Transcript
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[Music]
I'd like to welcome back the listeners
and viewers of Tor time and Y to the
kavana lizos foundation for our
continuing series a word for the table
and a mitzvah for life but before I go
on just a quick beautiful announcement
after several years of amazing work Yan
now has its own Center please check out
the Yan website for more details how you
can be part of this amazing
event okay
here we go in this week's paraa vev the
Torah mentions parro having a birthday
party it's the only source in the Torah
of a birthday party of a birthday being
celebrated so here's the burning
question does the fact that Paro
celebrated his birthday mean that we
should celebrate our birthdays or we
should not celebrate our birthday since
parl celebrated his birthday let's take
a look at the pusk first of all so it
says in uh peric M pusic Base by
HEI it was on the third day y ESO the Y
at the birthday
of and he made a celebration A Feast for
all his servants now what's important to
note is that didn't need to mention it
was his birthday there's a bigger plot
going on here we know it should have
just
said it was on the third day uh vas
parro mishad parro made a A Feast for
his servants and then we had the the
Butler and the wine Steward and all that
stuff that's all you needed you didn't
need to mention parro's birthday so the
safer par haka
quotes the TR the sh B Israel and he
says the following he says since the
Torah bothered to stress that fact that
it was his birthday when he made the
Misha that means birthdays are a
positive
practice but doesn't that seem strange
parro was an o de ofar he was an idol
worshipper why should we be taking a cue
from an idol worship worshiper is that
somewhere we should dra we can derive a
positive
practice yes listen to this precedent
that he brings in uh safer
schin um there was uh it developed to a
point where ahud who who was a heroic
Jew um executed an assassination plot
against Egon the Mel of Mo was he a good
guy Egon not at all he was an O Idol
worshiper bad news he was the enemy and
he got
assassinated yet listen to what happened
when ahood entered the
rooms he says I have a message for you
from Hashem now the melik was sitting on
his throne and he stood up because he
heard that you know what happens that's
why we stand up in a minion when there's
kades kadha we stand for a kadha where
do we learn it from the M of
Mo so from this the
sh the sh base Israel is says same here
by parro it must be that it's it's not
the character of the one who is doing
something mentioned in Torah it's the
quality of the practice so the Torah is
indeed saying celebrate your part
birthday party even though the o o vodar
did that okay not only that now you
should know not everyone learns this out
okay but there were several amazingly
great rabbis through the Doros that
indeed celebrated their birthday amongst
them let me give you some of the list
the
serur
the the benishai all these people made a
big deal about their birthday so now
that's a word for your
table but we should also uh we I'm sure
you want to know what is so special
about a birthday that makes it something
we should emulate for that we'll go into
the mitzvah for life so this week we's
mitzvah for life is birthday
celebrations as an expression of
derer have you wondered about the
practices that are explicit in the Torah
but they don't they're not Commandments
they're not in commandment form what's
their status so the evid melik in his
introduction to his incredible safer he
explains that the you'll see in the
gamorra several places they'll take a
from the and say l
Torah the Torah is teaching
us let's say proper conduct in fact for
example um they they from auskin michley
they learn that there's a a Mitzvah to
throw raw meat to a dog because dogs uh
it takes a long time for them to be
fully satisfied Etc so that's a practice
what's the status of a practice that's
described in the Torah and
calledit says rer well what book's it in
it's in the Torah and that means that it
there's such a thing that say as a
mitvah from the Torah
Al so it's it's a Mitzvah it's actually
a Mitzvah even though it's not part of
the formal 613 it's called a Mitzvah of
D it's proper practice
okay with that in mind as we mentioned
the par the the safer
parima brought that birthdays can be
learned out parro was practicing der
herit by making a birthday or at least
he was an example of something that we
call DS now why is a birthday a proper
good well not just birthday of course a
birthday is a
but why is celebrating a birthday
considered derit and a good thing to do
here's something that very very
important to know thei the gari in Russ
sh believe it says the following when
it's a person's birthday his mael
isolate meaning his the masle that he
was born under is in control which means
the there's positive spiritual influence
taking place for the person whose
birthday it is that's a your shami
that's a very Val valid source of course
the Yami says this and it was taken so
seriously listen this the Taris Isel one
of the greatest commentators on the
mishas in his saah in his will to his
kids he he he he instructed I guess his
uh wife the mother make sure when it's
the uh or my son's birthday or he told
the sons when it's your birthday give a
mo give say mle Tove to the other people
to your siblings make sure to do
that there we go this is a mitzvah for
life why because giving a br is a
profound Mitzvah of number one and it's
just it's a boomerang Mitzvah who
doesn't want to be involved with a
boomerang MIT what does that mean we
learn out in the gamar and tosos that
when when you when you bless a Jew it
comes back to you that's the that's the
boomerang you bless a Jew it comes back
to you aoy blessing a Jew comes back to
him okay so what a wonderful mitzvah for
life is make sure to give bras uh when
you're the birthday boy or girl okay or
adult so in fact at our family we have a
tough policy you know everybody has a
gift they're supposed to give the
birthday person and they don't get the
birthday person doesn't get a gift until
he gives a braa okay so that's number
one that we can do mitzvah for life from
birthdays making them a good pract
practice the second is perhaps
obvious
to you know you we didn't have to come
into existence right that's number one
gratitude that we came into existence
number two gratitude that we survived
that we were a viable child and now how
about this for every year so you should
be gushing with gratitude on your
birthday that you had yet another year
of life and just the fact that you came
into life at all so that's number two
number one these are mitzvah for life
that we get from birthdays showing why
is Der number one we said is give
because you have a mole number two how
about some
to for her being alive and finally last
but not least um this is what the great
rabbis I mentioned
before the Ben the H they all made a big
deal of their birthdays they made this
big deal why because this D ER of a
birthday celebration has a lot going for
it number one we mentioned masle means
you can give a braa number two as we
just
said hasem there's a lot to thank Hashem
for and last but not least is heshbon
and
neish when you uh reach your birthday
it's a really good idea to emulate the
great who I who I mentioned to you
cele
the they took
stock am I making my Creator happy the
one who brought me and gave me life am I
using the life the way it should hesbon
and neas so we see there's a lot to take
away from this you know and in today's
world birthdays are often we just focus
on ourselves where whereas if we
approach it in this holy path of our
forefathers will we can transform this
practice into something very meaningful
and very spiritual of course make sure
you have cavana conscious intention when
it's your birthday to do these Mitzvah
and then your connection with your with
Hashem and your experience of the world
to come will be
completely different and magnified
[Music]
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