Inside ArtScroll - Season 5 Episode 9: Rabbi David Sutton – A Daily Dose of Pesukim of Bitachon

[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 privileged to be joined by Rabbi David Sutton, prolific author and the author of the brand new daily dose of sukim of betim. How are you Rabbi Sutton? Pleasure to be back here again on the new release. Thank you. Thank you. It's amazing how you've been pumping out not just books and not just but really monumental lifechanging volumes. It's been a couple years since you put out the Balevi on with your commentary which has sold I believe around 30,000 copies. Just an incredible achievement. and uh you've put out others for him over the years including the first volume of daily dose of beten and now this new volume daily dose of sukim of beten which uh is only out a couple of weeks and it's already sold uh it's thousands of copies it's now going into second printing as of this uh conversation um so tell our reader our viewers our readers what this volume seeks to achieve so similar to daily dose of the original one which is like we say a daily dose. It's a lesson a day standalone lesson on the first volume is based on the Lovas the Lovas is monumental work on but to read it straight it's a little heavy for the average reader so we try to bring it down to today's reader and make it understandable and accessible and after that success we decided to apply it and here the background is sukum of as collected by yseop zund of Salanto is rebrol salant and the goal is that a person reads a p and familiarizes himself with a p almost that it could become his daily jingle if I take a my right I understand it and then I just say that when I'm walking in the street when I'm before before I make a business deal when I call the shad I'm just saying those and besides the fact that it arouses your bet the moral writes it's actually for success. Mhm. And I know a very successful businessman in Lakewood that tells me that in his office they're not allowed to make a deal unless they read three of before they make the deal. Yeah. It's like that's that became the part and parcel of their success. So as you go through this book some people are going to read they're going to know they're going to be familiar with right away and so on and so forth. These obsukim that that we grew up with, we say unfortunately we probably don't think enough about but then there are other many many from predominantly from that maybe we're less familiar with but you start realizing how saturated David's writings are with it was all again and again and again but you bring it out so beautifully not just explaining the puk but really elaborating and embellishing and bringing in stories and examples have no idea how you were able to put together so much information but the book is also divided into 100 chapters or so 120 chapters uh which also makes it very readable very uh you can know you can navigate it very easily maybe using it as a daily reader and things like that so this book is just what I would call the latest chapter in what I'm seeing as as a bakan revolution over the last 10 years uh and we spoke the last time we we had our an interview um about the rubashkin component where it awakened and people and noward so many shurim and books and onen that people are really connecting to and you're kind of taking people by the hand and giving them that ability to connect to such a foundational component of of our belief. This is really what you're doing. It's interesting mention to I saw after I put out the book Shashar Alf when he talks about he says that one of the ways to reach he says is by reading from he says because David was so saturated with the like he said it's just going to arouse you wow it's just it hasn't it there's a power to those it's interesting that the quotes his rebi that he used to take certain sukim and he would like I said sing them as a jing mingle during the day just just uh you're walking around just have that puss and uh we really appreciate all those those singers that make them some of them you know you say a pus say oh yeah I know that one from the song right that's true but you're saying something also that's that's I think very profound where let's say during the course of a day we don't always have time to stop people are busy they have jobs obligations they may be learning people don't always have time to sit down and engage in immerse themselves in heavy study of but could just stop and like you said before about this businessman from Lakewood stop for a second and say the and that itself like Zund says and other people bring that it's a a scholar for 100% that's it's a tremendous power that maybe people aren't tapping into now I know that this book is based on a list of as compiled by Rab Zundal Sant's rebi but there are other lists of as What are those? So the moral has a list actually this is in the order of Tanakh. Moral has a list in alphabetical and the Ramal also has a list based on Kabala Sheamus. He also has a list and we're actually working now on volume two with the Maralukim and volume three on the on the on the uh Ramalukim. And how will how will those differ from this? Just different sukim and also you'll have a commentary and explanation. Same daily lesson, same style. Wow. Okay. So, we're looking forward to that. Um, one of the people who very prominently have been bringing out messages of and he's actually been quoting from your safer and and really promoting this new book is Michael Safi who's taken the the campaign and revolution very seriously. He has uh shurim, daily 10-minute shirim. And uh I'm someone who's been listening to him from from the early days, and I brought many people on on board because he's he's he's unapologetic about the power and importance of and uh and I know you're familiar with his work and I'm just bringing out his aides as an example of how the the the message of is is connecting to people. So I want to ask you two things. First of all, what do you