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The pasuk in this week's parsha tells us about three animals that are beloved to Hakadosh Baruch Hu to bring as an offering. The pasuk says, "Shor" Ochesev, oes, a ox, a sheep, or a goat. Kivaleid When it is born, vahayashiv as yamim tachas imo, it should remain by its mother for seven days, and then afterwards, v'mayomah shmini vahala. From the eighth day and on, Yeratzel a Karban Ishalah Hashem. It is acceptable as a fire offering to Hashem. The Medrash tells us a fascinating thing. The Medrash tells us why specifically these three animals. The animals are very good. I was just about to repeat them. Thank you so much for asking. The animals are an ox, a sheep, or a goat. Very good. The Medrash tells us what is special about these three animals. Are specifically appreciated, desired by our Kadosh Baruch Hu for karbanos. The Medrash begins by quoting a pasuk from Koheles. If you are confused about this pasuk, that makes sense. It's a confusing pasuk. We will explain it.
The pasuk says, 'Mashahaya kvarhu.' I should probably write this down on the board. 'Mashahaya kvarhu,' that which is already has been. That's the first statement of the pasuk. Va'asher lios kvarhaya And that which will be has already been. V'haya v'halokim. Hashem seeks that which has been driven away. I'll tell you the three things again. I'll say it in English. That which is, meaning that which is already has been. That which will be in the future. Already has been And our Kadosh Baruch Hu seeks those that are driven away. So the Medrash explains, what do these three things mean? The first thing is that which has already been. So the Medrash explains. Maybe somebody's going to ask How is it possible that if Adam Arishon had not sinned He would have lived forever? How is that possible? So we know that we can prove it from Eliyahu Anavi. Eliyahu Hanavi never sinned, and he lived forever.
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If you look at the passage, that which is already has been, meaning that which is Eliyahu Hanavi. The idea that someone can live The idea that someone can live forever Already has been. Where do we see that someone can live forever? From the times of other Marishon, had other Marishon not sinned He would have lived forever. That's statement number one. Statement number two: that which is to be already has been, meaning something about the future. What's in the future? The Medrash says, if someone ever doubted that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will do tchiyas hamesim, that He'll revive the dead, you should know that already has been. Why? Because both Eliyahu and Eliezer Hanavi were able to do tchiyas hamesim in their lifetime. So the tchias hamesim in the future that we expect to happen in Yemos HaMashiach in the times of Olam Habah, it's already been. We've already had tchias hamesim in our world. Eliyahu and Elisha both were able to be mechaya mesim. They were both able to revive the dead.
The last part of this pasuk in Koheles, Hakadosh Baruch Hu seeks that which has been driven away. The medrash explains Hashem is sympathetic. He loves people who are being chased. What are the examples that the Medrash gives? Avram Avinu sided. Hakadosh Baruch Hu sided with Avram Avinu who was being chased by Nimrod. Nimrod was the antagonist of Avram Avinu. Nimrod even tried to kill Avram Avinu. Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose Avram Avinu. Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose Yitzchak who was being chased by the Plishtim. Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose Yaakov who was being chased by Esav. Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose Yosef who was being chased by his brothers. Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose Moshe. Who was being chased by Paro? Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose David Hamelach, who was being chased by Shaul Hamelach. So too, Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires an ox, a goat. And a sheep, because they're animals who are being chased. An ox is pursued by lions. A goat is pursued by leopards, and sheep are pursued by wolves.
