Jewish Inspiration Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:00 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Welcome back to day number 47. We're on page 279 in the ways of the righteous Orchos Tzaddikim in the Treasure for Life edition, avol yesh rachmanos, shehi ra'o yosem enachzorios. There is a form of mercy which is worse than all cruelties Kigon ha-merachem ala rishoyim u'machzikosom, like one who has mercy on the wicked and strengthens them, and is a terrible, terrible. It's a devastating stumbling block for someone who gives a hand to the wicked, Because what will happen as a result? He's going to ridicule and put down those who are righteous and he'll be disgusted by them. And on this it says in the Torah Do not pity him and do not have compassion, nor cover up for him. Okay, that's for someone who's wicked. Someone who's wicked deserves none of your mercy, and it's important for us to understand what is someone who's wicked. You don't need the Torah to tell you that we have a special gift that's called common sense, where the Torah teaches us exactly what is right and what is wrong. The Torah doesn't need to say, but the Torah tells us. We understand it on our own intellect as well. One must also not pity the poor man.

01:52
In judgment, as it is written, do not favor a poor man in his quarrel. So if you're a judge and now you have two people in front of you, a very wealthy person and a very poor person, and now they're fighting in front of you in court, you cannot show favor or mercy to the poor man in judgment. In judgment, what's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. It has nothing to do with your mercy. Your mercy stands outside. Now, after judgment. That's right is right. What's wrong is wrong has nothing to do with your mercy. Your mercy stands outside. Now, after judgment, that's a different story. The halacha says that after judgment, you have to consider both of the litigants as innocent. They're both innocent, oh, but in court you said that this one is guilty and this one is right Doesn't make a difference. Now, outside of court, they're like they're both innocent, because if you're going to have mercy on the poor man, you'll never have honest judgment Because you're always going to give the score, the win, to the poor person. There's another form of mercy which is exactly like cruelty, he says. Another form of real, terrible cruelty of mercy is when you give charity to a poor person and then you say you know that money I gave you. Now come work for me and do what I tell you and slave for me to the degree that I feel is appropriate, because I gave you money, don't forget. So that's also a very, very terrible form of mercy, because that's not real mercy.

03:52
Also, on animals, a person has to have tremendous mercy. You're not allowed to cause pain to animals, as the Talmud says. The Torah says you should surely lift to cause pain to animals, as the Talmud says. The Torah says you should surely lift them, the fallen animals. Lift them up with him. He's fallen because his animal's down on the ground. Do you know what you've got to do? Stop your car, even if it's someone you hate, and go assist them. Go help them out. The halacha tells us, and go assist them, go help them out. V'tzorich lahachil behemto kodim shiyokhal hu.

04:27
The halacha tells us that you have to have, you have to feed your animal before you feed yourself. Kedachsev, as the verse says, v'nasati eiseb besodcho lev hemtecho v'achakov achalto v'svoto. As the verse in Shema says, you shall feed your animals in your field, and only after that, it says, and you shall eat and be satiated. So from here we learn that you feed your animals first and then you feed yourself. It's an important thing for all the animal lovers out there. The Torah teaches us the proper conduct of how we prioritize. You have mercy on your animal. You give your animal to eat first. Midas harachmanos hi simon lizerah, avraham avinu.

05:10
The symbol, the identifier of a child of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, is one who has mercy Zeri yisroel k'edichziv v'nosan l'cho rachamim v'richamcho v'hirbecho. The verse says in the Torah God and I will give grass in your fields oh no, that's from the previous verse and he will give mercy to you and be merciful to you, and he will multiply you. That's the Almighty talking about us. You know what we are. We're creatures that are called Rachmanim. We know the word Rachmanis, right, it's mercy. That's what our DNA is as Jewish people. Our DNA is Rachmanis, if you want to know the most incredible thing.

06:00
So I said this a few times in class and I said you know I'd have to back it up with evidence. So I did some research and all of the founders and directors of the most, I think, misplaced merciful organizations are all Jews. They have such an incredible level of mercy, but but it's so misplaced. Save the crocodiles, save the whales, save the caterpillars and save the turtles. They're all Jewish people, every single one of them, because they have in their very DNA this trait of mercy, but sadly, a misplaced mercy. Yeah, it's important to have, don't get me wrong. It's important to have mercy on animals and God's creations, but there's so many things that we need to fix first before we start having turtle savior organizations.

