Transcript
Good morning, Boker Tov, welcome back to Living with Emuna. So great to be together as always to work on, work out our Emuna muscles and the way in which we see the world. As always, we begin with our attitude of gratitude, tremendous thanks to our dear friends Avi and Bella Morgan who sponsored our series in memory of Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbut, in memory of Bella's mother Dr. Ellen Chanzer. May Hashem watch over all of our soldiers. Also, our series is co-sponsored anonymously in memory of thirty-four fallen soldiers and an alumnus of Bnei David, the Mechina and Yeshiva in Eli, Rav Sadan, incredible place. They lost thirty soldiers. This week we're highlighting Moshe Yedidya Leiter, Hashem Yikom Damo, thirty-nine, fell in combat November 2023 in Northern Gaza. He was married and a father of six, served fifteen years in an IAF commando unit. He was a platoon commander, paramedic, medical student, trained Charedim for integration into the elite intelligence unit. This is a huge, huge loss. Also, this morning's Shiur in particular is sponsored by Lisa and Ari Kean and Aviva and Michael Wolgan in honor of the milestone birthdays of their parents David and Maxine Wolgan, our long-time beloved members. A very happy birthday to them, should be healthy and happy for many years to come. And this morning, I'm sponsoring Shiur also in honor of the birth of my granddaughter, who I couldn't be more excited. Her name is, drumroll please, Kayla Emuna. I am calling her Emuna. I've been asking my kids to name a grandchild Emuna Shira, like Emuna Shir, Emuna Shir. How great would it be to have a grandchild named for the Emuna Shir? Emuna Shir, Emuna Shir. So Kayla Emuna and we're so excited and happy and blessed, beyond blessed. And we bless all those who are waiting and longing, they should hold beautiful children in their arms. And that's why Yocheved's not here this morning, live shout out, she's listening, she just sent me a picture with Kayla Emuna or Emuna as I like to call her, listening to the Emuna Shir. So Emuna, this is dedicated for you. And also a shameless plug, even if you don't ordinarily get Mishpacha magazine, you must get it this week. There is an extraordinary article by your Rebbetzin, Yocheved has an amazing article from Boca to Bushtyna, the long journey home. You'll want to read it. It's in this week's Mishpacha. I don't get any, I don't get any royalties from Mishpacha magazine. I'm not telling you subscribe, I'm just telling you get this week's because it's an article you want to see. Let's start with an Emuna story that wasn't an email but it came yesterday. Baruch Hashem our family was here, we had a lot of Simcha, we feel so blessed, Bli Ayin Hara everybody's lives should be showered with weekends like we had with filled with Simcha. So my children were heading back yesterday in different directions, one was going to PBI to catch their flight to New York. There was an accident on the highway and they were running late and they were a little panicked, understandably so, watching the clock tick. And I don't know if they appreciated it or not, I just sent the sticker embrace the place and I sent the picture. But it turns out that their Uber driver davens at a Chabad and was really excited to be taking them and went out of his way to weave through traffic and try alternate routes to be able to get them there to make their flight. And my son-in-law sent me a screenshot how they exchanged numbers and stayed in touch, maybe they'll learn together on the phone, this Uber driver. And you know, you press Uber and you don't know, it just searches for drivers in your area. And we think that the Uber algorithm is random, who will be the driver assigned to you. But it's not Uber assigning the driver. It's Hakadosh Baruch Hu the Almighty is the one who assigns the right driver for you. And it could be the driver that drives really slowly and you miss your flight and that's also a sign from Hashem. And it could be also the Uber driver who is the best driver who goes out of his way and gets you there. And either way, Baruch Hashem they made it. It was incredible and shout out to the Uber driver. Lastly, our learning this morning is for a Refuah Shleima, complete, speedy, painless recovery for a dear friend מיכל יונה בן לאה, underwent serious surgery and he should bounce back quickly. He deserves it with his family, only enormous Simcha we love him and we're wishing him well and thinking about him this morning. Okay, a few emails. So the first email comes from someone who had emailed previously and the previous email was about their IVF and their egg retrievals and the frustration, the pain and the where is Hashem and how could it be while waiting. And then they followed it up with this email, literally this morning. Rabbi Goldberg, I've