Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection

The Talmud (Ta’anit 21a) teaches the life-attitude of “Gam Zu L’Tovah” – this too is for the good – through the unforgettable figure of Nachum Ish Gamzu, a tzaddik who was blind, without hands or legs, and covered in boils, yet insisted that even his own horrific suffering was for the best because he once delayed helping a starving man and accepted the punishment as atonement. When the Jews sent him to Caesar with a chest of jewels, thieves replaced it with dirt overnight; instead of despairing, Nachum declared “Gam zu l’tovah.” Elijah the Prophet then appeared, convinced Caesar the dirt was Abraham’s miraculous earth that turns into swords and arrows, Rome conquered an invincible city, and Nachum returned loaded with even greater treasures – proving that when a person genuinely sees every event as coming from a loving God, even apparent disasters become the vehicle for open miracles.

The deeper message is that we live in two dimensions at once: the visible, physical world of cause-and-effect, and the hidden spiritual layer that ultimately controls everything. Money can disappear in a moment, empires rise and fall, health comes and goes – it’s all a wheel (galgal chozer). Torah study, Shabbat, and the unwavering declaration “Gam zu l’tovah” are the spiritual coating that protects us and turns even pain, loss, or a chest full of dirt into the greatest blessing. When we live with that faith, like Nachum Ish Gamzu and like the Jewish people protected on all six sides in the desert, Heaven rearranges reality itself so that everything – truly everything – becomes for the good. Gam zu l’tovah!
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The Thinking Talmudist Podcast shares select teachings of Talmud in a fresh, insightful and meaningful way. Many claim that they cannot learn Talmud because it is in ancient Aramaic or the concepts are too difficult. Well, no more excuses. In this podcast you will experience the refreshing and eye-opening teachings while gaining an amazing appreciation for the divine wisdom of the Torah and the depths of the Talmud.
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This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by David & Susan Marbin

Recorded at TORCH Meyerland in the Levin Family Studios to a live audience on October 24, 2025, in Houston, Texas.
Released as Podcast on November 28, 2025
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About the Host:
Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life.  To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org
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What is Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection?

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!

00:03 - Intro (Announcement)
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Thinking Talmudist Podcast.

00:12 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, welcome back everybody. Welcome back to the Thinking Talmudist Podcast. Last week we discussed Kol De'avid, rachamon Ha'Litavavid. We learned the Talmud, where the Talmud teaches us that a person should always be in the habit of saying that everything the Almighty does is for the best. I may not see it, I may not understand it, I may not feel it, but I know it. And the more we solidify it verbally, we'll solidify it mentally, we'll solidify it emotionally, it will manifest itself in our lives. Today we're going to learn a different piece of Talmud, and that is this too is for the good, this too is for the best. Gam zu l'tova, gam zu l'tova. So we're going to get to it shortly. We're just going to do a story before we get to it.

01:01
The Gemara relates this story about two famous Torah scholars who were saved from having a wall collapse on them. Ilfa and Rabbi Yochanan were studying Torah. They were in dire financial straits. They weren't doing well financially. Amri nekim v'nezil v'ne'avad isko. They said to themselves let's go and undertake a business venture, just like you mentioned, mark, and earn some money. We'll make some money. V'nikayim nafshin efes ki lo yiyeh b'cho evyon. And fulfill in ourselves the verse which says but among you, there will be no destitute.

01:56
Okay, they set out and in the course of their journey, they stopped and sat down alongside a dilapidated wall. The wall was about to fall and they were eating bread. Two ministering angels came by. They overheard Rabbi Yochanan. Rabbi Yochanan overheard one angel saying to the other Let us topple the wall on these two scholars, rabbi Yochanan and Ilfa, and kill them. Why? Why should we kill them? Why? Why should we kill them? Because they're forsaking the world to come for this world. They're forsaking the world to come for this world. Why? Because they're leaving their study of Torah and they're going into business and therefore, you know, if they're already leaving the eternal world for the transitory world, maybe it's a good thing to take them out while they're ahead. The other angel replied leave them alone. What are you bothering them? Leave them alone Because there is one among them whose hour is at hand to attain greatness and it is not yet his time to die, meaning he's going to still have a great moment, which is a very important principle.

