Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב boker tov. Welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. This week we have the privilege of reading and learning two פרשיות parshios, ניצבים Nitzavim and וילך Vayelech, as we are on the home stretch of completing the annual cycle of reading the Torah. I want to begin by thanking our generous Parsha series sponsors for the year, 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 Manashe. We remain very grateful to the Katz family. This morning's שיעור shiur is sponsored by Alana and Eli Cohen in honor of their children Zev, Gavriel, Akiva, and Moshe, who show a beautiful love for learning Torah. Thank you so much. You should have a lot of נחת nachas from them.Shiur next week, I don't know yet if we're having שיעור shiur next week. There is a parsha we read. Next Thursday, Friday are ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah right into שבת שובה Shabbos Shuva, we read a פרשה parsha, but I don't know yet if I'll give the שיעור shiur depending how well I'm doing with the שבת שובה דרשה Shabbos Shuva drasha. So, stay tuned. Be in the Parsha Perspective WhatsApp group, you'll know about the schedule, bonus material, Parsha write-up, and much more. rabbiefremgoldberg.org/whatsapp to join all the WhatsApp groups. Parshas Nitzavim, page 1,086 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. אתם נצבים היום כלכם לפני ה' אלקיכם ראשיכם שבטיכם זקניכם ושוטריכם כל איש ישראל Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem lifnei Hashem Elokeichem, rasheichem shivteichem zikneichem v'shotreichem, kol ish Yisrael. The Torah begins by telling us that you are standing today, all of you. Moshe is in the home stretch of this monologue, this soliloquy, the speech, the final message, the charge he's giving the Jewish people before they enter the land of Israel. Moshe will of course not be joining them. He's about to hand off the baton, pass the mantle of leadership to Yehoshua, but first he addresses them. And he says, אתם נצבים היום כלכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem, you're all standing here today before God, all of you, the entire hierarchy, all of the diversity of the Jewish people. From the heads of your tribes, your elders, your officers, small children, your women, from the converts in the midst of the camp, from the simple people who are the חוטב עציך עד שואב מימך choteiv eitzecha ad sho'eiv meimecha, those who chop the wood and those who carried the water. And Rashi tells us, מלמד שבאו כנענים להתגייר בימי משה כדרך שבאו גבעונים בימי יהושע melamed sheba'u Kna'anim l'hitgayer bimei Moshe k'derech sheba'u Givonim bimei Yehoshua. In the days of Moshe, no matter how targeted the Jewish people were, despite their being so targeted, despite עמלק Amalek attacking and others in the desert trying to eliminate them, there nevertheless were people who wanted to come, who wanted to convert. Just like in the time of Yehoshua the גבעונים Givonim came to convert, so too in the days of Moshe they came to convert in the desert. And Moshe accepted, received them and designated them to be the wood choppers and to be those who carried the water.Meged Yosef of Rav Yosef Sarotzkin wonders, not much of a need for wood choppers in the desert. There was no wood to chop. The wood that they had even for the building of the משכן Mishkan came with them from מצרים Mitzrayim, it came with them out of Egypt. There was no wood to chop. And there was no water to carry because every tribe had a באר be'er, had access to that well that the water flowed miraculously from. There was no need to draw, to carry water. So what does the Torah mean? מחוטב עציך עד שואב מימך Meichoteiv eitzecha ad sho'eiv meimecha, the wood choppers, the water carriers, what does that, what does that mean? And the Meged Yosef leaves it as a צריך עיון tzarich iyun, he leaves it as a question. Leaves it as a question in the desert. What do you mean the converts in the days of Moshe were designated for those tasks, what are perceived sometimes as simple or lowly tasks? We didn't have to do that in the desert. So I would humbly suggest that maybe, maybe what it means חוטב עציך and שואב מימך choteiv eitzecha and sho'eiv meimecha doesn't mean literally. It means metaphorically or symbolically. It means we want people who are willing to convert, not convert to become the president of the שול shul. Not to convert to take on some prominent role with fame and fortune and with enormous spotlight. Not to convert to be a Jew because it'll bring great followers and fans and you'll become an influencer. But people who are willing to convert even if it means חוטב עציך שואב מימך choteiv eitzecha sho'eiv meimecha. Even if the designation, even if the role is a relatively simple role. So it doesn't mean that that was actually carried out or practiced in the desert. There were no trees to chop. There was no water to carry. It means people who are so sincere and authentic, so genuine in their desire to convert and join the Jewish people, that they're even willing to play whatever role, whatever modest and humble role, to be role players in whatever way is designated for them. I must share with you that like Moshe in the desert, despite having to battle Amalek, despite being targeted, despite being isolated, there were people who wanted to come convert. The same is true today. We have a rabbinic, we have a בית דין beis din for גירות geirus, for conversion in our community, and we've never been busier. We're made up of pure volunteers. Rabbi Flug and I run it, and we're joined by other rabbis here in Boca and Hollywood, and we've, we're inundated. We don't have enough time. We have meetings tomorrow in person. We meet, volunteering our time. There are more people who want to convert who are coming to our beis din than ever. And you'd say, are they out of their minds? Have they not seen the statistics? Have they not seen the statistics of antisemitism? Do they not know that Israel's fighting on five fronts simultaneously? Do they not understand the risk of labeling yourself, targeting yourself a Jew? And yet here they are lining up, running to, not away, wanting to join the Jewish people and willing to play any role, מחוטב עציך עד שואב מימך meichoteiv eitzecha ad sho'eiv meimecha, like משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, they are running and they are flocking.So Moshe turns to the Jewish people and he says, I'm standing before you, כלכם kulchem, all of you. And why are you here? לעברך בברית ה' אלקיך l'ovrecha bivris Hashem Elokecha. I am here not to pass over you with the covenant, for you to pass through the covenant. You, we make the choice. We have to elect, we have to opt in. We have autonomy. We have to make a decision. And that's a big theme in our parsha. וחרת בחיים U'vacharta ba'chayim will come to is that we make choices, opt in, make the right choice. למען הקים אותך היום לו לעם l'ma'an hakim oscha hayom lo l'am because we want to become God's people. והוא יהיה לך לאלקים v'hu yiheyeh lecha l'Elokim. And he will be our God. כאשר דבר לך וכאשר נשבע לאבותיך לאברהם ליצחק וליעקב ka'asher diber lach v'cha'asher nishba la'avosecha l'Avraham l'Yitzchak u'l'Yaakov, like he promised Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. ולא אתכם לבדכם V'lo itchem l'vadchem, he didn't just promise us, but he promised all, את אשר ישנו פה עמנו עומד היום ואת אשר איננו פה עמנו היום es asher yeshno po imanu omed hayom v'es asher einenu po imanu hayom. The relationship we have with God is not a contract. A contract only binds those who sign the contract. How can you bind those who aren't present? How can you bind those who didn't sign, those who didn't commit? So our relationship with Hashem, the Torah, and מצוות mitzvos, and Jewish law are not a contract, they are a covenant. A covenant or a constitution is different. If you're born in America, you can't wake up one day and say, well, I never agreed. I never agreed to the declaration and the constitution and the laws of America. Where did I agree? Where did I sign? I happen to be born in these boundaries, I happen to be born in an American hospital. Where did I sign? The answer is if you're born an American, and you have the privileges of being an American, then you're bound by the laws of America. Even if it's not a contract, it's a covenant. It's a birth right and a birth obligation. The same says our parsha is true for, is true for the Jewish people. And then this, we're going to come back in a moment to the opening, but then the Torah here goes on and tells us something amazing. הנסתרות לה' אלקינו והנגלות לנו ולבנינו Hanistaros l'Hashem Elokeinu v'haniglos lanu u'l'vaneinu. Top of page 1090. The first aliyah, the end of the first aliyah. הנסתרות