Transcript
Good morning Boker Tov welcome back to Living with Emuna, our last Living with Emuna for a little while because after today we're going on break till the end of August. So is this the last class? It's the last class till the end of August. So pay attention to the WhatsApp group, we'll post some bonus material, you can catch up on a couple hundred of the previous shiurim and you can find many other amazing better people to listen to over these few weeks that we are trying to re-energize and rejuvenate our Emuna series is generously sponsored by doctors Avi and Bella Morgan, we're so grateful to their generous sponsorship of the entire year in memory of Bella's mother, Dr. Ellen Schanzer, and also sponsored in memory of Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbut, ברוך צבי בן ראובן נתן today is his yahrtzeit and we remember him and we continue to learn from him. He was a paradigm and a model of living with Emuna his whole life was one example of living with Emuna not only when things went well, not only when his life was filled with Bracha the way we would define it, but even when he suffered and even in his end, he never stopped living with Emuna till his final breath and was and is an inspiration to all of us. Our learning should be l'ilui nishmaso should elevate his very special, precious and holy neshama. Okay, Living with Emuna we're going to look into a text, a beautiful teaching, a beautiful Torah from Rav Itche Meir, relevant to all year round, but particularly relevant, hopefully Mashiach will come today if he doesn't and we meet tonight for Eicha and tomorrow for kinos. Somebody told me this morning, they said are you introducing the kinos tomorrow? I said yes. They said you're the kinos speaker. I said yeah, that was Tisha B'Av worthy humor. That's how bad that was. So I want to start as we often do before we dive into the Torah, I want to share with you, I have a pile of correspondence, emails, I'm so grateful to each and every person who writes their Emuna story. I read them all, I save them all, and many I'm able to share, and maybe one day we'll compile them all into a book because they seem to be the most compelling and I think they're also, and this is very instructive, as much as we learn in theory and hypothetically and we learn academically and we know truths about Emuna and it's important to see the mekoros, to see the sources, and to dive in and tap into our mesora, our tradition, and to understand where we come from in our view of Emuna, but in the end of the day, arguably the most powerful thing to inspire our Emuna is to latch on and connect to others. We've told many times, the idea when you have no connection, when your wifi is down and you have no data, you find somebody who is connected and you turn them into a hotspot. So are these emails that we share, they are our hotspots. When we hear these emails and people who are in practice putting Emuna into real life situations, not just Wednesday morning, not just a WhatsApp group, not just an email or not just a newsletter, but in real life practical often difficult situations. See I started speaking about wifi and the internet went down. There we go, I think it's back. I think. I got the Comcast, anyone get the Comcast alert today, they're doing work in our area, it'll be in and out all day. So I said a little tefillah. I said Hashem we have a couple shiurim we have to give, don't let Comcast get in the way. If you want it to stream it'll stream, if you don't it won't. Ultimately it is all up to the Ribbono Shel Olam, as always it's all up to Hashem. So I want to begin with an email that, all of them are so inspiring, all of them are our hotspots that we connect to Hashem through, but this is an email I told you my favorite type, which is not the one where it all works out perfectly in the end, but the people who have Emuna even when it seems not to. Rabbi, as you know flying on the East Coast has become complicated matter. Last Shabbos we were meant to fly to Philly for a reunion of the husband's yeshiva. Our flight boarded on time 11:30 am with three kids in tow including a four-month-old and excitement of an away Shabbos, we boarded with alacrity. After final boarding we were told by the captain that weather had entered the 30,000 foot road word way and we would be delayed three hours. Well I know we should not be flying erev Shabbos, landing 3 pm was much different than potentially landing at 6 pm. Everyone had to exit the plane. We began discussing our options. Should we all go home? Only my husband would go to the yeshiva reunion. We decided if the delay is less than two hours we'd all go, less than three hours only my husband would travel. If longer we would go home. We davened. Success we were told after two hours we could board again, the weather in DC had cleared, our family of five kein ayin hara boarded the plane a second time. However, however, now lightning in Florida kept the flight on the ground. After 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, we were getting close to the three hour delay and our trigger point to go home. Our four-month-old was developing a rash on his face and getting fussy. Mother's instinct kicked in. I asked the flight attendant if we could exit the flight, concerns over weather and potential other issues would keep us in the airport over Shabbos started racing in my mind. They let us leave the aircraft through the locked doors. We cancelled our tickets, headed to baggage claim to file claims for our trapped baggage. While there we were told the plane got clearance to