Parsha Review Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
You are listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH in Houston, Texas. This is the Parsha Review Podcast.

00:09 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, welcome back everybody. Welcome back to the Parsha Review Podcast. To those of you who don't know, my daughter, me Ira, got engaged last night to a wonderful young man, shimon Prupus, from Montreal, and we're all so excited and delighted with the new member of our family and we're so excited from Ira for the new family that she is joining. Really an exceptional celebration and hopefully soon we'll be able to celebrate all of us together in Houston and back here in the tri-state area and then hopefully in Jerusalem. Obviously that's our hope is for all of us to be in Jerusalem with our rebuilt temple, a main speedily in our days. So I wanted to share a quick thought and last night we had the engagement. Just, the engagement to the parties is going to be on Wednesday, but still he comes from a big family. He's one of 11 children. Me Ira comes from a big family, bar-hashem. We have eight and many of his he's the ninth of the 11 children and many of all of his siblings older siblings are married with their children, so it was like the nephews and the nieces and it was just so much, it was so beautiful and so incredible. Not to get lost in all of this is, I told my daughter this morning. We're trying to work on arranging wedding halls and putting together a schedule and a timeline here, and I told my daughter and my wife. I said I'm giving the class even though it's going to be a shorter class, it's going to be a mini class, but I said we have to continue learning Torah. The most important value we have as Jewish people is the study of Torah and is nothing that's more valuable than our study of Torah. So therefore, even though I'm currently not in our magnificent torch center I see Ed is, but and all of you are in your homes respectively I felt that it was important that we continue the consistency of our classes, keep it going, notwithstanding that you know we're distanced in the physical dimension, but in the spiritual dimension we're right there together, one united class, learning together every day. So, to those of you on Zoom, thank you so much for being there, and those of you on Facebook, youtube, twitter, rumble, twitch, instagram, thank you so much for joining us as well. And those of you listening in the podcast as soon as this gets out, I'm delighted that we can learn today.

02:52
Okay, so I want to begin with a little bit about this week's partial, this week's parashas, parashas tecave. And what's very, very interesting about parashas tecave? It is the 20th portion in the Torah and it's the only portion in Shmos, exodus, vayikro, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy does not have every, every portion has the name of Moshe, except for this portion. Why not? So we know that when Moshe spoke to Hashem after the Jewish people sinned with the golden calf, he said to Hashem forgive the Jewish people. And God says well, I can't, I can't forgive the Jewish people. When Moses says well, if you can't forgive the Jewish people, you race me from your book. What does that mean? You race me from your book. What Moshe is saying, it was harsh, what Moshe says. Moshe is saying in a very harsh term take me out of your book. Meaning if you can't find the Mercy, the compassion, the forgiveness in your heart, hashem, to forgive the Jewish people for the sin, then I don't want to be part of it. Because that's how close Moshe Felt and responsible he felt for the people of Israel that he says no matter what if the Jewish people are not forgiven, I don't want to be part of this.

04:17
So if you look the amazing, amazing, amazing, not coincident, because no coincidence in the Torah, but if you take Misifrecha Mecheneyna. Misifrecha, you raised me from your book. It's Mispar Huff, number 20 from the 20th portion of the Torah. So from the entire Torah, the 20th portion is the only portion that does not have Moshe's name Once he was introduced, which is in Shmoos, in the beginning of Exodus. But additional to this is that of this, this week's Torah portion is always the date of Moshe's yard site, the day that Moshe passed away, zion Ador, and this week is Zion Ador and it's the day that Moshe passed away from this world. And the same day that Moshe, so to speak, got erased from this world is the day that Moshe doesn't appear in the Torah. It's an amazing thing. Okay, so now I don't think we mentioned this in our previous posting on the Partia podcast partial review podcast, but I want to share something really, really, really exceptional that we find in this week's partial.

05:37
So in this week's partial we talk about the construction or the development, the design of the clothes of the Kohane, the priestly garments, and Hashem says to Moshe atat adabar el kol hachmei laif. You shall speak to all the wise hearted Asher, melei, si'vru, ah-chokhmei, that I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, but also as big they are on the katsho lechaanoli and they shall make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, to serve me as a Kohane. Now, there's something here which is really unique and odd. Is that what is the virtue that Hashem says these people, these craftsmen, should have? They should be wise-hearted. Now, last I checked People who are wise, or wise in their mind.

