Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The Laws of War and Peace with Rav Shlomo Katz is a series based on Hilchos Milchamah VeShalom by Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, opening up the Torah of מלחמה ושלום for the times we are living in right now.
In these episodes, Rav Shlomo explores the halachic, biblical, and inner spiritual foundations of war, courage, national responsibility, emunah, and redemption. Through the lens of Tanach, Chazal, and the living reality of Am Yisrael, this series asks: How is a Jew meant to think, feel, pray, and act in a time of מלחמה? What does true gevurah look like? How do we fight evil without losing humility? And how do war, mesirus nefesh, and miracles become part of the unfolding geulah?
Yoffe, good morning everybody. Chodesh Iyar. We're learning, sponsored by the Fram family, לעילוי נשמת נחום שמעון בן יצחק אריה. By the Silver family, לעילוי נשמת בתיה פיגא בת ישראל.
And sponsored anonymously in memory of all the holy Chayalim that gave their lives and the ones who are working tirelessly to protect us and the land. Okay, b'shaah tovah u'mutzlachas. There's something that I noticed in our sefer הלכות מלחמה ושלום that I—it's my fault—I missed, I skipped over this and I want to go back to this because this is a beautiful, beautiful Torah, a beautiful teaching about everything that we've been learning. So if you have the sefer, open up to page 35, please.
Page 35. And I guess we have to buy more sefarim. I don't know where they—I don't know where they are. I just—I don't think every—I don't think all of them were bought.
There's that whole in the—yeah, I thought so. Okay, well maybe—maybe they're somewhere. I don't know. They're all out.
They have to reorder. We have to re—well first—first we have to pay for the ones that were brought here. Okay, you know what, if someone wants to take a picture—if you want to take a picture of it, if someone—everyone has more or less here, yeah? Yeah, I have it in my hand. Okay.
Meah achuz. Okay. So there's a Tefilla that we say in benching on every single Shabbos, it's called Retzei v'Hachlitzeinu. Page 35.
What do you guys—what's your kavanah when you say Retzei v'Hachlitzeinu? What do you guys think? Like what—like you've been saying it for, you know, 40, 50 years. So what do you guys—what's your kavanah behind the word v'Hachlitzeinu? Just here. Daily moment of Mussar. But it's—it's one of these things that we just—we say—huh? Like the chalutzim? Well, now that you're thinking about it, maybe something comes out, but to save? No? I don't know.
I'm asking. I'm asking. That's what I think. Retzei v'Hachlitzeinu to save us to bring us—but it doesn't talk so much about saving in the rest of the pasuk.
Save us from—wait, but think—think of the pasuk: רצה והחליצנו ה' אלקינו במצותיך... save us from your mitzvos? B'mitzvos—no, not from the mitzvos. We are missing all the mitzvos totally in the Beis HaMikdash.
רצה והחליצנו ה' אלקינו במצותיך ובמצות יום השבת השביעי הגדול והקדוש הזה...
yoffe. So that's—that's my kavanah and maybe I'm wrong, but—no, chas v'shalom. No, no, it could be I'm wrong. Okay, let's see what Rav Eliyahu tells us.
It's not—not to make anyone feel bad, it's just to point out that there are so many words that we say that we have no idea really what we're saying. And even though it's just become something that we're—that's ingrained in us because we say it all the time, it doesn't mean that eventually oh now I understand what it is and it's important to point out what certain words mean. So like—like the one that we're saying today: v'Hachlitzeinu. So right before this piece, Rav Eliyahu has been speaking to us about the tremendous levels that people reach when it comes to mesiras nefesh.
Tremendous levels. And because the previous chapter was called מסירות נפש מביאה גאולה, and the chapter was filled with different—sorry, with different examples throughout Tanach. Sefer Yeshayahu, Sefer Nechemya... he brings the Zohar here, Sefer Ezra...
all these different things that—yeah, the long piece in the Zohar then. All these different examples of how mesiras nefesh brings people to highest, highest levels that they could ever imagine. So now, what we're going to—what we're going to be continuing over here is to explain to us davka through the Tefilla that we say on Shabbos, and why davka do we say this on Shabbos? It's a very interesting thing.
רצה והחליצנו חלק מבנין ירושלים.
