Jewish Inspiration Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH in Houston, Texas. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.

Welcome back my dear friends to day number 148 We are on page 815 in the Treasure for Life edition of the Orcha Tzadikim in the Gate of Repentance HaShlishi, the third element of Repentance is Tzarech hachot el leida A person has to know that there is something called Reward and punishment. For every mitzvah that we do, every good deed, there is a reward. For every sin that a person does
there is a punishment. Potentially for a sin that someone does, he's gonna be held responsible. Now we have to recognize We're in the days of, right now it's called Yimei HaRatzon. We're in the days of Amnesty. We talked about this yesterday Amnesty Hashem wants our closeness. You tell God, you say, listen God, I made some mistakes. God, I went down the wrong path I did the wrong thing. I acted in the wrong way I did this and did that. Every person, by the way
I once had a woman in our class here and she says, Rabbi, I need to confess. I said, sorry, wrong religion You know, you know, it doesn't work in Judaism. You don't confess to your rabbi, you don't confess to anybody You talk directly to God. You talk directly to the, you don't, it's an amazing thing in Judaism We don't have any conduit. We don't have any intermediary. We talk directly to God when we pray You know what we say? Baruch ata, blessed are you. We're talking directly to God
We don't talk through an intermediary. We don't confess our sins in front of everyone, in front of anyone Nobody's business. It's our personal business between us and the Almighty V'im lo yei dazeh, and if a person doesn't realize that there's reward and punishment, lo yehosh lashav la'olam If a person doesn't know that there's there's reward and punishment, which by the way, when we studied, when we do our Bible class, the breakneck through the Bible or the Parsha
It's something that we try to bring an emphasis every single time we learn the book of Genesis Why did Adam and Eve get kicked out of the Garden of Eden? Because there's a concept when you do the will of Hashem You get rewarded and when you don't you get punished. They got kicked out. We see Cain and Abel, same thing We see the generation of Noah. They did bad. They got bad. Noah did good. He got good
Abraham, the Kings, Sodom and Gomorrah, you look through the entire story of Genesis It's all the people who got, who did good, got good. The people who didn't do good, didn't get good All right, it is our actions have a direct response by the, from the Almighty But if a person doesn't know that there's reward and punishment Then he'll never be concerned All right, it's a eat drink and be merry for tomorrow you die, okay big deal just live it up
But a person has to realize that there is an accountability and there's a responsibility and by the way, we're better for it Because when we know that the Almighty is going to give us great reward for every temptation we overcome where we mentioned in the yesterday's edition, yesterday's portion of Of Repentance we talked about looking at women, gazing at women. This is particularly for men Right. Why? Because it can bring desire, it can bring temptation. So if a person is in a place where there is temptation and they
refrain from looking and bringing that temptation into their life, they get rewarded for that It's better to avoid going to a place where you know, there'll be temptation A person shouldn't go to to the bar or to the club if they know that there'll be temptation there Don't go there. Don't put yourself in a place No I'm gonna be righteous and I'm not gonna look. That, that a person should should never rely on Because we're human beings and we can we can fall to that temptation
to that challenge But if a person doesn't realize that there is an accountability, then a person just does whatever they do Aval acha she yivorer etz la honesh az yoshu v'yizcharet v'yivakish meysakeh hamehulol mechila It says when a person realizes, they realize that they There is such a thing as punishment Then a person will repent, a person will regret, and a person will implore Hashem for forgiveness. As the verse states samar mipach tocha b'sori om mishpotech o yireisi
My flesh shudders in awe of you and I have feared your judgment and this is Psalms 119 The fourth piece of repentance is tzorok she yida achoteh she kol avei rosav she avar kol yamav avei ros gdolos vektanos v'chol ha'machshavos haros v'chol inyonav v'kotn va'ad godol ha kol kosov b'sefer We have to know that God records everything. We spoke about this where we said This is on the Wednesday, the Wednesday psalm of the day And what do we say? It's the most incredible in the most incredible psalm
Hanot ha'ozen ha'lo yeshma. It's God who created the ear. You think God can't hear? Im yotzer ayin ha'lo yabit. If God created the eye, do you think that God can't see? Hayotzer goy maloy ochiach ha'malam edodam das Hashem yodeh ha'machshavos odam. If God gave us intellect, you don't think that God understands what's going on in our hearts? of course God knows that's on the fourth day of the of the psalm of the day for Wednesday and
