Jewish Inspiration Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:03 - Intro (Announcement)
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.

00:12 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
And now we resume with day number 107, on page 624 in the Orchos Tzaddikim, Ways of the Righteous in the Treasure for Life edition Ha'esrim, the 20th thing to remember. In the Gate of Remembrance, a person must remember and reflect the differences between the uppers, the angels, and the lowers, man, and understand that he is small and lowly in comparison to the angels and that Hashem has granted him a good portion Meaning mankind. Hashem put us over the beasts, over the animals, over the fish, over the birds, over the fruits, over the herbs, and he has informed us of the secrets of his greatness, his strength and his wonders in his Torah Ve'kamahu chayav lehodos lo avur kol zeh. And how grateful one must be for all of this. Like a lowly servant, k'mo'eved nivzeh Shegid lo Adonu v'niso al kol sorov v'avodov. Like Hashem, who places us as a master over all officers and servants, we're humbled. But yet Hashem still made us so great to be in control of all of the fruits and vegetables and animals. By the way, yes, animal cruelty is a terrible thing, but animals Hashem gave to us so that we can eat. Hashem gave it to us so that we should eat. So to run away from the gifts that Hashem has given us is not either a good thing. Kal v'chomer even more so.

02:24
She'igia li'dias boro asher hu odon ha'adonim, even more so. That a person needs to lower himself before Hashem and praise Him in awe and fear for having allowed him to attain knowledge of Hashem, the master of masters. So this is an important thing Remember where you stand, remember what your portion is in this world. Don't get too high. You got the angels that are a lot bigger, a lot greater than you. Don't be too low because, don forget, hashem gave you a world to control and to make. Do great things to control, yeah, and to enjoy, over the beasts, the animals, the fish, the birds, the fruit, the herbs, et cetera, et cetera.

03:17
Ho'esher v'achas, the 21st thing that one should remember she'yiskor tamid kol mitzvahs ha-melech. A person should remember all the king's mitzvahs, all the king's commands V'yar gal atzmelas, ha-satov atzi he-rogil bo me'od. And a person should accustom himself to doing those good things until he is greatly habituated to it. So, a person, we talk about this a lot here in our class, about taking on new steps in our growth. It's very important for us to take a small step and make it habit. Take another small step and make it habit Take a small step. You know we talk a lot about how important it is to take small steps.

04:03
I'll give you the parable that I share from my grandfather, a blessed memory. My grandfather, during the Yom Kippur War, was asked by the IDF to go speak to the officers and the commanders on the ground in Sinai. So they put him on a plane and they were flying him to Sinai to go speak to the troops, to go speak to them and inspire them and to give them encouragement. So on the plane ride, my grandfather looks out the window and he sees they're flying so low just above the ground. They're flying really low. So my grandfather asked is everything okay with our engines? Like, why are we flying so low? He said oh no. So my grandfather asked is everything okay with our engines? Like, why are we flying so low? He said oh no, they still have the radars and there's a fear that if the radars intercept us they can shoot a rocket and take the plane down. So we have to fly below the radar.

04:59
So my grandfather said this is a great parable for our personal growth. You see, the radar is our Yetzirah and the Yetzirah has a detector that detects. Who's the guy who said I'm never, ever going to speak L'shanara again? The guy who's flying up here? That guy will shoot him right down. Who's the guy who said I'm never going to miss davening it with the minion in shul? Oh, the guy flying up here, shoot him right down. But who's the guy who said I'm not going to turn on one light switch in his house on Shabbos? That little guy down there, it must be a bird. That's not a plane to shoot down, it's something so low, it's a blip on the map. Nothing, grandfather said.

05:46
When we grow, we need to take those very, very small steps, small, teeny little steps, so that the Yetzirah doesn't even detect them. So what's the question you're going to ask, question that everyone asks? Okay, so I take a small step, another small step. Eventually I'll be above the radar. Right, all those small steps added up will put me above the radar. That's not true.