been meaning to write this email for a few months now, every week I listen, today I will write an email and life sometimes just gets in the way. You mentioned a few weeks ago people sometimes always write when something's tough, they forget to share when what you were praying for finally happened. I wanted to share that please God we'll be expecting a baby in the next week or so. I just reread the email I sent you in February and I cannot believe how much time has passed and how many more blessings were shown to us since. One of the chapters in the book that we're... one day in my life or afterward will come out, one of the chapters should be the back-to-back emails. The people who wrote one email woe is me and where is God and how could this be and why who later sent a second email not everybody does and we daven that they can who say it's turned around and let me tell you what I learned and what I gained and how I grew from that process of what I was so in pain about. So this is one of those. I just want to share with you what transpired leading up to the second round of treatments which looking back were just huge hugs from Hashem. I started another round and usually you get tested and go to the doctor every few weeks to determine when the transfer can happen. It happened to be that we had to do it sooner rather than later in the cycle. The night before we had to go in we had a chanukas habayis for our new home that we had moved into a month before. We invited a lot of friends and it was really beautiful. We had a mezuzah on the front door when we moved in, so we ended up putting some others around the house for the blessing with ten men present. One of the men was a father of a friend. I asked him if he could take some of the old mezuzas down that were left from the other family who lived here because we never ended up changing them. He said of course. I had a feeling when we moved in that the mezuzah that was on my son's room was not kosher and we said we would change it but never did. When he took down the mezuzah I asked him to open the klaf and see if there was something wrong with it. He saw the word levanecha children was pasul. I couldn't believe it. We changed the mezuzah to one that was kosher and the next day I went for the transfer and that was the one that worked. It was like all the events up to then were signs and hugs from Hashem showing us he's doing all the no's. It was very emotional. We found out on Shushan Purim we're expecting and since then we've been so grateful to Hashem and said now it's your turn and bestow this blessing on us. It's really true, משנה מקום משנה מזל. The word mazal, makom, zman, lashon were so apparent and true and transparent for all these events to happen and really make us thankful and grateful. Thank you for the class, yada yada yada, blah blah blah, God willing we'll share news of a new baby please God, im yirtzeh Hashem, amen very soon. Now I want to be clear about something. It's an amazing story and I'm so glad that she wrote and b'sha'ah tovah, please follow up with the email. I can't wait. I got an email yesterday, you just have to go on this ADD tour with me for one second. I got an email yesterday, I'm not making fun I'm saying I struggle with that. I got an email yesterday from someone that said last year I donated to the BRS Global Campaign in the merit of my niece that she should get married. Just want to tell you she just got engaged, mazel tov. To which I wrote back, don't forget to donate to this year's global campaign in the merit that... but anyway we've got a new segulah. Someone wants to get married, have children, you got to donate to the BRS Global Campaign. It's very clear from that email we have a new segulah, we'll take out ads in newspapers, send in the name with the donation and it's now a new segulah. Okay, back to the regular scheduled program. It's a great email and I'm so happy she followed up and b'sha'ah tovah, what incredible news. Is it because the mezuzah was pasul with that word that she wasn't having children? I struggle for that. Do we have mekoros, we have sources that a mezuzah is protective, is spiritual, is holy? Absolutely. We go out of our way to ensure we have kosher mezuzas, we have mehudar mezuzas, we have excellent mezuzas. We should go out of our way to do that. But I stop short of connecting dots and I'll tell you why. You know when, when many years ago in between our second and third children my wife had a stillbirth. And it was a boy. We went on to have six girls before our son who had his bar mitzvah this past Shabbos, but it was a stillbirth. It was obviously very painful, very difficult time. I'm not raising it for you to feel bad, we are beyond blessed, beyond beyond. We were moving right around that time and we took down our mezuzas and had found that the mezuzah