Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov, welcome back to פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. We have the privilege of reading and learning פרשת כי תבא Parshas Ki Savo, extracting some lessons and perspectives to inspire our life today. I want to thank as always our generous series sponsors, Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father David Grossman. Our learning is לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנשה l'ilui nishmas David ben Menachem Manash. I'm also excited to dedicate this morning's שיעור shiur to Noam Burger and Michal Raskin, who I believe just got engaged today in Israel. Noam only last week completed his מילואים miluim, his service fighting on the front lines of the Jewish people. I met Noam on WhatsApp and honored that we learn together online, apparently listens to the שיעורים shiurim. Very excited, a huge מזל טוב mazel tov to Noam and Michal, should build a beautiful בית נאמן בישראל bayis ne'eman b'Yisrael, and a big, big מזל טוב mazel tov to them both.Okay, כי תבא Ki Savo is page 1,068 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. And the פרשה parsha begins: והיה כי תבא אל הארץ אשר ה' אלקיך נותן לך נחלה v'haya ki savo el ha'aretz asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lecha nachala. And it happens when we enter the land that God gives us, וירשתה וישבת בה v'rishta v'yashavta ba. We should possess it and we should settle it, inhabit it, we should live there. Perhaps there's a מצוה mitzva in the Torah to live in Israel, a big debate. Is there a formal מצוה mitzva? Is it a prerequisite, an assumption? Is it a מצוה mitzva like a מצוה קיומית mitzva kiyumis, you fulfill it if you do it, but maybe not חיובית chiyuvis, you're obligated? A big discussion. But what's clear is the centrality of Israel in our lives. We are here outside of Israel temporarily, it's impermanent. It's a stopover. We're just בדרך baderech, we're on our way. The destination where we really belong, where Judaism really comes together. עם ישראל, ארץ ישראל, תורת ישראל Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, Toras Yisrael, the three are integrated most, Hashem's design and formula for our lives is in the land. And therefore the Torah takes that as an assumption. This is Moshe's soliloquy, his monologue to the Jewish people, when you enter the land, there is a מצוה mitzva. And what's that מצוה mitzva? ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה אשר תביא מארצך אשר ה' אלקיך נותן לך V'lakachta me'reishis kol pri ha'adama asher tavi mei'artzecha asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lach. Take first of every fruit on the ground that you bring into the land. ושמת בטנא והלכת אל המקום אשר יבחר ה' אלקיך לשכן שמו שם v'samta batene v'halachta el hamakom asher yivchar Hashem Elokecha l'shakein shmo sham, and bring it to that place that the שכינה Shechina, that God is a שכן shochen, an accessible, close neighbor, chooses to dwell. And as we've alluded to many times, Torah here does not give us the address, does not give us the coordinates, does not give us exactly where that place is, because the Torah wants us to search, to yearn, to intuit, to be spiritually attuned and magnetically pulled to find that place. So it doesn't tell us ירושלים Yerushalayim explicitly. It doesn't say where the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash is, just tells us to the place that God chose לשכן שמו שם l'shakein shmo sham. And then the Torah goes on and gives us the specifics. Put it in the basket. ובאת אל הכהן V'veisa la'kohen, ועשה לכהן v'asa la'kohen, come to the כהן kohen, present the basket, lift it, shake it, and a certain recitation, a certain formula that we recite, something that we say.So I want to begin, we've discussed this many times in the past. Each year we try to bring new perspectives. You could listen to previous year's פרשה שיעורים parsha shiurim, it's the same פרשה parsha, the same topics, but hopefully bringing some new perspectives. The פרשה parsha begins with this מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim. The farmer has to bring the first fruit. So the farmer's tracking that bud, the first fruit that's presenting from a tree, the farmer ties a ribbon around, a bow around, therefore designates it, identifies it, and when the time comes to pluck that first fruit to bring it to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, present to the כהן kohen, and make this special proclamation, the מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim. The מדרש Medrash tells us that in the merit of three things the world was created, in the merit of three things. And one of them is בזכות מצות ביכורים b'schus mitzvas bikkurim. Why? How does ביכורים bikkurim make the list? We have 613 מצוות mitzvos and ביכורים bikkurim is lovely. The image of the first fruit and gratitude for our first and bringing it to ירושלים Yerushalayim, and the ceremony that accompanies it, it's a beautiful image. But it's one of 613. Why in that merit was the Torah given? It's such an exciting מצוה mitzva that it drives creation. And moreover, the שפת אמת Sfas Emes wonders, why do we read the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim specifically before ראש השנה Rosh Hashana? What are we supposed to take away from this מצוה mitzva that helps orient and anchor this time of year, helps us get ready and look forward to ראש השנה Rosh Hashana and the year that will be. So I want to share with you an insight a little bit my own, a little bit I've seen in others, a little bit from the Ger ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva רב שאול אלתר, שליט\"א Rav Shaul Alter, shlita, a beautiful, beautiful insight that he adds to this as well.In this proclamation, and we're all familiar with the proclamation that the farmer says when he brings the first fruit. Where do we know it from? Not only because we read פרשת כי תבא Parshas Ki Savo each year, but we're familiar with it from the פסח סדר Pesach Seder. The farmer doesn't just present the fruit and express gratitude, he goes all the way back to the beginning. ארמי אובד אבי וירד מצרימה Arami oved avi vayeired Mitzrayima. My forefather Yaakov settled in Egypt, and then there was oppression and persecution, then there were miracles of יציאת מצרים Yetzias Mitzrayim, and then he took us into Israel, then I got this farm. Why do we go all the way back? Why don't we just pick up with thank you for the fruit? I have a first fruit. Look at my mango. Look at my orange. Look at my grapefruit. Thank you, Hashem. I don't take it for granted that this tree produced a fruit. Why do I have to go all the way back to creation? Six days God created the world, and then my great-great-grandparents are born, and then we went through this, and then we went there, and then we migrated here. Why are we adding too much? Why are we adding too much?So we've spoken in the past in answer to that question that gratitude is not only about that moment, gratitude is a bigger and broader picture. And when I've mentioned this in the past, I gave the example, often at a family שמחה simcha, often at a family שמחה simcha, when the grandparents speak, they'll talk about not just the בר מצוה bar mitzvah boy, not just the couple, the שבע ברכות sheva brachos, they'll talk about their parents and their grandparents, what we escaped, where we lived, when we emigrated, how we rebuilt. Don't think this moment is an isolated moment, came on its own. See it as part of a bigger picture, see it as part of a bigger perspective, understand and know where you come from and what it took to get here. And the gratitude is not just for this בר מצוה bar mitzvah, and the gratitude is not just for this שבע ברכות sheva brachos, the gratitude is for your great-great-grandparents surviving what they survived, coming here and where we are. We've said that past in the past. But I want to give a different answer. There's an anomaly in this מצוה mitzva. The farmer didn't just FedEx some fruit. He doesn't throw the fruit in the back of the car and drop them off. He doesn't call a reverse Uber Eats to bring his fruit to ירושלים Yerushalayim. The משניות mishnayos in ביכורים Bikkurim describe a lengthy, celebratory, ornate, elaborate, ostentatious ceremony. It's filled with pomp and circumstance. The people would line the streets, and there was an entourage, and they would escort the farmer. The animals in the parade would be adorned in gold, instruments and a band and a symphony would come and they would play. You'd hire one or two or three of the most famous and popular Jewish music singers of the day. And there was an entire, it's like a typical wedding now, but there was an entire ceremony and pomp and circumstance for the bringing of this little first fruit, a little fig, a little פיגלה figela. Not all first fruit, I gave some bad examples before, but a fig, we're talking about the מינים minim. The honor and distinction awarded the otherwise anonymous farmer is very beautiful. But why only for this מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim? Where is the parallel