Transcription
We are starting "Pricky Office Ethics for All People." How the teachings of our sages convey messages for all humankind.
Chapter One. Received the trader from Sinai was suddenly Yeshua, and he passed it on to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, who is the kingdom of the navy, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets passed it on to the men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate or cautious in your judgment, and raise up, establish many, many disciples, vasu yog latoya, and make a yog a fence around the Torah.
[Music]
To understand the meaning of this Mishna, how it applies to all humankind, to break down the Mishna into three separate ideas: Number one is moisture received the Torah from Sinai, and he passed it on to the future generations. Number two, they said three things. Number three, the three things that they said.
Moshe received the Torah from Sinai. What does that mean? Moshe did not only receive the 613 commandments on Sinai. Moshe had only received the seven laws of the rabbis on Sinai. But Moshe Rabbenu also received the seven Noachide laws. Azeram tells us in the Laws of Kings that Moshe Rabbenu was told by God that he has an obligation to teach all the nations of the world the seven Noachide laws. And this was passed on to Joshua, to the elders, to the prophets, to the men of the Great Assembly, and on to our generation. It's really an obligation for all generations that we, as Jewish people, have an obligation to teach these seven Noachide laws to all the nations of the world. And the leaders of the nations of the world have an obligation to teach these seven Noachide laws to their followers, to their children, to the disciples.
However, for many generations, we were not able to do this because, as we know Jewish history and world history, that for many, many generations, we were oppressed. We had no rights. We couldn't even vote, let alone dictate and teach the nations of the world how they should live their lives. But today, we are very fortunate. We are living in a generation that we have freedom of speech, freedom of press. We have a right to teach and voice our opinion. It has now become an obligation and a mitzvah upon each and every one of us to convey these seven Noachide laws to our neighbors, to our friends, anywhere that we have influence, and teach these seven Noachide laws to the nations of the world.
It's interesting to note that places these seven mitzvot, we are at the end of the 14 books of Kodesh, right before the last two chapters dealing with the coming of Mashiach, implying, as we know, that the order in Torah and the sequence in Torah is also valid and important. And so, this implies that the step right before the coming of Mashiach, the obligation and the mission of the world right before the coming of the Messiah, is to spread and teach and impact the world with these seven Noachide laws. So, this is the first part of the Mishna of Ethics of all nations of the world, ethics for all people.
Comes along the Mishna, says they said three things. The fact that the Mishna needs to make a statement that they said three things, instead of simply saying the three things, implies that this alone, this statement, this phrase, is already a teaching. What is the teaching here? The teaching for all nations, for all people, for all humankind, is you should know that the world is divided into three things. That is Aleph, Dalet, Gimel, ABC. The head, the torso, and the feet.
There is the goal of creation, the purpose of creation, the mission of creation. That's Aleph. That's the first thing. That's Noachide. "I am God your Lord." There's a mission why I created the world. Number two, to actually do the mission, to carry out the mission, and that is to make this world into a dwelling place for God. And this is by executing the seven Noachide laws, they're executing the 613 mitzvot, by executing the plan and making it into a reality. That is stage number two. Stage number three is redemption, to bring the world to a state of perfection, to peace and harmony, when the Messiah, Mashiach, will come and bring Shalom, peace, to the entire world.
Psychologically, this is called the thesis, the antithesis, and the synthesis. Kabbalistically, we are told that these three things represent that every year, every descent is for a greater asset. So you have the goal, and now we have to implement the goal. But sometimes you fall, sometimes there's a pitfall, sometimes there's a shortcoming, sometimes there's a flaw. We received in life. That's okay. Every descent brings us to a greater asset. And so God created the world. A, Aleph. Then V, Vareishit creation. There was a descent. There was a Mabul, a flood. There was a Golden Calf. There was a Holocaust. These are descents. However, this brings about a greater asset, a greater geulah, a greater redemption. And therefore, everything in life is one, two, three. Aleph, V, Gimel, ABC. You start with a plan, you execute the plan, and you have the, you have the pleasure, you have the fruit, and you have the redemption.
