Leaving the Claustrophobic Galus Behind | Parshas Vayakhel/Pekudei – Parsha Preview

0:00 We're live. Okay. Umyaka Bakudeh. It's not always read together, but the Labadrabba tells us it's always themed together. Meaning, even on the years that Vayakh and Bakude are separated because of the weeks, that's just based on the Hashkaha of the time. It's always based on Hashkaha Pratis, depending on the Shabbasim, corresponding to the Yamataivim, corresponding to which one falls out in Zelkar and Para, etc., as well as current events, there's always it's always relevant to that week. Um, but the Obav Jarab specifically points out with Vyakal Pakude that even when they are separated, they're always together. There's there's this this theme that that runs between the two, and of course they're connected with the notion of the Mishkan, right?

0:46 And finally, uh Truman Titsaba a couple weeks ago, we were given the command for the Mishkan. Oh, and we were given many details about it. But finally, in Bayakel, Mosha actually, like the process actually begins. Moshe gathers them in Vayakel. This is the day after, the day after um Yom Kippur, and Moshe gathers them and says, Okay, we're we're here, we're we're finally ready to do it. And Bakuday, all this all the everything Mammish comes together until ultimately the Shina dwells and rests in what we humans Yidin created, a Shem dwells, and it's a party, right? A spiritual, a spiritual party. So it's all very exciting. These are the parshes that it happens, and the Torah goes through detail after detail.

1:30 Um so I wanted to focus just on a specific topic, the topic of space, the topic of uh muckum, the topic of space. So there's a term that we use is called claustrophobia. So a person has a f has a fear of confined, closed spaces. Very often it's like in areas that have no windows, which is interesting to think about the spiritual like meaning of that, right? We know that Noah and the Teva, they had the Torah goes out to tell us there was a window. There's something about a window that like just like like opens things up, so it's interesting. But yeah, there's different, yeah.

2:10 So these safe rooms don't have windows. Safe room, right? Right. Yeah, people feel claustrophobic. It's funny, yeah, not funny, but yesterday there was an amber alert. First of all, during Marv, everybody got like a little scholars are buzzing. So it's kind of funny. Um, but then we were, hey, what's going on? I was just telling you. Yeah. This is um my older brother, Akiva. My twin. I learned everything we were learned. We learned together with Harusa in the womb, actually, for nine months. So he's great, great Harusa. He's just coming a cookie soda. Wow. Who came out first? I didn't know. You did, yeah.

2:51 About 30 seconds, uh, whatever, because we're we're a C-section breach. So it was in and out, but he came out I think he came out first. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, a little too a little too much. No, okay, yeah. Yeah, why don't you say hello? Hey, what's going on? That's my twin brother, Akiva. I came all the way from Archestra just for the share. Okay. Um, okay, so we're talking about Bayakel Bakuda, we're talking about the idea of Malcolm, the idea of space. That's what we're talking about. So claustrophobia, there's different uh ways that we um we kind of identify what gallus is, right?

3:37 Gaullus exile is like the classic diaspora, different like technical art school sounding terms, but it could be we could define it as claustrophobia, right? It's it's gullus represents con like a limited confinement, concealed claustrophobia, where like there's this certain fear, this sense of like you feeling feeling stuck, right? And the opposite is gaulah, where there's space. I'll give an example in Achenu, right? When we we say we have an Achenu, call it the Sunabatsarvashivya, umdin bain byin by basha, Hamakimurae, we ask Hashem to have mercy on us.

4:17 That's the first thing we say. We say, Hashem, you should take us out, mitzar from narrowness, from mitzar, borders, limitation, from claustrophobia, from gallas, right, to lervacha, to expansiveness. And then we continue, from darkness, to light. Uma shibud the gula from subjugation to gula. And these they like parallel in a row, so you could put them on top of each other, right? Mitsara, right? Narrowness and afha, darkness, and then you have shibudd, it's all one thing. It represents gallas, it represents limitation, it represents concealment, represents, I don't know what's going on, it represents there's no windows here, I can't see what's beyond.