parade when the farmer harvests all that grows on his field and separates תרומות ומעשרות trumos and *maisros*, takes the tithe? When you add up all the tithing responsibility, תרומה גדולה truma gedola, מעשר ma'aser, מעשר עני ma'aser ani, מעשר שני ma'aser sheini, depending on the year, the farmer's taking approximately 20% of his or her income and giving it to charity. And when the farmer harvests their field, takes 20% and designates it for others, you know who's watching? Nobody. You know who's playing music? Nobody. You know who's applauding and caring? Absolutely nobody. So 20%, nobody cares, and a little fig because you tied a little ribbon and you brought it, we make a parade and an entourage and pomp and circumstance and glory. What is the difference? What is the difference between the two? רב שאול אלתר Rav Shaul Alter also expands on these questions.The חז\"ל Chazal in ספרי Sifrei writes, when you enter the land, כי תבוא אל הארץ ki savo el ha'aretz. And the מדרש medrash understands we merit entering the land in the זכות zchus, in the merit of the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim. The מפרשים meforshim ask, רב שאול אלתר Rav Shaul Alter asks, the Ger ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva asks, what do you mean you merit entering the land because of the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim? You can't fulfill the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim until when? You enter the land. So it's circular logic. How can you say we inherit the land, we we merit the land because of the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim? We don't fulfill the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim until we're in the land. Another question. And רב שאול אלתר Rav Shaul Alter asks some more, in this comparison to תרומה truma, which is also called ראשית reishis. It's also called first. Both may be eaten only by כהנים kohanim, but the locations are different. תרומה Truma can be eaten where? All over Israel. Any place with the sanctity of Israel. Whereas ביכורים bikkurim, the first fruit, have to be eaten exclusively where? Only in ירושלים Yerushalayim. תרומה Truma is only taken from produce that has been detached from the ground. Once you've harvested the field, now you separate the תרומה truma. Whereas ביכורים bikkurim is set aside from the very beginning of its growth. You identify that first bud, that first growth, you tie that ribbon before it's separated, before it's ripened, before it's fully grown. Another difference, another distinction between the two, between the two. Fruits become ביכורים bikkurim and are swallowed up at the very beginning of their existence before the owner can enjoy their crop. And until תרומה truma is separated, all the produce is forbidden as טבל tevel. So when you tie the ribbon around that first fig, all the other figs you can enjoy, pluck, take, eat, enjoy. But תרומה truma, all the food is considered טבל tevel until you separate the תרומה truma, the rest of the food is forbidden. So there are three, four, five, six fundamental differences between ביכורים bikkurim, to separate that first fruit and all these other rules and laws of separating something for the farmer and bringing it to the land, why the difference between?So the answer lies in a difference between מעשר ma'aser and ביכורים bikkurim. And the difference I would suggest to you this morning is the following. One is retrospective and one is prospective. When מעשר ma'aser is given and תרומה truma is given, and when the ביכורים bikkurim are offered are fundamentally different. When do you give תרומה truma and מעשר ma'aser? After harvesting, after collecting, after gathering, after bringing the income in for the season. So you sit with your accountant and you say, I have this many דונם dunam, I have this many acres, I have this many fields, and here's the harvest that my fields yielded this year. So I need to separate, this goes to this, that one goes to that, 20% goes. But what are you left with? It's not complicated math, people. Thank you. You're left with 80%. So yes, up to 20% is distributed, but 80% is in front of you, is extant, you take home, you enjoy, you benefit from, and you see it. What about ביכורים bikkurim? Rashi quotes the Gemara in בבא מציעא Bava Metzia, אדם יורד לתוך שדהו, ראה תאנה שביכרה, כורך עליה גמי לסימן ואומר הרי זו ביכורים adam yored l'soch sadeihu, ra'ah te'eina she'bikkera, korech aleha gemi l'siman v'omer harei zu bikkurim. A person goes down to the field, sees a fig first blossoming, ties a ribbon around it, designates it, and pledges, I'm bringing this to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. I'm giving this to the כהן kohen. This is for God. And what does the farmer know he's getting at that moment, at that time? What else does he see or have? גארנישט Gornisht. Nothing. Nothing. All there is is the beginning of the first fig. And in that moment, not knowing what else they're going to get, not knowing what else they'll harvest, not knowing what other income they'll bring in, not knowing what else they'll have, will there be a hurricane? Will terrorists come take their land, raid their field? Will pestilence destroy the crop? When the farmer brings ביכורים bikkurim, they have no confidence or certainty, no idea what the future will bring, and they bring it nonetheless. And yet the Torah says, without security, without knowing what the future holds, stop and take your first fruit and celebrate that moment. And most importantly, what is at the core of ביכורים bikkurim? Be grateful. Stop, pause, and say, I don't know what will be. I don't know what will happen. I don't know what I'll bring in. I don't know what I'll have. I don't know what will happen. But for this fig, it's worth stopping to say thank you. And not only for this fig, because you know my family went down to Egypt. My family survived the Holocaust. My family were expelled from a country. My family came and lived through the Great Depression. My family had to survive getting fired every שבת Shabbos when they refused to work. Not just for this first fig, but what did it take? What were the odds that I would be here right now and in this moment? And so true, in contrast to תרומה truma and מעשר ma'aser to the tithing where 80%, yeah, 20% I'm giving away. But you're not a hero. You don't get a parade, no musical accompaniment. You know why? Because you get to take home 80% of that paycheck. You know what you're going to have. You know how you could live. You can set up your life for that year. But when it comes to ביכורים bikkurim, that first fig, you have no knowledge. And you're willing to give it away anyway. You stop and you pause and you say thank you without knowing what is to come, with gratitude for everything it took to get you there. Wow. We want to watch. We want to applaud. We want to play music. We want an entourage and a parade. We want to promote that attitude, that mentality, that philosophy that with uncertainty and with unknown, we stop, we pause and we are grateful. And maybe that's what it means the world was created in the זכות zchus of ביכורים bikkurim. Because the world, our personal world needs gratitude and appreciation, even or especially when we face uncertainty. When we look back at the challenges and the hardships and the struggles and the sadness and the loss, on the one hand, it makes us sad, but on the other hand it makes us all the more grateful for the little fig of life, for the little moments, for the little micro-moments of gratitude. No matter how small, no matter how big, no matter how bountiful, no matter how plentiful, no matter how puny, no matter how pathetic, if it's just this fig, but what were the odds we would be here? So we pause and we say thank you. And that farmer, that farmer looks at his new fruit, he doesn't just see new fruit, he sees everything it took to get him, and feel grateful for that. And I would suggest to you, different when the שפת אמת Sfas Emes answers, that maybe, maybe that's why we read ביכורים bikkurim before ראש השנה Rosh Hashana. Because we're at that time of year that there's so much uncertainty, so much anxiousness of what the future holds, we don't know what comes next. But it's דוקא davka in this moment, this precipice, this transition point between the past year and the next year that we stop and we say thank you. We say thank you.And if that's true in every year, all the more so that's true in this year. Think about last ראש השנה Rosh Hashana. None of us could have imagined when we דאווענט davened last ראש השנה Rosh Hashana what we were דאווענען davening for. None of us could have pictured שמיני עצרת שמחת תורה Shmini Atzeres Simchas Torah, October 7th, and almost 12 months, almost a year now that hostages wouldn't be home, the longest soldiers have fought in a war in Israel's history, this stretch. None of us could have imagined, none of us knew, none of us, and what do we know about what the year ahead will bring? Please God, so much better, only good things, only בשורות טובות besoros tovos, we're due good news. But none of