03:35
We're going to talk about this a little bit, you know, after we've done this segment, but just to understand, the world is round. Everything Hashem created is round. There's a reason for it, because when something is round, you're sometimes at the top and you're sometimes at the bottom. You have to remember that you're not at the bottom forever, you're not at the top forever. We all know people who once couldn't make a living, and today they're at the top. And we all know people who were so successful financially and today they're at the top. And we all know people who were so successful financially and today they're at the bottom. We all know it's a galgal hachazer, it's a circle that keeps on coming and going and coming and going.

04:13
There are companies that people thought it is indestructible, they're so wealthy for the next hundred generations, they have enough money and they go bankrupt. And they go bankrupt. They go bankrupt and people are like how is it possible? How did that happen? We think like amazon. Oh, amazon. Okay, no offense, okay, no, he's a, he's a big investor in amazon. But so so we think like amazon is going to be forever. But you know it was very interesting.

04:38
They interviewed jeff bezos of amazon, the founder and ceo, and he said amazon's not going, said Amazon's not going to be around forever, not going to be around forever. He says this is going to be another company that's going to take us over and be much bigger than us and figure out a better technique and figure out better technology. He says but I don't think it's going to be in my lifetime. He says, at least when I'm around we'll be at the top, right, but the idea is to understand that there's a time. It's a very healthy perspective for a person to have to know we're not going to be on top forever. We're not going to be on top forever. There's going to come a time we're going to be on bottom, and a person has to know this.

05:17
We'll see soon in in 10 portions ahead, in the in in the book of Genesis, the last portion, or before that, a little bit before that, where Joseph gives advice to the king of Egypt and he tells them you know, there's going to be seven years of famine. So maybe during the seven years of plenty we should save up and we should keep it in a storehouse, because when the seven years of famine come, we'll have what to eat. That's the first rainy day fund, right? The first piggy bank. Let's put money aside so that, if, god forbid, something happens. That's not irresponsible, all right. That's not saying I don't believe in God. That's being responsible.

06:08
It's, like today, one of the questions people have. Well, if I trust in Hashem, then maybe I shouldn't buy myself a life insurance policy. I trust in Hashem. Hashem is giving you an opportunity to do something at a very minimal cost to help your family, should God forbid something happen. So it would be. I don't know if it would be irresponsible not to. Maybe it would fall into the category of being irresponsible, but definitely it's not considered a lack of faith to get a life insurance policy. It's not a lack of faith to get a life insurance policy. It's not a lack of faith at all, either way.

06:49
So the angels here are going back and forth. He's going to have his moment and he didn't reach his greatness yet. Let's not take him out now. The angel says the ministering angel. Let's not take him out now. Rabbi Yochanan, shema, ilfa Lo Shema.

07:06
Rabbi Yochanan overheard this conversation between the angels, but Ilfa didn't hear it. Omerle, rabbi Yochanan, ilfa, shema Mar Midi. Rabbi Yochanan said to him Ilfa, did you hear something? Omerle Lo? He says no, I didn't hear anything. Omer, hear something? He says no, I didn't hear anything, since I was the one to overhear this and not Ilfa, the person he was sitting with.

07:40
It's evident from this that it is me that the hour of greatness is at hand, and he therefore decided to return to the yeshiva and leave the business that he was about to pursue. Amalur Rabbi Yochanan. Rabbi Yochanan said to Ilfa he says let me return to the study of Torah, let me go and learn, go back to yeshiva Torah, let me go and learn. Go back to Yeshiva, va'oky B'Navshayi ki lo yuchdal evyon mekerav ha'aretz, and then I'm going to fulfill the poor will never cease from the midst of this land, which is a different verse. Why? Because someone who studies Torah is not out making money, they're not out pursuing business and they usually do not go hand in hand riches and Torah study. Rabbi Yochanan hader ilfa lo hader. Rabbi Yochanan then returned to the yeshiva and Ilfa did not return. Adah ose ilfa malich rabi Yochanan.

