Sha’ar 2:21: Internalizing and Fulfilling Our Missions

Good morning, Gutte voch, Vos hertz zich, I hope everyone is well. Os chaf aleph. ומי שחננו השם יתברך דעה a person whom HaKadosh Baruch Hu has graced with knowledge, with discernment, yishave el libo. The phrase yishave el libo means to internalize. It means that something should be imprinted upon one's lev. Not just, a person can understand something, but that doesn't necessarily involve or imply that the person has internalized it, that it's become imprinted upon his heart, upon his mind. And what the phrase yishave el libo conveys is that what we need to do in this context, again, is not only to understand, not only to grasp, but that it should be something which is imprinted upon our hearts. So thus for instance you have in a presumably a basically synonymous equivalent phrase Ramchal has at the beginning of Mesilas Yesharim when he says that

לא תמצא ברוב דברי אלא דברים שרוב בני אדם יודעים אותם,

so what you'll find most people know, ולא מסתפקים בהם כלל. However, there is unfortunately a correlation

שכפי רוב פרסומם כך ההעלם מהם מצוי מאוד והשכחה רבה,

as well known as they are, that's how widely ignored they are. And he says על כן אין התועלת, the goal of learning the sefer is not going to be accomplished through a one-time study of the sefer, but rather התועלת יצא מן החזרה עליו וההתמדה, the constant review and reinforcement, כי יזכרו לו הדברים האלה הנשכחים מפני אדם בטבע so he'll be reminded ve'yasim el libo. Again, that again Rabbeinu Yonah speaks of yishave el libo, Ramchal yasim el libo, but it's the same point. It means to not only know, but to internalize, that it should leave its imprint upon one's mind, one's heart. The Rema in quoting from the Rambam, Rema in the very beginning of Shulchan Aruch in quoting from the Rambam from the Moreh when he's talking about שויתי השם לנגדי תמיד, so again, clearly the what's being discussed is maintaining an awareness, right, not just the sort of knowledge that one can store in one's memory bank, but rather a perennial awareness. He talks about that אינו דומה אין ישיבת האדם ותנועתו ועסקיו, the way a person comports himself, the way he sits, the way he moves, the way he conducts his affairs

והוא לבדו בביתו כישיבתו תנועתו ועסקיו והוא לפני מלך גדול.

It's a different standard a person holds himself to whether he is... he thinks he's in the privacy of his home, or whether he's in the midst of a royal audience. And similarly, ולא דיבורו והרחבת פיו כרצונו, the way a person speaks, how, how, how loquacious he'll be, whether he's עם אנשי ביתו וקרוביו, if he's with his intimates as though he were bamoshav hamelech. Then, listen to this, כל שכן כשישים האדם על לבו. Again, that same, that same phrase again, as, as Ramchal, which is the equivalent of what we face here in Rabbeinu Yonah, that we're talking about something that is, is not simply something that we should be content to know, but something that should be imprinted upon our minds, imprinted on our, upon our hearts.

ומי שחננו השם יתברך דעה ישיב אל לבו כי השם יתברך שלחו בעולם הזה לשמור משמרתו ותורתו וחוקותיו ומצוותיו.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu has sent the person upon a mission into olam hazeh to observe Torah. ולא יפקח עיניו זולתי לעשות שליחותו. And a person shouldn't be distracted by everything else around him, but should be focused. He should have his, his eyes set and trained upon his shelichut, his mission. Uleketz yamim, at the end of days, אם עשה שליחותו באמונה, if the person faithfully carried out that shelichut, yashuv uva berina, he'll, he'll return joyously, with song, ושמחת עולם על ראשו, and, and there will be eternal simcha will ensue upon the successful completion of his mission. כעבד ששלחו המלך לעבר הים, like the, the servant whom the melech dispatches on, on a transoceanic voyage,

שאין עיניו ולבו זולתי על דבר שליחותו התשובה אל אדוניו,

that, that he has this, this concentration, this focus on his shelichut. וכן אמר שלמה עליו השלום, this imagery of shelichut, Rabbeinu Yonah says, is not my, is not my original metaphor, וכן אמר שלמה עליו השלום: lihyot ba'hashem mivtachacha, mivtachacha vegomer, להודיעך קושט אמרי אמת להשיב אמרים אמת לשולחיך. Elsewhere here, one doesn't, I'm not sure whether one can necessarily detect traces of what we're about to discuss here in Shaarei Teshuva, but Rabbeinu Yonah in his Perush al Mishlei also talks about this idea of shelichut. And, and there Rabbeinu Yonah explains, which, again, that it's sort of implicit, I don't know if it's automatic, but it's, it's sort of intuitive that the idea of shelichut includes this: the fact that a person is a shaliach means that there's something individualized about his shelichut. Generally, when, when one dispatches a shaliach, so one, the shaliach has a unique mission. That's the general association with shelichut, not, not some generic mission, but, but there is a unique, individualized mission that the, that the shaliach has. Ve'ata amod vehitbonen. So, this is Rabbeinu Yonah in Mishlei Perek Yud Pasuk Kaf Vav.

