Re’ei, Brachah, and Simchah Shel Mitzvah

Topics

• Re’ei, Anochi Nosein Lifneichem Hayom
• Torah, Mitzvos, and the Meaning of Pekudei Hashem Yesharim
• Pekudei Hashem and the Need for Simcha
• Simcha Before Learning
• Three Approaches to Simcha
• Yiras Hashem and Simcha
• Simcha as a Condition for Kinyan HaTorah
• “Pekudei Hashem Yesharim, Mesamchei Lev”
• Simcha Through Mitzvos
• A Source of Chizuk
• Simcha and Connection to Hashem
• Atzvus and the First Appearance in the Torah
• Simchas Torah and Deveikus
• Torah, Deveikus, and Simcha
• Simchas Torah After Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos
• Simcha, Depression, and Connection
• The Simchah of Mitzvah and Halachah
• What Simchah Really Means
• Why Don’t We Feel It?
• The Value of a Direct Audience
• A Direct Line to the President
• What We Fail to Appreciate
• Seeing Bracha Properly
• Tamid and Masmid Mean Continuity
• Learning Without Gaps
• Morning and Night as a Constant
• Simchah and Olam Hazeh
• Hana’ah, Simchah, and the Berachah of Olam Hazeh
• Re’eh: Berachah, Kelalah, and Proper Use of Olam Hazeh
• Shabbos and the Use of Eating, Drinking, and Singing
• The Simchas haMitzvah and the Use of Shabbos
• The Meaning of Neshamah Yeseirah
• The Spice Called Shabbos
• A Question About the Song of Oneg Shabbos
• Shabbos Ta’anug and the Meaning of Food
• Shibuta and the Special Ingredient of Shabbos
• Lulav, Esrog, and Connecting Through Gashmiyus
• Gashmiyus, Shabbos, and Connection to the Eibershter
• The Yesod of Re’ei

Transcript

# Re’ei, Anochi Nosein Lifneichem Hayom

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.

The pasuk begins: “Re’ei, anochi nosein lifneichem hayom brachah uklalah” — “See, I give before you today a blessing and a curse.” The mefarshim ask: this is a matter of hearing. The Ribbono Shel Olam is speaking and telling them, “I have given before you a blessing and a curse.” Why does the Torah use the word *re’ei*, “see”? It should have said *sh’ma*, “listen.” Hear what I am saying; understand what I am saying. Perhaps *sh’ma* has two meanings: it can mean actually hearing, and it can also mean understanding what one hears, comprehending it. But the word *re’ei* seems out of place.

The Chaim and the mefarshim say that the lashon *re’ei* should have been a lashon of *sh’ma*. I would like to suggest a pshat why it says *re’ei*, and why the Torah has to tell us, “I am giving before you today a blessing and a curse.” To begin with, a brachah is *sh’tishmu*, and a klalah is *vadei lo yishmu*. What should I see? Obviously, if I am giving you before you today a brachah and a klalah, the introduction of the pasuk needs to be understood. Say the first word *re’ei*, and say the whole pasuk with its meaning. What is the point of saying *re’ei*?

I think there is a meirotikeh devar, a meirotikeh lesson, that the Torah wants us to learn from this pasuk.

We just had the parashah of the perek, “Mem Ches Kinyanei HaTorah.” One of them is *b’simchah* — to be happy. Simchah in Kinyanei HaTorah, pashut, means simchah in learning. When you learn, you should learn *b’simchah*; you should learn happily. A person learns, and it means that when you learn you should be happy, because if a person learns and he is not happy, it is not going to penetrate. He is not going to be able to learn and understand, and to be kolet what he is learning. Ha’vad Torah — you have to learn *b’simchah*.

It is brought from the Chida that the Chida explains that the condition of simchah does not mean simchah to learn Torah *b’simchah*, but to do the mitzvah *b’simchah*. It means to do the mitzvah *b’simchah*. Interesting: how does doing mitzvos *b’simchah* become a condition for Kinyan HaTorah? In order to absorb, in order to be able to acquire Torah, one has to do the mitzvah *b’simchah*. How does *asiyas ha-mitzvah b’simchah* become the condition for how one is koneh Torah?

It is interesting. The pesukim that the Chida brings are: “Pekudei Hashem yesharim, mesamchei lev.” “Pekudei Hashem yesharim” — the laws of the Eibishter are yesharim, “mesamchei lev.” Are we talking about *pekudim*, the learning, the Torah, or are we talking about the doing of the mitzvah in halachah? In Hilchos Tishah B’Av it is brought down: Kinyan HaTorah — learn Torah on Tishah B’Av because of the pasuk “Pekudei Hashem yesharim, mesamchei lev.” They bring simchah. At the same time, we are learning here that the word *pekudei* means *asiyas ha-mitzvah*.

# Torah, Mitzvos, and the Meaning of *Pekudei Hashem Yesharim*

Are we talking about the Torah? Are we talking about the kim ha-mitzvah, the pekudim, the doing of the pekudim? Obviously, it is interchangeable. Obviously, *pekudim* in some contexts is used to refer to the learning of Torah, the learning of the mitzvos, and in some contexts it is used to explain the doing of the mitzvos.

“*Pekudei Hashem yesharim mesamchei leiv*” means that the keeping of the mitzvos is *mesamei’ach*. In the Haggahos ha-Sof in the Chafetz Chaim, a shmuess is brought down in the sefer *Dudaim Moshe*. He was a talmid of the Chafetz Chaim, and in the haggadah he brings a shmuess that he heard from the Chafetz Chaim, that the Chafetz Chaim translated the pasuk “*Pekudei Hashem yesharim*.” What is the word *yesharim*, *mesamchei leiv*?

L’chaira, if it is going on Torah, I hear. The word *yesharim* is beautiful. Why? Torah is *yashar*; it is glad. When you learn something and it is *yashar*, it is beautiful: “*Pekudei Hashem yesharim*.” Someone reads something and it is not clear, and it does not make sense, and it is *krum*, so to speak—okay, avadei, it is not *mesamei’ach*. You hear a *krum vort*; it is not *mesamei’ach*. The law of the Gemara is, “*mesamei’ach k’nisinasah miSinai*.” That is always the law of the Gemara on a good *maamar*: it is mamash *mesamei’ach k’nisinasah miSinai*, which means that when something is right and something is beautiful, it is *mesamei’ach*. “*Pekudei Hashem yesharim*” is *mesamei’ach*, *mesamchei leiv* on the Torah.

