Approaching Sinai | Rabbi Shmuel Gordin | May 19 2026

The scene is as follows. When the Israel have arrived at Har Sinai, Hashem is speaking to Moshe, and he issues four sentences as introduction to what's about to occur. And one would think that these four sentences are important because they would reveal lessons that Hashem wants Bene Israel to think about as Matan Torah takes place. So, let's look at these four sentences. Top of the page on page one, they have them all together. Um, Moshe Allah Elo Elohim. Moshe ascended the mountain. Vayikra Elo Hashem min hahar lemor, ko tod tomar leveis Yaakov vesagid livnei Yisrael. And God called to him from the mountain and said, "So shall you say to the house of Yaakov, and speak to the people of Israel. Bene so, children of Israel. Od os atem reitem asher asiti doing Ashkenazis. Atem reisem asher asiti lemitsrayim veasa schem al kanfei nesharim vaavi eschem elai. You saw what I did to the Egyptians. You saw what happened. And I've brought you here on wings of eagles, and I've brought you to me. Ve'atah im shamoa tishme'u bekoli ushmartem et briti vihyitem li segulah mikol ha'amim ki li kol ha'aretz. And now, if you will hearken to my ways, if you will listen to my ways, and guard my covenant, you will be for me segulah. Chosen, precious, whatever that word actually means. Mikol ha'amim ki li kol ha'aretz. Because the whole world is mine. Vatem Kili Malachas Kohanim the Kadosh you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that God said to Bene Israel, that that you should say to Bene Israel. Okay. What we're going to do is we're going to take these four sentences and we're going to parse them phrase by phrase. And we're going to see that there are powerful powerful lessons that emerge from these sentences that don't immediately meet the eye but require explanation. Let's start with number one and what I've done is I've repeated the sentence to make it easy for you down at the bottom of the page. Umosha al Elo Elohim, this is the first phrase. Vayikra Elav Hashem min hahar more. Moses went up to God and Hashem called to him from the mountain. Okay, stop there. What what's strange? It's backwards, right? It's backwards. Chicken and the egg, right? In other words, it should have said and God called to Mosha from the mountain and Mosha ascended the mountain. It says here Mosha ascended the mountain and then called God called to him. So first of all, what what would give him the right to ascend and what was his in what was his his intention upon ascending? Second of all, why does God have to call to him after he's already there? Right? So it's not clear. It's really not clear. So we have a variety of different interpretations. If you look at the next page, we're going to look at three. The Ibn Ezra says and Hashem called to him from the mountain actually informs us that Hashem had already called to Moshe. Ibn Ezra says, "I'm going to solve this problem right away. Don't read it that Hashem called to him afterwards. It's an indication that Hashem had already called to him, and that's why he ascended the mountain. Moshe, says Ibn Ezra, Ezra would never have ascended without prior permission. Okay? The Ramban. The Ramban holds differently. The Ramban says, "Picture the scene. Bene Israel have arrived at Har Sinai, and there is a cloud surrounding the top part of the mountain. Moshe has gone up. Moshe ascends only to the edge of the cloud. That's what it means Vaya'al Moshe. So, Moshe went up, and then, says the Ramban, Vayikra. Then God called him, "Come on into the Come on into the cloud." So, in other words, it Ramban says it's exactly as it appears. That cloud was there for all the days prior to to Matan Torah, and Moshe ascends to the point, and then God lets him enter the cloud. The Sforno. The Sforno doesn't really address the question so much as as underscore the importance of the picture. He says the text is underscoring that the difference between Moshe and Bene Israel at this moment. At this moment, what are the people worried about? Putting up their tents, taking care of their children. What is Moshe doing? He's going off alone to meet God. And the Sforno's point, I think, is very very interesting. Because I think what it underscores is the lonely mission of Mosha. Right? In other words, the picture of Mosha ascending that mountain alone and the lonely mission of so many people who take leadership roles within communities. You know, I've often said a Havdalah El Abdallah said when it comes to rabbis and shuls, it's crazy. You hire someone to lead you a year later you vote whether they're leading well or not. If they led well, some of the people are not going to be happy because they've got them angry, right? So, you how do you how do you maneuver that? Someone who did it in one place for 34 years, I'm telling you it's not easy. All right. Yes. And why does it switch between Elohim and YHVH? Good question. Good question. Why is there the switch between