Transcript
Good morning, Boker Tov, welcome back to Living with Emuna. A few housekeeping announcements before we dive back in. First of all, this Shabbos we have the privilege of hosting Rabbi Moshe Hauer, who is the head of the OU. Rabbi Hauer is a wonderful and inspiring person. If you're on or near the circle for Shabbos, please join us. Motzei Shabbos, partner with Torah Mesorah, Rabbi Pesach Krohn, the great Maggid, inspiring speaker, this Motzei Shabbos at 8:30. There are flyers at your seats so you can remember and put it in your calendar. Please join us on Motzei Shabbos. Sunday 4:00 PM, you do not want to miss. We are celebrating the renovation of our women's Mikvah, our men's Mikvah, magnificent new four-season spa called the Boca Raton Mikvah. It's really, really beautiful. Please join us as we honor those who made it possible, learn more about the beauty of Mikvah, celebrate those who run it. It's for men and women and the entire larger community. So if you're watching from elsewhere, fly in, we'd love to have you. It's going to be an incredible event. It's on Sunday at 4:00 PM. Please join us for all the above and more. Emuna series is generously sponsored by Doctors Avi and Bella Morgan and family in memory of Dr. Brian Gaber, in memory of Bella's mother, Dr. Ellen Shanser. We remain very grateful to them for their regular and consistent generosity. This morning's shiur is also sponsored by Carol Wald in memory of her mother חיה פרידל בת ירחמיאל, one of the big sponsors of the Emuna series. Thank you so much. And by Dr. Aaron Kaublum, our dear friend Yvette, a regular at the Emuna shiur, is having an upcoming surgery on Friday. We wish her a Refuah Sheleimah, speedy and a complete recovery, and a full Refuah Sheleimah. Everything should go smoothly and well, everything should be, everything should be good. Okay. We are on page Ayin Aleph. You should have the sheet in front of you, those who want to follow along inside. We continue to learn Rav Gamliel Rabinovich, his beautiful sefer Tiva Emuna. Rav Gamliel Rabinovich, Tiva Emuna. האדם לא נברא אלא להתענג על השם. We are up to the paragraph that begins the introduction, the title line. Man was created, you know why we were created? This is a very, very important, the title alone we could spend four hours on right now. Title alone we could spend four hours on right now. האדם לא נברא אלא להתענג על השם means man was created only to, no, it does not say to serve Hashem. You and I were brought up, maybe we were taught in school, why were we created? To sacrifice, to serve, to give up for Hashem, to be willing to endure, to be willing to suffer, to be willing to compromise, to be willing to sacrifice. That's not what it says. It's based on a pasuk in Tehillim, Dovid Hamelech. The Ramchal writes it in Mesillas Yesharim, and here this is how Rav Gamliel Rabinovich, האדם לא נברא אלא להתענג על השם means, do you know why we were created? We were created to what? To get high on God. Reb Shlomo has a song, Lord get me high, get me high, get me high. There's a lot of perushim on it, but we'll go with the Lord get me high is to get high on God. Who needs alcohol or drugs? Who needs special candies or mushrooms? Who needs any substance? Who needs any substance or experience? You know what you can get high on? Lord get me high. You can get high on Hashem. Have you never walked out of a Neilah? Have you never been to a Kumzitz, a Farbrengen? Have you never had a moment of a sunrise or a sunset? Have you never experienced something that seemingly was a coincidence? Have you never had a rendezvous with the divine where you felt literally you were high? Like someone said to you, what are you on? Why are you so, what's going on? Right? You're just on fire. You're on fire feeling connected to Him, feeling His presence, feeling His love. You're on fire in conversation with Him, you're on fire in gratitude to Him. Maybe the, you just got incredible news, pregnant, the birth of a child, someone you know broke through with a tremendous Simcha. You got a job. Maybe, did anyone win the Mega, was that last night? Anyone win? Does anyone know if I won? Maybe you got great news. You got great news. Maybe you have a moment. You walk out. There are times that you lose yourself in song, you lose yourself, it's unbelievable. We have upcoming the end of January our annual Rav Moshe Weinberger night where we dim the lights in the shul and we light the candles and he lights us on fire. We have incredible music and we dance in place and who's not on fire that night? That night you just escape this world. We ascend to go a little bit higher and we get high on God. We get high on God. Lord get me high. So האדם לא נברא אלא להתענג על השם is a quote from Mesillas Yesharim based on a pasuk in Tehillim. Do you know why we exist, why we were created? God did not put us in this world to sacrifice and suffer and endure and compromise and all that's true too. Avodas Hashem is called Avoda because the word Avoda means it takes work. It's not all fun and games. It's not all high. There are a lot of work. There's no greater high than the Nachas... Raising a child takes avoda. Sleepless nights, lots of resources, aggravation, it takes a lot. Someone once said to Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, he asked, how are you doing, how is your family? He said, you know, I'm struggling with tza'ar gidul banim. Tza'ar gidul banim, what does that mean? What's going on? So my kids, you know, homework and school and getting along with each other. So Rav Yaakov looked at him and he said, that's called gidul banim, not tza'ar gidul banim. That's called gidul banim. We should know the difference between raising children and the challenges that can come with raising children. That, if it's the ordinary, that's just called gidul banim. That's not called tza'ar gidul banim. So, but when you have a moment of nachas, is there a bigger high? Is there a bigger high than the moment of nachas you have? You get some nachas moment, nachas note, maybe you stole a moment where you watched or witnessed or saw they did something where you're like, I think they get it, like I think they're going to be okay, I think they're on the right track, I think they know what's important to us, I think we're going to be good. And in that moment, that's better than any drug, any substance that you can use or imbibe. That it's a high. Does that mean raising children is not avoda? It's avoda. So avodat Hashem is avoda. It takes work, it takes effort, it takes sacrifice, it takes compromise. It's not why we were created. Hashem created a world and He put each of us in it, and you know why He did? Lehis'aneg al Hashem. He wanted to give us the greatest joy, the greatest pleasure, the greatest happiness a human being was capable of getting. And do you know what the greatest happiness, joy, and pleasure a human being is capable of getting is? A connection with Him. Because whatever you consider the greatest pleasure, joy, or happiness, He's the source of it. He's the creator of it. He is it. So when you connect directly with Him, you are tapping into directly, it is a direct line, it is an IV flow of the greatest drug called God. Lehis'aneg al Hashem. So we're not here—it's a mistake. It's a mistake. You know, the other night I was at a beautiful simcha. It was so leibedik. Beautiful, beautiful wedding, and it was filled with such energy. Such energy, in fact, I wasn't sure we would survive because the floor of the hall was actually shaking and rocking. Curious whether the wedding videos came out okay, because the cameraman was like, you know, like a 9.2 on the Richter scale earthquake. That's how leibedik it was. Incredible. But the highlight for me of that wedding—and I have to tell you many weddings I go to—is at some point the band will break out with geshmak to be a Yid. Get emotional just just thinking about this image, geshmak to be a Yid. When you see that dance floor, when you see young people jumping up and down and dancing and the floor rocking as they're screaming at the top of their lungs, geshmak to be a Yid. In 2023, תשפ"ג. And you say, you know, with all of our challenges and all of our problems, with all of our issues and all of our worries, with all of the kids who are uninspired and our issue making sure that everybody has a place and feels connected and comfortable, with all the assimilation, with all the intermarriage, with all the enemies, with all the anti-Semitism, but when the floor is shaking with young people screaming at the top of their lungs, geshmak to be a Yid, you just—how do you not get emotional? It's an amazing scene. It's an amazing, amazing sight. It's an amazing sight. It's not premeditated. Nobody huddles with the kids and like, okay, the band's going to play this, when they do, make sure you react this way because someone's going to take a video and put it on—nobody does that. It's just the instinct. It's just the instinct. Now, it's possible—no judgment—there was an open bar, so it's possible some of the kids were also very happy. But here's the thing: even the kids who had nothing to drink and the adults who didn't make one L'chaim, they are dancing and singing and jumping like, like, like they're drunk, like they're high, and they're high on God, they're high on geshmak to be a Yid. It's geshmak to be a Yid. My friends, it is geshmak to be a Yid. The world is lost. The world is so lost. We are living in a more prosperous time than ever, and we have more depression and anxiety and unhappiness than ever. We are living in a more luxurious and prosperous and comfortable and convenient time than ever, and relationships are failing and people are miserable and depression and unhappiness has set in. And there's unbelievable correlation. It should be the most prosperous, the most comfortable, the most safe, the most secure, the most longevity, the longest lifespan, the greatest medical breakthrough, all of that should mean the greatest happiness. It should be geshmak to be alive. You should walk in the streets and the people should walk through Times Square and they should walk through Town Center and they should— be singing and dancing and hopping, bopping, and say, "It's geshmak to be alive. Wow, what a gift to live today." Instead, they're walking around miserable and farbissener and everything's falling apart and I hate life in this world and I'm miserable and I'm depressed and I'm like, what are you talking about? It's the most prosperous