HaShem Is One | Kavanah When Saying The Shema Yisrael

0:03Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman is now continuing into the next section. This is the ninth section of the series, even though this is your number 10, I believe, or number nine, actually. And he says as follows: It is important to know and to understand that with all of the judgment in the world, whatever happens in the world, there is nothing else but meaning. Despite all of the things that happen in the world, there is nothing else but Hashem. There's nothing else but Hashem. What does this mean? Reading further, we become even more confused. that with all of the judgment in the world, whatever happens in the world, there is nothing else but meaning. Despite all of the things that happen in the world, there is nothing else but Hashem. There's nothing else but Hashem. What does this mean? Reading further, we become even more confused, but during the time when the prosecutor is against us and is overpowering us because of our unfortunately many transgressions... but during the time when the prosecutor is against us and is overpowering us because of our unfortunately many transgressions

1:30At times, the Satan is given permission to fight against HaKadosh Baruch Hu, if you will. What is this? What is this? Now we see that this enormous statement required qualification. Not every statement requires a qualification. Now, of course, if you see something that is off from what the norm is, what the tradition is, you need to qualify your statement. This is the reason why Chazal said that the wise men have to be careful with their words, lest their students go astray because of misunderstanding them. So, if you're going to say something that is not the tradition, more important than your statement is the qualification for your statement. Now, if you're going to say, there's nothing else but God, that does not require qualification. Why? Because this is what the tradition is. This is what the Torah says in countless places. But if you're going to say, God needs you, if you're going to say, no one's going to get punished...

2:58Even if you found some source and maybe Garbage Pail Kids cards from the 1970s, you have to show people that your source is the Garbage Pail Kids. Then we could know, and we could throw both the cards and your source into the garbage. But either way, you have to qualify your statement. You can't just say things and expect people to understand just because you believe yourself to be some philosopher or some intellect. at first perhaps may sound to some of you like it's coming from a different religion. The other religions copied, plagiarized, but misunderstood. They actually give power to the Satan here. at first, perhaps, it may sound to some of you like it's coming from a different religion. The other religions copied, plagiarized, but misunderstood. They actually give power to the Satan here.

4:14Elchanan Wasserman qualifies the statement specifically saying "Ein Od Milvado." Despite all of the judgments that are happening in the world, all of the horrible decrees, all of the animosity, all the anti-Semitism, the pogroms, the Inquisitions, the Holocaust, all of the, you know, horrible things that happen to us, there is nothing else but Him. There's no one else that's in power other than Hashem. But there are times... the Satan is given permission to fight against Hashem. So, before, Rabotai, we go into the depths of this, we have to understand the qualifications. We have to understand what we're talking about here, because this segment of Rav Elchanan Wasserman's teaching is part of the secrets regarding the heavenly Merkavah, where a person that understands this will understand the entire creation as far as how it's managed by Hashem from a minimal standpoint—not, obviously, a godly standpoint, but a minimal standpoint. It all starts with

5:41knowing this and we apply this, we live with this not just in our minds but in practice. Every Jew that says "Am Yisrael," now what does it really mean? Yisrael first, we're obviously referring to us, Am Yisrael. This is the reason why when... non-Jews, even though they're trying their best to be as righteous as possible — righteous noachides — when they ask me if they are allowed to say it every day, I say no. Why? Because this is not for you. It clearly says in the verse that this is referring specifically to Am Yisrael. You're not part of Am Yisrael. Even if you love Am Yisrael, even if you support Am Yisrael, you're not part of Am Yisrael. This is specifically an obligation on Am Yisrael. I'm gonna do it anyway. Oh, so you don't actually care about what the Torah says. You don't care what the sages say. You care about what you want to do. You were just looking for permission to make yourself feel better. But a Jew, on the other hand, is obligated to say the Shema Yisrael each and every single day, in the morning and at night. Therefore, it is important for us to know what is this Shema Yisrael when we're talking about Shema Yisrael.

7:07we first know that it's about us; we are accepting upon ourselves that God is our God and He is One. Now, in the fifth section, the verse says that a person has to have in mind reciting the blessings, any blessings, anytime you mention Hashem's name, a person must have in mind the meaning of the words. When reciting the blessings, when articulating the name, the Yud Kei Vav Kei, one has to have in mind the meaning of the name as it's pronounced, the A-donai (and I use the Mem because I'm not saying it in the verse instead of the Dalet), that He is Lord over all. And one should have in mind the meaning of the name, as it's spelled, the Yud Kei Vav Kei, that He was, is, and will be. And when articulating the name Elohim, have in mind that He is strong, omnipotent, Master of all powers. So in the Shema Yisrael Hashem, the Hashem is referring to how HaKadosh Baruch Hu is Echad, Yachid, and Meyuchad.

