This shiur is brought to you by torahweb.org. Shalom Aleichem rabbosai. The three weeks are to begin soon, b'ezras Hashem, to usher in a tkufa of aveilus. Aveilus in Halacha is inseparable from teshuva. To grieve over what we've lost, whether we're speaking of aveilus chadasha, chas v'shalom, the personal aveilus when one has personally suffered the loss of one of the shiva krovim, one of the seven immediate relatives, or whether we're talking about the collective aveilus yeshana, the national mourning for the Beis HaMikdash. In being misabel, we recognize that אין מיתה בלא חטא אין יסורין בלא עוון. And for that reason, aveilus is inseparable from teshuva. Perhaps we'll take a few minutes to reflect together on some elements of teshuva, especially to jumpstart the teshuva process. What we'll talk about b'ezras Hashem has a sort of transcendent significance and transcendent importance; it's not limited to a particular historical moment or context, but me'idach gisa it's impossible, and not only impossible, it's also not appropriate to ignore the current historical moment and the current historical context. So we'll focus on the inyana d'yoma, but in a sense that's intended to illustrate themes of teshuva. When we're misvadei, before we say the Ashamnu, we preface it by saying that שאין אנו עזי פנים וקשי עורף לומר לפניך ה׳ אלהינו ואלהי אבותינו צדיקים אנחנו ולא חטאנו.
We have neither the azzus panim nor the kashyus oref to deny cheit, to avoid assuming responsibility for cheit, and on the contrary, אבל אנחנו ואבותינו חטאנו. So there are either of two qualities which can result in denial of lo chatanu: azzus panim and kashyus oref. Azzus panim means a brazenness, a brazenness that even when one inwardly knows and recognizes cheit and is aware of one's culpability, one outwardly denies, and denies even in the presence of another who is also aware of our own guilt. So for instance, Chazal tell us that חזקה אין אדם מעיז פניו בפני בעל חובו. There's a chazaka that a person doesn't have the azzus panim to look his creditor in the eye and to totally deny a debt. Tosafos quotes from the Riva that the pshat is that a person doesn't have that brazenness to deny outwardly the truth that he inwardly knows in the presence of another who knows it as well. So that's what azzus panim is: the brazenness to outwardly lie and deny even when we inwardly recognize and acknowledge. Kashyus oref, on the other hand, represents the stubbornness, even the inward refusal to acknowledge. Kashyus oref results in outward denial because it reflects an inner refusal to acknowledge and recognize cheit. אל תאמין בעצמך עד יום מותך, we're not supposed to be complacent, we're not immune to any shortcoming rachmana litzlan. That having been said and that notwithstanding, Baruch Hashem, generally speaking, we're not guilty of azzut panim. Generally speaking, that's not a quality that ever surfaces in our midst. Chazal tell us ג' סימנים באומה זו רחמנים ביישנים וגומלי חסדים, the antithesis of azzut panim is bushas panim, and that's one of the defining characteristics of a Jew. Bayshanim. ובעבור תהיה יראתו על פניכם לבלתי תחטאו, yirasa zo habusha, al pneichem, bushas panim. We are, however, truth be told, much more susceptible to kashyut oref. And the reason for that is that what manifests itself negatively when we refer to it as kashyut oref—again, this stubbornness to acknowledge our own mistakes, our own errors—that same core quality can also translate into a steadfastness, to being unyielding and unwavering in clinging to our emunah and to our messorah. The core quality is the same. It can be channeled and translate in a very negative way, rachmana litzlan, as kashyut oref, as a stubbornness, as a refusal to acknowledge, to recognize error, or it can be channeled and translate in the most sublime of fashions, that no matter what happens throughout a millennia-long galus, that we remain firm and steadfast, unbending, unyielding, principled in our commitment to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, His Torah, our messorah. So the core quality, which can be misdirected into kashyut oref, is one that we appropriately have within us. And because of that, we are susceptible to kashyut oref. We are susceptible to being kshei oref at times. Yitachen that when Moshe Rabbeinu is asking Hakadosh Baruch Hu after the egel that He should forgive us and he says כי עם קשה עורף הוא, that one interpretation of that is that Moshe Rabbeinu is saying, yes, sometimes they misuse and misdirect that quality of kashyut oref, but at its core, that's a very positive potential as well. Be that as it may, we do have a capacity for kashyut oref. We are susceptible to being kshei oref at times. In reflecting upon the past few months, we have to ask ourselves, has there been, is there an ongoing kashyut oref? K'imdumeh that it's indisputable