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0:00 Dear friends, welcome to this week's virtual Dasha. 0:01 This week we have the incredible privilege paras and in this para like many of the pars of uses the opportunity to review to review the events of the last 40 years to give and really using history as a way to 0:16 give the way to give his beloved strength for what lies ahead. 0:21 In paras of chapter 8 verse one says as follows all of the mitzvah all of the commandments that I'm commanding you today because remember again moshabu is reviewing all of the mitzvah the ten commandments all the subsequent mitzvos that he's 0:40 given them over the last 40 years everything I'm giving you reviewing with you today keep it observe it Because this say you will live and you will be successful and then you will come you will enter the land you will 1:00 inherit that land that promised to your ancestors. 1:03 So the is incredibly important for two reasons. 1:06 Number one, Moshe telling Israel, you have to keep the Torah. 1:09 You have to keep the mitzvah. 1:10 But also telling us that our ability to hold on to the land is fundamentally predicated on our adherence to Torah and there's a contract between and says, "I'm going to give you a lot. 1:25 I'm going to give you life. 1:26 I'm going to give you a land. 1:27 I'm going to give you destiny. 1:29 But what I ask in return, what I ask for you to commit to me is to my Torah, is to my mitas. 1:36 Torah is not simply a list of dos and don'ts. 1:38 It's not simply and positive commandments and prohibitions. 1:42 Torah is a relationship contract. 1:45 And if we want, so to speak, to uphold his part of the contract, then we are obligated to uphold ours. 1:53 And that's says all the I've given you Keep it, observe it, uphold it, live it. 2:03 And if you do that will give you every you could possibly imagine. 2:08 Rashad quotes a beautiful says Torah is teaching us a different lesson. 2:18 Teach a different lesson. 2:19 If you begin a mitzvah, make sure to finish it. 2:23 Why? Because who gets credit for the performance of the mitzvah? 2:29 Not the one who starts it, but the one who finishes it. 2:32 What's Rash's proof? The proof for this talks about the idea that brought the remains of Yoseph toan and buried Yoseph in. 2:50 Now, what's very intriguing about that was it was not Israel. 2:53 It was not the Jewish people who took the remains of Yoseph says it was Mosheru who took the remains of Yoseph. 3:01 It was Mosher who took the initiative while was gathering up the gold and the silver as they were commanded to do. 3:07 Mosher was gathering up the remains of Yoseph. 3:10 Yet, interestingly enough in Sosua, the book of Joshua, it is the Jewish people who get credit for burying Yoseph in Erit Israel and not Moshe. 3:20 Why? Because Moshe didn't finish the job. 3:24 Moshe started the job but he didn't finish it. 3:26 And from here the manager says what do you see from here? 3:32 Because did not finish the job finished the job. 3:38 Therefore they are given credit. 3:41 So understands over here things say things like this all of the mitzvah when you do something bring it to completion. 3:54 When you do something finish the job don't just do a mitzvah don't just start something. 4:01 Whatever you're going to undertake in life finish it up. 4:07 Why? Because again who gets credit for the mitzvah? 4:11 He or she who brings it to completion. 4:14 It's very nice to start. 4:15 It's very nice to start. 4:17 But at the end of the day, what is looking for is a strong finish. 4:21 Who gets credit for bringing Yoseph's remains to burial? 4:24 Not Mosenu, who took the initiative to find them in Egypt, but Cloud actually turned them ultimately in. 4:32 It's a fascinating fascinating statement. 4:34 Fascinating fascinating. The problem is it seems to go against a mission of us. 4:40 The mission of says and it's quite a stirring and beautiful Mishnaar ultimately your job is not to finish the job. 4:53 It's not incumbent upon you to finish the job but even if you can't finish it if you don't know you're going to finish it you're also not allowed to absent yourself from it. 5:03 The Mishna explicitly says that in life what aes looks at is effort. 5:10 Have the courage to start. 5:12 Have the courage to initiate. 5:14 Have the courage to begin the journey. 5:16 You will finish. You won't finish. 5:18 The Mishna is almost telling us that sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control. 5:24 It is not incumbent upon you to finish the job. 5:27 It is not incumbent upon you to get across the finish line. 5:31 My moral, sacred, spiritual obligation and duty is to begin the process, begin the journey. 5:37 That's my So which one is it? 5:40 Is it right? Mosh is saying you only get credit or for it ultimately if you finish the job. 5:50 Even though took the initiative to find the remains of Yoseph, it was who finished the job and brought them to burial in therefore they are credited with it. 5:59 So is it is it ultimately about who finishes it or ultimately again or maybe no no it's not about finishing it's about starting is it parv or is it pure and of course again this all of life hangs in the 6:21 balance because how do I gauge success is success gauged by having the courage to start or is it success uccess gauged by ultimately having the resolve to finish and perhaps perhaps the answer is both. 6:37 And really what they're talking about are almost like two different stages in life. 6:41 The mission perk perhaps is talking about what we'll call the pre-actional stage. 