Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker Tov. May it be a good morning, we should hear בשורות טובות besoros tovos, please God, good news from ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael for Jews in Israel and around the world. May the hostages come home, a sweeping victory over our enemies, and the soldiers return to their families.I want to thank our series sponsor for the פרשה שיעור Parsha Shiur, Beki and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש le'ilui nishmas David ben Menachem Manash. We're very, very grateful to the Katzes for their generosity and to all who sponsor on a regular basis. Thank you. It's good to know that you're available Monday mornings as well for the פרשה שיעור Parsha Shiur. It's good to know. I appreciate everybody adjusting their schedule this week. We have our planning meetings. Every year our staff gets together for a few days off campus to reflect on the year that was and to begin to prepare and vision the year, please God, that will be. Hopefully we'll all be in ירושלים Yerushalayim together. But if we're here, a year here together. So we had to adjust and appreciate everybody's flexibility, moving the פרשה שיעור Parsha Shiur to today. We have the privilege of studying פרשת בהר Parshas Behar, page 696 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. By the way, as always, if you want to be up to date on the schedule, bonus material, the פרשה parsha write-up, make sure you have joined the פרשה parsha WhatsApp group where it all gets posted on a regular basis. Ordinarily, בהר Behar and בחוקותי Bechukosai often are read together, which means we can't really do justice to either when we study them. This year, due to the leap year, we read them separately. בהר Behar is read alone, which means we can concentrate a little bit more on פרשת בהר Parshas Behar, spend a little bit more time studying it. So page 696 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. וידבר השם אל משה בהר סיני לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe b'Har Sinai leimor. Hashem spoke to Moshe at הר סיני Har Sinai. And this is what he said. He said everything. But we don't say everything right now. We give that introduction, Hashem spoke to Moshe at הר סיני Har Sinai, for one specific מצוה mitzva. דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem, speak to the Jewish people and tell them, כי תבואו אל הארץ אשר אני נותן לכם ki savo'u el ha'aretz asher ani nosein lachem, when you enter the land that I'm giving you, because by the way, God gave us that land thousands of years ago. It's ours. He gave it to us, and we bought it, and we've inhabited it, and according to every legal rule and right, it's ours. ושבתה הארץ שבת להשם v'shavta ha'aretz Shabbos l'Hashem, you should begin to observe שמיטה Shmita. Honor the land by resting, by having a sabbatical. שש שנים תזרע שדך Shesh shanim tizra sadecha, six years you should plant. שש שנים תזמר כרמך Shesh shanim tizmor karmecha, six years you should, you should, נו nu... prune. Thank you. No, thank you. ואספת את תבואתה v'asafta es tevuasa, and then gather in all of your produce. ובשנה השביעית U'bashana hashvi'is, and if you in fact earned it, you worked for six years, you you plowed, you planted, you pruned, you harvested, then you earn the seventh year, שבת שבתון יהיה לארץ Shabbos Shabbason yihyeh la'aretz. Seventh year is a land, year that you let the land lay fallow for the land, שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem. שדך לא תזרע וכרמך לא תזמר Sadcha lo sizra v'charmecha lo sizmor, don't work your field, don't prune your vineyard. Everything you should leave. And that is the institution of what we call שמיטה Shmita. שמיטה Shmita. We didn't observe it right away when we entered the land. We had seven years of conquest and then we had six years of working the land, seven years of working the land. First we we conquered the land seven years, then we divided the land seven years, and then we only observed the first שמיטה Shmita in the 21st year after having entered the land of Israel. So what it says, when you enter the land, that starts the clock of conquest, division of the land, and then the six years of working and the seventh year of resting. We've shared previously from Moshe Feinstein points out and do others, as do others, that the Torah could have started and said, seventh year is a sabbatical year, rest, be at peace with nature, be at peace with your land, let the land rejuvenate. But it doesn't say that. It says six years work the land first. Why does it say that first? Because to us, work, says רב משה Rav Moshe, is not a concession, work is a value. We value work. It's why we're here to toil, to work in order to produce, in order to improve and repair this world, redeem this world. We're here to work. Similarly, שבת Shabbos. Six days we work and the seventh day is שבת Shabbos. Why don't we observe שבת Shabbos all seven days? Because there's a value to work and it's the contrast between the work and the rest which adds value to our lives.So as we alluded to, this מצוה mitzva is introduced with the words בהר סיני b'Har Sinai. Hashem says, I spoke to Moshe at הר סיני Har Sinai. But this isn't the only law that was given at הר סיני Har Sinai. All the laws were given at הר סיני Har Sinai. So why is this one singled out? Why is this one singled out? So רש\"י Rashi famously tells us, רש\"י Rashi famously tells us, מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan Shmita eitzel Har Sinai? והלא כל המצות נאמרו מסיני V'halo kol hamitzvos ne'emru mi'Sinai? What's the connection between the sabbatical year, observing a sabbatical שמיטה Shmita, and that the Torah and מצוות mitzvos were all given at הר סיני Har Sinai? They were all given there, not just the מצוה mitzva of שמיטה Shmita. הלא כל המצות נאמרו בסיני Halo kol hamitzvos ne'emru b'Sinai. אלא Ella, מה שמיטה נאמרו כללותיה ודקדוקיה מסיני ma Shmita ne'emru klalosav v'dikdukeha mi'Sinai, אף כולן נאמרו כללותיהם ודקדוקיהם מסיני af kulan ne'emru klaloseihem v'dikdukeihem mi'Sinai. Just like the general rule as well as all the specific details, the minutiæ of שמיטה Shmita were all given at סיני Sinai, so to when it comes to all מצוות mitzvos, the general rules as well as the specific details were all given at סיני Sinai. Did רש\"י Rashi answer his question? רש\"י Rashi doesn't seem to have answered his question. The question was, all Torah and מצוות mitzvos were given at סיני Sinai. When Moshe climbed that mountain and stayed there for 40 days, Hashem transmitted to him all Torah and מצוות mitzvos that he would descend and transmit to us. So why aren't all Torah and מצוות mitzvos introduced with the geographic location or the metaphysical location of הר סיני Har Sinai? Why specifically שמיטה Shmita? To which רש\"י Rashi answers, just like the rules and details of שמיטה Shmita, so to the rules and details of everything. So that's what the עבודת ישראל Avodas Yisrael, the רחמיסטריווקא Rachmastrivka quotes wonders, לכאורה עדיין יש להבין L'chora adayin yesh l'havin, מהיכי תיתי שכל התורה נאמרה כללותיה ודקדוקיה מסיני meiheichi teisi shekol haTorah ne'emra klalosav v'dikdukeha mi'Sinai? Once we extrapolate, once it's true that all the general rules and the specific details of all Torah and מצוות mitzvos are given at סיני Sinai, למה דוקא במצות שמיטה נאמר הר סיני Lama davka b'mitzvas Shmita ne'emar Har Sinai? לאקשי לה כל התורה כולה l'akshuy la kol haTorah kula? If we're going to zone if we're going to zoom in on one מצוה mitzva and extrapolate from there that all מצוות mitzvos, all the rules and details were given, why שמיטה Shmita? Now, okay. So we're learning from שמיטה Shmita to all Torah and מצוות mitzvos that God didn't just give us the big picture, the principles, the theme, the big idea, all the details, they matter. They matter to Hashem too. That's true about all Torah and מצוות mitzvos. But if you're going to choose one מצוה mitzva to learn that from, why why is that מצוה mitzva the מצוה mitzva of שמיטה Shmita? We've discussed this in the past, but we're going to bring in new interpretations and ideas this year.So, to begin with, והקשה על דבר פי מה דאיתא בכתבי האריז\"ל v'hakasha al davar pi ma d'isa b'kisvei ha'Arizal. So the עבודת ישראל Avodas Yisrael quotes the ארי Ari, רב יצחק לוריא Rav Yitzchak Luria, the great kabbalist. כי השנה השביעית שנת השמיטה Ki hashana hashvi'is shnas hash'mita, שמיטה Shmita occurs in what year? It's not a trick question. What year? Very good. The seventh year. I didn't know if your brain was working by Mondays. I thought only on Tuesdays. It's good to see by Monday it's already back. You had your coffee. השנה השביעית שנת השמיטה רומזת למלכות שמיים שהיא המידה השביעית מידת המלכות Hashana hashvi'is shnas ha'shmita romezes l'malchus shamayim shehi hamida hashvi'is midas hamalchus. If you count the ספירות sfirot, which you'll say, I'm not a kabbalist, I don't, but we all do. Right now we're counting ספירת העומר Sefiras HaOmer, seven weeks and each week is brought to you by another one of the kabbalistic energies, and then each day within that week. So you have the day, the week is one theme, and then each day of the week is a theme within the theme, and we're reviewing the ספירות sefirot, we are reviewing these metaphysical energies, manifestations, expressions, connections we have with Hashem, which is essentially the extent to which I understand it. But the seventh one is the ספירה sefira of מלכות malchus. Monarchy, royalty, kingship, Hashem's dominion and providence over the whole world. So שמיטה Shmita happens not coincidentally in which year? The seventh year. כי על ידי מצות שמיטה בא אדם לאמונה שלימה בהשם יתברך Ki al yedei mitzvas shmita ba adam l'emuna shleima b'Hashem yisbarach. שמיטה Shmita is an exercise in אמונה emuna. שמיטה Shmita is an exercise in faith, surrender, and submission. Six years go conquer and plant and plow and harvest and produce and sell and ship and manufacture and scale up and kill it. And the seventh year, passive, spectator, watch your land, your business, just sit there. And trust and have faith that it will be okay, that Hashem will