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Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser | Unlock Your Potential | CHAZAQ
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Categories:Torah
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Okay, good evening everyone. Welcome to
today's very special sharing presented
by Kazak and the families of Memorial
Foundation. We have an amazing um event,
amazing speaker. So we're here from
momentarily renowned speaker, author who
inspires thousands of people around the
world every single day. I want to thank
center guys for opening doors and
partnering together on the event of
Christ as well. um all all the all um
that we said earlier today all the the
learning we're going to do tonight
should all be the nishmas in loving
memory
of a
um I didn't I didn't know him personally
but I could but I could just tell you
that that uh something something that I
I went to an event yesterday an event
with um the return
hostage and I was speaking speaking to
him and I I I asked him I said how did
you have the the the courage the
strength the amuna through the hundreds
of days that he was in captivity and and
and he told me he said he said um I
didn't choose my destiny but my destiny
chose me. I didn't know I had the
strength, but but but Hashem gave me the
strength and um I can tell you that um
um knowing Yakov and Boris for so many
years during these events, they're
definitely um living with this and Muna
um and and and sharing that amuna and
the Torah and the for not only their
family, the entire community. And of
course, they're great role models for
each and every one of us. And we should
not only tonight's uh this should be in
memory of Islam, but we should um over
over the coming days and weeks ahead we
should make make and do an extra
mitzvah and we're going to call upon um
we're
call to share some opening remarks and
he's going to introduce um
um thank you Robbie. as usual
um for the big cracks called
for doing such a wonderful job setting
everything up.
um you know this is um we we blinked our
eyes and you know 13 years have gone
by and um I'm not sure how many people
remember who knew my father here but um
you know we sat on Shabbat and we were
discussing how you know we migrated from
Russia when the family realized that you
know the country wasn't good for us from
a religious perspective
And you know like sometimes we think you
know we're thinking to move from here to
Florida we're thinking 20 times our
parents our close family we they just
picked up and said it's not going to
work and um you know that's the strength
of what we what we
lost.
Um you
know the words cannot really describe
you know who he was to us and what we
we've lost. So um you know on the yearly
basis the way we try to make sure that
you know
we honor his memory is by having raanim
like Rabbi Gwaz to come in and give you
know some phys
um you know things that'll inspire us.
you know, when we moved from Russia, we
weren't religious.
And um it's organizations like
Kazak, at the time, Kazak wasn't even
around, but you know, organizations like
that that, you know, pluck people out of
public school and put them
in. So, you know, I want to give, you
know, a great big thank you to the Fazak
organization.
um you know, not only for setting up
this event, always being there for us,
they're always asking us what's the next
event, what are we doing next? And um
you know, it's definitely a worthwhile
cause, and it's something that, you
know, we're we're very proud to be part
of and to to
support. Um you know, without further
ado, I you know, I know it's going to
get late, so I have a goal, sir. if
you're gonna give us some words.
It is a great to be together this
evening on such an
occasion. May his shama have an alien in
Ghana. May be a may he watch over the
entire
community and may ask Hashem for all of
you. May ask Hashem to protect Israel
and to bring the hostages back home.
Okay, I would like to thank the son of
Mishbaka for what they do because I have
already been at events that they sponsor
and I can tell you that there is no
greater zoot for the community, no
greater zoot for any individual than to
promote Torah and mitzvo in the world.
And they do it in a modest and a humble
way. and their words are powerful and
their actions cause great things in
Israel. May you
continue in good
health like that. We have a subject
today and it is a important one. How to
unlock potential? How do I give
everything that I have inside of me be
able
to fulfill that which Hashem put me into
this world for? And I would like to give
a couple of examples of people that do
not always understand the power that we
have inside. A person may not know
individual. We are modest. We are
humble.
What could I make a difference? What
what does it matter if I'm there, if I'm
not there? Really, what is my co-op?