time ever. Because if you're living without Hashem, if you're living without Hashem, if you think you're in charge and you're in control it's all up to you, if you're swelled with pride that I take pride in the accomplishments or I take the blame for things not working out, or I'm nervous and I'm anxious and I'm worried of what will be, then then you're going to walk around all miserable and nervous. But if you walk around and you submit and surrender to Hashem, if you feel His presence in your life, you're constantly in conversation and dialogue with the Divine, if you feel His hug and His embrace and His hand on your shoulder, if you can't wait for the next davening and you can't wait for the next Shabbos and Zmiros and tish, if you can't wait to open the next sefer and to learn, if you can't wait to the emunah shiur where you're going to talk about and remember oh yeah, He's there and you know what? It's amazing. It's geshmak to be a Yid. It's geshmak to be a Yid. If you can't wait to make your next bracha and to say shehakol nihiyah bidvaro on a cup of coffee and to feel grateful for everything that went into that cup, it's geshmak to be a Yid. So these kids, I'm calling them kids, but you know, they're young adults. These young adults and not just young adults, the adults who can also keep up with them. For now, I'm proud to try to still be one of them. The adults who can keep up with them. Nobody sat down and huddled, nobody sent out the chosson and kallah request, you put your phone on vibrate and you jump up and down during geshmak to be a Yid. Nobody ever made that announcement. You know, we welcome for the very first time and don't forget to chant a lot for geshmak to be... nobody made that announcement. It's just like there and by the way, why am I getting so excited and emotional about this? Because they play Mara Cohen and people get excited, but they don't dance the same way. And they play whatever the latest songs, many of which that didn't gravity didn't pull them down yet to Florida, they'll get here in about a year or two. And they dance and they jump up and down, but they don't dance the same way. This something about those words that the person reacts, it's geshmak to be a Yid. It's geshmak to be a Yid. The other Friday night Rabbi Yisroel Kamenetsky, Yissey Kamenetsky, was here for Shabbos and we had a tish on a Friday night and the house was packed and it was a lot of young people because he has an impact on young people. Same thing. He owned that house, that room, and it was rocking. The roof almost came off. But when we got to geshmak to be a Yid, everybody stood up and locked arms and it was just unbelievable. That's what we have to communicate, that's the energy that the vibe that we have to put out. That's what we have to feel and the smile that has to be on our face. That's what has to move us to tears. It's geshmak to be a Yid. The chevra, we tell our children, we tell our friends, and we teach our family, and we come to work and we meet in the supermarket and we work out in the gym and we say, why you so happy? Because what do you mean? I was only created lehisangeig al Hashem, because I'm high, you're high? It's 8:45 in the morning. I mean, don't you have some self-respect? It's a little early. You know, it's 5:00 somewhere, whatever. But it's it's a little early and I say no, no, I'm high on Hashem. It's never too early to get high on Hashem. You gotta get high on Hashem by shacharis. I'm high on Hashem, lehisangeig al Hashem. That's why we're here, that's what we're meant to be, that's what we're meant to connect with. That's what we're meant to connect to, ha'adam lo nivrah... I could go on and on, and I am, just on this title: האדם לא נברא אלא להתענג על השם. Why? Why? Hashem would never have noticed had He not created the world. He's omnipotent, infinite, the source of all and He doesn't need us. He's outside of time. It's in fact this week's parsha when Moshe asks for His name, what's His answer? Moshe says what am I going to tell the people? They're going to want to know Your name. There's a lot of gods here in Egypt. There's a lot of deities people worship. Which one are You? Again, to us that's a ridiculous question. There's only one real God, the rest are counterfeit. He doesn't need a name, He's just Hashem, God, Eibishter, Bashefer, whatever you want to call Him. Whatever you want to call Him. Like what does He need a name? What kind of a question, what kind of a conversation was going on? But if you put yourself in the shoes, they're in Egypt, a place of superstition, a place of idolatry, a place of paganism, a place where they had multiple deities, so Moshe's like okay, you know, they have a menu and a shmorg of gods. When I say we got the real one, what's Your name? What do I tell them is Your name? And what does Hashem answer? He says I am what I am. Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh. We pronounce it the same way we don't expressly pronounce Hashem's name, so we say Hashem instead of יוד קא ואו קא, Elokim instead of... so it's Ekyeh Asher Ekyeh. I am what I am. Okay, I am what I am. He's not Popeye, He's Hashem. So what does that mean? What does mean that's His name? That's His name. So He says I I was here before you, I'll be here after you. I am outside of anything you can understand. That's who I am. That's God. God is not the sun or the moon, God is not any rock or stone or sculpture, God is nothing that you created or molded or fashioned. He's here since before we're here, He'll be here long after. He is everything. And if you start to think about it and you start to worry about it and you start to feel entitled to have an answer to it, you'll get a big migraine headache. And you might get into trouble because you'll come to the wrong conclusions. Because we don't know the answer is not a reason to therefore conclude we're off, that he doesn't exist, it's that he's Ehyeh asher ehyeh. We are bound by time, we are creatures of time. We live and operate in the realm of time. He's outside of it. We don't understand what that means. That's what he's telling Moshe. Unlike everything else, you talking about your smorg, your menu of idolatry, of pagans? I'm outside of that. I'm Ehyeh asher ehyeh. I existed long before this world, I'll exist long after it. I'm outside of time and you can't know what that means. Any more than you can explain to somebody who's been blind their entire life what the colors of the rainbow look like, you can't. Any more than you can explain to somebody who's never tasted coffee what coffee tastes like, who never had mint chocolate chip ice cream what mint chocolate chip ice cream tastes like, you can't explain it to them if they've never had it. You can't. So you can't explain to us what it means to operate or be outside of time to have existed forever because we didn't. We have a beginning and every one of us is going to have an end. So we don't know what it means to neither have a beginning or an end. Ehyeh asher ehyeh. Hashem says, that's me. I'm outside of time. So he would never have missed if he didn't create the world. So why did he do it? Why did he do it? It's a full-time job. It's a lot of people, a lot of problems, a lot of prayers to listen to, a lot of things to take care of and to help. That's not a problem for him, he's outside of time, so it all happens simultaneously and it takes no effort. He's the infinite omnipotent one. But from our perspective, it is more than a full-time job. So why do it? Take the easy way out. He was good. He's Ehyeh asher ehyeh. He doesn't need a world with eight billion people in it. Why do it? Why bother? So the Mekubalim explain, you know why God created the world? Because he wanted, okay, that's a problem already, he's infinite, he doesn't want, but he wanted, needed, it's also a problem, he doesn't need, although again, we have certain... my chevra in the shtiebel minyan, we have this conversation weekly. Does Hashem have needs or not? They send me Chabad propaganda every week to try to bolster their opinion, I'm just joking, I'm calling it that, but I love the material and the... does Hashem have needs? Can we appreciate, can we understand the notion that Hashem would have a need? So you know what his need was? He wanted to give good, he wanted to do good. By the way, the Hashem in us, the tzelem elokim in us, has that same need. When we want to do good, I wrote about it this week in the weekly, my article online. We want to do good. We get more happiness not from receiving but from giving. The gifts, all the experiments, countless, it's been reproduced countless times. Somebody gives out $20 and tells the group, half the group spend it on yourself, half the group spend it on someone else. And then they measure happiness afterwards. Which one has a boost in happiness? Not the one who spent it on themselves, the one who spends it on others. We actually receive more happiness when we give than when we get. Like God, we have an innate, internal need to give, to give, to do good, to be good, to help others. That helps enormously. That helps people break out. Clinically, in depression, they're now treating people with clinical depression by encouraging volunteering. Volunteer, give, go outside yourself and do for others, and it is an enormous therapy to help overcome depression. Give, like Hashem. So why'd Hashem create the world? He wanted to give. What was the greatest good he could give? Himself. So he created us and said, I invite you to have a relationship with me. Whatever you define or describe as pleasure, steak and potatoes, milchigs, you're a weirdo, kale, whatever you think is pleasure, you like music, you like fine wine, you like nature, whatever's the source of pleasure in your life, Hashem says I created it, I made it, I provide it. I am it, I am the source of it. I'm the source of all pleasure, source of all joy, source of all happiness, I'm the source of all. And that's why I created the world, because I want you to take pleasure in a relationship with me. That's the invitation, that's the opportunity, that's what he wants, that's what he wants, that's why he created us. So it's a terrible, terrible, terrible mistake, mechanchim, parents, we sometimes make when we create a Yiddishkeit which is all about suffer and sacrifice and do and serve and be willing and mesiras nefesh. That's all true, that's part of the avoda, that's part of the effort of any relationship. relationship. But the relationship is supposed