Shavuos: Ahavas HaTorah, Its Sweetness, and the Joy of Kabbalas HaTorah

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. As we normally do before Yom Tov, we suspend the Tanach shiur, and we talk about the coming Yom Tov. This is the shiur before Shavuos. I'd like to take a few moments to talk about Shavuos. What is Shavuos? What is the neshama of the Yom Tov, so to speak, the pnimiyus of the Yom Tov, and that we could take from the Yom Tov whatever this Yom Tov has to offer. So I'd like to begin with a ha'arah, an observation. Avadeh, it's Kabbalas HaTorah, zman matan Toraseinu. And if I had to talk about Torah, this would be more than a half an hour shiur. Torah is doch ki heim chayeinu v'orech yameinu, uvahem negeh yomam valailah. Das doch the gantze mahus fun Klal Yisrael. Klal Yisrael is a lot bigger than a half an hour. Rechovah min hayam, arukah me'eretz middah. Teirah is endless, endless if I had to talk about Teirah. But I want to point out something which stands out as a nekudah of the Yom Tov, and that is the tremendous simcha, simcha, the tremendous outpour of love, of ahavah, that the Yom Tov wants us to show towards Teirah. It's not only that we stay up and we learn, but there's a special hadgashah, an emphasis on the ahavah, the love, the outpour of emotion, of hergesh, that the Yom Tov fodert, requires from us to show towards the Teirah. I don't have to tell you the hakdamos. Anyone who ever looked at the words of the hakdamos, such beautiful, eloquent words of praise, of shevach v'hodaah to the Ribono Shel Olam, shevach v'hodaah to the Ribono Shel Olam that He created the world, that He gave Klal Yisroel Teirah. It was beautiful, one of the most beautiful piyutim. As a matter of fact, it's brought down that one of the reasons it's in Aramaic, why is hakdamos not stam Aramaic, hashashvera Aramaic, afilu Divas vashtein gemara lashon, you're going to need some sort of a translation to get through the hakdamos. So pashut it was written in the time... Where they speak Aramaic. But if you look, it's brought down that one of the main reasons it's in Aramaic is that the malachim shouldn't get jealous. Chasdei Hashem, it's so beautiful. You bring out the beauty of the Torah. You know, why should we rub it in the face of the malachim? They lost the Torah. You think they swallowed? They haven't swallowed that yet. So in order that they shouldn't get jealous, we say it in Aramaic. A lot of things are like this. For example, Kaddish, it's also in Aramaic. The malachim shouldn't understand. Officially, malachim don't understand Aramaic. Now the truth is, why can't they understand Aramaic? Let them take a course, and anything in this world, you take a six-week course and you got it. I always wondered, favos malachim, they don't understand Aramaic. And maybe, rabosai, maybe, I don't have in front all the research offhand, I haven't looked into it properly, but libi omer li that not everything is translated literally. Some things need the wisdom of the heart to translate. There's literal translation. Sometimes when you translate things literally...

