Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
בינה מלאכותית עלולה לטעות. יש לוודא מידע חשוב:
1. תפילה כהצהרת אמונה — התפילה אינה רק בקשת צרכים; היא ביטוי של היסוד החמישי באמונה — ההכרה שהשם לבדו משגיח על כל פרטי הבריאה.
2. דאורייתא לעומת דרבנן — בעוד שחובת התפילה היומיומית היא מדרבנן לרוב הפוסקים, תפילה מעומק הלב ב"עת צרה" נחשבת למצווה דאורייתא.
3. סולם התפילה — תפילת שחרית בנויה כעלייה הדרגתית: פסוקי דזמרה עוסקים בטבע, ברכות קריאת שמע במלאכים, וקריאת שמע עצמה באחדות ה'.
4. מהווה ומחיה — כוונה מרכזית בתפילה היא ההכרה שהקב"ה אינו בורא פעם אחת בלבד, אלא מחדש ומחיה את הבריאה מאין ליש בכל רגע ורגע.
5. ללמוד מהמלאכים — ההתבוננות בשרפים ובאופנים בברכות קריאת שמע מלמדת את האדם ביטול, כשהוא רואה כיצד אפילו היצורים הנעלים ביותר חשים ככלום מול האינסוף.
6. אחדות ה' האמיתית — אמירת "אחד" בקריאת שמע פירושה הכרה באחדות המוחלטת של ה'; לא מספר מתמטי, אלא מציאות שקודמת לזמן ולמקום.
7. המטרה: אהבה — תכליתה הסופית של כל התפילה היא לעורר אהבת השם עזה כל כך, עד שהאגו והרצונות הגשמיים של האדם מתבטלים.
8. יסוד העבודה — תפילה יומיומית חיונית כדי לחדש את הרגישות הרוחנית שלנו, ומבטיחה שה"אני" לא יאבד בתוך טרדות העולם הגשמי.
Enjoyed? Your feedback means a lot to us. Click here to email us: https://tinyurl.com/thanksEN
Anyway what can I do let's go. So we are doing I want to do something which is really interesting because I believe this is the מפתח Mafteach to truly understand דאוונינג davening. Now this is a letter by the by you have I hope you have the text. It's a letter of the right-hand man the secretary of the of the Lubavitcher Rebbe before the last his father Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. So this is Reb Chatzkel Feigin was his right-hand man. Now he this was a a a I think it was a quarterly that used to come out in Warsaw of ישיבת תומכי תמימים Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim of Lubavitcher movement it used to have חסידות Chassidus and גמרא Gemara and all the it was really very interesting thing to have I actually have the collection. And I decided because he writes in the simplest way he basically summarizes quite a few ideas and קונטרסים kuntresim by the different Rebbes. After we read this I will show you how all this lies in a letter of the בעל התניא Baal HaTanya explaining you know what what are we doing when we דאוון daven. And and you know there's something I've come to a conclusion quite a while back I've tried to teach this to my students now also. Like no one teaches you what דאוונינג davening is about. You don't what you're doing you know and I go to שולס shuls and I see what it's like. It's a problem and I think this is a this is very important. Just first of all reference if anybody owns a book called ליקוטי אמרים תניה Likkutei Amarim Tanya so there's in the back there's a thing called קונטרס אחרון Kuntres Acharon. And there there's a small מאמר maamar called הנה לא טובה השמועה Hinei lo tova hashmuah where he describes what he thinks דאוונינג davening should be. So anybody can get a hold of it. You know what I'll show it to you when we've after we've finished this article. So I want to read this together with you. It's quite I think it's quite clear because I think this is like הצלת נפשות hatzalas nefashos. So let's start. Well it all starts with one issue. We all know that in ספר המצוות Sefer HaMitzvos in מצווה ו mitzvah vav I think it is the רמב\"ם Rambam says that תפילה tefillah is a מצווה דאורייתא mitzvah de'oraisa. Daily תפילה tefillah is a מצווה דאורייתא mitzvah de'oraisa. As to how to say it that's דרבנן de'rabbanan but daily תפילה tefillah is דאורייתא de'oraisa. That's the פסוק pasuk ולעבדו u'levado איזו עבודה שבלב זו תפילה eizeh avodah shebelev, zu tefillah. The רמב\"ן Ramban and almost everybody else the תשב\"ץ Tashbetz the סמ\"ק Smak they all think that that's not true. The only time תפילה tefillah is דאורייתא de'oraisa biblical is only בעת צרה be'eis tzarah. If you ממש mamash need something okay you ממש mamash need something. For example if you have a sick person in the family and you're praying that's a תפילה דאורייתא tefillah de'oraisa. When we prayed for the שבויים shevuyim that's a תפילה דאורייתא tefillah de'oraisa. When we say אחינו Acheinu when we when we all really meant it when we said אחינו Acheinu that was a תפילה דאורייתא tefillah de'oraisa. And so on and so forth. I hope hopefully if you make the מי שבירך misheberach for חיילי צה\"ל Chayalei Tzahal that's a תפילה דאורייתא tefillah de'oraisa. A מי שבירך misheberach for חולים cholim is a תפילה דאורייתא tefillah de'oraisa but סתם אזוי stam azoy saying you know make sure there's rain in Israel when you're living in Los Angeles and that's probably just more traditional that's more that that's could it's a תפילה tefillah you're recognizing that rain comes from God but according to most ראשונים rishonim that would be a דרבנן de'rabbanan. Most ראשונים rishonim that would be a דרבנן de'rabbanan. So that's all what we're talking about. So let's look what it says over here. So he writes הנה במאמר שורש מצות התפילה Hinei bemaamar shoresh mitzvas hatefillah that's a very big article of 41 chapters מהאדמו\"ר mei'Admor from the אדמו\"ר Admor הצמח צדק HaTzemach Tzedek. The הצמח צדק HaTzemach Tzedek was a גאון גאונים gaon geonim. There's six volumes of תשובות teshuvos of him and פסקי הלכה piskei halacha. This was a tremendous עילוי iluy נדפס בספר דרך מצותיך Nidpas besefer Derech Mitzvosecha בתחילתו bitchilaso and this is what he writes איתא בשורש מצות התפילה Isa beshoresh mitzvas hatefillah יש מחלוקת yesh machlokes in the root of the מצווה mitzvah of תפילה tefillah there's a discussion an argument actually בין הפוסקים bein haposkim between the halachic deciders אם הוא מדאורייתא im hu mide'oraisa whether it's a biblical commandment או מדרבנן o miderabbanan or it's a rabbinic dictum. הנה Hinei behold רוב מוני המצוות rov monei hamitzvos most of those who wrote books on the counting of מצוות mitzvos which are א alef the רמב\"ן Ramban the תשב\"ץ Tashbetz the סמ\"ק Smak those those are the major players העלו he'elu they came up with a conclusion שאין תפילה בכל יום she'ein tefillah bechol yom that daily דאוונינג davening and נוסח התפילה nusach hatefillah obviously the נוסח התפילה nusach hatefillah which is basically comes from אנשי כנסת הגדולה Anshei Knesses HaGedolah with עזרא הסופר Ezra HaSofer היא מצווה דרבנן hee mitzvah derabbanan that's a מצווה דרבנן mitzvah derabbanan. The daily דאוונינג davening that you go it's a מצווה דרבנן mitzvah derabbanan. אך Ach מדאורייתא mide'oraisa היא המצווה hee hamitzvah שיתפלל אדם sheyispallel adam ויבקש veyivakeish לעת פני עיתים le'eis pinei eitim not daily prayer but when at times when there are need אשר יצטרך הדבר מן הדברים asher yitztarech hadavar min hadavarim. If you have a problem with פרנסה parnassah and you want to pray for פרנסה parnassah, so you say ברך עלינו Barech Aleinu. You have a court case and you want to make sure the judge is not going to be who knows what, so say השיבה שופטינו Hashivah Shofteinu. If you think you have to- you need extra סיעתא דשמיא siyata d'shmaya to understand the תוספות Tosafot, say אתה חונן לאדם דעת Atah Chonen l'adam da'at. I actually believe that השיבנו אבינו לתורתך Hashivenu Avinu l'Sorasecha is an עת צרה eis tzarah and that משתמע mish'tama is a תפילה דאורייתא tefillah d'oraisa. And סלח לנו אבינו Slach Lanu Avinu, for goodness sake, if you don't think it's your עת צרה eis tzarah, then you have a צרה tzarah. But- primarily סלח לנו אבינו Slach Lanu Avinu should be a דין דאורייתא din d'oraisa for everybody, let's be honest. Okay, but we'll let that go for a moment. So this is what he writes: וזהו מצות עשה דאורייתא שציונו השם יתברך בזה V'zehu mitzvas asei d'oraisa shetzivanu Hashem Yisborach bezeh. What did God command? שיבקש האדם זה ממנו יתברך לבד שיושיעו על זה Sheyevakesh ha'adam zeh mimenu Yisborach levad sheyoshieinu al zeh. God commanded that we always ask only from Him that He should save us from whatever these things that we need. וזהו משרשי האמונה V'zehu mishorshei ha'emunah. The idea behind it is one of the foundations of faith. שעל ידי זה ידע ויבין She'al yedei zeh yeida v'yavin. Through this he will know and he will understand שהשם יתברך לבדו SheHashem Yisborach levado, that it is God, blessed be He, He alone, and no other- no other power, המנהיג עולם ומשגיח בכל פרטי בריותיו