Elohim and Hashem? I don't know. I would argue that maybe Hashem is being used at >> [clears throat] >> as the to show the personalization of Mosha's invitation. In other words, Hashem is softer, it's quieter, right? Elohim is stronger and therefore perhaps I equal I love Hashem. He went up to Elohim. He went up thinking he was going to and whatever he encountered I'll encounter, but Hashem called him. That's what I would think. Yes. It's still not clear to me how did Mosha know to go up to the Okay. Good question. All right, so that brings us to the last point that I would make on this phrase. There's a lesson here. Mosha Rabbeinu always takes initiative. He always takes the first step. Take a Think about it for a minute. The The Moshe's birth is announced before Moshe's even born. Vayelech ish mibes Levi vayikach es bas Levi. Vayelech Someone went A father went. A man went. He goes out to look at the slaves, right? Nobody tells him to do that. He goes out on his own. When he's at Yisro's house and he get encounters the burning bush, the Torah is very clear. The Torah says Vayar Hashem ki sar lirot. God saw that Moshe turned aside to to see to to know what was going on and then God begins to speak to him. Moshe was always taking the first step and that's what he's doing here. He says if we're here, there's got to be a reason we're here. We're here at a mountain. I'm going up. And and he's bound His life is bounded by that word Vayelech. It's before he's born and then at the end of his life it says Vayelech Moshe and it doesn't tell us where he went. So it's perhaps telling us specifically that it's important to know that he goes that he went that he did. Yes. Um Moshe is always concerned with the spiritual aspects of things. It goes back when May Israel left Israel, the May Israel were busy collecting the wealth. Right. >> And he was busy uh taking the bones of Joseph. Correct. Correct. This this The idea of Moshe Rabbeinu doing doing something else while everybody is doing their thing is very real. It's very real. Okay, I'll take two more comments cuz I see hands up and then we'll stop there. Yeah. You know, so according to the Midrash which says that both Hashem already spoke to him, could it be that Moshe went up to Elohim, but it was Hashem the rock and he did his rocking and he that allowed him to come up. It could be it's sort of what I'm saying. In other words, that that Hashem the picture of him going up to Elohim which is me that says whatever I'm going to encounter I'll encounter and the rock calls him in. Okay, one last yes. Okay, what at what point do they go show on the canyon follow up? There are lots of different opinions about that. So it's I'm going to leave that for now. All right. Okay, now um if possible, please hold the questions and comments till the end. I will give you guys time and if not, if it's really urgent and you feel you have to say it then raise your hand. Okay, now next. So what we have here and so what we have here is Moshe lesson the final lesson we learned is the very important lesson and that is Hashem waits for us to take the first step. Where we have to we have to initiate. We can't simply sit back and wait for something to happen. Like Moshe we have to move ahead. Okay, now but what? I can't hear you. I can't hear you. I'm sorry. Right, only Moshe can go up. That's correct. Okay, all right. Well, he's but he does not command him at this point to come up the mountain. He they are they are they're there and Moshe could well say, okay, I'm supposed to go up the mountain. I'll wait till Hashem calls me. But he doesn't. Okay, all right. Again, please hold to the end. Now now let's turn to the next comment. Okay. Kosomar le bait Yaakov usagade livnei Yisrael. So shall you say to the house of Jacob and speak to the speak to the house of Jacob and say to the children of Israel. Now, what's going on here? There is a the What is the most famous explanation for that? That means Yaakov Right. That means Yaakov is the women and and and and benei Yisrael is the men. Now, that is that is Chazal's famous interpretation and it may well be. What's interesting, I think, and again, there's a hidden message here. Kadosh Baruch who is recognizing different roles for different people, different strokes. Men and women are different. Years before there was that book, what is it? Men from Mars and women from Venus or something like that, right? The Torah Allah said, men are are from Mars and women are from Venus. In other words, we each have our roles to play. And looking at what's happening to society around us now, where your gender becomes a choice as a child, this is this is really very very troubling. Right? I don't mean to don't mean to be flippant about people who are struggling with things, but that becomes it when when when it becomes just the way to do it, then then you're destroying something that really exists or supposed to exist. Okay. Now, and again, I the struggle to determine