CHAZAQ's Torah Talks #122 Rabbi Marc Volk - Spiritual Engagement

I was standing outside with two of my younger generation and they said Rabbi Volk do you think you would want to be a member of two of our clubs I say what are they so they said BFF best friends forever and BFFL best friends for life I said I would do anything to gain admission to these clubs well dual respect this is so important the focus of these personal relationships and the extension of these relationships [Music] Tuesday night program with special guests we have with us Rabbi mark volkshlita bark about welcome how are you nice to see you Rabbi great to see you as well once again and that we're gonna be speaking about spiritual engagement but before we get to the topic we get a little bit background about the great work you're involved with uh I've been I've been privileged to be the rabbi of the youngest of America for 22 years I'm now the rabbi emeritus and in addition to being the spiritual leader of the young Islam Merrick I had the privilege of serving as the executive director of the American friends of Yeshiva Karen biavna Shiba Karen is the first Heather Yeshiva which was established in Eris Israel and the focus of karamiyavna is that the Israeli talmudum the Israeli students serve as members of the Israel Defense Force in conjunction with their learning in the Yeshiva and this type of message and focus is very significant to any number of North American parents who send their who have sent their sons to Karen bayabna at this point since 1954. um so in the course of my work with Cameron boyabner for 24 years and in my work for a number of years with the National Council Young Israel as its executive director uh that's where I met you that's what we met so I have literally visited the majority of North American for lack of a better term modern Orthodox communities in the context of their shoes and schools for many years amazing amazing the rabbi gives lectures and classes and inspires the masses as we say to you for all the great work that you do so being that you've been traveling all over the place and you get to meet a lot of communities and individuals what would you say in your opinion is one of the biggest challenges that we have today in our generation one of the biggest challenges that we have is to determine with love and embrace that the moon of connection is about love and embrace that's the rad based organization that's my organization and it's similar to with a different audience it's similar to what habbatical accomplishes and what a chateau accomplishes perhaps what kazak accomplishes and my good friend Rabbi frying bookwall who's the director of the National Jewish outreach program so the audience there are perhaps are very special Jews who are maybe unaffiliated and uneducated about Torah and mitzvos the audience with great respect and admiration um that I am dealing with are Jews who maybe have education but maybe are not acting on all the aspects of the educational experience that they have had so the biggest challenge in general and I and I I created the immuno connection because my focus is about our focus is about raising the spiritual bar really of all Jews we've you and I have talked about this so that's what we want to do we want to see if we can raise the spiritual bar of all Jews to make them think about and maybe this is my conclusion three important relationships these relationships represent the essence of who a Jew is the relationship between man and Hashem God focus of the Ten Commandments perhaps between one Jew and another it could even be one Jew and another individual irrespective of whether he's Jewish or not and perhaps most importantly and the question is is this relationship first or third what we call being Adamo eye of between man and I I have demonstrated to students during the course of my teaching career I've taken I've taken a phone to my ear and I've said the following hello Rabbi Volk how are you today or hello Mark Volk how are you today what did you accomplish today did you just sit and watch television read the newspaper or did you emerge from your seat in response to to items that are happening in the world visiting the sick comforting the mourner taking great pride in Houston a bride and groom becoming married and rep and being representatives of in truth Future Leaders of the Jewish people if you hear that someone is just maybe not feeling so well are you calling him and the opportunity within the realm of amuna I think we have we I think we met once I could be wrong at a million in ezros the minion house here in Kew Gardens castrator excuse me I think that's where we met I'm there a lot because my schedule is very very uh over the place the fact that they have so eating meaning someone for the first time is it just happenstance no it's a blessing from Hashem that's right beautiful Rabbi there's many ways that people could Define imuna and your organization is a Muna connection what is the rabbi's uh definition what would you say I've give I've I've taught I have spoken about DNA and there are and I and I've said it as follows that there are three types of DNA professional DNA uh an individual let's say he's Jewish so he or she becomes a doctor a lawyer a dentist a therapist a computer specialist a finance specialist but in so doing he has this passion to achieve so much in his in this professional Arena professional DNA family DNA we love our spouses so much our children our grandchildren our cousins our grandparents father-in-law mother-in-law we would do anything for them at the drop of a hat family DNA so what about the spiritual DNA so I have shared the following rabbinic opinions about spiritual DNA the word or Main is as follows the perhaps the average fellow Jew with due respect says amen is recited so you'll say Amen amen and or even not he'll say the word on Main so a main there are three words which evolve from those letters Hashem is a faithful King Ruff Stein's outside so of blessed and righteous memory says that the word or main is derived from imun this is magnificent I must say imun means training that the Jew trains himself or herself to understand the outer world just as much as the inner world the inner world may be more about himself or herself what about the outer world if I would leave this facility right now and I and I view I've said this in school and you and I view the foliage the beautiful trees and vegetation that's part of the creation of the universe that's the that's the that perhaps that's the outer world so that's training yourself to appreciate who Hashem is an a moon sort of Stein's outside quotes near zone of liadi the first laboratory who says that our main is derived from Aim craftsmanship the craftsmanship with your professional DNA and maybe the craftsmanship now with your family DNA are you crafting a mindset about thinking about who Hashem is all the time particularly with the mitzvos of the Torah moshiki beltoramicinai the first mission of percivals of ethics of the father in which we say that Moshe receive a Torah C9 what happened there was that a one-time event 3300 years ago or so the mishnah says that that the Torah was transferred to yahushua to zakening to the elders so is the Torah moves what about the next mission the next mission is everything we're about the next mission is that what rip Sherman says ourselves made that