Parshas Masei - Creating A City Of Refuge For Those Who Want To Return

3:28 Einai la merkay david, david aleichem, alei melech, eisa ha tzadik, einai, o melech eisa ha tzadik, ekarai. Amen. In your name, we praise David. David, our God, our Messiah. Blessed are the mighty in heart. May I serve Thee, God. Ya meyrou, minyanayla Iri seyta meyra Ayay meyra, minyanayla.

5:08 Gan Chaydash. This week's parsha We find the Aray Miklat The cities of refuge. For someone who murdered accidentally Who took the life of another by accident, the Torah gives us six cities aside from the Aryelevim. The Torah gives us six cities that this person could run to. So that the Gohel Adam. The relative of the murderer has the opportunity to kill the murderer until he gets to the Ari Miklat. Practically speaking What actually happened was that anyone who murdered anybody else. Would run to the er miklat And after they were in the miklat Then they would be tried to see if it was accidental or on purpose. So practically speaking

6:42 If a tragedy befell Klal Yisroel where a person was murdered Every murderer ran to the er miklat. Alpi pniyus atayra. Because we know that every single pasuk in the Torah, every single letter in the Torah, every single dot in the Torah, is relative, is relevant to every single generation. We have to understand what the miklat is to us today. And al pipnimes ha Torah, the svarim akdeishim explain that the person who sins. In a certain sense, it can be considered like a murderer. Because Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the source of all life And a person who sins has chas v'shalom removed himself from life itself. And so, for this person who has chas v'shalom done an avera that cuts himself off from Hakadosh Baruch Hu And now he wants to be saved. He wants to return to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. There are cities. There are places in space and places in time for a yid to run to when he feels like it's time for him to be chayzer b'tshuva.

8:09 That even for the greatest sinner in Klal Yisrael For the person who's committed the avera That he thinks it's considered murder That he's managed cut off. From Chaya Chayim, from the Rebbeinu Shalom himself. Such a yid should know that there's a place for him in this world. And these are the Arye Miklat. And tonight In such a beautiful NCSY Kol Moshmar on Rosh Chodesh Av In a time when perhaps some of us feel distant from Al Chodesh Baruch Hu Perhaps it's a time. Where some of us feel like there's nowhere in the world for me to be myself No place in the world where I'm able to go to feel like I belong. It's kedai for us to look at some of the halachos of the erev mikra. It's kedai for us to look at these halachos not only to understand what the halacha is But what the relevance is to us tonight in NCSY Kolah.

9:18 The first halacha that I want to examine is the placement of the re miklot. The re miklot were all in the same latitude. Chevron was the southernmost ir miklot in Eretz Yisrael. Shchem was in the middle of the country. Kedesh was in the Galilee. And in the very same latitude On the other side of the Jordan River On the very same latitude, there were three more ere miklat. And why was that the placement of the ere miklat? Because when a Jew sins And he wants to return to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Easy access. Sometimes, when a person wants to do tshuva, they feel like they have to journey to such a faraway place. It's not worth it. I'm never going to last. I'm never going to make it. Who could travel such a great distance? Imagine you're a tenth grader or an eleventh grader And imagine.

10:46 That you have hirure tshuva And you say, 'I know I've done a certain avera, and I feel cut off from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and I want to go to a place where I could reclaim myself, reclaim my dignity.' But imagine if you felt that it's not possible for you to do that in your place, and so you have an idea in your head. Perhaps some of you have had this idea before. I'll wait until I go to Eretz Yisrael for the year. I don't know if anyone here has ever had that idea. What happens? What happens if a person has to wait another year or two to come to Eretz Yisroel? What will happen to these hirhure tshuva? Chas v'shalom. What might happen is that over time, that feeling of passion to return to the Avister It might wane And it'll come and it'll go. But an actual change may not happen.

11:44 And so the first thing that Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells us is the ere miklat needs to be everywhere. If you're from down south, there's an ere miklat. If you're from the merkaz, there's an ere miklat. If you're up north, there's an ere miklat. If you're on the other side of the yarden, there's an ere miklat. Wherever you are, there's a place that Hakadosh Baruch Hu puts for you to feel safe. Because we all feel like we're being chased by Gog and Magog in our lives. That there's someone out there The satan, the sitra achra. That's telling you that you're not enough. That's giving you these terrible thoughts that because you didn't avera, you're no longer worthy of being in the relationship with our kol d'varuchu. We can't take the risk that you'll have to travel all the way down south to all the way up north, or all the way up north to all the way down south, or to have to cross the Yarden.