לה' אלקינו Hanistaros l'Hashem Elokeinu. The hidden things are for God. והנגלות לנו ולבנינו עד עולם V'haniglos lanu u'l'vaneinu ad olam. And that which is revealed is for us and for our children for eternity. לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת la'asos es kol divrei haTorah hazos, to perform, to observe all of this Torah. What are the hidden things and what are the revealed things? We've addressed this before, but I want to review and bring it back to the opening pasuk of the parsha and then really spend most of our time today on פרשת וילך Parshas Vayelech, the next parsha, because we often read these as a double parsha, we spend so much time on the first, we neglect the second. So, הנסתרות hanistaros, what are the hidden things? The hidden things, for God. The revealed things, for us, for our progeny, for our offspring, for eternity. What are the hidden things? What are the revealed things? How do you know what the pasuk means if you don't know what it's talking about? Rabbeinu Bachya suggests the hidden things for Hashem is a reference to the טעמי המצוות ta'amei ha'mitzvos. The reasons, the purpose, the meaning, the depth, the פנימיות pnimiyus of the mitzvos. True, we can posit, we can conjecture, we can guess, we can study, we can suggest, but in the end of the day, why does Hashem say don't mix wool and linen? How do you pick the good jelly beans from the bad ones? How do you all the laws that govern everything that we do, the mitzvos, only Hashem knows the deeper purpose and reason for all the mitzvos He's commanded. We can study, we can explore, we can suggest, but הנסתרות hanistaros, the hidden depth and the pnimiyus of the mitzvah, that's Hashem. And, says Rabbeinu Bachya, while we can't definitely know the טעמי המצוות ta'amei ha'mitzvos, הנגלות לנו ולבנינו haniglos lanu u'l'vaneinu. What's revealed is for us to perform, meaning, the deeper reason, we can try to explore but ultimately we have to surrender that's Hashem. הנגלות Haniglos, but the revealed, how to do the mitzvah, that we have to do the mitzvah, the details of the mitzvah, that is up to us. The actions, the externals, the performance, that's in our control, that's in our hands. We should try to have mindfulness and intention, try to dive into the pnimiyus while we do it, but ultimately what's the deeper purpose or understanding? הנסתרות לה' Hanistaros l'Hashem. That belongs to Hashem. As I said Rabbeinu Bachya, that is his understanding of these words. Rashi describes the pasuk not as referencing or focusing on our relationship with Hashem and His mitzvos, but the pasuk is talking about our relationship with one another. How? What are a הנסתרות והנגלות nistaros v'niglos, hidden and revealed things? Says Rashi, הנסתרות hanistaros, the hidden mistakes, the concealed indiscretions of a fellow Jew, that's לה' אלקינו l'Hashem Elokeinu. How do we know what our neighbor's looking at on their device? How do we know what they're doing in the privacy of their of their bedroom? How do we know how they're behaving when no one's looking, when they're filing their taxes? הנסתרות Hanistaros, it's hidden from us. How can we be accountable? How can we be responsible? How can we intervene when we don't know? הנסתרות Hanistaros, that which is hidden, it doesn't belong to us. But הנגלות haniglos, what we see them do, our fellow Jews revealed errors and shortcomings, לנו ולבנינו lanu u'l'vaneinu. That's on us. We could intervene. We could intercede. We could inspire. We could elevate. We could enrich. Because כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh. The Jewish people, we are guarantors one for the other. We are mutually responsible one for the other. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar, the אור החיים Or HaChaim, not in our parsha but earlier in the Torah, both bring the, both bring the example. Imagine we're all on a boat together. We're on a rowboat, we're on a cruise ship. Person takes out a drill, they start drilling underneath their seat in the boat. So the other people sitting there say, what are you doing? He says, mind your business, my seat. This is my seat. I paid for this seat. This is my seat. I'll do whatever I want underneath this seat. I'm drilling a hole. Mind your business. What do the other passengers on the boat say? It is my business what's going down under your seat, because you drill a hole, we're all going down. So it is my business. There is no your seat and my seat. We're all in the same vessel, we're all traveling in the same direction, we're all integrated as one, and we have an impact on one another. כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh. We are all guarantors and responsible. We're all in the boat together and the ship together. Therefore, we have to be careful what happens underneath our seat and we're allowed to, we're responsible to. הנגלות לנו ולבנינו Haniglos lanu u'l'vaneinu, what we can see. So what happens in private? I can't be responsible for. But what happens in public? What happens in public? Then I'm responsible. Do we tolerate talking in davening? Do we tolerate bullying? Do we tolerate people who are mean and unkind and divisive with one another? So you'll say, well, I'm in my seat in shul, I'm quiet. I don't talk. I'm not a violator. What did I do wrong? But do we create a culture and a climate, an environment that tolerates talking? Or do we object, do we protest, do we contribute to a positive environment that reinforces that we're going to honor, honor the davening? הנגלות Haniglos, what's happening around us, in the open, לנו ולבנינו lanu u'l'vaneinu, that is on us, we have a shared responsibility. Rav Saloveitchik points out, not only is this true in the positive sense, that we should feel this obligation, we're guarantors one for another, that what we see, what's revealed, we have to be there, inspire, enrich, create a positive environment, positive peer pressure. But says Rav Saloveitchik, we have a shared destiny. We're one unit. We have a single conscience. He points out it's not merely a theoretical הלכתי halachic construct, but it's a central fact in the history of the Jewish people and the nations of the world. Look what's happening. College campuses across this country, Rav Saloveitchik obviously didn't comment on, he passed away many years ago at this point. College campuses, encampments across this country are perpetrating antisemitism against American Jewish students, why? What's happening in Israel. So the student says, what are you taking, why are you blocking me from going to class? Why are you cursing me, why are you throwing things at me, why are you taking it out on me? I'm not in the IDF. I don't live in Israel. What does one thing have to do with the other? The answer is our enemies hold us accountable one for the other. Our enemies blame us. A Jew lands up on the front of the newspaper in a headline for some crime, some fraud, it impacts the way the rest of the world looks at every Jew, looks at every Jew. Our neighbors have always condemned all of us for the crimes of one of us. Our neighbors don't allow a Jew to be judged on his or her merit alone. They look at us in the context of the bigger Jewish people. They point to the behavior of the individual to indict the entire community. No other nation, no other race, no other ethnicity is held to that standard. No one else is judged in that manner. A Jew steals or is found guilty of corruption or fraud, we're all condemned. Conclusions are drawn about all Jews, not just by non-Jews, but by our fellow Jews. They look at Orthodox Jews that way. Our neighbors understand, non-Jews, the world understands ערבות arvus. They hold all the Jews accountable for one another. The UN began today, the meetings at the UN, ימח שמם וזכרם yemach shmam v'zichram, which should be disbanded. They will get together to disproportionately condemn Israel over and over and over again, and even though Hezbollah is operating a state within another state with no territorial conflict with Israel, no boundaries, no accusation of occupation or apartheid, it's purely a violation of every international law, now 10,000 plus rockets over the last year aimed at innocent civilians, and they'll be busy condemning Israel. And then they'll condemn every Jew around the world because of Israel. You know why? Because they understand כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh. And instead of our being bitter, instead of our pushing back and saying, why are you accusing us? We should lean in and embrace it and say yes, we are all responsible one for another. I have no problem with your lumping me in with the, I'm proud and I'm honored for you to include me in how you view the Jews of Israel, how you view the Jews of Israel. So