Rabbi Mordechai Kraft - Hashem Sees the Good, So Should We

okay we'll begin welcome everybody to back to our the Tuesday Lunch and Learn and you know I apologize for the the absence for the ATIS but I was in with a group in Poland and primarily I'm Paul a little bit in Prague but exploring and trying to understand the the Holocaust and it's you know repercussions to what it really needs to be Jewish and who we are to be a wonderful group of students of 34 students four different campuses primarily Baruch in Queens College at Delphi and it was something very special once again but it's good to be back and to continue now with our Tuesday lunch and learns and especially like to welcome my friend dahveed from Bolivia David I see that you're on over there so I want to welcome you from all the way in Bolivia and looking forward to seeing you in person so there's a - M so I want to speak today about a topic I think related to elbow right now we're in elbow and again as we're in elbow we have to start preparing ourselves for uh shoshana and introspecting and thinking into who we are and and really what a relationship with the chef is all about and there weren't many ways to to enhance our relationship with Hashem and again to work on a muna to work a bit alone and many direct ways of doing it another way is another way to enhance our relationship is really the focus on ASEAN's qualities really on what a chef views as important and and what a chef use as important gives insight to who he is and the more we have insight to who he is the more we want to relate to him and want to connect to him and and understand how good he is and not only good but how much he loves us how much he cares about us and of course these are the things we have to know about a shop he's not just the creator of the world but he's actively involved in our lives so to that end I would just like to share something from last week's parsha and barcia's for a and just to look for a moment on a little bit of the meat of a Shem and we will do a little bit indirectly but every aspect of terror gives us inside into the quality and character of a shaman of course when we see that that's what builds our Emunah and strengthens us and gives us the desires desire to to wanna connect to him I want to change ourselves to be what he wants us to be so in looking at last week's parsha we're with the Turin purchase for a in Chapter you doll 814 discusses different types of animals that are kosher non kosher and for a mammal to be kosher the posse tells us in verse 6 the cold behavior my freshest parcel o show sassá sassá today par so smiley gala bahama o Satake though it says for an animal for a mammal to be kosher it has to have two things it has to be show us a saw has been mouths gabriel what does that mean the two qualities it has two we call in English as to chew its cud and it has to have a split off again what's the aspect of these qualities the after these qualities are for us to ingest an animal just a mammal so there have to be some aspects to it which are spiritually uplifting are spiritually purifying or how should we say it spiritually elevating and what are they well if you think about it for a moment an animal that chews its cud to show its cut it means there has been more than one stomach what's the vision what's the aspect of having more than one stomach so spiritually it's the idea being symmetrical it's the idea of being happy with what it has it can take the same grain and and if it has three 5 stomachs it can chew that same grain up down up down up down it could be some Arabic up who'll be satisfied with one ass for one piece of grain for such a long period of time unlike a traditional carnivore like a lion as soon as it devours the the year it's done it just eats it and it's craving something else the animal like the cow it can keep eating and regurgitating and bring it down and eating and regurgitate so many times that it fulfills that spiritual quality of being symmetrical it's interesting it's brought down that we know that an additional Halawa it says they were not able to load those push huh more immature don't put a shore together with a donkey in the same yoke keep them separate don't when you have a yoke when you want to pull the plow or pull something don't harness together a donkey with it with it with an ox there are many different reasons why and of course there's the reason of difference in strength and we know the up the Ox will pull a different rate and that will call the donkey to have to to adjust itself and that'll cause it to chafe and to to hurt it at the arm it but there's a very beautiful reason a little bit different it says that if you think about it well a cow and a donkey have completely different internal makeup the cow is many stomachs and donkey is just one so therefore when you feed the donkey donkeys gonna fish it's green it's done the Ox is gonna be on that same bucket of grain is gonna be eating it perhaps five times longer because it's going down to each stomach and up and down up and down up and down and as a result it's gonna cause the donkey to be bits are to be pained by the fact that that's to stand next to an animal that's eating has already finished its food now and we know how unpleasant it is how uncomfortable it is that if you're watching somebody else eat and you're still hungry or you have anything yet or whatever it might be it's it cause a person SAR you know we probably think mmediately that if someone if we're eating if someone's nothing we want to share our food how could I eat and you're not eating but the the cow of the Ox doesn't know to share its food so the donkey is really