Vayigash - Every Jew Has A Beautiful Derech

2:38 A lesser-known question is Yosef instructs his brothers. It says, "Va'yishlach es echov, va'yelchu, va'yomer aleihem al terguzu baderach." He sends off his brothers, and they went. And he said to them, 'Do not fight.' Along the way, Al Tergazu from a Loshan of Roges. Don't get agitated. Don't get upset. Don't fight along the way. What's the simple explanation, girls? We imagine the following scenario: the brothers were reunited with Yosef HaTzaddik. They were just punched in the face with the greatest mussar of all time. Ani Yosef Ha'od Avichai. I am Yosef. Is my father still alive? That is a powerful mussar. Because all those years, the brothers knew that they were right. They knew that they were right for selling Yosef Hatzadik. They knew they couldn't possibly be wrong. And now, out of nowhere, who is the viceroy of all of Mitzrayim? It's none other than Yosef Hatzadik. And it was you. You did this. It didn't need a powerful, screaming Moser. It was just blunt force trauma of truth.

3:51 Ani Yosef, Iodavichai. What's the simple explanation? He's telling them, listen, you guys are going to go down to Eretz Canaan to get our father and to bring him back. What's the simple explanation? Al tergazub aderech. Don't fight along the way. What would they be fighting about? Blaming each other. Don't fight. Stay peaceful. Everything happened for a reason. Al tergazub aderech. But that is not what the Gemara in Tainus says. The Gemara in Tainus gives two explanations. We're only going to discuss one of them tonight. The Gemara in Tainus says something that is so random. Almost as random as what we just discussed about the destruction of the Mishkan on the base of Megdash. Yosef HaTzaddik was telling them, "Don't learn Halacha be'ion. Don't learn Halacha in depth" Because you ever see boys fighting in a base of Medrash? You know what that looks like? They're screaming at each other. Rishchin da'iraisa.

4:47 Yosef HaTzaddik is telling his brothers, "If you're gonna go down to Eretz Canaan to get back our brother, don't speak in learning in a deep way because if you do, you're going to start fighting and you're going to get lost." Where in the world did the Gemara get that from? Al tirgazub aderech normally would mean in this circumstance what means don't fight, don't blame each other. You just found out that you had this big mussar, and by the way, Yosef HaTzaddik would have had ample reason for believing that his brothers would fight about stuff because who did his brothers used to fight with? They used to fight with him. And so he, I know my brothers. These are powerful people. You ever be in a room with strong men, opinionated strong men, and they don't have the ability to not fight. You ever see these people? They have to argue things out, especially on those good days of the year where you have the opportunity to argue about your hashkafa.

5:41 Yom HaAtzmaut. What do you think? Everyone has to clarify their hashkafa. Everyone has to figure stuff out. And people don't generally have— I don't know if you've seen this— respectful, thoughtful conversation. Usually, what do they do? They just scream at each other with the knowledge that, of course, I'm right and of course you're wrong. That's usually the way it goes. So we would have imagined Chassid Shelim. We're talking about the Shvatim, big tzaddikim. But Yosef Tzaddik is saying, on their level Chaver, don't fight. Just go pick up Dad, bring him back to Mitzrayim. I'm going to take care of everybody. Gemara and Tainus out of nowhere. It's not speaking about fighting. They wouldn't be fighting. We're speaking about learning halacha be'ain. If you're learning in depth, you're going to start fighting. You're going to get lost. Why did Gemara feel the need to say this? That's question number two.

6:29 And obviously, the very famous question that we're going to deal with in today's she'er is: We all know that Yosef HaTzaddik sends down for his father's his father agalot. What does agalot mean? Wagons. What's the last sugya? That Yaakov Avinu learned with Yosef before he sent him to go check on his brothers, the sugya of Eglah Arufa. So Yosef HaTzaddik is sending a sign back to his father. Maybe you're not going to believe my brothers that I'm still alive after all these years. I'm sending these wagons. The wagons are a hint to the last sugya that we learned. In the yeshivish world, they use this pshat and chazal to make fun of a yeshiva called Chafetz Chaim. Because Chavetz Chaim is the yeshiva that's known to go very slowly when they learn. In an entire zman, they might learn two blad, two pages of Gemara. So Chavetz they make fun of Chavetz Chaim, and the Chavetz Chaim goes, "You see" It's a raya that we're right. Yosef Itzadik was in Metzrayim for 22 years, and 22 years later, he was still on the same sugya that his father taught him 22 years earlier.

