $180, $1,800, $18,000, $18 million. We'd welcome it all. But I don't know how you could sleep at night if you benefit, enjoy the content, derive pleasure and don't contribute to enabling us to be able to do it. So, I'm just introducing it. We're not up to it yet. The guilt trip thing is that's just a low level guilt. That was just the introduction to the guilt. Wait 'til you see it come on, full force. But בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem our global campaign. You can give now. BRSONLINE.org/global and you can help us accomplish all that we do.Page 444 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. פרשת תרומה Parshas Trumah. We now move to the second half of the book of שמות Shemos. The story of the משכן Mishkan and the כלים keilim, the building of the sanctuary, a place for the Almighty to dwell and to live. And here we have something fascinating. רש\"י Rashi begins ויקחו לי תרומה v'yikchu li trumah. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר Vaydaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, God spoke to Moshe saying, דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'yikchu li trumah, מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו mei'eis kol ish asher yidvenu libo, תקחו את תרומתי tikchu es trumasi. Speak to the children of the Jewish people, let them take for me a portion from every person אשר ידבנו לבו asher yidvenu libo, תקחו את תרומתי tikchu es trumasi. We've spoken so many times about this פסוק pasuk. You can listen to previous years' שיעורים shiurim. Why the word איש ish? We have countless words for man. איש Ish, גבר gever, אדם adam, ילד yeled. We have so many words. Why איש ish? Why specifically the word איש ish? And why אשר ידבנו לבו asher yidvenu libo? Why do they have to have a generous heart? And most notably, why is it ויקחו v'yikchu? Why is it taking? It is an act of giving. Right, what I just did, we always time our global campaign and appeal with פרשת תרומה Parshas Trumah. I share every year the beautiful insight. Many give. The צדיקים tzaddikim quote, why is פרשת תרומה Parshas Trumah after פרשת משפטים Parshas Mishpatim? At the end of last week's פרשה parsha, נעשה ונשמע Naaseh v'nishmah, we just had הר סיני Har Sinai. Because it's easy to be on top of the mountain. השם Hashem is amazing, revelation, spirituality, connection. Right, you come off in the עילא ila, the קומזיץ kumzits, the חבורה chaburah, the טיש tish. You're on fire, it's incredible. Everything's amazing. אמונה שיעור Emuna shiur, the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur, the חסד chesed, amazing. So amazing? Could you take out your checkbook? Well, it's not so amazing. You don't understand where I give, what I do, I don't really have. So does being on fire translate to giving and generosity? Do you take משפטים Mishpatim and put it into תרומה Trumah? So ויקחו לי תרומה v'yikchu li trumah, it should be ויתנו v'yitnu, should be giving not receiving. So we talk about this every year, every year I try to bring new insight into this opening פסוק pasuk, these opening פסוקים psukim. The שב שמעתתא Shev Shmaitsa. You didn't see that coming. The שב שמעתתא Shev Shmaitsa is an incredibly complicated, advanced, difficult ספר sefer of למדנות lamdus. Said seven שמעתתא Shmaitsa, seven different מאמרים maamarim teachings, very intricate, very detailed. The שב שמעתתא Shev Shmaitsa asks two questions on this רש\"י Rashi. רש\"י Rashi says ויקחו לי תרומה v'yikchu li trumah, לי לשמי li l'shmi. Why does God say take for me a gift? What do you mean for me? The משכן Mishkan's for him? God needs anything? It's a big discussion, does God have needs? Are we anthropomorphizing him? Does he really have needs? ויקחו לי V'yikchu li, take for me. לי Li, says רש\"י Rashi, לשמי l'shmi. You have to do it how? לשמה Lishma. לשמה Lishma. The gifts to the משכן Mishkan had to be given לשמה lishma. No ulterior motive, no self-interest, no ego, לשמה lishma. Had to be purely motivated, entirely for השם Hashem. And the שב שמעתתא Shev Shmaitsa wonders, why is the construction of the משכן Mishkan singled out as requiring לשמה lishma? Every מצוה mitzvah should be done לשמה lishma. Ideally. Ideally every מצוה mitzvah we do, putting on תפילין tefillin, lighting the שבת Shabbos candles, sitting in the סוכה sukkah, hearing the שופר shofar, every מצוה mitzvah we do, תרי\"ג מצוות taryag mitzvos every day, one should focus their mind, one should be paying attention, one should be really invested and mindful. So why specifically this one is it an absolute prerequisite? Why is it a necessity? Don't give if you're not going to do it לשמה lishma. Every מצוה mitzvah should be done לשמה lishma. Moreover, we have a principle, the גמרא פסחים Gemara Pesachim tells us elsewhere, that when you do something, is it if you're not doing it for the right reason, better not do it at all? Or better to do it? Better to do it, why? מתוך שלא לשמה Mitoch shelo lishma, בא לשמה ba lishma. Because if you do it at first for the wrong reason, but at least do it, when you get started doing it, maybe what motivated, what precipitated to begin with was the wrong reason, you'll come to do it for the right reason. I just returned late last night, our BRS מבקשים mevakshim fly-in. The whole חבר'ה chevra went to New York for two and a half days. We went all over the New York area. We met with incredible ראשי ישיבה Roshei Yeshiva, רבנים rabbanim, community leaders. Amazing trip. I can't wait to share so much of the inspiration, the teachings, the messages. One of the incredibly accomplished רבנים rabbanim we met with, who's written many, many, many ספרים sfarim that you're familiar with, shared with us, I won't say his name because I don't know if he shared the story for publication, but he told us, I asked him, what inspired you to write this genre of ספרים sfarim, the books that he puts out, which have enhanced all of our lives enormously. I said, why did you start that? What did you think was missing? What led you to do that? He said he was a young man learning in yeshiva, and he wanted to stand out, he wanted to make a name. He wanted to do something different. There was a competitiveness in learning. So he wrote the first book and he went to רב משה Rav Moshe. And he asked רב משה Rav Moshe a שאלה shailah, can I publish this book? So רב משה Rav Moshe looked and said, what's the question? I don't understand the question. You wrote a ספר sefer, why wouldn't you want to publish it? What would be the שאלה shailah about publishing it? So he said, because I wrote it for the wrong reasons. Everything's accurate, everything's true. It's adding something valuable, but I wrote it for my ego. So רב משה Rav Moshe said, no problem. Because you know you wrote it for the wrong reason, you can publish it, מתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה mitoch shelo lishma, ba lishma. He's written many, many ספרים sfarim, and he's a very special person, and very humbly he said, I'm still waiting for the לשמה lishma to come. It's still לא לשמה lo lishma. So he said something very interesting. רב משה Rav Moshe was saying to him was, only when you acknowledge it's לא לשמה lo lishma, can you do it לא לשמה lo lishma with the hope it'll come לשמה lishma. But if you fool yourself into thinking that it's לשמה lishma now when it's לא לשמה lo lishma, maybe better you shouldn't be doing it. You have to have the self-awareness and the fidelity to the truth to admit that right now it's לא לשמה lo lishma, and hopefully it'll become לשמה lishma. So we do all kinds of מצוות mitzvos שלא לשמה shelo lishma. A person goes to the דף יומי Daf Yomi, a person volunteers for the חברא קדישא Chevra Kadisha because they want their children to get a שידוך shidduch. I wish I were joking. But you don't know how many people tell me, my kids are in שידוכים shidduchim, for the resume, I need to start getting involved in something in the community. Rabbi, where can you plug me in? So that's that's a very beautiful thought. It's very powerful. שלא לשמה Shelo lishma, but בא לשמה ba lishma. Then בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem they fall in love with the דף daf or they fall in love with the satisfaction of being on the חברא chevra and doing טהרות taharas. But people all throughout the day are doing things שלא לשמה shelo lishma. So why is ויקחו לי תרומה v'yikchu li trumah, לי לשמי li l'shmi? The gifts to the משכן Mishkan had to be pure, no ulterior motive. So the שב שמעתתא Shev Shmaitsa asked the two questions. Number one, every מצוה mitzvah we try to do לשמה lishma. But number two, isn't it better to do לא לשמה lo lishma? Because then it's בא לשמה ba lishma. So why is it a prerequisite here? לי Li has to be לשמי l'shmi. The שב שמעתתא Shmaitsa answers based on the אלשיך Alshich. The אלשיך הקדוש Alshich haKadosh addresses our פסוק pasuk. Why is השם Hashem's call ויקחו לי v'yikchu li, take for me donations? It