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 everybody. We're on day 57 in the Orchos Tzaddikim, the ways of the righteous, the gate of happiness, and we're on page 355 on top. מי שמאמין באלוהים בלב שלם. Whoever believes in God with a complete and full heart ובוטח בו בביטחן חזוק, and has trust in Hashem completely and strongly יווי עושה הביטחן שלו. יבחד מי עודם מדבר רע.

00:44
He will certainly never be afraid of anything, from any person. He won't be worried about anything. He's not going to have to kiss up to anyone. He's not going to have to serve anyone to find favor, because the only one you need to find favor in is in the eyes of Hashem, and he won't do anything to go against the will of Hashem. I want them to like me, so I'll do whatever they want. I want to get the job, so I'll do whatever they want, but it's against the will of Hashem, perhaps? Eh Right, what takes the priority? If you don't fear them, if you don't fear them, if you don't fear them, he won't be afraid of them and he won't argue with them. He won't be afraid of them and he won't argue with them. He won't fight with them, he won't dispute them and if he is fulfilling the commandment in the Torah, which is to bring criticism to those who are falling to sin. He won't worry about their honor, he won't try to make nice and lie and he won't try to defend himself, meaning he won't try to protect himself in the sense that he'll just do what he needs to do, do what you got to do and don't try to cover for it. Why? Because I have one anchor, and that's the almighty god I have. God is my rock tzur. Hashem is called a tzur, which is a rock solid, it's steady, it's consistent, just like the prophet says. This is in Isaiah. And Hashem, my God, will help me. Therefore, I will not be ashamed. Therefore, I will set my face as flint and I know that I will not be ashamed. So there's no being shy, no being embarrassed, because you know you're doing the will of Hashem. There's no greater joy than someone who's close to Hashem.

03:15
Haboteach Baruch Im, one who has trust in Hashem, yevi enu habitochon lefanos libo min yoni haolam uliachid libo li yoni ha-torah ve'a avoda, someone who has trust in Hashem. This trust will remove all of his fears from this world, fears of how am I going to live? What's going to be? Is there going to be war? Is there going to be an attack from Iran. Is there going to be so worried? Everyone's anxious and everyone's no, no, no, no, no. Someone who has trust in Hashem has no fears, no worries, and they can calmly dedicate their lives to the service of Hashem and to the study of His Torah. V'tsoruch odom lach kor ha'deos v'amachshavos, ha'machzikos es libo lichyos bibitachon tsholim bolekim. And a man must deliberate the ideas and thoughts which strengthen his heart in perfect trust of Hashem. Like was mentioned here previously today at this class, one of our members said that he studies Sha'ar B'Tochan of the Chovos Halvavos, where Rabbeinu Bachia gives the most incredible teachings of what it means to rely only on Hashem.

04:26
I'll just share with you a quick story. The Brisker Rav lived in Warsaw and he married a very, very wealthy businessman's daughter and as a gift to his new son-in-law, this wealthy businessman gave him an entire city block in Warsaw. It's like giving the equivalent of an entire city block in Houston, downtown Houston. Imagine all those rents and Chase Tower and all those Like amazing, like wow. Or a city in Manhattan, a city block in Manhattan? It's like unbelievable. Imagine the rents you get. It's all paid off, it's all yours, yours. He wants his son-in-law, the big, righteous scholar to just be able to sit and learn and not have to worry about a thing in his life. So he wants to sit and learn. So he hired someone to collect the rents. That's it Go around, collect the rents, knock on the door, collect the rent and goodbye. And he paid him nicely.

05:21
Comes World War I and the Briskarov left left Warsaw temporarily. When he came back, the scoundrel he had hired to collect the rents for him went into the city records and changed the deed that now the entire city block belonged to him and to his ears. And the B'ris G'Arav was shocked. You know what he did? He sat down and learned the Chovos Halavavos, shar B'Tachon a hundred times. And then he finally, when he was done, he said I thought that the wealthiest man in the world was a man who owned the city block in Warsaw. He says now I know that the wealthiest man in the world is someone who lives by the words of the Chovos Halavavos and the Shahr B'tachon, because when you have trust in Hashem, you don't have a single worry in the world.

06:28
What's the lure that people have with money? If I have money, I won't have any worries. I'll be able to buy whatever I want. I'll be able to pay all my bills. I'll be able to buy the houses, I'm not going to have any worries. Really, show me. And everyone says just give me that challenge, I'll handle it. Let me win that lottery. It's not so simple. Everyone's got a challenge and we always think I'll be able to pass that test. Trust me, it's not so simple. My dear friends, this is what the Chovas Havavas teaches us and this is what our author here in the Orchas Tzaddikim is telling us that when we have absolute trust in Hashem, we have ultimate happiness Because we have nothing to worry about.

07:25
Machshav Ereshonu, the first thought that one needs to know. First idea Sheyeda B'Yidi Yibruah. You need to know, with a complete knowledge. Knowledge, you know who has more mercy than anything on planet earth the Almighty On his creations. God has mercy on us, whether we see it or we don't.

07:57
ובו אישו אינו שומר עצמך רואה. When we don't watch ourselves carefully, הלוקים מרחם, הלו ושומר עושם מנפגעים. If we don't watch ourselves, hashem watches us, for us. כי נשנמה? As the verse states, שומר פסוים, hashem. Hashem protects the silly. We do silly things. Sometimes. People do things and they don't realize how dangerous it is what it is that they're doing. You know who protected them. Hashem protects the silliness that we do.