us know. And it's in this moment of uncertainty that the lesson and the message of ביכורים bikkurim is nevertheless pause and stop and say thank you for the little things. But here's the thing. We don't just say thank you. There's a הלכה halacha. The Torah commands us with מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim. It's in פסוק ה pasuk hey. וענית ואמרת לפני ה' אלקיך ארמי אבד אבי V'anisa v'amarta lifnei Hashem Elokecha, arami oved avi. And here's the formula, here's the recitation, here's the text, here's the liturgy, here's what we say. וענית ואמרת V'anisa v'amarta. Answer and recite. And Rashi on our פרשה parsha, based on the Gemara in מסכת סוטה, דף ל\"ב Maseches Sotah, daf lamed beis, explains the word וענית v'anisa, could have just said ואמרת v'amarta, recite, say the formula. Why וענית ואמרת v'anisa v'amarta? זאגט Zogt Rashi, וענית v'anisa refers to בקול רם b'kol ram, הרמת קול haramas kol. Don't just whisper. In a loud voice, scream thank you. Don't just say thank you, thank you. Could be some of my kid, what do you say? Thank you. No, thank you. Thank you. A big thank you. בהרמת קול Ba'haramas kol. Why does it have to be בהרמת קול ba'haramas kol? We don't have this when it comes to other things. There's no obligation when we make a ברכה bracha, when you say שמע Shma, שמונה עשרה Shmona Esrei is the silent עמידה amida. And yet the מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim is בהרמת קול ba'haramas kol, scream it out. Said רב דוד קראנגלאס Rav Dovid Kronglas, the משגיח mashgiach of נר ישראל Ner Yisrael in a שיחה sicha, חכמה ומוסר Chochmah u'Mussar, you know why מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim have to be בקול רם b'kol ram? He says the following. He says, you know when people scream out? When they're in a crisis. Hashem, I need you. It's an emergency. There's a crisis. Bring the hostages home, let the soldiers be victorious. Someone is sick, give them a רפואה שלמה refuah shleima. Someone wants to get married, someone's trying to have children. There's a crisis, there's an emergency. Hashem, we need you. When do we scream בקול רם b'kol ram? When there's an emergency, urgency, a crisis. And when it comes to afterwards, we tend to, thank you, if we remember at all, we just move on. So the הלכה halacha of הרמת קול haramas kol in the context of מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim is that our thank you has to be as loud as our I need you. Usually we scream our I need you and we whimper, we whisper our thank you. Our thank you has to be as loud as our I need you. So that's on the cusp of ראש השנה Rosh Hashana, that's why we read מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim when we do and how we do, and that's why it explains, רב שאול אלתר Rav Shaul Alter explains, that's why the differences between these laws. And as עלי דרשא ali d'rasha he says, when you separate תרומה truma, a person gives Hashem a portion of his produce, and after that their affairs are settled, they know what they have. But ביכורים bikkurim is prospective. ביכורים Bikkurim you don't know yet know what you're going to have. So he uses that difference to explain all those differences in the הלכה halacha. תרומה Truma can be eaten anywhere in Israel because it's holy, consecrated food. It could be eaten, has to be in Israel, but across Israel. But ביכורים bikkurim is special. You don't yet know what you're going to have. That is reserved for ירושלים Yerushalayim, the sanctity of ירושלים Yerushalayim. And תרומה truma only when it's separated, ביכורים bikkurim even when it's attached. And all these laws can be explained with this special understanding of the difference between it. And concludes the Ger ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, we have to take this lesson to heart. We do our best to serve Hashem properly and fulfill all of the מצוות mitzvos. But sometimes we do it for the wrong reasons. Our honor, our כבוד kavod, our child's שידוך shidduch. We don't want to be punished. We do it for the wrong reasons. So ביכורים bikkurim teaches us, reminds us to do it for the right reasons. We're doing it and we're gifting it to Hashem. ראשית Reishis, this is the beginning of everything. This little fig. Hashem, I put in my all, I planted, I plowed, I watered, I nurtured, and then I take the result and I give it to you. I don't even get to enjoy because it's all for you. I was created to serve you. It's all for you, and that's what it is about. And that explains in the beginning of our פרשה parsha this opening, this difference, and why there's so much surrounding, why there's so much surrounding the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim.Now, in understanding ביכורים bikkurim, it's important to not only see the beginning of our פרשה parsha, but as we often do, the סמיכות פרשיות smichas parshios, the juxtaposition, the contrast, the continuum of where something appears relative to what comes after it and what comes before it. So what came before ביכורים bikkurim? The end of last week's פרשה parsha. What's the end of last week's פרשה parsha? Don't forget what Amalek did. The evil, wicked, nefarious Amalek who snuck up on you. And when you read last week at the end of כי תצא Ki Savo, זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק zachor es asher asa lecha Amalek. They came and they attacked us from behind. Who did they go after? The women and the children, the innocent and the vulnerable. And the Amalek of our time, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, the Hamas members of our time, the the Amalek of our time. Equally, who did Hamas go after? They went after the vulnerable and the fragile and the children whom they still have and we דאווענען daven for their return. So what's the connection between Amalek at the end of last week and ביכורים bikkurim the beginning of this week? There's a מחלוקת machlokes in the Gemara in יבמות Yevamos on דף ד' daf dalet. Are we דורש סמוכין doresh smuchin? Do we extrapolate, do we learn, do we derive lessons from where the פרשיות parshios fall out? Even according to the one who holds we're not דרשנים סמוכים darshanim smuchim, he agrees that in משנה תורה Mishneh Torah we're דורש סמוכים doresh smuchim. Even though in the first four books, don't derive too much from where things appear, even that opinion says in the fifth book, in the book of דברים Dvarim, דורש סמוכים doresh smuchim, we do learn from the juxtaposition. So everyone agrees in the fifth book of the Torah and דברים Dvarim, we do learn. So what's there to learn? What's the connection? The end of פרשת בשלח Parshas Beshalach, the Jews are attacked by Amalek. The פסוק pasuk preceding this event says, ויקרא שם המקום מסה ומריבה, על ריב בני ישראל ועל נסותם את ה' לאמר היש ה' בקרבנו אם אין vayikra shem hamakom Massa u'Meriva, al riv bnei Yisrael v'al nasosam es Hashem leimor hayesh Hashem b'kirbeinu im ayin. And then immediately it follows, ויבא עמלק vayavo Amalek. That we asked and we wondered, is God amongst us, is God amidst us or not? And then ויבא עמלק vayavo Amalek, right after we demonstrated doubt, right after we expressed a little crack, a little doubt, that's when Amalek pounced. That's when Amalek attacked. And Rashi there explains the connection. סמך פרשה זו למקרא זה לומר, תמיד אני ביניכם ומזומן לכל צרכיכם Samach parsha zu l'mikra zeh lomar, tamid eini ani b'neichem u'mezuman l'chol tzorchichem. Hashem says, I am always among you and I am always providing for you. So when you said היש ה' בקרבנו אם אין hayesh Hashem b'kirbeinu im ayin, חייכם, שהכלב בא ונושך אתכם, ואתם צועקים אלי ותדעון היכן אני chayeichem, shehakelev ba v'noshech es'chem, v'attem tzoakim elai v'teidun heichan ani. The dog bites you and you wonder where I am. משל לאדם שהרכיב בנו על כתפו Mashal l'adam she'hirkiv beno al ksefo, ויצא לדרך, וראה הבן חפץ ואומר, אבא, תאך חפץ זה ותן לי v'yotzei la'derech, v'ra'ah ha'ben cheifetz v'omer, abba, toch cheifetz zeh v'tein li. So the child sitting on his father's shoulders sees an object in the ground and says, Dad, bend down, lift that up, give it to me. והוא נותן לו V'hu nosen lo, he gives it to his son. וכן שני וכן שלישי V'chein shnei v'chein shlishi. The second and the third time. פגע בו אדם אחד Pagav adam echad, they meet someone, אמר לו אותו הבן, ראית את אבא omer lo oso ha'ben, ra'isa es abba? The child on his shoulders says, have you seen my father? אמר לו אביו, אינך יודע היכן אני Omer lo aviv, eincha yodeia heichan ani? What do you mean have you seen my father? You're riding on my shoulders. I just bent down three times to give you things. So what does the father do? השליכו מעליו, ובא כלב ונשכו Heshlicho mei'alav, u'ba kelev v'neshacho. So the father throws the child off of his shoulders and says you're on your own, and a dog comes and bites the child. For carrying you on my shoulders, protecting you, providing for you, bending down for you, you ask the stranger, has you seen my father? That's what Hashem says. I've been carrying you on my shoulders. I protect you, I secure you, I provide for you. And you have the חוצפה chutzpah to say, היש ה' בקרבנו hayesh Hashem b'kirbeinu? Has