leave two minutes after we exited the plane. There are no coincidences. Hashem did not want us on that plane. Baruch Hashem, everyone on the plane landed safely three hours after takeoff. Everyone was very upset. We were excited to see our friends getting chizuk from our rebbeim, be recharged. However, it's clear we need to live with emuna that Hashem did not want us on that plane. Turns out our baby got sick. The mother's instinct was correct. We have some good stories for our kids, who tell the story as we got on the plane then off the plane, then on the plane then off the plane, then the baggage, it's on the plane. Our baggage has been returned including a broken doona, which might be getting replaced. Thank you for the reminder to turn on the page, things do not always happen as planned, but there are no coincidences. Appreciate the message and the shiurim. So again, why do I love emails like that? Because as you're reading it, you're expecting to hear, and then someone who had a private plane said do you want to jump on board, I'll take you right to your and it was perfect, right? Or, then it took off and there was a wind, a back and we got there faster than ever, and we were there early, and everything worked out and thank you Hashem. Right? You read the email, and you read the typical emuna story, and not to challenge other emuna newsletters and other emuna groups, whatever a emuna story is, and it was amazing and it all worked out and everyone was happily ever after. I don't think that's what emuna is. Emuna is, you're really disappointed. You were excited, you counted down, you marked your calendar, your kids were enthusiastic, you made the effort, you packed your bags, you got to the airport, you're sitting on the plane, it's going to be an incredible Shabbos and didn't work out. Not only did it not work out, now you second guess yourself. Why'd we get off the plane, it left two minutes after we got off the plane? We could've and would've made it on time. You sit and you second guess yourself. Unless you have emuna. If you have emuna and bitachon, if you practice it, if you work out that muscle, if it's how you experience everything in your life, then you say, we weren't meant to be there this Shabbos, we weren't meant to be on that plane, it wasn't meant to work out. Maybe that's because the child who was sick needed to be home, maybe there's some other reason that she and we will never know, but it wasn't what was meant to be. It wasn't what was meant to be. So one lesson of emuna that we keep coming back to and we will continue to over and over, and I read all of them and I'll try to share all of them, but the emails that have the not-happy ending make it to the top of the pile, even though they don't get the most views. Right? They're not the most viral. It's the story, oh it all worked out perfectly, and then those go those go viral. These stories, what goes viral about and then it was a disappointment and a failure and it didn't work out? But hey, everything's from Hashem. Those don't go viral. But that's real. And that's real in our lives. When we will need to dip in and tap into emuna is not when it all works out. It's when it's frustrating and disappointing and hurtful and painful. That's when we need to dig deep and find that that emuna to be able to persevere nonetheless. And there are emails I got like that. Somebody unfortunately whose child is sick. They went to the hospital and they were sent home, but the child continued to have pain and now they're back in the hospital. The doctors don't know what's wrong with my daughter, she was discharged on Thursday night. Within a few hours of coming home it was clear the pain had not subsided. We debated going back, we went back. We're still in the hospital. I daven my daughter's current treatment plan works. There was a lot of back and forth regarding different imaging that was done initially, certain medication that was given when medication was stopped, specific areas that should've been examined more and so on. It seems a lot could've been dealt with in the first few days that we were admitted last week, it's a bit hard to swallow. It seems some things were overlooked, since my daughter's being treated at one of the top five hospitals in the world. But I think it's a lesson for us all. I believe that Hashem will send her refuah sheleima on His time frame, not ours. We can go to top medical centers, consult with top doctors, but it's not up to us what the outcome will be and when it will happen. For now, we daven my daughter's yeshua will come soon, that she will be back in camp with her friends and doing what other four-year-olds do. With immense gratitude for your shiurim, so and so. Another email. Not, and then it was perfect and it happened to be and we got there in time and they solved the problem and it was really better because we averted a bigger problem. No, it's she's out of camp and they can't figure out why, and we're at the top hospital. Because that's what Jews do. They make their way to the top hospital. We had a young lady from our community, Baruch Hashem, Baruch Hashem, Hashem should shower her with bracha and with simchas and with nachas and with children. Baruch Hashem, she's well and healthy and married. But she unfortunately went through yenna machla, she was sick and she was in Sloan Kettering and I went several times to visit her. And I couldn't understand why there were so many frum people on this floor. And I asked somebody there, like do Orthodox Jews, Jewish children disproportionately get cancer? And they said no, but other