So the topic is, what is the significance of translating Torah into other languages? Is it good or is it bad? Maybe the Torah should have stayed in Hebrew, maybe people should not learn Torah in other languages, etc., etc. The first time we find that the Torah was translated is in Chumash. It says in Chumash, in Parashat Devarim, it says it was the first day of the 11th month, which is the first day of the month of Shevat. The last year when the Yidden were still in the desert, it says, הואיל משה באר את התורה הזאת. So Moshe started to, באר means to explain the Torah. And Rashi says, and it's brought down in different Midrashim, so what it means is that he explained the תורה בשבעים לשון, in all 70 languages. So what it really means is that Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah to all Yidden in the desert, the whole Torah in all 70 languages. So here was the first translation. But this translation was not written down. This is a translation that Moshe did orally. But then we find later on in Parashat Ki Tavo, Hashem said, Moshe gave over to the Yidden that when they cross the Yarden they should put up אבנים, big rocks, and on those rocks they should write the whole Torah in all 70 languages. There are two opinions what that was, whether it meant to write it in Hebrew with the alphabet of other languages, which would mean a transliteration of the Torah, but the Rambam learns that it means actually, actually not only a transliteration, but it means that it was the language was the other were the other languages, plus it was also in the writing of the other languages. So here we find that Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah to all the Yidden first and then told them to write down translation of the Torah in all 70 languages, all languages of the world basically. So from here it comes out that it was a good idea. What do we need more than Hashem Himself commanding Moshe Rabbeinu to do it? How else, why else would Moshe Rabbeinu do it? Hashem wanted him to do it. So obviously, translating the Torah into other languages is good. On the other hand, we all know the famous story with Ptolemy HaMelech. Ptolemy HaMelech was a king who gathered the Chachamim, 70 or 72 זקנים, in different גירסאות, different Gemara, different versions, but he gathered them together, and he asked them to translate the Torah. And he was afraid that they would make changes that he wouldn't like, changes for they would hide certain things. So he took them, didn't tell them why he was taking them, took them all separately, put them into separate rooms, and made each one sit down and translate the Torah by himself. So then they couldn't sit and make up together which changes to make. The truth is, the Gemara says later that Hashem put in all their minds to make the same changes, and there were certain changes that were made. The main change that we find was made, that's the first and the main one, was first pasuk. The way we have it in the Torah it says, בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ. So translated it means, in the beginning created God heaven and earth. And if they would translate it that way, it would sound as if there is some being called Bereishis, and this being created אלוקים, created God. So they were afraid that this is the way he would take it, so they all changed it to אלוקים ברא בראשית, that God created in the beginning את השמים ואת הארץ. This is just as an example, but there were more changes. I mean, I think it says 13 or 15 changes that they made. Now, was this good or bad, the fact that they were they had to translate the Torah for Ptolemy Hamelech? So we find in Maseches Sofrim, which is not mamash part of the Gemara, but it's an extension of the Gemara, there in Maseches Sofrim it says tells us the story, but some say it's exactly the same story, some say it's a similar story, but also a story with Ptolemy who told the people to translate the Torah, and it says how terrible it was. It says, והיה קשה יום כיום שנעשה בו העגל. That day that Ptolemy Hamelech forced the zekenim to translate the Torah was terrible for the Yidden, as terrible as the day the egel was made! The calf, the golden calf that was made, you can imagine how terrible it was. So as terrible as that, as the day the egel was made, that's how kasheh, how hard, how bad it was for the Yidden the day that they were forced to translate the Torah into Yevanis, into Greek. And the question is, why was it so terrible? What's wrong if they translated the Torah? Torah. And why is it different than when Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah, and that was fine, and it wasn't only in Greek, Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah into all 70 languages? So here there's only one language, what was wrong with the translation, why is it so terrible? We find in מסכת תענית, Megillas Taanis, I'm sorry, Megillas Taanis. Megillas Taanis is the Gemara mentions it, it's a kind of gathering of different things concerning different dates of the Jewish calendar. There were different special holidays that the chachamim made for certain events that happened, good things and bad things. And there it says that when Ptolemy Hamelech gathered the zekenim, it was ח׳ טבת, the eighth day of טבת, and this lasted for three days. I guess the translation took them three days. And it was three days of darkness for the Yidden. And it says in other places that one of the reasons we fast on עשרה בטבת is because of this translation of the Torah that Ptolemy Hamelech forced them. So it started on the eighth of טבת and lasted for three days: 8, 9, and 10. So עשרה בטבת. Asarah b'Tevet also Nevuchadnetzar surrounded Yerushalayim, but they put it all together, but it was in connection to translating the Torah into Greek. So here we see that translating the Torah is a negative thing, and in the Chumash we find that translating the Torah is a good thing; Hashem wanted Moshe Rabbeinu to translate the Torah.

