Transcript
Good morning and welcome back to פרשה *Parsha* Perspectives for today. Wonderful to see everyone. Thank you for being here. Our פרשה *Parsha* series is generously sponsored by Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman. לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מונש *L'ilui nishmas David ben Menachem Monish*. This morning's shiur is sponsored by Sylvia Brody in honor of the 22nd yahrzeit of her husband, אשר יוסף בן בנימין *Asher Yosef ben Binyamin*, his נשמה *neshama* should have an עלייה *aliyah*. Also in honor of Faye and Murray Eisenberg's birthdays by their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. We can't say Faye's age, but Murray's turning 95. קיין עין הרע *Kein ayin hara*. כן ירבו *Kein yirbu* many many more years to come. And also it's sponsored in memory of our dear Bubby, my wife's grandmother, חיה אסתר בת אליעזר ליפא *Chaya Esther bas Eliezer Lipa*. Our dear Bubby, my father-in-law's mother was an amazing woman of אמונה *emuna*, a survivor of the Holocaust who rebuilt and was positive and joyous and incredible and special and we miss her terribly. One of my daughters is named for her, my Esty, and her נשמה *neshama* should have an עלייה *aliyah* as well. Okay, we're on פרשת ויצא *Parshas Vayeitzei*, page 144, the Artscroll Stone חומש *Chumash*. בראשית *Bereishis* continues to unfold, this incredible storyline. We know where it goes, we know what happens, we know what comes next, and yet, it remains riveting and exciting. There's always new insights and new perspectives for today. As I say every week, the פרשה *parsha* remains the same, but every year we're different and the world is different, so the way we see it is different. And that's an important thing to remember. ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה *Vayeitzei Yaakov mi'Beersheva vayeilech Charana*. יעקב *Yaakov* leaves באר שבע *Beersheva* and he heads to חרן *Charan*. רש\"י *Rashi* famously says, why do I need to be told where he's leaving from? All I need to be told is where he's going to. וילך חרנה *Vayeilech Charana*, he's going to חרן *Charan*. So רש\"י *Rashi* tells us to tell us that יציאת צדיק מן העיר עושה רושם *yetzias tzaddik min ha'ir osa roshem*. When a צדיק *tzaddik* leaves the city, it has an impact. But יעקב *Yaakov* is not the first to leave a city. אברהם *Avraham* left a city, יצחק *Yitzchak* left a city. So why does this teaching not happen until now? So we shared in the past, famously, because when אברהם *Avraham* left the city, there was no one behind to feel his absence. When יצחק *Yitzchak* left the city, there was no one behind to feel his absence. But when יעקב *Yaakov* leaves, when he leaves באר שבע *Beersheva*, whom does he leave behind? His parents, יצחק *Yitzchak* and רבקה *Rivka*. Now they realize, רושם *roshem*, there's a רושם *roshem*. That person is not here. So the Torah is telling us that the measure of a person is if they're indispensable. If somebody moves, and two years later someone says, you know, have you seen Yankel? Oh yeah, he moved two years ago. Nobody noticed. His absence wasn't felt. Nobody cared. But a צדיק *tzaddik* עושה רושם *osa roshem*. You know, if you make yourself indispensable, an איש הכלל *ish haklal*, you say, that person must not be here because I see nobody's putting the סידורים *siddurim* away, nobody's checking in on the people who are shut in, nobody's doing חסד *chesed* or cooking meals. We've lost our role model of דאווענען *davening* or learning. A righteous person leaves an impact and influence on a city and their absence when they leave, others, others take notice. ויפגע במקום וילן שם כי בא השמש *Vayifga bamakom vayalen sham ki va hashemesh*. And יעקב *Yaakov* goes ויפגע במקום *vayifga bamakom* and he, and he encounters the place. He encounters the place. וילן שם *Vayalen sham* and he takes a שלוף *shluf*. He falls asleep there. כי בא השמש *Ki va hashemesh* because it was nighttime. ויקח מאבני המקום וישם מראשתיו *Vayikach me'avnei hamakom vayasem mera'ashosav*. There was no pillow, there was no mattress. So what does he do? He gathers some stones and he puts it under his head. וישכב במקום ההוא *Vayishkav bamakom hahu*, and he falls asleep במקום *bamakom*, in that place. That word ויפגע *vayifga*, he encounters, he encounters a place. What does it mean to encounter a place? So רש\"י *Rashi* here says as well, ויפגע לא הזכיר הכתוב באיזה מקום *vayifga lo hiskir hakasuv be'eize makom*, אלא במקום הנזכר במקום אחר *ela bamakom haniskar bamakom acher*. הר המוריה *Har Hamoriah*. Where is this place? He's on the Temple Mount, he's on הר המוריה *Har Hamoriah*, he's in the future place of the בית המקדש *Beis Hamikdash*. What else had happened there already? Well, it's the eye of the universe. It's the place from which the whole world was created. Temple Mount, הר המוריה *Har Hamoriah*, הר הבית *Har Habayis*. It's the place where אברהם *Avraham* took יצחק *Yitzchak* to sacrifice him until the angel said stop. And now it's the place that יעקב *Yaakov* rests his weary head. It's on that same place, הר המוריה *Har Hamoriah*. That's the מקום *makom*, even though the Torah is ambiguous and doesn't give us coordinates or an address or a place, but we know, מקום *makom*, the place, there is only one the place. And we shouldn't be satisfied only on the base of that mountain. We go to the כותל *Kotel*, the כותל *kosel*, whatever you call it, and we דאווען *daven* there, we pour out our heart. That's the closest we come to the intensity of the שכינה *shchina* of the divine presence, but that is a counterfeit place. That's the temporary place. That's as far as we can get during exile. The real place where we want to go is on top of the mountain. Some think we can already go there now, others say it's not yet time, but we want a בית המקדש *Beis Hamikdash*. We want the בית המקדש *Beis Hamikdash* to be built. That's what we're learning now in סידור *Siddur* Snippets. We're on the 17th ברכה *bracha* of the עמידה *Amida*. You'll excuse me for some brazen, unapologetic self-promotion. But סידור *Siddur* Snippets, we're almost at number 600, סידור *Siddur* Snippet number 600. Began all the way with מודה אני *modeh ani* and now we're on רצה *Retzei* in the עמידה *Amida*, the end of the עמידה *Amida*. רצה *Retzei* is והשב את העבודה לדביר ביתך *v'hashev es ha'avodah l'dvir beisecha*. Hashem, bring back, bring back the בית המקדש *Beis Hamikdash*, the עבודה *avodah*, ואישי ישראל *v'ishei Yisrael*, the fires of the Jewish people, bring it back. We're not satisfied. We look up, and it's not enough. I gave you the משל *mashal* previously, that during Corona, we went to visit loved ones in assisted living facilities and nursing homes and the closest we could get is stand outside the building and wave at them through the window and hold up signs that say we love you. And that was a terrible, terrible, terrible time. Terrible time. That was the closest we could get. So imagine Corona's over and instead of going into the room and giving a hug and holding a hand and sitting next to the loved one that you can visit with, you're still standing outside and waving and holding up a sign. The כותל *Kotel* is holding up a sign and waving. Hashem, we can't get any closer. We wish we could, but we're suffering a worldwide pandemic called exile, and we long and wait for it to be over, and we want to come back to you. We shouldn't be satisfied. So that מקום *makom*, that's where יעקב *Yaakov* is, that's where אברהם *Avraham* and יצחק *Yitzchak* were, that is the eye of the universe. That's our home, that's where we long to get back to. That is not a place that we're occupying. It is a place that is rightfully, rightfully ours. The heilige מנחם ציון *Menachem Tzion*. There's one מנחם ציון *Menachem Tzion* I love to quote. This is a different מנחם ציון *Menachem Tzion*. This is רבי מנחם מענדל מרימנוב *Rebbe Menachem Mendel M'Rimanov*. He lived in the 18th century, beginning of the 19th century. One of the early, early רב'ס *Rebbes* of חסידות *Chassidus*, a תלמיד *talmid* of the מגיד ממזריטש *Maggid of Mezritch*, a תלמיד *talmid* of רבי אלימלך מליז'נסק *Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk*. He lived 1745 to 1815 and in his ספר מנחם ציון *sefer Menachem Tzion*, he writes the following. ויפגע במקום *Vayifga bamakom*. אמרו חז\"ל *Omru Chazal*, the rabbis say in גמרא ברכות *Gemara Brachos*, אין פגיעה אלא תפילה *ein pegia ela tefillah*. ויפגע *Vayifga*, he encountered a place. What does it mean he encountered a place? He encountered a place, he was walking and he just came upon this place. First of all, the answer is yes. We saw in our Living with Emuna shiur two weeks ago, the notion המכין מצעדי גבר *hamechin mitzadei gaver*. Every morning we make a blessing to Hashem, you prepare my footsteps. It means we're grateful and we're glad that we have the ability to walk. It's not a given. You could get out of bed in the morning and you don't need anything replaced. Your knees, your hips, your ankles, if it's all working properly, wow. Thank you. I'm ahead of the game. I'm blessed. המכין מצעדי גבר *Hamechin mitzadei gaver*. I could put my feet on the ground, I took two steps, everything was okay so far. Thank God. המכין מצעדי גבר *Hamechin