06:34
What's wise-hearted? Where does this, this terminology, even come from, that we say someone should be wise-hearted, really exceptional. You think wise-minded. What's wise-hearted? Our say just tell us something really, really phenomenal, and that is that what a Jewish person and what we value in Judaism is not wisdom. There are many, many, many wise people who have wisdom in their mind but not in their action. There are many people who do great actions but don't have wisdom. What we need to have is to be wise-hearted, that our mind and our actions meet up and are in the same place, meaning to say that it's not enough for a person to just think great thoughts. They have to put it into action. That means if a person just has great ideas, speaks great words of wisdom, but doesn't act in that manner, you.

07:50
That's not the Torah way, the people that Hashem wants to do, everything. It's putting together the garments. It's not such a. It's a tremendous task. It's a tremendous job, but it's not like the most important thing. It's like the Kohane, yeah, but even just making the garments, hashem doesn't want people who are half good. Oh, they think good thoughts, but they don't act in a proper way.

08:18
You know, there's the famous story about Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers ever, and he would give lectures and his students were mind blown by his genius, by his brilliance. And after one of his classes, they found him in a very compromised situation, in a very promiscuous situation. So the students asked him what's going on? You're the great Aristotle, you're the great philosopher. What's going on? You think such high thoughts, how is it that you act in such a way? To which he responded when I teach, I'm a philosopher, but now I'm just me.

09:06
You see, that doesn't work in Judaism. You can't be. Well, now I'm a rabbi, but now I'm just me. That doesn't work. Wherever a person goes, you're a Jewish person. Well, when I'm in synagogue, I'm a Jew, but when I'm out and about, then I'm just me. That's not. We have to be the same person in our mind, in our intellect, and the same person in our actions. It is so important, vitally important, that we always bring together our mind, our intellect and our actions, even if we say I'm just a simple person. Who am I? I'm just a nobody. I'm a nobody. Nobody knows me, I'm not a famous person, no one is looking.

09:58
Hashem wants to see our actions and our thoughts match up. We talk about Aristotle, but the truth is, you think of so many. I remember seeing a video I've shared this before a video that really disturbed me. Sometimes we think that someone who is spiritually and holy is a person of good character as well. That's what we hope and we assume In Torah.

10:24
The examples of rabbis and sages that I've seen, who are such righteous people, not only brilliant minds, but the way in which they acted, with kindness, with compassion, with love, with dignity, with honor, was so incredible. So and I've seen it, I've seen it with my grandfather the way in which he spoke to people, the way in which he thought about people, the way in which he acted, was parallel to his brilliance. It wasn't just smart man acts like a dog at home, treats his wife inappropriately. No, the same brilliance he had in his words, in his mind, he had in his actions and they matched up. I saw a video of the Pope and people were coming to see the Pope and people are walking by and he's, you know, waving, waving, and one person was so excited, so excited to see her leader, her guide, her spurt, and she wanted to, you know, just give him a hug and you know, just like to get close and he gave her a slap. You can look it on YouTube, you can find it on YouTube. And to me it was like such an inappropriate act. And who am I to criticize another person? I'm just trying to bring an example.

12:03
But the idea that it's not enough to preach love and kindness, we have to act. Love and kindness, you know, the Talmud warns us that call ha-merachim al-ha-akhzorim, sofuld his-akhzer al-ha-rahmanim. Whoever has mercy on the cruel will end up being cruel to the merciful, Meaning. What does that mean? If you can't distinguish? And it's in our world, our generation today it's really concerning. We have many people who are talking and preaching that we have to love. Love knows no borders and love knows no boundaries and everything's about love.

12:54
But Israel is defending itself from terrorists who declare our annihilation and suddenly all of that peace and love is gone. It's exceptional. You look at all of these universities that are preaching, oh, you know, the greatest thoughts of intelligentsia. And suddenly Israel is defending itself and they're yelling and screeching and they're making demonstrations in New York City and in England and in London and in all of the big cities in the world and they're declaring against Israel an apartheid state and they're asking for a ceasefire from Chicago. And there are more killings in Chicago and a typical weekend and you have in Gaza. I mean it's like it's unbelievable.

13:46
But that's because people are thinking one way but acting a different way. There is an inconsistency with how they live and with how they think and they just separate the two. And in Judaism you cannot separate the two. The Torah teaches us that even for such a small task of putting together the garments and designing the garments of the Kohen, you need to have Chachmeh Leif, wise-hearted people. That means that they're not people who live with a split, an identity challenge. They don't live with thoughts one way and actions another way. There's a consistency. They're not living with a conflict.

14:41
The Torah wants us to learn every word in our portions and ask questions. The Torah wants us to look and say one second, that's a term that doesn't flow. Why does the verse say Chachmeh, leif wise-hearted, ask that question. We should all be asking that question. Our sages help us learn how to learn Torah, and when we learn through the parasha, we should ask these questions.