the exact parameters of those roles are are real. In other words, what can Can a woman teach? Can a woman What what and we're becoming more and more aware of avenues for women to make a real impact on the community at large. That doesn't negate their primary responsibility of the home. Okay, so that's the That's what the the Mechilta, the Medrash, and that's the most famous explanation. The Ibn Ezra There are two different versions of the Ibn Ezra this. The Ibn Ezra Ha Ro'ch and the Ibn Ezra Ha Kazar. The long Ibn Ezra and the short one. These These uh suggestions emerge from each of them somehow. Not Not every suggestion Two of the suggestions are in one, one's in the other. Some suggest that the house of Jacob, Yaakov, refers to the assembled Israelites while the phrase children of Israel refers to their future progeny. Kol Samar Levei Yaakov, to the people who are here, and this will be mirrored in another bris that takes place at the end of Moshe's life. Come those who are here and those who are not here. It's incumbent upon them to be part. And they're they're being offered that that gift. Others say that the phrase speaks of the Israelites and their descendants, and the second phrase speaks about the elders. In other words, speak to the community one way and speak to the Zekenim another way. You can You can be more specific. You can be more detailed when you're teaching the Zekenim, and that This is Again, I like to see universal lessons from things. This underscores the job of a teacher to recognize who he's talking to or she's talking to, and to realize what that those people to teach at the level that's appropriate for them. So that's that's next. In the final analysis, and this is very it's sort of funny. Sforno says even Ezra, I don't know what the whole the fuss is about. What's the big deal? The Torah in in Tanakh, you often find a double language. When Hashem wants to stress something or people want to stress something, they'll say it twice. So that's what's happening here perhaps. God is saying it twice. And he says he he sort of dismisses all of the other explanations. And finally the Netziv The Netziv builds on the first explanation that the Ibn Ezra suggested that you speak to the children to the to the um to the nation and differently to the Zekenim. He says there are two times that the Bnei Israel respond to all of this. One time they say "Kol everything that Hashem said na'aseh." And the second time they say "Na'aseh venishma." which of course is the famous one. The Netziv suggests that two different those two different responses came from two different sources. Nishma came from the people. And na'aseh I mean na'aseh came from the people. And na'aseh venishma, we're going to do it and we're going to study it we're going to learn it because lishma in biblical language doesn't just mean to hear. It means to comprehend. It means when you say "Shema Yisrael." you're not just saying "Oh hear, hear." you're saying "Listen. Understand. Take it in." Okay. Then there's a one final again, I giving my final position on this. In addition to all the explanations there's another very very easy way to understand the phrases here. What's happening now is a huge transition. And that's a transition from the patriarchal era to the national era. And in many ways that is a transition from family to nation. But, what's fascinating is that even when our nation is being born, Hakadosh Baruch Hu stresses family over and over again. What Just the most basic, all right? It's the night before you're leaving Yitziat Mitzrayim. The night before you're leaving Egypt, and your nation is about to be born, right? You would expect declarations of independence, constitutional conventions, committee meetings. Thank God there weren't committee meetings or they'll still be there. You would expect some sort of national buzz. What does God tell you to do? Go home and have a meal. That's exactly what the Korban Pesach was. It was a family meal. And it was There was no mizbeach. There was no It was consumed by the unit that was created for its consumption. In other words, what you did is you Families took came together and they also brought in other people as well, and that became the unit that would eat that Korban Pesach. So, what's happening is Hakadosh Baruch Hu was saying something powerful to to us. He's saying number one, as you become a nation, don't forget that you were a family. Number one. I think he's saying it is saying even deeper. As you become a nation, stay a family [clears throat] as well. Always Always be a family. Understand that this is this this national era is not this cut and dry and black and white. It is It's basically I want you to to that that sense of being a a raven zebra zebra. I want you to be family. And therefore, what he's saying is as you go forward base Yakov bene Israel, both. You are the house of Jacob and the children of Israel. And I think that that's very very important. And And the final