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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.
Welcome back to way number 26 my dear friends We already went through 25 of the 48 ways And if I can characterize these 48 ways, I would say it's the 48 tools to a magnificent life Each one independently is enough for us to master a pleasure-filled life with connection to Hashem so what is way number 25 To know your place It's so important for us to know our place
When you're in charge know that you're in charge when you're not in charge know that you're not in charge It's not your place The worst thing for a person is not to know where they stand in our global picture in our lives The most important thing for us to know is where we stand with the almighty Our relationship with Hashem No, you know, we just had a training with rabbi laser brody For his body to do it for personal introspection a personal time where you just
Are out in the fields. We went to a park And everyone goes their own way and you talk to Hashem And he divided it up to the first third Thank Hashem the second third Ask Hashem the last third Talk to Hashem about your hopes About your wishes about your dreams about your aspirations And it's so powerful you're alone just you talk to Hashem You know the the prayers that we have morning afternoon and evening are structured and they need to remain structured
But this is a prayer that is not structured. It's your prayer It's your talk to Hashem directly of exactly what you're grateful for exactly what you're Asking for and what it is that you're hoping for so Machias macomo someone who knows his place knows His relationship, you know in a marriage if someone doesn't know their place It's a big problem. Everyone needs to know what their task is what their responsibility is and It's important Step number one is we have to know ourselves
My son asked my rabbi my son is in israel So he went to visit my rabbi and to talk to him. He says when does someone know if they're ready to get married? He says not before you know yourself If you don't know yourself, you have no business getting into a relationship with someone else that It could potentially be Problematic if a person doesn't doesn't know themselves Another thing is know your role in life
What are we here for hashem put every person into this world for a purpose Know your purpose if we don't know our purpose Then what are we we're spinning our wheels? But there was a question that was asked yesterday after the lecture someone asked what do I tell someone who doesn't want to live? But they don't have anything to live for He said it's a big problem. It's a very big problem because that means they don't know they haven't connected with life
They've never really connected with life if they have no reason to live if they don't know their purpose here What's the big picture? We have to understand that we're not here to stay No one is on planet earth to stay on planet earth One thing that we all have in common is we're all going to die We're all going to have a day that we check out. That's it. We're done. Okay. So how are we preparing for that?
How are we preparing for that bill that we're going to pay? You know the example rabbi brody said yesterday He said we went to eat dinner in a restaurant and at the end when we were leaving They give us a bill. What's this bill? It's not what we came for I know but you don't expect to get food for free We come to this world and we have all of these pleasurable experiences. We eat good food We're able to sleep. We're able to dance. We're able to to get married
We have all of these amazing gifts that hashem gives us. Well, there's a bill that we have to pay at the end What's that bill? Well, if we use all of those tools to glorify hashem's name to bring hashem into this world We're scot-free. We did what we needed to do with it But if we take it all for personal self Satisfying experiences. It's just for me to enjoy and to and and leave hashem out of it and we have a big bill to pay
It's important for every person to write a personal mission statement and I even say To have a family mission statement Every business has a mission statement This organization has a mission statement if you go to crispy cream the kosher crispy cream in atlanta kosher crispy cream It has a mission statement. Their goal is to put a smile on every person's face one donut at a time That's their mission
Starbucks has a mission. They have a goal. They have a purpose. What's our purpose? What's our own personal mission statement? Why am I here in this world? So me and my family over covid we sat and we put together our family mission statement I have it hanging in my office in my in my in my home So that my children whenever they walk into my office, they can see the mission statement This is our family's mission statement. This is our What we want to accomplish together as a family
and a personal mission statement Not only for business. What's my goal? What do I want to accomplish in my own life? What do I want to achieve and then keep focused keep focused on that mission? When in the presence of someone who's more knowledgeable think twice before speaking, you know one of the worst sins that the talmud says is a Student Who speaks in front of his rabbi someone asks the rabbi the question and the student jumps in? It's one of the most severe
