We are up to the Mishnah of Rabbi Meir Omer. Rabbi Meir Omer hevey me'at esek u-mema'et be-esek va-asok ba-Torah ושפל רוח בפני כל אדם ואם בטלת מן התורה יש לך בטלים הרבה כנגדך ואם עמלת בתורה יש לו שכר הרבה ליתן לך.
What does it mean to be mema'et or me'at esek va-asok ba-Torah? The Rambam omar המעט במסחר והשמי בתורה. So le-chora indicated here in the words of Rabbi Meir is the following. If you take a look in the Rambam in Perek Aleph of Hilchot Talmud Torah, so in Halacha Yud Aleph the Rambam quotes a Gemara in Kiddushin. The Gemara in Kiddushin says ve-shinantam le-vanecha אל תקרי ושננתם אלא ושילשתם she-chayav adam leshaleish shlish be-mikra shlish be-mishna shlish be-talmud. In allocating one's time to Talmud Torah, so one has to address three different areas within Talmud Torah: Tanach, Halacha, and everything else. Everything else that constitutes mitzvat Talmud Torah. And that's what the Rambam quotes here in Perek Aleph Halacha Yud Aleph חייב לשלש את זמן לימודו. So for the Rambam it actually translates into bitchilat limudo into three equal parts: שליש בתורה שבכתב שליש בתורה שבעל פה שליש יבין וישכיל אחרית דבר מראשיתו ויוציא דבר מדבר וידמה דבר לדבר וידע במידות שהתורה נדרשת בהן עד שידע היכן עיקר המידות והיכן יוצא האסור והמותר וכיוצא בהן מדברים שלמד מפי השמועה וענין זה הוא נקרא תלמוד.
Now the Rambam says keitzad, let me give you for instance. Haya ba'al umnut, person is an artisan, I don't know, let's say he's a shoemaker. והיה עוסק במלאכה שלוש שעות ביום ובתורה תשע. Oseh ha-tesha should be divided equally: קורא בשלוש בהם בתורה שבכתב בשלוש תורה שבעל פה בשלוש מתבונן בדעתו להבין דבר מדבר.
So what's fascinating here in the Rambam, quite extraordinary when you think about it, is that the Rambam indicates that the way a person arrives at how many hours a day he has to learn is sort of almost by default what's left over from the amount of time he has to devote to his parnassa. Right? היה עוסק במלאכה שלוש שעות ביום which then after having allotted the necessary amount of time for sleep and for eating and for hygiene etc. so that leaves tesha sha'ot to learn. A person is mechuyav to make his hishtadlus for parnassa. So then mi-meila the amount of time he'll have to learn on a daily basis is, it's extraordinary, but is actually dictated by how much time remains after the hishtadlus for parnassa. And le-chora you see that in our Mishnah as well, right? The sequence of הוי ממעט בעסק ועסוק בתורה, so Rabbi Meir is telling us heyos that this is the case, a person has to exercise whatever discretion he has that the hishtadlus for parnassa should leave more time for Talmud Torah. Heyos that what's going to determine the amount of time a person has for Talmud Torah is what remains after the haya osek bi-melacha. The way the Rambam arrives at the figure of nine is what's left over after three. היה עוסק במלאכה שלוש שעות ביום ובתורה תשע. So that's, you see that in this Mishnah of Rabbi Meir, right? Be-mema'et be-esek. And then that will allow you to have more time to be osek ba-Torah. Now it's clear that as important and overriding a consideration as it is to have more time to learn, it's clear that there are other considerations that should be factored in when a person identifies what he is going to do for parnassah. But Rabbi Meir's exhortation, Rabbi Meir's directive remains true regardless because often even within the same field, a person has the discretion that will determine how much time he has to spend on parnassah and how much time will remain. So a person can, let's say for argument's sake that after everything's been considered, so a person arrives at the correct decision that he should be a lawyer. What that entails practically depends upon which city the person will live in. In some cities, to be a lawyer will necessitate longer, more demanding hours, and in other cities, it involves a very different life-work balance. So Rabbi Meir says hevei mema'et ba'esek, that a person should recognize how much discretionary say he has in his pursuit of parnassah. Sometimes a person's kochos, abilities and opportunities allow him to choose either of different fields. And again, let's assume for the moment for argument's sake, for purposes of illustration, that they are equal in other respects, so a person is supposed to again recognize his discretionary say and discretionary opportunity to be hevei mema'et ba'esek and take advantage of that so as to allow the osek ba-Torah. Then the Mishnah continues, it's strange, the Mishnah lichora: והוי שפל רוח בפני כל אדם ואם בטלת מן התורה יש לך בטלים הרבה כנגדך.
