Shavuos - The Greeting That Opened the Door to Moshiach

2:26 And they said, 'This is what we're going to do.' And then the court upstairs in Shamayim agreed. What are those three things? So Rabbi Yeshua ben Levi says, Elu Hain. These are the three things: Mikra Megillah. They instituted Megillas Esther. Besdin Shalmeta said, 'We're going to create Megillas Esther, and everybody's going to be obligated to read Megillas Esther.' And the Besdin Shemayla agreed. The Sheila Shalom b'Shem. And greeting someone using the actual name of God. And v'havas meiser, and also bring meiser. We're going to discuss what, because obviously these need to be understood. The Gemara is going to explain. So before we get to the other two, before we get to Mikra Megillah and bring meiser, let's just talk about what is the example of saying hello to somebody using the actual name of God. So the Gemara says, "V'sheila Shalom." Where do we know that the Besdin Shalmeta, meaning the Besdin down here Said that you can greet someone using the name of Hashem?

3:34 It's from this pasuk in Rosh, chapter two, verse four, because it says, 'V'hinei Boaz bami be'slechem v'yomer lekotzem Hashem imchem.' And when it said Hashem, it didn't say he didn't say Hashem; he actually used the name of Hashem. So when Boaz came to those reapers and he said, 'May Hashem be with you.' What was he really saying? He was really saying the name of Hashem. And the Gemara is saying this was a huge moment in history because the Bes Din Shalmeta Keilu was pascaning that it's okay to use the actual name of Hashem when greeting somebody. And the Gemara says, 'Va'omer Hashem imechem Hashem imechal Gibar Achayel.' The Gemara goes on to say exactly why this was okay, but we don't have to. We don't have to go through all of that. So the Gemara tells us that this moment where Boaz used the name of Hashem, it wasn't just that Boaz said hello to them and he said Hashem is with you or may Hashem be with you.

4:41 It was actually using the name of Hashem. And this was a big moment because the Bes din Shalmeta passed on it, and the Bes din Shalma agreed. So now, of course, we're going to have some more questions. First of all, if Rabbi Yosheva ben Levi gives us three examples of times where the Bes din Shalmeta did something and the Bes din Shalma agreed, it means that these three things must have something in common. Remember, let's remind ourselves what were the three things. The three things were Mikra Megillah. That the Pasquin that we're going to be obligated to read Megillah Esther. The second thing was using Hashem's name to greet someone. And the third thing is, which we didn't explore yet, is something about Meiser. But something about Meiser that the Chachamim down here in this world created some sort of stringency around Meiser Which we'll discuss soon. And in the creation of that stringency, the Bes din Shalma'a agreed.

5:43 So our first question is: What is the unifying theme of these three things? If Rabbi Yeshua Ben Levi is saying there were three times that this happened, it's not three random events. What is it? It's three specific events. So that's one question we have. Another question we have is: What does it mean on a pneumias level, on an inner level, on a deeper level? What does it mean that the bezdin shel mata does something and the bezdin shel mala is paskin that they agree to it? It's a weird way of saying that the court down here in this world paskined and the court upstairs goes yes, we agree with that psak. That's a very deep concept that needs to be understood in a very deep way. And then, of course, another question which we already started to ask, but we'll deepen it a little bit. We said before that right before Boaz meets Ruth, he says this thing, Hashem imachem, and they said back Yivarechcha Hashem. So we said before, why is this necessary to the plot? Now we know that it's more than just he was saying what's up to these workers. He was saying Hashem's actual name.

6:58 So now we need to understand what's that about. You're allowed to actually say Hashem's name when you're greeting somebody, and why is that critical to the coming of Mashiach? In other words, if Baalaz is about to meet Rus, and this is another moment in the step towards Mashiach So then we have, and he uses Hashem's name that tells us that this moment where the courts down here pasken you can use Hashem's name to greet somebody is part of the process of the coming of Mashiach. What does that mean? Why does using Hashem's name when you greet somebody? Why is that part of the process of the coming of Mashiach? So far, just to review the questions we have before we start to get into some answers, let's review our questions. Question number one is: We have right before Boaz meets Rus, this seemingly random pasuk. The pasuk says that he sees the kotsrim, he sees the reapers, and he says Hashem me machem, and they say back Yivarech Hashem.

