A Refocused Routine: Reflections on Modern Day Miracles - Rav Assaf Bednarsh

Two years ago, I stood in exactly this place at exactly this time of the week to talk about an aced surah that Klaus found itself in. An aed sora we had not experienced for decades and decades. Two years later, I stand here again 15 days after the body of the last hostage Ron Gilli was returned to Kev Israel after a gula Shaen Kamu that Claus has not experienced for decades and decades. There are less hostages in Gaza today than there were before October 7th, than there were three years ago, four years ago, five years ago. There were four hostages, two alive, two dead for years until October 7th. Now, not only are all the hostages from October 7th back, but they're back as well. Zero left. Raosi, we have seen in the last two years Niss that are mamish no less than the Niss of Kanek or Purim. I know we don't have a about them. That's because of our ladrega not because of the ladre of Hashem's Nissim who threatened us in Israel. Hamas is decimated. Is a goce hanging on for dear life. Assad and Syria, the whole regime is gone. Iran, they're doing their best. Some weeks it looks like they'll continue to exist. Some weeks it looks like they won't. But their nuclear ambitions were bombed to smitherines. How did this happen? We're about to lane this week para skullim which is the harbinger of pim. What's pim all about? There's a safer in Tanakh that doesn't have Hashem's name in it called McGillisester. Hashem's name is not written with black ink anywhere in the migilla, but it doesn't need to be because Hashem's name is flashing neon lights and screaming to us from between the lines of every perk in the migill, right? The Jews beat their enemies. How did the Jews beat their enemies? Right? Well, Vashi happened to annoy Akash Veos. He happened to pick Esther as the new queen. Morai happened to overhear big son and Teresh. When Hmon was standing outside Akashir's chamber, the safer acrony of Morai, if you believe that's coincidence, you're not only a religious, you're a fool. You're denying reality. McGillis Esther tells us that there are nine flows that might not break the laws of physics but that are so crazy that you have to be noticorous. You have to be a fool to not see theem. What happened to us in the last two? What happened to amus in the last two years? It's mamish the same story. Russia invaded Ukraine. We're still not sure exactly why. Lost Mish a million troops or something. And then what happened? Well, Israel always had to be a little afraid of Syria because Russia was backing them up. All of a sudden, Russia didn't have one bullet to spare. And there was a rebellion in Syria. Assad fled with his tail between his legs. And Sahal bombed every weapon left, took over the Kmon, and there was no one left to say boob. Is that coincidence? The beepers? Really? Just cuz you're clever, someone's going to buy the beepers with the bombs inside them. You set them off and and and kill and put out of commission all their top soldiers. That's not coincidence. Iran Okay, Sah didn't have the bombers to get those nuclear bunkers. Still not sure exactly what happened, but a lot happened there. What happened? Okay, this guy named Trump. Trump decided to send the bombers. Why? We're not sure he decided. I'm not here to talk about President Trump. It's not politics. It's not about President Trump. It's about the last time in the history of the United States a president served, lost the next election, then was reelected to a non-consecutive term was 93, not 1993. 1893. From 1893 to 2024, it didn't happen. Okay? It happened. Why? He won. He lost. He won. He was back again. Then all of a sudden, we see why. because he had to be around in a 12-day war for Israel to schmice Iran when they just needed a little makabatish and you needed the right person in the right place at the right time and all of history worked out. I don't pretend to know all the reasons Hashem runs the world the way he does. But I know how to see the odd Hashem when it's screaming out from between the lines of McGillis history. I don't know what the history books will write about all of these events. I don't know what the history books wrote about Hammon. They probably wrote the Jews got lucky. But I know what the Amuna history books will write about it. They will say, "Whoa, we have seen in our own lifetime that Hashem runs the world." Kazal tell us in Sanhedrin that when he was saved from the army of Hashem almost made a messiah and except that he didn't say he didn't praise Hashem he said look at the destruction he destroyed every city but you shall He the Assyrians exiled so many of our brothers in the Asservatim. And he didn't say Shira. He didn't say Hashem. What an unbelievable nace. It's our to say Shira this year. Hosana. The second yard site of everything that happened on Simra two years ago. Hosanna Rabba is a very powerful file every year thinking where do I want to be this year for Oshana Rabba you know you're allowed to drive I can pick anywhere in the world where do I want that feel to be and this year it was a no-brainer pack the family into the car the seek and daving at the with thousands of my fellow Jews at the site of the Nova festival where it all started where all the people were killed and taken hostage And in the