should be, ויתנו v'yitnu. Give. Give. So the אלשיך Alshich explains based on a גמרא קידושין דף ז Gemara Kiddushin daf zayin. The גמרא קידושין Gemara Kiddushin has a fascinating סוגיא sugya. For a man and a woman to be married, the man has to give the woman, the three ways one can get married, כסף, שטר, ביאה kesef, shtar, biah, but our universal practice today, we do כסף kesef. We marry a man is betrothed to a woman through a transaction, through the transfer of something of value. We also today universally don't give money. We do שווה כסף shaveh kesef, something that is equal of value to money. We give a ring. Based on תוספות Tosefos, a ring without a stone. The woman shouldn't be misled. She thinks she's getting a million-dollar stone. Little does she know it's lab grown, cubic zirconium. Little did he know he got it in the cereal box that morning. So it's going to be a קידושי טעות kiddushei ta'us. She thinks the guy's giving her a million-dollar ring and the ring came in the box of fruity pebbles that morning. So therefore תוספות Tosefos says we don't give a stone. No stones. No, don't give a stone, don't engrave anything, a plain simple band. It can be made of any material, but a plain simple band. That's our practice. שווה כסף Shaveh kesef, a plain simple band. So the גמרא Gemara says, the man has to give a woman, הרי את מקודשת לי harei at mekudeshes li, you're betrothed to me, and then he puts the ring on her finger, puts the ring on her finger. The גמרא Gemara gives variations of this סוגיא sugya or this scenario where the man is giving something, and what about if the woman does not receive something tangible but she commits herself to be his wife through some intangible benefit that she gets? The גמרא Gemara has examples of that. Can he provide for her an intangible benefit where she's actually receiving a benefit, intangible, that they can be betrothed through that transaction, the transfer of something, though be it intangible? And in that context, the גמרא Gemara gives a fascinating scenario. What if he's a very חשוב chashuv a person? What if he is well-known, prominent, powerful? And the world wants access, the world wants to give him things and they can't. And she is going to give him a gift and through the טובת הנאה tovas hana'ah, through the intangible benefit she'll receive by being able to give him something, can she be married to him? Interesting, right? And the גמרא Gemara concludes, yes. The fact that she's giving something to someone powerful, prominent, of great esteem, and she is able to post that picture on her Instagram page that she gave a gift to such a person gives her such a status, that new word, status update. The word status used to mean something different. Gives her, you know, she'll post on her What'sAmScrap status, which is social media for really פרום frum people, she'll post on her What'sAmScrap status that she gave a gift to such a prominent person, she has a טובת הנאה tovas hana'ah. Everybody's going to write her back privately. Whoa, you know him, you gave him. I know him. I gave him something. So he says to her, you know what? Taka, you're pretty, you're charismatic, we share a lot of values. I'll tell you what. Let's be married and what is the gift I'm giving you is the benefit that I received the present from you. And the גמרא Gemara says it works. קידושין חל Kiddushin chal. Such a marriage works. So the אלשיך Alshich touches, the אלשיך Alshich says, so you see sometimes you can receive something by giving. She receives קידושין kiddushin, she receives marriage by giving someone great of esteem, of prominence, something. Says the אלשיך Alshich, when we give a gift to השם Hashem, the most exalted, the most distinguished, the most prominent, the most powerful, the source of the entire universe, when we give a gift to השם Hashem, we are receiving. We're receiving that relationship. And that's why the פסוק pasuk says ויקחו v'yikchu, not ויתנו v'yitnu. Don't think you're giving. Sometimes when you give, you're getting something so much more. Someone who has access to the Oval Office. There are all kinds of rules and regulations, how big a gift you can give, what you can give. You go lobby a congressman, a senator, you leave a gift. You met someone of great prominence, royalty, a king, a queen, you want to give a gift. So what are you going to think? Who got more out of that, who got more out of that time together? The person, they're so excited, they got your אשל חיל Eishel Chayil plaque engraved, you know, to the king, to the queen, the אשל חיל Eishel Chayil award on behalf of the Boca Raton Synagogue, she got so much out of it? The fact that you got an appointment with the queen to give her a פארשטונקענע vershtunkeneh gift that's going to sit in some storeroom, you got so much more out of that than what you gave. And that's the message. ויקחו לי תרומה V'yikchu li trumah, not ויתנו v'yitnu. Don't think of it. Now, שב שמעתתא Shmaitsa takes this אלשיך Alshich and he makes a comment. He says, that whole scenario of the גמרא קידושין Gemara Kiddushin only works, only works if it's not a מתנה על מנת להחזיר matanah al menas l'hachzir. If she's giving a gift on condition that it be returned, then there's no טובת הנאה tovas hana'ah and there's no marriage and there's no relationship. Why? Because the woman does not feel important with the distinguished man's acceptance of such a gift because he didn't really receive it or accept it permanently. It was only temporarily because it was on condition. So you see giving צדקה tzedakah is considered a righteous act even when there's no ulterior motive. But giving to the משכן Mishkan is different. With mixed emotions, you might be giving, but it doesn't rise to the level of receiving, of taking. And therefore רש\"י Rashi says, ויקחו לי v'yikchu li. You're only receiving through this act of giving when it's לשמי l'shmi. When you're doing it entirely with pure motive, sincerely for השם Hashem. That's the answer the שב שמעתתא Shev Shmaitsa gives of how it is working. Why does it say ויקחו v'yikchu, not ויתנו v'yitnu? And why does it have to be לי לשמי li l'shmi? Why does it have to be לי לשמי li l'shmi? The דגל מחנה אפרים Degel Machaneh Ephraim has a different approach in such tiny letters. He says the following: יש לומר בזה דרך מוסר בענין החתונה yesh lomar b'zeh derech mussar b'inyan ha'chasunah, כי כל ענין החתונה וכל ההכנות וצרכי החתונה ki kol inyan ha'chasunah v'chol hachanos v'tzorchei ha'chasunah, I don't know why we have marriage on the mind today. He says when it comes to a wedding, what's the purpose of the wedding? There are meetings, there are mortgages, there are a lot of time spent to prepare for the wedding. What's the point of the wedding? You all look confused. Is it that bad? What is the goal and point of a wedding? For this young man and this young woman to be married. It's not a concert. It's not a buffet of delicacies. It's not a competition of decor. It's not a sound and light show. It is all of those other things too. But what is the point or the goal? What is the part that will last and be remembered? What is one trying to achieve at that event? is for this young man and young woman to be married. יש כמה אנשים שתופסים הטפל Yesh kama anashim she'tofsim ha'tafel, שבאים רק לאכול ולשתות ומשליכים העיקר she'bo'im rak le'echol v'lishtos u'mashlichim ha'ikar. There are some people who forget the whole point of the night. So they invest all this time, all this energy, all this effort, all this money, who's the singer, who's the band, how big is the orchestra, what's the color, what's the decor, what's the background for the באַדעקן bedeken, does it match the חופה chuppah, is there an arch before they walk down the aisle, is there a flower with the place cards are? What are we serving? Is it meat? Is it just the dark meat? Is it also the white meat? What's going to happen at this wedding? Who are the חתן chosson and כלה kallah? I don't know their names. I have no idea who they are. I forgot to wish מזל טוב mazel tov. But I got a concert, I got a meal, I got a sound and light show, I got a social event, I got valet parking, I got a cookie and a cup of coffee to take on the road on the way out. Who are the חתן chosson and כלה kallah? I don't know their names. I didn't say מזל טוב mazel tov. There are people who are confused why they come. I know this is an out of town thing. We like to say a little very short something under the חופה chuppah. I know it's an out-of-town thing. And apparently, there's discussion even in קבלה kabbalah, should it be interrupted by other thoughts, ideas, fine. But I'll tell you why it's meaningful for me. The כן ירבו ken yirbu so far our three weddings, fourth I guess if you include my own, but our children and כן ירבו ken yirbu and all of us, why we do it? I go to weddings today and it feels like you could press like find and replace for the