think his secret is as far as why he's so potent in his message? And why do you think now more than maybe the last 50 years, why now are people so connected and why is this message of seem to have a a revitalization? So I have an interesting theory. First of all to answer your first question, Michael Safia, I attribute of course etc. But a lot of the success both in the Bay Salv do is because Michael hasn't stopped pushing it. Michael's a big believer. And the reason is because the Balei is the one place that it clearly says if you rely on Hashem vada, you're going to get what you want. And the reason why a lot of people are buying into what Michael's saying, and this really goes back to our from Muny who who a little bit Michael's rebby in this area is people took the kazoneish, misunderstood it, and basically robbed everyone of So, so stop for a second because I know you and I have spoken about this the different approaches to we'll call it the nardic approach, the basi approach, and then what people perceive to be the khazro khanish approach. the word perceive. Now, now many people watching this may not be so well verssed in it. So give a a short summary of the says what is not. He says doesn't mean that everything's going to be good. So people misunderstood it as understanding. Oh, so I can't just rely on Hashem. He didn't say that. He said is not a bumper sticker in amuna. Everything will be good. That's not true. Everything's not good. And but he doesn't say that if you rely on Hashem, you're not going to get what you want. He says in quite a few places that you will get you what you want and it's throughout the reonim and so on and so forth and because of that that's like seeps into every time you want to have but maybe but maybe but maybe it won't work out maybe and that that took out that that confidence and I think what Michael's selling is that vados that confidence that you can get what you want and if you really rely and he lives it in his in his own life and his own business many stories about him that he he can he himself could tell where he just you know sat there waiting a month or two for a sale and he just that's it I am relying Hashem's my father and I'm relying on him I'm counting on him he's going to come through and today people need that and I have my own theory um I don't want to get this is really not uh we don't have the art of being you here which is another book we put out actually in the back over here we turn it over one of the books is the art of being you so the art of being you uh is a emotional wellness self-help book which you put out just several months ago for Dr. David Kenstein and Barashem it's also selling nicely and people we're living in an era of anxiety the the the numbers are have doubled in the past 10 years and the question is why is it COVID is it the fact that you have a smartphone and the whole concept of anxiety is the inability to deal with uncertainty I need to be certain I need to be certain so it used to be You could flex your toleration of uncertainty. You go out in the morning. Uh what's the weather going to be like? I have no idea. Okay, take my umbrella. I'll deal with the uncertainty. What time am I getting here? So, I have to get it today. I called you and I said, I'll be here at 8:47. The way said that. No, the there's no living with uncertainty. Everything has to be certain and that causes anxiety because you can't always be certain and that's why people need more and we do need certainty and what Michael's selling is certainty. Mhm. Vadi. I want to be vadi. I want to be vadi. I don't want to have you know there's always you know the clause and the condition and the this and the that. No, I want to know that there's something that I can rely on for sure. That sounds so so the obvious question is the the skeptics we'll call them the detractors will very often say you know what maybe we're scared to sell that version of as much as it's documented in our cif from in in to the to the bi and so on the the very clearly state that that you can rely underm unquestionably but the skeptics will say you know maybe I don't want to call him Texas Misha Feinstein did not like pushing this approach even is it because they were they were concerned that people would not have bonafide and then they become disillusioned because they say here I am I relied underum and and I'm not and I'm not I'm not getting the payday right right right 100% and it to segue from that I once asked the big Um, and I never got really got a straight answer why. And I wonder if it's true for your So you learned by you learned by big. Um, but I could say in the mainstream system, we don't really learn about him. Now Raulba interesting saves bucken for like all the way at the end of the cafer like he believes that it's something that people his line is there's no area that people fool themselves more than in Is that right? Yeah. And and because because they think they're relying on that real and they're really not. It's laziness. It's it's you could use it to cover all kind of things. So it's it's an elusive uh trait and they were afraid you know sell tell a guy be taken he's not really holding. It's it's and that's why like Michael always says if you rely on your brother capital I capital F. That's one of Michael's lines. And that if is a very big if because very often like you're saying people think they're relying. But when push comes to shove, they're also relying on whatever they're doing or their boss or their friend or or a wealthy patron, whoever it might be, which by definition means they're not fully reliant on and that's who you're saying that that's why people are are skeptical, scared, hesitant to teach that form of why why would you be confident that we could promote promote well that type of and not be concerned about people becoming disillusioned. I always say that there are levels but you it's just like when you learn mash teaching baba we're getting to to kaduca then we're not holding there but like