anyone seen God? He says, has anyone seen God? You know what? I'm out, you're on your own, let's see how it goes. And when Hashem withdraws and he says you're now exposed and you're on your own, who comes and attacks? Amalek. That says Rashi is the is the connection, is the connection. Amalek attacks when we have a lack of recognition. So says רב ויינפלד, שליט\"א Rav Weinfeld, shlita, says רב ויינפלד Rav Weinfeld in his new ספר sefer, מצוות ה' Mitzvos Hashem, is going to come out soon, fantastic. The essence of the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim is what, we explained, is an exercise in gratitude, הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov. As Rashi says in our פסוק pasuk, ואמרת אליו שאינך כפוי טובה v'amarta eilav she'eincha kafui tova. When you say מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim, what are you saying? God, I'm not an ingrate. I'm not an ingrate. A little fig, I don't know what else is going to come. I have no idea what will be, but for the fig alone, I'm grateful. I'm grateful. For the fig alone, I'm grateful. The מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim is placed immediately after the מצוה mitzva of remembering Amalek, says רב ויינפלד Rav Weinfeld, to teach us that we are supposed to have הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov for all the good that God does. Because when we feel unworthy, then we are thankful and are filled with gratitude. And if we feel a sense of entitlement and worthiness, then we won't be thankful. Amalek are all about chance and randomness and happenstance and there is no God. And so Amalek are all about no gratitude because in order to feel grateful, what do you have to be? Humble. Famous teaching of רב הוטנר Rav Hutner, we've shared many times. We have the same word in Hebrew, מודה ל modeh le and מודה על modeh al. מודה Modeh, מודה ל modeh le, means you say Goldberg, you owe me 100 bucks. I say, I'm מודה modeh. What does מודה modeh mean there? I admit. I concede, I admit. מודה על Modeh al means I'm so grateful to you for that kindness that you showed me. So why do we have the same word for gratitude and admission? Says רב הוטנר Rav Hutner, because they are זה בזה zal b'zal, they are synonyms, they are the same thing. Every time someone expresses gratitude, they are admitting, I needed you, I benefited from you, I am enriched by you. And a person who's haughty and arrogant, a person who insists on feeling independent and doesn't want to say I needed you, I benefited from you, an arrogant person struggles to say thank you. Gratitude is an exercise in humility. A humble person says I have no problem saying thank you. Thank you. You helped me, you enriched me, my life is better because of you, I couldn't have done it without you. Every thank you is an admission I needed you. So it's the same word in Hebrew, the same word. Amalek who think there's no God, I exist on my own, I'm independent, I'm the arbiter of my destiny, I'm responsible for my success. The world is filled with randomness and chance, there is no God. Amalek can't say thank you. The antidote to Amalek, the end of last week's פרשה parsha, remember what Amalek did, is the מצוה mitzva of ביכורים bikkurim this week. The antidote to Amalek no gratitude because of arrogance, be humble, say thank you even for the simple fig. רב ויינפלד Rav Weinfeld points out parenthetically, the side note the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim, what's the translation? Rashi quoted, the farmer brings the ביכורים bikkurim and says, I'm not a כפוי טובה kafui tov. I'm not an ingrate. What is the translation of the word כפוי kafui? I'm not כפוי טובה kafui tov. I'm not an ingrate. What does the word כפוי kafui mean? So sometimes people mistakenly think כפוי kafui here is from the word כופר kofer. כופר Kofer, I'm I'm a heretic, I'm I'm a denier. I'm denying that you did good. But that can't be. That can't be what it means because then the word wouldn't be כפוי kafui, it would be connected to כופר kofer. So רב ויינפלד Rav Weinfeld explains there are two meanings to הכרה hakara in הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov. We we say when someone's grateful, we describe them as having הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov, recognizing the good. One is recognizing the good and the second is recognizing the benefactor of that good. If one lacks that recognition, then whatever is bestowed upon him is like being forced upon him because he doesn't understand that it's good. So it comes from the לשון lashon of כופין אותו kofin oso. כופין אותו Kofin oso means that you force someone, you coerce someone. הלכה Halacha has a big discussion. Someone doesn't want to give a גט get, can we coerce them to give a גט get? Someone doesn't want to give צדקה tzedaka, what they should be giving, the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch says we're entitled to coerce them to give the proper percentage of צדקה tzedaka they should be giving. The word כופין kofin means to coerce. So what it means is when a person's כפוי טובה kafui tov, explains רב ויינפלד Rav Weinfeld, and doesn't recognize what's happening to him as good, he doesn't recognize the good being bestowed upon him, the good is being forced on him. He's כפוי טובה kafui tov, the good is forced on him, and he's not receiving it and accepting it and experiencing it and expressing gratitude for it. כפוי טובה Kafui tov could come from the word כופין kofin, like it's forced, the good is being forced on him, almost against his will, we shouldn't be, we shouldn't be. So the juxtaposition of Amalek last week's פרשה parsha, and then מקרא ביכורים mikra bikkurim. What came before Amalek in last week's פרשה parsha? Have honest weights and measures. We spoke about on שבת Shabbos. If you don't have honest weights and measures, if you don't report your taxes honestly, if you cheat in business, if you cut corners, if you market ruthlessly or compete ruthlessly, if you're dishonest, תועבת ה' to'avas Hashem, it's an abomination to God, it is repulsive. Dishonesty is deviant behavior in God's eyes. He rejects it. He rejects it. And then comes Amalek, and then comes ביכורים bikkurim. What's the connection of Amalek to dishonest weights and measures? The מדרש Medrash says, if you're dishonest in commerce, in transactions, in your weights and your scales, then Amalek will come and attack you. The נצי\"ב Netziv was bothered. In the desert, did we have commerce? Did we transacting? Did we have a marketplace? Did we have weights and measures and scales? No, we had the מן mun that fell from heaven. We were sitting in שטייגען shteiging and learning in כולל kollel, and we travel for 40 years. So what was the Torah saying? Because you had dishonest weights and measures, that's why Amalek came and attacked. אזוי פרעגט azoy frek the נצי\"ב Netziv, that's the question of the נצי\"ב Netziv in his העמק דבר Haamek Davar on last week's פרשה parsha. And the נצי\"ב Netziv has an amazing יסוד yesod. The נצי\"ב Netziv says, why are dishonest weights and measures considered תועבה to'eiva? תועבת השם to'avat Hashem. It's deviant, it's repulsive, it's an abomination to God. Why? Why? Why? And why is the law, Rabbeinu Yonah writes in משלי Mishlei, not only are you not allowed to use dishonest weights and measures that are calibrated incorrectly, inaccurately, you're not even allowed to own them. You cannot own a scale in your house that's not calibrated accurately. So significant, so severe. Why not? So the נצי\"ב Netziv says the following. The נצי\"ב Netziv says, you know, somebody leaves a dollar on the table and you have nothing to eat. And you're tempted to take that dollar to go to a vending machine. It's wrong, it's immoral, but you were driven by a momentary temptation, by your hunger pang, and you took the dollar. You did something wrong. You're accountable, you're liable, there are consequences, but there was a momentary urge that you gave into.Dishonest weights and measures is institutionalized fraud. It means a person says to themselves, I'm running a business, but I'm afraid I'm not going to earn enough. I want more. And so I need to cheat. I need to, I need to compromise and corrupt my scales and measures. I need to be dishonest in business because I want more and I'm afraid I won't have enough. And I didn't just give into an urge of the moment, I've institutionalized it. I've made it, built it into my business. That, says the נצי\"ב Netziv, that's bad. That's an abomination to God. Why? It's unethical to man, but it's also heresy to God. Why? Because a person who lives with אמונה וביטחון emunah u'bitachon and believes that השם Hashem created the world and everything in it and he's in charge of my life, I'm not afraid. He'll give and he'll provide exactly what I need. I have to work hard, I have to take my initiative, but at the end of the day on ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah it's decided what my income will be for the year. השם Hashem decides. השם Hashem decides. You think you're going to cheat God because you you cheated the weights and measures? You're denying God's role in your life and you're denying He can and does provide everything we need if all of a sudden we affect the weights and measures. What's the antidote? ביכורים Bikurim. So you have dishonest weights and measures. So answers the נצי\"ב Netziv, it's true in the מדבר midbar, in the desert, we didn't have weights and measures, commerce, transactions, but we did have כפירה kefira. We did have heresy and a failure to see God. And that's what the מדרש Midrash meant. A failure to see God leads to עמלק Amalek who don't see God. You want to create a community? You want to create a culture that's randomness and chance? Welcome to a world of עמלק Amalek, of randomness and chance. If you want a world of God's providence, then live a life, create a community and a culture of faith and surrender and submission to God. What's that world look like? A world of ביכורים Bikurim. That we take that first fig and make our way all the way to ירושלים Yerushalayim and make a big parade and not knowing what else is to come, have the ability to stop and pause and say, thank you. Thank you השם Hashem for this gift. It is extraordinary. Thank you for what you've given me.