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A refreshing and clear review of each Parsha in the Torah presented by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe
0:03 Introduction: You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Parsha Review Podcast.
0:11 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Good morning, everybody from Houston, Texas. We are now on cycle number five of our study of each Torah portion in the Parsha Review podcast. It is so wonderful to be here and to talk about this week's Parsha, the first of the entire Torah. The book of Genesis begins with the portion of Genesis, Beratius, in the beginning.
0:34 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And, you know, we have creation of heaven and earth. We have the six days of creation and God rested on the seventh. you know, the whole transformation of Adam from being an individual to being a couple, now married to Eve. And then we have the fascinating story of what happens with the tree of knowledge, where the amazing thing is the first instruction that God gives to Adam and Eve is mikola etztochal, from all the trees, from everything you shall eat, everything.
1:11 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Except for one thing, the tree of knowledge. We have to understand that our perspective in Judaism is that we have no limitations. We have no limitations. Hashem says in joy of everything, except a few things.
1:27 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Except a few things. So a person should never think like, oh, if you become Torah observant, if you keep Shabbos, then you're missing out. You're not missing out on anything. You have every privilege in the world.
1:41 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: just uh just the the the superficial things that people refer to as oh you're missing out on this and that you have true harmony true peace true serenity when you have Shabbos, when you have a closeness with Hashem. So you're not missing out on anything, just so that you know you're not missing out on anything with your observance of the Torah, with your observance of the mitzvahs, not missing out on anything.
2:08 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: We have a few things that Hashem says this will create a barrier and a limitation, therefore don't do it. Okay, so God instructs Adam and Eve, don't eat from the tree. And what happens? They ate from the tree.
2:22 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: As a reasonable, responsible God, creator of heaven and earth, what should God have said? God should have said, what did you do? God doesn't say that. God doesn't say, hey, you sinned in an accusatory way, repent.
2:42 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: God doesn't say that either. Instead, God says, Where are you? The verse states here, chapter 3, verse number 9, And God called to Adam, Where are you? Where are you?
3:02 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: What type of question is that regarding Adam and what he has done? Why is this the question that God asks him? After he has sinned with the eating from the tree of knowledge. So our sages explain something so fundamental.
3:25 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And that is, God was asking him, how have you fallen from your great height? You're so great.
3:41 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Where are you now? You're capable of something so fabulous. Where are you? Are you on your course?
3:52 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: To get in that direction, that success? Or did you go astray? Ayaka, where are you? Where have you gone?
4:02 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: The idea that we all are here in this world on a mission. We are here to accomplish. We're here to do things in an individual way. That nobody else on planet Earth has the same mission.
4:17 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: You hear this, Eliana? You are here on a specific mission that nobody else in the world can even relate to. Because you're so unique, you're so special, you're one of a kind. Every single person needs to understand you're so unique, you're so special, there's no one in the world who ever was or ever will be exactly like you.
4:40 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And what happens if we go astray and we neglect our responsibilities? We neglect our personal, individual goals that God set for us. Ayeka, where are you, God is asking. that you went astray, that you need to repent and achieve atonement, that you'll handle if you're on your mission.
5:05 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: But if you're off a mission, it's not going to help.
5:11 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: There's a story that we've shared before the high holidays that's worthwhile repeating. There's a parable that's told about a man who was very, very poor, couldn't support his wife and children, but he had heard that there's an island, that on that island, All diamonds. All diamonds.
5:32 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And he can go and he can get as many diamonds as he wants. But there's a problem. There's a catch to it. The catch is that it takes three years to get there, three years to get back, and there's only a trip every other year.
5:48 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: So if he goes, it's going to be a seven-year journey. A seven-year journey. His wife says, listen, we can't get worse than we are right now.
6:00 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Just go. We'll figure it out. I'll figure it out with the children. He says, but it's going to be a long time.
6:04 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: I'm not going to see my children. You know, one's a 10-year-old. I'm not going to see him until he's 17 years old. It's many years.
6:11 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Very, very, okay, what are we going to do? We're going to try. We're going to do our best. So he gets on this boat and he travels all the way to the island and he gets there.
6:20 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And indeed, he brings his two big gigantic duffel bags and he's going to fill them up with diamonds. Okay. He gets there, and finally he just grabs a shovel, puts all the diamonds into the bag, and into the bags, and then he's ready to check into a hotel, waiting for the boat to leave. So what happens, what happens is, is that it goes into the hotel.
6:51 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: They're like, I'm sorry, we don't take diamonds. That's not worth anything here. What do you take? We take only coconuts.
7:00 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: all right what do i do how do i get go to the bank down the block and open up a coconut account and then you know we we you seem like a like a reasonable trustworthy person your credit score is high and we'll we'll let you stay in the hotel and you'll start paying okay so he goes to the bank he opens up an account and he starts working you know filling bags and then and then he uh he uh you know
7:33 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: He's first he's packing bags and then he is and then he is. He becomes a store manager. And then he becomes a regional director. And he starts making a lot.
7:45 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And his coconut account is jam-packed. He is so wealthy. He's doing so well. And his first month, he just accelerated all the way to the top.
7:56 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And they're just like, this guy is such a talented individual. And he's making all of this money. And he's so excited. He's so excited.
8:02 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: He's become a really wealthy guy.
8:09 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: It's just, it really is a gift from Hashem. He's so excited. But it's going to take him a long time until he's going to have to go and see his family. It's going to take him some time.
8:19 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: So what happens is, you know, every day he's counting up towards when he's going to leave. And it gets closer and closer to his trip. And he's so excited that he has all of these coconuts.
8:41 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: I think it was supposed to be three years that he had to do that. And, you know, finally comes a week or two before the thing. He starts packing his bags and he puts all the coconuts into his duffel bag. And he's about to head back to visit, to see his family.