חתן chosson and כלה kallah under the חופה chuppah. It's everything else surrounding them. You could go sit through a חופה chuppah. You heard the introductory song, you heard the songs when the people, three singers, they were interchanging the harmony, there's the choir, the orchestra, the decor. You were confused and overwhelmed by the flowers, you had an allergic reaction to the to the entire forest that was put up, and and you left, you don't know the חתן chosson and כלה's kallah's name, you didn't really get a look at them, you don't even know why you were there, you don't even know what it was about. Like find and replace, just put in whatever חתן chosson and כלה kallah. The singer, you know his name. The choir, you know their name. The color scheme of the flowers, you know exactly, you sent pictures on every WhatsApp group you belong to of just how outrageous all of it was. חתן chosson and כלה kallah, you don't have a clue. I'm just, this is all to make me feel better. I'm just have a lot to get off my chest apparently today. I don't know why. I'm sorry you are the victims of it, but thank you for bearing with me. This is from the דגל מחנה אפרים Degel Machaneh Ephraim. He says all of this. He's writing all of this between the words. So at least say two minutes the virtue of this חתן chosson, this כלה kallah. Why you bothered coming to this wedding? Why you left a gift, I hope. Why it matters that you came. על כן יעזב איש את אביו ואת אמו Al ken yazov ish es aviv v'es imo, you came to watch this extraordinary transformation under a חופה chuppah of these two people becoming fused, of a beginning of a new בית נאמן bayis ne'eman, of a holy moment in which souls are coming down from שמים shamayim to be there. We've just we've totally lost focus and I'm guilty too. I don't want to pretend. Some of you are probably thinking about. We're all guilty. We've got to bring it back. Do all the other things by the way. I love the concert. I love Jewish music, I love the orchestra, I love the food, I love the decor, keep it all. I have no problem with it. Just don't forget to mention who the חתן chosson and כלה kallah are. Don't forget to say מזל טוב mazel tov on your way out. Don't forget. And דגל מחנה אפרים Degel Machaneh Ephraim warns us, we forget. Some come רק לאכול ולשתות ומשליכים העיקר rak l'echol v'lishtos, u'mashlichim ha'ikar. וכן כל העולם לבי הילולא דמיא V'chein kol ha'olam l'bay hilula damya. The גמרא עירובין דף נד Gemara Eruvin daf nun daled tells us, the whole world is similar to a wedding. וכל מה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו הוא לתכלית המכוון כדי ליחד חתן וכלה V'kol mah she'bara HaKadosh Baruch Hu b'olamo, hu l'tachlis ha'mechaven kedai l'yached chosson v'kallah. ויש כמה אנשים שרוצים לאכול ולשתות וללך אחר התענוגים ומשליכים העיקר V'yesh kama anashim she'rotzim l'echol v'lishtos v'leilech achar ha'taanugim u'mashlichim ha'ikar. אבל החכם עיניו בראשו Aval ha'chacham einav b'rosho, ומסתכל ועושה כל מעשיו רק ליחד חתן וכלה שהוא יחוד קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה u'mistakel v'oseh kol ma'asav rak l'yached chosson v'kallah, she'hu yichud Kudsha Brich Hu u'Shchintei. This whole world is compared to one long wedding. This whole, this whole, some weddings feel like they take up the whole lifetime. Some weddings you need a haircut by the time it's over. But the whole world is similar to a wedding. And some people come to the wedding, this world, and they think the point is to eat and to drink and to be merry and they forget the חתן chosson and כלה kallah. Only it's even worse. Because this whole world, this whole life is compared to a wedding, and guess what? We are the חתן chosson and כלה kallah. Who is the who's the חתן chosson and כלה kallah? קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה Kudsha Brich Hu u'Shchintei. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu and us. This is this world is our wedding. What do you think in the יחוד yichud room, you just want to fress and eat and you're not going to connect? It's not going to be a loving embrace? You think the wedding is, you know, you're married now. You're supposed to be vulnerable and connected. You say, but did you see the sushi? But did you taste the charcuterie? Did you have from the carving station? Like, we're married now. This point, that's all nice, but the whole point of this was us. But did you see, did you hear the singers? Did you remember what this is all about? This world is all about our connecting. We're here to get married to השם Hashem. And some people forget to stand under the חופה chuppah. They're stuck at the שמארג shmorg. Everyone's sitting and waiting for the חתן chosson and כלה kallah to walk down. Where's the חתן chosson? He's at the שמארג shmorg. Are you kidding me? We're all here for him. It happens to be when everybody turns to go to the חופה chuppah, that's the best time to hit the שמארג shmorg. Trust me. That's the best time. Wait it out. Let everybody go early. Don't elbow and fight. That's the best, best time is the באַדעקן bedeken, but you should really be at the באַדעקן bedeken, but when they all go in before they take away the shaving dishes, that's the best time to hit the buffet. If you're a guest. But if you're the חתן chosson, you're the כלה kallah, and they're waiting to start the חופה chuppah, where's the כלה kallah? She's at the שמארג shmorg. She heard the sushi was outrageous. That's what we're doing in this world. We're here to get married to השם Hashem. השם Hashem's like, \"Hi, I'm under the חופה chuppah. Hi, I'm here. Let's go to the יחוד yichud room. Let's go for the wedding night. I'm here to spend my life with you.\" And we're like, \"Yeah, but the carving station, just one more piece. Just one more piece.\" It's so good, we forget. ומשליכים כל תענוגי עולם הזה אחר גבו u'mashlichim kol ta'anugei olam hazeh achar gevo. וזהו יש לומר שרמז בזה הפסוק V'zehu yesh lomar she'ramaz b'zeh ha'pasuk, that's what the דגל מחנה אפרים Degel Machaneh Ephraim says. ויקחו לי לשמי v'yikchu li l'shmi, תרומה לשון הפרשה trumah lashon hafrasha, שיהיה מפריש עצמו מן הטפל והסניפים she'yiheyeh mafrish atzmo min ha'tafel v'ha'snifim, רק שמחזיר בעיקר rak she'machzir b'ikar, שהוא ליחד תמיד קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה she'hu l'yached tamid Kudsha Brich Hu u'Shchintei. ויקחו לי V'yikchu li, השם Hashem says, \"For me, ויקחו v'yikchu, take for me a תרומה trumah.\" What's a תרומה trumah? תרומה Trumah is לשון הפרשה lashon hafrasha. When we separate to give to the cohen תרומה trumah, what are we doing? The act of תרומה trumah is an act of separation. ויקחו לי V'yikchu li, השם Hashem says, \"For me, take from me, separate yourself. Do me a favor, walk away from the שמארג shmorg. Walk away from the buffet. Walk away from the sound and light, walk away from the song. Walk away from the trappings of the here and now on this world.\" השם Hashem says, \"Come into the יחוד yichud room. Let's lock the door behind us. Come with me. ויקחו לי לשמי v'yikchu li l'shmi. For me, for my sake, for the sake of this marriage, come. Come into the יחוד yichud room for me. Break away from the, ויקחו לי תרומה v'yikchu li trumah, תרומה trumah's לשון הפרשה lashon hafrasha. Be מפריש mafrish yourself a שטיקל shtickel. Walk away, pull back. Leave the trappings for a little bit. Spend time with me.\" אז יאמר דגל מחנה אפרים Az yomar Degel Machaneh Ephraim, ויקחו לי v'yikchu li, so you think you're giving? When you leave the שמארג shmorg to go into the יחוד yichud room with the כלה kallah, you say, \"Look, what I do for you. This gift I'm giving you. I really want to be with my friends. I wanted the חתן טיש chosson's tish to continue and never end, but I let them end it so I could have the חופה chuppah and come into the יחוד yichud room with you.\" Are you giving her something? ויקחו לי V'yikchu li. You're taking something. You're receiving a relationship. You're receiving love, you're receiving enrichment. So the בורא עולם Boreh Olam says, \"ויקחו v'yikchu, take, לי לשמי li l'shmi for the sake of our relationship. תרומה Trumah, show the capacity to be מפריש mafrish yourself a little bit.