Transcript
Okay good morning it should be a good morning for Klal Yisrael, Am Yisrael, שיבשר בשורות טובות ישועות ונחמות. Want to thank our Emunah series sponsors Dr. Avi and Bella Morgan in memory of Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbut, in memory of Bella’s mother Dr. Ellen Schanzar. We are very grateful to the Morgans, don’t take their generosity and sponsorship and friendship for granted. This morning’s shiur is also sponsored by Neil and Brandy Pammer, chasdei Hashem for the refuah sheleimah of נחמן מאיר בן יצחק, should continue to be well with health. And by Jonathan Rattner in honor of the birth of Emunah Kayla Rattner. Mazel tov, we’re very excited to welcome Emunah to our youth department. By Henna and Abe Louf in memory of her father Yaakov ben Moshe Jack Wilder, נשמה שתהא לו עליה. Thank you so much for your sponsorship. Also a reminder at the conclusion of shiur as we do each and every week, we will complete all of Sefer Tehillim. If you stay for just a few moments we divide all of Tehillim, we can complete all of Sefer Tehillim. And special for the Emunah shiur participants on your way out—if someone doesn't have the sound on and they're just watching, I don't know what they're thinking right now—but on your way out for your car, Israeli flag, American flag, we now have a Tzahal flag also, so that first of all, I actually found it very convenient the other day, it's very easy to find your car in the parking lot if you cover it with flags, especially the Tzahal flag, it's very easy to find your car in the parking lot. So there are all kinds of other advantages, all kinds of other advantages to doing it. They are available in the lobby. Want to share with you a couple Emunah emails and then we will dive into a new piece that we're going to study today. There are copies of it here if you'd like to follow inside. I apologize it is only in the Hebrew but we will learn it and translate it together. First email: Dear Rabbi Goldberg and the BRS congregation, I was raised a Reform Jew, although I went to Sunday school until I was 15 years old, it never stuck with me. Although I’ve always been a proud Jew and a strong supporter of Israel, I moved farther and farther away from any religious practice in adulthood. Indeed for most of my adult life I didn’t belong to a synagogue and didn’t attend services even on the High Holidays. I thought very little, if ever, about God. In 2010, one of my business partners strong-armed me into studying privately with Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, a good friend of mine who spoke here last year. Any opportunity to study with Rabbi Meir Soloveichik—yeah!—I agreed only because of my respect for my partner, so I went into the project with a great deal of skepticism. I didn't think Rabbi Soloveichik had much to teach me—silly, arrogant, but lucky me. I studied with Rabbi Soloveichik for three years and it changed me profoundly. I found Hashem and a much deeper connection with my fellow Jews. I will forever be grateful to Rabbi Soloveichik, my Wall Street partner, and most of all Hashem for putting me on this path. Isn't it amazing, someone—the author of this might be sitting in the room right now—but somebody who begins by saying I had no relationship with God, wasn't sure I believed in him, didn't even go to shul on Rosh Hashanah, just in the next paragraph says I will forever be grateful to Hashem for putting me on this path. It’s so easy. It seems so easy. It's not easy at all, it's hard, but life is so much richer and better and bigger, and it’s in living vibrant color. You could go through life in black and white—nobody, young people don't even know what I'm talking about, what’s black and white? You could go—I don't know what I'm talking about, I didn't exactly grow up on black and white either, but you can grow up watching something in black and white, or you could live in vibrant living color. And when Hashem is everywhere and He’s involved and you can attribute and you can feel and you can be grateful, He’s everywhere. Just life is so much more, sometimes tolerable, sometimes you can navigate it better, and sometimes it’s just more elevated and enriched and amazing. That’s not the end. Hashem intervened further in my life last year. In February, my husband and I attended Rabbi Soloveichik’s talk at BRS. We belong to a Reform synagogue, but it was not the right place for us as our spiritual needs had deepened. We discussed joining BRS but didn't think that we could fit into the community because we're not observant. But I began to spend time on the BRS website and listen to many podcasts and YouTube videos. In August I told my husband I want to join BRS. Though we will never participate fully in the community and I felt and feel extremely close spiritually to you all. I don't know how I could have weathered the horrors since October 7th without you, BRS. The shiurim have offered, the classes have offered me great comfort. They have reinforced my faith in Hashem's plan for us and bolstered my chizuk. As Israel is a light unto nations, so is the BRS community a light unto all Jews. Thank you all so, so much. It's an incredible email, the author is incredible, she might be in this room, and we're proud and honored to have her as a member of our community. And I'll reiterate for those watching or those who are here, we don't really care how you get here on Shabbos or during the week, we care that you're here. Nobody's looking, nobody's judging, nobody's giving you a score on how many mitzvos you do, and all we want is for you to be here and be part of our big family that is open, warm, and welcoming. And I love that somebody who describes having so little background and doubt about God and spending a majority into adult life of not having him, ends