Vayakhel - Making Space for the Copper Jews

2:05 Rashi points out that this week's parsha, the parsha of Yaakov, where all of Klal Yisrael gathers together Rashi points out that this happens on the day after Yom Kippur. The Kli Yakar says that it's not an accident that the timing here. Is that Moshe Rabbeinu teaches the halachos of the Mishkan right after Yom Kippur And Yom Kippur every single Jew strips away his materialism, his physicality. And he's left with a soul. He's left with an neshama. And in that state of Yom Kippur Every single Jew is in a state of achdus because all pirud, all differentiation between one person and another. Happens on the level of the guf Where we're the same, but we're in different bodies. Every one of us is unique, of course. Every one of us has our own personal neshama that expresses particular talents. But we only see ourselves as differentiated because we're in separate bodies. The truth is that when a person minimizes their body, they minimize their material existence. They come to a state of recognition. That every single person is really, in our core, every single person is really one And that there's an organism, one living organism, that all of Klal Yisrael is together as this. The Gemara in Yerushalmi says, "We're Guf Echad."

3:34 That in the highest level, when we minimize our materialism, we come to recognize that we're really all one. And the Kli Yakar explains that it's not an accident that Moshe Rabbeinu teaches the halachos of the Mishkan to the kahila. On the day after Yom Kippur, because the Mishkan must be built with Achdus. There's no such thing as building a dwelling place for Hashem if we're in a state of Pirud. If we're in a state of differentiation Which is why the Beis Hamikdash is destroyed because of sin Aschinam. If Klal Yisrael is not in a state of Achdus, then we can't be at home. A family deserves to live in a home. When we treat each other as family, then we can live in our homes. If chas v'shalom, we treat each other as strangers, then we're not zayecha to a home. So Moshe Rabbeinu teaches the halachas of the Mishkan and begins the building of the Mishkan as a kehilah the day after Yom Kippur when we're in the ultimate state of achdus.

4:31 And here we find ourselves, not without irony One week after Purim. Purim by us this year was a Purim mishulosh Friday, Shabbos, Sunday. In a certain way, the iris of Purim are still with us. The Baalei Chasidus point out that Purim is a yomtov that has no havdala. That Purim comes with a Jew the entire year But certainly the irus are still very strong. The irus of Purim, which are even greater than the irus of Yom Kippur Lech Kenayis Es Kalla Yehudim. Purim is a time where every single Jew is deeply connected. Purim is a time when we give mishloach manos to every other Jew, even those that we find ourselves very separated from. Because we're trying to draw close to every single Jew And so it's not an accident that here we are in Parshas Vayakel. The same way that Moshe Rabbeinu built the Mishkan in the state of Achdus after Yom Kippur.

5:26 We find ourselves tonight at the end of the zman. Building our Mikdash Building our Mishkan here in Yeshiva In the state of Achdus that not Yom Kippur but Purim, which is even greater than Yom Kippur, brought us to this state of Achdus. And so, it's a time for us to discuss a very serious aspect in our yeshiva that we need to continue to emphasize Because without this I'm not sure that we're worthy of being a yeshiva. The Novominsker Rebbe came to the inauguration of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo. Mesivta chaim Shlomo is darchez high school. It's hard for me to say these words, but the Nevi Minsker Rebbe Zeichatzadik Lavrach. It's hard to believe that the Nevi Minsker Rebbe is no longer with us. He was one of the Gedolei Ham of the last generation. He had unusually keen insight into the Dar. And at the inauguration of Masivte Chaim Shlomo The Nevi Minsker Rebbe pointed out a pasuk in this week's parsha that I think is fundamental for every one of us.