this, this is our responsibility. הנסתרות לה' אלקינו Hanistaros l'Hashem Elokeinu, what we can't see, what we don't know, what people are doing behind closed doors, that's between them and God. There's nothing we can do about it, we don't know about it. But הנגלות haniglos, what's revealed, what we tolerate, the environment we allow, do we make a growth community or is it a fixed mindset community? Do we tolerate fraud, impropriety? Do we tolerate people who are speaking negatively or not? That, הנסתרות, that's לנו ולבנינו haniglos lanu u'l'vaneinu, that's on us. Now go back to the beginning of the parsha. אתם נצבים היום כלכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. The midrash says we should read it, אתם נצבים Atem nitzavim. You, the Jewish people, are standing firm, strong, and triumphant. When? ניצב nitzav, could use the word עומדים omdim. We have many words for standing. עומדים omdim, קוממיות komemiyus, to stand upright. Why ניצבים nitzavim? The Midrash says the word ניצבים nitzavim to be ניצב nitzav is to stand upright, strong, triumphant, proud, resilient, conviction. When? When are we ניצבים היום nitzavim hayom? כלכם לפני השם kulchem lifnei Hashem. When we are united, when we are together, when we have one collective conscience, when we are supporting, when we are caring, when we are לפני השם lifnei Hashem, when we are all לפני השם lifnei Hashem. Flew back yesterday from a wedding. It was an unusual circumstance. I try to book sometimes the aisle and the window when I go with Yocheved, and if the seat's empty, great, and if it's not, we switch. This person wanted the middle. So I sat between me and Yocheved. It was a very, it was an unusual circumstance. So, anyway, Yocheved asked me a question, and this woman said, you know, I'm Jewish, I'm a very reformed Jew. I said, I didn't know we came in scales, like very, little bit, moderate. And I said, what I found myself saying to people a lot lately is you're not a reformed Jew. And then she responds, am I accusing her she's not Jewish? She's not Jewish. I said, you're not a reformed Jew, I'm not an Orthodox Jew. We're just Jewish. We're just Jewish. We're just united. And then we started talking about Israel, our family in Israel, her family in Israel. We have so much more in common that divides us. And by the way, walking to my seat, this was the Newark to West Palm Beach, so it was probably 90% Jewish. Right, walking to my seat, there's a guy in the aisle, he's got no yarmulke on. He gave me and everyone who walked by him a שלום עליכם shalom aleichem. שלום עליכם Shalom aleichem, שלום עליכם shalom aleichem, שלום עליכם shalom aleichem. The bagels are flowing. The Jewish people, the Jewish, the נשמה neshama, the פתאום היד pintele yid is screaming, is crying, is saying, connect to me, the Jewishness in me. Don't look at my yarmulke, I'm very reformed, I barely practice, I don't keep, but I want you to know I'm a Jew. I want you to know I'm a Jew. Not me, I get on a plane and I put on my noise-canceling headphones and I look down, I don't make eye contact. And here everybody, I'm Jewish, they're waving their arms. I'm a Jew, I'm a Jew, connect with me. אתם נצבים היום כלכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. Israel's fighting a war on five fronts. Jews are fighting for our lives everywhere. And how will we persevere? How can we be ניצבים nitzavim? How will we stand strong and firm? כלכם לפני השם kulchem lifnei Hashem. When we are united, and when we are, and when we are together, when we are one. Rav Moshe Sher pointed out Sefer Tehillim ends with the words, we say it every morning in our davening, the completion of the Hallelukas after Ashrei, כל הנשמה תהלל יה kol haneshama tehallel Kah. That all the soul will praise God. כל הנשמה Kol haneshama, Chazal encourage כל הנשמה כל נשימה kol haneshama, kol neshima. With every breath, I praise you, God. נשימה and נשמה Neshima and neshama the same letters. Our breath, we originally received our soul through breath. That's why we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, on the birthday, the anniversary of when we received that soul, we use that same breath to produce the sound of the shofar to affirm, we still God, we have that godly breath inside us. כל הנשמה, כל הנשימה תהלל יה Kol haneshama, kol neshima tehallel Kah. Rav Moshe Sher, zikhrono l'vracha, points out, the word נשמה neshama, not נשמות neshamos, נשמה neshama is in the singular, singular. If we are all united as one soul, with one heart, one goal, one dream, if we feel the pain and the joy of one another, if we show up and we cry, and we support, and we check in, and we care, and we celebrate, and we are responsible, and we are guarantors one for another, כל הנשמה kol haneshama, if we breathe with one breath, תהלל יה tehallel Kah, that is how we can praise you, Hashem. The greatest praise, is there a greater praise for a parent than children getting along? When children are cooperating, when they're getting along, when they love one another, it's the most גשמק geshmak thing for a parent. It is the best thing in the world when you know how your children, how much they talk to each other without you, how invested in them, how confide, how trusting, how they love each other, they don't need you around. כל הנשמה Kol haneshama, when they have the Jewish people, you know, October 7th, we lost our breath as once. And since then, we've been trying to breathe again as one. כל הנשמה Kol haneshama, with one breath. The breath was knocked out of us at one, and now we're breathing again as one, כל הנשמה kol haneshama. We're about to begin the ימים נוראים Yamim Noraim, and with it we'll davven over and over again, ויעשו כולם אגודה אחת לעשות רצונך בלבב שלם v'ya'asu chulam agudah achas la'asos retzoncha b'leivav shalem. Hashem, let us be an אגודה אחת agudah achas. Let us be one bundle, one group, one collective conscience, one unit, one whole, to serve you, to care about you. And that's what our parsha describes. That's how this covenant works. את אשר ישנו פה עמנו עומד היום ואת אשר איננו פה עמנו היום Es asher yeshno po imanu omed hayom v'es asher einenu po imanu hayom. Those who are standing here, את אשר איננו פה עמנו היום es asher einenu po imanu hayom, and those who are not here, those who are not here. That means the Jews who don't know, the very reformed Jews, very reformed Jews who described, self-described themselves that way, as if an out. I don't belong, I won't be going to shul, I don't observe, I don't keep. No such thing, כל הנשמה kol haneshama, we have one, we have one breath. We have one soul. We have one history, we have one destiny, and our enemies lump us together, and we have to see ourselves as being together as an אגודה אחת agudah achas, as one bundle, that are united, and that are integrated, and that are one. And that is the theme of the parsha, and that is how we survive. You know the Slonimer Rebbe wonders, Rashi already quotes, אתם נצבים היום Atem nitzavim hayom, our parsha begins, סמיכות פרשיות smichus parshios, how did last week's parsha end? What was the end of Ki Savo? The horrific תוכחה tochacha, the rebuke, the harsh graphic description of what happens to us if we're disobedient, destroyed, decimated, obliterated, the pain, the suffering. The Klausenberger Rebbe famously, famously when the תוכחה tochacha was read, said, hey, louder, read it louder, louder, we lived it. We lived it, we don't have to whisper it anymore. Scream it, read it louder. We lived it. And now we have this week's parsha, אתם נצבים היום כלכם atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. Rashi says, what's the connection? What's the juxtaposition? What's the continuity? Because if you're afraid, if you're filled with anxiety, Hashem's going to strike me down, the תוכחה tochacha. If I don't observe, if I'm not obedient, if I don't comply, if I don't do everything right, I'm going to be destroyed. So the next week's parsha comes and Moshe says, relax. אתם נצבים היום כלכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. Relax. You're back. We lived through a Ki Savo and we're up to Nitzavim. We're still back. You're back in shul, same people, same problems, same seats, same מקום קבוע makom kavua, same issues. Relax. אתם נצבים היום כלכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. Yeah, you're back. So the Slonimer Rebbe, the Slonimer Rebbe, he asks a question. What's Moshe doing? God was trying to inspire and motivate us by instilling a healthy dose of fear. Wake up. There's going to be consequences. There's going to be accountability. You're going to pay the piper. Wake up. Wake up. Be your best self, live your best life. Wake up. If not, the תוכחה tochacha. And Moshe comes and pulls the carpet out from under God. Ah, relax. We hear