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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.
Welcome back everybody to way number 45. Way number 45 is Hallomed al-Minat l'Lamed, to learn in order to teach, and then Hallomed al-Minat la'asot, to learn in order to fulfill. So, to effectively communicate what you've learned, you need to define it clearly. You know, they say that when you are giving a presentation, if you can't say it in 30 seconds,
you can't say it in 30 minutes. You see people sometimes speaking, and they're talking and talking. Nobody has a clue of what they're talking about. They don't even know what they're talking about. If you can't define it in 30 seconds, and to me, before every one of my classes, I have a summary of the conclusion of the class. This is the bottom line. If you walk out at this point, you've got the class. Now, we're going to talk about many different sources, and we'll give many background,
you know, ideas and stories and, you know, parables and things like that to bring that idea to life. But there's a, there's got to be something like that elevator pitch. You have 30 seconds, say it. If you can't say it in 30 seconds, 30 minutes is not going to help you. So that's, that's the general rule. Understand it fully. You have to really be able to, number one, define it. Understand it fully.
Is there any point that I'm not clear about? If there's a point that I'm not clear about, it's difficult to present it. Unless you do that as, and I've done that many times with our classes over the years, where I say, look, this isn't fully baked. But I want to share with you what I'm struggling with or dealing with and learning. Let's learn this together, and let's open this up. Let's, let's figure it out together. That's a different, that's a different type of teaching.
And then know how to transmit it. How can I best explain this to others? So, I'll give you an example. If you have a concept, an idea, sometimes just take a moment and think of it outside of teaching it. In an application, in a practical application, and many times you can come up with an idea, a, a an example, a parable that brings it to life. That if you didn't take that moment to think about it in advance, you just like, you're sharing information, but it isn't structured.
It doesn't, you don't have an applicable way to apply it to real life. So that's very important. And then number four, the last, is put it into practice. It's very important to not just say words, but to actually try our best to live it. When you learn in order to teach, you gain greater clarity about what's floating through your mind. I've, for me personally, I've shared this in the past. I learn best when I teach, which is why I try, like even these 48 ways, I prepared them
doing a tremendous amount of research because I wanted to learn it. And I knew that the best way for me to acquire this information, and hopefully these traits, is by teaching it. When I was doing my EMT course, I failed my test numerous times because I just didn't get the information. I didn't get it. And then I decided, you know what, the way I learn best is when I teach it. So I had a whole group of guys who were all struggling with the test.
So I made it, we created a group, and I said to them, guys, tonight I'm giving a class on the respiratory system. And that day I spent, it was during COVID, I spent 12 hours packing in the information, putting together diagrams, putting together, understanding it completely. And that night, even if it was only one guy who showed up, I gave an entire class on the respiratory system. And then I did it on the heart, and I did it on stroke.
I did it on all of the different areas of the EMT course until I passed. Because I was not going to, that's the way I learn information. I learn by teaching. And if that's the, because you have to understand that the, it's funny, I used to laugh. I used to come to my grandfather's house on a typical Tuesday, and I'd see my grandfather like really immersed in his learning, in his, I would say, Sabo, what's going on? He says, I have a lecture to give tonight.
And he's like, he gave about a million lectures in his life, like you shouldn't have a problem pulling a file, you know what I mean? And I said, no, so what are you gonna say? He says, I have no idea what I'm gonna say. If God gives me what to say, I'll have what to say. He doesn't, meaning he's done his homework and prepared, but who knows how many times have I come into class, and this is true. Okay, so don't hold this against me, my dear friends.
Where I come to class, having sat all day prepared, not confident in any of the information I'm about to teach. Where I sit and prepare and prepare for hours and hours, and I'm like, I just, I just don't have it. It hasn't been worked out. It's like, I don't, and then there are other times where I'm confident in the material that I'm about to teach, and usually when I come unprepared, like feeling unprepared, it's the better class, and when I, when I'm giving the more prepared class,
it, it doesn't come out as, as good. So, it's the hand of Hashem. It's not in your preparation. It's the hand of Hashem. How many times do we go to things in life unprepared, and suddenly we have success, and things that we come, we have every, how many deals that you fund are like, they give you, like, the business plan is perfect, and the thing fails, and how many times they come, and it's like, well,
I don't really know. This doesn't have any chance, and they're successful. All the time. That's the way it works. Hashem says, it's all about the relationship. Do you recognize that I'm here? If you recognize that I'm here, we've got things to work out. The moral of the story is, put forward your best effort, but don't worry that you're not prepared, or that you don't feel prepared. That's right, and you know, sometimes, how many times do you try to fund a deal, and it doesn't go, and
sometimes you don't try, and it comes, and it comes without your effort. There you go. So, because Hashem is in charge, and He puts things in the right, right? The doctor, how many times did you try to get a client, and it doesn't go, and sometimes you don't even try, and you get your best client, at a no place, at a thin ear. Baruch Hashem. That's the way it works. Baruch Hashem.