6:32 Kumei Tchem Truma L'Hashem. Take for yourselves Truma and offering for Hashem. Kol nadev libo yeviel as truma Hashem. Anyone who is generously hearted shall bring it to Hashem. And what do we bring? Zavah v'chesef v'nachoshes. We bring our gold We bring our silver And we bring our copper. And the Nava Minsk Rebbe on that day said something exceptionally powerful. He said a yeshiva is a mishkan. There are certain boys in yeshiva that sparkle. Some sparkle like gold. Others sparkle like silver. But a yeshiva that doesn't have boys that are nechoyeses is not a yeshiva. A mishkan that doesn't have copper, it's not a mishkan. A yeshiva that doesn't have nechoyeses is not a yeshiva. There are some bachrim whose shine is obvious. You walk into the beis medrash. You see this guy; he's a pillar in the beis medrash. He doesn't leave. He's a masmid.

7:38 He's a chair. He's a piece of furniture in the beis medrash. He sparkles. See another guy in shir. When the rasha shiva asks a question in shir, this guy is the first guy with his hand raised. He has a brilliant svarah, a brilliant chiddush, something to contribute. He sparkles in yeshiva. He sparkles. Others sparkle because of their chesed. Unbelievable when it comes to Chesed, the Gabayim of the yeshiva. At the end of the year, the Rosh Yeshiva by the banquet is going to get up and he's going to be Mishabeach all the different Bale Chesed in yeshiva, and he's going to say the line that he says every single year. You don't notice a Gabay until he makes a mistake. But a Gabay works so hard in yeshiva to make sure that everything runs. This is when Minyan is going to be, who's leaning, who's the Baltfila. A Gabay shines in yeshiva.

8:28 People who are musical, people who are talented, they shine in yeshiva. But there are some boys in yeshiva that they shine. There's no such thing as a boy in yeshiva that's not zavah chesef. But for some boys, the shine is not so obvious. For some boys, they're in beis medrash, but it's hard for them to sit in beis medrash. They're walking around. They're constantly taking breaks. You might look at such a boy and say to yourself. What's he doing in yeshiva already? Is he really contributing anything to yeshiva? This guy is in the beis medrash; he's a pillar. This guy is like a human rumba; he's just constantly walking around. You never know where he's going to land. See, another guy in yeshiva is a big balchesed; he's a chayim messenger. Another guy in yeshiva just seems to be a taker; he doesn't really offer much. He's nechayishes.

9:17 Said the noveminskereba. "Those boys that are not the top boys in shir, and those boys that are not the biggest basmidim. And those boys that are not the biggest balei chesed." If they're not in yeshiva, it's not a yeshiva. We created a new thing in Klal Yisrael A thing that shouldn't exist. You'll forgive me for speaking in a harsh way. Something that shouldn't exist. Something that needs to be eviscerated from our vocabulary. The notion of an elite yeshiva A yeshiva for the zahav v'chesef, but not for the nechoshes. Some people think that's called a yeshiva. We only take the best of the best. We only take the boys that sparkle. We only take the boys that shine brightly. Rabbi say it's a tragedy that today it's considered a yeshiva. A yeshiva is made up of all different types of boys, and I'm speaking in a sneeze way, but you guys who are listening know very well exactly what I'm talking about.

10:19 We just came off of a season of who goes to what yeshiva. It's a certain elitism. I got into that yeshiva. It's an elite yeshiva. Every boy in that yeshiva sparkles. Rabbi, I'm very proud to be a part of this yeshiva. We have a joke in this yeshiva: top shear Top shear. Who's in the top shear? What does top shear mean? Top shear means that every boy is working at his level. Every boy is working to find what makes him shine. To give this opportunity to a boy who perhaps doesn't shine as naturally in the beis medrash, but he shines in other ways That's top shear. Top shear means this year is top because they're working on their midos, and this year is top because they're working on their lundos, and this year is top because they care about every single other guy in yeshiva. Top shear means not that every one of us has to be the best, but that every one of us has to be the best version of ourselves. That's top shear.

11:19 A yeshiva should be a broad place with many different types of boys, and I hope that you guys are proud to be part of such a yeshiva. And people ask me a question: Why did this boy get into yeshiva and not this boy? Why this boy and not this boy? Ostensibly, this boy went to Mor Men Yanim and this boy went to Mor Seater in high school. Why does he deserve to get into another yeshiva? And why does he deserve to get into this yeshiva over another yeshiva? And some people use a lashon. Mevaser takes three-point shots. You're fools. You fools if you believe that those are three-point shots. I want you to know some of those guys that you think are three-point shots, you think they're nachoishas. They're layups. They're great guys. It's just that you don't necessarily see the sparkle, you don't necessarily see the shine.