that every year. You're still here to tell about it. It's all good. Is Moshe pouring cold water on Hashem's fire? That's what Amalek does להבדיל l'havdil. Hashem lights a fire, he gives this big mussar shmuz, everybody's on fire. Comes Moshe, everybody relax. Chill out. We're still here, still here. Says the Slonimer Rebbe, that's not what Moshe's saying. You know what Moshe was telling them? Moshe is saying the secret to our continuity and survival, how to persevere in דין din, in judgment on the ימי הדין yemei hadin, ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, יום כיפור Yom Kippur that are rapidly coming. You know how? Because if you live as an individual, if you see yourself as separate and apart, if all you care about is yourself, then you're subject to the תוכחה tochacha. Are you worthy or unworthy? Are you deserving or are you going to pay the piper? You might be visited by the תוכחה tochacha if you are an individual. But if you want to persevere, if you want to survive, if you want to thrive, אתם נצבים היום כלכם atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. If you connect with and tap into and see yourself as part of a community and a people and something bigger, then you have nothing to worry about. כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, עם ישראל Am Yisrael, we are the עם הנצח am hanetzach, and therefore ינצח yenatzeach. So if you say, you know, this doesn't concern me, this doesn't bother me, I don't care, I don't give, I don't contribute, I don't participate, I'm not part of something bigger than me, I'm just me living my life with what I want, my happiness, my pleasure. If you're separate and apart, now you're in trouble, because now you're under the microscope. Now God might visit the תוכחה tochacha upon you, because now you have to check your merits, your liabilities, you have to see whether you're worthy. But when you're ניצבים כלכם nitzavim kulchem, when you're part of the עם הנצח am hanetzach, עם הנצח ינצח am hanetzach yenatzeach. The people of eternity will win. God's promise, His prophecy to us is, the Jewish people will always come out on top. We'll suffer casualties, there'll be bumps and bruises, like Yaakov when he wrestled with the angel, we may limp away, but we will always win. We will always survive. There is a bigger plan for us and a bigger purpose for us and we will always persevere because Hashem is always watching. Those are the banners and those are the billboards hanging all over Israel now. עם הנצח ינצח Am hanetzach yenatzeach. And that's what our parsha is telling us. To the degree that we count ourselves among the עם הנצח am hanetzach, אתם נצבים היום כלכם atem nitzavim hayom kulchem, you'll be good. So when you come on Rosh Hashanah, you know, I've quoted many times Rav Wolbe quotes from Rav Yisrael Salanter, that the way to persevere Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, who does not want to be signed in the book of life? Who does not want to be signed in a year of good health and happiness and success and שמחות simchas? You know the best way to ensure you get signed in the book you want? Says Rav Yisrael Salanter, be an איש הציבור, איש הכלל ish hatzibur, ish haklal. Be a person the community counts on. Be somebody indispensable to the community. If you were to disappear, would anybody notice? And if the answer was nobody would notice, you're not living your best life. If you would disappear and all of a sudden they'd say, nobody's collecting the siddurim, nobody's serving as the gabbai, nobody's running the chesed, nobody's doing the bikur cholim, nobody's calling and checking in on those who are shut in, nobody's polishing the silver for the high holidays, nobody is contributing to make sure we have a Rosh Hashanah market so those who are hungry can come and eat, nobody's opening up their wallet. If you would disappear and nobody would notice, versus if you would disappear and all of a sudden everybody would say, uh-oh, we're in trouble. Be the person who's indispensable. Be the person who if something would happen, everybody would notice. Because then we're standing in front of Hashem, not only making the case and the argument why He needs to treat us favorably for us, but Hashem, if something would happen to me, look at everybody it's going to impact. If I don't give to create a Rosh Hashanah market, how many people will go hungry? So don't just help me have פרנסה parnassah because I like vacations and to drive nice cars and to collect nice watches. That's not the reason to ask for פרנסה parnassah this Rosh Hashanah. The reason to ask for פרנסה parnassah this Rosh Hashanah, the reason to say Hashem, let my investments go up, let my portfolio rise, you know why? I do like nice things too. I like to travel nicely, but you know the real reason? Because if you don't help me, I can't help others. And what will happen in a community that doesn't have a Rosh Hashanah market, doesn't have a תומכי שבת tomchei Shabbos, doesn't ensure that everybody has a place and a seat to daven, no matter what they can afford. So the answer is ניצבים היום nitzavim hayom, we have to be able to come together. Okay, פרק ל פסוק ב perek lamed pasuk beis, said we were going to focus on וילך Vayelech, we'll get there in a moment. והיה כי יבואו עליך כל הדברים האלה הברכה והקללה אשר נתתי לפניך והשבות אל לבבך בכל הגוים אשר הדיחך ה' אלקיך שמה v'hayah ki yavo'u alecha kol hadvarim ha'eleh habracha v'haklala asher nasati l'fanecha v'hasheivosa el levavecha b'chol hagoyim asher hidichacha Hashem Elokecha shama. And then you will take it to your heart among all the nations where Hashem your God has dispersed you, has dispersed you. ושבת עד ה' אלקיך ושמעת בקולו ככל אשר אנכי מצוך היום אתה ובניך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך V'shavta ad Hashem Elokecha v'shamata b'kolo k'chol asher anochi metzavcha hayom atah u'vanecha b'chol levavcha u'vchol nafshecha. Page 1090, chapter 30, verse two. You return to Hashem, your God, you listen to his voice according to everything I command you today, you and your children with all of your heart and with all of your soul. With all of your heart and with all of your soul. What's the pasuk that preceded this? Hashem says, I've given you the blessing and the curse, and when you return to God. What motivates and inspires returning to God? So wonders the Meged Yosef in Parshas, the הולך כל פסוק הקודם והיה כי יבואו עליך כל הדברים האלה holech kol pasuk hakodem, v'haya ki yavo'u alecha kol hadvarim ha'eleh, after you're visited by the blessing and the curse, now you're going to want to return. ויש להבין בשלמא קללה מביא לידי תשובה V'yesh l'havin bishlama klala mevi l'yedei teshuva. I understand why when a person is struck with a קללה klala, with a curse, when a person is suffers and goes through a challenging time, they're motivated and they're inspired to what? To improve, to grow, to repair, to repent. איך ברכה מביא לידי תשובה Eich bracha mevi l'yedei teshuva. But when a person has everything going right, they normally do not see themselves as needing to go through a radical transformation. So why is ברכה bracha included as one of the catalysts, one of the stimulants that's going to inspire a person to change or grow? When a person feels challenged, they're suffering or cursed, then they say, I got to change something, I got to mix it up, I got to improve, I got to be worthy of more or better. But when a person experiences blessing, they're not normally motivated. So why, why both ברכה and קללה bracha and klala? This is the question of the Meged Yosef. וניראה דהנה הברכה בפני עצמה אינה מביאה לידי תשובה V'nireh d'hinei habracha bifnei atzma eina mevia l'yedei teshuva. וגם קללה בפני עצמה יכול להביא לידי יאוש v'gam klala bifnei atzma yechola l'havi l'yedei yeush. He says really it's not the blessing or curse alone or isolated that inspire change, transformation. Because if a person feels the suffering of their cursed, they could despair. They could give up. They could become hopeless and helpless. It's when they see it contrasted with blessing that now they're motivated. They say, you know, I want, I'm worthy, I'm capable. I can try more. I can try harder. I can try harder. And that's why it's the combination of blessing and curse which brings us together. That is the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef. Interesting, the Torah says we will be inspired to do תשובה teshuva, ושבת v'shafta. ושבת V'shafta means to return, which is the root of the word תשובה teshuva, to return to our pure, pristine state, to return back onto the path that's going to get us to our destination. We've taken a detour. We took a detour. Bad מידות midos, bad decisions, bad choices, bad lifestyle. We're getting back on that path, back on