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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.
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH in Houston, Texas. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.
Welcome back to day number 163 on page 872 in the Treasure for Life edition of the Yor HaSedikim, Ways of the Righteous We're in the gate of repentance, my dear friends. What is the, my dear friends, what is the fourth, the fourth inspiration for Tshuva, Kishi Yeh G-d HaMasarach HaSaeh, when a person studies the Torah of Hashem
V'yikra ban neviyim u'vaksum u'v'derechach mei haTalmud, and he studies the prophets, and he studies the writing, and he studies the Talmud, V'yira haHazoros v'ha'anshim, V'yaven haMusarim v'haNi'imim, Oz Yis'ora b'libo v'yahshuv eich ekra inyena Torah ke'ma sh'ba'alma. He says, how can I just read these stories of the Torah just as a story? It's got to wake me up. Am I Abraham, or am I Lot? Am I Isaac, or am I Ishmael? Am I Yaakov, or am I Esav? Which one am I?
I'm just reading a story. It's a story. Oh, very nice story. No! It's there for us to reflect, and for us to internalize, and for us to wake up from their messages, from their stories, from their inspiration. Oz Yis'ora b'libo v'yahshuv eich ekra inyena Torah ke'ma sh'ba'alma. How can I just read it like a story? Ach eten elibi divrei haTorah lishmor v'la'asos ke'chol asher ekra. But rather, a person takes the Torah that he studies to apply it to his life. Ke'mo shekosev v'inyen yoshiyohu.
As it says in Yoshiyohu, V'yihi keshmo haMelech esdivrei sefer haTorah v'yikras b'gadov. And it was as the king heard the words of the Torah, he tore his garments, immediately put it into action. V'b'inyen Ezra Nemar, it says regarding Ezra, Ki bo'chem kol ho'am. And all the people were crying. Kesham haMelech esdivrei sefer haTorah, when they were hearing the words of the Torah. V'asher lo yoshis elibo l'divrei haShem baruchu, yirbu al'zep shaf.
And if a person is learning the Torah, and he's numb to it, he doesn't wake up from it, he doesn't get inspired by it, this could be devastating for a person. Ki bo'chem Nemar, v'lo pochadu v'lo koruz b'gidehem. As we see by Jeremiah, where they were not in fear from the word of Hashem, and they did not tear their garments by waking up from the message. Fa'amru chach haMeinu zochrono v'rocho. Our sages of blessed memory said, Kol ha'lo midveinu mekayim.
Anybody who learns and doesn't fulfill what he learns, Noach lo shenev chashil yosho alponov, v'lo yotz al'av ver'olam. Perhaps someone who has intellect, who has understanding, discernment, and is awakened, but doesn't awaken himself, maybe he's not really alive. Maybe such a person is wasting away in this world. V'nemar echtov lo rubei to rasi kimo zor nechashavu. Though I write for him the multitude of my Torah, it is considered as a stranger. He looks at the Torah, he's like, what's that? What's that?
Just some stories, some tales. V'nemar echo to'imru chachamim anachnu b'toras Hashem itonu, ochen hine le'sheker oso et sheker sofrim. How can you say we are wise and the laws of Hashem are with us? The quills were made for falsehood, the scribes are false. This is what Jeremiah says. So a person has to be very, very careful that he should not learn Torah and not be awakened by it. A person has to be thinking, one second, what is the lesson here that the Torah is teaching me?
The Torah is telling me something, the Torah is talking to me. I shared this incredible experience I had, you know, the least exciting time in a synagogue is when they read the Torah, Shabbos morning. That's the least exciting time. Why? Because when they pray, everyone is singing, you can talk to Hashem. But people think that when the Torah is being read, that's a time to schmooze with your friends. And that's when I sit there and I say, oh, how was your week? How's business?
How are things going? Are you children? Great. Traveling? Vacationing? Right? No. I was in Rabbi Jacobian's synagogue here in Houston, Texas. What an incredible place. Congregation, Torah Baruch Hased. If you get a chance to stop in that synagogue, go. It is amazing. Sephardic, but amazing. Okay? Absolutely amazing. Not but, of course. And amazing. So one time I was there on Shabbos and in the middle of the Torah reading, he stops.
