Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
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.
00:03 - Intro (Announcement)
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.
00:14 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, welcome back, everybody. Welcome back to Mussar Masterclass, Mussar Mondays. We are studying the Orchos Tzaddikim, the ways of the righteous and the Treasure for Life edition. We're on page 619 and day 106.
00:30
Okay, so today we are going to study. We're going to continue with the remembrances Now. We talked previously about different things that are important for us to remember, and the more we remember them, the more virtuous we become, the more fulfilled our life becomes. And we started. The first one was to remember that God created the world something from nothing. We talked about to remember the kindness of Hashem, that every single organ in our body, every single limb, is a gift from Hashem. We talked about to remember the kindness of Hashem, Hashem's kindness and the incredible wisdom that he has imbued into us and into our world. To remember the goodness that Hashem bestowed upon us by giving us His Torah, etc. Etc. Now we're up to the 17th Hashva Yisrael. The 17th remembrance, sheshva Yisrael. The 17th remembrance Sheyiz gormala. Achas tov hame'ot. To remember a good quality, to remember an extremely desirable quality Lehistalik mibnei adam. To free himself from the company of others whenever it is possible to do so and to sit in his room alone. Kishyachal lehinotzel. Mehem v'yeshe b'chadre yachidi Ki rov.
01:55
Ha'averos eno nigmaros ele b'shnaim. He says most sins come to a person, not when they're in isolation. Sins typically happen in peers or in groups. It's like typically, people don't do trouble alone. People do trouble with others. So he says, when you get a chance, it's worthwhile to be a little bit alone every once in a while so that you avoid falling into the trap of sins. Ki rov ha-averes, enenig maris ele b'shnai. Most sins, most transgressions, take place between two people. Ki gaon znos v'lashon, haro v'shkaron v'chanifo, such as adultery, slander, lying, falsehoods, flattery it all happens with more than one person sitting alone. Mikol elu, yinotzel, ha-yoshev yichidi.
02:50
From all of these situations, if you know that you're going to be in a situation where you're going to be influenced by others to start talking negatively about your friend, you're going to start to think terrible thoughts. It's better for you know, or someone's going? You're going to talk falsehoods. You're going to speak be flattery. You're going to commit flattery. These are things that a person should be very cautious of, and these are just four examples of sins that don't happen when a person sits alone in their room.
03:25
He who sits alone will escape all of these and he will not boast about himself over others and will not hear their mockery. So you're not going to be arrogant. When you're alone, it's very hard to be arrogant. Oh, look at me. I'm so much greater than them. Talking to myself, when I'm by myself, kind of, there's a certain truth that sets in.
03:47
I want to just share a perspective about this. Okay, there is something called Hitzbodudut. For those of you who don't know what Hitzbodudut is, let me give you a little primer. So Hitzbodudut the actual word, means to be badad, which is alone.
04:12
What our sages have taught us about the beautiful opportunity that we have to make for ourselves. It won't come, it won't just happen. You have to make it your business to find the opportunity to do this. You go to a field, you go to a forest. You go to a field, you go to a forest, you go to a place which is you're on your own, you're alone, and you divide up your time to three different categories. Number one is thanking Hashem. Thanking Hashem, thanking Hashem. Then you can ask Hashem and then or you can do it reverse, you can do acknowledging Hashem, acknowledging everything that Hashem has given you, then thanking Hashem, asking Him for all the things that you need. It is such an incredible power, powerful prayer, such an incredibly powerful prayer. I myself have gone with Rabbi Laser Brody on one of his trips to Houston. We did a group Hitbo Dudut where basically, he did a pregame and he coached us exactly what to do and how to do, and then we all went out onto our own. Everyone found their place.
05:28
And you look into nature, for example. You look, you're standing by a tree. You look at this tree. Look at what an amazing tree that Hashem created. Look how beautiful it is. Look how perfect it is. You look at a leaf Take one leaf, just take one leaf. You look at a leaf take one leaf, just take one leaf. Tomorrow, whenever you get a chance, take a leaf, hold it up to the sun, look what's going on inside that leaf. It's the most incredible thing, the perfection. Acknowledge, realize your own body.