Things that someone can do Someone who's you don't know your place. That's the problem. You don't know your place. Someone who doesn't know their place. It's not not good Don't be afraid to ask others for advice There are many people who are smart who have great wisdom who have great life experience They don't have to be professionals, of course we have our in-house doctor But they don't have to be professionals people who just have life experience can also give you guidance and give you direction
If you don't take control of your life You're being manipulated by others We're being manipulated by the way By media by social media, do you know people pay a fortune companies pay a fortune of money to buy your data? They buy where you go what you shop what you search You ever wonder you ever talk about? Watches and suddenly all of the advertisements are about watches you talk about vacation and suddenly all the advertisements about vacation
Now you talk about vacation to mexico and suddenly all the vacations to mexico are available and talk about a cruise whatever it is It's unbelievable. They're listening constantly and they're they're those that that data is being purchased The data is being purchased target buys that data and then they advertise their products to vpn is also in it, yeah, but If we don't take control of what our objective what our goal is they will
And they're going to guide us how they want us to shop and how they want us to spend money and they want us to be reckless and and careless and how we uh You know spend and and and run around from one thing to the other we were created each and every one of us were created To fulfill our own unique role in life. We have our own things that we need to accomplish that no one else can No one else can can accomplish it for us
So each each one of us we think as long as I as long as i'm part of the 50 percentile I'm safe. No, no, no. I'll tell you an amazing story my brother and my father Were in a conversation On porim. I was probably 16 years old at the time. I think was 16 years old at the time And my father was completely inebriated It's porim. That's the mitzvah, but we know what comes out when you're when you're drunk the truth comes out
and it was the most God-fearing experience i've ever had my brother was He was at a stage in his life one of those stages and my father shot a Bullseye A bullseye into his challenge my father said You are not doing as good as you can do He says what do you mean? I'm doing exactly like everyone else says that's your problem. It's my father. I remember i'm totally drunk He said that's your problem. See when you're standing in front of the almighty
at after 120 You're going to be standing there and you're going to be looking Looking around. Hashem is going to say did you do what you needed to do? I did like one second. Where is everybody you're going to be standing there alone You're going to have to answer alone for your own doings or misdoings And no one else is going to be there to be your attorney or to say
I can vouch in front of the almighty. I can vouch. He was he was a fine gentleman. No, no, no, no There's no no lawyers there. It's you standing in front of the almighty That's it And it struck a chord with me And with everyone else who was there that's really what it's about we have to take personal responsibility that we're not just like Like everyone else whatever everyone else does that's what i'll do just fit in no
Hashem didn't ask einstein to just fit in you have to be an einstein You have to be not don't just fit in fit in means that you produce average He was well above average you have to excel Every one of us can excel in our own areas. We have our own responsibilities the things that we need to accomplish And when the moment calls for it, we have to take the lead in whatever it is Whatever situation comes our way. Why does it come our way?
Hashem says I want here you go. You have an opportunity lead do something with it You know, I remember coming to my grandfather's house once We used to have a family gathering with my grandfather every motzah shabbos every saturday night And one time we get there And my grandfather's not sitting at the front of the table. He's sitting on the side Who's sitting at the front of the table? My great uncle raphaim chrysworth. He was the chief rabbi of antwerp. My grandfather had a tremendous
debt of gratitude to him He helped my grandfather and my grandmother get married He helped get my grandfather the visa to come from sweden to come to what was then palestine Said they can get married and he was a master torah scholar He felt it an obligation for him to give honor To his brother-in-law my grandfather were you talking about my grandfather was a giant and torah himself, but he he knew his place Even though I would say my grandfather should stay there and let them no. No, no
He felt His place was on the side. Let him take the grandfather sat there quiet didn't say a word Just listen to everything that this great rabbi his brother-in-law said with utmost respect Serving him taking care of him. It was an unbelievable sight. You see someone who's such a giant Just stand in the corner Let someone else shine. This is his His opportunity this is what he felt his responsibility was there was a very very wealthy person who was traveling around europe
He went to go visit the great chavetz haim The great they don't want to see the chavetz haim. My grandfather once I asked him I said there was a yeshiva that approached me. They said oh your grandfather's rabbi Wolby, can we take the yeshiva we're visiting from taveria from tiberias? Can we bring the students? to rav wolby So that he can give them a blessing I said i'll ask I went to my grandfather. I said, is it okay?
