1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:05,560 Welcome to Judaism Demystified, a podcast for the perplexed. 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:09,320 Join us as we explore some of the most fascinating Jewish and 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,200 Torah related topics with our esteemed guests. 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,560 By tackling some of the biggest questions you likely won't find 5 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,000 addressed elsewhere, we aim to shed light on important issues 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,600 and inspire a return to the fundamentals. 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:33,120 Enjoy the show. Thank you for joining the 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:37,480 Judaism Demystified podcast. I'm joined with Rabbi Steven 9 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:40,240 Prezanski. Can you tell us a bit about 10 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:45,000 yourself and what inspired you to write your book about the 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,880 Yamim Noraeem, which is repentance for life by quoting 12 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,840 press as you can see here, It's fantastic book. 13 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:54,440 I highly recommend it to everyone listening. 14 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,240 And before you even get into that, or while you get into 15 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,400 that, if you can tell us a little bit about your experience 16 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,640 as a student of Rabbi Chate, because we're, we're all big 17 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:06,360 fans. Sure. 18 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,080 Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be with you. 19 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,000 So I was born and raised in the Bronx and grew up in Muncie and 20 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,400 had traditional Jewish education. 21 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:16,320 She vote went to learn in Israel. 22 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,400 I came back, I went to Colombia and then to Cardozo Law School 23 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,240 and I went to yeshiva and I learned there was a Talmud of 24 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,800 Rabbi Chait, which was an eye opening experience. 25 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:32,720 Rabbi Chait is not just the tzadeh, he's a a gown, a very 26 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:38,120 humble person, but with one of the keenest minds that I've ever 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,040 seen or had the privilege of experiencing. 28 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:46,560 His method of analysis of a Gamora of philosophical problems 29 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,840 is superb. And you know, I'd learned for 30 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,040 many years before in a variety of places and had wonderful 31 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,760 rabbinic influences. But to be able to see a mind at 32 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:00,720 work dissecting the words of Hazal really to its Ross 33 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:05,400 elements, so we understand exactly what the point of a 34 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,960 Mahloka of a dispute in the Gemara is. 35 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:13,680 It was to me was eye opening and it changed me as a person, as a 36 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,280 thinker, and as a a student of Torah as well. 37 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,920 Not to mention that the issues heavily influenced by the 38 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:27,040 Rambam, the ability to understand human nature at which 39 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:33,120 Rabbi Chaid also as a teacher excelled, enabled all of us to 40 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,920 realize the path to becoming better of the Hashem, better 41 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:41,120 servants of God. And I write in the introduction 42 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,440 to almost all my books. The one we're talking about 43 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:48,920 today was my fifth that I'm indebted to Rabbi Chait for the 44 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:52,560 whole Derek, the whole methodology of learning, which 45 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,080 infuses all the books and everything I write and teach. 46 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,160 Even if I don't quote him, sometimes I'm not quoting him 47 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:07,160 because I didn't hear it from him, but nonetheless the method 48 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:12,840 of analysis came from him. So I'm indebted to him even it's 49 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,760 a longer story, but even changed the whole schedule of the 50 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,240 yeshiva in order to accommodate me, something which just fills 51 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:21,840 me with gratitude to this day. I was already practicing law. 52 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,600 So he moved the the time of the shear up so I could attend. 53 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,680 And yeah, it was a tremendous act of hesit. 54 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,440 I came in almost as a complete stranger, but nonetheless, I'm 55 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,480 I'm grateful to him until this day. 56 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,280 So while I was practicing law, I became rabbi of Congregation 57 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,720 AIDS time in Kew Gardens Hills and then 1994 I became a rabbi 58 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,680 of Congregation Binet Ushuran in Teaneck, NJ. 59 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,640 And there I served until 2020, where I where I made aliyah and 60 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:59,640 I'm here living in Modi Inn and I teach Torah here, a few 61 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,720 blazes, thank God, both in Hebrew and in English. 62 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:09,200 And nothing could be more inspiring on a daily basis than 63 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,280 living in the land of Israel. I'll tell the audience, I just 64 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:18,160 noted to you, I'm 1520 minutes out of the Mahmoud because there 65 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:22,680 was a barrage of incoming rockets this morning. 66 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,560 I don't know whether it was from the north or the South yet, 67 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:31,480 having a chance to see what the reports are, but nonetheless, it 68 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,320 makes life interesting. In the land of Israel. 69 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:39,240 There are enemies of Jews today here, as there have been enemies 70 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:43,800 of Jews throughout history. Since Sinai, Mishawmiar, the 71 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,880 Sinha, the Olam, since we received the Torah at Mount 72 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:53,000 Sinai, we've had these enemies, and they take different forms 73 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,280 and their arguments are different arguments. 74 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:00,920 But nonetheless, it's all really of the same nature, the same 75 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,160 hatred. It manifests in different ways, 76 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:09,680 and today it manifests in an attack on Jewish sovereignty in 77 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,480 the land of Israel. You know, that's one of the 78 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,480 ironies that any student of history, I was a history major 79 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:18,600 in college. Any student of history 80 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:24,640 understands for centuries the enemies of the Jewish people 81 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,280 were yelling at us in Europe and elsewhere. 82 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,320 Go back to Israel. Go back to Israel. 83 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,560 You have no place here. So we went back to Israel and 84 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:35,440 they hate us anyway. They're attacking us here and 85 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,280 they're saying go elsewhere or worse. 86 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,640 It's just sadly a war of extermination. 87 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,760 But with God's help, we'll be able to persevere and continue 88 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,800 to grow and flourish in the land of Israel. 89 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,920 And you see these random attacks. 90 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:57,080 It's just an expression of hatred against every Jew. 91 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:01,560 You know, no one is that the perturbed in the world that all 92 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:05,200 these rockets like we had this morning and Modi in I directed 93 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:09,960 at civilians me no one. No one seems to be interested in 94 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:15,080 that only the fate of the Arab civilians wherever they are. 95 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:21,480 So we can deal with the perfunctory criticism or 96 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,800 condemnation that comes from these events, but realize the 97 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:29,760 world doesn't care because I I actually write this in the book. 98 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:34,560 In one of the chapters, Rav Yakov Moshe Khalab, who's the 99 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:43,280 great Talmud hover of Ravkuk and the grandfather of Zulm Khalab, 100 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:49,360 wrote that you could tell what the most essential mitzvah of 101 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:53,560 any generation is by what the gentiles try to attack. 102 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,040 In certain generations they attack our observance of Shabbat 103 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:04,160 or Milah or other mitzvahs. In our generation, the mitzvah 104 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:09,760 that the nations of the world have assailed repeatedly is the 105 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:13,840 mitzvah of Yeshivarat Israel, of Jews settling the Land of 106 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,480 Israel. That is that the primary focus 107 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:21,640 of their attack and therefore that in that realm we have to 108 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,640 strengthen ourselves. That's a fascinating way of 109 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:26,480 looking at things. Wow. 110 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:32,320 Well, first of all, just to talk 1 of what you said, this is an 111 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,080 unbelievably sad situation. What's going on? 112 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:40,200 But Mashem, keep you safe. And we all, all of us here in 113 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,440 the States and and elsewhere have, you know, our brothers in 114 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,360 Israel and brothers and sisters in Israel in mind. 115 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:51,800 So God willing, this ends very soon And, and, and I, I wanted 116 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,760 to also mention that I'm actually from new garden, so not 117 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,160 so far from where you were, and I'm now living in great neck. 118 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,880 But the I had, I had, I told you off camera, but I got, I got the 119 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:08,760 honor to meet rabbit shade in this house maybe like 10-15 120 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,440 years ago, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. 