on the front door, the case was there, but there was no mezuzah in it. The bottom piece had come off, the mezuzah had fallen out, we never even saw it, maybe someone stole it, there was no mezuzah. And someone I shared it with reacted, oh now we know why, like there was no mezuzah and that's why the stillbirth. And I spoke to great rabbis who agreed with me or validated my feeling. I don't want to believe in a God who people who did nothing wrong and don't deserve it and had no way to know and couldn't have avoided it, but a mezuzah fell out without their knowing it or the mezuzah had a psul without their knowing it, that God would make them go through such pain for that. I just want to believe in Hashem there's meaning, there's reason, there's purpose, either we deserve or it's nothing we did wrong but we need to learn from it, it's for our best and our good. But this notion. So I'm so appreciative, I don't want to sound like I'm not appreciative or I'm disagreeing with the email. For sure there's something in it and there's something to feel and it's an amazing story that it turns out that just that day and the next day the transfer and it worked, that was the one that worked and mazel tov and b'sha'ah tovah and it's fantastic and chalilah I don't want to take away from the story whatsoever, but I also don't want anyone to ever feel like oh if my mezuzah was pasul that's why I did this, I deserve this, it's my fault. So when it comes to those associations I I tread very lightly and I try to be very careful, but couldn't be more excited for this good news. Dear Rabbi Goldberg, hope you had a beautiful chag in Eretz Yisrael where etrogs are easy to come by with lots of opportunities to purchase. My newly Bar Mitzvah with an eye for nice things was looking forward to choosing a beautiful esrog. My husband had gone ahead and purchased a set with what was known as a closed box esrog, which means you can pre-pick your esrog based on look, it's a random box selection based on level. Kosher, kosher, mehudar, mehudar, mehudar. My husband ordered my son a kosher mehudar. When he opened the box he was so disappointed. He said it was an ugly esrog. He then tried convincing my husband to buy him a new esrog. They came to an agreement. If they would learn a certain daf Gemara together, my husband would partially pay for a new esrog, and my son would contribute from his Bar Mitzvah money. That night he came home and he found the most beautiful yellow Moroccan esrog with a green gartel and a pitom. He was so happy. The next day he was so excited to show me, he ran up to his room to bring it down, opened the box, as he removed the esrog, the pitom fell off, rendering the esrog unusable. This sounds like an Agnon story, like a Shai Agnon story. He started crying and crying real hard, meaningful tears. I didn't know what to do. I let him have his moment and I said, and then he said, why did Hashem do this to me? Doesn't he want me to do the mitzvah? It was a living with emunah moment for my son. We talked about nice stories that happen or things that didn't go our way, but this was real and raw. I said I understand your disappointment, but what hashgacha. What if tomorrow on chag during Hoshanas it would have fallen off, what would you have done? These are the moments that make you big. Hashem is giving you an opportunity to still get another esrog. Took him a few moments, he heard it, off he went for his third esrog. Baruch Hashem he found one, it turned out the box esrog that he first received, the rav said was not mehudar, not even kosher, the place he bought it had to give my son a refund, which he used to fund the third esrog which was beautiful. As we were setting the table for chag, my son placed the esrog without the pitom as a centerpiece on our table as a reminder of his living with emunah story, and anyone who came into our sukkah asked me to retell the story. Why is there an esrog without a pitom as the centerpiece? So what a beautiful thing, the image, this 13-year-old boy who's living with emunah, you gotta embrace what happens and not know why, and it became the centerpiece, the centerpiece. Now on Sukkos, those are very expensive centerpieces. After Sukkos, that makes for a great inexpensive centerpiece, the esrog. Okay, next. I have to tell you a funny story, I was trying to wake up my eighth grade daughter one school morning, a challenge every single day. She wasn't budging, so I stayed in her room cleaning up while calling out to her. I decided I might as well hear some emunah as I cleaned, and I like when she hears it too, even in her sleep, so I turned on one of your shiurim. Suddenly a head pops up from under the blankets and a sleepy voice says, did you hear what your emunah person just said? You are where you're meant to be. I'm in bed, I'm meant to be in bed. Then