12:33 Wherever you are, we're there for you. There's a place for you. And not only that But you are a miklat. Are in Eretz Yisrael. If a person chas v'shalom murders another person by accident outside of Eretz Yisrael, the er miklat is in Eretz Yisrael. Why don't we have our er miklat everywhere? Why didn't Hakadosh Baruch Hu put an er miklat in the five towns and in Tinek In Toronto, in Chicago, in LA? Why didn't Hakadosh Baruch Hu put our er miklat there In Japan, in China, in Russia, in France, in England? Because when a person wants to do tshuva Kedusha saaretz is fundamental. We have all the time that people say, "I am going to change." I am going to do it. I am going to do tshuva. I am going to make something of myself. I am going to turn it around. You want to turn it around? Look at your environment.

13:38 There is a Rebbe in Mevaseret. He had a great line. A boy asked him How can I go? A boy asked him, "How can I go to a certain environment and still maintain my growth in Yiddishkeit?" And every Rebbe was giving a different answer. Set up chevruzas Have rebayim keep in touch—all the different classic answers that rebayim were giving. One Rebbe got fed up. To his credit, he said, "It's time for somebody to say a difficult answer." Maybe it's the wrong environment for you. People were taken aback But the Rebbe kept going. He said, "Imagine I have a piece of cake, and I'm shoving the cake down my throat. I'm sitting there and I'm pounding the cake, and I'm pounding the cake. And while I'm pounding the cake, I'm turning around and saying, 'How do I lose weight?'" You want to be in an environment of growth.

14:44 And not only do you want to be in an environment of growth, but you want to have a growth-oriented chavra. As Rav Isaacson says, a GOC. You want to have a group of guys that are doing it with you. And that's why the Rambam pasks that in an er miklat If the city starts to go down and now there are more murderers in the city than non-killers, then we have to encourage the levim and the kohanim to go to the city. Because no change will happen if you're not in the right place with the right people. You see it yourselves here this summer. Look who you're surrounding yourself with. Look at the beis medrash that you're in. Look at where you are at ten forty at night on a Thursday night, and where you could be. And where unfortunately some of our dear friends are.

15:36 I'm not going to explain. I'm not going to be marchiv. I'm not going to expand. You could figure it out yourself. And for those of you that are smiling and nodding at me, I want you to know I appreciate you very much. I know that you know that I know that you know that I know exactly what we're talking about. So let's be real. Environment matters. Not only where you are, kedushas arets, but who you're with. And if the Torah says it's our responsibility to make sure that this balschuvah, who's running to this city, when he gets there He has a great environment. But not only that. Let's look at the halachos of what we, as a community, are responsible for when you're going to the er miklat. And here I'm reading from the Rambam. The Rambam in Hilchus Ritzichu says as follows. The Chayov in Bezden Bezden is obligated lachaven adrochim lare miklot le'taknam ularchivam.

16:40 Bezden is obligated to make sure that the roads are straight, fixed, and wide. A mysterious man called Michal v'chol takala, and it's our responsibility. There was a cleaning crew that Bezden hired. And their job was to make sure that there was nothing blocking the path, so that a person would have easy access to go down the road. And not only that, I don't know if you've ever seen it here in Eretz Yisrael, Baruch Hashem, Mashiach is coming, and we are building Eretz Yisrael. My favorite thing in the world is watching Eretz Yisrael get built. And a couple of years ago, they were expanding Kvishachad Highway One. And they were turning it into a three-lane highway on each side. And for us in Eretz Yisrael, that's like seven lanes. But in Eretz Yisrael, we have a problem because we have mountains. How can you expand the highway so they bring these phenomenally big trucks? Every morning, as I was driving to yeshiva.