פרק כ\"ו, פסוק ה Perek Kaf-Vav, Pasuk Hey. וענית ואמרת V'anita v'amarta, we have this formula. In the formula we're familiar with it from the פסח סדר Pesach Seder. ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi, we're not going to repeat right now. Who is the Aramean? ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi. An Aramean tried to destroy my forefather. Who is the ארמי Arami? לבן Lavan. Did לבן Lavan try to kill יעקב Yaakov? Not in our חומש Chumash. So here we sit at the סדר Seder and we say an Aramean tried to destroy. לבן Lavan tried to trick him, he was dishonest with him, but he didn't try to kill him. So what do we mean? So I'll leave that for the סדר Seder. ארמי אובד אבי Arami oved avi. וירד מצרימה Vayered Mitzraima. We went down מצרימה Mitzraima, ויגר שם vayagar sham, and we lived there במתי מעט bimsei me'at. What do the words במתי מעט bimsei me'at mean? We live there במתי מעט bimsei me'at. Come on, people, you say it at the סדר Seder every year, twice, we live in גלות galus. במתי מעט Bimsei me'at, you could also cheat and just look at the Artscroll. We lived in Egypt few in number. And then ויהי שם לגוי גדול עצום ורב vayehi sham l'goy gadol atzum v'rav. We lived in Egypt persecuted, oppressed, few in number, and then we grew to become a great nation. What are the words במתי מעט bimsei me'at? Few in number. But מעט me'at means few, במתי bimsei. What's the root of the word מתי msei? So Rav Soloveitchik in his חומש Chumash says the following: Man is both a weak and a strong being. He's a master of his environment as well as prisoner of the same environment. He's wise as well as foolish. He possesses fortitude and at the same time is a frightened being. His main preoccupation is fear of death. The word מתי msei is used to refer to a man as mortal being. עיר מתים Ir mesim means the town of mortals. מתים Mesim portrays man as weak, helpless, transient, who's here today and tomorrow in the grave. Short-lived, perplexed, horrified by the vision of death, and seeing extinction. במתי מעט Bimsei me'at denotes few mortals, poor, erring immigrants. Our anthropology is a dialectical one. Man is a, it's unbelievable to imagine the Rav Soloveitchik only learned English when he came to America. When you read the way he wrote and spoke, you just can't feel any stupider. The man immigrated at an advanced adult age, didn't speak English, came here and then, our anthropology is a dialectical one. People for whom English is their first language need a dictionary to look up what the Rav is talking about. Man is a big lie, a non-being. He's also a mighty being who could rise to the stars. Man is both weak and powerful. He errs, but he also illuminates and he shines. The מתים mesim who left Egypt rose to dizzying heights a few months later when they responded to God's challenge, נעשה ונשמע Na'aseh v'nishmah. The word מתי msei comes from the word מת mes, death. You know what makes us humble? Confronting mortality. My article this week I wrote, you know, Trump very defiantly posted on Twitter succinctly on Sunday, after surviving a second assassination attempt, all he wrote was, \"O for two.\" Very Trumpian. That was his tweet. O for two. That's what, that's all he wrote. Zero dash two. O for two. We would say אל תפתח פה לשטן al tiftach peh l'Satan. He clearly is not, he must have a red bendel tied around his wrist, former President Trump. He's not worried about עין הרע ayin hara. He wrote O for two. But the truth is you don't have to be targeted for assassination to confront mortality. We all do. When people we love and around us pass away, parents, family members, a person gets a diagnosis, just the fear of a new term they call FOGO. You've heard of FOMO. FOGO is fear of growing old. When we confront our age and our mortality, a person confronts mortality. So it could be debilitating confronting mortality. It can be paralyzing confronting mortality. If you stop and you say, well, what's the point of it? I'm all going to die. I don't know when I'm going to die. What's the point? What's the point? But חז\"ל Chazal saw exactly the opposite. Confronting mortality is not, is not morbid and it's not debilitating. It's inspiring. It's invigorating. It's motivating. When you confront mortality, when you think about death, how impermanent we are, you're ready to fully embrace life and live life. יום כיפור Yom Kippur is a dress rehearsal for death. I can give you ten examples, but we don't have time now. But from כפרות kaparos and killing the chicken on our behalf, to reading about the עשרה הרוגי מלכות Asara Harugei Malchus and the פרשה parsha of אחרי מות Acharei Mos, to wearing a קיטל kittel which is literally what we're going to be buried in. It is literally a dress rehearsal for death. From fasting, because we don't even have a body, it's as if we've died and we're just a soul. Everything about יום כיפור Yom Kippur is a dress rehearsal for death. Why? Because it's such a depressing, sad, miserable day? No, the opposite. Because when we spend one day every year as a dress rehearsal for our death, we emerge ready to fully live life. That's why חז\"ל Chazal said, לעולם ירגיז אדם יצר טוב על יצר הרע l'olam yargeiz adam yeitzer tov al yeitzer hara. That a person when they are in the throes of their passion and temptation, you're about to give in and indulge the worst part of yourself, listen to your יצר טוב yeitzer tov if it doesn't work. Learn Torah, that doesn't work, say שמע Shema. And if that doesn't work, you know what the nuclear option is? Think about when you're going to die. Picture your grave, picture your funeral, think about your day of death. And that, that's the nuclear option to try to motivate you to live life. במתי מעט Bimsei me'at, מת mes, our mortality, confronting mortality is not a bad thing. It's a very healthy thing. It's a very good thing. It's a very inspiring and motivating thing. That's why we do it once a year on יום כיפור Yom Kippur. And that's what במתי מעט bimsei me'at means here.Continuing פרק כ\"ו פסוק י\"ג Perek Kaf-Vav, Pasuk Yud-Gimmel. Torah goes on with this formula, we're turning the page. And the Torah says the following: You separate the תרומות ומעשרות terumos u'ma'asros, the farmer separates all the tithes. And when he does, then he comes and he declares, he says to God, ואמרת לפני השם אלוקיך v'amarta lifnei Hashem Elokecha. He says בערתי הקודש מן הבית bi'arti hakodesh min habayis. I took care of, I eliminated, I obliterated everything that wasn't supposed to be in my house. I distributed all the all the tithes, the לוי Levi, the גר ger, the יתום yasom, the אלמנה almanah, ככל מצוותך אשר ציוויתני k'chol mitzvoscha asher tzivisoni. I did everything exactly the way you told me. לא עברתי ממצוותיך ולא שכחתי Lo avarti m'mitzvotecha v'lo shochachti. I didn't forget anything, I didn't violate anything. I did everything perfectly. I'm perfect. I hate to say it, I'm perfect. What do we call this formula? What do we call this recitation? וידוי מעשר Vidui ma'aser. This is called the confession of the farmer. And every year we ask, what kind of a confession is that? Every year I present it to you the same way. Imagine I come home today and I say, \"Yocheved, I have a confession to make.\" She says, \"Oh, a confession. What what is it? What is it? Did you gamble our money away? Did you do something wrong? What's the confession?