ואתה עמוד והתבונן כי המשל על מלאכת הטוב והמצוות ועל שליחותם.

The pesukim here too in Mishlei, again, here in Shaarei Teshuva Rabbeinu Yonah is, is quoting Mishlei Kaf Bet. If you look up the Rabbeinu Yonah Mishlei Kaf Bet, so he tells you to go back and look in Mishlei Yud where he talked about this concept and that pasuk already. So,

ואתה עמוד והתבונן כי המשל על מלאכת הטוב והמצוות ועל שליחותם.

The, the metaphor, the mashal is about a shelichut to fulfill Torah and mitzvot. But not Now look at the examples Rabbeinu Yonah gives from Chumash and earlier in Navi for this concept of shlichus: Ki hamachzikim bahem, one who holds firm and fast and firm to Torah and mitzvos, Shluchei Hashem kidksiv Vayishlachacha Hashem baderech. So I think that's the pasuk, double check, I didn't look it up, I think that's the pasuk where Shmuel is telling Shaul that Hakadosh Baruch Hu appointed you Melech Yisrael and Vayishlachacha Hashem baderech, Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave you a shlichus and again and you didn't fulfill the shlichus in your in the battle with Amalek. But clearly Shaul HaMelech shlichus is not just a generic shlichus that the same shlichus that every Jew has, it means that there was a unique individualized shlichus that Shaul HaMelech had. And similarly the other example Rabbeinu Yonah quotes is כי השם שלחני לעשות. That Moshe Rabbeinu, right, when when responding to the rebellion of Korach ve'adaso, so Moshe Rabbeinu tells Klal Yisrael that בזאת תדעון כי השם שלחני לעשות. You'll know that Hakadosh Baruch Hu sent me as a shaliach. Moshe Rabbeinu certainly had a unique shlichus. So in this notion, in this unique, in this notion of shlichus, what it implies also is that through self-knowledge we're supposed to discover not only the shlichus that we all have in common is that we're all obviously the shlichus is within Torah and mitzvos, within the confines of Torah and mitzvos, but within the confines of Torah and mitzvos every yachid has a unique shlichus and and that's intimated in the in the notion and and imagery of shlichus. What individualizes the shlichus can be what the person, what the person's emphasis or focus is. It can be where the person is supposed to be, the the location can can individualize it, the person's supposed to be in such and such a place. And and one element which is indispensable in a person fulfilling his potential is acquiring the self-knowledge to recognize within Torah and mitzvos what his individual and unique shlichus is. I don't know that there's a formula, I don't know that there's a lab test which which tells you what a person's shlichus is. I think the Gaon writes in his Peirush Mishlei that bizman there was nevuah you could go to a navi and and the navi could could tell could tell an individual what his what his shlichus is. We don't have we don't have recourse to that. Clearly one one clue and and cue in terms of a person's recognizing his shlichus is that that a person has to accurately self-assess his abilities and his kochos hanefesh. That that's certainly one important element of of of acquiring that that self-knowledge. And then a person can't necessarily predict ahead of time what his individual shlichus will entail. Sometimes circumstances arise, you know, bevchinas Mordechai says to Esther, מי יודע לעת כזאת הגעת למלכות. I don't know, Esther could have had all the could have been the most self-aware person in the world and and had. extraordinary self-knowledge, but unless Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave her Ruach Hakodesh in this respect, so there's no way she could have known what what her what her shlichus was gonna be. So lav davka that a person really knows, you know, at the outset of his adult life what what that shlichus is going to be. It could be that the it could be that the circumstances the the challenges don't even exist yet. So a person has to look to see what his kochos are. A person has to always be looking to see how he can be using his kochos most productively. That's a person who's a ma'amin believes that Hakadosh Baruch Hu that we're not here accidentally, that we're here for a purpose, that we're here to live as productively as possible. So a person is always looking to see what are my kochos. How can I live as meaningfully and productively as possible? And with that, that's gonna help steer the person and and allow him to to recognize and and fulfill what what his what his shlichus is. Okay, so we'll stop here for now bli neder im yirtzeh Hashem we'll resume around around 12 o'clock with with Pesachim. Okay rabosai have a very good productive day everyone should be well be safe.