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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!
00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH, the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.
00:12 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Welcome back, my dear friends, to the Gate of Repentance in the Ways of the Righteous. In the Orchis Tzaddikim in the magnificent Treasure for Life edition. We're on page 799, and this is the 26th gate, so we're skipping a little bit Day number 144. Being that now is the 10 days of repentance, it's important for us to focus a little bit on repentance. But let's begin with one of my favorite teachings in all of the Torah Amr, rebbe Levi says Rebbe Levi, G'dola tshuva sh'megasat kisi ha'kavod Tshuva is so great, so great is repentance that it reaches up until the throne of honor, to Hashem's throne, as it says in Hosea until Hashem, your God, and Amar Abusenu. So listen to this amazing piece of Talmud. When Moshe ascended to the first firmament, l'rakia Rishon. So we know that Moshe was summoned by the Almighty come up and receive the Ten Commandments. So Moshe went up and we know he came back down 40 days later and he saw the golden calf. But what happened when he ascended to the heavens? It says the following he went up to the first firmament. He found classes of angels. They opened in front of Moshe A Torah scroll and they read from the first day of creation. From the first day of creation. V'posku v'yitchilu l'saper b'shiv choshal Torah. As soon as they concluded, they paused and began to speak about the praise of the Torah. Then, alolasheni Moshe ascended to the second firmament v'posku v'yitchilu l'saper b'shiv choshal Torah. Moshe ascended to the second firmament and he found clusters of angels who read from the second day of creation. And then they concluded and paused and began to give praise to the Torah and the Jewish people. Moshe goes up to the third firmament. When Moshe ascended up to the third firmament, he found angels and troops who read the third day of creation. They paused and began speaking in praise of Yerushalayim Allel Revi. When Moshe ascended to the fourth firmament the fourth firmament he found the mighty angels and they read the fourth day of creation. They paused and began to speak about the praise of Mashiach the fifth. He goes up to the fifth firmament. He went up to the fifth firmament and he found camps upon camps that were reading the fifth day of creation. They paused and they began to praise. They began to speak about the anguish of Gehenna Allalashishi.
03:55
Moshe went up to the sixth firmament and he found angels and they were reading from the sixth day of creation. And then they paused and then they started to speak about in praise of Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden, and to implore Hashem to place the portion of the Jews in Gan Eden. Mevakshin lefna, kodesh, borchul, litin, chalkon, she'isor began, eden, ola Lashvi. Someone said he was in seventh heaven. Moses was actually in seventh heaven. The seventh firmament, umotze ofanim, usrofim, begalgalim v'malachirachim, v'malachichesed, utstoka v'malachiresses. When Moshe ascended the seventh firmament, he found all of these, the highest ranking angels, angels of mercy, angels of kindness and charity, angels of shuddering and trembling, whereupon Moshe grasped the throne of Hashem, the throne of honor, and they started reading about the seventh day of creation, which was Shabbos, and as soon as they concluded, they started talking about the praise of Teshuvah. My dear friends, this teaches you, the Talmud says the Teshuvah is so great it reaches the highest levels of heaven. I just want to pause for a second before we continue here, in the Orchis Tzaddikim, what is so great about Teshuvah that it supersedes? Because if you were to ask a normal person, someone who believes in the Torah, someone who believes in Judaism and all of its precepts, and you tell them, okay, what do you think is the most valuable thing in Judaism? And you tell them, okay, what do you think is the most valuable thing in Judaism, let's say the Torah, relationship with God, mitzvahs doing acts of kindness, jerusalem. You'll find many great things I don't think anybody would put on their top of the list. Number one numero uno is teshuva, repentance. But here the Talmud tells us that the highest level, first level, was Torah. Second level was Torah and the Jewish people. Third level, mashiach, the fourth level I mean you think of it, all the different levels, the seventh, the highest ranking angels, the highest perfection of all Shabbos. They're reading about the Shabbos. They stop and they start praising repentance. Why so?
06:56
I'm going to mix up the holidays a little bit, because we know, on Pesach I have a fundamental principle. I teach for my grandfather that the Jewish people we sing at our Pesach Seder Dayenu that if God had only brought us to Mount Sinai but didn't give us the Torah Dayenu, that would be enough. Why would it be enough? What is the purpose in bringing us, bringing the Jewish people to Mount Sinai and not give them the Torah? It's like taking your children to the ice cream store and saying it's enough, we went to the ice cream store, you don't need to get ice cream. What's the point? Why bring me to the ice cream store if you're not going to give me ice cream? Why take the Jewish people to Mount Sinai if you're not going to give them the Torah?