mitzadei gaver*. But we saw Rav Dovid Abuchatzeira quoted the Chida, who said, no, המכין מצעדי גבר *hamechin mitzadei gaver* means, Hashem, I'm about to go on my day. And let's see where these steps lead me. I'm going to walk through life. I'm going to go through Costco and Publix and the gym and work and the בית מדרש *Beis Medrash* and shul and walk around the circle on another glorious day here in Boca Raton, the free state of Florida. I'm going to walk around, המכין מצעדי גבר *hamechin mitzadei gaver*. I don't know where I'm going to go, what my footsteps will lead me to, where this journey will bring me. But I know you prepared it. I know whatever I encounter, it's because you put it in front of me and you meant for me to see it. And that's יעקב *Yaakov*. ויפגע במקום *Vayifga bamakom*, he encounters the place. There are no coincidences and nothing is random. And ויפגע *vayifga*, his experience with mindfulness and intention and consciousness is, I am where I'm meant to be. I'm in the place that I'm meant to be. But our rabbis understand אין פגיעה אלא תפילה *ein pegia ela tefillah*. What does it mean to encounter? פגיעה *Pegia* means תפילה *tefillah*. It means prayer. שיעקב תיקן בפעם ההיא תפילת ערבית *She'Yaakov tikkein b'pa'am hahi tefillas arvis*. In this moment, the sun is setting. It's late. יעקב *Yaakov* encounters a place and what does he do? He introduces the תפילה *tefillah*, the prayer of מעריב *Ma'ariv*. He introduces מעריב *Ma'ariv*. We have שחרית *Shacharis* in the morning, מנחה *Mincha* in the afternoon, and מעריב *Ma'ariv* at night. You know the old joke. Why did יעקב *Yaakov* introduce מעריב *Ma'ariv*? Because if you had 12 kids to bathe and put to bed, you'd also have to go out for מעריב *Ma'ariv*. You'd also want to go out for מעריב *Ma'ariv*. So יעקב *Yaakov* introduced מעריב *Ma'ariv*. But this was before the 12 kids came. So it wasn't an excuse, he wasn't running away. And women have an answer to that, it's called nursing. You've got to put the kids to bed, you've got to put the dishes away, you've got to clean up and walk out the company. I've got to go nurse. So the men have their excuse, women came up with theirs. אין פגיעה אלא תפילה *Ein pegia ela tefillah*. So יעקב *Yaakov* says, I'm דאווענען *davening*. I'm דאווענען *davening*. והדברים צריכים ביאור *V'hadvarim tzrichim biur*. It says the מנחם מענדל *Menachem Mendel* the Rimanover, I don't understand, האיך יתכן שמעולם לא התפלל עד היום ההוא *ha'im yitachein shemeiolam lo hispalel ad hayom hahu*. How could it be that יעקב אבינו *Yaakov Avinu* had never prayed until that fateful day? How old was Yaakov that day? ששים ושלוש שנה *Shishim v'shalosh shana*. Murray, he was a young man, 63 years old. A lad, a toddler, just beginning his life. He was a young man, a spry 63. But 63 is still a long time. You're going to tell me יעקב *Yaakov* never דאווענען *davened* in his life? And moreover, אברהם *Avraham* established שחרית *Shacharis*, and יצחק *Yitzchak* gave us מנחה *Mincha*. And they too never דאווענען *davened* until until אברהם *Avraham* woke up early and דאווענען *davened* שחרית *Shacharis*? Until יצחק *Yitzchak*, when he's about to meet רבקה *Rivka*, comes off the camel, he דאווענען *davens* מנחה *Mincha*. Until then no one ever prayed, no one ever דאווענען *davened*? They lived to middle ages, beginning of their empty nest period and they didn't דאווענען *daven* until now? How could it be? How can it be? והאמת שבתי עצמם התפללו כל היום *V'ha'emes shebe'etzem atzmam hispalelu kol hayom*. Says the Rimanover, the truth is that our great אבות *avos*, our great patriarchs, they דאווענען *davened* all day long. רק שלא התפללו בפרסום אלא כסדר וזה עיקר עבודתם כל אחד לפי מידתו ומדרגתו, קבע להם שם מיוחדת ביום שבזמן מסורר מידה ההיא *Rak she'lo hispalelu b'firsum, ela k'seder, v'zeh ikar avodasam kol echad l'fi midaso u'madreigaso, kava lahem shem meyuchad b'yom sheb'oso hazman misorer hamida hahi*. What happened was they used to דאווענען *daven* all day long. Their whole day was an ongoing conversation with the Almighty, with the Almighty. Hashem let everything work when I wake up. Hashem let there not be traffic on the way to carpool. Hashem let this cake come out good from the oven. Hashem let this speech go well. Hashem let this doctor visit have a positive outcome and result. All day long they were דאווענען *davening*. What does it mean now that they established תפילה *tefillah*? It means they connected praying a particular time of day to the essence and theme and energy of that time of that day. ועל ידי זה תיקנו תפילות כסדר החזנים ידיהם להוסיף אומץ חפץ ה' בידם *V'al yedei zeh tiknu tefillos k'seder hachazanim yedeihem l'hosif ometz chefetz Hashem b'yadam*. It means one can generically there's an open invitation. One can have an audience with the Almighty all day long, wherever, whenever, just start speaking to him and you are in conversation, you're in presence of Hashem. What they did is say, in addition to the opportunity to volunteering, create mandated times and mandated themes of תפילה *tefillah* connected to those times of day. And what are those themes? Let's do this briefly because I want to move on. באברהם אבינו עליו השלום כשראה שרוב יושבי תבל שאינם מכירים בוראם כלל *B'Avraham Avinu alav hashalom, ki'sh'ra'a she'rov yoshevei tevel she'einam makirim es boram klal*. אברהם *Avraham* looked around at a world and he saw they don't believe in God, they don't see God, they don't live with godliness in their life. אינם שמים על ליבם שיש מנהיג בבירה *Einam samim al libam sheyesh manhig b'birah*. They don't recognize there is a creator, there's a first cause, there is a conductor to this orchestra called life, אלקי עולם ה' *E-lokai olam Hashem*. ואף על פי כן יש להם כל טוב, וישתבח שמו על כך חסדו הטוב עליהם *V'af al pi kein yesh lahem kol tuv, v'yishtabach shemo al kol chasdo v'tuvo aleihem*. Hashem nevertheless continues to provide for them, their lives are filled with overwhelming, overflowing blessing. And they totally are ungrateful. They don't recognize, they don't respect, they don't see him anywhere. And that bothered אברהם *Avraham* a lot. ומזה שפט בדעתו כי דבר זה מורה על גדול חסד וטובו של הבורא *U'mizeh shafat b'dato ki davar zeh moreh al gadol chasdo v'tuvo shel haborei*. Hashem is good. There's clarity. One can see clearly that there's a Hashem in this world. He's good, he's kind, the world is filled with goodness and kindness and blessing and they fail to see it. So you know what he does? He establishes שחרית *Shacharis*. When you wake up in the morning, hopeful and optimistic and positive, when you have a beautiful blue sky and a cool breeze and the heat of the sun on your neck and you feel wow, this is going to be a great day. It's a fresh start and a new opportunity. It's going to be a beautiful day. How blessed am I? All the parts are working and I have a roof over my head and a car to drive and food to eat. I'm so blessed. And אברהם *Avraham* says, I'm introducing a prayer to say thank you. Filled with hope and optimism of what the day will hold. And then comes יצחק *Yitzchak*. And יצחק *Yitzchak* says in his generation, what's going on? All the people, כל העם והריבויים שהגיע אליו, הם רק מידת אבות חסד *kol ha'am v'haribuyim she'higia aviv, hem rak midas avos chesed*. All the people that אברהם *Avraham* had attracted, had recruited, had converted, they're only drawn to the kumbaya experience of godliness. Ooh, let's have a kumzitz. Let's sing and dance. Let's, let's be spiritual. לא ישר בעיני יצחק *Lo yashar b'einav Yitzchak* says something's missing here. You know what's missing? They just want to be free spirits and when it comes to the law, הלכה *halacha*, when it comes to יראת ה' *yiras Hashem*, fear and awe of God, eh, just kumbaya, I love spirituality, let's dance, let's sing, let's have a kumzitz and farbreng. He says, they need a healthy dose of מידת היראה *middas hayirah*. יראה *Yirah*. איך לא יבושו בני אדם שלא לעורר על זה, משום רצונם ורצון עצמם. צריכים לישא עול מלכותו *Eich lo yevoshu bnei adam shelo l'orer al zeh, mashum ritzonam v'ritzono atzmam. Tzrichim lissa ol malchuso*. A little dose of the yoke of heaven, that God does love us, and our religious lives should be filled with love and spirituality and energy, but also healthy fear and awe and recognition that God is great and he holds us accountable and he has expectations of us and we are not, he's not our best friend. It's not casual. We have awe of God. So he establishes מנחה *Mincha*. מנחה זה ערב, שמתחיל החושך למשמש ולבוא, ומסורר מידת היראה בעולם *Mincha zeh erev, shemaschil hachoshech l'mashmesh v'lavo, u'misorer midas hayirah ba'olam*. The sun is setting, darkness is descending on the world and a person can start to feel, ooh, the temperature just dropped. And I hear the howl of the wolves and the world is becoming dark and therefore there's a little יראה *yirah*, a little יראה *yirah*. So יצחק *Yitzchak* says, מנחה *Mincha*. Now I'm going to establish a מנחה *Mincha*. So אברהם *Avraham* says, beginning of the day, hope and optimism and positivity and clarity and confidence and goodness and blessing in God, say thank you. Say thank you and turn to him and surrender. This is his world. And then יצחק *Yitzchak* says, that's all beautiful, and that's