Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker Tov. Welcome back to פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. Thank you again for accommodating the schedule, special Labor Day פרשה Parsha class. A labor of love, the labor of תורה Torah, שעמלים בתורה she'amelim b'Torah. What better or greater thing to labor in than the study of תורה Torah. Appreciate your accommodating, have to pay a שבעה shiva call tomorrow, so thank you. פרשה Parsha series is sponsored by Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman. We remain very grateful to the Katzes for their generosity, sponsoring the series in memory of Becky's father דוד בן מנחם מנוש David ben Menachem Manush. We have the privilege this week of reading and studying the פרשה parsha with the most מצוות mitzvos in the תורה Torah, page 1046, פרשת כי תצא Parshas Ki Seitzei. כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך Ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha. משה Moshe continues his soliloquy, his monologue to the Jewish people, and now after he's covered much of the narrative, reviewing much of history, warning and cautioning when you enter the land, be vigilant. Don't fall prey, don't be influenced by others. Now he returns to a litany of מצוות mitzvos, many, many, many מצוות mitzvos. And we're not going to spend time, but the job of the reader is to figure out what is the chronology, the succession, what is the order of the מצוות mitzvos that משה Moshe chooses. Why does he communicate them if they've already been said? How are they repeated differently maybe than the way they were given the first time, and so on. So let's begin. Page 1046. כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך ונתנו השם אלקיך בידך ושבית שביו Ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha u'nesano Hashem Elokecha b'yadecha v'shavisa shivyo. Just like last week's פרשה parsha that had many lessons for war. And for many years, and most of my life, we read these פרשיות parshios as theoretical, as homiletical, as we will again in a moment. But of course we find ourselves now in two years of an ongoing war, the longest war in Israel's history, these פרשיות parshios and these פסוקים psukim are not theoretical, they're not hypothetical, and they're not homiletical. They are real, and they're talking right to our heroes. I have two nephews going back in as Israel is bracing to take over Gaza City and to finally eliminate Hamas. Last week's פרשה parsha when we read about the encouraging words of the כהן kohen who would turn to the soldiers. This week's פרשה parsha כי תצא למלחמה Ki Seitzei L'milchama, these פסוקים psukim that guide the ethics of warfare of a soldier, these are no ordinary soldiers, these are our holy and precious soldiers. And these פסוקים psukim in many ways are meant to be taken literally. But we are going to, in addition to understanding whom it's speaking about, with our awe and admiration of our precious soldiers who are very much in our thoughts and in our minds, in our hearts and certainly at the forefront of our prayers, of our תפילות tefillos, we'll also read these פסוקים psukim homiletically. When you go out to war on your enemy, and if God will deliver him into your hand and you'll capture his captivity. Once upon a time in war if you won, you were allowed to keep what you won. Every other nation is allowed to keep its territory, take spoils. Only the Jewish people, even when we win, are asked to lose. So the תורה Torah's premise here was, is, that war operates with certain laws of war, which include ושבית שביו v'shavisa shivyo, וראית בשביה אשת יפת תואר v'raisa b'shivyoh eishes yefas toar, and then we'll get into the פסוקים psukim of often at war, soldiers who find themselves at war and life and death and on a front line, so reorients everything in their lives. And soldiers away from their family can be tempted, can be filled with desire. And here the תורה Torah is not a utopian document, it's not describing a utopian society. לא דברה תורה אלא כלשון בני אדם Lo dibra Torah ela k'lashon bnei adam. It's speaking to the heart and to the reality of people where they are, not where we wish they were. And the reality of where people are in a non-utopian world is they can fall in love or they can be filled with desire among somebody that they interact, someone that they take captive. This was true in America's war overseas, historically, many films and documentaries cover it, and it's true for all war. And how does the תורה Torah sort of have a concession towards that, speak to people in their language. But our חז\"ל Chazal, our rabbis encourage us, going way back and certainly until today, to read these פסוקים psukim not only literally, but to read them homiletically, applying not only to the soldier literally on a front line, but each and every one of us who are at war. Who is our enemy, with whom are we at war? So the אור גדליהו Or Gedalyahu, רב גדליה שור Rav Gedalya Schorr, זצ\"ל zatzal, writes the following. כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך Ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha. עיין באור החיים הקדוש שכן כתוב למלחמה Iyin b'Or HaChaim HaKadosh shekein kasuv la'milchama. If you look at the תורה Torah, it says when you go to war not למלחמה l'milchama, but למלחמה la'milchama. What is the difference, which vowel is under the למ\"ד lamed? בפתח תחת הלמ\"ד B'patach tachas ha'lamed, לרמז על המלחמה הידועה l'ramez al ha'milchama ha'yadua. למלחמה La'milchama means you're going to the war, not a war, you're not going to some war, a recurring war, you're going to the war. What is the great battle, the great war? מלחמת היצר Milchamas ha'yetzer. It's the war that we have with ourselves. The war that you had when you passed the popcorn machine outside, or the slushy machine outside, or the pastry in the lobby. That little battle that ensued. inside you. I already had breakfast, I don't need breakfast, I'm supposed to be intermittent fasting. If I'm going to eat breakfast already, is that really the best thing I need to have for breakfast? The war when the alarm went off for מנין minyan this morning. It's Labor Day, I could sleep in, I can sleep late, I can skip, I'm going to go to the פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur. The wars that rage inside us, even before or as we open our eyes in the morning. As the Torah, as חז״ל Chazal say, איזהו גיבור הכובש את יצרו Eizehu gibor hakovesh es yitzro. ולכן כתיב על אויבך V'lachein ksiv al oyvecha. ולמה שמה מלחמה תדירה V'lama shama milchama tadira. And what does it mean on your enemy? It is a never-ending war. So long as there's breath in our lungs, as long as we are alive and awake, we are battling, battling our demons, battling our alter ego, battling our temptation, drives, and desires. We're battling the animal impulse inside us, as we're learning about on Wednesday mornings in Tanya. שם יתרשל יקום עליו ויכול Shem yisrashel yakum alav v'yachol. Because if we get weak, if we waver, then that enemy is ready to pounce. It's ready to take us down. And it sets us back. And then we have to get back on the horse, then we have to begin again. But we have those days where we indulge, and we look at or we say or we eat or we do or we go, or we give in to impatience or to anger or to arrogance or to envy. We have those days.ויש לומר פי' מה שפירש רש\"י מלחמת הרשות הכתוב מדבר V'yesh lomar peirush ma she'peirash Rashi milchemes ha'reshus ha'kasuv medaber. What kind of war? In Torah there are two types of war: מלחמת מצוה milchemes mitzvah and מלחמת רשות milchemes reshuss. מלחמת מצוה Milchemes mitzvah was to conquer the seven Canaanite nations. מלחמת מצוה Milchemes mitzvah is to defend our people. The war we're in now is a מלחמת מצוה milchemes mitzvah. עד כדי כך מורי ורבותי רב שכטר Ad k'dei kach morai v'rabosai Rav Schechter says a מלחמת מצוה milchemes mitzvah, whether you live in Israel and are an Israeli citizen or you're simply a member of the Jewish people, מלחמת מצוה milchemes mitzvah you're obligated to participate. If you're of eligible age, then you have to go wherever you live in the world because it's a מלחמת מצוה milchemes mitzvah. A מלחמת רשות milchemes reshuss is not an obligatory war, it's not a war to conquer our enemy, it's not a war to defend our people, it was a war to expand our boundaries, a מלחמת רשות milchemes reshuss. So Rashi says the instruction in our פרשה parsha that we begin with, what type of war are we talking about? בדברי רשות B'divrei reshuss. עיקר המלחמה בדברי רשות הכתוב מדבר Ikar ha'milchama b'divrei reshuss ha'kasuv medaber. כי באמת אין דבר שהוא רשות Ki b'emes ein davar shehu reshuss. Says the אור גדול ישר Or Gadol Yashar that we're talking about a מלחמת רשות milchemes reshuss. We're talking about the