Yisro - Building a Direct Connection With Hashem

2:26 Mrs. Hirsch can tell you about that. Baruch Hashem, the Rebbeinu Shalom has a good plan, and I did make it. I really almost didn't know what was happening. I got stopped in the airport in Eretz Yisrael. I got flagged. I'm not sure why By American security, to be checked in Israel. I'm like Terrorism? I don't know. Like, what's the. Drug mule? I don't think so. I'm trying to figure out what they did, but Baruch Hashem, I just made my flight and looking forward to being here. I will share with you a little bit of a vulnerability that I'm having in this moment. Priscilla, whose home is this? She's not here. Please let it. It's a beautiful home, and she should be zaycha to share a tremendous amount of taira here. The programming for today I don't exactly understand. Like what the What the unifying theme of all the programming is today. I came and there was some sort of meditation happening outside. I prepared a really textual shear.

3:34 So I'm not sure if we're vibing right now, as the kids would say. But we'll find out if this is gonna work. It's gonna work. It's gonna work. There's a rabbanu shalom. It's gonna work Or not. And that will also be a plan. I just want to take a second. I know Barry really wanted to be here, and I'm sorry that she couldn't be. But a lot of work went into making this happen, and I just want to thank Mrs. Hirsch for all the amazing work that you put into making this happen. I know it's not poshut, and you know very often we show up to things and we don't necessarily have a true hakara of what it takes to make these things happen. I was only privy to moments behind the scenes. And I know a lot of work went into this, so thank you very much. And I'm hopeful that it'll be with Toelos.

4:27 This Torah that I want to share today I really started working on it with you yesterday. I had a completely different shear prepared. And I really haven't slept very much since Thursday night. And I've been up, I got up very early on Shabbos morning and I basically saw this piece and I did a complete audible and I said I know now what the Rebbeinu Shalom wants me to say. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes you're learning one thing you're going in one direction you throw out the playbook literally on the plane last night on the red eye. I'm sitting there like typing this up on the plane so I'm hopeful that it'll go well. I'm very excited about this tir that the Rebbeinu Shalom shared with us. This is a shiluv between Roshalavitchik and a Hasidic approach. So it's like a very unique amalgamation of Torah. The pesukim we're talking about here are the pre-matam Torah pesukim.

5:22 It's very weird that everyone talks about this. You don't need me to come tell you this. Everyone talks about the fact that Parshas Yisro is named Parshas Yisro when it's a parsha about Kabbalas Torah. It's strange to have a Midianite priest. Be the name of the parsha of Kabbalah Satora. Everyone makes that ha'ara. I'd like perhaps to push that question a little bit deeper, which is, what exactly is Yisro's contribution? What exactly is this guy? I understand he was Moshe Rabbeinu's father-in-law. You have to respect your father-in-law. I'm in on that tirah But it's a very heavy father-in-law tirah. Moshe Rabbeinu just took Lale Yisro out of Mitzrayim. His shvare comes and he goes. Let's talk about this. Let's and I want you to know as a father in law I say almost nothing to my son in law. It's risky business Yisroh. This is not poshah calling in a son in law and going, "Let's look at everything you're doing wrong." It's not like it's not a simple thing.

6:25 And Moshe Rabbeinu takes it very well, and he seems to really appreciate it. And yet, I'm bothered fundamentally. This is the prerequisite to Ma'asantayla, because if you look at it just from a very simple view, what is Yisro saying to Moshe Avinu? You have to delegate your authority. You have to create a more efficient judicial system. It's very nice. I could certainly make the case if I was doing like I don't want to say any rabbi's name. You have these very intellectual rabbanim. You read their Torah; it's very beautiful. It's like they could give you a very beautiful intellectual understanding of how before you give the law, there has to be a system in place to disperse the law. I could see certain rabbanim writing that. It's okay, maybe it's true. I have a very hard time believing that's the depth of what the Torah is communicating to us. That there needs to be an entire section of the Torah dedicated to a conversation between Yisro and Moshe Rabbeinu about what role Moshe Rabbeinu will play in the judicial system of Chai Yisrael before the Torah is even given seems very strange. I'm not buying that. Not that there's not truth to it. I just can't bring myself to believe that's the depth of what's happening here. So I'd like today to be able to

7:54 Perhaps give us a deeper look at what's happening in this conversation. That it's not only a prerequisite to Kabbalah Satora But that this has to be the name of the parsha. The name of the parsha is this conversation of Yisro and Moshe Rabbeinu. Not only as a prerequisite to Kabbalah Satora, but actually as fundamental and essential to Kabbalah Satora itself. And that's what I want to explore with you today on a very deep level. It's a little bit textual. It's a little bit intellectually rigorous, but also I think it's deeply meaningful to all of our process. I think when we started this whole thing I'm not sure if it was Barry or Michelle. I'm not sure who came who said it first, but the topic was presence. Journey to presence. I think this really is a Torah about presence. I get very nervous, even though I myself do this a lot. When we use the Torah as a vehicle to talk about modern day psychological concepts, it's like talking about people and there's a new modern day psychological concept. So let's figure out how to push the Torah into this concept. In fact, it's just the opposite.

9:14 Modern day psychology gives us language for something that the Torah was saying thousands of years ago. We really should be trying to use psychology to understand the depth of Torah, not trying to fit Torah into psychology. And I think sometimes we come at it the wrong way. So I'm hopeful that today will be not just an expression of this word, because people throw it around to be present. I have to be present. I have to feel my feelings. Everything is valid. Say there. What does presence mean from the? I don't mean say like that. I'm sorry. I just like. Invalidated every wife in the room. I'm sorry All of you. Somewhere in your head said, "I don't want. I don't like that." Like I get to say that. But what does the Torah have to say about presence? What does presence really mean? There's a fascinating thing when we're looking at these psukim about how Yisro tells Moshe to delegate.

10:12 Really, I believe that if you're looking carefully at the psukim, the story really starts. One pasuk before Yisro comes. He's very thankful to the Rebbeinu Shlulam. Baruch Hashem, everything worked out. You were able to leave Mitzrayim. It's amazing. What Hakadosh Baruch Hu did. He's inspired. But then, at the very end, right before he and Moshe Rabbeinu have this conversation about delegation, a very strange thing happens. Yisro brings karbanos to Hashem. That's not the strange part. The strange part. Is vayavo Aaron b'cholzik ne'Yisroel lechol lechem imchosei Moshe lifnei Elokim. And now that they bring the karbanos, who comes to eat the karban? So Aaron the Cohen comes to eat the karban. The ziknei Yisroel come, the elders of Klal Yisroel come. Lechol lechem, they break bread. They're having a suddah imchosei Moshe with Yisro lifnei Ha Elokim before God. That last line before God seems to be a little bit strange.

