Eikev: Rav Levi Yitzchak’s Teffilah

Dear friends, welcome to this week's virtual. This week we have the incredible privilege paras and the para continues like almost all the paras with Mosha trying with incredible urgency to just give us as much information as he can in his last moments with us. Moshabu is not going to cross the Jordan. Moshabu is not going to be there to lead us, to inspire us, to help us as we take this next step in embracing our national destiny. And as such he tries to give us a good reminder of our history because we can learn much from the things that went well so that we can reinforce learn much from the things that went terribly so that we can avoid and in between all of these historical and contemporary lessons gives us a healthy dose of proper morale building and one of those instances he says this is chapter 10 vers 12 is and now What does Hashem ask of you? To revere, to walk in all of his ways, to go ahead and love him, to love Hashem with all of your heart and all of your soul. Incredible. Incredible. The Gimar says, Moshe, what are you talking about? Other words, Moshu seems to really be minimizing the ask of Khalis. It's like listen, good news. Hashem asks so little of you. The only thing Hashem asks of you is to rever him, to walk in all of his ways, to love him with all of your heart and all of your soul. That's pretty much the totality of Yiddish. That's 613 mitzvah. That's that's living dying. It's the entirety of being a Yid. and Moshau really seems to minimize it. Now granted, I think we'd all agree that when we compare what gives us versus what he asks us in return, there's no question we get much more than we have to give. But at the end of the day, it is still a big task. It's still a big lift that most of us struggle with day in and day out. And interestingly enough the gimar asks this is reverence of love of such a small thing. So what's the so thehat is moshabu understands as follows. Moshab was trying to teach us something incredible which is that in life there are so many things we don't control but a lot of things that we do control. The challenge of life is that we often get so caught up in proceverating and focusing on the things that we don't control that we yield autonomy and we yield the reigns on the things we do control. So says let me ask you what do you control? What do you control? So there's a very beautiful says that when a woman is pregnant there's a malik who's in charge of pregnancy and he brings the he brings the little embryo before and he says he says What is the child going to be? Is the child going to be weak or strong? Wise or foolish oi rich or poor. So what do you see from here? You see from here that these things these things my physical appearance my intellect my wealth these are pre-ordained. Of course I have to put in the effort no matter what but these things are pre-ordained. The says interestingly enough there's one fundamental question which is lacking from this which is ultimately but yet the never asks is his baby going to be a Russ is baby going to be wicked or pious. Why the says because it teaches us ultimately because everything is in the hands of heaven except literally again fear of heaven. What it means is everything is in the hands of heaven except your spirituality except your and therefore again in this vein like this don't be the kind of people who focus and and constantly like hyperfocus on the things you can't control and the things you can't change right how many of us spend time lamenting that things are not going the way we want it and again obviously if you could change the circumstances go for it but a lot of times there are things that we find ourselves holding there's a bad we find and I can't change it I can't change it so says why spend your life and why spend your focusing on the things that you cannot change you cannot control instead redirect your abilities redirect your cohos redirect your strength redirect your resolve to the things you can change and pretty much in the bucket of things you can change is your is your spirituality who you can be what you want to be the type of Jew you want to be the type of person you want to be, the type of midos you want to have, that you control. And when you look at it that way, Hashem is going to decide if I'm if I'm tall or short, if I'm right, if I'm good-looking, not good-looking, if I'm wise, if I'm foolish, if I'm rich, if I'm poor. Those are things Hashem is going to decide. Of course, again, I have to put in my effort. Says, "Okay, so let's put those things on the side. Now, let's focus on the things you do control. What does Hashem ask of you? Rever Hashem, walk in his ways. Love him with all of your heart and all of your soul. You control that. You control that. So because you control that ultimately again, that's where you need to be putting your focus on. Stop proceverating over the things that you can't change and start focusing on the things that you can. But says something so beautiful. The Reb was bothered by this idea of everything is in the hands of heaven except fear of heaven which again as we just translated before every other thing in life is determined by except my spirituality ultimately