Eretz Chefetz: The Path of the Chofetz Chaim, Chabad, & Rebbe Nachman by Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider

all right wonderful I think we're going to uh we are going to begin uh I welcome uh welcome everyone great to see everyone this morning wonderful to uh to be together to learn together and uh let me just begin with our sponsor we have a sponsor for the Academic Year okay we have Theus to uh to study the words and the teachings of ruk and uh what we're going to see today the teaching that ruk is going to share with us is uh is a teaching that is um significant today as significant today as it was when he wrote it a 100 years ago in terms of uh in terms of what we're facing here in Israel and just catching the last few minutes of rebbi Manning Shear as I was walking in in terms of the whole issue and the debate and some of the tension around um the religious community the k Community and the uh the secular community on issue of Army and other issues so this is something that Ru cook even though we do not have the state of Israel yet in the day of rook in the time of Rook but this is something that he is already sensitive to and something that he speaks a lot about in terms of how to create a uh a sense of unity and uh love and um and friendship and covod for one another so this is going to be our topic today and um and we're going to see actual actually something very interesting in terms of the influences of Ru cook and where where his ideas stem from where he is inspired to bring his uh his unique teaching to Amell so we are on page one and um I I put on the left side of the page at the very top the title page of actually the safer that we've been studying this book that we've been studying which is a collection of teachings of ruk it's called eret which means a land of uh of Yearning of love it's compiled by rabish Shaya Shapiro you see that towards the bottom of uh that section the the left hand side and he is the brother of the a kodes of the PBI he comes toell in 1920 he meets R cook and he begins to um to compile teachings of of cook in the safer called so that's the title page and now on the right side of the page is and you if you look at the very top it says peric yud it's the 10th chapter of the safer that we're studying those that have been with us for the last uh year and a half we've been studying the safer from the very beginning and uh proud to say that we're already we've made it to the uh the 10th chapter of the safer it's 12 chapters so I'm hoping that by the end of the year by the end of the summer that we'll complete complete this safer so here we are in chapter 10 perig the name of the chapter is aim that's the name that rabai Shapiro gives to this chapter which means fathers and children or I think what he's referring to is the older generation and the new generation right those that were the traditionalists that were living in the land of Israel and those that were those that were coming to the land of Israel that were not necessarily part of the religious community many of them that we're not on board in terms of uh in terms of religious practice and and Jewish life in a traditional sense so let's now see the words of R cook two short pieces and they're essentially just a uh just a sentence or two sentence number one piece number one so means the revitalization coming back to life of hasat leot that the father's Hearts will return to the children the children to the fathers that's a PK that's found in Mali we're actually going to be reading that PK very shortly as part of shabas and uh the vision the prophecy of Mali is that a time is going to come that the parents and children even though they're on different pages that there's the generation gap between them that there's going to be a a love again there's going to be a reunification of uh of fathers and children children's and children children and fathers so he says this revitalization that this is coming to life it's not possible that this is going to come come about it's going to come to fruition only in the land of Israel and in particular it's going to happen with a to ER Israel as I was walking here today walking to the to the OU the the beautiful Aira the a of Isel but here he's not just talking about the beautiful temperature and the outdoors but he's talking about a spiritual AA that there's something about the the spiritual nature of just the heir of Israel of living in the land of Israel and we know that he's referring to the uh aim but here he talks about that somehow the land of Israel has within its spiritual content in the the makeup of the spiritual air that it brings about a Unity it brings about a Oneness in amra okay we can all ask the question well where where is that exactly is that happening but that's the uh that's the argument that riff cook is making that only in the land of Israel that this is going to happen it's going to come to fruition that is statement number one and we'll analyze that statement what is it about Israel that uh that brings about that Unity that Brotherhood that Oneness and now the second piece from R cook the second piece from rook in per bet Kess Isel the Jewish people as a whole has been awakened to a to a revitalization to a to a renewal like and here he says something which is really fascinating and he puts it out there he makes the statement how did it happen how did we how did it come to life again this this love for the land of Israel and the return to the land of Israel it came through the will of the it's come through the Young Generation it's not the older generation and not the and again really referring to his day the religious community those Elders it's not through them they have not inspired the return to the land of Israel how has it happened through young people a Young Generation those are the facts right the facts is that they are the ones that have that that that have come back to the land of Israel This research this revitalization this renewal of the love for the land of Israel it's happened