Transcript
Good morning, boker tov, welcome back to Living with Emuna. Thank you for adjusting your schedules; Baruch Hashem, traveling for simchas, but grateful to be together and to start our week together this Monday morning. And our series is generously sponsored as always; our series sponsors, Dr. Avi and Bella Morgan, in memory of Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbut, in memory of Bella’s mother, Dr. Ellen Chanzer, and as always we are tremendously grateful to the Chanzers. This morning is also sponsored anonymously for the Refuah Sheleimah of יונינה ברכה בת ציפורה פרדה, anonymously dedicated to Klal Yisrael for being so resilient, to Hashem for giving us the strength, also sponsored for the second Yahrtzeit of אסתר תהילה בת רב גבריאל פינחס, a precious Neshamah's Yahrtzeit is tonight and tomorrow. Her Neshamah should have an Aliyah, and Yehudis bas Esther should have a complete and speedy Refuah Sheleimah. Okay, first of all, if anyone didn't get a decal for your car, we're also printing luggage tags and stickers for cellphones, embrace your place, exactly where you need to be. You could order them online if you're listening or watching and you want this incredible decal at BRSonline.org/decal. And I want to start not with an Emuna email, although we have many as always and grateful for them, I want to start by telling you about something amazing I saw last night. We had a beautiful, beautiful Shabbos and last night culminating in a concert with Akiva Turgeman, the great Israeli singer Akiva. And Akiva’s not only has tremendous songs, beautiful, beautiful music, soulful music, music that comes from a Neshamah, from his heart, but Akiva is a wonderful person, really a special, special Yid, a special Neshamah, a special Jew. We're a little bit Mishpacha; his sister is married to my cousin who came for Shabbos and was here last night as well, my cousin Itai. And Akiva’s very, very special. So I saw something nobody else did. I was in my office with him; I made the introduction, then I snuck into my office as the band began and he was about to come out last night we had 1,100 people at Shul and a magnificent, tremendous, beautiful concert if you were here you know what I'm talking about if you missed it you missed something very special. But I saw something very special in the office; it was a private moment, maybe he doesn't want me talking about it, but I will anyway. And that is, I watched him. He walked over to the Mezuzah and he put his hand on it and he put his head down and he said Hashem sefasai tiftach. And he davened that before he went out and before he went on stage. Hashem, let me be successful, let the music flow, let it be a good performance, let me connect to the audience, let me be marbeh kevod shamayim, let it be a Kiddush Hashem. I actually saw something even before that. Before they went out, when everyone was there, there was a lot of energy, particularly the young people in the room, so the whole tzevet, the whole staff, the whole band got together. I happened to have some drinks in my office so we poured and made a L'chaim, but he gave them all a pep talk and he said, Chevre, normally we perform in arenas, normally we perform in theaters; tonight's concert is in a Shul. And therefore we have to be mindful, we have to be aware we're doing this and we're serving Hashem. He said during the concert itself, he said he often serves as a chazzan and he faces the Heichal. He said today I'm on the bimah but I'm facing the people but my heart is still towards the Heichal. I'm facing the people but my heart is still towards Hashem. So anyway before he went out, nobody else was in the room and I don't know if he saw me there, put his hand on the Mezuzah, השם שפתי תפתח ופי יגיד תהלתך. And I saw he put his head down and he said a perek of Tehillim, everything should go well, everything should go smoothly. So that was incredible. And I'll tell you, and I'm not flexing because we had this concert last year, Ishay Ribo I saw do the same thing. Before he went out on stage, these are incredible paytanim, that's why their songs are so soulful and they're coming from such a beautiful, beautiful place and they touch us in such a deep place because they're not just musicians, it's not a career and a profession, it's coming from their Neshamah. But then I saw something else I'd never seen before. The second the concert ended he ran into the office, the band came, security blocked the door, all the groupies who were trying to come take a selfie with him. And then I saw something I'd never seen before; he pulled everyone around, they put their arms around each other and he recited another perek of Tehillim, Mizmor L'Sodah, thanking Hashem that everything went well, Mizmor L'Sodah. So what an, that's an Emuna email, nobody wrote the email, I'm writing it to myself but that's the Emuna email. Before, whether you're a performer in front of thousands of people or whether you're coming home and making dinner for your family, you got to do homework, you want carpool to go well, whether you're walking into a courtroom, an operating room, a boardroom, whether you're trying to pick up customers or clients, whether you're meeting, whether you're soliciting to expand your campus and you're nervous it go well because you want to be done with it already. But before everything we do, Hashem sefasai tiftach. Hashem, give me the words, let it flow, let it go smoothly, let it be successful, Hashem, I'm doing this to make a Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify your name, to be marbeh kevod shamayim, to advance your interest in the repair of the world in your image. And if you walk out you had a successful meeting, many in this room. For us. Whatever meeting, whatever effort, the