Transcript
Good morning, Boker Tov. Welcome back to Living with Emuna. I see some of you are enjoying our great setup. You come to Daven and learn at BRS, have a slushy anytime of day or night. Have a coffee, have a pastry, have a cold bottle of water. We are incentivizing young and old. It's amazing how many those who are not young enjoy slushies, I've learned. Some have suggested that after 8:00 at night we should maybe pour a little vodka in the slushie machine. You never know. We'll see, we'll see. But anyway, come Daven and learn at BRS and be rewarded gastrointestinally as well. Once the weather cools we're going to have a crock-pot of soup available as well. Okay, Emuna series. The Emuna series is generously sponsored by Dr. Zavi and Bella Morgan in memory of Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbut, in memory of Bella's mother, Dr. Ellen Chanzer. We remain deeply indebted to the Morgans for their friendship, their generosity and their support. This morning's also a Shiur is also sponsored by Faye and Dr. Jeff Walkowitz in honor of the birth of Romi Emuna and in memory of Luba Elbaum, Faye's beloved mother. Mazel Tov on the baby. And what a great name, Romi Emuna. Emuna. Incredible. Absolutely amazing. This morning's Shiur is also co-sponsored by David Block in memory of his brother Bradley and parents Bela and Roy Block. He has very nice things to say. And by the Hausner and Tannenbaum families in memory of Shimon Horn, Shimon ben Eliezer on his third Yahrtzeit. Thank you very much for their generosity. Also by Heidi Fuchs in honor of the birth of Raziel Nachman, Russy Yisrael Nachman, Adir Malachi and Raanan Nissim, twins. All born in the last two months to their sons whom I used to babysit when I was younger. I was their babysitter. I don't take credit for their upbringing but I also don't take responsibility. Corey, Zach, Elliot and Jono. And in memory of Al Amzel. Anyone who's from Teaneck remembers Al Amzel. Best potato Kugel ever. Whose Yahrtzeit is Erev Rosh Hashanah. Thank you to the Fuchs family. And lastly by the Orland family in memory of מרים אסתר בת אברהם יצחק, their beloved daughter, sister, aunt and granddaughter who passed away on Rosh Hashanah. Certainly we remember her, what a bright beautiful light that was put out way too soon. Her Neshama should have an Aliyah. So thank you, thank you to all of our generous sponsors. We deeply appreciate it, we don't take any of it for granted. Okay, a couple of Emuna stories and then we'll dive back into our learning together. Continue to help us get in the mindset, help us get ready this Elul. Take advantage. If you're listening in Elul, great. If it's not Elul, we also need to wake up and get on fire no matter when during the year to take our lives. Listen to this Emuna, I got this email yesterday. Wow, this was a wild email. You know I like the stories that don't necessarily have the ending, we don't know how it'll turn out, you have Emuna anyway. This is one of those that has an amazing ending. It's wild, it's wild, but it's a wink and a nod and a hug from Hashem and it's amazing. Shalom Rav Ephraim. Two days ago my Chavruta and his wife and daughter drove from Wales to London on a shopping trip. About a month ago, a Chinese friend of hers called Zoe had moved in with them on a temporary basis. To prevent any Yichud issues, Moshe had given me a key to his house. About 4:30 in the afternoon, back in Wales, Zoe stepped briefly outside to take some rubbish, I'll translate, garbage, pulling the door behind the door closed behind her. But she had inadvertently locked herself out. At the time she happened to be on the phone with her boyfriend via her AirPods, but had left the phone inside. Not having physical access to her phone, she asked her boyfriend to contact her brother. Zoe didn't remember Liba's number but did remember her Instagram handle, and her brother was given the information. Simultaneously, 150 miles away, Liba was with Moshe and their daughter in a pizzeria called Pizzazza. Liba had previously removed Instagram from her phone and she rarely used it. However, a sign in the pizza store said that if she took a picture of the food there and put it on Instagram, she might win a prize. So right then and there at that moment, she reinstalled Instagram. Immediately she noticed a message from an unknown person. She opened the message, which was Zoe's brother explaining how he was able to contact her only via Instagram. On being informed of Zoe's predicament, Liba remembered a conversation with Moshe, he had given me a spare key. She promptly called me to ask if I could help. 10 minutes later I was able to let her in the house, otherwise she would have been waiting another seven hours for them to return. Feel free to use our names if you decide to use this, which is why I did. PS, just to clarify, I'm still looking for a Shidduch. So she should definitely find a Shidduch. Wasn't that a wild story? Yeah. Because happened to be in the pizza store at the exact right moment to happen to put Instagram back on, to happen to get the message that only could have come that way, to happen to have the key, to happen to let the person in who otherwise would have been stuck out there just with AirPods but no phone for seven hours. That would have been a long phone call. For seven hours. So sometimes Hashem smiles and Hashem nods and Hashem winks and we feel Hashem. Thank you, that was amazing. You put everything in the right place. Yocheved Na yesterday had an appointment. somewhere and we went to the wrong floor because they moved offices and by the time we got to the right floor we were running a couple minutes late and we felt bad but just then the person we were meeting with was anyway coming down the hall because they must have stepped out to the bathroom so Hashem orchestrated that we went to the wrong place so that we'd meet him exactly at the right time otherwise we would have been knocking and there would have been