Inside ArtScroll - Season 3 Episode 6: Rabbi Yechezkel Elias - Ani Maamin / A Mission for Life

[Music] Hello everyone and welcome back to inside art scroll where the books you read and the people who write them come to life. Today I am joined by Rabbi Elias the author of a fantastic new book on anim on all the anim. Thank you Rabbi Elias for joining us. Pleasure to be here. Now this is uh really a groundbreaking work at least in my eyes because anim is such a fundamental part of yiddishim anim. I mean it's an im and yet from what I've seen there isn't really any comprehensive work on the yud until now you've put out this new book which is going to be uh bought and used in homes across the globe tell us how you came to get involved in this project I certainly hope so thank you for the I hope it uh finds a welcome audience in cla um I would say in fairness there are other works out here um in my research in writing this going back to the drawing board sat down to give this I'll talk about that shortly but um there are swarm out there that works out there is a tremendous amount but it's important to differentiate the different types of works different types of target audiences you know who are the or the authors aiming for I do think and I do feel very strongly that in a sense of what we're trying to target here it's a novel approach in terms of today's day and age what we need and in that sense but to say which Actually what I was going for is that in English in an understandable translation with commentary that type of work I feel that your new work is very very unique in that sense. Thank you for that. Well the goal here was really the truth is that that there I would say more or less at the risk of oversimplification the works until up until this point that I'm familiar with are the ones widely available. I don't claim to know all you know everything out there. Kyle has put out a tremendous amount of literature. There are swarm out there that people use the anim as a springboard for all types of smoozen and ideas and topics that they want to talk about and it's really just a springboard to get into a bigger topic without really staying true to the mission of an imam itself. Um otherwise the other extreme and they have danims where they're really focusing on the text and pretty much that alone saying what the words are. Those are the two of the more recent um things have been put out has been out again in multiple languages. Um that what I would say that now you go back well further back times Rambam and and you know Risha others have dealt with these in Yanim we have long winded very intense hashkafa matter and to put all those things into their category today's day and age I think the really question before we started was um what would appeal to today's day and age how can we make this something that is appeals to cla today and what did what did you find what was the key to make it appropriate for today's generation okay so I'll take one step back the first thing I think is important is that there's a tremendous bush in Kisel today for so much in Yados and so much in Tyra a tremendous tremendous bush out there. There's a desire for more tyro more information. People want there's a thirst out there. Um tell us that that there many the 10 types of of hungers that will come to the world different types of the will be an end of towards there'll be a time of it'll be as well. There'll be a RV as well. It'll be cool. It'll be the hardest, but there'll be a real thirst for Tyra. A real thirst for for for what we could the same way a person thirsts for food, water, people want Tyra. And we see that today, people want that. And the question is really, you know, without getting to details here, but the idea is how are we as educators attacking that need? So when someone wants something, we either sell them the same thing they've had for years previous, but every generation has their own kuna and they have their own understanding how they see life. I mean, everything we do today is totally different. We don't live in the same world as 50 years ago. What What do you think the key is as far as today's language? Is it dumbing it down? Is it I hate to say that, but exactly that point. Meaning, if we have to go ahead and start selling ourselves cheap, if we take the material and we sell it cheap, we you know, we downgrade it and and um you know, years ago because by the way, before you go on, I would say here in the world of art scroll, I would say it's punk It's about putting it in today's language, in today's vernacular, today's jargon without bringing down the quality of the work. So that that's really exactly what we're targeting. We're targeting exactly is the message is invaluable. There's nothing about it that can be changed. It's terms. It's exactly what's meant to be said. Now the first question always has to be what did in this case deal with that further but the mikram that we have are based the best of our knowledge they're based upon the Rambam's that he established in the parake and he elaborates there we have a a bridge version which more or less lines up with the Rambam and we're going back to that so we have to ask ourselves what did the Rambam want before we decide how to package the message and deliver it to people today we have to be honest to what the message is and that's really the first goal of this whole work that which is the the first question people are going to ask most people assume that the yudum were written by the Rambam. Is that is that accurate? Okay, so that I know it's a load of question eye opener. It's an eye opener and when I first saw this especially when I got into these we'll go through the history of how we got here but the idea of when I went through this more and you know the delving into this and seeing the history and what happened it was an eye openener for me and somehow you know it's been quite a few years that the every child grows up knowing