Parsha Perspectives for Today (Netzavim-Vayelech)

good morning boca toe thank you for joining us once again for our parsha perspectives for today this week we have the privilege of studying and reviewing two parties together and extracting their lessons and their contemporary messages to inform our current times as the parasha always relates to and is relevant to what is happening in the uh current moment i want to thank our generous sponsors uh for the entire series for the year becky and abby cats are their friends in memory of becky's father david grossman monash thank you to the cats as always i also want to thank my dear friends matthew and toba hackerman who are sponsoring this morning's particular sheer in commemoration of the third year at site of their dear friend david lacks made his neshama have a continued aliyah hackerman's are good friends remembering their dear friend and we hope that david's nishama has an aliyah through the study of torah this morning together okay begins on the art school stone page 1086 1086 and as i said we've got a lot to get through because we have two partios that we're going to cover this morning and the parachute begins at you're standing today today you're all standing before hashem and who is the all the torah then delineates the torah explicitly specifies who they are the rashem heads of your tribes your officers your children the women uh the converts everybody there is so no socioeconomic division or divide no matter what uh no matter what socioeconomic class you are in everybody is present today for this important for this important message what is that message why is it that moshe gathered everybody together what was so critical atem everybody all of you torah was given out in parts to different people at different times why is it all of a sudden so critical that that everybody all together would need to be there the ibarbanel is a very fascinating comment my friend mandy pointed it out to me wonders we don't find earlier when the people enter a covenant when moshe albania tells them we are all bound together in one covenant we all have a promise we all have responsibility accountability to the almighty he doesn't do it cool the torah doesn't specify that everybody is there that every social economic class is present and yet here there is some message which specifically needs to be communicated in the context of everybody with a description of all the components segments and demographics of the community why why wonders is says is because moshe wanted them to enter this covenant rotary shown allah is you know on your journey the last 40 years moshe tells them you've seen a lot you've been exposed to a lot and it might have impacted it might have influenced you it might have left an indelible impression on you yes there are many wise and learned intellectual sophisticated people among you so you maybe the cynic will come maybe you'll sarcastically approach the covenant with hashem the observance of torah and mitzvos and you're going to say how do i know this is real how do i know it's real on our 40-year journey we were exposed to and we learned about mithraim and lived in midyan and moab and sikhon and og there are all kinds of religions how do i know this one's true maybe theirs is more accurate maybe theirs is more true maybe theirs is more authentic believe how do i know how do i know that god wants me to do this how do i know this is really what god is asking how do i know our god is the god the taino hakkis beginning says moshe with a wonderful model and paradigm with the precedent of leadership since the embargo now moshe ibn says i want full and complete transparency you have any questions you have any caches you have any challenges you have any suspicions you have any cynicism don't discuss it besay sir i don't want it whispered about it the water cooler i don't want you talking about it in your backyard over the barbecue kibbats i've gathered everybody we're all here we're not whispering behind one another's back we're not making accusations criticisms or condemnations we're not offering suspicion and cynicism and doubt here we are everybody raise it now address it publicly and let me debate it with you vanilla kosova local taina and let me resolve any doubt let me clarify any confusion don't do it in the cloak and the shadow do it here do it now do it in front of everybody rizzo almost says what it means when it says you're standing what does that mean they didn't put out seats no chairs no couches no benches what does it mean you're all standing here today says the environment of the word standing is not describing a posture it's not describing the way that they were the way that they were presenting themselves you're all standing means that you're all erect you're all standing before me and if you're ready for a debate you're ready for an argument you're ready for full transparency and it says as an example we have this when it comes to those and others so essentially the barbados says at the beginning of our passion attempt is the very first town hall meeting town hall meeting this past sunday night we had on zuma town hall meeting for members of our community any questions any concerns any constructive criticism any desire to further understand our policies how we got here what we're doing anything you want to know about where we're going or what's happening in the community moshe rabbin who creates a precedent moshe is the first one i tell him full transparency what do you want to know what doubts what concerns what uncertainties what questions raise them now raise them here i will address them publicly and we will be able to take them on as like that is the approach of the abar banel at the beginning of our passion says you are standing high yom today to truly be before the almighty you want an audience with hashem you cannot do it in isolation you cannot do it in a state of division we can only do it in the state of kulham if you want your parents to visit then get along with your siblings if you want your parents love and affection and generosity then get along with your siblings what is the haiyom which is the today that you need to have in the flesh i'm standing before