the way to start the day. But now as the sun sets, a little healthy יראת ה' *yiras Hashem*, a little awe, a little fear, a little recognition that God is categorically different than we. And then comes יעקב *Yaakov*. וקבע זמן תפילה זו בלילה, שכבר יש חושך רב בעולם, שנופל על אדם שינה ותרדמה *V'kava zman tefillah zo balaila, she'kvar yesh choshech rav ba'olam, she'nofel al adam sheina v'tardeima*. One is falling asleep, one is collapsing out of exhaustion. There's a cloak of darkness, you can't see or make sense or have clarity or confidence about anything. This is a time of doubt, uncertainty, what will be? anxiety, anxiousness. It's a place where lies and distortions reign. And יעקב *Yaakov* comes along, ויפגע במקום *vayifga bamakom*. התפלל להשם יתברך כי יאיר לו נפשו מאוד, שלא יטעה בשקרים, ומתפלל מידת האמת *Hispalel l'Hashem yisborach ki ya'ir lo nafsho me'od, she'lo yiteh b'shkarim, u'mispalel midas ha'emes*. What's going on in יעקב's *Yaakov's* life right now? ויפגע במקום *Vayifga bamakom*, when he encounters this place, what's the place, says the Rimanover, that he encountered? He encountered a place of fear, anxiousness, angst, worry, uncertainty, doubt. He's running away from his brother who wants to kill him. He's all alone, isolated, solitude, facing this world by himself. It's cold, there's no pillow, there's no mattress, there's no bed. There's only a cold, hard rock to put his head on. That's the מקום *makom*, the place. Place can mean geographically, and place can mean emotionally or spiritually. The place that he encountered emotionally, spiritually, is a place of darkness and uncertainty and doubt and fear. And you know what he says? It's time for מעריב *Ma'ariv*. It's time for מעריב *Ma'ariv*. We need a new prayer. שחרית *Shacharis* was my זיידע *zeideh*. מנחה *Mincha* was my טאטע *tatteh*, my אבא *Abba*, my father. And now the world needs a מעריב *Ma'ariv*. That one can also connect and דאווען *daven* and turn to Hashem from that place of darkness, uncertainty, and doubt. That יצחק *Yitzchak* brings this into the world as well, into the world as well. והביאור אם כן שיעקב אבינו הוצרך להביא עניין החלום ההוא בבחינת דיבור, כדי שיתקיים *U'vei'ur im kein she'Yaakov Avinu hutzrach l'havi inyan hachalom ha'hu b'vchinas dibbur, k'dei she'yiskayem*. He speaks out his his dream in order for it to be true. He encounters Hashem in that place. Says the Rimanover, the כוונה *kavanah* we should have, we say the same שמונה עשרה *Shmoneh Esrei* three times a day. In the morning and the afternoon and at night, but all three are different. We're different. The beginning of the day, the energy that we have, we just climbed out of our ice bath, we had like five cups of coffee, we're ready to go and take on the day, boom, hope, optimism, what a beautiful day, what a beautiful day. אברהם *Avraham*. מנחה *Mincha*, middle of the day, towards the end of the day, we're starting to feel the end of the day. We didn't get done what we wanted, things don't turn out the way we hoped, people don't respond the way we drew it up. יראה *Yirah*. And then מעריב *Ma'ariv*, even though it's dark out, even though I don't know what the rest of today or tomorrow will bring, even though I may feel alone like יעקב *Yaakov*, I may be running away from that which is pursuing me like יעקב *Yaakov*, I'm מעריב *Ma'ariv*. There's nevertheless a hope and optimism and a positivity. פסוק י\"ב *Pasuk yud beis*. Now on this, in this place, either existential place or physical place, יעקב *Yaakov* rests his weary head and he has a dream of a stairway to heaven. ויחלום והנה סולם מוצב ארצה וראשו מגיע השמימה *Vayachalom v'hinei sulam mutzav artza v'rosho magi'a hashamayma*. He falls asleep, he has a dream, there's a ladder. It's going up to the heavens. והנה מלאכי אלקים עולים ויורדים בו *V'hinei malachei E-lokim olim v'yordim bo*. And there are angels of God going up and coming down. These angels, of course, are in the wrong order. Angels, where is their home? Their home base, their home turf is the heavens. They should first come down and then go up. Why are the angels going up and then coming down? רש\"י *Rashi* addresses it, we've spoken about it in the past. But ר' נחמן *Rebbe Nachman* has a beautiful teaching on this. ליקוטי מוהר\"ן *Likkutei Moharan*, that a Jew always has to look בשכל שיש בכל דבר *b'seichel sheyesh b'chol davar*. A Jew always has to use their intellect, their intelligence. ולקשר את עצמו לחכמה והשכל שיש בכל דבר, ובאמצעות זה יתקרב להשם יתברך *U'l'kasher es atzmo l'chochma v'haseichel sheyesh b'chol davar, u've'emtzaus zeh yiskarev l'Hashem yisborach*. Yes, we believe in emotions, we believe in feelings, but we also were given חכמה בינה ודעת *chochma, bina, v'daas*, our intellect, our cognitive ability, our analytic ability. כי באמת השם הוא המציאות היחידה *Ki be'emes Hashem hu ha'metzius ha'yechida*. God is the only, the source of all existence. ובכל מה שקיים בעולם הוא רק מכוח החיות אלוקית המקיימת אותו *U'vechol ma she'kayam ba'olam hu rak mikoach hachiyus E-lokis ha'mekayemes oso*. In everything that we encounter, there is godliness. In the שטענדער *shtender*, in the chair, in the table, in the car, in the airplane, in the boat, in the food, in the drink, in the sleep, Hashem can be found inside each and every thing. We are connecting, we're connecting. מלאה הארץ קנינך *Mala'ah ha'aretz kinyanecha*. The world is filled with ability, with ways we can make a קנין *kinyan*, we can acquire Hashem. ובכל מה שקיים בעולם הוא רק מכוח החיות אלוקית *U'vechol ma she'kayam ba'olam hu rak mikoach hachiyus E-lokis*. ואם האדם יחפש הוא ימצא רמזים שהשם רומז לו בכל חלק וחלק המציאות *V'im ha'adam yechapes hu yimtza remizim she'Hashem romez lo b'chol cheilek v'cheilek ha'metzius*. If you're looking, if you're searching, if your antenna is extended, you'll find Hashem in everything. In everything. Like I said, the, again, the day like today, the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, the cool air, the rustle of the trees, the iguana that walks in front, Hashem is in everything. דומם, צומח, חי, ומדבר *Domeim, tzomeiach, chai, u'medaber*. Be careful, Thursday it's going to hit the 40s, maybe lower. That's when the iguanas fall out of the trees. So be careful where you walk. That's when they hibernate, they freeze, they fall. Dangerous. דומם, צומח, חי, ומדבר *Domeim, tzomeiach, chai, u'medaber*. We have four levels of existence. We have inanimate, we have animate, we have living, and then we have speaking. We have the table and chairs, they're the דומם *domeim*. We've got plant life, it's צומח *tzomeiach*, it has life but it doesn't, it's not animated with personality. We have חי *chai*, the animal world, and מדבר *medaber*, humans uniquely communicate. So look in all four. In the chair and table, Hashem is in the chair and the table. ואפילו בסיפורי הגוים שנשמעים כשטותים והבל, גם שם מסתתר כבוד השם *V'afilu b'sippurei hagoyim she'nishmain k'shtusim v'hevel, gam sham mistater k'vod Hashem*. ספרו בגוים כבודו *Sapru vagoyim kevodo*. In the news, you listen to the nonsense, in everything, the political pundit, you listen to everybody, everything, ספרו בגוים *sapru vagoyim*, even if you listen to the סיפורים בגוים *sippurim bagoyim*, כבודו *kevodo*. There's the honor and glory of Hashem says ר' נחמן *Rebbe Nachman*, סתם *stam*, סתם *stam*. ועיקר עבודתו של יהודי לחפש ולשמוע את קולו של השם *V'ikar avodaso shel Yid, l'chapes v'lishmoa es kolo shel Hashem*, look for and listen to the the voice of God calling out to us מכל דבר *mikol davar*, from everything that we encounter. Again, המכין מצעדי גבר *hamechin mitzadei gaver*. I don't know where my feet will bring me. I don't know what I'll see or encounter. But there's a message from Hashem to me that day in everything. The more Torah you learn, says ר' נחמן *Rebbe Nachman*, the more Torah you know, the more attuned you could be. The more sensitive your signal, you could pick it up. The more you know, the more Torah you have, the more דאווענען *davening* you do. And that's what it means, לא עם הארץ חסיד *lo am ha'aretz chassid*. A person who's an ignoramus can't be righteous because you need the basis, the foundation. You need to be curious about Torah in order to be able to pick up the signal. Now come back to our פסוק *pasuk*. That's what the ספר שלחן השבת *sefer Shulchan HaShabbos* of ר' נחמן *Rebbe Nachman* takes that teaching of ר' נחמן *Rebbe Nachman* and applies it to this פסוק *pasuk*. ויחלום *Vayachalom*, when a person is having all kinds of dreams, והנה סולם *v'hinei sulam*, and this סולם *sulam* means תפילה *tefillah* and Torah. סולם *Sulam*, the ladder is the same numerical value, גימטריא *gematria* as קול *kol*, the voice of תפילה *tefillah*, the voice of Torah. סולם *Sulam* is missing above is the same as סיני *Sinai*, הר סיני *Har Sinai*. So that's how you can access when a person uses their cognitive ability, their brain, Torah and תפילה *tefillah* is the סולם *sulam*, is the ladder. Then מוצב ארצה *mutzav artza*, you think it's only about this world. וראשו מגיע השמימה *V'rosho magi'a hashamayma*. והנה מלאכי אלקים עולים ויורדים בו *V'hinei malachei E-lokim olim v'yordim bo*. So when your basis is down here, when you're מוצב ארצה *mutzav artza*, you think this is the here and