4:58 And the bracha is that, of course, it should be in the greatest possible way, but even before that we dive in that in our in our own personal avodah, that we should experience to go from mitzara, lirvacha, to expansiveness, from the afhilah to the ayrah to the light, and then from Shibud to the G'ula. And that's what it means now to live with ga'lah consciousness, to live with the idea that even before the gula of Asulava, there's a ga'la pratice that happens in each and every one of us that we're capable of connecting to. And one of the greatest challenges of vayakel, when all of Klaisrael comes together, and there's a value in that, that's Knessas Isral, Nishma Sisraal, the value of every single, right?

5:42 It's bnai israel, every single, every single one of them. But there's a challenge in that. When everybody's together, the prat, the individual, can get lost. And so the challenge of a yaka becomes pakuday. Pakude represents the individual tafkid, pakude tafkid. Pakude literally is a reference to the pakude hamishkan, the accountings of the mishkan. The accountings were singular items that comprise the ultimate whole. But the whole was only a total of all of the prat all of the Pratim, right? All of the gold, kalazov that went in, the kasavat and the kheshis and the threads, every single thread and the lulos, every single hook, every single curtain, all of those were Pratim.

6:28 And then they they were part of this greater whole. So within the Vayakel, the challenge is Pakudeh is to find the individuality and to make the space for our own individuality, to make the space for Yenam, right? For our neighbor, our friend, our family, our spouse, children. And then the greatest level is to make space for Hakarush Baraku. Hashem is called space. Hashem is what we call Mekomushell Olam. He's the space of the world. It's not that this world is his space. Like Hashem comes down here and people could say, hey, this is, you know, this is my hub, this is my zone, this is my chill, this is my space. Hashem, Hashem is infinite, right?

7:09 So the world is in his plate, right? Hashem is Mekkomush elam. He fills the entire world. So we're we're we're like a part of that. He's called Makkum, which is fascinating because I'm jumping around a little bit, but I wanted to get to this. It says in Pirkeavos in chapter 2, Mishnah 4, it says, Hillel Oymer, Altifero Shmanat Zibor, don't separate from the Tsibor. And then it says, Al Taman Baatzmuchad Yoimusch, don't believe in yourself until the day of death. Meaning, don't be overconfident. A person, even of the greatest level, I mean, years ago there was a chief rabbi of Rome converted to like converted to Christianity, right? There was um this happened years ago.

7:51 But I'm saying a person should never fully rely on himself. His Yetzhar can always creep in. The greater a person is, Chazal tells, the greater his Yitahar is. So a person always has to be standing guard and standing proud. But then the Mishnah says, which I want to get to, I'll Tatinaschavercha, do not judge your friend. Ad Shaqielam Komos. First of all, the Mishnah is assuming he's your friend because he's your friend. He's not there yet, he's your friend. Ah, you hate him, and it's just external. Or he said something, these are just external things. But deep down, there's a part of you that likes a part of him. That's just how it is, because we're we're collectively one. We're bayakel, right? So deep down we we find the pakude, we find the tafkid, we find the individualistic uh beauty within Chavir.

8:34 He is your friend. That's the number one the Mishnah is telling us. But it says don't judge him until you reach his place. It sounds like if you get to his place, you would be able to judge him. But it's an it's not an anomaly, but it's it's like a funny thing. It's you'd never actually get to his place. So it's an impossibility, meaning you can never really judge your friend because it's impossible to get to his place. Every single human being takes up a certain amount of space in this world. It's incredible, you know, to see a newborn child. And as small as they are, right, you know, eight pounds or whatever, like they take up a certain amount of space on this planet that what did what didn't exist beforehand. It's and you know, part of the idea of populating the world, the shavasitzar of the first mitch of the Tara, Puravu, is that a person's not Litoibhayosa Adam Lavada.