But on the mitzvah, how could you use the words “*Pekudei Hashem yesharim*”? The mitzvos are *yesharim*, *mesamchei leiv*. A mitzvah is a mitzvah; how does a mitzvah become *yashar*? You hear the *shaylah*? What I am trying to show you is something interesting: how Torah and mitzvos have some connection, and that the two of them are *mesamei’ach ha-lev*. In some contexts we use the lashon “*Pekudei Hashem yesharim*” for Torah. The Torah is *yesharim*, and then I understand the word *yesharim*: *yesharim* means the Torah is so *yashar* that it is beautiful to learn. But if it is going on the mitzvah, *yashar* means straight, so the question is: if it is going on the mitzvah, where is the “*Pekudei Hashem yesharim*”? What? *Lulav*, *esrog*—it is *yesharim*; what does it mean? I always wondered this: how do you understand “*Pekudei Hashem yesharim*” if it is going on mitzvos?

That shmuess says, you know how it is *yesharim*, and then it is *mesamei’ach ha-lev*? Interesting. He says like this: the Chafetz Chaim, *k’darko*, had such a unique way of explaining pesukim *kipshutam*, with life, scenarios of life. He says, imagine someone has a cow. The cow was his source of parnassah; the cow was everything to him. He lost the cow. He lost it; he is broken, he is broken. He lost his cow. Somebody finds it. So in the real world, so to speak, finders keepers, losers weepers, as they say, right? *Yechidim*—few people return items that they find, right? The Torah is *mechayev* to return it. So even though it is a cow, it is a lot of money, you have to return it. So when he returns it, the person is happy, and the person who did it is also *mesamei’ach*; he did a big mitzvah. So “*Pekudei Hashem yesharim*,” *yashar*, *hashavas aveidah*, *bein adam lechaveiro*—there is *yashrus*. It is right. The mitzvah, *yashrus*—everyone is happy.

You know, many people are very unhappy when they go to work and when they come back from work. The world of business is a very, very stressful, unhappy situation. You know why?

# Pekudei Hashem and the Need for Simcha

They do not keep the Pekudei Hashem. If everyone would conduct business according to the Pekudei Hashem, yesharim, everyone would be happy—besides the loner, the borrower, and the investor, everyone. Why? Because Pekudei Hashem are yesharim.

The pasuk is trying to bring out that if Torah is kept, if the mitzvos of the Torah are kept, only happiness comes from that. Society is happy. Society will be content. Society will blossom. Only if it is Pekudei Hashem, yesharim—if they keep those pekudim that are yashar. If every person would weigh his behavior, yashar and not yashar, the whole world would be happy. The whole island would be happy. That is Pekudei Hashem yesharim, mesamchei lev.

So it comes out, according to the Chafetz Chaim, that we are only talking about bein adam lechaveiro mitzvos then. Peshat, Pekudei Hashem yesharim, means all of them. Pekudei Hashem yesharim, mesamchei lev, is all the mitzvos. How do we understand mitzvos or mesamchei lev? They are yesharim, and at the same time the Chida tells me it is connected to kinyan haTorah.

# Simcha Before Learning

I was thinking of another peshat. The Maharal explains in Derech Chaim that simcha is a necessity even before you learn. It is not about learning with simcha. It is not even about doing mitzvos with simcha. It is about being with simcha.

Why? When a person is with simcha, he is with shleimus. When a person is with simcha, he is with shleimus. And if he does not have shleimus, then it is not possible for him to be koneh Torah. Because Torah means shleimus. Torah means that the person has shleimus, and without it a person cannot be koneh Torah. So you need to first be happy. If not, you are a broken kli.

You know, I always say that when a person is unhappy, you know what they say: azat zebrakh a mensh. It is an expression in Yiddish. What does it mean? Peshat means his heart is broken, but I think it really means more. It means that the person is broken. A complete person is a happy person. That is what the Maharal tells me. If a person is not with simcha, he is shavur; he is broken. He lacks shleimus. And if he lacks shleimus, how can he get Torah? Torah needs shleimus.

You know, a navi had to have all the milos. A navi needed to be shalem. Why? Because he needed to be shalem. Why did he need to be shalem? Because in order for the Rabbeinu Shalom to be mashreh the Shechinah, He cannot be mashreh on a broken thing. It has to be on a shalem, on a thing of shleimus. Torah also is a davar shalem. Torah also means hashras haShechinah. The Rabbeinu Shalom rests, right, when a person learns Torah; the Rabbeinu Shalom is mashreh the Shechinah. It needs shleimus. The Gemara says clearly that if a person is broken, there is no hashras haShechinah. And the milah, in order to be koneh Torah, also needs simcha.

# Three Approaches to Simcha

So here we have a third peshat, the Rabbeinu Shalom. We have a peshat that first of all you need simcha in learning. That is the Ruach Chaim of Chaim Volozhin. Then we have the Chida, who brings from the Frierdiker, that it means that you need to have simcha shel mitzvah. And here we have a peshat from the Maharal, that the Maharal tells me I have to simply be with simcha even before I start learning, because without it I cannot learn. It is impossible to have kabalas ol Torah and kinyan Torah. It cannot be.

There is an interesting Kuzari. The Kuzari writes that the Rabbeinu Shalom requires of a Yid, an eved Hashem, three things: ahavas Hashem.

# Yiras Hashem and Simcha

Yiras Hashem and simcha. The three yesodos are ahavas Hashem, yiras Hashem, and simcha. Then he explains: do not think that a person connects to the Eibershter through fasting, or even through humbling himself with a taanis. Even if a person is humbling himself in a taanis, he is able to connect to the Eibershter and to be dovek to Him even more by being in simcha on Shabbos. Simcha is one of the vehicles through which a person connects to the Eibershter. You would say ahavas Hashem, yiras Hashem. Yet through simcha a person can achieve more in kirvas Elokim than if he would fast and humble himself through taanis.

The Chazon Ish writes that the only way to have true simcha is through Torah and mitzvos. A person can do many things to make himself happy, but that is external happiness. It is not what truly makes a person happy; only Torah and mitzvos do that. Now I begin to understand what it means when the Chida says that in order to learn Torah, you need simcha shel mitzvah. “Bikudei Hashem yesharim, mesamchei lev.” There is external simcha, but what makes the heart happy, what makes it happy deep inside? Only Torah and mitzvos.

## Simcha as a Condition for Kinyan HaTorah

In order to have kinyan haTorah, you need simcha. The only way to have simcha is through simcha shel mitzvah. That is what the Chida means. I ask you a question: what does it mean that a person wants to be koneh Torah, and the condition tonight is simcha, simcha shel mitzvah? How does simcha shel mitzvah connect to kinyan haTorah?

The answer is that kinyan haTorah requires simcha, because if you do not have simcha, ein haShechinah shoreh. The Shechinah is not present. You cannot have the Ribono Shel Olam’s Shechinah, and therefore kabalas haTorah is not shayach without simcha, as the Maharal explains.

But the question is: how do you get the simcha? They are all saying the same point; the question is how do you get the simcha. The only true simcha is simcha shel mitzvah. Otherwise it is external simcha. The Chazon Ish writes explicitly that pleasures of the world bring simcha, but it is not really simcha.

