Yaakov’s Middas HaEmes: Speaking Truth with Kindness and Protecting Others’ Dignity

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. We learned the bechirah of Yaakov Avinu, his avodah, his life and what we take from his life. We learned Avraham Avinu till now, we learned Yitzchak, and now we're going into the parsha of Yaakov Avinu. Keyadua, Yaakov's middos are the middos of emes and Torah, Titen emes l'Yaakov, chesed l'Avraham, Yaakov is emes, Yaakov is Torah. And those inyanim that Yaakov Avinu represents, emes and Torah, it's pretty obvious from the parsha. Yaakov Avinu was lomad beis Shem v'Ever for 14 years, didn't sleep. The masmid, the masmid, sits and learns yomam valayla. We also find the middas ha'emes in his dealings at the end of the parsha with Lavan, the emes, the truth, the nekiyus when it came to mamnus is also evident, clear, read in the parsha. But there's another nekudah which has to be learned between the lines, so to speak, of the parsha, of the middah of Yaakov Avinu. And as we will learn later, based on the words of the Alter from Kelm, zichrono livrachah. It's also part of the midah of emes of Yankif, as well as the midas haTorah of Yankif. There's a hanhaga, there's a limud, there's a lesson from the hanhaga and the derachim of Yankif Avinu, which needs to be taken from between the lines, so to speak, which is also, like we say, based on the midah of emes in Torah of Yankif Avinu. Let's begin, rabosai, by understanding what is emes. What is emes? A very famous zug by the Baal HaMusar, Yeda Mensch thinks that he's the emes and the other person is sheker. Everybody searches for emes. Who doesn't search for the emes? The shaila is, why do we call emes? One person's emes is another person's sheker. You take Lavan. Lavan ta'ines, Li'asos cheim im kemeinu, la'asos hatzirah lifnei habechirah. Avos, Yankif Avinu, has taines of mir. Do his taines of mir. I tell you, Lomeri misani. What do you answer back? Li'asos cheim im kemeinu? Avakeres amrai, you're a wronger. Lavan, in his world of sheker, eretz hachaim, that he's the emes and Yankif is the sheker. And this becomes the back and forth, so to speak, between Yankif and Lavan, Lavan and Yankif, Yankif and Lavan, emes and sheker. What is emes? Rabosai, emes, like I tell you, is something that needs to be learned and understood, because if not, yeder Mensch can zich halten a fakert. I'm the emes, and you're the sheker. Also, there's a crazy world out there that believes fakert. They're the emes, and fakert, the tzaddikim and the nekiyim, they're not the emes. What is emes? Let's understand. Yaakov Avinu is the amud ha'emes, vos zet men in Yaakov's hanhagah, of course, farshteit zach emes is a business, that's the obvious. But obviously there's more to the midas ha'emes. Let's begin by, first of all, the paradox of emes. How could it be that the ish emes, that stands for emes, is the one that steals the brachos b'ramayos from his brother Eisav? Could you get any more kniving, any more deceiving? The chadavah shel pehle, the chadavah shel pehle. When er is the ish emes, he's guarded, the ish ha'emes. Yaakov, upon his own admission, admits this. He tells Eisav, Eisav, achi, achi, ani b'ramayos. We always think that Eisav is the sheker. Yaakov...

