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This is a strange and fascinating Gemara and Sanhedrin. The Gemara and Sanhedrin tells us, "Amrav Yehuda." B'ikesh David, Laved Avayd Azara. David HaMelech had a time in his life where he considered worshiping Avayd Azara. Why? It was at the time that his son Avshalom was staging a coup against David Amelech And was willing to kill David Amelech. And David Amelech understood that there would be a tremendous schil Hashem And so he took it upon himself to worship Avaydazara. That this way When people say Where did Avshalom come from? Say his father was idolatrous. Otherwise, how could it be that such a tzaddik had a son like Avshalom? The Gemara tells us that there was a man whose name was Chushi Arkai And Chushi came to David Hamelech in a state of avelos. His coat was torn. He had earth on his head. And he said, 'What are you doing?' And David explained his chesed to him.
And Chushi said to him,"You're making a very big mistake. Why did you marry Avshalom's mother? David Hamelech said She was a Yefas Tawar. She was one of those women who was there on the side of the battlefield. " David Hamelech explained It's mutter to marry a Yefas Tawar. That's what I did. He said back to him. Chushi said back to him. Don't you know that the very next psukim in the Torah are the psukim of Ben Sayer Umara The sugya of the wayward son? Why is the wayward son born? Why is the Ben Sayer Umara born? Because his mother is Yifas Tawr. So don't worry, David Hamelch. You don't need to go worship Avaydazara. In order to make sure that there's not a chil Hashem, because everyone will say that the reason that Avshalom is behaving in this way is because his mother was the one who was the yafas tower. So don't keep saying that.
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A very strange gemara. A very strange gemara. David HaMelech was willing to do Avodah Zarah. That's a very big deal. Why? In order not to be mechalos shem shamayim. And why did he think he was going to be? Why did he think there was going to be a chil Hashem? Because Avshalom was going to kill him. And it's going to be attributed to him, and he's a tzaddik, so it doesn't look right. I'll be a balav o dazara. And Chushi comes and he says, "No, nobody's going to blame you. They're going to blame it on your wife." They're going to blame it on Hashalom's mother. She's a yifas tower. First of all, it's very strange. David HaMelech didn't know. That the next parsha in the Torah was Ben Sorei Amora, he didn't know how to do. He wasn't doresh smuchin. He didn't know how to know that one sugia is next to another in order for us to learn from it.
Avadu David Hamelach understood that. So how could it be that David Hamelach didn't know that if he marries a specific woman, the result will be a Ben Sorei Amora? Was that a chidush to him? It can't possibly be. That's question number one. These two questions, by the way, come from the Chasam Sofer. The second question, perhaps even a more powerful question. Rabbi say, is it mutter or aser to marry Yifas Tower? If you go through the procedure, it's mutter. Why? Because we know that he won't be able to resist his temptations. So rather, the Torah says, don't worry, it's mutter. Rabbi say, if I come to you And I say to you, it's mutter to take this pill But this pill is poison. It's not really mutter, is it? If I tell you, I get it. You're in the heat of battle. You're gonna end up with this Yavas Tower anyway. So let's just make it mutter. But just so you know, if you do it, your kid might end up in a situation where they're trying to kill you.
At that point, is it really mutter? Are you really saying it's mutter? If the thing that's gonna happen is devastating So how could we say it? Either we're saying we get it. You're in a tough situation. We're going to say it's mutter Or we're going to say it's a terrible idea. It's user, don't do it. It seems like we're standing on both sides of the aisle over here. Which one is it? Every word of their Abaynu Yona Every word of their Abaynu Yona is precious. In fact, Rivkiva Eger used to say that not only is every word of their Abaynu Yona meduyok Not only is every word precise. Every word of the Rabbeinu Yona is la halacha. So what I'm about to read to you, which I almost never do, I try not to read things inside. People get bored when you read things inside. But every word here is precious. Every word is on purpose, and every word is even la halacha. Everybody in this room knows that the Rabbeinu Yona wrote a sefer called Shari Tshuva. Less known is that the Rabbeinu Yona wrote another sefer called Shari Haavoda.
And the beginning of Shari Avodah should be required reading for every single Jewish man and woman. If you never heard these words before, I don't know how you wake up in the morning. I don't know how you overcome any temptation. And so it's Kaddish, especially in these months, these weeks of leading up to Rosh Hashanah in the month of Elul. It's Kaddish for us to read every word inside. And Rabbi, I'm asking you. Do not just listen to these words with your head. Listen to these words with your heart, because these words are for every one of us. Sometimes in yeshiva I get accused. It's a chassidish avart from Rvberg. It's like one of these feel good avarts. Rabbi Noyona, a rishon. This is not a balshem tovart. Not that there's anything wrong with a balshem tovart. I love a balshem tovart. But this is the Rabbi Noyona.
