Ki Tavo - Building A Connection with Eretz Yisrael

2:03 It's a fascinating Rashi. You can take a look. You have the Rashi in front of you. When does this mitzvah start? When do you have to start doing the mitzvah of bikurim? So Rashi says, if you look over here, it says v'hayah kitavo. Remember, we highlighted those words earlier. V'irash de v'eshav t'ba. When you possess the land and settle in the land, so Rashi says as follows. Magid, this comes to teach you. Shalone s'chayvu b'bi'kurim at shekavshu es ha'aretz v'cholkuah. When did they start doing the mitzvah? Imagine you're Moshe Rabbeinu. You're in the desert. You're on the verge of going into the land of Israel. And there's a mitzvah of bikurim. There's a mitzvah that you're going to bring your first fruits to the base of mikdash, to the kohen, and you're going to express your gratitude. Listen what Rashi says. When did the mitzvah start?

2:54 Not until they conquered the land and divided up the land. Girls, how many years was that? How many years did it take for Klal Yisrael to enter into the land, to conquer the land, and ultimately divide up the land? It was 14 years. 14 years. So for 14 years after Klal Yisrael entered into Israel, for 14 years they did not do the mitzvah of Bikurim. Only after the land was divided up There is, however, a problem with this. There is, however, a problem with this, and the problem is as follows: There's a sefer. You have a sefer in front of you. The sefer says as follows: I say mitzvah ha'amura. The Sifri says that Moshe Rabbeinu, when he gave the mitzvah of Bikurim to Klal Yisrael, said, 'Do this mitzvah, because in the merit of this mitzvah you're going to enter into the land of Israel.'

3:56 In the merit of this mitzvah. Which means, when should we have started doing the mitzvah of Bikurim? Either right before we go into Eretz Yisrael, in order that we should merit to go in. As soon as we get in For 14 years we were in the land, fighting, conquering the land, dividing up the land. It was 14 years until we actually did the mitzvah. So this doesn't make any sense. Rashi is telling us you can't do the mitzvah until the entire land is settled and divided up. But we know that the schus that we had to merit to enter into the land of Israel was because of bikurim. So what were we doing there for the first 14 years? It's like imagine somebody gives you the key to your house, and they say before you enter into your house, you need to do this one thing. Do you go and live there for 14 years before you do it?

4:49 So that's our first problem for the night. The first problem is if the mitzvah of bikurim is what gives you the merit to enter into the land of Israel, how come we had to wait 14 years in order to do it? That's the first question. I want to skip for a second to what will appear at first glance to be completely irrelevant. Completely irrelevant. Thanks. Completely irrelevant. But you'll see in a moment it's going to be very relevant. There is a Gemara in Shabbos. This Gemara in Shabbos is beyond strange. It seems to be totally like not only does it have nothing to do with what we're talking about, but this Gemara itself is very perplexing. Girls lock in. Focus. Pay attention. This is an amazing Gemara. It's one line. Tanya Rav Yishmael ben Elazar Omar. Rav Yishmael ben Elazar said, "What did he say?" As follows Be'avon shnei dvareim ame aratos meisim.

5:44 For two reasons, ignorant people die young. Reason number one, al shekorin la'aron hakodesh arana. And when they walk into a shul and they see an Aaron Kodesh, what do they call it? The Aaron and they don't say the word kodesh. That's one reason they die young. And the second reason, va'al shekorin lebeis haknesses beis am Because when they walk into a shul, what's the proper name for a shul, girls? It's beis knesses. They don't call it a beis knesses. They call it a beis am, a place where the nation gathers. Any problems with this Gemara? I have. Three problems with the Gemara. I'm curious if any of you have a problem with the Gemara. What's an obvious problem? What's your name? Where are you from? From. I knew a Kazdin from Oceanside many years ago. Is that your grandparents? What's the problem you have with the Gemara?