בגלל כל המעלות הללו, because of all the ma'alos that we've been learning about, התפללנו במשך אלפי שנים להיות חלוצי צבא. We've actually been davening for thousands of years to become chalutzei tzava. Now, what's a—chalutz is usually—we refer to the pioneers as chalutzim, but the actual language of chalutz is an interesting word that we see show up in Sefer Bamidbar, I believe it's Parshas Mattos, where Moshe Rabbeinu is commanded to wage war against Midian, and there there's a famous, famous statement that the Rebbe Rashab has a very famous ma'amar on this: Heichaltzu me'itchem. Heichaltzu.
It means to basically emerge out... of something. Lehichaletz means to actually chilutz, chilutz means and we say this also it's connected to it. It's like the rescue.
Chilutz ve'hatzalah, we also say this on Birchas Hachodesh, חיים של חילוץ עצמות. Very interesting the language over here. Chilutz atzamot. I could ask you what's been your kavana when you've said that every Birchas Hachodesh too.
I could ask myself the same thing. That's not a lashon of in some way saving? Well, it is but it's in a certain way. Certain type. In a certain type.
כאשר אנחנו אומרים בשבת רצה והחליצנו אנו מבקשים להיעשות חלוצים שכובשים את הארץ. We're asking to become chalutzim that conquer the land. This is what we're asking Hashem. Wow.
חלוצים שבונים את ארץ ישראל את ירושלים משתחררים משעבוד מלכויות ומקימים את מלכות בית דוד. We are asked to become people that it doesn't just happen to them that Moshiach comes, but that we become people she'anachnu actively yank us out of our own pit that we're in, eventually being those that are מעמיד מלכות בית דוד, the kingdom of David. Shabbos. Now right, so he says and he's going to explain why also.
Well, this could have been a great Erev Shabbos here, but it's in our Seder and it's in the Sefer, so it's okay.
יום יום רביעי בשבת, we don't even know.
זו תוספת שאומרים בתוך ברכת בונה ירושלים שבברכת המזון.
ברכה שכוללת בתוכה את הבקשה לבניין ירושלים ולמלכות בית דוד.
It's a blessing that includes within it the request for the Binyan Yerushalayim and the Malchus Beis Dovid. This is what we say on Shabbos.
לקראת סוף הברכה הזו אנו מזכירים את השבת במילים רצה והחליצנו. This is right before U'vnei Yerushalayim, right? I never thought of it as an extension of the previous bracha.
Yeah, me neither. It's all this.
חכמינו אמרו שהפירוש המילה הזאת היא לעשות אותנו חלוצים. Make us people that are chalutzim, zerizim, fast.
Chaluzei tzava, ve'chalutzim to settle Eretz Yisrael. So now he's going to explain mah hakesher between the two things.
האמת היא שבכל ימות השבוע all weekdays אנחנו מבקשים בברכת המזון על בניין ירושלים ומלכות בית דוד. The truth is, we are asking in bentching all week long whenever we bentch on the rebuilding of Yerushalayim and the Malchus Beis Dovid.
אמנם רק בשבת אנחנו מבקשים על החלוציות. Okay, he did a big deal here. All week long when we bentch we're davening for Bona Yerushalayim and Malchus Beis Dovid, that's always true. But on Shabbos, what's the added element that I'm davening for? Chalutziyut.
Is there such a word as pioneerism? Okay, it's not shayach to here because pioneerism makes you feel like let's put on a kova tembel and put on, you know, put on get our feet wet dirty in the ground. It's also part of it, ken. Like whenever the problem with sometimes with modern Hebrew is that when you take these words chalutzim you go straight to to 1947, 1948, 50, 50s, 60s when things were at when nothing here, you have to become chalutz means lachlotz es atzmecha, shlep yourself out of a certain image of yourself. Pioneers are the one that go to uncharted territory and like they it's like and like that kova tembel thing.
I like that's just more recent. No, it's but it's listen, it's part of chalutziyut, don't get me wrong. No, that's what I'm saying. However, here he's saying that on Shabbos is the time that I'm davening for this power of to become a chalutz.
Kol ze biglal, now why is it that only on Shabbos I daven for this inyan of becoming a chalutz?
כל זה בגלל שהנביא ישעיהו גילה לנו כי שמירת שבת מביאה חלוציות של גאולה. Because the Navi Yeshayahu explains to us that that doing this concept of keeping Shabbos brings a person to geulah.