07:40
Our sages tell us the secret of Mount Sinai had nothing to do with receiving the Torah. The secret of Mount Sinai was building a relationship with God. The secret of Mount Sinai was having a revelation, having a clarity, building a bond and a relationship. We all know that the clincher in a relationship to lock, in a relationship where a couple gets engaged has nothing to do with the ring. It has to do with a commitment to one another. The ring is just a representative of that commitment. What the Jewish people received at Mount Sinai was far more than just a Torah. They received a bond and a relationship with God, a commitment. The ring is the Torah. The ring is the Torah.
08:35
Every mitzvah what is a mitzvah? A mitzvah is an opportunity for us to reconnect, to remind ourselves of that commitment that we have to one another, us to Hashem. That's what it is. That's the entire Torah, the purpose of the Torah. People think we went to Mount Sinai to get the Torah Wrong.
09:01
By the way, our sages will tell us all over, if you do a mitzvah and have no heart, no feeling, no connection. It's like you didn't do anything. Of course you'll get the reward for doing a mitzvah, but it's just an emotion. It's motion, it's not a bond. It's like saying I love you without any heart, without any feeling yeah, it's, I love you, but it has nothing behind it. It's like saying I love you without any heart, without any feeling. Yeah, it's, I love you, but it has nothing behind it. It's hollow.
09:31
More important than the Torah is our relationship with Hashem. So let me ask you what is the finest relationship that we can establish with the Almighty? That is repentance, because you cannot repent without a heart, you cannot repent without feeling. Any man who has ever had to apologize to his wife knows the difference between saying I'm sorry when you feel it and saying I'm sorry when you don't feel it All. Between saying I'm sorry when you feel it and saying I'm sorry when you don't feel it. Alright, I'm sorry, it's not authentic, it's not real.
10:14
Versus when there's true remorse, when there's, when it's real, when we have that clarity in our relationship with the Almighty and we say I'm sorry, you know what happens there. What happens there is that we are at the closest possible point in our relationship with the Almighty. We have this epiphany. We suddenly realize, oh my goodness, I've been going the wrong way. I've been going the wrong way. I have so much to repair in this relationship that it's so close. A couple that's in a fight, if they know how to fight properly, will be more in love after that fight than before, because if there's true repentance you become closer. The relationship just got elevated. It's on a new playing field. That's our relationship with Hashem. The highest level of relationship with God is repentance.
11:39
Now continues the Orch Ha Tzaddikim Amir, rabbi Kiva. Rabbi Kiva said Pi va'ad varim kad mu'olam. There are seven things that preceded the world, ve'eluhim. These are they Torah, the Torah. Torah is the blueprint.
11:54
Teshuvah, repentance. What is Teshuvah? Teshuvah is where God gives us permission to make mistakes and to atone for them. Vayomer Hashem, solachti Kedvarecha. After the Jewish people did the sin of the golden calf, moshe goes up to heaven and asks Hashem for forgiveness on behalf of the Jewish people. God says you know what? The world can't exist with judgment. It needs mercy. And if the Jewish people indeed want to come closer, god is the God of mercy. God forgives. God says I forgive as per your request. What else Gan, eden, the Garden of Eden, gehenem, purgatory Very interesting.
12:54
Why is Gehenem one of those? What is Gehenem? What is Gehenem? What is Gehenna? Gehenna is very simple. People think, like in other religions, they have eternal damnation, which is meant to scare you. Don't do that because you'll go to hell. But that's not. In Judaism we have Gehenna.
13:14
Gehenna means a really really good power wash. You know, I asked my son once to take the power wash and clean the concrete and he stopped after a few minutes, asked him what happened. So he said he didn't realize. But he used the power wash on his toes and that really hurts. That really hurts, hurts, right. So it's not very pleasant. But you know what? If you really want to clean something that's dirty, power wash it. It's not going to be pleasant, but it'll be clean. You see, if we sin, we're filthing our soul. Gotta clean it, got to clean it. Purgatory is the cleansing process. It's not very pleasant, but it's a temporary state to remove the dirt, to remove the filth, to remove the stains. And that's what Gehenna is, a gift that Hashem built into this world so that if we make mistakes and we don't repent for them, there's a way for us to cleanse and be closer to Hashem.
