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Preface to ChassidusPart I.A Fitting SequelTHE MOST SPECTACULAR EVENT IN OUR HISTORYThe greatest event in the history of our nation, the most remarkable spectacle that theAm Yisroelwould ever witness, wasMatan Torah.We stood at Har Sinai and we saw what nobody before ever saw. \u05d4\u05e0\u05d4\u05d9\u05d4 \u05db\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d2\u05d3\u05d5\u05dc \u05d4\u05d6\u05d4 \u05d0\u05d5 \u05d4\u05e0\u05e9\u05de\u05e2 \u05db\u05de\u05d5\u05d4\u05d5 \u05d4\u05e9\u05de\u05e2 \u05e2\u05dd \u05e7\u05d5\u05dc \u05d0\u05dc\u05d5\u05e7\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u05de\u05ea\u05d5\u05da \u05d4\u05d0\u05e9 \u05db\u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05e9\u05de\u05e2\u05ea \u05d0\u05ea\u05d4 \u05d5\u05d9\u05d7\u05d9 \u2013 \u201cHas there ever been any such thing like this great event or has anything like it been heard?! Has a people ever heard the Voice of Hashem speaking from the midst of the fire as you have heard, and survived?!\u201d (D\u2019varim 4:32). Even Avraham Avinu, the great thinker and philosopher, the man who discovered Hashem against all odds, wasn\u2019tzochehto such a spectacular display of Hashem\u2019s Presence. It was so remarkable, an experience so sensational, that \u05e0\u05e4\u05e9\u05d9 \u05d9\u05e6\u05d0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8\u05d5 \u2013 \u201cOur souls left our bodies when we heard His word\u201d (Shir Hashirim 5:6). And the Gemara says (Shabbos 88b) that they all fell down dead. And here we\u2019ll understand that to mean that they all fell down in a faint. They fainted in fright and they had to be revived.When they heard that tremendous voice, the words \u05d0\u05e0\u05db\u05d9 \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d0\u05dc\u05d5\u05e7\u05d9\u05da, it was an experience of the greatest love and yearning for Hashem that our nation would ever experience. Thereafter, forever and ever, the memory of that great day is etched into our minds; and it will always be the focus of our nation\u2019s yearning. \u05d9\u05e9\u05e7\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9 \u05de\u05e0\u05e9\u05d9\u05e7\u05d5\u05ea \u05e4\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5 \u2013 \u201cKiss me with the kisses of Your mouth,\u201d we say to Hashem (Shir Hashirim 1:2). The deepest desire of the Jewish nation is to experience a second encounter of that kind. \u05d5\u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05d9\u05e9\u05de\u05d9\u05e2\u05e0\u05d5 \u05e9\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea \u2013 \u201cHe should let us hear His voice a second time.\u201d\xad\xad Our greatest desire is to experience again that great moment when when we heard the thundering voice of Hakodosh Boruch Hu: \u201cI am Hashem your G-d.\u201dWE WERE READY FOR EVERYTHINGNow, after this was all over, at the conclusion of this glorious experience, there\u2019s no question that the people were on a very high level of enthusiasm. It\u2019s certain that theAm Yisroelfelt the highest emotions of dedication to Hashem. Their minds were attuned and prepared now for the greatest of ideals, and they expected nowto hear who knows what kind of instruction in walking the path towards Hashem! The greatest ideals and attitudes, the deepest of Torah secrets and the mysteries of our purpose in life \u2013 perfection in all of its details. That\u2019s what they were expecting. After all, Hakodosh Boruch Hu, the Master of the Universe, had just come down on Har Sinai to rendezvous with His chosen people and to prepare them for their historic future as the one nation that would serve Him until the end of all history. And theAm Yisroelwas on such a high that they were ready to accept it all. \u05e0\u05e2\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d5\u05e0\u05e9\u05de\u05e2 \u2013 \u201cWe want to do everything! Just let us know what is the path that we should walk on in order to delight in Your Presence forever and ever, and we will run in haste down that road.\u201dAnd so what happened then? What followedMatan Torah?! A remarkable thing!\u05d5\u05d0\u05dc\u05d4 \u05d4\u05de\u05e9\u05e4\u05d8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05ea\u05e9\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05e4\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4\u05dd \u2013 \u201cAnd these are the statutes that you, Moshe, should place before them\u201d (Shemos 21:1). Laws of dealing with your fellow man; all forms of damages, and the monetary relationships with those around you. We sit down to learnMishpatimwithpeirushRashiand we\u2019re readinga law book! The dry details of how to treat your fellow man\u2019s property; his cows and his sheep, his shirt and his land. All the various payments for bodily injury, and the laws of torts and contractual agreements.Parshas Mishpatimis famous as the source ofdinei mamanosandnezikin.IS THIS ALL?!And that\u2019s a big question. What\u2019sMishpatimdoing over here? These aren\u2019t the high ideals that we were waiting for! Is this what we accepted the Torah for?! We had just heard the Voice of Hashem! The booming thunder, the bolts of lightning and the smoking mountain! We saw the Presence of Hashem with our own eyes! And for this?! Just to hear these mundane monetary laws?! It\u2019s a remarkable fact that this was the introduction to their relationship with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. The details, the minutiae, the petty claims and counterclaims of a man and his fellow were the first things that they heard from Hashem after the great event ofMatan Torah\u2013 just at that very moment when their hearts were open to everything, ready to hear the most sublime ideas. I don\u2019t know about you, but I think it\u2019s a big question.Let\u2019s say aba\u2019al teshuvacomes into yeshiva for the first time. And so, he\u2019d like to hear about ideals; he\u2019d like to be taught noble aspirations and life-changing attitudes. That\u2019s why he came in, because he\u2019s an idealist. And instead, what does he get? The first book they give him isBava Kama! He wanted ideals, and instead he\u2019s being treated to a course in contracts and torts. He\u2019s looking for Hashem, and instead he finds laws about what happens if one\u2019s animal trespasses into his fellow man\u2019s field and eats some of the grain. Or, if you leave your wine barrel in the public path, and someone\u2019s camel falls over it. And it\u2019s endless; it goes on and on. Sometimes there\u2019s a little oasis of a few lines ofagadataby which he can refresh hisneshama.Aba\u2019al teshuva,any idealist, loves that. And he\u2019s waiting for it. Sometimes it seems to him that all the rest of it is unnecessary. \u201cIf only we could skip over all of this, and just spend our time on the noble ideals.