#42 - Perek Beis Addendum C - Mesilas Yesharim Explained

In two short sessions a week Rabbi Dovid Schoonmaker will elucidate and bring to life the eternal words of the Mesilas Yesharim. Rabbi Dovid Schoonmaker is the Rosh Yeshivah of Shapell's / Yeshivas Darche Noam in Yerushalaim.

Transcript

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We created this addendum to the proc'em that we're learning, which I'm excited about. I think is a great way to keep moving through the safer, but focus on things which deserve extra focus, which maybe don't go to what was focused on. And in this amazing journey of the Mesila Sharm, there's no reason to run through it. Let's enjoy savor, embrace every moment. But I have a new step to this time. And now in the addendums of the second peric, I'm going to uh I'm gonna actually go back to the first peric because I saw something now which is relevant to the first peric, and this is the best place to um to put it in, to be honest, before we start the third parak. And the truth is really it's something which we would have to hear all the time because it's going back to the shorish, the root of everything. The Mesil Sharam told us at the beginning that Yesoda Hasidis Vashoreshavodmima, the foundation of all of Oda Sham, all higher level votes, is Shidbarer, Vietamate, that becomes clear and emis to a person, Machovasabolam. What is your khovah? What's a person's khovaam? And the question that we had dealt with was what's the difference between birur and emis? What does that mean? They sound very similar, and as Monsieur Sharm also often does, he's used the words um Gashmias and Khomer. And it's hard to know all the time what his all the terms mean, and I don't always make guesses about them. And if I think I have a good shot in it or I've heard a good shot in it, I'll offer it. And sometimes I don't offer it, not because it doesn't need to be spoken about, but I just don't necessarily know what it means. Okay, so what we did say, friends, if you're holding, shit bar err, yidba rare, excuse me, it bar rare bitame. They are in fact not similar because biru means something that becomes clear to you, and amus means something that becomes true to you. And the example would be those who engage in chabrusa learning could hear something from their chabrusa, which is absolutely clear from your chabrusa, but as clear as it is, you see it's not true. I understand what you're saying, right? People always like to say, oh, if you don't agree with me, it means you didn't understand me. No, no, I did understand you and I disagree with you. I got it. Or sometimes we don't, but of course, sometimes we do. You get exactly what the person's saying, where they're coming from, the whole thing, but you think it's a non-truthful statement, not truthful way of looking at the world. So Bure doesn't necessarily imply truth. Emis, someone can hear something once I hear the truth in what this person's saying, but they lack the eloquence, they lack the words, they last the lack the crispness to express it clearly. So I see he's a person of truth. I see this idea of truth. I don't want to know how to say it, I wouldn't know how to explain it, I wouldn't know how to get it across, but the kernel truth is there. This is truth. So buer and emiss are in fact different. You can have buer without truth, and you can have truth without bureau. And that's why this idea, which is so important of Macho Vasobolomo, needs both buer and it needs Emma's. She'd barrera beat by him. That's my pshot, and I still like that shot, but I must offer a new shot which I saw for the first time that I certainly remember from an incredible book. First, I should want to make a plug. This is sometimes I'll make a shameless plug for my own swarm. La Havdil, this is a uh uh not shameless plug because not for my own safer. I have no revenue in it, I don't know the people involved. Uh, zero. But I'm telling you, Tabibra Zodabi Takot. This is the book called The Inner Life about Moran or Yitzhakutner, the Rosh Shishiva of Khain Berlin, the Baal Pakit Yitzhok. It is breathtaking. It's not like all the Gdolan books you read, nothing against other Gedolan books, but it's not like it. A lot of it is this was the Zichronis, many things that he wrote, and his daughter was one of the people in his world that was closest to him, the great Buria David, a great woman in her own right, the one who headed the uh BJJ, the Big Siakhov Seminary, which was one of the greatest seminaries, I think it still is, um, for decades. He was she was a famous person, Latsma. I was okay to uh see her many times, and as I was uh would go for about a six-month period, I used to go to her illustrious husband Vionas and David Shalashudis, and she'd always open the door, and you didn't just walk go in, you had to ask permission before you went, not every every time, but I asked her of Vionas and Shlita's permission. Unfortunately, Rebenson Buria passed away. But anyway, and this was Rafunder's single daughter, and she wrote the Zachronis, and she writes many things that Rafunder told her, and that others very, very close told her, and um, and things that Rufundra wrote about himself, which are really just uh breathtaking, no other word, and it's not something you read anywhere else, and it's in English, and uh wife got it for my birthday. I'm not always an easy person to get birthday presents from, thank you, Rabbit Sandina, and it's uh absolutely incredible. So the inner life uh it's like now and he deals with this question, and I don't remember ever seeing anybody with this question, it's in chapter 9. You can see both yourself, and I will say important, I think this version added some stuff from the