Now it's clearly the case that not every Mishnah in Avos has to be understood that the Tanna is speaking only about one theme. The Tanno'im are entitled to have something to say about two different topics and to use their Mishnah in Avos to convey to address two topics, two themes. So itachen me'od that Rabbi Meir is being mezarez in Talmud Torah and Rabbi Meir is also being mezarez in terms of midos. But so that's not difficult at all. But what's lichora difficult is then, so Rabbi Meir should have first finished talking about Talmud Torah and then switched. So he begins with Talmud Torah, talks about והוי שפל רוח בפני כל אדם, and then goes back to Talmud Torah. So it's clear contextually that when Rabbi Meir says to be שפל רוח בפני כל אדם, clearly he's talking about that in context of Talmud Torah, the need for a shiflus haruach in context of Talmud Torah. The pshat, Rav Chaim Volozhiner explains in his peirush in Pirkei Avos in Ruach Chaim in משה קיבל תורה מסיני ומסרה ליהושע ויהושע לזקנים, he shows how every link in the masorah, that individual or that group excelled. They stood out in terms of the middas ha'anavah, the middas hashiphlus. משה קיבל תורה מסיני is to be correlated with v'ha'ish Moshe anav me'od מכל האדם אשר על פני האדמה. Umsaro l'Yehoshua is to be correlated with יהושע בן נון נער לא ימיש מתוך האהל, a complete hisbatlus that Yehoshua had before Moshe Rabbeinu. Chazal describe in the Midrash that Yehoshua used to be mesader hasafsalim. It wasn't just that Yehoshua was there listening to every shiur, every gem, every word of Torah that came out of Moshe Rabbeinu's mouth. No, he was the shamash. He used to be mesader, used to arrange the benches when Moshe Rabbeinu was going to give a shiur. Yehoshua bin Nun, a complete hisbatlus. And that's why he emerges as Umsaro l'Yehoshua as the next link in the shalsheles hakabbalah. ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה, says Rav Chaim Volozhiner. And then psach libi b'sorasecha. A person is only positioned for the bakasha psach libi b'sorasecha on the heels of ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה. And l'chora it's clear right that that's the pshat in our Mishnah as well. That's what Reb Meir's שפל רוח בפני כל אדם isn't simply an exhortation in terms of middos tovos, it obviously is that independent of any connection to talmud Torah, but it's clear contextually that what Reb Meir is saying is that this is what the histaskus ba'Torah demands. What does it mean ואם בטלת מן התורה יש לו, the lo referring to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, him with the capital H, אם בטלת מן התורה יש לו בטלים הרבה כנגדך, ואם עמלת בתורה יש לו שכר הרבה ליתן לך?
So l'chora it means what the Rambam explains actually uncharacteristically at some length in Perek Tes of Hilchos Teshuvah. Rambam in Perek Tes of Hilchos Teshuvah addresses the question which engages so many of the meforshim of why does the Torah speak of im bechukosai telechu or rachmana litzlan im bechukosai timasu and the Torah's talking about things that happen in olam hazeh. So there are different ways of asking the question because there are different forms of the question. The form of the question that the Rambam addresses is היות מאחר שנודע כאן בפרק ט' מהלכות תשובה שמתן שכרן של מצוות והטוב שנזכה לו אם שמרנו דרך ה' הכתוב בתורה היא חיי העולם הבא. שכר בהאי עלמא ליכא.
Schar isn't in olam hazeh. So what's אם בחקתי תשמעו ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם ונתנה הארץ יבולה, what's that all about if schar is in olam haba? And similarly והנקמה שנוקמים מן הרשעים שעזבו אורחות הצדק הכתובות בתורה היא הכרת.
And the ultimate punishment rachmana litzlan is also not in olam hazeh, the ultimate punishment rachmana litzlan is also in olam haba. So what is the Torah speaking of when it describes the cause and effect of אם בחקתי תלכו ונתתי, את הברכה אשר תשמעו והקללה אם לא תשמעו?
So the Rambam explains as follows: הקדוש ברוך הוא נתן לנו תורה זו עץ חיים. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us the Torah. Torah is the tree of life meaning the source of life. וכל העושה כל הכתוב בו ויודעו דעה גמורה נכונה זוכה בה לחיי העולם הבא לפי גודל מעשיו וגודל חכמתו הוא זוכה בה.