It's a fascinating medrash. An ox is pursued by lions, a goat is pursued by leopards, sheep are pursued by wolves. Remember, in the very beginning of the She'er, three minutes ago, when I we said, what are the three animals that a kodesh baruch hu desires as karbanos? It's an ox, a goat, and a sheep. Why these three animals? Because they're being chased, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves things that are being chased. A goat is pursued by a leopard. An ox is pursued by a lion. A sheep is pursued by a wolf. So we have a very strange medrash. It appears to be all over the place. The first thing that we have to ask is the beginning of the pasuk and the end of the pasuk, according to the medrash, seem to have nothing in common. What's the beginning of the pasuk about? The beginning of the pasuk is about the fact that had Adam Rishon never sinned, he would have lived forever. The immortality of man, which we see from Eliyahu Navi, and the ultimate kiyas hamesim that will occur in the future is assured because we've already seen it. Eliyahu and Elisha did it. That's one half of the pasuk. What's the second half of the pasuk? Hashem loves people that are chased by other people. That's why he desires a sheep, an ox, and a goat as a carbuncle.
Do you see how those two things have nothing to do with each other? It's a very strange pasuk. So the first question we have for tonight is: What's the connection, according to the medrash, between the beginning half of the pasuk and the second half of the pasuk? That's the first question. There's another question though—an even more obvious question. I'm a big sports fan. I don't imagine many of you are big sports fans, but I'm a big sports fan. I've been able to give up baseball, football, and hockey. I don't know anything about baseball, football, and hockey. But I grew up in New York. I was a teenager in the 90s and the New York Knicks. They're embedded in people like you and me. They're embedded in our blood. If you cut me open, I bleed orange and blue. And I and you. What's your name? Gabby. From where? Brooklyn. You are in real New York.
There's fake New York and real New York. Brooklyn is real New York. Brooklyn's like angry. I'll punch you in the streets in the subway, New York. I'm from the Five Towns. It's a different New York, but I'm with you. You're real New York. I'm fake New York. Hey, I'm from New York. I'm from Brooklyn. Is permitted allowed? Is what? Permitted means allowed. This ADHD moment was brought to you by me. What'd you say your name was? Gabby? Abby? Gabby. Gabby. Close enough. Abby. Now you're how old? You're 18 years old. So you've suffered for quite some time. As a Knicks fan, it must have been hard for you. Oh my God, I was shocked at that game. Watching the years of torture and suffering, and rolling out the worst NBA players in the biggest city in America, it's been hard. But you have not had it as hard as me.
Because I saw greatness. I know what they could be. I was there in the era of Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley and John Starks and Anthony Mason and Derek Harper, the whole Chavurah Kedusha. I grew up with them. These were my people. I saw the Knicks go to the playoffs and consistently get beat by Jordan. This is hard for me. And now The Knicks are the underdog against the Boston Celtics. We're evil. These are evil men. They stand in the way of greatness. Every Knicks fan feels a little bit bad for Jason Tatum who got injured, but not that bad. If you're from Brooklyn, you really don't care. You're happy that a man got injured because it's going to bring you one step closer to the championship. You're a bad person. That's wrong. Gabby's awesome. What do you mean? I just meant she's amazing. I got scared for a second, but then I was like. I was like, get off, walk it off. You'll take it. Yeah.
It sounds like a funny thing. We root for underdogs. In basketball, there's something called the NCAA tournament, and if there's a team that's like They call them a Cinderella story, like they're never gonna make it, right? And somehow they end up in the Sweet 16 or the Final Four, right? It's an unbelievable story. We go crazy. Millions and millions of dollars are spent and made telling stories about the underdogs. Is that what it is? Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves Avram Avinu because he's being chased by Nimrod. He loves Yitzchak because he's being chased by the Plishdim. He loves Yaakov because he's being chased by Esav. He loves Yosef because he's being chased by his brothers. He loves Moshe because he's being chased by Paro. He loves David because he's being chased by Shaul Malak. Is that really it? Does Hakadosh Baruch Hu love underdogs? That doesn't sound right to us. If you asked me why does Hakadosh Baruch Hu love Avram Avinu, what would be the obvious answer?