\u201d That\u2019s what he\u2019s thinking.A SEVENTH OF THE TALMUDBut you find in theGemarathatagadatais only one seventh of theGemara.The other six sevenths is taken up by practical questions and technicalities. And it takes up a lot of space. It boggles the mind how much time and space is devoted to details and sub details \u2013 minutiae of damages.Bava Kama, Bava Metziah, Bava Basra! Three bigmesichtas! And young people spend their lives studying them. Years go by. They could have learnedmiddos tovosin that time. They could have learnedMesillas YesharimorChovosHalevavosin that time. We lose out on so many great things because of the time spent in the threeBavas.I remember years ago I met a Jewish street cleaner. He was dressed in a white uniform, and he was pushing a barrel on wheels and holding a brush. He saw me on the street and he stopped to talk to me, to tell me that his grandchild had started in ayeshiva. But he was bothered: \u201cI\u2019m surprised,\u201d he said. \u201cMy grandson is being trained to be a lawyer! They\u2019re studying law!\u201d \u201cWhat kind of law?\u201d I asked him. So he was telling me. He was explaining to me the beginning ofBava Kama, the firstmishnahabout if a man sets a small fire and a wind comes and the fire spreads to his neighbor\u2019s field.Here\u2019s this little boy, and his mind is being occupied, cluttered up, with ashorand aborand amav\u2019ehand ahev\u2019er;all theavosnezikin, andtoldos, and all the details of damages. And it\u2019s not merely that oneyeshivahas this system. It\u2019s the system of the Jewish people. And we do that because this was the system that Hakodosh Boruch Hu first showed us when He gave us the Torah. It wasMatan Torah,and right away,Mishpatim!THE FIRST RUNG ON THE LADDERNow, certainlyMatan Torahopened up for theAm Yisroela vista ofshleimus;a new horizon of lofty ideals and noble attitudes. Absolutely it did! The Torah is a ladder that is \u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d5 \u05de\u05d2\u05d9\u05e2 \u05d4\u05e9\u05de\u05d9\u05de\u05d4, all the way up to the heavens. Great ideals of the mind, perfection of character, andkirvas Hashem;it\u2019s all included in what the Torah teaches us and obligates us. But what we\u2019re learning here is thatParshasMishpatimis how to get there! The very first rung of the ladderadla\u2019shamayim, is to learn aboutnezikin.And it\u2019s going to be the attitudes that we mine fromParshas Mishpatimthat will guide us all of our lives as we come close to Hashem. What comes afterwards is certainly a good thing, butthe first rung isnezikin. Mishpatimis the necessary beginning, the foundation of all greatness.But the question we have to ask is,why is this so? Why is it that in order to begin a career of devotion to Hashem, you have make it your business to be very cautious aboutmili d\u2019nezikin, careful with your fellow man\u2019s safety, and the safety of his property? Why isParshas Mishpatimthe first rung on the ladder, and the foundation ofavodas Hashem?RECOGNIZING THE REAL BOSSAnd so we\u2019ll explain as follows: The preface to living a life of awareness of Hashem is the knowledge that this world is nothefker; we have to realize that even to walk on the face of the earth, we need permission. \u05dc\u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05e5 \u05d5\u05de\u05dc\u05d5\u05d0\u05d4 \u2013 \u201cThe earth and everything in it all belongs to Hashem.\u201d Only that, \u05d5\u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05e5 \u05e0\u05ea\u05df \u05dc\u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d3\u05dd \u2013 \u201cHe gave us permission to walk on it, and to use the things in it.\u201d But we have to realize thatit is Hewho gives us permission. And He gives us permission only with certain conditions, most of which are included in themili d\u2019nezikinofmishpatimanddinim. Certain places you can\u2019t walk, and certain things you can\u2019t use. You can walk only where He permitted you to go. You can use only what He allows, and only in the way He allows. Suppose that something belongs to somebody else, so you have no right to walk into his territory, or use his property, because Hashem didn\u2019t give you permission. Wherever you walk, whatever you use, you must always be careful to follow His guidelines.Mishpatimteaches us that when a person uses what is not his, he\u2019s actually taking what Hakodosh Boruch Hu owns. When he\u2019s not careful with other people\u2019s property or selves, then he\u2019s making his way in this world without the permission of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And therefore before any step that you make in this world, any dealings you have with somebody else, or somebody else\u2019s property, you must be aware that you\u2019re dealing with somebody much bigger than you imagined. If you eat what belongs to somebody else, you are robbing Hashem. If you walk on somebody\u2019s property without permission, so it\u2019s also Hashem who didn\u2019t give you permission; you\u2019re trespassing on Hashem\u2019s property. He only permitted that man who made