Hamahig olam u'mashgiach bechol pirtei briyosav, which leads the world and He supervises all the minutiae of the different creatures. כי לו לבדו היכולת להושיע Ki lo levado hayacholes l'hoshia. The only one who can help you is God. And that's what you're doing when you're praying. So he believes it's a מצוה דאורייתא mitzvah d'oraisa. It's not just a מצוה דאורייתא mitzvah d'oraisa of תפילה tefillah, it's also a declaration of faith that you totally understand that You are the- You are the entity which is the source of it all. Now this is based on a- in the fifth principle of- in- in- in the הקדמה hakdamah of פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos, if you look at שמונה פרקים Shemonah Perakim. So, excuse me, in the משנה חלק Mishnah Chelek, in the last פרק perek of סנהדרין Sanhedrin. So this, שהוא לבדו משגיח והכל Shehu levado mashgiach v'hacol, that's the fifth שורש של אמונה shoresh shel emunah. That's what he's talking about. The תפילה tefillah is an expression of the fifth יסוד yesod of your אני מאמין Ani Ma'amin. Okay, so that's what the צמח צדק Tzemach Tzedek writes. So he writes that basically most think it's דרבנן d'rabbanan except for an עת צרה eis tzarah. Now here the question has to lie between you and me: what is supposed- what should naturally for an עובד השם oved Hashem, for a person who wants to grow in religion, be defined as an עת צרה eis tzarah? Is it only an עת צרה eis tzarah בגשמיות b'gashmiyus or also an עת צרה eis tzarah ברוחניות b'ruchniyus? And the fact that it's not an עת צרה eis tzarah ברוחניות b'ruchniyus is something which one should pray of. That is a problem. You're in a hole. One has to ask carefully: what is the עת צרה eis tzarah? If you don't think you're in עת צרה eis tzarah, if you're quite complacent with going to a מנין minyan that if you breathe, if you have asthma, you'll never finish on time, because they- by the time you finish ברוך שאמר Baruch She'amar, they will be at the end of גאל ישראל Ga'al Yisrael. If you don't understand you're in עת צרה eis tzarah, you got yourself a problem. We're always- can I just- we're always in a hole, we're always praying for something. I'm talking about well, some- some people, משמע mash'ma from the אשרי Ashrei they are not really in an עת צרה eis tzarah. They don't have a problem with השיבה שופטינו Hashivah Shofteinu at this stage. I don't think that you are really all day think, \"Oy, am I- am I in major duress because the system of- the system of jurisprudence is not the סנהדרין Sanhedrin?\" Do you really suffer from that? Do you need it at this stage? Is that true? Is it true that you miss בנין ירושלים Binyan Yerushalayim in a way that it's an עת צרה eis tzarah for you? We're talking עת צרה eis tzarah. That's an interesting question. If you ממש mamash miss Jerusalem and you're ממש mamash dying for the מלכות דוד malchus Dovid, you want to get rid of your democracy and have a monarchy, then you say את צמח דוד עבדך מהרה תצמיח Es tzemach Dovid avdecha meherah tatzmiach and you really mean it. I'm not sure- I would suggest that most of שמונה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei is- is not an עת צרה eis tzarah for most people. הלואי Haleivai it should be, you know, I totally agree with you, הלואי הלואי haleivai haleivai that השיבנו Hashivenu, at least השיבנו Hashivenu and סלח לנו Slach Lanu should be an עת צרה eis tzarah. I'm not sure it is. I'd rather leave it in that fashion, not- not say things, you know, my name is Emile Zola and I'm not going to go say J'accuse, you know what I mean? I'm not going to start point fingers in the world. But yet, this is an issue. This is the issue. To what extent is your תפילה tefillah, your life an עת צרה eis tzarah which therefore constitutes the תפילה tefillah as תפילה דאורייתא tefillah d'oraisa? There's a big נפקא מינה nafka mina. הנה Hineh, מהנחה זו m'hanachah zo, from this basic understanding, יצא לנו מושג במהות התפילה yeizei lanu musag b'mahut hatefillah. By understanding the תפילה tefillah is based on עת צרה eis tzarah and that's דאורייתא d'oraisa, this should give us a- a footing in the essence of the מצות תפילה mitzvas tefillah. כי גוף המצוה דאורייתא Ki guf hamitzvah d'oraisa, the basic mitzvah, biblical mitzvah, כי בעת שיצר לו לאדם ki b'eis sheyeitzer lo l'adam, when man is in angst, he's in dire straits, יצר לו yeitzer lo, he's in narrow straits. That's what it means. יצר יהיה לו צר yeitzer yihiyeh lo tzar. He'll be he'll be constricted. ובחסר לו איזה דבר uvchaser lo eizeh davar, thus he is deficient of something. יבקש מהשם יתברך yevakesh meHashem yitbarach, he will ask from God blessed be He, כי יעזור לו ki ya'azor lo, that He should help him, וימלא חסרונו veyemalei chisrono, and he should fulfill that which he's missing, that that which he needs. ובזה מקיים המצווה דאורייתא uvzeh mekayem hamitzvah de'oraita. So the real thing on the table is, you know you said such a beautiful thing. We all are praying for things that we need. I agree. Okay, yeah, but most of it's going to run around ברכנו barechenu. I need more money. Or I need health. Yeah, health, health is very good. But there's no ברכה bracha, there's no תפילה tefillah there for נחת nachas from the kids. Okay, maybe that goes into the refrain רפאנו השם ונרפא refa'enu Hashem venerafei, I'm not sure. You know, all about health. It's about health and wealth, that's what it's about. Or maybe שים שלום sim shalom, the pursuit of happiness. Okay, but the here's the question: ובזה מקיים ויש לו מצווה לכן מדאורייתא uvzeh mekayem veyesh lo mitzvah lachen mide'oraita, שאין למצווה זו זמן קבוע ונוסח קבוע she'ein lemitzvah zu zman kavua venusach kavua. It's because this is a בקשת עת צרה bakashat et tzarah, so there's no way it can be said you must do it at any specific time or a different way of saying things. דאורייתא de'oraita, כי הכל תלוי לפי עניין החיסרון שחסר אדם ki hakol talui lefi inyan hachisaron shechaser adam. You pray to the extent that things are you're deficient of it. ובעת וזמן אשר יחסר לו uve'et uzman asher yechsar lo. So it makes sense that when you feel something which is missing at that time you express your feelings in your way to put it down into a ritual that everyone says the same thing, everyone means this in these words. That is not what the דין דאורייתא din de'oraita is. The דין דאורייתא din de'oraita is self-expression of a subjective deficiency. רק חז\"ל תקנו להתפלל ג' פעמים בכל יום rak Chazal tiknu lehitpalel gimmel pe'amim bechol yom, וקבעו נוסח קבוע vekavu nusach kavua. רמב\"ם Rambam says the reason being in הלכות תפילה Hilchot Tefillah because people at that point of time in Babylon had lost their Hebrew, they speak the language base Aramaic. Even worse, it was it was more like a, it's like in Brooklyn they speak English. You know, I I it's it's like it's like Yiddish-speak. It was not a לשון נקי lashon naki and they felt that it's not proper you're talking to הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu. You're going to go visit the King today, this I don't know about him, the Queen זכרונה לברכה zichrona livracha, you practiced your English, you spoke eloquently, you spoke per- perfectly out of respect, okay? So people simply did not master the language and did not know the rhythm of language, so they gave them a basic rhythm of language for them to express your feelings in proper in proper articulation. That's what the רמב\"ם Rambam writes at the beginning of הלכות תפילה Hilchot Tefillah. That's what עזרא ואנשי כנסת הגדולה Ezra ve'Anshei Knesset HaGedolah did. Okay, but but that does not take away from the what if you want to be מקיים דאורייתא mekayem de'oraita that you really have to put yourself in there, it's got to be some expression of my necessities. That's the key idea behind that here. Okay, in other words, when you say ברכנו barechenu because the לשון תפילה lashon tefillah is לשון רבים lashon rabim for כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, that won't be the דאורייתא de'oraita. The דאורייתא de'oraita will be it means for all them ואני בתוכם ve'ani betocham because I need this. So you may be adding, I guess most people do too, but at the end of the day it has to be your expressing your necessities and talking to God about your what you need. והנה לכאורה יש להבין vehineh lichora yesh lehavin. One