no answer and he wouldn't have been there and again everything instead of getting frustrated why'd I go to the wrong place now I'm running we're never stuck we're all where we are meant to be a Jew is never stuck we are always exactly where we're meant to be someone in our wonderful shiur shared that just yesterday traveling in an airport because now I get messages almost daily from people who are in airports with misery because traveling is miserable who say but you know what someone else from our shiur texted me the other morning we're supposed to go we were delayed we were rerouted what's going to be and you know what I would have lost my cool I would have been bent out of shape I would have been anxious and worried and instead I just took a deep breath and I said Hashem we're on your adventure we're on your ride let's see how this ends let's go on the next stop this is so fun so exciting let's see where we go let's see what happens next absolutely amazing next email a few weeks ago I was visiting Israel with my family we spent a few days in Tel Aviv and one evening as we were resting before bedtime we decided to listen to a shiur and we chose exactly where we are meant to be from Rabbi Goldberg's August 14th Living with Emunah shiur I enjoyed the meaningful insights and took to heart the message of finding purpose even in difficult moments first of all I'm blown away that people go on vacation and in the hotel room when relaxing and chilling out before bedtime they listen to Living with Emunah that blows me away that's so wonderful it blows me away that's amazing the following night was my birthday and we were looking for a kosher restaurant in Tel Aviv to make a reservation but all of the ones near our Airbnb were booked so we decided how hard can it be to walk into a kosher restaurant in Israel so we set out walking and soon learned it is very hard every single kosher restaurant was not just booked but overflowing with lines of people waiting we noted that many of the non-kosher restaurants had plenty of open tables needless to say my kids were starving and whining I was also hungry and exhausted and my husband was upset that my birthday dinner outing was turning out to be a frustrating night of wandering the streets of Tel Aviv we finally passed a kosher pizza takeout spot and resolved this was our only option and where we're meant to eat even the takeout pizza was a zoo however as we were waiting for our turn to order I looked up and spotted a sign illuminated in bright neon lights above the pizza it read excuse the picture but it read you are exactly where you need to be the neon light in the pizza store above the oven with a picture says you are exactly where you need to be I was stunned and thought where did I just hear this it was the title of last night's Living with Emunah shiur I was floored and immediately showed my family who also could not believe the coincidence wow truly our frustration immediately dissipated and as we finally settled at a picnic table to eat the actually delicious pizza we ended up having a perfectly lovely birthday dinner exactly where we were meant to be at the sign where we're meant to be so that was a great email as well sometimes when we're pushing back at Hashem I'm not where I'm meant to be I don't want to be here this isn't where I'm meant to be he flashes a neon sign you are where you're meant to be eat the pizza relax enjoy you are where you are meant to be as all emails begin with yada yada yada yada and so on here's a you are in the place you need to be email our sister-in-law in the US left a career of more than 30 years to try something different in the last five years she has lost our mother-in-law with whom she was very close her only sibling her husband and her father she has had much to contend with we are very excited for her on this new journey and proud of her to leave her comfort zone we pray she's on the road to newfound happiness we made aliyah as well during this time we wanted to send her flowers for Shabbos to celebrate her new job and asked a cousin in the same town if she would buy the flowers and drop them off she was very happy to do so the cousin's at Trader Joe's and remembers she has a friend celebrating a special birthday the next day and would like to get some flowers as well but she decides she'll do it the next day and go to a different store as she's checking out the same friend walks into Trader Joe's and without missing a beat our cousin runs over to her with a bouquet of flowers surprising her friend with happy birthday wishes after picking up another bunch she drops them off at our sister-in-law and makes her day mitzvah goreret mitzvah Hashem helped it make it easier for her she happened to be holding the flowers when the friend walked in so she could hand her the flowers that were for her even though she wasn't going to buy them for her until the next day listening every week from Zichron Yaakov we love Zichron Yaakov it's a good place on the way there if you ever want to go skydiving Chof Habonim on the way to Zichron Yaakov that's another great emunah story letting go and letting God right you know my you know my skydiving letting go let God story okay I'll just repeat it very quickly and then we'll dive in but this is I just I will praise my wife for one moment I'm not even in trouble with her but I'm going to praise her lishma I don't think I am. But I'm gonna praise her lishmah for no reason. I always wanted to go skydiving in Israel. And several times on trips when I was by myself I tried to arrange it, but the weather wasn't right, I couldn't do it, it didn't happen. One summer, several years ago, we're in Israel with our kids, they were very little at the time. How long ago was this? More than 10 years ago. It goes back maybe 15 years ago, this goes back a long time. And I found a place called Chof Habonim, north of Haifa, it's on the coast, skydiving. I always, if I want to go skydiving, I only want to go