Jewish Inspiration Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:00 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Welcome back to day 53 in the Orchos Tzaddikim, Ways of the Righteous. We are beginning a new chapter, the chapter of happiness, the gate of happiness. Ha-simcha ha-mida ha-zoz pa'lo odom mach ma'asurov shalvo b'libo. What brings about happiness? It comes to a person through the enjoyment of great tranquility in his heart. Bli pe'gara, unmarred by mishap. V'adam hamasik ta'av oso v'lo ye'er lo dovar hama'atzeh oso v'zeh ye'esamech. If a person attains his desires and never experiences anything that saddens him, will always be happy. Ye'esamech todir V'mi she'yei shlo simcha todir. Someone who, someone, who has happiness and joy at all times, such a person, his face will shine, will glow, his countenance will be radiant and his body will be healthy and old age will not quickly come upon him. As the verse states, a happy heart is as healing as medicine. This is what King Solomon says in Proverbs in Mishle. And from happiness comes laughter. But laughter is very dangerous and therefore it's very important for a thinking person, for a person of stature, to not overindulge in laughter, for along with laughter comes lightheadedness. As it is written, we already know that one of the common distinguishing signs of a fool is that he laughs where laughter is inappropriate. Someone who is a person, of a person, of who's trying to attain a great level of personal growth. It's not appropriate for such a person to be laughing all the time, overly laughing, overly filled with laughter, to be in places of comedy shows and things like that, in places which are always laughing and mocking. Because our sages said, the more one laughs, the less one fears. And we discussed previously the importance of fear of Hashem and how important it is for a person to have a proper perspective and sadly, laughter removes a person from having that clarity and that perspective.

03:12
Ki b'sh'as ha'schok ein yohol l'chavein achar shum yiras Hashem Elohim. When a person has laughter in their mouths, it's impossible for them to also have fear of God upon them mouths. It's impossible for them to also have fear of God upon them. V'kol shekein im yishak v'tiulim u'kubiyos she'en yiras Hashem olov. Especially if a person is going out and gambling or going out in pleasure outings, it's very difficult for fear of heaven to be upon a person. V'chein yiyasase adam ez b'no.

03:45
Therefore, a man should chastise his son, as the verse states shelo yisachek velo yikne lo rav ochover misachek that he should not be filled with laughter and should not acquire a teacher or a friend who's a joker. Sh'nemar lo yoshafti b'sod misachekim ve'elos, we know from Jeremiah, says I did not sit in the assembly of those who laugh and make merry. And in all sorrow there is some gain. This is the Gemara in Brachos, amit Aleph. Amit Beis talks about the importance of having a balance to the laughter versus the seriousness. It's important to have laughter, it's important to have happiness, but it's also important to have a balance with the seriousness that is incumbent upon every God-fearing Jew.

04:40
There are many casualties from happiness overly joyful and overly laughterous happiness. If someone is happy with the decline of his friend, if someone is falling they lost their job or they got injured and they're your competition, so you're very happy. No, that's a terrible thing. When your enemy falls, do not rejoice, as the verse states. When your enemy falls, do not rejoice, and when he stumbles, let your heart not be glad. This is from King Solomon in Proverbs. And there's a worse joy than this If you see someone who fails in their service of God and you're happy that they failed. Oh, they tried to be so holy, they tried to be so righteous, or whatever the mockery may be. Or that you're happy that you know more than someone else, or that someone else is limited in their knowledge of Torah, wisdom or their connection with God.

06:01
Tzorch shetev in eved ha'mishar es l'melech be'amun ha'yeshlo li'itzdar bir'ozo anoshim ha'mordim ba'adonav u'mekharpim oso. If someone is a loyal servant to a king, it bothers him greatly when he sees that there are those who rebel against the king or those who shame the king Oz hu evednemon. When someone is in pain, when others are falling short of their responsibilities, such a person is a trustworthy and loyal servant. U'mechuyiv lo echicham alpenehim u'lodiem nivlusam, and a person who sees the flaws that other people possess in their relationship with God. It is incumbent upon him, as the verse tells us in the Torah you shall rebuke your fellow, and it's important for one to do so. But when you're happy that your fellow man is falling short of his responsibilities towards the Almighty, that's not a loyal servant. Such a person is a bad friend and such a person will pay a severe price.

