Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Daily Advice. I’m Rabbi Zeytouneh. Thank you all on all our forums. Baruch Hashem, we have a new series on iTorah.com, Daily Advice. Baruch Hashem, Meaningful Minute is putting on, we have a chat. Baruch Hashem, hundreds of people are joining us every day in this particular limud (study). Baruch Hashem, we’re very, very happy and very fortunate today.
Joey picked the topic of siyag, first Pirkei Avot, right? The siyag is a fence; it’s a barrier. And therefore, it’s true that the rabbis erected certain takanot (fences). Baruch Hashem, they kept us within the fold, kept us right, following the ways of Torah. The idea of muktzeh (items set aside on Shabbat) is very important. Muktzeh is a siyag. Baruch Hashem, it’s something that the rabbis instituted in order to make sure that we don’t, you know, follow these prohibitions and commit infractions and all these types of violations. And therefore, Baruch Hashem, we take a look, and people are preserving Shabbat because of the foresight of our forefathers. It’s a beautiful thing.
I want to tell you something. Really, every person can make his own siyag. A person makes his own barriers, the way things, you know, erects for himself, right? It’s a Mishmeret LaMishmarti (a safeguard for my safeguard). It’s so important that a person understand that his neshama (soul), his tzelem (image), and his Olam Haba (the World to Come) are contingent on what he does, right? My marriage is contingent on what I do. My relationship with my children, my kids, is contingent on what I do. I'm contingent on my relationship with my neighbors. My relationship with my siblings. And therefore, in every realm, a person has to realize that you have to be Hacham. There are many things that I can do to preserve these things.
You know, I went to a shul (synagogue) in Florida this week. As you go in, I asked the rabbi, “Rabbi, what time am I going to be there? What time are you going to be there?” Why? I like to go early. I like to learn. So before shacharit (morning prayer), I wanted to go. I told him, “Rabbi, what time is he going to be there?” Okay, so he told me he’s going to be there. The shul is going to open at 6 o’clock. Sure enough, at 2 to 6 I was there. Why? I had to make sure if I come earlier, if I'm going to be there I'm going to be stuck. It happened to be raining, and if I had come earlier without asking him, I would have been stuck in the rain. Therefore, that was foresight. Hacham, a person has to realize, I have to make for myself a protection in every realm. And therefore, if a person wants to decide that he’s going to preserve his tongue, he doesn’t want to speak lashon hara (evil speech).
So what’s a siyag? A siyag—you’re allowed to sit around people that talk, no? But, Hacham, a person who wants to make a siyag understands that there are certain particular people who are always gossiping. Therefore, at least when I’m in shul, or when I want to sit down and go into a wedding, go to a brit (circumcision ceremony), I don’t want to find myself in their presence. That’s a siyag. A person wants to make a siyag with his wife, okay? So he understands that certain particular topics we don’t talk about. Certain things, when it comes to finances, I know it triggers me, so therefore I’ve got to make sure that I set in my mind how I’m going to present myself when it comes to finances, right? Certain things I’m sensitive about; certain things, okay, another siyag.
Sometimes people want to go into business with their families, and unfortunately those things end up in a very calamitous fashion. So sometimes a person has to put a siyag: “I don’t do business with family.” Every person, therefore, in life has to understand that a person has to erect for himself all the different types of fences and barriers to protect himself in every realm.
Now I want to just focus on one more thing. Let’s say a person decides, in his family, “We’re going to have a stringency.” There’s a stringency, and the class that’s going on over there is much more vibrant. Okay, a stringency—let me make a chumra (stringency). What am I talking about? The rabbi explained that when you talk to your kids, to your wife, you should tell them it’s a chumra. This is ikar ha-din (the essence of the law). This is what I’m supposed to do. There’s barely a way it happens to say you shouldn’t do it for different reasons. I think today many rabbis say, and we see it, that you should tell them, you should tell them this is a chumra. Ikar ha-din is like this. This is a halacha (Jewish law). And we go a little bit extra.
I wanted to say one more thing. The rabbi explains the Gemara—I think I’ve dealt with it—that a person, let’s say, comes and says, “I’m giving this tzedakah (charity), al menat sheyichyeh beni (on condition that my son lives).” So I do it—does it work? He’s allowed to do it. Why? I thought you’re not allowed. There’s no sachar (reward) in this world. But if you did what you’re supposed to do, you gave your quota, and now you’re doing extra? For the extra, you can ask Hashem, “Please give me.” For the principal, you can’t do that. You’re going to get that in a while. But for the extra in this world, for the extra for the siyag, right? Siyag, I’m so careful to preserve Shabbat, I’m going to go extra two minutes. Two minutes, right? For that extra two minutes, you can ask Hashem for reward. Isn’t that amazing?
So, Rabotai (my rabbis), that’s good. But again, preserve it and present it as a siyag. If we come to try to present, if we come to watch over, to be shomer (watch over) on the Torah, Borei Olam, Hashem will be shomer over us mikol tzarah vetzukah (from all distress and trouble), mikol nega umachala (from all plague and illness), v’yiten beracha vehatzlacha (and may He grant blessing and success), refuah shelema (complete healing), briut eitanah (robust health), only good things. Shabbat Shalom. Have a good day!