08:38
By the time Ilfa came back to the yeshiva from his venture, from his business dealings, rabbi Yochanan had been crowned already the head of the yeshiva. He already reached unbelievable greatness, Amar Lo. Upon his return, they said to Ilfa If you would have studied Torah all of this time that Rabbi Yochanan did, studied Torah all of this time that Rabbi Yochanan did, lo Havi Malik Mar Rabbi Yochanan would not have been crowned the head of the yeshiva. Rather, you would have received the appointment instead. Why? Because you sort of relinquished your greatness by going from an eternal world into a temporary world. You invested. Instead of investing in your 401k, which is your long-term investment, you invested in a short term. You just, you know, spent the money, eat and drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die, right, that's it. You invested in here and that's it. You didn't invest in the long term.

09:46
Okay, to refute the criticism of his actions, ilfa set out to demonstrate that his scholarship remained superior to Rav Yochanan, despite his leave of absence from the yeshiva. So he issued a challenge. Ozel tolo nafshe beaskre desfinto. Ilfa went and balanced himself on the mast of a challenge. Ozzal tolo nafshei be'askrei desfinto. Ilfo went and bounced himself on the mast of a ship. Omar. He said I'iko dishoi li b'masniso du reb'hiyo v'reb'oshio. If there is anyone who can ask me about a b'raisa from reb'hiyo and reb'oshio v'lo pashdino le from Reb Chia and Reb Oshia, and if I'm not able to demonstrate my clarity and knowledge of that from a Mishnah, then I will allow myself to fall from the mast of the ship and drown in the sea. Okay, meaning he's challenging everyone. Try to stump me in my Torah knowledge. Try to stump me in my Torah knowledge Also.

10:57
A certain old man came and quoted the following. He said if someone said to the trustee of his estate give a shekel to my sons each week to meet their expenses and it would be appropriate in their case, to give them a selah, which is this coin, a shekel or more than a shekel, since the family was large and it needed more than just one shekel, nos lehem a selah, then we give them a selah. V'im omar altit tu lehem el a shekel. And if he said, give them only a shekel but not a selah, not more than that, a nos lehem a shekel, but not a selah, not more than that, we give them only a shekel, even though it's insufficient for their needs. And if he said, should they die, let others inherit the remnant of the estate in their stead, bein sheomar al titnu, ein noslam el ashekel, he says, whether he said give them the shekel, whether he said give them only a shekel, we give them only a shekel. So Ilfu replied with the Mishnah source for the ruling of this Brisa.

12:30
Okay, there's a Brisa that gives this ruling. What's the source for it? Amar lei hamani, reb meyer, hi de amar mitzvah l'kayim divrei hameis. Who is the Tanakh who teaches this Brice?

12:45
It's Rebbe Meir, who stated in a Mishnah that it is obligatory to fulfill the words of the deceased. Okay, we know, people are very, very cautious that when someone leaves a will you know, this is their desire of the one who passed on to the world of eternity. Right, someone goes to the world of eternity. They leave a will. People are very, very, very cautious to fulfill that. Why is that? Why is that? Because is the mishnah. The mishnah teaches us this, and this is the whole world. Everybody, everybody knows this. It is clear from the laws of inheritance that the entire estate belongs to the children upon the death of their father. Thus, during their lifetime, they should, by right, be provided with all their needs from the estate. However, since the mayor espoused the principle that it is an obligation to fill the wishes of the deceased in regard to his estate if he deposited his money with a trustee, we can conserve the estate so that some of it will remain for the third party to inherit. Okay, so this is based on what Reb Meir taught us in that price.

14:05
But now we're gonna go on to the story that we wanted to start with originally, which was the story of Gam Zul Tovah. This, too, is for the best. What's going on? The Gemara relates a story about how a dilapidated house did not collapse as long as its tzaddik was in it.

14:26
Amru olav al-Nachum ish Gamzu, they said, about the man. His name was Nachum ish Gamzu. Where does that come from? Literally, the man of Gamzu Nachum was actually from a place called Gimzo, a town not far from Lod. He was popularly known as Nachum Ish Gamzu. However, for the reason given by the Gemara below, he wasn't called Nachum Ish Gamzu because of his place of origin, but rather he was called Nachum Ish Gamzu for a different reason, and we'll see now why Shehaya Suma Mishtei Einov.