children just go to their local hospital, Orthodox children, their family finds a way to Sloan Kettering. Meaning, Jews are not satisfied with the local hospital, with the local referral, with the local doctor, not that there's anything wrong with the local doctor or the local hospital, but Jews always find a connection and a way in to the best. Got to go to the best. You ever hear Jackie Mason, alav hashalom, his old routine? My doctor's so good you could never see him, you can't get in, he's so good it's impossible, the waiting list is forever, that's how good he is, I only want to go to a doctor you can't see. He's got a whole routine, much better than the way I just said it, on Erev Tisha B'Av. But. And the author of this email says, top five hospital in the world, top doctor. But you know what? It doesn't happen on our time, it happens on Hashem's. It doesn't happen because we got into the best place, it happens in the place where Hashem decides. The outcome is all Hashem, it's not up to us and when it will happen we continue to daven and we add our tefillos that her daughter, the author of this email, should have a yeshuah bekarov. I'll read one last one and then we'll dive into the text together. Baruch Hashem there are so many and even if you wrote a few weeks ago keep them coming, they will make their way. This is an emuna story. Past year's been filled with challenges. I keep pushing through each day. As I say often when people ask how I am, my feet are down and my head is up, so I'm good Baruch Hashem. If your feet are down and your head is up, if you're vertical, if you're walking, if you're alive, you're good. You're good. I got a concussion from a car accident in November, I've been suffering since. I went to physical therapy, talk therapy, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, exercise, acupuncture, it's been a challenge. And the internet's down again. At the same time, it's all Hashem's plan. Are you coming back? There you are. At the same time, we had a major water leak in the house and where I had to walk my mom up and down the stairs for her daily shower she lives with us there's no hot water downstairs it's quite a challenge and she goes through all of the many challenges. During this time, I suffered a concussion I had terrible insomnia, headaches, neck pain, arm pain, back pain. My insomnia did not allow me to sleep. I was down to sleep four hours a night. It was almost unbearable. But I kept doing the therapies, following all the directions. One of the directions to help decrease my anxiety is to do morning sunlight, grounding, and breathing. This is very interesting I never heard this but I buy it. I talk to Hashem all day long in my own language. Asking Hashem for help, thanking Hashem, praising Hashem, asking Hashem for guidance, asking for strength to take care of my family, keep us healthy, happy, safe, and successful. I know my challenges are from Hashem but it's quite difficult. I trudge through each day wondering if I'm on the right path with all my struggles and wondering is Hashem with me? And here is the emuna story part. Ready? This is her emuna story part. And Comcast is not cooperating today. But the audio will work and people can find it there. I took a chair to my front yard this past Shabbos morning so I could put my feet to the ground without shoes and socks to do grounding. To sit and meditate, to drink my tea. Trying to relax and bring my anxiety level down. I was meditating, expanding my vision, concentrating on the big tree, concentrating on nature in the front yard, talking to Hashem, wondering is He out there? Is He listening? Does He hear me? And out of the blue, with no breeze, a small leaf fell from the tree and landed on my foot. To remind me yes, Hashem is listening and He is here with me. My wow moment. Small moments that allow us humans to know that Hashem is actually with us, next to us, holding our hand and holding us up. So our feet are down and our heads are up and that we're on the right path Baruch Hashem. So this is another great email because the author of this email basically chose to interpret a leaf on her foot that many others would have shaken their foot and gross and get that off of me, instead she said, here I am sitting and wondering, Hashem do You hear me? Do I matter? Are You out there? Are You listening? And with no wind and no rustle and not fall leaves falling in Boca Raton in July, a leaf fell on her foot that she was using to ground to feel connected and she felt connected to Hashem. Our antenna has to be up. We have to receive the signal. We have to be listening when Hashem is in fact broadcasting to us are we willing to take in the message. Which brings us to what we're going to learn today. B'yom Dechatcha page kuf samech hei in Bein HaMetzarim you have it in front of you there were sheets they're being passed around. ברוך אתה ה' אלהינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו. Amen. We caffeinate with kavana every day, but on Erev Tisha B'Av you caffeinate with extra kavana. For the days that you can't caffeinate with kavana. הנה בכל מצוה אנחנו מכוונים לחבר את השכינה ליחד עם הקדוש ברוך הוא. Sfas Emes here he reminds us our entire life, our entire essence, our entire mission, our entire purpose, and our entire lifestyle is to bring Hakadosh Baruch Hu down to connect with Shchina and to make this world be a place that is a conduit where there is a high stream, a fast, high speed stream of Hashem in this world. V'hainu to those who are watching if it's going in and out you'll be able to find it later audio if