battle even with the optional. The battle not only with that which falls neatly into a category of good or bad, right or wrong, just or unjust, but there's gray. And the gray is רשות reshuss. And רשות reshuss, again if we're talking about the inner battle, the battle with our alter ego, the battle with being our best selves, what do we mean by רשות reshuss in that context? Says the אור גדול ישר Or Gadol Yashar, what we mean is eating, sleeping. There are things that we view as neutral. עבירה Aveira, something that's wrong, that's an עבירה aveira. It fits neatly into a category. מצוה Mitzvah, something that's right or righteous, fits neatly into a category. But what about everything in between? What about the פּאַרעווע *parve* or neutral? What about the gray? What about that which seems to be רשות reshuss? It's elective. We can choose. So he quotes the חובות הלבבות Chovos HaLevavos who says there is no such thing. Everything in life, everything we do, everything we think, everything we say, everywhere we go, every way which we interact with the physical, material world, we're either doing it nobly, we're either elevating it and transforming it, it is either serving the Godliness in us, it is raising us spiritually, or we're indulging the physical and material. We are indulging the animal. It is bringing us down, it's weighing us down. It's speaking to the worst part of who we are. כי באמת אין דבר שהוא רשות Ki b'emes ein davar shehu reshuss. כי כל מעשה איזה שהיא בתוך בגדר מצוה הרי הוא מעשה טוב Ki kol maaseh eizeh shehi b'toch b'geder mitzvah harei hu maaseh tov. עד כאן שם Ad kan shem. רק שהיצר מפתה בדברי רשות שאין אדם נשמר כראוי שהוא רשות ואין על ידי זה נכשל Rak she'ha'yetzer mefaseh b'divrei reshuss, she'ein adam nishmar k'rauy shehu reshuss, v'ein al yedei zeh nichshal. What happens? This battle, this war, the יצר yetzer says, \"Ah, that doesn't fit neatly in a... it's רשות reshuss. It's nice, it's extra, it's רשות reshuss.\" ולכן צריך ליזהר יותר בדברים אלו V'lachein tzarich lizaher yoser b'dvarim eilu. And that's why that's where the battle rages most. עבירה Aveira, you know is עבירה aveira, so stay away from עבירה aveira. Stay away from that which is wrong. But the רשות reshuss, that which so falls somewhere in between, the neutral, the פּאַרעווע *parve*, that's where it gets sticky, that's where we're most vulnerable, and that's where we have to be most vigilant and on highest alert. ועיקר כלי זין נגד היצר V'ikar kli zayin neged ha'yetzer. And in this war, כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך ki seitzei la'milchama al oyvecha, in this war, המלחמה ha'milchama, the great war, in the war that's never-ending, a war that we can win a battle but never ever let down because the war is not over. What are the weapon of choice? How do we fight? How do we defeat that enemy? How do we stay grounded? How do we keep our compass calibrated? עיקר כלי זין Ikar kli zayin, the key weapon is לימוד התורה limud ha'Torah. Is learning Torah. It's what you're here to do today, what we are doing together. Learning Torah. Spoke about this past שבת Shabbos, how to avoid the blind spots of life. יעוור עיני פקחים y'aver einei pikchim. How do we avoid those blind spots? So the answer is לימוד התורה limud haTorah. Learning Torah is the switching lane alert. It tells us we have a blind spot, you're about to crash, you're wavering. Learning Torah creates boundaries. Learning Torah is the sensor that gives us our priorities. Learning Torah helps anchor us in a world where there are winds that are trying to blow us off course. Learning Torah keeps navigating. The ירושלמי Yerushalmi says זהו מה שכתוב ונתנו השם אלוקיך בידך zehu mah she'kasuv u'nesano Hashem Elokecha b'yadecha. The Torah tells us ונתנו השם אלוקיך u'nesano Hashem Elokecha, when השם Hashem delivers בידך b'yadecha, in your hand, the enemy, על ידי השם אלוקיך al yedei Hashem Elokecha, היינו התורה שניתנה בלשון אנוכי השם אלוקיך hainu haTorah shenitna b'lashon Anochi Hashem Elokecha. ונתנו בידך ושבית שביו U'nesano b'yadecha v'shavisa shivyo, בראתי יצר הרע בראתי תורה תבלין barasi yetzer hara, barasi Torah tavlin. How does this enemy, the alter ego, the temptation, that voice inside us that we're trying to defeat, how do we win? Through learning Torah. And then it's delivered in our hands. Because בראתי יצר הרע barasi yetzer hara, השם Hashem gave us that יצר הרע yetzer hara, and what's the antidote, what's the answer? בראתי תורה תבלין Barasi Torah tavlin. Torah. Torah. Torah grounds us, it anchors us, it inspires us. Torah helps us navigate. Torah sets our priorities, Torah gives us boundaries, Torah empowers us to have the courage, the conviction, the clarity to be able to defeat whatever is in our way and whatever we need to do. And the אור גדליהו Or Gedalyahu goes along this line and many others come and say, even though we read these פסוקים psukim and we say כי תצא למלחמה ki seitzei l'milchama, we're talking about what looks like a real war. No, know that the fundamental war, the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim famously said and others that it's not דרש drash to say it's talking about the inner battle. It's not homiletical, it's פשט pshat that the Torah was speaking literally to the fight, to the battle that we have inside, inside us.I went this summer, I've alluded to it, I still have not begun to unpack it. Rebbetzin and I went to Hungary and Ukraine, we went on an incredible heritage trip, fundamentally to go visit the graves of her great, great grandparents in Bushtyno in Ukraine, but we went to countless other cities and saw countless צדיקים tzaddikim and it was an unbelievable experience. And one of the things I did while there, I prepared a booklet just for us that at each קבר kever, we said תהילים Tehillim, but we also learned a piece of Torah from every צדיק tzaddik. And I did it for a specific reason, I'll tell you more another time, but when I learned, when we learned the Torah of that צדיק tzaddik in their presence, even some who lived 200 years ago, we saw them rise from their grave, from their קבר kever. People living in a country, there are no Jews within 50 miles, there's nothing left, there's no remnant. They spoke another language, they were part of another culture, we had nothing in common. All of a sudden you open their ספר sefer, 200 years old, and you're speaking the same language. You're on literally the same page talking about the same פרשה parsha. You watch someone come and rise, they're alive again. It's, it's, I'm, I'm not exaggerating, if anything I'm understating what it is. So not only had I printed a Torah from each one, I bought the ספר sefer of everyone we visit.So one of the people we went to was the ליסקער רב Lisker Rav, the אך פרי תבואה Ach Pri Tevuah. The אך פרי תבואה Ach Pri Tevuah was רבי צבי הירש פרידמן Reb Tzvi Hersh Friedman, passed away in 1798 and he was a תלמיד talmid of, he was a תלמיד talmid of the ישמח משה Yismach Moshe, first סאטמאר רבה Satmar Rebbe. We went to the ישמח משה Yismach Moshe, we went to the ליסקער רב Lisker Rav, to the אך פרי תבואה Ach Pri Tevuah. The אך פרי תבואה Ach Pri Tevuah passed away in 1798, he was orphaned as a young child at eight years old, and he became very close with the ישמח משה Yismach Moshe. And he was also notably the רבה Rebbe of ר' ישעיה'לה מקרעסטיר Reb Shayala m'Kerestir. ר' ישעיה'לה Reb Shayala, we have a ר' ישעיה'לה Reb Shayala corner. Nobody heard of ר' ישעיה'לה Reb Shayala just a few years ago and now you can't go anywhere without being fed by ר' ישעיה'לה Reb Shayala. We went to קרעסטיר Kerestir too. It's extraordinary what's happening there. It's amazing. And ר' ישעיה'לה Reb Shayala was known for his hospitality and his חסד chesed and his love. We don't have ספרים seforim from ר' ישעיה'לה Reb Shayala, but we have from his רבה Rebbe and we were at the ליסקער רב's Lisker Rav's grave as well and learned a piece. So I came back, I bought the אך פרי תבואה Ach Pri Tevuah, and I want to share with you a Torah at the beginning of the אך פרי תבואה Ach Pri Tevuah on our פרשה parsha, רב צבי הירש Rav Tzvi Hersh, רב צבי הירש פרידמן Rav Tzvi Hersh Friedman.So he says the following: כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך Ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha, הנה שמעתי מפי הרב הצדיק בעל המחבר ספר ישמח משה hinei shamati mipi ha'rav ha'tzaddik baal ha'mechaber sefer Yismach Moshe. Now, before I saw it myself and experienced and learned his biography, it would have just been something you read in a book. Oh, I heard this from the author of the ישמח משה Yismach Moshe. But if you've been to the grave of the ישמח משה Yismach Moshe, then the ליסקער רב Lisker Rav, then קרעסטיר Kerestir, you see it all open in front of your eyes. Hungary, Ukraine, it's