17:47 I drive with Rav Isaacson every single day. Every single day, Rav Isaacson made fun of me because right as we reached the Beit Meir Telstone area, they had these massive trucks and they're shaving down the mountain to expand the highway. I'm still a five-year-old little boy who likes trucks. Inside of me, I'm still smashing my Tonka trucks together. And if I leave Yeshiva and I leave NCSY Kollel, I want you to know that everyone has their dream of what they're going to be after they're a rebbe. Some people want to be a bag lady in Osharad. I want to drive those trucks. I want to just shave down the mountains. That's my dream. Everyone has like every rebbe is like, I could have been a center fielder for the New York Yankees. I couldn't have. I could have been the guy that drove the trucks. This was my lot in life. If I ever go on the Meaningful People podcast, instead of being the average rebbe that says he could have been a great athlete or a wealthy man, I'm a truck driver.

18:43 That makes me a meaningful person. Rabbi said, "Do you know what it means that there were no hills, that there were no mountains, and that there were no rivers?" Could you imagine what it was like in the times of the Torah when Klal Yisrael came into Eretz Yisroel and we had to build straight roads? That meant there was a mountain in the way, so we shaved down the mountain. But Rabbi said we didn't have trucks; we did it with our bare hands. Could you imagine what it must have been like? As a Jew in those times, Digging with your bare hands, moving literal mountains, so that a guy who murders won't have an obstacle in his path. And if there was a river, you can't get rid of the river. You have to build a bridge. And I imagine that when it came to building bridges back then, it may not have been the simplest thing. They didn't have the Verazano Bridge. They didn't have the Goethals Bridge.

19:39 So you can imagine that they were asking themselves, "Why is this so important?" I have to protect the murderers in society. That's what I'm here to do. The Rambam continues. He says, "Ala osan alav geshu, you make a bridge. K'deishu la'akevus aboreyach lusham. You have to make sure that it's easy access that he can get to the er miklat." And then he says, 'Listen, I'm skipping the pesukim.' The roich ev derech are er miklat in pachos mishloshim u'shtayim amos. How wide are the roads? At least thirty-two amos. Chaver, you know how big thirty-two amos is. It's huge. It means the roads were somewhere between forty-eight and fifty-two feet. It's massive, very wide. Why do you need such wide roads? So that nobody will get stuck. But how will you know how to get to the yer miklat? The Rambam continues, and he says, 'Listen, miklat, ayakasiv al parshes drachim. If there were a crossroads and a guy doesn't know to go right or to go left, they had a sign that said, 'This way to the yer miklat.' So we've invested a tremendous amount of time and energy so that this roitzayach, this murderer, should know how to get to the place.

20:54 Rabbi Sa'ad, go through the halachas again. Listen to what we said. Number one, remove all the stumbling blocks. No hills, no valleys, no rivers. Build bridges. Widen the roads. Provide signs at the crossroads. Rabbi, say, what's the message? I have a question. It's a hard question. But it's an honest question. We, as a community Have a responsibility to this b'chovah, to this guy who cut himself off, who murdered himself, so to speak. Who wants to come back? Listen to what we have to do. First of all, pave the way for them. You know what it means, Rabbi Yisrael, to pave the way for another yid. You know what it means to be with them on their journey to remove all the stumbling blocks. Right now, they can't handle it. Imagine a person who's an alcoholic. It's not a good idea for him to be hanging out in a bar.

21:54 It's not a good idea. He's just beginning his journey. He shouldn't be around alcohol. Our responsibility is to make sure that the way is clear. A yid who comes to us and says, "Rebbe or friend, please help" We have a responsibility to make it easy. It won't be easy the entire time, but the way there to get to the er miklat has to be easy. They don't have the strength to climb. They don't have the strength to go through the raging river. It's our responsibility to build those bridges. And here's the kicker: stop telling these kids they're off the derech. Wide in the roads We label these kids. We tell them who you are. You're in Avaria, and you fit in our narrow path. But what about the guy who doesn't fit in the narrow path? Because he's different. Because he has different interests, or because he's normal. And because he's hormonal, and because he's dealing with different things in his life as a 15-year-old, because he's looking for acceptance and belonging, and maybe the crowd that's a little bit nicer is also the crowd that's a little bit less judgmental, which may be the crowd that's a little less observant.

