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The Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection is the one-stop shop for the Torah inspiration shared by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe in one simple feed. The Jewish Inspiration Podcast, Parsha Review Podcast, Thinking Talmudist Podcast, Living Jewishly Podcast and Unboxing Judaism Podcast all in one convenient place. Enjoy!
Welcome to Torah Talks, Chazak's Tuesday night program with special guests.
We have with us Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Shlita, how are you, how are you doing, how's everything?
All the way from Houston, Texas, the grandson of the renowned Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe.
And we're going to be speaking about how we always have to grow, never stop growing.
And if you give us a little bit of background before we jump into the talk.
So firstly, thank you so much for inviting me.
It's an honor to be here in the great, great Chazak Center in Queens, seeing you so much
online and all of your, all of your incredible work.
So keep it up.
And thanks to the Rabbi, we're going to be seeing more online and the amazing work you
do with Torch.
And I'm sure you'll tell us a little bit about that.
So I was born in Yerushalayim and raised in New York.
When I was three years old, my parents decided that it was best for our upbringing that we
be in New York.
Many stories about that, but we can get that offline.
And I was in a Hasidic Cheder, and I would say Hasidic, it was Stolin, Karlin Stolin
in Borough Park.
And when I was 10 years old, we moved to Monsey.
And when I was 15 years old, I was learning actually one year of high school in Mir in
Brooklyn.
And I suddenly had a jealousy moment of my brothers.
My older brothers were already in Eretz Yisrael.
And I was like, it's crazy.
They're so close to my grandfather.
And I'm sitting here playing basketball all day.
And I said, it's not, it's not, yeah, it's just like, I don't know how many years my
grandfather has to live.
He's getting older.
He was 80 years old at the time.
I said, I have to go.
I called my father and I told my father, I think next year I want to go to Eretz Yisrael.
He says, listen, as long as you're in a yeshiva, I think it was more like I told him I'm not
going to secular studies next year because I want to learn more.
He says, listen, if you're in a yeshiva that has secular studies, you're going to secular
studies.
I said, fine.
So I'm going to Israel.
So I called my grandfather.
My father was not going to help me with it.
He says, if you can arrange it yourself, go, please be my guest.
So I called my grandfather.
I said, Saba, listen, I want to come to learn in Eretz Yisrael.
Can you find a yeshiva for me?
He says, call me in two weeks.
I'm going to ask around some of my tamidim and see if anybody has a yeshiva, a suitable
yeshiva.
So two weeks later, I called my grandfather.
He says, OK, I have a tamidim who has a yeshiva, Oroch Haman, which is the yeshiva ketana in
Givat Shul, not far from my grandfather's house.
He says, I think it'll be a good place for you.
I said, great.
I made arrangements.
At the end of the year, I pack my bags and I go.
I find myself there at Yisrael.
And I'm 15 years old.
And I get to my grandfather's house and he says, OK, you know, we arranged an interview
with the Rosh Hashiva and the Moshgiach of the yeshiva.
And I'm an American.
I hardly speak Hebrew.
I mean, I speak a little bit.
My father's Israeli.
My mother speaks a perfect Hebrew.
We spoke a lot of Hebrew in the house, but not enough to, like, understand.
I speak what I must speak.
I speak what I know how to speak.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So they said, of course, I come to the yeshiva.
And it was a very, very, very challenging two years.
Oh, wow.
And extremely.
I'm talking about, I was going from regular high school boy in Brooklyn to the Ivy League
of yeshivas, yeshiva ketanas in Israel.
Or Hon is like one of the top two or three yeshiva ketanas in all of Israel.
Wow.
These guys were, I remember sitting and seeing the young Bukharim.
I was 15 when I got there.
The guys weren't yet bar mitzvah, who were learning, like, shas, going through daf after
another daf.
I couldn't read the words.
And it was really a critical moment for me, that whole tkufa that I was there, that whole
period of time that I was there, because it made me desire even more to learn and to grow
and to connect.
I remember, I can't even tell you how many times I was crying, saying, Hashem, all I
want is to learn your Torah.
Just teach me how to learn so I can learn.
I want to know how to read a gemara.
I want to know how to, you know, these guys were reading it like a New York Times.
They're just like, you know, zipping through every block gemara, every page of gemara.
And for me, it was like, I'm breaking my teeth just reading the words.
So it was really transformational.
I didn't know this, but my parents at the time were so worried about me.
Oh, wow.
They were afraid that I was going to drop out and go to the army.
They were like, they were like ready to catch me when I fell.
But I was determined.
I was really determined.
I was going to fight to succeed.