in Israel. I don't want to jump out of a plane with a stranger, I want to jump out of a plane with an Israeli tzanchan who normally jumps out of planes. And I want to jump out of a plane that if anything goes wrong, I'll go right into the ground in Israel, that's where I'm meant to be. That's it, that's fine. So it was only ever in Israel. So I find this place, beautiful day, weather's good, we're able to go. I don't say anything, but I said, you know what, we're looking every day for something to do with the kids, let's go to Zichron Yaakov. It's beautiful, if you've never been, Zichron. We'll go to Zichron Yaakov, we'll find fun things to do, it'll be great. We get in the car, we're driving to Zichron Yaakov and I make a little detour to get off at Chof Habonim. Yocheved says, what are we doing? Where are you going? I said, I just have to make a quick stop. She said, what's the quick stop? And just then we're passing the entrance and there's a big billboard and skydivers. I said, I've always wanted to go skydiving, it won't take long, indulge me, just let me do it, please. I've really always wanted to do it. And this is what makes Yocheved so cool. She didn't say you're crazy, it's dangerous, how dare you, or it's wrong, it was a family trip, we're supposed to be going. She said, that's not fair. Why do you get to do it? I want to do it too. So we left our little kids on the ground to fend for themselves, I think literally, and the two of us went up in a rickety old plane that if you weren't crazy to jump out of it, you were crazy to get in it. And it climbed up to 15,000 feet, or however high it goes, and you're, it's a tandem jump, so you're strapped to some Israeli tzanchan who jumps 10 times a day. And as it's climbing, climbing, climbing, and they open the door to the side, and as your legs are dangling off the edge and you look down and you see how far and everything is a speck and just then when you're thinking about turning around and getting back in the plane, they push you out and now you're flying 100 miles an hour towards Mother Earth, towards Mother Earth. You went first because you were sitting closer to the door. We've been arguing about this for 15 years. You were sitting closer to the door, that's the only reason. I thought it was ladies first. Ladies first, fine. Okay, we'll agree to that. That's fine. Okay, good. Ladies first. Anyway, why am I telling you this story? Because when you first go out, you can't breathe. You're hyperventilating, you're chewing on your own spleen, you're going 100 miles an hour towards Earth, regretting that you ever made this decision, can't believe how much money you paid for this pain, and you're going and it's miserable. And then something clicks and you realize, you know, if I'm flying through the air and I feel exposed and vulnerable and mortal and danger and worry and anxious and what will be? And then you realize I've got a seven-foot Israeli tzanchan war hero behind me, strapped to me, and he's in charge and he's in control and he's going to pull the parachute when it's time. And the moment that you let go and you realize I'm in his hands, I'm attached to him, he's got my back, he's in charge, now you let go and enjoy the ride. Actually went another time without, I went a couple times. It's amazing. And each time, each time, at first you can't breathe and at first you're panicked, and the moment that you let go, you enjoy the ride. And that's exactly what happens, he pulls the parachute and now you're coasting and you're enjoying and you're looking out at all of Israel and you see the width and the breadth of our beautiful land and it is incredible, incredible, I highly recommend, it's wonderful. And I remember we landed and we're reunited with our children. But I remember feeling and thinking, wow, what a metaphor for life. What a metaphor for life. We are riding through this world and we're going 100 miles an hour and we're afraid. What if I crash? What if the parachute doesn't open? What if something goes wrong? What if the wind takes me over sea and I'm lost forever? What if, what if, what if? And we're anxious, anxious, anxious, and we feel powerless and we feel... and then we realize Hashem's got my back. I'm strapped to Hashem. I'm in tandem, I'm coasting, I'm floating through this life, this world with Hashem, he's got my back. And the moment we let go and let God, you can enjoy the ride. You can enjoy the ride called life. So it was amazing, all because that person emailed from Zichron Yaakov. So anyway, okay, back in our text. We have more emails, we'll save them for another time. I got a great email that really challenged me, it took me a week to answer it, I finally answered it this morning, but it really challenged me and it was a great question about our emunah shiur, but we'll save it for a future week because it was a really thoughtful... thoughtful and challenging question about our whole emuna shiur and the whole attitude and approach that we have towards emuna. Is Hashem really winking, is He really hugging, is that the only way to live, is that the only way to see it, does everybody agree and would certain people agree? It was a very interesting, challenging, we'll share it in the future. We're on page lamed aleph, we're learning Biyam Darkecha, Rav Itche Meir, רב יצחק מאיר מורגנשטרן on Elul and he has been reminding us that Elul is not about, yes it's about the mechanics, regret, confession, commitment not to repeat for the future. Yes, it's about the details and the mechanics and the formula. Yes, it's about getting into the, into the therapy room and working out our differences and our fights and our struggles. Yes, it's about all that. But first and foremost, primarily it's about wanting to return, to restore, to reconnect, to have an intimate rendezvous with our Creator. It's about I miss you, I long for you, I want to feel close to you, I want to be connected to you. Now, how do I do it? What are the mechanics