Podcasts about Yud

Welcome to our Perek Shira class. Today's song is the song of אֵלִים שֶׁבַּשְּׁרָצִים ,the powerful strong rodents. And they say . אֶשְׁתְּךָ כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה בְּיַרְכְּתֵי בֵיתֶךָ בָּנֶיךָ כִּשְׁתִלֵי זֵיתִים סָבִיב לְשֻׁלְחָנֶךָ: (תהילים קכח ג) Your wife is like a fruitful vine, on the side of your house. Your sons are like olive saplings around your table. (Tehilim 128,3) What do these rodents have to do with this healthy pregnancies and children? So to say? We go back to the Gemara in Masechet Sotah that tells us that in the merit of the righteous woman we left Mitzrayim. What did the righteous women do? They convinced their husbands to have children even in extenuating circumstances with all the challenges that went with being in Mitzrayim with all the back breaking labor. The sefer Kol Rina says that the husbands told their wives, I'm working hard. You are working hard. Who says that your pregnancy will be successful? What, are we doing here?" And the ladies told their husbands, אֶשְׁתְּךָ כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה : Your wife is like a vineyard . The Midrash Raba in Shemot Raba perek 16 tells us that one who that sees grapes in a dream, his wife will not miscarry, as the Gemara in Berachot 47A says. So the wife was telling her husband, Don't worry, I'm like a vineyard where the grapes are attached to the cluster very strongly and they don't fall down. And when the husband said, How am I going to support them , his wife said, Don't worry, your sons are going to be like olive saps, as it says, one who sees an olive in his dream will have many children and these many children, סָבִיב לְשֻׁלְחָנֶךָ they will be like olive saplings around your large table. You'll have money to support them. Additionally , the term Sheratzim also refers to the Jewish wives in Mitzrayim (although rodent is a negative term), as it says וּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל פָּר֧וּ וַֽיִּשְׁרְצ֛וּ וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ they multiplied like rodents, six at a time. So –although it doesn't sound nice to us , we're referring to the Jewish woman who had the strength to give birth to six at a time, like these rodents do, with very healthy offspring. Furthermore, the Midrash Raba says on the pasuk Shemot 31 וּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל פָּר֧וּ וַֽיִּשְׁרְצ֛וּ וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ that there is a machloket among the Amoraim. One says, we're compared to the strong Sheratzim, which gives birth to six at a time. Others say it's to the smallest Sheratzim , that give birth to 60 at a time. Regardless, the point is that like little scorpions that come out as teeny little things, but yet strong and healthy, so too we're being told that even though they were six at one time, they were healthy. It wasn't like modern times, where if someone had sextuplets, they'd be weak. פָּר֧וּ וַֽיִּשְׁרְצ֛וּ וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ וַיַּֽעַצְמ֖וּ ׃ They were very strong. They're very powerful. The sefer Kenaf Rananim asks why it says אֶשְׁתְּךָ כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה בְּיַרְכְּתֵי בֵיתֶךָ /she's all over the different sides of your house? Because sometimes when a lady many children, she's tired, she's in bed, she's too weak to take care of the household. But here, we're saying, No, she's all over the house. She's taking care of everything. Rabbenu Bachye adds beautiful thought on Bereshit 34,1 from Midrash Tanhuma on Vayishlach chapter six that says that when a lady is , אֶשְׁתְּךָ כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה בְּיַרְכְּתֵי בֵיתֶךָ which means she's on the side of her house, she's inside, she's modest, she's sanua . She brings kapara because it uses the term yerech which is the side, and it says in Vayikra 1,11 yerech Hamizbe'ach-, so the lady who's a modest lady is like an altar that brings kapara and she will have children. The next term talks about the olive sprouts because the children will be fit to be anointed with the holy anointing oil, which is made out of olive oil. He continues on, to tell us that Masechet Yoma daf 47 describes the lady called the Kimchit who had seven sons that all became Kohanim Gedolim because of her tremendous modesty. And again, this goes back to the modest woman of Mitzrayim . It says none of them did anything improper. There was only one lady Shlomit bat Divri that was called out. All the other ladies were modest. And that's adds to the, the, the tremendous beracha that came upon the ladies of Mitzrayim and allowed them to raise these wonderful families. In their merit, we were saved from Mitzrayim. So again, this pasuk captures the greatness and the righteousness of the Jewish women at that time. And that is the strength of the rodents. The Chatam Sofer, in his commentary on Tehilim on this pasuk, adds something beautiful. And he says that a lady is compared to a vine because wine is easy. You put the wine in the barrel and you sit it and it develops. SO she'll have children easily, but raising children is not as easy. If you want to turn an olive into olive oil, you have to crush it and smash it and push it. It's not as easy to make olive oil from olives as it is to get wine from grapes (a little hinuch hint) And finally, a beautiful thought from the Midrash Shemuel in his commentary on Pirkei Avot 3,1 He's bothered by the word אֶשְׁתְּךָ which has a segol with three dots rather than the typical spelling of wife which is Ishtecha - with a hirik - which has one dot . He says that there are three partners in a person- a husband, wife and God. And so we put the three dots there to tell you that if you want to have a successful marriage, we need the Shechina to come down. He says, that's why it says כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה It could have said porah. Why is there an extra Yud there? Because then פרעה jas a Yud and Heh and as we know, it says that when the Jewish people left Mitzrayim, God Himself testified on the kashrut of the Jewish people. If one would say, " Oh you Jewish people were in Egypt all those years, and you think your lineage is pure?" God testified, הַפָּלוֹי , all the names have a ה in the beginning and a י at the end , and they're called Shivteh Yah tribes of God , עדות לישראל the tribes of God. God came down and testified that, that they all proper couples. And that's why this pasuk specifically referring to those ladies, is Ishtecha not Eshtecha and Gefen Poriah, not Porah . Rashi brings down this point that Hashem testified to the fidelity of the Jewish people. (See Rashi in Bamidbar 26,5 and Tehilim 122,4)

Welcome to our humility series. What was the reason Moshe Rabbenu was the greatest of prophets? What made him so special? The Nefesh HaChaim (gate 1, chapter 15) says that only Moshe Rabbenu merited that his full Neshama entered his body with all of its power and influence. That's why in Devarim 33:1, Moshe Rabbenu was called Ish HaElohim /a man of God. Rav Yaakov Hillel, in his commentary Nishmat HaYam on Nefesh HaChaim, connects this to what the Nefesh HaChaim writes in his third gate (chapters 13& 14), that Moshe Rabbenu stood out in the area of humility. It says in Bamidbar 12,3 וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה עָנָ֣ו מְאֹ֑ד מִכֹּל֙ הָֽאָדָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ Moshe Rabbenu was the most humble of men. Furthermore, in Shemot 16,7 Moshe Rabbenu said about himself, ונחנו מה / What are we? Avraham Avinu said, I am dirt and dust , but even dirt and dust are something . It's not a lot, but it's something. However, Moshe Rabbenu said I am nothing . That's why, says Rav Yaakov Hillel, he was able to connect to Hashem on such a high level and reach such a high level of Holiness to the extent that the Shechina spoke through Moshe Rabbenu's throat, as it says, Moshe Rabbenu was different than all of the prophets . All other the prophets said Zeh Davar Hashem / this is the word of God. But Moshe Rabbenu said Ko Amar Hashem/ this is exactly what God says. It came from his throat as if God was talking through him. Why was this? Because he humbled himself to the extreme, and that humility purified his physicality to a point that no other person ever reached. Rav Chaim Volozhin, in his sefer Ruach Chaim Pirkei Avot (chapter 1, mishna 1) uses this to explain the Mishna that Moshe Kibel Torah M'Sinai/ Moshe accepted the Torah from Sinai in the zechut of his humility, more than any other prophet. That's why he was able to see with what's called a shiny window. Windows have different levels of clarity. Certain windows are tinted and you can't see through them well. The better or clearer the window, the better you can see through it. Since what separates us from God is our physicality, our holding of ourselves as a something (what's what we mean by physicality) interferes. But because Moshe's humility was so high, there was nothing to interfere with his connection to Hashem. The Baal Shem Tov has an interesting commentary on, אנכי עומד בין ה׳ וביניכם I am standing between you and your God. The simple meaning is that Moshe Rabbenu is the intermediary, but the Hasidim read it as, a person's Anochi , his egoism is what stands between him and God . Thus the interference between us and God is our egos. Since Moshe Rabbenu had no ego, there was no separation between him and God. This is a very interesting chiddush because the Rambam, in his Shmonei Perakim , where he talks about this concept of the clear glass and the unclear glass, says that every Middah creates an interference. And we see from here that the all/ powerful Middah that, so to say, cleans away all the dirt and grime from a person's soul, is the trait of humility. That was Moshe Rabbenu's greatness. The same Ruach HaChaim says that when it says, "Avraham, Avraham" in the Torah, there's a break between the two, like a line between the two Avrahams. But when is says Moshe Moshe , it doesn't have that. Why is that? Because one of the Avrahams is the Avraham down here, and the other Avraham is the Avraham above- the soul, or the source. His body and Neshama had some kind of separation, so there wasn't an exact connection (of course we talking about Avraham Avinu, so it was only the slightest little bit, but there was still some difference). Moshe Rabbenu reached even higher level. I saw in Rav Yisrael Eliyahu Weintraub's commentary on Nefesh HaChaim that he askshow we can make it sound like Moshe was greater than the Avot ? He explains that this is a concept we talked about before, of the Nanas/ the dwarf, Al Gaveh Anak standing on top of giants, which means Moshe (who, of course was not a dwarf) was building on what the Avot saw. The Avot were able to see Hashem. They used the term Elohim for Hashem. Rashi says, in the beginning of Vaera , that God appeared to the Avot with the name Elohim . But when He appeared to Moshe, it was with Hashem's Divine name of Yud and Heh and Vav and Heh . What's the difference? Elohim means God is in control of all forces. God's able to change nature. Avraham Avinu went into fire and the fire didn't burn him. That's changing nature. But Moshe Rabbenu was on a higher level. It was not like just changing the fire that it wouldn't burn. When he made the miracle of turning water into blood, and blood into water, that was a new creation. When God opened up the earth for Korach, it was a new creation. That higher level of there is no existence but God, which we call En Od Milevado, happened when Rabbenu gave us the Torah. Moshe Rabbenu reached that level and that connection, and his humility caused him to have that high level of understanding of God (Nefesh HaChaim Shaar 3,perek 13 where he discusses this difference between the two names of Hashem and how that impacted Moshe Rabbenu versus the Avot). Going back to our story of ego and I separating us from God, let's get more practical. We're not talking about levels of prophecy between us and Moshe and the Avot. Many political critics keep track of how many times a president or presidential candidate say I in their speeches. I did this and I did that. And I and I and I. That's the feeling of I am doing. That's the Anochi , the I , the ego . There's a beautiful to story told of Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi who eventually became the famous Baal HaTanya. He was studying under the Hasidish Rebbe Rav Dov Ber, who's known as the Maggid of Mezerich. Late one night, young Zalman knocked on his Rebbe's door to ask him a question. The Rebbe called out, " Who's there ?" And the young boy responded, " It's me ," confident that he would be recognized. The Rabbi repeated, " Who's there ?" and again, he said, " It's me." After the third time that the Rebbe asked Who's there ? the young student finally said, " It's Zalman." The Rebbe then opened the door and said, " My dear Zalman, the time has come for you to have a self-imposed exile. When you return, we will analyze your experience together." In those days, great people went into exile and for some reason, at this point, it was his time. So he went to a certain inn and that very night, thieves broke in and stole the silverware of the innkeeper. The next morning, the innkeeper was suspicious of this young stranger, Zalman, accused him of stealing the the silver and demanded that he confess. Zalman cried, "It was not me! It was not me!" The innkeeper grabbed him by the neck and accused him again. And again he cried, " It's not me, it's not me!" He then pulled himself out of the innkeeper's grip and fled back to Mezerich. He told the Maggid the story and the Maggid said, " This, my dear Zaman, is a lesson which you should never forget. Do you see how many times you were forced to shout, "Not me, not me?"That was in order to undo the effect of calling out proudly, "It's me!" Yes, of course this is the high level training of a great Hasidic Rebbe who eventually started a great dynasty. But the point for us is that the greater the person is, the less the I is there. Moshe Rabbenu did not possess an I and therefore he reached the greatest of levels. And the opposite, the greater the I, the bigger the interference between the person and God.

The Rebbe affirms the importance of Hakafos, rejects shortening them, and encourages overcoming challenges with confidence. He stresses the vital role of youth minyanim and camps, dismissing doubts about their impact. He urges maximizing Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev for expanding Chabad activities and blesses the recipient for success and Chag HaGeulah. https://www.torahrecordings.com/rebbe/igroskodesh/014/003/4912

The Rebbe acknowledges the letter, appreciates the Chassidus study group, and urges increasing participation, especially among yeshiva students. He stresses Yiras Shamayim through Chassidus, will mention those named at the Ohel, and encourages preparation for Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev and Chanukah. https://www.torahrecordings.com/rebbe/igroskodesh/014/003/4894

The Rebbe thanks for the update and expresses hope that the farbrengen's discussions will influence both speakers and listeners. He references a story of the Rebbe Rashab to highlight the power of such gatherings. He encourages proper planning for Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev, as well as Chanukah, and blesses for success. https://www.torahrecordings.com/rebbe/igroskodesh/014/003/4892

00:00 - Good Morning00:13 - Guests00:39- JoinDafYomi.com01:34 - Emails02:27 - MDYsiyum.com03:35 - Raffle results06:06 - Emails12:39 - MDYsponsor.com15:10 - Introduction15:38 - Amud Beis20:00 - Amud Aleph40:17 - Amud Beis50:43 - Have a Wonderful DayQuiz - http://Kahoot.MDYdaf.com--Today's shiur is sponsoredAnonymous - For the safe and speedy return of all the hostages&לע״נ זכריה בן משהלע״נ חיה בת יוסף&Yosef Ben Chaya Sara for Parnassa B'revach&Tzvi Spero: Refuah Shleimah for איתמר אפרים בן חי בלימה&Refuat hanefesh and guf for Breina Bina bat Miriam baila, Ora bracha bat breina bina, Netanel Kalev ben ora bracha&For a fast and complete refuah sheleyma for Shmuel Nechemia ben Hinda&לע״נ סיליה בת דבורה&לעלוי נשמת בנימין מאיר בן זאב דוד הי״ד&Refuah Shelaima for Yosef Chaim Shmuel ben Alte Nechama, From His Grateful Family​&As a zechus that all medical tests show health and may ה make it that it should be so&Yehuda Scheff: for wednesday YUD kisleiv: On my father's Yisroel ben Avrohom Yosef's 37th yahrtzeit&Happy Birthday to "THE" Yochanan Itzkowitz, From All the People He Brought to MDY&Elana Price: מזל טוב לבני עקיבא בן גיגי (כיתה ד) על סיום משניות מסכת ראש השנה ותענית&Yossi Mizrahi: BatoRah.comלע"נ מור חמי חכם מרדכי נסים מסרי זצ"לשנפטר ביום ראשון פרשת וישלח--Turning of the daf:Kidnovations LLC​In honor of my Uncle Reb Elchanan Pressman and Fishel. It should be a zechus for Akiva Simcha Ben Fayga, a shidduch for רבקה יהודית בת יפה חיה and a huge THANK YOU to​ Rebbitzen Stefansky, plus all the brachos&​Donny Fein & Rob Ernst of Elite Israel Realty​:welcoming all the new olim. Proudly standing with you on your journey and to finishing shas together_________________________________

CURSO TEHILIM - MIZMOR - 119- YUD by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

R' Eade LM II Torah 73 Pt. 4The Mystical Connection between Tehillim, Torah, and Personal RedemptionThis shiur discusses the deep spiritual significance of the times of day when the sun rises and sets, as found in Rabbinic literature. It explores questions about finding one's purpose and connection in the world through the lens of Torah and the teachings of Rabbi Nachman. The importance of Tehillim (Psalms) in guiding one's personal journey of Tshuva (repentance and return to God) is emphasized, along with a discussion on the symbolic meanings of Hebrew letters and their relation to personal mission. The script also underscores the connection between one's name, personal mission, and spiritual tasks in life.Chapters00:00 Sunrise Reflections01:23 Living the Torah: A Deep Dive into Rabbi Nachman's Teachings02:28 The 49 Gates of Teshuva and Finding Your Letter04:26 The Letter and the Gate: A Spiritual Journey06:29 The Power of Tehillim and Spiritual Awakening10:59 The Eternal Life of the Righteous18:12 The Creation of the World Through Hebrew Letters23:23 The Concept of Teshuva and Returning to the Source24:13 The Yud and Olam Haba: A Spiritual Vision25:36 The Profound Beauty of Art30:18 The Significance of Names and Missions37:51 The Journey of Teshuva42:42 The Power of Tehillim45:32 The 49 Gates and the 50th Gate49:20 The Ultimate Purpose: Torah and Creation50:15 Conclusion

This week's parasha begins with the words כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך - when you go out to war against your enemy. The sefarim hakedoshim tell us that besides for its simple explanation, this pasuk is also referring to the war against our evil inclination. The Maor V'Shemesh in parashat Ki Tetzeh writes that the main attack of the yetzer hara is to stop a person from praying properly. A person can become so close to Hashem through tefila and, therefore, the yetzer hara will do whatever is in its power to stop the person from attaining that closeness. One of the causes of people not valuing their prayers is when they see that they tried so hard to do it right and it still didn't help them get what they wanted. The Gemara says in Masechet Berachot: אָמַר רַבִּי חָמָא בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא: אִם רָאָה אָדָם שֶׁהִתְפַּלֵּל וְלֹא נַעֲנָה — יַחְזוֹר וְיִתְפַּלֵּל. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״קַוֵּה אֶל ה׳ חֲזַק וְיַאֲמֵץ לִבֶּךָ וְקַוֵּה אֶל ה׳״ . Rabbi Chama, son of Rabbi CHanina, said: A person who prayed and saw that he was not answered should pray again, as it is stated: "Hope in the Lord, strengthen yourself, let your heart take courage, and hope in the Lord" (Psalms 27:14). One should turn to God with hope, and if necessary turn to God again with hope. The question has been asked, isn't that statement obvious? We know there's nowhere else in the world to turn other than Hashem. Of course we should keep praying to Him even though we haven't been answered yet. Rav Bunim of Peshischa explained, there are times when a person needs a salvation so badly. He prepares himself to pray properly. He goes to the holiest places in the world and prays at the most opportune times and then he begs Hashem for help. But after all of that, nothing changes. The person thinks to himself, if that tefila didn't get answered then I can't imagine any other one getting answered. Many times, when a person prays, he doesn't have full kavana , his heart is not into it. And he thinks, naturally, if my good prayers don't help, then how are these going to help? For this, Rabbi Chama b'Rabi Chanina comes to teach us, it's not so. It could be that even though a person's heartfelt tefila didn't get answered, a simple prayer on a regular day in a regular place will get answered. We are not capable of comprehending the ways of Hashem and therefore, although we prayed hard for something in the best place at the best time and weren't answered, that should not discourage us from praying again. One year, the Arizal prayed all of his tefilot on the Yamim Noraim with great kavana . Yet, he was shown from Shamayim that in another city there was a man whose prayers were considered better than his. The Arizal went to visit that man to see who he was. The man was a very simple Jew who didn't even know how to read Hebrew. The Arizal asked him how he prayed on the Yamim Noraim if he didn't know how to read. The man replied he was embarrassed to say it, but he didn't even know the full Aleph Bet. He only knew from Aleph through Yud. He said he walked into shul and saw everybody praying with such deep kavana and felt so bad that he couldn't do the same. So with a broken heart, he began reciting the Aleph Bet until Yud. And when he got to Yud, he started again from Aleph and he kept repeating it the entire tefila . He said to Hashem, "Master of the world, please take these letters that I am offering you and make nice words out of them and let them be pleasing to you." He was so sincere. His simple Aleph Bet accomplished more in heaven than the great kavanot of the Arizal. We don't know which prayer is more valuable than which. We don't know which times our prayers are more accepted and therefore, at all times, we always continue to pray. And even if we think the prayer will be worthless, חזק ויאמץ לבך וקוה אל ה ' we must strengthen our hearts and call out to Hashem anyway. Shabbat Shalom.

This is a sicha recording we learned a few years ago! It's so empowering! Combining Parshas Chukas (&Balak) & the upcoming Yud-beis Yud-gimmul Tammuz mesiras nefesh into one powerful combo of an Identity Focus! (Chelek Ches pg 134)

Many moons ago, we did a series on Pesukei Bitachon, which are pesukim of bitachon gathered by different rabbis. The goal is to say them and strengthen our bitachon. There are segulot brought down, going back to the Maharal, that they used to say these pesukim when the Jews went out to war, for success in business, and the like. Even in contemporary times, I recently spoke to a successful businessman that told me that in his company, before they make any deals or deal with any challenges, all the workers know to say pesukei bitachon ; they say a pasuk three times and concentrate on it and they have many stories of success. The list that we originally used is based on Rav Yosef Zundel of Salant, in the order of Tanach. There's another list, brought down in the Sefer Taharat HaKodesh , by the Maharal, that goes in alphabetical order, which he says is easier to memorize. So this is going to be our new series, for however long it lasts. A pasuk a day keeps your depression away! We will start with tehilim perek מ pasuk ה (40,5) אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי הַגֶּ֗בֶר אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֣ם יְ֭הֹוָה מִבְטַח֑וֹ וְֽלֹא־פָנָ֥ה אֶל־רְ֝הָבִ֗ים וְשָׂטֵ֥י כָזָֽב Fortunate is the one that places Hashem as his reliance. He does not turn to the arrogant, and to people that are liars. The Sefer Avudarham , one of the Rishonim's commentary on Tefila, finds in all our prayers sources in Navi. Our siddur was written by the Anshei Knesset Hagedola, and they based it a lot on pesukim , and he tells us the sources. The blessing that we say every day of Mishan UMivtach L'Sadikim, which is the blessing of bitachon, ends with the words Mivtach L'Sadikim which comes from this pasuk in tehilim, אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֣ם יְ֭הֹוָה מִבְטַח֑וֹ from the one who places Hashem as his reliance. The Kli Yakar ( Bereshit 41,41) is bothered by a question. Why does it say that he places Hashem as his reliance ? He relies on Hashem, not he places Hashem as his reliance. He explains by saying that normally in the way of the world, when a person has a certain quality that is above his friend, he is not interested in someone that's lower than him. He doesn't even talk about him. He's so high and lofty. That is the claim of the philosophers that said that God, due to his great high and exalted position, doesn't look down at this world to anything below the celestial beings. But it says, quoting Chana, “ Don't speak and say that God is high, high. No that's a mistake. Take that out of your lexicon. God knows exactly what's going on, and He's involved down here making everything happen. And therefore Hashem dwells down in the low people.” How did Hashem show this? In our Torah, there's an interesting concept called the milui , which means the fullness of a letter. It's a way to spell the letter. For example, an Alef is spelled Alef , Lamed , Peh Like ABCD is spelled Ay, Bee, Cee, Dee. There's a numerical value to it. Alef א ל פ has value of 91. The letter Bet ב is 412, and so on. The letters that have the smallest value are: Yud יוד -13 Heh הא 11 and Vav וו 12 And these smallest numerical values of our 22 letter alphabet are the three letters that God used to create His name. Because the rule is, as the Gemara in Masechet Megila says, wherever you find Hashem's greatness, you find His humility. So God in His greatness chose the yud and the heh and the vav , and the hey , (which we don't say together) the smallest of letters. Hashem wanted to show that in His name is going to be the proof to dispel that God does not humble Himself. God comes down and lowers Himself. And that's why we say יְ֭הֹוָה מִבְטַח֑וֹ Not in God, but Hashem's name itself is what gives me the ability to rely on Him. That is pasuk number one on the hit parade. אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי הַגֶּ֗בֶר אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֣ם יְ֭הֹוָה מִבְטַח֑וֹ Fortunate is the one makes Hashem his reliance. He makes Hashem his reliance because he realizes that Hashem is humble. It's interesting that the contrast of the pasuk says, וְֽלֹא־פָנָ֥ה אֶל־רְ֝הָבִ֗ים וְשָׂטֵ֥י כָזָֽב He did not turn to the Rehavim- which refers to arrogant people and people that are liars. That's why this pasuk is a claim against Yosef. Why are you turning to ask the Wine Steward, who's arrogant? But according to this Kli Yakar, it's beautiful that we contrast God's humility to the arrogance of the other people that we want to rely on. The people that are arrogant aren't going to help you. They don't care about you. They're high and lofty, they're above you. So, to give us hizuk, we say, אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי הַגֶּ֗בֶר אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֣ם יְ֭הֹוָה מִבְטַח֑וֹ Realize you can rely on Hashem. It's not beneath Him to take care of your problems. And the other options, the other people that you might turn to, are people that are high and lofty. Have a wonderful day.

Hablemos sobre la carta natal de México en base a 16/09/1810 un poco de revolución solar, la casa que será tocada por Plutón en su tránsito por Acuario. Pd. El 10 (1810) en la Kabbalah también habla del Yud (el dedo de Dios en la astrología)

Salmo # 119 -Yud- י el cual trae beneficios y es recomendable entre otros para solucionar y disipar sospechas. El salmo #119 es un salmo que contiene 176 versos, y está dividido en 22 grupos (22 letras) en el que cada grupo tiene 8 versos cada uno y estos 8 versos comienzan con la misma … Continuar leyendo "Salmos133: Salmo # 119 – Yud- י"

The Alsheich HaKadosh writes in parashat Emor that the underlying meaning of us taking the Dalet Minim – the Etrog , Lulav , Hadasim and Aravot - on Sukkot is for us to realize that every last detail of our lives is totally in the hands of Hashem. How do the Dalet Minim teach us this? The Midrash says regarding the pasuk which gives us the command to take the Dalet Minim " ולקחתם לכם פרי עץ הדר " – the Etrog – is also a reference to Hashem, as it says”, הוד והדר לבשת ." the Lulav – “ כפות תמרים " is a reference to Hashem, as it says, " צדיק כתמר יפרח " – the Hadasim – עץ עבות are a reference to Hashem, as it says, " והוא עומד בין ההדסים ." And finally, – the Aravot – “ ערבי נחל "are also a reference to Hashem, as it says, " סולו לרוכב בערבות ." This means, we are taking these four species which are made by Hashem and we are shaking them. But isn't everything made by Hashem? The Alsheich explains further, every blade of grass has an angel appointed over it and the angel tells it to grow. For that matter, everything in the world that grows has its angel appointed over it. However, regarding these four species only, Hashem did not put them the hand of any angel. Every aspect of their growth is done completely by Him. And therefore, Hashem told us to hold these four species and recognize that we, as well, are totally under His Hashgacha . Nothing else in the world can affect us, not even an angel. Nobody has any control to harm us. We are completely b'Yad Hashem. It goes further. Rabbi Menashe Reisman quoted from Rav Yaakov Moshe Panett who brings down the Arizal who said, even though there are only four letters to the Shem Havaya of Hashem, each one of those letters correspond to a different book of the Five Books of the Torah. How is that possible? The fifth book is represented by the kutzo shel yud , the tip of the letter Yud , which is so holy that it cannot be contained in a regular letter. And that tip corresponds to the Sefer Bereshit , the first of all of the Chumashim . The rule is, wherever we find four levels corresponding to the Four Letter Name of Hashem, there is always a fifth and higher level corresponding to that kutzo shel yud . We know it says in the L'shem Yichud that the Four Species correspond to the Four Letter Name of Hashem, but we know we're not allowed to add a fifth species. So what corresponds to that kutzo shel yud ? The Rabbi answered, this is what it means in the beginning of the pasuk , " ולקחתם לכם – take yourselves along with the Four Species." We, the Jewish People, are the ones represented by that kutzo shel yud . We are Hashem's prize possession. All of the mitzvot are there just to elevate us. Hashem has extra hashgacha on those Four Minim, just to teach us that His hashgacha is upon us. And that is what matters to Him the most. So on this glorious holiday of Sukkot, when we are performing these beautiful mitzvot, we should have in mind how precious we are to Hashem and that He is with us with every move that we make. We are totally under His control. Nobody else has any effect on us. The Sukkah is the Sila d'Hemnuta – the shade of Emunah. There as well, we are in the embrace of Hashem. How fortunate we are to be so connected to Hashem, the מלך מלכי המלכים, הקדוש ברוך הוא . Chag Sameach .

Teshuva - aligning your personal Yud with the other three letter of Hashems name

Learning from the Yud

The Yud י is just a dot, the tenth, and smallest letter in the Aleph Beis. In this short meditation, the Yud is explored, and within it a glimpse of the endless fractals of the Wisdom of the Torah. Please like & follow! Thank you. Music credits: Free Meditation Music 528Hz Music - No CopyRight Music - Royalty Free Healing Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlnfVgRTMRE&t=0s Self Care - Lee Rosevere - https://youtu.be/oEfnAQyxVgk

Creation is primarily from the Yud, G-d's seminal Wisdom. The physical world emanates from the Hey. The upper Hey, or lower Hey? This portion of Tanya explains.

For a genius to contract all of his great wisdom into one letter, is extremely difficult. Compare this to G-d's great accomplishment to constrict His Seminal Wisdom (symbolized by the Yud) and to continue it from there into a Hey!

The letter Yud represents the Supernal wisdom, and the Hey represents G-d's intellect as it broadens and deepens. The Vav represents descent, as He extends Himself downwards. The Second Hey represents royalty, the element of speech and revelation. The Hey is the source of all sounds in speech.

Because our souls are rooted in the name of G-d HVYH, our souls also have these functions in them. The Yud- is the subconscious intellect, the Hey- is the conscious intellect, the vav- is our emotions, and the final Hey- is our expressive capacities.

Recording Available Via Telephone Dial: (605) 475-4799 | Access ID: 840886# | Reference #: 2382 In parashat Shelach , the meraglim gave a negative report of Eretz Yisrael and caused the entire nation to have to wait forty years to enter the Land of Israel. The midrash quotes Hashem as saying, I told them the Land is good, but they did not trust Me. One example was, when the meraglim saw numerous funerals taking place there, they reported it is an ארץ אוכלת יושביה – a land that eats its inhabitants. In truth, however, Hashem arranged the funerals to take place at that time so the people would be too preoccupied burying their dead and not notice the spies. Hashem said, אני חשבתי לטובה – I planned it for your benefit – ואתם חשבתם לרעה – but you are the ones who looked at it negatively. These words אני חשבתיה לטובה are words that we have to live by. Every single thing that takes place in our lives is Hashem acting for our benefit, even though sometimes it may appear exactly the opposite. The pasuk says, ה' צדיק יבחן – Hashem tests the tzaddikim . And the name of Hashem in that pasuk is Yud-keh-vav-keh , which represents His Name of Mercy. Yet, when Hashem tested Avraham with the Akedah , it says there והאלוקים ניסה את אברהם . There it uses Hashem's Name of Din . The explanation, perhaps, is although when the command came to Avraham to sacrifice his son, it looked like the worst thing. In actuality, it was Hashem צדיק יבחן , it was all love and mercy. Hashem wanted Avraham to reach his potential and become the great individual that he was capable of becoming. That required a hard test that looked like din. It looked like Elokim , but it was really rachamim . Our purpose in this world is to pass our tests. Everyone is tested based on what they came into the world to accomplish. Sometimes it may look like Hashem is trying to push someone away from serving Him, but in those instances, the person must ingrain in his head אני חשבתיה לטובה – Hashem is acting for his benefit. If he overcomes the test, he will rise to great heights. The Rivash writes, if someone is trying to pray and all of a sudden there is a distraction right next to him. For example he was in an airport and needed to pray before the time was up. And so he searched for a private spot to concentrate properly. Then, during the Amida , a man comes by and starts talking loudly on the phone right next to him. The person may think, Why is Hashem disturbing my tefila now? Doesn't He want me to concentrate? I made sure to find a quiet spot, and now this happens? Says the Rivash, that person who came to disturb is the Shechina disguised in the form of a man, in order to make that individual's tefila much greater. If he will strengthen himself and still concentrate, despite the distraction, his tefila would become so much greater. The person should think, especially if the one who is distracting him is a goy , look at what Hashem is willing to do to help my avodah, He is even willing to speak from the mouth of a goy, just to lift me up. It's true, the initial reaction of a person when met with adversity, especially when he is trying to do something good, is to feel like he is being pushed away, but in reality Hashem wants that person's avodah so much, He just wants it to be at the high level that it is capable of being at. The distractions and tests are only there to lift us up. Hashem tells us אני חשבתיה לטובה . If we accept it that way, we will be able to lift all of our avodah to much higher levels. Shabbat Shalom.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: 10 reasons why lists of 10 reasons might be a winning strategy, published by trevor on April 6, 2023 on LessWrong. They are really easy to dive into. By making the interesting ideas easy and fun to digest, it is helpful therapy for people who have spent many years with the bad habit of throwing their mind away. It just seems to fit the human mind really well, in ways we don't fully understand, like the orchid that evolved to attracts bees with a flower that ended up shaped like something that fits the bee targeting instinct for a mating partner (even though worker bees are infertile):It might even fit the bee's mind better than an actual bee ever could. But we can't know for sure, because unlike humans and LLMs, we cannot ask bees questions Lots of difficult concepts actually don't require lots of words to explain, the reader's mind is already very well positioned to do most of the work themself. Yud's recent galaxy-brained tweet is an excellent example: The writer is basically prompt-hacking themself into deeply searching their own mind for extremely valuable concepts that are worth communicating (and worthy enough of including in the list). This often includes yielding new concepts in the space that no one has ever thought of before. If you think of new concepts a few days later, you can just post a Verson 2.0, and people will just read that one too, since it's only a minute and it's effortless to digest. As true optimized text should be. You are doing an extremely effective job at competing against all the paragraphs of smart-sounding idiocy on the internet. It doesn't necessarily attract people with short attention spans and repel people with long attention spans, like clickbait articles. Maybe the efficiency that it offers attracts people who are tired from a long day of searching the alignment space for breakthroughs. Or maybe it shortens people's attention spans, like social media does! We need data. You always have the option to write a long post afterwards, and have the list of 10 things be a really good tl;dr at the top (see 5). Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: 10 reasons why lists of 10 reasons might be a winning strategy, published by trevor on April 6, 2023 on LessWrong. They are really easy to dive into. By making the interesting ideas easy and fun to digest, it is helpful therapy for people who have spent many years with the bad habit of throwing their mind away. It just seems to fit the human mind really well, in ways we don't fully understand, like the orchid that evolved to attracts bees with a flower that ended up shaped like something that fits the bee targeting instinct for a mating partner (even though worker bees are infertile):It might even fit the bee's mind better than an actual bee ever could. But we can't know for sure, because unlike humans and LLMs, we cannot ask bees questions Lots of difficult concepts actually don't require lots of words to explain, the reader's mind is already very well positioned to do most of the work themself. Yud's recent galaxy-brained tweet is an excellent example: The writer is basically prompt-hacking themself into deeply searching their own mind for extremely valuable concepts that are worth communicating (and worthy enough of including in the list). This often includes yielding new concepts in the space that no one has ever thought of before. If you think of new concepts a few days later, you can just post a Verson 2.0, and people will just read that one too, since it's only a minute and it's effortless to digest. As true optimized text should be. You are doing an extremely effective job at competing against all the paragraphs of smart-sounding idiocy on the internet. It doesn't necessarily attract people with short attention spans and repel people with long attention spans, like clickbait articles. Maybe the efficiency that it offers attracts people who are tired from a long day of searching the alignment space for breakthroughs. Or maybe it shortens people's attention spans, like social media does! We need data. You always have the option to write a long post afterwards, and have the list of 10 things be a really good tl;dr at the top (see 5). Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: AI Summer Harvest, published by Cleo Nardo on April 4, 2023 on LessWrong. Trending metaphor I've noticed that AI Notkilleveryonists have begun appealing to a new(?) metaphor of an AI Summer Harvest. Here's the FLI open letter Pause Giant AI Experiments: Humanity can enjoy a flourishing future with AI. Having succeeded in creating powerful AI systems, we can now enjoy an "AI summer" in which we reap the rewards, engineer these systems for the clear benefit of all, and give society a chance to adapt. Society has hit pause on other technologies with potentially catastrophic effects on society.[5] We can do so here. Let's enjoy a long AI summer, not rush unprepared into a fall. (source) And here's Yud talking on the Lex podcast: If it were up to me I would be like — okay, like this far and no further. Time for the Summer of AI, where we have planted our seeds and now we wait and reap the rewards of the technology we've already developed, and don't do any larger training runs that that." (source, time-stamped) Maybe I'm out-of-the-loop, but I haven't seen this metaphor until recently. Brief thoughts I really like the metaphor and this post is a signal-boost. It's concise, easily accessible, and immediately intuitive. It represents a compromise (Hegelian synthesis?) between decelerationist and acelerationist concerns. We should call it a "AI Summer Harvest" because "AI Summer" is an existing phrase referrring to fast AI development — trying to capture an existing phrase is difficult, confusing, and impolite. Buying time is more important than anything else, including alignment research! I believe we should limit AI development to below 0.2 OOMs/year. This metaphor succicintly expresses why slowing down won't impose significant economic costs. The benefits of an AI Summer Harvest should be communicated clearly and repeatedly to policy-makers and the general public. It should be the primary angle by which we communicate decelerationism to the public. Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: AI Summer Harvest, published by Cleo Nardo on April 4, 2023 on LessWrong. Trending metaphor I've noticed that AI Notkilleveryonists have begun appealing to a new(?) metaphor of an AI Summer Harvest. Here's the FLI open letter Pause Giant AI Experiments: Humanity can enjoy a flourishing future with AI. Having succeeded in creating powerful AI systems, we can now enjoy an "AI summer" in which we reap the rewards, engineer these systems for the clear benefit of all, and give society a chance to adapt. Society has hit pause on other technologies with potentially catastrophic effects on society.[5] We can do so here. Let's enjoy a long AI summer, not rush unprepared into a fall. (source) And here's Yud talking on the Lex podcast: If it were up to me I would be like — okay, like this far and no further. Time for the Summer of AI, where we have planted our seeds and now we wait and reap the rewards of the technology we've already developed, and don't do any larger training runs that that." (source, time-stamped) Maybe I'm out-of-the-loop, but I haven't seen this metaphor until recently. Brief thoughts I really like the metaphor and this post is a signal-boost. It's concise, easily accessible, and immediately intuitive. It represents a compromise (Hegelian synthesis?) between decelerationist and acelerationist concerns. We should call it a "AI Summer Harvest" because "AI Summer" is an existing phrase referrring to fast AI development — trying to capture an existing phrase is difficult, confusing, and impolite. Buying time is more important than anything else, including alignment research! I believe we should limit AI development to below 0.2 OOMs/year. This metaphor succicintly expresses why slowing down won't impose significant economic costs. The benefits of an AI Summer Harvest should be communicated clearly and repeatedly to policy-makers and the general public. It should be the primary angle by which we communicate decelerationism to the public. Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.

