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This Jewish Inspiration Podcast is dedicated to learning, understanding and enhancing our relationship with Hashem by working on improving our G-d given soul traits and aspiring to reflect His holy name each and every day. The goal is for each listener to hear something inspirational with each episode that will enhance their life.
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.
Dear friends, welcome back to day number 170. I'm Mishumot Yossi Malbush of Hanoim B'Yisabel V'Yivke V'Yitztar Kol Yimei Chaim. Now he brings another example of someone who went against God and served idolatry. Someone who goes against Jewish faith and goes and serves an idol. So what does he need to do? He says such a person should remove his nice attire
and mourn and weep and afflict himself all of his days. V'yashvil rucho v'ga'avoso and he should humble his spirit and his pride and confess three times each day. V'yiztavad v'shalosh parameh v'chol yom v'lo yochav boso v'lo yishtayayin ki im v'shabos v'yom tovim Such a person should limit drinking wine and eating meat except for Shabbos. That's the only time. V'yirchatz mat v'lo yochav rosh So a person should limit all type of worldly pleasures. Ki im pam achas o pamayim b'chodesh
v'lo yeylich l'schok v'lo l'nisuin ki im b'birkas nisuin levado. V'yisrachik me'avod azoru me'ovdeha And for this such a person should obviously stay very far away from idolaters and from those who serve all types of idolatry. V'lo yeyshev eitzal galochim v'kmorim v'lo b'mokim shemidabrim divrei minus He should stay away. Such a person who's obviously sensitive and delicate in these areas of idolatry, such a person should probably stay away from interfaith meetings, et cetera, et cetera. V'yisrachik me'pesach besam v'lo yehaneh mehem
Personally, he should stay away from a church. He should stay away from all types of house of worship. That's not a Jewish one. Why? Because he's going to be drawn to it. Again, it's like an addict, right? An alcoholic shouldn't hang around near a bar. It's not the place for you to hang out. Well, this is part of my exercise. This is my recovery. I'm going to stay here and then not drink. No, you're just going to fall in.
One little mistake and you're done, right? So someone who has a propensity to fall in a specific area should stay away from that and not allow himself to get into that. V'lo yeyshev eitzal galochim v'kmorim V'lo b'mokim she'bedavim divim minas V'yisrachik me'pesach besam v'lo yehaneh mehem And he shouldn't derive any pleasure from them. V'miyad kish yoshuv tzoroch tzfila And a person who wants to cleanse himself also should try to go into a mikvah. V'yizbor tzar v'yisum k'neged chatov
And a person should try to find a way to repent for the sins, specific sins that he's done. Ki kofar be'ikor v'chil shabbosos V'obal nokhrios v'ovar krisus v'misos bezdin L'chein tzrikim yisurim g'dolim v'tshuva g'dola So he says, someone who went into idolatry may have done many, many terrible sins. And therefore his tshuva, his repentance needs to be a great one. Haba'al eyshesi sh'ol nara m'rosa Ha'rezu osra al'balo kevon sh'nisratzeis V'chayav alev m'sos bezdin L'chein yizbor tzar ha'kosher ke m'sos bezdin
V'yimos ha'khoref yeshe v'shelek Ob'kerach, he's talking here about many specific sins of adultery and the like, where a person should avoid getting into a situation, obviously, where he's going to be tempted again to act in a way of adultery. And he talks about ways in which a person can repent from these sins. Ha'nishbal ha'sheker, someone who swears falsely, he makes false oaths. O'mal be'cherem, or someone who profanes what is consecrated. Yesh ton lilkos kameh pa'amim kol yimei chayav V'yisvade yamim rabim
V'achar kein yizor le'bilti yishaveya afilu be'emes So a person like this, who has a propensity at swearing falsely, should probably not be in the business of swearing, right? He should not be in the business of giving testimony, probably, because he'll probably give false testimony. Lo b'torv, lo b'nishmasav osav, ach yidor be'chayei rosho So a person has to be careful. We talked about this in our Ask Away 26, what do we do if one has to put their hand
on the Bible and swear, right? So we said that the American law, at least, allows for one to affirm, not swear. A person should be very careful. We talked about the importance, where the Torah tells us not to take a swearing or an oath lightly. Avol yishava le'kayem esamitzu So a person can't say, I'm going to promise to keep the mitzvahs. That is one that a person should commit himself to. But again, if a person is able to avoid
at all getting into such a term of swearing, that is probably the best thing for a person to do. Again, don't put yourself into a place of challenge. And that's probably the most important thing. If you know that something is a challenge for you, avoid the trap, okay? So if you know that eating, I just started the first night of Hanukkah, which is yesterday. I started a new diet. And because I want to lose some weight, I want to be healthier also.
I want to make healthier choices in what I eat. So there are probably places I shouldn't hang out in. And when your friend makes a really delicious kiddish Shabbos morning, maybe don't hang out there for a long time, right? Because by hanging out there, you're going to inevitably fall into the trap. And if a person knows, for example, someone who's dealing with, I have a very close friend of mine who is a recovering alcoholic. I think he's clean now for 32 years, 32 years.
He doesn't go to a bar and he doesn't sit in a restaurant by the bar because he knows that he is going to be tempted. So in order to protect himself, he stays away from there. Now a person can say, well, why don't you just be an adult and just avoid it? That's not the way it works. People will fall into a trap and in a moment of weakness, if everyone has a moment of weakness, if they don't have a protective measure,
they're going to fall. And that's why you refrain from falling into a situation where you will be tempted. And that's why it's important that you remember that G-d is a blessing. And that's why it's important that you don't take the name of Heaven away from your mouth. And that's why, if you take the name of Heaven away from your mouth, and if Shagag and Beerach took the name of Heaven away from their mouths, they would say, after the blessing of G-d,
they would be tempted to work in the same way as they usually do. And according to them, to remember the name of Heaven in the middle and in the place where they fall, and to remember the name of Heaven away from their mouths, or to their souls and their bodies, because that's how they learned their language. He says a person has to be very, very careful not to say G-d's name in vain, and to not say G-d's name in a place which is inappropriate.
For example, one of the things they taught me when I was in yeshiva at a very, very young age, I remember it was maybe first or second grade, is we don't talk in the restroom. Why don't we talk in the restroom? A public bathroom, in school, so you have a lot of your friends, you're coming back from recess and everyone's in, so people schmooze and then talk over there. Why? Because one of the things that people say when they see their friend is they say shalom. How are you? It's great to see you. Shalom is the name of G-d. You don't let us say the name of G-d in the restroom. It's not appropriate. It's not a clean place. So therefore, the halacha says one should avoid any type of conversation so that you don't come to saying G-d's name in such a place. So a person who has a problem with saying G-d's name in vain certainly should be even more careful not to say G-d's name in a place which is, it would be inappropriate. L'chein yishmor v'yigdor atzmo v'zaro v'chavero v'hanishmar m'lo. B'le haske shem sh'mar levatol. A person should be, in general, careful, especially someone, like we mentioned previously, someone who went with idolatry against G-d should be very careful to not mention G-d's name in vain. V'im hutzrach zeh hashov lasos shuvua lebal chovo afilu be'emes yis'ane oso hayom b'chol shanas. He says, what happens if this guy who's has a,
he has a way with swearing, making false vows, now he has to make a vow that he didn't borrow money from his friend. So it's one of those that are required. He says, in such a case, he should fast on that day to ensure that he is very, very precautious before he makes a vow with falseness. Okay, so my dear friends, this concludes day number 170.
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