Three Weeks: It's Good When Jews Sit Together

2:17 Over a bathroom. They come running and crying to me. But you know what she said. I'm like, I don't care what she said. You looked fine. You know how many black and blue marks on you. So what's so good and what's so pleasant about siblings sitting together? It doesn't seem very pleasant at all. And not only that, but if you pay attention to the words How good is it And how pleasant is it? Things can be good for you. Medicine is good for you. But it's rarely pleasant. A bag of chips can be pleasant. But it's not so good for you. So this is an ambitious statement. How good is it, and how pleasant is it? When siblings sit together, we turn to the Torah. Maybe it's my own family that has such dysfunctional issues, but we turn to the Torah. We look throughout the entire Sefer Berish Berishus, the entire story of creation, from the beginning all the way through.

3:14 The Jews going down to Egypt as slaves. Cain killed Abel. Yishmael tried to kill Yitzchak. Esav tried to kill Yaakov. Joseph's brothers tried to kill him, but they had mercy. They only sold him down as a slave to Egypt. It doesn't seem so good. It doesn't seem so pleasant. So what's going on over here? That's question number one. Question number two, and this will be the last question for the day. Only two questions today. Moses gathers everyone together. Yaakov. He gathers everyone together to teach us what To teach us To keep Shabbos And to build the Mishkan, to build the Tabernacle. And the question is, why does Moses have to gather everyone together To build the Tabernacle And to teach us the laws of keeping Shabbos? Why is it so important that we do that as a nation? Everyone knows that the Jews received the Torah at Har Sinai.

4:25 Received the Torah in the Sinai Desert On Mount Sinai. And when we received the Torah Something critical happened. It says, "va'yichan sham Yisrael neged hahar" That the Jews encamped around the mountain. But the word "va'yichan," which means to encamp Is in the singular. It's not vayachanu, which would be plural. It's vayichan Singular. So something extraordinary happened. Perhaps the first and maybe the last time in Jewish history Jews got together to do something. Ki ishechad, belevechad, like one man with one heart. Totally unified. I don't know if you know this about Jews. But you could go to a Jewish community almost anywhere in the world And there's the shul I daven at, and the shul I would never daven at. You go to a desert island. You're a Jew, you find another Jew. He says, 'There's ten Jews here, but we have two minyanim.' People don't want to daven with each other. People are so divided.

5:32 But on that day when we received the Torah, every single Jew was together as one. But it didn't last. It didn't last. Just 40 days later. We worshipped the golden calf. How many people know how many golden calves they made? When I was growing up, I thought they made one giant golden calf. But then I started learning And I found out that it's not true. There wasn't one golden calf made. There were 12 different golden calves that were made. Each tribe made their own golden calf. And then Moses came down from the mountain, and he took the luchos, he took the tablets, and he smashed them on the ground, and that was the end. What's the deeper meaning? What's the inner message going on in this story? The inner message is very simple, and yet very profound, and I think it's totally appropriate for what you are going to do over the next two days.

6:36 We can receive the Torah together. The only way we can receive the Torah is together. And when we divide, because we're from different communities, because we're from different walks of life Perhaps we have different ways of serving God. Perhaps some of us are more observant or less observant. But the moment that we divide ourselves and we start identifying ourselves as different camps That's when we lose everything. That's when we're no longer worshiping one God. Each tribe has its own God. So I want to tell you a story. It's an amazing story. It's one hundred percent a true story. I know it's a true story because it happened to me. I fly to America, unfortunately, way too often. And I flew—I don't know how many of you flew here on El Al. I flew on El Al Which is always a wonderful experience. The stewardesses are so kind.

7:34 The food is so delicious. People are so polite. So I'm sitting there, and there's nothing that frustrates me more, especially when I'm leaving to go to America. There is nothing in the world that frustrates me more than a delayed takeoff. Because I'm going to get in at five o'clock in the morning and then I have to run across the airport to Hertz to rent a car. And I have to get my car, and then I have to go to Davin and wherever I'm going after that. I've got a busy day. I don't have time to be an hour late. And inevitably, whenever I fly Alal We leave late. Why do we leave late? But a couple of my brothers Who have perhaps longer sidelocks and wear different clothing than me Have decided. Even though it's not my opinion, I respect them for theirs. I wouldn't do this, but they do. They've decided they can't sit on a plane next to a woman. I don't know if you've seen this before, but they refuse to sit.