7:33 But still, it is a little weird. If you're Yaakov Avinu. And until this moment, what do you think? You think an animal killed your son? After all, the brothers came back with the k'sonas pasim; it had blood on it. Yaakovinu said, "Oyvay, my son must have been killed by an animal." Now, 22 years later, your sons come back and they go, "Dad, he wasn't killed by an animal. He's still alive, and he's the viceroy in Mitzrayim." What would your reaction be if you were Yaakov Avinu and your sons were the Shvatim? These are big people, big tzaddikim. I imagine that his reaction would have been unbelievable. Let's go see him. No. He needs a proof. Yosef is nervous. Maybe my father is going to not believe my brother. Why wouldn't he believe them? What father would not believe that his son is still alive? After all, it's not like he saw the body, right? It's not like he ever found Yosef's body. And in fact, we know that Chazal tell us that all the years that Yaakov Avinu was gone, Yosef V'sadik was gone, Yaakov Avinu mourned him the entire time, and he never gave up on his mourning.

8:41 And Chazal tell us, usually you're able to give up on your mourning. A person loses a loved one, they have shiva, then it gets a little lighter. They have shloshim, gets a little lighter. They have the first year. There's the yartzeit to the right, and then over time. Even though you can never replace a loved one, over time, a person naturally grieves a little bit less. Naturally, of course, that loved one is never far from their heart. My grandmother, I allow shalom. Crazy. I'm leaving tonight to go straight to the airport from here. That's why I have my suit bag with me. I was invited last minute. This is my favorite thing in the world. I'm so excited for this. I love teaching in Talmud Torah. I love teaching in Sharfman's. I love teaching in Beremiria. I love teaching in Mevaseret. My secret love is I love teaching public school kids. It's my favorite thing in the world. In the summer, I get to work with TJJ. Anyone, girls, know what TJJ is?

9:40 I get to work with TJJ kids. I love it. It's so gishmak. These kids are thirsting for Torah. I feel like it's the biggest privilege in the world to teach them. I'm going tonight to Yarkei Kalla just for Shabbos. I'm leaving Thursday night. I'm coming back Matzei Shabbos on the first flight. I got to get back to Yeshiva on Sunday. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Five years ago was the last time that I was at Yarkei Kalla. Five years ago Five, six years ago, five years ago Before I was going to Yarkei Kalla, I didn't have a car. I didn't have a car And it's still hard to talk about. Crazy. I have this. There was this one year of mevaseret. Every year, Baruch Hashem, is amazing, guys. That year, I had some of the most special relationships I've ever had. And these boys said to me, 'Rebbe, you're coming to America. Can we come see you?' I said, guys Don't schlep from Queens all the way to Long Branch, New Jersey, and Deal.

10:43 To come see me. That's ridiculous. They said, Rebbe, we want to see you. I said I would love to see you guys, but if you're gonna come If you don't mind, can you do me the biggest favor in the world? My grandmother is living in an assisted living facility in New Jersey. If you're gonna come, could we make a trip, like a tuiul? Come on Friday morning. We'll daven v'sikin, and then we'll go visit my grandmother. I don't have a car, so I'd like to go visit my grandmother. These sadikim, these boys, the best guys in the world. Four guys came at four o'clock in the morning. They drove to Deal, New Jersey. We davened vasiken, and then they drove me to my grandmother in New Jersey. And I didn't know, but that was the last time I ever saw my grandmother. Because just a couple of months later, COVID broke out. My grandmother was living in an assisted living facility in New Jersey. And if you recall what happened, COVID swept through those places. It was like a plague.

11:36 And everybody died. And I didn't get to say goodbye to my grandmother in person. I didn't get to go to her levaya because I was in Eretz Yisrael and my grandmother was buried in America. I missed my grandmother's funeral, and my grandmother was like a second mother to me. Not only was my grandmother like a second mother to me, my grandmother is my biggest inspiration. She became frum at 70 years old. And I didn't get to go to her kever until two years later because it took so long for them to make the matzevas, for them to make the gravestones because they were making them as fast as they could. Unfortunately, because so many people died from COVID, they couldn't make them fast enough. I went to my grandmother's kever and I thought that I had mourned for my grandmother. When I got to the kever, I just started crying like a child. I was supposed to be the rabbi. I was supposed to be leading the unveiling.

12:24 That comes matzeva. I couldn't do it. I just sat and I cried like a baby. I'll never forget one of the most powerful moments of my life. My father, who I love, who's amazing, just stood next to me. Even though it was his mother-in-law, not his mother, he stood next to me. And he just rubbed my back, and he stood next to me, and he held my shoulder for like ten minutes. My entire family is waiting for me to start the service. I can't start because it's my grandmother. Now five years have gone by since my grandmother's petirah. This is coming tomorrow. It's going to be the anniversary of the last time I saw my grandmother in person because of these tzaddikim from the vassaret that drove me. Of course, the grief still hits me like a ton of bricks. But it's not like it was five years ago. It's not like it was when I first found out that she got COVID and when I first found out that she passed away, and I was an absolute mess. Grief gets lighter over time. That's the natural way of the world. Yaakov Avinu didn't stop grieving for Yosef for 22 years. Chazal say. You know why? Because intuitively he knew he's still alive. This story doesn't make sense. He must be out there somewhere. He never gave up hope.

