Transcript
Good morning and בוקר טוב *Boker Tov*. May be a day we hear בשרות טובות *besoros tovos*, good news and good tidings for the Jewish people. May the hostages come home. May the soldiers return to their families with a sweeping, sweeping victory. A big thank you as always to our פרשה *parsha* series sponsors, Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman. May the נשמה של דוד בן מנחם מנש *nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manash*, the נשמה *neshama* should have an עליה *aliyah*. Also want to dedicate our שיעור *shiur* this morning. Yesterday was my grandmother's יארצייט *yahrzeit*. Ruth Aboff, ינטע רחל בת שמואל *Yenta Rochel bas Shmuel*. My beloved dear grandmother whom I loved and learned so much from, her נשמה *neshama* should have an עליה *aliyah* as well. We have the privilege this morning of reading, of learning פרשת במדבר *Parshas Bamidbar*, beginning the fourth book of the Torah, page 726 in the Artscroll Stone חומש *Chumash*. Please note, no שיעור *shiur* next Tuesday. Next Tuesday is ערב שבועות *Erev Shavuos*. There is a פרשה *parsha* next שבת *Shabbos*. We get one day between שבועות *Shavuos* and שבת *Shabbos* to prepare, but we will not be learning it together. So learn it on your own, you're not exempt from learning the פרשה *parsha*, but there is no פרשה שיעור *parsha shiur* next Tuesday. Page 726. וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר *Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe bemidbar Sinai be'ohel moed be'echad la'chodesh ha'sheini ba'shana ha'shenis le'tzeisam me'eretz Mitzrayim leimor*. Hashem spoke to Moshe and here we're given the climate, the environment, the topography. He spoke to him דוקא *davka*, specifically במדבר *bemidbar*, in the desert. As if we care. We care what he said, why do we care where he said it? What matters is what was communicated, what was transmitted. Why does it matter where it was said? What the geography, what the topography, what the climate, whether it was in the desert, whether it was in a different area, why does that matter? And what was the message? What did he tell Moshe? שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם *Se'u es rosh kol adas Bnei Yisrael le'mishpechosam le'veis avosam*. It's time for a census. It's time for accounting. This is the third one. Hashem, even though he knows the number, he's omnipotent, he's infinite, he's perfect. He doesn't need to count in order to arrive at a result, at a number. רש\"י *Rashi* here tells us, מתוך חבתן לפניו *mi'toch chibas'an lefanav*. When you love something, you count it. You count it over and over and over again out of a sense of love. People count and collect all kinds of things. I read an article, you know people collect baseball cards, people collect snow globes, people collect magnets, people collect stamps, money. People try to collect money. They love to count the money. But I read somebody owns 20,000 pencils. Somebody owns 272 unopened Star Wars Lego sets. And the Guinness World Record holder for the biggest and most valuable collection of celebrity hair. Someone else has over a thousand Slinkys. But someone has packets of sugar and sweetener from around the world. That's got to be a Jew from Pesach programs. The list could go on and on. The list could go on and on. But I'd say the winner that I saw on a list of people who collect things is Christopher Crowcouer who owns a collection of 30,000 banana labels. Among them, the rare and coveted Chiquita sticker from 1960. Who cares? I don't know. People collect all kinds of things. And what people collect and what they count and what they cherish says everything about them. So what does Hashem love? מתוך חבתן לפניו מונה אותם כל שעה *Mitoch chibasan lefanav moneh osam kol sha'ah*. Rashi at the very beginning of our parsha, the very beginning of this fourth book of the Torah tells us, Hashem's love, his incredible affection for the Jewish people. He counts us over and over again. He counted us when we left Egypt. He wanted to know how many we were. Remember, it's important because so many stayed back in Egypt. He counted us again after the plague of חטא העגל *chet ha'egel*. After the Jewish people had infidelity, we cheated on Hashem on our wedding night with the golden calf, he counted us again. And now, the משכן *Mishkan* is built, it's inaugurated, and here again, God counts the Jewish people. People count what they love. Some count their children and grandchildren, some count their bank accounts and stock portfolio. Others will count their childhood and the memories, because especially if they're if they're fleeting. רבי נחמן מברסלב *Reb Nachman of Breslov* explains the מדרש *Medrash* is telling us here something so important, which is that there is nothing more beloved to Hashem than עם ישראל *Am Yisrael*, כלל ישראל *Klal Yisrael*. Do you know how empowering that is? Do you know how incredible that is for us to know that there's nothing he loves more in his whole world, in the whole universe, in the cosmos, and all of creation, there's nothing more significant and nothing more he loves more than us. He counts us over and over again. We've learned this, we've studied this, we're not going to review because we talked about it in the past, a name and a number, they seem to contradict, a name and a number. What is the correlation, the connection between the two? But we have to recognize that every person is a special gift. Everyone is a unique expression of Hashem in this world. We're a beloved child of Hashem. We're each indispensable, we're each irreplaceable. We don't just blend together into some blur, but each individually, singularly, uniquely, הקדוש ברוך הוא *Hakadosh Baruch Hu*, the Almighty loves us. The ר\"ן *Ran*, the ר\"ן *Ran*, רבי נחמן מברסלב *Rebbe Nachman of Breslov* in his שיחות הר\"ן *Sichos HaRan*, the הייליגע רבי רבי נחמן *heilige Rebbe Rebi Nachman* teaches a סגולה *segulah* for success in Torah learning, a סגולה *segulah*. A סגולה *segulah*, everybody wants סגולות *segulos*. סגולות *Segulos* are quick fixes. You don't have to do the hard work. סגולה *Segulah* for פרנסה *parnasah*, and a סגולה *segulah* for good health, and a סגולה *segulah* for peace in the home, שלום בית *shalom bayis*. So what's a סגולה *segulah* for success in Torah learning? You want to have an intellectual breakthrough. You want to learn and study and remember your Torah. Here's his suggestion. It's in שיחות הר\"ן *Sichos HaRan* סימן צדיק א' *siman tzadik aleph*. Something we can do to help us learn with great diligence, to understand Torah better, to retain the information we learn. A סגולה *segulah* he says is, don't speak negatively of any fellow Jew. Avoid negative speech of a fellow Jew. Don't be judgmental, don't speak negatively. Recognize how precious every Jew is. רבי נחמן *Rebbi Nachman* explains this concept based on the tradition that we all have. We know the זוהר הקדוש *Zohar Hakadosh* says there are 600,000 letters in the Torah. I've shared this many times. Doesn't exactly add up. We have half that amount, 304,805 letters. How do you get to 600,000? It's for another time. The הייליגע מגלה עמוקות *heilige Megaleh Amukos*, ר' נתן נטע שפירא *Rav Nosson Nata Shapiro*, on פרשת ואתחנן *Parshas Va'eschanan* writes there are 600,000 letters in the Torah, they correspond a letter for every Jew and that ישראל *Yisrael*, the Jewish people, ישראל *Yisrael* is an acronym for יש ששים ריבוא אותיות לתורה *Yeish shishim ribo osios la'Torah*. There are 600,000 letters in the Torah, a letter for everyone's name. Everyone has a place in the Torah. Everybody has their Torah. Everyone has their contribution, everyone has their voice, everyone has their impact, everyone has their influence. Says the הייליגע רבי נחמן מברסלב *heilige Rebbi Nachman of Breslov*, if we speak negatively about a fellow Jew, we are in effect erasing their letter from the Torah. If you speak negatively, critically, judgmentally, if you marginalize or dismiss a fellow Jew, you are erasing their letter. And what happens to a Torah with a letter that's erased? What happens to a Torah whose letter is blurred out or a letter blends into another or a letter is erased? What's the status of such a Torah? פסול *Pasul*. It's פסול *pasul*. A ספר תורה *sefer Torah* missing a single letter is disqualified, can't be used for Torah reading. And if we disparage a single Jew, a fellow Jew, our collective Torah is incomplete, and you can't learn properly. So you want success in Torah learning? Love every Jew. See every Jew's letter in the Torah, every Jew's contribution, every Jew's participation, every Jew's space in the Torah. רבי מנחם מענדל מווארקי *Reb Menachem Mendel of Vorka* once got up in front of a שול *shul* on שבת *Shabbos* before שבועות *Shavuos*. And he asked the following. The שבת *Shabbos* before פסח *Pesach* is called שבת הגדול *Shabbos Hagadol*. That wasn't such a hard question. It's hard for me, I have to prepare it. You just come listen to it, sit in these comfortable chairs and try to stay awake. The שבת *Shabbos* before פסח *Pesach* is called שבת הגדול *Shabbos Hagadol*. שבת *Shabbos* before יום כיפור *Yom Kippur* is called שבת שובה *Shabbos Shuvah*. What's the name of this שבת *Shabbos* before שבועות *Shavuos*? Said רבי מנחם מענדל מווארקי *Reb Menachem Mendel of Vorka*, the answer is, it's called שבת דרך ארץ *Shabbos Derech Eretz*. Why is it called שבת דרך ארץ *Shabbos Derech Eretz*? Because חז\"ל *Chazal*, our Rabbis tell us that דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה *derech eretz kadma la'Torah*. דרך ארץ *Derech eretz*, the way we treat one another, interpersonal relationships, precedes Torah. Before we could receive the Torah, we had to learn how to love a fellow Jew. We had to commit to practicing and living with דרך ארץ *derech eretz*, common courtesy and kindness. So therefore, if there's a שבת הגדול *Shabbos Hagadol* and שבת שובה *Shabbos Shuvah*, the שבת *Shabbos* before שבועות *Shavuos*, this שבת *Shabbos* is called שבת דרך ארץ *Shabbos Derech Eretz*. דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה *Derech eretz is kadma la'Torah*. And the מדרש *Medrash*, the קאצקער רבי *Kotsker Rebbe* explains what does it mean קדמה לתורה *kadma la'Torah*? It means דרך ארץ *derech eretz* is the הקדמה *hakdama* of the Torah. קדמה *Kadma* comes from the לשון *lashon* of הקדמה *hakdama*. What's a הקדמה *hakdama*? An introduction, a forward, a preface. The introduction to a book tells you what's in the book. More often than not, I skip the introduction because I'm about to read the book. I don't need you to tell me what's in the book, I'll just read the book. What is the הקדמה *hakdama*? The introduction tells you what's in the book. So what's the introduction to Torah? דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה *Derech eretz is kadma la'Torah*. The introduction before you could open and start studying, before you could learn and live Torah, the introduction is דרך ארץ *derech eretz*. The משנה in פרקי אבות *Mishna in Pirkei Avos* says, אם אין תורה אין דרך ארץ *im ein Torah ein derech eretz*. If there's no Torah, there's no דרך ארץ *derech eretz*. Without דרך ארץ *derech eretz* there can't be Torah. Listen to what רבינו יונה *Rabbeinu Yonah* writes on those words. Says רבינו יונה *Rabbeinu Yonah*, 12th century Spain. צריך תחילה לסכן את עצמו במדות וזה תשכון התורה עליו *Tzarich techila lesakein es atzmo be'midos u'be'zeh tishkon haTorah alav*. First you have to become a vessel to receive Torah. How are you a vessel to receive Torah? First you have to work on and improve your מדות *midos*, your interpersonal skills, your character. שאינה שוכנת לעולם בגוף שאינו בעל מדות טובות *She'eina shochnes le'olam be'guf she'eino ba'al midos tovos*. Torah cannot reside, Torah cannot be lived, Torah cannot be promoted, Torah cannot be proclaimed through someone who doesn't have a proper character. If you're cruel, you're unkind, you're obnoxious, you're rude, you're discourteous, it doesn't matter how much Torah knowledge you have, you're not a vessel for Torah, you're not a בן תורה *ben Torah*, you're not a בת תורה *bas Torah*. לא שילמד התורה ואחר כך יקח לו המידות כי זה אי אפשר *Lo she'yilmad ha'Torah ve'achar kach yikach lo ha'midos, ki zeh ee efshar*. Says רבינו יונה *Rabbeinu Yonah*, first you have to improve the character traits and then the Torah can endure within such a person. First you can't learn Torah and then acquire good character traits. First you have to have good character traits and then you can acquire Torah. Which is why, what have we been doing counting up and building towards קבלת התורה *kabbalas haTorah*? Counting ספירת העומר *Sefiras HaOmer*. Forty-nine days of self-improvement, forty-nine days of working on ourselves, more patience, more generosity, more positivity, more love, more humility, less anger, less envy. We're working on our מדות *midos*. Why? Because this שבת *Shabbos* is שבת דרך ארץ *Shabbos Derech Eretz*. דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה *Derech eretz is kadma*, the introduction to Torah, the הקדמה *hakdama* to Torah is דרך ארץ *derech eretz*. A young man got engaged, he went to the צדיק מירושלים *tzaddik of Yerushalayim*, רבי אריה לוין זצ\"ל *Reb Aryeh Levin zatzal*. He said, I came to get advice, I'm engaged, I'm going to get married. Please, can I have some advice? So the young man expecting that the צדיק *tzaddik*, רבי אריה לוין *Reb Aryeh Levin* was going to tell him, learn this ספר *sefer*, or always bring this דבר תורה *dvar Torah* to the table. But you know what רבי אריה לוין *Reb Aryeh Levin* told him? He said, always make sure to put your socks in the hamper. Don't leave them on the floor next to the hamper. It's not respectful to your wife. Someone else has to bend down and pick them up and put them in the hamper. Always put them... That was the message. Simple. דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה *Derech eretz kadma la'Torah*. Everyone expects some highfalutin, some righteous, some noble, some virtuous, some complicated. Just put your socks in the hamper. Just put the cover on the on the toothpaste. Just be a מענטש *mentsch*. Be a מענטש *mentsch*. It's the הקדמה *hakdama*, it is the introduction to all of Torah. So הקדוש ברוך הוא *Hakadosh Baruch Hu*, הקדוש ברוך הוא *Hakadosh Baruch Hu* loves us and he counts us each and every one of us. Each and every one of us are a letter in the Torah. And when we honor each of the letters in the Torah, we have a כשרה תורה *kasher Torah*. And if we speak negatively, or we lack דרך ארץ *derech eretz*, or we're rude or inconsiderate, or we dismiss any Jew, we've erased their letter from Torah and our collective entire Torah is disqualified, it's incomplete, it's פסול *pasul*, it's not a good Torah. All of that is number one. Number two. Number two, in honor of the ראש ישיבה *Rosh Yeshiva*, the גערע ראש ישיבה *Gerer Rosh Yeshiva* is in America right now. He was in New York and now he's in Chicago. So in his wonderful ספר ודרשת *sefer V'Darasha*, he says the following. ר' שאול אלתר שליט\"א *Rav Shaul Alter shlita*. חומש במדבר שקוראים בכנסת לפני מתן תורה נקרא ג' שמות *Chumash Bamidbar she'korim be'knesses lifnei Mattan Torah nikra gimmel shemos*. This third book of the Torah is given three names. העולם קוראים לו במדבר *Ha'olam korim lo Bamidbar*. The world calls this, the book, they call it במדבר *Bamidbar*. Open any חומש *Chumash* and you'll find the third book of Torah is called במדבר *Bamidbar*. הראשונים והקדמונים כינוהו וידבר *Harishonim ve'hakadmonim kinuhu Vayedaber*. רש\"י סוטה דף למ\"ד עמוד ב' *Rashi Sotah daf lamed daled amud beis*, בראשית רבה *Bereishis Rabbah*, you find that it was called the Book of וידבר *Vayedaber*, speaking. Why? That's the opening word of the whole book. וידבר השם אל משה במדבר סיני *Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe be'midbar Sinai*. וידבר *Vayedaber*. בלשון חז\"ל *Bilshon Chazal*, our Rabbis had a third name for the book, they called it ספר, חומש הפקודים *sefer, Chumash HaPekudim*. יומא דף סמ\"ך עמוד א', סוטה דף למ\"ד עמוד ב' *Yoma daf samech ches amud aleph, Sotah daf lamed daled amud beis*. So our book has three separate titles, three different names, either במדבר *Bamidbar*, וידבר *Vayedaber*, or ספר הפקודים *Sefer HaPekudim*. What does פקודים *pekudim* mean? The counting, the book of counting because it begins with a census, it begins with counting. ויישבו חברן וידבר במדבר על פי המעשה שספר רב מצ'יבין היה בסביר בימי המלחמה *Ve'yesh le'chaber vayedaber ba'midbar al pi ha'ma'aseh she'sipur Chebiner Rav me'Chebin haya be'Sibir be'mei ha'milchama*. So רב שאול אלתר *Rav Shaul Alter*, the גערע רבי *Gerer Rebbe* explains with a story. The טשעבינער רב *Chebiner Rav* was in Siberia during the war, קיבל מכתב מהרבי הקדוש מבעלזא רבי אהרן קדוש *kibel michtav me'ha'Rebbe ha'kadosh mi'Belz Reb Aharon kadosh*. זכותו יגן עלינו *zechuso yagen aleinu*. He got a letter from the בעלזא רב *Belzer Rebbe*. I guess the mail was delivered even to the Jews of Siberia when they were incarcerated in Siberia. And in his letter, the בעלזא רב *Belzer Rebbe*, the בעלזא רב *Belzer Rebbe* sent him one פסוק *pasuk*, a פסוק *pasuk* of תהלים *Tehillim*. קול השם יחיל מדבר יחיל השם מדבר קדש *Kol Hashem yachil midbar, yachil Hashem midbar Kadesh*. And the טשעבינער *Chebiner* understood a כוונה *kavanah* of the פירש *peirush* of the שר שלום מבעלזא *Sar Shalom mi'Belz*. The בעלזא רב *Belzer Rebbe* was telling him המדבר מיחל ומצפה שיזכה לשמוע קול השם *Ha'midbar miyachel u'metzapeh she'yizkeh lishmoa kol Hashem*. במקום שומם שמעולם לא היה שם ישוב יהודי *Be'makom shomeim she'me'olam lo haya sham yishuv Yehudi*. A Jew's job is when they find themselves in a place absent God, in a desolate, desolate desert, speak Godliness. Introduce spirituality. Plant the flag of Torah of Hashem. ולא אומר שם דבר של קדושה ברכה תפילה או תורה יחיל השם מדבר קדש כיביכול הקדוש ברוך הוא מחכה שהמדבר יתקדש *Ve'lo omer sham davar shel kedusha, bracha, tefillah, o Torah, yachil Hashem midbar kodesh, ki'veyachol Hakadosh Baruch Hu mechakeh she'ha'midbar yiskadesh*. Hashem is waiting. A Jew is never stuck. A Jew is wherever they're meant to be. And wherever we find ourselves, particularly if it's a place that's barren, that's desolate, a place that's a desert of spirituality, of Torah, of sanctity, get to work. Your job is to plant the seeds of Torah there. ולכן ניתנה תורה דוקא במדבר *Ve'lachen nitnah Torah davka ba'midbar*. And that's why... so in other words he was giving him... the בעלזא רב *Belzer Rebbe* was giving the טשעבינער *Chebiner* חיזוק *chizuk*. You're in Siberia, what am I doing here? Why am I here? Woe is me. How can I learn? How can I make a difference? No, that a Jew is where they're meant to be. There's a reason you're there. And based on this פסוק *pasuk*, transform this מדבר *midbar*. Plant, let it blossom, let it come to life with spirituality, with ניצוצות *nitzotzos*, with the sparks of קדושה *kedusha* of holiness. Don't view yourself as stuck as a victim. View yourself as you're there for a reason. And therefore, elevate that experience, elevate it. We told the story recently in the living with the אמונה *emunah shiur* about a group of לובאוויטשער רעביצינס *Lubavitcher Rebbetzins* who were in England for a conference and their flights got cancelled and they were panicked because their husbands could only go so long watching all those children. What was going to happen? They needed to get home. So they called the לובאוויטשער רבי *Lubavitcher Rebbe*. זכותו יגן עלינו *zechuso yagen aleinu* and they spoke to his secretary and they said, \"Please tell the רבי *Rebbe*, we're stuck in London. שדאבען *She'daven* for us, he should give us a ברכה *bracha*, help us get a flight, help us get out, help us get home, we're stuck in London.