you want to just listen online. Sorry. On behalf of Comcast I apologize. והיינו לגלות שהנהגת הבריאה לא נמסרה לאף אחד אלא ה' יתברך בעצמו מנהיג ומשפיע שזה נקרא שכינה. I just want to tell you emuna in practice before we did the shiur together before we had our support group together I would be calm and cool right now on the outside to you but inside infuriated. I'd be angry at our IT people, I'd be angry at Comcast, I'd be angry at the shul, I'd be angry at why, I give a shiur every Wednesday don't you know, why is it down, why didn't we create a backup, why don't we have a hotspot, why don't we have it's in and out, this is terrible, it's a disaster. But now it's nothing. It is what it is. It is what's meant to be. We didn't do anything wrong there's nothing we could have done different or better. The usual setup, the usual system, it's the way it is. It's meant to be. Why am I telling you that? Because I can't endorse strongly enough for your mental health, your physical health, your spiritual health, work on emunah. It is the answer. For many, they need other answers to complement it with it: therapy, medication, and the like, but it is the answer. It is part of the answer. It is the answer for everybody to whatever you're going through in life to say, we got off the plane, we're disappointed, we missed the Shabbos, that Hashem is listening. He is out there and he is holding me up, that we might be in the best hospital, but it's not about where we get into and how we use our proteksia. It's up to Hashem. And when the internet comes in and out, that's what's meant to be. It's the way it is, it's what's meant to be. Back to our regular scheduled text. והיינו לגלות שהנהגת הבריאה לא נמסר לאף אחד אלא השם יתברך בעצמו מנהיג ומשפיע. Hakadosh Baruch Hu himself runs the world. It's his world. We work for him, he doesn't work for us. It's his world. He's in charge, he's in control, shezeh nikra Shechina. Shechina is milashon shachen. A shachen is a neighbor. A neighbor is nearby, a neighbor is accessible, a neighbor is close, a neighbor there's a casual relationship with. Hashem, the Shechina is our neighbor. He's not someone we study about at יום יום יום עיון. We don't go to some seminar to see all the proof or evidence of his existence. He's not academic, he's not theoretical, he's not far away, he's not far apart. Hakadosh Baruch Hu the Shechina is our shachen. He's right there. He lends a listening ear when we need to talk and he gives us chizuk when we need support. And he is the solution to any problem. He is our neighbor, he is our Shechina, he is our shachen. כי זה נקודת החידוש של אמונה שהקדוש ברוך הוא הא-ל הגדול והנורא יורד בעצמו להנהיג את ברואיו. This is the chiddush of emunah says Rabbi Itche Meir. He said Hakadosh Baruch Hu is running the entire world. He's in charge of everything. He is the Creator, but he didn't create and move on, he didn't create and graduate. He created and remains intimately involved in every one and every leaf. In every leaf, if it falls and where it falls and when it falls and what message it's communicating through falling. It's all, it's all the Ribbono Shel Olam. ומתייחס למעשינו מחשבותינו הרגשותינו. He is connected with our actions, our thoughts, and our speech. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is taking all that in and he's connected with it all and he's aware of it all. And I think I gave you this metaphor, I don't know if it was last week or two weeks ago, when I told you when I was in Tennessee and I turned on Waze and it worked. And you go to Israel and you turn on Waze and it works. And you can go to Afghanistan, I don't know if that's true, and Costa Rica and South America and South Africa and you turn on Waze and it works. And you say, what do you mean? There are billions of people who are all connected to this one computer that's telling you where you are and where there's traffic and how to go and how to reroute. And the answer is yes. And if a computer can simultaneously be aware of and mindful and directing and routing billions of people, then lehavdil the Ribbono Shel Olam, the Melech Malchei Hamlachim, the King of kings, can be aware of every human being, where they are, how to reroute them, how to get them where they're meant to be in their destination, can be inside their head and inside their liver and inside their heart and inside their life. Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows and is aware and is involved in every aspect. If Chat GPT can simultaneously respond to billion people asking it to integrate everything on the internet and write a good letter to your kid in camp so you don't have to. Not saying anybody did that, just saying. I don't know what I'm saying. But Baruch Hashem. So if it could add, if it could help a billion people write a letter to their kid in camp simultaneously, then Hakadosh Baruch Hu להבדיל אלף אלפי הבדלות, the Hashem, he can hear all of us. He knows all of us. He's involved in all of us. לא זו בלבד אלא שהוא מנהיג רק לפי מעשיהם. And it's not Hashem has some generic program. He's tapered, he's individualized. It is unique and distinct to each and every one of us separately. וזה נקרא בלשון לייחד ולחבר כי באמת השכינה נמצאת בכל אופן והיא מנהיגה מחייה משפיעה תמיד אל כל העולם. Because I just flexed and I said the internet's not bothering me, Hashem is like okay, let's up this. I'm going to make a really high shrill noise in the background and let's see if you could keep your cool, Goldberg. Let's see if you just can't stay calm and say that's also part of the plan. So he's going to just, the test is just going