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בינה מלאכותית עלולה לטעות. יש לוודא מידע חשוב:
1. ביטול עצמי בתפילה — יסוד עבודת התפילה הוא ההכנעה, שבה האדם מתקן את ליבו על ידי הפיכתו לכלי ריקן נטול פניות אישיות.
2. הגדרת כובד ראש — על פי המשנה (ברכות ל:), אין עומדין להתפלל אלא מתוך כובד ראש, שרש"י מפרשו כעניין של הכנעה ושפלות בפני הקדוש ברוך הוא.
3. דמויות מקראיות כמודל — אנו למדים את הצורך במרת נפש מחנה, ואת היראה מדוד המלך, שניהם מסמלים את אובדן תחושת ה"אני" העצמאי.
4. משמעות החרדה — המושג חרדה בתפילה פירושו להיות "קפוא" או ממוקד בעוצמה בגדולת ה', בדומה לפרפר הנמשך לאור, עד שכל שאר המחשבות פוסקות.
5. וגילו ברעדה — התפיסה של וגילו ברעדה מלמדת שאף על פי שאנו שמחים לעמוד לפני ה', אסור לנו להיות "היימיש" או לזלזל במעמד.
6. שיטת הרמב"ם בכוונת הלב — הרמב"ם פוסק שכובד ראש דורש מהאדם לפנות ליבו מכל המחשבות ולראות את עצמו כאילו הוא עומד פיזית לפני השכינה.
7. חובת ההכנה לתפילה — התפילה אינה "משאוי" שיש להשליכו; ההלכה מחייבת לישב מעט קודם התפילה ואחריה כדי להיכנס ולצאת מהמפגש עם המלך.
8. בירור ה"אני" במודה אני — אמירת מודה אני היא תחילת העבודה, והיא דורשת מהאדם להתבונן מי הוא ה"אני" האמיתי שלו לעומת דמותו החיצונית.
9. שבירת הדימוי העצמי — קל להגיע לשפלות על ידי התבוננות ביקום העצום לעומת קטנותנו, או על ידי הכרה ביצרים הבהמיים והתאוותניים שלנו.
10. הבחנה בין מרירות לעצבות — בעוד שמרירות על המרחק מה' היא חיובית, הרי שעצבות היא עבירה משתקת שמקורה בסטרא אחרא.
11. הפיכת התפילה לדאורייתא — כשמתפללים מתוך הכרה בחסרון ובתלות מוחלטת בבורא ("ה' שפתיי תפתח"), כל תפילה הופכת לתפילה בעת צרה שהיא מדאורייתא.
12. לא להיות שוטה — לאחר שבועות, עלינו להיזהר שלא להיות בדרגת שוטה, המוגדר כ"מאבד מה שנותנים לו", אלא לשמר את התורה שקיבלנו.
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That's the way it works.
Okay,
we're starting.
Okay,
we are in if you have the sheet it's the last paragraph of the
fourth column it starts וזה יסוד עבודת התפילה v'zeh yesod avodas hatfilla we did
it I just want to repeat this before I go further it's עמוד פ"ד
amud pe dalet and in brackets it says 720 on its right side over
there on the top.
That's where I'm up to.
So let's see we were talking about what we're supposed to be doing in
דאווענען davening and what it's about.
The discussion what we've brought up so far is that the purpose specifically of
פסוקי דזמרה pesukei d'zimra leading into קריאת שמע krias shema etcetera is to create
אהבת השם.
ahavas hashem.
And we're supposed to be דאווענען davening with a certain I don't know about
you I mean I'll be very blunt the בעל התניא Baal HaTanya writes a
person going to work a typical שחרית shacharis in a weekday should take 90
minutes.
He says he doesn't see how you could possibly do it with less.
I'm telling you the way it is you make your חשבון cheshbon I told
you already what to do you wake up earlier you get to שול shul
to make מנין minyan with שמונה עשרה shemoneh esrei but it doesn't mean you
didn't take an hour to get there.
Anyway so this says I'm going to read this paragraph וזה יסוד עבודת התפילה
v'zeh yesod avodas hatfilla this is the fundamental basis of our service of God
through prayer היא עבודה שבלב hi avodah she'balev it is the service of the
emotions of the heart.
עבודה הוא לשון תיקון.
Avodah hu lashon tikkun.
What does עבודה avodah mean?
It means to fix things to erect things to put things in place לתקן
l'taken לתקן עולם במלכות שקי l'taken olam b'malchus Shakkai God fixes up the world
that it should be a מלכות malchus for הקדוש ברוך הוא.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
What are you supposed to be מתקן?
metaken?
So he says what's the עבודה avodah לתקן הלב l'taken halev you're supposed to
fix yourself your emotional personality your דאווענען davening is supposed to make you feel
differently.
ולעשותה כלי ריקן v'laasosah kli rikan you have to be able to make yourself
an empty vessel devoid of everything to focus on what you're doing and to
realize you're just waiting for God to give what He wants to give but
you have to first walk away from self-serving feelings.
והיינו כי לבד השגה והתבוננות v'hainu ki levad hasaga v'hisbonenus outside of the fact
that one must contemplate of what we're saying and thinking internally thinking of what
we're saying there's another thing in תפילה.
tefilla.
מיסודי התפילה miyisodei hatfilla from the foundations of תפילה tefilla is הכרה בשפלות עצמו
hakara b'shiflus atzmo you have to realize how far you are from perfection.
Now where's the source of this idea?
I'm going to show you it's a גמרא Gemara it's a משנה Mishnah actually.
המשנה The Mishnah says in ברכות Berachos in the beginning of פרק אין עומדין
Perek Ein Omdin that's page 30b המשנה the Mishnah says אין עומדין להתפלל ein
omdin l'hispallel you don't stand before you don't stand to דאווען daven אלא מתוך
כובד ראש ella mitoch koved rosh you first have to be somewhat heavy-headed.
What does כובד ראש koved rosh mean?
So רש"י Rashi writes הכנעה hachna'ah you basically feel very you know you're subjugated
you're humble you're bent you're not walking around proud of yourself you're lacking you
feel humble הכנעה hachna'ah that's what it means you must דאווען daven with a
sense of הכנעה.
hachna'ah.
