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Part I.We\u2019re TenantsEARTHQUAKE IN ERETZ YISROELAnyone who reads this week\u2019sparshaknows that in ancient times there was a great \u201cearthquake\u201d that shook the land of Eretz Yisroel every fifty years. Now, the land did not actually shake but on the tenth day of the year, soon after Yovel came in, a loud shofar blast was blown in Eretz Yisroel, and it was a sound that reverberated throughout the land causing great turmoil. It was a blast that was the catalyst for such great commotion, such movement and upheaval, that it was as if an earthquake had shaken the land.What did the sound of the shofar mean? It was an announcement, a grand proclamation to all the residents of Eretz Yisroel that: \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05ea\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05db\u05b5\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b4\u05e6\u05b0\u05de\u05b4\u05ea\u05bb\u05ea \u2013 \u201cThe land shall not be sold forever\u201d (Behar 25:23), and what that meant was that the fields and homes that had been purchased in the last forty-nine years were now returned to their previous owners. That\u2019s how it was in Eretz Yisroel in the times of the first Beis Hamikdash; whenever someone sold a property, it would revert back to the previous owner when Yovel came around. And so, as the Yovel year began, many people who had purchased real estate during the last fifty years had to pack up all their worldly possessions and leave their homes. Many large families with many children were uprooted from their homes.THE REAL ESTATE TUMULTFifty years! That\u2019s a long time! People had become accustomed to living on this property and they invested a lot of money and effort into beautifying their lands and their houses. And now, when that shofar sounded, it was a decree from the King that all the fields that had been purchased in the last fifty years were to be surrendered back to their original owners. And that meant that there was a great flow of people, a tremendous commotion, as people moved from one place to another. Many who had no land of their own for fifty years, people who had wandered like beggars because they had to sell off everything to pay debts, were now restored to their ancestral estates. And on the other hand there were those who had been living in style in big beautiful houses, on spacious grounds \u2013 but they had bought them \u2013 so now they moved out, back onto the street.Of course, it wasn\u2019t a surprise; they knew it was coming, but as prepared as they could have been, we understand that it was a big disturbance for the nation. It had to be, because when real estate must change hands it\u2019s not a simple matter. You\u2019ll have to set records straight, and there are bound to be arguments to settle; this man says that the implements on the land \u2013 his plow or the livestock \u2013 belong to him, and the other one disputes that. There was a great deal of arranging to do and it wasn\u2019t simple. The whole land was in a hubbub. The roads were packed with families; mothers and fathers walking, wagons filled with children and belongings, some heading back home, others leaving their homes. Nobody felt settled; the nation was in an uproar.IT\u2019S ALL MINE!Now, such a ceremony, such a national displacement \u2013 multitudes of people leaving their homes and traveling the roads \u2013 had to have an important purpose! And therefore we should pay attention to what the Torah tells us about this great commotion of Yovel; why is everyone moving? So we take a look at the reason Hakodosh Boruch Hu gives: \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u2013 \u201cThe land belongs to Me! You can\u2019t sell My land outright!\u201d \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d2\u05b5\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9 \u2013 \u201cYou are merely sojourners, settlers, who are living by Me.\u201d That means, \u201cI am your host, and you are My guests.\u201dAnd now we learn a reason for this great commotion. It was a message for the nation; all over the country, they were learning the lesson that the land has a landlord. And it\u2019s a lesson that had to be learned. Otherwise, it would be easy to forget. Here\u2019s a man who came in with Yehoshua bin Nun when they conquered the land and he had delighted in a beautiful fertile land that he found spread out before him. So he invested everything he had into it. All of his energies and all of his time, he put into the land, both he and his children. And so, after a while, they forget that this land once was not theirs and they therefore had to be reminded that somebody had given it to them.And so, once in fifty years all the purchased properties returned to their previous owners to show thatnobodyhas a right in the land. Everybody took notice. Even the people who had no minds, people who didn\u2019t think, they became aware. They saw movement, moving off land, moving into the land. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening here?!