Rabbi Yuhanan Mesilat Yesharim 1.23-1.24

good afternoon we are continuing with sharing with the Miller's commentary we are on page 111 this is chapter 1.23. mrim says that David says Hashem there is only one thing that I ask of Hashem and that is what I seek to sit in the house of Hashem all the days of my my life says that David Miller uses two terms here he asks of Hashem and he seeks David asks for many things in tahili but this is the thing that he asked for most fervently seeking is even more than asking it implies doing whatever it takes to Endeavor to find it and the sign that you really want what you're asking for is if you go and do an action if you just say I would like to be I would like to get I would like to become but you don't do anything that means you really don't want but if you ask and then you search seek that shows that you really want what is he asking for and willing to seek he wants to sit in the house of Hashem all the days of his life that is a remarkable statement from the King King David where else do we find a king who doesn't want to sit on his throne in the palace doesn't want to be on the battlefield parade but rather he wants to sit in a house of God David was one of the most active people who ever lived he was a general a warrior and organizer a builder of cities the great king who ruled his Nation with the utmost devotion and he was born red just like asav he was born to do and he conquered his nature and he loves to sit and this busy man said that this is what he seeks more than anything else that he should be able to sit whenever he could as long as he could in the house of Hashem and there's a story in the talmud about what Rabbi who inherited great wealth from his father he had 1 000 cities villages with thousands of workers Fields factories and he said I'm not interested in running all that he appointed managers and he went and he learned to the point that nobody knew who the owner of all this property is and whenever he would walk on his own ground sometimes people would uh force him to work because they thought he's just a lazy bum walking without work and they would grab him and tell him work and he would never say oh it's uh I'm the boss it's my property he would be humble he would work until one of the managers would recognize him and free him so that's the ultimate in having wealth but at the same time knowing what's important in life imagine a businessman somewhere in mid Manhattan in his skyscraper office busy with big deals but his heart is back Somewhere in Brooklyn in his synagogue he is longing to get back there suppose there would be a legal holiday where would he be that is where he would be in the synagogue in the middle of Brooklyn of course if he says his yearning for his synagogue but when the legal holiday comes he is on his boat motorboat that's not sincere but David wherever he was he was yearning to come back to the house of Hashem and that is what he actually sought says that when people say yes I love to her I love learning the test is what do they do on Sundays okay fine you're working the whole week well what do you do on Sunday when you're off do you say oh it's my only day off therefore I have errands to run I have to spend time with my family my children shopping everything else except for tortoise so that means it's all Bluff if you say I love learning but I can't because I work full-time so then such a person will be found in the synagogue on a Friday night after the meal he goes to the synagogue and he learns Shabbat morning before shaharir you find him in synagogue before prayer learning after the meal of Shabbat afternoon you find him not on his couch you find him in the bed midrash learning Sunday the whole day you find him in bed midrash learning such a person you can say he is Ben Torah he really loves Torah he loves learning whenever he can he learns that is his main occupation whenever he cannot he does other things of course you can be close to Hashem anywhere but one of the ways of seeking Hashem is to seek out this kind of geographical closeness the physical closeness of sitting in the house of Hashem can be used as a means of attaining actual closeness to Hashem as talmudin says that became surprised when he met Persian people from bavair who were old and he said I didn't know that those who live outside of Israel can live for a long time I thought only in the land of Israel you can be old live a long life why because we say in smile Hashem so that you live a long life on the land that Hashem promised to your forefathers so only in the land of Israel you can live a long line how is it possible that people in battle in Persia live a long life and the end said because these people they come to the synagogue early in the morning and they leave the synagogue late at night because they spend a lot of time in the synagogue in the big midrash it is considered for them as if they are in the land of Israel and just like the land of Israel is a sigula to live a long life so too being in the synagogue is a singular for long life so we see here that the house of Hashem the synagogue or the bed midrash is actually like you are in the land of Israel and it's as if you are in the actual house of Hashem in betamic dash so someone who enters the synagogue we bow down we with respect we don't use our phone we don't talk um mundane words as if we are in betamic dash in Jerusalem in erits Israel so it is true if you sit in a synagogue it's as if you're sitting in betamic Dash as if you are really close to Hashem in other aspects of the physical closeness which is being hinted to here is the importance of living in the Jewish community the closer you are to the center of the Orthodox observant Jewish population the closer you are coming to the Almighty Hashem loves Jewish people the more Jewish people observing Jewish people in a location the greater divine presence is in that location so before moving to a new location make sure that you have at least a minion of religious Jews who are in the same vicinity because then Shekinah will be there the blessing will be there success will be there this cannot be over emphasized it is Paramount anybody who goes away demonstrates this his heart is not in this Pursuit because he shows that there are more important things in his life those that choose their children's well-being their own spiritual well-being they choose religious community those that choose Prophet that choose money the choose Comfort they go out of religious community because they may claim there is more space how houses are cheaper fresh air