And Baruch Hashem was very, very, very transformative.
From there, I was recruited.
Before I even finished yeshiva etana, which is the, the mesifto equivalent, the high school
equivalent in America, I was recruited by who became my Rebbe, Reb Baruch Eisenstein,
Zechatzadu Glavrocha.
It was Pesach ben Ezmanim.
It was that break of Pesach time.
And he called me up.
He says, I heard that you're looking for yeshiva for when you go, you know, at the end of the
third year of, you know, for yeshiva gdola, which is the ready, the higher, you know,
I would say the equivalent of first year college, right?
But so he says, I heard you're looking for yeshiva.
I want to meet with you.
So I met with him and he was just starting a new yeshiva that, that's ban.
And he says, I want you in my yeshiva.
I met with him and I had to go to the other yeshiva and tell them that I wasn't coming
back after Pesach.
And I basically skipped, you know, those three months of the first year and was already in
the yeshiva.
And I built a very, very, very close relationship with Rebbe Eisenstein, Zechatzadu Glavrocha.
That's memory.
And he was a, he was a big Talmud of the Mir.
He wrote many of Reb Nachum's writings in Chiddush Reb Nachum.
And what was really amazing is that throughout my life, till my wife and I were married a
year, a year and a half, when he was lifter, he guided me every day.
Wow.
I learned with him Chavrus every morning as a study partner, every morning after Chavrus
I'd sit with him and we'd learn together.
I'm guessing you dormed as opposed to being by your grandfather.
Oh yeah.
So at that point I really didn't dormed in the yeshiva.
But before that you were by your grandparents?
Yes.
I was by my grandparents every day.
I would eat breakfast many times, lunch many times, many times, dinner with my grandparents.
I was very, very close with my grandfather and utilized the opportunity to ask him questions
and to listen a lot, to listen to what he was telling people, what he was guiding people.
The questions people would come with, obviously were private questions, but sometimes people
would come to the kitchen and my grandparents, when they were waiting, they would talk to
me and ask me, this is what I'm going to be asking your grandfather, what do you think
he's going to say?
So I got to see a lot and to see how my grandfather conducted himself with people was just like
it was such royalty and such a simplicity.
There was no, he didn't have all these kabaim and all these assistants and it was my grandfather
and my grandmother and any of the grandchildren that were there, if it was me, I was the lucky
one to open the door for people.
My grandfather greeted every person with a smile.
I remember there was multiple times that fathers would come with their bar mitzvah boy, the
day of their bar mitzvah, to get a bracha, bracha, so I have to remember where I'm at.
So they'd come and I'd say, you know, it's a bar mitzvah today, can you give him a bracha?
So my grandfather would look at the bar mitzvah boy lovingly and say, what do you want a bracha
for?
He'd say, I want to be a big talmud chachim.
He says, you want to be a big talmud chachim?
Sit and learn, you'll be a big talmud chachim.
No bracha.
You don't need a bracha for that.
You just go sit and learn, you know, it's a shvitz, you have to sweat, you have to work
hard.
Manikindol wouldn't give brachas.
What?
Manikindol would not give brachot, blessings, for regards to becoming, you know, learning
and you have to work.
Sweat and tears.
There's no shortcuts.
No shortcuts.
So it was an amazing thing to grow up with my grandfather.
Many times I would walk with him because he would give a schmooze, a lecture, known for
the Mosse in Yeshiva Kaltura in Beit Vagan.
Right after Shabbos, because he needed a microphone.
So right after Shabbos, he would walk before the end of Shabbos to Beit Vagan.
It was a long walk from Givat Shul to Beit Vagan.
And I would walk with him many times.
And it was a special time to walk up my grandfather, you know, holding his hand and walking all
the way to Beit Vagan.
Beit Vagan is very, very special.
I was telling you about my Rebbe.
So very, very interesting.
He lived in Saratsk and I lived in Panimirot.
When my wife and I got married, we lived in Panimirot, which is the same road, really
just changes names along the way.
And one Friday night I was walking with my brother after the suda, after the meal.
And I was passing by my Rebbe's house.
I said, you know, I know he's not feeling well.
I was visiting him, you know, many times.
I said, let's just go and say good Shabbos.
So I go in and he's there slumped over his gemara.
I could see he's really not doing well.
So I said, Rebbe, how are you doing?
How are you feeling?
He says to me, and he had an amazing memory, but I knew that things weren't well when he
didn't remember things.
And he says to me, where are you learning now?
So I said, I'm learning where Bitzvah Berkowitz in the Krevon, the Jerusalem Column.
So he says to me, he's a Yasha, make him your Rebbe.