really has to try to understand מה ראו חז\"ל על כך mah ra'u Chazal al kach. Why did חז\"ל Chazal do this right בלשון רבים belashon rabim at specific times and and a certain liturgy? מה הביאם לתקנה זו mah hevi'am letakanah zu? והרי veSharei, here he says a very interesting truth: כל תקנות חז\"ל kol takanot Chazal, כל תקנות של חז\"ל kol takanot shel Chazal, they don't just make things. If they would just make something new it would be בל תוסיף bal tosif. That's מפורש meforash רבינו דוד בונפיל Rabbeinu David Bonfil in סנהדרין Sanhedrin and a רמב\"ם Rambam in the הקדמה hakdamah. בשביל איזה גדר וסייג לאיסור דאורייתא bishvil eizeh gader vesiyag le'issur de'oraita. Basically to protect the the perimeters of a דין דאורייתא din de'oraita או לזיכרון איזה נס o lezikaron eizeh nes, which is fulfilling a religious value, to be מודה modeh to הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu על הנס al hanes. It's not a מצווה דאורייתא mitzvah de'oraita, anyone who thinks it's a מצווה דאורייתא mitzvah de'oraita the הלל Hallel you should check your גמרא Gemara. What it is, it's a it's a major religious value expressing אהבת השם ahavat Hashem ואמונה בהקדוש ברוך הוא ve'emunah beHaKadosh Baruch Hu. As I mentioned in different classes, there are certain things that God left out of the realm of commandment expecting you to do it as a value. We discussed this multiple times in the past as we know that a commandment is it's you fulfill the obligation just with mechanical activity. To fulfill a value that means He expects you to identify with it. So actually it's quite demanding to do fulfill biblical values. So one of the biblical values is שירה shirah for. Now there's a וידבר השם אל משה לאמר Vaydabber Hashem El Moshe Leimor sing שירה Shira at the ים סוף Yam Suph? No. Was the שירה על הים סוף Shira Al HaYam Suph a מצוה דאורייתא Mitzva De'Oraita? No, there was no מצוה Mitzva, there was no commandment. I read my Bible multiple times, there's no commandment. And we learn the דין Din of הלל על הנס Hallel Al HaNes from the שירה על הים Shira Al HaYam. Well, if that wasn't a commandment and this קל וחומר Kal VaChomer says this is also not a commandment, what was that? An expression of אהבת השם Ahavat Hashem, אמונה בהשם Emuna BaHashem, an appropriate thing to do, and therefore קל וחומר Kal VaChomer, it is appropriate to do also that. That's what I want us to understand what this is. To say that this is a מצוה דאורייתא Mitzva De'Oraita is I really don't begin to understand how there are certain rabbinic figures that think it is. I am totally clueless on that. I honestly don't think it is, at least as much as I know my גמרא Gemara. Anyway, so going back to that, חז״ל Chazal don't just make things up. They have to be either זכרון הנס Zikron HaNes because that's going to be a דין Din, it'll be a סייג דאורייתא Syag De'Oraita. For example, the רמב״ם Rambam writes what is the idea of reading the מגילה Megilla? He says the idea of reading the מגילה Megilla is basically to fortify the belief that קרוב השם לכל קוראיו לכל אשר יקראוהו באמת Karov Hashem Lekhol Korav Lekhol Asher Yikrauhu BeEmet. That's what the רמב״ם Rambam writes in the מנין המצוות Minyan HaMitzvot at the beginning of the יד Yad. The purpose is to fortify your belief in the fact of השגחה Hashgacha and הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu actually listens to our prayers. That's what he writes. That is the major purpose of the תקנה Takana of קריאת המגילה Kriat HaMegilla. Interesting to know that, okay. It's not to make you fight עמלק Amalek, עמלק Amalek isn't around exactly, you can't actually fight him. But the idea is and if there wouldn't be that, there would be בל תוסיף Bal Tosif. You have to have, so there has to be a reason why they did it. What was the reason they added a משל Mashal? I can understand the language, okay. But why דוקא Davka this time of the day, that time of the day, that time of the day? It's very nice that it's כנגד הקרבנות Keneged HaKorbanot, but what's the התר Heter, just for a moment, what's the התר Heter for them to do this? It's בל תוסיף Bal Tosif. If it's not a סייג Syag and not a גדר Geder, what's the התר Heter? What's the התר Heter for שלוש פעמים ביום Shalosh Pe'amim BeYom? Who is מתיר Matir them to do this? They made a new הלכה Halacha which is not דאורייתא De'Oraita, not an extension of דאורייתא De'Oraita, it's a פראסטע בל תוסיף Proste Bal Tosif. That's the question. I can understand the language, it's גדר וסייג Geder VeSyag because people don't know how to דאוון Daven, so they decided to put up a liturgy. This I can understand. Okay, but what about זמנים Zmanim? It's a פראסטע דא Proste Da, what is this? That's the question he's asking. אמנם נוסח התפילה יש לומר בפשיטות להיות כי לא כל אדם כחו ודעתו יפה לדבר לפני המלך ובפרט לפני מלך מלכי המלכים יתברך Omnam Nosach HaTfilla Yesh Lomar BePshittut Lihiyot Ki Lo Kol Adam Kocho VeDa'ato Yafa Ledabber Lifnei HaMelekh Uvefrat Lifnei Melekh Malkhei HaMelakhim Yitbarakh. This is what רמב״ם Rambam says, אשר לא דומיה תהילה Asher Lo Dumiya Tehilla, it's actually if you can't say it properly, keep your mouth shut. That's אשר לא דומיה תהילה Asher Lo Dumiya Tehilla. וחז״ל VeChazal say מי ימלל גבורות השם ישמיע כל תהילתו Mi Yimallel Gevurot Hashem Yashmia Kol Tehillato. Who can say the גבורות Gevurot of הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu? He who knows how to say the total, who has the total picture of His praise. If you don't know כל תהילתו Kol Tehillato, so you can't say גבורות השם Gevurot Hashem. We are not people that can, so עזרא הסופר Ezra HaSofer put it together. As רב חיים מוולוז'ין Rav Chaim MiVolozhin says that all the כוונות Kavanot, the proper כוונות התפילה Kavanot HaTfilla are put in those words that covers כל גבורות השם Kol Gevurot Hashem. אכן תקנו נוסח קבוע שווה לכל נפש כולל כל צורך בני אדם ומביא את תקנת התפילה בכל יום Akhen Tiknu Nosach Kavuah Shaveh Lekhol Nefesh Kolel Kol Tsorekh Bnei Adam Umevi Et Takanat HaTfilla Bekhol Yom. But why every day? And why three times a day? Why every day? מאי חזית Mai Chazit, the whole idea of תפילה Tfilla is always all these what? Is because מדאורייתא MiDe'Oraita it's only בעת צרה Be'Et Tsara. Why were they מחדש MeChadesh a new דין תפילה Din Tfilla which is not בעת צרה Be'Et Tsara? That's the question he asks and it's a very serious, it's actually a question which is inferred already in a letter of the בעל התניא Ba'al HaTanya, but let's just leave it. עוד יש להבין Od Yesh Lehavin, we must also understand מה זה שקשרו חז״ל התפילה עם קריאת שמע וברכותיה Ma Ze SheKashru Chazal HaTfilla Im Kriat Shema Uverakhoteyha. Why did they connect prayer, which we know סתם Stam prayer is שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei, right, you know that by now, and they put it together with קריאת שמע Kriat Shema and its ברכות Berakhot? We're always סומך גאולה לתפילה Somekh Ge'ula LiTfilla, okay, and the whole idea of גאולה Ge'ula, the ברכות קריאת שמע Birkhot Kriat Shema are part of the קריאת שמע Kriat Shema. כידוע KiYaduah, the הלכה Halacha is that if you have a ספק Safek of a ברכה Berakha it's להקל Lehakel, but the ברכות Berakhot of קריאת שמע Kriat Shema if you were ספק Safek whether you did קריאת שמע Kriat Shema or not, so you have to say it together with the ברכות Berakhot. רבנו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah says because רבנן Rabbanan said that's the only way you can fulfill קריאת שמע Kriat Shema properly. ובכלל Uvekhlal what's the purpose The purposes of the ברכות berachot, what exactly are the purpose of the ברכות berachot which surround קריאת שמע Kri'at Shema? Why is it? It seems to be according to רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah and the הלכה Halacha, חז\"ל Chazal understood that this is the way you can be fulfill the מצוה mitzvah of קריאת שמע Kri'at Shema. It's not just a added ברכה berachah, these ברכות berachot which are ברכות השבח birchos hashvach, they're not ברכות הבקשה birchos habakasha, there's no בקשה bakasha, that's purely כולו ברכות השבח kuloi birchos hashvach. What do they... it seems to be you put it after קריאת שמע Kri'at Shema surround, bookended by this, this gives a different understanding of what you're supposed to attain with קריאת שמע Kri'at Shema. What is that? Okay. But it's very clear and then they said