but that comes at the expense of spiritual life and a person may say it's okay I'll take Hashem with me because Milo called God Phil fills the whole world with his glory but that is really self-deception because we're learning here that geography is important in this quest after Hashem if you want God follow the Jewish people follow that Kim follow the issue vote follow the synagogue the closer you are to a Yeshiva an orthodox Community the closer you live to Rabbi the better off you will be in this world and in the world to come we're on page 112 David said one thing I seek and I ask Hashem for help and I Endeavor I seek it always is to sit in the house of Hashem that's the desire that we should all have we should hope and pray and strive to be close to Hashem and the gamara says how can you be close to Hashem by being close to those that serve him those that understand him those that live their life dedicate their life for him if you're close to such people you will be close to Hashem this means comes to this means coming as close as you can physically to what represents and symbolizes the Almighty try to be in the house of Hashem as much as possible even if you are the only one alone in a synagogue or in the big midrash it says that if you missed a minion you should still go to the synagogue and pray alone because praying in the house of God is better than praying outside of the house of God learning Torah in the house of God is more important than learning Torah outside of the house of God of course you should study tour in your home also and you should carry the teachings and principles of the Torah with you in your place of business wherever you go be proud of your principles and display them but nothing equals the achievement of sitting in the house of Hashem this is one of the ideas behind the Mitzvah of when the entire Jewish population of the land of Israel and even outside of the land went to Jerusalem went to the betamic dash three times a year going up to yerushalayim for the three pilgrimage festivals in order to be close to Hashem at least three times a year 's what can be used as well to seek closeness to Hashem if one uses to remind himself of Hashem he is seeking closeness every time you put on Sid think about what you're doing in the morning you put on talit Katan think about it kiss it and say to yourself I'm coming closer to Hashem this garment reminds me of my closeness to Hashem as if I'm hugging Hashem every time you put on the feeling think I'm tying myself to Hashem I'm tying Hashem to me every time you pass a mezuzah you touch and kiss it and think inside the mezuzite says that I love God and that means I attach the love of God to my house to my most precious physical possession I attach love of God coming close to the Sages is another way to cling to Hashem as it says make for yourself a teacher find somebody and attach yourself to him and get close now there is a note at the end of the chapter make for yourself a teacher on page 174 find somebody and attach yourself to him and get close in one of his lectures it is not enough merely to avoid the wrong company but it is the utmost necessity to find the right company it talks about the Meda of hit Bode dude being by yourself how great it is to be alone how much you can accomplish by Solitude you're not gonna just chatter away your time you're not gonna laugh you sit you think about life without the phone without Idol chatter and you make plans to improve your future you can meditate you can acquire the great levels of knowledge of Hashem and then he says the following words but the best solitude the best way of being alone with yourself is in a group of wise men you hear that the best Solitude is to be together with the sages the best way to be alone is to be together with the right people even better than to be alone is to have good people next to you and so that brings us to a very big subject which Hashem wants us to study more than anything else and that is who voted back you should cling to Hashem you should be together with Hashem what does it mean that's a very important subject everybody talks about the vehicle attaching yourself to Hashem what does it mean s said every man should aspire to Perfection that's our purpose in life now Many religious Jews don't know that but listen to that great teacher he knows all about it you can believe him he said Perfection Hashem wants perfection he wants you to become the best you can become that's your job in life as it says in the midrash the purpose of mitzvot is to make you perfect in belief in Hashem in loving Hashem perfect and clinging to Hashem the very greatest form of perfection is to be close to Hashem as David says as far as I am concerned the biggest good in the world is to be close to Hashem that is the real Perfection that is the real good anything besides that anything that people think is good is only a deception it's only foolishness there is only one good and that is being close to Hashem so everything you do ask yourself is this good or bad how do I know if it's good and bad ask one question is it going to bring me closer to Hashem or further away from Hashem if it's going to bring me closer to tashem then automatically it's good if it's going to bring me away from Hashem it can even look like a Mitzvah but if it's going to bring me away from Hashem then it's not good I shouldn't be doing it what does it mean to be close to Hashem the gamara says you should cling to Hashem it means to cling to wise man and to the students of Yeshiva that's called clinging to Hashem if you hear of a man who goes out into the street looking for Hashem that he is Hashem where can he find him maybe in nature no you're not going to find God in nature don't fool yourself who knows where I'll find Hashem maybe in place where they play music I'll Be Inspired forget about it you want Hashem go to the places of Torah to associate with foreign that is closest to Hashem this is a very important principle our Instinct of looking for company really doesn't mean any company Hashem implanted in us that we want to be around people solitary confinement is the worst punishment why because we know that we need company of other people but not just any company you must spend your days in Good Company just like any desire it can be used for good or bad I have a desire to be close to people that desire can be used for good I'll find good people to be close to and even if they don't invite me I will join them I will ask to be accepted and I'll stay on the side and listen or I can misuse my desire and attach myself