food came out of the oven, and it looks right and it tastes great, Mizmor LeSodah Hashem, thank you for these challos, thank you for this cake, thank you for this kugel, thank you for these children, thank you for this carpool, thank you for this parent teacher meeting. Nobody ever said that before. Later today we got parent teacher meetings. I'm not hoping for an emergency chas v'shalom, just saying I hate parent teacher meetings. Anyway, but mizmor, thank God I have parent teacher meetings to go to. How many people would give anything to have a parent teacher meeting to go to? To have a parent teacher meeting to go to. Rabbi Doctor Brian Galbut for whom we learn every Wednesday morning, the shiur is dedicated generously by the Morgans. So he once stopped me, zichrono l'vracha, he said, "You don't go to parent teacher meetings?" I said, "Nah, it's not for me." He said, "You don't take the opportunity to go thank the teachers who are dedicating their lives to teach your children?" So I went to the next one. And then I said I couldn't go to it. But I did go to the next one because of Rabbi Doctor Galbut and what he said. Anyway, it was an amazing, it was, sometimes the mussar comes in the form of words, and sometimes you just see what people do. And they don't even know you're there. And they don't do it for anyone to see or talk about, but I saw it. And it was amazing. So Akiva became my rebbe for a few minutes last night. Before you go out Hashem sefasai, Hashem move my lips. Give me the right words to say, let it flow, let it be smooth. And again, you don't need a mic, and you don't have to be on stage, there doesn't have to be a spotlight. Whatever it is, you're going into for a difficult conversation. You're having coffee with a friend, you're paying a shiva call, you don't know what to say. A hospital visit. You're whatever it is, Hashem give me the right words. Give me the right words. And you walk out and you feel it went well, Mizmor LeSodah. Hashem thank you. Hashem thank you. It was amazing. It was an amazing thing to see. Let's read a couple emails and dive back into our learning into our text together. Nobody tell Akiva I shared that, whatever you do. Dear Rabbi Goldberg, my wife and I were one of the co-sponsors, listen to this email I got after last week's shiur. I don't know if anyone remembers what last week's shiur we focused on one word in last week's shiur. It's in the text, it's right in front of you. Dear Rabbi Goldberg, my wife and I were one of the co-sponsors of the week's lesson in emuna shiur. We were originally co-sponsoring for an upcoming yahrtzeit and an upcoming birthday. But two weeks ago one of my daughters-in-law was diagnosed with a serious illness. I contacted the BRS office to switch the sponsorship for refuah shleima for my daughter-in-law. Shortly after she was diagnosed, she and my son had their mezuzas checked. One mezuza was pasul, and the sofer said the word that made it pasul was Hayom. Needless to say I was blown away while I was listening to the shiur this morning, which was sponsored for my daughter-in-law's refuah shleima and the one pasul word in the mezuza was Hayom. And the entire shiur focused on that word Hayom. As you frequently say, it's a hug from Hashem telling us He's always with us, even in the most trying times. May we only share revealed good news Hayom. You remember last week's shiur was all about Hayom. To be present, to be mindful, bayom hahu on that day, ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא, and we saw ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום, v'yadata hayom. והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך היום. And last week over and over again we focused on that it's a lack of emuna to project to the future. Don't fast forward to tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. That's a lack of emuna. Emuna is I have today. I have to get to the end of today. I have this moment, and I have right now, and I have what I need for right now, Hayom. That's what we spoke about last week. So here she sponsored the shiur, changed the sponsorship in honor of a daughter-in-law whose mezuza was checked and the word that was missing was Hayom, and what did we speak about? Hayom. Now you could say, "Wow, what a coinkidink! What a coincidence! How random! What chance! What are the odds?" Or you could say, "It's a hug from Hashem." It's a wink. I don't know how it'll turn out, but we can daven and hope that Hayom today, please God, everything will be will be good. Dear Rabbi, started listening to your shiur recently and really gives me chizuk. I want to share a story about accepting where I am and I didn't. Then I got a hug from Hashem and I decided to tell you both. Baruch Hashem I gave birth to a baby boy on a Wednesday. I happened to have given birth the same day as a colleague. I was late, she was early, and we were going to have our bris on the same day. I was induced on Wednesday, specifically Wednesday so I wouldn't have to be in the hospital over Shabbos. Baruch Hashem everything went smoothly, I was planning on spending Shabbos at home with my other children. I even cooked my food early Wednesday morning so everything would be ready and I wouldn't have to stress. Then the next, that's like next level by the way to cook your food on the morning you're being induced so you come home and Shabbos is ready. That's impressive. Then the next day the pediatrician came in and said it would be better if I stayed in the hospital over Shabbos for a special test they can only do after 36 hours. So I stayed in the hospital. I felt I did my hishtadlus and worked everything... out and then on Friday night, when I was sitting in the hospital, just me and the baby, I started to cry. I was upset that