13:27 He never gave up hope. So now imagine Yaakov Avinu, 22 years later, he never gives up hope. The Shvatim come in the door. He goes, "Did you get the grain? Are we going to be saved?" They go, "We did one better. We found your son." What's Yaakov Avinu going to say? Unbelievable! I knew it. Yosef says, "I'm nervous. He's not going to know that it was me." So send the Agalot as a reference to the Eglah Arufa. This way, Yaakov Avinu will know, really, I'm still alive. Of course, that was going to happen. What are you talking about? So three questions, just to sum up. Number one, Yosef and Binyamin they meet each other after 22 years. They're crying about what? The destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and the Mishkan. When really, what would we have said? The simple explanation: They're crying because they hadn't seen each other for 22 years. Reunited with your long lost brother. How special is that, right?

14:17 Especially for Binyamin. Question number one. Question number two. Just to review. What does Yosef tell them? Don't fight along the way. Al tergazu b'derech. Don't fight about me. Don't learn Gemara be'ian. Don't learn Halacha be'ian. Where did Gemara get that from? And finally, what is the need for these agalot? I want to share with you the most unbelievable Torah. I've been saying over this Torah all week. I said anybody I was talking to, I have to tell you the most amazing part. I have to tell you the most amazing part. I said it's going to be online. I just have to get to Torah Devora. I'm going to say it in Torah Devora. This var is unbelievable. Listen to what the Ksav Seifer says. Amazing var. The Ksav Seifer says like this: All sinas chinam is rooted in the sale of Yosef HaTzaddik. All the sinas chinam, every shmoos that you ever heard, the destruction of the base, I make dash. Is avaschinam? We need more avaschinam in the world. Sin aschinam destroys the Beis Hamikdash. Sin aschinam is worse than Shvi Chastamim Gilai Arias and Abod Zara. What was the very first iteration of sin aschinam in Klal Yisroel? Obviously, Cain and Hevel didn't do too well. But what was the first iteration of sin aschinam in Klal Yisroel? Yosef and his brothers.

15:38 Sin aschinam means hating your brother for no reason. So says the Kesav Sefer as follows: Why was the Mishkan built in the territory of Yosef and the Beis Hamikdash built in the territory of Binyamin? This is Mitzukamidvash. Listen to this word: Because who were the only two brothers that didn't participate in the sale of Yosef Hatzadik? Yosef and Binyamin. And the Beis Hamikdash and the Mishkan—you cannot worship God in a place where a Jew hates his brother. So since the Shvatim engaged in sinas chinam, the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash could not be built in their territory. They needed only to be built in the territory of Yosef and Binyamin. And why is Yosef HaTzaddik crying when he sees his brothers? The pasuk says, 'Veinashik lechol echav.' He kisses all of his brothers, 'va'yef kaleym,' and he weeps over them, 'va'acharechein dibru echav ito.' And then afterwards, his brothers spoke with him. Why only afterwards? Why only after Yosef HaTzaddik cries do his brothers start to speak to him? Because what's Yosef HaTzaddik crying about? That says the Kesav Soifer when he sees his brothers, because of your sinas chinam.

16:59 The Beis Hamikdash will one day be destroyed. The same brothers that the Torah says hated Yosef and couldn't speak to him peaceably now because Yosef HaTzaddik starts to cry. What is the message of his tears? The message of the tears of Yosef HaTzaddik is that sin aschinam is going to destroy the Beis Hamikdash. So what do the brothers do? We have to start talking to each other. Brothers who don't talk will hate each other. Brothers who have distance between them will hate each other. The key, if you want to break the cycle of sinas chinam, is communication. On that last day that I saw my grandmother in person, I asked my grandmother. I said, "Grandma, why is anti-Semitism? Why is it like?" This was five years ago. Nothing compared to today. I said, "Why is anti-Semitism on the rise?" My grandmother was 90 years old, but smart as a whip. Listen to what she said.

17:57 She said Matthew, that's what she called me. That's my English name, in case you didn't know. Matthew, She said, when I was growing up, we all grew up in the same neighborhood. We all sat on the same steps. We all played together. It's hard to hate people that you know. But when we start moving away from each other. When we start moving away from each other That's when hatred starts to happen. When Jews stop talking When we can't have a conversation When we can't even have a day without having somebody come, we have to clarify our hashkafa. We have to figure out what we believe, and then everyone stops talking to each other. This one goes to their corner, and this one goes to their corner. The more we separate, the more we hate each other. There was a letter written to Rabbi Eli Stepansky.