This expression that it says that it was that day was terrible for the Yidden like the day the עגל was made, we find in a different place in the Gemara also concerning something else completely. And that is concerning the day that the house of Shammai, Beis Shammai, overpowered, so to speak, Beis Hillel. Usually we had two schools, two yeshivot: Shammai and Hillel, Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel. We know the halachah is always like Beis Hillel. So wherever there's an argument, we always pasken like Beis Hillel, and usually Beis Hillel is lenient and Beis Shammai is strict. There was one day, and in the Gemara sometimes they refer to it as אותו היום, that day, that גברו שמאי על הלל, so Beis Shammai had more talmidim than Hillel, and that day they chapt arayn when there were more talmidim of Shammai, and they made 18 gezeirot, 18 decrees they made for the Yidden that they tried, obviously, for a certain amount of time, and they couldn't get it through because they were always outvoted, peshuto k'mashma'o. And that day they managed to chap arayn and they voted, and they passed 18 gezeirot. And it says in the Gemara there that Hillel, Hillel who was the nasi of that time, sat like one of the talmidim on the side. And the Gemara says היה קשה אותו היום כיום שנעשה בו העגל. That day was terrible for Yidden like the day that the עגל was made. Same expression as we find concerning the day that they translated the Torah. Now, what is so terrible about the day that Shammai, Beis Shammai overpowered Beis Hillel? Okay, we understand it's not such a good thing because Hillel was the nasi and it made a whole change, but why was it like the day that the עגל was made? The truth is, when we look at this expression, we wonder: why is the expression that it was as bad as the day the עגל was made? Why doesn't it say it was as bad as the עגל, as worshipping an עגל, if it's so terrible? We don't understand why is that terrible, but let's say it is. But why is the expression it's as bad, היה קשה לישראל כיום שנעשה בו העגל, like the day the עגל was made? The day the עגל was made, the עגל was made, the main thing is that they worshipped an עגל, עבודה זרה, idol worship. Why does it say the day the עגל was made? When we look in the Chumash, we see that the real aveirah of worshipping the עגל was not the day the עגל was made; it was the next day. If you look at Chumash, the Yidden were afraid, they saw Moshe Rabbeinu wasn't there, and they didn't know what to do. They came to Aharon and they said, and Aharon said, let's make a מזבח, and he said כי חג לה׳ מחר, tomorrow will be a Yom Tov for Hashem, he hoped Moshe Rabbeinu would come down, and the next day would be a Yom Tov. And they made an עגל, but they didn't worship it yet. It says וישכימו בבוקר, they woke up in the morning, and the next day they started dancing around the עגל, and that's when they started worshipping the עגל. So the day the עגל, the golden calf was made, was not the day that they worshipped the עגל. So what is it? It's the day that they did something that was the source that, as a result of what they did on that day, came out the next day something, something very terrible. And this is exactly what we want to say here. And let's start with the story with Hillel v'Shammai. In the case of Hillel, what the the the worst thing that happened was that by accepting the 18 gezeirot that Beis Shammai made, this the chachamim were afraid will lead the people to start following the opinion of Beis Shammai, which the halacha is not like. The halacha is like Beis Hillel. So that thing itself that happened on that day was not terrible. 18 gezeirot were made, it was made according to halacha. They voted, and the din is that when you vote, אחרי רבים להטות, you follow the majority and it was the right thing to do. But what they were afraid of what could happen as a result of what happened today, the next day, and from now on, things could change, which was not what Hashem wanted, and they had their proof that the halacha was supposed to be like Beis Hillel. So that's why they compare it to the day the עגל was made, meaning it was like the day the עגל was made, which as a result of that, later on came out something bad. So, too, here, from what happened that day, they were afraid something terrible might come out. And the same is concerning the translation of the Torah. The translation of the Torah in itself is not bad, not terrible. The problem is if you translate the Torah the way the Torah is written, translate it word for word, literal translation, and if you translate the Torah in the order the way the things are written in the Torah, a person who doesn't know the deeper meaning might make mistakes, might not not understand what it says there. Not only that, it might lead a person to take things of the Torah the opposite of what the Torah means. So the translation in itself is not something bad, but this could lead later on to make mistakes. And we takeh see what happened here that they had to change certain things in order to make sure that the mistakes were not made. This is why we compare it to the day the עגל was made, because just like over there on that day they did something that as a result of that something a bad thing later came out, even though this itself was not really that terrible. It was terrible, making an עגל itself is terrible, you're not allowed to make an עגל, but that's not the main aveirah. This was something that brought out an aveirah, a worse aveirah later on. So they were afraid that translating the Torah the way it is could bring out mistakes later on by people. But this is not really 100% the real peshat, because after all, it's just comparing it to something that caused a negative result, but has nothing to do with the עגל itself. It seems as if it has to do with making the עגל, the day the עגל was made, and then later on the result of the עגל, which is עבודה זרה. In other words, what connection does translating the Torah have to עבודה זרה? But the peshat is like this. When the Yidden made the עגל, they didn't mean to make עבודה זרה. They didn't mean to make an idol, which means something to replace God, to replace Hashem. That's not what they said. If we look in Chumash, in Chumash it says, they said, כי זה משה האיש אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים, and this Moshe, this man Moshe, who took us out of Mitzrayim, is not here anymore. And therefore, what do we need? We need somebody to replace Moshe Rabbeinu, not somebody to replace Hashem. They didn't mean to make an עבודה זרה. They meant somebody to replace Moshe Rabbeinu. In other words, they understood there has to be a person like Moshe Rabbeinu. And the reason Hashem wanted there should be a person Moshe Rabbeinu, because Moshe Rabbeinu was the one, as the pasuk says, אנכי, משה said on himself, אנכי עומד ביניכם ובין השם אלקיכם להגיד לכם דבר השם. I stand between you and Hashem to bring you the words of Hashem. Moshe Rabbeinu was the one that brings Yidden closer to Hashem. That means that Hashem made Moshe Rabbeinu as a human being, he's a like basar vadam, he's a regular human being, but a human being through which Hashem says, \"I dwell.\" Since he was such a great tzaddik, Hashem, the Shechinah dwelt in Moshe Rabbeinu. It says, שכינה מדברת מתוך גרונו של משה, the Shechinah spoke from Moshe Rabbeinu's throat. Moshe Rabbeinu is called in Chumash and in תהלים, איש האלקים, the godly man. What does that mean? He was a man, he was a human being, there is no question about it. But he's a human, a being where Hashem says, \"I dwell.\" And the reason Hashem made that there should be a tzaddik like Moshe Rabbeinu through which he should dwell, because Hashem wants that the Yidden should get closer to him, so he made things, he brought himself down in a way that it should be easy easier for Yidden to serve Him. So when He brought a tzaddik to the world, such a great tzaddik, and the Yidden are able to relate to the tzaddik, so through the tzaddik, they are able to get close to Hashem, which means Hashem brings Himself down lower. We see that even in lower things, not only in a human being. The the Mishkan, the Beis Hamikdash, Hashem wanted the Yidden to get close to Him, so He said, \"Make for Me a Mishkan, make for Me a Beis Hamikdash, make for Me a house made of of of bricks, of wood, ושכנתי בתוכם, I will dwell in that house, and through that the Yidden will be able to relate to Hashem, through Hashem, the Shechinah coming down lower.\" Mainly, it was in the Kodesh Hakodashim, where you had the Aron with the luchot, and Hashem says, \"I dwell in between the כרובים.\" So Hashem showed that His shechinah comes down to this world in a way that it מתלבש, using the terms of חסידות, He's מתלבש, He gets put in, Hashem puts Himself into the Mishkan, into the Beit HaMikdash, into the aron, into a person like Moshe Rabbeinu, and this is how the Yidden are able to relate. And the Yidden knew that. So when they saw that Moshe Rabbeinu is not here anymore, so the Yidden thought, \"Well, we need something else where we will draw down the shechinah through that human being or through that being like the aron, as we see later on.