What is my power? I would like to start
off with just a very simple incident. I
had an aunt. The aunt was a favorite
aunt. She was a great
lady. She moved to Florida. She moved to
Miami.
and she was then alone in the later part
of her life and she was uh looking for
something to do during the day. They
didn't have Kazak down in Florida at
that time. She had nothing to do. She
saw that there were art lessons, art
lessons being offered in one of the
stores in
Miami. She figured I'll take an art
lesson. She goes in, a lot of young
people sitting there taking an art
lesson. She sat down in one of the
chairs. She wants to learn an art. She's
a She's an older
person. They pass out paper. That
special paper that you paint on, they
pass out paper to everyone. All the
students that came to learn how to be an
artist. My aunt never never had time to
take an art lesson. Never ever drew
anything. And he said, "Draw whatever
you would like." The teacher, the man.
She picks up and begins to draw
something on her
paper. She
continues in the middle. The man comes
over and says, "Why are you here in this
class?
She felt
bad. She felt for sure since everybody
else was young that she didn't belong
there. And he was asking, "Why would you
come to the class of young people?" She
said to him, "I'm
sorry, I didn't know that this is only
for young people. I didn't know that
there was an age posted outside. you
can't come if you're older than
whatever. He said, "No, no, no. That's
not what I meant. I see from the picture
that you know how to draw very well. You
yourself must be professional. This is
gorgeous. It's
outstanding." She said, "I don't believe
it. I have never done any artwork in my
life."
He said I am telling you finish your
picture. Yeah. My aunt bra finish that
picture. He said with your permission I
would like to keep it here in the
studio.
She said
okay. He sold the picture with her
permission for
$240. First picture that she ever made.
potential inside locked up. Did she know
that she could draw? Did she know that
she had any talent? Did she know that
there was an artist inside? No. I
guarantee you she didn't. She went to
the class only to try to take up her
time because she was bored. Yet,
Boream said, "You got talent and we're
going to bring it out." And now was the
right time to everybody here. Such
wonderful people. I know a lot of you. I
have a Zuta is here.
My family, the Abba family is here.
Robbie is uh he's unreal. He's running
right now. He's going to be one day he's
going to be the head of a big big
organization in Cl Israel. Maybe even a
political organization.
being. He got the power. He got the
potential. I remember when we started
out years ago, young man, modest, who
knew the potential inside? But everybody
here has that potential. We have to find
what it is inside of us that Hashem put
us in this world that we should be able
to help others and to make an impact.
This evening we're going to go into some
of the examples of it. Everybody is
great. Even though it
says
oh that was great. Mosherenu there was
nobody greater. Yet it says everybody in
Israel has the ability to be as great as
Moshe. All of us, you and I, we could be
Mosher Rabenu, you could be Miriam Han,
you could be
Senu. We all have that power. The great
ga was says, "How could we be Mosher
Rabenu? Mosher Raenu was huge. He was so
great. Could we become like him?" Rabbi
Alan says, "Yes." In nua, in prophecy,
we could not become like him. But in
other areas, in greatness, in mid, in
characteristics, and personality traits,
in the will to serve Hashem, to be an
EB, to serve God, we could be as great.
We could be, but we underestimate our
own potential. We always think, who am
I? What can I really do? What can I
accomplish? I don't know how much I
could learn. I don't know how much I
could have an impact. I don't know if
people would listen to me, if people
wouldn't listen to me. What we learn
from the Torah is that every single
person is a shining star. We have
an inside of us, a powerful soul. And
that soul is capable of far greater than
we could ever imagine. The soul in each
of us is on the highest level in the
entire world. We don't even realize who
we
are. He was
insecered him to stay
home. Stay
home. You cannot go to yeshiva anymore.
What are you going to be anyhow? What's
it going to grow to be? Stay. I need you
in the grocery
store. You have to make a livelihood.
You can't go anymore to Yeshiva. The
father meant well. But did he understand
that he had a
future? No. So he kept him. He kept him
in the store. He needed his help. You
can't blame him. He's his father. Have
to
listen. The
roshiva
saw was missing from the
seat. A ber a young man. What's he going
to become? Father, grocery store man. So
he's not there in yeshiva. He has a good
excuse. He has to help with the family
part to make a livelihood. Leave him. So
he won't be there that day. So what? Not
Rabbi
Ezra. He goes to the grocery store
rasha. He says to the father, I need
oady to come to the yeshiva to fulfill
his potential. The father says I can't.