And this is I'm hoping this will happen one day.
Now where's the source of this?
I'm going to show the source of this is a גמרא Gemara the גמרא
Gemara brings the פסוקים pesukim and thus we'll understand what is the idea of
הכנעה.
hachna'ah.
So the גמרא Gemara says מנא הני מילי mna hani mili from whence do
we know this הלכה halacha that דאווענען davening has to be מתוך הכנעה mitoch
hachna'ah from a sense of bending down of subjugation of the idea that you
don't feel haughty that you feel dependent.
אמר רבי אלעזר Amar Rabbi Elazar Rabbi Elazar says stam Elazar in the גמרא
Gemara is רבי אלעזר בן פדת Rabbi Elazar ben Pedas by the way.
דאמר קרא D'amar kra the פסוק pasuk says והיא v'hi we're talking about חנה
Chana חנה Chana the mother of שמואל Shmuel when she prayed in the משכן
Mishkan she was barren and she wanted a child.
So it says as she prayed והיא מרת נפש v'hi marat nefesh she was
bitter she hurt she דאווען davened in pain והיא מרת נפש.
v'hi marat nefesh.
So we see here that הכנעה hachna'ah means מרת נפש marat nefesh means you're
really missing things it's not up to you you feel totally hanging in your
dependency on God.
That's הכנעה hachna'ah in other words I have nothing to I don't have anything
it's up to you.
So במרת נפש.
be-marat nefesh.
But the גמרא Gemara brings another פסוק.
pasuk.
פסוק pasuk says in תהילים Tehillim in פרק ה,
perek hey,
ואני ברב חסדך va'ani berov hasdekha מי,
mi,
I ברב חסדך berov hasdekha with your great grace and mercy,
אבא ביתך avo veitekha I will come to your house,
I will come to your שול,
shul,
I will come to your מקדש.
mikdash.
אשתחוה אל היכל קדשך eshtachaveh el heikhal kodshekha I will prostrate myself to Your
to Your היכל heikhal to Your great holy hall which is the בית המקדש,
Beis Hamikdash,
for us it means today towards the ארון קודש Aron Kodesh ביראתך be-yir'atekha I
will do this השתחויה hishtachavaya with a sense of awe of You.
So so far הכנעה hakhna'ah means מרת נפש marat nefesh and הכנעה hakhna'ah also
means יראה.
yirah.
יראה yirah means to say not you just fear,
you're not afraid that the sky's going to fall on you,
you fear you stand in awe in front of greatness which diminishes your sense
of independence and ego.
So again כובד ראש koved rosh means something which creates יראה yirah a sense
of awe.
I always say a hundred times I remember the first time I went to
see רב משה פיינשטיין Rav Moshe Feinstein זכר צדיק לברכה.
zecher tzaddik livrakha.
He was a small man he was barely five feet.
Believe me.
א כווענציקער,
a khventsiker,
א קליינער מענטשעלע a klainer mentchele but I just looked at this beautiful person
with these rosy cheeks and I think God this little person has like hundreds
and hundreds of times of ש"ס Shas under his belt and hundreds and hundreds
of times of שלחן ערוך Shulkhan Arukh under his belt.
How this little body knows so much?
And I felt so small,
all of a sudden I felt all the projected images which I had about
myself they were like puny compared to this guy that,
you know,
he can rattle it off without thinking twice,
anything,
anywhere with no questions asked.
Did you feel that you wanted to hug the person?
Yes.
Were you afraid of the person?
Are you kidding?
You were drawn to him.
Did you feel so small?
Yeah,
but it was a nice feeling of small.
It was a feeling of truth.
Like okay now I know what it looks like.
Okay now I know where I am.
I'm an ant,
brother,
but I've seen,
you know,
a giant and I know what giants look like.
It's pretty good,
at least I realized what it is.
So that's that's a beautiful sense of humility.
It's not something which makes you feel terrible.
So יראה yirah does not mean scared.
יראה yirah means you're in awe because you've encountered a great truth.
So this again so דאווענען davening demands מרת נפש marat nefesh total dependency,
יראה yirah which means השתחויה hishtachavaya you prostrate yourself in front of God because
you're in sense of awe you have no standing you lose the independent sense
of stature.
That's the second source.
The third source of the משנה Mishna is it says אמר רבי יהושע בן
לוי amar Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi it says השתחוו לה' בהדרת קדש.
hishtachavu la-Hashem be-hadrat kodesh.
You say that.
Bow out to God with a with great majesty.
אל תקרי בהדרת אלא בחרדת.
al tikrei be-hadrat ela be-kherdat.
We have that multiple times in in גמרא Gemara where they do דרשות drashas
they take words with letters which are interchangeable like אל תקרי בנייך אלא בונייך
al tikrei banayikh ela bonayikh אל תקרי בהדרת אלא בחרדת.
al tikrei be-hadrat ela be-kherdat.
They switch the הא hey to the חית.
het.
And so we have this many many places and there's a beautiful רמב"ם Rambam
on it but this is not the place.
The idea of חרדה.
kharada.
What's חרדה kharada mean?
What's חרד?
charad?
There's a common word today חרדי Charedi which is nothing more than a sociological
phenomenon and no clear definition of the term because I know חרדים Charedim which
are saints and I know חרדים Charedim which are whew they play the casino.
So I'm not sure what the word חרדי Charedi means just like I don't
know what the word modern orthodox means.
I know the רב אהרן ליכטנשטיין Rav Aharon Lichtenstein was a צדיק גמור tzaddik
gamur by ממש mamash like a צדיק גמור tzaddik gamur a גאנץ חסיד.
ganz chasid.
And I know people that call themselves modern orthodox which you'd have to look
for a microscope with their יארמולקע yarmulke on somehow towards the back of their
head.
We have political figures like that in Israel.
What's the common denominator between them?
Not sure I know except for a sociological umbrella.
So but what does it really mean חרדי?
Charedi?
So it's a פסוק pasuk היתקע שופר בעיר ועם לא יחרדו.
hayitaka shofar be-ir ve-am lo yecheradu.
So רש"י Rashi explains that what does חרדה kharada mean?
You become you like stop thinking of anything you're just in you're frozen.
You're frozen.
You're you're you're totally frozen.
