It’s Never Been Easier To Be A Religious Jew - Parashat Devarim

0:02don't violate Shabbat anymore. You're not in an intermarriage situation. You're doing everything you are supposed to do, per se. Therefore, you should be okay. This is who the message is for. This is who the message is for. It's not for the hilonim. It's not for the secular people. It's not for the idol worshipers. It's not for the people that hate God. This message is not for them. Rabbi Efraim Ben Shulamit, Rabbanit Levana Bat Sarah, Avi Mori David Ben Nesria, Imi Morati Doris Bat Jorah, uh Sarah bat Esther, and also a big mazal tov to Rabbeinu HaKadosh and his dear Sarah for having a newborn baby boy, baruch Hashem, today, which I will share my birthday with him. Now, both of us have our birthdays on Rosh Chodesh Av and the yahrzeit of Aharon.

1:21So, with that being said, we have a lot to discuss. I'm sure you guys have plenty of questions. If the messages that I get are any indication of some of the questions that I'll get today, I'm sure they're not going to be easy. So, B'ezrat Hashem, HaKadosh Baruch Hu will help us with each one of them. But before we get into all of that, we have to obviously see what's going on in the parasha, because when we look at the parasha, we see the world. And in essence, many times people look at the world and hope that maybe the Torah can help them after they couldn't find their solution elsewhere. And that's really one of the big issues that Moshe Rabbeinu has with Am Yisrael in his last message, where the entire book of Deuteronomy, Sefer Devarim, the book of Devarim, is the last five weeks of Moshe Rabbeinu's life, where you would think that after 40 years of carrying Am Yisrael, after 40 years of trials and tribulations and overcoming difficulties together, all types of extraordinary things happening both on the positive and the negative side, you would think that the goodbye message would be something nice, perhaps even a party, but no. where you would think that after 40 years of carrying Am Yisrael, after 40 years of trials and tribulations and overcoming difficulties together, all types of extraordinary things happening both on the positive and the negative side, you would think that the goodbye message would be something nice, perhaps even a party, but no. We don't see any of that. In fact, we see the exact opposite of that. If you had, let's say, a long-time CEO or lehavdil, even a long-time rabbi of a community about to retire, usually the way of the world is to have a goodbye party. The way of the world is to celebrate all of the good times together.

2:44We don't see any of that. In fact, we see the exact opposite of that. If you had, let's say, a long-time CEO or, lehavdil, even a long-time rabbi of a community about to retire, usually the way of the world is to have a goodbye party. The way of the world is to celebrate all of the good times together. to say thank you to all of the supporters, to say thank you to all of the helpers, and so on. And that's, in essence, the way people say goodbye today. Moshe Rabbeinu loves Am Yisrael more than anybody else can possibly imagine. And therefore, he does not do that. In fact, he does the exact opposite. Of that, because of his love for Am Yisrael, he reminds them of the most important message that they're ever going to get in their lives. And this message, Rabotai Yekarim, is most pertinent to people that are either frum from birth,

3:49and are comfortable in their ways, or people that have already done teshuva. Some of you that are watching this shiur right now, you have done teshuva already for the last few years, you feel comfortable, you're in essence, you're in a mindset that you're not going to Gehinnom anymore because you don't violate Shabbat anymore, you're not in an intermarriage situation, you're doing everything you are supposed to do per se, so therefore you should be okay. And this is who the message is for. This is who the message is for. It's not for the Chilonim. It's not for the secular people. It's not for the idol worshippers. It's not for the people that hate God. This message is not for them. This message is for those people that are religious. And in fact, Moshe Rabbeinu gives a religious message to religious people that the religious people did not expect.

4:50Moshe Rabbeinu begins by simply telling us a message, where he's telling us: "These are the words that Moshe spoke to all of Israel." On the other side of the Jordan, concerning the wilderness, concerning the Aravah, opposite the Sea of Reeds, between Paran and Tofel and Lavan and Chatzerot and Di-Zahav, Here, Chachamim are telling us that each one of these places mentioned are actually places where we had problems. Places where Moshe Rabbeinu is reminding Am Yisrael that, yes, you are the descendants of the generation that received the Torah on Har Sinai. You are the generation that's in essence your parents.