comment on that, and I've said this to you before, I think, is that if anyone were to ask me what the greatest failure of Diaspora Jewry is, I would not say assimilation, cuz assimilation is a symptom. I would say the greatest failure is the abdication of the family unit's responsibility to teach children. You You farm it out to other people, right? You need to farm it out to the school. You farm it out. And And in reality, where does the child learn the most? In the family, at home. And therefore, God is stressing that as well, that your the health of your national being will be dependent upon the health of each individual family. Okay. So, that's how I would suggest is another way of looking at this famous double language. All right. Now, the next phrase. It's at the bottom of page number three. Atem res mes asher asim mitzrayim was ra eschema kanfe neshurim avias melai. So, the first thing I want to say is God opens by ad ad by admitting, not not or recognizing, that's better. By recognizing what they must be thinking. They're They just saw powerfully destructive acts. They just saw things You saw what I did I know you saw I what I did today. I'm not I'm not dismissing that. You are I'm aware you saw that. I'm aware you felt that. I'm aware you're frightened. But, understand that I bore you on wings of eagles. And the rabbis say that and I don't know if this is true. I And someone a zoologist will have to tell me, but that eagles are the only birds that pet place their young on their backs as opposed to hold them down below. And that's because they want to shield the young from arrows and and and slings or whatever that's coming from the from the world. So, I the image of taking you on on wings of eagles is is really beautiful. But, there's something else happening here. And again, we have to remember that these sentences are being said right before Matan Torah. So, the the the depth of the messages are are real. This is underscoring a critical balance between two different two different features in our relationship with God. It's the balance between yirah and ahavah. It's the balance between fear and awe and distance and ahavah love. God inviting you into the into the cloud. And they would seem to be contradictory. In other words, how how can you fear and love an entity? It's very hard. But, there's one human relationship I've told this to you before one human relationship that mirrors this. Parents and children. And if you take a look in the Torah, you find that the Torah actually has two separate places where it tells you how to relate to parents. The first one is the famous one. Kavod et aviv v'imo, right in the 10 10 declarations, the 10 commandments. But, there's another one which is ish imo v'aviv tira. Right? Fear. So, we what kavod the rabbis, that's the that's the warm one. That's the the show them honor, show them tira. Fear them or hold them in respect, hold them in awe. I I would always it always jarred me when my friends as a child would call their parents by their first name. I just I just couldn't deal with it. It just, you know, and then I made a mis- when I became a rabbi, I said to my colleagues, you know, I'm going to let I'm going to be Shmuel, Rabbi Shmuel. They said, "No, you can't do that here. You you've got to maintain the balance. You've got to maintain the distance as well as the closeness. And that's a that's something that who is underscoring here when he says, "You saw what I did to the Egyptians? And now I brought you here. Strength and warmth." It's interesting to note, by the way, that the transition from the first generation of Israelites to the second is a transition from fear to love. Because what you have is this generation can't go into the land because all they saw was power, power, power, power, and they feel powerless. The next generation is nurtured by the clouds of glory, by the manna. So, they are understanding that there's another dimension to the relationship with God. And that may be why, by the way, and giving you a a uh clue to something that we may speak about later depending if we get there and that is Moshe hits the rock. Right? But there's an earlier time when Moshe speaks to the rock. So why you know that that almost seems a setup, right? Telling him take your staff, stand by the rock. You last time you hit the rock, this time speak to the rock. Why? Perhaps, and I heard this from from another of many years ago. I don't remember how much of it is his. That this is Moshe was unable to make the transition from the generation of fear to the generation of love. And therefore he this By by the first time he's operating with Dory and Tzi at Mitzrayim. He's looking at the people and that God says to him hit the rock. Speak to them with strength. Speak to them with power. Second time God says to him speak to the rock. It's a different people. It's a different nation. And Moshe Rabbeinu perhaps, I mean it's you know it's hard for us to to find you know what what