7:57 Our first question. Now we can say it in the deepest possible way: it appears to be random, but clearly it's not random because this was the first time that anyone ever used the actual name of Hashem to greet people. That's the first question. Question number two is: what is the connection between these three things? The Kriyas Megillah Using Hashem's name when you greet somebody, and creating stringencies and Meiser. What are these? What is the common theme of these three things that the bez din shalmeta paskined it and the bez din shamala agreed? What does any of that mean? What does it mean the bez din shalmeta, the court down here paskined something, and the bez din shamala agrees? What's the difference if they agree or not agree? What would happen if they didn't agree? What does it mean the court down here paskined it? All these things need to be understood in a very deep way. So far so good.

8:54 In order to understand this, let's go back to the basics. Whenever we want to answer a question, we always have to go back to the basics. What is the most basic question in all of Yiddishkeit? The most basic question in all of Yiddishkeit is, "What's the purpose?" That's the most basic question. What did Hashem create this world for? What motivated Him to create this world? That's the basic question. We don't mean when we say what motivated him. We don't mean what motivated him from the outside Because nothing motivates Hashem from the outside. There is no outside of Hashem. So what we're really asking is, what is it that Hashem wants from within Himself? What does He want this world for? What purpose does it serve? That question is natural to every one of us. Because existence doesn't justify itself. When we ask the question, this is a question that every one of us asks. We always ask Why are we here?

9:54 Why are we asking the question? Why are we here? Because we know deeply that just being here is not good enough. We have to be here for a reason. Why did Hashem create us? That's the single most basic question. The Alter Rebbe in Tanya answers this question. The Alter Rebbe quotes the Medrash. What does he say? What does the Medrash say? Nisaveh Hakadosh Baruch Hu lios lo yosbarach dira b'tachtonim. Hashem created the world because He desires to have a dwelling place in the world down below. Why he desires that, we have no idea. But we know that He desires that. Hashem desires this world to be His dwelling place. He wants to feel comfortable, so to speak, in this world. He creates a world and then He says, "Can you invite Me into this world?" In other words, a very simple way of saying this is: Hashem wants to be in a relationship with us.

10:52 Why He wants to be in a relationship with us, I have no reason. All I know is He wants it. You'll say, 'What does that mean? God desires things?' The answer is absolutely, infinitely. God desires. We have human desires; those are very pathetic. When God has desires, He has infinite, perfect desires, complete desires. So what is His true desire? Hashem's true desire is that He wants to have a dira betachtonim. Now what does that require? There are two ways that Hashem can have a dira betachtonim. One of them will not complete the mission of this world, and the other one will. I'll give you an example of this. Imagine you have an addict who has a group of friends. This addict's friends are saying they have to get this guy into rehab. So they sit down with him. They have an intervention. He walks into the room. He sees all of his friends sitting there. Immediately he knows I'm about to have an intervention.

12:00 He tries to make a run for it. They stop him. And what do they do? They sit down with him and say, "We can't watch you hurt yourself anymore." You're hurting us. You're hurting the people that you love. Please don't do this. And they overwhelm him. They overwhelm him because he's so touched by their love, and he sees the brokenness that he's caused in this world and in these relationships. He agrees to go to rehab and to get therapy. Now that could save his life, and that's a very important thing to do. But there is something missing from that process. What's missing from that process? He didn't really choose to go to rehab, as much as they overwhelmed him into the choice of going to rehab. There is a different way of going to rehab. A different way to go into rehab is when the addict himself, without any intervention, without being overwhelmed by the truth He's sitting there and he's looking at the destruction that he's caused in his life.

