Rinat Chaim: Awe and Prostration with Rabbi Aaron Dovid Poston

[music] You [singing] see your [music] [singing] tomorrow [music and singing] shalom. Everybody welcome back to the debate madash. Welcome home to Torah. A warm welcome this series on is we're using the reusim that is a book written by Ravim Freedellander. Okay. And it was this particular safer is on drum roll please. It's on the high holidays uh prayers. We started in Elo and what we found was these are fundamental you know we pray every day and these are just Jewish hashkaf a Jewish outlook you can't escape these ideas are embedded in our consciousness in in what we want what we desire what we should hope for and strive for. So the words we use in the davening if you look at the bottom of page 17 he's going to discuss and define a little bit what it means and which is so awe and frustration. So the words we use now he's getting into some very coalistic terms. In fact, the uh Rabbi Flax actually discussed the idea of the four different levels going all the way from all the way down to Assa. So we have Bria Ysira and Assa. And what he's about to explain is the word yuka which is from that is all is we're asking that God um then all the works or handyworks will be in all of you. That's what we're praying for in Rash and Yamipper, right? But the truth is we want that always. This is what we're looking forward that everything that Hashem made will be in awe of him and and shall bow or prostrate themselves. Uh who all the brewing all the creatures but we're talking about a different level of Bria. So keep in mind the yera is on the aa and the bowing down is on the bria and we discussed the idea that human beings are on the aa level right the handiwork level the the world we're in whereas angels angelic forces are on the bria level he saysim now we have the villagon's view. The villagon's view is that the aa is the highest level of creation. Humans, we actually we discussed this last week. We are higher than the angels. There's going to be another way to look at it and we're going to get to that where it's the opposite. So, we have to understand both sides. the uh the explanation according to the vagon that's what it means that the mim are more perfect. So therefore therefore this idea of a is actually a higher level than prostrating in order to reach this level of all first you need it preceded with a uh hakar is a realization of God's romamus of his loftiness of his sub sublimeness if that's a word and the more you grow the more it becomes great of your recognition of Hashem then also your level of yura will increase [clears throat] therefore when we say in the that that's the goal that everything all of all of the should be in all of you because of the greatness of the recognition. It's all depending on the greatness of your recognition. So then we say that's all the creatures will even be more perfect in their service to Hashem and their recognition of Hashem the Madre whereas the level that is actually less than this which we discussed was Bria and um he says they don't have the angels do not have as profound or authentic um understanding in their relationship or in their realization of Hashem. At least they these angels, the angelic forces should at least bow down before you. At least they will prostrate themselves before you. He hit this concept of prostrating yourself. And how is it done? Your face is to the ground. Your body is lying flat on the ground. Your hands are spread out. It's a it's a it's a concept of hit batloot. My wife and I joke around. We call it the beetle program. The Beatles the B the BL program to it's a concept of self denial or self-nullification. It's basically saying you are nothing. ratut. Now, this is referring to even someone who doesn't really fully comprehend the superior or the super grandeur of Hashem in the depth or in the profoundity and uh and the details. In other words, they just have a general remember this is all according to the vagon why human beings we're dealing with details. The angels, they just they're not thinking. They don't have free will. They're not even thinking. This is in general terms. The only thing that the Bria has is superficial realization or general realization. That's why it's so easy for them to be in that state of of bowing down or prostrating themselves. And that's what it means. the is prostrate mamish to be um uh in self-denial like we said null and void. So this is what we're doing for that even the angelic forces will be in that state and therefore so basically according to the as I said that the is even greater than bria thea now there is a other opinion right and and in the cababalistic world maybe This is the mainstream that brewim that the angelic um sphere or olam is much higher. It's more perfect than than the world that we live in Lamar. Therefore, according to that opinion, you would need to say that this concept of prostrating yourself is madre. It's actually much higher level than a which we said is in the world and the meaning the problem with someone who only like human beings that we only have. So we're within the aspect of feeling marish as if we are y there's a certain it's not total absolute nullification. There's yesh involved. What's something? We feel that we're something but okay we do have awe fear but that idea of prostrating that is like I mentioned it's totally lying flat facing downwards with the arms and legs stretched. And the idea of prostrating yourself is total batus, right? It's a total nullification of who you are. So according to this explanation, the latter one, right? We said that was with the even though we're not entirely null and void and of course we're not prostrating but at least we have therefore the [clears throat] wordsim right that's the the world of isaim that means it's less than the majre It's going to be less than the angels. Okay, that's according to the second opinion. As we said, now we're getting into some world view here. This idea of of of um that's the world we're in. That includes also non-Jews and there are opinions. It also includes meaning