people do wrong, but Moshe Rabbeinu perhaps looks out, sees the people revolting again and says oh no, here we go again and sees them just as they were where where that's wrong. That's not where they were. All right. Okay. So that's that's um the balance at 10 reason. That's the second possuk. The at all or this first part of the second possuk. The at all you shall listen to my voice. And you shall keep my commandments, my covenant. And you shall be a treasure to me from all the nations. You will be precious to me from all the nations. For the whole world is mine. What phrase there sort of sticks out? Key leak all ours, right? It sounds like a contradiction, right? What? The whole idea is I'm choosing you, right? Now, first of all, let's understand this defines what chosenness is. It's not what everybody makes it into and sometimes not understanding and sometimes deliberately. Chosenness is follow my rules. You will be chosen if you will be, right? This is the introduction of the concept of Am Segulah. This is where it comes from. And and the Torah defines it right off the bat. We are chosen for responsibility. We are chosen to do and It Is it conditional? It's a good question. I don't know the answer to that. I Actually, yes. Yes, it's conditional. I take that back. He's saying, "If you listen to me, then you will fulfill your role as a chosen people." Now, what's fascinating here, of course, is the last that last phrase. Key leak all ours seems to be a contradiction of what comes before, not not a support. Right, I'm choosing you from everybody cuz everybody cuz everyone's mine? Well, if everyone's mine, then I shouldn't be choosing you. So, what is he saying? So, according to most commentaries, he's saying, "Even though the whole world is mine, and I could have chosen anyone, [clears throat] I am choosing you." It's underscoring the act of God choosing the Jews. But, Rebbe Ovadiaf Sforno says something fascinating. It's very beautiful. He says, "You know what? Key leak all ours is a message. My choosing of you is not exclusive." And And he said the way he puts it is Hashem's choice is a matter of degree. I'm choosing you because my relationship with you will be stronger than my relation or different than my relationship with others. But guess what? I relate to everybody. I am the God of the whole world. And that emerges over and over again in Jewish thought. I mean, for example, Shabbat. Right? Make Shabbat great again. Shabbat. All right. So, Shabbat is unveiled twice in the Torah. The first time at the creation of the world, the second time at the creation of the Jewish nation. That's underscoring that Shabbat speaks to the world and it speaks to us. It's not just And what we're what we're being told here, according to the Sforno, is don't think that I am choosing you exclusively. And as I've told you, it's it's really unfortunate. And it's understandable, particularly certain as we look at the world around us, that so many Jews will paint the non-Jew with a with the same brush. They're all the same. They're all this. They're all that. When in reality, we believe in Hasidei Umot HaOlam. We believe people can be righteous if they're not Jewish. What's the proof? The proof is Sheva Mitzvot B'nei Noach. The fact is we we basically say to others you don't have to be like us. You only have to keep certain moral principles. And and people who do that end up being Hasidei Umot HaOlam. And even [clears throat] more, there are those who do even more. I I Like I said last week, I think, that um I I would love to have the place in heaven that is occupied by the non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. That took a lot of guts. That took a lot of courage. And I don't know if I would have had that. I I often I I often say that the biggest question for me, an American-born Jew with American-born parents, is not what would I have done had I been a Jew in the Holocaust, but what would I have done had I been a German? What would I have done had I been a Pole? Would I have been one of those that had the courage to stand up and to make a difference, or would I have gone kept my even if I didn't actively torment somebody, just let it be. So, here God is saying and and he underscores this and this this concept of God not being exclusive emerges even earlier. When Moshe when Avraham is told the Bris bein ha'betarim, God says to him, v'dor r'vi'i yashuvu hena, ki lo shalem avon ha'amori ad hena. You should know, the fourth generation of your children will come back because the Amorites won't their iniquity will not have been full. What does that mean? It means you will not enter the land until they they deserve to lose it. And therefore, if you have to stay slaves a little bit more, do we'll do that. God will do that because I'm not going to I'm not going to deny their rights. Now, that's a powerful thing. And I I again, in looking at the world around us and looking at our history, it's understandable that we talk