her head went straight down under the covers. It was hilarious. I'm glad I could be defending the eighth grade girls to sleep in. I am where I'm meant to be with the covers back over her head. But I like it. I'm the emunah person. Did you hear what your emunah person just said? Anyway, that was a great email. Last email, last week we spoke all about the poetry reading contest and Kapittel Chaf Gimmel, Psalm 23, ה׳ רועי לא אחסר, Hashem you're my shepherd, not let me not lack because you're my shepherd I have everything I need, but let me never be lacking in knowing that you're my shepherd. Someone heard the shiur last week and sent me, they live in Sydney, Australia, and they were walking on the street behind this guy who was wearing a jersey, and his jersey was number 23 and instead of having a name on the back of his jersey it says Psalm 23. This is his jersey, Psalm 23. That is his jersey. I don't know who this guy is, but he's living with emunah, showing off his guns, but he's living with emunah, walking around. He doesn't have a name on his jersey, what does he have? The number 23, Michael Jordan, and Psalm 23. Not Jordan, but Psalm 23. Incredible. We got more, but let's get back to our text. And I have good news for you. Somebody heard our shiur last week, somebody who sponsored Rav Dovid Abuhatzeira's original Sha'arei Tefillah and sent 75 copies are coming to the shul, so everyone's going to get their own copy of the sefer that we're learning. You could underline, mark it up, I don't believe this one's translated, it appears in English yet. One of the benefits of coming in person. Yesterday at the parsha shiur we had a giveaway for those who come in person. Emunah shiur come in person, I know if you don't live here you can't fly in every week. I mean why not, you can, but you can't fly in every week. But we've got to motivate and reward our local community, our offline world who come in person as well. We're on page kuf chaf hey, 125, there are extra copies if you want to be looking inside. So far we learned emunah b'Hashem, very counterintuitively and somewhat paradoxically, that faith in Hashem is something that we daven for. We daven for faith in Hashem, which is bizarre. The very thing that we're missing is knowing that there is a Hashem. And what's the answer? Ask Hashem to help us know that there is a Hashem. It sounds paradoxical and it sounds... Peculiar and it sounds like it makes no sense, but it's exactly how it works. ה׳ רועי לא אחסר. *Hashem* as I go through my life, when I'm scrambling and weaving and making my way to Palm Beach International Airport to catch a flight, when I'm waiting for a retrieval and a transfer and please God the good news of a *b'shaa tova* healthy baby, let me *lo echsar*, let me never be lacking in knowing you're my shepherd. As we spoke about last week, to not just talk or learn about the shepherd, but to come to know and feel the shepherd, to talk to the shepherd and to hear the shepherd talking to us and to feel the love of the shepherd. You know, the Alter of Kelm points out that *Moshe Rabbeinu* was chosen as the quintessential, quintessential permanent leader of our people. That's his last name, *Moshe*, and what's his last name? *Rabbeinu*, our teacher forever. That wasn't his last name. I don't think he wrote that in his driver's license application, but that's the name that we call him, the appellation that he carries, *Moshe Rabbeinu*. He's our teacher forever. How did he earn that spot? Why did God assign him that mission? Represent me, demand of *Paroh*, take the people out, transmit and teach the *Torah* and forever be associated so much so that we call it *Toras Moshe*, the *Torah* of *Moshe*. What behavior did *Moshe* show? Was it that *Moshe* was the most brilliant mind? He was the most brilliant. Was it that he was most humble? God himself testifies that *Moshe* is the most humble. Was it he had the longest *Shmoneh Esrei*? He was the most careful to only have the highest *kashrus* standards? What is it that *Moshe* did that earned him that place? And the Alter of Kelm says, you know what it was? נושא בעול עם חבירו. He had the most sympathy and empathy, he cared the most for the people around him. This is not the time, but there are countless stories from the *Torah* that show that. But where did it all begin? The Alter of Kelm takes us to a *Midrash*. *Moshe*'s first job. How did he begin his career? He grew up in the palace, a prince. And when he comes out and intervenes to save somebody who is being unfairly abused, he has to flee. And where does he run? To *Midyan*. And what does he do? What job does he get? He's a shepherd. *Moshe Rabbeinu* is a shepherd. *Moshe Rabbeinu* is a shepherd. He's a shepherd, and he cares for the sheep. And *Hashem* is watching. By the way, not only *Moshe Rabbeinu*, we just