It's like a sense of terror.
You're frozen oh,
you know,
you're frozen.
So that's the idea of חרדי.
Charedi.
A חרדי Charedi is a person supposed to be someone which with he has
an intense sense of God awareness that it freezes him from walking away.
He can't not focus.
You become like a moth towards the light.
It's like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
So this is what's happening here.
So this is the idea of השתחויה hishtachavaya must be with So this is
the idea of השתחויה hishtachvaya must be with חרדה.
charada.
Rashi used the לשון lashon פינוי הלב.
pinu'i haleiv.
It means all other emotions cease to exist,
there's only one thing focused on the greatness of God.
So that's the way you're supposed to be דאוונינג.
davening.
Now there's another source.
The other source is עבדו את ה' ביראה,
Ivdu es Hashem beyira,
you must serve God with awe.
וגילו vegilu and you sing,
right,
we sang לכה דודי Lecha Dodi and all the other nice things what we
do at קל אדון,
Keil Adon,
you know in a nice Young Israel שול,
shul,
we sing away.
It's supposed to be וגילו ברעדה,
vegilu bir'ada,
but when you sing you're supposed to tremble.
That people forget,
okay,
זימרמוכו,
zeimermecho,
don't be so היימיש,
heimish,
as one would say.
You didn't play marbles with God,
okay?
You're standing in front of מלך מלכי המלכים.
Melech Malchei Hamlachim.
You're very happy that you're standing in front of Him,
but you're shaking.
Now,
this is how Rashi the different reasons of the גמרא Gemara how the גמרא
Gemara explains this and that and the idea this is all found in according
to Rashi what encapsulates all this is called הכנעה.
hachna'ah.
Because where did Rashi get the idea of הכנעה hachna'ah when the גמרא Gemara
said חרדה,
charada,
יראה,
yira,
רעדה?
re'ada?
And the answer is obviously he understands that the שפלות shiflus of הכנעה hachna'ah
is that which generates or encapsulates within it all these feelings.
The person which is שפל ונכנע,
shofel venichna,
he lives with a sense of יראה,
yira,
חרדה charada and so on and so forth.
Otherwise this Rashi is very,
very,
very problematic.
The רמב"ם Rambam when he describes this הלכה halacha of כובד ראש koveid rosh
when we talk about כובד koveid this is not דברי אגדתא,
divrei agadata,
this is a דין.
din.
It's a משנה.
mishnah.
This is if you don't do this don't דאוון daven for goodness sake.
The רמב"ם Rambam פוסק'נס paskens this הלכה halacha in פרק ד',
Perek Daled,
I think it is,
let me see for a minute if I have it here.
Let's see where where's the ט'?
tes?
ט'...
right,
פרק ד' Perek Daled הלכות תפילה Hilchos Tefilla הלכה ט"ז.
Halacha Tes-Zayin.
Well how does he describe כובד ראש?
koveid rosh?
So he says...
wait I got the wrong link here.
פרק ד' כובד ראש koveid rosh הלכה ט"ז.
Halacha Tes-Zayin.
He describes it in different words.
He doesn't use the word שפלות shiflus but he takes all these ideas of
יראה,
yira,
חרדה charada etcetera and puts it in another description.
יפנה לבו מכל המחשבה Yifaneh libo mikol hamachshava which is חרדה.
charada.
Where does he get this idea from?
The answer is because it says חרדה וחרדת קודש,
charada ve-hachardas kodesh,
that's where he gets it from once you know how to read the גמרא
Gemara well you realize the רמב"ם Rambam is not making things up,
every piece is a גמרא.
Gemara.
Okay,
but then he said ויראה עצמו veyireh atzmo one must see himself כאילו הוא
עומד לפני השכינה ke'ilu hu omeid lifnei HaShechinah as if he's physically standing in
front of the divine presence.
Well obviously that generates שפלות,
shiflus,
הכנעה,
hachna'ah,
חרדה.
charada.
God almighty,
standing in front of...
hey honestly,
standing in front of Reb Hutner was yeah,
whoa,
you made sure that you were focused.
You know what I mean?
So you're standing in front of מלך מלכי המלכים.
Melech Malchei Hamlachim.
You don't your eyes don't wander and you don't שמוז shmooze with the חברה
chevra and you're not interested.
You know what I mean?
Your eyes don't wander to the other side of the שול,
shul,
you don't care.
You're focused,
you barely can stand on your own.
That's how you're supposed to דאוון.
daven.
לפיכך Lefikach therefore the דין din is צריך לישב מעט קודם התפילה.
tzarich leishev me'at kodem hatefilla.
When you come into שול shul you don't just jump up and say מה
טובו Mah Tovu and roll,
you sit down and think for a minute,
relax and go into contemplation כדי לכוון את לבו Kedei lechaven es libo in
order so before you start דאוונינג,
davening,
kind of come ten minutes earlier and start thinking like what am I going
to do here and how do I prepare myself emotionally and mentally before I
go דאוון.
daven.
I repeat again,
some people do it at home and just come in for שמונה עשרה Shemoneh
Esrei but they're well revved up by then.
I'm telling you guys,
you understand you have to wake up an hour and a half before before
the מנין minyan in שול shul because the מנין minyan in שול shul takes
roughly 12 minutes from ברוך שאמר Baruch She'amar until שמונה עשרה,
Shemoneh Esrei,
we know.
Okay,
they think that פסוקי דזמרא Pseukei D'zimra is תפילת הדרך.
Tefillas Haderech.
Okay.
לפיכך צריך לישב מעט קודם התפילה כדי לכוון לבו ואחר כך יתפלל.
Lefikach tzarich lehayshev me'at kodem hatefilla kedei lechaven libo ve-acharkach yispaleil.
Only after you've done this preparation of thinking of a focused thinking then you
pray בנחת benachas you have to pray in a relaxed way which means you
have to ובתחנונים ubetachnunim and it has to be a way of דאוונינג davening
which is beseeching which obviously doesn't fit with you know writing God emojis in
your mind,
you know what I mean,
or telegrams or I don't know what,
some...
I once was standing next to somebody and he was...
I need ventolin to...
Do you talk to your wife that way?
First of all you kidding?
What what do you mean God's not senile I mean why you talking to
him that way?