about the sometimes the way we do, but it's wrong. We should recognize that we of all religions are the most tolerant of all religions. We're the only ones who basically say you don't have to be like us. Right? Okay. So, let's go on. >> [snorts] >> Assembly Segulah. Hold on a second. Right. Then the next next line. The attempt to be with a Mamleches Kohanim V'Goy Kadosh Eleh Had'varim Asher Tidaber El B'nei Yisrael Lemor. El B'nei Yisrael. And you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. You know, let's understand this is God speaking. And therefore words are being chosen for their intent, for their power. What What is a Mamleches Kohanim and a Kadosh? So, let's let's start with the second part. What is Kedusha in Jewish thought? Separateness. Right? Kedusha Kadosh to be Kadosh means to be separate, means to be distinct. When God sanctifies God sanctifies the Shabbos only after creating all the other days of the week because Shabbos has to be different from the others. Here too, Hashem is saying, "I want you to be a separate people." But let's take a look at the beginning of the sentence. Mamleches Kohanim. What was the role of the Kohanim? To serve B'nei Yisrael, right? They were They were to take to to serve B'nei Yisrael, to teach B'nei Yisrael. They were to um to to fulfill the the the rituals that you could not have everybody fulfill at once. They were to stand there. So, that's a Cohen. So, what's Mamleches Kohanim? Who are we Kohanim to? The world. Mamlachas Kohanim. Uh the Rabbis say it. They say it so clearly that that you have to wonder why we we keep forgetting things like this. The Rabbis say, "If you have to How do you love God?" How do you love God? And one of the answers they give is Sheyihyeh Shem Hashem Ahuv Al Yedecha. The name of God should become beloved through you. And they And they go on to say they spell it out. If somebody learns and studies and is brilliant scholar but doesn't treat the people around him well and and and and is is not not sensitive to the people around them, then what? Then he's Hillul Hashem. And if he learns and etc. and he teaches and he's kind and sensitive and and tolerant of the others around him, then that will be he will be a that will be a Kiddush Hashem. And the Rabbis spell it out. And we often forget it that every time you know, you don't I don't you don't like hearing it but you have to hear it. Every time we walk outside, everybody is looking at us. We represent the Jewish nation. There was a a beautiful beautiful clip that showed a tremendous Kiddush Hashem. I don't I don't know if if you saw it. They some they did an experiment. I don't know who it was. And they had someone dress up, you know, they you dress up in the costume like like a carrot or like a this or like a that. So they had someone dress up as like a something. And lie down on the on the on the floor on the on the sidewalk. And they wanted to see how people would react to this thing lying on the sidewalk. Clearly a person in the costume. And they showed how nobody paid attention. They had people going around. They actually had people going over until two kids, young people from Yeshiva with a yarmulke. As they came said to them, "Can we help you?" And they helped them up. Now that that is a monumental kidush Hashem because it shows what we what we should be doing. You know, jokes are sometimes said because they [clears throat] they mirror a reality that you would not they they what they paint for us is something that could [snorts] be and we wish it wouldn't be. There's a famous joke about somebody who has a small refrigerator in the in the hospital. And one day he takes a a there are a bunch of people who who share the refrigerator. And one day he takes a a carton of milk and he puts it in and he comes back the next day and part of it's taken. Someone took some of it. He says, "Oh, you know, I I I really want to keep this as mine, all right? I'm going to put on a sign my name." And he puts his name on it and he comes back the next day a little more is taken. He says, "You know, this is really wrong." He puts up a sign, "Lo tiknof, don't steal." And there's a little more is taken. Then he gets smart. >> [clears throat] >> He puts on a up a sign, "Not cholov Yisrael." And nobody touches it. All right? So, we're we're laughing and crying at the same time, I want you to know. It's a great great because it it's so so clearly could be, right? It's so clearly could be. And therefore, we we are forgetting our mission. We're forgetting who we are when that when we have that kind of attitude. I go up to the country I in the summers we go up to a place in the country where we have a little home and a place and you know, everyone on it's a it's a it's a um Oh, no, it's not a bungalow colony. Oh, they'll they'll kill you if you say that. All right? It's not a bungalow colony. It is a It is a vacation homes uh setting, right? Not so fancy not It was built by the guy who built vacation