Deep Dive July 7 2023 with Chief Rabbi Goldstein

ready think we're ready yeah we're right ready to go okay fantastic so first of all so nice to see everybody but especially to see the chief the chief Rabbi of South Africa Rabbi Goldstein and you know what a what a pleasure we'll discuss what an honor it is to have you um you know we this learning is is so beautiful you know that we're learning about Shabbos which you know Robert Goldstein is is a you know supporting the cause of Shabbos with the hold of the Jewish people what he's done is absolutely incredible but you know you know I think during this three-week period we have a we're mourning a little bit that the the destruction of the temple and really what we need to do as the Jewish people is strengthen ourselves between each other that we love each other that we care about each other we accept each other but primarily through the Torah and what could be greater than what you are all doing here today is that you're learning together that the bond that comes through learning together is no greater depth of friendship and care that comes through learning hashem's Torah together and especially about sharpness which is the central principle of the Torah and the Heart of the Torah so it's so fantastic so just like to by way of introduction to thank uh Rabbi Goldstein because Rabbi gomstein is just like you know in a world where the Jewish people is struggling and there's so much assimilation going on you know Rabbi Goldstein is is a Shining Light who who believes in trying his to put everything he has into ring sharing the the beauty of our Torah with our brothers and sisters in in a most incredible and successful way and I just wanted to thank you because I I was thinking before I came on that I was thinking that you know what you know my teacher Rabbi Weinberg book who was that was his whole life was about trying to share the the beauty of what we have our heritage and and to all those people that don't I don't for no you know fault of their own just haven't really um had the benefit of learning it but he dedicated his whole life to spreading the Beauty and the wisdom of Judaism and he used to say give me ten men and I'll change the change the world some people say 10 men need six women so we're not being uh you know um saying just then it's coming ten then Six Women he'll change the whole world would say that you know you know those ten men that rev Noah would be saying look at what he's done and look what he's doing and he's a great friend of project and Supply he's a friend and he's not only a friend who's putting this boy he's a friends who all Jewish people individuals organizations anyone who wants to really make a difference is that he's he's leading the the the troops and we just can't thank you enough Rabbi for us giving us some of your time and we are inspired no pun intended we're inspired by you and we look forward to spending to doing more and more to partnering with you more and more together so we can bring back the betamic dash the temple and we'll all be dancing in Jerusalem together with the with with the mashiach very very soon thank you so much Chief Rabbi I want to say ask Danielle just to read to say a couple of words go on yeah yeah I mean I mean so I've actually known as Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein has served as South Africa's Chief Rabbi since 2005. he is a qualified diet and has a PHD in human rights and constitutional law Rabbi Goldstein has been described as a social entrepreneur by the Jerusalem Post and featured on its list of the 50 most influential Jews on the basis of an array of groundbreaking initiatives that he has launched and led the most well known of which is the Shabbos project a global Grassroots movement that is spread to more than 1 500 cities and 100 countries around the world we are very honored to have you here with us tonight or by Dr Warren Goldstein thank you so much um thank you Daniela and thank you Rabbi Sampson uh to both of you for um for such gracious and warm words of introduction which which I appreciate very much um Rabbi Sampson thank you particularly for your for your generous comments and um you know the friendship over so many years right from the the very first year when when the Shabbos project started to spread this is in fact the 10th anniversary has started in South Africa in 2013 but I remember Abba Sampson in um you know you were one of the the the the leading forces um in uh in the U.S taking it on and and driving it with tremendous passion so thank you for your friendship and partnership over so many years and uh it's it's truly an honor to to be with you and and all of the wonderful people of our project in Spain I want to commend all of you for coming together to spend the time learning and what I would like to do I know we in the short time that we have together the next 20 min or so let me I'll share with you one or two ideas related to what you've just discussed but then it would very much like to hear your questions and comments if there's anything that I can respond to so that this is not really just a a one-way conversation um I'm speaking to you from from Cape Town in South Africa it's uh over here we're in in the middle of winter being in the southern hemisphere so we're in the middle of our winter and I know that you're in the middle of a very warm uh stretch of of Summer uh in the New York area and and in the northern hemisphere so I I envy your summit and I come to you from a bit of a windy Cape Town but nevertheless my heart feeling very warm to to be with each and every single one of you the the the the the core idea of what of what you learned you know is based on chapter one of my new book uh Shabbat day to create yourself and at the at the heart of what you've been learning is is one of the most radical ideas in all of Judaism which is that one of the the Mitzvahs that we have is nothing less than to to become uh to become like God and to be creators like God and that process is is part part of that involves reaching out to to one another with with acts of kindness and compassion and part of it involves being a Creator like him because the defining identity of God is that he created us and he created our world and he he calls upon us to be creators like him and if you think about it Shabbat perhaps one of the most unusual descriptions of Shabbat is the fact that the Mitzvah itself is framed around God's creation of the world so that um so that in in in in in in a real sense when God says to us he