18:59 Rabbi Eli Stepansky is the Maggid Shir of M. D. Y. I imagine some of you have fathers who learned the Daf Yomi with Rabbi Eli Stepansky. He lives right down the block from me. My house is on the block of M. D. Y. I'm eternally grateful to Rabbi Stepansky because the price of my apartment has gone through the roof now all the M. D. Y. People want to live near Rabbi Eli Stepansky. I can get millions of dollars for my house now, so I'm deeply grateful to him. A man wrote a letter to Rabbi Eli Stepansky, and he read it publicly. And he called up an Israeli soldier who was in the room at the time, and he said to this Israeli soldier, "I want you to stand next to me as I'm reading this." He held onto him the entire time. It was a letter from a Satmar chassid.

19:44 And the Satmar chassid said, 'Really, in Satmar, we're not allowed to learn Daf Yomi.' But we have ways of getting around it. We don't learn it on the same day. I listen to your shiur, the guy says, but I don't listen to it on exactly the day of the daf yomi because the same Rebbe was against daf yomi. But I find ways to participate. But I want to tell you, he says to Rabbi Stefanski, I've been listening to your shiur and I'm upset about what you're doing, which is k'firah, because you are like being m'shabeach these Israeli soldiers. I'm not going to tell you about the whole email, a whole ganze email Why does he have to start learning the Satmar Rebbe's Torah in order to understand that what he's doing is really wrong? Because we don't want, he says, to listen to your she'er if you're going to be saying over this k'tira about being nice to these Israeli soldiers.

20:33 So Rabbi Stefanski said back in the she'er publicly as he read this letter, holding on to this Israeli soldier. Ravelli said back. He said, if you can find creative ways to listen to my daf Even though the Satmar Rebbe was against it, you can find creative ways to love each other, even though you don't have the same hashkafa. That's a powerful one. He said, in MDY, we leave our hashkafa at the door. Once you walk in the door of MDY, we're all here to learn the same block gemara, and we can all sit at the same table and love and appreciate each other. That's a taira hashkafa. To not know how to speak to each other because we have hashkafic differences is insanity. That's a cancer. That's a cancer. We are all the same organism. The Rishonim says a Jew is guf echad. We are all part of the same body. Girls, you know what happened when your cells no longer communicate with each other and one cell starts multiplying too radically? That's called cancer.

21:41 We in Yiddishkeit have to know. You are my brother. You are my sister. You believe different things. Fine, we can have those conversations, but we can't stop talking to each other. Somebody once said to the Satmar Rebbe, he was distraught when he heard that the couple of Israeli soldiers were killed, and he was crying bitter tears. And they said to the Satmar Rebbe, Rebbe You're crying. You're so against this. And the Satmar Rebbe said to them. You only hear what I say when my back is to the Aron Kodesh. Meaning when I'm addressing the Kallah and I'm talking about what my beliefs are. But when I turn towards the Aron Kodesh and I'm davening, of course I'm davening for every single Jew. Of course Of course. They say that Rav Shach Zechariah Levrachah, who was no fan of the Israeli army, there was a helicopter crash and Rav Shach was broken. That Yidden died.

22:38 It doesn't matter to the Gedolim. They're talking about ideas, not people. We, the small ones We hear these hashkafas. Everybody has to work at their hashkafas. So who can they be around and who can they not be around? Because I don't want to chas v'shalom have a negative influence. As if being close to another Jew could chas v'shalom be a negative influence. So we move to our separate corners because we conflate people with their ideologies. We don't know how to talk to people anymore because we've lost our minds. Democrats can't speak to Republicans and Republicans can't speak to Democrats. The children of Beis Shammai used to marry the children of Beis Hillel, even though they passed differently. But they knew how to live together. Says the Kesav Sefer When Yosef HaTzaddik is crying on his brothers, he's crying. What is he crying about? He says because of what you did, because of the sinas chinam, the Beit Midrash are going to be destroyed. So what do the brothers immediately do?

23:36 They start talking because talking is the antidote to hate. The same brothers that couldn't speak to him now realize that was a terrible mistake. You had a dream and we disagreed with your dream and we couldn't speak to you. That's how hatred starts. Hatred starts because people can't speak to each other. So why does Yosef cry over the Beit Hamikdash, and why does Benjamin cry over the Mishkan? Because the antidote is if I cry over your korban and you cry over my korban, that's avaschinam. That's love for no reason. If sinaschinam destroys the Beit Hamikdash, avaschinam corrects it. When you see another Jew suffering, it's not your pain. When you see another Jew suffering, what do you do? Run to help. And if they see you suffering, run to help. That's what Jews do. We have the most unbelievable community of chesed because when someone else is in pain, that's our problem.