## “Pekudei Hashem Yesharim, Mesamchei Lev”

I think that is the pshat in the pasuk: “Pekudei Hashem yesharim, mesamchei lev.” The simcha is deep; it is mesamchei, not merely mesamach. It is not just mesamach. It is mesamchei what? The lev. Why not simply say, “Pekudei Hashem yesharim, mesamchim”? They make you happy. You do not just mean happy. You ask a person, are you happy? Yes, he is happy. Why is he happy? He is eating, he is happy. That is not called happy. Grada, at this moment, are you happy? That is mesamchei lev. It is only “Pekudei Hashem yesharim”; a Yid only feels simcha when he keeps a mitzvah.

So he does say that you need simcha for kinyan haTorah. Why? Because, as we are going to learn, kabalas haTorah is only shayach if a person is shalem, if there is shalom. Therefore you need simcha. The question is how do you get simcha, and the answer is simcha shel mitzvah. If a person has simcha shel mitzvah, then he has simcha: “Pekudei Hashem yesharim, mesamchei lev.”

How does it work that a mitzvah is mesamchei? What is it in a mitzvah that is mesamchei? The truth is that there are two peshatim. One is the Mishle Melech. The Mishle Melech tells me...

# Simcha Through Mitzvos

I'm sorry, but the Maggid Mishnah in Hilchos Lulav explains that the reason there is only simcha through mitzvos is because, *ki l'kach notzarta*, *l'sham mis'kaneh* — that is what you were created for. *U'k'shehu oseh ma she'nivra bishvilo, yismach v'yagel.*

There is a Maggid Mishnah in Hilchos Lulav, perek chas, halachah tes-vav, where he explains that the Rambam brings that the ikar simcha with the mitzvos — lulav, Simchas Beis HaSho'eivah, Sukkos — is because that is what you were created for. When a person fulfills his tafkid, he is very *b'simcha*.

A person can search all the ta'amim of the world, but at the end of the day it is not fulfilling. Why is it not fulfilling? Because you did not fulfill what you came for. You did not accomplish. Says the Maggid Mishnah: mitzvos are what you came for, so by doing them you accomplish.

# A Source of Chizuk

I always say over one of the things that moved me and always gives me chizuk. Whenever things look a little down — and anybody has his ups and downs in life — what gives me chizuk is the following thing that I read.

I read that Rav Neibert, zichrono tzaddik livrachah, in *Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchasah* wrote about the petirah of Rav Shlomo Zalman, his rebbe, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. He was there at the bedside together with Dr. Abrams, a doctor who was very close to Rav Shlomo Zalman. So they too were at the bedside. Rav Neibert describes how Rav Shlomo Zalman was lying there, looking at them, smiling. He opened his eyes and he was smiling and smiling, and then he closed his eyes and was niftar. He was trying to bring out the way he passed away, the way he was lifted from this world — smiling, fulfilled.

When a person lives eighty years of kiyum Torah and mitzvos, this fulfillment, this simcha, means he is not unhappy that he is leaving, because he is leaving having accomplished in life. A person can live his whole life and die feeling depressed, because what was his life? It was a waste. He wasted opportunities in kiyum ha-mitzvos and schar. He wasted time; it was wasted time. He killed time. But if a person lived a long life of kiyum Torah and mitzvos, he is fulfilled, he is *b'simcha*.

I always think about it, how gadol hador — and of course when he lived, everybody knows he used to smile a lot — he was fulfilled. He felt accomplished with kiyum Torah and mitzvos. And this is this Maggid Mishnah, and that is what it means, *simcha shel mitzvah*.

# Simcha and Connection to Hashem

I believe there is also another kavanah in *simcha shel mitzvah*. The Rambam writes about the simcha that a person should feel when he does mitzvos, and with the love for the Eibershter who gave us those mitzvos. You know what the Rambam is saying? When a person does a mitzvah, he feels connected to the Rabbeinu Shloylom. The vehicle, the way to connect to the Eibershter — a person can live his whole life and think about the Eibershter, it is possible, but you do not really connect fully until you do the mitzvos of Hashem.

Mitzvos Hashem are a way of connecting to the Rabbeinu Shloylom. *Hasimchos yismach adam b'asiyas hamitzvah hu b'ahavas HaKel sh'tzivah bohem.* It is not just *simcha shel mitzvah*; it is a *simcha shel mitzvah* connected to the love of the Eibershter who gave us that mitzvah. Ahavas Hashem comes through doing the mitzvos, and that connection brings tremendous simcha. A Yid is only happy when he is connected to the Rabbeinu Shloylom.

# Atzvus and the First Appearance in the Torah

I want to tell you a beautiful pshat I heard. I once heard a pshat on the word **atzvus**. The first time it is found in the Torah is in the word **be’etzev**, when Chava sinned and had to be punished for what she did. The Bnei Nusham tell us that the punishment is going to be **be’etzev teiled banim**, depression. **Atzev**, **atzvus**, is the first time the word appears in this pasuk.

The Chatzadik HaKoyim tells us in his writings that whenever the Torah writes a word for the first time, the scenario and the context in which it appears are the site of the word. And since the word **atzev** is found in **be’etzev teiled banim**, the question is: **be’etzev teiled banim**? I mean, children—giving birth is not **be’etzev**. It may be painful, yes, but **atzvus**? Why is the word **atzvus** found in the Torah for the first time דווקא by giving birth to children?

There is something very beautiful here. A child is **be’atzvus** when he is born. A child is born into the world, and there are many poems and songs written about this. He is not happy to come into this world; he wishes he could remain in the mother’s womb. Why? Because he is connected to the Eibershter in a ruchniyusdike way. The Medrash says clearly that the **ner dolek al rosho**, the Shechinah, the malach teaches with him. When he is born and comes out into the world, it is **be’etzev**, because now he is somewhat disconnected from the Ribbono Shel Olam, and his job in life is to reconnect.

The word **atzvus** is when a Yid disconnects from the Ribbono Shel Olam. **Be’etzev teiled banim**—there will be a disconnect. Giving birth to a child means that the child disconnects from the Ribbono Shel Olam. For a Yid, the most depressing thing is if he cannot be connected to the Ribbono Shel Olam.

I remember years ago I went to visit a chayil in the hospital. His whole concern was not his health and not his diagnosis, but whether he would come out of the hospital in time to be in shul for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. That was his whole concern. It struck me that this was the only thing that was pressing on him. Would he be able to be in shul for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? He did not talk to me about the difficult procedures he had to go through, nor did he talk to me about his diagnosis.

What makes a Yid happy? **Ki im ha-mitzvah**. What makes a Yid happy? If he is able to go to the **Beis HaElokim, nahalakh barogesh**. This is what makes a Yid. **Bo yishorev v’nono**—that the Yid is able to go to the Beis Hashem and connect with the Ribbono Shel Olam. That is what makes him happy.

