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Thought for the Week Parshas Vayakhel Pekudei "Measuring" Infinity, Rabbi Yaakov Winner 5783
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Transcript
Auto-generated transcript. Not time-synced to the video.
hope everyone is healthy strong and
happy physically and spiritually
today is
it's a passion which are connected it's
a pasture which is
it's also Cafe Adar which is
so there's a lot of things happening
and we have to understand as usual the
connection between some of these things
we're not going to talk about everything
but some of the things
before we begin we'll start with a
prayer
and when this prayer
we'll talk about one of the favorite
subjects that we spoke about many times
like you could start a conversation by
saying this is the story of life
this is the story of Judaism I'm sure
you've heard that before but sometimes
it's like variations the prey we're
going to start today with this name
so what does that mean so mcniform
we say that
I'm just saying we say this Vanessa
same means Hashem is the one blessed God
is the one who supports those that are
falling
so the blessing is to any person that's
falling who's feeling a weakening or
diminishing
or under pressure
he should see and feel how same is made
from Hashem is supporting him and he
gets out of a situation
now today we're going to talk about what
is Judaism all about really
I'm going to say there's like three ways
how to look at it and in particular in
relation to how
Hashem deals with the world like nature
Miracles Etc
but before that let's get straight to
the point
the safest moist is called
we called schmois that's in Hebrew and
actually the translation for the word
schmoise's names but then we have the
other names
Exodus Leviticus Genesis so in Schmo is
actually it's actually
odd strange that the name is which means
names
and the name is Exodus and why is it
called Exodus because the primary theme
of the whole safer is The Exodus and for
the purpose of today's talk it's very
appropriate because actually it comes
from the ramban that amban describes the
five swarim and concerning safer shmuzz
he calls it safely the book of
redemption
so it means that the central theme of
the whole safer is about Redemption and
over here we find something which is a
bit hard to understand
what I'm going to speak today comes from
a secret from the river but I don't know
where so you'll have to forgive me if
someone knows where that ever speaks
this thing please let me know
in any case we know also a rule that
knows
foreign
and we have a rule that the end is
connected to the beginning and the
beginning is connected to the end as a
matter of fact in many circumstances we
say we time we collect the end like when
you finish
the years later we finished
and we immediately start voracious so
that's just how we see in a physical
demonstration now sometimes we connect
straight away the beginning to the end
so that's a concept where we want to say
it's an ever-ending cycle as soon as we
finish we really start again
but there's another thing that is
thematic there's a connection and inner
significance that connects a common
theme the beginning of the end and over
here we ask ourselves the question
we find what is the name of the
parachute means Counting
what was the accounting it was an
accounting
had to give the tally
of the entire work of the mishkan
yes this is what Rashi says by the way
at the beginning of
she says
and this passage all the weights of the
contribution of the mishkan have been
listed the castle is
and all of its implements have been
listed
Etc
is giving now an accounting like just
like you go to the accountant you want
to say how much coins came how much
silver how much copper
etc etc
so this is the sum total of all the
contributions
like we have a charity and then we list
all the contributions who gave what not
in this case who gave what but I'm
saying what came in that's what it means
is giving an accounting
interestingly in the beginning of the
parisha there's also Accounting in the
end of the say for sorry the beginning
of the safer at the end of the safe
practice because they Maisha is giving
accounting of
money value objects questions he counted
them in the beginning of the parash of
elishmuzz interestingly enough it says
she says
[Music]
even though he already counted them
before but he's counting them again
and it says first is the schwatim and
then it becomes
okay
so what is over here the connection why
is it important
that the beginning of the safer starts
with the concept of counting and the end
of the safer starts with a story of
counting when counting seems to be the
opposite of Google what is counting
Counting has to do with something which
is measured
something which can be counted if we say