Talks around boasting for karet. Acher ani b'ramayos. It's been kliger fun him. I'm even smarter than him. Just fell into my mind, the story. We have a minhag that whenever a story falls in during the shiur, yimach dafi b'zoger damaisa, zeh iz a mesayeah from Reb Shlomo Shvadron, zichrono livrachah. It said that from a mol that zelt that the talmidim of the Alter came to the Alter Slabodka and they told him, Rebbe, du bist doch klug. Ah, what's that? Rebbe, you think you're smart. They're fooling you, the talmidim. There's a lot of fooling going around that you're getting fooled by. Zei narn dir op. That was the words, news: Zei narn dir op. They're fooling you. So the Alter said, Avadeh zei narn mir op, and I'll translate for you in English in a moment. Avadeh zei narn mir op. Pizich nar zei op tzurik, noch besser, noch shtarker. They fool me till I fool them back even better. Okay. It seems that this is not just the Alter Slabodka's understanding. It's not just a zug. Yankev Avinu already said this zug. This is already Torah from Yankev Avinu b'smedrash. You know, you have Kelim hamusar, and you have Nevardiker mussar, Yankev Avinu's mussar, Shem v'Ever's mussar. Eisav, du meinst du narst mir op? You think you're fooling me? Till I fool you double. Acher ani b'ramayos. I'm kluger fun dir. I'm smarter than you. So maybe he was just telling it to Eisav. Maybe. All right, that's probably not the pashut pshat in Avadeh. Baalei mussar speak that it's not the pashut pshat. And what is the pashut pshat? Ba'alei mussar speak, we have to identify what emes is. Emes is not just cut and dry. It's true is true and not true. There's a lot which goes into emes which needs to be weighed. And this is really not what I want to bring out in the shiur. I don't want to go through the middas emes, because then, I say, they took down the clock. Very smart. Okay, who's very nart mir up with the clock? Who's the one who took down the clock? I know how to go over time even without a clock. Don't worry. Okay. So let's hear, Rav... What's is der pshat? ... So good. Ba'alei mussar say, ... But it's, like I said, I don't want to go through the whole detail because we'll be here longer than just the few moments allotted to the shiur. Emes is for the sake of emes, meaning what emes is, if the tachlis is toiv, that's called emes. And avada, for eisuv to have the brachos, that's not called emes. That's not called toiv. So toiv dictates that the emes, you should take away the brachos. And even if it means b'ramoyus, that's called emes. Good. Altereit, rabosai. You didn't meet here to talk about that, right? This is famous. Anybody opens up any of the baalei mussar, this is a yesod, that emes needs to be understood, because if it's for the right purposes, the problem, of course, is— We always think it's for the right purposes, right? That's the danger in this vort, so to speak, because yetzer hara, it's l'shem shamayim, and it's for the right cause. That's what I'm here for today, b'ezras Hashem. Let's talk. How do we measure emes? When do we know and when do we decide that it's for the right cause, that it's l'shem shamayim? And avada, of course, I don't want to take away the importance of speaking to daas Torah, speaking to a rav or to a rebbe who is not blinded by negius, and he could tell you clearly if it's l'shem shamayim and if it's the emes that's given. But I want to go into understanding the midas ha'emes, the way I explained to you from the Baal HaMusar, that if it's for the right cause, then it's emes. When if it's for the right reasons, then it's emes. How are we to define that emes? And how are we to identify that emes? What makes something l'shem shamayim? We all know from the Kotzker used to say, Everything has to be l'shem shamayim, and even your l'shem...

Mayim has to be l'shem shamayim. It's a tremendous yesod, rabosai. So let's begin, which I think is an interesting, like I said, between the lines of the hanhaga of Yaakov Avinu. Let's build up to understand the hanhaga of Yaakov Avinu al pi the pesukim, and then to see why the Torah teaches us a lot of details in this week's parsha, small details. Rav Chaim Shmulevitz used to say, I'd rather hear kleine ma'ases of greats mentioned, v'great ma'ases of kleine mentioned. I'd rather hear small detailed stories about great people than to hear great stories about simple people. You know who said this? Rav Chaim Shmulevitz. You know who told it over? Rav Chaim Visoker. It's in the sefer, Rav Chaim, beautiful to hear. But there's, from the details, from the small actions speaks volumes, because there's gadlus. The mensch, who he is, his greatness, his entirety speaks through the small little details. And so I want to go through a few of the interesting small details in the parsha which don't get the recognition, so to speak, as the great details. I want to begin with an interesting ha'arah. In the beginning of the parsha, Yaakov Avinu comes to Charan. And he begins a conversation. It's by sheni. Says the pasuk, Vayisi Yaakov raglav, Vayisa bnei Kedem, Vayar b'be'er basadeh. Okay. Vayomer lahem Yaakov. Yaakov speaks to the ro'im that are there, and he says to them, Vayomer lahem Yaakov, achai me'ayin atem? Vayomru, meCharan anachnu. We are from Charan. Vayomer lahem, hayeida'atem es Lavan ben Nachor? Vayomru, yadanu. Vayomer lahem, hashalom lo? Vayomru, shalom. What's this whole conversation? I