Zichronis in Hebrew, which I didn't read. The actual Zichronis, anyone's interested, Bachun Yushlain put out a Sefrazi Karon on Martin Rufutner. I'll say one more word about Refutner just because you know talking about Revolba, who gets quoted so much in his machanchim of today, at least you know, the older ones, the 40, 50-year-olds, certainly 60-year-olds, um, maybe some of the late 30-year-olds were greatly affected, many of them by Revolv and his farm, Ali Shur. Those were like, you know, the brass tax book of so many. And and you can see the difference between Ali Shur Khilik Alif and Khalikbet. And the difference is my Rebir Blah, who was a direct Talmud of Rufutner, said to me was as Rafutner, as Revolba writes himself in the introduction to Ali Shur Khalikbet, was that he learned by Rufutner for eight years. And uh I think they learned Pinimit Satorah, Kabal, etc., and that made an indelible. As great as Rivalba was, and as much as he received for from Rebiruchum, learning by Rufutner was a uh was a change. A total different world is opened out to him. In fact, Revolba afterwards, Revolba told me this himself. I think the words he used was I have a Rebbe who's 30. I was talking to him about one time about what a Rebbe is something, and he said, I have a Rebbe that was 30 years uh younger, younger than me. I think he said 30, which was Ravionas and David. You know, he said David Revolva died, uh Revolba died many years ago, and Ravionas is Bar Hashem in his 90s, and uh fortunately Rebitson sadly, uh recently, very sadly, um but but this is the story. So Revolvi became a Talmud of Refund. Well, those who think, how can I learn from someone younger than me? The Rav of my shul is a young whippersnapper, he's only 40 and I'm 50, you know, and he's 35 or even 28. And let's remember, I think the uh the um Ramad died when he was 33, I think. The Rampawan is 40. So there's a lot to learn from younger people. As I get older, I have to remember that myself, you know, not oh, he's younger than me. Well, he's younger than you, but he's more than you. And he knows more. So let's just see a picture of all what there is back there. So so um so anyway, that that's that's Rafunda. Rufunner is just uh really a breathtaking person, breath breathtaking muchanic. And I hope I hope more Swarm about Rufunda come out from his Talmudim. Um that's a whole discussion about that, why Rufunner, the proper biography, hasn't been written about him. I don't really know, but it's a shame because his impact was unique. Uh you see it in Pakitzkok, which is quoted all the time, which is an incredible safer. Incredible. Uh you see it in his Talmudim and the Hemshik, the people he made, both of the rabbinic nature and and uh extremely strong Balabhatam. Uh very, very special. Okay, so with no further ado, friends, Rufutner does in fact get into this. So uh so just one note, I'm reading the English, so which is a translation. So how he said it exactly himself, you can check there. I'm going with this. Uh uh, you know, this is a well-translated book, it seems, from and uh the words make sense. So the chapter is called Clarity and Confirmation. Now Raffootner says to this, listen to this. When a person is in a state of dilemma, having to choose between two equally plausible sets of facts, so there are two ways that you figure out which way to go. One is you have a sound and irrefutable proof to one option. Other times, you don't have an exact proof like what we I what I use is the word like an empirical proof, right? It's a test study, it's this. Studies not always are proven because they're they're jaded sometimes by the people running it for their agenda and to get honor and covet. But for sure, there are definitely empirical tests which we can count on, which we which we study. Other proofs, proofs in Lavda, proofs in Torah, right? There's a clear proof the Ram says this. No cholik, good. But sometimes you don't have that, listen carefully, but will instead see myriad slight indications which all point in the same direction. Sometimes you have like an irrefutable proof. This is it, chatuch, like we say in Hebrew, done, set of eyes. And sometimes there are indications. None of them have the weight of that proof, but there are indications which come out. In such situations, he will not have a single compelling basis for his decision, but it will instead be based on the sheer volume of indications. I wasn't sure which way to go, I wasn't sure where to travel to, I wasn't sure how to get home, I wasn't sure which achievement to go to, which job to take. You know, here suddenly they gave me$20,000 more,$30,000 more. That was a slam dunk there. And then it's like, okay, here the perk's a little bit better, not yet. Well, here it's a little bit closer to home, not yet. Here the boss a little bit nicer, not yet, etc. But then all those things go together and say, well, this is the place I have to go to. Sheer volume of indications, a volume of indications. Now, now Rafunner Kedarka explains both. On the one hand, the irrefutable proof,$40,000. I just raised it.