# Simchas Torah and Deveikus

You know, I told you many times that there is a very big question about Simchas Torah. It is misplaced. Simchas Torah should have been on Shavuos, the day we received the Torah, on the anniversary of Kabbalas HaTorah. Why do we make Simchas Torah at the end of Sukkos?

There is an interesting gaon; I cannot quite track it down, but over the years I have seen pieces and parts, and I have heard from gedolim that it is all about this gaon. The gaon says like this: **simcha shel Torah** is only if you have **deveikus**. When a person connects to the Ribbono Shel Olam through learning Torah, then he has Simchas Torah. Torah is supposed to be learned **lishmah**, that is true. Reb Chaim Volozhiner writes this clearly: Torah has to be learned **lishmah**. But people do not realize that there is a footnote in Reb Chaim Volozhiner, **Nefesh HaChaim**.

# Torah, Deveikus, and Simcha

That when a person learns Torah and feels disconnected from the Rabbeinu Sholeilam, he must stop for a few seconds and think: I am connecting with the Rabbeinu Sholeilam, because without deveikus baHashem, you cannot learn Torah. Yes, Torah lishmah does not mean Torah for the sake of deveikus, but in order to learn Torah lishmah, you need deveikus. You need deveikus. Deveikus comes only through simcha, because ein haShechinah shorah mitoch atzvus. And how does one achieve that? Through mitzvos. To connect to the Yid, to deveikus, is through kiyum ha-mitzvos. Pikudei Hashem yesharim mesamchei lev.

And how does a person connect when he does a mitzvah? It is brought down, I think, from the Chazon Ish and others, that the way to fully appreciate it, and the way to... Oh, I am sorry, I have to get back to Simchas Torah. Excuse me a moment.

# Simchas Torah After Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos

So what is the pshat in Simchas Torah? Gevaldik. In order to be mesamei’ach with the Torah, it needs deveikus, like I explained to you from Chayei Olam. The truth of deveikus comes after Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos. Rosh Hashanah brings clarity: Hashem is the Melech. A person recognizes, and a person announces, he clarifies, Hashem Melech, Hashem is the King. On Yom Kippur, he purifies himself, so that he should be chozer b’teshuvah, that he returns to the Eibershter, and he removes the masach ha-mavdil. On Sukkos, he becomes ki tispineni b’sukkah, he becomes kanfei nesharim, he becomes closer to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam, under the wings of the Rabbeinu Sholeilam.

At that juncture, after Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos, when he has become so close to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam, then and only then can he experience Simchas Torah. A person can learn Torah, but if he learns Torah without being dovuk, without being connected to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam, he cannot feel the Simchas Torah. Simchas Torah, like I explained to you, is when a Yid feels that he is connected to the Eibershter; then he is b’simcha.

# Simcha, Depression, and Connection

Most of the depression that we have today, which is something they did not have so much in Europe, even though they went through more difficult times than we did—the Yid in Europe suffered greatly, financially, physically, emotionally, and yet they did not have the issues of atzvus that we have today. The reason is that they were more connected to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam. They were more connected to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam. It is possible that externally we do more today in learning and davening, but when we learn, are we b’simcha? When we learn, deep down, are we connected to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam b’simcha? Maybe not as much as it used to be.

The Yid had a meiridik simcha when he came to shul. The Yid had a meiridik simcha for Shabbos. That is what the Kuzari is saying: a person can connect to the Eibershter much more with the simcha of Shabbos and Yom Tov. We connect to the Eibershter. On Shabbos, are we meiridik b’simcha? The question is how one connects, because connecting to the Eibershter means simcha. And that is what the kinyanei haTorah are about. The kinyanei haTorah are about simcha, which means I connect to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam, because that is the only true simcha that a Yid has.

Today we find so many issues of depression. People are... and the answer is, we are not connected to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam. Externally, yes; externally, yes. This, I believe, is Pikudei Hashem yesharim. It is the mitzvos and the learning. Because you know how you take out the most you have from a mitzvah? If you learn the halachos of the mitzvah. It is brought down in all the sefarim, because the Nefesh writes about it.

# The Simchah of Mitzvah and Halachah

Many Gedolim spoke about this: to appreciate the mitzvah, to take the most you can out of the mitzvah, to get, as they say in English, the most mileage out of a mitzvah, is to learn the halachos of those mitzvos. Moshe tikan l’Yisrael sheh korin b’chag b’chag, sheh yidreshu b’hilchos chag b’chag. Why was Moshe mesaken this? Moshe Rabbeinu was mesaken that they should learn the halachos of the Yom Tov on Yom Tov. Pashut, so they should know what to do. Or maybe because that itself makes the Yom Tov.

When you learn the pikudei Hashem, and you see that the yesharim, which means the ma’aseh mitzvah, is based on Torah, which is yashar, you begin to see the yashrus. You begin to see the pshat of the mitzvah, the halachos of the mitzvah, the Torah shebe’al peh of the mitzvah. Then it is b’simchah. You take a lulav and an esrog, and you know all about the lulav and the esrog, the why and the how, and it all fits. It all makes sense.

How many times do you find, in other religions so to speak, that the attitude is: do it because that is what you have to do. I do not quite get why you have to do it, but you have to do it. It is not yesharim; it is contradictory. By the Torah, there are no contradictions. Hilchos lulav, his work, da’kafi l’kicha, hilchos kinyanim — it all works.

Here, let me ask you a question. You ready? If a person takes a lulav that is not his — the biggest example: imagine you take a lulav and you did not pay for it. A yotzei mitzvah, that is pikudei, but I took the lulav, I did the mitzvah, pikudei Hashem yesharim. It all works out. The Torah and the mitzvos are all yesharim b’simchah, and that is how a person connects in the mitzvah to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam. That becomes the vehicle to connect to the Rabbeinu Sholeilam.

# What Simchah Really Means

This, I believe, Rabbeisai, is the pshat in simchah. You can buy all the self-help books, all of them, how to be b’simchah. It is not going to help you. You know why it is not going to help you? Because they are talking about a different simchah. They are talking about external simchah. To put a band-aid on a guy who is bleeding, they have a way out of it: all ball-gaming and this and that, and simchah, and to know yourself and to understand you. We are talking about pikudei Hashem yesharim b’samchei lev. We are talking about a different simchah. It has a whole different DNA.

Imagine you take a goat and show him a movie. Will he be happy? No. You know why? Because the goat has nothing to do with the movie. What do you mean? But the guy enjoyed the movie מאוד. He came out, and you asked him, and he told you he was thrilled. The goat is not programmed to enjoy a movie. That is not what he is programmed for.