9:21 We're not here to be a we're not here to be alone. We're right, we have to make space for others on this world, whether that's through marriage or whether it's through children or through relationships, friends, right? Kneil Khachavar, Aseil Kha Rav, whatever it is, we're supposed to make space for other people, ultimately creating a space for truth, for reality, for for Tara, Mitsus, and Hakarish Barak. So the mission tells us don't judge your friend until you reach his place. You never actually will reach his place because everyone has their own place. I have my mo I have my Makomo and you have your Makomo, and I will never be in your exact mokum. But there is only one being, right? It says until you get to the level of Lemkay.

10:02 So meaning if you would, in theory, become God, so then yes, you would be able to judge others. Rabbi Nachman, actually, I don't um oh it's in where is it? Oh yeah, it's in it's in um Tinyana in the second portion of Lakuti Maran. Rabbi Nachman actually says this is the essence of Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah Hashem judges. Now it's only Hashem who judges. How why only Hashem? What aren't we all why why can't we all judge? No, um it says um Lishbite, it says Lishbite Elochim, right? L'elokim, that judgment only belongs to God. Why is that? Because Hashem is Mekomushal Olam. Hashem is the is the Mekkaimushelailam, the Inha'ulam Mikhaimai.

10:43 And we're in his world, we're in his place. So the Mishnah is telling us that don't judge your friend until ad shit tagi, until you reach a level of memkaima. Meaning, in theory, if you reach a level of that you were God, who's mikkaimo, who fills the entire world, so now you obviously everyone we were in his space, so Shem knows what each of us is going through, so yes, he can judge us. But until you get to that point that you're God, which most of us I don't think we'll ever get that anyone? Let's get closer. We'll get closer, of course, but we never actually get. Are you almost there? No, you love that. Almost there. Um working on it.

11:23 Yeah, exactly. So that, anyways, that's the that's the idea of in the in the Mishnah that everyone has their own Malkum, and we have to um appreciate that space. We just read the Megillah. And in the Megillah we said, um, right, Muhammad tries to uh attack us and he has this lottery and and comes along Esther Hamalka and says, gather all. We need all Yiddin, Bayaakil, right? You need every single one of us, right? And Moshe, and not Moshe, well, he is a Bachina of Moshe, right? But Mordechai, uh Mordechai says, if you're silent, it's not like the Jews are gonna be destroyed. Don't worry, Revach Vahatsalah, Revach, right?

12:05 We've said we had Sarah Lervach, so revach space will come and saving salvation will come acher from another place, a different place. So, based on what we're describing here as the idea of making a maqum for somebody else, making um I have my maqum and you have yours, right? Is that the opposite of Hamun, who was Tsuyra Hayyhudim, right? Hamun was called it Sayur Hayehudim. So the Maral points this out. So, and that was Hamun, he said, There's no room for the both of us. It's just me over here. There's no room for Yana, there's no room for somebody else.

12:47 So I have to get rid of you. But the opposite of that is revach. The opposite of that is lervacha, is space. The the idea, the the opposite of tsur ayuddin, the opposite of the tsaros of Hamun is the revach vatsala, is to make space for another person. And I was thinking, I haven't seen this inside, but I was thinking of a drrash in that in the very pasik, revach vatsala, yamodaihuddin mi makum achr. It's specifically when you make muckm for akher, when right, when a when you make space for another, that's that's where salvation comes. When a person realizes that it's not just me and that I can now make space for him and his wants or and his mission and and what what he's going through, I can make space for that.

13:34 So that's where Rebbach, that that's where Hatzalah comes, that's where Savior comes. Yeah. When you talk about narrowness going into going into space, my mind goes immediately goes to the chauffeur. That imagery from you don't get something beautiful unless it goes through the narrow space first. Yeah, yeah. So exactly. Maybe. But yeah, 100% in terms of the imagery of the chauffeur, exactly, exactly on point. Which that's what he's a karasika. Oh, right, right. Right, right, right, very good.