akinyan, the one who acquired ownership, to use His things; anybody else has to be very careful.WHEN MONEY IS SACREDWhat we\u2019re saying now is that private property is a sacred foundation of the Torah because it includes the Awareness that everything belongs to Hashem. Private property is really Hashem\u2019s property. As far as you are concerned, this man\u2019s property is Hashem\u2019s property. And even if you have permission to use something, or to go someplace, but if you use it in a way that the owner doesn\u2019t want, so you\u2019re sinning againstthe realOwner. And if you\u2019re ashomer, if you\u2019re guarding something that belongs to someone else, so you\u2019re guarding Hashem\u2019s property. And if you\u2019re not careful and you cause damage to someone else\u2019s property, you\u2019re sinning against the property of Hashem.And therefore to be awareall the timeabout how you are treating this man and that man, and about how you are treating your neighbor\u2019s property and your friend\u2019s objects, means that you are keeping Hashem in mindall the time.Because it\u2019s impossible to be as careful as the Torah expects, it\u2019s impossible to fulfill the details that the Torah demands of you, unless you are aware that Hashem is always watching and that He is making these demands of you.Parshas Mishpatimis full of examples, full of warnings of how careful a person must be, and all of them are models for any form of damage that a person might cause someone else. And if you want to be a success in this world you will have to be on constant guard to never cause any harm. That\u2019s step number one. And so,Mishpatimis the foundation of Awareness of Hashem in our lives at all times, and it is therefore the foundation of allavodas Hashem.PART II.Authentic ChassidusHOW TO BECOME ACHOSSIDThis is why thegemarain Bava Kama says: \u05de\u05d0\u05df \u05d3\u05d1\u05e2\u05d9 \u05dc\u05de\u05d4\u05d5\u05d9 \u05d7\u05e1\u05d9\u05d3\u05d0 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e7\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d3\u05e0\u05d6\u05d9\u05e7\u05d9\u05df \u2013 \u201cIf someone wants to be achossid,a pious man, let him fulfill the things ofnezikin,of being careful with other people\u2019s money and body.\u201d (Bava Kama 30a). Now let\u2019s pay attention to these words, \u05de\u05d0\u05df \u05d3\u05d1\u05e2\u05d9, a personwishesto be achossid. It doesn\u2019t mean that if a person is very careful not to harm anyone, that he\u2019s considered achossidalready, no. Even though you were always on guard and you never caused anyone any harm whatsoever, you\u2019re not achossidyet. You might need much more to become achossid. But \u05de\u05d0\u05df \u05d3\u05d1\u05e2\u05d9, if you want tobecomeachossid, this is the first step that you must fulfill.You must learn to be constantly aware of Hashem, aware enough that you are always on guard to protect your fellow man and his property against any injury that could happen.It\u2019s a great principle that you\u2019re hearing right now. If you want to reach the summit of perfection, if you want to be achossidin the eyes of Hashem, it starts with being careful with your fellow man\u2019s property. For some of us, this may seem exaggerated. Suppose someone would ask you, \u201cWhat\u2019s a program for me to become a pious man?\u201d With our little heads, with what we know, we would say, \u201cWell, first on the list is fasting. A lot of fasting!\u201d But it doesn\u2019t say a word about that over here. Maybe achossidfasts as well, I cannot tell you, but not a word is mentioned in thisgemaraabout fasting. Who knows what kind of a program we would think up if we were asked to decide! It\u2019s lucky that we didn\u2019t have the chance to put anything into thechumashand into thegemara.Because \u05de\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d3\u05e0\u05d6\u05d9\u05e7\u05d9\u05df would be all the way on the bottom of the list.BREAKING IN TO STUDY TORAHThere was once a boy who wanted to enter my shul to study Torah. The door was locked, but he was a dedicated boy, full of enthusiasm, so he was trying to make his way in through the window. I happened to come just as he was breaking the window. He didn\u2019t intend to break it; he was just trying to force it open, but it broke. Now a window costs money, but I didn\u2019t say anything. He was a yeshiva boy, a sixteen year old boy, so I kept quiet. He should have paid, but I didn\u2019t say anything.A few months later, I met him on Church Avenue on Shabbos. And he\u2019s all dressed up in achassideshe kapoteh.With silk lapels; beautiful! It\u2019s a beautiful thing to honor the Shabbos. Now, he wasn\u2019t achossid;he didn\u2019t come from such a family at all! He came from Canarsie. I don\u2019t even know if his parents areshomrei Shabbos.But that was his idea of being achossid.He wanted to wear achassideshe kapoteh.Nothing wrong with that, but it costs a lot of money. Thesekapotehscan cost a small fortune. Silk lapels! And I was thinking to myself, \u201cThat\u2019s his idea of being achossid?Because thegemarahas other, less fanciful, ideas. \u05de\u05d0\u05df \u05d3\u05d1\u05e2\u05d9 \u05dc\u05de\u05d4\u05d5\u05d9 \u05d7\u05e1\u05d9\u05d3\u05d0 \u2013 someone who wants to be achossid, the first thing is \u05dc\u05d9\u05e7\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d3\u05e0\u05d6\u05d9\u05e7\u05d9\u05df \u2013 he should fulfill all of the details of never doing any sort of damage. If you want to be achossid, you should be thinking all the time about what you\u2019re doing. Achossidthinks before he pushes on somebody\u2019s window so hard. And if he breaks it, he pays for it.