that in terms of our—again, speaking obviously in very broad, collective terms, it's true to varying degrees at different parts of the communal spectrum—but speaking generally, communally, without those crucial nuances and differentiations, k'imdumeh that it's indisputable that we were guilty. of a certain zilzul in dealing with sakanos nefashos when the first wave or the first part of the wave or the warning signals about the impending first wave were first sounded. We didn't respond with the zrizus that sakanos nefashos requires. We didn't in a preemptive timely way take the appropriate vitally necessary precautionary and preemptive measures. The question which needs to be asked, it's not an easy question, but the question that we need to ask ourselves, when we'll say Selichos and we'll be ready to say the Ashamnu, so can we truthfully say she'ainu azai panim? I think so. But can we then continue the sentence u'kshei oref? Has there been a collective al cheit, a personal al cheit? A personal al cheit that each of us knows what his personal al cheit is? But then a communal al cheit for the indisputable zilzul that was present in our midst? קשיות עורף כשהיא בעצמה itself is a cheit, but it's also very much bechina aveira goreress aveira. Rabbeinu Yona tells us at the beginning of Sha'arei Teshuva, he talks about the רעת המתאחר לשוב בתשובה, the evil that ensues when we procrastinate in doing teshuva. Rabbeinu Yona says the best way to ensure that cheit isn't repeated is if a person goes through the emotionally existentially wrenching process of teshuva, the profound sense of remorse, the profound sense of embarrassment, v'nichamti u'voshti, that experience of teshuva serves as a bulwark, a barrier against future cheit. But if a person procrastinates, a person isn't a zariz in doing teshuva, so then he's prone to repeating the cheit. And when a person repeats the cheit, the cheit is more chamur. The cheit is more chamur because he's a repeat offender, Rabbeinu Yona says. The cheit is more chamur because maybe the first time the person was blindsided, he never dealt with such a challenge before, he didn't know how to brace himself for this challenge. But that extenuating, mitigating, not absolving, but extenuating and mitigating perspective is not relevant the second time. That's why Rabbeinu Yona has this remarkable insight. He says that Shlomo HaMelech refers to someone who repeats cheit as ככלב שב על קיאו, like literally like a dog who re-ingests that which it vomited. So look at the moshal, look at the metaphor, says Rabbeinu Yona. He's not saying that he's like a dog who ate one piece of meat and then eats a second piece of meat. No, the kei'o, when he's re-ingesting what he vomited, it's more disgusting, it's more offensive the second time than it was the first time. Kemidome that there has been in our midst kashyus oref, that we do have to own up to having been kshei oref, which is why we see playing out before our eyes exactly what Rabbeinu Yona says. Rabbeinu Yona says if a A person procrastinates in in acknowledging the cheit, in not being mit'vadeh, in acknowledging the cheit and doing teshuvah, so then that that would prevent him from repeating the cheit, and yet now we still see zilzul, despite all the suffering, despite the fact that there are so many people in our midst who are still observing aveilus of yud-beish chodesh, there's still zilzul. There are still widespread reports again in different places across the the spectrum of of of our of our wonderful Knesses Yisrael of of people who don't wear masks even when the masks are leka man depalig a vital, vital precautionary and preventive measure. People who aren't observing social distancing, ka-hena ve-ka-hena. The zilzul is repeating itself exactly what Rabbeinu Yona tells us that the ra'as hamis-akev beteshuvah is that if a person is kshei oref and doesn't acknowledge the cheit, if he doesn't acknowledge the cheit, if we don't acknowledge the cheit, we can't do teshuvah. If we don't do teshuvah, so then we're prone to to repeating the cheit. How can it be though? Let's step back for a minute and ask ourselves a a different question. How can it be that we haven't had a tremendous hissor-rus to do teshuvah be-chlal and be-frat in this parsha of of being scrupulously careful following all all recommendations? How can it be that the cost in human lives, and amongst them from within our community, has been so staggering? The amount of suffering universally and particularly in in the Jewish community has been so great. How can it be that there hasn't been a hissor-rus on our part? How can it be that we're still obstinately demonstrating a kashyus oref and that we're taki repeating Rachmana litzlan this this same zilzul? How how does that not register? How does what's happened, and not just what happened, what's happening if we're