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We're learning ספר מסילת ישרים.
We saw yesterday the principle that everything that הקדוש ברוך הוא made in this
world,
He made for us to use.
So let me say that the other way around,
the inverse:
there's nothing in this world that exists for no reason.
Everything in this world that was made was made לשימוש האדם.
Everything is here for us to use in עבודת השם.
That means everything you ever encounter on some level—it could be a great level,
it could be a lower level,
but on some level—everything you encounter is a tool for you to be using
to serve הקדוש ברוך הוא.
It could also be misused,
and you could take it away from Hashem.
You could misuse it,
too.
But the goal of why Hashem made it was in order to be a
סיוע לעבוד בוראו.
And if you have that mindset,
and you use the world with that perspective,
that you're using the world to come close to Hashem,
הוא מתעלה,
the person himself is raised up closer to Hashem,
והעולם עצמו מתעלה עמו,
and the entire world is raised up together with you.
כי הנה—the entire world meaning all those things that were created in the world
with that purpose,
that's why they were made,
they were made to be used in עבודת השם,
so you now used them for עבודת השם,
so they are raised up with you—כי הנה עילוי גדול הוא לבריות כולם בהיותם
משמשי האדם השלם המקודש בקדושתו יתברך.
There is a great uplifting for any creation in the world if it's used
by someone great.
So,
you're in אושר עד,
and there's apples,
and all the apples are there.
And the apples see there's someone coming to take them,
and it's רב Rubinstein,
and he's going to make a ברכה on this apple with such כוונה.
And the apples say,
"Take me!
Take me!
Take me!" And then רב Rubinstein takes that apple.
"Yes!
I'm going to be used to serve הקדוש ברוך הוא,
because a ברכה is being made over me,
and I'm going to give strength to a person who's going to be using
that energy to serve Hashem." And then someone else comes along who's not going
to make a ברכה,
and he's going to be using the energy from the apple to stay up
a little bit later on Netflix.
And the apple says,
"No,
no,
no,
no!
Don't take me!
I was made in this world in order to bring strength to people to
serve Hashem!
That's why I was made!" And the apple is davening to הקדוש ברוך הוא,
כביכול,
like פרק שירה,
every everything that's made in this world has a prayer that they say to
הקדוש ברוך הוא.
The apple is davening to הקדוש ברוך הוא that they should be used by
someone who's going to use them in עבודת השם.
So,
it's a whole new perspective of the world.
It's not that the world is neutral,
and you can choose to use it,
and if you're a good guy,
then you'll use it for Hashem.
It's the world was made for you to be used to serve Hashem.
That's what it would It's davening for you to take it!
עילוי גדול לבריות כולם בהיותם משמשי האדם השלם המקודש בקדושתו יתברך.
It's an uplift for all the creations of the world if they're being used
by a righteous person.
והוא כעין מה שאמרו חז"ל בעניין אור שגנזו הקדוש ברוך הוא לצדיקים.
There was a light that הקדוש ברוך הוא made that had a special power.
One was able to use it to understand the world in a much deeper
level,
on a on one level,
to be able to see from one end of the world to other end
of the world,
and it's the same thing,
to be able to understand the depths and the meaning behind the whole world
in that.
And that light was something which could also be misused.
So,
הקדוש ברוך הוא hid that light.
כיוון שראה אור שגנזו הקדוש ברוך הוא לצדיקים שמח,
שנאמר,
אור צדיקים ישמח.
If that light would have been available for the רשעים to use as well,
it would have been a great tragedy.
I always think about it,
how יאשיהו,
was it?
Who hid the contents of the קודש הקדשים in an underground tunnel,
still there to be found,
as far as we know it was never found.
Other כלים were taken out.
The מנורה was taken out.
The שולחן was taken out.
The מזבח was taken out.
And they ended up in foreign hands.
But those are replaceable.
משה made one,
שלמה המלך made other ones.
Those are replaceable.
The לוחות הברית are irreplaceable.
That's given by הקדוש ברוך הוא Himself.
It's not something you can make again.
That was buried,
and as far as we know,
it was never found.
It's waiting.