06:02
I went today to a doctor. I went to a doctor for a checkup and he said to me I'm going to look in your kidneys, I'm going to look into your kidneys. He's a nephrologist. I'm going to look into your kidneys. So he says to me do you know how I'm going to look into your kidneys? I said, probably through my back, I have no idea. He says no, no, no, come. I'm going to look into your eyes, like what. What do my eyes have to do with my kidneys? He said do you know how many millions upon millions of little nodes you have inside your kidneys, millions of microscopic nodes. He said what do you think? You're going to have big vessels in your eyes and teeny ones in your kidney. He says they're all connected. He says if I look in your eye and I see everything's okay there, I can tell you that everything's okay in your kidneys. Hello, I don't know about you, but I was like what? This is the most amazing thing in the world. He wants to look into my kidneys. He looked into my eye. It's amazing, the brilliance of how the human body functions. It's just.
07:21
It's fascinating to take the time to recognize. It's fascinating to take the time to recognize, to look. If you get a chance to look and see things about nature, search them up online, find something which gives you the opportunity to experience God's creation and to see his majesty. Look at the world and how beautiful it is. I remember going to a camping trip. We went to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and on the way we stopped off at the Grand Teton National Park and when I saw the Grand Teton National Park and when I saw the Grand Teton, I was breathless. It's like you think, like oh, on some postcard, I saw a beautiful picture. No, no, no. It's right in front of your eyes. It's like whoa, the perfection of creation. It's like it's unreal. And then when you see the geysers and you see, it's just the magnificence of Hashem's creation. But look inside, in our own body. The miracles that we experience every single day it's unbelievable. The miracles that we experience every single day, it's unbelievable.
08:50
So take some time to be a little bit alone, so that you can introspect, so you can say you know what, hashem. I think I may have made a little bit of a mistake over here, a little bit of a mistake over there. Hashem, I want to work this out, I want to work this through. A person can't do that with others around, can't introspect, can't have that alone time. Same, too, with mockery, making fun of other people. They're hard to do that alone. You can do that when other people give you attention, when other people laugh at your joke on someone else's expense. That you can do.
09:25
Speak Lashon Hara to yourself. It doesn't work. Speak Lashon Hara about someone else to a third party, which is why, by the way, the Chafetz Chaim says that the person, the recipient of Lashon Hara, is a more serious sin than the one who speaks to Lashon Hara. Why? Because the one who speaks won't say it again if you reprimand them. So imagine I come and I say Carlos, let me tell you something. You know, mark, let me tell you a thing or two about him, Right? So you say to me no, no, no, no, I'm not listening, I'm not listening, you're speaking negatively about someone else. I don't want to hear it. You know what's going to happen. I'm going to think twice before I speak Lachon Hara again. Right, I'm going to think twice about it. But let's say you say no, tell me something juicy, I want to hear something. So now you're encouraging me and that's going to cause me to do it again.
10:28
Chavetz Chaim says the person who listens to the Lashon Hara is more severe than the person who speaks it, because he's encouraging him to continue his sin, very serious. He says you have to reprimand them, you have to chrimand them, you have to chastise them in three ways In striking them. And he brings the proof from Pinchas, with words, he brings proof from Moshe and in thought. And he brings proof from King David. And who can always contend with them, since they are always transgressing?
11:28
ומי זה יכל לזכות את אימו המתמיד, כיוון שאהם עובר המתמיד. וכשאתה יושב יחידי ביטלת מהלך. כל זה העונש ואתה ניצו מהעבונות הרבה. This is, when you sit away from people who are sinners, you're protecting yourself, you're saving yourself from many, many sins. But among the righteous, sit with them. Among the holy, the pious, sit with them, because that will elevate you instead of pull you down. Someone who goes, king Solomon says in Proverbs, he who goes with the wise will become wiser.
12:12
So this is something to remember Don't hang around a group of sinners. Don't hang around a group of people who are evildoers, people who have a tendency to pull you down. If you know that, getting together with your old buddies, you're going to start talking things that shouldn't be spoken about, you're going to start acting in a way that you shouldn't act, you're going to start mocking things that you shouldn't mock, then maybe you should think twice about meeting with them, because the alternative is you're going to have to reprimand them. It's a biblical obligation when you see someone sinning. The alternative is you're going to have to reprimand them it's a biblical obligation when you see someone sinning Again only if they're going to accept. Still, that's not a very pleasant situation to be in. So what's way?