of it? That's where teshuva comes in, the halachos of teshuva. But teshuva and that's our parsha, ושבת עד ה' אלוקיך. Do teshuva, return ad, until you get to God, to feel connected, to feel in love, to hear Him talking to you, to be talking to Him, to feel His loving embrace, to feel His hand on your shoulder, to feel that you're jumping, you're connected, He's got your back, He's watching over you. וממילא עבודת חודש אלול היא כה בהירה וקלה. So therefore the work of this month of Elul is so clear and it's so easy. וכל אחד יכול לעשות אותה בשלימות לפי ערכו. And everybody can do it entirely and completely according to the level that we're on. Each of us are able to enter to that place. We have to be motivated and inspired, we have to wake up, we have to take the plunge as we spoke about last week. We have to be able to wake up and say, I'm sick and tired of living like this. I don't want to be in this place, alienated, distant, in a fight, resentful, bitter. I don't want to be alone and lonely. I want to feel connected. I want to feel connected. I gave you this metaphor last week, but I'll repeat it. Sometimes tragically in marriage, and it can be in friendship, it can be in parenting, it can be in business partnership, but sometimes people are just coexisting. And they're getting by coexisting, just coexisting, coexisting. You shop, you cook, you take out the garbage, you pay the bill, we're coexisting. Nobody's yelling, nobody's screaming, there's no anger, there's no rage, just coexisting. And are we satisfied with coexisting? Or do we wake up and say, I miss, I long, I want to connect, I want to feel an intimate connection? I don't want to just coexist. I want to rekindle a spark and a flame, I want to be on fire, I want something more, I want something special. I want to reunite, I want to long to be together, I want to confide, I want you here to trust and confide in me. I want to be able to expose, to be vulnerable to you in ways I can't anyone else. I want something more than just coexisting, than coexisting. It can be in marriage, it happens with friendships. There are friendships that fall apart and grow apart, and when one has the courage they'll say to the other, I miss you. I miss you. I miss our friendship. I want to go out, I want to connect, I want to talk more often, I want to trust each other. I miss our friendship. And now there's mechanics, afterwards there's, well why did we grow apart? What happened? What went wrong? Was there a betrayal? Was there distrust? Was there disloyalty? How do we fix it? How do we take responsibility? How are we accountable? How do we make it better in the future? There's all the details that come later. But it begins, the launch is, I don't want to just coexist. I want something more. How many of us are going through our lives and we're just coexisting with God? God, it's Your world, and I gotta coexist, so I daven. I'll come to shul on Rosh Hashanah, I'll do my long davening. And I, you know what? I do, I keep my kosher, I keep my Shabbos, I do my thing, but I'm really just coexisting. We're not yelling, we're not screaming, we're not angry, I didn't drop out of the relationship, I didn't leave the house, but we're just coexisting. So teshuva says Rav Itche Meir, teshuva is waking up and saying, I want more. I don't want to just coexist. I want to feel connected. I want to look forward to spending time. I want to confide, I want to talk, I want to hear You speaking to me. I want to feel that connection. V'hi, top of page lamed beis. לשוב לה' יתברך בכל לבו. To return to Hashem with all your heart. u'lehachlit b'hachlata chazaka. מעתה אני חי עם ה' יתברך. For now on, I am living with God. It's how I'm interpreting everything. I'm no longer going to panic and freak out at a red light or at an airport. I'm no longer going to panic or be anxious because the shidduch didn't go right or something happened or I'm waiting for the doctor's appointment, the lab result. Makir bemalchuso. I recognize it's His kingdom. This is His world. He's the King, I work for Him, He doesn't work for me. ועכשיו אני דבוק בו. I am clinging to Him, I'm gluing myself to Him, I'm sticking to Him. I am jumping out of an airplane through life. And I'm flying through the air at a hundred miles an hour, and none of us know what the next day will bring. We wake up in the morning and we have no idea what will happen. What will the news be in Israel? What new front will there be a war on? Or, please God, how we'll be eliminating almost everybody? I saw a great meme yesterday that wondered whether Nasrallah is the mole. Because if you look at the org chart and he and a couple others are the only ones left, maybe he actually is a Mossad plant. You know, cynically wondering. That's how few people... Who knows? Please God, we should hear besoros tovos. Let's finish them off. Let's finish all our enemies off. Let's bring our hostages home. Let this war end. We don't know. We don't know whether we'll be waking up to outrageously good news. Last week at the end of the parsha shiur, I went on the news, I'm checking Israeli news all day, I saw the pager story. If I would have told you the pager story before, you'd say, as I wrote my article this week, if you tried to sell it as a script to Hollywood, they'd send you home. Nobody would believe it, forget about it. We don't know whether we're going to wake up to the miracle of the pager story or we're going to wake up to a tragedy, God forbid, God forbid, God forbid. We don't know. So we're going a hundred miles an hour through this world and through this life. Our children, ourselves, our lives, our health. What will happen? Small, inconsequential little things like will I wake up to a flat tire, as I did last week? And then like there goes your day. You had plans to be somewhere at a certain time and get there with your car, and now Hashem just rerouted your whole day. In a small, inconsequential, meaningless way. Doesn't matter, but He rerouted