8:28 They stand in the aisles. It's in protest. Everyone has to move. It's musical chairs. Only on a Jewish airline could we have that. If it was a Gentile airline, we'd be like, of course I have to sit. It's going to be a chil la Hashem on LL. It's like I won't sit there. Everybody has to move because of me, and it frustrates me so much. Just sit down. It's not a big deal. Just take off, and I'm sitting on this LL flight in an aisle seat in the middle. So you know how it goes. There's three seats on one side, three seats on the other, four seats in the middle. I'm sitting on the right side of the middle seats in the aisle. Next to me is a. What appears to be a Charedi-looking Jew, big black hat, long black coat, big beard And next to him is another guy, same-looking guy, and next to them is a Conservative rabbi. Unbeknownst to me, I didn't know he was a Conservative rabbi at the time. He's just the guy who's sitting there, and we're all sitting there. We're all frustrated, and the guys next to me are like, 'Why can't they just sit down? It's not a big deal.' And I'm like, 'Oh, you feel that way too? Good. Everyone's on the same page.'

9:28 We're all banding together against other Jews. This is the spirit of an L. L. Airline. And these guys are refusing to sit down. I'm like, come on, just sit down already. And finally, some guy gets up because the stewardesses aren't going to take care of it. He gets up. You move here, and everybody sits down. And now in front of me, I've got four men dressed in their big black hats, their long black coats, and they finally get comfortable. And the guy who's to the far left, the conservative rabbi Very politely, exceptionally politely He leans forward. And he says to a young man about 21 years old who's sitting in the seat diagonally in front of him. And he says, "Would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions?" And this is all happening in Hebrew. So the kid says, "Of course, ask away."

10:22 So he goes What did you just do? Why did you just do that? You made everyone on the plane wait. Why did you just do that? Now he said it very respectfully. And the guy responds and he says. You have to understand. I don't touch women. I'm very careful about this. This is my understanding of the halacha. So it's worth a million dollars to me. I can't give that up. Conservative rabbi nods his head and says, "I can appreciate and understand where you're coming from." Can I tell you what I think? The kid says, "Of course. It's such a respectful dialogue." He says, "Of course, please tell me what you think." He says, "I think that we only have the Dalad Amos of Halacha, the four cubits of the law, and we all have to live within those Dalad Amos, within those four cubits. So we have to make room for everyone."

11:19 And the kid nods his head. This twenty-one-year-old guy nods his head and says, 'Yeah, I can appreciate that.' That's such an interesting way of thinking about it. I'm not trying to be offensive to her. If she would only know that this is the law for me, as I understand it, she wouldn't be offended. And the conservative rabbi answers back, and he goes, "Yes, but the point is that she doesn't necessarily know that, and she is offended. And the way you behaved made her feel like she was outside of the four cubits of halacha." And they're going back and forth, and this takes place for about fifteen minutes. And I'm sitting and listening to the entire thing. And at the very end, they part ways as friends. And I ask the conservative rabbi. Would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions? And he said, "Sure." And he actually switched seats with the guy who was sitting next to me so that we could talk.

12:06 And we're sitting there And I introduce myself And he introduces himself. That's where I found out that he was a conservative rabbi from Washington. And I asked him What made you feel comfortable to ask that guy those questions? So he goes. What do you mean? I said, "Well, let me put it this way: If there were Amish people on the plane who refused to sit next to women" Would you have felt comfortable questioning their belief system? And he looks at me and he goes, "No, of course not. I never would have done that." And I said, "Exactly. So why do you feel comfortable doing it with them?" So he goes, "I never thought about it before." So I said, "Maybe you feel comfortable." Because you're looking at that Jew and you're saying, "That's my brother" And how could my brother behave that way? He's making our sisters feel bad because he won't sit next to them.