12:54
Number, the 18th step of remembrance, to remember the kindness of Hashem in rescuing him from the world's calamities. The kindness of Hashem in rescuing him from the world's calamities. Shumatz el osom, mipige haolam. Imagine how Hashem saves us from tragedies. Someone told me that a day before one of the big floods that hit Houston, one of the big hurricanes, they left for a few days. They left on vacation. Their house was completely flooded, right. Imagine. Hashem saved them. Who knows what terrible damage they could have experienced had they been there. Hashem saved them, right. How many times do we not even know that Hashem saved us from an accident? We don't know, but I'll give you an example.
13:56
I brought this example previously, but you know the story of Balak Balak. So King Balak hires the best, best prophet, bila. He says come. I want you to come. Look, you see those Jews down there in the desert. They were overlooking from a mountain. See those Jews, I want you to curse them. Curse those Jews. I don't like those Jews. He says I can't, I can't.
14:23
And so the whole story is written in the Torah. How does Moshe know about this story? How does Moshe know Moshe's writing it in the Torah? Hashem is dictating it to him. Hashem is saying write this story. He's like whoa, whoa, whoa, one second, one second. Where was I in this whole story? You were down there, I was busy protecting you.
14:50
Till that point point, moshe had no idea that he was being protected by Hashem. How many hundreds of times does that happen to each and every one of us? We have no idea. No idea, hashem protected us. And then sometimes we get upset. I can't believe I missed that ride. No idea, hashem protected us. And then sometimes we get upset. I can't believe I missed that ride. I can't believe I missed that flight. You know what Hashem protected you from, not that, god forbid, that plane is going to crash. No, no, which. There have been stories like that as well, by the way. I can tell you a true story. All right, I can tell you a true story.
15:32
There was a rabbi who was in Boston on September 11, 2001. And he was on the flight that was heading to Los Angeles and he remembered, as they were closing the door of the plane. He says I think I left my tefillin inside the terminal. So he gets up and he's frantic and he says to the stewardess he says I got to get off the plane. Like what's going on. I got to get off that plane because I left my tefillin. It's a religious article. I got to get off the plane. She says listen, you get off the plane. You're not getting back on. He says I don't care, I can't lose it. It's very, very precious to me. I need my tefillin. I got to get off the plane. I got to get my tefillin. She says you're going to miss the plane and you're going to lose the money for the flight. I cannot be on this plane.
16:22
And it was a whole back and forth, which is, by the way, saved thousands of lives, because that was the second plane that flew into the towers. That was delayed. Why was it delayed? They were supposed to hit at the same time. The impact would have been much worse. People, meanwhile, had time to get out of the second tower. It was delayed Because he was bothering them about his tefillin. So we don't know how Hashem protects us.
16:56
I happen to have met this person. He was a rabbi, lives in Jerusalem, he was in the United States visiting and he was traveling between Boston and LA. He authored a few books as well, but it's an amazing thing, an amazing gift. Now, again, it's tragedy, the tragedy that so many people died, the tragedy that anyone got injured or hurt or killed, but we have to look at it as an individual, as myself. Anyone got injured or hurt or killed, but we have to look at it as an individual, as myself. How many miracles Hashem performed for me in my life? Those that I know and those that I probably will never know of. But Hashem was there, navigating perfectly for me. Yeah, you know why I didn't get that job? Because it would have been miserable for me. Oh, and I was upset that that guy never returned my phone call.
17:54
Hashem was doing you a favor, but we don't see it. We don't understand the ways of Hashem. He sees many people perishing under terrible afflictions, through hunger, thirst, poison, leprosy, by the sword, by water and by fire, and he knows within himself that he perhaps is deserving of all these afflictions because of his many sins that he committed. He says right Shuhu ro'eh kam abne'od ha'meisim bi'yisurim koshim b'rav b'tzamo b'samei hamavesu b'tzarasu b? How many people? You look, you see these tsunamis, you see the. It's really, it's astonishing.
18:43
Thank God has protected us, put us in a place that's safer. Okay, right, perhaps I wasn't perfect and I wasn't, you know exactly the best servant of Hashem and maybe I was deserving of those. But Hashem, in His mercy, did not harm me. Even though this person talking about himself, maybe I am a completely wicked person, hashem protected me. Hashem saved me from all of those, all of those afflictions. A person has to realize how much he has to humble himself in front of God and to ask forgiveness before the Almighty Every single day and every single time he remembers that perhaps I'm a little behind, I'm a little in debt From my good deeds versus how much Hashem is doing good for me.