\u201dTHE PSHETEL-SAYERThere was a man, atalmid chochom,who always met me on the street and he told me hisdivreitorah ba\u2019arichus,longpshetelechhe would recite for me.I would see him from a distance, and try to hide from him. But often he caught hold of me and each time he did, he told me hispshatim. I never told him mypshatim! And one day I heard that a grandchild was visiting in his house and she fell out of the window.Ay yah yay, a terrible tragedy it was! But I saw that this man never began to learn the elementary principles of Torah. He was already involved insisrei Torah, in delving intopesukimand telling me secrets that thepossukismirameiz\u2013 the plainpshatwas no longer interesting, because he \u201cknew\u201d that, certainly. So he was going into secrets of the Torah. But here is the most open lesson of the Torah and he has overlooked it. He forgot that Hashem is watching him all time and making demands of him; he forgot that he has to always be on guard. How can anybody allow a little child into his house unless he first ran to inspect if the windows are locked shut \u2013 or that window guards are properly installed?! With all thepshetelechyou know, it didn\u2019t occur to you that you\u2019re ashomer?!Whatwe\u2019re seeing now thatnezikin,not to damage others people\u2019s things, is a great responsibility because it demands constant Awareness. It\u2019s only possible to fulfill thesedinimif you keep Hashem in mind always. \u201cBecause if you were aware of Me always,\u201d says Hashem; \u201cIf you would train yourself to always be aware that I\u2019m watching you, you\u2019d be careful. And if you\u2019re not practicing being Aware of Me all the time, then it\u2019s impossible for you to succeed in this world, it doesn\u2019t matter how big of atalmid chochomyou are.\u201dTHE SINNINGTZADDIKIMImagine you\u2019re a man who is going beforePesachto distribute packages, parcels to needy families. So you step into your car and you\u2019re loaded down with various packages \u2013matzohs, bottles of wine and other things. You\u2019re a special fellow! You must be, because you\u2019re taking from your own time, and your own money, to help others. And you\u2019re in a hurry \u2013 you have a lot of good deeds to accomplish. So you\u2019re speeding through the streets. \u201cOhhhh! You\u2019re speeding now,\u201d Hakodosh Boruch Hu says. \u201cThat\u2019s worse than if you hadn\u2019t delivered any packages at all.\u201d You\u2019re endangering people. There will be a much greater punishment for that, for endangering other people, than for not being agoimel chasodim tovim.The very first thing that\u2019s expected of you is not to transgress anynezikin.What comes after that is certainly a good thing. Butnezikinis the most basic responsibility you have.And the father who ismechanechhis children in themitzvosofChanukah. Every child must have amenorah! He wants to be from themehadrin. And even the smallest child is standing in front of hismenorahbeing trained to say thatbrachosand light the candles. It\u2019s beautiful! But then the father walks out the room. He\u2019s arasha! He\u2019s not achossid, and he\u2019s not amehadrin. He\u2019s arashagommur. A realrasha,not a half-baked one. And if you tell him that, you\u2019ll earn a lifelong enemy. \u201cYou call me such a name?! We\u2019re allovdeiHashemin this house. Look how much we\u2019remehaderafter mitzvos. Even the little children are beingm\u2019chunach, being trained to lightChanukahcandles.\u201d And so we tell him, \u201cNo my friend, you\u2019re looking at the top of the ladder, but you\u2019re forgetting about the first rung.\u201d Becausenezikin,beinadaml\u2019chaveiro, being careful not to harm somebody\u2019s body, his life, his property, and his feelings, is the very first consideration.HOW TO LIVE AND HOW TO DIEAnd our great people always lived that way. They climbed the ladder of perfection one rung at a time. And even when they stood on the highest rungs, they never let go of the first steps they took. When Reb Zelmeleh Volozhin, the brother of Rav Chaim Volozhin, was on his deathbed, people came to visit him. And they found him lying on his bed and learning Torah without stop. This is how it\u2019s described inToras Ha\u2019adam: Reb Zelmeleh was very weak \u2013 he was at the last moments of his life \u2013 so the people there said to him, \u201cOur dear Rebbi, please take a rest. You\u2019re so tired and weak.\u201d So he said, \u201cI can\u2019t stop; it\u2019s aGemara. \u05d6\u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05ea\u05d5\u05e8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05d3\u05dd \u05db\u05d9 \u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05ea \u05d1\u05d0\u05d4\u05dc, \u05d0\u05e4\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5 \u05d1\u05e9\u05e2\u05ea \u05de\u05d9\u05ea\u05d4 \u05ea\u05d4\u05d0 \u05e2\u05d5\u05e1\u05e7 \u05d1\u05ea\u05d5\u05e8\u05d4 \u2013 \u201cEven in one\u2019s dying moments, he should be learning Torah\u201d (Shabbos 83b). So Reb Zelmeleh kept on learning.\u201cBut I want to get up out of bed,\u201d he said. \u201cBecauseChazalsay that a person should spend one third of his time sitting, one third standing and one third walking (Kesubos 111a). So I want to get up and walk a little bit to fulfill thisgemara.\u201d Now, Reb Zelmeleh was very weak; he was on his deathbed, and he couldn\u2019t get up without a cane. But he didn\u2019t have one. \u201cOh, there\u2019s a cane; right here in the corner! Take this cane; here take it\u201d they said to him. But Reb Zelmeleh said, \u201cNo, no, I can\u2019t take the cane. It doesn\u2019t belong to me.