\u201d And that was the great drama of the Yovel that Hashem intended. In order to make everyone understand \u2013 not just understand, but in order that everyone shouldfeel in their bonesthat they are only visitors on the land.WILL AMERICA TURN SOCIALIST?Now, it\u2019s not only the nation that practices and studies themitzvahofYovel, who are mere visitors in this world. The Germans and the Norwegians and the Eskimos are only visiting as well. The Pole who has been living in Poland way back as far as his history records is also a stranger. And the Hottentot climbing the trees in the same jungle where his forefathers have been running around for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, he\u2019s also only a visitor in this world. They\u2019re all visitors here and nothing is going to change that; when the time comes they\u2019re also going to leave this world \u2013 the only question is where they\u2019re going to leave to.But the gentile nations weren\u2019t privileged to have themitzvah, the reminder of Yovel. If agoybuys or sells real estate in America or in England, so as long as the liberals don\u2019t have their way, as long as the government doesn\u2019t turn Socialist, so the gentiles could stay in their land forever. They don\u2019t have to be reminded that the land is not theirs, because they are themishpechos ha\u2019adamah, the families of the earth; that means \u2013 their functionis this world. Theirpurposehere isadamahpurposes \u2013 to farm the land, to put down roofs, to be firemen and everything else the world needs. But theAm Yisroelwas given the special privilege of being taught by Hashem that they have a different purpose altogether. By means of the special institution of Yovel we\u2019re reminded that our stay here is only temporary and that what we\u2019re aiming for is something much higher than this world.MR. P. NEEDS OXYGENNow, when you don\u2019t get special instruction, or if you don\u2019t listen to instruction, so you begin to think thatthisis your place. Like the man who moved in next door to me years ago; I remember him well because as we walked to shul on Shabbos morning, he would be outside in his garden clipping his bushes. So this man \u2013 he was quite elderly already when he moved in \u2013 he decided to put up a metal fence, an expensive wrought iron fence. And in the middle of the fence was a big metal circle \u2013 like a shield, an escutcheon \u2013 and he put his initial, a big P of cast iron in the middle. It was something that would last for the next two hundred years. And I was thinking, that initial is only good forhim, forhisname. But how long will he be there?Well, it wasn\u2019t too long. One night, we heard outside somebody crying out. His son was running out of the house, running down the street, yelling \u201cOxygen!\u201d He ran around the corner to the fire station and brought back a little oxygen tank, but it was too late; his father was finished already. And so the family eventually moved, and now somebody else bought the home. The colored man living there now has a big P on the gate in front of his house! It\u2019s not his initial, but it\u2019s still there in heavy metal, an insert in the gate memorializing the man who thought he would be around forever.A HUNDRED YEAR VISITNow, I never saw a Yovel in my life, but this message I did see. I saw it with my own eyes and I took it as a lesson from Hakodosh Boruch Hu that that\u2019s what happens when a person becomes attached to one place; he begins to feel that it\u2019s permanent, that this is security. People start thinking after a while, that they\u2019re here for the next thousand years. It\u2019s not an exaggeration; that\u2019s exactly what they think! Of course, if you tell him so, he\u2019ll ridicule you: \u201cDon\u2019t be silly; I know that one day I will be gone.\u201d But in his heart of hearts, he still hopes, \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll make it. Maybe I\u2019ll be around for a thousand years.\u201d Everybody is like that; they think they\u2019ll get out of it some way. \u201cI\u2019ll hang around; not like the other fools who get finagled into leaving this world.\u201dThe gentile, orchas v\u2019chalila,the Jew who doesn\u2019t learn the lesson ofYovel, so he puts his initial in wrought iron on his fence. But when you know, when you really knowthat you\u2019re only a visitor here you live differently.Now, some people understand this lesson; they take the hint of Hakodosh Boruch Hu and live with the understanding that they are only visitors here. Like the Chofetz Chaim,zichrono livracha. I told you this story already, it\u2019s a story you all know already, but I\u2019ll say it again because it\u2019s the point of our talk tonight. Once a visitor came in to the Chofetz Chaim\u2019s house and he was waiting in what he thought was the anterior room, a waiting room. There was a table there made of a few boards of wood nailed together, and there were a few old benches there too, also just some lumber nailed together. So when the Chofetz Chaim finally came out to greet the visitor, the guest said, \u201cRebbe, you don\u2019t have to talk to me here; let\u2019s go inside.