It is the same thing, Rabbeisai. You take a yid and you put him in a movie theater, in front of the internet, and he thinks he is happy. Maybe the shtickl goy in him is happy. There is a very famous line I heard from another gadol, Reb Machfeig, who once said that when two yidden fight, you would say, ah, the yidden are fighting, how could two yidden fight? The answer is: the yidden are not fighting. This guy comes from Poland, he is a Polish yid, and this guy comes from Hungary. That is usually the fight — the Hungarian with the Litvak. It is the shtickl Hungarian goy in him and the shtickl Polish goy in him that are fighting.

Wherever you live, you take a little from your surroundings; you are influenced by them. It is not that two yidden are fighting. Two yidden love each other. It is the shtickl goy, the Polak and the shtickl goy, the Hungarian, that are killing each other. Maybe the reason why we think we enjoy this world all the time is because it is the shtickl America in us. The shtickl America that we became thinks that we are enjoying ourselves, but the yid, deep down, who we are — the yid — he does not enjoy all this. He enjoys Torah and mitzvos and davening. This brings in an asmeritige geschmack.

# Why Don’t We Feel It?

So the question is: why don’t we feel it?

So far, I have explained to you the importance of simcha—simchas ha-Torah, simchas ha-mitzvos, and simcha b’chalal. This is what we have been discussing until now. Remember, we are going to return to Parshas Re’eh: “Hinei anochi nosein lifneichem brachah.” What does brachah mean? What is the meaning of the word brachah?

I read to you the words of the Aruch HaShulchan, and we will return to them in a few moments. You know what brachah is? “Asher tishme’u el hamitzvos,” to listen to the mitzvah—brachah. “Ki muvad ha-brachah ha-museges miderech Hashem.” Besides the brachos of this world, besides all the blessings a person can receive, the greatest brachah is “asher tishme’u,” the actual listening to the mitzvos of Hashem. Why? Classic Aruch HaChaim, the beautiful words of the Heilige Aruch HaChaim: “Ki ha-shmi’ah ba-Torah hu ta’anug mufla u’michyas ha-nefesh.” The greatest ta’anug, the greatest enjoyment a Yid has, is to listen to a mitzvah.

I read it again because it is so beautiful: “Ki ha-shmi’ah ba-Torah hu ta’anug mufla u’michyas ha-nefesh.” As it says, “Shimu v’tchi nafshachem.” “V’hamagish b’ta’am ha-Torah tishchenu nafsho.” And if a person feels that ta’anug, then “l’shalem gemul tov l’nosei matanos muflaos,” he begins thanking the Eibershter. “Ha-simcha she’yismach adam ba’asiyas ha-mitzvah, u’be’ahavas ha-Kel she’tzivah bahem.” He begins thanking the Eibershter, saying: thank You for the tremendous mitzvah You gave me.

Tell me, how does one connect to a friend? The best way is by giving a gift. If you give a gift to someone, he becomes close to you, right? “K’nei lecha chaver.” When we begin to understand the tremendous gift the Eibershter gave us, we begin to draw close to the Eibershter and to appreciate and thank the Rabbeinu Shel Olam. “Ki al l’shalem gemul tov l’nosei matanos muflaos.” I think that is what it means: when we begin to understand what we have in a mitzvah, we begin to feel what it means to have the simcha that leads us to thank the Eibershter.

“Be’ein tzarich lomar l’shnei l’tovah u’l’sanavah.” You are not going to ask for a present. Imagine a person says, “Thank you for the present. Okay, how much are you paying me to take it?” Ha? Instead of asking the Rabbeinu Shel Olam for a reward, for payment for taking the mitzvah, the opposite is true: we should thank the Eibershter and “pay” Him for the mitzvah.

“Meir t’gar chai brachah.” People do not know what brachah is. People think brachah means: Rabbeinu Shel Olam, give me money. That is not brachah. Brachah is the actual Torah and the mitzvos, and the ta’anug that comes from them. “Ki ha-shmi’ah ba-Torah hu ta’anug mufla u’michyas ha-nefesh.”

## Why Don’t We Feel It?

How come we do not feel it? That is the question. We just finished speaking for the last half hour, whatever it is, that Torah and mitzvos are ta’anug, and ta’anug is simcha, and simcha is connecting to the Eibershter. Are we all holding there? Like I said to you, in Europe they held more on this level than we do. What happened? What is wrong?

I go to the words of the Heilige Chofetz Chaim in Shem Olam. The Chofetz Chaim says: I want to give you a mashal. Imagine a person has an audience with a great king, or, in modern terms, with a president. In that audience, he brings the king a beautiful souvenir, a plaque, a monument, something. And the president says, “Unbelievable, wow, I thank you. I’m going to put it in the White House, in the main place, the Oval Office. It’s going to be one of the…”

# The Value of a Direct Audience

Of pictures in the Oval Office. And every time I look at it, I’m going to remember you. And the pictures are snapping, and the media is tumbling. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

Tell me, this guy won’t think about this every day of his life? Every day he’s going to think: audience at the press. And every guy that walks into his house for a visit, you know he’s going to bring them first to these pictures. “Look, see me? That’s me with the president. You see, I had an audience. You see, I brought the press.” This is going to be. And all his life he’ll feel, wow, look at that accomplishment. It’s amazing.

Says the Chafetz Chaim: every day, yesh a person an audience with the Ribbono Shel Olam. And every day he does Torah and mitzvos that the Ribbono Shel Olam takes and cherishes. Melech Malchei HaMelachim — could you imagine how proud you should be, how happy you should be? The memories, the simchah, the excitement.

Says the Chafetz Chaim, achai, my brothers, do you ever stop to think about it once a week? And if not once a week, at least once a month. And if not once a month, at least once a year.

I asked my uncle, Rabbi Chaim, when he was here by my house for Shabbos. I asked him, tell me, who is the Chafetz Chaim talking to? Achai, my brother, who is he writing to? Do you think the Chafetz Chaim was writing for the simple Jew in Europe? The Chafetz Chaim felt that every person — every Yid, every pashtus Yid — is able to stop and think: wait a minute, wait a minute. I talk to the Ribbono Shel Olam every day. I’m a kosher Yid.

## A Direct Line to the President

Could you imagine, you’re the guy that has a direct line to the President? Every time you have something — one second, what’s your parking space? Dial the number. “Hello, President? Can you get me the President on the phone?” “No, not the secretary. I don’t want this, I want the President.” “Oh yes, sure, he’ll be there in a second.” “Oh yeah, here he is.” “Hello, Mr. President, I have a problem.” You know what you’d be? You’d be the star. You’d be the guy. Guess what? You are the guy.

Every day, any time you’ve got a problem, welcome to shul and you say, “Ribbono Shel Olam.” “Oh yeah, you’re calling? I thought that—what can I?” Tell him, nikra on the end, even before you call. Could you imagine, you’re the guy that before you even call, the President calls you? Huh? How would you—what would that—? You’d feel like you’re the kosher guy. You’re it.

