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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.
0:03 You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.
0:11 All right, welcome back, everybody. Good evening. Welcome to the Jewish Inspiration Podcast. It's so wonderful to be here live from Houston, Texas, in the Torch Center, to be able to continue this journey of acquiring this trait of bitachon.
0:26 Bitachon, as we mentioned in the previous two classes, is a trust, or better, a reliance on Hashem. To rely on Hashem. Hashem will take care of it, and Hashem will take care of it in the greatest way possible. Does it make sense?
0:43 It doesn't need to make sense. I'll tell you the most incredible story that happened today. My daughter and son-in-law have been looking for a new apartment. They're outgrowing their current apartment, a very small apartment that they have, and they were looking for something bigger.
0:59 The problem is bigger costs you more money, always. Well, that's not always true.
1:16 But my son got into a conversation with my daughter and this and that. He made a phone call. The guy says, listen, a realtor, a friend of his, and he says, you know, I'm about to show someone an apartment. Why doesn't your sister come and take a look?
1:29 And she came and they loved it, but it's going to be way too expensive. In any event, they reached out to the owner and the owner loved them. And the owner's like, how much can you pay? And they told him what they can pay.
1:40 And he's like, perfect. Can we do a three-year deal? And they have a three-year, like, it doesn't make sense. doesn't make sense.
1:46 And I asked my daughter, you know, like she said, we said Hashem is going to give it to us. We know we need Hashem. However, Hashem will give it. And that's, I think, the right way we need to understand.
2:00 And it doesn't mean that it's always going to work out, right? It doesn't mean it's always going to work. Right meaning the way we think of it. Right means the way Hashem wants it to be.
2:09 And that's not always going to be the way we think it's going to be. So now, in the introduction that we're currently in the middle of learning, we previously mentioned that an alchemist is someone who is able to make, He knows the chemistry. He's able to make gold coins. He's able to put metals together.
2:27 He's able to make gold coins himself. He is far greater than anybody else you can imagine. He doesn't need bitachon. He doesn't need reliance on Hashem.
2:35 So the author of the Chavos Halvavos, Rebbeinu Bachia, gives 10 reasons why trusting in Hashem is better than being an alchemist. He gave already five, and now he's going to go to the sixth. The sixth advantage of bitachon over alchemy,
2:53 on Hashem is better off than an alchemist is The alchemist cannot be confident that he will never suffer from illness and afflictions. You remember previously one of the first five differences we said the alchemist can get sick from all the fumes but someone who has reliance on Hashem has no danger. He says here he can get illness and afflictions. That would mar the joy he has with his wealth.
3:36 And they won't allow him to derive proper benefit, practical benefit, from that which he has. And nor will he be able to delight and take pride in that which he has amassed.
4:11 unless the only exception for that is a form of atonement or an exchange for additional merits. So sometimes, here's the way it works, okay? We all understand this is the same. It works with our children.
4:26 It works the same with practically any relationship we have. We know that we wouldn't harm someone just because. Ever. Wouldn't harm someone.
4:37 If someone did something to you, now you have a reason to harm them. You have a reason to pay back. Now, of course, we're not promoting violence and we're not promoting aggression of any sort. However... In the realm of responsibility, when someone is working for a corporation, you know that if they do something, they have a violation, the HR office is going to write it down.
5:01 They're going to take note, all right? And then they do have another violation. HR takes note and they put it in their file. And then when the day comes and they need to terminate that contract, terminate that employee, they'll be able to pull out the record and say, look, you have 36 violations, right?
5:18 And it all comes back to bite. Okay. In God's world, the world that we live in, there's only two reasons one can suffer from pain, from any type of affliction. Number one is atonement.
5:32 If a person does a sin, it's a file in your thing. So when God says, you know what? I want to clean out that file for them. It's going to cost a little bit.
5:40 I'll give you another example, a more practical example. A child. A child goes outside and gets their clothes filthy with mud. So you can all imagine that the mother is not going to be so excited to allow that child to come into the house.
5:59 You're not coming in with your muddy boots. You're not coming in with your muddy clothes. So what does the mother have to do? The mother takes the child outside and says, stand right there.
