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« Click here for summaries from the East Coast 2007
Los Angeles- 1
It is very nice that people come to hear an occasional inspirational speech. There is the benefit of public Torah study, as well as the practical suggestions that the listeners may come to implement.
Yet if we look at people's relationships to the material world, we see that they approach it very differently. No one would be satisfied with an occasional visit to his office for an hour. A normal person makes sure to approach his business more seriously.
Certainly, every hour of Torah study is invaluable. But do we take Torah seriously, or do we only grab an hour here and there?
Another example: If a person has a pain in his throat, and the doctor prescribes medication for ten days, three times a day, he would follow the instructions seriously, so that the problem does not get worse. Likewise, no one normal expects that his livelihood will be arranged all by itself, with no effort on his part.
But we have two parts, a body and a soul. We must take the soul just as seriously. Some people think that Torah study is only for the rabbi or for certain people who were born for it. However, it is not only the rabbi who has a soul! You have one too! You would not be satisfied with the fact that your neighbor earns a living. You need to do so, as well.
We must take the spiritual world as a reality. A person must begin to realize that he has two parts, body and soul. You must take care of your body's needs, and so must you take care of your soul's needs.
The first step is to realize that we have a problem. People usually give all sorts of excuses as to why they don't invest more effort into their souls. But excuses at best can only save one from punishment; they cannot give one Gan Eden (Paradise)!
If we would see Gan Eden as a real entity, we would not be satisfied with our excuses. For example, as the Chafetz Chaim teaches, the mitzvot are like garments for the soul, and one void of mitzvot will be as unclothed in the future world. Would anyone walk around with no clothing in this world, just because he has excuses for not being able to buy any? If you need to pay the water bill to keep running water in your house, you will find a way to do it, because you see there is a real problem, and you will find a solution.
You will not find that anyone needs to give a class about the importance of earning money. Yet people do need to give classes about improving spiritually. It's great that at least people show up, but really, the classes should be totally unnecessary.
We need to identify ourselves also as souls, not merely as bodies, and then we will see that we really have no choice other than to tend to the needs of our souls. It is not enough to hear this one time if one is to really change. This would be comparable to earning a dollar a month. How much will that help? This is why we find that most people at age 70 are not much greater than they were at 20.
Many people feel that they cannot function without their morning cup of coffee. How many people feel that they cannot function without davening (praying) in the morning? When drinking your morning coffee, you should consider that just as the body has needs, so does the soul.
I am not saying that you should quit your job. But logically, if you have a soul with needs, shouldn't the soul receive half of your efforts? This is like an equal partnership in which one partner gives the other a small percentage of the profits. He is like a thief!
The first step is to realize that there is a real problem here. After that, you must look for a solution. You cannot expect that someone else will help you without any of your own efforts. The law is that you don't have to help someone unload and load his animal unless he tries to do it himself, and cannot. The same is true here. If you try on your own, and need help, others can help you. But first, you must take responsibility for the problem. Don't leave it up to the rabbi! Try first, and then ask for help.
Not every problem in the world has a solution. When there is an unsolvable problem, there are two ways to deal with it. Some people focus on the problem, and others forget about it, and turn their attention to other matters. In our case, even if one doesn't have a solution, to ignore the problem will only aggravate it.
Does our problem have a solution? The truth is that I have no solution. I cannot tell you to leave your job and trust in Hashem (God). If one is not on a high level of trust, it would be forbidden to tell him to stop working and just trust in Hashem.
I have no solution, but I have advice. When Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish people) were in Egypt, they knew of no way to escape. But they did not give up; they called out to Hashem. We, too, have no way to take care of body and soul properly. We cannot find adequate jobs that are for just half a day, so that we can learn Torah the other half. What, then, are we to do?
We must first understand that we have a problem. We must then know that it is our responsibility. Then, the problem must really pain us. What does a Jew do when in pain? He calls out to Hashem earnestly, and He will somehow help. If a person cannot sleep at night because he feels he has been unfair to his soul, and he really cries out to Hashem, He will certainly help.
A person must cry out to Hashem each day. When going to work, he should say, "I am tending to the body, but what about my soul?" He must cry out earnestly, and he will be helped.
Do not just rely on me; you can see this yourself. The mashgiach (spiritual guide) of the Ponevezh yeshiva said that it is not enough for us to read the book of Kohellet and see that King Shlomo tells that this world is empty. Each person must prove this to himself. Here, too, you must see the truth of my words on your own, and you will certainly be helped.