And you have to open your hearts to hear this, Rabbi Noyona. And he writes as follows. I'm just going to read it in English. I'm not going to read it in Hebrew. The very first gate that one must enter in his avodas Hashem is to understand their own worth. Namely recognizing their positive attributes and those of their forefathers, their greatness and importance in the eyes of the Creator. This is how the Rabbeinu Yona begins his sefer. Every single yid needs to know that he is important to the Rebbeinu Shlomo, that he has worth. That there is something meaningful. The Rebbeinu Shlomo said, "Now it's your time to be on the stage. Now it's your time to shine. You come from Avram, Yitzhak, Yaakov. You come from the Ha'el market. Generations of royalty are coursing through our blood. They should constantly strive and redouble their efforts to maintain that level, seeking greater milus and mitzvahs daily to connect them to their Creator. Although difficult at first, the results will be highly successful.
The Rebbeinu Yona acknowledges Yiddishkeit can be challenging. There's nothing wrong with saying it's hard to wake up for shachris. There's nothing wrong with saying it's hard to sit through a three-hour seder. There's nothing wrong with saying it's hard to chabshir and to take notes and to chazer. All of these things are very difficult But the Rabeinu Yonah says, "But strive for that." Do something great. You have greatness inside of you, and you're important, and your life is important. So redouble your efforts. Should a sudden negative desire or haughty attitude arise? They will feel embarrassed of themselves and their ancestors, thinking, 'How can someone as great and important as myself, one who possesses so many attributes and was born of noble lineage, do such terrible things, sinning to Hashem and my ancestors all the days of my life?' You hear how the Rebbeinu Sholom looks at us. The Rebbeinu Sholom says, 'I created you. You're the children of Avram, Yitzchok, and Yaakov, and this has to be our attitude. The Rebbeinu Shalom cares about what I do.'
And if Chas v'Shalom a thought comes to mind, or I'm doing something I'm not proud of Our response shouldn't be to say, "Oh, how terrible I am." Our response should be to say, "This is not aligned with my dignity." I'm bigger than this. Today we can't talk about anything negative. No Rebbe can give any mussar because they're so afraid of making people feel bad. You know why they're afraid of making people feel bad? Because we weren't raised with this Rabbeinu Yona. Because if every one of us would have this on constant repeat in our lives. Then when we do something wrong, we'd feel bad, but not because we would say I am bad. Chas v'shalom, we're not bad at all, Adarabba. We're great. And that's why this behavior is so terrible. Many years ago I gave this mashal in yeshiva. Imagine if I walked into your dorm and a guy quickly sees he sees me coming and he throws something quickly under the blankets that I shouldn't see what it is.
And I say to him, "Come on" What do you got there? Rabbi, I'm so embarrassed. Please don't make me show it to you. It's okay. I'm not going to judge you. People make mistakes. The boy says, "Rabbi, I'm begging you, please." He says, "It's okay." And he pulls out a Barbie doll. But I see he's got more So I say to him, "Saddik, come on The whole thing. " And then he pulls out Malibu Ken. And I say "Looks like you still got something there." He pulls out the dream car. What would that boy feel in that moment? What would he feel? I imagine. I imagine that what he's feeling is "I can't believe Rev Berg knows that I play with Barbie and Ken." I'm not saying that I would ever do that. Chas v'shalom, I would never embarrass a boy like that. But if you know who you are You don't play with dolls, and certainly not those dolls.
If you know who you are Nobody has to convince you. If you know who you are, how do I overcome the temptation to do that insane thing? That if you saw one of your rebayim doing it. You would be like, that's not my Rebbe anymore. I remember a couple of years ago, a boy who became an enormous bentayra in this yeshiva. He was in Reb Ben Sheir. He was going back. I like him too, but sure. He was in Reb Ben Sheir, and he was thinking about doing some Some wild thing Some crazy. He was going to go to some concert, mashu, some person. Not not a person who has nice lyrics in his what they call music. So I happened to have walked into the shir and and Reb Ben and I were discussing. It became a whole conversation. It was like a two hour conversation what's appropriate music and inappropriate music and should you go the concert and not go the concert.