this, קריאת שמע Kri'at Shema and its context has to be together with שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreh. He also adds what פסוקי דזמרה Pseukei Dezimra? הקדימו לזה עוד פסוקי דזמרה Hikdimu le-zeh od Pseukei Dezimra. We know this is a later day development, originally even בזמן התנאים bizman ha-tanno'im, פסוקי דזמרה Pseukei Dezimra was not legislated. The גמרא Gemara says יהא חלקי מגומרי הלל בכל יום Yehei chelki mi-gomrei Hallel be-chol yom. There were special people which said פסוקי דזמרה Pseukei Dezimra which is גומרי הלל בכל יום gomrei Hallel be-chol yom, the פסוקי דזמרה Pseukei Dezimra, the הלל Hallel to הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu on the beauty of creation and and how everything depends on God. You read your פסוקי דזמרה Pseukei Dezimra carefully. Okay. It is funny that I see people that are מקפיד makpid on שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreh with כונה kavana and פסוקי דזמרה Pseukei Dezimra they don't mind doing it rat-tat-tat, you know what I mean? You got it all wrong, brother. You know what I mean? You can't say ברכות קריאת שמע birchos Kri'at Shema properly until you did ברכות פסוקי דזמרה birchos Pseukei Dezimra properly and then finally you'll be able to be עומד לפני המלך omed lifnei hamelech and do שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreh properly. What is it? What... there's a ladder here. גם הרש\"ב ובספרי על הפסוק לעבדו בכל לבבכם Gam ha-Rashab u-besifrei al hapasuk le-ovdo be-chol levavchem, serving Him with your total sense of emotion and focus. That's what the heart is, we discussed that in the past, when we say לעבדו בכל לבבכם le-ovdo be-chol levavchem. Well, the heart is a muscle. Why do we mean when we say עובד בכל לבבך oved be-chol levavecha? ואהבת את ה' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך Ve-ahavta es Hashem Elokecha be-chol levavecha ve-chol nafshecha ve-chol me'odecha. What does בכל לבבך be-chol levavecha mean? Okay. Without the דרשות droshes, just the פשוטו של מקרא pshuto shel mikra. With your whole heart. What's my heart? It's a pump. And the answer is because that pump basically was perceived in ancient times and also to the primitives of today as having the source of feeling, which is really not true. Okay. The nervous... your nerves are not ends are not in the heart and don't come from the heart. Your heart, though, is an indication of your excitement and total focus because then you need more oxygen for your brain cells and therefore it pumps more. So your pulse races. So the people understood that feelings come from the heart. The truth of the matter is the feelings come from the brain if you really want to know, from the nervous system which starts with the brain. But in order to facilitate that, that you shouldn't faint, the heart moves overtime in order to pump more oxygen into your brain cells and we all went to high school, so we all know this. Therefore, לעבדו בכל לבבכם le-ovdo be-chol levavchem means with your total emotional involvement and focus. That's what it means. Okay, so what is the idea of serving God with your total emotion and focus? This is קרויה עבודה שבלב זו תפילה kruya avodah shebalev zu tefilla. So what does it mean that the עיקר תפילה ikkar tefilla is not the words? The עיקר תפילה ikkar tefilla is the עבודה avodah. What is exactly the עבודה שבלב avodah shebalev in תפילה tefilla? Who of us has ever felt that he's doing עבודה שבלב avodah shebalev when he's... what is the עבודה שבלב avodah shebalev? What עבודה avodah are we supposed to be doing when we דאווען daven? This is the question on the table. What's the עבודת ה' avodas Hashem in the לב lev more than anything else? What, to do a מצוה mitzvah with כונה kavana? Every מצוה mitzvah could be done with כונה kavana. תפילה tefilla also has a דין של דיבור din shel dibbur, so מהיכא תיתי meheichaseisi, what's the what's the פשט pshat? What is the עבודה שבלב avodah shebalev seems to be part of what תפילה tefilla is, essentially part of תפילה tefilla, not just an added factor. כונה kavana of a מצוה mitzvah is an added factor. The כונה kavana of תפילה tefilla which will include מדרבנן mide-rabbanan פסוקי דזמרה Pseukei Dezimra, ברכות קריאת שמע birchos Kri'at Shema and קריאת שמע Kri'at Shema and שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreh, that's called עבודה שבלב avodah shebalev. What's the עבודה avodah? What do we call... I don't know, maybe you experienced it. This is a very... for me, this was, I remember when I saw this when I was like 13, it was like... it opened up my eyes. הנה על פי יסוד מאמרי חסידות Hinei al pi yesod ma'amarei Chasidut through multiple מאמרים ma'amarim of חסידות Chasidus of the רבי'ס Rebbe's in קונטרס התפילה הקדושים Kuntres HaTefilla HaKedoshim, there are two קונטרסים Kuntresim on תפילה tefilla written by Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneersohn, which was the... he was a contemporary of Rabbi Chaim Brisker, he passed away young at the age of 57. He was the... he was the father of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn which was the father-in-law of this past רבי Rebbe, the Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. He was a brilliant man, really a brilliant man. So he has two קונטרסים kuntreisim on תפילה tefillah, one קונטרס התפילה Kuntres Hatefillah and the other קונטרס העבודה Kuntres Ha'avodah. הלואי Halevai we would have כח koach to learn that, that would be unbelievable. As the רעבע Rebbe says over there, כי באמת פנימיות ענין התפילה ki be'emes penimiyus inyan hatefillah. What is the core of תפילה tefillah? It's not the words. הוא התבוננות Hu hisbonenus - it's contemplation, והכרה vehakara - and recognition equals totally understanding בגדולתו יתברך bigdulaso yisborach. The greatness of God. You stand and far you say these words, the idea is to contemplate them and think about them, probably before and during and after. That what? איך שהוא מהוה כל העולמות והנבראים Eich shehu mehaves kol haolamos vehanivraim. He's who brings all everything into existence at all levels of consciousness. עולמות Olamos does not mean the globes, doesn't mean the planets, it means levels of consciousness. מלאכים Malachim are not far, not spatial. They have the עולם olam of מלאכים malachim, עולם נשמות olam neshamos, עולם הבא olam haba. These are not spatial realities, these are levels of consciousness. So we understand איך שברא כל העולמות וכל הנבראים ומחיה אותם תמיד eich shebara kol haolamos vechol hanivraim umechayeh osam tamid. Not only did he bring them from naught into being, which is מהוה mehaveh, he also sustains their existence constantly. Now you have to think about that for two minutes. I'm looking at a cup of coffee. Who... this God is infinite and whatever the process is moved from infinity into a finite expression of self, and that he and that finite expression lies in the fact I now have a cup with coffee in it, and not just did he bring that into being, every iota of time he's willing it to continue. We discussed this multiple times, that's the פשט pshat in the way you say המחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית hamichadesh betuvo bechol yom tamid ma'aseh bereishis. That creation is an ongoing perpetual flow. It is not something happened x amount of years ago and now it's continuing, it's not linear, it's dot-dot-dot-dot. We discussed this. So he says this is the primary כוונה kavanah when you do פסוקי דזמרה Pesukei D'Zimra. What are you saying? איך שהוא מהוה כל העולמות והנבראים, מחיה אותם תמיד Eich shehu mehaves kol haolamos vehanivraim, mechayeh osam tamid. Not only did he bring them from naught into, from infinity into finite, but actually he sustains that existence. In other words, an ongoing, as the פסוק pasuk says in תהלים Tehillim in ק''ט Kof Yud Tes, לעולם ה' דברך נצב בשמים L'olam Hashem devarcha nitzav bashamayim. And this is אמת לעולם ה' emes l'olam Hashem. Forever God, דברך נצב בשמים devarcha nitzav bashamayim. This is already a מדרש Medrash in תהלים Tehillim that the God said יהי אור Yehi or, He is constantly saying יהי אור Yehi or, and that's why there's light. When God is now saying נעשה אדם Na'aseh Adam, and that's why you exist. That's what's happening here. So this he says, that's called מהוה ומחיה אותם תמיד mehaveh umechayeh osam tamid, מנהיגן