Jewish Inspiration Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

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, good evening, my dear friends, to the Jewish Inspiration Podcast. It is so wonderful to be here Today. We are beginning the 13th gate in the Orchah Tzaddikim, the Ways of the Righteous, in the Treasure for Life edition, on page 469. The gate of acceptance. What is the gate of acceptance? So if you read it in Hebrew, the Hebrew term is ratzon. Ratzon means will, or willingness, or acceptance, finding favor. So her rots on, he me da Tova me owed. This positive trait of rots own, of acceptance, is found only in a giving and precious soul. In it it the very, very good trait.

01:07
We talked previously about the trait of anger, we talked about the trait of worry, we talked about the trait of happiness, and that was a very long long. We talked about cruelty. There's a lot to talk about when we talk about the traits of mankind. We will see. We'll try to crystallize the exact English translation for the trait ratzon, but generally speaking, the loose translation for ratzon means will, I will something, I want something. So I apply the trait of ratzon, but here, in our translation that we're using in this Treasure for Life edition, he uses the term acceptance. Okay, one who possesses this trait, who misratze b'chol in yonov kefi ma shegozer lo habari yis'aleh. So the reason why he's calling it acceptance is because there are people who accept their fate, who accept the will of Hashem. Hashem gives me something or takes away from me something, and I accept it. I'm willing to accept what it is, whatever befalls Him, and realizing that it has been decreed by Hashem and does not question his judgment. V'lo yehar achrov u'bal mi dozoz eino mitz'ape el agdula ve'el ha'kavod. Someone who has this trait of acceptance doesn't require or desire greatness or honor, but rather he's willing to tolerate and bear exactly what Hashem decrees and he does not bemoan his lot nor argue with Hashem doing this to me. You know those people who are always questioning why did God do this? Why did God do that? You know, today in the United States of America is the Holocaust Remembrance Day and unfortunately, you know, we as a people suffered tremendous, tremendous tragedy where six million of our own, at least six million that we know of were murdered brutally. My family, I know it on my own brutally. My family, I know it on my own family. But there are many who left the Holocaust feeling empowered, feeling stronger as a nation, and saying this was the hand of Hashem.

03:59
We don't understand the hand of Hashem. We have a very limited scope. I was just explaining to someone just a couple days ago that we talked about this many times in our class. Our vision can only see about 150 degrees in the peripheral. Okay, so right now I see my hands. Right now they're both out of my view, but you know who can see it. You could see it and you could see it, and you could see it and you could see it. You could see it. Everyone can see it, but not me. We only see 150 degrees. The other 210 degrees, that's all around us. We're limited from that view. We're not able to see everything. It means we have to understand that our lifetime is a very limited view. It's a very limited perspective. We only get a glimpse to what is it 60, 70, 80, 100, 120 years, but that's it. We can't see the full perspective.

04:53
The Almighty does, and that's why we can't be arrogant to think that we can make sense of what Hashem does in His world. What do we know about what Hashem does in His world? We don't understand it because we don't see a full picture, so we have to accept it. So there were those who left the Holocaust and felt empowered. I was guided by Hashem, even though, like my grandmother, she wrote a book about faith, faith After the Holocaust, faith Telling her story and how it strengthened her relationship with God. And yet we all know so many who their faith fell and shattered. There are some who are willing to accept that this is a judgment from God and there are some who are unwilling to accept that. And when a righteous person wrote this in Adam's book and Adam's book wrote this in Bo and Adam's book wrote this in Bo is a famous Mishnah on ethics of our fathers that states that whoever the generation, the people love him, they're comfortable with him, they are admiring of such a person.

06:09
So too, the Almighty loves that person. The Almighty admires that person as well, so they reflect one another. Also, someone who is accepting even the people who hate him, will inevitably make peace with him. When Hashem favors a man's ways, his foes too will make peace with him. We see the same with Avi Melech that he reconciled with Avraham and made peace with him. Right, because the virtue and benefit of willingness, meaning acceptance, are directly connected to life and they are the essence of good and the source of kindness. As it is written in the light of the king's countenance, there is life and his willingness is as a cloud of rain.

07:20
Re'eh ma'i yigiel ha-mordechai kisharotze ba'achashverosh. What happened to Mordechai when Achashverosh took favor to him? Ma'i yigiel Yosef kisharotze bomparo. What happened to Yosef when Pharaoh liked him and accepted him? ואים כך יגיע למי שרוצה בו בני אדם.