the world is based on three things Torah learning Torah avoda the rambam talks about Avada the service of the heart are we communicating with Hashem in the form of Prayer any type of prayer personal communal and Community loving kindness is the person proactive in visiting the sick comforting the mourner taking great pride in the simcha of a of a bride and groom becoming married and the thinking about a barabat Mitzvah Bar Mitzvah boy Bar Mitzvah girl when a baby is born a baby naming for a girl Etc so this is really a more in-depth focus of amuna it's very nice very Volk very very impressive so uh we know that um there's many challenges what are the challenges with regards to instilling in Muna in the younger generation whether it's via the parents [Music] I must say I'm getting a bit emotional these children who go to Day School modern Orthodox day schools modern Orthodox high schools for that matter Public School if they're born of Jewish parentage if they emerge out of Jewish parentage they're not just students as I have said the precious Treasures they're precious gems they are so special that I really feel and I've done this myself when a teacher encounters a class does he or she say hello to the entire class I humbly articulate the following I've been accustomed to going to every student hello hello Moshe hello Sora Rifka Louise Henry it doesn't matter every student possible to show the to demonstrate perhaps a proactive relationship that should be created between connection connection between the rabbi the Mora the female teacher and or maybe and plus the chemistry teacher the sociology teacher the global studies teacher the physics teacher so very important and his father and mother must do his or her utmost to make sure that particularly when they get home from work and they they work hard and they may be tired to devote some time to their children in the evening help them with the homework if nothing more than a hello how are you sweetheart how was your day as opposed to continuing their work on the phone or whatever else so the immune connection focuses on the embrace of the pulpit Rabbi of the of the mechanic the educator the rebbe the Mora the general teacher and parents and grandparents to love these children so much I humbly submit the following I spoke in my show Once about love and life and I said that there are four words that evolved from Love L life o order V Vitality no question about it an e event or Enigma sometimes there's a puzzlement but if you figure out the puzzlement it could be a great success that's love life love insight F fun or finesse and once again event or enigma and I will never forget this after a call Nidra service in my school I was standing outside with two of my younger generation at that time students children of my of my of my members who are now once married with her own child and another one is dating in the hope that she's going to meet her Bashar and they said Rabbi Volk do you think you would want to be a member of two of our clubs I say what are they so they said BFF best friends forever and BFFL best friends for life I said I would do anything to gain admission to these clubs so after I said that they said you're a member don't worry you're a member we're enrolling you so we do respect this is what this is so important the focus of these personal relationships and the extension of these relationships my very good friend Rabbi Allah the Young Israel of Century City has indicated to me in his if I'm not mistaken Rabbi muskin if you hear this if you hear this broadcast maybe my numbers are wrong I think it once I I know the show had at least 515 families and you said to me that on Thursday and Friday you spend time calling widows widowers singles if someone has a yard site observance commemoration of yard site could be a simcha celebration of a bris a barabat Mitzvah a wedding maybe even a wedding anniversary and connecting with these members of yours or maybe not your members this creates the potential for these for these special Jews maybe to walk into the young years old Century City and to hear Rabbi muskin's beautiful directora to go to one of ishiram so this is a model that perhaps could be uh could could get that could could extend to other congregations as well 100 so the way to instill imuna in the younger generation is by building that cashier that connection to have that love for one another and I always say that the Hebrew word for love is the root word of ahaba is have which is which is to give right the more we give the more we love and that's a very important message I personally value and my rabbis know it I call them my rabbis they're my rabbis my parents all over the country all over North America alumni my Young Israel you know fellow fellow members and Friends these relationships are Eternal they're not just it's not it's not just hello today and goodbye tomorrow these relationships are Eternal 100 100 definitely we have a Min hug a custom and Torah talks our podcast over here to have a final message for our broader audience but but what message would that be my final message is perhaps something that I just shared a few moments ago my final message my dear my very dear my very dear friends whom I respect and admire always is that each and every one of us needs to be a partner with each other I'm not exempt from this myself Rabbi merov you're not exempt any person who walked in the khazak is not exempt we're a family we work together Kali Sarah ravenzel is that we're all responsible that's right and therefore together we will continue to enhance our relationship between men and Hashem between one man and his fellow osmo between man and himself or herself and so my dear friends I've said this I've said this prepositional phrase at least three or four times tonight with great love respect and I'll add one more word admiration we are in this together and we hope and pray during the course of this year of 5784. that we will continue to grow in Torah and mitzvos every single moment every single day every single week every single month so that by the time we reach Rosh Hashanah of 57.85 are involvement with who will be much more significant than it was in 57-84. amazing Rabbi very very inspiring through a physical engagement there will be a spiritual engagement thank you very much thank you so very much inspiration unbelievable continuing with immuno connection instilling yamuna to the whole world to all of Claudia Israel we want to thank our podcast holders the many many different platforms we really appreciate it shout out to Torah anytime a shout out to daily giving a dollar a day goes a very far away we encourage you want to check them out dailygiving.org we want to thank everyone at kazak Nathan Bihar behind the camera over here Robbie and the mayor and Izzy and natane and the whole amazing staff and team and the board members and supporters will be forever grateful to that and we want to remind you Tuesday nights 8 30 p.m Eastern Standard Time khazak tour talks with special guests we're getting so much feedback it's just amazing Everywhere I Go people are listening and enjoying and getting inspired and it means so much to us and we appreciate all feedback please feel free to send it to us uh future guests to always uh suggested and welcome info.org that's info at c-h-a-z-a-q dot or RG Chicago Redemption is Rabbi thank you so much foreign