13:04 So the reason you ask the question is not because you feel so distant from the person who's sitting in front of you, but because you feel so very close. And the reason it bothers you so much that he has this belief system is because you're his brother, and you say, 'How could my brother behave that way?' And that was the entire flight. We spoke for the entire flight. It was amazing. Because when we appear to be so different from each other, the truth is we're so the same. And I wish I could tell you that conversation I had with him was my own brilliant Einfall, but it wasn't. I ripped it off. I stole it from Rabbi Abraham J. Twersky. How many people here have heard of Rabbi Doctor Abraham J. Twersky? Rabbi Doctor Twersky is a Hasidic Jew. He went to Harvard. He's a psychiatrist.

13:56 Today he lives in Beit Shemesh. Back when he was younger, he was considered one of the foremost psychiatrists in the world. He specialized in addiction. He created the first center for addiction for Jews. Exceptional man. Rabbi Twersky dresses in Hasidic shagarb. When he opens his mouth, he sounds like a Harvard professor. But when you look at him, he looks like any other Hasidic man. And somebody on a train once went over to him and said. You Jews, it's time for you to leave the 17th century and come. And this is a Jewish man himself who's saying it. You have to come be modern Jews living in today's society, and you have to dress like you're a modern person. And Rabbi Tversky is just sitting there and he's nodding his head the entire time. And after about three minutes, he says, "I'm so sorry to interrupt you."

14:42 I just want to tell you I'm Amish. And all of a sudden, the guy's eyes go wide. He's like I am so sorry. I've actually been to Amish town. I think it's amazing what you do. No electricity. It's so good today with technology. And then Rabbi Tursky goes, "No. I am actually Jewish. But I just want to know if I was Amish and you would treat me with such respect. Why won't you treat me with respect when I'm a Hasidic Jew?" But it's an unbelievable story because Rabbi Tursky showed the man his own bias. But at the same time, I would say back to Rabbi Tursky. It's amazing that he came over to you, so offended by the way you dress, because he feels so close to you, and he doesn't understand why you can't just catch up today. Because that's what he believes to be true. What's amazing about what you guys are going to do over the next two days, and the reason why I think that this is going to be my highlight of the entire summer—having the unbelievable opportunity to speak with you—is because you're doing something today. Over the next two days, you're doing something so extraordinary.

15:45 Jews from all walks of life saying it doesn't matter where we come from Because we're sisters. It doesn't matter what program we're on, because for the next two days we're on the same program. Everyone here was at Yom Ency S Y. I take my children every single year to Yom Ency S Y. Why do I take my kids to Yom Ency S Y? I'll tell you why. Because I live here in Beit Shemesh. Down the block from Rebbitzin Yudin, we have the most unbelievable, beautiful community. And everybody in our community keeps Shabbos, and everybody in our community keeps kosher, and there's unbelievable chesed. It's incredible what goes on in our community. But the problem with my community? You don't see any other types of Jews. You only see one type. And I want so badly for my children to come and see what the Jewish nation really looks like. And that's why I bring them to Yom Ha'atzmaut every year to see that Jews are not one shape and one size and one stripe and one color, but we're so multifaceted, and that's what makes us incredible.

16:49 Today you may look at me and you may say There's Rivberg, standing in front, holding the microphone, giving the shir. Overweight with a beard—it's not nice. Don't think that. Don't even say it. The truth of the matter is I come from a very unique family. I come from a family where my grandmother was not an observant Jew. My grandfather was not an observant Jew. The same thing on my mother's side and on my father's side. None of my dad's siblings are Orthodox. One of my mom's siblings became Orthodox. My grandmother became Orthodox. She became Orthodox when she was 70 years old. So now she's exceptionally judgmental. It's an amazing thing. Yells at my cousins for not keeping Shabbos. I'm like, Grandma, you didn't keep Shabbos for seventy years, but okay. She's the most amazing person. I love her dearly. My house growing up was a mini Yom Encias way.