14:28
Kisya HaKovod, the crown of the throne of honor, beis HaMikdash, the temple. And Shmosha Mashiach in the name of Mashiach Vilama Elu Shiva, and why these seven things? The temple? And Shemoshel Mashiach in the name of Mashiach Ve'lamah e'lu shiva. And why these seven things? Why were these seven things? Dalacha she'ikabriya sa'olam hu b'shvil adam.
14:50
All of creation was for man, the author tells us. Just know, everything that Hashem created is for man. Ki ein tsorach ba'olam atachton ela ba'adam. The world that we're in only needs man. Vehu mosh b'chol ha'olam hatachton. He controls everything in this world. Mankind, we control everything in this world. Obviously, we don't control the weather. We don't control the rain or the snow or the hurricanes, or the snow or the hurricanes. We have control over the animals. We have control over the beasts, over the birds. We can eat them, we can catch them, we can slaughter them properly. They're in our control.
15:42
And since the creation was meant for man, therefore, because everything was created for man, if a man is not going to have a manual with which to live, then the world is going to be chaos. So God needed to have a manual first. It's like imagine if you bought a bookcase from Ikea but didn't have the manual of how to assemble it, it would be impossible, virtually impossible, because you would have the top on the bottom, the bottom on top. You have no idea what goes where. It becomes very complicated. The Torah is the manual for living. You want to know how to live life. The Torah is that manual.
16:36
Imkein hu tzruch lahaktim ha-Torah shehiki ma'olam d'chassivim lo berisi yom ovelaylo chukot shamayim va'. As the verse states, if not for my covenant, if not for the Torah, day and night, I would not have made the ordinances of heaven and earth, the Kavan Sheikdim Torah. And since the Torah precedes the world, the creation of the world, god also needed to create Teshuvah, the power of repentance, also prior to the creation of the world. Since the Torah tells us, there are things that we are obligated to do, performative mitzvahs and there are also prohibitions and there are also punishments that are very explicit in the Torah. The Torah says you do this, you get this punishment. You do that, you get that punishment. But the Torah understands, god understands that if he created a world that isn't created for man and man won't be able to repent, so he's going to be gone. He sins one time and boom, he's done and you won't have a world. Therefore, a person should have an opportunity to repent. The world would not exist, even one generation, because we know, as the verse tells us in Ecclesiastes, that there is no human being on this earth that did not sin. And as soon as if we did not create a method of repentance, then any generation which has sin in it, god would just destroy that generation. Goodbye. And there wouldn't be a next generation, because everybody makes a mistake or two. God would just destroy the generation. Goodbye, and there wouldn't be a next generation, because everybody makes a mistake or two.
18:46
Lekach nechtav ma'aseh zdoma. Torah, and therefore the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, is written in the Torah Lodi alachotim shehim ru'uyim liyos kolim Heim v'chol asher lohem V'gam ha'aretz hi ru'uy lihisapich k'mos dom. God is warning us and telling us listen, if you go against me, I'm going to destroy you, even the earth beneath you, just like it was with the land of Sodom. But Hashem also created Teshuvah, repentance, and God waits, god awaits our repentance. He wants us to be close to Him. V'kehven shehiktim torah teshuvah.
19:27
And since Torah and Teshuvah came before creation hu tzruch l'haktim k'mochein ganayden v'gehenem v'kissi ha'kavod. God also needed to create. God also needed to create the Garden of Eden and Gehenem and the throne of honor, because these are the rewards and or punishments for those who fulfill the mitzvahs or who fail to perform the mitzvahs. And since God created all of these earlier, therefore, god had to also create the temple and Messiah.