13:08 And he realizes this is not working. And he himself is so broken that it's not that he's overwhelmed by this external desire to go to rehab, but the internal desire to go to rehab is so strong that he checks himself into rehab. Both of those are important ways to get to rehab, but there's an advantage that the second way has over the first. What's the advantage? Why will it be more meaningful? Because since it came from within him, since he wasn't overwhelmed from the outside, the choice to go is authentically his, and therefore the rehab might be that much more effective. Since he's, it's like the shell has broken open completely, so that the actual tree can grow. The same thing is true in a relationship. We don't want to be in a relationship where we have to overwhelm the other person into being in a relationship with us.

14:07 We want the other person to actually choose us, because the choice to be with us is better than to be overwhelmed by us. So when Hashem says, "I want you to build for me a dira betachtonim," I want you to invite me into your world. Hashem says I could overwhelm you with my truth, and then you would have no choice but to invite me in. But is that good? Why is that not good? What's the failure there? Because it might not stay. Let's say for you're right, it might not stay. But let's say something even a little bit deeper than that. Not only that it might not stay It's not an authentic relationship. Because the point of a relationship is you chose me. So that's what Hashem does. He brings us into the world, and then He says, "I'm going to hide myself in this world. I'm not going to overwhelm you with my truth."

15:05 And then, what does that give us the opportunity to do? It gives us the opportunity to choose Him, not because we're overwhelmed by His truth, but because the truth of this relationship is so real to us that we're motivated and inspired to invite Him into our world. That's what Hashem really wants. So the single most basic thing in Judaism is Hashem desires to have a dwelling place in this world, and He wants us to make the shifts necessary to bring Him into this world. He doesn't want to overwhelm us. He wants us to choose Him. Does that make sense? That's why there's two different Matan Toras. The first Matan Torah was by Har Sinai. But when was the second Matan Torah? It was on Purim. Very good. The second Matan Torah was on Purim from the hiddenness. The first time His truth overwhelmed us, and did it last? It did not.

16:05 But when we choose Hakadosh Baruch Hu from the darkness, that's the best Because that's a real, authentic choice. Israel chose to become better. Got the basic language. Got Hashem, they had this incredible relationship. They had exactly what Hashem intended. But then they fall because they sin. I understand, but how can they sin so terribly when they finally have Hashem with them? Because I think your answer, I think you're you're advancing our point. Because when the choice comes from Hashem overwhelming us with His truth That's not as authentic. As when we choose him, so you might say, 'It was amazing. His truth was so evident. How could we have messed up?' That's the nature of what happens when truth is impressed upon you, as opposed to discovering the truth from within you. Then, isn't the purpose to get closer to him? And then, when we finally have him, what's the point? We finally get to make the mikdash, and we're not worthy enough because he's so close that it becomes too easy. What about Mashiach?

17:10 No. One second. Slow down. It's not that. It's not that it was easy. In the times of the Beis Hamikdash, it wasn't easy. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives us a Beis Hamikdash, it's beautiful But it's not yet dira betachtonim. Why not? Because we haven't invited Him into the lowest places in our world. You understand? Matan Torah, first Beis Hamikdash, the second Beis Hamikdash. It doesn't last because it's not coming from the deepest wellsprings of within ourselves. And that's why even with this overwhelming truth, we could still do averes. Why does the third beis hamikdash last forever? Because the third beis hamikdash doesn't come; it comes from within ourselves. In other words, we've finally broken down all of the klipas to the point. All the external shells have been broken down. To the point where the truth resonates so deeply from within ourselves that it could not possibly be destroyed.

18:14 So the third Beis Hamikdash is fundamentally different than the first two Beis Hamikdash and Har Sinai. There, the truth comes from above. Kol Dosh Baruch Hu says the truth coming from above is a meaningful movement in this world, but the ultimate movement of this world is that the truth needs to come from within. So why did Hashem? A mountain over our heads, and to accept my Torah or else. So first of all, that's the way we learn that as children, right? And it's important to know that Gemara exists, but it's important to learn that Gemara deeply. What that means is that the truth of Matan Torah, Hashem's presence, was so real that the alternative to not accept that truth is the equivalent of death. It's like we don't. Because the authentic choice comes again. You're looking, you're thinking about it very literally. There's a mountain over your head.

