Parshas Bereishis – Why Did Hashem Give Adam Speech If There Was No One to Talk To?!

Creation By Command And A Child’s Wonder

SPEAKER_00 0:00

And let there be light, says the Almighty, and then there is light. Let there be a world, and then there's a world. Hashem kinda like the old clapper mechanism when you can turn on a light by clapping your hands twice or say, Hey machine, lights on. Hashem kind of does that with a whole entire world. He says, Hey world, turn on. Let there be light. And so there is light. It's funny, actually, my five-year-old daughter, cute girl, she sometimes will get caught up in the idea that some of the machines you can talk to can ask Siri questions and other home devices. Sometimes my daughter will say, Hey, oven, turn on. She hasn't learned that it is not a universal system. But either way, I digress. Hashem says things and they happen. And our parsha opens with God creating the universe. Let there be a world. It culminates, Parsha's paracious to give you a flavor before we jump in. It culminates in the creation of humanity and the establishment of Shabbos as a holy day of rest. You know the Parsha, you've heard it as a kid. Probably most Gentiles know the story of Genesis. Placed in the Idylic. Idyllic? Idyllic? Garden of Aden. Aldum and Chava told to guard it, protect it. Eventually they are exiled after defying God's commandment by eating from the tree of knowledge, forever introducing hardship and mortality into the human experience for all time. The Parsha narrative then details the first murder when jealous Cayenne kills his brother

From Eden To Flood The Human Spiral

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Hevel. Before the Parsha traces the subsequent ten generations of humanity's expansion, people live a long time. Before the Parsha concludes with mankind's total descending into chaos, violence, and moral corruption, prompting God to decree the world's destruction by a great flood. Hmm. I always am saddened by the fact that us humans can't even escape one parsha unscathed and just keep it clean and actually follow God's will for even one parsha. It's hard. We have the Yatsahara. Things have been going downhill, or people have been making poor choices for a while. But the parsha ends on a high note. But one man can change destiny. One man can save the world alone in a sea of immorality and corruption. Noach. Noach finds favor in the eyes of Hashem and is the final spark of hope. Dun dun dun. We'll read about that next week. This week, on the weekly Paisha podcast, I'd like to give you and Izuk in an important area of life that needs constant chizuk, while also advancing, pressing question. A question that you should have, and once you hear it, there's no going back, because now the Kasha burns every time you read Parsha Spiratius.

The Speaking Soul In Genesis

SPEAKER_00 3:02

So let's fast forward to the creation of people. God said, Let us make humankind in our image after our likeness, and they shall rule the fish in the sea, of the sky, of the cattle, they shall rule the earth. It is interesting that we are told to rule the animals. I find it interesting that some dogs, while they are on leashes, really carry their owners and dominate the Selim Elohim that is holding onto their leash, picking up the animals' excrement and being yanked in different directions, but again, we digress. Hashem says, by Yivrahimes, Bit Salmoi Bit Salam Elohim Barosam, Zakharunakiva Baro Sam. God created a male and female, and don't make a mistake. Male and female are two different entities with two different interests. And don't make the mistake to treat a female like a male or treat a m treat a male like a female. They have different DNAs, different needs, different wants. And then a bit later, the Barasha says, Ela told those hashamaiv ars behibaram bayamas, such as the story of the heaven and earth when they were created. There's no shrubbery in the field, no grasses on the field, nothing had yet sprouted. The eternal God formed a human from the soil's hummus. That's not a good translation. God fashioned the person from dust, but blowing into his nostrils the breath of life. And then the human became a living being. Interesting. See it. Close your eyes and see it. See a human coming to life. See the bag of dirt that's formed into your arms and legs, and then Hashem's breath bursting into your nose and lighting you up with a soul. Unculus, nephew of Titus, and convert, he really worked his way up from the projects to create the most authentic and accessible translation of Hashem's holy Torah, to the point that it was so sacred that it was told by the Gemara that Unculus's translation of the Torah was actually given at Harsini. But Unculus translates the Posik uniquely. Hashem Elokim then formed the man, dust from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life. And then the last four words of the Pusuk are our focus today. Bahiha Adam Lanefeshaia, basically translated as the human became a living being. Not so, says Unculus. The translation. And so man became a living, speaking being. Unculus adds the word speaking. But it is not just a addition of a speaking being, but rather the translation of the words that you are alive or that you can speak is what we see here. And Rashi himself adds similar context. Lanefeshaiah, that all animals are alive, but Ahzu shall adam, but this human that was created, Chaya Shibikulam, is the most alive, the most pulsating, the most invigorated with a heartbeat. How so? Shinitosef Bodea Vidibor. Because to him he was granted understanding and speech. So a human being, his definition of what makes him the highest living entity and creation are that he became and was endowed with a living, speaking