up with Hashem, Hashem, and Hashem. And Hashem this, and Hashem brought me, and Hashem and I'm grateful for Hashem. So amazing, thank you so much for sharing and giving me permission to share that email. Next email. This is an amazing email. They're all amazing emails. And then we have amazing Torah. And then I have an amazing thing to tell you. Whoa. There's a lot going on. No, it's not amazing. My own emuna story. Ready? Rabbi Goldberg, I hope you're doing well. My name is blank. My family made aliyah a little over a year ago, August 2022, from such and such place, where my husband was the rabbi of such and such place. Making aliyah with older children was challenging for all the regular reasons of adjusting to a new culture and language, new schools and new community, but additionally, leaving our shul was difficult and I often wondered throughout the year if we did the right thing. However, throughout the year, I've been listening to the weekly emuna shiur and I've found that it gives me so much chizuk. I often found that if I was having a hard day, I could put on the emuna shiur and it would help me change my mindset and be able to view the day in a better light and remember that Hashem has put me exactly where I'm supposed to be. I just want to say I have the same experience. I don't put on the emuna shiur, I just remember that I'm the one who has to give it. And then when I'm going through that difficult or challenging or frustrating... so last night I wrote my article for the week and at about midnight when I thought I was done and proud of myself and grateful so early, I discovered that it was gone. Then I spent the next hour trying to find it and watching every video on YouTube about how to recover the old files. So it's gone. Now I don't know if I'm going to rewrite it or it wasn't meant to see the light of day, it wasn't really so important, or take the week off or write something different. I don't know yet. I will tell you, it was very... has that ever happened to you? You put a lot of work into something and it was creative energy and you were proud of it and then it's gone. It is among the most... it's frustrating. It's aggravating, it's frustrating, it's infuriating. And then I put on the emuna shiur. I didn't actually press play and listen to one, but I just remember that I give it and that I give it the next day, today. So then you're just like okay, it is meant. That's why the life of emuna is amazing because you just let go and you're like I don't know why, but like you start arguing with Hashem. But it was really good, it was written well and it's important. And then you're like but You're the editor, You're the publisher. You publish. And You've rejected my piece. And if you view it that way, not I should've saved it and I can't believe it and technology's the worst and the IT host, why didn't he set it up that way and why did it happen to me and I can't believe this fluke? Instead of being frustrated and infuriated and aggravated and all you do in the process is lose your mental health, spiritual health, and physical health, instead you say Hashem, You are the great editor, the great publisher, and You rejected the piece. So I guess I have to submit a different one, I have to try again or take the week off. But You rejected the piece. And just if you do that paradigm shift, it changes your whole experience. Hashem, You're the publisher and You rejected the piece. You chose to reject it by having this file be lost. Okay, first of all, what lesson can I learn? How should I save my files differently? What am I meant to take from it? But once you extract the lesson you're meant to learn, if you let go and let God and you say You're the publisher, You rejected it, schlof gesunt, it's time to go to sleep. You're no longer frustrated or aggravated or angry. I told you that before, but I have that experience when I give drashas and sometimes afterwards I say oh, I forgot, I should've ended that way or I had this story or I had this quote or I had this... and it used to drive me crazy. I couldn't concentrate the whole mussaf because I'd think in my mind I should've landed the drasha that way, maybe I should just give it again after davening. Don't worry, I didn't really think about it. And then you realize no, it wasn't... that wasn't meant to be shared. And then you can concentrate on mussaf and then you never think about it again. You let go because you just realized it wasn't meant. And it's just... it's such an amazing way to live life. So back to the email. That was my personal thing. I feel even better now. So back to the email. So the author writes that sometimes they put on the shiur, our shiur. It's not my shiur. You write the emails, I spend half the shiur... it's our shiur together. I've been waiting to be able to send you a wonderful emuna story, even one with not the positive outcome which I know you always appreciate. But honestly, I find most of my stories are just everyday life, being able to take a deep breath, relax, not feel overly anxious when the day-to-day of living in Israel feels overwhelming, and that was before the war. Especially as my husband and I had to figure out our new parnassa. When are you starting BRS East? There was no one aha moment, but the constant chizuk from the shiur allowed me to just keep repeating let go and let God. I want to share one event that happened last week in Israel and I just keep replaying it in my head. Sadly, on Shabbat Parshas Toldot, Binyamin Meir Erly, Hashem yikom damo, was killed in Gaza. Binyamin lived on our block in Ramat Beit Shemesh and so it felt very close to home. Yocheved and the group that she's with from the OU paid a shiva call just yesterday to the family and Binyamin's uncle and aunt used to live in our community, now live in