Farbrengen Hachnah For 11 Nissan Part 3 - Houston Texas; Rabbi Yossi Paltiel, 5783

foreign [Music] everybody listen I wonder how this works the less you sing the more I talk which is not good so uh the next time we break the room full of people and there's like four cars on them in the room everybody's got to participate in the singing or else I'll do a lot of talking I know that that's not good I I don't know how to stop but it's also not good but hi everybody I'm remembering the story I'm you know it's before PESA and before pesach is before basic is hard for Pace is hard and I don't have the language to to express that that I feel how hard peso is and nevertheless not only are you supposed to do pesach he's supposed to peso with joy and with happiness so I'm trying to find a way to communicate that and I'm having a very hard time I'm telling you I'll tell you another story laughs though I'm I'm I have a white beard I'm very young but I'm also in a bottle um so I I had the Good Fortune I grew up in Grand Heights I grew up in Davis I sat at the devil's feet I was literally in hundreds of fabrangians considering how much access to that ever I had I should be a much much bigger crosses God knows right what the children would do with one moment of which I had hundreds but when you live around that you did have a the devil was never sick he never went on vacation he was as steady as a clerk none of the rabbits were like that for 40 years plus he was always in 770 always you came into 770 you say what you knew that the river is there we all went on vacation we went to camp we came back they never went no place was a constant never changed it was always there always so there was so much and the application gave and gave and gave and gave also no rabbit fabric gave and gave and gave and uh it's really if you think about it ever the more you think about it the more you say it's not possible it's not possible one person one person did all of that it's not possible but anyway my point is this if you have thousands of moments you don't remember them all but there's a handful that you remember there's moments that you sort of they're indelibly branded carved into your awareness into your Consciousness why sometimes because they happen to you and sometimes it didn't happen to you but it sort of touched you you know and one of the moments that touched me and I I can't possibly communicate the emotion thing forwarded that they never expressed when telling the story but it was probably 1983 or 84 about 40 years ago and it was the time of the Soviet Union where he be made a Soviet Union who has Soviet Union 11 time zones right I don't know what it is but it's no longer there but during the time of the Iron Curtain time of the Eastern black the Soviet Union might as well be Mars mamish of course was very connected with the Jewish people the Soviet Union didn't really worry about that but he did more than will ever know to help them practically and spiritually this time of year and they never told the story about a Soviet Jew and I don't remember the story I don't remember what the story told there's a number of stories I never told but it may have been this one I'm saying this because I want to be honest that there was a story of a Jew who wrote that ever a letter with a child in Allah the locker question was that he had to go to work in Shabbos they wouldn't work on trumpets to throw him out of his apartment don't ask him but his job was that he was a Watchman a guard which meant he didn't have to do anything just stand in his post go in the morning come home at night and that was it so he went to work every Shabbos and he stood in his post he didn't do anything and he went home so he wrote that since he's going to work on shoppers even though he's not doing any malakas but maybe somebody will pass by who knows that you're not allowed to work on Shabbos and he'll see him and it'll be Hashem it can make a bad representation of what Shabbos observance is so maybe his wine is today because a person doesn't keep Shabbos now the drink is wine so the Shiloh that he asked the devil was how can he make Kiddush on the wine that he holds in his hand because maybe he's a Mahalo Shabbos you understand that kind of his problem is his problem in the Soviet Union didn't do any malacha but he had to go stand in his post and he was asking them if he picks up a cup of wine and makes kiddish is he allowed to drink that wine is the wine kosher or not this is a story that everyone's told so I don't know if this was the story that ever told but I remember that it was punched under the conclusion they've been talked about Aid in Russia and a particular event that happened there may have been this story may have been a different story and that ever finished off by saying listen and then he'll have a kosher and a Happy Pizza but when it ever said the word a kosher and happy pesach it came out with a very deep crying the best point was a Jew has nothing his life is so hard and all he needs is whatever it is he needed that if he has this little tiny thing there's a kosher and a happy pesach that was trying to make the point that the Eden behind the Iron Curtain at that time needed so little to make them happy Hashem I don't know what to say about the Soviet Union now right it's a it's a sensitive subject Russia the Ukraine but the Soviet Union it's not the situation in the world today is quite different it's hard to find a place in the world we're making PESA kosher and happy is as difficult as it was 40 years ago it's easy it's easier for us it's easy for the hidden who live there it's easier for they didn't even to live there now but the genuineness of a caution I feel like a pesach you understand the MS the sincerity the the the the priority the value