god only says the day that your rosh there is no demographic divide no socioeconomic divide there is no superiority there is no division there is no judgment there is no criticism only the day that you're only when we are united and together as one that that is when we are nits of imbecile that's when we truly are standing before hashem the america is the sentiment the great vision of writes on the next possible not the next but further down says the torah i'm not only creating this bris with you not only with you but rather those who are here and those that are not here today with everybody i'm creating this bris it's a brisk that transcends time it transcends space um when you're apart when you're separate distinct in disagreement with others i'm not questions hashem says you want this bris you want this covenant you want this special relationship you want the bracha that will flow from it then you need to be not levar not alone and apart and in isolation and divided you need to be so we have a choice we're approaching the yamadin and that's what others say that attempts rosh hashanah we're approaching the yom hadin when we come before the almighty we have a choice and the choice is are we levadham or are we those are the options the varchar means i live alone i do what's in it for me i make my minion i create my rosh hashanah i make my shabbas i don't care about community i don't care about shule i don't care about the well-being of the greater some of the parts i don't connect i don't invest i don't give i'm not a part of i'm apart from if we are live if we're in it for ourselves if we're apart if it's my way the highway we think we're better and greater then we're not going to succeed or triumph persevere on the omadin and the own so the opposite of allah doesn't want to burst hashem's not invested in us but if we are if every segment in part and demographic if we still create community if we still create community you'll allow me a momentary editorial comment i've had several people reach out not a lot a few who say you know i can't go to school this year so why should i pay membership why should i pay my membership why should i be part of the show i'm not talking about the books on synagogue in boca raton i'm talking about i've spoken to colleagues across the country and people say you know whatever my health condition my secondary conditions my vulnerability i can't dive in indoor outdoor on the shore campus i can't go to schulz why should i pay membership why should i be a member so since when does membership have to do with your ability to attend only if you leave the country part of the year if you take a vacation you suspend your membership for those weeks if you can't go visit your grandchildren are you not their grandfather or grandmother right now during coronavirus because you can't visit them communities is part of our very definition communities who we are community defines us community transcends the ability to congregate i'm not saying if you're having a hard time financially of course every community should accommodate people it's not about the money but there's a value called community and that's what these parasites are telling us over and over and over again attempts you want to be live if i can go i pay if i can't go i don't pay the cool being part of community is not about the ability to attend it's about the shared values and the shared vision it's about the commonalities it's about when this is over having a strong community that will be there for us when we need it are we live or are we which will determine the kind of yantef the kind of rosh hashanah that we are going to have and the kind of consequence or the result of the judgment we'll experience on it i want to look at a uh insight from the ishtamin ravishaw mayor druk we've been quoting a lot from his beautiful beautiful farm on the parasha and today again we're going to quote several of his magnificent insights in fact they just came out if you've been enjoying rav druk art school just came out with an english translation of rav druk on the master he has a safer in hebrew but arthur came out with it in english which is i want you not to read it because i'm going to quote a lot of things from it but if you're if you're nevertheless wanted it's really a beautiful beautiful safer sort of joking is ishtamin and the pasha says the following what's the reason for the redundancy what is the reason for the repetition as parikh issues the paragraph the very last chapter of mishlai that we sing on friday nights a tribute to the wonderful women the the sheikha of our lives the rashi explains is all talking about the torah kedosha it's really a love song it's really affection that's being proclaimed to the torah it says allah your home will not see snow because your holy son and rash is there based on the majesty now we're used to the description of gahannam as my kids would call it h.e double hockey sticks we're used to the description of gehennam as being a place of fire and brimstone hot and burning being consumed that's gehenna yet the major talk she quotes it initially says gehennam is the sherlock shellag the gehannam is described as shellag and what's the chords base level our whole house is wearing what protects us from the snow from the ice from the frigid cold of gehenna the whole home is lavus shanim the double language what's the double language the torah says all of these places in the torah where the torah describes where the torah describes the mitzvah of giving up the did i lose you it said i had unstable internet are you back you can see me i don't know if it was describing the internet is unstable or the speaker is unstable or maybe a little bit of both okay but we're back so what is the shellag what is the cold the frigid the ice of ghana and we're used to it being hot and what does it mean that what protects us is the double the shnayam so it's the double language the kefo no santi and so on so it says what does this really all mean what is this madras really describing are we still on all our platforms are we still live here hopefully we are whoever's with us is with us so he says the following so the shame ishmael the great sacrifice explains