Parkland, but we feel connected to this terrible loss. Sunday, the day of the levaya, was the first real very rainy day and a cold day of the season and it downpoured during the levaya. The cold, rainy weather matched the mood we were all feeling, but I kept feeling that while I was cold and wet and sad, usually in Israel the first rain is seen as a simcha and kids go out and dance in the street, it's a sign of bracha. I couldn't quite wrap my head around the weather. To add to this, while in America you've not started saying yet ותן טל ומטר לברכה, we had. happen to be learning about that during Siddur Snippets, why we start a different date in Israel and outside of Israel. In Israel they began on the seventh of Cheshvan. At that time my husband told me there was discussion between some Rabbanim if we should begin saying it because rain will be bad for the soldiers fighting in the south. So normally in Israel they ask for rain at the beginning of the rainy season, the seventh of Cheshvan. In fact the rainy season is really at the end of Succos. Why do they wait until the seventh of Cheshvan? The Gemara gives the reason. Because it takes 15 days for the person who lives farthest to get home so as not to ask for rain and create flooding that would be dangerous, that would be a mud whatever would kill the travelers on their way home, we wait until the seventh of Cheshvan. So if the whole reason that we wait to start asking for rain is to protect people, so there was discussion in Israel this year, maybe delay asking for rain even longer because the rain could be dangerous for the soldiers. One Rav even suggested a change in the text to say something along the lines of give the fields the needed rain but not the Chayalim. I felt uncomfortable by this idea. We don't change the text of our Davening. Hashem knows exactly where and how to bring the rain. Last week at the Shiva I heard that when it did rain in a torrential downpour last Sunday, it caused the Hamas terror tunnel to flood, drowning some terrorists and causing others to come up and be captured and killed. I just kept thinking wow, see Hashem not only brought the rain that Israel needs for its crops, but even in doing so made it a Bracha for the soldiers in Gaza. When we can only see that a situation will be good in one way but bad in another, we don't need to fear because Hashem can make the situation so it is totally good even when we can't understand how that will be. Thank you for the Emuna share. May we all, may all Klal Yisrael hear Bsoros Tovos. Amen. But I had seen that too because I mentioned it in the Siddur Snippet that they contemplated pushing it off because of the soldiers and someone sent me a video actually of a soldier talking about that how the rain was welcome. Not for the soldier who has to sleep outside under the trees, but it helped them in their fighting because it flooded the tunnels. Hashem as always knows exactly exactly what He is doing. One more or save it for next week? I'll save it for next week. Let's get into our learning together. Let's see this piece and we'll start off with the next email next week. Okay, this piece that we're looking at, שיחת מורנו ראש הישיבה שליט"א. Who is מורנו ראש הישיבה שליט"א? It's Rav Yisrael Meir Druck. This is a piece by Rav Druck. Those who enjoy the Parsha Shiur know that for several years we've been quoting the Torah of Rav Druck in his Eish Tamid, his new Sefer Lahavas Eish, his other Sefer we quote sometimes in Erev Shabbos Kollel Midei Shabbos. He has wonderful Sefarim, he's a wonderful Talmid Chacham, also has a tremendous power of looking at a person's name and understanding a lot about them. He's a very very special human being. And this is a Sicha, this is a talk that he gave having to do בעקבת המצב בארץ הקודש, having to deal with the Matzav, this reality, this crisis that is going on in our holy land. It was given on the ערב ראש חודש כסלו, so it was given a couple weeks ago. BaGemara Taanis he begins by quoting the Gemara in מסכת תענית דף י"א. It says the following: תנו רבנן בזמן שישראל שרויין בצער פירש אחד מהם באין שני מלאכי השרת המלווין לו לאדם מניחין לו ידיהם על ראשו ואומרים. In the time that the Jewish people are living with tragedy, living with crisis in an urgent moment, so two angels come and escort a person and put their hands on his head and say: פלוני זה שפירש מן הציבור אל יראה בנחמת ציבור. What happens? The community. And the community can be defined in a very small way, in a broader way of a community, of a city or broadly as a nation and as a people. And the Gemara in Taanis tells us that when Klal Yisrael are Shruyin Betzaar, when we are struggling and suffering in a crisis, Uperish Echad Mehem. What does Perish mean? Someone separates. Someone says not my problem. I live in Borough Park or Boca. I'm comfortable, I'm safe and I'm well. First of all, they're delusional, but aside from that, let's say they weren't just delusional. They say I'm good to go, my family's comfortable and okay and I don't feel connected, I don't want to watch or read or know about what's going on, don't get your sadness on me. I'm good. Says the Gemara something incredible. Two angels come down and they escort the person who is dividing from the people, they put their hands on their head and they say this individual who separated from the community will not see in the Nechama, will not see in the comfort of the community. This individual. תניא אידך בזמן שהציבור שרוי בצער אל יאמר אדם אלך לביתי ואוכל ואשתה ושלום עליך נפשי. A person when a community is in crisis, a person shouldn't say so sorry to hear that, feel really bad, add me to the WhatsApp group for Tehillim, and then go home and eat and drink and be merry and say I'm good. אם עושה כן עליו הכתוב אומר. If the person does so... The pasuk in Yeshaya