sitting there in a tremendous state of discomfort because he has to watch the Ox bring it down and up bring it down and up many times but again it's spiritually a very very elevated quality of the animal because it indicates that that type of animal could be symmetric Allah says in Pergamos chapter three content with that which it has the second quality that we need to know for an animal for a mammal to be kosher it has to have the quality of it it has to have a split off free state English it has dim buttresses Parsa that's to say the hoof has to be split and what's the idea of split off the idea of split off means there can't be claws if there are no claws it means the animal can't be a grabber it can't grab something else you know just if I may just go back to the point I made before they're now putting an ox of the donkey together you know I heard once said a little bit maybe humorously but I think is not truth to it if you're not supposed to put an ox adul key together because the Ox makes the donkey feel uncomfortable because the Ox is eating five times lower than the donkey because there many stomachs we learnt for that perhaps maybe we have to be careful how we seat people at at simcoe's you know for example if first is where I'm making a bar mitzvah while we're making a wedding or whatever it might be be careful the seating arrangement how do you put people together don't put two people together if you know that they're going to be uncomfortable you have to think through that idea of course you know if we know they're gonna be comfortable obviously put them together but don't see two people together if you know that by putting them together one is gonna feel comfortable we learned that a lot Oh perhaps that actual practical expression of Oh from not harnessing and ducky and Knox together just going back to that point for a moment but the second quality then in an OL needs to have is it has to be my free sheep are so mean it has to have a a split off but hoof is the vision that the animal doesn't have claws so why is that important for an animal to be kosher not to have claws like what what's that all about so the idea is that an animal that has claws is a grabber it's a taker it predates it it's a predator it can attack another animal and grab it that's the idea of a claw it can actually use those claws to to grab something and usually is grabbing another animal an idea of a split hoof means that the animals very docile the islands very passive the animal isn't a grabber the animal doesn't take he doesn't it doesn't he's not a predator he doesn't look too robbed or to take from from other animals so a beautiful vision spiritually it's the idea of he's not a taker he doesn't look to to to look at other animals as prey he's not looking to see and in the animal kingdom what can I get from you you're looking to take care of his needs through herbs and herbivores we say and through the grains as might be but he's not looking to be a predator he's not looking to take her to say you are only there to benefit me also very beautiful spiritual quality how were supposed to to look at ourselves are we looking at the world to to take from the world take what we need are we looking to say what can I give my satisfied with what I have I'm gonna grab what you have I'm gonna be satisfied and just accept that my lot is what is college bar who gave me so spiritually these are our two qualities that are necessary of course brought hotels the ship tells us if you're to eat of the anvil Kingdom again perhaps the world was vegetarian until the flood there was only after the flood that Shem gave us permission to to ingest the animal kingdom before that we were not allowed to but once now we are allowed to use the animal kingdom for our benefit so as gem says you have to be careful there are animals that are conspiracy elevating animals that are spiritually cannot elevate and again the animals that we want to become part and parcel of our person are animals that have those two qualities that they're satisfied what they had what they have as indicated there illustrated by the fact that they more than ones stomach and they could chew their cud and they don't grab for the world they don't they don't predate they're not predators upon others and as a result they have split off let's split of indicates that they can't be close so the tour goes on in the Torah says that however there are some animals that have one sign and don't have the other side so it says it's a gum obvious our nervousness a shuffle three animal animals the camel and the are nevus which i think is translated as the hair and the chiffon translate perhaps as the rabbit these three animals animals keep Madiga rahim o third my leg a radicular cut have more than one stomach however force although he threesome but they'll never split off to maim him the creme and as a result they are impure for you to eat via so close you we have our famous animal the fuzzy or the pig ki Murphy's Parsifal it has a split hoof for low gear up but doesn't you just God Tommy who little him it describes for animals path the these are the only for Hannibal's of creation that have one sign but dona the other side the camel and the are nevus of the chiffon camel and the hare and the rabbit they chew the cud but don't split off and then you have the hozier of the pig kima freeze parcel horse butt off the dog era but doesn't shoots cops tell me look at him just as a side pointed just how fascinating it is that the torah understands the torah know there are only four such animals in creation that have one sign but don't have the other sign and the tog goes out of its way to tell us