כך מבטיח הנביא בשם השם. He's quoting from Yeshayahu HaNavi now and I'll translate it afterwards.
I found a good translation.
ונחך השם תמיד והשביע בצחצחות נפשך ועצמתיך יחליץ והיית כגן רוה וכמוצא מים אשר לא יכזבו מימיו ובנו ממך חרבות עולם מוסדי דור ודור תקומם וקורא לך גודר פרץ משובב נתיבות לשבת. The translation is, and the Hashem shall always lead you and He shall satisfy your soul in drought and strengthen your bones and you. You shall be like a well-watered garden and like a spring of water, whose water does not fail.
And from you will be built destructions of the world, institutions of generation to generation you shall uplift, and you shall also, and the end here is וקרא לך גדר פרץ means you'll also be able to break through where we're speaking about simcha poretz geder, you'll be able to break through things and places and idealisms that have kept you constricted. This is what the navi is saying all in the zchus of shmiras Shabbos. So therefore because we're saying that this is in the zchus of shmiras Shabbos, the concept of chalutziut which means to go to break out of things is reserved for on Shabbos, the brachos on Shabbos. Even though מלכות דבית דוד ובונה ירושלים we're saying every single well whenever we whenever we bentch which is more or less every day unless you're healthy.
The bracha to the translation that they used there for yachalitz was to strengthen. Interesting, not not a frontierism. Yeah, strengthen your bones. Well, strengthen your bones in order to...
that's v'achaltza, beautiful, it works very nicely. Yeah, 100%. Yes, Steve, what were you saying? I was just about to say the bracha is not on Shabbos as zchus. B'zchut Shabbos, yes.
But it's said and that's why it's said nechona.
חכמינו במדרש הסבירו את המילים. There's a midrash on these words v'atzmotecha yachalitz that you shall strengthen your bones.
בתחילה יחלץ אותנו מהצרות ומהגלות.
So first He will lachlotz us, He will save us from the pain, troubles and the exile.
וכמו ביציאת מצרים נצא חמושים בנשק מוכנים לקרב, and just like when we left Egypt we will go out to war armed with weapons ready for battle.
בזכות זה נחלץ מהגלות ומאויבינו הקשים, in merit of this we will be able to be schlepped out of golus and from our harsh enemies.
בזכות זה נזכה להתיישב בארץ ישראל בנחת ללא אויבים שמציקים מסביב.
In this merit we'll also merit to dwell on the land with nachas without neighbors that are horribly putting evil and danger into our surroundings. Mikan, the midrash says, מכאן קבעו חכמים לומר רצה והחליצנו בשבת. And from here our sages derived that this is davka the place that you say retzei v'hachalitzeinu on Shabbos. It continues.
המשמעות של כל הפירושים הללו, the meaning of all these different peirushim, היא שמנוחת השבת מגיעה מארבעת השלבים הללו. Shabbos, the rest of Shabbos, rest meaning menucha of Shabbos, comes from these shlavim, from these stages. Harishon, what's the first thing?
היא להינצל להיחלץ מהרגלים. This is amazing.
What's the first level of chalitza?
כמו שאומר השם למשה בהיותו בסנה, we've said this so many times, של נעליך מעל רגליך. What's the vort over here? Take your locks off your habits.
של נעליך מעל רגליך. You've heard we've here in the I've said this many many times.
I just want to give the beshem omro. The first time I heard this vort was from Rav Natan Segal, one of my rebeim in Mivtar, a very dear and precious big neshama here in Efrat and neshama should have an aliyah. So that של נעליך מעל רגליך is like the first thing that Moshe Rabbeinu was told is that if you want to be someone that could lead in am Yisrael in many different areas, you have to... okay, so the pshat is take your shoes off your feet.
But נעליך doesn't just mean milashon naal, foot, right? Naal means lock.
רגליך, your feet, comes from the concept of hergel. Rav Kook says the... I know chevra want to say a lot of...
let me just get a few synonyms out. Rav Kook says, no no, I love it, I love it, I just sometimes I have... it's all good, it's all good. Rav Kook says the tikun for this is that you're supposed to use the concept of hergel in life as well for good habits.