bring you back, that you'll have enough to live on from before and that you'll be able to make a comeback and rebuild and have enough to live on afterwards. Ah, how could you do that, unpaid sabbatical? That takes a lot of faith. And that's the idea that the farmer in that seventh year would be working on his, her faith, on their faith. זוהי די ריכטיגע אמונה, כדי איתא בגמרא, טעמא דשביעית, גמרא סנהדרין דף ל\"ט Zeh'i di richtige emuna, k'dei isa b'gemara, ta'ama d'shvi'is, gemara Sanhedrin daf lamed-tes. The Gemara tells us, אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לישראל amar HaKadosh Baruch Hu l'Yisrael, God says to the Jewish people, זרעו שש והשמיטו שבע כדי שתדעו שהארץ שלי היא ziru shesh v'hashmitu sheva kedei she'teidu she'ha'aretz sheli hi. You think it's your land because you have a deed to the land, you think it's your land because it's registered at the at the courthouse, it shows that it belongs to you. You had a surveyor come and determine it's your land, you think it's your land, right? Wrong. All the land is God's land, and he lends it to us. He's incredibly generous, gracious, magnanimous, kind. He lets us use that land to work it, to harvest it, to live off of it. But ultimately, the whole world and everything in it is his. And how will we remind ourselves when in six years we're doing so well and accumulating so much and building out our empire in real estate, in nursing homes, in whatever business we're in, we're killing it, we're acquiring, we're constantly growing it, we're adding to it. How do we remember that it's not us? It's not our entrepreneurship, it's not our ingenuity, it's not our vision, it's not our business acumen, it's all Hashem. Because in the seventh year you sit back and you rest and you watch and you let go and you submit and you surrender and you remember the land all belongs to him. וזהו ענין של גילוי מלכות שמיים V'zehu inyan shel gilui malchus shamayim. So שמיטה Shmita is revealing God's monarchy and dominion. He's invisible, you can't see him. How does anyone know that he's there? How does anyone know we believe in him, we worship him, we surrender to him? The answer is when we demonstrate it, when we live with it, then we're showing the world that we understand that everything we have isn't ours, it is all on loan from Hashem and he can take it back anytime he wants. כאשר יודה אדם שהכל של הקדוש ברוך הוא ואין שום דבר לו בכוחו ועוצם ידו כלל Ka'asher yodeh adam shehakol shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu v'ein shum davar lo b'kocho v'otzem yado klal. None of it is ours. Yes, we work hard and we should be proud of our hard work, but we're the junior partner, he's the senior partner. Plenty of people work hard and don't have breakthrough. We're so much smarter? We work so much harder? We're so much better? הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu ultimately decides he's the senior partner. אלא כל רכושו וקנינו וכל עניניו בכל יום ויום הכל בא לו מידו הרחבה של השם יתברך Ela kol rechusho v'kinyano v'chol inyanav b'chol yom v'yom hakol ba lo m'yado har'chava shel Hashem yisbarach. ועל דרך זה צריך אדם לגשת לכל המצוות של הבורא V'al derech zeh tzrich adam lageshes l'chol hamitzvos shel haBorei. And that is the attitude. So what does שמיטה Shmita really all about then? שמיטה Shmita is an exercise in אמונה emuna, in faith in God. It's an exercise in surrender and submission to his dominion, that he is the מלך melech and מלכות malchus, the seventh year, the seventh ספירה sefira is מלכות malchus, that he is the king, he has dominion, this is his world. This is his world. That attitude, that approach, that perspective is relevant not only to שמיטה Shmita but to all מצוות mitzvos, that is the attitude, that is the underlining driver for all מצוות mitzvos. שלא יעשה אותן כמצות אנשים מלומדה חס ושלום Shelo ya'aseh osan k'mitzvas anashim melumada chas v'shalom. Don't just go through the motions. Don't just mail it in. Don't just put a checkmark next to it. אלא באופן שיבוא על ידו לאמונה שלימה Ela b'ofen sheyavo al yado l'emuna shleima. Connecting to הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu. I believe with complete faith. Just got Joyce just gave me this great book. גישמאק Gesh'mak. The small things that make from life sweet. I just flipped through it right before the שיעור shiur. The small things that make life sweet. Freshly baked round challah with dripping golden sweetness. The first bite of challah and honey. גישמאק Gesh'mak. It's a list of all the little things, גישמאק gesh'mak. It's גישמאק gesh'mak. It's גישמאק gesh'mak. Bringing a גישמאק gesh'mak to אידישקייט Yiddishkeit, a גישמאק gesh'mak to be a איד Yid. Because through each thing, I'm connecting to the creator of the universe. I'm tapping in to the source of everything, of all goodness. I have a connection with the king of kings. So that same notion that שמיטה Shmita is surrender to the king because it's his world, it's his monarchy. I'm just a member of his kingdom, we learn from שמיטה Shmita to all other מצוות mitzvos because that is the attitude that we're meant to bring to all מצוות mitzvos. וזה כוונת גילוי השראת שכינת עוזו בהר סיני V'zeh kavanas gilui hashras shechinas uzo b'Har Sinai. So when did we learn that? When did we first get exposed to that? Where did we see that? It goes all the way back to הר סיני Har Sinai. שהיה אז גילוי מלכות שמיים הגדולה ביותר Shehaya az gilui malchus shamayim hag'dola b'yoser. It was the greatest moment of revelation in all of history. It's actually the second greatest moment of revelation. There's a technical problem with the first one, namely, none of us there were there to see it. Creation is an even greater moment of revelation. יש מאין Ex nihilo, something from nothing. יש מאין yesh mei'ayin, that God created something from nothing. He created order out of the chaos, the תוהו ובוהו tohu vavohu of the universe. He practiced צמצום tzimtzum, he constricted himself to make room for a world. That was the greatest moment of revelation. However, none of us saw it. So what was the greatest moment of revelation that human beings saw and then passed it down person to person to person to person? So you know how I know everything that happened at הר סיני Har Sinai happened? I wasn't there. I look like I could have been there, but I wasn't there. How do I know it happened? My parents told me. They heard it from their parents who heard it from their parents who heard it from their parents who were there. That's how we know, not because we read it in a book. The way we know it's there, the רמב\"ם Rambam writes, is because we heard it from our parents who heard it from their parents who heard it from their parents. And if our particular parents broke that chain, that link in that chain, maybe they didn't tell us, but our neighbors' parents told us, our aunt and uncle told us, our teachers told us, we heard it from people who heard it direct testimony from those who were there. It was the greatest moment of revelation. God revealed his kingship, his dominion, his providence, his strength, his hand. And that's what it means. שמיטה Shmita is a continuation, שמיטה Shmita is הר סיני Har Sinai. We saw the revelation of מלכות malchus, of מלכות malchus. Where do we re-experience that? Every שמיטה Shmita. We stop, we submit, we surrender, we affirm that God is still the מלך melech, he's still the king, and that's why we are just members of his kingdom and this is his whole world. And that's what we learn from שמיטה Shmita, that attitude, that exercise, that perspective, that that approach, we apply to all of Torah and מצוות mitzvos, to all Torah and מצוות mitzvos. What did Hashem say at הר סיני Har Sinai? אנכי השם אלוקיך Anochi Hashem Elokecha. אז ראו ישראל שבשמיים ממעל ועל הארץ מתחת אין עוד Az ra'u Yisrael she'bashamayim mima'al v'al ha'aretz mitachas ein od. אתה הראת לדעת כי השם הוא האלוקים אין עוד מלבדו Ata horeisa lada'as ki Hashem Hu HaElokim ein od milvado. At הר סיני Har Sinai, we were shown to not believe, we were shown to know, as we speak about in our אמונה שיעור Emuna Shiur every week. No leap of faith. It doesn't take faith to believe in God. You don't need faith and you don't have to believe. You can know that there is a God. Examine the evidence and it is overwhelming, at least as much as everything else that we do, that there is a God. אתה הראת לדעת Ata horeisa lada'as. You have been shown not to have a leap of faith, not to believe, you've been shown to know because we're capable of knowing. ומי בלעדיו אין אלוקים Umi biladav ein Elokim. וזהו יסוד התורה כולה V'zehu yesod haTorah kula. This is the essence of all of Torah. So just like מה שמיטה נאמרו כללותיה ודקדוקיה מסיני ma shmita ne'emru klalosav v'dikdukeha mi'Sinai, the principles, the detailed the details, all of it was given at הר סיני Har Sinai because all of it is given by the king, by the מלך melech, מלכות malchus, it's his world. And the king told us in his world, here are the general rules and here are the details and it all matters. And it matters for שמיטה Shmita, which is a continuation in that exercise of surrender, submission of סיני Sinai of מלכות malchus, and it applies to all of Torah and מצוות mitzvos as well. Number one. All that was number one. How to understand the opening of our פרשה parsha. מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai? What does it have to do with the price of tea in China? What does it have to do with the price of tea in China? I shared with you before, one of my teachers, Rabbi J. J. Schacter, said he was once in Israel and the show Kojak was on and apparently his sidekick used to say, what does it have to do with the price of tea in China? And the Hebrew subtitle on the underneath said, מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai. The Hebrew subtitle or what does it have to do with the price of tea in China is מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai. That means whatever producer, whatever writer, whoever was responsible for translating and putting it into the into the subtitle in the bottom, that's how ubiquitous this רש\"י Rashi is, this מאמר חז\"ל ma'amar chazal is. מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai, that's how we translate the words, what does it have to do with the price of tea in China? So how do you understand why שמיטה Shmita, everything was given at הר סיני Har Sinai? So the first approach is here by the approach of the עבודת ישראל Avodas Yisrael, based on the אריז\"ל Arizal, and the first approach is שמיטה Shmita is a continuation of the מלכות malchus of סיני Sinai, that's why it's the seventh year. All Torah and מצוות mitzvos have to be at מלכות malchus. All of Torah and מצוות mitzvos are all about גישמאק gesh'mak. It's גישמאק gesh'mak. מלכות Malchus, he's the מלך melech and I want to draw close. I have an audience with the king. I have an audience, I have access. I'm the son, I'm the prince, the princess of the king. I'm royalty and I live in the kingdom and this is his world.Number two. Number two quotes the רחמיסטריווקא Rachmastrivka, the אמרות טהורות Amros Tehoros. ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני כי מצות שמיטה מורה על שפלות וענוה Inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai ki mitzvas shmita moreh al shiflus v'anava. שמיטה Shmita is really all about humility. שתהיה דעתו של אדם שפילה Shetihiyeh da'ato shel adam sh'feila. That a person should be humble. Because six years I worked that land. I come up with a unique irrigation system. I invent a new technique. I buy more land. I mass produce. I create efficiencies. I manufacture, I distribute. I own the market on red peppers, on coffee, on avocados, on whatever it is. And I think and I grow very arrogant. Ooh, I'm brilliant. I know how to buy land and expand my business and build the brand. So comes along שמיטה Shmita and says, hey, tough guy, hey, brilliant entrepreneur, hey, big business owner, take off a year. Sit it out for a year. For one year, you're not going to kill it. Ah, but I have all these ideas and I want to plant and plow and harvest and workers and techniques and innovation. You have all those ideas? Come back in the eighth year. For one year, put all those ideas up on a shelf. For one year, you're going to sit it out. You're going to sit and watch. You know why? Because you're not so great. Because it's really me, Hashem says, it's my world. שמיטה Shmita is an exercise, number one we said in אמונה emuna and faith. Number two, שמיטה Shmita is an exercise in humility. Humility. שכן מטבע האדם כאשר יש לו שדה וכרם ועושה פירות כפלי כפליים ונושא רווח רב Shekein m'teva ha'adam ka'asher yesh lo sadeh v'kerem v'oseh peiros kiflai kiflayim v'nosei revach rav. We know a lot of real estate people and they're wonderful people and there are many humble real estate people. But one can easily swell with arrogance the more real estate they own. They can become very arrogant. Big real estate owner, big mogul, big real estate. How many apartments I own, how many property, how many acreage, how many places? שעולה בחלקו יותר מאחרים She'ala b'chelko yoser me'achayrim. Look what I own, look what I produce, look how I'm able to put in a little bit and increase the rents and the cap rates and the יכל לבוא לבו yachol l'avo libo. A person can swell with arrogance as it says in פרשת עקב Parshas Ekev. כוחי ועוצם ידי kochi v'otzem yadi. ורם לבבך ושכחת v'ram l'vavecha v'shachachta. The more money you make, the more tempting it is to be arrogant. A person sees their bank account expand and they think, I'm all that. Now everybody treats them differently. Now they're able to afford anything that they want. Now they're a big somebody. וכל אשר לך ירבה ורם לבבך ושכחת V'chol asher lach yirbeh v'ram l'vavecha v'shachachta. You're going to swell with arrogance. And what happens when you get arrogant? Ego. The bigger an ego, what does ego stand for? Ego is an acronym for edging God out. The bigger an ego, the less room for God. There's not enough room in this world for both. So the bigger an ego, big business owner, my net worth, who I am, what I have, what I can afford, how I'm treated. So then, bigger the ego, the more one has edged God out. ושכחת את השם אלוקיך V'shachachta es Hashem Elokecha. על כן ציותה התורה שבשנת השמיטה יהיו כל השדות הפקר לכל Al kein tzivsa haTorah she'b'shnas ha'Shmita yihyu kol hasados hefker lakol. So you know what happens to your real estate in שמיטה Shmita year? All your fields and all your farms and all your real estate during שמיטה Shmita, הפקר hefker. It's treated as ownerless. Anyone can come in and take anything that. Anyone can come in? Do you know how many guards I have? How many fences I put up? Do you know how many systems and cameras? And then שמיטה Shmita I have to just let anyone in? Yeah. שמיטה Shmita, you let anyone in. What's yours is theirs. You're not such a tough guy anymore. You don't own so much anymore. You don't have the corner anymore. You don't have the whole market anymore. Because now everyone can come in and take what they want. Why? In order to remember that it was never entirely yours all along. It was never entirely long. It's the great equalizer. שמיטה Shmita, the wealthy and the poor are all equal, בלי שום הפרש ביניהם b'li shum hefresh beineihem, with no difference between them. No difference. כדי שעל ידי זה יבטל אצל האדם להתגאות ברכושו שהכל הפקר Kedei she'al yedei zeh yevatel eitzel ha'adam l'hisga'os b'rechusho she'hakol hefker. A person won't become arrogant with their property because in שמיטה Shmita year, there is no property. שמיטה Shmita year there is no ownership. שמיטה Shmita year it's all ownerless. So how can anyone get too proud? So this is the second idea of שמיטה Shmita. שמיטה Shmita is an exercise in faith, in אמונה ובטחון emuna u'bitachon and surrender in מלכות malchus, in the revelation of the kingship, the dominion of Hashem. And point number two is שמיטה Shmita is an exercise in humility. What I thought I owned, what I thought was mine, belongs to everybody. I have to let everybody in, humbled. I'm truly humbled by that. Where do we learn humility? מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai. When it was time to give the Torah, Hashem went to all the mountains, but they were all too tall. They were all too haughty. They were all too high on themselves. So he turned to הר סיני Har Sinai. הר סיני Har Sinai, the most modest, the most humble, the lowest of all the mountains, הנמוך שבהרים hanamuch she'b'harim, ללמד לאדם את הדרך הישרה l'lamed l'adam es haderech hay'shara. Because the Torah was given specifically on a topography that reflects humility because the prerequisite to receive the Torah is humility. We already said if you have a big ego, you've edged God out. If you've edged God out, you certainly aren't going to receive or accept his Torah. If you have all the answers, if you know everything, if you have a monopoly on truth, so what does Torah have to teach you? Torah only has something to share you share with you, Torah only has something to teach you if you're humble enough to say, I don't have all the answers. I don't have a monopoly on truth. I want to learn, teach me. I'm a whiteboard, טבלא רסא tabula rasa. I'm ready to be taught, Torah. Transmit, fill me up, teach me, inscribe and grave yourself engrave yourself on me. I'm ready. So we learn that from סיני Sinai, which is why at the beginning of פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos, it says, משה קיבל תורה Moshe kibel Torah. It should say משה קיבל תורה Moshe kibel Torah בסיני b'Sinai. He received the Torah where? At הר סיני Har Sinai. It doesn't say that. It says he received the Torah מסיני mi'Sinai, from Sinai. What does it mean he received the Torah from Sinai? He received the Torah of humility. He received this prerequisite, this ingredient, this critical introduction that you can't truly receive the Torah without humility. So that's what it means, מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני ma inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai? Of all 613 מצוות mitzvos that we could have chosen to derive that כללותיה ודקדוקיה klalosav v'dikdukeha, that all the general rules and the details all given at סיני Sinai, why did we choose שמיטה Shmita? Because שמיטה Shmita and סיני Sinai have everything to do with each other. They're both about humility, about being humble in order to receive, in order to receive the Torah. Okay, those are the two רחמיסטריווקא Rachmastrivka two ideas from the holy רחמיסטריווקא Rachmastrivka.Rav Druck in his new לאור אשיב L'Or Ashiv also has an idea on this. מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai? Says Rav Druck, מפורסמים דברי רש\"י Mefursamim divrei Rashi. Why are שמיטה Shmita and הר סיני Har Sinai juxtaposed? In order to learn שכל דיני שמיטה נאמרו מסיני אף כל שאר מצוות נאמרו כל דיניהם ופרטיהם בסיני she'kol dinei shmita ne'emru mi'Sinai af kol she'ar mitzvos ne'emru kol dineihem u'prateihem b'Sinai. Just like all the general rules and the details of שמיטה Shmita were taught at סיני Sinai, so too, that's true with all Torah and מצוות mitzvos. But we still didn't answer but why was שמיטה Shmita chosen? We just gave two answers. But Rav Druck didn't see the רחמיסטריווקא Rachmastrivka, so he's saying. He's saying, why was שמיטה Shmita chosen? So listen to how he answers. He wants to answer based on another insight. The גמרא ברכות דף ד' Gemara Brachos daf daled teaches, אמר ר' אלעזר אמר ר' אבינא Amar Rabbi Elazar amar Rabbi Avina, כל האומר תהלה לדוד בכל יום שלש פעמים מובטח לו שהוא בן עולם הבא kol ha'omer Tehila l'David b'chol yom shalosh pa'amim, muvtach lo shehu ben olam haba. If you say אשרי Ashrei three times a day, guaranteed to be a member, entrance into the world to come. We discussed this a few hundred Seder snippets ago when we were up to אשרי Ashrei. If you say אשרי Ashrei three times a day, we say it in פסוקי דזמרה Psukei d'Zimra, we say it then after שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei and we say it a third time at מנחה Mincha. If you say אשרי Ashrei three times a day, מובטח לו muvtach lo, that's it. Guaranteed entrance to the world to come. World to come. Why? So the Gemara there quotes a few reasons. It's an acronym, it has the whole אלף בית alef-beis, because