15:12
Why does the Torah use such a terminology? It's not a phrase of ancient scholars, it's not a term of oh, back biblical times, they had a different expressions is a lesson for us, and I think that if we can take this lesson of learning not to live in a contradiction, not to live with conflict, to resolve those conflicts, that we should understand what it is that we're spewing out there. What is it that we're declaring out there? Yes, we're looking for peace with our neighbors, we've offered peace, we've given land for peace, We've done everything we can, and yet we're still being bashed in the UN and bashed in the streets of our cities because there's an inconsistency, and that inconsistency is being tolerated, is being allowed, is being perpetrated by all of the media sources, and it's really astonishing. But this is what we're looking for. What we're looking for is the wisdom of the Torah, where the Torah tells us exactly.

16:21
The Torah guides us in how to properly synchronize the two things. You know if you have someone who is a specialist in botany and they understand everything about natural healing because they know every single ingredient, every single thing that grows in the ground. They know what the healing ingredients would be for any illness. But imagine if they use that and instead of giving people healing ingredients, they give them poisoning ingredients. You'd be like what's the point? What's the object? Why would you care to know all of the wisdom of botany if you don't even use it for good things? That means it's not enough to have wisdom. You have to use the wisdom properly.

17:14
And that's what we're being urged in this week's parasha. We're being urged that each and every one of us continue to grow, continue to learn and implement those things. So we don't just say, yes, I'm proudly Jewish, but I don't know why I'm proud, yes, I believe in the Torah, but I don't observe it. That means we shouldn't live with that conflict. Now we've said and we continue to say that, yes, indeed, the Torah obligates us to 613 commandments, not only to seven. But if a person is not yet there, if a person doesn't yet know, the person doesn't understand, yet the person hasn't yet been able to implement those 613, the Torah requires us to take small steps, small, teeny steps, and every person to find that one step that's meaningful, that's proper for them, for where they're standing spiritually, not to jump and to take that one small step and to grow with it and to make it part of who you are. Because if you try to jump, you will be shot down, it's guaranteed. The Yetzahara, the evil inclination, is looking for those who are flying high. He's looking for those who are in the stars saying, oh, I'm never going to speak Lashon HaRah again, I'm never going to talk in shul again, I'm never going to miss a minion again, I'm never…. That's who the Yetzahara is looking for. You know, if I do it once a week, it won't bother the Yetzahara If I try to do one thing special for Shabbos.

18:59
I always tell in our classes that if you want to start Shabbos observance, start with Friday night, just Friday night. Imagine if it's just Friday night. You don't turn the lights on or off. You prepare them before Shabbos. The food that you prepared before Shabbos you have on Friday night. Everything is warm. You eat it right into the Shabbos. You turn off your phones for Friday night. Imagine, by the time you wake up Shabbos morning, you already kept more than half of Shabbos. It's so beautiful and so incredible. Imagine if we can do that. Just Friday night, as the sun sets, you have the delicious food that you prepared on Friday. You have it with your family, you recite the kiddish, you have Hamotsi with bread, and then you finish your meal and then you go to sleep. It gets already late. You wake up in the morning, you're already kept more than half of Shabbos. It's an unbelievable thing. And that's an easy one. Easy.

20:03
We can all take a small step that keeps us consistent with our values, with our ideals, with the things that we know to be true and we're not all holding at the same place. Every single person has got their things. We can grow more in. I have my things and you have your things. Each and every one of us have things. We say you know what? This is the next frontier, this is the next thing I want to grow in.

20:29
And we can preach and preach, and preach, but that doesn't.

20:32
We have to really get there.

20:33
We have to make it consistent that our actions and our thoughts and our values are in the same place, so that we don't God forbid be the philosopher who says brilliant thoughts but acts in a way that's inconsistent with those thoughts.

20:51
So Hashem should bless us all, each and every one of us, not only with an amazing Shabbos, but finding the areas where we can be consistent, that our mind and our heart, our actions, our thoughts and our actions are in the same place, that they're together, that they're consistent. And Hashem should bless us all with success, with happiness, and I want to wish again a mazal tuf to my daughter, meira, and her chasen, her grum, shimon, and we should together find that unity, that perfection, and build a beautiful home together. A main and hopefully have you know, we say O'd-Yishama bi'ore Yehuda wa chutzis Yushalayim, that in the streets of Jerusalem, soon, speedily, will have the song of the bride and groom in the streets of Jerusalem, because we're going to have a rebuilt temple and we're always associating marriage with our rebuilt temple. So hopefully they will be part of bringing together the Jewish people, bringing together the joy and happiness from around the world to Jerusalem, a main speedily in our days. Thank you so much and have a great Shabbos everybody.

22:07 - Intro (Announcement)
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