something can be counted that means
we're talking about a limited thing we
are going to count and then we stop the
account and we come to the sum total
that means it's measurable we can
measure it we count it
put in a box beautiful
and whether we're talking about people
shooting Netflix or whether we're
talking about the donations the
contributions that came
we're talking about a sum we counted so
it seems to be something limited
something measured something could be
put into a box
now if we say
Gula means to break out
break out of constrictions break out of
limitations as is well known the concept
is
Egypt doesn't mean a place that's a
geographical country on a map but it
means limitations the whole idea of the
Jewish nation is the point that we can
break out Break Free
from any limitations
any laws governed by Nature Etc that's
the whole idea of the Jewish Nation so
how is it that the entire safest months
talks from the beginning to the end
which is something which connects the
whole safer about counting and how does
that fit
with the theme of ghoul
so the answer is that there's really
three levels
there's a level of
limitations
we'll call that golus
then there's a level of
Exile then the level of breaking out
but sometimes we have something this is
very familiar to those who learned that
it was my modern we have grow blequel
and mugged in togetherness and then we
have Atmos we have Google something
which is limited then we have something
which is unlimited but it's limited in
the fact that how is its Infinity
revealed by leaving Earth
by totally destroying nature
then there's the third level which is
the true Infinity that could bind unite
diffusion of opposites the finite itself
becomes infinite
now over here there's many different
levels in this itself
sometimes it means that there's not one
change in the laws of nature except that
it's unbelievable coincidences that come
together as we saw in the story of Purim
we'll get into it slightly and sometimes
it means it might be more than than that
in other words it could be a slight
change in nature but still the point is
that it comes through in nature not in a
way that we have to leave nature
entirely okay so the general points are
clear there's limits
that's limitations that's exile
then there's an idea of leaving planet
Earth
going out of
normal Realms of physicality and limits
but that ultimately is not the ultimate
Infinity because this is sort of
infinity that can only reveal itself if
we break
laws of nature and we break
it doesn't fit in with the natural order
of the world at all
the ultimate is when the thing which is
Supernatural it's true Infinity reveals
itself in nature which means in most
cases as we'll soon see
it means that we look at something
and the phenomena is unique why is the
phenomenon unique because we see how on
the one end it's nature but on the other
hand it's something unnatural it's
miraculous it's magical it's mystical
it's extraordinary it's fantastic Etc
there's that element
and this is what we'll see
brings out
and is brought out and connects
so let's start with the beginning in the
beginning of the safer
first it starts with a number
we're Counting
counting like we said before seems to be
limits
and we're counting we come to some total
which is 70. guess what
and exactly
later the beginning of the safer it says
if negro part over you should too
much in English the children of Israel a
fruitful teamed increased and became
strong very very much so
so when we talk about
these are all words that are related to
break out
like Beyond
extraordinary
and the fact that the person says
would be wild which means exceeding
the Mind exceeding exceedingly
exceedingly
so we started talking about 70
and the person is explaining that you
know what when we looked at the tally of
how many Jews were then there a couple
years later it doesn't make sense
and Rashi actually says on the spot is
they gave birth six children from one
womb from one pregnancy
so is that totally miraculous
well it doesn't mean necessarily totally
miraculous
has it happened I didn't check out the
Guinness World Records if it ever
happened six in one shot I think it did
if I remember correctly
ah but to say that it happens to
everyone
of course that's miraculous
but technically speaking on the other
hand
in every single woman
will say it is possible
but obviously
it's an s
but it's a nest that's still in the
realms
within the limits
of nature but it's a miracle
but wait there's more
so number one we started for the small
handful we're talking about limits
misbar 70 and then from the 70 all of a
sudden the six hundred thousand men
between the age of 20 and 60 but weight
is more just a couple of seconds later
it says something that you could say
totally Supernatural
and I believe it's one of the greatest