Why Give Speech To Someone Alone

SPEAKER_00 6:49

soul. So here's the question. Once we know that speech is essentially the crowning jewel of a human being, we must ask ourselves why God gave us the ability to speak. Did you ever think about that? I like to ask the question directly. The defining quality of your Nishama is your ability to speak. Hashem gave it to Adam at the moment of creation while he was still totally alone. Yet speech, how we think of it, is a tool that gives you the ability to communicate. Yet, at this point, there's no one to communicate to, and no reason for a human to have the ability to speak. You know why? Because if you would like to talk to Hashem, the Posak says that God is the knower of our thoughts. He knows the knowledge of our hearts. We connect with God through even thinking. Hashem knows what we want and what we crave. So God does not need us to speak for us to connect with him. So speech cannot be for God. For the animals, they were alive. For the shrubbery, they're alive. For the fish, they're alive, but they do not understand or respond to voice commands. So that can't be the reason that we were given speech. Nothing in this creation is purposeless from God. What is the function of Udam's speech if there was no one to talk to? Ah, you'll say, so that he can talk to his wife. But it seems like the original creation was Udom by himself. The original plan was just him alone with a voice. But what's the point if there's nobody to talk to? No one to speak to. You see here, folks, there's something going on here that teaches us about the true power of our Debur. Folks, the answer is glaring. It sticks out like a mansion, beautiful new construction home on a run-down block in the projects. I don't know if that's a good mushle, but it sticks

Prayer Makes Hidden Blessings Sprout

SPEAKER_00 8:48

out. You know why Hashem gave us Debur, even though there's no one to talk to? It's because Hashem may know your thoughts. He may know what's in your mind and in your heart, but he still wants you to talk to him. God gave you a mouth, says my rov Ravlazevnik, quoting the Bali Musir and many of the Mamore Kazal and Svarim Hakedoshim. Hashem gave us Deavid Dibur just so that you can talk to your dad in heaven. To pray to God is the reason that you are a human, is what it says here. It's not extra that you are given speech, and there's nothing to do with it other than to talk to God, to connect with him, prove to you that this concept is correct. The Torah says by the creation of man that there was in existence shrubbery, grain, trees, flowers, vegetables. It had been created, but kilohimtir. It had not yet sprouted. Well, that's weird. Where was the vegetables? Where were they? says Rashi. Um my time alohimtir. What does it mean? And what's the reason that it had not yet sprouted? Lafisha adam ayan la avod esadama. Because there was no reason for it to sprout because there was not yet a man. Man had not yet been created. So it was kind of, well, where was it? There was no man to recognize the importance and the necessity and the goodness of rain. Ukeshia ba adam bayo deha shame tsari kla olam when man was created, and now he saw that rain is needed to make things sprout. His spalel alayhem. Then he began to pray for the rain, but yardu when it came down Vitsamhu, and only then it sprouted. Ha'ilanus Vahad Sha'im. Before man prayed, everything was beneath the surface. Everything is simmering and bubbling underneath the surface. It isn't sprouting, it's sitting there with potential energy, but not kinetic energy. And only once the man begins to talk to God, only then does creation begin to burst through the playing field of the grass to become now edible arrangements. The tzvila's the kicker for the whole earth was created but had not sprouted until man uses his voice. God wants you to use your voice. Now, this does not mean walking down the street and just talking to God. While that, I guess, may have some merit. I haven't seen my rabbis do that, and that would seem like a funny thing. But rather, God gave us avenues to talk to him.

Growing Up In Tefillah With Many Gates

SPEAKER_00 11:33

He gave us sha'arim betzfilah, ways to talk to him, Shema, Shimona Esray, Psuke De Zimra, Tahilim. So I'd like to look at it in a new light this year. That tfila is what we were created for. That's what we are. We are speaking tefila people. But in a mature way, I've seen tfila in a new light this year, because with more obligations in the business world, less time for Torah study means that I have to really find a herogish and a real connection to something else that I still have time for, which is tfila. There's always time for tsvila, no matter what. No one's gonna miss prayers. So I started to read with my wife the Sha'arimba Tsvila from Abshimshadavapinkis. And what he points out is that when we're young, we understand prayer just to call out to God whenever we need him and tell Hashem that we love him and we're thankful and we need more money. But we fail sometimes to elevate our prayer into mature mindset prayer, which is that chazal tells us there's many different ways to talk to God. You could do zaqka, shava, nakiah, rina, pigiah, nipo, palil, atir, khilun, khinun. There's many different avenues of ways to talk to God. If prayer is our essence, well then we need to master the ways God also wants to be talked to. You see, the same way that you would moan about a swollen knuckle is different than how you would cry out in distress out of total, utter pain and despair. The way that you would talk to God from introspective prayer of judgment of self of the Lord Palil Hisbalel is different than, which is just a totally, I don't deserve it, God. Can you still throw it my way because you're awesome and I don't really have any merits, but I just really need your help? See, there's different ways and different times to use different prayers. There's different ways. What I'm trying to get at is that there's different ways to talk to God that's supposed to be done at certain times, and that mature Oivde Hashem wanna learn more about how God wants us to use our gift of speech to talk to him. So it's important that we master Sicha and Tefila and put in energy to understand when you use Pagia and when you use Rina. Just imagine using your Rina form of prayer when you were in despair. That doesn't work. Rina's more of the halel happy jumping around, God, I love you. Thanks for giving me something great today. There's different ways that you need to learn and different avenues, different floors in the apartment building of Tefila that you need to get off at. You can't just access the Sha'arim Bitzfila by just showing up and talking. You have to actively choose to connect with the right key for the specific door that you're trying to open. And this next Mahar Malcolm may have been better placed towards the beginning of