to keep getting harder. Halevai this should be the hardest test that we face. Anyway, so Hashem is involved in everything. vetafkidenu hu. So what's our job? What's our mission? Our mission is להראות ולגלות שהשם יתברך נמצא ומשגיח והנהגה של העולם החיות והשפע הוא השם יתברך בעצמו לפי מעשינו. Our tafkid, our mission, our purpose, our mandate, why we are here, is to use the app called Hashem. You know there's somebody who sometimes gives me rides to the airport. And whenever we get in the car, I say, turn on Waze. He says why? I know the best way to get to the airport. And this hour this is the traffic, so I go this way and I take that way. And I say to the person, you're brilliant. And you have experience and you know roads and you know geography. But you don't see from the sky from a satellite, you don't know where the accident... And utilize it and let it enhance your life and let it remove all your anxiety and worry because it's going to tell you approximately what time you're going to get there. I was recently with somebody, ברוך השם כעין הרע, I'm not ranking on this or knocking this at all but they don't have a smartphone. So when we left a meeting together he said, "Could you tell me how do I get back to 95?" I said, "Wouldn't it be amazing if there was an app that would just you'd put in the address and it would tell you every turn to make and what you could do? Like wouldn't it be incredible if Hashem gave you the gift of living in a time that you'd be able to access? I'm not knocking on somebody who doesn't utilize although there are filtered devices and smartphones that allow Waze to. I'm not knocking at it. I'm just saying, Emuna is an app. And there are people who didn't download it. So they're going through life and they don't know how to navigate, they don't know where to go, they're sitting in traffic, they're losing their cool, they're losing their mind because the internet's in and out and because somebody's playing some high pitched noise in the background. So they're absolute losing their mind because they don't have the app called Emuna. And they didn't download it. So they don't know how to get where they're meant to go. They don't know how to take the best route. They don't know how to get rerouted. Our tafkid, להראות ולגלות שהשם יתברך נמצא ומשגיח. Our mission, our purpose, our mandate is Shechinah, to bring Hashem down to this world, to turn on the app, and to follow its direction, and to listen to him talking to us, and to his message, and to follow his navigation. זה תפקידו של נשמת ישראל הוא לגלות את מציאות השם יתברך ויחודו בתוך העולם. The Yid, the Jewish soul, we're meant to reveal Hashem's presence in this world. One can go through this world without the app. And if you do, you're trying to navigate it on your own. There's no God, I don't know if there's a God, I don't believe in God, I don't talk to God, I don't listen to God talking to me, and I don't invite or welcome his navigation. That's the majority of the world, and that's more of the world. Maybe we'll talk about that tonight when we introduce Eicha. Is how more godless the world has become. You talk about Shechinah b'Galus, you talk about the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, you talk about a churban. The polls and the surveys show fewer and fewer people believe in God. It's a godless world. You see that in people's stated beliefs, and you see it demonstrated in their behavior and dress and conduct and definitions and lives and lifestyles, it is increasingly a godless world. And the more it's a godless world, the more our job, the more important our job is, to reinsert God, to talk about God, and to inspire people about God, and to reveal God. לגלות שהשם יתברך ברא הכל שהקדוש ברוך הוא created everything. ורק הוא מנהיג ומשגיח על הכל that he alone is in charge of everything. When a child gets better and if you'll make your flight. ואין עוד מלבדו גם כאן למטה בעולם המעשה. And there is no one and nothing but him even down here in this world. I think there are doctors and lawyers and accountants and banks. I think there is an internet. I think there are other drivers and cars and pilots and planes. I think that because I'm only looking on the surface. I'm only looking at the superficial. But if I can get into the Pnimiyus, into the guts of this world, then also down here, Ein od milvado. All that's a matrix, all that's an illusion. But really all there is Ein od milvado, all there is the Ribono shel Olam. ובכל דבר נמצא ומסתתר השם יתברך, he's found in everything but he's hidden. He's in my phone but I gotta open the app. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is in the world but I have to open the app called Emuna and Bitachon. I have to put on those glasses in order to be able to see him. וכדי לזכות שתתגלה האמת הזאת יש לנו ב' עבודות. And in order to reveal this truth to the world, in order to teach and preach, in order to demonstrate, in order to live, in order to inspire, in order to repair and redeem this world, then we need two avodos. This is what it's all about. We are in an increasingly godless world, we want to make it a godly world. Moshiach will come when we, when we reintroduce God to the world. When we reintroduce talking about him and living him and bringing him back to this world. So we have two avodos. Number one, אחת להרבות בזכויות ובתפילות. לגרום על ידם שהשם יתברך ינהג בצורה מגלה האמת הזאת. We have to be worthy and virtuous and righteous and we have to have the merits that Hashem will act in a way with this world where he reveals and shows his hand. והנהגתו תהיה באופן של גילוי מלכותו בעולם ולא