Rabbi Binyamin Yuhanan Mystical Insights Into Parashat Ekev 2

that should give us Tranquility Serenity peace of mind to actually enjoy what Hashem is giving us now because tomorrow Hashem will give us something else before tomorrow comes let me enjoy what I have today and tomorrow I'll enjoy what Hashem gives me tomorrow trying to absorb and consume everything because if I leave it over tomorrow a new blessing is going to come I'm not going to need yesterday's blessing and if we think about it the main test of a human being is 40 years because if we think about it while the person is in elementary school he doesn't have too many tests it's only when the person turns teenager in Judaism 12 or 13 is already considered adult from that moment for next 40 years these are the most difficult years of a person's life that's when he needs to fight his hormones that's when he needs to get proper education a job earn money get married have children and raise them fight against yet Temptations business dealings once a person passes those 40 years and he reaches the age of 50 52 53 most people at that age already don't go down they are their hormones are already under control they usually already happily married they already have children who already grew up they can already enjoy the benefits of their hard work so basically person's main struggle in life is 40 years these are the 40 years that we learn that Hashem tested the nation in the desert to find out what is in your heart will you ascribe greatness to yourself or to God after 50 the person already realizes I am getting older my day of death is approaching and therefore I become more serious I become more careful about what I do it's it's an it's a benefit that Hashem gives those that have gray hair that Hashem is reminding them he's giving them a free lesson every day just by looking in the mirror oh I am getting older I have to think about my future and that helps them to fight the yet the evil inclination but it is the young ones from when they turn 12 or 13 for the next 40 years that is when it is dangerous that is when the Yara is strong that is when they can make majority of their life's errors so we have to remember the lesson of this if we're not 52 53 yet we have to be careful and we have to pray Hashem please let me pass my test let me pass the 40 Years of test with a clean slate let me not make any major sins let me catch myself right away and do and fix my mistakes we should we should really pass the 40 Years of our test successfully and when we reach older age may we look back with satisfaction and sayem I had productive life now I can relax now now things are going to be more smooth now I have experience I have knowledge I know how to deal with people I know about life I have witnessed many miracles from God personally to me my trust is stronger it's so much easier to live when you already have life experience the next part of the para speaks about the goodness of the land of Israel the land of Israel the para tells us is the land that Hashem watches over constantly the the blessing first comes into the world above Jerusalem it comes when the temple was there it came through the temple through Jerusalem through the entire land of Israel and then it's spread all over it was like the the fuse box like the the point where all the electricity comes into the house and then all the wires spread to the other rooms so to it is with the world first the blessing pipeline comes to the land of Israel Hashem himself personally supervises the land of Israel all the other lands are under the influence under the supervision of ministering Angels uh under the supervision of the malim that are intermediaries so that itself creates a certain distance between inhabitants of a land and God and that is why in Israel it's so much easier to achieve holiness meaning the talmud says that the air the pure air of the land of Israel makes one smart and when we say smart it doesn't mean that you're going to get high score on Sat Origins smart means that you recognize the truths of Life the air that you breathe in the land of Israel which means when you are on the land of Israel you are connected to not only the pipeline of blessing but also the pipeline of wisdom you're connected to the source of wisdom and of course you become smart you understand things now it doesn't mean that it is actually safe in Israel you can achieve Greater Heights in Israel but at the same time where there is greater potential for good there is also greater potential for evil so in Israel you you can have this dual um reality on one hand the greatest sadim the greatest holy people are in Israel and at the same time the worst criminals are also in Israel and that is why Hashem said to the Jewish people when you are coming to the land don't think that I'm giving it to you because you're so good you just came out from Egypt and you're still being tested by me you still didn't achieve much in your um National life so why do you deserve to come into the land really you don't but there are two reasons why God gives us the land he says in this week paral and that is because my because of my promise to your forefathers and because the Nations that right now inhabit the land of Israel are very evil this is an example where the Nations that came into Israel perhaps they were not so evil outside of Israel but when they came in all their negative character traits became strengthened their wrong ideologies all of a sudden became worse and the worst Nations The Worst Behavior was on the land of Israel like we remember the story of sidom and Amora sedom and gamor the evil cities which until now are used to symbolize evil when we say s sodomy we refer to a behavior that is depraved despicable like the people of sadom and it's surprising that it happened on the territory of the land of Israel they were so bad that Hashem had to pick the whole thing up the the the whole valley and flip it upside down bury them alive and Hashem wasn't Satisfied by burying them he had to then rain down salt and sulfur until now 4,000 years later that