says, הנה ששון ושמחה הרוג בקר ושחוט צאן אכול בשר ושתות יין אכול ושתו כי מחר נמות, maktiv batrei ונגלה באזני ה' צבאות אם יכופר העון הזה לכם עד תמותון. אל יצער עצמו אדם עם הציבור. A person should never live a life with the philosophy of eat and drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die. Carpe diem. That's not the way that we live. A Jew feels connected to the reality of what's going on around them. A Jew feels empathy and sympathy and the pain. שכן מצינו במשה רבינו שציער עצמו עם הציבור. We find that Moshe Rabbeinu doesn't say I'm God's loyal servant, I'm good to go, I have His promise and protection. Moshe Rabbeinu spends his whole life feeling connected, נושא בעול עם חבירו, feels the tzar of the tzibur. Why was Moshe recruited and selected? Why was he in fact appointed to be the savior of the Jewish people, our leader? Because Moshe felt that capacity, not only נושא בעול עם חבירו for fellow man, for other people, but before Moshe was in charge of people, who was he in charge of? A bunch of sheep. As were all our great leaders. The zayin roim are seven shepherds so we welcomed into the sukkah in the ushpizin, the seven great shepherds of Am Yisrael, before they emerged, before they were elevated to be great leaders, first they were great shepherds. Is that a coincidence? That is not a career path that Jewish parents take pride in today. If you called home, I figured out what I want to be. Doctor? A lawyer? Nebach a rabbi? No, none of the above. What is it? What do you want to be? A shepherd. Shepherd. I said that once in a shiur and someone told me afterwards that their child actually knew what they wanted to be but took some time before doing it because they always wanted to first they spent several months in Israel first being a shepherd. But why were they all shepherds? Why were they shepherds? There's a lot of answers to that. One of them is actually connected to our parsha, vayivater Yaakov levado. When did Yaakov have an enormous growth spurt? When he was levado. When he disconnected from technology and noise and social media and even the twelve children who needed bath time and bedtime and to learn Mishna with them and homework with them. That's as you know why Yaakov invented Maariv so he could get out of bath time and bedtime and the twelve children that he had. But Yaakov got a few minutes of quiet and solace. He was levado and vayeiaseir and when we are levado we can wrestle with ourselves. There's a lot more to say about it for another time. For another time. But what we call hisbodedus. Hisbodedus is when we have a meaningful real authentic genuine conversation with Hashem and when does that happen? It doesn't happen when we're scrolling and typing and following and watching and listening. When does it happen? When we have a little bit of alone. Just close our eyes and we breathe and we reconnect. And we reconnect. We talked about this on Sunday night with Rav Moshe Gerst, those who didn't hear it you could listen online, the amazing author of It's All the Same to Me, the Baal Shem Tov's idea of hishtavus. If you don't know whether that's a little book worth reading, it may be the only it is the only book on the planet that has an endorsement from Rav Asher Weiss and Deepak Chopra. Both think it's worth your time to read. It's called It's All the Same to Me and he has a new book called The Three Conditions and we talked about this, the role of breathing and of mindfulness in being equi in practicing equanimity in feeling and finding Hashem. So hisbodedus, how can you just be in a slow the breathing, slow the pulse, feel connected to ourselves, to our core, to our essence, to our Creator and be in a conversation with Him? That's what it's about. You know who does that? Shepherds. You know why? Because the shepherd didn't have an iPhone or an iPad. The shepherd wasn't catching up or binge watching Netflix. The shepherd wasn't checking the stock market or what happened last night in the game. The shepherd, when the sheipelach were eating and grazing from the field or the flock was fast asleep, you know what the shepherd did? Just having a conversation with Hashem. It's just him and Hashem. Listening to the sounds that all of us don't even hear because we have AirPods in. Just listening to the rustle of the leaves and the grass and looking around and seeing the hills and the valleys and the sky and the sun. And the shepherd finds Hashem in such profound ways that we are so blind to because we've created all these artificial obstacles and barriers that we can't find or feel Hashem. In fact he shared in this talk that before we started on Sunday night he was here a few minutes early and he met somebody who he obviously knows from before and that person was describing their feeling very anxious so they sat together with their eyes closed, did some breathing and also did some listening. And if you're listening you can hear all kinds of things that we don't even pay attention to. You don't know, a door closing, squeaking, an air conditioner kicking in. You're just you're just creating a sense of mindfulness and presence that brings with it a calm that allowed for discovery and growth. Listen to it, it's worth listening, it's more worth even reading. So the shepherd in the field, that's all they do all day, is they're just fully present with themselves and fully present with the world around them and discovering and finding Hashem and they are involved in conversation. But that's not why Moshe was chosen. All the Zayin Ro'im, the seven shepherds, all practiced shepherding before they then got their lives very noisy and busy and rattled with their rabbanus, with their position leading Am Yisrael. First they had to be a shepherd. We should introduce that to semicha. You gotta learn Yoreh De'ah, you gotta take