6:07 She turns on the hose and she starts hosing down the child. You're not coming in filthy like this. That's the way the reward and punishment system works with the Almighty. Meaning the Almighty typically says, no problem, you can go to my house, no problem, in and out, no problem, take what you want from the pantry, enjoy dinner, enjoy breakfast.
6:24 But if you do something wrong, like running in the mud, which is the equivalent of a sin that a person does, is like, our sages tell us, like running in the mud. God says, you can't come into my house. You can't come into heaven. You can't come into my place filthy.
6:43 So I'm going to need to clean you off. And that's the idea of what we call purgatory. Other people call it hell, but that's not true. eternal damnation.
6:53 It's forever. That's not in Judaism. In Judaism, it's like you got to spray them off with a power wash. It's not pleasant.
7:00 It's not pleasant, but it's just to clean off the filth. Once the filth is off, come right in. You understand? The only reason God punishes is if they're dirty.
7:12 Number two, and dirty means sin. What is number two? The second reason, God wants to give you more merit. If God wants to give you more reward, sometimes you can say, you know what, you can accelerate your benefits package if you have this kind of pain.
7:32 And if you accept that pain with love, because your love for Hashem is so great, then it elevates it even more. Our sages, one of the great sages said before, I want any type of wealth, I prefer affliction. Why? Wealth, it gives you comfort.
7:51 It's like you're getting the reward over here. But you know what I really want? I want affliction because affliction will give me the reward in the world to come. Where God says, you're not going to get punishment and cleansing in that world.
8:01 I'm not going to have to spray you with the power wash in that world. Rather, you're going to get it all in this world. When you go into that world, they roll out the red carpet. They're like, you're ready to roll because you're already pre-cleaned.
8:11 It's like you get these pre-approved letters in the mail for all these credit cards. Pre-approved. You're pre-approved for heaven. Now the author continues and he says, thus the joy of a person with mitachon will never be marred.
8:27 For even if he is afflicted, he recognizes the benefit of the affliction and in fact rejoices in it. Why does he rejoice in it? He rejoices in it because he realizes God doesn't do anything silly. God is not playing a practical joke on me.
8:44 God is doing it for a reason. And on the very most basic level, great-grandfather, the book we have right over here, the Torah Savram, talks about pain and suffering. And he says such an incredible thing.
8:59 He says, when a person has pain, it's a prophecy. You see, we don't have prophets today. We're tortures and non-profits. But you have, I had to always say that, I always have to say that.
9:13 But what does it mean, prophecy? Prophecy means it's a revelation from God, but we're not clean enough to have conversations with God on that level. So God communicates through pain. Pain is a very potent messenger.
9:29 Any pain that a person experiences is a message from God. Not only that, my great-grandfather writes in his book, In the Torah Savram, he says that the pain usually is directed to the part of your body that needs to be corrected. What does that mean? You hurt your arm?
9:51 Well, what did you do with your arm? You hurt your head? You bumped your head into a cabinet? Well, maybe you didn't use your head properly.
10:00 Right? Your eyes are hurting. Maybe you looked at something you shouldn't look at. You understand? Each part.
10:05 You hurt your foot. Well, maybe you ran someplace that wasn't good. Maybe you were running to do something that wasn't just. So a person needs to consider that.
10:17 Now, it would be completely inappropriate for someone to say, I'll tell you why you got that. I went to Rabbi Wolby's class. He told me. Let me tell you, right?
10:27 No, no, no. That doesn't work. It's a prophecy for the individual. And each individual can identify what it is that happened to them and why it happened. I want to share with you a quick story, and then we'll continue here.
10:41 right before Pesach. And Pesach, you know, we kasher the counters, we kasher the sinks, we kasher, you know, basically everything that needs to be kashered before Pesach. This was about 10 years ago. And I was filled up a full pot of water.
11:00 I was about to pour it over the sink and there was some water on the floor and I slipped and the water spilled all over my hand and it burns all over my hand. terrible, terrible pain. Now, I wasn't yet in EMT at the time, but I knew the basics is that you run and you put it under flowing water. And I ran to the bathtub, turned on the bathtub, and my hand is there, and I'm starting to laugh.
