Balak - Path to Greatness

you're listening to the weekly partial podcast with Ari Gold Wegg recorded with a shuns never-ending assistance in Roma Patricia's route 57 79 2019 this week's partial code starts as partials bollock and I'd like to share with you a thought that I've been thinking about you know whenever I whenever I bring to you guys a partial podcast so it usually reflects it usually reflects the thing that I'm thinking about this week the the thing that I feel like I've learned that go - walk away has taught me this week and there's really an amazing lesson in our partion partials block which I feel like you know Chris Rock was teaching this lesson all the time but it's especially true for me this week and you know we read the parsha of bilham and as we read the parsha so it seems like on the surface it seems like bilham is a person who's a big topic he's a he's a very good person I mean he's every time these people come and they say you know we'd like you to curse I mean throw we'd like you to speak negatively of the Jewish people we want you to curse out our enemies so bilam says look I can't do anything I can't really do anything unless a coach who commands me to do so and as the story continues as he goes on through the story as we as we continue to read the story so we see that indeed that's the case he goes on and what does he say he doesn't he doesn't say any curses all he says his blessings always says his brothers right Metallica yeah commission can I say Israel how awesome are the tents of Jacob you know the the Michigan ice the sanctuaries of the people of Israel unbelievable unbelievable thing that he says and he continues to go on and on and say the blessings of the Jewish people how great the Jewish people are and and it's it's unbelievable on the surface it seems like he's amazing right barajas all our sages teach us that he was not amazing you know in fact he was a great Russia he was in fact someone who's very evil now how did they see that how did they get that where where where does that come out in the sucking over and over and over again he says I can't say anything on my own I can't say anything new I can only say whatever I could one who wants me to say that's what you keep saying to ball out but look higher to curse the Jewish people and and bilham keeps blessing them and he and bellick but keeps saying what are you doing I hired you to curse them and all you're doing is blessing them so what is the idea what is the concept how did they see that how docile how are they able to recognize that that was indeed true and I think that there's another question that we can ask as we read the parsha of Balaam and it's it's really difficult to understand it's very very difficult to understand we we see that Cooper who tells him Shannon says to him who are these people that are with you and he says these are the messengers of Bullock the king of mauve and they want me to come to curse the Jewish people now Shem system you can't curse them now Shem says you know each time it seems like a coalition of who gives him first says don't do it and bilham's bilham ends up doing it film ends up going with them Shem and then the the donkey stops the malla stops him the angel stands in his path and he doesn't see him at first and the donkey ends up speaking Tim which is a crazy miracle an unbelievable miracle but nothing seems to really face him I said should I go back oh it's okay you can keep going what is this back and forth does a coach for who wanted to go or is a coachman who not want him to go what's the idea what's the concept and so the idea here is a cos all teachers are sages teach us that the concept that's being given over here the concept that we are to learn here the idea the amazing deep idea that's that's going on here is that bill and I Russia was somebody who wanted to do evil it's not explicit it's very interesting it's very beautiful it's not clear or explicit at the time that bilham is involved in his nefarious intents in his mind you can you can figure out what he wants to do because I collage for who is giving him a choice you can go this way or you can go that way Shimon saying you can't curse the Jewish people but if you want to go you can go Akhilesh baku is clearly giving him a free choice of we the free will to be able to do whatever he decides to do but still as bilham keeps saying because he knows it obviously from previous experience and as indeed comes out even when a person chooses he has ill intent he has nefarious intent when he chooses to go in the wrong path because raka will give him signs shambo's will try to stop him so to speak a sham will do the things for him to realize on his own it's something that he has to do that he shouldn't really be doing that thing he needs to be stopping all right but it's something that could borrow who shows us and doesn't necessarily for not not necessarily I couldn't ruble does not force us to do what's right those poor who still leaves it open leaves the possibility for free will but in the end in the end it's always true that a college for who his will is what's what's gonna be done in the end I remember hearing from her she's Shiva numerous times about his own father of a pairs father his father is rabbinical Mendel pair who was a rough in place called South Ozone Park in Queens and at the end of his life repair repairs father Murray Shiva's father he would always be asking a certain question because his entire life he had spent being the rub of a shul of a synagogue and the synagogue was people who were you know not so religious or kind of headed out of religion and there were many people