\" And the רבי *Rebbe* sent back one message: \"A Jew is never stuck. You are where you're meant to be, get to work.\" You're not let yet leaving London because your work there is not done. Learn and inspire and develop relationships. If you were meant to leave, you'd be gone. If you're still there, it's not because you're stuck, it's where you're meant to be. A Jew should say, \"Wherever I am, there's a purpose, there's a reason, there's a mission. How do I transform this מדבר *midbar*, this desert? How do I make it come to life?\" ובזה נתחזק הרב מטשיבין כשבמקום נדח שהמקום מחכה שישמענו שם קול השם *U'bezeh nischazek ha'Rav me'Chebin keshe'be'makom nidach she'ha'makom mechakeh she'yishmaenu sham kol Hashem*. And he grew great חיזוק *chizuk* and he realized I'm not stuck, and I'm not muted here. This is a place that I should come to life and speak the word of Hashem. ויש חשיבות מיוחדת אצל ריבונו של עולם מכל דיבור ודיבור של קדושה במקום כזה *V'yesh chashivus meyuchdes esel Ribono shel Olam mi'kol dibur ve'dibur shel kedusha be'makom kaze*. And Hashem especially loves, Hashem especially cherishes when a Jew who's in a place where it's unpopular, where it's difficult and complicated, where there's never been words of Torah says, \"I'm going to introduce Torah in this place, in this spot.\" ולכן הקדמונים קוראים לספר הזה וידבר כי עיקר החשיבות הוא וידבר דיבורי אלוקים ומתן תורה שהיה במדבר *Ve'lachen ha'kadmonim korim le'sefer zeh Vayedaber ki ikar ha'chashivus hu vayedaber, diburei Elokim, u'mattan Torah she'haya ba'midbar*. So this book is called the Book of וידבר *Vayedaber*, start speaking, start speaking. Speak words of Torah, speak words of faith, speak words of Godliness. Don't be muted, don't be silent, don't be defensive. Our mission, our mandate, as a people, עם ישראל, כלל ישראל *Am Yisrael, Klal Yisrael* is to introduce the world to Godliness, to faith in Hashem, to דרך ארץ *derech eretz* that's קדמה לתורה *kadma la'Torah*, to וידבר *vayedaber*. That's who we are, what we're about. אבל אנחנו בני ישראל קוראים לספר זה חומש במדבר *Aval anachnu Bnei Yisrael korim le'sefer zeh Chumash Bamidbar*. But we give it a different name. We don't call it וידבר *Vayedaber* generally, we call it במדבר *Bamidbar*. להזכיר מעלת בני ישראל כמו שאומר ירמיה הנביא *Le'hazkir ma'alas Bnei Yisrael k'mo she'omer Yirmiyahu ha'navi*. Because we're remembering the beauty of the Jewish people. They followed Hashem out where? Into a מדבר *midbar*, into a desert. And this is what ירמיהו הנביא *Yirmiyahu ha'Navi* says, we sing it ראש השנה, יום כיפור *Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur*. I will spare you. כה אמר השם זכרתי לך חסד נעורייך אהבת כלולותייך לכתך אחרי במדבר בארץ לא זרועה *Ko amar Hashem, ko amar Hashem, zacharti lach chesed ne'urayich, ahavas kelulosayich, lechtech acharai ba'midbar, be'eretz lo zeruah*. Wow! Hashem says, \"I remember your חסד *chesed*. I remember, אהבת כלולותייך *ahavas kelulosayich* like a כלה *kallah*, there was a love and a romance and an infatuation.\" How did I know it? How did I see it? How did you demonstrate it? לכתך אחרי במדבר *Lechtech acharai ba'midbar*. Because you followed me out. We got married and you said, \"I'm in, wherever you want to go, we'll go to a מדבר *midbar*. We'll go to a מדבר *midbar*. There aren't 1700 kosher restaurants and 400 schools to choose from, and there's not the most מהודר עירוב *mehudor eruv*, and there's not the brand new, most beautiful spa-like מקווה *mikvah*. But you want to go because there's a difference to make? I'm in. We'll go to the מדבר *midbar*. We'll go to the מדבר *midbar*.\" ומעלה זו שהולכים בני ישראל אחרי הקדוש ברוך הוא במדבר אינה רק בשעת הדור שיצאו ממצרים לבד *U'ma'alah zo she'holchim Bnei Yisrael acharei Hakadosh Baruch Hu ba'midbar einah rak bish'as ha'dor she'yatzu mi'Mitzrayim levad*. חבר'ה *Chevra*, what we're supposed to remember as we read book of, we read פרשת במדבר *Parshas Bamidbar*, we always read פרשת במדבר *Parshas Bamidbar* right before what? The חג *chag* of שבועות *Shavuos*. Why? Because this story is not a part of our past. We are not nostalgically remembering and patting ourselves in the back that our ancestors followed God out into a barren desert, but rather we are living it right now. We are recreating it right now. We are committing to it once again right now. כמו שאמרנו כמה פעמים דאום על הפסוק איזותם זמן שיצאו ממצרים הקדוש ברוך הוא זוכר שהלכו בארץ לא זרועה לזכות עבר בני ישראל לכל הדורות אבל באמת איז דאָס נישט א מעלה וואָס איז געווען דעמאָלס נאָר ווי מען איז אָריבער אָבער איז דאָך אין האַנט פון יעדער איינער און איינער צו גורם זיין נחת רוח צו די השם יתברך *Ke'mo she'amarnu kama pe'amim de'ome al ha'pasuk... is'osam zman she'yatzu mi'Mitzrayim, Hakadosh Baruch Hu zocher she'halchu be'eretz lo zeruah le'zchus avur Bnei Yisrael le'chol ha'doros. Aval be'emes, is dos nisht, kim dos nisht, ke'mo she'im re'u rak be'yimei hem avru ela be'yad kol echad ve'echad ligrom nachas ruach zo l'Shem Yisbarach*. It's in the hand of every Jew to give Hashem this נחת *nachas*. Each of us can show Hashem that same love, that same affection, that same willingness, לכתך אחרי במדבר *lechtech acharai ba'midbar*. בימים ובשעות הקשות *Be'yamim u'be'shaos ha'kashos*. Sometimes our מדבר *midbar* is not where we live geographically. ברוך השם, ברוך השם *Baruch Hashem, Baruch Hashem*. Boca is still the greatest compliment you could give us is that we're still out of town. People think out of town is an insult. It's the greatest compliment. ברוך השם *Baruch Hashem*. But we have every kind of restaurant you could want. And you have every amenity Jewishly that you could want. Every week I get another text or email about the newest school that's opening in our community. Good, bad, I don't know, it doesn't make a difference. It's happening anyway. But every amenity that you could want. But you know what? In a personal life, even if you're living in a blossoming, blossoming, not a מדבר *midbar*, but in our personal lives, sometimes there are moments of מדבר *midbar*. In a doctor's office waiting room, when you're waiting to take a fertility test, when you're not sure where the פרנסה *parnassah* is going to come from, when there's a loneliness that a person's looking for their בשרת *bashert*, when a person's checking the news all night long, what's happening these fires in the north of Israel, when will these hostages finally come home? There are מדבר *midbar* moments, desert moments where it feels barren and desolate and alone and hopeless and despair. We say, \"Hashem, I'm in. I'm following you even into those places, even into those spots, even when I don't know where the nourishment's going to come from, even when I don't see the fountain, even when I don't have an oasis.\" ממשיכים לעבוד את השם בכל מצב ובכל עת *Mamshichim la'avod es Hashem be'chol matzav u'be'chol eis*. I'm following you לכתך אחרי במדבר *lechtech acharai ba'midbar*. I'm following you into that מדבר *midbar*, in the מדבר *midbar* moments in our lives. And that's what we say in הלל *Hallel*. יקר בעיני השם המותה לחסידיו *Yakar be'einei Hashem ha'mavsah le'chasidav*. לפעמים האדם הוא בבחינת מת *Lifamim ha'adam hu be'bchinas meis*. A person sometimes feels dead. האדם מדוכדך וירוד בעיני עצמו *Ha'adam me'dukdach ve'yarud be'einei atzmo*. ממסיבות חיצוניות או במסיבות פנימיות *Mi'sibos chitzoniyos o be'sibos pnimiyos*. Sometimes there are external causes that make us feel this hopeless and helpless, despair, desert. And sometimes it's internal. We feel empty. We're struggling emotionally and mentally in our health. קשיים בגשמיות וברוחניות *Keshayim be'gashmiyus u'be'ruchniyus*. Sometimes it's a physical desert, and sometimes it's an emotional, spiritual, or mental desert. אינו מרגיש טעם בעבודת השם *Eino margish ta'am ba'avodas Hashem*. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a desert. It's bland, it's tasteless. There's nothing. I'm parched. I'm parched. I'm in a מדבר *midbar*. בתפילה בקשה עליו למוד תורה *Be'tefillah be'kasha alav limud Torah*. I'm struggling to learn. ומרגיש מרוחק מהשם *U'margish meruchak me'Hashem*. And I feel far away. I'm in a desert and I'm parched. אבל הקדוש אומר יקר בעיני השם מה שבני ישראל חסידיו עובדי מוצא יתברך גם כשהם קשה שבכל זאת מתגברים ומתאמצים לעבוד את השם ללמוד ולהתפלל בעת כזו שהיא המותה לחסידיו *Aval ha'kasuv omer yakar be'einei Hashem, ma she'Bnei Yisrael chasidav ovdei mo'tzo yisbarach gam keshe'hem kasheh, she'be'chol zos misgabrim u'misamtzim la'avod es Hashem lilmod u'le'hispalel be'eis kazo she'hi ha'mavsah le'chasidav*. Even המותה *ha'mavsah*, even when we're in a place of מות *maves*, even when we feel dead, we're dead inside. That's how someone describes it. Someone going through a hard time will say, \"I feel dead inside.\" I feel dead inside. But even when a person, when a Jew feels dead inside, they're dedicated, \"Hashem, I'm following you. I'm walking after you. I believe in you.\" Hashem says, זכרתי לך חסד נעורייך *zacharti lach chesed ne'urayich*. And that is במדבר *Bamidbar*. So, we have וידבר *Vayedaber*. וידבר *Vayedaber* is, wherever a Jew is, they're never stuck, start speaking, teaching, inspiring, sharing, planting the seeds of Torah and make the desert bloom. That's וידבר *Vayedaber*. במדבר *Bamidbar*, wherever a Jew is, even המותה לחסידיו *ha'mavsah le'chasidav*, even when a Jew feels I'm dead inside, I'm in a desert, it's barren, it's desolate, there's no way out, I'm parched, I'm dry, I'm desperate, still לכתך אחרי במדבר *lechtech acharai ba'midbar*, Hashem, I'm all in, and I'm following you nonetheless. And the third answer, השם השלישי *ha'shem ha'shlishi*, I'm just trying to summarize because he goes on, it's a long piece. חומש הפקודים *Chumash ha'pekudim*. פקודים מלשון מפקד פקודאי *Pekudim mi'lashon mifkad pekudei*. The תפארת שלמה *Tiferes Shlomo* on the פסוק *pasuk* תפקדו אותם את ציבואותם אתה ואהרן *tifkedu osam le'tzivosam ata ve'Aharon*. The רדומסקער *Radomsker* says, לכאורה מה היה צריך דוקא משה ואהרן למנותם *Lechora ma haya tzarich davka Moshe ve'Aharon le'mnosam*. Why did Moshe and Aharon need to be the ones to count? הרי ביד כל אחד לעשות כן *Harei be'yad kol echad la'asos kein*. Anybody could have counting. Counting is a very simple activity. Right? My grandson can count in four languages. Unbelievable. Spanish, Yiddish, English and Hebrew. Unbelievable. And he's four years old, three years old, four years old. Less than five years old. So anyone can count. A five year old, a four year old can count. You need Moshe and Aharon to be able to count? הרי היה אפשר למנות על ידי שליח אחר *Harei haya efshar le'manos al yedei shliach acher*. אלא משום שהפקידה של בני ישראל הייתה כדי לגלות הכוח המופקד בכל איש ואיש *Ela mi'shum she'ha'pekidah shel Bnei Yisrael haysa kedei le'galos ha'koach ha'mufkad be'chol ish ve'ish*. This was a different counting. This was a counting of שאו את ראש בני ישראל *se'u es rosh Bnei Yisrael*. A census, anyone who wants to make minimum wage can knock on your door and fill out a form and take a census. But if you want to not just be a number, if you want to feel counted, I count, I matter, I make a difference. I'm not invisible. I'm consequential, not inconsequential. I matter. Who will make you matter more than the גדולי הדור *gedolei ha'dor* saying, \"You count, you matter, you mean something, you're a letter in the Torah.\" They had to appear דוקא *davka* before Moshe and Aharon. כי בכל נשמת ישראל טמון אוצר גדול *Ki be'chol nishmas Yisrael tamun otzar gadol*. In every holy Jew is a richness. על כן היה צריך לזה דוקא הכוח של משה רבנו *Al kein haya tzarich le'zeh davka ha'koach shel Moshe Rabbeinu*. דוקא נזדקק *Davka nizkak* the power of Moshe and Aharon. רק הם יכולים למנות ולפקוד בני ישראל ולגלות כוחות הפנימיים המופקדים בכל נשמת ישראל *Rak hem yecholim limnos u'le'fkod Bnei Yisrael u'le'galos kochos ha'pnimiyim ha'mufkadim be'chol nishmas Yisrael*. And that is something that continues in all the generations, to feel that we are the progeny, the children, the students, the disciples of Moshe and Aharon, that we matter, that we count, that we pass before them. כל המנין של בני ישראל היה כדי לתת חשיבות לכל יהודי בפני עצמו *Kol ha'minyan shel Bnei Yisrael haya kedei le'ses chashivus le'chol Yehudi bifnei atzmo*. It gives us a חשיבות *chashivus*. Listen to the חידושי הרי\"ם *Chidushei HaRim*. He quotes his great זײדע *zeide*, the חידושי הרי\"ם *Chidushei HaRim*. הקדוש ברוך הוא *Hakadosh Baruch Hu* says we have to count, כדי שיהיו... What's the פסוק *pasuk*? הקדוש ברוך הוא *Hakadosh Baruch Hu* says, \"Count למנין *le'minyan*.\" Why? Because by counting us, we become a דבר שבמנין *davar she'be'minyan*. דבר שבמנין אינו בטל *Davar she'be'minyan eino batel*. You know we have a principle in הלכה *halacha*, in Jewish law, called בטל *bittel*. A drop of milk falls into your chicken soup, is it kosher? Yes. It depends. It depends on the ratio, the proportion. If it's less than a sixtieth, then the milk is nullified in the soup, the milk is as if it's not there, soup is kosher. If it's more than a sixtieth, now your soup has become בשר בחלב *basar be'chalav*, meat and milk, it's טרף *treif*, it's no good, it's not kosher. If it's less than a sixtieth, it's kosher. Should you eat it? Let's say you decide, \"I want to be stringent. I want to be strict. I want my kids to get the best שידוכים *shidduchim*, I want a reputation for being the strictest person around.\" So I'm going to give that chicken soup to the help. I'll give that chicken soup to the mailman, the non-Jewish person. I'm not going to eat it, even if it's less than a sixtieth. Is that righteous? Is that noble? No. Why? פתחי תשובה ביורה דעה *Pischei Teshuvah in Yoreh Deah*. פתחי תשובה *Pischei Teshuvah* writes in יורה דעה *Yoreh Deah* because don't be frummer than God. God said milk and meat is forbidden. God said less than a sixtieth is permissible. If you nonetheless don't eat it, are you really worshipping God or are you worshipping yourself? Don't be more religious than God. So the פתחי תשובה *Pischei Teshuvah* says there is nothing virtuous about not eating it. You should eat it because you should show that you're serving Hashem, not yourself. And he's the one who said it's no good, he's the one who says it is good. Now what happens, what happens if a non-kosher egg gets mixed into a dozen eggs? Then do you say it's בטל *battel*? What if it gets mixed into a hundred eggs, a thousand eggs? The answer is never nullified. Why? Because we have a principle, דבר שבמנין אינו בטל *davar she'be'minyan eino batel*. Something that is counted, that is sold in a count, like a dozen eggs, something that is is counted by the number, you never apply בטל *bittel*. They never apply nullification. So once the Jewish people became counted, אינו בטל *eino batel*. By Hashem counting us and making us a דבר שבמנין *davar she'be'minyan*, no matter how outnumbered we are by the other nations of the world, אינו בטל *eino batel*. דבר שבמנין אפילו באלף לא בטל הוא רק מדרבנן *Davar she'be'minyan afilu be'elef lo batel, hu rak mi'derabanan*. Anyway, on and on, he adds from the חידושי הרי\"ם *Chidushei HaRim*, very, very beautiful idea from the ראש ישיבה *Rosh Yeshiva*, from ר' שאול אלתר *Reb Shaul Alter*. זוהר הקדוש *Zohar Hakadosh*, we're going to get past the first פסוק *pasuk*. I say every week, we will. I don't know how far past, but we're going to get past. We're going to get past. זוהר הקדוש *Zohar Hakadosh*, the רבשיץ *Rovshitzer* says וידבר השם אל משה במדבר סיני *Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe be'midbar Sinai*. Now we get to the topography, the geography. Why do we care where this was said? This message to count the Jewish people, this command was given where? במדבר *Ba'midbar*, in the desert. זוהר הקדוש *Zohar Hakadosh* says, הקדוש ברוך הוא חפץ להראות לישראל גודל כוח התורה שמשפלת עצמה לכל אחד ואחד *Hakadosh Baruch Hu chafetz le'haros le'Yisrael godel koach ha'Torah she'mashpeles atzma le'chol echad ve'echad*. Because Hashem wants us to realize that the Torah is not in some ivory tower. The Torah is not reserved only for the brightest and the best, the most brilliant. It's given to each and every person. נתנה תורה במדבר שהיא ארץ ציה ושממה ריקה מכל דבר טוב *Nisnah Torah ba'midbar she'hi eretz tziyah u'shemamah reikah mi'kol davar tov*. Hashem, the Torah was given specifically where? In a desert. A desert doesn't have all the bells and whistles. A desert doesn't have all the amenities. A desert is not a five-star resort. במקום נחש שרף ועקרב וצמאון *Be'makom nachash, saraf, ve'akrav, ve'tzimaon*. It's a place of drought, starvation, dangerous animals. שם משכן הקליפות הגדולות ומקום הפחות בעולם *Sham mishkan ha'klipos ha'gedolos u'makom ha'pachus ba'olam*. It is the lowliest, lowliest place in the world. A desert, a desolate, barren desert is the lowliest, emptiest place on earth. ודוקא במקום זה נתנה תורה לגילוי שכינה באוהל מועד *Ve'davka be'makom zeh nisnah Torah le'gilui shechina be'ohel moed*. כל זה בא להורות שהתורה נתנה לכל אחד מישראל ומורידה עצמה אפילו לפחותים שבהם *Kol zeh ba le'horos she'ha'Torah nitnah le'chol echad mi'Yisrael u'morida atzmah afilu le'pechusim she'behem*. Because the Torah is given to and accessible to. everyone. Doesn't matter who you