Parashat Ki Tisa Shabbat Is What Makes You Jewish

0:06V'yomer Adonai el Moshe le'mor, ve'atah tedaber el b'nei Yisrael le'mor, ach et shabbetotay tishmoru, ki ot hi, beini u'vneichem, le'doroteichem, la'daat, ki ani Adonai mekadeshchem. U'shmartem et haShabbat, ki kodesh hi lachem, mechaleleha mot yumat. Ki kol ha'oseh bo melachah, ve'nichretah ha'nefesh ha'hi mikerev amehah. Sheshet yamim te'aseh melachah, u'vayom ha'shevi'i Shabbat Shabbaton, kodesh la'Adonai, kol ha'oseh melachah. Here, you have the Torah tell us something clearly. This is one of 12 times in the Torah where Hashem commands us to observe the Shabbat. The Jewish people are obligated to observe the Shabbat, but not just obligated like it's a good suggestion—obligated in the sense that this is what makes you Jewish, and this is what makes you not Jewish. So much so that the Torah says That you have to speak tells me that Hashem says to Moshe, "Speak to Am Yisrael. Tell them you must observe the Shabbatot, because it's a sign between Me and you. Those that desecrate it will have death upon death." What is death upon death? If you die once, how can you die twice? The Chachamim teach in the Gemara, Masechet Shabbat, that a person who desecrates the Shabbat...

1:26has to understand what's at stake here. Their soul is cut off from their source, from their Creator, which means, number one, any blessing that you have is gone. Even if you have a lot of money, that money will not be blessed. You'll have to spend it on medical bills, you'll have to spend it on lawsuits, you'll have to, in essence, give it to people you don't want to give it to. You'll die before you end up enjoying it. All of the things that cause people a nightmare of a life, that's what you'll have. You may have the big bank account digitally, but as far as actual real-life enjoyment, you're not going to get from that money. Why? The blessing, the source of blessing, is not coming. It's gone. That's number one. Number two, that person, that Jew that desecrates the Shabbat, not only is cut off as far as the blessing, but is cut off spiritually in the sense that they put their Judaism on suspension. They are now considered on the same level as an idol worshiper, as the Rambam elaborates in Hilchot Shabbat, Chapter 30, Halacha number 15, the last Halacha. not only cut off as far as the blessing but is cut off spiritually in a sense that they put their Judaism on suspension. They are now considered on the same level as an idol worshiper, as the Rambam elaborates in Hilchot Shabbat, Chapter 30, Halacha number 15, the last halacha.

2:30Hot Shabbat, he says, a Jew that desecrates the Shabbat on purpose or worships an idol are the same; meaning that a Jew that desecrates the Shabbat is considered the same exact thing as an idol worshiper. Somebody that prays to a rat, a cat, a monkey, or a cow, like they do in India, or to anything but God, is the same thing as a Jew that desecrates the Shabbat. It's the same concept. which means that person cannot be used If you want to buy food, and you need to get, let's say, meat, if the person who slaughtered the animal desecrates Shabbat, the meat is automatically not kosher. Even if he is the best butcher in the history of man, he is not considered reliable.

3:30As a witness, if this person is someone from whom you want to buy food, you need to get, let's say, meat. If the guy who slaughtered the animal desecrates Shabbat, his meat is automatically not kosher, even if he is the best butcher in the history of mankind. He is not. Going to, he's not allowed to slaughter the meat if that means it's going to be kosher. He could slaughter for the Arabs, he could slaughter for the Christians, he could slaughter for everybody else, but for the Jewish people, he cannot slaughter. Why? Because he's considered an idol worshiper, and... with the stain of Shabbat desecration will face severe consequences in the World to Come. This illustrates the gravity of such an act according to our teachings. a Shabbat desecrator, meaning they don't observe Shabbat—they drive on Shabbat, they smoke cigarettes on Shabbat, they work on Shabbat. That Jew, even if they were nice to their friends and generous with their local charity, and they even donated some money to save the butterflies in Africa, that person goes to Gehinnom and never comes out until that neshamah gets destroyed, until that soul gets destroyed eternally. So, you have a situation here that is the worst of its kind.

4:56and it also is a situation where even if that person did the segula that we mentioned before, it won't work. A rabbi gives them a blessing, it won't work. Why? All sorts of blessings they have, let's say, just imagine there is a spiritual pipe from the Source above. Spiritual sustenance is channeled through a spiritual pipe connected to your neshama; that's where Hashem provides all the blessings. Okay, so imagine you want a blessing to have a wife — that's through that pipe. A blessing to have a husband if you're a female — that's through the pipe. Blessings for good health? That's through that pipe. Children come through that pipe, money through that pipe, whatever it is that you desire comes through that pipe, right? When you desecrate Shabbat, the pipe is cut off. What does it mean for it to be cut off? That means that the sustenance is coming down. It doesn't stop coming down, but it goes everywhere. What is it like? Just think of it this way. Just take a pipe. That's this fluid going through it. Let's say just, I don't know, your water pipe.

5:57What happens if you just decide to take a machete and cut that pipe off? Cut it right in the middle while it's working. What happens? All of a sudden you see that pipe go all over the place. Water goes all over the place, or fluid goes all over the place. A whole big mess, possibly a life risk. It's the same concept here. The sustenance keeps coming down. Because the person desecrated Shabbat, everything goes awry. The money you were supposed to get goes to your enemies. The blessing meant for you goes to your adversaries. The girl you were supposed to marry—your friend marries her. The child you were supposed to have—someone else has them. All the things you were supposed to receive end up elsewhere, and whatever you do get isn't what you were supposed to receive. Instead, you encounter a multitude of problems. you get a bunch of problems. So, this is, Rabotai, one of the ways that a person can destroy the blessings that God wants to give them. We are meant to be a light unto the nations, not to follow their misguided practices. Remember, every Jew has to remember that he's a Jew and she's a Jew. We don't celebrate non-Jewish holidays, even if they seem harmless. It's a zilzul, disrespect.

7:12Desecration of God's name. Stick to our holy Torah and our own holidays. That's the path of a true Jew.