הקדוש ברוך הוא could allow the מנורה to be destroyed,
because that's replaceable.
He can't allow the לוחות הברית to be taken,
because those are irreplaceable.
The אור הגנוז apparently is something which is so powerful...
to be used for the good.
And if we don't have it,
we're lacking so much.
But the danger of it falling in the wrong hands,
it's it's irreplaceable,
the damage that it could do.
הקדוש ברוך הוא designed it to bring us close to Him.
If the world is not fitting for it and not ready for it,
it can't,
it can't be.
It can't be used.
It can't be found.
So הקדוש ברוך הוא hid it,
and it rejoiced that it should only be used by the צדיקים.
ובאבני המקום שלקח יעקב ושם מראשותיו אמרו אמר רבי יצחק מלמד שנתקבצו כולן למקום
אחד והיתה כל אחד אומרת עלי יניח צדיק ראשו It's what I was saying
before about the apples davening to הקדוש ברוך הוא.
חז״ל say that.
That that the stone itself,
the stone itself was saying,
"Let the צדיק rest on me." So it's a it's a it's a חז״ל's's
idea that everything in the world that exists is calling out to be used
by צדיקים.
Every item that ever exists.
This tree over here,
this was a tree,
was davening that it would be used to become a table in a ישיבה
and have ספרים put on it,
and its prayer was answered,
and it was זוכה to be this table right here where people learn תורה.
Its prayer was answered.
Now it's interesting,
we don't find,
at least as far as I know,
that חז״ל say that the stone was davening and asking Hashem to please be
part of the מזבח.
We don't find that.
If anyone knows a מדרש like that,
let me know.
But we do find,
and that's the context here,
that it says that they want to be used by a צדיק.
Similar to what we were speaking about yesterday:
there's the item and there's the כוונה.
We spoke about that yesterday or the day before?
There's the item and there's the כוונה.
For a stone to be used and be part of the מזבח,
that's symbolic.
It's beautiful.
It's very nice,
but okay,
but what's happening on the מזבח?
It's what the people are doing and what their כוונה is.
That's what's important.
The stone here,
he's a stone.
He wants to be used by a צדיק,
and being used by a צדיק is an elevation for him that he was
used in עבודת השם.
Just being on the מזבח by itself is not enough.
It has to be צדיקים who are then using the מזבח.
That's the real goal.
That's where the intention is to come close to הקדוש ברוך הוא.
עלי יניח צדיק ראשו.
והנה על עיקר הזה העירונו זכרונם לברכה במדרש קהלת שאמרו חז״ל ראה את מעשה
אלוקים בשעה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא את אדם הראשון נטלו והחזירו על כל אילוני
אילני גן עדן And the so
the מדרש says that when הקדוש ברוך הוא made man,
He took him and walked around גן עדן with him.
And they walked back and forth,
החזירו,
they walked all the way around גן עדן,
and He showed him the trees.
You see this tree?
You see this tree?
You see this tree?
ראה מעשי כמה נאים ומשובחים הם.
Look how beautiful these trees are.
So אדם הראשון was walking with הקדוש ברוך הוא in גן עדן and getting
an appreciation of the world.
Appreciate the world,
look at the world,
see what it is.
Hashem's taking him by hand,
showing him all these beautiful trees.
So אדם would say,
"Wow,
it's beautiful.
Look at this one.
Yes,
beautiful." And Hashem's taking him around saying,
"Do you see this one?
Come see this one.
It's a precious one to Me." And He shows him this tree and these
leaves and these fruits and this tree,
and אדם הראשון is looking at all these beautiful trees.
He asks Hashem,
"Why are You showing me all these trees?" התפעלות,
why?
כל מה שבראתי בשבילך בראתי.
It's all yours.
It's all yours,
my son.
It's all yours,
my child.
Everything I made that's so beautiful,
it's yours for the taking.
תן דעתך שלא תקלקל ותחריב את עולמי.
That was one hour before he before he was מקלקל את העולם.
But הקדוש ברוך הוא said to him,
"Recognize that everything I'm giving you,
it's free choice.