\" So they decided they made an עגל. They made an עגל. And to them, the עגל meant this was a way to draw down Just like they knew that Hashem wants them to make כרובים, the two כרובים on the aron, this will draw down the shechinah, they thought an עגל would do it. Why did they think an עגל would do it? Why, of course, an עגל, a calf, what's good idea of a calf? So it says in Midrash that the Yidden saw when Hashem came by מתן תורה, when He gave He said the עשרת הדברות, the Ten Commandments, and He came down on Har Sinai, it says He came down with all the מלאכים, with the whole מעשה מרכבה, with the whole מרכבה, the chariot, and on the מעשה מרכבה, you have, it says, a face of a lion, you have a face of a person, you have a face of an eagle, a face of an ox. So they decided, \"Well, if the face of the ox is one of the מרכבה, which means this is one of the things through which Hashem manifests Himself, so why can't we do something down here which will be a form of drawing down the shechinah through the עגל?\" This is what they meant. By some people, it turned into avodah zarah. Some people were pulled into it, and they didn't realize, and they made and they said, \"אלה אלוקיך ישראל, this is God.\" So the ערב רב did that. But the original reason that they had was not to make an idol, not to make a god, not to make something to replace Hashem, but rather to make something that would draw down the shechinah and would become, let's use the term, a ממוצע, an intermediary between the Yidden and Hashem. Now, we know you're not allowed to have a ממוצע. That's a goyish philosophy, and you're not allowed to have a ממוצע. But the difference is, a ממוצע המפסיק, a ממוצע which is an intermediate which separates, that's what usually it is, that's forbidden. But when we talk about Moshe Rabbeinu, he says clearly in Chumash that \"I am standing between you and Hashem,\" that's the ממוצע המחבר, as intermediate that connects, not that he separates and you can only be close to me, not to the other one, and I'm between. The contrary, Moshe Rabbeinu brought the Yidden close to Hashem. That's the type of ממוצע we're talking about. So this is really what the Yidden wanted when they made the עגל. Now, the question is, if this is what they wanted, what was wrong with it? So, what was wrong? If we have the Keruvim, and that could be a ממוצע and that could be a place of Shechinah, we could have a Beis Hamikdash, which is just walls, bricks or wood from a Mishkan could be something that brings the Shechinah down, so why can't the עגל be, especially if they saw the מרכבה having a שור, an ox, so they made it, too? The difference is very simple: The only way something could be a a means of drawing down the Shechinah is if Hashem told you to do it. If Hashem gave the ציווי, and He said, \"You should make Keruvim,\" then that draws down the Shechinah. If you make it on your own and you're doing something other than Hashem, without Hashem commanding you, even if the intentions might be, who knows what, but then this is Avodah Zarah, if it's on your own and this is a separate being other than Hashem. If it's done because of the commandment of Hashem, then this is an expression of Hashem's will, then this is not a separate entity, then this is an entity that Hashem says will draw down the Shechinah. But if you do it on your own and you make something that you on your own, we as a person on his own will decide that this will draw down the Shechinah, not with the will of Hashem, and it's a separate entity, that is the complete opposite of what Hashem intended, that is the complete opposite of אחדות השם, of the unity of Hashem. This is the problem of the making the עגל. When they worship the עגל, that's another problem. Worshiping the egel is actually worshiping avodah zarah. Worshiping means making it into a god, which is real avodah zarah. The day they made the egel, when they made it, it wasn't a avodah zarah. When they made it, it was with the with the thought of using this as bringing down the Shechinah. This was not avodah zarah, and on the other hand, it was wrong, and therefore it turned into avodah zarah, because it was not done with the tzivui of Hashem. And since it's not with the tzivui of Hashem, it's automatically against Hashem, because the moment you're looking at a separate entity, not because Hashem told you to do it, and this is against Hashem. And then this is actually turned into actually worshiping avodah zarah. So now we understand what the day the egel was made, what that means. We're not talking about the egel as a god, as an idol, but the day the egel was made means something that is done with might be good intentions, but being that it's done without the command of Hashem, it could turn into avodah zarah. This is the comparison to translating the Torah for Ptolemy HaMelech. When Ptolemy HaMelech asked them to translate the Torah, it was not done with the tzivui of Hashem, it was not done with the commandment command of Hashem. And because it was not done with the command of Hashem, and as we said before, it's possible that you look at the Torah, you'll make mistakes. The mistakes that could be made are mistakes that contradict the unity of Hashem. The whole concept of Torah is to bring down Hashem and to have the connection to Hashem. By translating the Torah not according to the tzivui of Hashem could lead a person into coming to avodah zarah. Just like the case of Ptolemy, had they not translated with a change, he would have said בראשית ברא אלוקים, that בראשית created Hashem, that means that there is another being. He would have taken from the Torah the concept of avodah zarah, something that's against Hashem. In other words, when is it good, and when is it not good? If it's done with the tzivui of Hashem, with the commandment of Hashem, then we know that nothing wrong will come out of it. Even though there are certain words that if you don't know the real pshat, you'll never know, but Hashem says if it's done with the ציווי of Hashem, so Hashem puts his power into it, then we're not afraid anything bad will come out. But if it's done without the ציווי, then there is a possibility of avodah zarah. Just like the difference between the עגל and lehavdil the כרובים. The כרובים להבדיל Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe Rabbeinu was a human being through which Hashem was drawn down, because this is the way Hashem wanted it. Hashem appointed him. The כרובים in the משכן, Hashem made it. The עגל was something Hashem didn't make, and the difference is, this brought Yidden closer to Hashem, and the עגל brought the Yidden further away from Hashem. Why? Because it wasn't based on the commandment of Hashem. And the same thing is with the translation. The translation that was in Chumash Devarim, where Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah into 70 languages, it was with the ציווי of Hashem, and therefore he doesn't say anywhere that he translated בראשית ברא אלוקים differently. 'Ay, the same mistake might be made?' But if it's done with the commandment of Hashem, a mistake won't be made. He translated probably, I don't know if it says, but I imagine, he translated the פסוק נעשה אדם, which is one of the changes also that they made. When Hashem said to let let us make a man, let us make, who's the \"us\"? And it says in Midrash that Moshe Rabbeinu, when he came to write that pasuk, not by the translation, the original time when he wrote it, the first time when Hashem dictated the Chumash to him, and he said to him, \"Write,\" and he said word for word, and when he came to this pasuk, Hashem says, \"Well, next pasuk is נעשה אדם, let us make.\" Moshe stopped, and Moshe says, \"השם, אתה נותן מקום לאפיקורסים. You're giving a place for the apikorsim to say, 'Look, there is more than one god.'\" Hashem said, \"Don't worry. כתוב, you write, והרוצה לטעות יטעה. If someone wants to make a mistake, that's his problem.\" In other words, basically what he's saying is that Hashem is saying a person, if I'm telling you to write it, will not make a mistake. Anybody who makes a mistake and uses this pasuk, even nowadays, anybody uses this pasuk to show anything is because they don't believe anyway, not that this pasuk is their source. They use it, sure, and Hashem doesn't take away free choice, but this pasuk should be the reason for a person to make a mistake won't be. Why? Because Hashem said to write it, and that won't be a source of of wrongdoing. And the same thing when Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah, and he wrote נעשה אדם in in every language, in English he wrote, \"Let us make a man.\" This will not be a source for people to make a mistake. Why? Because it was done with the tzivui of Hashem. But when they translated it for Talmai HaMelech, and this was not with the tzivui of Hashem, and this was done forced by the king, then the Yidden were afraid, and that's why they compare it to יום שנעשה בו העגל, because it has very strong comparison. It's something that's done that's not wrong in itself, But just like the egel in itself could have not been wrong had it been commanded, but if it wasn't, it's complete opposite of Hashem's will, it turned into avodah zarah, same here, this could have been turned into avodah zarah. Hashem saved them from doing it, but what could have been turned into bad, and he would have translated the Torah that way. And this is the idea, the difference between when the translation is good and when it's bad. When the translation is done according to the commandment of Hashem, the translation is no problem and it's good. If the translation is done by the force of a king, which is not with a tzivui of Hashem, then it's bad.