to be gratifying and satisfying and fulfilling and good. In a marriage, marriage should be a source of incredible energy. You should derive safety, security, pleasure, happiness, a connection, an intimacy, a romance, it's the source of all those things. You know what else it is? It's an avodah. It takes work. Do you sometimes have to compromise and sacrifice and have milchiks? Yes. It's an avodah. It's an avodah. It takes work. But why do we do it? Because it's worth it, because it is life, because it's what completes us. The joy, the happiness, the satisfaction, the pleasure of becoming complete, of knowing, connecting with another person, of becoming whole, that makes it worth it. So האדם לא נברא אלא להתענג על השם. We were created to lehisoneg al Hashem. Amru be'Midrash. Now I'll start, again I could go on, I have a lot more to say but let's go on. Amru be'Midrash, the Midrash Shir Hashirim says: אם היה בן תורה כמלאך. A person who is a ben or bas Torah, a person who lives a life informed, inspired by Torah, Torah ideals, Torah inspiration, Torah principles, Torah values, Torah vision, is like a malach, they're like an angel in this world, shene'emar, because it says in the pasuk in Malachi, HaNavi Malachi, כי שפתי כהן ישמרו דעת ותורה יבקשו מפיהו כי מלאך השם צבאות הוא. That's the pasuk. כי שפתי כהן ישמרו דעת, the lips of the kohen they protect the da'as, Torah yivakshu mipihu, such a person you should request, you should, you should want Torah from his mouth, כי מלאך השם צבאות הוא, because he's like a malach. So the Gemara learns on this, v'im lav, lav, אם לאו ראה מה דכתיב ארץ עיפתה כמו אופל זה גיהנום שהרשעים פורחים כאופל עיפתה שהרשעים עיפים בה. The Gemara learns from here, אם דומה הרב למלאך תורה יבקשו מפיהו. If the rebbe is similar to a malach, then you should be inspired to want to learn Torah from him. If the rebbe is not like a malach, then turn away. Turn away, don't learn Torah from him. Don't learn Torah from him. I'll never forget when I was in shiur, Rav Shechter's shiur, so one day there was a very public debate where one gadol b'Yisrael very publicly attacked another great rabbi and called him some very severe names and said things about him, called him a sonei Hashem. It was a very ugly circumstance. And someone in shiur asked Rav Shechter about it. And Rav Shechter invoked this Gemara. He didn't want to weigh in and he didn't want to enter the fray, so to say, but he simply, as he often does, used Torah as the prism to communicate his reaction. And he quoted this pasuk in Malachi and he quoted the Gemara, אם מלאך השם צבאות הוא, אם הרב דומה למלאך תורה יבקשו מפיהו. A rebbe should behave like a malach. If they're not behaving like a malach, then maybe learn Torah from somewhere else. So the problem is, what rebbe is a malach? Who could ever give shiur? We make mistakes, we're fallible, we have shortcomings, we have our own struggles, we have our own weaknesses. So who could ever, who could ever be so confident to think they should be a rebbe, a mora, to think they should teach a man or woman Torah? Who's perfect? So I once saw a beautiful idea. You know the difference between a malach and a person? A malach, the Navi calls a malach an omeid. A malach stands. An adam, a person, is a mehalech. They move. Halacha. Why is a malach called an omeid standing and a person is a mehalech? Because the malach is not growing. The malach is created perfect from the beginning. They are an extension, expression, they are a messenger of Hashem. So the malach is an omeid. They have a mission, they don't struggle, they're not challenged, they're born complete to fulfill their mission. A human being is called a mehalech because life is a journey. We're moving, we're going. I posted one minute idea on the parsha. That's why our parsha begins: אלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה. בני, what does it say, יעקב איש וביתו באו. Why do we change from ba'im, present tense, to ba'u, past tense? So I quoted the Rebbe, Rav Nachman of Breslov, who says ba'im, present tense, is going on the name אלה שמות בני ישראל. When we are Yisrael, when we strive to be our highest level, reach our potential, when we're Yisrael, we're growing, we're ba'im. Even when we're on a descent to Egypt, but ba'im, it's present tense. It is part of life. It's part of the roller coaster of life. We're not done yet. We're not a finished product yet. Our book is not yet complete. Our next chapter is being written. When we're Yaakov milashon eikev, a heel, when we're Yaakov the lowest level of ourselves, asher ba'u, then it's past tense. It is what it is, we're stuck. So when we strive to be Yisrael, we're in the present tense. We're growing, we're changing, we're evolving, we're constantly becoming new. But when we're Yaakov, when we're our lowest selves, we're stuck in who we were. So why does a Rebbe need to be an omeid like a malach, not a mehalech? You'd think your Rebbe should be growing. The answer is, you know, your Rebbe would grow a lot more if he didn't have to give all the shiurim. If your Rebbe could sit in the Beis Medrash all day, he'd be personally growing. To be a Rav or a Rebbe or a Moreh, to be a man or a woman who's teaching Torah, you have to be willing to suspend your own personal growth