121 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,320 So I'm great. I'm grateful to my friend Eitan 122 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:18,760 and also Marshall Gisser who helped set that up. 123 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,080 So it was really, really a nice experience so before. 124 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,400 One thing I should add is that even after I got smika for Rabbi 125 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,960 Che, I went for the next almost 10 years to the Sheba. 126 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,600 I was ready in the rabbit it and I would go every Sunday morning 127 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:35,919 to listen to the sheer and Pyrkyovo. 128 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:41,720 He taught Pyrkyovo probably over 15 years or so, and the analysis 129 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:47,640 of Pyrkyovo as it relates to the quest for human perfection and 130 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:52,400 insights into the human psyche are mind boggling. 131 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,960 I mean, they're so illuminating. You can't help but become a 132 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:01,400 better person and a more thoughtful person than 133 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,640 understanding the essence of Abbot as it was taught by Rabbi 134 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,800 Shade. So I'm blessed to be and 135 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,560 privileged to be his Stallman. Very well said. 136 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:15,240 So I wanted to get started on the book. 137 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:18,880 I really once again, I really highly recommend this to 138 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,720 everybody. Kodish Press usually does not 139 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,520 disappoint. So thank you to them for helping 140 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:28,880 making this happen. I wanted to ask you the main 141 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:32,400 ideas from the chapter about repentance and the land of 142 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,040 Israel. Now we spoke about the land of 143 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:38,280 Israel, so can you just explain what those main ideas are? 144 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,880 Just to give people a little nice teaser about the book. 145 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:44,400 Sure. I mean, this is something I 146 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:49,160 would say it's almost uncanny that I I noticed several years 147 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:54,800 ago in the Torah, the process of Truva, of repentance is almost 148 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:59,440 always linked with Shiva, with return to the land of Israel. 149 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:05,000 And this is most noticeable in the parsha of Nitsavan 150 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:08,200 especially. We'll read in a few weeks and 151 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:12,760 it's always an introduction to the the season of tribute to the 152 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:17,280 Yom Noram. You have, for example, the Torah 153 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:24,760 speaks about repenting and then returning to the land of Israel 154 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:30,360 and then repenting again. You have all those 3 when the 155 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:35,520 Gomorrah says, for example, Ane Israel, ELA bitchuva, that the 156 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:40,840 Jewish people are only redeemed because of repentance, and 157 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:44,360 there's a mahogany, the Gemara that ultimately is unresolved, 158 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,240 whether it's a prerequisite or not. 159 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,840 We see that the redemption of the Jewish people, meaning the 160 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,080 return to the land of Israel, sovereignty over the land of 161 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:58,680 Israel, coming of Messiah, is either tied or not tied to 162 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:00,880 chuva. Take another example. 163 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:03,520 We'll start saying slihot in a few weeks. 164 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:09,480 You have right before Shmakolenu an entire paragraph of Sukhim 165 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,800 quoting some of the absukhim, the Parshina Truvo that really 166 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:22,840 speaks about, speaks about the need to purify ourselves, to 167 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:27,640 cleanse our hearts, to seek atonement from Hashem. 168 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:34,680 And then it segues into Kibbutz Goliund, the ring gathering of 169 00:11:34,680 --> 00:11:38,480 the Exiles, which is almost a non sequitur unless we 170 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:42,880 understand the background. And then it speaks about the 171 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:45,640 building of the bait of Mikdash and the return to the land of 172 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:51,200 Israel. And it ends that my house shall 173 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,640 be called the House of prayer for all the nations. 174 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:57,400 So how do we get from repentance, which often we 175 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:02,880 understand in a very narrow way, to these grand ideas of return 176 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,360 to the land of Israel? And you see some other things as 177 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,160 well. The, the, the parsha I was 178 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:14,760 talking about the Shava Shamela. That's right in the middle, but 179 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:19,000 we have to repent and then God will bring back our captivity 180 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,520 and have mercy on us. And then it's kita shuvela 181 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,080 shamala kaho. When you repent as if there's 182 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,360 repentance and then return and then repentance again. 183 00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:32,320 And then in slihot, then we see, for example, the measure says 184 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:38,240 that Yeshivarat Israel settling the land of Israel is Schuluck 185 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:40,520 and eight column. It's so it's the equivalent of 186 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:46,800 all of it, as is Shuvo. Also the Gemara says Shuva was 187 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,520 created before the world was created, a most enigmatic 188 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:54,960 statement. But so too the Beta Mikdash was 189 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,720 created. Mashiach was created before the 190 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,520 world was created. So what does all that mean? 191 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:04,240 Both are considered mitzvot. Cola loads. 192 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,560 I mean, they'll take it from a different perspective. 193 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:13,520 Both of these mitzvot, Shuva and Yeshuvar Tisrael, are strange in 194 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:18,720 that, for example, the Rambam doesn't list chuva as one of the 195 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:23,080 Tayag mitzvah. He mentions that we have to do 196 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:27,360 chuvah, but the mitzvah, the Masai mitzvah, the action is 197 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:32,320 vidui that we have to confess. So there's really no mitzvah to 198 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,560 repent, at least as we read the Rambam in Tayag. 199 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:41,240 Other Rishadam disagree by by in a similar way. 200 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,400 The Rambam doesn't have a mitzvah of Yeshua Vertizrah, of 201 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,840 settling the land of Israel, of making aliyah. 202 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:51,960 According to the Rambam, it's omitted. 203 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,760 It doesn't mean the Rambam doesn't recognize it as a 204 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,600 mitzvah. Because the Rambam says in Ilka 205 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,600 mulahem mitzvah ladur bear tisrah, it is a mitzvah to live 206 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,040 there. So if it's a mitzvah, why isn't 207 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,440 it in Tayag? How do we understand that? 208 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:07,720 So you have all these symmetries. 209 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:13,000 I've only mentioned a few between Shuvah and the land of 210 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,320 Israel. So how do they conflate how do 211 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,360 they work together these two mitzvot? 212 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:27,400 And one answer that I gave is that both Truvo and Ishvarat 213 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:32,000 Israel repentance and settling the land of Israel that with the 214 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,920 realm called and Rothkuk mentions this mitzvot kollalote 215 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,640 all inclusive mitzvot, meaning many, many mitzvot are tied to 216 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,120 them. But more importantly, they're 217 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:47,760 part of they're intrinsically a part of the Jew. 218 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:54,360 They transcend mere mitzvot. That's what makes them almost 219 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,600 supreme mitzvot. It's. 220 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:01,800 Like a given, it's a given. It it's a given, but it's it's, 221 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,640 it's it's part, it's inherent in the Jew. 222 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:10,840 What's inherent? The need to return to Hashem, to 223 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:17,320 connect with God, to restore our souls on to the path of 224 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:21,480 perfection that gives us a connection with Hashem. 225 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,400 What's also inherent is that God gave us this land, and this is 226 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:30,200 the land where his presence rests, and this is the homeland 227 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,080 of the Jewish people. And it's from this place that 228 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,600 Torah emerges. Kimiti ante SE Torah, and it's 229 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:41,640 this place, and only in this place we're under optimum 230 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,560 conditions. All the mitzvot in the Torah can 231 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,000 be observed. There's no other place on earth 232 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,880 but in the Land of Israel where all the mitzvot can be observed. 233 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:57,120 So what then is the connection between Truva and the Land of 234 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,840 Israel if Truva means a return to Hashem? 235 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:05,080 So now we understand why Truva in the Torah is always linked 236 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:10,240 with Eritrea, because that represents the full return, the 237 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:18,120 complete perfect capacity of a Jew to connect with God and to 238 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,480 live a godly life. Everywhere else is going to be 239 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:26,000 deficient on some level. We can be personally perfected, 240 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:30,880 but nonetheless, there's a sorrow, there's a deficiency if 241 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,040 we're not in the land of Israel because one, we're not in the 242 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:38,600 place where God intended us to be and therefore our ability to 243 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:43,320 observe the Torah is going to be somewhat constrained as well. 244 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,320 That's why the two work together. 