6:46 It seems very harsh. It seems very harsh. I walk into a shul. I look at the Aron and instead of calling it the Aron Kodesh, I call it an Aron. And now what happens to me? Death. Sounds exceptionally harsh. That's a great question. Question number one. What's another one? What's your name? Where are you from? Shane Freedman from Florida. I can't do Jewish geography with Freedman from Florida. That's like the most Jewish thing ever. The fact that it says you're gonna die young if you call it a base on seems very. I don't know the right word is derogatory, but very like. Like. Judaism is not supposed to like. Shut out other people, and it's like if you include people, you're gonna die young. It's bad that you're doing that. I hear it. Not bad. I like that question. What's your name? Where are you from?

7:39 What's your last name? If I could play Jewish geography, that would be the name I would do it with. What's your question? I think maybe the question would be that a lot of times people don't say the things as they are. You're not gonna say Aron Kodesh every time you see it. And so also, maybe the answer would be. Wait, no answers yet. I'm a Jew. I like questions. Jews don't like answers. We love questions. But that's a great one. That's as I walked into a shul, I called it by its nickname. It's a similar question to what Miss Casden is asking. It's like, is that really so bad that I called it by that I'm worthy of that? I love it. Great question. Over in the back. What's your name? Where are you from? Luriana. I'm from Arizona. Although I currently live in Israel. Where in Israel? In beit shemesh. Welcome.

8:34 That doesn't seem to be so bad And I'm going to make your question even worse because that's something you're highlighting. What does the word Beit Am mean? It means a place where the nation gathers. What does the word Beit Knesset mean? What does the word Knesset mean? Like an opening. A place where people gather. That's the Maharsha's question. So on the question of the Arum, which you were highlighting before, which is an excellent question, I called it by a shorthand to say there. It seems a little harsh. Doesn't seem right. I called it by a short name to say there. But on base Knesses Beit Am and Beit Knesset mean the same thing. So what's the big deal that I called it a Beit Am and not a Beit Knesset? It seems like the same exact thing. It is a place where Jews gather. Is that not what it is?

9:21 So number one, I'm just saying what it is, and number two. It doesn't even mean two different things. So I call it Beit Am, I die. If I call it Beit Knesset, you're good. What does that even mean? That's the second question. I have one more question, but I'll let you go again. Is Am nation like singular of like only the Jews or plural? In this case, I would think it just refers to Jews. Beit Am, the place where the nation gathers. Nobody died yet. Why? And it's also another good point. Did anybody see people just dropping dead? Like a guy walks into a shul, goes Aron, boom, does he just drop dead from it? If it did, that would be awesome. I would like to see that. I'm not looking for people to die, but I'd like to see that once because that would be sick. If you like, that's a great way to wage war in Israel. Come here, I want to introduce you something. Say Aron, and just watch the entire. That'd be an amazing way for people to go.

10:19 I have one last question on this Gemara. I think it's obvious. I think you would have gotten it if I gave you another couple of minutes. These two statements appear to be really random. Two totally separate things, even though they both have to do with the shul. It's like a shikle random. I walk into a shul, I see, I say Aron and not Aron Kodesh, I'm dead. If I call the shul a Beit Ham and not a Beit Knesset, I'm dead. I imagine there's other things that we could have spoken about in a shul. Why specifically these two things? Why are you chayav misa for these two things? Are you going to give me an answer? I don't want answers. I like questions. You hear what I'm saying? I like questions. Questions make us think. Once we get an answer, we stop thinking. So we should ask as many questions as we can. What's your name? Where are you from? From Great Neck.

11:07 I had a friend who grew up in Great Neck. A family Polakov. You know a family Rabbi Polakov from Great Neck? I grew up with his kids. That's right. Let me move on a little bit and then we'll keep going. We'll see if there's any more questions. One last one. Girls know who the Rambam is. I'm still learning who the Rambam is, but let's look at a Rambam together. The Rambam in Hilchos Tefila Chapter eleven, first halacha. He says as follows: it is a halacha. It's not like a made up thing. This is the rule. Kol makom sheyesh bo asara miYisrael Any place. That you have ten Jews. Sarech lahachin bo bias, you need to establish a house, shey kansu bo letfila b'chol es tfila that you can enter into daven at any time when you need to daven Umakom zehu anikra beis keneses, and this place is called the beis keneses.