through the dur next line and it has happened in a this Awakening has happened in a in an awesome way means it's a wonder almost miraculously how this has happened how the young people the younger generation have brought about this renewal we are not to try to uh to overcome or to kind of suppress those feelings right and that that yearning for the land of Israel that they have awakened the entire nation to and there are those in the Jewish community at that time that were saying let's distance ourselves from them and and and that we're not to be inspired by them RI cook says no we are to be inspired by an Awakening that's coming from that generation this younger generation but what what are we to do but we are to lift them up we are to take that generation and those individuals in that community and to uplift them to show them and to share with them to say to them how beautiful it is what you're doing and also to share with them and to show them that what you're doing is is our Dream right we're sharing that dream together returning to the land of Israel that's a dream of of ab Y and yob that's the promise of of God to the Jewish people it's the story of Moshe taking the Jewish people out of Egypt and and with the dream of coming to the land of Israel so it's a movement it's a movement of secular Jews but it's a movement in which we are to have the greatest respect for and again our part they're the ones that are leading the way but our part is now to share with them how great it is what they are accomplishing and the to show them also the spiritual the religious aspect of that the last line of and we are to show them the light in what they are doing har this awesome the awesome light and the elevated light that is that that's contained in their actions in what they're doing in terms of of bringing the Jewish people back to the land of Israel so this is really classic you know this is classic Rook classic I would say rev cook 101 in terms of the great respect that he has the awesome respect that he has for the Young Generation even though they're not a generation that are religious people necessarily but he sees in them he sees in them the goodness and it's our role it's our role to show them and to share with them the greatness of their actions and and in that way to bring them to bring them closer to a a religious life to a traditional life and one of the things that Rook is trying to do throughout his lifetime is to is to bridge that Gap is to take the community that is the quote unquote the the community the yesu right those that have settled here those that are living here inim and throughout the country the religious Jews that have been here and keeping a religious way of life for for for such a long time and to to to kind of create a a a bond and and a Brotherhood and and a respect for one another and again that's what I preface the uh the she earlier this is something that we're that we're struggling with today as well where we may have differences but how do we bring about that that respect for one another and to see the goodness in one another so this idea of Riv cook the importance of of kind of creating this harmony and this Oneness I would ask the question where does Riv cook and where does Riv cook get this from where does he learn where does he learn this idea and it's interesting you would we would think that this is just it's sort of obvious is is this not the the way of the Torah doesn't doesn't everyone believe in this like this isn't this every Rabbi but as we all know it's it's not every Rabbi and it's not every Community that's that's emphasizing this point emphasizing this idea so what I want to look at for a few minutes is is to think about where does Riv cook see this idea where is he inspired by this idea and uh there are two rabbis that I um that I want to highlight in terms of the the life of ruk where I believe that ruk is inspired by their teachings in in particular one is theim the and not everyone is aware of this but Rook studies with the with theim that he's ausa with the again we think about the in like one world and ruk is in another world they're close friends with one another not only are they close friends they're both kohanim and they share they share that common ity and they're very proud that they're both kohanim and they begin to study together the laws of of being a cooh not only you know technically what the laws are but but practically that they're both anticipating the possibility of the betam mikdash and they believe that we're getting closer and closer the writes about it as well that we're moving into not only R the writes that as well that he believes that we're moving into a period that we're getting closer to the time of mashiah and begin to study together the laws of what it means to be a Cohen we're reading those parod right now and not just theoretical but you know but how to do it that there that tomorrow morning if there's a basa mdash we're going to you know we're going to have to function as the coim there's actually a beautiful saer [Music] called the two and it's about the and R and about their relationship with one another the learning that they do with one another it's interesting that the told rev cook that I do not want you to continue learning they're learning together meaning learning in a coal and he says I see that you have the you have the uh the cohos that you have the ability to be a great leader in Amel and ruk doesn't want to stop learning he wants to like many you know people want to just sit and continue his his mystical learning his writings and says you have to stop you have to become a Pulpit Rabbi and that's what he does he becomes a Pulpit Rabbi and eventually becomes a Pulpit Rabbi he comes to Israel and in Kaa I'm sorry in yafo he becomes the rabbi until he eventually makes it to to Y so they study together and ruk is very much influenced by by the I want to share with you the following from the K by the way one of the things that's probably most welln about the K is the idea of