semicha, and before you go out to be a rabbi, you gotta spend some time being a shepherd. We should introduce, are you comfortable in your own skin? Can you be alone? Do you find Hashem? How are you in nature? You have to, the Zayin Ro'im, the Zayin Ro'im. You gotta be comfortable out in in nature, in nature. I went last night to buy a winter coat. Not because it's freezing here, it is freezing here, but I'm going to Israel next week and I have to go to New York today for a little bit. So I was in somebody sent me to a store I didn't even know existed that has like outdoor gear, REI, is that what it's called? Is that my is it are you supposed to pronounce it like Ray, Ree? It has a name? I'm not trying to like I never heard of it before. Anyway, I went there, so I'm looking at the coats and there's a guy shmoozing, looking at the same coat. I said, what do you think, is this a good coat? He's like, here's how it works, when you're out in camping and in nature and the hiking and it can get snagged, so I like to wear on top of it another he's what are you getting it for? What are your activities? Are you the hiking, the whatever? I'm like, going to New York, Manhattan, I have to get through Manhattan. Can I get through? Will it work? Anyway, so nature, that's as far as a Jew goes with nature, is when you have to walk to shul on Shabbos because you have no choice. That's the closest we come. So no, we should come a lot closer. And we live in a place, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. Even on this frigid cold day, go for a walk around the lake. Go for a walk. You talk about the nature, because of the weather, make sure no iguana hits you on the head when it falls out of the tree. But I I don't do it every day, I don't do it every week, I go through spurts where I try in the middle of the day just go for a walk around the lake, return a few calls or even better, leave the phone and just talk to yourself. We we have a beautiful lake. And there are lizards and iguanas and ducks and there are fish and turtles and the there's all kind it's amazing. It's amazing. And there are leaves and there are trees and there are bushes and fauna and it's amazing. When's the last time you left your phone at home and just went for that walk and just took that in and found Him and were in a conversation with Him? And the more frazzled you are, the more frustrated you are, the more anxious you feel, the less you want to do that, like I can't do that now, I don't have a head for that now, I don't want to go that's the that's when you need it the most. That's when you need it the most. That's when when you have no time and so much to do and you're passing out from it and you're super busy, that's when take five minutes and go for that walk and find and feel Hashem and come back, you will be super productive, super efficient, super calm. Be a shepherd to the iguanas and the lizards and the ducks. Shepherd them for a little bit. Shepherd them for a little bit. But that's not why Moshe was chosen. Why was Moshe chosen? Moshe was chosen because the Midrash tells a story, the Alter of Kelm brings it down when he talks about he has a long essay on נושא בעול עם חברו, tells the story of one of the flock of the sheep, one day a little sheepla was you know, the even among the sheep, they fall behind. There was the sheep that couldn't keep up, was a little slower, struggled in school, struggled socially with friends, struggled in executive function and couldn't get dressed and get it going in the morning. So this sheep, this nebach, this little sheep, you know, before there were all kinds of programs and support and we had the knowledge and learned how to to support such and next Monday night, you see how I do these plugs, weave them in. Monday night we're doing a three-part mental hygiene series, mental health. We have literally world experts, incredible people coming. It's really really special. And the woman that's starting Monday night is an expert, wrote a book on DBT and she is incredible and and for ourselves and for our children and for these sheep in particular, these sheep, not the sheep in the flock who's the first one, who's running in the front, who nobody can keep up with, who excels in everything, not that sheep, the superstar sheep who gets the best grades and stars on the team and is picked first and socially fits in, but the sheep in the back, the sheep that can't keep up, the sheep that can't get it going, the sheep that is a failure to launch. That sheep. Maybe you feel like that sheep, maybe you're a parent to such a little sheep. Come Monday night. You'll see it you'll see it advertised. Really amazing. So Moshe, Moshe was not the great Moshe, the anav mikol adam, the brilliant, erudite, superstar, incredible, s- spiritually superior Moshe. He didn't neglect that sheep, he found that sheep, and he put the sheep, the medrash says, on his shoulders. And that little sheep was tired and thirsty, was a little dehydrated, and Moshe carefully, almost like with a dropper, fed the sheep, hydrated the sheep, nourished the sheep, carried the sheep on his shoulders until he could get it back with the flock, until he fit back in, until he got it going. And Hashem said, "Forget how humble you are, forget how smart you are, forget how righteous you are. There's other smart and righteous and humble people. But nosei be’ol chaveiro. You feel the pain, you see that sheep that doesn't fit in. You care. He's or she's not invisible or inconsequential to you. You're my leader. You're the one. You are the model. You are Rabbeinu forever." It's a beautiful Alter of Kelm. It's a long essay worth reading. So here Rav Druck is referring to it. It says that Moshe, Moshe, we can learn from Moshe, צער עצמו עם הציבור. He started with a sheep and