24:52 And I want to tell you, girls, this has to be practiced right now in Toma Devora. Don't wait until you're older to start doing Tomchei Shabbos. Don't wait until you're older to start doing meal trains for your friends. This work starts now. If you're sensitive If you're sensitive, then right now tonight I want you to start to pay attention. You're in the dorms. You're in the Chadar Ochel. And there are girls in this room right now. Baruch Hashem, it's a wonderful seminary. I promise you that there are girls in this room right now who are suffering, and maybe they're suffering from lots of things. But if you're sensitive, you'll start to see it. You'll start to see the girl that maybe doesn't have so many friends, that doesn't get invited for Shabbos so much, that doesn't like, like you know that girl that has to be like, so where are you going for Shabbos? But she doesn't say like, can I come? But you know how people speak without speaking? You got to be sensitive enough to listen to the message that's behind the message. It starts now. Are you concerned with the destruction that's happening in somebody else's house? You know what we don't do in Judaism?

26:02 We don't say, "Oh, you're having a heart attack? You should probably call 911." Nobody calls 911 in our community. No yid in the Five Towns has ever called 911. No yid in Borough Park calls the cops. They go chapsim. Thousands of chassidim appear out of nowhere. Call the shomrim. A car breaks down. Call chavayrim. Some random chassidish guy is going to come and he's got a professional jack, and he shows up with lights and sirens and an SUV, and he's towing your car up to the mountains before Shabbos. He doesn't know you. He doesn't know you. There's a podcast called Inspiration for the Nation, Living Inspired. I'm talking about Langer's podcast. He had on a guy who went to jail. It was just them. He had on a guy that went to jail, and when you go to jail, it's scary. And there was this guy. He walks into the jail and he's scared. These huge monster people. There's this guy who steps up right away in the crowd. They see this little yidula, and this guy, a giant, enormous man. His name is Bo Williams. Bo Williams. Bo Williams steps up and he goes.

27:20 This one's mine. Nobody touched him. You touch him, I'm coming for you. He never met Bo Williams in his life. Never met Bo Williams in his life. He doesn't know what's going on. Bo Williams takes him into his cell and protects him for the time he's in jail. He says, "Bo" Why'd you do that? In the jail that I was in previously, the yidden that were there in jail had a Friday night matzah. They had a Friday night, like a little fabregen. After the Shabbos Suda, they would give out their cake, their wafer cake, and they used to invite Bo Willie and say, Bo Join us for the Fabregen, join us for our cake. And when I was leaving, I said to them, What can I do to pay you guys back? They said, if you ever see somebody like us, just step up and protect them.

28:11 And when I, he said, when you came to jail, I had the opportunity to pay these guys back. So this guy was protected in jail because Yidden said one day you'll protect somebody that we've never met that we've never even thought about. That's what it means to be a Yid. Don't wait to start doing Tomchay Shabbos. Do Tomchay Shabbos tonight. You don't know about it because we live in a world where we have blinders and are very self-obsessed. I talk to my girls. What do you mean? I'm friends like this is my chevrat. Not. Rebecca. Not that there's anything wrong with her. I'm sure she's very nice. She's just not my vibe. She just—we don't speak the same language. She has a different aura. She hasn't entered the chat. That girl's cooked. You should know that when the mivaser boys listen to these recordings, they come over. They go, Rebbe, you got to stop.

29:26 I tell them I can't stop. I got that riz. Okay, That was a beautiful Toma Devora moment. I want to share with you the most unbelievable idea. This idea is dripping with sweetness. Shvile Pinchas brings down from Rivcheskel of Kozmers Kosiyagan Aleinu, one of the great Hasidic masters. He tells his brothers, "Don't fight" Don't fight. What do we say? The Gemara in Tanya says, "Don't learn be'iam." Listen to what Rabbi Cheskel of Kazmir says. There's many drachim in serving Hashem.

30:54 Judaism is, to quote Rabbi Nachman Bolman Zeicher Tzaddik of Racha. I don't know if you girls have ever heard of Rabbi Nachman Bolman. He was one of the great leaders of the last generation. Rabbi Nachman Bolman said, "Judaism is a seventy-lane highway." It's plenty of space on the highway for every Jew. We don't have to expand the road. The road is enormous. Says Rvicheskel of Kashmir, Al tergazu be derech. Don't get angry at the derech of other Jews. Don't look at this one and go, I don't like their derech. You do you. Stay in your lane. What are you paying attention to somebody else's derech? They're serving Hashem in the best way that they know how, and you're serving Hashem in the best way that you know how. It's a beautiful sefer called the Belvavi Mishkan Evne. Have you ever heard of Belvavi? I remember when the author of Belvavi came to America for the first time and he spoke in Ishkodosh and Woodmere.