17:54 Pesach Seder Everyone came to my house because where else would we have had Pesach Seder? And every year. From so many different walks of life, whether it was my cousins when they were little or when they were in college, as the family grew older, the family divided. We moved to Israel. And I feel something is missing from my life since I came to Israel. What's missing? My home Back on 707 Annapolis Street, and then 172 Harborview North. Where everyone used to gather together, and I learned from the time that I was very little that no two Jews are alike, and that's what makes us beautiful. I learned from an exceptional young age to accept everyone, no matter what their beliefs were. It didn't matter to us as long as you were a Jew. But you know As with many families, there's a lot of assimilation.

18:51 And unfortunately, my cousins have begun marrying Gentiles. And that's very sad for me. My father always communicated to every one of my cousins. I'll love you no matter what. I'll accept you no matter what. But don't marry out. Keep the tradition going. Keep the chain going. That was the message that my father sent us and to my cousins. And as my cousins were getting older, we started to realize. Maybe it's not going to happen, and so many of them started marrying out. I have one cousin named Michael. Michael is my age, exactly my age. And Michael went to Oswego State University of New York. Now I don't know if you know anything about Oswego SUNY But Oswego SUNY is what they call a drinking school with a college problem. You don't go to Oswego for the higher level of education. You go for the higher level of something that's not so much the education.

19:53 And when Michael came back for the Pesach Seder after his spring semester from Aswigo Sunni Everyone was nervous to ask the one question: Michael, are you dating anyone in college? Now I had come back from my Shana Alef, from my first year that I had spent here in Israel. After high school, I decided to take a year off to come to Israel for the year to learn to get connected to the land of Israel. And my cousin Michael was my counterpart, my exact age. Michael says, "I'm going to Aswigo Sunni." Of course, why would he think to come to Israel? He never went on TJJ ambassadors. He never had anything to do with NCSY. Michael's sole Jewish experience was the Pesach seder at my house. And finally, my dad gets the courage to go over to Michael and he says to him Michael, are you dating anyone?

20:47 And Michael looks at my dad and he goes, "Uncle Mitch." Of course, I'm not dating anyone. And my father was like, "Really? Why?" And he goes, "Because there are no Jewish girls that I would be interested in Las Vegas." And my father breathed a sigh of relief. He was like, "Okay Michael, that's amazing. I'm so happy that you're committed to marrying a Jewish girl. Why is that so important to you? And Michael looks at my father and he says. Uncle Mitch, how strange would it be if I brought a Gentile girl to your seder? And I want to tell you that as a kid growing up, I always wondered what was the impact of having a Pesach seder at our house, where it was so inclusive, where it was so loving, where everyone was so excited to be there with each other, not because of where we came from, just because of who we were. I was always wondering, is there real value to that? And when Michael said that, it justified for me at that time, 18 years of seder, 18 years of getting together. The truth is, when I was a kid, I don't know if any of you had this, but you know how sometimes teachers in school will give you giant notebooks full of stuff that you have to say over at the seder.

21:54 Anyone here had that experience? Your father is not allowed to say a word because you have a devar Torah from your third grade mo'ra who gave you something you have to say. It's a parable. It's an amazing thing you have to say. The father doesn't get to say a word. I always was a little resentful. I wanted to say things at the seder too, but I couldn't because the seder was geared to so many different types of people. But Michael looked at my dad and he said, "Of course I would never marry out. Of course I would never assimilate. I want my children to be Jewish because how strange would it be?" Yom Encious Y is an amazing day Because for a couple of hours we all sit under the same roof, we listen to the same music, Simcha Leiner can sing his same four songs. It's okay. I like Ohad and we all dance together.

22:43 And if we only had Yom Encias Y Dayenu, that would be amazing. But it's not enough. It's not enough if it doesn't mean that afterwards we come together and we have programs exactly like this. Yom Encias Y is just the beginning. For the next two days, you are going to learn so much about each other, and you're going to learn so much from each other. And the part from each other is the part I really want to highlight for a minute. There's a rabbi today who lives in Israel. He's a very big rabbi. His name is Rabbi Breidewitz. Anyone here ever heard of Rabbi Breidewitz? If you're from Silver Spring, Maryland, I would have hoped you'd heard of Rabbi Breidewitz. I don't know what I said, but I love that reaction. I forgot that girls do that when you say where you're from. When you speak to guys and you're like, anyone here from Silver Spring? Guys like, yeah We mostly grunt and groan. Rabbi Breidowitz is an amazing man.