Because everyone is schmoozing and it's like hard for the person who's reading the Torah to even get it over the people schmoozing. And you know what he said? He said such an amazing thing. He says, what is the Torah? The Torah is Hashem talking to us. Hashem talking to us. Hashem is talking to us and we're not listening? Hashem is talking to us and we're talking to the person sitting next to us? Hashem is talking to us and we're not contemplating? We're not internalizing?
It was an amazing awakening for myself and for the entire congregation. I never thought of it like that. But it actually is. It's Hashem talking to us. Imagine a person who doesn't realize that Hashem is talking to us every single day. Every single day. Every single word we learn. You know what happens, Mark? When we study Torah, Hashem is talking to us. When we go to class, you know what's going on. I'll be honest with you.
There are many times I come to class and I say, you know what? I know what I want to teach but I have no idea what I'm going to say. My wife asks me when I get home, how was class? You told me when you left the class, you didn't know what you were talking about. I said I still don't know what I said. Hashem put words in my mouth. It's every single time. Words in my mouth. There were times, I'm telling you this with truth.
There are times that I felt after class, yikes, that was my worst class I've ever taught. I tell you, there were so many times I was like, oh my goodness, these people are never going to come back to class. This was, and you know what? Just the opposite is true. I'll tell you why. I get the most compliments about those classes that I thought were the worst. I thought it was the worst and the people listening heard something totally different
because Hashem put different words for them to hear. I thought it was terrible and the people felt differently. So Hashem uses each and every one of us to convey messages and for us to hopefully be awakened within ourselves as well. HaChamishi on the top of page 874. The fifth inspiration. When the 10 days of repentance comes between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, then every person is awakened. Every person should be awakened. A person should be in awe of the impending upcoming day of judgment.
Every single one of our deeds are written in the book. As is written by King Solomon in Ecclesiastes. The good, the bad, the ugly. Everything is in there. Everything is in that book. As the Talmud says, our judgment is written for the coming year on Rosh Hashanah and signed and sealed on Yom Kippur. When a person is brought in front of a judge of flesh and blood, a person is terrified, he's trembling, he's worried, he's concerned. And a person won't even consider in his heart.
The only thing a person's mind is glued on is, how do I end up victorious in this case? How do I win this case? How concerned will one be to find a rescue in his judgment? And if someone is wasting his time dealing with other things, nonsense, instead of preparing for his judgment day, you'd say he's crazy. Therefore, everybody should take a little time off of their work. And a person should set aside time to humble himself.
And if a person to take an hour at least to just be in solitude, to contemplate, to examine his ways, and to be immersed in the thoughts of repentance, where did I go off track? And a person shouldn't be busy with the worldly endeavors. Being busy just with prayer and fasting, you have to contemplate. Don't just pray, think, what did I do wrong? So you know what to pray for. And people are not removing the terrible actions or deeds that they have done.
Because they're not contemplating, they're not thinking, maybe I did something wrong. They're not contemplating their actions. Anybody who still holds on to his evil ways is not doing teshuvah. So if you don't change your ways, you're not doing teshuvah. A person should awaken himself to do full and complete teshuvah. It's a time, these 10 days of repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are days of unbelievable opportunity where Hashem desires our closeness.
And he's ready to sign any deal, any amnesty, no problem, I'll take away three sins for one, no problem, Hashem gives a discount, 10 for the price of one, just come and let's sign a deal. And the prayers are exceedingly accepted at this time. Sages of blessed memory said, So search Hashem, seek Hashem when he is found. These are the 10 days of repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Our sages of blessed memory said,
Yom Kippur is a day of repentance when it comes together with repentance, right? Yom Kippur is a day of repentance when it comes with repentance. Al-kein is hiru'ah kasuv, he's hironu'ah kasuv, therefore the verse warns us, that a person should come on Yom Kippur prepared with teshuvah, with repentance. Saying, Hashem, I'm not just asking for forgiveness, I'm actually leaving my sin. I'm actually walking away from my bad actions. I'm walking away from the things that I did wrong. I'm not going to continue to do them.