it includes the pasuk, פותח את ידך ומשביע לכל חי רצון poseach es yadecha u'masbia l'chol chai ratzon. I was just touching my tefillin. פותח את ידך ומשביע לכל חי רצון Poseach es yadecha u'masbia l'chol chai ratzon. The Sefardim when they bend, פותח את ידך poseach es yadecha. פותח את זה poseach es zeh. Hashem, he opens his hand and he satisfies everything, everyone wants. So צריך להבין את דברי הגמרא כי אדם שלא יקפיד על כל המצוות קלות כבחמורות tzarich l'havin es divrei ha'gemara ki adam shelo yakpid al kol hamitzvos kalos ka'b'chamuros. Says Rav Druck, hold on one second. You cheat in business, you lie, you steal, you gossip all day. You don't keep kosher, you don't keep Shabbos, you eat on Yom Kippur. But you make sure to say אשרי Ashrei three times a day. Now you're a בן עולם הבא ben olam haba? You got such a great space, a great spot in the world to come, all because you mumbled אשרי Ashrei three times a day. It doesn't matter what you did between שחרית and מנחה Shacharis and Mincha. You were ruthless in business, you were abusive to your family, you were a terrible, miserable person. But you said אשרי Ashrei in the morning, say אשרי Ashrei at מנחה Mincha, now you're good to go? How could how could that possibly be? How could that possibly be? So the פני יהושע Pnei Yehoshua, Rav Yeshua Falk. Look at פני יהושע Pnei Yehoshua answers. אין הכוונה זה גמרא שכל אומר ג' פעמים פותח את ידך, זהו סגולה Ein hakavana zeh gemara she'kol omer gimmel pa'amim poseach es yadecha, zehu segula. You know, we live in a time that people are looking for quick fixes. Put a key in the challah, you don't have to work hard, you'll just get פרנסה parnasa. You say you mumble פטום הקטורת עם קלף pitum haketores im klaf, then you can do whatever else you want, Hashem's gonna make it rain. We we're looking for the quick fixes. We're living in a generation of סגולה segula. I do this סגולה segula, that סגולה segula, everything will then happen, everything will then come easy. But that's not how it works. That's not how it works. אדם האומר פסוק זה שלוש פעמים Adam ha'omer pasuk zeh shalosh pa'amim. You know how it works? If you say אשרי Ashrei three times a day and you say the pasuk, פותח את ידך poseach es yadecha, Hashem, you open up your hand and you satisfy every living being what they need. And a person מכדיר ומאמין באמת שכל בא מידו יתברך machdir u'maamin ba'emes she'hakol ba m'yado yisbarach. What is saying אשרי Ashrei three times a day an exercise in אמונה ובטחון emuna u'bitachon? You remember, Hashem, whatever I have, I'm meant to have. If I don't have it, it's not right for me because you open up your hand and you give each person רצון ratzon, what you want. Not what I want, what's right for me as determined by you. וכל מה שמתרחש בעולם הכל מהקדוש ברוך הוא ואין עוד מלבדו V'chol ma she'misrachesh ba'olam hakol me'HaKadosh Baruch Hu v'ein od milvado. Everything that happens in this world is from Hashem and there is no one and nothing but him. ומתחזק במידת הביטחון בקדוש ברוך הוא ועל ידי כן יוכל להשתדל להרבות בלימוד התורה וקיום המצוות U'mischazek b'midas ha'bitachon b'HaKadosh Baruch Hu v'al yedei kein yuchal l'hishtadel l'harbos b'limud haTorah v'kiyum hamitzvos. So פני יהושע Pnei Yehoshua says, you know how it works to say אשרי Ashrei three times a day and you're מובטח בן עולם הבא muvtach ben olam haba? Not because you're some lowlife, cheat, scoundrel and then you said אשרי Ashrei three times a day. Saying אשרי Ashrei three times a day will condition, will cultivate within us the אמונה בטחון emuna bitachon. Hashem פותח את ידך ומשביע לכל חי רצון poseach es yadecha u'masbia l'chol chai ratzon. So it's not some secret סגולה segula just say אשרי Ashrei. It means pay attention when you say אשרי Ashrei. Concentrate when you say אשרי Ashrei. Be mindful when you say this pasuk in אשרי Ashrei. And live אשרי Ashrei. Live it. Put it into practice. Demonstrate it. Live with the faith of אשרי Ashrei of פותח את ידך poseach es yadecha. That Hashem, I'm not going to be ruthless in business. I'm not going to cheat and cut corners. I'm not going to be filled with worry and anxiety about my livelihood. You know why? Because you are פותח את ידך poseach es yadecha, you open up your hand ומשביע לכל חי u'masbia l'chol chai and you satisfy all living רצון ratzon, with your will. Because each of us have what we're meant to have, each of us have what we need. Doesn't mean we shouldn't work hard or have ambition. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't apply ourselves and have a great work ethic because maybe we're meant to have more but we have to go work in order to get it. But ultimately when we've put in our time, put in our work, taken our initiative, then we realize ומשביע לכל חי רצון u'masbia l'chol chai ratzon, that it's all from you. There are no quick fixes. You can't just say אשרי Ashrei three times a day. You don't just put a key in the challah. I'm not ranking on שרשרת חלות shlissel challah. If that's your מנהג minhag, beautiful. But the whole idea of the key in the חלה challah was that just like the לחם משנה lechem mishneh, the מן man came from heaven, from Hashem, my פרנסה parnasa comes from him. Now I have to go work hard because he's allocated the פרנסה parnasa, but it comes from him. But it doesn't mean I don't have to work hard. And it doesn't mean I don't have to work hard to be a good person. As long as I put a key in my challah or made my challah in the shape of a key, now I can go gossip and look at what I want and cheat and steal and cut corners and do. No, חס ושלום chas v'shalom. חס ושלום Chas v'shalom. Says Rav Druck, now we also understand the מכילתא Mechilta. The מכילתא Mechilta in פרשת שלח Parshas Shlach tells us, לא ניתנה התורה לדרוש אלא לאוכלי המן Lo nitna haTorah l'idrosh ela l'ochlei haman. The Torah was only given to those who ate, the generation who ate the מן man, the מן man that fell from heaven. So not for us? Only the אוכלי המן Ochlei HaMan? What's the connection between learning the Torah, living the Torah, and those who ate the מן man, lived off the מן man? אלא כיוון שהיו אוכלי מן, אכלו לחם אבירים, ועל כן נתנה להם התורה לדרוש Ela keivan shehayu ochlei man, achlu lechem abirim, v'al kein nitna lahem haTorah lidrosh. It doesn't just mean because the מן man was holy food, so those who are holy and eat holy food, and they're not drawn to eat the steak and potatoes and fries and onions and potato chips and and corn chips and you know, if you're drawn to this world and you're distracted by all these delicious foods, then, you know, then the Torah's not for you. Only לאוכלי המן l'Ochlei HaMan, only those who eat. That's not what it means. That's not what it means. If it meant that the Torah is only for those who are so spiritual that they're not engaged in eating delicious foods in this world, it would have said, לא נתנה תורה אלא לאוכלי קייל lo nitna Torah ela l'ochlei kale. But it doesn't say that. It doesn't say that. It says אוכלי המן Ochlei HaMan.So what does that mean? הביאור בזה הוא, שאוכלי המן הגיעו למעלה הגבוהה ביותר של ביטחון בהשם יתברך Ha'biur b'zeh hu, she'ochlei ha'man higiu l'ma'alah ha'gvoha b'yoter shel bitachon b'Hashem yisbarach. It means that the generation who ate the מן man lived at the highest level of faith in Hashem. You know why? They had no savings account, they had no checking account, they had no account. They had no safe in their home. You know why they had no safe in their homes, in their tents in the מדבר midbar? Because there was nothing to put in the safe. Because they had nothing more than what they needed for that day. The מן man fell for that day and that day only, and you didn't know where you were getting your food for tomorrow. Where will breakfast, lunch, and dinner come from for tomorrow? I don't know. All I have is today. And you know what? I'm okay with that, because just like Hashem took care of today, he's going to take care of tomorrow. The אוכלי המן Ochlei HaMan lived at another level of faith. They didn't live with fear and anxiety and worry, uncertainty and doubt. They lived with the faith that just like Hashem took care of today, he's going to take care of tomorrow.We emulate the מן man with the לחם משנה lechem mishneh. שבת Shabbos, we eat the two loaves at each meal, commemorating the two loaves that fell each day, that we got the provisions of that day. And it's supposed to remind us that we too live off of Hashem, and yes, you have to save, and yes you have to put away, and yes you should have a pension and a savings and a Roth IRA and use every means at your exposure, at your at your hands, your fingertips for the future. That's the only responsible way to live. I'm not suggesting that you plow through everything you have and then say, \"But Hashem will provide,\" because one of the ways Hashem provided is by giving us tools to save. We should save. But we shouldn't panic and fear and worry, but we should strive to live like the generation of the אוכלי המן Ochlei HaMan. To live like that level of ביטחון bitachon, that where it's going to come from. So it means the Torah wasn't just given for that generation, it's for every generation, those within the generation who live like the אוכלי המן Ochlei HaMan, who live as if they say Hashem gave me what I need today and therefore I'm not worried about, I'm not worried about tomorrow. I'm not worried about tomorrow. And all of this he uses now to come back to, it's a longer essay, he has further ideas, but I want to move on. He says, now we understand, מה עניין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan Shmitta eitzel Har Sinai? This is our third idea for the day to answer this question, and then we're going to move on, I promise. מה עניין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan Shmitta eitzel Har Sinai? If I want to learn this rule that all the general rules and the details of all תורה ומצוות Torah u'mitzvos were all given at סיני Sinai, then choose some other mitzvah. Why שמיטה Shmitta specifically? The answer is because, לא מצוה אחרת, משום שהמצוה הזו של שמיטה, אדם לומד ממנה שלא לומר כוחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה lo