Parshas Matos-Masei: Free T-Shirts from Cities of Refuge

0:00 Baruch Hashem. I'm so happy that it went well. It was this past Shabbos that my family and I we had the great opportunity to go on a trip on our first speaking engagement. We packed up the Honda CR-V and took ourselves up to the Catskill Mountains, plopped ourselves down inside of one of the camps and had the opportunity to share some words of motivational Torah, motivational rebuke, motivational Mussar, loving chastisement At least three times, with some holy Jews, to share the words of the great Rishonim and Aharonim with them that I hope landed on them in a way that it will continue to swim about their minds and push them, coax them, to serve Hashem with energy.

0:47 I was happy about how it went and I also have a couple different takeaways and critiques of myself. I'd love to share them with you. Reach out on WhatsApp and I don't think it's fit necessarily for the public setting we have here, but be in touch. I have an interesting takeaway from the whole thing and I'd love to hear if you would agree with me. But putting that aside, getting to the topic at hand, a big mazel, tov. Congratulations to all of us for finishing Safer by Midbar, the University of the Wilderness. We have now gone through the junior, sophomore and now senior classes. We've graduated through all of the different masos, all the different lessons that we've learned in all of the different encampments.

1:30 We've learned about how life is a journey and we've learned about so many of the attributes and midos, character flaws, that could bring us down. We've hopefully learned their lesson, could bring us down. We've hopefully learned their lesson, as now we make our way towards Sefer Devarim, the Sefer that is called the Sefer Musar Musarim, the ultimate and quintessential book of Musar, specially crafted to inspire the nation. All from the heavenly Chachmas Hashem, all from the heavenly Chachmas Hashem, part of Moshe's incredible soliloquy. So many powerful, meaningful and inspirational takeaways.

2:13 But before we get ahead of ourselves, we finished Matos Masai and we learned in that parasha many different things. And one of the most unique halachos is all about that accidental killer, the person who accidentally manslaughtered somebody. This accidental murderer can claim the right of asylum, find his comfort zone, find safe haven, a protective lair, if he should just flee to the Ir HaMiklat, the Are Miklat, one of the cities of refuge.

2:57 Moshe was commanded in our parasha to set these such cities up in our parasha, to set these such cities up Outside of these cities. Blood vengeance against such perpetrators would be allowed by law. So if you want to save yourself from those that are looking to avenge the blood of this accidental suffering of death individual, then go, flee, are miklet, get there ASAP and you'll have everything that you need Water, food, grocery stores, shuls, even your rebbe to teach you Torah, for you need that for life.

3:41 When are you free to go home? When can one leave the city of refuge, the Aramiklot? Not like all other details or caveats to a law that there's a special amount of years given. It's not just a plain one year, two years, seven years or 50 years, but something specific has to happen for this individual to go to freedom, for him to be released by the walls of the Yom. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the Tzilu HaEdes, haretech B'Yad Goyel, adam VeYishivu, haso HaEda El Ir Miklato Asher NaShoma B'Yoshev Ba, and you shall stay in the city.

4:23 You can go home. When the death of the high priest happens, when the top dog, the big man on campus, passes away, loses his soul, then, and only then, are you allowed to go home. Rashi Rambam and his marina, vuchim and Shargimel they're all grappling with to try to understand why this interesting connection between this accidental murderer and the death of the Kohen Gadol. It seems like these two are connected and there is just incredible leagues of depth behind Rashi's words of one person is coming to push away the Shekhinah, another coming to bring the Shekhinah closer.

5:19 Insight into what accidents are, why they happen and one's self-understood responsibilities and even if the Torah doesn't say it, they should be self-understood and a lack of understanding one's unique capabilities and responsibilities could lead towards tragic happenings. That's not today's talk. You know what today's talk is. It is an incredible Mishnah, mesechta, makos 11a, that points out that because these accidental perpetrators of manslaughter would be languishing stuck inside of the Yarei Miklat and their only way out was to have the death of the Kohen Gadol, therefore they would daven they would for the Kohen Gadol to die.

6:05 Yes, you heard that right. The Mishnah tells us that mothers of the Kohanim Gadolim, the grandma, the mama of us all, the bubby, the one who gave birth to the Kohen Gadol, she would bake cookies and bring gifts, tchotchkes, so that the people, the inhabitants of the city, shouldn't pray for their young, little, cute son to pass away. The Mishnah in Makos 11a, lafika chimoiseim shalkei hanim misafkais lohem michia uchesos, would bring clothing and food to these people in Aram Mikla.

6:55 Please enjoy this present, enjoy this t-shirt that I've bought for you. Don't look at my son in a bad way and definitely don't pray for him to die. It's a fascinating occurrence, don't you think that first of all, somebody would God forbid pray for the holiest man in the world to die just so he can reach his freedom? But I'm not sure if that's such a shocking idea.