lush andar right that's his he becomes known by that name the based on the safer that he writes and that sensitivity that he has in terms of in terms of not speaking negative about one another and here the with all the knowledge that he has and he's the great one of the greatest you know gdm of stly of the last hundreds of years that he devotes a lot of his writing to that topic and think about that for a moment that he's devoting writing and his teaching to the idea of in terms of how we are to respect one another the sensitivity that we are to have for one another and he senses that there isn't that kind of sensitivity that's needed and he writes just about that topic about and about lashar one of those books is called so he is the he has another saer called which is guarding guarding one's tongue and he writes the following and this is the bottom of page one Shalom so he writes the following and again this I believe is you could kind of you know capture the the life of ruk to some degree in this one line of the and I'm sure they they shared this idea together and they studied this idea and they not only were they coing but they also were they also believed in in this idea of what it means to be a Coen to be a person who loves peace soes they to put in all of your effort with all of your strength Shalom you have to be a peacemaker a person is to be a peacemaker how to bring peace between individuals you shouldn't be lazy about this even if you're an important figure this is something that you need to be involved with as well right somebody in the community that's not getting along family members not getting along right you're not supposed to uh ignore that that you're supposed to do everything that you can to be a part of that to make peace k interesting if I were to ask you who is The Peacemaker of the Torah who is the model of being a peacemaker so everyone says Aon and you're probably right it is Aon but the gamarra doesn't bring Aon as the example the example that the gamar brings we'll see it inside in a moment is that Moshe is The Peacemaker he represents a person of peace and who and how do we see that the story of Paras korak and he goes to even though they're making trouble he goes to their door he knocks on their door and says let's try to let's try to work things out I know we're you know I know we're having a hard time and you're having a hard time with me but let's see if there's a way we can work things out and our rabbis teach us this theas that you should not hold on to mlas and that's always a problem with right holding on to M right all the stories in shs where people aren't talking and they ask why and they they no longer remember right Rabbi it's like years later I don't remember why I don't talk to this guy any longer but I but I know that I don't talk to him that's what's that and generations that's right we some it passes down unfortunately so that's what the gamar that's what the gamar says aik now by the way I'll just show you the gamar that he's quoting this's the gamar it's Al above and right in the middle right in the middle of that paragraph it the right in the middle of the paragraph the middle of the line it says says and remember that name for a moment we'll come back to that this is the source in the Torah that you're not allowed to hold on to over it's it's one of the lav it's one of the 613 Commandments of the Torah not everyone knows that it's one of the 613 is not to hold on not to be involved in so that you are not to and that's a that's understood in the gamar as a as a Mitzvah or as a transgression one of the 613 when the LA and the Torah so that is um so that is the the the let's read a few more words in the writes and again this tradition where does ruk where does where is he inspired by this idea and this and this der I would say certainly one of the influences is is the on the life of R we'll read a few more lines it says the following in the M says the matter because he went to the door he knocked on the door of he saved four people from the door of gim now what does that mean that there are four people says the medish that were saved now how were how were they saved from the PES of geham because they saw mosu and they saw his kindness they saw his sensitivity and they backed out they backed out we know that pel that he's involved right that's the opening suim of korak and somehow he disappears and we don't know what happens to him there are different different interpretations that's right very good so one interpretation is that his wife convinces him to get out of that MZ you're absolutely right but according to this medish the medish says it was when on pelas saw or heard about that mosenu took the first step to try to make peace and what do we know about Ben korak so they were involved also B korak become important individuals anybody know anything about the Ben korak what they become that's right they become Bala that's what it says and we have M that are K beautiful the the the the theim that we say right before teur that we say seven times are the children of korak that write that to hm so amazing so according to the medish how were they saved they were saved because they saw a role model because they saw mosu they saw a peacemaker and with that they were inspired to do chuva that's what the uh the Met what the brings we'll read just a few more lines just beautiful say based on this so the PK says actually I skipped the see Shalom so the P says into that one should B that one should always be asking for or searching for shalom ro and one should always be pursuing very good pursuing running after so that you have those two words so the Met says the so you should ask for the one who you love in other words it sounds like even somebody that you love if you had a falling out with that you should uh you should try to make peace and even you're so somebody that you hate that you have to pursue it you do it locally you do it even people that are at a distance you do it in terms of the physical in terms of M you do it