Everything,
you see how beautiful it is?
You see what potential it has?
It's yours to be used,
it's your choice.
You choose how to use it.
I'm not saying that you have to use it in a particular way.
I'm giving you the free choice.
I'm also advising you on how to use it.
Look how beautiful it is,
what potential there is.
Make sure you use it well.
I'm giving you the opportunity to come close to Me.
I'm giving you all these physical elements that you can then use them to
have a relationship with הקדוש ברוך הוא.
Use them well.
Use them well,
my child." Otherwise,
you can destroy the entire world.
כללו של דבר האדם לא נברא בעבור מצבו בעולם הזה.
So we've just gone off topic for a little bit to show that the
entire world was designed for you to use to serve הקדוש ברוך הוא.
Now going back to what we were speaking about earlier,
that the goal of this world isn't comfort in this world.
האדם לא נברא בעבור מצבו בעולם הזה.
The goal why you were made wasn't to have a comfortable life here in
this world.
Doesn't mean you can't have a comfortable life,
but that wasn't the goal of what the life was,
אלא בעבור מצבו בעולם הבא.
The main reason why you were made was what your spiritual status is,
אלא שמצבו בעולם הזה הוא אמצעי למצבו בעולם הבא.
How you use the physical world,
your choice.
הקדוש ברוך הוא just told us that we have a choice in how to
use it,
it's your choice.
It's in your hands.
There are certain Has anyone read the book Outliers?
Yeah.
You've heard of it?
So,
that book has some good points to it,
but there's one point in there which is very challenging,
which is that like a a motive of the book is that you think
being successful depends on your hard work?
No!
It depends on external circumstances.
That's the exact opposite of Jewish Jewish view,
exact opposite.
Jewish view is:
You think that your success depends on your external circumstances?
No!
It depends on your hard work!
But he's telling the truth,
and we're telling the truth.
Like we spoke about this two days ago.
He's telling the truth from a financial perspective,
from a physical perspective.
So what he's saying is if you want to be successful,
meaning financially,
that's the goal,
right,
or in sports,
or in music,
or whatever it is that he's talking about there.
So if you want to be successful in this world,
do you think it only depends on your hard work?
No,
a lot depends on your external,
that's true.
What he's saying is true.
But if you then make the big mistake of taking the book Outliers' message
and applying it also to the spiritual world,
then you've made a big mistake.
Cuz what he's saying is true is that not everything depends on your hard
work,
a lot depends on external circumstances.
That's true regarding your financial situation,
it really is.
If you're born in the right era at the right time,
then you're going to have different influences and different understandings and different knowledge.
If you're born in the right month of the year,
you're going to have more training.
Everything depends on like external circumstances and your hard work,
but a lot is external circumstances.
That's true for physical things.
But for spiritual things it's not relevant at all.
Your life situation is exactly equal to everyone in the world,
exactly equal.
That it's irrelevant.
It's just about how much you work from that place.
It's irrelevant whether you're rich,
it's irrelevant whether you're poor,
it's irrelevant whether you have challenges,
it's irrelevant!
That's הקדוש ברוך הוא takes all that into account!
And the goal of success is קרבת אלוקים.
That's the goal of success.
And that doesn't depend anything to do with external fact- factors.
Nothing,
nothing!
That's all up to you.
And therefore,
success in this world does depend a lot on circumstances outside of your realm
of influence.
Success in spiritual matters is fully,
fully,
fully yours.
You might say,
"No,
it's not,
like he's cleverer than me,
he can learn more תורה than me." That's all taken into account.
And "He's got more of a connection to הקדוש ברוך הוא,
just naturally,
just like he's more of a person that can feel emotions and can feel
a connection." That's all taken into account!
That's all taken into account!
For physical things,
no,
but for spiritual things,
it is.
מצבו בעולם הזה,
so your life circumstances may be easier,
maybe harder.
They're predetermined,
they're external to you.
זה לא משנה.
It's all an אמצעי למצבו בעולם הבא.
It's all just a means to what your spiritual life is,
and that's where you get to make a choice.
That's where your free will is.
That's where your sphere of influence is,
where you can make a difference.