doesn't just say keep Shabbat he says six days I created the world and on the seventh I made Shabbat then he says to our six days create and do your work and on the seventh day make Shabbat by the the the very phraseology of the by the very phraseology of the of the Mitzvah itself we see that we are called into a parallel with God himself as a as a Creator and and and so that's a that's a very radical idea it requires a lot of time to to contemplate and to think indeed how radical it is because God is such an awesome creative Creator this entire universe and now he's saying and comparing us in our lives to him and that the work that we do daily in our lives is a work which um which which which is like him in the sense that we are also creating and and so part of the the essence of uh part of the essence of of what uh what what was trying to convey in this chapter one of the book is that and and in a certain sense this is the unusual nature of the the title of the book the book is called Shabbat a day to create yourself and and actually when you say the word you know Shabbat is a day to create it almost sounds jarring how can Shabbat be a day to create it's a day to rest but it goes to the essence of a of how we Define productivity and work you see very often and and when we we start to think of things from a western point of view we think of ourselves as we think of ourselves as as being productive and creative by creating and producing things which are which are tangible and which can be measured and pressed and things which we can touch and feel and and and but really and that is an important part of human creativity if you think of the awesomeness of human civilization the high-rise buildings the um the the the sense of of of of Medicine of architecture of of of law of Science of all of the different dimensions of of really of what human beings have created that human civilization you can feel the Godly spark of creativity in in the building of human civilization but the message of Shabbat and the message of of the Torah itself is telling us God is telling us that is only one part of who we are there's another part of who we are and that is we are called upon to create the things that you can't touch and feel and see and and those things are actually even more precious because they're really what it's about and and so it is the precious relationships that we have with our loved ones with with God himself and with with ourselves indeed that uh that that the you can't touch and and feel a relationship the love the bond that there is between parents and children between husband and wife between us and God between us and ourselves these these relationships are so precious and and yet the bonds of Love Are intangible and so too for the work of creating ourselves as creating our character the book is is based on on a particular perspective of self-creation formulated by the ramban one of our great stages from the 1300s who said that self-creation is about forming our character traits of of humility and kindness and wisdom and generosity and optimism as well as forming our attitudes and philosophies of life and so um the you cannot touch humility you can't say I'm creating humility and this is what it looks like humility is part of who you become wisdom generosity optimism these are all qualities within a person that you cannot you you you you you can have a sense of it but you can't really fully describe it and you can't really touch and feel it you cannot see it and yet they are the essence of who we are as are our perspectives how do we look at the world with belief with faith with feeling the presence of our creator with feeling the meaning and purpose of Our Lives all of this um all of this goes to to the very heart and the essence of of who we are and then the the bonds of the relationships in the lab that we feel as well as that sense of happiness that comes from life one portion of the book is devoted to Hashem gives us a formula for how to create happiness in our lives and happiness is also something that cannot be bought cannot be measured or priced it is something that we create within ourselves and it doesn't exist out there it exists within but we need the tools to develop it and to find it and to cultivate it and to nurture it and that is exactly what Shabbat gives and so part of the experience that you had now in in this learning was to delve into what does it mean to be a Creator like God there's the dimension of of the kindness there is the dimension of of the character traits and then there is the whole mandate that we have to be creators exactly like God and and that and that is the ultimate compliment when the creator of the universe who is defined by his creativity says no we can achieve greatness like him and then then we are called in fact to that greatness and that is that is a a critical message of what's about and that's why I chose to to title the book Shabbat a day to create your self which which sounds counter-intuitive but only if we have a narrow definition of productivity and we only measure the productivity in terms of chores that we can tickle for our list things which we can buy items that we can sell money that we can make and um and and and all of the the very tangible things of Our Lives Shabbat is a recognition that ultimately the things that we cannot touch are even more precious than those and we need at least this one day a week to be able to put aside all of the other things and to focus then on uh our our marriages our parenting our connection to to God our spirituality our connection to self and nurturing that that deep sense of personal wisdom so the the book um really charts the Journey of what self-creation looks like and as I mentioned to you it is it's really divided into into into three major parts the the character traits that Shabbat culta helps us to cultivate and instill within ourselves the perspectives what does what does life look like what is the meaning of life how do we understand the meaning how do we understand the why of Shabbat and then the as as a model for happiness and in the final section of the book is the impact that Shabbat makes on our lives as individuals but also as the Jewish people in every corner of the globe and that's why right at the end of the book The afterward is um is the story of the uh the the Shabbat project which really is a story that began 10 years ago in South Africa in 2013 when at the time we announced that there were many people who fell felt that it wouldn't work there was skepticism