that he did indeed say there are many children that ended up raising Jewish families from families and then I'm having children who were religious because of repair remember now compare but you know perhaps you could you could have fought in his mind more as he could have done something bigger something greater had become a greater person or doesn't done something that that would have had more of an effect in the world so at the end of his life he was asking a question it says in the pus look at Sasha barrese marsh always be La Vie schmatta Sasha he's so cool now many thoughts in a person's mind there are many ideas that a person has but it's the idea of a Shen that comes out in the end now the question is if I am if I'm trying to do a shams will I have many different does that mean that I chose the right thing in the end does that mean that I chose to do the right thing is that indeed true it's not clear it's not burrower it says it's a relevation it's a chamois Sock'em now many thoughts in a person's mind the the idea of a sham comes out in the end does that mean that a Kurdish bohu turns things in such a way that what he wants comes out in the end but that doesn't necessarily mean that I did was really I did what was right for me or I do what was best for me it's not clear and and he was trying to understand did he make the right choices and each one of us faces that issue as we try to make our choices in life are we are we doing what's right are we doing what I could or who really wants and the answer I believe to that question is within our parsha we need to look at our motivations we need to look at why are we doing this why are we going there why why is bilham did if Billie would have had a moment of self-examination moment of self realization and thought about for a moment what is motivating him why is he going there does he want to curse them does he want less than he's gonna be knows that it's gonna be whatever Hashem wants in the end but what is motivating him what's what's the point why should she be tells another story about his father and at some point his his father was considering becoming the R of the rabbi of a from congregation you know an upstanding maybe if she was a congregation I don't know exactly what it was and so while he was considering that he had a discussion with his young son who was my Russian at the time he was a young boy and she was said to him is it is it you know you're ready to move on to the next shul is that because you already were micariff all of the people initial everyone is already from like you've completed your job here that you're ready to move on to the next role this is a little kid asking the question and I don't know for my pairs senior answer the question but he stayed in that job and part of the reason that he stayed in that job is because he realized that this is where he's supposed to be sometimes we hear a message from our children and we we recognize that the Kaddish for who's speaking through that child the idea is the idea that we see is that Hakadosh Baruch Hashem of course what he wants in the end is what's going to be the question is what are what are we doing along the way because we are created our our reality is a result of the way that we think about the situation as we walk through it it's not always where we're getting to it's how we got there it's it's so significant it's not many times in the secular world so we talk about the ends justifying the means but in in Jewish thought in Yiddish guy so the the path to get to them to the ends is equally as important if not more important then the ends themselves because how we get there determines who we are we become whatever we do so it really does matter how we're getting there so that's an amazing important point that we see from this idea is that the motivation the motivation is so essential it's so important and a person always needs to be examining his motivations what is it what is it that's that's causing me to go what is my goal with bilham the reason that it was such a negative thing with Billy was such a terrible thing that he did he was such a Russia not because of what he did not because of the result there was indeed a negative result as I'll say he ended up giving advice that they should cause the Jewish people to sin and indeed there was a tremendous negative result but that is not per se the point the point is what made him to be a Russia has us saw in him that he kept going towards the possibility of giving a curse to the Jewish people eating he didn't need or have any interest in giving blessings to the Jewish people that was not why he went he gotta just stay at home right now it's not why he went he only went for one reason and that was in order to curse the Jewish people his intent was to curse them he didn't succeed as he said he couldn't do anything almost a coalition for who allowed him to do it he wasn't able to but the idea is that our motivations are so important where we're headed is so important and ultimately in the end all what is it that that is the result of all of our actions the result is the pinnacle - for who but for us the result of our actions is all of the ways that we got there our intent along the way our intent along the way not necessarily the results now what what does it mean to me or what why why does this why is this idea something that for me is inspiring and I feel like a coach worker who's talking about this so to speak I feel like this is the thing that's in my life right now that's going on and the answer to that is that you know there are so many times that person thinks this is going to be the thing that's going