שהוא תכליתו.
That's our purpose.
So we need to stop looking and comparing ourselves to other people,
where they're holding,
where I'm holding.
We need to stop looking with comparisons over wealth.
We need to stop looking at people who are very successful in other realms
and say like,
"Wow,
I wish I could be like that." We have to look,
where am I holding now?
Meaning,
what life circumstances have I been given?
And now,
how can I come close to הקדוש ברוך הוא with that in mind?
That's my life circumstances.
I didn't choose it.
I didn't choose my Most,
most,
most,
most things in your world you don't choose.
You don't choose what country you were born in.
You don't choose your parents.
You don't choose a lot of your emotional makeup.
You can choose how to develop it,
but a lot of it is built in.
Either built in,
or it's this influence of things that you had around you before you've even
had a chance to choose.
A lot of things are If you're going to include חז״ל in this,
then you don't choose who you marry.
It was predetermined forty days before you were born.
But even without that,
even just like,
you don't determine most of your life circumstances.
At some point,
you take a more active role in it,
but a lot of the basis you don't.
And the psychologists say that whatever happens to you until age seven or even
younger,
that forms the main basis of who you are for the rest of your
life.
You have free choice beyond that,
but the basis of who you are.
So you don't choose any of those things.
But if you recognize that that's not the end goal,
all the physical life is not the end goal,
it's all an אמצעי,
it's all a means for your spiritual life.
And therefore it doesn't make a difference what all those external circumstances are.
What makes a difference is,
now that they're taken for granted,
now,
what are you doing with it?
How are you coming close to הקדוש ברוך הוא through them?
And therefore you'll see that חז״ל say in many places:
על כן תמצא מאמרי חז״ל רבים כולם בסגנון אחד מדמים עולם הזה למקום או
לזמן הכנה.
This world,
this time is preparatory.
It's not the תכלית,
it's not the end goal.
ועולם הבא למקום מנוחה ואכילת המוכן כבר.
The next world is that where you're going to get to benefit from all
the hard work you've put in.
In this world,
if you're looking at other people as success stories because of their sports,
because of their wealth,
because of their fame,
you're going to be disappointed the whole way through this world.
Maybe there's one or two people here who will be satisfied,
but the vast,
vast majority will be disappointed.
And suffer in the next world again,
because you weren't working on what's really important.
On becoming close to הקדוש ברוך הוא,
putting in the hard work for what's really important.
But if you switch to the תורה's value,
then it's a win-win.
You get this world and the next world.
In this world,
you're not jealous of other people.
You're not looking to be the top of the top,
that you've got the most likes,
and you've got the most fans,
and you've got the most wealth,
and you've got the most fame,
and all that's become secondary.
You don't care,
it's just not interesting to you.
Like Rav Menachem Rubinstein said about his father,
פשוט לא ענין אותו.
פשוט לא ענין אותו.
He wasn't anti all the things of this world,
it just wasn't interesting to him.
He just wasn't interested in that.
He was an עבד השם.
That was what's interesting to him.
You'd tell him about politics,
you'd tell him about finance,
you'd tell him about economics.
Okay then,
very nice.
He'll take an interest just because you're sharing with him,
and he wants to like show you that he cares about you,
but he wasn't interested that he's going to go and follow up and look
about it,
because he's not anti either.
It's just it's just not interesting.
Like,
"My spiritual world is my world.
That's my whole world." העולם הזה דומה לפרוזדור.
And therefore the way you should view this world is just it's a passing
through.
And don't don't get drawn after it.
Sometimes you get drawn after it.
You see someone's car,
"Oh,
I want a car like that." You see some big advert of some nice
clothing,
or whatever it is,
or or a vacation somewhere,
like,
"Oh,
I want to go there too.
I need a break from ישיבה to have more strength that I can come
back and learn with more כח.
I need to go to that vacation spot." No,
it's not.
No.
You just saw the you saw the advert,
you're making excuses now.
You get drawn in after it.
Just,
זה זה לא מענין.
זה לא מענין.
העולם הזה דומה לפרוזדור.