to try to share and inspire others. You could grow a lot more if you weren't out there trying to manufacture all the inspiration for everyone else. So you have to be willing to be an omeid. So here Rav Gamliel quotes this pasuk in a different context. He says, a Ben Torah is like a malach. To be like a malach. Like a malach Hashem. You're striving, you're growing, you want to be close to Hashem. איך זוכה בשר ודם לקבל כוחות כמלאכים. So he wonders next paragraph, how can a lowly human being, how can a basar vadam merit to receive the kochos? How do you receive the skills, the power, the energy to be like an angel? כאשר מתברר ומתאמת אצלו יותר מכל אמת שבעולם בהשבה אל הלב בתכלית. So the answer is, when a person spends the time to have the clarity to discover the truth more than any truth in the world, as much as you know anything. What is the biggest truth that you would say you know in the world? The fact that you're sitting on a chair? The fact that your mother's your mother? Or that your children are your children? The fact that the sun rose in the sky? I don't know. Come up with whatever you want to say. There's so much I don't know. There's so much I'm unsure of. There's so much I have doubt about. But this I know for sure. You know people like to talk that way bombastically. As sure as I am that the, I'm the sure that whatever. Right? So what's the first part of that sentence? What's the thing that you're most sure of? Whatever is the greatest emes in your life, so more than that you should be sure that there's a Hashem, that there's a creator of the world, that there's a source of all existence and that he loves you, that he wants a relationship with you, that he's involved in your life, that there's a hashgacha, that everything happens for a reason. בהשבה אל הלב בתכלית כי אין שום תכלית בעולם הזה אלא עולם הבא. This whole world is just we're just passing through. It feels like it's a long time. We're lucky. We hope. We hope it's a long time. Cheva and I visited members of our community yesterday who just celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary. ברוך השם בלי עין הרע, both deep into their 90s. Mirtzeh Hashem to 120. So 73 years. I was distracted because I just kept thinking that's three times as long... wow, that's a long time. That's incredible. That's a long time. And they still seem to like each other. It's unbelievable, right? They interact like newlyweds. They're in love. It's an amazing thing. Baruch Hashem. Halevai we should all be zocha. 73 years and beyond and still talking to each other. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable. By then, if you don't like what the other one says, you just take the hearing aid out. So there's options at least, you know. If you live that long, there's options to not have to hear the other one. But anyway, they seem to leave the hearing aids in. They seem happy. So 73 years sounds like a long time. 95 years sounds like a long time. A member of ours a couple weeks ago, I called her, she turned 100. Mazel tov. You know what I told her? What I've told kein ayin hara every member of our shul who's turned 100. I have the same rap line. I say happy birthday, mazel tov, such amazing news, what a milestone. I have good news. They say what? I say they say the first 100 years are the hardest. It's going to be good now. The first 100 years are the hardest. You're in good shape now. Baruch Hashem. None of them laugh, but I'm humored by it. I'm humored by it. So it feels like a long time, this world. 100 years. You merit 120. It feels like a long time, right? It's nothing. It's gornisht. It's the blink of an eye. In the span of eternity, in the context of forever, 100 years is gornisht. It's nothing. It's absolutely nothing. It's nothing. So this world is a world of nothing. We're literally it's over. You're going to go on Yeshiva Week? I have a problem when we go on vacation. Cheva hates it. Like before we pull out of the driveway, I'm like what's the point? It's almost over. Why are we even bothering? We're just, strange she finds that annoying, but she finds that annoying, right? So you're like what's the point of the vacation? Yeshiva Week, it's going to pass in the blink of an eye. It's going to be over. We're going to be right back in school and work and life. What's the point? This world is like it's over. The vacation, Yeshiva Week, it's nothing. This world is nothing. It's the blink of an eye. The real world is that world of truth. The real world is the world of revelation. It's the world where we're basking in the glory of Hashem. It's the world of connection to Him. That's a world of truth. אין שום תכלית בעולם הזה אלא עולם הבא. The whole goal, the whole purpose, the whole reason we're here in this world is to secure our position in the world to come. It is to express the free will. Why did Hashem create this world? For us to get oneg, to get high on Him. How do we get high on Him? By making the right choices. How do you get high on marriage? How do you get high on parenting? When you make the right choices that make you feel connected and close with the other, that's the joy and the pleasure that... comes from it. When you make the wrong choices that make you feel distant and far from the other, that's the