are, what your lineage, what your background, what your Jewish education, where your starting point is. Doesn't matter how far you're fallen or what life you're living, the Torah is available to you. The Torah is the birthright and the heritage of every Jew. The five-star Jew and the desert desolate Jew. אין שם נפקא מינה Ein sham nafka mina, there is no נפקא מינה nafka mina. בכל זה גם איש כזה יכול ללמוד תורה, כי על התורה אין נפקא מינה אם שורשו במקום חשוב או לא, גדול או קטן. בכל מקום תוכל התורה לשרות B'chol zeh gam ish kazeh yachol lilmod Torah, ki al haTorah ein nafka mina im shorsho b'makom chashuv o lo, gadol o katan. B'chol makom tuchal haTorah lishrot. Torah can reside, Torah can be transmitted, Torah can be learned wherever you are. You can't, I need to be in the yeshiva, the right air conditioning, the bench has to have just the right amount of padding, I need the right חברותא chavrusa, I need the new ספר sefer, I need everything to be right. No. The Torah can follow, is available and accessible wherever you are and to each person wherever they are. ולכן לא יסתפק אדם בנפשו אם הוא ראוי לקבל תורה או לא V'lachen lo yistapek adam b'nafsho im hu ra'ui l'kabel Torah o lo. Don't get stuck and say, you know what I looked at at night all night on the internet? I'm going to learn Torah the next morning? You know how much לשון הרע lashon hara I speak? I'm going to learn Torah? You know how much I struggle to דאווען daven to Hashem, my אמונה emunah, I'm going to learn Torah? You know how limited my background is? I can't make sense. I don't know if to hold the book this way or hold the book this way. I can't make sense of these words, I can't read these letters. I'm going to learn Torah? A איד Yid, a Jew should never say that about themselves. No matter who we are, where we're from, no matter our background, no matter our level, no matter our starting point. No matter what we did all night long, the Torah was given in a desert, and even if we are and feel like a desert, the Torah is there for us. האמת שכל אחד מישראל, איזה מדריגה שהוא, ראוי לקבל את התורה, רק צריך להשכיל וללמוד Ha'emet shekol echad miYisrael, eizeh madrega shehu, ra'ui l'kabel et haTorah, rak tzarich l'haskil v'lilmod. Just get started. Just get started. Open a book, make a חברותא chavrusa, attend the שיעור shiur. Challenge yourself. Just get started and have your own personal קבלת התורה Kabbalas HaTorah. אזוי זאגט דער זרע קודש, דער רבשיצער Azoy zogt der Zera Kodesh, der Ropshitzer. The נועם אלימלך Noam Elimelech, all quoted by the אמרי שפר Imrei Shefer of רב אברהם משפיקא Rav Avraham Mashfika. The נועם אלימלך Noam Elimelech says, מדבר סיני Midbar Sinai is an allusion to something else. What is the prerequisite to receiving Torah? A person has to be like מדבר סיני Midbar Sinai. מדבר Midbar, a desert. Nobody's arrogant in the desert. Everybody's just fighting to survive. There's no room for arrogance in the desert. Nobody swells with pride. Look at my Hummer, look at my canteen, look at my... Everyone's just trying to survive. A desert is a place that humbles everybody. סיני Sinai was the lowest of all the mountains, the most humble of all the mountains. מרמז על ענוה שפלות והכנעה שהקדוש ברוך הוא בחר בהר סיני יותר מכל ההרים, כיוון שהוא נמוך מכולם. המדבר הרי הוא כיוצא בו, אינו מזרע כלום Meramez al anava, shiflut, v'hachna'ah sheHaKadosh Baruch Hu bachar b'Har Sinai yoter mikol haharim, keivan shehu namuch mikulam. Hamidbar harei hu k'yotzei bo, eino mazria klum. You can't plant anything, nothing takes root in a desert. A desert and הר סיני Har Sinai, what they have in common is humility. Said the נועם אלימלך, רב אלימלך מליז'נסק Noam Elimelech, Rav Elimelech m'Lizensk. And that's why the Torah is given במדבר סיני b'Midbar Sinai. That's why we care. We care about the topography and the geography because there is an embedded message. And the message is, if you want to receive the Torah next Tuesday night, if you want to be standing at the mountain next week, שבועות Shavuos, then you better work on getting humble between now and then. God doesn't give His Torah to arrogant people. You know why? You're not interested, you're not going to learn. You have nothing to learn. You're going to hear what Torah has to tell you? The arrogant person has all the answers. The arrogant person has a monopoly on the truth. The prerequisite to receiving Torah is hard reset, reboot, delete. I want you to tell me, השם Hashem. I want to download your message. I want to absorb and hear what you have to say. I want to read your blueprint and your instruction manual for the world. If you have all the answers, if you're arrogant, if you think you have monopoly on the truth, you're not a candidate to receive the Torah. That's why the Torah was given במדבר סיני באהל מועד b'Midbar Sinai b'Ohel Moed. ללמד את האדם מה הכנה שלו זוכה בקבלת התורה, צריך להקטין עצמו, להיות שפל בעיניו, בהכנעה וענוה כסיני וכמדבר L'lamed et ha'adam, mah hachanah shelo l'zchot b'kabbalas haTorah, tzarich l'haktin atzmo, l'hiyot shafal b'einav, b'hachna'ah v'anavah k'Sinai u'ch'midbar. Be like a desert. Be humble. Be humble. Be humble. להיות תמיד מוכנע גדול ונבזה בעיניו L'hiyot tamid muchna gadol v'nivzeh b'einav. A person has to be humble in order to be a candidate to receive the Torah. Now what's the problem? continues רב אלימלך Rav Elimelech. The problem is that if you're now so humble, you say, I'm just like a desert. איך בין א גארנישט Ich bin a gornisht. I'm a nothing. I'm a nobody. So I'm going to learn Torah? I'm a desert. I'm a barren, desolate, hopeless, helpless, pathetic, lowly desert. I'm going to learn Torah? If a person is so humble that they feel so inadequate and so unworthy, then they're never even going to start. So how does the פסוק pasuk continue? במדבר סיני, ב-אוהל מועד B'Midbar Sinai, b'Ohel Moed. אוהל מועד Ohel Moed. אוהל רומז על שמחה, מלשון אור יהל. מועד הוא לשון יום טוב שהוא יום שמחה. לרמז, צריך להתחזק ולהכניס בקירבו שמחה, אף על פי שהוא בהכנעה Ohel romez al simcha, milashon or yahel. Moed hu lashon Yom Tov shehu yom simcha. L'ramez, tzarich l'hischazek u'l'hachnis b'kirbo simcha, af al pi shehu b'hachna'ah. Humility shouldn't lead to sadness. Being humble shouldn't make you sad. Being humble should make you happy and joyous. I'm not competing, I'm not trying to keep up, I'm not comparing. I'm not, it's not about my כבוד kavod. Humility, being humble should bring joy. I'm humble and I'm happy, and now I want to learn. I want to soak it up. I want to download everything Hashem has to teach me. So therefore, that's the connection. במדבר סיני באהל מועד B'Midbar Sinai, b'Ohel Moed. That's the connection. The בת עין Bas Ayin, one more. The בת עין Bas Ayin on this פסוק pasuk brings from the אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh. למה בדעת המקום, הקדים המקום הכללי שהוא המדבר, והמקום הפרטי שהוא אוהל מועד Lama b'daas hamakom, hikdim hamakom haklali shehu hamidbar, v'hamakom haprati shehu Ohel Moed. We should have and then, we should have given the specific place, the Ohel Moed, and then the general place, the desert. And yet when it came to time, we said, in the, the first day of the second month, and then we say the second year. So which is it? Do we give the general then the specific or the specific then the general? There's a contradiction between the location and the time. When it comes to the location, first we give the general then the specific. When it comes to the time, first we give the specific and then the general. Says the בת עין Bas Ayin, עיקר ושורש העבודה הוא ענין אמונה ובטחון. בטח בהשם ועשה טוב Ikar v'shoresh ha'avodah hu inyan emunah u'bitachon. Betach baShem va'aseh tov. The whole purpose of the עיקר ikar, the core and the root of serving השם Hashem is to believe in him, is to have a relationship with him, is to speak to him and hear him speaking to you, is to feel his presence. מכיוון שיש לו לאדם טרדות הפרנסה, הוא עושה כל מיני השתדלות, ומתחכם להמציא פרנסתו. אבל אדם כל כך M'keivan sheyesh lo l'adam tirdos haparnasa, hu oseh kol minei hishtadlus, u'mischakem l'hamtzi parnasaso. Aval adam kol kach distracted, when a person is so overwhelmed, and a person is so confused by the need to earn פרנסה parnasah, זה גורם שיסבור לפרקים, שכוח ועוצם ידו עשה לו zeh gorem sheyisbor l'frakim, sheko'ach v'otzem yado asah lo. So a person mistakenly thinks that they're the one who earned. They're the one who earned. So what does the Torah say? חז\"ל Chazal say, לא ניתנה תורה אלא לאוכלי המן lo nitna Torah ela l'ochlei haman. The Torah was only given to those who eat the מן man. What does it mean eat the מן man? If you didn't eat, I didn't eat the מן man, you ate the מן man? So we're not candidates to receive the Torah? אוכלי המן Ochlei haman doesn't mean literally ate the מן man that fell from heaven. It means the attitude that all that we eat, all that we have, all that we buy, all that we serve, it's all like the מן man, it descends from שמים Shamayim, from השם Hashem. To live with a sense of בטחון bitachon, בטחון bitachon. לכתך אחרי במדבר בארץ לא זרועה Lechtech acharai bamidbar b'eretz lo zru'ah. To follow Hashem and to say, Hashem, I'm going into a מדבר midbar. I don't know where my next deal is coming from, my next paycheck is coming from. But you know what? I trust