to bad people shalom it's worth paying double rent to live in a house next to a bentura when people move to a neighborhood and they and only then they look for a synagogue that's a tragedy first look for a synagogue for Yeshiva and then you move unless as it says make a rabbi for yourself and acquire a friend so before moving to a new community you check out is there a rabbi who I can follow and are there friends that I can be close to that are good these are the most essential things in life more important than where your house is going to be or what kind of furniture you're going to have unfortunately people spend more time looking at houses and choosing Furniture than looking for synagogues choosing a rabbi choosing a friend the most essential thing is with whom you will associate with whom your children will claim and therefore the feeling of searching for company the Instinct of the human heart you must have somebody with whom to spend time it should be utilized spend time together with Thomas and now we go to chapter 1.24 on page 112 closeness through thinking one of our primary methods of clinging to Hashem is to constantly be thinking about him this is one of the six constant mitzvot every time you think about Hashem you get a few minutes what right away you get the one Mitzvah of being aware of God you get a second Mitzvah of knowing that there are no other powers beside him of knowing that he is one and you get another Mitzvah loving God and you get another mitzvah fearing God and you get another Mitzvah staying away from sin because as long as you think about God you're going to stay away from sin so right away you get six mitzvot when you think about God when you walk on the road when you sit in your house when you go to bed before you fall asleep and as soon as you get up in the morning at all times be aware that Hashem is with you as it says you are with me Hashem you are with me and you can say it all the time I place Hashem in front of me always Hashem is with me Hashem Hashem is with me and I don't fear anyone else at all times you're aware of what I'll say just say that there is an I that sees rosenshamat and an ear that hears somebody is watching and somebody is listening you're standing in the presence of the king at all times now it's easier for us because we actually have cameras from all directions at all locations looking at us so it's easier to imagine that Hashem is right next to me and he's looking at me said if I go to the skies you are there if I descend into the depths of the sea you're there even if I'm alone in a room covered by my blankets with lights off Hashem is there and he is watching me and he is listening and he knows what's going on in my thoughts and therefore I'm with him I'm connected to him with my mind and with my body and therefore this is one form of the Perfection of connection to Hashem of course it requires a lot of practice but it is possible for anyone to achieve now on page 113 this is the basis for the halacha found in that one a Jew needs to change his clothing prepare for bed or when he wakes up and he needs to get dressed he has to be careful to cover himself because he wants to remind himself that Hashem is present and even though Hashem sees through clothing he is even better than X-ray vision so he sees you anyway so why cover yourself it's not for him it's for you to remind us that somebody is watching as if it's a human being and we are embarrassed we need to cover ourselves of course someone might ask what is the use of covering yourself with something Hashem can see through that too that is we're training ourselves to act as he as if he is there just as if someone was present we would not expose ourselves if another person was present and so we strive to feel that we are in the presence of Hashem at all times similarly one has to be careful about what he says in his home just like he would be ashamed to misbehave in his home when an honored guest is present and he is trying to make the best impression so too he has to be ashamed in the presence of Hashem at all times that is a great ideal the more you think about Hashem the greater you will be says is the True Perfection to learn to feel the presence of Hashem at all times this is a very important subject it must be studied pursued and detailed and we need more examples in order to understand how to apply it and we said yesterday that one of the ways to remind ourselves of Hashem is blessings every time we make a blessing on water on food after the bathroom we have to first remind ourselves that Hashem is standing in front of us and we're talking to him not to the Apple not to the wall we're talking to Hashem I'm speaking with Hashem and then say the blessing quoted the verse that David amelick said there is one thing that I asked of Hashem and that is what I seek to sit in the house of Hashem all the days of my life but the verse continues Hashem to see the sweetness of Hashem and to visit in his sanctuary that is called pleasure when we are in a synagogue when we embed midrash our thoughts should be how goodly how beautiful your tense the Jewish people how wonderful it is to sit in a synagogue in bed midrash has the Shalom to think when will I already go shopping or to work or wherever I may be going when I'm anywhere else I should be looking at my watch and thinking when will I be able to come back to the house of Hashem to David the greatest sweetness is to see Hashem in his mind he perceived closeness to Hashem and that sweetness was the source of his happiness the rambam explains at the end of hilhoteshuva that when a person is in love with Hashem it is as if he's intoxicated with happiness because of his intense feeling of being close to him as it says because only closeness to Hashem is called good in this world and anything outside of that that people consider good is nothing but emptiness and a vain deception emptiness heavily means the air that comes out of your mouth when you blow air out of your mouth it immediately disappears as if there was nothing everyone is pursuing what they perceive to be good or happiness in this world but they do not realize that they are pursuing heavily hot air as soon as it comes out it disappears as soon as you achieve your physical goal it's no longer wanted by you you want something else because you saw you touched it and it proof it disappeared so now you want something else the only true good is to pursue closeness to Hashem however he says do not think that now that you have heard this and you made up your mind that it is all settled rather it requires a