07:22
We know the verse states in Psalms. We say this three times a day Hashem wants, hashem loves, hashem desires those who fear Him. One who is joyful in the spiritual decline of his fellow, such a person is not a God-fearing person and therefore this is not someone that God wants a closeness with. On such, rabbi Nachoni Ben Akonah, the great Tanayic sage, prayed On such.

07:57
Rabbi Nachuni Ben Akonah, the great Tanayic sage, prayed that my friends in a special prayer, that my friends should not fall short in their knowledge of law, in understanding, and I should laugh, and I should mock or rejoice in their limited knowledge. ולא קשור בדבר הלכה, that I shouldn't fall short in my knowledge of Torah. וישמחו בי חבר. And my friends will laugh at me. וכן נספל רבן נכון בן הקונה על זה. And therefore, because of what we are learning here today, because of this, רבן נכון בן הקונה made this special prayer. כי רא שזה made this special prayer.

08:39
Because people unfortunately sometimes laugh at the fall or at the decline of their fellow, because everyone wants to beat their friend, win their friend, and when we know more than someone else, we can take a faulty joy. We want to be acknowledged, we want people to know that, oh, I'm so knowledgeable, I'm so wise and competent in my Torah knowledge more than my friend. It's unfortunate that sometimes really distinguished people don't have proper caution in this area and therefore any person whose wishes are aligned with the Almighty will be very pained and aggrieved by the lack of other people's knowledge, and even someone he hates completely. He'll pray that they succeed in their service of Hashem. And a person will therefore, in their prayer, have intention, have in mind in the prayer of grant man wisdom. Why? Because we're not only asking for ourselves, we're asking for everyone, for all of those, even those we dislike, that they should not be embarrassed with their shortage of wisdom. ובברכה סשיבנו. And we also have the prayer of return us, our Father, to your Torah. We're asking in a plural ובברכה סלח לנו, forgive us, hashem. I'll call you Israel. We ask for all of Israel, not only for ourselves. O'ava v'sonav, those you love and those you hate.

10:25
V'chein v'chol abrochos. And the same is with all of our blessings that we recite in the Amidah, in the Shmone Esrei. We ask them in a plural tense Ki ech yitachin sh'yispa'lo. Rofei cholei v'shar brochos. V'enu v'hu enu chafetz sh'.

10:42
How is it possible for one to request from the Almighty something only for himself and not asking for his fellow, whether it be for livelihood, whether it be for healing? This is something that, if we really wanted healing, we wouldn't only ask for ourselves, we would ask for everyone else who needs that healing ourselves. We would ask for everyone else who needs that healing. V'avur zeh hayetzer.

11:07
Hu ragil me'od, bil vavos, b'nei adam, and, in such a way, the yetzer hara, the evil inclination, is constantly enticing a person to want to feel bigger than others, to trample on others in a way.

11:21
V'einu margish b'in yon zeh l'chein nichtov la'azhir yirei Hashem on others. In a way, therefore, the author says I'm writing these words so that we not be overcome by her yetzahara to feel greater and elevated over others, but rather to want to only connect to the Almighty and want to bring everybody closer to the Almighty, and want to bring everybody closer to the Almighty, and this is the fulfillment of the verse in Leviticus 19, 18. You should love your fellow like yourself, because if you care for your own spirituality, for Because if you care for your own spirituality, for your own knowledge, for your own growth, you should be concerned and pray for the success of your fellow and the pure, as the verse says in Job, the pure of hands will grow in strength. Hashem should bless us all that we should be able to fulfill this first step in happiness, in rejoicing in the success of others and God forbid not rejoicing in their fall. This concludes day number 53. Tomorrow I look forward to continuing with day 54.