Torah and Torah alone is the source of life. So therefore, to the degree that a person is mekayem mitzvos HaTorah, learns chochmas HaTorah, so to that degree he has chayim, he has chayim nitzchi'im, he has eternal life. Now, vehiptichanu baTorah, Hakadosh Baruch Hu promises us, Hakadosh Baruch Hu guarantees us in the Torah שאם נעשה אותה בשמחה ובטובת נפש ובטובת נפש ונהגה בחכמתה תמיד שיסיר ממנו כל הדברים המונעים אותנו מלעשותה.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu promises that if we'll fulfill mitzvos haTorah besimcha, we'll constantly be delving into chochmas haTorah, so then he'll remove all impediments כגון חולי מלחמה ורעב וכיוצא בהן. And on the contrary, וישפיע לנו כל הטובות המחזיקים את ידינו לעשות כל התורה.
He'll provide conducive circumstances for learning and living Torah. All of that positions us כדי שנזכה לחיי העולם הבא. On the other hand, vechein hodi'anu baTorah, Hakadosh Baruch Hu also informs us שאם נעזוב התורה מדעתנו ונעסוק בהבלי הזמן, that if we'll choose, Rachmana litzlan, to abandon Torah, to turn our backs, so then Hakadosh Baruch Hu will remove that support system, and on the contrary, יביא עלינו כל הרעות המונעים אותנו מקנות העולם הבא. So the mashal is as follows: imagine you have a cleaning lady coming and she's going to spend the day cleaning your house. So okay, there's an hourly wage or a daily wage that you pay. But then the arrangement is that it's understood that in addition you also provide lunch and carfare, the transportation expenses. Okay. So she puts in the honest day's work and you gave her the lunch. And then at the end of the day, so you don't deduct the cost of the lunch from her wages. If she's getting paid twenty dollars an hour and the lunch you prepared cost five, ten dollars, you don't deduct that. No, that was something to facilitate her putting in the day's work. And then you pay her her wages for the day's work. What happens if she shows up at nine o'clock in the morning and she's busy all morning on her phone and isn't doing any work, and then at 12:30 sits herself down at the table expecting lunch? So you're not going to give her the lunch. You're going to tell her the lunch is to help you, to facilitate your putting in the day's work. You're not putting in the day's work, you don't get the lunch. And I'm not going to give you the transportation expenses to go back and forth because you're not doing the job that you were supposed to do. So what happens in Olam Hazeh is not the schar. What happens in Olam Hazeh is do we get the lunch and the carfare, or do we not get the lunch and not get the carfare and then have to go scrounging around to find some food to eat for lunch? So that's what Rebbi Meir says as well. Rebbi Meir says אם בטלת מן התורה יש לו בטלים הרבה כנגדך. Says the Rambam, ועניין בטלים הרבה כנגדך שיש שם דברים הרבה שהם בטלים וצריכים מי שיתעסק בהם. ואם לא תעסוק בתורה,
if you're not going to preoccupy yourself with Torah, ידריכך באחד מאותם הדברים. Hakadosh Baruch Hu will see to it that we're preoccupied with something else. העושה מצווה אחת קונה לו פרקליט אחד והעושה עבירה אחת קונה לו קטיגור אחד, תשובה ומעשים טובים כתריס לפני הפורענות.
The first half of this mishna again follows up on the previous. What does a praklit mean? So the Rambam says a praklit is a ish beinayim, a person who's an intermediary, a person who intercedes. העומד לאדם לפני המלך, who who appears on his behalf before the king lehamlitz tov to to recommend good for him umater ba'ado and to lobby for him, to petition on his behalf. Kategor, lehepech ze, is the opposite. והוא המלשין על אדם אצל המלך ומשתדל לאבדו. He's the person who comes and and is is acting as a prosecutor. So what's רבי אליעזר בן יעקב saying? רבי אליעזר בן יעקב is saying that above and beyond the fact that when a person does a mitzvah so he's going to be rewarded and rachmana litzlan an aveira without without teshuva so the person will be punished. But beyond that, there's a significance and an importance beyond that in everything we do. Every time a person does a mitzvah, it's not only that as it were, a person is now going to receive sechar for that mitzvah, but it's also that mitzvah lobbies for him as it were to say, look Ribono Shel Olam, look what he's using the bracha of life and the brachos of life. Look what he's look what he's doing with his time. So give him more of the brachos. Every mitzvah that a person does therefore lobbies as it were Hakadosh Boruch Hu, it intercedes on his behalf with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. You see, he has time, he sits down, he learns a pasuk Chumash, he does a chesed, he's osek betzorchei tzibur. This is a person we need to support. This is a person who needs to be given more opportunities, a person who needs to have more time because look what he does with his time. V'rachmana litzlan a person is over aveira achas, so besides whatever rachmana litzlan liability, culpability there is associated with that aveira k'shele'atzma, but it'll also serve as a kategor. Look what he does when he has time on his hands. Look how he abuses the gift and and opportunity of life. תשובה ומעשים טובים כתריס לפני הפורענות. Tris is a shield. So what does the Rambam say? ואמר רבי אליעזר בן יעקב שהתשובה לאחר מעשה רע או מעשים טובים מעיקרא כל אחד משני העניינים הללו מונעים את חלות הפורענויות והאסונות באדם.