7:36 Someone's languishing, Someone's suffering, someone's stuck, the only way out. He can't help. But maybe think that way. I want my freedom. Maybe it isn't somebody who's totally righteous. But what's even more incredible points out the altar of Kelm is that it seems as though the mothers were right in doing so. Rebbe Udda Hanassi documents this in a Mishnah that the mothers were right in going to head, it seems, lafigah. The mothers would go and bring stuff to be able to keep them from davening. It would seem that without the cookies, without the cake, without the free t-shirts, these people would have very powerful prayer Prayer that even these less than adequate folks stuck in the Aramiklad.

8:20 Their prayer would be so efficacious that it would assassinate the Kohen Gadol. It's nigherly misplaining. It's incredible to see just how powerful one's prayer is. For prayer from somebody stuck in the Ari Miklat, somebody maybe unworthy to be listened to by God and let alone lent the ear to assassinate the holiest of holy men. But because of the absolutely astonishing and rather peculiar power of prayer, the absolutely overwhelming gift that we have been given in our Kedusha-filled arsenal, arsenal, that of the gift of tefillah to Hashem.

9:13 It is so powerful that, yes, mothers would bake cookies for these folk so that they shouldn't harness the power of tefillah to assassinate the holiest of holy. Think about that, think about the extraordinary power of tefillah that's on full display here Now, the altar of Qalm. After this observation, he leads us to the next, rather difficult observation that maybe you've even thought of. If they are stuck, suffering an incarceration, and they can't go home to their mama or go see their cute little children because they're stuck inside of the Uri Miklat and they are incarcerated in that one that's across the Eivar, la Ya'am, in Ramot or in Bosa, or in Kadesh, in Shechem or Hevron there's one of these cities where he really wants to go home, but he can't because the only way out is to have the Kohen Godel die, otherwise he may be murdered while walking about the streets, but the mothers would bake cookies to prevent all this, so that you won't pray to have her son die, to prevent all this, so that you won't pray to have her son die?

10:32 So you mean to tell me that these people that their only way out is to live, to see the death of their Kohen Gadol? But now they got cookies so they won't pray anymore. They want something so bad, but they got a free t-shirt so they won't daven anymore. You mean that the efikach imayseyam shel koyhanim would bring mechia v'chesos. They got some socks, they got some red velvet cakes. So now, all of a sudden, they're fine, rotting away in prison and they won't pray for a miraculous salvation. How could that be? Answers the altar of Kelm.

11:15 Of course they're still going to pray, of course they still want out and of course they're still going to daven a shmona esrei. And they may ask Hashem, please take out the Kohen Gadol so that I can go home to see my kids. But when, mommy, but when Mrs Kohen, the mother of the Kohen Gadol, brings some cookies or some cake, says the altar of Kalamit takes the edge off. It makes it that while I'm in pain here in jail and I want out, it isn't intolerable the person and the type of tefillah that would be listened to.

12:00 Here is a tefillah from the, a real passionate prayer. A real passionate prayer, a full-bodied French roast garden, fresh USDA prime prayer, one that this person, he, davened so hard because he's in such a tough spot, that filo we're scared about. So we bake cookies for them. And what do the cookies do? It doesn't keep them from praying, but it lets them pray a little bit less fervently, a little bit less focused, with a little bit less concentration, because things aren't incredibly terrible, because Mrs Cohen does make some excellent cookies and the warm blankets that she knits, they take the edge off.

12:54 L'ma'isa, I guess I still do have some form of a normal life. It isn't l'chadchila, it isn't great. The altar of Kalm points out that a tzfila, when you take the edge off, when you do not feel like it's life or death and turning to God, we're not so scared about that tefillah being answered, we're not so scared about you taking out the Kohen Gadol. But, folks, hopefully you see it, when one does daven, whether or not he has the schosem has the merits, whether or not he's praying for something that may even be towards the ultimate detriment of society, but if you pray it from the depths of your heart, like your life depends on it, and you daven like you've never daven before, even if it's to kill the Kohen Gadol.

13:54 Yeah, we're scared that that tefillah may be answered. Yeah, we're scared of the power of that tefillah, and we're all trying and looking for something. We're all looking for some Yeshua, we're all trying to see success or more success in our endeavors. There's something that we all want and something that we all want to get away, eradicate from our lives, and we tried tefillah, but it doesn't work for us. For many of us, including myself. You often feel unanswered. It doesn't feel inspiring, it doesn't feel like it's the way to get what you want.

14:36 I need to do more heshtadlus. Maybe I need to get a bracha from a rebbe, or tie a red string around my hand, or do some other sort of segula pouring the babasalis incredibly holy water upon one's forehead. All great tzichusim. Incredibly holy water upon one's forehead, all great tzichusim. But, friends, perhaps the reason why tefillah doesn't work is not because tefillah doesn't work, but because we're not doing it right, because we feel like we can turn other directions, and that I'm okay. My tefillah is kind of passionate, but it ain't French roasted, full-bodied USDA prime cut tefillah.

15:24 Could you imagine the eschanan al-Hashem, the time that Moshe Rabbeinu? All he wanted was to get into Eretz Yisrael, to bring his flock into the promised land and watch his sheep scurry about, enjoying all the holiness that Avira to Eretz Yisrael has to offer Moshe Rabbeinu? He just wanted to see his people and lead them into the holy land, the promised land, eretz Yisrael, and all he wanted. Please, I want to go, please, I want to go, please, I want to go, please, I want to go, please, I want to go. V'eschan el Hashem, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times. Could you imagine what Moshe Rabbeinu's tefillah looked like and how many times he bowed his head during his Shemona Esrei to daven for this one thing?