They don't come out to what they really mean. Aramaic is the lashon of the Torah, of the Chazal, of the Klal Yisrael from the Galus. There's words there that can't be defined and translated in a dictionary. And az yid zogt, Yehei shmei rabba mevorach. What's so hard for the malach to understand, Yehei shmei rabba mevorach? What's so difficult? It's a translation, Yehei shmei. Look at Kefa Aruchl, the namnut has the translation. The teretz is, what's ligt in the Yehei shmei rabba mevorach can't be translated. Malachim, they don't have lev, their oser retzonoi. They do what the Eibishter wants. But their lev, tzufastein, aremeish, maybe they don't have it. The words of hakdamos is an outpour of love through the doches that Klal Yisrael shows the Eibishter. It's a lot pierced of translation or a transliteration. And so, you know, the lashon I was thinking today, malachim, we say, Ha'elyonim sasu, v'tachtonim alzu. What's the difference between sasu and alzu? Zingtach, Ha'elyonim sasu, and maybe, maybe. Olzum is a lot more than sasson. The malachim haven't gotten over the fact that they lost the Torah. Sasson. We, olzum, it's ecstatic. The difference between happy and ecstatic. Take out your dictionary. You know the difference? There is no difference. In the heart, in the emotion, there's a difference. On paper, it's very difficult to—it's just a different word. No. Sasson, I'm happy for you. Olzum, I'm ecstatic. That hispa'alus is the hergesh upon sasson. And the malachim, they lost the Torah, while we gained the Torah. Olzum, we're ecstatic with the Torah. Not ecstatic, not from the chiddush, that the malachim should be mekaneh us, the malachim should be jealous of—what do we need it for? So we say it in Aramaic, Mir fashtein, Ribono Shel Olam, you understand what we feel. It's between me and you. B'yom chasnuso, b'yom simchas libo, Shavuos, Chazal tell us the day of Matan Torah is a day of a chasunah, mit a sheva brachos. You know, at a sheva brachos, there's two simchas that go on. There's the family and friends who sit and talk, this and that, and the chassan is there, while the chassan and kallah, their eyes speak a different simcha. The world's away from everybody else. Yom chasnusoi v'yom simchas liboi. Klal Yisroel, zei bia chasan mit a kallah, mit dem Ribono Shel Olam. The praises that they tell each other. Nobody can say over. It's not something that's repeated. The friends get up, the chassan, the kallah, he comes on time for saying, he doesn't come. Whatever speeches you say about your friend, the chassan, right? And then the father gets up, my son is this and he's gevaldig. What do you think the chassan and kallah are talking? It's not this. It's more, it's deep. It's a connection that are not expressed in public. This, Rabosai, is aptus. Aptus is an expression that between Klal Yisroel and the Ribono Shel Olam. This sweetness, this love, I think is one of the nekudos that we must emphasize on Shavuos. Like I said, Shavuos is about Torah, Torah, and we could talk from today till tomorrow. But the essence of the Yom is geared to bring out this arvus, this sweetness. I found this mefurash in a Rashi.

Rashi says on the pasuk, l'reiach—I'm sorry, the pasuk beis is shehashir, mamash the beginning, Shir haShirim asher liShlomo. We all know Shlomo is the Ribono Shel Olam, Melech Shlomo. Rashi says it clearly. We're talking to the Eibishter. Yishakeini min shikos pihu. We ask the Ribono Shel Olam, kiss us. Yishakeini. Mamash, is that bet from the Ribono Shel Olam? Yishakeini min shikos pihu, ki tovim dodecha miyayin. Sweetest—the sweetest thing I could ask is this, more than the sweetest wine. So, Rashi, what is this referring to? It's referring to Matan Torah. We ask the Eibishter, don't kiss me on the hand, and don't kiss me on the back, or don't give me French kisses, which are fake, on two sides. French, they love to kiss you. If you notice, they don't touch. It's, chas v'shalom, they don't want to get any influence or germs from you. So we ask the Eibishter, Yishakeini—Rabbeisai, it's not meRashi, except for the mashal with the French, that's Rashi—Yishakeini min shikos pihu, of the maalos of Rashi, asoi v'ish v'isha. This is Rashi, Chazal. I want a direct. And where did I get this first, that I now ask for it k'seder? Says Rashi at the end, dugma, what happened on Matan Torah. When you gave me Matan Torah, it was panim. El panim, face to face. And that dodim, odim areivim aleiha, it's sweet. See Rashi, the word areiv, areivim. That connection, that chibur, that yom chasnuso. You know, panim el panim, rabosai, it was a tremendous madreigah. Rabbeinu Shlom speaks to Moshe panim el panim, to no other