Like I said earlier on:
היום לעשותם ולא מחר לעשותם.
This is the world where I can make a difference.
This is the world where I can come close to הקדוש ברוך הוא.
I can't do it there.
היום לעשותם ומחר לקבל שכרם.
מי שטרח בערב שבת יאכל בשבת.
העולם הזה דומה ליבשה והעולם הבא לים.
All these examples are examples where it's teaching us:
don't take this world too seriously.
See this world as a means to the end.
There's a famous story with the חפץ חיים,
I'm sure everyone knows it,
but it's worth telling in this context.
The חפץ חיים was at home in Radin,
in his house,
and someone came to visit him,
and it was someone who was a גביר.
And and he was looking at the חפץ חיים and he like sees how
he has this rickety chair,
and this old table,
and like no other like furniture,
nothing fancy.
So he says to the חפץ חיים,
"This is how you live?
Like,
where's your furniture?" So the חפץ חיים said to him,
"Well,
where's your furniture?" So he said,
"I don't have furniture here.
I'm just passing through." So the חפץ חיים said,
"I'm also just passing through." זה לא חשוב!
זה באמת לא חשוב!
Like it's really not important that you have the nicest looking chair,
couch,
car,
clothes,
a vacation,
show pictures to other people who are more jealous of you and then you're
more jealous of them because of their pictures the next day.
It's just not important!
We've we've got spiritual pursuits to take care of,
that's the real world.
So,
Outliers is correct.
External circumstances will determine your financial and mundane success.
אבל זה לא מענין.
It's not relevant.
It's not important.
Our goal is the spiritual pursuits.
And that,
no matter what your life situation is on a mundane,
physical level,
your spiritual potential is infinite.
It's yours for the taking.
ותראה באמת שכבר לא יוכל שום בעל שכל להאמין שתכלית בריאת האדם הוא למצבו
בעולם הזה.
There's no way that a thinking individual—again,
he said בעל שכל;
some people don't have שכל,
and they spend their whole life chasing after these physical pleasures and they're not
thinking!
But if someone has intelligence,
and he's thinking it through,
there's no way that he could honestly believe that his purpose,
end goal,
end goal,
is for what he's here for in this world.
כי מה הם חיי האדם בעולם הזה?
If you don't have a higher purpose,
then why did why why why is it worth living?
Some people the answer is it's not.
That's that's their conclusion,
that it's not.
Why is it worth living if that if this is the life in this
world?
או מי שהוא שמח ושלו ממש בעולם הזה?
Is there really anyone who's fully,
fully happy?
And even if he is,
ימי שנותיו בהם שבעים שנה ואם בגבורות שמונים שנה ורהבם עמל ואון.
Most of a person's life is working hard.
It used to be that the poor people looked to the wealthy people and
they said,
okay,
they've got the easier life.
But now the world's kind of turned around,
and you see the people who are very wealthy,
they have more צרות in their family.
Sometimes emotional,
sometimes שלום בית issues,
sometimes other things like that.
I have an uncle who has a house somewhere,
and the people who have a house on that road are very,
very,
very,
very wealthy.
And my uncle told me,
as far as he knows,
he's the only one who's still married on that road.
ברוך השם,
he's happily married,
husband,
wife,
two kids and a dog,
and they're happily married.
He said,
as far as he knows,
that on that road,
every other family that he knows is divorced.
So,
the lot of the wealthy isn't always more rosy and more And דוקא the
people who are hardworking,
דוקא they often have great greater life satisfaction.
They feel success,
they feel There was a guy There was a guy painting the bus stop
outside of my house.
You know the in between my house and of Jarmon's house?
There was a guy for the last two days painting it.
And it was a beautiful scene.
Two full days painting this bus stop.
And then I saw him like he was like finishing,
and he was like standing there,
stayed like this,
like looking.
And he's I don't think he's Jewish,
so I said to him in English,
I said to him,
"Good job!" And he's like Like he was like he didn't know what to
say to me.
Like he was looking like Two days painting a bus stop,
real life satisfaction.
Like he really enjoyed himself,
like looking back.
