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 to the Parsha Review Podcast. It's so wonderful to be here. This week's Parsha is Parsha's V'zo Sabrocha. It is the 54th portion since the beginning of the Torah and the last portion of the Torah, the last portion of the Torah. This Torah reading will not happen this coming Shabbos because this coming Shabbos will be Yom Kippur. So we have the Yom Kippur reading. When is it going to be? Not next Shabbos either. Next Shabbos is going to be Sukkot. It's not going to be the following Shabbos because the following Shabbos is going to be Bereshit, the beginning of the new cycle of Torah. So when are we going to read it? We're actually going to read it Friday, in two weeks. We're going to read V'Zo Sabrocha on Simchas Torah and that's where we conclude the entire Torah, the reading of the entire Torah, and then the next day is going to be Shabbos we're going to read Bereshit.

01:07
So you don't have a lot of time to prepare for Bereshit, and you know I've said this before. My father may he live and be well has we had this conversation many times where he asks why does Bereshit never have a full week to prepare? You know, every week you have Shabbos and you have a full week to prepare. You know, every week you have Shabbos and you have a whole week to prepare for the next Torah reading, except for Bereshit. Bereshit always has a week that is shortened because you always have Simchat Torah sometime in the middle of the week. So it's going to be either two days or three days or four days, like this week. You have no days because it's like Simchat Torah and the next day that night is Shabbos again. So you go to three-day holiday, go straight from Yom Tov into into Shabbos. You don't have even time to prepare for the portion of Bereshit.

01:58
My father said and I think he's 100% correct is that our sages structured the reading this way because Bereshit has so many secrets. Our sages don't want us delving into those secrets. Our sages don't want us dealing with all of the stories of creation. And you know this is not a partial review podcast on Bereshit. This is on V'zos HaBracha. On the last portion, we're going to get to it in a second, but it's interesting.

02:26
I've shared this story before that one of the great sages was asked to write an approbation for a book that was written about the seven days of creation, and the author spent 25 years researching all of the material he can find on the seven days of creation, and the rabbi said he can't write an approbation, he can't give ehas gama on this book, on this work. He said, why not? He said, 25 years on, creation that's nothing. That's nothing. The secrets, I mean, it could take you a million lifetimes and you wouldn't get to the full depths of understanding. Creation, just creation, the first chapter of the Torah.

03:10
But now we go to V'zos Ha'Baruch Ha. We're at the end of Moshe's life. This is the last few moments of Moshe's life. V'zos Ha'Baruch Ha, sheberach, moshe, yisholem. And this is the blessing that Moshe, the godly man, blessed Bnei Yisrael, the Jewish people, before he died. This is the blessing he gave the Jewish people before he died.

03:37
Let me ask you a question what should any typical, healthy, normal human being be busy doing moments before they pass? Prepare yourself. You're about to stand in front of the Almighty Repent. Do something special, do something unique, do something. Nope, that's not what Moshe's busy doing. Moshe is busy blessing the people.

04:08
We see something very, very virtuous about Moshe. Moshe had an obsessive love for his people. Moshe loved the Jewish people. Moshe treasured the Jewish people. That the only thing he can think of doing at the last minutes of his life was to bless them.

04:30
You know, there's a story told about Rav Shaila. Those of you who don't know who Rav Shaila was, he was one of the great Hasidic masters and he was known for his love of every single Jew. In fact, if you go to his gravesite in Hungary, there's a soup kitchen that's there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Anybody who comes hot food, delicious hot food, and there's guest houses, because he always welcomed people into his home with food and gave them, gave him shelter, gave him a place to sleep. He didn't care where you were from. Every jew was welcome in his home. In fact, I have an interesting story. When I was in poland.

05:19
So the person arranging the trip said those of you who want to go to Rapshaela's a grave site in Hungary, it's a nine hour drive and you can go. When our program is done tonight, you can drive there. We're going to have a driver pick you up from the thing. We only have this many seats. You need to have your passport with you because you're crossing borders from Poland to Hungary and it's leaving exactly at this time. It'll be back in the morning before our trip continues. So you'll be the whole night driving there and back and it's a long, long ordeal Either way.

05:53
So I reserved that was the first one to reserve. I want to go. I've never been there, I want to go. And so we get onto this van that evening. We get on this van and we're all set to go and someone comes one of the people on the trip, I guess, didn't know that this was going on and he comes begging please, I want to go on this trip. I want to go on this trip. I have to go on this trip. I have to go on this trip.