So how do we what's the relationship between this and between the Gemara in Yoma with the chilukei kapara of Rebbe Yishmael? Right? Rebbe Yishmael says that if a person does an asei and does teshuva אינו זז משם עד שמוחלין לו מיד. A person is over a regular lo taasei ve'asah teshuva is תשובה תולה ויום הכפורים מכפר. A person is over on chamuros b'meizid, he's over on חייבי כריתות ומיתות בית דין, so then rachmana litzlan, so then תשובה ויום הכפורים תולים ויסורים ממרקים את הכפרה. So Rebbe Yishmael doesn't talk about doesn't talk about maasim tovim in terms of the chilukei kapara. So how do we sort of integrate these two? So lichora it's it's clear that there's two different two different ideas here. The Rambam quotes this as well as the Mishna me'tzuyan, if you take a look at the beginning of perek vav in Hilchos Teshuva. So פרק ו הלכה א, the Rambam says around three lines into the halacha, the Rambam says בזמן שאדם אחד או אנשי מדינה חוטאים ועושה החוטא חטא שעשה מדעתו וברצונו כמו שהודענו,
right? With his bechira chofshis. Ra'uy lehipara mimenu. The person deserves to to incur punishment. והקדוש ברוך הוא יודע איך יפרע. Meaning ra'uy lehipara mimenu, that we can understand also. Ra'uy is something which mitzad hasevara is something that's clear to us. So that we can understand. What we cannot know on our own is what form that puranus should take. That's davka והקדוש ברוך הוא יודע היכי יפה. A person is never in a position to know how, when, puranus should be meted out. Again, unless it's Beis Din who have been given a mitzvah in the Torah that if A, then do B. יש חטא שהדין נותן שנפרעים ממנו החטא בעולם הזה בגופו או בממונו או בבניו הקטנים. ויש חטא שהדין נותן שנפרעים ממנו לעולם הבא. ויש חטא שנפרעים ממנו אף בעולם הזה ואף לעולם הבא.
And only Hakadosh Baruch Hu is in a position to know what's what. Says the Rambam halacha beis, במה דברים אמורים בזמן שלא עשה תשובה אבל אם עשה תשובה התשובה כתריס לפני הפורענות.
Right, so that's our Mishna, right? Then אם עשה תשובה התשובה כתריס לפני הפורענות. So that's a very different, again, just to indicate, doesn't really clarify yet because we're not understanding, but just to indicate that we're talking about something distinct if you compare this to the lashon haRambam at the end of perek alef of Hilchos Teshuvah halacha daled. If you take a look in alef daled in teshuvah abosai, אף על פי שהתשובה מכפרת על הכל ועצמו של יום הכיפורים מכפר יש עבירות שאין מתכפרים בשעתן ויש עבירות שאין מתכפרים אלא אחר זמן. כיצד עבר אדם על מצות עשה שאין בה כרת ועשה תשובה אינו זז משם עד שמוחלין לו מיד. ובאלו נאמר
shuvu banim shovavim, repent wayward children, erpah meshuvaseichem, and I'll heal you. עבר על מצות לא תעשה שאין בה כרת ולא מיתת בית דין ועשה תשובה תשובה תולה ויום הכיפורים מכפר. עבר על כריתות ומיתות בית דין ועשה תשובה תשובה ויום הכיפורים תולין וייסורין באין עליו וגמרא כפרה.