inspirational circuminator because
as much as they would Afflicted the
hidden so it would increase and so it
spread out
so again
in a way you could say yeah it wasn't
like the frogs that every time we hit a
Jew the Jew turned into ten Jews Like It
says by sardia
or it didn't happen that every time we
hit the Jew and we whipped them
they became bigger and bigger and the
more we whipped them they became bigger
that would be a miracle that had
beyond beyond beyond
like leaving nature but if you look at
the concept because
the more we tried to crush the
you know we tried to destroy the heat he
becomes more powerful
unless everyone was spoken about this
concept and we spoke around many times
in years past the immortality of the Jew
inexplicable
as the famous article for Mark Twain
what is the secret of their immortality
so this is what the person was referring
to because
[Music]
it was so obvious that it had nothing to
do with nature they wouldn't say that
what is the secret of the immortality
would be I don't know we took a Jew we
threw him off the Empire State Building
and when he landed he just bounced up
to the top again it was running around
no that's not what's going to happen
so
six million Jews slaughtered there was a
Spanish Inquisition there was trials and
tribulations there was Communist Russia
etc etc so we do see
how the Jewish Nation could be harmed
and as we're going to say by their God
that we speak about all the time
so we do get wounded we do get we do get
harmed there are there are um what's it
called casualties
but nevertheless
on the other hand if we take a look at
it
and Mark Twain wrote this before World
War one and before World War II if he
wrote it today he'd be writing it with a
greater emphasis on the miraculous
nature of it
what is the secret of the mortality and
especially if we look at the
contribution he writes that of what
we've made to society
so this is what the person means
to the direct proportion how the Jew has
been attempted to earn the malay
we have the most Nobel Prize winners you
just kind of flourishing and that Israel
and in America
so the truth of these words
is phenomenal
and there is no answer that's connected
to something physical but at the same
time
we're walking we're talking we're humans
they're going to argue with humans like
any other humans we're not going to get
into that discussion how so in other
words they can't understand it but
obviously
there's a special case of divinity of
spirituality of Hashem that's in the
Jewish Nation
so let's go back to the what we're
talking about is counting
17 Netflix then it becomes
200 000 between 60.
the age of 2060 and such a sort of
entity that Casiano it's that they're
not like any other numbers or finite
Nation Etc that's the beginning of so we
see the connection between something
which we first count and then we show
that in this thing it's a nation amongst
Nations we walk amongst men it seems
like we're different yet how can we
explain it we can't but that's exactly
the point someone's what it says by
Martin Taylor
foreign
the whole point was to give it to people
that are humans in a certain sense of
flesh and blood that cry that bleed that
hurt now let's go to the end of the
depression
again so what's because they
by the way you could say that the theme
we're talking about today is in a way
the sum is greater than its parts
we talk about the contributions
so you know what it's a bunch of
material objects
would cement I'm just saying copper gold
silver
but what comes out of it
so in the beginning it seems like
imagine his moisture being his sheet it
looks like a charity here it is it says
silver gold it's a simple piece of paper
now
what did this paper produce
come to the end of the Parsha is
[Music]
cloud cover the 10th of meeting the
glory of Hashem fill the Michigan
and moishi was not able to come to the
10th of meeting for the cloud rested
upon it and the glory of Hashem filled
the Michigan so we're here too what is
going on over here
Michigan
take a couple of coins
we're going to take coins we're making a
pledge we're building a sanctuary so you
think to yourself so what's the sum
total
of the contributions of man
the answer is
that Hashem himself which doesn't reside
in any of the spiritual worlds comes
down into the mishkan
so again we see this paradoxical nature
we start off with
having to give an accounting of every
penny so we're talking about copper
pennies making accounting you know like
somebody pours over a pushka we're going
to count the pennies we're gonna count
the Nickels we're gonna count the dimes
we're gonna count the quarters we're
gonna count the dollars
what comes out of that
the compilation that we took all these
coins together
we cause that that's Muslim who's the
essence of Hashem himself was
transcended as everything and has no