I'm trying to say this is something you know I can repeat repeat it
has to be said because it has to go somewhere we have to understand
how we have to דאווענען davenen ולא יעשה תפילתו כמי שנושא משאוי ומשליכו v'lo
yaaseh tefillaso k'mi she'nosei masoi u'mashlicho You don't דאווען daven because oh this is
a heavy load got to do it got to check off the x okay
let me get done with and throw it away No you can't דאווען daven
that way Don't דאווען daven Do me a favor don't go to שול shul
okay?
ולפיכך צריך לישב מעט אחר התפילה u'lefikach tzarich l'yeshev m'at achar ha'tefillah אדרבה ad'raba
those people that you know that by עלינו Aleinu they're at the they're at
the door already they should לייגן גיהנום leign Gehennom this is ממש mamash שלחן
ערוך Shulchan Aruch I hate to say it You're supposed to wait you're supposed
to sit down after דאווענען davening and and and think about what you just
did not because there's a שיעור shiur of the רבי rabbi for five minutes
on משנה ברורה Mishna Berura and you have to say קדיש דרבנן Kaddish d'Rabbanan
No after that think of what you did ואחר כך יפטר v'achar kach yipater
only then you walk away from שול shul This is the הלכה halacha okay
This is ממש mamash this is not מידת חסידות middas chasidus this is not
דברי הגדה divrei agaddah that's a דין din Does anybody do it?
Well I guess we have to start doing it okay because this is what
we going to do This is the way people ask me why doesn't תפילה
tefillah help?
Because you don't דאווען daven what you're doing you're not דאווענען davening okay So
this is what he writes over here in this מאמר maamar we're reading now
so what's the תכלית tachlis of it?
he says שפלות עצמו shiflus atzmo going back to what we read in the
primary set יסוד התפילה הכרה בשפלות עצמו yesod ha'tefillah hakara b'shiflus atzmo One of
the foundations of תפילה tefillah is recognizing your שפלות shiflus how small you are
compared to the great truth ויסוד זה הוא התחלת עבודת היום v'yesod zeh hu
ha'tchalas avodas ha'yom That's how you're supposed to start You're supposed to start by
saying you're totally dependent and you really have very little to come to the
table with You have to beg okay במאמר מודה אני לפניך b'maamar Modeh Ani
Lefanecha that's why you start in the morning as soon as you wake up
say thank you you know I'm thank you that I'm alive okay להכיר מי
הוא האני l'hakir mi hu ha'ani as we discussed last time First of all
you said the word אני ani start thinking who do I mean when I
say me?
Do I mean me the projected image or the me that I really feel
is me?
Okay so you have to do a lot of introspection to figure out when
you say I who do you mean?
Who do you mean?
Sometimes it's so funny because we're so tied up me the doctor me the
lawyer me the physics major No no no who's the me?
The little boy there that's still there you know the קליינע יינגעלע kleine yingele
that he doesn't have all the all the degrees and all that What are
you for real?
Okay תכלית tachlis what are you going to stand up before יום הדין Yom
Ha'din you know?
Going in dancing in קרעסטיר Kerestir and all these other things is not going
to get it What מה תעשה ליום הדין mah taaseh l'Yom Ha'din when the
great judgment comes in they're going to ask you well who are you?
and oh I have a PhD and and what else?
Okay now I know how you made your living Now what else?
עפעס א גארנישט epes a gornisht נע למאי ne lemai you made a good
living thank God at least you provided for your wife and your children Where
are you?
So he says מודה אני Modeh Ani I once told you a story about
this מי הוא אני mi hu ani וכי מתפלל הוא לפני מלך מלכי המלכים
מודה אני לפניך v'chi mispallel hu lifnei Melech Malchei Ha'melachim Modeh Ani Lefanecha I
stand in he didn't even say וואשן נעגל וואסער vashin negel vasser yet you
look open your eyes and say I you know in a very profound way
me the way my real me feels that I am now in the presence
of God and I am talking to him directly מודה אני לפניך Modeh Ani
Lefanecha You're in front of me not third person לפניו lefanav לפניך lefanecha Brother
dear is that what you feel when you wake up in the morning?
This is how it starts that's the הכנה לתפילה hachana l'tefillah okay This is
a big I was taught this when I was all of eleven twelve years
old and it's years of hard labor to say מודה אני Modeh Ani like
a מענטש mensch It's a I give you a big יסוד yesod If you
say קריאת שמע על המטה Krias Shema al ha'Mita like a מענטש mensch you
go to sleep like a מענטש mensch then you'll say מודה אני Modeh Ani
like a מענטש mensch It's a big כלל klal עס איז ווי מען לייגט
זיך איין es iz vi men leigt zich ein and it's how you put
yourself in bed that's how you're going to wake up That's the bookends of
your day brother how do you begin it and how do you end it?
The rest will work well if you do those two things right So I'm
giving you an עצה טובה eitzah tovah you know find a with a סידור
Siddur קריאת שמע על המטה Krias Shema al ha'Mita do a שטיקל וידוי shtikel
viduy over there I suggest you start saying it and there's it's not just
you know קריאת שמע Krias Shema with המפיל Hamapil most people don't even say
המפיל Hamapil I don't want to say what they do Okay when's the last
time you said a קריאת שמע Krias Shema Okay,
I'm telling you,
it makes a whole difference for your whole day.
People don't כאפ.
chap.
That makes that will do everything.
That will change everything.
That plus the מודה אני,
Modeh Ani,
you're covered.
And that's what he writes.
The first thing,
this foundation,
we'll say מודה אני Modeh Ani like a מענטש.
mensch.
What's it for?
וכדי להגיע לזה מתחילה באמת בעבודת התפילה או בהכנות לפני התפילה.
U'kedai lehagia l'ze mitichila be'emet be'avodat hatefilla o be'hachanot lifnei hatefilla.
So in order to get this you have to prepare before דאווענען.
davening.
ולכן גזרו אומר,
Velachen gazru omer,
and that's why they said in the משנה,
Mishnah,
אין עומדים להתפלל.
ein omdim lehitpallel.