things didn't work out the way I wanted. But I remembered the shiur, and that this is where I meant to be, so I accepted it. Embrace your place. You are exactly where you are meant to be. Which continues to be thrown back in my face by my family, won't say who. One member of the... I came out yesterday into my driveway, I needed to go somewhere and my car wasn't there. I texted "Who has my car?" Just say a member of the family used the car without asking, and when I was about to get upset, a different member of the family said, "Your car is exactly where it's meant to be." So this is getting, it's getting annoying. It's very annoying to have to practice what you preach. It's so much easier to just preach it. To have to practice it is not easy. So she shares that while she was in the hospital that Friday night crying, she had to remember to embrace your place, you are exactly where you are meant to be. אכן יש השם במקום הזה. So she accepted it. Now since my colleague and I gave birth on the same day, we decided to do a double bris in the school we both work in. The night before the bris, we got the news my husband's grandmother passed away very suddenly. I realized half the people I invited for the bris wouldn't be able to come, and I was grateful that we decided to make it a joint bris so I wouldn't be at my simcha with a half-full hall. Hashem orchestrated it perfectly. So on the day of the bris, we had a bris and a levaya. In my community, we name after the living. The baby was named after my father. My husband's grandmother who passed away... I felt like Hashem was hugging me and the whole family. Thank you for the inspiring shiur, looking forward to more chizuk. Okay. Let's do one more. I want to thank you for the weekly inspiration, blah blah blah, been listening blah blah blah. I was driving one day to an appointment and my Spotify was plugged in and randomly started playing your shiur to an exact story about infertility and I started to listen every week. I even was able to attend in person a few months ago when I was visiting from Israel. I've been meaning to write you for a while, but every week I think maybe my story will have a happy ending, so I wait. But I felt like it was finally time to write to you. I feel inspired every time I listen to the hundreds of emails written and I think it's important even though I have not received the outcome yet, I know it will come. My husband and I have been trying for our second child for over a year and a half. I've been to numerous doctors, we've recently started the path of IUI. I just found out yesterday I had what was called a chemical pregnancy, which means my body was pregnant for a few days, but it didn't continue. In the moment I found out, I was sad. Sad I had to break the news to my husband, sad I had now to go through more injections and hormones, but I soon came to realize how great Hashem is, how his plan is always perfect. I know what he's really trying to tell me is that my body knows how to do it, but right now is not my time. I am focusing on that and it gives me comfort that Hashem is telling me that Hashem is telling me that it might not be your time yet, but it will be soon and it really feels like a great hug. I know Hashem has a greater plan for my family and it will come at the exact perfect moment for us. All I can do now is daven, soak up all the love I have for my first amazing child, spend more quality time with my husband, and continue to push myself spiritually until Hashem tells me "Yes, it is now your time." I do not think I could have thought like this even six months ago without the inspiring beautiful stories that are shared in the shiur. I hope to soon write with a beautiful update on good news, please God. For now, thank you. It's never a no, it will always be at the right time. Please God, it should be at the right time. We daven for all those waiting for healthy children and for simchas and im yirtzeh Hashem for good things. Okay. But that's why you see that people describe the chizuk they get from these emails. So please keep writing them and sharing them, not only when there's the hug or the wink or the nod and it worked out and it was perfect and a coincidence and amazing and they made the flight, but also when it's not, because those too give tremendous, tremendous chizuk. Okay. We're on page lamed in Emuna U'Bitachon. I actually posted, as it was wisely suggested to me in our WhatsApp group, what we're learning so people can follow along the text inside. And we have been learning about being present. Emuna is about being in the moment, being in the day. When we start to get anxious, we start to get envious, we start to get arrogant, we start to get angry when we fast forward. But if we can take that deep breath, if we can just be in that moment, then we can realize again I am where I'm meant to be and it is happening what's meant to happen and everything is choreographed and curated carefully from above, nothing is coincidence or random. And then I can endure whatever it is. So we last left off that the mahn fell every day, a double portion on Friday, and if you didn't take the mahn, if you tried to store up the mahn, if you tried to freeze it... anyone get Muddy Buddies since last week? If you tried to freeze it... if you tried to freeze it and hold onto it, it didn't last. Why? Because Hashem wanted you to know you can't bank it. I don't want you to have the security, the comfort, I don't want you to feel you're good to go. I want you to know every day be in that moment, every day have that relationship, every day lean in with me, every day know I'm the one who provides for you. And so when you have the two challos on Friday night and two challos on Shabbos day, when you remember that mahn, don't just say