They want to come to the yeshiva. He says no, they shouldn't come to me. I said, why should they come to me? He says they should go to mordechai zuckerman. They should go to mordechai zuckerman. I said why should why are mordechai? Why are you sending them away? He says two reasons number one three reasons. He said number one Is because he's really a righteous jew Me i'm not so righteous number one number two He saw the chavetz haim
He saw he didn't say he learned he happened to be a student of his he saw the chavetz haim with his eyes He's much holier than I am He just saw the chavetz haim and number three He has a nicer beard than me So sure enough. I went back to the yeshiva that asked me and I told them my grandfather said For these three reasons you should go to mordechai zuckerman and this is the address and this is where you can find him
Okay, the yeshiva ended up going to mordechai zuckerman And who was he learning with? my grandfather So they got both of them at one time. So the yeshiva ended up getting the blessing from both from mordechai zuckerman And from my grandfather But you see what he says just the he saw the chavetz haim. That's why he's holier So this individual this wealthy businessman was traveling around europe He wants to stop by to talk to the chavetz haim comes into the chavetz haim's house
He looks around he's like He's like chavetz haim Where's your furniture? He says where's your furniture? He says me I'm, just traveling I'm, just traveling. I don't take my furniture with me when i'm traveling. He says well So am I I'm, just traveling too. We all come to this world. We think we're here permanent We're all traveling Yeah, we collect furniture. We collect more. We're we're a a culture today, which is called a Consumer culture
We buy and buy and buy and buy and buy I don't need it, but it's a great deal. I have to I can't it's like Because we feel permanence. We feel like we're here forever chavetz haim remembered every day. I'm only traveling i'm passing through Well, i'm going to start collecting things Someone who travels around europe doesn't take their furniture with them Because i'm traveling through this world. I don't have time to collect things. That's how simple he was
Most people don't know or recognize that we are temporary. We don't realize that we think we're permanent Someone who knows their place they know they're not here forever. We're not here forever. We remember the world to come We have a seat waiting for us It says We only earn our ticket If we do what we need to do the seat is waiting It's your seat But we have to do In order to earn that ticket to get that seat
Every jew has a portion in the world to come waiting for them. We just have to pick it up Pick up the ticket It says that he who runs after honor Honor runs away from him He who runs away from honor honor runs after him That's the nature of the world You run after something it runs away from you Torah Happiness is compared to water It goes to the humble it goes to the lowest place possible
Water when you pour water into the thing. It doesn't stay at the top of the pan. It goes to the bottom Oh, you're humble. That's where the happiness goes to people who are arrogant don't have happiness My torah is compared to water It goes to the lowest common denominator to the humble We'll end off with the talmud the talmud says we were someone it was a a one of the sons Of the tanayim of the tanaic sages Went into a coma
And when he got out of the coma His father asked him he says what did you see there you were in the in the world to come you were able to see What did you see? He says I saw an upside down world Those who were Pushed down in this world were the ones who were elevated in that world Those who are elevated in this world and honored they were put down in this world It's almost like the members of knesset and the members of congress
Right the members of knesset are the lowest creatures on planet earth The lowest the politicians are the worst it doesn't make a difference what side of the aisle they are politicians are the worst You can't trust the word they say You can't trust the word they say They'll say today Oh, of course sure, how are you? Mr. Rosenstock great to see you when you need them gone as long as you voted for them They're great As soon as they're devoted already, it's done
They don't know who you are Can't help you It's a real problem We think that those who are honored in this world are the ones who are honored in the world to come It's the exact opposite. Look at those who are not being honored Look at those who are being trampled on look at those are being those are the ones who god holds at the highest esteem It says Who knows his place this way is knowing your place, you know what means When we when we console
A mourner we say Hamakom Who is the makom makom is the almighty He knows his creator That's what this this way is we have to know where we stand with our creator Recognize your god your mission what god put you into this world for So my dear friends way 26 is a really important way for us to know where we stand