Nasso - Joining the People of Israel

You're listening to the weekly partial podcast with Ari Goldwag recorded with the Sham's never ending assistance in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel 5784-2024. This week's partial is partial of Naso. And in our partial the Torah tells us a very interesting idea in regards to a ger, a ger tzedek, a righteous convert who becomes part of the Jewish people, he joins the Jewish people. And whereas all other Jews have relatives, natural relatives and cousins and heirs if the person dies, so then there'll be something that they may have left over and they there'll be something that they will give to others. The money will end up in someone else's hands. When it comes to a ger so sometimes if they don't have any children, so there's no relatives, there's no cousins, no uncles, there's no second, third cousins who can take over the possessions of that ger of that righteous convert. And so the Torah tells us about a scenario where if somebody steals so the obligation is to return the item that they stole and to add on a fifth. There's a knas, a special uh extra payment that needs to be done. Slap on the wrist. They pay an extra fifth. Now, what happens if the person who was stolen from was a ger? And the ger passes away, the proselyte passes away. There's nobody to give the money to, there's no there's no relative, there's no child, heaven forbid. So the Torah tells us that in such a case interestingly, the money is to be given the the person still has to give the money. The the the thief still has to pay back. Who does he pay? He pays the cohen. He gives the money to the priest. And the Midrash explains, the Midrash wants to understand and wants us to understand the the incredible value, incredible greatness of a proselyte, of a ger. This whole section, it's in the parsha ches, and I'm only going to read a part a part of it because it's really really extensive. It goes on for pages and pages and pages talking about the great praises, the positive view that Torah has for gerim, for gerai tzedek, for righteous converts, people who will convert for the right reasons, who will convert to Judaism because they are drawn after God and after his Torah and after his people. So, I'd like to read to you a bit from the Medrish. We'll see what we can get to. We only have a certain amount of time. But, in understanding the greatness of the proselytes, understanding the greatness of how the Torah views the ger, the righteous converts, so we also can take a tremendous lesson from them and understand what it means to be someone who chooses God. What it means to be someone who's called a yirei Hashem, someone who truly fears God. We'll see a beautiful mashal, a beautiful analogy to a a wild deer that comes into the stables on its own and is shown preferential treatment because of the fact that it chose to leave the wilds and to come into the world of the domesticated animals. So, I'd like to share with you first from the very beginning of parsha ches. And maybe there'll be time to also point out some ideas outside what the Medrish says later. It says like this. Posuk says in Yeshaya chapter 14, beautiful chapter. Shuvi Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha, that's a famous chapter that we read during the times of chuva. It's shabbat chuva we read it. Return all people of Israel to God. And the possuk says there yeshuvu yeshvei betzilo. Let them return those who sit in God's shadow. Right, when we do God's will a ger, a proselyte, who comes to become part of the Jewish people comes to to be under the shade. Right now I'm in my backyard. You can see I'm in the shade. It's a very sunny day. It's a very hot day. And yet still I'm sitting in the shade of a beautiful tree. Above me is an is an olive tree. To my side is my plumeria, you can see. And you can I think see over here little olive branches growing up from the root of the olive tree. But what does it mean to sit in the shade? It means to come and be protected. Be protected from the heat. Protected from the rain. Protected from the elements. Protected from all of the negative spiritual forces that are all around us. But it's interesting the language of the possuk isn't let them come. Let the ger, let the proselyte come, but it says come back. Let them return. Yeshuvu yeshvei betzilo. Says the Malbim aid on gerim. These are the proselytes. These are the converts to Judaism. Shem bo'im l'chasonu betzilo shel Hakadosh Baruchu. That they come and they protect themselves with the shade of God, with the shade of the blessed one. Now what do they do? How do they protect themselves? How do they return? And there's a long explanation here which I'm not going to read inside, but it speaks about the fact that these are the sparks. The the convert is someone who has a Jewish soul. But