20:16
Because what's going to happen in those days, the days of Messiah, which is our generation, I believe A generation or it says will be filled with knowledge, the knowledge of Hashem. Below ye, here and there won't be a Yetzir Hara. There won't be a Yetzir Hara An amazing thing, bivne Adam. In the time of the coming of Hashem, there won't be a Yetzahara an amazing thing, bivnei Adam. In the time of the coming of Hashem, there won't be the evil inclination to tempt us to do negative things. And all, young and old alike, will know the exalted name of Hashem with great knowledge, with great clarity Kulam G'dolam, g'danim Yed'u, hashem Yisrael, yedi Yagdol. They will have an unbelievable clarity of Hashem Yedu, kulam, sheikur, bria Sa'olam, bishvil, avodah, sabori, yisrael. And everyone will know, the entire creation will know that this world was created to serve Hashem L'chein hikdim Elu Hashiva La'olam. Therefore, god created these seven first, before the creation of the world. It is for this reason that he caused these seven to precede the creation, and saviors will ascend Mount Zion and a redeemer will come to Zion and to those Jews who repent. Amen. Thus let it be his will.
21:44
So what do we see here, in this first part of the Yerushalayim, talking about repentance? What he's saying here is that it was necessary for the world, for our world, to operate. It is necessary for these introductions to be in the world, for our world to operate. It is necessary for these introductions to be in the world prior to creation, because otherwise, I mean you have to have the rules of engagement before there is a world. You can't give them commandments of which they may not fulfill appropriately, and then what? Kill them, and then you have no more world. So you have to give them a route.
22:33
The entire world that we're living in right now, this very moment, 2024, october 2024, october 8th, 366 days since the terrible, terrible massacres in the areas around Gaza that befell the Jewish people, we need to realize that Hashem really wants closeness with us. Hashem really wants each and every one of us to represent Him in our lives, the way we talk, the way we walk, the way we act every single day, the way we occupy our minds, our eyes, our words, our ears, every part of our body should be with God, with godliness, with holiness, with purity. That's the way God wants us to conduct our lives, and this is the essence of Teshuva. Teshuva is when one realizes ah, that's how I need to live my life. I may have gone the wrong way, hashem, please forgive me. So this concludes day number 144. Forgive me, so. This concludes day number 144.
24:03
And now we resume with day 145, page 804 in the Treasure for Life edition of the Orchah Tzaddikim, the Ways of the Righteous. Because of seven reasons a person should repent, specifically when they're young and filled with vigor. A person shouldn't wait when they're on their deathbed. When I'm on my deathbed, then I'll tell God that I regret all the mistakes I made. By the way, I've said this numerous times. In our classes, I have had numerous sad opportunities to be with people who were older, who had terrible, terrible regrets for making bad decisions when they were younger and decisions that had an impact on their entire lives. Making really bad choices and an impact that now okay. So now they're in their 60s, 70s, 80s and there's nothing they can do to change it, and it's a really, really, really sad thing to hear when someone lives with remorse every single day for making bad choices.
25:27
The Torah gives us guidance. And the Torah says when you are young, specifically when you're young now, when you're older and you can't be, you're not going to be filled with the fire and the passion of desire and temptation. When you're in the game, it's very easy for people to play Monday morning quarterback, but how about when you're in the game? It's very easy for people to play Monday morning quarterback, but how about when you're on the field? That's different.
25:59
So first, the service of Torah and awareness of Hashem and all the qualities one must attain and the activities incumbent upon him are very many. And this is what the Torah says itself. In Job, there's so much in the Torah. The measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. We see as well in Ethics of Our Fathers. The Mishnah tells us the day is short and there's a lot of work to do. Is short and there's a lot of work to do. Kol ha'olam hazeh huyom kotamot. This entire world is a very short day. It comes like this and it goes like that Kitzel yamino ala'aretz, kitzel yamino ala'aretz. It's just like a fleeting shadow. It's here now. It's gone in a second. That's our life.
27:08
Rabbi Rav Bersin is a chanel of rock and our stages of blessed memory said Lo ketzel kosel, lo ketzel ilon ele ketzel of haporeach ba'avir. You see, the shade by a wall can be there for a few hours, you know, till the sun. You're in the shade of the wall and then you're protected by the shade and then suddenly the sun peeks out and now you're exposed to the sun, you're out of the shade. But it can be two, three hours, four hours, five hours that you're in the shade. The shade of a tree is longer. You can be in the shade of the tree for a very long time. It it's great you can sit under the tree and be protected from the sun's rays, but how about the shade of a bird that's flying? Ever see from the airplane the shadow of the airplane? Imagine you were trying to protect yourself from the sun's rays in the shadow of an airplane. Before you were in the shadow, you were out of the shadow. Before you were in the shade you were out of the shade.