that highway towards who we're meant to be. ושבת V'shafta, we're meant to return. ושבת V'shafta. Where do we return?So if you'd ask me, I would have described תשובה teshuva as, you know where you should return to? Innocence, purity, positivity, virtue. Return to not gossiping and slandering. Return to honesty. Return to patience. Return to כשר kosher and שבת Shabbos and טהרת המשפחה taharas hamishpacha. Return to observance with vigilance, be scrupulous. Return, I would think to actions, performance, lifestyle. I think that's what תשובה teshuva is all about. That's what you're returning to. And yet, that's not how the Torah couches it. The Torah presents this מצוה mitzvah of תשובה teshuva, ושבת v'shafta, where are you returning to? עד ad, to what? עד השם אלוקך Ad Hashem Elokecha. עד השם אלוקך Ad Hashem Elokecha. This is what we're studying on Wednesday mornings by עם דעקה רב יצחק מאיר Im De'aka Rav Yitzchak Meir about אלול Elul. He's building this theme. We said it last week at שלוש סעודות Shaleshudes, the הילולא דריוה דריוון Hilula D'reiva d'rivan. The תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel. שמואל ברנבוים Shmuel Berenbaum also expressed this theme. Everybody expresses this theme. Hashem cares about what we do. Our actions, our choices, our behavior, our performance. Of course, it matters. But why does it matter? It matters because what it reveals about and how it impacts our relationship with him. That's what really matters. That's why in last week's פרשה parsha, in the תוכחה tochacha, 98 curses because of the mistakes, the poor judgment, the bad choices that we make. But Hashem gives us the one word reason. He says, עזבתנו azavtanu. You abandon me, you forsake me, you walked away from me, you ignored me, you neglected me. Our relationship is suffering and struggling. There's daylight between us. Why? Because you've abandoned me. You've ignored me. You've ignored me. It's true in every relationship. Why do marriages fall apart? Because how many times could I ask you to put the socks in the hamper, not next to the hamper. Put the cap on the toothpaste. How many times can I ask you, remind you to take out the garbage? That it's picked up Monday and Thursday mornings. Why? You're you're ignoring, you're neglecting, you're abandoning me. עזבתני Azavtani. You've you've ignored me. So is the divorce because of the socks? Is the divorce because of the cap on the toothpaste? No. And yes. Yes, because that action, but what it reveals about abandonment. So Hashem says all this platform of Torah and mitzvos are invitations and opportunities to connect, to love, to feel an embrace. And when you ignore, you miss an opportunity. So ושבת v'shafta, what's תשובה teshuva? עד השם אלוקך Ad Hashem Elokecha. דוד המלך David Hamelech says, it's a beautiful, relatively new song, I won't sing it for you. קרבת אלוקים לי טוב ואני קרבת אלוקים לי טוב Kirvas Elokim li tov v'ani kirvas Elokim li tov. דוד המלך David Hamelech says, when it comes to me, קרבת אלוקים לי טוב Kirvas Elokim li tov. Feeling connected and close and intimate with Hashem, לי טוב li tov, that's all I want. That's what I, I just want to feel close to you. I want to feel connected. I want to confide. I want to feel loved. I want to feel supported. I want to feel affection. I want to feel admiration. ואני קרבת אלוקים לי טוב V'ani kirvas Elokim li tov. As for me, feeling close to you. So this is ושבת עד השם אלוקך v'shafta ad Hashem Elokecha. The mission, the mandate, the goal of תשובה teshuva is of course to start putting the socks in the hamper. But it's not about the socks. It was never about the socks. It was when the socks don't make it in the hamper, what does it say about how much you care about me? and making me happy and meeting my need and following through on what I've asked you to do. ושבת עד השם אלוקך V'shafta ad Hashem Elokecha, come close to Hashem. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, ושבת עד השם אלוקך v'shafta ad Hashem Elokecha. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik picks up on the word עד ad, עד ad. The מדרש Medrash records the following conversation. בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael say to the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam, if we repent, who will testify for us? He says, I'll testify. As it says, ושבת עד השם אלוקך v'shafta ad Hashem Elokecha. עד ad, don't read it עד ad, read it עֵד eid, as a witness. גמרא יומא דף פ\"ו Gemara Yoma daf pei vav brings a different homily based on the same פסוק pasuk. The גמרא Gemara there says, גדול תשובה gadol teshuva. Great is repentance because it reaches כיסא הכבוד Kisei Hakavod, the throne of glory. As it says, ושבת עד השם אלוקך v'shafta ad Hashem Elokecha. Where is the source of this idea? There's a significant difference between the word עד ad and אֶל el. עד ad, עד ad up to and אֶל el, אֶל el means towards, to. Says רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik. The word אֶל el to means I'm going in a specific direction. I've not yet reached my goal. While the word עד ad means I've already reached that goal. My hands can reach out and so to say even touch the throne of glory itself. The רמב\"ם Rambam speaks of תשובה teshuva. He describes it as cleaving to the שכינה Shechina. The רמב\"ם הלכות תשובה פרק ז הלכה ז Rambam Hilchos Teshuva Perek Zayin Halacha Zayin is being דבק daveik to cling to the שכינה Shechina. One who has repented cleaves and is united with the presence of Hashem. But a connection with the שכינה Shechina is brought about in only one way, through the enactment of a covenant. Without enacting a covenant, it's impossible to achieve the unique setup that characterizes the relationship between Hashem and man. This is the significance of the פסיקתא דרב כהנא Pesikta D'Rav Kahana in the מדרש Medrash. How can a Jew achieve the status of on Hashem? Is it possible for any human to really cleave to Hashem? A union of this sort can only be achieved by renewal of the covenant with the holy one, can be accomplished through repentance. And he goes on, he explains much more. But עד ad and אֶל el. עד ad and אֶל el.I'll just read a, I'll skip to the end. Can a Jew genuinely feel his presence? Based on my own personal experience, writes רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, the encounter with God is imminently possible. Man not only must believe in Hashem, he must feel Hashem's hand supporting his head during times of emotional turmoil. Potential בעלי תשובה baalei teshuva pine for the sublime sense of hearing God's whisper. The experience of עד השם Ad Hashem of of of going to God involves the very real perception of contact, communication, dialogue. This sensation is expressed in the Talmudic passage, גדול התשובה Gadol hateshuva, great is repentance. Without my feeling the presence of God in 1967, when I suffered the loss of my mother, my brother, and my wife all in the same year, I would not have been able to maintain my emotional equilibrium. The perception of God's proximity was particularly strong during the study of Torah. While pouring over the opinions of אביי ורבא Abaye and Rava, I sensed God's presence in the room. Says רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, he lost in one year his mother, his brother, and his wife. He was broken. When his wife died after the third loss in one year, he was broken. His students describe what he was like that year. And the great בריסקר Brisker, the great סולובייצ'יק Soloveitchik, רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, who didn't believe in going to cemeteries, when he lost his wife, didn't stop going to the cemetery. Couldn't stop bringing himself to go, connect, and see her. Didn't stop going to the cemetery. He says, how did I get through three losses in one year, including his wife? אין אישה מתה אלא לבעלה Ein isha meisa ela l'ba'alah. The loss of a spouse, the other half, feel so alone. He said it was only because of the proximity, the presence of Hashem's proximity. Feeling עד השם אלוקך ad Hashem Elokecha. I can reach out, I can grab on, I can hold, I can feel connected to. So that's תשובה teshuva. It's not אֶל el. I'm not going towards something and I'll never get there. It's עד ad. I can grab on. I can restore that relationship. קרבת אלוקים לי טוב Kirvas Elokim li tov. I can connect and the closeness and the intimacy and the connection with Hashem, for me, that is good. Let's go to פרשת וילך Parshas Vayeilech. פרק ל\"א פסוק א Perek lamed aleph, pasuk aleph. page 1094. וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe, and Moshe went. וידבר את הדברים האלה אל כל ישראל Vayidaber es hadvarim ha'eleh el kol Yisrael. Moshe went and he spoke all these things. Where did he go? וילך Vayeilech, he went. Where did he go? He's in the middle