Rabbi REVEALS The Secret of the Torah

the torah was given at mount sinai on four layers or four dimensions one of them is called the secret dimension the sod the secret meaning behind every word and every idea in the torah and that was really kept secret even from many of the great scholars only select among the scholars were allowed to delve into this hidden or esoteric part of the torah hasidus is the ultimate secret part of torah that should no longer be a secret now when we talk about secret we don't mean some dangerous piece of information that uh people should not be aware of when we talk about secret part of torah we're talking about the most personal and the most intimate part of torah and the reason it's a secret is because it's sensitive it's it's precious and it can be misunderstood not dangerously just um disappointingly you know like when people have a personal issue or subject that is close to their heart it's their secret so there's nothing dangerous about it the only concern is who do i share sensitive ideas with obviously with sensitive people and sensitive means it won't be it won't be abused if i share my secret with you i trust that you will treat it with the respect and with the proper uh etiquette and you won't you won't uh make it make it public or make it uh uh insignificant and that's why even great scholars without that sensitivity we're not we're not invited into this sensitive area so let's take a quick look in a brief thumbnail sketch what is the secret of torah and how is khabad making it available when we read the torah on face value like let's say the ten commandments thou shalt not i am god your god remember the sabbath to keep it holy it doesn't sound very personal although there is the statement that god's a jealous god and therefore will not tolerate other gods that's a bit of a personal insight into himself but other than that it just sounds like a list of do's and don'ts that are maybe uh brilliant and vital to uh to life on earth but certainly nothing sensitive so that's the surface understanding of the torah as you get a little deeper and as you go further in time like in the times of the prophets god becomes a little more personal he tells us when he's upset and why he's upset and how upset he is so it's becoming more personal which means we're getting to see what is creation to him we've gotten instruction on how we should live and what is important in our lives but we didn't create the world so what's in it for him why did he create the world what investment does he have what is his concern slowly over the millennium we we get to see a little more of god's personal investment and his reaction to uh the world becoming what he wants it to be or going in the wrong direction so just logically in the beginning there was just god he alone existed because he is eternal because he is infinite because he's god he is the original being then he created the world the most logical pertinent relevant question is why why would a perfect being who has a perfect existence and no trouble from his creations why would he bother creating what would disturb that perfect idealic picture there's just god he's everywhere he's everything and there's no contradiction he is one and only there's no conflict there's no there's no um there's no division it's all one and it's all wonderful what disturbed that what instigated the creation of the world well if we study hasidic philosophy and even if you go back to kabbalah we get to understand that there can't be anything that instigates god's behavior nothing can motivate him because nothing existed besides him so when people say god created the world because he wanted to be kind to his creations but there were no creations and there was no kindness there was just him so to say kindness motivates god that that's not that's not acceptable god created kindness like on the first day of creation god said let there be light that's kindness others say that god created the world because god is a king and a king needs subjects but that too is not a really satisfying answer because when did god become a king that's a description of a role that god takes on in creation it can't be the motivator for creation god doesn't need to be a king so if you go back just logically there's god himself and nothing else what happened so if we use a simple familiar experience a human being fast asleep deep sleep perfect sleep totally restful you know un unaware of any disturbances or any discomforts why would anybody wake up you have this idyllic perfect condition why why do we wake up assuming there's no crying baby or the crowing rooster to disturb your sleep why would we wake up of course the answer is because you want to because there's something you want to do in other words what disturbs a perfect condition an internal desire it can't be something from the outside because you've blocked everything from the outside and in god's case there was no outside there was nothing else which means that whatever it is that god wants he wants it essentially because there are no details in god there's just him essence ultimate essence so whatever it is that god is after must be part of his very essence so can he be after becoming a king over people that doesn't sound very essential um anything else we can think of out of kindness out of creativity out of the desire to be revealed and known none of this really satisfies the question so now here's what we're told the secret of torah is that every commandment in the torah every word in the torah is essentially him that's him shabbos is him twillin is him mikv is him that's him so when he reveals himself at mount sinai which is called a revelation what is he revealing his essential being in creation god conceals his essential being and that's why we have to be reminded that there's a creator to the world because the world kind of makes you forget gives the impression that it was not created and didn't need to be