his followers what does it mean a gahannam that's cold the cannon that's cold is actually directly proportional reciprocal of the creerus of the cold with which we perform mitzvos there are relationships that have passion that have fire that have romance there are relationships that are hot and there are relationships that are ice cold there are relationships that are frigid there are people and personalities that are ice cold and that are frigid so cesar of druk the type of gehennam we experience could be the result of the punishment or the consequence for different mistakes maybe you burn in the fire of gehenom because the passion and fire with which you pursued aveiros or maybe you freeze in the freezing cold of gahannam because of the cold and totally disaffected way in which you performed your mitzvos so when the torah says that loser the basement sherlock that you don't have to worry about the cold of gehenna um something that you only do once something that you minimally get away with something that you mail in and do the bare minimum you're doing out of a sense of obligation it's cold it's cold it's dispassionate you're just doing it because you have to your spouse your child your boss hashem all of our boss told us to do it check mail it in ice cold i'm not present i'm not mindful i'm not passionate i'm not excited i'm not enthusiastic ice cold experience of mitzvos such an ice cold experience of mitzvos is going to land you in the frigid cold of gehenna but a person who does something twice you come back again you're not satisfied with the bare minimum you're not enough to just mail it in you want to get it right you do it intensely you do with passion enthusiasm such a person will be spared the cold of gahannam by the way again we've said this so many times that this is what amalek was trying to do to us we read a few weeks ago in kiseid attacked us and how did they attack this what was the methodology of their attack against us we were on fire we just came out of a schmooze a sheer we just read a book we had a conversation experience that comes in so a sunset we were on fire there's a hashem and he loves us and we love him you know what a mother came along and they did they poured a bucket of ice water it wasn't the ice bucket challenge they poured a bucket of ice water on our head they cooled us off they extinguished our fire a shark on core so there are people who walk around the ice cold their personalities is called their relationships ice cold their commitments ice cold their actions are ice cold there's no passion there's no enthusiasm in them what's the evidence of whether you're hot or cold whether you get away with the bare minimum or whether you go above and beyond whether you're trying to do more cesaro of druk based on this we find this also russia why do we blow the shofar on rosh hashanah to which of course you should all respond and say what do you mean why do you blow the show from roshana hello the torah says you have to blow the shofar on rosh hashanah so why do we blow shrua because the torah says blows a token marie and krishna yoshi and talking um so the kumar says no no that wasn't the question the torah just says blow the chauffeur and the torah says blow a truer but why do we blow sometimes standing and sometimes sitting or put differently we blow before we begin the shema astray and then we blow during the khazar sashats of mustaf at least in ordinary years we do not all menyanam will be doing it this way that way so the gemara answer is why do we blow twice in two different ways in two different pastures anyone know the answer the gemara says cryptically oh okay that makes sense to confuse the satan and that now i get it satan who is he does he get confused this is it this is what throws him off because we blow standing sitting we blow before us of during what in the world's going on here is explains you know what it means to confuse the satan when the satan hears that we blow twice he knows that we're not just trying to get away with the bare minimum he knows that we're not mailing it in he knows that it's not ice cold we're on fire we blow the show for not once we come back and we blow the show for a second time before mustafa and during most of and after mustafa we can't get enough of the coal shofar we can't get enough of it awakening us and arousing us towards doing chuva but sarah bier asked her hey from where do you see the jewish people love mitzvos because they blow the show for the answer is because we do it twice when you do something twice you know that we love it and maybe this based on the based on the shame ishmael the core the cold of gehenna you don't have to wait for the snow you don't have to worry that you're going to freeze in in uh in gahannam you know when my son was little he used to like to go with to costco and costco has what he called the cold section the walk-in fridge to get the the fruit or vegetables or whatever and he would always hate to love or love to hate to go in there it was his favorite part of going and he would hate it it's ice cold though we got to get out of here it's so cold and so cold and that was this cute little shtick so that's gahannam for some being locked in the cold room it's the cold room forever you can't get out and warm up you're just locked into that cold room that walked in the refrigerator permanently la sierra la vista michelle you don't have to worry about the cold room of gehenna why when we do things they keep flying when we do things in double why because when you do it in double you show that it's passionate enthusiastic it's on fire and that's why we confuse the satan by blowing the show for twice what confuses him when he sees our passion he knows he has no chance to prosecute us and by doing something double that's when you show your real love of it and based on this says israel now we know why it appears twice in the puzzle and this is a uh this is a reminder to us that when we do something double when we do it twice when we do it well when we do it not just bare minimum but we do it with pride we talk about it okay continuing continuing moving right along we're going to do another piece in rook continuing so the parishioner says in