Ches Adar (22:55)

The 10th ("Yud") of Shevat is the yahrtzeit of the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe and the day that the Rebbe officially took over leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. In this episode, Eliezer and Mendy reflect on the day's significance and its relevance today.

How much FIRE should you put into your next move? Good Morning! This Shabbat is called the Shabbat of strength, Chazak!  What is the strength of this Shabbat about? The title of the Torah portion this Shabbat is Vayechi, "And Jacob lived." The Talmud says that Jacob, our father never died. As his seed, his children are alive, so is he alive. This means that you can see the eternity of Jacob in his children. More, that every Jew is a child of Jacob and is similar to Jacob. If we are like Jacob our offspring, our seeds, are every thing we do say or think, and these seeds will grow. When Moshiach comes we will see the light of every mitzvah and even items that are officially not a mitzvah but are done for G-d's sake last forever.  But how can we make those seeds alive? How can we give them that eternal quality? How can we animate our one time actions to to have impact beyond the here and now? The name of Jacob gives us the answer.  The name of Jacob is made up of two words: Yud and Aikev. Yud- the first letter of G-d's name  And "Aikev" means a heel. Even in the things of our life that are the most heel like, earthy, a Jew is empowered to fully put his or her soul into every thought words or action and create the future of Moshiach. I'll never forget that scavenger hunt  When I was a child in camp in Worcester, A scavenger hunt meant trying to find a green sock in a mall but I'll never forget a far more profound scavenger hunt. I'll never forget a far more profound scavenger hunt. The camp lmaan chay was sent to the Rebbe's 770 shul on a scavenger hunt, they needed to find out what is a chassid? I saw a ten year old boy ask this of the famous Chassidic mentor Reb yekusiel Feldman, he lit up and stood up and said, a chasid is someone who puts the whole fire of his soul in everything he does! And you know, he put fire into those words and that's why they planted a seed in me.Support the show

Come journey with me to the cosmos and engage Yud

This Saturday night is Hoshana Raba, which is connected to Achdut . Rav Yerucham Olshin, in his Sefer Yerach L'Moadim (page 533) explains a fascinating concept. In Parashat Ki Tetzeh (21/13) the Torah tells us about the Yefat Toar, וּבָ֥כְתָ֛ה אֶת־אָבִ֥יהָ וְאֶת־אִמָּ֖הּ She cries over her father and her mother. The Zohar tells us that this is symbolic of the Jewish people doing teshuva , crying in the month of Elul. The father refers to God and the mother refers to Knesset Yisrael, which literally means the gathering of the Jewish people . The Sefer Shelah HaKadosh explains that although the Jewish people down in this world look like they're separate, in the heavens above, in the secret of their souls, they're really united and they're one. So when there's a separation down here amongst Jews, it impacts a separation in the heavens above. As such, there are two aspects of teshuva. One is to fix the sins that impact on our relationship with God, and the other is to fix the sins that cause of the separation between the Jewish people. He says that the first 10 days are Aseret Yeme Teshuva, but there are another 10 days from after Yom Kippur to Hoshana Raba. The first 10 days are to work on our disconnect with God, and the second 10 are to work on the disconnect from man to man. This continues the theme of unity that we've been talking about until now, with the Lulav and Etrog , Aravot and Hadassim that symbolize unity, and also the Succah- as we mentioned, the whole Jewish people could fulfill their obligation with one Succah. He adds a beautiful thought: on Hoshana Raba, which is the final judgment day, we bang the Aravot because symbolize the lips. What do the Aravot have to do with lips? Mainly, we are talking about fixing the divisiveness among the Jewish people, which is all about Sinat Hinam , and the Chafetz Chaim says that the main cause of Sinat Hinam is Lashon Hara. Therefore, our job on Hoshana Raba is to fix our lips. That's the Aravot . And as we mentioned in the past, we are supposed to bang the “lips” on the ground. If someone says something that bothers you, what should you do? Put dirt in your mouth, put a cork in your mouth. Don't respond. That's the fixing of the lips. And he brings down a beautiful thought from the Gaon of Vilna. There are different areas where our speech is made- we pronounce things with our teeth, with our lips, with our palate, and our throats ( the tongue is in a separate category as it's the main part). The letters that come out of the teeth are Zayin, Samech, Shin and Resh. Then we have letters that come from the lips. Bet, Vav, Mem and Peh . Then we have the letters that come from the Palate-the Gimmel, Yud, Chaf, and Kuf . The Alef, Heh, Chet and Ayin come from the throat. (The tongue letters are Daled, Tet, Lamed, Nun and Taf ) He says that the word Succah has a letter from the four enabler units. It has a Samech from the teeth letters, It has a Vav from the lip letters. It has a Chaf from the palate letters and the Heh from the throat letters. The point is that we're trying to fix the different parts of the body that are involved in speech. Because, again, the main theme of Succot is to fix the divisiveness that's comes from speech. One last little tidbit is that on Shabbat Mincha we say Atah Echad V'Shimcha Echad, Umi K'Amcha, Goy Echad B'Aretz. You are One, Your Name is One, and who is like your people Israel, A unique nation on earth? Why do we say this on Shabbat? One explanation is that when the Jewish people are goy echad b'aretz/when we are united, then it brings about that Hashem Echad U'Shmo Echad. Since Shabbat Mincha is a time that symbolizes Mashiach's times, that is why we talk about that concept. (There are three Shabbats, that we've mentioned in the past- the Shabbat of creation, the Shabbat of Torah, and the Shabbat of Mashiach). The Shabbat of Mincha is the Shabbat of Mashiach, so we talk about the Jewish people being united. That will bring about the Oneness of God and the Oneness of His Name. So B'Ezrat Hashem, we will dedicate ourselves, this Shabbat and the following Sunday, to being cognizant and introspective of the concept of Lashon Hara and B'Ezrat Hashem that will give us a good final judgment. Have a wonderful day, Shabbat shalom and a pitka tava , which means a good note because the notes are given out on the judgment day of Hoshana Raba. All the best.

We continue with our explanation of the first pasuk of Keriat Shema. After we say Shema Yisrael, we go on to the next two words Hashem Elokenu, words which need a lot of explanation. This is one of the parts of prayer, where our kavana/intention is vital. We have to know what we're saying. We have to have it not just in our brains, but in our hearts, when we say it. So what exactly does it mean? The first word, Hashem , is spelled yud , heh , vav and heh . Normally, we don't have that in mind. Normally, we just read it as A-donai. When we look at the word, it's spelled with a yud , heh , vav and heh . We aren't supposed to say it out loud, but the pronunciation is like the J-word of “J-‘s witnesses,” which we pronounce as A-donai , which means the Boss . But when it comes to Keriat Shema , we're supposed to have in mind, both what's written and how we pronounce it. So first we'll discuss how it's written. The root of the word yud , heh , vav and heh is Mahaveh/ Brings into existence , Kol Havayot/ all existence. That is what God does. God is the Source- We call it Yesh M'eyin/something from nothing. Everything that's in the world today only exists because God created the matter. It's not like a carpenter who uses wood to make a table. He did not make the wood. Therefore, if he walks away, the table will remain standing. It has its own independent existence. But nothing in this world has independent existence. God renews, in His goodness, Kol Yom/everyday, Constantly Maaseh Bereshit. We can use what I call the Moonwalk Mashal , which the Torah Center people know very well. There is a type of amusement activity, a bounce house, that children climb into and bounce around in. A machine blows air into it, so the kids can bounce on it. But if the machine stops blowing the air, then everything collapses. Similarly, the world is such a machine, but the mashal doesn't quite capture it, because if the air stops, at least you have the plastic, there is something there. But there's nothing that exists at all without God pumping existence, and therefore nothing can happen without Him. There's nothing that He's not aware of, because there's nothing here, that He's not willing to be. Another root of the word is Hayah, Hoveh, V'Yihyeh- Is, was, and will be. He was here before the world and will continue after the world. And currently, He's the only real existence. We also have to look at the way we pronounce it. A-donai , the root is Adon - He's the Boss . He has total control. There is a lot to think about it when we say this word, which is why, as Rav Wolbe quotes from the Rambam, it takes years of practice to get the six words of Keriat Shema right. -Before you start the statement, you have to have in mind, “ I'm fulfilling a positive commandment to say Keriat Shema.” -You also have to have in mind, “ I'm accepting upon myself the yoke of God's Kingdom. ” It's not enough to just say the words. You have to put the yoke on your neck of all that He wants. -You have to understand every word. As we mentioned yesterday, Shema Yisrael means I'm part of the Jewish people , And then come the heavy words, that we just discussed- the word of Hashem spelled Yud Heh Vav and Heh , which we put a lot into: 1-He brought everything to existence. 2- He is , was, and will be. 3- He's the Boss. Today just focused on that word. As we go through these classes each day, we'll go over a small amount of information, so we can slowly practice. The goal is that when it comes to our Rosh Hashana Musaf prayers, we will be able to juggle all these thoughts together at one time. To recap, today's lesson was understanding the meaning of God's name. The name always captures the essence of the thing. But when it comes to God, we can't capture His essence. It's just a way to refer to Him. This word, Yud, Heh Vav and Heh, which is the classic reference to God, has these three important concepts in it, that are fundamental of our faith. It's not enough to just say these words. We have to believe in our heart that: -There's nothing else, but Him -He is, was, and will be - He is in charge There are six words, but this is the first of the four words of faith. To be continued tomorrow….

We continue discussing God's 13 Middot of Mercy, which are necessary for us to act with during the high holiday season. Middah number two on the Arizal's list is Rahum . The question is, if we start off with saying A-donai, A-donai, which is already mercy (because God's name of Yud and Heh and Vav and Heh is inherently mercy), Why do we repeat the word rahamim/mercy ? Tosafot explains that it's because there are two levels of mercy, and in his words (and it's actually a quote from the Gemara), “ Here it's before repentance, and here it's after repentance.” This means that before a person sins, there's a certain level of mercy that God has. Then the person sins. But once he does teshuva, there's a new creation of mercy for after the sin. The rabbis actually connect this to the concept of the two sets of luchot/tablets. The first set of tablets was given to us on Shavuot. They were broken after the sin of the golden calf on the 17 th of Tammuz, and Moshe Rabbenu took two sets of 40 days, until, on Yom Kippur, he brought down a second set of luchot . That means there was a set of luchot before the sin, and a set of tablets after the sin. God gave us a new Torah after the sin, for how to deal with people after sin. With the first Torah, it was assumed that there would be no sin, and no death. Moshe Rabbenu went up for an equal amount of days to create a new Torah, for dealing with the person after the sin. It's almost like saying Has v'Shalom , that someone had a child that went off to rehab because he had an addiction problem. When he comes back, they have to learn a new parenting style. How do I parent him after he comes back? With the same love and the same kindness, but with a different approach. So God has a new approach for after we do teshuva. God, so to say, create a new parenting approach, called the second set of tablets. And with that comes a second name of mercy called Rahum , for after the person sins and comes back. This may a hard one for us to emulate, because sometimes someone sin to us, whether it's a child, a friend, parent, spouse, sibling or business partner… they sin to us and it takes a while for us to get over it. When we finally get over it, we're lukewarm. We don't have that same love. But Rabbenu Yonah says that God does. After our teshuva, He rekindles the same love for us, like we had beforehand. That's difficult. We celebrate Simchat Torah only after we received the second set of luchot . Why don't we celebrate Simchat Torah when we received the Torah, on Shavuot? Because that marriage didn't last. Imagine a couple who get married, then divorced, and then get remarried. When do they celebrate their anniversary, the first wedding or the second wedding? I've never asked anyone that question, but we see from God, that we celebrate the second wedding, because the first wedding didn't really make it that well. We celebrate the second wedding. The after-the-sin wedding; that's the new beginning. And that has to be our celebration with our friends. Even though someone wronged us, there's a new mercy that comes after they repented and came back to us, and that arouses the way God acts with us. These are difficult , difficult things to work on. It's not easy. Anyone who has experienced someone who wronged them and now get along, may still harbor something. It's a life's work, but B'Ezrat Hashem, we will overcome this, because the dividends are great. The the more we do this to others, more God does it to us. Have a wonderful day.

We have started Selichot , at least in the Sephardic world, and every single day for the next 40 days, we're going to say the 13 Middot many times, and on Yom Kippur as well. What is the significance of the 13 attributes of mercy? The Gemara in Masechet Rosh Hashana tells us, on the pasuk Vaya'avor Hashem el Panav Vayikra/ God passed over on His face and said , that Rav Yochanan says that if the pasuk did not say this, we couldn't say it. It's as if God Himself wrapped Himself in a Talet like a Shaliach Sibor and showed Moshe Rabbenu how to properly say the 13 Middot. And He said, “ As long as the Jewish people do this in front of Me, I forgive them .” The Reshit Hochma brings down in the name the Geonim (Rabbis before the Rishonim, a thousand plus years ago) that we see many people that say the 13 attributes of mercy and are not answered. So what does it mean that God guarantees us if we say these 13 attributes? He answers that Yaasu/ will do this doesn't just mean to say it or wrap yourself in the talet . Yaasu means to do those 13 attributes of mercy. God is called El , Rachum, V'Hanun etc. We have to not just say them, but act upon them. It's interesting that on Rosh Hashanah, when we do Tashlich , we say another 13 attributes, called Mi El Kamocha . But regardless of what the 13 attributes are, these are 13 attributes that God has, and we have to emulate God. When we emulate God with those middot, we are protected, and then we are saved. The more we act with these Middot, the more similar we are to God, and the more that God's name is called upon us. He quotes a Yalkut Shemoni, Parashat Ekev, (chapter 873) citing a pasuk in Yoel(3,5) : Anybody that has the name of God, will be protected. The Midrash asks, How can you get the name of God ? God's name is a Yud, and a Heh and and a Vav and a Heh. We can't even say His name! How could you be called the name of God? The Midrash answers that God is called Rachum V'Hanun, so we have to be called Rachum V'Hanun. God does acts of free kindness, so we have to do acts of free kindness. B'Ezrat Hashem, over the next few days, we will explain how we can emulate God in these 13 attributes. And it goes on and says, God is called Sadik, (as it says in tehilim 16,1 Ki Sadik Hashem) so you have to be a Sadik. God is called a Hasid (as it says in Yirmiyah), so you have to be pious . That's what it means that If you have the name of God, you will be protected. You're a Rachum . You're a Hanun . When you're a generous person, then all of those titles and descriptions of kindness, a person gets that name. There's a rabbi in Israel, Rabbi Binyamin Finkel, a Mashgiach of the Mir in Yerushalayim, who gives great Berachot. Reading this Midrash, I understand why. He is known (going back literally 40 years), as Binyamin Hasadik/the righteous Binyamin. That means he's called the name of God. That's a powerful title, to have Sadik after your name. That's God's name. Imagine you get called so-and-so the Rachum , or so- and-so the Hanun . That's what we want. We want to be called by the name of God, which means acting in the traits of God. These are the 13 attributes of mercy, but it's not enough just to say them. We have to act upon. The Reshit Hochma says that the underlying trait of all these 13 attributes is actually God's humility, because for God to ignore our sins, to a certain level, and forgive us, and to continue to bestow His goodness upon us is a tremendous level of humility. And we're going to see, Mi El Kamocha means that God accepts humility and disgrace and continues to benefit people. So the underlying trait of all these 13 Middot is the trait of humility. And it's interesting to note in the introduction to the Va'yaavor, humility is stressed. The introduction is called El Melech Yoshev Al Kiseh Rachamim God sits on the chair of mercy … He acts in piousness. He forgives our sins. He does acts of righteousness with everybody and He does not reciprocate according to our evil. And then it says, El , the God, (that's the first trait) Horitanu/He taught us to say these, Remember for us today, God made a deal, that If you act like that,, I'll forgive you. And who is the one that revealed this to us? It says, like you told the Humble one- We don't call him Moshe Rabbenu, we call them the humble one, because since these are traits of humility, the conduit to bring it down was the Humble One Moshe. That's the underlying theme of all these traits-to be humble. Have a wonderful day.

Series: Be'erot, Love & Relationship with God.   Synopsis:  How Yaakov's aspect of Tiferet is the beauty that results from the connecting back of an individual element of the world to its source.   Episode Transcript:   The Chachamim tell about Yaakov Avinu that he was the most beautiful of the avot. The beauty of Yaakov was like the beauty of Adam Harishon, and his beauty  surpassed that of the avot. And I think to appreciate some of why is very rooted in the kinds of  balance Yaakov brings to the world because, if as we saw in the imagery that we touched in Avraham Avinu, when he becomes the out-breath, the breathing out of possibilties and the sharing and Yitzchak is the in-breath and the independent personhood, so there is a great risk in that, that the independent person becomes disconnected from Source. We all know this, and it's a great paradox we expanded upon, that in coming into one's own, there is a losing of the original place of Source. And a lot of life that is creative and forward-moving is about holding a very clear consciousness of Source, as one becomes more realized and expressed                 And since we find out that Yaakov Avinu is the one who is realized personality, and when he becomes Yisrael, so his ability to hold the rootedness and to become particularly expressed intot he bechina of li rosh, that I have a head, meaning that I have both a head that I am sourced in andt hat I have a head, most particularly I have a perspective, a perception, a consciousness which is mine. That ability to hold those, which we saw in terms of  Yisrael as shir-el, as holding those in the oscillation which becomes a song, is also very much present as a preparation for that ability to sing in the aesthetic, in the yofi, and tiferet, the midah of Yaakov, is the appearance of beauty and that has everything todo with holding this most delicate balance because there is something about beauty which is very mysterious. The theories around what impacts people as aesthetically pleasing are numerous. But the aspect of it that most interests me is the aspect that beauty has which ironically attaches the person to the transcendent, by which I mean that in the moment that a person appreicates something which is marvelously beautyful, so a profoundly aesthetic moment will not be translated into appetite, by which I mean, a true and delicate appreciation of beauty, it inculcates and  brings on in the observer a sense of something which is transcending this object, or moment. And the opposite direction of becomine "appetitic", tyvadic, wanting to take it as your own, that kind of direction of soul and of emotion as generally not in the moment of the apprecition of the beauty. There maybe something which becomes aroused after that—and we'll explore that—but the moment of just the beauty of it, is quite ironically, I think, one which is generally moves one in the direction of wanting to share.                 If I can describe what I think as a fairly universal experience, when there is a beautiful scene that someone sees, that's where it's most easy to appreicate, or a beautiful song that a person is hearing. So the place of purity in the appreciation of that is almost one which arouses in the listener or viewer a desire to share it. "It's unbelievable, did you see it?" Or, "Did you hear this song yet?" And people have this almost like a drive that it not remain their own. There's something here that I know we can share it. And it's not exactly that there is something missing if it's not shared. It's definietly still there whether it's shared or not shared. But there's something like a drive in a person that I want to share this with others. And this, I believe, is rooted in an extraordinary aspect of beauty—it arouses a person to a sense of the transcendent, by which I mean, that aspect of reality in which all is sharing, is together, and I believe the arousal to that comes from what I think, sort of we subconcsiously know, that somehow, the fact that there is beauty in the world is the most profound indication that this world has a selfhood. And what I mean, if you think about it, and we generally don't, the world is a beautiful place, is the strongest indication about the commonality of our consciousness with what is. If it wasn't that our consciousness were somehow sharing with this planet what this planet is, then it wouldn't appear beautiful to us; there would be something off about it or dissonant or repulsive about it, because it's not like something that we connect to. Like, beauty is a deep connector, not in the I'll just keep using this word until we come up with a better word—not in the appetetic  way—it's a deep connector in the sense of, if I find this beautiful, then somehow that means that I really belong here. Somehow my consciousness, selfhood, what I take pleasure in an take enjoyment in is really meant for me,  and the Being who made this made both me and that which I see, made both me and my awareness and that which I am aware of, and it's beautiful to me. These trees, these mountains, the sky, the clouds, the beautiful flower, beautiful human being. All of these are the strongest indication that there is a common root to it all. And that the ecology of it is one of unity and oneness.                 There is a very deep sense of oneness and sense of well, that there is a creation here that is sharing with me in beauty. I'm not outside of it and disconnected from it. We're sharing something. And when I see a beautiful person or tree or hear beautiful music, it's a deep sharing, that shares the deepest recesses of who I am to the point that this is totally resonating with me, I feel at oneness with this. That level of connectivity and intimacy, is aroused in that experience of the beauty and is, in a sense, the Avraham side of the aesthetic, that it's all one fabric of being and we stand not outside it. That place, I believe, becomes aroused in a person, they want to go share it with someone. It's not like a symphony in two movements. It's one and the same movement of soul which is I have come to touch the intimate sharing of the one who made this and there is a sense of there being a personailty and a selfhood that is being shared here. But just the experience that there is a being that is being shared here arouses in me a desire that this beauty be shared. Because that is the nature of beauty, that it involves that kind of sharing. This is so deeply embedded in us that it doesn't take the logical analysis for us that I just did for us to experience it, but that's just how it is.                 But the other aspect of it, is that the aesthetic is always epxerienced in the specific The bliss and the oneg that we spoke so much of around Avraham, and the world of anavah which is completely pashut, and as the gemara I saw this morning, I was led to it, daf kaf amud bet in avodah zarah, that says anavah gedolah mikulam, that anavah is higher than all of them, which is precisely where we had been holding in the gemara there—all of that anavah, pshitut and stripping down is bliss, but it is not beautiful. It is not an experience of beauty there. It is a very profound pleasure and quiet and simplicity. But beauty, for it to appear, must come through the particularization of elokim, the particularization of the name of G-d which is not simple being but becomes the multitudinalness which is the expression ,the name of elokim, the name of Yitzchak, which is the one who brings out the divinity in its multiple expression. And until there's the multiple expression, so there's nothing to hold that would be experienced as beauitful. It's similar in terms of what we know and love, but here if it's not in terms of the aesthetic, a particular tree or person or view, --and as big and expansive as it is, it's still a specific view—that particularity of it is, I believe, what creates the duality of presence which is both that there is something here specific that's being shared with me and through which there is a window to that which is beyond it which shares all and that is the transcendent, which shares all. That way of being in it is a way which only comes by virtue of that realization in this particular most beautiful flower . And then my experience of that flower—and it doesn't have the be the most beautiful flower seen in the right state in the touching of transcendence—that flower becomes beautiful in its particularity, and in its trancience, but also somehow in its speaking what flower is, not just its particular flowerness, but what flower is. This is what life is. This is what our planet is, this is who our G-d is. And that kind of a ladder from that particular upwards is the ladder that Yaakov Avinu provides. That's why he's the consciousness of ladder. Because he always in experiencing the specific is experiencing the rtranscendent. And this happens when he leaves Israel and has the vision of the angels going up and down the ladder, and his experience of place, which is the place that he is lying on has all place concentrated in it, as we saw that the Rabbis taught vayifgah bamakom, he really hit the place. That hitting of place, the Rabbis say, was expressed by G-d when G-d told him, I give you all the land that you lie on, which the Rabbis then say, in their quizzical way, really? Just the four cubits he was lying on? You don't understand Yaakov. When Yaakov lies in one place, the whole universe is in that one grain of sand. When Yaakov lies on that place, so all of the Land of Israel, which is simply the beauty which is a window to all of the rest of the world, is on that place. So, for instance, the Rabbis teach us, that Yaakov is the one who taught the teaching of making space on Shabbat, as defining how far the techum goes. He was koveah techumim. And one of the remazim of that is vayichan et pnei hair, that he made the face of the city of Schem have chen, literally it means "he encamped here" So the Rabbis, in an esoteric term, say, he created an encampment and so on Shabbat, he also created the din of there's a place that is yours—al yetzeh ish minkomo, a person is not to go outside of his place on Shabbat. He is to be there just where he is and not to walk beyond that. He created that there in that encampment in that beauty.                 But the Rabbis also teach, that more than any other patriarch, Yaakov Avinu was given, far beyond what Avaraham was, when Avraham was given the gift of the land, he was todl, walk it to all its length, it is yours. And Yitchak, when he was given the land, he was told, As far as you can see. That is what's yours. But Yaakov, it says about him, ufaratzta yamah vkedma, tsafona vanegba, you are to expand to the west, to the east, to the north, to the south, and anyone who, the Rabbis teach, eats the third meal on Shabbat, or eats the meal which is the meal of Yaakov, as the meals are paralell to the avot, so he gets an inheritence that has no end. And yet it's Yaakov who taught us the limits of being in your own place on Shabbat. But now we can understand that, because in being in truly your place, so you're really there and it's beautiful to you, meaning that you have the deep sense of its belonging to you, its appealing to you, so that is your window to all, it's the only way that it could be. That to have access to all is by having a window through the specific. Everything else just becomes transcendental and disconnected. But Yaakov is that bridge and ladder. And the ladder he sees while he's lying on the specific place which attaches him to all place and on the one stone which become formed of the twelve stones which argued for him to put his head on it. That is his consciousness and that is his reality. And when he comes back to the land of Israel, the same thing happens. When he crosses over the River Jabbok.                 Now this River Jabbok, as it's taught in Kabbalah, is the combination fo the two primary names which we've spoken so much of. And that is the name Havayah. Yud and heh and vav and hey, which is the name of being, and the name elohim, which is the multitude expressed, which is the name of becoming and of creation. And the numeric value of those two names is Jabbok. And Rashi brings that the Rabbis teach that he made himself into a bridge to cross the Jabbok. Meaning, that he is the holder of both being and becoming where he is holder of the transcendent, beyond, unchanging presence which all is shared in and the specific and particular expression which comes through Yitzchak of this particular woman, this particular place. And he must carry that to hold those both and does in his own beauty. And so he is very beautiful, that's what he holds. He's beautiful as Adam Harishon is beautiful. He's as beautiful as the one who held all of humanity in him. He's the one whose radiance is a radiance of all of reality. And that transcendence is expressed through him in that kind of revelation that we experience something every time that we are experiencing something in its beauty.                 I know this very deeply in music and I believe it's true in art too. There's a beautiful film of Yitzchak Perlamn teaching the best children virtuosos of the world. Children can be a virtuoso because of extraordinary technical ability. So you can  have a child who mamash plays like an incredible creation. So in this film you see on violin one of these Japanese or Jewish kids—there seem to be certain races that are especially good at this—playing very difficuly piece on violin. And it's good, it's astounding, the ability. Then, to teach them, he takes the violin and begins to play. And it's just another world, and it's not that his technical ability is different from theirs. What has shifted here? What has shifted here is the depth of resonance of his own personhood which is connecting into the inner spirit of the—I don't know if there are words for this—it's the ruach, it's the inner breath of the breath. It's not enough to have sung it, but it's the presence of the personhood there. The others were impressive and astounding and awesome, and all the other words to descirbe our amazement. But it became beautiful when there was the depth of a personality there that was expressive of life. That's when it became beautiful. I know anytime I play music, that's when it becomes beautiful. And I'm committed to it beign that way in Torah also. Even so, I must say I sometimes have my ambivalence of even teaching what I'm teaching now. I think I'm giving over te truths. I really sense that. But ti's not like the technical tightness and arguability always—at least in the level of consciousness—that say, a Talmudic discourse would be given over (although, who knows? Maybe some day those rules will be—they do for me sometimes 31:27). But nevertheless, the depth of that, when it's connected, there's an entirety of a personhood that speaks through that, that's when it becomes beautiful. And that's because it's connecting to the source, it's connecting to the soul, and a life.                 Yaakov Avinu carries that. That is his being, and it's also what makes it so possible for Yaakov Avinu to be responsive to things as they are, as we've spoken out, because he is the responsive one. His own beauty makes him so connected to what is, he responds to the specifics of every moment and he responds to people as they are. He sees them always as a window to what is beyond them, and what is beyond also their own particular awareness. Someone might not know what he really wants. And Lavan might not know what he really wants. Yaakov really knows what he really wants and he provides that to them. He responds. He follows with temimut where life leads him because of that same kind of sense of it all being bridged. I'd like to work that out more clearly somehow because I see them as related. Certainly I do know that the ones who appreciate beauty most are temimim. Temimim, not in the sense of not knowing. A tamim can be a very knowledgable person. And I believe that the more knowledgable and the more intelligent the tamim is, so the more of his depth of the appreicate of the aesthetic will be. Not because he's bringing up how the helium of the sun reacts and creates heat, and all that stuff, but there's just something about the depth of a person that happens because of his knowing of what reality is that enters into that moment even though it's not conscience in that moment. But the primary mode of experiencing beauty is in temimut, in ingenuousness, simplicity, in not trying to place upon it my own agenda and intentions. To really just be with it as it is. To really just be with it as it is can turn almost anything into beauty.                 Now there are things in reality which seem to be designed to be repulsive. You know, large rats and palmetto beetles. It does seem that G-d has the roah, you know, the evil also represented in the aesthetic. But, I think ultimately the tamim would be able to touch something of the beauty in that, too. Temimus also has to do with a stripping of—not like anavah, but a stripping of temimut, that's why pshitut and temimut come together—but it's different in that temimut, has already become specified into my particularness and your particularness, and I'm opening to receiving things just as they are. (35:30)                 I realize that the bracha that we say when we see something beautiful is, she kacha lo b'olamo. It's just as it is, it's just that way in His world. And it's important to say In His world, in the sense of the person behind it. Did I once share with you this interaction I once had with someone who'se very heavy into Buddhism? We were walking outside and we were chatting about things and I was just so taken by the beauty of where we were, I just said to him, how can the simplicity of being and the relating to this as an illusion—an almost unintended illusion—how could it be so beautiful? The beauty gives such a strong sense of there's someone there Who made that for you? How do you explain that? Either he didn't have an answer, or he didn't want to bother me, I don't know which. But he was willing just to appreciate that. It's like Jewish. What is the Buddist conception of beauty? I don't know all that much about Buddhism, so it's not fair, but my sense is that the attitude or that consciousness that the only thing that's real is the phsitut has to do with the anavah. The only thing tha'ts real is that, and that none of this is real or ture, misses the so to speak, personality of G-d that stands behind wanting this and having made this. That, in a sense, in a world where the true ascent is to the pshitut to the simplicity, so on a certain level, there can be no aesthetic appreciation, so then all of this is a lie, it's not really true. But in a world where there is a Will-er, where G-d wills that this should be and confirms, so to speak to us, His Will, by making it beautiful for us, so then, there's a different truth which is accessed. And the access to the truth, and indeed truth and beauty, I think experientially they ride in the same wavelength, the experience of something that is beautiful and the experience of something that is true, they often come together. (40:05) because both of them are indicative of this is really matim. And by the way the word matim and emet are the same lettes. They are the "rightness" of it. This fits. This isbeautiful—it fits. Whether it be the symmetry of it, or This really speaks to me, this isbeautiful. This speaks to me true. The theoery you have in physics, it fits reality, it's toen what is. That is so deep in expereince which is why the word emet is teom, it's a twinning of things that are matim one to another and Yaakov is not only the man of beauty but he is also the man of truth. Emet titen emet l'yaakov. Why would he be both the man of truth and the man of beauty? This iso Jewish a perception of beuaty and of truth. Because in every truth and in every beauty we experience the Will-er Who has willed that we should be here in the world and made us all of the same stuff. But that gives high value to this "illusion." We know the anavah of Avraham, we know the strict of all expression simplicity of simple being but we know something deeper, and that is sthere is a will that this should be here, now as we experience it, and is desiring this for us, that is making this dirah batachtonim, a dwelling place here in all of thie magnificent, multiple and diverse reality. So yes, it's illusion, but its' also an allusion to something else, but that's a whole different perspective and perception, that it's alluding to something. And the aspect of reality as alluding to something is its teomiyut, that it's a twin. It's twinned to the transcendent. It's twinned to the inner will of the one who and possibly and paradoxically is a will that includes somehow a desire that there should be a particular and specific manifestation. It's a mystery in all of the sefarim. It's called the great peleh, the great wonder that our consciousness cannot access. But it is the great wonder which all of Judaism is built on. And it's the great wonder which Yaakov touchesk who's also in the middle line. He touches this place in the keter. He's the lower keter, crown, the upper crown being the meeting between the finite, and the lower crown being the meeting of the infinite and finite in the world in the place of beauty. And this is the level which is called tamati, which the Rabbis darshan teomati, my twin. Because when you look at the world and all the beauty, it's like, we're twin. And that twin, that teom is emet. This is true. This is meant to be here.  If it wasn't meant to be here, then it wouldn't be beautiful. And there are ugly spiritual conceptions that say that the beauty of the world is only sort of a distraction or a temptation or a taking away from. This isugly spirituality that denies the goodness of a G-d who gave us a beautiful world that we would bless on it sha kacha lo b'olamo, that it's just like this in His world. Just like this in this world is such a temimistic thing to say. It's total temimut. Sees a beautiful woman, a beautiful man, a beautiful animal, a beautiful tree, baruch atah hashem elokeinu melech haolam she kacha lo b'olamo. It is like this in His world. It's just like this. I don't have anything more to say about this because its fact of beauty derives from the fact that I have nothing more to say about it. It's not something I can figure out, it's just touching something so deep in the makeup of what I am. And the wonderful secret of Yaakov that it's just touching something so deep in the makeup of what I am, I'm touching something which is so deep in the makeup of the One Who made it, that I'm touching the place of kacha, that's just the way it is. It's a very high place. In fact, there's a drasha of the mekubalim she kacha means, keter, kol haketarim, it's an acronym for the crown of all the crowns, that it's just the way it is. IT's such an important thing to appreciate and to know. And the custom is at the beginning of everyyear, by which I mean Rosh Chodesh Nisan, when the world, at least in Israel is at its most beautiful, and everythign is just beginning to blossom so you go out and make one bracha that everyone has to make on beauty once a year on the trees. And it's a very particular moment in the tree's coming into manifestation that you make that blessing on it. And that is when the tree just begins to bud. When the fruit isn't yet a fruit. That would already be too far down the line when the specific already begins to be threatened to be disconnected from Source. Nor is it just generic tree, so to speak, the tree in it's is-ness before it's become manifest. But it's thr tree just as it begins to manifest its beauty and purpose. Right at that meeting point between is-ness and doing, between potentiality and simplicity, the realization just at that meeting point, that's when you make the blessing which is G-d has made things to give man pleasure. Pleasure in the sense of artistic, not oneg, but hana'ah, beneficial and beautiful pleasure. That's when the source is in place, and the expression has just begun to be, we say Thank You, G-d, that You have not left anything lacking in Your world. And You've given us beautiful things that we should enjoy, and beautiful trees, like this one. That's it. That's the place of Yaakov, that is the place of beuaty. And in a sense, successfully or not, his life is devoted to that, in holding a house and family together. In holding the multitude of children that they should be one house. In holding two wives, one of this world, and one of the next, Rachel and Leah. (50:02) And holding in a sense two personalities, of Yaakov, who comes from there and Yisrael, who's the particular expression of always holding a duality into one, which is his task and his reality. Ultimately, we'll take Yosef to express that in the world, and it will be Yosef who will send to bring peace between the brothers, which is his life's work, to bring peace between the brothers, and this particular ability that Yosef has, and in a sense, Yosef, far more than Yaakov, becomes the man of chen, the man of attractive beauty, and the ability to hold together in this world the multiplicity, something that Yaakov never really succeeded in doing. That's why Yosef is the prime progeny of Yaakov: eleh toldot Yaakov, Yosef. He can do that. And where Yaakov risks going wrong in his temimut by descending to complacency, as it says that he sought to live in complacency, bikesh leshev b'shalvah. It's Yosef's always moving beyond that forced him to reawaken that beauty, temimut and the pleasure of that never be in complacency with that. It can be a quiet moment of a Shabbat within this reality, but you can never stay there. And you can't go back there and it's always in motion. And you can rest in it here and now just as it is, but that very Jewish consciousness of there is another step to go is always waiting at the doorstep. Not that it always needs to be there in those moments. You can have the bliss, and you can have the temimut, the appreciation of things as they are, but it will end. And never think that that ending as an illusion has returned. (53:30) No, that's the truth that G-d wants us to live here in this world with its particulars, its specifics, its moments, its people, and its beautiful places that are always reminding us of the embeddedness in what's beyond, but call us also to the presence of what is.                 These are other important elements of Yaakov that I'm able to share. And I'm wondering if we can have—I just like have this so strongly in him. I'm wondering how Yaakov and Yisrael and what we've understood of them are expression to that. I have a sense that it can't be entirely simple. I'd like for it to be so to speak simple. That Yaakov is relating to the all and Yisrael becomes the speciifc li rosh. But it's not true because Yaakov is the one who stays in the world and never dies. He never resubmerges into that simplicity of being the was that Yisrael does, who does that. So Yisrael seems more otherworldly Yaakov more worldy. But as we've seen it's Yisrael and his becoming specific that he's able to become similar to G-d Who is the yechido shel olam, the only one in that uniqueness, so he touches it throught there. So then, who was Yaakov? Unless all he is is simply the process towards that. Maybe that's all Yaakov is, the process towards that. I don't know for sure. I have a deep sense that it would be helpful for us to identify the futures of them in a way that fits with this, of course it must be, because this is who he is. And my current sense is that Yaakov's really the movement towards that, he's always moving towards that and it becomes realized in Yisrael. And he appreciates beauty as he does the beauty of Rachel and he is himself very beauty. But the ultimate realization of that beauty in its fullness is really ultimately in Yisrael. Meod yesh l'ayeyn.   I thought about sharing beauty. Sometimes there's a feeling that it's only worth-- If no one sees it,  you want to share it because it will disappear. You want to make it real. Those are two different things and they are each deserve their own looking at. You're talking about aspects of netzach sheb'tiferet. It only becomes meaningful when I share it. I'm looking for it to have meaning and a worth. And also in that—and I believe those two things are related, what you said—that you believe it's going to last. Only I see it, well, I'm so transient. So if someone else sees it, it's become more real, somehow, because now, it's not just me. The falsehood in that is, okay, you just added another transient human being. How may transient human beings do you need to add for it to become real? It's absurd. Because if you don't relate to yourself as having received it as it having been real, then it really doesn't add if another person and another person and another person have seen it too.   So it seems. So that kind of driven sharing is probably not the level we're looking at. There's a different level that we're looking at that it's so real that I want everyone to share in it and to paritipate in it because the truth is, we all do participate and share in that. Now I know that G-d didn't construct us to always be on that level, so He made a fail-safe system. The fail-safe system is driven (59:45) by I want to hold onto it and so by sharing it with someone else I make it more real and solid so now a lot of people are seeing it. So I hold that as a fail-safe system that gets the job done that now a lot of people have seen it. It's fail-safe because it's ego driven based on my own insignificance and an attempt to so to speak create significance by sharing with others.  But I think, more profoundly, the experience of true self-hood is of ultimate significance, but not egotistical selfhood. True selfhood, soul-sefhood. Of myself as being godly, a piece of G-d, a soul of G-d. And that soul of G-d now speaks the desire to share as He always does, which is what this world comes from. So when we attach to that, so when we look to share it. That is like an aspect of the yesod of the tiferet. There's like a desire to share it. And that's why also Yosef becomes so important to Yaakov. His one-ness. So now it's stepping out and manifesting in another's consciousness or in another's body or in another's personhood this that I have seen.                 See how we really need to explore more about Yosef. We have in the past. But one really profound aspect of Yosef is this power of sharing, which is inappropriate sometimes, in the way he shares his dreams, he's like sharing everything. Seeking to share, and he wants to hear other people's dreams—I think we talked a bit about that last time—and how Choni Hameagel his descendent, o chvruto mituta – I must share, that's just the reality of who I am, he becomes the intensified version of that in yesod, I must share it. And that as an ontological reality. He is the tov that we talked aobut way way long ago. The ontological reality of lo tov lihiyot adam l'vado. It's not good that man be alone. Tov in the kabbalah is yesod. Reaching beyond what I am to touch another. That's Yosef and why he's always experiencing beyond and beyond and beyond, it's never touched at all. (1:03) That's very profound in love that always moving beyond.                 I just want to say one more thing about that. That aspect of Yosef as always moving beyond—Yosef, Yosef li ben acher—always moving beyond, connecting outwards, connecting to another, has to be extremely sensitive to and precise in its integrity. It's faithfulness. That's hwy the main midah, the main characteristic of a Tzaddik has to be that he's faithful. He's ne'eman. If you remember is the aspect of yonati. Always looking into the eyes of the other into the beloved. Very crucial, and in a sense drawn from Yaakov's being in the place. Because if there's not faithfulness, then he's out theree this youthful sowing his oats everywhere and left with nothing. This adolescent uncontrolled outward-turned connector. But in his faithfulness is his greatness. This is why the Rabbis teach that in his most trying moment with the wife of Potiphar, the wife of Poti-phera, so he almost failed until he saw the image of Yaakov in the window. A perfect picture. He looked up and saw the image of Yaakov in the window, the midrash says. And understood that he was about to lose his place among the children of Yaakov, Because it's Yaakov connecting the specific with a grand vision, so to speak. So without faithfulness it would be lost. Can't take away another man's wife. Forget it. And that was it. That's really when Yosef became the Tzaddik. Because he connected to reliability and faithfulness and to the honor of relationship in its specificity. That's when goes all the way up and connects to the highest of the keter, that is G-d's faithfulness to His creation. That's the yonah that is looking at the king and can't take her eyes of Him, the Zohar says, and He can't take His eyes off her.                 That's on the one hand. But on the other, he's always reaching out, connecting more, feeding the world, feeding the planet. Caring about everyone, caring about the Egyptians—he really cares aobut the Egyptians!—Only by virtue of his caring about the Egyptians does he come to be able to feed the world. (1:07:47) (Question in Hebrew: When you talk about specificity, I'm interested in knowing what you think about post-modernism  exactly, I dunno, if you know, maybe you'll say something about that. It focuses, I mean, there isn't one story, there are many, everything is so specific…) I'm not sure either. I've like to contemplate that more, but my sense is that In post-modernism where everything is just more the particular perception of the one seeing it, is a destruction of beauty. And I don't know what post-modernist art looks like, but I can just imagine. It's likely to not be very beautiful because it's lost te sense of Yaakov's truth, which is there is One behind in his personhood in His willingness and desiringness. There's certainly much more to be said here. But I do think that a shared aesthetic is something which stands in opposition to post-modernist perception. I don't really know anything about post-modernist aesthetic. What about "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? That's chen. There is such a thing as chen. We talked about that. That's not yofi. Sheker hachen. Chen and emet don't come together. So they talk about chen, I guess. Well, I like it. That's nice. It isn't bad that you like it. But there is something called yofi. Yofi has to do with emet. But it's also hevel. We explained this once I think. Yofi is hevel, it is so rooted in truth that this world can't hold it. That beautiful rose is going to wilt, that beautiful woman is going to age. It's not going to stay that way. That's the hevel aspect of it because it's in this world and it can't stay that way. The ability to sit in my specificity to really connect to the greater will of Hashem, it's a struggle all the time to figure out what's the specific. It hit me really hard what you said about these other avodahs that the beauty of the world is a distraction and somehow I feel we do that too to women, I feel that very personally, the space of okay, I'm trying to connect with my specific me, and there's not so much space for me to do that, because my specific me is feminine, and that's just what it is, and you're telling me to hide it all the time because that's a distraction for you in this world and it's something I struggle with deeply and it's something that daily I say, Let's get out of this religion and take off to something else where I actually can express myself. So immediately I was, that's what shomer aynayim is, you're saying what's beautiful in a woman is not from Hashem. I hear and I want to cry with you over what you experience as a woman as so much the spirituality of ugliness I talked about, which would prefer an ugly world, so to speak, so that it wouldn't be so distracting. And what I want to share is that the phenomenon that you describe is an unfortunate not only by-product that you describe but may be one of the chief by-products of our fallen state which comes from eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Because it's painfully present in the Chumash that the first thing they do after the eating of the fruit is that they cover themselves so that they not see each other as they are. And that is such a powerful—it's not only a reality, which is real—but the temimut we lost that in a sense was lost. And when it was lost, we became unable to see fully things just as they are because the acquisitive appetitic self became so real that our ability to look beauty without attempting to own it and posses it became a very deep challenge. And so we hid away who we are, and we hide from what others are and very deep part of all that I'm teaching is, certain levels of Messianic consciousness, because they are only available in a Messianic condition. That's not chas v'shalom to say that we should sacrifice it all in the now. But it is to say that there are certain realms which are so tempting to become possessive that they're better left unspoken. Certain beauties that are left for very special and specific places where they can be expressed without possessiveness becoming destructive. And so I share that with you, and in sharing some of the pain, there is a beautiful poem of Rav Kook: All existence whispers to me in secret. I have life to offer. Take it, take it. If you have a heart and in the heart red blood courses, which despair has not soiled. But if your heart is dulled and beauty holds no spell to you, existence whispers: Leave me, leave. I am forbidden to you. If every gentle sound, every living beauty, stir you not to a holy song but to some alien thought, then leave me, leave, I am forbidden to you. And a generation will yet arise and sing to beauty and to life, and draw to light unending from the dew of heaven. And a people returned to life will hear the wealth of life's secrets. From the vistas of the Carmel and the Shomron, and the light of song, and life's beauty, the holy light will abound, and all of existence will whisper, my Beloved, I am permitted to you. Even in understanding the spaces that it comes from feels very real to me that it's just not possible to express the transcendent to hashem, like voice Hashem's oneness with all the blocks. Maybe the blocks have to be on one side, but there's a space, like everything is a microcosm of everything else—everything. So creating blocks within ourselves creates blocks within ourselves. Don't think that when you feel compelled to sing, because there could be a man's out there—whoa I'm blocked! You mean I can't express what I'm needed to express? Okay, but that moment…there's a lot of levels happening at the same time. Closed down.