sat in the *sukkah* and welcomed our seven shepherds because our holiest teachers and leaders began their lives and careers and positions of leadership as shepherds, because a shepherd has to be attentive and attuned to his sheep. A shepherd can't play on his phone, has to be watching, supervising, loving, caring, keeping all those sheep on the *derech*, on the path. They can't veer off on another path. Loving each one, caring, nurturing each one. Did you sleep? Did you eat? Have you had enough to drink from the from the river? Are you okay? So the *Midrash* tells us that *Moshe Rabbeinu*, the shepherd is tending to his flock, to his sheep and his ewes, and he's taking care of them. And one of the sheep wanders off and is drinking from a river, and everybody else is ready to move. There's always that sheep. I've led a lot of trips to Israel missions of adults, children, there's always that sheep. Everyone's on the bus, where is so and so? The bathroom, needed a drink, they got up late, they're lagging behind. There's always that sheep. Now, I'm not so kind, so my inclination is to say, we warned you, we're not waiting for everyone, we're not letting our schedule fall behind because of one straggler, we're out of here, take an Uber, take a Gett, take a taxi, meet us there. We don't do that, but I'm inclined to do that. But *Moshe Rabbeinu*, the *Midrash* describes, goes over to that little *sheepeleh*, and the *Midrash* paints this picture, this beautiful image. He puts the sheep around his neck on his shoulders and he carries this exhausted entire sheep and he gives this sheep to drink to be able to the sheep reinvigorate and come back alive. And *Hashem* looks down and says, that's my man, that's my leader, that's my leader. What did he exhibit? That love, that care, that attentiveness. He refused to neglect, he refused to ignore, even one sheep he wouldn't move on, care for everyone with what they need. And that's *Hashem*, he's our shepherd, that's how he loves us. It's not a coincidence. By the way, what's the root of the word *roi*? *resh ayin* also spells *reia*. What's a *reia*? A friend. A shepherd is the sheep's best friend. The shepherd is the sheep's best friend. And *Hashem* is our best friend. *Yedid Nefesh*, *Av harachaman*, the best friend of my *nefesh* is my Father in Heaven. *Yedid Nefesh*, my *Yedid Nefesh*, my best friend, my biggest confidant, the one who knows me and gets me and loves me unconditionally and gives me the benefit of the doubt and stands by my side, the best friend of my soul. The best friend of my body is charcuterie. The best friend of my body is a good steak. The best friend of my body is a nice wine. The best friend of my body is My body is good sleep. My body has all kinds of friends. Some are good friends, some pretend they're good friends but they're bad friends, some are outright bad friends. Body has all kinds of friends. Who and what is the best friend of your soul? We sing it every week at Shalosh Seudos. ידיד נפש אב הרחמן. The best friend of my nefesh, of my soul, is my father in heaven. He's my soul's best friend. Hashem ro'i, God You're my shepherd and my best friend, and lo echsar, let me never be lacking or missing, let me never not feel fully with clarity and confidence, You're my shepherd and You're my best friend. Lo echsar, let me never be lacking or missing the knowledge and feeling and faith that You are my best friend, that You are my best friend always. And then we continue the Zera Kodesh. Yitzchak davened l'noach ishto. What does that mean? L'noach... now not where do you put the comma? Ordinarily, previously, we put the comma, vayetar Yitzchak l'Hashem comma, l'noach ishto. He davened to Hashem standing opposite his wife that Rivka conceive. But the Zera Kodesh, the holy Ropschitzer says, that's not what it means. Put the comma differently. Vayetar Yitzchak comma, and what did he daven? Hashem noach ishto. Let my wife, no matter what she's going through, no matter how much pain she's in, no matter how long she's waiting, let her see Hashem opposite her always. I can't tell you how many emails I get. I haven't really read them so much they are filled with the questions of 'I'm ready to give up, I've been waiting for a shidduch, I'm at whatever age, I've gone out countless times, I'm waiting for that child, I'm struggling with parnassah, I'm trying to overcome yet another illness, yet another surgery.' And I want to clarify, last week I mentioned somebody who was taken on an incredible Hatzalah Air, that was, that was, that was exactly reasonable. That was not, I was not using that as a case of unreasonable in the question and answer after shiur. That person has gone through, he needs refuah sheleimah, we daven for him too, he should have complete, speedy health. My dear friend should bounce back and be