Of course God knows. You think God doesn't see? God doesn't hear? God records everything Everything is being recorded. Everything is being recorded. V'ein shechol efnei Hashem yisaleh. D'chisiv ha'lo hu kamos imadi chosu miotzer osai Is this not stored up with me sealed up in my treasures and this is in Deuteronomy 32 and The verse continues Yad kol adam yachtom ladas kol anshe maaseh. With the hand of every man He seals it to make every man know his deeds meaning
Everything that we do has our signature. We have a uniqueness. It's an amazing thing. You know, you know what this is This is the only fingerprint in the entire planet This one is the only fingerprint that will match any other fingerprint on planet Earth You understand that the uniqueness that each one of us has We have our signature we have our DNA on every action that we do it's all recorded and the the the
objective here of the author is not to frighten us but to raise our awareness of our Responsibility both in the good and In the not-so-good. Ki im yachshuv sheesh shecholat leh avon osav lo lo yizchorit V'lo yivakish men elayen mechila. If a person thinks that God forgets things and things fall through the crack So I'll say you know what? I don't need to read to have regret I don't need to ask for forgiveness because God probably forgot about it. God does not forget anything
God does not by the way, we see this throughout The teachings of the Torah we think it's just random stories not random stories. You want to know something amazing, you know that the Jewish people When they left Egypt, we're very very thirsty and they said to Moses. We're parched. We're parched. We can't we need we need water So what God do God said hit the rock and the rock will give you water
So he hit the rock and later on he needed to talk to the rock and that's what he got punished He wasn't allowed to go to the land of Israel Can I ask you a question? Does water need to come from a rock? God can get the water coming out of anywhere Why why are the Jewish people receiving water from a rock? You know why? you remember when Abraham had three angels who came to visit him and Abraham
Slaughtered an animal for each of them so that they each have tongue. They all have the the finest meats He throws all the well everything the barbecue that he made for them was astonishing. It's amazing. But if you remember Abraham sent his child to bring them water God says why didn't you bring the water yourself? When your great-grandchildren are gonna be in the desert. I'm not gonna give them water directly either They're gonna have to get it through a messenger as well
God remembers exactly what happens. That was a punishment to Abraham The midrash tells us because Abraham didn't serve it directly Now his great-great-great-great-grandchildren when they're leaving Egypt are not either gonna get it directly There is an action reaction to everything that we do now Is it possible that he could have asked for forgiveness, yes Is it possible that God will say you know what I forgive and then the Jewish people would have had plenty of water in the desert That's very possible
But what we see here is that every single thing there's an accountability Accountability accountability. It's an amazing thing because we're living in a world today where there's no accountability There's no accountability people are drunk drivers. There's no accountability They kill someone. There's no accountability. They throw them they put them on bail or cashless bail in some cities and it's the great and they do the same thing again when someone is not held accountable
They don't learn a lesson we one of the things that we see in the Torah is that there is accountability for our actions for our deeds for the things that we do right there is accountability in reward and the things that we don't do right there's accountability in Potentially heaven forbid punishment Gera b'mchoshum b'shvilah sheh ha'kodesh boruchu Me'achar kol kach lefro ha'aveiros sheh yishtakchu v'leyevohu le'din aleyem K'mo sheh nema asher ein naaseh pidgom maaseh haro mameiro alkein mole leiv b'nei ha'odam bohem la'as osra
People think that because God is so merciful. He's just gonna let me off the hook for no reason I just like I'm free to go. It's not no such thing Every person has an accounting and it's a unique accounting. So the things that God says You know, he says David David you're given special talents. I Expect you to produce I had a story Not long ago where I met I met somebody And he was telling me about a friend of his
He's telling me about a friend of his who's a very very very successful businessman, but he doesn't give any charity And he says I told him you have to give charity So I said did you convince him he says no He says but I pity him. I Pity him not because he has money. He says because he has so much potential to help others That he may come to the heavenly courts and they're gonna say what did you do with all that potential?
