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Imitation is the Highest Form of Connection | Bas Ayin for Life | Parshas Lech Lecha · The Torah Sparks Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you're doing amazing.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: I want to share with you an idea from the Haliga Basaian.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, imagine you're there in your kitchen, Arab Shabbosco dish, cooking up a storm.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: And on the stove is a delicious pot of chicken soup.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: You're adding in the final touches, the final ingredients, a little bit of pepper, a little bit of salt, stirring it here and there.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: You put in some of those oh some groutons.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Why you put them in your actual soup pot?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody knows other than you.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: But you're there cooking it away and it's mom ish almost ready.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then your two-year-old comes in the kitchen, opens up the cabinet that's sitting on top of the stove, and a chocolate chip falls in.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: A dairy chocolate chip.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we have this concept called buttle bushishim.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: That is, if you have, let's say, a large chicken soup, a cookie, and a little teeny bit of dairy falls in, it will be okay.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: The soup is gonna be fine.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because this concept of bottle bushishim, and this applies in other areas of koshress as well.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: But shishim.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: But the concept also applies in life.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, claw you stroll is called shishim, shishim rebo, or 600,000, 60 myriads.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: And there's an idea of being batalbushishim, of of being part of the claw, of being mivatal yourself to to the tsibor, of of saying I'm in.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And even in my personal avoid, of course, I have to work, I have to work hard, I'm being the best that I can, but there's an idea of being part of the tsibor, and where Hashem kind of overlooks certain individual specifics when we become part of a tsibor.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's that concept, which can be an idea in its own right, and it is its own idea, but then there's this other idea that perhaps stems from here, and that is just the concept of being bhivatal ourselves, of nulling, nullifying ourselves, becoming one with something that's bigger than ourselves.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we could be batul, bishishim, being mivatul ourselves to be part of the tsibor that is Klali, and we tag along and and and join in all of in the merit that is Klalizra.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: But there's another idea that I want to focus on, and that is the idea of being mivatal ourselves, takarushbara chutashem, to God Almighty.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that is everybody has their own wills, their desires, their wants, but ultimately the job of life is to align what we know is the right thing, what we feel deep down what we know is true, what is MS, MS Lamito, to align our desires with God's desires.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's really the goal, is to live in that in that realm of alignment.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: And and and that requires us to be mivatal ourselves.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: I used to think the concept of bittal, nullification, self-nullification was like a negative thing.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's manish the opposite, it's the most positive thing.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's not negating oneself and that I'm a nobody and that I'm uh I'm I'm less than.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's much deeper than that.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's that when a person nullifies his wants and his desires, and when a person is mavatil himself to that larger pot, to something bigger than himself, when a person is mavatil himself, nullifies himself and and he does that to Hashem, then the most amazing thing happened.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: He actually becomes bigger.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: See the little bit of dairy that goes into the the flae-shaped pot, we view it that it's not even dairy anymore.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: It it it's it's it's now chicken soup.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's chicken soup.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're human beings.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: We're human beings, we're flesh and blood, and yes, we're given a soul.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: And we have a unique mission.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what the Obama Jiraba and the Hayom Yom for the 23rd of Kheshvan.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just I'm kidding.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: For the 23rd of of Ava, I believe.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: It makes the point that we're a khilikaloka mimal mamesh, that mimal and mamesh are are fundamentally opposites.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Mimal represents the Ruchnias Shaba Ruchnias, and Mamesh represents the Gashmias Shaba Gashmias.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Mamesh is like this it's Mamish.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's Avodavayh, is to connect the two, to impact, to be a complement to one another.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And and we have the capacity to do that.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we're human beings, flesh and blood, but we're given the ability to be mavatal ourselves, to nullify ourselves, not in a negative way, but to make ourselves bigger.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: By negating the self, now we become subsumed in creation.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: We become subsumed in a good way in the big chicken pot.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: We become subsumed in God's reality in Akurush Barakho.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that's an amazing thing because we don't want to be small, we want to be big.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the quickest, easiest way to do that is to be mavatal ourselves, to liken ourselves to God by following what he wants us to do, by acting accordingly, by following in his ways of Allah to Bid Rachid, when we do that, we become so much bigger than perhaps we thought.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: The Basaian tells us in this week's parasha a beautiful idea.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: He says, Av Mavido was the first person to call Hakurish Baruch Adon, a master.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So refer to God as a melech.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Ain Melech Beloyam, right?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, God is the creator, but that's shy to everything.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's relevant to all of creation, not just humanity, but God created the angels and he created the mountains and the stars and the moon and the sun.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: God in the realm of creator, that's that's true for every create create create creature, right?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that that's what he's called a creator.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: But this term, this idea that God is a melech a king, there needs to be a people who connect to that God, who connect to that king, who emulate that king, who are like that king.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the khiddish of Avram Avinu.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Avram Avinu was the first to call Hashem Adon a master.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Shakibal Avram Allah Bachinus Malchus Yisparak says the Bazayan, Avram accepted upon himself the aspect of God's sovereignty, of the Malchus of Hashem, Avalfne Avram Lohaya.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: But before Avram Avinu, there was not a single person, Sheikh Adon, who called him, who referred to Hashem as a master.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: She Nisiachid Malchus Yisparakh, there was this realm of a kingship of sovereignty, Kiemal Avram, except for Avram Avinu.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: A kingship, a kingdom, a king represents the fact that now there's a people who follow in his ways, who emulate the God.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: It represents a relationship, a connection.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Avram Vinu understood that.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And he was mischadesh this.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the Jewish people.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: He says, There's only Shaikh a king.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's only the plausibility of using this terminology of a melech of a king when there's someone that's dimion la hamelech, when there's someone that's that's acting like the king.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Animals act in instinct, right?