I need him. I need him here. He has to
work.
said, "I tell you what, I take off my
coat. I'll work. Send him to the
yeshiva." Ovad went back to the yeshiva
that day and then years later became the
great God Israel, the great leader. We
all have that power inside of us. We
have the power for greatness, the power
to change others, to have an influence.
But we have to exercise it. We have to
believe in ourselves. Very important.
The the trust atmi in myself that I can
do something that I am capable. Let me
give you an example. The upcoming yumto
of pes. Don't get nervous. We still have
a couple of weeks. Don't worry.
is beautiful. We sit and in fact we
invite everybody to our
seder. You need a place. Come in. Come
into the seder. You need to have food.
We got to have food, right? But before
we do this, we say one thing. We're
going to talk about the the matzah that
we're going to eat. Uh, you know, we're
going to have this matzah and it's poor
man's bread. It's a bread that our
forefathers ate and it's going to just
be matzah. If you're coming for that big
loaf where they have that
sourdough, no. No. Just going to be like
a matzah flat matzah over
there. Why do we say that? Why do we
first say that we're gonna have some
matzah and then afterwards then we begin
and say come enjoy uh you'll stay by
we'll learn together we'll eat together
we'll sing together why do we do that
there's a beautiful answer that is given
and it's like
this if you hire a
worker so it says if you hire a worker
worker, you have to give him food. You
got to give, you can't have a worker
work all day, but you got to give him
lunch. You got to give him supper. You
got to make sure that he has food. You
can't just have him and say work. That's
a did. So, one of the great rabbis, his
son, went and hired workers and the
workers came. And he went to tell his
father the food that he's going to serve
them. His father said, "That's what
you're going to serve them. Did you make
up beforehand with what you're going to
serve them? Did you tell them? Did you
fix it up? Did you establish it? What
foods you're going to serve? How much?
The son said, "No, aba just I got the
food." Even the father said, "Even if
you will serve him
aud Solomon in his time, you will not
fulfill your your obligation." Why?
Because all of Ben Israel, all the
Jewish people,
Ben, we are kings. We are princes. We
are princesses. Even you're going to
give whatever meal you thought you're
going to give is not good enough for the
king. You had to establish first what
you're going to serve. We see this
fascinating. Why is it that we talk
about the food before we even invite the
guest? The reason is is because everyone
who comes to our seder, even the person
that doesn't have food, even the person
that comes in and they don't have the
proper clothing, they're poor. Even the
person that comes in, they're from the
street, they
are they are princes and they are
princesses. And we have to be very
careful how we treat them. So, we say,
"Listen, please don't be upset. We're
giving you matzah. It may not be your
favorite food to eat, and you may take a
look at it like we don't have a great uh
menu on hand for tonight, but you should
know one thing. The only reason we are
serving it is because that's the food
that our
forefathers what they ate back in the
times of the pumage and that's the
reason we're serving it with that we can
understand the way that we look at
another person the potential the power
that a person has is greatness we don't
realize it sometimes there was An
unbelievable incident. What does a
person have power religiously,
religiosity,
spirituality? So some people very
religious, some people not so religious.
And then sometimes we peg a person and
we think that that person's this
religious, not more, I'm much more. That
person, they're okay, not that
religious. I don't know how far that
person could go. can ever tell the
spirituality of a human being. The
Jewishness shama inside of a person is
huge. I want to recount just one
incident back in the old country. So
there was a young man his father was
extremely religious extremely religious
like sadik
he did some job he did some driving job
in the old country and
carriage one day he was elderly one day
niftar he died he left over that his son
should at least say kadesh when the son
to say kadesh. So what happened? The son
didn't do anything. The son, he was
estranged from Judaism. Didn't go with
anything in Yiddish. So the son says,
"Okay, uh, I have to go to say kadesh.
I'll go to the shul. I'll go to the
synagogue. Whatever. I'll say the
kadesh." He goes into one place and they
say, "What are you here for?" They take
a look at him. You're not religious.
This is the way you come and dress. They
said, "Go out. You came here to make
fun. Go out."