This just explains so far why it can't bring to any negative results, because it's done with the commandment of Hashem. But let's go in that to another step, another side here. What was the reason? Why did Moshe Rabbeinu translate the Torah into 70 languages? What was the purpose? What was the purpose? It says that this was the end of the 40 years in the desert, and Hashem, Moshe said, obviously from the, cuz Hashem wanted, to translate for all the Yidden. In other words, let's imagine, he stood there in front of 2.5 million people, translating the whole Torah into 70 languages. 70 languages! How long would it take him? Who understood it? What was the purpose, to stand and translate the Torah into 70 languages in front of 2.5 million people? Why, why did he do it? Now, some mefarshim say that being that there were so many people there, there probably were some people who didn't understand Hebrew and understood other languages, so we don't know, we couldn't know who understands what, so to make sure that everyone understands the Torah, so Moshe, this is what the Levush says, so everybody, Moshe had to translate the Torah into all 70 languages, which is very, very hard to understand. First of all, why would you think people don't understand the language? Second of all, he would make all 2.5 million people go through the trouble of listening to every language, and he would explain it in all 70 languages? And another thing, if Moshe Rabbeinu was afraid that there were people there who didn't understand Hebrew, what about the all the 40 years that he was talking? He spoke and spoke and spoke! Moshe, לכתחילה he said, \"I can't speak,\" but later he spoke enough! He said, \"I'm ערל שפתים, I can't speak,\" but he spoke and spoke! Why wasn't he afraid then that the people don't understand Hebrew and they might not understand what he's talking about? Why didn't he say everything in 70 languages? Came to the, you know when this was? This was 37 days before he passed away. He passed away ז' Adar, 7th day of Adar. This was the beginning of Shevat, Rosh Chodesh Shevat, the first day of Shevat, which is a month and seven days before he passed away. That's when he decided, \"You know what, let me tell them,\" or that's when Hashem told him, \"Tell them, repeat everything in 70 languages because some of them might not understand.\" He just woke up? Why didn't he do it the whole time? Obviously, there must be something else. Others say, there are other mefarshim that say a different reason why he did it. They say the reason was because he saw that eventually, years later, the Yidden are going to go to galut, to exile, and there will come a time when Yidden will not understand the original Hebrew. So therefore, Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah into all 70 languages to make sure that whenever it is and wherever Yidden will be, they will be able to have the Torah. But that's also not understood. Why would he make all the Yidden go through the trouble of listening to the translation of the Torah in all 70 languages because years later it will be needed? You know what he should have done? Should have relied on the chachamim of the later generations. He knew that leaders will be in every generation, there's going to be, they're going to be chachamim and and later tanaim, amoraim, whoever they were. And if time would come that they wouldn't understand the original Hebrew, the chachamim then would do it. Onkelos translated the Chumash into targum because at that time, when he lived, people didn't understand the Chumash. So, he did it. He should have relied on it! Why would Moshe Rabbeinu translate the whole Torah into all 70 languages? And then later on, he went and wrote, told them to write down the whole Torah in all 70 languages. What was the reason, the purpose behind it? So the Rebbe has a very interesting peshat why Moshe Rabbeinu did it. The peshat is like this. The Ramban says that the language Hashem speaks in is lashon hakodesh, is Hebrew, lashon hakodesh, the holy tongue. The language the Torah was given in is the holy tongue, is lashon hakodesh. The Torah is Hashem's Torah. If Hashem speaks in lashon hakodesh and the Torah is lashon hakodesh, then it would make sense that the kedushah of Torah, the holiness, the kedushah of Torah, would only be if you speak words of Torah in lashon hakodesh. It would make sense that if you speak words of Torah in English, or in French, or in Spanish, it should not have the kedushah of Torah. That's what we would, we assume, because that's not the way the Torah was given. And not only concerning תורה שבכתב, concerning Chumash, where every word is exact and we follow the words, but even in תורה שבעל פה, in the oral Torah, where the words are not really what counts, main thing is the idea, that's why there's a halachah that if you don't understand what you're learning in the oral Torah, you didn't fulfill the mitzvah of learning Torah. See, in Chumash, even if you don't understand, because the words are Torah themselves. That's why, given an עליה, you could have an עם הארץ, who doesn't understand what he's saying, he still makes a berachah. But in תורה שבעל פה, גמרא, שולחן ערוך, הלכה, if you don't understand, then you don't fulfill the mitzvah of Torah. Why? Because the main thing is the understanding. So we would say, well ממילא, if the words count, then you have to have the words in Hebrew. But if the concept what counts, what difference what language it is? The idea is there in every language. But it's still not. We still find that even תורה שבעל פה has a special connection to the words. There is a difference in the words, certain things, certain cases. For instance, there's a din that if you think Torah in your mind, ideas of Torah, you don't have to make birkat haTorah, you don't have to make a berachah before. Because הרהור לאו כדיבור דמי, thinking is not like speaking. If you