\u201d So the Chofetz Chaim said, \u201cThis is the inside.\u201d \u201cButrebbe, where is the furniture?\u201d So the Chofetz Chaim said to the visitor, \u201cWhere isyourfurniture?\u201d \u201cMy furniture?! I\u2019m from America; I can\u2019t take my furniture with me. I\u2019m just traveling through.\u201d So the Chofetz Chaim said, \u201cSo am I.\u201dTHE LANDLORD WANTS RENT TOO?!On the other hand, I visited a poor man once. He was earning about ninety dollars a week in those days; it was about twenty years ago. I was sitting on the sofa in his house and he told me \u2013 maybe he was trying to impress me \u2013 he said, \u201cThis sofa cost me eight hundred dollars.\u201d Now today, it\u2019s nothing, but in those days when I heard eight hundred dollars, I nearly fell off the sofa. I was sitting on a sofa that cost this man almost ten weeks of his life. Now, I don\u2019t know if that sofa is still around like my neighbor\u2019s P; probably not. But the lesson is still there \u2013 it means that the lesson of Yovel hasn\u2019t been learned yet; it means that we don\u2019t yet understand that we\u2019re only visiting here.Number one is to know that you\u2019re not a landlord here, you\u2019re a tenant. Because of habit, people tend to forget that there is a landlord. Let\u2019s say your landlord takes a trip to Eretz Yisroel and he stays away for five months and in the meantime he doesn\u2019t collect rent, so it becomes a habit. If he would come back and ask for rent so you feel like it\u2019s an imposition. In just five months you became accustomed to being the owner of this place. And we\u2019re here for much more than five months! Seventy, eighty years, is a long time and so we begin to think that this is our place, that this is where we\u2019ll be forever.THE VISIT HAS A PURPOSEAnd so, keeping in mind that we\u2019re visitors here becomes a very important function of how we live. It\u2019s not enough to say over a story of the Chofetz Chaim; you have tothinkabout it \u2013 it\u2019s a very important subject and we should study it seriously.Olam Haba; that is our place! Here we don\u2019t really belong \u2013 we\u2019re just passing through, headed to a better place. And if you\u2019re a person like the Chofetz Chaim let\u2019s say, if you feel like a visitor in this world, so you have higherhasagosthan iron fences and expensive sofas. You consider your success to be in more important things, in things of the spirit.This is expressed in apossukin Tehillim (119:19) when Dovid Hamelech said: \u05d2\u05b5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b8\u05e0\u05b9\u05db\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d1\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u2013 \u201cI am a stranger in this world, \u05d0\u05b7\u05dc \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e1\u05b0\u05ea\u05b5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05b6\u05bc\u05e0\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05de\u05b4\u05e6\u05b0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u2013 Don\u2019t hide from me Your commandments.\u201d What\u2019s the connection between the first part of thepossukand the second? I am a stranger in this world and therefore teach me Your will?! It\u2019s a non-sequitur.And the answer is this: \u201cIf I had no other function in this world than just to be here like a forest or a mountain, if I was from themishpechos ha\u2019adamah,so my function would be fulfilled just by living here. I wouldn\u2019t ask You for anything. But that\u2019s not my function.Geir anochi ba\u2019aretz\u2013 I realize that I am only a visitor here and I am headed for a different goal. And if that\u2019s the case, I have a lot to accomplish in this world where it\u2019s very easy to get lost in its \u2018permanence.\u2019 And that\u2019s why I\u2019m asking You to give me success here.Part II.Tenants with PurposeTHE BOOK OF MEDITATIONSAnd now we come to the subject of what is this success that Dovid was aiming for? What should be the result of this knowledge that we\u2019re only visitors here? So for that we look into theChovos Halevavos, and because his words are always gems we should pay attention to what he says. HisSha\u2019ar Cheshbon Hanefeshis a section in which he talks about subjects which people ought to meditate on; certain mental exercises that we are expected to think about. And he suggests thirty different ideas \u2013 thirty forms of contemplation which he recommends for people who want to make progress. Of course there are many things concerning which we should think, and those who are capable can add to the list, but he gives us thirty ideas to fill our mind with.Now, you can be a good Jew even if you don\u2019t strain your mind too much, but if you want to be something better, if you want to be successful in this world, it\u2019s necessary to contemplate certain ideas. There\u2019s no doubt that to be something in this world you must spend some time thinking. And therefore, the list of the Chovos Halevavos is a boon for those people who