Not because Hakadosh Baruch Hu is a Knicks fan, not because he loves the underdog. Why does Hakadosh Baruch Hu love Avram Avinu? Because Avram is a tzaddik, because Yitzchak is a tzaddik, because Yaakov is a tzaddik. Because Yosef is a tzaddik, because Moshe is a tzaddik, because David and Melchizedek are tzaddikim. Why does the Medrash say it that way? Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves those that are being chased. That's why he loves an ox, a sheep, and a goat. It sounds doesn't sound right to us. It sounds off. It requires further explanation. It requires something deeper to be drawn out from here. What does it mean that Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves those that are chaste? What's the pshat on that? So I saw an unbelievable tirah. I'm not going to say the same tirah as this person, so I'm not going to say it b'shem omro. But the idea I got from him. Let's go back to the beginning of creation, and when I say the beginning of creation, I mean the moment before Baruch Hu created anything. I want to talk about that moment for one second.
Do you have a marker here? Thank you. Is it okay if I erase this? We need this. There's a theological problem that exists in the world. The problem is this. If you're going to create a world That means there needs to be a place that's devoid of Hashem's presence. Because if this is Hashem And Hashem makes a world And let's say he makes the world here. What feeling will the world have? The world will not see itself as a world; it will just see itself as God. A good marshal for this is a sun. Before the rays of the sun leave the sun, where are they? In the sun. But does a ray of the sun feel like a ray when it's still within the sun itself? Because the ray of the sun is absorbed within the sun; it does not have its own distinct identity.
If Hakadosh Baruch Hu creates a world, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is infinite. So if something comes along and says, "Hey, look at me! I'm finite. I exist." If it's within the realm of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, will it actually ever feel like its own thing? Will it feel like it exists separately and independently from Hashem? The answer is no. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants a world that will be separate and distinct from Him. At least that's the way it's going to feel. So there's a famous word. I'm sure you've heard this word before. Hakadosh Baruch Hu was mezamtzem himself. He pulled back to create space for somebody else. Have you heard this idea before? When Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world, so to speak. It's a machlokas if these means literally or not literally. The Vilna Gaon said it means literally. The Baal Shem Tov said it means not literally. It was a machlokas in Kabbalah even before the Baal Shem Tov and the Vilna Gaon. But what Hakadosh Baruch Hu did is he pulled back So to speak. Space And in this space, so to speak, there's a void of Hashem's presence.
And this is where creation began. In this space, where Hakadosh Baruch Hu appears not to be So far so good. He pulled himself back to allow for the creation of another. The reason why we walk around in this world and have free choice. The reason why we walk around in this world and feel separate and distinct from Hashem is because when Hashem created the world, He was Metzamsim Himself. He pulled Himself back to allow for the creation of another. So far, so good. I want to make this very real, very practical. I told you girls the last month of Sefiim, we're going to really try to work on the idea of relationships and really speaking about relationships. I want to tell you what this looks like in a relationship. I'm sure you heard this year a beautiful Torah from Rav Desler. I'm sure you heard it this year. Probably you heard it before this year.
You've heard it a million times, maybe even. The word ahava comes from a lashon of hav. To love means to give. How many of you have heard it? Raise your hand if you've heard it before. How many of you have heard it multiple times this year? Excellent. So about 50% of you have heard it multiple times. I have a question. Simple question. What does 'give' mean? Give without expecting to receive. That's very beautiful. 100%. Very beautiful. But it's not obvious. We don't know what that means, really. Give without give what? Give presents? Give toys? What are you giving? Give yourself. Give yourself. What does that mean? Time, energy, patience. What I'm trying to point out is that shmuuz is incomplete. Rav Desler understood something, but he didn't articulate it in that particular shmuuz. Most people who give over that Torah, it's a very beautiful Torah. To love means to give. If you want to learn to love someone, give to them. It's a very beautiful Torah. It's incomplete.