15:04
Who was this Nachum Ishgamsu? He was blind in both eyes, he was missing both hands and missing both legs, and his entire body was covered with boils. And he was lying in a dilapidated house, and his legs the legs of the bed were placed in pails of water so that no bugs and ants should be able to crawl on him, because if they'd have to go through the water to get onto the legs of the bed, they wouldn't be able to do that. And pamachas hayam mitosim, munachas beis ruach. One time his bed was in a dilapidated house. Bigshu talmidav lifnos mitosim.

16:04
His disciples sought to remove his bed from this house because they didn't want it to collapse on him and then remove the furniture. So they first wanted to move him out and then remove the furniture. He said to them, my children, he says, first vacate the house from all the furniture. Banai, my children, panu isakelem v'chakach, panu ismitosi. He says first vacate the house from all the furniture, then take me out with the bed. Why, shemuftach lochem kol zman sheni babayis ena bayis nofel, because you may be assured that as long as I'm in the house, the house will not collapse. Pinu iskelem v'achakach, pinus mitasim. So they did that. They moved all the furniture and then they moved him and his bed V'nafala bayis. And immediately the house collapsed.

17:06
He says our teacher, you're obviously a completely righteous person. So why did all this happen to you? Look at your hands, your eyes, your legs, what's going on, if you're so righteous that the walls don't cave in on you in this dilapidated house. But why did this happen to you, omer Lehem? He said to them I caused this to myself, I brought it upon myself.

17:38
He says I was once traveling on the road to the home of my father-in-law and I had three donkey loads of food. One was food, one was drink and one was filled with various delicacies. A poor man came and stood before me on the road. He said to me Rabbi, my teacher, please sustain me, give me something to eat, wait until I unload chance to unload the donkey before his soul departed and the man died from hunger. He says I went and I fell on his face.

18:47
He says these eyes that saw your plight and took no pity meaning I didn't move fast enough, these same eyes should become blind. These same eyes should become blind. Yodai shalochosu al yodecho yizkadmu. And let my hands, which took no pity on your hands, let them be cut off. Raglai shalochosu al raglecho yizkatu. And my legs, that took no pity on your legs, let them be cut off.

19:19
Vilon iskarodati. And my mind did not rest. He couldn't get over it Until he said let my entire body be covered with boils. His disciple said to him Woe to us that we have seen you like this. They saw their great teacher, their great master, who was in such a sad state, with no arms, no legs, no eyes and boils all over his body. Woe to us that we have seen you like this, Amar Lam. He said to him no, no, no, you got it all wrong. Woe to me had you not seen me like this. All right, this is the way he lived his life. Imagine living your life no complaining, no worries about. Oh, I got to go for treatments.

20:17
This guy had no hands, no legs, he had no eyes, and he was happy about it. Why was he happy about it? Because he felt that this was an atonement, so to speak, for not speedily enough caring for someone else's plight. I don't know anybody alive today who would say I'll do the same thing. Let me ask for that. No, I want to be healthy. I want to have a good livelihood. I want to make sure that I'm able to see If I have just one little something, like I, run to the doctor, check me out, make sure everything is okay. We're very conscientious about our health. We're very conscientious about making sure that our well-being is well-kempt.

21:03
The Gemara now relates the origin of the name Gamzu V'amai korulei, nochum ish Gamzu. And why did they call him nochum ish Gamzu? De kol milso dehavi solkole? Because whatever would happen to him, even a seeming misfortune, he would say. He would say this too is for the best. Everything that happened to him, anything that transpired in his life, any misfortune, this is also for the best. The Gemara relates an example of this Zim Nochad one time, bo LeShadure, yisroel Doyroin, lebei Kesar.

21:51
The Jews wanted to send a gift to the court of Caesar, om Ruman Yezal. They said who's going to go and deliver this gift to the Caesar? He was our representative. He was a righteous person. He was a scholar, he was a great man. He should be the representative. He should go who. He was accustomed to great miracles performing on his behalf. He's the right guy. Shadru biyode, milo sifto de avonim, tovos margolios. They sent with him a chest filled with precious stones and pearls. So here's Nachumish Gamzu. He's traveling to the Caesar to deliver this great gift. Ozel. He went Bas Bahudira.