now, this is all there is. What do you mean? It's just lunch. It's just lunch. It's just a cup of coffee. It's just a table and chair. It's just an iguana. It's just a cool breeze. מוצב ארצה *Mutzav artza*. If you're founded and rooted, ארצה *artza*, ארץ *eretz*, ארציות *artziyus*, in the material physical world, you think that's all there is. But when you build a ladder, and the סולם *sulam* is Torah and תפילה *tefillah*, גימטריא קול *gematria kol*, and also the same as סיני *Sinai*, then וראשו מגיע השמימה *v'rosho magi'a hashamayma*, you get out of the physical material, you're not limited, and you don't have the boundaries of the here and now, this world. You can attach yourself to the heavens and drag down and bring the heavens. Then the מלאכי אלקים *malachei E-lokim* are עולים ויורדים בו *olim v'yordim bo*. עולים ויורדים בו *Olim v'yordim bo*, says the בעל שם טוב *Baal Shem Tov*, באדם עצמו שהופך את עצמו לסולם *b'adam atzmo she'hofech es atzmo l'sulam*. We become the ladder that's bridging heaven and earth. We are that ladder. We are that ladder. When you talk to somebody who says this cup of coffee, ברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו *Baruch atah Hashem, Elokeinu Melech ha'olam, shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro*. Wow. Hashem is making me awake. He's giving me life in this cup of coffee. I'm so grateful to you Hashem for this cup of coffee. You just became a ladder. You just connected heaven and earth. Heaven and earth. When you go for that walk and you feel nature and you see Hashem in it, you became a ladder. You connected heaven and earth. And that's the dream that יעקב *Yaakov* has, that you can connect heaven and earth and he wakes up and he says, I had no idea. I thought all there was was this physical world. I didn't know that you could connect heaven and earth. I didn't know that they attached themselves. I didn't know that you can find spirituality in the physical and in the mundane. You see other religions by contrast, they divide. The physical is entirely unholy. And therefore, how does one become holy in other religions? A vow of abstinence, a vow of celibacy, a vow of silence, a vow of fasting. Judaism, the Torah comes along, יעקב *Yaakov* wakes up and he says, wow! יש השם במקום הזה *Yesh Hashem bamakom hazeh*. It's not true. You don't become holy by abstaining, you become holy by transforming, by becoming that ladder, that bridge, by connecting. You become holy by being present. There are people their whole lives, they've been eating and drinking and sleeping, they even make a blessing before and after they eat, but they've never been a ladder. They've never connected it, they've never been connected. And there's others that when you make that ברכה *bracha*, every act of eating, every morsel, every bite, you're imbibing godliness. Hashem nourishes us, he's giving us life force through that food. Every sleep is a surrender to Hashem. Hashem, I'm going to close my eyes, I'm going to surrender to you and if I wake up, it's only because you brought me back to life, re-energized. Sleep becomes not just animal act, exhaustion. We become that ladder, we're creating and making that connection. Soloveitchik has another interpretation. מלאכי אלקים עולים ויורדים בו *Malachei E-lokim olim v'yordim bo*. The angels are going up and coming down. Listen to this מדרש *Medrash*. The Rav of Soloveitchik quotes a מדרש *Medrash*. יעקב's *Yaakov's* image was engraved on the heavenly throne. בראשית רבה ס\"ח, ו' *Bereishis Raba 68, 6*. In יעקב's *Yaakov's* dream, angels ascended the ladder, look upon the image, then descended the ladder and look upon יעקב *Yaakov* on Earth, marveling at how the images were identical. See, when a person sins, his external personality deviates from his pure inner self. Because יעקב *Yaakov* was without sin, the images of the ideal יעקב *Yaakov* etched on the throne and the real יעקב *Yaakov* on earth were exactly the same. Sin splits the personality into טמא *tamei* and טהור *tahor*, impure and pure components. Judaism desires the unity of the individual, in keeping with the imperative to maintain the image of God. In מציאות האדם *metzius ha'adam* is the foundation of human existence. Since Hashem is one, our goal must be to emulate his attribute as closely as possible. The Torah never accepted the dictum that body is intrinsically impure. On the contrary, man must strive towards sanctification of the body. יידישקייט *Yiddishkeit* desires that man be internally consistent without conflict or contradictions. Why were these angels, these angels, says the מדרש *Medrash*, why are they going up and coming down? Because they couldn't believe it. The image of יעקב *Yaakov*, the potential יעקב *Yaakov*, the pure יעקב *Yaakov*, the best version of יעקב *Yaakov* that's engraved on the throne of Hashem, they come down and check it out. Wow, that's the יעקב *Yaakov* we see. The יעקב *Yaakov* who's living, the יעקב *Yaakov* who's putting it into practice, they match, they're one and the same. I saw this insight of the Rav and I thought immediately of IFS, Internal Family Systems. Those who are here on שבת שובה *Shabbos Shuva*, those who are taking the four-part workshop with Sheira Fruchter, which is fantastic and phenomenal. No bad parts. The notion that we're made up of different parts, there are different components to who we are, that our youth, the big-T traumas and little-T traumas, we're trying to avoid the pain, the managers, the firefighters, the parts, but underneath them all is the self, the pure self. There is an image of us engraved for Hashem of who we could be and what the self, the pure, best version of us looks like. And then we adopt these parts, these managers, these firefighters, these ways that we act out that we regret, these habits that we form, and how do we make it all come together? How do we put the self in the driver's seat of our car, the self to conduct the orchestra that is our life, so that we match like יעקב אבינו *Yaakov Avinu*. That's what the Rav is saying, that we're trying to integrate and match and have consistent all the parts of who we are. יעקב *Yaakov* wakes up from this dream. ויקץ *Vayikatz*, he wakes up from his dream and he says, wow, Hashem is in this place. ואנכי לא ידעתי *V'anochi lo yadati*. I had no idea. רש\"י *Rashi* jumps in and רש\"י *Rashi* says שאם ידעתי לא ישנתי במקום קדוש כזה *she'im yadati lo yashanti b'makom kadosh kazeh*. Had I known that God is in this place, I thought I was just on the road. I thought I was in a motel. I thought this was just a hotel. I didn't realize God is in my sleeping bag. I didn't realize God is available and accessible and present wherever I am, because had I known, had I known, I would have never gone to sleep here. How could I desecrate such a holy place? יש ללמוד מכאן יסוד גדול *Yesh lilmod mikan yesod gadol*. Says Rav Shmuel Barenbaum, the תפארת שמואל *Tiferes Shmuel*, that one and should learn from here a very important principle. שההצלחה איננו ראיה על צדקת דרכיו *She'ha'hatzlacha eineno ra'aya al tzidkas drachav*. When a person is having success, it doesn't mean that you're righteous or you deserve it. כי יש הרבה חשבונות בשמים למה יצליח *Ki yesh harbeh cheshbonos bashamayim lama yatzliach*. There's a lot of reasons why you might be successful. וממילא אף על פי שיעקב אבינו זכה בחלום של נבואה להבטיחו ברכות גדולות, אף על פי כן לא חשב את זה לראיה שצדק מה שישן שם *U'mimeila af al pi she'Yaakov Avinu zacha b'chalom shel nevuah l'havticho brachos gedolos, af al pi kein lo chashav es zeh l'ra'aya she'tzodek ma she'yashan sham*. He wakes up and he says, one second, I just had a dream of holiness, of blessing, of a promise of safety and security by God, but I'm not going to interpret that to mean that therefore I'm perfect and I'm holy. I always have to take inventory. I always have to reflect and learn and see how I can improve. He wakes up instead of saying, wow, that is the ultimate endorsement from God, because look at the dream that I had. Instead he wakes up and says, despite that amazing dream, nevertheless, I'm still asking myself, what can I learn? What can I do differently? Maybe I shouldn't have gone to sleep here. If this is a holy place, it's not a place that one goes to sleep. And that's a challenge that we all have. Thank you so much. It's a challenge that we all have. ברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו *Baruch atah Hashem, Elokeinu Melech ha'olam, shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro*. Amen. Thank you. It's a problem that we all have. It's a נסיון גדול לאיש מצליח *nisa'on gadol l'ish matzliach*, בפרט אם עושה דבר שלא כהוגן *b'frat im osa davar she'lo k'hogen*. What happens? Maybe we're not acting entirely ethically or morally. We cut corners and nevertheless, we have a successful outcome. Things work out. We misinterpret the successful outcome as God condoning or supporting what we did. But you see from יעקב *Yaakov* that's not the case. A person should always stop and ask themselves, I merited blessing, there was a successful outcome, but nevertheless, is there something to learn from my behavior? If I did it again, would I do it exactly the same? Should I have adjusted? Should I have done something