Vayera - Glass Houses

2:16 So when Chazal say something that's a little bit not so positive about the Avos, we have to understand it's only speaking on their level. But of course, it's true that if Chazal say something critical of the Avos, they're saying it only for us. It's only for us to learn from. The Gemara in Baba Metzia says an unbelievable thing, totally unexpected. In this week's parsha. We see the hachnasas archim of Avram Avinu Unbelievable hachnasas archim On the third day after his bris milah, when he's sitting in so much pain. What's his pain over? Not only over the physical pain of having a bris milah at his age But also because Avram Avinu can't stand to have nobody to give to. The yisoid of Avram Avinu is chesed. And a bal Chesed needs to give So Hakadosh Baruch Hu creates a miracle, and three malachim come. They don't appear as malachim; they appear as regular Arabs walking along in the desert. And Avram Avinu, the pasuk tells us, runs to greet them.

3:30 And he says, "Please don't leave." Please sit. Please stay. Please have something to eat. Wash your feet. Sit under a tree. Make yourselves comfortable. And the pesukim go into detail exactly what Avram Avinu served And then of course the ultimate expression of that story is that Yitzchak is going to be born. After all these years, Avram Avinu is going to have a child with Sarah. It's a beautiful story. None of us would ever think for one second that there was anything that happened incorrect in that story, and yet the Gemara in Baba Metzia tells us in a certain critical way Not. Chas v'shalom to denigrate Avram Avinu at all, but for us For us to understand that there was something that happened in that story that was not a hundred percent positive. There's a backstory, a Torah shabal peh. Where exactly Chazal see it in the pesukim is a good question.

4:30 But there's a Torah shabal peh. The Torah shabal peh is why did Avram Avinu tell his guests to wash their feet? The pashat pshat. If you didn't know the Gemara, Rashi quotes the Gemara. If you haven't yet done Shnayim Mikra, you would say It's like make yourself comfortable and relax. You must be dusty from all of the travel. But the Gemara tells us that's not what Avram Avinu was saying. Avram Avinu was saying Wash the dust off your feet. Because perhaps you are idolatrous Perhaps you're worshiping avaydazara And it's the dust of the avaydazara that's on you. Remove the avaydazara from yourself. The Gemara tells us. The Gemara tells us that the malachim did not have a positive reaction. The Gemara tells us that the malachim turned to Avram Avinu and said You're giving us musr That maybe we have avodah zara on our feet That maybe we're idol worshippers.

5:35 You have Yisshmo worshiping avodah zara in your own house. Who are you to give us musser when you have a vayda zara in your own house from your son Yismael? It's a very powerful gemara. In the psukim, all we see is that Avraham Avinu is total chesed, running out to greet them when he's in so much pain, doing everything he can to make them stay comfortable. But there is a scintilla of a hint in the psukim that maybe Avraham Avinu wasn't. As gracious as we think Because if you were traveling through the desert And all of a sudden you saw somebody, and your provisions were running low. And they come to you and they say, 'Please sit with us. Come to us. We're going to feed you. We're going to give you everything that you need.' What would our reaction be? Our reaction would be to be exceptionally thankful.

6:32 But what's the malachim's reaction when the malachim are told by Avram Avinu Come. Eat, relax, wash your feet. What do the malachim say? We'll do as you say. We'll do as you say. Where's the thank you? Where's the hakaras atov? That's what the Torah Shabbat is picking up on. Where's the hakaras atov? You know why the malachim were at makir tov? Because they felt like Avraham Avinu was giving them mussar And who are you to give us mussar when it's going on in your own home? Or maybe we could even say a deeper pshat. Maybe that's why people give muster. Maybe people look at other people And somehow they focus on the negative. Why do they focus on the negative? Because it's happening inside of themselves. The Balshem Tov writes that life is a magic mirror. Whatever you see is only reflecting back something that's going on in your own life.

7:40 There are guys that are walking around this yeshiva. And they see that the way they're seen is with tzaras ayin. A guy walks in the halls of yeshiva, and a very frum young man looks at him. Where was that guy by Shachers today? And where was that guy by sheer today? And where was that guy by this chabura? And where is that guy by alei shor at eleven o'clock at night? Guys aren't showing up. And they think it's from. They think it's from the name of Fromkait. They look at somebody else and they give muster. And they look at them with a negative eye. Rabbi said, "You know what happens if you look at a Jew with a negative eye?" It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. How many kids are told when they're younger, 'This is who you are,' and that's why they become that. Because when we tell a child something They learn to think of themselves in that way.

8:43 And you think, but I'm 18, 19, 20 years old. It's not the truth anymore. It's not true. If you have a guy who's walking in yeshiva and he feels uncomfortable to walk through the halls of yeshiva because somebody's looking at them and all they see is the negative and they don't see the positive. Because 90 percent of what this guy does is amazing. But you're focusing on the ten percent. Rabbi said you're bringing that ten percent into being. You're giving kaiach to that ten percent. The biggest gift that we can give each other in this yeshiva is to see each other through the eyes of the bradishaver. The bradishaver is chusle yagan aleinu. He was known as the ultimate defender of Klal Yisrael, even when it was absurd. The stories of the Bradishaver are amazing. That there was a certain person who was fixing his wagon and he was wearing his tefillin.