the lickim and as you look through it you realize we have no idea who the author of the anim is an hour sitter. We have absolutely not a clue who wrote these anim. It's astounding because you have something that it could have been a fantastic assume it has to be somebody pretty to have that to catch on to be inspiration for and we're talking about ims that aren't just you know me and you you know you and I and every other person out there are saying it said to push to say it every single day push for it something accepted by the leaders of not just the so we have clear guidance that this is a correct thing to go there there were questions that come up that have come up yes or no was it written by the Rambam or was it not to the best of our knowledge absolutely Okay, I can't say that affirmatively because we don't know who wrote it. But I could say but I could say that there are enough discrepancies between the imam version that we have and pierce that would seem to indicate now there are those I know there are people out there who suggest the Rambam over the years may have had other versions and maybe this is a takeoff of that. But we have the facts that we have in front of us is we have a elaborate version of the Rambam himself that he wrote in Arabic translated. We have a few translations but more or less the same. Then we have the anim in in uh the sitter version so to speak. Mhm. They line up more or less. They're very clear and subtle. There some they're very clear differences. The disparities between the two. Those disparities lend us to believe that it's not the same. It's based on that clearly. It seems to be but um the betting money would be that it's not the same. And at what point in time did those anim imams, whoever the author was, did it somehow get into the mainstream so to speak where it's in every single sid? So you know it's it's uh it's it's a mystery digging backwards trying to figure out you know things spread and spread but where was the first even just the first source dating the first source right so we look we find we look back um listed in the in the introduction to this to this work there's a number of of there's a some sadum in the 1500s we're talking about 300 years after the rabam was nif right after passed away 300 years passed and we have no record no documentation that could be because things were destroyed it could be it was actually earlier we don't know Um, so it shows up 300 years later. We don't know the that catches on to the degree that people sort of think that's the Rambam and they forget about the Rambam. Most people have very little knowledge if any of the Rambam's version of the Ra himself wrote the job here really, you know, it's always a dilemma here. Where do you stay true to? Do you go do you aim for the anime version? Do you aim for the Rambam version? Largely, again, they they they dove tail. They they work together. They're along the same lines. I made a point of trying to speak out really both the capturing the best of both worlds. The Rambam was the goal here is Rambam's the bottom line is Rambam but there are chapters there are ideas that are expressed that are clearly they're written very clearly that these are the ideas of the Bani Mam whoever wrote this these ideas that we accept we may not know who it is but the fact that Kla had it for centuries and accepted it that's good enough that's credentials as far as KL is concerned that that gives us the mandate to go ahead and explore that angle too. Now this work also has a a unique emotional component that's very unlike other works which are also equally special in that it's dedicated Leland Nishma's Davi sty son of uh Reb Schlimi Stey and his rabbitson and there's definitely something special about that but how did you get involved together with Duplimi and and I know that the safer is also based on shurim you've been giving on an imam and take us back to the the history here because it's only a year old the you know that uh that experienced such a gut-wrenching s and what's come out of it is just a revolution of and now and his whole effort to spread the saying of an imam talk about that okay so I'll preface this by saying you know has a way of guiding people and taking people to where they have to be um I've been involved in very many different situations in Montreal in the kuk aspect. Kuk in terms of brim elementary, high school, post high school, balbatim, people who are up in their years. uh it could be be and it could be you know all sorts of different types of things are going on and sometimes one window closes the next window opportunity opens and sometimes you end up somewhere you don't know where and what based on you know a couple years doing something and then that closes you say you know what happens now right and sometimes that that's the impetus to get you to the next step u based on a confluence of various factors I end up spending more time there number of different shs right around my neighborhood um it's a pretty close-knit uh neighborhood our neighborhood of Montreal I live right around the corner from the stimes Um, and I ended up spending more time within Kakma, which is where Davins, his father-in-law as well, Davin's there for close to 30, 50 years. They're very close. Your father's the Raj Kyle in of the of the Kyle of the Montreal Kyle. Montreal Kyle, which is on the same block. It's on the same block. It's right there. I live right across the street. So, you know, we're all it's all in the same dom literally. Um, and I ended up This is more of a is more of a Himea place, more of a Hungarian flavor to different type of crowd. Very warm crowd, very nice crowd. And interestingly I hadn't even been there that much as it's across the street from my house occasionally to Davin Shakras it just you know I hadn't been there that much and then I due to different factors I end up gravitating more towards that and opportunities that were there and then came lime