middle of Hollow, you know, people are getting all kinds of beeps and news flashes on their phones. And all of a sudden, there's helicopters flying overhead. Put two and two together. When we went to sleep the night before, we didn't know this would happen. Hosana, the middle of Hallel helicopters are flying overhead. Maybe that's the helicopter that's fing all the hostages who were finally freed after two years on Oshana Raba morning. That halal was a Shira. We really say we really meant it when we said I was at the hotel last week. Last Thursday I flew here and Wednesday I went to Min at the Kotel to take my leave from the before going to whenever you're at the hotel you know M is okay sheralos someone in the family who's sick sheramalos for need this you know an extra cap for a Talmud who's having trouble finding a shalm having trouble uh having having children and I say to myself. But it's not only that. I've lived through. How about an extra halaluca? How about an extra mismod for all the amazing things that I've seen for that I saw with my own eyes? Is everything perfect now? No. Is Amish perfect? No. Is Eritrol perfect? No. Are all our enemies completely disappeared? No. Do our soldiers still need to serve? Yes. Although it's very different from what it used to be. Everything is not perfect. After Purim, everything wasn't perfect. Say after Kaneka, everything wasn't perfect. The war raged on for years. But Kazal knew even when everything wasn't perfect how to see the and say hal and shashem thank you for the infinite flows. Even in the hollow we say there's always more to ask for but that doesn't stop us from saying hashem that was an amazing Yeshua. We are not going to forget the Nissan we saw. We're not going to let the world say it was stam. We're going to sing Shira. We're going to praise Hashem. If I don't see myself when I am 70 telling my grandchildren, you should know I live through Nissim. I saw the if I don't see myself that way then it's not because Hashem didn't do the flow in front of our eyes it's because I forgot to open my eyes and I need to sing Shira but I think the navamina of what we've seen over the last two years is not only for the cl is for the pr as well we're Jews what's What's the job of a Jew? The job of a Jew is to be a Jew. To be a Yehudi. We're called Yehudim because of Yehuda. Because we're Mod to Hashem. Hostages came out of captivity in Gaza and told us what they experienced. Everyone had a different experience, but so many of them said, "I felt Hashem with me. I became closer to Hashem in the tunnels of Gaza than I ever was beforehand. I Cohen, who I'm not here to judge anyone's religiosity, he wasn't a yeshiva bucker. He was kidnapped from from a music festival on Shabas. He said he felt in Gaza like every day was yum kiper. Every day was yum kipper and you on yum kipper you can't turn on the lights. He didn't have a light to turn on. He was in the dark. On yum kiper you can't eat. He didn't have food to eat. Every day was yum kipper. And he said so what are you doing yum kipper? You dive into hem and you domin. What was the mas of his nephesh? He told us when he came out, he said, "I did and decided that when Hashem saves me, I'm gonna say miseroda every day to thank him." He said they give him water to drink sometimes. Rabos, I forget the copapods. He could see the worms in the water. Do I drink the water? And who knows what disease I'll get, but I don't. I'll die of thirst. You have to drink the water. He said, 'When I come out, when I have a cup of water to drink, I'm going to say thank you, Hashem. I'm going to appreciate it. Hashem, all of us, we we're free our whole lives. We're comfortable. We were never imprisoned. We were never captured. So, does that mean I owe Hashem less Hakaratov or more? Obviously, more. I've been free my whole life. We've never had to worry about water to drink. So that means I thank Hashem less or I think Hashem more obviously more. Omar Shmto well-known hostage who goes around now talking about the rrookness he acquired in Gaza says he got up every morning in Gaza and said, "Thank you, Hashem. Thank you that I'm alive, that I'm breathing. Thank you for whatever food I have. Thank you for whatever I have. I get up every morning I say Modani. We all say Modani. So should we say Modani with less than him or Modani with more than him? Who got more from Hashem? We deserve so much more. But it's hard. Of course, human psychology is that we take what we have for granted. They didn't have it. They stopped taking it for granted. We're human beings. We naturally take things for granted. But just because it's psychology doesn't make it right. Says in everyone has every day. Everyone has every day. If nothing happens, I'm not injured and I'm not attacked and I'm not captured and I'm not imprisoned and I'm not sick. That's cuz Hashem's looking out for me. That's a matana. How do we overcome the weakness of human psychology? So what does Hashem want from us? says explains I'll take doesn't only mean I'm at 96 so how do I cop another four means a 100 times a day means whenever I can to open my eyes and say what did Hashem do for me that I could take for granted but I want to appreciate Hashem I want to appreciate instead when can I open my eyes and say thank Thank you, Hashem. That was amazing. Instead