I said, Rebbe, are you going someplace?
Like, what's going on?
He says, he's a Yasha, make him your Rebbe.
Three days later he was naftab.
And it was from the Leviah.
It was the most shocking moment for me.
It's like when I came home, my wife told me that she heard the announcements in the streets.
I was like, I couldn't believe it.
This can't happen.
And I went straight from the Leviah, went back to my new Rebbe, Rebbe Yitzhak Berkowitz,
and I told him, the torch has been passed.
And I'm like, Shalom Aleichem Rebbe.
And I said, I had a lot of private time with my Rebbe over the years.
I need to have private time so you get to know me and I get to know you and we can work
And I had a lot of time that he dedicated.
I drove him nuts for it.
I'd sit outside his office, like, you know, many, many times a day he'd come out and I'm
like, does Rebbe have a few minutes now?
I'm like, Rebbe, do you have a few minutes?
Until eventually I got my own slots of, you know, several hours a week that I was able
to learn Chav Rusa.
And we built a very, very close personal relationship.
And today, Baruch Hashem, now 20 years later, still on a regular basis, reaching out to
my Rebbe and learning with him and hoping to be able to convey his messages to the world.
Baruch Hashem, in 2005, I moved from, I was in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
After I left the kolil, I moved in 2004, I moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, I was there
for less than a year.
It was a great experience.
But then a new opportunity came up in Houston and I ran to Houston and it was a love at
first sight for my wife and I and the community and the opportunities.
They were just remarkable.
And Baruch Hashem, now it's 18 years later and we love every second of it.
Baruch Hashem, six of our children were born in Texas and they're very proud Texans.
But Baruch Hashem, there's an enormous, enormous growth in the community and we feel very privileged
to have been able to assist in some of that growth.
Baruch Hashem, this year, we were fortunate to open up our first major branch in Dallas.
So now we have Torch in Houston and Torch in Dallas.
And soon, Baruch Hashem, we'll have the privilege to open up in Austin and in San Antonio as well.
But the idea is like this, we have a responsibility.
I feel this personally.
I had my own personal story of a miracle that Hashem, you know, that transpired in my life
where I felt that the only reason Hashem gave me life was to help his children connect that.
And I feel that is like an opportunity.
If someone came to me tomorrow and said, and I've had such opportunities where someone
said, you know what, you come into my business, a minimum million dollar salary annually,
you know, it doesn't appeal to me, it doesn't talk to me like one iota.
It just doesn't talk to me.
It's not what I'm here for.
You know, it's like you start talking to a farmer about computers, they're like, what
do you want?
It's like, it's not my language.
So Baruch Hashem, you know, that doesn't mean that money is easy.
We all have our struggles.
Baruch Hashem, we're thankful for it.
But that's not my goal.
It's not my desire.
My desire is to bring as many of Hashem's children, primarily one, myself, closer to
Him.
And if I can, in the process, to help others, that's the greatest merit in the world.
So this is exactly what I do with these Torah talks.
I do it for myself.
I listen and I connect with all these amazing Rebbeim and Rabbanim and Gedalem and speakers
and educators.
They're a haggadah of the whole world, you know.
But Rabbi, jumping into our topic of never stop growing, we are in the month of Elul
and we all know it's a very Oshvitz time and it doesn't mean haggadah, a custom for many
that they blow the shofar every single day.
And we know shofar comes from the word Shapir, which means to become better or to grow.
And how does one do it and what makes this time very special?
So, interestingly, many people have a fear from Elul and like a trepidation.
The honest…
It's the old, olden days.
Right.
And they say that if Honovitch, when they would even just announce the Rosh Chodesh,
Elul, the Chazan would faint.
Yeah.
It was like just such trepidation.
The truth is like this.
It's called the Yamin Nurayim, like high holy days.
It's unbelievable days.
And I think the whole concept of Yirah, Yirah means fear.
But I don't think that's really what it means.
If you look into it, the word Yirah is the same word as Yira'eh, to look, to see, to
comprehend, to understand, to put things into perspective.
And I think the Yamin Nurayim is days of putting things into perspective, recognizing on Rosh
Hashanah, we sit at Hashem's boardroom table.
It's just us and Hashem.
We don't have any emissaries.
We don't have any ambassadors, any representatives, any attorneys.
It's just us and Hashem, the creator of heaven and earth.
I say, Hashem, give me another year.
Hashem's like, why should I give you another year?
Because this year is going to be the greatest year ever.
Because I realize through Rosh Hashanah, which is all it is, is to make God the king of the
universe.
That means not only the universe, of me, my world.
