This meeting is being recorded. עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק. עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק
literally means like Tichleh is Lashon Vayechulu, Vayechulu means to be finished, so עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק means when there is no more pedestrian traffic, right? When literally when foot traffic ceases from the marketplace. And the Gemara says that be-yemei Chazal that depended upon the Tarmuda'ei. The Tarmuda'ei were the name of a people whose parnassah was that they would sell firewood, and people on their way home from work would, the last thing they would do before going home for the night was they'd buy firewood to be able to cook, to be able to keep their houses warm. In Sifrei Chassidus for instance, the Sfas Emes quotes from the Chiddushei HaRim, but I believe others say it as well, so they say that that's what it means al pi Halacha. What it means al pi Agadah is that mitzvas ner Chanukah is עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק that again in Halacha the simple meaning is regel meaning foot, leg as in foot traffic. But in Agadah, al pi Agadah what it means is עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק, regel lashon hergel, habit. And that Chanukah, the Yom Tov of Chanukah in general, the mitzvah of ner Chanukah in particular is to infuse an element of hischadshus of renewal into a person's life into a person's avodas Hashem. Sometimes when things become habitual so they feel stale. That doesn't have to be, but sometimes it is that way that when they feel habitual, when there's hergel when there's habit, so then there's a sense of it being stale, of it no longer being fresh. And the mitzvah of ner Chanukah is to banish that sense of being stale. Hischadshus is something that a person, hischadshus is something that we all need constantly. In order to, I guess the mashal is as follows. Let's say imagine someone is running a marathon. If his energy level gets depleted so then his pace is going to become increasingly slower, maybe he'll even drop out of the race and not finish, or maybe he'll just make the Guinness World Record for the slowest marathon in history. If I ever get in the Guinness World Record for the marathon it will be on that end of the spectrum. But if a person's energy is constantly being renewed, right? Renewable energy. If a person's energy is constantly being renewed, so then he's going to be able to maintain a constant pace in running the marathon and he's going to do the best time that he's capable of doing. In order for a person to be as productive as he's capable of being, in order for a person to maximize his productivity, so hischadshus is very important. How do we tap into that? How do we what's the source of renewable spiritual energy? So there are different answers and maybe first we'll list some of them and then try בלי נדר אם ירצה השם give an overview. One source of hischadshus in a person's life are those red letter days on the calendar which the Torah which Chazal provide which on a metaphysical level provide hischadshus. Whether it's Chanukah and again the association right of hischadshus for Chanukah of the Sifrei Chassidus of the Chiddushei. of the Beis HaMikdash. So there are zmanim which are especially mesugal to infuse us with hischadshus such as Chanukah, such as Rosh Chodesh. That is one source of hischadshus. Another source of hischadshus more on a natural plane. The first one was on a metaphysical plane, call it a supernatural plane. The second one on a natural plane is that sometimes we do need a little variety in our schedule, sometimes we do need a break, sometimes we need a vacation, which is why when the world is not in the midst of a pandemic, so then as a person needs it's entirely appropriate that a person goes on vacation, that a person has a change in routine, a change in scenery. And that is a source of hischadshus. The Rambam describes in Shemonah Perakim, he's not talking about the issue of hischadshus there, but it's a kal v'chomer in terms of his prescription. He's talking about even a bigger problem. But the Rambam talks about a person goes for a walk in a beautiful park and sees trees and flowers and it's something that revives the spirit. And that's entirely legitimate as needed. It doesn't necessarily mean that a person has to go on the most elaborate vacation to a very remote destination in order to have that change of routine and change of scenery. But that's entirely appropriate as needed. Okay, but what does one do? Is there any sort of perpetual source of hischadshus in a person's life? So Chazal darshan on the posuk in Krias Shema of והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך היום על לבבך that Chazal darshan בכל יום יהיו בעיניך כחדשים. The Torah shouldn't be like an old book, rachmana l'tzlan, a few thousand years old, but בכל יום יהיו בעיניך כחדשים. So the Sfas Emes says kedarko bakodesh, the Sfas Emes says very, very beautifully and very, very profoundly. What does that mean? So Chazal are telling us to engage in make-believe? Let's pretend that the Torah is new. That's what we're supposed to do, we're supposed to go through life with a pretense? So the Sfas Emes says clearly if the Torah tells us בכל יום יהיו בעיניך כחדשים, the Torah only instructs us to view Torah that way if that's what Torah objectively is. בכל יום יהיו בעיניך כחדשים because they are objectively chadashim. That's why בכל יום יהיו בעיניך כחדשים because objectively they are chadashim. What's pshat? I don't know how much of this the Sfas Emes elaborates, but either way it's clear what he means. The process of aging, or let's say in terms of experience, the process of getting stale only governs that which exists in time. We exist in time, so we age. We age. And we exist in time and therefore when we experience something else that exists in time, so the novelty of that experience wears off. If you have something or someone that's above time, so then there's no process of aging, there's no process of becoming stale. Since Toras Hashem, like Hakadosh Baruch Hu, is lemala min hazman, so Torah is not subject to the process of aging, it's not subject to the process of becoming stale. And that's what it means, Torah is always new. There's always a freshness to Torah. There's always a vitality to Torah. And that is the real and ultimate source of hischadshus for a person. So the question is, so then should I call the travel agent and cancel my vacation plans? So maybe, but maybe not, because a person has to be realistic. The degree to Torah is a source of hischadshus for everyone. The degree to which we experience the hischadshus depends upon the level a person's on, the degree to which he's primed himself spiritually to be able to receive that hischadshus. The Vilna Gaon, Rav Chaim did not go on vacation. Rav Chaim did for reasons of health, sometimes have to travel, but they didn't go on vacation. Why? They didn't need it. They didn't need the break. בכל יום יהיו בעיניך כחדשים. There was nothing stale about their routine that they needed a change. You open the Gemara and you get a dose of hischadshus, you get a mega dose of hischadshus. The higher madregah a person attains, so the more he derives that hischadshus from the ultimate source of hischadshus and in hachi nami the less he needs the break. But a person is supposed to be entirely realistic as to where he's holding. A person is not supposed to confuse the ideal and the real. You know, there's an ideal reality, there's the Vilna Gaon, Rav Chaim reality, and then there's our reality. And a person has to know what the actual reality is, what the facts on the ground are and make sure that what he is doing is appropriate to that. So it's entirely true that in theory there's no need for a vacation. In practice, for ruba deruba of people there is need and therefore it's the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do again on a need basis. So that's part of one of the themes of Chanukah. Okay, so בלי נדר אם ירצה השם we'll reconvene around the 12:00, those who are in private quarters and therefore appropriately maskless should feel free to supplement and spice up the virtual mesiba in any way they're so inclined. Okay rabbosai, have a good productive morning. Everyone should be well, be safe, im yirtzeh Hashem.