that now the kabbalah coolin says that's interesting question says Moshe obey me like how did he go this information was he an archer was he a hunter was he a trapper no was he was he is ologist that guy how did moshe obey know this only for animals in creation didn't leave one side not the other side so the mo responds and says this is her ayah this is a proof to anyone who wants to say total omission lion beat that toe is not from evidence only the creator of reality the creator of the physical world the creator of all animals could give us the information and say no matter where you travel vaad planet Earth the only four animals that have one sign not the other side are going to be these four animals I believe to this day we have not identified in animal besides these four that have one sign not the other another always attempt to define certain animals and and eventually those attempts always showing well it's really just a derivative of the cause you're driven to the pig or a derivative of one of these other animals for the same family same genus but a fascinating point is to strengthen of course on Luna information that only the creator of the world would know something think about this and to think as it builds our mood and what we have in front of the document given to us by the creative reality but what's so fascinating about the way a coach bajo expresses it that's really what I want to focus on right now in other words for an animal not to be kosher it needs to sue me for an animal to be kosher and these two signs as a Jewish cut and has to have split offs if an animal is lacking but one of these signs it's not kosher but listen to the way the tour describes these animals essa Kemal VSR nevus vez a chef on the camel and the hare and the rabbit key malaga Rehema even though they chew their cud partially free so they've done a split off yes up closer and the pig came off responsible even though I haven't has a split off low garel it doesn't chew its cud interesting why do we have to know the sign that's kosher in the animal just tell me the unco sure sign and I've Oliver I need to know tell me that the Kemal does not have split off and tell me that the Crozier doesn't show it's card I don't need to know the information about the animal that makes it kosher that's extraneous information that's information that we don't require the laws of kashrut I just have to know that it has one sign that makes it not kosher so why does the to go out of its way to tell us the sign of the animal that is kosher and not only that why does the tar go out of its way to tell us the sign of the animal that's kosher and places it first said it's this oh but it's not that why do I need to know what to begin with it just tell me what's not kosher about it and even if I can tell it's not kosher about you have to tell me the sign that's kosher first the Kemal and they are nervous of the shufflin key my llegará heimo even though the sugar card that's a closure signed partially free so it doesn't splatter split off yes Kisuke Muffy's parcel ho and the pig even though it's my forest parcel even though that it chews its cogs excuse me even though there's a split off below Gabriel it doesn't chew it's curved Tom may we look then why do we need to know that why do we know the sign of the animal that's kosher before we know the sign that's unco sure why do we even need to know at all that there's a sign in it that is kosher just tell me the sign that's not kosher that's the information we need in order to tell us and we're not allowed to ingest this particular animal I heard a very beautiful explanation I think gives insight into just the meat of a Shem even though these animals these mammals are not kosher why do you have to look at the side of negativity why do you have to first focus on the part of the animal that makes it unfit first focus on the quality be animal that's taller that's good is positive all the Kamala choose its God Wow the spiritual quality of being satisfied with what it has folk-pop it doesn't split off focus on the sign that's kosher the pig even though it's it's my fries bars it as a quality it's not a grab it doesn't cause a bird doesn't chew it's got the toe goes out of its way to demonstrate that that except wants us before you look for something which is unco sure before you look for something which is impure first focus on something which is passing them about it focus on there's a part of that animal really which is cautious which is good in other words even in the description of animals that were not allowed to eat Hashem is teach a certain aspect of how he wants us to approach this world don't look at this world through the glasses of negativity don't look at the world in a way in which we're looking to condemn we're looking to find fault look to see the positive first in anything there's going to be something positive look to see what's positive then of course when asked the modified said but of course if this quality I can't eat it but the way Shemp chooses to express these hollow cos Shem is teaching the mode of expression not just in the hollow the mode of expression is first as Shem says I'm focused on what's positive I'm focused on what's good I'm focused on that which is kosher and tell her and then of course there's a quality which makes it not kosher but the modality of a Shems expression is there to teach us that's how he looks at the world he's looking to see the hood he's looking to see the positive and of course if that's the way a Shem looks of the world it's what we're supposed to look at the world famous statement maha-rathah Tyrell home be holy Petrovic of the garnished