manhigan - he leads us. Yes, he runs the show. You are pawns on his chessboard. ומשגיח על כל אחד ואחד בהשגחה פרטית Umashgiach al kol echad ve'echad behashgacha pratis. This is true, well according to the Chassidic doctrine it's true for דומם, צומח, חי, מדבר domem, tzomeach, chai, medaber. We who live with רבותינו הראשונים Raboseinu HaRishonim it's specifically only מדבר medaber and it depends on levels of your of your sanctity, we learned that in the past. Whatever it is, so what I'm getting here is literally the יסודות yesodos found in the רמב''ן Ramban at the end of פרשת בוא Parshas Bo. He's the מהוה, מחיה, מנהיג ומשגיח mehaveh, mechayeh, manhig, umashgiach. Those are the four things I'm looking for, I want to walk out of פסוקי דזמרה Pesukei D'Zimra with internalized total having that image in front of my mind. And if not, you didn't say it. And actually if you do say it, yeah, it's there. Okay, מחיה, מהוה, משגיח mechayeh, mehaveh, mashgiach and מחיה, מנהיג ומשגיח mechayeh, manhig umashgiach. וזה נושא הענין שמזמורי פסוקי דזמרה Vezeh nosei ha'inyan shemizmorei Pesukei D'Zimra. This is basically the theme, the ongoing theme of פסוקי דזמרה Pesukei D'Zimra. משליך קרחו כפתים לפני קרתו מי יעמוד Mashlich karcho kefitim lifnei karaso mi ya'amod. Hey brother, look at who brings the frost? What do you mean? The weather. No, God brings the frost. You just said no, you just said no, it's God that brings the frost. He feeds the animals. Did you say ברכי נפשי Barechi Nafshi on ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh? Read it. It's Him feeding the ants and the lions and the giraffes. Now you read it, read all of ברכי נפשי Barechi Nafshi read. Who clothes, who clothes the destitute? What do you mean? ביקור חולים Bikkur cholim? No, God. מלביש ערומים Malbish arumim. He makes sure that this happens. Do you realize what you do, if you read שמנה עשרה, פסוקי דזמרה Shemoneh Esrei, Pesukei D'Zimra you realize you're just, you're making movement. It's all up to, He runs the show. Read פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei D'Zimra seriously. That's what he says. It's very clear that the כוונה Kavana of פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei D'Zimra is to walk out of there with a total feeling of מהווה mehaveh, מחיה mechayeh, מנהיג manhig, ומשגיח u-mashgiach. ואחר כך Ve-achar kach and after you came out of פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei D'Zimra, which is and to say this in five minutes because after eight minutes you're already by ברכו Barchu if I recall I davened in Bergenfield you know what I mean, it doesn't work that way. No. The Rebbe writes in a letter, the בעל התניא Ba'al HaTanya, that he doesn't understand how שחרית Shacharit in a regular weekday for בעלי בתים ba'alei batim can be less than an hour and a half. That's what he writes in the letters at the back of תניא Tanya, says that's the minimum. Okay, of course it should take a good twenty-five minutes just to say פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei D'Zimra if you're looking and trying to see each פסוק pasuk there, is it the מחיה mechayeh, is it the מהווה mehaveh, is it the מנהיג manhig, is it the משגיח mashgiach. Just as I've told you once in the past, just thinking what the שם יוד קא ואו קא Shem Yud Kay Vav Kay means. You say it. What does the word יוד קא ואו קא Yud Kay Vav Kay mean? So the רמב\"ן Ramban says in פרשת יתרו Parshat Yitro we learned this: הווה קדמון hoveh kadmon, the primary existent, שממנו הכל shemimenu hakol, that all is an expression of Him, בחפצו ויכולתו becheftzo ve-yecholto. Now there's nineteen times of that name in הודו Hodu. Has anybody stopped nineteen times to contemplate you said ברוך אתה יוד קא ואו קא Baruch Atah Yud Kay Vav Kay? מי מהווה mi mehaveh? What are you saying? You are literally repeating nineteen times אתה מהווה את הכל בחפץ וביכולת Atah mehaveh et hakol be-chefetz u-veyacholet. Here you have the מהווה mehaveh. The מהווה mehaveh lies literally in the word יוד קא ואו קא Yud Kay Vav Kay. But how many people do you know do that? שבח מעשים shvach ma'asim. But that's the עיקר הדין ikar hadin. That's the עיקר תפילה ikar tefillah. Okay. ברוך אתה Baruch Atah, as you know, the חינוך Chinuch writes in פרשת עקב Parshat Ekev, you are the source of everything. It's not ברוך Baruch I bless you, it's not that people should, it means ברוך אתה Baruch Atah is a statement. That is found also in תשובות הרשב\"א Teshuvot HaRashba, also in כד הקמח Kad HaKemach of רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachaye in his פירוש peirush on topics on ערך ברכה erech bracha, also in his פירוש peirush in פרשת עקב Parshat Ekev in ואכלת ושבעת וברכת ve-achalta ve-savata u-veirachta. I'm quoting quite a few ראשונים Rishonim here, I'm not mentioning latter day saints: רמב\"ן Ramban, excuse me, רשב\"א Rashba, חינוך Chinuch, oh very important חינוך Chinuch, אבודרהם Abudraham, student of the טור Tur, in the beginning of פתיחה Petichah of הלכות ברכות Hilchot Brachot, where he writes specifically ברוך Baruch is a תואר to'ar. You're describing ברוך אתה Baruch Atah, you are the source of all ריבוי ribui, all source of multiplication, everything comes from You. The רשב\"א Rashba writes מפורש meforash in תשובה teshuvah, when you say ברוך אתה Baruch Atah you're saying You're the source of everything and You need nothing, You're the giver and not the taker. It's called מחיה ומהווה mechayeh u-mehaveh. You're the source of everything and it's up to You to decide who's going to get what and when. That's the משגיח mashgiach and that's the מנהיג manhig. That's if you understand what you're saying. So this takes time, you don't just roll through this. So he says after you finally get to that stage of understand, you've internalized that, that's a process. It's a process of internalizing this, not just saying it. What emotions would you have if this would be? What would you feel if you really felt that wow, this is like, nothing has any meaning outside of God's will and He's unbelievable, this great God cares about me? Okay, I'm a little nothing. If I look at the galaxies, what am I? I'm less than a speck of dust in the great cosmos. I mean, you know, we know our, we should know our development of astronomy. The globe is a speck of dust compared to the cosmos and then the Jews are even less. And He did all this because He wants אדם adam, the homo sapiens, specifically the נפש הישראלי nefesh HaYisraeli be מודה אליו modeh eilav that הוא בראו hu bar'o. That's the לשון הרמב\"ן lashon ha-Ramban that כל תכלית כל הבריאה וכל המצוות שידע אדם שהקל בראו ויודה לו על כך kol tachlit kol ha-beriah ve-chol ha-mitzvot she-yeida adam she-ha-kel bar'o ve-yodeh lo al kach. You should live with that acknowledgment. רמב\"ן Ramban, the end of פרשת בא Parshat Bo. That is the purpose of all Torah and mitzvot and all of creation, to create lower levels of consciousness equals me, you, and our friends, that we should live with a constant acknowledgment that we are created forms of His will and it's His show. ידע האדם שהקל בראו ויודה לו על כך Yeda ha-adam she-ha-kel bar'o ve-yodeh lo al kach. That's the purpose of it. So when I daven פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei D'Zimra, if I internalize that, I'm justifying my existence. As I always tell my students, you know brother, you owe your mother a big debt. You were a colicky baby. And you know what? I was. Okay, I mean. And she all her morning sickness that was terrible, you know what I mean? Well, you had to justify that. The only way you can justify your mom’s morning sickness and the fact she had sleepless nights is if you יודע אשר קל בראו ומודה לו על כך yodeia asher kel bera’o u’modeh lo al kach. That was the first purpose of your being. But if you’re just eating hamburgers and then saying ברוך אדון העולם Baruch Adon HaOlam, whatever that means, you know what I mean? then there’s no הצדקה hitzdaka for your תורה Torah ומצוות u’mitzvos and anything. ובאחר כך U’bacharkach, after you attain that, that consciousness—and I repeat, that’s an עבודה קשה שבמקדש avodah kasha she’bamikdash because the more you learn the ראשונים Rishonim and ultimately even go deeper into מדרשים Midrashim etcetera to understand the depth of what these פסוקים pesukim mean and to understand the depth of what