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.

00:10 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Welcome back, my dear friends, to the weekly Parsha Review. We have catch-up. Last week's Parsha, this week's Parsha. When you hear it is Parsha's Kisavo, kisavo. What's Kisavo V'haya? Kisavo la'aretz, it will be when you enter into the land that Hashem, your God, gives to you as an inheritance, and you possess it and you live in it. So you're going to get into the land of Israel. This is Moses foretelling what's going to be when Joshua brings the Jewish people into the land of Israel. What's going to be when Joshua brings the Jewish people into the land of Israel.

00:45
ולוקחת מירש כל פרי האדמה that you shall take of the first of every fruit of the ground. אשר טובי מארצך that you bring in from your land. אשר השם הלוקח נוסן לך. That Hashem, your God, gives to you ושמת בתנה. And you shall put it into a basket and you shall go to the place that Hashem will select to rest His name there, which is referring to the temple. An unbelievable requirement. Chapter 26, verse 1 and 2, telling us that when we enter into the land of israel and you'll inherit the land and you'll possess it, and now you'll plant fruit trees, you'll plant things that will grow from the ground. The first of your fruit bring to my holy place, to the temple, bikurim Gifts, and you put it in a basket Unbelievable, okay. So let me ask you a question why the first? Why the first of your fruit? Let it be the choicest of my fruit, let me pick the nicest apple. Let me pick the nicest apple, let me pick the nicest orange. Why does it have to be the first? No, no, no, the first one, that's the one you should bring to me. My dear friends, open your hearts. I want to tell you something really magnificent, because the first is the most precious, the first. You're so excited. You plant your tree and that first fruit comes. You're like ah, I did it, I did it. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, that's the mistake, I did it. Hashem says from the first Don't forget where it comes from. And if you read the words carefully in the verse, you'll see how careful the Torah is to remind us that everything is from Hashem, that Hashem gives you.

02:55
I want to share with you a story. There was once a very, very wealthy man, a very wealthy man. His son got some of that wealth from his father. So what did the son do? The son built himself a magnificent home, magnificent mansion and as he's about to move in and inaugurate his new home, he invites all of his friends, all of his neighbors, members of the community, come look at the beautiful home. And people are marveling at this magnificent edifice that he built. It's just spectacular. Every room is perfect for what it was created, for Just everything you can imagine. And people are just like see. He quiets everyone down. He says I want to thank my contractor, I want to thank my contractor, I want to thank my interior designer, I want to thank everyone. And who's there standing on the side saying I didn't get any thanks. Who's that? The father who gave you the money for this?

04:05
You see, the biggest mistake is when we forget the source. The way to never forget that source is right in the beginning, right in the beginning. That first word that child should have said is thank you, thank you, daddy, for giving me the ability To be able to build a home for myself. That's the first thing that should come out of his mouth, because it's so easy to forget, it's so easy to veer away From the recognition Of where things come from. It's so easy to make that mistake, to have gratitude, to have appreciation, and there's no expiration date To acknowledging the kindness that someone has done for you.

05:02
You know I make a phone call every year, september 1st, to my predecessor, the person who hired me for my job. My first day on the job was September 1st. I moved in August 30th, 2005. My first day, september 1st, and I call him to thank him. Thank you for believing me. Maybe he didn't believe in me so much at the time, but thank you for giving me a chance. And every year he tells me you know, it's okay, it's like you don't have to call me. I said no, no, no, no. Gratitude has no expiration date. It's like, oh, I thanked him the first 20 years, it's enough. No, no, no, no. Gratitude has no expiration date. It's like, oh, I thanked him the first 20 years, it's enough. No, no, no, no. We have to always be thanking. This year he called me up two days earlier and he said to me I know you're going to call me September 1st. I want to beat you to it. He says you call me to thank me. I'm calling you to thank you. He says I've been wanting to go into the business world and I needed somebody to take over this burden. Thank you for saving me. So that's just a side note, but to always realize that it's not a given.

06:17
We have to acknowledge, and we're going to talk about this more today in our class about prayer in our prayer podcast. We're going to talk about this more today in our class about prayer in our prayer podcast. We're going to talk about the hundred blessings that we're required to praise Hashem every single day, with a hundred blessings To never, ever forget where our blessings come from. The best way to begin that is right at the entrance, at the opening of your crops, right when it starts. We see the same thing, by the way, with reshes hagez, the first shearing of the wool from your lamb. We see it also with your firstborn, your firstborn donkey. You do Patech Amor, the firstborn child. You redeem your firstborn Because the first is the choicest.