Now we move on to the three things the sages did. The first thing is to be cautious in your judgment. And that is, as the Mishna tells us, to be deliberate in judgment. Now, this statement is not only for a judge. This statement is not only for rabbis, not only for teachers, not only for parents, not only for the Sanhedrin, the court of 71 rabbis, or the men of the Great Assembly. The fact that this is a Mishna, which is called Avot, which means fathers, implies that it is a teaching that is relevant for all children, for all of us, all children of the world. And that is, we need to break out of our belief. In other words, many of us were raised in communities, in ghettos, where we are indoctrinated, where we are brainwashed. And we have to ask ourselves, what is the truth? Let us analyze every detail of life and ask ourselves, why are we here? How can I make a difference in creation? If God created me, and God created me in the image of God, which means I have a soul, I have a purpose, I have a neshamah, a godly soul, then how can I make the world more godly? Am I doing the right thing, regardless of what my teachers and my parents and my peers are telling me? And therefore, *havinu suni madin*, you have to be cautious, deliberate in your thinking, and you should think out of the box.
A friend of mine told me an eyewitness that he saw on Sukkot, Torah in Yerushalayim, in Jerusalem. You can imagine there was a lot of singing and dancing and drinking. It's a night of soul searching. And a young man approached Rabbi Adin Even Israel Steinsaltz and he said, Rabbi, please help me. I'm searching. I want to be more spiritual. I want to get closer to God. What should I do? Rabbi Steinsaltz said, "Look, before I tell you what you should do, I must tell you what you should not do. And therefore, I am telling you, you should not go to the rabbis." You see, many rabbis, many teachers have their motives, have their purpose, have their agenda. Not every rabbi is a good rabbi. Not every teacher is a good teacher. You have to choose your teachers wisely. You have to choose your rabbis wisely. And therefore, the Mishna is telling us, be cautious in the way you think and the rabbis and mentors and coaches that you are choosing. Even psychologists, even psychiatrists, many of them have their agendas. We have to ask ourselves, what are we looking for? We are looking for the truth. We are looking to get closer to God.
A young lady came into my office a number of months ago. She told me she wants to get married. She's looking for a *shidduch*. I asked her, "Tell me, do you like the Shabbos candles?" She told me, "No, I don't." I said, "Well, my mentor, my teacher, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, said that a girl should light Shabbos candles every Friday, and this will light up her mazel, it will light up her luck, and this way you will become a *kallah*, you will get engaged very soon." And she told me, "Well, my teachers told me I should not light candles until I get married." And I told her, "Your teachers don't know everything. They're good people, they mean well, but they don't know everything. And I'm telling you, I guarantee you, you will light candles, you will be a *kallah*, you will get engaged in a few short months." And just the other day, the father came to tell me that *baruch hashem*, thank God, his daughter became a *kallah*, she began to light the candles every week. She saw the truth, she saw the light, she saw the *emes*, and she was helped. We need to analyze every situation. Don't take it for granted, regardless of who has told you these things. We need to break free from society. We need to break free from the norm.
Number two, *v'amidu tambien*, to establish many, many disciples. Again, this is a Mishna, this is a teaching for all children of the world. Each one of us has an area of influence. Each one of us has friends. Each one of us has neighbors. The Mishna is telling us that we need to spread these seven Noachide laws. We need to spread truth and unity and peace amongst our friends and neighbors. There are those who can sing, let them sing songs of peace. They're those who can write, let them write articles of peace. They're those who can act, let them act to bring peace and unity to the world. The Rebbe had told so many people, actors, Herman Wouk, "Al Domini Journal," when you write an article, when you write a story, even if you're writing a story about a war that's taking place in Ukraine or the other side of the world, at the end of the article, there should be some sort of inspiration about God, about goodness and kindness. This is the role that each one of us can and must play in the world stage. And therefore, *do tell me*, we have to influence. You have social media, you have an iPhone, you have WhatsApp, you have email. Write it, send it out, inspire the world with brightness, with truth, with light, with joy and kindness.
