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0:00 Dear friends, welcome to this week's virtual drasha. This week we have the incredible privilege in parshas Shoftim. And in this parsha, like so many of the other parshas of the Torah, Moshe Rabbeinu gives us tremendous chizuk. And I know I say this every week because I'm overwhelmed by it. Moshe Rabbeinu stands by the banks of the Jordan River, able to see Eretz Yisrael but knowing that he's never going to have the opportunity to go in. And one could have easily thought that Moshe Rabbeinu would have 0:23 been consumed by sadness, by despair, bitterness, maybe even anger at Klal Yisrael. But yet, he uses these final moments together with his beloved beloved flock to give them chizuk, to give them strength, to give them hope, to give them optimism for the journey ahead. And in this week's parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu shares what appears to be a seemingly straightforward idea. Moshe Rabbeinu says in par- in perek chof pasuk gimel, chapter 18, verse 13, 0:48 "Tamim tihiyeh im Hashem Elokecha." Be tamim with Hashem. Now, often erroneously, tamim is tamim is defined as perfect. Be perfect with God. It can't be that. Because Hashem Baruch Hu would never demand perfection because Hashem Baruch Hu created us, and he knows that if there's one thing we are incapable of achieving, it's perfection. 1:09 And that's by design. Hashem didn't design us to be perfect. Malachim can be perfect. Angels can be perfect. Hashem, of course, is perfect. But we we there's no obligation on perfection on our part. That's not that's it's not a necessity for mankind, and it's not attainable for man. 1:24 Unkelos says, "Tamim shleim tehei." Be complete. But even that, what does it mean to be shalem? What does it mean to be complete? Does it mean to be without fault? To be without sin? Once again, impossible. And therefore, Rashi Hakadosh comes along and advances something truly amazing. Rashi says, "Tamim tihiyeh im Hashem Elokecha." He says, "His'halech immo bitmimut." Walk with Hakadosh Baruch Hu with a sense of 1:47 temimut. "Ut'tzapelo." And wait for him. What does this mean? "V'lo tachkor achar ha'asidot." Do not try to tell the future. Incredible. Now, to appreciate Rashi, Rashi gleans his idea. He says, "Hello, so what should you do if you shouldn't try to tell the future?" Hello Mashiyavo Kavel Kibel Bitnimos. Whatever comes your way 2:10 in life, accept it with equanimity. So, what does this mean? So, Rashi Hakodesh is noting the juxtaposition of Psukim because in the section right beforehand, Moshe Rabbeinu says to Klal Yisrael, Ki Ata Bo El Ha'aretz Asher Hashem Elokecha Nosin Loch. You're coming to a land that Hashem is giving you. Lo Silmod Lasos Kitavos Hagoyim Ha'eim. Do not learn from the abominable behaviors 2:36 of the nations who currently inhabit the land. And Moshe Rabbeinu then engages in a pretty intense discussion about Avodah Zarah, about idolatry. Lo Yimatze Vecha Ma'avir Bino Uvito Ba'eish. Don't engage in the in the Avodah Zarah Molech, which was child sacrifice. Kosem Kesamim, Me'onen, Menachesh, Mechashshef, Chover Chaver. Ove Ish'al Ov, Yid'oni. So again, what is Moshe Rabbeinu says? 2:57 Essentially, don't emulate, don't replicate the practices of the nations who currently inhabit Kena'an. Their abominable practices, Kitavos Hashem Kol Oseiha. Because these are abominable practices. And therefore, Biglal Ha'avos Ha'eila, Hashem Elokecha Morish Osam Mipanecha. And because of these abominable practices, the nations who currently inhabited Kena'an are being ejected from the land, and you will come 3:20 in and Im Yirtzeh Hashem, inherit it. So, this just seems to be another prohibition against Avodah Zarah, which the Torah goes over and remember, there's no shortage of times the Torah warns us against engaging in idolatrous practices. But, this is different. Because if you look at these practices, these were types of sorcery, necromancy, divination that were focused on telling the future. 3:44 These were practices that were designed because people thought somehow if you worship this God, engage in this practice, you'll be able to tell the future. And therefore, Hashem understands right after Moshe Rabbeinu tells Klal Yisrael, "Don't engage in these practices. They're abominable." He says, "Tamim tihiyeh im Hashem Elokecha. 4:01 Be complete with Hashem." Meaning, "Lo tinashef, lo tachkor acher acharonim." Don't try to tell the future. And this is fascinating. Why Why does Moshe Rabbeinu have to warn us against this? And it's for a simple reason. Because more than anything, what I want to know is what the future holds. 4:17 Chavura, every single day, I mean maybe not even every single day, but certainly at many moments in life, we are called upon to make decisions. And I don't mean the daily decisions like what do you want to eat for dinner? That's okay, good. Or or where do you want to go on vacation? 