want to make progress in this world.At the end of his list, he comes tohamashlim hashloshim, his grand finale, what perhaps is the most important attitude upon which he urges us to spend time thinking. And we\u2019ll quote his words and try to understand them:Hamashlim hashloshim hu cheshbonha\u2019adam im nafsho, the thirtieth thing that a man should think with himself is,b\u2019tna\u2019ei hageirus b\u2019olam hazeh, about his circumstances of being a sojourner, a visitor in this world. That means that everybody is expected to set aside time for thinking, for contemplating the fact that he is only passing through this world temporarily and that he doesn\u2019t really belong here. And therefore he should never feel completely settled and secure in life.TAKING MONEY FROM THE CHINESELet\u2019s say a man went to China for business. He didn\u2019t go there to mingle with the Chinese, or even to visit the tourist sites there. He went for business; in order to make some money to bring back to where hereallybelongs. He\u2019s not interested in anything else \u2013 their language is alien to him, their customs are strange to him, their customs are queer in his eyes. He doesn\u2019t belong to them at all. And even though he might want to go see the Great Wall of China; he\u2019s curious after all, and it\u2019s easier to look at walls than to close business deals. But he knows that he came for one purpose \u2013 to take as much money and goods from China as he can. And while he\u2019s there that\u2019s his sole interest.So he gets into the export business. He gets busy exporting as much as he could out of China. He doesn\u2019t want to leave anything there because he knows that sooner or later he\u2019ll be back home. And that\u2019s us! Our job in this world is to get into the export business. We\u2019re here to take out all that we can. Now, what to export, that\u2019s a lot to talk about, but good deeds surely are valuables that you can take along with you. Thinking about Hashem, that\u2019s definitely something you\u2019ll take with you.Torahu\u2019ma\u2019asim tovim, that\u2019s the cash you\u2019ll take along with you. Ortzeddakahthat you gave. If you give away charity, it\u2019s in your pocket and you\u2019ll take it along with you forever.ALL FOR THE BOSSI once knew a Mr. Hermanzichrono l\u2019vrachafrom the Lower East Side. Now, Mr. Herman was one of the very few devoted frum Jews in the olden days of America.B\u2019leiv v\u2019nefeshhe was devoted to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And he told me once that when he saw that all his money was going lost, that his business was quickly failing \u2013 it was at the time of the Great Depression. So he right away took a thousand dollars \u2013 in those days a thousand dollars was a small fortune \u2013 and he gave it away totzedakahon the spot. He said, \u201cWhy should I lose that too? Why should I lose my chance at exporting more goods into the Next World?\u201d And so Mr. Herman was a smart businessman and he quickly exported another container out of China.Now, what to do forthis worldwhile you\u2019re still here \u2013 I\u2019m not going to tell you right now what you should or shouldn\u2019t do. Should you beautify your home? Should you try to make money? The businessman in China has to sleep somewhere! He can\u2019t sleep on the street. He has to eat as well and keep himself healthy if he wants to succeed. And if he\u2019ll be there for a few years so he\u2019ll have his family with him and he\u2019ll have to provide for them as well. And that costs money.YOU\u2019RE ENTITLED TO A GREEN THUMBSo if you buy a beautiful home and you have a big garden around it, OK, I\u2019m not saying you can\u2019t invest into beautifying your place. Why not? If you like garden work, agriculture, if you have a green thumb, why not? If you can paint on your own, or you can hire people to beautify your home, why not? Maybe why yes? You\u2019ll have to think that through. But whatever you decide, there\u2019s a condition that you always must keep before your mind\u2019s eye: That we\u2019re only tenants. Even though you have a deed and it\u2019s registered in City Hall, and even though you\u2019re painting your house, and fixing your garden, you can\u2019t forget that you\u2019re only a tenant here.It\u2019sHashem\u2019shome and you\u2019re visiting for a little bit; you\u2019re a tenant. Certainly you should live a normal life; but it has to be the normal life of a visitor. You should keep in mind always this great principle, that you\u2019re like a man in a railway station. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re in Grand Central and you have a chance to do some business there. You can buy from one person and sell it to somebody else at the station. Why not? No reason why not. But you have to know that soon you\u2019ll be hearing a whistle and the conductor will shout, \u201cAll aboard.