your whole day. Your whole day. So how do you go when a hundred miles an hour you're flying through the air? How do you do it? I don't know about you, if I jumped out of a plane on my own, I'm not ready for that. A hundred miles an hour, I would panic, I'd pass out. But the moment you let go and you realize I'm connected, I'm in tandem, I'm tied to the Almighty, He's got my back. He knows when to pull, He's in charge, He knows how to land. He tells you lift your feet, I'm going to land softly and I'm going to deposit you comfortably on this earth. מעכשיו אני דבק בו ה' I want to glue and attach myself to You. I want to return to living life with You. I want to see this world. I want to go to sleep like a baby, comfortably, easily, because I'm confident You're in charge, You're in control. I want to wake up with confidence and clarity that whatever I face today, Hashem, You're in charge, You're in control. Ani shelo. I want to see, I want to interpret, I want to experience this whole world. ולמעשה אעשה את מה שהוא רוצה ממני and I'm going to do what You want. I'm here on a mission, I'm here for a purpose. I'm here for a purpose. I have a mission. What's my job? What's my mission? What can I contribute today? Lefi madregasi, according to my level. וזה כל אחד יכול and this every person can do. Every person can do. It's hard. It's hard to be a tzaddik or a tzaddekes. It's hard to live on that level. That I'm sleeping, I don't live to sleep, I sleep to live. I don't live to eat, I eat to live. It's hard to get to the level that every time we're eating or drinking, everything I do, there's God, it's connected. It's hard. It's hard to live with that level of mindfulness and intention all the time. It's hard. But we can do better than where we're at. We can do more in our bids for connection with Hashem and responding to His bids to connect with us. ולהיות שלם בכל מעשיו ולהחיות חייו עם קשר פנימי והרגשה בה' יתברך I want to be present and I want to be mindful. I want to check in and I want to be connected. So yeah, before I eat and before I drink, I'm not just going to eat or drink, I'm going to make a bracha. And I'm not just going to mumble some bracha. I'm going to stop, I'm going to pause, because it takes a millisecond. It takes a millisecond. I'm going to make a bracha. I'm going to make a bracha. I spoke to a friend last night who Rav Druck was at his house. The great Rav Yisrael Meir Druck, we've learned so much of his Torah as well. Rav Meir Druck, Rav Yisrael Meir Druck shlita, big Rosh Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael, he's been to our community many times. And he told this person a story about a wedding which wasn't likely to happen and there were all kinds of challenges and conflicts in the family. And the mother said, I'd like to make a speech at the wedding. And in her circles, in her community where she was coming from, women don't ordinarily speak in public places in front of men. It was very unusual, it was very uncomfortable. But he couldn't say no. So she got up at the wedding and she took a cup of water and her whole speech she said, ברוך אתה ה' אלוהינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו end of speech. And she sat. That was her speech. She said, I want to make a speech. shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro. Everything that took to get to this day. That there was a marriage that yielded a child, the child was healthy, the child found a shidduch, that there's a hall, that there's a meal, that there are friends and family that fill it. Shehakol, everything it took to get to this moment, shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro everything. The history, the past, the environment, the atmosphere, the... it all. Shehakol. That was her speech. That was her speech. That was her speech. That was her speech. Can you imagine? I never gave such a short speech in my entire life. That was her speech. So imagine that's the brachah, shehakol nihiya bidvaro. Wow, shehakol. A shehakol. You make a shehakol on this slushy, make a shehakol on the coffee, make a shehakol on the bottles of water. You make a shehakol, it's like it's annoying. I got to make the... I got to pay before I leave Publix, I got to pay before I leave... it's annoying, it's annoying. They got to bring the check and I got to pay and I got to calculate and tips, don't get me started with tips. It's annoying, it's annoying, right? So my shehakol is annoying, like it's my payment for my water, it's annoying. It's not annoying. It's amazing. It's not for Hashem, you think he needs your shehakol? He's infinite, omnipotent, he's perfect. It's for us. He needs us to do it, but he needs us to do it for us, not for him. He needs us, he needs us, but he needs us to do it for us, not for him. And why? Because when you make that shehakol now you've realigned. Now you've recalibrated. Now you've recalibrated. Whoa, shehakol, oh, you're right, it's not just the cup of water, bottle of water, it's this moment in time. Who am I sitting with at Starbucks having this water or this coffee with? This friendship, this health, this wellness, the ability to afford a Starbucks coffee. Shehakol, that's a lot that goes into that ability to afford that coffee. Shehakol. So do we live that life with wow, wake up every morning wow, I'm ready to grab the day, kill the day, to be on fire this day, no matter what challenges, no matter what obstacles, no matter what hardships, no matter what's wrong and what's missing in my life, no matter what krechts and what pains and what hurts, what needs to be fixed, what needs to be addressed and what needs therapy, no matter what with all that, with all that and there's plenty of that. The question isn't is there any of that? The question is just how much of that. You've yet to meet anybody who says I have none of that. Everybody has something. Has something. A child, we all know that you're only as happy as your least happy child. Everyone has