have to know that he met them, where are you from? What's it negea? What's tutzach optach? Makes it justanta. Yaakov Avinu is told that Rachel is coming. Is it that important to know the beginning of the conversation, of how he met them and what he told them? To just say that he was told that Rachel is coming, a rap al hama'asis. What are we learning from this conversation? Hayeida'atem es Lavan ben Nachor. It's negea. What's it negea? The truth is, ... I will tell you a lot of interesting Torah. Hayeida'atem es Lavan ben Nachor in the medrash is going on the avoshte, but I don't want to go there. Yeah, yeah, you look at the medrash. It's an interesting medrash. He was asking them, do they know the Ribbono Shel Olam? Hayeida'atem es Lavan ben Nachor. You're looking, what am I talking about? Do your homework. Don't look at me. Look at the medrash. Chassidishe Torah is full with this. The Chalitfisha shiur. So what does this medrash reveal? What is—I'm sorry—what is the pesukim... What is the conversation, מה ידעתם, ...? Let me tell you over what the Baalei Mussar teach us about this conversation, about this part of the story which is irrelevant. It's just a detail which seems to not teach us or have much significance. Say Baalei Mussar, if you notice, he gives them an entire mussar shmues, and he tells them, לא עת היא עתה ... It's not the time to bring in the mikneh. It's time to continue working, ... זאָגן די ראשונים, what's it his business? Can you imagine you come into a town and you start right away giving everybody instructions? By the way, you're five minutes late, you're punched out early. ... And mind your own business. That's if he doesn't punch him in the face. At best, if he's a courteous guy, he looks at him, Who are you? What do you want from me? You're my boss? ... מידת האמת. Ah, that's מידת האמת. Yankel, Avinu can't stand ...

And when he sees that they're cheating for five minutes, they're cheating on their tax return — or, did I say that? I'm sorry, children. Whatever it is, okay, the meivin yavin, whatever it is, I got everybody to look. Whatever it is, ... you hear, I can't, I can't, this nisht shayach. Remember, I used to speak to Rav Pam zatzal about these type of shailas, you know, what you're supposed to. He was very uncomfortable about that. He said, I don't understand. What do you just write? Write exactly the truth, exactly what it says, exactly what they're asking. To him, it was — the middas ha'emes was so strong that he couldn't even hear the shaila. Tochin frekst azah shaila. That was to him, you know. This is Yankel Avinu's middas ha'emes — how you talk? He can't. He has to say something. Say, balei mussar, that's why we have the beginning of the conversation: Yoimer lem Yaakov, achai me'ayin baso? How do you talk? I'm bothered, there's a middas ha'emes, rabosai. See, rabosai, we're learning a whole new depth to emes. What is emes? Avada, the emes means I got to tell you that I think you're doing something wrong, but the how you tell you is also part. The how I tell you is also part of the middas ha'emes. I want to tell you over a mayridike maaseh, and then I'll tell you a shlah. The truth is I'd rather say the shlah and then the maaseh, but you know how the shiur works. We have to say the maaseh and then the shlah. Zeide used to tell me over all the time, the amkus of mussar. What is mussar? What is it? What was that world of mussar? And he explained that, like I said to you before, the nuance. Every nuance speaks volumes in every maaseh. The same action, with a different niggun even, even with a different tone of voice, changes the entire story. And he would give a famous mashal, maybe you've heard it before from other darshanim and other people who give speeches: Tateh shikelt. Everyone knows the maaseh, tateh shikelt. You don't know tateh shikelt. So then I'm happy I told it over to you. Zeide said over that the baal hamaaseh is saying maaseh. What was the maaseh? It's a mashal, it's made up. It isn't made up. It's a good maaseh. The mussar is the ikar of it. A father gets a letter in the mail from his son in yeshiva. He reads it. What a chutzpah! What a— that's how you— I'm not giving him a penny. Mother comes running, says, What happened? Look how he writes, 'Tateh shikelt.' That's how you talk? That's how you write a letter to your father? Where's the please? Where's the, where's the— The eibershter takes the letter, he says, Let me see that letter. Tateh shikelt. Beautiful. Look how shein, look how beautiful he asks. The tone of voice, adei sai, changes the entire story. The tone of voice. When you give the mussar, ... he was giving that mussar. It bothered him already. The first thing he came, you think he has to go into conversations, ... what's ... what's your business? And the teretz is, he's already thinking he's got to tell them, L'chu ashku atzmei, you're late, you're early, you're leaving early, you're not on time, you're not ehrlich. So he starts with a conversation, Achai, ... Shalom aleichem, where are you, you're achai. It's a whole different mussar shmues. The tone. He sets the tone that I'm not here to confront you, but I'm here because I care and I feel a kirvah and a respect towards you, achai. Azoy geit mussar. Rabosai, the story is all good, but the ikar is the shlah, rabosai. So let me tell you over a meidige shlah. He says, pasuk in Mishlei, Al tochach...