the following skip ahead of test positive session you know how you dwelled in the land of egypt and how he passed through the midst of the nations through whom he passed you saw you were exposed to maybe you even experimented or tried with their abominations and detestable idols eights for evan castle of azerbaijan they're made of wood and stone the silver and gold that are with them is maybe among you there's a man or a woman or a family or tribe who's turning away from hashem you're going to serve those deities those false gods maybe among you there's a root flourishing with goal and warm root meaning maybe there's corruption maybe there's contamination but yeah when you hear this video and so on and so forth says 29 verse 14. speaking quickly even more quickly today because we got a lot of double pressure so you got to speak in double speed and those who are listening to this in double speed are really listening in quadruple speed with the generations that are coming them i'm sorry positive verse 15. says the fishery [Music] of they were disgusting they were despicable they were repulsive so wonders one does the brisker of hikimaranga grizz right now says look and this was the inside of the abar banal right the first town hall meeting moshe abbas says look we've passed through a lot of other societies we've been exposed to a lot of other ideologies you have seen you've learned maybe you've even watched or you've participated in other forms of idolatry don't be impacted don't be influenced be above it and if you have any questions on ours if you want to uh question the authenticity of torah and hashem of mitzvos bring it up now that's how the imbalance understood ask the ask the griz the brisker of one second what's the problem so moshe says you've seen she could say hem the word she could say hem is like a shagits it's like shikatsu shikutsu means something repulsive lowly despicable repulsive so i don't understand esther briskarov if they saw it and experienced it as being disgusting and repulsive why in the world would they be drawn to it why do they have to be warned don't go near it don't go near it who is the person that's drawn to something that we know is repulsive disgusting reprehensible abominable so um answers a very very important foundational insight listen carefully when you see something despicable abominable repulsive no matter how much of a turn off it is it leaves an impression it leaves an indelible impression in your mind in your imagination in your world of wonder in your world of fantasy maybe you're a pulse by it you know i would almost say it's like you know the the expression of the phrase that you couldn't turn away from the car accident you couldn't not look you could have something which is gruesome and yet you can't not look and even when a person is exposed to or sees something which is repulsive or which is wrong or which turns them off or to which they are opposed nevertheless simply being exposed to it simply seeing it it it burns an indelible impression in our mind and in our memory and now it becomes a part of a reality that we have to confront him don't minimize what you see with your eyes because what you see with your eyes and presses itself in your heart mashbi allah mukhos in the calculoso it has a deep deep indelible impression in you and it's hard to overcome we know this in the world of of things of things that people watch that is very hard to overcome you know there's um i'll just say it pedera remisa but there's a new diagnosis called porn induced ed there are dysfunctions that are the result of what one's eyes sees because what one's eye sees has a impact on a person's heart and a person's uh behavior and even something that you see which is repulsive and disgusting nevertheless can become part of the imagination it's an image which is now part of a person's reality and what's another example so that was the inside of the grizz of the brisker of rovrick applies this to another area it's a famous board that we've shared in other contexts pasha's nasa where this appears where we see it with the nazir the gemara wonders why is partial sota pasha's why are they adjacent why they juxtaposed one to the other lomanism sota because colorado what happens to the sota the wayward woman who has infidelity the woman who cheats on her husband and she drinks to my mother what happens if she's innocent she's blessed if she's innocent she receives beautiful blessing but what happens if in fact she's guilty she dies a horrific and grass of graphic death so the gemara says if someone sees that your neighbor is accused of being a sota she's litigated and prosecuted and found to be guilty the mayan arm exposes her that she's guilty and she dies a graphic horrific death and you know about it you watch it you read it you're there you're present you witness you testify to it you need to immediately immediately you better take a vow not to drink wine why because you see a sota bicocula when you see the sota you have to be careful you see you see what alcohol and you see what partying and frivolity could lead to you need to distance yourself from it so there too many wonder i don't understand i don't understand if anyone doesn't need to take a vow of abstinence from wine it's the person who witnessed what happens to the sota when you see her conclusion when you see a consequence what happens to her you'll never ever come close to that behavior so why do you need to be the one to take this vow not to drink so again you see the very same idea you see the same idea it's so powerful you're right when you see what happens to the sota you say i'm not going to do that you see the indignity that happens to to eliot spitzer to tiger woods or to countless public people who were caught with infidelity you say you know what i don't want to throw away my marriage my children my parnassa my life my honor my dignity on the one hand on the other hand you say i guess having an affair is not just a theoretical thing there are people who've done it it becomes real you're now exposed to it to the point that you're right a person needs to do something to offset to off balance to negate or to overcome that indelible impression in their