for yourself you should do it for others as well this is really the last uh this last part that I want to highlight so what is this double of and so it says you should try today and you should search or pursue it what does that mean says the what does it mean you should pursue it tomorrow you shouldn't think that you can't accomplish it that you're not going to be able to attain achieve real peacei so you keep doing it again and again and again you never give up and um and I think R cook R cook believed that as well R cook believed that um even if we don't see it right away even if it's not immediate that doesn't mean that it's not going to happen it doesn't mean that it's not going to happen in the next Generation if it doesn't happen now it can happen it can happen in the Next Generation as well okay so I said before that I wanted you to remember the um the name rakish so rakes is the one that makes the statement in the gamar the and he makes that statement that based on the uh the episode of of mos that we learn from here and moshu becomes a model of not holding on to a m arguments so go to page two and I'm not going to read through the gamar this is actually it's it's really worthwhile to read through I would say that this gamarra may be one of the most um upsetting garas in the entire Shas I would argue I I don't know if I've seen a gamarra that's more upsetting than uh than this gamarra almost difficult to to share it on some level but it's a story of R Lish and it's a story of R Lish with rean they areas with one another for those that remember the story this is in B the gamarra begins to talk about the uh the earlier part of the story where rakish is not a religious man according to toos he is religious and then he leaves religion and the two of them are are in the uh are in a river that they're swimming together and ranan sees Rish and he and he says actually Rish comes to the back of raban and he thinks raban is a woman and he's uh about to approach what he thinks is a woman and and he turns around and it's it's reab yanan it's a rabbi again rakish is not a not a religious man at this point and he says to him that uh I see that you're a man of great strength and I think you should put your strength you should put your powers into the study of Torah and he convinces him to return to a Jewish life and he begins to study with him and they become with one another he says at that time you can marry my sister I have a sister that's more beautiful than I am and you can marry my sister and they become lifelong kusas with one another and all the arguments in the gamar the beautiful arguments on so many pages of the gamar of reab yanan and rakes so you have their family with one another brother-in-law and they become the closest of friends the gamar then tells the following story there's one day that they're in the Bas medish and they're discussing a uh an issue of again technicalities of around Tuma and in terms of weapons and at what point does a weapon does a knife does a sword become tummy when does it become a a a utensil so to speak and at that point raban says Rish this is something that you probably know a lot about because you were a thief you were a bandit and you probably know more about this than I do and rakish is a offended by that by that line which by the way is very problematic because we actually have Al that you're not supposed to remind about chuva of something that they were involved in in the past but he says that for for whatever reason ranan says that and at that point RL says toan he says I'm not sure why you brought me back to the Bas Mish he says I was a RAV he says I was a leader amongst the bandits in my in Myra and here I'm a leader also but but I see that there's really no difference between between the two and it seems that both offend one another what they say to one another is offensive and at that point they they no longer speak to one another they no longer are kusas not only are they not kusas says the gamar but they no longer are talking to one another and the gamar then says again you can you can look at it you can read it inside um later but rakes at that point the gamar says he passes away that he dies and he dies knowing or maybe Out Of Heartache that he that he lost this relationship with RAB yanan and then the gamar says RAB yanan also that he passes away and without ever making up and also with a great pain that they that there was a a fracture in that relationship this is the gamara and that's how the gamarra ends I was actually looking over the last couple of weeks for for some MAF farim and ways to kind of you know to kind of look at a more positive side like to see like a little bit more I haven't found anything I haven't you can you can do research yourself if anybody finds anything but they kind of see more of a positive light I didn't find anywhere that kind of interpret this in a more in a positive light it seems that there is this this happened and uh in a very very unfortunate story in the gamarra and when I read that line of Rish in saned and I thought I thought about this gamar Rish is the one who says how careful we have to be not to be how dangerous that is how terrible that is to hold on to M and that's raes I don't know when he made that statement you never know in the gamar when that statement was made was it made possibly after this incident where he himself that he experienced M and what what it did to him what it did in terms of family and his relationship so this uh again this is an influence an important influence in terms of where R cook and ideas from the gar itself and from the what it means for the Jewish people not to hold on to so we have to find a way and this R cook comes along and says I see this generation the Young Generation and they're coming back let's see the good in them let's build them up let's have a relationship of love and that's what we need for Amy do you want to make a comment please as tragic as that is yes Som it's a good qu yeah I don't know it's a good point it's a good