area is still desolate it's even called Dead Sea why Dead Sea because people there were so evil that Hashem had to destroy them why were they so evil because there was such abundance of Holiness but together with holiness just like with electricity you need positive and negative together with Holiness comes opportunity to do evil and so if a person tends to bad he will find plenty of it in Israel Israel will be an example to all the nations of evil behavior and we see it to our day but at the same time if you have a tendency for good you make an effort to be on the side of good then you can access the direct pipeline of blessing of wisdom Divine wisdom and you can achieve greatness you can be the most righteous the most successful spiritual human being so our paraa praises the land of Israel and says that Hashem loves the Jewish people and Hashem loves the land of Israel and he gave the best land to his beloved children why is the land of Israel so holy and here cabalists tell us that when Hashem created the entire world he actually started with like science tells us with one point and that point expanded and they tell us where was that point that point happened to be in Jerusalem on the the site of the temple in the holy of holies on that stone that is called EV has the foundation stone the famous foundation stone which is now claimed to be in the Dome of the Rock what's the rock that we're talking about that's the rock of Evan the foundation stone the Muslims claim that that stone has significance in their faith but we say no that stone is the stone upon which Yakov slept on his way from his father's house to Lavan and he woke up and he said how awesome how great is this place this is none other than the house of God Yakov arose and he said wow I realized something this is the place where it all began this is the place where God started his creation so being the center being the origin Jerusalem the Temple and the land of Israel of course they are the closest to it and therefore they receive direct blessing and that is why it's not surprising that so many nations try to gain property in the land of Israel for the sake of their religion or whatever other reasons they give sometimes they don't even know why they want to claim the land of Israel all kinds of religions swept through Israel all kinds of Empires came to Israel and try to conquer it and uh interestingly it so happens that the land of Israel is really at the crossroads of three continents it's right there smack in the middle of everything all the trade routes it's at the corner of Africa Asia and Europe and and uniting all is the Mediterranean Sea Hashem designed the land of Israel to be in the middle of the world physical political historical and anything that happens in the physical world it's because there is a um a spiritual reality above so the reason why the land of Israel is so such a hot commodity is because in the spiritual world that is the center where God started his creation and God started his creation not with the physical world rather with the spiritual world and that means that corresponding to the physical land of Israel there is a spiritual reality that represents the origin of the universe both physical and spiritual universe and so that is why in the Torah there is a Mitzvah to live in the land of Israel because like a father who distributes uh inheritance and he tells his favorite son I'm giving you advice choose this land I know this land has good water running underneath you don't see it but I know there's water underneath there there is gold there's silver there is oil underneath I'm giving you a advice choose this land and so Hashem tells the Jewish people I'm giving you a Commandment that you should live in the land of Israel every Jew according to his ability must live in Israel settle there or at least at least visit it enjoy the spiritual blessing recharge and many Commandments are are only applicable in Israel because again you can connect to the spiritual aspect of it only in Israel because it's closer to the spiritual world if you do a mitvah here like saying Kos it still counts you still get reward you still have to observe everything but if you do a Mitzvah in Israel you are plugging into the direct spiritual connection not only that certain mitv are not applicable outside of Israel like the MIT Agricultural mitv and all the sacrificial mitv why not because it's so distant from the land of Israel that the spiritual reality doesn't allow for this connection to God so far away from the spiritual center of the world so it's recommended for every Jew visit Israel not only as a tourist to see historical sites but also to feel the spirituality of the land to connect to God to pray to meditate to go out of your way and do as many MIT as possible to create these connections to power to the spiritual world andem may we live to see this world where Hashem is going to fulfill what he promised us in this week's para and it will be when you listen to God's Commandments and you perform them that Hashem will guard for you his Covenant and his kindness he will love you and bless you and multiply you he will bless your children and the fruit of your land you will be the Most Blessed of all the people you will have no infertility Hashem will remove from you every illness and he will put them on your enemies Hashem will chase away all your enemies may we witness these blessings Bings in our lifetime may we see The Return of the Jewish people to their land rebuilding of Jerusalem of the temple coming of mssiah reestablishing this open connection to the spiritual world where even people outside of the land can clearly recognize in point we see that is a holy land that is a holy nation living on a holy land serving the holy God and they will be drawn to the land of Israel like a magnet as the talmud says at the end of days all the nations of the world will run to the Jewish people and they will beg them please teach me how to connect to the true God may we witness it may we participate in it thank you for joining have a good night and shabbat shalom