you. I love you. I surrender to you. I do my, take my initiative, I do my השתדלות hishtadlus, but after that, I let go and let God. כל ענין הקדושה תלוי במידת הבטחון Kol inyan hakdusha talui b'midas habitachon. You can't live with holiness unless you live with faith, with a relationship with השם Hashem. And that's what we're getting at. When we left למידבר l'midbar, we left with אמונה ובטחון emunah u'bitachon. לכתך אחרי במדבר Lechtech acharai bamidbar. And through that we got to the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed. By going through an attitude of בטחון bitachon and אמונה emunah through a מדבר midbar, we arrived at the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed. We arrived at the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed. And then we say באחד לחדש השני b'echad lachodesh hasheini, in the second month, the manna began to fall, בשנה השנית bashanah hashenit, לצאתם מארץ מצרים l'tzeisam mei'eretz Mitzrayim. That's how we leave Egypt. We leave that place of superstition, we leave that place of Egypt, when we trust and we have faith, we apply all that we've learned in this relationship with השם Hashem. פרק א, פסוק נג Perek aleph, pasuk nun gimmel. I told you we'd get past the first פסוק pasuk. Then we have the census of the Jewish people. And the census ends, top of page 732. וחנו בני ישראל איש על מחנהו ואיש על דגלו לצבאתם V'chanu Bnei Yisrael ish al machanehu v'ish al diglo l'tzivosam. The Jewish people encamped according to their logo, their emblem, their insignia, according to the way that they were commanded. והלוים יחנו סביב למשכן העדות V'haLeviim yachanu saviv l'Mishkan ha'eidus. ולא יהיה קצף על עדת בני ישראל V'lo yihyeh ketzef al adas Bnei Yisrael. And the לויים Leviim should encamp around the משכן Mishkan, around the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed, so that Hashem will not get angry. ושמרו הלוים את משמרת משכן העדות V'shamru haLeviim es mishmeres Mishkan ha'eidus, and the לויים Leviim will safeguard the watch of the משכן העדות Mishkan ha'eidus, of the משכן העדות Mishkan ha'eidus. What's going on here? What's going on here? In his introduction to ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar, the רמב\"ן Ramban writes that ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar revolves exclusively around the מצוות mitzvos that בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael were commanded at that specific time and the miracles that were performed with them. This was in order to relate all the acts that Hashem performed wondrously for them. The רמב\"ן Ramban writes that ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar is not really a book of מצוות mitzvos. ויקרא Vayikra, we had a ton of מצוות mitzvos. דברים Dvarim, we're going to have a ton of מצוות mitzvos. במדבר Bamidbar is about stories of השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis, divine providence, divine intervention, the miracles Hashem did for us. Now there are specific מצוות mitzvos in במדבר Bamidbar as well. There are מצוות mitzvos there as well, but that's not the purpose and that's not the theme. The theme of במדבר Bamidbar is השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis. Stories of Hashem of divine providence. It's what the כוזרי Kuzari is referring to when he writes that there was a certain godliness that descended on the Jewish people, the שכינה Shechinah that dwelt with the divine presence. What does that mean, the divine presence? So ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe in his introduction to שיעורי חומש Shiurei Chumash on פרשת במדבר Parshas Bamidbar, ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe says that השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis, divine providence, divine presence, the feeling that Hashem is intensely among us, is twofold. It manifests internally, the revelations a person has in their heart. It's Hashem, I feel your love, your support. I feel a purpose and mission. Hashem, I feel, I feel you. But that requires that a person be certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that Hashem is there. And additionally it manifests in השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis, not the internal feeling and awareness and consciousness and conversation with Hashem, but the external, this thing happened in this way, that was an incredible display of השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis, which in ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar was expressed by, according to the רמב\"ן Ramban, all the wondrous things that Hashem did for us. These two aspects of השגחה hashgacha are independent. השגחה פרטית Hashgacha pratis works in accordance with the revelation in the person's heart. If the situation is such that the revelation of the heart is firm and his believing is unwavering, then השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis will also be overt. But if the revelation in his heart is more hidden, then השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis will also be hidden. The רמב\"ם Rambam also writes, השגחה hashgacha, the divine providence, the divine intervention, the divine interference that we merit to get from Hashem is directly proportional to how much faith and trust we have in him. No different than any other relationship. If your children ask you for advice and reach out to you and are grateful to you and welcome your presence in their life, you lean in and you want to give more and more generously and be more present. If they say, butt out, mind your business, don't need you, don't want you, you say, no problem. I'll take my resources and my wisdom and my life experience, and I'll, I'll share it elsewhere. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu is the same. The more we lean in, the more invested, the more grateful, the more we ask for help, the more he responds. The less and the more we think arrogantly we could do it on our own, the less present he is. This thread of השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis runs throughout the entire פרשה parsha. In this פסוק pasuk, this פסוק pasuk we just read, what does it mean? The לויים Leviim are tasked with encamping around the משכן Mishkan, and the Torah warns, ולא יהיה קצף על עדת בני ישראל v'lo yihyeh ketzef al adas Bnei Yisrael, let God not get angry at the Jewish people. Why would he get angry? So רש\"י Rashi here says. זאגט רש\"י Zogt Rashi, ולא יהיה קצף v'lo yihyeh ketzef, אם תעשו כמצותי לא יהיה קצף, ואם לאו, שיכניסו זרים בעבודתם, זו יהיה קצף im ta'asu k'mitzvosai lo yihyeh ketzef, v'im lav, sheyachnisu zarim b'avodasam, zo yihyeh ketzef. If they do their job, Hashem won't get angry. But if they fail in their job, if they fail in their job, if they don't do the work they're entrusted to do, then Hashem is going to get angry. This פסוק pasuk, says ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe, can be understood in light of חז\"ל's Chazal's statement. חז\"ל Chazal say, even a foreman's appointment is ordained from שמים Shamayim, from heaven. Wherever we are and whatever we're tasked to do, whatever we're appointed to do, none of it is coincidental, nothing is random, nothing is chance, it all comes from Hashem. So a person should think carefully before dismissing himself or herself from a position of authority because the very fact that they were appointed to such a position is השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis. When the rabbi approaches you and says, will you chair this committee, will you work on this event, will you take on this responsibility, says ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe, be very careful before you say no. Because the very fact that you've been identified and asked, to speak at a סיום siyum, is השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis, is Hashem deciding this is your job, this is what you're meant to do. And just like here, ולא יהיה קצף על עדת בני ישראל lo yihyeh ketzef al adas Bnei Yisrael. If you turn down the task that you were asked to do, if you don't show up for your mission, because this world is not a place that we take from. We're not takers, we're givers. Life is not about rights and entitlements, it's about duties and obligations. It's about if I woke up this morning, what am I meant to do? Who am I meant to be? What difference am I meant to make? ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe related that when he was first a child, when his first child was born, it brought to mind the פסוק pasuk in תהלים Tehillim, מה אנוש כי תזכרנו ובן אדם כי תפקדנו mah enosh ki sizkerenu, u'ven adam ki sifkedenu. What is a person that you should remember him, and a man that you should be mindful of him? דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech says to Hashem, what are we? In the end of the day, who are we and what are we that you should remember us or be mindful of us? כי תפקדנו Ki sifkedenu. ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe translated כי תפקדנו ki sifkedenu as that you entrusted him with a deposit. If you're learning the דף daf right now, בבא מציעא Bava Metzia, you're learning about the ד' שומרים daled shomrim, the four types of guards. שומר חנם, שומר שכר, שואל, ושוכר Shomer chinam, shomer sachar, sho'el, v'socher. Four types of people who are responsible for guarding property. And the גמרא's Gemara's language is, if I give you something to watch, what's that called? That which I entrusted you to watch is called a פקדון pikadon. You're a שומר shomer, but the object that you're entrusted to guard is a פקדון pikadon. It's a deposit. It's a deposit. ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe טייטש'ט teitcht, he translated, ובן אדם כי תפקדנו u'ven adam ki sifkedenu, when הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu gives us a child, it's a פקדון pikadon. He's given us a deposit and we are the שומר shomer. A person becomes a parent, he should feel Hashem has given him a deposit, and he must care for in any situation that arises for the rest of his life. The pinnacle of השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis is being entrusted with a child. It elevates a person to a place that they are a partner with Hashem. If I give a שומר shomer something to watch, I'm trusting him. They are entrusted with this פקדון pikadon. When Hashem, something we should not take for granted at all. When Hashem, it's not a given, and we shouldn't take it for granted. And we דאווען daven for those who are waiting and longing. When Hashem enables someone to conceive, he's given the greatest vote of confidence in them. He's saying, I am inviting you to be my partner. I'm giving you this deposit. I'm making you a שומר shomer. מה אדם כי תפקדנו Mah adam ki sifkedenu. We make the ברכה bracha on מכין מצעדי גבר meichin mitzadei gaver, who prepares the footsteps of man, says ר' וולבה Rav Wolbe, we should bear in mind that wherever we may find ourselves, it was השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis that put us there. המכין מצעדי גבר Hameichin mitzadei gaver. Wherever we find ourselves, our footsteps, השגחה hashgacha, Hashem put us there. Like those women in London. A איד Yid, a Jew is never stuck. We're never stuck. Like the טשיבינער רב Chibiner Rav in Siberia, is what the בעלזער שר שלום Belzer Sar Shalom was telling him was, you're in the מדבר midbar? That's where you want. קול השם במדבר Kol Hashem bamidbar. Hashem wants you to speak to קול השם Kol Hashem. המכין מצעדי גבר Hameichin mitzadei gaver. Hashem prepares our footsteps. Wherever we go, wherever we are, it's not coincidental, it's not random or chance, it's all from above, it's all designed from Hashem. פרק ב', פסוק י\"ז Perek beis, pasuk yud zayin. The four formations, the Torah is now giving us the encampments and the four directions and it wasn't coincidental, each tribe, where they were designated and where they were meant to be, their coordinates. פרק ב', פרק ב', פסוק י\"ז Perek beis, pasuk yud zayin. 17. ונסע אוהל מועד מחנה הלוים בתוך המחנות, כאשר יחנו כן יסעו, איש על ידו לדגליהם V'nasa Ohel Moed machaneh haLeviim b'soch hamachanos, ka'asher yachanu kein yisa'u, ish al yado l'digleihem. איש על ידו לדגליהם Ish al yado l'digleihem. The פסוק pasuk says ונסע אוהל מועד מחנה הלוים v'nasa Ohel Moed machaneh haLeviim. פרק ב', פסוק י\"ז Perek beis, pasuk yud zayin. 17. The tent of meeting, the camp of the לויים Leviim should journey where? In the middle of the camps. The לויים Leviim, where was their place, their designation, their coordinates was בתוך המחנות b'soch hamachanos, in the center, in the center. On this, the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim. חפץ חיים על התורה Chofetz Chaim al haTorah writes, מכיוון שהתורה מונחת בארון שבאוהל מועד m'keivan shehaTorah munachas ba'aron sheb'Ohel Moed. Where is Torah housed? The לוחות luchos, the broken and the complete tablets, in the original sefer Torah were all contained where? In the ארון aron. And where was the ארון aron? In the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed. צריך אוהל מועד להיות תמיד בתוך המחנות Tzarich Ohel Moed l'hiyot tamid b'soch hamachanos. Torah has to be in the middle of all the camps. באמצע, לא קרוב ביותר לאחד, ולא רחוק ביותר לשני B'emtza, lo karov b'yoser l'echad v'lo rachok b'yoser l'sheini. Why does it have to be in the middle? Because no tribe can claim Torah's closer to me. I've got the truth of Torah. There's 12 שבטים shvatim now, 12 tribes. There's חסידות chasidus, there's ליטביש Litvish, there's אשכנז Ashkenaz, there's ספרדים Sefardim, there's all types of חסידות chasidus, there's all types of ליטביש Litvish. Nobody can claim, I've got the Torah closer to my מחנה machaneh. The Torah that's in my camp, that's the real Torah. You've got the counterfeit, you're wrong, you're distorted, you're perverted. Where is the Torah? בתוך המחנות B'soch hamachanos. Right in the middle. Everyone, equal access. There's different traditions we have. There are 12 tribes, but it goes right in the middle. כמו שהבימה באמצע בית הכנסת K'mo shehabimah b'emtza beis haknesses, just like the בימה bimah is right in the middle of the שול shul. כמו שעץ החיים היה נתון בתוך הגן K'mo she'Eitz HaChaim hayah natun b'soch hagan, just like the עץ החיים Eitz HaChaim was right in the middle of גן עדן Gan Eden. וגם התורה עץ חיים היא V'gam haTorah eitz chaim hi. The Torah is our tree of life. וכל צריכים להתרכז מסביבה והיא באמצע V'hakol tzrichim l'hitrakez mis'viva v'hi b'emtza. Everyone has to surround it and the Torah is right inside, right inside, and right inside all of us. A very powerful image that the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim is giving us that שבט לוי Shevet Levi traveled in the center of the camp, and the Torah was right in the center of their tribe, so that Torah and the ארון aron would be the coordinates right in the middle of everything. Like the עץ החיים Eitz HaChaim was the middle of גן עדן Gan Eden. The משכן Mishkan, which is Torah, is the center point around which life revolves. It is the central point of our lives. Not having the biggest house or the nicest car, certainly not getting into any Ivy League, which would be insane to ever go to. That's not the aspiration of a Jew. The centerpiece of our life, the focus of our life is the Torah. That's why it's in the center. And says the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim, it's not closer to this one or that one, it's not in this מחנה machaneh or that מחנה machaneh, it doesn't belong to this tribe or that tribe. It goes right in the middle, equally accessible, equally owned, equally the birthright of all. פרק ג, פסוק א Perek gimmel, pasuk aleph. Page 736. ואלה תולדות אהרן ומשה ביום דבר השם את משה בהר סיני V'eileh toldos Aharon u'Moshe b'yom diber Hashem es Moshe b'Har Sinai. These are the offspring of Aharon and Moshe on the day that Hashem spoke with Moshe on הר סיני Har Sinai. Says ר' יוסף סולובייצ'יק Rav Yosef Soloveitchik going to the רב סולובייצ'יק חומש Rav Soloveitchik Chumash. We are all acquainted with the עקדה Akeidah that, this is a very powerful רב Rav. Listen to this. We never think of it in this way, incredibly powerful and incredibly important. We're all acquainted with the עקדה Akeidah. If I say the word עקדה Akeidah, who in our history made the ultimate sacrifice or was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice of giving his son? What would you answer? אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, אברהם Avraham. But we do not pay sufficient attention to an עקדה Akeidah that was carried out by משה Moshe. משה's Moshe's עקדה Akeidah was perhaps more awesome and terrifying than אברהם's Avraham's. After אברהם Avraham offered יצחק Yitzchak, the two of them returned to הר המוריה Har HaMoriah with great happiness, but משה Moshe never experienced this satisfaction. In his case, the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam requested and received his sacrifice. The simple right to leave a last will and testament, to die in one's own bed, surrounded by his own children, was denied to משה Moshe. משה Moshe died alone on a mountain. Before he died, he did not lay his hands on גרשום Gershom or אליעזר Eliezer, his sons, but rather on יהושע Yehoshua. משה's Moshe's power was bestowed on יהושע Yehoshua and not on his own progeny. More tragic still was the fact that משה's Moshe's children do not appear in the book of Jewish genealogy. Right now when we're tracing the children of משה Moshe, you don't find his biological children's names. משה Moshe twice counted כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael and counted the tribe of לוי Levi. Initially Torah says, these are the descendants of אהרן Aharon and משה Moshe on the day that Hashem spoke to משה Moshe on הר סיני Har Sinai. Torah should have listed the generations of משה Moshe, his own children, along with the generations of אהרן Aharon. Yet, the subsequent פסוקים psukim ignore משה Moshe entirely and center around אהרן Aharon alone. The Torah is silent. Where are משה's Moshe's children? Where are the generations of משה Moshe? The Torah doesn't tell us. משה Moshe did not merit the normal satisfaction of flesh and blood to be reborn through a child, to live again through the child, to feel the great joy that upon his own death, his progeny will remain. משה Moshe had two children and of course he loved them both, the same way that אברהם Avraham loved יצחק Yitzchak. The Creator asked both אברהם Avraham and משה Moshe to