differently? Should I have done something differently? Then, Rav Shmuel Barenbaum notes something else. What does יעקב אבינו *Yaakov Avinu* say? ויקץ יעקב משנתו *Vayikatz Yaakov mishnaso*, he wakes up, he says, I didn't know God's in this place. And then how does the next pasuk go? פסוק יג Pasuk Yud Gimmel? Sorry, not פסוק יג Pasuk Yud Gimmel. What פסוק pasuk are we on? טז Tetzayin. פסוק טז Pasuk Tetzayin, turn the page. Oh, I didn't even realize. That's how we measure success at the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur. Did we turn the page?He wakes up, ויאמר Vayomer, he says, יש השם במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי Yesh Hashem bamakom hazeh, v'anochi lo yadati. God is here and I didn't know. What do you mean ויאמר vayomer? Wonders Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, to whom was יעקב Yaakov speaking? ויאמר Vayomer, and he said. It should have said he thought. He thought to himself. We all have experiences and then we have a thought, we're processing, we're thinking about it, we draw a conclusion from it. What's the ויאמר vayomer? There's no one else with him. So why does it, he said it in his heart, he thought it. Says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, listen to this יסוד yesod. הנה מצינו שיש חשיבות לדיבור יותר מאשר למחשבה Hinei matzinu she'yesh chashivus l'dibur yoser me'asher l'machshava. There is an enormous, enormous difference between what we think and what we say. We think all day long. We say millions of words to ourselves a day, from when we wake up in the morning till we fall asleep at night. We're in constant conversation with ourselves. But what we think, we bluff. What we think is blurry. What we think is inexact. What we think, we distort. What we say, we bring it into reality. What we say is real, is true. We confront it. That's why ברכת התורה Birchas HaTorah, אין חייב דברכה על הרהור בלבד ein chayav d'varacha al hirhur bilvad. If a person is learning תורה Torah but they're not reciting it out loud, it doesn't obligate a blessing on it. It's when you say the תורה Torah out loud. המהרהר בדברי תורה אין צריך לברך Ameharher b'divrei Torah, ein tzarich l'varech. אם אומר דברי תורה חייב לברך Im omer divrei Torah, chayav l'varech. The moment you speak something, ברוך שאמר והיה העולם Baruch she'amar v'haya ha'olam, God spoke and brought the world into being. עשרה מאמרות Asara ma'amaros, with ten sayings, God brought the world into being. We live in a generation of speech recognition. Fancy schmancy, פיינשמעקערס feinschmeckers who have the Tesla with the new software can talk into the phone and say, 'Car, it's raining, pick me up under this awning.' And the car with no driver in it comes and picks them up. Why? Because when you speak, you could create reality. They've not yet, I'm not challenging Elon Musk, but they've not yet designed the software that you think, car pick me up, and the car picks you up. Yet. First they have to implant a chip in your head. But they have not yet designed, think it, and the car comes. But say it, you can speak into your your your smart house, lights turn on, thermostat go lower, car pick me up, play ישעיה ריבו Yishai Ribo. You speak and you create reality. Thinking it, we blur, we distort. If you say out loud, I am pledging צדקה tzedakah, I'm pledging to exercise, I'm pledging to eat better, I'm pledging to go to the פרשה parsha class. There's a world of difference between what we say and what we think. And that's why says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, he's having this enormous, transformational moment. This is a transformational moment in his life. He went to sleep and he had this life-changing dream. And when he wakes up, he doesn't just have thoughts. When he wakes up, he says it.When you're driving in that car, say it out loud. Talking to השם Hashem, have a conversation with words, with words. Again, once upon a time, in our lifetimes, you used to look over at the car next to you at a red light and if somebody was talking and there was no one else in the car, you'd want to Baker Act them. You'd want to call the police. Something's very wrong. Now today, maybe they have an AirPod, they're talking through the car, could be in an empty car. So we don't have to worry that we're going to look foolish or stupid, nobody's gonna pull us over. Talk. Talk not into an AirPod, talk not into a speakerless system. Talk to השם Hashem, talk to yourself. התבודדות Hisbodedus. Talk to ourselves. יעקב Yaakov is introducing התבודדות hisbodedus. Go for a walk, it's a magnificent day. Go for a walk around the lake after something transformational in your life, like waking up today, healthy. And talk. Talk to השם Hashem, talk to yourself. That's why the פסוק pasuk says ויאמר Vayomer. יעקב Yaakov didn't just think it, he said it. ברכת התורה Birchas HaTorah only when אומר דברי תורה omer divrei Torah, not just הרהור דברי תורה hirhur divrei Torah. And then he goes on and on and brings many other examples of this as well. I'll throw one more in he doesn't bring, which is וידוי vidui. In order to do תשובה teshuva properly, to repent properly, a person has to confess. And the רמב\"ם Rambam writes, you can't just think, 'I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have gone there, I shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have looked at that.' If all you're doing is thinking it, you're not taking it seriously. You're not really addressing it, you're not confronting it, and therefore you're not going to change it. If you want to change it, if you want to really take it seriously, you've got to say it. You've got to say it. And more than you've got to say it, you've got to make it real. You've got to make it real. I love quoting Peter Drucker, the great management expert, what gets measured gets managed. And my dear friend Michael said, what gets recorded, gets, what gets measured and gets recorded, gets managed. אמירה Amira, say it, write it down, record it, take a journal, create a spreadsheet. When you have a transformational moment, you heard a שיעור shiur or a podcast, you read something, you had an encounter, someone said something, you experienced a miracle, something life-changing, transformational, write it down, record it, say it. יעקב Yaakov is teaching us it's not enough to simply, it's not enough to simply think it.The אמרות טהורות Amoras Tehoros, the great Rav Chaim Shraga also has a comment here. Says the following. The אוהב ישראל Ohev Yisrael, he quotes the אוהב ישראל Ohev Yisrael. יש השם במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי Yesh Hashem bamakom hazeh v'anochi lo yadati. God is here and I didn't know. רש\"י Rashi says if I knew I wouldn't have gone to sleep. So the holy Apter Rav, Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt says the opposite. רש\"י Rashi is bringing וישכב במקום ההוא vayishkav bamakom hahu, אבל aval, רש\"י Rashi says, he went to sleep במקום ההוא bamakom hahu, in that place. Why? If he went to sleep, why does he have to say in that place? Obviously it's in that place. Where else did he go to sleep? So רש\"י Rashi tells us it's to create a contrast. Right now יעקב Yaakov's going to sleep. Where did he not sleep for 14 years? ישיבת שם ועבר Yeshivas Shem v'Ever. On his way out of his parents, fleeing from עשו Eisav and his parents' home, on his way now, he stopped. 14 years he studied at the ישיבה Yeshiva of שם ועבר Shem v'Ever, didn't sleep. His parents didn't have to pay the dorm fee. He never slept. No bed. He went to go learn continuously. So says the Apter Rav, the אוהב ישראל Ohev Yisrael, יש צדיקים שעבודתם את השם יתברך הוא באכילה ושתיה ושינה yeish tzaddikim she'avodasam es Hashem Yisbarach hu b'achila u'shtiya v'sheina. There are צדיקים tzaddikim who their whole way they serve השם Hashem is by elevating the eating and the drinking and the sleeping. והנה אצל יעקב אבינו לא אכל ולא ישן כלל V'hein atam she'Yaakov Avinu lo achal v'lo yashan klal. He didn't eat or sleep in the בית מדרש של עבר beis medrash of Ever, מחמת שעדיין לא ידע את שיכול לעבוד את השם יתברך גם על ידי אכילה ושינה machmash she'adayin lo yada es she'yachol la'avod es Hashem Yisbarach gam al yedei achila v'sheina, because he didn't know. He didn't know. Says the אוהב ישראל Ohev Yisrael, he didn't learn that. He thought, how do you become holy? Don't eat, don't sleep. Leave and ascetic, lead an ascetic life. He didn't know until this dream, until this ladder, until bridging heaven and earth, he didn't know. מחמת שעדיין לא ידע שאז יכול לעבוד את השם יתברך גם על ידי אכילה ושינה Machmash she'adayin lo yada she'az yachol la'avod es Hashem Yisbarach gam al yedei achila v'sheina. אבל עכשיו Aval achshav, now he went to sleep, והיה לו התגלות אלוקות v'haya lo hisgalus Elokus, and in his sleep he had a revelation. In his sleep, he had a breakthrough. In his sleep, sleep gave him the energy and the insight. So he wakes up and he says, לא ידעתי דגם בשינה יכול לעבוד את השם Lo yadati de'gam b'sheini yachol la'avod es Hashem. I didn't know. אילו ידעתי אז גם בבית מדרש של עבר הייתי ישן Ilu yadati az gam b'beis medrash shel Ever hayisi yoshein. So the אוהב ישראל Ohev Yisrael interprets. We read רש\"י Rashi that he says, had I known that this is a holy place I