later with all the people. Moshe saw and he cared and he supported and he felt the pain, שנאמר וידי משה כבדים ויקחו אבן וישימו תחתיו וישב עליה. When the Jewish people, and here's the point where Rav Druck is getting to, when the Jewish people are fighting Amalek, we've been fighting Amalek since we began, since our very inception we've been fighting Amalek and we're still fighting Amalek. And you see Amalek is pernicious and if you allow them to remain, they metastasize and throughout our history, the public national pressure that's always told us to back off is what has allowed the Amaleks to live, to continue, to regroup, and to come back, and we've paid the highest price each time. We're still fighting Amalek. But in that original fight with Amalek, so Yehoshua was the general who led the people in battle and what did Moshe do at that time? He held up his hands. And the Mishnah says, and there's a song to these words by the London School of Jewish Music that maybe you never heard of, but there's a song to these words. He held up his hands and when Moshe’s hands were up, that's not the song, but when Moshe’s hands were up, so then they won. And when Moshe’s hands were down, they lost. And wonders the Mishnah, וכי ידו של משה עושות מלחמה? Do hands pointing to the heavens win a war? And Chazal our rabbis tell us, "Yeah, you know why? When Moshe pointed up, everybody looked up and they remembered who's really in charge, who's really in control, Hashem." So as we spoke about in the parshah yesterday, we have to take our initiative. First Yaakov divided his camp and he armed them and he got them ready and then he turned to Hashem and he davened. We do both parts. We have an army and we have to get them ready and we have to support them and take care of them and then we daven for them and daven for ourselves. We have to do both parts, hishtadlus and bitachon and emunah. So Moshe’s hands were props. When he lifted them, the people remembered, "Oh yeah, He's in charge." And we daven to Him and when Moshe’s hands got heavy and they fell, and we forgot and we looked down and we thought, "It's our tanks and our artillery and it's our paratroopers and it's our navy, it's us," then we lost the war because when we think it's all us, then we're in trouble. And when we remember that we're partners, but really it's all Him, then we do well. So what happened? If you've ever tried to hold up your arms, you know body weight is an incredible source of exercise. Everyone thinks they have to belong to the gym and I have to buy these fancy weights, and then just do repetitions with your own body weight and see, hold your hands up and see how long you can hold them up. You don't have to do it right now. They get very heavy. Moshe Rabbeinu’s arms get incredibly heavy. So what happened? Veyadei Moshe kveidim, it's a pasuk in Shmos. Moshe’s hands got heavy, so they took a stone and they put it underneath and he sat on it. וכי לא היה למשה כר אחד או כסת אחת לישב עליה? Moshe sat on a rock instead of standing holding up his arms, the first thing when it got heavy was here's a chair, only they didn't give him a chair. It wasn't a comfortable chair. It wasn't an uncomfortable chair. It wasn't a chair. What did they give him? A rock. A rock? Nobody had a pillow? Nobody had a chair? Nobody had a recliner? Nobody had something comfortable that Moshe could sit on? אלא כך אמר משה הואיל וישראל שרויין בצער אף אני אהיה עמהם בצער. If the Jewish people are struggling and suffering, if they're at war and battling, if they're sleeping outside in the woods, if they haven't seen their family, if they haven't had a good meal, then I'm not sitting on no comfortable recliner or couch or chair. וכל המצער עצמו עם הציבור זוכה ורואה בנחמת ציבור, עד כאן דברי הגמרא. And the Gemara says similarly, any of us, any of us, Rav Avrum Shor hasn't slept with a pillow since October 7th this war broke out. The Chofetz Chaim didn't sit on a mattress during World War I. I wrote last week's article, I mentioned someone in our community mentioned in passing an extraordinary, amazing person, that he hasn't had chocolate since October 7th. Every time he has a little bit of a impulse for chocolate, he stops himself and says, "You know, I could do without chocolate if they can do without all they're doing without." Ai, not eating chocolate is going to defeat Hamas? Not eating chocolate, not sleeping with the pillow is going to beat terror, is going to bring hostages home? The answer is yes. The merit of מצער עצמו עם הציבור. So what are we denying or depriving ourselves just a little bit? What luxury are we not indulging in right now because while brothers and sisters can't have necessities, how could we enjoy luxuries? And we should be thinking about that as we're planning *Yeshiva* week, thinking about that as we're looking at *Chanukah*. We still have to keep *Chanukah*. We have to observe *Chanukah*. *Chanukah* is a *Yom Tov*. We have to experience *Chanukah*. I'm not saying we don't have to have *Chanukah*. I'm not saying when our children are off we shouldn't find a meaningful way to spend time with them during *Yeshiva* week. I'm not saying that everything that we're doing right now, our everyday lives, we need to live, make ourselves suffer. But what luxury are we temporarily suspending while our brothers and sisters don't have some basic necessities? Because if we want to be like *Moshe Rabbeinu*, and who was *Moshe Rabbeinu* imitating? *Hashem*. I shared this recently. When *Hashem* speaks to *Moshe*, I think it was last week I told you, He doesn't do it from beautiful landscape. He does it from a thorn bush, among the thistles. Because *Hashem* Himself says *Imo Anochi B'tzara*. If you're in pain, I'm in pain. I can't, if you're sleeping on the ground, I'll sleep without a pillow. Till