Ester 9:2 "Porque os judeus nas suas cidades, em todas as províncias do rei Assuero, se ajuntaram para pôr as mãos sobre aqueles que procuravam o seu mal; e nenhum podia resistir-lhes, porque o seu terror caiu sobre todos aqueles povos. נקהלו היהודים בעריהם בכל מדינות המלך אחשורוש לשלח יד במבקשי רעתם ואיש לא עמד לפניהם כי נפל פחדם על כל העמים׃ Começando na palavra hebraica Yad pegue o Yud e começa a contar de 6 em 6 letras para saber quem é o Salvador que salvará o povo de Adonai YESHUA Outra assinatura esta no v.6 começando na palavra Habira pegue o Yud e conte de 3 em 3 letras para obter o Nome YHVH - agora de 3 em 3 para mostrar as 3 formas de atuação e movimento. v7 ao v9 temos o nome de cada um dos 10 filhos de Hamã e nestes nomes que a Palavra de Deus cita de propósito está o ano em que os 10 nazistas morrerão tambem nos dias de Hitler na Alemanha. Parsandata tem um tav menor (lembrando que no hebraico não existe letras maiúsculas ou minúsculas) TAV = 400 Parmashta tem um Shim menor, SHIM =300, Vaizata tem um Zaim menor, ZAIM = 7 total 707 e um Vav maior, VAV = 6 - este indica que acontecerá a derrota na alemanhã no 6º milênio. O 6º milênio vai de 5000 a 6000 - portanto estamos falando do ano 5707 que no calendário gregoriano é 1946 - depois da 2ª guerra mundial no Julgamento de Nuremberg. V.10 Hamã corresponde a Parashá 50 - Kitavô = Quando vieres, Quando entrares V.12 - Hamã - Parashá 51 Netsavim = Põe-se de pé A PROFECIA LANÇADO para derrotar os inimigos no AMANHÃ. v13 e a palavra Hamã corresponde a Parashá 52 Vayelech = Ele foi, prosseguiu v14 Hamã - Parashá 53 - Ha'azinu = Ouçam, quem tem ouvidos ouça porque será no amanhã. v24 - Hamã - Parashá 54 Ve'zot há Bra'khá = Esta é a Benção - Todos os que um dia te humilhou, te furtou ou roubou, serão punidos, espera é veja. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/vilmalonguini/message

A rainha Ester soube o que estava previsto, uma chassina ao seu povo e apesar do medo entrou em ação. 5 Então, Ester chamou a Hataque (um dos eunucos do rei, que este tinha posto na presença dela) e deu-lhe mandado para Mardoqueu, para saber que era aquilo e para quê. ותקרא אסתר להתך מסריסי המלך אשר העמיד 5 לפניה ותצוהו על מרדכי לדעת מה זה ועל מה זה׃ nas palavras ulrasir - pege o Yud desta palavra, conte na segunda letra que cai na palavra sa'ko - pegue o Shim pule 2 letras e pegue o Vav pule mais duas letras e na palavra mealav pegue o Aym somando as letras terá uma assinatura. a do salvador daquele povo YESHUA --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/vilmalonguini/message

Ester 5:4 "E disse Ester: Se bem parecer ao rei, venha o rei e Hamã hoje ao banquete que tenho preparado para o rei. ותאמר אסתר אם על המלך טוב יבוא המלך והמן היום אל המשתה אשר עשיתי לו׃ um acrônimo começando nas palavras Yavô desta pegue o Yud conte de 4 em 4 letras nas seguintes palvras e terá mais uma assinatura Daquele que escondeu Sua Face, mas está presente. YHVH - o Tetragrama. Adonai Rei do Universo Neste mesmo versículo temos o nome Hamã pela 14ª vez correspondendo à Parashá ou Porção n.14 da Torá - com tema Vayêha = e apareci. Quem apareci aqui? O Santo Bendito Seja. Adonai. Ester 5:5 "Então, disse o rei: Fazei apressar a Hamã, que cumpra o mandado de Ester. Vindo, pois, o rei e Hamã ao banquete, que Ester tinha preparado, ויאמר המלך מהרו את המן לעשות את דבר אסתר ויבא המלך והמן אל המשתה אשר עשתה אסתר Duas vezes Hamã - correspondendo as Parashás/ Porções 15 com tema Bo = Vá ( Hamã ia na Feeeesta rsrsrsr) e Parashá/Porção 16 com tema Besh'ylarch = depois de ter deixado. O que aconteceu depois que ele deixou a festa? O malvado nem imaginava que a rainha era uma mulher judia. Ester 5:8 "se achei graça aos olhos do rei, e se bem parecer ao rei conceder-me a minha petição e outorgar-me o meu requerimento, venha o rei com Hamã ao banquete que lhes hei de preparar, e amanhã farei conforme o mandado do rei. אם מצאתי חן בעיני המלך ואם על המלך טוב לתת את שאלתי ולעשות את בקשתי יבוא המלך והמן אל המשתה אשר אעשה להם ומחר אעשה כדבר המלך Hamã pela 17ª vez - Parashá 17 Ytrô = Jetro - E, o que tem a ver Jetro nesta história? Tudo. Foi Jetro quem instruiu Moisés de como seria feito os atendimentos no deserto para solução de problemas das pessoas. Neste Versículo também tem uma mensagem importante. Ester não foi apressada em contar logo seu plano. Esperou amanhã. Ester 5:9 - Hamã pela 18ª , 19ª e 20ª vez - Parashá 18 Mish'patim = regras mandamentos, juízo (e o malvado nem imaginava o que lhe estava sendo preparado por Deus, por causa de sua maldade que não cessava) Parashá 19 Terumá ou Tr'uma = coleta - E, não era o que Hamã fazia? Sim ele coletava elogios e honras por livre e expontânea pressão. Parashá 20 Tetzavê = ordene - A forca para o malvado. Ester 5:10 - Hamã pela 21ª - coresponde à Parashá 21 Kit'sá = Quando realizar - Ele estava se sentindo realizado e privilegiado com o convite. Ester 5:11 - Hamã pela 22ª vez - e a Parashá correspondente a esta ação é Vayak'hel = reuniu = congregou= se reuniu ( com sesu amigos, esposa e filhos) Ester 5:12 - Hamã pela 23ª vez - corresponde à Parashá 23 Pik'dey = Registros - O Eterno está vendo tudo, ninguém por mais esperto que possa se sentir poderá se esconder dos olhos e registros do Eterno. Ester 5:14 - Hamã pela 24ª vez - Parashá 24 Vayk'hrá = E chamou --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/vilmalonguini/message

Ester 7:1 Hamã pela 35ª vez - Parashá 35 = Ná'zo = Faça! - O malvado está cara a cara com a Magestade, Rainha Ester. O que ela vai pedir que faça? v.2 Passou o primeiro dia, e no segundo dia, sem pressa e com muita cautela ela pede. v.3 Ela diz uma frase bombástica. Dê-se-me a minha vida como minha petição e o meu povo como meu requerimento. Isso caiu como uma bomba na conversa. Assuero ficou indgnado e não entendia nada, assim sendo quis saber: Quem é este? v. 6 - A rainha olhando para Hamã diz: É este maldoso, criminoso, violento Hamã, e Hamã fica em pânico e Assuero fica furioso. Hamã neste versículo aparece pela 36ª e 37ª vez - Parashá 36 Becha'olet'echá = Quando você acender. O malvado estava na fogueira - "a casa vai cair" Parashá 37 Shelarch Lechá = Envie para você - Aqui Ester pedi que o rei envie mensagem que revogue o decreto de morte comprado por Hamã. No v7 Assinado está por YHVH comece pela palavra hebraica Ki, desta, pegue o Yud e conte de 4 em 4 letras para ter YHVH Ester 7:7 Porque estamos vendidos, eu e o meu povo, para nos destruírem, matarem e lançarem a perder; se ainda por servos e por servas nos vendessem, calar-me-ia, ainda que o opressor não recompensaria a perda do rei. כי נמכרנו אני ועמי להשמיד להרוג ולאבד ואלו לעבדים ולשפחות נמכרנו החרשתי כי אין הצר שוה בנזק המלך׃ v.8 Hamã aparece pela 39ª e 40ª vez Parashá 39 Chukat = Regulamento - Sai a sentença para Hamã - Parashá 40 Balak = devastador - O rei Assuero queria uma morte onte todos os judeus vissem. v.9 Harbona diz que tem uma forca muito bem feita pelo próprio Hamã aqui 41ª e 42ª vez nome Hamã - Parashá 41 Pinch'as = Finéias que significa zeloso como Adonai. Parabéns Hamã esta forca é uma verdadeira obra prima, morrerá no luxo. Parashá 42 Matôt = tribos leia Ecl 5:4 v.10 Hamã 43ª vez - parashá 43 Masse"ey = estágios estes são os 42 estágios de Teshuvá (arrependimento, retornar ao primeiro amor.) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/vilmalonguini/message

O nome de Hamã aparece 12 vezes e corresponde as 12 primeiras Parashás/ porção de estudo da Torá. Hamã é descendente de Agag, dos amalequitas, sim aqueles que o rei Saul deixou viver, desobedecendo o que Deus ordenou de exterminar total. No capítulo 3 começa a relação entre a Torá e o Livro de Ester. Ester 3; 1 "Depois dessas coisas, o rei Assuero engrandeceu a Hamã, filho de Hamedata, agagita, e o exaltou; e pôs o seu lugar acima de todos os príncipes que estavam com ele. אחר הדברים האלה גדל המלך אחשורוש את המן בן המדתא האגגי וינשאהו וישם את כסאו מעל כל השרים אשר אתו׃ dentro das palavras deste passuk/ versículo encontramos a assinatura de YHVH de 9 em 9 letras. pegue a palavra hadevarym - pegue o Yud e dai por diante conte 9 em 9 letras e terá a palavra YHVH o Tetragrama. Aqui está também como PURIM começou. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/vilmalonguini/message

PARASHÁ 24 “Vayikrá” 5782 “Meditando Nuestra Parashá Semanaria” by Instituto Toráh® (Serie: Reflexiones Breves / Nivel Sod) Lectura: Vayikrá (Lev.) 1:1 - 6:7 Hoy estudiamos la primera porción del tercer libro de la Toráh llamado “Vayikrá”; el mismo nombre que lleva esta porción número veinticuatro. En esta parashá encontramos el tema acerca del servicio de los kohanim en lo referente a los korvanot (ofrendas), mal traducido como “sacrificios”, aunque ya hemos tratado este asunto en los años anteriores, sólo mencionaré de forma breve que existían cinco ofrendas; tres de ellas eran voluntarias y sólo dos eran obligatorias. Interesante es que son Cinco Libros de Moshé: Bereshit, Shemot, Vaykrá, Bamidbar y Devarim. Así como Cinco Mundos o Dimensiones: A. Kadmon, Atzilut, Briá, Yetzirá y Asíah. Además, Cinco Niveles del Alma: Yehidá, Jaiá, Neshamá, Ruaj y Nefesh. Y cada uno de ellos son representativos de cada libro de la Toráh. Existen tantos códigos innumerables e incluso interminables en los cinco libros de Moshé; pero el principal de todos es el primero de ellos: Bereshit; aquí encontramos todos los misterios de la creación; en Shemot se recibe la Toráh y se levanta el Mishkan; y este tercer libro nos habla de la Avodáh (servicio) dentro del Mishkan. Como lo estudiamos anteriormente; el Mishkan está representados por nuestro propio cuerpo; el Cohen es el Alma que ministra la presencia del Santo Bendito Sea; entonces vamos desde lo externo hasta lo interno; y es allí donde se manifiesta el “Korbán” que nos acerca a la Santa Presencia. Ahora bien, hace un año les mostré que desde el primer versículo con que da inicio esta porción nos enseña de entrada códigos poderosos que nos dimensionan a comprender que es lo que el Eterno quiere de nosotros. “Korbán” viene de la raíz “karot” que significa “acercarse”; ¿Acercarse a quién? Al canal de la misericordia: יהוה; y esto queda claramente establecido por los códigos que encontramos en el misterio de los “saltos de las letras equidistantes”. Tomamos la primera letra “Yud” que aparece en todo el primer verso (Lev. 1:1); y contamos ocho saltos y marcamos la letra en cuestión; sucesivamente por tres veces; increíblemente se forma las cuatro letras del Nombre Inefable (יהוה). Además de esto, este primer verso contiene 9 palabras totales; lo cual nos sumerge al mundo de la Eternidad. La letra hebrea que representa el valor de nueve es la letra “Tet” que significa canasto; es decir, un recipiente que recibe; ¿Qué recibe? La Luz de los mundos superiores; y esa Luz vuelve a ascender. Pero aunado a ello, el primer versículo en cuestión está formado por 35 letras; quitando la “Alef” pequeñita nos da igual a 34; esto nos indica una alusión directa a la raíz hebrea (גאל) de donde se extrae la palabra “Redención”, de la misma forma la palabra “Revelar / Descubrir”. En otras palabras, lo que estos códigos nos están mostrando es que recibimos un llamado (Vayikrá) de Ha'Shem desde los más interno de nosotros; nuestro templo, para poder “acercarnos” a Él a través del canal de su misericordia; en esa acción de humildad y aniquilamiento del ego (la parte animal en nosotros), y así hacemos subir la Luz que nos llega; otorgándonos “Redención” y “Revelación”. Esta es la esencia de esta porción ¡Descubre todos los detalles en el estudio completo de esta semana! ¡Shabbat Shalom Umevoraj! Por: Oscar Jiménez Gless Dir. Instituto Toráh® AGRADECEMOS SU DONACIÓN DE AMOR A ESTE MINISTERIO: https://www.paypal.me/camikehilamundial​ https://www.paypal.me/institutotorah​ CITIBANAMEX CLABE INTERBANCARIA: 002852700725117339 BANCOPPEL CLABE INTERBANCARIA: 137852103733895746

There is a sefer Ahavat Shalom by one of the Hasidim. In Parashat Vayakhel he says something fascinating. It's slightly kabbalistic, but worthwhile. Hashem has many names. The first one that He reveled to Moshe Rabbenu was אהיה אשר אהיה I will be that I will be. God acts to us like we act to Him. Some people won't even pronounce this name, as with God's other names. There are many secrets to this name. The Arizal says that if we spell out each letter of the name אהיה , Eh-yeh ( by a process called Milui ) we get Aleph, Heh, Yud, Heh אלפ , הה , יוד , הה The numerical value of these letters add up to 151. This is the same numerical value as Mikveh מקוה A body of water that purifies. He says that when the Jewish people gather together, it arouses this name of God, and they get a tremendous enlightening, equal to go into a Mikveh. The power of the Jewish people coming together in and of itself is like a Mikveh! It's interesting that on Yom Kippur, the Mishnah says, “ Rabbi Akiva says, Fortunate are the Jewish people, before Whom are you purifying, And Who purifies you? Your father in heaven. As it says, Hashem is the Mikveh of the Jewish people.” Hashem's name is the Mikveh. Right before this, the Mishnah says that If you don't get along with your friends, Yom Kippur cannot atone for those sins.” In order to get the kapara of Yom Kippur, you have to be together with your friends. Because that is what brings the purity down. Purity comes down when we are together. The Jewish people, united, is a Mikveh. What Mikveh ? The Mikveh of Hashem. What an unbelievable concept! As we know, Yom Kippur is K'Purim/like Purim. Why? One of the explanations is that Purim is the ultimate day of Ahavah . We give Mishloach Manot , we give Matanot L'Evyonim , we are happy… this brings a Purity down. It's Yom K'Purim. . Purim is the higher level. Kippur is like Purim . But Purim is the ultimate Mikveh, because we have that Achdut / unity. I once heard something from the sefer Ahavat Shalom, which fits in beautifully with this week's Parasha and Ahavat Yisrael . It's a gift from Hashem: It says that the numerical value of the word Vayakhel / And they assembled , adds up to 151, the same amount as Mikveh , because when the Jewish people gather, that's the Mikveh . Mikveh means to gather. It's a gathering of water. God gathered the waters together. Moshe Rabbenu brought the Jewish people together, and that has the power of Mikveh. So the word Mikveh in itself means to come together . What an unbelievable thought! So this is going to be like a Mikveh. Right after this, it says Shabbat . This is one of the sources that you need to go to Mikveh before Shabbat. This is something many men do, because in order to bring down the beautiful kedusha, you need a Mikveh. As the pasuk in tehilim says, לב טהר ברא Lev Tahor Bara… God should created a pure heart when the first letters of each word ל , ט , ב are scrambled, it spells טבל - Taval, dipping. You dip in the Mikveh, you unite with the Jewish people, and it creates a new heart. These are unbelievable kabbalistic thoughts, but the bottom line is it means that when you gather yourself with the Jewish people, a light of God comes down upon you and brings a purification. Furthermore ( for extra credit) the Kaf Hachaim says that the numerical value of אהיה Ehyeh is 21. Hoshana Raba is the 21st day of Tishri. On that 21st day, this light comes out, which is the final purification of the Jewish people. If the Gematria is too much, just think about this- We are working on Ahavat Yisrael, which is like jumping into a Mikveh. Rabbi Ades once taught us something about this: Many years ago, on Lag B'Omer, we went straight from Meron to see Rabbi Ades. We got there right before the end of Lag B'Omer. We told him we went to Sfat, and to the Mikveh Arizal. And Rabbi Ades told us that if we want a Mikveh Arizal, every time you walk into your house and there are challenges, getting along with your wife, with your children, if they were hassles, and you are able to keep your composure, that is a Mikveh. Just like when you dive into the Mikveh Arizal and it's ice cold, but you are ready for it and you get a thrill, because you were getting purified, so too, every time you walk into your house and you get along with your family, that is a Mikveh. So let us appreciate the power of Vayakhel , the Mikveh, and also Shabbat… It says on Shabbat, don't light a fire- This means the fire of anger, because Shabbat is the day where we supposed to have the Mikveh, the purification of togetherness. Water symbolizes purity, not the fire of anger and dissension. Have a Shabbat Shalom and a wonderful day.

Video version: https://youtu.be/SOh9iIZ7oRM Is it appropriate to wear a Gartel for bentsching?[1] A new utensil that hasn't been Toivelled in a Mikva - is it Muktzah?[2] Cups that change colour when filled with very cold liquid; may they be used on Shabbos?[3] Having touched non-leather shoes, must I wash my hands with water before reciting a brocho?[4] One who davens Shacharis ‘in tandem' with the Chazan who is repeating Musaf, should say נקדישך or כתר?[5] The Mezuzah should be placed in the outer-most Tefach of the doorway. Does this rule apply to interior doorways too?[6] I'm having a coffee and some biscuits. I have several chocolate wafers plus one whole tea-biscuit. Should my brocho of Mezonos be said on the wafers – which I prefer, or upon the biscuit – because it is whole?[7] Is it a sin to cheat in an exam?[8] May we count for a Minyan a man who is married to a non-Jewish woman?[9] The Hand-Tefillin-knot includes the shape of the letter Yud. When tying a knot for a leftie, is the Yud made as a mirror-image or as a regular Yud?[10] [1] ס' תהלת חיים. וע"ע ספר המנהגים-חב"ד ע' 8. [2] פסקי תשובות סי' שח הע' 491. [3] פסקי תשובות סימן שכ ס"ק כח. כשנראה כתב מחמת החימום? [4] פסקי תשובות סי' ד ס"ק כב. [5] משנה ברורה סוף סימן קט. [6] מנחות לג א. שו"ע יו"ד סי' רפט ס"ב. שו"ת מנחת אלעזר ח"א סי' לו; שם ח"ב סי' ??? [7] סדר ברכת הנהנין פ"י ה"א וה"ו. [8] בשו"ת אגרות משה חו"מ ח"ב סי' ל מסיק שיש בזה איסור גניבת דעת, ויתכן גם גניבת ממון. וכן מסיק שו"ת משנה הלכות ח"ז סי' ערה. [9] או"ח סי' נה סי"א. שו"ת מנחת יצחק ח"ג סי' סה. [10] פסקי דינים בהלכות סת"ם מאת הגרז"ש דבורקין ז"ל. ס' תפלה למשה (הלכות תפילין ח"ב) ע' שסב ואילך. ס' זכרון אליהו פט"ז סי' ט-י.