4:34 But I mean like big decisions in life. Big decisions. We're at a crossroads and I have to decide right or left, this way, that way. And there are two mutually opposite, potentially two mutually different two different directions in life. 4:51 And more than anything, I want to I I I know I have to make that decision. So what do I want to know? Well, which one is going to be better? Which one is going to be good? I want to know the future. I want to know what's going to happen. I want to know if I choose A path A, if I choose path B, what's going to occur. And therefore, it makes total sense that by the nations of the world, they've come up with all of these different supposed mechanisms for being able to tell the future. Cuz 5:15 chavura, who doesn't want the palm reading? Who doesn't want the tarot card reading? Right? Who doesn't want the crystal ball that's going to be able to tell them what the future is? Because there are times in life when we have to make really big decisions. 5:31 And those decisions are going to have impact. So I want to know which way it's going to turn out better. And Moshe Rabbeinu tells us Klal Yisrael, "I know that more than anything, what you want is to be able to tell the future. But I have to tell you, you cannot tell of future. And that is by design. Because what God wants from us in life is the ability to engage in courageous 5:54 decision-making. And what is it What What's courageous decision-making? Courageous decision-making is when you do your best to gather all the intel possible, right? Because remember, I can't be reckless in my decision-making, but I do whatever I can to gather the information that I have at hand. And based on the intel, based on the information, I'm going to make a decision. 6:13 I'm going to make a decision. Uh what's going to happen? Well, one of two things are going to happen. Either I'm going to be wrong and I'm going to fail, or I'm going to be right and I'm going to be successful. But either way, it's good. If I'm wrong and I fail, I'm going to learn tremendous life lessons from that failure. And I'm going to do better and build better next time. 6:35 And if I'm successful, fantastic, mazel tov. Then I'll build on those successes for my future. What God says is, "I'm not telling you what the future is, because this is the nature of the human condition. If you could have a crystal ball, then what's the point of life? 6:54 If you could go to some type of necromancer or divination or sorcery and get your palm read and know exactly what's going to happen, then what's the point of life? God put us in this world to engage in courageous decision-making. 7:08 And courageous decision-making means I have to make a major decision and I do not know what the future is going to hold. I don't know how it's going to go. I don't know what it's going to be. Again, person can't be reckless. I have to gather all the necessary intel, all the necessary information that I have at hand, but recognizing that as much information as you gather, as much intel as you gather, 7:33 there is no guarantee for success. You may succeed, but you may also fail. But God says, "You're good. You're good." If you fail, learn and do better next time. And if you succeed, you now have a foundation and to build even higher." Tamin tiam Hashem Kodesh Baruch Hu says, 7:58 lo sach gar acher ha'asidos. Don't try to tell the future simply because you can't. I won't let you. I won't let you know what the future is. Ela, kol ma she'yavo alacha kabal b'tmimus. Whatever happens, whatever happens, accept with equanimity. What does it mean to accept with equanimity? 8:19 I accept the fact that because I don't know what the future holds, I may fail and I may succeed. And if I fail, I accept that failure. We'll learn from it and we'll do better next time. And if I succeed, I now have a foundation to build even higher. 8:36 Moshe Rabbeinu was giving us the keys to success. Chas v'shalom, think about this. When we are faced with the ability or I should say the opportunity or the mandate to make a big life decision, what I want more than anything is I need to know. I need I need to know with certainty how it's going to how it's going to pan out. 8:53 And there are people like that. There are people who will not make a move unless they could be guaranteed of success. Well, generally, if you're not making a move unless you're guaranteed of success, you're really making very few moves in life. Because there's almost nothing in life where you could be guaranteed success. There's no life investment that you can make that is has a guaranteed return. You know, there 9:17 are, right? Like even in the world of financial instruments, okay? Now, I'll speak a little bit out of out of Now, I don't have a lot of chachma on this. So, you can go ahead and you could get a secured secured return on investment, but generally, if it's guaranteed, it's going to be much lower. 