8:59 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And it's a long journey back. Finally, he's on the boat and he's heading back home. And he sees from afar, you know, three years later, he sees his family and he's so excited. It's going to be such a great reunion.
9:14 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And they finally come and he's seen with his big duffel bag. And it's unbelievable. How was it? It was unbelievable.
9:19 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: You have no idea. It's, you know, I could hardly fit everything into my bag, how much success that I had. And he gets home. And finally, so much excitement.
9:30 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: He opens up the bags and all the coconuts come rolling out.
9:36 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: he says don't you know coconuts that's the real currency coconut like what are you talking about you went for diamonds He says, what are you talking about? Coconuts. That's it. And he realized because of, you know, when we come to this world, we come to this world, a baby cries. A baby cries.
9:59 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Why does it cry? Because it was living in a world that's all holiness. It was living in a world that the sages tell us, the midrash tells us, that the baby in the mother's womb can see from one side of the world to the other because there's no physical limitations. It's living in a spiritual realm.
10:16 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And then we come, baby's crying. We buy balloons and we buy flowers and we buy toys and we buy dolls and we buy this. And it's just like, just be calm, just okay. But what's really bothering that baby?
10:29 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: What's really bothering that baby? I don't want to be in this physical world locked up in the prisons of, you know, I think of like the ribs is like it's a prison cell for the soul. It's like the soul is looking out, peering out and saying, get me out of here. I don't want to be here.
10:43 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: The soul doesn't want to be here. Because there's so much distraction. Because it's going to take me away from my goal, from my mission.
10:54 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Hashem gives us the opportunity throughout our lifetime to perfect our soul through the challenges of the body. But if we ignore it, then we just focus on money, dollars, coconuts, instead of the real currency of mitzvot. We come here to do mitzvot to enhance the soul. And instead, what are we busy with?
11:16 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Getting a career and getting a good job and getting a good retirement and going on great vacations. Vacation is very important. And money is important. Money is important so that we can sustain ourselves so that we can serve our soul.
11:31 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: But without that, the question is, Ayeka, if we came to this world and we didn't serve our soul, which is a piece of God, a godliness that's within each and every one of us, then God asks, not why did you go astray? Ayeka, where are you? Every person needs to ask themselves that question.
12:00 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Where are we? Hashem should bless us all. We should stay on mission. We should stay on course.
12:06 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: We should do everything that we need to remove the distractions, to remove all the barriers so that we can serve Hashem. And get our soul to the place that is best for it. Which is closeness with Hashem. You know what's good for me?
12:29 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Closeness with Hashem. That's what we're going for. How do we become closer to Hashem? We become God-like.
12:36 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Adam's name in this week's parasha is picked Adam. Why Adam? Because he was taken from the land. Our sages tell us there's one more level.
12:45 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Because he's going to emulate God. Your job is to emulate God. That's our job. Be God-like.
12:54 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Yeah, you know what? Overcome anger. Someone says something to you, you're so upset. I can react like a human or I can react like a soul.
13:03 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Godliness. And I'm not going to react with anger. I'm going to react with mercy, with kindness, with love, with patience. Is my body in control or is my soul in control?
13:17 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: If there's too much body, there's too much physical, which Adam fell for, the physical, God says, Ayeka, where are you? Where are the real you? What are we? Are we a body or are we a soul?
13:32 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: I just recently had a student to one of my classes, young woman, you were in the class. And I said to her, I said to her, Do you see me?
13:44 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: She said, yes. I said, with what do you see me? She said, I see you with my eyes. I said, I beg to differ.
13:51 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: You don't see me with your eyes. So what do you mean? I said, okay, so you see me now with your eyes. But what happens when you're sleeping and I open up your eyes?
14:03 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Will you see me then? No. Why not? Because part of your soul is not there. When you sleep, God takes your soul.
14:13 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: And he cleans it up and he freshens it up. Your eyes don't see. Your soul sees. Your eyes are the tool, are the camera, the lens that gives that vision to your soul.
14:27 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Okay? You understand this? That means we consider ourselves, who am I? I'm me. No, no, you're a soul.
14:35 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: You're not a physical body. Don't give in to the temptation of spending life filling our body. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die. No, that's not a Jewish concept.
14:49 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: We live in this world so that we can serve Hashem with our soul. Our body is the vehicle through which we take our soul and use it the right way. You know, the resurrection of the dead that we pray about every single day. God will restore our soul and our body.
15:13 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: So the obvious question is, why the soul and the body? Just the soul. The soul did its job.
15:23 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: So the body says, one second, excuse me, you wanted to go pray in the morning? Who got you out of bed? You wanted to go do an act of kindness? Who helped you schlep?
15:31 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Me. So I get, and always the question people ask is like, well, if there is a reincarnation. So which body do we get? The first one, the second one, the third one? Which one?
15:44 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: If we come back, which one? I say the best looking one, all right? But the truth is, is that the physical form doesn't really make much of a difference. Yes, it's a gift from Hashem that we have eyes and we have ears and we have a nose and that we have a mouth and that we have hands and legs and feet.
16:04 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: It's beautiful. It's a gift. It's an amazing gift. But that's not the purpose of it.
16:11 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: The purpose is not so that we work out and we be really, really strong and have great muscles and have a great physique. That's not the purpose of this world. It's a gift that we must maintain properly. And we'll be held accountable if we don't.
16:25 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: But the purpose is serve your soul. Your soul. Your connection with Hashem. So that Hashem never needs to ask about us.
16:38 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: Ayeka, where are you? Where did you disappear from your journey? Where did you disappear from your responsibilities? Why did you abdicate your responsibilities?
16:48 Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: My dear friends, have an amazing Shabbos. Be like Adam. grow and become better every single day.
16:57 Introduction: 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.