\u201d \u05d4\u05e9\u05d5\u05d0\u05dc \u05e9\u05dc\u05d0 \u05de\u05d3\u05e2\u05ea \u05d2\u05d6\u05dc\u05df \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u2013 \u201cSomeone who borrows his friend\u2019s object without permission is a robber\u201d (Bava Metziah 41a). So they ran out to find the owner to get permission. And only after they returned did Reb Zelmeleh get up and use the cane. He walked around for a few minutes, talking in learning, and then he laid down and took his last breath. That was a man who had his head in the clouds all the time; he lived on the highest rungs of perfection, but he always knew that \u05de\u05d0\u05df \u05d3\u05d1\u05e2\u05d9 \u05dc\u05de\u05d4\u05d5\u05d9 \u05d7\u05e1\u05d9\u05d3\u05d0 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e7\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d3\u05e0\u05d6\u05d9\u05e7\u05d9\u05df. Being careful with the possessions of others comes first.EATING SWINE MOTZOEI PESACHAnd not only their possessions \u2013 you have to worry about people themselves! Let\u2019s say a man is putting away hisPesachthings \u2013 he\u2019s carrying down thePesachdishes, and he sees one thing among the dishes that he wants to put with thechometzthings, to keep it for all year round. So as he\u2019s carrying the box of dishes down the stairs, he puts this one thing on the stairs for the time being. Oh no! Stairs are areshus harabimwhere people are going up and down. An object on the stairs is like abor b\u2019rshus harabim. It\u2019s abor b\u2019rshuso,but since people have the right to go up and down, your family has the right to use the steps, so you\u2019re endangering their lives by putting something there. Nothing is allowed to be put on the stairs! If somebody would step on it, you know what could happenchalilah? That man lost sight of Hashem for a few moments!The sin of making aboris the same as eating swine. And to eat ham, to eat pork, you\u2019re far away from that; it\u2019s something you would never do. But leaving something on the steps? It happens all the time! And because not having wicked intentions is no excuse, Hashem leaves you almost no room for error.Shaleim yishaleim(Mishpatim 25:5), Hashem says. The double expression, \u201cPay, you must pay!\u201d is coming to tell us something. It\u2019s for emphasis! Even though you hadnointention to cause any harm \u2013 \u201cI just put it down for a second,\u201d still \u201cPay, you must pay!\u201d says Hashem.WHAT\u2019S \u201cEXCUSE ME\u201d?!When there are children\u2019s toys on the floor \u2013 that\u2019s your responsibility. Maybe you\u2019re familiar with your floor. But if someone else coming into your home \u2013 and they always do \u2013 they don\u2019t know that you leave things on the floor. So it\u2019s your obligation to collect the toys; that person is not aware of pitfalls that you set for him on the floor. There was an elderly woman here who walked into a home and fell over a child\u2019s toy. And she broke her hip. So the parents said, \u201cOh\u201d and \u201cUh,\u201d and they said, \u201cWe\u2019re so sorry.\u201d Sorry?! You\u2019remazikim!You\u2019re responsible! You have to learn what it means to have regard for others people\u2019s welfare and their property. \u201cExcuse me,\u201d is not enough. It\u2019s a sin on your part. And you\u2019ll pay for it!The utmost caution is required when you are ashomer. If Hakodosh Boruch Hu gave you a child, so you were appointed as a watchman, and now it\u2019s your duty to be on guard at all times. And even though you think it\u2019s onerous and it\u2019s burdensome, so you say, \u201cHow many times do such things take place? It never happens; it\u2019s a rarity,\u201d excuses won\u2019t help. Hakodosh Boruch Hu is not absolving you because of your excuses. Mothers must always feel a great responsibility for the safety of their children.DON\u2019T BLAME HASHEM!Now if something happenedchalilahand parents sit down and mourn, and they say, \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05e0\u05ea\u05df \u05d5\u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05dc\u05e7\u05d7, Hashem gave us a gift, and now he took His gift back, so people praise them for theiremunah, for their belief in Hashem. But we must know that sometimes this is a very great hypocrisy. Because if it had been possible for the parents to foresee and forestall what happened, so they are are considered as if they had done this act with their own hands. Instead of parading astzadikimwith their greatemunahthat Hashem did it, so Hashem says, \u201cDon\u2019t blame Me!\u201dIf you allow your son to go on a trip to a different city with a certain group, is that called responsibility? Do you know the person in charge of that group? Your son doesn\u2019t know the streets in a strange city. In your own neighborhood you know where to be careful.Chalilahit happens sometimes. A boy was hit by a car; he was unaccustomed to the way the cars turn on that unfamiliar street and there was an accident. And the boy never came back home. The parents are held responsible for that. Just to give your son forhefker? Do you know who\u2019s in charge of that group? Is it a responsible adult? For a boy in a strange city it better be someone extremely responsible. Would you give your money into that man\u2019s hands? Let\u2019s say you had ten thousand dollars; would you allow him to handle your ten thousand like that? And your son you allow him to handle?!PART III.The Result of StudyingTHE FIRST THING TO KNOW AS A SECULAR JEWWithout studying, without always thinking, every man thinks he\u2019s honest. He knows that others are not, but he\u2019s honest. Let me tell you a little story. There was a time when I used to take a taxi every day. I had to go from one school to another to talk. And I used the same driver every day; he was an old American Jew, an eighty year old man. To all the institutions that I had to speak, he always took me there. So he became like a close associate of mine. Now this man didn\u2019t know how to learn a thing. He didn\u2019t even knowsiddur; he knew nothing. But one thing hedidknow. He knew that the Orthodox Jews are no good. That, they all know; that\u2019s the first thing a secular Jew knows.He was describing to me how his daughter was married. He had an old daughter who finally got married and he hired achazentahto put on a tallis and a yarmulke and she sang \u201cOh Promise Me,\u201d \u2013a big fatchazentahsinging her heart out. When I gave him a make-believe smile, so he said, \u201cYou Orthodox Jews don\u2019t have any beauty in your ceremonies.