So here the Rambam speaks about kapara, about teshuvah being mechaperes, about teshuvah, about teshuvah positioning a person to get mechila. And in our Mishna and in our halacha in perek gimel, the Rambam's talking about a tris, about a shield, right, he's not talking about kapara, he's talking about a shield. So there's one question of how does a person gain kapara and another is how is a person protected from his liability until he gains that kapara. Our Mishna's talking about the latter, our Mishna's is, I mean it just so happens that teshuvah is featured in both. But our Mishna's is talking about the latter of the two, not how what's the process of kapara, but how is a person protected, at least for a while, while that kapara or until that kapara happens. And that's why ma'asim tovim, it's no stirah, the ma'asim tovim is not part of the kapara, but ma'asim tovim do act as a tris. Further indication that our Mishna when it's talking about a tris, a shield, is not talking about kapara is the fact that the Rambam says we're talking about ma'asim tovim that the person did before he was chotei. A person can't make a down payment on kapara. A person can't say, oh, you know, Rachmana litzlan, tomorrow I'm going to be chotei, so let me make a down payment today on that kapara. There's no such thing, right? There's no such thing as a down payment on kapara because a cheit is never is never supposed to happen. So a person, you can go to the grocery store and at the beginning of the month, you can give the chanvani five hundred dollars and then all month when you buy your groceries, so then he's just deducting that from what you've pre-paid. So you can pre-pay a grocery bill, you can't make a down payment on kapara. So what does the Rambam mean when he says that the ma'asim tovim we're talking about, which are a tris, are ma'asim tovim before that the person did before the cheit? Because the Rambam is not talking about kapara here. The Rambam's talking about what will shield a person pending the kapara. Teshuvah plays a role in both. Ma'asim tovim are not mentioned... according to the Rambam, they're not literally mentioned in Rabbi Yishmael's chilukei chilukei kapara. Okay, that's the pshat. Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar omer כל כנסייה שהיא לשם שמים סופה להתקיים ושאינה לשם שמים אין סופה להתקיים.
The Rambam doesn't comment on our mishna. Rabbeinu Yonah has as follows. Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar omer כל כנסייה שהיא לשם שמים סופה להתקיים, what does that mean? Le-tov u-le-maasim tovim נקראת כנסייה שהיא לשם שמים, ושאינה לשם שמים אין סופה להתקיים, כשמתקבצים להתעורר זה על זה ומתכבדים כל אחד על חברו.
So here's the pshat, rabosai. Knisiya means when there's a gathering. When people gather together and instead of just functioning as individuals, so they form a collective. That's what a knisiya is. They form a collective. Now in general, where do you find a stipulation of l'shem shamayim? L'shem shamayim should optimally define and motivate and frame everything we do. But me'idach gisa, לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצוות אפילו שלא לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה.
There's value even when it's not l'shem shamayim. And yet, some cases we stipulate that l'shem shamayim is indispensable. So one of the klalim, lav davka the exclusive, all-encompassing klal, but one of the klalim is as follows. Let's say מחלוקת שהיא לשם שמים is also sofah lehitkayem, and מחלוקת שאינה לשם שמים is ein sofah lehitkayem. There too the stipulation is it has to be l'shem shamayim. Why is that? Whenever you have something which intrinsically is either usually a bad idea or at the very least problematic, machlokes generally is a bad idea. For Shammai and Hillel to argue over pshat in the pasuk, l'shem shamayim, because they want to know what the Ribbono Shel Olam said in the Torah is a wonderful idea. But machlokes inherently, rubba de-rubba, the overwhelming majority of the time, machlokes is not a good thing. For machlokes to be a force for the good, to be something good and laudatory, it has to be l'shem shamayim. It has to be framed and defined and motivated l'shem shamayim. So this mishna is telling us something, is offering a remarkable insight. There's something very problematic in forming a collective. We just take it for granted, right? We live in that type of context all the time. But philosophically, there's something very, very problematic. What's problematic with a knisiya? Whenever you have a collective, so then inevitably you have a city, you need a mayor, you need city councilmen, you're going to need assemblymen. You have a country, you're going to need a president or a king or a president who thinks he's a king or something. You're going to need... The the very minute you have a knessiah, so it's gonna involve there's gonna be serarah involved. There're gonna be differences in terms of people's place within that collective. And that's something which is fundamentally problematic. Not insurmountably so, so that even leshem shamayim it isn't appropriate, but it is fundamentally problematic. That one person should have the powers of a governor, that one person should have the powers of the president, that a hundred people should have the power of senators is fundamentally problematic even if they're democratically elected. It's fundamentally problematic. Again, not insurmountably so, but it needs to be framed and motivated and implemented leshem shamayim in order to overcome that problem. So a כנסיה שאינו לשם שמים where then what happens is people enjoy שררה אחד על חבירו. People enjoy the fact that oh within this knessiah I have a very very mechubaddike position, which by definition if there weren't a knessiah I couldn't. It would just be every person would be only in in in his own reshus hayachid. So that requires a kavanah leshem shamayim. We have to try whenever we venture out of our own dalet amos, we have to try that it shouldn't be out of any enjoyment. It shouldn't be lehishtahrer, it shouldn't be lehiskabed, but it should be leshem shamayim. Rabbi Elazar omer יהי כבוד תלמידך חביב עליך ככבוד חברך וכבוד חברך כמורא רבך ומורא רבך כמורא שמים.