We gave you so much ability to help Imagine if someone had a million dollars to give away and they gave it to their synagogue where they gave it to torch Of course, you know, but if they gave it to a good cause they gave it to to to a an organization that helps sick people They gave it to to a there are so many amazing causes out there and this person says, you know
I'm just gonna keep it for a rainy day and then they pass away and it goes to the state takes it away because they Didn't put it in there in their will or didn't put it into into an estate or whatever it is I have no idea what it right and now it's gone. It wasn't you had that opportunity. You can't give it later. I Thought it was very very insightful and my friend
I have one of my friend told me this but a person needs to realize that we're all given talents. Imagine a talent of being able to speak and a person doesn't public speak a person has a talent to encourage people and they don't or to be a musician or to be a singer and They don't utilize that talent to be a writer and to not write To be an author of a book to be a scholar and not and not learn
So these are big big things that if a person doesn't realize they think that well God's I'm just gonna go with everybody I'll go with the flow go with the flow. We'd just be like anybody else and it's okay It's okay for me to be average, you know, it's one of the things I dislike when my children go to the doctor They they they rate it by the percentile, right your height is the 80 80 percent 80th percentile
Your weight is by the whatever percentile, right? You're just a percentage. You're just a number. No, you're unique you're special right and a person needs to understand and not fall into that that that Mistake of them. I'm just I just want to be like everybody else. Just just leave me alone don't harm and No harm, no foul. I'm not gonna hurt anybody. I'm not gonna bother anybody and that's it. Okay now we continue to the fifth category She yayed. I am as a person has to know the truth
She had trouble you were for Shalema lover of eros Do you know when someone is is ill someone is not feeling well, what do we wish them? We're for Shalema have a complete recovery a complete recovery Do you know what the recovery for illness is the absolute 100% recovery for illness? you do a sin any sin and You feel sick to your stomach. I can't believe I did that. Oh, I'm such a bad person. No You know, well, you know what the cure is chuva repentance
Repentance is 100% healing for a sin Kia, hola. She ain't no mom and beer for show some low She hit a rapper or so low y'all who slay a cholera for all this does Moshka Imagine the doctor gives you a medication for you to heal your illness and You're like, I don't believe in medicine anyway, so I'm not gonna take the medicine. You're not gonna feel better Right here is a a potion that this can help and this can heal your illness like a doctors
Don't know what they're talking about. Anyway, and they have you know, all of these all of these conspiracy theories the CDC and the vaccines and whatever people can have whatever thoughts they want and Therefore I'm not gonna take this medication So you're not gonna heal? I will kiss you you dab about it to LSA some of my Moshka, but if you know 100% that this Medication will cure your illness. Ozzie's Abba Lisbo the rivers are a fool cock, right? therefore Even if you know that 100%
It's going to heal even if it's bitter even if it's An awful taste you'll suffer that so that you feel better. I Will tell you though that I'm not one who loves pain, but if I ever do have a Cavity, you know, they drill and they have to clean out the hole of the tooth and then they they fill it in. I Don't let them give me the the anesthesia Because it's either for me. I'll tell you why it's not because I love pain
It's because I love not not being in pain and the pain of being in the anesthesia for like eight hours You can't talk. I can't eat. Uh-huh. You're slurring your words I'm like I prefer the 30 seconds of pain Then the eight hours of pain of not being able to talking you bite on yours on you. Oh my gosh, it's terrible You don't even know what you're yeah, so it's for me It's like it's much better to just suffer the half a minute of pain
Let them drill away and and then I'm then I'm good to go so but thank God I haven't had cavities in a long time so but if a person knows a hundred percent You know, it's funny. It reminds me of a story not related at all But because we talked about the disgusting taste of a medicine, so I'll tell you a story from Shalom Shadron Shalom Shadron was known as the as the sage from Jerusalem
He would tell amazing stories and people were were enamored by his message was it was just like he gave over such an incredible The Magid is the tale teller of Jerusalem. So you would always start off his lecture with a joke Always start off with the joke. Someone came over to him and said, you know, it's like a little bit unbecoming You're such a great rabbi and you tell a joke Tell the joke. What are you telling? You're telling a joke should be a little bit more serious
See he says, you know a mother when she's trying to feed her child the medicine So the medicine he doesn't want the medicine because it's bitter. It doesn't taste good Right before we had the bubblegum flavor, right? So the child doesn't want the doesn't want the medication So what does the mother do the mother makes the child laugh and when he opens his mouth? She slips it into his mouth and boom. He takes the medication He says I'm giving my listeners medication
They're not gonna accept it if I just give it to them straight So I have to make them laugh a little and once they're laughing boom. I throw the medication right in. That's right So it's it's important to know there is a benefit to it as well But but if a person knows that the medication is going to help they're really willing to take that that chance Ozzy's out the Lisbon rumors are for he's gonna want the bitterness of the of the of the medication so that he
He will be feel better Kishi a divided tell us a trooper Ozzy's Avi the Hagia a malice attribute when a person knows with certainty that repentance to Shuba is 100% a healer for one sins. He's going to desire to do to show a very beautiful idea number six six qualification Sorry a lot show believe a hat over show us a law barry's borrowed from the old over at the Yom HaZeh person has to Contemplate all of the good that the Almighty has bestowed upon him his entire life
Think of it all of your life. How much good did God give you mark? How much good did God give you he gives you so much good He gives you so much good each and every one is he gives us so much good You know, I was once at a conference. I've mentioned this example before but it's a true true story I was at a conference and it was a weekend conference. It was over a whole Shabbos the whole Shabbos and
I see this guy being on a wheelchair being wheeled in and he's attached with a breathing machine to an oxygen tank that's under his wheelchair or standing on the side of it actually and behind him Was a guy pushing like, you know, those those those carts that they have in the in the hotels for clothing You know those those push carts an entire push cart filled with oxygen tanks This guy needs oxygen 24-7 in order to live can ask you a question mark. Did you ever need an oxygen tank?