\" I have a confession to make. I'm perfect. I do everything perfectly. I got everything perfect. I'm a perfect husband and a perfect father and I'm a perfect person. I hate to confess, but I must confess. I confess, I'm perfect. That's essentially what the farmer says. We call it וידוי מעשר Vidui ma'aser. The משנה Mishnah calls it וידוי מעשר Vidui ma'aser in סוטה Sotah. It's called וידוי vidui, confession. And what's the confession when we take a closer look? The confession is, I'm perfect. What kind of a confession is I'm perfect? What kind of a confession is this? What kind of a confession is this? So, I'll tell you Rav Weinfeld first. In the past, we've given interpretations of this confession. I shared with you Rav Soloveitchik's confession. The confession is not, I'm perfect in everything. The confession is, I did this perfectly. And if I could do this perfectly, I could do everything perfectly. If I could do this, I could do other things. I was not a good student when I was a child. I was a classic underachiever. I did not do well. It's possible there are people here who could attest to that, who saved and filed my report cards. I never ever want to see them. But I was not a good student. I didn't do well. I didn't do well. But every now and then, you'd be in trouble. And the teacher, your parents, they'd meet and they'd say, you know, this is it. You need to perform, you need to step up, you need to double down, you need to study. So then you really double down because of fear you're going to be grounded, you're going to be in trouble, you're going to lower your class, something's going to happen. So you double down and you really studied and you get your test back and you did well. What's the reaction of every parent and every teacher on the planet? You see, if you apply yourself? You see, if you work hard? You see, you can do well. So don't tell me I have no patience and I can't pay attention, and I'm not smart enough, and I don't have a memory, and it's not for me. Look, when you try, you succeed. So the problem is when you try and succeed, why is it a problem? Because it's מחייב mechayev you. Now you've created evidence that when you try, you can succeed. Now you better try in everything because you could succeed and you don't have an excuse. Said Rav Soloveitchik, that's why this is called וידוי מעשר Vidui ma'aser. Because the farmer doesn't say I'm perfect in life, says I got this perfect. So that's a confession because if you could get this perfect, if you could get a good grade on distributing your tithes, what else could you get a good grade on? Rav Weinfeld שליט\"א shlita has a different interpretation. לא עברתי ממצוותיך ולא שכחתי Lo avarti m'mitzvotecha v'lo shochachti. I didn't violate any of your מצוות mitzvos, nor did I forget. Nor did I forget. The קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi of Rav Levi Yitzchok Berditchev, we're going to say in our דאווענען davening on ימים נוראים Yomim Noraim, we describe השם Hashem, right on ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, we have the longest עמידה Amidah of the year, מלכיות Malchiyos, זכרונות Zichronos and שופרות Shofros. In זכרונות Zichronos, in remembrances, we say כי זוכר כל הנשכחות אתה הוא מעולם ki zocher kol hanishkachos atto hu mei'olam. השם Hashem, you remember everything that is forgotten. So, I'm here in front of you and I've conveniently forgotten a lot of things that are not worth remembering, but here I am. It's time to pay the piper. I appear before you on the יום הדין yom hadin, on the day of judgment, and השם Hashem, you're זוכר כל הנשכחות zocher kol hanishkachos. You remember everything. So the קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi was bothered. This is a little סידור siddur snippet for ימים נוראים Yamim Noraim, a little ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah סידור siddur snippet I'm building into the parsha perspectives. Why do we describe God as זוכר כל הנשכחות zocher kol hanishkachos? Just say he's זוכר zocher. God, you have impeccable, perfect memory. You remember everything. Why do we describe him as remembering everything that's forgotten? Just say you remember. Listen to what Rav Levi Yitzchok says. He says, you know what God remembers? He remembers what we choose to forget. So if we forgot the good things that we did, we don't harp on it, we don't repeat it, we don't show off about it, we don't flex about it, we don't feel entitled because of it, we're not looking for honor because of it. If we forget the good things we've done, then השם Hashem remembers them. Then השם Hashem remembers them. But if we remember them, then השם Hashem forgets them. And conversely, if we forget the mistakes we've made, God remembers them. If we remember them because we want to improve them and work on them and repair them, then God chooses to forget them. So השם Hashem is described not as remembering everything. השם Hashem says, let me see and choose what to remember. And how does he choose what to remember? He looks at what we forget. And based on what we forget, he chooses to remember. So if we forget the good things, השם Hashem says, let me remember. But if we forget the bad things, he says, let me remember. It all comes down. So based on this קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi, Rav Weinfeld suggests, maybe that's what this פסוק pasuk means. This is an individual's confessing לא עברתי ממצוותיך lo avarti m'mitzvotecha, I didn't violate any of your מצוות mitzvos, ולא שכחתי v'lo shochachti, and I remember, and I tell everybody, and I deserve to be honored, and I flex, and I show off about it. And that's why it's called a confession. The confession and the mistake of the farmer is not because they got something wrong, but because they remembered how right they were. And we shouldn't remember. Yes, we should be proud. Yes, we should feel good about the things we got right. Yes, we should, excuse me, yes, we should want to get more right, but we shouldn't harp, we shouldn't flex, we shouldn't post, we shouldn't glorify ourselves. So ולא שכחתי v'lo shochachti, I forgot to forget the good things, that is called a confession. That is how Rav Weinfeld understands why it's called וידוי vidui, even though the farmer is saying לא עברתי ולא שכחתי lo avarti v'lo shochachti. The שינובר Shinever says something else. The דברי יחזקאל Divrei Yechezkel, the הילל גאון heilegeh Reb, the שינובר Shinever says something else. Rashi here on the words ולא שכחתי v'lo shochachti says, what is ולא שכחתי v'lo shochachti? ולא שכחתי מלברך V'lo shochachti m'levareich. I separated the tithes and I didn't forget to make the blessing. I didn't forget to make a ברכה bracha. We've got a problem. Houston, we've got a problem. Blessings, are they biblical or rabbinic? They are rabbinic. We're not biblically obligated to make blessings on מצוות mitzvos that we do. So shaking the לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog, that comes from the Torah. Making a blessing before, that was the rabbis. Putting on תפילין tefillin, that comes from the Torah, making the blessing before, that comes from the rabbis. ברכות המצוות Birchos hamitzvos, the ברכות brachos that we say are rabbinic. How could Rashi interpret that what the farmer is confessing is לא שכחתי lo shochachti, I didn't even forget to make the ברכה bracha. I remembered to make the ברכה bracha. How could the Torah be alluding to something that the rabbis were only going to introduce later? So there's a תוספתא Tosefta in Yerushalmi, there are opinions that perhaps ברכות המצוות birchos hamitzvos are really דאורייתא d'Oraisa. Maybe this is a source, really they are biblical. There's a lot of literature and a big discussion about it. But I want to tell you what the דברי יחזקאל Divrei Yechezkel the שינובר Shinever says. He says לכאורה תמוה מה זה השבח שלא שכח לברך על המצוה. ויש לומר דאין עיקר לקיום מצוה בשעה שיגיע לידו המצוה, העיקר להיות עומד ומצפה מתי יבא לידי מצוה ואקיימנה. l'choirah tamua mah zeh hashvach shelo shachach l'varech al hamitzvah. v'yeish lomar d'ein ikar l'kayem mitzvah b'sha'ah sheyagiah l'yado hamitzvah, ha'ikar lihiyos omed u'metzapeh masai yavo lidei mitzvah v'akaymenah. To fulfill a מצוה mitzvah when the מצוה mitzvah arrives when you're obligated in it, that's not a קונץ kuntz. What's special is the relationship we have with the מצוה mitzvah, not at the moment of fulfilling the מצוה mitzvah, but are we excited? Do we look forward? Do we live for the מצוה mitzvah? Do we orient our lives around the מצוה mitzvah? Who's excited for שופר shofar? Who's excited to sit in the סוכה sukkah? סוכות Sukkos is late this year in Florida, so we're have a shot at a decent סוכה sukkah. Who's, I'm excited. I can't wait to pick my לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog. I can't wait to blow the שופר shofar. I can't wait to sit in the סוכה sukkah. I can't wait for this coming שבת Shabbos. I can't wait for tomorrow to put on my תפילין tefillin again. I can't wait. It's not just the moment of when I do the מצוה mitzvah, but we're measured by how much we anticipate, how excited, how much we're looking forward to the מצוה mitzvah, to the מצוה mitzvah. And that's what the ברכה bracha represents. So says the שינובר Shinever, לא שכחתי מלברך lo shochachti m'levareich doesn't mean the actual text of the ברכה bracha, that's only rabbinic. But the idea that I make a ברכה bracha before I do a מצוה mitzvah, the notion that there's something I do with excitement to prepare, to get ready beforehand, that is a biblical idea. And that's what the farmer is saying לא שכחתי lo shochachti, I didn't forget to get excited even in advance. I didn't forget to get