11:24 And I'm like, Hashem, what did I do wrong with my hand? What did I do wrong with my hand? I'm sitting there, and it's like, it's so painful, and it hurts, and it's burning, it's burning. And finally, I had this moment of an epiphany, a moment of realization.
11:41 I can't believe it. Hashem just punished me for something that I just did with my hand. And this is a direct message. And I'm like, I totally get it.
11:50 I deserve this. This is like, I don't even have a question. And you know something miraculous that happened? It stopped burning.
11:58 I still had blisters for the next couple of weeks. It was a mess. And in fact, when I repeated this in the class the next day, I repeated the story. A woman was watching the class on Facebook Live.
12:11 She heard about it. She had a special medication that you put on burn, Silvadine. And she drove from her house to the class and brought, in the middle of the class, she walked into the classroom. And by the time it was done, she's like, Rabbi, I brought you the medicine for your burn.
12:28 I'm like, how did you even know? She's like, I was watching the class at home and I came. And that's how I knew it. It was unbelievable, the kindness of people.
12:37 It's just unbelievable. So yeah, and that silvadin is a magic. It's magic. Thank you, Hashem.
12:42 But really, the pain subsided. Maybe, perhaps, it was a lesson from Hashem so that we can share it here in the classroom, and we've done this multiple times, to share this idea that Hashem is communicating with us. But sometimes we're asleep and we don't listen to the messages until it hurts. The only communication that we really respond to is pain.
13:08 It's like, oh, what in the world is going on here, right? Sometimes Hashem should bless us all. We should never need pain to hear the message. We should always have pleasant messages that we pick up the message right away.
13:22 We shouldn't need any form of pain. Chovah Salvovah cites verses that highlight this contrast between one who relies on Hashem and one who relies on his own resources.
13:42 This is consistent with what is written in Isaiah. Youths may weary and tire, and young men may constantly stumble. And it says, But what does it say? That those, those who trust in Hashem, but those who hope in Hashem, will have renewed strength.
14:04 Those who are, oh, they need to carry the burden, and they're carrying, and they're working so hard. But those who don't, God renews your energy. He gives you renewed strength.
14:15 And you don't have those worries. And it says likewise in Psalms.
14:25 For the arms of the wicked will be broken. Because they're working so hard. They only trust themselves. So they're going to work and work and work.
14:32 Because it's only me. I'm the one who brings about my success. I'm the one who brings about my bounty. But those who are righteous and trust in Hashem, but the support of the righteous is Hashem.
14:44 They have nothing to carry because Hashem carries it for them. My mother always used to say, straighten out your back. Let Hashem carry the world. You don't have to carry the world on your shoulders.
14:55 Straighten out your back. You can stand up a little bit. It's okay. Don't carry all the burdens.
15:00 Don't carry all the worries. Hashem can carry the worries for himself. He's quite capable. Sometimes we feel like, oh, we have so much burden.
15:10 We have so much.
15:14 world of rabbinics and it goes in the world of therapy and it goes in the world of parenting and it goes in many different areas of life sometimes we get afflicted by the circumstances of our Constituents. People come and they talk to us and they say, they share their stories, whether it's their marriage, whether it's their own struggles that they're dealing with, addictions, you know, various different things. Business relationships that went awry. You know, sometimes it can have an impact on you.
15:51 It's like, I just feel the empathy that you have for someone just can hurt you. Sages teach us, Hashem is the one who brings about all success to people. Hashem is the one who's there to help everyone deal with their challenges. Yes, you have to have feeling for another person.
16:11 You have to have that empathy. Feel it with them. But don't make it your problem. You're dealing with a child who's struggling, whether it be in school.
16:22 You're dealing with a parent who's struggling. Health thing. You cannot make it your problem. The minute you make it your problem, you cannot help them anymore.
16:34 You can't. You have to keep. And now it's not easy because what do you mean? I can't see my child suffer.
16:40 I can't see my parents suffer. I can't see my siblings suffer. I can't see my spouse suffer. It's true.