12:06 Are there any extra words in this Rambam? I'm going to read it again and think carefully. Are there any extra words in this Rambam? I'll give you a hint. There are extra words in this Rambam, which is why I'm asking the question. Let's do it again. Ready? Kol makom sheyesh ba'asara miYisrael, any place that you have ten Jews Sarich lahachin bo bayis, you need to prepare a house where you can enter into daven, at any time where you need to daven. Umakom zehu anikra be'sakenesis, and this place is called the be'sakenesis. What's your name, Wavrom? From Montreal Go. It's the Rambam saying you have to have a place where a minion can go to daven. What are the extra words? What's your name? Where are you from? What's your last name? What are the extra words in the Rambam? Not bad. I like that, dear. It's not the ones I'm looking for, but I think that's good.

13:20 I think the first one is referring to the town called Makom Sheish Barasayim Israel. If you have a town that has ten people, then that place where you built the house is called the Beis Knesset. So I think one is the town and the other is the building. But that's a good point. What's your name? Where are you from? I'm from Brooklyn. The word 'ba' says three times. The word 'bo' says three times. That is true. I'm looking for a phrase here that's off. She can also build a twila. She can also build a twila. Exactly. What are the extra words? That's correct. This. Listen, what the Rambam could have said. Listen, what the Rambam could have said. It's literally same exact language. Call makom sheyesh ba'isaray mi'Israel. Any time you have ten Jews in a town, tsarich la'cham ba'is. You need to establish a house. Shayi konsubol u'tfila, where they can enter into daven. Girls, what's the critical part—the entering in or the davening?

14:25 Why does the Rambam say? Imagine I said, "Build Be'er Miriam" So that you'll have a place where the girls can daven, learn. Why wouldn't you say, 'Build Be'er Miriam, so the girls can enter into a place to learn?' The entering in is not the main thing. What's the main thing? What do you do inside? But that's the question. The question is, you don't have to say we're the critical part is not the entering. The critical part is the gathering together to daven. So it says that because it's a big set. Maybe, or maybe there's a more profound answer, which is what we're looking for. So I want to review. You ready? So far we have a lot of questions. Can we review the questions really quickly? I like to ask a lot of questions and then we give one answer that answers all the questions together. And hopefully something that's going to be a lesson for us, that's going to change the way we see the world. Ready?

15:18 So let's review. Question number one: What did Rashi say? How many years does it take until we actually do the mitzvah Bikurim? Fourteen years. But on the other hand, the Sifri said In the merit of doing Bikurim, we enter into Israel. When should we have done it then? Right away. Before, but right away. That was problem number one. Problem number two: You walk into a shul, you call an Aaron Kodesh an Aaron. What happens? Miss Casen says, "Seems a little harsh." I call the Beit Knesset a Beit Am. Seems a little harsh. What was our second question? Beit Knesset and Beit Am mean the same thing. Beit Am means a place where people gather. What does Beit Knesset mean? A place where people gather. So what's the difference? What name I call it? That was the Maharsha's question. The third question was, or this the fourth question? If you're keeping track of all the questions, the third question on that Gemara was. What do these two things have to do with each other? And finally, last question: Why does the Rambam say Build a shul so that people will have a place to enter into to daven? Why doesn't he say, 'Build a shul so that people can have a place to daven'? You hear the difference?

16:27 Just say there. Can I share with you something amazing? I learned this Torah this morning from Rabbi Yochanan Zweig. As soon as I read it, I said to my wife, now I know what I'm sharing in Ber and Miriam tonight, and I hope you'll come with me on this. There's a very profound experience that every one of us is having in this room right now. Shun and Bat girls are not having it in the same way. In fact, they're having the opposite experience. But I'll share with you. For me, right now, for sure, I'm having this experience, and for every shana alef girl, I think you're having this experience. You see, a shana bet girl comes And she doesn't come to Be'er Miriam. What does she do? She comes back to Be'er Miriam. A madricha who's been here for two years certainly comes back to Be'er Miriam.