navi. Yet the Klal Yisroel, He speaks panim el panim. You know why? You ever try when the chosson and kallah speak to each other and you're looking away? What is the... Look at me. Is that how a chosson and kallah talk? If the chosson is looking in another direction when the kallah talks, or vice versa, something's wrong. So the Ribono Shel Olam created that he was able to speak panim el panim, alz doydis, Rashi. I'm just attaching the Rashi, rabosai, okay, I'm adding a few syllables to the Rashi so you should get a taste of the Rashi. Dodim. Dodim. What is dodim? It should be love. So he did it panim el panim, face to face. This panim el panim is areivim till today, and we ask, Vishokeini minshikos pihu. I learned from Rashi that Matan Torah is about areivus. The Ribono Shel Olam went out of His way to show vifel libe, vifel... vifel ahat mit Klal Yisroel. And till today, it's still areivim. We still taste that Matan Torah. We live with that matan Torah. Chazal tell us there's a mitzvah, based on a pasuk, you're not allowed to forget Ma'amad Har Sinai. This is one of the things our beis... is linked to Ma'amad Har Sinai, is metandesh, forgets. Dareivus, dareivus... it's one of the chalakim of matan Torah, our beis. You're supposed to remember, Yom asher madta lifnei Hashem Elokecha b'Chorev. You're not allowed to forget matan Torah. This is one of the components that happened on matan Torah. Dareivus. I should show people this Rashi over Shavuos, our beis. Matan Torah stands for love of the Ribono Shel Olam, not stam love, but areivus, sweet, the imusdike love. Areivus, rich responsibility. No, that's arvus. Areiv here means sweet, sweet, sweet. And that sweetness is matan Torah, and that sweetness is something that we remember through the generations. As a matter of fact, if we ever forget that arvus, if we ever forget that sweetness, we can get very much...

Unfortunately, disconnected from the eibishter to the point that we get thrown out of Eretz Yisroel and punished. Chazal tell us, al mah avdah ha'aretz? Nobody knew why. Nobody knew why Klal Yisroel suffered such galus, al mah avdah ha'aretz, davar zeh. Amru chachamim — it's a Gemara in two places. It's a Gemara in Bava Metzia, daf pei hei amud aleph, leading to amud beis, as well as a Gemara in Nedarim, also pei hei. Zogt the Gemara, al mah avdah ha'aretz? Amru chachamim, v'lo פירשו. Amru neviim v'lo פירשו, ad she'pirsheh HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Till the Ribono Shel Olam directly told us, shene'emar, Vayomer Hashem, al azvam es Torasi asher nasati lifneihem. They left the Torah. Says Rashi, what do you mean? But it says clearly they were osek baTorah. It says clearly that that dor, they were osek baTorah. So what's the pshat? Lo birchu baTorah techilah. I'm sorry, the Gemara: Amar Rav, shelo birchu baTorah techilah. Zogt Rashi, what does that mean? K'shehayu oskin baTorah, hayah mevarech lifaneha. They didn't make the bracha before, and the bracha that you're mechuyav to make, that we darshen, asher nasan lanu Toras emes, lefaneha, divrei Torah. So l'choirah, fregt zich the kasha: what is birchas haTorah? It's machlokes Rishonim. The Rambam holds birchas haTorah is only midrabbanan. There's no chiyuv min haTorah to make it. I, we learn from a pasuk, like Rashi says, it's asmachta b'alma. The Ramban in the mitzvos and the shorashim says no, he's cholek on the Rambam. And he learns that it's a mitzvah. We learn from a pasuk. The pasuk says clearly, you're supposed to be mevarech. We make the bracha. We even learn Birchas Hamazon, we learn. Ufonel, achareha, we learn from there. So the shaylah is, is it a de'oraisa, d'rabbanan? Some machlokes Rishonim. So if it's a d'rabbanan, so they waive on a d'rabbanan. And if it's a de'oraisa, at best it's an aseh. Al ma avda ha'aretz? So for this, they got such punishment, for this the churban, for this we got thrown out of Eretz Yisrael, for this we were exiled in galus, in the bitter galus. Al ma avda... the land became desecrated, avda ha'aretz, of us, of our Birchas HaTorah. So Avadia Rashi, the last two words, stam yeduah, answers this kasha. V'keivan d'lo mevarchi, gali da'ataihu she'eina matanah chashuvah lahem. It's not the fact that they didn't make Birchas HaTorah; it's what's behind it. The fact that they weren't machshiv the matanah is the reason why they didn't make Birchas HaTorah, and because of that, was avda ha'aretz. You know, rabosai, I want to tell you that there's a big machlokes: what is Birchas HaTorah? Pashut, it's a birchas hamitzvos. Pashut, it's a birchas hamitzvos. The Brisker Rav says it can't be a birchas hamitzvos, v'halachah... Women are not mechuyiv in Talmud