Series: Be'erot, Love & Relationship with God.   Synopsis:  The time-bound specific self vs. simple beingness.   Episode Transcript: (After singing a niggun) It's a niggun about things that we are learning. It's set to the pasuk that David Halmelech says, Yamin Haromema…asaseh yah, which means: the right hand of G-d is raised up. It's the higher power in relationship to the power of din and of justice and judgment, and the right hand is the hand which enables Hashem to do chayil--He has the power to create hosts, and create many wondrous and myriad expressions of life… David Hamelech declares about himself, I will not die, but I will live. I will tell the story of the doings of yud key--an abbreviation of one of the names of G-d-- and it has a very powerful connection to what I want to explore today, regarding David and his expression of the love of G-d that we began to see last time. Here is the context: We saw in Rashi's divinely inspired perush on the pasuk v'ahavta hashem elokecha… that you love G-d with all of your heart, and all of your force or soul, and with all of your meod, that Rashi told us about meod, that the highest level of this love of G-d is expressed through mamoncha-- through your creative investment in life, your possessions-- and then Rashi told us that the other person who is present at the end of this process is King David, who we've been following the emergence of (since we saw the dudaim with Leah, which is in reference to his name) and now David actually turns out to be the one who is the final expression of love of G-d. His name "dod" actually means the loved, and the lover, and therefore Shlomo Hamelech, when he begins Shir Hashirim asher l'shlomo yishakeini m'neshikot pihu, he said, Kiss me with the kisses of His mouth, ki tovim dodecha miyayin, that your dodim are more dear to me than wine is. So he is referring here to his father, dodecha, davidecha, your David, who the kisses of Your mouth, G-d, are expressed through David, and they are more worthy and valuable to me than any of the wine of Your direct and expressed revelation. That there is something that happens between us, Shlomo haMelech says, that happens in a kiss, that can't happen if all there is is just wine. And this we understood with the help of Chazal; it was a reference to the incredible power that G-d has given by virtue of coming into unity with Him through the kisses of the mouth, which are teachings of the Torah she b'al peh and the halachah, and we saw how that becomes realized in this world with the halachah also being hakalah, the bridemaid who is where all of G-d's teaching and revelation arrive in that act , that one act of love towards him in fulfilling His will, which is our way of kissing Him. And the other aspect is the kiss of the Torah she b'al peh, the creative involvement in the revelation of His word, and a new element which I want to also refer to today, is something else about these neshikim. But the transpersonality, the power in the world which is embodied in David, is a kind of power of love which comes to realization in the bechol meodecha. And what was the bchol meodecha?  That David becomes the one who expresses at the meeting of all of the various and sometimes trying meetings with life, is the one who achieves the level of bchol midah u midah she moded lecha, that with every measuring out that G-d sends to you, that He measures out to you, haveh modeh lo, so acquiesce to Him. And I believe that's the correct translation here, as opposed to hodaya, with giving thanks. Here it's--in a sense--surrender, it's an acceptance of, it's a being whole with that, David says. And Rashi goes on and says that David is the one who says: kos yeshuot esah, uv'shem adonai ekrah, that I raise up the cup of salvation and I call out the name of G-d. Tzara v'yagon emtza. I find difficulty and travail, uvshem adonai ekrah, and I call out the name of G-d. Whether it's kos yeshuot, whether it's tzarah v'yagon, whether it's salvation, or it's travail, bshem hashem ekrah. And I want to point out that bshem hashem ekrah, doesn't seem to be an expression of thanks. Hes not thanking G-d. He's not saying, uvashem odeh, that I will give thanks to G-d. He says that in many other places-- it's not that David is short on giving hodaya. But here, in meodecha, what he is doing is being modeh. How? By calling out G-d's name. And this is a very powerful and crucial element in all of the work that we have been doing in the love of G-d. And especially in the aspect of the creative force which we explored last week in the lev tov, which is the heart of creativity, the pounding life-giving force, which a person, in his right purity, becomes that. That lev tov is rooted in that maayan mitgaber, in a spring that is overcoming all kinds of obstacles, whether it be fear, whether it be self-denigration, or--but that the maayan comes to be expressed in the lev tov, and in attaching oneself to that, so one learns to be modeh. How is one modeh? So we saw last time, in telling a tale of someone who had a tremendously liberating breakthrough in a certain context that we were together, that breakthrough for instance may even be the kind of plug that is in the neck of the bottle, that's the plug of his own self-hatred, or self-denigration, or calling into question his ability to be an expression of all of those but block the expression of the maayan mitgaber which flows out. And the incredible thing is then when a person becomes modeh--meaning accepts--and here I'm giving the explanation of what the modeh is, he accepts the reality as it's being given to him. He accepts that and he is modeh to it. That's the first stage. He is at one with the is-ness of things, just as they are. Without all of the lies and blockages. Just as they are, that's the first stage. Just with the is-ness of things just as they are which attaches them to, as we've explained in the past, to the Tree of Life, as opposed to the Tree of Judgment of Good and Evil. And now that he is attached to that place, there is a marvelous thing: and that is, that there is a life-force which in a sense protects from becoming complacent when you're modeh, a life-force that pushes ahead to evolve further and grow creatively into more.                 Now I want to look at u'vshem hashem ekrah, that he's calling out G-d's name. So we saw profoundly last time that this is actually a reflection of the love of G-d which the Maharal taught us; it was a reflection of it's ahavah she aina t'luyah b'davar, it's a love which doesn't depend on anything, meaning it's not a matter of whether G-d's doing good things to me  or things that I don't like. Because I'm so at one with Him, and so connected to Him, and all of life is experienced as the wellspring of G-d bubbling up through reality, so that actually pushes us ahead in our growth in the participation of that. That, the Maharal taught us is love, because love is the deepest communing of our soul with G-d. And already at this point, the love that we are describing is really in a sense vaguely connected to the lover and the beloved as two separate entities. It's devotion to expression, it's connectivity of all, and it's a process of birthing, which is what life then becomes about.                 So something very powerful which the Rabbis tell us and actually has a lot to do with the day which is coming out, Tu B'shvat, Rosh Hashanah la ilan, and the way in which we're always called upon to live our lives of creativity and action in this world. And that is, I would say, the most important contemplation that we have in our literature, which is the shliuv of shem yud kay vav key and alef dalet nun yud, that those two names be ever intertwined. And there is a way of writing them which is intertwined, which you've seen in certain siddurim, and it is encouraged, when a person is praying, to have either in imagination, or on the print in front, the shiluv of these two names. And the reason for that is because, the shem Adny, is the most dear --and dangerous--place. It's most dear, because it's the place of our realization and creativity, because shem Adny is a reference to the soul as it becomes expressed in the world as an Adan. An aden in Hebrew is a socket. Like the sockets that were holding the tabernacle in its place. Life is Adny, life is My aden, G-d expresses through that name. Your life is My adan, Your life is holding all of this divine influx. That it should have a place to stand. That's shem Adny. But shem Adny has a profound danger, and is most present specifically in our creative moments, which are so endeared and we've given so much space to in our teachings. That is because the experience of creativity can become a profoundly separating one. We saw this in the trial of Yaakov, who remains lvado, alone, for the small shards and the image of him being alone (and the first time of his being talked about being alone.) It's very painful--it's painful, in a sense, to be a creative person. The artist's life is a trying one, and I think anyone who has any kind of creative realization that is personal and dear to them knows that there is a very curious path that seems to be followed in that there is--maybe it's not that way for everyone--but my sense of it is that there is a period of sorrow or trial, which then leads to a realization that I'm not about these trials and sorrows;  they are what I am experiencing, but there is a depth to my selfhood and my being that is beyond the depth of my sorrows and my trials. There is something that actually the pain brings about by virtue of being a tzarah, which is the word that means a narrow straight, and somehow that narrow straight--like water that flows through that narrow straight--becomes energized, where there must be a great word like impetuized--empowered--by passing through that straight. And then there is this opening that happens; this is a pathway of creative output which is a trying one, a very difficult and lonely one. But in that loneliness, there is a tremendous meeting that we saw that Yaakov has with, so to speak, the lonely one. The lonely one being Hashem Himself, Who, no thing, no one, is like. And it's very important to maintain a consciousness of the shiluv between the place of the outer expression and personal and specific and unique creator, and the one who is simply a mouthpiece for the G-d who is speaking through me. And I don't say that lightly, but that is indeed what we call upon G-d to do. Every time we pray, we say Hashem sfatati tiftach, You G-d open up my mouth. So that is a shiluv of Havayah and Adny. How so? Because the name Havayah is the name of simple being, as we've seen from the Grah and other places. It has no time frame, no future, no past, there is only present in shem Havayah. That's the meaning of that name. And even present is a misnomer, because there really is no present that's just simply being. That's shem Havayah. And Adny is, as we said, a place where there is a specific casing for the appearance of being in the form which is time-bound, time involved, specific, and seems to be putting out its own stuff. This is why, the name Adny--alef dalet nun yud-- is the word ani, alef nun yud, with a dalet in it. And this isn't just a word game, this is very important, because in the Kabbalah, shem Adny is actually called ani. It's me. The I, the place of the I, I am, and the place of the I is the deep experience of being able to stand up to, being able to assert, be an act, or in life. That's the place of ani. But it only connects to Adny when the letter dalet is there. Literally, the letter dalet, as we saw, is so important in the name Yehudah, for instance, which is also a connecting of the dalet from Adny into the yud key vav key. G-d's name is the yud key vav key with the dalet from Adny, so that the ani can appear, which will be David Hamelech, who comes out of Yehudah, so that the ani of David Hamelech can appear. The dalet remains bound to yud key vav key, so that the consciousness of being connected to simple being, and G-d in His own changing presence will not be lost  But then David comes down as the ani, the I who is the creative output, and this then becomes revealed in the world, through the specific and creative activities which were so dear and about which we say ki tovim dodecha mi yayin, that your dodim are so dear, they are deeper than all of the wine, which is the place of the place right now. There are higher worlds than this, but [this is] the place of statis, the secret place. Yayin is gematria sod, which is the secret place of being, which is always a secret because we're always in the world of doing. So, it can't be spoken--it's an essential secret, in the sense of as soon as you begin to speak it, so then it is no longer being. It's already doing language, letters, forms, etc. so it's a perfect secret.                 For us, the David has to become a right reflection, with the dalet --and the dalet, David-- right? The dalet and the dalet has to have the clear and powerful--  powerful is the wrong word, but the very clear and zach, clean, transculent awareness of him being an expression of being, a mouthpiece for being. Very hard to hold that together. You could see why every time you say G-d's name you have to create a shiluv, a merging of these two names together. Very hard to hold that because as soon as you become creative, a new creativity, wow! you're excited and there's energy and there you are, and unbelievable, and even if it's not egotistical and self-centered, but the experience of it--it's me, it's happening to me and then you have to pull back and oscillate back to it's G-d, it's pure being, and go back there. When you're there it's a statis and there's all kinds of creative movement, so then you begin again and it becomes this oscillation which is indeed the oscillation of the shir which we spoke of once. It's the oscillation also between Havayah and Adny, which creates by virtue of its movement back and forth the song, which is the song that Shlomo Hamelech sings, the Shir Hashirim asher l'Shlomo. But this very crucial holding is actually what we are referring to every time we say amen, every time we say a bracha. So in the bracha, he's brought it down from the highest shefa into this piece of fruit, or this piece of bread, or whatever it is, and then it has created this yichud, and then the person answering amen is actually saying something that is completely faithful and integrous. That's what amen means: Be faithful and integrous. And I'm connected by asserting that this is faithful and integrous. This world is indeed nothing but Him in His expression. And that is why the word amen itself is the numerical value of these two names of G-d, yud key vav key and Adny, because that is what needs to be established by the person who has heard the bracha, Amen. It's Adny and Havayah together. This is the real ne'emanut, the faithfulness that one's creativity is not experienced which is ajar from  or [inaud—revert/overt?]  from. I must say a little bit of a digression, but it is important, too, because I would really like to see this more clearly, but I have a sense that eating fruits on Tu B'shvat isn't really--excuse me for bringing up my penchants. I am not so convinced that it's such a good idea to be so focused on the fruits on Tu B'shvat. Because it's about the tree, it's Rosh Hashanah ilan, and the word ilan is the same gematria of these two names. It's the same numerical value. Because the ilan is the place which is the connector between the ground and the fruit, or as the Maharchu of Reb Chaim Vital explains it, that there's a soul root which is in the higher worlds. And it's rooted and comes down through the tree and then it blossoms and becomes a fruit in this world. But lo! to the one who decides it's only the fruit. Has v'shalom. On Sukkot, which is the only holiday on which we deal with fruit, it's very important to keep connected to the lulav. Because the lulav connects it back up to the tree-ness of it and we're never supposed to be separated when they're being held. Because the most powerful and significant downfall is when the fruit is pulled away from the tree, and in fact has a great deal, --as we've explained in other contexts--, a great deal to do with eating only the product and not of the one who is its source and so we'll put that aside, but I will point out that historically, it's fairly late that we Jews are eating fruits on Tu B'shvat. It's mentioned in the Magen Avraham, 1600s, and there's good reason to believe that the source of having a seder Tu B'shvat with all these fruits is not a particular holy one. I'll put that aside…                 In terms of our lives, it's very much that way. It's very easy to become fruit-oriented, because you're very much oriented around the productivity and the produce and the output and just in terms of personal terms, forget about what am I becoming and how am I connecting to Source. Who is producing this fruit? I mean, it's all a bunch of great words, but what is your life? Who are you? We live in a society which is so divorced from Source. Just give me the stuff! Go into the store and pull it off the shelf. I don't want to deal with mechanism. I don't want to deal with process. I just want to have the stuff at the end. And our personalities become that way, where it becomes like our personality culture or persona-culture, which is what you're projecting, which is far more important than who you've become. So you get these things, you know, like learning ways to get people to like you, or to make a certain impression without the transformation itself. So that's on the level of our humanity. But on the level of our divinity, it's the same way. In a creative mode it becomes disconnected from that first origin of expression. You know that one of the great and most important contemplations that we have is the knowing that all of this is always in becoming; it's always being made by G-d, He's always speaking this. You can even imagine in a mediation, the emergence of a thought; just watch the emergence of a thought which comes from perfect at-oneness with that which that thought is emerging. Where did that thought come from? What was the nature of it, that thought, a moment before you thought it? Certainly it was there in thought, in mind, somewhere, it didn't come from nowhere. Well, that is the very beginnings of contemplation of unity coming into manifestation in a very mysterious, wondrous way in which that thought is not in your mind before you think it, it's not there. You can't find it, identify it, but it is there. Now that is a low level example of, if we imagine it as far more supernal that (33:24) all is present within G-d before it becomes manifest and real, or is it, or in what sense is it there before it becomes manifest and real? It is there and it's not, and there's this wonderous transition. I'm teaching you this because it's very important for us as Jews to always be attentive to that transition point, that we become creative and expressed, but we know it was a thought that was thunk by G-d. And that's what it is and that's what our lives are. It's His thinking it.  Even though we experience it, and we have to experience it, the Adanim which is the hard socket that holds it, and if we don't experience ourselves with substance, so then we're not going to do anything.   But the ani must always be connected or expressed through the dalet, which is a delet, which I began to explain twenty minutes ago, the letter dalet in Hebrew is a delet, [a door], a passageway, and so in the ani has a passageway that it's adni,  and then when it connects up to yud key vav key, and its dalet becomes interpenetrated into the yud key vav key, then it becomes Yehudah, who is able to both acquiesce to and surrender to and give thanks for--and only from there can David our King emerge. And only from there can a true, redemptive consciousness emerge. And only from there can come true song and speaking of Torah and prayer, almost ironically, and prayer. And this David says about himself: v'ani tefilah. My selfhood is prayer. And the reason why he says that--it's so important-- is because--well, (hesitating) the prayers we say, in the Kabbalah, the Arizal, the prayers that we say, are kisses. This is the profound terminology of our teachings which must be taken with a right orientation of zakut, of non-materiality, but in the prayers we pray, so the first three brahcot are the chibuk, the hug, and the request we make of G-d are the kisses, so the Arizal teaches. What, the kisses? That yeshakeni m'neshikot pihu. Because when we pray, so there's a mixing of our breath with His breath, and this in the Kabbalah is a very high place of unification. The prayers are actually His voice speaking through us, and that's the only way to truly pray, which is with an awareness that it's Havayah who's speaking through my Adny, my Ani. And I'll say it in simpler terminology. It's His will and desire which I seek to align myself with in my prayers, and to speak His word, so that I will be speaking what it is which He Himself desires and it will never be anything else other than that. Just like it should never be anything other than His Torah that I speak when I say something which is a chiddush, something new. What does that mean something that is new? Is it not what G-d Himself thought? Of course it is! If it's new and disaligned from He, then it is nothing. And when it is very ancient, only then is it something, but in its being ancient, and the more ancient it is, the newer it is when it is received in this world, and in this body. It's this profound paradox that we live. We only want to say the most ancient thing, the ones that are the deepest thoughts of His will. The Zohar teaches that when a person says a chiddush, the angels raise it up and bring it to G-d, because He asks that a chiddush come to Him so that He might kiss it, and He kisses every chiddush. That's yeshakeni m'neshikot pihu, we're asking Him to kiss us with the kisses of His mouth. Pihu, which is the peh of yud key vav, with us providing the final heh, which is the soul's return up to Him to be kissed by Him and rejoined with Him, and then His breath becomes at one with our breath-- through a teaching which is a true teaching. This is what we really long for, and this is where love becomes so deeply at one with Him that in the end, David Hamelech himself says, it doesn't matter what you send my way, I am in full at-oneness with it. The Rabbis say that at the end of time, and I say this with trepidation and had it not been printed in the Talmud, then I wouldn't, but as you'll hear, because as the verse says in Zacharia, in chapter fourteen, v'hayah adny hamelech al kol ha'aretx, v'yom hahu….ushmo echad, that it will be that G-d will be King over all the earth, and on that day G-d will be one and His name one. So the Rabbis say….(40:49) what , today he is not one?… Amar… so Rebbe acha bar chaninah, his name is like the fraternerous one, his name is the binding one who is the son of the one who has chen…. The World to Come is not like this one. In this world, when something good happens, we say, baruch hatov v' hamativ, blessed is the One Who is good and Who does good, but when bad news comes, so we say baruch dayan haemet, blessed is the True Judge…. In the World to Come, the only thing will be hatov v'hamativ, there only will be good and the good one. Shmo echad, so that was He will be one, and His name one. What? His name now is not one? ,…. Rebbe Nachman bar Yitzchak, not like this world, but in the World to Come. In this world, My name is written yud key but is read aleph dalet. In this world, it is written yud key vav key but we don't say that, we don't pronounce that, we only pronounce the aleph dalet nun yud. But in olam habah, kulo echad, but in the World to Come, He will be called yud hey and he will be written yud heh. We will call Him by His real name. Because in the World to Come the simple being of all will be so present and apparent, that the experience will not be of things will are antithetical to or in favor of. It will only be Him. That's what David is calling to, when it says ubhem hashem ekrah, I call out His name, Havayah. B'shem havayah ekrah. Calling upon that His name should become One.                 But we should experience life that way and indeed he is the one who is raising that cup at the end of the feast, at the end of time, at the end of G-d's sustenance for creation to give Him this blessing, which is this odecha of the final and most intimate love with Him which it's no longer a calling out of His name, it's a being to being with. This love, which is one which is-- there's glimmerings available to us in this world, glimmerings of it whenever we accept life, when we accept what G-d gives us, when we know it as good what He has sent us and what we have faced in our lives. And I want to tell you something that is a great secret. And so much so that the Gemara goes on and says, Ravah, who was one of the greatest teachers of the Talmud, wanted to give over this teaching in a very public place, in the pirchah. The pirchah is when there would be very large masses of people that would gather for the teachings of the Rabbis. So amar le ha husaba (44:47) so there was an old man there, who said to him, l'olam ktiv, it says, ze shmi l'olam. This is My name to be hidden. This is to be hidden. So he didn't. (That's what I meant when I said I would give it over, it wasn't printed.) But the truth is, it's a secret whether you've heard it or not. It forever remains a secret, because it stands as an antithesis to our primary experience of life, which is of the ani, and the transition all the time from the ani back into Adny, through Havayah and Yehudah back up into the ayin, is one which is an ongoing oscillation and flux, which is truly the song of life, and the great love song, which is the Shir Hashirim asher l'Shlomo.                 (46:12) There was once a man who lived something of  this. He was the great teacher of Rebbe Akiva, who is of all the tanaim, is the most primary origin of Torah sheba'al peh. In fact, so much so that when Moshe saw Rebbe Akiva, he said, "You have Rebbe Akiva. What are You giving the Torah through me for?" I could go on and on about Rebbe Akiva…His name is actually the ending letters of a verse which is big important verse about our lines: Or zarua l'tzaddik uv'yisreh lev simchah. If you take the ending letters of each word, it spells out Rebbe Akiva. Or--resh, zarua--ayin,   l'tzaddik--kuf, uv'yishrey--yud, lev--vet, simchah--hey. And Rebbe Akiva is the expression of the Torah she b'al peh, who lives his life in oneness, as we know that's how he indeed ended his life. He had a teacher, whose name was--we only know his first name--and apparently, both the place he came from, and the way he lived life. And the name of his teacher was Nachman Ish Gamzu, the consoled one who was of Gam Zu. What is Gamzu? This, too. Why was he called Nachman of Gamzu? (48:28) Because kol milte de hava salka le, On everything that would happen to him, he would say of it, gam zu l'tovah. This is also good. This is also for the good. Gamzu l'tovah. Fantastic. So, there was actually something here that could be put to use, a guy like this. You could send him to all kinds of situations, and he would say, gamzu l'tovah. Nice, but will it always work out? I guess, he'll always see it as working out, so I guess it's okay. I guess it's kind of like a no-risk thing. So the Rabbis needed someone to go speak to the Caeser, who was going to or had made a bad declaration against the Jews. So they wanted to send him a package of a bribe, of extravagant and precious stones. So they said, who can we send this with? So they said, well, let's send it with Nachum Ish Ganzu-- d'iluma b'nisim, miracles are always happening with him. He's learned of miracles. Actually an interesting phrase, because it doesn't acutally mean always happening with him, it means he's learned of them. Already you have a sense that miracles that happen to him don't just happen to him, they're related to somethng about his consciousness about life and the world. He's learning. His learning is a miraculous learning. So, what do they do? They sent him a suitcase of precious stones. On his way to Rome, or wherever he was going, he had to sleep over somewhere. So he put it wherever he put it, he went to sleep, and in the nighttime, the owners of this little rest spot came in his room, took the suitcase, emptied all of the stones out of it, put them in their bag, and filled it with dirt.                 Now there are two versions of this story. In the one version, in the morning he saw it, and said, gamzu l'tovah. Another version has this in parenthesis, that dar , I don't know. In any case, (51:12) kimatva hatam, when he arrived in Rome or wherever he was going, sharinu l'sifta, so he presented the suitcase to the Caesar, they opened it up, and they saw it was full of dirt. The King wanted to kill him and all the Jews. They're making fun of me, those Jews. Nachum Ish Gamzu said, gamzu l'tovah. Eliyahu appeared, he looked like he was one of the king's advisors, and he said, maybe this is the dirt of Avraham, their father. You know, when he took dirt, he would throw it and it would turn into arrows, knives and swords, there's even a verse in their prophets that their swords are turned into dust. And the archer's bow is turned into chaff, actually the direction in the prophet, of course. There was this one that they couldn't overcome --lo matmu lmichtma she (52:41)-- So they checked it out, and they threw this dirt at the capital city, or at the country, and they were able to capture the country! Whoa! So they came back and they went into the King's treasury and they brought out all kinds of precious stones and they give them to Nachum Ish Gamzu, and they said, Here, take this back and give this to your people. They were thrilled. Okay, so on his way back, so he goes and he sleeps in this place. I don't know, good things seem to happen in this place, so he goes and sleeps there again. So they asked him, What happened with your mission?  How did things work out? So he told them what happened. They said, Well, what did you bring? He said, What I took from here I brought to there. Okay, as soon as he left, they pulled down their house, dug up all the dirt, put it into big boxes, and they brought it to the Caesar. And they said, this is it! This is the stuff! We are the owners, we're the ones he brought it from. So, they said, okay, let's check it out. Of course they checked it out and it didn't do anything. And so these scoundrals had an unhappy end. And that's was the story of Nachu, Ish Gamzu, teacher of Rabbi Avika. What's this Nachum Ish Gamzu? Gamzu l'tovah.                 So the Maharal says a deep thing, "What did Nachum Ish Gamzu always say "gamzu l'tovah"? He was always saying "Gamzu l'tovah." As if it needs to be enunciated. It couldn't be, so to speak, just an attitude. So he says the following crucial teaching: It says that everything that comes from G-d is coming from His good, and when something comes upon a person which seems to be bad, listen carefully, (55:41) hu boteach bo… yitbarach. That he completely relies on G-d. Hashem Yitbarach…tovah. G-d turns it to good… by virtue of his reliance on Him.  Vey interesting--listen carefully. Everything which comes from G-d is good. When it comes, trust Him. And if You trust Him, he turns it to good. Huh? Wait a minute. Is it good, or isn't it good? What are you telling me? Is it good, or isn't it good? Why are you telling me that my trust will determine whether it's good or not good? You just told me that everything that comes from G-d is good. Yeah. But its goodness depends on your reliance, bitachon, betach, is your ability to cling. In Hebrew, tiach is what clings to, rest in Him. Boteach bo. It's like sitting on the floor now. Let your weight be in it. Cling to Him, be davek in Him. And then He turns it to good. That's not to say that if I didn't, then it wouldn't be good? Well, you know what? Yeah. Because then you'd be living a lie, you'd be living the lie of your interpretive and judgmental mind which is pushing it off and not willing to be modeh to.  But when you are boteach and modeh to, then the good comes.                 Now I want to warn you.  Don't try to make sense of this, because it's a tautology. It's not like I'm proving to you that what G-d is sending you is good, the proof being when you accept it, it's good. It's not a proof of anything. It's an experience of life. We could never prove such a thing, because we can't stand outside saying, it should be this way, or it should be that way, if you remember the young man from last week. You can't say it should be this way or it should be that way. You should be standing outside the whole system to determine such a thing, so shut up. Just shut up. Shtok. Ki kachah lah b'machshavah. You can't say what it should be, shouldn't be. But what you can become is an experiencer of life as it is. And you can know, thanks to G-d having revealed Himself to us, that He made this world and held it because He saw that it was good. And when he saw the suffering and travail, the midrash says, that came about on yom sheni, on the second day, which is the introduction of duality. He didn't say tov about that. That if you look on the second day of Creation, He doesn't say tov, because it's the day when duality is created. But on the day of tov meod, He interincluded all the elements into one. And then even yisurim--which are the experiences of life which are antagonistic to what it is that we enjoy or like--becomes included, the midrash says, in the tov meod. And so it is that as long as we stay in the place of claiming omniscience, so forget it. What are you proving to me? That G-d is good because when I accepted what happened to me, that it turned out for the good? What, are you trying to trick me into believing in G-d? No, I'm not trying to trick anyone. I'm just trying to describe an experience and that's what the Maharal is doing for us; he describes the experience when you're boteach, he's m'hapech it l'tovah. But I'm telling you it's good. So if you're telling me it's good, it's good, even if I don't accept it--No, it doesn't work that way, sorry!                 Here, give Me a kiss. Can you give Me a kiss, G-d says, can you become at one with Me? Ki tovim dodecha m'yayin, it's better than all of the joys which you could have thought to experience had you not come into being and stayed the simple wine in the place of the secret. If you can, then you've entered the moed . Meod? Like more than? More than. More than what? How could there be more than? You're right, there isn't. It's all Me. But know that meod is the same letters as Adam. Because you are the meod, if you live your life right.  And the way to live your life right is when the meod becomes mah, which is the same numeric value, the question of what. The statement of we are what, which was Moshe, who said about himself, and Aharon, anachu mah. We are meod realized as mah. And that's when the ani becomes ayin , and the Talmud says that you should know the whole world stands on that, the mah of Moshe, as it says: toleh eretz al limah, that he hangs the whole of reality on li mah. On the ones who say the li mah, for me, it's what. And I'm complete bitul to Him, I'm complete abnegation to Him, it's only Him. (1:02:39)                 The beautiful thing is, when that mah has the beginnings of ani added to it, the aleph, so it becomes meah, the one hundred brachot that a person is meant to say every day. But it's Moshe and the power of his humility which allows this to be, it's his power of humility which allows for the yichud for the connection of shem Adny and shem havayah as one, that the ani never lose its awareness of where it is always, and who is always thinking it and who is always speaking it, and who is always expressing it, and that is ultimate love and ultimate communion in a way that, in the end of time, will be expressed by the meodecha of acceptance.                 (1:04:30) You're welcome to ask questions… We discussed creativity in the beginning, and you talked about creativity in the sense of aloneness. How do you define creativity? Because you're not really defining it in a purely artistic sense, obviously. I really appreciate your asking that. Because it's not always that way, and the truth is, when it's a true creation, there's always people together in it. Nevertheless, I don't know exactly how to explain what's lonely about it. In the end nobody can know your heart. They bring five things--I need to find this Gemara again--five things that no one can ever really know, and one of them is the heart of another person. So that's creativity? The heart? Creativity is-- the lev tov is the creative origin of the life-giving force which is creative power. But creative power means what? That you're bringing something new to the world? It's something from you? Life-giving. I mean, one one level, it's life-giving. When it's new life-giving, so it's even more joyuous? So life-giving is a lonesome process? No, that I don't think. The amazing thing is the way that G-d made it is that the only way to give life is with another person. Until technologically came along and tried to rake that up too. But the incredible thing is, the creation of a child, the creation of anything, really, always involves another person. If you remember, we saw (1:06:34)  ashrei yulad'to, it says, happy is the one who gives birth to him, is the one who teaches be a chaver tov, know how to connect. So I'm contradicting myself, because I'm exploring different aspects of it. I'll try to say it as succinctly as possible. On the one hand, creation is always a co-opting activity, really, deeply. Creation is always cooperative. But there are moments in Creation that are experienced as just me doing it. Just me. And not only that: how could I possibly share this? Who would understand me? --on the one hand. On the other hand, of course it's with others and with all of reality and the whole world and G-d who is speaking it through me. And that is experienced very intimately. But I may be wrong, and I'm not the cleanest in the world. But I have the sense, at least this is where my madrega is, I have the sense that it shifts back and forth. And then you just want to share it, and then you realize: This isn't my doing, it's like everything and every person I've come into contact with and all life experience, this is reality. And then you're not alone at all. So does the loneliness—is the loneliness not knowing if the-whatever the creative item is--is going to be received? Is that what the loneliness is? Never able to fully share. One. And on the other, it's an expression of my utter and complete uniqueness. Right. So that's not knowing if it will be received or not. Not only the question of knowing if it will be received . It's unreceivable, because it's utterly unique. It didn't come from anyone else, it came from me. On the one hand. On the other hand, it's a very tameh place that I'm describing. Meaning, it's a very impure and incorrect. It's not right. The truth is, the whole of reality is participating in this and taking pleasure in it and contributing to it. And being part of it. That's the truth. Halevai that we hold that in the creative.  But, nevertheless, it is still l'vado. Because this particular expression is so unique and different that it's really alone. I'm kind of like trying to draw for you the shiluv for you of shem yud key vav key, and Adny. You can hold it in a picture, with a yud and an aleph and a hey and a dalet and a vav, etc.                 What I also want to say, it's the deepest love when it's experienced as something which is what I just described. We're all together in this. But who could you love more than someone who's participating in that with you? Also you said that it doesn't really come from you. So if you're not really alone, then what you're doing is tapping into Hashem. Right. So then is it an illusion, then, the (inaud) (1:10:51) ? Yeah, on a certain level, yeah. The class is over..and I'll continue to take questions. I'm always very wary of the word "illusion". False understanding. It's called, like I like it better, in the non-judgemental that's called da'at tachton. It's lower consciousness. The reason why I prefer that is because lower consciousness is crucial. The Rabbis said, when they tried to get rid of the yetzer harah, they looked around the kingdom and they locked it up. For three days, the yetzer harah, and they looked around the kingdom and they didn't find one egg that had been laid by a hen. Not one egg. You know, no fruit. Sad to say, but you need a lower consciousness. Then you catch yourself, and then like-- I know, high souls, maybe, I don't know, but it doesn't oscillate that way. But it's good to always have someone who reminds you. I have a dear I guess former talmid and friend. He reminds me, It's good to have someone who reminds you, when you're in your LOW! G-d. Because you can really only sort of hold it pictorially with a shiluv of Havayah and Adni and to be in the ilan. Was that helpful? It is, but I don't want to continue, because I could do it for two hours. (Continuing) Amanut, omanut in Hebrew, craftmanship and artistry, has its root as amen; aman has its root as shiluv. Because real craftsmanship, which is the creative output, is always with this kind of consciousness. When you're purely in it, when the creative inflow happens, so then it's from G-d. Then you start working it out, thinking about it, presenting it, getting it into how it's going to look, packaging it, etc. But the real moment of omanut, is very much like that. I'm just going to say one other thing. We're just referring back to our learning in the Rambam. (1:14:28) about Simcha bmitzvotav ahavat hakel shetzivah bahem. And David and his dancing and letting go, and it's all flowing through him, and Michal trying to stop that and etc. So the Rambam learned his teachings about simcha shel mitzvah from a sugiah that in a sense doesn't make any sense at all. Listen to this piece of Talmud. It says, Kohelet said two things. One thing he said was simchah--ech! It's a bunch of trash! As Ecclesiastes talks. And the other one says, Eshabeach ani et hasimchah. I praise nothing other than simchah. So the Rabbis say, What are you going to do with this contridiction? So they say, one is simchah, and the other is simchah shel mitzvah. And where do we learn simchah shel mitzvah, the joy of a mitzvah? So here's their proof. They say, well, you know, it says, that when Shaul was troubled and crazy, so his advisor said, We need to bring someone who can play you music. And, of course, they bring him no other than David Hamelech.(1:15:46) Vayehi knagen hamenagen, And then, when he played him the music, so his spirit was calmed. It's the same language which is used when the prophets would play and prophecy would begin. Huh? That's the proof that simchah she b'mitzvah, that's something. Now you look at that piece of the Talmud and you say, What? I mean if you had said, He brought him a lulav and he shook the lulav in joy, or if he had brought his tefillin and it said, He put on his tefillin in joy, then it would have been a mitzvah, right? Then it would have been the joy of doing a mitzvah, right? No. That's not simchah shel mitzvah. Simchah shel mitzvah is the joy in the joining. That's mamash, it's the only way to explain the Gemara. When he played the music, so he joined Him, G-d's spirit was resting upon him. That's simchah she b'mitzvah. The joy is in the joining. And Rashi says, well, it's a mitzvah to have G-d's spirit rest upon you, that's how Rashi, what they say in yeshivish, "tyches it up." But that's the point. That's simchah she b'mitzvah. The joy is in the joining. And that's music. The music is there. And that's David who plays the music for Shaul. Can you tell me more about the day of tov meod? It says that at the end of Creation on the sixth day, that G-d looked at everything, V'hiney, tov meod. Up until that day he looked at the particular creation of that day and He saw that it was good. He looked at the light, He saw that it was good. He looked at the plants, He saw that they were good. He looked at the orbs, He looked at the animals, etc. And then at the end, He looks at it all and says, it's tov meod, the allness of it that's malchut, the entirety of it. So the Rabbis said, You know what He saw when He said tov meod? He saw death. He saw suffering, pain, hell. Gehenom. And He said, tov meod. Gey shteis. Go understand that. That was the tov meod. I'm kind of loath to explain these kinds of things, but they have everything to do with what we've been talking about. Because that's the root for that pain and travail, as painful as that is, if you ask me, I don't know if I'd ever make the world like this, don't ask me, but that's the pathway that takes us to the meod. It's just that way, and when you're modeh to that, then it is that. Is that helpful for you? There's a number of midrashim on that, quite astounding. (1:19:55) You're describing the oscillation. You see, it's very much like whiplash, like I'm hearing you say oscillation, and I'm thinking halivay, to be in some kind of like sweet oscillation..  Thank you, I'm being, I'm sweetening it.  And that in that, I guess, I'm not sure what the question is, I think maybe that sitting in the reality in the Adny of it, say, how to sit in that and feel it and accept it, without feeling the need to push it off and say, no,but I'm really bitul and I'm really gamzu l'tovah, even if there's a deep emunah in the gamzu l'tovah, in the moment, how do you experience it and feel it and love it? How do you have both the gam, which reflects an awareness of my needing to see it, experience it, with all of its difficulty, how do you hold the gam, this too, is good. Both the trial and the l'tovah. Right now, I think I've described as best I can in a different plane. If you try to step over that experience of trial and tribulation, than the zu l'tovah won't happen either. You can't walk out on it, it's a perversion. It's a disgusting perversion--is the word that comes to mind-- it's a disgusting perversion of life, to G-d's gift of life, to try to not be in that. If it's just your thoughts, drop them. I have this, I'll think all kinds of bad things, or regrets about, or judgments of, etc. You don't have to walk through those. You can just lay those aside, you don't have to think about those, because it's not more real than the reality you're investing it with now. So drop that. That's not G-d sending that to you. Put that aside, think of Him, think of something good, etc. But when it's in life, person got his leg chopped off, or a child hurt, or whatever, things that we share, just like, oh, it's okay, it's G-d and it's good, that's a bunch of crap--that's a bunch of crap, and I specifically call it that, because I have something in mind, but I have like someone shared with me a lecture that he heard from a professor of philosophy from Berkley. And among the garbage in the lecture there was a good scene he described. When he was in the 1960s in an ashram, a a Buddhist teacher was telling the people there: So what would it be for you to have this rose without the thorns? That's enlightment. And they went around the circle and everyone said, Yes! And they got to this professor, who said, "What are you talking about? That's not life!" Jewish guy. "Where would love be? Where would growth be? Where would trials be? What are you talking about?"  And it's not that we don't know this, and in the end the Gemara says, ubayom hahuh yiyeh Hashem echad u'shmo echad. That, by the way, is what we started with, with the niggun (1:24:17) Yemim Hashem romema…ma'aseh ya. I am telling the story of yed keh Because in the end, yud key will be G-d's name: yihyah. Yud key yud key, which is just the mochin, just the higher consciousenss, not the lower consciousnes, that will be in the end of time, but that's not now.  But when you try to pretend that it's now, then sort of like jump the gun, then it's a short circuit. That's what the Rabbis say to people who try to go the long path through a short cut. Like in the famous mashal that the Tanya brings, that there's a longer shorter path and a short longer path. When you try to take the long path as if it's a shorter path, then you don't end up at the palace, you're just pretending. This has everything to do with what you were saying before about illusion. G-d created it, see that's where we're different from the Buddhists. G-d made this, that we should see things this way. What are you going to do with that? So if you live in a will-less reality, so then all you're going to focus on is, this is all illusion, maya, higher consciousness. But if you live in a reality which is willed by a loving G-d Who is good, and Who has made this in His goodness, well, then, don't skip it over, it's the meod and the tov. Love me. If you experience G-d as a loving G-d, so He made this not as some perverse and false image, illusion, but He made it as a reality that's meant to be lived. And then when you pass through it, and you do pass through it, what comes out at the other end, is the chelah yeterah, that the Zohar says, is the chelah yeterah of tshuvah and other things that what life is here on this planet for, you passed through the narrow path of mitzraim. You had to go there, the metzar hagaron, the narrow path, between your heart and your mind. Was that helpful, was I relating to you, Debbie? Yeah. Chaya, what's…? Still breathing. Okay. Gam zu l'tovah does that mean, this is wonderful? Pleasant and good are two different things. Yeah, Gam zu l'tovah. I don't know that it always means, to enjoy, it's to have a consciousness and awareness that it's not happening without reason, that there's a higher course It's going for the good.  and you're a part of that, and that's way it's good. But it doesn't mean that-- It's is l'tovah  "l" tovah. Yeah, it's for the good, it doesn't mean that it's good for you Correct. Gam zu l'tovah. I think Rebbe Akiva has a higher consciousness, and more geuladic consciousness, and ultimately there's even more, but he's the beginning --Nachum ish Gamzu, of this kind of consciousness, that's expressed in Rebbe Akiva in the great love of G-d that he lives. But you're right, and there's another story, which is a counterpart story of Nachum Ish Gamzu, if you remember where he meets a poor person, and the poor person asks him to --are you familiar with this story? There's a story about Nachum ish Gamzu, I don't know if I really want to tell the story, it's painful but it's important to see the other side, the Rabbis came to him once, he was ill, he was lying on the bed, he had no arms, no legs, and he was blind, the house was falling down. So they came to visit him, and the legs of the bed were sitting in pools of water so that the ants wouldn't climb up on the bed and gnaw at him. So he said to the Rabbis, First take all of the stuff out of the house, and then take me out, so they took all the stuff out and they took him out, and of course, as soon as they took him out, the house fell down. Because it was only in his merit that the house was still standing. So they said to him, How did this happen to you? So he said, Once I was walking on the way, and I had a load on my donkey, and a poor man came up to me and said, Could you give me some food, and he said, I will give it to you as soon as I unload. It's like the equivalent of I guess, like you're taking a hitchhiker. You'd like to stop here and the other one would like to stop ahead, I'll stop over there, and you'll get out and walk back. Something like that, I guess, so he said, I'll unload, and then I'll give you. In the meantime, the poor man died. So then, Nachum Ish Gamzu said: these hands that did not move quickly for him should no longer be, these legs that didn't run or him should no longer be. These eyes that didn't see his suffering and compassion should no longer see.  Wait a minute, why didn't he say Gamzu l'tovah? Well, apparently, it's not so simple. I don't have an answer, just leave that as paradox. But it's not so simple. Is that in the Gemara? That story appears right before the one I told. Because then the Gemara says, so why did they call him Nachum Ish Gamzu? Well, because he always said Gamzu l'tovah. What? And there he is, with the earth of Avraham, the man of love of G-d. It was his love of G-d, the earth of Avraham. It's not simple to be Jewish, you don't have the thorns, you want to go on a different path. Yeah, we have thorns and roses together. Because it's not an illusion, and your choices matter, and your response before them. And they have consequences. That's the next series. About fear of G-d. Oh yeah? No! Have a good day, bye!