23:06 And I hate to say it, but the reality is that so often that's true, that you have these guys that are Stark from guys But they let everybody know it. They make sure that everybody around them knows where the chever that's from. What about the guy that has those here who writes shuvah? Did you widen the road? Who says these kids are off the derech? Maybe we're off the derech. Maybe their derech could teach us something. And that's what Chazal say: Har be'lamadti mei raboyseim itamida yoisemikulam. I learned a lot from my rebbeim. I learned a lot from my friends. I learned the most from my talmidim. These talmidim There are rebbeim, and they're telling us to expand the road for us, make a place for me in Klali Yisrael. I also have something to contribute. And unfortunately, lo aleinu In our community today, I don't want to be motzi l'az on the community, and we're doing a much better job of expanding the road. We need to continue to expand the road to enormous proportions.

24:10 So that every single Jew feels comfortable And we need people that are standing at the crossroads Because when a person is on the verge of going to the Eir Miklot, we all know there are times when even on the journey to a place of refuge, a person could make Chas v'Shalom terrible decisions, and you need to have that Rebbe there. Who's able to put his arm around you and gently guide you in the right direction, to give you the space to be yourself, but also to say, "Don't make this mistake." I remember when I decided the summer before I came to Israel for the year. I remember that I had here horeh tshuva, and I said, "It's time for me to get started." The year in Eretz Yisrael is coming up. I've been pushing it off for four years. It's time to get started. I remember that in a very important moment in my life It was a young man who had just returned from his second year in Eretz Yisrael. His name was Eli Aloni.

25:24 And I sat with Eli Aloni for two hours on a Monday morning in Simcha Day Camp in Far Rockaway, New York, and I let it all out. And I cried to him, and I was honest with him, and I said, "This is where I've been." And he didn't just tell me, 'It'll be fine when you get to Eretz Yisrael.' He said, 'Come to my house for Shabbos,' and he started learning with me. He gave me a sefer. It was the first sefer that I had learned in years. He gave me an English book called Strive for Truth, and I still have it today—one of those little pocket-sized Strive for Truths. He was a man who was standing at the crossroads with me and saying, "Go this way." And probably many of us in this room are blessed to have those people. But it takes courage for us to tell them, "I don't know which way to go" And it's the job of the rebbeim, and it's the job of the chevra, it's the job of every one of us to look at everybody else and to be able to say, 'How can I help you find your way on the journey?'

26:22 It's a famous marshal. It's a guyish marshal. But it's a beautiful marshal of a man who falls in a ditch And a doctor walks by And he calls out to the doctor, "Hey, doc. I fell in the ditch," and the doctor writes him a prescription and throws it down into the ditch. And it doesn't help when you have a prescription if you're in the ditch. And then a psychologist walks by And he says, "Hey, doc" I fell in the ditch. The psychologist looks at him and says, "How does that make you feel?" Angry that you're not helping me? Keep moving. And then a rabbi walks by And he goes, "Hey, rabbi, I fell in a ditch." And the rabbi pulls out his Tilm shir lamalays. Tilm's not helping me out of the ditch and then your best friend walks by And you say, "Hey, buddy, I fell in the ditch" And the friend jumps in And he says, "What'd you do that for?"

27:24 He goes If you're in the ditch, I'm in the ditch with you. And the thing is, I've been in this ditch before. And I know how to get out. So let me show you the way. That's what it means to have a friend at the crossroads. Somebody that says this is the way to the miklat. The chol ze lama, and all of this for what purpose? For one purpose, so that this Jew who did this terrible avera. He knows that he's loved by the community. You can imagine what it's like for him as he's running for his life on these big, expansive roads with no obstacles in his way, and a bridge right where there's a river, and a tunnel right through the mountain. Because he knows that Klal Yisrael said, 'Even in your lowest state, we're with you.' Afal pisha chato Yisraelu. Even though you did this avera, you're still a Jew, and nothing will ever take that away. And then when he gets to the Eir Miklat, what's it like, Rabbi Yisak?

28:25 Number one His rebbe goes with him to Galus. And let's say Rav Chaim Kaniefsky is a chesadik levracha who's already in that ear miklat. What's the halacha, Rabbeisai? His rebbe still goes to Galus with him. And let's say there's a yeshiva already there. His rebbe still goes with him. Why? Because in such a state, this person needs the guy who inspires him. He needs the rebbe who's moving him, who speaks to his soul. It's critical for his life. And then finally The last halacha and perhaps the most important one: when does he go free from the er miklat? When the kohen gadol dies. Rashi explains. Why does he go free when the kohen gadol dies? What's the connection? And Rashi says that this never would have happened. He never would have murdered this person by accident if the kohen gadol didn't daven. If the kohen gadol was davening and saying, "Rabbi Nisshum, please let such an accident not happen under my watch," then that murder never would have occurred.