really amazing. א דרך שאמרו חז\"ל A derech she'amru Chazal. The rabbis said לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ומצוות l'olam yaasok adam b'Torah u'mitzvos, אפילו שלא לשמה afilu shelo lishma, שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה shemitoch shelo lishma ba lishma. The rabbis, חז\"ל Chazal tell us, the גמרא Gemara in פסחים דף נ Pesachim daf nun, that a person should always occupy themselves in Torah and mitzvos, even if they're doing it for the wrong reason. You have an ulterior motive. You're doing it why? Because everyone else is doing it. All the cool kids are doing it. Peer pressure. You're doing it because it's going to get your kids a good שידוך shidduch. Sometimes I have people call me and they say, I have a child in שידוכים shidduchim. So, can you put me on a committee? I always, I want to join the חברא קדישא chevra kadisha. Which שיעור shiur should I attend? know that they're going to start out getting phone calls about me, so I I got to be able to show up. There has to be something nice to say. So where is there something חסד chesed, חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha, I have a large donation I'd like to make. You know, you get that before the bar mitzvah, the rabbi's got to say something nice, and before the שידוך shidduch when you're going to start to get, you're going to start to get phone calls. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem for שידוכים shidduchim. So, לעולם יעסוק אדם le'olam ya'asok adam, a person should start, so do we denigrate such a person? Do you give them a proverbial פאטש patch and say, you lowlife, you're doing it for the wrong reason? Absolutely not, I'm not going to plug you in, I'm not giving you something to do. Come back to me when you're motivated purely. Come back to me when you're sincere. No, we don't say that. We say better to do something insincerely, why? Because it will lead to בא לשמה ba lishma, בא לשמה ba lishma. Even, לעולם יעסוק אדם תורה ומצוות אפילו שלא לשמה le'olam ya'asok adam Torah umitzvos afilu shelo lishma, שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה shemitoch shelo lishma ba lishma. חסידים צדיקים Chasidim, tzaddikim say, by the way, from the word מתוך mitoch. Where does it come from? מתוך mitoch. Last year, it's a year ago now, we remember we learned שבת שובה Shabbos Shuva, IFS, internal family systems, the self and our parts. So the self, the מתוך mitoch, will be the בא לשמה ba lishma. ופירשו מפרשים U'peirshu meforshim says the הייליגע ליסקא רב Heilige Liska Rav, אח פרי תבואה Ach Pri Tevuah, the מפרשים meforshim say, הנה עדיין יעשה אחר כך איזה מצווה לשמה hinei adayin ya'aseh achar kach eizeh mitzvah lishma, יעלה גם כן המצווה שעשה לא לשמה ya'aleh gam kein hamitzvah she'asah lo lishma. When you turn the corner, when you started, you know, you joined the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha 'cause your kids are in שידוכים shidduchim. You joined the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha, you wanted someone to have something nice to say about you. You joined the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha because the judge ordered community service. You joined the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha for whatever ulterior motive or purpose. But you know, by the second or third טהרה tahara you said, this is amazing. I feel so good. I've been in touch with my soul. I feel like this is something incredible. And all of a sudden now, even if the judge said you're done, you want to continue. All your children are married, you still want to continue. You started for the wrong reason, but you came לשמה lishma. So now that you did it לשמה lishma, it actually retroactively transforms all the times you did it for the wrong reason into the right reason too. וזהו כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך V'zehu ki seitzei lamilchama al oyvecha, ואפילו אם אויבך שהוא ילך איתך v'afilu im oyvecha shehu yeilech itcha, אף על פי כן af al pi chein, אל נא תמנע מהלך al na timna meihalach, כי אחר כך ונתנו השם אלוקיך בידך ki achar kach un'sano Hashem Elokecha b'yadecha, ואז ושבית שביו v'az v'shavisa shivyo. תיקח ממנו מה שלקח ממך tikach mimenu ma she'lakach mimcha. עד כאן דברי פי הקדוש Ad kan divrei pi hakadosh. So the הייליגע ישמח משה Heilige Yismach Moshe, the first סאטמאר רבי Satmar Rebbe said, what does it mean homiletically, כי תצא למלחמה ki seitzei lamilchama, when you go out, על אויבך al oyvecha, the enemy, the voice inside you that's making you do it for the ulterior motive, for the wrong reason, ונתנו u'n'sano, when you, when he's handed, when you win, when now you're doing it לשמה lishma, ושבית שביו v'shavisa shivyo, you're holding him captive. Now you've taken the יצר הרע yetzer hara and you've transformed it. You were doing it for the wrong reason: ego, honor, whatever ulterior motive, but now that you've been able to learn, to grow, now that you're doing it for the right reason, now you've got him. That יצר הרע yetzer hara that tried to get you for the wrong reason, now you've got him. Says the הייליגע אח פרי תבואה Heilige Ach Pri Tevuah, לדעתי יש לומר גם כן על דרך זה l'daati yeish lomar gam kein al derech zeh. Now he's taking his רבי Rebbe, the הייליגע ישמח משה Heilige Yismach Moshe, and he's continuing, he's expanding this thought. הנה אמרו חז\"ל בתורת כהנים פרשת קדושים Hinei amru Chazal b'Toras Kohanim parshas Kedoshim, אל תאמר אי אפשי בבשר חזיר al tomar ee efshi b'vasar chazir, אלא אפשי ואבי שבשמים גזר עלי ela efshi v'avi shebashamayim gazar alai. Should you say, bacon is disgusting. I have no interest in it. Or do you say, by the way, it's on my top of my list. If I got to have one non-kosher food, it'd be bacon. Looks good to me. And then חז\"ל Chazal say, the proper thing is to say, you know what? I crave bacon. The smell, the crackle, probably the taste, the crunch, I want bacon. אבי שבשמים גזר עלי Avi shebashamayim gazar alai, but Hashem said off limits. Hashem said no go, no good. ונמצא זהו מעלה גדולה מה שהיצר הוא כנגדו V'nimtza zehu ma'alah gedolah mah she'hayetzer hu k'negdo. That's a מעלה גדולה ma'alah gedolah. You don't say I'm disgusted, I'm repulsed, I have no interest. Say yeah, I'm human and I'm drawn and I'm tempted, but Hashem said no go. ולכך אמרו גם כן הן טוב זה היצר טוב, מאוד זה היצר הרע U'l'chach amru gam kein hein tov zeh hayetzer tov, me'od zeh hayetzer hara. The fact that I have a drive and an impulse and an instinct and I want it, but I still regulate it and overcome it, I now the יצר הרע yetzer hara is serving me. If I weren't driven, if I had no temptation or desire, big deal. What's the big deal? When Rabbi Moskowitz says no to the potato chips, it's no big deal. But when I look down the Cape Cod bag and I say, no, no, I own you, you don't own me, now the יצר הרע yetzer hara is an asset, the יצר הרע yetzer hara is an advantage. The יצר הרע yetzer hara has enabled me to grow. Don't feel bad. He's got his, I don't know what it is. I haven't discovered it yet, Mrs. Moskowitz, but I'm sure what is it, like red peppers, carrots, he's got his. זה יצר טוב zeh yetzer tov. כי על ידו יקבל אדם שכר טוב בעמלו Ki al yado yekabel adam schar tov b'amalo. So the fact that we have a יצר הרע yetzer hara is טוב מאוד tov me'od. It's געשמאק geshmak, it's געוואלדיג gevaldig. If you walked around all day and you had no drive, no temptation, no desire, you were numb, you weren't didn't want to do anything wrong, you were a goody two shoes, everything came easily, so you'd get no reward for it. It's when you stare down, and that thing, and you say, no, I'm not gonna watch it, I'm not gonna say it, I'm not gonna give into it, I'm not gonna raise my voice, I'm not gonna be impatient, I'm not gonna be stingy, I'm gonna be generous. Now the יצר הרע yeitzer hara has been an asset to you. It's serving you. וזה כתבה תורה כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך V'zeh kasva Torah ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha, when you go to war with that יצר הרע yeitzer hara, אמו ממש imo mamash, ונתנו השם אלוקיך בידך ושבית שביו u'nesano Hashem Elokecha b'yadecha v'shavisa shivyo. When you can stare it down and defeat it, when you overcome it, when you're in control of it, when you can regulate, you've captured it. You've won it. It's in your hands. דמה שמחבב לך תאוות עולם הזה, אדרבה יהיה אותו סחרך, שעל ידו עוד תרוויח D'mah she'mechavev lecha ta'avos olam hazeh, adraba yihiyeh oso scharchecha, she'al yado od tarviach. So now you've captured it. You didn't defeat it, you didn't destroy it. You own it, you took it captive. You've got it because it's serving you rather than you serving it. Very interesting homiletical interpretation of the opening of our פרשה parsha, כי תצא למלחמה ki seitzei