of just saying, "Oh, it's normal life." We take so much for granted. Every morning we say, "You free the imprisoned." What does that mean? Come on. No one's imprisoned. People are. And they're freed. And we're even b we got even more who were never imprisoned in the first place. Shazi. Oh. We have shoes. Everyone has shoes. Everyone doesn't. There are a lot of people in the world who can't afford shoes. And we can afford a lot more than that. Every single we say when I have a drink of water. Forget about uh Dubai chocolate. A drink of water. There are people who don't have a drink of water. Modi. There are people who don't wake up in the morning. Every we every single braha that we run through. And I know why we run through because we take it for granted because come on everyone can walk okay till they're you see that many people can't and if I can that's a tremendous Rashi says in the beginning it's a cryptic comment that the have to explain says in mikurim there are two passages twoim that the vikur has to say. The first is he got told that I came to the land. And then the second is like goes through all of Jewish history going all the way back to the Rashi says he got to you're not an ingrate. What does this mean? Everything we say is about appreciating Hashem. Why does Rashi comment specifically here and So they explain the second that the says he's talking about things that happened thousands of years ago. That's not everyone knows what happened thousands of years ago. Not everyone remembers what happened thousands of years ago. You have to be hashem I remember what happened thousands of years ago. Rashi doesn't need to explain why we say that. It's important to remember things that happened a long time ago. But the first he got I told you I'm in the land. What do you mean? The guy's standing. He's in the land. It's like saying I have a tremendous skish for you. I'm in gluck. I if I'm standing in Gluck, what's the purpose of saying something that's so obvious that it doesn't need to be said? And that's exactly the amus of Rashi. There is a reason to say something that's so obvious that it doesn't need to be said. Because when something's so obvious, you start taking it for granted. When the Torah commands us, our our when they bring say I'm standing in the land, Hashem, I know you brought me to the land. It's not a The is that instead of taking it for granted, I notice that it's a Theish is that I notice things that everyone else takes for granted. The is that if I have a house to live in, I say, "Hashem, thanks for giving me a house to live in." Uh, isn't it posit? It's so pushet that you need to remember that it's not posit that not everyone has a house to live in. That it comes from someplace and it comes from Hashem. Another hostage Sasha Trupnav was interviewed after they let him out said, "Okay, what do you want to tell us?" He says, "I want to tell people to thank Hashem for what they have. That's what I want to tell Ravosi. Our brothers spent 500, 600, 700 days in Mameish Geanim and they came out to tell us one thing to tell us you know Taka you don't have everything you ever wanted and you never will you don't have everything your neighbor has and you never will there'll always be someone with more but they spent 700 days in gehenn to come out and tell us we have so much we just forget to appreciate it. We just have to open our eyes to the tremendous everything we have. We just have to stop a hundred times a day and say, "Hashem, it's amazing what you've given me." It's not so easy. It's not so easy to notice the Okay, start with once a day. When I say, we all say 20 times a day. Say hashem and stop. Say mishem like thank you heashem. If I have a job, thank you. I have a job. I don't take it for granted. If I have a family, thank you. I have a family. If I have a home, thank you. I have a home. If I can learn right here in this space medish, thank you Hashem for giving me this amazing place. One extra that we used to say without to stop and say, "Not everyone has this. Hashem gave it to me. I really owe Hashem a debt of gratitude. Hashem, not just I need this and I need that, but I appreciate all the things that maybe yesterday I neglected to appreciate and someone had to remind me that they're not so pushet and not everyone has them and I need to appreciate them. And you know what? Maybe if I go to Hashem and in addition to saying I could use some extra this and that say I appreciate the amazing things you've given me. Hashem can look back and say well if what I gave you so far you appreciate so well then it's for sure could die to give you only more and more. If we could just work on appreciating everything that we have will find not only the psychological rich riches of But the treasure of seeing Hashem one extra time a day and feeling Hashem's presence one one more time a day and really becoming the kind of people who feel Hashem in their lives who feel Hashem standing right there more and more and more and eventually all day long if we see the Hashem in our lives we see the Hashem did for us in these historical moments. If we take the inspiration of the historical moment down to every pr that we encounter day by day then with our with our shira will be z for even greater and greater gula vhua for the kl and for the prat and for bs gold bhira vu