pesach is coming and I want to have a kosher and a happy pesach in the true sense of the word where I I enjoy pesach I keep repeating myself but I think this has to be said over and over again we should have a caution that we should sit by the center and quell which is it brother say that and enjoy sitting with our children and with our grandchildren no matter how difficult it is and take in the moment of Freedom Hashem should give us a real happy and a real kosher and a patient what can I say behind myself I think four times already right four cups four children four questions like we're here to celebrate pesach but we're also here because we're see them and we're celebrating the neighbor's birthday you and I was this I saw a film a video by the gem gives out the videos every week if I've seen that you've seen it I have no secret stash I see the same videos everybody else sees so I saw a video of a fabreg from the early 1970s maybe 72 maybe 73 Maybe 74. were a reporter a writer remember newspapers may they rest in peace remember our mother shall remember newspapers there used to be newspapers all of our children whatever he's supposed to say about newspapers but there's still apparently there's still our newspapers to see people who still read papers and get their fingers dirty with the ink but newspapers are for the most part I have been or has been but used to be newspapers the newspaper writer it came to us and during the fabrenia between the seizures were singing he walked after the rabbi was introduced by somebody important and as a writer from this paper and he told it ever that I want to make it I want to meet you I want to I want to talk to you I want to have an opportunity to sit and talk to you and understand what you're up to and what you're doing and etc etc you know so the rabbit says to this man that's not what's important look at these people and all the people in 17. look at all these people you want to interview them so he says okay I'll interview that but I want to interview you with no no interview them basically would say if you want to know what I am talk to them and he says to the devil again but I want to interview you also all I want to okay so speak to my secretary says Russian English but it ever said to this man you want to know what I am speak to the people I don't know what I'm looking 770 look at all these people I just see them so silly to describe it's so silly it's so foolish to try and give a picture what kind of person this is it's really really very silly the previous level once said to what hasid who described his father to him the previous episode you didn't describe my father you described my father in your image it's it's really silly it's really silly to attempt to describe that ever but this is true as silly as it is it never was about that ever Not For a Moment it was never about that ever you saw the video another Moment by dollars where a man walks up to the river and you see when you watch dollars if you don't know the backstory you don't appreciate what's going on a man walks up to the river and he's introduced to that by a prominent this man is so and so it is involved in this organization and the number system we met once before he says yeah yeah in 1975 I had an appointment this is 1990 it's 15 years later and the Never continues the conversation in 1975 as if the 15 years hadn't passed but now it's in public nobody could see it he says you know did every system I met you 15 I met you years ago yeah 15 year 1975 and then it will be talked about education says to him so Indianapolis starts to question him about that discussion about education and what this man has done about it in the last 15 years he's so overwhelmed that the devil should remember precisely when they had talked about all those years before and then I was continuing the conversation as if no time had passed he says remember you're amazing and then everybody says how does it help the people around us if I'm amazing that was the devil's response how does it help everybody around us if I'm amazing the important thing is we talked about education it's about education you know the problem is you got to speak and the words the words don't say what the words need to say there are no words that could say these feelings so you do your best you try to share I can feel something which is more than words there was a Jew somebody told me that before the mind if that years years ago the rabbi if I understood you correctly many years ago president came from Russia in 1972 Circa 1972 the devil was 20 years into his leadership he was already an international to have a very busy man David did not have a lot of time for people and the rep is spent many hours with professor bronifer I think he had 28 hours of private audiences for a person to arrive to the web in 1972 and have 28 hours their private audiences was unheard of there wasn't a lot of time with him and what's interesting about it is that much of the time that the rep is spent talking to president was not about you described it was about physics his field and what he was doing braniver have you ever heard him speak he's a constant number he's a big scientist a bright guy when he talks about that but he's as radical as all of us he's fanatic his hasidis his his sense of appreciation of the Transcendence of the rebels who knows nothing and is naive and thinks the lab is never been never like that and it's not that far from the truth he speaks about the devil but he knows it from experience I mean he has a story that he tells that did any proposals he was doing this he's trying to create energy that's his business right trying to create energy the problem is that you want to create energy you need to use energy and if it takes more energy to create the energy then