created so of course we can discover god through nature but by realizing that this could not have created itself so it's a process of elimination that leads us to the conclusion that there must be a creator but it doesn't tell us why he created the world the torah does because again every word in torah is a description of his essential self because nothing else exists yet so the torah is literally him that's the secret of torah and that's contained in the zohar in the kabbalah where it says god and his torah are one torah is not a product that god creates it's him that that is his essential internal intimate personal being now he creates a world and gives us the torah you know an example god creates the world in six days and he rests on the seventh day because the seventh day is special to him always was and always will be but then he creates us and says rest on the seventh day like i do so what is he saying he's saying i am all about shabbos and i need you to join me in that shabbos so he's taking the mitzvahs that are essentially himself and giving it to us or inviting us to participate in his mitzvah now if somebody gives you us a part of himself that is so essential and so intimate that you cannot separate them where there's god there is shabbos where there are shabbas there is god it's him and yet he gives it to you when someone shares his most intimate self with you what does that tell you about what he thinks of you very much like a man asking a woman to marry him it's not about some activity it's not about something it's the essence of me needs the essence of you to be joined together that's the secret the secret is the world was created out of god's need not out of our need because we don't need this so why was it kept secret for so long because if a person is somewhat insensitive a little callous a little jaded when god comes and says this is really about my need we might have the tendency to lose respect you know like groucho marx's joke about i would never join a country club that would accept me as a member some people would say a god who needs me i've lost all respect for him but that's so insensitive and so most scholars in every part of the world teach an invulnerable god a god that can't need anything and that's why he's god because you're needy but he is not and so you worship him because he has all the answers he has all the keys everything is his and he doesn't need you but you desperately need him that's that's been the picture for uh most of history to tell the world to tell the average person in the street god actually needs you far more than you need him because you didn't create yourself you didn't ask to be created you didn't need to be created and whatever needs you have they're only going to last 80 90 100 years and then you won't need them anymore so at best it's temporary at worst it's a headache the need to eat three times a day it's disturbing so who really needs who is really invested in this vast eternal plan for people who want to fix the world tikkun olam very nice of you to want to fix the world but imagine you want to fix the world how much does god who created it want to fix the world so if you feel that need imagine how much he feels it so every mitzvah we do now takes on a whole new meaning when we say serve god with joy we're saying two amazing things first of all you can serve god now if he needed nothing [Music] if he was invulnerable and needed nothing how do you serve him can you serve him so if he is this perfect god that you worship because he is above and beyond all needs and that's why you're going to serve him but now you can't serve him because he doesn't need you so saying serve god with joy tells us if we can see the secret meaning behind those words that he is actually depending on us and when we do a mitzvah we are literally serving his need his vast eternal plan the second thing we're saying is serve god with joy if you want to be happy and this goes back to what you were describing about the search for meaning why do human beings have to find meaning what's wrong with you know eat drink and be merry and tomorrow you'll die what's wrong with that why are we always looking for meaning as if we have to justify our existence because because we do have to justify our existence because we didn't need to exist for ourselves so why did he create us and why are we here it's a very good question the answer is if you serve god you will find joy because it will answer these questions that you were looking for that you were asking it'll tell you where you belong in the scheme of things it'll tell you how you are indispensable to him it'll tell you what he needs from you and this is your purpose and this is your objective and this is your contribution and now you're a partner with him in creation everything starts to make sense everything goes better with torah i thought i'd throw that in things go better with mitzvahs so that is the secret now recently like for the last 200 years or so the uh the leaders the the rebels of chabad made it their business to reveal this secret in as sensitive a way as possible to avoid the um the negative reaction of the insensitive which it can't be avoided completely but the rabbit decided that it's it's worth the risk yes some people will take it wrong some people will be put off by a vulnerable god but the average person will be inspired and that will reinvigorate judaism get us back on track serving god properly with the ultimate pure intention responding to his need rather than being needy and demanding things of him constantly so we have a god who we can serve not a god who we expect to serve us and that really will save us from our narcissism from our pettiness and from our meaninglessness so you really have come to the right to the right address to find answers to those questions as a rule people who know nothing about judaism when they're told god depends on you and waits for you to do the mitzvah the reaction