Parshas HaMahn, Parshas Beshalach. don't just say it one day of the year. Every day remember that just like the mon fell from heaven, just like the rain provides the nourishment to the ground that can nurture us, so too, whenever it rains, be a rainmaker, when it rains, when the business is doing well, when the paycheck is being cashed, it's all from Hashem. Ve-af im ro'eh in the bottom paragraph, bottom left, page lamed. ואף אם רואה האדם שאין מצוי בידו יותר מכדי צרכו לאותו זמן ידע בעצמו שזה חסד השם להטריח אותו לעמוד ולהתחנן לפניו בתפילה. And even if a person says, 'I'm sick and tired of living day to day, paycheck to paycheck, hand to mouth. I want to have enough in the bank, I want the security for my future.' No, that that vulnerability, that fragility, that, that lack of comfort is actually an advantage, because it means that you will have a closer and a deeper relationship with Hashem. You can have more authentic and genuine conversation with Him. You will feel His presence more than the person who thinks, 'I'm good to go, I'm covered, I'm able to, to be okay forever, forever.' ובזה מתקיים בו ברכת יצחק אבינו ויתן לך האלקים כמו שדרשו חזל ויתן ויחזור ויתן. Some have the custom of saying ve-yiten lekha on motzei Shabbos, on motzei Shabbos, not only vi-hi noam, they say ve-yiten lekha. And in ve-yiten lekha there's the bracha that Yitzchak gave to Yaakov. ve-yiten lekha ha-Elokim. Hashem, the Almighty should give you. And the Midrash, the Midrash expands on this pasuk, ve-yiten lekha, Hashem should give you, ve-yiten ve-yachzor ve-yiten. He shouldn't just give you once, Costco-sized, he shouldn't give you once one big payout, but rather ve-yiten ve-yachzor ve-yiten, give you and give you again. שלא יקבל אדם נתינה אחת המספיקה לכל ימי חייו. He shouldn't give you once that is enough for your whole life. אלא תמיד יהיה זקוק לנתינה מחודשת מאת הקדוש ברוך הוא. A person should live with a constant renewal—I skipped a line, I have to go back—a constant renewal that Hashem is giving and giving again and giving anew and giving anew. If each time we receive from Hashem we feel, 'Wow, that's a wink, that's a hug, that's love, that's affection,' why would you only want to get once? If every time you get you feel, 'He loves me, He cares about me, He takes care of me,' then you don't want to only get once and be set for life. Every time you receive you get, every time you bank that paycheck, you cash it, every time the credit card goes through at the store, every time you can pay your bills you feel, it's a wink, it's a hug, it's a nod from Hashem. ובאופן זה תהיה אמונה תקועה בלבו שכל צרכיו תלויים ועומדים בחסדי השם אתו. And our emunah grows, our emunah expands. So you'll say, 'I could live without the emunah, help me have enough to know I'm good to go.' And that's what we work towards, and there's nothing wrong with asking for that. We all want security. We all want safety. We all want to know that we think we have our health for a little while longer. We think we have enough money in the bank to cover our bills. And it's okay to want that. But if we don't have it, embrace it and accept it and recognize that there's an advantage to it. And that's the line we skipped by accident. וזה הפך קללת הנחש שמזונו מצוי לו בכל מקום ובכל זמן. They quote from the Chidushei ha-Rim and others. What was the curse to the snake? I mentioned this the other night in Siddur snippets, where we talk about modim. We're up to Siddur snippets, we're up to the 18th bracha of the Amidah, modim, the bracha of gratitude to Hashem, every day we bow three times a day and we say thank you. For the daily miracles in our lives. For that which we take for granted but we refuse to take for granted that are miracles, that we have our hips and our knees and our balance and our eyes and our ears and our memory. Thank you for these daily gifts that we don't begin to appreciate until they disappear, God forbid. Modim, we bow. Why do we bow? The Gemara says in Bava Kamma that anyone who doesn't bow properly during modim, their spine turns into a snake after they die. Spine, snake, bow, what in the world's going on, we shared in Siddur snippets. Because bowing is the ultimate expression, it's the posture of deference, to submit, to surrender, to admit, Hashem I needed You. I'm grateful to You is an admission, is a confession, I needed You. I depend on You, I rely on You. I can't do it alone, I can't do it on my own. I need You, I depend on You, I rely on You. Modim anachnu lakh. I bow to You. And the Gemara says we don't just give some nods and gestures and bow. You bow at the waist fully, try to make a 90-degree angle, and you engage every vertebrae in the spine, all the vertebrae in the spine. And if you don't, that very spine turns into the snake. Why? Because the snake was all about distancing us from Hashem. The snake was all about, 'You don't need Him. You're good to go on your own, you're independent, you're in charge, in control, you take credit for your life.' That was the... the snake's message to Adam and Chava, eat the Etz Da'at, eat from the tree of knowledge. God, who's God? What's God's wisdom? Ah, you're a god, we can be a god, just eat from the tree. The whole methodology of the snake was to say who needs God? So when you don't bow, when you stand straight and say I'm independent, I'm proud, I'm good to go, I don't need Him, then you are acting, your spine instead of deferring, bowing, surrendering, submitting, is acting like that snake, I'm good, I don't need God. So your spine turns into the snake. The snake tried to seduce Adam and Chava, who needs God? We're independent, we're good to go on our own, we're not. Emuna means to wake up and to live every day and realize. My health, it's so vulnerable, so fragile, could disappear any moment. My