and again whether you dab in there whether you didn't Montreal even the broader community of Montreal there's a big large community there's a large Saudi community Montreal we all know each other it's big there are large numbers there and we all know each other and it's everyone's sur you know it's something we all felt and I remember that night you know nightmar and we heard news of the tragedy and no one knew exactly what happened first and then things were developing and this happened that happened and then suddenly we heard there people from Montreal there people we know who are part of the but no one knew yet what happened and and are they alive are they not alive there are others from Montreal besides and and or again not necessarily in Montreal at the time but people who had their roots in Montreal and the whole night you know people were saying to him and people were just in that pensive state not knowing what's going to happen and again it's a personal became like a f you hear on the news today we become sort of you know desensitized to everything going on there in the world. We hear this, we hear that and you know today the the the flood of media just sort of desensitized us but when it hits home it hits home and this is and we heard the whole night reading and then we came to Shakris and we all you know different people heard earlier later but you know we all heard the news and it was a start for it was a start from Montreal in particular. Sure you know we hit us very hard you know many people around the globe everyone had a personal connection to someone there but but it's something very personal so at that time during the shiva sitting there and and and it became it became such a a passion fori that he's going to take this he spoke by the lava whoever saw the leva it was heart- wrenching to see but it was passionate to see I got phone calls from people afterwards who said to me you know he's not from the you know the sadiki thead this is a simple who can stand by his own son's leva and gets up and says and this is it. Unbelievable. A person called me from from from Florida. I got a few other phone calls and you know smooing with people and people were inspired by seeing this how he himself it's easy to talk you know talk the talk but this is somebody's own son's levia you know son's in front of him and he can get up there and say you know we trust neighbors there and he did this he came home from Israel he's by the shiva and this became a message that he was he was going to carry and when I spoke to you we were talking about by the shiva the the videos that went out of of the sitting around and singing an imam and it was it was surreal it was hard to it was hard to believe and and it was hard not to join in the in the emotion and crying of the moment because everyone was swept up in that moment. It was really unbelievable. Yeah. So, so, so himself I mean as well known he's been on a on a mission to make this you know imam everyone's everyone's property everyone's passion and one of you know starts at home base so in itself after ding people should say interestingly the rabbam itself has a strong aversion to institutionalizing imams he mentioned this to um trying to speak about this some people know about this because of this question about standing by the reading of we try not to promote one part of too much people shouldn't get the wrong impression the himself without details ra himself strongly again he has this aversion to institutionalizing a schol should not have an official reading so to speak together of anime or sarah or anything else it would seem from but after ding everyone to say it that's fantastic everyone should take the time and we end off a lenu speak out the reason why we end alenu that ending we put that at the end is to end off with a message of amuna that's all it's all about we walk out of sh walk out into your life with amuna started at home his home base in mifa it's a family it's a sh it's that's where he And the balbatim the people there were saying this every single day and I had a conversation with some of the batim there who I had grown to have more with and they were discussing how we have these animes in sitter for the average person you read it you see the words you know most I mean okay open the article version you get the full translation hopefully your English is up to article par you know and you know what's going on so okay but what do these ideas mean and then you have questions if you think about it you have questions and where are the answers and the average person out there where you supposed to They're not people aren't going to start looking up and you know again there was no easily accessible work if you want to sit down and learn you know something philosophy or something else or or other works out there as far they're very intense but the average you know person out there who wants to spend a few minutes and they're talking about how could we have this anime imam taken to the next level instead of just saying the words at least one time sit down and figure it out. So we discussed the idea of having a shear and about them were extremely into this. Let's have a shar discussing let's make it short. Let's make it tangible. Let's make it one message each time. We're talking about 10 minutes, eight minutes. Take one message doesn't have to cover a full anim. Take it step by step. One clear message each time. Something explaining each of the anim. So we started twice a week. 10 minutes, eight minutes. And you you were giving the shear. Yes. Yeah. Um it was to try this because for me because I grew up in the Shiva system more or less like many many people out there everyone knows you know everyone could tell you that that you know of course is so important you can learn so important many people say over you know from B brisk there's a famous expression idea that that if you don't know imams you're you're flawed in your yiddish