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, everything has a chelech of a godliness.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: We've mentioned this concept before.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's true, everything has meaning, everything has intellect, even a lifeless rock, of course.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: But there's only it's only the person, and in particular the yid, that has the ability to appreciate Hashem is melech, and therefore understand that I'm the um, and therefore I can be mavato myself and align my wills to him, and I could be Mavato myself to the big chicken supa and become much bigger than my own little self if I just remain isolated and llevado.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: But if I'm willing to become bigger and open my horizons, then I could be a Dhamma Leon.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: I could be like the king, I can connect to him.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Avram Chapdat.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the Jewish people.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: And the Jewish people were given a special thing called Shabbos Kodesh.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Shabbos represents that gift of Malchus.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's that element that this is the Jewish people and God, right?
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: A guy who it try who keeps Shabbos is Chaev Misa because he has no place in that.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's this specifically the yid that's Nikuru Adam that's called Adam, who's in the realm Adam, the same letters Adam, can be arranged to spell Adama, to be similar, Adamala Elyon, that we have the capacity to to relate to Kedusha, to relate to God, to relate to Akurishvarakhu, to copy him, to emulate him, to imitate him, right?
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's this concept of Mahurachum, just like God is merciful, we are meant to be merciful.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's a yid who has that capacity of Adamala Elyon, to liken ourselves to God.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's a quote that's often shared that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Flattery is nice, I admire you, great.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: But a next, the the the higher level, a higher madrega is imitation.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: When you imitate somebody, first of all, people often find it funny if you do a good imitation, but when you imitate somebody, you have a Rebbe, a teacher, and and you don't just listen to their classes and you but but you imitate their ways, that's the greatest thing that you can do.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: And we have, as yidin, have the capacity to do that with Hashem.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: He's merciful, he's good.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: All these attributes that we speak of of God, we can tap into them.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that's lach lechha.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Go to yourself.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: But the Basin learns it a little bit deeper.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: The letter chaf.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Why the letter chaf?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because the letter chuf, if you if you've learned grammar for Hebrew grammar, you up when you want to say the word like, ke, you put a chuf before it.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's a prefix for like.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: He says, lach the chha perish leich go le bikinah's chaf, go towards the aspect of chuff, which is the bikina of khuffadimion, which represents the similarity, which represents the likeness, which represents imitation, ke, shati bichinas dimion amiti.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: We are meant to be ki.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: We are meant to be a damala elyon.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: We are meant to like in ourselves to baraku and follow in his ways and be a giver of goodness and and and do great things because that's what God is, that's what a Qurish Barakhu is.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: And and when we tap into this ability to emulate him, to imitate him, that's the most amazing thing.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Go towards, go towards that kaya chadimion, that kaf hadimion, and that requires kfufa, that requires kafuf, that requires humility, that requires hispatlus, that requires that nullification, that requires you to say, you know what, I want to be part of this bigger chicken soup of life.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: I want to become bigger than just my little weebie self because I am so much bigger.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: When I take that khila koloca, me mal mamish, yes, I'm Gashmi, yes, I have Ruchni.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a mixture of both, but I can be my vatal myself and become part of that shishim.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: That become part of something much, much bigger than myself.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Avramavinu tapped into that.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Go towards chaf.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the hopefully, we should all be Zocha to tap into this idea and always strive towards that chaf, that that kuf hadimyon, to liken ourselves to Hashem.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: In whatever it is we're doing, every decision we make to say, hey, is this a godly choice that I'm making?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Is it bringing me closer or is it bringing me further away?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: If it's bringing you closer, go for it.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: If it's bringing you further, run away.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wishing you all the best.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Have a beautiful Shabbos.