Sh'nemer mikol khat tosechem lefnei Hashem titoru. From all of your sins, purify yourselves. And Hashem will grant us atonement on this day and cause us to be clean. Amen. Hashem should give us all a path to repentance. Hashem should give us all a path to clarity, to understanding what is the purpose of life. What is the purpose of this incredible journey that we're on? What the Orchestrigim told us today, from day number one, wherever we started today, 160, all the way to now, 159, day 159,
is that we sometimes get carried away and we don't realize the danger of this world. Because we think this world is permanent. So people pursue and pursue and pursue and pursue. Mark, what do they pursue? They pursue vanities. They pursue money. They pursue luxuries. They pursue fashion. They pursue wealth. They pursue fame. They pursue, what are people going to remember me by? Instead of pursuing, what does Hashem put me in this world for? What does Hashem want me to leave this world with?
Imagine if you had the five minutes to shop all you want, to shop all you want in your favorite store. They give you five minutes. Here's a wagon. Fill it up. Whatever you fill in. And then you get to the first section in Costco and you look and you're like, tell me, is this the 70-inch ILED screen? Is the AMOLED screen? Is this the, you start asking all these questions. And then before you know it, the five minutes are over.
And you didn't take anything. That's this world. That's this world. Where we come into this world, Hashem says, you have so much opportunity. We're busy like, can I get a better job? Can I make more money? We're losing the picture of all of the mitzvahs that we could have accomplished. All of the great things we could have accomplished. Instead, we get caught up with the fancy, glitzy things. My dear friends, Hashem loves us. Hashem wants us close.
Hashem should bless us all that we merit to come close to Him every single day. Amen. My pleasure, Gary. Thank you. Thank you. It's an honor. You're not, you should know. Each and every one of you, I really, I consider this. It's not like, it is a tremendous joy for me to be here every single class. Because I feel like I'm with family. I feel like we're all in this together, learning and growing together. And to me, that's like the most precious thing.
I will tell you though, I mentioned this, I think in the other class, that I made a terrible mistake. Such a humiliating and embarrassing mistake last week. I don't even think you can possibly imagine. Okay, let me tell you. So, about three months ago, Congregation Briss Shalom reached out to me. And they said, we would like you to lead a session talking about the Messiah. Congregation Briss Shalom is a wonderful congregation here in our community. And they said, we're going to have an Orthodox, Reform, Conservative Rabbi,
each speaking their own respective week, talking about Messiah. I said, sure, I'll be happy to. And I put it on my calendar. And I was really excited. Two months before the event, they call me up. And they say, is there anything that you're going to need? Any papers, anything that you need printed out, handouts, sheets, this, that, introductions, anything? I said, no, everything's under control. I'm preparing for that class. I'm excited. I'm looking forward.
A month before, they said, is there any drink, anything specifically you want us to have ready for you when you're there? Do you know where you park? Do you know every detail? No problem. And then my son had a baby. And like, oh my goodness. And I go and I'm like, I have tickets, going to Israel, back, the whole thing. And I totally forgot about the class. And I wake up last Thursday morning in Jerusalem. And my heart fell into the Dead Sea, okay?
That's how low it fell. I woke up in the morning. And I see that at three o'clock in the morning, they were calling me from Be'er Shalom, one and another and another and another. Different people calling me. Like, and I knew, I knew right away. I'm like, no way. I checked my calendar. And I said, I did, it totally slipped my mind. It totally was like, obviously, if I would have known, I would have called somebody and told them I'm out of the country.
I'm telling you, you have no idea how bad I felt. And I said, Hashem, I love you so much. You gave me so much pain. You gave me so much suffering. You cleaned up a big account for me, okay? You cleaned up a big account. I must have done some sin that I deserve to have such an incredible humiliation. And I was like, I was like laughing but crying. I was like in so much pain of embarrassment and yet so grateful to Hashem that he, you
know, gave me this opportunity to cleanse myself from something clearly that I did wrong. But I wrote them an email. I wrote the rabbi first. I said, you know, there's no excuse for this, obviously, except it was like, you know, I don't even know. I don't remember what I wrote. I said, it's like, I'm not trying to excuse this. I'm just saying I'm sorry. That's it. Like, I have no excuse. I totally forgot to call.
