TheYeshiva.net - Rabbi YY Jacobson

Basics of Emunah #25 - Does G-d Really Love Me?

Series, Thursday Nights, 8:30 PM

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Class Summary:

Series of classes at 20 Forshay Road, Monsey, in the tent. Thursdays at 8:30pm, followed by Q A. For Men, Women and Teenagers (separate seating). You can send questions in advance by email to [email protected] or submit written questions before or during the presentation. Anonymity of the questioners will be respected. Hot food will be served. No registration of fee required.

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Anonymous -5 years ago
Dear Rabbi YY,I want to say thank u for your great shirurim and chizuk.the most eloquent speech by far is the one you gave to the chaplains many years ago the blessing after the speech, you made a real kidush hashem and made me feel proud of the and how our torah still applys today, torah wiith your deep the torah concepts delivered to the chaplins. I would recommend everyone watching it it has great leadership lesons we can learn from Moshe and Yosef.Two questions I have for you. 1. you suggest learning Nach which by chasidishe chaiders we learn most 20 min a week, but in talumud in Bruches it saysכשחלה ר' אלעזר נכנסו תלמידים לבקרו... למדנו אורחות חיים... הזהרו בכבוד חבירכם ומנעו בניכם מן ההגיון.To which Rashi says not to learn nach. 2. you talk about how Hashem says אהבתי אתכם אמר ה'. And the message to the prophet Hosea. etc. That is the first chapter of Hosea, but the following chapters are all about harsh punishments, which does not sound very loving.Rabby YY I appirciate your shiurinm and chiszuk and the kiddush hashem of your vast Torah knowledge.
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- RY
  Rabbi YY -5 years ago
  Thanks so much for your kind words.
  
  Remember also the Mishnah in Avos ch. 5, that from 5 to 10 we learn Tanach. What do we do during those five years if not become fluent in Tanach?!
  
  (This is the basis of the famous shitah of the Maharal, and the Zilberman method today.)
  
  See also the Meiri there for his interesting explanation.
  
  Since there is infinite love, there are also consequences to clean up the soul when it gets dirty. Please watch basics of emunah #4 on theyeshiva.net and also #24-27. It will be clearer.
  
  When I love you and care for you, I want to ensure your ultimate success. I care if you are destroying yourself. I do not want to punish you; I want to heal you.
  
  Also, since He loves us so much, we have such power. When the Jewish people betray the covenant, the world goes crazy, because of how powerful the Jewish person is.
  
  I hope this makes it clear.
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Y
Yocheved -6 years ago
Thank you so much for last week’s shiur #25. As usual I gained tremendously – however: Ok, I get it- I know (cerebrally) that Hashem is our loving G-d etc, but why don’t we feel that love? How can we avail ourselves to experiencing that love? And why did He make it so mighty hard for us to do so? Why couldn’t He make His love more readily accessible and ‘experienceable’?!

Please please address this in your upcoming shiurim.

Thank you once again!
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Aryeh -6 years ago
The Soul Is Divine?!
In many of your shiurim you emphasize the preciousness of the infinite Chelek Elokei M'maal, as expressed by the Baal HaTanya. I wish to clarify what that means? As a foundation, the dichotomy of eiyan vs. yeish taught by the Tzemech Tzedek in Derech mitzvotzecha mitzvos HaTefilah, ch.23, seems crucial.

Kelapei Hashem, eiyan, there is no existence outside of him. In secular terms this is referred to as pantheism, and not what the Torah asks of the Jew who is directed to make many distinctions and separations in his existence of space, time, and soul. Shabbos, Tefilin, Beis HaMikdash vs beis hakisey, and a myriad more. So the Torah is speaking K'lapei-us, yeish, where there are different levels of creation: Domem, Tzamech, Chai, Medabeir, and Yisroel.

Some years ago, I knew of an individual who was kicked out of yeshiva for declaring that the table (and everything) is Hashem. According to Eiyan he's correct; and yet, the Torah largely guides us to yeish- distinctions, and so, no the table is not Hashem according to our perspective. It contains, is sustained, and is filled by G-dliness, but is not Atzmos Hashem. And yet we proclaim Ein Od Milvado, there is nothing other than Hashem, eiyan.