speak words of Torah, then you cannot do it unless you make a berachah. Okay, we make a berachah every morning anyway because we speak words of Torah, but in halachah you have to make birkat haTorah. So we see that the words count. So it would make sense that only if the words are said in Hebrew, in the original language that the Torah was given, then these words have the קדושת התורה, they have the holiness of Torah. Because that's the way the Torah was given, that's the language Hashem used, and that's the language Hashem uses always. But otherwise it has no kedushah. Therefore, Hashem wanted that Moshe Rabbeinu should to translate the whole Torah in all possible languages, then, in order that through that Moshe Rabbeinu was mekadesh, Moshe Rabbeinu brought kedushah, holiness, into words of Torah that are spoken in other languages also. Had that not happened, we today would be sitting and now I'm talking words of Torah, I hope it's words of Torah, in English, it wouldn't have the kedushah of Torah. Because it's not the language Hashem spoke in. It's only because of Moshe Rabbeinu then translating the Torah, speaking to the Yidden the Torah in every possible language, 70 languages, that's why years, all years later, the Torah has kedushah in all languages. And when we say 70 languages it means all languages of the world. And even though maybe some of the languages now were not existing then, but they're all a result, just a continuation of those languages, just, you know, changed, you know, words. But the idea is that all the languages were there. So Moshe Rabbeinu brought the kedushah. And it had to be done then. Couldn't have been delayed. Till then it wasn't important, because people spoke Hebrew so they didn't need it. But when Moshe Rabbeinu was going to pass away, he couldn't delay it any longer, because every aspect that has to do with Torah had to go through Moshe Rabbeinu. משה קיבל תורה מסיני ומסרה ליהושע, Moshe received the Torah. So everything, it's כל מה שתלמיד ותיק עתיד לחדש ניתן למשה מסיני. Anything that any type of Torah which somebody, a new idea that anybody will bring up, already had to be told to Moshe Rabbeinu. So if there has to be a certain inyan, a certain concept given into Torah, a certain kedushah put into Torah, it had to be done through Moshe Rabbeinu. So before that it wasn't needed, so Moshe didn't do it. Now it was Moshe was passing away, it had to be done. That's why Moshe translated the whole Torah into 70 languages, because to bring the kedushah of Torah into every language if you speak words of Torah. Now there are some words in Chumash, in Chumash which are in different languages. For instance, we find in Parashat Vayetze it says the words יגר שהדותא. It says when Yaakov ran away from Lavan, Lavan caught up to him, chased him, so they made a pile of stones and that was supposed to be a testimony that they will not friend, that no one will pass to the other, so it says they called it Gilad. In Hebrew, Gilad means גל is a pile, עד is a testimony. Then it says in Chumash, Lavan called it יגר שהדותא. So Rashi says it means יגר שהדותא is a translation in his language of the Hebrew words Gilad. So we have these words in Torah. So it says, the reason Torah mentioned a few words in other languages is in order to bring kedushah into other languages when you speak Torah. Another word, טוטפות, by tefillin we know, והיה לאות על ידך, should be a sign on your hand, ולטוטפת בין עיניך, and it should be טוטפות on your head. What's טוטפות? So Rabbi Akiva says said that he knows that the word טוטפות is made up of two words: טט, פת. In different languages, טט means two and פת means two, so together it's four, that's why the tefillin of the head has four compartments. So these are words in different languages for that reason. But there it's not the same because the Shelah writes that really these words originally were Hebrew. They were forgotten from the Hebrew, and they were transferred to other languages, and then it was a Chumash, it's brought back really. So it's not really, really other languages. When do we find other languages becoming holy in concerning to learning Torah is from Moshe Rabbeinu. But if this would happen, only this would have happened that Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah to all 70 languages when he spoke to them, all that would have done so far would have made kedushah of the words of Torah when they are spoken, like we are speaking now words of Torah in English. What about a book that's written with English letters in English language with English alphabet, would that have the kedushah of Torah? It still wouldn't have had a kedushah of Torah. Why? Because the language spoken got Not the language got a kedushah, but the Torah spoken in other language would have the kedushah. But where do we find that the words written in other language has a kedushah? In other words, we'd have a Chumash translated into English, would that Chumash be holy? When you read the words and you understand them, that would be a kedushah. But the Chumash itself you could throw on the floor, it has no kedushah. Therefore, there was another step that Moshe Rabbeinu did. Moshe told them to write the Torah down in other languages, to write it down. And it was done through Moshe Rabbeinu. So therefore, this caused that now even other languages are written, they have a kedushah. And only because of that, now all books written, Torah books written in other languages have the kedushah. They certainly don't have the same kedushah like a Sefer Torah. They don't have a kedushah probably even like a Chumash in the Hebrew language, but it definitely has a kedushah of Torah. So when you study Torah in English and you'd have a ספר written in English, it is holy because of what Moshe Rabbeinu did then. So far we've explained why it's not wrong and what Moshe gained from it. But there is something more.

