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)
All right, welcome back everybody. Welcome back to the magnificent Torch Center here in Houston, texas. To those of you who are here live in the classroom, to those of you who are online on Zoom, to those of you who will be watching this online on YouTube, on Facebook, on Twitter, on all the other platforms, and to those of you who will be listening on podcast, welcome back. I hope everyone had a magnificent Pesach and that it was a great time to bring Hashem into our lives in a practical way, because we talk about a story that happened 3,300 years ago, that the Jewish people left Egypt and the sea was split, and right now, these days, all the way leading up to Shavuot which is going to be in only another 41 days where we received the Torah at Mount Sinai. 3,300 years ago, we were now in the desert, the sea had already split, and it's not something that we're supposed to celebrate as a memorial day as like it happened back then, but rather it happens now again, we're able to relive that experience and have the same aura, the same spiritual connection as the Jewish people had back then. The same clarity we can have today, we can bring into our lives today, and that's what we hope for so in this week's parasha, parasha Shemini, in verse number six, vayomer Hashem, verse number six in chapter nine, vayomer Moshe, zeeh Adobar, sheh Tziva, hashem Ta'asu Vayera Aleichem Kvod. Hashem Moshe said this is the thing that Hashem has commanded you to do, so that revealed to you will be the glory of Hashem. So our sages tell us. In the Talmud we talk about an example of what it means to be honoring of our father and mother. What's an example of someone who honored their father and mother? And we know the famous story of Dama Ben-Hassina. Dama Ben-Hassina was a Gentile who, when the Jewish people were looking for a certain gem for the breastplate of the Kohen and gem for the breastplate of the Kohen, they've heard that this jeweler had this special gem. So they go to this house, they knock on the door and the son says oh yes, I have that gem, I have that stone. It's going to cost this and this amount of money and hold on a second. He runs to go get the stone and he comes back. He says I'm sorry, I can't help you because my father is currently sleeping and the key to the safe is under his pillow and I cannot wake him up. And they thought that he was just bargaining for more money. So they offered him more money and more money, and more money. I think it was 800 gold coins, which was, you can imagine, like $ hundred thousand dollars for a stone. That should be worth two to three, maybe four hundred thousand. It was, imagine, an enormous sum of money. They thought he was just asking for more money, but then they said, okay, he's just not giving in. After they tried, and they tried, they could not persuade him to go and get the gem because he said my father's sleeping on the pillow which has the key to the safe beneath it and I cannot wake him All right. So we know that.

03:35
Later on, the Talmud says and how was he rewarded? He was rewarded with the red heifer, that a red heifer grew among his flock and later, when the Jewish people needed a red heifer, they ended up buying it from him for the same amount that they would have paid for the gem and like this he was rewarded. Okay, it's very interesting, very interesting story, very nice, but there are so many different ways that this individual could have been rewarded. He could have been rewarded so many different ways. Why did Hashem specifically choose that? The red heifer of all things, the red heifer is how he's going to be rewarded. So we have to see something very important in the verse that we just read in our parasha, and that is Moshe was telling something very, very important to the Jewish people, and I think it's a really, really important lesson for us.

04:42
Why do we do mitzvahs? Why do we perform the commands of Hashem? I can give you a thousand and one reasons why a Jew should put on tefillin. I can give you a million reasons why a Jew should observe Shabbos. I can give you a hundred thousand reasons why we should keep kosher. But all of those reasons are nothing. There's only one reason we perform them, that is, this is the command that Hashem commanded us. That's why you know why we do this because Hashem commanded us. Now, it's a nice thing if a person is able to put some flavor to it in a way that is palpable.

05:38
There's an entire argument, actually, about these books that we have right over here the Sefer HaChinuch. The Sefer HaChinuch is the all of theChinuch, is all of the mitzvahs, all 613 commandments in the Torah, and it gives the reason behind it. And then you have another book called the Minchas Chinuch, which goes even into more detail about the reasoning behind the mitzvahs and there's a whole dispute whether or not this is a book that one should study to begin with. Why dispute whether or not this is a book that one should study to begin with? Why You're starting to put reasons to why we fulfill commandments. You're starting to put reasons to it. We don't put reasons. The reason we observe it is because God commanded us.