\u201dWE ATHEISTS DON\u2019T STEAL!So while he\u2019s driving, he\u2019s telling me his criticism of Orthodox Jews, all of his complaints. This and that, and also how honest of a manhewas \u2013 unlike the Orthodox. Finally we crossed the parkway and we came into Flatbush \u2013 there was a long way to go yet \u2013 and he closed down his meter. I said, \u201cWhy are you closing the meter?\u201d So he tells me \u201cBecause my boss earned enough today. The rest of the fare will go to me.\u201d This was the man who prided himself on being honest!He didn\u2019t even dream that anything was wrong, he didn\u2019t dream that he was a crook. And that\u2019s how it is \u2013 the unorthodox don\u2019t even know that they\u2019re crooks. All they know is that the Orthodox are crooks. By virtue of being Orthodox, you\u2019re already a crook.I walked past a fruit store the other day, and I see a lady, not a poor woman. She\u2019s wearing a fur coat; she\u2019s dressed very proper. So she stops by the apricots in the bin outside, and she takes an apricot and begins to eat it. And then a second apricot. She\u2019s aganav!I see it all the time \u2013 gentiles in the street, walking past the fruit store and picking off a few grapes. And then some peanuts and even a plum. \u201cOh,\u201d they\u2019ll say, \u201cI\u2019m just tasting to see if I want to make a purchase.\u201d Just tasting?!Ah nechtige tug!I see it all the time and I tell them it\u2019s stealing. \u201cYou can\u2019t steal from the owner like that!\u201d And the lady is surprised. \u201cMe, steal?!\u201d She would never steal!Without studying, you have no idea what is right and what is wrong. Without studyingBava KamaandBava Basra, you are a crook. Only that you have the best opinion of yourself. That\u2019s the difference. If you studyBava KamaandBava Basra,you might continue to be dishonest, but at least you know that you\u2019re dishonest. And that itself is a big achievement!THE OX IS A MODELAnd even if you do study, that\u2019s only the beginning. You have to be aware always to apply it. All the rules are models for the small details of how to live every minute. You have to apply thepesukim, thehalachos, because what they are are models for the situations you face all day long.It\u2019s not only an ox that man is responsible for. The one who studies Hashem\u2019s words as intended, is not thinking only about an ox. He understands that Hashem is telling him that he is responsible, not only for his ox or dog, but for his rickety ladder as well. And for open windows when children are present, and for allowing a child to be alone in a room where candles are burning. For a banana peel on the ground and a dirty tissue on the table. For making too much noise and for how to sit on somebody else\u2019s chair. For what he leaves on the steps, and for how he uses his shul. The principle ofBinyan Avteaches us that when the Torah gives an example, it must be applied to all other similar instances, unless some logical difference can be found. All harm caused to others by negligence is punishable by \u05d3\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9 \u05e9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd, by the laws of Heaven. And often, the guilt in the eyes of Hashem is extremely heavy.THE GEMARA ABOUT TOP HATSYou must always be aware that you\u2019re walking in a world that doesn\u2019t belong to you. And it\u2019s your responsibility is to be thinking always about whatMishpatimis demanding of you. This story I told you once, but it\u2019s a piece of Torah so I\u2019ll say it again. Rav Yisroel,zichrono l\u2019vracha,spent some of his years in Koenigsburg, a German city. In those days they wore top hats,l\u2019kavod ShabbosI think it was; tall stovepipe hats, hard hats like stove pipes. So once, Rav Yisroel was out on the street and there were a number of people who were walking with him. So Rav Yisroel said to the people there, \u201cThegemarainBava Kamasays we have to hold on to our hats tightly because there\u2019s a wind blowing.\u201d So they said, \u201cWhere is there such agemaraabout stove pipe hats?\u201d None of them could recall such agemaraabout holding onto one\u2019s hat.So he said, \u201cIt\u2019s \u05d0\u05d1\u05e0\u05d5 \u05e1\u05db\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d5\u05de\u05e9\u05d0\u05d5 \u05e9\u05d4\u05e0\u05d9\u05d7\u05df \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9 \u05d2\u05d2\u05d5 \u05d5\u05e0\u05e4\u05dc\u05d5 \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05d7 \u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05d9\u05d4 \u05d5\u05d4\u05d6\u05d9\u05e7\u05d5 \u2013 \u201cIf you put your object on top of your roof, and a wind blows and it falls off and it hits somebody, so you have to pay\u201d (Bava Kama 6a). Now that\u2019s a bigchiddush; your head is a roof, the hat is an object, and the wind is blowing, so it might fly off your head and hit somebody. Now,ourhats wouldn\u2019t harm anybody but stove pipe hats are a missile. And if the wind would blow it off your head and it would hit someone in the eye, it would be a real injury. To us it\u2019s a bigchiddush, but for someone who is always aware that Hashem is watching him, to see if he\u2019s keeping all themishpatim,it\u2019s not achiddushat all.THE THIEF LEARNS A LESSONOnce I was in theyeshivaacross the street and I was observing a young man studyingPerek Merubah.It\u2019s the seventhperekofBava Kamaand it talks about the laws of a thief, the obligations of someone who steals. And he was learning with a real appetite. It was a pleasure to look at! He was learning out loud: \u05de\u05e8\u05d5\u05d1\u05d4 \u05de\u05d3\u05ea \u05ea\u05e9\u05dc\u05d5\u05de\u05d9 \u05db\u05e4\u05dc \u05de\u05de\u05d3\u05ea \u05ea\u05e9\u05dc\u05d5\u05de\u05d9 \u05d0\u05e8\u05d1\u05e2\u05d4 \u05d5\u05d7\u05de\u05d9\u05e9\u05d4 \u2013 He was saying it with ageshmak!He was clarifying all the complicated details of payingkeifel. And I noticed that he was studying from agemarathat was from my synagogue! And it didn\u2019t even occur to him that the thief that thegemarawas talking about was he! Stealing agemarais not called stealing? He\u2019schayav keifel,he has to pay me twogemaras. Lucky for him, I happened to be around!Mishpatimmeans that you can\u2019t just do how you please. You have workers? You have to pay wages? \u201cI don\u2019t have the money right now.