11:14 Does it mean lefnei halokin? The Gemara picks up on this. Rashi quotes the Gemara. And Rashi tells us, Rashi, the Gemara tells us, Amr Rebbe Avin Halevi says Kol Hanen. Listen to the words here. Every word here is critical. Kol Hanen, b'suda shatamod chacham, shoray betzocha. Anyone who enjoys Nen, like from a lashon of Hana. A suda where a tamud chacham is present He's present. He's he's. We'll see what that word means deeper in a second. But he's present at that meal. Ki ilunenem yiziv hashchina. It's like he enjoys the splendor of the shechina. So if you're eating a meal with a tamud chacham, it's like you're having a meal with the shechina itself. Very strange. Where does the Gemara notice from? Our pasuk and then the Gemara says, Were they eating this before God? Who was at the suda? Aaronic coming was at the suda. The Zikne Yisrael was at the suda. Yisrael was at the suda. Who's the person that the Gemara leaves that the pasuk leaves out? Moshe Abeno must have been at the suda.

12:33 Rather, the pasuk says, 'Lifnei ha Elokim,' it was before Hashem. What happened to Moshe Rabbeinu? The Gemara is picking up on this and says, 'Ela lomer lach.' This comes to tell you, 'Kol anenemisudah shamachem shari betocha.' Anyone who enjoys a suda where a tamachem is shari is present at that meal. Ki ilu anenemisiv ashtino. So Moshe Rabbeinu in this case becomes synonymous with the shchina, since it's a direct quote. It's like the shchina itself was at the meal. Very interesting. Says Rav Salavichik This is a wild tirah. What exactly does this word sharoim mean? I saw this tirah on Shabbos morning for the first time in my life. This is what made me audible. This word right now, because the whole what does it mean? What does that word sharoim mean? When we talk about presence being present, what does that mean? Is that a psychological language for us? It's much deeper than that.

13:28 Listen, what Rav Salavichik says. There's a halacha. A Nazir, the pasuk tells us, is not allowed to eat mishras anavim. Mishras sounds like sharo, right? What is mishras anavim? So the Gemara in Nazir thirty-seven a tells us it means bread that's soaked with wine. Meaning, can a Nazir, who's not allowed to eat wine, eat bread that's soaked with wine? The answer is no. A Nazir is not allowed to eat bread that's soaked with wine. Cesare Salavetchik, what does it mean? Sharui. Sharui doesn't just mean I translated it before And I did it on purpose. It doesn't just mean that a tamalchachem is present at the meal. It doesn't mean that a tamalchachem is sitting at the table. When a real tamalchachem is sitting at the table, it changes the nature of the meal. You're no longer eating food. That's not what's happening. You're so deeply present.

14:27 Because that's what a tamu cham does. A tamu cham changes the nature of the sudda. That when you are sitting at that sudda, and I think it's interesting that it took eating, which is a very physical, coarse pleasure. I said to Mr. Hirsch before, I know that I'm at an all woman's event. It's like there's different. It's different when you show up at a guy's event. There's poppers. There's bags of healthy popcorn, dried mango. Little apple chips. I saw them bringing in the food. I said to Mr. Hirsch, "There's no way that's Fleischik's. I haven't eaten since Shabbos lunch. It's okay." Y'all did a very good Jewish mother just now. It's just food. But Sharui means that the Tamochachum changes the nature of the Suda. His life is so permeated, so saturated with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. That when he's engaged in something physical, and you're partaking of something physical along with the tamochachim You're not eating food.

15:39 You're it's it's a whole. You're encountering the Shechina herself. The Shechina means the word Shechina here doesn't just mean Hashem. Shechina means the indwelling of Hashem's presence in this world. Meaning there's She. Kina that's in this world. There's there's a there's a there's there's a godliness that's in our world. When we meet the physical world, most of us are not present with the reality that we're engaging. This is the real tirah behind overeating. The real tirah behind overeating is you're not eating the food. The real tirah behind overeating is you're connected to the external thing that you happen to be consuming, and because you're in a place of like I just need this in my body. You're going to get as much of it as you possibly can. The depth in Yiddishkeit—we don't diet. We're not really supposed to be dieting. I know. I probably just upset a lot of people.

16:34 The avoda is not dieting. The avoda is not ozempik. I know. I'm in a lie. The avoda is connecting to the essence of that which I'm engaged with. I've said this before publicly. Rav Yaakov Daneshevsky, I know, has a lot to do with the Chizuk Mishnah. Such an unbelievable person! I knew Rav Yaakov when he was still a bachur. You should know he was very special then. His father is a tremendous person. I was zayecha to be in the same bais medrash as his father. His father is a biology teacher, and he's a professor in Landers. His father spends more time in the bais medrash than most of the guys spend in the bais medrash, even though he's a professor. Unbelievable talmachachem! No doubt, Yaakov grew up in a very special family, and that's how he became the Rav Yaakov Daneshevsky of today. When I went to visit Ravitcha Meir Morgan Stern, Rav Yaakov sent me a pamphlet of the musings, the thoughts, the feelings, the ponderances that he had when he met Ravitcha Meir.

17:31 And he spoke about the look on Ravitcha Meir Morgan Stern's face when he ate shalosh shuvis And he put like a morsel like he's not eating he's not a heavy person at all he's not eating a lot of food. But you see, his experience of the food is delicious in a way that we don't taste. We don't taste food. That's the MS. We think we're tasting food. Even if you watch these YouTube videos. Talking about ever do that? Ever go down that rabbit hole? Good. I'm not alone. There's a lot of vulnerability in the room right now. For the 75% of you that just came with me, you're my people. You see people eat a bite of steak and close their eyes. They're not tasting the food. I know it seems like they're tasting the food. They're tasting the chitzonius of the food. To really taste the food means my encounter with this food is the essence of the food. I'm engaged with the Rebbeinu Sholom that wills this food into existence. This is a deeply spiritual experience to eat food.

18:35 And that is so the opposite of everything that's in the world. Everything that's in the world today is this, and again, that's why I'm a little bit not nervous at all about this topic. I love it, and I get nervous when we speak about this. You'll forgive me for using these words, but I feel today like we're headed towards a Buddhist Judaism. Everything is like this very like, and again, there's nothing wrong with breath work and meditation and mindfulness and presence. It's all good. It's all meaningful. It's all beautiful. It's all tools. Yiddishkeit challenges us to go much, much deeper. Presence by us does not mean that I meet the external of the reality of that moment. It means I meet the essence of that moment, the essence of whatever it is that I'm engaged with, in any relationship that I'm in. I'm not connecting to the chitzonius. I'm connecting to the pneimius. If I'm listening to my child, I'm listening to my child, not the external of what my child is saying, but the internal of what my child is saying. If my child is giving me a hard time, they're saying something. I'm a mother. I'm not connecting to the external words that they say.