06:15
In fact, rashi in this week's Parsha also says that a person should not say you know, if a person I know, my children like to watch sports games, so we watch it on the computer and there's advertisements. And sometimes you see an advertisement you're like, oh, that's disgusting because it's not kosher. But that's what the Rashi says don't do that. Rashi says don't do that. Rashi says wow, that looks so delicious, but you know why I'm not going to eat it? Because Hashem commanded me. Hashem commanded me. And that's why not because it's repulsive, not because it's disgusting, not because it's something which is, in my eyes, something which is repugnant, but rather I'm not eating this cheeseburger or whatever else. It is because Hashem commanded me. It looks delicious and I probably would love it. It probably tastes delicious, but what can I do. Hashem said not to, so I'm not going to. That needs to be the attitude.

07:26
That means there's a whole nother level of you know, we're right now in the days of the Omer. Last night we counted the ninth day of the Omer, which is one week and two days, and there's an obvious, you know, connection. We read the Omer, we count the Omer every day, and many people go into all of this spheros, they go into the, they start talking about all the different connections and this is a tikkun, this is a repairing of the sin of Adam and Eve. And you can go into a whole lot, or you can just simply fulfill this mitzvah, because God commanded me to count the omer. And if you look, if you look at the introduction to this magnificent blessing that we recite every single evening, it's the most remarkable, simple introduction. And that is here.

08:25
I am prepared and ready to fulfill the performative commandment of counting the Omer, as it is commanded in the Torah. What we're doing is here. We're fulfilling the command of Hashem. Are there a million and one reasons of why? And all the reasons and all the purpose? And connecting to the deeper, deeper, deeper, yes, but we can't forget the original purpose, the original cause for this command and why we observe it is because this is the will of Hashem. This is the will of Hashem and because this is the will of Hashem, that's why I'm going to perform it. Now. Here's the challenge. The challenge is A.

09:23
If one needs to, for whatever reason, feel a connection to a mitzvah, so I want to have other ulterior motives to that mitzvah. So, for example, for eating kosher. So you can go to a lovely lecture provided by Torch, where we're going to talk about the laws of kosher and we'll give all of the health reasons and we'll show you proofs of how kosher food is better for you kosher right and give you many, many reasons. But would that be the reason why we observe kosher? Perhaps, if someone is about to take the first micro step in observance, maybe that'll be a motivator. But what's the real reason why we observe the laws of kosher? Not because there's health benefits, not because it's better for you, it's cleaner, not because we'll give hundreds of reasons. Because Hashem commanded me to, and there's something which is simple and holy and lofty and elevating about just doing it. Because this is the will of Hashem. That's why.

10:45
So let's go back to the original question who's the example of what it means to be dedicated to honoring our father and mother, which, by the way, is the fifth command of the ten commandments, where hashem commands us in the ten commandments honor your father and mother. Why? Why? Because that's what Hashem said. We can give many good reasons to it, we can add many flavors to it, but there's only one bottom line is that this is the will of Hashem. Okay, so Dama Ben-Hassina is the example the Talmud brings, but the obvious question why was he rewarded with the red heifer? Because why did he perform the mitzvah of honoring your father and mother, the Gentile. Why did he fulfill this so properly? Because it made sense to him. You know what? He was rewarded with the red heifer.

11:49
The one mitzvah that makes no sense. The one mitzvah that makes absolutely no sense to anybody, where King Solomon says I want to understand your wisdom and God says it's distant from you, you can't understand it. You'll never be able to grasp this mitzvah. Do it because I told you and that's it. There is a certain power to doing things just because you were told to do it. No soldier in the army says to his commanding officer I'll do it if you explain to me why you do it? Because you were told and, by the way, it is extremely important for our children to learn the same virtue of doing things because their parents told them. Parents don't need to explain everything to their children why.