punishment that comes from it. So, what creates the platform, the opportunity to get high on marriage? Free will. You know, marriage is not the Stepford wives, it's not creating some robots, we're not pre-programming people to be exactly what we want because there's no marriage. What makes marriage meaningful is free will, the choices. We make the right ones, wow, we feel really connected, we feel whole, we feel in love. It's magical. Make the wrong ones, it's the opposite. It's a disaster, it's a catastrophe, it's painful, it's tension-filled, it's difficult, it needs a lot of repair and a lot of work. It is free will which gives life meaning and purpose and relationships and everything. The same is true in our relationship with Hashem. He put our soul in our body so that we would use that body to have free will. We make the right choices, we're connected to Hashem. We make the wrong choices, we're far from Him. And where do we reap the reward? Where do we get the news about how well we did? Where's the grade? In the world to come, which is the world of eternity. וכשיגיע לידי מדה זו לא יהיה דבר קשה בעיניו כיון שאין מבקש מנוחה בעולם הזה אמנם אין באלה די בידיעה בעלמא אלא צריך השבה אל הלב בעבודת התבוננות וחשבון הנפש המתמדת So, we have to meditate and contemplate and reflect on that truth over and over and over again. When we think that this world, the tachlis of this world is the latest iPhone and the latest Tesla and the biggest house, we think the tachlis of this world is the latest sheitel and the latest whatever. We think the tachlis of this world is the best seat at the concert. We think the tachlis of this world is the biggest portfolio. We think the tachlis of this world is there's nothing wrong with enjoying all those things, enjoy them, it's beautiful, Hashem created them and He wants you to enjoy them. Beautiful. That's not the tachlis, that's not why we're here. What's the tachlis of this world? To embrace our free will, to make the right choices, to give us great seats, not at the concert, but great seats in the arena of the world to come. That's the tachlis of this world. To live a virtuous life, a mission-driven life, a life with a legacy we can be proud of. To live a life that we make a difference, to live a life that we have an impact, to live a life that we and He are proud of. To live a life that we're proud of the choices we made. That's why we're here. That's why we're here. Now, there's nothing wrong with enjoying all the good things in life on the way. There's nothing wrong with looking good while we're making the right choices on the way. Nothing wrong with having a nice ride while we're making the right choices on the way. But we should never confuse, never ever ever confuse that with the tachlis of life. Those are the means, not the ends. The ends is our position, our seat in the world to come. And that's a truth that we have to know more than any other truth in our life. That's a truth we have to be confident of more than anything. That there is a Hashem, that there's consequences to our choices, that we were put here, a soul was put in a body because the body is the instrument and vehicle to make those choices. And the combination of the two, the results of the choices we make, that's the tachlis of this world. That's why we're here. So to mindlessly live life, to coast through life without even thinking about it, that's not why we're here. That's ridiculous. We're here to make choices, to live mindful lives. Meaningful and mindful lives, that's why we're here. That's what it's all about, meaningful and mindful lives. To be present in every bracha we make, to make the choice to make a bracha with mindfulness. To make a choice in how we're going to speak and how we're going to listen and how we're going to react to other people. To make the choice how we're going to use our time and the choice how we're going to use our resources and the choice about everything that we do. Everything that we do. Everything that we do. That's why we're here. Meaningful, mindful Jewish life and living, to make those choices. I spoke yesterday at a chizuk mission for women, beautiful program and I mentioned a study done by a great French naturalist, whose works I really enjoy—not true—whose study I came across and it was perfect for a drasha. So a great French naturalist, I just, you know, I have to be intellectually honest. Fabre, Henry Fabre, which I'm mispronouncing his name. But he did a study about caterpillars. And he said the—he studied he called processional caterpillars. What was the study? The thesis was that caterpillars, they just follow whatever's in front of them. Caterpillars live mindless existences and they follow whatever's right in front of them. So he did an experiment where he took a flowerpot and around the rim of the flowerpot he put caterpillars. And in the middle of the flowerpot he put caterpillar food. Not like the kale of caterpillars, like like a black and blue steak of caterpillars, right in the middle of that flowerpot. And he put the caterpillars on the rim of the pot and they started to walk in a circle. And his theory would be that none of them would ever stop and realize the food they needed to live was right in the middle, they would just blindly