mitzvah acheres, mishum she'hamitzvah hazu shel Shmitta, adam lomed mimena shelo lomar kochi v'otzem yadi asah li es hachayil hazeh. שמיטה Shmitta is an exercise in אמונה וביטחון emunah u'bitachon. Your land lies fallow. You're not in charge, you're not in control. You can't manipulate it, you can't control it. You can't expand your portfolio. It doesn't belong to you, it's הפקר hefker, it's ownerless. Anyone has the right to come in to take. אם כן, על ידי שמירת מצוות שמיטה, שבה האדם אינו חורש ואינו זורע ואינו קוצר Im kein, al yedei shmiras mitzvas Shmitta, she'bah ha'adam eino choresh v'eino zorea v'eino kotzer. You're dying. You're dying. Could you imagine you had an incredible investment opportunity but you're not allowed to invest? You got to sit it out. You can't put the money, \"But I have so much cash, I have so much liquidity, and there's an incredible investment opportunity. It's going to yield such an amazing return,\" but you're not allowed to invest it. You know how hard that is? That's what שמיטה Shmitta is. Your land, and it's waiting, plow it, plant it, harvest it. Nope, you can't touch it. You can't touch it. הכל הוא אך ורק מידו יתברך, ויתעלה שמו Hakol hu ach v'rak mi'yado yisbarach, v'yis'aleh shmo. Everything is exclusively only from Hashem. ומשום כך, נסמכה מצוות שבת בהר סיני, כיון שעל ידי זה כשיזכה במידת ביטחון, יזמין לו פרנסה בנקל, על ידי זה יזכה להגיע להר סיני, לתורה שניתנה בהר סיני U'mishum kach, nismicha mitzvas shmiras haShmitta l'Har Sinai. Ki k'sheyazmin lo parnasa b'nakel, al yedei zeh yizkeh l'hagia l'Har Sinai, l'Torah shenitna b'Har Sinai. All of that humility is supposed to bring us back to Har Sinai, the place of humility. To be כאוכלי המן k'ochlei ha'man, to live like those who lived off of the מן man. To be like the אוכלי המן Ochlei ha'man, to be like those who lived off of the, off of the מן man. You see this also, I said one last interpretation. Another ספר sefer I got recently called אריה שאג Aryeh Sha'ag, by רב אריה שכטר Rav Aryeh Schechter, זצ\"ל zatzal. So in the ספר sefer, he quotes Rashi. מה עניין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan Shmitta eitzel Har Sinai. He also quotes this notion of the idea that humility, but it's more than that. He has one last idea. This is our fourth, fourth idea? Fourth idea. And he says the following. What is the farmer meant to do during שמיטה Shmitta? What should he do with his time, her time? Do you remember we had a farmer who visited us? Alona Twig, she came during שמיטה Shmitta. She and her husband Doron took upon themselves to observe שמיטה Shmitta fully. Not to rely on selling their field, but to let it lay fallow, to observe שמיטה Shmitta fully. And she came here and she spoke about that. Why they made that decision and what it meant. The story of the ישיבה בחורים yeshiva bachurim who were in the farm to get a ברכה bracha from her husband because someone observing שמיטה Shmitta displaying that אמונה וביטחון emunah u'bitachon, they were in a position to give ברכות brachos. They give ברכות brachos. She told us incredible stories. We had her on Behind the Bima, you could watch that conversation in the interview. And then in January, when we led one of the missions to Israel that we've been on, we went to her farm in order to to learn and to volunteer, because all the farmers are really struggling right now, because the workers who were migrants from other countries left and went back home, and they're left without being able to work their their field. So she described to us, when they kept their first שמיטה Shmitta fully, which is a sacrifice of a lot of money, there's a beautiful organization קרן השמיטה Keren Hashmitta, קרן השביעית Keren Hashviis. I encourage everybody to contribute to it. It raises millions of dollars to help offset and support the farmers who are observing this מצוה mitzvah in order to bring ברכה bracha, blessing for all of us. And even with the subsidy they get from קרן השביעית Keren Hashviis, it covers a very small portion of the income they ordinarily get. They really dip into their savings, and they're sacrificing enormously. Anyway, Alona described, what did she and Doron do during that year? What did they do? You know what they did? What they were meant to do, what they were supposed to do. They studied Torah. All the Torah that we say we don't have time for, running to work. I'm going to work, I got to make a living. I got to pay for Jewish day school tuition, I got to pay for the מצה matzah per pound, I got to pay for the kosher food, I have to pay for the extra security at shul because all the anti-Semites want to kill us. I have to pay for all these things. I got to work, work, work, work, work. Who's got time? Who's got time? So Hashem says, you don't have time for me? Every seventh year, you're going to take a year off to spend with me. With me. Study Torah. So with that we understand, מה עניין שמיטה אצל הר סיני Ma inyan Shmitta eitzel Har Sinai? The whole purpose of שמיטה Shmitta is to go back to Har Sinai, which is to receive the Torah anew. To learn and study the Torah anew, to spend this sabbatical of our lives learning and studying Torah. He quotes the רמב\"ם Rambam in הלכות שמיטה ויובל Hilchos Shmitta v'Yovel that talks about, למה לא זכה לוי בנחלת ארץ ישראל ובביזתה עם אחיו Lama lo zacha Levi b'nachlas Eretz Yisrael u'v'bizasa im echav? The tribe of Levi did not merit land when we conquered and when we divided the land. לוי Levi did not get a portion of the land. Why not? שהוּבְדַּל לַעֲבֹד אֶת ה' לְשָׁרְתוֹ וּלְהוֹרוֹת דְּרָכָיו הַיְשָׁרִים וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו הַצַּדִּיקִים לָרַבִּים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר 'יוֹרוּ מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לְיַעֲקֹב וְתוֹרָתְךָ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל' She'huvdal la'avod es Hashem l'sharto u'lehoros drachav hayesharim u'mishpatav hatzadikim la'rabim, shene'emar 'Yoru mishpatecha l'Yaakov v'Toras'cha l'Yisrael'. Because the tribe of Levi were meant to sit and study Torah. They were the teachers of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, of עם ישראל Am Yisrael. And if you have to plow and plant and harvest and weed and winnow, if you have to do all those activities that being a farmer takes, you don't have time to sit and study. You don't have time to teach. You're not positioned to teach well. And that's why Levi did not get land. And the Rambam says, לא שבט לוי בלבד, אלא כל איש ואיש מכל באי עולם אשר נדבה רוחו אותו Lo shevet Levi bilvad, ela kol ish v'ish mikol ba'ei olam asher nadva rucho oso. Levi is not only a genetic identity, anyone who wants to volunteer to be a member of the tribe of Levi. This is a big discussion not for now. Many quote the Rambam as being the source of the original כולל kollel. Anyone could volunteer to be a part of the tribe of Levi where you're supported by others to sit and study. But you have to look not only at the Rambam, you have to look at the כסף משנה Kesef Mishneh there. To whom was the Rambam speaking? How many? For how long? You have to look at the Rambam and the כסף משנה Kesef Mishneh there. But the אריה שאג Aryeh Sha'ag brings this in the context of שמיטה Shmitta because just like Levi never has land to work in order to learn Torah, the farmer once every seven years כאילו k'ilu doesn't have land to work, in order they sit and study and learn Torah. That is the purpose, that is the essence, that is the reason. That's what the Sforno writes. The Sforno writes, שבת להשם Shabbos l'Hashem. ושבתה הארץ שבת להשם V'shavsa ha'aretz Shabbos l'Hashem. The purpose of שמיטה Shmitta is a sabbatical year for Hashem, שגם עובדי האדמה כאשר ישבתו בשנה ההיא, יסורו לדרוש את השם באופן מה she'gam ovdei ha'adamah ka'asher yishbesu ba'shanah hahi, yasuru lidrosh es Hashem b'ofen ma. They're going to search, they're going to seek. Who has the headspace? We're all always so distracted, so fragmental, so frazzled. Who has the headspace to search, to yearn, to contemplate, to think. So we have to take a sabbatical. We build in a sabbatical for those things. Stop. Pause. Think. Be. Search. Yearn. Be curious. Satisfy that curiosity through study, through studying Hashem's holy Torah.Moving along from שמיטה Shmitta. פרק כ\"ה פסוק י\"ז Perek kaf-hey pasuk yud-zayin. Turn to page 698. Turn now tells us, וְלֹא תוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת עֲמִיתוֹ וְיָרֵאתָ מֵאֱלֹהֶיךָ כִּי אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם V'lo sonu ish es amiso v'yareisa me'elohecha ki ani Hashem Eloheichem. Do not, לא תונו lo sonu. What does תונו sonu mean? וְלֹא תוֹנוּ V'lo sonu, you're not allowed to aggrieve. Look at the, look at the ArtScroll translation. Don't aggrieve. Good. Now translate the word aggrieve. It means don't be abusive and don't agitate and don't aggravate and don't harm and don't hurt. Be kind. It means don't be a jerk. Don't be a jerk. Don't be obnoxious. Don't be difficult. Don't be harmful and hurtful. Don't injure others. לא תונו איש את אחיו Lo sonu ish es achiv. Be kind. Be kind. Why? ויראת מאלהיך V'yareisa me'elohecha. Be God-fearing and do all of that, כי אני השם אלקיכם ki ani Hashem Eloheichem. Hashem says because I am Hashem your God. Those who, those who are learning דף יומי Daf Yomi, recently learned all about this because at the very end of the פרק perek that deals with אונאת ממון ona'as mamon. What's אונאת ממון ona'as mamon? One of the hardest פרקים prakim in ש\"ס Shas. אונאת ממון Ona'as mamon means you're not allowed to charge, you're not allowed to charge excessive pricing. So how do you define excessive pricing? More than a sixth. If you charge a sixth, you return the six, less than a sixth, it's forgiven, more than a sixth, מכח בטל mekach batel, the whole sale is invalid, the whole sale is nullified. How do you determine what's the market rate? You have to figure out what's a market rate. Everything's relative. What if a person's willing to pay more because it has a particular value to them? All this is complicated in הלכה halacha, but there are rules called אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. You cannot charge excessive prices, far above market value. That's extorting someone, that's taking advantage that someone wants something and you're charging excessively. It's called אונאת ממון ona'as mamon. At the end of the פרק perek of אונאת ממון ona'as mamon in Bava Metzia, the Gemara there derives the laws of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim based on this פסוק pasuk. This פסוק pasuk. What's אונאת דברים ona'as devarim? אונאת דברים Ona'as devarim is when you harm somebody with words. When you harm someone with words, when you're hurtful, when you harm someone. When you say, \"You remember that terribly embarrassing thing that happened to you?