\u201d And you won\u2019t have a choice, you\u2019ll have to get aboard. And so if you\u2019ll keep that in mind, that the train is coming sooner or later, so there\u2019s no reason why you can\u2019t have a nice home as well. As long as you\u2019ll be able to hop on board with a big amount of paper money or banknotes that you\u2019ll be able to cash in when you get to your destination, so you\u2019ve accomplished!And so, in order to remind theAm Yisroelof their condition in this world it was necessary to have aYovel. It was necessary to have this big commotion every fifty years as a national lesson.Everybodybecame aware. Even the people who had no minds, who didn\u2019t think, became aware. They saw the tumult, the roads jammed with people, families moving out of homes, into homes. What\u2019s happening here?! What\u2019s going on? \u201cIt\u2019s no secret,\u201d says Hashem. \u201cI\u2019m telling it to you as open as could be. \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u2013 \u201cThe land is mine\u201d, \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d2\u05b5\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9 \u2013 \u201cYou are only strangers and sojourners with me.\u201d The land doesn\u2019t belong to anyone, not to the one who bought it and not the original owner. It belongs to Somebody else; the real Landlord.\u201dTHE LANDLORD AT THE DOORNow, it\u2019s true that we don\u2019t have theYovelnowadays. We don\u2019t have that privilege of being reminded with such an earth shaking event that turns theAmYisroelupside down. But there are other ways that we remind ourselves. We put the name of our Landlord on every doorpost. Did you know that? \u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05dd \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc \u05de\u05b0\u05d6\u05d5\u05bc\u05d6\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d9\u05ea\u05b6\u05da\u05b8 (Devarim 11:20). That\u2019s one of the important reasons for themitzvahofmezuzah. Whenever you pass through a doorway, it should remind you who owns the house (RambamHil. Mezuzah6:13). Of course, you saved up for years, and finally you got the deed to the house. For years and years you paid and paid to the bank until finally they mailed to you the deed \u2013 you\u2019re free and clear. It\u2019s finally yours!No, you\u2019re not free and clear! Because every time you pass themezuzahyou\u2019re reminded that you still have a Landlord who is the real Owner of the property. And so themezuzahis a remarkable opportunity for learning the lessons ofYovel. If you take advantage of themezuzah, even if it\u2019s only once a day, you can succeed at acquiring the realization that \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5, that the earth belongs to Hashem and that we\u2019re only passing through; just as our forefathers did inEretz Yisroelwhen they still had the institution ofYovel.Part III.Friends of the LandlordONE HUNDRED MEANINGS OF \u201cONE\u201dNow, the most important words inside yourmezuzahareShema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad\u2013 \u201cHashem is One.\u201d You know that these first words in Shema have a number of meanings. I know onemechaberwho wrote aseferwith a hundred meanings and they\u2019re all valuable, all very important. But we won\u2019t try that much; right now we\u2019ll concentrate on the onepeirushthat we need to better understand our subject.TheChovos Halevavos(ibid.), tells us that thepossukdescribing the Yovel, \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d2\u05b5\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9 \u201cYou are sojourners with Me in this world,\u201d is actually teaching us apeirushin what it means that Hashem is One. Because actually, Yovel teaches us much more than that we are travelers who don\u2019t own our homes. \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d2\u05b5\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u2013 \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9 \u2013 \u201cYou are sojournerswith Me!\u201d \u201cWith Me,\u201d meansonlywith Me.Hashem Echad\u2013 as far as you\u2019re concerned there is nobody else in the world except you and Me.And so, theYovelis letting us know that as we live out the years of our lives in this temporary world, we do so as lonely strangers, passing through this world. Nobody else exists in the world, except for Hashem. That\u2019s the idea contained in this important meaning ofHashem Echad,that He\u2019s the only One in our lives.BUT I DON\u2019TFEELLONELY!Now, that\u2019s not easy for a person to accept. He thinks thatb\u2019soch ami anochi yosheves, that he has relatives, a community, friends. He doesn\u2019t feel alone. Hashem? Yes, Hashem is also real, he\u2019ll admit that, he\u2019s a frum man after all. \u201cBut the people around me, that\u2019sreallyreal,\u201d he thinks. And what that means is that he\u2019s missing out on the most important point of this entire drama of Yovel that Hashem is making. Yovel is telling you \u2013 that you are \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9, together with Me, alone, all the days of your life.I want you to listen to the following words of Dovid Hamelech. Dovid appealed to Hakodosh Boruch Hu: \u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9 \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b9\u05d1\u05b5\u05d3 \u2013 \u201cI am wandering like a lost sheep, Hashem, \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05e7\u05b5\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1 \u05e2\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05d3\u05b6\u05bc\u05da\u05b8 \u2013 \u201cSearch out Your servant\u201d (Tehillim 119:176). That means, \u201cPlease find me Hashem because I\u2019m lost; I\u2019m all alone in this world.