gems ways how do we gonna show his way to resemble his personality traits have with her his personality traits there's personality traits by studying his turn a Shem looks to see the good it looks to focus on the positive that's of course we have to deal with people with our friends or Kaveri our family the world look first to see the positive then of course you know we have to have our keep our eyes open not everything is good not everything is positive but try first to see was positive that creates a individual who's emulating a chef and I think within us so beautifully by by this particular Allah are the ways expressed the turret goes on and speaks about different birds that are kosher and look about the Kulin tells us that there are twenty-four birds that we're not allowed to eat and they all share a similar quality and that quality really is is is that they're the prey on other animals the carnivores like a nature like the eagle which will eat the small animals or a raven which will eat the carcasses of other animals animals the birth that we're allowed to eat have to also exam it could not be animals that are coniferous happy animals only eat herbs and seeds or herbivores and factly the colon tells there are twenty-four of that the camera describes again in parts just a in verse 14 it describes a different type of bird that we're not allowed to eat says just to restarting to verse 12 and 13 they should know who this you should not eat from these birds you shown you should not eat honey sure the eagle a Paris I think is a type of I'm not sure exactly type of vulture maybe but Oz Nia and then lists three birds Jara the essa i a-- of ayodhya how raw we had I obviously dad let me know Rashi tells us the raw and the eye in the daya is actually the same bird but it's called by three different names at three different places around the world their first attempt seems to be emphasizing that we should how careful we have to be with this particular bird it's not to make a mistake and gives us all three names but the first name is very interesting he's called ha ha ah ha ha ah Raisch Aleph a from the worldly wrote they wrote in Hebrew means to see that's the name of this bird he's a rock not a rod like for ah from evil but raha with the hey at the end it ratio Aleph hey from the from the the root to devote to see and he's called the raha because he has exceptional vision and apparently it's a type of bird that that can spot from a thousand feet up or more a smallest of animals on the ground and swoop down on it and and and and be able to catch it an amazing gift that is given in terms of a vision and sight and so it's called a raw one who can see well and the governor Hulan and Daffy for summer him obey 63 B talks about this bird and it describes it and it says that yet deceive low your delightful though she's I mean apparently it's a bird of of extraordinary vision and then the girl goes on and says tano we're there in a bracer how good is the vision of this bird Oh Maris Bravo the row in the villa bears is well it can sit in Bothell and Babylon and it could see a dead carcass we're in Eretz Israel that's pretty good vision because bubble Babylon Texas rel but maybe there points whether we're maybe just a short distance but there could be places between bhavan or hundreds of miles apart it doesn't say exactly where in Eretz this world sees it but it could be sitting up in bubble I mean it's implying in Norma's vision here sitting in a country adjacent to Eretz it's a land of Israel not in Israel and seeing a dead carcass all the way these are having hundreds of miles away it's unclear but it's startling extraordinary question is why does the Gemara give us this description of the bird and it seems like in this description we're getting additional information as to why this bird is not cushion those we don't need this information all we know is that this bird eats meat mr. bird eats flesh it preys on other animals other birds other praised and other animals small animals like it like an eagle or a raven or hawk why why do we even need such such information what's what's the Gemara adding it seems that the Gemara is adding additional information as to why this bird is not kosher and the name rub off the name vision the name sight that it can see is giving us that additional information but what's wrong with sight what's wrong with vision it's very positive quality maybe we shouldn't buy such-and-such a bird we would have enormous qualities we'd be able to get rid of our glasses all the issues of the world our glasses one of the nice thing perfect what a gift from the Almighty never there's something negative about this bird what's negative about this bird listen to the bracelet one more time Tana we learned in a break saw of medispa Vova overdraw the vailable artist royal it could sit in babylon and see a dead piece of meat in the Velo in the land of israel what's negative about this bird is listen to the way the bird is described there's such eyesight but all can see about Eretz Israel a dead carcasses all you can see are dead animals it looks at the land of Israel a land where spirituality and brokenness seeps through the songs domes a land where there's such goodness and cressid a place where people are looking out for one another place where people are learning God's tour and living righteous lives and all this bird could see my dead carcasses undergrowth it seems that the Gemara is giving us additional insight through the name of this bird as to why it's not kosher it's vision is something extraordinary but look what how it uses this vision and uses this vision to sing negativity to see destruction