home. I call it vacation vacation village. I call it a poor man's vacation village. In other words, it's not not that ostentatious, but everyone there is from Brooklyn. Everybody. Right? They didn't I I and what happened? The first Shabbos we were there I walked into shul and I sat down at the table. And table was empty. Soon it filled up with people and the davening started. These guys spoke over me, behind me, around me, under me. Not a word. Not one You I wasn't there. I It's not just that they didn't didn't say hello. They I was not there. And now that's [clears throat] that I I walked back into our unit and I said, "Listen, you know, we're going. We're leaving." My wife said, "We paid good money. We're staying." All right? And uh and eventually they they had me give a shiur to some women and then they took took root and I give sheer every week, and now they they they welcome us. But, you know, the initial reaction should be I see a stranger, I see somebody coming that isn't, you know, I should say to that person, "Hello, how are you? Who are you? What Right? Right?" And and my wife my wife thought I was exaggerating. You know, she never believes me. So, she she she thought I was exaggerating, and we went for a walk around the complex. And we passed a couple of women, and she said, "Good Shabbos." And they looked at her like she was from out of out of space. Right? Who are you saying good Shabbos Who's You're saying good Shabbos to me? Who are you? Right? That's wrong. That's not the way it should be. The way it should be is Mamleches So, what is the balance being created here now? Mamleches Kohanim Vegoy Kadosh. All right? You are a separate people, but you are also you're a part of and apart from the same time. All right? And that's And that's the balance that that again traces back to Avraham Avinu saying to benei cheis geir vetoshav anochi imachem, I am a citizen and a stran- I'm a stranger and a citizen here. Meaning what? I have to balance. It's a It's not an easy balance. I have to balance what I can accept from an outside society, and what I can give to an outside society with my separateness and my and my need to be separate. I have to balance that. And and every society struggles with that. What do you let into your house? And now And now things are invading the homes that are that are really frightening. I I have a a sister who was the head of a seminary. There was a young lady who was in the seminary and did very well and now is married. She all of a sudden something turned, and she started putting out false information about the seminar, about things that were happening. And none of the none of the other stu- students say they said it's not true. But she's putting this out on the line. Now, that's that that There's no way to My sister said to me, "How do I How do I combat this? What do I do? What What do I do?" And I I spoke to someone who I is a friend of mine who's very involved with internet things, and I said, "What can she combat this?" And the answer was, "Not really. What you have to do is just every time something is said, you have to respond." Problem is that what she did, which is very smart, is she saw people who were responding negatively to her, she made her thing site private. So, he she could say what she wants, and nobody can say what they want. So, it it It's amazing. It's amazing how you can destroy, conceivably destroy, people's lives. So, anyway, that's the the the I think the culmination of of this entire section. There Am Laches Kohanim v'Goy Kadosh, stranger and citizen, apart from and a part of at the same time. Okay, so we've looked at four sentences. And these are the four the the the The right title of the shiur should have been God approaches Sinai, as opposed to approaching Sinai. Because what what is what's What are we being told? This is the way that Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted to introduce the event that is the most important event in our history, the event that makes us a nation, finishes the job of making us a nation, and that brings morality to much of the world. And he These are the four sentences. Go back and study them again. Maybe you'll come up with other messages, but we I believe that we've shared some very powerful ones. Okay, any question? Now, I'll take questions or comments. Just a small comment about the phrase "u'val Yisrael v'Yakov" is again in the next verse. Right, go ahead. >> say "v'Yisrael v'Yakov"? Why does it say "v'Yisrael u'v'nei Yakov"? Why is that in the U'v'nei Yisrael u'v'nei Yakov? Because All right, because Yakov, I think, is from the patriarchal era, which is the era of the family. So, it's Beit Yakov. B'nei Yisrael, we become B'nei Yisrael, we become a nation. That's who we are. And therefore, the naturally you're saying, "Speak to the family and speak to the nation. Don't forget that you're still a family." Okay? All right, everybody. Have a Have a good Yom Tov and good Shabbos and a meaningful tonight.