06:16
He was really, and I was sitting there. I'm like you know what Rav Shil Ripshila was all about loving your fellow Jew, doing everything you can for your fellow Jew. I said what more would he like than for me to give up my seat Right? So I said to the guy I said listen, you can have my seat. He said you sure. I said I'm sure, but I need you to do me one favor when you go just pray for me and my family. That's the only price I'm asking for. Okay, you can go, take my seat, no problem. I think this is what Rav Shaila would have wanted me to do and therefore go. I don't want to just pray, but I want to really personify, hopefully one day, what he really stood for and what his passion was to love every jew.

07:03
In that event, ripshaila from karastir is the name of the city where he lived, and um, he, his son, was once very, very ill, and it was. He was sick, really sick, and Rav Shaila, one day, while caring for his son, started crying and all of his aides and his followers heard Rav Shaila crying and he was crying hysterically. So they came over to him and they said you know, rabbi, he's going to be okay, don't worry about it, he's going to heal. It's going to be okay, don't worry about it, he's going to heal, it's going to be okay, don't worry. Like they're trying to encourage him not to be so sad. He said no, no, no, I'm not crying for my son, my son. I know Hashem will protect him, hashem will heal him, he'll be cured. He says I'm crying because I've been so busy with my son I haven't had time to cry for other people, for other children, and that's what I'm sad about To be at a level where it's not our own pain that we're in pain for, or in pain of it's the pain for other people that we can't experience properly. That's a level of a great leader.

08:28
What was Moshe's quality that God says? Because of this quality, I want you to be the leader of the Jewish people. Vayar b'siv losam, he saw their pain. The first portion in the second book of the Torah, in Exodus, shmos, says exactly this vayar b'siv losam, he saw their pain. Moshe was connected with the Jewish people. He felt their pain.

08:55
You want to know what a true leader is. A true leader cares about the simple person, the people who are out of jobs, the people who are losing jobs, the people who can't afford food, the people who can't afford health. A true leader is someone who feels the pain of the people, and Moshe was a true leader. He felt the pain. Moshe himself never was, you know, controlled by the Egyptians. He grew up in the house of Pharaoh, but Moshe was able to see their pain and he wasn't separated from it. Oh, it's their pain. They're the lower class people, I'm the upper class or the upper middle class. There was no classes in Moshe. In Moshe's world, we're one people and, as one people, the only thing I can feel is the pain of the people, to be there with them. This is the virtue of every single leader. A leader needs to be able to feel the pain.

10:13
I want to share with you one more story. There's a great rabbi who lived in Bnei Barak. His name was Reb Aaron Leib. Steinman Passed away a few years ago and a rabbi in a school came to Reb Aaron Leib and he says to him I have a student in my class. He's misbehaving. We've tried every tool of discipline, we've tried every motivation and to no avail. We're not successful. We can't do it. We have to kick him out of the school. So the rabbi asks him what's the student's name? He tells him the school. So the rabbi asks him what's the student's name? He tells him the name. He says what's the student's mother's name? And the rabbi is bewildered. He's like student's mother. I have no idea what the student's mother is. I don't know what her name is. He says you mean to tell me that you don't pray for your students. You mean to tell me that your students are not included in your daily prayers and you're jumping to throw them out of school. And this story has had an enormous impact on many rabbis. I know my son's Rebbe here in Houston. Every year before he has a new class he asks the parents to fill out an application, a form to put in the father's name, to put in the mother's name, and he has for all of his students. He prays for them. But I want to share with you one more story.

12:04
There was a man who was traveling to israel and he says he had a cab driver that he went into. A cab cab driver takes him where he needs to go. He says to him where are you from? He says I'm from. I'm from America. He says you're from America. He says do you know Rabbi Herschel Schechter? Rabbi Herschel Schechter, of course I know Rabbi Herschel Schechter. Rabbi Herschel Schechter, of course I know Rabbi Herschel Schechter. He's the rabbi, the head rabbi of Yeshiva University of the Yeshiva, and of course he's a known Torah scholar. He says please tell him that so-and-so. And he gives him his own name. The cab driver so-and-so had a. He gives him his own name. The cab driver so-and-so had a baby boy. Wow, unbelievable.