14:14 Yeah, meaning, yeah. So I mean what we call out in in narrow in a narrowness, Hashem responds in expansiveness. That that that's remember, Hashem is Mikhail Mesholam, so it makes sense. Hashem knows he knows what expansiveness that that's who he is. He is Mekam Shal Oilam, he is Malcolm, he is space, he's the epitome of making space. He's the one who can judge people because he is that, he is their space. Um so it's interesting. Yisro, Yisro was a non-Jew, and he served every Avotizar. We've talked about this before. He served that he was on top of the world in that regard from his from the realm of uh physical uh you know self selfishness.

14:57 But his name is Yisra. Miloshin Yosser, more. There was a part of him that made space for Ems. There was a part of him, as much as bad and evil and shekar that he did, there was still a part of him that made space for the truth. And it's that parsha of Yisra, it's Yisro who's that that's the parsha of the National Revelation, that's the parsha of Matantira. Because the ability to be Makabo Tara is this ability to, no matter how much ego I have, which we all have because we're humans, do what am I able to, am I willing and willing to make space for something else, the ideal truth? Yisro Yisro did that, and it's interesting just to point out that in that same parsha of Yisro, Yo Ash and Yaser, in that same parsha, there's an additional uh section that's that's recorded in the Torah that was what he established.

15:50 He went to his son-law Moshe and said, Hey, you can't judge the people Levado. This was the vocus. He you can't judge the people alone. It's not good because again, the Toyba Yasadin Levah, you alone and success don't work in tandem, they they don't work together. And what's the lushun that it that it says in Yisra? It says there's actually a lush that's used, I think, in in Svarim or in Lagideh Shira when they're talking about things coming together and making sense, but the lushun is uh where is it? Here it is. Uh it says, if you do this thing that I'm telling you, Moshe, that God and Hashem will command you to do so, then you'll be able to endure.

16:36 The Gam Khal and the entire people as well, Aw mikomo Ya Vashalam. That's the lesson you use. They're gonna arrive at its destination in peace. So again, it's not a coincidence that Yisral, Yoisir, he's the one who made Makam, he's the one who made space for Mekamo Shalolam. And he, in his what he's in his words that he's saying is, Al-Mekamo Yahu Vashalam, everything's gonna be in its space. So again, Magidhi Shiram, they'll often say, like, when everything Mammish comes together, they pulled out this Tysus and this Rashi, and finally all comes together, Al-Makomo Yahu Vashalom. Everything is in its space. And in the realm of people, this is this is this is true. Al-Mukomu Yahu Vashalam, you have your maqum, I have uh my maqum, and I can't judge you because I'll never actually be in your maqum.

17:22 Ajitemi mkomo. If I was God, then yeah, I'm komushalum, and then I could judge you. That's what Shashana Hashem could judge. But we can't judge because we're not ma'kom shalom, and we'll never get to memkomo, and therefore we have to stand that I have to bite in my place and you and you're and you're in yours. But that's not the only time it says makomo. Al-Meqomo, that same lush al-Mukkum appears twice in Tanach. First time it's it appears in Yisra, like we just said, Al-Mekum Ya of Ishalam. The second time is in Tahim. In Ta'ilim chapter 37, verse 10, the Davanamelk says, the Uid Ma'at Vin Rasha, right? The Uid Ma'at a little bit longer, and he's not gonna be a Russia. What does that mean? So Al Dar Habshat, what that means is that a Russia who's doing his rishas, he's doing his wicked, if you wait a little bit longer, a little more time, he's gonna be no longer, he's not gonna exist anymore.