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll pay you a little bit now and the rest next week, or next month.\u201dMili d\u2019nezikinputs you on notice: \u05dc\u05d0 \u05ea\u05dc\u05d9\u05df \u05e9\u05db\u05e8 \u05e9\u05db\u05d9\u05e8 \u2013 \u201cBefore the sun sets you have to pay the wages\u201d (Vayikra 19:13). The sun is going down and the worker wants to go home! So you\u2019d better pay him. The Chofetz Chaim once hired a man to drive him someplace in a wagon \u2013 and soon as he got off the wagon and he saw that the wagon driver didn\u2019t have any change, he ran off to borrow money to pay the fare. He wasn\u2019t going to wait till sundown! Because if you live by thedinimof the Torah so you\u2019re always aware of your responsibilities to Hashem. It\u2019s not that you\u2019re worried about your workers going on strike; you\u2019re not worried about unions and union bosses. You\u2019re strict with yourself, because there\u2019s a big boss. Hakodosh Boruch Hu is the worst union boss there is. He\u2019s a very demanding boss!WHO IS TEACHING YOU PARSHAS MISHPATIM?!All day long how you behave is being regulated by Hashem. Here\u2019s a man who gets on a bus, a man with a beard. Probably he\u2019s not alamdan, but he has a beard, everyone sees he\u2019s an old time Jew. So he gets on the bus and pays one fair. He doesn\u2019t pay three fares! But he sits down and he puts his shopping bag on the seat next to him, and he takes his Yiddish newspaper and opens it wide \u2013 three seats this man is occupying! In the meantime the bus is getting crowded, and people are looking at these two seats. But they\u2019re too bashful to say anything; they\u2019re keeping quiet. Of course, in their hearts, you understand what they\u2019re thinking. Finally a tough black man gets on the bus and says, \u201cMister, move over.\u201d You needed a colored man to teach youParshas Mishpatim?!I\u2019ll tell you something else. Rav Yisroel Salanter used to say that there are certain types ofgezeilah,certain things that you steal that you can never makehashavahon, you can never pay back what you stole. If you steal somebody\u2019s sleep, people are sleeping and you wake them up for nothing, then you\u2019re agazlanand you can never make restitution. So here is a man let\u2019s say who comes early to learn, he comes to the shul early beforedavenen. He gets out of the car with hischavrusah,and they\u2019re talking like it\u2019s the afternoon. It\u2019s before six o\u2019clock and they\u2019re talking at the top of their voices. People all around them want to sleep yet; they\u2019re not going to anyshiurimright now. Where is your awareness of Hashem?!THE TZADDIK GOES TO THE MIKVEHI saw an oldravgoing to themikvehearly in the morning with his sons, and he\u2019s talking with his big hoarse voice, sayingdivrei Torah. And the whole street on both sides is resounding with his voice as he\u2019s walking. Thetzadikis going to themikvehbeforeSlichos,ooh wah! Really he\u2019s a hold up man, robbing people on his way to themikveh. And he doesn\u2019t even know that he\u2019s doing such a terrible thing.I was thinking, \u201cThis is whyMishpatimcomes first! Because even the biggesttzadikhas to be always aware that Hashem is demanding his best behavior when it comes tomili d\u2019nezikin.If you were a high school bum, who doesn\u2019t care for anybody, so we understand that you\u2019re a failure. But you? Didn\u2019t you learn thatMishpatimcame the first thing afterMatan Torah?!\u201d You\u2019re agazlan, and there\u2019s nohashavah. He can\u2019t fulfill \u05d5\u05d4\u05e9\u05d9\u05d1 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05d2\u05d6\u05d9\u05dc\u05d4. He can\u2019t give back a person\u2019s health that was lost by being deprived of sleep.And it\u2019s not only the big things, the situations that we are all aware of. A person must start out with the awareness that Hakodosh Boruch Hu owns the world and thereforeeverythingthat we do in this world is our responsibility to Him. When studying all the laws ofMishpatimit is essential to keep in mind that they are all intended by Hashem as models foreveryform of injustice which is done to others. But people who never learn, people who rely on their innate sense of right and wrong, are a thousand times worse than they could even imagine. It doesn\u2019t even occur to them. This story, I have to repeat it although I told it about a hundred times already. Once a relative of mine, a woman, came to visit. So she tilted a chair against the glass door and the chair went through one of the glass panels. \u201cOh, excuse me,\u201d she says. And that was the end of it. No! That\u2019s not the end! It\u2019s far from the end of it!SPITTING IN OLAM HABOHAnd actually what is expected of you is much more subtle than that, and many of us are faltering all day long, without even recognizing our faults. It\u2019s frightening to contemplate the depths of the judgment that we will all face one day when we stand before Hashem. And as much as you ignore it now, the more surprised you will be on that day. Because the details, so small and so subtle, are all encompassing, and we are expected to be aware of them always.ThegemarainChagiga(5a) tells us that when a person is brought to judgment, he will be brought up on everything \u2013 he\u2019ll be charged with things he never even imagined could be problematic. \u05e2\u05dc \u05db\u05dc \u05e0\u05e2\u05dc\u05dd\u2026 \u05d9\u05d1\u05d9\u05d0 \u05d1\u05de\u05e9\u05e4\u05d8 says Shlomo Hamelech inKoheles(12:14). You will be brought to judgement on all the many things thatare hidden away from you. And the gemara explains, \u05d6\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d4\u05d5\u05e8\u05d2 \u05db\u05d9\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05e4\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d7\u05d1\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 \u05d5\u05e0\u05de\u05d0\u05e1 \u2013 \u201cThis refers to someone who kills a louse, and someone standing nearby is disgusted by it.