definitions
where does it come
he's boxed into a physical home into a
physical place here in the eye on my
head
here right here and make sure baby
couldn't go there whatever the
explanation is because he could ask me
she went to the mountain wasn't himself
true so that's just something that will
come to speak about but the simple
meaning of the verse over here is that
the divine revelation was too great too
intense but she couldn't go
it was too much to be there
as God filled is Hashem himself
so we see the same theme
precisely
in a context
of counting pennies nickels and dimes
to come to the climax the culmination
the sum total of all these pennies
nickels and dimes is Arts they wish
themselves because he chose to come into
this house which is built from these
pennies nickels and dimes
and this is the story of Judaism
in a way like for example we spoke about
this many times
this year cannot go on and on talking
about this idea of the fusion of
opposites but I want to make it clear
that over here when I talk about
necessarily a direct Fusion of opposites
I said it comes in different forms but
the idea basically of Yiddish kite is
the shame
to bring together a level of which is
the explicit name which is hashem's
infinity
but that's a level of infinity
which makes such a miracles
is the level of godliness which is
that comes down
so the finite and the infinite should
come together but how do we reach it in
other words what's going to be
the final picture
that we take the spaceship
and we graduate from Earth or the
opposite
we're going to show how we're going to
get the essence is revealed how by being
in a physical world
and that's actually proof positive
that's the essence because if it wasn't
the essence of Hashem the highest level
just a level which is a lower level of
infinity not the ultimate Infinity then
we wouldn't be able to stay
within the physical
because in relation to that level the
only way we can access it and the only
way it could be residing here so to
speak is if
physical gets out of the way
so there's many examples that could
bring out this and I've read the last
week I think I mentioned it but we
didn't get into it so this week I'll try
to get into it a bit to make it a bit
more clear because we I mentioned this
idea many times the famous gamara which
says that that the the the idea of
Jewish faith is is is brought out in say
this in the part of mishnais that talks
about agriculture planting and the maim
razal is that says
that he believes in Hashem plants let me
just take a drink my voice
[Music]
excuse me so
the question I ever asked whenever he
brings this out
is here we have Roofing
and here we have Tom Dick and Harry The
Neighbors
so one of them
takes the seed plants in the ground Tom
Dick and Harry
Frank and whoever
Peter and hey everyone
also taking the scene and planting in
the ground so why
that's how you see the Jewish faith if
you want to see Jewish faith we should
have said Tom Dick and Harry is planting
a seed
that's your neighbor and you know what
you did you walked up to your backyard
and you said oh no I say my channel
oh no I shame
guess what Tomatoes sprouted up
you didn't have to plant you didn't have
to wait week she didn't have to you plow
the field
then you'd say that's AC faith you don't
have to do anything in the natural world
you go straight access the supernatural
and you say some Sheamus
and that's how you see
that Hashem has no limits according to
the laws of nature you'll have to plan
then you have to wait you have access to
to the miracle Channel you could just go
out there and say and tomatoes will come
up
the answer is that's not the point
that's not the way God wants you to live
your life
could do the same thing which externally
looks like what he's doing
he's taking a seat and putting a plant
your thickness seed and planting it but
when he puts in the seed he believes in
the seed he believes in nature when you
put in the seed
you don't believe in nature you believe
Hashem
made a natural order also but the real
power
is not nature the real power is Hashem
who is controlling nature
and he wanted you precisely to act in a
natural way in this instant but what he
wants from you is you don't see the
nature you see the supernatural in it
you understand that it's not nature
that's ruling it's really the ultimate
Supernatural That's ruling
but that's the point he wants you to
bring it up not in a way that you have
to
eject from Islam haza he wants to do in
a way not that
you're not doing physical things the
whole purpose was to be in a physical
world and that's the Kiddush to show how
the Jew doesn't get fooled by the facade
or by the cover-up he sees the shame of
value Behind The Shame of the king and
that's the ultimate
as we spoke many times
another example in a word that we use