I want to make Hashem king.
That you are my king.
If we're able to have Rosh Hashanah, that indeed, I feel, Hashem, you are my king.
Now it's a different relationship.
Hashem, this year, I'm not going to get carried away with all the nonsense, with all the distractions.
I realize you're my king and I'll prove it to you.
I have 10 days now to show you.
I come to Yom Kippur, hopefully, the 10 days of atonement and repentance are days where
we transform the way we are.
And you know what?
It's a Sukkot that we're now right before, at the beginning of Elul, where it's a journey
of 40 days from the beginning of Elul to Yom Kippur.
And we know 40 is a powerful number, 40 is the number of becoming a new creation.
We have the opportunity for the beginning of Elul till Yom Kippur to demonstrate how
we are a new person.
We're not the same person we were.
We come to our Kiddush Baruch Huah, we say, Hashem, you know why give me a new year?
The guy last year, that's not me.
I'm a new guy now.
I'm a new Ariyewolbe.
I'm a new person.
Give me, because I'm showing you how I'm making that change.
Then comes Sukkot.
What is Sukkot?
It's so odd that we have a packed month of holidays.
It's like spread them out a little bit, you know?
It's very simple.
They're all one holiday.
They're all one demonstration of L'hamlich et HaKadosh Baruch Huah, to make God King
of the universe.
Because what do we do?
How did we get sidetracked and how did we get carried away during last year?
I got too comfortable.
It was materialism.
It was a lot of luxuries.
They were living in America.
It's like, you know, I was just on Lakewood.
It's like, it's unreal, the luxuries and the Gashmiyut and the materialism.
It's a big challenge.
It's a big challenge because like the Ramchal says in Yisharim, it's a sliding scale.
If you want to grow in your Ruchaniyut, your Gashmiyut, your materialism, if you want to
grow spiritually, your materialism is going to have to be declined.
If you want to grow materialistically, your spiritual, they don't go.
You can't, this concept of like, I'm also going to be extremely wealthy with my mansion
and my yacht and also be the Rosh Hashiva and spiritual leader.
It doesn't work.
In the reality of this world, the Ramchal says it doesn't work.
It's one or the other.
And everyone comes at an expense.
My grandfather once said, I heard him say this from a Berucham Zatan, his Rebbe, the
Mir Mashgiach.
And he said that he once walked into someone's house and he saw beautiful drapes on the wall.
He said, you know these drapes?
These drapes cost you Ruchniyus.
I was like, come on, every house has drapes.
These drapes cost you Ruchniyus.
So that's why we leave our homes for Sukkot.
We leave our homes.
We say, Hashem, before I go back into my comforts, I'm stepping out a little, taking seven days
to recognize we shake our Luluf in all directions, recognizing you're everywhere, trying to ingrain
it into our consciousness through this whole Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot.
When I'm done with all of that, then I can dance with the Torah.
I can make it.
And what do we do?
We show what's the center of what we dance, not money.
We don't dance in front of our devices.
We don't dance.
We dance in front of the Torah.
You see, that is the essence of it all.
Then we go into our long winter months.
And this year is going to be a Shana Moberet.
It's an unbelievable journey that we're in.
Also, one of the things that's beautiful about the Shofar is that the Talacha says that the
Shofar always has to be facing up.
You can't blow the Shofar down.
And I think it's symbolic, just in the way it looks, that we always have to be facing
up.
We always have to be recognizing on a very personal level.
I think, you know, my grandfather was a very realistic person.
And one of the things that he always taught was to have a direct relationship with the
Almighty.
You know, we don't have conduits.
We don't have, you know, people through which we communicate to Hashem.
We don't daven to people who passed away.
We go to kireit tzaddikim.
We ask them to be a representative on our behalf, but we don't pray to them.
We talk directly to G-d, direct connection.
We talk to every person.
We don't have an intermediary.
We talk direct to Hashem.
And I think the number one thing that we need in our generation is a direct relationship
with Hashem.
I think the only reason people have anxiety and people have stress in their lives, and
we see this.
You're a rabbi, I'm sure you get all these questions all the time, Rabbi, how do I deal
with anxiety?
How do I deal with my stress?
I'm so stressed out.
I'm so anxious.
All the time, especially in our generation.
Hashem li loira.
If I know that Hashem is there, I have nothing to worry about.
Oh, I have payroll tomorrow.
How am I going to meet my payroll?
Hashem.
How am I going to meet my payroll?
It's your job.
I'm here to do your service.
I went to know Rabbi Chazak when I was 15, and I was very stressed out.
And my rabbi said, everything okay?