l'milchama. And then we go from here into the next section, which is the בן סורר ומורה ben sorer u'moreh. כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה Ki yihiyeh l'ish ben sorer u'moreh at the bottom of page 1046, פסוק יח pasuk yud ches. If a person has a wayward child, ואיננו שומע בקול אביו ובקול אמו v'einenu shomea b'kol aviv u'v'kol imo, not listening to the voice of the father, the voice of the mother, ויסרו אותו ולא ישמע אליהם v'yisru oso v'lo yishma aleihem, and they discipline him but he doesn't listen. A בן סורר ומורה ben sorer u'moreh, a wayward rebellious child. Now there are incredible criteria that have to be met to qualify for this פסוק pasuk. The child has to be old enough, but not too old. The parents have to sound similar, same voice. He has to be everything, all these criteria make it not only nearly impossible, but literally impossible. So much so that the גמרא Gemara in סנהדרין Sanhedrin tells us בן סורר ומורה ben sorer u'moreh, לא היה ולא עתיד להיות lo haya v'lo asid lihiyos. Never happened, it's never gonna happen. Hasn't happened. The criteria, the details that are necessary to qualify as a בן סורר ומורה ben sorer u'moreh. ותפשו בו אביו ואמו V'safsu bo aviv v'imo, let's read a little bit more first. The parents grab him, they bring him to זקני עירו ziknei iro, שער מקומו shaar mekomo, and they say, \"new help me.\" This child, this defiant, disobedient child, אמרו אל זקני עירו בננו זה סורר ומורה amru el ziknei iro b'neinu zeh sorer u'moreh, our child is no good, he's rebellious, איננו שומע בקולנו einenu shomea b'koleinu, he won't listen to us, זולל וסובא zolel v'sovei, he's a glutton and a drunkard. ורגמוהו כל אנשי עירו באבנים U'rgamuhu kol anshei iro ba'avanim, so what do we do? They say he's hopeless. He's irredeemable. He can't be fixed. So what do they do? Stone him to death. ובערת הרע מקרבך U'viarta ha'ra mikirbecha, eliminate him. Because if he is allowed to remain, he could be a negative influence, the damage he does could be irreversible, and therefore ובערת הרע מקרבך u'viarta ha'ra mikirbecha. וכל ישראל ישמעו ויראו V'chol Yisrael yishme'u v'yirau. And everyone who reads and everyone who hears and everyone will see will know, don't follow in his footsteps, don't be like him, because look where that ends. Now, before you recoil with the אוי oy, how could it be? Know, it never happened. It never happened, it never will happen. So you're probably wondering, ולמה נכתב v'lama nichtav? So why is it included? Why is it written? Torah is not a theoretical document. It's not a hypothetical document. Torah is telling us a prescription or formula for life. So if it never happened and never will happen, why write it? דרוש וקבל שכר Drosh v'kabel schar. Because when we דרשן darshan, study it, learn it, analyze it, ask about it, then all of a sudden we'll get reward for doing it. And עיר הנדחת ir hanidachas, לא היתה ולא עתידה להיות lo haysa v'lo asida lihiyos. The עיר הנדחת ir hanidachas, the idolatrous city, a city that was overtaken, that the majority are serving idols, and therefore it has to be eliminated, destroyed, everything in it, לא היה ולא עתיד להיות lo haya v'lo asid lihiyos. Never happened, never will happen. למה נכתב Lama nichtav? Why is it written? דרוש וקבל שכר Drosh v'kabel schar. בית המנוגע Bayis hamenuga. We learn in פרשת תזריע מצורע parshas Tazria Metzora, not only can an individual have leprosy, but the home can contract leprosy. You have to take everything out of the house. We have all the laws. So, לא היה ולא עתיד להיות lo haya v'lo asid lihiyos. Never happened, never gonna. Why is it written? דרוש וקבל שכר Drosh v'kabel schar. So says the גמרא Gemara in סנהדרין דף עא Sanhedrin daf ayin aleph, 71a. Asks רב שמואל בר נחמני Rav Shmuel bar Nachmani. He says, אומר רב שמואל omer Rav Shmuel, וכי אין שיעור לחכמה בעמק של תורה v'chi ein shiur l'chochma b'omek shel Torah? The Torah is endless in its richness, in its potential, in its profundity. אם כן יש מספיק חלקי התורה ללמוד העניינים שנוהגים למעשה Im kein yesh maspik chelkei haTorah lilmod ha'inyanim she'nogim l'maaseh. I can't get past the first few פסוקים pesukim of any פרשה parsha in the פרשה שבוע parsha shiur. There's enough to talk about with things that are real and relevant and happened. Why does the Torah have these three examples of things that never happened, never will happen? What are you taking up precious real estate in the Torah, more valuable than Montefiore Circle and רחביה Rechavia? Precious real estate in the Torah. We don't have extra room. And you're taking up precious real estate in the Torah with concepts and ideas and laws for things that never happened and never will happen. If you said they never happened but you never know. But the Torah confidently says they never happened. and they never will. So what are you taking up precious space? ולידרוש ולקבל שכר V'lidrosh v'lekabel schar. למה יש צורך ללמוד ענינים אלו? Lama yesh tzorech lilmod inyanim eilu? לא היו ולא עתידים להיות, Lo hayu v'lo asidim lihiyot, כדי לדרוש ולקבל שכר, kedei lidrosh v'lekabel schar. We have enough we can דורשין darshen and be מקבל שכר mekabel schar. There's a lot to learn and analyze and ask and study and pontificate and opine. There's plenty, without having to invoke or teach that which isn't relevant. The תרוץ of רב ישראל סלנטר terutz of Rav Yisrael Salanter, but פרשיות אלו באו ללמדנו שצריך ללמוד תורה, לשם התורה parshiyos eilu bo l'lamdeinu shetzarich lilmod Torah, l'shem haTorah. ולא רק כדי לדעת כיצד לקיים המצוות V'lo rak kedei ladaas keitzad l'kayem ha'mitzvos. Because if the only motivation and drive we have to learn Torah is to know what to do, is to understand what is relevant and applicable, then we're learning Torah a שטיקל שלא לשמה shtickel shelo lishmah. We're learning the Torah because we need to. We need to read the instructions because we need to know what to do. But when you're willing to learn each even that which never happened and never will, then you're demonstrating we're not learning Torah only to know what to do. We're learning Torah why? Because it is the word and diary of השם Hashem. ואלו המצוות הן ראיה לזה V'eilu ha'mitzvos hein ra'aya l'zeh. So these מצוות mitzvos that we know never happened and never will, we're not learning because it's a practical guide, מצוות mitzvos for dummies. Why are we reading and studying it? Because it's the word of God Almighty, and that has merit. To tap into the diary of השם Hashem, it's the way we get to know him, the way we connect with him.Again, I'll talk more about another time. The week before we went to Hungary and Ukraine, it's an incredible story. יוכבד Yocheved actually wrote an article that'll appear about it. But somebody had been holding on to for 10 years returned to us a letter from that great, great grandfather we were going to see. Written in 1929, that made its way to America, made its way into שיימעס sheimos, and he took it out of שיימעס sheimos 10 years ago. And somehow through השגחה hashgacha, through an incredible story, it came back into our hands a couple days before we went, before we left. And she grabbed that letter. A letter from her great-great-grandfather, a letter from her great-grandmother יוכבד Yocheved, for whom she is named. And we took it with us. We took it to that tombstone as we דאווענט davened, holding the the the penmanship and the ink and the and the and the actual letter of its author. And why was it so precious? Because we never met them, obviously, and never will. But when you read their word, you come to know them. When you have access to their written word, now you know them. Why they use that word, why they say it that way, what was on their mind? What is their penmanship? What ink? What's the letterhead? It all jumps off the page and comes alive. A collection of letters, 1929, 1935, 1945, unbelievable things for another time.So it says רב ישראל סלנטר Rav Yisrael Salanter, quoted by רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, if לא היה ולא נהיה lo haya v'lo nihya, it never happened, never will, why are we studying it? Because we have the diary of השם Hashem. These are his letters. This is what he wrote. This is his world view. This is training and molding and shaping us how to think. עוד יש לפרש, חוץ מלימוד התורה לשמה Oid yesh l'faresh, chutz mi'limud haTorah lishmah, וחץ מחלק v'chutz mei'chelek forget that I told you that because I'm gonna tell it to you again in the more expanded version. I just can't hold it in. עוד יש לפרש, חוץ מלימוד התורה לשמה וחוץ מחלק התורה שלומדים אותם כיצד לקיים המצוות, הרי לימוד התורה מלמד גם דעת תורה Oid yesh l'faresh, chutz mi'limud haTorah lishmah v'chutz mei'chelek haTorah she'lomdim osam keitzad l'kayem ha'mitzvos, harei limud haTorah melamed gam daas Torah. Learning Torah does something