Letz pen yisnoacha. Mishlei, tes, pasuk ches. Hochach lechacham vayehehovecha. Rishonim learn pshat: you talk to a letz musar, ... you're wasting your time. He's gonna hate you, so you're wasting your time. Talk to an intelligent guy, ... you have who to talk to. They learn the Rishonim. So the Shlah, Parshas Devarim, says, Al tochach letz — the tochachah shouldn't be, You are a letz. Pen yisnoecha. Hocheach lechacham — that should be your tochachah. You're wise. He's going to look up the pasuk in Mishlei. See, this is what the ... The chacham and the das teirah was looking them. Vos iz tochachah? You tell a guy, You're a letz. What do you want? Yisnaecha. That's all you got from that conversation. Hochach lechacham. I've told you over many times, al titosh Toras imecha, shma b'ni musar avicha, that my bubby gave me a lot of lessons. She was a ... medaleh. You hung around the Chofetz Chaim. By this time you should know already that the bubby hung around the Chofetz Chaim, okay? You hang around the Chofetz Chaim, even your words, your sichas chulin, it's a whole different world. So I remember someone — it wasn't me, that much, okay, it wasn't me — the bubby found him reading a bichaleh that he shouldn't have been reading. And yes, it was not me. I don't want you to think, oh, no, it was not me. I was present at the musashmuz that this bachur, this person got, okay? Just for argument's sake, a name, David, and it's not his name. So the guy who knows who the story happened to, you see, I'm covering up the identity, okay? David and me are sitting and eating breakfast. Then the rebbe is feeding us, and David... Past es vaychlein nazat bichaleh. It's the chazak gutte kind. It's the chazak chosheve kind. It's the chazak chacham. Never forget those words. Those words hit me. You're smart. Forget about even Yiras Shamayim. It's not even your intelligence. You see what she did? Not she put him down, hayitachen. She was telling him, Yasher koach, ma'alos, and on top of me, al kol yerei chacham. You're wise. It's not lefi chvodcha. Try that in a musar shmues, rabosai. It's 100% guaranteed success. And that's what the Shlah is saying, Hoycheach lechacham. That's how you're supposed to give mussar. Let's learn a little bit more in the parsha. Yankiv Avinu's nuance of how he talks, and then we understand what does it mean, Titen emes l'Yaakov. And we'll get back to the words, the Alter from Kelm, zechuso yagen aleinu, we'll get back. At the end of the parashah, we find Yaakov gets angry at Lavan. Finally, finally, finally, you hear? He gets—after so many years, he's finally getting angry, no? Let's hear what Yaakov tells him when he's angry. Zogt der pasuk, Vayichar af Yaakov. Yaakov gets angry. This pasuk is really impossible, okay? Zogt Yaakov Avinu, here, Mapishi u'machatosi ki dilakta acharai, v'atah bachteshena apiktan. This is the anger. This is the anger that Yaakov Avinu—Vayichar l'Yaakov vayarev b'Lavan. Here, nitztam vayichar. This is already not just I get angry. I get angry, I'm fighting, putting up a fight. You ready? So you would think—sigelaften petch, that's an expression in Yiddish. You think they beat each other up. No. Mapishi u'machatosi v'asah bachtetan. Ay, you'll ask me a kasha, maybe I should read it.