באופן שזה מוסתר. If we're worthy, if we prove worthy, we'll talk about that also tonight and tomorrow morning, what does it mean to prove worthy? How do we turn things around? What is he waiting for? If we are worthy, he'll reveal himself more and more. If we are worthy, he will show himself more and more. כי על ידי שיהודי מקיים מצוות הוא ממליך את השם יתברך. When we act with nobility and with virtue and with righteousness, when we follow Hashem's moral code and ethical code, when we demonstrate to the world Torah and Mitzvos. You, based on the mores of the time, you interpret the world this way? Not us. We have the authoritative work called Torah. We have Hashem's diary, we have Hashem's law. And he says this is the truth of the world. We believe it. shofar and tefillin and candlelight and kashrus and shabbos, all unbelievably important, but as we count towards Tisha B'Av tonight, the Navi says למה לי רב זבחיכם יאמר ה'. The Navi says, what do I need all your shuckeling and all your davening and all your Tehillim zogging if you don't know how to treat other people, my other children? Torah and Mitzvos is not just our righteousness vis-a-vis our relationship bein adam l'makom between us and Hashem as we studied last week. Bein adam l'chavero is bein adam l'makom. If you mistreat someone's children, you're mistreating them, and Hashem says the barometer is how do you treat my other children? So those are also mitzvos, by the way, honesty and integrity and your word being your bond and following through on your promise and being charitable and fighting for justice and taking care of the widow and orphan and making sure nobody's marginalized or neglected or feeling invisible. Those are all mitzvos in which we reveal Hashem. Our tzelem Elokim, our godliness is revealed when we see and connect to the tzelem Elokim in others. That too is how we show Hashem in this world. ובזה הוא גורם שהנהגת השכינה נעשית בגילוי ועשירות ובאופן שמגלה בבירור שכל הכח שיש בבריאה הוא ביד הבורא ויתר בבירור שיש שכר לעושי רצונו ועונש לעוברי רצונו. And we show this world why we're here, what we're meant to do. It's not about our happiness, it's not about our pleasure. We live not for happiness, we live for holiness. Turns out when you live for holiness, you know what you find? A whole lot of happiness. And when you live for happiness, you know what you find? A whole lot of misery. When you live for holiness, you end up being happy. When you live for happiness, you end up being miserable. Our job is to live for holiness. What does it mean to be holy? Holy means you hold the door and you say please and thank you. Holy means your word is your bond and you have honesty and integrity. Holy means you're charitable and you stand up and fight for justice. Holy means that you keep shabbos and you spend time with your family and with Hashem. Holy means you eat in a holy way, not in a hedonistic way where you dive into that food indiscriminately. Holy means that you daven like you mean it. Holy means that if you said you'd be somewhere on time, you're on time. Holy means you're careful with your thought and your speech and your action. בכולם יראה שיש התגלות אלוקות בישראל כי השכינה מופיעה בגילוי בירור ששורה בישראל. So when we are godly, we reveal God to this world. When a person meets a Jew, like the Gemara in Yoma says, אשרי רבו שלמדו תורה, אשרי אביו שלמדו תורה. When they meet a religious Jew, when they meet a Torah-observant Jew and that Torah-observant Jew stands out in their conduct, in their courtesy, in their caring for others, they say, Wow, I want a piece of this God. I want to come to know this God. This God gave your family this harmony, your family this happiness, your family this capacity to live with humility and to be happy with what you have? The rest of the world craves more and more and more and more, it's never enough. And you demonstrate that you're happy with what you have? The rest of the world is arrogant and driven by ego and wants to be an influencer, and you humbly go through life? Wow, I want a piece of that. I want the happiness that you have through holiness. Teach me. Show me. Let me have a connection to that God. So how does Hashem, how is He revealed, how is He brought down to this world? Through us and through our actions. המציאים את האמת הזאת שהעולם מונהג על ידי הבורא יתברך שמו, that the world is driven by Him. So when you get off the plane and the, what do they call it now, flight attendant says, I'm so sorry it didn't work out and we were delayed and you had to get off, and you say, it's okay, it's all from God, it's what God wanted, we weren't meant to be on this plane. And the flight attendant says, you mean you're not going to curse us? You're not going to yell at us and scream at us? You're not going to blame us? You're not going to demand a million miles and upgrades and status from this? And you say, no, I mean, I'll take the miles, but no. It's all from God. This was God's plan, this is where I was meant to be. And the flight attendant says, Wow, you know, I need to rethink about whether there's a God. Because if believing in God made you just get off kindly and be patient and calm with us, then I want a piece of that God, I want a piece of that God. So how do we repair this world and redeem this world and how do we promote the brand of Hashem in this world? By living with Hashem, by being His ambassador and His agent, by expressing our tzelem Elokim. So that's number one, Torah and Mitzvos. And when they say, would you like this? And you say, no, I'm sorry, I keep kosher, so I regulate my diet, trying to live holy by