in the least bit in touch with with the state of of affairs, in the medical state of affairs in in this country? The Rambam as you know in Perek Aleph of Hilchos Avodah Zarah has a fascinating history of how avodah zarah entered the world and various stages of its development. He begins Biyemei Enosh tau ta-us gedolah. They on one level at that point were still monotheists, but they thought beda'atam hara'ah that it was ratzon Hashem to direct acts of worship to the kochavim and and the like הם עומדים ומשמשים לפניו במרום. Because after all Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as it were, has appointed them to a high and exalted position, so so presumably he wants us to to acknowledge them. The Rambam describes how it deteriorates from there and then subsequently nevi'ei sheker come and they and they claim that Hakadosh Baruch Hu instructed them to worship kochav ploni. And then at another stage, so then the nevi'ei sheker claim to receive a communication from the kochavim themselves, until monotheistic belief is totally lost and and society, the world deteriorated to crude polytheism. And then the Rambam concludes and he says that again נשתכח השם הנכבד והנורא מפי כל היקום ומפי דעתם. Hakadosh Baruch Hu was totally forgotten other than a handful of select individuals. Hakadosh Baruch Hu was totally forgotten. And he says ועל דרך זה היה העולם מתגלגל והולך the world was on this continuous... downward spiral עד שנולד עמודו של עולם הוא אברהם אבינו. There's something extraordinary about what the Rambam does not say in this perek. We're accustomed to the Rambam saying extraordinary things, but in this context there's also something extraordinary that the Rambam doesn't say. If you learn, when we learn Perek Aleph of Hilchos Avodah Zarah, if we would just have the Rambam Perek Aleph Hilchos Avodah Zarah and we wouldn't have the benefit of Chumash Bereishis or the pasuk in Yeshayahu, we wouldn't know that there had been a Mabul. The Rambam describes Enosh, Enosh, long before the Mabul. Avodah Zarah begins בימי דורו של אנוש and the Rambam describes a continuous uninterrupted descent and deterioration resulting in Hakadosh Baruch Hu being totally forgotten, excuse me, resulting in crude polytheism. So we would have expected that the Mabul was a reset button, but then unfortunately the process began a second time and there was a second go-around. No, there is no such paragraph in the Rambam. The Mabul was not a reset button. Cham and Yefes went into the Mabul, went into the Teivah, and emerged from the Teivah the same people. The Mabul didn't impact them. Even a Mabul, even literally the destruction of the entire world, doesn't necessarily automatically impact a person, doesn't necessarily automatically be me'orer a person to Teshuvah. Rabbeinu Yonah both in Pirkei Avos as well as in Sha'arei Teshuvah commenting on Hillel in the Mishnah of Hillel אם אין אני לי מי לי. Rabbeinu Yonah writes אם האדם לא יעורר נפשו מה יועילוהו המוסרים. Nothing external automatically inevitably changes a person. אם האדם לא יעורר נפשו, if a person doesn't consciously with determination and resolve, purposefully, deliberately take something to heart and change himself, nothing changes us. Doesn't matter what's happening externally. It can be a pandemic, it can even be a Mabul. Nothing external automatically imposes change upon our way of thinking, upon our way of believing, upon our code of conduct, upon our behavior. Nothing external can impose change. Ad kedei kach, the koach habechirah that Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us is so great. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us a koach habechirah that if we want, we can walk into a Teivah, we can see the entire world destroyed, and we can walk out of the Teivah a year later the same people. That's apparently what happened with Cham and Yefes. If it can happen with a Mabul, it can happen with a pandemic also. Nothing automatically changes us. If we're going to change, it's because we take things to heart, because we are determined to change, we identify what needs to change, and then with a steadfastness and with a sense of purpose we implement that change. It's true whether one is talking about the inyan of the yoma in terms of zilzul and in terms of sakannas nefashos, but it's true in every area of our, be it personal lives, be it collective communal lives. Change never. ever is imposed. It has to be, it has to be, it has to come from within. There are, k’imdumeh, added contributing causes to the kashyus oref that we've been witnessing, that we see when we look into the mirror. Besides again that natural capacity which is again simultaneously a capacity le-tovah. Besides that natural capacity for kashyus oref, there are other contributing factors. One, it requires great humility to acknowledge cheit. And the question