of a speech. He's got his mic, he's got his camera, he's got his podcast, he's talking to all of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. וילך Vayeilech. Where did he go? Says the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef. הנה תמיד כשמשה רבינו רצה לדבר עם בני ישראל Hinei tamid k'sheMoshe Rabeinu ratza l'daber im Bnei Yisrael, whenever Moshe wanted to speak to the Jewish people, קרא להם לבא אליו kara lahem lavo eilav, על ידי החצוצרות והיו למקרא עדה al yedei hachatzotzros v'hayu l'mikra eida. Whenever Moshe wanted to speak, he sent out an email, he sent out a phone tree, he sent out a mass text, and he'd say, no, everybody to the שול shul, big congregational meeting, I got something to say. Moshe would assemble all the people. He would blow the חצוצרות chatzotzros, he would blow the trumpets, gather the people, and communicate the message. And here, what does Moshe do? Takes the show on the road. Instead of assembling everybody in the שול shul, in the משכן Mishkan, he takes the show on the road. וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe. Why? Why? אם כן לא יובן מדוע כאן נצטרך משה ללכת אצל בני ישראל Im kein lo yuvan madua kan nitztarech Moshe leilech eitzel Bnei Yisrael. What was the message here so different that it required Moshe to not stay put and the people would come to him, but that Moshe would go to them. חז\"ל, המדרש ספרי בבהעלותך Chazal, hamedrash Sifrei b'Behaaloscha, דורשים מזה שאין שלטון ביום המות dorshim mizeh she'ein shilton b'yom hamaves. The רמב\"ן Ramban, the רבנו חיים Rabbeinu Chaim, the ספורנו Sforno all bring this and other opinions. Why did Moshe have to go on the road? Why? אין שלטון Ein shilton. He had no authority on the day of his death. That day was the last day of his life. He was going to die. He no longer had the authority to call them. He therefore went to them. ונראה עוד דבר זה על פי דברי מראנא גרי\"ז V'nireh od davar zeh al pi divrei Maran haGriz, but the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef quotes ר' ולוול, הבריסקער רב Rav Velvel, the Brisker Rav. שמשה מכניס את יהושע תחתיו להיות כמלך והן כנשיא הסנהדרין SheMoshe machnis et Yehoshua tachtav l'hiyos k'melech v'hein k'nasi haSanhedrin. What happens now in our פרשה parsha, Moshe appoints יהושע Yehoshua, his successor, as the king and as the prince, as the נשיא Nasi, the head of the סנהדרין Sanhedrin, the head of the great of the supreme court. והנה מכיוון שמשה עומד להראות לעם את יהושע העובר לפניהם V'hinei m'keivan she'Moshe omed l'haros l'am es Yehoshua ha'over l'fneihem, and Moshe is about to say, Yehoshua will pass before you. משמע שדיבר בענייני מינוי המלך Mashma she'diber b'inyanei minui hamelech, means that here he's about to meet with them to tell them what? I'm passing the baton, transition, continuity, succession. Who's taking over? יהושע Yehoshua. בחירת המלך נסים על פי הנביא ועל פי אורים ותומים B'chiras hamelech na'asis al pi haNavi v'al pi Urim v'Tumim. How is the king appointed? With the prophet and using the holy אורים ותומים Urim v'Tumim. ומכל מקום כדי לקים שום תשים עליך מלך U'mikol makom k'dei l'kayem som tasim alecha melech, but in order for the king to really, the monarchy to take hold, what has to happen? אין מלך בלא עם Ein melech b'lo am. The people have to accept. So if Moshe were to summon everyone to come hear him, and the point of the message was I'm no longer in charge, it would defeat the message to summon everyone to him. How could he demonstrate the message? By going to them. וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe. Very, very creative. Says רב יוסף סורוצקין Rav Yosef Sorotzkin in the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef, you know why this message required Moshe to deviate from his normal pattern and to go to them rather than for them to come to him? Why? Because the whole message was, I'm no longer in charge. Continuity, transition. I've handed it off to יהושע Yehoshua. How can I demonstrate I'm not in charge, I handed it off? I'm not calling you to come to me. I am coming to you. That is what the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef says. The אמרי טהרות Imrei Tehoros, first of the day. The holy רחמישטרבקה רבה Rachmastrivka Rebbe has several interpretations here at the beginning of the פרשה parsha. He says the following. The תולדות Toldos writes on this פסוק pasuk וילך משה וידבר את הדברים, משה רבינו רצה עתה לדבר דברי מוסר Vayeilech Moshe vayidaber es hadvarim, Moshe Rabeinu ratza ata l'daber divrei musar. Moshe wanted to communicate an inspirational message. וכאשר המוכיח אומר מוסר לישראל יש לו לחוב ולכלול דברים על עצמו V'ka'asher hamochiach omer musar l'Yisrael yesh lo lachov u'lichlol dvarim al atzmo. לזה אמר וילך משה וידבר L'zeh amar vayeilech Moshe vayidaber. כאשר דיבר משה דברי תוכחה הלך וכלל עצמו עם ישראל Ka'asher diber Moshe divrei tochacha halach v'kalal atzmo im Yisrael. You know, when a person gives over a message of rebuke, gives מוסר musar, when a person is trying to motivate, they need to see themselves and include themselves in the message. This time of year, רבנים rabbonim, ראשי ישיבה roshei yeshiva, משגיחים mashgichim, they're all standing up in front of the בית מדרש beis medrash, the שול shul, and are saying, I'm not really talking to you, I'm really talking to myself. Talking to myself, I'm letting you listen in. It has a softer landing. It's not as harsh a blow when I'm giving you מוסר musar if I say, I'm really talking to myself. We're not just supposed to say that, we're supposed to believe that. It's supposed to mean that. I need to work on. I'm talking to myself. So that is what the רחמסטריבקער Rachmastrivker says. וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe. Moshe went, where? To talk to himself. וידבר את הדברים האלה אל כל ישראל Vayidaber es hadvarim ha'eleh el kol Yisrael. He went to speak, he went to say it to himself. That is the first interpretation for it to be effective, Moshe spoke to himself. וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe, another interpretation, תפארת שלמה Tiferes Shlomo. רב שלמה מרדומסק Rav Shlomo m'Radomsk says, maybe it means וילך משה אף לאחר שכבר הלך ונסתלק מן העולם Vayeilech Moshe, af l'achar shekvar halach v'nistalek min haolam, וידבר את הדברים האלה אל כל ישראל vayidaber es hadvarim ha'eleh el kol Yisrael. וילך Vayeilech. Even after Moshe died, even after Moshe departed this world, he continues to speak all these things to the Jewish people. Isn't it amazing? That there's not a day on this globe, on this planet called Earth, that משה רבינו's Moshe Rabeinu's name is not invoked thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of times. Jewish children and adults, men, women around the world are constantly referencing, quoting, talking in our דאווענען davening, משה רבינו Moshe Rabeinu. He continues to teach us. That's why in perpetuity he is משה רבינו Moshe Rabeinu. I was thinking the other day how we call him משה Moshe. משה Moshe asked, God spoke to משה Moshe, why did משה Moshe, משה Moshe, you know, we'd never call our rabbi by their first name. We'd never call our teacher their first name. We'd never call the גדול הדור Gadol Hador, רב משה פיינשטיין Rav Moshe Feinstein was רב משה Rav Moshe, רב יעקב Rav Yaakov, the רב Rav, the רבה Rebbe. And here we call him משה Moshe so casual. We shouldn't. He also has a title. What's his title? משה רבינו Moshe Rabeinu. He's not רב משה Rav Moshe, רב משה Rav Moshe. משה רבינו Moshe Rabeinu is not... He's משה רבינו Moshe Rabeinu. In perpetuity, forever, he is our teacher. וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe. Even after he left this world, וידבר את הדברים האלה אל כל ישראל vayidaber es hadvarim ha'eleh el kol Yisrael. He is still speaking all of these things to the Jewish people. His Torah is called, we call the Torah תורת השם Toras Hashem. We call it a תורת חיים Toras Chaim. It's a Torah, a blueprint, instruction manual for life. We also call it תורת משה Toras Moshe. משה אמת ותורתו אמת Moshe emes v'soroso emes. It's תורת משה Toras Moshe. We associate, we identify, we link the Torah with משה Moshe, because even after וילך משה vayeilech Moshe, even after he left this world, וידבר את הדברים האלה vayidaber es hadvarim ha'eleh. He is still speaking all of these things. He is still teaching. He is still speaking. The רחמסטריבקער Rachmastrivker then quotes another interpretation. He quotes the אורח לחיים Orach L'Chaim, not the אור החיים Ohr Hachaim, but the אורח לחיים Orach L'Chaim. למה הוצרך לומר שמשה הלך אל ישראל Lama huthrach lomar sheMoshe halach el Yisrael? מה נפקא מינה אם משה הלך אל ישראל או ישראל באו ונתקבצו Mah nafka mina im Moshe halach el Yisrael o Yisrael bau v'niskabtzu? What do we care? Isn't the message important? Not the מקום makom, the place where it was said? Why do we care if he