07:00
L'chein kol odom yargil atzmo lidaber kol devarav b'loshen rak'o b'sachrunim v'v'rachmanos. And also when he prays a supplication, it should be with compassion. He says a person will be rewarded greatly, handsomely, for speaking words of mercy to the poor and to those who are downtrodden Rabem yodim mitzvahs chir vatsdokah uschar pa'ulos. Everybody knows the importance and the great reward that will come upon a person for doing acts of charity. Aval einim yodim godom mitzvahs, hadivarim halotireh ki amur rabi yisayna hanosim pruta la'oni m of charity.

08:08
Most people know, oh, the reward of actually giving charity. That's a great reward and everybody knows that. But people don't know the words that you use to comfort those who are poor, the words that we use. It says that someone who gives charity, he's blessed with six blessings. V'am efeisah b'dvaram and he who encourages him and appeases him with words mizboruch b'achad esher baruch es he's blessed not with six blessings, but with 11 blessings. So the Talmud tells us lochein b'dvar, sefosav yilbash tzedakah. Therefore, what tells us? Therefore, one must clothe himself in righteousness to speak to a poor person's heart. A person should speak calmly, patiently, with pleasantness. He should comfort him um um and console him in his adversity and in his misfortune, and he must honor and uplift him. That's our job. When someone comes to collect charity, that's our job. Our job is to find every way possible to comfort them.

09:22
I was very, very honored when someone came not long ago to my house to collect for charity and he says I just want you to know. He says I was on my way to the airport. I said I have to stop by to your house. I said you, you know, I'm happy, I'm honored that you came and I, of course, I give them whatever I can give them. He says look, you're not even close to my largest donation, you're probably one of my smallest donations. He says but I know every time I come, you sit and you listen to me and you give me your heart. He he says everybody's giving me money but nobody's giving me heart, and I wanted a dose of that.

09:56
And he sat for about 20 minutes. You know the car is waiting for him outside, he's heading to the airport and you know we just schmoozed. He says thank you, thank you, like, give me a big hug, like it was to him so important, more than just the money that someone gets in charity. It's the heart, that someone cares and someone's concerned and someone asks. So you know people come collecting all the time. People come to Houston Houston's already a big Jewish city and many people come collecting and it becomes a norm, just like just give them a check, don't even ask, just give them whatever your amount. People you know, without asking and being concerned. Someone's saying he's collecting money for his daughter's wedding right, this guy flew all the way from Israel. He's marrying off a daughter right, ask who the groom is. When is the wedding. Be happy with them, dance with them. Show that it's more than just a transactional thing, that we give charity to be genuinely happy for them and concerned for them, for the, for the responsibility that that they have.

10:56
Vato ben adam. Therefore, dear fellow man, terachem al-nishma, have mercy on your own soul. That will last forever, for be will be around for eternity. Be around for eternity, he says. You will give your neshama such incredible nacha, such incredible pleasure like the eye has never seen. You can't even imagine the goodness that you're doing for your soul when you're acting in a merciful way. Don't get caught up in all of the pleasures of this world. Don't get caught up in all of the things that can fulfill you. Focus on having mercy on others.

11:56
King Solomon tells us An aspect of giving is that one should adhere to the trait of mercy. And in his words King Solomon tells us about mercy and compassion. That it says Save those being taken to death and those on the way to being killed. And it's referring here to the idea, the concept of having proper mercy, having proper compassion for others. The greatness of this trait can be examined and derived from the fact that the Creator manifests it to all of His creations, as it is written. Manifests it to all of his creations, as it is written Ve'rachamov al kol ma'asov, and his mercies are upon all of his works. Imagine the following the Almighty has such incredible mercy for every single one of his creations.

13:09
You know what God says in his Torah. God says in his Torah that there are certain lifestyles that are considered an abomination, certain lifestyles, lifestyle choices that people make that the Torah says is an absolute abomination. So what do you think? God turns off the power. If someone chooses that, does God say okay, you chose the wrong thing, you're now dead. If someone chooses that, does God say okay, you chose the wrong thing, you're now dead. Now go fend for yourself to get food. Go fend for yourself to get a job and to have goodness in your life.

13:44
God has an abundant mercy that is limitless. Even for those who don't do the will of Hashem, even for those who disobey His command in His Torah, it doesn't make a difference. Hashem has mercy for all of His creations. We too have to learn how to be patient, how to be kind, how to be forgiving, how to be merciful to those who don't think like us, those who don't act like us, those who don't have the proper values like us. This is our job to be godlike. Shem should bless us all. We should merit to have this trait of mercy in its proper form. And that concludes day number 47.