There's something that Rav Dessler knew that he wrote about in other places, but we need to articulate. Giving means obviously of yourself, but I want to tell you what the definition of love really is. This is love. This thing that we just spoke about is a model for what love is. Pulling yourself back to create space for another within yourself. That's the definition of love. I'll say it again. To love means to give. Give means what? Give means give yourself. How do I do that? It's very simple. To pull yourself back To allow space for another to be within you—that's the definition of love. You all know this intuitively. Let's say you're talking to somebody. Let's say somebody has something that they really want to share with you. They're in pain. So what's the act? What do we do? We pull ourselves back. We pull back our own self-interest in that moment and we create space for them to share who they are with us.
Non-judgmental, totally compassionate, beautiful space. That we create to allow another to be themselves in our presence. That's the definition of love. I always get frustrated when people only say over the part of R. D. Laing that says love is to give, because then girls and guys go, 'Give what?' Give my time. That's very nice. What are you doing with your time? Give presence. What does that mean? Pull yourself back to allow space for another to be themselves within you. That's why when you're dating someone you know that it's a good relationship when you can be yourself fully with them. The beginning of relationships are very challenging because of that. Because in the beginning of a relationship, you don't want to show them who you really are because you're afraid that you'll be rejected. So in the beginning of a relationship, when you go out on the first date, what it is basically, it's two people who are, again, I'm going to say this in an extreme way, lying.
Because you're both pretending to be the best version of yourself, which you aren't always. Love means love, and that's why I used to get frustrated in my high school rabbi'im because I was dating this girl in high school, and I said that I loved her, and my rabbi'im would say, "No, you don't." And I said, "Who are you to tell me how I feel?" Very like a self-righteous sixteen-year-old kid who certainly thought he had all the answers, and my rabbi'im would smile knowingly at me, and I was resentful of their like It was like a very quiet ridicule. They're like, 'Sweetie, you'll learn when you're older.' And I was like, 'Stop it! No, I know what I'm feeling.' And then when I got married, I was like, shoot, they're right. I still wouldn't tell them, even today, if they're listening to this schmoozer. Axel, if you're listening to this schmoozer, I just want you to know, I still don't agree with you. But he was 100% right. Why were my Rebbeim right? Why was I wrong at 16 years old? At 16 years old, you know what it's like to be your best self with somebody.
But if you're married to somebody for twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years and you've seen someone in all of their being, in all of the ways they show up It's like all the like. Now I know who they really are and you love them. That's love. So then, do you think you can only love someone after you've been married? Absolutely. I think the reason we don't love someone if you're almost like about to get married. I think what you have is the possibility of love. I think what you have that's beautiful is the excitement that comes with I'm going to spend a lifetime pulling back space in myself to create space for you to be yourself. But you can do that to a degree in dating, but not truly, because the commitment is not truly there, and the time is not truly there. The difficult things that you've gone through aren't truly there.
I'm thinking in my head about a case. About a man who really loves his wife, and she's going through terrible tragedy and suffering. He really loves his wife. He's given up everything for her. She's he quit his job. He's doing everything for him quitting his job. He's just dedicating himself to her completely. It's the ultimate act of selflessness. Which is what love really is. The reason I bring this up is not because you didn't know any of the things that I said until now. But there's one nikuda that I want to highlight Which is this thing called love pulling yourself back to create space for another. It's the single hardest thing you'll ever do in your entire life. Because pulling yourself back means the possibility of loss. I want to explain what I mean. Have I ever done the Davy the Learning Disabled Kid mashal with you?
This is one of my favorite mashalim. Two kids Davy the Learning Disabled Kid And Joe Cool. Joe Cool is not my mashal. I didn't make up these names, but it is a great mashal, and you'll see why they have these names in a moment. Joe Cool is 17 years old. He lives in Texas. And he's the captain of the football team. Do you girls understand what that means to be the captain of the football team? If you live in Texas Friday Night Lights. They play football on Friday night. High school football is the most serious thing in the world. And elderly men will live in that town for 60 years, and they'll still be rooting for that high school football team. And Joe Cool is. You can picture the scene, right? Joe Cool is in the championship game, and he's lined up to take the snap. The score is tied. There's three seconds left on the clock.