17:23 They're already connected to Be'er Miriam. We're not. We're like newbies at this. We're freshmen. Remember what it was like to be in ninth grade. Do you remember how horrible that was? You remember the politics of ninth grade girls. Remember you came in with your eighth grade group, and then you came into ninth grade together, and then quickly the group split off, and you don't know who any of your friends are. It's a traumatic experience. And then in ninth grade you're sitting there going, did I choose the right school? Did I not choose the right school? Am I comfortable here? Am I not comfortable here? Did you have that experience when you were on the plane? Were you looking around on the plane with other Barry Miriam girls and going, "Did I choose the right seminary?" And for the 30% of you that just smiled right now, thank you for being honest. I'll share with you very honestly. I went to Mivasseret very, very, very many years ago now. I remember being on the plane, thinking to myself,"I chose the wrong yeshiva.

18:23 I chose the wrong yeshiva. I was like, I was. All set, ready to go. I met some guys who were going to Mevaseret. After I chose to go to Mevaseret, I wasn't thrilled about the guys that I was going with. And on the plane, I was looking around and I said, "Bad call." I just made a bad call. Can I tell you when I felt comfortable? In Ben Gurion Airport. In Ben Gurion Airport A guy A guy I didn't know, but who would become a very close friend of mine until today. Got on the conveyor belt. Where the baggage comes out. Lied down on the baggage claim and just went around Waiting for somebody to claim him. And I'm like That's a great bit. That's a great bit. That guy had D1 aura. Low key, I'm the most relevant Rebbe in this place. What's a bit?

19:25 Listen, when you got riz like me, you know what a bit is. Not everybody has that riz. I got rabbi riz. Now you might say You might say, rabbi, why are you using these words? You're not gang like that, but I am. I'm a grandfather. So I know what I'm talking about. I am gang like that. When this guy's going around on the conveyor belt I said, "Oh, this is my place." Because I said they're idiots here. And I like idiots because I like people that don't need to fake being something that they're not in order to fit in. I like people who are real. And right away in the airport, when Elliot was going around like a doofus on the baggage claim, I was like because I had seen all these guys that they were just performing All these guys that they were like yeshiva league, too cool for school. I was like, I'm not that guy, and I don't want to be that guy. I'm not interested in playing that game anymore. I grew up in a place where you have to play that game.

20:55 If you didn't figure out where I'm from, I grew up in a place where everybody's looking at everybody else, what house, what car, how much money, what job, and I was just not down for that. So when this guy acted like a buffoon, I was like, yes, these are my people. And then The key word here is I felt connected. I'm gonna be very honest with you. None of you Shana Olive girls feel connected yet to Bear Miriam, and you shouldn't. You shouldn't feel connected yet. You might feel like this is a place you can get comfortable. You might feel excited. This is a place where you could become connected, but you don't know that yet. That takes time. That takes time. The word 'connection' is the most powerful word in the world. Think about it. What do you want more than anything else? If you ask yourself, 'What do you want in the world?' The answer is you're hardwired for connection. That's why the hardest thing in the world is to be lonely.

21:46 The hardest thing in the world is to be somewhere where you have no friends. I was talking to a guy today in yeshiva. He's an all-star. He's an all-star. This guy, I put my money down right now. This guy is going to be a superstar by the end of the year. But he's shy. He's shy. He doesn't know yet how to break out of his box and to say, like, his name. This is me. My money is all on him. I told him this afternoon. I met with him at five o'clock this afternoon. My money is on him. This guy is going to be a superstar. But he doesn't yet feel safe enough to feel connected. Connection requires safety. That's why you have to learn to trust your teachers here. You open up slowly. You like a class. You like a teacher. You talk a little bit. You build that connection, and then you feel a place where this is your home. I remember when I first came here to Ber Merim, I was talking to a girl.