it's trapped in a non-Jewish body. And so the non-Jew comes and he comes back to the Jewish people. There's a return. His soul, that spark which was lost, is brought back. Part of the reason the Jewish people have to go into exile is to bring back all of these lost sparks. Just learned about Ruth and Naomi. Just learned about Ruth, the great grandmother of David and Melech King David. And indeed we'll see that uh incredible power. I think we'll see There's so much here. And if we get to the but the incredible power of a ger bringing back the sparks that were lost from the Jewish people, bringing them back. An incredible power that he has on his children, on his grandchildren. In fact, the Midrash points out that a ger, if his daughter marries a kohen, a priest, so then his grandchildren will be priests in the Beit Hamikdash, in the Temple. And it's for this reason that the pasuk points out that if he doesn't have heirs, that the the payment needs to be made to the kohen, to the priest, because the the convert he himself has the ability, by coming and joining the Jewish people, to be like a priest. His grandchildren can serve in the Beit Hamikdash, in the Temple. So, he's returning Yeshurun Yeshurun Yisrael. He's returning to nestle in the shade of God. What is What is that done? How is it done? What is it done through? Yichayu um the pasuk says, "They will live with the the wheat with the produce." What's the dug and what's the wheat? What is the bread of the Jewish people? Says the Midrash and Talmud. The convert comes and he studies the Gemara. He studies the Talmud. And he studies the law. The Talmud represents all the halachas. All of the different specific laws that the Jewish people have 613 commandments and all of the sub commandments and everything he comes to study that. And he lives through that. He comes alive. Yifrachu agafan. Very beautifully, as I told you guys 2 weeks ago, over there there's a I have two uh vines two two grape vines. So, they come alive and as we saw, perhaps we'll see together again here, the Jewish people are compared to a vine. Because the vine is very low. The actual vine itself is very low, but it's it's branches reach up, reach far. They have an expansion, they expand and the ger also has that expansion. How? By aggadah. Interestingly, the legend says by learning this kind of study learning Midrash, aggadah, has an incredible power to inspire us. Expand our reach, our spiritual reach. So, the convert comes in he studies Gemara, he studies halachas, he studies aggadah, he understands the spiritual background behind all of the laws. Zichrikiyan Livanon. They're mentioned like the wine of Lebanon. What's this wine? Or Kodesh Baruch Hu coming with shmaisan shalgirim kiyan nasech shumnasech agavim mizbeach. So, Livanon Lebanon as we'll see represents the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple. The place where the word Lebanon is from the word lavan, which means to whiten. The Beit Hamikdash serves to whiten the sins of the Jewish people. And what happens there? What's brought there? There are special wine libations that are part of the process of every korban, every sacrifice that serves to to whiten us, to clean us off. And the gerim also they are they serve to inspire us. They serve to inspire us and their names God finds those names to be beloved, the names of the of the gerim of the proselytes. What is the idea behind this? So, this this measure is also found in another place earlier in in the in the in the Torah. And speaking about the name of Basya, Bas Paro. Basya was one of the first proselytes to the Jewish people and became part of the Jewish people, the daughter of Pharaoh. She gave the name to Mosha Rabbeinu. She pulled him in. She took care of him. Mosha, the savior of the Jewish people, was taken care of by righteous convert, Basya. And her name, Basya, the daughter of God, was very beloved to Hashem. And the name that she gave Mosha was his name for all time, Mosha. He had many other names, Avigdor, Yekusiel, many different names Mosha Rabbeinu had, but then the main name of Mosha is the name that was given by the ger. Perhaps you can understand this simply that the concept of the name has to do with the essence. The essence of who the person is. Mosha Rabbeinu, "Min hamayim meshisihu." Was taken out of the water. Mosha Rabbeinu he would his life would be inextricably bound to the concept of water. He's going to save the Jewish people by being involved with bringing a plague upon the water, which is the Nile, but he's going to be involved bringing the water out of the rock for the Jewish people and giving them water, which is the the analogy for Torah. Giving them life, giving them that which keeps them alive. Giving them sustenance. It's Mosha, "Min hamayim meshisihu." Mosha Rabbeinu, the essence of who he