is so beautiful it's so intimate and yes god is vulnerable because vulnerability comes from strength and he is almighty so if he is the strongest of the strong he must be the most vulnerable of the vulnerable and that's what makes it possible to serve him to love him to partner with him he is not a distant being he created us because in his essence he wants to be connected to us that sound like a good secret to share so even as we share it we treat it like a secret in other words we treat it with with kids love we're careful about it we try to make it clear that this is a vulnerable and sensitive part of torah and that yeah you have to be a little noble and sensitive to appreciate it and those who are bothered by it we have to take the risk so welcome to the secret society rabbi if i could ask you yeah um well something you said in the latter half about uh the rebbe saying it's a risk to do this looking you know looking back well looking forward i guess too has it been worth the risk absolutely it has revolutionized and reinvigorated jewish life all over the world for the last 200 years including russia despite all the attempts of this awesome dictatorship judaism not only has survived communism it thrives in russia and what motivates it what animates it what gets it excited is the fact that we are serving god and when you're serving god nothing gets in your way no dictator can discourage it so yes it has been magnificently successful everywhere wherever it was applied and is being applied the last question on my end you know i'm i'm i'm coming from a you know from a formerly secular perspective even though that's not the greatest label in the world to use and and i i do see some of my you know i'll just say my colleagues my peers uh connecting with husted us in in the same way that i do and so the question is um why why do you think cassidus is able to connect so well with the secular folks once they've been properly introduced it's a good question it's a very good question because you would expect that this would be the furthest thing from their from their world view you know i'm gonna add to your question a little bit sometimes i'm talking to people who insist that they don't believe in god at all we talk about how god is vulnerable and mode and the motivation for creation comes from his very essence so that the mitzvah is essential to him and that it can't be any other way this is it this is the essence of everything it is the ultimate truth and god is waiting for you to do the mitzvah and all of a sudden these people who were convinced that they don't believe in god want to serve him and i think part of the secret is that there's there's something natural within us since we were created to serve we have a natural instinct that finds the idea familiar like intuitively familiar i am here to serve him why does that sound right why does that sound comfortable it could be because i really don't want to serve myself that's narcissism and and that's a dead end literally a dead end drives people to suicide so i don't want to serve myself if god the creator of everything needs me to serve him that sounds so correct that sounds so fitting that all of a sudden they're not atheists anymore they they rejected the idea of a god that is invulnerable sits in heaven and then pulls strings and watches people go through their difficulties in life and he's unaffected by it that kind of a god i don't know why anybody would want to believe him but once you introduce the idea that god is far more invested in you and and is more vulnerable than you are that's the kind of a god that that we intuitively recognize as correct also because as it turns out human beings at their very essence need to be needed so that's where you're asking questions about what is the purpose of life why are we here what's wrong with just being here human beings have been on earth at least five thousand years why why are we uncomfortable why don't we settle down why are we still looking for an excuse to be here it's because essentially we are created to serve we are created out of a need so all we need is to know who needs us and what we're needed for that just talks to some core truth within the human being and that's what religion is supposed to be or we shouldn't even call it religion religion has become a way of eliciting goodies and blessings and and spiritual benefits from god that's what religion has become if i do this will i get to heaven if i do this will god love me and make me rich if i do this will i be among the saints when they come marching in and if not well then i'm not interested what we're saying now is the exact opposite the question is not what you can get from following the commandments the question is what does he get from this how much am i doing for him and the answer is infinite meaning infinite pleasure because god is infinite so that takes you to a whole different world a whole different reality and all the questions fall away with this one answer all the other questions disappear we have a sunday night program for vips that you might be interested in it's informal it's questions and answers it's conversation it's really relaxed it's really pleasant enjoyable informative and kind of community-like it's a sunday night program there's a wednesday morning program for the vips and there's a wednesday night program all of it just conversation casual laid back unscripted so join us take a look click the link below and see which which of the three suits you best and join us for some enjoyable conversation

Channel: Rabbi Manis Friedman

Views: 47,225

Keywords: education, educational, training, torah, judaism, chabad, religion, which religion in china, judaism beliefs, judaism definition, manis friedman, rabbi manis friedman, life, inspiration, inspirational, rabbi, life advice, adive, advice, life changing

Id: 69Hl8r4Arxo

Length: 29min 55sec (1795 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 19 2021