being careful with what I eat. Or you're at a business meeting and you say, give me one moment because I have to caffeinate with kavanah, I have to make a bracha, just give me one moment. Thank you Hashem for everything that went into this cup of coffee and the ambiance with which I drink it, and I'm so grateful even for the little things. Thank you Hashem and you make your bracha. And the person says, wow. You don't just take that for granted, your cup of coffee? You don't just live through life feeling entitled to everything the world has to serve you? You stopped with humility and you said thank you for a cup of coffee, you made a brachah, a blessing! Wow! Wow! That's unbelievable. Now, I owe someone an apology because couple weeks ago I told you when I was in Tennessee, the parking young girl said "have a blessed day" and I loved it. Yesterday, where was I? Someone said, I said "have a great day" and they said "have a blessed day". So even in Boca Raton, Florida, people know how to say "have a blessed day" too. We gotta we gotta bring that. Have a blessed day. What a great greeting. Have a blessed day. Isn't that a great greeting? The shenis, number two, says Rabbi Itzamar, מעשינו עצמם צריכים שנגלה ונכריז אמת זו. We've got to reveal and we've got to scream from the rooftops. We've got to take out billboards. We've got to make God go viral. ולמשל כל יהודי כאשר הוא לוקח מאכל ומברך ואומר שהכל נהיה בדברו בזה הוא מגלה את השכינה כי בזה הוא אומר שכל פרט ופרט מהבריאה נעשה רק על ידי השם יתברך בעצמו. It's not just that you're having a business meeting with a non-Jew. It's not just you're sitting with a non-observant Jew. You could be sitting with another observant Jew and the other observant Jew makes a brachah too, but they swallow the brachah faster than they drink the coffee. And you're going to demonstrate, no. When we make a brachah, we caffeinate with kavanah. Shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro. Baruch atah Hashem, breicha, everything flows from you, Hashem, King of the universe. You're the King, you're in charge of everything. And I surrender to you. And shehakol, everything, nihiyeh bidvaro, comes with your word. Wow. Everything, Hashem. It's all you. It's all your word. So when we make a brachah and we do it with kavanah, we are demonstrating godliness. We're bringing God into the equation. We're showing food is not just about my pleasure and my happiness and my joy. Food is about my finding life, the life source, and who's the source of all life? God. And connecting to God, I'm imbibing God, I'm swallowing a piece of God when I drink that coffee, when I make the brachah beforehand. כי כשהיהודי מקיים מצוות הוא צועק בזה שהבורא יתברך מנהיג ומשגיח בעולמו. When a Jew fulfills mitzvos, he's screaming that Hashem's in charge, Hashem's in control. כי למה אתה מניח תפילין כי הבורא יתברך ברא הכל ציווה אותי הנברא להניחם לעשות לו נחת רוח. Why am I putting on tefillin? Why am I wearing the tefillin? Years ago I spoke to a group of teenagers and I talked about how few of them were taking their tefillin home on Sundays from school, and they weren't even putting on tefillin. How could it be? I learned a tshuvah from Rav Oshry, who talked about a eleven-year-old in the Kovno Ghetto who went to him and asked him a shaila. He said "the likelihood is I'm never making it to my Bar Mitzvah. Surely I will be killed before my Bar Mitzvah. I can't imagine going to my death without ever having worn tefillin. Can I wear tefillin as of eleven years old, twelve years old, if I'm careful with them and I'm mindful while I wear them and I wear them properly?" Rav Oshry writes a whole tshuvah. He has a whole responsa, can that young man wear tefillin even though he's well before his Bar Mitzvah? The answer is fascinating, but it pales in comparison to the question. What is mind-boggling is the question. Here was an eleven, twelve-year-old in the Kovno Ghetto watching everyone around him were deported together, suffering. People be murdered, bodies lying in the street, corpses rotting. And he doesn't say there's no God and I'm not interested and I'm never wearing tefillin. Oh. Oh. What does he say? What does he say? He says, "I can't imagine not wearing tefillin." And I turned to these boys and I said, that kid couldn't imagine not wearing tefillin. He had to wear them in the hardest of circumstances. You gotta bring your tefillin home. How could you not put on tefillin on Sundays? And you know what one of the boys said to me? "Why should I wear tefillin? They don't do anything for me." Doesn't do anything for me. Wrapping strapping this around my arm, doesn't do anything for me. I only do things that do something for me. So when I enjoy the triple latte caramel grande Starbucks, that I do. Xbox, that I do. Vacation, that I do. Wrapping the tefillin, doesn't do anything for me. So we had a whole discussion, why should we do things that don't do anything for us? Why is it important to do things even when they don't do anything for us? So that's what Rav Itzamar says, why am I putting on tefillin? What do you mean? Hashem, who's the Creator of the entire universe, is in charge of everything, who also by the way programmed us to know what's best for us, he's commanded me, put on tefillin, and it'll give him nachas ruach. Just like when a parent says to a child, "could you take out the, could you do this?" and the child says "that doesn't make sense and I don't want to do it, why do I have to?" and you say "look, we could debate, I could explain, but at the end of the day, I'm your parent, I love you, if you love me and want to