else. Learning Torah gives us דעת תורה daas Torah. Now here, רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum is employing that term דעת תורה daas Torah, not גדולי ישראל Gedolei Yisrael, infallible, go ask them should I buy that apartment? Should I buy that car? Should I invest in that stock? Should I marry that person? That's דעת תורה daas Torah, another conversation for another time. But he's talking about the דעת תורה daas Torah that every one of us, when we learn Torah, we are molding and shaping, we're training our brain to see the world through the perspective of Torah. Through the perspective of Torah. The mathematician sees everything as a formula. The the expert in physics sees everything through the rules and principles of physics. And the more we learn and study Torah, the more we're training ourselves to see the world through the principles and the priorities, through the language and the formulations of Torah. דעת תורה Daas Torah. ודוגמא לזה הוא מצוות בן סורר ומורה, דהכוונה דאף על גב דאין פרשה זו הלכה למעשה, לא היה ולא יהיה, V'dugma l'zeh hu mitzvas ben sorer u'moreh, d'hakavanah d'af al gav d'ein parsha zu halacha l'maaseh, lo haya v'lo yihiyeh, never happened and never will. Why learn it? Because learning it also is contributing to mold and shape, to train us to see and interpret the world through the prism of Torah. אנו למדים את גודל הסכנה משלימות שכרוס ועד תאוותו, זולל וסובא Anu lomedim es godel hasakanah mishleimus shichrus v'ad ta'avaso, zolel v'sovei. You see what happens? Someone who's זולל וסובא zolel v'sovei, someone who's a drunkard and a glutton, someone who simply indulges in every appetite. You'll say, but it's all kosher, what's the problem? So what? That's not who we are. That's not who we are. It's a danger. I won't wax my editorial now about what we've done with our שמחות smachos, our שבת ויום טוב Shabbos v'Yom Tov, all the other things. We're bordering on if not have passed זולל וסובא zolel v'sovei, gluttonous and drunkenness and overindulgence. Enjoy. I enjoy as much as anyone. I enjoy as much as anyone. But in in context and in boundaries and in perspective, you see זולל וסובא zolel v'sovei, you end up בן סורר ומורה ben sorer u'moreh. Ah, it never happened, never will. Doesn't matter. We can still extrapolate and extract the lessons and the values and the messages, and we're still training ourselves to see the world through דעת תורה da'as Torah, through דעת תורה da'as Torah. For example, the fact that, why are we, why are we putting this person to death? Again, never happened. Never will. But why theoretically is that their ends? It's a fascinating question. Is it נידון על שם סופו nidon al shem sofo? Do we treat someone based on what will be of them in the end, predicting and anticipating what's going to happen? Or do we say, no. All you have is what's in front of you right now. All you could look at is what you have right now. Which is it? What's the ethic of looking to the future and predicting and anticipating and preventative punishment, preventative isolation, versus do you only judge a person based on where they are right now? What's the Torah's perspective? Learn this section and we get. בן בג בג Ben Bag Bag teaches in אבות Avos, הפוך בה והפוך בה דכולה בה hafoch ba v'hafoch ba d'kula ba. That if you הפוך בה והפוך בה hafoch ba v'hafoch ba, turn and train and toil in Torah, and כולא בה kula ba, it's all in there, the answers. How to see the world. That's why we go to great people, צדיקים ראשי ישיבה תלמידי חכמים tzaddikim, roshei yeshiva, talmidei chachamim. They're seeing the world differently than we do. They have a greater perspective, a broader perspective. They can see further and farther. They see more, because Torah, learning Torah trains us to have a דעת תורה da'as Torah, to see the world, to understand the world in that way and to navigate the world using those using those tools. Okay, moving along. פרק כב, פסוק א Perek Chaf Beis, Pasuk Aleph. לא תראה Lo sireh. Now we're skipping around mitzvos here. לא תראה את שור אחיך או את שהו נידחים והתעלמת מהם Lo sireh es shor achicha o es seyo nidachim v'hisalamta mehem. You're not allowed to see the ox of your brother or sheep or ghost, or ghost, or goat, or their ghost. And hide yourself, והתעלמת v'hisalamta, don't hide yourself. What do you mean hide yourself? You know what hide yourself is? When someone says, can we have a volunteer, we have something we need to do. Everyone ducks their head. You pass the garbage in the shul hallway, you pretend you didn't see it. You don't want to be the one who kneels down to pick it up and throw it away. והתעלמת V'hisalamta. Everyone all of a sudden, you know, looks down, bows down. השב תשיבם לאחיך Hashev teshivem l'achicha. Instead, you have to return it to your brother. ואם לא קרוב אחיך אליך ולא ידעתו V'im lo karov achicha eilecha v'lo y'daato. And if your brother's not near you and you don't know him, ואספתו אל תוך ביתך והיה עמך עד דרוש אחיך אותו והשבותו לו va'asafto el toch beisecha v'hayah imcha ad drosh achicha oso va'hashevoso lo. You have to take what they lost, bring it into your property until your, until you can identify to whom it belongs. This is the mitzvah what we call השבת אבידה hashavas aveidah. You have to return their lost object. This is not the American way. In the American way, finders keepers, losers weepers. You found it, it's all yours. You certainly don't have to go out of your way. You don't have to post or announce or search or make extraordinary effort to return something that you found. If you found it, it has nothing identifiable on it. Nobody's asking or coming for it. Keep it. Torah says that's not our way. That's not ethical. That's not דעת תורה da'as Torah. That's not the way we see the world and we operate in it. We have a mitzvah of, a mitzvah of השבת אבידה hashavas aveidah. You've got to, you've got to return it. You've got to return it. And then the Torah continues another law.פרק כג פסוק כ Perek Chaf Gimmel, Pasuk Chaf. Skip ahead a little bit, and you'll see why we're skipping. Chapter 23, verse 21. Page 1056. לא תשיך לאחיך נשך כסף נשך אוכל נשך כל דבר אשר ישך Lo sashich l'achicha neshech kesef neshech ochel neshech kol davar asher yishach. You're not allowed to charge your brother interest, interest with money, interest of food, interest on anything. לנכרי תשיך ולאחיך לא תשיך L'nochri sashich ul'achicha lo sashich. To a non-Jew, you're allowed to, maybe you should. But to your brother you're not. למען יברכך השם אלוקיך בכל משלח ידך על הארץ אשר אתה בא שמה לרשתה l'maan y'varechecha Hashem Elokecha b'chol mishlach yadecha al ha'aretz asher atah va shama l'rishta. So God will bless you. Wonders שמואל בירנבוים Shmuel Berenbaum. צריך עיון מה שהתורה כותבת תיבת אחיך כמה פעמים tzarich iyun ma shehaTorah kosves teivas achicha kama pa'amim. There's a word that repeats itself over and over again in these sections. And what's that word? Your brother. When your brother loses an object, when your brother falls on hard times and needs to borrow money, your brother, your brother, your brother. What is it, like the 60s? Hey, brother. What are we talking brother? Cawabanga, hey, brother. Why is brother repeating itself over and over? במצות השבת אבידה כתוב אחיך חמש פעמים b'mitzvas hashavas aveidah kasuv achicha chamesh pa'amim. When it comes to returning a lost object, five times we use the word brother. ריבית Ribis, the prohibition of charging interest, two times. Now, if we want to eliminate a non-Jew, that you don't have to return their lost object, אם לא במקום שיש קידוש השם im lo b'makom she'yesh kiddush Hashem, of course you do if you're going to sanctify God's name, one should and take advantage of the opportunity to sanctify God's name. היה לו לכתוב רעך hayah lo lichtov rei'echa. Why does it say אחיך achicha not רעך rei'echa? ריבית Ribis too, could have said רעך rei'echa, your neighbor. Why does it say your brother, not your neighbor? Says Rav Shlomo Brevda, יש לומר דמצד הסברא yeish lomar d'mitzad hasvara, מי שמוצא אבידה mi shemotzei aveida, יכול לחשוב שזה הוא זומן בשבילו yachol lachshov shezehu zuman bishvilo, מתנה מן השמים matana min hashamayim. If you go to my אמונה שיעור emunah shiur, our אמונה שיעור emunah shiur, if you find a lost object, maybe you'll say to yourself, wow, Hashem sent me this ring, this cash. Hashem sent me this lost object. It's השגחה hashgacha. It and I are exactly where we're meant to be. It is exactly where it's meant to be, in my hand. שהחפץ עכשיו, אבוד מהבעלים Shehacheifetz achshav, avud mehaba'alim, it's lost. מהיכי תיתי שיהיה מחוייב להחזירו לבעליו הראשון Meheicha teisi sheyihiyeh mechuyav l'hachziro l'ba'alav harishon? Who says I have to return it? Maybe it's where it's meant to be, namely, in my house, in my hand. I was meant