19:45 I'm connecting to the internal words that the child is saying. I'm able to see the pain that the child is in. Even though it feels like the words are coming at me, because I'm deeply present with the godliness of this moment, I'm seeing past the physical reality to the reality that's underneath that reality, driving that reality. I'm a person that sees deeper. That's what presence really means. The beginning of Kabbalah Satora is not when Hakadosh Baruch Hu came down to the mountain. It starts before that. It starts with Yisro having a meal where the Shechina is shorui at the meal. The Shechina permeates the meal. Who's at the meal? It's Arna Cohen. It's Zikne Yisro. It's Moshe Rabenu, which means it's Hashem. That's who's at the meal. And so they're having a different type of sudda. Since when does the Torah talk about suddas? Lech, they got together, they had a meal. I'm interested that they had a meal. Why is this meal special?

20:48 So the answer is like this. There's a fundamental change that happened that harcinai, but it's like the process of giving birth doesn't just—it's not just when the birth happens. There's hopefully a short labor, but there's a labor that happens before that. What happened at Arsinae? By Arsinae, the world changed. Up until that time, the Medrash says it was like a xayra. There was a decree: Rome is not allowed to go to Syria, and Syria is not allowed to go to Rome. There was such a decree. The same way, the Medrash says there was a decree: Hashemayim, Hashemayim la Hashem, v'haritz levne adam. There's a heavenly world and there's a physical world, and never the twain shall meet. What happened by Arsinae? The xayra was broken. Now Hakadosh Baruch Hu comes down to the mountain. Moshe Rabbeinu goes up the mountain. There's a merging of Shamayim va'Aretz. When did that process start? I'd like to suggest that this process began not when Hakadosh Baruch Hu came down to the mountain.

21:47 But that this Suda was the beginning of the labor that ultimately gave birth when Hakadosh Baruch Hu came down to the mountain. The process begins now. That's why it's so fundamental. The parsha of Yisro is not just the beginning of Kabbalah Satora. It's the beginning of Kabbalah Satora. That a person engages with the material world not the way we always learned about it. That's not what we're talking about here. The eating itself becomes a godly experience. The coarse, mundane, physical, dark world that we live in has the opportunity to be a godly experience. This reframes everything. If the physical material world is the destination of our kaddish baruch hu, that means that everything that I'm doing in my life has the opportunity to be kaddish. That's a massive shift. So now we can sharpen this a little bit more. What does presence mean? Presence means a life of kedusha.

22:52 What does kedusha mean? Kedusha doesn't just mean. When I'm in shul, kedusha doesn't just mean when I'm learning. Kedusha means in every aspect of my life. Especially the mundane aspects of my life that seem to be completely devoid of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It is our responsibility to see what permeates underneath. We do that, as we'll soon see, by discovering that which permeates our own world. When we live in a way where godliness permeates our own lives, that becomes the lens through which we see the world, and now we start to find meaning and profundity and depth and the rebbeinu shalom in every single aspect of our material lives. I have no idea if I can repeat that because once it comes out of my mouth, it's gone. It's in the moment. I'll say the concept again. I don't know if I get the words, but there is a recording, so you can.

23:43 This chazara. It happens all the time. Can you repeat that? I have no idea. The words are coming. It's like I'm not present. Ironically, it's like letting it go. I heard that once from Charlie Arariz. Charlie's obviously an amazing speaker. That Charlie Davids, before he gets up, and he just goes, "Rabbanu Shalom" Whatever comes out. I love that. There's no anxiety. Whatever comes out. If I mess up. I like that. I'll say the concept again. If I myself Would recognize my own inner godliness That becomes the lens through which I see the world. Once I see my own inner godliness, I see the inner godliness in everything. Our challenge is not that the table isn't godly, or that the chair isn't godly, or that the food isn't godly. It's I'm not godly. Since I'm not godly, I feel so disconnected and I'm not present. I'm not present with reality. I'm not present within myself, meaning I haven't discovered the Shechina that exists within me.

24:46 Since I haven't discovered the Shechina that exists within me, it's difficult to see the Shechina that permeates every coarse physical mundane aspect of our lives. This is why we get so frustrated. It's because the coarse mundane material aspects of our lives don't work. It never works. You know what I'm saying? Like this machine, it doesn't really run very well. If you look at the material world from a physical perspective, by its very nature, it's just friction. Everywhere we look in the material world, it's friction. It doesn't really go. Doesn't really go. My car broke down. My child is having a difficult time. I have some bias issues. The physical material world doesn't really go. What greases the wheels, so to speak? How does it work? It only works. This is the secret. The material world only works when you're deeply connected to the essence of it, and then all of a sudden, it starts to work in a completely different way.

25:39 It's the wife who lets go of the need for her husband to be in a particular way because she's connecting to his essence, and now all of a sudden, it's the parent who says this child was given to me by the Rebbeinu Shalom. I don't need to go to a parenting class. The Rebbeinu Shalom gave me this child and gave me the intuition to parent this child, and then all of a sudden, it's a totally different relationship. It's things aren't going so well in my job. It's not up to me to make things go well. I put in my hestablos because that's what it means to build a vessel for the Rebbeinu Shalom. And somehow naturally, those people attract unbelievable blessings into their lives. This thing only works; the material world only works when we see through to its essence, and then the wheels just somehow turn more naturally. "That's not true. I let go, and still things aren't going well." Who says they're not going well?

26:29 Who says just because they're not going according to your plan doesn't mean that they're not going exactly as it's supposed to be? It's actually going very well. You just have to hold on long enough to be able to see the end. It's not a simple thing. That was last week's parsha, as yashir. Right? Takes time for things to develop. There's a tchias amesim that's happening here. But actually, when somebody tells me that it's not going well, more often than not, that's their way of communicating without realizing it. I'm not connected to the essence of this moment. Good start, So the beginning of Kabbalah Satora is Yisro's engagement with the material world, with Aaron and Zekhna Yisrael and Moshe, and therefore, by definition, with Hakadosh Baruch Hu's Shechina in this world. Which is what happens by Matan Torah. This is the beginning of the birth pangs of Mashiach.

27:21 When does this story take place? What does Rashi tell us? This is amazing. The day after Yom Kippur. If you were looking inside the Tzukim, I know you read it fast. Va'yehimi macharas, and it was the next day. What's the next day? What was yesterday? It's interesting when you read the Torah, and on the next day. The next day after what? What does Rashi tell us? It's the day after Yom Kippur. Which means maybe Maybe I'm assuming that they fasted on Yom Kippur Which means that the sudda that we just read about might have been the breakfast of Yom Kippur. Which is an interesting thing to think about. And now, the day after Yom Kippur. Moshe Rabbeinu and Yisro begin to have a conversation. Why is this important? Why is it important that this happens the day after Yom Kippur? Even according to the Ramban, who says it wasn't the day after Yom Kippur, but a couple days after Yom Kippur, still, this happens in the context of Yom Kippur, and not just that.