245 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:51,400 That's why they dovetail and that's why you have all these 246 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:56,400 linkages that I just mentioned a few, but there there are many 247 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:59,000 others. It's always intertwined in the 248 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,600 tell row. They're both Mitsotkola loads. 249 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:05,000 They're not both not considered positive commandments, part of 250 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:09,920 Tayag according to the Rambam. They're both created before the 251 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,440 world exists because it part of the human condition. 252 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,839 And that's what Hashem wants from us. 253 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:21,160 And add to that one point, you see clearly a distinction that 254 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:25,560 we often don't think about. Come the Yamim Noraim, the days 255 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:27,839 of awe. There's such a thing. 256 00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:30,920 Ruff Cook wrote about this extensively in Arota Chuva. 257 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:36,400 There's the personal chuva repentance that we have to 258 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,360 undertake this time of year and really constantly, it's a should 259 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:43,480 be a daily process. But there's also such a thing as 260 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:48,440 a national chuva, national repentance where the people as a 261 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:53,200 whole come back. And when you see that the people 262 00:17:53,360 --> 00:18:01,360 do Chuva, that is when the seeds of redemption are planted and 263 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:03,760 flourished. And that's that order that 264 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:07,120 exists in the Torah. We find in Nitsavim, the partial 265 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:11,200 Nachova, that there's what I would call repentance, return 266 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:17,840 and repentance, that there's repentance that catalyzes the 267 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:19,840 initial return to the land of Israel. 268 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:23,440 And Ralph Cook wrote so beautifully that the very desire 269 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,040 that Jews had in the 19th century, as small a number as 270 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:30,840 they were, the very desire to return to the land of Israel, 271 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,040 that was part of the national Triova. 272 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,000 And even though many of those Jews were distant from terror 273 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:41,760 observance on a variety of levels, that itself, that 274 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:46,760 motivation could only have been spurred by this, by by the soul 275 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:51,520 of Israel, by the inner world that we have that draws us like 276 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,920 a magnet back to the land of Israel. 277 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,160 So you have that national repentance, and then you have 278 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:01,920 the return to the land of Israel, Kiba's Golioth, which 279 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:08,200 that parsha refers to as well. And then it ends when you 280 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:13,680 repent, Meaning from a national perspective, there are two 281 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:18,600 moments of Chuvo 1 before the return to the Land of Israel, 282 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,280 and then one following the return to the Land of Israel, 283 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:27,680 meaning the physical redemption of the Jewish people comes 284 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,360 before the spiritual redemption of the Jewish people. 285 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,520 And that's part of the, you know, excitement that exists in 286 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,320 the Land of Israel today. Rockets and missiles aside, 287 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,800 there's this competition, sometimes even acrimonious, 288 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:48,120 between what type of Israel people want, how how Jewish the 289 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,720 state is going to be. And I don't doubt the 290 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:57,160 overwhelming majority of Jews in Israel, even most of those who 291 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,000 we would not define as observant, but we say 292 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,720 traditional, they want the Jewish state. 293 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:07,600 They want the the state to be Jewish in its character, in its 294 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:11,240 presentation. In its laws, maybe not yet a 295 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:14,720 state according to Allaha where we're working towards that, but 296 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:19,640 they want it reflect, they want Jewish values reflected in its 297 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:25,520 laws and the conduct of its policies. 298 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:32,560 I did a series years ago entitled The Torah State six 299 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:35,600 parts. What the different facets of a 300 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,800 Torah state look like. You could find it on Yu Torah. 301 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,040 It's foreign policy. It's the it's the domestic 302 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:47,240 policy, the law, the culture, what a Jewish state looks like. 303 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,800 It was based on the writings of a very wonderful Jew Fine Thomas 304 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,040 Hoffman, who just died a few months ago, Revnath Tolitzvi 305 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,920 Yehuda Barilan and who was lived in Rehovote. 306 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:05,160 He was the rough there wrote a, a, a, a, a colossal 4 volume set 307 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,080 about what the Jewish state looks like. 308 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,320 The name sounds familiar. It should. 309 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,560 He was the great grandson of the Nitzif and named after him 310 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:19,440 Naftali Tsuyuda Barilan, or Mayor Barilan's grandson, Kulam 311 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:23,440 Zehana Lovraja. And that's what we're that's the 312 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:25,800 real struggle that we're engaged in now. 313 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,960 You know, Arabs aside and Gazans and Iran and all that, the real 314 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,640 struggle in the land of Israel is over what the spiritual 315 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,080 character of the land is going to be. 316 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:42,960 And as a result, everything else will work out that overtime will 317 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,280 come as well. And I think very often audiences 318 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,880 in America and elsewhere in the world become a little perplexed 319 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:53,960 when they see all the demonstrations in the land of 320 00:21:53,960 --> 00:22:00,280 Israel and some of the harsh and almost anti Jewish decisions 321 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,600 that are made by various courts, both the Supreme Court and the 322 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,760 local court. The whole controversy that 323 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:10,960 existed last year before the war about having the Mahisa, the 324 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:16,040 public domain for Filo Tanyomaki, Purim Filo, that 325 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:20,200 attracted thousands and thousands of what we'd otherwise 326 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,920 call secular Jews. But they're just really less 327 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,040 observant Jews now. But nonetheless, they have such 328 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,720 such a passion and a commitment to want to dove in on Yomah 329 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,000 Kippurium and they don't feel comfortable in jewels. 330 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,680 And the fact is there no, not enough jewels in the country 331 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:38,320 that could accommodate everyone who would want to dove in there. 332 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,720 So they became comfortable dovening called Nidre and and 333 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,920 the E law in public, Mahisa Kikar Dysenkov elsewhere in the 334 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,640 country as well. And the court and Tel Aviv put a 335 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,720 stop to it. The municipality said no, you 336 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:58,160 cannot have any physical barrier in the public domain that 337 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,880 divides between men and women. That's considered the offensive 338 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,400 to women. ICC now than just the last week 339 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:09,880 a group of 11 women plus the organization that hosts the TELO 340 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,200 petition the court and Tel Aviv to allow it. 341 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:17,200 And all these women, again, less observant, all said no, if we 342 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,400 want to dove in, this is how our grandmothers dove in. 343 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,600 We want to be part of the Jewish people, say Yomaki Purim. 344 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,240 How could we think otherwise? And the same thing happened, the 345 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,160 same organs. So it eventuated last Yomaki 346 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,880 Purim in actually public fights between the various groups, 347 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:37,360 which is a terrible, terrible hoolashem. 348 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:42,280 And they anticipated the same thing come Simcha Torah with 349 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:45,520 what's called in Israel Hakafochnyo, the second Akafa, 350 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:49,040 which also attracts thousands and thousands of people who 351 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,320 don't would not enter a shul, but they want to be able to 352 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,160 dance with the tower and sing tower songs and bring the 353 00:23:55,160 --> 00:24:00,680 children and honor the Torah. And as we can understand, the 354 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:05,640 enemy pre empted that last year by attacking on Shmitiatsera and 355 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,960 many people in the country, myself included, see that as a 356 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:12,480 sign from Akarish Barakho. Like this is what you're 357 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:14,640 fighting over. You're fighting over the 358 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:19,320 opportunity to serve me. I'll send the enemy against you 359 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:21,960 and something else will bring you together. 