5:50were taken out of Egypt through wonders and miracles. You are the generation of religious people. So were your parents. Your parents received the Torah. Your parents had the merit for Hashem to split the sea for them into 12 sections for each tribe. There was a section. You are those kids. And yet, your parents felt comfortable in their ways. felt so comfortable that because they were confident they would not succumb to alien influence and the temptations of the Gentiles, they began acting like them. They began doing things like them. And Moshe Rabbeinu is here to warn Am Yisrael not to do the same thing as their parents because their parents didn't think that they could sin because they were surrounded by miracles. They were surrounded by things that were extraordinary. God's presence was obvious to every single person, whether the person was a prophet, son of prophets, or it was a simple person. Everyone was at an extraordinary high level, and yet almost none of them survived the desert. All of them were punished. didn't think that they could sin because they were surrounded by miracles. They were surrounded by things that were extraordinary. God's presence was obvious to every single person, whether the person was a prophet, son of prophets, or it was a simple person. Everyone was at an extraordinary high level, and yet almost none of them survived the desert. All of them were punished because they became comfortably numb. They became like the goyim, who we were warned not to be like, and Moshe Rabbeinu tells the new generation, don't be overly confident just because you have done teshuva. Don't be overly confident just because your parents were religious and therefore you are religious.

7:18because they became comfortably numb, they became like the goyim that we were warned not to be like. And Moshe Rabbeinu tells the new generation, "Don't be overly confident just because you have done teshuva. Don't be overly confident just because your parents were religious, and therefore you are religious." In fact, you can lose everything in a simple second if you do not hold on to the mesorah, to the tradition, to the law. And this, Rabotai, is one of the things that we have in the world where, Baruch Hashem, the ability to live in a Jewish community is much simpler today than it was in previous generations. For anyone who knows a little bit of history, they would know that anti-Semitism did not start right before the Holocaust like most people think. The Nazis in Germany were not the first ones to... Baruch Hashem, the ability to live in a Jewish community is much simpler today than it was in previous generations. For anyone who knows a little bit of history, they would know that anti-Semitism did not start right before the Holocaust, like most people think. The Nazis in Germany were not the first ones to cause harm to the Jewish people. In fact, there were literally centuries of anti-Semitism that was acceptable around the world until the French Revolution in 1776 started to bring some rights to the Jewish people to be treated like human beings because, until then, they were all forced to live outside of the cities. They were all forced to live in ghettos. They were all forced...

8:32cause harm to the Jewish people. In fact, there were literally centuries of anti-Semitism that was acceptable around the world until the French Revolution in 1776 started to bring some rights to the Jewish people to be treated like human beings because until then, they were all forced to live outside of the cities. They were all forced to live in ghettos. They were all forced to live with an inability and a complete prohibition from being in most industries. They weren't allowed to be doctors in the cities. They weren't allowed to be lawyers. They certainly were not allowed to be politicians. And even entrepreneurship was forbidden if it was going to be... to live with an inability and a complete prohibition from being in most industries. They weren't allowed to be doctors in the cities. They weren't allowed to be lawyers. They certainly were not allowed to be politicians. And even entrepreneurship was forbidden if it was going to be dealing among the Gentiles. They were only allowed to deal among themselves. And the only things they were able to do were the jobs that they were given: accountants and people that would lend money. And in fact, in the early 1800s, when some of the other countries followed the footsteps of France, dealing among the gentiles. They were only allowed to deal among themselves. And the only jobs they were given were as accountants and people who would lend money. And in fact, in the early 1800s, when some of the other countries followed the footsteps of France and started giving rights to the Jewish people, many people spoke out against it. In fact, many of the most famous people of the time wrote entire books or different types of short pamphlets.

9:46and started giving rights to the Jewish people, many people spoke out against it. In fact, many of the most famous people of the time wrote entire books or different types of short pamphlets, giving their full description of how much they hate the Jews and how they believe with a full heart that it's completely not a sin according to their belief in Christianity. It's not a sin according to them to kill a Jew. There's nothing wrong with it, in fact. Not morally, not ethically, not religiously. This is 150 years before the Holocaust. giving their full description of how much they hate the Jews and how they believe with a full heart that it's completely not a sin according to their belief in Christianity. It's not a sin according to them to kill a Jew. There's nothing wrong with it, in fact. Not morally, not ethically, not religiously. This is 150 years before the Holocaust. Many times, people think anti-Semitism began right before the Holocaust; it's not true. In fact, right before the Holocaust, the anti-Semitism was nowhere near what it was in the previous few hundred years. And the reality is that before the Holocaust happened, before the tragic murder of six million Jews took place...

10:57The Jews had all the freedoms you could possibly have. in the same exact way as you have here in America, in the same way as you have in England, in the same way as you have in Australia, in Canada, in other places around the world that have large Jewish communities. They had freedom to go into politics suddenly. They had freedom to go into different businesses. They had freedom to go into banking. They had freedom to go into all types of sciences. they had all types of freedoms, and those freedoms did not do them well. In fact, those freedoms made some of them forget that they're Jewish. And Moshe Rabbeinu is reminding his generation of what our generation needs to learn. The gifts that HaKadosh Baruch Hu gives you are not for you to forget Him.

12:12I bless the rabbis, Rabbi Yaron Reuven and Rabbi Efraim Kachlon, the leaders of the group with the help of G-d. May they be blessed. May G-d bless them. May G-d bless them. May G-d bless them. May G-d bless them.