This is actually a gevaltdike chiddush here within this mishnah. But but maybe to sort of help us realize it and to amplify it, let's take a look if you have a Sefer Hamitzvos for a minute. Take a look at מצות עשה ר''ט, 209 of the Mossad. So Hamitzvah Reish Tes המצוה הר''ט היא שצונו לכבד החכמים ולקום מפניהם ולגדלם והוא אמר יתברך מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן ובלשון ספרי והדרת כמה שיש בו הדור ובארנו משפטי מצוה זו בפרק ראשון מקידושין ודע שהמצוה זו מחוייבת לאנשים כולם בכלל כלומר לכבד החכמים.
On one level, this mitzvah is uniform in the sense that everyone has the identical obligation to be mechabed chachamim. אפילו חכם לחכם השווה לו בחכמה. Chachamim even it's not because of the superiority of the chacham necessarily. No, one chacham is mechuyav to be mechabed another chacham even though Even though they're equals. כמו שביארו באומרם תלמידי חכמים שבבבל עומדים זה מפני זה.
da, that alongside that uniform component of the mitzvah שיש בכיבוד דברים מיוחדים ונוספים על התלמיד. וזה כי כבוד התלמיד אל רבו יש בו תוספת גדולה על הכיבוד שחייב לכל חכם ויתחייב עמו הכיבוד המורא.
There is a non-uniform aspect of the mitzvah, which is the additional chiyuv which is incumbent upon a talmid vis-a-vis rabbo. So there's the uniform aspect of the mitzvah vis-a-vis any chacham, lav davka that the chacham is our rebbe, lav davka that he's even more of a chacham than the other person. There's a mitzvah of kavod chacham, but then there's another aspect to this mitzvah, which is davka not which is not uniform, which is davka between a talmid and a rebbe. That in addition to the kavod owed to any chacham, to rabbo there's mora. The Rambam goes on to give us many of the applications of this. And then he says u've'yur omru around four and a half lines from the end of the mitzvah rabosai, if you're looking in, u've'yur omru מורא רבך כמורא שמים. Our mishna. וזה כולו לקוח בראיה מהיות הכתוב מצווה לכבד החכמים והאבות כמו שהתבאר בלשונות רבים מן התלמוד לא שהיא מצווה בפני עצמה והבן זה.
The Rambam says mora rabecha is not an independent mitzvah. It's rather part of this general mitzvah of kavod chachamim. How do you know that? Because mora rabecha is not something which is mefurash in Torah she-b'chsav. mora rabecha is a drasha, מידה שהתורה נדרשת בהן from את ה' אלקיך תירא לרבות. It's also a kal v'chomer that if the father שהביאו לחיי העולם הזה this kavod and mora, so then the rebbe שהביאו לחיי העולם הבא certainly so. But מידה שהתורה נדרשת בהן, when a chiyuv is derived from מידה שהתורה נדרשת בהן, it never constitutes an independent mitzvah in minyan ha-mitzvos. So mimeila that's what the Rambam says, לא שהיא מצווה בפני עצמה. Gut. Fein. What's lichora very puzzling here is nicha, nicha that what's derived from yud gimmel middos purely, again, there's no pasuk in the Torah says fear your rebbe. There's a pasuk that says את ה' אלקיך תירא לרבות. There's no pasuk in the Torah that says have mora rabecha, there's a kal v'chomer from av v'eim. Fein. So that doesn't constitute an independent mitzvah in minyan ha-mitzvos. Maskan, that's what shoresh sheni in the shorashim in Sefer HaMitzvos is about. But how does that mean that you can include it in the mitzvah of kavod chachamim? כבוד לחוד מורא לחוד. The upshot of the fact that it's not a separate mitzvah is that there are many, many chiyuvim, almost countless chiyuvim, which you takeh don't find anywhere in minyan ha-mitzvos. Where does it say in minyan ha-mitzvos to respect achicha hagadol? What's the answer? It doesn't. Not every chiyuv is in minyan ha-mitzvos. Chiyuvim which are derived, which are not psukim in the Torah, but are derived from מידה שהתורה נדרשת בהן, so they have the full force of de-oraisa, they're not in minyan ha-mitzvos. They're not in minyan ha-mitzvos. So lichora mora rabecha should be the same. How can you, how can you maniach that Mitzvas Netilas Lulav weren't a pasuk? That you didn't have a pasuk of ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון. And the only way you knew Mitzvas Lulav was some kind of kal v'chomer from achilas matzah. Well, if on Pesach... you should commemorate what happened on Pesach, whatever. Fine, so then lulav wouldn't be a separate mitzvah in minyan hamitzvos. It would be a chiyuv. It wouldn't be a separate mitzvah in minyan hamitzvos, but it wouldn't occur to you to say, well, therefore put it into the mitzvah of lulav. Why put it into the mitzvah of lulav? It's a different mitzvah. It's a different mitzvah. You can't shtup it into mitzvos lulav, into mitzvos matzah, it's a different mitzvah. So isn't it כבודו לחוד, מוראו לחוד? So what's the answer? The answer is