wouldn't have gone to sleep. Says the Apter Rav, read it the opposite. When he wakes up and says, now I know that you can attain holiness even through sleep, had I known, I would have gone to sleep even in the ישיבה Yeshiva of שם ועבר Shem v'Ever. I would have slept even in those 14 years. I wouldn't have thought that you're not allowed to sleep over there.Rav Soloveitchik also has a comment here. Says Rav Soloveitchik. God's revelation at times of crisis from the depths of despair and distress is a basic principle of Judaism. Sometimes Hashem does not reveal himself to the contented soul. He reveals himself to the mute soul, battered by weariness and exertion. Sometimes Hashem reveals himself to one who grieves for the ruin of his temple and the destruction of its altars while avoiding one who dedicates his temple and stands at the side of his offering. Sometimes, Hashem does not reveal himself to the rational individual, but to one who is confused about life, who is bankrupt and has lost track of his world. From time to times, man's salvation comes out of distress. Even the most spiritually elevated members of the Jewish people first encountered their Lord at a time of raging fear, helplessness, or distraction when they were not anticipating such an encounter, were thoroughly surprised by it. יעקב Yaakov comes close to השם Hashem in a nocturnal dream while sleeping on the cold stones of the place. משה Moshe encountered השם Hashem where? At a burning bush when he was watching יתרו's Yisro's flock, entirely devoted to this simple everyday occupation. יחזקאל Yechezkel sees vision of השם Hashem where? In גלות galus, in exile, in the river, at a time when the appearance and the present full of quaking and horror contradicts the vision of a glorious future. Yiddishkeit firmly established the הלכתית halachic principle that even when man confronts an unchangeable evil decree coming from השם Hashem, even when his rejected prayers are thrown back in his face, he must see השם Hashem and can join with him, in spite of the tragic reality that weighs them down. השם Hashem reveals himself through suffering and tragedy when the individual or the community is in trouble and distress. The Rav sees in this encounter ויפגע במקום Vayifga bamakom. We think, you know when I'll have my spiritual breakthrough, a spiritual high, you know when I'll become holy? When I have everything. Health, wealth, honor, children, calm, serenity, tranquility. When everything's good and calm and serene, that's when I'll see you, feel close to you, connect to you, discover you. Says Rav Soloveitchik, that's not the way it works. Sometimes our breakthrough comes, השם Hashem is closest, most accessible, we can find him in our difficult times, in our struggle, in the hardship. ויפגע במקום Vayifga bamakom. יעקב's Yaakov's on the run. His brother's trying to kill him. He's all alone. And that's when he has this breakthrough. That's when he finds השם Hashem.You may have seen yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Sales of Bibles are booming. You know why? Worries about the economy, conflicts abroad, uncertainty over the election, pushed readers towards the publication in droves. Bible sales are up 22% in the US through the end of October, compared with the same period last year. By contrast, total US book print sales were up less than 1%. People are experiencing anxiety themselves, they're worried for their children and grandchildren, it's related to artificial intelligence, election cycles, all that feeds a desire for assurance that we're going to be okay. That's good news, people. The the world's most popular book is becoming the most popular again. 22% sales are up. Why? Why is everyone going to buy a תנ\"ך Tanach, a חומש Chumash, a Bible? Why is it up 22%? Because they're worried. Where do you find השם Hashem? In anxiousness, in worry, in stress, in conflict, in concern. Hopefully America that's been so godless is going to discover him in this 22% increase in the Bible sales. We should have invested in it. Next time. We should have been long on the Bible. Always go long on the Bible. Always go long in the Bible. It's the bestseller of all time. Always be long in the Bible. So that's what the Rav is saying. ויפגע במקום Vayifga bamakom. He wakes up יעקב Yaakov and he says, 'Wow, I didn't realize השם Hashem is במקום הזה bamakom hazeh.' I thought, you know where השם Hashem is? He's in the ישיבה Yeshiva of שם ועבר Shem v'Ever. Where is השם Hashem? When I was an איש תם יושב אהלים ish tam yoshev ohalim, when everything was calm and serene and happy go lucky, and I got to sit in the tent studying תורה Torah, I thought that's where השם Hashem was. But now I'm gonna have to go earn a living, go to work. I have my brother trying to kill me. Now I have to go defend myself, safety, security, our heroic IDF soldiers. So maybe, you know what percent of the combat soldiers, what percent of the combat soldiers we've lost are heroic, angelic, הסדר hesder boys who spent part of their time in the בית מדרש beis medrash, excuse me, part of their time on the front lines? So they know the lesson that השם Hashem is found not only in the בית מדרש beis medrash, השם Hashem is found on the front lines. Not just because there's no atheist in a foxhole. You know how many סיומים siyumim have been made, finishing learning? How many ספרים sfarim have been published? My friend Rav Dovid Gottlieb, we had him on Behind the Bima a few months ago, with his incredible organization, צל\"ש Tzalash, that's been printing ספרים sfarim of Ramash Weiss, thousands because soldiers in Gaza, Lebanon requesting them to stick pocket size in their uniform to learn in their free moments. השם במקום הזה Hashem bamakom hazeh. השם Hashem is at work, and in the boardroom, the operating room, the supermarket, the gym, במקום הזה bamakom hazeh. יעקב Yaakov didn't know it. He thought השם Hashem is in the בית מדרש beis medrash, השם Hashem is in the שול shul. I didn't know השם Hashem goes with me to work. I didn't know he comes with me on the front lines to fight. He's even במקום הזה bamakom hazeh. He's in this place too. And in fact, sometimes those who struggle to have the breakthrough and find him when all is well and good, can find him in those hard times. We say the three weeks based on the נביא Navi, כל רודפיה השיגוה בין המצרים kol rodefeiha hisiguha bein hametzarim. We call the three weeks the בין המצרים bein hametzarim, between the straits, the narrow place. But already the חסידישע רביס chasidishe rebbes say, don't read it כל רודפיה השיגוה בין המצרים kol rodefeiha hisiguha bein hametzarim. All those who were pursuing us caught up in these three weeks, that's why we mourn and grieve. No, כל רודפי ה' kol rodei-ha. כל רודפי ה', ה' Kol rodei ha, hey, Hashem. Anyone who's looking for and pursuing השם Hashem, where can you find him? בין המצרים Bein hametzarim. In that narrow place, in that constricted place, on the run, when you feel all alone, that's sometimes where you can find him.יעקב Yaakov wakes up, he doesn't only say, he doesn't just think, he says, he records, he writes his feeling, what just happened, this transformational moment. And then he also converts it into a promise. פסוק כ Pasuk Chaf. וידר יעקב נדר לאמר Vayidor Yaakov neder leimor. Because you know, by the way, if you have a breakthrough, you experienced a miracle, you experienced an incredible moment of השגחה hashgacha of divine providence, something you're grateful for, you have a spiritual high, it's not enough to think it, and it's not even enough to say it. וידר יעקב נדר לאמר Vayidor Yaakov neder leimor. You've got to act on it, act on it. Put it into practice. Make a pledge, give some צדקה tzedakah. Take on more learning, volunteer for חסד chesed. Capture it, bottle it, make it real. And what's יעקב's Yaakov's promise? אם יהיה אלקים עמדי Im yihyeh Elokim imadi, if God will be with me, ושמרני בדרך הזה ushmarani baderech hazeh, 'll guard me on this path אשר אנכי הולך asher anochi holeich that I'm walking on, and he gives me לחם לאכל lechem le'echol, bread to eat, ובגד ללבש u'beged lilbosh, and clothing to wear, ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי v'shavti b'shalom el beis avi, and if I'm successful to return home in peace, והיה השם לי לאלקים v'haya Hashem li l'Elokim, then God will be my God. We've talked about this in the past, we're not going to get any deep into it now. It happens to be a peculiar promise or pledge. יעקב Yaakov says, 'God, this was pretty good. Good start, we're on our way. Here's what's next. Give me food to eat, clothing to wear, let me return on this very, very precarious mission safe, secure and alive. If all works out well and in my favor, all works out good according to my plan, you'll be my God.' What? You're making deals with God? You're not showing... God just made you a promise. God just told you you're good to go. I got your back. Everything's good. And now you turn to him and say, well if, in fact, and if, he just told you. You're doubting השם Hashem? There's no better promise to rely on than that of השם Hashem. What's going on over here?So, Rav Shmuel Berenbaum in ספר שמואל Sefer Shemuel says the following. בפרשה זו יש ללמוד הכרת הטוב שלנו כלפי הקדוש ברוך הוא צריך