06:09
What happens is that when that habit of that mitzvah becomes part of you, it's like the ground got elevated, okay, and then the next step. Now the ground gets elevated even more, meaning the whole radar system gets elevated. It keeps on going up and up. It looks for greater things, higher and higher. It's like you build this mountain beneath it. It keeps on going up, but it has to become part of your being. It has to become part of your existence, of who I am, not just oh, I accepted something upon myself once. No, no, no, no, no. Make it part of your life, internalize it, and this is what we're striving for.

06:56
Lasos ha-tov, atshi, he-rogil bomo'ot. Until it becomes regular Ve you can add a little bit more, and a person should always ask Hashem. We ask Hashem. We need to ask Hashem. Impart wisdom to me, strengthen me. We ask Hashem. We need to ask Hashem. Impart wisdom to me, strengthen me, so that I can bear the mitzvahs and help me rise from one stage to the next. This is something which is so important for us to always keep in mind. Daven to Hashem, hashem. I don't want to jump, I don't want to fall. It should be small steps, small steps Guide me, and that's a very worthy prayer.

07:51
The 22nd thing to remember she yizkor la'olam la'asos tovim chaverov. One should always remember to do good with his fellow, to assist them with their labors and their burdens, and he should love for them what he loves for himself, meaning, if I like a good compliment, I assume my friend probably will like a good compliment too. Let me do that for them. I love when someone checks in on me. Maybe I should go check in on them. I love when someone visits me. Maybe I should go visit them. I love when someone helps me. I love when someone reaches out to me. I love when someone all of these things that we love, maybe we should do that for someone else, because if I like it, they probably like it as well, and a person should exert himself to acquire true brothers, true friends, real friends to help you in your growth, in your personal growth, in your Torah knowledge. Because when your heart is filled with them, because then they will love you, you love them, they'll love you back, he says, and many will desire to be around you. He says, and many will desire to be around you because you're so good to them, you're so nice to them. He says but reveal your secret only to one in a thousand. So I'm sharing the secret to you here in the book, but don't share the secret with everyone, right? The one person you can tell me listen, I'm going out there to make friends. I'm going out there to invest relationships. I just want to share with you one thing, though the reason we do this is not so that we have friends who care about us. You know there's a book that's out.

09:51
I don't want to mention the name of the book, but the book talks about how to make friends and how to. It's really how to do networking and have you know how to be with the upper class people. That's really what it is, and I I read a good portion of the book and I was disgusted by it, because all it was really is that if you kiss up to people and you act with people in a certain league and you call them and you this, then they'll be there for you, and it's sort of like I'm investing in my friends, not because they're my friends, because I want them to take care of me, type. I felt it was very disingenuous. The whole book is like. You know, I took it out of my collection in my library. It's like, I feel like it's like not, you have to care about someone because you care about them, not because you want them to care about you. If that's your ulterior motive, it's not genuine. I'm going to be nice to you so that you'll be nice to me. Be nice because that's the right way Hashem wants you to act. The fact that you may have a side benefit that they'll care about you too, that's a side benefit, but that's not the reason I do it. Just a little sidebar there. Okay, ho'esem v'sholosh.

11:13
And the 23rd thing to constantly remember, this is the final one we'll do today Sh'yizkortamed g'duloso shelo el yisbarach. Always remember the greatness of Hashem V'yavchin b'briyos ha'olam and consider the creations of the universe, things, both great and small, that Hashem has created. V'eich ha of the universe, things, both great and small, that Hashem has created. Think of all this the revolution of the spheres, how the world spins on its axis, the sun, the moon, the stars, the falling of the rain, the blowing of the wind and other such phenomena, which are numerous. וכאלה עוד הרבה עצמו מספר ובשביל שהאדם רואה אלו הנפלאו סתם.

12:04
And since a person sees these wonders constantly, אינו תו אליבו על כך. He's not impressed by it Because it's normal. It's like anybody here ever go to Colorado and you see the beautiful snow-capped mountains of the Rockies and you're just like it's breathtaking. You come out like, oh my gosh, that's gorgeous. And you talk to the people who live there. You're like, hey, waking up like this every single day is amazing. It's like, wow, I'm in the Swiss Alps. Every day they're like, oh, I got used to it. After two weeks living there it's like, oh, it's no big deal. Hello, be amazed, it's amazing. Eh, eh, just get used to it. No, don't get used to it. A person can't get used to it.