8:33He is one. He is only. He is unique. There is nothing else like Him. Nothing else resembles Him. He controls the seven heavens, the land, and the heavenly spirits, meaning He has complete and total control over the entire creation. Nothing is beyond His control. When we're saying that He is Elokim, we are accepting upon ourselves the kingship of Heaven. We're saying that He is Hayah, Hoveh, Veyihyeh, meaning that He was, He is, and He will be, indicating that He is not subject to time. He always was; there is no beginning of God. He always will be; there is no end to God, even after we are gone. That he's Elokainu, meaning we're accepting upon ourselves the kingship of Heaven. We're saying that He is Hayah, Hoveh, Veyihyeh. He was, He is, and He will be, meaning that He is not subject to time. He always was. There is no beginning to God. He always will be. There is no end to God. Even after we disappear from the world, He will always be. Even before we were, He always was and He always is, meaning that He knows our thoughts. He's always present. Nothing is beneath Him. Nothing is too small for Him. Needless to say, nothing is too big for Him, whether it's your thoughts, your diet, or the small talk between you and your spouse. disappear from the world, He will always be. Even before we were, He always was, and He always is. This means that He knows our thoughts; He's always present. Nothing is beneath Him; nothing is too small for Him. Needless to say, nothing is too big for Him, whether it's your thoughts, your diet, the small talk between you and your spouse.

10:01what you and your friends are doing on the weekend, the fact that you decided to play a video game instead of watch a shiur Torah, the fact that it's very difficult for you to protect your brit, but you overcame it, and even that new dress that you know inside is a few inches too short, but you're pretending like it's okay. He knows all of it. Furthermore, say G-d again, Hashem, and by that we mean that He is powerful beyond any comprehension, beyond anything else. There is no second. say Hashem again and by that we mean that He is powerful beyond any comprehension, beyond anything else. There is no second. He's meaning is that He's with unlimited power. There is nothing that is beyond Him, whether it's subject to time or space is irrelevant. He has unlimited power, and He's, which is perhaps the most important for the subject at hand, the Master, meaning owner,

11:25of all of the powers that exist, thereby meaning that there are other powers in the world, whether it's the physical powers, whether it's gravity or the different aspects of physics, or it's spiritual powers, whether it be the angels, the Satan, the Shedim, or anything else. all powers are His powers; He owns all of them. They're simply a representation of Him. The servant is an extended hand of the master, but in this particular case, the servant only exists due to the master's complete control of that, uh, of that, uh, servant; complete ownership of that servant, not just because he can kill or not kill, simply that the existence of any power is only due to the Creator, due to the Master Himself. And therefore, Rabotai, once a person understands

12:52that this is not chassidut, this is halacha, this is basic level Judaism. Every single Jew in the world is obligated to believe everything I just said. Anyone that has any thought that empowers anything else or limits HaKadosh Baruch Hu in any way possible, any way whatsoever, limits His powers, His abilities in any way, such as saying he, uh, he needs you, he wasn't able to stay without you, or all types of other foolish heresy that's out there. Any thought that empowers anything else or limits His powers is violating the law from the Torah that's in the Ten Commandments: "Thou shall not have another god." What does it mean, another god, another elohim, another master? And that doesn't necessarily mean a statue or a human being with long hair that died on some cross that people have deified. It also means thoughts that perhaps your landlord has control over you, your bank has control over you, or the IRS has control over you.

14:17anything else out there empowering anything else other than God is violating the Torah. Now, once a person understands this particular part and accepts it wholeheartedly that literally, there is nothing else but Him. There is no other power. There is nothing else that could refute Him, reject Him, go against Him, nothing. Whatever happens in the world is only due to His permission for that to exist, including you going against Him. It's not that He doesn't care. It's not that He's not going to punish you. Rather, it's His mercy that is allowing you to continue existing every single second whether you sin or you make a mitzvah, endless kindness coming from Him to even allow us to exist, needless to say to allow us to exist despite our many flaws and any thought whatsoever opposing that. rather it's His mercy that is allowing you to continue existing every single second, whether you sin or you make a mitzvah. Endless kindness is coming from Him to even allow us to exist, needless to say, to allow us to exist despite our many flaws and any thought whatsoever opposing that

15:39is 100% against the Torah. So, this very simple clarification of what it means—what it means is the qualifying explanation. But then the atomic bomb comes... tells us where there are times that the prosecutor strengthens over us to the point where it's given permission to the Satan to fight against God. What is this? Abdelmami Mouattar al-Tafir al-Tafir