28:25 This was the first Yom Kippur Because what happened before this The Chet Ha'Egel. So now, as we start to zoom out. We start to get a little bit of a deeper picture here, and this is going to be the beginning of a lot of deep work right now. There was Chetaygal. This is the first Yom Kippur. Yisro, Aaron, Ziknei Yisro, and Moshe have the breakfast of a suddah. The next day, or a couple days later, according to the Ramban, but certainly in the aftermath of this experience. Yisro and Moshe now start to have a conversation. About what does a system of justice look like? Why is this critical? So it goes like this: the beginning of our relationship with Hashem is the restoration of innocence. The beginning of our relationship with Hashem is the restoration of innocence. There's two levels to this. There's I did an avera.

29:32 And now I'm deeply ashamed of myself because I did the avirah. What does it mean to be deeply ashamed of myself? It means I think I'm unworthy of love and connection because I did this avirah. Maybe this is not nice to say, but I think we all feel this on some level. You ever have a moment where you're open up your siddur to Daven Shachris, and in your heart you go Hashem has no interest in hearing from me right now. I know the way I behaved. This is what your kids are going through. This is the meduber of this generation, because of the challenges that these kids are facing. Our kids are heroes. It is a dor mitzuyon. None of us would have the strength to do what some of our children are doing, to withstand the temptations that are literally every single moment in their face, in their pockets, in their lives. I remember the shmuuzan my rabbi gave in the nineties. I remember my high school rabbi talking about I'll just say it doesn't matter. We're all friends here. Do you remember the show ER? And he was like giving a schmooze about ER. I want a time machine just so I could go back to 1995 and put my arm around that Rebbe's shoulder and go, buckle up, dude. It's gonna get a lot worse.

30:52 Moshe Feinstein in the 80s, when he was talking about the challenges of television, the Brady Bunch was a scandalous show because it was the first time they ever showed a couple in bed in the bedroom. First of all, how funny is it that the Brady Bunch was Like this mixed family? Each one had three kids. Come to my neighborhood, people have 15 kids. Make a show about that. We went into their bedroom today. If a show happens outside of the bedroom, it's a chiddush. There are shows that kids are watching today that are straight pornography with a plot. And every show has gili arayes shlichas dam and avod hazara. And for a kid to have the kayach to say no These kids are unbelievable. Nobody has any right to sit in judgment of these children. We certainly don't sit in judgment of the idolaters. Back in the day, you have no idea what they were going through. We have no idea what these kids are going through.

31:54 So there's a deep sense of shame. I'm going to talk to their abasholim after what I did last night. That's one level, but with you, that's not even the level I'm talking about. There's a deeper level than this. What is avera? What does it mean to do an avera? An avera is an expression of the disconnect that exists within myself and the Rebbeinu Shalom. There are three words that are really one word: self Other, and God. Those three words are really one word. Because if you know that there's a Rebbeinu Shalom, then you know that you are a chelak al kamimel. You're a piece of the Rebbeinu Shalom. And if you know that there's a Rebbeinu Shalom and that Rebbeinu Shalom dwells within you, then you also know that the Rebbeinu Shalom dwells within the other person. Which means that when I relate to the other person, how am I relating to the other person? I'm relating to the me that's inside of them. It's like imagine if two leaves on a tree were arguing with each other. You're the same tree.

32:50 You're the same tree. Every yid is a part of this organism called Klal Yisrael. That's what we are. And it's only because we are disconnected from the godliness within ourselves that we're disconnected from the godliness within each other. Why do we do an avirah? If we were connected within, this is what I was saying before. If we were truly aware of the godliness that lives within ourselves, we would never do an avera. Here's the key: you have two choices when you do an avera. Choice number one is to focus on the avera, that's the symptom. Choice number two is to focus on the cause, which is the disconnect that exists inside of yourself. If we were truly connected to the Rebbeinu Shalom inside of ourselves, we would never sin. An avera is just our way of expressing a disconnect that exists within ourselves. If we're saying lashon hara about somebody else, we could sit and give shmuzen about lashon hara. I'm not saying it's a waste of time, but it's something right up to the edge of that. Certainly, we need to learn the halachos of lashon hara. But giving someone a shmuze about lashon hara, I've never seen it work.

33:57 Because lashon hara is the symptom. The cause is the disconnection. People are sitting there talking about lashon hara. You shouldn't be talking about lashon hara. You should be talking about Avi Sisrael. It's the same. We're going to spend our entire lives talking about filters. Of course, a filter is important. Why are we talking about filters? Let's talk about the deep disconnect that exists within ourselves that we're drawn to these types of behaviors. Which doesn't mean we shouldn't. We should have the external conversation. I'm not saying it's a waste of time. But if all we do is talk about the external things, then we're wasting our time. Because how do we want people to become deeply connected to their vaynulah if they can't be deeply connected themselves? So Beseder, you did another. That means imagine if somebody came to a doctor and they said Doc, I don't know how to tell you this My throat really hurts.

34:43 Imagine if the doctor looks and says You have strep throat. And imagine if somebody felt a deep sense of shame because they had strep throat. You have strep. You have strep, so we need to give you some medicine. Strep is an expression of something that went wrong inside your system. That's the way we should be treating an avera. I feel like this is off. That's what guilt means. That's what regret means. The reason we feel shame is because we feel disconnected from ourselves. So we do an avera, and rather than say, "I did an avera," which means something is not happening inside of the system the way it is, now we say, "I am my avera." So now, how in the world am I going to connect to the Rebbe Nisim? The beauty. Of Yom Kippur is the restoration of innocence. That a yid walks out of Yom Kippur, and that the Rebbeinu Sholom says to you I know that your system was off this year. I know that there are things that you did that are not natural and organic to the Jewish soul. I just want you to know I'm still here. That's what it means, Yom Kippur. That's what it means to be a yid. It's the restoration of innocence. You ever have a conversation like that with somebody you love that you hurt

35:57 And then at the end of the conversation you just feel like we're good again. How gishmak does that feel? To be a matzeh Yom Kippur Jew is to walk away from Yom Kippur saying I am still lovable to the Rebbeinu Shalom, which means I am still deeply connected to the Rebbeinu Shalom that exists within me. That the foundation of mishpat in Yiddishkeit is Yom Kippur. In other words, this conversation that Yisro and Moshe are about to have about mishpat—what appeared to us when we were reading it—to be technical. It's a technical conversation. How is Moshe Rabbeinu going to handle all of these people? Klal Yisro is too big. He's never going to be able to don every single case. That's what Yisro seems to be saying to him. But on the inside, in the context of the story, we now understand something much deeper is going on. What's going on much deeper? You can't talk about a din Torah between Reuven and Shimon until you feel innocent.