You have to put forward your best effort, but don't think that because you put forward your effort, that you're going to succeed. One plus one does not equals two. One plus one equals whatever the Almighty. One is your effort, and the other one is Hashem's assistance, and together, they equal whatever Hashem wants it to succeed, to be. There's no question. You have to get, look, I can't start giving a whole lecture on, on on geography, even though I know geography pretty well, but that's not my area of expertise.
So, I'm not going to start talking about world economics, and things like that, even though I have somewhat of an idea, I have somewhat of an understanding, but I would need to prepare a little bit before I would talk about such a topic, so I can be a little bit more knowledgeable, and a little bit more well-versed, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to succeed at it. And while you have other times where, you know, you're not prepared, you try, and you're very successful.
That's the way it works. One plus one equals whatever Hashem wants it to be. Remember that. Whatever Hashem wants it to be. Particularly when you try to teach, and I, I, I ask Hashem many times before I walk into class, I say, Hashem, I've got no idea what I'm talking to your children about. But you know what? Put the words in my mouth, and there are times, by the way, I heard this from the Stipler. The Stipler was Reb Chaim Kanievsky's father.
Reb Chaim Kanievsky's father was once approached by a woman, a widow. She came with a very difficult question, and he said, give me a minute, let me think about it. He walked out of the room, and he started praying, and he said, Hashem, I'm here to help your children. Here is one of your children. I don't know what I'm going to say. I'm going back into the room, and I'm going to open my mouth, and you're going to put the words in my mouth.
And he went out and said the most brilliant piece of advice, and, and, and guided her, and many times I feel that, and I say, Hashem, you know what? I'm going to teach a class. I'm going to talk to your children, to share your Torah, your wisdom. I have no idea what I'm going to say. I'm going to open my mouth, and you're going to put words in my mouth, and hopefully they're successful. If something is worth learning, it's worth sharing. That's an important
function of Judaism. Don't keep your wisdom to yourself. You know something, teach something. Now, you have in New York City, you see something, say something. If you know something, teach something. Share it. Share it with the world. Don't keep your wisdom to yourself. Make sure you learn something new every day. If you haven't learned, you haven't grown. I do this many times, whether it's my children, my associates here at TORCH. I say, teach me something. Something. My brother always has something interesting to share,
something I've never heard of in my life. He's like, oh, did you know that there's a group called Birds Aren't Real? There's a whole thing, a whole thing, Birds Aren't Real. They were on 60 Minutes. These a bunch of college kids came up with this thing, Birds Aren't Real. They're really the, it's the US government spying on us. All the birds you see, they're all fake. And it's like, what? It is, it's funny.
But you know what? It's something new and something different that you never, you know, it's like, it's, that's more entertaining than knowledge. But what we should get knowledge, get some, every night ask yourself, how can I teach what I learned today? I learned something new today. How can I teach that to the world? How can I share that with my family, my spouse, my children, with my friends, with my neighbors? Be a person of inspiration.
Knowing you'll have to teach gives you more power to understand, to analyze, and it gives you attention and motivation. We need to use it. If we know that we're going to need to share this information like I did for the respiratory system, I knew that I've got to get it all in because at six o'clock I have a class, I need to teach, I got to get my information together. Put the information together, organize it, now you'll hopefully be able to present it properly.
Teaching wisdom is the Jewish national mission, to be a light unto the nations. This is our job. If you want to know why there's hatred in the world, it's because we don't take that job seriously. The nations of the world are expecting us to be a shining light, an example. And if we don't present ourselves with that responsibility, it's a problem. So now we go to the second part of this teaching of way number 45, which is the halomed almanot lasot,
is to learn in order to do, to activate your wisdom. It's not enough to just have wisdom up here. Activate it. We can know a lot about the laws of kosher, but how do I put it into practice? How do I put it into action so that now I can infuse my life with this wisdom? Put it into action. With any wisdom, you must clearly define what have I learned? What does this mean? Why is it important for my life?
What are the implications and how do I translate this into practical reality? Put it into action. You can go to courses on self-help. You can go to courses on sales and marketing. You can go to classes on any topic. You can go to Tony Robbins and you can go on to financial advisors and you can do all these classes that can share great wisdom, but if you don't apply it to your life, it's not going to help. Guaranteed, it's not going to help.