you can be back in a bed, I could live with one, you sleep with two pillows, one pillow. One last pillow. Until you're in a bed, I'm without one of my pillows. Why? That's going to stop Hamas? Yeah. Because when a Jew cares about another Jew and connects with another Jew and feels the *tzar* of another Jew, כל המצער עצמו עם הציבור, if we can feel the pain of the *tzibur*, זוכה ורואה בנחמת ציבור. Then we will merit to see the comfort and consolation of the *tzibur*. So far I didn't say anything, *Rav* Druck. So far all you did was quote the *Gemara* in *Taanis*. *V'hinei*, now he starts to say something. אנו נמצאים כעת במצב אשר ציבור גדול מעם ישראל נמצאים בצער גדול ממש. We are finding ourselves with half a million soldiers who are *be-tzar*, who are in danger. And you'll say they're not in danger right now, there's a temporary ceasefire. Except that yesterday three soldiers were shot and injured because that's how Hamas, what the Hamas definition of a ceasefire is? You cease and we keep firing. That's the Hamas definition of a ceasefire. That's what it's always been. That's what it continues to be. That's what it was. I'm sure you saw the headlines, right? The outrage of the world how Hamas breached the ceasefire and shot three soldiers. I'm sure you saw it, you read all about it, right? Of course not. Because the world doesn't ask Hamas to cease. They're allowed to keep firing, it's only Israel that has to cease. So even in a ceasefire our soldiers are in great danger. Half a million soldiers on the front, people living in all kinds of situations and conditions, more families still sitting *shiva*, injured in the hospital, families who are displaced and not yet home. *Yocheved* described when she got to the hotel visit displaced residents when she first got there on Monday, she said the lobby is packed and filled with people and they look just, they're like shells of themselves. This is going on seven weeks of sitting in a lobby. It's not a *Pesach* program that you have four outfits to be in the lobby for the *shidduch* of your kid and the next barbeque and midnight tea room. This is seven weeks of taking your whole family without your clothing, without your belongings, without your space, cramming into a room and having to hang out in a lobby. Enough, enough. That's *tzar*, that's *tzar*. ואין אנו מדברים על משפחות ההרוגים ולא משפחות הפצועים. Says *Rav* Druck, we're not even talking about the families who are grieving for those who were murdered or those who were injured. וכל שכן שלא משפחות השבויים והשבויים בעצמם. And we're not even talking about the families of those who are held hostage or the hostages themselves. You read the report yesterday? The parent of one of the children who was released said the children were forced to watch videos from October 7th over and over. The videos that are not even being released for us to see, that were only shown to some of the media, some of *Knesset*, some Congress. Children, that's these barbarians, these animals made children watch videos. The pride they took of October 7th. Monsters. *She-nimtza'im B'tzar Nora* in a astonishing profound pain. *Kefi She-amru* as the *Gemara* says in *Bava Batra*, *Hashevi Kasheh Mikulam*. This isn't a new phenomenon. This isn't the first time the Jews have been taken hostage. And the *Gemara* *Bava Batra* tells us, *Hashevi Kasheh Mikulam*. Being held hostage is worse than everything. You remember the father was interviewed, it turned out his child was alive, but when he was told his child was murdered after a few days and it was unclear and he said that's a relief. They said that's a relief? And he said yes, the thought of his being held hostage, tortured, mistreated. Do you see the images of the children and adults coming out? You notice something about them? What are they wearing? Have you asked yourself why are these adults and children who are coming out fifty-some days later coming out at night, why are they wearing pajamas? And there's a very simple answer. You know why? Because seven weeks ago that's what they were wearing when they were first taken. They haven't been allowed to change or shower in seven weeks. They're wearing the same pajamas. Gemara in Bava Basra says השבי קשה מכולם ואצלם בוודאי כל דקה היא נצח. Every minute feels like an eternity. אמנם מלבד זה אנו מדברים על מצבם הכללי של עם ישראל, says Rav Druck, I'm not even talking about the grieving families. I'm not even talking about the families who've someone's being held hostage or the hostages themselves. I'm talking Am Yisrael. We're in a war. ובמלחמה צריך להיות אלף למטה כנגד אלף למטה. And as we wrote about last week, the Medrash tells us, the pasuk says אלף למטה אלף למטה when we fought with Midian, a thousand per tribe, a thousand per tribe. For every thousand who went to fight, a thousand adopted and davened on their behalf. והמלחמה אמיתית בבתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות. The war is being fought on the front in Gaza and in Lebanon and in Yehudah veShomron and against Iran and it's being fought over 70 times on army bases, American army bases in the Middle East. We should think about the US troops who've been fired upon now 70 times in the last month. Be nice to see them have some support. He said but the real war is fought, where is the victory attained? In the בבתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות. Kefi sheamru Chazal, as our rabbis said in Berachos nun daled, הרואה אבן שישב עליה משה בזמן שנלחם יהושע עם עמלק מברך ברוך שעשה נס לאבותינו במקום הזה. If you were to see the rock, the stone that Moshe sat on while he lifted his arms and davened during that war with Amalek, you would recite a beracha. What beracha is said upon seeing that stone? ברוך שעשה נס לאבותינו במקום הזה. Blessed is you Hashem who made a miracle for our