We don't just stand and דאווען daven immediately,
אלא מתוך כובד ראש,
ela mitoch koved rosh,
as we just learned a minute ago,
with heavy-headed,
הכנעה hachna'ah according to רש''י,
Rashi,
הכנעה ושפלות.
hachna'ah u'shiflut.
Okay,
היינו,
hainu,
what does it mean?
שנכיר שפלותנו.
shenakir shiflutenu.
It means you actually have to think for a moment how small you are.
My suggest:
look at the great cosmos.
Look how big is the great globe.
It's a speck of dust.
And how big,
how much,
and how...
what percentage of the globe are there human beings?
A speck of a speck of dust.
And how many of them live with a God awareness?
I hate to say it,
אין פרומיל,
ein promil,
there's nothing there.
Okay?
That's all you are,
compared to the great creator.
No,
he created everything,
the whole freaking cosmos.
Just think of the Milky Way and think of your little globe.
It's a joke.
No,
everything is for me!
Yeah,
you sound like the mouse that roared.
You know,
it's like so funny.
Don't you understand?
Yeah,
you and the cheetah.
I don't know,
I think the cheetah's brighter than you.
Okay,
at least he knows his limitations.
Okay,
so I mean you get שפלות shiflut just buy yourself a telescope and start
reading astronomy,
you כאפ chap how small you are.
Just do it.
I mean,
I told you,
ישיבות yeshivos don't כאפ.
chap.
They would teach more science,
the guys would have more ענווה.
anavah.
Mark,
you're in a hospital,
you can see it.
You can see how small the body is.
Yeah,
משה גרויס Moshe Groiss boom!
Fell.
How many people do you have that thought they were at the peak of
health and all of a sudden beep,
some electric current went and bingo,
sayonara.
You know,
it's a קליין געלט.
klein gelt.
You're an ant.
You can have a million ראשי תיבות rashei teivos before your name.
מפיץ תורה,
meifitz Torah,
whatever you want,
with PhD,
M,
whatever,
LLB,
and you name it.
תחילה שעפר וסופו עפר.
techila she'afar v'sofo afar.
You are potential worm fodder.
That's all you are.
Now,
now make it meaningful.
So that's what he says.
הן מצד עצם מהות נפש הבהמית בכלל.
hen mitzad etzem mahut nefesh habahamit bichlal.
First we'll talk about your animal inclinations.
If you be honest about your animal inclinations,
there ain't too many things to be proud about.
Maimonides discusses at length based on Aristotle that the most lowly part of the
human psyche is the idea of experiential self,
feeling.
Man needs to feel good.
He has to have experiential self,
you know,
sensual self,
sensuousness.
We are very sensuous animals.
That's why we want to be cuddled,
right?
That's why my grandchild will fall into my lap.
He wants to be cuddled,
he wants to go back to his womb,
he wants to feel secure.
The sensuous self is that,
the lowest part of the human being.
Maimonides describes this at length.
It's a necessity,
that's how God programmed us,
but that's the part which is not very intelligent because you and the animal
are the same thing.
That's who you are.
Basically,
you're much more sensuous than you are intellectual.
Most of us do not live intellectual lives as we've discussed this multiple times.
Okay,
we are very sensuous and we look for sensuous experiences,
you know,
a hot מעריב,
Ma'ariv,
inspiring קבלת שבת.
Kabbalat Shabbat.
You know,
everything we want should be hot and inspiring and sensuous.
Even our religion is nothing more than...
we look for it to be sensuous.
I can see that as a means towards an end,
but it's not the way.
It's become totally the goal.
That's why they're flat-headed.
It's really...
that's why Rabbi Amital זכר צדיק לברכה zecher tzaddik livracha did not allow to
have a Carlebach קבלת שבת Kabbalat Shabbat in the גוש.
Gush.
Because he felt people are doing it,
looking at religion as something that makes you feel good and therefore you're connect
to it and they lost the sense of authority and obligation.
You must do it because it's a truth,
because it's the will of God,
not because it makes you feel good.
I heard this from him myself.
He said that's why he doesn't allow Carlebach קבלת שבת Kabbalat Shabbat in גוש.
Gush.
I don't know what's happening now,
I know...
but that's the way it was.
Was back in the old days.
רב Reb אהרן Aharon couldn't care less,
that wasn't his thing.
Dancing wasn't his—it's almost funny to think about.
But הרב Rav עמיטל Amital was a very,
very warm person and I mean really he was bubbly,
I mean warm,
רב Reb אהרן Aharon was warm but bubbly.
But no,
he wouldn't allow that because he felt this was taking Judaism away from truth
and making it nothing more than something makes you feel good and that's dangerous.
He was right.
Okay.
So first of all מצד הנפש הבהמית mitzad hanefesh habahamit which is your subconscious
each and everyone במידותיו הרעים בפרט.
bemidotav haraim bifrat.
What about not just talking about the essence of a sensuous animal instincts of
every human being,
which is quite small and puny?
Now you can talk personally about your own מידות רעות.
middot raot.
How much are you really a good person?
You're about to die,
you're standing in front of God,
you want A,
you give him a shopping list.
It reminds me of a דרשה drasha I once heard from הרב עובדיה יוסף
זכר צדיק לברכה HaRav Ovadia Yosef zecher tzadik livracha in בית כנסת הרמב"ן Beit
Knesset HaRamban in קטמון.
Katamon.
I remember when he was then a,
he wasn't the chief rabbi,
he was a דיין dayan and he said a דרשה.
drasha.
I used to live in the old קטמון.
Katamon.
I didn't like living in the חרדי chareidi society,
I wanted to be able to take the garbage out without putting my hat
and jacket on and I wanted to ride my bike and walk around with
my Bermudas.
So I lived in קטמון Katamon by normal people.
Anyway,
so I remember going to שול shul and הרב עובדיה HaRav Ovadia this was
before סליחות.
selichot.
He says,
can you imagine,
he says a guy's gonna come,
guy goes to let's say to Saks Fifth Avenue.
And he walks to the counter,
you know,
and he's got like four suits,
each of them is like $22,000,
you understand?
And who knows how many shirts and I'm not talking about the Ferragamo ties,
and I'm not talking about the Bally shoes.
And he has a whole שטיקל shtikel over there which ברוך השם Baruch Hashem
it costs.