\" You're at a party, you're at a Shabbos table, you're in front of a lot of people and you say, \"You remember when you tripped and fell on your face and it was so humiliating? You remember that time that you lost all that money because you made such a stupid investment and you lost your whole net worth? Do you remember the fact that you're a בעל תשובה baal teshuva and you used to party and you used to do drugs and you used to not be observant and used to live another life, a lifestyle all together?\" All these are examples, the Gemara in בבא מציעא נח: Bava Metzia nun-ches, אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. You can't hurt or harm somebody else's feelings. Which is worse? אונאת ממון Ona'as mamon or אונאת דברים ona'as devarim? The answer is אונאת דברים ona'as devarim is worse. Why is אונאת דברים ona'as devarim worse? Because first of all, it hurts more. It stings more. It hurts to lose money. Nobody's happy to lose money. But it's money. A person's feelings, it stings. And moreover, money can be recovered. You can always earn more money. You can always earn more money. But the pain, the harm, the injury to the feelings cannot be undone, and therefore it is considered to be, it is considered to be worse. The חפץ חיים Chafetz Chaim points out, the חפץ חיים Chafetz Chaim writes that this prohibition of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim, based on our פסוק pasuk, לא תונו lo sonu, is true not only with words explicitly when you say something, it's true not only through an email or a text message, it doesn't have to be something you say out loud, it could be something that you write. It's even violated through a gesture. You make a face, you make a gesture. The mere twist of the nose, the פסוק pasuk says, כי באפם הרגו איש ki v'apam hargu ish, which literally means in their anger they killed a person. We say anger, אפם apam, but אפם apam also means אף af. The mere, you know, the mere twitch of your nose, thank you, you can kill somebody. You can kill somebody. You make a face, you twitch your nose, you put your nose up at them, you twist your nose, that can kill somebody as well. So we have the prohibition of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. אונאת דברים Ona'as devarim applies not only to our peers and fellow adults, the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch writes אונאת דברים ona'as devarim applies as well to קטנים ketanim, to minors, to children and even to our own children, our own children. In fact, it's much stricter with our own children, why? Because until they're the age of גדלות gadlus, they can't be מוחל mochel. When you hurt an adult and they forgive you, but a child is not the age of דעת daas till בר/בת מצוה bar/bas mitzvah, they can't forgive you. So therefore it's even more dangerous, and a person has to be even more careful not to violate אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. And we have all kinds of examples of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim that's harmful. Example of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim is, you go, I gave some when you remind somebody about their past, that they're a convert, that they're a בעל תשובה baal teshuva, you invoke the past in a way that will embarrass them, that's אונאת דברים ona'as devarim, that's אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. When you single somebody out, it could be אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. If you rebuke them harshly, insincerely, it can be אונאת דברים ona'as devarim, אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. Another example, you go shopping, window shopping with no intent to buy, and you take up time of the salesperson, and you ask a lot of questions, and you try on a lot of things, and you learn a lot about the product, and you never were even open, you never were even considering buying there. It's אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. It's hurtful, it's harmful, it's unkind. אונאת דברים Ona'as devarim is you see someone has something and you say, \"What'd you pay for that? Oh, you overpaid for that. What are you crazy? That's what you paid for that? You bought that? That's made, that's terrible quality, it's never gonna last. I can't believe you bought that.\" All of these are examples of the violation of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim. And אונאת דברים ona'as devarim is even worse than אונאת ממון ona'as mamon, even worse than אונאת ממון ona'as mamon. You thumb your nose at the dinner that you were served. You're unkind and reacting when asked, \"How does it taste? Do you like it? Are you happy?\" All of these are examples of אונאת דברים ona'as devarim, and a person has to be very careful. There are a lot of הלכות halachos that revolve around them and there's a lot to learn about them that people have to be careful, that people have to be careful. The בני יששכר Bnei Yissaschar has a very interesting insight. We know the word את es is always לרבות l'rabos. The word את es is extra. Here the פסוק pasuk says לא תונו איש את עמיתו lo sonu ish es amiso. Don't aggrieve, don't hurt or injure, don't be abusive to your friend. It could have just said לא תונו איש עמיתו lo sonu ish amiso, your friend. What does the word את es come to add? So the רבי ר' בונים מפשיסחא Rebbe Reb Bunim of Peshischa says, התורה הזהירה שלא להונות את הזולת haTorah hizhira shelo l'honos es hazulas. Don't hurt someone else. החסיד נוהג לפנים משורת הדין HaChasid noheg lifnim mishuras hadin, a חסיד chasid always goes above and beyond, אסור להונות גם את עצמו asur l'honos gam es atzmo. It also means don't be hurtful and harmful to yourself. Don't remind yourself of your past in a way that's going to bring you down. Just like you have to treat others, people sometimes forget you have to treat yourself. את לרבות את עצמו Es l'rabos es atzmo. Don't forget, also be kind to yourself. Don't hurt yourself. Don't remind yourself. Don't go back in time and be paralyzed by the past for yourself. The גאון וראש ישיבה, רב שלמה זלמן אויערבאך gaon v'rosh yeshiva, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach also has some insight here. And he says the following. Because essentially, when this period of ספירת העומר Sefiras HaOmer, Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students who died, 24,000 funerals Rabbi Akiva spoke at, 24,000 שבעה shivah calls Rabbi Akiva made, and why did they all die to have lost all of his students, to wipe out all of his legacy. ל\"ג בעומר Lag BaOmer, we celebrate מוצאי שבת Motzaei Shabbos, Sunday, is really all about Rabbi Akiva rebuilding, not being knocked down and knocked out, getting up and starting all over again. But first Rabbi Akiva lost everything. Why? Why did they die in this plague? Why was it brought upon them? שלא נהגו כבוד זה בזה Shelo nahagu kavod zeh b'zeh, the rabbi say, because they were unkind. They were harsh, they were cruel. They would learn together and say, \"What a stupid explanation. There's no way that's what it could mean.\" They were, \"I don't want to learn with him.\" They said unkind things to one another, which is an איסור דאורייתא issur d'oraisa. לא תונו איש את עמיתו Lo sonu ish es amiso, don't hurt your fellow, and fear God because I am Hashem. And חז\"ל Chazal extract from here that it's even worse אונאת דברים ona'as devarim than אונאת ממון ona'as mamon, than אונאת ממון ona'as mamon. Rashi continues with the חז\"ל Chazal there in בבא מציעא דף נ\"ח Bava Metzia daf nun-ches. The end of the פסוק pasuk. The פסוק pasuk ends, ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha, fear God. Because He knows all of our thoughts and He knows all your intent. And Rashi concludes that whenever we find a prohibition that ends with ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha, be God-fearing. Why do I have to be God-fearing? Just be nice. Don't be a jerk, don't be obnoxious, don't be difficult, don't hurt people. Be nice. But you know who else can be nice? An atheist. An atheist can treat people nicely. An atheist can be careful not to harm or hurt or injure people. So what do you have to throw in? ויראת מאלהיך V'yareisa me'elohecha. לא תונו איש את עמיתו Lo sonu ish es amiso, don't be an obnoxious jerk. That's how it loosely translates. Don't be obnoxious, and ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha, be God-fearing. Why do we have to include and be God-fearing? So the Gemara adds another instance where the prohibition of verbal harassment is determined not by your actions alone, but here what matters also is what's in your heart. What's in your heart. The Gemara gives the example we mentioned, you inquire about a product and you have no money to buy the product. So you go to the car dealership to drive the Ferrari. You ask a million questions about the Ferrari, you've studied Ferraris, you've investigated Ferraris, you get magazines about Ferraris, you Google Ferraris, and every now and then to satisfy that craving, you go to the car dealership and you say, \"I'd like to take the Ferrari for a test drive, I have a lot of questions, and how much horsepower and I don't even know what to ask or point out about a Ferrari but مستما mistama, there are a lot of other, the tires, I don't know what else to ask.