and and yet um we went ahead and went ahead with it and and the community embraced it in such a warm and beautiful way and then in 2014 created a video explaining what happened in South Africa invited the world to join and um it's had a natural and beautiful energy that has that has that has spread throughout the globe and what I've learned over the the these last 10 years with the Shabbat project is that the driving force of the Shabbat project is Shabbat itself and the fact that it's a people's movement that there are people on the ground volunteers and that it connects deeply with Amazon with all Jews I was just in Israel um just over a week ago and I presented the Hebrew version of my book to president Herzog to mem to many members of knesset and you would think you know at this right from the left all the way through to the right from you know the labor party and yeah Ted and likud all the way to Shas and you would think that that at a time of such division in Israel this uh this would have been met with the equal division that one's finding on many other issues but I I found such Open Hearts and open doors when speaking about you about people are ready for it and welcoming it um working with an amazing organization on the ground there called um that has set up habruses with soldiers and Yeshiva bakrim um you know there are there are there are a thousand kharusas that are learning the the the the the Shabbos book right my new book in the Hebrew version soldiers and and the students in yeshivas and you would think that you know you know at this time of division one would imagine that the the if you would say listen Buddha Yeshiva together with the with the soldier and let them learn about Shabbos at this time what's happening in Israel you think that's probably the worst idea imaginable and yet and yet it it it it it's been the most wonderful experience because actually in the heart of every Jew there is there's this deep connection to shabbat of course Shabbat offers the most compelling and Powerful message for modern day life in in a certain way Shabbat has the formula for all of the great challenges modern society is facing the disconnection Rising anxiety dislocation of families the search for uh for Buns of love the search for meaning all of these things Shabbat gives us the why of life it gives us the why to be Jewish the the the great assimilation crisis that we face as Jews where where the transfer of Judaism to the next generation is proving so challenging boils down to one question the question is do we have a compelling why for why to be Jewish that we can give the the next generation of Jews to say this is something that is actually worth your time and effort and and commitment Shabbat gives the why it gives the inspiration it holds everything together it's compelling but but there's something even deeper and it goes to to something which is deeply spiritual and visceral on the deepest sense of what it is to be a Jew where we're just saying the word Shabbat in in front of Jews stirs something deep inside the nashama inside the soul and it is it opens up and it connects us which is why the Shabbat project has been able to connect with Jews and former Soviet Union in Jews in in all the far reaches of the United States from Fernley Nevada to to to to L.A to New York doesn't matter which which part of the country and and it has connected was Jews in Latin America and in France and and so that there is this very deep spiritual connection which goes beyond the fact that that Shabbos provides the answers to to some of the greatest social ills that our world is facing the crisis that the world is facing at the moment the social crisis but it is even deeper it is more spiritual and and and more meaningful than that on the most deeper deepest sense of of personal identity and so you know I I I want to take some questions but before I do I want to just mention this at the heart of everything has been this um this people's movement and I wanted to to make an appeal Rabbi Samson with your with your permission and to to everyone who's listening um you know you've tasted a little bit the today in in your learning from chapter one of the book uh we we we're setting up learning groups around the book I know that Robin Myerson is on this call um Robin has has been doing the most unbelievable work with the with the that project over many years and now more recently with the book and through through Robin's unbelievable efforts they're more than 230 learning groups have been set up in North America alone with more than 4 000 copies in circulation and so so let me say this firstly the all the proceeds of the book go directly to the Shabbat project I learned this from the design of the book and you I don't know if you've seen the cover you'll see that it's a very striking and contemporary cover because I was looking for a because since the book is a fresh take on Shabbat although deeply rooted in our sources um it is I was looking for a cover that that would reflect that and I didn't want a cover of a book about Shabbat just to have two candles and and golden colors on the covers I was looking for something that would be fresh and was hard to find because some of the designers came with the designs that were too old-fashioned and others came with designs which were which were too contemporary and at none of the Holiness and then I spoke to a designer who had worked with the Shabbat project in the early years Sharon goreev who's Israeli and she I said to her Sharon and she's got a real magic touch and I said to her okay you know what would be if um you know if Steve Jobs came to to present Shabbos to the world what what would it look like and at the same time and at the same time have have uh the the ancient connection the authentic Connection to the Past so she came up with this cover with the with the the the the um simple black and white the typography but together with the word Shabbat you know embossed with the with the Rashi fund which is a very ancient Hebrew fund so they would have a touch of the new and the old the word um a day to create yourself the word yourself is actually broken in half and I've had people say was that a tampo era what happened topographical error it's certainly not is that we are a work in progress and Shabbat takes us on that journey I mentioned all of this because after Sharon did This Magnificent work on the cover she refused to take one cent from it because she said look this is for Shabbat and she said this is for Shabbat and she she won't