I'm like, no, I'm stressed out.
He's like, who's in charge?
I'm like, I am.
With a big smile.
He's like, that's your issue.
Let Hashem be in charge.
I'm like, everything's fine.
And I took that and implemented it.
It's the best feeling in the world.
And I want to also add to what the rabbi was saying about to show fire upwards, is that
the bottom part is small.
The higher part is big.
It's $2 down here.
It's small.
It comes to the spiritual things up there.
Think big.
Do a lot of Torah.
Do a lot of mitzvot.
Never stop growing like the rabbi is saying.
I love these days.
It's days of opportunity.
It's days of a fresh new beginning.
We are white.
I was thinking, we have it says, the Gemara says that there were no days of joy for Kalisor.
Like Tu B'Av that we just passed and Yom Kippur.
What does one have to do with the other?
I understand Tu B'Av.
Tu B'Av, I understand.
Yeah.
Okay.
They were dancing.
They got married.
Okay.
What's Yom Kippur?
It's an unbelievable thing.
If I understand this correctly, the Gemara says that someone who takes upon themselves
responsibility like someone who gets married, they're forgiven for all of their sins.
Someone who becomes a governor, a mayor, a president, the day they take office, they're
forgiven all the sins, same with Yom Kippur.
What were the girls dancing with?
White.
Like Yom Kippur.
Why?
They're clean of all sins.
When you're ready to take upon yourself responsibility, you're forgiven of all your sins.
What do we say in Yom Kippur?
We're saying we're taking accountability.
Last year I made mistakes, but I'm owning up to them.
Next year, it's going to be different.
It's a clean slate.
So over there, it's getting married to the men.
Over here, it's getting married to HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
We're saying we're ready to commit ourselves.
We're ready to commit ourselves to our relationship with Hashem.
Amazing.
Powerful stuff.
Very, very inspiring.
And we were touching upon how during this time and such an auspicious time, such an
amazing time.
Many people are getting closer to Hashem.
Hashem gets closer to us, the kings in the field.
And there's a saying that everybody knows that between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,
like the rabbi pointed to, it's a Saraswati Chuvah, 10 days of repentance.
And we increase in our Torah, Mitzot Hamasim Tovim.
But I heard something cute once, which is that not only should you get close from Rosh
Hashanah to Yom Kippur, but more importantly, get close from Yom Kippur to Rosh Hashanah,
which is not 10 days, but 364 days, no, 354 days, just minus 10.
But many people during this season, high holy days, they're on a high, but when it's over,
it's a little bit weak.
What a physical inspiration can we give to them to keep that inspiration, never stop,
you know, growing always.
So I think like this, I think the first step in all of our growth is to recognize our relationship
with God, our relationship with Hashem, and for it to be real, not to be platitudes, not
to be, you know, big words, and like, God is in the seven syllable word, okay?
It's very simple, make it real, real, your relationship with Hashem, it's special, it's
unique.
Yeah, it could be that you had issues with your Rebbe in school, and it could be you
had issues with your teacher, with your friends, with your neighbors, with your family, everything,
your circumstances, you have to have your own personal relationship with God, and know
that Hashem wants your closeness more than you want anything in this world.
But to always remember, notwithstanding that, to take small steps.
I think the biggest casualty of spiritual growth is when people try to jump.
People try to jump.