Ches Adar Alef (19:25)

Series: Be'erot, Love & Relationship with God.   Episode Transcript: This is the day before a yarzeit and a day that has importance to me personally because it involves the whole continuation of the teachings of the Admor Hazakeyn in the world throught the movement which became Chabad, the last Rebbe of the path the was established by him, Menachem mendel Schneerson became a Rebbe on yud shvat and so we're in that moment now. Tomorrow is yud shvat. One of the teachings we've been with is a path that we saw began in Moshe Rabbeinu's command to us V'ahavta et Hashem elokecha b'chal lvavcha b'chol nefshecha, u'bchol m'odecha. And we've been following that as it's become expressed through Avraham, through Yitzchak and Yaakov. And especially seeing Yaakov coming to his realization through Leah, and from there we saw how birth of Leah, and especially of her realization of Hodaya, came David. The amazing thing is, that the Chachamim teach us that V'ahavta et Hashem elokecha b'chal lvavcha, b'chol nefshecha, u'bchol m'odecha is parallel to these three, actually four great teachers, and the sifri, which is a midrash in the Chachamim. B'chol l'vavcha is Avraham Avinu, whose attachment to G-d was with all of his heart, all of his begin was given over to Him in his being drawn to Him with all of his heart; B'chol nafsecha, who is the o ne whose very life was given up to G-d, who is Yitzchak, ready to be sacrified and was to a certain extent, completely sacrificed to G-d, burned on the altar, his ashes remaining there, and b'chol m'eodecha, was Yaakov. So the Chachamim teach. And the Maharal explains that he was b'chol me'odecha, because his great teaching to us was in being modeh, and b'chol me'odecha is what happens, in giving G-d thanks, as the Torah teaches us about him, b'chol medoecha, have mode lo k'Yaakov, sheamar katonti m' kol hachasadim. He said, I have become so small by virtue of all the good things that you've done for me. Meaning, I've realized how much all that I am is this one point in Your great universe, which is a unique point, and there is no other one like it, but is completely and utterly given over to you, in gratitude to You and in acknowledgement of all You have done for me.                 But we saw that b'chol me'odecha has another very profound significance when it comes to Yaakov, and that is b'chol mamoncha. With all of your money, all of your creativity, all of your uniqueness, becomes a focal point of love. And what I want to share with you today is something of a continuation of where we had been last week with Daivd Hamelech. If you take a look at Rashi on that pasuk, parshat V'etchanan, it's a very brief passage but it's an unbelievable passage, to convince you that it's right there.  (9:46) Rashi says on b'chol me'odecha, he says, this is two different people: one is bchol mamoncha, the one who loves G-d even more than his money and the other one is he is willing to give over all of his money over to G-d, the one who loves his money more than his body, but then he gives another perush, davar acher, he says, b'chol me'odecha, what is that? B'chol midah umidha she moded lecha. Whatever G-d sends your way. Whatever He measures out to do, ben b'midat hatov, ben b'midat haporanut. Whether He sends you something you like, or that He sends you something which you experience as a punishment or some kind of trial; whether it's this or that, love Him, love Him. And who do we learn that from? None other than David Hamelech. Rashi goes on and says, b'chen David, hu omer, kos yeshuot esah, uv'shem adonai ekrah, tzarah v'yagon emtzah, uv'shem adonai ekrah, I raise up the cup of salvation, and I call out to the name of G-d, I have been in trials and sufferings, and I call out to G-d, and in the name of G-d I call. So then David Hamelech becomes the ultimate expression in Rashi's teaching here, of love of G-d, and he is the one, no matter what G-d sends, he experiences it as G-d's love and calls his name. Calls his name that he attaches himself to shem Havaya, in His most perfect name, the explicit name, the shem ham'furash of yud key vav key.                 So that David Hamelech is b'chol me'odecha, who comes out of Yaakov and indeed they share this ultimate expression of love of G-d which is in that.                 So what I want to give over today is something of what I believe that looks like in terms of the experience of life and what life is and from there, B"H to take this into our practice, because it is so crucial and basic in terms of what it means to live our lives in full and realized relationship with G-d. because everything else, anything else will not be love, I mean it may be love in terms of what the Rabbis call ahavah t'luyah badavar. A love which relies on something. It needs the constant feeding of my experience of you overtly being good to me and kind to me, but there is another kind of love which is aynat t'luyah badavar, a love which doesn't depend on any overt expression of caring or doing good for me for whch I'm grateful, and that is accessible, if one is able to live the b'chol me'odecha of b'chol midah u'midah she moded lecha, that no matter what it is that He sends, I remain in love with Him. And I believe that the reason for this has to do with the nature of what it means to live in a loving relationship. And that is always to remain connected. But in the deepest, deepest sense.                 Listen to some of the teachings of the Maharal of Prague, who was a great ancestor of the Ba'al Hatanya, and one of the greatest teachers that we've had of what a spritiual life for Jews is meant to be. He tells us that the teaching of Moshe Rabbeinu, of Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad, must come along with V'ahvata et Hashem Elokecha, meaning that you can't have "Love G-d" unless your experience of G-d is some way a reality of unity. And that's to say the following: Da ki avaha hazot she ha'adam nimshat el hashem yitbarach, you should know that the love that a person has that he is drawn to G-d through, hu mitsad atzmo. It's just the way it is, meaning, bli shum tachlit. It doesn't have some ulterior purpose. It's something that's just the way it is. Rak mitsad atzmo shel ha'adam. It's just what we are as human beings. (15:25? Bfreshesh ben ahavah u'yirah, you should know there is a big difference between love and fear. Hareh hayirah hu hamelech, a fear that a person might have of a king, she rau yirah bapanav, who it's appropraite to be in fear of, ze eyno mistad atzmo shel adam, that's not coming from the person, that's coming formt he circumstances that he's standing in. Meaning, he's so to speak, reacting to something outside of him, and feeling in fear of it. Aval ha'ahavah, hi mitsad atzmo shel ha'adam. But love, that comes from the person himself. Now this is something that, when you first read it, doesn't totally make sense, I mean, love is something that is felt towards someone. What does it mean that the love here is something which comes from the person himself as opposed to the fear, that's a fear of someone. But a love, is that not also a love of? No, it says a fear is something which is created by something external, which you're standing in fear of, but love is something which is derived from the inner being of the person. And the proof being, it says, after all, it says about our love of G-d, V'ahavta et hashem elokecha b'chol l'vavcha, you are to love G-d with all of your being. It never says to fear G-d, that you are to fear G-d with all of your being. And then he goes on, lifnei ki ha'ahavah m'kubelet yoter, ha'adam efshar she tihyeh b'chol l'vavo. It's something which is totally in the person and can't be separated from him. Even if all of the sufferings that can come in the world, come upon this person, af im baim kol hayisurim baolam, ha'ahava she hi b'etzem, eyn kan bitul. A love which is essential can never be broken, ki eyn inyan ha'ahavah, because the love of G-d is nothing but the deveikut bo b'tsad atzmo (17:58) but the complete communion with Him from his own selfhood. [hebrew text]…. This is something which is essential to who we are as human beings, so it doesn't matter how much suffering and travail come upon a person, it cannot destroy something which is the essence of who we are. I'll give you a mashal, because he knows that this is something which is kind of hard to align yourself with. It's like fire. You know, fire always rises. That's the way fire is. Fire rises, and fire is hot. Now you could bring as much as you want against the fire to make it stop rising and stop being hot. Go ahead, do whatever you want to make it stop rising and stop being hot. You can put it in a very cold place. You can run something on it, so that it's not going up but that it's going down somehow, but it's not going to work. The reason why it's not going to work is because the minute it stops doing what it does as fire, it stops being fire. You can't make fire that's not hot. Fire in its essence is hot. That's just what it is. So, too, says, the Maharal, we are in our essence, lovers. Whatever you want to do to us, whatever you might do, and indeed it's done, you can't take that away from us. Because it is an existential definition of what it menas to be a human being. You can't get rid of that. And the reason you can't take it away, he explains, is because G-d is one. And that is to say the following. As one is relating to that which is coming upon him as something which is outside of him, separate and different to him, antithetical to him, and standing against him, so one is not experiencing the life which is the essential life of who we are . Because the truth of who we are is that we are at one with G-d. That's shema yisrael, hashem elokeynu hashem echad. There is only He, there is no other. And once you know that there is only He, there is no other, then whatever comes your way, there's only He, there is no other. And whatever you're experiencing, there's only He, there is no other. And not only that, but that's true of you, too! There's only He, there is no other. Living in a consciousness like that is a consciousness which denies the dichotomy of us and some kind of world that might be functioning antithetical to us. But rather, life becomes something that is rather than lived in dichotomy, life is lived in unity. And when life is lived in unity, then it's all experienced, and this is a true experienced of how it is—as a wellspring that is always flowing. And you yourself is part of that wellspring. It's not like there's you and there's stuff that's working on you, we're all part of the wellspring.                 Now there are interactions between the elements so to speak of that wellspring. The unity that we experience is not as one which is experienced as one which doesn't have differentiation and distinction. But nevertheless, we're all the wellspring that is flowing. The reason that I'm using this image, which is the image that the Rabbis teach is to bring us back to what we were touching upon last week and that was exactly as we were taught it. Because if you remember, the mishnah teaches in the pirkey avot, that there were these five wise men. There was the man whose ability was to hold any water put into him. His teaching was to always have a good eye. See things as good, see things as postivity, as a recipient--as he is. Because he is. And then there was the man who ashrei yulad'to. Who was the son of the joyous mother, who taught always seek to connect to others so that the two of you can birth something new in the synthesis which comes of having a chaver tov. And then there was the great teacher who was called a chassid, who taught not only those who you can birth something together with, but be a shachen tov. Those who live in physical proximity, even though you don't experience your life as being shared with them. That's okay, you're next to each other? Be good to that person, be a shachen tov. And then there was the man who was a yareh chet, who always lived in powerful fear and awareness of the boundaries. And he taught, always pay attnetion to the consequences, roeh et hanolad, always pay attnetion in this world. Make sure that where you invest is where you're going to receive. But the final statement, which Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakkai accepted as being the most powerful, was spoken in the most inclusive and the deepest of all of them as the path that man is to walk was the one taught by Reb Eliezer Ben Arach, which was taught by the man who was an overflowing wellspring, a ma'ayan mitgaber, an overcoming wellspring, and his teaching was, have a lev tov, have a good heart. And we realized in understanding him and his teaching, Reb Eliezer Ben Arach is actually teaching that if you experience life as I do, as an overflowing well, so then your heart becomes one that pounds with all of existence in a way in which everythign you come in contact with, you're actually giving life to. You're always beating a heart which is a heart which is giving life to whatever it is that you come in contact with because you are living the wellspring of life. That's what it menas to have a lev tov.                 But here's the deeper teaching. And this is the one which is teaching, which Rashi says, is the meaning of b'chol me'odecha. And that is to say that to have the lev tov, which is Malchut, which is David, to have the lev tov, which includes them all, is the heart which really can include it all, because everything it experiences, everything it's connected to is part of this flowing wellsrping of life. That means, that when something comes against you, when something comes not for you, antithetical to what it is that you were hoping for. So if you're attached to the lev tov, and if you're attached to the ma'ayan bitgaber, so then it will be transformed. It doesn't have to be transformed—it is! Something which is moving things forward in a way in which the evolving relation of G-d's life, of which you're a part and which is not coming to you is a part, all become participant in bringing life to all.                 David Hamelech actually says, kos yeshuot esah, v'shem hashem ekrah, I raise up this cup and in raising up the cup, he's describing I raise up the cup, whatever it is that has been given me in it, and I call out in G-d's name.                 So actually I want to share something with you which I feel is a demonstration of this, that I experienced the other evening with a group that I'm workign with, in which we're basically working in a personal process in maintaining deveikut. And someone was sharing a particular event that happened to him in which he lost it. Basically, what happens in the group at this point, people are sharing moments that hit them, when they experience emotional drop, in which they become disconnected, Pushing it off. "Pushing it off" means emotionally angry, frustrated, disappointed, sad, disconnected, numb, any one of these emotions which are basically, I can't do it, don't want to deal with it.Since you can't own, can't deal with it, don't want to deal with it, so you get angry, or you get frustrated or have all kinds of emotive reactions that are basically a way of saying, this is not for me.                 So, we've been more and more attentive to that kind of shift, when it becomes, this is not for me. So one of the people in the group told a tale of how he's been spending studying a particular section of the Shulchan Aruch, that has to do with Shabbos, and last Shabbos, he was coming home from shul, and he was with these guests also that he was holing to show a beautiful Shabbos to, and the truth is, before he went to shul, that the gate to the apartment building area where he lives was a little but stuck, so he called up to his wife, you know, to see if someone could take care of this before Shabbos comes. So, gate closed, went to shul, nice davening, the whole thing, and on his way back, he's walking up the street with these people who he's showing this great Shabbos to, and he sees ahead of him at the gate, the Ba'al Habayit, who's not shomer Shabbos observer, standing there with a flashlight, and there's someone there from the building who is a Shabbos observer with a screwdriver, tinkering with the gate trying to get the thing open. Now the particualr section of the Shulchan Aruch that he is learning is all about fixing things on Shabbos and not fixing things on Shabbos. So he's walkign up the street, and he's watching this scene, and starts getting angry, frustrated, disappointed, et cetera. So, there's a whole process around this, but we wanted to look at this, what went on there. Initially his feeling was, initially I was angry, but I caught it, and let go, and it was okay. But as we explored more deeply, and went back to the scene, so the moment that everything dropped out for him, was the moment that he saw (laughing) the screwdriver. That was it. There's this picture of a screwdriver. And he sees this person holding the screwdriver. Like that's it. Right? So we just kind of hold on that, what's going on with the screwdriver, and goes into the emotions there. It's like he's really disappointed, angrier, and angrier. What's the anger saying—which is the next step. He says, "How could you not know what to tell them? How could you not know what the rule is? How could you not speak up? What's the matter with you? Why don't you ever speak up? You never speak up!" And as we turned the questions into statements, which is what they really are—in asking the question, Why don't you know? You're not really disappointed. It's really a statement of You ought to know. You should know the answer to this question. You should know what needs to be done here. You should be speaking up. What's the matter with you? You never speak up! And all the accusations and then going deeper into that, and if you don't speak up, that means you're weak—just asking him: And if you don't speak up, what does that mean? –Weak. And what happens to people who are weak? –People who are weak, nobody ever listens to! And if nobody ever listens to you, then? –Then I'm worthless? All of us have this. It's not any different for him than it is for any of us. I should know. I should speak up. Which is of course, a bunch of malarky. You should know? Well, if you should know, why don't you? I guess, it's not that you should know, it's that you want to know.  Ah, you want to know, well, that's something else entirely. But should know is generating exactly the kind of push-off which turns him into the kind of angry, disconnecting, experiencer reacting to this situation which is one which "I'm not going to take this. I can't take this." And ultimately, I can't take myself. I can't take myself.                 So this passage, which as became clearer to him, these kinds of lies that he's telling himself, and it became clearer and clearer to him that it's a lie to say I should have known what to say. That's not true, that he should know what to say. It's that he would want to know what to say. And as, one by one, he went down and realized he became released of that activity, which is completely been built out of his unwillingness to accept life  as a flowing well which is bubbling up with a new life form, which is him responding to this circumstance in a way in which he, and all, will grow from. You see, to be there with a lev tov, which is to be as one who is in the spring and life flowing now into its next realization through him, It's all one, this is where it's taking me, this is where it's going, it's to be modeh and take you to the meod. Because this is how deep Chazal are. That to be modeh, no matter what G-d sends your way, is to achieve and connect with the meod. Because, what is the meod? The meod is the more than what already is. And this it the new level. The meod is the more than what already is. And in order for us to move to the more than what already is, you have to be willing to shake loose of what already is.  And the way that happens is when you get hit by those events which are initially experienced as being antithetical to us, because of course they are—they are antithetical to the way we already are. But if you experience them as being part of the ma'ayan mitbgabeir, so then you'll experience them as taking you to the meod. That's why the rabbis say that meodecha is someone who's modeh ben b'midah tovah, ben b'midat puranut. Makes no difference, because he's living the meod, he's living the more than what already is. What stands in the way is the self-depreciating belittling voice which accusees you of not having the stuff to live up to the realization. That's what that accusation is. You should have known, you should have spoken up, you should have done this, you should have done that. You're wrong for that, it's no good because they're doing it the way I've told them a thousand times that they shouldn't, blablablablablabla, you can say it as many ways as you want, you don't' have what it takes to live what is now here. You don't have what it takes, And it will take whatever voice which will be the one which is your smallness speaking, it'll be whatever voice you can train, or you've trained yourself to bespeak your miniscule nothingness in the face of what life is sending you. His voice was I'm weak, and the way he kept weak in place was Weak people, no one hears, and they're basically worthless. That's the lock.                 That's why, by the way, the ma'ayan has to be a ma'ayan mitgaber. It has to be an overcoming spring because what it needs to overcome are the fears of our worthlessness and our smallness that we're not up to the task. That's why it had to be Rabbi Eliezer ben Arach, whose name literally means G-d is my help, I'm the son of worht. Arach, Ayin reish chaf. I'm the son of worth, because he experiences full worthiness and worthfulness by always experiencing life as being a ma'ayan mitgaber. And he is always able to be experiencing life as being a ma'ayan mitgaber because he's always attached to worth. Well, when this person came to this realization and was able to clear away the garbage that was holding him in his disconnected, disassociating exiled consciousness—exiled in the deepest sense of he can't be in the world The world is just against him, hitting against him, against him, against him (sounds of a fist and hand together) all the time. Well, when that cleared, the one word which he had to describe it was cheirut—I'm released. And I want to tell you something. It was very beautiful because it was in the context of the group.                 Now one of the members of the group was sitting like, quietly, while other people were responding to what was going on for them, until at the end when he said, well, I was there. He was physically there that Friday night, when this happened. And I want to tell you that even though you didn't say a word, you pushed everyone off. I could not relate to you at all. You were just completely push-off energy. And I want to tell you now, now I feel so close to you. Because what had shifted, and this is really what happens, what had shifted is that the reality that he was now living was of connectivity, because he had cleared away all the voice of denigration and was now able to live life as the ma'ayan mitgaber. And attachment to it. So now everyone aronud him felt close to him, because that's what happens. Because when you live your life as a ma'ayan mitgaber, you become a lev tov. You become a beating good heart, And now everyone is drawing life sustenance with you, and even from you. When you have moved into that enlightened place, which is the truth of who you are. This is really the root of it all. And living a life of deveikut, as the Maharal says, and the reason it's so important to tell us here that it's all one, and that it's the essence of who you are because any slivering of a hair-space miss that it's all one and this is my essence of being a loving, communing being with G-d and the life he is living thorugh me and everything around me, so as much as you'll be missing that, so you'll be missing love. And as much as you'll be missing that, you'll be missing the ability to be in meodecha. To be in the moment when G-d becomes, ki v'yachol, more than He was before. So to speak. But it's ouronly place on the planet is in making life more than it was before And the only way we can make life more than it was before is when we leave behind all of the deprecations that we have speaking to us saying, Not for you, baby, not for you. That's the creativty, which is a joined co-creating with the Creator of the Universe. And it's why we saw—the Torah is built on this—as we saw the first thirty-two words, Bereshit barah elokim, et cetera, the first thirty-two words, which is the gematria of lev, have the word following them, the thirty-third word, tov. So that the whole Creation is lev tov. That's what it is, it's a pounding heart beating with sourcing of life and of the waters of goodness which are always bubbling up with new and ever-changing forms, which as much as you are relating in unity to the source of that wellspring, all of those changing forms will be possibilities for you of growing  into your meod. And this requires the direction that meod has, of clarity of purpose, and it requires an attachment always to the essence of who we are as beings of G-d.      This is why it derives from Yaakov, it's the same word. But it comes to its expression in David. In the "practics" of it—whatever you send my way, kod yeshuot esah, whatever you send my way, I'm raising up the cup of salvation. It's all salvation, I'm raising it up. Kos, by the way, is the same gematria as the word elokim, Elokim being the aspect of divine justice. So that David Hamelech is saying, I'm raising up the kos, which is elokim, which is your judgements, as yeshuot, as salvations. And I'll tell you why, because Yesha, is yesh ayin, seventy. That's what David says, those are my seventy years. And you know what my seventy years are? My seventy years are, indeed, the years I was never menat to have. If you remember, he was meant to not be born, until Adam Harishon donated seventy years. Which is to say, because David experience his life, not as some separate phenomenon, so he is always living life as a wellsrping flowing through him. It's not my particular life. I am a mouthpiece for all of life. Yesh Ayin, Yesh ayin, which is the ma'ayan. That's yechuot, kos yeshuot esah.                  (Someone passing out tissues/ "It's the flowing ma'ayan," the tearful participant says) And I want to tell you something. It's a most beautiful thing. Which is also about Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, and David. And that is that the Gemara in kuf tet vav in Masechet Pesachim, says in the end of time, G-d's goin to make a great feast. And when everyone's done eating this great feast at the end of time, there's going to be the question of who is going to be mechubik with the benching. Who is going to lead the birkat hamazon, the blessing after the meal. So G-d's going to turn to Avraham, and say, "Avraham, maybe you? Would you like to take the cup for bentching?" So Avraham's says, "No, no, out of me came Yitzchak, it's true, but also Yishmael."  "Oh, okay, Yitzchak, how about you, will you be mechubik with the benching? Yitzchak ben Avraham." Now, Yitzchak says, "No it can't be me, because from me came Yaakov, but also came Esav." So now He turns to Yaakov, and he says, "Yaakov, please, would you please bentch for all of Life?" So Yaakov says, "You know, I can't. You know, I married two sisters, and the Torah prohibits marrying two sisters." So He turns to David, and David says, "Kos yeshuot esah, ub'sem adon-ai ekrah. Tsarah v'yagon emtsah. Ub'shem ado-nai ekrah." So he takes the cup and leads the final, closing blessing to G-d for all of the sustenance that life has provided. It was the final bentching. But you see, only David could because only he lived out of the dichotomy. It's for me, you know, G-d, it's not either, or. For me, it's not either Yishmael or Yitzchak. For me, it's not Esav or Yaakov, For me it's not two wives. For me, whatever has been has been, whatever is, is, and it's all You and Your name, which I now bless. That's how it ends. That's how existence ends. With that final bentching. Taking all of how life has sustained us with. And putting it into that one cup, that specifically David will be the one who can bless. And that's because it's exactly what the Rambam taught us about David, it's the truth—he's never cholek kavod l'atsmo. He is never separating himself out to give himself honor. Because as soon as you do that, you cease to be a participant and mouthpiece for the wellspring which is life. And it's exacltly the way it works.                 I have another story. I was walking through the Old City yesterday morning. I go sometimes early in the morning. And there was a group of people, let's put it this way: clearly bigger, clearly stronger than me walking by in one of the alleyways which weren't necessarily one of the better places to be hanging out early in the morning. So I'm looking at this and all of a sudden it it became clear to me, that maybe they'd be bigger than me in this form, but they're not bigger than what I really am. Nothing could possibly be. And that's the truth. Because there is nothing bigger than what we really are. And soon as you're attached to it, there's nothing that could overcome that, because it's a ma'ayan mitgaber.  The primary overcoming that the ma'ayan must overcome is your own fears. And your own fears rooted in your experience of yourself as a separate, small, inconsequential speck that can't stand up to it. Could you repeat the translation of what David says?   I'd love to. What King David speaks are the verses in the chapter of 166 in Tehillim. G-d, I love You, that begins, You always hear my voice. You turn Your ear towards me, as I call out to you with all of my life in all of my days. Even when the pangs of death surrounded me and the narrow straights of hell found me, and I found trials and tribulations, I called out in Your name. Please, G-d, redeem, save my soul. Oh, G-d, you're always merciful. You always have compassion. You guard the fools, you raise them up, You save me. Bring me to my resting because you have brought upon me. You have saved me from death. You have taken my eyes away from tear and my legs from falling. I always walk before You, G-d, these are the lands of life. Asd I speak, I believe. Even though I've suffered. I once said people are false, but now I know and can return to You, G-d, the great cup of salvation, which I raise up as I call Your name.                 So what the Rabbis teach of David's song here is that he raises up the cup whether it's tsarah b'yagon, whether it's gifts that are overtly and apparently for his beneft. He raises up the cup. Kos yehuot esah. Because he's always calling G-d's name. That's his communing with G-d which is a communing of meodecha. A communing of the more than was. The more than was. This is why the Rabbis also teach, the way in which G-d saw it all—if you  remember at the very beginning, we saw that the first thing that G-d does after He creates is that He looks at it all with an ayin tovah. He created the light, it was good, He created the this, and it was good. Then he looks at it all and He says it's tov meod. On tov meod. On tov meod, the Rabbis say, What's tov meod? That's suffering. Oh my G-d. What's wrong with them? What? Tov meod is suffering? Yeah. Tov meod is suffering. And I'll tell you what I think is happening there. It's very simple. When you look at it all, vayar et kol asher asah. When He saw everything He had made, only when He saw everything that He had made could He say that suffering is tov meod. That, what it does is it pushes everythign to the next level. If you're not seeing everything, if all you're seeing is the pieces, so then just have an ayin tovah. Try to look at it with a good attitude and find what's good in it. But if you can see it all, then you'll see that the yisurim are the meod of creation, they're when it's moving beyond what it already is. That's loving G-d b'chol meodecha, that's the tov meod of creation and it's David Hamelech who brings that. Why does it have to be Daivd? I believe it's rooted in what the Rambam tells us about his joy. David is the one who "lets loose." And stops worrying about himself. (59:13 inaudible question) Oh, we could never know that. We can explain it within our context. We can talk about it in our experience of having been that way. But we can never explain why it is that G-d made a world in which that would be the mechanism through which the meod would come into realization. We could never explain or know that. That's something which we just have to surrender to. Because to know and understand that would be to step out of the very consciousness which we've been created with. And to look from the outside at the other possibilities for what could have been, such that there would be a world in which there would be growth without suffering, in which there would be a growth without first there having been a lack which then the grower grows into. Could there be a world in which there would be no lack, but that everything would be growing? Could there be such a world? It's unimaginable to us. You can't have growing without there having been lack that proceded the growing that you grew into. There must have been an empty space that you grew into and filled by virtue of your growth. See, you can't imagine a world in which there would be a growing light without there having previously been darkness.              So to ask the question would require of us that we'd somehow have access to the infinite possibilties of what could have been and then wonder, well, why'd you chose this one? But we can't see that, because we're trapped by the consciousness which we have been created with/trapped with/gifted with—the consciousness that G-d has given us. So what we can do is live that to its fullest. In full acceptance. And this is the full resignation—not in the negative sense of giving up, but resignation in the sense of  the softness of the touch that we need to live life with.                 There is a beautiful teaching that the Rabbis teach us, that Achiya Hashiloni, Achiya was a great prophet of Israel, living in the time of Yiravam. So he gives a prophesy to Yiravam and he says, the kingdom of Israel is going to be destroyed, like a kaneh, a reed on the waters, like a reed is blown on the waters. So the Rabbis say, Boy, look at what Bilaam said, who was such a big rashah. Bilaam who blessed the people, he said that we would be like strong-standing cedars, k'arazim nitayu. The prophet of Israel talks about us being like a reed? And Bilaam, our greatest hater talks about us as being a cedar? What's going on? So they say, well, better the curses of the lovers than the blessings of the haters, because when the winds come, the cedar is toppled. But the reed knows to bend.                 So as long as we are standing up strong against—why does it have to be this way? Should have been different! If we stand outside reality, say how it should be, we'll forever be living the accusations which disconnect us from life and block us from the growth that's offered. But if we can surrender in the most beautiful and creative way. I don't know why he made the world this way, I mamash don't know. But I know one thing: You saw it and declared that it was good. And if You saw it and declared that it was good, and therefore kept it, so You're good. And I know that though I can't outside of it and judge it, I can live within it and know that it's all Your lev tov. Once I know that, I can live the fountain. And I can be with what life sends me in its meod. And then we join David in giving a bracha to all that life has sent us, given us, us sustained us with. And can say kos yeshuot esah, in full love of Him. But anything else, the Maharal says, will not be love. Because love is communion and at-oneness with. The full heart.                 Questions: Am I hearing it correctly that there is lev tov and ayin tov? And ayin tov is when you try to experience everything as good as opposed to lev tov is seeing the bad also and you approach it with equanimity? Not only equanimity, but also creativity. Creativity as in ma'ayan mitgaber. It's nt really equanimity. The equanimity, so to speak, is the root of the creativity. Equanimity means that I am able to equally be present to it as it is, whether it is negative or positive. I am not buffeted around by it all the time. In kabbalistic terminology—its also in the mishne brurah—equanimity has to do with shem havayah, yud jey vav key, shivit hashem l'negdi tamid, whatever's coming against me, so to speak, l'negdi, I always put the name of G-d there. Yud key vav key, which the Gra, the Gaon of Vilna says, has as its main meaning, heyo numtsa ? (1:07:45) it simply is. When you are attached to G-d as "simply is" then you are "simply is." And when you are "simply is", whatever life hits you with, I simply am. That's equanimity. Did I get it right? And elokim, the name of G-d which is the kos, the cup, which holds Him, is the judgemnts and the differences, and the distinctions and the differentiations, which are what we must also relate to in a way in which we creatively respond to them                 But what I want to tell you Jackie, and this is crucial, the ability to creatively respond to them is rooted in how much you have the equanimity of shem havayah. And I'll say it in simple language. That when you're hit and buffeted around by all of what life sends you, if you remain rooted in It's all G-d Who is simply being, then whatever hits you becomes a creative opportunity for bringing out the meod. The enxt evlving step. That's the parable of the kane suf, of the reed that remains rooted, and therfore is able to be with what is in a way that is not disconnecting and antagonizing in reactivity, but is rooted in the deep waters and is not prone to topple over as is the angry erez. I just wanted to hear what the difference practically was, like and how we experinece. Creativity versus--. Yes, creativity versus equanimity. Creativity is rooted in equanimity. Creativity which is shem elokim, which is the creative force—bereshit barah elokim—has to be rooted in shem havaya in order to relate creatively to the tribulations. So meaning that when we face a tribulation we don't just say, wow , this is a tribulation; we say, how can I creatively face this? Absolutely. Now the only way for that to happen is exactly in the kind of process that I describe before. Like in the story. He saw the screwdriver, felt a little angry, he was sure hed taken care of it. But the person who was there witnessing what was happening, threw out the entire event, completely repulsed by this person. Because if you try to skip steps and don't try to travel through the intensity of the feelings it's arousing. And the intensity of the lies you're telling yourself, so then you will not be guided by the event to what the next growth-filled expression is going to be. You won't grow from it. You'll be like, yeah, I dealt with it. What do you mean, I dealt with it? This is an offering from G-d, from where His life is now opening up to. What do you mean, you dealt with it? Be in it. And hear all the reactivity which is the way of seeing where you are now so that now from there you can move into the meod of where you're next to go to. That's the way you get your guidance. But it has to be rooted in the yud of yud key vav key. You know the process begins with the bottom hey, life as it is. Moves to the vav, my emotive experience of it. Then it leads to the hey, the upper hey, which is your ability to think and cognate around it, these are the reactive thoughts still. Then still in the hey, moves to evaluating true or false. Then moves up to the yud, I receive your wisdom, G-d. And I'm a receptacle for it. And now I'm going to follow Your name down. Into the hey, a new perspective. Down to the vav, an emotively responding to and relating to and the down to the bottom hey which is David choosing to be modeh to whatever You sent me and to creatively produce to that by being attached to, in Chassidic teachings, that upper wellspring which is the upper yud, which travells down, the source of the spring, which is the yud, and then the spreading of the spring which is the hey, and then the river that follows down through the vav and then down into the bottom hey which is your creative choice to where you will direct that river to. Where is life going? It travels through you in your choosing, if you are modeh to whatever it sends you, and then you become co-creator of the meod, which is both the specific individuality which is yours, as we saw in Yaakov, and the divine connection of that, which was Leah, and the realization of it, through David, by accepting whatever life sends in real and true equanimity and surrender to it as it is, which then breathes and births the choice of where you will go and where it is to go now. It's a paradoxical spiritual condition that requires of that first the surrender, which sounds so passive, and therefore it seems like like I'm just going to accept it and be with it and quiet down and and basically die in peace. No, its not that way at all. You don't die there at all. You know why you don't die there? Because life is an effervescent wellspring bubbling up through you. All you have to do is there is you shake off the shackles, of the Michal, who is looking out the window of your self-consciousness, saying, Get back to the way you're supposed to be.  Get back to the way you are, have been, David, what are you making such a scene for? There the Rambam says if you would have been cholek kavod l'atsmo, you would have immediately gone into Galut. Because it would have been moneh for himself, the simchah and the love, the joy and the love which that moment was bubbling up for him. Mamash would have been the end of malchut, the end of everything. But instead, he's dancing it up like crazy. Almost as if the scene needed all of the elements of it. It needed Michal looking out the window, and it needed David being misgaber on that . It needed all of it for that life force to flow, but anything else would have been galut, like the Rambam says. The galut would have been the galut of life, detachment from G-d. These aren't easy spaces. They require meditative conditions. They require anchoring yourself all the time in this. This isn't something that once you've got it, you've got it. Not all all, We've got to say Shema Yisrael at least. Some people say it five times a day. They get up, they say, Shema Yisrael, and then during korbanos, they say it again during Shacharis. Then they say it again at Maariv, then you say it again before you go to sleep, then you say it again before you die. Just like, Shema Yisrael, all the time you have to be saying it. It's not so to speak our natural condition in the sense of the externalities of the forms that we live. It's got to be reawakened. Because to function we're always functioning in a consciousness of separateness. You always have to be reconnecting yourself, consciously choosing it. That's the way G-d made his world, Jackie, whether we like it or not. Why didn't He just make a world where we'd all be enlightened, where we'd just know this all of the time? Why did it have to be like the Rambam says, and avodah gedolah, a very great work, which is stop stopping yourself, as the Rambam says. Stop stopping yourself from connecting to this. Why? We can never know. But it's the great work of meod. So the medo and the lev to, it's not like the placidness of equanimity, it's the flowing joy of really being alive. Creative joy, that's why I was emphasizing last week: eym habanim smecha, that's flowing through it. In fact, the kabbalah says that the wine that is in the cup that David is holding is the wine of the happy mother who is birthing, because yayin is gematria shivim, it's also seventy. And it relates both ot the malchut and also to binah. It's joyous wine. He has to be holding up a cup of joyous wine.  There's also a drunken wine, which in the kabbalah is evil wine. This the Ba'al Hatanya talks about. The drunken wine is when you just disconnect and cop out. The joyous wine is an opening to creativity. I'm wondering with the ayin tov. 1) If you see things with an ayin tov, so how can you deal with things that are not tov, in the sense that, what if something needs to be addressed. This is not pacific, in the sense of just accept it as it is. There is a difference between reactively fighting and responding appropraitely . Reactive fighting comes from anger: this is not the way it should be.  Responding rightly is rooted in the equanimity of shem havayah. This is exactly what should be right now. But part of what should be is me in the picture, called upon to fight this evil, if that's what it is. But how do you fight if not in a reactive way, and by calling it evil are you not having an ayin lo tov. No, in calling it evil, you're describing that this is something which is a lack in creation that I am hear now to fill. It might involve chasing down the person doing evil. It might involve taking him to court. It might involve responding right on the spot physically. You don't call that reacting? In English, it's hard to make that havchanah, but in a language which we'll kind of agree to semantically, if it's angry, pushing away, then that's a reactivity, which is not rooted in the equanimity of shem havayah. And therefore, I'm not creatively focusing on what this growing in creation is meant to happen now—I'm just pushing it off. But you might have to shoot. You might have to deveop a tank to fight these people. We're not talking about something which, not necessarily mean action. Can you give an example, like the story you told. How could the passerby have dealt with the situation in a different way. I'm not talking about the internal dialogue. I'm talking about— Exactly. I asked him. How would you have liked to respond now? Imagine that you have returned to the scene, and choose how you want to be there. So what did you choose? He chose to see the screwdriver, breathe and feel calm. Consider whether he knew whether this was permitted or not, and to go over to the person with a smile and say, Remember, it's Shabbos, and I think there's a question about what you're doing. What I learned is this. Shabbat Shalom. I did something similar and the other person's reaction was very. I understand that if someone makes Kiddush and they don't keep Shabbat, whether it's kosher. Whether you can be exempted by it. Whether you can fulfill your obligation through it. So I went up to someone who made Kiddush at a meal where I was. So I mentioned it. I said, you know, I didn't make it as an attack, I said I'm just saying this because I'm concerned for myself… but it didn't feel like the next step was connection, and I don't know if I was looking at it from a negative eye. Maybe I could have said, well, he's trying. How would you interpret that situation, applying the logic of the class. It's possible that you did the right thing. But you said that the next step was like ayin tov, which is good eye, and then you connect with others. I don't know if it did, but on a certain level it did, because we ended up having a two hour conversation about halachah, but— And I want to tell you something else. It's not the end of the story. The story didn't end at that moment. Who knows where the person went with that and what you set in motion. How do you know? You don't. Unless you trust. So you don't think that me seeing the situation with an ayin tov— There's no guarantee that in the moment the person is going to say, thank you, you enlightened being, for that truth. I don't know if in that moment I had an ayin tov. I don't know either. But I'm saying you can't judge yourself in that particular moment of time. Again, for many reasons, one of them being, the story's not over. It will only be over when David raises the cup at the end of creation and says, I see it, kos yeshuot ekrah ub'shem ado-nai ekrah. David Hamelech hu achi meluchlach. Because his hands are full of blood, and Elishevah. That's what the Rabbis said, David did it so that the pathway would be open for us as individuals to do teshuvah. It's impossible to imagine that the one who would raise that cup would never made a mistake even once. You wouldn't say, ah, the one who's raising the cup, he never made a mistake even once. What does that have to do with what we've been through?

Sefirah: Number Zecher Rav Tuvcho (1) ABOUNDING GOODNESS: The Process of Transmission Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 22, B'Yom Ha'Shemini Atzeret 5673, Chapter 84 (2) p. 160-161 Short Summary: Long Summary: We will understand this based on the explanation in the Siddur on zecher rav tuvcho. Tov (goodness) is the level of yesod, which is the channel that transmits from source to recipient. Rav tuvcho -- abounding (abundance of) goodness -- refers to the many yesodos, the concealments (tzimtzumim) necessary to transmit from level to a lower level, in order for the recipient tio be able to contain the transmission. In general there are 4 tzimtzumim: 1) Concealing the essential wisdom of the teacher into one point. 2) Breaking that point into details. 3) Finding the right words to express the idea to the recipient (speeach within thought). 4) Expressing the idea in actual words (maaseh). Or the last two: transmitting the idea in general terms, then breaking them down into details. So too above there are generally four levels -- corresponding to the four letters of Havaya: 1) The yud -- the top point of the kav. 2) The heh - Adam Kadmon (beriyah d'klolus), which contains the entire comsic order and all its details in one image. 3) The vav - yetzirah d'klolus. 4) The last heh -- atzilus (asiyah d'klolus). Or: 1) Yud -- the point of the reshimu. 2) Heh - the 231 gates of the world of the "malbish." 3) Vav - the kav, following the tzimtzum of the malbish. 4) Adam Kadmon. All this is rav tuvcho, which is only a zecher (a recollection, remembrance), a reflection that travels through malchut to the angels in biy"a. Concepts: Transmission. Sefirot (chapters 49-124)