What's the tikun? betargileinu b'Torasecha. We just said it right now. You all had the kavana when you were davening before about saying Hashem, please may my habitual nature only be when it comes to constantly learning. Right? That's what you were thinking about half hour ago.
B'vaday. Yeah, Dov. Just at the pshat level it works very nicely. to really conquer the land you have to connect to it and how can you do that when you have a separation between your foot and the land? In other words, taking your shoe off also is an important part of it.
Yafeh meod. It's one of the reasons I learned from Reb Shlomo is that we take off our shoes on Tisha B'Av because we lost the land because we lost the sense of chalutziut for each other. So on Tisha B'Av I take off my shoes because I have to be able to connect to the land itself and to the ground. Yes.
Yes. But don't you think it's very cute that Rabbi Segal was where you got that Torah from to unlock your feet? And remember how he would fly? He would fly. He would fly. Like almost like he was not connected to the ground.
He definitely took his shoes off. He took it off the floor. Steve, did you know him? Rav Segal, Rav Natan Segal?
כדי שתוכל לצאת מהגלות עליך להשתנות. In order to get out of exile, you gotta change.
You gotta change. What does that mean you have to change?
עליך להחלץ ממה שאתה רגיל בו. You have to get out of what you're used to, which in today's day and age means Amazon Prime order. You know what I mean? The instant, a bunch of the things that we maybe are accustomed to with very nice comforts of chutz la'aretz, it's gotta be a different a different thing here.
It's a different thing, lechaletz mizeh, lechaletz mehahergelim.
להחלץ ממחשבות רעות ודמיונות כוזבים. To uproot yourself from bad thoughts and from failed imaginations.
אחר כך צריכים להצטייד בנשק.
And then you gotta get yourself weapon.
ולהילחם בזריזות ובעומץ ובשלום המערכה כמו בני גד ובני ראובן. And then he says then you have to show up first just like Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven promised Moshe Rabbeinu that if it ever happens, we'll be first in the war. But the prerequisite this is interesting, the prerequisite over here is talking in order to be that person that's a chalutz tzava, what's the first thing you have to do?
להחלץ של נעליך מעל רגליך.
That has to be it. To get the galus out of you.
הגמרא אומרת כי החלוצים נקראים בשם זה כי הם מוציאים את האנשים מביתם לשדה הקרב. Shlufei mibeisa lekrava.
שולפין אנשים מביתם לצאת לקרב. As the Gemara in Yevamos says. This is amazing. The chalutzim are called chalutzim because they were the ones that would be able to yank people out of their beds at home in the comfort of their homes and say, now it's time to become someone else.
Now we have this midah embedded in us. We saw this on October 7th where hundreds and thousands and thousands of until today, people went and tapped into their inner chalutz and immediately, immediately became different. It's not here it doesn't necessarily mean you become a different person, it just means that your hergel changes and you tune into that which you realize, wow, I could snap out of whatever galus may be stuck in for a second and unfortunately we know this when push comes to shove, but the whole chap is to do that lechatchila and not bedieved. Because we did it bedieved in this last dor and it's supposed to be a lechatchila.
You understand the difference. You understand what I'm saying, right? That's the whole inyan. You don't wait for the maka to come to you to tell you oh my god, I gotta get my act together, I gotta change. Ma pitom, you go it's before that.
Now to continue here with just a bit more, now we go we daven every Rosh Chodesh, we daven for we should have a חיים של חילוץ עצמות. So now let's be not trying to make anyone feel bad but let's be honest. Be'emet, what have you thought when you've said those words? Yosef hatzadik? So what does that mean? It's tapping into like a deep mussar like how we had to be brought his bones literally bones atzmot out. Chilutz atzmot.
Moshe Rabbeinu was choleitz atzmos Yosef, yeah. So on that realm did any of you think about tchiyas hameisim when well to me the chilutz atzmot refers to the dry bones.
חיים של חילוץ עצמות. That's how I understand it.
Anyone else here have any kavana over the years with chilutz atzmot? No? It'll be different this Rosh Chodesh Sivan, I'll tell you this Shabbos Mevarchim. Just from this piece, it's going to be a different Birkas Hachodesh and get ready for your benching on Shabbos also. It's going to be very, very different. A different benching.
Yeah, may I ask a question, my Hebrew is not that good? But you're Hungarian. and French. And the big cave man. Okay go go go.