There is even a maalah, it says, there is something to gain by studying Torah in other languages. Just like bichlal, it says that we have a job in this world that in Chassidus and Kabbalah it's called עבודת הבירורים, which means to elevate the world. Or, using the terms, to elevate the holy sparks which are found in everything, and that is done through eating. When we eat food, we make a berachah, we bentsh, ברכה אחרונה, we eat לשם שמים, we elevate the food. There is a concept of elevating other languages. Elevating the words, the language that exists. So when we learn Torah in other languages, what we actually do is we are being mevarer, we elevate the language, and the language of a country, it says, is one of the most fundamental concepts of that country. A country doesn't have its own language is called a שוואכע מדינה, it's pretty shvach, it has if I guess nowadays it's probably different, you know, there's certain universal languages, but those times every country had its own language. If a country didn't have its own language, it was missing. It's like didn't have its own culture, it's nothing. So by being mevarer, elevating, purifying the language, that is a big aliyah to the גשמיות of that country, which is the תכלית of why we are here in this world. So when we study Torah in another language, we elevate that language. It says bichlal the difference between avanim and levanim, it says there are avanim are rocks and levanim are bricks. Rocks are natural, made בידי שמים, they're in the mountain, made by Hashem. Bricks, it says, are מעשה ידי אדם, made by people. Take cement and you make it into bricks. It says these hint to two types of languages. Lashon Hakodesh is like avanim. The Cuz we know that, let me explain that, we know that words are referred to as rocks, stones. In Sefer Yetzirah, famous Sefer Yetzirah, where it talks about making up words, it uses the term שתי אבנים בונות שני בתים. Two stones make two homes, two houses. Three stones make six houses. Four stones make 12 houses. This refers to letters, otiyot. What it means is that when you have two letters, you could only make up two words of it. Let's say אלף בית. You can have אלף בית, בית אלף, that's all you can have, אב and בא. If you have three letters, then you have already six combinations, you can make six words. Four letters you can make 12, Four is 24, right. Yeah, every time, it's very easy to figure it out. You multiply the answer of the one before times the one after. Like, if you have three makes six, 4 * 6 is 24, so four makes 24. Five is 5 * 24 is 120. Six is 6 * 120, as it goes. But the expression he uses is, two stones make two homes. Stones are referred to as words, letters. And you have two kinds of stones. You have מעשה ידי שמים, stones which are made by Hashem, made from nature, and then you have stones that are made by human beings. So it says stones made by Hashem refer to the words of Lashon Hakodesh, because it's a language made by Hashem. All other languages are מעשה ידי אדם, made by people, they're made up. So those are called levanim. And like by Matan Torah, it says ותחת רגליו כמעשה לבנת הספיר, under His feet, whatever it means, was the reminder of the לבנים that they used in Mitzrayim, whatever, but it uses the word לבנים. So it says in sefarim it shows that by learning Torah in לבנים, which means words that are made from ידי אדם, by people, meaning from other languages, this is an elevation of the other languages. This is one of the reasons it says why the Gemara, as you may know, the Gemara is written in Aramaic. The Gemara, Mishnayot is written in Hebrew, in Lashon Hakodesh, but the Gemara is written in Aramaic, because this is the aliyah of Aramaic. Aramaic it says is close to Lashon Hakodesh, true, but nevertheless, Aramaic is a foreign language, it's not Lashon Hakodesh. And we find other great people wrote their sefarim in other languages. The Rambam, except his Rambam, ספר הלכה, he wrote his Moreh Nevuchim, Guide to the Perplexed, the Perush Hamishnayot, he wrote in Arabic. It was written in Hebrew letters, actually. They have the manuscripts, the original כתב יד of the Rambam, they found it. And there it's in Hebrew letters, but English, but Arabic words, the language is Arabic. The Rif, the Rif, which before the Rambam yet, wrote in Arabic. Likkutei Sichot is in Yiddish. Not all of it, but most of it is in Yiddish, which is also a foreign language. Okay, we know that by Yidden, it was so purified because hundreds and hundreds of Yidden, of years, hundreds and thousands and tens and millions of Yidden learned Torah in the in Yiddish, so it became a purified language, a very, I wouldn't say it's Lashon Hakodesh, but it's interesting, it's called Yiddish. There is no other language that has the title Yiddish. Yiddish means Jewish. Even in the Rambam's time, when the Yidden spoke Arabic, it wasn't called יהודית, wasn't called Yiddish, the language. When they spoke Aramaic, it's still called Aramaic, not called Yiddish. Ladino that the Sefardim, still a little bit today, but used to speak, it's not called Yiddish. Yiddish is called Yiddish. This is just just a point to show that it was, why? Such great, holy people spoke for hundreds of years Torah, and millions and millions of pages of Torah were learned in this language. It's a purification. But the same is truth, the truth in every language. If we study Torah in English, what we do is, we purify the English language. And purifying English language means purifying the country where the English is spoken, which is purifying United States, or England, or wherever it's spoken. So there is a maalah in learning Torah in other languages. I'm not saying that's the way it should be done. And truth is, if it's only possible to study Torah in the original language, in Hebrew, or even in Yiddish because it's now a real Yiddishe language, certainly it's better. But when we do study Torah in other languages or we read it in other languages, it doesn't mean that we're missing something, with something terrible, we're missing something and we shouldn't do it. I know somebody once asked the Rebbe, you know, actually, at a farbrengen the Rebbe spoke of it. It was takeh because someone asked him. He said that he was asked that a person who doesn't know Yiddish, doesn't know Hebrew, should he spend a lot of time learning the language? So the Rebbe said, why waste your time learning in the language? Study Torah in other in the in English or whatever language you know. Slowly, slowly, a little, slowly you learn Hebrew, so you'll get to it. But it's not כדאי to waste so much time in studying to understand. We're not talking here about reading. Reading Hebrew is a different story. Reading Hebrew is פשוט'לי important for davening. It's something else. It's very important to daven in Hebrew, because even though al pi din you're yotzei if you daven in English, but it definitely doesn't come to davening in the original Hebrew, because in English you only have the meaning of the words, the simple meaning of the Hebrew words. But we know that the Hebrew words of davening, as I explained once in one of the classes here about davening, contains hundreds and thousands and millions of interpretations of peshatim, according to peshat, and according to derush, and sod, and kabbalah, so much is hidden, which if you translate into English, all you do is you translate the simple words. So you're yotzei the mitzvah of davening, but it's still def- definitely not the same. Therefore, to read Hebrew is important for everybody to learn, but we're not talking understanding the language in order to be able to learn and understand the Torah. So the Rebbe said it's not worth it. It doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but don't spend all your time for the next six months to study Hebrew, and then you'll first start studying Torah. Study Torah in other languages. There's nothing there's nothing wrong with it. Not only there's nothing wrong, there is more to it because you're elevating the other languages. And that's our whole תכלית in this world, to elevate the world and elevate everything in it, including the languages, which is a very important part of the world. Mashiach will come, it says, the whole world will get together, and then they will have שפה אחת, they will all have one language. And that'll be Lashon Kodesh, because the world will be purified, so the kedushah of Lashon Kodesh will spread all over, and then everyone will know Lashon Kodesh, and we will have the real language. But then, it'll be a time when we won't have to purify the world, it'll be אחר הבירור, it'll be after purification. כל זמן, as long as Mashiach didn't come, we still are not finished, we have to purify, so there is nothing wrong, and we can continue learning in English and in any other language, and with this, we will make the coming of Mashiach faster, when the whole world will get the real language, which is Lashon Hakodesh. Yes?