And so we travel the balance of both eiyan and yeish. There really is only Hashem, and yet, i've got 613 mitzvos to do and the world balance is hanging on my distinct individual hishtadlus. If we perceive existence from eiyan, ein od milvado, then the table is Hashem just as much as the Jewish Neshama. And if we make perceive existence from distinctions, yeish, then how can i say that i have a piece of Atzmus G-d in me—mamesh. Isn't that k'fira? So, either everything is Hashem, pantheism. Or, there are distinctions, and the declaration of having Atzmus Hashem in me is inappropriate. The Torah seems to be bidding us to dance the balance between living both these existences together.

The Tzemech Tzedek says in Derech Mitzvosecha that even the highest of the highest worlds are like complete physicality compared to pure G-dliness, which is in turn like physicality compared to Atzmus. So relatively (k'lapei us-yeish), everything- even the Jewish Neshama-Chaya-Yichida & the highest levels of spirituality, compared to Atzmus is like physicality- a table. And absolutely (k'lapei Hasem- ayin), everything is Atzmus, even the table. Based on these 2 perspectives, to say that a Jew has a "piece of G-d mamesh" (which sounds like we mean Atzmus) inside him would be incorrect. Either way you look at it, either the Jewish Neshama is like physicality compared to Atzmus; or, it is part of Atzmus, like everything else in existence. What we could say is the Jew has a piece of G-dliness inside him, which is a higher level of G-dliness than the rest of existence, which is also ultimately G-dliness.

As a corollary question, some time ago i heard from an adam gadol that another adam gadol commented to him that a certain Tzaddik/Gadol b'Yisroel was an apikorus because he had proclaimed of another tzadik that he contained, or was atzmus Hashem.

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Anonymous -6 years ago
thank you
having listened to anumber of recent Shiurim, and the tone and tenor of certain groups of comments - it has become clear that both your approach and the group of comments I refer to share - is that they are both thematic.

Your message is being positive, growth, etc. etc. and the group i am referring to either would love to embrace your message but cannot reconcile it with thier education, upbringing or community that runs on fear, dread etc and those who embrace dread and fear thinking that it is the only way to achieve personal growth - the Depression as a call to arms philosophy.

the Tochacha seems to cause people who would love to believe you a level of disconnect.

I would point out a few things

the torah has a mitzvah of Tochacha - as I understand it, the mitzvah is to speak to those people who are capable of understanding the message- in a way that they understand - and try to influence their behavior. It seems clear in the commentaries that the Tochacha we relay to a fellow Jew should be tailored to what he/she will listen to - the message has to be one that will reasonably affect change.

Is it possible, that the Tochacha of Hashem follows the same contours. To those who embrace positivity, where encouragement, understanding importance of a Mitzvah and the importance of our mission on this world - people who embrace your basic approach - Tochacha as understood as fire and brimstone - may never be the way

However, what happens to those where the totality of understanding is that we do mitzvos to avoid punishment ................

Possibly, that is what is meant by "Tachas Asher Lo ......... Simcha" the literal harsh Tochacha is specifically because people did not embrace Hashems love

It is easier to understand this in terms of parenting - (we ask Hashem to see us as his children)

we can parent with love, compassion, building our children's self esteem, and embracing the fact that challenges are learing experiences - opportunities -

we know every child has unique attributes, capabilities and challenges.

then there are people whose parenting is based on hitting, threatening, denegrating etc. no questions - just do it.

i could go on but i think i have made my point.

please keep on spreading the importance of positivity in our relgious growth and that we are on this planet to confront our challenges - and that we can be intellectually honest
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Israel -6 years ago
First and foremost Hakaras hatov for continuing to carry out what Judaism as a whole so desperately needs despite the critics. Thank you for breathing life, bringing truth, clarity a sense of purpose from the torah into an "olam hafuch, olam hasheker" (tractate Bava Metzia).

Please never stop what you are doing until your last breath in this world, to be continued in the olam haemes. If listening to one random Emunah class (basic Emunah #25) can alter my perspective on life (I'm still processing it) then imagine how many other lives you touch on a constant basis. Absolutely magnificent work. Thank you.
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