What Type Of Minyan Are You Allowed To Pray In?

1:18Someone that violates Shabbat is considered 100% a goy. An idol worshipper, the Rambam says. Which means that 13 people are there, 11 of them are considered idol worshippers. Now if I brought you Mustafa, and then I brought you Chris over here, and I said these guys are going to give you a shiur, say Kaddish at the end of the shiur, would anyone say Amen to this Kaddish? No, why? The idol worshipers, these people. You don't say amen to a blessing by an idol worshiper. The Gemara says it in many places regarding the din of a mechallel Shabbat. The Zohar says, the Shulchan Aruch says, everyone says. It's not a chumra; it's not a stringency. When a person violates Shabbat, he is considered not only an idol worshiper, he's considered a person that screams out to Hashem, "I don't believe in you." That's what the Gemara in Masechet Shabbat says. So it's important for a person to know that if you have a place where most people are not keeping Shabbat,

2:32You don't have at least 10 people who are keeping Shabbat. You do not have a minyan, which means that if they say Kaddish, you're not allowed to say Amen. You're not allowed to have them do the blessings on the Torah. If they perform the blessings on the Torah, on Shabbat or during the week, as one of the aliyot, the first three during the week, or all seven on Shabbat, if they're one of the first seven, they do the blessings, you're not permitted to say Amen. Why are you not allowed to say amen? Because it’s like saying amen to the blessing of an idol worshiper. If an idol worshiper came to you and said, "Oh, I pray to Yoshke, say amen," you're not going to say amen. Why? Because you are a Jew. When a Mechalel Shabbat (one who desecrates the Shabbat) makes a blessing, it's like an idol worshiper's blessing. That's a problem. It's a very serious problem. Now, he might not believe that he’s an idol worshiper. He might not engaging in idol worship. However, according to the Torah, it bears a resemblance to idol worship. Now, some say, "Okay, maybe he's not a hundred percent like an idol worshiper. Maybe you could say he's a captured baby, just grew up a certain way, grew up in a certain town. Maybe we could be a little lenient." And that's a confusion that people have. People think that if someone's...

3:53Virtually doesn't really exist very much in this generation, but let's say it does. You know, I met a couple—one for sure, a woman who was 79 years old and just discovered she's a Jew. That's an obvious tinoch shenishba. She thought she was Christian her whole life. That's an obvious tinoch shenishba, so they do exist. But it's not people that are living in cities that have hundreds of thousands or millions of Jews. But let's say, let's say... Let's say we go with the lenient opinion of tinoch shenishba. People think that just because he's now a tinoch shenishba, that's it, he's like everybody else. Wrong. Even if somebody's a tinoch shenishba, it doesn't mean he's like everybody else. It doesn't mean he goes to heaven. If he dies tomorrow, he doesn't go to heaven. If a tinok shenishba still doesn't keep Shabbat and dies the next day, he doesn't go to heaven; he still goes to Gehinnom. A tinok shenishba is simply a halachic term used pertaining to how you treat him while he's alive. This means he's considered a tinok shenishba, right? He doesn't keep Shabbat, but he touched your wine. If he were not a tinok shenishba and he knew that he was violating Shabbat anyway, and he touched your wine, you would have to throw the wine out.

5:09But since he said the leniency is, you don't have to throw the wine out, that's it. Some say, oh, maybe you can count them in a minyan, maybe not. It doesn't go to heaven. But either way, no one says that they can do the blessings on the Torah. Why? Because when the people have an aliyah to the Torah... What are they doing really? They're doing a mitzvah in the name of everyone. When people say Kaddish, what are they doing? They're doing a mitzvah in the name of everyone. So rather than everyone doing this blessing on the Torah, rather than everyone saying Kaddish individually, he is saying it on their behalf. He's essentially taking it upon himself, and by you saying Amen, it is as if you did it too. So a guy that's a Mechalel Shabbat, whether he's a tinok she'nishba or not a tinok she'nishba, is a Mechalel Shabbat. He cannot, in any circumstance, take mitzvot on himself. He's not even doing what he's supposed to. He's in no position to take on your mitzvot. Hence, there is a problem when a Mechalel Shabbat is called up for an aliyah. The issue arises because his participation might be seen as inappropriate in a community that is committed to stringently observing the mitzvot.