to cause me success this is the thing that's gonna be that which brings me money especially today in our society even within from society there's a very big focus on his status a very big focus on what can I do to make money how can I accomplish this and our magazines are filled with advice of people who are successful and different things that people have done in order to succeed and different things that people have done in order to make money stat los Estados estado switched out so many talks so much talk about efforts so many things that we can do so to speak and you know I've been more Hashem involved in music for many many years since I was a little kid over 30 years I've been involved in music and I've been creating albums for for 18 years now I'm working on I think album number 19 here is about to come out because at the show next week this coming week and and you know everywhere I go people recognize me so it's a nice thing it's a nice thing to be recognized and to be appreciated for the work that a person does and as everybody knows about the music industry it's a challenge it's a challenge to make money this is especially a unique challenge that I have because I live in artsy strong and much of the much of my audience singing in English where I'm also singing in Hebrew but much of my audiences in the States I go into her to America every once in a while I was there for Pesach I was there Purim time I was there before I've been there no no a lot of times is here already and you know person puts in so much efforts and it seems like this is perhaps where it's gonna come from this is where the money's gonna come from and you never know you never know which efforts are going to produce the results that you're seeking you want to pay do you wanna you want to provide for your family every single person has that obligation and you never know where it's gonna come from and Sasha means so cool a person thinks that this is what's gonna do it I'm gonna do this PR I'm going to do this thing and I'm gonna appear in this show and if I do this show everyone's gonna want me and then all of the different things that a person thinks and it doesn't have to just be I'm just you know talking about my own experience but every person has their own experience and the things that they do and our society says if you do X you'll have success and and and and it seeped into our world into the achiever world and I think that it's so important to consider and think about the fact that that's not it that's not it at all and being so involved in Atlas you know we've been talking already for months and months about the idea of be kind of trusting at Kadesh Barnea of having full belief that college bar who is the one who is doing it so we spoke about the idea of be talkin belief status without doing any ished Atlas which is a tremendously high level which I know people who do live that way but for most of us that's not the level that we're on so but even when we do if stylists it's something that's so important the the altar of Navarre talks about it he references the sheet of the codicil of obvious which is that a person does need to do each Dallas does need to put in efforts but he says even according to the harvest Oliver voice when we put in efforts when we are involved in doing something for our partner so for our livelihood we still have to remember every second that it's not Irish thoughtless it's not the efforts that we've put in that has created the results and this is so essential and this is mama SH exactly the point that I see in parshas bollock in the story of villain that it matters how we get to those results you know often our color Sparkle will send us that which we need because of our status because of our efforts because of the things that we've done often he will send it that way but it's essential that as we're getting to that result that we recognize that we think about we contemplate and we and we inculcate into ourselves that it's not us it's not us because the way that we get to the result that determines who we if we think that it's all us it's all quite clearly it's all our strength and it's all our we have acquired these results if that's our focus and that's our thinking so we're in trouble because that means that we've just we are reinforcing within ourselves the negative aspect of ourselves which is just me without a sham but if I do if status if I put in efforts and all I'm thinking this is how kodesh work who doing it this is Hakodesh Park who doing this is a sham doing it every single thing that I'm doing is really a sham and a sham could do it this way a sham could do it that way there are so many different things there are so many different ways that college can sell it and I want to tell you honest truth 100% clear for me why is this you know you might I don't know you know there's many more how many people who listen to this podcast you might know that I've done a crowdfunding and I've created an acapella album for the three weeks and I was born with a shams amazing assistance able to raise and with many of you assistance of many of you I was able to raise $6,000 to be able to produce this album to be able to create a video and it's it's an amazing thing how did I end up doing this what was the idea I thought of this idea I must tell you even though some of the tracks were recorded already before for four because I had some of this idea already but I wasn't ready to actually do it the beginning of last week there was a few different possible ways that I thought Hashem would send me money for the month for my knees from a mission condo for my mortgage and for the other