Torah, and still they make a bracha of birchas haTorah. So how could it be, if it's a birchas hamitzvah, women are mechuyiv to make birchas haTorah? So there's a Beis Halevi bemes that says they do have a mitzvah, Talmud Torah, lageya to the mitzvahs that are nogeia to them. That's in Parshas Mishpatim, a very famous Beis Halevi. In the schools they teach them hilchos Ner Shabbos; that's the chaltz mechuyav, they have to know this. Mimeila, that's their birchas haTorah. They're mechuyiv in Talmud Torah. Brisker Rav, however, brings from Rav Chaim, even though Beis Halevi is zeide said azoi, but he brings from Rav Chaim that it's not a birchas hamitzvah. Birchas haTorah is a birchas hashevach. It's a praise, the fact that the Ribono Shel Olam gave us the Torah. Notice that we don't just say asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu la'asok, or limud Torah, whatever the nusach, depending on whose nusach and who's saying it. It's a whole discussion for a different day. But we also say, asher bachar banu, and ... because it's a birchas hashevach, and that's shayach to women even though they're not mechuyiv in Talmud Torah.

They see the shvach, the greatness of the Torah. So I always wondered, what's the pshat? That it's not a birchas hamitzvos; it's a birchas hashvach. Why were they kovea the birchas hamitzvos of Talmud Torah that it should be a birchas hashvach? I mean, let's talk l'maaseh. It's not a birchas hamitzvah—yes, it is. At the end of the day, you're chayiv to make it before you do the mitzvah of Talmud Torah. So the lomdus is that they created a hagdarah that it should be a birchas hashvach. Why? Here, haveeisei the kasha: we're going to put on, you know, yeshiva bochur hat. We're going to become yeshiva bochurim with klehr and lel, all right? Very simple. We get. Put out a yesod: Shavuos means not only Kabbalas HaTorah, but it's point to stress that we have to appreciate the ahavah of Torah, the love that HaKadosh Baruch Hu showed us through the Torah. So I'm pointing out that if a person didn't make birchas haTorah, Chazal tell us we're in trouble—al mei avda haaretz?—for not making birchas haTorah. What is birchas haTorah? It's either the Rabbanan, at best an aseh, the Ramban, and the teretz of the Rashi is that the fact that they didn't make it is a siman that it wasn't chashuv by them. So I'm asking, what is birchas haTorah? What is it? Chayav it's a birchas hamitzvah. Many learn like that, pashut birchas hamitzvahs. נשים, teretz is the Beis Halevi: women also have... Talmud Torah, the mitzvahs that are neged to that. Brisker Rav, Reb Chaim HaAndershin sefer, that the pshat is the birchas hashevach. Birchas hashevach, and the Eretz ... I'm clarifying why should the birchas hamitzvahs, punkt here, be created. The Rabbanan gave it a hagdarah from shevach, and the Eretz ... is. A chelek from the mitzvah is, ... v'ahavta ... Hashem Elokecha. It's a chelek of the mitzvah, ... It's not enough just to learn; to appreciate the Torah. ... Yitaken went to what bitul Torah was. It was deeper than the bracha, ... I learned, onfarshteim, vos is limud, vos is Torah, ... Torah means to klal Yisrael. ... It's linked in the birchas hamitzvah, shevach, to appreciate and understand, and davening to the Ribono Shel Olam, v'ahavta ... I want to tell you a chiddush ... There was an adam gadol that moved from Eretz Yisrael, I would say 25 years ago, to America to become a big rosh yeshiva in a big yeshiva. He was from Bnei Brak, and he moved here. The name was Reb Reuven Fein, zicher tzaddik livrachah. ... In hakdamah to his first sefer he writes. Birchas haTorah is, this k'birchas hamitzvos. It's not even a birchas hashevach. It's a birchas hanehenin. He writes the whole halachah. It's a birchas hanehenin, just like you pick up an apple and you make a bracha. Ah, Torah is the zeh el bazeh. Achidus. You know when I understood Rav Fein, when I understood Rav Fein. I understood what he was saying when I understood who he was. The day after Rav Fein's levayah, I was zoche to be by Rav Pam. One of the days was that day after the levayah, and Reb Reuven Seifer was on the desk by my Rebbe, Rav Pam, and I commented, I said, What a loss. Rav Fein. He says, No. He says, You don't understand. The whole America doesn't understand. Those are the words of Rav Pam used. He says, You don't understand, and I'll tell you, America doesn't understand what they lost, doesn't imagine. They don't realize. Rav Fein, he says, had one thing that he wanted and enjoyed in life, just one thing: Torah, and writing his chiddushei Torah. That's all. To him, that was the einsige taanug ba'olam hazeh. That was the whole olam hazeh for him.