imagination and that's why and so the same is true over here he then says the same word applies to the mitzvah pastor's kardashian we have apostate that tells us when you see someone doing something wrong we have an obligation gently appropriately sensitively judiciously to rebuke them to rebuke them so why is it the double language why is it twice sort of druk suggests based on everything he just said once to the person and once to yourself if you see someone doing something wrong on the one hand you have to help them on the other hand the fact that you saw them means you yourself need to do something also to be able to grow from it and not to be impacted and affected by it but he saw solanter when he saw somebody shabbos if he ever witnessed somebody being shabbos he would stop and pause and analyze and ask himself why he saw it what he was meant to learn from it how he was meant to grow from it what he needed to do in order to increase his his respect and honor of shabbos since he witnessed the desecration of of shabbos so you see this theme this notion that we are impacted by what we see and therefore even though it's defined as she could say even though this idolatry was repulsive and despicable and abhorrent nevertheless they had to do something to not be attracted to it because it leaves an impression and it creates an image and possibly even a fantasy which could have a negative impact on us okay stomach continues i want to get into some rishonim let's go back to our macros godolas the torah continues with this fascinating string of sukim paraglamed we're on page 1090 in the art school stonehenge now 1090. and the parsha now continues as follows now continues as follows beforehand top of page 1090. that which is hidden belong to god so what's revealed is really all about us i would say if there's a passage that i'm going to launch my shabbat show with russia about this year it's this one the theme of our shabbat shiva russia this year we're just getting started on is um you are what you do that's the theme of our our shavasri with russia you know many people like to think that they're saddik in their heart i know my actions i know if you were to look at me i know if you were to measure by what i do you think of me one way you should know though in my heart i'm a hasid i'm a sadiq in my heart i'm this i'm that the other well news flesh you are not in your heart you are what you do god knows what's in your heart but niglos the way we interact with you what we know of you what we think of you who you are to us is not what's inside you it's what's outside you it's who you are how you behave it's the niglos we'll talk more about that on mote shabbashuva we're going to broadcast the shabbashee with russia and and you'll be able to either come live in person or be able to watch it afterwards but it will be based on and launched by this pasik but it's the next series of second that i want to look at with you avoid called and it'll be when these things come upon you the blessing the curse i presented to you you're going to put it in your heart wherever you are and among whomever you're dispersed you're going to put these messages in your heart there'll be an awakening this is such a beautiful passage and we hope and pray that it's happening in our time a mass awakening a yearning there's an ache and an emptiness that leads people to search and to urinate to explore and to return to their roots cuba means to return to return to the judaism and that's exactly what the parashat tells us is going to happen you're going to return to god visa you're going to listen to his voice like everything i'm telling you today oh you and your progeny with all your heart with all your soul the shabbat hashem and hashem is going to bring you back from your captivity so you're going to be spread and dispersed among the nations something is going to inspire you to look at your life there will be a mashed chiva movement when you do come back he will bring you back he will gather you in from those exiles immigration he's going to take you to the land that he promised you and you will inherit it and he will do good to you and he will make you numerous more numerous than your forefathers now um he's going to circumcise peel back the layer over your heart that's the heart of your progeny so you can love god i don't understand this is the question i want to look at with you the sequence of sukim here i don't understand we're dispersed among the nations but there's going to be something that awakens us to do we're going to come back i'm going to repair and we're going to change our lives and we will prove worthy that god will bring us back he will accept our chuva the shaft both ways we're coming back we make the move he reciprocates we draw close we're coming home we're coming home so what layer is there still over our heart what needs to be peeled away i don't understand what is the um um some say that's the acronym for elo when is it that we peel off the layers of our heart in this month of elul's when we're working to peel off those layers why are there still layers blocking my heart why do i need my why does my heart need a mila circumcision what is circumcision what is a bris mila it removes a foreskin it removes something covering there's a cover on my heart my heart's not able to properly feel experience chuva in plastic base what's going on does this bother any of you or is it just bothering me okay either way we'll look at what i'm aforeshouldn't have to say start with the rambam empiricalam and possibly says the following what in the world is going on here in this what's going on over here this entire section has not yet happened this is not a description of history or destiny it has not yet occurred this whole thing is something that has not yet happened you can return to our show with all your heart and all your souls you know what happens at the beginning is the first gesture we do of chuva we take the first baby steps the first incremental change and when we make that first move when we show what we want hashem opens a path in front of us he makes it easy he expedites it he helps us he lifts us he accelerates [Music] we have free will we have choice we