36:59 Once you feel innocent, once you feel deeply connected to the Eben Hashem that's inside of you, if you feel connected to the Eben Hashem inside of you, who do you also naturally feel connected to? I feel naturally connected to the other Which changes the way we see mishpat. I'm not going to court. We don't go to our kahals. We don't go to secular court unless we absolutely have to for technical reasons, because we don't believe in that vision of justice. That vision of justice is there's a winner and there's a loser. So a person says, 'I destroyed them in court.' You ever hear people speak like that? Or I got slammed in court. I was defeated in court. It's binary. In secular court, they're there to decide who was right and who was wrong. That's the nature of the court system. That's not the nature of a Jewish bezdin. A Jewish bezdin is built on the matze yom kippur feeling of I'm deeply connected to the rebbeinu shalom, which means I'm deeply connected to the other. Which means that when something happens, something comes up. We have episemachlokes. I hired this contractor to do work in my house. But that's my brother. But I feel like I didn't get what I paid for. And the contractor says, 'I feel like I'm owed the money. So what would they do? They would go to Meir Abenu and they would say, 'Could you reconcile?'

38:18 Could you help us come back together? If a person goes to Besdin and they're looking to win in Besdin, it's a failure to understand what Besdin is about. Besdin, and that's why the whole Torah of Besdin is really Pshara, like the Gemara says. And by the way, that's what the Medrash says here. The Medrash says that when Moshe Rabbeinu was talking to Avraham Baruch Hu, we're going to get to this in a moment. Vayomer Moshe Lachos Ki yavo elai ha'am l'drosh l'chim. What happens? The people come to me to search for God. In what way? Ki elam davar ba elai vishafateti. What does it mean? Vishafateti. And I judge, I adjudicate the case. The Medrash says it means pshara. What does pshara mean? Pshara means a compromise. So we might think, in a compromise, everybody's miserable. That's the way we think about it. But why is the Torah so bent on a pshara concept? Because the Torah is saying this not about who wins and who loses. This is about how if you guys really love each other, then you do that. That's what you do. You say, okay, but either it didn't work out exactly the way I wanted it to, and it didn't work out exactly the way you wanted it to. But Baruch Hashem, we could walk out as friends.

39:25 This is our system of justice. Our system of justice is not about right and wrong. It's not binary. It's how we can bring two yidden back together. So it reframes the entire notion of justice. This is huge. Says R' Salavitch. Look into Hilam how it uses the word how uses the word mishpat. Listen, these words are familiar to us. We say them in Kabbalah Shabbos. What does it mean? The heavens will rejoice, the earth will exult, the sea and the fullness of thereof will roar. Meaning, there's excitement happening. There's excitement going on. The field will be jubilating. The forest trees are going to be singing praises to Hashem. Why? Because Hashem is coming to judge us. It's not the way that we grew up, right? The way that we grew up is Hashem is coming to judge us. Ayeve, Hashem is right. Makos, see how you're you're about to get it, but good, But that's not our system of justice. Look and tell him what is David Melch describing. It's exciting. The Rebbeinu Sholom is coming to judge us. The Rebbeinu Sholom is coming to judge us. And by the way, it's over and over. Shemavatis Machzion. Zion heard and rejoiced. V'Tagel Na Benos Yehuda and the Benos Yehuda were exalted. Why? Leman Mishpatecha Hashem, because Hashem is coming to give mishpat.

40:50 And again, Yiram Hayamulo Tevel V'yoshehu. No Herosim Chochav Yachad Harim Yiranenu Lefnei Hashem Kiva Lishpot Haretz Yishpot Tevel B'tzedek Va'Amim Meisharim. Constantly, we find this phrase of joy, rejoicing, sing when it comes to Hashem's mishpat. What in the world are we sing about? Imagine somebody comes to the imagine somebody comes to the court. I had this year, by the way, in yeshiva. A boy had his first Yom Kippur in Mabasairet. I'm sorry, his first Rosh Hashanah in Mabasairet. He came to me at the first day of Rosh Hashanah and goes,"That was the worst Rosh Hashanah davening of my life. So I never got that feedback before. Usually, the boys come and they say, 'Rabbi, that was amazing.' I said, 'What was so bad about it?' He said, 'Where was the dread? Where was the terrifying dread?' I said, "Yeah, maybe we have a different approach." So he's like, "But this is not an approach."

41:41 So I tried to share with him, maybe it is. Maybe the way that we grow up, maybe the dread that our bubby's and zaydis felt was because they had this unbelievable undercurrent of joy. Why? Because the Rebbeinu Sholom is coming. They weren't afraid of the Rebbeinu Sholom. The Rebbeinu Sholom is coming. To say that I didn't have error, but the Rebbeinu Shlom understands me. The Rebbeinu Shlom tells me I'm still lovable. That's the nature of what Mishpat really is. That's why Devorah is called the Shofetess. What does it mean? Devorah was a Shofetess. She sat adjudicating cases all day. Look at the Pesukim and show them. It says almost nothing about her judging cases. What does it say? It says that she went to war against Sisera and she went and she actually went into battle with Barak, right? And how does the Navi describe her? Shakamti aimed at Yisrael. She was a mother.

42:29 To be a shofet is a familial type of leadership. Moshe Abinu was a shofet for Kallah Yisrael. So this is an unbelievable thing, right? So now we follow the logic. It begins with a sudda where Hashem permeates the sudda. The material world begins its process of change. When is this suda? It's at the end of Yom Kippur. Why is it the end of Yom Kippur? Because I am so connected to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. I feel that innocence again. I'm back in touch with my soul. If I'm back in touch with my soul, then who am I back in touch with? I'm back in touch with everybody around me. If I'm back in touch with everybody around me, then the way that I relate to justice is completely different. I'm not at odds with you. I want to reconcile with you. What's the role of Moshe Rabenu as the Shofet? It is not to adjudicate the case and to say who was right and who was wrong, but because Moshe Rabenu is this loving parental type of Shofet, as the father of our family, he brought us all back together. So this was a beautiful moment. Klal Yisrael. The day after Yom Kippur, they were coming to Meir Shabenu, and he's doing whatever he can to reunite all of Klal Yisrael.

43:41 And why is that so critical? Because you can't have Kabbalah Satoru without Achdos. So there's a whole Torah going on. Remember, we only did three psukim so far. It's crazy. The depth of Torah is unbelievably deep. The problem is, we learned Chumash when we were too young, so we got off the train in like third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade. And we never actually went back to it as adults. When you learn these stories, they are life-changing. When you read them, you'll find that they're not just about the past; they're about the present and the future. When you learn these stories as adults, they are life-changing. To learn Chumash with Rashi, people say is simple. To learn Chumash with Rashi is the most sophisticated thing that you could possibly do. What's Yisro's critique of Moshe Avin? Let's start to get into the meat and potatoes of it. If you look at the critique in the Pesukim Yisro says as follows. Mishro looked at everything that was happening.