12:04 But every boy deserves to be in an environment where their nachoishas could be celebrated and appreciated. That's what it means to be in a yeshiva. That's what it means to be a mishkan. It's a beautiful line from Hakadosh Baruch Hu in Nach. I'm sorry for taking the soda off this slide. Chaim's always so beautiful, trying to help. But this I need to see the pasuk inside. It's so beautiful. When Shmuel Anavi came to a point, a new king He didn't yet know who David Hamelech was. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to Shmuel Anavi Ki ha'Adam yirel ein echem. "I'm sorry." Ki haAdam yirel einayim. The Hashemir lelevav. A person sees with their eyes. Hakadosh Baruch Hu sees the heart. You don't know who's going to be David a Melech. You're saying this guy should be Melech and this guy should be Melech. Rabbi said the Rebbeinu Shalom has eyes, and we have to train ourselves to see what the eyes of the Rebbeinu Shalom see.

13:08 To see what the eyes of the Rebbeinu Shalom means, to see beauty where other people don't necessarily see beauty. We can accomplish a tremendous amount when we're together and when we're different, as long as we're a family. There's an amazing story. I don't know if the story is true or not, but there's an amazing story with Napoleon. That when Napoleon was going to fight Russia Napoleon met Rivkaim Voloshiner And he asked Rivkaim Voloshiner, "Do you think I'm going to be successful in defeating Russia?" Rivkaim Voloshiner said to Napoleon. I want to share with you a mashal. There was once a very wealthy nobleman And this wealthy nobleman had the most beautiful carriage and the most powerful horses. But it was muddy. And the horses got stuck in the mud, and eventually they fell, and the carriage toppled over. And the nobleman is sitting in the carriage toppled over, and he's yelling at the driver to push the horses to turn the carriage upright so they can continue on their journey. But it was a tremendous amount of mud. The horses, as much as the driver was whipping them, were unable to turn the carriage upright.

14:19 And there was a Russian peasant that came by, and he had scrawny horses and didn't have a fancy carriage. And the driver asked this Russian peasant for help, and he said, "Of course, no problem." And he attached the carriage to his scrawny horses, and in just a matter of minutes, they were able to turn the carriage upright and go on their way. And the nobleman asked this Russian peasant. He said, "How is it possible that with my horses that were bred to be so powerful" How is it possible that your scrawny horses were able to turn the carriage upright, and my powerful horses weren't able to do so? And the Russian peasant smiled at the nobleman and he said to him Your horses come from different parts of the world. You're so wealthy. This horse came from the Ukraine. This horse came from the Czech Republic. This horse came from Russia. This horse came from Poland. He said, 'My horses might be scrawny.'

15:13 But they're all Russian horses. They're all from the same family. So when they pull together. And Rucham Velazhiner said to Napoleon, 'Your army is exceptionally powerful' But they're from all different parts of the world. These Russians that you're about to fight, they're not nearly as strong as you. But they're Russians, and they're family. And when family gets together They're undefeatable. And that's what happened. Ultimately, Napoleon lost the war. Rabbi Sa, if you have a yeshiva that boys of boys that sparkle, you have all the great guys, all the big masmim, all the big loimdim, all the big balei chesed. I want you to know It's quite possible that these boys are coming from all different parts of the world. They'll be learning in the same beis medrash, but they won't go very far. It doesn't have a chalayshem yeshiva. But when boys come together. And they become family.