It's a, you know,
יִּבֵּלֶת אָדָם תִּסָּלֶף דָּרְכוּ וְלָשֶׁמִּ יִזָּ אַפְלִי בָּעֹת
יִבֵּלֶת אָדָם תִּסָּלֶף דָּרְכוּ וְלָשֶׁמִּ יִזָּ אַפְלִי
בָּעֹת יִבֵּלֶת אָדָם תִּסָּלֶף דָּרְכוּ וְלָשֶׁׁמִּ יִזָּ אַפְלִי
בָּעֹת יִבֵּלֶת אָדָם תִּסָּלֶף דָּרְכוּ וְלָשֶׁמִּ יִזָּ אָפְלָלֶף
דִּרְכוּ וְלָשֶׁׁמִּ יִזָּ אָפְלֶלֶלֶף
דִּרְכוּ וְלָשֶׁמִּ יִזָּ אָפְלָלֶלֶלֶת
we say it multiple times read the words understand what those words are it's
like oh why powerful words right yeet kadel, yeet kadesh, shmira b'al, your name
should grow what does that mean that means that where we are today we're
what things that we're doing to have Hashem involved with it it's not just
like oh I have to go I'm hungry I'm this and that Hashem please feed me Hashem I
want to eat so that I can connect with you means have a real relationship with
Hashem not just like it's a concept that every once in a while we'll sing a
thank you Hashem song and it's great and I love that it's one of my favorites
but it's that's not what it's about it's not the only thing it's to feel a real
connection with it I think if we can just take one one thing before Yom Kippur
before a Shoshana to have that one thing even if it's just a many a shmira b'al
to understand what is that we're saying one time a day it's transformative and
then slowly but surely you add to it I you know I always tell people my students
I tell them you have to have a rabbi and it doesn't have to be me it doesn't have to be
I'll tell you Rabbi, you have to have a rabbi
very important those of you here at Chazak you have a rabbi you have a rabbi
and and and you know what it's an amazing thing I have a rabbi I speak to
every week in Israel and I have a few minutes to ask a few questions I have to
call at the second that it's my slot to grant if I miss it it's like I missed
out right you know what's an amazing thing he never called me once never
called me once you know what your rabbi is not his job is not to call you your
job is to call the rabbi you want a rabbi you're gonna have to run after him
and you're gonna have to pursue him and you have to try time oh I tried yeah I
can't get through he's too busy you can try hard enough be persistent you can't
let go it's your obligation make him for you a rabbi part of that journey is
never stopping I had someone once tell me says look for you it's easy because
you have all these rabbis you can just call them that like no no I worked hard
to make them I said you know what tell me which rabbi you want and I'll get you
an appointment with them every week this is impossible I said tell me which
rabbi he told me which rabbi said no problem I went over to the rabbi I said
look you have a secret admirer he really wants to learn with you he wants to
connect with you said when do you has even 10 15 20 minutes a week that you
can dedicate to him he is unbelievable very promising future he says you know
what I have on Friday at 1045 to 1130 I walk from my lecture that I give in this
location in Jerusalem to my house so at 1045 he should be at this location he
has me for 45 minutes Wow every week how many times do you think this complainer
went how many times do you think you went not once it's very easy for people
to complain but you know what when that same rabbi told me that he had on Shabbos
afternoon at a very inconvenient time for me he had an hour to learn with me
every week I was there every single week I'm not anything special but to me
it was very important to have a rabbi and if it's important for you to have a
rabbi you're gonna have to run after the rabbi and you know it's not always gonna
be convenient not easy by the way when I call my rabbi in Israel it's very late
at night for me you know come in it's inconvenient but that's the time that
works for him I'm gonna work around his schedule so don't expect don't say hey
rabbi doesn't call me he doesn't wish me happy birthday so you know you have to
go and run after your rabbi and in pursuing so that he becomes a silica
Ralph that he's not gonna run after you rabbi divide my yards a minute and the
class and things that are coming out of the heart are entering the heart very
very inspiring words a hundred percent true people might be listening and
hearing the importance of growing and the importance of having a rabbi and
they're struggling to grow it's hard for them you know they want to but it's hard
any tips any advice you give you so I'll take the jewels first is welcome to the
club okay because we're all struggling struggling means you're alive you know I
saw a bumper sticker in Houston I was driving I saw bumper sticker it was it
was transformative it was very simple it was a picture of grass from the side
view and it said on top of the grass it said good on the bottom of the grass it
said bad meaning if you're on top of the grass you're good you're all you're good
if you're below the grass yeah it's it's not going right it's like you're
you're six feet under yep six feet under living people have struggles if you look
at an EKG it goes up and down and up and down and up and down guess what that's
life that's like that means you're alive if you didn't have any problems if you
had a flatline you're dead dead dead people have no problems they have no
bills to pay that no worries they don't get insulted and they don't get offended
there are not no issues the dead if you want to stay alive living little people
have challenges for Ruch Hashem barks and right what did we what do we sweet
oven for we say this in tailing we say this special so that's the sheet ah
Tobacco said you the food and calling me hi I it's such an amazing thing we see
we ask for only tova chesed to you the phony why because if it's not that it
other things you're the phony there are other things running after you so we ask
a sham something's gonna be running after me something is gonna be driving
me nuts let it be good let it be chesed let it be kindness you know we we don't
want to have illness we don't want to have challenges we don't want to have
problems but living people have issues constantly and that's the life on this
earth nobody you could be looking out there you
