Jewish Inspiration Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:00 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Welcome back to day three of the Hachzek Orch HaSaddikim program, and we left off last class. We talked about the importance of recognizing that every gift that HaKadosh Baruch Hu, that the Almighty, has given us, we have to maximize and utilize it for the greatest of our ability. Hashem gave us the ability to see. We should use that ability in the greatest way possible. Now the author continues into the nature of mankind having different types of mitzvahs, different types of character traits, and we continue on page 17. How does this go about? There are people who have a tendency towards anger and there are people who have a tendency towards anger and there are others who are much calmer and they don't get angry Almost ever. And if he does once in a year, once in a few years, he'll get angry. There are people who are extremely arrogant and there are those who are very humble. And there are those who are extremely going after their urges and can't control themselves. And there are those who can't control themselves and can't live life without fulfilling those urges and desires. And there are those who are pure of heart, very, and they don't desire physical pleasures and physical urges, even those that the body needs, and there are those who are very large and all the money in the world won't please them. They need more and more and more, as it states in Ecclesiastes, those who love money. No money will satiate them. And there are those who do not rush to obtain their needs. He doesn't need to fulfill all his desires. There are those who are very, very limiting of themselves. They don't allow themselves the opportunity to have pleasure in this world. They fast v'kobetz al yad, v'einu ochel pruta, mishaloh elo b'tzar godol, and whatever they do do is with great displeasure. V'yeishu hu me'abit mimonu biyadayim lidatio. And there are those who spend their money, even the money they don't have. V'al drochem elu she'ar ha'deos, and many such types of traits. K'gon me'holol, all of these different traits. There are those who are stingy and those who are generous, those who are cruel and those who are merciful, those who are cowardly and those who are courageous, those who are cheerful and those who are depressed. We have many different traits that are all within ourselves, and all of these different traits that man possesses, yeish mehen deos, shehoyu la'adam itchil asbri, yaso Lefee teva gufo. They're those who have it from their very nature. V'yeish mehen deos, sheh tivo, shel adam zeh Michuvon, ve'osad lakabaloson, b'mehir yoseh mish'ar ha.

04:02
There are other traits that a person is inclined towards and can adopt them or can adapt to them, and there are those that a person has absolutely no connection to at all with those traits, but he learned them from others. He absorbed them from his culture, from influences, oh, or he was thinking about it and arrived at the conclusion of these traits, or he heard and was inspired to them and it became part of his nature by learning about the trait and being exposed to it. And there are traits that a person has to utilize wherever he goes, constantly, on a daily basis, and there are times that there are certain traits that we very infrequently need to use V'zeh doma, la'os, ha'tavshan, and a parable to this is like one who's cooking V'zorach yerek. You need to have vegetables V'bossar. You need to have meat v'may and you need to have meat and water and spices and salt and every one of those ingredients. You need to Put just the right amount, just the right measurement Mezeh me'at, mezeh harbeh, a little bit of this, a little bit more of that. Im yimat ha-bosser, if he's going to have less of the meat or less of the chicken or whatever it is that he has, the protein that he has yamach hal-rozeh, then the food will have a certain flavor and a certain benefit to it. Perhaps it will be a little bit less fatty, and if he's going to have too much salt, it's going to be too salty and no one's going to be able to eat it. And so, too, with all of the ingredients, if he's going to have a little bit of what he needs a lot of, or he's going to have more of what he needs a little bit of, it's not going to be a tasty food, but one who understands in cooking, in culinary experiences. A professional chef knows exactly the right quantity of salt and pepper and exactly what's needed to make this food In such a way, when it's properly balanced, it will have the proper flavor and everyone will enjoy eating it.

06:45
Exactly like this is our character traits. Exactly like this is our character traits. There are certain traits that we need to invest and utilize those traits regularly. We need to have a lot of humility, a lot of shame and similar such traits a lot of shame and similar such traits, and there are some traits that very, very little of these traits are ever good Arrogance, the cruelty these are traits that are not very, very frequently needed and therefore, if one has them, he has to be very, very careful. L'chein yiyah odim shokil bepel ha-sabino, a person has to use his intellect and know when is this needed, how much is needed, etc. Likach mikol mido shiura, to take from every trait the exact quantity, the exact measure that is needed. The midah that he needs a lot of he shouldn't minimize, and those that he needs a little bit of he shouldn't use a lot of, and through this he will reach the ultimate. He will attain the ultimate good.

08:08
I just want to point out here, before we sign off today, that the most important aspect of our growth, of our connecting to the Almighty and living as Jews properly, is to have balance. There's no extremism in Judaism and a person who has extremism, it's not the way of the Torah. We see this in the Rambam. The Rambam talks about taking the middle road, the golden path, and that is not to be an extremist, not to be extremist in one way, not to be extremist in another way. Even in the greatest trait of someone who's so generous and so kind, extremism is not good. If a person gives away everything he has and now doesn't have food for his own family, such a person would be neglecting his own responsibilities towards his family and therefore would be neglecting all of his responsibilities, even though he's utilizing a good trait of kindness. But too much kindness could do terrible damage as well. We have to be very careful of extremism. My dear friends, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, day number four.