Moshe’s Impediment And The Power Of Asking

SPEAKER_00 14:28

the talk. But the Ramban in Parshas Shamos, Parak Dalad Pasakyod, speaks and proves this concept of needing prayer and you needing to raise your voice to God. He asks that when Moshe objects to the mission to set the Israelites free, when Hashem says, go and take them out, Moshe says that I am not a man of words. I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue. And Nuriamban asks, why didn't God simply heal Moshe's speech impediment? After all, God immediately responds by reminding Moshe, who gave man a mouth? Is it not I, Hashem? So why didn't Hashem just fix his speech impediment? Niramban answers that God certainly had the power to cure Moshe instantly. Say, clap on, clap off, heal mouth, remedy impediment. Hashem could heal it just as he had performed miracles for Moshe with his hand and with his staff a little bit later on. Of course, Hashem could do it. So why didn't he? However, healing did not occur for Moshe's speech impediment, says the Ramban, because Moshe never asked for it. Moshe never prayed to be healed. So therefore, it never sprouted. It never came to fruition. If Moshe would have said, Hashem, heal it, I need it to be able to do your will, then it would have been healed. But Moshe, out of his humility, didn't pray for that and didn't feel himself worthy enough to be the chosen one for God. You see, folks, you need to talk to God to make your brachos sprout. Your bra blessings may be standing dormant underneath the surface, ready to sprout. Your speech impediment, and I'm using that as a metaphor or an analogy for whatever it is that you need in life. It may be ready to be fixed, to be remedied, but maybe you didn't actually voice it. And if you did voice it, maybe you didn't voice it properly. Maybe you didn't use the right gate of prayer. Maybe you didn't use the right amount of focus in prayer. Maybe you did not wash your hands before prayer. Maybe you did not relieve yourself before prayer. Maybe you didn't say your psuke de Zimra before prayer. See, there's many different prerequisites to make your prayer work. And before we complain that prayer doesn't work, it's better that we put effort in to making our prayer better, more focused, more following the guidelines of Hashem.

Chizuk In Prayer And Closing Charge

SPEAKER_00 16:50

And we can never have too many Torah talks and mashalim and stories about the importance of prayer because the Gemara in Brachos 32b says, Tanurabbon, our b'adsrich and chizuk. Four items constantly need strengthening. The Eluane, these are them. Torah, it needs strengthening. Be strong in your Torah study. Umaisim Tovim, be strong in your good deeds, be courageous in performing good deeds. Even when everyone says it's not a right thing to do. If it's the right thing to do, you're bold and brazen for God. Tefila. Hope to the Lord. Kave elashem. Strengthen yourself. And if you aren't answered, davin again. Be mechazik yourself in prayer. That's the answer if it doesn't work. Be mechazik yourself in prayer. Don't say that the machine of prayer is faulty and you want to return it. It's because you're using the item the wrong way and you forgot to put batteries in or actually put the machine in the right settings for it to get the desired results. And last thing that needs constant chizik for a different talk, we'll focus on it. But Derek Eretz, your worldly occupation, your daily labor and worldly responsibility requires active fortitude. But for this talk, it's all about knowing what you were created to do. And you were created as a living being, which translated as a speaking being. And why were you given your mouth to speak if there was originally nobody to talk to? It's mainly because so you can talk to God in prayer. Kizekolha Adam. The kids need to be picked up soon. So we're going to close here. That Hashem gave Adam the power of speech when there was no one else to speak to. Why? Because speech was given first and foremost to speak to him, capital H. The brachos we need are waiting just beneath the surface, but they are held back until we voice our prayer to him, capital H. We need to look at prayer in a mature way. See it as a masehta. It's an avodash. See it as a labor of love. See it as an introspection. See it as a moment of peace and quiet and meditation and mindfulness, of making yourself better by talking to God. Hashem gave you a voice because he wants to hear it. So talk to him.