16:47 You can't. And it's very painful. But the minute it's now your problem, now you're a patient too. And then you can't help them anymore.
16:57 And that's a big balance that one needs to strike between having proper, healthy empathy and overtaking the pain from the other person. A person has to be very, very careful about that. Okay, now he's bringing the seventh advantage of bitachon over the alchemist.
17:27 that the alchemist cannot truly rely on his money to buy him anything he needs as it is possible that he will not be able to obtain his provisions even with the gold and silver or other riches that he possesses
17:49 any food available in his town for purchase. Weather and wartime, for example, can adversely affect the production and transportation of food. So wealth cannot guarantee you that a person will not be hungry, will not go hungry. In fact, one's money may even become worthless and repulsive.
18:14 So a person has to consider that money isn't the solution always. My father has a friend. He is, his parents were survivors. My father's parents were also survivors.
18:25 And they were once talking, I remember this, I was a little child. So I don't know how old I was, probably 11 years old, 12 years old. And my father was telling him like, you know, where do you bank? He says, I don't put money in the bank.
18:36 I don't put money in the bank. He says, my parents are survivors from the Holocaust. He says, who knows if there's another Holocaust, where that money would go. And indeed, we know that there are trillions and trillions of Jewish dollars that are locked up in some Swiss bank.
18:51 accounts that nobody can access because They were killed. They were murdered. So now what? Right? So money can help you.
18:58 He says, I keep my money in a safe, in my home, in my mattresses. He says, I can't. I can't be. But OK, but what's if we have like what we had just a few years ago with COVID and you go to the store and there is no food and there is no toilet paper and there is no corn and there is no. So what?
19:18 What are you going to do then? But someone who trusts in Hashem.
19:24 He'll be surrounded by kindness from Hashem. He doesn't have that worry because he knows Hashem takes care of me. Just the same way Hashem takes care of me today when I go to the supermarket and there's something there and I have a way to pay for it, Hashem will take care of me tomorrow also. So I'm not worried.
19:40 So what's the difference between the two? One is like, I have all these riches and have no way to access anything with it. What's that going to help me? As the verse states, they will throw their silver in the streets and their gold will become repulsive.
19:58 Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them from the day of Hashem's fury. They will not satisfy their souls and will not fill their stomach. They're not going to have a way to fill themselves up. So what's it worth to have that money?
20:20 Likewise, it says elsewhere in our prophets, even their silver, even their gold will not be able to rescue them on the day of Hashem's fury.
20:34 But one who trusts and relies only on Hashem? he may rest assured that his provisions will never be lacking at any time. Those who seek Hashem will not lack any good. And in any place until the end of his days.
20:55 As the verse states in Job, in famine he will deliver you from death. As King David says, God is my shepherd, I shall not lack.
21:13 they will not be shamed in time of calamity and in days of famine they will be satiated so that's way number seven the seventh benefit of having bitachon, trust in Hashem, over being a self-sufficient, I've got my security fund, I have my ready day fund, I have my backup fund, I have my retirement fund, I have all of the funds, the 401ks, etc., etc. You know, there's only one 401k that one needs to really, really, really do everything they can to invest in.
21:52 And that is spiritual 401k. Spiritual 401k means I do mitzvahs and I don't get any reward back for it. Just do it. Just do another mitzvah.
22:03 Do another mitzvah. Do another mitzvah. Put it into your spiritual 401k. Because what is a 401k?
22:09 So that one day you'll be able to benefit from it. One day, your spiritual 401k... will be there to benefit you. One day, you will be able to enjoy from all of that hard work that nobody's going to say thank you for, that no one's going to appreciate, that no one's going to acknowledge, that no one's going to notice.
22:30 That's a spiritual 401k. That's the one we need to invest in. So he says, Vashmini, the eighth advantage, the eighth advantage of Bitochan over alchemy, the eighth way in which...
22:44 He who trusts in Hashem is better off than the alchemist is.
22:50 The alchemist cannot stay in any one place for an extended period of time. Because he's afraid his secret's going to get out.