Tell him to go out of the sh. He goes to
a second shaw. All right. Okay. You get
thrown out of one, but you go to a
second. He goes to the second shaw. They
say, "Why are you here? You're here to
start trouble? You're here to uh disrupt
the services? You're going to make a
problem with the minyan? Go out." He
left. Third sh sad goes the third
sh a person said why are you coming
here? Are you coming here to make the sh
tame ritually unclean? You coming you're
making it tame ritually
unclean. He left. Now everybody you know
three times houses
three
times that's it. Whatever it is after it
happens three times it's now a
stronghold. One time it's three times.
He can give up. He can say man I tried.
I went to the sh three times. I got
thrown out of my head three times.
Hashem, I tried. I'm done. I had
enough. I don't have to go through
vision. I don't got to embarrass myself
anymore. And he decided,
okay, he starts to walk
home. And then he felt to
himself, Abba, my father, would he have
stopped after three times? my father
Sadik, would he have said no? Would he
have given up? Would he turn his back on
Hashem? Would he say, "Forget about the
Kadesh. I don't care. I'm the only one
that could say Kadesh and I'll forget
about it." Would my father do it?
Never. He decided he'll try one more
place. He went to the small shore of the
de Brass.
of the breast
of a from there. They don't throw nobody
out. He came in, they welcomed him and
they said, "Please have a seat. It's an
honor to have you." He sat
there. Only thing he did, not one word,
not one word
of did not put
on did not do anything except when it
was time for kadesh. He said the
kadesh half a year nobody bothered him.
Nobody told him he has to do this or he
has to do that. No one said dress like
this or dress like that. They left him
alone. After half a year, there was a
Jew there, Rabbi
Benion. Rabbi Benon Bender. He went over
to him and he said, "I see that you come
every day to say
Kadesh. Could I show you to say the
Shma
is?" He said,
"Yes." They were nice to him. They
taught him. He said Israel every day.
That was it. A month later, Rabbi Ben
came over to
him. Could I show you how to put on the
tin? He said, "Yes, you could show me. I
would like
to." Puts on
the He says, "Shma."
He
says person does one mitzvah, it goes to
a second, it goes to a third, it goes to
a fourth. By the end of the year, he was
praying the
entire all of the entire prayers he
would say and everybody loved him.
Everybody knew he is the son of a sadik
that was slowly finding his way back
home to Hashem.
They made a gazer. The gazer was the
government.
No more
mikvah, no
more family purity. And they outruled.
They made a rule that there would be no
place, no shul, no organization that
would have a mikvah and anybody that
would do it, they would be in prison and
get a stiff penalty.
It's one of
the the basic foundations of our Torah,
of our
mitzvot. Rabbi Benion came over to the
young man, the one that came just to say
kadesh and he said, "As I understand,
you are very talented with your hands.
I would like you to build a
mikvah secret in the ground in the
ground to build a mikvah so that we can
continue to
have kusha in our community. And when it
is finished, you have to be able to
cover it over so well hidden camouflaged
that people could walk on top of it.
Even a carriage could go on the
top. He said, "Who am I to build a
mikvah? You have to be holy." I'm not
holy. What am
I? They told him, "No, it is the time
that you will shine. It is the time that
Hashem gave you the talent in your hands
to build the
mikvah." And he did.
He built the mikvah and they helped him.
When it was finished, they put on the
top a strong covering that you could
walk on top of that you could even take
a carriage and ride it on there. The
government heard that there was
a rumor that they had the audacity to
make a mikvah and they came to check it
out. It was covered over.
The government walked on top of
it. They even had a carriage on top of
it, rode around. They never found it. In
Tahara, continued in the
community. The man who they said the man
who they said is going to be mame, he's
going to make the shul unclean ritually.
is the one that was responsible for the
tahar the purity in the kadusha of an
entire
community. A person does not know the
power that we have within every day we
say
the we say hashem who gives the weary
who gives us strength. If a person needs
strength, they're going through a
challenge, they're going through
something and it's difficult for them,
you say in the
morning, Hashem, give me the strength.