look if I wish I had you know right we're dealing with lottery tickets
everyone's talking about the lot of them you know there's recently a 1.2 billion
dollar lighting if only I won that lottery everybody tells me all my
students like oh how about just if I made that if I won that ticket wouldn't
be any issues that's why you're not wearing it winning it
Hashem crafts a personal challenge for every single person for one person it's
in this area for one person's in that area it's one it's a it's a spouse he
needs to they need to work on the middle for another one it's their child they
need to work on giving more that every single person has their child there's
nobody out there there's nobody out there on planet earth that doesn't have
a challenge everybody's got challenges that means that you're alive
no you go to the cemetery nobody's got problems there right nobody has problems
it's all all done I'm not trying to be morbid and I'm not trying to you know to
know but it's important that they understand that it's no it's great it's
embrace your problems so how do we how does one deal with the problems so it
should be a mountain a hundred percent you have to look at them as these are
hands crafted by the Almighty for me to grow that's right come better you know
the word we see this in all the parashayot that talk about elevating
right laharimu nes right a nes we know is a miracle but it also means a flag a
banner to elevate challenge the word nisayon is also from the same root of
nes challenges is what makes you grow Wow and if you don't have challenges
you're not in growth mode it's like exercising that's right it's never gonna
be easy you know what tell me one person who ran the 26.2 a mile marathon and at
an easy time no it takes a lot of hard work and if you're facing a challenge
that means you're in growth mode it's a good thing
embrace those challenges because this is you this is what Hashem crafted for you
Hashem custom creates every one of our challenges because as soon as you're
done and you overcome that challenge Mazal Tov next challenge is on the way
I had a class for a bunch of youngsters one of the guys was playing
Tetris I mean that's what life is all about they're like well what are you
talking about like very simple once you clear the lines a new challenge
that's right you continue growing you get to know and you work on you work on
on on a specific trait by great-grandfather of Avraham Kurdzinski
the Torah of Ram unbelievable man he was the mashkiach in Slabotka the the
altar of Slabotka said that he is the fruit of his labor it is just him okay
unbelievable he was a brother-in-law by the way over
Yakov Kamenetsky they both married the Heller sisters or dates the Heller was
their father was their father-in-law not a yes yeah and that was my
grandmother's father Shlomo will be married Rivka Grudzinski my
and my daughter is named after her my son is named after my grandfather I was
talking about it before we were on air about the Yichus and you said something
very powerful about the zeros if we could share it with all of us again I
said it's not my kid it's not my it's not my thought but it's the the idea is
that lineage and and and having a an illustrious heritage appearance of being
such righteous holy people it's a bunch of zeros if you don't put a number in
front of it it's worth it it's worthless so that's my goal my goal in life is to
hopefully put a number even a small number but something in front of those
zeros in it work that the rabbi's doing you definitely have very trying every
day it's you know everyone's got their challenges that's it keep on plugging
away but very very inspiring what you know very very uplifting and we got to
continue going and every stop burn continue pushing and every time you
passed a certain challenge you go on to the next one I was telling you about my
great-grandfather yes he worked on one mida of her at panin of countenance of
greeting every person with a smile everybody may have thought you worked on
that one mida for over two years Wow two years can you imagine two years
what's the big deal just greet everybody with a smile you know in every situation
imagine Arab Shabbat is chaos and how is all things so when your neighbor comes
and says I need to exit really now two eggs you're building your sucker and
it's like you have all of the pressures of the you know got to get everything
ready before Sukkot and the neighbor comes do you have a ladder in the
evidence the neighbor's child comes and is asking you 30 questions like it can
you go home already like in every situation to recognize everybody may
afford to imagine how much hard work that is imagine how many days he's felt
like you know what today was a good day today I greeted every person with a
smile and someone immediately walks in he says can you stop disturbing me
another day I got to do it two years till he attained perfection of that
trait imagine if we worked so systematically on our traits to be more
kind to be more loving to be more attentive today with cell phones it's a
big problem you know people like what yeah I'm listening I'm listening it's
like people don't it's it's a big problem we have to realize that this is
life life is crafted for challenges that we need to overcome and that's
that's that's our goal our hope and our mission in life is to really just keep
on growing every single day embrace the challenges being vanilla oh is growing
amazing rabbi I'll tell you just a thing you said
it reminds me why do we call a scholar it tell me to come
they should call me come right you know how many people do we call come it's
like he has to be a real master and but the you know the student of a wise one
because a someone who's a real wise man is always a student of wisdom he's
always yearning to understand a little man Nicole Adam learn from every
every circumstance for about aria wall not a wall be amazing inspiration
amazing things Luke I Percy and enjoying every second minutes unbelievable I'm
sure everyone else's as well I mean I got custom and our thoughts a final
message for our brethren so I think it's I think we talked about it the whole