the commentary says you have to know it exists. People should know that there is a bet out there that is you know proven and guaranteed. You might not be holding there but aspire for it right and know there are people that have it and live by it even today. But I want to add something if I may that I think there's a misnomer. Michael has po pointed this out. You pointed out in your swar that the there's somewhat of a mistake here. Bakan is not the magic pill to get what you want. That's not why we work on that's not why we have the key to is the connection to 100%. Right. The the the getting what we need. That's that's says that's just that's the carrot, right? It's just a little he says bad you be talking shouldn't get you anything but you're not going to do it. So we give you a little something. Exactly. So that's really the key. It's it's it's that connection to Hashem and and like all the talk about the is the prize. The prize is the serenity and the peace of mind that a person who has experiences and whether he gets what he expected or not that's that's that's all supplemental. That's secondary. Right. And um and I think that's very important to frame it like that because then people realize what the gift of bakan is. I'll add one other thing that you actually bring in the safer that the brisker says that the greatest reward for having is more 100%. Instead of thinking that in every case okay the got me through this situation he got me to shak this time he got me parnasa this time but I don't know what's going to be next time. The briskarov says that the greatest reward for bakan is that you'll have more baken in the future and and and again this is part of this discussion of having that constant peace of mind and serenity and and ultimately that's the goal of this safer and your other sarim right the hedition and the hass edition so um but talk about that for a second that that at the end of the day the greatest gift of bakan is the connection to hashem and the gift to have in the future. No, the the mesh says the source of the Torah is both that the connection that you have, right? We're we don't realize like the all the farms say that when a person has a problem, the goal is to work on it's just the problem is there just as aims to get you to work on right that's what we want. You're missing the point if you think oh you know like this is one of my favorite stories. Yeah. I'll indulge you. It's in the uh living be talking for children book. Yeah. That the um the narcasers were in the forest and during one of the wars they had no food. They went a whole day fasting. They go to sleep at night no food. They get up the next morning sh it's the second day. They haven't eaten. Comes ma still no food. Their mom is crying out to Hashem. And as the sun's setting, a a truck full of potatoes is going down the road. It hits a bump and a sack of potatoes falls off. I heard this from by Ginsburg. I think it's Leia Rabinowitz's father. I think I think Leia Rabinowitz. That's Gabrielle Ginsburg. Yeah. From Toronto. Yeah. So I heard the story from him and I never heard any sort of print or anything just from him. And the uh so the sun sets, they go and they get the bag of potatoes and they peel it and they make soup and everyone eats supper. Now when they dive a mar it's not with the same screaming as as the mina was. Sal gets up and says if you gave up your for a sack of potatoes the goal was the potatoes that wasn't the goal. The goal was the vitan. That's great. I think one of the reasons why people struggle also with is like the says in where he talks about and he says that people struggle and this is the age-old question asked and and the delineates five reasons or so why sadikim struggle in this world and then six reasons or so why rish prosper in this world and very good men, women who are just trying to do the right thing and they're struggling whether with a livelihood or you know whatever it is and they say you know I'm trying my best and and it just things don't seem to be going my way and then they look at and they seem people who are maybe on a lower level of who seem to be prospering and doing well and and people really struggle with that and I think whether people want to admit it or not that's one of the biggest impediments to them really internalizing and trusting that is orchestrating every single component of this world that we can't even lift a finger without enabling us to do so and I know this is a a loaded question but having written these far how how would you answer someone who posed that question to you you know that is the question that Mosher Rabeno asked there really is no answer to this question. It's one of the most difficult questions and people that are suffering, you know, they're just they why is this going on, right? Why is this why is this happening? What's, you know, what's going on? And there is no good answer. We don't have an answer for them. Why is this going on? And like you said, sometimes it's going on for the struggle itself that they don't realize this point. To me, that's the most potent answer is that you don't know what your struggling is doing now. You don't know what you're accomplishing with this. You think you're writing the road map. You think if only I would have this and have that and have the other thing. Now the question is what do you mean? But I thought gets what I want to have. So again, do you have we don't know and also there's an unbelievable leashm that says that when a kadesh doesn't want someone to have something he's not going to allow him to have. Mhm. So he'll make the guy depressed. He'll take away his because ultimately you can't like you said it's not the magic button. You're going to outsmart God if he doesn't want you to have it. He won't let you have I mean the Kazones didn't have children you know uh the the people died in Wasim and died in the Holocaust. Did he not have bet? Sure. Right. So the answer is that died you know. So we made a noise and he you can't you