The question then becomes when we do Retzei Vehachalitzeinu on Shabbos, during the week we're asking Hashem to do it for us. On Shabbos, he's asking... we're asking that we be involved in it. Where we're where we're physically involved in it.
And on during the week we're not. That's very very interesting what you're saying. That's very very interesting what you're saying. Are we asking to not yeah I guess there's no lashon over there in benching about like we have to go through all the benching to really see if there's anything but let's just focus on that berachah: רחם נא ה' אלוהינו על ישראל עמך ועל ירושלים עירך ועל ציון משכן כבודך ועל מלכות בית דוד משיחך ועל הבית הגדול והקדוש שנקרא שמך עליו.
ונא אל תצריכנו ה' אלוהינו לא לידי מתנת בשר ודם כי אם לידך המלאה הפתוחה. u'vnei Yerushalayim. Yeah. And then it goes to u'vnei Yerushalayim, ke'ilu and rebuild Yerushalayim.
And then on Shabbos I say in between those two things of having compassion on us and then boneh Yerushalayim and and make me a mesirus nefesh Yid. That's ultimate compassion. It's amazing. Efshar.
Ultimate compassion is giving a person the ability to know that they could leave their old habits behind. 100%. We, Baruch Hashem, in this room take it for granted our shmiras Shabbos. It's not a question.
It's our hergel, right? But bizchus, you know, how many people in this world are ready to stop everything for a day a week? That's the ultimate level of bitachon in Hakadosh Baruch Hu that you don't have to do any of the things that you need to do to keep your business going, keep your income coming, keep every whatever it is. Kol melachtecha asuyah. Yeah. Okay so bizchus of that.
Now it's a good point. Bememes it's a good point. Now let's go let's finish this off.
הגמרא ביבמות אומרת שהברכה ועצמותיך יחליץ זו מעולה שבברכות.
So the Gemara says about what we said before: ve'atzmosecha yachlitz. You will strengthen your bones, or let's take the concept of Yosef HaTzadik in techiyas all these things. He says: that's the most that's the highest of the berachos.
הגמרא מסבירה שחילוף עצמות הזה הוא חלק מהגאולה והוא הטוב שבהם.
הוא בא מכך שהאדם נחלץ ממיצר נפשי. It comes from a place why is it the highest? Because to get out of your own fill in the blank is the greatest thing in the world. nechlitz mehapachad vehaye'ush when you're able to yank yourself out of fear, trepidation, and despair, anxiety and stress, he says: that's called nechlitz mehagalus. That that's what it means.
Hu nimratz. You become a person that's basically like you have merits that means you have you have like this awakened like geshmak of life. Erani. You're you're woke.
Sorry, I had to. Chad means sharp. Daruch umemukad matarah. Focused.
That's an important thing also. You could have all these great things of feeling alive, but the chalutziyos should lead you to leads you to a place of being memukad, of being focused. Why are you doing what you're doing in your life? Where are you going? What is the destination? And what's the best route on the journey? To have a concept of why am I doing what I'm doing? So therefore Shlomo, it's the word I think for me, at least, that you didn't translate here: matarah. That's your mission.
He said mission. He said did you say mission? Say it again. No, no, it's okay, it's okay. But that that you recognize you have a purpose, a mission, there's something driving you.
100%.
את הפעולה הזאת עושים חלוצי הצבא שמעודדים את העם. So chalutzei tzava, those that are living a life you see a chayal. What's their metzius? What's their what's their whole entity? Baruch Hashem, Menachem Dov is a chayal.
Menachem Dov Goldschmidt is officially a chayal. What what's their what's their metzius? What is their reality at that moment? Their reality is all these things: sharp, focused, point. Where am I going? What do I have to do to get there? I'm awake and I'm sharp. Those are the ones that are we should look at a chayal and shouldn't just say thank you.
We should look at a chayal, we should look at a soldier, and say: and where am I on my own battlefield? How am I approaching my battlefield? And I think that's the greatest honor you could give to any soldier you see. When you see them, it's not just I'm so thankful for what you do. It's of course that's got to be part of it, but a very powerful, powerful... And where am I a soldier on my own battlefield in the zechut of the chayal that's physically standing in the way in our arms' enemies so that I could figure out what I need to do, be focused.