07:11
Now, my dear friends, it's not a coincidence, there's no coincidence that this portion always falls out on the Jewish calendar before Rosh Hashanah, because Rosh Hashanah, rosh, the beginning of the year, is the most important time of the year. The most important time is the beginning Because it sets forth the tone for the entire year, which is why our sages tell us that we have many different simon and many different signs that we display. We dip the apple in the honey. We eat the pomegranates. Why do we dip the apple in the honey? So it should be a sweet new year. Why do we eat the pomegranates? That our year should be filled with mitzvahs, just like this pomegranate is filled with these little pits, is filled with these little pits, and there are many, many others that we add into our ritual. We start our meal. We have all of these different signs. Why, our sages tell us, because this is the beginning of your year. You start your year with those blessings. You start your year with declaring this is what I want in the coming year.

08:27
Our sages also tell us something very interesting that the two days of Rosh Hashanah by the way, it's not a two-day holiday like other holidays, which is in Israel one day and in the Diaspora two days Rosh Hashanah is two days everywhere. It's in Israel two days as well. In Israel, right this year, they're freaking out about Rosh Hashanah because they never have three-day holidays. They always have maximum of two days. They can have a Friday holiday and then Shabbos, or Shabbos and then holiday, because they only have one day, except for Rosh Hashanah is the only time they have a three-day and this year they have a three-day. It starts Wednesday night, thursday, thursday night, friday, friday night, shabbos. Israelis don't know how to deal with that. We know how to deal with it. This is a regular occurrence for us in the diaspora, but it really is an amazing thing.

09:17
The beginning of year, rosh Hashanah. Our sages tell us these 48 hours of Rosh Hashanah are a microcosm of the entire year. You want to know what your next year is going to be? Examine your Rosh Hashanah. Which is why our sages tell us in the halacha don't sleep in the afternoon on Rosh Hashanah. You don't want to have a sleepy year. What does one have to do with the other? Well, what you do on Rosh Hashanah is a sign for your whole year. It's an amazing thing, which is why many people have the custom to recite the entire Tehillim, the entire Psalms, on Rosh Hashanah. There's a promise of unbelievable blessing that comes upon a person who does that, and we know.

10:04
We're in synagogue all day on Rosh Hashanah. But we also eat when we eat. What do we do when we eat? We schmooze, we talk. People are very careful not to speak Lashon Hara at their table, not to speak negatively about another person, not to talk about gory, disgusting things, to only talk about nice, beautiful, happy things, because this is the beginning. The beginning is the most precious.

10:29
You know, our sages tell us that when Noah was in the ark, you know he was feeding all the animals, running from animal to animal, feeding all the animals. So, as we know, we've heard the story from grade school that Noach walked out limping. Why did he walk out limping? Because he was a little delayed in feeding the lion so the lion bit him. Give me a break. This guy is there for a half a year feeding every single animal. He's late one time for breakfast and you bite him One time. One time. When all of future lions depend on me, you can't afford to be late.

11:12
Abraham, our patriarch, did the greatest kindness with the three angels. He gave them water to drink. He gave them everything, everything. But if you remember, with that water he didn't actually bring it to drink. He gave them everything, everything, but if you remember, with that water he didn't actually bring it to them. He asked his son. He said go get the water, everything else he served them. He served them the meat and he served them the cheese. He served them the this, the cheese first and then the meat Unbelievable Took such great care of them.

11:44
God says, as the founder of monotheism, abraham, the father of the Hebrews, the father of the Jewish people you sent someone else to give them water, to give your guests water. You're going to be punished for that. Your children in the desert are not going to get water directly. They're going to have to get it from the stone. They're going to get it through a messenger, just like you.

12:22
You imagine what did Abraham do wrong? You know what he did wrong. You're the father of the. You're the beginning of a nation. Everything's got to be perfect in the beginning. When we have the first of our crops, our sages tell us the first thing you do is give thanks to Hashem. You carefully take that fruit, that first fruit, and bring it to Jerusalem to thank Hashem, to show Hashem how grateful you are for all of his blessings. It's so easy for people to say I am brilliant in business, I am a gifted investor, I am so talented, not realizing that everything is from Hashem. This mitzvah in our Torah is teaching us to always have things in perspective. We say thank you first. My dear friends, have a magnificent Shabbos.

13:22 - Intro (Announcement)
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