fantastic. That trip he took was what was expected and demanded and reasonable, not the opposite, I just want to clarify. So a person can be going through such a difficult time and feel 'I give up on You, I'm done with You, I'm walking away from You. I've turned to You, I've davened to You, I've surrendered to You, I've waited for You, and You're nowhere to be found, so I'm done.' So we daven for that person two things. One, we daven for the person that their tefillah should be answered. Find that shidduch, have that baby, that parnassah, that refuah. But we also daven for that person that this process should not make them lose Hashem. Let them lean into Hashem instead of losing Hashem. Let them get closer to Hashem instead of further from Hashem. We see and we feel like Moshe the shepherd their pain, we see and we feel it with sympathy and empathy, and that should motivate and stimulate two tefillos in us. One, one, we daven they be answered. But also we add and daven let them come close to Hashem. That could happen with our own children. Our own children could be going through a tough time. And we daven that it be resolved with friends and school and life. But also we should daven that through it they find Hashem not lose Hashem. That's this, it's an incredible Ropschitzer. Vayetar Yitzchak comma, Hashem noach ishto. Yitzchak was davening of course that Rivka should get pregnant. Of course he was davening Rivka should have a baby. But he was also davening that Hashem noach ishto. Hashem should always be opposite his wife. She should never lose Hashem. So in the middle of the top paragraph on the left column page kuf chaf hey. ובתפלתו פעל שיוכל כל איש מזרע בני ישראל להתחזק ולהחזיק עצמו באמונת אומן ובודאי כשמתחנן אדם כך בכל לבו שיזכה לחיות בצל אמונת השם that we too can daven for emunah. It sounds like it makes no sense. I'm not sure if I believe in You, let me daven that I believe in You. But who do we daven that I believe in You? I'm davening to You that I come to believe in You. Doesn't make any sense. Doesn't have to. It works. It works. Turn to Hashem. Turn to Hashem and ask Him. Daven for emunah. לחיות חיים עליונים של הסתכלות מרוממת בכל צעד ושעל. Hashem, let me not only feel emunah when I'm saying the words of the Siddur or Tehillim. Let me not only feel emunah when I'm in the emunah shiur. Let me not only feel emunah when I'm holding little baby Emunah in my arms, but let me feel emunah when I'm in traffic, when it's not going my way, when it feels like it's a 'no', when I'm going through a hard time. Part of our tefillah every day should be let me increase and grow and feel and see You everywhere I go. שהרי מצטרפת תפלתו תפילת יצחק אבינו והוא המסייע שתתקבל ברחמים וברצון to combine our tefillah with that of Yitzchak, to daven for others that Hashem is noach... davven for others that Hashem is nochei'ach, davven for others that they see Hashem, that Hashem is ever present in their life and to davven for ourselves. I try to do this since we began the Emunah shiur is to not just relegate the Emunah shiur to Wednesday mornings and then the rest of the week regular scheduled program of no Emunah, but to live the Emunah shiur every minute of every day of every week of every month of every year of our lives. That everywhere we go and everything that we experience and all that we interpret and all that we see and all that we try to make sense of that we do through the glasses and through the prism through the perspective of Emunah Hashem. I'm asking you Hashem for help. It's so hard. It's not easy. I mentioned the drasha on Shabbos. The drasha on Shabbos, my son's Bar Mitzvah, I he would not let me speak about him. And a lot of people say that, but they mean speak about me. A lot of people when they say don't speak about me, what they mean is don't forget to speak about me. You know, before the dinner, before the event, the chairman, the board, don't please please don't don't speak about me. Don't speak about me. Sometimes what that means is don't forget to go on and on about me. But when my son meant said it, he he meant it, if you could tell or saw his laining, kishmo kach hu, he's very shy and he didn't want me. So I thought to myself instead of speaking about him, I'm going to speak to him, instead of describing the first 13 years, I also think it's time to pivot a little bit. Bear with me for one little rant. It's a beautiful thing and it's reflective of the generation we're living that we, and I do this now professionally, that when there's a Bar Mitzvah boy, we talk about him like he's God's gift to the earth and he's lived a hundred years and he's changed the world and he's a we give him a logo, he's a franchise now, and there's a logo on the yarmulke, and he's amazing, and ay, and it's a beautiful thing and it's what we need, it's what this generation needs. It's not