can't beat the system. Right. Right. Right. That that that's an important point. People look at like you're saying is not a way to beat the system. Right. You mentioned few people in history have lived more tragic or difficult lives than David and yet he is the one beautiful who wrote but I'm saying he suffered so much and it didn't say oh look I'm you know if I'm suffering must be there's something wrong with me you know he suffered so much and and uh and he produced what he produced it wasn't uh and it's it's important to understand this that we at the beginning the I'm sorry not beginning at at the end the close you both write the highest level he says is he must earn you're giving yourself over to Hashem the B writes this also I don't have an opinion I don't have an opinion that's and he says that's why the lesson we used to learn great they said I I'm going to start you know what's good so I'm not even going to maybe the didn't even didn't even use talking for children he didn't he it's hard to fathom right but he says they didn't want to be matriarch you know what's good I I'll leave it to you. Interesting. One of the other things that people very often think about that that hold them back from really relying is that they say I'm not worthy. You know, various things like that, but the famously said Russia, right? even if he's a Russian even if he's a Russian that that's the power of now you have to understand how someone could really have true if they're Russia right and so on and so forth but theoretically one's you know a mitzvah scale has really nothing to do with is an independent power if someone is really reliant and I would use the word surrender someone really surrendered to that's the that's the power and I I find that in your new book in your new safer that this is a constant message of of when you really surrender you really rely on you you merit that that transformational feeling of of being enveloped by the love and care of the and then however things play out you know you know that that you're in the best possible hands that's really what I think this book is going to do to people when people pick it up they're going to emerge even after reading just a few chapters as as It's interesting. Um, Ravulba has a pamphlet that was put out by the Sans Cloenberg Lenato Hospital in Tanya and they had different speakers goes back 40 50 years ago and they put out a pamphlet of different speakers. Revol was one that spoke to a group of psychiatrists and psychologists about mental health and religion and spirituality. And he says there that he found that people are the depressed reading them. He says he did it himself. If you read a puzzle be talking with feeling enthusiasm, he could take a person out of his depression. Really? Wow. He says he he saw it himself. Actually, I learned in Bayakov. Byakov was down the road. There was a there was a mental hospital down the road from from they used to sometimes inmates or whatever call them inmates, patients would would even walk into the yeshiva. Wow. But um he he had a lot to do with mental health and he had people that were you know severely depressed and he he saw that with Suki he could pull you out. It's interesting when I I was in Bayyako at the tail end 1981 I think it was when Arva decided to leave Bayako and I came to him when I heard that he was leaving and I just started to get close to him I I I was crying and I said what should I do and he saidd I said what do you mean he was the first one who who read to me and said use that for your h Oh, I wanted to mention this book has been sponsored by our good friend. He sponsored Zerimshin. He sponsored art schools Majam and uh it's a tremendous uh it's a tremendous that he has to be able to be maritz this type of work. There's a beautiful dedication. He dedicated this book in honor of the October 7th heroes. Right. It's worth buying the book just to read the dedication. It's beautiful. Um and I just wanted to really kudos to him for stepping up to the plate and and he and he dedicated this with a passion with an interesting how I met him. Okay. There's a dish in all in all in everything especially when you're working on and you see it. So I'm looking for a sponsor. there's a lot of time and effort and work that went into this book and um I called one person he wasn't sure and I had called uh Aaron Ladawitz to tell him that that uh you know I'm working on this book he said oh by the way just put out uh from the back of the bay levy he put out the list of sukum to give out by his son Ellie Malik bar mitzvah said oh great so I called up and I said oh very nice you know I called I never really talked to him and he says oh would you like to have some he says yeah Of course, he went dropped 10 off at my house. The thin little pamphlet with the hard cover. Beautiful. That uh by the way, it's I think it's a great item to give out by Simas is a ther in the back. The thin list in the back of the B. So he gave them out. Okay. Very. And he gave and he gave me a copy. So I called him up to thank him. He said, "What more can I do to work on my puk?" That's what he asked me. I have this short commentary. I said, "Well, I'm actually I'm working on a book to develop it." She says, "Uh, how much time you need? Six months." I said, "No, actually six weeks." He says, "Six weeks? My son's bar mitzvah is in six weeks. If you could have it out by the bar mitzvah, I want to sponsor this." Wow. And sure enough, it came out Friday. His son's mitzvah was on Sunday and he gave them out by his son's absolutely is a tremendous and he's anything that could be people and uplift people, he's there to make it happen. And he and he made this book happen. And I had a similar experience with the basi where originally my friend Mr. Sam Sassin was was dedicating it and he was fully behind it and then our dear friend Mitch Newman was on his own working on a translation of the Basavy heard about it said how could this be I want to put out bas and someone else is doing