22:48
On his journey, he spent the night in an inn in a residence Bilele kam, mohanok Dayiri Diyu Royi. During the night, the host arose and he took his chest and emptied out the gems. He stole the chest from Nachum Mishgam, so he was sleeping. What did he fill it up with? He filled it up with dirt. He filled it up with dirt. It up with? He filled it up with dirt. He filled it up with dirt. The next day, when Nochemish Gamzu woke up, he looks at the chest and he sees that it's full of earth. No more gems, earth Dirt. What did he say? Gamzu Lutov, this too is for the best. Ki Matahasom, when he arrived there at the palace, to deliver this treasure to the Caesar, sharinu Le Sifto, they untied the chest, chazanu De Malo Afro, and they saw that it was filled with dirt. Boi Malko Le Miklete Le Kulu.

24:00
The emperor was enraged and he wanted to kill them all, all the Jews. Omar ko michaychu bi yudoi. The Jewish people are mocking me. This is what they send me. They send me an insulting gift. They send me dirt. That's what they sent Omar Gamzul Tova Nachum, said Gamzul Tova, this too is for the good. Also, eliyahu.

24:31
Elijah the prophet then came because he saw that he was genuine, he was real in his belief that this too is for the best. Hashem never lets us down. So Elijah the prophet appeared to him, to the Caesar, as one of them, as one of the disguised Roman officials. Elijah says to Caesar Dil ma ho, afra, me'afra, davra mavu'enhu. He says, perhaps this dirt is from the dirt of their father, abraham, which he used during the war against the four kings, v'chi, ha'vishadeh, afra. And when Abraham would throw the dirt at his enemy ha'vusayfeh, it would turn into swords, and when he threw straw, it would turn into arrows, as the verse states in Genesis. In Isaiah, talking about Genesis 14, he says he made his sword like the dirt, his bow like wind-blown straw. There was one city that the Romans had not been able to conquer. They tested some of the dirt against the city. It means they took the dirt and they threw it, and indeed they were able to conquer that city because the dirt was a magical dirt was a magical dirt Ayilu l'beig gnozeh. And after their victory, the emperor put these weapons, these swords, into his treasure vault Umelu lisifte avonim tovos umar golios. And what did he do? He took Nachum's, nachumish Gamzu's treasure chest and filled it up with the most precious stones and pearls, in gratitude for this wonderful gift that now assisted him in his victory.

26:52
When Nahum and his party were going home, they again spent the night in the same residence. The hosts of the place said to Nahum my Isis Behadach, what did you bring with you to the Caesar? What did you bring with you to the Caesar that they accorded you such a great honor. He says what did you bring to him? Whatever I took from here, I brought there to the palace. He didn't even talk about what it was. Whatever came with me I brought to the palace, they immediately demolished the entire hotel, the entire inn, and brought it, brought the rubble, to the royal palace, because they figured, if this dirt has special powers, that it made these weapons, then let's bring them more and then we'll get this honor, amrulei, they said to the Caesar. He says the dirt that Nahum brought you, it was really from us. We have this miraculous earth, but they tested it in battle and it did not perform as Nahum's did, and they executed those residents for attempting to defraud them.

28:34
So there's a lot to unpack here. So firstly, we have to understand we're living in a world where we are convinced that everything is tangible, everything is physical. We hold keys, right, so we have keys. These keys are very real because I feel them, I'm holding them, they're real. But the truth is that there's another power, another dimension that is not visible to the eye. It's not visible to the eye and it's you know when people think like, oh, I know exactly how this is going to work out. Nine out of ten times, it doesn't work out the way they. Maybe even ten out of ten times. It doesn't work like that.

29:36
There's another layer of blessing on the physical things that we're so confident of. How many times do we have money and before you blink an eye it's gone? And other times that there's blessing in it. It's like I thought I spent it already. I thought it was running out and there's still. There's blessing in it. What? It's just a. It's a number. It's not a number. There's a coding that's invisible to us, a spiritual life to everything that's physical.