23:48 Really a spectacular man, a special man. If you have the opportunity to listen to any of his lectures online, he's so special. He was the head of the law department in the University of Maryland for many, many years. He's a tremendous talmudachem. He knows a tremendous amount of Torah. He's a guy who lives on my block. I don't know if I should say his name because he lives right down the block from Mrs. Juden as well. But he didn't grow up in an Orthodox family. He didn't grow up with any Judaism. He grew up in Virginia. And when he came to Israel, how Jews find themselves in Israel. We find ourselves in Israel. I don't know exactly how I got here. Some NCSY advisor told me a thing. I ended up on TJJ. As many friends of mine have said, I kept trying to do things, and then Jewish things got in the way. So he was one of these guys. He ended up in Israel somehow.

24:36 And he didn't like any of the programs that he was on. Because every time he went on a program They kept saying how much he was going to learn. And when he came to Israel, it was already after he had graduated from the University of Virginia. I think at the time he was just starting law school at the University of Miami. He chose to go to the University of Miami because it was the best place to surf. He was a surfer. He used to spend his summers surfing off the coast of Costa Rica. And he came to Israel, and everyone kept telling him, "How much are you going to learn? How much are you going to learn?" And he kept wondering, "When am I going to teach? I have life experience too. I have so many things to share." And he finally went on one program through our semech And Rabbi Briderowitz was there with them for Shabbos. Rabbi Briderowitz said, "I'm so excited to spend Shabbos with you." I'm excited to teach, but I'm also excited to learn.

25:24 And it was the first time he told me. In all of his journeys, it was the first time that somebody had ever made him feel like he had something to contribute. And the truth of the matter is that all of us have something to contribute. Each one of us in this room has something to contribute because we come from so many different places. And whether you're in Mechlelet or whether you're in TJJ Ambassadors, it doesn't matter. We can learn from each other if we have respect for each other. If we consider that perhaps I know more Torah, but this person also has wisdom And if we open up to the experience of learning from each other I'll tell you that these will be the two days that you'll remember. You'll do amazing this summer. You'll have amazing chesed opportunities. You'll hear amazing classes, but nothing will change your life like opening up to the possibilities. That somebody knows something that you don't from the most unexpected person. Nothing will change your life like that.

26:27 The rabbis say I learned much from my rabbis, but I learned more from my students, and it's true. I've been teaching for a long time now. And my best teachers are my students. Girls, your best teachers over the next two days are each other. You'll learn a tremendous amount if you open up to that possibility. So let's return to our original question. Or our second question Why does Moses gather everyone together to teach them about Mishkan, to teach them about Shabbos? The answer is because that's the way Jews do things. When we do things successfully, it's only because we can do them together. When we receive the Torah, it's because we could receive it together. When we worship golden calves, it's separate. Shabbos is a time of community where everyone comes together, building a sanctuary. It can only happen when everyone comes together. But I want to share with you something deeper now So please open your hearts just for a couple of minutes and open your minds because I want to share something a little bit deeper now.

27:29 The truth of the matter is that the sanctuary, the Mishkan, the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple in Jerusalem While they exist in space The truth of the matter is. That it's just a reflection of what exists inside of ourselves. The pasuk says, 'Va'asulim mikdash v'shachanti basolcha. Create for me a temple, a sanctuary, and I will dwell within you, not within it.' Not that God says I will dwell within the temple; I will dwell within you. Which means that when we are together as one When all of the Jewish nation comes together, then the sanctuary can exist. But when we divide ourselves by our different camps and we start saying I'm this type of Jew and I'm that type of Jew The Beis Hamikdash can't exist. It's not possible for it to exist because the Beis Hamikdash is a living organism. It's what occurs when every one of us is together.