31:56 And we packed the house. First of all, it was originally written anonymously; people didn't know who he was. And then big tzaddikim told him that he had to let people know who he was, and he came to America and he did a speaking tour. And he came to the Five Towns, and I was sitting in the Beit Midrash in the Shul in Eish Kodesh in Woodmere. And I remember he got up and he said, "This is the first line that he said." The neshama and the guf have a 50-50 partnership. Whatever the guf has, the neshama has to have. He said and I came to the Five Towns. You must have enormous neshamas. He had never seen houses like that before in his life. And then he said an unbelievable line that has stayed with me until today. He said, "Let's say my son would come home" And my son would say to me, 'Abba' I want to eat this hechsher. Maybe it's a hechsher that we don't eat in my house. Maybe in my house we're very frum. We only eat Ada and Rubens.

32:57 We don't even eat Sheeris or Landos, let alone Kehilos or Machbud or Beit Yosef. We only eat those two achshirim. And now my son comes and he goes, 'Abba, big rebellious seven-year-old, I'm eating Beit Yosef.' He said, 'What would I answer, my son?' You know what he said? I'll never forget this. He said, "I would tell my son." If that's the best way you know how to serve Akolish Baruch Hu, then I'm right behind you. That was a powerful chinuch lesson for me. As a young man, I had the kids. My kids were very little at the time, and I remember thinking, Not every kid is going to be the same. But if they're being authentic and this is their way to serve Hashem, get behind them as parents and say, if that's you, I'm right behind you. Alter gazubaderech. Don't get upset because this year it is a Zionist and this year it is an anti-Zionist.

33:54 That's not going to take you closer to each other. And why does Yosef HaTzaddik say this? Girl, you know what happens when boys fight in learning? If it's gaiva, then it stops screaming at each other. My pshat in the Rambam is right. Your pshat in the Rambam is stupid. And that's very often what happens. The risch and da'ira, so boys get very heated. I remember with my chavrusa, it was a war. There was a big tzaddik when I was in yeshiva. A young man, he was a tzaddik of a guy, a real gentle guy. In his presence, I used to feel very small. My rebbe called him a kleiner chafetz chaim. A small chafetz chaim. I don't want to tell you his name. I really want to tell you his name. I'm not going to tell you his name because I don't think it's mutter. Actually, why is it not mutter? Why is it not mutter? My rebbe called him a kleiner chafetz chaim in public.

34:40 His name is Reb Binyamin Hut. Today he is a rebbe in Shalvim. The guy is a gem of a human being, a sweetheart of a sweetheart. I remember the way he and his chavruta used to learn As opposed to me and my chavruta. We used to just go to war. One of them would say, first they would argue about who should say the pshat first. They're like, no, you say it first. I want to hear what you have to say. I'm sitting there next to them, ten feet away from them. Because I just felt so silly. One of them would say their pshat, and the other guy would be like this. He'd go like So you're saying this? He would clarify, and then you go. He'd go It sounds beautiful. I'm having trouble understanding how that would fit in with this. And then the guy would go, maybe I'm wrong. What do you have to say?

35:29 And then the other guy would say his pshat, and he'd go, I think you're right. I think that's pshat. I'm just having trouble figuring out how it would fit in with this. And me and my chavrusa are sitting next to these guys, and we're like. Come on, guys! Say what you mean. You're wrong. It's stupid. No, because these guys weren't balagiva. But if you're not balagiva, sometimes you see big tzaddikim. They fight in learning because they're fighting over emes. If you want to see a cool thing, go on YouTube. There's no way to walk that one back. If you have access to YouTube and you happen to be on it, watching videos of the Labav Cherebi Gif Abraignians, take the opportunity to type in Rav Shmuel Berenbaum and Rav Leib Baxt. Rav Shmuel Berenbaum and Rav Leib Baxt were two of the great Talmidei Chachamim leaders of the last generation, and they were at a wedding.

36:24 You ever see this video, Rabbi? They were at a wedding and they're fighting in learning about the sugya of Mali Lishakir, a famous sugya in Shas. And Ruvli boxed in the video. He even hits Rishmuel Barma, and not like punches him. He like vses the Mali Lishakir, and they're fighting in learning. And you saw there was no. They're at a wedding, and somebody's videoing them. And it's like on one of these like oh, it's not like a it's not like one of these like phones today where it's like in like. You're there and it's 3D and you're in it. This is like one of those old flip phones that had a camera. It's grainy, but you see Reuveni Bachs is fighting and learning, and it's not Gaiva. He is really searching for the Emes. You know what? Sometimes could happen. You sometimes could say your pshat in the Rambam is wrong. Your pshat in the Rambam is wrong. You'll see if it's having saying chevrut. You guys got to learn to appreciate. Maybe you both have different approaches in the Rambam, and maybe both are right.