is are we always equal for that? Do we always have that sense and degree of humility that we should have regardless, but that’s necessary, indispensable in order to acknowledge wrongdoing and to assume responsibility. But in addition, again in our context, there are other contributing factors to kashyus oref. Recognizing the zilzul that was would be mechayiv us le-haba. It would dictate, although obviously right now we're at a different point, at least in the tri-state area, a very, very different point than we were then. But still, recognizing what it means to be properly nizar on sakana, bimkom sakana has very real implications now also. Not the same implications necessarily that it had at the height here in the tri-state area, but it's still, even at a low point, it has very real consequences. It basically means that we can't simply revert back to our previous way of life. We can't re-engage the way we were functioning a half a year ago. And that requires a tremendous discipline. So many areas of life need to be recalibrated and significant change needs to be introduced. And that requires a tremendous self-discipline. Any time we need to sacrifice, any time we need to let go, any time we need to be mevater, any time we need to confront such a challenge, tremendous self-discipline is required. It's a lot easier to be akshei oref than it is to necessarily show and demonstrate that self-discipline. But self-discipline is the yesod of kol ha-Torah kulah. It's the yesod of avodas Hashem. We're supposed to be disciplined in behavior, we're supposed to be disciplined in speech, we're supposed to be disciplined in thought. Self-discipline is the yesod of kol ha-Torah kulah. My grandfather zt"l was fond of quoting the Midrash in Shir HaShirim Rabbah: Suga ba-shoshanim. Amar Rabbi Levi, benohag she-ba-olam adom noseh isha ben lamed shana, ben mem shana. It happens sometimes that a person gets married late relatively speaking, not till he's thirty, maybe not even till he's forty. Mishe-motzi yetziyosav, finally finally everything comes together, finally finally the moment has come, u-ba lizakeik lah, it's time for the marriage to be consummated, ve-hi omrah lo, re’iti k’shoshana aduma. and she tells him keshoshana aduma raisi. I saw a tiny speck of blood. ופירש ופורש ממנו מיד and he immediately separates. מי גרם לו שלא יקרב לה? Who forced him? Who repelled him? Who pushed him away? איזה כותל ברזל יש ביניהם? Is there an iron wall impenetrable between them? ואיזה עמוד ברזל ביניהם? Maybe there's an iron pillar between the two? איזה נחש נשכו איזה עקרב עקצו שלא יקרב לה? Did a snake bite him? Did a scorpion sting him that he retreats? דברי תורה שרכים כשושנה. No, none of the aforementioned. His loyalty to divrei torah that say אל אישה בנדת טומאתה לא תקרב. וכן מי שהביאו לו תמחוי של חתיכות.
A person is ravenous and they bring him a nice selection of meat, different cuts of meat. He's about to, about to dig in. אמרו לו חלב נפל שם. Oh, accidentally in the cooking some milk fell into these pieces and cooked with these pieces. ומשך ידו ולא טעם. Despite being ravenous, he pulls his hand back and he doesn't taste it. מי גרם לו שלא ליטום? Who forced him not to even take a bite? איזה נחש נשכו שלא יטום ואיזה עקרב עקצו שלא יקרב ויטעמנו?
Is there a snake that bit him? Is there a scorpion that stung him? דברי תורה שכתוב בו, excuse me, I think it wasn't milk, maybe it was chelev. Sorry. It was the chelev that had fallen on the meat. Not milk, the chelev had fallen on the meat. כל חלב וכל דם לא תאכלו. Self-discipline is the quintessence of avodas Hashem. It permeates everything we do, everything we don't do. It defines our lifestyle. And on a certain level, on a certain level, when we're weak and we succumb and we don't demonstrate that self-discipline, it's not just a self-contained shortcoming, but it's one that really, really is, it contradicts everything we are, everything that we aspire, even more consistently, to be. So there is a very real challenge now for self-discipline. Self-discipline again to recalibrate, rethink how to go about our lives within the new normal. But that's a potential that we all have. It's a potential that we all have to a large degree actualized. And it's one that we need to begin by being honest with ourselves, without the kavshei derachmana, to recognize the need for self-discipline, to recognize where we've been remiss in responding to the pandemic, and to be able when we say selichos, to be able to say in the most sincere and heartfelt manner that Ribbono shel Olam, אין אנו עזי פנים, and not only אין אנו עזי פנים, but אין אנו עזי פנים וקשי עורף לומר לפניך לא חטאנו.
Rather we recognize that in truth, anachnu va'avoseinu chatanu, and with that sincerity of heart, we look to you to help us השיבנו אבינו לתורתך וקרבנו מלכנו לעבודתך והחזירנו בתשובה שלמה לפניך.
Thank you, have a good night.