By the by the Dor Haflagah, that generation was a very rebellious generation, they wanted to build wanted to fight Hashem, and build a tower to heaven, whatever. And the the Aibershter, the Almighty separated, they have one one language, was He had one language, and He changed to all these different languages. So it was a punishment, it was an onesh to the people of that time. Right. So because of that onesh, we now have a chiyuv, we are obligated to to purify that uh those these uh the these languages that were created originally because of a punishment? Because they wanted to fight the the Almighty? We have a job to purify the world, and the reason it needs purification is because of what Adam Harishon did. Because of the חטא עץ הדעת, there was a yeridah, a descent in the level of the world, and now we have a job of bringing it back. True? And the same thing here. It's because of a problem, but that's why it went down, now we have to bring it back, and when we will bring it back to its original state. Specifically, in all languages Right, exactly, yes! You're right, right, so I'm saying, just like by everything else, the idea is we have to purify it, even though it came as a result of some bad behavior. So, too, with this. The languages came as a result of the bad behavior, nevertheless, it's our job to purify it. One more thing that seems to be incomprehensible. That Aharon, Moshe's brother, was there by the by the by the מעשה העגל. Yes. So, obviously, he didn't stop, he didn't stop that that process. It was like now If he would have taken a stand, I'm sure that he wasn't on Moshe's level, but he was still a a great holy man. Says that Aharon was אוהב שלום, רודף שלום. Shalom is another name for for God. So he he I'm sure he had the he had nevuah, he had the he had kedushah, whatever. So the question is why didn't he stop the egel, and didn't he stop the process of making the egel, which is avodah zarah, whatever, and if that was they would He tried, it just didn't work, because he tried to make it slow. Why did he say let's make a mizbeach? He said let's make a mizbeach, because he thought it'll take very long, and in the meantime, Moshe will come. But what happened? Came Michah with that little plate which said, עלי שור, and he threw it in and the egel came out. He tried to stop. Plus, the Gemara says, and Rashi brings it, that he was afraid they would kill him. Not that he cared for himself, he saw that they killed Chur. Chur tried to stop them. Chur was was Miriam's, not his grandson, Miriam's. Chur was Miriam's son. He was his nephew. He was his nephew. And they killed Chur. And they were afraid he was afraid they would kill him too. And not that he was afraid just that he would die, if they would kill him, who was the kohen, then there would be no kaparah, they would never get forgiven. So he went on mesirut nefesh, not to stop them in order not to get killed, and mimela, they would sof kol sof, after all, get a kaparah. And the mefarshim talk about it, the Gemara talks about it. That's the way Aharon took that position. But concerning what they did, has nothing to do with this. Yes. Isn't there a peshat like by Har Sinai it was a מחלק לשבעים לשונות, like כל דבר ודבר היה יוצא... And the second question also, does a goy have to have a translation for the שבע מצות בני נח to be able to learn? Well, let's look, ראשון ראשון, ואחרון אחרון. He's right, by Matan Torah it says that Hashem spoke, the words of Hashem were divided, were heard in all 70 languages. And therefore, already there you had the kedushah in the 70 languages. Number one, that was only עשרת הדיברות, not the whole Torah. So then, from that, what would be, עשרת הדיברות, if you would speak the עשרת הדיברות in other languages, it would be holy, but not the whole Torah. Second of all, we need it to go through Moshe Rabbeinu too. Just like the whole Torah was given by Hashem, and Hashem wanted that it should go through Moshe Rabbeinu to be given to us, so this part also, that the Torah is holy in other languages, has to go through Moshe So Moshe Rabbeinu had to do it, even concerning the part that Hashem did also. So therefore it had to go through these two stages. Yes. Oh, another question. Right. Yeah. שבע מצות Moshe Rabbeinu didn't have to do it then. Just for them to understand, we don't need the kedushah. Could have been that years later, when the goyim would have to know, the Yidden would tell them. There was no need for Moshe Rabbeinu to stand in front of two and a half million people then to tell to speak to say the whole Torah in other languages so the goyim should get their שבע מצות. He should have said to the Yidden, \"Go to the goyim, tell them the mitzvot in their in their languages.\" And they don't need the kedushah either because their mitzvot don't have the kedushah that we're talking about. Their mitzvot is made only לשבת יצרה, that's pashut made for social reasons, that the world should be a normal civilized world. So therefore the kedushah doesn't apply to them. Ela mai they have to know, so they could have told them. Moshe could have said to the Yidden, \"Go tell the goyim what they have to do.\" Why did Moshe Rabbeinu have to stand and repeat the whole Torah in all languages? So there must be a special reason for the Torah to have the kedushah. Yes. When Hashem spoke to Adam Harishon. No one spoke before. Adam Harishon was the first human being. There was no speech before. The first words that were uttered in the Not only that, Hashem when He said עשרה מאמרות, when He said the 10 statements to create the world, they were said in Hebrew, in Lashon Hakodesh. Lashon Hakodesh. Yes, yes, yes. From then on, it continued. Yes. No, the maalah is only that some people don't understand Yiddish and they want to learn in Hebrew, but as far as the maalah of translating to Hebrew so it has the Hebrew words, there is no maalah. For instance, in Likkutei Sichot, most of it, the Rebbe's sichot are written in Yiddish. I was involved for some years in writing this these sefarim. I used to do the chazara, used to write the sefarim. So there's one point when we started working on it, we asked the Rebbe maybe the Rebbe wants it, because we wrote it in Hebrew. The years that I was involved was from חלק י' to חלק י\"ד was in Hebrew. So we asked the Rebbe, is there any maalah, he wants specifically in Hebrew? So he said there is no difference to him, whichever way. And that's why sometimes it's in Hebrew, sometimes Yiddish, in order to make people to understand. Those at least some sichos, people don't understand Yiddish, they should have some sefarim in Hebrew; those who don't understand Hebrew should have something in Yiddish. So there's no maalah. On the other hand, even though the Rebbe said it makes no difference to him, we see that originally it was all Yiddish, the sichos. The simple reason was because people didn't, some people didn't understand Hebrew. So sichos, which are easier things, they should be able to understand at least that. But there must be more to it, and the reason is because there is a maalah of having Torah written in other languages, like the Gemara is written in Aramaic. Let's take the lady's side for a moment. No, no. If it's done by Talmai Hamelech, it's bad. If it was done with the ציווי of Hashem and if it's done through a yerei shamayim, somebody who does it in the right way, then it's very good. Then it should be done. By Talmai Hamelech, that wasn't good. That definitely wasn't good. But for Moshe Rabbeinu, that was good. And that gave the koach that Yidden later on, if you do it in the right way, should be a good thing if you do