I didn't see,
but I'm sure I'm sure afterwards he took out his phone,
took a picture,
sent it to his family,
"Look what I just did!" It's a kind of life satisfaction doing things which
are are beneficial.
But then what are you going to do?
Like the next day,
the day after,
the day after that you feel empty again.
And you'd feel empty again,
and you feel empty again.
And a person who's looking for life satisfaction in this world is likely not
to find it.
So there are higher things.
There's music,
there's writing,
there's higher things,
there's family,
there's satisfaction from one's family,
but ultimately that's all going to die.
That's all going to go away.
And what's there going to be left to appreciate it?
It's a scary thing.
What's going to be said about you in your לויה?
It's a scary thing.
A scary thing.
Rav Rubinstein was of Everything he said was absolutely true.
The truest thing was that we didn't even appreciate like how great he was,
and how much more there is to say.
Cuz like his son said,
"I never ever heard from my father any of these stories.
Everything I heard,
I heard from other people." It was so great.
So,
what are they going to say about you?
They're not If they do say,
they'll say tongue in cheek,
but they're not going to say that you were great at sports.
They're not going to say that you,
like,
earned a ton of money.
They're not going They might say that,
but it's like everyone knows it's like not what's really,
really important once a person's no longer alive.
And everything that was said here,
it's clear that that's eternal,
and that's carrying on with him.
If it's carrying on with him,
it can carry on with us.
Values that are there for the taking,
for everyone to take,
cuz that's what's really important.
That's a higher goal.
כמה מיני צער וחולאים ומכאובים וטרדות.
A person goes through so much suffering,
so much pain,
so much effort,
and for what?
המוות,
he's just going eventually going to die.
If you're taking out the spiritual element of this world,
it doesn't seem worthwhile.
בית שמאי said it's better not to be born.
It's better not to be born.
Now that we're born,
we accept that it's the will of Hashem,
and we'll do our best.
But it'll be a lot easier not to be born.
קהלת would agree.
If you're just looking at it at this world,
if you're reading קהלת as תחת השמים,
תחת השמש without there being above,
but all within this world,
it's really not worth it.
אחד מני אלף לא ימצא שירבה העולם לו הנאות ושלוה אמיתית.
Not even one in a thousand people has throughout their life,
throughout their entire lives,
pleasure,
enjoyment,
peace,
tranquility.
וגם הוא,
and even if he he gets to a hundred years old I was once
in a שול,
and there was a guy who turned a hundred in the שול.
And they made a a קידוש for him.
And they said to him,
"What do you attribute your longevity to?" And he said,
"I ate Cadbury's chocolate every day!" So Cadbury's Chocolate heard about this,
and they made a big advert,
and they say,
"We're giving you a lifetime supply!" A hundred years old.
"We're giving you a lifetime supply for free of Cadbury's chocolates." Now,
it could be that's what gave him his long life.
It could be.
It could be.
It could be that's just his genes,
and there other there's other things involved in it.
He told me very proudly,
he said,
"You know,
I walk to synagogue,
I walk to שול every שבת morning." I said,
"That's amazing." He said,
"Not the whole way.
My daughter drives me to that place,
the..." Because that's a big uphill,
it's a bit hard for me now,
and then I walk down there.
Even if you get to a hundred and you're enjoying your Cadbury's chocolate for
90 years,
100 years,
גם הוא אם יגיע למאה שנה כבר עבר בטל מן העולם.
He really was בטל מן העולם.
He was like old and he was frail and he was like that.
What,
what,
what more do you have to give to the world?
You get removed from that.
Okay,
I don't want to leave on this depressed note,
but the conclusion's going to get better.
We have a soul,
we have a higher purpose,
we're going to get there.
So if you're worried in the meantime and thinking depressing thoughts,
don't worry,
hold on.
There's going to be more in this series of מסילת ישרים,
בעזרת השם.
Our goal will be that we'll treat our body well,
we'll treat our physical and financial status well,
but we'll recognize that that's just a means to an end,
and our goal will be that our נשמה is our main purpose and קירבת
הקדוש ברוך הוא will give us true life satisfaction.
To be continued.