12:56
We live next to the ocean. We go on live next to the ocean. We go on vacation. I love to hear the waves, the power, the might. It's amazing. You ask people who live there I don't even hear it anymore. What do you mean? It's amazing.

13:10
You see the sunrise, the sunset. It's incredible every day. Be amazed. You see the sunrise, the sunset. It's incredible. It's there every day. Be amazed. It's an amazing thing. That habit has such a power to remove the awe, to remove the inspiration from us. By the way, in Houston we have magnificent sunsets, sunrises too. I'm not always by the sunrise part, but the sunset part, that's amazing.

13:42
Stop, stop what you're doing. Pull over to the side of the road and just look at the magnificence of the gift that Hashem gives us the postcard, the love note Of the gift that Hashem gives us, the postcard, the love note, the hug that Hashem gives us with that beautiful sunset. He's telling you I love you. He put it there for you to enjoy, for where you are right now, the view that you see is different than the guy down the block. Remember the awesomeness, Be impressed by it.

14:17
You see a lunar eclipse. Don't just like, oh okay, happens every few years, very nice. No, be amazed. It's the hand of Hashem. But a person should be awestruck at an eclipse of the sun or the moon because it is not constant. A person would be when it's not regular and recurring, as the circuit of the sun each day from the east to the west should be just as impressive. The sun gets up there in the east and goes down there in the west every single day. A beautiful, it's amazing. L'chein habeit aleim ba'asei atzmecha ki'ilu lo re'isa niflos mi'amecha. Every time you see a sunrise, a sunset, you see the beautiful stars, the moon. It should be like the first time you've ever seen it. V'yehei nireh be'inecho ki'ilo ho'yisa suma adato. It should be like you are blind to now, and now it's the first time you're opening up your eyes like wah, it's amazing. The color of the flowers. It is amazing. It really is amazing.

15:33
I was a little selfish this week. So I buy flowers for my wife every Shabbos, for every single Shabbos, I buy her flowers. Now, I know her favorite flowers. I know exactly which ones she likes. She has three or four different types of flowers that she likes and I try to every week pick different ones, make sure they're fresh, make sure they're fresh, make sure they're beautiful. But this week I picked the flower that I liked. It happens to me my wife likes it, but not as much as I do.

16:03
The tulips. Oh, I love tulips, my favorite flower, so gorgeous, it's so magnificent. So this time I bought it because I liked it, but it happened to be my wife also enjoyed it. But I'm admitting here I was a little selfish. I saw them and I'm like these are just like. They're so beautiful, right, couldn't leave them there. It's like what most women say when they go shopping. It's like I saw this dress. I just couldn't leave it there, like I had to buy it. I saw those shoes. I couldn't leave it there.

16:38
And when a person sees it, sees the magnificence of Hashem, it should be make believe you were blind. Till now you weren't able to see. Now is the first time. Now you opened your eyes for the first time. Then, if you make believe you were blind till now and now is the first time, then suddenly colors, people, sunrise, sunset, flowers, everything that you see, lightning, thunder, rain by the way, rain is amazing. Rain is really amazing. You have a look at rain. Just sit there and watch the rain. It's magnificent. You hear the thunder, the power, the light. It really is amazing. But we can't let ourselves become numb to these unbelievable experiences.

17:34
He says every single day, be in awe. This is what King David says In chapter 139, in Psalms, verse number 14,. He says your works are wondrous and my soul knows it exceedingly. A person needs to be living with awe every day. You look at this is the most beautiful. What do you mean? Didn't you see it yesterday? What are you saying? It's the most beautiful? Yeah, every day we have this. No, no, no, no. Today's the first time, because right now I'm seeing it for the first time, every time, it should be like that. The first time, my dear friends, we should all be blessed to merit, to have these qualities within us and, god willing, next week we'll continue at step number 108. Have a remarkable week, my dear friends!

18:46 - Intro (Announcement)
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