\" The מאור ושמש Me'or v'Shemesh says similarly, לי לשמי li l'shmi, תרומה הפרשה trumah hafrasha. צריך להיות במידת הסתפקות Tzorech l'hiyos b'middas histapkus, להסתפק במועט l'histapek b'muat. אם חס ושלום יהיה אוהב כסף, אז לא יכול כבר Kim chas v'shalom yihyeh ohev kesef, az lo yachol kvar, לא לעבוד את השם באמת lo la'avod Hashem b'emes. וזה פירוש רש\"י V'zeh peirush Rashi, ויקחו לי v'yikchu li, טיינו לדבק קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה taynu l'davek Kudsha Brich Hu u'Shchintei, וזהו לי לשמי v'zehu li l'shmi. תרומה הפרשה Trumah hafrasha. יפריש לי ממונם Yafrish li mamonam. רוצה לומר שצריך להפריש עצמו מממון Rotzeh lomar she'tzarich l'afrish atzmo mi'mamon, שלא ירדוף אחר הממון she'lo yirdef achar ha'mamon, רק הסתפקות rak histapkus. ואז ידבנו לבו להשם V'az yidvenu libo l'Hashem. השם Hashem said ויקחו לי תרומה v'yikchu li trumah. I need you to do something for me. I need you to do something for me, לשמי l'shmi. Do it for my sake, for my name, sincerely, genuinely, do it for me. If you do it, you'll be among those אשר ידבנו לבו asher yidvenu libo. I'll know you have a generous spirit, generous heart. I'll know you have a generous soul. I know you really believe. Are you ready to do it? Here's what I need you to do. ויקחו לי לשמי V'yikchu li l'shmi and then you'll be אשר ידבנו לבו asher yidvenu libo. You know what I need? תרומה Trumah. מסתפק במועט Mistapek b'muat. I want you to be satisfied with your lot. I want you to be happy with what you have. I want you to realize that I am providing what you need and I want you to give your money to the people around you who need as well. If you do that, I'll know you love me, לשמי l'shmi. That you're in this relationship for me and with me. But if you're not capable of that, if you can't part with your money, then I don't know if you're really in this relationship. אמנם יקרא לפעמים ידבנו לב אדם שחוצה מממון Umanu yikra lifamim yidvenu libo adam she'chutzo m'mamon, ולא עוסק בממון בפי שבעולם שלא אחר זמן יפריש לשם v'lo osev b'mamon b'fioshev b'olam she'lo achar zman y'haforeish l'shmi. על כן סיים רש\"י אמר לנדבה Al ken sim Rashi amar l'nidava, שהיא על מיד she'hi al miyad, בלי להניח לימים רבים b'li l'haniach l'yomim rabim. Don't wait. Don't leave it. Do it immediately. Do it right now. That is the way we demonstrate and show that love, that passion, that commitment, that connection to השם Hashem. You know often I meet with someone I say, can I meet with you? Before we meet, I just want to tell you, I love the shul, I love you, I love everything that's happening. It's enriched my life, it's changed my life, it's incredible what's going on. I don't know who I was or what I am without it. It's just magnificent. I said thank you so much. All that's so kind. All that's amazing. I'd like you to consider being part of our pillar society. Oh. Oh, the pillar society? Yeah. It's been a tough year and I don't know, and you don't know how much I give everyone else. And the truth is, I know I told you I love everything, but they always run out of seltzer at שלש סעודות Shalosh Seudos. So I don't know if I want to support a place that doesn't have seltzer at שלש סעודות Shalosh Seudos. I don't know. But didn't you just, what happened? You just told me, yeah. Or you meet the people. How's it going? How are you doing? How am I doing? My business is up 7,000%. The market, I picked exactly. I went long, I went short. I'm killing it. You should know. I'm employees. You should know. You don't see me because I'm I'm so busy. I'm crazy busy. My business is flourishing, it's thriving, it's blossoming, it's exploding. You probably read about it. I said that's wonderful, that's fantastic. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about we have hungry people. Our תומכי שבת Tomchei Shabbos is at an all-time high. Jewish education scholarship fund. People can't afford eggs and mayonnaise. Can I, can can you help me out? Purim is coming up, Pesach, they can't afford it. We put out this incredible pay what you want market. I need people to help make it happen. I'm so happy to hear about your... Oh, did did I say my business is doing great? I meant, I I wanted, I hope it will. You don't understand how many expenses there are associated with how great it's doing now. The competition is fierce. ויקחו לי תרומה V'yikchu li trumah. The measure of a person. Are you willing to be מפריש mafrish with your ממון mamon? Can you separate and you part with your money? Not to the point that you become poor and impoverished yourself, but it's the measure of a person. Is it talk, talk, talk, talk, talk? Or do you put your money where your mouth is? Do you share, do you give, do you show up? Are you part of making a difference? Are you part of making a difference? פרק כה פסוק יד Perek chaf-hei pasuk yud-daled. We're gonna get past the opening פסוק pasuk. פרק כה Perek chaf-hei, פסוק יד pasuk yud-daled. Page 446. ארון Aron. ועשית ארון עצי שטים, אמתים וחצי ארכו ואמה וחצי רחבו ואמה וחצי קומתו V'asisa Aron atzei shittim, amosayim va'chetzi orko, v'amah va'chetzi rochbo, v'amah va'chetzi komaso. Make the ארון aron on these measurements. They are all integers, they're all fractions rather. They're not integers. They're all a part of a number, not a whole number. What is the symbolism? We think this פרשה parsha has nothing, we don't have a משכן Mishkan, we don't have כלים keilim. Why are we spending so much time on this? But I love these פרשיות parshios. I love the כלי יקר Kli Yakar on these פרשיות parshios. We've learned them together. You can listen for the past שיעורים shiurim. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar goes through all the symbolism and the measurements, why they have, not whole. Why are they different parts, not consistent? Why a cr- he, he's מדייק midaik. He goes through and plumbs the depths and he sees significance and meaning in the פנימיות pnimius and how it's relatable. All of us are supposed to make a משכן Mishkan in our home. We're supposed to have a שולחן shulchan and an ארון aron and מזבח mizbeach in our home. So the lessons, the ideas in each of these כלים keilim apply, should resonate as much within our home. To Lashani פרק כה פסוק יד perek chaf-hei pasuk yud-daled. ועשית בדים עצי שטים וצפית אותם זהב V'asisa badim atzei shittim v'tzipisa osam zahav. Insert the staves in the rings on the side of the ארון aron that you're going to carry it with. Sorry, you make them and cover them with gold. והבאת את הבדים בטבעות על צלעות הארון לשאת את הארון בהם V'heveisa es ha'badim b'taba'os al tzalos ha'aron laseis es ha'aron bahem. בטבעות הארון יהיו הבדים, לא יסורו ממנו B'taba'os ha'aron yihyu ha'badim, lo yasuru mimenu. All about the the, sorry, I have the wrong פסוק pasuk. Going back. פרק כה פסוק יא Perek chaf-hei pasuk yud-alef. וצפית אותו זהב טהור מבית ומחוץ תצפנו V'tzipisa oso zahav tahor mibayis u'michutz t'zapenu, ועשית עליו זר זהב סביב v'asisa alav zer zahav saviv. The ארון aron, we know, is covered with pure gold from within and from without, cover it, make it from a gold crown all around it. We, uh, Why don't we just make it gold all throughout? If the inside is gold and the outside is gold, why do we need the wood on the in between? Because תוכו כבורו tocho kebaro, we need wood, the flexibility. Again, we've gone through many of these messages before. ספר חסידים Sefer Chassidim, אוצר פניני התורה Otzar Pninei HaTorah. First one of the day. ספר חסידים Sefer Chassidim. אם יש לאדם הון בביתו, דרכו לכבדו, להראות יפיו לכל, ולשימו בארגז יפה, כן יש לעשות לחפצי שמיים. כי החפצים לא ישבו בו. Im yesh l'adam hon b'veiso, darko l'chabdo, l'har'os yofyo lakol, v'lasimo b'argaz yafeh. Ken yesh la'asos l'cheftzei shamayim. Ki hachaftzim lo yishvu bo. A person who has an incredible silver collection, you have a beautiful מנורה menora and beautiful בעכערס bechers and a beautiful מים אחרונים mayim achronim, family heirlooms or very expensive. What do you buy? A breakfront. A display case. You prominently put on display the wonderful, beautiful objects you have. Similarly says the ספר חסידים Sefer Chassidim, when it comes to your ספרים sfarim and חפצי שמיים cheftzei shamayim, you should not be satisfied with that which you've bought, you inherited. I'm not saying anything wrong with, you know, IKEA or wherever you bought it from, whatever a person could afford. But we shouldn't over-invest in the decor and under-invest in what we use to prominently display the חפצי שמיים cheftzei shamayim.כבד את השם מהונך Kabeid es Hashem meihonecha, שיש לכבד את חפצי שמיים יותר ממה שמכבד את הונו. כמו שמצינו בארון העדות, שהיה בארון שני לוחות. ומחוצה היה מצופה בזהב, דכתיב וצפית אותו זהב טהור, והוא בשביל לכבד את הלוחות שבתוכו. sheyesh l'chabeid es cheftzei shamayim yoser m'mah she'mechabeid es hono. K'mo she'matzinu b'aron ha'eidus, she'hayah ba'aron shnei luchos. U'michutza hayah metzupeh b'zahav, d'chsiv v'tzipisa oso zahav tahor, v'hu bishvil l'chabeid es ha'luchos sheb'socho. Wouldn't you think the holiest objects on earth, the tablets that משה Moshe got, both the broken ones and the whole ones, they should be displayed in the most simple case. It's the holiest, most spiritual object that transcends material and physical. Why are we displaying it דוקא dafka in something which is gold? כן יש לעשות ארון נאה, לשים ספרים בתוכו. Ken yesh la'asos aron na'eh, lasim sfarim b'socho. Whatever your שטענדער shtender, whatever your... your bookcase, whatever your שבת Shabbos table, when it comes to חפצי שמיים cheftzei shamayim, the holy objects of our life, don't be satisfied with mediocre. Don't underachieve, under-display. You should do even more.