Tell him, nikra on the end. Oh, yedaber dvarim b’nei Yishma. Imagine the President says, “Don’t even say another word. The answer is yes.” And already in front of your door, the Secret Service is there to take care of your problem. Tell him, nikra on the end. Oh, daber dvarim b’nei Yishma.

## What We Fail to Appreciate

You know what the difference is, they say? We don’t think of it that way. We don’t stop to think what it’s really all about. Had we realized what we have, had we understood what we have, it would be a whole different situation.

If we understood what it means, I do a mitzvah, I daven, I learn. Chazal tell us: tefillah, devarim she’omedim berumom shel olam, u’bnei adam mezalzalim bahem. People are mezalzel. Could you imagine if a person has a direct line to the President, and yet he’s mezalzel? He doesn’t take it up. He doesn’t use it. Imagine you’re able to, you’re able to—

# Seeing Bracha Properly

Like this: you get what you have, and you do not use it. What is that called? A zilzul. You are being mezalzel. Chazal are wondering how, and the answer is that we do not look at it that way. We do not understand it that way.

Now, Rabbi Yisrael, I understand. Shatna pasek: *Re'ei, anochi nosein lifneichem hayom bracha u'klala.* I asked you a question: why *re'ei*? Why the lashon of *re'ei*? Why does it have to say it at all? I mean, I am giving you bracha u'klala; it says clearly, *im tishme'u bracha*. And the answer is that sometimes you can have bracha, but you do not see it. *Re'ei, anochi* — the first thing is that you have to be able to understand what bracha is, and understand that you should be attuned to see it.

A person can have bracha bilti hafsik, and he does not see it. He never stopped to think how lucky he is. He never stopped to think, when he became a mitzvah, look how happy you really are, look how me'ushar you are. You are a lucky person. You are lucky to have what you have. So, *re'ei* — the first thing is, learn to see. *Shani nosein lifneichem hayom* — this is where bracha u'klala is. And if you do not understand that keeping Torah is bracha, you are lost. If that does not start with understanding what it means, that is the pshat.

In order to have kinyanim in Torah, first you have to be b'simcha. You first have to understand what you have, how lucky you are. *Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu, mah na'im goraleinu, mah yafah yerushaseinu.* I always say: if you notice, how many lashonos do you have to say? *Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu, mah na'im goraleinu, mah yafah yerushaseinu.* What do you just say? *Mah tov.* And you know what the answer is? It epitomizes, to the utmost, all types of simcha: *Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu, mah na'im goraleinu, mah yafah yerushaseinu.* It is nice, and it is sweet, and it is good. Any type of simcha comes only through *goraleinu, yerushaseinu*. This is what it is. People understand that. And what do we say? *Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu, mah na'im goraleinu, mah yafah yerushaseinu.* *Ashreinu, k'shanam ha'mashkimim la'arim u'vatikim l'shiyos u'vatim l'drashim.* That is it. That is chelkeinu. Think about the words: *Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu, mah na'im goraleinu, mah yafah yerushaseinu.* *Ashreinu, k'shanam ha'mashkimim la'arim u'vatikim l'shiyos u'vatim l'drashim.* *Ya'akov tivshim b'chol yom.* And you know what the answer is? Yes, that itself already is worth it.

That is what the Chaim means: *ki ha'shmiya b'Torah.* The actual fact that we can come to a beis knesses. Perhaps you will learn it as something else: *Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu, mah na'im goraleinu, mah yafah yerushaseinu.* Many learn it that way. Something is going on — Torah this, avodah this. I would read it as one thing, פשוט. *Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu, mah na'im goraleinu, mah yafah yerushaseinu.* Could you imagine if someone built up a present? “Wow, the present! You do not know how lucky you are. You do not know how gevaldig. You do not know how beautiful. You do not know. It is unbelievable, gevaldig, tremendous, unbelievable.” He opens up the box, and guess what he finds? He finds a razor, a hundred-dollar watch. “Whoa, that is it? Just that? That is what you built up? I thought you were going to pay for my trip to the place on vacation and buy me a car and a house. That is it?”

That is what Torah is trying to tell me: even for this already, even for *mah tov chelkeinu, mah na'im goraleinu, mah yafah yerushaseinu*, *k'shanam ha'mashkimim la'arim u'vatikim l'shiyos u'vatim l'drashim* — *ya'akov tivshim b'chol yom*. *Shimu, chuli dom b'mayim.* Avoshan Yisrael, the Shema Yisrael, the connecting to the Eibishter is already enough. That is it. That is already enough. You know why? Because that is everything.

You know what Shema Yisrael is? There is an interesting Iggeres Tal. Iggeres Tal says, if you notice...

# Tamid and Masmid Mean Continuity

There is something called *tzmidim kisidram*, right? It is a *korban tamid*. Tell me something: a *korban tamid* — do you bring the korban every minute? Is that *tamid*? The simple meaning of *tamid* does not mean “always,” but rather “consecutively.” Since it is brought every day, it is called *tamid*. The *korban tamid* was never missed for a day, so it is called *tamid*.

The Chafetz Chaim would say: what is a *masmid*? *Masmid* means one who learns all the time. How can a person learn all the time? He has to eat, drink, and sleep. So what does the word *masmid* mean? *Tamid* — consecutively. He does not miss days.

# Learning Without Gaps

Some people get into learning with great enthusiasm, and then they peter out a little, and then they go back. “Okay, the new week will start again.” I once had a rebbi who compared this to a suit. The suit has beautiful material, but in the middle there is a hole, so he takes a patch and puts it on. Tell me something: is that suit beautiful? It is made from nice material, but every now and then it has a patch.

He said: imagine learning three weeks well, and then the fourth week, and the fifth week, you are back into it. The suit is not a pretty suit. The word *tamid* means harmony, constancy, *kaseder*, right? Imagine you have a song. The song is good, good, and in the middle it goes off-key. I can see it, but most of the song is pretty, right? That is what he is going to say. But most of the song is pretty once it is finished, right? You are done, you are finished.

He did not compare it to singing. I always understood it that way. My rebbi was on a madreigah that he looked at it as a suit that way. I think the best match was the song. Imagine a guy comes to a concert and sings half the song, and in the middle of the song it goes completely off-key, and everybody is clapping. And the guy says, “Yes, but what do you want? Most of the song was good, no? Most of it was nice.” And the answer is that little off-key note ruins the whole thing, right?

# Morning and Night as a Constant

The word *masmid*, *tamid*, has to be consecutive. A ma’aseh is brought down in sefarim that it truly means *tamid*, constantly, *maschit tamid*. When a person brings it in the morning and in the night, the morning carries him for the whole day and the night carries him for the whole night, so it is *tamid*.