28:20
And the workers are lazy. The Mishnah continues. That's each and every one of us. We all have the trait of laziness. We're all lazy. That's the way we're created. Man was created heavy in his nature. That's the reality. We're all lazy. Once we understand that and we come to terms with it hear that, mark? Once we come to terms with it, life becomes much easier because we suddenly realize.
28:53
You know why I don't want to do it. I'm giving all these excuses, but the real reason is because I'm and in order. There's only one way to overcome laziness Don't be lazy. Okay, If you realize that it's laziness, you don't write other excuses to it. You don't throw it off on other situations. You realize it's because I'm lazy. That's the only reason. Now I just got to get off the couch and go get her done.
29:50
If someone knows that they need to travel many, many miles, you're going to have to walk and there's mud and there's little pebbles and stones, and there are also thieves and there are murderers along the way. What are you going to do? You wake up early in the morning, go early. When it's quiet, you go as fast as you can and you get there as quickly as you can. It's quiet, you go as fast as you can and you get there as quickly as you can. So, too, in our every single day of our lives. We have to go a great distance and there are many, many, many challenges along the ways. There are many pebbles and there are many stones and there are many distractions. You know what you got to do. First, wake up early, pray, serve Hashem, learn, get as much done before those distractions. Wake up. And even when you try with all of your might, all of your might, all of your might to succeed in your service of Hashem, still we're not able to succeed as much as we would like. Because God knows our inclination. He created our inclination.
31:05
Here's a parable that the author brings to a king. He gives a field to his servants. He tells them I want you to bring 30 measures of grain per year from it. And they work really, really hard to produce the 30 measures of grain, but they brought instead only five, not 30. They brought only five measures of grain. The king said to them what did you do? Amrulo, adonai Amal? You know, honorable king, you gave us a junky field. It doesn't really produce much grain.
31:57
You know, we're trying to do everything we can to get these measures that you demanded, these 30 measures, but not with this quality. I mean, this quality is really inferior, Not with this quality. I mean. This quality is really inferior. We worked with all of our might and we couldn't produce more than this. We tried everything we can. Sages tell us this is man. Even if a person works with all of his might, we only accomplish a very little bit of what we are supposed to. If a person says you know what, I'll tell you when I'll accomplish things, when I make my first million, when I make my first billion, when I make my first trillion, then I'm going to put it all down and I'm just going to serve Hashem, then I'm going to learn Torah every night, then I'm going to go to shul. Then, only then, when we push it off, we have to know that the challenges of this world never end.
33:19
People think that, like what happened in the early 1900s, when they didn't have cell phones, they probably didn't have distractions. Oh, they had distractions. What happened in the early 1500s? They probably didn't have any distractions back then. Oh, guess what they did. You think only today, because there's television and there's internet and there is smartphones and there's things readily available on people's fingertips. Oh, in our generation, people just can't control themselves with so many distractions. It's always been that way. There's always been distractions, because the Yetzirah is very crafty. The Yetzirah knows there's only one way to get people to distance themselves from the Almighty. Only one way how Make them preoccupied with a world of never-ending distractions.
34:29
The sages in the Mishnah ethics of our fathers tell us do not say, when I have spirit time, then I will learn, then I will get it done, because you may never have spirit time, which is likely the case. We never have spirit time. We have to make it a priority. If we make it a priority, then we'll have the time. We have to make it a priority. If we make it a priority, then we'll have the time. You have to make that time. And, my dear friends, this concludes day number 145 in our study and we're going to try to do one more day's learning. And we resume on page 808 in the Treasure for Life edition of the Yeruch HaSaddikim. On page 808, but day number 146.
35:20
Hasheni, we said there are seven reasons. There are seven reasons that a person should not delay in his repentance when he's young, specifically Because I can tell you I've mentioned this previously but specifically regarding one story. One story I remember a student told me that he delayed in having children until he had their college fund paid for. And with tears in his eyes he said by the time I had their college fund paid for, my wife and I were too old to have children. And imagine living your life like that the rest of your life. Okay, so now you have all this money. And now what? And now what? That's a tragic way to live life. So a person has to think, when they're younger and they're wild and filled with temptations, that's the time to harness and to control our decisions and to go in the path of Hashem.