360 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,680 Many people in the land of Israel have that understanding 361 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:27,400 of what's happening in the last year. 362 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:33,600 That it is recurring now shows you how ingrained this 363 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:37,040 opposition to Torah is among that small element of the 364 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,560 society. And that small element, let's 365 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:45,160 face it, has a disproportionate hold on the judiciary and on the 366 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,080 media. And over time, that's going to 367 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,120 change. It's going to change because 368 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,920 elections change things, as they do all over. 369 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,440 As part of the protest that happened now in Israel 370 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,760 constantly against the Netanyahu government. 371 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,480 They they protested the day before he was elected. 372 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:09,200 They protested the day he was elected, and they call for new 373 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,360 elections the day after he was elected. 374 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:16,080 So that's actually all part of the excitement of life, part of 375 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:21,320 the democratic process, except to the extent that there's not a 376 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:25,680 real acceptance of the results of an election. 377 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,360 When the Tanya was the victor, then suddenly the people, these 378 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:33,720 people are demanding new elections almost immediately. 379 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,920 I don't doubt it'll happen again whenever the next elections are 380 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:38,920 held. And if he wins again, there'll 381 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,880 be calls again for the exact same thing, new elections, 382 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:46,400 because it can't be. So the reality is that in 383 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:51,240 Israel, media side, most people and I would say most religious 384 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,360 Jews, Jews who are less observant, they don't really pay 385 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:58,400 much attention to demonstrations that take place in Tel Aviv 386 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,160 because they've gone on so long, for so many years already. 387 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:06,760 Sometimes the cause changes a little, but it's all anti 388 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,200 government. It's just part of the fabric of 389 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,400 the society. But in any event, that's the 390 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,360 connection between repentance and the land of Israel. 391 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:20,120 I should give a little background like why I wrote the 392 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:23,520 book. And the truth is, all of these, 393 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:30,560 there are 18 essays in the book Repentance for Life, titled it 394 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,880 in Hebrew of a heart of a Haim. You should choose life and I 395 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:38,080 thought I had the title the heart of a Haim before, but when 396 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:41,000 I thought of an English title repentance for life, it does 397 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:45,000 have several meanings 1 is repentance for life meaning to 398 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:49,120 improve our lives, to better our lives for life. 399 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,840 That's who the heart of a Haim, but it's also for life in the 400 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:57,760 sense that repentance is something that permeates us, 401 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,480 that pervades our souls, that makes us different people and 402 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:05,480 gives us a slice of eternity as well in terms of perfection of 403 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:07,920 our soul. So it's repentance for life 404 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:14,320 because the whole life, life and then our individual lives as 405 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,240 well, each life. So these are based on the 406 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,800 Shabbat Shuba Drashov that I gave for many years. 407 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,560 I used to speak, and this is really it's genesis, I used to 408 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,360 speak Shabbat Shuba, Shabbat Gadot. 409 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,640 I meant Shabbat Shuba. I used to speak Shabbat shuba, 410 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,840 Shabbat Gadot like 7590 minutes, something that's really unheard 411 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:35,720 of today. The format always was to take 412 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:40,040 one of these topics like Eretz Israel and the others as well 413 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,520 and analyze it from different perspectives and raise about 414 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:50,480 1520 questions on that particular topic, including how 415 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:57,000 it intersects with Chuva and then articulate 1 theme that 416 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,560 brought everything together and answered all the questions. 417 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,360 And then I would end with some peroration trying to inspire 418 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:07,880 people for the for Yomakipuram which was always just a few days 419 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:12,200 away and invariably they were well received. 420 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:16,880 Tough for me to say, but invariably after I would finish 421 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:21,040 and people would congratulate me, thank me, be a handful of 422 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,040 people who would say to me, you have to write this down, you 423 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,760 have to publish it. And especially because not 424 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:32,280 everybody was able to see in the, in the thrust of the 425 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,240 presentation how each of the questions were answered. 426 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,960 And I assured them that they always were answered because as 427 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,520 I prepared it, I had all the questions in front of me and I 428 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,600 would check them off when I came to the answer a particular 429 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:50,440 place. So over the years, this this 430 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:54,160 interest grew. People would say to me, you 431 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:56,840 know, I have to publish this. And I would then over the years 432 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,200 say, all right, in due time, in due time. 433 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:03,400 And indeed, this is my first project when I made aliyah. 434 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,280 And one of the things that I did in the footnotes is I would 435 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:13,480 always note in the text and when I was in the main theme, I would 436 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:17,560 write this answers question 5 or this answers question 12. 437 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,360 And I would list the questions also in the middle so people 438 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,960 would have the opportunity to go back and see questions. 439 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,280 That was a great part. I I thought that one of the best 440 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,120 things about your book was it was very clear and organized, 441 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:31,640 but also you kept bringing up those questions in the middle 442 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:33,760 just to like kind of bring everything back. 443 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:36,120 Bring everything. To you don't you don't get lost 444 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:40,000 and you and I also think that you really I think you covered 445 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,560 pretty much every kind, you know, potential topic related to 446 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,360 CUVA. So I thought that, you know, 447 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:48,960 this is a really phenomenal work. 448 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,080 So I really commend you for what you've done. 449 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:55,360 Thank you, I covered many, I'm sure there are others as well 450 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,160 because CUVA is such a multi faceted topic. 451 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:05,120 So I covered many and I I hope I gave at least in these 18 essays 452 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:11,920 an overview into trivia from so many different angles that it 453 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:14,480 really encompasses a good part of the topic. 454 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,200 I should add that I think almost all the people who said to me 455 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,680 should write the book never bought the book in the end. 456 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,320 But the split. But the split is there. 457 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:26,120 So I thank them for their for motivating me. 458 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:30,080 All right. Well, I one thing I just want to 459 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,080 touch on a little bit, what you mentioned before, I actually 460 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:37,240 think there's something very poetic about the fact that the 461 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:42,120 seculars had this, had this inclination to, to build a state 462 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:45,880 to begin with. Because not only is it, is it, 463 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:51,320 is it showing that people on, let's say, like the bottom of 464 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,840 the spiritual world, Let's just put it that way. 465 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,360 I don't even like to put into those words, but they're the 466 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:59,760 ones who were with the driving force. 467 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:05,680 It's it's almost as if like this is the ultimate Chuva, right? 468 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:08,600 You're getting it from the bottom, you know, and, and it's 469 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:12,440 and it's almost like a beautiful ending, you know, to a book. 470 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,680 So I, I, I was that's. Why, As it turns out, that was 471 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:21,160 my last Shabba Truva drush on tough shin pay after I announced 472 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:24,920 I'm making aliyah was the last one, and that's what I wanted to 473 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,600 to leave the people with. I'll just note the long though 474 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:34,280 in in that divine that Ralph Cook wrote in Arota Truva. 