If a person's not feeling so good, or
they're feeling a little bit weak or
they're
tired, Hashem, give us the power. Hashem
will help us that we will be able to
fulfill every mitzvah that we can
fulfill the purpose that we came into
this world for. That is the greatness
that we have inside of each and every
one of us. We
are fascinating. It
says, it says in the if you build a new
house and we're going to know that there
are certain of course when you build a
new house that you're going to put Mot
on every door and
also if a person has a porch on the
outside maybe the second story. So the
is that you have to put on the
surrounding a fence so that a person
does not walk over to the edge and fall
down. In order not to fall down, we need
a or a sort of a railing. And there's
all kinds of
interesting about the railing. However,
it is fascinating that
the explains this a little bit
different. The says, "Sometimes a person
builds a new house." What kind of a
house do they build? They say, "I've got
to do something different in my life. I
want to do tisha. I want to make a new
start. I want to uncover hidden
potential. I want to establish myself a
new. I want to begin something new. I
want to try something for the community.
I want to be better spiritually. I want
to be nicer to my fellow man. I want to
be more patient. I don't want to be
angry. I don't want to be jealous. I
want to lose all of that. Individual
says, "I want to start and be new." This
is something that every person can do.
We say it every week.
Hashem, renew it. Let me start a new. I
want to begin my life a new. And it
doesn't matter what a person did in the
life. It doesn't matter anything that a
person might have done. Hashem says, "I
don't care what you did. I honestly
don't care." Hashem says, "Show me from
today what you're going to do." all the
old history. You know, somebody will
come in and tell you, uh, listen, uh, I
got to tell you about my life. And I'm
beginning to start talking from the day
they were born, which hospital it was,
and who their pediatrician,
and it don't matter. What are you doing
now? Where are you going from now?
What's your vision? What's
your what's your dream? Where do you
want to be? That's what's important. I
had a guy uh he's very very interesting
fellow guy came into me says rebi I
don't know how I could get away from my
former life I said why are they after
you said what's the matter he says no no
you don't understand like I did some
a you did some sins I said well you know
join the club everybody did a sin or two
you
know said no person lived
There wasn't a person yet that only did
and didn't do a sin. So that means
you're human.
You're did he
sin?
Yes. Speak to the rock. Mosher went hit
the rock twice.
Everybody it
is great great people in our history
they
didn't but Hashem sees that they want to
do the right thing they're forgiven. So
when a person did something they got to
separate it because each day is a
completely new day in our life. It's a
new potential. I'm not dragged down by
anything that I did in my former life.
In fact, today is the day that I'm
judged
on
who judged on what you are right now.
What you were before it doesn't matter.
Interesting
during the 10 days of repentance. Uh,
say there's a guy and they're not so
careful in we'll say is, right? They
like
the Hershey or whatever, right? They
like the regular milk. It's good. It's
good. Tastes
good. Very careful.
Noam
only bad. That's it.
Is why it's 10 days of tisha. Why?
What's the game? Then I go back after
kipur and I eat that Hershey again.
Hershey's great. I don't know you. I'm
just saying an example or bishakum,
right? No, I'm not eating any of those
products anymore. Those snacks unless it
came.
Unless it came from, you know, I don't
know. I'm not gonna die in vest time
from England. I'm not eating anything
else
during nothing. No cookies from I don't
know whatever. Only that that comes from
What's the local bakery here? Public.
Yeah, of course. I'm only going to have
something from, you know, the most
religious bakery.
I'm going to be very careful during the
10 days
of I have a lot of things that I want to
say about somebody. I'm going to save it
till after kipur right now. I'm going to
be really really good. I'm going to be
careful. And you know other things I'm
going to really uh uh be strong about in
this life. I'm not going to argue with
anybody and I'm going to listen to my
parents. I wouldn't contradict them. Not
now. Right? So most people ask the
question, what does it mean that the
person does this for the 10 days? After
the 10 days, it's business as usual.
Everything goes back to the way we were
before. The answer is twofold. Number
one, Hashem says, "I'm looking at you
just as you are right now. Whatever you
did before, it doesn't matter. Whatever
you were in the previous days of the
year,
it when you're right there, how do you
look?" And you got to know that that is
the time when a person should definitely
be stronger in every mitzvah, take on
mitzvah even just for the 10 days of
repentance because when we are judged,
Hashem sees that we want to be good. We
have the potential to be good and
perhaps we will continue after the 10
days to do everything that we did during
the 10
days. It's possible. I have the power. I
could do it. You know, sometimes a
person doesn't realize it. After the 10
days, we try to be good as well. There
was a guy, you know, they had the draft,
the draft of the army, right? So, in the
old country, they had the draft and, you
know, Jewish guy would get drafted. They
send them to the front lines. So,
everybody wants to uh avoid the draft.