something, everyone has something. You count your something and you all know the famous if we'd all walk in a room and put down our peckle and you saw everybody else's peckle, you'd pick up your peckle gladly and you'd leave. You'd take your challenges when you saw that of others. It doesn't mean we don't have challenges and it doesn't mean we're not entitled to at moments be, feel the hardship and the sadness and the grief and the pain of those challenges. Absolutely we're entitled to. But it means on the whole, on the whole we live life shehakol. On the whole we live life when we say I'm ready to slay the day. וברגע שהוא מתחיל לחיות כך הוא כבר מקובל ורצוי. And here is the amazing thing, are you ready for this? This is not me saying it, who am I, what am I to say it, this is Rav Itche Meir saying it. He's a tzaddik. If you've ever seen him or spent time with him, he's not from this world. He happens to be living on the same world as us, but he's a... he's... he's not from this world. He's not... There are certain people like that, you ever meet people like that? You happen to be occupying the same globe, you happen to be on the same planet, but they're living up here, you're living down here. Like you're just living different existences, conversations, places, people, it's just a different... it's a different way of being. I love those people because they remind us there's another world, there's another way of being, there's another existence, there's another existence. I don't remember if I told... I'm going to come back to this in one second. I don't remember if I told you this before, but the great Rav Avrom Schorr shlita. He stayed at our house last year, he came for a few days, please God he'll be well enough, should have a refuah shleimah, come this year again for a few days. He's one of those people he's living on another world, another planet. So he has chronic pain, he has challenges. Nebach, you'll never hear him complain about it. So when I saw him early in the morning when he stayed at our house, I said how is the Rav feeling today? He stopped, he looked at me and he said exactly how Hashem wants me to feel. He didn't say, and I may have told you this, I apologize if I did, he didn't say you know like... like some Shana Aleph kid would have said, I feel great baruch Hashem because even though I'm in horrible pain but it's from Hashem so baruch Hashem. I feel terrible baruch Hashem, I feel terrible but baruch Hashem and it's from Hashem. Like he didn't have some calculation. He just said I feel how Hashem wants me to feel. He was honest. He's in pain. I'm in pain, but that's how Hashem wants me to feel right now. Trying to treat it, trying to relieve it, trying to solve it, trying to fix it, but until then this is how Hashem wants me to feel right now. It's just another way to experience pain. Everybody would krechts and miserable and in pain, I'm tired and give me a narcotic and give me a thing and feel bad and give me sympathy and give me... He just was like I don't have time for this. I feel how Hashem wants me to feel, what's next? What's next? Vaiter, what's next? It's... there are people they're just living another existence, interpreting... we can, we can stop and say you know what, that's how it feels, I'm doing everything I can, I'm taking all my initiative to solve it, seeing everybody, I'm not lazy, I'm not waiting for a miracle, I'm doing everything I can to solve it, but until then this is how I'm meant to feel. So that's it. What's next? What's next? What else am I meant to be doing? וברגע שהוא מתחיל לחיות כך. And the moment a person begins to live this way, הוא כבר מקובל ורצוי. Mikubal veratzuy. You know what happens? That friend who feels distanced and alienated from you, that friend who you betrayed or hurt or maybe made a decision not enormous, but made them feel you know what, I guess I'm checking out. When you come over and you say, "I miss you, and I want to restore our friendship. And if I have to make amends, tell me what I did. I'm so sorry. But I just want you to know, I miss you, and I long for our relationship, and I want to reconnect." 9.9 times out of 10, the other party's going to say, "Thank you, that means the world to me. When can you do coffee?" They're mikubal veratzuy. You've restored the relationship just because there is that first step, that desire, that yearning, that first step to restore. Okay, now we've gotta go for coffee. And now we might yell and scream and cry and tears, because we're going to unpack some stuff. Yeah, "when you did this, it made me feel that" and "you really hurt me." "I'm so sorry, I would never do that again, that wasn't my intention." There's going to be some work that has to get done in friendship, in marriage, parent-child, in any relationship. And the same is true with Hashem. But just like in all those other relationships when you take that first step, when the child comes home, the parent welcomes with open arms, even though there's things we've gotta work out now, things we've gotta talk about now, but the fact that you came home, open arms, הקדוש ברוך הוא כבר מקובל ורצוי. Hashem, here's Elul. You ready what Elul is? Hashem, I miss you. I want to live with you. I want to talk to you. I want to hear you talking to me. I want to reconnect. I want to live in that special place with you. Hashem says, "Done. Welcome home. New start. Let's do it. We got..." Okay, now there's some work to do. Rosh Hashanah, Aseret Yimei Teshuvah, Yom Kippur. Now we've gotta do some Teshuvah. Now we have to have charata, regret, and viduy, confession, kabbalah al ha-atid, we've gotta make a commitment for the future. But just that gesture, just that movement, just that approach. וזה עצמו הכנה נכונה ביותר ליום הדין זה עיקר הדין כמה אדם מחפש שמו יתברך באמת. And this is, writes Rav Itche Meir, this is the proper preparation. So you want to know what I have to do for Rosh Hashanah? Maybe or maybe not it includes a brisket. You have to know what you