He goes up to the counter,
they make a חשבון cheshbon and they say well the sum is so and
so and so and so much.
So he takes out a crumbled five dollar bill and says listen,
can you give me credit?
So he says that's what we do in אבינו מלכנו.
Avinu Malkeinu.
You go to God,
give me this,
give me this,
give me that,
give me that.
And then you say the last one,
I want credit.
חננו ועננו.
chanenu va'anenu.
I can't pay for this,
give me credit.
כי אין בנו מעשים.
ki ein banu ma'asim.
עשה עמנו צדקה.
aseh imanu tzedakah.
Go to Saks and do that and see what happens to you.
Okay?
Yet you do it.
I remember,
I'll never forget this,
it hit me like a punch in the face.
You're asking God for everything under the sun and its cousin.
Okay?
And then you say listen I actually can't pay for this and חננו chanenu
I need credit.
And I'm not sure I'm going to pay it.
You know?
אין בנו מעשים.
ein banu ma'asim.
עשה עמנו צדקה וחסד.
aseh imanu tzedakah vachesed.
Try doing it in Saks.
You may get away,
you know,
in some place in the East Side,
but there ain't no way you're going to get it,
you know,
on Rodeo Road,
you understand?
Try buying a suit on Rodeo Road and after going there saying on credit.
You do it in אבינו מלכנו,
Avinu Malkeinu,
don't you כאפ?
chap?
This is like crazy.
So he said that's what he said,
look at who you are,
you're about to stand in front of God,
you want to ask חכמה,
chochmah,
גאולה,
geulah,
פרנסה,
parnassah,
you want good weather,
you have 19 requests.
Who the heck are you?
How do you dare ask?
Who do you think you are?
Are you crazy?
You wouldn't do this in Saks,
you wouldn't do this in Nordstroms.
Maybe in Nordstroms Outlet,
you know what I mean?
But God is not Nordstroms Outlet.
No,
I'm sorry,
no,
no,
this is the real McCoy,
okay?
Not Nordstroms שוואך.
shvach.
Saks,
Saks,
Saks.
Neiman Marcus.
Something,
you know what I mean?
It's not like Cedarhurst,
you know,
where today they all there you can ask for credit,
you know what I mean?
Like,
remember Central Avenue the way it was fifty years ago.
That's what I'm talking about.
Try doing credit there.
Okay.
So that's what he says.
So he says בפרט שהשפלות מצד החטאים והעוונות bifrat shehashiflut mitzad hachataim veha'avonot ובזה
נכיר ריחוקנו מאור האמת.
ubaze nechir richukenu me'or ha'emet.
Let's just realize we live so far from the enlightenment of truth.
We live a freaking pack of lies.
וכי בחושך הולכים הננו כל היום.
vechi bechoshech holchim hinen b'chol hayom.
All day we are blind,
we don't think about the truth,
we don't care about the truth,
we enjoy the bliss of ignorance and darkness.
That's the honest truth.
It makes it so much easier to engage in sensuous activities when there's no
light shining on you.
Sensuous activities demand no enlightenment.
Put a flashlight on the person,
he's going to stop,
okay.
So the question because you walk in the darkness,
that's why you're engulfed in sensuous activity.
וכי בחושך הולכים כל היום ואז נרגיש Vechi bechoshech holchim kol hayom ve'az nargish
that you feel that and this is where it gets hurts the most.
Now every person feels what I've done something.
After you look carefully at how far you are,
you suddenly realize all your great accomplishments they're not really much.
And he says listen,
וכי השלמות שמרגישים אנו בעצמנו,
Vechi hashlémut shemargishim anu beatzmenu,
we do oh,
I did something,
בשקר יסודה,
besheker yesoda,
that basis is also not true.
You've blown up your achievements much more than what you really are compared to
the big picture and where you could be,
okay.
וכי באמת חסרים אנו כל טוב.
Vechi be'emet chasereem anu kol tov.
We actually lack everything.
This is the this is the feeling you're supposed to have that is the
כוונה,
kavana,
don't know if you כאפ,
chap,
when you say in שמונה עשרה,
Shmoneh Esrei,
you start שמונה עשרה,
Shmoneh Esrei,
you say ה׳
שפתי תפתח ופי יגיד תהילתך.
Hashem sfatai tiftach upi yaggid tehilatecha.
What is your כוונה?
kavana?
Gotta teach a daven.
God,
I'm not capable of opening my mouth.
Not just because you're I'm in awe of you,
because I realize I'm not bringing anything to the table.
There's actually no reason you should even want to hear me.
But you're crazy,
you're madly in love with us,
and you want us to talk.
Don't ask me,
makes no sense.
Okay.
You,
you,
you want but I'm afraid I can't talk.
I'm ashamed.
If you can possibly open my mouth for me,
give me a sense of assurance that יינגעלע,
yingeleh,
you you you sing out of tune but I will not turn my back
and walk out on you.
That happens to be if you know what I mean.
Okay.
What would you do for singing out of tune וכולי.
vechulu.
So this is what's happening here.
I say God,
I sing out of tune.
Ain't no way.
But you know what?
Can you please give me the assurance that you're helping me open my mouth.
If you help me that then I'll talk.
That's what you're saying.
You literally have to acknowledge that you're not capable of opening your mouth.
I still remember as a young boy of seventeen years old it was one
ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah that that the only part of the שמונה עשרה Shmoneh
Esrei that I focused on.
The rest I said by rote,
but that I sat like I sit there for forty minutes thinking about that.
Even sat down when they were all standing just you know,
think about that.
Believe me,
then you say the rest.
It's a different ballpark,
you understand?
So this is this is before שמונה עשרה,
Shmoneh Esrei,
it's before שמונה עשרה.
Shmoneh Esrei.
ה׳
שפתי תפתח ופי יגיד תהילתך.
Hashem sfatai tiftach upi yaggid tehilatecha.
That's the feeling you're supposed to that's called כובד ראש,
koved rosh,
that's the חרדה charada of the גמרא,
Gemara,
that's כאילו עומד לפני השכינה keilu omed lifnei hashchina of the רמב״ם,
Rambam,
that's the יראה yira of the גמרא,
Gemara,
that's the הכנעה hachna'ah and the שפלות shiflut of רש״י.
Rashi.