$40,000 extra a year, whoa, that's really a reason, which is what about 45,000 shekels today? I don't know where the dollar is today. That's a joke, I hope. Yeah, but the decision that a person arrives at the very first might seem stronger because it's more solid. It's conclusive. On the other hand, the second type has an advantage because the consistent ongoing manner in which it is formed. I heard this piece of truth once. I applied. The other thing is like here it keeps looking good. It keeps looking good. It's it's it's getting constant confirmation. In the first case, a person has to remind himself, why'd I do this? Oh, yeah, because$40,000. In the other case, often the ongoing indications keep coming. Oh, I see the job right here, I'm in the job. And the boss says, okay, but why'd I take this job again? Or$40,000, that's why I took it. The other one is you're facing all the time. Every day, it's an easier ride, the boss is nice, the work atmosphere is bright colors, whatever, etc. Second type of decision, the reason will constantly be present before him. Indeed, it can said be it can be said without exaggeration that the consistent confirmation that is present in the second instance is at times more powerful than the glaring clarity that is present in the first instance. That is what the Ram Khal means by yidbar yitameate. Incredible. Right? Yidbarer means bar, clear, clarified. Yidameit means confirmed. That's why the chariot is called clarity and confirmation. Okay, so it's a very, very different shantanarabsha, but that's as I'll read the translation how here they translate the Ramchal. The basis of chasidis and the root of perfect avodab is that it becomes clarified. Put in Raputner, absolute clarity, boom, this is it. That's what Bureer means, and confirmed, the Itame means confirmed to man. Confirmed means through multiple indications, etc. So that's so just to compare it to Arpshat. Arpshat was it's two ways of thinking, of seeing it, right? I have the beer of the thing which isn't a say true, and the emiss of the thing, which isn't true. So Fundra is learning very differently. The Bure is is the clarification through through absolute proof, and the emmet yitament is the confirmation through many, many indications which come our way. So, what would that mean in terms of machal baseball? A person says, you know, look, I have I have uh these kochus, I am, you know, very, very good at at drawing and with creativity and and I can make a good impact in the world. All the circles fit. I'm gonna be a graphic designer and try to work for a nonprofit, and if not, I'll try to work with with a something in the private sector that's doing meaningful work, which there are many things in the private sector which are doing meaningful work. Um that's what I'm that's my job. Boom, that's it, full things out. Now that's the bureau, right? My koach, this is what I gotta do. Now that becomes my chova bolum. That's part of my my my obligation in the world is to be the best graphic designer I can be for Kabachemaim, for my family, for the Jewish community, for the world, etc. That's a bureau. The Yitami, the confirmation is wow, as I'm taking on the job, you know, I I wasn't as sure what my job should be, but I went into graphic design, and now I see all the time how this fits me and it makes me happy, and I'm making an impact and I'm helping an organization. So there was never that grand clarity. My cocos, my purpose, my ability can make money. Let's go. But I I went into it, or or as I was thinking whether I should go into it and I took a test run for three months or four months or five months or six months. I'll try for six months without that clarity. But then I saw as I was doing it, the job fits me, etc. So machobasabalama, what our what a person's obligation is in the world, we have to look for those both those things, says Rafuna. We have to have we have to have that that uh objective, we have to look for, understand. Let's just let's take it straight to the Bodhisattvashem level. Machovalam that a person lone sanail shinosa, like we learned the basic idea of the first paragraph, it's all about kirva selecim. We tov our life is about Rukhnius, our life is to we need Rukhnius. We we need more and more of Kashikarashporhu. I have absolute clarity of that, right? It's so clear, there's nothing else that's worthwhile. That's borrowed to me, right? What else is there in the world besides Kirvas Elichim? Yesame, I keep looking for indications. Oh, a Torah life works so much better. With the bonus of my life, um I'm happier. I'm not as stressed out, I'm not nervous about what's going to be. I used to be so stressed, I didn't, I didn't know what kind of woman I would marry, I didn't know how many children I would have. And now I see I didn't I didn't get into this because of to have more children, but I see, wow, a big family, something I would have never imagined now. I could see how that would play out, and uh, the Torah lifestyle and Kurdish Morhu being involved with him is is so much better, so much nicer. You keep seeing all those nice things, a different perspective. I used to look at the rain as a negative thing. Now I realize if it's sent from the bronze, it must be a nice thing, to mod. And and I keep giving confirming myself. And those two things, just to close it, why do you need both? Like Rafundra's saying, Shid Barrer, it has to be clear to you. You have to understand empirically. A person just said, like, oh, I'm only in this because I have a lot of nice confirmations. You feel the weakness in that, right? I hope we all feel the weakness. No, there is nothing else, right? Enalmovado, what are you living your life for? What are you doing? Your covet, money, this, that, that's that's that's what moves you. Come on, that's that's good, that's that's nothing. You have to have that that empirical clarity, she barrer, chobasalobamot, the bromashal, that's what it's about. But also, we have times of weakness, and that's that was clear, but difficulty said in. So a person needs always also the the isamid, the confirmation to confirm his decisions. So it's a powerful idea from a great man, and I think everybody will agree it was well worth the session, and um and we should have these hocheth mikaim old shatem in getting more beer and more emas in Macha Bassein of Ba'alam.