need to do for Rosh Hashanah, maybe maybe not it includes shopping for apples, making sure you have some honey. You want to know what you have to do for Rosh Hashanah? Yes, it includes "what's your menu?", "who are your guests?", "Do you have a machzor for everybody in the family?", "Is it the Artscroll, the Birnbaum? What are you updating this year?" Yes, there're preparations you've gotta do for Rosh Hashanah. But the biggest preparation, the most central essential preparation, says Rav Itche Meir, preparation is: have you had that conversation with Hashem? "I miss you, I long for you, I want to go back to what we had. I want it to be better than it's ever been. I don't want to just coexist with you. I don't want to just overlap with you. I don't want to go through the motions with you. I don't want to be a zombie and on autopilot with you. I want to be present. I want to be connected. I need and I want to feel your hug. I miss it. I miss it." There are people who coexist. And when they come back together, ooh, what a hug means. You ever need a hug? You ever give a hug? We were once walking in Yerushalayim, on Ben Yehuda there was a person holding a sign: "Hugs. Anybody need a hug? Happy to give a hug." Not today. It's creepy, you'll get arrested, I don't know what. You opt in, you have to sign a consent form before, I don't know how it works today. Again, halachically appropriate. But a hug—some people, nebach, there are some people who haven't been hugged in forever. You know what you can do if you just give them a hug? You know what it would be? There're stories of the great Tzaddik Rav Aryeh Levin going to prison, in the amazing Aleph Institute. People in prison haven't had a hug in a long time. Do you know you sometimes give a person a hug and they melt in your arms? That human contact, that exchange of energy, that warmth, that hug, what that does to a person. Hashem, I need your hug. It's been so long I haven't felt that hug. I haven't felt the hug of... we looked all over and then we went to the pizza takeout and then there was a sign you went... and Hashem, ooh, that was delicious. I needed that hug. There are people who... so, you know what the hachana for Yom Hadin is? The preparation, the anticipation, the getting ready for Yom Hadin. Hashem, I want and I need your hug. I'm trying to give you a hug and I need to feel your hug. I want a wink from you, I want a hug from you, I want a handshake from you. I want and need to feel connected to you. I want to confide in you, I want to talk to you, I want to hear you talking to me. That's what we have to do. Make the brisket. Is brisket a Rosh Hashanah thing? Okay, why not? Brisket. Make the brisket, and set the table, and get the apples, and buy the honey, and get it all set. But that's not the preparation. We spend so much time—that of course is the preparation also, I'm not saying don't do that—but just like Pesach, we put so much effort into the physical parts of it, but what about the spiritual, emotional parts of it? So that... And we get to shul on Rosh Hashanah, and we open that Machzor, we don't say wait, where am I, what day of the year is it, what's happening, what am I supposed to be doing here, what am I meant? You can't do that. You can't do that. You can't. You've got to build up, ramp up, you've got to get ready. You've got to get ready and this is the way, this is the prep, this is how we get ready. Hashem I miss you I long for you, I'm taking that first step, I want to come home to you, I want to feel connected, I miss you I long for you. אף שכמובן יש דין גם על המעשים וצריך אדם לפשפש במעשיו ולתקנם בפועל. He keeps coming back just like we kept coming back, that there's hard work to do after that. This is not, we're not trying to paint the picture of some Kumbaya Judaism where like just feel good and sing and hug Hashem, hug it out, hug it out with Hashem and you're all good. That's not it. There's hard work to do. שכן הנהגה הרצויה בעיני אבינו יתברך מכל Hashem has expectations of us. You know when your kid comes home and you've been fighting and all day they're not talking, they're slamming doors, and they say you know Mommy, Abba, whatever, I want to work it out, I miss you. You say good, now we got to talk about the fact that you took the car without permission, you stayed out past curfew, you're not making the grade. Now we got this, still stuff we got to talk about. I'm glad you missed me, I miss you, I long for you, I love you, I don't want to coexist with you, I want to fix this. Good, great, first step, ninety-nine percent of the way there. Now that last percent is a lot of the hard work. Now we got to figure out what went wrong. וזה אינו קשה כל כך לכל אחד לפי מדרגתו ומצבו יעשה רצון השם יתברך כפי שהורו. But it's also a realignment of the vision of this because it's not some punitive God who's trying to catch us. We're not coming before Hashem and he's like you did this bad and that wrong and lightning's going to strike and I'm taking this away and I'm giving you a miserable year. He's a parent, he loves us. Avinu Malkeinu, he's Avinu before Malkeinu. He's our father before he's our king. He's our father before he's our king. And this is what he wants. You know we say L'David all of Elul this whole month we say chapter 27 of Tehillim in the morning and at night. לדוד השם אורי וישעי. Chapter 27 for the month of Elul all the way till the end of Succos for forty days for more than forty days, for fifty-five days, we say or fifty days we say L'David Hashem. The core of L'David Hashem, Rav Weinberger pointed this out on last week's or two weeks ago's Behind the Bima, we say את פניך השם אבקש. את פניך השם אבקש. Hashem I want to see your face. Are we mevakesh? Are we yearning, are we thirsting, are we hungry for p'nei Hashem? את פניך השם אבקש. It's also a great song, remind me we'll put the song in the WhatsApp group. את פניך השם אבקש. Because every time I read L'David every day, L'David has a lot of great Jewish songs in