the energy outputs it's a waste of money so you want to create energy you should take less energy to produce more energy and that's the whole trick if you can figure out how to use this much energy to create twice as much energy or even 10 more it's worth it you know he was in a field that was trying to develop energies using uh melted metal plasma I don't know exactly what it's called it's a seven-syllable word his field of science don't ask me to pronounce it but Magneto whatever Hydro Hydro means liquid metal right that's what it means so anyway so the rabba asked him to show his proposals his scientific proposals and he tried to explain to them is not going to understand it's it's abstract it's Facebook it's like reading medical journals you know it's possible to understand it and that episode I want to see it anyway that ever engaged him and he showed that his proposals and did Abby showed an incredible understanding for the field and a very very quick and thorough grasp and he was he was amazed by the devil's understanding but at one point he gave it up a proposal never looked through it and it was turning pages of a of a scientific proposal all written in Greek it's all code and there have been stops at some point it says one of these two numbers is wrong he's turning Pages like a child looks at a book of fairy tales and he said whatever tells him one of these two numbers is wrong and he tries to explain to that evidence that's very very unlikely because they didn't just compute these numbers with a pencil at the back of it and you know what I'm saying it was done by super computers a lot of modern technology was used to come to these conclusions and so on okay you know if I anyway he says Brandon I heard from him myself he said it took a graduate student six months six months using super computers to find an error that had ever found at a glance they found the mistake but it took enormous amount of hours at work and machines to discover a mistake he was overwhelmed by that of his mind and he was a smart guy and next to that he was a a pygmy a clay wrencher that he was very overwhelming that happens intellect to this brain and at some point during all of these meetings that he had within ever the debit says to him I want you to know that all this time I'm spending with you is that one word you should put on film one more time all of this involvement in smart stuff you know smart people and smart stuff it's all very very important and the devil says Tim I want you to know that I'm giving you all this time and all this attention that one would you should put on film feeling that's all he cares about the the neighbor's photographer his name is he if you remember dollars he stood on the side and click click click click he tried five dollars a picture remember and we thought what a gun of you another charge you forty dollars for the same picture five dollars a picture we thought it was a steal he stood he's to keep his camera not an automatic he would keep it on uh what's the opposite of automatic uh Emmanuel you don't have this anymore why because the devil's body was fixed in one place and if he would have to you know this you know the support and shoot cameras it takes two or three fractions of a second to get it into focus and with that but you didn't have that much time so you kept it on manual and it was focused on that but click click click and if you remember dollars he would send it click click click knock I'm offended the five dollars five dollars five dollars times 36 pictures is how much how much is it 180 bucks how much is it every roll 36 click click how much you make on a Sunday it was nice yeah he told me what do you think I didn't profit and he told me by the way every week when the devil was finishing dollars they would turn to him and give him a dollar and tell him for spreading the Wellsprings to the outside he tells me I was there making a living and today was telling me I thought because it was it was spreading I see this so he told me the following story he told me I heard it from directly so the way dollars worked was you came from downstairs to upstairs right there was a men's line there was a women line but everybody came from downstairs to upstairs went down the little hallway you made it right and there was the rabbit that little room where the elevator was the devil was standing leaning on this elevated extended and he would give you a dollar he'd look into your eyes he stood behind it I have a meeting when you came up the steps you would pass the photographer before you approached that ever so he's standing there and all kinds of people are coming you know there was all the people the cheaters who came in the front door they didn't wait in line because they had some kind of connections he says he's standing and taking his pictures and a woman comes up the steps comes on the wall she's middle-aged she's clearly prominent she's dressed very well and she has enormous dignity about her important person he didn't know who she was but he could tell from her demeanor and from her dress that she was somebody important and as she passes him she says to him rabbi do not take my picture you're talking about five seconds half a minute do not take my picture with the rebbe unless I allow you to don't don't forget don't they don't just do click when I pass there's no five dollars in it for you only take the picture if I ask you to take the picture fine she walks up to the river like everybody else whatever gives her a dollar and sister brother blessing and success that was the standard that we all got from the debit even if we said nothing and she says did it have a rabbi I would like to be photographed with you took a couple hours wlcc Union of Kingston five dollars a picture so she told them don't