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0:02 Dear friends, welcome to this week's virtual dasha. 0:04 This week we have the incredible privilege of the parish and the Torah begins actually continues with the discussion of war when you will go out to war against your enemy. 0:14 And the Torah introduces us to the fascinating enigmatic of the war bride. 0:20 But that's not our topic for today. 0:22 What I want to share with you is a beautiful insight byb and the rebba points out as many of the other commentaries point out that anytime you see a discussion in the Torah regarding war regarding battle it's often a metaphor 0:35 obviously speaking about the actual of going out to actually remember Israel had already been engaged in many different battles over the course of our 40 years sojourn in the desert and the land of Israel was not simply going to become 0:49 ours by being offered up to us we'd have to fight. 0:52 We'd have to do battle. 0:53 And as such, the laws of war occupied a special prominence in the national consciousness, preparing us for what lie ahead. 1:01 But the Reba points out, as many of the other point out, that the concept of war in the Torah is always a metaphor for the greatest war we have to battle. 1:09 And that's the existential internal battle we fight with the Sahara. 1:12 We've mentioned this in other Shirim this week as well, that there's an OV. 1:17 There's an internal enemy, the zahara, that internal self- sabotaging mechanism. 1:22 You know, dear friends, we often think that our greatest challenges to our spiritual growth are outside of us. 1:27 But the truth is, I think as we get older, a little bit more mature, and a little bit more self-aware. 1:32 We understand that the greatest challenges we face are not from some external spiritual enemy, but rather internal enemies. 1:38 That so often in life, I'm going down the right road in life. 1:40 I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. 1:42 And yet, for some reason, unexplained reason, I pull the rug out from under myself. 1:46 I self sabotage. That's the Sahara. 1:50 That's what we call this evil inclination. 1:51 Again, he's not some guy in a red suit, you know, with a pitchfork sitting on my shoulder. 1:55 We don't believe in that. 1:56 But rather, again, it's this internal self-sabotaging mechanism that programmed me with because although it's my greatest enemy, although it's my O, amazingly enough, it's also my greatest catalyst for growth. 2:09 Because without those internal self-sabotaging mechanisms, there'd be no struggle. 2:13 And without struggle, there is no growth. 2:15 that without growth there is no greatness. 2:17 So as strange as it sounds my greatest internal enemy in some way some form is also my greatest internal friend. 2:25 He's the one who undermines or it is the one who who that undermines everything I do but at the same time the very thing that propels me to become greater. 2:34 So therefore says so beautifully that is also telling us about the need to do battle with our the need to do battle ultimately again with our inconsistencies with our faults with our shortcomings with our wants our desires our lusts our 2:50 proclivities we have an obligation to do war but the Reb points out something very interesting comments on this says that interestingly enough again going back to the simple shot the actual just basic meaning of the Pik there are two types 3:10 of war that the Jewish army wages there's what's called the muham mitzvah a mham mean is a literally again a mitzvah war what's a mitzvah war on the most basic level it's a war for security it's a war for the 3:21 continuity for the existential continuence all existential continuity of and for a war like that everyone has to fight a war like that everyone is obligated says even is pulled out of his and ultimately goes to battle. 3:38 That's a mitzvah. And in a mitzvah there are many other details that go on. 3:43 Then there's something called I guess for lack of what we call a discretionary war, an optional war. 3:50 An example of this again waged many battles like this where he wanted to extend the territory of Kalis. 3:58 There wasn't an obligation to do this battle. 4:00 There wasn't mitzvah to do this. 4:02 The king has a right to go ahead and wage war on behalf of the people. 4:05 That's called so comments over here that just by the way he this par beginning is talking about the a discretionary war an optional war not a mitzvah and says something absolutely amazing. 