finances, even if I think they're secure, no matter how secure that investment, no matter what's in the bank, what's even greater than my finances are my health and they could disappear what good are all those finances? What good is all that money because money can't buy health. Can't buy health. So to live every day with Modim, with bowing, with surrender, with submission, with deference, with acknowledgment Hashem, I don't know what today or tomorrow will bring. All I have is Hayom and if right now I have my faculties, right now I have the head count in my family, right now I have a roof over my head, then right now I am the wealthiest person alive, I have everything I need. What was the punishment of the snake? That's what Rav David Abuhatzeira's alluding to. What was the punishment of the snake? Who remembers? Slither on its stomach. Slither on its stomach. I got in trouble in Siddur Snippets because I said, Adam's punishment when he ate from the Etz Da'at was בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם, he has to eat, he has to work from the sweat of his brow. You gotta go to work, instead of having the Gan Eden, you don't just have a smorg laid out for you whatever you want. You gotta go to work. And what was Chava's punishment? Painful childbirth. So I made a joke. I got in trouble. I said in Boca, you know what natural childbirth is in Boca Raton? Giving birth without your makeup on. Yeah, that didn't go so well. I happen to have a daughter who gave birth the next day and that didn't go so well. Anyway, and what was the snake's, she gave birth with her sheitel. And what was the snake's punishment? What was the snake's punishment? Slither on its belly and eat from the dust of the earth. So Chiddushei HaRim fregt the Gerer Rebbe, the Chiddushei HaRim, that's a punishment? There's no shortage of dust of the earth, it's endless. So the snake has all you can eat. The snake has everything. That's a punishment from God? If God said to you, all you can eat, here is a endless credit card to the supermarket, everything you'd ever need, here you go, zei gezunt. That's a punishment? That sounds awful like a reward. A lot of people would welcome that and want that. So where's the punishment in? So zogt the Chiddushei HaRim, you know why it's a punishment? It's a punishment because if you send your child off for the year in Israel and you give them a credit card with no limit and you say see you in a year from now, versus you give them a debit card and you put money on the debit card. And what happens when the money on the debit card runs out? You get a phone call. You have a connection. You have a relationship. So the snake, Hashem says, here's a credit card, you have everything you need, have a good life. But we, Hashem's children, He says, here's enough for today. Now I know we're going to speak later. I know we're going to be connected. I know you're going to lean on me. I know you're going to want a relationship with me. That's love, that's affection, that's a hug from Hashem that the snake never gets. That is a punishment. So a person who tries to get to a snake life and say I have what I need, I don't need Him, is acting like a snake. But to be a Jew is to say every day, every day I'm vulnerable, I'm fragile, every day, every day, v'yiten v'yachzor v'yiten. Don't just give me once, give me again. I want to know, I want to feel Your presence in my life. I want to feel You're giving me. That's why we wake up every day, we say the Birchas HaShachar. You gave me my faculties, you gave me the ability to go to the bathroom, you gave me my sight, you gave me my hips and my knees and the ability to walk. You gave me, you gave me, you gave me, v'yiten v'yachzor v'yiten. Not I have my health until I don't. But every day I have my health, it's like You gave it to me anew. You gave it to me fresh, You gave it to me again, You gave it to me to begin with. And that is the greatest bracha. That's how we live with emuna each and every day. Let's begin the next perek. HaBitachon meivi bracha. That if we want blessing in our life, what is the kli machzik bracha, what is the vessel that brings bracha, or put differently, what is the key that unlocks the storehouse of the shefa bracha? Because we have a big belief that HaKadosh Baruch Hu... Baruch Hu our father in heaven he loves us. He's our Tatte in Himmel, he's our father. He's a father. A parent loves a child. And a parent who loves a child has so much berachah they want to give that child. So much, so much. So, you know, you come home from the store, you come back from your trip to Israel, and you've got particularly for your young children, your young grandchildren, you got toys, you got candy, you got all kinds of things. Say I got blessings, I've got so much shefa berachah. But you need to say the magic word. What's the magic word the child has to say? Please. Please. They can't just say yes, it's mine, give it to me. If you're a good parent, grandparent, you train that child: say the magic word. What's the magic word? Please. Hashem is our father. He's got so much candy, so many sweet things for us in our lives. And the magic word, the key that unlocks the shefa berachah is bitachon. Emunah and bitachon. So let's, let's begin. מדת הבטחון היא כלי מוכן לקבל ברכת שמים. This middah, this character trait, this quality, this life, this lifestyle of bitachon is the vessel to get us ready to receive that shefa berachah. וכפי מה שאדם בוטח בהשם ומיחל אליו כן הוא זוכה להתברך בכל צרכיו. And according to which a person lives life with an active real dynamic vibrant trust in Hashem and meyachel eilav and relies on him and leans on him and turns to him and talks to him and hears him talking to us, כן הוא זוכה להתברך בכל צרכיו. Then we'll be blessed all