point even though if you look at the gamar they try to convince ran to forgive him and he's and he's unwilling to do so so I don't I so there's it's it's it's very very very difficult um it's difficult it's difficult difficult story it's not a story that has anybody heard that story before it's not like the usual like d Torah that we give a chalasis you know with the the rlu is of yanan falling out I it's not uh it's not pleasant of the the two GD Ador imagine art scroll you know reading about GD Ador that you know they ended their life not speaking to one another we you know we don't know of it amazing that yeah will the bar comes yes okay um what's amazing by the way I'll take one positive and that is the gamarra is sharing it the gamar is honest about sharing does the gamar have to include the story does Rashi and Rina who are editing the gamar need to include this definitely not definitely not what a lesson exactly they want it's a lesson it's a lesson as hard as it is to hear it and how unfor as unfortunate as it is and to talk about gulum that have this kind of falling out we're going to it's going to be on the page of the gamar it's going to be open to everyone to read yes they were both grieved that's yes exactly right exactly right okay so we have the uh so this is I RI cook is coming from from this world he's coming from this this sensitivity in terms of how dangerous that it's a love that's an is in the Torah that the speaks about how terrible it is for there to be yes we are disagreeing with one another there's a religious community there's a secular Community but but how do we do it how do we do it appropriately another influence yes please yeah there is yeah I don't know if they did it publicly but there is yes you're right you're right yes yes yeah you're absolutely right I as I said I I was like searching for some commentary that kind of like you know sheds some positivity on it I I haven't come across anything it's a very very difficult it's an extreme as I as I said it's almost like to share it I I it's like it's hard to even share this Gara it's hard to share it but it's uh it's here and um you can read it but this is R Lish and this is R Lish who teaches he's the one that then teaches that that lesson so let's come back now to R cook in terms of his his influences so he's impacted by the again beautiful to think about the rook and the just think about them sitting in a in Aus together their friendship there's another personality very important in the life of R cook he doesn't ever meet rman ABV but is also a very very important person in the life of ruk we know that he um that he studied the works of L we know that he had what's called Theos which are the prayers of Ros it was on Hiser that he would use those on a regular basis on a weekly basis and he once said he once said that I feel that I am a Nish that I have the Nish of of nak that's what Rook Rook said so one of the very beautiful parts of the teachings of rman of breev is um the love that we are to have for one another and to see the best in one another this is like classicus but RV is one one of the great personalities who's teaching this idea I wanted to share with you one one source and it's actually a I would say it's one of the most famous teachings of Rin AB of it's known as a zamra it's from his lean and you see it on the bottom of page re I'm sorry the bottom of page two it's r b and these are the words of rabv so let's just we'll read a few uh yeah let's read a few lines together so it begins with the word da da so he says you have to know and when he says D doesn't just mean what does D mean no no what does it mean it means really no it this is something you got to this is something you got to really know right we talk about Das by the way and Das where's the first time that we have Das in the Torah what what's the first time of D in the Torah what and they knew one another intimacy you got to know this intimately you have to know this has to be has to be at your core has to be at your heart and soul you have to judge everybody favorably even somebody who's an absolute find that little bit of good in every person because that little good of that person so he's no longer a rash finding that little good in every person and if you're then judge that person favorably then you actually do lift him up up to be that to be to be a sadic to be a good person the way that you view that person once you view him that way once you treat him that way so that person's going to be inspired by that that person may even change if you if you show a love to that person if that's how you relate to that person you see him as a tadic right you see him as a holy brother as schlomo carach would say to everyone that he would meet holy brother how you doing all of a sudden he's saying holy brother to me so I already I feel like a little bit holy he believes that I'm holy okay maybe I am Holy so this is what R breev teaches he teaches to see that Ma and once you do and once you begin to internalize that and you treat the person that way so then you're going to make uh it's going to make an impact and this is where RI cook is also he's taking this very beautiful kic idea the emphasis on on seeing the best in others even the Russia to find to find within the Russia by the way that's not so simple to say because many sources say once it's a Russia it's a Russia right we're going to read the Seder in a few weeks Russia how do we respond to the Russia doesn't sound like we're looking for his his pin PID where where so the the AG actually doesn't take that approach to Russia the Russia said the AG says you gotta gota you know got to respond in appropriately to the Russia but that's not what rman says not what R cook says if Cook says find the love right find the goodness in the other right create that find a way to create Harmony and uh bring out the best in one another and uh here we have one other very important influence in life of uh of rook and we turn to page three now and so we have the we have and