\u201d Now, you know that Dovid was a man of very great success and power and we\u2019re told that \u05dc\u05b4\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05dc\u05b5\u05d1 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d9\u05b5\u05d4 \u2013 \u201cHe had a heart like the heart of a lion.\u201d (Shmuel II 17:10). He was born with a nature of a lion, and fear was alien to him. He was energetic and brave, and that\u2019s besides for hisbitachon, his trust in Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And yet, this great man revealed his soul when he appealed to Hakodosh Boruch Hu: \u201cI am wandering like a lost and lonely sheep; please find me.\u201dWHO IS THE RIGHT CANDIDATE?Now, if anybodywasn\u2019tlost in this world it was Dovid Hamelech. Looking at him, you would say that he\u2019s the last person in the world to be a candidate for the role of the lost sheep. But what we see is that Dovid understood more than other people what is man\u2019s station in this world. He is enunciating here the great principle of our loneliness in Olam Hazeh \u2013 the great principle that there is nobody in the world except for you and Hashem.And that\u2019s what Dovid said: \u05d4\u05b7\u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d9\u05d8 \u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05df \u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05d9\u05df \u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b7\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e8 \u2013 \u201cI look on my right hand and I see that there\u2019s nobody who knows me\u201d (Tehillim 142:5). \u201cNobody who knows me\u201d!? Dovid of all people?! He was always surrounded by friends; he always had loyal men with him. And yet, when he looked around he saw that he had no one. He felt he was a stranger to everyone. I look at my right hand side and I see that no one knows me! You think they know you? No, it\u2019s only a dream. That\u2019s the real truth, and that\u2019s what Dovid Hamelech was always telling himself. He would sit in the royal court, and look around at his many friends; his admirers, all the courtiers, and he would whisper to himself, \u201cEin li makir, there\u2019s nobody with me; there\u2019s nobody in this world except for You Hashem.\u201dWALKING WITH HASHEMNow, some people think that Dovid was just saying words \u2013 he was just being poetic, creating prose for hissefer Tehillim. But that\u2019s not who Dovid was at all; Dovid spoke words that came from the heart, words that would spring forth from hisneshamaafter many hours of walking in the fields with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Dovid walked with Hashem making thatcheshbon ha\u2019adam im nafshothat we spoke about. He thought many hoursb\u2019tna\u2019ei hageirus b\u2019olam hazeh, about his condition of being a sojourner, a visitor, in this world. And he realized the truth that as far as a man is concerned there isn\u2019t anybody in this world except for Hashem.There isn\u2019t a soul around and that\u2019s the real truth. It\u2019s only imagination. All the forms around you are just ships that pass in the night that have no permanent connection with you. And the truth is \u2013 don\u2019t say this over at home \u2013 but even your wife and your children are transitory figures. They\u2019re not really whoyouare. It so happens that Hakodosh Boruch Hu took some protoplasm made from some of His chemicals and He gave you a father and a mother; He gave you brothers and sisters; and friends and neighbors. But it\u2019s only protoplasm after all. It\u2019s only Hashem\u2019s imagination; it\u2019s only temporary. They came out of the earth, and they were put there for you to deal with them according to the ways of the Torah. And that\u2019s how they\u2019ll deal with you as well, because you\u2019re also only the imagination of Hashem.YOUR IMAGINARY ALLIESNow that doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t get married. It doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t have friends. Oh no! You have to do everything that\u2019s expected of you while you\u2019re in this world. You can\u2019t ignore everyone else. You can\u2019t say, \u201cMy father and my mother are only transitory figures, so I\u2019ll ignore them.