19:06 What it means, the message, is the truth is so obvious. We could not, we should not be able to. The choice to walk into moving traffic, we couldn't make that choice because the truth of what will happen if we do just walk into oncoming traffic literally stops us. And the same thing to not accept the Torah at that moment, where Hashem's presence was absolutely revealed. It was impossible. It would be death. Because when the choice is so clear, you can't do anything but make that choice. So in a certain way, Hashem at Har Sinai revealed Himself completely, and because He revealed Himself completely, our choice to not accept the Torah was lacking. That's why the ultimate. When is the sequel? When is the actual Kabbalah Satora complete? We said by Purim, in the absence of Hashem's presence, when we accept the Torah, then right where we have the choice to not accept the Torah and we accept the Torah willingly, then that's the ultimate expression of our choice because now we're no longer being overwhelmed by the truth of Hashem's presence.

20:17 With this in mind. Now let's go back to our Gemara. What is this concept of a bez din shalmeta and a bez din shalma? What does that mean? Now we can start to understand. A bez din shalmeta is when the world shifts in some sort of way, and it's now muskam. It's agreed upon in Shamayim. You know what that means? It means that we shifted down here something in our world. And what did it do? It unified us with Shamayim. And that's the whole tachlis. That's the whole purpose, right? The whole purpose is to unite heaven and earth. That's what will make for Hashem adira betachtonim. So Hashem says, I don't want to overwhelm you with my truth. What do I want? I want you down here in this world to do something, and that it should be so deeply true that it will align itself with Shamayim. So there were three times, says Rabbi Yeshua Ben Levi, and one of them is in Megillas Rus. There were three movements in history where something dramatically shifted down here in this world.

21:25 And that dramatic shift down here in this world was quote unquote agreed upon in Shamayim. What does that mean? It means the dramatic shift created an alignment. In other words, a good way of thinking about. History is spiritual chiropractics. A chiropractor adjusts your spine so that everything is aligned. Our world is not in alignment with Shamayim, and our job in this world is to align this world with Shamayim so that Shamayim and Eretz are unified. So there were three times, says Rabbi Yeshua Ben Levi, where the Bes din Shalmeta, meaning down here in this world, we created a dramatic shift. And in Shamayim they said good. What does it mean? They said good. It means now we're in alignment. The mission of Dira B'Tachtonim is moving one step closer. What's the first example of this? The first example of this is the Megillah Esther. The first example of this is the story of Purim.

22:25 What happens in the story of Purim? So when we think about history When you learn history from secular books History looks like people. We're doing certain things in a certain time. There were certain fears. There were certain politics. Whatever was going on, this is what happened in the world. That's what history looks like. If you read a secular history book, they'll tell you this is how history unfolded. What does it mean to institute Megillas Esther? That now everybody's obligated to read Megillas Esther on Purim. It means we arrived at a moment in history where now Hashem is revealed within the concealment. That's what's really happening. There's a dramatic shift because up until now, how does Hashem? That's okay. It's just beautiful music. What's a she'er without beautiful music? Sometimes beautiful music could be a baby crying during she'er. Sometimes beautiful music could be Jews talking to each other during she'er. And sometimes it's a ringer.

23:34 Okay. Up until now, when Hashem plays a role in a story in history, how does it happen? It happens in a revealed way, right? Klal Yisrael is at the precipice of the Yam Suf, the Egyptian army is coming. What happens? Boom! God comes, sea splits, miraculous. Up until now, the way we could describe that is Hashem from above overwhelming us with His truth. But what happened in Miguel's Esther? Hashem's name is never written. In other words, the hand of history moves, and Hashem is moving all of history, but you never actually see Him. And what did the Chasal do? Esther came along, and she said, "We need to institute to be able to learn history and not see Hashem in a revealed way, but we find Hashem within history." And when they instituted the Megillah, what happened in the Bes din Shmala? The Bes din Shmala agreed. Meaning, step one in the process of the coming of Mashiach is a Jew learns history not by just reading the facts, but a Jew sees. I see Hashem's plan unfolding throughout history.