And this is what we mean here.
This is what it all is encapsulated in that one small little thing that
we mumble very fast.
Okay,
but that is a very heavy piece of sentence there,
no,
if you know I'm trying this is what we're supposed to.
והנה על ידי זה,
Vehinei al yedei zeh,
by just having that feeling that you can't open your mouth because really there's
no one to talk at the moment.
אף כי לא פעלנו עדיין לגרש כל התאוות מלבנו.
Af ki lo pa'alnu adayin legaresh kol hata'avot milibenu.
I haven't driven away all my obsessive desires,
I haven't.
I still have these obsessive desires for גשמיות,
gashmiyut,
for a good time,
for sensuous activities,
etc.
אבל מזה שנרגיש כי נרחקים מטוב אמיתי,
Aval mizeh shenargish ki nerchakim mitov amiti,
but if you honestly sat down and realized how far I am from anything
really good and meaningful.
וזה בנקל ביותר להגיע,
Vezeh benakel beyoter lehagia,
and that's quite easy to get to,
let's be honest,
you just look in the mirror,
start looking at what your day looks like,
you realize I'm a מוחו,
mocho,
there's not much to talk about.
So let's be honest now,
you have to be very careful not to go into depression because of that.
Okay,
yeah,
because at the end you say,
but God loves me,
and that's what I am,
and he can't really want more from me,
but don't feel guilt,
don't be smug about it.
What we have to do is burst your own projected image,
your own bubble,
and be comfortable with your lowly truth.
That's what you have to be able to do.
I repeat,
we're not talking about something which is the רבי Rebbe writes in תניא Tanya
that עצבות atzvut is an עבירה.
aveirah.
מרירות,
merirut,
but being bitter about not getting what I could be,
that's good he says.
What is the difference between עצבות atzvut and מרירות?
merirut?
עצבות Atzvus is depression.
It stops you from doing anything.
That’s an עבירה.
averah.
That’s עצת היצר,
atzas hayetzer,
one should not engage in anything which could create any sense of destruction to
the extent of creating depression.
חלילה וחס.
chalilah v’chas.
Well I want to make it very clear because here I am hacking away,
I’m smiling,
okay,
but because we’re not talking about עצבות,
atzvus,
חלילה וחס,
chalilah v’chas,
it’s the worst thing,
it’s debilitating.
Any feeling which is debilitating,
doesn’t allow you to continue doing עבודת השם,
avodas Hashem,
comes straight from the שטן,
Soton,
the מלאך המות,
Malach Hamoves,
nothing to do with God.
That’s not עבודת השם.
avodas Hashem.
So any person that thinks he’s going to learn מוסר Mussar and he’s going
to feel,
oh I’m terrible and all that,
that debilitating certain types of מוסר Mussar people.
איך בין א גארנישט,
Ich bin a gornisht,
you know,
and he’s so happy about it.
No,
that’s the מלאך המות.
Malach Hamoves.
No.
You should feel מרירות.
merirus.
You should feel how can I,
I’m living,
I look,
I am what I am,
but I somehow project myself so much more than what I am.
No one’s telling you to destroy yourself,
but you have to be able to look at yourself for what you are,
and you are what you are.
It’s okay.
God loves you for what,
would you believe it,
He loves you for what you are.
He loves the human beings.
What are they?
They’re a speck of dust.
Okay.
There’s literally an old song used to be “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas,
I remember.
Okay.
They’re dust in the wind,
you know what I mean,
and you think and it’s over.
I remember there were really good lyrics in that one.
Okay.
עיין שם ותמצאו נחת.
Ayin sham v’timtzu nachas.
Okay.
I sometimes,
you know,
the old lyrics from my days,
they carried stuff.
So this is it.
Yeah,
I’m just but dust is,
God made dust!
Hey,
I guess God likes dust.
You know what I mean?
But remember you’re dust.
Don’t walk around,
“Okay now God,
I’m a good man,
I’ve done this.” אם למדת תורה הרבה אל תחזיק טובה לעצמך כי לכך נוצרת.
Im lamadta Torah harbei al tachzik tovah l’atzmecha ki l’kach notzarta.
Don’t give...
what do you want?
It’s a משנה Mishnah in פרקי אבות.
Pirkei Avos.
Relax.
Okay,
so this is what he says.
That’s easy to get to.
To drive away the תאוות taivos is a hard call.
We discussed this last time.
But first,
before you drive away the תאוות,
taivos,
be honest about who the אני Ani is when you say מודה אני.
Modeh Ani.
Once that can be done,
and it really,
in the beginning it’s not comfortable,
but after once,
twice,
three times,
four times,
I would say after two weeks of being honest with yourself and remembering to
make sure your wife hugs you afterwards that you shouldn’t go into depression.
Okay,
you know what I mean?
And also look,
hey,
you have done the will of God.
Okay,
that’s important.
Okay.
But it’s not exactly who knows,
but you’ve done the will of God,
you’re trying your best to do the will of God,
that’s a plus.
Make sure you don’t destroy your sense of life,
you just have to bust the artificial sense of life.
It means looking for meaning and purpose for real.
Okay,
that’s not an easy thing to do.
Much easier,
you guys that have a medical profession,
at least you’re saving people the whole freaking time.
You know,
that’s easy.
Hardest thing is when you’re like me in my profession,
you’re always afraid you’re destroying people’s life.
You know,
you don’t know what you’re doing.
Okay.
But this is something,
this is easy to do,
he says.
בזה נעשה לב פנוי וריקא.
B’zeh naaseh lev panui v’reika.
If you do that,
you’ve emptied out your heart,
you know,
there’s nothing left.
So what’s left is I’m an עבד,
eved,
I’m נכנע nichna in front of הקדוש ברוך הוא,
Hakadosh Baruch Hu,
then you’re a כלי kli for dialogue.
How many times have I said this story with the tube of glue?
Right?
You want to surface the thing,
first clean the surface,
scrub them.
Yeah.
Clean your surface and then connect to God.
Okay.
It’s like you know you have to tell these teenagers they’re dating.
What do they do?
It’s a joke what they’re doing.
Okay.
She’s projecting an image,
he’s projecting an image,
at the wedding they’re two projected images merging with each other.