The father who read the letter, ma pishi u'ma chatasi, right? Maybe I should read it like that. Chazal don't read it like that. That's why I read it the way I did. Zogn Chazal, zogn Chazal, ... Yaakov ... b'Lavan. Zogt the Chazal, ... kapdenusan shel avos, v'loi anvenesusan shel banim. Kapdenusan shel avos, meaning, take a look when they're already angry. What is hakpadah? ... Yaakov ... Lavan, ma pishi u'ma chatasi ki dalakta? Do atzover shema makris b'psoyim yihyu? You think I'm gonna beat you up for this? No. I'm trying to figure out, what did I do to you? ... I didn't say anything different than the Chazal teaches how to read the pasuk. Don't read it with a baal korei when he reads it on Shabbos. He shouldn't read it, ma pishi, ma pishi, u'ma chatasi. You have to read it with the right niggun. Chazal see in Yaakov Avinu the eidelkeit, the eidelkeit. He has a lot to complain. My rabosai, let's talk response of emes. What is the response of emes? And like I told you, we always think to ourselves that we have to be tough. There's such a thing as he says it as is. Ever see it? That's a nusach. This guy, he's an ehrliche guy. He says it as is. I was once speaking to my Rebbe, Reb Reuven Feinstein, about this topic, and he says, Interesting. He says it mamash like he's a koifer baTorah. Very interesting. What do you mean? The Torah doesn't tell you to say it as is. That's not what it says in the Torah to do, right? That's not the... You're not allowed to say it as is. What do you mean he says it as is? You ever see, he's a no monkey business guy, right? That's a... You see, from Yankel Avinu, when he gets the opportunity to say it as is, he doesn't say it as is. He turns the tables. Instead of screaming at Lavan, he's giving a whole shtickel Torah. Lavan, I don't get it. You did something wrong. Achatasim, apishi. Sure, I am on. And what becomes the heter? It's all l'shem Shamayim. It's always l'shem Shamayim. You stand your ground and you're tough and you say, Let me tell you of another deher from the Alter. The Alter speaks Rachel imeinu in this week's parsha gives up the simanim. She's part of the rimisahni. What do you mean? Stand your ground, right? What's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. No. Mevayez zayn, to embarrass the sister. We all know Rachel imeinu's ma'alah, good. Frekt the Alter, yeah, but let's make a cheshbon. Mevayesh a sister, yeah, but the whole issur of Klal Yisroel. The cheshbonos start to... the wheels of the cheshbonos should start turning in the head. What do you mean? The Chayei Matbeius, but who said there'll be a Klal Yisroel if this happens? Start right away making all the cheshbonos. So everybody thinks these are tremendous cheshbonos. The Alter forgot she made all these cheshbonos. The Alter says, don't think she didn't make these cheshbonos. She made these cheshbonos. And she came out l'maskana, shvaygen. Nish mevayer zayn Yenem is more important. Could you get more of a l'shem Shamayim for Rachel to bust up the plot, the sheker, sheker? You can't get more l'shem Shamayim than that. And the cheshbon in the Torah teaches us that she was right. The mesiras simanim was right, that we live today in golus and we survived because of this maaseh of the mesiras simanim. She was 100% right. Where is the l'shem Shamayim, the emes? And the Torah says, af al pi kein. And he says a moridike yesod: ruchniyus cannot be built on a situation if it means yenem vegit. That's what he says. The Alter says this yesod. The whole osed of Klal Yisrael is in jeopardy, yeah, but you can't build.