kite if you don't know the imams you're you're there's something missing in your very essence of being a Jew and then what what are the imams you stop these people and ask them do you know they are and people could tell you some of them. We know it's important. We talk about it, but but what do they mean? So for me, I I know I feel bad saying this, but myself, you know, of course we know the basics, but how much thought have we given to the core of Aramuna? And this is an opportunity for me to really sit down and get to work on this. Um, you know, were you doing a lot of preparation for it? Was it did it really become a whole undertaking? It was hard, especially in the beginning finding the the rights form for what I wanted to accomplish. I could find you know many in-depth things but I want I want the people to have the shot of what was going on. What do I have to know? If I give you let's say talks about whatever topic it is and I can give you many fine on it and and what say what do I have to know to fulfill that role I have to know these 13 things these are essential these are essential for me as a kid to know what exactly do I have to know and what don't I have to know do I have to know all details do I have to know the basics what's the idea that I have to know the concept and we pair it down what exactly do I have to know job number two and this goes back to your original question about you know how to make it relevant once you have the message can you put into terms that people can without the message without bringing it down. Take that exact message and put into people's terms. That means for example I you know one thing I can say I have taught many many scenarios and I'm proud to say that you know in the use of mishim all sorts of parables to make things tangible. I've never used the mush to the best of my knowledge. I've never in my life used the muscle of a king and a princess. You know that's that's you know talk to people today the best maybe a judge a court maybe you know if a guy's been in court a few times but you have to make it relevant put into their terms and there's so many things in their life look around the things that happen in their life every day take that and use that as a muscle something they can understand take something they understand and attach it to the idea and it works and if you put into their terms they get that people get it they grasp it they can run with it that's what it's all about we found tremendous with the people took to it very successful people came people wanted to hear more this crowd in in within the shul started sending it out by email to other people today because of the diamonds there's a sitenet the sh on the site there other sites from others um it's developed it's grown and there's a thirst kly wants to hear and cla wants to hear I I firmly believe they want to hear real they want to hear real material sure you know you tell someone a cute thing or something a nice v which is cute but it doesn't get to the core of the matter people know what they're getting you get up and speak for an hour and you just say stories, people know they're not getting the real Tyra. They're getting, they're getting a nice, very enjoyable experience, but people want to hear the real deal. And when you tell them something that it says in Z or something esoteric and it's real Tyra, it's genuine, but it's not tangible for people, it's also not giving them something that can change their lives, right? So, you have to put it into a way that they can grab and they can change their own lives. So, at what point did you decide, okay, we're going to take this year that seems to be growing in popularity and we're going to turn it into a written book. So this uh you know as so much in the world that happens this is thanks very much to in part Ber um really is is a man who who loves making connections he has a talent to make connections and you know he saw the potential he spoke to a lot of and I have to say to me you know you grew up with arts girl you know you know we talk the early days when arts school first had the migilla today by and large we all grew up with arts girl and it's sort of humbling you know to call up you know on the phone and and you all of a sudden, you know, they're taking your work seriously. That's that's a big deal, you know. And Lawitz from day one has been passionate. He calls me, you know, we're on the phone and he's behind it. It's going to come out. It's going to be phenomenal. We're going to Did you have written samples at that point or or was it just an idea? Um, I had not written up any samples. Raised me in the beginning of the process to to see how to put it down into writing. I had written extensively in other forums in mostly in matters in a number of different different publications. So, I've done quite a bit of writing in the past. I've published other things in the past. So, writing is not something foreign to me. And I would say I would be remiss if I didn't mention that you're an anal grandson of the famed Rabbi Joseph Elias who you know in art school lore is quite a name having written uh you know a number of works right and is a Hagada is the is the go-to Hagada um is that something that you have in the the Elias gene the the writing ability is I'd like to say I don't deserve any credit for my writing you know I would like to think I'm sure you've honed the skill but actually my father as well is a you carries on those jeans. So, I would like to think I'd be humble to say this, but I I would like to say that though I would dream of one day doing that. I would also say that one of my grandfather's more monumental accomplishments with arts girl was writing the commentary to the Shanstein peric which deals specifically with these with these topics and I would tell you that it's something it was it was a difficult heritage a different feeling for me as I went through this all because my grandfather my grandfather having