475 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:49,360 I'll say in Hebrew, that in English hit our root, the very 476 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:54,080 awakening of the desire of the nation to return to its land, 477 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:59,080 its essence, its spirit and true qualities that contains within 478 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:02,880 it the light of repentance. And that's what the Torah says, 479 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:07,240 this Shafta ad Hashemelokaja. In fact, Ravkuk distinguished, 480 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:11,680 it says the shafta ad Hashemelokaja and kita shuv El 481 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,120 Hashemelokaja. So what's the difference? 482 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,000 You return in English, it sounds the same. 483 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,760 You return to God, you return to God. 484 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:24,040 So odd, Ravkuk said it's a partial return, the shafta ad 485 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,800 Hashemelokaja. This still remains a distance. 486 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:31,760 Kitashuv El Hashem lokaha, that's a full return, That's 487 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,000 Truva. Gomorrah, that's complete truva. 488 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,800 But he saw notwithstanding, you know, many of the people who did 489 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:40,640 it, they did it not for religious reasons. 490 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:42,960 They did it actually to escape from Telrad. 491 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,000 Rufbuk was very well aware of that. 492 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:50,560 So the forces that operated on them were unconscious forces, 493 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,640 but nonetheless they were deeply embedded in their souls and 494 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:58,520 their spirit in a way that we have to say is only divine. 495 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:04,280 Who we it again? It's beyond the realm of reason 496 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:09,440 that a person so estranged from Torah and Jewish life, like 497 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:14,440 Theodore Herzl, he should be the orchestrator and founder of the 498 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:18,040 political Zionist movement. It makes no sense at all. 499 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,280 Just a few years ago. And he was a person always 500 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:23,240 thinking. He was a journalist, a writer. 501 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,000 He suggests we all convert to Christianity. 502 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,600 And that would save the that would save Jews from 503 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,960 destruction. That such a person should 504 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:37,320 somehow be motivated to spearhead a movement which in 505 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:42,000 less than half a century took Jews from the exile and made 506 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,400 them sovereign in the land of Israel. 507 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:48,600 And basically in 1897 at the Basel Conference, the first 508 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:52,760 Zionist Conference predicted it would happen in 50 years. 509 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:55,720 So that's something can only come from Hashem. 510 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,840 Why him? Why is he the Shalia Hashem? 511 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,680 Why is he God's agents? We have to be God to understand 512 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,040 that. A lot of the Jews are always 513 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:09,199 bothered by the fact that it was him and not them. 514 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:12,360 Well, the bottom line is others weren't doing it and harbesh 515 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:14,880 Shalhuma maqam God as many agents. 516 00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:18,760 And we can't question why God, God does what he does. 517 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:23,159 That's what makes him God. Perhaps it's the mashiach come 518 00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:25,080 riding on a donkey on a lowly donkey. 519 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:27,520 That's the you know this. Right. 520 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:32,040 Also, true redemption comes from unexpected sources. 521 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,960 Exactly. So yeah, that's definitely a big 522 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:39,880 part of our tradition. I I wanted to get into one of I 523 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,679 thought was one of the best chapters repentance and 524 00:34:43,679 --> 00:34:47,440 suffering. So which key points can you 525 00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:50,679 maybe hone in on from from that chapter? 526 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:53,440 Right. So obviously it's a weighty 527 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:58,000 topic and no doubt it's been on people's minds this year as well 528 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,320 in the Land of Israel, because it hasn't been a simple year 529 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,840 this past year. Tufshen paid alid. 530 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,960 And yet we see, look at the Rambam at the beginning of 531 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:09,920 Hilfochuva. The Rambam says that Yasur in 532 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:15,440 that suffering does play a role in Kapora in gaining atonement, 533 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:20,720 that there's certain sins that are atoned for by the Sahir 534 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:25,280 Mishalaya, the the, the the sacrificial goat, the scapegoat 535 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:28,640 on Yomaki Purim. And there's certain serious sins 536 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:32,680 that Rambam says Yomah Kippuram is tollah. 537 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:38,040 It's Yomah Kippuram suspends the punishment, the surin MI markin, 538 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:43,040 but only Surin, only suffering can urge us of those sins. 539 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:49,800 Well, again, it's not something we like to consider because it 540 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:54,000 affects us closely and everyone's life is marred on 541 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:58,040 occasion by esurin. At the Gamora says in Arahin 542 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:02,440 that no person goes even 40 days without some type of yisurin, 543 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:06,880 but even minor types of yisurin that are annoyances, 544 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:11,560 inconveniences, but Truva involves some yisurin as well. 545 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:16,800 So much so that in the addendum to each of the tila on Rosh 546 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:21,120 Hashanah, Yomaki Purim, I should say Shahid and Musaf, and on Yom 547 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:26,640 Kippen to heal as well. We say this Tila of Rava, we say 548 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:32,280 God AD Shalonat sarti anikdai. The before I was created I was 549 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,760 worthless, and now, now I'm not much better. 550 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,080 But we end Hashem. Alokai should be your will, the 551 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:47,160 Lord my God. I should not sin, but for what I 552 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:54,640 have sinned. Marek erase, purge in your 553 00:36:54,640 --> 00:37:02,160 abundant compassion of a low, but not through suffering or 554 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,280 terrible illnesses. And one of the points I 555 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:12,080 mentioned is that isurin we call suffering at its root is really 556 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:15,280 mussar. It's teaching, it's instruction. 557 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:21,080 It's a way that God gets our attention, that God connects 558 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:23,880 with us. So I I go into the entire area 559 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:31,160 here, which is a most abstruse and in fact almost overwhelming 560 00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:34,080 area of thought. What does it mean? 561 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:37,880 Called the other Rahmana Latavovid, That whatever God 562 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:41,200 does, he does for good. What are ye surin? 563 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:43,880 Shall I have a suffering of love? 564 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:48,080 Why? Why do we have this institution 565 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:51,480 in Jewish life? The Gemara says in Brahod 566 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:57,200 Dafayam and Olive that God gave us 3 gifts, but He only gave us 567 00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:02,520 these gifts through Yisurin Torah, Olamaba and Ereti Israel. 568 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:06,760 God gave us through suffering. We have to suffer for it on some 569 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:10,160 level. The Torah and the world to come. 570 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,080 And again, back to that, to the land of Israel. 571 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:17,360 What kind of gift is given to us through suffering? 572 00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:22,440 And I discussed the Rambam in the Mourinho Vohem, the Rama 573 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:26,280 speaks about the three types of evils that exist in the world. 574 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:30,760 And he knows similar to what Ramban did in Tarah Adam, which 575 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,680 I delved into as well, the three types of evils that afflict 576 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:37,480 human beings, even though the world is basically good. 577 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:42,720 And it's again, one of the astounding aspects of life in 578 00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:47,040 the land of Israel that when you're outside and you hear the 579 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:50,120 news sometimes when you're inside Israel and watch the 580 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:53,680 news, news almost by definition is always bad. 581 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,840 No one ever gets on the nightly news and reports that bad. 582 00:38:57,840 --> 00:38:59,640 Nothing happened today. All was good. 583 00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:02,840 Children went to school, people went to work, everybody was 584 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:05,400 happy. No accidents, no terror. 585 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:08,080 That would not be news. Nobody reports that. 586 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:13,480 So there's an exaggeration as to what's bad or negative or 587 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:17,320 harmful in the land of Israel and elsewhere as well. 588 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:22,920 But the world is mostly good. And like I was saying, even now, 589 00:39:23,240 --> 00:39:25,840 I mean, you get up in the morning and it's a beautiful day 590 00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:28,040 again today in the land of Israel. 591 00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:30,720 And it's filled with holiness and everyday experience. 592 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:33,520 Beerkat Khanim, the blessing of the Coen. 593 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:35,080 And it's a day filled with Torah. 