Klal Yisroel. If it means that they were mevayeish somebody. The Alter says, Halfleh vafelah, you look by Tamar. Tamar too knew that she had to have children through Yehuda. And she knew, anochi harah, that she has these two children, and that the asid of Klal Yisroel, Moshiach, is in her stomach. She's carrying the asid of Klal Yisroel, the asid of yemos haMoshiach. And yet, mutav shetipol atzmi b'toch kivshan ha'eish v'al yalbin pnei chaveiri b'rabim. She makes this cheshbon. So the Alter, what's the pshat? Because all the cheshbonos, the ikar cheshbon me'al hakoil, not to be mevayeish the other person. That becomes the ikar cheshbon. I want to tell you a ma'amar dike vort for a couple of minutes, a chassidishe gevarche. The Medrash says that the parsha of Tamar is connected to Yosef's mechirah, because it says that Yosef was sold to the Midyanim, and then right away it continues, Vayeired, and it uses the same lashon. Yosef hurad l'Mitzrayim, and so too Vayeired Yehudah, Yehudah went down. Zogt the Medrash it's connected, and for a few reasons the Medrash says, and one of the reasons it's connected, lismoch yeridah lyeridah, to teach me: ma ma'aseh Tamar was l'shem Shamayim, so too Potipharah, it happened to Yosef was l'shem Shamayim. Ma zu l'shem Shamayim, af zu. L'shem Shamayim. Nehredik. Tzadkaf Koppelman, vos viln Chazal, that it was l'shem Shamayim. It's very important for us to know it was l'shem Shamayim. Rav Koppelman gezogt, kafl a fella. Torah is teaching how two people saw l'shem Shamayim, how they reacted. One reacted that she's not going to give up Yehuda's identity, not to be mevayeish Yehuda. Potifar punkt farkert. She meant everything l'shem Shamayim. What did she do? Mevayeish Yosef. That was the whole... L'shem Shamayim needs to be the right draw for the right thing. L'shem Shamayim, sometimes Chazal want us to know this. Look at l'shem Shamayim by Tamar. That's called l'shem Shamayim. If l'shem Shamayim has in it biyush, embarrassing somebody else, then it's maaseh Potifar. It's a lesson in what's called l'shem Shamayim, rabosai. I want to show you another Ramban. I know it's—I could tell you without the clock being there that it's getting late. I want to show you something interesting. At the end of the parsha we find that Yankiv has to run away from Lavan, and he can't... It's impossible. He can't continue... It's impossible. Zogt the pasuk, HaRibbono Shel Olam alein kumt zen, and tells him it's time to go. You got to get out of here. You can't be here anymore. Go, leave. Says the pasuk... What happens? He goes and he gets a dream. The malach comes to him and shows him akudim, nekudim, ubrudim. What does he do? He calls his wives, Leah and Rachel, to discuss with them his leaving. Does he tell them, We're leaving because I can't take anymore? No, that's not what he says, right? We would imagine that as a husband, he would have the right to come and say, Listen, how much can I live by the shver? Right? ... That's really what he should have said. Now he doesn't go there, right? What does he do? He gives them the speech on how it was terrible and terrible and terrible, yeah. But he also doesn't tell them that we're leaving because Hashem said. Why don't you tell them, you know what? Hey, ... no questions asked. That's not what it was either. It was a whole conversation. So the Ramban is me'orer the shaylah. Anochi El beis Kel—it's a lie, a shmuyes over here, and with my malach and the dreams, and he's giving them a whole, a whole story. Tell them, Time to go. And if you want to say he was a nice husband, all right, the Eibishter told me it's time to go. The Ramban ...

There's one small line that if you don't catch it and pick up on, you'll miss it. Yisape Yaakov l'nashav kol mah she'amar lo malach Elokim b'chalom. What is he darshening for? What does he want? Just say, come home and say, okay, I lost my job, it's time to go. Next. No? Ki hakol piyus lahem, shetelachna imo. It's talking about limud mussar. Yaakov gives middas ha'emes doesn't mean you tell them that the emes is, we gotta go. You tell them derech piyus. Yaakov with his chachmah. Middas ha'emes is to be mechayev. Listen, your father's a crook. Second of all, we have no future here, which is really what the malach was telling, it's finished. Third of all, the Eibishter gezogt. Let's go, we're packing our bags. No, we're not packing our bags. There's a way on how to talk. There's a way on how to... Middas ha'emes is mechayev this as well. I want to tell you, and I know it's late, but it's an important topic, rabosai, so just give me one more minute, and then you'll get your maaseh. You'll get your maaseh. Okay? Then I can take two more minutes. Once I promise a maaseh, okay. I saw a mayridike sefer called Chayei HaMussar. Very few