it. It takes a long time to say because each time in your mind you're singing each song. It's a Diaspora Yeshiva Boys song, it's this song, it's from Yeshiva Boys Choir song, את פניך השם אבקש. No, who sings את פניך השם אבקש? Who? Chevra, the Chevra. We'll put it on the WhatsApp group. את פניך השם אבקש. But this is the theme song of Elul. The theme song of Elul is את פניך השם אבקש. Hashem I miss you. I want to see your face, I want to feel your hug, I want to... yeah we got work to do, but that's what I want. והנה בודאי שגם כל השנה. This is true all year long. את פניך השם אבקש doesn't mean like in April, Hashem I don't need to see your face, you're on your own, God bless you, good luck to you. No, that She-hakol is all year long, that I want to see your face, that hug, it's all year long. השם יתברך מחכה לנו שנשוב אליו. But right now he's waiting. שכעת באלול זה מתגלה עוד יותר. Right now is more than ever. He's waiting, he's longing, his arms are open. כי הימים הם ימי אהבה וקירבה. These are days of love and closeness. בכל החודש הקדוש הזה. In this holy month ha-deltos psuchos. The doors are open. וכל יהודי יכול בקל מאוד להתקרב בלבו עוד ועוד לאביו הטוב. Now we know that people at certain moments in time, right, when do you go over to the person, when do you make the gesture, where's your opening, when are they in the mood, when is the right time to bring it up? Right, do we all have that? With a spouse, with a friend, with a child, with a coworker, when is the right moment, when is the right time, when are they in the right mood, when should I bring it up? So maybe one feels that way with Hashem too. Where's my moment, where's my opening, when should I? And his answer is right now. Right now. Elul. הזמן הזה זמן מיוחד שקול דודי דופק פתחי לי. Right now Hashem is knocking on our door. ומצד שני אנחנו צועקים החזירנו בתשובה שלימה לפניך. החזירנו בתשובה שלימה לפניך. Hashem bring us back to full teshuva before you l'fanecha. ובימי אלול מתעוררת הנקודה הפנימית. In these days of Elul this inner point is awakening. שישראל חפצין בהשם יתברך והוא חפץ בהם. There's a shas hachosher, there's a moment, there's a moment. You know the whole Shir HaShirim that we read on Pesach is all this love story. Shir HaShirim is the love story, the dod v'raya, these two lovers, but they can't get in sync. When one wants, the other one's unavailable. When the other one wants, they're not... not available. And sometimes it's hard. Sometimes there's a couple that one is ready and the other's not ready, and the other's ready and the other's not ready. And how do they get in sync? Shir Hashirim. It's not till the second to last chapter of Shir Hashirim they finally can. We think that Shir Hashirim is this love story from the opening verse. Love story. But it's not. It's the story of two people who can't connect, who can't figure out, who can't get their timing right. Who can't get their timing right. You ask a shadchan, people in shidduchim, you know how hard it is? This one's available to go out, this one's now doing something. This one's available but now this one's not doing something. They finally go out, this one feels it, the other doesn't feel it. They break up. Now this one feels it, the other doesn't feel it. How do you get it right? How do you get it right, Shir Hashirim? How do you get it right? How do you get to that place that it's right? So Elul is a time it's right. We're longing to connect to Hashem. Hashem is longing to connect to us. This is our month. It's pregnant with possibility. It's filled with potential. כמו שנאמר אני לדודי ודודי לי. I am to my beloved, my beloved is to me. זהו מהות התשובה לרצות השם יתברך ולשוב אליו. We are wanting teshuva and to return to him. This is our mission. This is our mission, this is our mandate. It's what this month is all about. It's what all year is all about. It's what life is all about. It's teshuva. There are mechanics, there's a formula, there are details, there's hard work. But you got to get to the gym even before you touch one of the machines. The machines are the hard work at the gym. But you know what's harder than even before you start lifting? Getting to the gym. That's much harder. The hard work is in the gym. It's not hard work to get to the gym. I go in my car, it's air conditioned, comfortable leather seats. Why is that hard work getting to the gym? The answer is it's a lot harder to get to the gym than it is to even do the work in the gym. That doesn't mean that when you get to the gym you can have a donut and sit and watch others. Once you get to the gym, you got hard work to do. Once you get to the gym you got to do the hard work. But getting to the gym is hard. Elul is getting to the gym with Hashem. Hashem, I miss you, I love you, I want to feel your hug. I want you back. May we all be zoiche to feel lots of hugs. We need his hugs. Oy, since October 7th, we've needed a hug so badly. So badly. The pager, the miracle of the pagers was a big hug from Hashem. We need more and more hugs. We need hostages home, which is a big hug. We need hugs from Hashem. We need good news. We need simchas. We need bracha. We need good things. Hashem, give us hugs. It should be the end of a bad year. tichleh shana v'kileloseha. tichleh shana v'kileloseha. May the year of curses end. tachel shana u'birchoseha. And the year of blessings begin. Should be a year filled with only hugs and only love and only besoros tovos. I'm not sure if we have shiur next week yet. Depends how I'm doing on the Shabbos Shuva drasha. So I will post. No, we're not doing it Wednesday morning for sure. You'll be making your brisket. I'm not available. We're not doing it Wednesday morning. But maybe Monday morning. We'll see if we do it Monday morning. I'll let you know. Pay attention in the group. After you listen to Hashem Avakesh, pay attention in the group. And we'll let you know. And because you came to Emuna shiur today, reward yourself. On the way out have a Slurpee and make a big shehakol nihyah bidvaro.