36:48
So what's the second? If a person will wait for his repentance until he has acquired and accumulated great wealth, what do you think At that time? You're not going to yearn for more money, you're not going to desire more money. A person doesn't leave this world with even half of his Seinu, as our Sey just told us already. Zichron L'varacha of blessed memory. Ein Odom Yotze min Olam Chatzit Havas B'Yodo. A person doesn't leave this world with even half of his desires fulfilled. Yesh B'Yodo Mana. He has a hundred. Mis'ava L'masayim, l'asos B'sayim. He earns a hundred thousand dollars. He wants two hundred thousand. He has a hundred million. He wants two hundred million If he attains two hundred Now, he wants to make four hundred, and this is what the Torah says. Someone who loves money will never be satisfied with money. A person should not delay and shouldn't push off repentance for anything.
37:57
You know a very interesting midrash. The midrash tells us that when a baby is born, it's born with its fist clenched, but when people die, they die with their palms open. Our sages tell us when a baby is born, it's saying I'm going to accomplish, I'm going to fill my hands with everything that I was supposed to accomplish in my lifetime, but sadly, when we die, our hands are open, saying we accomplished nothing. Look, there's nothing in our hands. We can accomplish so much, but we have to focus and we have to put our efforts towards accomplishing every single day in the ways of Hashem HaShlishi.
38:45
What is the third? Hazman mismayet haMalacha merubah Melech haSator v'tikon haNefesh v'asagas haMalos k'mo haAva v' the third? The day is short and there's a lot of work to do. You know, things like Torah, perfecting our soul, our character, attaining great spiritual heights. These things don't come easy. It's a lot of work to do, but there's not a lot of time. So do it quickly, our sages tell us, before we run out of time.
39:21
Harivi, the fourth reason for a person to expedite repentance to expedite in their service of Hashem. What happens is, if you push off repentance, what happens is the temptations, the distractions. They become stronger, the heart becomes stronger and a person becomes more fluid with their sins and then what happens is all of their sins become like they're normal, they become a habit, become like their normal, they become a habit. And we're now on page 810. Layukha l'tayra asman. A person, once a person is so easy with their sins because it's like you don't. Even a person lies one time oh wow, they almost caught me on that lie. But the second time, the third time, the fourth time, it's already normal. You become comfortable with it. You stop becoming sensitive to it and now it's just a normal way of life.
40:38
Someone who cheats in business. The first time, the second time, the third time, I guarantee you that Bernie Madoff didn't set out to steal $60 billion. Bernie Madoff didn't set out to steal $60 billion. That was never an aspiration of his. But he did it, once with $600, and then $6,000, and then $6,000, and then $600,000, and then $6 million, and then $600,000, and then $6 million, and then $60 million, and then it just slowly, you become more and more numb to it and then you start finding justifications for things, et cetera, et cetera. And this is the great tragedy that if a person doesn't stop it when it's young, it becomes more and more entrenched in our consciousness, in our tolerance, and it's not a good thing.
41:31
Ha-chamishi, the fifth reason for a person to repent as soon as possible Mi she-einu rotz le-haktim lo-oshuv u-lay lo-yarich yamim vi-yamus terim yoshuv. What happens if, god forbid, we don't have the opportunity to repent? What happens if we're saying okay, you know what, right now, I'm 46 years old, I'll repent when I'm 55. What's if, heaven forbid, the person doesn't make it to the 55 or 65 or 75 or 85 or 95? So when am I going to repent? When am I going to change those habits? When am I going to change those mistakes that I made? When am I going to correct them? Al-kain Hizrin.
42:13
Therefore, in Ecclesiastes, king Solomon tells us at all times, your clothes should be white, meaning you should be prepared for death, meaning be clean. Why, on Yom Kippur, in a few short days, we'll be standing in front of God on the day of repentance. On the day of Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. We're going to be standing in white clothes. Why? White represents clean of sin. White is like the angels. Angels don't sin because they don't have temptation On Yom Kippur. We don't have temptation either. Our Yetzirah is removed on Yom Kippur and we have the ability to be like angels. We're clean of sin and this is what King Solomon tells us that your clothes should always be white, meaning free of sin, clean of any stains of sin. Clean of any stains of sin.