16:10 Could you imagine, just if we would take a page out of Moshe Rabbeinu's playbook and daven the way Moshe Rabbeinu davened and bow the way Moshe Rabbeinu bowed and pray as many times as he did that many Shemona Esrei's, that many Slachlonu's, that many Yeshiva Sheiftenu's and Shema Kolenu's as Moshe Rabbeinu? Don't you think we may end up in a similar spot? Or couldn't you imagine that we may end up in a similar spot that Hashem says okay, if you daven one more time I'm going to answer you. So Hashem prevented Moshe from davening, but maybe we'll have a different outcome. Hashem will just say thank you for finally connecting with me in a real way, thank you for finally having an authentic and intentional conversation with me where you are actually fully there with me.

17:06 Maybe that's how tefillah works and why sometimes it doesn't work for us. We're supposed to look into the books of the sages and the prophets to figure out what it is that they did in times of struggling, what it is and where it is that they found their energy and vitality and source of inspiration. And literally almost every single time, whether it's Chana or Eliyahu, is it Pinchas? Is it Moshe? Is it Aaron? Is it Miriam? Is it Bas Paro? Is it anybody who ever did anything good in their lives? What is it that they turn to to help them become successful and overcome? It was, is and always will be tefillah With passion.

17:51 Tefillah with passion. Aneni, hashem, aneni, eliyahu. Hanavi said it in Har Karmel Chana she didn't even have an audible voice when she prayed. She was even taken to be a drunkard, but with her passionate prayers she literally changed the face of the prayer book, changed the way that people daven for eternity and she was blessed with a son who is compared only to Moshe and Aaron, the great Shmuel HaNavi. What did the towering Titanic Torah giants do in the times of discomfort? They always prayed Yosef in jail, yaakov before he met Esav.

18:41 Prayer tefillah, passionate, energized, inspired prayer. Because tefillah with devotion, even if one may not be of the right merit, we still want to bake him cookies because maybe he could assassinate the Kohen Gadol, hashem's top dog with his tefillah. So you want to dive in with concentration? I know I do, and we're always looking for the next tip. It's important that we constantly stay fresh in this area, to constantly give ourselves some enthusiasm, to add some intensity to our tefillah.

19:34 So in the greatest book that I've ever read I'm only in part one just finished part one Rabbi Lopiansky's new book about a ben aliyah, about becoming a student of the Torah. The directness of Rabbi Lopiansky along with the clarity that seems like he's a reincarnation of Ramchal, and his clarity along with the depth and brilliance of Rav Nachum Partzovitz and the preciseness in the map that he creates for success, like Alei Shor from Revolva, without any embellishments.

20:18 I honestly mean those things. But Rabbi Leopanski brings us that's feel, it can feel abstract, it can feel high up in heavenly and therefore sometimes unrelatable. And it's important that we need and should make it concrete, more brick and mortar, so inciting a Mishnah Brewer and another source to make it concrete and to improve our tefillah. It's simple Daven from a sitter and daven out loud. This makes tefillah a little bit more.

20:59 Hmm, there are words. What do they mean? How does this relate to me? When I say Hashem, the Yod, the K, the Vav, the K. When I say Elohim, when I say Shema, what am I doing? What am I reminding myself of? Which eternal truth am I revisiting today? When you pour over Tzfila, it's words and you dive in while seeing the words in front of you, maybe even holding the outside firm cover of the sitter. It makes it real.

21:42 And the second piece of advice was to daven out loud, because the shlaw writes that concentration actually follows the voice. And you can think of a million reasons why you shouldn't daven out loud, but probably all of them are all well, not from the bright side of the moon and not from the Yates or Hatoyev, the good inclination. You don't have to bother people, but you should be able to hear what comes out of your mouth so it doesn't just sound like some gibberish or a broken copy machine To feel it out loud. With a sitter, a practical, somewhat relatively easy to begin ways to access the most incredible force known to mankind, which is Tefillah.

22:35 In summary, we have learned that tefillah, fully harnessed, can assassinate the Kohen Gadol. We have learned that cookies, which just take the edge off and make Ari Mikla a bit more tolerable I can be here for another day and therefore it takes that top and that little extra oomph and that extra devotion in your tefillah away, because you don't need it right now and you're not in such horrible pain. That's why mothers would bake the cookies. We see, says the author of Kelm, how tefillah done properly, how much it can really accomplish.

23:22 We should daven like our life depends on it, because we know that it does, and we should daven from a sitter out loud, because it is an honest, intentional conversation with the master of the world. And you should take away from this the power, the unbelievable and astonishing power of authentic, emotional, concentrated tefillah. See how powerful it is, see what tefillah has accomplished for the Jews and the greatest Jews over our rich history, and then see what you can accomplish by harnessing the incredible power of passion-filled tefillah.