The snap comes into his hands, rolls back his three steps. He looks downfield and sees his best friend. Guy who he grew up with his entire life, sprinting downfield, and he's got this much space. And Joe is a very talented athlete. Cox back his arm, perfect spiral, right into the outstretched arms of his best friend. Catches the touchdown Slides into the end zone, and it's pandemonium. The entire stands, all the chavra, all the friends, all the family, all the entire town rush the field and carry Joe Cool on their shoulders. And they're chanting his name Joe Cool, and he's pumping his fist. This is the pinnacle of Joe Cool's life. If the game of life is played in poker chips, how many poker chips did Joe Cool win that night? A million poker chips. A million poker chips. It's the best night of his life. And the next day, if you know Texas football, is the parade down Main Street. I don't care where you're from in Texas, they all have a Main Street, right? And it's like everybody lines up on the side, and Joe Cool with his best friend is in the back of the pickup truck holding the trophy, and they're driving by, and everybody's clapping. The elderly man outside the barber shop are sitting there going like, man, Joe Cool. He's now iconic in our town, and everybody will remember his name forever.
He drives down that street and he sees everybody clapping for him. How does Joe Cool feel? Unbelievable. 500,000 poker chips. 1.5 million poker chips from Friday night to Shabbos afternoon. And now it's Sunday night and it's the prom. And of course Joe Cool is dating the prettiest girl in school. And they come to the prom. And they have the king and queen of the prom. I don't know if you know that this exists. There's a prom. There's a king and queen of the prom. I'm not sure if you're as relevant as I am. So this is what happens. And Joe of course is called up to be the prom king. And the girl that he's been dating since he's a fetus. She's the prom queen, and they get up there together, and they have that iconic moment as they're crowned with that three cent plastic crown. The king and queen of the prom, and everybody in that auditorium, everybody in that gym, every kid is sitting there going Man, I wish I was Joe Cool. Another half a million poker chips. That's a good weekend. Two million poker chips on a weekend. The man is rich.
Monday morning in school The teacher puts a question on the board. And Joe Cool says, "I think I know the answer to the question, but I'm not sure. And if I get it wrong, everybody in the class is going to laugh at me, and I'm going to lose five thousand poker chips. And if I get it right, the teacher's approval will win me ten thousand poker chips." Does Joe Cool raise his hand and take the risk to answer the question? He might lose five thousand poker chips. But it's nothing because he just won two million poker chips. So Joe Cool, while he might not, he's much more likely to answer the question because big deal, I can afford a five thousand chip loss. There's another kid, is Davey the learning disabled kid? Davey the learning disabled kid is from Minnesota. He's eleven. He's little. He's sweet. So cute.
He wakes up in the morning in freezing cold Minnesota. Anybody here from Minnesota? Good. He wakes up in freezing cold icy tundra Minnesota. He rolls over. And he sees it's early in the morning. He's still groggy, and he sees that his mom put out his pants and his shirt on the radiator in his room because it's so cold outside, and he's gonna get dressed in warm clothing. Is there anything better than getting dressed in warm clothing? When that T-shirt comes right out of the dryer and you put it on and it's like a hug, it's the best thing in the entire world. He rolls over and he feels his mother's love as his clothing sits there on the radiator. Now everyone's gonna have heard it. Five thousand poker chips. A mother's love is worth a tremendous amount. Davy, the learning disabled kid, opens the door to his room as he gets dressed, and the smell of fresh pancakes wafts up the stairs.