I totally like, you know, I'm not blaming it on anything. It's just I was neglectful, I guess, in remembering. And I said, I need the lady who was coordinating this program. You can imagine, I assume there were probably 50 people there, 60 people there. And they're just sitting there. They came out to a class and nobody shows up to teach them. That's like, it's devastating to the rabbi. It's devastating to the adult education person.
I said, I want to apologize to every single person who came that please send me her contact information. I want to call her. I want to email her. I want to speak to every single person that came and took out of their evening, drove out to the synagogue to come hear this lecture that was clearly very elevating, uplifting, insightful by nobody, right? And either way. So I asked them, I communicated with them today and they were very, very gracious.
And they told me that, yes, we do want to hear you and we'll have you back another time. And I hope that it will be a teshuvah and hopefully it'll be a better class than I would have given. They deserve a better class. I'll say, okay, you gave me an hour. I'm going to take two hours now. Make it worth your time. But either way. So right. So Rabbi Nachman talks about that a lot.
Rabbi Nachman talks about a person cannot be on the dark side. A person has to always be on the light and the side of light because a person needs to realize, because if a person realizes how much Hashem loves him, it's impossible to be on the dark side. So let me, so let me explain to you. Thank you so much. Emunah is not a solid state matter. Emunah is evolving in our lives constantly. It's changing in our lives constantly because life sends us different curveballs.
You know, let me, let me give you an example. Well, let me give you an example. You know, baseball a little bit, you know, a little bit of baseball. So my, my children went to play T-ball and then they went to Little League and then they went to Yiddle League. You know, Yiddle League? It's the Jewish Little League. Yiddle, you know, Yiddle. So, and then, and then, you know what happens?
You play high school, you play baseball, and then you go to college and then you go to minor leagues and then you get to major leagues. And then when you go to major leagues, they throw you a pitch and you swing and miss and you're out. And it's the ninth inning and his base is loaded, two outs of the World Series. And you're like, I don't understand how that's possible. I saw that pitch a thousand times when I was in T-ball, I hit it.
When I was in Little League, I hit it. How is it possible that now I'm in major league and I struck out? I'm a nobody. No, you're just in the major leagues. In the major leagues, they don't pitch it 16 miles an hour. They don't pitch it 40 miles an hour. They pitch it 105 miles an hour. And you're facing the most difficult pitcher. You understand? So you say, wow, I'm a person of emunah. Yeah, you're right. But our whole life changes constantly.
We always need... My grandfather, his midas hashoresh, his number one mida was emunah. You know which trade he worked on the most? Emunah. Because he was born with emunah. He was born with it. But still, a person needs to continue to grow in their emunah constantly every single day to reaffirm, to connect more and more and more. That's because Hashem sometimes throws us a pitch and we're hit by the pitch. We're hit by the pitch. And the message from God is that we have to...
Yes, sometimes you just need to take a break. Hashem is saying, maybe that's what Hashem is saying. The only way for you to take a vacation, if I knock you out. Sometimes Hashem does that. And Hashem throws us overboard. He says, listen, I'm trying to tell you, take a break, take a break, take a break. You're not taking a break. I'm going to have to throw you overboard. So you take a break. And sometimes Hashem needs to do that.
And we wonder, we're like, what's wrong with me? Life is a journey. Life is a journey and it's not... You can't have faith in other people. You can only have faith in Hashem. That's what we say every single day. I'll translate it to you in art scroll. In our Pesuki de Zimro, which we are soon going to continue tomorrow in our prayer podcast. Do not rely on nobles, on a human being who holds no salvation. When his spirit departs, he returns to the earth.
On that day, all his plans perish. Oh, I'm going to do this for you. I'm going to do that for you. It's all done. Meaning it's going to disappear. Don't ever put trust in people. Only put trust in Hashem. He promised me. I can't even tell you how many people promised me that they were going to give a donation to TORCH. They promised with everything. And when I was younger, I put my full trust in them. It's like I was counting on it.
And one time after another time, I learned, don't ever put trust in a person. Only in Hashem. Only in Hashem. Hashem has got your back. Hashem will take care of you every single day of your life. Hashem will take care of you. Other people, they can have self-interest. They can make a decision one way today and another way tomorrow. Today, they told you yes. Tomorrow, they tell you no. Thank you. What an honor. My dear friends, have a good night.
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.