that the Rambam knew from our mishnah that that's not true. Why? What does it say in our mishnah rabosai? It says in our mishnah יהי כבוד תלמידך חביב עליך ככבוד חברך. What does that mean? We're talking about degrees, right? To what degree should a person cherish and be concerned and mindful of the kavod of his talmidim? To the same degree that he would cherish and be mindful of the kavod of his chaverim. Right? You might think no, that my talmidim aderaba, they owe me, I don't owe them, I don't have to be makpid on their kavod. No, you should be makpid on the kavod of your talmidim to the same degree you're makpid on the kavod of your chaverim. That makes sense, right? That something which you would think is to a lesser degree and you're telling me no, you should do it to a higher degree. מוראו רבך כמורא שמים also understood. I would have thought you should have so much mora for the rebbe, so much mora shamayim, no, the mora should be the same degree. But how can you say that kavod chavercha should be k'mora rabbach? Again, we're talking about a spectrum, right? kavod chavercha should be kavod talmidcha should be k'kavod chavercha. That's a spectrum, so I understand, it's meaningful to say that. מורא רבך כמורא שמים, you're talking about a spectrum of mora, so you can say מורא רבך כמורא שמים. How can you change from kavod to mora? So what do you see from our mishnah rabosai? You see clearly from our mishnah that kavod and mora are one spectrum. They're not two different things. When understood correctly, kavod and mora are one spectrum, which is why and only why it's meaningful to say that kavod chavercha should be k'mora rabbach because kavod and mora are one spectrum. But what does that mean? kavod is honor and mora is fear. That's not one spectrum. That's not one spectrum. The big guy with bulging muscles whom I happen to meet in a dark alley at 11 o'clock at night and ask me if I have any spare change, I'm not necessarily overcome with tremendous feelings of kavod towards him, but I certainly have a lot of mora for him. Me'idach gisa, there are a lot of people for whom I have a deep and abiding respect, but I don't necessarily have any mora. So what does it mean that kavod and mora are on the same spectrum, that it's one continuum? So klar that those translations are not adequate. Translating kavod as honor and mora as fear, you see from our mishnah that that's not correct. You see from the Rambam that that's not correct, the Rambam Sefer Hamitzvos. So what's the pshat? Apparently, apparently mora, let's say honor and reverence are on one spectrum. Right? Reverence is something which is a more, a stronger form, a profounder form of honor, and even awe is really that as well. It's a profounder, it's a more profound... could be you just witnessed history, I'm not sure if there was a word profounder until a minute ago... It's a more profound form, awe is a more profound form of reverence, which is a more profound form of... of honor, but it's taka one spectrum. And and that's what you see in our mishna. If you can say that kavod chavercha should be kemora rabcha, it doesn't mean fear of the Rebbe. It means a reverence hyphen awe. That's on the same spectrum, on the same continuum as kavod. That's what you see in our mishna. Mimeila the Rambam says the the derivations through מידה שהתורה נדרשת בהן that there's a special din of mora rabcha taka belongs in the mitzva of kavod talmidei chachamim because it's because it's talking about kavod, albeit again, kavod in a in a more profound, in a stronger, in a deeper, in a deeper sense. Emess there's more to to this than than we've touched upon so far, but maybe we'll we'll stop here for now and bli neder maybe next week im yirtze Hashem we'll go a little bit more with with this mishna. Okay, everyone should should be well, have a productive day, a gutten Shabbos rabosai, be well, be safe. Thank you, Rebbe. Thank you, Rebbe. Thank you, Rebbe. Thank you, Rebbe. Can I ask a question? Yeah, please. Who's who's talking? So, Dovid. Dovid, where are you? Oh, there you are. Okay. Hi Dovid, how are you? Okay. Good, baruch Hashem. I just wanted to ask Rebbe, so what does it mean that teshuva is a tris lifnei hapuranios? If the teshuva itself is mechaper, so then doesn't that mean that it itself is fixing? How can it be both if it's if it's achieving the kapara, then how is it just preventing the yisurim? Why is it needed as a tris if you have kapara? So you're absolutely right. Lichora the the teshuva would be a tris lifnei hapuranios only for for something, let's say chamuros. By chamuros there's a need for a