forefathers in this place. Now do you think we don't make that beracha anymore? We still make that beracha. One would make that beracha if you knew exactly where Krias Yam Suf happened, the place of the Yarden we crossed over when we entered Israel, where the Yarden split. Gemara gives examples where you make that beracha. שעשה נס במקום הזה. I saw a video of someone making that beracha. One of the residents of Shlomit, of Chaluza, who the head of Chaluza our dear friend Yedidya Harush will be here for Shabbos in a couple weeks, but one of the residents named Oz who was part of the battle and went out to fight on October 7th. Not the army because the real October 7th Klal Yisrael was saved by the civilians, the civilian security forces. He took his gun, he put his family in the safe room, he went out to fight. He lost four, four of the 70 families of Shlomit are without a husband and a father who fell in that battle. But Oz survived but he was shot in the leg. And when he recovered and got out of the hospital he went back to that same spot. I have a video of him in the front of a house fighting terrorists who had infiltrated and he made this beracha besheim umalchus with Hashem's name. ברוך אתה ה' אלוהינו מלך העולם שעשה נס במקום הזה who made a miracle in this place. If it's our forefathers, ברוך שעשה נס לאבותינו במקום הזה. אם כן מוטל עלינו, Vehiksha haMaharsha, sorry I skipped. Hiksha haMaharsha, Rav Shmuel Eidels, Maharsha appears in the back of the Gemara. Rav Shmuel Eidels. Interesting footnote. Eidels was not his name. The Maharsha took on his wife's maiden name. Because the Maharsha was a big feminist? No. He had certain reason. He had to take on his wife's name. I think it had to do with the dowry and his father-in-law's support and whatever the case may be historically. Rav Shmuel Eidels, he took on his wife's—you know who else took on his wife's maiden name? My grandfather-in-law, Zaide, took on his wife's maiden name. Certain circumstances, immigration, having to come in. It was common. I think for the Pshischa Rebbe... yeah, it was common... oh... His children's names would change every three, four years because the parents got married and they kept changing the name. Oh. So the Maharsha was among them, Rav Shmuel Eidels. Bechiddushei Aggados in the back of that Gemara, מדוע מברכין על אבן שישב עליה משה. He wonders a very good question and we'll end with this. He said: Why did Moshe, why do we make a beracha on that rock? It's a rock. Where was the war won against Amalek? On the shetach, on the battlefield. So if you go to the battlefield where we defeated Amalek—I don't even know if that's accurate to say. I wish we could say we defeated Amalek, we didn't. We just pushed back Amalek. We withstood the attack of Amalek. We defended ourselves against Amalek. But we can't say we defeated Amalek. Make the beracha at the battlefield. You go to the battlefield and you see the miracle where we won against Amalek, ברוך שעשה לאבותינו נס במקום הזה. But the rock that Moshe sat while he davened, that's where you make the beracha? הרי קיימא לן צריך לברך ברכה זו במקום הנס. You make the blessing on the place of the miracle. והרי הנס היה בשדה המערכה. The miracle was in the battlefield. ולא במקום שישב משה. Not the place where Moshe davened. Ubeur haMaharsha, the Maharsha answers, אכן הנס היה בשדה המערכה. True, the miracle was the battlefield. Battlefield. The miracle's happening on the border of Gaza, in Gaza, the miracles are happening we know nothing about because those stories are not being shared with us. The miracle, you saw the story of the bullet that didn't get through the Tehillim. The soldier who had a Tehillim and it the bullet was caught in the Tehillim. Someone said to me, even a bullet can't get through Kuf Yud Tes. Even the book, Kuf Yud Tes, the longest of the Tehillim, even the bullet can't get through Kuf Yud Tes. There are miracles happening. So the miracle happens on the battlefield absolutely says the Maharsha, אכן הנס היה בשדה המערכה, Rosh Hagivah, however, where was the real battlefield? It was the top of that mountain where Moshe raised his hands, במקום בו ישב משה רבינו והתפלל ישועת העם ושם היה הנס והניצחון בקרב עם עמלק, ולכן בראש הגבעה על האבן שם מברכים ברוך שעשה נס לאבותינו במקום הזה. Yes, you make the bracha where Oz survived the infiltration of the terrorists outside Shlomit. Yes, one makes the bracha there. But you know where else you make the bracha? In the Beis Medrash and in the Beis Knesset next to the stone that Moshe sat on because where is the war really ultimately won? We take our initiative, we do our hishtadlus, but what is actually the key to success and triumph? Where is the victory attained? In the place of tefillah, in the place that we davened. ואם כן מוטלת עלינו חובה. And that's why every one of us are soldiers and we'll pick up with this next week. We're in Israel so we're off, but in two weeks when we come back, Chanukah, we will pick up with this piece where Rav Druck will therefore conclude: You think you're not a soldier? You think all you're doing is giving up on some chocolate? You're a reservist and you've been called up because where will we make a bracha, please God, when this is over that a miracle happened in the place where Tehillim was finished. You stay after shiur and you introduce something new, not just have a coffee and catch up and compare mahjong results. But now, I'm not suggesting that's all people talk, save the email, I wasn't insulting anybody. But if you stay afterwards and you say Tehillim, then this is Baruch She'asah Neis. This is where the miracle will be. Yesh aleinu chovah. We have a responsibility, we have an obligation. Please stay and say Tehillim. We pick up with living with emunah, im yirtzeh Hashem, in two weeks. Should be a good day for Am Yisrael.