6:24Hence the reason why if he does Birkot HaTorah as one of the seven, one of the seven Aliyot, and you say Amen, it's a bracha levatala. It's saying Hashem's name in vain. It's a sin from the Torah and one of the Ten Commandments. So how come you still see Mechalei Shabbat sometimes get an Aliyah in a good shul? Not a bad one. Not the ones that sometimes you'll see they get an Aliyah anyway. What Aliyah do they give them? They give them the Hosafot. Hosafot include aliyot starting from number eight, nine, ten, eleven, and so forth. When someone receives a Hosafah, they perform the blessing for themselves, and it's not for the communal responsibility. The essential requirement is that the first seven aliyot are given to those who are Shomrei Shabbat—those who have taken on the responsibility of the mitzvah for everyone else. The Hosafah is an addition, serving as a gesture towards individuals if there's a desire to include more participants in the aliyot. It's not obligatory. However, it's an opportunity to extend participation, akin to offering encouragement. Encouragement to keep coming back is important. Give him some kavod; you can give him an aliyah anyway, number eight, number nine, number seventeen, whatever you want. Beyond the first seven, you can go up to a thousand if you wish. Give everybody an aliyah. But the first seven, those who are doing the bracha for the klal, absolutely, absolutely no permission to have it as a mechalei Shabbat. He is in no position to take on anybody else's responsibility, because he is not even fulfilling his own responsibility.

7:48So if a person says "amen" to his blessing, it's a beracha levatala. So if a person goes to a shul that does not have at least 10 people who are Shomrei Shabbat, find a real shul. You don't have a real shul? Pray at home. Pray at home. Why? Because you praying at home is better than you praying with 13 Mechalelei Shabbat. Why is it better? Because if you're praying with 30 Mechalei Shabbat, surely they're going to say Kaddish. Surely they're going to bring out the Torah. Which means what? You're going to be a partner to a sin. They're going to say, no, come on, come on, no, no, we'll give you an Aliyah today. It's not that many of us. You get your turn; you're going to get an Aliyah. So now you have to do it, now you get an Aliyah. A non-kosher Aliyah. You're going to be responsible for sins. You go to a Beit Knesset to do mitzvot, not to do sins. If you want to go make sins, go to a nightclub instead; you will have more fun. Go jump off a roof. I don't know you. Have fun on the way down. You don't go to the Beit Knesset to make sins. Go to the Beit Knesset to make mitzvot. If there's no kosher minyan, it's not a Beit Knesset. It's a building with people in it. Instead of going to the Beit Knesset with 13 people that are Mechalelei Shabbat, say, "Guys, listen. Today, my rabbi gave me different instructions. Instead of us praying Shacharit together..."

9:14I brought a projector. It's already set up. I came here at 5 o'clock in the morning. You guys are here. Just have a seat. You can have your tallit on if you want. You want to feel good about your tallit? No problem. Put the tallit on. Put the tefillin on. But instead of praying, instead of reading from the siddur, we're going to do something else. What are we going to do? Here, we're going to watch it—play one of the shiurim. I have all 13 of them. Watch one of the shiurim together. By the end of the shiur, they're all going to keep Shabbat. Have them watch the shiur together. Not have a fake minyan. Why? They watch you, they’ll understand what violating Shabbat is. Let's not keep Shabbat. But to pray in a fake minyan, there’s no purpose whatsoever. There’s no, nothing good comes out of it. Oh, they'll get offended? Let them get offended. How come you're not worried about Hashem getting offended? A person needs to know that there are rules to the Torah; it's not suggestions. Next question. music music

10:56I am an Orthodox Hareidi Rabbi giving a shiur Torah. Before we begin, it's important to ensure we maintain the kedushah, the holiness, of our language and our topics. Let's look at a text that needs some corrections. In reference to our discussion: Rebbe Akiva, one of the greatest Tannaim, taught us the importance of loving our fellow Jew. It's crucial not to mix up names or to use titles that are not appropriate. We must strive for clarity and accuracy in our learning. Likewise, when discussing sefarim, it's vital to spell them correctly. Sefer HaTanya is a foundational text in Chassidus, written by the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. Let us honor these works by referencing them correctly. Furthermore, when we mention contemporary figures, we should refer to them respectfully and accurately. For instance, referring to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach needs to be in its proper context and understanding. By maintaining these standards, we ensure our Torah study remains pure and respectful. Now, let's delve deeper into our shiur and reflect on these principles in our daily lives.