9:32 The bigger payouts, the bigger ROIs, come where there's more risk. That's the way life works. There's no guaranteed future. There's nothing, no one who could ever tell you, "Choose this and I guarantee you this." Again, if you want a small return on investment in life, good. You want to make safe choices, you could get guaranteed futures. 9:50 But Moshiach says, if you want big things out of life, if you have big dreams and big aspirations for yourself, then you have to get comfortable with not knowing how things are going to turn out. Then you have to get comfortable with knowing that no, you don't know what the future holds. 10:07 Make good decisions. Make informed decisions. But also be willing to live with risk, knowing that you may fail and you may succeed. Dream big. Go big, even though you have no idea what the future holds. Dream big and go big, even though you have absolutely no idea how things are going to turn out. No. 10:35 There's a famous pearl of wisdom. Again, it might be Khazars, it might be Fleetwood Mac. Don't stop thinking about tomorrow. Though and there's a profundity about that. Don't stop thinking about tomorrow. And yet, always has to be future focused. And always have to think about what the future is going to hold. 10:54 But if you get so wrapped up in trying to figure out about what's going to happen, what's going to be, we speak about this all the time, then the only way that's going to happen is analysis paralysis. If you need all the answers in life before you take dramatic life steps, if you need to know exactly what the future is going to hold before you make a dramatic decision, 11:18 you're not going to make any dramatic decisions. You'll just be a hostage of analysis paralysis. If I need to know all the answers, if I need to know exactly how everything's going to fit, all the puzzle pieces are going to fit before I before I take a step, then the only logical thing to do is not to take a step. The only logical thing to do is to be paralyzed. The only logical thing is to remain in a state of 11:42 perpetual inaction. Because at the end of the day, we don't know the future. Because that's how Hashem wants it. Because what Hashem wants more than anything from us in life is the ability to make courageous decisions without a guaranteed outcome. 12:02 There's always one of two outcomes. I'll fail I'll fail or I'll succeed. Hashem says either way, you're good. If you fail, learn and do better next time. And if you succeed, mazel tov. Build on those successes. Continue to build on that. 12:19 This is what Moshe Rabbeinu was telling us. You're going into a land now. You're embracing a next chapter of life where things are unscripted. You know, in the desert, everything is scripted. Everything is scripted. The manna falls in the morning. The cloud is there by day. The fire is there by night. Hashem tells you when to move and when to stay. 12:35 Everything is scripted. And now once you cross over that Jordan River, Hashem says Moshe Rabbeinu says to all of Israel, it's unscripted. No one's telling you what the future is. No one's telling you what the future is. So, you have a choice. You could be one of those people who if you don't have a clarity on exactly what the future is going to hold, I can't do anything. 12:52 Okay, that's a decision. That's a decision to remain moored and mired in your present reality because you're too afraid to take a step forward. Or I can say, "You know what? I'm going to gather the intel, gather the information, make the best decision I can in the moment right now, and embrace and lean into the uncertainty of the future. I don't know 13:15 how it's going to work. I don't know what's going to be. But here's what I know. Hashem does know what it's going to be. He's got my back. The great universal and cosmic choreographer loves me more than I could ever imagine. He's got my back. And there's one of two possibilities. I fail and I'll learn and do better next time or I'll succeed and I'll continue to build. 13:36 But I won't be held hostage. I won't be held back because of an unknown future. I'll be courageous enough to make my decisions, courageous enough to move myself forward and know that whatever the future holds, Hakadosh Baruch Hu has got me and therefore I've got this. 13:56 Tumin Urim and Urim Urim Vetumim Be courageous enough to make decisions for an unknown future. Be courageous enough to gather the intel, make informed decisions, and move yourself forward. Hakadosh Baruch Hu has got us and we've got it as well. Wishing everyone a good night of Shabbos, a beautiful Shabbos Kodesh, and of course a good Chodesh Elul.
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