18:07 Or the thing that he's because it's it's short-lived, right? It's heavel have it's vanity. Hevil is like air. You see the smoke, but then it dissipates, right? So the ima'at, if you wait a little longer, vein rasha. The the risha's not gonna linger, and the the the m al says, this bainanta, and you shall contemplate al-Mikhaimo, you shall contemplate Al-Mikhaimo on his place, veineno, and he's gonna be no longer. If you think about his place, because right, the Russia was, he looked successful, look at him right now, but it's like again, it's heavel volum. You look back at a few moments later, he's not there anymore. But Rabin Achman reads this a little bit deeper. This is one of the most classic um teachings of Rabin Ahmed, which we quoted here in Raish Pebes in 282, where he talks about that every single person has an aspect of goodness, and he reads that in this word, these words of David Amel, the Uid Ma'at Vin Russia, that the Uid Ma'at, if you look in every single person, even in a Russia, there's a part of a Russia that's good.

19:01 There's a part of every single person that if you look deep enough, you'll find you'll find goodness. And it could be, you know, when we continue the phrase as the spainantal mikkomo, that this is the idea that we're supposed to make space for this. Yisra made space for Hashem, he made space for truth in his life. And we're supposed to make space for this idea that there's truth in somebody else, that there's an aspect of goodness in somebody else. There, Vayaqel, right? Rabin Ahmed, I'm quoting Rabinat, but Rakuti Muran talks about how Vayaqal Moshe, that Moshe gathered all the people, even the lowly, the lowly ones, because he realized that even in the lowly ones, Vayaqal, they have an element of alaqus, even in them, they have an aspect of godliness.

19:42 So that that the this is what leaders do. Leaders make space for a Yanam, they make space for others, and hopefully we should be able to tap into that and make space for others. I'll just end off with uh a story that I like upon this topic about, I guess, making space for others. And it was about a child who came home from school from Khaider, and he said he was learning Khumish with his father, and after every pasuk, he would say Hashem's name. The kid was reading every pasuk and he would say Hashem's name. And his father said, Why are you doing that? And his father, and the kid said, because it right, you saw two yods, right? Two dots.

20:22 Two dots is Hashem. And after every single pasuk, you look in a Khamish, right? You've got a two dots. So okay. The father said, Okay, I want to refund my this is the that's not that's the end. What's going on over here? So the father said, I want to explain to you how you realize when it's Hashem. A yud represents a yid, a Jew, right? So a yud on top of another yud, right? A yud like this, a yid on top of another yid, when a yid says, I'm better than you, and he doesn't make space for yad, and he doesn't make space for another. So then that's not where the shinah resides. That'sog, that's churban, that's destruction. That's Bainham itsarah, right? Mitsar, that's narrow straits.

21:04 That's Tsara Yudin. That's that's not what we want. The Shhina, when is it called Hashem's name when it's two dots? When they're side by side, when two yidn are next to each other, when yidn see eye to eye and they make space for each other, then you could say Hashem's name there, because then the the name, the the then Hashem's Shina is Shar. So we should all be Zoich that within the godless of Ayakel and the great um, the enormous the uh beauty of Klaysa, we should find the Bakude the the value in ourselves and make space for that the the the good part of us and make space for others as well, and ultimately make space for Akkadashbarak, which was what the Mishkun was. The Mishkan was a space that we made for Akkadish Baruch, even though he fills the world and obviously he can he he's right, he's Mikhomushaolum, but it's up to us.

21:49 The Mishkan was for us to make that space and to be to Malkir that we should be Zoha to do so. But when it be machmal or someone, say Hamakam Binacham Islam. Right? Because you don't really have anything to say to that person because you're not gonna have similar experience to them. But Hashem can comfort them because he is in that space and has experienced that level of pain or those scenarios, or it's his own loss himself. So you're hamaking when you say hamakamina, you're saying Hashem should comfort you. They use that term of hamokah. Beautiful.

22:29 It's a good part. Alright, Shkah. See you next week. We're gonna try to continue this time at eight o'clock. As the Milchamaru gets a little bit later, it'll be a little bit closer, a little bit less of a break between Marv two, um, th until Pesach, and then we'll uh we'll go from there. Shkayah.