Series: Be'erot, Love & Relationship with God. Synopsis: Yaakov's internal struggle, going back for the pachim ketanim and the idea of bchol meodecha   Episode Transcript: Last time we met, we were revealing aspects of Yaakov, who became for us the image of someone whose experience of life is as one organism in which G-d is flowing with life through it all, and his love of G-d is one in which is described in Chassidut as an attachment to G-d which knows atah mechayed kulam: that You are the One Who gives all life. And that experience of G-d as One who is giving all life is the experience in which, in a sense, all belongs to G-d, but not in the same way in which we saw with Yizchak, in which all is indeed G-d, there is no other than Him. The revelation in which He's absolute and unique, in which there's no other existence at all that was the revelation of Yizchak.                 With Yaakov, it was the revelation of what's called echad, in which the multiple parts and aspects of a diverse creation are all unified together in one organism, in one unity in which all is participant really in one body, and we saw that was reflected in the way in which Yaakov is known by Chazal to be the one whose beauty is like the beauty of Adam HaRishon. And that beauty which is the beauty of Adam HaRashon, is really the depths of what beauty is, because beauty as it's experienced through Yaakov is very deeply related to truth, because the nature of the truth-aspect of beauty is very important. And we saw that there is actually a struggle between an attitude towards truth, on Chanukah when we met, which is that "aesthetic" is some absolute orientation, meaning that it is touching the fiber of the way things are, you know, and so if something is beautiful, it's aligned with that, and if it's not aligned with that, it's not beautiful. With an experience of life as having ultimate representation or not having ultimate representation.                 We'll leave the issues around beauty aside. Yaakov is the one who is able to -touch all of reality by virtue of it being interconnected as one being. And the beauty of Yaakov, the Rabbis say, is the beauty of Adam HaRishon before the fall into the chet, in which Yaakov is actually a personification of Adam HaRishon, and the Rabbis say it also when Yaakov asks for Rachel and he says, give me my wife and I will be with her. So there Rashi says, that's no way for people to talk, who talks like that? Even the scoundrals in the shul don't talk like that? You're talking about getting married, or are you just talking about sleeping with her? So the way the mefarshim explain that is because Yaakov was on such a high madrega of being not divested of body, but experiencing body in a way that Adam HaRishon experienced body, in which the organisimic interconnectedness of all was so apparent, that for him to sleep with her, that's the lashon of zivug, of boah, of I will come into her. Because why? Because we're all one body, so I am really going to be merging with her, it's not really in the sense of a sexual impulse, it means I'm really going to come into her.  And he was totally innocent in the way he was saying that. When a scoundral in the shuk says it, it's a scoundral in the shuk saying that. But when it's Yaakov saying it, it's a reflecting of this experience of us all essentially being one.                 So we explored aspects of that and I want to continue into one other element which happens in the story of Yaakov which is crucial for us to understand the nature of his relationship with G-d. If you remember, we also had some primary exploration of the way in which Yaakov relates to money and creative output. And what we're referring to later becomes revealed the beginning of the story of Chanukah and with our battle with Yavan. And so we can take something out of this that we are meant to take out of Chanukah, aspects of this which we discussed on Chanukah and which I want to continue to bring out about.                 I think we explained that there are three ways of loving G-d. There's vahavta et Hashem elokecha bchol lvavcha, bchol nafshecha and bechol medoecha. And we explained that the way of loving G-d bchol lvavcha is the way of loving G-d of Avraham, with all of his heart, including his yetzer harah. The way of Yitzchak is bchol nafshecha: he gives up his life, there's nothing other than G-d, and the way of Yaakov was bchol meodecha, afilu hu notel et mamoncha. Your love of G-d will be revealed in your willingness to sacrifice even your mamon. Now what would that be? That in sacrificing your mamon would be such a high and profound experience of something that so deeply belongs to you that to give it up is a demonstration of your love of G-d. If your experience of life is one in which you are organismically connected to those things which are your extension, your meod, which is your creative output. And those things which belong to you, so you're experiencing your connectedness to them, not as something which is a tangent, or other, outside of you, separate from you, reality. You are in that. It's like someone has a truly dear creative expression of something which they have made,  their life is in that. And that's deeply and profoundly connected to them such that they experience that as being one with them. This is why the Rabbis interpret meod, as having to do with money is also the letters A-d-(a)m, because Adam Harishon experiences all as being what belongs to him and therefore is a very part of his life.                 This is the deep meaning of what the Rabbis teach us in the mishnah in Sanhedrin, when they ask, Why was man created alone? And the answer: well, so everyone would be able to say, bishvili nivrah haolam. What is that about? Because the first man was created alone, that means that everyone can say bishvili nivrah haolam? I mean, I wan't created alone, there were lots of other people in the room with me. There were lots of other people being born there with me, so why does man's being created alone indicate bishvili nivrah haolam? And more, Yaakov is the only one who we're told he is left alone, lvado. And that's a crucial depiction, because G-d says, lo tov heyot adam lvado, in the beg of Bereshit. It's not good that man be alone.    And yet, when Yaakov is about to meet Esav, so something happens, a crucial event in Yaakov's history. Yaakov, after he prays to G-d and sends the gifts and prepares to go to war regarding Esav, so then Yaakov gets up in the night in chapter thirty-two, verse twenty-two, he gets up in the middle of the night, takes his two wives, his two shvachot, his eleven children, and takes them across the Jabok. And he takes them and moves them over the riverbed, and he takes all that belongs to him. Vyivater Yaakov lvado- but he remained alone. Vyavek ish imo ad alot hashachar. And there was a man that fought with him until the dawn came. …And he saw that he could not defeat him…so he touched him in the hollow of his thigh, and the thigh bone became dismembered in the middle of this wrestling. And in the middle of this mysterious scene, Yaakov is described as the one who is left lvado. So we really have Adam Harishon not only before the chet, but even before he has woman separated out from him. He's completely alone. Assuming he's alone, and again, he's the only one who is lvado since back in lo tov lyhot ha Adam lvado, something that allows him to be lvado. Now, what's worse is exactly what the problem that G-d says is the problem of the lvado, happens to Yaakov. And what I'm referrring to is as Rashi explains, Why is it that… so people might do something very bad, they might say that just like there's one G-d up there, so there's one G-d down here. People get confused. So he must have an ezer knegdo--eheseh lo ezer knegdo,--and then everyone will see that he's like all the other creatures of the planet. That's what Rashi speaks in the second chapter of Bereshit, where that verse is.                 (14:47) But let's look at chapter thirty of Bereshit, when Yaakov comes home to the city of Shchem, which is in Canaan, he's come back from padan Aram. …. He does something chendik to the city, he encamps there or does something chendik, we'll see how these things are related. …He buys a field there where has put down his tent. He pays the price. …He makes a mizbeach there….And he called him G-d, the G-d of Israel. Whoa, what's going on here? Who called who? Who's talking to whom? So Rashi on that verse says, not that the mizbeach, the altar, is calling him Elokei Yisrael, but rather that G-d is with him, so he called the mizbeach according to the miracle He has done. G-d has been my G-d--He has saved me.                 But then Rashi says, You know what? The Rabbis have a different take on this verse. They say, that G-d called Yaakov an el. That G-d called Yaakov "G-d." Whoa! So on this the Rambam says, Why would G-d call Yaakov G-d? What kind of G-d is He/he? So on this the Rambam says, there's actually a medresh on this that I can't reveal to you because it's a deep secret, but it says that what this is actually teaching is that G-d in Mesechet Megillah, calls Yaakov kel, and in Bereshit Rabbah, it teaches that Yaakov said to G-d, You are G-d in the Heavens and I am a G-d on the earth. Oh no! He says, Yeah, this is a remez to what it teaches, that the image of Yaakov is engraved on the kisay hakavod--on the throne of glory--meaning apparently, that Yaakov indeed is some kind of perfect represenation of the divine in the world. You in the elyonim, and me in the tachtonim, and oh my gosh, this is exactly what Rashi said would happen if someone was left alone! When it says, lvado, so it actually happened and it was none other than Yaakov that did it? What's going on here? What does this mean that Yaakov experienced himself as the divine?                 Now understand that Yaakov became alone when he went back to save his money, possessions, his pachim ketanim. On Chanukah we talked about that when he went back for the pachim ketanim, he risked his life, because, as Rashi says that Tzaddikim don't steal, they only have what is truly theirs. And in only having what is truly theirs, it is so dear to them, even more than their bodies are. Because their bodies, well on a certain level to them, compared to what they have come to realize in their lives, money being an abstraction or representation of that, their bodies are like dead matter to them in comparision to what they have creatively realized of their lives.  And it's become a life force of theirs which has become embodied by their creative output, and they have their life force in those things which has been made by them. This sounds awfully godly.                 If you experience G-d as the One Who is the life force that maintains all that is, and it's all one organism in which G-d's life force is running through it, so, my life force is also moving through those things which I am a participant, a creater of. This is a very deep consciousness, which is one that leads to Yaakov being, in a sense, being alone. What does it mean to be alone? It means that it's all one organism, so there's nothing outside of me. What, there's something outside of me? I mean, we're all living in one divinely enlivened reality as one body which is called in Kabbalah as Adam Kadmon who becomes realized in flesh as Adam Harishon, who the Rabbis say indeed included the entire universe. And what the Rabbis teach us, we accept, so Adam Harishon had that same glorious beauty that Adam Harishon had. [You said that, that not my editing-DG]                 He's going back for these pachim ketanim. He's left alone. He's now realizing life as being one organism. And that is a consciousness that leads him to relate to what has become his, belongs to him, as being at one with him. So get this fascinating and deeply troubling phenomennon. So there he is, alone. Vyavek ish imo… He's alone, but someone's fighting with him. But how is it that he's alone, but someone's fighting with him? So the midrashim indicate that what's happening for Yaakov is actually an internal struggle that's goingon. He's fighting with himself., He's fighting with two aspects of himself. In fact, the Rabbis say, Vyavek…(24:10) that this avak, went all the way up to the image of Yaakov which is on the kiseh hakavod, so that now, this avak that is covering the kiseh hakaovd, is the same dust that is being kicked up by the struggle that he's having with this person.  So that it's all in one cloud, basically, of dust. It's a struggle that's happening while Yaakov is alone. Yes, and yet there are midrashim that say, oh, come on. I'll tell you who he was fighting with. He was fighting with Esav--Esav's spiritual manifestation. He was fighting with Esav's angel. So was he alone? Was he with Esav?                  What happens to Yaakov? The verses tell us that what happens next is that he asks what the angel's name is. The angel says: we don't have names. But you've got a name. --Yeah, I've got a name, my name's Yaakov. --No, not any more.   I mean, I don't have the authority to change you name, but as a result of what's happened here, you're going to have a new name now. Your new name is Yisrael. --Why? --Because you have lorded over G-d. (24:54) Ki…elokim, vatuchah, maybe that sounds too radical, so you lorded over an angel of G-d. Well, later we may find that it may not be so entirely radical since Yaakov is being called "G-d" by G-d. So there's something in that name which may be more than we're used to relating to.                 But now, the strangest thing happens. Do you remember when the Rabbis say that Leah became ugly, or her eyes became soft, because she was crying so much about having to become the wife of Esav, She didn't want to become married to Esav, so she became married to Yaakov in answer to her prayers, Baruch Hashem. But in pniumiut, she's supposed to be the wife of Esav. Now take a look at this bizarre episode in Vayesehev, the next parshah. Chapter thirty-five, verse nine. So G-d appears to Yaakov. He's now returned from Padan Aram, and He blesses him. So this is how is going to be the realization of how Yaakov gets his new name. So G-d says to him, Shimcha Yaakov? Lo yikareh od shimcha Yaakov, ki im yisrael. Your name is not going to be called Yaakov anymore, it's going to be called Yisrael….and you'll have lots of children, this land is your land… and there Yaakov builds there that mazevah, as he said he would, and they're on their way to Efrata. Rachel starts giving birth, she has difficulty giving birth, and in the trial of giving birth, her myaledet says, don't worry, it's a boy, and as she dies she says Ben Oni--this is the son of my suffering-- but his father called him Benyamin.                 Rachel died there, on the way to Bet Lechem. This is all in one parsha--interesting. But that I mean graphically, the way the Chumash is divided. We have a paragraph here. The paragraph begins with Yaakov coming to this place Bet El, getting renamed and then Rachel dying. I realized a most astounding thing.for the first time at Chanukah. Yaakov loves Rachel. But Yisrael has no connection to Rachel at all.  Yisrael is married to Leah. And so as soon as Yaakov becomes Yisrael, Rachel's dead. No more Rachel, only Leah. He fights this, In fact, we have in the next verse: he tries to maintain his connection to Rachel by moving his bed in to the tent of the concubine who was Rachel's concubine. But Reuven says, We'll have none of this. Reuven sees right through it and he forces the issue, according to Chazal.                 But the point is: that woman who is the woman of the secret life, that woman who is the woman of olam habah, that woman who is the bechinah of eheseh lo knegdo. Meaning, there's ezer, there's knegdo, and there's lo, lamed vav. This it the third madrega, and it's one that Yisrael has of utter and complete belonging. Of living again as one organism. It's the secret life that underlies the overt level of separateness, because in the external reality indeed Yaakov is Yaakov, and he's worked hard, and he's loving Rachel, who's the alma digalyah, the revealed world as we saw in the Zohar, and he's needing to overtake Esav, and grabs his heel, and he's behind him, I'm going to go slow, and eventually I'm going to get there, and all the things we saw about Yaakov and process and externality and a reality in which things are gradually unfolding.                 But it's Yisrael who truly lives the secret life which underlies all of reality and makes it echad. So by him it's not ezer, and it's not knegdo, which have to do with Avraham and Yitzchak, as we learned. Here it's the pasuk, eheseh lo, because lo is gematria Leah. She's completely belonging to him in the same way he experiences his possessions. Not in a demeaning sense-- we hear "possessions" and we immediately think domination and domineering. It's not about that. It's real belonging. It totally belongs to him. They have actually become one. He has become lvado. He has achieved more than the androgynous condition again. (What?-DG) That is something which Yisrael only has with Leah. This realization of echad. By the way, it is Yisrael who we speak to when we say, Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad. And here is a very deep thing: the very first person who said that was Yaakov.                 Actually there are two places where that is spoken. One place, when Yaakov meets Yosef for the first time in twenty-two years. It says, Yosef cries on his neck, and it doesn't say that Yaakov is crying, so Rashi says, What the heck was he doing? Why wasn't Yaakov crying? So Rashi answered, he was saying, Shema Yisrael. Wait, who's talking to who? Shema Yisrael, listen up, Yisrael: Hashem Elokeynu, Hashem Echad. Who's talking?                 Verse twenty-eight in chapter forty-six, Yehuda is sent ahead of him, to Yosef, to show the way they get to Goshen. Yosef bridles up his merkavah, gets on it to go to Yisrael aviv, he appears before him, falls on his neck and starts to cry. And Yisrael says to him, I'm going to die now that I've seen your face, now that I know you're alive. What? I'm going to die now? Maybe that's why he was saying Kriyat Shema, because he knows he's going to die now. Well, that actually makes sense. Because the other place where Shema Yisrael appear, is in Vyechi. It says that Yaakov wanted to gather together his children and tell them what it's going to be at the end of time. So….Come together, and I'm going to tell you about what's going to be at the end of time. And then, nothing happens. He doesn't seem to have anything to say. He starts blessing them. Reuven, you're this… what happened? What a let down! It was about to happen--that's what we all want to know about, right? Nothing. (38:49) Well Rashi starts explaining. You know what happened, right? He wanted to. But then it disappeared. He thought he was going to have the revelation and it didn't come. However it is. So, he started wondering, hey, what's the deal with my kids? Did they also believe in one G-d? Maybe one of them has gone bad and that why G-d is blocking the revelation right now. He can't see the end of time. So he starts looking at them. Maybe there's a shemetz psul, something wrong with them.                 So you know what they say to him? They say, Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeynu Hashem Echad. Listen, Yisrael, Dad, Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad, only one G-d. So that's interesting. He's the first one to say it according to Rashi, and here we have them saying it to him. And you know what he said? Oh, Baruch Hashem, Baruch Shem Kvod Malchuto lolam vaed. That was his response. That's why we say that too. Because we're like the children of Yaakov when we say that. Shema Yisrael, Hey Yisrael. You're still here hanging on, one G-d. And then we also say his repsonse: Baruch Shem kvod Malchuto L'olam vaed.                 Now listen to this. Baruch shem kvod malchuto l'olam vaed, is the letters if you take the first letters of these words, b'Shechem Lo. Baruch Shem Kvod, that's the b'Shechem, and L'olamVaed, that's the lo. We can't go into the whole story of Shechem right now, but suffice it to say that there is a remez here to what the Navi say, what the prophet teaches, that in the end everyone is going to be worshipping G-d b'Shechem echad. In the end, everyone is going to be worshipping G-d b'shechem lo. It's all His. Schechem is like a katef, but Shechem is also a portion, and it's all going to be revealed as His portion. It's all G-d's reality. So that his repsonse then to them saying Shema…echad, is him saying Baruch shem… His malchut is revealed, his name is revealed (in?) all. Forever. So there really was a revelation of the end but it's the end that is here in the present. Because what is the end which is…(This line needs to be recovered) The realization that it's all G-d's manifestation in which His life flows through it all and it's all one body really. But we're used to saying that in space but it's also true with objects. So it's all one body. And so his children say to him, you know what, Yisrael, the ketz you want to be revealing? It's right here. It's all one reality, whether you're looking over time, whether you're looking over space. It's all G-d's so-to-speak body, his manifestation, His name. So he really did reveal the ketz.                 The Zohar says, don't think that he wasn't able to reveal the ketz. But how was he revealing the ketz? Rashi says, when he saw that when all of their disparate realities, oh man, did it all go wrong? Where is the echad? So they said, remember all those twelve stones that became one under your head? Because you're experience was of G-d's life force flowing through it all, here we are. We're the living reality of that. That's called knesset Yisrael, Here we are. Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad.  Ah, Baruch Shem kvod malchuto l'olam vaed. The Shechem, lamed vav, the Leah, the alma d'casa become revealed there as olam habah, literally, olam habah, as the Zohar teaches, Leah is olam habah. That's what he meant when he met Yosef.  This makes it a little more personally oriented. Because when he met Yosef, imagine that scene. Must be shattering-- twenty two years his son is gone, his son is dead. He thought the whole thing he was in the world for was shattered. No twelve children. The twelve tribes are gone. There's only eleven of them. Is this rife between his sons irreparable? What's going to be the end of me?                 Comes Yosef. What happens when he sees Yosef. My G-d, it's all one. All that crazy stuff when he was gone and away, and they fought, and they tried to kill him, and in the end they sent him away, and he became the viceroy, and now he's going to keep us all alive? Wow, And that, by the way, become Yosef's consciousness, because Yosef and his brothers in this week's parshas, his brothers come to him and can't talk to him and Yosef says, Listen, don't be afraid, you know why? Because G-d has sent me before you to keep you alive. What's that consciousness? That is utter and complete forgiveness. Because it's all been one life working itself out. What, am I going to get angry at my toenail now? It's just like walking me to where I need it to go   You people are all fine. You're all just part of the same body unfolding itself.                 Yosef inherits that vision, that's really why he's called the ben zkunim. He's the son of Yaakov in his old age. Come on, Yaakov in his old age? He still has a lot of years ahead of him when he gives birth to Yosef. So Rashi says no, because he's the one who has the wisdom of Yaakov. It becomes revealed in him in that realization of the oneness which allows him to give full forgiveness to his brothers, saying, it's just one life working itself out, it's really not about you and not about me as separate entities.                  So Yaakov achieved that awareness when he met Yosef. That's why he said, Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad.  He's teaching himself to be fully realized as Yisrael and now he's become so at one with the life of G-d that flows through, all that he can say is: Yes, You G-d are the G-d in the upper worlds, I am the G-d in the lower worlds. That doesn't mean he rules over the lower worlds, come on. That means that he's so at one with G-d's life in the lower worlds, that hey, is there something between me and You, G-d? It's Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem echad. It's one. I'm not losing the seeing of my children as twelve separate children and I will give them each a bracha. (47:33)                 But as it says at the end of the brachos that he gives them, they're all one, he doesn't see them as separate, even though they have different realities. That's lo. That's eheseh lo. It's not a loss of otherness. And it's not a melding into completely unified reality in which the different functions in place of each is not being realized. But rather, the different functions and places are being realized, but they're all being experienced as being part of one organism. You know your heart is different from your elbow, is different from your eye, is different from your ear, but they're all one body. That's not the unity consciousness in which it's all one, nor is it the obliterating of there is nothing but Him. But rather, it's I'm alone. But not a lonely alone. I'm the most together alone I can be. So it becomes the realization of not the lo tov liyhot adam lvado but yivater ish lvado and the yivater is a remez to the meod. Vayivater. it's like he's left over. There's more in the reference to the meod which is his relationship with possessions . And so this produces kadosh Yaakov, who lives in full kiddushin with all, in full relationship with all. It's so intimate.                  The Mesilat Yesharim describes in one of the most beautiful passages in the book in which he describes what the kadosh is like, (Kadosh is a reference to Yaakov in the Navi) and he says there you should know that there's an experience of life of the kadosh in which everything that he uses of this world, he sees as being in connection and in communion with G-d's sanctity, and therefore all the stones joined together by Yaakov because he is always attached to the realization of G-d's greatness and life in the world, so everything that he touches in this world is an experience of the godly life which is in it. And so there is nothing that he touches, he goes on and explains.                 Mesilat Nesharim, chapter twenty-six, he tells us, (51:19), the meaning of sancity, he's so in communion with his G-d he never separates from Him. Everything he touches turns to gold, so to speak, everything he touches is divinity for him, they all are raising up their reality to G-d. He's touching it in it. (He's touching their divinity as he touches these things in their physical manifestation--DG) He doesn't come down when he touches them, he raises them up because he's in attachment with G-d and his contact with them. Everywhere he walks, everything he eats, everything he touches is experienced like that. Now, I believe that's Yisrael. That's the Yisrael of him. And that what it means that Leah's the secret life. That she is the revelation of how all that is is an organism within which G-d's life is flowing and my life is flowing… This is why, when Yaakov becomes Yisrael, Rachel disappears and only Leah remains. And at this point, we have, in a sense, a reconnecting with the life of the child in the womb of the mother in which the child is at one with the mother as it says " ubar yerech imo." Chazal say, fascinatingly the child is like the thigh of the mother when the mother is holding child is in embryo. The thigh! Gee, wasn't that what malach touched on Yaakov? It has to do with the thigh.  Why it has to do with the thigh is because the thigh is what in the Zohar is called "gufah" It looks like it's outside the body. Like your body ends here, like at the end of the torso, and you've got these legs dangling there. They look like they're something outside your body. No, no, they're part of your body. The malach is trying to push them apart. That's the fight. Am I a separate entity or am I one organism with him? Am I like the thigh of mother in the womb of her? Or am I some separate reality, like this other side of me is trying to convince me? But what he achieves in the battle there within himself and with Esav which is that other side of himself, and that's why, after he defeats the angel of Esav, which is the consciousness of separateness  which is what Yaakov was holding onto the heel of.  When he defeats him, so he gets Leah as his wife, who's the exact knegdo, the exact opposite of what Esav teaches, and now he can really be married to her, as he could not have been before.                 (Questions: The thigh is the strength of man?) The thigh, Chazal say, symbolizes money.  Mamon is l'raglam, is strength, gevurah. (Question: The thigh, the horse, people to take pride in?) The Rabbis teach that when this other side of him hit the thigh, so Yaakov lost control of the money of the world. Money becomes a very crucial issue from that point in time. Very timely. I'm happy to explore this for just a few minutes. In his going back for the pachim ketanim so he's actually not relating to money as power, he's relating to mamon as that which has been my creative expression. It's not power money, it's what belongs to me. So there's a midrash that says that at that point, he lost power money (It says he lost "power money"?) (Laughing) Well, no, they really didn't say it like that. The ruling over the world through mamon. Yosef regains that. I have to look it up, B"H.                 See, money is a whole subject involved, and use of mind. There's a lot going on there. Money is really in a sense, the first abstraction. Money is a unifier.  We're used to experiencing money as being a divider. And that's what happens when people get greedy and start hording money for its own sake. But the deep truth is that money is the unifying force for the planet. It's quite amazing. The Rabbis actually teach that money began with Yaakov at Shechem. When it says Vayichan et pnei hair, after his battle with Esav's angel, and his battle with himself, he encamped in front of the city. Rashi says he made it chendik. He did three things for them. He made for them shuks, he made for them places to wash, and he made for them coinage. Meaning that no more barting. They were actually thrilled that these Bnei Yisrael had showed up, because the midrash says they had a lot of manufacturing but they didn't have anyone to sell it to.                 So enter the Beni Yisrael, and we got this new big market now. What's the new big market? Yaakov and his children (inaud.) (1:01:03) Rashi says, we're going to make a lot of money here. But he says, it's not going to work without coinage. Let's abstract objects into their, so to speak, life-force. And that's what mamon is, it's abstracted into its life force  and so now that I have this ten-shekel coin, which I earned by talking to you for an hour or however, so now, I can take that life force and I can buy myself a package of mentos or a clementina. Really? And that's what happened? Yeah. It became abstracted into value, and it enters into the world of mind. And now that it enters into the world of mind, I can reapply it into some other object. It's the great unifier.  And it gets more abstracted until nowadays… initially it was a coin with some metallic value with the impriture of some Caeser or someone on it, and then that impriture became more valuable than the value of the coin, then not so long ago they said, the heck with the value of it, let's just put on the impriture. And that's when silver dollars go out. But it's the equivalent of some gold that we got at Fort Knox and if you really want it, you can go to the bank and we'll give you a piece of the gold that's in Fort Knox for that coin, or what do you need the coin for, it might as well just be a piece of paper! With a picture of someone on it. Until evenutally you can't even get it out of Fort Knox. Now they're talking, you don't need paper and you don't need coins. You just need pixels on a screen and all becomes one big marketplace. And it's truly marvelous because life force has become completely extracted  or, it's completely horrific when it becomes power. To lord over one another rather than connecting point to interact through.  That's why the real tikkun of money is in the chen, where it says, vayichen et pnei hair. It's in chen. What do you really care about? Don't tell me what you want, that's lording over. What has chen for you? So it could be that you need to work, and then abstract that work into a coin, and then chen, instead of I'll give you a banana if you give me an orange, or hoe my garden. We're going to abstract it now. It could be anything and the expansiveness and connectedness of all that is becomes manifest in money. You can buy anything anywhere. And now it's become impossible. The markets of the world have become tearing because of this. It can be anywhere. There people in China working for nothing producing computers so that these guys in DesMoines are out of work, what's going on there? What does that have to do with me? Well, there's only one life force interconnecting everything, now, isn't it? I don't really look at it that way-- they're taking away my money.                 You can see how this shift is so ready by abstracting, Yaakov introduced that with money. So Esav, you know how you're going to live money? The leg, which represents money  that's Chazal say both in the Zohar and when korach gets killed and everything that's by his legs. So Rashi says, What is everything that's by his legs? That's all his money, he was very wealthy. That's by his legs. Because what stands a person on his legs? Possessions. It's his money. But the pniumius is the legs themselves because it's what's outside you that causes you to walk around from place to place. So Esav or this malach is coming and saying, it's not you, it's separate from you, and you can pick it up and whomp people over the heads with it. Separate from you. That becomes the gid hanasheh. That's going to take a long time Yaakov says, until we come to that realization. But that day is going to come, that there is one G-d.   Vyom ha hu… He and his name will be one. Yihye, Yud-key-yud-key, leaving that aside. And then I'm going to be coming up to Har Seir and you hairy people who think it's all outside. (1:07:15)                 Yeah, it's very relevant now. Everything's teetering because of this crazy and disgusting greed that is the venom of money ultimately abstracted to the point of people not having homes, because they gave them up for money, I guess, I don't know, there are these double, triple, quadruple mortgages, houses people couldn't possibly ever pay for. The whole thing collapsed-it was just greed. It wasn't like the system needed to collapse.  Crazy. And look at the way the tentacles reach everywhere. You wouldn't have that if it were just a bartering world. Scratch my back, and I'll give you a piece of my corn. It limits how many interactions you can have around that.  But now the whole planet becomes like a big brain. With infinite interconnects that are producing the picture of the planet and the interrealitying nekuda is money and mind. I wonder if it had been Yisrael who had been the m'taken mamon. Maybe that wouldn't have the risk of such devolving into what it became. (Yosef came a little close to that…making a system around wealth and distribution..welfare in Egypt)  You're absolutely right and a lot of the playing with the money that Yosef does with his brothers is around that. Do you think it's about the money? Here's your money. Take your money back. Gee. Should we put the money back.. Eh, your money got to me, don't worry. Because money in the hands of people like you is going to become a contortion of the way money in the hands of a man of yesod is. It's probably not going to be connecting for you, it probably will be the point of divisiveness. Here, take your money back. It wasn't about that for me.  Yeah, there's a great deal of teachings about money that Yosef is doing to the Egyptians too. Finally they run out of money.   He's got all the money. (Laughing) Whatever.                 Jews and money, it's no small thing, it's no mystery. It's like ultimate tikkun or ultimate descent. Can blow it or make it.  The goyim have always know that. The money is with the Jews,  Rothschild. Madoff. He's small time; big time damage. (Inaud) Threw it out? Whatever it will be, just didn't own property, (inaud) couldn't so they just became money people. And it becomes the image of the abstraction because money is the abstraction. It becomes this abstract ghost people that holds the money. It's not simple. Because there's really great tikkun that's embodied there. All these things of great tikkun have the potential for the greatest disgrace.                   (Questions: Esav and his angel. It's another consciousness. Esav is another aspect of Yaakov. Two aspects of one person) When he gets a new name, he's evolved into a new person) (My question is Esav-oriented. What does it mean that Leah was supposed to be Esav's wife. You haven't talked much about who he is.)                 He certainly complicated the picture. In the Kabbalah, Esav is the ultimate separateness, the ultimate separativity, I don't know if there would be a word like that. Origin of the zayin malchim kadmachim, the seven primordial kings, of which said, I will rule. He's ultimate hierarchical consciousness in which one stands above the other and there is no one unifier. He is like a bunch of hairs in their separate follicles. (And Leah…) What would it had been had Leah been married to Esav? What tikkun might have occurred? (Or worse, he could have taken the strength of the secret world and destroyed it and abised her and this awful thing).                 It's not until allof the umot haolam share in this realization of Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hshem Echad, that tikkun will be achieved. This is what Rashi says, Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, the G-d who is known only to us to be the force behind all, now, and not by the umot halom, Hashem Echad, in the echad they will all be calling him Shechem Echad, they will all be worshipping Him in one chelek, and calling him by one name. That's how Rashi reads phsat in the verse. So ultimate there is some kind of marrying here, of them to that otherwise, there cannot be full realization of Hashem's name in the world, without the umot halom coming to realize it too. (It's no big deal that Yaakov's children might get it, but what about Esav?) Shechem is a very significant place. (How do we apply all these Torahs to our political and financial reality today?)                 I don't know that I'm a fully realized human being. I'm far from it, I know that I'm not. There is something about a knowing belonging. It has many hashlachot, certainly greed is not among … kirvah is not one of these… of one who has this consciousness, I wish I did live it, I have glimpses of it.                 How does it come down to the political realities? Should we be whomping our way in there and regaining control in there? Is that what it's about? I don't see it that way. I don't think it's a matter of using force in any sense. It is a matter of shifting consciousness. It really is. Once the British person in charge of Palestine (Chamberlain?) called Rav Kook in and said he heard that the Jews planned to take down the mosque and put up their Temple, is that the plan? So Rav Kook said when G-d will be revealed and the Messiah is here, the Moslems will take it down themselves. (Back to the money issue. The thing that's going to get us over ourselves and help us to get to the place of connectness of finances and money is that sense of oneness of Hashem Ehcad?) I think so, that's what tzedakah is about, that's what finding someone a job is, that's what sharing wealth is about, a consciousness of abundance… … (Kabbalah Center: Money. Is the intention G-d or is the intention youself? Are you using G-d for yourself?) These are life works. Is having G-d's name present always, as the one who is mchayeh u…hakol, who is enlivening and bringing into reality all, having the name being something that we can hold and being focused and contemplation on that. That is something that makes the shivyon of all reality alive in a way in which it is all equally his and He is the chariot (Shiviti Hashem lnegdi tamid) Which has the sense of both the placing before and holding equal in His name. But it's l'negdi. That's the Jewishness of it. It's the manifestation of things in their separate isn't G-d. He is enlivening them all equally. But they are alive. They are real. As opposed to Yitzchak consciousness which is also true consciousness, there is only Him. Shviti Hashem involves the negdi, the knegdo of otherness.  And that involves meditating on His name, realizing it in body and in life in what you meet. And it doesn't mean being a pauper either. It's not a sin to desire success and full realization of things we've been given in His service.                 When the focus becomes the mechanism of getting those things. Like Chaya was saying, if I use the mechanism, then it's going to come my way. When the focus is on the mechanism and not on the context--the context being that it is all in His service--that's when things go off, because you're just focusing on the means, and it just becauses mechanical. And that's just about me. That's the leumat ze. Lvado. That's the lo tov liyhot adam lvado, when it's all about me, when it's a consciousness instead of bishvili, that the world is in a relationship with me for me, rather it become haolam sheli, the world is mine. That's an Esav consciousness. That's why Esav hates mother. Chazal say the reason why Rivka never gave birth again is because he tore up her uterus on his way out.  He hates mother.  Because she is the place of embeddedness and consciousness of it's one organism.   Olam Habah is all devoted to him and all His life force flowing through it and you too. So he's the antithesis of that and therefore the antithesis of Leah and we haven't worked out how they are supposed to live together. He's the antithesis of that consciousness of olam habah. That's the depth of what Yaakov basically says to him, you just want olam hazeh,  because you want to own it all. You don't want bishvili, you want to live yesh li haolam, that I own the world, not that the world is for me. See, when the world is for me, in right consciousness, that creates the responsibility of wow, this belongs to me, literally, it's one pathway. We're in a shvil toghether. I'm guiding it and it's evolving by my doing. (Esav is focusing on the microcosm and Yaakov is following on the macrocosm) It's not just about a bigger picture, it's a different picture.

“Rani v'simshci bas tzion”Q1- why are the Jewish people called “bas”?Q2- We need to understand the three levels of (1) bas, (2) achosi and (3) imi.Q3- We need to understand the meaning of “ner Havayeh nishmas adam” and “ki atah neiri Havayeh”.Ner Havayeh nishmas adam:“kol haneshamah tehalel yud hei”: hilul=b'hilo= illumination. “ani Havayeh lo shanisi”: unlike the soul, which is invested in the body and is thereby effected through its various expressions, God is at the same time responsible for the creation and complete providence over the world, without being effected/subject to change. This is the meaning of Kadosh x3: creation comes from God's “speech”, which is represented by the last Hei of Havaya. Each “Kadosh” refers to the first three letters of Havaya, which represent  distinct stages in God's self-concealment to create the world.Yud hei: Olam Habah is the letter hei, and the Or that is the reward in Olam Habah is from yud, Tzimiztum Or Ein Sof, which is the result of the fulfillment of the Mitzvot. “kol haneshamah tehalel yud hei”= causing the yud (Or) to illuminate the hei (OH”B)“neshama”= neshima= ratzu v'shuv: a person draws Godliness into Olam Habah through his experience of ratzu v'shuv (ahavah b'chol medocha+Torah and Mitzvos) in this world.A3- ner Havayeh nishmas adam: the service of RTV”S causes an illumination of Havayeh in OH”B.Ki atah neiri Havayeh:One cannot reach the level of love/ratzu mentioned above on his own. In order for ones neshama to be fully expressed, one needs to do 1) Teshuvah and 2) Torah and Mitzvot.“ata neiri”= Torah (the letters Alpeh through Tof) and Mitzvot (Hei) illuminate the neshama, and dispel the darkness of the animal soul and the body, which prevent one from having an emotional relationship with God (“v'Havayeh yagiah choshki”).A2(1)- this is the level of bas, which has no love of God on its own, but receives it from God. For this to happen, it must “turn away from her father's home”, i.e. its interests in the physical world. This is also the level of Yaakov (yud in ekev)A2(2): Achosi= those who transform and elevate the world through Torah. The act of ruling “pure/impure” elevates that which can be elevated and removes that which cannot. When there is kol Yaakov, i.e. Torah, that dispels yidei Eisav, Kelippah. A2 (3): Torah alone is not enough, one also needs to have Love/Deveikus, which draws down the effects of Torah and Mitzvot into OH”B, as mentioned above. This is the level of Imi. However, in the times of Moshiach, bas will be the superior level of divine service. ConceptsCreation comes from Hei acharonah, Divine Speech.The process of Tzimtzum as expressed in Shem Havayeh.One can only reach love of God through Teshuvah, Torah and Mitzvos.The three levels of bas, achosi, and imi. “Ktzas Biur”Bas=Eved=Mitzvos= Yichud Havayeh+AdnaiAchosi= Sar= Torah= Yichud Havayeh+Elokim (Z”A+Malchus)Imi= (Ben?)=Mesiras Nefesh Bkrias Shemah= Yichud Havayeh+Ehkeh (Chochmah+Binah+Ha'aras HaKesser)When Moshiach comes, Bas will be the highest level. (nautz tchilasan…, sof maaseh…) Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=SVCNKGSMCEANE)

“Rani v'simshci bas tzion”Q1- why are the Jewish people called “bas”?Q2- We need to understand the three levels of (1) bas, (2) achosi and (3) imi.Q3- We need to understand the meaning of “ner Havayeh nishmas adam” and “ki atah neiri Havayeh”.Ner Havayeh nishmas adam:“kol haneshamah tehalel yud hei”: hilul=b'hilo= illumination. “ani Havayeh lo shanisi”: unlike the soul, which is invested in the body and is thereby effected through its various expressions, God is at the same time responsible for the creation and complete providence over the world, without being effected/subject to change. This is the meaning of Kadosh x3: creation comes from God's “speech”, which is represented by the last Hei of Havaya. Each “Kadosh” refers to the first three letters of Havaya, which represent  distinct stages in God's self-concealment to create the world.Yud hei: Olam Habah is the letter hei, and the Or that is the reward in Olam Habah is from yud, Tzimiztum Or Ein Sof, which is the result of the fulfillment of the Mitzvot. “kol haneshamah tehalel yud hei”= causing the yud (Or) to illuminate the hei (OH”B)“neshama”= neshima= ratzu v'shuv: a person draws Godliness into Olam Habah through his experience of ratzu v'shuv (ahavah b'chol medocha+Torah and Mitzvos) in this world.A3- ner Havayeh nishmas adam: the service of RTV”S causes an illumination of Havayeh in OH”B.Ki atah neiri Havayeh:One cannot reach the level of love/ratzu mentioned above on his own. In order for ones neshama to be fully expressed, one needs to do 1) Teshuvah and 2) Torah and Mitzvot.“ata neiri”= Torah (the letters Alpeh through Tof) and Mitzvot (Hei) illuminate the neshama, and dispel the darkness of the animal soul and the body, which prevent one from having an emotional relationship with God (“v'Havayeh yagiah choshki”).A2(1)- this is the level of bas, which has no love of God on its own, but receives it from God. For this to happen, it must “turn away from her father's home”, i.e. its interests in the physical world. This is also the level of Yaakov (yud in ekev)A2(2): Achosi= those who transform and elevate the world through Torah. The act of ruling “pure/impure” elevates that which can be elevated and removes that which cannot. When there is kol Yaakov, i.e. Torah, that dispels yidei Eisav, Kelippah. A2 (3): Torah alone is not enough, one also needs to have Love/Deveikus, which draws down the effects of Torah and Mitzvot into OH”B, as mentioned above. This is the level of Imi. However, in the times of Moshiach, bas will be the superior level of divine service. ConceptsCreation comes from Hei acharonah, Divine Speech.The process of Tzimtzum as expressed in Shem Havayeh.One can only reach love of God through Teshuvah, Torah and Mitzvos.The three levels of bas, achosi, and imi. “Ktzas Biur”Bas=Eved=Mitzvos= Yichud Havayeh+AdnaiAchosi= Sar= Torah= Yichud Havayeh+Elokim (Z”A+Malchus)Imi= (Ben?)=Mesiras Nefesh Bkrias Shemah= Yichud Havayeh+Ehkeh (Chochmah+Binah+Ha'aras HaKesser)When Moshiach comes, Bas will be the highest level. (nautz tchilasan…, sof maaseh…)Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=SVCNKGSMCEANE)

Link to The Ten Words PDF An amazing thing that Mercy in Hebrew is connected to the womb - as we are The Hands of God, (The Yud) after we are Born again. Robby shares an affliction story Psalms 119:77 Robby's Email mailto:rdilmore@truthnetwork.com Robby's Personal email rdilmore7@gmail.com

Link to The Ten Words PDF The Counsel of the third verse in the Yud section is for the ages - God believes in you and so He Trusts you with some fire to perfect you. Robby shares stories. Psalms 119:75 Robby's Email mailto:rdilmore@truthnetwork.com Robby's Personal email rdilmore7@gmail.com

In this episode we answer Dr Yud's question about constitutionally protected funds. We also talk about buyers agents, the pros and cons and what to consider when engaging one.