it's what this generation needs. But it used to be that a boy turned Bar Mitzvah, you poured some schnapps, ate some kichel, made a l'chaim and said to the boy, 'You're a man. Here's what's now expected of you. Step up. We need you. Here's what's now expected.' So I decided to go old school, not with the schnapps and kichel, unfortunately, it was a little more than that, but at least with my speech. And instead of talking about his first 13 years, I said, 'Shai, I want to tell you what we hope and dream for your next 107.' And I told him six things, six values, six ideas, six things. There were at least 13, maybe 130, but neither he nor the room full of people with the attention span of a 13-year-old were ready for more maybe they weren't even ready for the six. So one of them was this: believe in Hashem, Emunah. They were all six things believe in Hashem, believe in yourself, believe in Klal Yisrael. They were believe six things that you should believe in. So believe in and what did I draw from? I drew from Rav Zeidel Epstein, the Mashgiach of Torah Ohr who says that Noach didn't go into the Teivah until it began to rain. Why? Because mikatnei Emunah. He was somebody who was a katan, he was small, I could never say it if Rashi didn't say it, Chazal didn't say it. He was somebody who was small and diminished in Emunah. Maamin v'eino maamin. He believed but he didn't believe. And he didn't go into the Teivah, the ark, until it began to rain. And there's all interpretations, the famous Berditchever has an interpretation, he really didn't believe in himself, it wasn't Hashem. But Rav Zeidel Epstein, the Mashgiach of Torah Ohr says, you see that somebody on the outside can go through all the motions of looking like they're listening to Hashem, but on the inside there's no relationship with him. He writes, Rav Zeidel Epstein, and he warns, you could go to shul, learn the Daf Yomi, give tzedakah, shake the lulav, sit in the sukkah, blow the shofar. On the outside you're the perfect Jew. But do you have a relationship with Hashem? Are you talking to him? Are you hearing him talking to you? Do you turn to him in hard times? Do you fall and feel into his embrace? Are you living, are you in conversation, is your life one ongoing conversation with Hashem? Hashem please let the shiur go well. Thank you that the shiur went well. I hope that the ride to the airport works out. I gotta get to this wedding and meet the new kid. The life is one long ongoing conversation with Hashem. Before the things we have to do, after the things we have to do, even sometimes in our own head during the things that we're doing. Life is one long conversation. So you see from here that Noach, who Hashem was talking to and Noach was compliant, he did everything Hashem asked. On the outside you could be doing it all. So many people in the Jewish people on the outside look like they're doing it all, but on the inside they're they're empty. There is no relationship. There is no feeling. There is no awareness. There is no connection. They're talking, they're spending their lives talking about the shepherd, but they have yet to come spend time with the shepherd. Spend time with the shepherd. Talk to the shepherd. Be shepherded by the shepherd. That's what we're doing. And that's what Rav Dov Abuhatzeira is suggesting is one of the things we can and should davven for. We davven for our health and we davven for our parnassah and we davven for our family and we davven for shalom bayis. Davven that we have the Emunah. השם רועי לא אחסר. We gotta get these jerseys. Psalm 23. That's our team. On the front living with Emunah, Team Living with Emunah. Who are the players? Psalm number 23. Now starting for the Living with Emunah team. Now starting for the Living with Emunah team, Psalm 23, yay! We're gonna, that, that's our team. השם רועי לא אחסר. Let me never be lacking in knowing that You're my friend, my best friend. Best friend. We have best friends. BFF, DMC, all the lingo. 67, I don't even know what that means, that's the new one. All these lingo. I try to stay, you know, I'm young. So I try to stay young. So have I thought you were gonna ask me to define what's a DMC, what's a BFF, what's a 67? BFF is a best friend forever and the DMC is my deep meaningful conversation and the other one I don't even know what it means, the numbers. I don't think anyone knows what it means and supposedly that's the whole shtick of it. But so even our best friend, even the BFFs, I, I have a house, I live, lived with a lot of girls. There's a lot, even the BFFs with whom you have the greatest DMCs, there's a lot of drama. There could be a lot of drama. Because you told and then they told the person they weren't supposed to tell and then the thing and the thing and you did. There's only one friend on the planet, there's only one friend