Therefore the only one telling the truth is the photographer because he’s doing nothing
more than putting pictures of projected images.
In truth,
you don’t know her,
she doesn’t know you,
you’re an idiot,
she’s a jerk,
and then you’re going to get divorced.
Okay.
דו כאפסט?
Du chapst?
מען דארף,
Men darf,
you have to know who you are and you have to know who she
is and you have to be able to connect as people.
Okay.
Let’s go further.
So he said this is easy to do.
בזה נעשה הרגיש וואס פעלט דעם עפעס העכער.
B’zeh ne’aseh hargish as felt dem epes hecher.
You feel you’re missing something more important.
There’s something higher than all this stupid life I’m living and I’m missing that.
That...
That's called נסירה.
nesira.
You see what happens at that stage when you feel that you are low
and what you're really missing is so much more than just the stupid things.
So your תפילה tefilla is a תפילה בעת צרה tefilla be-et tsara that you
just transformed your תפילה tefilla into a תפילה דאורייתא.
tefilla de-orayta.
Normally תפילה tefilla according to most ראשונים Rishonim except for רמב"ם,
Rambam,
the only תפילה tefilla which is דאורייתא de-orayta is a תפילה בעת צרה.
tefilla be-et tsara.
But if you דאוון daven the way you should be דאוונינג,
davening,
help brother dear,
every תפילה tefilla is a תפילה בעת צרה.
tefilla be-et tsara.
Help me be a meaningful person.
Okay,
that's a תפילה בעת,
tefilla be-et,
that's a תפילה דאורייתא.
tefilla de-orayta.
You just transformed it into something which should,
that's why there's a letter of the בעל התניא,
Ba'al Ha-Tanya,
I'm going to quote it to you,
okay?
There's a letter of the בעל התניא Ba'al Ha-Tanya that he writes,
I'm quoting the לשון lashon of the רבי,
Rebbe,
the בעל התניא,
Ba'al Ha-Tanya,
כל האומר תפילה מדרבנן,
kol ha-omer tefilla mi-derabbanan,
whoever said that today's דאוונינג davening is מדרבנן,
mi-derabbanan,
לא ראו מאורות מימיהם.
lo ra'u me'orot mi-yemeihem.
They never saw the lights.
Why?
כי אף שנוסח התפילה,
ki af she-nusach ha-tefilla,
the liturgy of the תפילה tefilla is מדרבנן,
mi-derabbanan,
ובניינה u-binyanah and its structure is דרבנן,
derabbanan,
and three times a day דרבנן,
derabbanan,
אבל עיקר עניינה,
aval ikkar inyanah,
but the essence of דאוונינג,
davening,
which is יסוד כל התורה כולה,
yesod kol ha-Torah kullah,
etc.,
what is it?
That is a דאורייתא de-orayta because it's through there creating שפלות shiflut and therefore
creating אהבת השם,
ahavat Hashem,
etc.,
this is what this is all about.
I'm going to stop now,
if you have to excuse me,
I have to make this short today.
I think this would,
I think we've done enough on this topic,
we'll move to another topic.
I'm hoping that somehow we have to wish,
to will,
to want,
to aspire,
עפעס דאוון epes daven once a week like a מענטש.
mentsh.
One תפילה,
tefilla,
can't even ask all of it.
עפעס epes once a week.
I have a great idea.
Wake up six in the morning on שבת,
Shabbos,
do a real שחרית,
Shacharis,
and then come to שול shul for the שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei of the
10:00 מנין.
minyan.
Don't go there before.
You go into the marketplace?
No.
What you do is you sit at home with a טלית,
tallis,
you דאוון daven א געשמאקע תפילה a geshmake tefilla ביז bis פסוקי דזמרא,
Pesukei DeZimra,
קרבנות,
Korbanos,
פסוקי דזמרא,
Pesukei DeZimra,
קריאת שמע Krias Shema and the ברכות Brachos so you won't sing אל אדון
El Adon with the people.
נישט געפערלעך,
nisht geferlech,
it's not מעכב.
me-akev.
You'll come there for גאל ישראל.
Ga'al Yisrael.
I do this,
okay?
I'm telling you right now,
I do this.
There are some שולס shuls which I rather not even come for גאל ישראל
Ga'al Yisrael because by the time I finish אתה קדוש,
Attah Kadosh,
they're already holding by הלל.
Hallel.
You know what I mean?
They finished חזרת הש"ץ.
chazaras ha-shatz.
What can I tell you?
Not going there,
but this is an עצה טובה,
etza tova,
we have to start דאוונינג.
davening.
Have a great one.
And I want to tell you,
you all got some תורה Torah on שבועות,
Shavuos,
you know.
The גמרא Gemara says,
I heard this once from the old אמשינאווער רבי Amshinover Rebbe זכר צדיק לברכה,
zecher tzaddik li-vracha,
he passed on,
he was a wise man.
He says on שבועות Shavuos you have to realize you're not allowed to be
a שוטה.
shoteh.
What's a שוטה?
shoteh?
A שוטה shoteh is a person,
the גמרא Gemara says איזהו שוטה,
eizehu shoteh,
who has a דין din of a שוטה shoteh that he's פטור מן המצוות?
patur min ha-mitzvos?
מאבד מה שנותנים לו,
ma'abed mah she-notnim lo,
he loses that which he's given.
They gave you the תורה Torah on שבועות,
Shavuos,
don't lose it!
Don't be a שוטה.
shoteh.
Don't be a מאבד מה שנותנים לו.
ma'abed mah she-notnim lo.
A big כלל,
klal,
נישט צו זיין א שוטה.
nisht tzu zain a shoteh.
So this is a great ברכה,
bracha,
I'm בענטשינג bentshing you all shouldn't be a שוטה.
shoteh.
It doesn't sound too good.
אמן.
Amen.
Okay.
You shouldn't be a מאבד מה שנותנים לו.
ma'abed mah she-notnim lo.
Have a great one.
Love you all.
Bye.
Take care.
Thank you.
Thanks so much.
Bye.
Thank you.
מזל טוב מזל טוב.
mazal tov mazal tov.
Bye.
Take care.
ברכה והצלחה.
bracha ve-hatzlacha.
Thank you,
Rebbe.
Thank you.