Today's shiur is sponsored Shmuly Hecht F245 In honor of the Daf Yomi Committee and the Hatzalah Members who push Harbotzas Hatoira with our dear esteemed Magid Shiur Reb Eli. And Le"n my dear chaver R' Mordechai Shloime Pinchus Tuviya A"H Ben Avrohom Moishe Peretz N"Y Kopman, who was ripped away from us at such a young age may his neshoma have an Aliya & Maseches Rosh Hashana is dedicated by Yossi & Estie Elbaum and their children Tehila and Reuven lzecher nishmas their mother/grandmother Bella Wolman ביילא צפורה בת ר׳ ראובן whose 1st yartzheit will be on the day of the siyum ט כסלו and as a zchus for a shidduch for תהילה שרה בת אסתר לאה & Asher Dworetsky In thanks to Hashem for the gift of our new baby boy! as well as all the Nachas Yisrael, Aharon and Ayelet (who are watching with me right now!) Give me each each day. And: In Honor of Rabbi Elliot Hecht the Illustrious Principal of HANC middle School and proud MDY member! & Yehuda Zyskind In Commemoration,of the Third Yahrtzeit of my Grandmother Shoshana Raizel bas Yekusiel Yehuda A'H , Today, Yud Ches Tammuz, May her Neshama have an Aliya, and be a Malitz Yosher for Klal Yisroel. And in honor of her Great Grandson Shmuel Yehoshuah (Nun '' Yud) who is having his Pidyon Haben today on her Yahrtzheit. May he grow up to be a Talmud Chacham and display the Middos of his Great Grandmother & Yehuda Gilbert In honor of Shulem Rand-F202 & Moshe Bron. For their inspiration and encouragement -- Turning of the daf sponsors the MDY Tehillim group - for all who need Shidduchim, Refuas and Yeshuos, Please join us at tehillim.8mindaf.com & Sponsored Anonymously: Zechus for Shahla Tamar Chaya bat Sara to have a refuah sheleimah bekarov, bracha, simcha, arichas yamim, and nachas from all her children and grandchildren

We continue our theme of loving one's spouse. The pasuk says in Devarim ( chapter 24, pasuk ה ) יִקַּח אִישׁ אִשָּׁה חֲדָשָׁה לֹא יֵצֵא בַּצָּבָא וְלֹא יַעֲבֹר עָלָיו לְכָל דָּבָר נָקִי יִהְיֶה לְבֵיתוֹ שָׁנָה אֶחָת וְשִׂמַּח אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר לָקָח When a man takes a new wife, he should not go out to war for a year, or be involved for any purpose (e.g taking business trips without his wife's permission). He should be clean ( i.e. empty) of obligations for an entire year for his wife, and make the wife that he married happy. The Chida brings down from Rabbenu Ephraim (a Rishon) and the Baal Turim that if we take last letter from each of the words נָקִ י יִהְיֶ ה לְבֵית וֹ שָׁנָ ה (He should be clean for his household for a year), we get Hashem's name: Yud, Heh, Vav and Heh This is significant in two ways; Firstly, the Shechina comes down for a husband and wife, if they are zoche /meritorious. But, the Shechina does not come down unless a person is happy. So, in order to bring the Shechina down, you have to make your spouse happy. That is the focus of the first year of marriage, but it is a mistake to think that this only applies to the first year. The Shechina is always there, but there is a special focus during the first year. We can see this from how the Gedolim treated their wives. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was once returning home, and when he stopped to straighten out his tie before he entered his home, he was asked why. He answered that it was because for a husband and wife that merit, the Shechina is there, so he wanted to look presentable when greeting the Shechina (and also to greet his wife with simcha ). I recall that when his wife passed way, Rav Shlomo Zalman did something that made waves throughout Yerushalayim. It was customary in Yerushalayim that a husband ask his wife for mechila/forgiveness at her funeral. But Rav Shlomo Zalman said he could not ask for mechila because in all their years of marriage, they never got into an argument, or had any reason to ask for mechila from one another. How do we get there? By realizing the great benefit of Shalom Bayit, and recognizing that simcha is needed in household, in order to bring the Shechina down. One of the reasons that we make a chatan and kallah happy for a whole week, with music and dancing etc, is to bring the Shechina down. And that has to continue throughout the marriage. That only happens is through Ve'Ahavta LeRe'echa Kamocha.

Yud gimel midos horachamim is not said without minyan. During Selichos only one time Tachnun. ' No Nefilas Apayim in Selichos https://www.torahrecordings.com/shulchan_menachem/274/002

Two stories this week. The first is about a maggid (traveling preacher) who comes to the town of Reb Shmuel Munkis to help the local Jews do teshuva during the month of Elul and the second about the power of renewal with a story about Reb Shlomo Carlebach. These two were stories I heard from my late teacher, rabbi and mentor, Reb Sholom Brodt whose yahrzeit is on Yud (10th) Elul. I wrote a book about my experiences with Reb Sholom called A Shtikel Sholom: A Student, His Mentor and Their Unconventional Conversations. You can see it here https://amzn.to/30JS7CT. Also available at https://soundcloud.com/barak-hullman/why-are-you-sharpening-that-knife. To become a part of this project please go to www.patreon.com/barakhullman. Hear all of the stories at https://hasidicstory.com.

Yud isi lah deskripsinya / Males Bar lu aja lah

Ini bukannya udah pernah ya Yud? / Beda bahasan Bar

Iye ntar gua pulang Yud, Her.

Yoma daf Yud bet - thanks to rabbi Moshe Schwed for sending in a Dvar Torah - make sure to go check out AllDaf at AllDaf.org --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daf-charlie/message

This Episode was a result of how God took me from: James Banks teaching on Thankfulness and Praise Encouraging Prayer Podcast http://encouragingprayer.libsyn.com/website Thanking leads to Praising in  1 Chron 6:14   So what lead to thanking - The Gimmel Caught the Dalet gave him a Yud, that became a Hey....

Robby is back from COVID!  Full of Bible Wonder and a God spark.  Andy from Trans World Radio stops by because Africa Needs Jesus.  Really, don't we all!

What are somethings that Christians without a Jewish background miss from the Sermon on the Mount? Do Jesus’ five sermons in the book of Matthew correlate to the 5 books of the law? What is the Yud? Muireadhach sits down with special guest Brittany Tinney and they discuss these questions and more on this episode of Your Church Friends. Visit our Website:http://yourchurchfriends.rocks/ 

From the Rebbe's Father - ויגש וַיִּפֹּל עַל צַוְּארֵי בִנְיָמִן אָחִיו וַיֵּבְךְּ וּבִנְיָמִן בָּכָה עַל צַוָּארָיו וַיְנַשֵּׁק לְכָל אֶחָיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עֲלֵהֶם וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן דִּבְּרו אֶחָיו אִתּו Questions; A) Why is it written ויבך עלהם, without the letter י, in other places in Torah it's written עליהם, with a Yud? B) Yiosef cried on Binyomin, Binyomin cried on Yiosef, then Yiosef Cried on the brothers, Why didn't the Brother's (the remaining 10 שבטים) cry on Yiosef? And many more questions... מאביו של הרבי וַיִּפֹּל עַל צַוְּארֵי בִנְיָמִן אָחִיו וַיֵּבְךְּ וּבִנְיָמִן בָּכָה עַל צַוָּארָיו וַיְנַשֵּׁק לְכָל אֶחָיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עֲלֵהֶם וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן דִּבְּרוּ אֶחָיו אִתּו שאלות; א) דיוק בהפסוק, כל דבר בתורה הוא מדוייק, למה כתוב תיבת עלהם חסר אות יוד, בכמה מקומות בתורה כתוב עליהם? ב) יוסף בכה על בנימין, ובנימן בכה על יוסף, ואח״כ יוסף בכה על השבטים, ולמה לא בכו השבטים על יוסף? ועוד שאלות ודיוקים בהפסוק. מלקוטי לוי יצחק בראשית ע׳ קצה. ילקוט לוי יצחק עה״ת ויגש סימן צז.

YSY A viene sacando unas sesiones MUY picantes. La última con beat de Bizarrap se viene hipercargada y como saben que tenemos el si musical fácil no nos pudimos resistir a escuchar y analizar "Un Flow del Infarto". Siempre quisiste escuchar a Juana Molina ¿y no sabés por donde empezar? Probablemente su nuevo disco en vivo, en el festival NRML en México, sea la mejor forma. Rocktails estuvo ahí el año pasado y YUD nos contó lo increíble que fue ese recital. También tuvimos tiempo para relajar y bailar con "Bajo la lluvia", el nuevo tema de Lo' Pibitos junto a A.B.R.E. y Greta Dumont, inspirado en un poema de Kenji Miyazawa. Para mirarse adentro, reflexionar y prepárense, porque no lo van a poder dejar de cantar toda la semana. ¡Tuvimos otro invitado especial de Rocktails! En este caso Augusto Telias nos trajo el nuevo tema de la artista chilena Antonia Navarro, esta vez en un plano más house y con mucho sinte como nos gusta. Finalmente nos metimos en el laboratorio de Martín Longoni, un productor que nos encanta, con su nuevo disco CO.LAB con colaboraciones de artistas super interesantes para anotar y descubrir. TRACKLIST COMPLETO DEL PROGRAMA: YSY A x Bizarrap - Un Flow de InfartoLo' Pibitos - Bajo la LluviaAntonia Navarro - HogarMartín Longoni - En Mi Corazón (ft. Aimé Cantilo)Juana Molina - Eras (En Vivo Festival NRMAL 2020) LINKS DATEROS: Lo' Pibitos Instrumento sanshin"Vencer la Lluvia" poema de Kenji MiyazawaJuana MolinaJuana Molina en el festival NRMAL x RocktailsYud Loy Chiu fotógrafa e ilustradora mexicana NUESTRA PLAYLIST CON LO QUE SUENA EN EL PROGRAMA

*** Dedicated by Sari and Sammy J. Sutton in memory of Mr. David E. Franco *** The Alsheich HaKadosh writes in parashat Emor that the underlying meaning of us taking the Dalet Minim – the Etrog , Lulav , Hadasim and Aravot - on Sukkot is for us to realize that every last detail of our lives is totally in the hands of Hashem. How do the Dalet Minim teach us this? The Midrash says regarding the pasuk which gives us the command to take the Dalet Minim " ולקחתם לכם פרי עץ הדר " – the Etrog – is also a reference to Hashem, as it says”, הוד והדר לבשת ." the Lulav – “ כפות תמרים " is a reference to Hashem, as it says, " צדיק כתמר יפרח " – the Hadasim – עץ עבות are a reference to Hashem, as it says, " והוא עומד בין ההדסים ." And finally, – the Aravot – “ ערבי נחל "are also a reference to Hashem, as it says, " סולו לרוכב בערבות ." This means, we are taking these four species which are made by Hashem and we are shaking them. But isn’t everything made by Hashem? The Alsheich explains further, every blade of grass has an angel appointed over it and the angel tells it to grow. For that matter, everything in the world that grows has its angel appointed over it. However, regarding these four species only, Hashem did not put them the hand of any angel. Every aspect of their growth is done completely by Him. And therefore, Hashem told us to hold these four species and recognize that we, as well, are totally under His Hashgacha . Nothing else in the world can affect us, not even an angel. Nobody has any control to harm us. We are completely b’Yad Hashem. It goes further. Rabbi Menashe Reisman quoted from Rav Yaakov Moshe Panett who brings down the Arizal who said, even though there are only four letters to the Shem Havaya of Hashem, each one of those letters correspond to a different book of the Five Books of the Torah. How is that possible? The fifth book is represented by the kutzo shel yud , the tip of the letter Yud , which is so holy that it cannot be contained in a regular letter. And that tip corresponds to the Sefer Bereshit , the first of all of the Chumashim . The rule is, wherever we find four levels corresponding to the Four Letter Name of Hashem, there is always a fifth and higher level corresponding to that kutzo shel yud . We know it says in the L’shem Yichud that the Four Species correspond to the Four Letter Name of Hashem, but we know we’re not allowed to add a fifth species. So what corresponds to that kutzo shel yud ? The Rabbi answered, this is what it means in the beginning of the pasuk , " ולקחתם לכם – take yourselves along with the Four Species." We, the Jewish People, are the ones represented by that kutzo shel yud . We are Hashem’s prize possession. All of the mitzvot are there just to elevate us. Hashem has extra hashgacha on those Four Minim, just to teach us that His hashgacha is upon us. And that is what matters to Him the most. So on this glorious holiday of Sukkot, when we are performing these beautiful mitzvot, we should have in mind how precious we are to Hashem and that He is with us with every move that we make. We are totally under His control. Nobody else has any effect on us. The Sukkah is the Sila d’Hemnuta – the shade of Emunah. There as well, we are in the embrace of Hashem. How fortunate we are to be so connected to Hashem, the מלך מלכי המלכים, הקדוש ברוך הוא . Chag Sameach .

The pasuk says in Tehillim , "תקעו בחודש שופר בכסה ליום חגינו-Blow the shofar….at the appointed time of our festival." The first letters of the words ת קעו ב חודש ש ופר spell ShaBaT. On a year when Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbat, the shofar is כסה – it is hidden, because we don’t blow it on that day. Our Rabbis were worried that perhaps someone may come to carry the shofar and violate Shabbat, and so they said we should abstain from blowing it. The question was asked, how could our Rabbis be willing to lose out on this enormous mitzvah which comes just once a year for a distant concern that perhaps someone may come to inadvertently carry the shofar. The shofar is the vehicle which arouses Hashem’s mercy. It causes Him to sit on His Throne of Mercy. It confuses the Satan. When he sees us embracing the mitzvah by blowing it so many times in so many ways, both standing and sitting, he’s no longer able to prosecute against us. Moreover, it invokes the zechut of Akedat Yitzchak . Some answer, when Hashem sees how much we are willing to give up, showing Him how much we value Shabbat, that is an even greater zechut . We are so concerned about Hashem’s honor, we don’t want His precious Shabbat to be violated. Others say, on a year when Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbat, in the zechut of our keeping Shabbat, Shabbat itself advocates on our behalf to Hashem to give us a good judgment. In order for each individual to have that zechut , he has to be someone who keeps and honors Shabbat. This Shabbat is the last one of the year. We still have a chance to gain its merits and have it advocate on our behalf. Let us do our best to keep this Shabbat the way that it is meant to be kept. Hashem gave us all of the mitzvot to benefit us, like it says לטוב לך , and Shabbat is no different. Besides for the natural physical pleasure we automatically derive by cutting ourselves off from the mundane part of the world and experiencing true menucha , there is also an abundance of other blessings that comes along with keeping Shabbat. The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (119) tells us about people who merited to have untold wealth because of the honor that they accorded Shabbat. The pasuk says, "ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי ויקדש אותו – Hashem blessed Shabbat and sanctified it." We understand how Shabbat is sanctified, but where is the blessing in that day? It is the only day that we are not allowed to work!? The Zohar HaKadosh teaches us, Shabbat is the wellspring that pours the blessings into the other six days of the week. We say it every Shabbat in Lecha Dodi, Shabbat is the מקור הברכה – it is the source of our blessings. It's a secret blessing between us and Hashem. Rabbi Zamir Cohen explained, the root of the word ברכה-blessing is בר"כ - Bet Resh Kaf . Bet has a numerical value of 2, Kaf is 20 and Resh is 200. These are the only three letters in the Alef Bet that are double their preceding letter, Bet is double Alef , Kaf is double Yud and Resh is double Kuf . To have blessing in one’s money is to have a hundred and be able to spend it as if you have 200. How so? Someone who has blessing will not have to spend his money on side expenses like a leak in the roof or a root canal or any other additional expenses that come up in life. He could be earning $100,000, but use it as if he’s making $200,000 because Hashem gives him blessing and saves him from so many potential expenses. You could have someone else earning $200,000 but he’s spending it as if he earned $100,000 because he has so many unexpected outside expenses. Shabbat is what gives blessing to our money. Let us take advantage of this final Shabbat of year 5780. Keep all of the halachot , honor it to the best of our ability and b’ezrat Hashem, in that zechut , the Shabbat will advocate for us to have a happy and blessed year. Shabbat Shalom.

In this episode, Guy covers the different words and meanings derived from the root ק.ר.א, like how to say, “Call an ambulance”, “Let’s call a spade a spade,” and perhaps most useful sentence of all, “Let me read to you the text he sent me.” He’ll also introduce you to the girl who currently holds the record for the youngest, most prolific reader of the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode New Words and Expressions: Colloquial names of Hebrew letters – Daled, Hey, Yud, Pei, Tsadik, Kuf, Taf – ד, ה, י, פ, צ, ק, ת Si’anit ha-kri’a ha-tseira shel tel aviv-yafo – The youngest record holder reader of the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa – שיאנית הקריאה הצעירה של תל אביב יפו Kef li likro sifrei fantazia, aval ani ohevet gam sifrei mada bidyoni – Reading fantasy books is fun, but I also like science fiction – כיף לי לקרוא ספרי פנטזיה, אבל אני אוהבת גם ספרי מדע בדיוני Structure: Kef le + mishehu + Inf.  Hi koret be-chelek gadol me-ha-zman she-hi era – She reads during a big part of the time in which she’s awake – היא קוראת בחלק גדול מהזמן שהיא ערה Tsarich likro la kama pe’amim le-aruchat erev – We need to call her a few times for dinner – צריך לקרוא לה כמה פעמים לארוחת ערב Mi-ma’amakim – Out of the depth – ממעמקים Mikra – Bible – מקרא Kri’ah achrona – Last call (airport) – קריאה אחרונה Kibalnu kri’ah – We (the call center) got a call for help – קיבלנו קריאה Tikre’u le-ambulans – Call an ambulance – תקראו לאמבולנס Tikre’u la-mishtara – Call the police – תקראו למשטרה Kri’ah le-ezra – A call for help – קריאה לעזרה Karata li mami sheli – You called me “mami sheli” (my darling) – קראת לי מאמי שלי Karati lecha nishmati – I called you “nishmati” (my soul) – קראתי לך נשמתי Kara le mishehu X – He called someone X – קרא למישהו + שם Kor’im li ba-shchuna malkat ha-shoshanim – They call me in the neighborhood the rose queen – קוראים לי בשכונה מלכת השושנים “Lo be’emet kor’im li Johnny” – Johnny is not my real name – לא באמת קוראים לי ג’וני Ha-horim sheli kar’u li Yonatan Binyamin – My parents called me Yonatan Binyamin – ההורים שלי קראו לי יונתן בנימין Eich kor’im lecha/lach – What’s your name? – ?איך קוראים לך Ma shimcha/shmech? – What’s your name? (formal) – ?מה שמך Likro le-mishehu al shem mishehu – To name someone after someone – לקרוא למישהו על שם מישהו Kar’u la al shem ha-savta – They named her after her grandmother – קראו לה על שם הסבתא Kor’im la ya’el al shem ha-savta – She’s called Yael after her grandmother – קוראים לה יעל על שם הסבתא Al shem – Called after, in the name of – על שם, ע”ש Hi kruya al shem ha-savta – She’s called after her grandmother – היא קרויה על שם הסבתא Hu karuy al shem ha-saba – He’s called after his grandfather – הוא קרוי על שם הסבא Kar’u lecha al shem mishehu? – Did they name you after someone? – ?קראו לך על שם מישהו Al shem mi kar’u lecha/lach? – After whom did they name you? – ?על שם מי קראו לך Eich ze nikra be’ivrit – How is it called – איך זה נקרא Eich kor’im le-ze be’ivrit – How do you call it in Hebrew – איך קוראים לזה בעברית “This is what I call globalization” – Le-ze ani kore globalizatsia / ze ma she-nikra globalizatsia – לזה אני קורא גלובליזציה / זה מה שנקרא גלובליזציה Lehakri sipur – To read aloud a story to someone – להקריא סיפור Lehakri sipur lifnei ha-shena – To read a story before bedtime – להקריא סיפור לפני השינה “Bo ani akri lecha ma hu katav” – Let me read to you what he wrote – בוא אני אקריא לך מה הוא כתב Takri/Takri-ee li rega et ha-hoda’a – Read me the message for a sec. – תקריא/תקריאי לי רגע את ההודעה Bo nikra la-yeled bi-shmo – Let’s call a spade a spade – בוא נקרא לילד בשמו   Playlist and Clips: Ynet – Si’anit hash’alot ha-sfarim Idan Raichel’s Project – Mi-ma’amakim (lyrics) Kri’ah achrona – Last Call (commercial) Eden Ben Zaken – Mexico (lyrics under Youtube clip) Eden Ben Zaken – Malkat Ha-shoshanim (lyrics)  KAN TV – Eich Bocharim Shem Chiba? – How do you choose a nickname? Eich lehakri sipur la-yeladim – Commercial Mecha’at ha-michnasayim ha-ktsarim – “The shorts protest” Ep. no. 22

During these days when we are mourning over the destruction of the Bet HaMikdash , it is incumbent upon us to have more of a yearning for the Mashiach and the rebuilding of the Bet HaMikdash . We ask Hashem in the Amida to bring Mashiach , and the reason we say is " כי לישועתך קיווינו כל היום– because we are anticipating it all day long." The more we want the Geula , the quicker it will come. I saw a Midrash quoted in English which said the Avot looked into the future and saw the long galut which their children would have to endure, and they asked Hashem, How are they going to get out of it if the generations will just get weaker and weaker? Hashem replied, There is no need to worry. There will be a generation that will cry out to Me sincerely for the Geula, and for that I will redeem them . Our Rabbis tell us, the day after the churban of the Beit HaMikdash , Hashem already chose someone from that generation to potentially be the Mashiach and bring the Geula . And subsequently, every generation afterward there is someone alive in the world available and ready to be called upon to be the Mashiach . We have an ongoing mitzvah to hope for and anticipate Mashiach . People have said they have a hard time now anticipating it because they thought that it was going to happen during the height of the Corona in the month of Nissan, a month in which Chazal taught us is auspicious for Geula . The world shut down, everyone was in hiding, it seemed like it was going to happen then, and then it didn’t. And now people think, if Mashiach didn’t come then, how is he going to come now? That’s the wrong attitude. It’s just the opposite. Part of our job bringing Mashiach is to be able to anticipate him even after a let-down. It is part of the test. Hashem showed us how He could change the entire world in an instant. He showed us how little we are and how little we know. We need to be humbled before Mashiach comes, and we are right now. The pasuk says " פתאום יבוא – he is going to come suddenly," when least expected. Perhaps that is now—after we expected him to come. Our people have been hoping throughout the generations for Mashiach . Now is not the time to stop. We are clearly in the End of Days and we have to do our part to make the final tikkun – it all comes down to our adherence to Torah and mitzvot . Anticipating Mashiach should give us more of a push to become the great individuals we are capable of becoming. The pasuk says in Tehillim , "כי שמש ומגן ה' אלוקים." The Baal Shem Tov explained, the same way it’s impossible to stare at the sun without having a protective covering over it because of its enormous light, so too Hashem’s name of Yud-k-vav-k is too bright in its kedusha for us to see in this world, so Hashem has to hide Himself in the name Elokim , which is the numerical value of teva (nature). And hence, the pasuk means כי שמש ומגן – the same way the sun has a protector now, so too Hashem Elokim – Hashem has a protector – hiding in teva . And that is the way we relate to Hashem now - through nature. However, Chazal tell us when Mashiach comes, Hashem is going to remove the sheath from the sun. Which means, according to the Baal Shem Tov, He’s going to remove the veil of nature that He is hiding in now. The tzaddikim will become purified and healed with the radiance of the Shechina that’s going to be exposed. The pleasure they will have from Hashem’s radiance will be indescribable. But the rashaim (evildoers) won’t be able to look at it. The light will be too strong and it will damage them. We want to be a part of the Future Life. We want to enjoy with Hashem for all eternity. Now is the time to ensure it by recognizing Mashiach could come at any moment and becoming spiritually ready to receive Him. May we be zocheh to see the rebuilding of the Bet HaMikdash with the Final Geula .

Sohib gue ini emang cocok banget daah jadi pelayar. Panggilan dari dulu gurame coba, cocok kaya nama ikan kan hahaha. Cuman emang semangat dan kegigihannya keren banget sih, empat jempol buatlu Yud ! Gimana serunya, yuk dimonggoin ! Semoga menginspirasi ! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/zonabhawir/support

Learning How to Love - Part 33 "The Architecture of Yud" With Rabbi Ari Sollish (Recorded live in Atlanta on July 12, 2020) The letter yud is a magnificent little letter. It's compact, aerodynamic, and svelte. Its architecture is truly divine. The letter yud is also the first letter in G-d's name. As you can imagine, then, there are a lot of secrets and hidden meanings embedded in this little letter. In this incredible edition of Kabbalah & Coffee, we deconstruct the architecture of the yud and decode its three dimensions. As we do this, we'll discover the key to creativity and flow, and discover the source of inspiration and application in our lives.

The Hebrew word for man is “Ish” which is spelled “Aleph-Yud-Shin” and the Hebrew word for woman is “Ishah” which is spelled “Aleph-Shin-Hey.” The two letters not in common are the “Yud” and the “Hey” which is a name of G-d. In this episode Rabbi Cohen discusses in depth the rationale for the importance of […]

R. Shabtai Sabato - Midrash - Shelah: "The letter Yud of Yehoshua" This part in Parashat Shelah is taught by Rabbi Shabtai Sabato TanachStudy.com  

Come journey with me as we transverse the universe of the Living God in a Mirco-second within the "Yud" of God

Lagi ngebahas target dan visi apa yang mau di capai dari para lajang ini ( kang Dhik, Masyo, Yud, Ita, Yuniar, & Rati)

It is written in theMishna(Berochos13a);R'Yehoshua ben Korchahasked; Why do we recite the passage ofShemabefore we recite thepassage ofVehayah im shemoa? In order to first accept upon ourselves the yoke of Heaven's rule and after that to accept upon ourselves the yoke of the commandments.And what is the reason thatVehayah im shamoais said beforeVayomer? Because themitzvahof studyingTorah, which is mentioned in the passage ofvehayah im shamoaapplies both by day and by night while themitzvahoftzitzisapplies only by day.Tosafosasks that he doesn't understandR'Yehoshua ben Karchah'squestion, "Why do we recite the passage ofShemabefore we recite thepassage ofVehayah im shemoa?". The reason is simple;Shemais recited beforeVehayah im shemoabecauseShemais written inParshas VeschannonandVehayah im shemoais written at the end ofparshas Eikev125pessukimlater! SinceShemais written beforeVehayait makes sense to recite it first!Tosafosanswers that this explanation did not sufficeR'Yeshoshua ben Korchahbecause if we would reciteKriyas Shemaaccording to the order that it is written in the Torah thenVayomer, the third section ofKriyas Shema,should be recited first since it is written inSefer Bamidbar,at the end of ourparsha, which is many manypessukimbeforeShema!Since we don't readVayomerfirst we see thatKriyas Shemais not read according to the order that the sections are written in theTorah.Tosafostherefore explains that the reason thatR'Yeshoshua ben Korchahthought that the section ofVehaya im shemoashould be recited first, is that it is written in the plural form and addresses all ofClall Yisroelcollectively whereas the section ofShemais written in the singular.Zera Shimshonargues that this answer is a little forced because a section of theTorahbeing written in the plural is not a reason to be written before a section written in the singular.Zera Shimshontherefore gives a different explanation of what botheredR'Yeshoshua ben Korchahin light of an incident written inMesechta Berochos(14b) thatRavonce washed his hands, recitedShema, put ontefillin, anddavvened,in that order.TheGemorroconcludes that thehalachais that one first puts ontefillinand then saysKriyas Shemaand we don't sayKriyas Shemabefore we put ontefillin. The reason thatRavdid it in the reverse order was simply that there was a technical problem,Ravdidn't have histefillinwith him. A messenger was meant to bring him histefillinbut still didn't arrive as the latesttime that one can sayKriyas Shemaapproached. ThereforeRavsaidKriyas Shemawithout histefillinand put them on when the messenger finally arrived with histefillin.From thisGemorro Zera Shimshonlearns that doing amitzvotakes precedence over just learning about it.According to thisZera Shimshonexplains that the reason that the section ofVayomer, which speaks about puttingtzitzison a four cornered garment is written way before the section ofShema Yisroelis to allude to the above principle; doing amitzvo(like puttingtzitzison one's garment) precedes learning (like the acceptance ofHashem'srule).This is also what was botheringR'Yeshoshua ben Korchah.Since the secondparsha,vehaya im shemoa, speaks of acceptance upon ourselves the yoke of performing themitzvoswhy do we say it afterShema? Just like we first put ontefillinand then we sayShemaso too we should first recite the section ofvehaya im shemoaand after that we should accept upon ourselves the yoke of the rule of Heaven!R'Yeshoshua ben Korchahanswers that the doing ofmitzvosonly precedes regular learning but the acceptance of the rule ofHashemis so important that it precedes the acceptance of doing themitzvos.A question still remains, though, why do we put ontefillinbefore we sayShemaand accept upon ourselves the rule ofHashem? Just likeShemaprecedesvehaya im shemoabecause accepting upon ourselves the rule ofHashemis so important so too it should precede putting ontefillin!Zera Shimshonanswers that wearingtefillinis not only an independentmitzvounto itself but it is also an integral part of the acceptance ofHashemrule. Without wearing them it is not consideredthat we "completely acceptedHashem'srule" (Berochos14B). Since it is a necessary componentof acceptingHashem'srule there is obviously no problem to put them on before sayingKriyas Shema.In the merit of learning the Torah of Zera ShimshonEsther Yenta Bas Chana ChassiaandNechama bas Menucha Shainashould find a zivvug hogun speedily.The learning of Zera Shimshon should be L'iylui NishmasMy mother Vichna Bas Chaim EliyahuR' Aharon Ber ben ChaimEliyahu (Lipson)Feigga bas Shlomo (Sadler)-------------------------------------------------2-----------------------------------------------אֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח משֶׁה לָתוּר אֶת הָאָרֶץ וַיִּקְרָא משֶׁה לְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן נוּן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ: (במדבר יג/טז)AndMoshecalled (changed the name of)Hoshaiya ben Nun(to)Yehoshua.On thispossuk Rashicomments 'Yud- "Hay" (the first two letter ofHashem'sname are "Yud" and "Hay") should save you from taking part in the evil plans of the Spies."On the surface it appears thatMoshe davvenedthatHashem(Yud - Kay - Vuv - Kay) should saveYehoshuafrom the bad influence of the other spies. Even though that according toRashi,Mosheonly mentioned the first two letters ofHashem'sname he reallydavvenedto and concentrated on the full Name ofHashem.Zera Shimshonasks that if this was the case why wasn't it enough to write only the first letter, "Yud" instead of the first two letters. And even more difficult, in actualityMosheonly added one letter- "yud" to his name and not "Yud - Hay"!Another question; why didn'tMoshe Rabeinu davventhatKalevwill also be saved?He answers that the the letters "Yud" and "Hay" thatRashimentions are not an abbreviation ofHashem'swhole name. Rather "Yud" and "Hay" is one ofHashem'snames (we mention this Name ofHashemin theShabbos Zemiros- "Kah Ribon Olam).He explains thatMoshechose specifically this name to refer toHashemin light oftheZoharthat explains that the spies were really very righteous people. The reason, though, that they spoke bad aboutEretz Yisroeland persuaded all ofClal Yisroelnot to want to enterEretz Yisorelwas because they suffered from haughtiness and a craving to feel superior. TheZoharexplains that even though they were the heads of their respective tribes in the Desert, they were afraid that when they would enterEretz Yisroel, Moshewould appoint others to take over their positions and that they would lose their special status. To keep their special status they tried their best to stay in the Desert as long as possible!Moshe Rabeinu, who was the most humble of all people, was sure that his closest student, Yehoshua, learned from him and internalized the trait of humility. He wasn't sure though that the others, includingKalevwere truly humble.The Kabbalists point out that the gematria ofHashem'sName "Yud - Hay"is fifteen which is the samegematriaof the Hebrew word for haughtiness- "ga'avah". This teaches us, they explain, that this Name ofHashemdoesn't rest on, stay with, and protect haughty people.According to this, explainsZera Shimshon,Moshedidn't actuallydavventoHashem(through H.s manifestation in the name "Yud-Hay") to save Yehushua. Rather Moshe added the "Yud" to his name just to mention that since Yehoshua was humble then it logically follows that Hashem (through H.s manifestation in the name "Yud-Hay") should be with him and that H. should save him!Therefore there was no need to add both letters toYehoshua'sname. Since the "Yud - Kay" was only to allude toYehoshua'shumbleness it was enough to add only the "Yud" since his name begins with a "Hay".This is also whyMoshedidn't add any letter to the name ofKalev. Moshe didn't know ifKalevwas truly humble or not, since he wasn't a very close student.In the merit of learning the Torah of Zera ShimshonEsther Yenta Bas Chana ChassiaandNechama bas Menucha Shainashould find a zivvug hogun speedily.The learning of Zera Shimshon should be L'iylui NishmasMy mother Vichna Bas Chaim EliyahuR' Aharon Ber ben ChaimEliyahu (Lipson)Feigga bas Shlomo (Sadler)---------------------------------------3--------------------------------וַיָּשֻׁבוּ מִתּוּר הָאָרֶץ מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם: וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל משֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל מִדְבַּר פָּארָן קָדֵשָׁה וַיָּשִׁיבוּ אֹתָם דָּבָר וְאֶת כָּל הָעֵדָה וַיַּרְאוּם אֶת פְּרִי הָאָרֶץ: וַיְסַפְּרוּ לוֹ וַיֹּאמְרוּ בָּאנוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר שְׁלַחְתָּנוּ וְגַם זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ הִוא וְזֶה פִּרְיָהּ: אֶפֶס כִּי עַז הָעָם הַיּשֵׁב בָּאָרֶץ וְהֶעָרִים בְּצֻרוֹת גְּדֹלֹת מְאֹד וְגַם יְלִדֵי הָעֲנָק רָאִינוּ שָׁם: עֲמָלֵק יוֹשֵׁב בְּאֶרֶץ הַנֶּגֶב וְהַחִתִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי וְהָאֱמֹרִי יוֹשֵׁב בָּהָר וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי יוֹשֵׁב עַל הַיָּם וְעַל יַד הַיַּרְדֵּן: וַיַּהַס כָּלֵב אֶת הָעָם אֶל משֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה וְיָרַשְׁנוּ אֹתָהּ כִּי יָכוֹל נוּכַל לָהּ: וְהָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר עָלוּ עִמּוֹ אָמְרוּ לֹא נוּכַל לַעֲלוֹת אֶל הָעָם כִּי חָזָק הוּא מִמֶּנּוּ: וַיֹּצִיאוּ דִּבַּת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר תָּרוּ אֹתָהּ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ בָהּ לָתוּר אֹתָהּ אֶרֶץ אֹכֶלֶת יוֹשְׁבֶיהָ הִוא וְכָל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר רָאִינוּ בְתוֹכָהּ אַנְשֵׁי מִדּוֹת: וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק מִן הַנְּפִלִים וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים וְכֵן הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם: (במדבר יג/כה-לג)They returned from spying out the Land...They went and came before Moshe and before Aharon and before the entire congregation of Bnei Yisroel... They reported and said, "...However, the nation that dwells in the land is powerful, the cities are very secure and very large and we also saw there the children of the giant. Amalek dwells in the land of the south...Kalev quietened the people... and said, "We shall surely ascend and conquer it, for we can surely do it."But the men who had ascended with him said, "We cannot go against that people for it is stronger than us!" They brought forth to the Children of Israel an evil report on the land that they spied out saying, "The land... is a land that devours its inhabitants!... (Bamidbar 13/25-33)From these pesukim we learn that the meraglim (spies) spoke evilly against Eretz Yisroel twice. Initially they tried to discourage Bnai Yisroel from entering Eretz Yisroel because the enemy is very strong. Kalev counter-argued that Bnei Yisroel have the strength to conquer the land. After that, the meraglim defended themselves and answered that the land devours its inhabitants.Zera Shimshon asks that from the beginning the meraglim's intent was to speak badly against Eretz Yisroel and to persuade Bnai Yisroel not to enter Eretz Yisroel. Therefore, why didn't they mention how the land devours its inhabitants before Kalev spoke? What did they hear in Kalev's words that prompted them to think of this new argument?He answers in light of the Zohar that writes that Moshe taught the meraglim the special holy Name of Hashem. He instructed them that in case the Cannanites are hostile towards them, they can think deeply about this name and be saved.This fact is alluded to in Kalev's words, ""We shall surely ascend and conquer it, for we can surely do it." In Lashon HaKodesh it is written Olow naalle v'yorashnu owso ki. The last letters of the last four words spell Hashem's name "yud" "kay" "vav" "kay", alluding to the fact that through the name of Hashem they will be saved and conquer the land.When the meraglim heard this they tried to prove that the land and its inhabitants are stronger than Hashem, chas v'shalom.They related that wherever they went they saw people dying. They mistakingly reasoned that this can be for one of two reasons. Either because Hashem wanted to divert the Kanaanim's attention from the meraglim. If this wold be true then they argued that Hashem wasn't strong enough to fight them head on (in direct contradiction to Kalev's claim.)And if this wasn't the case, but it was coincidental and natural that so many people died when they were there, then it is a land that devours its inhabitants.In other words the meraglim mentioned that the land devours its inhabitants only after Kalev spoke because they said it in response to what he said. Consequently they certainly had to wait until he spoke before they did!However they misinterpreted the whole story. The meraglim would have been protected from the Kanaanim's hostility by concentrating on Hashem's Name just as Moshe told them. Hashem is immensily stronger than all the nations of the world. However, Hashem chose to protect the meraglim by diverting the Kanaanim's attention in order to keep things as close to nature as possible.In the merit of learning the Torah of Zera ShimshonEsther Yenta Bas Chana ChassiaandNechama bas Menucha Shainashould find a zivvug hogun speedily.The learning of Zera Shimshon should be L'iylui NishmasMy mother Vichna Bas Chaim EliyahuR' Aharon Ber ben ChaimEliyahu (Lipson)Feigga bas Shlomo (Sadler)HaRav Shimshon Nachmani, author of Zera Shimshon lived in Italy about 300 years ago in the time of the Or HaChaim HaKodesh.The Chida writes that he was a great Mekubal and wrote many sefarim including sefarim about “practical kabbolo" and asked that all of his sefarim be buried after he passes away except for Zera Shimshon and Niflaos Shimshon on Avos.HaRav Shimshon Nachmani had one child who died in his lifetime (hence the name "Zera Shimshon") and in the preface he promises for people who learn his sefarim after he dies “... And your eyes will see children and grandchildren like the offshoots of an olive tree around your tables, wise and understanding with houses filled with all manner of good things... and wealth and honor...” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