can repair we can make change so right now good and bad present themselves equally to us right now we are confronted by our free will to shape and to mold who we are and who want to become but in you in the eschatological era in the time of redemption when mashiach comes natural instinct and the natural inclination will be to do good lawyers [Music] the first time we're coming back says the ramban is right now before mashiach when we're doing shiva we're making the effort the formula of the rambam we have regret we confess we make a pledge not to do it again in the future but you know what our heart is still struggling our heart still exists with tension our heart still is tempted by temptation when mashiach comes and hashem is revealed then the heart won't even have temptation the heart won't have as a default an inclination or a distraction and then then it'll peel off them it will peel off the layer of the blockage of the heart so what is this a description of peeling off the layer of the heart its inscription says that of when we return and we will go back to the way it was before the hate of adam irish so that is how the that is how the um ramban understands the series of sukum the chronology of the different stages of the chuva movement there's the stage where we make an effort but we're not yet there and then hashem reciprocates and removes even the inclination and that's describing the way it's going to be a different understanding of this understands that it's all describing these are not stages in this world and then in the time of mashiach it's all describing what's happening now it's a long time we have to look at each of these pieces separately which we don't have time to do but just look at the part where he says um once we already said that we're going to return to hashem what are we adding with what are we adding or changing when we talk about peeling off the layer of the heart hashem and then it says you're going to return i thought the shaft i thought we already returned what is it and what's going on what's going on here so shannon there are three stages three levels of our commitment of our devotion of our growth to hashem and they include says number one occupying ourselves with torah the torah informs and inspires our lives number two therefore we refrain and we abstain and we avoid violating the negative commandments and number three we with zeal and passion run to fulfill the positive ones negatives so the first step of chufa is a recommitment to the study of torah i'm preaching to the choir here listening to the sheer but to make time to learn to study to immerse ourselves in torah we're going to get to very soon a beautiful description of rabbi salvatrik of immersing ourselves fully in torah so the first step of cuba is immersing ourselves in torah and that's why the shafta includes the words visa mata the colo to hear hashem's voice where do you hear his voice where does god speak to us when we learn torah it's been said by many when we dive in it's us talking to hashem when we learn it's hashem talking to us davoning is us talking to god learning torah is god talking to us you want to hear god talk to you he wanted to tell you what to do he wanted to tell you what he's thinking open a safer turn on a sheer learn torah learning torah is god talking to us that is the first step or first stage of chuba that's why and then and then it says the heart yearns for bed that is the layer over the heart peeling off the layer of the heart is the second stage of chuva which is the commitment to abstain refrain be more vigilant in our observance of those assay and then can i give you a mistake as i say the third stage which is the passion for positive commandments it says has his understanding of how to understand this unfolding your chronology is his i refer you and encourage you to look at the who has his but if nothing else when you're learning the parsha when you're listening to the parsha please give me all the ability to listen to the parsha and shul when you're listening to the passion don't listen passively think critically try to look and ask questions the mafirsham are all asking this question i don't understand how does it make sense first you said if the shafta why layer it later is it um it doesn't make any sense why maul after the fact so what's going on here the ramban the kayaker and others all addressed okay let's keep going the parsha then says how much more time do we have what can we get to okay mitzvah has those perique lamina famous passage famous pasta we spoke about this in the afternoon cola last week because last week we talked about the mitzvah of confession i guess we alluded to it in the parachute class also because kisavo the vidu maiser confession and we saw that the ramban understands that's how this that's what this process means i don't want to focus on page 1090 1090 the articles don't come in last word ki it's not far away it's not inaccessible it's not out of your reach you have it you got it you could grasp it where is it it's right in front of you it's not in the heavens it's not opposite of the sea kikarov it's right there it's right in front of you now in the past we focused on the ramban's understanding which we're not going to do right now the rambam's understanding is what is the mitzvah this is very cryptic the mitzvah it's not far away it's not in the heavens on the other side of the sea it's right in front of you what is the mitzvah what is the mitzvah the ramban says what's a mitzvah it's in your mouth the mitzvah that's in your mouth is confession shiva we do with the mouth chew what we do with the video we enunciate we articulate we have to say so that we can bring into this world and confront it that we can address it and we can improve it that is the ramban but i want to take another look back at rashi rashi says which is the mitzvah rashi says which is the mitzvah of the kihan mitzvah rashi says the mitzvah is where is it sorry sorry sorry where is it here in front of me mitzvah we're talking about the torah the torah is not far away from you despite the distance that separates us from hashem hashem is far away and we can't fully comprehend that we don't see him we can't