was was identified by Basya, by this righteous convert. And so Akodesh Borchu says, "These the name of the convert is beloved to me. The name that the convert gives the child to Moshe Rabbeinu is beloved to me." Which really means that this person by joining the Jewish people figures out the essence of life. They're called Yirei Hashem. They're called someone who fears God. They understand who is the source of life. Later on in the Medrash, which you're not going to be able to see cuz it's just there's so much material here. The Medrash refers to the fact that um goes through the whole perek of Tehillim which talks about Ashrei Kol Yirei Hashem Halelu Be'Drachav Shir HaMa'alot. That and then it brings at the end of this Shir HaMa'alot it talks about the one who fears God goes in God's ways. And at the end it mentions the fact that they they they get a blessing from Zion they get a blessing from from Jerusalem. Yerushalayim is the source of all blessing. The Beit HaMikdash the Temple. It was of course the place as we just said where our sins were forgiven. Through the carbonos through the sacrifices. But it was also the place which was the center of Torah learning. The Sanhedrin sat on the Temple Mount on Har HaBayit. And there Ki MiTzion Teizei Torah. From there the the wellsprings of Torah came forth. And the ger the proselyte who understands the essence the root identifies the name which represents the essence of the person, understands where everything comes from from Hashem. And so the the convert merits that great blessing. Okay. Says the Medrash Devar Acher Yichyu Dagim. Another explanation we said Yichyu Dagim means that they come alive through the study of Gamorah or Halacha. Another understanding how you dog on can also mean they live with the the produce through the produce. He also him kiss real. They get becomes even though his his foundation his root is comes from from outside of the Jewish people but but no says the measure. He also equal and kiss real. They become like the Jewish people themselves like the people of Israel themselves. Inseparable, indistinguishable. Come on the table as a person who says in Zachariah. Dog and the quorum. Refers to the the uses the word dog and which is used in this verse that they become enliven with produce. The word produce we find they use in regards to the quorum young people. People who are in the prime of their life. They become primal. They become prime like the Jewish people. You feel who can go off and as we said before they flower like the vineyards like the grape vines. Kiss real. Come on the table give me some to see it brings the person which we quoted two weeks ago that the Jewish people are referred to as a grape vine. So to the proselyte the gear the convert is referred to as a grape vine. What's the idea of a grape vine? So it's explained here as we said earlier the grape the grape vine is a very low plant but it extends outwards and it shoots its its offshoots extend in every direction. But it represents the fact that the convert is somebody who humbles himself. Right? They grew up in a place where everything goes or with a completely different understanding of what spiritual reality looks like and they come and they humble themselves and give themselves over to the Torah and say this is the correct way. I'm going to throw everything I'm going to throw away my past. And that's the character of the Jewish people, right? Uh byshanim gomlei chasadim Uh what are the three? I can't remember the first one, but the second one is byshanim that we're humble. That we're embarrassed. That we're not a haughty people. In order for someone to be a convert, they have to have a a tremendous amount of humility. Okay. So, the Torah wants us to know the Torah wants us to know that a convert is no different than anybody else. If a person steals from a convert person owes that person money and then he dies, you still have to pay. And who do you pay to? You pay to the coin. It's a hint to the incredible value, incredible esteem that the Torah and Hashem holds the convert in being somebody who has chosen to join the Jewish people. Now, I'd like to read to you from the second section of the measure. It says like this, "Hadov she ev sadikim." This is what the verse says. It refers to what it says, "God loves the righteous." Kach amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu in the measure, "Ani ohavei ehav." "I love those who love me," says God. Those who mikan kamah chabib Those who honor Hashem Hashem honors them. Im ohavai emosi, af ani ohavai son. The The The relationship is mutual. A ger, a convert and we can emulate the convert, of course when we choose to leave the the culture around us. Baalei teshuvah are this way as well. Those who grew up with a completely secular culture liberal culture and choose to join