give me nachas, do it because I asked." So Hakadosh Baruch Hu says "if you love me and want to give me nachas ruach, do it because I asked, whether it does something for you or not." And when we say okay, I'm all in. You say jump and I say how high. And when that is our life and our lifestyle, we are bringing God down into this world. We are demonstrating, we are showing, we are revealing Hashem. ובזה הוא מגלה השכינה דהיינו הוא מגלה לעצמו ולבאי עולם שהבורא בעצמו מנהיג את הבריאה בכל פרטיה ויש לו התייחסות אלינו ואל מעשינו. tzivanu lekayem mitzvos. So when we get off the plane and we yell and we scream at the flight attendant, when we're in the hospital and we yell and scream, "You're one of the top five hospitals, how come you haven't made my daughter better?" When the internet's not working we go crazy at Comcast and our IT department and we go crazy at our staff and we say, "How could you not have that ready? How could that have happened?" When we live a life in that way where we don't pay attention when we make a bracha or we don't put on tefillin because it doesn't do anything for us, you know what we're doing? We're pushing God into the corner. We're putting God under the bed. We're making God go under the ground. We're hiding God more and more and more. We're pushing God into galus. We're putting Hashem into exile more and more. We're part of the problem, not the solution. But we're meant to be the solution. We are the solution. We're meant to reveal the shechina. We're meant to bring him down. We're meant to show him by having kavana when we make a bracha and by having calm, cool, and collect when we get off the plane and speak to the flight attendant, and by telling the hospital we know you did the best you can, we're praying on His time when He's ready that He'll bring a refuah sheleima, a full recovery. When we put on tefillin even when it doesn't do anything for us that day or in that moment, in all those moments we then are doing our job, our mission, our mandate, we are revealing Hashem's hand, we're bringing Him down. ובזה היהודי מחבר את השכינה את הכוח שמנהיג את העולם בפועל השם יתברך ומגלה שהשם יתברך עצמו הוא מנהיג כאן הכל. Our job is to open the Emuna app. Use Waze. It's there. Don't get lost. Don't think you know better. Don't grow frustrated. Open the app. It's there. There's an app called Emuna. There's not actually an app called Emuna. Maybe we should make one. But there's a life called Emuna, a virtual app called Emuna. Open it. It's the navigation. It's the source of calm. It's the source of holiness and happiness and joy. Open that app and create a connection between what's down here and what's up there. Bring Hashem, give Him a dira betachtonim. Let Hashem be found here. Help His brand, help His name, help people feel connected. Help people want to learn more and grow closer. You say, "Have a blessed day." Oh, what does that mean? I never heard that greeting. I want to think about that. Who gives that blessing? נמצא שכשהיהודי עושה מצוה ומגלה שהוא מכיר בכך שיש שכינה. When you do a mitzvah, what you're essentially saying, when you do a mitzvah, what you're implicitly acknowledging is, there's a commander, there's a Hashem, this is His world, I work for Him. שהבורא יתברך משגיח וקשור עמנו והוא המהווה והוא עושה הכל וגם הוא גורם בזה שהשכינה תתגלה ותנהיג בגילוי ושפע אז יראו כולם איך שהנהגת העולם בפועל הוא על ידי הבורא יתברך. This is it. Want Mashiach to come today? You don't want to fast for twenty-four hours. You don't want your breath to stink tomorrow. You don't want to be exhausted, have a massive migraine headache. You want to bring Mashiach today? Then get out there and reveal Hashem. Then get out there and be the biggest brand ambassador there is for Hashem. Then get out there and be the biggest promoter. I'm not saying you have to stand on the corner and spin one of those signs on your head that says, "There is a Hashem." I'm saying do the ordinary but in an extraordinary way. Make a bracha but with kavana. Interact with people but be calm, cool, and collect. Talk about Hashem: "Please God, thank God, with God's help, this is God's plan." Demonstrate godliness and that is the greatest way to promote, the greatest way to be His brand ambassador, the greatest way to reveal His presence, the greatest way that the next poll they do, "How many believe in God?" Well, you know there was a Jew I interacted with and he made me a believer again, she made me a believer again. I saw God through them. I wanted to know God through them. So yeah, I believe, because I saw godliness in another human being. I saw the way they did mitzvos even when it didn't do anything for them. I saw the kavana, the mindfulness and the presence they had to bring God a presence down here. And therefore, yeah, I believe. ובזה מחבר את השכינה הקדושה שהנהגת השם יתברך את העולם במבט של הנבראים עם קודשא בריך הוא שהוא מציאות הבורא בלי שום כיסוי והם ממש אחד כי מתגלה שגם הנהגת הנבראים היא רק על ידי השם יתברך. Take the cover off Hashem. Open the app called Hashem. Feel Him giving us navigation, this world called Hashem. It's our mission, our mandate, and that's how we're going to bring Mashiach. It's good for us, it's good for peace and health and happiness. It's good for us and it's good for the world. It's how we repair and we redeem the world together. Im yirtzeh Hashem, Mashiach will come to a redeemed world and we won't have to observe Tisha B'Av, be united in Yerushalayim for the next Emuna shiur. If not, we'll be back here the end of August. But until then, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy. Have a meaningful fast.