It is written in the Mishna (Berochos 13a); R' Yehoshua ben Korchah asked; Why do we recite the passage of Shema before we recite the passage of Vehayah im shemoa? In order to first accept upon ourselves the yoke of Heaven's rule and after that to accept upon ourselves the yoke of the commandments. And what is the reason that Vehayah im shamoa is said before Vayomer? Because the mitzvah of studying Torah, which is mentioned in the passage of vehayah im shamoa applies both by day and by night while the mitzvah of tzitzis applies only by day. Tosafos asks that he doesn't understand R' Yehoshua ben Karchah's question, "Why do we recite the passage of Shema before we recite the passage of Vehayah im shemoa?". The reason is simple; Shema is recited before Vehayah im shemoa because Shema is written in Parshas Veschannon and Vehayah im shemoa is written at the end of parshas Eikev 125 pessukim later! Since Shema is written before Vehaya it makes sense to recite it first! Tosafos answers that this explanation did not suffice R' Yeshoshua ben Korchah because if we would recite Kriyas Shema according to the order that it is written in the Torah then Vayomer, the third section of Kriyas Shema, should be recited first since it is written in Sefer Bamidbar, at the end of our parsha, which is many many pessukim before Shema! Since we don't read Vayomer first we see that Kriyas Shema is not read according to the order that the sections are written in the Torah. Tosafos therefore explains that the reason that R' Yeshoshua ben Korchah thought that the section of Vehaya im shemoa should be recited first, is that it is written in the plural form and addresses all of Clall Yisroel collectively whereas the section of Shema is written in the singular. Zera Shimshon argues that this answer is a little forced because a section of the Torah being written in the plural is not a reason to be written before a section written in the singular.Zera Shimshon therefore gives a different explanation of what bothered R' Yeshoshua ben Korchah in light of an incident written in Mesechta Berochos (14b) that Rav once washed his hands, recited Shema, put on tefillin, and davvened, in that order. The Gemorro concludes that the halacha is that one first puts on tefillin and then says Kriyas Shema and we don't say Kriyas Shema before we put on tefillin. The reason that Rav did it in the reverse order was simply that there was a technical problem, Rav didn't have his tefillin with him. A messenger was meant to bring him his tefillin but still didn't arrive as the latest time that one can say Kriyas Shema approached. Therefore Rav said Kriyas Shema without his tefillin and put them on when the messenger finally arrived with his tefillin. From this Gemorro Zera Shimshon learns that doing a mitzvo takes precedence over just learning about it. According to this Zera Shimshon explains that the reason that the section of Vayomer, which speaks about putting tzitzis on a four cornered garment is written way before the section of Shema Yisroel is to allude to the above principle; doing a mitzvo (like putting tzitzis on one's garment) precedes learning (like the acceptance of Hashem's rule).This is also what was bothering R' Yeshoshua ben Korchah. Since the second parsha, vehaya im shemoa, speaks of acceptance upon ourselves the yoke of performing the mitzvos why do we say it after Shema? Just like we first put on tefillin and then we say Shema so too we should first recite the section of vehaya im shemoa and after that we should accept upon ourselves the yoke of the rule of Heaven!R' Yeshoshua ben Korchah answers that the doing of mitzvos only precedes regular learning but the acceptance of the rule of Hashem is so important that it precedes the acceptance of doing the mitzvos.A question still remains, though, why do we put on tefillin before we say Shema and accept upon ourselves the rule of Hashem? Just like Shema precedes vehaya im shemoa because accepting upon ourselves the rule of Hashem is so important so too it should precede putting on tefillin!Zera Shimshon answers that wearing tefillin is not only an independent mitzvo unto itself but it is also an integral part of the acceptance of Hashem rule. Without wearing them it is not considered that we "completely accepted Hashem's rule" (Berochos 14B). Since it is a necessary component of accepting Hashem's rule there is obviously no problem to put them on before saying Kriyas Shema. In the merit of learning the Torah of Zera Shimshon Esther Yenta Bas Chana ChassiaandNechama bas Menucha Shainashould find a zivvug hogun speedily.The learning of Zera Shimshon should be L'iylui NishmasMy mother Vichna Bas Chaim EliyahuR' Aharon Ber ben Chaim Eliyahu (Lipson)Feigga bas Shlomo (Sadler) -------------------------------------------------2-----------------------------------------------אֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח משֶׁה לָתוּר אֶת הָאָרֶץ וַיִּקְרָא משֶׁה לְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן נוּן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ: (במדבר יג/טז)And Moshe called (changed the name of) Hoshaiya ben Nun (to) Yehoshua. On this possuk Rashi comments 'Yud- "Hay" (the first two letter of Hashem's name are "Yud" and "Hay") should save you from taking part in the evil plans of the Spies." On the surface it appears that Moshe davvened that Hashem (Yud - Kay - Vuv - Kay) should save Yehoshua from the bad influence of the other spies. Even though that according to Rashi, Moshe only mentioned the first two letters of Hashem's name he really davvened to and concentrated on the full Name of Hashem.Zera Shimshon asks that if this was the case why wasn't it enough to write only the first letter, "Yud" instead of the first two letters. And even more difficult, in actuality Moshe only added one letter- "yud" to his name and not "Yud - Hay"! Another question; why didn't Moshe Rabeinu davven that Kalev will also be saved?He answers that the the letters "Yud" and "Hay" that Rashi mentions are not an abbreviation of Hashem's whole name. Rather "Yud" and "Hay" is one of Hashem's names (we mention this Name of Hashem in the Shabbos Zemiros- "Kah Ribon Olam). He explains that Moshe chose specifically this name to refer to Hashem in light of the Zohar that explains that the spies were really very righteous people. The reason, though, that they spoke bad about Eretz Yisroel and persuaded all of Clal Yisroel not to want to enter Eretz Yisorel was because they suffered from haughtiness and a craving to feel superior. The Zohar explains that even though they were the heads of their respective tribes in the Desert, they were afraid that when they would enter Eretz Yisroel, Moshe would appoint others to take over their positions and that they would lose their special status. To keep their special status they tried their best to stay in the Desert as long as possible!Moshe Rabeinu, who was the most humble of all people, was sure that his closest student, Yehoshua, learned from him and internalized the trait of humility. He wasn't sure though that the others, including Kalev were truly humble.The Kabbalists point out that the gematria of Hashem's Name "Yud - Hay" is fifteen which is the same gematria of the Hebrew word for haughtiness- "ga'avah". This teaches us, they explain, that this Name of Hashem doesn't rest on, stay with, and protect haughty people.According to this, explains Zera Shimshon, Moshe didn't actually davven to Hashem (through H.s manifestation in the name "Yud-Hay") to save Yehushua. Rather Moshe added the "Yud" to his name just to mention that since Yehoshua was humble then it logically follows that Hashem (through H.s manifestation in the name "Yud-Hay") should be with him and that H. should save him!Therefore there was no need to add both letters to Yehoshua's name. Since the "Yud - Kay" was only to allude to Yehoshua's humbleness it was enough to add only the "Yud" since his name begins with a "Hay". This is also why Moshe didn't add any letter to the name of Kalev. Moshe didn't know if Kalev was truly humble or not, since he wasn't a very close student.In the merit of learning the Torah of Zera Shimshon Esther Yenta Bas Chana ChassiaandNechama bas Menucha Shainashould find a zivvug hogun speedily.The learning of Zera Shimshon should be L'iylui NishmasMy mother Vichna Bas Chaim EliyahuR' Aharon Ber ben Chaim Eliyahu (Lipson)Feigga bas Shlomo (Sadler)---------------------------------------3--------------------------------וַיָּשֻׁבוּ מִתּוּר הָאָרֶץ מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם: וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל משֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל מִדְבַּר פָּארָן קָדֵשָׁה וַיָּשִׁיבוּ אֹתָם דָּבָר וְאֶת כָּל הָעֵדָה וַיַּרְאוּם אֶת פְּרִי הָאָרֶץ: וַיְסַפְּרוּ לוֹ וַיֹּאמְרוּ בָּאנוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר שְׁלַחְתָּנוּ וְגַם זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ הִוא וְזֶה פִּרְיָהּ: אֶפֶס כִּי עַז הָעָם הַיּשֵׁב בָּאָרֶץ וְהֶעָרִים בְּצֻרוֹת גְּדֹלֹת מְאֹד וְגַם יְלִדֵי הָעֲנָק רָאִינוּ שָׁם: עֲמָלֵק יוֹשֵׁב בְּאֶרֶץ הַנֶּגֶב וְהַחִתִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי וְהָאֱמֹרִי יוֹשֵׁב בָּהָר וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי יוֹשֵׁב עַל הַיָּם וְעַל יַד הַיַּרְדֵּן: וַיַּהַס כָּלֵב אֶת הָעָם אֶל משֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה וְיָרַשְׁנוּ אֹתָהּ כִּי יָכוֹל נוּכַל לָהּ: וְהָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר עָלוּ עִמּוֹ אָמְרוּ לֹא נוּכַל לַעֲלוֹת אֶל הָעָם כִּי חָזָק הוּא מִמֶּנּוּ: וַיֹּצִיאוּ דִּבַּת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר תָּרוּ אֹתָהּ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ בָהּ לָתוּר אֹתָהּ אֶרֶץ אֹכֶלֶת יוֹשְׁבֶיהָ הִוא וְכָל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר רָאִינוּ בְתוֹכָהּ אַנְשֵׁי מִדּוֹת: וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק מִן הַנְּפִלִים וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים וְכֵן הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם: (במדבר יג/כה-לג)They returned from spying out the Land...They went and came before Moshe and before Aharon and before the entire congregation of Bnei Yisroel... They reported and said, "...However, the nation that dwells in the land is powerful, the cities are very secure and very large and we also saw there the children of the giant. Amalek dwells in the land of the south... Kalev quietened the people... and said, "We shall surely ascend and conquer it, for we can surely do it."But the men who had ascended with him said, "We cannot go against that people for it is stronger than us!" They brought forth to the Children of Israel an evil report on the land that they spied out saying, "The land... is a land that devours its inhabitants!... (Bamidbar 13/25-33)From these pesukim we learn that the meraglim (spies) spoke evilly against Eretz Yisroel twice. Initially they tried to discourage Bnai Yisroel from entering Eretz Yisroel because the enemy is very strong. Kalev counter-argued that Bnei Yisroel have the strength to conquer the land. After that, the meraglim defended themselves and answered that the land devours its inhabitants. Zera Shimshon asks that from the beginning the meraglim's intent was to speak badly against Eretz Yisroel and to persuade Bnai Yisroel not to enter Eretz Yisroel. Therefore, why didn't they mention how the land devours its inhabitants before Kalev spoke? What did they hear in Kalev's words that prompted them to think of this new argument?He answers in light of the Zohar that writes that Moshe taught the meraglim the special holy Name of Hashem. He instructed them that in case the Cannanites are hostile towards them, they can think deeply about this name and be saved. This fact is alluded to in Kalev's words, ""We shall surely ascend and conquer it, for we can surely do it." In Lashon HaKodesh it is written Olow naalle v'yorashnu owso ki. The last letters of the last four words spell Hashem's name "yud" "kay" "vav" "kay", alluding to the fact that through the name of Hashem they will be saved and conquer the land.When the meraglim heard this they tried to prove that the land and its inhabitants are stronger than Hashem, chas v'shalom. They related that wherever they went they saw people dying. They mistakingly reasoned that this can be for one of two reasons. Either because Hashem wanted to divert the Kanaanim's attention from the meraglim. If this wold be true then they argued that Hashem wasn't strong enough to fight them head on (in direct contradiction to Kalev's claim.)And if this wasn't the case, but it was coincidental and natural that so many people died when they were there, then it is a land that devours its inhabitants.In other words the meraglim mentioned that the land devours its inhabitants only after Kalev spoke because they said it in response to what he said. Consequently they certainly had to wait until he spoke before they did!However they misinterpreted the whole story. The meraglim would have been protected from the Kanaanim's hostility by concentrating on Hashem's Name just as Moshe told them. Hashem is immensily stronger than all the nations of the world. However, Hashem chose to protect the meraglim by diverting the Kanaanim's attention in order to keep things as close to nature as possible.In the merit of learning the Torah of Zera Shimshon Esther Yenta Bas Chana ChassiaandNechama bas Menucha Shainashould find a zivvug hogun speedily.The learning of Zera Shimshon should be L'iylui NishmasMy mother Vichna Bas Chaim EliyahuR' Aharon Ber ben Chaim Eliyahu (Lipson)Feigga bas Shlomo (Sadler)HaRav Shimshon Nachmani, author of Zera Shimshon lived in Italy about 300 years ago in the time of the Or HaChaim HaKodesh.The Chida writes that he was a great Mekubal and wrote many sefarim including sefarim about “practical kabbolo" and asked that all of his sefarim be buried after he passes away except for Zera Shimshon and Niflaos Shimshon on Avos.HaRav Shimshon Nachmani had one child who died in his lifetime (hence the name "Zera Shimshon") and in the preface he promises for people who learn his sefarim after he dies “... And your eyes will see children and grandchildren like the offshoots of an olive tree around your tables, wise and understanding with houses filled with all manner of good things... and wealth and honor...” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I hope that you’re all well today. Welcome to another episode of NachDaily, Mishlei Perek 30. This is very exciting because we have only one more perek left in Mishlei. This perek opens with the words, “Divrei Agur ben Yakeh hamasah, n’um hagever l’Easi’el, l’Easi’el v’Uchal - These are the words of Agur son of Yakeh, the prophecy, the words of this man Easi’el v’uchal.” There are many levels contained in this verse. As we’ve seen in previous perakim, the Gr’a explains that this was actually written by Agur who was a contemporary of Shlomo Hamelech, and was added in by the Anshei Knessess Hagadola, the Men of the Great Assembly. Rashi and the Meiri explain that Shlomo really did write this perek. Agur comes from the word l’agur, to gather. Ben means bina, insight, indicating that Shlomo gathered up more bina and wisdom than any other human being. Yakeh means vomit, because Shlomo in a sense spit out and shared all the wisdom he had gathered. The Metsudos and others explain that Yakeh means vomit in a negative context. Shlomo was forced to spit out and lose all of the wisdom he gathered. It refers to the prophecy of a man to indicate that Shlomo was a man and lost his wisdom. The Ramad Walli reminds us that Shlomo was given his wisdom as a total gift from Above. He was 12 years old when he sat on his father's throne. Hashem had totally opened up his mind, which is why the passuk refers to it as a prophecy, ne’um hagever. The hint to this idea is the word ne’um - nun, aleph, mem equal the gematria of 91. This is the same numerical value as the combination of Hashem’s names of Hey, Vav, Yud, Hey and Aleph, Daled, Nun, Yud, which also equal 91. The Meforshim explain that there are 3 things which a king is forbidden to do. 1) Not have too many horses because he’ll wind up going back to Egypt to purchase more. 2) A king can't have too many wives because they will sway his heart. 3) He should not possess too much money. Rashi explains that Shlomo felt confident that in his wisdom he wouldn't fail these tests, as the name Easi’el can be read as easi El God is with me, v’uchal, and I will prevail. We find in Melachim Aleph chapter 11 that Shlomo indeed failed these tests. Listen to the NachDaily archives in Melachim for a further discussion on what Shlomo was thinking. This sets the tone for the perek. As Shlomo succumbed to these tests, the chapter is written in a heartfelt way, as if he is lamenting the fact that he erred on his level. Shlomo laments that he’s a “boor with no wisdom.” Men speculate about Heaven when they don’t even understand all of Hashem’s wonders on earth. In verse 5 Shlomo declares that “Every statement of God is pure,” and it is not fitting to add words onto the Torah. Shlomo asks Hashem to keep him away from lies, and asks for bread instead of lavish meals. Shlomo spends the rest of the perek reflecting on the creation and things you can learn from it. Some of these are eagles, snakes, waters, ants, rabbits, locusts, spiders, bears and greyhounds. Stay tuned to the next episode of NachDaily when we’ll learn the last perek in Mishlei, the famous song that we sing every Friday night, the Eishes Chayil. After Mishlei we’ll be moving on to Sefer Iyov as we cover the entire Tanach one perek at a time. We’re actually almost done with Tanach, with over 600 classes at this point. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

Tehilim Perek 128 Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’ll be continuing the Shir Hama’alos chapters with Tehilim, Chapter 128. The Malbim explains that there are essentially two parts to this chapter. The first speaks about the individual benefits a person with “yiras Shamayim, fear of God,” will receive. The second part is about the national blessings and benefits our nation will receive when we have proper yiras Shamayim. The perek tells us that those with yiras Shamayim are happy, and will enjoy the fruit of their labor. Obviously, the pleasure of earning something on your own is much greater than that of a free hand-out. Other benefits are increased marital harmony and fine children. The benefits which Am Yisrael will receive include returning to Eretz Yisrael and seeing the good fortune of Yerushalayim. Additionally, Am Yisrael will merit raising generations living in Eretz Yisrael, and ultimately our nation will be b’shalom. Verse 2 says: יְגִ֣יעַ כַּ֭פֶּיךָ כִּ֣י תֹאכֵ֑ל אַ֝שְׁרֶ֗יךָ וְט֣וֹב לָֽךְ׃ When you eat the labor of your hands, you are praiseworthy, and it is well with you. A well known Mishna in Pirkei Avos, perek 4 Mishna 1, asks, based on our passuk, “Eizeh hu ashir? HaSameach b’chelko, Who is considered rich? Whoever is happy with his/her lot in life. “Ashrecha b’olam hazeh v’tov lach l’olam habbah, You’ll be praise worthy in this world and it will be good for you in the next world.” We often fall into the trap of looking outside of ourselves and becoming dissatisfied with our lot in life. We can be unhappy with our marital situation, possessions, finances, or we might look at other people and envy their looks or personalities. But truth be told, the key to being happy is to understand that everything we have in life is exactly what we need. This allows us to appreciate and feel content with our material possessions and emotional make-up. We take so many things for granted. We need to reflect, and search for all the good things we have in our lives. We actually live very comfortable lives. Do you think Shlomo Hamalech had shock absorbers on his horse and chariot? How about indoor plumbing, refrigeration, heat and air-conditioning? The wonderful things we have are to be appreciated, not overlooked. The word ashir, rich, shows us what we need to appreciate. It’s spelt Ayin, Shin, Yud, Reish. Ayin means our eyes. We have eyes! Shin, our shinayim, teeth. Yud is our yadayim, hands, Reish is our rosh, head, and raglayim our legs. Our vital organs. Our health. True riches. Eizeh who ashir? Hasameach bechelko. We need to be happy with our very own chelek, portion, of health! May we merit true happiness, seeing that we have all that we need to make it through life. Then it will be good for us in this world and the next. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter KUF Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s Nach Daily will discuss the letter KUF. Kuf represents a heKuf, border, a passageway, a point of integration and Kedusha, holiness. As the eye of a needle is called the Kof Hamchat, this all points towards transitioning and moving to another, higher plane. Kuf comes after the latter Tzaddik because Kedusha, holiness, comes only after one has reached the level of a Tzaddik. After we have worked on ourselves, and even refrained from some things that are permissible, we can begin to receive and experience the higher level of Kedusha represented by the letter Kuf, transitioning from one level to another. This transitioning of levels can also work in the negative. As the passuk says, “lo t’hey Kadesha m’bnos Yisrael, there shouldn’t be a harlot from among the daughters of Israel. We find here that a zona, harlot,is called a Kadesha, which means that this particular woman descended to a lower level by separating herself in a lowly manner. Both the word for Kedusha, holiness, and Kadesha, a harlot, share the same etymology. They both stem from the letter Kuf, a point of integration or moving from level to level in either direction, for good or bad. The first time that the letter Kuf is used in the beginning of a word in the Torah is when it says, “VayiKra Elokim la’or yom, v’lachoshech Kara lyla, God called the light day and the darkness night.” The act of giving something a name is what causes it to transition and become something of permanence. When Hashem called the light, “Day, the name became official. When He called the darkness, “Night, the night also became a thing of permanence. It transitioned from a non-fact to a fact. This points towards the meaning of the letter Kuf, which is a transitional letter by definition as it’s the force of moving from one point to another. Kof means a monkey. The connection here is that it appears to look as if humans came from monkeys. Monkeys would then be like an intermediate or transition from humans. Please don’t get me wrong—we did not evolve from monkeys! Conceptually, however, monkeys appear to look like humans and Kof, from the letter Kuf, looks like a transitional point between humans and animals. The word for marriage is called Kedushin because in marriage a woman and man integrate and join with each other to become a new entity. Kuf is the point of integration. The shape of the letter Kuf has two openings representing the ability to go up or down levels. It should be noted, however, that the bottom opening of the Kuf gets smaller, as if bent inwards. This is to teach us that a person who received Kedusha is guarded from falling all the way down, receiving extra Divine protection. It also can be said that the shape of the Kuf looks like a face with a long beard. As Chazal say, “Hadras panim zaken, The beauty of a face is the beard,” which points towards Kedusha. Numerically, Kuf is 100, which represents the peak of spiritual perfection that one can attain. The 10 of the letter Yud represents the spiritual perfection of Olam Habah which was created with it. The Kuf, however, represents haKadosh Barichu Himself! As the passuk says in Vayikra: “Kadosh Ani Hashem, I am God who is Holy!” Kedusha is the highest level of being, totally separate from everything. God describes Himself as Kadosh, lifted and exalted above all, even Olam Habah which is represented by the Yud/10. Kuf is 100 because it represents God, who is beyond Olam Habah. Ultimately, no one can ever see God because He is unfathomable, truly incomprehensible to the human mind.

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter Tzaddik Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s we’ll discuss the letter TZADDIK. The letter Tzaddik represents Tzidkus, righteousness, Tzaddikim, and Tzida, trapping something. The Tzaddik is the ability to capture something and rule over it in a positive way. This can take the form of trapping animals and properly training them. Esav was “tzayid b’peav, he was able entrap someone with his words.” The root of the word Tzaddik refers to the righteous person who in a sense is able to trap the Yetzer Hara in order to rule over it. Tzaddi represents trapping and the Kuf at the end of it represents the Yezter Hara. This will hopefully be explained in the class pertaining to the letter Kuf. The first time that the letter Tzaddik appears in the beginning of a word in the Torah is during the creation of man. It says “b’Tzalmeinu, in Our image,” because the perfection of man lies in being alike to his Creator as much as possible. We can thus understand that the Tzaddik points towards shelaimus ha’adom, the perfection of man: to become a Tzaddik! Nowhere in the Torah are we commanded to kill our Yezter Hara, but we must use it for its intended purpose by ruling over it to serve Hashem. In the Shema we are told, “v’ahavta es Hashem Elohecha b’chol levav’cha, You should love Hashem with all your hearts.” Chazal explain that the plural use of “hearts” is to teach “b’shney yitzarecha, both the Yetzer Hatov v’Yetzer Hara, our good and evil inclinations.” There are two forms of this letter. A Tzaddik Kafufa, a regular bent Tzaddik, and a Tzaddik Peshuta AKA Tzaddik Sofit. Currently the Tzaddik is filled with humility, but when Mashiach comes the Tzaddik will become Peshuta, straightened out and stand upright, and all will see his true worth. The letter Tzaddik is formed with a Nun Kafufa, bent Nun, and a Yud. In a previous class we discussed that the Nun represents Ne’emanus, faithfulness, and aNava, humility. Those born naturally humble who didn’t really work on themselves for that trait are not called Tzaddikim. Only a person who works hard in avodos Hashem, serving Hashem and learning Torah is called a Tzaddik. Therefore the letter is also formed with a Yud, which represents attaching yourself to Hashem. Only after you attach yourself to God can you be called a Tzaddik. It also should be pointed out that the bent Nun in the formation of the Tzaddik is very bent over. A true Tzaddik is extremely humble in front of Hashem as it says regarding Moshe that he was “aNav mikol adom, humbler than all men.” Numerically, the Tzaddik is 90. Its lower counterpart letter is TES, which is 9. Tes represents the force of good that comes back to you. The connection here is obvious: the Tzaddik will receive good in the world to come. As the passuk in Yeshaya 3:10 says, “Imru l’Tzaddik ki Tov say to the Tzaddik he’s good.” Tzaddikim and goodness go hand in hand. A smart person contemplates this world and recognizes that all good will be received in the next world, represented by the relationship between the Tzaddik and its partner letter Tes. May we merit attaching ourselves to true Tzaddikim and ultimately become such ourselves through the power of the letter Tzaddik. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter Pei Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. In today’s Nach Daily we’ll be discussing the letter PEI. The letter Pei represents Pesicha, opening, Pesach, an entrance way, and superficial externalities. The mouth is called the Peh after the letter Pei because the mouth opens. Your mouth is what allows you to eat and nourish the body. Without it you wouldn’t be able to communicate your thoughts and desires. The Pei therefore represents the faculty of speech which comes through the mouth. The ability to bring your penimiyus to the chitzoniyus, inner self to the outer self,” is essentially self-actualization. The first time that the Pei is used in the Torah is when it says “v’ruach Elokim mirachePhes al Pnai hamayim,” and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water. Pei here is used to describe the surface, the outer part, of the water. When contrasting the letter Pei to the letter Beis, we see that the Beis represents the penimiyus, internality, or inside of a house while the Pei represents the external, front of the house. Look at the letter Pei written as in a Sefer Torah, and stare at the negative space within the letter itself. The letter Beis will emerge! It is actually contained in the negative space of the Pei because the Pei represents externality while the Beis represents internality. To go a step deeper: We know that everything in this word can be used to serve Hashem. Anything physical, like a table or a car that is used for Mitzvos , becomes a vehicle to serve Him. As the whole point of chitzonyus is to reveal the penimyus, the whole point of all our physical possessions is to use them to serve God. The Pei points towards the letter Beis in the negative space to teach us not to get stuck on the physical trappings of this world, but to use them to reveal the Divine hidden behind them. The Pei is shaped like a mouth with a tooth hanging down from it because the Pei is synonymous with the Peh, mouth. The Pei is comprised of two letters, a Chuf and an upside down Yud. In previous classes we said that the Chuf represents bending in order to form something while Yud represents creating. The act of speaking is giving form to words by shaping and articulating sounds. This is represented by the Chuf-Yud combination which forms the Pei. Numerically, Pei equals 80, which represents gevurah, strength. In Tehilim 90:10 we’re told that the days of our lives are seventy years, “v’im b’gevoros shmonim shanah, and if strong, 80 years. Pirkei Avos says “ben shmonim le’gevurah, an 80 year old has strength.” Obviously this isn’t referring to physical strength, but the ability to live to conquer our Yetzer Harah. This requires guarding our mouths, represented by the Pei. There are two Pei’s, a regular Pei called Pei Kafufa, and a Pei Sofit, known as the Pei Pashuta. They ttell us that there’s a time for us to pay attention and not speak, as well as a time to open our mouths and speak what we know. The Pei Sofit, the Pei Pashuta, also represents the times of Mashiach. When Mashiach will reveal himself to the world, the Yetzer Hara will be completely nullified. This will cause people to “straighten out” and guard their mouths, only speaking words of chochma, wisdom. May we merit the times of the final redemption, when the world will be wide open to accepting God as the King of the cosmos. In the next episode of Nachdaily, we’ll be moving on to the righteous Tzaddik. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter LAMED Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today we’ll discuss the letter LAMED. The Lamed represents a desire to reach a destination, Limud, learning, and La’amod, teaching. The Lamed is taller than all the other letters. Its height represents its ability to see far into the distance. Whether striving for a physical or spiritual destination, one needs to be able to see the goal in order to be able to reach or attain it. On a physical level, if you’re traveling from point A to point B you must know the location of your destination. On a spiritual level, to attain wisdom you also need to have a goal in mind. Either way, our desires cause us to plan meticulously for our journey. This all comes from the power of the Lamed which means Lomed, learn. We need to learn and study to reach our destination. A subtler point here Is that the Lamed represents our ability to think, plan and use our minds to figure things out. When the Lamed is used as a prefix, it means “to.” El also means “to.” The Lamed represents the ability to travel from one place to another to reach a destination. The word “el, to” and Hashem’s name, “El,” are the same, because the ultimate purpose of this world is Olam Habah. The first time the Lamed is used as the beginning of a word is, “v’lichoshech kora Lyla, and the darkness He called night.” Lyla, night, comes from the world yalila, which means moaning or wailing. Nighttime is when an aura of sadness fills the world, and one’s pain can be heard the loudest in those quiet hours. A step deeper: We can either transcend the darkness of this world or chas v’shalom be brought down by it. Lyla, night, is spelled Lamed, Yud, Lamed, Hey. We can go either up to the Yud of Olam Habah, the World to Come of spirituality, or down to the Hey of Olam Hazeh, this physical world, as the Lamed represents the desire to reach a goal, purpose and destination. The Lamed is higher than all of the other letters, as it points towards a person’s innate drive towards learning. Man’s ability to learn and understand is one of the things that separate us from animals and makes us on a higher level than all other creations. The Lamed is comprised of a Vav on top of a Chuf, representing the true process of learning. The Vav represents the mind connecting to higher concepts and ideas. The Chuf on which it stands represents the retention and inculcation of the knowledge learned. As the Chuf represents holding, it retains the knowledge drawn down from the Vav. The Vav resembles a person’s head, high in the clouds. The Vav and Chuf together form the mind-body connection. This is a reminder to practice what we preach. The Medresh Osiyos D’Rebbe Akiva explains that the Lamed is the center letter of the Aleph-Beis. It is like a King sitting on his Kisey Hakavod, Throne of Glory, with his Malchus, Kingship, in front of him. The sequence of letters is Chuf, Lamed, Mem. Chuf stands for Hashem’s Kisey HaKavod, Throne of Glory, the Lamed is the King. Mem stands for Malchus, Kingship, towards which the Lamed is facing. Kabalistically, the Lamed is rooted in the sefira of Bina, understanding, as true Limud, learning, necessitates understanding. The sifrei Kabbala call the Lamed a “large letter,” not only due to its height, but because understanding what you’ve learnt is considered the highest thing! In the next episode of NachDaily, we’ll discuss the letter Mem. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter LAMED Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today we’ll discuss the letter LAMED. The Lamed represents a desire to reach a destination, Limud, learning, and La’amod, teaching. The Lamed is taller than all the other letters. Its height represents its ability to see far into the distance. Whether striving for a physical or spiritual destination, one needs to be able to see the goal in order to be able to reach or attain it. On a physical level, if you’re traveling from point A to point B you must know the location of your destination. On a spiritual level, to attain wisdom you also need to have a goal in mind. Either way, our desires cause us to plan meticulously for our journey. This all comes from the power of the Lamed which means Lomed, learn. We need to learn and study to reach our destination. A subtler point here Is that the Lamed represents our ability to think, plan and use our minds to figure things out. When the Lamed is used as a prefix, it means “to.” El also means “to.” The Lamed represents the ability to travel from one place to another to reach a destination. The word “el, to” and Hashem’s name, “El,” are the same, because the ultimate purpose of this world is Olam Habah. The first time the Lamed is used as the beginning of a word is, “v’lichoshech kora Lyla, and the darkness He called night.” Lyla, night, comes from the world yalila, which means moaning or wailing. Nighttime is when an aura of sadness fills the world, and one’s pain can be heard the loudest in those quiet hours. A step deeper: We can either transcend the darkness of this world or chas v’shalom be brought down by it. Lyla, night, is spelled Lamed, Yud, Lamed, Hey. We can go either up to the Yud of Olam Habah, the World to Come of spirituality, or down to the Hey of Olam Hazeh, this physical world, as the Lamed represents the desire to reach a goal, purpose and destination. The Lamed is higher than all of the other letters, as it points towards a person’s innate drive towards learning. Man’s ability to learn and understand is one of the things that separate us from animals and makes us on a higher level than all other creations. The Lamed is comprised of a Vav on top of a Chuf, representing the true process of learning. The Vav represents the mind connecting to higher concepts and ideas. The Chuf on which it stands represents the retention and inculcation of the knowledge learned. As the Chuf represents holding, it retains the knowledge drawn down from the Vav. The Vav resembles a person’s head, high in the clouds. The Vav and Chuf together form the mind-body connection. This is a reminder to practice what we preach. The Medresh Osiyos D’Rebbe Akiva explains that the Lamed is the center letter of the Aleph-Beis. It is like a King sitting on his Kisey Hakavod, Throne of Glory, with his Malchus, Kingship, in front of him. The sequence of letters is Chuf, Lamed, Mem. Chuf stands for Hashem’s Kisey HaKavod, Throne of Glory, the Lamed is the King. Mem stands for Malchus, Kingship, towards which the Lamed is facing. Kabalistically, the Lamed is rooted in the sefira of Bina, understanding, as true Limud, learning, necessitates understanding. The sifrei Kabbala call the Lamed a “large letter,” not only due to its height, but because understanding what you’ve learnt is considered the highest thing! In the next episode of NachDaily, we’ll discuss the letter Mem. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

The letter Tes represents the Tov, good, that comes back to a person like a boomerang after one does the right thing. It also represents the force of Netzach, Eternity, which allows things to last forever. On the most basic physical level, there is ultimately no part of the physical world that can be destroyed forever. Scientifically, Einstein’s law of conservation states that energy cannot be destroyed. There always was, is, and will be the same amount of energy in the world, pointing towards the fact that energy is nitzchi, eternal. The world has this power through the letter Tes, which allows for goodness and eternality. True goodness is eternal. On a human level, Tes represents the fact that when a person acts with goodness, good is received in return. On a spiritual level, when we do good deeds by performing mitzvos and learning Torah, we are rewarded in the next world for netzach netzachim, all of eternity. To take it even a step further, the letter Tes also represents the process of Techiyas hamsayim, the resurrection of the dead, when the soul will once again be merged with the body. This will take place at the end of the final redemption, when mankind will bask in God’s Divine light for ever and ever. This is the ultimate Tov, good, that Hashem has in store for mankind. The first time that the letter Tes is used in the Torah is when Hashem created the world. “Va’yar es ha’or ki Tov, Hashem saw the light was good.” We learn two things from this about the letter Tes. 1) The world is a good place. The Ramachal explains that because Hashem is good, He wanted to share His goodness with us by placing us this world. 2) Rashi explains on this passuk that Hashem took this good light known as the “Ohr Haganuz,” and hid it away for the Tzadikim in the future. This also points towards the letter Tes as the force of “Tov hanitzchi, eternal goodness.” Since everything God does is for the good, when a person faces suffering, difficulty, and pain it’s also for the good. We say “Gam zu l’Tovah, This is also for the good,” because with every amount of pain that we experience and accept, we’re earning true goodness in the world to come. This all comes from the letter Tes, which allows for ultimate good to come back to us. The shape of the letter Tes is like a container with an opening on top to teach us that no good ever gets lost, but is stored away forever. The Tes also resembles a slithering snake. The purpose of the snake-like Yetzer Harah, the Evil Inclination,” is to give us the opportunity to choose Tov, good. We then fulfill our purpose in this world so that we can reap reward for all of eternity. The numerical value of Tes is 9, which is a true number. Multiplying any whole number by 9 and adding the sum of the digits together gives us 9. For example 2x9=18, 1+ 8 = 9. 3x9=27, 2+7= 9. 9x9=81, 8+1=9. 9 is always true. Goodness and truth obviously go hand and hand. Even more awesome is that the numerical value of Emes, Truth, is 441. 4+4+1 equal 9! Emes and Tov go hand and hand. The truth is that Hashem is good! I hope that you enjoyed this class. In the next episode we’ll be moving on to Yud.

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter YUD Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s Nach Daily will discuss perek 119, letter YUD. Yud is the peak and culmination of all the previous letters so far. It truly represents Olam Habah, the World to Come. After we pass all of our tests here, represented by the previous 9 letters, we shed the body to attain true life. The passuk in Yeshaya says, “Ki b’Yah Hashem tzur olamim, with the letters Yud and hey of Hashems name God fashioned the world.” The Gemerah in Chagiga 10A explains that the Hey was used to create Olam Hazeh, this world, while the Yud was used to create Olam Habah, the next world. The Yud also represents the reward one will receive in the next world. The first time that a Yud begins a word in the Torah is in reference to the creation, “ Y’hee ohr, let there be light. The Yud in Y’hee, there will be, is the force that allowed the very first formation of light to come into existence. Therefore, the Sefer Yetsira explains, this first spiritual mention of light represents both the beginning and the end at the same time. The beginning of creation in a spiritual form, and the end goal of Olam Habah, which is kulo ruchiyos, completely spiritual, are both contained in the power of the Yud. All of the other letters contain a Yud because, essentially, a Yud is just a dot. Every letter begins with a dot. This fits with what we’ve just learned, because the Yud was used to begin creation. As all of the 22 letters were used in the creation of the world, each begins with a Yud. The word Yud literally means Yad, a hand. In fact, the shape of the Yud can resemble a fist when your hand is closed. As mentioned in a previous class, Yad is the numerical value of 14 because you have 14 joints and knuckles in each hand. Adding your two hands together equals 28, which is the numerical value of the word koach, strength. The main strength of a person comes through the hands. This is all contained in the power of the Yud. If the Yud contains all the spiritual worlds, why doesn’t it begin the aleph beis? There are many answers to this question. One answer given is because the only way to get to the next world is through this one. As the expression goes, “sof ma’aseh b’machashava techila, last in deed, but first in thought.” Hashem hinted to this in the beginning of the aleph beis by using the aleph. An aleph has a Yud above and a Yud below to teach us that although we start with an aleph, the end purpose is to reach the upper spiritual worlds and bask in the pleasure of God’s infinite Lght. The aleph teaches us that both this world and the next are one. They are all infused with God’s Divine holy and awesome Light, as nothing is separate from Him. Yud has the numerical value of 10. Ten is considered a number of perfection because it includes all the prior numbers. Going a step deeper, 10 represents all of the Sefiros, Divine Emanations: Bina, Daas, Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferes, Netsach, Hod, and Yesod. Each of these 10 Sefiros is reflected in every part and aspect of creation, therefore 10 represents the creation in its entirety. A rich person is called an “ashear,” the root of which is eser, 10. True riches accrue when a person attains perfection and spiritual wealth. True spiritual wealth is obviously Olam Haba, so the word ashear also contains a Yud. Chazal, our Sages, say that “b’asara ma’amaros nivreh ha’olam, the world was created with 10 utterances, again corresponding to the Yud, the main letter used in the formation of the world. I hope that you enjoyed this class. Stay tuned for the next episode, the letter Chuf. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

With or without a Yud, Healing powers, Please don't leave! 3 Weeks

The meanings and importance of the Hebrew letter Iod (Yod, Yud) and its relationship to the covenant, the Tree of Life, the sephiroth Kether and Malkuth, the living soul (nephesh chaiah), the Tree of Knowledge, and more.