את הפעולה הזאת עושים חלוצי הצבא שמעודדים את העם הולכים בראש הגייסות ונותנים בהם רוח, they go at the head, they're always at the head, they're at the head of the line and they give the whole am ruach.
חלצני ה' מאדם רע, we also know in Tehillim, חלצני ה' מאדם רע. We use that lashon of Hashem, protect me and save me from a bad person. We also use the lashon of chalutz.
As being explained over here.
כשחיילים הולכים באופן זה הם ניצלים מהאנשים הרעים, when soldiers go out in the way that we described over here right now, they are saved from the bad ones.
כך אומר דוד המלך בתהלים, this is what David HaMelech says in Tehillim: חלצני ה' מאדם רע מאיש חמסים תנצרני.
ומה רוצים האנשים הרעים אנשי חמאס, you realize what he just did over here, right? What do the pasuk, read the pasuk again?
חלצני ה' מאדם רע מאיש חמסים תנצרני.
What do the bad people, in this obviously he's taking the word Hamas over here, כל היום חושבים איך להילחם, all day long they're obsessed, they're just obsessed with war. Their whole metzius is like fantasies of grenades and guns and torture, it's their whole their whole being is obsessed with it, is consumed with it.
אשר חשבו רעות בלב כל היום יגורו מלחמות.
עליהם אומר דוד המלך במקום אחר, so David HaMelech says in another place: אוי לי כי גרתי משך שכנתי עם אהלי קדר רבת שכנה לה נפשי עם שונא שלום אני שלום וכי אדבר המה למלחמה.
So this is very interesting what this means over here, and I have the translation for this as well. Woe is to me for I have traveled in Meshech, I dwelt amongst the tents of Kedar. For a long time my soul dwelt with those who hate peace, David HaMelech says, my soul dwelt with those who hate peace. I am at peace, but when I speak they come to wage war.
אני שלום וכי אדבר המה למלחמה. We've been, we've been, this is like mamash an unbelievable te'ur of the last 78 years, it's an unbelievable mamash unbelievable description of what's going on over here. I dwelt amongst those who hate peace, mamash. So David HaMelech is saying chaltzeni, chaltzeni yank me out from a reality of being surrounded by people who hate peace.
Okay, you know what you have to do.
אהלי קדר אלו הישמעאלים, what does it mean I dwelt with the tents of Kedar? Kedar is Ishmael.
התפללנו אלפי שנים להיחלץ מרעתם, we've been davening for thousands of years to be saved from their bad. Va'amarnu retzei ve'hachalitzenu.
ברוך ה' זכינו בדורנו לראות את החיילים חלוצי צבא, we've seen in our generation, what a privilege, we've seen in our generation chayalim chalutzei tzava, these pioneers of war.
לפי כל הפירושים שנאמרו במדרש, and they fit all the different explanations that we've seen in the midrash of what type of person David HaMelech davened to become.
מישמים את המעולה שבברכות, and they are the one we said the me'uleh she'babrachot, the highest bracha is chilutz atzamot, get my bones are just sleeping, get my bones to be awake. Chilutz atzamot means get my bones to start moving, to feel alive.
Chilutz is mamash like delek, like to ignite, to light on fire, to wake up. One thirty four, right now that came to you? That's gevald. Meyasmem et hanevuah, and they also implement the prophecy שנאמרה לישעיהו הנביא בפועל ממש, you see in this sefer, Rav Eliyahu is saying all those prophecies we learned, it's like an inyan to learn Hebrew to understand what these prophecies are saying, but it's also an inyan to notice it that these are things that are happening in front of us. So therefore we have a new ta'am, a new approach for.
benching on Shabbos and also when it's gonna come to when it comes to Birkas HaChodesh. So now I can now maybe I could say a nice vort. When don't I say Birkas HaChodesh? Rosh Hashanah. Which means the Shabbos before the new year.
Why? Because Elul in itself was supposed to do that to me. If I want to hold like stam one reason I could say about why we don't say Shabbos Mevarchim, there's no Shabbos Mevarchim Tishrei, it's because Elul in its essence, real teshuva is a life of chilutz atzamos. It's supposed to be like that the whole month. Let's not wait till Elul, let's start now bizchus hachayalim ha'eilu with the merit of the people that are living this wherever I need to do that in my life should become alive Chai v'kayam.