it. Yes. Yeah, yes, yes, exactly. That's right. They call it binyan, exactly. In grammar, we find in Hebrew we call it how do you translate in English? Building, structure, what we call Whereas why? It's like a building because we use the words build something. It's like stones build homes. Yes. Yes, but if it was written if it was written that way originally, then there must be a kedushah in that in addition to the kedushah of תורה בכלל, just like I said by davenen, that if you say it in Hebrew, even though the translation in English is a good exact translation, but there is so much more in it that we don't even know when we translate it. The same thing in the Gemara. No, I said there I said because davenen you daven with kavanah to Hashem, so you have to express yourself. Here, it's not expressing. So therefore, if you understand the meaning, it's fine. But you're asking what's the specialty in the words themselves, there definitely is much specialty there. And therefore we try to learn it, but it's not worth to spend the time in learning the language. So why do we teach children? It certainly takes them much longer to learn Gemara if they have to learn the language. Okay. So if it if it's much easier to learn otherwise, why not just teach them the Gemara in a language they understand? This is the sefer itself. This is the sefer the way it's written. And this is what we want them to have. If you teach them lechatchilah in the English translation, you'll be missing. So if it's a person an adult who has to be mekayem the mitzvah of Talmud Torah, so it's not worth the language. But when we're starting from the beginning to teach children, one of the things it says in הלכות תלמוד תורה that you have to teach children is to teach them to speak Hebrew. No, no. And the same thing, the language of the of the way the Gemara is written. So that's the normal structure. But a somebody who's older and he's going to spend his time or waste time from the mitzvah of Talmud Torah, so we say don't spend your time. But see there's a there's a normal seder that you do. That's the normal seder, you take the sefer, you learn from the sefer inside, and that's the way you do it. And then you have all the kedusha that's there, and all the hidden things that's there, even though you don't understand them all, you have it. That's one thing. And then when you have a person who has to know, pashut to understand the ענינים, has to know the דינים of Shulchan Aruch, he has to know so then you can't say, don't waste time, how you say you're missing the Torah, you're not missing because the kedusha is there, even though you are missing a lot of the inside that's hidden that you takeh don't have. And therefore, even to this person we say eventually we want you to get to be able to learn Gemara inside. We don't tell a person don't care and don't ever try to get to it. So we want him eventually to get there because he'll be missing, but in the meantime it's not worth to spend the time. But a child, when you're going in a normal seder, this is a normal seder, what we want this adult to get to eventually, why skip it out from the child? The child goes in a normal seder, and that's what we learn. But let's say there would be a child that can't understand, ein hachi nami, should learn straight in English. The מעלה קדושה is still there? You said I thought you said that the Chumash has more kedusha than in English. Yes, yes. Right? So then you then then you should takeh try to learn so you have the מעלה, not only סתם a מעלה, but a מעלה in kedusha. But you'll be missing the other, you'll be missing the learning Torah. But then so you it's so it's better to learn missing the מעלה Yes, yes. It's better to learn in English and have the concept of Torah, and be מקיים תלמוד תורה, and know the הלכות, better than in the meantime even though in the meantime you're missing kedusha. But eventually you should try to get there. Yes. Linguists or linguistic experts consider Yiddish as a jargon, not not as an official language. Okay. Is that anti-Semitism, or is that Well, well, let me finish. That's like I I as a child, I mean, my parents came from Europe, and came from Poland, and that that we always heard Yiddish in my house, and my grandparents, obviously, whatever, but I always thought it was a language, but nowadays they they say it's a it's a jargon, and the the definition of jargon means it's a conglomeration of words. It's not an official language. So it's not then. Who cares? I I don't say I didn't say I'm I'm commenting. No, so I So what It is Old German. Old German. In Old German, German consonants is close to Old German and Yiddish. They both come from that. Okay, but it's but That's called German, modern German, per se. It's Old Okay. Yeah, but that makes no difference regarding the ענין that we're talking about, whether we call it a jargon or What is the מעלה? What is What is the What is the What is the accomplishment of of of Yiddish? What is the is it is it Besides besides the Torah talking about, what is it What's the kedusha in in Hebrew? Yiddish was not Lashon Kodesh. Because it's a Because it's a language that so much Torah was learned in that language, so much דברים שבקדושה were used in that language, that language is נתברר געווארן, was purified. So now it's a more pure spiritual language, even though בעצם it doesn't. Reading a story in Yiddish What do you mean? Oh, the kedusha that we're talking about, that's not tachlit. But the עצם זאך of speaking the language, there is something there. The Frierdiker Rebbe says in a שיחה, that when we say that Yidden went out of Mitzrayim, because and it says לא שינו לשונם, לא שינו שמם, they didn't change their name, didn't change their language, so he says the same applies to us also. We shouldn't change our name, we shouldn't change our language. So he says the language here doesn't mean Lashon Kodesh. The the expression he uses: די יידישע גלות שפראך. The יידישע exile language. That's the that's the Yiddish. For us now, to say לא שינו לשונם means laYiddish. Because it was purified. Yes. The problem is when you when you don't know Hebrew, and you want to daven, and the And you're saying the words, and it just becomes sort of a practice and and meaning you don't have you don't understand what you're saying, on a deep level you want to understand. So, so the best thing is to daven slow and look into the English translation while you say the Hebrew words. Or take piece by piece and study to understand it, and every like week add another piece, so eventually you'll understand everything. But it's definitely better to say it in Hebrew, even though you're yotze in English and you might have more feeling in the English because you know what you're saying, but you miss out a lot. You miss out the deeper peshat and deeper inyanim that's there. Just by saying the words. Yeah. Oh, one more question, the last, the last one. The whole world, the whole world. Very quickly, we want to thank a young lady who visited here from New York, Danny Steinhauser, sponsored the refreshments for this evening. Again, we do need sponsors, it's $15 to sponsor the refreshments. For those who came in late, the list with all the tapes and who to contact will be available next Monday, we finally have that all arranged. There is a sign-in sheet on the refreshment table. If we don't have your name on our sign-in sheet, please let us have your name and number so we can keep in contact with you and let you know about the upcoming classes. And the topic for next week will be announced at a later time. Thank you everybody. Please, there's plenty of refreshments, do not leave them, eat, please.