even the herbs and the the trees the things that grow as well. So we'll call that and then below is minerals the do the inanimate objects includes everything. So this idea going back to we're asking God that all your creatures bria should prostrate themselves before you that is that's complete self-denial total submission before hashem that's the higher levelim that would be according to this opinion the bria is even greater or higher than um but what else do we ask for that we're praying and that they will form a single group to carry out your will wholeheartedly. This is our right I mean the elenu this is what we're domining for all year round. This the statement I just made where we're asking that the whole world form a single group to carry out your will is a result of all the previous requests because when there will be which we spoke about last week and on all of creation then all will completely humbled before Hashem shale then there won't be people or right in a person that has aspirations or desires aside from you know different ones aside from the will of God all that everything in creation will want to do is just the will of God with their whole hearts [snorts] and therefore it's written vasu with its s that's how it's pronounced vasu which is passive as we said it's a result it's a result of everything we had accomplished okay then we become a gura aas and it's not written the yasu with a which with the pak it implies that it was active that we did something. Okay, this is something as a result then we become a goodas and therefore we're talking about something that's going to happen automatically that you would need to do something to create this bond. that the natural result that results from everyone having this awe of Hashem and then we will all bow before Hashem. They will all be made into one bind, one unity in order to do God's will. Now I'm going to just um get into the next paragraph just a little bit. We're talking about even the nations of the world. Okay. Auda aas according to the ramto he he's going to clarify what is this auda. What do we do on on sukus? We take four species. They're still individual species. They don't become one. They're bound together, but they're not one. So, we're asking that everything should be bound together as a single group, not becoming one. It's a single unit. Just like when we take different species the mo and we actually bind them together just like we do we bind our lulaf together and yet each one of the four species are separate. So even though we're binding them together, they're not actually transforming and becoming one species. Each min each species or type remains on its own singularity and that's what it means. that all the nations are not really able they're not capable and they're not going to be uh become one in actuality in serving Hashem rais so they will serve Hashem as individuals but they're not going to be one the only thing that could be one is is amusrael is cla and we see this in a puss in 2 Samuel 7 23 who is like your people Hashem one nation on earth so we're the only nation like I just interesting Rabbi Ke was asked by a Roman how come you're not following your own Torah your own Torah says you have to follow the ro you have to follow the majority the Muslim people in the world are are idol worship worshippers. So, you're not even following your own Torah. What was his answer? It was brilliant and it was true. He said, "We are the majority." Meaning, we're the biggest group and we're all one. You have, and you can look at Christianity, you can look at Islam. Christianity has like 80,000 different sects. 80 I'm sorry, 80,000 different sects. And out of the different sects, each one has their own church. And each church says the other one's going to hell because they don't believe exactly like we believe. So they're individuals, right? Each church is an individual church. There there's no one great church. They're all they're all argue with each other. We on the other hand when we argue it's mainly superficial. We all believe in the same thing. >> [snorts] >> So he says the reason why is m so rebek had a great answer we are we are following the majority right if you let's say it's 2% if the Jews are 2% and all the others are less than half percent right even though they make up as a whole the majority but they're not a majority in of themselves so Rabbi Freedellander says He says hem. We have one purpose. We're on that level where we're supposed to understand our purpose, our true purpose, which is serving Hashem. And really in truth, we're like one person. Like when we stood at Hari, it says throughout the Torah, whenever we encamped, they encamped. They encamped. There's one place, right? When we see receive the Torah it says Israel encamped we were a single and Rashi says right like one heart one person and that's what we were like and that's what we are that each individual Jew is like an organ or a part of the of the whole of the entire congregation Knesset Israel. That's why we're called Knesset Israel, the congregation of Israel. Dainu haku is this is the gathering of all the souls of Israel. We're all one. And just three more lines. That more than this, the whole idea of the the um the unique task, the perfect task was given over only to the Jewish people to do. And when we unite for our true purpose, that even though we are parts, we're all individual parts of the whole because the souls of the Jewish people are all one. And with that, we're going to continue this. It's actually we're not having a shir next week. I have a wedding to go to, but we'll pick this up in two weeks. And um it's a lot to think about, right? This is just defining the words that we're so familiar with. We seem to only be saying these phrases, you know, in 10 days of the year, rash and yamipur. But this is hashkafa. This is something we should live with moment to moment, day to day and not just think about on rash and yamipur. And with that, I wish everyone a good week. [music] Heat. Heat. [singing] [music] [singing] [music] >> [singing] [music and singing] >> Sh. >> [music]