07:42
And if such things can be achieved by those who enjoy the favor of men כל שכן מי שקדשבורך רוצה בו even more so can be achieved when God finds favor in a person. שיגיע לקמה מלוס גדולוס. When God finds favor in a person, she yagia lekamo malos gedolos, that a person who is loved by God, meaning accepted by God, because of their character, because of their willingness to accept what comes their way, l'chen yatria ha'da matzma lasas ha'mitzvos what comes their way. Therefore, a person should always exert himself to perform the mitzvahs of Hashem, and then the Almighty will take to him, hashem will want him.

08:35
The wise one, who's called the wise one? Who's called the wise one? King Solomon the wise one said anyone who has this trait is considered rich. Everybody wants to know who is the rich man. Who is the rich man, the one who accepts God's decree. In fact, what does the Mishnah say? Ezehu ashir, hasameach b'chalko. It fits very well. The Mishnah in Ethics of Our Fathers teaches us Ezehu ashir hasameach b'chalko, who is the wealthy one, finish it.

09:20
He was happy with his share, meaning he accepts God's decree. God gave me this. This is my share. This is my share. So now I am the richest man on earth because I have everything that God wanted me to have on earth, because I have everything that God wanted me to have. People think that wealth means having money accessible to spend Expendable money. No, no, that's not true. Wealth comes from an internal connection that I know that everything that God wants for me I have, and what God doesn't want me to have I won't have.

09:56
And we understand why jealousy is a terrible thing, why dishonesty is a terrible thing, because what were you trying to steal? You're trying to trick to get something that God didn't decree for you. Meaning what you're saying is I'm contradicting God. God doesn't know what I need. I know what I need. That's a terrible thing when someone possesses this trait of ratzon.

10:29
Again, we'll try to crystallize this idea, but meanwhile we're going to the translation of our version here of the Treasure for Life edition, which is acceptance. When someone has this trait of acceptance, then what happens? Mechila v'slicha, shuhu misratze l'mi shepasha bo maver al-medosov. Such a person who has this trait they forgive, they pardon others, and such a person reconciles with the one who has offended him and overlooks the offense. Let's just give an example here.

11:08
Imagine someone walks over to you and someone says to you I can't believe you did such a disgusting thing, and it's in front of everybody. You're there in the gym, you're working out and someone comes wailing at you. I can't believe it. How can you do such a thing? Look how you parked your car, look what you said, look what you did in business. You're such an embarrassment, right, very embarrassing. So what does Ira do? Iris doesn't say anything.

11:36
He accepts what happens to such a person All of their sins are forgiven. When someone humiliates you and you don't humiliate in return, you accept it. All of your sins are forgiven. This is the kind of person we're talking about. So now imagine someone who's willing to forego getting back at them, not punching them back. So now they're accepting their own humiliation.

12:09
You think such a person, people are going to have a difficult time making peace with. Such a person. This is a pleasant person. This is an elevated, lofty person. Such a person, umisha ma'areh amedosah tfilasu nishmas, also someone who is foregoing of their own honor. They're letting someone else get in the line. Someone else is going to laugh at them. Everyone's going to be laughing on. Everyone's laughing on your account and now you're like, humiliated. You didn't answer back Such a person. You know what's guaranteed Prayers are answered. Such a person's prayers are answered.

12:47
I just want to finish off day number 79 before we continue here with day number 80. Our sages would go to people who were humiliated. People would come to the rabbi what do I do? I was in so-and-so. You don't know what they did to me. They humiliated me would come to the rabbi. What do I do? I was in, you know so, and so you don't know what they did to me. They humiliated me and they embarrassed me and and and I'm just, I can't go back to shul. I can't go back to synagogue. Everyone's gonna laugh at me when they see me.

13:15
And the rabbi says to the individual what did you say back when they humiliated you? They didn't say anything. Because in that case I want you to please do me a favor. The rabbi says to this individual put out your hands. And he puts his hands on the rabbi puts the member's hands on his head, on the rabbi's head, he says bless me, me, bless you. I came to you for a blessing. He says no, no, no, no, no. You are forgiven of all your sins. He says no, no, no, no, no. You are forgiven of all your sins. Your prayers are answered. I want you to give me a blessing because you're the righteous, you're among the most holy, because you didn't answer back. You accepted your humiliation. You're free of sin, your prayers are answered. You're on such a high level. You're the person that I need to get a blessing from, because your blessings will be answered. So my day. This is the Talmud says it in the Talmud. So this concludes day number 79. Now we're going to continue with day number 80.

14:14 - Intro (Announcement)
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