9:35 And somebody said, "How could you be fixing your wagon while you're wearing your tefillin? What about your tefillin? And the britchiver just looked at that person, that balmuser, and he said, 'Isn't it amazing that a yid can wear his tefillin even when he's fixing his wagon?' " There are some people that all they see is negative, and there's some people that all they see is positive. And the difference is in how we see ourselves. It's because Yisrael is in Avram Avinu's house that he looks out into the world, and when he sees dust on somebody's feet, he doesn't think weary traveler. He thinks that might be an idolater. But the truth is that it's just people walking through the desert. There's a bird. There's a bird that's used to eat. Goes by different names. Shulchan talks about a bird that's ushered to eat. The Gemara says about this bird that this bird has unbelievable eyesight.

10:49 That it can fly in Bavel and it can see all the way to Eretz Yisrael and it can see a carcass on top of a mountain. All the Bale Chesidus ask the same question. If this bird has such unbelievable eyesight, why is it treif? Why isn't it a kosher bird? And the Bal Chasidus answer: If you can see from Bavel all the way to Eretz Yisrael, and the only thing that you can see is a carcass. That's not a bird that we want to ingest. If you have unbelievable eyesight and you can see so far, but all you can see is the negative. That's not a bird that's kosher. How we see each other How we see each other, chaver That's everything And especially in Eretz Yisrael, and especially today. In the name of achdus Do you know how much community bashing happens? Is that the way we see other yidden?

12:01 To truly be tolerant means not that I think that what's happening is okay. There's halacha and there's boundaries. And that's meaningful and it's right and it's appropriate. But if somebody is on the outside of those boundaries Then invite them in. And don't touch them up in a negative way. Ad the Rabbah, if you see somebody in yeshiva who's struggling with chakras, are you going to sit down next to them? Are you going to be the one who sits down next to them and says, "I see that you're a beautiful person, and I have compassion for you because you're struggling" And I want to help you? Do you see them in a beautiful way, or do you go, "No, I'm not part of that chavurah." I'm too good for that chavurah. I want you to know if you're that guy. You're only looking at him and seeing that he's missing shachars because something in you is also missing shachars.

12:57 The work that we do to see each other in the most positive way—that's everything. I want to share with you. I have a very good friend. We've known each other now for a couple of years, and he goes to this yeshiva. He goes by a nickname: Tanzi. Tanzi, and I have been working on a project already for a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago. In a publication called the Nakuda Tova, which you might see lying around yeshiva sometimes There was an ad. There was an ad for a glasses company. Most beautiful ad I've ever seen in my entire life. The ad for a glasses company, because it was a whole art. It was a whole. What do they call that? The entire strip. The entire publication that week was dedicated to the yard side of the Berditchver. It was an ad for a glasses company, and it was like an eye chart.

14:01 But the eye chart doesn't have all the random letters. The eye chart says, "What would the Berdichevich Rebbe see?" So Tanzi took that ad. It's very beautiful ad. He cut off the bottom, so the ad is not here anymore, and he put Berdichevich behind it. And it's hanging in my office. To remind me That every single Jew that walks into my office How do you see them? Do you see their beauty? When we're sitting down and we're having a hard conversation, are you touching that boy up by his negativity, or do you look at him and see his strength? David HaMelech was described as Yafei Naim. What does that mean? He had beautiful eyes. He had blue eyes. The Alexander Rebbe says, 'No, it means he knows how to see every single Jew.' He know how to see the beauty in every single Jew. So we're going to give these out.

15:03 Any guy who wants this in his room Go to Tanzi And he's going to print this up for you in the office, and we're going to laminate it. And it should be in the hallways of the yeshiva, and it should be in the hallways of the dorms, and it should be above your beds, and it should be on your dorms. It should be everywhere you look in this yeshiva. How do I see other yidden And how do I see myself? Am I critical of myself? Am I beating myself up every time I don't do something perfectly? Or do I see myself as a chelak elokam imal? When I say the words alokayin neshama shanasat be'tayiri, do I mean them? Or is it just another quick phrase that I say in davening? When I say moda ani. Do I say the words Raba Emuna Sechah with great kavanah to know that the Rebbein Sholom has unbelievable emuna in me, and that's why he woke me up in the morning? What would the Berditcha verse see if he saw me?

16:00 That's the ultimate chinuch. The Rambam writes that was the chinuch of Arna Kain. That Arna Kain, when he would see you, he would just say, "You're the most unbelievable person. You're so beautiful. You're so amazing." And then people rise to the occasion of the way that great rebbeim see them. There's two posters. I'm not going to read to you the second one now. There's a second poster also, based on words of Rav Yossi Zakutinsky from Kal Mavakshe Hashem and Lawrence. Tanzi says I should read it, so I'll read it. Whatever Tanzi says, because he worked so hard on it, it's worth it. Three truths to bring Mashiach, and anyone who wants should be hanging it up in every corner of this yeshiva and every crevice of this yeshiva. Three truths to bring Mashiach. Every yid is a divine essence beyond human comprehension. How can we ever speak negatively about a fellow Jew when their inner depth is unfathomable? That's truth number one.