Five thousand poker chips. My mother knows I love pancakes. He comes downstairs to the kitchen and he sees it's blueberry pancakes, and we all know blueberry is the best pancakes. That's the chocolate chip is a good second. Blueberries are the best pancakes, especially if you've got the fresh blueberries, the ones that explode right in your mouth. It's like gushers, but Hashem's gushers, right? Gushers. Before there were gushers, there were blueberries. Another five thousand poker chips, fifteen thousand poker chips in the morning. That's pretty good. And then he sees that his mother took the maple syrup from the fridge and put it in a little pot, and she's heating up the maple syrup because the worst part about having fresh pancakes is if you have to put cold syrup on it. Because cold syrup brings down the temperature. Hot syrup is perfect. She has the stack. She has the five, really fluffy blueberry pancakes. She pours over. The syrup—it's dripping. That stick, that little stick of butter in the commercials—that tiny stick of butter, right?
And my mother's love—he walks out of the house with twenty thousand poker chips. He walks into the freezing cold Minnesota winter morning as that yellow school bus pulls up. And the bus driver opens the door and he gets on the bus. Beautiful little eleven-year-old Davy, the learning disabled kid And somebody from the back of the bus calls out. Losers on board. That's so unkind. You're gonna have to not be seminary girls for three seconds. It's so unkind that Davy, the learning disabled kid, in that moment, as he knows that he's totally socially undesirable. Lost twenty thousand poker chips. The twenty thousand poker chips that his mother gave him in the morning. With the clothing on the radiator, and the pancakes, and the blueberries, and the heated-up maple syrup, are gone with one second of cruelty from a bully. Finish. Davy, the learning disabled kid, goes to class. The teacher puts a problem on the board.
Davy thinks he might know the answer. If he knows the answer, he's going to get ten thousand poker chips for approval from the teacher. If he doesn't know it, everybody's going to laugh at him. He's going to lose five thousand poker chips. Remember, he has zero poker chips. How will Davy, the learning disabled kid, play that situation out? It depends. There's one of two ways it could go. One way is Davy says, I can't take the risk. I don't have poker chips. If I go down five thousand poker chips, I'm done. Why would I ever raise my hand? The other way that Davy plays the game of life is he says, I can't possibly win at this game. So what's the difference? Even if everybody laughs at me, it doesn't matter because I can't win at this game. See, if you were Joe Cool, you have what's called an abundance mentality. You're walking around with a ton of poker chips. You could take risks.
But if you have no poker chips, if you have no self-esteem So you either will never take a risk because you can't take a loss, or your life just doesn't matter. I'll take the risk because what's the difference? Who cares? Having a neshama means that you have an infinite amount of poker chips. God is infinite, and you carry Him around inside of you. The knowledge that you are a godly soul That you have infinity inside of you means I have enough of a sense of self to be able to show up to life. Every person in this room has the capacity to be Joe Cool. Sadly, some of us are Davy, the learning disabled kid. Not because we don't have the poker chips, but because we've never thought about it before. We've never accessed it before. There are girls in this room. I promise you. Some of you are laughing, but I promise you, there are girls in this room.
That didn't have the courage to show up to life. They didn't have the courage to put themselves out there and take a risk and be their true, authentic self because they said, 'What if I get rejected?' They don't take risks. They can't show up because they don't know they're billionaires, but they don't know that they have it, which is terrifying. Every one of us, if we would have the self-esteem that we're meant to have, if we'd be aware that we're neshamas, every one of us would be creative. Every one of us would be authentic. Every one of us would shine, and we would illuminate each other. It would be the most beautiful thing in the world. Most of us walk around not with a soul mentality, but a body mentality. We walk around with the knowledge that one day we're gonna die. And we're afraid So we don't take risks. We trade in our authenticity for social acceptability, and it's sad.