19:55
וְיִזֹרְי בַּעַבָדֹּוֹשְׁו, וְשִׁבְכֹוֹ וְלְבָּקֶש מִמֵנֹוֹ שִׁי, with his service in Hashem and his praise, and beseech Hashem to guard him against all of the afflictions that come upon the world. As the verse states If you hear, you will hear all of Hashem's words. All of the things that you have done in the past will be done to you, because I am Hashem, your Redeemer.
20:21
Anybody knows this verse from Exodus. It says as follows If you hear the voice of Hashem, your God, all the sicknesses which I brought upon Egypt I will not bring upon you, for I am Hashem who heals you. And the verse states further in Deuteronomy and Hashem will remove from you every sickness and all the terrible afflictions of Egypt which you knew he will not bring upon you. So we know all of the terrible things that befell the Egyptians Hashem is protecting from us. Hashem is saying listen, I got you covered. Well, I got you covered.
21:08
And our sages of blessed memory said in Tractate Barachot 33a the serpent does not kill, but the sin kills. All right, a person thinks, oh my serpent, you know what the serpent could be? God forbid an accident. Think it was the car accident that killed. No, hashem said this was the time he sent the car accident.
21:38
As the messenger understand, it's important for us to recognize that there's the big hand of Hashem that controls everything. Hatshayser, the 19th thing to remember she yizkor v'yachshav. Again, these are things to have in our memory at all times she yizkor v'yachshav im yesh lo mamon. A person should think if he has money, she u'pikadim biyadu, that it is on loan it, that it is on loan, it is deposited with him. In one moment, hashem can take it and in one moment, hashem can return it. One moment, there's an amazing story that's told of someone who once said I have so much money. And there's an amazing story that's told there's someone who once said I have so much money and there's no way, no way that God can ever take away the money from me.
22:40
No way. So declared it. I think this is the way the story goes. And he goes and on the way he meets a a priest and the priest he tells the priest, you know, you can stop talking to me because I'm not going to, I'm not going to convert. So you can stop trying to me because I'm not going to, I'm not going to convert. So you can stop trying to preach to me. So the priest says oh, yeah. He says yeah, if you're successful in converting me. He says you can have all my money. Really, give it to me on a document. If you're able to convert me, you're able to persuade me, get all. You're able to persuade me, get all my money. Sure enough, he persuades him and he lost all his money like that, all his money like that.
23:39
He runs to the rabbi. He says what did I do? I told you right. I said out loud God can never take my money. And look, he did. He says you can go back, the money's back to you. Now what happened? The house of the priest burnt down and the document that he signed was in that house. So now the money was brought back. And you see, he went left and came back. Hashem can do this in a second. Everyone thinks, thinks, oh, financial security, oh, this is the, by the way, the two words that has been probably the worst words for American culture. Financial security, you know, I have to make sure one day I'm going to retire.
24:23
I have to be. Oh so when you're in your 80s and 90s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, or 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, then Hashem doesn't take care of you, then Hashem has no idea how to help you. Oh, because I don't have an income.
24:37
Oh, so Hashem can't help people without an income. So what we're doing is we're creating this protective shield. That's God-proof, I'd say. If God makes me ill, I'll still be. We took Hashem out of the picture. We said it's all me, it's not him, he can't help me now because I'm going to be too old for him to help me. It's a huge mistake and I think it's a huge casualty in our culture that we have this idea that we only rely on my own dollar, the money that's in the bank. It's FDIC insured and it's guaranteed by the federal government, which I don't know what that's worth anymore. Anyway, right, it's definitely not backed by gold, right? Did you check Fort Knox? No, you didn't check it. Okay, either way, yikohenem yoduvya, afikedenem yadach. Hashem can take it from us in a moment, single, solitary moment. L'chein lo yitzdar lefroy, ha'mashu chayof.
25:40
A person should not ever find it distressing to pay back what he owes, so that if he has stolen, for instance, he should joyfully return what he has stolen. This is a mitzvah in the Torah, by the way. Someone steals. Return what you have stolen. Return what you have stolen. The heishavah sakzela, you know what it might be a little humiliating Say. You know I got overtaken by my urges, by my temptations, and I stole your watch. Sorry, right, here's your watch back. You give it back. You fulfill the mitzvah now. I fulfilled the mitzvah of returning that which is stolen, and praise Hashem that he has the wherewithal to do so, that you can return it now, and you should be careful not to fear difficult times but reflect that all that Hashem does is acceptable to Him, for all is His. Everything that happens, hashem's Everything.