I think, Rebbe, you know his hakdamah? He says, No, what's his hakdamah? I said, His first sefer, he wrote, The birchas haTorah is a birchas hanehenin. Takes a certain person to appreciate the yeshnacht, the goodness Torah, and he could say the Torah is to him hana'ah, that the birchas haTorah is a birchas hanehenin. Just like you walk out and you see a beautiful flower, and you make a birchas ilanos, Klal Yisrael have gedolim, and this is what we're trying to bring out on Shavuos, and maybe that's where the inyan of the flowers on Shavuos maybe comes from, that the Torah, alein is flowers. Some have a minhag to throw the flowers on the sefer Torah itself. We all know that the Torah is considered a flower. Chazal say, how do we know that a person will be shomer the mitzvahs of nidah, which is b'tzinah? So Chazal say because Torah is sugah ba'shoshanim. It's a fence of flowers. Flowers, Torah, flowers. The giftes of ... used to say over from the Telzer Rav, What's the pshat? When you see the beauty of a flower, you can't destroy it. You protect it. Klal Yisrael sees the Torah, it's a flower, sugah, sugah. It's a fence of flowers that protects us, but we keep the Torah. Beauty. ... from Torah. And that's maybe where the minhag comes from, that we throw the flowers onto the sefer Torah. These are our flowers, ... V'harivno, it's sweet, and to the point that Gedolei Olam made a birchas hanehenin on a shtikel vafel, on a kash on a Territz. You know, there's an interesting Kolbo. Kolbo says that there's a minhag on Shavuos to eat machalim of dvash vchalav. Now, the cheesecake, we know, and I ain't getting into the cheesecake, all right? ... Dvash vchalav, a few notes. It's a Kolbo in siman nun beis, reish. To eat dvash vchalav, and he says the reason is because Teireh is compared to dvash vchalav, dvash vchalav tachas leshoneich. I say, there's a chaynel of bracha, he asks, Teireh is compared to many things. Teireh is compared to shemen zayis, maybe we should have latkes. What's the dvash vchalav, right? So maybe you want to put into the cheesecake a little olive oil. Okay, I'm not recommending that recipe. But v'vanit kumt az dvash vchalav, not shemen. Frekt, zei, don't kashya. Te'enim, we have many things that the Teireh is compared to. I would say a pashte zach, I say. Avadeh it's compared to many things, but we're trying to bring out one nekudah, and that is the ziskeit from Teireh, the sweetness of the Teireh. Dvash vchalav tachas leshoneich. Zei ga kin kumt in cheder. You know what you put on his tongue? Dvash vchalav. Today we call it candies. It's to show him that Teireh is sweet. Yeshuis, like I said to you before, there's a special emphasis: Teirah zis, dvash vchalav tachas leshoneich. What is keser Torah, basically? I'm going to do this in one minute, surprisingly. Keser Torah is a topic that I could spend hours on, and you should also, if you have the time, spend hours doing, understanding keser Torah. There isn't another gadol, there isn't a Rosh Yeshiva that doesn't spend his life to try to interpret and explain keser Torah. I will do it for you in one second. Is it on pasht? I like pashtes, ah. Did I not tell you that Matan Torah is yishakeni min shikos pihu? Did I not tell you that till today we long, like Rashi says, we long for that yishakeni min shikos pihu that we had by Matan Torah? Zohar says every chiddush Torah that a mechadesh goes up, HaKadosh Baruch Hu takes it and kisses it. From that, it sparkles, ksar diamonds, jewels, onto the head of the people who are learning and mechadesh Torah. I need not say more what keser Torah is. Keser Torah is the yishakeni.