The world is getting worse and worse. We are becoming more and more steeped in the material world, with all of the technology that captivates us. But we have free will, and we must make the choice that we will not longer be dragged down by materialism, and then, as in Egypt, Hashem will help us.
Los Angeles- 2
When a person learns Torah, he must elevate himself completely. How is this done? How does Torah elevate more than the brain? True, as the Sefer Charedim writes, if one learns the practical halacha (law) and acts upon his knowledge, he can elevate the various parts of the body that are involved in the mitzvos. But not all parts of the body can be included even in this manner. And if the body is not elevated, there will be a stark contrast between the elevated mind and the lowly body.
There is one mitzvah (besides Succah) which involves the entire person: mesirus nefesh (sacrificing one's life for Hashem). This applies not only to dying for Hashem, but also to devoting the self to Torah study in a way that the body is deprived of extra comforts and worldly interests, and thereby elevated by the Torah. Without this mesirus nefesh, the body cannot be elevated by the Torah. Our connection to Torah comes from har Sinai (Mt. Sinai). When the Torah was given there, the souls of the Jews left them for a time. Also, the people needed to separate from their wives three days before the event, which symbolized their detachment from the material world.
We, too, to truly receive the Torah, must give up our lives for it and detach from the world. Mesirus nefesh is not merely an added element to acquiring Torah; it is essential. Ignoring it is like trying to buy an item without paying the price. We must separate from the material world and be different from the other people.
You must realize that Torah and the material world are opposites. One who decides to be a Torah student and learn in a kollel must commit to be devoted to Torah with mesirus nefesh and detach from everything in the world.
What is this detachment? Avraham Avinu was considered separate from the entire world, as demonstrated by the description "ivri," which means to be on the other side. How was he separate? After all, his acts of kindness brought him into contact with many people. The answer is that he had a completely different outlook than the rest of the world. Through his mind, he was able to be separate.
How can we be separate? One example is that we have no need to follow the news (if we are not personally involved in communal decisions). Likewise, the Chafetz Chaim said that there is no reason for most people to read the newspaper.
When the Satmar Rebbe visited the Chazon Ish, he asked how we can fulfill the Rambam's words (De'os 6:1) that one who lives in a bad environment must leave it and live in the desert. The Chazon Ish answered that we do so by staying in the Bais Medrash (study hall). But this is only true if we treat the Bais Medrash like a desert, with no interest in anything around us. But if we retain a connection to the world through our cell phones and such, we are not living in a desert.
Rav Yechezkel Levenstein once remarked that the yeshivos in his time were not producing gedolim (great Torah leaders) because the yeshivos had public phones, and people used them to be connected to the outside world. What would he say of the situation nowadays, with all the cell phones? A yeshiva student has no need for a cell phone. In our situation, Torah study cannot protect the world, because it is not learned under the proper conditions. You cannot grow properly in this way. With our involvement with the world, we are not learning Torah the way it was learned throughout the generations.
I trust that this is not a chiddush (novel idea) to you. A chiddush is not remembered for a long time. People remember things that are part of their way of life, like washing their hands each morning. You must decide that you belong to the world of Torah, and that will become your identity. To deny this possibility is to deny the principle of free will. We certainly can change, although we will be different from other people. We must make a very clear commitment to be part of the world of Torah and to separate from the other world.
Why have we not improved greatly from our years of Torah study? The Chazon Ish wrote that Torah study enables one to daven (pray) properly. Why don't we find this to be the case? The answer is that we are not properly connected to Torah. It is not the tefillah that is the problem, it is our Torah! If our Torah would detach us from the world, the worst distractions we might have in tefillah would be Torah thoughts, but not thoughts of the world. If you want to determine your real spiritual level, notice what you think about when you are trying to daven!
Another sense in which the Torah and tefillah are interconnected, according to the Chazon Ish, is that one should daven to Hashem for help in understanding difficult points in Torah. In this way, the Torah will be connected to Hashem. Torah, in its true form, must be connected to the person and to Hashem.
A person must feel as if he is living in a desert. What if the news was all about the cats in your area? Would you care about them? The same is true with all the other people here. They have nothing to do with you. Inwardly, you might as well be in a desert. You have no need to know what's going on here. You will find out what you need to know. It is not difficult, but you need to change your habits.
We are separate from the nations and should not be interested in them. We should also not care about any internal Jewish politics. This has nothing to do with us!