594 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:38,960 And you could do masim Tovim and Hassan and, and help Jews and 595 00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:40,960 learn. And it's just so much. 596 00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:44,840 You can live a full Jewish life here and yeah, occasionally 597 00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:49,080 there are rockets and missiles that come in and so we have to 598 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:53,040 deal with that also. But by and large, the world is 599 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:56,040 good. And like Rava Avinir often says, 600 00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:59,680 most of the people in the world are not suffering or are not 601 00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:03,320 I'll So the Rama wrote the Mora that the three the Mora of 602 00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:05,600 Wuchem that the three types of evils. 603 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:08,400 The first are things that happened to us because we're 604 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:11,240 flesh and blood. Sometimes we'll call them acts 605 00:40:11,240 --> 00:40:15,600 of God nature. Hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, 606 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:19,680 earthquakes, etcetera. And also there's a natural 607 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:23,440 decline, deterioration of the human body that exists, but it 608 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:27,080 happens gradually. The second type of evil are the 609 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:31,640 evils that we do to each other. Man because of our bad 610 00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:36,800 character, because of jealousy, hatred, and other things that 611 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:41,240 the rhyme says is more numerous in quantity than the first evil 612 00:40:41,240 --> 00:40:43,560 that happens just because man is man. 613 00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,680 But the greatest of all evils that exist in the world are the 614 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:51,960 evils that man does to himself, the harm that we do to ourselves 615 00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:54,960 in a variety of ways. The harms that we do to our 616 00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:59,480 bodies because of how we eat or drink or sleep or don't sleep 617 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:04,880 and increase the pressures and anxiety on ourselves, and the 618 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:09,200 evil that we do to our souls because we tarnish our souls by 619 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:14,520 pursuing fantasies and illusions and putting up a barrier between 620 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:19,280 ourselves and Akashbarahu. That evil, the Rambam says, is 621 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,040 preponderance. It's the greatest, the dominant 622 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,960 evil that exists. So people think of evil in the 623 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,560 world. The worst, most prevalent form 624 00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:30,480 of evil, Rambam says, is the one we do to ourselves. 625 00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:35,360 And notwithstanding those three types of evils, nonetheless the 626 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,720 world is basically good. The world is mostly good. 627 00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:42,320 Hod lashem keto kilo lumhas though. 628 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:46,200 That echoes the creation, right? Everything was good until Adam 629 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:49,840 chooses between doing good and evil versus everything else 630 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:51,880 which is created good. So right. 631 00:41:52,080 --> 00:41:55,760 Yeah, it's, it's even more than that because God says twice the 632 00:41:55,800 --> 00:42:00,400 NATO, the world is very good. So you're sensitive to the text. 633 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:02,480 God didn't say the world was perfect. 634 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:05,880 God said the world is very good. You want the world to be 635 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:09,520 perfect, make it perfect. Each of us do a little more. 636 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:12,360 Each of us do our share and make the world perfect. 637 00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:16,840 If God said the world was shalame, gamour, perfect, 638 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:20,520 complete, nothing else to add, that's a different dynamic 639 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:22,560 altogether. That's not what God said. 640 00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:25,560 The world is told mode. The world is very good. 641 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:29,240 Very good allows for the fact fact the measure said that says 642 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:33,320 this Al Atar on that place or that PASIC at the end of the 643 00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:40,240 first pair of Brashid in NATO mode, Zamovit perplexing Medrich 644 00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:43,040 what's good, Very, very good mode. 645 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:46,920 That's death. How it is a perplexing question. 646 00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,120 There's an answer to it. I entertain it here as well. 647 00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:54,280 But that is the way the world was created. 648 00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:57,920 So it has to be very good. The difference between very good 649 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:02,520 and perfect is because very often that little, that little 650 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:07,040 portion beyond very good and short of perfect is what bothers 651 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:09,720 us are the things that affect us directly. 652 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:13,520 It even includes the sewer and the suffering that comes in 653 00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:17,360 life. But nevertheless, that's part of 654 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:22,000 the way we're created and that is the system that God gave us 655 00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:27,240 in which he wants us to operate, to live, to enjoy, to serve him, 656 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:31,080 and to perfect our souls. So ultimately, it's obviously a 657 00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:35,480 very, very long topic, but what how is the Sur connected to 658 00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:37,280 Truvo? And this brings everything 659 00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:41,280 together, the many, many different ways suffering induces 660 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:46,800 humility in a person, certainly in a Jew, humility is a 661 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:50,480 prerequisite for Chuvo, and people are often inclined to 662 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:53,760 once again accept the yoke of God's kingship. 663 00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:56,360 And it's a teaching. And some of the Roshona even 664 00:43:56,360 --> 00:44:00,800 said that particular suffering that we have will target 665 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:06,280 physical suffering, will target an area of sin, meaning that 666 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:10,760 organ, that limb has to be rectified because it was engaged 667 00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:13,400 in certain sins. So many, many different ways to 668 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:16,960 look at it. I would say ultimately, as many 669 00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:22,680 of our great thinkers said, a broken heart is the prelude to 670 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:24,840 Truva. What does God want from our, 671 00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:27,880 from, from us, Lave Nishbar Vinditka? 672 00:44:28,240 --> 00:44:31,800 He wants a broken heart. He wants us to feel even a 673 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:36,600 little despondent in our hearts because that means that tells us 674 00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:39,880 there's room for growth. The things that we can do, that 675 00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:44,560 we have to do in order to improve, in order to get closer 676 00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:47,520 to Him, in order to advance the redemption as well. 677 00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:51,800 So one part I wanted you to kind of expand on, which I found 678 00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:58,240 really fascinating in this chapter was the part on Misaka 679 00:44:58,240 --> 00:45:02,960 Shabbat where it says Amarav AMI en MI tabelohet veni serene 680 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:05,760 below Avon. Can you expand on that part 681 00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:07,720 particularly? Right. 682 00:45:07,720 --> 00:45:12,920 So that is actually something that is not so easy to 683 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:16,280 understand. Obviously death relates to it, 684 00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:23,000 but one of the points that I raised is that Avon iniquity is 685 00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:26,800 a sin. Amazed an intentional sin, but 686 00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:30,560 hate is always considered a sin. That's bishoggang. 687 00:45:30,720 --> 00:45:34,680 That's an unintentional sin. So it should be the reverse. 688 00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:38,720 The Soren should be a lesser punishment than death. 689 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:42,080 The gomar should have said Amy Soren below hate. 690 00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:45,720 I'm sorry, Amy Soren below Avone. 691 00:45:45,840 --> 00:45:47,920 The 8. I'm saying Amy Soren below hate. 692 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:51,200 They meet up below Avone. We should be punished for our 693 00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:53,880 intentional sins with the ultimate punishment. 694 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:58,440 So I gave a few approaches, one of them based on their I'm how 695 00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:04,120 but but others as well. Is that Amy tableau Heik means 696 00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:06,320 that death is part of the human condition. 697 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:10,160 That's me. They told my own Zaamovit is 698 00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:13,240 part of the human condition. That is like God did not create 699 00:46:13,240 --> 00:46:18,360 us to be eternal. God created us to be finite, to 700 00:46:18,360 --> 00:46:24,800 be temporal. Then after we shed our mortal 701 00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:29,360 coil with souls as perfect as they can be, we live a blissful 702 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:33,360 existence in Olamaban, the world to come, the world of souls, and 703 00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:37,800 then if it were they come resurrection, then we come back 704 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:41,480 to this world as well. Have a big mahlocat between the 705 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:45,680 Rambam and the Rambam. Whether we live eternally in the 706 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:49,320 resurrected world, which is Ramban's opinion, the Rama says 707 00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:51,560 no. The Rama says the ideal is to 708 00:46:51,560 --> 00:46:56,720 have this perfected soul living in the bliss of God's company. 709 00:46:57,240 --> 00:46:59,440 But then I entertain something else as well. 710 00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:03,240 Any sword below avone. There's no suffering without 711 00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:07,600 intentional sins. It's because that's designed to 712 00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:12,240 perfect us, meaning everyone's going to commit a sin Bishogi, 713 00:47:12,720 --> 00:47:14,440 right? The other ain't Sadiq bartha 714 00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:18,920 shiasa to the asato Belo yet, though it's impossible. 715 00:47:19,280 --> 00:47:22,560 Shlo Muhammad said in Koala that a person does not sin 716 00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:25,160 unintentionally to sin intentionally. 717 00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:31,520 That is not necessarily so, but that is where the Mabit, one of 718 00:47:31,520 --> 00:47:36,720 the great authorities in the 1500s, wrote that we see that 80 719 00:47:36,720 --> 00:47:40,040 symbol of own. That's when a particular 720 00:47:40,880 --> 00:47:46,760 punishment or suffering is going to target a sinning organ or 721 00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:50,720 limb, because what it does is weaken our desire. 