23:04 But as for one who has complete trust and reliance on Hashem, he is secured in his land and can remain calmly in his place. It's like, think of it like these little terrorists. They have to run from one bunker to another, from one tunnel to another tunnel. They're constantly afraid, running away, afraid that they're going to be blown up by the IDF, right?
23:29 So it's a real fear that they're experiencing. But guess what? Someone who trusts in Hashem. Doesn't have any fear.
23:37 Doesn't have to worry that someone's going to find out of his trick. Someone's going to, you know, reveal his secret. As it states in Psalms, Nourish yourself with faithfulness. Unbelievable.
24:10 They're not running. They're there in their land, which is kind of amazing when you look at the entire world. Look at the Middle East. It is unbelievable that when you walk the streets of Jerusalem, you would never know that there were rockets falling there.
24:28 You would never know. It's the most remarkable, the most resilient people. And I've asked people, I've asked so many people there, like how do people just live normal lives? They're like, what's the problem?
24:41 Hashem is protecting us. Nothing to worry about. When you have that kind of trust in Hashem, you literally have nothing to fear. Now, you have to follow instructions and when they say that you should go to the nearest shelter, you should go to the nearest bomb shelter and follow those rules.
24:57 But we all know that the trust is not in the bomb shelter, the trust is in Hashem. And that's the way we need to conduct our lives. That's the greatest way to live, because we're living in the hands of Hashem. Number nine, the ninth advantage of Pitochan over alchemy.
25:11 The ninth way in which the person of Bitochen is better off than the alchemist is The alchemist's comfort is not everlasting. For the alchemy and its resulting fortune will not accompany him at his life's end. So once he's done in this world, it all stays here.
25:42 And even in this world, with alchemy, he cannot get anything other than the secure feeling that he is safe from poverty and from needing the aid of other people. It cannot buy him health or happiness.
26:03 But as for one who trusts in Hashem, the reward of his Bitochon will accompany him to provide him well-being in this world and ultimate goodness in the world to come. As the verse we just mentioned, many are the agonies of the wicked, but as for the one who trusts in Hashem, kindness surrounds him.
26:37 So what do we take along with us to the next world? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We take nothing with us.
26:47 We work and work and work in this world. We want to buy houses and we want to buy cars and we want to buy furniture and we want to buy fashion and we want to buy this and buy that and we want to buy so many things. We're a consumer generation. People are buying and buying and buying.
27:03 What comes with us to the world to come? Nothing. Zero. Yet, what does come with us to the world to come, which is our good deeds, that we don't have time for.
27:14 We'll do that later. I'll do that kindness next week. I'll give that donation next year. Everything we push off, we push off as if we have all the time in the world.
27:22 But that's the only thing that's going to last us for eternity. The mitzvahs we do will last us for eternity. The materialistic things that we pursue here, they're very temporary. It's an upside down world.
27:35 I'll tell you an amazing story. It is attributed to one of the wealthiest Jews to ever live. I'm not going to mention names because I don't know how accurate the story is. But this is what was told.
27:47 What was told is that after this great, very, very wealthy man passed away. So what many people do is they have two types of wills. One will is immediately after death. They look at the will.
27:59 It tells you where they want to be buried, etc., etc. The very instant things. There's another will which gives the guidance, the family, inheritance, etc., etc. So he left in his will, in his first will, that he would like to be buried with his socks. I'm talking about the wealthiest. In 1986, they were on the front cover, him and his brother were on the front cover of the U.S.
28:28 News and World Report as the second wealthiest people, religious Jews, second wealthiest people on planet Earth after Rockefeller. All of downtown Manhattan, if you look at the buildings, they all have caps on top of them, like a yarmulke, intentionally. That's
28:43 the way they built them, with a yarmulke on top of them.
28:45 Yeah. Go to New York City. Next time you go, you'll see all those buildings. Right across from the World Trade Center.
28:51 All those buildings. So he has to be buried with his axon. But we know, what does the halacha say? Jewish law dictates that you can't be buried with anything other than shrouds.
29:02 You want to be buried in a tuxedo? Sorry, that doesn't work. Everybody's buried exactly the same way in shrouds. So they go to the rabbi.