feel him we don't hear him but nevertheless don't think it's in the heavens don't think it's on the other side of the sea the mitzvos the torah this ideology this way of life this value system this prescription formula for how to live they're given to us they're for our body they inform our goof not on the shama the sarasotas begin with hashem and they end with refraining from killing adultery and coveting why because the torah is supposed to inform and penetrate every area of our life in our living it's not describing a utopian society it's not describing a world for our souls it's describing how to live and how to operate in a world of our bodies in the physical physical world in the physical world the kuzari says maybe that's why the torah does not explicitly tell us about the next world it's an age-old question torah tells me about so much torah is supposed to tell me about everything about life why doesn't the torah explicitly reference the world to come why doesn't the torah explicitly tell me about what will happen in allah mohammed khashoggi where is that important message where is that important instruction says the kuzari you know why you know why because the purpose is this world we don't observe torah for the next world we observe torah because it informs and inspires it elevates and enriches in this world in this world that's why we have the torah so there is no emphasis and there is no focus and don't do it for the next world do it for the here and now because it will teach us the best way to live it gives us the best prescription and the formula for life the formula for life it's why we're here and that's what rashi is saying it's not far away and it's not inaccessible it is right in front of you it's right under our nose it's in our mouth and it's in our heart because it's supposed to inspire us in this world it's not all about aiming and aspiring for that next world for that world to for that world to come the ishtar of druk also has a beautiful comment on this says the following druk says what does it mean so he says the following really beautiful insight oh what does it mean lo basham i am it's not in the heavens loma is not on the other side of the sea don't worry it's right here it's right there it's right accessible you can have it what's the imagery of lobba shamayim what is it trying to tell us it's not in the heavens what is the image of lobasa so rodrick suggests the following we know that when the people messed up when they made a mistake previously moshe abbayo came down and he saw the ego he saw that we made a mistake a miscalculation and what did he do he smashed he broke he destroyed the luchos he broke the lucas he broke the tablets that's how moshe reacted that's what needed to happen and then what happened when it was time for the repair the correction hashem invited him and said come back on top of the mountain and i'll give you the second set come ascend back to the shamayim and i'll give you that second set of the luhos so therefore suggester of druk may be lo bashanayanhi don't think that when you make a mistake the only way to make it better is like moshe bainer you're going to have to transcend you're going to have to go up you're going to have to make it to the shamayim this mitzvah of chuva this mitzvah of repair and correction it's loba you don't have to be a moshe rabbenu you don't have to ascend to the heavens is down here on earth it's right here you don't need a moshe rabbenu and you don't need to be a moshe and you don't need to go to basham it's right here it's right now it's in your mouth it's in your heart every one of us can all of us have the opportunity to be able to do it let's go to parashat there's a lot more to talk about i'll have to come back to you in a future year but let's go to parchesville because it's a double parsha and i want to get in a little bit of aiela lamina if you test page 1096 chapter 31 verse 19. this is the last minute of the whole torah the final mitzvah number 613 of the torah the attack says write this song for yourselves and teach it to the children of israel place it in their mouth israel so this song will be a witness against the children of israel this is the 613 mitzvah of the commandment on every jew to write a safer torah we've discussed in the past we're not going to get into it now but what is the nature of this mitzvah the obligation that we have to write a safer torah can you fulfill the mitzvah if you inherit a safety torah can you fulfill the mitzvah if you buy a already written safety torah can you fulfill the mitzvah if you purchase a letter a sentence a parasha and a safety torah can you fulfill the mitzvah if you donate the safer torah there's a lot of discussion about the parameters exactly how you fulfill this mitzvah this is the mitzvah the rush the russian that's quoted by the tour famously says that today we fulfill this mitzvah by buying safari when you buy safari and you populate your home with torah texts you fulfill right before the obligation of the commandment to write a safer torah the torah warns us that if we misbehave and if we're disobedient hashem will hide himself from us i'm going to hide from you hesterpanel this expression when god is hidden periods of hesterpunam of god's hiddenness from us why why right after a description or a warning of hashem's hiddenness right after it we have the commandment to write a say for torah what is the connection between the two says that this mitzvah comes right after the passage that hashem will hide to teach us that even in times of darkness and destruction even in times of concealment torah is what's going to give us light comfort and consolation you might think in a period of hester padam i can't find hashem i don't feel close to him i don't see him he's not accessible to me we're we're blocked by a period of darkness even or especially in a period of darkness there is a mitzvah to write a safer torah to be informed and inspired by torah to mold and craft your life based on based on torah ibrahim has a different insult insight listen to the imrich listen to the vision he says the following mother what does it mean write the safer torah and put it in your mouth your mouth is a description