24:54 And that's why history can be a very beautiful thing to learn, because the way that we learn history is fundamentally different. We're not just learning. Did you girls do AP History? So wrong crowd. When I was in high school, we did AP History, right? And you have to, they give you these DBQs, and you have to write these DBEs, right? Document based questions, and you have to have document based answers. Don't even worry about it. The idea here, don't worry. High school is not an indicator of success in life. The idea here is that they want to know when you get a history exam, like why did the Civil War happen? And so you'll answer, it was because of financial reasons, or because of slavery, or because of the way that the trade agreements were set up between the North and the South. There are all these very deep explanations of what was going on behind the Civil War. But how would a Jew read history? A Jew would read history and say Hashem is advancing us to bring us closer to Mashiach.

25:59 So that was a stage in history where we said Hashem no longer needs to reveal Himself for us to see Him. That was step one. Now let's go to step two, because step two is our pasuk in Rus. Where now Boaz is walking along, and right before he meets Rus, and this is about to be the moment where Boaz and Rus get together, and then from that Malcham Hashem is born. He sees these farmers, and what does he say? Hashemimachem. And he uses the actual name of God. What does this mean? Maybe what this means is as follows: Most people don't find Hashem in the ordinary world. This was another dramatic shift in history. Because up until that point Where do we find Hashem? We find Hashem in the beis medrash. We find Hashem in shul. We find Hashem in mitzvos. But here, what does Baal see? He sees a group of farmers, and what are they doing? They're farming the land.

27:10 And what does he say? He says, not just God is with you. He actually uses Hashem's name. In other words, what is he saying? Your mundane work in this world God is in that mundane work. You understand? This is a very big shift. This is a dramatic shift in history, because usually, where a person thinks like, I'm meant to be serving God, I should go to a mountain top in Tibet, and I should sit and meditate all day. Boaz says, No! Right here in the field, when you're doing this work Hashem imachem. This is exactly where you find the revealed name of God, the actual Sheim Hashem, not just The Sheim Hashem, like we refer to it. The actual name of Hashem. So that was a because usually we don't say the Sheim Hashem. And Boaz comes along and he says, "I see the Sheim Hashem in your mundane labor."

28:09 And this is a dramatic shift in history. Why is this a dramatic shift in history? The first thing is finding God in history. The second thing is If Hashem wants a dira betachtonim. If he wants a dwelling place in the world down below, he doesn't just want to be found in the beis medrash. Where does he want to be found? In our everyday life. Everywhere In your everything. So step one of that is I see the YHWH wherever I am. I'm walking down the street, I see the YHWH. As history unfolds, we don't know what's going to be next week. Maybe we're going to be back at war with Iran. But when we're learning history, what are we learning? We're learning how the hand of Hashem is bringing us one step closer to the final moments. And when I'm doing my regular job, and a person might think, when I was in Eretz Yisrael, was in Yerushalayim, Merkodesh, I was learning all day, I was growing. That's when I was connected to Hashem. But if I leave Be'er Miriam and I leave Yerushalayim.

29:04 Am I still connecting to Hashem? What's the answer to that question? Of course. Of course. And that's another stage in our development to know that there's nothing that is just mundane. Everything that's mundane has the opportunity to be sanctified. And then comes step three. Step three, we alluded to it before, but we didn't actually spell it out. Something about miser Something about miser was also changed. The bez din shalmato did something about miser, and the bez din shamala agreed. Rashi explains what happened. There were two takanas. Two how do you say a takana in English Two decrees, two enactments. One was Ezra. And the other was Chizkiyahu. So Rashi explains Maaser Rishon goes to a Levi. You separate a portion of your stuff for the Levi. So in the time of Ezra, when Ezra was returning everybody to Eretz Yisrael, not all of the Leviim joined him in returning to Eretz Yisrael, and Ezra penalized them. He said that maaser rishon can also be given to the kohanim, not just for the Levim anymore. It's also for the kohanim. So Ezra created a system where they brought the maaser to a chamber in the base of the hamikdash, and then it wasn't just distributed privately anymore to the Levim.