ומה שמהדר על יופיו של ארון ספרים שלו, או שאר חפצי שמיים, אין בזה משום יוהרא וגאוה. U'mah she'mehader al yofyo shel aron sfarim shelo o she'ar cheftzei shamayim, ein b'zeh mishum yuhara v'ga'avah. So you'll say, well if you come, I live in a simple home, my clothing are simple, my car is simple, but then my קידוש kiddush cup is over the top. My חלה challah knife is over the top. שבת Shabbos table is over the top. My מנורה menora is over the top. My ספרים sfarim shrank is over the top. So isn't that יוהרא yuhara? גאוה Ga'avah? Isn't it arrogant? So the גמרא יומא דף Gemara Yoma daf ט וכו' tes v'chulu, ואחר כך הביאו ספר תורה מביתם וכל אחד אומר, כדי להראות חזותו לרבים. רש\"י אומר, להראות חזותו לרבים, להראות נויו של ספר תורה ותפארת בעליו שתורתו נאה ומתקבלת במצוה. v'achar kach hevi'u sefer torah mibeisam v'chol echad omer, k'dei l'har'os chazuso la'rabim. Rashi omer, l'har'os chazuso la'rabim, l'har'os noyo shel sefer torah v'sif'eres ba'alav she'toraso na'ah u'meskabelet b'mitzvah. זה קלי ואנוהו. Zeh keli v'anveihu. So he brings down here, he brings down many מקורות mekoros but I don't want to spend the time. Quotes from the דרכי תשובה Darchei Teshuva of מונקאטש Munkatch, סביב תפארת S'viv Tif'eres, all these... you dedicate a ספר תורה Sefer Torah. Should the handles be a simple, plain, worn-out wood? Or the silver? The cover for the ספר תורה Sefer Torah, today leather, with fur, with... should it be simple? It's a ספר תורה Sefer Torah. It's the holiest object we have. Maybe it should be simple? No. You tell us in תפילין tefillin bag. Your לייכטער leichter, your ספר תורה Sefer Torah cover. That's where you put the money. Not the decor in the car, not your Ferragamo shoes, not your fancy watch that's not really for you, you're just holding it for the next generation. That's what makes you feel better about using up the next generation's money to buy yourself that fancy watch. Those are not where you put your money. That's not the decor and the fashion. Those things be satisfied with simple. It's the חפצי שמיים cheftzei shamayim. Where do you see this from? Because וציפית אותו זהב. v'tzipisa oso zahav. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu tells us, my לוחות luchos, my original ספר תורה Sefer Torah, how do you put it and display it? It's not even on display, nobody sees it, it's behind a פרוכת paroches. דוקא Dafka in a golden box. Why? Because הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, \"I want you to see, people to see.\" They come into your home and you live simply except for the religious items, the religious objects, they'll see where your priorities are. But if when it comes to your personal objects, you go over the top, designer, exclusive, incredibly expensive, and it comes to your religious objects... I get asked all the time. Somebody needs to buy מזוזות mezuzos. So I used to give the example, מזוזות mezuzos come $20, $40, or $60. Today מזוזות mezuzos come $60, $120, $250. Inflation. I don't know, they're eggs in מזוזות mezuzos? Mayonnaise? I don't know why they're so expensive. But מזוזות mezuzos have gone up incredibly. So they come to me and they say, \"Rabbi, how is it really that important? Is there really that much of a difference? Which מזוזה mezuzah should I buy?\" So you know what I always answer? \"Come, let's go to the parking lot.\" \"Parking lot? You can't answer in your office? After מנין minyan, why do I have to go to the parking lot?\" So I want to see what kind of car you drive. What kind of car do you drive? I don't want to insult anybody. I drive a Honda Accord. I've had five Honda Accords in a row. I love it. It's amazing. For some it's a luxury car. I don't take it for granted. I love my Honda Accord. Okay, if you buy a... if you drive a Honda Accord, you can have a Honda Accord מזוזה mezuzah. You got your Beemer, your shiny Mercedes, you got your souped up, fully loaded Tesla. You can't buy the cheapest מזוזה mezuzah. Can't. I'm the first one who often gets a tour when a person puts up a new house. Why? Not they're showing off, מזוזות mezuzos. And they didn't budget for the מזוזות mezuzos. You go, you take a tour. This doorway, this doorway, this doorway... the designer, the architect, 400 archways around. And in the planning process, nobody said, \"All of these archways are going to need a מזוזה mezuzah.\" So by the time you're done, you finish the count, 87 מזוזות mezuzos. 87 מזוזות mezuzos for your house. Your 19-car garage, each garage a מזוזה mezuzah, on the inside door, the door into the house... 87 מזוזות mezuzos. \"Rabbi, which מזוזה mezuzah? I called the סופר sofer, can I just get the $40 מזוזה mezuzah?\" I saw your house. You didn't have the lowest level. The shades cost more than my house. You think you can get the $40 מזוזה mezuzah? So that's what the תורה Torah is telling us. If a person sees your life and your lifestyle, where do you put your money? Your shoes, your belt? Your belt? Designer belt? The belt's to keep your pants up. Not to tell the world how much money you have. That's the purpose of a belt. Where do you put your money? So זר זהב zer zahav... The פסוק pasuk says, וצפית אותו זהב v'tzipisa oso zahav... and all this ספר חסידים Sefer Chassidim, the מונקאטשער Munkatcher, they're all bringing down, don't put on display your personal goods, that's not where you put your money, it's in our religious items. Many of these objects, the משכן Mishkan, were made out of תולעים tolaim. So the... he quotes here, the בעלי התוספות Ba'alei HaTosafos in the ספר תוספות השלם Sefer Tosafos HaShalem. Say, you know why תולעת tola'as? You know why we use a worm? שיסכנו במשי המבושם נעים ויעלים, שלא יזגו לובשי מילת במלבושיהם, לזכור מאין באו מלבושיהם מתולעים, ואחרית אדם לתולעים. Sheyisaknu b'meshi ha'mevusam na'im v'ya'alim, shelo yizgu lovshei milas b'malbusheihem, lizkor mei'ayin ba'u malbusheihem mi'tolaim, v'achris adam l'tolaim. One of the ingredients, one of the materials for the משכן Mishkan and for the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna were תולעים tolaim. משי Meshi, the משי meshi that comes from... it's woven from תולעים tolaim. You know why? Don't get arrogant. From all this beautiful gold and from these materials and from this fine clothing of the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna, don't ever grow arrogant. Stay humble and remember, stay humble and remember that ultimately we'll all be תולעים tolaim, we'll all be worm food. Ultimately we'll all be in the ground and will be worm food ourselves. פרק כה פסוק יח Perek kaf-hei pasuk yud-ches. Next page. ועשית שניים כרובים זהב מקשה תעשה אותם משני קצות הכפורת. V'asisa shnayim kruvim zahav, mikshah ta'aseh osam mi'shnei ktzos ha'kapores. On top of the ארון aron, adorning the ארון aron, are these two childlike, angelic figurines, these two cherubs, the כרובים kruvim, that sit on top of the... that sit on top of the ארון aron.So רש\"י Rashi famously here says, which way are they facing? Tell me something about these כרובים kruvim. The בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim says, what do they look like? What do they look like? They look like נער ישראל na'ar Yisrael. So the אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm says, the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim... why is it the כרובים kruvim look like... the place of השראת השכינה hashra'as ha'Shechinah. I'll tell you what I would have put. שלמה זלמן Shlomo Zalman and רב אלישיב Rav Elyashiv. משה Moshe and הרב The Rav. The לובאוויטשער רבי Lubavitcher Rebbe and רב הוטנר Rav Hutner. I would have put, make everyone happy now, רב חיים קנייבסקי Rav Chaim Kanievsky and רביצין בת שבע קנייבסקי Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky. I would have put... רביצין מכליס Rebbetzin Machlis and רבי מכליס Rebbe Machlis. I would have put these mature, seasoned, accomplished, righteous... What do we put? Little פיצקעלע pitzkele kid, and a little girl with her ponytails and her braids and her... and they're... That's the image on the... on the ארון aron? This is the holiest object that's sat in the holiest part of the holiest place, and what's on top of it? The image of a נער na'ar. Of a kid, of a קינדער kinder. Why? So the אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm says, שהגישה של אדם לעבודת השם יתברך צריך להיות ברעננות. She'ha'gishah shel adam la'avodas Hashem yisborach tzrichah l'hiyos b'ra'ananus. When רב בן ציון טווערסקי Rav Bentzion Twerski was here several weeks ago, he gave a beautiful שבת Shabbos afternoon class. I don't remember all the פסוקים psukim he invoked. But, בנער אני הייתי b'na'ar anochi hayisi, ואני והנער נלכה v'ani v'hana'ar neilcha... anytime you see the word נער na'ar in the תורה Torah, הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants us to preserve the sense of נערות na'arus in us. Often the image of an older person is someone who's tired, someone who's stuck, someone who's fixed, someone who's done. It's over. And the image of a