But if you want to know the number one place where it plays itself out, it's marriage. You're asking me to pull back and make space for you. That's terrifying. Because what happens if I pull back and I don't have enough for myself? You might overrun me. You might destroy my boundaries. You could take over my life. What happens if you want something and now I can't get what I want? That's what people who are impoverished believe. People who have an abundance mentality can easily pull back. This is an awesome space to be. I but now they're taking up your space. They're not taking up my space. I have an infinite amount of space. You hear the difference? If you have an abundance mentality, if you're Joe Cool Love is your superpower. I'll pull back. I would love to pull back. I'm going to invite you in. But if you're pulling back, aren't you going to lose something of yourself? I have an infinite amount of space. I'm not losing. I'm not diminished.
But people who can't pull themselves back to love another It's because they're terrified. You want me to give? I don't have anything to give. I'm terrified of what happens if I let you in. This is what often happens when people are hurt when they're younger in life. It's terrifying to pull somebody back because I've seen what happens when people pull back. I've seen how people bulldoze other people. People of Joe Cool's mentality have an infinite mentality. They go, he's not going to bulldoze me. I know how to have boundaries. I know how to borders. I'm okay. I have an infinite amount inside of me. The secret to love, the secret to creation, Hashem pulls Himself back to create space for another, and He's not afraid to do it. Because He's infinite. Hashem says to us, 'Go out and love. Act like Me. Pull yourself back to create space for another.' I'm afraid. Why are you afraid? I'm afraid because what happens if I get run over? That's not true. You're infinite, just like Hashem. You have an infinite soul inside of you.
Let's go back for a second. Let's talk about sheep. Let's talk about goats. Let's talk about oxen. Why does a Kadosh Baruch Hu love Avram Avinu? Because he's chased by Nimrod. Why does he love Yitzchak? Because he's chased by the Plishtim. Why does he love Yaakov? Because he's chased by Esav. In all those cases, they did what? They had to abandon their space. Moshe Avinu had to abandon his space. He ran away to Midyan. Yaakov Avinu had to run away to the house of Lavan. Avram Avinu was chased by Nimrod Right? Everything. Whenever you're chased, it means you have to leave your space. You know what happens when you leave your space? Something unbelievably profound happens when a person has to leave their space in life. You know what they discover? I'm okay. I, it's super painful. I'm. You're chasing me. I had to leave where I was. I'm okay.
It's okay. I know it sounds a little funny. You discover that you're okay when things are not okay. You discover how okay you are. Take for example this happened many years ago. I don't know if any of you had Hurricane Sandy. Were any of you in Hurricane Sandy? Lots of people really lost a lot of things in Hurricane Sandy. I remember seeing a video of a car in Far Rockaway where I grew up, just like floating down the street. Just floating down the street because the water levels were so high. I remember that there was a house on Branch Boulevard. Somebody that I knew The water came up to the top of the second floor and began to permeate the third floor. It was a three-floor house. This guy I know, his in-laws lived in that house. He went to be with his in-laws. He had his children on the third floor of the house and was sitting there on the phone with 911, trying to get a helicopter to come rescue them.
He said, when the water reached the third floor, and I was walking around in the water on the third floor, he started. He said, I started. This guy was a lifeguard growing up. He said, I started to make cheshbonot about, am I going to be able to save all of my children? How will I do this? Which kids can I put on my back as I tread water and go up to the roof? That was a real thought that he had. Baruch Hashem. It only flooded up to like the top of his feet, but Imamsh was this close to having to think about which kids do I save, which is a crazy thought for any parent to have. But what happened to those people who lost their cars and lost their houses? It was terrible. But you start to discover something when you pull back from your space. What do you discover? I'm not defined by my space. Paradoxically, when I give up space It happens.
It was? At least it was a good one. If it was like a shvacha sneeze that disturbed everyone But it was a good one. Do you have that sense of relief? I'm saying, we should thank Hashem for the pleasure of a great sneeze. Should be a bracha on it. What happens when we lose our space? We discover that we're larger than the space that we pulled back from. That I could lose my house and I could lose my car, and I am still okay. Enuchanami, I need to find a place to live. I need to find a car to drive. But I, with all the loss that I've gone through My space is still infinite. Hashem loved Avram because he was a tzaddik. But He cherished Avram because Avram Avinu knew something. He learned something by being chased by Nimrod. It doesn't matter where I am. I'm okay.