excited even before I did it, to look forward, to get excited, to get pumped, to get psyched, to get ready. That's מלברך m'levareich. לא שכחתי מלברך Lo shochachti m'levareich, I didn't forget even to get excited about doing the ברכה bracha. We say in the morning, אשרי ashrei, we say in the סידור siddur, אשרי ashrei, praiseworthy, blessed is the person שישמע למצוותיך sheyishma l'mitzvotecha. So this goes way back in סידור siddur snippets. We're closing in on 600 and we're starting שמע קולנו shma kolenu today. But way back in ברכות השחר birchos hashachar, way back in the beginning, it's got to be among the first ones that we ever did. We say it every morning. אשרי Ashrei, praiseworthy, blessed is the person שישמע למצוותיך sheyishma l'mitzvotecha. What do those words mean? What do they mean? Who listens to מצוות mitzvos? What do you, what? שופר Shofar you happen to listen to. Most מצוות mitzvos, my תפילין tefillin aren't talking to me. סוכה Sukkah is not talking to me. The לולב lulav is not talking to me. צדקה Tzedakah box is not talking to me. The answer is, if you're listening, they're all talking to you. They're calling out to you. שישמע למצוותיך Sheyishma l'mitzvotecha. Every day there are מצוות mitzvos that are calling our name. חסד Chesed, צדקה tzedakah, checking in on someone, דאווענען davening with כוונה kavanah, making a ברכה bracha. The מצוות mitzvos are calling our name. The מצוות mitzvos are calling out to us. שישמע Sheyishma, who listen. If you listen and you live your life, all throughout your day, מצוות mitzvos are calling out to us. The only question is, are we listening? Are we listening? Can we pick it up?פרק כ\"ז פסוק י\"ד Perek Kaf-Zayin, Pasuk Yud-Daled. Moving right along. We have a new commitment, a new ברית bris we formed with השם Hashem. ויצו משה וזקני ישראל את העם לאמור שמר את כל המצוה אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם היום Vayitzav Moshe v'ziknei Yisrael es ha'am leimor shomor es kol hamitzvah asher anochi metzaveh eschem hayom. Observe all the מצוה mitzvah God says that I am giving to you today. והיה ביום אשר תעברו V'haya bayom asher ta'avru when you will cross the ירדן Yarden, you're going to put up great stones, you're going to write on them. We've discussed this in the past. כאילו ארץ ישראל K'ilu Eretz Yisrael has a huge מזוזה mezuzah as you enter. That's what the Torah is describing here. Enormous stones. What are you writing? The Ten Commandments, all of Torah? Big discussion, could listen in the past, we've gotten into it. But when you cross the Jordan River and you enter the Land of Israel, you know when you land in Ben Gurion and you come down that ramp, used to just be excitement. Now you walk by posters, נעבעך nebach, of hostages. But when you get right before you go through customs, on that doorpost is I think the world's biggest מזוזה mezuzah. It's like as tall as I am. You know what I'm talking about, that מזוזה mezuzah? It's געשמאק geshmak. You see that מזוזה mezuzah and you say, I'm in the Jewish homeland. I am entering into customs, the homeland. I'm here, I'm home. It's amazing that מזוזה mezuzah. So on the Jordan River, here the Torah is describing, you're putting up enormous stones, Torah is written on them, and these stones, these rocks, these boulders are like the מזוזה mezuzah of entering into the Land of Israel. And here in this context it tells us, the Torah in פסוק ז Pasuk Zayin. פסוק י\"ד Pasuk Yud-Daled rather. Sorry. God speaks the blessings and the curses on the other side. ארור האיש Arur ha'ish. Here we have the blessings and the curses on הר גריזים Har Grizim and הר עיבל Har Eival. Once we pass these stones, we pass into the land. And then we have the Torah says, why can't I find this? כ\"ז י\"ד Kaf-Zayin Yud-Daled. I wanted to quote again from Rav Soloveitchik. פרק כ\"ז Perek Kaf-Zayin. Oh, yeah. את השם האמרת היום להיות לך לאלקים Es Hashem he'emarta hayom lihiyos l'cha l'Elokim, God wants to be your God, וללכת בדרכיו ולשמר חקיו ומצותיו ומשפטיו ולשמע בקלו v'laleches b'drachav v'lishmor chukav u'mitzvosav u'mishpatav v'lishmoa b'kolo. פרק כ\"ו Perek Kaf-Vav, I'm sorry. Going back, that's why. פרק כ\"ו פסוק י\"ז Perek Kaf-Vav, Pasuk Yud-Zayin. God says I want to be your God, and you will ללכת בדרכיו laleches b'drachav, walk in my way and observe all of my commandments and listen to my voice. So listen to my voice, obey my commandments, that I get. What does ללכת בדרכיו laleches b'drachav mean? So Rav Soloveitchik writes, the foundation of our mortality, of our morality is walking in his ways. We imitate God. Man like God is often faced with תוהו ובוהו tohu vavohu, other desolation. He does not know where to begin. He doubts his ability to say יהי אור yehi or, let there be light. It seems that the world can never be illuminated. Such is the prevailing gloom. Yet man is bidden by the principle of imitatio dei, create, be a partner in יצירה yetzira and fashioning form out of chaos. והלכת בדרכיו V'halachta b'drachav means imitate God. How do we imitate God? He's kind, you should be kind. He clothes the naked, you should clothe the naked. We imitate God, we walk in his ways, but the ultimate imitation of God is, God is creative, we should be creative. God makes order out of chaos, we should make order out of chaos. God illuminates the light through the darkness, we should illuminate the light through the darkness. Man must be creative both in material and spiritual realms. There are diseases to conquer, rivers to control, miseries to extirpate. The Torah tells us that particular territories were assigned to each nation for them to develop according to their creative genius. While ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael was assigned to the Jews. Conquering and settling ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael are commandments that require creativity. There is also a mandate to be creative in the spiritual realm. Building a ישיבה yeshiva in hospitable territories is a form of יהי אור yehi or. Education is a fulfillment of and you shall teach them to your sons. Creativity par excellence. A formless undirected child is transformed into a refined Torah scholar. An undisciplined child without any identity, a תוהו ובוהו tohu vavohu, is gradually changed into a spiritual personality. Introducing a child to the biblical narratives about Abraham and Sarah and later on to Talmudic discourse and concepts such as הזמה hazama and הכחשה hakchasha are acts of fashioning a soul the highest level of יצירה yetzira. והלכת בדרכיו V'halachta b'drachav. Here God says, be like me, imitate me. And what is the highest form of imitating God? Creativity. Physical creativity, conquering his world, advancing the world, making breakthrough in the world, and spiritual creativity, teaching and learning Torah, molding and shaping בני תורה bnei Torah, a world of ideas. והלכת בדרכיו V'halachta b'drachav. So now, it's not enough to say I work, I get to the end of the day, I pay my bills, I collapse on the couch, I drink my beer, I binge watch my shows, and I'm done. A Jew is obligated as long as there's breath in our lungs, והלכת בדרכיו v'halachta b'drachav, be a creative being, repair the world, illuminate the world with light. אור לגוים Or la'goyim. אור לגוים Or la'goyim is a concept that comes from, it comes from the נביא Navi. Others seem to have usurped that phrase, but it's a Jewish concept. תיקון עולם tikkun olam, לתקן עולם l'saken olam. Rav Pelkovitz עליו השלום alav hashalom, when he spoke in our shul many years ago, he said, \"You'll notice that we only use the words תיקון עולם tikkun olam, לתקן עולם l'saken olam, במלכות שדי b'malchus Shakai, to repair the world in God's image. We don't have תיקון עולם tikkun olam for תיקון עולם's tikkun olam's sake. You know they say the joke about the federation mission to Israel where one of the participants on the mission asked the tour guide, \"How do you say תיקון עולם tikkun olam in Hebrew?\" Because תיקון עולם tikkun olam is such a motto and catchphrase and bumper sticker, \"How do you say תיקון עולם tikkun olam in Hebrew?