of our needs, all of our everything. כמו שכתוב חסדך השם עלינו כאשר יחלנו לך. That Hashem's chesed will be on us to the degree proportional to the way we lean on him. כפי מה שיחלנו לך כן נזכה להיות חסדך עלינו, chasdecha aleinu. And before you react and you say what does that mean and why should that be and how does that work, it's no different than human relationships. Do we not want to shower more blessing on the people who have a close relationship, who show us appreciation, who invest in us? People who mistreat us, people who are cruel to us, people who are callous to us, we don't really want to treat so well ourselves. But the people who treat us kindly, who are invested in us, who are loyal to us, the people that we want to shower with berachah. So why would Hashem be any different? כפי מה שבוטח האדם בהשם כן יהיה השם מבטחו ויעמוד לישועתו. When we trust in Hashem, Hashem becomes our our trustworthy father who gives. Even as parents, you have one child who says who says never calls, never cares, never checks in, never shows up, says I don't need you, I don't want you, I'm good to go. So you say about that child, no matter how much love I have to give, no matter how much love I want to shower and share, no matter how much love I have to give, if you're not a vessel to receive, if you don't want me in your lives, what could I do? And another child calls and texts and checks in and shows up and visits and hosts and loves and is grateful and gives and receives, you just want to shower them with berachah. You want to give them everything you got. And Hashem is the same way. And lest you think this is some radical neo-Chassidus, pnimiyut, new age perspective or view or vision on life, this is what the Rambam writes. If you look he writes in footnote kuf gimmel, וראה מה שכתוב מורה נבוכים האיש ששלם בהשגתו אשר לא יסור שכלו מהשם תמיד תהיה השגחה בו תמיד. The Rambam writes Hashem's providence to us is directly proportional to our trust in him. Hashem's involvement in our lives, he says not like Rebbe Nachman and many others, but the Rambam felt that does everyone have equal providence from Hashem? Is Hashem equally invested and involved in all of our lives? The Rambam said no. He says the more you trust in him, the more involved he is with you. That means to say Hashem sets nature in motion. And now there's a branch of a tree that's fragile, it's about to break. So to one person he's walking along and gravity makes that branch break and it's about to fall and hit him on the head, a second person is walking along and the same branch or a different tree with a with a fragile branch could break and fall on his head. One hits him right on the head, knocks him out. The other something happens, he trips on the sidewalk, delays him a moment, the branch falls, he misses it, he's safe, it doesn't hit him on the head. Why did one merit that providence and the other didn't? So the Rambam says because the more you say I love you Hashem, I'm involved in your life, I want you involved in mine, the more Hashem says takeh here I am, I show up, I'm involved. And the more you say I'm independent, I'm proud, I don't need you, I'm good to go, what is this talking Hashem, who Hashem, what Hashem, where Hashem, then Hashem says I see you want to live without me, I'm exposing you to the elements and you'll be subject to nature and good to go, God bless, good luck, good luck. That's how the Rambam understands. The Rambam understands that Hashgacha, providence, His involvement in our lives is directly proportional to our involvement in His, directly proportional to our relationship with Him, with Him. That's the way the Rambam understands. So you see from here, says Rav David Abuhatzeira, that we have to be כלי מוכן לקבל ברכת שמים, turn ourselves into that vessel, Hashem, I'm here, I'm waiting, I have the key, I want to open the storehouse. I own the winning lottery ticket, but I gotta turn it in. You could own the winning lottery ticket, the winning lottery ticket for tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. You could be holding the winning ticket, but that doesn't put the money in your account. What do you have to do to get the money in your account? Turn in the ticket. We're all holding winning tickets. Hashem has shefa bracha for us in different ways that maybe we want, we anticipate, we hope, in ways we can't even imagine, but He has bracha waiting. How do we cash in, how do we turn it in, how do we transfer it to our account, how do we turn the key? Emunah Bitachon. יהי חסדך השם עלינו כאשר יחלנו לך. His chesed on us will be directly connected, proportional to, reciprocal to our relationship with Him. וכך כתב הרב הקדוש רב חיים ויטאל. Rav Chaim Vital says this. הביטחון אין מעלה כמוהו. There is no greater ma'alah than bitachon. כמה שכתב אשרי כל חוסי בו. כי מאמין שיש בעולם אלוקה יכול ומשגיח, someone who believes that in this world there's a God, there is a big, a source of it all, who's infinite and omnipotent, and that He's providential. וכתיב ברוך הגבר אשר יבטח בהשם והיה השם מבטחו. Blessed is the person who trusts in God, and God is the source of his trust. ומובטח הוא שלא יחסר ממזונותיו, writes Rav Chaim Vital, such a person is guaranteed to never go hungry. Kemo she-katav, like the pasuk in Tehillim, Dovid Hamelech says, השלך על השם יהבך והוא יכלכלך. Cast on Hashem all your worry, all your troubles, all your hope, all your dreams, put it and place it and cast on Hashem, and He will sustain you. He'll take care of you. U-vetnai she-yehe be-emes. But it has to be authentic. It can't just be some scheme. It can't just be, well, on my list of things I have to do is ask Hashem. I don't really believe it, I don't really mean it, I don't really demonstrate it, but it's just on my checklist of things. Gotta go to the