time and that that is we all need to relate personally to the Almighty
without platitudes don't try to mimic anybody else don't try to be another
rabbi and don't try to be another this and be you there's only one you only one
you there will never be a replica of you and if a person can just be them the me
that I could us for who wanted us to be not to be like the other guy not to be
like the other gal and like the minute you Hashem could gave you certain
circumstances even if you think of two brothers or two sisters who grew up in
the same exact home twins right how identical are they we know that any you
find a set of twins I'll show you how different they are this one likes blue
this one likes green this one likes this and there's chocolate as well like
vanilla they don't like anything the same they don't dress the same they
don't look they don't they don't think the same but the twins did that the
closest you can possibly get of two species right is identical twins and yet
their worlds apart because every individual is unique your parents your
brothers and sisters your neighbors your friends your life experiences are you
this is what crafts you everybody wants to be him I want to be him I want to be
that it's like this whole thing with fashion I I don't like shopping ever tell
my wife it was it whatever you want however you do whatever you I don't but
there's this concept one of my students introduced me it's called window
shopping window shopping you know when they're shopping yes no window shopping
they go to the mall and they just look and look I said you know what you're
doing to yourself look the HMOD the Tenth Commandment don't be don't be
jealous because you're looking and you're like and then I said I said to my
students I said how many times do you go back two days later and then buy the
thing that you liked that you saw like oh always you always go back after like
you see what you're doing you're just adding yourself you know what if I wear
that then I'll be happy if I wear that then I'll smile like that person if I
wear that if I do this I go to this vacation I do this that people were
constantly in a world that's selling us every advertisement it's like buy this
product because then then nothing you're still gonna be you you have to every one
of us needs to realize that we are a unique specimen in this world because
this book who created us exactly the way he wanted us to be if he didn't want us
he wouldn't create us if he didn't want us to do great things today he wouldn't
keep us on this were earth today but he thinks that we are capable that's what
we're like Hashem is our biggest investor he gives us unbelievable free
free free ox I was once at a conference went to a one of these weekend
Shabbaton's and you know Friday afternoon they have this big spread that
it's amazing I was standing there with friends and I was like how you doing I
haven't seen you I came in from from Texas to you know to be here in the
Tri-State and it was like it was a great great Shabbaton but as I'm
standing over there we eating the kugel and challen that everything I see a guy
getting pushed in on a wheelchair hmm and he's hooked up with an oxygen and
behind him is an entire crate of oxygen tanks that he's gonna need for the
entire Shabbat Wow and it suddenly hit me so do you know something were you
ever grateful for the air you breathe for the lungs the oxygen I never had to
wear a tank on my back I shouldn't gave it to me free
well for what because he loves me I never had to think of how am I gonna how
am I gonna inhale oxygen how am I gonna you know how am I gonna how am I gonna
do that I never needed the tanks all those tanks hit the for Shabbat hit the
with an entire crate of oxygen tanks Wow you never had to think of that you
realize how blessed we are and those who do have those challenges they're there
on the highest level possible Hashem wants them for a specific task in this
world unbelievable on much higher levels it's unbelievable the life we live is an
opportunity every single day to elevate ourselves to connect more and never look
at a challenge as being something which is like oh Hashem hates me I've had
people tell me oh Hashem hates me because if he didn't hate me he would never give
me this challenge like he loves you so much that's why he gave it to you
exactly because he knows only you can handle it you could grow from it exactly
Rabbi Ariya Walby powerful words never stop growing that's a message every
single one of us especially in this time period that we're in every single one of
us have to work on ourselves and visit Hashem to go up the ladder up the ladder
you know what if I can if I can just share Baruch Hashem our organization
torch produces now as the pod 15 podcast shows Baruch Hashem all of them I hope
high-quality total content you can search them on all the platforms the
website you can go to torch podcast calm torch podcast calm check it out and do
me enjoy the rabbi's Torah podcasts I'd cast with an S yeah and you can see all
of them we're all on an Apple on Google on Spotify and all the 24 6 app and
without the Shema soon on all the other Jewish apps that's not the Shem they'll
be there as well Rabbi Ariya you're an inspiration
that's an honor you're the inspiration really appreciate it and I'll give us so
much advice on how to take things to the next level to spread more Torahs on the
Shembo and we want to thank the rabbi you want to thank all of our viewers
want to give a shout to you feel for introducing the rabbi to us thing yeah
great guy Cooper's team and we want to thank all of you for joining us every
single Tuesday night 830 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
has that Torah talks with special guests welcome again tremendous feedback but
that's some things that the rabbi's advise you to get much more people and
anybody who wants to come visit us in Houston please open doors I'm gonna work
on the on the offer be meted to come check out there look forward to it for
it has that good work are we out there please spread the word until next time
thank you very much thank you thank you