the the Jewish world, the firm world, the religious world. We become greater, we become more spiritual, we become more connected to Hashem. Those who honor Hashem, those who love Hashem, express it in this way, they are loved by Hashem. The Lamar Kodesh Baruch who loves Sadiqim says the magician amazing thing, why does God love the righteous? And why does God love the convert? Why does the Torah say over and over again, "Have them say gay, you must love the convert." The Torah exhorts us tens of times to make sure that we risk give the proper respect and honor and go out of our way not to cause any emotional pain to a convert. Why? Why does Hashem love the righteous? She ain't a nach love any mishpachas as the magician an interesting thing. It's not something which is inherited. It's not a familial aspect. A person is a Levi, a person is a Cohen. These are impressive things. These are things that of course we respect. We understand that we need to show honor to a Cohen. He gets the first Aliyah. The Levite gets the second. We know that they are going to serve in the base of English in the holy temple. So we have a tremendous respect for that. But that is something which is they're born into. They didn't do anything to earn that. But to be a Sadiq, to be a righteous individual individual, to be a convert, this is not something that you get naturally. This is not something that comes because of your parents or your grandparents. This is something that the individual chooses. I choose to be righteous. I choose to be a convert. I choose to be somebody who is spiritual and dedicated and and steps away from the the foolishness of the culture that surrounds us. The immaturity of the culture around us. I might say kind of I'm having a we find that the priests they have uh you know, something that they get from their father, from their father's house. And every house of Hashem is a living house of Hashem. The house of Aaron will bless God, says King David. The house of the Levites will bless God. It's a house. It's something that's to do with their house. Something that's not earned. It's not something that they chose. It's something that they were born into. But I shall be a coin and I shall be a living coin. If you wanted, you know, guy comes the famous joke a guy comes to a rabbi and says, "I want to be a priest. Make me into a priest." Rabbi says, "What do you mean?" He says, "I want to be a priest. Convert me into a priest." And finally he gets out of him, "Why do you want a priest?" "Well, my father was a priest. My grandfather was a priest." Right? Classic Jewish joke. But uh it's not something that you can you can't be converted to be a coin. You're either born a coin or you're not. I must lay out here. Lay out here and you can't be a coin or a priest or a Levite if you weren't born into that. I must lay out here like I'm a living living. I value of the house of Hashem says the measure. A person wants to be a sadik. You want to be a righteous individual. A feeling guy. You have a house of even if a person is not Jewish. From amongst the nations of the world. You want to be a sadik. You want to be righteous. It's available to you. It has nothing to do with your parents. It has nothing to do with your grandparents. The house of Hashem with Hashem. After it says the house of Aaron will praise God. The house of living will praise God. Who praises God next? Doesn't say the house of those who fear God. It just says those who fear God will bless Hashem. Which means to say that it's not something that's a family business. It's something that you got to earn. Even a person who's a tzaddik, his kids don't necessarily proceed to become tzaddikim. That's something that they themselves have to earn. They themselves have to choose. Base Hashem Yiras Hashem Atzmus Nadvo Avu LaKodesh Baruch Hu They themselves chose to be in to be from those who love God. To be from those who honor God. The fear of Hashem Baruch Hu Therefore Hashem reciprocally shows them special love. The tzaddik, the righteous individual, who has chosen that because they've chosen to become part of the Jewish people, or because they're part of the Jewish people and they've chosen to become more lofty, more spiritual. These are loved by Hashem. Never I had some I have tzaddikim. Here we get to the mashal that I mentioned earlier. I have a good Baruch Hu I have a good again. Hashem loves the converts so much. Mad Adaber Deima. What is it comparable to? The melech sh'hayah lo tzon u'v'seiyosav u'v'sason u'v'chalas ha'erev keima kolyot. There was a king and he had a whole a whole uh flock of sheep. And they would go out with the shepherd and they would come back each day. Ba'meichan nichnas tzi yachid mi'tzon. One time there was a deer, a wild deer, that came and and started to join the flock. And it would come into the king's