\u201d Nothing doing! Nothing doing! You have to discharge your obligations fully \u2013 only that you must not lose sight of your Best Friend in this world, Hakadosh Baruch Hu. You have a wife, and you have children, and friends, and neighbors, and teachers, but you can\u2019t be fooled by it all. It\u2019s a big danger, this world, because if you don\u2019t ever make thischeshbon ha\u2019adam im nafsho, if you never make time to think about your condition ofgeirusin this world, so life creates the impression that you\u2019re surrounded with allies; fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, relatives, and friends.When things are settled, when life settles into the humdrum, so a person feels secure \u2013 he has his home, his family, his job \u2013 and he\u2019s surrounded by people. And it\u2019s among people, when a person feels like he belongs, that\u2019s when it\u2019s so easy to forget about Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Like right now, it seems like we\u2019re together; we\u2019re sitting together in the same room; maybe some of you are sleeping but more or less, it seems like we\u2019re together. But it\u2019s not true; really we are all at sea like ships passing in the night. They pass for a moment and then they\u2019re gone. That\u2019s how people are in this world. It seems that you have friends but the friends disappear in the course of time. And of course you also disappear. And all you have left is Hakodosh Boruch Hu.THE HOLY BACHELORSo even if you\u2019re a loyal husband or a loyal wife, a loyal father or a loyal mother, and you have a house full of children,kein ayin hara, sometimes, when you find yourself alone, make sure to utilize the opportunity to exercise these thoughts. Let\u2019s say the babies are all asleep, and the other ones went out to the yeshiva, and your husband is at work, and you\u2019re alone. Or better yet, if you\u2019re a bachelor. It\u2019s not better to be a bachelor, but if you are, make use of the opportunity.You\u2019re alone. Revel in that opportunity. Just think of how you\u2019d be deprived of the awareness of Hashem if you were surrounded right now by a large family. You would have to exchange your thoughts of Hashem for banter with the children, and for talking with your wife. The telephone is ringing all the time. And here you are alone, nobody bothers you, nobody even knows about you; you\u2019re sitting all alone in your little den, and you\u2019re alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. You and Hakodosh Boruch Hu are alone together. That\u2019s an opportunity! And when such opportunities come your way, you should grab them and utilize them.ALL ALONE ON THE CROWDED SUBWAYBut we\u2019re saying here that you don\u2019t have to wait for that quiet moment; for when the special occasion presents itself. Because even when you\u2019re walking on the street, you\u2019re all alone with Hashem. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re on Broadway at the end of the day, and a wave, an ocean of humanity is pouring out of the office buildings. And sometimes it\u2019s so crowded you can\u2019t even walk, you\u2019re being carried along to the subway, with thousands of people. Just then, that\u2019s when you should think, \u201cHashem Echad! I\u2019m alone with You in this world.\u201dAnd when you get onto the train, no difference. You\u2019re hanging on to the strap at 5:30 in the subway \u2013 if you were lucky enough to get a strap to hang on to. And as you\u2019re hanging on the strap, first of all make sure that your wallet is secure \u2013 don\u2019t go off in dreams and forget practical things. And as you\u2019re holding on tightly like this, with one hand on the strap and one hand on your wallet, think that you\u2019re all alone here; it\u2019s just you and Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Close your eyes and feel that the place is empty. All around you is a storm of humanity with all their little interests, their little worries, their conversations, their little minds; and you\u2019re holding onto the strap all alone with your Best Friend.It\u2019s an exercise \u2013 and it\u2019s well worth it. And it comes highly recommended by theChovos Halevavos. He says that it\u2019s possible to be in solitude in the midst of a multitude. That\u2019s his expression, \u05d4\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d3\u05b0\u05d3\u05d5\u05bc\u05ea \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05da\u05b0 \u05d4\u05b2\u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u2013 \u201cIn the midst of a multitude you can be all alone.\u201d Because that\u2019s the real truth; even when you\u2019re in a crowd, you\u2019re hanging on a strap in the subway, you\u2019re all alone because everything else isonly a dream \u2013kachalom ya\u2019uf\u2013 like a passing dream. And the more you think, the more you\u2019re exercising the flabby muscles of your soul. And therefore as frequently as possible try to remember that you and Hakodosh Boruch Hu are alone in the world.MOSHE RABEINU\u2019S COMPOSITIONMoshe Rabeinu said that, and he said it in words that everybody knows. Only that most people never stop to think about these words. \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05e4\u05b4\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05b9\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05e7\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u2013 