things that I needed for my business my business expenses and and I didn't the the things that I thought were going to be the read the way that I would send me the money they didn't happen and so I said well what do you want me to do and literally I cried every single month every single month a curse for who sends me exactly what I need exactly exactly what I need I often do not know where it's gonna come from that's how that's i I really really work on be talking and my my type of livelihood of for the opportunity to be able to indeed work on it and you may have heard some of the stories I've told about be talking a really cool story two months ago I mentioned they're gonna be talkin party has anybody mentioned it here as well in any event at the beginning of last week I didn't know where the money's gonna come from and I cried out coolers Walker please help me please help me Nadia came to me to do this acapella CD and I thought well I just I just made an acapella CD and the way that it works with acapella CDs many of them is that I've sold the rights to my distributor in the States and I didn't think that he would buy the rights immediately after I just sold him one before for severe a few of just two months ago and I didn't know what to do so I put it out on Facebook right here on Facebook and put it out and I said what do you think of this idea would you be willing to prepay and many people responded positively and said go for it and indeed with a college boy whose amazing assistance I went for it but all along all along the Veda is avoider is the the work that's involved here is to understand and remember and recall and remind myself over and over again this is a collage for doing it for me this is a Shems idea that he put in my head Russia Shiva mentions there's a project that says there's a high desertion Akaka key who understand her classes call you shall remember I am your God because he is the one who gives you the power to do to do strong things either one who gives you the power and uncle is there translates it's Allah McNee Nixon a Christian father who gives you the idea of which possessions to buy of which property to invest in of which business idea to pursue because about who puts it in your head at secession he's sucking same idea it's the idea of a Kurdish Park and we have a choice do we all along recognize and and reinforce within ourselves the the knowledge that it's about who's doing it or do we allow ourselves to be motivated and and follow the idea that societies are the ideas of our variates of her are evil inclination that is the question what is the focus at a conversation recently with somebody a very influential person very powerful person in the Jewish community and he was telling me I had a conversation with him speaking about the idea of be talkin believe stylus without doing any efforts and he said to me I believe initiative I believe initiative list I believe in putting in efforts and I corrected him and he agreed to me that I was correct I mean it was him and said it's not I believe in a chalice I do Hirsch Toddlers and I believe in Hashem I make efforts I don't believe in my efforts I believe in I could have bahu its Hashem who's behind it all and it's something that's a challenge but that fine difference that fine difference in thinking is all of the difference if I believe that it's me doing it all along then it's just the world is just about me I remain this selfish small disconnected person a person who's disconnected from reality and disconnected from a greater reality from Akhilesh Baku but if I recognize that every moment every idea every thought every song every note every every penny that comes in it's from a collage for every ideas a Shems idea at session he's so Khun bill um he knew the truth he knew that every idea was a shams idea he knew that he won't be able to say anything unless a colors for who allowed him to but he didn't care that wasn't his intent all along he wasn't trying to bring a sham into his life he was trying to defy a sham he was trying to do his own thing he was trying to curse the Jewish people and what was the result the result was destruction bilham was destroyed and he cuz there was amazing destruction heaven forbid took to Clouseau at that time because of Balaam when the focus is on oneself and on the negativity and on causing destruction to others the result of Balaam was that he was destroyed and he caused destruction to others obviously couldn't do it a Turkish punk who allowing it obviously a psycho - monk whose will ultimately that wins that it's a sashiman he's so cool but what a lesson for what an opportunity for us that each moment of our lives each day of our lives each each second everything that we do everything that we're involved in we can either walk with Akhilesh borrow two we can either walk with a Shem and recognize that he's doing everything or we can separate ourselves and don't deny that he's there defy him or or lose the opportunity what a great loss it is when we don't recognize that he's the one who's doing everything I want to bless you and I ask you to bless me Akhilesh mark who should help us to always be able to recognize that everything everything that's in our lives is from him all of the things results are his eyes should help us deal to take the opportunity to be able to use that connection use that opportunity for connection in order to become greater people and to rise up and grow in our service of Shem thank you so much for listening I have a wonderful Shabbos this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcasts like this please visit www.gfi.com/webmonitor [Music]