it he called me up he said here's the manuscript that I worked on for two years and I don't know how much money put into it just whatever you could do please use some of it right and we use some of his his his work in there and then he called me up he says it's not enough I have to have a in the ble I said, "I must." He said, "I owe the Basil lady my life. I have to do something for the Basil lady." And I said, "I'm sorry. I have a dedicator." He says, "Can I speak to him?" I said, "Okay, I don't." I said, "I called Mr. Sass. I said, "You want to speak to him?" He says, "Okay, I'll have some fun, you know, let me speak to this guy." He was not interested. Much begged and pleaded and begged. I didn't even know this part that he begged him to be a pleaded to be a co-sp. Wow. And now he dedicated the basi on a rich and we're working on another now and right so we're looking forward to a trilogy all three essays to together it's going to be something special. When do you eat and sleep? Rabbi Satan, this is this is all it's a labor of love. A labor of love. A labor of love. This is unbelievable. You're doing so much for people. And you you know you mentioned the that is an antidote to anxiety, to depression. It it really I've heard firsthand cases from professionals. We're talking about therapists, psychologists of people grappling with anxiety uh for different issues. And and it's it's really it's not just a figment of people's imagination. Right. I I would still want to stress don't think a person who has an anxiety disorder could do this alone. Right. Right. Not alone. In consultation with professionals, but if it's a tyrant professional, Yes. they could really diagnose where either as a replacement for medication or in conjunction with medication or whatever it is. This is this is the the key to to peace of mind and serenity is making the study of amun an integral part of our lives. Again, not to get what we want but to connect but but to connect and to get that uh serenity in and and you're enabling that. Um so on that note, any final any final thought or story a word of something that you could share from the new book? So interesting is these sukum in the back that like you said there's sukum we never even heard of you know I I shouldn't say we never heard of but like I never heard of there's uh there's a discussion over here um in the back it's a story of where he had all the kings around him he didn't know what what was going to and how he uses the van, right? That's a PK we say every day, right? It's it's it's brought down. I think it's in it's brought down the postkim that when we we sit for because we we stood and now what else do we do? We don't know what do we're going to sit and now what else do we do? We don't know what else to do. That's why it's brought down in when you say to stand up, right? So this comes from this story over here. And to me, what the most beautiful part of this book is, and it's I'm talking to myself, is I didn't know the background of the psukin. You read a puss and you don't realize where was David when he was writing this puss. What was going on? Oh, he's probably by a banquet. No, he's in a desert without anything to And that brings the the puss alive. That's to me the most to me like I you know to is this concept when you read a p and you see what was go nothing prevents hashem from saving whether through many or through few okay that would be a great you're right when when we say so we know he was in a we know he was in the depths of despair but I think today is coming here yes he's he's scheduled to come M tell him this would be a great I think you should give him a copy of the book and say make some I didn't know this this is on the mar songs out of these yeah I didn't know this it's a pusk over here in eve okay I'm not an eov expert but after the mish and after everything comes comes I in this uh in the book and give me a second to find it there's a pusk over here oh where's okay let me find one second give me one Oh 11:18, you would be confident for there would be hope. So the famous song, I didn't know it's it's it's so we we don't know how many of these what's going on in the and if we could make it our staple, you know that you now you know that song. It's a song. You know that puk and you're able to uh to live it. It's beautiful. David, thank you for the thank you for the information. Thank you for bringing out this topic in a in a very relatable, understandable way. You're enriching so many people uh with with the gift of the it's a gift. It's actually we'll discuss we might as well discuss over here when we'll get a response from the from the listeners. So in the in the back of the bay salvia in his back of this book, we have a list of sukim with a short commentary. It's 100 uh there's a total of uh 120 or so sukim 125 something like that 120 sukim the moral has another list of 100 plus sukim the ramal has a list of another so there's someone that came to you and said you know I would like if you just put all the with a short commentary make a small like almost carry with you booklet that you have all theukim that exists a full comprehensive list of sukim with a short not a lesson a day that you're going to get involved in the lesson but just to use it as a as a companion reader. That's another idea. Another idea that that that's in your uh in the in the in the works in the hopper. But if there's anyone out there in uh in the that says, "Hey, I I like that idea." Send send an email to whoever it may be to let us know at Art School. At Art School, you like the idea. Wow. I I love the idea. I think this is great. And uh you tremendous uh tremendous achievement. And Cla Israel is indebted to you. you're you're you're helping so many people uh connect in this unique way and we thank you for your past contributions. We give you a braha on your future contributions. You continue in your and we always uh we always feel honored to have you here. So, thank you for coming in. Thank you. [Music]