follow the caterpillar in front of them. Vekach hava and that was exactly the result of the study. Don't listen if you are a member of of Peta but he what happened was the caterpillars just walked around and around until they collapsed and died of exhaustion and starvation. Because none of them realized you know I don't have to just follow the caterpillar in front of me I could just stop if I'm tired and you know if I'm hungry I don't have to die I could just pivot and the food I need is right next to me. Processional caterpillars and we live this processional life we're just following the people in front of us. I just need the latest I just need to keep up and compare and compete with the neighbor with the people around me. I just have to have and live and act like and dress like and appear like and be happy and we're just processional caterpillars going around and around instead of pivoting and realizing what I need to nourish me Hashem put right next to me. What I need is to not be mindless but mindful and to be nourished by meaning and purpose to figure out what my life is all about that this world is not the ends it's the means. That my body I shouldn't with vanity pamper and indulge the body at the expense of the soul I'm not a body that has a soul are you kidding I'm a soul that has a body. I'm a soul that who I am is my soul. I have a body and so long as I have the body I'm going to enjoy the body just like I own clothing I'm going to take care of the clothing just because clothing doesn't define who I am doesn't mean I'm going to leave it on the floor I'm still going to care for it because as long as I have the clothing and I need it and wear it I'm going to make sure to preserve it protect it take good care of it. So I have a body I take good care of it but it's not who I am who I am is the soul. I am a soul that I have a body the body is the instrument of the soul it enables me to make the choices that give my life meaning and purpose that give my relationships richness and meaning and that position me to get the best seats in the world to come. Before Chanukah I don't know if you didn't go to a concert this Chanukah there were three concerts every night of Chanukah in South Florida. So undoubtedly on text message or WhatsApp group somebody in your family said which concert are we going which seats should we should we get. Should we get the nosebleed should we spring on the good seats the really good seats does it really matter you can hear from up there I'm going to hurt my neck if we sit too close we need the ones that are just right you know those kinds of conversations. Which seats everybody wants good seats oh we're flying did you get the extra legroom did it cost did you use points should we shouldn't we do we need to do we need do we need extra leg where are you sitting which section are you in which which group are you going to be called to board right? Everybody everybody knows everybody wants good seats well the world to come is an arena and you know who's performing the Ribbono Shel Olam. And all anybody wants for eternity is to sit and observe and enjoy and bask in the light and glory of that performance. Where do you want your seat? You want to be in the nosebleeds you want to be in the front row you want box seats you want to be outside and you can't get in you're just wandering watching on the jumbotron outside? Where do you want to be? You can't pay for those seats can't take any of that money with you and you can't buy those seats no matter how much you have. What gets you the good seats is the legacy and the life that you live. Who are you and what difference do we make what choices do we make what choices do we make in our life that's what determines the seating of where we will sit in the world to come. So there's a lot more to say but we're out of time so choose good seats make good choices till next Wednesday make good choices with this beautiful body that we have the instrument the vehicle for our soul. Don't forget you can quote me Rabbi Goldberg what do you say at the Emuna he said everyone should get high your homework is to get high but get high on Hashem Lord get me high. No edibles no mushrooms no alcohol no drugs Lord get me high we can all get high on Hashem. Hold on one second chevra tonight we're going behind the Bima with the great composer Abie Rotenberg. What's your favorite Abie Rotenberg song English Hebrew half the songs you sing from Hamalach to Acheinu to Memories they're all Abie Rotenberg. Unbelievable person tonight behind the Bima and I told you Shabbos Rabbi Hauer Motzei Shabbos please come enjoy Rabbi Pesach Krohn at 8:30 you won't be sorry. And Sunday afternoon you have to RSVP because we have an elegant beautiful beautiful food beautiful program to celebrate Mikvah the role of Mikvah the Mikvah in our community men women community wide 4:00 p.m. please please please register for this beautiful Mikvah event celebrate the people who make our Mikvah men and women's and Keilim happen without it our community couldn't have the sanctity it does. 4:00 p.m. please sign up and please come please stay to say Tehillim we wish a Refuah Shleimah to all who need it and until next time stay happy stay healthy stay holy and stay high.