many times about this to understand is
we said that in Judaism the concept that
and this could also refer to almost
everything
that the thing which is Transcendental
also comes down the thing which really
transcends
time and space comes into time and space
itself so the most famous example of
this in the rep is Torah is the mon as
we spoke many times the Moon
came down
and you couldn't live off it by just by
just staring at it
you had to digest it
it had to go into your body
and I would say it had to become
transformed
to your bloodstream
but nevertheless
no matter how much you took everyone got
the same amount
together with the man with jewels and
diamonds and jewelry Etc
and there was no waste
so the paradox
then on the one hand we're talking about
a physical object
and you had to digest it
but at the same time clearly it didn't
have the limitations of other physical
things
like we spoke many times that ever
touches up that everybody says
from heaven
not that it's bread from heaven is
that means it's a Heavenly bread not a
bread that came from Heaven might
selection is bread that came from the
ground
means that even as it comes down and it
has certain parameters connected to the
physical you have to eat it
and have to become transformed into your
blood
but still there was no waste and no
matter how much you took the same amount
ended up in your hands by the way
whatever taste you wanted to have it had
you want that it taste like ice cream
it's ice cream watermelon watermelon
steak steak
etc etc
so now some total of everything we're
speaking about
that
the reason I just want to be clear that
some of the examples I gave we see these
obvious Miracles that are Miracles
according to the laws of nature on the
other end is clearly that it stays
totally natural but it's the same point
the thing is that this this idea of
divinity of Hashem himself is revealed
in the physical
and in such a way that we never graduate
or leave the physical and now we
understand the ultimate Gula the
ultimate goal is not to become Space
Cadets that we leave planet Earth and we
go to our Silas the ultimate goal and
that's the whole point of view the sky
is that when you're in New York City or
Los Angeles or Miami or Melbourne or
Paris you're higher than that place in
that place like we spoke many times half
of a belt in belt
so now we understand the whole safest
mice the whole idea of gula the
beginning of the safest ways
connect it to Paris very briefly
so to speak for miracles and the whole
point is actually usually
Miracles that are transcend nature so
maybe we could say that's the whole
lesson we have a yakubei the end of
which emphasizes
the big like what it says in the
beginning of the same that there are
Miracles that happen in nature like the
story of Purim
and it's also we have Miracles that are
totally Supernatural
so my friends you can ask for both
Miracles and you can live your life and
have this Hashem there's a miracle we do
things that are totally beyond the
nature but then you do Miracles that are
more maybe we can measure it more
qualitative a small step doesn't have to
look like it's so great maybe it could
be like you know when you want to speak
something you shouldn't speak and you
don't speak that would be called like a
smaller Miracle that's in nature a
miracle of self-control
and then there's a different sort of
Miracle we have to stay up three days
straight and do something because of
whatever reason I'm just saying we have
to think of the idea of Miracles
miracles in nature Miracles outside of
Nature and then apply it in our service
of Hashem
Hashem should help
any person that has a problem in any of
his life should be strengthened the
triple strengthening and the Shabbos is
the gay military
and obviously like in everything the
whole point is that the muzzle
again if you won the lottery ticket
today it will say it doesn't have to be
it's not a miracle that's a supernatural
someone has to win
And if every single area of your life
[Music]
becomes enhanced in the schools of the
rabbitsun it doesn't have to mean that
it's a total Supernatural thing in a
revealed way it could mean that it's not
a total Supernatural thing
even if it has to be a totally
Supernatural thing so be it
but muzzle sometimes is exactly like we
spoke before about look at this guy and
look at that guy they're both seemingly
doing the same thing externally and by
this guy
it's the muzzle that enables the
difference and when you look at it you
can't explain it you don't see open
Miracles we just say this person did the
same thing that that person is
going to make the difference so we
should take a seat
of the Robinson should help every single
one of us in all areas of our life we
should be able to see the difference and
ultimately
Miracles and we should come to the
ultimate that in the floor is