corrals and go out with the sheep, in and out with the sheep. L'cholah ha'tzon v'ha'izim. V'hayah im she'hayah tzei l' ha tzon to the sheep and the and the goats and the the deer was just grazing with them. Nichnas ha'tzvi deer nichnas im ha'mayim. Atzmo lo zariz in mine. We kept going in and out with them. So they told the king about this deer. It's unusual. This wild deer was with all the sheep. Coming in, going out with them, grazing with them. King was very excited about this unusual situation. And he saw the deer. The king said, "I want a special shepherd to be in charge of that deer. I want you to make sure there's no It's not like the the sheep. I don't want you to do anything to it to to force it in into line. Just treat it specially. Give it extra love, extra care." And the king would say, "When the deer would come in with the sheep," he would say, "Give it extra water. Give it" It The king gave it preferential treatment. The king was in love with this deer. The the shepherd said to the king, "You have so many sheep. You have so many goats. You have so many animals. You don't give us any instructions about all the other animals. But every single day you're telling us how nicely to treat this deer." The the He's like The king is like, "Look, the the sheep, it wants It doesn't want It's not like a It doesn't really have, you know, a will of its own. It just follows wherever you go." The way of a sheep is it follows a shepherd, goes out, comes back. It's 12 in the middle of the machine. The king explained, "Look, you know I show this dear special treatment is because the deer naturally it lives out in the wilderness. And not going to come into the issue of it's not its way to come into a domesticated area. Should I not show special preferential treatment? Should I not appreciate this deer that chose to come and and and share its beauty with us and and come into the domesticated area into my corral? Do we not need to show tremendous appreciation to the convert, to the proselyte, to the Garrett Sadiq? She knew that he left his olive. He left his family. He left his father's house. He knew that he left his nation. He left all of the nations of the world. He came to us. We We the hated nation, he became part of us. He became part of our people. He left it all to him. Here below of Shamira. That's why the Torah says constantly over and over again, "Protect the Garrett. Take care of the Garrett. Make sure that you give preferential treatment to the Garrett, to the convert." There is a situation where they have to make a call to them. The Shamash sorts the people of Israel. Take extra care of them. Don't cause them any damage. He only have to listen to Garrett. It says in the Torah, "You shall love the Garrett. You shall love the convert." The Garrett likes China. Make sure you don't cause him any pain. Make sure you don't cause him You don't say words that might hurt his feelings. So, the message is very clear and I would add and I would add that it's not just true of a convert. Of course it is, but the what makes the convert special is that he chooses sidkus. He chooses righteousness. He chooses to join the Jewish people which you but not just that. He chooses to be a great individual. You don't just leave your culture, your family. It's it's it's a terrible misayan, it's a terrible situation to put oneself in to to leave one's culture, one's family often with opposition from the family. Becoming a Jew? If if a person is a Christian becomes a Jew it's a terrible thing. In Islam if someone leaves Islam, leaves the faith he's liable for death. So it's an unbelievable it's an unbelievable mesirus nefesh. But it's also true of every person, every Jew who doesn't just go along mindlessly like a sheep. But chooses to to come chooses to come in. Chooses to make himself righteous. Chooses to love Hashem. Chooses to seek yiras Hashem, the fear of God. That person is deeply loved and deeply blessed. And that person has children who are blessed. Rebbi Akiva, the great Rebbi Akiva his father was a ger. Rebbi Akiva one of the greatest Jews that ever lived. He came from the return of this amazing spark which had been lost and brought back to the Jewish people. I want to bless you. I ask you to bless me. Hashem should help us to to be able to see of course in a literal sense to show love and support for the ger, for the convert. But in a deeper sense to also recognize that we ourselves can learn something from that. Hashem should help us to be like the convert, to be like the person who seeks righteousness. To be from among those who love Hashem and who Hashem also loves. Thank you so much for listening. Have a wonderful shabbos. This podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you. For more podcasts like this, please visit www.arigoldwag.com or search on iTunes Ari Goldwag.