of the place where you engage in that which is permissible and in the area of rashus in the food and how you eat and how you conduct business a person has to be especially scrupulous and careful modes are bizarre and i love these are modernly casual why are we writing this whole torah we're writing it so torah will be written in our mouth hashem how do we know that you're honest and scrupulous if torah informs your life if you have a loyalty and fidelity to torah then you'll carry yourself with a certain dignity and a certain honesty and a certain integrity with your mouth don't gossip or slander don't exaggerate or distort don't cheat or steal israel what does it mean if you learn torah torah becomes an adornment torah becomes something that you wear torah becomes something that that testifies the torah that you learn will testify to not only being a person who learned torah but being a ben tora or abbas torah the torah has molded your personality the torah has made you who you are beautiful inside of the vision suraba but i want to end with the inside of rabbi salavechik on this possible way there's a lot we left out oh okay but wonders the following when the torah gives us the 613th commandment the final mitzvah of the torah that we have to write a safety torah the torah likens the torah to what s it doesn't say write for yourselves write this torah it doesn't say write this poetry or prose it doesn't say write this lecture it doesn't say right what does it say how does a characterizer capture what torah is vyatakisfil write for yourself s torah is likened to a song why is torah likened to a song so listen to the words of the rav and the yo you rav hamish based on these words the rambam and he'll say rules that one must commit to writing not only the song of hazina but all five books of moshe write the torah that contains this song in fact the whole torah is called shira what's the linkage between torah and song says the rav the process of learning is an intellectual performance singing is an emotional performance the aesthetic experience the artistic experience is more dynamic than the intellectual one the intellectual experience can often be dreary anemic the aesthetic experience is dynamic hypnotic it fascinates arousal's passion has the power of awakening hidden desires and aspirations music is the most powerful means to arouse men it shares with the religious experience the tremor and excitement the longing the joy when it feels when confronted with something exalted beautiful and sublime if the intellectual experience would consistently engage in the emotions like music does all students would excel and teachers would have no trouble in the classroom it is therefore not surprising that the organ was introduced in the house of worship the aesthetic musical experience is a total one the whole of man is immersed in it the same should be true writes of talmud torah the teacher is the almighty and through study we meet the great teacher we sit at his feet to listen to him eagerly the experience of talmud is total all comprehensive all penetrating it is a mystical experience it is the melody with which which was once sung by the shulamit of the song of songs when she was yearning for her beloved strongly rebuke a person who's guilty of forgetting even a single word of torah the severe penalty is due to the fact that forgetting is the result of limited involvement if the study of torah had been a total experience it could never be forgotten if one learns only with his mind he is apt to forget if there's a total absorption the mind stimulate the heartbeat accelerate the imagination fired the emotions awake and the talmud turns into a beautiful melody which can never be forgotten isn't such a beautiful description song moves you emotionally song transports you to another place at another time song stirs the soul it evokes the emotion it makes you cry tama torah kiss torah is likened to a song because we're supposed to be fully immersed and engaged in it it's supposed to stimulate that same range of emotions it's supposed to indelibly impress itself and last upon us like a song like music that transports and that moves us not just speak to our head but speak to our heart and the love concludes and let me just inject again what tomato meant to me during those bleak and dreary years which have taken their toll in terms of mental agony loneliness and desolation the fact that i survived intellectually emotionally during the bleak years of mourning mental agony loneliness and desolation is only due to my commitment to torah my commitment to torah is a total one says thereof i have one love this is torah i'm not a mystic yet while studying the gemara i always feel that someone is with me that a mysterious friend teacher companion watches over me if tomato were just intellectual performance i would not have experienced the unseen presence of a teacher the idea of hashem being the teacher changes the whole concept of learning and studying study of torah is not a mere intellectual performance consisting of formal comprehension comprehension rather an experience of a cathartic redemptive mystical nature which overwhelms man with vigor and ecstasy which sinks into the deepest recesses of his personality tomotora can only be understood within the mystical frame of reference learning is simply a dialogue a colloquy between god and man between an all-wise teacher and an all ignorant people what a description what a personal description the rav has and i leave it with you that our learning of torah should not be dry and sterile but and this is i think the mission of mahachem teaches to our children it has to be alive and awake and vibrant and dynamic it has to sing like a song that we are fully immersed in thank you for joining and thank you for our sponsors thank you to those who sent in notes from the partial class i ask again if you take notes please consider sending them to me again they're an enormous help thank you so much wishing everyone a good day stay happy stay healthy stay holy don't forget tomorrow morning this is showing them 10 minutes of meeting at 8 15. living with the moon 8 45 behind the bema tomorrow night at 9 o'clock have a fence