44:32 This is pasuk Yehovah. What is this thing that you're doing to the nation? Why are you sitting by yourself? And everybody else is standing up from morning to night. Rashi notes something very interesting. This word nitzav. There's a curiosity around this word Nitzav because let's go back a couple of sukkot when it actually describes what's happening. Go back to Pasuk Yud Gimel for a second. The Yehimi Macharas Vayeshev Moshe Lishburas Am Moshe Rabbeinu sits and he judges the nation. Vayamod Ha'am al Mosheh Men Abol Karadarev and the nation was standing from morning till night. Do you notice the change in language? It went from the nation is ome they're standing when Yisro critiques Moshe Rabbeinu he critiques him as. Their nitzav. Why did Yisro change the words? You look in Rashi, and Rashi explains as follows. What was Yisro upset about? He said, "What you're doing is like a king."

45:39 You're sitting, and everybody else is standing. And that's inappropriate mishpat. That's inappropriate because there shouldn't be. If it comes to mishpat, if it comes to justice, there shouldn't be the distant king. There should be the loving father. But Yisro got it wrong. Because they were not nitzav. What were they? They were mad. They were amad. They were standing. They weren't nitzav. Nitzav implies distance. Amad implies closeness. You know what it was? Moshe Rabbeinu was sitting down. And let's scale this back for a second. Who were these people? These were Holocaust survivors. Times a billion. All the stories that we heard growing up from people that had parents and grandparents who were Holocaust survivors, the Midnight Terror. The Holocaust survivor children related that it was not unusual for them to wake up at seven and eight years old at three o'clock in the morning and hear their mothers or fathers screaming in their sleep because they were reliving the horrors of the Holocaust. The Holocaust was seven years.

46:46 And it was a drop in the bucket compared to Mitsrayim. If you look at the Medrashim, the cruelty of Mitsrayim is so much more devastating than the cruelty of the Holocaust. Obviously, I don't mean to minimize the Holocaust in any way. But if you look at the Medrashim, the torture was unbearable. It was psychological. It was emotional. It was physical. It was spiritual. Every cruelty that you could imagine is described in the Medrash. And they didn't have seven years. They had two hundred and ten years. The epigenetic trauma that's passed down. I believe that the epigenetic trauma that's passed down from those 210 years is why we have a Pesach Seder every single year. Because if we don't actively work on getting rid of that trauma of Mitzrayim, it lives in our bones. So we have to retell the story every single day and have these giant moments every year where we actually relive the story to work out the trauma of those 210 years.

47:38 And Moshe Rabbeinu, as a loving father, sat down with these people And he tended to them. He rebuilt them. They were ome, not mitzv. They just couldn't tear themselves away from Moshe Rabbeinu. That's why they were there from morning till night. They said, "We can't be without Moshe Rabbeinu." And let's give it even a little bit more context. Imagine you were a slave for 210 years. Your grandfather was a slave. Your grandmother was a slave. Your father was a slave. Your mother was a slave. You're a slave, and now Hakadosh Baruch Hu lovingly comes and takes you out of Eretz Yisrael. And what do you do? Chayta ego. How are you feeling about yourself now? And Meir Shabenu says We just had Yom Kippur. You should know Hashem forgave us. How do you feel about him now? Meir Shabenu is my everything. Meir Shabenu is my everything. He gives me everything that I am. So Moshe Rabbeinu responds to Yisro and he says, "I know what you're thinking. I know you're thinking that this is me sitting as a melech."

48:34 I'm just sitting and they're crowding around me. They can't take themselves away from me. And that's what Moshe Rabbeinu really says. If you look at the psukim carefully, he says, 'What are they doing?' He says, 'What do they come to me for?' They come to me to find their inner connection to Hashem. Now I'm on page 396, page pasuk tazav. They come to me because they need to find God in their lives, and that's the role I play for them. I promise you, I'm not distant. I'm a loving father. And yet, Yisro is unsatisfied with this. This not nishkid. I'm still not. You would think I thought that was a pretty good answer. I'm not sure I think it was part right. It's not true. Yisro is still unsatisfied, and this is where the big move of this year is. So if you're with me until now, it's all just till this moment.

49:31 Yisro says to Moshe Adenu I don't like what you did. There's a word here, two words, three words actually That are very reminiscent for us. Lo tov. Where else do we see that in the Torah? Lo tovi osa Adam levado. It's not good for men to be alone. What does he say? You can't handle this levadecha. You can't handle this by yourself. Why is Yisro using language that's reminiscent of the creation of Chava? There's a very sharp critique that Yisro has of Moshe Rabenu. This is the critique. These people are broken. You are their connection to Hashem. That's very beautiful. The role of a tzaddik is to connect the people to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. There's a big danger here too. The big danger is you're their connection to Hashem, and your role is not to be their connection to Hashem, but to help them find their connection within themselves to Hashem. That's the danger. The danger of the tzaddik is the tzaddik could be such a savior for them, like Moshe Rabbeinu was.

50:42 That they're not growing. They're just connected to you. And that makes sense. Because there's a rehabilitation process that has to happen, and sometimes people are not yet ready to walk on their own two feet. But says Yisro, if you want them to be mekabel the Torah, and you're their only conduit, if they can't find a kadosh baruch hu within themselves, now let's take us back to that suda. Because what is what happened at that suda? We're finding a kadosh baruch hu everywhere, even in the lowest, material, coarse places of our lives. Yisro says to Moshe, I know you think they're broken. But you have to know that there's a part of them that's not broken. That part of them that's not broken. That's their connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. You're there to reveal that connection. And I'm concerned, says Yisro, this too heavy. This too much. Lo tov.

51:28 In a certain sense, Kol Yisro is alone. They don't have a relationship with their Avinu Shol. They have a relationship with you. Lo tov. You cannot do this alone. Why does he call it's like it's like Adam Rishon before he had Chava. He's alone. There's a sense of loneliness that exists. For Klal Yisrael right now, they're connected to Akavlish Baruch Hu through you. But you can't do this. You cannot possibly be everybody's connection to the Rebbeinu Shalom. And not only can you not be everybody's connection to the Rebbeinu Shalom, it's not even healthy for them. I'll use psychological language for those of you that have been to therapy before. You'll get this, especially if you've been to marriage therapy. Don't give yourselves away with your eyes. He triangulates himself in.

