Broadcast to the World | Rabbi Efrem Goldberg

In the moment we face a temptation, our Yetzer Hara works by telling us, Does it really make a difference if you turn away and don't look? Does this moment really matter in the greater scheme of things? And the answer is Every expression of self-control is the biggest news story there is. You know, the bigger a news story, the more prominent the person making the announcement. So if it's a regular news story, the anchorman can announce it. But sometimes something so significant happens, it's broadcast from the Oval Office, the president himself. The Gemara in Psachim tells us that שלושה, there are three individuals, HaKadosh Baruch Hu is מכריז עליהם בכל יום, that the Almighty himself broadcast to the world their significance. It's a top story that the world needs to hear. Who are these three individuals? One is a wealthy man, who chooses to donate to charity in a private and modest way. The other is a poor individual, an indigent, impoverished person, who doesn't know where his next meal is coming from. And when he finds something, nevertheless, he works to return it to its rightful owner. And the third is a bachelor, a man who lives in the big city, who has every opportunity to indulge in behaviors that he shouldn't, and he shows self-control. Now, I understand the rich man, who’s entitled to give publicly and chooses to give modestly and privately, I understand why Hashem broadcast to the world how special he is. But the other two. The poor person who returns the lost object is just doing what's right, what's correct. The private individual, the bachelor, the man who lives in the big city, who acts in a righteous way, is just doing what's expected of him. Why are these two individuals included in the top headlines, the top stories that Hashem broadcast to the entire world? The answer is because for Hashem, there is nothing greater and more significant, nothing He takes more notice of or looks at more highly than the moments we show self-restraint. We live in a time that people indulge, they post and they share and they experience and they pursue every pleasure. But when we have the capacity to hold back, to show self-restraint, to close our eyes or turn away, to click or X out of that window, to not notice that thing coming our way, to not indulge in that pleasure, no matter how badly we want it in that moment, Hashem takes notice and he’s מכריז. מרכז, it is the center, it is a centerpiece for Hashem, and he broadcasts it for the whole world to see. He notices and we have to know how powerful each and every moment is. How much every one of them counts. Because if we understand the power of every moment, we’ll live every moment to its fullest.