להיות לא רק על מה שנתן לנו אלא גם על מה שנותן לנו, האפשרות להנות ממה שנותן לנו B'parshas'o yesh lilmod hakaras hatov shelanu klapei HaKadosh Baruch Hu tzrich lhiyos lo rak al ma she'nasan lanu ela gam al ma she'nosein lanu, ha'efsharut le'hanos mima she'nosein lanu. What do you see from it? It says bread to eat and clothing to wear. יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu didn't just ask for, let me have resources, give me money, and then with the money I'll buy clothing, I'll buy food, I'll pay rent, I'll buy a home, I'll pay my lease on my car. He doesn't just ask for the money and then of course he'll be able to use the money the way he needs and wants. He says, 'God, if you give me bread to eat and clothing to wear.' What do you see from here? What do you see from here? He's asking not only for the material resources, he's asking to be able to use them in the best way. In the best way. Let me not have food only, but let me eat it in a healthy way. Let me eat it in a spiritual way. Let me eat it like a ladder who's going to create heaven and earth in my eating, in my eating. The משנה Mishna in אבות Avos says, I'm gonna have to have you talk to my kids, David, to not call me during the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur, make it ring. משנה Mishna in אבות Avos says, שלושה שיש ואין ביניהם דברי תורה, הרי כאילו אכלו זבחי מתים shlosha she'yesh v'ein beineihem divrei Torah, harei ke'ilu achlu zivchei meisim. The משנה Mishna in אבות Avos says if three people are sitting having lunch and they don't share a דבר תורה d'var Torah, it's as if they ate of the dead carcasses of of sacrifices. But שלושה שאכלו על שולחן אחד shlosha she'achlu al shulchan echad, but three people are eating and they say דברי תורה divrei Torah, ooh, it's as if אכלו משולחנו של מקום ברוך הוא achlu mi'shulchano shel Makom Baruch Hu. They ate from the royal table of God, of God. What's the reason it says, אם אין ביניהם דברי תורה, כאילו אכלו זבחי מתים im ein beineihem divrei Torah, ke'ilu achlu zivchei meisim? Why don't we just say, if three people eat together, have a דבר תורה d'var Torah. Why do we, if there's no דבר תורה d'var Torah, it's as if they turn this meal into dead carcasses. And if they have a דבר תורה d'var Torah, they elevated the whole table to the table of the Almighty God. Why? Says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, יש לפרש משום שיש חיוב הכרת הטוב לקדוש ברוך הוא yesh l'faresh mishum she'yesh chiyuv hakaras hatov l'Kadosh Baruch Hu, because when you're eating and you're drinking and you're enjoying, you have to express gratitude to השם Hashem. How do you manifest that gratitude? דבר תורה D'var Torah. In that moment, immediately, a דבר תורה d'var Torah. מי שמדבר על שלא ארור אכילתו, סתם דברי הבל בתוך סעודתו Mi she'medaber al she'lo arur achiloso, stam divrei hevel b'soch se'udaso, but if you're eating and you're meriting to eat and enjoy and digest, if you are blessed to be able to chew the food and digest the food and eat a little salt and eat a little sugar in the food, and you're enjoying the food, if you're blessed, then it's not enough to then just be shmoozing about נארשקייט narishkeit and nothingness at best, or sharing gossip and לשון הרע lashon hara at worst. You need a דבר תורה d'var Torah. The way that you express the הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov is by now sharing a דבר תורה d'var Torah, sharing a דבר תורה d'var Torah. So that's what יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu is saying, I don't just want money. I want בגד ללבש beged lilbosh. If you give me לחם לאכל ובגד ללבש lechem le'echol u'beged lilbosh, that I can engage and elevate and transform and use the material in the holiest way, in the way that it's been meant to use.The Gerer Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Shaul Alter, has a similar insight. He points out, quotes the שפת אמת Sfas Emes. יעקב Yaakov wanted bread only to eat, not to leave over. The גמרא Gemara in סוטה Sota says, a person who has bread for today, yet worries what will eat tomorrow, is מְקַטְנֵי אֱמוּנָה mi'katnei emunah. Somebody who has enough bread for today, but is still worried about what they're going to eat tomorrow, is being ungrateful for today. You have enough for today, you're good to go. Why are you worried about tomorrow? You're קטני אמונה katnei emunah. יעקב Yaakov didn't want his food or any of his physical needs to occupy his mind aside for when he needed to engage them. So he says to השם Hashem, 'Give me לחם לאכל lechem le'echol.' שפת אמת Sfas Emes was bothered by a question. What's the question? We should all be bothered by it. What's the question? יעקב Yaakov should have said, 'Give me לחם lechem and בגד beged.' What else do you do with לחם lechem if not לאכול le'echol? What else do you do with בגד beged if not ללבש lilbosh? What else do you do with bread if not to eat? What else do you do with clothing if not to wear? Isn't it redundant? Isn't it extraneous to say, 'Give me bread to eat and clothing to wear'? So the שפת אמת Sfas Emes is saying, because יעקב Yaakov didn't say, 'Give me bread, let's go to Costco, let's buy enough bread for the next six months.' 'Give me clothing, let's go to the Black Friday deal and let me buy enough clothing for the winter, the spring, the summer, the next 10 years.' No, he said, 'Give me לחם lechem.' I just want enough לאכול le'echol right now. 'Give me בגד beged,' enough ללבש lilbosh right now. What tomorrow? I'm not worried about that. I don't want to be distracted by that. I don't want to be preoccupied with that. I'm not worried about that. It all comes, it all comes from above. That's the שפת אמת Sfas Emes says. He's bothered, the Gerer Rosh Yeshiva, how that works because later when the מן mun is falling and השם Hashem says לנסותו l'nasoso, the מן mun is here to test you, how does it test you? Because you'll only have enough for that day. We won't have enough for the days that will follow. So why was that a test? Is it good or bad? קטני אמונה Katnei emunah? The מן mun descended every day in order that בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael should worry for the next day. And that was not deemed קטני אמונה katnei emunah, a failure of faith. Why not? So the Gerer Rosh Yeshiva, שליט\"א shlita, answers that there's a fine line between appropriate concern and lack of faith. Although בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael were to be concerned the מן mun wouldn't fall tomorrow, they weren't to fear they wouldn't have food. That would be poor faith. So it's one thing to say, you know, I'm not going to spend all my money. It's irresponsible to empty my bank account, plow through all my savings, live for today, because, 'ah, השם Hashem will replenish tomorrow.' That's irresponsible. You need to save. You need to put away money. You need to plan for retirement. That's responsible. But you also shouldn't panic and live a debilitated life where you say, 'I'm holding these morsels of food, I can't throw anything out, I'm worried about what will be.' השם Hashem who supports all mankind will support them too. The concern was meant to inspire them to remember that everything is dependent only on השם Hashem. It's all from, it's all from השם Hashem. So it's that fine line between the two, but says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, that's why יעקב Yaakov formulated it as לחם לאכל lechem le'echol and בגד ללבש beged lilbosh.Okay. יעקב Yaakov finds רחל Rochel and he meets רחל Rochel and he kisses her. He kisses her. Says רש\"י Rashi, he kisses רחל Rochel, he raises his voice ויבך v'yevk, and he cries. Why is he crying? He just met his בשרט basherte. Love at first sight. Why is he crying? זו רש\"י Zok Rashi, לפי שגדל אליפז בחיקו של יצחק, כמה שאנו ידעו. אמר לו, מה עשה לצו של אבא? ואמר יעקב, טול מה שבידי ואני חשוב כמת l'fi she'godol Eliphaz b'cheiko shel Yitzchak, k'mashshe'anu yodo. Amar lo, 'Ma asa l'tziva shel abba?' V'amar Yaakov, 'Tol ma sheb'yadi v'ani chashuv k'meis.' What happened? עשו Eisav, יעקב's Yaakov's brother, is out to kill him, has a son named אליפז Eliphaz. עשו Eisav sends אליפז Eliphaz and he says, 'Go after my brother, catch up and kill him.' אליפז Eliphaz catches up to Uncle יעקב Yaakov. But what happens? אליפז Eliphaz has a moral conscience. Why? Did he get it from his אבא Abba, from his father עשו Eisav? No. Where did he get it from? גדל בחיקו של יצחק Godol b'cheiko shel Yitzchak. Because אליפז Eliphaz sat on the lap of his זיידע Zayda, יצחק Yitzchak. He had a father like עשו Eisav, but he had a זיידע Zayda like יצחק Yitzchak. יצחק Yitzchak did פרשה parsha questions, took him to אבות ובנים Avos u'Banim. יצחק Yitzchak learned with him. So when אליפז Eliphaz טאקע taka catches up with יעקב Yaakov, he says, 'Uncle יעקב Yaakov, I've got a I've got a dilemma. I have to honor my father, my father said kill you. But something tells me killing you is not the right thing. So what should I do?' So together they came up with an idea. חז\"ל Chazal, our Rabbis tell us, עני חשוב כמת ani chashuv k'meis. A poor person, an indigent person, a person who has nothing and has to beg, is considered dead even while they're alive. They're considered dead even while they're alive. So