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)
Now, my dear friends, welcome back to day number 69 of the Orchah Tzaddik and Ways of the Righteous in the Treasure for Life edition. We're in the middle of discussing happiness, on page 405. When a person has any type of affliction or pain, middle of discussing happiness, on page 405. When a person has any type of affliction or pain, a person has to accept it with happiness and with joy. Our sages therefore said Chavivim Yisurim, beloved are afflictions. Ve'odomrim kol ha-samer, b'yisurim mevi, yishua la'olam. As the Talmud says, all who rejoice in are afflictions. As the Talmud says, all who rejoice in the afflictions bring salvation to the world. Why? Why? Because when I am tested and I pass the test, what does it do? It's a living example of godliness.

01:04
What's the most inspirational thing you've ever heard about someone who is sick? They didn't complain about their, their pain, right? We all heard stories of someone. They didn't want anyone else to suffer. They just accepted it with love because they knew who's god you know. By the way, the only one who's not afraid of dying is the person who's sick. In the hospital. Everybody around them, the family, comes. They're worried. What's going to be? Yes, how are you doing Like? I'm great, I'm at peace? It's a gift that Hashem gives someone. When they know that their time has come, they realize. My job now is to accept this pain with love. My job is now to accept it.

01:46
Chavivim, yisurim Beloved are afflictions. Why? Because it perfects us. It brings us closer to Hashem. We, of course, we ask that we not have pain and suffering, because it's much more comfortable for us to serve Hashem out of joy, out of happiness, not out of pain. God forbid it. We should never experience any. We should never feel any. We should never feel any, we should never know of any. But it brings salvation to the world. A person should train himself to always say this too is for the best as well. The Talmud says that everything that the Almighty has done is done for the good. There are many evils, many bads, that are actually good at the end, and this is what the sages said on the verse. I thank you, hashem. I thank you, hashem, for having been angry with me. Your anger subsided and you consoled me.

02:58
Sometimes, hashem, like a parent, sometimes we need to show a stiff hand to our child, not hitting them, god forbid. But you have to be firm. It's not pleasant for the child, but when we hold to that firmness, the child loves us more. Many people think oh, if I'm going to discipline my child, if there's going to be a consequence, they're not going to love me, so I have to just let them do whatever they want Wrong 100% of the time. That's wrong. When you discipline your child, the child grows from it. The child loves to know where the border is and if you don't give them the border, they'll keep pushing and pushing and pushing until they find it.

03:52
It's analogous to a story of two men who were about to embark upon a voyage, one of them a thorn embedded into his leg until he couldn't go anymore. The second one, the second did go and the first was so upset Look how terrible my friend ended up going on the ride Sometimes. I know the story, by the way. That happened on 9-11-2001. An individual was on the plane leaving Boston that ended up in one of the towers. You know why one of the towers hit 16 minutes later. It was supposed to be at the same time. You know why it was delayed? It was delayed because there was a man on that first plane that left from Boston that forgot his fill-in in the terminal, his phylacteries. He realized that when he sat down and he says to the stewardess I'm sorry I left something inside. She says I'm sorry, you can't get off the plane. He says I'm sorry, you're not leaving, I'm not leaving my tefillin there. I can't leave my tefillin there, she said. But you realize that if you get off this plane you're not gonna get back on it and you're going to lose your ticket. He says I don't care, I'm not leaving my tefillin there. Imagine I missed my flight. He saved your life.

05:35
Now again, we don't know the full justice of why the people who were on there, their lives had to end. That's not our calculation here. That's not our place to understand or to try to even figure out. But this individual I met I heard the story from him, the rabbi in Jerusalem. He was visiting in the United States. So this person sees now the boy I missed my ride on the Titanic because I had an injury in my leg. A few days later he finds out that it drowned and the people died. And then what happens? He says oh Hashem, you actually saved me. Thank you for saving me.

06:29
We have to see that we don't always understand the full picture. We don't see understand the full picture. We don't see the full picture. We are looking very, very, very, very micro. We're looking and we're analyzing this little one factor. You got to zoom out, zoom out, zoom out, zoom out and you see a big picture. Oh, my goodness, wow, I missed the big picture.

06:51
Therefore, even if a person is facing challenges, be happy in those challenges because it's part of your journey, whatever it is. Oh, I lost my job, it's the worst day of my life, it's the best day of your life, because you don't know what's about to come. You're only looking micro, look at macro, look at the big picture, but we can't determine the outcome. We don't know the results at the end. That's what we're worried about, and this is what Did when he always said this, too is for the good, this too is for the good. When this, too is for the good. When he lost his donkey, he lost his candle, he lost his rooster, he lost them all, but it saved his life. A person can complain and can complain and can complain.