Certainly, we must take care of our families, but we need not think about this too much. If we were not too connected to the world, we would find the worldly endeavors unpleasant, and our thoughts in tefillah would be simple and pure. "Hashem made man straight, but they have sought many calculations" (Kohelles 7:29).
Consider that you are in a desert, with all your needs provided for. You will not think about the rest of the world. Our world is not here; we are neshamos (souls)! The Bais Medrash is our world here.
These are not merely words of inspiration; this is about reality! Who are you, Who created you, and why? When you sense the answer, you will make the proper commitment, not unlike the commitment of marriage. In fact, the Torah is considered the betrothed of the Jewish people, and demands the same level of commitment.
When we approach Shavuos, we must attain a marriage with the Torah. We must make the total commitment to Torah, and then we can be worthy to attain this level. This must be considered a clear truth, and then it will have the right effect.
Los Angeles- 3
We are familiar with the concepts of Iyun (in-depth) and Bekius (learning for breadth of knowledge) in Gemara, and these methods exist in Mussar as well.
The Mesillas Yesharim writes that regrettably, the intelligent people do not apply their wisdom to the study of the Mussar. There is great depth there, and there are many commentaries, as with Gemara. We will try to explain the concept of Mussar in depth.
In fact, very few people appreciate the depth of Mussar. The Alter of Kelm wrote a book called Chochmah UMussar (wisdom and Mussar) because the two concepts are related. Likewise, he said that Mussar study requires three factors, and one of them is clear thinking.
Here is an example of a profound concept learned from a careful study of Mussar: Chazal teach us that the reason to be compassionate is not that it is a good trait, but that it is a trait ascribed to Hashem. We are considered Hashem's children, and we are to emulate our Father through His traits.
If we do not perfect our traits, our Torah is lacking, because Torah is supposed to bond us with Hashem, but traits that are different from the Divine traits prevent us from bonding with Him. The Gr"a writes that life is worthless if one does not work to perfect his traits. Even if he is learning Torah, the Torah will not have the desired effect.
If one learns Mussar in depth, if he finds that he lacks compassion, when he works to correct it, he will realize that he is not just improving his character, but rectifying his Torah study. The character improvement is part of his Torah study. With this perspective, it becomes more important to the person, since he knows that Torah study is so important.
Torah needs a proper receptacle so that one may receive it. Otherwise, it will not be absorbed within him. We must abandon the thoughtless habit of thinking that Mussar is separate from Torah.
We must realize that all of life relates to Mussar. Rav Eliyahu Lopian said that a half hour of Mussar is a minimum, and the maximum is two hours. What can one do for two hours? With the Ramchal's works, though, it is clear. The Mesillas Yesharim is a summary of all the Ramchal's deeper sefarim, such as Derech Hashem and Da'as Tevunos and one can spend much time with these sefarim as part of the Mussar study. These sefarim are vital for a true deep perspective on life, and they relate very much to the practical guidance found in Mesillas Yesharim.
If we are to attain a clear perspective in life, we must study Mussar in depth.
Los Angeles- 4
(This class was delivered in a Beit Midrash called "Od Yosef Chai [Yosef is still alive]," and so, the talk is centered on this section in the Torah.)
How is it that the Torah writes Yehudah's words to the viceroy of Egypt (Bereshit 44:20) that Yosef was dead? In fact, it was untrue, so it should not be written in the Torah. The answer is that in depth, there was a kind of death. Yosef's whole essence was kavod (honor). When he was born, Rachel named him Yosef, because "Hashem gathered in (asaf) my shame." The opposite of shame is honor, so Yosef's essence was honor. Likewise, he was the conduit for the Torah of Yaakov, and by revealing that Torah, he caused Yaakov's honor to be manifest. When he was sold as a slave, his personal honor and that of his father were no more, and thus, his essence disappeared, so he was as if dead. When he became viceroy in Egypt, he was again in a position of honor, and then, indeed, "Yosef is still alive."
As long as Yosef was alive, the kavod of Yaakov was manifest. After he died, the kavod disappeared, and the enslavement of Israel began. As long as we had kavod, there could be no galut (exile). The removal of kavod is identical with galut. Geulah (redemption), though, is more than just a return of kavod, and Yosef also symbolizes the higher level of gathering in and transcending the concept of honor.