It doesn't matter that I've been pursued. I'm okay. That's what Yitzchak experienced. Yaakov experienced. In fact, I would say that Yaakov discovered who he was from being chased by Esau. That's how he becomes Yisrael. Avram Avinu from being chased by Nimrod becomes not Avram but Avraham. Moshe Rabbeinu becomes the Messiah of Klal Yisrael because he has to run away to Paro and in Midyan he discovers the burning bush. It's when we run away. As we're pursued, when we lose our space, we discover our infinite space that exists. So says the Medrash. Alkaldei Shmuel who loves the sheep The goat and the ox Because they're constantly being chased by the leopard, the lion, and the wolf. They're being chased, and so that animal knows better than any other animal what it's like to constantly have to leave the space. You're in a space. You think it's safe. All of a sudden, there's a wolf. You have to run away. You're in that space. You think it's safe. All of a sudden, there's a lion. You have to run away. Hakadosh Baruch Hu says those are my karbanos because I relate to that. Hashem said I am the ultimate expression of pulling back space to create space for another. The discovery of space from pulling back space. Existence exists.
Our world exists. In the space that Hashem pulled Himself back from, it's a very sophisticated idea. Let's tie it back to the beginning of the pasuk. If Hashem says, "I'll pull back space for six thousand years" That's not so impressive. Hashem says, "I'll tell you what." When I create this space I'm going to create man to be immortal. That he'll live forever. It's not six thousand years. It's forever the space that Hashem creates. And if Adam and Eve didn't sin, it would have been forever. I but he did sin, so it's not so impressive that you pulled back space because it's only for a short amount of time. But there's going to be a tchias hamesim. Ultimately, this space will be forever. It was designed to be forever, and it will be forever. So Hashem pulling back space to create space for another, how impressive is that? How much space did he pull back?
He didn't pull back six thousand years. He said, 'This space, it belongs to you forever.' So the beginning of the pasuk is that which was, still is. It's here now. The immortality of man—you see it in Eliyahu Hanavi. The revival of the dead that will one day happen, Eliyahu and Eliyahu still do it now. Our space, this world that we live in, it's forever. Hashem pulled Himself back ultimately for everyone. So who does He love? He loves people that pull themselves back and create space for another. He loves animals that pull themselves back and create space for another. Those that are chased learn the deepest secret of love. When you pull yourself back to create space for another That's when you actually discover who you truly are. That's what it means to bring a carbon. What does it mean to bring a carbon? I want to draw close to Hashem. What type of carbon do I bring?
A carbon that teaches us how to be like Hashem. If I want to draw close to Hashem, I have to be like Hashem. Hashem pulls himself back to create space for another. We bring a carbon that is the ultimate act of love. Girls. This is not theoretical. The work that you do on yourself in these formative years before you start dating. Girls always ask, guys always ask, how do I know when I'm ready to start dating? So there's obvious answers. There's the answer of whether you're emotionally mature, whether you're financially responsible, whether you're capable. And then there's whether it's the right time for you to start. There's all the famous answers. I'll tell you the truth. I don't think any of those answers are great. You want to know the real answer? This is the real answer. The real answer is very simple. Do you have enough self-esteem in the tank?
Are you deeply connected to your infinite godly soul that you have the courage to pull back space within yourself to allow another to be themselves in your presence? If you have that, you're ready to start dating. If you're terrified. If you feel like, but if I give them space in my life, maybe they're just going to take over my entire life, and maybe they're going to be unsafe with me. If that's if you're feeling that because you're not tapped into your infinite nature Then I would strongly encourage you to spend real time meditating on the fact that you are an infinite godly soul, and you have an infinite amount inside of you capable of loving someone else. Girls have a wonderful Shabbos.
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