16:11 And everyone can appreciate the differences of everybody else. Then even those guys that are in yeshiva that are not so strong, you'll see they'll do unbelievable things. Sometimes I make mistakes in yeshiva. Sometimes I look at a guy. This happened to me recently. I thought there was a guy who was from New York. I thought he was from the Five Towns. It turned out he was from New Jersey, and I asked myself why I thought he was from the Five Towns. I thought he was a DRS guy. He's a TABC guy. I didn't realize. And I thought about it that night And I realized because it's been so long since I thought of you guys as DRS guys and TABC guys and Frisch guys and Skokie guys and Eula guys. Because you guys came here this year and you became a kahila. Because I saw in this yeshiva something unbelievable this year.

17:01 We were a big yeshiva. There's a lot of boys here. But I'm proud to say. That some of the relationships in this yeshiva They're relationships that, outside the context of this yeshiva, make no sense. But in the constellation of Mevaseret they make a tremendous amount of sense. A guy said to me recently, he said, "Rebbe, I became friends with guys this year that I probably never would have spoken to in high school." And I said to him, "What's it like to know that? What's it like to know that there were these beautiful nechayishah sticka Jews?" Guys that didn't sparkle, but you were able to see their sparkle this year. He said, "I want to go back in time and I want to tell my high school self" 'Don't you don't have to hang out with the cool guys. Everybody has something to offer.' Baruch Hashem, he grew up.

17:48 He's become a tremendous mensh. I dare say, one of the top guys in this yeshiva. Because he knows how to see not with his eyes. He knows how to see with his heart. He knows how to connect to people. It's a weird thing to be in mevasseret sometimes. Hechal chafetz chaim frish s I r d r s t a b c canada boys from all over. It's a real yeshiva. A guy's in Rav Aftel, share Rav Shreier, share Rav Ben, share the Roshes, share of Hershel, share of Bloom, share of Elberger, share Rav Saffer, share of Daniel Aftel, share. Rav Glanz is here. Rav Baiser is here. We've been Rav Raphi here in the afternoon. There's so many rebayim that we have in yeshiva. Rostynus, I could go on and on. I'll run out of breath. We have so many rebayim in the yeshiva. Everybody has something here.

18:38 But it's amazing. Everybody's tzeddamin. Everybody's together. Shimon was a hundred percent right. It's magic because we came together this year. If there was something magical that happened this year, it wasn't because you guys were in the beis medrash longer than ever before, and it wasn't because you davened with more kavana. I hope it was because you looked at the guy next to you and you said, "That Jew that I never saw sparkle, he came to yeshiva and he sparkled tremendously." I want to say one thing, and I'm going to embarrass him And I didn't ask him permission But I'm going to say it anyway, and I hope he'll be meichel me. We have a boy in the yeshiva that joined for a second year. He wasn't with us the first year. Zee, you're here tonight. I can't see you. I want to share with you something about Z. He was in the Purim spiel and it was hysterical. For me, that was one of the funniest parts of the Purim spiel.

19:32 Rav Samson narrating the life of Z, the wild. That's just absolutely brilliant, unbelievable creativity. And by the way, what an unbelievable Purim story! I want to say something to you. Z, and I want to say it in front of everybody. You really shined this year. You made our yeshiva a different place. Just the smile that you have walking through the halls—it's a beautiful thing. I sit in my office and I see you walking back and forth, and I just see your guitar and the way that you treat every single boy. You brought something so special to yeshiva. With Z, it's obvious—you know, it's not so easy to join the yeshiva, and Z just joined the yeshiva like he's been here forever. And in a certain way, Z, I feel that about you. You're like, in a certain sense, you've been here forever. It's a beautiful thing.

20:25 Halavai, we should all have the capacity to see each other. The way that Z sees every single guy in this yeshiva. He sees only the beauty in people, and that's why I think a lot of us see the beauty in Z. And halavai, we should have a whole yeshiva like that, that every guy should reach out to every other guy, every guy should put his arm around every other guy, if we want to build a beis hamikdash, if we want this yeshiva to be unbelievable, if we want to continue the magic. Into next man, then we have to take with us all the mishmarz, all the times that we sat together, all the times that we appreciated every single other person for what they bring to the table. We have to bring that with us into Pesach. That's ultimately what brings the geula. That's what builds the Beis Hamikdash, and because Hashem, that's going to build this yeshiva for many years to come.