For example, you ever take an antibiotic? Do you have to take the antibiotic every minute? No. You take one in the morning and one at night, and that is good — seven days, or twelve days, or fourteen days, whatever you are supposed to take, right? You took it for fourteen days. Imagine a guy taking antibiotics for fourteen days. Okay, okay, keep on taking. You do not have to take it every minute. One in the morning and one at night means you have it for the effect all day.

Kriyas Shema says the same thing, as the Iglei Tal explains. We need to walk around with “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad.” So how do we do that? The answer is: through Shema in the morning and Shema in the evening, *pamayim b’ahavah*. This is what the Yiddish saying means: *asherenu matov chelkeinu, u’mano’im geir aleinu, u’ma yafu yerushaseinu*. The greatest matanah we can have is “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad” twice a day, which means that we constantly walk around connected to the Ribbono Shel Olam.

# Simchah and Olam Hazeh

This is the simchah that every *asrei re’ei* — the important thing is to see this. Someone is going to ask: what place does *olam hazeh* have in simchah? Should I completely disconnect myself from *olam hazeh*? Maybe if I say a whole, I should do Torah and mitzvos all day, and in *olam hazeh* I should not enjoy this world at all. Chazal tell us that the nazir is a *chotei*.

# Hana’ah, Simchah, and the Berachah of Olam Hazeh

Why is another chayit shetzer atzmi min ha-yayin? Because he was Messiah himself. The world was created l’hanos. It says clearly. We make a berachah like this, don’t we? She’bara ilanot tovos l’hanos bahen bnei adam — to give hana’ah.

Tell me, do you ever notice the different colors in the fruits? I didn’t know you should have to make so many beautiful colors of fruit. You ever notice that? Tell me, are there many different colors in grain? Wheat? How many colors are there in wheat? How many colors are there in meat? One — red. How many colors are there in fruit? Clearly applying, huh? Unbelievable.

Grain, a person needs to eat. Meat, a person needs to eat. Fruit is l’hanos bahen bnei adam. She’bara ilanot tovos l’hanos. The Ribbono shel Olam makes it so beautiful, all the different fruits, the colors, the tastes. Unbelievable, huh? This is hana’ah. The Ribbono shel Olam wants us to have enough in this world. The Ribbono shel Olam wants us l’hanos, to be sameach. The Ribbono shel Olam wants that we should have simchah from this world. So what role does it play if we come and say that it’s not really simchah?

# Re’eh: Berachah, Kelalah, and Proper Use of Olam Hazeh

So let’s go back to the parashah. Re’eh, anochi noten lifneichem hayom berachah uklalah. Es ha-berachah asher tishme’u el mitzvot Hashem Elokeichem asher anochi metzaveh etchem hayom. And then right away it says, v’hayah, ki tavo’u el ha’aretz. You come to Eretz Yisrael, I’ll give you the berachah and the kelalah, right? And the kelalah — what’s the kelalah? Avid ta’avdu et kol ha-makom asher yivchar Hashem Elokeichem mikol shivteichem, l’sum et shemo sham. Avoseichem sham, oleiseichem, mezivcheichem, u’masroteichem, u’tshumat yedchem, va’achaltem sham lifnei Hashem Elokeichem, usmachtem bechol mishlach yedchem asher berachecha Hashem Elokeichem.

You know what the Torah wants us to know? Yes, it’s true that the berachah is Torah. But I also said there’s another part of berachah, and that is, va’achaltem sham lifnei Hashem Elokeichem, usmachtem bechol mishlach yedchem, asher berachecha Hashem Elokeichem. Part of the berachah is olam hazeh. And simchah comes from that. But what if it is lifnei Hashem Elokeichem? It depends on how you utilize olam hazeh.

Mishnah Berurah, in Sha’ar HaTziyun, says that in his time people would sit at the Shabbos table and drink excessively. He writes that it bothered him. It bothered him. What is the peshat that the olam is drinking? Then he said, I’m going to be melamed zechus on them. If they drink to be besimchah, in order to be oved HaKadosh Baruch Hu, then it’s a good thing. I’m a melamed zechus.

If a person does this, but he does it with the kavanah that he wants to be able to utilize this, so he can come and daven and learn better, that’s called simchah shel mitzvah. The simchah that a person brings in order that he should be able to do a mitzvah — that’s simchah shel mitzvah, yes? But it has to be for that kavanah. That’s what the pasuk is trying to bring out.

The ikar is that simchah is the Torah and the mitzvos. Yet, I give you berachah and kelalah. What is the berachah and the kelalah? As it continues: ki im el ha-makom asher yivchar Hashem Elokeichem, u’va’osem sham oleiseichem, u’zevicheichem, va’achaltem sham lifnei Hashem Elokeichem, usmachtem bechol mishlach yedchem. If it’s done properly, usmachtem bechol mishlach yedchem. Then there is happiness, even in achilah, even in shtiyah. When it’s done with the right kavanah, when it’s done in the right context, me’eretik ha-simchah, yes?

# Shabbos and the Use of Eating, Drinking, and Singing

Shabbos, rabosai. It’s a day that is set aside, like we said, for simchah from the Kuzari, that the simchah one can have on Shabbos — he can connect to the Ribono shel Olam. So could you imagine a person could utilize the eating and the drinking and the singing? It’s all there. But if he doesn’t do it for the right...

# The Simchas haMitzvah and the Use of Shabbos

So what happens then? It is no longer the Simchas haMitzvah. One has to use it properly. The Kuzari says that this is the greatest way to connect to the Ribbono Shel Olam.

There is a beautiful vort from the Chidushei HaRim. I heard this also from my uncle, Reb Chaim, this past Shabbos. When he was passing through Branovitch, everyone knew that the Slonimer Beis Medrash was the place to daven. Branovitch was a Litvish town, but there was a chassidishe presence there, Slonim. The Slonimer Rebbe’s davening and learning were beautiful, and on Shabbos all the Litvish people used to go there. So he passed by and went to the Slonimer tish.

The Slonimer Rebbe said on the pasuk, “Yochluhu hayom, ki kodesh hayom laShem Elokeichem.” By the mann it says, “eat it today.” “Yochluhu hayom” — what do you have to eat? The day itself. Shabbos is the day; that is what you absorb. “Ki kodesh hayom laShem” — you are not going to get another day like this. This is a day in which you have to eat the day itself.

# The Meaning of Neshamah Yeseirah

What does that mean? I will tell you. I have explained many times that gashmiyus can only absorb what it is meant to absorb. For example, if you give a cow ice cream, the cow does not eat ice cream. Give a human being grass — today people eat grass and think it is healthy. That is because they have not learned to act like a behemah, so they have to eat grass. But normally, for a person, there is something called ma’achal behemah; it is not meant for human beings.