They have a panel. The panel sits there
and everybody comes and if you want an
exemption from the draft, you have to
appear in front of the panel. There's a
doctor. Anyone that claims a medical
exemption, there's a psychiatrist,
anyone wants to claim they're a little
bit off the, you know, whatever. They
have everybody, they're ready, the panel
of experts. A guy comes in, very smart.
He walks in front of the the table where
the experts are sitting and he begins
like walking like
this. He's walking like this in the
thing. The doctor sees him. Obviously,
this man, he's injured. He can't walk.
He's of no use to the army. And in fact,
we're going to give him an exemption
right
now. They give to the exemption. The guy
takes the exemption, the paper, jumps up
and starts running
away. Come back. You're done.
When we do, sugar,
we got to last. It can't be for the
moment. It can't be for the second. It
has got to be something that we made an
inner change that I decided I want to be
better. I did that just for the 10 days,
but maybe I could go a little bit
further. Maybe I could take it a little
bit longer. It is most unusual that a
person has the opportunity in the life
to change. We have the hisus. We get the
inspiration. During those moments of
inspiration, grab a hold and give
yourself the ability to be able to
change. I got to tell you, I felt so bad
one time. I got to go back a little bit.
It's a I I had the great zus that the
louder
foundation, the great Rabbi Kobessa
called me to go to Poland. Poland and at
that time it was right before the whole
Poland
the government fell and it was extremely
extremely oppressive. a lot of
anti-semitism in there. And we had a
retreat, the religious retreat. I'd say
there were probably 50 men and women
that came. It was in a huge home in a
place called Kamarov. And it was very
nice. One night, Rabesco Bass, this
great rabbi, tells me that we could go
to a completely irreligious retreat.
They did the same thing that we do. No
Torah learning, no kosher food, no
mitzvot, no minan, but it was a a Jewish
retreat. He said, "We can go." He made
special arrangements that I should be
able to go and there was from the Polish
Jewish community, there was a man and
woman that came together with me and
Rabbi Bessa said, "When you go, don't
say anything. We're going to just sit
there. There were hundreds and I cannot
tell you it. The place was Zed Barov.
There were hundreds and hundreds of
Jews. It was the most amazing thing in
the
world. No one
religious. I was told don't go I know
you're going to say don't say anything.
You can't say anything. And just sit
there. They they'll see you. to see
religious Jews cared about them and came
it will make a impression. I said,
"Okay." I They said, "Don't say
anything. Get him in trouble. I don't
know. Maybe they had the agents, secret
agents there that were gonna I came. I
was a little scared." I go out of the
car and I sit in the bench. It's their
bench is like old resort. Old if I tell
you old resort. This is from before the
war. I don't know which war, first,
second, but it was old. And I'm just
sitting there and I thought to myself,
all these Jews, all the potential, every
all in the sham and I'm gonna sit there
with my hands folded. I'm not going to
behave. No way. No
way. I left the bench. I went
inside. They had a piano. I thought,
"This is
fantastic." I said, "Dra, anybody know
how to play
music?" One person came. I'm a pianist.
I said, "Okay, I'm gonna see if you're
good enough. You want to sit down here
for a minute?" I said, "Could you by any
chance play a Jewish
song?" Jewish
song. I don't know
any. Not one Jewish song. Not I have a
little drrele.
Not
hat. Not whatever anybody would know. I
don't
nothing. I said could I teach you?
Yes. I sang for that person. Not that I
sing, but I sang for that
occasion. My soul blesses Hashem. Very
simple melody
only. Four words. Could I teach it to
you? I sang it. He starts playing it.
But I want you to know not just the
melody harmonies and
amazing. And I said, "Come
here. Maybe there are 100 people." I
said, "I want to teach you this." I
taught
them. They're all singing the song over
and over and over
again. My soul blesses Hashem. I said,
You're standing there. We got to dance.
I started to dance with them. The whole
everybody
together. It was a revolution in that
retreat. Rabbi Besser came in and went
like this to me.
But I saw that he didn't mind.