22:36 And she said, "I'm actually going home now." I said, "You're going home?" Why are you going home? It's February. You have a simcha. She's looking at me like I was from the moon. She said no, I'm just going home. I asked why she was going, if her parents wanted her to go home. She looked at me like I was a lunatic. It took us a couple of minutes to realize that in Bermerium they don't call the apartments dorms. They call it home. I thought she was going back to America or London or Brazil or wherever she was from. She was just going back to the dorms. I said to myself, that's all I've been here for a month. Oh, that's crazy. They call it home here. But do you realize what a big thing that is? To be able to say that your apartment or your dorm is your home—that's a deep space of connectivity.

23:25 I want to share with you something amazing. The word Knesset is poorly translated as 'together'. It's not what it means. Beit Knesset means a home. A place where people are connected. That's what it means. The critical part is not going to shul. It's how you go to shul. It's how you enter into shul. Some people will come here to Bar Miriam this year. I hate to say it. God willing, it won't be any of you. But some girls will come to Bar Miriam this year. And they'll be here, but they'll never be connected. And every day when they walk through those doors, it's going to be a truly uncomfortable experience, because it didn't become their home. It's not their place. You know what I mean? So some girls, unfortunately, will go through the year like that. Most girls will not. Most girls, by the time we get to June, are going to be like, "I can't believe I have to leave."

24:21 Because I feel so safe, I feel so comfortable. It's not easy to move across the world to go to a new continent. Do you know that it's a trauma? It's a registered trauma when a person immigrates to a new continent. And especially it's difficult. You girls have now been here for a week. You had a tough indoctrination. Khalil Serol had another terrible day this week. Crazy, right? Crazy that two kids, 20 years old, that's your age. Could be raised with such hatred to come and senselessly murder our people. It's hard to feel connected. It's hard to feel connected when you're scared. It's hard to feel connected when you don't know what's going to happen. Connection requires safety. Listen what Rav Yochanan Zweig says because it's a game changer. If you call a shul a base keneses, you're fine. If you call it a base am It's punishable by death, and I'll explain why in a second.

25:22 A base am is a place where people go together, but it's not their place. It's not a place where they feel connected. It's like you went to a movie theater. We all gathered together in the movie theater to watch the movie. That's nice. But nobody feels or should feel at home in a movie theater. Shouldn't feel it. It's not your home. It's a place where you go to do something. We went to the stadium to watch the baseball game. We went to Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks play. That's a place where people gather. It is not a Beit Knesset. It is not a place of connection. The connection between fans. I don't know if you girls have ever gone to a Knicks game. I grew up in Madison Square Garden. I love Knicks fans and Yankee fans. But I love specifically the Yankee fans that sit in the bleachers. Guys that are like drunk by the third inning.

26:09 This is their entire life, just drinking beer and watching the Yankees, not wearing a shirt and having a giant Y on there. That whole chaver kedusha over there that come, yeah, the Yankees. I love those guys. You know why? Because at a Yankee game, at a Knicks game, the Knicks are winning. You turn to the guy next to you, slap him five, you dap him up. You have nothing to do with this guy. That's a beis ham. There's no real connection. It's just we both happen to root for Jalen Brunson, but there's no real connection between us. You walk into a shul It's a totally different thing. That's not a place where Jews come to daven. That's our place where we go to daven together. That's totally different. That's why there's something very precious about small shuls. There's something very precious about a shul that's like we have a shul. It's like a thousand families, and it's like nobody knows each other. And then you have some shul in a basement on a corner where 30 people have been davening together their entire lives, their grandparents davening together, their parents davening together, and their kids davening together.

27:08 When I was a kid, I grew up in a shul called Young Israel Farakway. Anybody here from Farakway? Aside from Ms. Lieber, anyone here from Farakway? If you're from the Five Towns Originally? I got thrown out of a bunch of schools, and it would take me a long time to give you my bio. I'll tell you after. I'm from the Five Towns. Which one? Which one? You knew it. What are you trying to say about me? That's not nice. I grew up in Lawrence. That means I'm better than all of you. Oh. You know why I love the Young Israel Farakway? Even when I drive by it now. Because when I was a kid, I felt so good there. In Bagan? In Yungas or Farakway? Because my parents had their friends there. Because everyone was nice to me. It wasn't a place we went to daven.