28:28 And when we separate from each other, the Beis Hamikdash is destroyed. We had two temples. The first temple was destroyed because we were involved in terrible sins, terrible averus. Gilei Arayas Shvichas Dabim and Avodah Zara. We were idolatrous. We had inappropriate relationships. We murdered And the temple was destroyed, but only for seventy years. The second temple was rebuilt. And it was destroyed because of baseless hatred between Jews, because of nonsensical separation. And it's been thousands of years since it's been rebuilt. You know why? Because we're making the same mistakes over and over again. You know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Until we learn that it doesn't matter what type of Jew you are. Until we learn to come together, we will not rebuild. The Beit Hamikdash, and now we're in the period of the three weeks. We're once again mourning the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash and we mourn the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash in the hopes that maybe this year we'll get the lesson.

29:38 Maybe it'll be this year. And we keep blowing it. But maybe now In Michleled and TJJ ambassadors coming together, maybe we'll finally show God we're starting to get it. Maybe you girls will lead the way. Maybe on Tishavah this year, it'll be Mechlelet and TJJ ambassadors holding hands, dancing around Mashiach, saying, "We brought Mashiach because we came together." That would be an amazing scene to watch. Because we can't be insane anymore. I'll tell you an amazing story. It's a story of two friends. Both became. Among the greatest rabbis of their generation, they met each other in Berlin. One was Rav Yosef dov halevi salavechik Commonly known as the Rav. He was Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University. He was one of the greatest Tamilachahamim of his time. He had exceptional powers of analysis. He was well versed in the entire Torah; incredible. He came from the house of Brisk.

30:53 Which is very analytical, very logical It's called a Lithuanian way of thinking. From the Lithuanian school of thinking. The other man, his name was Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson Who became the Lubavitcher Rebbe, commonly known as the Rebbe and the Rav. They went to the University of Berlin at the same time. They were actually chavrusas. They used to learn together and go to shiur together. In fact. The story goes that one time, on Purim, the Lubavitcher Rebbe got drunk at the University of Berlin, and he stood up on a box at the University of Berlin, and he started delivering a Hasidic discourse, and he was arrested for drunken disorderly. And who posted bail? None other than his good friend R' Saloveitchik. Of course, at the time they were only kids in college together. They didn't know that each one of them was going to become amongst the leaders of the generation.

31:48 Many, many years later. After decades and decades of being friends, the Lubavitcher Rebbe turned eighty years old, and they made what's called a fabbrangen. A Fabregen means that all the Hasidim get together in 770, and the Rebbe sat at a very, very long table, and all the older Hasidim sat behind the Rebbe, and thousands of Hasidim crowded into 770 to sing, to dance, to make alehayim with the Lubavitch Rebbe on the occasion of his 80th birthday, and they sent a limo to pick up Rav Salavetchik to bring Rav Salavetchik to see his good friend on the occasion of the Lubavitch Rebbe's 80th birthday. And they invited him up to the front to sit next to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and the Rav refused to sit next to the Rebbe. He sat all the way down at the end of the table. And you can see if you go online and you Google it, you can see the pictures of the Lubavitcher Rebbe sitting in the middle, and about twenty feet down that way is Roshalovetsik, the Rav.

32:44 And as he was leaving A reporter said to Roshalovetsik I know that your family. The great family of Brisk has been opposed to the great family that Shneerson comes from, the Lubavitcher family, the family of Chasidim. Because there was a big split seven generations earlier. There was a big split between the Chasidim and what was called the Misnagdim, those that opposed Chasidim, and the Salavitcher side was on one side, and the Shneerson side was on the other. There's been a big split. Perhaps now you finally came and made peace with each other. And Rusalovetsik said, "No." We did not make peace with each other today. We made peace when we were burned in the same ovens in Auschwitz. Because Hitler didn't care what type of Jew you were. He just cared that you were Jewish. He didn't care if you were a Hasid, and he didn't care if you were opposed to Chassidus. All he cared about is that you were Jewish.

33:46 Our greatest teacher is the anti-Semite that looks at us and he says, "Jew". And you have to look at the world today, girls. You have to pay attention to the anti-Semitism that's going on. When Ilhan Omar says it's all about the Benjamins, baby That's anti-Semitism. And when she says that anti-Semitic trope She's not thinking about this type of Jew or that type of Jew. She's only thinking Jews pay off people in the government to get what they want. She's referring to us in the singular. Just as we did when we received the Torah, just as we did when Moshe taught us about Shabbos and he taught us about building the sanctuary, and when we lost the Beis Hamikdash, it's when we start to consider ourselves different. We're one organism. Some of us are the head. Some of us are the heart. Some of us are the arms. Some of us are the legs. But we can't do without each other.