יעקב Yaakov says, 'Take everything I have, leave me poor, and it'll be as if you killed me. And therefore you'll fulfill what your father said, 'Come murder me.' But on the other hand, I'm still here. I'm still here.' They came up with it. Says the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, אליפז הרי הוא בנו של עשו, והוא שלו עמלק. ובכלל עמלק נשבע הקדוש ברוך הוא שאין שמו שלם ואין כיסאו שלם Eliphaz harei hu bno shel Eisav, v'hu sh'lo Amalek. U'b'chlal Amalek nishba HaKadosh Baruch Hu she'ein shmo shalem, v'ein kiso shalem. אליפז Eliphaz is the son of עשו Eisav, and who descends from אליפז Eliphaz? None other than עמלק Amalek, the greatest villain, the most pernicious enemy that we have. התלמוד כמורא אליפז, מסתמא לא היה רואה מתוכו בשיעור של יצחק אבינו The Talmud k'mora Eliphaz, mistama lo hayah ro'eh mato'im l'ma b'shiur shel Yitzchak Avinu. When יצחק Yitzchak encountered his, אייניקל ainikel, אליפז Eliphaz, he should have seen this kid's off the דרך derech. He's the son of עשו Eisav, he's gonna be the father of עמלק Amalek. He's probably doing drugs, alcohol, piercings, tattoos, gambling, he's totally off the דרך derech. What's the point of learning with him? What's the point of spending time with him? Comes the Steipler and says, nonetheless יצחק Yitzchak said, 'Sit on my lap. Come with me to אבות ובנים Avos u'Banim. Let's learn a little bit.' No child or grandchild is ever hopeless. We love them unconditionally. They're never hopeless. We learn with them, we love them, we shower them with affection, we give them a chance. רש\"י מגיש שהשפעת יצחק על אליפז הועיל להצלת יעקב Rashi magish she'hashpa'as Yitzchak al Eliphaz, ho'il l'hatzalas Yaakov. Yes, אליפז Eliphaz ends up being the father of עמלק Amalek, but he also ends up being the savior of יעקב Yaakov. And if אליפז Eliphaz had not studied with יצחק Yitzchak, if יצחק Yitzchak didn't believe in him and love him and learn with him despite everything, then who knows if he would have let יעקב Yaakov live and none of us would have been here. A grandparent, a parent, a teacher, never ever give up, says the Steipler. Never ever give up. נמצא שמה שקירב ועשה יצחק, היתה הסיבה להצלה שלו של בנו יעקב אבינו Nimtza she'ma she'kirav v'asah Yitzchak, haisa ha'siba l'hatzala she'lo shel bno Yaakov Avinu. You know, a lot of people who struggle, who go off the דרך derech, who change to lives, lifestyles that are filled with challenges, but they have one Rebbe, one teacher, one member of the family that they remember never gave up on them, still loved them, taught them, believed in them, and that's all they need to come back. That's all they need to keep them from falling further. That's what it means to be a parent and a grandparent. יצחק Yitzchak never gives up on אליפז Eliphaz. So if you'd look at it, you'd say, did it work? Was it a good investment that יצחק Yitzchak didn't give up on אליפז Eliphaz? It was terrible. עמלק Amalek descended from him nonetheless, right? Wrong. It was a good investment. Why? Because it still saved יעקב Yaakov. Look at how it saved יעקב Yaakov, because he never gave up, because he stuck with it.Okay, we have time for one more. One more, which one more should we do? Gratitude? We'll do this one more. Maybe that one more? ויזכר אלקים את רחל וישמע אליה אלקים ויפתח את רחמה Vayizkor Elokim es Rochel vayishma eileha Elokim vayiftach es rachmah. יעקב Yaakov, spoiler alert, you all know the פרשה parsha. The switcheroo, thinks he's marrying רחל Rochel, he marries לאה Leah, then he has to work further, he marries רחל Rochel, there's a lot of kids between them. God remembers רחל's Rochel's still suffering from barrenness, from infertility. They דאווען daven. God remembers רחל Rochel and he opens up her womb. Why does it have to say God remembered רחל Rochel? ויזכר Vayizkor. God remembered. אין שכחה לפני כסא כבודך Ein shich'cha lifnei kisei kevodecha. There is no forgetting before God. God is infinite, omnipotent, all knowing and perfect. He doesn't forget. So why do we have to be told that God remembered, that God remembered? And we find similar language elsewhere. ויזכר אלקים את נח Vayizkor Elokim es Noach. God remembered נח Noach and all the animals in the תיבה teva. ויזכר אלקים את אברהם Vayizkor Elokim es Avraham. God remembered Avraham and he therefore went to go save Lot. All these times God remembers, as if God could forget. We, who have senior moments, need to be reminded. We could forget. But God, God doesn't age. So what does it mean? What does it mean? So Rav Shmuel Berenbaum here writes, הנראה דיני הקדוש ברוך הוא, אב הרחמן. ברחל היתה בצער גדול ממצבה עד שאמרה ליעקב הבה לי בנים ואם אין מתה אנכי hanireh dinei HaKadosh Baruch Hu, av harachaman. B'Rachel ha'eisa b'tza'ar gadol m'matzava ad she'amra l'Yaakov havli banim v'im ayin meisa anochi. God is a caring, loving, benevolent father. And he doesn't want to see his daughter suffer. And רחל's Rochel's suffering. She's suffering so much that she says to יעקב Yaakov, 'Give me a child and if not, kill me now because I'm dead even while I'm alive.' I'm dead even while I'm alive. So therefore הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu had to forget that רחל Rochel didn't have children so that she would דאווען daven and he would remember. So for whatever reason it was her own interest to be barren so that she would grow as a person and דאווען daven, but God could never see his child suffering, so he had to cause himself to forget, and therefore when the time came, ויזכר vayizkor, now he had to remember. That's how Rav Shmuel Berenbaum answers. But I want to suggest a different answer. What is it that God remembered about her? ויזכר Vayizkor. What did he remember? Rashi tells us, זכר לה שמסרה סימניה לאחותה ושהיתה מצירה שמא תעלה בגורלו של עשו zachar la shemasra simaneha l'achosa, v'shehaysa metzeira shema ta'aleh b'goralo shel Eisav. Rashi quotes from חז\"ל Chazal that what she remembered was her standing at the cusp of marrying Yaakov Avinu, with whom she aspired to build the entire Jewish nation. She put it on hold, she was מוסר נפש moser nefesh. She paid an enormous price and sacrificed, she gave the signs, the secret code to her sister. And she didn't know if she'd ever end up with Yaakov too. And that's what Hashem remembered. Hashem remembered. Similarly, Lot was saved in the merit of Avram. Why? What did God remember? That Avram's selfless חסד chesed. Noach, God remembered Noach. What did he remember about Noach? That he was feeding all the animals on the תבה teiva. What causes God to remember us? חסד Chesed. When we do חסד chesed, when we do love, we invoke Hashem's attention, his care, his concern. The Midrash Tanchuma on the parsha tells us, כשהיו ישראל במצרים נתקבצו כולם וישבו יחד K'shehayu Yisrael b'Mitzrayim nitkabtzu kulam v'yashvu yachad. When כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, when the Jewish people were in מצרים Mitzrayim, they got together. כרתו ברית יחד שיעשו גמילות חסדים זה עם זה Karsu bris yachad sheya'asu gemilus chasadim zeh im zeh. They made a pledge and a promise, they would all do חסד chesed with one another. The Chofetz Chaim explains when the people in Egypt, in the throes of servitude, were suffering from slavery, and they felt hopeless to change their circumstance, they realized there was one thing they could change. And what was the one thing that they could change was how they treated and what they did for one another. They would do חסד chesed for one another. And writes the Chofetz Chaim, הדבר הזה היה סיבה לגאולתם hadavar hazeh haya sibah l'geulasam. What caused God to remember them in Egypt was the way they took care of and loved one another. Every time we need God to remember us, to turn our fate and our fortune, to bring the hostages home, to unleash the fury of the United States of America, to bring the hostages home, ויזכור Vayizkor, what causes God to remember, to pay attention, is how we treat one another. It was true with Noach, it was true with Avram, and now it's true with Rachel. Each time what he remembered about the person he remembered is the חסד chesed they did with someone else. The Chofetz Chaim tells us that's what it means every day we say in Az Yashir, we say נחית בחסדך עם זו גאלת nachisa v'chasdecha am zu ga'alta. You redeemed us with חסד chesed, you took us out. Not you guided us with your kindness. נחיתה Nachisa, you guided us, בחסדך b'chasdecha, our kindness. Because we were kind to one another, עם זו גאלת am zu ga'alta, you took us out, you brought us out. So ויזכור אלקים Vayizkor Elokim, we are again in a מצב of כלל ישראל matzav of Klal Yisrael, we want Hashem to remember us. 15 months, this war is going on. Ceasefire in Lebanon is barely holding on. In Gaza, it's fatigue from this fighting. The hostages, it's time to come home, to let them go. How are we going to get Hashem's attention? What's going to cause him to finally turn our fate? ויזכור אלקים Vayizkor Elokim, how we treat one another. It's our אחדות achdus, it's our love, it's our care, it's our concern. נחיתה בחסדך Nachisa v'chasdecha. May we be זוכה zocheh to have that חסד chesed, so Hashem changes our fate, and we have בשורות טובות ישועות ונחמות besoros tovos yeshuos v'nechamos. Please remain to say תהילים Tehillim, we can complete all.