it means that the infinity express itself from finite, that’s a very cold statement, but there’s tons of literature in Jewish primary sources which deal with this, with the different process of the צמצומים tzimtzumim from the אין ayin to the יש yesh. There’s a whole, there’s a big full libraries with all this. The more you learn this, the deeper you understand it and the profounder you understand it, it takes years of training, your פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei Dezimra looks different and you actually somehow have an iota of a you become thirsty for Him. It’s literally the לשון lashon of the רמב\"ם Rambam. בשעה שיקנה דעה Besha’ah she’yikneh de’ah. What does the רמב\"ם Rambam say? רמב\"ם Rambam says כיצד הדרך לאהבתו? בשעה שיתבונן אדם במעשיו וברואיו הנפלאים והגדולים ויראה בהם חכמתו שאין לה לא ערך ולא קץ Keitzad haderech le’ahavato? Besha’ah she’yisbonen adam bema’asav u’beru’av hanifla’im vehagedolim ve’yireh bahem chochmato she’ein lah lo erech velo keitz. You see, wow, the wisdom of God, the complexity, and the infinite God cares and made this beautiful world for what? For you? Like why did he make an orange? You see, my mother used to love me eating oranges, she couldn’t stand me eating apples. Because oranges are like a ייקע Yekke made it. The slices there, it’s perfect, you know what I mean? It’s like you don’t, you grab an orange and bite into it, you take a slice and a slice. The peel is aesthetic, you peel it and it’s very nice you can still leave it there. An apple you eat like you munch it. This says my mother, she was from Germany, you know, she she appreciated oranges. That the פשט pshat when you say בחן בחסד וברחמים b’chein b’chesed u’berachamim. With חן chein. God cares about how things are presented. You see how beautiful it is? And why would he care? And he cares about you and your feelings and what kind of person you’ll be and you’re a speck of dust! And what did it take for an infinity to finally arrive to John Doe living in Bergenfield or Los Angeles or wherever it only be? That whole process ends up with you. The purpose of creation is not the מלאכים Malachim, not the שרפים Serafim. The purpose of creation is the אדם התחתון עולם העשייה שידע האדם שקל בראו ויודה לו על כך adam hatachton olam ha’asiya she’yeida ha’adam she’Kel bera’o ve’yodeh lo al kach. The purpose of reality is us. We’re the slum. We’re the bottom of the barrel and that’s the purpose. So let’s get this straight, so that’s פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei Dezimra. After we attain that appreciation at whatever level you try your best, the next stage is is ברכת קריאת שמע Birkas Krias Shema. Now what are you doing in ברכת קריאת שמע Birkas Krias Shema? התבוננות בפרטי הנבראים דצבא מעלה Hisbonenus be’pirtei hanivraim de’tzva ma’ala. Here you contemplate the different different types of מלאכים Malachim. I don’t want to say anything but does anybody learn טוב tov of the נביאים Neviim to understand the difference between שרפים Serafim and אופנים Ofanim? Ooh, the wheels and this burned up, thank you. But what does it mean? The חז\"ל Chazal told us to say these these פסוקים pesukim. The נביא Navi says these פסוקים pesukim. This is תורה שבכתב Torah She’bichesav. Okay? אופנים Ofanim, שרפים Serafim, it’s all פסוקים pesukim in יחזקאל Yechezkel or in ישעיהו Yeshayahu and no one bothers to know what it is. And as the אנשי כנסת הגדולה Anshei Knesses HaGedolah were מתקן mesaken this should be done specifically before קריאת שמע Krias Shema and why? Because the תירוץ teirutz is that you after you discussed the נבראים הקטנים nivra’im haketanim now you want to understand what does it mean צבא מעלה tzva ma’ala? And then after you understand what צבא מעלה tzva ma’ala is, you understand what a שרף Seraf is, what an אופן Ofan is with חיות הקודש Chayos Hakodesh, the holy animals. There was a group here, The Animals, they were a good group when I was growing up. Good music you know what I mean? House of the Rising Sun if you want to know. Okay but this is the חיות הקודש Chayos Hakodesh. I think it sounds like my class, the חיות הקודש Chayos Hakodesh, a bunch of חיות chayos. But that’s not what it means! So what what are you talking about? What are you talking about? I’m not even asking. I know that none of us understand what this is unless you sat down and learned it. This is סוגיות sugyos. We’re not דאוועןing davening. The purpose of דאוועןing davening is a appreciating exactly the terms and understanding what this is supposed to teach you and this is what he says. He says ברכת קריאת שמע Birchas Krias Shema is התבוננות Isbonenus בפרטי הנבראים דצבא מעלה b'pratei hanivroyim d'tzva maalah, גדולתם gedulasom, מעלתם maalasom. What is the מעלה maalah of A over B? And ultimately looking at them and they are בטל batel לבוראם יתברך l'voram yisborach. What does that teach me? Look at them and they feel naught and you feel you're somebody? This is the biggest שיעור shiur in humility you can think about. Do you have בקשות bakashos? These guys just have only one בקשה bakasha: איה מקום כבודו Ayay m'kom kvodo. It's all they care about and they're בטל batel. You know what שרפים seraphim mean? You know what שרפים seraphim means? That every time they come close to understanding they feel nothing. They're נשרף nisraf, they're נכלה nichloh. עיין במלבי\"ם Ayin b'malbim if you learn מלבי\"ם Malbim in יחזקאל Yechezkel and you... maybe we should learn נביא Navi, maybe we should. I don't know how you can דאווען daven without knowing נביא Navi. But this is פרטי הנבראים דצבא מעלה pratei hanivroyim d'tzva maalah, גדולתם gedulasom, מעלתם maalasom וביטולם לבוראם יתברך u'vitulom l'voram yisborach. And they feel totally annulled. I once... you know, sometimes I just look at the... there are certain books that make you feel that you don't know a thing. I'm not that stupid and I've read quite a few volumes, tomes in my life of the Babylonian, Jerusalem Talmud and whatever other Jewish texts there. I have to open one piece of חזון איש Chazon Ish and I feel like a little... like a Lilliputian compared to Gulliver, like a... like a יינגעלע yingeleh, a גארנישט gornischt. I feel בטל batel. תניא Tanya... the חזון איש Chazon Ish has got... and I don't feel that way of a lot of other חשובע ספרים chashuve sforim, but every time I open a חזון איש Chazon Ish I feel like... you know, it took the air out of my balloon. And he felt the same way when he read a הגר\"א Hagra. I read what he describes. In other words, I don't begin to understand what the הגר\"א Hagra was because I can barely understand a חזון איש Chazon Ish. So I can't even appreciate what the הגר\"א Hagra was. The חזון איש Chazon Ish probably with his היקף heikef of ידיעת התורה yidias hatorah could appreciate the הגר\"א Hagra and he was בטל כלפיו batel klapov. He had no sense of self when he discussed the הגר\"א Hagra. I feel just about the same way when I look at a חזון איש Chazon Ish. I'm בטל batel. Now think of this... now think of this, this I'm thinking about. So it says I don't know what the הגר\"א Hagra is. I know one thing, that the חזון איש Chazon Ish is בטל batel to the הגר\"א Hagra and I don't begin to know what he is. I don't know what a תנא Tanna is. I just know... I don't know what a תנא Tanna is. I see, I read them, I learn them a lot. I only know that the אמוראים Amoraim say אם ראשונים כמלאכים אנו כבני אדם ואם ראשונים כבני אדם אנו כחמורים ולא כחמורו של פנחס בן יאיר im rishonim k'malochim anu k'vnei odom v'im rishonim k'vnei odom anu k'chamorim v'lo k'chamoro shel Pinchas ben Yair. If they are perceived... if that's what אדם odom means, the תנא Tanna, then we are nothing more than a bunch of asses, donkeys, and not intelligent donkeys like פנחס בן יאיר'ס Pinchas ben Yair's donkey, which at least knew what טבל tevel was and what מעשר maaser was. We're really dumb jackasses. That's what we are. Okay. This is what the אמוראים Amoraim said when they... I don't know what an אמורא Amora is. I look at that. Then what do I look at when I see a רשב\"א Rashba? I can try to understand the words, but I can't encompass the persona, because the הגר\"א Hagra was scared of them. And I don't know what the הגר\"א Hagra was. I know what the חזון איש Chazon Ish was and he frightens me. That's the only one I can say I know. I read all his