tris. But you're right, by an aseh and by lo ta'aseh you won't need the teshuva to act in in that capacity. Okay, thank you. Okay, can I ask a question? Please. So the the Rambam that we were saying before, the Rambam was saying how when when people do keep the Torah and mitzvos, so Hashem facilitates us in this world to continue doing that. I guess I was wondering how that related to I don't know if it's different than like the Gemara that says like that tzaddikim are often punished in this world for the sake of the next world. So on a on a let's say משל למה הדבר דומה. Parents are are always looking to do as best they understand what's best for their for their children. Okay. And therefore they they they feed them, they bathe them when they're infants and small children and and need help going to sleep, they put them to sleep, etc., on the one hand. On the other hand, periodically they they they take their child to this guy who wears a white coat who pokes them, sticks needles in them. So how how is that how is that a consistent hanhaga? So the answer is that the truth is. The truth is on one level it's not consistent, meaning on one level the eating and the nurturing and the bathing is all very soothing and feels good, and the guy in the white coat who sticks the needles in their arm it feels anything but good. So on one level it takeh is not the same, but obviously on a deeper level it is the same. That sometimes doing what's good for the child involves that pain. ve-idakh zil g'mor. Thank you, Rabbi. Okay. Yeah, Avziell. Hi, Rabbi. I was wondering why we would need a pasuk to teach כיבוד אב ואם if there's a different pasuk that teaches מורא אב ואם? So that's part of what I'm going to finish with. That's part of what I'm going to finish with. And also what to ask your question in a different way, but either way it's very pointed. To ask your question in a different way, so then how is kibbud and mora by av va-em, how can they be two mitzvos if it's one continuum? And that's how mora rabbo can be included in kovod talmidei khakhamim because it's just more, more intense, more profound. So then once you have a mitzvah of מורא אב ואם, that should subsume כיבוד אב ואם. That's why you should come back next Thursday. Okay. I also have to come back on Sunday. Right, for yesterday's question. Okay. All right, so you're committed to at least 40 percent of next week. All right, we got three of five days. Maybe we'll leave out free coffee on Monday and we'll get you back Monday for that. Thank you, Rabbi. Have a good Shabbos. You too. Thank you. Okay, be well, thank you. Rabbi, can I ask one more question? Please. Okay. Just a technical question first. Is mora the same as yira? It's the same root, yeah. mora is the... what's the difference between the nouns mora and yira? That's an interesting question. Is there a difference between the two nouns mora and yira? Yeah, I don't know if there's a difference or if they're just synonyms. I don't know. That's a very good question. I don't know. Okay. And then just one other question. Regarding the Rabbi Meir and we're saying that shiflus is also super important for Talmud Torah, for kinyan Talmud Torah. So why would it be in between? Why wouldn't it just be first, shiflus, and then about Talmud Torah? Why is it sandwiched? So it could be that for the reason that you're asking, Rabbeinu Yonah says differently than the pshat we suggested. Rabbeinu Yonah also says it's clear from the Mishnah that Rabbi Meir isn't just stam talking about shiflus as a middah tovah, but he's talking about it in context of Talmud Torah. But Rabbeinu Yonah addresses your question by saying that what Rabbi Meir means is even if you're osek ba-Torah and Baruch Hashem you have hatzlacha, don't feel superior to anyone else. So that's how Rabbeinu Yonah addresses the sequence. What about according to the mahalakh we were suggesting? So ein hakhi nami, you on one level not only could you but on one level as you're correctly pointing out, maybe we even should have stipulated that first. But maybe what Rabbi Meir is also telling us by his placement of it is that Talmud Torah on the one hand, yes, there's a prerequisite of ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה, but Talmud Torah should also engender even more shiflus. And the more a person learns, so the more a person, the more refined his character. should be, the more he realizes how little any person ever really knows and yitachen that by mentioning it second so maybe Rav Meir is having both of these ideas. Okay, thank you. Okay, Rabbi, have a gut Shabbos. You too, thank you.