we also have kabad we have the teachings of kabad ruk comes from a family of uh of kabad actually his father is not a kabik he studied in thean Yesa and they say about the parents of uh Rook that they it was a mixed marriage a mixed marriage in the sense that his mother came from kabad a very close student of uh of theed the third rebi of kabad so he comes from and it's interesting that that's actually who he becomes in his life that he becomes this synthesis of great learning of Alin and the learning of of kidus that's what he that's what he synthesizes incorporates in his personality and those were her his parents so that's also not coincidental in terms of the impact um his mother when he was a little baby she knitted a yamaka a uh we all know what a yamaka is I think kids today would know what a yamaka do I have to translate what a yamaka is aipa aipa and it was a kipa that was made from the threads and a button of the kapata of theed of the third rebi of of kabad so we see in terms of in terms of the family and the closeness to kabad and the kabad teachings come through in terms of the life of ruk so here on the top of Page Three I want to share with you the following which is really interesting this is what RAB Merson we all know the laab rebi the very first time that he becomes the as he speaks the first message that he gives as the rebi of kabad at 770 in Crown Heights has anybody been there 770 Crown Heights you you got a dollar beautiful hold on to that or you can make a lot of money you could put it on eBay if You' like um so this is 1951 January 17th 1951 this is the first time that RAB nakim menel schneerson speaks as the rebi of kabad as the new rebi of kabad and it says the following this is a I guess a description and a little bit of what he said second paragraph upon his arrival in America the rebi quoted the midrash when you come to a city do as it's custom that's what the midrash says you have to follow the custom of the place that you're in here in America people like to hear things expressed in a form of a statement preferably a provocative and shocking statement I don't know he said that's the way of America you got to put out maybe it's true today also like a one line you know a oneliner something that's going to be going to be memorable I don't know if this is how it should be done but when you come to a city do as it's custom that's what the rebi said so I'm going to just kind of kind to I'm going to give one line a oneliner to kind of uh to capture what it is what this is all about a statement then the three loves love of God love of Torah and love of one's fellow are one one cannot differentiate between them for they are all one of a single Essence and then he quoted the Balto the Balto quotes the early sages when you grasp the part of an essence you grasp it all since the three loves are of a single Essence each one embodies all three okay there's a lot to say about this but what I want to highlight from this statement is something very simple and that is what isus what isus according to the bmov there are three principles ofus loving God loving God a lot by the way a lot the vacus that you feel the presence of God you really love God loving God loving Torah you got to love the Torah and loving your fellow man loving your fellow Jew so that that's that's that's that's that's what the B said is unique is unique to theic way of life so um actually they talk about they talk about the r cook that he believed in those three those three loves and he added one more love he said that a Jew must have those three loves and one more love a Jew must have according to R cook what's that love of erel Love of erel that was missing he said up to this point that it's time for me to bring that love back to the Jewish people we've lost that in the galut we're talking about love of Torah but how about the love of er Isel but what I want to highlight is the third aspect that the BTO speaks about of what it means to define a a Jew or Aid it means to love your fellow person and this is what Ru cook again R cook is devoted to this idea he's dedicated to this idea of how do we love each other more and he said the following this is I have a translation here from this is from igos R I just thought it was a beautiful line my beloved isra cook writing in one of his letters my beloved Brothers if only I had arms the size of the world so I could hug all of you with love yeah it's a beautiful like to put that on a t-shirt like it's a beautiful line you know if only my arms I I never heard another Rabbi say it like this only my arms were large enough I could hug everyone I just want to hug I I walk the streets and I want to hug everyone that's Riv cook Riv cook he learned it but it was it was who he it was who he was it was it was his heart and soul uh Ru cook has notebooks that were that were discovered actually I just I just saw that they're translating them for the first time it's coming out in the next few weeks um called Aon vatsin which are notebooks where he just wrote he wasn't really writing for publication he was just writing writing ideas he did a lot of writing he would just he would just write write for hours whatever kind of was coming to mind his heart and he would write um this is from the Shon vsim and I have it in Hebrew but for the sake of time I just want to let's just read it read it in uh in English and I think we can again I think we can think about this today in terms of our in terms of how things have not changed dramatically from a 100 years ago when he wrote this three forces struggle today in the Jewish people three forces struggle this is a translation of the Hebrew above from schim the holy National and humanistic interesting let's talk about that for a moment we have a group that's the holy right those that are you can call them the religious community you have the national right those that are nationalistic those like for the country patriotic and then we have the humanistic what do we have today I think we have those three groups today