\" It's not just תיקון עולם tikkun olam based on our own human creativity and the environment and humanism and social justice. It's a תיקון עולם במלכות שדי tikkun olam b'malchus Shakai. How do we repair and redeem this world to make it conform to God's plan, God's design, God's image, God's moralities, God's boundaries. That's והלכת בדרכיו v'halachta b'drachav. We're agents and ambassadors of his. It's why we're here. We're here for a mission. And if we just are living for ourselves and if all we're trying to do is for ourselves, our happiness, our pleasure, we are stealing from God. It is not why we are here. It is a violation of our very essence and our very purpose. Our motto and our mission statement is והלכת בדרכיו v'halachta b'drachav to follow in his ways. That is why we are here. We're also here to cover the rest of this material, which we're running out of time and we're not even going to get close. I'll just tell you a שם משמואל Shem MiShmuel. On the פסוק כ\"ז ט pasuk Kaf-Zayin Tes. וידבר משה והכהנים הלוים אל כל ישראל Vayedaber Moshe v'hakohanim ha'levi'im el kol Yisrael. Moshe and the priests speak to the Jewish people and they say הסכת ושמע ישראל haskes u'shma Yisrael. What does the word הסכת haskes mean? Be attentive and listen. היום הזה נהיית לעם להשם אלקיך Hayom hazeh niheisa l'am l'Hashem Elokecha. Today, you've re-entered a covenant. Today you became a people for God. שמע Shma means to hear. What is the word הסכת haskes? הסכת Haskes means? Again, you could cheat, look at the Artscroll. Be attentive and hear. Why do we have to be told be attentive and hear? If I'm hearing, I'm attentive to what I'm hearing. So the ספורנו Sforno, Rav Ovadia Sforno on these words says on הסכת haskes, צייר במחשבתך tzayer b'machshavtecha. צייר Tzayer. What does the word צייר tzayer mean? Imagine. Draw an image in your thoughts. Draw an image in your thoughts. And he quotes a פסוק pasuk from Amos, את סכות מלככם es Sikus malchechem, and proves from a פסוק pasuk in Amos that the word הסכת haskes means imagine, picture, envision. The שם משמואל Shem MiShmuel, the holy סוחטשעבער Sochatchover Rebbe says from here, זה לימוד גדול לכל אדם הרוצה להתעורר zeh limud gadol l'chol adam harotze l'hitorer. This is an incredible lesson for anybody who wants to break through and grow in any area of life, בתורה b'Torah, בתפילה b'tefillah, בדבר רשות b'davar reshus, לא יפעל לעשות טרם יצייר בעצמו היטב את הדבר ההוא וציורו ושלמותו lo yif'al la'asos terem yetzayer b'atzmo heitev es hadavar hahu v'tziyuro u'shlemuso. A person wants to have a breakthrough, you know how it starts? You have to have a picture of who you want to be and what you want to do. הסכת ושמע Haskes u'shma. Stop, and says the Sforno, imagine. Imagine. Imagine the husband or wife, the mother or father you could be. Have a picture of you being patient, spending time, enjoying company. What do you look like having the best דאווענען davening of your life? What is your best learning of your life look like? What is your best volunteering in חסד chesed of your life look like? להבדיל להבדיל להבדיל L'havdil, l'havdil, l'havdil. The greatest athletes we have will tell you that they've worked with coaches and psychologists and mental professionals who train them how to picture and have a vision of what they're about to do. So the batter who hits the hundred-mile-an-hour fastball, Aaron Judge, will tell you, you know how much time he spends not only in the batting cage, but picturing what it will be like, what it's like when that ball is coming in, deciding between a curveball and a fastball. Tiger Woods will describe what it was like in his heyday. Picture, he stands behind, sets the ball on the tee, takes three steps back. What is he looking at? What is he looking at? Just hit the ball, 350 yards straight. What are you looking at? Because he's painting a picture in his mind's eye. He's seeing it. Roger Federer is seeing hitting the ball before he ever hits it. And להבדיל להבדיל l'havdil l'havdil, based on this Sforno, Shem MiShmuel, Rebbe Volbe says the same thing. If a יחיד Yid wants to break through, you have to first picture who you want to be. You have to have an imagination. צייר במחשבתך Tzayer b'machshavtecha. Paint a picture in your mind, in your mind. We're entering that new year. What does your best year look like? What does your best week look like? What does your best day look like? What does your best life look like? If you have no idea what your best life looks like, I can promise you this, you will never live it. You will never live it. If you have no idea what your best day looks like, life looks like, you'll never live it. So that's the message. First paint that picture and then you'll be able to take it from there.ברוך אתה בבואך וברוך אתה בצאתך Baruch ata b'voecha u'varuch ata b'tzeitzecha. We have the blessings and the curses. The harsh תוכחה tochachah in our פרשה parsha. פרק כ\"ח פסוק ו Perek Kaf-Cheis Pasuk Vav. Page 1076. First with the blessings, ברוך אתה בבואך baruch ata b'voecha, you'll be blessed when you come, and ברוך אתה בצאתך baruch ata b'tzeitzecha, and you'll be blessed when you go. What are the blessings in the coming and the going? Rashi says, שתהא יציאתך מן העולם בלא חטא כביאתך she'tehei yetziascha min ha'olam b'lo cheit k'viascha. When you leave the world, you should be as sin-free, as pure, as pristine as when you entered the world. And that's called a ברכה bracha. ברוך אתה בבואך Baruch ata b'voecha, ברוך אתה בצאתך baruch ata b'tzeitzecha. Be blessed when you come, be blessed when you leave, be as blessed when you leave as you were when you come. Asks Rav Sorotzkin, Rav Yosef Sorotzkin in his מגדי יוסף Megadei Yosef, I understand if you leave this world sin-free, that's a blessing. But when you enter the world sin-free, is that a blessing? It's not a blessing. It's just the way it is. You are born a clean slate. You're born a blank slate. You're born אלוהי נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא Elokai neshama shenasata bi tehora hi. We're born a pure soul, so we're sin-free. So what's the ברוך אתה בבואך baruch ata b'voecha? Yes, there's a ברוך אתה בצאתך baruch ata b'tzeitzecha if you could leave the world sin-free, but where's the ברוך אתה בבואך baruch ata b'voecha? So he says the following. הנה ידוע שיש סיעתא דשמיא מיוחדת לבעל תשובה Hinei yadua she'yesh siyata d'shmaya meyuchdes l'baal teshuva. A בעל תשובה baal teshuva has a particular, particular divine assistance. Excuse me. משום שהוא חוזר למקור מחצבו. ומשום כך הוא נקרא חוזר בתשובה u'mishum kach hu nikra chozer b'teshuva. Someone who is a בעל תשובה baal teshuva is called a חוזר בתשובה chozer b'teshuva, who is returning to תשובה teshuva. הרבה יותר קל לחזור למצב קודם מליצור מצב חדש harbeh yoter kal lachzor l'matzav kodem m'litzor matzav chadash. It's much easier to go back to something you once knew and you did than it is to create it to begin with. It's much easier to return and to restore and to reboot and to go back to who you were than it is to create something new to begin with. So therefore, יש לא עם בכפי חז\"ל yesh lo im b'kfi Chazal. כל אחד בא לעולם לא לשם חטא kol echad ba la'olam lo l'shem chet. Everyone is born in this world without any חטא chet. שהוא עוד ברחם אמו נקרא אם הוא יהיה צדיק או רשע shehu od b'rechem imo nikra im hu yihiye tzadik o rasha. מספרת הגמרא שתימו בערש מסב ולאכול ביום הכיפורים, ולא חשבו אז נכשלים יום כיפור היום, כי נתחייב מיתה בדין. והאחד אכל וזיכה את עצמו להיות צדיק, והשני לא אכל וזיכה את עצמו להיות רשע m'saperet ha'Gemara shtimo b'eretz misav v'lochol b'Yom haKippurim, v'lo chashvu az nichshalim Yom Kippur hayom, ki nitchayev mita b'din. v'ha'echad achal v'zika et atzmo l'hiyot tzadik, v'hasheni lo achal v'zika et atzmo l'hiyot rasha. But it is also in some extent predetermined whether we're going to be a צדיק tzadik or a רשע rasha. So how do we understand this? הכל אלו צריך לומר שטיבו של אדם הכל נטיותיו ומידותיו נקבע ברחם hakol eilu tzarich lomar shetivo shel adam hakol n'tiyosav u'midosav nikva ba'rechem. מעשה חטא לא שייך שם כי מציאותו בעולם ma'aseh chet lo shayach sham ki metziuso ba'olam. Maybe our predisposition was created in the womb, what we're inclined for was created in the womb, but whether we actually violated, that doesn't happen, that expression of the free will, until we're in this world. אמת ויציב ויסודם של חז\"ל, אדם נכנס לעולם בלא חטא, אף אם קיימת נטייה לכך גם טרם לידתו Emes v'yatziv v'yesodam shel Chazal, adam nichnas la'olam b'lo chet, af im kayemes netiya l'kach gam terem leidato. The blessing, the ברכה bracha we have is even if we have predispositions, even if we have נטיות n'tiyos, inclinations, we come into this world a blank slate, so we have the ability to return. When we do תשובה teshuva in this month of אלול Elul leading up to ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah and we're trying to go back to a place of purity, we're not going someplace we've never been before, we're trying to restore to the factory setting of where we once were. And it's much easier to restore and to go back to a factory setting than it is to try to erase and achieve something that's never been done before. So the ברכה אתה בבואך bracha atah b'voecha, the blessing of having been born that way, is that it's easier to go back to the factory setting. I really wanted to get to, because I wanted to get to it last year, the year before, and the year before also, and we never got to it. So someone remind me, please God, כי תבוא תשפ\"ה Ki Savo, Taf Shin Pey Hey, to start with the end, because the תורה Torah, the תוכחה tochacha says, why do we pay the piper? Why do we suffer this harsh, harsh rebuke? Because תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב tachat asher lo avadeta et Hashem Elokecha b'simcha uv'tuv levav, because we weren't happy. We weren't happy. All these curses because we weren't happy? Since when is being unhappy a cardinal sin? The answer is it is. I, but how can I be in charge of my happiness? That's an emotion. The answer is it isn't. It's a decision. There's a lot more to say about it, please God, we will in the future. Until next time, may השם Hashem help us, may we hear בשורות טובות, ישועות besoros tovos, yeshuos.