29:09 They ask the rabbi. And they say to the rabbi, listen, this was his request. He wants to be buried in socks. Sorry, we can't help him.
29:16 He's going to be buried without those socks. And indeed, they buried him without his socks. In his second will, he writes, you see my family? Even your socks can't go with you.
29:32 Okay? We're so confident. I don't know if you've seen, there was this guy who wanted to be buried in his Bentley. He was buried with the Bentley and they buried it all in the garden. Okay, everyone's got their mishagas.
29:48 Fine, but you understand how even your socks doesn't go with you. We need to realize that. What are we investing our life in? Are we investing our life in futile pursuits that are going to last here for a little bit?
30:04 Or are we going to invest in the long term, the spiritual 401k? And now finally, the 10th advantage of Bitochon over alchemy. He says the 10th way in which the one who trusts and relies on Hashem is better off than the alchemist.
30:24 is not safe for if his occupation becomes known it will bring about his death because he's forging coins he's making gold out of thin air right because the goal for which he labors and toils contradicts and undermines the healthy economic function of the world
30:59 And since the alchemist truly deserves to die, Hashem, the one who controls all events, will cause him to blunder and will put him in the clutches of the authority who will in fact execute him when he is unable to conceal his secret.
31:22 trusts in Hashem. When his bitachon becomes known, he will become greater in people's eyes. It's just the opposite. This guy has to hide everything.
31:32 The person who trusts in Hashem can reveal it to others. And people will honor him and respect him. He's not going to come to kill him. The alchemist, people are going to go kill him.
31:45 But the person who trusts in Hashem People will honor and people will respect. And people will take pride in being associated with such a person. And just by seeing them, they'll feel honored.
32:08 Moreover, through his merit, he will bring well-being. to his town and will prevent tragedies from occurring to the people of his locality. So not only that, when you have trust in Hashem, what you do is you bring holiness into this world. You bring it to your community.
32:24 You protect your community from terrible things, terrible tragedies that could befall them. Because of your trust in Hashem, your reliance on Hashem, that has an impact on your whole community. As it states in Proverbs, a tzaddik is a foundation of the world. And like we know, we see from Lot, who found
32:52 refuge in the city of Tzoar, where Hashem spared the entire city from destruction for His sake. Right? The whole city was saved because of Him. So we said 10 different things, and we're going to go through them very quickly. Art School does an amazing job here on the middle of page 28 and the top of page 29.
33:12 It goes through the 10 different benefits of having trust in Hashem over the alchemist. Number one, the alchemist, his success depends on the availability of specific materials, whereas a person with betochen is sustained by Hashem's limitless resources. Number two, the alchemist's craft is arduous and hazardous, whereas a person with betochen is sustained in safe and pleasant ways. Number three, the alchemist must be secretive about his craft, whereas a person with betochen can proudly discuss his faith and trust in Hashem.
33:50 He'll be very happy to share that with everyone. Number four, the alchemist is afraid to prepare large sums in advance, so he worries about his future,
34:03 always be met in a timely fashion. Number five, the alchemist lives in fear of all people, whereas a person with betochen is revered by all people. Number six, the alchemist is... susceptible to debilitating illnesses.
34:20 Whereas a person with betochen is protected from ill health unless it is for his benefit, like we mentioned earlier. The alchemist has no guarantee that he will find food to buy with his money. Whereas a person with betochen is a short sustenance from Hashem at all times. The alchemist, number eight, is afraid to remain long in one place, whereas a person with pitochen can settle comfortably in his land.
34:45 Number nine, the alchemist benefits from his craft only in this world and in a limited sense, whereas a person with pitochen is surrounded by Hashem's kindness in this world and rewarded for his goodness in the world to come. And finally, number ten, the alchemist will be killed if discovered, whereas a person with pitochen will only gain respect and admiration, from other people. So my dear friends, this concludes day number six.
35:12 You've been listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe on a podcast produced by Torch, the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. Please help sponsor an episode so we can continue to produce more quality Jewish content for our listeners around the globe. Please visit torchweb.org to donate and partner with us on this incredible endeavor.