Chikah is pihu. That's what חספא. But this Shlomo is showing us, you know, Rabbeisei, it's not the size of the diamond. Every woman will tell you it's not the size of the jewelry, especially when there's no money, it's for surely not the size of the jewelry. So what is it, Rabbeisei? It's about the Isha Keini, v'shikas pihu is linked to the jewelry. Keser, avuis dal keser. Where is it? It's the Isha Keini, v'shikas pihu. This is what we talk about, the kesarim of Naaseh v'Nishma, of Shavuos. The Ribono Shel Olam is throwing to us kisses, for lack of a better term. Hashem throws us kisses through the kesarim. This is what Shavuos is supposed to be about, the keser of Torah and Isha Keini, v'shikas pihu. You know, we're up all night on Shavuos. Why? It's brought from the Magen Avraham. The Magen Avraham says we're up all night in siman taf tzadi daled, sif aleph, because, he brings a Zohar, we were late. We were late for Kabbalas HaTorah. And to be mesaken that we were late for Kabbalas HaTorah, we stay up all night. Rabbeisei, what's the pshat that they were late? Why were they late? Why would someone come late to Kabbalas HaTorah? It's a big event, Kabbalas HaTorah. You know, even technically speaking, it's almost impossible for such a thing to happen. Someone had to have been up for a baby. Insomnia. There's got to be people that were up. Everybody overslept. Famous shailos, yeah. So the pashut pshat is, it was maaseh yetzirah. The teretz is, ven iz kumt. On a night where you should go to sleep, that's when the yetzer hara keeps you up. On nights that you should be up, the yetzer hara puts you to sleep. This isn't the secret, rabosai, yeah? Azei zogt, azei zogt, and it was maaseh yetzirah. All right. Reb Tzadok HaKohen is vehemently opposed to say that they came late and chas v'shalom. It's deeper. They went to sleep because they wanted to be like neviim. Neviim are mekabel the chizayon through sleep, right? Only the Rabbeinu Shlolem and Moshe Rabbeinu was panim el panim when he was up. So they went to sleep to be like a navi, and therefore they slept late. Reb Tzadok HaKohen. No, no. Mishlach mitnaseh avot. ... Yeah, ... Reb Tzadok, the baal ... said a shmues in yeshiva, and he said, You know why they came late? Because that was before they were mekabel the Torah. Today such a thing could never happen. Once we know what the Torah is, you're right. ... Once this thing couldn't have happened, he says, after kabbalas ... Azei zogt ... shmues. You do have that the Chaim writes ... that if anyone would just taste ... Mesikus haTorah. He would run in the streets to, like a drunk that runs after a bottle. He's got to get his fix of Torah. Ze is a derech chayim. That's how addictive the sweetness of Torah is. You think Coca-Cola that they put there, it's supposed to be a little addictive, Coca-Cola. Why they put tons of sugar in there? I always say certain divrei Torah are not meant for diabetics. If you have a sugar problem, do not listen to my shiurim. The point being, says, zis, and it's addictively sweet. Un dos iz der pshat, that you're right, they didn't have the fazuch yet from Torah, m'meila they overslept. Years passed, I told you, other pshatim in this, that maybe most did come on time for Kabbalas haTorah, but a few didn't come. Klal Yisrael had to be mekabel the Torah all, b'vo kulam, naaseh v'nishma amru kulam. And I told you over a maaseh from Kelm. The mashgichim used to say over that Kelm yeshiva, they would wait for every bachur to show up, then they would start Shacharis. If one bachur was missing, they would close the yeshiva, go daven in the shul. One bachur? Yeah. We're not yechidim here, we're a yeshiva.