30:35 Now there was an oversight to the system to make sure that kohanim and levim would both get maaser rishon. That was one takana. There was another takana from the time of Chizkiyahu. Because in the time of Chizkio, there were Levim that had gotten involved in worshiping Avodah Zara And so in that time, where Levim were worshiping Avodah Zara, if a person gave maaser to any Levi, maybe they were giving it to an idolater And he didn't want that to be. So what did Chizkio do? Again, he prepared a chamber in the Beit Hamikdash, and he had people bring their trumas and maasers there. And then they distributed it to make sure that the people that were receiving it were also people who were God-fearing Jews and not uvedavodazara. Also, another thing that Chizkio did is maaser yerek and maaser ilan, which is fruits and vegetables. He said you have to bring them to your shalayim.

31:31 What is the meaning of this? What's the significance of this? Now we can understand very deeply. What did we say? Step one was finding Hashem in history. What did we say? Step two was finding Hashem in your mundane work. What is step three? Step three is finding Hashem in your actual possessions. See, this is a very big thing that we're contending with today because we have a tremendous amount of stuff. Today we're wealthier than ever before. In today's world where we're wealthier than ever before, this message has to ring very true to us. I want to align my possessions with Hashem, that I don't just have things for the sake of having things. I have whatever I have in my life. I recognize that it comes from Hashem and it's meant to be used in the service of Hashem. So what do we want to do? We want to align our possessions with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

32:30 How do we do that? We bring maaser. We take a segment of what we've earned and we give it to the Levi'im. But what happens if I'm giving it to people who are supposed to represent true spirituality and they don't? Then it's not good. So it's an interesting thing that Ezra and Chizkiyah did. What did they do? They said, if you're going to give it to Levim that didn't come back to Eretz Yisrael, that's not good because you're taking your physical possessions and you're trying to elevate them, but you're bringing it to the wrong place of elevation. You have to bring it to people that did the right thing, that they were aligned with Hashem. And imagine if you were bringing it to idolaters—that's certainly the wrong place to bring it. What did Ezra and Chizkia do? They made sure that when you were distributing your maaser Because you don't just want to find Hashem in history—that's step one—and you don't just want to find Hashem in your mundane work. You want to find Hashem in every material thing that you have in your life. You have to make sure that when you're giving maaser, you're giving it to the right people.

33:32 And even your fruits and vegetables, bring them to your shalayim. Make sure that every single physical thing that you have is aligned properly with Hashem. And what did the bezn shalmalah do? They agreed Because what does the bezn shalmalah want? It wants that everything in our life should be aligned with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. I want to tie everything together and make sure that everything is clear because I know that sometimes if the end of the year doesn't tie it all together, it doesn't work. So now let's go back. What was our original question? Right before Boaz meets Ruth, which is right before the birth of Mashiach. What happens? Random story. What was the random story that Boaz is walking along and he sees these coatsrim, he sees these people reaping, and he says Hashemimachem, and he uses the actual Shem Hashem. And we were wondering what was the significance of that, and what was the significance of that—that he used the actual Shem Hashem.

34:30 And what we did is we put it all together, and we saw Rav Yeshua Ben Levi is giving us a formula of what it looks like to align our world with Shamayim. How do we bring Hashem in? Step one: You have to know that every single thing that happens—that's Hashem. That's Mikra Megillah. Step two: Everything you do has to align itself with Hashem. Even the mundane activity of making a parnasa for yourself, you can find Hashem there. And step three, what about all the stuff you have? All the stuff you have has to be aligned with Hashem. And the takanas of Ezra and Chizkio were agreed upon in Shamayim to align everything we have with Hashem. And so the mussar for us is, if we want to bring Mashiach It's not enough. To have Hashem overwhelm us with His truth—that was the beginning of the story of history. Up until Kriyas Megillah, Hashem was talking to us. Since the story of Purim, we're finding Him And so there are shifts that are dramatically happening now in history, especially now that we're at the end. Finding Hashem in history, finding Hashem in our mundane work, and finding Hashem in all of our possessions, making sure that we're using everything that we have. In an effort to align ourselves with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.