in the world, in the universe, there's only one friend that whatever we say or reveal or confide, it is 100 percent confidential. That listens without judgment, that loves us and wants the best for us with zero ulterior motive possible. And that is the ידיד נפש אב הרחמן, the absolute best friend of Hashem. Hashem Roi, Hashem you are my shepherd. Roi means shepherd and friend. Hashem you are my shepherd, my friend, lo echsar, chaser, let me never be lacking in knowing you're my shepherd. Again, the chidush of Rav David Abuhatzeira is traditionally this was understood to mean, Hashem because you're my shepherd, lo echsar. I have everything I need. I have everything I need. You're my shepherd, whatever I have is what I need. Comes Rav David Abuhatzeira and he re-teitches it and he says no, what it means is let me never be lacking that you're my shepherd. Lo echsar that Hashem Roi. And that's something that we have to daven for. We daven for just like Yitzchak did for Rivka, we do for ourselves and the people around us. It's a new machshava, a new kavana, a new thing to think about every day while we daven. And you can decide. Do you want to say it in your Shacharis? Is it what you want to think about when you light candles on Erev Shabbos? All the people in your life and daven for them that they have emuna, that Hashem is nocha'ach, Hashem is opposite, they see Him, they feel Him, they love Him. And for ourselves each and every day to daven, Hashem whatever I'm going through, whatever's happening in my life, let me feel, let me know, let me have clarity and confidence that none of it is random and none of it's chance, none of it's accidental, and none of it's coincidence. It's all carefully curated and choreographed from You above. It's hard to feel that, it's hard to know that. It's hard sometimes to accept that and to live that. And that's why we have to daven for it. Because there's nothing good that happens without davening. So we think, why do I have to daven for emuna, I have emuna? Go to the emuna shiur, I get emuna emails, I buy the emuna books, not mine, others, there's so much about emuna, it's really in to have emuna right now. It really is in. It's really in to talk about having emuna. I hope it's as in to have emuna. It's very in to talk about having emuna. I hope it's as much as in to have the emuna. Have the emuna in those moments, it's really hard. It's really hard when the things don't go our way and I have some of those emails I didn't read that include some of that. So that's our tefilla. So you'd say why do I have to daven? I have emuna. The answer is you never have enough. If it's not growing, it's getting smaller. If it's not getting stronger, it's getting weaker and it's atrophy-ing. Person has to always be increasing and elevating. To see Him more, talk to Him more, feel Him more, love Him more, know that He's there more. That's the reason and purpose for this all. All of Yiddishkeit, all Torah mitzvos, all of halacha are a platform for a relationship with Hashem. There are so many people who are doing all the motions but on the inside it's empty. We have to not just talk about the, we also have to talk about the shepherd, because the shepherd wants us to avoid 39 categories of creative labor every Shabbos. The shepherd wants us to make a bracha before we drink and eat. Shepherd wants a, shepherd wants us to talk about him also. But the whole point is not just to talk about a shepherd without knowing him, is to better come to know him. And we need to do that in our homes, in our schools and yeshivas, in our community, in our shul. We need to just not talk about the shepherd, we need to talk to the shepherd and hear the shepherd talking to us. I know it's early but I have to end today. I have to head to the airport, Baruch Hashem have a wedding tonight and going to meet little Emuna, Keila Emuna, who I call Emuna, im yirtzeh Hashem all of us our lives we should be successful in davening and asking for more emuna for ourselves and the people around us. We should be successful in the noche'ach ishtah, which by the way שויתי השם לנגדי תמיד. It's exactly what Dovid Hamelech also says. Shiviti Hashem, let Hashem be opposite with me always. Opposite with me always. We should be successful. successful and *zoche* that we see *Hashem* opposite us always, feel him in our lives everywhere we go, he should answer our *tfilos* for the good, everyone's lives should only be overflowing with *simcha* and *bracha* locally and you should have to travel and fly to enjoy it and see it and we should report to each other good news especially those who've shared some of the challenges and hardship should be able to write in and tell us about the *simchas* should only add and come, thank you so much we'll pick up with the question and answer *im yirtzeh Hashem* next week.