called all the people to come to him or he went to them? Why does it make a difference? So much so that the whole פרשה parsha is introduced with these words וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe. And Moshe went tent to tent to deliver a message. כי הנה האדם הוא בבחינת הולך Ki hinei ha'adam hu bivchinas holeich. The message wasn't about who went to whom. What is the message? הולך Holeich. The idea is we have two ways of life, two mentalities in life. You can be an הולך holeich or you can be an עומד omeid. A הולך holeich means you're moving. There's movement. עומד Omeid means you're standing still. You're standing still. The מלאכים malachim, the angels are, the נביא navi describes the angels as being עומדים omdim. Angel stand still. אינם מסעלים מדרגה למדרגה רק עומדים תמיד על המדרגה שבה נבראו Einam misalim m'madreiga l'madreiga rak omdim tamid al hamadreiga sheba nivre'u. Why? Because an angel is created fixed, set, stagnant. The angel is permanent, the way that they were, what's an angel? An angel is an emanation and extension of God that has a mission and a purpose, an expression of God in this world. That's why they exist, that angel. The angel doesn't have temptation, desire, drive. The angel doesn't have free will. The angel doesn't have an alter ego. The angel just has a mission that God sets it on, and it completes it and it's done. So the angel is עומד omeid. It's a fixed mindset. It's stagnant, it's set. It is what you see is what you get. מה שאין כן האדם, אדם יכול ללכת ולהתעלות כל יום מדרגה למדרגה Mah she'ein kein ha'adam, adam yachol lalechet u'l'hisalos kol yom m'madreiga l'madreiga. אדם מן האדמה Adam min ha'adama. We are from the ground. The ground blossoms and grows and advances and we are able to be a הולך holeich. We go, we move, we advance, we progress. A person can't and shouldn't ever be an עומד omeid. We're not עומדים omdim. That's why the ramp to the altar, to the מזבח mizbeach, wasn't steps. Was a ramp because steps you can climb and then you could stand still. You could catch your breath. You could take a break. You could sit down. But we're not עומדים omdim. The service of Hashem, the path to the מזבח mizbeach, isn't stairs that you stop, that you take a break, that you stand still, that you become fixed. We are forever הולכים holchim. We're moving, moving, moving, advancing and growing all the time. משה רבינו הלך כל יום והתעלה מדרגה למדרגה Moshe Rabeinu halach kol yom v'his'aleh m'madreiga l'madreiga. Moshe was always striving and growing. He had ambition. אבל עתה ביום פטירתו מן העולם Aval ata b'yom ptiraso min ha'olam. Now it's the last day of his life, Moshe is essentially, Moshe is on the last moments. לא היה יכול להתעלות עוד למדרגה גבוהה יותר Lo haya yachol l'hisalos od l'madreiga g'voha yoseir. He can't climb any higher, as the next pasuk says, לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבוא lo uchal od latzeis v'lavo. I can't any longer go out and come. I no longer can serve in my role. I no longer have capacity. I'm at the end of my life. I'm on my deathbed. This is it. This is it. The end of the road. פירוש רש\"י שנטלה ממנו הרשות ונסתמו ממנו מעינות החכמה Peirush Rashi she'nitla mimenu ha'reshus v'nistamlu mimenu maayanos hachochma. Moshe lost, he lost some of that wisdom, that channel of prophecy. לכאורה שביום זה לא היה יכול להיות בגדר הולך אלא עומד L'chorah she'b'yom zeh lo haya yachol l'hiyos b'geder holeich ela omeid. So you would think Moshe is now, it's his retirement party. It's over. He's hanging them up. He's done. He's finished. He's passed the baton. It's the last day of his life. You would think now he's an עומד omeid. Now he's standing still. Now he's finally sitting down. Now he's finally resting. No. אף על פי כן התחכם משה להיות הולך גם אתה במצב זה Af al pi chein hischakeim Moshe l'hiyos holeich gam ata b'matzav zeh. Even in that state, he chooses to still be a הולך holeich. Moshe is forever moving. He is forever growing. He is forever going. That's וילך משה אף ביום פטירתו היה בגדר הולך Vayeilech Moshe, af b'yom p'tiraso haya b'geder holeich. Even on the last day of his life, he's a הולך holeich. He's going. If you've never read Carol Dweck's book, Growth Mindset, it's an incredible book. She basically distinguishes life, there are two types of people. Those who have a fixed mindset and those who have a growth mindset. And it's a, it's not a hard read or a long read, but she breaks up life or people into those two categories. And then she shows the נפקא מינה nafka mina, the practical difference in how you lead your life. People with a fixed mindset say this, do this, live this. People with a growth mindset live and say and this is their attitude and approach. And the question is, which are we? Are we what you see is what you get? And this is it, and I'm stuck, and I'm fixed, and this is who I am permanently? Or do we have a growth mindset? A growth mindset. We have, we have people in their 90s in our shul. We have a couple of people who are over 100 in our shul who are still growing. They're young. Are you young or old is not about the age. Age is just a number. There are young people who are old because they're fixed. At 25, this is it. This is what you see is what you get. This is who they are. This is how they're going to be. In their character, in their approach to life, in their perspective, in their life and their lifestyle. And you have people who are 100 years old who are learning and growing and changing and transforming. So age is just a number. Young or old is are you fixed or growth? Moshe Rabeinu is on the last day of his life. The last day of his life. And how does the Torah describe him? וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe. He's not like an angel who's an עומד omeid. He's וילך vayeilech. He's moving, he's going, he's growing, he's doing. He has a growth mindset even on the last day of his life. וילך משה Vayeilech Moshe. פרק ל\"א פסוק ב Perek lamed aleph pasuk beis, next pasuk. Moshe says לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבוא lo uchal od latzeis v'lavo. He says I'm 120 today. לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבוא lo uchal od latzeis v'lavo. That's why we wish each other, may you live to 120. You know the terrible Jewish joke? What do you say to somebody before the 120th birthday? Have a nice day. Have a good day. והשם אמר, but it's terrible. Why can't we live till more than 120? Because Moshe couldn't make it past 100. People should live to 200. והשם אמר אלי לא תעבור את הירדן הזה V'Hashem amar eilai lo sa'avor es haYarden hazeh. Moshe turns to the people and he says, I'm 120. I'm 120 today. I can't go in and come out anymore. But Hashem said to me, this is it. It's the end of the road. You're not crossing the Jordan. You're not entering the land. You're not entering the land. לא אוכל עוד lo uchal od. לא אוכל עוד lo uchal od. Says the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef, לא אוכל עוד lo uchal od, Rashi, first Rashi. לצאת ולבוא בדברי תורה Latzeis v'lavo b'divrei Torah. What was he not able to do anymore, Moshe? I no longer, they took away the keys, I can't drive anymore? What's I can't do anymore? Can't walk without a walker anymore? No more tennis? Can't ride my bicycle? לצאת ולבוא בדברי תורה למה שנסתמו ממנו מסורות ומעיינות החכמה Latzeis v'lavo b'divrei Torah, lama, shenistamu mimenu mesoros u'maayanos hachochma. Moshe lost the channels of wisdom. He lost access to that wisdom. והדבר תמוה מהספר מגיד יוסף על זה רש\"י V'hadavar tamua m'sefer Maggid Yosef al zeh Rashi. וכי משום שעבר את שרביטו והנהגה ליהושע צריך הקדוש ברוך הוא ליטול ממשה את חכמתו שקנה בעמל ויגיעה V'chi mishum she'he'evir es sharvito v'hanhaga l'Yehoshua tzrich Hakadosh Baruch Hu litol m'Moshe es chochmaso shekana b'amal v'yegia? I don't understand. Because he passed the baton to Yehoshua, because there was succession and leadership, now Moshe therefore can't be as wise anymore? הנה כבר הרגשנו שכל מנהיג חוץ ממדרגה שמעתיק בכוח עצמו יש לו גם סייעתא דשמיא מיוחדת בזכות הציבור שאותו הוא מנהיג Hinei kvar hirgashnu shekol manhig chutz m'madreiga she'ma'atik b'koach atzmo, yesh lo gam siyata d'shmaya meyachedes bizchus hatzibur she'oso hu manhig. And here the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef says something I can tell you and I can testify is 100% true. Which is, when there is a teacher of Torah, their skill, their capacity, however compelling they are, their novel, creative ideas, it all comes in the merit of the ציבור tzibur, the community they are teaching. The community they are teaching. They're undeserving. I'm undeserving. It is only the סייעתא דשמיא siyata d'shmaya comes בזכות הציבור שאותו הוא מנהיג bizchus hatzibur she'oso hu manhig. When Rabbi Eli Mansour spoke here a couple years ago, he