43:19
Hashishi, the sixth reason for urgency in our Teshuvah. He says because it's going to become a habit, you're going to create habits and your old sins you're going to forget about and you're not going to even because we make mistakes, we do things. We have a tendency in our nature to forget things. It's a gift from Hashem as well. Hashem gives us the special gift that we can forget our mistakes. Special gift that we can forget our mistakes and if we do so, we're not going to repent for them, because we don't even remember that we did them.
44:01
Ashvi, the seventh reason for urgency in our repentance Kishihu yavo b'yamim b'yachlash koach ha-yetzar lo yikabel sochar la-tshuva, he says when a person waits until they're older to repent, so your yetzer, your evil inclination is already tired, he's not going to fight you as much, right. But therefore, because your yetzer hara is not as strong, what else is going to happen? The reward for doing teshuvah, the reward for repentance, is not going to be as the reward for doing Teshuvah. The reward for repentance is not going to be as great, because the challenge is not there. Ki ilu asa tshuvi b'mach ruso kishayi b'cho zakochot. The person did repentance when he was young, so then it was a struggle, it was a battle, and you won that battle. That's great. But when a person waits until they're older and it's not a struggle anymore, because the Yetzirah is not fighting you as much and because a person's temptations are not as fiery and not as strong, so then the reward will be considerably lesser. U'ba'avur e'lu shivad varamim. Because of these seven reasons that we just mentioned, a person should have urgency to do repentance as early as possible. And after a person concludes to do Teshuvah, a person cannot do proper repentance if he doesn't follow the seven following rules. The first, harishon A person should know his actions. A person should have an accounting of the soul, what he did wrong. A person should remember them. Ki adam shaloh hargal lekayim amitzvos b'nu'ur.
45:57
If a person who wasn't in the habit of performing mitzvahs when they were young, kol yam avyaseh averos, it's possible that every single day they performed sins. They did prohibitions that the Torah says not to do. Like he says.
46:21
There are some people who say the only time you really need repentance is if God forbids you perform adultery with a married woman or if a person was with a non-Jewess. Oh, if a person goes out into evil ways, then you need to do Teshuvah, then you need to repent, and these are the bigger sins. So if it's a big sin, that requires repentance, but smaller sins. But if it's a big sin, then you need to do Teshuvah, and that's not good sin. That requires repentance, but smaller sins. Avavashar aveiros ein yodin sheyesh losho. Alein v'zeh eno kein.
46:54
People don't take it seriously and they think like oh, that I don't need to repent for. Ki alma sheyeshiru torah akdoshah mitzvah saseh v'mitzvah sloh saseh v'chol ma sheyeshiru rabbeinu zekhonu lavrocho. You need to repent for every single thing, even a mitzvah that we fulfilled, but we didn't fulfill it in perfection, definitely, if it was an outright sin in the Torah, one of the prohibitions in the Torah that a person needs to repent, the Yosef Hamur D'Vrecha, hamim D'Vrei, torah, and we can get into this at a later point. But the rabbinical laws are even more severe than the biblical laws, because anyone who transgresses a rabbinic law is warranting a death penalty. But if someone just transgresses a biblical law, he needs to repent. He's not necessarily warranting a death penalty and therefore our sages tell us that it's very, very important for a person to know that they are. A person has to know and know what it is that they are doing wrong, so that they can repent and correct their ways.
48:16
My dear friends, this concludes day number 146, and we will hopefully resume again tomorrow. Thank you so much for joining us, thank you for being here tonight and, for those of you who are on Zoom, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for being here tonight. And for those of you who are on Zoom, thank you so much. And to those of you who are streaming with us on all of the social media platforms, shana Tova.
48:40
God should help us all to have the strength to repent and, god willing, we will resume with day number 147 on page 812 next time. Until then, we should be sealed in the book of life and God should accept all of our prayers and our repentance. With love and with kindness and God willing, we will never, ever need to repent in the future, because when we have clarity of Hashem, we don't make mistakes. In the same way, it's only when we blur our vision that God forbid, we can go astray. Hashem should protect us all from any of that and bring us closer to Him speedily in our days. Amen, have a meaningful fast. Thank you everyone.
49:30 - Intro (Announcement)
You've been listening to the Jewish Inspiration Podcast, a Torch production. Amen, have a meaningful fast this Yom Kippur. Thank you everyone.