52:10 It's not a straight line. It's not a connection from Klal Yisrael to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It's a connection of Klal Yisrael to Moshe Rabbeinu to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. There is a role. We'll see what that role is for a tzaddik. There is a role for a tzaddik, but for sure, Yisrael is giving a little bit of criticism to Moshe Rabbeinu. I understand you're a loving father. You're not a Melech. You're not on high. I understand what you're trying to do. You're trying to reveal the godliness within every single person, so every single person is connected to every single other person. I get that you're a loving father, uniting people, reconciliation, the nature of justice. Am I doing a decent job? The nature of justice is, yeah. He goes faster than I do and he also puts the jokes. But I'm saying, the nature of justice is not that he's right and he's wrong and he got defeated and he lost. The nature of justice is reconciliation. I understand all of that, but at the end of the day, you're too much in the center of this.

52:59 And you can't possibly be that person for everybody, and they need to find that within themselves. So comes along Yisro and he says, Moshe Rabbeinu, I have a suggestion for you. It's brilliant. Because Yisro, in a certain sense, he's been Kohanim Midyan. He's been a priest of Midyan. Yisro has traveled the world. He has a wisdom here that he's sharing with his son-in-law. And there's a reason that Yisro comes, and Yisro has to tell this to Moshe Rabbeinu. This is not a father-in-law being critical. This is Yisro. He says, 'I'm on board. You—it's your God. Your God is the real God. I'm here. I'm all in. But I want to tell you something. I've seen this show before. I've seen these idolatrous religions before, where the people don't find God within themselves. They find God within the idol.' You can't become the idol. That's the wisdom of Yisro.

53:46 You have to teach people to find that kodesh baruch hu within themselves. So look what he says to do. He says, 'You got to make lower courts.' You got to make lower courts. There has to be the ability to find the rebbeinu shalom within their own communities. That when small things come up, instead of running to you, my shir avenu, they have the ability within their own community, and that's in a certain way within their own selves. They have the ability to find the rebbeinu shalom locally. They don't need to run to the tzaddik every time because they know I'm okay. So if something comes up, they'll go to a local court. If it's a bit bigger, they'll go to another court. If it's a little bit bigger than that, they can go to another court. But they're going to find their abundance within themselves. You have to, in a certain way, be decentralized. Not decentralized as the authority of Klal Yisrael, but you have to decentralize your own presence so that they can find presence within themselves.

54:38 And there are three types of judges that Yisro says you have to appoint. Three types of judges. The three types of judges are: You have to find. You have to find people who have their own money. So that they don't show favoritism to anybody. You have to find people that have integrity so that people can be trusted. And you have to find people that hate money Even in their own court cases. What is the meaning of this? Yisro saying three qualities that we need to role model for Klali Yisro. Three things that we have to teach people that they have inside of them. Number one. Choose people that are not fragile. Choose people that they have money. Doesn't here just mean that they have wealth? It means they're not going to flatter anybody. Because if you're flattering others, if you're trying to make other people feel good because if they don't feel good about you, then you don't feel good about yourself.

55:38 It's like the first instance of codependence. I'm only right? So type of people. I'm only okay if you're okay. Put judges in the system that are deeply okay with themselves, that they don't need to flatter anybody. They're good for themselves. That's a good thing to teach in Israel. That on a local level there are people that are okay, and then the people in your community they'll find their own okayness. The second thing is integrity. Teach people to have integrity. Teach people that truth is not something you argue for; it's something you align yourself with. That's what integrity means. Integrity means there is a truth that exists in the world, and I am aligned with that truth. That's why when we meet people of integrity, we're so impressed. It's and you know exactly who they are. You know the people in your neighborhood. That came off very Mister Rogers. The you know I'm talking about like the people that are just in your lives that you look and say, dark. That's.

56:34 It's just darkness. There are people that you meet and you just go, yeah, their word is their bond. Because they're so internally aligned with the truth of themselves, whenever they're meeting others, they're aligned with the truth of others. Teach them that And finally, teach them to hate money. What does it mean to hate money? Hate money doesn't mean chas v'shalom that person should like not like money. That's a very silly reading of that. It means something much more sophisticated. Because remember, the whole taira here is to see the essence of something. To hate money means to live in an external way. That there are people that they want to. They want to bend reality to serve their own desires. I have a need for this thing, so I'm going to bend reality so that I can get what I need. That's what the external money is about. External money is reality is malleable for me to get what I want. That's how people use money. That's why people use money as power and control.

57:40 The depth of money. When you hate money, it's I can surrender my self-interest without losing myself. I don't need reality to be any other way than it is. Not every desire I have is my innermost desire. And teaching people to live with their innermost desire is a way of teaching them to be present within themselves. So Yisro is giving an unbelievable model for what presence really looks like. People who don't need others to be okay. I'm okay even if you're not. I'm not going to flatter you. I'm not a people pleaser. Number two, I'm aligned with the truth. I have integrity. And number three, I relate deeply to reality as it is. I don't need to fulfill every woman's desire that I have. I'm looking for a life where my deepest desires are filled. That's what presence really means. So Moshe Rabbeinu almost agrees to this. It's a really good pitch, and Moshe Rabbeinu agrees to it until you look very carefully at the diac of the chasam sofer.

58:45 What does Yisro argue for? Yisro argues that the big court cases should go to you, Moshe Rabbeinu, and the small court cases let them go to the local courts. Look at the words. The Shoftu Asam B'Chol Eitz is Pasuk Chafes. The Shoftu Asam B'Chol the Eitz V'Ahaya Kol Hadavar Hadgadol Yavuay Lach. All the big matters will come to you. B'Chol Hadavar Akaton Yispa Tuhem V'Hakam Yalachav V'Nasu Itach. And then the big court cases will come to you. If somebody has a small, it's like small claims court. If you have a hundred dollar issue. Don't come to Meishabenu. If you've got ten million dollars, you'll come to Meishabenu. When Meishabenu agrees to this, you'll notice he changes the language, and it's a deep tirah for us. What does Meishabenu say? Chavvav v'shavtu esam b'chol es adavar hakasha yevyon al Moshe. Let them bring me the difficult things Not the big things, the difficult things. What is the difference?

59:43 The difference is as follows. Moshe Rabbeinu says, "I don't need to adjudicate the court cases that are 10 million and 20 million." These judges of integrity can handle that also. They have to come to me when the halacha is unclear. The size of the case is not what matters. The complexity of the case is what matters. What happens when I don't know the will of Hashem? So Moshe Rabbeinu clarifies for Yisro. Yisro, you got it right almost, but there's one thing you left out. I still do have a role here. What's the role of the tzaddik? The role of the tzaddik is not the big things versus the small things. The role of the tzaddik is what happens when I don't know what Hashem wants. What happens when I get stuck? What happens when I've searched and searched inside of myself And I just don't know what to do here. I don't know what to do with this kid.