to have found it. וכן הדין לריבית v'chein hadin l'ribis. And you could say the same thing about interest. כיוון שהכסף הוא שלו, כשם שיכול להשכיר ביתו ומטלטליו keivan shehakesef hu shelo, k'sheim sheyachol lehaskir beiso u'metaltelav, כך יכול להשכיר ממונו kach yachol lehaskir mamono. Let me ask you an ethical question. Am I allowed to, can one Jew rent their house to another Jew? Yes, not a trick question. Can a Jew rent his car to another Jew? Yes. Why can't I rent you my money? What is interest? It's renting you my money. You get to use my money, and the fact that you have my money, and during that time I can't be using my money or making money on my money, so you have to pay me for renting my money. If I could rent you my car, and I could rent you my house, why can't I rent you my money? אבל התורה חידשה Aval haTorah chidsha, comes along the Torah and says, יהודים צריכים להתייחס אחד לשני כמו אחים Yehudim tzrichim l'hisyacheis echad lasheini k'mo achim. The Torah here is promoting, is endorsing, is encouraging that Jews treat one another as brothers. So you're right, a stranger, I can rent you my money. But a brother, I don't rent money. If it's very interesting, we just learned in סמיכת חבר smichas chaver, הלכות ריבית Hilchos Ribis. Several took a בחינה bechina. מזל טוב Mazel tov. Everyone in our חבורה chaburah who took the בחינה bechina on ריבית ribis passed and the average grade was a ninety-three. It's unbelievable. I challenge any כולל kollel in the world taking הלכות ריבית Hilchos Ribis that the average grade on a בחינה bechina was a ninety-three. Happens to be a very generous teacher. As I say every חזרה שיעור chazarah shiur I give for סמיכת חבר smichas chaver and in grading every בחינה bechina, I wish I was my own teacher growing up, but okay. Let's leave that aside for a moment. So we said in סמיכת חבר smichas chaver, which section of שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch do the laws of ריבית ribis appear in? Our פרשה parsha, the laws of ריבית ribis. A Jew can't charge another Jew ריבית ribis. Which section of שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch? We have four sections. אורח חיים Orach Chaim, חושן משפט Choshen Mishpat, אבן העזר Even Ha'ezer, יורה דעה Yoreh Deah. Which section of שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch does הלכות ריבית Hilchos Ribis appear? I would have thought where would it appear? חושן משפט Choshen Mishpat. After all, interest is money, and monetary matters are found where? חושן משפט Choshen Mishpat. I think that's the name of a book, Monetary Matters. חושן משפט Choshen Mishpat. Yet where does it appear? Not חושן משפט Choshen Mishpat. You know where it appears? יורה דעה Yoreh Deah. You know what else is in יורה דעה Yoreh Deah? Laws of נידה niddah, laws of כשרות kashrus, laws of אבלות aveilus, laws of תלמוד תורה Talmud Torah. Why is it in יורה דעה Yoreh Deah and not חושן משפט Choshen Mishpat? The answer is it's not a monetary law. It's not a law of monetary ethics. What is it a law of? Religion. It's a religious law. Why? Because Hashem wants us to see each other as brothers and sisters. You know, if a stranger comes to borrow money from you, is it moral and ethical to charge them interest? Absolutely, why not? Why not? There's a time value to money. There's a time value to money. If I have my money, it could be earning X in the bank. If I give you my money for you to use or spend or invest, I don't have my money to make money, I need you, I'm entitled for you to replace what I could have made on my money, and in fact, give me more. You're renting my money, there's nothing wrong with it. A stranger comes to me, I lend. Your, your brother or your sister, literally, your biological brother or sister come, I've fallen on some hard times, I need a loan, can you lend me some money? And you say, sure. Nine percent. Five percent. Whatever the bank percent. Is that moral and ethical? Do we look fondly upon such a person? Absolutely not. If your own flesh and blood come and they need money, you say here it is. I can lend it for this finite amount of time because I also need my money, but here here it is. The Torah says when it comes to a non-Jew, not only is it permissible and ethical, maybe even it's laudatory. Maybe one should, it's a מצוה mitzva, lend with interest to the non-Jew. But a fellow Jew, that's your brother, that's your sister. Ah, you never met them before? Ah, you did a DNA test, you have no... doesn't matter, it's your brother, your sister. Rabbi Sacks in his חומש Chumash calls this the difference between a contractual community and a covenantal community. A transactional or contractual community is, it's a transaction. You need to borrow, I'm liquid, I could lend. Here's the interest rate. You could rent my money, here's the interest rate. It's contractual, it's transactional. But when a family member needs to borrow, that's covenantal. That's familial. That's altogether different. And that's why, says רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, that's why it says אחיך achicha, אחיך achicha.Because a non-Jew technically you're not obligated to return. And you're not unethical. There's nothing immoral. But a brother or a sibling, if your sibling lost money, then you'd go above and beyond. Similarly with the lending money, and that's what the Torah is trying to promote and endorse within us, that level of mindfulness, that level of conscious living, that we see every fellow Jew as our brother and sister. We're learning now in סדר תפילות seder tefillot, as we said last night, we're in the last ברכה bracha, שים שלום Sim Shalom, the 19th ברכה bracha. ברכנו אבינו כולנו כאחד Barcheinu Avinu kulanu k'echad. When ברכנו אבינו Barcheinu Avinu? When will השם Hashem give us the ברכה bracha of a father? The highest ברכה bracha is a parent. Nobody blesses someone like a parent blesses a child. Because every other blessing, as sincere as the person is, they're not as invested as a parent could be in a child. השם Hashem, we want you not to give us the blessing of a רבי rebbe, the blessing of a friend, the blessing of an ordinary person, the blessing of a king, the blessing of, we want you to give the blessing of a parent. השם Hashem says no problem. You want the blessing of a parent? Act like my children who are getting along. When is it ברכנו אבינו Barcheinu Avinu? When כולנו כאחד kulanu k'echad. How do we demonstrate כולנו כאחד kulanu k'echad that we're all united and together? Because a brother or sister lost something, you don't get excited for it. You don't say embrace your place, it fell in my hand. You say, I've got to get it back in his place. I got to bring it back to her place. That's where it belongs. אחיך achicha, אחיך achicha. They're a brother. So these two מצוות mitzvos as the Sforno explains, returning a lost object, not lending with interest, which are trying to invoke a sense of אחיך achicha, they're מצוות mitzvos that we have to, we have to return. פרק כג פסוק יוד Perek kaf gimmel, pasuk yud.23:10. לא יקח איש את אשת אביו ולא יגלה כנף אביו Lo yikach ish es eshes aviv v'lo yegaleh knaf aviv. That is not the pasuk I wanted to. Hold on. פרק כב Perek kaf beis, rather. Hold on. Yeah, פרק כב פסוק יג Perek kaf beis, pasuk yud gimmel. כב יג Kaf beis, yud gimmel, sorry. 10:50.כי יקח איש אשה ובא אליה ושנאה Ki yikach ish isha u'va eleha u'sne'ah. If a man marries a woman, and he comes to her, but he hates her, ושם לה עלילת דברים v'sam lah alilos devarim, and he makes an accusation against her and he הוציא עליה שם רע v'hotzi aleha shem ra, he spreads a false rumor. ואמר את האשה הזאת לקחתי ואקרב אליה ולא מצאתי לה בתולים V'omar es ha'isha hazos lakachti v'ekrav eileha v'lo matzasi lah betulim. I married her, she claimed she was a virgin at marriage, but I discovered she wasn't. He leveled a false accusation about her and against her. ולקח אבי הנערה ואמה והוציאו את בתולי הנערה אל זקני העיר V'lakach avi hana'arah v'imah v'hotziu es betulei hana'arah el ziknei ha'ir. So the Torah tells us exactly the formula and what we follow. Rashi here tells us that he marries her, ושנאה u'sne'ah, and then he comes to hate her. סופו לשום לה עלילת דברים Sofo l'sum lah alilos devarim. If at first he hates her, it's going to lead to false accusation. עבירה גוררת עבירה Avera goireres avera. עבר על לאו דשנאה סופו לבוא לידי לשון הרע Avar al lav d'sinah sofo lavo lidei lashon hara. It began with hating a fellow Jew, and it ends with speaking gossip and negatively, false rumors which could have dire consequences. The ספר לסכל עיון Sefer l'Sichlei Iyun says you see from here, אדם אינו מגיע לידי הוצאת שם רע לפתע פתאום adam eino magia lidei hotza'as shem ra l'feta pisom. You don't get to a point of a false accusation out of nowhere. שהרי אינו חייב עד