37:13 Maybe both are right. Maybe your pshat is right. And you know why Yosef had to say this to them? Because that's exactly what the brothers did. Yosef HaTzaddik gets up, and what does he dream about? Yosef HaTzaddik dreams about agriculture. And he dreams about astronomy. Astronomy is the science of the times. Agriculture was the market economy of the times. And Yosef Etzadik was saying, 'Chevra, don't just be shepherds. Maybe we should find Hashem even in science, even in the marketplace. We should find the Rebbeinu Shlom.' And the brothers said, 'That is so dangerous. Your derech is so dangerous. We paskin you for misa. We're going to kill you. Or let's not kill him. Let's sell him down to Mitzrayim. Yosef, you think you've got a good derech?' Go prove it. Go to Mitzrayim. Let's see if you can remain Jewish even among the Mitzrayim. They hated his derech.

38:06 So Yosef HaTzaddik has to give them a little bit, not of mussar, just a little bit of a gentle reminder. You're going down to our father. Don't make the same mistake twice. You have to learn to appreciate that other Jews have a way of thinking that's also beautiful. And that's why Yosef HaTzaddik sends down the agalot. He doesn't send down the agalot because Yaakov Avinu won't think that Yosef is still alive. If you're a father and you heard your son is still alive, of course you're going to run. I know a woman whose father has been—he passed away over 20 years ago. And she was walking down Central Avenue, and she saw a man that looked exactly like her father from the side. And she told me she saw him, and she did a double take. She was like Dad.

38:57 She said, 'I was ready to run across Central Avenue into oncoming traffic just to see if it was him.' She said it would be the cruelest thing in the world. He faked his own death. He's been gone for 20 years. She said, as she was watching him, in her heart she said, 'I forgive you. If you did that, if you ran away from him 20 years, I don't care. Just the opportunity to see you again, I forgive you.' Of course, it wasn't him, but that's what we do naturally. If somebody we love was automatically like present again, of course you would do anything to believe that. It wasn't for Yaakov Avinu. It was for the Shvatim. He said you guys need to bring these agalot. Why? What is an agala? An agala is from a lashon of igul. An igul is a circle. Listen to what the Gemara says. And Olam Habah, Hashem Baruch Hu is going to make a circle of all of the tzaddikim, and Agala and Igul, He's going to make a circle of all the tzaddikim.

39:52 And Hakadosh Baruch Hu is going to sit in that circle, in the middle of the circle, in Gan Eden. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is going to be there. The Kol Echad ve Echad, Mara ve Etsbo, and every single tzaddik in that circle is going to point towards the middle, and they're going to say Shenemar, as it says, Vaomer by Yomahu, He ne Elokeinu Ze Kivinu Lo veYoshienu Ze Hashem Kivinu Lo Nagila veNischa berishuaso. This is what all the tzaddikim are going to do. They're going to point to Hakadosh Baruch Hu in a circle. What is the meaning of this enigmatic Gemara? One of the great Hasidic masters was Rav Leibler Eiger, the grandson of Rav Akiva Eiger.

40:28 And Rav Leibler Eiger said that he heard the following shot from his grandfather, Rav Akiva Eiger. He said, 'What does it mean that all the tzaddikim are going to sit in a circle and they're going to point to Hakadosh Baruch Hu in the middle? A circle has no beginning and a circle has no end.' And in a circle, every single person is equidistant from every single other person. And the tzaddikim are going to point, and this one's going to point with his derech. The satmarim are going to point, and the labavichim are going to point, and the miznagdim are going to point, and the litvaks are going to point, and the tsayanim are going to point. Everybody's going to point. Every tzaddik, every single tzaddik is going to be in that circle. Rav Aaron Kotler and Rav Shach and the Labavich Rebbe and Rav Salavichik and everybody's going to be in the circle, and they're all going to be pointing towards Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Says Rav Ekevei Eger, you know what it means. In the end, we're going to find out everybody was right. Everybody's derech was beautiful. This is the message Joseph HaTzaddik is sending to his brothers. He's saying, 'Chevrut, you need to go on agalot.'

41:17 You need to go on agalot. You need to go and you need to remember exactly how you got here. You got here because you said my derech is true, and that's not true. In the end, you're going to see everybody's derech is true. Chevrut, who was right? Who was right? The Lubavitcher Rebbe or Rav Shach? Who was right? Rav Shach was certainly right. Benebrak is an ear of Tyra. How beautiful is Benebrak? And the Lubavitcher Rebbe was certainly right. How many thousands of shluchim today have gone all over the world to find Jews and help them do a mitzvah? Who was right, Rav Ankutler of Salivetsik? Clearly, they both were right. Lakewood is beautiful. Berchning, Baruch Hashem, the gourmet glatt there is massive. I'm just joking. Rav Ankutler didn't care about those things. The notion of how many people are learning in Kollel today because of Rav Aron Kotler and the sophistication that Rav Salavechik brought to Yiddishkeit. Who was right