It\u2019s a prayer composed by Moshe, one of the rare things left over from the days of old, a memento of Moshe\u2019s own composition that lets us peer into the mind of theishha\u2019elokim, that great man of G-d. Moshe Rabbeinu, he said a lot of good things, but we don\u2019t have them. One remnant remains from the precious mouth of this great teacher, and it\u2019s a diamond. A prayer by Moshe; isn\u2019t that an opportunity?! We should study that! Moshe\u2019s own composition!And here\u2019s what he said: \u05d4\u05b7\u05e9\u05b5\u05bc\u05c1\u05dd \u05de\u05b8\u05e2\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b8 \u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u2013 \u201cHashem, You are our dwelling place\u201d (Tehillim 90:1). It\u2019s a remarkable statement. It means, \u201cHashem, we don\u2019t have a place to live and so we livein You.\u201d You know when that was? Ideally it was in the wilderness. We had no place to be in the wilderness. We didn\u2019t have any land, no place to settle. Wherever we did settle, it was only temporary. We were surrounded by the Shechina, by the clouds of glory, and You were our dwelling place. We lived in You. And that was the training, the prototype for the rest of our history; because wherever we go we still live in You.That\u2019s why theAm Yisroel,when they talk about Hashem, so they sayHamakom.Hamakom yinacheim,Hamakomthis,Hamakomthat.Makommeans place and Hashem istheplace. We live in Him. You think you live in a house; you think you live in a home with your parents or your spouse and your children. No, you live in Hashem, that\u2019s all. He\u2019s your home.THE ARABS TEACH US ABOUT YOVELWe have to be aware of that. That\u2019s part of our job in this world, to remember that there\u2019s no place in this world; it\u2019s all imagination \u2013 there\u2019s only one true place.Hamakom! Hakodosh Boruch Hu is the place. Even the place where we are is only a dream, it\u2019s our imagination. We have no place but you!That\u2019s why a Jew is always hounded in this world; the Jew walks on the street in Europe and thegoyimcast slurs on him; they tell him, \u201cGet out of our country you dirty Jew. Go to Israel!\u201d And if he does, so theArabstell him to get out, the U.N. tells him to get out. And it\u2019s not for no reason \u2013 it\u2019s important instruction to let him know that he really has no place in this world. And the purpose of not having any place in this world is to discover that we do have a place. And that place isHamakom Baruch Hu\u2013 Hakadosh Baruch Hu is called a place, because wherever we are, it\u2019s only Him whom we live with.So what do we see? That the great ceremony of the Yovel was intended as a lesson for theAm Yisroel. It was a national demonstration of the most important truths \u2013 I say most important because it reveals to us the truth of our condition in this world. It\u2019s really one lesson, but we separated it into two for the sake of better understanding it. First of all, theYoveldemonstrated to us that Hakodosh Boruch Hu is the Landlord and that we are only tenants visiting in this world. And in order that we should keep this lesson in our minds at all times the Torah instituted this remarkable practice \u2013 a great shuffle up once every fifty years \u2013 so that it would make the deepest impression into ourneshamos.OUR OLD FRIENDAnd the second lesson, the more subtle teaching, is that our Landlord is theonlyone we have in this world. We\u2019re strangers, we\u2019re all alone in this world andHakadosh Baruch Hu is our only Friend. And He\u2019s the best Friend you could have. That\u2019s what it says: \u05e8\u05b5\u05e2\u05b2\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d0\u05b8\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b7\u05dc \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05d6\u05b9\u05d1 \u2013 \u201cDon\u2019t forsake your Friend and the Friend of your father\u201d (Mishlei 27:10). That\u2019s \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05e7\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b5\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05e7\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc. That\u2019s our old Friend. He is tried and trusted and He\u2019s the only one we have.And even though today we don\u2019t have theYovel; we don\u2019t hear the shofar blast, and we don\u2019t feel the earthquake that once woke theAm Yisroelfrom its slumber, from the lethargy of not thinking, but we study it and we gain as much as we possibly can from its teachings.And the wise person always makes use of the deed to his home that adorns his doorposts. Every time we pass in and out of our homes we are reminded that our home is not really a home at all; it\u2019s merely the place we\u2019re visiting temporarily. It\u2019s the place where we spend our fleeting lives preparing to enter our permanent home in the next world, where we will meet theHashem Echadwho was our one and only true Friend in this world.HAVE A WONDERFUL SHABBOS See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.