30:06
Yes, this same dirt was taken from the same place, but you know what? The spiritual coating around it was different. Where does that spiritual coating come from? That comes from above. We see, for example, the miracles that God performed for the Jewish people in our exodus from Egypt. The Egyptians had the same. They had the most powerful necromancers, they had magicians, they had the most powerful in the world. When Moshe and Aaron threw the stick and the stick became into a snake, the Egyptian magicians were able to do the same, but when they grabbed the tail and it became back into a snake that they couldn't do. There was a level above that we experienced because, yeah, you can have certain access, but you don't have full power. There's a I don't want to call it dark magic, but there is a force of evil that also has access to that spiritual layer.

31:23
I'll tell you an amazing story. There's a rabbi of blessed memory. I know this rabbi. I knew him well. He lived not far from me. I'm not going to say his name, but I heard this on a private recording that he spoke to a bunch of rabbis and he said that he was a teacher, a rabbi in a school.

31:45
And you know, rabbis in schools, as we mentioned, those who study Torah, are not known to be very wealthy. So he would go every Saturday night after Shabbos. He would go with a friend or two and they would go down to Atlantic City and they would gamble, and he said that he was making hand over fist. He said one Saturday night he came back with $30,000. And the next week it was $20,000. And the next week it was unbelievable amounts and he was tipping people and you know, there was like sort of this like unbelievable success that he was seeing. It's like now he can go teach his students without worries of finances, he doesn't need to worry of how he's going to make ends meet. And it was a great thing he would go every Saturday night and he would go L'shem Shemaim, for the sake of heaven, I'm going so that I can provide food for my family and that I can teach properly.

32:44
And then one time he was in synagogue and he opened up a book. Say for Kav Hayashah. After I heard the story I went and bought the book and the Kav Hayashah says an amazing thing. He says that you have to be careful because the powers of evil can also bring you success. But all of that money is tainted. All of that money is tainted. He says now I don't need to ask for discounts from yeshiva for tuition, I can pay full tuition. Now I can do things I couldn't have done until now. It's all forces of evil. Forces of evil sometimes give the good life so that it becomes tainted. So that it becomes tainted. He said he never walked back in to a casino ever again, never stepped foot in and they called him. They would call him. They're like we've never had anybody who just suddenly stopped. Never, no one. No one has ever done it. They stop when they have nothing left, but you don't stop when you're winning. As soon as he learned that, kaveh Yashar never gambled again, because it's not about the dollars and cents, it's about the forces of holiness versus the forces of evil that are behind it.

34:11
And when a person? We learned this. Where did we learn this? We learned this in our Parsha this week. We learned this in our Parsha this week that an animal has no power to hurt or injure a human being unless, spiritually, they've lost their godly image. They lost their Tzelem Elohim. Someone who has a high level of Tzelem Elohim, someone who has a high level, meaning there's a spiritual glaze over them. Such a person, no animal, can harm them. And we see the story in the Talmud.

34:55
The Talmud says of one of the great sages he was in the middle of praying and a snake bit him. He didn't feel it. What do you mean? You don't feel it? How do you not feel it? He was so immersed in his conversation with God. It had no influence, no impact on him. There's a spiritual.

35:15
What happened with the Jewish people when they were leaving Egypt? All of the miracles, the 10 plagues that were brought upon the Egyptians, but then the miracles of the splitting of the sea. It wasn't nature, there was a layer beyond nature. You know one of my favorite things to do in my spare time I don't have much spare time but my children sometimes they like to watch some videos they want. So I like to show them videos of, like, the six-day war. You know, the young kipper war. You maybe soon the 12-day war. We'll be able to watch that video when it comes out. And it's amazing to see how none of the victories of the Jewish people were ever natural. It was supernatural. It didn't make sense. It did not make sense. Do you know that Israel only had about 190 planes in the Six-Day War? 190. That's it.

36:11
And they figured out. Obviously, hashem sent them siyatul ishmael, assistance from above. They figured out how to refuel these planes and rearm them in under eight minutes. So the plane would land, they would pull the brake, they would open up the top, the guy would run up, feed the pilot, give him something that he. Meanwhile they were filling up the gas, putting munitions back on the plane. In less than eight minutes it was a record and the plane was back in the air and they'd go round 2 to Egypt.