07:47
Od Tov HaSimcha LeSameach Hasim Kal is another form of happiness, which is the happiness that we make a bride and groom happy. Sheinemar kol, sasem kol, simcha kol, chasem kol kala. The happiness of the sound of gladness, the sound of joy, the sound of rejoicing of the bridegroom and the sound of rejoicing of the bride, u'me'od yizor shalol l'samchom b'nivolpeh. A person has to be very careful that it be appropriate the way in which they make the bride and groom happy. It shouldn't be immoral, it shouldn't be inappropriate, it should be proper joy and happiness and it shouldn't be intermingling of men and women at such an event, because that can lead to terrible things. I feel you be Shasta, have a sped by a bell. Um ru an ocean Lovato in ocean Lovato we see in the mission of the mission tells us that even at a morning, a place of mourning, right. So the men and the women shouldn't intermingle, which is a known Jewish concept, that men and women should limit their exposure to one another. Why Look at the world today.

08:59
Need I say more? If people understood what the Torah tells us, that is in the very nature of mankind, you wouldn't have all these scandals going on in the news today and every single day in the past 100 years, where the last five governors of the state of New York left in disgrace after having an extramarital affair. If there was a little bit of separation, perhaps that wouldn't have happened. The intermingling. It's nice that everything is co-ed, but look at what the problems end up happening in public schools. Look at what's going on. We're living in a world where there's no such concept of morality in seventh grade. It's crazy. What world are we living in? Look at this.

09:49
This is authored, this is the Mishnah, 2,000 years ago, even in the house of mourning. Oh, it's not laughter and mockery and joy of a wedding. Okay, that we understand. Keep them separate so that the drunk guys and the drunk gals don't do anything inappropriate. Even in the house of mourning, the men and women should be separate. That doesn't mean you have to have brick walls. It doesn't mean that you have to have barriers that look like bulletproof. You know that's not what we're talking about. Limit the exposure to one another is a very important thing. Kol shekein b'shas ha-simcha. We know that when people get a little drunk, they can be a little inappropriate.

10:34
V'dorshin an v'atznei leches. Zos hatzah ha-meis v'achnas ha-skal ha-lechupa. And that which we learn, to be modest, to walk in modesty. This is referring to accompanying the deceased. When we're involved with the deceased, it should be with modesty. And escorting the bride to her marriage canopy. When people assist in marrying off someone marrying off a bride and groom should be done with modesty.

11:06
Gam tzoruch, l'smarach, b'shabas, v'yom tov, v'purim All of the celebrations a person should have on Shabbos, on Yom Tov, on the holidays, on Purim Ki kulam, zecher l'tzias, matraim. Why? Because they're all in the commemoration of our exodus from Egypt and for all of the miracles that Hashem bestowed upon us. Therefore, a person should be happy that he is able to recall the kindness of Hashem and the unbelievable goodness that he has given us. And why are we happy on these days? Because it's revealing a tremendous closeness between us and God. Shabbos, yom Tov, all the holidays, all the festivals Pesach, shavuot and Sukkot. Why? Because Hashem took us out of Egypt. Shabbos, zeichel Yetzias Mitzrayim, because God took us out of Egypt.

12:17
You think of every holiday, many, many mitzvahs, zech Litz, yis Mitzrayim, to recall the exodus from Egypt. Oh, hashem loves us. He took us out. So what do we do? We have a special mitzvah. Wear your finest clothes, have the finest foods, drink your finest wines to celebrate the love that Hashem has for us.

12:41
Isn't that a great reason to be joyful? V'yizor her. The love that Hashem has for us, isn't that a great reason to be joyful? A person has to be cautious, though, that that simcha, that joy doesn't become craziness but rather to be a joy and a happiness in our connection with Hashem.

13:14
And a person should be delighted in the love of the Creator that Hashem commanded us to be happy in these days, person should also remember the pleasantness of, if we're enjoying so much in this world physical, what's a second of the world to come? One millisecond of the world to come is greater than all the pleasures of this world, of all of humanity all together combined doesn't even equal one millisecond of this world. Of all of humanity All together combined Doesn't even equal one millisecond of the world to come. So if we're enjoying great pleasure on Shabbos or Yom Tov, we should stop a second and say if this is our joy here, imagine our joy there. Asheru, tachlasani imus, which is the greatest pleasures. When someone is celebrating any of the great, positive, proper celebrations, you should always remember the greatest pleasure of all, the delight of Shabbos that you will delight yourself in, hashem. My dear friends, this concludes day number 69. And I look forward to continuing day number 70 on page 411 next time.

14:35 - Intro (Announcement)
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