16:56 Truth number two: Every yid longs with all their heart to cleave to Hashem. We must feel deep compassion for the pain of any soul that lives disconnected from its divine nature. Truth number three: Every yid is the inheritor of the entire Torah. It belongs to all, not just the learned. These signs have to be in every corner of the yeshiva. And every single place you go, you have to be reminded: we are all the children of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, who were beautiful and were amazing, and it's the only way we should see each other. There's a tendency in the world today to be too frum. Too frum to be with those people And it's really just the opposite. I'll leave you with the following story. Rav Noach Weinberg was the founding Rosh Yeshiva of Eishat Torah. He was a big tzaddik, and he changed the entire world.

17:57 There was a group of college age kids that were coming to Israel for the summer. And Rav Noach was looking for majrichim. He had majrichot, but he didn't have majrichim. And there was a group of yeshiva guys. And Rav Na'ach went over to this group of Yeshiva guys and he said, "Chever, I'm looking for some madrichim for the summer." And they said, "We have to ask our Rosh Yeshiva, because the girls that are coming might not be dressed so sniys." So they went back to their Rosh Yeshiva. And the Rosh Yeshiva said that he didn't think it was appropriate for them to be on that group with those girls. So they came back to Rav Na'ach and they said to Rav Na'ach that we're not going to be participating in the In the trip this summer, because of sneias reasons But the way they said it, Rav Na'ach perceived the way that they said it. It was like with a little bit of gaiva, like we're too good for that. We're yeshiva guys. We're too good for that.

18:57 And Rav Na'ach looked at them, and Rav Na'ach said If you had come back to me and said we asked the shaila and our rebbe said that we shouldn't, I'd have no problem with it. But if it was your sister. And she was on a train to Auschwitz. And you couldn't save her for halachic reasons. You would come to me devastated And you would say, 'I wish, I yearn, I can't believe that it's us, sir. I'm dying inside because I can't save my sister and halachically I'm not allowed to.' These girls, when they come to Israel for the summer, said Rav Na'ach. He said, "You're not going to be able to participate in saving them. I'll find other people that will. And you're not doing the wrong thing. You're listening to your rebbe." But how could you say it with geyva? Chaver, there are guys in this yeshiva that they're really struggling.

19:59 It's hard for some people to wake up in the morning and go to shachris. There's some people that feel deeply disconnected from shachris. It's hard for some chaver to sit in the bais medrash. Good for you. So you have the ability to sit and learn for three, four hours at a time. You can chazar shear no problem. There are guys in yeshiva that for them chazar shear is so difficult. They didn't understand it the first time the rebbe said it, and to go over it, it feels so silly. There are guys that are mamish suffering. And that's how we're going to look at them. That guy doesn't come to shachars or he doesn't take beis medrash as seriously. It's one thing to say, "Look, I'm in the beis medrash." I'm focused inwardly this year. I'm trying to build myself up. Givaldik, good for you. That's amazing. But how could we speak that way about other guys in yeshiva?

20:50 That's not us. We're not top sheer. We're not top sheer people. I was so moved this morning because there's a Thursday morning minig now. It was a beautiful Thursday morning. And I came because I sit in the office next door and I hear this beautiful music coming. So I came out of my office to see And I come and I see As Rabbi App fell on a bench, and Rav Hershel's next to him And Besty's playing guitar and Ayal's playing guitar. And Shell is sitting next to Rav Hershel and everybody has their arms around each other. And to me, it looked like a perfect bench. Rav Appel, Rav Hershel, and Shl, right next to each other. I don't know why anybody's laughing. I don't know why anybody's laughing. I'm Amish. That means sincerely. That was a beautiful bench. It was a beautiful bench. You don't know this, but Yosef sends me the most beautiful divrei Torah every single week. I get beautiful divrei Torah from him.

21:58 You have no idea who this yid is. None of us know who any of each other are. There's so much beauty in every single Jew. It was a beautiful bench. It was min b'mino. I love that you have two shirim in the yeshiva that they're so different and they're so the same that they could sit there and sing these beautiful neginim with each other And nobody's looking and saying he's a Rabbi Apple shir and he's a Rabbi Hershel shir. It's just some chevras sitting together. It should be the new minig in yeshiva every single Thursday. There should be a fabregin and there should be a round robin of shirim randomly choosing each other. It'd be the most beautiful thing in the world. That brings Mashiach. Not when we sit and divide ourselves up. Who comes to shacharsh? Who doesn't come to shacharsh? Who's in bais medrash at twelve o'clock at night? And who's in bais medrash at one o'clock in the afternoon? That's not us. In yeshiva, our achrayas is to see ourselves beautifully, to see every single Jew beautifully and to bless Hashem. If we see each other with the eyes of the bridechiver, we'll be zaycher to see each other through the eyes of Mashiach.