you have the what we call the k Community you have the daui the nationalists and then you have the humanists right then you have the whatever you're right we don't want to use these word right but that group as well so though he I identifies these three groups which essentially we could talk about those three groups in Israel today it would be tragic if these three camps that need to help each other and unite would entrench themselves in extremism they must ultimately work together for there to be hope for the future the separating of these drives results from their focusing on the shortcomings of the other two forces right everybody likes to point fingers with all the problems that the other group has the other faults and not seeing the flaws in their own group the three camps are known as the Orthodox who zealously and bitterly defend the Torah mitzvot and all that is Holy in Israel the new nationalists who fight for Statehood the liberals who speak for Universal issues it is obvious that in a healthy situation there is a need for all three of these forces we must continually Aspire for this state that the three forces harmoniously and beneficially function together none of them taking up too much or too little space clinging to each other which Sublime love that's again that's the that's the bov that's that's the right that's love loving each other a deep love for one another even where we disagree the holy the national the universal each recognizing the important role of the other beautiful okay coming to a close we turn to page four now there was a line that we open with there was a line that we open with yes please said this this is Rev cook this isim yes the writing of rev cook okay great two more sources so the opening line for those that remember going all the way back to the beginning of our uh of our Shear the opening line ruk made a statement which actually was is a radical a radical statement I'm not even sure exactly how to interpret it but R cook said this harmony and this unity and this Brotherhood Ood can only happen says R cook only in AA of erel only in the land of Israel that that Unity is going to is going to come about now why why is that in other words Unity of am Israel Brotherhood why why do you necessarily need ER Israel for that that's something that can we accomplish that achieve that outside the land of Israel as well shouldn't that be the goal outside of Israel as well and yet that's the statement that he made right that was the opening that the the first piece that we saw he says it's impossible and actually it sounds like he doesn't just say it'll happen in the land of Israel what does he say it's going to happen with the a ver ER Israel there's something about the spiritual quality of the land of Israel that that happens now what does that mean so I'll share with you the following one interpretation and this is one of going back to the influences of those that influence ruk is the writing of the maral of Prague another influence on ruk who is a Mystic and uh also in terms of the way he speaks about the land of Israel this is from a book calleda T where he speaks about Tor study and Torah study the land of Israel and here this is a translation word for word translation from the Hebrew of uh of the marala prag who speaks about learning of Torah in the land of Israel and we're just going to look at the that opening that opening paragraph let's just let me read it to you or let's read it together is important to realize that these two characteristics of difference and sharpness now difference means that we defer to one another that there's a certain respect that we have for one another that's something he's going to claim is unique to Eric Israel and sharpness that we're kind of sharp with one another a little bit critical that's the quality outside the land of Israel are the indigenous characteristics respectively of aric Israel and Babylonia of Babel the Torah of the Sacred aric Israel does not stray from the proper equilibrium and symmetry as is true of men themselves and AR Israel as we explained earlier there's a certain symmetry there's an equilibrium there's a kind of a Oneness that happens in the land of Israel says the marala prag which one does not find Outside The Land of Israel why is that since this sacred land lies in the center of the world and therefore tends to line everything within it into the proper equilibrium and symmetry I wish right so the marela prag makes the following claim being in the center of the world physically now what does that mean when we're on a globe that we're the center of the world so that's a little bit of a that's a challenging idea but he says that this is the place of creation that God began Creation in in this place this is the Cent we're right now sitting in the center we're in the center of the world of the Globe we the center point that Center Point brings about again spiritually it brings about a certain balance that balance and again that he says that's going to that affects relationships as well that that's something that there's a balance there's a a respect what he calls a difference for one another that exists here in Israel that does not exist in the same way outside the land of Israel and just reading to the end Babylonia on the other hand is named because there is there because there sorry because there did sorry is so named because there did Hashem confuse language of all the Earth Babel represents a kind of confusion bilbul which implies jumble and a lack of unity dialectic is thus more common there meaning like the the way that one studies gamarra that there's more more of uh more arguments and complexities and difference of opinions since dialect this consist of one party attempting to refute the other a relationship of opposition so the morala prag says the following and he adds to this and I'll add one other one other piece the moral says he says number one the placement of the land of Israel actually has an effect a spiritual effect on those that live in the land of