people know what it is. It's a small little country. I stole it, actually. I shouldn't tell you. I stole it from my zeide, zatzal. Stole it when I was a bachur. It was in his library on the bottom. I figured he doesn't really need it. I took it. All right, took it. So you're happy that I have it, okay? So the little kuntres called Chayei HaMusar. What was it? It was a yarchein, like we have today, you know, journals, journals about mussar. What was it? From different baalei mussar, Novardok and Slabodka and the talmidim and... It's an interesting little kuntres called Chayei HaMusar. I don't think you'll find it today. I don't think you ever saw it. Chaflo, fella, Chayei HaMusar, okay. He says a peledike vort over there. He says, Avraham Avinu tells Lot, You choose. We're gonna have to depart; we have to part ways. Hemasa me'al yemina v'imal, yemina, sme'ila. You choose what you want. Vach Hashem, he chose... zogt baalei mussar, great. You know what he could have chose? He could have chose Yerushalayim. He could have chose the other direction and looked at the churban, what he could have caused over there. Who knows what he could have caused? Zogt baalei mussar, l'maaseh, l'maaseh, it means that I'm telling you, derech eretz, he parted from me'olai. You could choose. Ayin l'shem shamayim, I have to tell you, do me a favor, don't go here. It's k'dai to give it all up, not to mevayeish Lot. I don't know if the vort's emes. I don't know. I'll tell you the emes: I don't even like the vort. Am I allowed to say that? I don't even like the vort. But I saw from that how baalei mussar understood what's called l'shem shamayim. And I want to end with the following. There's a maise in Ma'ores HaGedolim about the Alter from Slabodka. The Alter from Slabodka once walked into a shul. You know the maise, because you're smiling already. You know the maise? He went up to the amud, and he davened as if he didn't know how to read. He got up and he started saying Kaddish, and he was making mistakes, and it was—so people thought that he had a stroke. Some thought something happened. It says there clearly they thought something wrong, something happened to him. But he was—everything was fine. The Alter was fine. So he asked the rebbe, Kimi Kaddish? What are you—Shemoneh Esrei, chas v'shalom, such shatz? He says, The baal tefillah in the morning is an avel. He doesn't know how to read well. He's nisbayesh. So I went up to the amud to daven Mincha like he davened Shacharis, and like this he feels comfortable. Rabosai, a nandevolt geshimesh, built zich arum mit Kaddish. It's a maise in Ma'ores HaGedolim, rabosai. It's brought down. It's brought down where it's from. It was said by the chassan of the Einikel of the Alter from Slabodka, R' Meir Finkel. It was said by his chassan, this maise was said. Okay.

To speak about who the Alter was. You want to be a nice guy, go over to him privately, tell him he's great baal tefillah. Tell me, how many times do we yell at the baal koreh, with hatkifes, made a mistake? Is it the kriyah that we care so much about? Is that really the story? It's a lot of limud here, and I'm not telling you halacha l'maaseh. Think about it. And I just want to end with the Alter from Kelm, and that's what I told you. And then we're going to go back to the original. What is called emes? One of the kinyanei haTorah is nosei b'ol im chaveiro, says the Alter from Kelm. Why? How does nosei b'ol im chaveiro become kinyan haTorah? Very frekt the Alter from Kelm. And he says a yesod nifla: Torah is knei emes. Emes means that you've got to be nosei b'ol im chaveiro. Why does the Alter from Kelm? Because you know what emes and sheker is? The zicher and notzich. That's where the chiluk of emes and sheker is. It's unbelievable deharim. You want to know, the more a person takes the himself out of everything, then he's karov to the emes, to the truth. The more he works on nosei b'ol im chaveiro, the yenem, his mind is focused on the other person, that's the more he's koneh the middah of emes. Titein emes l'Yaakov. What is emes? You're right, avad emes in this parsha is about how he dealt in business. It's also about how he was selfless, and he was nosei b'ol im chaveiro. Vayagel es ha'even al pi hab'er, vayashk es hatzon. There's a nosei b'ol there. It goes together. You understand that he cared, that he tells them the mussar, Hashku hatzon... but at the same time it wasn't just the mussar, but what was it? It was achai, to the point that he was what? Vayagel es ha'even al pi hab'er, vayashk es hatzon, and that's the parsha, you see. Little actions of big people speak volumes, and from them we learn what it means, titein emes l'Yaakov. If I had more time, I would continue on this. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.