42:08 Rav Cook or Rav Yosef Chaim Zunenfeld? Rav Cook said we have to find the beauty in every single Jew who's building the Eretz Yisrael, and Rav Yosef Chaim Zunenfeld was also right. We have to maintain the kedusha of the Eretz. They were both right. In the end, those that are called Shparachu, he's going to put all the tzaddikim in a circle in Gan Eden. He'll be in the middle. And every tzaddik is going to point, and every tzaddik's derech is going to be beautiful. Everybody needs to figure out their hashkafa. What do I believe? Not what do I believe, because this is what's deeply true for me. But what do I believe in the defensive posture of now? I'm going to build walls and keep other Jews out. That's why I hate these days. I hate the days that could be so beautiful, but everybody has to make their opinion, and everybody has to fight and push each other out to have normal conversations. Let's talk to each other.

42:56 So you believe this and you believe this. You want to send your kid to this school and you want to send your kid to that school. Great, but can you live next door to each other? Can you invite each other for Shabbos? Because you would. Because the moment we get in trouble, we stand behind each other. But the moment everything is good, back to our corners. Nishdget. This is not the way. There's so much more to say, and we're basically out of time. I'm going to try to do this last one in 120 seconds because it's so beautiful. I have to just get it out. But Bez Hashem, we're going to finish after this. I know you're already on the edge of your seats because it's 9:30 already, and you're like, I gotta go do whatever I'm gonna do. It's worth it to stay. The Shvile Pinchas writes that we know that we merit the Geula in the S'chus of Rachel Imenu.

43:44 Everyone knows that. We're going to pass by Rachel Imenu. She's crying, Mama Rachel, cry for us again. If it wasn't a song, would we know it? Let's see. The Psikter of Kahana says, "Sheein zar shel Esav nosav nofel ella biad banei Shal Rachal." You know who's going to destroy Esav? It's only going to be the children of Yosef and the children of Yosef and Binyamin. It's only going to come from Banei Rachal. The Psikter Abasi says that once Shaul became Melech, Hashem said the descendants of Esav are only going to be defeated by the children of Rachal. The Medrash in Tehillim says, 'Rabba shachnala nashi im sone shalom.' Long has my soul dwelt with those who hate peace. Who hates peace? Says the Medrash, Esav hates peace. Esav hates peace. And who's going to defeat Esav? The children of Rachel. Says the Chassam Sofer, Esav is the same gematria as Shalom.

44:37 Because there's Shalom and then there's the one who stands opposed to Shalom, and that's Esav. The Zohar Chadash says that the galus Edom, which is of course who's Edom, Edom is Esav. The Zohar Chodesh says the whole galus Edom is only because of mechiras Yosef. Because we fought with each other, that's why we fell into the hands of Esav. Obviously, then, what's going to be the tikkun? If we act like the children of Rachel and we pursue shalom, then we will defeat Esav. Here, this is unbelievable. There's a big concept in Kabbalah that there's a klipa known as Riv. You guys know what riv means? Riv means to quarrel, to argue. There's a klipa known as riv, and this klipa, this force of tumah, has 605 soldiers, which is the gematria of aderes, as in Vayyetzeh Harishon Edmoni Kulo Kaaderesayar. Who's Kaaderesayar? Esav came out like he had a hairy coat on.

45:35 This klipa of riv comes from Esav Harasha. Machlokas causes forgetfulness. If you engage in this klepa of riv, if you have a lack of shalom, you'll forget your Torah. This is what the Yaros Dvash says, and he explains that the Gemara in Pesachim 66a says if you become angry, you forget your Torah because of this klepa called riv. Now watch this. This is where it gets cool. The Gemara in Brachos says if you see Rebbe, Rav Yehuda Massey was called Rebbe, if you see Rebbe in a dream, that means that you're going to become wise. Why do we call him Rebbe? The Chiddush says, 'Demehai Taima Korin Rebbe le Musmach le Vatel Klepas Riv Hamishgachas.' Because if you become a Rav, what do we call you? We call you Rebbe. Because it makes sure that you don't forget your Torah, which comes from Riv. Riv is the same letters as Rebbe. And why was Rebbe called Rebbe? Why was Riv Yudan mostly called Rebbe? Because what did Rebbe do? He redacted the Mishnayos to make sure that we don't forget our Torah.

46:46 What does Riv stand for? Rachel, Yosef, Benjamin. That be the children of Yosef Then you will be deeply connected to each other. You'll have that bechina of peace. You'll be able to defeat Esav. You'll be able to remember your Torah. You'll be a part of the Mitzrayim. Of being called a rebbe, because the way that we connect to Torah is only by connecting to each other. Girls have a beautiful shabbos.