4:25 But one second how does that after all think about it if when you go out to war against your enemy if it's also a metaphor for going to war against the for going to war against our internal faults inconsistencies shortcomings 4:40 that I can't remain passive I have to go out to battle isn't that isn't that an obligation isn't that obligatory and yet again at least on a metaphorical level is the Torah telling me that the battle against the is in it's 4:57 optional. You you don't have to go to battle with your internal inconsistencies, faults, shortcoming wants, loss and proclivities. 5:04 I don't have an obligation to do that. 5:05 How does that work? 5:06 And says something so incredibly beautiful. 5:12 Reb says in reality there are two ways to wage war against Yates. 5:19 Two ways to wage war against really I'm waging war against myself. 5:23 waging war against my mediocrity. 5:25 Waging war against my shortcomings because I want to be better. 5:28 There are two ways you could do it. 5:30 Number one, confront the issue. 5:32 Confront the issue. What's broken? 5:35 What's inconsistent? What's misfiring? 5:37 And go go after it. 5:40 There's another way. The other way is ultimately infuse yourself with additional good. 5:48 Build yourself up with additional good in your life. 5:51 do more, be more, act better. 5:54 I'm not actively addressing the inconsistencies. 5:57 I'm not actively addressing the faults. 5:59 But what I'm doing is I'm creating so much good in my life, so much good in myself that the negativity, so to speak, doesn't even have the oxygen to breathe. 6:10 That the negativity, the can't exist ultimately again in a person, in an ashama, in a body, in a life that is filled with so much good. 6:20 Two ways to tackle the personalistic O. 6:24 Two ways to tackle the personalistic enemy the battle him headon confrontation or or or the other option. 6:35 Infuse yourself with so much good that the can't exist. 6:40 Now I think what the Reb is saying on a much deeper level is the following. 6:44 A lot of times when we come to this time of year, which of course is always the leadup to where we're not as much focused on as much as we are focused on introspection. 6:57 I I need to get to know myself a little bit better. 6:59 I need to get to know myself. 7:00 I need to get to know. 7:03 And so in those moments of real introspection, I see myself for who I am. 7:09 And I see those faults and I see those shortcomings because because we all have it. 7:12 It's not it's not an indictment. 7:14 It's just a statement of reality. 7:16 And I look inside and I do I see all the things that are broken, all the things that are just they're not working. 7:21 I don't mean not working in life. 7:22 I mean not working in me. 7:24 Dear friends, I think for many of us sometimes when we see those things, it's too painful to fully confront because a lot of times the things that are broken and misfiring inside of me are doing that because of a whole 7:41 variety of different things that have happened in my life. 7:44 There have been failures. 7:45 There have been disappointments. 7:47 There have been trauma. 7:49 And a lot of times I'm just I'm not prepared to tackle it. 7:53 I see we're talking about in a state already where we've graduated beyond the infantile desire to hide from our shortcomings. 8:03 Okay. So that we spend a lot of time doing that. 8:06 Pretending it's not there, right? 8:07 Sweeping it under the rug, sweeping it under the bed. 8:09 It's not there. It's not there. 8:10 It doesn't exist. Let's assume for a moment that all of us have graduated from that level of infantile hiding from things and I'm acknowledging. 8:21 I'm owning. I see it. 8:23 Okay. I I I could tell you I could tell you everything and anything that's broken inside of me. 8:27 I can. But I could also tell you that right now, right now, I can't deal with it. 8:34 I just can't. I I'm being honest. 8:36 I can't or or I just don't want to because it's too painful. 8:40 I shouldn't say that I can't because maybe I could do anything that I put my mind to but I feel I can't deal with this right now. 8:48 So as much as I want I know what I should do take personalistic inventory identify the things that are broken then triage what needs to be addressed first second third and go and do it and create the strategy and I 9:04 know that I can if I wanted to but I feel that I can't. 9:09 I feel that I can't. 9:10 I just I don't know you know sometimes say we know we know that like sometimes even if I get to that level of self-awareness actually tackling the things that are broken inside of me is really difficult because it conjures up 9:24 a whole bunch of other stuff. 