Anyhow, one of them, you can
imagine, one of them came
over,
Rabiner,
Rabbi, would you come for the
Shabbat? How the guy even knew Shabbat
and the difference between Saturday and
Tuesday, I don't know. It was like from
out out of this world. And I said it
would be my greatest greatest be my
greatest
privilege. I said we're going to make it
up. We'll make the
arrangements. I came
back and they said where I was, it's not
possible. We can't go. It's not the
right thing.
I want you to know to this day I still
have in my mind the picture of all those
Jews
dancing asking would you come to
Shabbat knowing the
potential didn't
work I wasn't able to go I wasn't in
charge
But when there is a chance at
potential, a person has to utilize it.
You see another person, you're in work
and or in school or your neighbor and
you have a chance that you could talk to
them about a
mitzvah. Don't let that opportunity
escape. Tell them, invite them, give
them a little safer. Give them a hagada
on pesa. Give to them a matzah. Tell
them what it's about. Don't hold back.
You see another person. It is our job to
be mashia. Have self-esteem to tell
them. Don't worry, I'm not a rabbi. I'm
not a rabbi. I'm raanit. I'm not this.
I'm not you. Don't worry who you are.
You're good Jew. Help another person.
Let them know they will be eternally
grateful. And to everybody else, you are
like leaders. You don't realize it. I
used to have a guy that drove me. He
wanted to drive. He wanted to talk about
different things. He was borderline
religious. I mean,
borderline. That's to say he didn't
always wear a kipah, but when he would
drive me, he would put a small kipa on
top of his head.
We were going upstate. I had to go to
speak in one of the places upstate. So
he was driving me and I bet you he was
going like 89 miles. Didn't go 90 but 89
he was going police start you know that
thing when you see that in the back
window you say the whole tail the the
light going off. So I said to him I
think you better pull over. He pulls
over. the policeman come out, you know,
the one that wear the hat, you know, the
hat and then they got the boots that
come up to the those guys. You got to
watch.
They stop. He stops. He puts a window
down. The policeman said, "Out of the
car." He gets out of the car. The
policeman looks at
him, sees the kipa on the top of his
head, and says, "Rabbi, I'm sorry. I I
didn't mean to stop you. Just could you
could you slow down a little bit?"
Apologizing goes back in the car. This
rabbi, now what I have to tell you is
the
following. We don't know how we look
towards others. That's potential.
That's that's a power. Other people look
up to us. They're waiting for one good
word. They're waiting for direction.
They're waiting for a mitzvah. They're
waiting for a story you could tell them.
They're waiting for divine on one of the
holidays. They're waiting for us. That's
our power. We've got the power to give.
So the great ga rebi Akiva Aar one of
the greatest from postn rebi aka a eer
every Jew is like we
said their king if they come to your
house and you serve them a
suda a a feast fit for a king you still
did not fulfill your obligation you
still haven't fulfilled it. Why? Because
they're kings. A little child, a little
child walks into your class, a little
child comes in. No matter what, no
matter how good they learn or how not
good they learn, no matter how well they
behaved or how not well they behave,
what their talent is or what they have
no talent. Every child has the power to
be
messiach. It says in
the
rebinfeld said every little child has
the power to be Messiah. Treat them
beautifully and carefully.
Rabikar used to go.
He would go every day to visit the sick.
As great of a ga as he was, as great of
a sadik as he was, he used to go to
visit the sick every day. One day he
comes in and he sees a guy very, very
ill. The guy sees the great Rebi Edgar
come in. He says,
"Rebi pray for me, d for me. The doctors
say that there is no hope. Pastor
Shalom, no hope I have. He said, "This
guy has a rare disease, lo and he said,
you've got to pray. You got to ask
Hashem." Rabik Edgar felt terrible. He
took it deep into his heart. And he
said, "I will pray for you. I will
double for you." Rabbi Edgar went in his
room where the walls absorbed the Torah,
where the walls absorbed all the all the
prayers, the walls were holy. And he
made up right there that he is going to
try with everything that he could and
ask Hashem for help. He also was going
to do
his his effort al naturally to help this
man. One day he hears that the king is
visiting his city postnali. The
king it made such an unbelievable tumult
town. Everyone was excited. The king is
coming to our city. It was unreal. They
cleaned the streets. They cleaned the
buildings. They planted different
gardens around. They made all kinds of
preparations. Rabbi Ager began to ask
people when is he coming? Where will he
come? How's the path that he's going to
come? Who's he going to bring with him?