you know passed away a few years ago you know having missed it by those few years opportunity if I would had these are exact these were the topics that were up his alley so to speak you know he had that proficiency and the fluency mentioning my grandfather in particular I would point out that that as I went through this work and I'm writing this a particular sensitivity I had a a a feeling of loss my grandfather one of his monumental accomplishments was of his many accomplishments was writing the commentary to the arts girl Shanstein edition per kick the perk in Sanhedrin which deals with precisely these you know these topics mashiach amuno the basics all those topics are covered in that peric and it's precisely there where he excelled in bringing that to gladius And as I went through these topics, you know, you have the feeling like, you know, I missed this by a few years. My grandfather passed away a few years ago, not that long ago. And having if I would have had the opportunity to to discuss these matters with him and go through them, it would have enriched my life, my understanding, I don't have that, but if I if I may humbly say what what you've done is a magnificent work. I have no doubt that up above your grandfather shopping tremendous. So perhaps we didn't benefit from his input which would have been invaluable for such a work but there's no question that with the beautiful product that we have and this book that's again that people are going to enjoy immensely and going to really take to make it a major part of their day your grandfathers know no doubt I hope so I try to stay true to his mandate but I think the vision I think that he would like to see it brought out to the world and I hope I'm playing some small part in filling that now in in learning on imam and in depth what you've done. Um I'm just curious, is there any part of an imam that really stood out to you or that you said to yourself, "Wow, I I always thought of it one way and now you see it in a different light and is there a particular anim that that that more meaningful to you?" What what was the revelation or the epiphany that you had when you started really going in depth? There there there were lessons every step of the way. And this may sound but but really every step of the way there when you clarify an idea and you say wow that that's what the Rama meant and it makes so much more sense and it clicks and there's a real message here. I would say the particular what you know as each person finds something insightful as each reader goes through you know the work they'll find things according to their own life experience what they took for granted which may be true not true modifiable or something along the lines hopefully everybody should feel enriched there's one point which really became clarified as I went along this work and that is when you talk about amuna what does it mean the words and I believe everyone says I believe I believe amuna by itself just means I believe something a fool can believe anything. The words I believe by themselves don't really have any connotation. I can believe what I want to believe. What does that mean as aid? And one thing that we really get from the Rambam and this something I really felt as you go through the work and it becomes more and more clear and and and each of these ideas contribute to this and that is the Rambam wasn't writing random concepts. He wasn't writing random ideas. So I'm not going to refer to one specific idea but the sum total of ideas was not about like we have the ideas like okay I check off the box I believe in Hashem check I'm done that's it you know we're good we're good to go the rabb was addressing the was addressing life as aid I'm a Jew I live in this world what does that mean where am I going what's my direction he put together there's a word that I believe in something but what is that something that something has 13 pieces there's a puzzle here with 13 pieces and you put them together you have a full picture that picture I say an im and I believe in that. So the question really starts, we focus so much on imm. But forget that a second before I get to that im. Let's take a step back. What am I believing in? What are we talking about? Talking about a way to view your own life. It's a whole paradigm. It's a way to view everything differently. It's a view. A way to view a mission in life, my goals in life, why am I here? Where are my instructions? Where am I going? And then I say, well, that's a whole way to view life. I believe that this is what my life is about. Right. So it's not just to add to your point, the the ham the masses when you say anim to them, it usually means one thing. It's because that's the the most famous which is true because people think of like a sad thing like oh the cattle cars no way has been brought out at times of which is true I make me made mention there that we discuss for example I'll tell us daylight when we see things clearly crystal clear that's we talk about we see Hashem's hand when something's clear to us the times are good a n happens miraculous Yeshua something fantastic we could talk about Hashem Amunoska this is discussed at length by make mention of this amuno many sources say tell us amuna means that there's a consistency where something is unwavering and will not change the definition of muna is it was that way and it will always be that way and it cannot change with that said when it gets dark for that's when we say I don't know what's going on I can't tell you what's happening but I know that yesterday he was here for me the day before he was here for me so when the lights are off and it's dark. I know he's still right there. So yes, it always comes out. The moon it comes out when suddenly I'm in a panic mode. I can't see. The lights are off. It's black. But I'm taking the ideas I already know these 13 ideas and carrying them forward. But it's not about necessarily the time of survival in the