To illustrate, to shame a person is tantamount to murder, because the soul is equated with honor (Tehillim 30:13). But if a person's essence is really only honor, a disgraced person should die, because his soul, his kavod, disappears. Rather, a person is more than his kavod. The inner essence is even deeper than kavod. Kavod is deep, but it is not the deepest essence of a person. Kavod only relates to others, but does not exist at all when one is alone.
When a person lives only with kavod, he is only focused on the relationship with others. Yet one must focus on his own essence. We don't only mean that one should not do things for the sake of honor. Kavod means to be focused on the outside, and the inner life requires one not to focus on outside entities.
The gemara states that rebbi did not look outside of his four amot (cubits). The depth of this is that he did not look beyond his own place, his own existence. Looking outward means that one leaves his own personal world. Each person is unique, with his own world. When a person envies another, even another person's positive qualities, he is looking outside of his own world if he only wants the qualities because he sees them elsewhere.
The proper way is to attain a level because of a personal awareness of the value of the level. You might see people acting a certain way, or read about it in a book. But you should attain your own recognition. The gemara states that if not that the Torah were given, we would have learned alacrity from the ant. But where does the Torah teach us the quality of alacrity? The answer is that we now have an inner light with which to learn such values naturally.
The Rambam (De'ot 6:1) writes that one must live in the desert. You can live with other people and yet be as in a desert. One can live on his own, without copying anyone else. The true life is when you build your own way of life with your own personal understanding.
This is the depth of "Yosef is still alive" even now. When he died, in other words, when his level of honor disappears, the kavod is gone, but this new level is higher than kavod. On this level, one lives based on his own awareness.
The influences in this world are very strong. The values are all wrong and our thinking can become distorted. The proper way is to discover the truth on your own. Then you will receive your own life from your own neshamah. Then you will merit being like Adam before the sin. He had no one to emulate other than Hashem.
The Geulah will come when we don't copy others, but live from our own discovered truth.
Los Angeles- 5
We find three times where the Torah refers to counting: counting the years to Yovel (the jubilee), counting the days for purification of a zavah (VaYikra 15:19), and counting the omer. But a zavah does not make a beracha when she counts. Tosfot (Menachot 65b) explain that with the omer, we can be sure that it will lead to completion, but the zavah might not become pure at this time.
With the omer, then, we are able to begin (and continue) with an awareness of the end. If we do not anticipate an end, there is no blessing (and no requirement to count orally, which is why the zavah need not count orally). In life, too, we must always maintain an awareness of the end, as the Rosh writes that one must always be cognizant of death.
We might ask: Chazal have taught us (Avot 2:16) that "you are not expected to finish the task." How, then, can one keep the end in mind if he will never reach the end?
If a person is ill, and there is no known remedy for his illness, that does not necessarily mean that he should despair of being cured. Often, there is ongoing research, and a cure might be discovered at a later time. He may want to begin saving his money for when it will hopefully become available. So, too, although one individual cannot single-handedly cause Mashiach to come, he should anticipate that it will come soon, and focus his actions toward that endpoint. Inwardly, a person must always yearn for that goal.
The value of this yearning is that he will have a completely different perspective on his actions. For example, if a person plans to move to a nicer home as soon as he can afford to, he will not invest more money in his current home than absolutely necessary. The opposite will be the case with someone who plans to stay in his home for many years. So, too, if we focus on the end (the times of Mashiach or our own deaths) our attitude toward this life and this world will be much different than if we were focused solely on our current state. We would be much less focused on material things. We would still take care of our needs here, but be aware that it is all temporary.
A person would not invest all his money in something unstable. Chazal in fact have advised that one divide his assets among cash, land, and merchandise. This world is unstable, and we must be aware of this fact not only with regard to money.
To illustrate: A person at a red light would not turn off his car engine, because he expects to move soon. But I was once in a traffic jam because the police stopped traffic for hours while they were looking for a criminal, and people parked their cars in the street and got out while they waited. Life is more like a car at a red light. We must be ready for any change in life. This world is full of drastic changes.
These changes in the world serve to remind us not to take the material world too seriously. We must focus on what has real permanence. For example, when a person seeks a wife, he is very careful, and he would not marry someone unstable, because marriage is a long-term commitment.
What has permanence here is the spiritual level. If a person seeks truth and stability, he must be aware of the instability of this world, and not take it too seriously, and on the other hand, connect to the permanent world of Hashem and the Torah. These relate to the eternal world. This awareness will enable us to accept the Torah properly on Shavuot and earn eternity.
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