722 00:47:51,080 --> 00:47:54,400 And then the Yatesa hara inclination for instinctual 723 00:47:54,400 --> 00:48:00,040 gratification is also enervated. It subsides, it no longer 724 00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:04,880 overpowers us. And once the the the material 725 00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:09,720 powers of the body are not dominant, then the soul can 726 00:48:09,720 --> 00:48:11,120 shine. I have. 727 00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:15,480 I have, I have a question like just the the problem with that, 728 00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:21,000 just to push back on that idea is that for example, if if 729 00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:25,320 chasing after lusting after things leads to the punishment 730 00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:27,280 of let's say, weakening of the eyes. 731 00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:31,680 OK, I'm just using that as a, as a random example, then the 732 00:48:31,720 --> 00:48:35,760 opportunity for teshuva is not actually the same as it once was 733 00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:38,880 because because you're no longer have that desire. 734 00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:41,920 So so that because your eyes are not working the same way. 735 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:45,880 So how are you really achieving full teshuva if you don't have 736 00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:47,520 the same strength that you once had? 737 00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:51,080 That's a very good question, and this the Ramam addresses in the 738 00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:54,560 second paragraph Hiljo Chuva, where he distinguishes between 739 00:48:54,560 --> 00:48:57,160 Chuva Mihua and Chuva Shehnaamu Allah. 740 00:48:57,640 --> 00:49:01,320 Chuva Mihua is going to be a chuva that's preferred the 741 00:49:01,320 --> 00:49:05,880 ideal, meaning a person is still in full possessions of his or 742 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:10,040 her physical passions and strength, and the same situation 743 00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:13,800 presents itself of sin and a person abstains. 744 00:49:14,120 --> 00:49:17,240 That would be truva Mullah that prefer the ideal truva. 745 00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:20,240 But the Ramdas say there's such a thing as truva shahena Mullah. 746 00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:24,240 But a person is already, I want, I don't want to say past the age 747 00:49:24,240 --> 00:49:26,240 of passion because it never ends. 748 00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:29,640 But let's say the passions have been reduced in their ardor, 749 00:49:30,200 --> 00:49:33,160 they've subsided somewhat. And then a person doesn't feel 750 00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:37,680 the same attraction, the same allure, and then he abstains. 751 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:41,440 Yeah, that Truva is not as preferred as the Truva that came 752 00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:46,240 before, and as a result it's not ideal, but nonetheless, it's 753 00:49:46,240 --> 00:49:52,000 Truva as well. There is such a thing as Ikuvim 754 00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:57,360 as a hindrances obstacles to the performance of Chuva. 755 00:49:57,640 --> 00:50:00,600 Rama mentioned this as well and Hilha Chuva and I address it. 756 00:50:00,720 --> 00:50:04,600 Also, there's certain things that make Chuva more difficult 757 00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:07,800 that hinder our ability to do Chuva. 758 00:50:08,040 --> 00:50:10,760 By the way, this is to go back to the first topic we discussed. 759 00:50:11,040 --> 00:50:14,280 This is another parallel to Chuva and the land of Israel 760 00:50:14,520 --> 00:50:18,600 that just says Chuva promise has 24 different things that are 761 00:50:18,600 --> 00:50:21,000 obstacles that can be obstacles to Truva. 762 00:50:21,320 --> 00:50:25,400 So to there are obstacles to Yishuvarat Israel, among them 763 00:50:25,600 --> 00:50:28,800 Golut exile. That's no greater obstacle. 764 00:50:29,040 --> 00:50:32,080 And one of the issues I did address in that chapter is how 765 00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:37,880 is it that because we failed to live up to the ideals of the 766 00:50:37,880 --> 00:50:41,840 Torah while living in the land of Israel, that God took away 767 00:50:41,840 --> 00:50:44,080 that misra from us as the possible? 768 00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:47,680 Think about it. If the old Jews, God forbid, 769 00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:51,960 stopped observing Shabbat or kashrut with God, then say, all 770 00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:53,720 right, I'm taking away Shabbat from you. 771 00:50:53,720 --> 00:50:54,800 Don't, you don't have it anymore. 772 00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:57,720 It's a punishment. You don't want to observe the 773 00:50:57,720 --> 00:51:00,240 laws of kosher food, forget it. I'm taking away from you. 774 00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:02,800 That's a punishment. Many Jews won't see it as 775 00:51:02,800 --> 00:51:05,480 punishment. So there's no such thing as an 776 00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:09,040 area of the tower of being stripped from us because we 777 00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:13,760 don't observe it properly except for Yishuvarichiserao, and 778 00:51:13,760 --> 00:51:17,640 except and except for Chuva. All right, So I discussed why 779 00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:21,680 that is. But nonetheless, there are 780 00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:25,120 different gradations of Chuva. There are different times of 781 00:51:25,120 --> 00:51:29,000 life that are more or less optimal for Chuva, But 782 00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:32,920 nonetheless there is no person who is not in a position to 783 00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:35,360 fully repent. And even a person say whose 784 00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:39,640 passions are behind him or the the abundance of passions are 785 00:51:39,640 --> 00:51:43,000 behind him, that person can do truva as well. 786 00:51:43,280 --> 00:51:49,000 And not just God forbid if there are esurin but in understanding 787 00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:53,560 how he went wrong and thinking about it and teaching others and 788 00:51:53,760 --> 00:51:56,480 guiding others. But one point that's important 789 00:51:56,480 --> 00:52:00,680 to mention is that's why we say in that fila of Rava that we 790 00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:05,600 append to the end of the Amida on the Yamnarayim that God 791 00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:09,360 should cleanse our sins, but not through suffering or terrible 792 00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:12,160 illnesses. Because suffering does have the 793 00:52:12,160 --> 00:52:16,520 ability to take a person away from a connection to God. 794 00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:20,480 It drives us, us closer. But like you say, if a certain 795 00:52:20,480 --> 00:52:23,840 part of the body is afflicted that we can no longer perfect 796 00:52:23,840 --> 00:52:27,960 it, if we can't see, it's harder to learn, it's harder to dove 797 00:52:27,960 --> 00:52:32,640 and we can't walk, it's hard to go to shul, etcetera. 798 00:52:33,040 --> 00:52:36,680 So in all those real. You can also drive kind of a 799 00:52:36,680 --> 00:52:39,840 wedge between certain people and God because some people will see 800 00:52:39,840 --> 00:52:42,960 that suffering as like kind of a, you know, they might not 801 00:52:42,960 --> 00:52:45,320 interpret it as, as, as a positive. 802 00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:48,680 They're going to see that, as you know, if if God isn't do 803 00:52:48,680 --> 00:52:50,280 this to me, then why do I need God, you know? 804 00:52:50,600 --> 00:52:54,720 Yes, that's called boate B sword and I speak about this as well 805 00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:58,560 in that chapter on suffering. Boate B sword literally means 806 00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:02,360 kicking away. Kicking away God that this is 807 00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:04,520 what he does to me. I want nothing to do with him. 808 00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:08,280 By the way, when a person actually says that boipi surin, 809 00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:10,120 that's actually connecting to God. 810 00:53:10,400 --> 00:53:13,760 And here I I deviate someone from my training and quote the 811 00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:20,160 Katskarebi, that anger towards God is not rebellion against 812 00:53:20,160 --> 00:53:22,520 God. Even anger is a relationship. 813 00:53:22,800 --> 00:53:27,160 What's rebellion against God? Apathy, indifference when a 814 00:53:27,160 --> 00:53:29,200 person just doesn't care anymore. 815 00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:33,080 Adi shoot in Hebrew, a person just doesn't care anymore. 816 00:53:33,280 --> 00:53:35,120 That means the connection is severed. 817 00:53:35,400 --> 00:53:38,840 But as long as a person is angry, gets worked up and you do 818 00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:42,640 find this, there are people who have suffered, God forbid, and 819 00:53:42,640 --> 00:53:47,160 they are filled with anger against God and they deny God's 820 00:53:47,160 --> 00:53:50,480 existence and they rant and rave against God and their whole life 821 00:53:50,480 --> 00:53:54,960 is dedicated to God forbid this anger against God. 822 00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:58,240 And yet that's a relationship with God. 823 00:53:58,600 --> 00:54:03,800 That means God's presence permeates your consciousness at 824 00:54:03,800 --> 00:54:06,520 all times. It may be even in a rancorous 825 00:54:06,520 --> 00:54:09,920 way, but nonetheless it's there. It means you still care and 826 00:54:09,920 --> 00:54:13,000 actually it's it's you see the same thing in relationships, 827 00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:14,480 right? It's like if you're. 828 00:54:14,480 --> 00:54:15,920 Absolutely. So very good point. 829 00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:19,040 If you're apathetic, it's over, pretty much. 830 00:54:19,040 --> 00:54:22,080 If the there's, there's hope if you're just fighting. 831 00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:24,840 That's correct. The worst thing in marriage is 832 00:54:24,840 --> 00:54:27,640 apathy. When a person gives up and just 833 00:54:27,640 --> 00:54:30,760 says that I want nothing else. But when people fight, it means 834 00:54:30,760 --> 00:54:32,840 they're desperate for a relationship. 835 00:54:33,080 --> 00:54:35,640 They want some type of rectification in the 836 00:54:35,640 --> 00:54:37,960 relationship. So it's a much better place to 837 00:54:37,960 --> 00:54:40,080 be. It's a bit paradoxical, but it's 838 00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:42,920 a much better place to be. Very interesting. 839 00:54:43,160 --> 00:54:45,880 So the last thing I want to tie in is something you mentioned 840 00:54:45,880 --> 00:54:49,520 very early on in this segment, which is the repentance and the 841 00:54:49,520 --> 00:54:51,720 Yom and the Yom Kippur scapegoat. 842 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:54,040 So if you could just tell us a little bit about that? 843 00:54:55,040 --> 00:54:59,040 Right, so this is very hard to concise in a few moments, but 844 00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:04,920 this chapter is I I heard completely from my rabbi, Rabbi 845 00:55:04,920 --> 00:55:11,200 Chait, you should live and be well that the the Sayer Lazazel 846 00:55:11,280 --> 00:55:14,800 on Yomaki Purim, which was the highlight of the service in the 847 00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:16,600 Betha Mikdash in the Holy Temple. 848 00:55:17,440 --> 00:55:22,280 It sounds very cryptic to us. It sounds almost Pagan. 849 00:55:22,280 --> 00:55:25,120 You have these two goats and they're equal in appearance and 850 00:55:25,120 --> 00:55:29,080 value and size. And one goat is dedicated Lachem 851 00:55:29,080 --> 00:55:33,880 his his blood is is offered on the on the parochet. 852 00:55:33,880 --> 00:55:38,520 And the other Sayer, which is the Lazazel, has a red string 853 00:55:38,520 --> 00:55:42,000 tied to him and he's taken into the desert by an issue T by 854 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:46,040 special person designated every year for that task. 855 00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:50,800 And he's accompanied to the into the wilderness by Yuki Ray 856 00:55:50,800 --> 00:55:53,560 Urushalayan, by the nobility of Urushalayan. 