dark. So it comes to the four when there's a you know a buck was killed in when when there's a tragedy you know the horrors of World War II and all these scenarios. That's when we see it when someone can hold firm and say I take that same message from me for and I carry it straight through the time when I can't see what's happening. you're you know thanks to AB Randberg people also know you know I should mention but uh but like you're saying really an anim in general is really a much broader context it's the anim in the whole system that we believe in and really each anim is just an outgrowth of of that right take for example just a random one just off top of my head believing in the idea of kakish whatever we do has an effect and we will ultimately enjoy the reward or pay the That means we go through life with accountability. That means when I everything I do when I wake up till I go to sleep, there's an accounting there's a ledger and it's going to it's it's all on the books. I'm doing video all it's going to be there. So it's not a question of you know oh by the way I believe if I know that everything I do is on record that means I better be very careful. It's not by the way. It's so integral to who we are, what we do. So that we're discussing the but people will ask you, you know, the the the anims were instituted to be said, but really how do you apply it tangibly? One step back. The Rambam did not institute imams to be said. The Rambam put down the 13 ideas without writing the word imam at all. He said there are 13 basics for every Jew. These are basics you have to know. This has nothing to do with saying it every day. The word imam doesn't appear. The one who wrote an imam took those ideas and turned it into a credo. It's a statement of anim. I firmly whatever it is in these however you translate it. I believe in these ideas. He took the rabb's ideas and turned it into something we can say and profess our our belief in that wasn't saying that the just laid it out and said here these are the basics. Either you believe in it or you don't. It's a fact in the Rambam. You believe it. You're a Jew. You're in. You're Jewish regardless. You're a full-fledged Jew regardless. But if you want to know if you're on the team and playing for the team, you know either you're in or you're out. all the dem of treating someone as a brother. The Raam says that various various different things that will come up. Ram says if you want to be on the team so to speak of Kalis, this is what it's at. Either you're on or you're off. Now it's up to you. Anim author went ahead and took that and said, "Okay, let's get up there and say clearly an imam. I believe in these things. I'm on board. I'm with Claudius." So he turned into something that you say, again, we don't know who he is, but he turned into something where I can get up and say I'm I'm with us. What's your hope with this book at the end of the day besides that obviously people should buy it and and and and study it? What's your long-term goal that you feel would would kind of validate the effort and the time to uh to you? What what would that be? As I think anybody anybody who has any involvement in and I say in a broad sense education the greatest could have any job in which is remarkable remarkably rewarding. It's remarkably rewarding. It's nothing as as as I can't describe anything close to the idea of you say a you give over a thought or it's a two-minute thought and you see someone's face light up like aha I got it. Mhm. There's something exhilarating about that that you made a difference in someone's understanding of life, someone's understanding of a garumar and it resonated and you could see in a moment, you know, when you teach someone, you can see right away they got it, they didn't get it. You know, it's it's anyone in the field could tell you right away. But when you write something, you'll never see that. You'll never see that. But you hope that out there making a difference people's lives. Now, I would say within that, I would take two notes within that. two small things I would say and that is my immediate goal is that people view these ideas as philosophy as deep things that's not for me today's day and age you know maybe perhaps you know in Germany 200 years ago people are passionate about you know at the time of skulla and or other times or whatever it was people were passionate about their beliefs or ideas and people would just go off to because or or other in the contrary hopefully they would they would join kroll because they were passionate about their beliefs and it had to today we're generation of you know iPhones and sushi that's what we do well people view that but at the same time there's a tremendous tremendous B kush like you said before a b kush and I'll tell you something else we're sitting in the world of art scroll what's the bestselling what are the bestselling books living amuna living ama there's a there's a desire for people to learn amuna um you have people like who's selling a message and he's the most popular message today wherever he goes people flock to hear People want to hear messages of and that's really what this book does. This book just encompasses it based on so the idea here is what I'm trying to get to here which is a little different track but you notice everyone has their track where they can nail their road to getting to kalis and and hitting what they have to hit. What I was trying to hear was that the depth of the ideas should be something which is not seen as being something aloof, something esoteric, something or for the people who you know the really brainy people out there who like to learn philosophy for the fun of it. You know every inro the Rambam says we all should know this and it means every Yid should and can understand this. This is not the domain of the philosophers. It's not the domain of the people who are tremendous bal you know people who spend the people today we are