child is somebody who's hungry, somebody's driven, somebody's an appetite, someone who's just beginning, someone who has rigor and vigor and dynamism. The תורה Torah says no matter what age, no matter what stage of life, you're never done. Be a נער na'ar. Be hungry, be curious. The world is backwards today, thanks to the internet and the information age, now children who know internet better think that they're... it's not... they think they're smarter, they know more. They have less respect for authority. But until recently, children understood and they saw in authority, you lived longer, you know more. So children were curious, they were hungry. Life is an adventure. They were adventurous. That's what the תורה Torah wants from us. רב ישראל סלנטר Rav Yisrael Salanter explains the פסוק pasuk, כי נער ישראל ואוהבהו. Ki na'ar Yisrael v'o'haveihu. The פסוק בהושע pasuk b'Hoshea. שהקדוש ברוך הוא מחבב במיוחד את עם ישראל כשהם מרגישים כנער. She'HaKadosh Baruch Hu mechabeiv b'miyuchad es Am Yisrael k'she'hem margishim k'na'ar. השם Hashem loves us when we're young and hungry and driven and curious and innocent and pure. All those character traits and components, all those aspects of being a נער na'ar, is how השם Hashem wants us to feel. That's why we say in our דאווענען davening, יום נוראים Yom Noraim, אל תשליכני לעת זקנה. Al tashlicheini l'eis ziknah. We don't say, \"Don't throw me away in my זקנות ziknus.\" \"I'm an old person, השם Hashem, don't limit me, don't compromise me, don't give up on me, don't dismiss me.\" What do we say? אל תשליכני לעת זקנה. Al tashlicheini l'eis ziknah. Don't cast me away as if I've reached the time of like I'm an old person, I'm done. Carol Dweck, worth reading her book, Growth Mindset. She talks about a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. So we associate the older people as having a fixed mindset. They're fixed, they're done, you're not going to change them, it is the way it is. Young people have growth mindset, growth and open and curious and hungry. And that's what הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants from us. And that's why the ארון aron houses what? The תורה Torah. The ארון aron is the place from which the תורה Torah shines forth. So what's the image of the תורה Torah? Young, hungry, dynamic, curious, youthfulness.There are youthful 100-year-olds. There are people in our community, in our שול shul, who are in their 90s, זאל זיין געזונט און שטארק zol zein gezunt un shtark, people in this room in their 90s, בלי עין הרע bli ayin hara. There are people who are 100 and over in our community. And they're youthful. Sol Kahn, עליו השלום alav hashalom, who just passed away this year. Sol Kahn was in his 90s. You interacted with Sol Kahn, he was a kid. He was a little kid. He would dance and he would joke and he would smile, and he was a kid. And I know people in their 20s who are old men and women. Old, depleted of energy and joy and happiness and curiosity and love and adventure. They're just done, and they're finished, and they're fixed, and they're פארביסענע farbissena, and they're... they're done. So it's not an age. It's an attitude. And the attitude associated with the ארון aron is נער na'ar. Be young, be hungry, be curious, be dynamic. You all are, that's why you're here. פרשה שיעור Parshas shiur. יחזקאל לעווינשטיין Yechezkel Levenstein says from the name of the אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm as well, that's why I call it a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. A חכם אמיתי chacham amiti, a true תלמיד talmid... a true חכם chacham is someone who's always in the stage of being a תלמיד talmid. You're never... you never arrive, you're never done. You think Carol Dweck invented fixed mindset and growth mindset? She got it from us. We don't call it... חכם chacham. Who do we admire? Whom do we revere? Someone who's a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. You're only a חכם chacham as long as you remain a תלמיד talmid. The day you're done being a תלמיד talmid and you think you're now an accomplished חכם chacham is the day you're a גארנישט gornisht. The day you're a גארנישט gornisht. You have to remain a תלמיד talmid in order to ever be a חכם chacham. A תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. And that's the נער na'ar imagery on top of the ארון aron.אוצר פניני התורה Otzar Pninei HaTorah... I thought I had something to say about this. About everything else. We know, שניים כרובים shnayim kruvim. The גמרא מנחות Gemara Menachos tells us, שלושה דברים היה קשה למשה, עד שהראה לו הקדוש ברוך הוא באצבעו. Shlosha devarim hayah kasheh l'Moshe, ad she'her'ah lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu b'etzba'o. There were three of these objects, utensils, the משכן Mishkan, that were difficult for משה Moshe to imagine, to picture, until הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu pointed with his finger and showed him, \"Here's the design. Here's what it looks like.\" מנורה Menora, ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh, and שרצים shratzim. Interesting. The מנורה menora he couldn't picture it. ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh and שרצים shratzim. And in the end, השליך משה את כיכר של זהב לאור, והמנורה נעשתה מאליה. hishlich Moshe es kikar shel zahav la'or, v'ha'menora na'asta mei'eleha. He threw it into the... fire, and the מנורה menora was fashioned on its own. מובא במפרשים שמשה נתקשה מעשה מנורה, לפי שהיא נעשית כחתיכה אחת, ועל מלאכה כזו צריך עזר מאלוקי עליון. Muva ba'mefarshim she'Moshe niskasheh ma'aseh menora, lefi she'hi na'asis k'chatichah achas, v'al melachah kazo tzrich ezer mei'Elokei elyon. ...talks about this, why was it so hard for משה Moshe to dream, to picture how to get the block of gold into the מנורה menora? The answer is because what was the מנורה menora, how many parts were the מנורה menora made of? One. So to make it from one part, that's a קונץ kunst. To melt down gold, break it into parts, screw them together... I'm going to make it sound like it's easy, I don't begin to know how to do it. But apparently it's easier. But to arrive at the result of the מנורה menora from one block... that's difficult. So השם Hashem needed... משה Moshe needed an assist from the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam himself. ויש לעיין, פראגט האוצר פניני התורה, למה לא נתקשה משה במעשה הכרובים? שגם הכרובים היו צריכים לעשות מקשה אחת עם הכפורת. V'yesh l'ayein, freigt ha'Otzar Pninei HaTorah, lamah lo niskasheh Moshe b'ma'aseh ha'kruvim? She'gam ha'kruvim hayu tzrichim la'asos mikshah achas im ha'kapores. You know what else was made from one solid gold block, not assembled from separate parts? The כרובים kruvim on top of the ארון aron. So how come משה Moshe didn't need an assist? Why didn't he need help? Why didn't he need to throw the block into the fire and it would come out the כרובים kruvim? Why was he able to imagine how to do it on his own? We don't find it was done דרך נס derech neis. We don't find he needed help. ועל דרך הדרש יש לומר... v'al derech ha'drash yesh lomar... So listen to the אוצר פניני התורה Otzar Pninei HaTorah. This is his original thought. יש ללמוד מכאן מוסר השכל בעניין חינוך הבנים. Yesh lilmod mi'kan musar haskel b'inyan chinuch ha'banim. הדין הכרובים היו במידת תינוקות. הגמרא בסוכה, ויסעו מן רש\"י... נער... הכרובים הם דמות של ילדים. ומרמזת לנו התורה יסוד גדול בחינוך התינוקות. D'hinei ha'kruvim hayu b'midas tinokos. Ha'Gemara b'Sukkah, we saw from Rashi... na'ar... ha'kruvim hem dmus shel yeladim. U'meramezes lanu ha'Torah yesod gadol b'chinuch ha'tinokos. שאין הבנים גדלים בתורה ויראת שמים מאליהם, רק לאחר עמל רב, בצירוף עם הרבה תפילות, ורק אז זוכים לראות דורות ישרים מבורכים. וכדברי בעל ההגדה, עמלנו אלו הבנים. She'ein ha'banim g'deilim b'Torah v'yiras shamayim mei'eleihem, rak l'achar amal rav, b'tzeruf im harbeh sfilos, v'rak az zochim lir'os doros yesharim mevorachim. K'divrei ba'al ha'hagadah, amaleinu eilu ha'banim. The מנורה menora, משה Moshe took one block of gold, threw it in the fire, poom, beautiful. מנורה Menora. The כרובים kruvim, they also had to be made from one solid block. But השם Hashem didn't assist, משה Moshe had to do it on his own. It wasn't as simple as throwing it in the fire and having a result. Why? Because the כרובים kruvim are children. When it comes to our children, we don't enlist them in ישיבה yeshiva, fast forward 12 years, פּונקט punkt we're done. We don't throw them into the fire of life, and now we're done. There is no handing it off to השם Hashem and asking Him to be in charge and in control and hand us back beautiful כרובים kruvim. We have to work on it. We have to toil in it. עמלנו Amaleinu in the הגדה Haggadah when we דרשן darshen the פסוקים psukim, we say עמלנו amaleinu, our toil, our effort, אלו הבנים. eilu ha'banim. Children, they take effort, toil. רב יעקב קמנצקי Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky once saw a תלמיד talmid, said, \"Tell me how are you? How's your family? What's happening?