There's a big conversation going on in the world now, in the world of influence, in the world of social media, about whether or not we should give little short bites of wisdom. Because many people say, just like put it into a one minute, put it into a short video, a three minute, a ten minute, something easy for people to eat. And then you look at Joe Rogan has a three-hour podcast and he has a hundred million downloads in an hour.
You understand that that throws out the entire theory that people want short and sweet and just give me the point, give me the bottom line. Because here he does the longest podcast available on all platforms and he's the most successful podcaster on planet Earth. That breaks the entire theory. It's a three hours and 20 minutes and it's non-stop. Three hours and 20 minutes and people are listening in droves. The philosophy of the Torah is that every part influences us, even the parts we don't realize influence us.
Let me give you an example. If a student is going to yeshiva, okay, let's say someone asks me and says, listen, I want to go to yeshiva. But you know, I can't really focus that much. I can't sit and learn 12 hours a day or 14 hours a day like the rest of the students. Should I go or should I just pop in for a class and leave? I would say go into the yeshiva and be there.
Why? The osmosis, the environment, the atmosphere has a great influence as well and people don't realize it. But drop after drop after drop. So if someone is in class for an hour long class and only gets one piece, that was a successful class. Because that one piece can stick with them for the rest of their lives. So it's a, it's a, it's, I'll tell you, very interesting. Me and many of my friends who are rabbis and teach many classes have a difficult time sitting through classes.
If I wasn't teaching a class, I can promise you I wouldn't be sitting and listening. I would not. I can't, I can't handle it, right? I know. But it's, so I force myself when the rabbi gives a sermon on Shabbos, I force myself to sit in there and to concentrate and not be distracted. Mostly as an exercise of patience, as an exercise of learning to be, you know, less ADHD, you know what I'm saying? And so the whole point of wisdom is to apply it and to make life better.
Don't put off change for another day. Don't push off change and say, you know what, another day, that's when I'll take life seriously. That's when I'll apply things to my life. Note to self in 2024, change. Don't put off change for another day. Talk is cheap, actions take commitment. Action takes commitment. I find, you know, this, I always laugh, you know, because men have difficult time with commitment, right? But in a kosher lifestyle, in a kosher lifestyle, there's always a commitment you need to make,
which ironically the women are the ones who have the difficult time with that. In a kosher lifestyle, after you eat meat, you can't eat dairy, right? And you always see women who are kosher observant having a difficult time eating meat because they're afraid for that six-hour, seven-hour commitment to not eating dairy. Like what happens if someone brings chocolate? What happens if I want ice cream? What happens if, you know, it's like that commitment. I'm like, see, women have a difficult time with commitment.
But either way, making a decision to grow is based on free will, your choice. The essential power of a human being is free will. Our growth is in our hands. It's our decision. And you know what? You know how long it takes to grow? How long does it take to grow? One second. That one second decision. I'll give you an example. When I decided to start my diet, this is one of my first diets I've ever done. It was in the summertime.
And I dropped off my family in New York and I came back to Houston. And on the plane, I decided that's it. I'm going on a diet now. I'm not eating out. I'm not eating junk food. I'm getting on a strict diet. You know the first thing I did when I landed? I drove to the supermarket and I bought salad. I said, if I don't start now, then I'm going to be hungry in two hours.
And I'm going to say, oh, what am I going to eat? I don't have salad. I'm just going to – Barbecue potato chips. Exactly. Barbecue potato chips. Here we come, right? And there goes the diet. You have to start now. If you're deciding to do something, apply it immediately. A person needs to apply it immediately. And every concept in Torah is an instruction for living. We need to learn how to use it. Every law in the Torah,
there's no such thing as a law in the Torah that doesn't apply to me. Even the offerings, if we learn about it deeply enough, we'll see how they connect to our day-to-day lives, even though we don't have a temple, even though we don't bring offerings today. But there's a way to apply it to our day-to-day lives. If you undertake a deep commitment to change, it will positively impact the rest of your life. When you get up from the book, any book, by the way,
even – well, probably Harry Potter, not. But a book, any self-help book, don't just get up from the book and say, Oh, that was an interesting read. Look into what you've learned. If there is something in it that you can implement immediately. Look for something to implement in everything that you learn. Don't just take knowledge, soak it up, and now say it's mine. No, no, no, no. How can I apply this? How do I make this applicable to my day-to-day life
so it's not just wisdom out there, wisdom, but something that I can implement every single day of my life?