privileged to have tremendous bal maka today who know these things well but every yen class has to know this so the first goal I would say just to go back to your question the first goal is every class should have a firm awareness again we talk about amuno everyone says that's great I'm past that I want every person to understand that the ideas that we have to believe are tangible they're real and they're tangible you can understand them you go through this or do Does this safer? Does this work? You can do anything else you can find. Find something to put into your terms. You should feel it's not out there. It's right here. You can hang on to it. It's real. Number one, the very awareness that it's not something we just say, "I believe and close your eyes." The ideas of what we believe, those very 13 ideas are all things that you can grasp. You can grasp. You can know it and know it well exactly what it means to be it and understand it. So the first accomplishment I would dream of accomplishing is to take these ideas and put them in people's hands that they can walk around and saying to walk around saying there's something I know something I understand. I'm not talking about level whatever it is but on a simple basic level it's tangible and it's real to you. That's number one. Number two and which is really the end goal is that people should view their own lives differently. Amuna is not something to die with. It's something to live with. It's something to live every day of your life with. We look, we walk around the world and you know we the world has a setup of how we view life. You're supposed to make money. You're supposed to be successful. We throw in yados too. All good things to do. But this in dictates of life. You're supposed to be successful. Have you measured some degree by having a job and what is the purpose? That I should live a happy well-meaning, you know, well-intentioned life and have good kids and all these type of good things and I'm done. But if you do that, you can focus on a reality sort of dictated by the world at large with our version of it, so to speak. You know, we're throwing in mitzvah and everything else and still not be in tuned to what your own mission is. There's there there's a reality and there's a different reality. There's a reality and something behind the scenes. I mean, just you look around this room. We have swarm swarm beautiful ornate swarm shelves full of all sorts of swarm. Let's say I turn around to these shelves and I tell you, guess what? These swarm, they're not real. They don't exist. These fanks, they ain't there. Look at me. A little strange. Go over check it out. Right. And yet you look at me, you know, as much that could be true. I tell you there's another version out there. We're sitting in a room with nose farm with nose farm shrines. It's all your imagination. It's real, but in a different context. If I tell you that, you look at me a little strange. But yet, I'm telling you the same thing about our world. We look at the world and we say you have to make money to be successful. Hold on. There's something else happening. There's a different reality happening here. We have to pay attention to it. and he put me here on a mission and I have to do something and I don't measure success the way the world measures success. What's my mission? The mission is he created the world. The mission is there's the the mission is there's accountability. There's going to be an endgame. There's going to be mashia. There's going to be a time that the world comes to perfection. There are things along the way. How do I know the mission? Where are my mission orders? So for gave me a parts of my So can I can I interrupt you for a second because we're talking to an audience predominantly of adults, right? Most most people watching Inside Arts School are adults. They're grown, maybe married, maybe have children. These are such basic fundamentals that you would think that by the time someone is 10, 15, 20 years old and they've gone through the yeshiva system, they would understand these very fundamental concepts. We live for a reason. We don't live to make money and live an easy life. We live to accomplish. uh is praised alumin I mean it you know someone might say if you don't have this down pat but you know and on some basic level by the time you're you know whatever age you you're behind the eightball like what what's going on so and let's say we are and let's say we are so we have to but I'm just saying deep goal my goal this point is I'm kind of lamenting in a nice way that people could go through a whole educational system and still not have this ingrained in them. You want to get you don't want to go into shaky turf here, but but I will say I'm not trying to say anything controversial, right? Is that a valid point? It's a valid point. I understand that it's a lifetime work. True. But the basics internal the basics should be there that people should know. But I will say we have systems today. We have today they're doing a phenomenal job. Obviously some are better. You know, some excel, some do well, some others. We have dedicated rebayman out there. I can't tell you every situation, you know, whether every yeshiva puts priority on this, whether they don't, I don't know. I can't tell you that. I could tell you from my own limited experience that the maturity curve today is probably far behind what it was. I didn't live 50 years ago. I didn't live 20 years ago in Amir used to discuss these type of things at depth with you know tremendous depth with with the buck who came from Germany because they came with such a background. People used to grow up again going back that this was part of their life. They they they grappled with these things. Why am I here in life? This is something they ask themselves today. I think most teenagers don't really have that question. But but we're not hopeless. We may be behind the curve, but we're getting there. So, at some