again that's dependent on me. God's not God's not involved in that. And again something amazing. He says I don't understand. He says, "How could it be that doesn't have control over my he says everything in this universe is from he so was so bothered by this says how could it be that there is anything that is outside of the purview of God?" In other words, I I understand the point that Mosh Shabu was trying to make. Focus on the things you do control. Stop focusing on the things you don't control. Use your efforts to shape your destiny in the areas where you can shape your destiny. And stop proceverating over the stuff that you can't change. This is the what does that mean? That there are things that doesn't control that there are things that doesn't have this is this is God. He has control over everything. So what does this mean? Listen to what the says and this is so incredibly beautiful. He says as follows. He says rather it must mean as follows. He says the says like this when we say everything is in the hands of heaven. What that means is like this. God determines everything. So I might dive in for something and as we know sometimes the answer is no. I might dive in for and sometimes the answer is no. I might dive in for health. Sometimes the answer is no. I might dab in for a whole variety and litany of things that we dab for and sometimes the answer is no. Of course, I have to I have to train myself to believe that the no comes from a sense of love and the no comes who knows what's best for me. But sometimes there's a no. But watch listen to the words. But if you ask Hashem, if you ask Hashem, help me to become holy, help me to become better, help me to become more committed, help me find you, help me come closer to you. That request is never denied. That is never returned empty-handed. ultimately again you hear what's happening over here in the world of there are plenty of things that we pray for day in and day out sometimes the answer is yes but sometimes the answer is no but there's one says that if you dive in for the answer is always yes now it dep the level of yes may deter may depend but if I d for if I dive in for holiness if I dive in to feel connected If I want to be close to you, I brought one request if I d for that says that is always granted. He says that's the that's the that's what it means. Ultimately that's what it means everything is in the hands of heaven and the rabbi says what that means is that sometimes righte determines sometimes it's a yes sometimes it's a no that if you dive in fear if you dive in for problems if you dive in for spirituality the answer is always yes sometimes it's yes hashem gives you all the yes you Sometimes it's a little trickle, sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's sometimes it's harder, but it's always yes. If you dive in to for closeness, the answer is always a yes. Anything else you dive in, to be honest, sometimes yes, sometimes no. We know this from our own lives, but dive in for connection, dive in for inspiration, dive in for feeling, dive in for closeness. And there's only one answer, and it's in all caps. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And these are the twofold lessons that Mosha was giving at the banks of the Jordan. Lesson number one in life, create your buckets. There's the bucket of things that I cannot change. Okay? Life is about acknowledging and accepting those things. Accept it. Lean into it. Figure out a way to maximize those circumstances because no matter how much you how no matter how much you lament it, you're not going to change it. And bucket number two are the things which are within my purview. These are things I can change. These are things ultimately I can impact. Rabbi says get to work. Get to work. And chief amongst those things that you can impact and you could change is your more than anything in this world. You create you. You birth you. You make you. your level of your level of holiness your level of spirituality your level of connection to to your fellow Jew to yourself that is up to you that's up to you and I can't like that but but I don't feel it but I don't feel it did I maybe say don't worry dav for it but one second you'll say sometimes it's felos so I answered in the affirmative and sometimes in the negative that's true for everything else other than spirituality everything else is in the hands of heaven. And as such, sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes the answer is no. If you dive in for closeness to Hashem, he'll absolutely unequivocally grant it to you. What level? What intensity? How much? How little? That's the ones. But the answer is always an affirmative. If the answer is always yes, take control of the things you have control over, most notably your spiritual identity. And if you're not inspired and if you're not connected daven and maybe you've had other that have been answered unfortunately again in the negative but this the request the petition the desire the want of the for is always answered in the affirmative daven for it and you'll get it and once you get it use it to shape yourself into the person you truly want to be. Wishing everyone a good night of Shabas and beautiful Shabas Kesh.