שיעמיד עדי שקר להורגה sheharei eino chayav ad sheya'amid eidei sheker l'horga. איך יכול אדם להגיע לדרגה כזו Eich yachol adam l'hagia l'darga kazu? How do you get to that point? By the way, he doesn't just, you know, put on Twitter, she wasn't a virgin.It's preposterous and yet very believable somebody would do that. But it's both preposterous and believable. But it's not just that he put that on Twitter, tweeted it out, he hired two false witnesses who came to the rabbinical court, who testified about her that indeed, while they were engaged, she had an illicit affair and therefore she doesn't have the status of a בתולה besulah, to the point that she's now liable for the death penalty. So how could a person get to that point? He dated her. First, the שדכן shadchan called, and they made all the reference calls, and he examined the resume, and, yes, I'm being sarcastic, and then he dated her, and then he got engaged, and even though they had גדרים gedarim, they spent a few minutes together, and they got to know each other, and they thought they loved each other, and they stood under the חופה chuppah, and they gazed into each other's eyes, and they had שבע ברכות sheva brachos where people said the most amazing things, and the next thing you know, he's hiring two fake witnesses to go to court to have her be put to death. How do you get from here to here? How do you get from the שדכן shadchan calling and she sounds amazing and the שבע ברכות Sheva Brachos, she's incredible, to, yeah, go testify falsely and let her be put to death? How do you get from here to there? התשובה מובארת ברש\"י Ha'tshuva muvares b'Rashi. You see the answer. בתחילה הוא עבר על לא תשנא B'tchila hu avar al lo sisna, שיש כאן שורש מר she'yesh kan shoresh mar. הוא עבר על לא תשנא hu avar al lo sisna, וזה שצמח וגדל עד שהביאו מסוגל לשכור עדי שקר v'zeh she'tzamach v'gadal ad she'hevi'o m'sugal liskor edei sheker, להרוג את אשתו l'harog es ishto. Because it begins with a little seed, a little nugget, a little nucleus, a tiny little seed, a little hatred, a little animosity, a little contempt.Gottman talks about the four horse, the four horses of the apocalypse, I think that's what he calls it, contempt. When you when you see contempt, it's the beginning of the end. John Gottman, who could predict to 93% accuracy after spending time with a couple, whether in five years they'll be divorced or married, not because he, you know, uses קבלה Kabbalah, but because he's studied healthy marriages, and he identifies, and one of the variables that if he identifies its presence is a biggest predictor that it'll end in divorce is contempt. Contempt. If you sense contempt, contempt, contempt. So it begins with contempt. Begins with ובא אליה u'vo eileha ושנאה us'ne'ah. There's a little bit of contempt, a שטקל shtickel contempt. And that contempt, it germinates, and it grows, and it metastasizes, until the next thing you know, something unimaginable.I see this. When I counsel couples, particularly as they're heading towards divorce, one of the things I say to them is, love your children more than you hate each other. Love your children more than you hate each other. Mind-boggling. Each claims that they love their children more than they love their children endlessly, and yet, they destroy and kill their children as an outgrowth of hating the other. Love your children more than you hate the other. But you see the contempt. You see the hate. You see the animosity. You see this desire to end the other. They won't get a penny. I'll destroy their reputation. They'll never get remarried. I'll turn my kids against them. You see it and you say, how could it be? I was at your wedding. I saw the way you looked at each other. I went to the וארט vort and לחיים l'chaim, how could it be? You went from here to there, how did that happen? Because it begins with ושנאה us'ne'ah, the contempt, and if it's not moderated, it doesn't mean that there aren't divorces. Divorces also a מצוה מן התורה mitzva min haTorah in the right circumstance. But we can't allow the metastasizing of ושנאה us'ne'ah. How do you get from here to there? Because it grows, it grows. You have to tackle it at its core, says the לשיחה עליון L'sicha Elyon. And that's why the Torah says, אבד תאבדון abed t'abdun. You have to get rid of the core, the root. You have to eliminate what's at the root. He gives a משל mashal. In a certain country, there's counterfeit money everywhere. And the police are focused on everyone who's using the counterfeit money, taking it out of circulation. And the police are consumed, they spend all their time with chasing the counterfeit money and constantly taking it out of circulation, but they're chasing their tail. They'll never get to the core of the problem until what? You have to find the counterfeiter. Until you can find the counterfeiter, you're going to continue to chase the counterfeit money to get it out of circulation. Until you eliminate the ושנאה us'ne'ah, this counterfeit feeling, אבד תאבדון abed t'abdun, you have to get rid of it, you have to purge it, you have to eliminate it. Otherwise, it will continue to spread and continue to spread its impact and its affect. And its affect. אוי Oy, so much to say, so little time, such good stuff.What should we do? Okay, I'm gonna be disciplined. I'm gonna try to be disciplined. Let's go to the end of the פרשה parsha. פרק כה פסוק יז Perek Kaf Hey Pasuk Yud Zayin. End of the פרשה parsha, end of כי תצא Ki Seitzei should be familiar to you, not only because we read it כי תצא Ki Seitzei, but we read it פרשת זכור Parshas Zachor. פרשת זכור Parshas Zachor, page 1066. זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים Zachor es asher asah l'cha Amalek ba'derech b'tzeischem mi'Mitzrayim. Remember, don't forget, one of the earlier things we have to remember in our פרשה parsha, we have six things to remember every day. One of the earlier ones we remember every day is, remember what happened to Miriam, or remember what God did to Miriam. I wanted to get to this, I'm not going to, but I'll give you the questions. You have to come up with the answer or come back next year. Two questions. Number one, why do we remember what God did to Miriam? Shouldn't we remember what Miriam did? Miriam spoke negatively about her brother, she gossiped, and she was libel. She was isolated from the camp and we waited for her before we kept going. So shouldn't we remember what Miriam did, not what God did to Miriam? Number one. Number two, what is it we're remembering that Miriam did? What is it we're remembering? What did she do? She gossiped. So what do we do? We gossip about her. I mean think about it. One of the six things we're meant to remember every day is how bad Miriam is because she gossiped. gossiped about someone else. We gossip about Miriam that she gossiped about somebody else and that's a daily obligation to remember that. So that doesn't seem right. And why would we describe it as remember what God did to Miriam, not what remember what Miriam did. I have a beautiful insight, but not for now. I'll leave you with those two questions for you to think about. So another one of the things to remember, remember שבת Shabbos, remember Miriam, remember we left מצרים Mitzrayim, remember עמלק Amalek. Remember what עמלק Amalek did. What did they do? בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים baderech b'tzeicham mimitzrayim, when we were בדרך baderech, when we were on the way. Yes, Ben Isaac's בדרך baderech, when we were on the way, בצאתכם ממצרים b'tzeicham mimitzrayim. אשר קרך בדרך Asher karcha baderech. What did they do? They happened upon us. The Artscroll translates it as happened. We know that רש\"י Rashi has three translations to אשר קרך asher karcha. Let's see if we get through any of them. ויזנב בך כל הנחשלים Vayizanev b'cha kol hanecheshalim, they struck those who were in the back, those who were the tired and the weak, ולא ירא אלקים v'lo yarei Elokim, they did not fear God. והיה בהניח V'haya b'haniach, it shall be that when השם Hashem gives you rest from your enemies, in the land, what do we do? תמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים timcheh es zecher Amalek mitachas hashamayim, eliminate the memory of עמלק Amalek from the heavens, לא תשכח lo tishkach, do not forget. We cannot forget. Let's start with רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum. Says רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, כל הנחשלים אחריך kol hanecheshalim acharecha. Who did עמלק Amalek attack? The weak, חסירי כח מחמת חטאם שהענן פולטן chasirei koach machmas chet'am sheha'anan poltan. These were the weak because of their sins. צריך עיון Tzarich iyun. מה היתה ההוה אמינא שעמלק לילך במלחמה כנגד כל ישראל, על ידי שלחמו עם אותן שפלטן ענני הכבוד? כיוון