13:01
This person travels back to the United States. He's at a simcha, at a celebration of a baby boy that had a bris, and he knew that the rabbi was there. Rabbi Herschel Schechter was there. So he goes to Rabbi Herschel Schechter. He says I need to give you regards from some random cab driver who asked me to tell you that his wife had a baby boy. His face lights up. He says Mazel Tov, mazel Tov, mazel Tov. Everyone standing around over there is a little bewildered, like what's going on? How do you know this cab driver? What's going on? So this is the story behind it.

13:40
The rabbi was in a cab, this cab, he was driving him around the whole day, here to there, here to there. And the rabbi forgot his bag in the taxi. So they're calling frantically trying to figure out where this is where this cab driver is. They can't track him down. They have no idea who he is. Some random cab, they just hailed down a cab and he was driving him the whole day. Okay, but the cab driver, when he noticed that there was the bag in the back of the car, he went back to the hotel where he dropped the rabbi off and he goes to the front desk. He says listen, there's a rabbi who I drove around today. I don't know his name, but he left this bag. He said oh, we know that there's a rabbi staying in this hotel and they page to the rabbi's room.

14:34
The rabbi's son picks up the phone in the room. They said, hey, someone's here to bring you your bag. Like oh amazing, we were looking for the bag for the rabbi's briefcase and the son comes running down and he says no, no, no, no, I'm not giving you the bag, I'm only giving your father the bag. He says no, no, no, come on, he figured that he just wants a tip or something. So he pulls out $100, $200. He's like no, no, no, I don't want your money. He says okay, maybe he wants more money. Gives him $500, nothing. He says I want your father. Goes upstairs and tells his father listen, I know you're getting ready for bed already, but this guy's insistent, he's not giving me the bag unless you come downstairs.

15:25
The rabbi comes downstairs and he says Rabbi, I don't want the money, I want a blessing. He says my wife and I have been struggling and having children. I want a blessing from you, holy rabbi, that my wife and I will have a child, from you, holy rabbi, that my wife and I will have a child. The rabbi says what's your name, what's your wife's name, what's your mother's names? And the rabbi starts giving him a blessing. He says I'm going to pray for you every single day. The rabbi said of course I know who this guy is. I pray for you every single day. The rabbi said of course I know who this guy is. I pray for him every single day. I pray for him every single day.

16:18
This is a modern day, rabbi. This is not some Moses back at Mount Sinai. That's the virtue of a Torah Jew. That's the virtue. The virtue is that even some stranger who you've never met before needs a blessing. I'll pray for them every day. That's a Moshe virtue. That's a Moshe virtue. Moshe wasn't too holy, too righteous. Me be busy with them. Give me some private time so that I can prepare myself for my death.

16:57
No, moshe was a man who was completely dedicated to a task, the task of taking care of the Jewish people. And that's why the Torah tells us that there was no one, no one more humble than Moshe. Why was there no one more humble than Moshe? Because Moshe understood I'm here on a mission. Hashem gave me a task. Hashem gave me a task. Hashem gave me a responsibility. I'm here to fulfill that task and that responsibility.

17:31
And that's why the eulogy for Moshe is only two words. Imagine how many things you can say about the greatest human being that ever lived. Days and days and days of eulogies. Right, you can have everybody say let me tell you a story and let me tell you a Two words, two words Eved Hashem, servant of Hashem.

17:56
Why, why, those two words? Look, the end of the Torah tells you Yom HaShem, moshe, and Moshe died. Eved Hashem, servant of Hashem, that's it. Say, just tell us in the Talmud, that what a servant acquires belongs to the master, because the servant themselves has no possessions. They belong to their master and therefore, everything they own belongs to their master.

18:25
Say, just tell, tell us, the greatest servant ever was moshe. Everything he did was for his master. This is what we should all aspire for, that we take every single moment of our life to ask ourselves what would hashem want me to do, moment of our life to ask ourselves what would Hashem want me to do? What would Hashem be proud of? What has Hashem given me this challenge? For how would he like me to succeed with this task, this struggle? This is what we are here for to ask this question, to learn from Moshe exactly how to do this. My dear friends, hashem should bless us all, that we should merit, that we should all merit to be servants of Hashem, true servants of Hashem, who are dedicated to His service, to dedicate our lives to fulfilling the mission of spreading the name of Hashem in the world. Amen.

19:33 - Intro (Announcement)
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