12:51
Why is it so important to do things, particularly children, us we're children of Hashem that we don't perform our mitzvahs just because we understand the reasons why? Because then what happens when you don't understand the reason? What happens when your child doesn't understand the reason of why you gave certain instructions? Why should I listen? Because if they don't understand the reason, they won't perform it. Because if the only reason I do things is because I understand it, then the danger is when you don't understand it, you may not perform it. That is a very serious danger.

13:34
So our sages teach us something so precious here. You know why Vayom emoshe zeh hadovar shetzi v'asher ashem ta'asu Hashem commanded you do it, but you know what's going to be the reward. Vayero aleichem kvod Hashem commanded you do it, but you know what's going to be the reward by Yerah Aleichem Kvod Hashem. You'll be rewarded that it will be revealed through you, the glory of Hashem. You're going to shine a light. The entire world will be envious of you. The entire world will look up to you. This is the great power of doing things, because if we are committed in our relationship with Hashem, we don't need to ask the question of why? Well, hashem, why well, you want to know why. That will be revealed to you as well. To a limited degree, we see that even King Solomon, who was the wisest of all men. You want to know why. That will be revealed to you as well. To a limited degree, we see that even King Solomon, who was the wisest of all men, wasn't able to understand everything. I want to see your glory, hashem. Show it to me.

14:41
Hashem says some things, just do because I said so. This is an unbelievable power that we can connect with every time we're performing a mitzvah yes, l'shma. What does l'shma mean? We do things for the sake of Hashem, because Hashem commanded us, for. No, we do it altruistically. Hashem said to do this, and that's why I'm doing it. Why do we do acts of kindness? Why do we give charity? It feels good, it feels proper. No, we do it because Hashem said be like me, do this and give charity and be kind, and you know why.

15:32
You honor your father and mother, not because you respect them, because what happens? If you don't respect them, then you don't honor them. If they don't act the way you want them to act, then you shouldn't honor them. That's not the case. You know why we honor our father and mother? Because Hashem commanded us to do so. And even if it doesn't make sense and even if I don't respect them, honor your father. It doesn't say respect your father and mother. It says honor them, fear them, because this is the command that Hashem commanded us.

16:18
I think there's an amazing, an amazing value that we can take home from this, from this unbelievable lesson Of doing things for the sake of Hashem, connecting on a whole new level, which is, by the way, the most simple level. Just do it for the sake of Hashem. That doesn't mean that we become robots, because, again, there is plenty, plenty of meaning behind every mitzvah. The more we delve into it, the more we gain understanding, the more we gain appreciation to every mitzvah. But we have to remember the foundation. The foundation is we do it because Hashem commanded us, and we pray, by the way, every morning Beha arev, noa, hashem, alev, keno, esdivri, soros, chabefim, make the words of your Torah.

17:20
What is the Torah? The Torah is the manual for living. Make it sweet for us, meaning we shouldn't just do it as robots. We should do it because we want to, because it's the command of Hashem, but give it to us with sweetness, give us the flavor. So it shouldn't just be robotic for us. Where we're doing it because this is the will of Hashem but we want to add extra Zeh, eli Vanvei, we say this is Hashem. It should be so clear. I want to beautify the mitzvah because of it, because it's the command of Hashem. This is my relationship with God and I want to beautify my relationship with Hashem.

18:02
So I want to just now circle back a little bit and talk a little bit about the incredible holiday of Pesach that we all celebrated. You know, the holiday of Pesach we mentioned at the beginning of today's class is a special, special time of clear revelation of Hashem's hand in the world. We have so many things going on and it is so easy to get lost in the world and not see the hand of Hashem guiding everything that transpires. There is divine inspiration, there is divine involvement, there is divine involvement in everything that goes on and we can open our eyes on the holiday of Pesach and see, oh my goodness, look, how revealed the hand of Hashem is, where it is. The whole process of the 10 plagues which, by the way, in a very interesting part of the Seder, is that we put everything out there. We even the playing field.

19:21
What do we say? Holach ma'anya, we were paupers. We say avodah me'yini, we were slaves. We say that we were paupers. We say we were slaves. We say that we were idolaters, meaning nobody here is righteous and holy and high on the hog. No one is so perfect. Look at us. In all of our seders, we say there is the seders. We say there is the chacham, there's the wise son, there is the wicked son, there's the son who doesn't know how to ask, there's the simpleton. That's each one of us. We say we're not so high and mighty about ourselves.