9:27 So what do I do if I don't feel ready to confront if I don't feel ready for combat? 9:43 It's an optional war. 9:45 Now, you're going to have to wage it at some point in time. 9:48 You're going to have to go to battle at some point in time. 9:52 But maybe if you're not ready to go to war, okay, there's another option. 9:58 What's the other option? 10:00 infuse, bombard, overwhelm yourself and your life with good kite, with goodness. 10:08 So just figure out how do I just raise the spirituality levels in my life in such a dramatic way? 10:15 And when I say dramatic, dramatic doesn't have to be a lot. 10:18 Dramatic just means something. 10:20 How do I create a greater intensity of spirituality in my life? 10:24 However you're going to do it, whatever you're going to do, whatever you're going to do, but if I raise the level of spirituality in my life, I've created an atmosphere of holiness. 10:33 And one thing is clear, where there is an atmosphere of holiness, the oave, the enemy, the negativity that resides inside, it can't exist with the same strength. 10:46 It doesn't obliterate it. 10:47 doesn't go away but it doesn't have the same way that when you deprive the candle of oxygen it may still flicker for a while but it can't survive there long term if I create within myself an atmosphere of holiness and 11:00 spirituality then the oave the internal enemy the negativity the unholiness can't exist now to be fair this is not the long-term solution right this this is ultimately again this this bombarding an amplification of goodness and holiness within myself. 11:20 It's a little bit of a band-aid until I'm ready to go to war. 11:24 Because dear friends, war is inevitable. 11:29 Personalistic war is inevitable. 11:32 At some point in time, if I really want to grow as a person and I really want to become the best version of myself and I really want to build the life that I know that I'm capable of building, I'm 11:42 going to have to go to war. 11:44 I have to I have to address the issues head on. 11:47 But if I'm not ready for that just yet, says okay, there's an alternative. 11:57 The war at least initially is optional. 12:00 There's another approach. There's another avenue. 12:04 Bombard amplification of holiness, of goodness, of light, of spiritual beauty. 12:09 And that'll help you in your journey as well. 12:11 And maybe again, maybe it's even like a progression because maybe if we begin ultimately again to go ahead and fill our lives and fill ourselves with just additional pockets of holiness that'll give us the courage we need ultimately again to 12:26 do war. This the message of Rashi, the message of the Reba, the message of the message of this is an incredible month filled with an opportunity of just introspecting. 12:37 You don't you don't have to shed tears of cha that comes later on. 12:40 You don't have to apologize. 12:41 That comes later on. 12:43 It's about just looking inward and deciding, you know, what needs to be fixed. 12:48 What needs to be done in a beautiful and a happy and a healthy and a holy way, not not guilt and not sadness and not being overwhelmed. 12:55 El is the happiest month of the entire year. 12:58 At least I think El is the happiest month. 13:00 People think it's adar. 13:01 The Mishna thought it's adar. 13:02 I think it's owl. 13:03 I think it's because the ability to introspect without fear and to look inside without fear is such a such a gift. 13:10 Look inside. Identify your know your enemy. 13:16 Know what's broken. Know where the shortcomings are. 13:18 Know what has to be fixed. 13:20 And if you're courageous enough to go directly to battle and all the power to you. 13:27 But if you're not like me, I don't know that I'm ready to do like frontal battle just yet. 13:33 At least start. There's another option. 13:36 There's another option to war. 13:38 Figure out ways to infuse additional levels of holiness into your life. 13:42 Figure out ways to raise the level of spirituality in your existence. 13:47 Create an atmosphere inside of you and in your life where the oay where the enemy feels stifled and suffocated. 13:54 And if you do that, you'll build up your spiritual self-confidence. 13:58 And when I build up my spiritual self-confidence, then I will find the courage to go to war. 14:04 I will find the courage to do battle. 14:06 I will find the courage to confront. 14:08 Mayem to infuse our lives with holiness to do battle with the o which seeks to derail us and put ourselves on the path to becoming the best version of ourselves. 14:20 Wishing everyone a good night of shabas and a beautiful shabis kesh.
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