\" So the תלמיד talmid said, \"רבי Rebbe, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, I'm well, my family's healthy. But אוי, איזה צער גידול בנים. oi, eizeh tza'ar gidul banim.\" So what's the matter, צער גידול בנים tza'ar gidul banim? My children, it's hard to get them to come to מנין minyan, to remember to say ברכות brachos, sometimes they have חוצפה chutzpah. They won't go to sleep, they don't want to brush their teeth. So רב יעקב Rav Yaakov looked at him and he said, \"That's not צער גידול בנים tza'ar gidul banim. That's גידול בנים gidul banim. That's גידול בנים gidul banim. That's not the pain of raising children. That's called raising children. צער גידול בנים Tza'ar gidul banim, רחמנא ליצלן rachmana litzlan, is when a child, חלילה chalilah, there's a challenge which is out of the ordinary, which is not part of just being a child.\" All children need raising. עמלנו... זו הבנים. Amaleinu... zu ha'banim. That's why at the הגדה Haggadah, look around, מצות השם mitzvas Hashem, we should be זוכים zocheh to sit at the סדר seder... It's hard to believe, 2020. Still that image of people sitting all alone for the פסח Pesach סדר seder. This year, for the rest of our lives, עמלנו, זו הבנים. Amaleinu, zu ha'banim. Look around at a סדר seder, if one has the זכות z'chus to sit with children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. Great-great... whoever thought you'd use those words? There are people, maybe in this room, who will spend the סדר seder with their great-great-grandchildren. Whoever heard of in history people who could sit at a סדר seder and learn with their great-great-grandchildren? בלי עין הרע Bli ayin hara... a few weeks ago at אבות ובנים Avos Ubanim, my father, who was זוכים zocheh and ברוך השם Baruch Hashem is so kind, comes to אבות ובנים Avos Ubanim, was there with me, my son, and my grandson. So four generations we were learning אבות ובנים Avos Ubanim together. Whoever... when we were walking out and walking home, I said to my father, \"How many times in all of Jewish history did anyone say, 'What a great חברותא chavrusa, four generations together?' In all of Jewish history, how many had that? בלי עין הרע, בלי עין הרע, בלי עין הרע. Bli ayin hara, bli ayin hara, bli ayin hara.\" How many times? So when we look around the סדר seder table, say, \"הבנים Ha'banim,\" ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, we have children, great... took a lot of work. עמלנו, זו הבנים. Amaleinu, zu ha'banim. It's not a מעליש mailis. You don't just throw it in the fire and then you get to have the pictures and the singers and the food and the חופה chuppah. You walk onto that חופה chuppah, עמלנו, זו הבנים. Amaleinu, zu ha'banim. עמלות Amailus, whether it's גידול בנים gidul banim or צער גידול בנים tza'ar gidul banim, a lot goes into it. Such a beautiful insight from the אוצר פניני התורה Otzar Pninei HaTorah. So when it came to the מנורה menora, משה Moshe was confounded, confused, he didn't know how to make it happen. Throw the one block in, השם Hashem will make it come out on its own. The כרובים kruvim, difficult to picture exactly how, has to be one block of wood, not sure how to do it. השם Hashem says, \"Figure it out.\" Because when it comes to your children, you can't hand it off. You can't outsource. You can't outsource to a third party. השם Hashem's not going to come in and bail you out. עמלנו, זו הבנים. Amaleinu, zu ha'banim. It takes work, takes effort, it's not easy. פרק כה פסוק כ Perek kaf-hei pasuk kaf. Move right along. והיו הכרובים פורשי כנפיים למעלה, סוככים בכנפיהם על הכפורת, ופניהם איש אל אחיו, אל הכפורת יהיו פני הכרובים. V'hayu ha'kruvim porsei chnafeim l'ma'alah, sochechim b'chanfeihem al ha'kapores, u'fneihem ish el achiv, el ha'kapores yiheyu pnei ha'kruvim. The פסוק pasuk tells us what they look like. Place the cover on the ark above... uh, where's the פסוק pasuk? The כרובים kruvim have wings spread upward, sheltering the cover with their wings, facing towards one another, towards the cover, the כרובים kruvim face. So what direction are the כרובים kruvim in? What direction are they in? They're facing one another. They're facing one another.The גמרא יומא Gemara Yuma tells us, דף נד daf nun-daled, בשעה שישראל עולים לרגל, מגללין להם את הפרוכת. B'sha'ah she'Yisrael olim la'regel, m'galgelin lahem es ha'paroches. When the Jewish people would go to ירושלים Yerushalayim for the three festival holidays, they would pull back the curtain. ומראין להם את הכרובים שהיו מעורים זה בזה. U'mar'in lahem es ha'kruvim she'hayu me'urim zeh b'zeh. And they would reveal the ארון aron with the כרובים kruvim on top, and what would they see? The כרובים kruvim are מאורים זה בזה me'urim zeh b'zeh. They are hugging one another. ואומרים להם, ראו חבתכם לפני המקום, כחיבת זכר ונקבה. V'omrim lahem, re'u chibaschem lifnei ha'Makom, k'chibas zachar u'nekeivah. They used to have the image, the כרובים kruvim, one was a male, one was a female. Equity in the משכן Mishkan. Equality in the משכן Mishkan. One was male, one was female, they knew their gender, they were on top of the ארון aron. And they were in an embrace. When were they in an embrace? When ישראל Yisrael were עושין רצונו של מקום. osin r'tzono shel Makom. When the Jewish people were fulfilling the will of השם Hashem, the image of the כרובים kruvim on top of the ארון aron, like a man and a woman, like a husband and a wife. I don't know why it was allowed, it was חיבה chibah in public... Okay, it's not a problem. I think it's healthy sometimes to see what love looks like, appropriately and modestly. Children should grow up and know that parents don't have the חוב של שמירת נגיעה chov shel shmiras negiah with one another. Whatever, separate subject. But this was the image. Everyone came from all over the world, they came to ירושלים Yerushalayim. They were in the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. We pulled back the פרוכת paroches, we revealed the holiest place in the world, the קודש הקדשים Kodesh HaKodashim, and what did everyone see? A man and a woman hugging. The כרובים kruvim were in a loving embrace. Love. Love. When our enemies came into the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash to destroy it... and so it says, one פסוק pasuk says, פניהם איש אל אחיו p'neihem ish el achiv. The פסוק pasuk in דברי הימים Divrei HaYamim says, הם עומדים על רגליהם ופניהם לבית. hem omdim al ragleihem u'fneihem la'bayis. They're not facing each other, they're facing away. Which is it? That's what the גמרא Gemara concludes in בבא בתרא Bava Basra and in יומא Yuma, that when we're עושין רצונו של מקום osin r'tzono shel Makom, facing each other. Not doing רצונו של מקום r'tzono shel Makom, facing away. When they came in to destroy the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, which way were we facing? Each other. How could it be? How could it be? It was meant to... how could it be? So the בית ישראל Beis Yisrael, the fifth גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe, his יארצייט yahrzeit is now, around now. He says, not doing השם's Hashem's will is when people only care about themselves. No מידות middos, no דרך ארץ derech eretz, no sympathy, no empathy. The כרובים kruvim mirrored the people. When we're איש אל אחיו ish el achiv, when we turn towards one another, the כרובים kruvim turn towards one another. So the בית ישראל Beis Yisrael says, even when they face away, they're still spreading their wings upward. You could have very religious people who spread... they look very religious, very righteous, very virtuous. They're spreading their wings upward, but they're facing away from the other people. There's no empathy, there's no love, there's no kindness. And those people are called אינם עושים רצונו של מקום. einam osim r'tzono shel Makom. The שטארקסט shtarkest חסידים chassidim, the longest שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreh, the פרומסט frumest everything... your wings could be upward in every religious measure you're the שטארקסט shtarkest and the פרומסט frumest. But you're not איש אל אחיו ish el achiv. You make people feel invisible. You don't acknowledge, you don't welcome, you don't shower love, you're not connecting, there's no empathy. Such a person whose wings are up but who is not איש אל אחיו ish el achiv is called אינם עושים רצונו של מקום. einam osim r'tzono shel Makom. So you see the measure of who we are and how we're behaving, what הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu cares is not only are our wings up, but are we facing, are we directed one towards another.כף-הא, כף-בית. ונועדתי לך שם ודיברתי איתך מעל הכפורת מבין שני הכרובים אשר על ארון העדות את כל אשר אצוה אותך אל בני ישראל. V'no'adti lecha sham, v'dibarti itcha mei'al ha'kapores, mi'bein shnei ha'kruvim asher al aron ha'eidus, es kol asher atzaveh oscha el Bnei Yisrael. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu is a ונועדתי v'no'adti. ונועדתי לך שם V'no'adti lecha sham. I skipped... no, I didn't skip. ונועדתי ודיברתי. V'no'adti v'dibarti. רבי סולובייצ'יק Rabbi Soloveitchik on that word, ונועדתי v'no'adti. What does that mean? I will arrange my meetings with you and I will speak to you from the top of the ארון aron. Writes רבי סולובייצ'יק Rabbi Soloveitchik, \"The command to build a sanctuary is very difficult to understand. It's linked to a great and sublime secret. As שלמה Shlomo will express in his תפילה tefillah after he completed building the first בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. If the entire universe is insufficient to contain him, how could he dwell in such a small and limited space? When שלמה Shlomo posed the question, השם Hashem apparently provided no response at all. Instead he continued with a request. Instead of searching for an answer to how infinity can dwell in a place of finitude, שלמה Shlomo requested that השם Hashem accept our prayers. Why does השם Hashem want a house? The answer is, so he can dwell among us. This is the true intent of the מצוה mitzvah. ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם. V'asu li mikdash v'shachanti b'socham. Where they live is where I want to live in a home next to them. At any time you may knock on my door and talk with me. Tell me your worries, your dreams, your desires, without hesitation and without shame, because that is the very reason that I contracted my glory. And it is appropriate for me to dwell between the כרובים kruvim on the ארון aron, covering one square אמה ama. The infinite being limited to the finite ארון הברית aron ha'bris. For it is my will that my house should be called a house of prayer.\" What's it called? כי ביתי בית תפילה יקרא לכל העמים. Ki veisi beis tefillah yikarei l'chol ha'amim. Throughout their exile, they should direct their hearts at times of prayer to this house, as if we're there and השם Hashem is right next to us. There are מצוות mitzvos that obligate us to bring various sacrifices, various times of the year, writes הרב the Rav. There are also מצוות mitzvos that require us to offer תפילות tfilos. There is however a great difference between these obligations. A קרבן korban is accepted even if there's a great distance between השם Hashem and the owner, even if it's offered by a שליח shliach, by an agent. Not the case with prayer. If there is no closeness, there is no prayer. Even though prayer was established in place of sacrifices, it's impossible for an agent to act on behalf of the sender. תפילה Tefillah requires a feeling of closeness, as if one is standing opposite him, in his embrace. Such intent is essential idea and a fundamental principle of prayer. ונועדתי V'no'adti, it's a meeting place, a place of intimacy, a place of connection. Can you imagine you send somebody to your wife? You send someone to your husband? \"I have a message.\" \"What's the message?\" \"Your wife wanted me to tell you she loves you.\" Loves you. You can't tell me you love you through someone else. ונועדתי V'no'adti, intimacy, connection, vulnerability, that's what the purpose of the משכן Mishkan and the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, and even when we don't have it, wherever we are in the world, we face it because we're facing that invitation to knock on his door and talk to him, confide in him, unburden ourselves in him, make ourselves vulnerable to him with no shame and without judgment. ונועדתי לך שם ודיברתי איתך מעל הכפורת. V'no'adti lecha sham v'dibarti itcha mei'al ha'kapores. That's the purpose, that's the goal, that's the reason that we have it. That's the reason, that's what it's all... that's what it's all about.It's a beautiful מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef, but I want to get to, we only have one or two more moments left. טבעות זהב Taba'os zahav. פרק כה פסוק כו. Perek kaf-hei pasuk kaf-vav. ועשית לו ארבע טבעות זהב ונתת את הטבעות על ארבע הפאות אשר לארבע רגליו. V'asisa lo arba taba'os zahav, v'nasata es ha'taba'os al arba ha'pe'os asher l'arba raglav. Make for it four rings of gold, place the rings on the four corners of the four legs. There were four rings on the sides of the שולחן shulchan, the ארון aron too. Poles went through those rings and they were used to transport them to the next location. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar writes, \"make four rings.\" כדי שיזכור כי הצלחת עולם הזה הם גלגל החוזר בעולם, כטבעת זה העיגול, ועל ידי זכירה זה יפרנס משולחנו לעניים. K'dei she'yizkor ki hatzlachas olam ha'zeh hem galgal ha'chozer ba'olam, k'taba'as zeh ha'igul, v'al yedei zechirah zeh yefarnes mi'shulchano la'aniyim. The table had four rings on the side. Why did it have four rings on the side? The כלי יקר Kli Yakar says, what shape is a ring? It's a round circle. Why? Because the circle is a ring. The economy, the financial system, life revolves like a ring. And only when we remember that. You could be on top today, be on the bottom tomorrow. Be on the bottom today, you could be on top tomorrow. And we could share endless stories of people who broke through with great wealth and ended up on צדקה שבת tzedakah Shabbos. And people who were on צדקה שבת tzedakah Shabbos who suddenly break through, broke through with tremendous wealth. So the שולחן shulchan, which is a רמז remez for the שולחן shulchan, the table of our home, had these round rings because when we have פרנסה parnasah, when we eat our meal, when we indulge in our delicacies, we should remember, never to give up and be hopeless because we have too little, and never to be too proud or arrogant because we have so much, because life works like a circle and it revolves. The נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehudah in בספר אהבת ציון כותב טעם נפלא למעשה מטבעות עגולות. b'sefer Ahavas Tzion kosev ta'am nifla l'ma'aseh matbe'os agulos. Why... and the נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehudah says this is why, almost universally. What shape are bills? Rectangles. What shape are coins? They're round. Why are coins round? Could be a pentagon, an octagon, a square, a rectangle, a triangle. Why are coins round? Listen to what the נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehudah writes, that the אוצר פניני התורה Otzar Pnina HaTorah dug up in his אהבת ציון Ahavas Tzion. כל המטבעות חדשות וגם ישנות שאנו רואים לצורך, כולם הם עגולות. Kol ha'matbe'os chadashos v'gam yeshanos she'anu ro'im l'tzorech, kulam hem agulos. ואפשר, הוא כבר מתחיל מדינא לעשות המטבעות עגולות, ולא תמונה אחרת, לרמז דבר עגול מתעגל ומתגלגל, ואין לו תקומה במקום אחד. V'efshar, hu kvar maschil midina la'asos ha'matbe'os agulos, v'lo smunah acheres, l'ramez davar agol mis'agel u'misgalgel, v'ein lo skumah b'makom echad. Because that which is round, a wheel, it rolls. A circle rolls. The coin is going to roll and roll and roll. It doesn't sit in one place. Money moves, it's fungible, it migrates, it doesn't... doesn't sit. One person, one institution, one country doesn't sit on top of it. The economy has cycles to it. Right? You talk about, is it going to be a recession, no recession, they're going to raise rates, lower rates. What cycle, what cycle are we in? Where are we in the cycle? So Rav Yehuda with tremendous insight says that's why coins are round, because they're going to roll. You have them today, they're going to roll to the next person. You don't have them today, they're going to roll to you.וגלגל הוא חוזר בעולם V'galgal hu chozer ba'olam. לרמז שלא יהא עיקר בטחונו של אדם על עשרו L'ramez shelo yehei ikar bitchono shel adam al oshro. ואוסף אושר שלא במשפט באחד צהרי ימים יעזבנו V'osef osher shelo b'mishpat, b'echad tzohoray yamim ya'azvenu. כל אחד עושה תחבולות רשע ורק מעלים מעצמו להכביד על אחרים Kol echad oseh tachbulot resha v'rak ma'alim me'atzmo l'hachbid al acherim. יעל על זכרונם כמה עשירים מדורות שלפנינו מה עלה להם Ya'aleh al zichronam kama ashirim midoros she'lifaneinu mah alah lahem. וכל זאת לדעתי, עובר גזל המס V'chol zot l'da'ati, over gezel ha'mas. So he says that's why coins are round. So as we transact, as we transfer, as we do business, no one has coins or change anymore, but the image still is powerful. As we transact, as we do business, as we acquire, as we sell, we should remember, these coins are not permanent. They're not with us permanently and we will never permanently be without them, but they move and they migrate and they change locations over and over again.As always a lot we left off, but we will continue אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem next time. Tonight we go behind the bima with Bernie Marcus, the founder of Home Depot, a great Jewish philanthropist, fascinating story how he founded Home Depot, and what Jews do for Succos every year in Home Depot. That's tonight at 9:00. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy.