said that when he is at home in his shul, the דרשות drashos and שיעורים shiurim come and flow much easier than when he goes as a scholar and residence on the road. Because when he's speaking somewhere else, he doesn't have a relationship with that ציבור tzibur. He doesn't draw from their merit. So he has to work twice as hard. But his ציבור tzibur, that he's connected, he's the מנהיג manhig, he's the shepherd of, in the זכות zechus and the merit of that ציבור tzibur, there's a סייעתא דשמיא siyata d'shmaya. There's a סייעתא דשמיא siyata d'shmaya. I certainly feel that. I am unworthy and I am undeserving, and I don't deserve credit for any of the שיעורים shiurim I have the privilege and privilege of giving. It's you. It's you. It's you, my holy חברה chevra. It's you, those I have the privilege, privilege to learn with. Because you show up. I'm thinking about stopping to stream because I see people are just watching online and not, and I want to feel your energy. I want to be in the same room. I want to be able to see that smile or that reaction. I want you to roll your eyes when I make a corny joke. I want you to smile or laugh because you're doing a חסד chesed and kindness to me. I want to exchange energy. I want to be in the same place. I want to be connected. Because it's in your זכות zechus. I don't know if you get a זכות הציבור zechus hatzibur online. I don't know if the global... I want the global community to give. But I don't know if the global community creates the זכות הציבור zechus hatzibur. You got to be in person. אם כן ניראה פשוט שאותה תורה שקנה משה בעמל ויגיעה לא נתן ליטול ממנו Im kein nireh pashut she'ota Torah shekana Moshe b'amal v'yegia lo nitan litol mimenu. So whatever Moshe had learned in the past couldn't be taken from him. But now, those channels, that pipeline, now that access to that merit, that סייעתא דשמיא siyata d'shmaya, that divine providence in Torah, it was turned off. Now that Moshe handed the baton, now that he was no longer the leader, now that there was succession to Yehoshua, therefore, נסתמו מסורות ומעיינות החכמה nistamu mesoros u'maayanos hachochma. Because תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim, תלמידות חכמות talmidos chachamos need to know that their learning, their privilege to teach, the flow and ease with which they share, it all comes in the זכות zechus of the ציבור tzibur. And when one loses that זכות zechus of the ציבור tzibur, they lose their privilege and that capacity. פרק ל\"א פסוק ו' Perek lamed aleph pasuk vav. חזקו ואמצו אל תיראו ואל תערצו מפניהם Chizku v'imtzu al tiru v'al ta'artzu mipneihem. Moshe turns and he says, I know you're worried. You're going to go into the land of Israel. And by doing so, you're going to paint a target on your back. You know why? Because Israel's filled with enormous oil reserves. No, not why. Why? Why? It's a mystery. The whole world is focused and fixated on this tiny country smaller than the state of New Jersey. Why? Because of its gold, its silver, its oil? Why? Because the Torah predicted they would be. The whole world will be fixated. You'll fight wars on multiple fronts. But don't worry, says Hashem. And we read this right in the right time. ונתנם השם לפניכם ועשיתם להם ככל המצווה אשר צויתי אתכם Unesanam Hashem lifneichem v'asisem lahem k'chol hamitzvah asher tzivisi eschem. Promises Hashem, don't worry, why? I will deliver them before you. Right as we began, I think Israel just took out another member of the Hezbollah team. You know the joke is, now if you work in Hezbollah, you desperately do not want a promotion. Nobody wants a promotion. They took out the head of the missile. They took out, they set them back 20 years longer. They should destroy them all together, eliminate them. Hashem promises, we delivered to your hands. חזקו ואמצו Chizku v'imtzu, be strong and courageous. אל תיראו ואל תערצו מפניהם Al tiru v'al ta'artzu mipneihem. Don't be afraid and don't be broken before them, because God כי השם אלוקך הוא ההולך עמך ki Hashem Elokecha hu haholeich imach. Because God goes with us. לא ירפך ולא יעזבך Lo yarpcha v'lo ya'azveka. He will not release you and he will not forsake you. You have nothing to be afraid of. Take Hashem with you. There's a terrible dichotomy going on in the world right now and I fear too many, too few, rather, are willing to live with the nuance that is the truth in between. It is, it is ignorant and wrong and foolish and insensitive to suggest that our victory in Gaza or in the north or anywhere is only because of those who sit and learn Torah and who daven. Of course, we have to thank and credit and praise and admire and endlessly support our holy soldiers. Period, end of sentence. They are putting their lives on the line, they're on the front lines, they deserve our admiration, our appreciation, our love and support. It is also foolish and ignorant and a mistake to think that any success we have is only because of our brave and courageous and amazing soldiers who deserve all that credit. It is also because we lean in and love and learn Torah and daven from the bottom of our hearts and turn to Hashem and recognize his presence. It is that combination which has always been true. אלף למטה, אלף למטה elef l'mata, elef l'mata. Ever since we fought Midyan, פרשת מטות-מסעי Parshas Matos-Masei. And it is true until today. And that's what the Torah tells us over and over again. Is don't think it is only our physical might and weapons and prowess and knowhow and courage to make a shell company and design pagers that can be remotely detonated and blow up. It's not only because. How did that happen and why did that happen? Because השם אלוקך הוא הולך עמך Hashem Elokecha hu holeich imach. לא ירפך ולא יעזבך Lo yarpcha v'lo ya'azveka. Says the רחמסטריבקער Rachmastrivker, the אמרי טהרות Imrei Tehoros. יש להבין למה פתח הכתוב בלשון רבים אל תיראו וסיים בלשון יחיד כי השם אלוקך הוא הולך עמך Yesh l'havin lama pasach hakasuv b'lashon rabim, al tiru, u'siyam b'lashon yachid, ki Hashem Elokecha hu holeich imach. This pasuk is incongruous. It has a shift in grammar. It begins אל תיראו al tiru. תיראו Tiru is לשון רבים lashon rabim, plural. Begins in the plural and it ends in the singular כי השם אלוקך הוא הולך עמך ki Hashem Elokecha hu holeich imach. Hashem walks with you. כי על ידי שישראל הם באחדות Ki al yedei she'Yisrael heim b'achdus, we come back to how we began this year. When the Jewish people are united as one, כאיש אחד בלב אחד k'ish echad b'lev echad, אז השכינה שורה עליהם ומגינה עליהם להשמר מכל רע az hashchina shora aleihem u'megina aleihem l'hishamer mikol ra. Then the divine providence dwells upon us and protects us. וזהו שאמר, אל תיראו ואל תערצו מפניהם V'zehu she'amar, al tiru v'al ta'artzu mipneihem. Don't be afraid. Why? כי השם אלוקך הולך עמך Ki Hashem Elokecha holeich imach. כי כשהשכינה שורה בקרבכם והולכת עמכם לזה אמר בלשון יחיד Ki k'shehashchina shora b'kirbchem v'holeches imchem, l'zeh amar b'lashon yachid. דווקא כאשר ישראל davka ka'asher Yisrael, when we are united, when we are בלשון יחיד b'lashon yachid, when we are one, עמך imach, הולך עמך holech imach. When Hashem walks with us, singular, one, when we are united, when we are one, when we are one people, when we have a shared history and a shared destiny, a shared... when we are one, then we the plural אל תראו al tiru have nothing to be afraid of. But if we're going to be splintered and broken and wrong, criticizing and blaming and pointing fingers, and separating and dividing, then Hashem takes away that promise, אל תראו al tiru. Then טאקע takeh we have a lot to be afraid of. So if we want to not fear and be afraid, אחדות achdus. אתם נצבים היום כולכם Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. We have to be united, we have to be one, there's work for all of us to do. How can we do that? How do we do that well? It's going to be one of the parts of the שבת שובה דרשה Shabbos Shuvah drasha. A method and a strategy, how to love the people you don't like. How to love the people you even don't like. And there are people that we desperately don't like. They're voting different than we are. They think differently about that issue I just mentioned. Service, not service in the army, learning. How do you love the people that you couldn't disagree with more? How do you love the people that you're struggling to like? What is a strategy? How do you love the parts of yourself that you don't like? That's a little bit of a taste of what is to come שבת שובה Shabbos Shuvah. Stay tuned whether we're having a שיעור shiur next week, undecided. Have to see how the דרשה drasha is coming. You'll be updated in the WhatsApp group. We should hear בשורות טובות besoros tovos for עם ישראל Am Yisrael. Please remain to complete all of ספר תהילים Sefer Tehillim. It'll only take