doctor, gotta take the medicine, gotta ask Hashem to make me be better, whatever, blah blah blah. It doesn't work if you don't mean it, you don't believe it. But if you do, השלך על השם יהבך. It's an incredible pasuk. Dovid Hamelech's Tehillim, we spoke about last week. Agam Berger taught us all, choose, choose emunah in life. Derech of emunah. And this pasuk too, השלך על השם יהבך. Cast on Hashem everything. Whatever you're worried, whatever you're anxious, whatever you're concerned, whatever you're working on, whatever you don't know how it's gonna turn out, put it on Hashem. Every solicitation I do, we're on this deadline in a couple weeks, in a week, we have our major matching campaign, we're trying to finish our campus, we're doing it so we could have more Shabboses and events like we just had. Rav Asher Weiss last week, shlita, to the unit of IDF soldiers who came here, to Akiva and the concert, to the next, unbelievable, men, women, tonight's program, unbelievable programs. So every before I go in, Hashem sefatai tiftach, Hashem give me the right words, let it go well, and when I walk out, if it didn't, Hashem, it's השלך על השם יהבך. Hashem, it's on You. If You want it to be, it'll be, if You don't, it won't, it'll come from wherever You decide it comes from, so I don't take it personally, and I'm not worried. A yes is amazing and a no is not too upsetting because it's all up to You and it all comes from You. And whatever you're working on, whatever pressure you feel, Baruch Hashem, nobody's more blessed in this world than I am. Bli ayin hara, I feel like the most blessed person alive. But I got a lot on my shoulders and a lot to get done and this campus and the pressure to come up with millions more dollars in a short amount of time is a lot. And this pasuk carries me. And what we're learning lifts me. השלך על השם יהבך. To throw and cast on Hashem everything. Ve-hu yechalkelecha. He's going to take care of it, one way or another, however it was meant to work, and it's an amazing thing because you never panic and you never worry and you never angry and you never resentful and you never anxious. Because you just say it's gonna turn out the way it's meant to be. It's gonna turn out the way it's meant to be. Couple hours before the concert last night, thanks to the incredible smoke machines, the smoke alarm went off. So you say, okay, there goes the concert. You could panic, you could get anxious, you could get afraid, you could worry, how much money was invested, how many people are coming, this is a disaster. Jews love to call everything a disaster. Everything's a disaster. It's a disaster. It's not a disaster. You have the same head count in your home, you have your breath in your lungs, your heart is beating in your chest, almost anything else is not a disaster. You figure it out. You figure it out. השלך על ה' יהבך what Hashem do you want it to work tonight or not? Do you want 1100 people to daven to you through song or not? השלך על ה' יהבך Hashem is it gonna work out or not? vehu yechalkelecha and it happened to work out, Baruch Hashem, thanks to Jeffrey and others, David Burger, it worked out. uvitnai sheyehei be'emes, but it's got to be real. Hashem I don't know where I'm paying my mortgage. Hashem I don't know how this IUI, this IVF, this child, this next child, where they're going to come from. Hashem I'm waiting, I'm lonely, I'm longing to be with you, those emails we get. השלך על ה' יהבך. I'm throwing it on you. You're my father, I'm putting it on you. How could you claim to be my father and not care? I'm putting it on you. Hashlech al Hashem, it's on you. It's on you. You're my father. You need to help me. I don't know if my child comes to me and says, Abba, I'm struggling with this homework or studying for this test. What kind of father says it's your problem? They turn and they say, but you're my father. Who else am I supposed to go to? Who else am I supposed to go to? I have this problem, I have this challenge, I need help to pay off this bill. What do you say, good luck, you're on your own? I say, you know, a stranger could say that to me. A neighbor can say that to me, an acquaintance can say that to me. But you're my father. You're my father. Don't send me away saying it's my problem. I'm putting it on you, you're my father, you brought me into this world. השלך על ה' יהבך. So we can put it on Hashem. Now again, if we messed up, if we came up short, if we were lazy, there's another expression: your poor planning is not my emergency, which I sometimes say when they need that help with the studying for the test or doing the homework. And then of course as a father you help anyway, or you say call Mom, she'll help, she's more reliable. But השלך על ה' יהבך והוא יכלכלך ובתנאי שיהא באמת. be'emes, uvchol libo with all your heart. Everyone sitting here right now is worrying about something. Something. Everyone's worrying about something. Maybe you're lucky enough that it's only about raising millions of dollars, and I mean that. Maybe you're so blessed that the only thing you're worried about is raising millions of dollars. But there are people here worrying about lab returns and lab results and health. There are people here worrying about shidduchim and marriage for themselves, their children or grandchildren. People here worrying about how they're going to pay that next bill. Everyone here is worried about something. Something. And now you have a strategy. Do your initiative, take hishtadlus. You can't be lazy, you can't sit back, you can't be a spectator to your own life. You have to take initiative, you have to make effort, you have to take responsibility, you have to take accountability. You have to daven to Hashem and then Dovid HaMelech, Hashlech al Hashem. Hashem I did everything