take the picture without my permission she walks off to them as a rabbi I would like to be photographed with you look at what she wanted to take the picture with permission says to her if it will add an increase in the observance of Taylor admits as in English that's what you want a picture with me so tell me that there's going to be what you described in your life we got the picture so she turns down and system Rabbi you can take the picture and The Neighbor comes out from behind the table and stands next to this woman and poses for the picture now so where's the picture where's the picture I don't know where the picture is but I heard it from the photographer himself she did that but she says to today but she says don't take my picture she wanted she wanted permission she didn't want one of those automatics she wanted permission Rabbi I want to be photographed you sure no problem but tell me you'll be a better Jew so she says okay I'll be a better jewer than ever supposed to ever posed for a photograph of the woman you know I've had opportunity I've had opportunity to fabrain with people who come to the oil I would imagine everybody has been to the oil multiple times we all come to the oil with a laundry list you know we're all comforted with a laundry list I need this and I need this I kept it over to look at this all the time and I go there I live in New York I go there all the time we all have needs I want I want I want I want and why do people go to the oil why do people go to the oil why do people why you go to the oil anytime day or night there's people there and most of them don't look like habadness some of them are not even Jewish many of them are not what we would call religious everybody goes to the oil everybody comes to the oil some people go to the oil in the middle of the night hoping they're not going to get caught because God forbid some of that Community should find out they went to the oil they bump into their neighbor who also came in the middle of the night so nobody should catch him so they have a seat why do people come to the oil why it's not complicated people come to the oil because it works people come to the oil because they're worse something is on your heart you come you're unload and it's better whatever it is people come to the oil because it works ask them people don't come again and again and again and they're coming because the oil works so I was I spent the shop it's not long ago with a group of people at the oil and everyone that explains why they're there I need this and I need this and this we all need we all need and God knows we need the devil would say we're all entitled you know for us to say we're entitled a little bit of Christmas say every Jew is entitled The Yamada says the gamada says the talmud says do you understand Yiddish a feast like the meal that Solomon made when he built the first temple is insufficient for a Jew what is the Jew entitled to this is the last year war if you hire a worker and you don't set what you're going to give him for lunch you'll never be able to pay your debt because you have to give it more than two what does every Jew entitled to the Feast of every guest they have to bring here if they shut the different animals they give them tongue with mustard a Jewish entitled to everything but we we know what can I say yeah we have many needs and many wants so one of the things that's real that's true and it's important is that Apple also has many knees in many wants and did Abbas needs a very simple not a complicated man the devil's needs of the dev is wants and the rep is demand and there should be an increase in Taylor misses each person his level each person on her level we come with our McGillis you know with all the things we want and eat and we come because it works the Deb is a wonderfully kind and ever and Hashem gave him unbelievable powers but is whatever wants from us and that ever wants we should be more Yiddish there were ones that are Yiddish guide should be energetic and alive and fresh you know the Jews unfortunately now deceased he passed away relatively Young his name is Moshe yes have you heard of Maisha yes once upon a time it was the megamo duo and then he became the Maisha yes uh solo I don't know how you say it Uno motion yes was a very very talented musician and a composer he was really entertaining in the 80s and the 90s and Moshi s was a big part of the Jewish music scene so why she has probably has a song which is the most famous of all of his songs it's called My Daddy it's an incredible piece unbelievable it's very very poignant and it's the story of the American Jewel you're not a song right my zadian came to us to Europe from Europe with us to America and we were as they used to say in the old America we're busy we're trying to build a life for ourselves and he was still busy with his Shabbos and we're just fill in and with his kishke and with his mate and the zedi kept us in line you know we were becoming American the golden Medina the golden land with golden opportunity golden opportunity with Jewish people who came from Eastern Europe found in this country it's not to be believed the poverty and the ignorance and the hate the Jewish people in Eastern Europe suffered and they come to this country and this they hate cannabis be compared and the poverty the opportunities to not live in abject poverty and the ability to get educated to really understand your name you know how many people how many Jews went to Ellis Island and they signed their name with an X because they literally did not know how to write this country gave opportunity to the millions of Jews and it's it's true it's been very kind to anybody who has come to this country and certainly been kind to the Jewish people so you come to this land and you want