And finally, *vasu sayog lata*, make a fence around the Torah. Now, normally, this is interpreted to mean to make many fences, make more restrictions. But Hasidism has a very innovative approach to this. And he says, what does it mean to make a fence around the Torah? A fence is a circumference. Widen the circumference. Why? The opportunity to give people a chance to do a mitzvah. Make Judaism joyous. Make the seven Noachide fun. Be innovative. Think out of the box. Create opportunity. You know, you go to a wedding, and there's a smorgasbord. This lamb, this fish, this steak, chicken wings, hot dogs, sushi. Everybody likes something else. But you know what? When you walk into that room, you have a big plate, and you walk out, and your plate is full. It's full because everybody finds something they like. And the same is true with Torah. The same is true with Judaism. The same is true with the seven Noachide laws. We have to create fences. We have to widen the circumference. We have to create opportunity to show how people can participate. One wants to give more charity, one wants to do more prayer, one wants to visit the sick, one wants to visit the homebound, one wants to write articles. But each one of us can do something to bring the world to geulah, to bring the world to redemption.
And so, this is the first mission of the opening Mishna. This is the light. This is the illumination. This is the inspiration. This is the goal to bring the world to redemption by three things, and knowing that we have to make a reality. We need to change the world. We can impact the world because if we could not impact the world, we would not be in existence. The fact that we are here is a proof that God is telling us every day, you can make a difference, and you matter.
I want to end with one very interesting story. There was a policeman who would be part of an escort that would take the Lubavitcher Rebbe from 770 to the Ohel, to the cemetery where his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, was buried. And every week, this policeman would escort the Rebbe. And while the Rebbe would go into the Ohel to pray there on behalf of world Jewry and all those that sent him requests for blessings, this policeman began to chat and talk to the boys who were standing outside also watching the Rebbe. And one day, the boys were very excited. And the policeman asked the boys, "What are you so excited about? What happened?" And the boy said, "You know, the Rebbe makes miracles every day. But today, he made such a wild miracle that we can't get over it." He says, "What do you mean?" He says, "Yes, the Rebbe goes, he prays for people, he helps people, and he makes miracles." The policeman became very somber and he said, "You know, I need a miracle." "What do you mean?" "Well, my wife and I were married for nine years, and we went to all the doctors, and we did all the tests, we tried all the different medications. However, nothing has helped. And now we need a miracle." The boys told the policeman, "Look, the next time that the Rebbe comes out and goes into his car, you stand next to the door and ask the Rebbe for a *bracha*, a blessing." And so, that's what he did. At the next opportunity, when the Rebbe came into the car, he asked the Rebbe, "Do you bless only Jews, or do you bless all people?" And the Rebbe said, "I help everyone and anyone that I can." He said, "Rebbe, my wife and I are married for nine years. We need a blessing for children." The Rebbe said, "Take a piece of paper, write your name and your father's name, your wife's name and her father's name, and give it to me." And while he was standing there, he took a pen, and his hand was shaking. He said, and he wrote his name down, his father's name, his wife, and her father's name, and gave it to the Rebbe.
A few weeks later, his wife was pregnant, and nine months later, she gave birth to a beautiful, healthy young boy. But the story is not over. The story does not end here. The policeman decided he wanted to give a name to this little boy, and he called him Mendel, after the Rebbe. Now, obviously, he was not Jewish. But now he has a Jewish name. The wife turns to him and says, "Why are you naming our child Mendel? He's not Jewish." And the policeman said, "Well, I want him to know that the only reason why he's here in the world, the only reason why he exists today, is because of a rabbi by the name of Mendel who gave him a blessing, and that's why he's here." Well, the wife was okay with it. Then the in-laws got involved, and they said, "Why would you give this kid a Mendel? He's going to go to school, public school, and his friends are going to think he's Jewish. They're going to beat him up." And the policeman said, "Exactly. That's why I'm giving him the name Mendel. He's going to go to school, and they're going to think he's Jewish. They're going to beat him up, and he's going to tell them, 'The only reason why I exist is because a rabbi by the name of Mendel gave me a blessing.' And therefore, you have to respect Jews. You have to love Jews. Don't be an anti-Semite. All human beings are created in the image of God. You have to respect one another. That's why I gave him the name Mendel. I'll come home at night, beat up. I'll tell him, 'Go back to school tomorrow, and you convey that message to your friends.'"
And this is the meaning of Mishna one in chapter number one of the "Ethics of the Teachings of Our Fathers," the Ethics for All People. I hope and pray that with this in mind, we will make the world a better place. We will add and increase in acts of goodness and kindness, and see not only stage number one, which is the goal, and not only stage number two, the execution, but stage number three, the geulah, the redemption, with the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days.