I could do, I'm doing everything I can possibly do and now it's on you Tati, it's on you Abba, it's on you Dad. I'm leaning on you Dad. ועוד שבהיותו בוטח בה' יעסוק בתורה ומצוות ובכל לבו בלי הרהור כלל. And when you do that and you say Dad now it's all on you, I've done everything I can do, I'm relaxed because I've done everything I can do, now I'm relaxed, now it's on you, now it's on you. Now I can go learn Torah. Now I can go do mitzvos. Now I can go volunteer for chesed because I'm not so worried and panicked and anxious and tense. Why not? Because Hashlech al Hashem. I put it all on Hashem. I put it all on Hashem. So whatever the outcome is going to be is what's meant to be. So I'm not nervous and I'm not anxious and I'm not paralyzed and I'm not perseverating because Hashlech al Hashem. I put it all on Hashem. Put it all on Hashem. If you have someone in your life that you gave something to and they said I got it, why do you keep asking me? I told you I've got it. Now relax and enjoy the ride because I've told you I've got it. I told you I've got it. I'm going to take care of it. I've got it. Stop bringing it up, stop asking me, stop checking in, stop ruining your day and mine because I told you I've got it. So Hashem says I've got it. Not for you to be lazy and passive, but once you're doing everything you can do, now Hashlech al Hashem. Once we're doing everything we can do and we put it on Hashem, then Hashem says now I've got it. Relax and enjoy the ride. Enjoy the concert. Enjoy the day. Enjoy the mitzvah, enjoy the shiur, enjoy the Torah, enjoy the tefillah. We'll finish with this אשר כן כותב השלה הקדוש כל פעולה שרצה לעשות בין דבר קטן ובין דבר גדול יאמר קודם אעשה זה אם ירצה השם. The Shlah HaKadosh, Shnei Luchos HaBeris, the Shlah HaKadosh writes that before every peulah, before everything you're about to do, a person should condition themselves to say the following words. Before you put the kugel in the oven, before you pull out of the driveway for carpool, before you walk into the meeting, before you step up to make the concert, before the drasha or the shiur, before anything you do you say אעשה זה אם ירצה השם. I'm doing this if God's will, with God's willing. וסימנך בפסוק ועצת השם היא תקום hee rashei teivos im yirtzeh Hashem. We say every morning in davening yehi chivod a pasuk from Mishlei. ועצת השם היא תקום. The Hashem ועצת השם היא תקום. hee, hei yud aleph is an acronym for im yirtzeh Hashem, im yirtzeh we say it very quickly. We Yiddishized it. im yirtzeh Hashem. There's no im yirtzeh Hashem. im yirtzeh Hashem, if God wills it, if God wills. ועל ידי כן תקום עצתו. So oh I'll meet you tomorrow for coffee, for coffee, if God wills, with God's willing. Oh we'll close that deal God willing. Oh we'll have the shiur at 8:45 this week on Monday not Wednesday God willing. Would you like to come for Shabbos, God willing? I'll be at the wedding, God willing. That everything we say should be im yirtzeh Hashem, God willing, because then implicitly in our conversation we're involving, we're invoking Hashem. We're hashleicha al Hashem, we're God willing, I can't say absolutely, I don't know what will be, so God willing. God determines my life not me. I take my initiative, I plan, I execute, but God willing. כן אם ירצה לעשות עסק ומשא ומתן כגון לקנות ולמכור סחורה. You're going to do business, יאמר בפה מלא אני בוטח בהשם. Any business deal you enact, any business deal you do, any investment you make, ani boteiach baHashem. I trust God. ומקווה בזו הסיבה ישלח לי השם יתברך מזונותי וצרכי. Because we have a rule, we have a formula, we have a ratio that the more I trust Him, the more He provides, so the more I express and I live and I practice and I believe I trust Him, the more He'll provide. So in the opportunities for Him to provide, i.e., the investment and the return, those are the moments to trust in Him. So this is so important because most people mistakenly think you know, I have my religious life at shul, I daven Shacharis, I go to the Daf, I give my tzedakah, and then I go to my business life, and then I go to my investments, and then I meet with my advisor, and then I review my portfolio. What does that have to do with a religious life? The answer is everything. The time, the time to invoke and the time to talk bitachon is not in shul, that's that's davening. When should you talk bitachon? In business. You're meeting with your advisor, you're making an investment, you're choosing where to put your money, Hashem, I trust You, I lean on You, I feel You, I love You, I depend on You. I'm casting השלך על השם יהבך, I'm putting it all on You. Let's buy that stock. Let's buy into that business, let's sign this contract, we're ready to go. That's exactly the moment that's mesugal, that's the moment that is devoted, that's dedicated, that's the moment that's auspicious to davka have bitachon. So don't say ah bitachon that's at shul. It's a religious thing. That's at shul. That's at home when I kiss the mezuzah. That's when I open the Tehillim. Business, I'm meeting with my advisor, they're not Jewish, they don't believe in God, what are you talking about? No, no, no. That's the moment. When you're meeting with your investor, when you're in business, when you're meeting that client, that's exactly the moment that you say im yirtzeh Hashem. God willing this will be a good investment. God willing God should be present in this investment and give this return. We'll pick up im yirtzeh Hashem next week. Thank you for adjusting. If you didn't get and you'd like to, just make a little donation to the shul, you could do it online or in the lobby or in the tzedakah box and if you're not here brsonline.org/decal brsonline.org/decal we're happy to send to you. May it be a day of besoros tovos yeshuos v'nechamos.