28:09 We davened there, but it's not a place we went to daven. It was a place where we felt deeply connected. That's why the Rambam says it's not just a place where you daven. It's a place where you enter into daven. It's my place. If you call an aron kodesh an aron, you missed out on the key word. You referred to the vessel. You didn't refer to its essence. That's like referring to your house as a building. I live in that building over there. What do you mean you live in that building? That's your home. You can't call an aron. You have to call it an aron kodesh. That's the place where sanctity is. That's the place where Hashem's Torah lives. That's not just an aron. And if you're cut off, listen carefully because I'm answering Miss Kazdin's question now. And if you are cut off from the essence, if you're cut off from Hashem, you're cut off from life itself. It doesn't mean people are going to drop dead.

29:01 But ignorant people that refer to the external and can't see the internal live in a state of disconnection from Hashem, and therefore they live in a state of disconnection from life itself. You want to be connected to Hashem, you have to see past the vessel into the essence. That's where real life is. Now let's look at this Rashi. You came to the land of Israel, girls. This parsha is talking to you. You just got here. You came to the land of Israel. In what merit? Listen to the words of the sefer. Let's go back and read it inside. You'll read it differently now. Aseim mitzvah hamura. Do this mitzvah that I just told you. Why? Sheb'schara, because in its merit, tikanes la'aretz. What does the word tikanes mean? It doesn't mean to enter into. How do we know? Because we lived there for 14 years before we actually entered into the land.

29:50 What does it actually mean? If you do the mitzvah of bikurim, you'll be connected to Israel. Lots of girls come here for the year. And unfortunately, many people treat this land like it's a tourist destination. Just like you go to Disney, I go to Disney. I see Cinderella's castle. I go to Israel. I go to the Kotel. I go to Disney. I go to see it's a small world after all in Israel. I go to Chevron. I go to Marosamachpelah. I go to Kever Rachel. This is not a tourist destination. This is the destiny of our people. This is our home. This is not just another stop in exile on the way to what you're actually going to do. This is home. You want to be connected to your home, or do you want it to just be another land? I don't care if you girls end up living in this land or not living in this land. But if at the end of the year If you say, "Israel's not for me" That will be a failure on my part, on our part here in Be'er Miriam, to teach you the value of this place.

30:51 This is your home. The essence of Hashem can be found here. This is the kedusha. This is the transparency. This is the holiness. This is where you can see it. If you walk through this land and you just think it's just another land, I've been to many lands. I go to Pesach programs in Mexico and Peru and Portugal, and sometimes I come to Israel. Failure. And why this mitzvah more than any other mitzvah? Because when you get your first fruits, your most physical thing. Some Jews get first fruits and they go, yes, awesome, and they put that dollar bill in their pocket. Some Jews look at the essence and say, I'm going to use this to serve God. These are people that touch the essence. What does a successful year look like? How do you know if you're going to be successful? What does it mean? If you want to get somewhere, you have to know where you're going. That's the first. You get in a car and you're like, I want to go to Yerushalayim. So you put in ways and you say Yerushalayim. Imagine you got to the car, you sit down and you're like, I need to go somewhere. Where? I have no idea.

31:48 What's the definition of success? How do you know if you've been successful in nine months from now? How do you know if we're sitting here in June, we're sitting here at the end of the year? How do you know if you've been successful? It's a very simple answer. Are you an external person or an internal person? Do you judge things based on the outside? Do you look at an aron and just say, 'Yeah, it's a place that holds the Torah,' or do you say, 'That's the place that holds the Torah'? Look at the kedusha. Do you look at this land and see the essence and see where Hashem is dwelling? Then you've been successful. My bracha to all of us, including myself. It's hard. We don't yet feel connected. I don't know how you girls are going to like this class. It's scary to be here. It's vulnerable for all of us. It's vulnerable for you because you're like I don't even know if I'm going to like this guy, and it's vulnerable for me because I want to be successful too. It's not easy to create connection, but my bracha to all of us is that we should. That by the end of this year we'll feel deeply connected, all of us together, all of us to Bar Miriam, and all of us to Hashem. Girls have a beautiful Shabbos.