20:08
The simplest way is to just look at the hand of Hashem. Look at how Hashem took us out. V'hi sha'am dalavu seinu volonu. It was that hand of Hashem that took us out of Egypt, took us through the Yom Suf, splitting the sea, splitting the waters, drowning our enemies, protecting us when we're in the desert. For 40 years, 40 years living by the hand of Hashem, every morning they woke up.

20:44
Where's the grocery store? There's no grocery. There's no Randall's. There's no HEB. There's no Kroger. There's no Belden's. There's nothing. There's no Randall's. There's no H-E-B. There's no Kroger. There's no Belden's. There's nothing. There's no kosher butcher.

20:55
Where are we going to get our food from? Every day there was that revelation, every single day, that food came down from heaven. But do you know what's amazing Is that that food still comes down today, that mana descends today as well. You think your boss pays. You think amazon pays you? Yeah, no, hashem pays you. Hashem gives you that mana.

21:28
The question is whether or not, how much we're going to have to go outside of the camp to get it, or we'll have it right by our front door. Because what does the Torah teach us? Those that were righteous received it right there at the front door. They had it delivered to them. And those who were less, less believing in Hashem, they had to go to the end of the camp to go get it, meaning they had to do more toil in order to get that manna. The manna is there for everyone. Everybody has food to eat.

22:05
The question is how close that manna is going to be to us, how revealed is it going to be in front of us. How much are we going to bring Hashem into our day-to-day consciousness? And that goes back to the same point the more we observe the Torah because this is the command of Hashem the more we will feel that closeness to Hashem. The more we will feel that closeness to Hashem, the more we will feel the revelation that everything that happens, everything that happens, is the will of Hashem. So, my dear friends, parsha Shemini is a very, very important Parsha, because we also learn a lot about the laws of kosher.

22:49
The aforementioned laws of kosher, the very, very simple laws of what fowl can be eaten, what fish can be eaten, what land animals can be eaten. Very simple what fruits and vegetables can be eaten. Howard, do you know what fruits and vegetables can be eaten? All you can eat every single thing that grows from the ground, every single thing that grows on a tree, everything. It's all kosher. Just make sure there are no little buggies on it. That's the only thing. There's the bugs. We don't eat Worms. We don't eat Creepy crawlers, we don't eat. So as long as we ensure that they're clean, it's kosher.

23:32
Go to any store in the entire planet and buy fruits and vegetables. Make sure there are no bugs in it and you're good to go. Some are more difficult to check to confirm that there are none. Lettuce strawberries some of them are infested with bugs. Microscopic lettuce strawberries some of them are infested with bugs. Microscopic little bugs, hard for the naked eye to see it. That's why we have a process for this how to clean it, but not to say, oh, hashem created something that we shouldn't enjoy.

24:12
The Talmud, in our Thinking Talmudist we talked about this a long time ago. Oh yeah, we can enjoy everything. What's about pig? What's about pork? The Talmud talks about this. The Talmud says there's a certain fish, the Shibuta fish, that tastes exactly like pork and it's kosher. That fish is kosher.

24:43
And why did Hashem do that? Because Hashem doesn't want a Jewish person to feel like he missed out. So to everything there's a parallel. We don't miss out by observing Hashem's laws. On the contrary, we benefit and we grow our relationship every day by our observance. So, my dear friends, let's go get them, let's learn this week's parasha. Take a few minutes to read through you have beautiful English commentary, english translation to the verse, to every verse of this week's Parsha. Read it, it's yours. It doesn't belong to the rabbis, it doesn't belong to the synagogues, to the scholars. It belongs to each and every one of us Ma'arosh ha'ki lasyakov. It's an inheritance to each and every one of us. Ma'arosh shakil as Yaakov. It's an inheritance to each and every one of us that we can enjoy this Torah belongs to all of us. My dear friends, have a great Shabbos.

25:40 - Intro (Announcement)
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