857 00:55:53,880 --> 00:55:58,000 And then he walks to a Cliff. And by the way, up to that 858 00:55:58,000 --> 00:56:05,320 point, there are 10 or so refreshment stations that this 859 00:56:05,320 --> 00:56:09,640 ish ET who's escorting the Sahir, the goat, into the 860 00:56:09,640 --> 00:56:12,280 wilderness? He's allowed to eat on Yomaki 861 00:56:12,280 --> 00:56:16,640 Pura if he wants to, and yet the Gomorrah says no one ever did. 862 00:56:17,160 --> 00:56:19,600 And he escorts. By the way, it's also Musser in 863 00:56:19,600 --> 00:56:24,160 that that when something becomes permissible, the desire for it 864 00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:28,600 really weakens. But in any event, he goes in the 865 00:56:28,600 --> 00:56:33,240 wilderness and he tosses this Sahir over the Cliff, and that's 866 00:56:33,240 --> 00:56:37,360 a year that goat, the scapegoat dies the most gruesome death. 867 00:56:37,360 --> 00:56:39,440 And every year this is acted out. 868 00:56:39,680 --> 00:56:44,560 So I have to be very brief. But in essence, this is all a 869 00:56:44,560 --> 00:56:48,320 morality play. And the two goats, Rabbi Tate 870 00:56:48,320 --> 00:56:53,960 said, represented these two choices that are before us at 871 00:56:53,960 --> 00:56:57,960 all times. The Sayila Azazel represents the 872 00:56:57,960 --> 00:57:03,000 Gumar says Azazel, strength, resilience is gone over the 873 00:57:03,000 --> 00:57:05,600 Cliff. These two choices represent 874 00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:10,720 essentially of a heart of Bahaim or not, to choose life or not. 875 00:57:11,000 --> 00:57:15,080 One choice represents the life of the Yates Rato, the life 876 00:57:15,080 --> 00:57:19,240 that's in God's service, that's the Sayil Hashem, and the other 877 00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:25,240 represents the choices of the eights are all the desire for 878 00:57:25,240 --> 00:57:31,280 instinctual gratification. And note that the whole right is 879 00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:35,960 acted out because we want to recognize that these are 880 00:57:35,960 --> 00:57:40,120 powerful forces in our lives. The eights are all and it's not 881 00:57:40,120 --> 00:57:44,680 enough just to repress it and to say it doesn't exist and deny 882 00:57:44,680 --> 00:57:49,680 that we have these passions or desires and negate them and call 883 00:57:49,680 --> 00:57:54,480 them evil and beyond the pale of humanity. 884 00:57:54,480 --> 00:57:59,880 No, it's part of our very being. We're created with the 8 Sahara. 885 00:58:00,160 --> 00:58:06,080 God says Gemara, says Bharati. 8 Sahara Bharati Tara Tavlin God 886 00:58:06,080 --> 00:58:09,680 says I created the Yeatsarah, I created the Torah as the 887 00:58:09,720 --> 00:58:13,840 antidote, as the spice to take that yeatsarah in service of 888 00:58:13,840 --> 00:58:15,680 God. But if a person just blindly 889 00:58:15,680 --> 00:58:22,240 follows the Yeatsarah and seeks only material gratification and 890 00:58:22,440 --> 00:58:26,480 instinctual satisfaction, essentially lives an animalistic 891 00:58:26,480 --> 00:58:32,520 life, but in a human form, that route has only one destination, 892 00:58:32,720 --> 00:58:36,440 the Cliff, because that is the end of the soul. 893 00:58:36,640 --> 00:58:41,480 So now we understand why the Jews who came and witnessed this 894 00:58:41,680 --> 00:58:45,040 in the Beita Mikdash. And of course, as we know the 895 00:58:45,040 --> 00:58:47,840 Gamora says, it's alluded to in the Nivea. 896 00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:52,520 When the when kapar would come, the red thread, that was also 897 00:58:52,520 --> 00:58:56,440 the qadhar that would turn white to demonstrate to us that we had 898 00:58:56,440 --> 00:58:59,880 been atoned by, forgiven by Hashem. 899 00:59:00,240 --> 00:59:06,280 We see why that had the power of conveying atonement in its own 900 00:59:06,280 --> 00:59:09,120 right. So Rama says that their sins, 901 00:59:09,320 --> 00:59:13,400 the Sahir Hamishtalaya alone is Mahapir. 902 00:59:13,680 --> 00:59:18,400 All the sins that we do, we call them minor sins, not capital 903 00:59:18,400 --> 00:59:21,680 crimes, but all the sins that we, most of us don't commit, 904 00:59:21,680 --> 00:59:24,560 capital crimes, at least not that frequently, I hope. 905 00:59:24,920 --> 00:59:29,520 But the sins that we do commit, they were toned for just by the 906 00:59:29,520 --> 00:59:34,800 right of the Sierra Michela, the scapegoat, even sometimes 907 00:59:34,800 --> 00:59:38,560 without triva, the realm says, even if we don't repent on a 908 00:59:38,560 --> 00:59:40,840 formal level. Why? 909 00:59:41,120 --> 00:59:44,120 Because merely witnessing the right or being aware that it 910 00:59:44,120 --> 00:59:48,640 exists and knowing that they're these two roads, and every day 911 00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:54,600 I'm confronted with these choices of going down one path 912 00:59:54,600 --> 00:59:58,400 or another path, that itself brings atonement because that 913 00:59:58,400 --> 01:00:01,920 brings us closer to Hashem. You know, we, we, we feel like 914 01:00:01,920 --> 01:00:04,800 that's people today might feel like we can relate to these 915 01:00:04,800 --> 01:00:07,720 ideas, but the, the truth is they didn't have television 916 01:00:07,720 --> 01:00:11,680 didn't have like imagery and this was kind of like a play. 917 01:00:11,680 --> 01:00:15,960 It's kind of like a, it's such a psychological effect on, on 918 01:00:16,040 --> 01:00:19,520 people that I, I think it. If we put it, that's why I 919 01:00:19,560 --> 01:00:22,840 called it a morality play. In fact, that's correct. 920 01:00:23,320 --> 01:00:25,360 Right A. Morality, that's what it is, 921 01:00:25,400 --> 01:00:29,360 yeah. So before we go, I just wanted 922 01:00:29,360 --> 01:00:32,240 to again plug your book Repentance of Life. 923 01:00:33,280 --> 01:00:35,120 Oh, very good. You know I'll match you. 924 01:00:35,280 --> 01:00:37,640 I have one right here also. Oh, perfect. 925 01:00:39,080 --> 01:00:43,080 So this book you can acquire, you can acquire this book. 926 01:00:43,320 --> 01:00:48,560 The easiest way is at kodishpress.com, KODESHPR, 927 01:00:48,560 --> 01:00:51,400 ess.com and just look for it there. 928 01:00:52,200 --> 01:00:56,440 I guess you get on Amazon also, but then also in the Jewish fine 929 01:00:56,440 --> 01:00:59,680 bookstores should have it. And in Israel, I know you can 930 01:00:59,680 --> 01:01:02,160 get it to to Pomerance, they have it on sale here. 931 01:01:02,440 --> 01:01:06,360 But most of the most of fine bookstores in America have it. 932 01:01:06,360 --> 01:01:09,520 And by the way, that's the definition of a fine bookstore 933 01:01:09,640 --> 01:01:13,000 if it's carrying this book. And where can I say it 934 01:01:13,000 --> 01:01:18,000 facetiously? Where can people find you also? 935 01:01:18,880 --> 01:01:23,920 So I'm on, I live in Modi Inn and I write all the time Rabbit 936 01:01:23,920 --> 01:01:26,960 przanski.com. Anybody wants to contact me they 937 01:01:26,960 --> 01:01:31,000 can contact me there. On that website you'll find my 938 01:01:31,000 --> 01:01:35,280 shurum are posted there as well, rabbiprzanski.com. 939 01:01:35,880 --> 01:01:40,480 And by the way, when you mention the whole it's a hara bit, it 940 01:01:40,520 --> 01:01:43,400 reminded me of the, you know, just I wanted to mention that 941 01:01:43,400 --> 01:01:47,600 people should look up Rabbit's article on EOV is an essay on 942 01:01:47,600 --> 01:01:51,960 EOV, which is phenomenal. But before we go this, if you 943 01:01:51,960 --> 01:01:55,920 have one last message on Teshuva for all the listeners going into 944 01:01:55,920 --> 01:01:59,640 the High Holiday, didn't to Yami Manaraim, do you have a message 945 01:01:59,640 --> 01:02:03,280 for everybody? So as I mentioned at the outset, 946 01:02:03,520 --> 01:02:08,960 at the outset, it has been a not a simple year in the Land of 947 01:02:08,960 --> 01:02:12,440 Israel. So many enemies that we have and 948 01:02:12,440 --> 01:02:17,320 they're coalescing and we're at a very sensitive juncture in 949 01:02:17,320 --> 01:02:20,080 Jewish history. You know, we don't like to think 950 01:02:20,080 --> 01:02:23,040 of these terms, but the our enemies are powerful and they're 951 01:02:23,040 --> 01:02:25,920 relentless and they're filled with hatred. 952 01:02:25,920 --> 01:02:29,360 That cannot be a swage. Anyone who thinks the hatred is 953 01:02:29,360 --> 01:02:32,480 going to go away because we create a Palestinian state or 954 01:02:32,480 --> 01:02:35,400 not, that's a delusion. It has nothing to do with 955 01:02:35,400 --> 01:02:37,560 anything. It will just be another means to 956 01:02:37,560 --> 01:02:41,400 destroy us. That being said, the fact that 957 01:02:41,400 --> 01:02:45,720 we're at this juncture in history behooves us to 958 01:02:45,760 --> 01:02:48,640 understand what the next stages are. 959 01:02:48,880 --> 01:02:51,320 We're at the end of history. We're towards the end of that 960 01:02:51,320 --> 01:02:54,480 great book, and that book has a prophecy. 961 01:02:54,840 --> 01:02:57,640 And that prophecy is that all Jews will return to the land of 962 01:02:57,640 --> 01:03:00,320 Israel, and we're going to have to fight and struggle for the 963 01:03:00,320 --> 01:03:04,120 land of Israel. But here we are to build the 964 01:03:04,480 --> 01:03:09,760 modern Jewish state, to bring God's presence to earth and to 965 01:03:10,000 --> 01:03:13,680 be the springboard for the Mahmoud Hashem, for God's 966 01:03:13,680 --> 01:03:15,880 Kingdom. That's where we are now. 967 01:03:16,160 --> 01:03:20,720 I don't see any alternative. It's not going to be a situation 968 01:03:20,720 --> 01:03:23,520 why, where there's just, you know, peace and everybody is 969 01:03:23,520 --> 01:03:27,160 calm for 30 years. That's not the reality that we 970 01:03:27,160 --> 01:03:30,520 are living in. So I think it behooves all of us 971 01:03:30,840 --> 01:03:35,000 to take these Yeoman, the Rahim seriously, to take the words of 972 01:03:35,000 --> 01:03:38,840 the Torah and mitzvot and the words of naevium seriously as 973 01:03:38,840 --> 01:03:42,120 well. Recognize where we are and what 974 01:03:42,120 --> 01:03:45,960 the hour calls for. The hour calls for a recognition 975 01:03:46,440 --> 01:03:50,360 of what Jewish history is and how it's led to this moment. 976 01:03:50,840 --> 01:03:55,520 A recognition of the connection that we all have to Kaddish 977 01:03:55,560 --> 01:04:01,160 Baraku, how God is manipulating events to bring us towards that 978 01:04:01,160 --> 01:04:05,560 glorious era that is yet to unfold, but that we can glimpse 979 01:04:05,560 --> 01:04:08,640 on the horizon. And to recognize that God's 980 01:04:08,640 --> 01:04:12,760 presence is very real and very close to us. 981 01:04:13,120 --> 01:04:16,320 Emo anohi. But Sarah, even in the most 982 01:04:16,320 --> 01:04:20,480 difficult times, even in great tribulations, God is with us. 983 01:04:20,960 --> 01:04:24,600 And in the last year, despite the catastrophe that we had 984 01:04:24,600 --> 01:04:29,200 almost a year ago now in Srini and Sarah, to see the spirit of 985 01:04:29,200 --> 01:04:34,360 the people, of self sacrifice, of dedication to Torah, of a 986 01:04:34,360 --> 01:04:40,280 youth imbued with the ideals and values of Torah and the Jewish 987 01:04:40,280 --> 01:04:44,520 people and the Land of Israel. People in their 20s willing to 988 01:04:44,520 --> 01:04:48,440 sacrifice their lives, our futures, just in order to 989 01:04:48,440 --> 01:04:52,360 preserve the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and build 990 01:04:52,360 --> 01:04:56,800 here a mamlekhat Karabagai Kadosh, the Kingdom of priests 991 01:04:56,800 --> 01:05:00,080 and a holy nation. What could be more inspiring 992 01:05:00,080 --> 01:05:04,160 than that? What we should then do, all of 993 01:05:04,160 --> 01:05:09,640 us, each and every one of us, in our own way, is aspire to be 994 01:05:09,640 --> 01:05:12,840 part of that. And that should be the goal of 995 01:05:12,840 --> 01:05:18,800 every Jew on the Yomim Naram. How can I increase my share in 996 01:05:18,800 --> 01:05:24,560 this great and noble drama of the Jewish people, the chosen 997 01:05:24,560 --> 01:05:29,120 people, put here on earth, in order to disseminate God's 998 01:05:29,120 --> 01:05:34,880 message and morality and values? How can I make that part of my 999 01:05:34,880 --> 01:05:40,160 life in a more meaningful way and convey that to my children 1000 01:05:40,160 --> 01:05:44,960 and my grandchildren and my community, to the Jewish people 1001 01:05:45,080 --> 01:05:49,040 and to the world at large? And that itself will be a 1002 01:05:49,040 --> 01:05:52,680 catalyst for the coming of Mashiach. 1003 01:05:53,160 --> 01:05:56,040 I wish everyone, and I want to thank you very much for the 1004 01:05:56,040 --> 01:05:59,680 opportunity. Tiva bhatima Tova to everyone. 1005 01:06:00,000 --> 01:06:03,920 It should be a year that's filled with the strength and 1006 01:06:03,920 --> 01:06:09,040 goodness and God's grace and the feelings of God's presence and 1007 01:06:09,040 --> 01:06:16,760 atonement, where we all return to Hashem, body and soul, and 1008 01:06:16,920 --> 01:06:21,120 witness the Kingdom of God coming through. 1009 01:06:21,120 --> 01:06:24,160 Melaka mushiyaf bimhaira be almenu almen. 1010 01:06:24,960 --> 01:06:26,360 Amen. Thank you so much. 1011 01:06:27,400 --> 01:06:30,040 Thank you again Shana Tava be well. 1012 01:06:30,960 --> 01:06:32,800 Blessings to your audience. Bye bye.