08:30
The second thing HaMachshava Shnia. Asher Kol HaTovah. Semegiav Seilav Me'aviv Me'imav Ve'achiv Ve'Krovav Ve'Rehav HaKol Me'eis Hashem Yis Baruch Hu, ve'elu Heim Shluchi. Hamakam Baruch Hu.

08:45
He says one must know that all the good that one receives, you receive it, whether it be from your father, your mother, your brothers, your sisters, your relatives, your friends. It's all from Hashem. They're all messengers of Hashem. Any goodness you've ever gotten, someone walked over to you, helped you, someone walked over to you, said a nice word, someone gave you a job, someone gave you a raise, someone fired you from your job. It's all from the Almighty. It's all from the Almighty. You have to know that. We have to feel it. It's the hand of Hashem.

09:25
Hamachshava Shlishi is the third component that we need to know. She-yeda, she-kol ha-tovos, hein me-chazdei Elohim. All of the good that we have is from the kindness of Hashem's heart, so to speak. It's not because we're worthy of it, because we earned it. We earned nothing. God is not giving it to you because he wants something from you. God is not giving it to you because you deserve it. He's giving it to you because he wants something from you. God is not giving it to you because you deserve it. He's giving it to you because he has total kindness, total mercy. You don't deserve it, but you're getting it anyway Because that's the way.

10:07
Hashem is Unbelievable. You think your health can be very easy, that we take it for granted. You know what Sages teach us. The author here teaches us. You don't necessarily deserve it. What did you do to earn it? Nothing, hashem says. You know what. I have mercy on you and therefore I'm going to give you good health.

10:37
What's the fourth idea that we need to contemplate? We need to know that there is a boundary and an end to all of the fears and no one can add or detract from what has been decreed by Hashem. So if God says that you're going to make a certain fortune, no one can take it away. If God said that you're not going to make a fortune, you can steal all you want, you're still not going to get that money. It's not going to help Because if Hashem doesn't prescribe it for you, it's not going to happen, which makes a lot of sense.

11:21
Why theft is such a terrible, terrible deed? Why? Because you're trying to rearrange God's decision of who gets what God said you shouldn't have it. You say no, no, no, I think I should, and therefore you take what's not yours, and that's a biblical prohibition. God gets very upset about that, which is why the Torah says you should return what you've stolen, rectify what you've okay, and if Hashem decreed that you should have a little, you can't have more. Or if God gives you a lot, you can't get rid of that lot without Hashem saying so. You know what that business deal that you were supposed to get you're going to get. If you're supposed to get it, no one else can get it. Oh, you better hurry up. If you don't close that deal, someone else is going to steal it from you. No, no, that doesn't work.

12:28
I remember a guy told me I was friendly with an individual who was a realtor and I once mentioned his name. So the guy says don't ever mention his name in my presence. Like what's the matter? He says he's a thief. He's a thief. He's been stealing deals from me. I was like I don't know what world you live in, but in the world I live in, hashem is the one who gives the deals. But we want to paint a picture of what Hashem is, so we paint the competitor. Oh, he's the bad guy who's not giving me what I want, what I desire. That's not true. That's not true.

13:23
What Hashem says is going to come early. You can't push it later. When Hashem says it's going to come later, you can't push it early. When Hashem says it's going to go to you, it's not going to go to anybody else. When Hashem says it's going to go to somebody else, it's not going to go to you. It's the dictates of the Almighty.

13:40
What's the fifth idea that we need to contemplate? Ha'machshava hashishis sheyeda. You have to know. Shehabori yisboach rohez liba. Hashem sees your heart. Hashem knows what's really going on. Do you really have trust? Do you really trust Hashem? Do you really think he's going to get it taken care of? Im bitchono boh bitachon sholem bilo mirma, without trickery? Do you really trust Hashem?

14:04
Ki evet ha'mishoris lo'odon basavadom? It's like a servant who serves his master who is of flesh and blood. Yochola evet lignov, le'iv adonov. The servant can trick his master, he can steal from him. He can be dishonest can trick his master, he can steal from him. He can be dishonest, and the master won't know. She yeh odon sover, sheheved o'avo b'cholibo. He thinks his servant loves him. He thinks his servant is so truly dedicated, he doesn't realize that the servant could be stealing from him Afal pishu sono. He doesn't realize that this servant of his really hates him. Ve'a servant of his really hates him. And the master will give good to his servant, thinking that there's mutual love. But this is not the way it works with the Almighty. Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

14:58
The Almighty knows what's in our hearts, if it's true, if it's authentic or if it's fraudulent. Hashem knows exactly what's going on. You can trick everybody in the world, you cannot trick Hashem. V'hu yodea el yonos v'tachtonos. And Hashem knows what's going on in our mind, what's going on in our heart. He knows what's going on in the heavens and he knows what's going on in our mind, what's going on in our heart. He knows what's going on in the heavens and he knows what's going on on earth. Emunoso u'kfiroso Trust in Hashem, the belief in Hashem, or, god forbid, the disregard for Hashem. L'chein ein lelech lefanov biramos. Therefore, don't try to use trickery with the Almighty. The Almighty sees everything. That's the fifth thing to understand when we are in the pursuit of maximizing our emunah, our knowledge of Hashem and our trust in Hashem. And, god willing, tomorrow we'll continue with day number 58.

15:55 - Intro (Announcement)
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