29:39 The Cohen Gadol is—I say this with great trepidation—and only because Rashi said it—somewhat responsible for this murder. And so, when the Cohen Gadol dies, he goes free. That's what Rashi says. And what's the lesson for us? And maybe this is a little harsh, but maybe it's also a little bit true. And maybe, if we're being honest, it's a good idea for us to hear. If we would be davening, if we the rebbeim would be davening, if we the yeshivas would be davening, if we the summer programs would be davening, if the leadership of Klal Yisrael was davening for every single Jew Then maybe it wouldn't be happening. Maybe these kids are only going off the derech because of us. And the worst part is that not only are we not taking responsibility, but we make these kids feel like a piece of dirt and a piece of garbage. It's your fault.

30:34 If only you wouldn't have that technology. You did this. In my generation, everything was garbage. I lived in that generation. In my generation, what are you talking about? You read it in the words of Chazal. It's in every generation. Stop making these kids feel terrible. Start taking responsibility. Are we doing better than we were? Absolutely. Are we doing enough? Not nearly. We could be doing much more to let these kids know that we take responsibility for them. And they're not to blame. And if we would adapt the system for these kids, which is what they need and what they deserve, it wouldn't be happening. I heard once. On a podcast from Rev. Daniel Kalish Shlitah, who I understand came to speak here And he said, "If we were trying to build a system, a yeshiva system that inspired kids, would we build this system?" The answer is, of course, not.

31:36 Are we inspired because we take a test? And because we get to come home and say, "Look, Ma, I got an eighty-five on my Gemara test," is that bringing us closer to Hashem? Is this making us daven with more heart? Is that why you're here now at eleven o'clock at night? Because you took a test? We would never, ever in a million years have created this system. But we have to pay attention to what the needs of our children are telling us. They're teaching us. Be different. Take responsibility. Change. Adapt. That's what needs to be happening. Is it happening? Absolutely. Baruch Hashem. Is it happening enough? Not even close. And that's why we turn to you. You have to be part of this change. I know you're sitting there looking at me, going, "I'm 16 years old. I'm 17 years old. I'm from Yula and Ida Crown and Skokie and DRS and TABC and Frisch, etc. Etc." What do you want from me? And Hecha, I'm sorry for all the yeshivas that I left off. NMTA, I know somebody's going to come back to me afterwards and go, "You left out Masivta Philadelphia and Kohella. I can't do the entire thing."

32:40 " NJEC, I'm sorry. And ramaz and s a r. Sorry, yes, for the one kid. You think you don't have a voice? You do. You have to teach us. You have to tell your rebbeim what you need. You have to demand a selacharav. If you want us to be your abanim, go tell us what you need. Make the system change. You can do it. You are part of this. And even if you say, "Well, I can't change the rules of my school," you could change the rules of your chavra. Who comes to your house for Shabbos? Who do you invite to the beis medrash with you? Or who do you ask to learn with you in the beis medrash? You could change it. The world has always changed from guys exactly like yourself and exactly at this age. Don't wait till you become in your forties to try to change the system.

33:44 You could do it. There are Yidden that are begging for an ear miklat. It's our job to build it for them. And Rabbi said, "We're sitting here in Rosh Chodesh Av." The Beit Hamikdash was destroyed because of sin astinum, and the response must be a havastinum. We need to be communicating to every single Jew that they are infinitely loved by the Avishur. That's the only way to bring people back. To widen the roads, to remove the stumbling blocks, to put them in a good environment, to introduce them to kedusha zarets, to tell them you have a rebbe who's with you—that's the type of ahava scheinim that rebuilds the base of Megdasha Baisai. Wir sollten sicher, Bezr Hashem Here in NCSY Kollel Beginning tonight to change the future of Klal Yisrael Bezr Hashem, to rebuild the re miklat and the additional re miklat that will be rebuilt in the times of Mashiach. Come in. How are you? We got a little story right over here.