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)
And finally we're at day 91 in the Treasure for Life edition of the Orchid Siddiq in Ways of the Righteous in Gate of Eagerness on page 538 in the middle. Eagerness on page 538 in the middle. A person needs a tremendous amount of eagerness, strength, lightness to combat the wicked, all evil, all wickedness that distracts us from the ways of Hashem. Need these tools To be courageous, like Moshe, where he said let each man put a sword on his side. And like Pinchas. And it says that Pinchas, the son of Elazer, the son of Aaron, the priest, he saw and he arose from the midst of the congregation and took the spear in his hand. He very quick, he's here. Be very quick and alacritous I don't know if that's a word, even but be quick to remove yourself from a gang of evil people. Evil does not mean that they're wicked people. It means that they're a negative influence in a specific area. If you know somebody who's going to pull you down when it comes to the areas of kosher, don't hang around with them. If you know someone is going to be sharing with you things that are inappropriate, they're immodest, they're disloyal, you're going to become weak. If you hear that, don't hang around them. We have to guard our neshama, our soul, and not allow it to be influenced by negative forces. Shalom liyos be'atzosom u'vahaskam osom. You have to be careful not to sway by their advice and not by their counsel and not to get caught up in their accords. And definitely the most important thing to have alacrity for is tshuva. Repentance Above all. One must rush and not delay for repentance so that he not remain wicked in the presence of Hashem for even one moment. B'lo ye'heyshah achas, roshu lefnei ha-bori ha-mokam yisbarach, re'eh eich mishar sey ha-malochim. See how the ministers of kings and the princes are swift in their work and their services to fulfill the will of Hashem. Call Shekin even more so. How eager must we be To do the service of the King of Kings, the Holy One. Blessed is he our Father in Heaven.

03:36
Even though eagerness is extremely praiseworthy, be very careful not to do things with too much eagerness, with too much alacrity, because someone who drives too fast careful not to do things with too much eagerness, with too much alacrity. Ki harochev b'mihur, because someone who drives too fast, u'karav ma'od li'kashel, it's very dangerous. You can crash. In spirituality, it's the same. In spirituality, if you drive too fast, you can crash. Be very careful. You rush too much, it can cause great damage.

04:06
Bechein misharatz bemehiru tsunofel. We know someone who runs too fast can fall. B'lo yitachin bemehiru smasem. Mitukon Aval bemitun yituknu hainyonim. We know that if you're trying to do something with perfection, you need to do it cautiously, not with haste. You need patience, and then it reaches its perfection. Be with haste. We need patience, and then it reaches its perfection. And therefore our sages said Be patient in judgment, don't rush.

04:40
And true eagerness consists of one's heart being alert that a person is awakened. A person is awakened to the service of Hashem in his thought, and then he realizes I gotta get this done. So then he moves without delay. When people say zrizut, which means alacrity, people think oh, it means I have to do it quickly. No, no, no, without delay. Ach lo yimahir b'shum inyon u'masa. When people say zrizut, which means alacrity, people think oh, it means I have to do it quickly. No, no, no, no. It means you have to not waste time, but do it properly, do it with caution. Bechol elu ha'inyonim t'srichin chachma gedola. Mosayimar v'mosayi achar. And with all of these things, you need to have tremendous thought and intelligence as to how fast and how slow one should go.

05:46
And even though this trait of alacrity, of eagerness, is such a great trait, so we know that it's a double-edged sword. You can't go too fast in doing mitzvahs and you can't go too fast in doing sins. Slow it down, because if a person learns to always be moving, always be moving, always be eager, and he builds that lack of laziness towards doing mitzvahs, then with the flip of a switch he can do the same quickness in doing sins, and that's a terrible thing and that can bring a person. That's a terrible thing, meviyah ha'odam l'sho'otach, and that can bring a person to terrible, terrible things. V'kashir tzoruch z'rizus la'torah. And when a person needs alacrity for Torah, pach tzoruch z'rizus, le'inyon ha'olam hazeh, so too a person needs z'rizus, needs alacrity and eagerness for the things of this world. She is Zeriz that a person should not waste time to do his service, and there's tremendous success for someone who doesn't waste time, tremendous blessing that comes your way, l'chein. Therefore, ben adam, my dear friend, says the author, says the author be very eager for both worlds this world to do the action and the world to come to receive the reward. Do your toil, do your tasks in this world with alacrity, so that you will avail yourself and quickly receive the reward that is waiting for us in heaven.

07:42
My dear friends, this is such an important and incredible chapter, the chapter of eagerness, of alacrity. Don't waste time. Get the things that you need. Don't push it off till tomorrow. Add it to the list. Someday I'll get to it. If it's not important to do now, maybe it's not important to be done at all. If it's important to be done, probably important to be done now. Hashem should bless us all that we should merit to do the things that are good with speed and those that are not so good. Hashem should bless us that we push it off and push it off and eventually never get to those terrible things. We should use laziness to the things that we know we shouldn't do. Hashem should bless us all, god willing. The next trait is the trait of laziness, and the trait of laziness, we know, is not a great trait at all. The trait of eagerness is a great trait, magnificent trait, which brings us to do so many wonderful things quickly. Laziness stops us from getting the thing done. My dear friends, have a magnificent evening.

08:48 - Intro (Announcement)
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