charge for it and and we had to do four versions of it because it's it's been translated into Hebrew Spanish and French and uh and and so um for me it was it was an inspiring moment because there would be some people who would have described her as khiloni which means secular and I hate that word because every Jew is has a deep connection to Shabbos as you could see from you know from her response to it but but also because this book is all the proceeds are going into the Shabbos project but but more than that that um and you know it's it's it's it's available for purchase on Amazon and in in all of the bookstores um in the Jewish bookstores but what I wanted to make the offer on this call Rabbi Samson with your permission and and Robin maybe you know can help to work with Daniela on this we're looking to start as many learning groups as possible we have more than 230 in the United States alone there are many there are many hundreds in in Israel as I mentioned to you now through this organization Kesha UD and also the university care of organizations working in Israel um but but ultimately the Shabbos project has always been about uh people on the ground doing and creating and and so the offer that I want to make to each and every single one of you is this if you want to set up a learning group then then be in touch with with Robinson and the team and you can set up a learning group with whoever you would like it could be one two three ten people and and and we have some amazing generous donors who are prepared to help support the starting of these learning groups to send gift copies to all the members of The Learning group so that they can get started and and that can be something which which can be so beautiful and so powerful and be part of sharing messages as the talmud actually says that when when God and I'll end with this and then we'll we'll just have a few minutes for if there any questions talmud says from um the talmud says that when God said to Moses he said the Holy One Blessed Be he said to Moses I have a precious gift in my My Treasure House I'm going to tell them about it and we learn from this passage in the talmud firstly that Shabbos is a gift it is it is absolutely a gift it's it's God's gift to us it God doesn't doesn't give us Shabbos because he needs us to keep Shepherds he gives us Shabbos because it is the greatest gift for us in our lives we also learn that that if we have tasted this gift we need to share it with as many people as possible and and and part of you know the the what what I plan to do in writing the book is to share that gift but ultimately I can write the words on a piece of paper but those words need to be discussed and debated and lived and and that can only happen with Partners like you who are who ready to to to take this Vision forward and to start the learning groups to start the learning Pairs and uh and I think together you know if you do that and join me in that we we can truly change the world wow thank you so much Rabbi um don't see them just to say we're totally behind you know this is an incredible thing you're doing it again and with this new wonderful initiative and you know I see that on the chat Luciano's saying yeah I'd love to be in a group like that I think the the chief rabbi's saying okay get it together okay get it together and um get your own group and uh we encourage everybody to do that to spread the light and then to be in touch with Danielle and myself and then we'll be in touch with Robin and we can move that forward but uh of course pretty much anything you do Rabbi you have a stamp of approval from from me and from Project inspired from everybody involved with us so thank you so much and to continue spreading your light and the beauty of Shabbos and Judaism and please God we'll we'll see everybody together learning and growing and in a non-judgmental and a caring accepting loving way that's what it's all about and thank you for spearheading this movement thank you so much thank you thank you Rabbi Samson it's been an honor to be um to be with all of you and um and and and and thank you for being part of this uh part of this journey to to join a group to start a group uh it's uh ultimately you're not you know what I've I've learned over the years and I've I've um served as as Chief Rabbi of South Africa for 18 years but what I've learned over all this time is that when when we step forward and and take on leadership and I've seen this not only in terms of myself with the the leadership position I have but my philosophy is that we are all leaders and that that ultimately we can all make a difference when as a human being we take on leadership and responsibility and we look to reach out to others that the world is changed but ultimately we're the ones who who get the greatest inspiration from being leaders so my my invitation to all of you today is uh uh become leaders come forward and and let's go on this journey together and together we can change the world Rabbi Samson thank you so much to you to Daniella to to the entire team um for uh you know for your partnership and putting this together and uh thank you to to Robin for the most unbelievable work that that she's doing and uh to to all of you such an honor to be with you all the best so we have a couple of minutes for questions Rabbi Goldstein yes Yeah you mentioned the word filomi actually you can look at your recon from the word high like they wanted to support their husbands they want to support the non-philism they do their with harm labor and other stuff and education so the man can be available to do study of Torah so the heroine is the one of the providing some of the economic base and and to run I think this is the way to go you need some kironment so they're still Jewish they're still keeping this Shabbat they're still the eating crochet but they're not rabbis so we don't have separate synonym and that team we can say it's one nation that one super Garden any comments rabbi yeah look I I think ultimately the the the the best thing I've found in my experience is um even not to use any labels at all we're all we're all Jews and and and different Jews striving at different levels and um you know Shabbat belongs to each and every single one of us and I think that's the most important thing is is the sense of the the the the fact that it's a gift it's a gift to every single Jew and it is our spiritual Heritage every single Jew and I think you know the more that we can share that with others um I think that that becomes absolutely so vital