Daf Yomi Meilah: The Power of Loving Words and Encouraging Mussar

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. The Mishnah tells us that there's a machlokes, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer. Basar Kodesh Kodashim sheyatza lifnei zrikas damim. It leaves the courtyard of the Beis Hamikdash, this basar Kodesh Kodashim. Rabbi Eliezer omer, mo'alin bo. Rabbi Eliezer says that there is a din me'ilah because the zrikas hadam did not take effect. It left the courtyard, and therefore there is no din of zrikas hadam that could be matir. Rabbi Akiva omer, ein mo'alin bo. Rabbi Akiva says there is no me'ilah, chayavin alav mishum pigul vanosar, because the zrikas hadam was chal; it did take effect. The Gemara on Daf Zayin tells us a story. Says the Gemara, Amar Reb Shimon. Reb Shimon said, Kisha halachti likfar Pani, when I went to the place called Kfar Pani, matzani zaken echad, an older person met me, v'amar li, and he said to me, Omer hayah Rabbi Akiva, zrika mo'eles l'yotzei? Does the zrika help for the korbanos, the Kodesh Kodashim meat that left the courtyard of the Beis Hamikdash? Amarti lo, hein. I said yes, and that's what it says in the Mishnah. Uk'shebasi, but when I came, v'hetzeisi devarim lifnei chaverai, I came and I told over the story and what I said to my chaverim in the beis medrash, amru li, halo pasal hu. How could the zrika help? The korban is pasul. The zrika can't help. So how did you say that the zrika helps? Says the Gemara, U'kesheyatzasi, when I left, hirtzeisi dvarai lifnei Rabbi Akiva. I went directly to Rabbi Akiva and I told him over what I said. Amar li, he said to me, Bni, my son, אי אתה אומר כן. You can't say this. הרי המפרש חטאתו, and he brings a raya that this is not true, that the zrika is not me'al. Bni, he calls him bni. Tosafos explains that he was actually rebuking him. Rabbi Akiva was rebuking his talmid, Reb Shimon, telling him, How could have you said this in my name? You didn't understand clearly what I said. You didn't know what I meant. Why did you not challenge and correct this zakein echad? Bni, it caught my eye. He seems to give him mussar, yet he calls him bni. We find many times in Shas that Rabbi Akiva uses bni when he refers to his talmidim, bni, my child, bni, my child. Yet we find in Shas many places where Tannaim called their other Tannaim, Tannaim called other Tannaim bni. I believe, rabosai, bni is an entitlement of endearment. It's a title of kavod and love. And it's not strictly for a rebbe and a child, and not strictly for a talmid, but it could be used for everyone. Every Yid, one Yid to another, could refer to them as bni, lashon chibah, warmth. We find in Shas that actually there's another term of endearment that Tannaim used. Between each other, and that is achi, my brother. The Gemara in Yuma lamed hei says, Amar Shmaya l'Avtalyon, achi. Avtalyon was his colleague, and yet he calls him what? Achi. It wasn't literally his brother. Many places in Shas, Rabimheim, many places we find this, as they say, v'efshar lefartam, to go through each case. The Goyen brings that beautiful Chazal. When you come to Shamayim, the Gemara tells us you're asked a whole list of questions about your life, what you did. The Goyen says that there's a medrash that says we ask the person, Himlachta es chaveirecha b'diburecha? Did you make your friend royal? Did you treat him in royalty with your wording and how you spoke to him? Melech, himlachta. You need to talk to your friend with respect. You need to talk to your friend lovingly, with words. Words have a very strong impact. Now let's tie this to the parsha. The Gemara we just learned, Bni, you give mussar, you need to give mussar sweet, with love. Bni, careful the words you choose. Atem.

Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. Rashi, famous Chazal, Klal Yisrael hears the klalos and they start to tremble, and they feel hopeless. With so much klalos, how could we survive? says Moshe Rabbeinu, Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. Don't worry, you're still here. Forty years in the midbar, you've done this and that, and you're still around. Harbei hechasdim lamakom, atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. So what's the point of giving klalos? What's the point of in Yiddish, zog mishterashen, to frighten and then say, Hey, don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. The rules are here to be broken. What's the pshat? And the teretz is, Rabosai, what is mussar? Mussar is, yes, sometimes harsh, but together, together with the harsh, Atem nitzavim chizuk has to come together. Yes, there's a way to do teshuva. There's a way to fix. You're never lost. Boynish loilam, you're never lost by the Ribono Shel Olam. You know, Rabosai, hayom, Atem nitzavim hayom, hayom. The Zohar says hayom, Rosh Hashanah. Whenever it says the word hayom, it refers to Rosh Hashanah. In the yeshivas, a lot of sichos mussar, a lot of mussar shmoozin about Atem nitzavim hayom, Alter from Kelm. Maybe the pshat is in the hayom, on Rosh Hashanah we need both. We need fear, we need tochacha, we need to be rebuked, but we also need Atem nitzavim hayom, that harbei hechasdem, Ribono Shel Olam's a rachman, Atem nitzavim hayom. There's a midas harachamim. Don't be scared. Rosh Hashanah is about both. It's rachamim, it's din, but it's also rachamim, the lesson, the limud. Every word, we have an opportunity to be mechazek, to give chiyus to people. Every word we use is so crucial, and it's such an opportunity to do so much with positive words, with kind words, with love and chibah. You've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.