6:45 Often in life we are find ourselves with beautiful opportunities, opportunities for growth, opportunities for personal advancement. 6:53 And you could plug this into any area of life. 6:55 It could be in one's career. 6:57 It could be in one's relationships. 6:58 It could be in one's in one's spirituality. 7:01 Whatever it might be, we find beautiful opportunities for personalistic advancement. 7:06 And what happens when those opportunities come knocking? 7:09 There's that voice in the back of my head that says, the voice in the back of mind that says you can't do this. 7:15 You can't. There's no way you're going to bring this initiative to completion. 7:20 There's no way you're going to be able to sustain it. 7:21 There's no way you're going to be able to accomplish. 7:24 No way. No way. 7:25 And that voice and we all have that voice. 7:28 And that voice is often so loud and so convincing that I walk away from so many beautiful and incredible life opportunities. 7:36 I just turn around because I'm I convince myself that I can't cross the finish line. 7:43 And if you can't cross the finish line, then what is the point of starting the race? 7:48 The Mishna Peravas is addressing our pre-actional mindset. 7:53 When when offered the opportunity when presented the opportunity to accomplish something great there's one there's one mindset don't worry don't worry it's not about finishing it's not about completion it's not about the finish line it's about having the courage to 8:13 start the Mishna and is addressing us in the pre-actional stage of life initiatives in that moment where that voice is yelling at me Stop it. 8:24 Don't even try. Don't even attempt it. 8:26 How many things have you started in life and not finished? 8:29 How many things have you gotten out of the gate and yet you don't get any traction? 8:33 Stop it. Stop fooling yourself. 8:34 Stop deluding yourself. Just contempt yourself with lowlying fruit. 8:39 And therefore the mission whispers in our ear and the other ear says, "No, don't worry about finishing. 8:45 Just get started. Just get started. 8:48 But after we get started, right after we get started, after gave me the to get started whispers in my other ear and then once I got started says, "Oh, it's not enough just to get started." 9:08 You got to bring it to completion. 9:10 Most speaks to us once we're already in the actional stage. 9:15 Once we've already started, once we've already initiated, we're going. 9:18 We're doing the motion says gives us because you know what happens in life, you start something, it has that new initiative, life smell, that excitement. 9:25 And then what happens? 9:26 Like it just becomes another thing that I do. 9:30 And like so many things in life, I just lose interest. 9:33 I just move on to something else. 9:35 And Shabin whispers in my other ear, success is about finishing. 9:42 Success is about bringing it to completion. 9:45 If you started something, don't let it fail. 9:50 Don't let it just waste away into nothingness because I lack the resolve to bring it across the finish line. 10:00 As says, if you started it, finish it. 10:10 I it's not as exciting as it once was. 10:13 Finish it anyway. I don't have the same excitement, the same zeal, the same passion. 10:18 Finish it anyway. If you started it, then you finish it. 10:24 If you started something beautiful in life, bring it to completion. 10:29 Don't give up. So it turns out that parv and are not contradicting each other. 10:36 that Mosha and Natan are really saying talking to us at two different stages. 10:40 Peras is addressing us in a pre-actional state when so often we just don't even want to start things because we're afraid that we can't finish it. 10:48 Perk says don't worry about finishing just get started. 10:51 I but once you have the courage to start Mosher Rabu says let's go let's do this let's finish this because Mosher Rabinu knows what it feels like to start something and not finish. 11:05 He started taking a people out of Egypt to bring them to Israel and yet was never able to complete that. 11:10 Yoshua did it. He brought the remains of Yose but wasn't able to intern them. 11:14 And therefore gets credit for that. 11:17 Mosh knows the pain of starting something and not finishing. 11:20 Therefore whispers in her ear once we got started not a start not part way. 11:32 If you're gonna start what you already have, finish it up. 11:40 Whatever you start in life, ultimately again, finish it up. 11:44 This dual message which combined gives us the very recipe for success in life. 11:48 When you're staring at new opportunities, don't worry about the finish line. 11:52 Just worry about getting started. 11:54 Just give yourself the push. 11:55 Give yourself the it's okay if you don't finish. 11:57 The icker is to start. 11:59 I but once you start and once you've sunk your teeth into something and once you've committed something then listen to Mosherenu whispering in your ear whatever you start in life find the courage to finishe to start and may to bring 12:23 all of our beautiful life initiatives both and imitashem to beautiful fruition.
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