He's smiling. What? There was, you know, you see the ... period ever. Well, okay, that's what's ... Now you know why ... produced ... and tzaddikim. But it's me, it's us. The minute one is missing, it's not us. So efsher ... by Kabbalas HaTorah, most did show up. How can it be? Someone had to have been up. Yeah, I'm sure everybody. If not everyone showed up, ... okay? Dear ... in the next few moments, my eye is on the clock, I know. I would like to say a different pshat. You know, ... what does it say? ... bateirah techilah. What's the word techilah mean? So pashut means the bracha before. Rav Shach, zichrono tzaddik v'kadosh livrachah, told me, I heard this from him directly, techilah means, don't forget there are two brachos: there's ... and asher bachar banu. Techilah means they didn't make the ... the ... the techilah, the first of the two. The word techilah, you translate it to mean techilah, the ... the first of the two brachos. That's where the chisaron was, there wasn't chashiv, and meileh avdah haaretz. I would say a different pshat, only because I have to say a shiur, not that I'm arguing with Rav Shach. I would say pshat like this, chaveirim. You know what techilah is? The first thing in the morning. What was the first thing when they woke up? I think ... emes l'amito. I think Rav Shach would tell me, ... good, they made it. Chaftes Shvat, I believe Reb Shach would tell me good gezogt. You know what techilah means? What's the first thing in the morning when they jump out of bed? And I'll tell you a maise. It's a famous maise I heard from my zeide, but it's in the Bichla Chareidi. The Netziv, Reb Chaim had an argument over an esrog. Yeah, kosher, nit kosher, a whole shaila, murkav, nit murkav. The Netziv wanted to kasher the esrog because it was from Eretz Yisrael, and he was makpid on an esrog from Eretz Yisrael. Reb Chaim held there was a problem, murkav. They went into a machlokes in halacha, in sugya. B'kitzur, at three in the morning, there's a knock on Reb Chaim's door. The zeide of the Netziv... three o'clock in the morning. She thought the Netziv got sick, something happened, so he ran. He was half dressed. He came half dressed to the zeide. Are you okay? Yeah, the Netziv was fine. He was sitting in the sukkah, and he was learning. So, in fact, what was the hurry? What happened? The zeide's feeling? He says, No, I'm feeling fine. I have a raya kegen what you said with the murkav and with the mehadrin, and I hold that the esrog is takke kosher. Reb Chaim sees it's not an emergency. He says, Okay, zeide, ... and look, you're talking learning. Today they would have said, Zeide, what's bothering you foot middle of the night? Reb Chaim wasn't like that. Baruch Hashem, he didn't have a problem with that. The only thing is he had to say birchas haTorah. The Netziv put his hands on his head. He goes, What? By Einikel at three o'clock still didn't say Birchas HaTorah yet? He had such chalishas hadaas from it. He says, What? Three? You're still sleeping on a Sukkos night? Shlafst in Sukkos? Asher lo bachu baTorah techilah. You know what the problem maybe was? It's not that they didn't come on time. They probably came on time to Kabbalas HaTorah. But what's called on time for Kabbalas HaTorah? They should have been two hours early. I remember the day I put on tefillin. Remember? I couldn't sleep at night. At 5:30 in the morning, I was downstairs already with my tefillin in my hand. At 6, my father comes down and he says to me, Avraham, it's 6:30. What are you doing up? I said, I'm ready to go. He says, Ready to go? And the Torah tzaveh says, On the day that you're excited, you're putting on tefillin. You know what's called ready to go? It's not about sleeping. It's about the moment the hour comes, you're ready up and ready to go, because that's the ikar of the day now. That becomes what you're waiting for, in anticipation.