In order for someone to eat the ma’achalei Shabbos and be nourished by what the ma’achalei Shabbos have to give, that is not meant for a regular person. The Gemara tells us about something called neshamah yeseirah. What is the neshamah yeseirah? Rashi says that a person should be able to eat and eat and not become full so quickly. I would explain it as follows: the neshamah yeseirah creates a different need in the food.

A person who does not have a neshamah yeseirah is eating food. A person with a neshamah yeseirah is eating Shabbos food. He is receiving the ruchniyus, the oneg, the spiritual quality that is in the Shabbos food. That is what the neshamah yeseirah does for a person.

# The Spice Called Shabbos

The Gemara tells of a certain king who wanted to taste the ma’achalei Shabbos. What happened? He went to the Jew and it was delicious. He returned to his palace and asked them to make the same food, but it did not come out the same. So they told him, “We have a special spice, and that spice is called Shabbos.” That is the peshat. The answer is that it is ruchniyus, rabosai. Only with a neshamah yeseirah can one cook such a food and enjoy such a food, the ma’achalei Shabbos.

# A Question About the Song of Oneg Shabbos

I once thought to myself: what kind of a song is that? I never understood this “lisaneg, misanugim, baburim, slav, dogim” — singing about how one is misaneg with food. Is that really a song? Can you imagine a person making a song: oh, that steak was great, it was delicious. No, that is not the point. Imagine a Yid saying, “The steak was great, the steak was gewaldig, the entrée was good, and the dessert was unbelievable.” Fine, it is a mitzvah to be misaneg on Shabbos, I understand that. But how does one sing, “Baburim, slav, dogim, chaviv matamim”?

# Shabbos Ta’anug and the Meaning of Food

All the desserts and cakes—what are you thinking about? You know what the tenet is? A Yid does not have a ta’am in all this. That is not ta’anug. You are right, it is for the tongue; it tastes delicious. But lisaneg, lisaneg al Hashem—ta’anug is by the Avodah. Ta’anug, lisaneg al Hashem. And the Teretzes were singing that through the food.

Normally, we should not have ta’anug, but we do have ta’anug: lisaneg, besanugim, barburim, uslovim. Could you imagine during the week if I would eat this? I would not be besanig from it. The best is of Shabbos. You eat it on Shabbos, and it becomes lisaneg, besanugim, barburim, uslovim, togim, erev, hasminim. Because it is prepared for Shabbos, I am able to have ta’anug from it. I feel the neshama of Yisrael; I feel different.

A person can connect to the Beis Shamayim through simchah, if it is utilized properly. If it is utilized properly, you know what brachah is? Brachah is not a beautiful house, and brachah is not a beautiful car. Brachah is a Shabbos table. Brachah is to sit at a Shabbos table with children and six mirrors—that is brachah. It is the biggest brachah that a person could have. But re’ei, re’ei, you have to be able to see it. You have to be able to see it. Do not think the chandeliers in the house are going to make you happy on Shabbos. They are not going to make you happy on Shabbos. What is going to make you happy on Shabbos is lisaneg, lisanugim, baburim, muslamim, dagim, if it is erev, azminim, famimim, for Shabbos. It is echluhu hayom.

That is the pshat. But the slanderer had to admit: “A Yid thinks he is eating food on Shabbos. He is eating the Shabbos.” When someone says, “Is this fish for Shabbos?” no—say, “It is Shabbos fish.” There is a very big difference. It is not fish that you eat on Shabbos; it is Shabbos fish. It is a whole different fish.

That is why there is a saying that every time a person buys something for Shabbos, he should say l’kavod Shabbos kodesh, and every bite he should take, he should say l’kavod Shabbos kodesh. You know why? Because without it, it is the fish that you eat on Shabbos. And with it, it is the Shabbos fish. You see the difference?

## Shibuta and the Special Ingredient of Shabbos

You know that there is a fish called shibuta. The Mishnah tells us that shibuta—ra’al malach shibuta. What is shibuta? It is a fish. Why is it named shibuta? I am not saying the Chida, but it is brought in the Rishonim, it is already brought in the Frierdiker, that there is a certain fish that rests on Shabbos. It does not go to, it does not go to chumim; it rests. Shibuta, Shabbos—it keeps the Shabbos. You see, Shabbos fish is a whole different thing.

And guess what? You cannot go to the store and buy this fish. It has to be made for Shabbos. If the fish was made by a goy, vadai, with all the hilchos, especially straw—I do not mean the... It does not have the same Shabbos. That is what this king was saying. The ingredients are the same in the teretzes. No, no, no. We have a special ingredient called Shabbos. You eat the Shabbos through the food.

## Lulav, Esrog, and Connecting Through Gashmiyus

And that is what the Kuzari means, to connect. When you take a lulav—wait a minute, are you taking the lulav? Who are you taking? If you ever notice, it is brought down in the Tur that when you take a lulav and esrog, you have to put them together. The whole story with the dream, right? It was a dream that he saw that the lulav and the esrog, the Shem Havayah, the name of the Eibershter, was separated. Why? Because he did not put the lulav and the esrog together. You think when you take the lulav and esrog, it is the lulav and the esrog. You are taking the Eibershter. It has to do with the Shemayis, through the gashmiyis, through the gashmiyis.

# Gashmiyus, Shabbos, and Connection to the Eibershter

If you take the gashmiyus, you take the Eibershter. Here too, through the food of Shabbos, you take the Shabbos; you take the connection to the Eibershter.

So if you take the gashmiyus, “u’smachtem” — “v’achalta sham lifnei Hashem Elokeichem, u’smachtem b’chol mishlach yedchem, atem u’veiseichem, asher beirachechem Hashem Elokeichem.” It depends how you eat. If you eat lifnei Hashem, have you ever noticed? I see it especially when they go down to sit and eat: “zeh shulchem lifnei Hashem.” It is lifnei Hashem. If the gashmiyus is done that way, then it is lifnei Hashem, to connect to the Eibershter. Then the pe’ulah is mesamei’ach: “u’smachtem.” And if not, there is no simcha.

Yes, you’ll enjoy the meal, like the Chazon Ish says — pleasure. It is pleasurable, but not oneg, not mesamei’ach laleiv, not simcha.

# The Yesod of Re’ei

And this is the yesod of Re’ei. You have to see it. You have to see it. And if you don’t see it, you can run from one thing to the next to find pleasure and happiness; you’re not going to find it.

Baruch has to be understood. What is baruch? What is it? And the answer is: “es ha’berachah asher tishme’u al mitzvos Hashem.” We should appreciate the berachos that the Eibershter gives us — the ruchniyus and the gashmiyus for the sake of ruchniyus. And then we’ll be me’ushar, happy, and we won’t have all these issues with depressions and looking for self-helps and not-helps. Zayt tzefridim, medem et m’zayin tz’simcha.