\" And then you're going to take it for a spin, but you don't have enough money to buy in a Ferrari. You can't afford a Ferrari. So that salesperson thinks they're going to sell a Ferrari, I imagine the commission on a Ferrari sale is not bad. And now you're going to lead that person on? And all the while, you had no intent to buy. And when the person walks out of the store, you bring a certain measure of pain to the salesperson. I just spent all that time, they led me on, they never could have bought. So it's a matter that's determined by what is inside the heart, because only that person knows whether they had intent to buy all along or not. So there are only two people in the world who know whether there was a possibility they were going to buy. Them and and Hashem. And God. So ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha means know that there's someone else who knows what's in your heart. You might be able to pull the wool over the salesperson. You might be able to, you might be able to, in fact, convince the the person at the store, but Hashem knows, ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha. So at first glance it seems that only instances of self-serving advice and insincere inquiry are contingent on the heart, but insulting another would not be a matter determined by what's in the heart. So you'd say, yeah, when it comes to going into the store and misleading the salesperson, then ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha. But when you say something hurtful and obnoxious at your Shabbos table, no one needs to know what's in your heart because you said it with your lips. If you write a strong text, you send a nasty email, you hang a poster about someone outside your house, no one cares what's in your heart, you demonstrated it with your hands. So why ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha even in that circumstance? So the מגיד maggid, the מגיד maggid, Rav Pesach Krohn wrote all of his מגיד maggid books based on the inspiration he got from his relationship with the מגיד maggid. Who was the מגיד maggid? Rav Shalom Schwadron, the great uncle of Chef Gersh. So the מגיד maggid told over the following incident. There was a חזן chazan who during חזרת הש\"ץ chazaras hashatz of מוסף musaf began תקנת שבת tikanta Shabbos. It was Shabbos, he was the חזן chazan in מוסף musaf of Shabbos, and what's חזרת הש\"ץ chazaras hashatz, תקנת שבת tikanta Shabbos, which is the מוסף musaf of every Shabbos. What happened? The חזן chazan forgot that Shabbos wasn't just Shabbos, it was also ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh. And what are you supposed to say on ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh? Not תקנת שבת tikanta Shabbos, you say what's underneath that line. What do you say? אתה יצרת Ata Yatzarta. So there's always that guy. Some guy in shul gives a clap, screams out, אתה יצרת Ata Yatzarta. The חזן chazan, \"Oh, it's true, it's not תקנת שבת tikanta Shabbos, אתה יצרת Ata Yatzarta.\" Good. Now nobody looked because така taka, the חזן chazan needed to be corrected. So somebody made the correction. Everyone went vaiter, everybody just went on because all anybody was thinking about anyway was the kiddush. So they just went on. But it so happens, said Rav Shalom Schwadron, said the מגיד maggid, that the person who gave the clap happened to have a vendetta against the חזן chazan. The person who gave the clap happens to have a history, happens to have some beef, some tension with this חזן chazan. So when he gave that clap, he gave it a little extra hard. When he screamed אתה יצרת Ata Yatzarta, he did it with a little smile, with a little delight. He caught the חזן chazan. He got the חזן chazan doing something wrong. He corrected the חזן chazan. He embarrassed and humiliated the חזן chazan. The extra decibel level on the clap, the extra loud clap and the little smile in his heart when he corrected the חזן chazan, was a violation of ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha. So said the מגיד maggid, says Rav Shalom, that the גאון ראש ישיבה gaon rosh yeshiva, ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha, know that Hashem knows what's in your heart, is not only when you misled the salesperson, it's also even when you correct the חזן chazan. It's one example of many scenarios, only fear of Hashem can be your backbone, can keep you away from the sins about which no one will ever be the wiser. Because who knows? Who will ever know that your motivation to correct the חזן chazan actually had nothing to do with your love of of מוסף musaf, that you weren't trying to protect מוסף musaf, you just have always been trying to correct this חזן chazan. You couldn't wait to catch him doing something wrong. So who will know, what will inspire and motivate us? ויראת מאלהיך V'yareisa me'elohecha. Remember that Hashem always knows. The Gemara, Rabbi Yochanan quotes Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, אונאת דברים ona'as devarim is more serious. ויראת מאלהיך V'yareisa me'elohecha, but concerning financial fraud, there's no such warning. When it comes to אונאת ממון ona'as mamon, there's no warning ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha, be God-fearing. In the commentaries note, says Rav Shalom Alter, this distinction doesn't necessarily imply an imbalance in seriousness. It's equally serious, so why doesn't it say it? So he wants to suggest based on the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, two distinct explanations for why the Torah says ויראת מאלהיך v'yareisa me'elohecha. The first is simple cause and effect. When one fears Hashem, you have the ability to fulfill those responsibilities of the heart. If you feel Hashem knows everything, he's with you everywhere, he's aware of everything that you think, that you do, that you know that you say, that you consider, so the more mindful and conscious and conscientious we are of Hashem's presence in our life, the more vigilant we'll be, the more scrupulous we'll be in living morally and properly. The second is the opposite. One who's careful with the mitzvos and trusted to the heart will merit יראת שמים yiras shamayim. In other words, it works in both directions. The more יראת שמים yiras shamayim, the more you're going to be careful of the mitzvos of the heart. And the more you're careful of the mitzvos of the heart, the more it will cultivate, the more it will grow a healthy sense of יראת שמים yiras shamayim, a healthy sense of יראת שמים yiras shamayim in your in your life. He has a lot more to say, but we'll leave it, we'll leave it there. Okay. Keep going. Yeah. It's a beautiful Sefer HaChinuch on this as well, which we will leave out. Let's go to וחי עמך אחיך v'chai imach achicha. וכי יסמרו v'chi yismru, פרק כ\"ה, פסוק ל\"ה Perek kaf-hey, pasuk lamed-hey. כ\"ה ל\"ה Kaf-hey lamed-hey. That's where we can say we got to the end of the parsha. 702. וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו גר ותושב וחי עמך V'chi yamuch achicha u'matah yado imach v'hechezakta bo ger v'toshav v'chai imach. If your brother becomes impoverished, becomes poor and his means falter עמך imach, in your proximity, near you, you should strengthen him, גר ותושב ger v'toshav, who cares what his background, who he is, step in, help, step up, bail him out. וחי עמך V'chai imach so that he can live with you, so he can live together with you. Says Rav Druck, the following. יש להבין בלשון הפסוק וחי אחיך עמך Yesh l'havin b'lashon ha'pasuk v'chai achicha imach. What does it mean he can live with you? Take care of him, help him out, bail him out, so he can continue to live with you. ופירשו על פי היסוד של הגר\"א, בנין ההפרש בין כתוב עמו לאתו U'ferash al pi hayesod shel haGra, b'inyan ha'hefresh bein kasuv imo l'ito. What's the difference between the words עמו imo and אתו ito? What does עמו imo mean? With you. What does אתו ito mean? With you. Now you get the problem. What's the difference between עמו imo and אתו ito if both of them mean with you? So the Gra says, כל עניין פרשת בלק kol inyan parshas Balak, there it says Bilaam accepted רשות reshus, he got permission from Hashem to go. אם לקרוא לך באו האנשים קום לך אתם Im likro l'cha ba'u ha'anashim kum lech itam. Hashem said you can go אתם itam. Get up and go אתם itam. Hashem seemingly gave him permission. So why did he get angry later when Bilaam actually went? We're giving a preview for the parsha coming up. Parsha coming up soon. But Bilaam wants to go, Balak recruits him to curse the Jewish people, and at first Hashem says no, and then Hashem relents and says you can go. He says you can go אתם itam with them, Bilaam goes, and God gets angry. So the Gra wonders why did God get angry if in fact he gave him permission because he said you can go אתם itam. So the Gra says, כי יש הפרש בין תיבת עמו ואתו ki yesh hefresh bein teivas imo v'ito, בין תיבת את עם ועמו ואת ואתו bein teivas es, im v'imo v'es v'ito. תיבת עם, יורה על השיווי בדבר שהוא מדבר בו, כששניהם בכוונה אחת ממש Teivas im, yoreh al hashivuy b'davar shehu medaber bo, k'she'shneihem b'kavanah achas mamash. The word עם im means together, united, in consonance, aligned. וכל דבר ששניהם עושים את הדבר בכוונה אחת ממש, וגם אין אחד נפרד מחברו שייך לשון עם V'chol davar she'shneihem osim es ha'davar b'kavanah achas mamash, v'gam ein echad nifrad mei'chaveiro, shayach lashon im. The word עם, עמו im, imo means we're aligned. We're aligned, we're together. The word אתו ito, in contrast, in distinction, שגם שעושים זה הדבר ביחד, לא הכוונה אחת shegam she'osim zeh ha'davar b'yachad, lo ha'kavanah achas. We may be headed in the same direction, but for entirely all together different reasons. We may be working on the same project, but we have entirely different motivations. שכל אחד יש לו כוונה אחרת בדבר ההוא, שאפילו שניהם עושים כוונה אחת, שייך על פה על זה הנפעל Shekol echad yesh lo kavanah acheres b'davar hahu, she'afilu shneihem osim b'kavanah achas, shayach al peh al zeh hanif'al. So God said you can go אתם itam. Don't be aligned, don't be motivated by the same thing. Don't be on the same page as them. And here he went עמהם imahem, he went with them. So based on this you can explain here. Based on this, maybe here as well. יש לפרש גם בפסוק וחי אחיך עמך Yesh l'faresh gam b'pasuk v'chai achicha imach. It doesn't say וחי אחיך אתך v'chai achicha itach, שבאה התורה להורות לנו כי גם כאשר נותנים צדקה לעני, אל יביט בו במבט המתנשא מלמעלה למטה sheba'ah haTorah l'horos lanu ki gam ka'asher nosnim tzedakah l'ani, al yabit bo b'mabat hamisnasei mil'mala l'matah. You might be tempted to say, \"I've got it together, I'm the one with the wealth, I'm the one who's the solution, you're the one who's got the problem, you're the one who's in trouble, you're the one who can't make it. So I am bailing you out. I don't need to, but I am helping you.