34:40 Even the word Yisrael Which is the Jewish nation. Israel stands for Yesh Shishim Ribui Osius LaTorah. There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah. Which refers to the six hundred thousand Jews that encamped around Tarsinai. Every one of us is critical, and there's a halacha that if even one letter is missing in a Sefer Torah, the Sefer Torah is pasul. Every one of you represents a letter in the scroll. And if we lose even one of you The scroll is pasul. The problem today is that we don't teach each other how each one is so valuable. We have to take the time to recognize that each one of us is unique, but we're all part of this exceptional organism called the Jewish nation. It says, "Torah tzivol anu Moshe, Morasha kihlas Yaakov." Moses commanded us to keep the Torah, the inheritance of the house of Jacob.

35:42 What is an inheritance? An inheritance means if you are a child Your inheritance belongs to you, and it doesn't matter if you're a good child or a bad child. It doesn't matter if you're an observant child or a non-observant child. It's your inheritance. The Torah is your inheritance. Every one of us has a part in it. I want to finish by telling you a very famous mashal, a very famous parable. And even if you've heard it before, it's worthwhile to hear again. It's the story of a man Who had a son that he loved very much. And this man would spend time. He wasn't one of those dads that didn't spend time with his children. He really made sure to give his son the proper focus. Every day when his son came home He spent half an hour, forty-five minutes playing with his son. But this day he had a project.

36:38 That he hadn't finished, and it was really important that he get the project done. But he knew his son was going to be walking in the door, so he said, "What do I do?" My son's going to be walking in the door. I want to give my son the attention that he deserves, but I'm going to need him to wait 45 minutes. Let me give him something to do. Let me find something for him to do. Just so that he could be occupied until I'm ready to spend time with him. And he sees a magazine And he sees in the magazine that's open, there's a picture of the entire world. So he takes the picture and cuts it up into little pieces. And when his son comes home, he hands his son these little pieces of the picture, and he says, 'Son, I'm going to be with you in about 45 minutes. Daddy just needs to finish this project. Just give me 45 minutes. But in the meantime, why don't you take this puzzle that I've made for you and put it together?' He's cut it up into little pieces. It's going to be hard for him to put it together.

37:30 And about five minutes later, the son comes back with the picture all perfectly taped up, and the father is astounded. I have a genius for a son. That's amazing. How did you do this so fast? And he says, 'How'd you do that?' And the son says It was easy. On the other side of the picture There was a picture of a person. So I just flipped over all the pictures, all the pieces. I put together the faces of this person. And then the whole world came together. I like it too. Girls Every one of us is an entire world. Adam was created singular. He was created first. The first person was Adam. He was created first. To teach us the lesson that every single one of us is valuable. Every single one of us is an entire world. And the question is Can we put ourselves together?

38:28 Can we link arms with each other? Can we take the opportunity over the next two days to rebuild the Beit Hamikdash? Because I'm tired of fasting on Tishav, I'm tired of crying on Tishav, I'm tired of sitting on the ground on Tishav, I'm tired of giving the same speech every year on Tishav, and I always wondered myself Who's going to be the ones to fix it? The adults were too messed up. We're already stuck in our ways; we're already so blind to the truth. If you want to know the truth Look to the kids, because the kids will always tell you the truth. My daughters always tell me the truth, even when I don't want to hear it. I'm walking out, and my 14-year-old daughter looks at me. She goes, "Are you really going to wear that?" I go, "I guess not." Thank you so much. The truth The truth. You guys have the truth. We don't have the truth. We're already too messed up.

39:24 But if you spend the next two days of your life really recognizing, it doesn't matter where we come from. We have so much to learn from each other. Only when we link arms, only when we put ourselves together, will the entire world come together. Hopefully, in just a couple of days, this Tishav, we're going to greet Mashiach together. And it's going to be TJJ ambassadors, and Mechilala will be leading the way.