And I remember if Ben said to him If you're listening to it, I'm listening to it. And if you know, if you started to know Reb Ben already, you understand that's how Reb Ben speaks. And he's not joking. He's like, if you think it's okay for you, then it's okay for me. If you don't have any questions, I can go ahead and start the next part. But he's like, no, Rebbe, you can't listen to it. So he said no. What's the difference? If you could listen to it, I could listen to it. I jump on the Reb Ben bandwagon. I'm a fan. So I said, you're going to go to the concert? He said yes. I said I'm coming with you. What's the difference? If you can go, I can go. If you can go to the concert, I can go to the concert "Said Rebbe. The concert is not for you." I said, "If the concert is not for me, then it's not for you." We both come from Avram Yitzchok and Yaakov. We're both a chelak el kamimah.
And yes, we both do averus. And when we do an avera, our response should be "I. How could I have forgotten my nobility? How could I have forgotten that I'm a ben melech? He thinks it's a chassidish avara, by say, it's a rabbi nuyona, and according to Ruvakiva Eger, it's la halacha. This is how a person needs to think Because when one who heaven forbid does not recognize his own great worth As well as that of his fathers, how easy will it be for him to follow in the ways of transgressors, acting as a coarse baltayva? Therefore, a man who seeks to serve Hashem should constantly try to reach the great levels of tzaddikim and chassidim. Their importance and closeness to Him, He should deeply understand that He can reach those great important levels, and if His Abayis Hashem resembles theirs, and using every hour and minute to the best of His ability, this is what the Torah intended to teach us by saying, "Kikar Velecha Hadaver Maod." For the matter of fact, the matter is very close to you.
Because Hashem only asks from man that which is in His power to achieve. Just as our forefathers served Him according to the best of their understanding. You know what the Rabeinu Yona says, Rabbi? Shoot high. Shoot three-point shots. Shoot high. Shoot high. Challenge yourself, push yourself. Say, I can't, Rabbi, I can't. The boys are all going out. I have to go with the boys. The tayvah is too great. You're a ben melech. A ben melech should walk through the place where they sell fruits and vegetables in the morning at night. That's where a ben melech belongs. You have to convince them. You have to say. Listen carefully, Rabbi. It's like, but I like to put that poison in my body. I like to put that poison in my body. It's geschmack to put that poison in my body. Do you know who you are? Do you know what you should be striving for?
Your time is precious. Every hour, every minute. The sands of time, Rabbi said, they're dwindling. They're coursing through the hourglass, and it moves fast. Ask any other Shana Bet guys. The days are long, the year is short. It will be over before you know it. And every moment is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to become the best version of yourself. It's an opportunity to realize in a serious way. I'm not nothing. The greatest kings in the world paled in comparison to Avram Avinu, paled in comparison to Moshe Rabenu. My ancestors stood at the foot of Har Sinai. And in a barbaric age They confronted the oneness of the universe and changed the world forever. That's where we come from. That's an unbelievable responsibility. Listen to the words of the Chassam Sofer. If you're going to use these words, it'll change your life. Listen to these words of the Ha'elgah Chassam Sofer.
Really If you married a Yafas Tovar. Because you couldn't get past the tayva, you're fine. You will not have a child that's a ben sorer amora. If you really couldn't overcome the tayva, you're in the clear. But says the chesam seifer If you could have If you had unrealized potential inside of you But you didn't rise to the occasion. Because you said I can't do it; it's just too big for me. Because you didn't believe in yourself. Then your child will become a ben soyer amira. And listen to how he ties this into this gemara. David Amalech is about to worship Avaydazara. He's so afraid it's going to be an unbelievable chilah. Hashem, my son is going to be killed by a righteous king. So let me worship Avaydazara, the greatest laveira. Let me worship Avaydazara so that it won't be a chilah. Hashem. Comes along Chushi and he says: Why'd you marry that woman?
He says, "What do you mean? She was a Yefas Torah. It was mutter." Of course, David HaMelech knew Smuchin. Of course, he knew that if you marry a Yefas Torah, she's going to end up with a Ben Sore Mor as a child. He knew that. But that's only if you can't overcome the Taiva. David Hamelech said, "I couldn't overcome the taiva. I couldn't overcome the taiva. Since I couldn't overcome the taiva, Avshalom isn't behaving this way because he's a ben sorer u'mora. That can't be. I legitimately had a het there. Comes along Chushy and he says, 'David Hume'? If only you would know your own greatness. If only you would have known that in that moment you could have pushed yourself a little bit more and you could have overcome that taiva. That's the reason why Avshalom is behaving this way. It's a very powerful message.