שכל ישראל היו תחת השגחת ענני הכבוד, וכי הם חשבו שיהיה להם נצחון על כל ישראל, במשך שלחמו רק עם אלו שאינן פולטן? Mah haysa ha'hava amina she'Amalek leilech b'milchama k'neged kol Yisrael, al yedei she'lachamo im osan she'paltan ananei hakavod? Keivan she'kol Yisrael hayu tachas hashgachas ananei hakavod, v'chi hem chashvu she'yihiyeh lahem nitzachon al kol Yisrael, b'meshech she'lachamo rak im eilu she'anan poltan? There were those who because they sinned, the clouds of glory didn't save. And that's who עמלק Amalek attacked, who were not under the protection of the clouds of glory. That's who עמלק Amalek attacked. Well they thought they could bring down all of the Jewish people by just attacking those stragglers, those outliers, those few? But the rest of כלל ישראל klal Yisrael were still under the divine protection of the clouds of glory. מסתבר שרק אחדים היו Mistaber she'rak achadim hayu, they were outliers. How could it be? Says רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, דבאמת עמלק ידע והכיר בייחוד כח הגדול של הקדוש ברוך הוא, ששמע הנסים של קריעת ים סוף d'be'emes Amalek yada v'hikir b'yichud koach hagadol shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu, she'shama hanissim shel Krias Yam Suf. עמלק Amalek knew of the greatness of the Jewish people. Because עמלק Amalek heard that God split the sea for them. As we say in אז ישיר Az Yashir, שמעו עמים shamu amim, ירגזון, נמוגו כל יושבי כנען yirgazun, namogu kol yoshvei Kna'an. All the nations of the world, you think the news are just obsessed with the Jewish people today? They were always obsessed with the Jewish people. So the headline of every news story was, God split the sea. וממילא בוודאי ידעו שלא יוכל לנצח את כל ישראל במלחמה U'memayla b'vadai yad'u shelo yuchal l'natzei'ach es kol Yisrael b'milchama. עמלק Amalek surely knew they're not going to win. ובהכרח שלא באו לנצח, רק באו לשבור רוחם החזקה וקומתם הזקופה של כלל ישראל Uv'hechrach shelo ba'u l'natzei'ach, rak ba'u lishbor rucham hachazaka v'komasam hazekufa shel klal Yisrael. I share this insight because רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum said it decades and decades ago and sadly we are watching it come true in our time. Sinwar ימח שמו וזכרו yimach shmo v'zichro and Hamas knew they could never defeat us militarily. They will never beat us. But by capturing those precious souls and taking them hostage, by killing 1200, and by trying to besmirch our name and reputation by isolating us in the international community, that was their tactic, their strategy, that's their war plan and that victory is not yet ours. עיין רש\"י Ayin Rashi. Rashi here writes, באו וזרקו עצמן למקום סכנה להראות לאחרים. משל לאמבטי רותחת שאין כל בריה יכולה לירד לתוכה ba'u v'zarku atzman l'makom sakana l'har'os l'acheirim. Mashal l'ambati rotachat she'ein kol briyah yechola leired l'socha. בא בן בליעל אחד קפץ וירד לתוכה Ba ben bliya'al echad kafatz v'yarad l'socha. You know, you have a boiling pool and nobody's willing to go in, it's too hot. One person comes in and jumps in, and they showed, you see, it's not too hot. שלא באו לנצח, רק באו להיות shelo ba'u l'natzei'ach, rak ba'u l'hiyos terrorist, רחמנא ליצלן rachmana litzlan. So רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum decades ago, the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of the מיר Mir Brooklyn decades ago saying עמלק Amalek didn't come to win, they came to terrorize. They didn't come to win. Now today is the new year in Israel. I think two and a half million children started school, including in the north and all over the south along the Gaza border. And that's our victory. That's our return, that's our answer, that's our not letting them terrorize. There's a kindergarten that started the northernmost part of Israel that never existed before. At the northernmost part, that's our answer. Hezbollah, you're gone, Hamas, you will be gone. The Houthis, nobody's even talking about the extraordinary miracle that happened to wipe out the prime minister and his cabinet, unbelievable of the Houthis. But that's what they're trying to do, like עמלק Amalek, because דור דור dor dor, עמלק Amalek continues to fight us in every generation and we don't just measure their will and our response on the battlefield, because it's not only militarily, they're trying to besmirch, they're trying to defeat us in the international [Error processing chunk 12] end all and be all. We're working towards immortality and eternity and forever. We're working towards a world to come. And the few years we're here on earth, we're just בדרך b'derech. We're just passing through. And that's what gives meaning to life, purpose to life. It keeps things in perspective in life, is when we remember we're just passing through. We're just בדרך b'derech. So when are we on fire? When we're בדרך b'derech. When we remember we're just passing through, we're not envious, we're not arrogant, we're not angry. We're just בדרך b'derech, we're just passing through. עמלק Amalek came along and what did they do? אשר קרך בדרך Asher karcha b'derech. קרך Karcha is also מלשון קר mi'lashon kar, to splash cold water. עמלק Amalek cools off our sense of בדרך b'derech, because עמלק Amalek wants you to believe you're permanent. The here and now, this is it, this is everything. We're permanent. אשר קרך Asher karcha, what did they splash water on? בדרך B'derech. They splashed water on the philosophy and the knowledge that we are בדרך b'derech. That is the methodology of עמלק Amalek, is their splashing water on our sense of being בדרך b'derech, on being בדרך b'derech. And he gives a משל mashal.A man boards a train for a journey of several hours. He finds a seat in the appropriate cabin. But first he withdraws from his suitcase several cans of paint, polish, paint brushes, brand new drapes, gets to work decorating the cabin. After all, he'll be spending time there. Only once the walls are a fresh coat of paint, the windows have a new dress and the floor shine, now he takes a long drink of water, settles in his seat. In three minutes later, the train slows into a stop. So fool, what are you wasting your time and energy and money in such a short journey? What are you doing? So the same thing, we're בדרך b'derech. And the more we know we're בדרך b'derech, the more we'll take the most out of life, the more we can sit back and enjoy the ride. Sit back and enjoy the ride. But אשר קרך בדרך asher karcha b'derech, עמלק Amalek splashes cold water on our sense of being בדרך b'derech, makes us think, no, no, no, I gotta paint, got to polish the floor, I got to get the most things. I got to live because I'm going to be here forever. You're not going to be here forever. You're just בדרך b'derech, so sit back and enjoy the ride. Don't let עמלק Amalek splash cold water on our being בדרך b'derech. We read in last week's פרשה parsha, תורה Torah said, תכין לך הדרך tachin lecha haderech, prepare the road, ושלשת את גבול ארצך v'shilashta et gvul artzecha. When it came to the עיר מקלט ir miklat, cities of refuge, prepare the road. תכין לו הדרך Tachin lo haderech, prepare the road for the murderer. תכין לך Tachin lecha, for you, not just for the murderer. Says רב שמעון אלתר Reb Shimon Alter, says the גערער ראש ישיבה Gerer Rosh Yeshiva, תורה's Torah's saying תכין לך tachin lecha, if we prepare ourselves by fulfilling מצוות mitzvos, it'll be easy to remember we're בדרך b'derech, we're בדרך b'derech. תכין לך בדרך Tachin lecha b'derech, prepare for yourself. Know that we're here. How? What are the six ערי מקלט arei miklat? The six things we're meant to remember every day. Believe in השם Hashem, reject any other idolatry, accept השם's Hashem's unity, love השם Hashem, fear השם Hashem, not straying after one's heart or eyes. The six daily remembrances, these are the six ערי מקלט arei miklat. And I think the עבודת ישראל Avodas Yisrael says the six ערי מקלט arei miklat are the six words of שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad. If we live, then תכין לך הדרך tachin lecha haderech, prepare to live בדרך b'derech, to know we're only here temporarily. How do we do that? In those ways. I had more to tell you, a beautiful ר' חיים שמואלביץ Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz. But with that we end and pick it up בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem next time. It should be a day of בשורות טובות besoros tovos, ישועות ונחמות yeshuos v'nechamos. Please remain. It's Labor Day. You're all off and most of you are retired, you have nowhere to go. Stay and say תהילים Tehillim. It's the least we can do. We divide all תהילים Tehillim, we'll finish all תהילים Tehillim in just a few minutes. בזכות N'zchus of our holy soldiers that are going back in to fight, in the merit that our hostages