books, I read it all and I know ממש mamash he frightens me. I'm not joking when I say this. I'm not frightened of a בריסקער רב Brisker Rov. Even רב חיים Reb Chaim doesn't frighten me. No, no. חזון איש Chazon Ish frightens me. He פשוט poshut frightens me. פשוט poshut frightens me. You understand what I'm trying to say? So this is the same thing. I look at what I say ברכת קריאת שמע Birchas Krias Shema, if I'm מתבונן misbonen and I learn בעומק b'omek what's a שרף seraph, what's a חיה הקודש chayah hakodesh and I understand exactly what this one says: ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו Boruch kvod Hashem mimkomo. And this one says קדוש קדוש Kadosh Kadosh. And what do those words mean? What do they express in their station of who they are? You understand this is a very big סוגיא sugya. To learn סוגיות התפילה sugyas hatfilah is only if you learned it בעיון b'iyun do you... wow, that's the purpose. So you never really get to the purpose of ברכת קריאת שמע Birchas Krias Shema until you really understand the פרטי מעלת הנבראים העליונים וביטולם pratei maalas hanivroyim haelyonim u'vitulom. And their ביטול bitul is expressed differently. One is ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו Boruch kvod Hashem mimkomo, the other is קדוש קדוש קדוש Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh. It's only then... That's the first ברכה Bracha. What's the second ברכה Bracha over there in ברכות קריאת שמע Birchas Krias Shema? וברכה שניה u'Bracha Shnia השגחה Hashgacha והקירוב v'Hakiruv פנימי Pnimi בייחוד Bimychud לישראל l'Yisroel. That's ברכת אהבה רבה Birchas Ahava Rabba, אהבת עולם Ahvas Olam, call it what you want. So the first ברכה Bracha is saying this God which believe me these unbelievable... they have no sense of self. And that God, which they can't figure fathom, He cares about me and wants me to learn this book. This is God, this is crazy. So you know, this is unbelievable. Would you believe it, He cares about you? I always tell people you know, you're never alone because there's one thing, if you're alive that means He's thinking about you this time and wants you to be. That means what you do is important for Him. Don't ask me why, it makes no sense. But He does. Okay, so this השגחה Hashgacha והקירוב v'Hakiruv הפנימי HaPnimi המיוחד HaMiyuchad לישראל l'Yisroel. And that's how after understanding that He's the מחיה Mechaye ומהווה Mehave, משגיח Mashgiach, והמנהיג v'HaManig. And finally seeing the ביטול Bittel כלפי klapei הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, feeling a sense of total naught compared to the הקדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu, you look at the מלאכים Malachim, you look at the שרפים Seraphim, you look at the חיות הקודש Chayos HaKodesh and אף על פי כן af al pi kein, I'm less than a speck of dust and He does care about me. You know, at finally you've essentially rubbed away all your sense of ego and blown-up image of self, you've scrubbed your face with Ivory soap, that's what you've done by now. There's... what's left of you is עפעס א נשמה דא eppis an neshama da. Then you scream ייחוד השם yichud Hashem פסוק ראשון Pasuk Rishon של קריאת שמע shel Krias Shema, what does that mean? What are you doing now? התבוננות Hisbonenus באחדותו b'Achduso האמיתית HaAmitis. What does word האמיתית Amitis mean? Anybody learning רמב\"ם Rambam פרק א' Perek Aleph הלכות יסודי התורה Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, it means absolute. רמב\"ם Rambam discusses, anybody learns when you say השם אלקינו אמת Hashem Elokeinu Emes, ודברו אמת וקיים לעד v'Dvaro Emes v'Kayam l'Ad, doesn't mean it's the truth not a lie, means it's absolute existence. Read רמב\"ם Rambam the first five הלכות Halachos in פרק א' Perek Aleph הלכות יסודי התורה Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah. So you're talking about the absolute oneness of God. Equal not one of numbers, not one that could be fractured, it's a pure oneness which is a philosophical term. It's not the one of numbers which is nothing more than a category of what you would call mathematically infinite fractures. But even the word infinite in mathematics is not really infinite, it's nothing more, as long as there's time and space so you can fracture things. Take away time and space there won't be numbers. Infinity is that which precedes time and space. The infinity of God is not the infinity of numbers. So when you say אחד Echad that means the one not of numbers. That anybody מתפלל davens the נוסח עדות המזרח Nusach Edos HaMizrach well then you say originally פתח אליהו Pasach Eliyahu which is the הקדמה hakdama to תיקוני זוהר Tikunei Zohar and so the נוסח Nusach there's אנת הוא חד ולא בחושבן Ant Hu Chad velo bechushban but not the one of numbers. So when you say אחד Echad in קריאת שמע Krias Shema your כוונה kavana should be you are one but not the one of numbers. You're pure oneness. Now you know how much there is to learn about that? Think about that. And that's the קיום מצוה kiyum mitzvah of אנכי ה' אלקיך Anochi Hashem Elokecha. אנכי ה' אלקיך Anochi Hashem Elokecha is exactly that, אחדות Achdus. You really have to learn your מורה נבוכים Moreh Nevuchim or you have to learn multiple other disciplines of תלמידי הרשב\"א Talmidei HaRashba ורמב\"ן v'Ramban etcetera which discuss these things at length. That's how you מתפלל daven until what happens at the end after all this? So this is a progressive reality. First is the God which cares about me in פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei d'Zimra. Then finally there's the God which is so great that even מלאכים ושרפים Malachim v'Seraphim and you understand what they are, they are naught. That's what it says... I tell you the חזון איש Chazon Ish but a young בחור bachur who doesn't know what the חזון איש Chazon Ish is, I just said nothing. But if you know who the חזון איש Chazon Ish was then you כאפ chap your ביטול bittel in front of the גר\"א Gra. But first you have to know who the חזון איש Chazon Ish was. For that you have to learn ש\"ס Shas. It doesn't happen without that. So ממילא memela the same thing is here, it's only after you learn these סוגיות בעיון sugyas b'iyun that you know what these פסוקים Pesukim are saying. Then you can come to one unbelievable thing. What's the purpose of the whole שפיל spiel from פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei d'Zimra to ברכת קריאת שמע Birchas Krias Shema to קריאת שמע Krias Shema to get to the פסוק Pasuk of ואהבת את ה' אלקיך v'Ahavta es Hashem Elokecha. ואהבת v'Ahavta is not just a commandment, it's also a statement as the צמח צדק Tzemach Tzedek says and you do this properly ואהבת v'ahavta and you will love God בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך bechol levavcha u'bechol nafshecha. You won't have any other sense of existence outside of Him. Do you know there's no מצוה mitzvah to get yourself killed על קידוש השם al kiddush Hashem? What's the מצוה mitzvah? Show me a מצוה mitzvah says get yourself killed. No. The מצוה mitzvah is love God to the extent that you won't be able to live with the denying His existence. That's the מצוה mitzvah of קידוש השם Kiddush Hashem. ואהבת את השם אלוקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאודך V'ahavta et Hashem Elokecha bechol levavcha u'vechol nafshecha u'vechol meodecha. These are aspects of God, equals love God like Romeo love Juliet. Love God to an extent you can't live if living is without you. Alan Goodnember, right? That was a good song. Right? That's what it is. That's ואהבת את השם אלוקיך V'ahavta et Hashem Elokecha. Who even got there? But that's the purpose, that's the purpose of the whole ladder. That's what you're doing, that's פסוקי דזמרא Pesukei D'Zimra, that's ברכות קריאת שמע Birchos Krias Shema and קריאת שמע Krias Shema. Because how you going to attain total appreciation for the oneness of God unless you understand that everything else is meaningless? You've basically pointed out even the חיות הקודש chayois hakodesh are בטל batel, it's meaningless. They have no existence outside of His as much as He gives them existence. And since they get, they can't even comprehend who He is. And that's what we're talking about, עד שמכל זה יתעורר האדם באהבה אליו יתברך ad shemicol ze yisoer haadam b'ahava eilav yisborach. That's the goal of דאוונען davenen. The