36:56
The miracles of like. They were flying 30 to 50 feet above the water, not more so that the radars cannot detect them. And the miracles, not more so that the radars cannot detect them. And the miracles? The miracles because we're used to a world of physical, kinetic you know, dimensions, kinetic, war. But there's a whole different realm that we witness as Jews, and that is the spiritual protector of the Jewish people. So, while it's extremely important for us to have an IDF and an IAF the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Defense Force very important it's equally important to have the spiritual protector as well, and that's the study of Torah. And they have to work hand in hand. And if you want to know why, there's a struggle today where they're saying oh, everyone has to carry the equal share and everyone has to serve in the military. It's not true, as is not everyone serves in the military, even those who are not studying Torah. You have people going to medical school they're exempt. People going to law school they're exempt. You have people who are innovators they're exempt. There are many exemptions. Oh, torah study, because you're always going to have that struggle between the forces of physical and the forces of spiritual. You're always going to have that struggle Splitting of the sea.

38:27
It's not the first time that you were able to make water split. But then there was another layer of miracle they crossed the sea on dry land. Ah, how does that happen? Now, that's a higher level miracle On dry land, because if you just move away, the water. I know.

38:50
I went to the beach during the intermediary days of Chol Moed Sukkot, just two weeks ago. I took my children to the Galveston, to the Gulf of America. You know, what's very interesting is that when you step on the sand, right after the water, the tide comes in and it goes back out. You sink right in, right, even if it's 10 minutes later, you sink right in. Even if it's an hour later, you'll sink right in, right and the water comes and washes it again, irrigates it, so to speak. Imagine the entire Jewish people are walking in such sand with all of their donkeys, with all of their wagons, with all of their riches. How are they going to make it across the sea? It's impossible. Everything is going to get stuck in the sand. You put your feet in and it sinks right in the sand. You put your feet in and it sinks right in.

39:51
There was an extra coating of spiritual protection. It wasn't just a physical victory. It was a spiritual victory. And you know what happened when the Jewish people were in the desert. They were protected on all four sides from dangerous animals. They were protected on all four sides from dangerous animals. They were protected on all four sides from enemies. That when the Amalekites would send in an arrow, the arrow would go right back. It would rebound right back and kill them. Snakes, couldn't? You know? There's a lot of snakes and scorpions in the desert. The Jewish people had a cloud beneath them. They had a cloud above them. It's very, very hot in the desert. They had a cloud protecting them From all sides.

40:33
Six days, the six sides, protecting the Shabbos inside the Jewish people that are inside. You have the six dimensions four, one, two. Right, that's the six days. Our sages tell us that those six days make up the seventh day. She'esh yis yamim ta'avod. Six days work. Yom HaShvi, shabbos, it's a day of rest. That's where all of that gets its life from, what's inside it. Right, if you want success during the week. Right, if you want success during the week. All of our success comes from Shabbos. Ki hi mikor habrocha. It is the source of all blessing. That's the great gift that we have in Shabbos.

41:22
Shabbos is that spiritual coat. We say you know what, during the whole week, physical, physical, physical, physical, trying to get my job, trying to make a sale, trying to make a new connection, trying to network, trying to this, trying to that. Shabbos, we say we let go of everything. We're living in a spiritual realm now. No more having to run, no more having to try, no more having to this, no more, we just let go. And that's, I think, something very, very powerful we can learn from Nachumish Gamzu. He realized on a physical level.

41:56
It's challenging to me, but I want to infuse it with something which is that spiritual coating Gamzu l'tova. This too, this. I'm experiencing something which is painful. This too is for the best. How, I have no idea. It doesn't make a difference. I'm not trying to figure out how God operates his world. I'm trying to infuse another coating of spirituality.

42:20
And life is not always going to be easy for us to understand and not always going to be that charmful for us to just say, oh, it's another day in paradise. It's not always going to be another day in paradise, the way we feel, but we try to manifest it by continuing to say Gam Zulitova, say it with me, gam Zulitova. This, too, this that I'm experiencing that right now seems so difficult. Why did I get that parking ticket Right? What this, too, is this that I'm experiencing that right now seems so difficult. Why did I get that parking ticket Right? What? This, too, is for the good. I don't know how, I don't know why, but this, too that I'm experiencing, it's a difficult thing for me. This, too, is for the best. My dear friends have an amazing Shabbos.

43:02 - Intro (Announcement)
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