A father who rises to the occasion and does hard things And sets a standard for himself. Sets a standard. I wake up in the morning because I'm a mensch. Have a hard time waking up in the morning. Then go to sleep. Then go to sleep. In your life, you have responsibility, guys. You're 18 years old now. So you say, "I'm 18, Rabbi. What do you hocking me?" I'm not talking to 18-year-olds. I'm not talking to 18-year-olds. I'm in Rishon LeZion. I'm not talking to 18-year-olds. I'm talking to 35-year-olds. I'm talking to 40-year-olds. There are people who are 35 and 40. Lo alenu, they still can't get up in the morning. They still can't put in a hard day of work. They still can't hold down a job. They're not people who hold themselves to high standards because they believe they're a garnish. And if you believe you're a garnished, your life will be a garnished. You want to have great children? I'll tell you the secret: rise to the occasion, set a standard for yourself And then you won't have to lecture your children. They'll see it. My father's a man of stature. My father's a man of nobility.
That's in me. I'll be great because I know I'm great. That's the secret, David Amelek. You could have pushed yourself a little bit more, and if you had Avshalom wouldn't be in the position that he's in. It was an unbelievable mussar that Chushy Akai was giving him. I think we tend to think in yeshiva. I'll be great when I'll be great after Sukkot. Give me a month. Give me a month. I'll be great after Sukkot. I'll be great Chanukah. I'm one of these guys that want to chill out for a little bit. Give me some time, Rabbi. Give me some time to get it out of my system. No. Because if we gave you that time, if we said, get it out of your system, think about what we'd be telling you. I won't sit by and watch a ben melech roll around in the mud.
I won't allow him to treat himself that way without saying to him, "What are you doing?" Really Really? That's what you came here for? Yerushalayim Yerak Kodesh is very holy place, holiest place in the world. Anything that exists on the side of kedusha also exists on the side of tuma. The rosh hasn't given this mashal in a couple of years. He really took this mashal from my rebbe Shanaala, from Rav Rubel. Rav Rubel always used to start off the year with the following mashal. And I'll end with this mashal. The mashal is of two flies. I think the Rosh Yeshiva was the one who gave them their names, Mike and Ike. Two flies. Two flies are in their town. And they read on a sign that says, "There's going to be a royal wedding." And these two flies in their town, they say, 'Let's travel to the royal wedding. After all, when are we ever going to see anything like this again in our lives?'
For a fly to travel a great distance is not obvious. It's very hard work. But they take it upon themselves to travel all the way to the palace. And at the palace, Mike and Ike, two best friends—I mean, a fly like dies after twenty-four hours—but like, but say they're two best friends. They've known each other since noon. They're like. Mike turns to Ike and he says to him. We've done everything together our whole lives. Why don't we split up? I'll go right. You go left. Let's meet back here at the end of the wedding. And we'll be able to share what we saw. He says that's a great idea. Mike goes to the right. Ike goes to the left. Mike goes straight into the palace. Right into the royal banquet hall. There is a feast being served. Ike goes to the left, and he finds the royal garbage dump.
After 24 hours, the wedding is over. Mike and Ike meet back in the front of the palace. And Mike says to Ike, "How was it?" Ike says, "It was unbelievable." The garbage I had was the best garbage in the entire world. You've never seen garbage like this. Heaping piles of garbage," Leftover steak, leftover chicken, leftover ribs. This was unbelievable. Smoked meat, barbecued meat, cooked meat. This was every type of garbage you could possibly imagine. And Mike said to Ike We traveled all this way And you went to the royal garbage dump. Had you traveled a little further, you could have gone into the palace. You could have had it when it was fresh. You didn't need to eat royal garbage And if you know that you're at a royal wedding, don't eat royal garbage. And if you've traveled six thousand miles to be here in Mevaseret The place where Mashiach is going to herald from Al har gavoa ali lach Mevaseret zion, harimi bekoach cholech Mevaseret yushalayim, Mashiach will announce his presence from Mevaseret.
You know who it is? It's that Kabbalah guy, You traveled all this way. You traveled all this way to come to Mevaseret to go to the royal garbage dump. Really? It means that you don't know that you're the prince. Means you don't know how the Rebbeinu Shalom has gaguim for your tvi'las For your avodas amidos For your bein adam lachaveiro. If you would know you're a prince You challenge yourself and you push yourself to be the prince that you know you are. My bracha to every one of us, and I include myself in this bracha. And don't run, Rabbi. I don't run to get the chilant. Akiva's going to go set up the chilant. We don't need everybody to run to sell the chilant. That's for low people. Low people run to get food. We have one of the most beautiful bal menagdim that we've ever had in yeshiva and Rishimin here.
We sing beautiful z'miros in this yeshiva. We could finish five minutes of z'miros. We're not low people that need to run to get food. The food will be there. And Akiva is about chesed. Akiva will set up all the food and it'll be there for us in plenty. Don't worry. Rabbeinu. We're here to work. We're here to do something meaningful. We're not here to visit the royal garbage dump.
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