to see death death that dead carcasses in the Land of Israel all I could see is death perhaps we could say that the people look at Eric's it felt like that today also certain media and institutions and government agencies looking all they can see are what's wrong with Israel death and destruction this person got killed that they don't like to see the beauty they don't like to see the way the soldiers go out of the way to save lives you know look to see the text messages that that these really are me sent to to the people in Gaza telling them get out of your apartments moms are gonna hate they don't look to see the fact that he said dumb bomb is first eye which is scatters know what you'd be hurt I don't live to see in an army which has such morality like no other army in the world how it takes care to preserve the life of those who are trying to harm us just sees death and destruction it looks to see the negativity in the Land of Israel this bird sees only death that's a negative way of viewing the world and if that seems like the Talmud is adding the canard is giving us additional insight as to why Shem wants us and know it's named one of its names as our robbed because of its vision but look how it uses its vision it uses its insufficient incorrectly that is an additional reason why it's on culture look at the world through positive eyes look to see the good don't look to see just dead carcasses in the land just see what's uplifting that's the raw ha how interesting it is that even in the laws of kashrut which you know we tend to think are about lineage fema and about just laws that sit with us and a sham and we could send so many details of instruction as to how we're supposed to live our lives and help us us to understand the way Shems looking at the world and what a Shems priorities are and how a sham looks for goodness and looks to see positivity that's what Chevis of course that's what he wants us to behave and how he wants us to relate to our world but the insight we get about a Shen Wow a sham you do looking to cease the good the positive it gives us an insight to whom were relating to whom returning to in the month of Elmo the more we understand it Shem the more we have such a desire to want to get to know him I want to connect him I want to live up to his expectations of us just want to end with a beautiful thought from a great Casilla Rebbe and that's me we call him the British upper Rebbe but did you vote I just got laid over digitally and the Rebbe Scott levy was always referred to as the defender of Israel the Alvis Leo havea swell he would always look to see what can I find it's good about other Jews and that seems to be his trade trade in the stock and trade and his trademark personality looking to see the good looking to see how great the Jewish people are and their famous story about vehicle labor Berdichev it says that one time that he was he was walking the street and I was tisha Bob and we don't Tish above it's a time when we are mourning and we don't eat we don't drink and he knows the Jew we're eating and this jewel was drinking and he was not just looking privately was doing it publicly so it says he came to the tree we approached this particular Jew he said to him I said bunny to my son maybe you forgot today's tisha bluff you know that's always you know we must be so busy so involved in your life and there's so many different tiers or responsibilities you probably forgot to these tisha buff this Jew respond he says no rabbi I know today's dish it off so obvious o'clock lady looks on them it says also you must never have learnt you don't know that you're not allowed to eat and drink and tissue buff you probably think that only applies to to Yom Kippur and to other such you know to it's such a day you don't know that it also means tisha buff I know it's only duro button is from the rabbi's you know it was created after destruction of the temple but you probably are unaware of that hallo ha you know how to eat and drink and this man responded said rabbi I'm very well aware that today is a fast day and I'm very well aware that you're not allowed to eat and drink so the rabbi bravia scoff me lady never did show of the bliss very thirsty and he says to him he said oh my son it must be your health oh you know obviously when a person has health issues so that's a reason to break too fast especially tissue bhava still abundant you know we try to be strict but if it's a health reason of course you have to either drink it must be your not of great health and that's why you're eating in and drinking today so this particular drew turns back to restock Lavery dictionary system round line I'm perfectly healthy I'm fine fact I'm I'm I'm best health I've ever been I'm perfectly strong I feel great so I survive es la vie he lists his eyes to a chef and he says to a chef he says master of the universe look down and see what a wonderful holy people of your choose your nation Israel three times I gave the opportunity to lie and still he only tells the truth Michelle look how great your people the Clive they wanna but they won't look at the meter of honesty what a nation you have that was the particular those looking at the world with such positive eyes that's looking to see that the hozier has a kosher sign their gobble has a kosher sign it's looking to see not like the raw but to see positivity and not just death of destruction that's the way Kurdish brought the looks of the world that's what he wants us to look at the world that's what I guess I claiming their dishes looked at the world and if we can do such will certainly be elevating ourselves to be the people that I shown wants us to be