\u201d Or, \u05d4\u05e8\u05e7 \u05d1\u05e4\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d7\u05d1\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 \u05d5\u05e0\u05de\u05d0\u05e1 \u2013 \u201cIf you spit out some spit or phlegm, and the person nearby is nauseated by it.\u201d It wasn\u2019t your fault; you had something stuck in your throat. And you covered your mouth. But still, even those minor acts of disregard for your fellow, and even if done unintentionally, will be brought up against you on that great day of Judgment.When you\u2019re talking to a person and you have a cold, make sure to keep far away from him. You\u2019ll cough in his face; you\u2019re amazik! You don\u2019t believe in germs? Who cares what you believe in! You\u2019re amazikof the first degree! There are so many things to be careful about. And don\u2019t say, \u201cIt\u2019sminhashamayim, it\u2019sbashert.\u201dNo, it\u2019s blood on your head! You are to blame. In every instance it could very well be that you\u2019re to blame, and the only solution is to be careful withmili d\u2019nezikin.SPOUTING DIVREI TORAH AND HALITOSISOnce you understand that, you will have to aware of Hashem all day long! So you\u2019re talking to somebody indivreiTorahand as you\u2019re talking to him, you let loose a flow of polluted air from your mouth. Oh, is it difficult for him to bear your halitosis! Now, he\u2019s too polite to run away from you. But you\u2019re amazik. You\u2019re annoying him.But the one who is always aware of Hashem lives differently. I knew atzaddikwhose head was in the heavens all the time; his mind was always occupied with great thoughts. And yet heneverspoke to anybody unless he perfumed his mouth first. I knew him very well. And for years he carried a little packet of listerine pellets in his pocket. He never came to speak to anybody unless first he perfumed his mouth. This was a man who lived with the ideals ofmussar. Number one is don\u2019t injure, don\u2019t bother people. That\u2019s the first rung of the ladder that goes up to heaven.WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO \u2018KNOW HASHEM\u2019?And now we understand whyMishpatim, the judgements governing your behavior towards your fellow man and his property, are so important \u2013 so important that it was these laws that became the climax ofMa\u2019amad Har Sinai. Because what doesAnochi Hashem Elokechamean anyway? We all know that it\u2019s described as the command \u201cto know that there is a G-d\u201d (Hachinuch,mitzvah25). But what does that mean? After all, \u201cI am Hashem Your G-d,\u201d is merely a statement, a fact. But what are we supposed to do about it?And the answer to that is everything we spoke about here tonight. BecauseAnochi Hashem Elokechawas theklal gadolthey heard on that day, but the details of awareness of Hashem were given in ourparshah. And I\u2019ll explain that. To theAm Yisroelwho stood atHar Sinaithis whole command \u201cto know Hashem\u201d seems superfluous. They had just witnessed the most open demonstrations of Hashem\u2019s Presence by means of all the wonders that He had performedl\u2019einei Bnei YisroelinMitzrayimand at theYam Suf,and now atHar Sinai.Who did they know if not Hakodosh Boruch Hu?! This generation knew Hashem and believed in Him more than any other subsequent generation! So what was this command,Anochi Hashem Elokecha, \u201cKnow that I am Hashem your God\u201d?THE RESPONSE TONAASE V\u2019NISHMAAnd the answer is this: For the loyal nation of Hashem it\u2019s not enough to just know, to merely accept Hashem\u2019s Presence as a fact, and then to get back to regular life. This first words that theAm Yisroelheard atHar Sinai, \u201cAnochi Hashem Elokecha,\u201dcame to declare the necessity of continuingalwaysto gain more and more awareness of Hashem \u2013 to be thinking of Hashemalways! And so whileAnochi Hashem Elokechawas theklal gadolthey heard on that glorious day, all the details of of how to be always aware of Hashem were given inParshas Mishpatim.The awareness that you\u2019re just passing through a world that doesn\u2019t belong to you is the foundation for living a life of awareness of the true owner in this world.And so Hashem came down onHar Sinaiand said to His people, \u201cOh, you\u2019re saying \u05e0\u05e2\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d5\u05e0\u05e9\u05de\u05e2? You\u2019re ready to do?! So let me tell you what I want: \u05d5\u05d0\u05dc\u05d4 \u05d4\u05de\u05e9\u05e4\u05d8\u05d9\u05dd. That\u2019s how I want you to get started.\u201d Because this is most basic way, the most fundamental way of serving Hashem. It\u2019s the foundation of the service of Hashem because it means that you are aware at all times that \u05dc\u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05e5 \u05d5\u05de\u05dc\u05d5\u05d0\u05d4, and that He is watching,and that He\u2019s demanding something of you always!Becausealthough theseMishpatimmight benefit the welfare of man, as well as the perfection of character for the one who trains himself to care about his fellow, yet the most important achievement is that it serves as constant reminders that Hashem is always looking always down at our deeds, even the most subtle of deeds, and that we are always obligated to behave as one behaves in the presence of a king. And therefore, even the most mundane activities of a Jewish man or woman are always saturated with awareness of Hashem. And that awareness is your perfection in this world, and your preparation for your eternal happiness when you finally come to bask in the true Presence of Hashem in the World to Come.Go Back See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.