Israel and he also says the fact that that the eyes of Hashem are on the land of Israel and that Oneness of God affects the Oneness in the land of Israel the Oneness in terms of creating Harmony in the land of Israel I believe that this is what R cook is referring to that only with a Isel only once we're in that atmosphere that place of Israel is the true Unity going to be able to uh to unfold in Israel again we can ask the question we don't see it yet but we believe that it's there RI cook believes that it's there moral believes that it's there that that potential is there maybe we're seeing it maybe we're seeing it we're seeing it right now okay I want to end with a following and and again the idea and this has really been the idea of the entire sheer is the idea of R Cook's the love that he has and the idea of creating peace and creating Harmony within am Isel and the importance of that on the on the priorities of a Jew and what and what we believe to be most important as uh as a people we have rashi rashi on the Torah says the f rashi rashi is our we we all is the great the great commentary of the Torah and I don't know if this is something that you ever took note of I actually just saw this for the very first time recently that rashi's comment the very first comment on every book of the Torah the way that he opens every book of the Torah that there's one theme throughout now that's interesting because you would think well it's a PK in the Torah there's something you know you have to address that PK there are other commentaries that have a introduction where they let's say the ramban the ramban before he begins say sa for braid so he has an introduction before schot he has an introduction Rashid doesn't have an introduction he has just he begins his as we all know he just begins his commentary so Rashi on the Torah and we'll see it right now Rashi on the Torah every time he begins a new book of the Torah there's one theme that he shares as the as you're about to begin the study of that book and that is the love of Hashem for the people of Israel so braid the very first Rashi and braid says what does it begin with because the love that God has for the Jewish people he wants to give ER Israel to the Jewish people and therefore he makes he he begins with a statement that the entire world belongs to God and I choose says God I choose who I'm going to give this land to so the very first Rashi and bra talks about the love that God has for the Jewish people then Schmo the very first Rashi and schot speaks about what the names and the question is why does God repeat the names again and Rashi answers because the because the love that God has for the Jewish people so he repeats the names of theim a second time even though we just had the names just uh the previous para VRA VRA the very first Rashi in vayikra asked the question what is the word VRA and it says it's l it's a Lon of love the way that God addresses mosu the god the way that God addresses his Nim is with love the love that he has for the Jewish people in contrast to others we now go to the book of bamidbar and and bar midbar also asked the question in terms of enumerating why do we make a count again of the Jewish people where we already have the count Rashi says the first Rashi in B midbar because God loves the Jewish people he wants to count them again and again again the word actually in in inra andbar the word is used in all three of those rashis and then inim the first Rashi asked the question asked the question question in terms of the um addresses the issue or the question of the the way that the the uh the way that MRA moshu gives rebuke to the Jewish people and Rashi says he gives rebuke in a way that he doesn't say it outright that he doesn't say it expressly because the love that he had for the Jewish people interesting to note that Rashi the way that he begins every book of the Torah is all about love for am Israel and Rashi didn't necessarily have to do that I believe that Rashi was was was presenting that as his opening statement as we're studying the Torah again Rashi has in front of him you know the thousands of kazal and that he chose to that that he chose that idea to begin every book of the Torah about theba the love that Hashem has for the Jewish people there's a statement there that Rashi is that that that Rashi is teaching Us in terms of the importance of love and this just to end this this brings me me to a a a final episode or or story with um with lvin who was thead of he was a uh a very very close a close uh close friend and to ruk a talet of ruk so one point in his life so Rari lvin says to rev cuk how is it that you have so much love for Amel I I I've never met a person that has the kind of love that you have for am isrel and Rook said the following it says in the Torah it says that Hashem has love the p is God when he speaks about the Jewish people he says that they are my children and Hashem speaks about am Isel as if they're you know they're they're the most beloved of his children and ruk says if that's true of Hashem that Hashem treats every Jew as his child so I also treat everyone as a as a child as a love it as a relative as a family member and that I walk in the way of hem that just as Hashem expresses his love the that Hashem has for for all of am Israel that I have that as well so this is the uh this is the lesson from ruk today uh this morning as we're studying together uh the importance of uh the priority of of love and I I believe that this is It's a world that Ru cook is is inspired by of the of of this world that puts a great emphasis on that and this is a teaching that that ruk wants us to be inspired with today as well I think we're seeing more and more of this with uh as we all uh that we're all aware of in terms of the the difficulty and the challenges and the tragedy around the war but but a unity and a love and a respect that we're seeing amongst our people today is something that BM we should continue to uh um to grow with and continue to strengthen Isel with