give up their children, to sacrifice them on the altar. Unlike אברהם Avraham, no angel called to משה Moshe, don't stretch out your hand. The knife mercilessly tore apart the relationship between משה Moshe, גרשום Gershom and אליעזר Eliezer. In the book of שופטים Shoftim, משה's Moshe's son גרשום Gershom was not designated as בן משה Ben Moshe, but בן מנשה Ben Menashe because משה's Moshe's children no longer belong to him. For the receiver of the Torah, for the teacher of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, it's prohibited to have a connection to one's family. He's the father of Israel. Every Jew has an equal share in him. It is prohibited for one individual to have a closer relationship than anyone else. משה's Moshe's Torah must be inherited equally by all. The Torah is analogized to a desert in the sense that it is free to all for the taking. The receiver of the Torah, in this sense, משה Moshe, is also a desert, belonging to everyone. The burning bush, Hashem told Moshe, take off your shoes, take your shoes off your feet, cast off any private matters, your human personal needs, because your place in the history of Jewish people is filled with sanctity and purity. It is prohibited for you to involve yourself in private family life. Wow. What an insight of the רב Rav. אברהם Avraham, we know the way the story ends, so we celebrate. He walks back together with יצחק Yitzchak, he survived. Wow. משה Moshe ultimately ends up sacrificing his children, the עקדה Akeidah of משה Moshe. And the evidence is right here in this census. We don't associate his children with him. They are not listed as his progeny. Who are his progeny? Aharon's children, all of us, everyone that he bequeathed and taught the Torah to, we become his children. That is an incredible, incredible, incredible image of the price that משה Moshe pays, the price that משה Moshe pays. Rashi quotes based on the גמרא Gemara in Sanhedrin 19b. אינם מזכיר אלא בני אהרן einam mazkir ela Bnei Aharon. The children of Aharon are called תולדות משה toldos Moshe. Why? שלמדם תורה shelimdam Torah. Moshe taught Torah. וכל המלמד את בן חבירו תורה, מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו ילדו v'chol hamelamed es ben chavero Torah, ma'aleh alav hakasuv k'ilu yelado. And we learn from here that anyone who teaches children to someone else, it is as if they gave birth to them. We spoke in the past, we quoted from the של\"ה Shlah and we quoted from פוסקים poskim, שלמה קלוגר Shlomo Kluger and others, that one can fulfill the מצווה mitzvah of פרו ורבו pru u'revu. Someone who doesn't have biological children of their own, by teaching Torah, supporting Jewish education, sponsoring yeshivas, growing Jewish community, they fulfill the מצווה mitzvah to have children. Why? What's the purpose of the מצווה mitzvah of פרו ורבו pru u'revu to have children? The purpose of having children is continuing the Jewish mission and purpose. If a person can't biologically do it, but they can support and enable it, they can teach Torah to others, literally or by supporting it, they have had children. The של\"ה הקדוש Shlah HaKadosh says, כאילו ילדו ולא ילדו ממש, אדרבא, הוא ילדו בעצמו k'ilu yelado v'lo yelado mamash, adraba, hu yelado b'atzmo. It's you're giving birth. Parents, biological parents, they bring a child physically into this world, but the rebbi who teaches them Torah, the parents can be the same, by the way. It's not either or. The parents could both physically birth a child and spiritually birth a child. That's the ideal. But those who spiritually birth the child are also birthing a child. ר' יצחק אלחנן Rav Yitzchak Elchanan, ר' יצחק אלחנן Rav Yitzchak Elchanan's Spector in his sefer ספר עין יצחק Sefer Ein Yitzchak quotes from חז\"ל Chazal. הלא פרוס לרעב לחמך, אין רעב אלא רעב מדברי תורה, הנה ימים באים ושלחתי רעב בארץ. מכאן אמרו יש אדם שהוא מאויין דברי תורה, יפרנס מסורסו גם כן כדי שיתרחב חכמתו לו ומוסיפים לו עליו Ha'lo fros l'ra'ev lachmecha, ein ra'av ela ra'av midivrei Torah, hinei yamim ba'im v'shilachti ra'av ba'aretz. Mikan amru, yesh adam shehu me'uyan divrei Torah, yefarnes misoraso gam kein kedei she'titzrachav chachmaso lo u'mosifin lo alav. Teaching Torah, quenching the thirst of a Jew, outreach, inspiring others, supporting outreach, supporting Jewish community, supporting Jewish continuity, supporting yeshivas and kollelim, supporting shuls and Torah learning, you're giving birth to children. Torah is meant not only to be learned, Torah is meant to be taught. Torah is meant to be taught. Torah is not ours alone. We learn Torah to position us to give birth through teaching that Torah to other people. You know, on the recent fly-in, every year with the chevra, we fly in to New York, we meet with Roshei Yeshiva and Rebbes and community leaders. We met with the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Betzalel Rudinsky, shlita. Big talmid chacham in Monsey, the great Rav Rudinsky. So when we met with him, we talked about, he's mamash, unbelievable talmid chacham. Unbelievable super genius. I said, how do you do it? How do you learn Torah in such a way that you remember it? That you remember it the way that you do? So he told us, he quoted from Rav Ovadia Yosef. Rav Ovadia said, Rav Ovadia also was a super genius. Rav Ovadia had maybe a photographic memory, but he worked diligently to learn too. It wasn't just a gift that he got from birth that he relied upon, he worked tirelessly. So Rav Ovadia said, how did he merit to remember so much Torah? Because every time he learned something, he learned it with the intent to share it. I'm learning something that I'm going to share, I'm going to teach, I'm going to give over to somebody else. I'm not acquiring something only to myself. So when you learn something only for yourself, it's a תורת יחיד Toras yachid. You've turned the Torah into an individual, a personal, a selfish Torah. But even while you're first learning something, you say, I heard a great וורט vort. I can't wait to say this at my שבת Shabbos table. I can't wait to go home and tell this to my spouse. I can't wait to tell this to my grandchildren when they come over to wish me a good שבת Shabbos. I'm listening and I'm learning with the intent to begin with that it's not my own, a תורת יחיד Toras yachid, it's a תורת רבים Toras rabbim, it's a תורת הכלל Toras haklal. I'm going to share it with others. You know the גרא Gra says, ברכת התורה Birkas HaTorah, the ברכה bracha that we say on Torah, you don't say on הרהור תורה hirhur Torah. Only when you speak it, when you say it, or if you write it, that's what obligates you to say a ברכת התורה Birkas HaTorah. But if you're thinking Torah, you're not obligated in a ברכת התורה Birkas HaTorah. And the נצי\"ב Netziv explains why. Why do you only make the ברכה bracha when you're going to speak or write the Torah? Because the ברכה bracha of לעסוק בדברי תורה la'asok b'divrei Torah is ללמד l'lamed. It's a learning which includes that you're going to teach. The whole essence of learning Torah is not to keep it to yourself. The whole essence of learning Torah is a learning to share, to teach, to give birth, to inspire, to elevate, to enrich, to empower. If a person learns on their own, it's a very self-centered Torah, it's a תורת יחיד Toras yachid. Like the פסוק pasuk says, it should be a תורת חסד Toras chesed. תורת חסד על לשונה Toras chesed al leshonah. כי יש תורה שאינה של חסד Ki yesh Torah she'einah shel chesed? If you keep it to yourself, it's a Torah that's not of חסד chesed. But if, Rav Rudinsky said, this was his advice to us. Everything you learn, if you want to remember it, the best way to acquire it and make it your own and really remember it is to learn it with the original intent. When you're first learning it, the כוונה kavanah is, I'm not learning this for me. I'm learning this in a way and a manner I'm going to share. I'm going to give it over to others, and through that, to give birth to others, to give birth to others, to have hundreds or thousands of children all over the world. If you're in a position to teach Torah, it's the greatest blessing on the planet. Wow, what a ברכה bracha to teach Torah. But if you could sponsor, this is not a solicitation, the global campaign is over. But I'm telling you not for me. Although I'd be happy to take it. I'm telling you for you, for us, that if we can sponsor תורה Torah learning, sponsor a שיעור shiur, sponsor a series, sponsor a ישיבה yeshiva, sponsor a program, sponsor a שול shul, sponsor and enable and empower more people to learn תורה Torah, you're populating the Jewish world. You're creating Jewish continuity. And if a person wants a סגולה sgulah, a person is דאווענען davening for their own children, for grandchildren, דאווענען davening for others they know to have children, you can help them have children, give birth to children by supporting תורה Torah learning. That's what Rabbi Yochanan is saying. That's what we say, that's what we learn. אלה תולדות אהרן ומשה Eileh toldos Aharon u'Moshe. כל המלמד בן חבירו תורה כאילו ילדו Kol hamelamed ben chaveiro Torah, ke'ilu yelado. We should be זוכה zocheh to have many of our own children and many spiritual children. May we hear בשורות טובות besoros tovos, ישועות ונחמות yeshuos v'nechamos.