What kind of a carriage is he going to
come on? Riker that couldn't care less
about anything starts to get interested
in all the details about the king's
arrival.
and says, "Rebi, you're never interested
in any of this. How come you're asking
all these questions about the king's
arrival?" He says, "Because I want to
see if in any way I can help that Jew,
the one that is very sick, the one that
is very
ill." He found out that there is a
doctor coming with the king, the king's
personal physician, his doctor. and the
king's doctor is going to accompany him.
Rabika Edgar knew that the king's doctor
is not only the best medically, he is a
he also has access to all of the latest
medical knowledge. All of the journals
come to the palace. All of the new books
come to the palace. And he is well read
and knows
everything. He sends his ribikar. I want
you to get the king's doctor and see if
you can talk him in to visiting this man
with a rare disease
leu. They wait on the road. They get the
doctor smart and they began to tell him
the head chief rabbi of
naiar would like you to come to visit
someone that's ill. The doctor said
chief rabbi okay. However, I'm going to
charge a handsome fee and it's got to be
paid in
advance. They said, "Okay." They raised
the money for it. The doctor comes in to
the man that's ill. The king's doctor.
The doctor begins to examine
him. Comes out, tells her a he has a
rare disease. There is no hope. I'm
sorry. He begins leaving. A Jew never
gives up. That's potential. That's kak.
A Jew doesn't give up just because the
doctors say no
hope runs after him and he says,
"Adonia, my great
king, you are the doctor of the king. I
want to ask you a question. If the king
was lying in that bed sick with that
disease, Would you say no hope? Would
you say there's nothing that can heal
him? Or would you
try? The man doctor said, "You got
me. I definitely would heal him. I
definitely would do it. Is there a way?"
The doctor said, "Yes, but it's not for
anybody. It's only for someone who has a
lot of money who can afford to get what
needs to be gotten. Riby says, "What
needs to be gotten?" There is a bird, a
certain bird, a rare bird that is only
in the middle of the
wilderness, thousands of miles from
here. The king himself had the disease
that this man has. We had to send troops
a very dangerous place. It's very
difficult to catch the bird. We got the
bird and from the bird we were able to
make a certain liquid that the ill
person drinks little by little and then
they have a
rafu. However, rabbi, you cannot afford
it. You cannot go to where it is. You
cannot send the whole troop because you
don't have a troop of people that could
protect those that are going to go. So
forget
it. And the doctor explained to Edgar
what kind of a bird it
was. Rubikar said thank you. He goes
back to his room. Rabbi Kaggar said the
king who's a bos the king that's a flesh
and blood he's ill and he was able to
get this trua this remedy this medicine
he was able to get it I have a ye I have
a Jew who serves
the king of kings and he can't get it
hashemar begins to cry and cry and cry
all of a sudden
outside the window. Oh, where there's a
bird. He looks at the bird and he sees
its exact bind, the one that the doctor
told him
about. He tells the family, "Open the
window gently. Get the bird in here.
Make sure he doesn't escape." They got
the
bird. They did what they had to do. They
got the liquid that they needed. They
gave it to
the He drank
it. Little by little, he began to feel a
little bit better. Weeks passed. He had
a rafu sha a complete healing. Rabikar
said, "Save the feathers of this bird."
The
doctor about two months later happening
passing by town and he heard that Rabika
Edgar did this thing with the bird he
didn't believe
it he sent a messenger to
aar rebika egar sent him the feathers
from the bird so that he would know the
simmon the doctor said I believe in the
god of Israel Well, I believe that this
rabbi prays to the true Hashem that made
this
miracle. We take a look at this and we
say, "Okay, Rabbi Ka Edgar, the greatest
of the great, he could do it."
But the truth is
rebosai great men and women each of us
has the power to bring about great
things in this world through faith and
muda and tila in prayer. May we have
great in the year ahead. May we all have
the vote and may
the benam have an alien shim and be a
meosha for all of us. Amen.
[Applause]