imagine that When you scuba dive, thank you very much. But in general, we don't need an oxygen tank when walking around Can you imagine how much headache Hashem saved you? Hashem gave you this incredible lungs the incredible heart that gives you an entire system that functions so perfectly with perfect harmony With all of the other organs in our body everything exchanging all of the chemicals and all of the everything that's needed the nutrients the minerals
The vitamins everything to the right place you eat the food breaks it apart that the Tom this goes here this goes there a perfect system Never needed to walk around with an oxygen tank Imagine that you got it built in for free Built-in. I hope nobody uses those CPAP machines for sleeping I hope everyone sleeps a great delicious sleep every night, but I know people who need that machine imagine the Discomfort By having to use that machine and get it built in. Ah
What a breath of fresh air what an amazing gift You know people there are people who can't eat Food and taste it they get it through IV Mark, I think you like food. I Say I think I think you love the taste of food hot dogs and burgers and all those wonderful things, right? see that and Now consider this anybody here Any billionaires in the room any billionaires by show of hands any billionaires? Okay. Am I the only one?
Okay, I'm gonna ask this question again, we'll see if I'm if anything changes. Okay by show of hands Who would agree for $10,000 right now pull up my checkbook for $10,000 for me to cut off one of your fingers Anybody $10,000 one finger is mine. I cut it off. It's mine anybody Okay, no not the nails not the nails that's not counted it's the finger the whole finger no, I'm not a manicure specialist, okay Right. How about this? I'll give a better offer a
$100,000 wrist down. I'll cut off the wrist down anybody Okay, how about a million dollars for your right arm Anybody a hundred million Two hundred two hundred million two hands. I take him from the shoulders off anybody No volunteers. Nobody How about this I'll give you this an offer you can't refuse a billion dollars a billion Ten billion dollars both feet both hands Okay, so let me ask you a question again by a show of hands any billionaires in the room see that
Look, you know, I offered you a hundred billion dollars. You're not ready to get rid of your hands and legs Right, you're the wealthiest people on planet Earth, but people don't appreciate the gift that God gives us People don't appreciate how amazing our lives are We're billionaires we're walking billionaires We have to feel that way with the feel like yeah, I don't only look like a million bucks. I am a million bucks Right a person has to feel good. Look at the amazing gifts that God has given us and
Thank Hashem for it with words with actions Hashem You do so much for me. I take it for granted You do so much for me I take it for granted, you know how important your left shoulder is your left arm I Learned this when I was rounding second base on an all-grass field in Jerusalem in Kraft Stadium It was all grass field I was rounding second base and I slipped on the wet grass and I fractured my shoulder and I was in such incredible pain
I walked a couple miles to the emergency room and they took imaging and they said yeah, you you fractured your shoulder I'm like, what are you gonna do cast it up? They're like, what do you look like a mummy like what are we gonna there's nothing to do So they're like they give me this this this sling and they're like just try not to move it because it might hurt Oh, it's like every movement. This is a terrible thing now
Try to shower with only try to take off your shirt after that Right try to do any movements without it's impossible try to that it was a Friday afternoon that evening I tried to cut the hollow without like without holding the collar. It's impossible. You need your left hand I'm a righty my god left hand not a big deal, right? No, you need us for it's for so much. We don't even realize how much we need our left hand and it's my left shoulder
We don't appreciate it till God takes it away and suddenly we realize ah Where have you been hiding all this time? I didn't even realize it was right here all along I didn't realize how much I need to appreciate it. We need to appreciate every single gift. God gives us and The more we verbalize it The more we verbalize it the more wealthy we become the more enriched we become The Yesh lo lishkol onesh ha'averi k'neged m'sikusa U'schar mitzvah k'neged tza'ar ba'olam hazeh
K'mo sh'omru ha'chameynu evi mechah shev hefsed mitzvah k'neged tzchar u'schar mitzvah k'neged efseidah Says a person always needs to calculate the reward the Lost benefit, right? What's the what's the analysis? You have to make that analysis what if I do the will of Hashem versus not doing the will of Hashem What the what the cost-benefit analysis, right? Is this a worthwhile investment and if so, which I think everybody will agree It's a worthwhile investment to invest in God. I think it's the safest bet. It's more
It's more profitable than the S&P 500. It's more profitable than the Nasdaq it's more profitable is sticking with God you're guaranteed results a hundred percent of the time Okay, but I'm not fully there yet, so how do I get there how do I take a step at least? I know the direction and that's where we'll end off today. The person at least needs to choose the direction We may not be all the way up the mountain yet. But at least we know this is the mountain
I need to climb now. I got a face each step Cautiously to make sure I don't fall backwards my dear friends. This concludes day number 148 and with that have a magnificent evening before we're gonna go offline here to our friends on Facebook YouTube Twitter and LinkedIn and all the other platforms. Thank you so much for joining us Please like and share our videos so that more people can learn with us and be engaged in Torah study Thank you and have a terrific evening.

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