\" That would be an attitude of אתו ito, ito. Yes I'm giving you, yes we're doing the same thing, but not because we're equals. I'm bailing you out. So the Torah... Bring an attitude not of איתך itach, אתך itcha, but bring an attitude of עמך imach. Both also דרגה darga, בדומה ושווה b'domeh v'shaveh, you're equals. You're equals. Hashem gave the same money for you to divide between the two. Happens to be he gave it to you and you're sharing with him, but it's his as much as it's yours because really it's all his.I love the חביבות chavivus of כל אדם kol adam להכיר את מקומו le'hakir et mekomo. יותר ממה שבעל הבית עושה עם העני, העני עושה עם בעל הבית yoser mima she'baal habayis oseh im ha'ani, ha'ani oseh im baal habayis. The Medrash says, more than the rich person does for the poor person, the poor person is doing for the rich person. The poor worthy cause gives the wealthy person meaning and purpose to apply his wealth. So more than the wealthy person did for the poor person, the poor person or poor organization or institution gave the wealthy person, the person of means, meaningful place to use their money. And that's why it's the expression עמך imach, not איתך itach or אתך itcha.But I want to end with one more insight. Bear with me with one more insight. וחי עמך v'chai imach, the פסוק pasuk ends. The פסוק pasuk ends. Torah imperative to help somebody else who's fallen down, bail them out in that moment. We've shared previously, by the way, beautiful insight of the בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov. I'm tempted to tell you right now, but we're out of time. Listen to a previous year, it's a גוואלדיגע gevaldige בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov. But I want to say something now. The רמב\"ן Ramban quotes the גמרא בבא מציעא Gemara Bava Metzia, סמך ב samech beis. A debate between בן פטורא Ben Petura and רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva, we're all familiar with it. What happens? What happens? Two people are walking and they're in a life-threatening situation. Siren goes off, do you lie on top of the other person and protect them or do you only protect yourself? Two people are in a desert, one canteen of water, there's not enough water to sustain both. Do you drink it all? Do you share it and both die? Do you give it to the other, they live and you die? What happens? What's what's the הלכה halacha? What's the הלכה halacha? Helicopter goes down and the leadership of Iran is on it, they should all die. וברוך השם u'varuch Hashem they did. ימח שמם וזכרם yimach shmam v'zichram. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. They should all die. But what happens in these scenarios? So the רמב\"ן Ramban quotes the בבא מציעא Bava Metzia, it's a מחלוקת machlokes. בן פטורא Ben Petura comes along and he says, מוטב שישתו שניהם וימותו, ואל יראה אחד במיתתו של חבירו mutav she'yishtu shneihem v'yamusu, v'al yireh echad b'misaso shel chavero. You share the water bottle, and even though there's not enough to sustain you both, better you both die than one will survive and watch his friend perish. How could someone survive at the expense of his friend? Therefore, says בן פטורא Ben Petura, better they both drink, even if they both won't make it. Let them both die and not let one survive and see his friend die. Comes along רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva and he says, no, וחי אחיך עמך v'chai achicha imach. Your brother should live with you. Once your survival is assured, then you can care about another. But if your survival is not yet assured, don't compromise or sacrifice your survival for the other. That's why everybody knows in the airplane that if the masks fall from the ceiling, put on yours before the other person, before the other person. And this is the famous source everybody invokes to solve the famous conundrums, moral conundrums and dilemmas, hopefully are hypothetical. Tragically, they come up. And they come up now. On my first trip to Israel in the beginning of November, we went up north and there was a crazy, what they call purple rain coming from the northern border. We got out, our driver said get out of the car, we ran out of the car, and I had my daughter studying for the year in Israel with us, and I instinctively ran to lie on top of her. Was that right? Is that wrong? What's the הלכה halacha? That's what I did. I don't regret doing it. But this is the source that every time there's these questions that tragically right now are are practical. הלוואי halevai we wish and we pray would remain only hypothetical. What should you do? וחי אחיך עמך v'chai achicha imach says רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva, you take care of you take care of yourself. Take care of yourself.What's the connection between the impoverished person and supporting the indigent, what does that have to do with שמיטה Shmita? The end of the פרשה parsha is telling us care for those who are underprivileged, the beginning of the פרשה parsha is about שמיטה Shmita. What does one thing have to do with another? And with this we'll end. The מדרש Midrash on our פרשה parsha comments that this פסוק pasuk reflects the same idea that it says in תהלים Tehillim, אשרי משכיל אל דל Ashrei maskil el dal. Fortunate is he who's who's thoughtful of the impoverished. What's the connection? So there's a ספר sefer שבט סופר Shevet Sofer by רב שמחה בונם סופר Rav Simcha Bunim Sofer, and he explains based on paying careful attention to the language of the פסוק pasuk. The פסוק pasuk says, ומטה ידו עמך u'matah yado imach. ומטה ידו עמך u'matah yado imach. And the simple understanding is his position becomes unstable with you. Whose position is unstable? Who's the פסוק pasuk referring to? The poor person. But the שבט סופר Shevet Sofer, I would have it here to read it to you inside, but we don't have time, says it's an instruction to others. When you see your brother struggling, your first response, your instinct should be עמך imach. He's unstable with you. That his plight is your problem. It's not that I'm stable, I got it together, I'm good to go. He's got problems. His problem is your problem, עמך imach. Don't feel sympathy, compassion, feel empathy. You're not an outsider, you're an insider. If one does, then והחזקת בו v'hechezakta bo, you'll support him. If you really feel the pain, you'll automatically respond by helping him. And that's what the מדרש Midrash means that it's the same as this פסוק pasuk, משכיל אל דל maskil el dal. One who is thoughtful with the דל dal, the struggling person, don't just stroke a check. Don't just mumble תהלים Tehillim on their behalf. Be mindful. Be practice empathy. Feel connected to the pain of the other person.Who can feel that? The farmer. The farmer just went an entire year without bringing home an income. The farmer just had a forced, unpaid sabbatical. When he sees a poor person who doesn't know where his meal's going to come from, you know who can relate? The farmer. So the Torah connects and juxtaposes the two to tell us, take your experience to develop empathy for another. The farmer who just lived a whole year not knowing where his next meal is going to come from, channel that uncertainty, that doubt, into feeling the sympathy for others. So in the eighth year, when you go back to working your farm, you go back to making a killing, you go back to owning all this real estate, you go back to living high on the hog, don't therefore feel the poor person, ah, not my problem. We'll all write a check because I'm rich. Feel, no, you know, I knew what it was like to be hungry. I knew what it was like to be uncertain. The גמרא ברכות דף ו' Gemara Brachos daf vav says, אגרת תעניתא צדקתא agrah d'taanisa tzidkasa. The reward for fasting comes from the צדקה tzedaka that you give at the end of a fast. There's a מנהג minhag, today is בה\"ב Bahab. Nobody here is observing it, but בה\"ב Bahab, there are fast days. The מנהג minhag at the end of a fast day you should give צדקה tzedaka. When you come to shul on a fast day, you give צדקה tzedaka. Why? What does a fast have to do with צדקה tzedaka? So the משנה ברורה Mishnah Berurah says, don't just give צדקה tzedaka, you should give the value of the meals that you skipped. Ordinarily, you allow yourself $20 on lunch, put $20 in צדקה tzedaka because you didn't have lunch that day because it was a fast day. And breakfast and dinner, whatever you skipped, give to צדקה tzedaka. What's the connection? What's the connection between the two? So the שבט סופר Shevet Sofer says, you know what it means? You know what the גמרא ברכות Gemara Brachos means? At the end of a fast day, you know what it means to be hungry. Take that growl in your stomach, that hunger pang, take what it means that you know right now at the end of a fast day what it means to be hungry, and give some צדקה tzedaka to make sure that nobody's hungry. וחי אחיך עמך v'chai achicha imach. Don't feel sympathy, feel empathy. Don't be an outsider, be an insider. Connect with genuinely. Take your own experiences, whatever they may be, in life, in health, in mental health, in פרנסה parnassah and livelihood, maybe it was in getting married, maybe it was in fertility. Whatever pain, whatever experience, whatever patience, whatever you went through, feel a greater empathy for those who are going through it. And let it be עמך imach together with us, in the merit of our caring and feeling each other's pain, let us have a גאולה שלמה geulah shleimah of אמיתה amita, we should have בשורות טובות besoros tovos today. Please remain to say all of תהלים Tehillim, as we do at the end.