goal of דאוונען davenen is basically appreciating the place of God in His relationship with creation, and understanding literally if now you go back to the first five הלכות halachos in הלכות יסודי התורה Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, describe me exactly this process is described there in different language. And that's the purpose you're doing every day by דאוונען davenen. Hate to say it, there's a sense of annulment of the I and seeing yourself in the whole world in creation as nothing more than an expression of the infinite God. And so He wills. Why is another question we can deal with that some other times. It's called ביטול bittel. It's called appreciation, He's the מנהיג Manhig, He's the בורא Borei and מחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית m'chadesh b'tuvo bechol yom tamid ma'aseh bereishis. Even the idea of time, of past, present and future is because He wills such a perception of reality. Should He stop willing it there won't be time. There won't be a past, there won't be a present, there won't be a future. The whole idea will cease to exist. לפי זה L'fi ze, continues the next paragraph, הרי התפילה בפנימיות harei hatfillah b'pnimiyus, what is the inner core of דאוונען davenen? ענין Inyan, I'm talking about שחרית Shacharis here, we haven't got to מנחה Mincha and מעריב Maariv, שחרית Shacharis. עניינה אין זו מצווה פרטית Inyana ein zu mitzvah pratis, it's not just do a מצוה mitzvah like putting on ציצית tzitzis, רק הוא יסוד כל התורה והמצוות rak hu yesod kol hatorah v'hamitzvos. This is basically internalizing the foundation of all התורה והמצוות Torah u'mitzvos, total everything annulling everything in front of God and attaining אהבה ויראה ahava v'yirah. כי הרי לימוד התורה לשמה Ki harei limud hatorah lishma, if you're doing לימוד התורה לשמה limud hatorah lishma for the right purpose, we'll leave it at that, וקיום המצוות לשמו יתברך v'kiyum hamitzvos lishmo yisborach, and you're doing קיום מצוות kiyum mitzvos for the purpose of of God's will and לשמו יתברך lishmo yisborach, באמת b'emes, if it's supposed to be in absolute reality and not a wishy-washy something like it, הוא דווקא על ידי אהבת השם hu davka al yedei ahavas hashem. It's only a person which has pure אהבת השם ahavas hashem which whatever he does is done לכבודו יתברך lichvodo yisborach. Everything is done for Him. You say in שמונה עשרה Shmona Esrei every day מביא גואל לבני בניהם למען שמו באהבה meivi goel livnei veneihem l'maan shmo b'ahava. You say basically you understand the purpose of redemption is not you, not the world. It's for His for His purpose. למען שמו L'maan shmo is His agenda. He brings the redemption because not because we are nice, not because He wants to heal us because He wants He wants His name to be expressed. He wants this. He does it in a loving fashion באהבה b'ahava. But the purpose is not because He loves you. The purpose because He has an agenda למען שמו l'maan shmo. Anybody used to learning יחזקאל Yechezkel knows it's a constant theme where where he says למען שמי למען שמי ולא למענכם אמר השם l'maan shmi l'maan shmi v'lo l'maanchem amar Hashem. I'm not doing things for you. Whatever I'm doing I'm doing for my purpose. But I'm doing it but I care about you. I'm doing it lovingly that you should feel good about it. But the purpose of your existence is not you but my is my agenda. This is what he says there to understand that the only way is דווקא על ידי אהבת השם davka al yedei ahavas hashem וכמו שכתב בתניא פרק ל\"ט כי כמו שאין אדם עושה דבר בשביל חברו אלא אם כן אוהבו u'k'mo shekasov b'Tanya perek lamed tes ki k'mo she'ein adam oseh davar bishvil chaveiro ela im kein ohavo. Why would I do things for for somebody unless I care about him? או ירא ממנו O yarei mimenu, or the opposite I care about myself and I'm I'm in awe of this person, כך אי אפשר kach iy efshar. לעשות לשמו יתברך באמת בלי זכרון והתעוררות אהבה la'asos lishmo yisborach be'emes bli zichron ve'hisorerus ahava. Unless you really have אהבת השם ahavas Hashem which means to say an obsessive desire for constant proximity, you will not be consistent in your religious behavior. Consistent why we lack consistency in our religious behavior, and I will include all of us in it without feeling bad about it, because we're not we don't have a obsessive desire for constant proximity with the אין סוף Ein Sof, with God. Because we're not engaging in ביטול היש bitul hayesh. It's crazy. How do you want to דאוון davven if you love if you really want to make sure there's maple syrup on your pancakes? How do you expect to דאוון davven if you care so much about גשמיות gashmiyus? It's the opposite of what דאוונינג davvening is. We just described what דאוונינג davvening is. How do you expect \"Oh Rabbi, I'm having a hard time דאוונינג davvening\"? He says, \"Yeah, of course, because you spent five minutes checking to make sure your tie is straight. Not because you want to look decent, because you want to look cool and suave.\" Okay? How much mind do you put into your חיצוניות chitzoniyus? If it yeah, what can I tell you? על פי זה יובן בפשיטות טעם התקנה להתפלל בכל יום al pi zeh yuvan bipshitus ta'am hatakana l'hispallel bechol yom. That's why חז\"ל Chazal were מתקן mesaken to דאוון davven every day. ויהי כי עניין התפילה יסוד עבודת השם v'hiyei ki inyan hatfillah yesod avodas Hashem. This is basically the foundation of any real עבודה avodah of הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu יום יום yom yom בלימוד התורה וקיום המצוות belimud haTorah vekiyim hamitzvos. ולבו של אדם פונה לענייני העולם velibo shel adam poneh le'inyanei ha'olam. We naturally gravitate towards things which we need. You know, we all go to work. Goodness sakes! This morning I spent from nine until כמעט שיעור kimat shiur, until 12, doing רופא חולים סומך נופלים ומתיר אסורים rofei cholim someich noflim u'matir asurim. I was, you know, in my confessional booth dispensing Hail Marys, you know, solving people's religious psychological issues, that's what I do. Helping people, that's a beaut- it's a very important thing to do, you know? I didn't think I was going to do that when I be- when I was teaching Yiddish גמרא Gemara. But that's the- it's a big part of the job. Big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big part of the job. Creating people and their minds and hearts. The גמרא Gemara is almost seems to be, I don't know, 20 percent. Yeah, 80 percent of the deal. What are you talking about? So you understand, this is real צרכים tzrachim. And people are פונה poneh to different things, to ענייני העולם inyanei ha'olam. And therefore they're totally, they walk away from the צורך הנפש tzorech hanefesh. ויצר מתגבר בכל יום veyetzer misgaber bechol yom. Come on, every day there's new challenges. על כן צריכים בכל יום התפילה al kein tzorichim bechol yom hatfillah. What for? לקבוע בלבו ההרגש באלוקות likboa belibo ha'hergesh be'elokus, to rejuvenate your sensitivity towards godliness, בגדולתו begedulaso in His greatness, ובאחדותו uv'achduso in His oneness, ובאהבה אליו יתברך uv'ahava eilav yisborach and אהבת השם ahavas Hashem. So therefore, you know, that's why חז\"ל Chazal were מתקן mesaken this, you know why? Because today without real תפילה tfillah, we don't live. ובגדולתו u'vegedulaso, we don't understand אחדותו achduso, and we're definitely not living 24/7 באהבתו b'ahavaso. We're basically not fulfilling the first רמ\"א Rema in שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch. The first רמ\"א Rema in שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch is שויתי השם לנגדי תמיד shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid. Your שחרית Shacharis is supposed to help you get there. Well, if that's the first רמ\"א Rema in שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch and that's the מצוה mitzvah of אנכי השם אלוקיך anochi Hashem Elokecha כמובא בספר המצוות kemuvah b'Sefer HaMitzvos and in the רמב\"ן Ramban there, that's the קיום דין kiyum din of אנכי השם אלוקיך anochi Hashem Elokecha. That's why you have to have a שחרית Shacharis. Find yourself a good מנין minyan. See you guys next time. We'll continue this. Bye. Okay. This was heavy, I'm sorry. Okay. Love you all, but this is important. Okay. Think about it. Any questions, I'm open for phone calls. Bye, take care. Bye. כל טוב kol tuv. Bye-bye.