to take advantage of the opportunity I can I can live and say this saying wait a minute don't forget about shopping list don't forget about kosher don't forget about the feeling don't forget about pesach yeah yeah yeah you're right right very very important it's America and zadie is screaming come sit and have a piece of Google and we're saying there's a ball game on we're saying there's an opportunity there's a chance there's an opportunity to get ahead to be more successful so he has this song called my zadie and the spirit of the song miserium everybody will give a different version of it but the way I hear the song when I listen to my daily is that nobody came to America and said I don't want to be fruit nobody came to this country and said I'm done with God I mean you hear stories but a lot of stories but the song My zadie does not depict the European Jewish communist country and say thank God I'm done with the beard thank God no more shato thank God no more it was simply that they were busy they were busy taking advantage of what they call the American dream the opportunity that America provide for immigrants is unimaginable and anyone else trying to get ahead the parents worked like slaves they sent their kids to public school and the kids got an education and they were smart and they grew up and they got higher education they became very successful people and there's a second generation there's a third generation of the fourth generation so the the highlight of that song the most important words in that song My zadie these words as Eddie passes away the kid goes to camp and said he passes away and then he sings you can stop talking I would really really appreciate it I don't know the noise is coming from One Direction so it's not like a guy like a whole conversation going on if you could wait till I'm finished a few more minutes and I'll stop but you can continue your conversation I'd appreciate it he says I don't know how or why came to be it happened slowly over many years we just stopped being Jewish this is what the devil used to call the American Holocaust nobody killed us we didn't kill ourselves we didn't kill God it just happened we just didn't have time we couldn't pay attention we couldn't get around to it you know everybody comes to this country you want to build a career you want to build a family you want to build a show you want to build a community so what goes first on the list or go second on the list what goes third of the list was fourth of the list the first was opportunity Finance guilt and the second was family I mean the old days family still mattered tragically I don't know how you say it today the world has gotten so much crazier but time you got to item three or four which was send my children to Yeshiva and teach them nobody stop being Jewish it happened it happened slowly slowly we're wonderful people we're good Jews but we didn't get around to it we did get around to it and we listened to the song and we understand this is the story of millions millions millions of American Jews millions of America a lot of people in this room are the descendants of those Jews who've had to find their way back clawing and fighting for a Jewish identity because their grandfather or their great-grandfather didn't have any problem with Yiddish guy you just didn't have time he couldn't get around to it he couldn't find a few minutes to think of Yiddish kite as a priority as an IL kid and the truth of the matter is so you see this is a story about a Jew who's not keeping Shabbos not keeping kosher and he explains to you I didn't stop it happened slowly I didn't even watch it happen how do you say this song in a Hasidic form how do you say this song the way you say the song is you go to Yeshiva Yeshiva you're on fire Yeshiva is an incredible opportunity for boys and for girls and I would argue the highlight of the Yeshiva experience is the fabregion and there are many of them maybe too many we sit around and you create an energy you create a fire create a passion for you this guy is and then he got married and then you gotta you gotta make it The American Dream Is Ours and there's so many things we need to do they're very very important and for some of us we make a list of priorities of course we keep Shabbos of course we keep kosher of course we put on the film of course we're going to show but with our heart with our passion passion and for some of us our passion is in other places and there's not enough passion left over for this and slowly you know Yeshiva and I must be a really wanted to tell us that we like really really bad you know like the worst insult is a person who likes his life and doesn't want it to change it's available when you're young you're chasing the dream you're trying to create a life for yourself and then you make it and you have a life and all you want everything you can say the same just every I got I like where I am and I wanted to stay I'm alabus the whole definition of Casitas is that you never like who you were and you always want things to change and for a for for a married man or woman with children or family to have enough kayak and time in mind for fire for fire of Yiddish guide fire of Casitas fire of a Muna joy in amidstler could you imagine could you imagine if each one of us adults came to the Sages with the same excitement as our little kids can you imagine if each one of us Bubba Says ate this I'm already a grandfather I'm in that stage came to the stadium with as much excitement as my five six year old grandson and granddaughter they're naive right and we're sophisticated that's not the truth that's all they have and we got stuff you see this is what that ever wants this is what it ever wants this one that ever what does it ever won from us that everyone wants