26:55
You're worried, everyone's worried. Today we're living in a culture of fear. What do they say in news? If it bleeds, it leads. Okay, if it bleeds, it leads. So they're selling you tragedies every day. Oh man, it adds a fear into a person's life that now we're concerned. What's going to be if that happens to me? What's going to be if I go bankrupt? What's going to be if I fall sick? What happens if, if, if, so we have insurance on insurance, on insurance. Because what's if the?
27:37
There was a someone who bought a house in my neighborhood this is many years ago and he had insurance on the house and came the flood of which one? Was it One of the floods? Not Harvey and Memorial Day, I think it was and this guy took in so much water into the house, filed an insurance claim and the insurance went bankrupt and now he owed more on the house, right, obviously, to repair the house. Sorry, he owed more. It would cost him more to repair the house than he owed on the house. He just left it. He just left the house finished. Bank can take it back. Insurance is, again, it's something that, if Hashem wants it to work, I can tell you. We had insurance at the old Torch Center too.
28:36
There was an exemption for what you can't, hashem, at the end of the day. Someone said to me just this week he says you know you should sue them and you should this, right. Hashem is the one who decides that. You know what will happen and you have to accept the judgment from Hashem. Yisrat Tzibik Zeros. A person has to be accepting of Hashem's decree. Ki ha'kol shelo kisharotze nos nobi yodo v'kishayutze yi lo keach memeno. Everything is Decree, everything is Hashem's. If Hashem decides to give it to you, he'll give it to you. He decides to take it, I'll take it. That's why it makes no sense for a person to steal, because what are you trying to do? Are you trying to take something that Hashem said you shouldn't have, right? What does it help to be jealous? What's someone doing when they're jealous? When someone is jealous, what are they doing? They're saying I want something that Hashem said I shouldn't have, so I'm in a disagreement with Hashem. Hashem says that's not for you, you can't have that sweater, but I want it. I want that sweater. So I'm in a disagreement with Hashem. It's a big problem. Lo yivaze, ani b'shvil, ani yusa.
30:00
A person should never, ever, mock someone because of their poverty, because of their status Lo yachshev shebebes, chuso bo, lo mimono. And a person should never think oh, I'm so bright, so therefore I make money. I remember someone once said oh, if you don't have that kind of money, I don't talk to people like you. It's like, if you don't have, if you're not at this status up there, I don't talk to you. Who gives the money? Who takes the money?
30:38
You know, one of the most beautiful letters is the letter of the Ramban. The Ramban writes to his son. He says be be very, very careful if you're very wealthy and the other person is poor. You know what the argument is going to be against you. The argument against you is going to be he didn't give charity because he doesn't have money, why didn't you give charity? And if you're poor, right, he doesn't have money, why didn't you give charity? And if you're poor, right, and they're rich, there could be different arguments.
31:17
Why didn't you plead to Hashem more and talk to Hashem and realize? Why did you get all depressed? You should have been happy with your lot. That means that in every situation a person is in. Really, what we need to do is not look out and compare ourselves to others. We need to look in.
31:35
See, this is what Hashem designated for me, for who I am, for my, to deal with my challenges. Hashem is putting me through this challenging circumstance. A person shouldn't think you know, if you would have gone to my school, if you would have had my intelligence, if you would have had my connections, my personality, my training, my expertise, my whatever, and people attribute everything to themselves without realizing. Hashem gave you all those gifts. My good looks, right People who are, you know, in the fashion industry, like, look at me, I'm so that could be gone in a second, in one second.
32:24
To be arrogant about such a thing? Very challenging, ach, yah Shov, sho'el Yisboach, barach ha'mov, nos naloh. Hashem gave it to you with his great mercy. With his abundant mercy, he gave it to you. Yivakesh mimenu shi, yashlitenu al memono, laso sritzona bori yis'alev lo yi'asho shomu liva'olav ra'aso. He says if you have great wealth, you know what you should do. Pray to Hashem that he give you the good things to do with it, that you use it for the right causes, and not God forbid. Not God forbid to use it for bad things, not to waste it, not to do things that only bring you honor, but not what's in the best interest of the Almighty. Who gave you that money? That money comes from God, using it for my good, for my benefit. Oh, they're going to honor me, so I'll give it there. But what does Hashem want me to do with it? After all, it's His money, that's. Every person needs to make that consideration. So this concludes day number 106. Thank you so much, my dear friends.
33:43 - Intro (Announcement)
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.