point, it's going to happen. Now, if Rashiva gave a schmoo in, you know, 10th, 11th, 12th grade base medish, and he didn't address it fully or he couldn't because of the maturity level, it happens. But one thing's for sure, whatever the situation is, however we got here, we have people out there who can use enrichment in these things. That I can tell you for sure. My So, my job is and I'll add and I'll add to you. Sorry. I I I will add that someone like to be able to get up after such a an unspeakable tragedy and get up by his sons and say for Claus to watch a person go through an like this and emerge with such strength that that speaks volumes you know for someone else to go around and preach amuna and preach on imam and so people you know will maybe listen maybe they won't. But when someone goes through something like that and still is able to stand up and say that that's more powerful than anything else that's why a book like this to be dedicated by him lean's son and the amazing work that you've done in elucidating it that combination is unmatched and that's why I think the safer this book is going to resonate with people on a on a different level. This is be a very special in terms of making it relevant. I would add that I had opportunity over the past two years to work at a number of opportunities of Kuk but particularly one of them is um at night I teach quite frequently the past pretty much four years at Montreal run by our school's very own Sherman son-in-law geared towards Brim who are post high school they're out of high school they are working other scenarios and they come to learn these are challenging crowd they have questions and our goal always has been well we come into night every night and the boys all know the first thing is when you come to nator they're entitled to ask any question they want everything is on the table whatever you want the only thing that's off limits is people you cannot ask a question about a person but a question about any topic you want which means that on my end my job as a mechanic is to stop and think these are people here and they want answers whatever topic is if I can't explain to them quickly on the spot in terms they can understand I lost a chance and if I lost a chance I lost them and then it all spirals it's been a great experience the past couple years it's opportunity that was gifted and barashm from that I It developed really the ability it helped develop that ability within this work to really plug into other people's brains and say what bothers them how do they think and how can I put this into terms that they understand and something that will be meaningful for them that they can grab and and be tangible for them if I understand it it's great but I have to take it from there and put into their terms in their world and the people out there and when you have this crowd like that which is challenging wants answers and they're not people who necessarily of the achievement mentality so you have to be able to take that idea and put into that framework I think is something which very beneficial and really played a role in putting this work on the table in a way that will be tangible for everyone out there. Any final word that you want to say just as we close the conversation? I think the work speaks for itself. I encourage everyone to read it. Hopefully, it should enrich your life. But it's definitely true that just to go back to what you just said. The greatest, you know, we have we look to as leaders. But sometimes the biggest role models we have are the people around us. We have people everywhere. Somebody in knows how to d somebody knows how to learn. We watch them. We say he's doing something special. the regular simple yen around us can be the biggest role models if we pay attention to them. Someone like in an extreme situation. I remember years ago I was living and one of the people somebody flew to his father was not well he flew back to America. His father was he flew within back to Israel and he came in right before Shabas and then came Shabas. So he came to Shabas and he got an alo and he benched and he said thank you. I remember sitting there watching. There's somebody who just went back. His father was not old to the best of my knowledge. His father was nifer. He just went back to be with his father. His father was nif. He's coming back in a state of tragedy. And he can stand by the beam and say, "Thank you. You do everything good for me. You always take care of me." It's something a yid can do and we do it all the time. Pay attention to people around you who are doing this. And I'm talking not only about the tragedy, but the way we live our lives. the people who live, the people all around us in every sh in cloud is you'll find somebody who lives his life with a passionate purpose in life. Let's be those people. They're there. Follow them, emulate them. Live with a purpose. These are imams are here to give you a guide of how you should live your life. It's not about just saying, "I believe." It's not about just believing in Mashiach. It's great if we understand if you ask the average, "Why do we want Mashiah? What for?" And hopefully with this, he'll be able to answer. What's the goal in what am I aiming for? Am I just aiming for the luxury vacation I can't afford down here? I should get it when I get upstairs. Hopefully, you have a more mature idea than just that. These are all ideas we develop. But the the sum total of all these ideas is to give a person a way to go through life starting from today when you pick it up and look through it. Hopefully, I would hope it enriches Gladly to pick yourself up and to and to change the way you live into a into a um a better life, a motivated life, a passionate life of purpose. Just to have purpose in life to know where you're going, what life's all about. It's our life. We're living it. Do it educated. Thank you so much. Glad to be here. Thank you for the opportunity. [Music]