is on fire watch the fire the fire is of course the debit will not satisfy be satisfied unless you give them out to somebody else and they never created a new to see this see this begins but we have today has to include us as we prepare to experience another allowedness and to say again for the 120th time 121st time is basically means I'm not going to tell you the whole story because I have to sit down into this world who gained the most who was the greatest beneficiary of the English they got Almighty placing in the context of a holocaust and a and a spiritual Holocaust from the Soviet Union and his spiritual Holocaust in the United States a collapse of Jewish life and tradition and continuity that's historic historic I asked my students all the time ask my students all the time how many of you can trace their roots in the land that they live currently 100 years if you made a million Jews ask each one of them how many of them can say 100 years ago my zaida and Bubba lived in the same place where I live it's a small percentage a tiny percentage when you move people you take away from their Roots you tear the roots out and in this world one man one man I said fix it [Music] do a favor the real answer the question he did himself a favor Yeshua means Hashem Yeshua for himself it's all his fault to ask the neighbors to shoot all the experiences the Jewish people have had in the last century and so and some yeah just go back think about the Jewish World in 1890 the whole Jewish words Eastern Europe Western Europe and now it's 2023 it's 130 something years it's unreal what's happened to the Jewish people and the age and he thinks about each person and he finds ways of getting us little people partner with him to shine light into this unbelievable Darkness and he gives blessings and he gives so much goodness so much so much goodness so much goodness comes from this rabbit and all of us come and we have our needs and our interests what's his interest his interest is that in each one of us the fire of yiddishkai should be a little warmer the fire of hasida should be a little Mormon that's the whole game totally interested in it's always interested in we what we want from the devil we know whatever wants from us we also know and foreign foreign a little more fire a little more brain a little more priority I'll use a different word which you no longer hear in America because it's out of Vogue but it used to sit and used to be hidden used to speak this way you ever heard of what's the opposite of it if I could go buy a new car yeah is it going to have a scratch why would I buy a car with a scratch if I'm going buy myself a pierced to film is it going to be the best I'm gonna go by myself I found a matter it's gonna be the most expensive by the way the more money it costs doesn't necessarily mean it's more kosher but somehow that's how it works huh means you're doing Yiddish kite like you buy a new car it's got to be the best the Shabbos when it comes to every bit so it comes to the Satan it comes to our children education it's all that ever wants and as we get ready for it off this and I always feel this I always feel this any time we're talking about that ever not even enough any time we you and I you and us talk about that ever we're really talking about ourselves because the dev is a mirror that is absolutely transparent when you look at the Devil you see yourself around the Debbie cat live on the Debbie you can't Bluff he's not going to embarrass you by the way he'll never say why you do this he's a very nice man there's a story I'm supposed to stop talking by the way a long time ago there's a story with altered he was very close to him and now that ever told Mama to say this in judicial I'll try to translate it into English he said Pina forgive me forget this brother you got to say it near this because the English is such a poor version of it so at least the best of us foreign why someone in his town a very important man did a big of Aid a big sin how does he know it didn't catch him you could see on his face that the sky is not besided so he called him out he says how come he did such and such so instead of this guy reacting by saying you know you're right I did Nevada he began to harass the Buddhism and after that he said you know what he deserves it who asked him to speak he said I see it I keep my mouth shut you understand I see it I keep one of the greatest things about that ever he sees that he keeps his mind he's never going to call you out but we know we know about the nature of our relationship with the Devil we talk about giving them a gift for his birthday this is really what it comes when we're kids in Yeshiva all we have is that that's what we live with so of course for the name of his birthday because it have a gift whatever the gift is when we're married with Children we have to make a living and it's hard and we're fatiguez there's not enough time there's not enough energy there's not enough brain space for all the things we need to do the gift that the devil wants is that more of us should invest more of ourselves because this is the greatest gift we can give than ever they tell a story about them I'm Castleman who passed away over 50 years ago he came here to the river for yegridis and in the uh he told them that one of the boys in his Yeshiva every morning before he diamonds meditates and I see this for 10 minutes one of the boys every day before he diamonds things could see this for 10 minutes they did that such a big deal stood up in the middle of the stood up to show appreciation for this little piece of good news everybody schmuck a little more as they can invest that's all the boss wants and you know what it's for us we know it's for us we're the lime it's time to be quiet yeah [Music] foreign [Music]