You're right, you sleep. I'm asking you, ... but it's not. It's only a heichi timtza to wake up in the morning. So then you wake up when, rabosai? Hours and hours before. You know, we say Ahavah Rabbah, and we ask the Ribono Shel Olam—another minute, rabosai, I apologize, mamash another minute—what's a Ahavah Rabbah? In order that we ask the Eibishter for Torah, we must understand the ahavah that the Ribono Shel Olam has for us in the Torah. Otherwise, we can't ask. We can't ask with such zeal and ratzon, saying, ... dafka shtein, rabosai, the ahavah, ... Izei told me a story when I was growing up that the Meshach Chochmah was once learning with a chavrusa, and they came to a hard sugya. So the Meshach Chochmah didn't know pshat. He turns to his chavrusa and he says, ... that we should get pshat. Then the Meshach Chochmah turns to his chavrusa and says, You know what? Let's, before we daven, let's figure out what we're davening exactly for. He says, What would you daven for? So the chavrusa says, I daven to the Ribono Shel Olam that He should give me pshat. He says, Slow down. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. And he gave him the mashal. You ever see a kid that cries? The mother's not here because she stepped out for a minute. So every guy comes to try to console the kid with a different thing, right? Ever notice it? So if one guy raps the crib, and the other guy gives him a pacifier, and the other guy makes goo goo goo. Yedel mensch macht a aveirah; here's mahalach on how to get this kid to stop crying, right? Usually it doesn't work. That's what the Meshech Chochma said. Usually it doesn't work. Then the mother comes in and she goes, He's thirsty, and he's a bottleוואס. And she takes him and she gives him to drink. So the Meshech Chochma, what, they're all so dumb? The teretz is, a mama mit a kind, the ahavah makes communication. That's the Meshech Chochma. Because you love your child, you understand, and the communication lines are open. Once we have ahavas haTorah, the communication lines will be open, we'll understand. That's what the Tosafos built for us. I remember telling my Zeidy, Can I say another pshat? I remember his zag was first, You always have to say another pshat. I said, You're right. I shouldn't say this. He says, No, say it. I said, Zeidy, I think the pshat is that the mama, that the child wasn't looking for everything that everyone else wanted to give him. He's not looking for the pacifier. You know what he's looking for? The mama's warm kush, does feel the kitten. That's something nobody else could give him. He wants that the mother should hug him, kiss him. Subliminally, even though he's a baby, but it might not even be the bottle either. Remember my Zeidy looked and goes, It's good that he says, Sucks good, sucks good. He was very... You know what we want from Beisai? ... That's what we ask the Eibishter. We want the ahavah that we see in the Torah. Dovid HaMelech says, Lulei sorascha sha'ashu'ai, az avadti b'oni. You know, Rabbeisai, sha'ashu'a is a toy. You ever hear a grown-up talk about playing with toys? It's a ... Imagine you came home and you see a man talking to his friend, you know, this and this. It's almost as fun as playing with a Game Boy. I don't know, ... help me out. ... Huh? A what? iPad? ... Whatever. ... All right? ... What are you talking about? You know, Rabbeisai, I thought about it for years. Why did he give a mashal of sha'ashu'a, which pashut means a toy? Some say it just means a plaything; it doesn't mamash mean a toy. ... Unfortunately, as a rav, I deal with people who are sick, and ... Unfortunately, one of the yesodos of a hospital for children is abundance of toys. Toys. Unfortunately, the kid is ... the sicker he is, they fill up ...

There is nothing that consoles pain of a child yetzatzka. Rav Elimelech is saying, yes, ... as if a kid was ... yetzatzka. Same way a kid needs a toy. Vash v'chalav tachas shoneiha, it's a candy, rabosai. You tell the Ribono Shel Olam, yeah, yeah, ... ich zuch candies. I want a candy, Eibishter. You know what candy I want? I want vash v'chalav tachas leshoneiha. I want, ... shekeinim v'nashikes pihu, that You should give me a hug. I want that the Torah should be my ... But the ... is the ... of ... ... I apologize, rabosai, I took an extra ten minutes. I apologize. Understand the importance of ... ... the Ribono Shel Olam will ... ... v'ahavta es Hashem Elokecha ... ... You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.