1:00:32 I don't know what to do with this spouse. I don't know what to do with this business. I don't know what to do with this situation. And I've looked inside of myself. And I've plumbed the depths of myself, and still there's this opacity that exists. I don't know, it's just dark. I don't know where I'm supposed to go. What happens when I can't find my own clarity? Says my Shabbenu to Yisroh, that's when they'll come to me. They'll come to me at the darkest possible moment, and then in that moment, I'll teach them how that darkest possible moment is exactly what they need to connect to the Rebbe Neshamah. The most complex cases, my Shabbenu says, those are for me. The most difficult, far gone cases—that Jew that's so, so far off of the derech—that's the one Moshe Rabbeinu is interested in. He's interested in finding the most complex cases and showing them how the complexity is the portal to the Rabbanu Shalom. That's what's exciting to Moshe Rabbeinu. He says that's the role of the tzaddik. The role of the tzaddik is to care about the one that's farthest away, and that's the difference. That was the Torah of the Balshamtof. The Torah of the Balshamtof was not to sit in the ivory towers and teach the deepest Torah. Certainly, the Balshamtof did that also. But who did the Balshamto surround himself with?

1:01:40 From the simple wood carriers and wood cutters and the water carriers to the Ganavim Also to the people that were local kachtof. The Balshamto said, "My job is for you." " That's why the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I was on the plane. First of all, I was on a plane yesterday from JetBlue. Half the plane was Jewish. I don't know what's happening. Half the plane was Jewish, and half of those were Chabadniks. It's a 120-person plane. There were 60 of us on the plane. 30 of us were Jews, 15 Chabadniks. And they would not let us sit in our. They had. They said, for the weight of the plane, you all need to sit in the same section. It's a red-eye to Los Angeles. Let me stretch my legs. If the plane can't handle my weight. We have other issues. This isn't. We're not talking like a Cessna propeller plane. This is a big plane. Rishon Marurim. They didn't want to let us have our own aisles.

1:02:33 Everybody on the plane was Jewish. Two people sitting next to me were Jewish. The Torah of Chabad, that Torah of going to the farthest flung places in the world. Just to serve Jews, just to be there. The Torah of and Chavitz Chaim Yeshiva, I'm setting up yeshivas all over the place. I'm just trying to bring Torah to the masses, wherever it's darkest, wherever it's most complex. I know. I put Chabad and Chabad in the same sentence. We're here to resolve, reconcile, and bring everybody together. It's the Torah of Lakewood, Kailim all over the place. The Torah of today is to bring the Torah to the darkest, most complex places because that's where the Avodah Shalom is found. So Amaysha Beni says, Yes, sir. I agree. We have to find every Yid their Avodah Shalom within themselves. But what happens when it gets so complex that they can't? I have to teach them exactly here, right now, that they might not be able to do on their own.

1:03:31 And then what does Moshe Rabbeinu do? How does the story finish? He sends Yisro home. And we might think that means Yisro, you played your role, good job. You came, you gave me a little bit of wisdom. It's not what Rashi says. What does Rashi say? He went home to be Maguyer's family. Because now Yisroel, we've come to this unbelievable conclusion the day after Yom Kippur, where we had that amazing suddah, where the Rebbeinu Shlom permeates the entire suddah, and we find the Rebbeinu Shlom in every aspect of our lives. And because of that, now we're able to see and feel that innocence again with the Rebbeinu Shlom that we have deeply connected to ourselves and deeply connected to each other. So the nature of the entire system of justice is reseen. Now it's about reconciliation. Moshe Rabbeinu's role is as a Shofet, a loving father, not as a distant king.

1:04:18 But the Rebbe, my Yisroh points out. I get that you're trying to do this, but there's a danger in what you're doing. You have to help people find the Rebbeinu Sholom within themselves. That's the point here, dear Rebbe Tachtonim. Bringing it all the way down. You have to help people find God within themselves. Don't just be their conduit. Teach them what it looks like to have integrity. Teach them what it looks like to be enough in themselves that they don't need to please others. Teach them what it looks like to connect deeply to reality, not to bend reality to their own desires. And you'll see, they'll rise to the occasion. Oshavino says, "Yes, but I still have to be in those most complex cases because if we're really going to be with them in the darkness, we've got to go all the way." Yisro says, "Exactly. Now let me go home because there's darkness over there also, and I need to teach those people about the Rebbeinu Sholom too. I have to bring everybody in the world because the purpose is not for Kali Yisro." Kali Yisro is here to fulfill the mission of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, which is to show the entire world its godliness.

1:05:07 That in the times of Mashiach, everybody is going to not just Jews, everybody. The special bris that we have at Hakadosh Baruch Hu. But there's also a bris that a kol tshvachu has with the world. Rebbeinu Shlom wants to be found in every dimension of the world. As kids come to me and they say, 'Why do Jews think we're better than everybody else?' We're not better. I said, 'You're right. We're not better. We're not better. Chassidus, we're not better. A teacher is not better than the students. We've been given kisef sekoyn yishmerudas. We've been given this unbelievable Torah. We're supposed to be sharing it with the world. It's just hard to teach a student that's trying to kill you. Cossacks, pogroms, holocausts, crusades. It's hard to teach. I've been in classrooms before. Much harder than this one. It's hard to teach. But now, if we've really got this idea, Yisro says, 'Let me go be the ambassador for Klal Yisroel. Let me go be the ambassador to the rest of the world. I'm perfectly suited for this. After all, I am the Cohen Midrash.'

1:05:57 This is what Torah is all about. Torah is the ultimate expression of Hashem's presence in our lives, and this parsha, right before Matan Torah, teaches us what true presence is. I don't know what's happening the rest of the day and I don't know what was happening outside right now. It did look very cool. But I just want to say one small thing, and I'll finish with this. It's not one of those 10-minute finishings that rabbis promise, but it's really like 40-minute finishings. I'm finishing with this. If at the end of today What you did was breath work and meditation. I think we'll have sold ourselves short of the goal of today. That's not the goal, and I know Mrs. Hersh is not putting in a tremendous amount of time and effort in order to make breath work and meditation possible. Even Rav Ari is coming later to do some sort of Tu B'Shvat seder prep. It's amazing.

1:06:52 The Torah of today is the Torah of I'm walking away from today with the perspective that the Shechina is shruya in my life. That I am deeply connected to Hashem in every moment, in every place, in every instance, in every circumstance. Everything I'm doing is to reveal the Eben Shalom in this world. From the food that I eat at my table to the way that I engage with other Jews, I have a deep faith in myself that the Rebbeinu Shlom is present in my life. I have integrity. I meet reality where it is. I'm enough in self to participate in my relationships in a healthy way. And when I get to those really complex places where it seems almost impossible for me to find Hashem We have to know that that's the portal. That's where the Moshe Rabbeinu. We have to hit that nitzotz of Moshe Rabbeinu, that spark of Moshe Rabbeinu that lives within all of us. To discover the godliness in our most complex moments, and then we will be such a shining, illuminating light that the entire world will come close to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and Mashiach BeZehem will come and finish the process.