When the Salvation Comes From Where You Least Expect | Rabbi Paysach Krohn | Tisha B'Av

It's a very great host to have been invited by Rabbi Abof and Kazak and to any time to come to speak to you on this very very special day. We know Ruben Kyakov and Shiman Kyakov I saw his father is here and I just want to acknowledge him acknowledge his presence because imagine this that he had to raise such wonderful children and to bring so much terror throughout the whole world. You know there's a very interesting question. If you look on the shelves, you see there are many many gumarot the many many gumarot and each one is different. And the question is why in the which is divorce talks about divorce why is that the talks about the mdash today you're allowed to learn certain and you could once that what the people learn is the talks about and all the other things that the different speakers were speaking about and those are the that were allowed to learn. But why is it in I once heard that Raven and Raashi the ones who put the garra together the reason that they did it is because divitten represents divorce separation and when we lost the ba mikdash that was the greatest separation that we had from Hashem. In other words tell us that at Hashem was and was the kala. So we in a sense got married to Hashem. But then unfortunately when we lost the BA mikdash that divorce happened and so therefore what we have to try to figure out today how can we bring that connection back that we had to hashem you know at the time when the Torah was given and that's what I would like to talk about and today is probably the saddest tisha that we have had in many many years and that is because if you think of the situation in Israel on October 7th 1,200 Jews were killed that were and many of them were not religious but it makes no difference. They were our brothers and sisters and we have to feel that pain and since then since October 7th over 850 soldiers have been killed and many many people have been injured by drones and terror attacks and bombings. So over 2,000 people have been killed since October 7th. And so on this on this day in tisha we feel the separation from Hashem. Hashem has been so far from us to allow all these terrible things to happen. And when you look in the newspapers or you look in technology you see how many people are against Claus. There's certain newspapers every day they show pictures of Gaza and they're showing you know people starving and they're trying to show how bad Israel is and there's terrible terrible anti-semitism. And so we have to figure out what in the world can we do to bring could you get that please what in the world can we do thank you to bring hashem closer to us and so I want to tell you something very very interesting writes that in every day when we say mim when we say mim instra we say who has on us that never ends. And he said it it says the what does that mean? Your help we hope for it every day. Your salvation we hope every day. Savim Schwab says something amazing. What does the word kino mean? Kino kuv vavv means like a string or a cord or you could even say a rope. And what I like to say is a rope of hope. Every Jew has to feel they have a rope of hope to Hashem. And that's what Ruab says that when you say that we always have that that rope of hope. So every Jew could hope that no matter what happened things could be good. You should never give up. And that's why we say alanim only at that part of afterim. When you say then you could say because when the Jews by they thought it was over that's it how they ever gonna get helped from the Greeks and from in the time of misio all those troubles but the point is we have that kina we have that rope of hope to hashem and if a person maintains that rope of hope to hashem then then he can have success and he has to and he could be confident. So no matter what situation you are in life now I want to tell you something I don't know how it is by but by when we say we say this we say it three times and we say it in different ways. So why do we say these things about that there's a salvation for Hashem from Hashem but why do we mix it up the words usually when we say a we don't mix it up by which we're going to say tonight you also say that terror and fear should fall on the god by the strength of your hand and they should be still a stone and then we switch around the So why do we say it backwards and forwards? And the answer is because sometimes if you need help, you need salvation from Hashem, it doesn't come to straight where you think it's going to come. It could come from a roundabout way like you never expected. For example, let's say you need a car. So if you need a car, so what do you got to do? E, you got to get another job to make more money or try to get a raise or your wife has to get a job and then you can buy a car. But then sometimes what happens is a guy needs money and then all of a sudden somebody calls him and says, you know, I owe you money for a long time. I didn't pay in a long time. The guy says, you know, you're right. I forgot about it. And he sends him the money or let's say an insurance policy comes in and all of a sudden the guy's got money or he looks at a bank account that he didn't realize that he had and all of a sudden the salvation comes around a roundabout way. Now even in most happen either by friends or by family not by professional. So what happens is sometimes a family sends a boy to yeshiva and you know he's out of town and then he ends up marrying the hisa's sister or sometimes we know what happens many times with girls they want to get into a certain seminary and then the seminary that they really didn't want to get into they get into that seminary and they end up marrying the brother of their roommate. So that's again you never know when it could happen and but as long as you have that rope of hope and you never give up and then all these wonderful things could happen. Now I just want to tell you that recently I got a text from a friend of mine. It was a very very disturbing text. He wrote me that in November of 2011, he was diagnosed with a serious illness, but the doctor said they're not going to treat it because it was dormant. It wasn't growing. And now all these years later, November 2024, it came back and now he has never has to have chemotherapy. And he told me that he's not worried. And why is he not worried? Now listen to what he said. So interesting. He said, "When you have a car and you're looking forward, you want to go forward. You have that big window in the front, but the rearview mirror looks in the back, but that's a small mirror, right? Because when you're looking forward, you have to look at the big picture and you have to have that confidence to go forward. So, you need that big windshield wiper, that big windshield glass." But this, you don't look back and say, "Oh, he said you don't say O, you say grow." In other words, a lot of times a person had a good situation said, "Oh, I wish I could have that again." No, you got to understand that what we have right now is what Hashem wants us to have and we have to grow from that. Now, for me personally, I understood that, you know, I had a stroke a few months ago. It's very, very difficult. You should never know from it. Nobody in your family should know from it. And a person could say, "Oh boy, it was so good, you know, when I was able to walk up here without, you know, being helped and to travel all over the world and to speak and do all these things." So, but a person has to say, "No, not but grow." Hashem put me in this position. So, I have to try to figure out how could I grow from it? What could I do for it? And the truth is that so many many people unfortunately who have had strokes in the last few months, they call me and they want to have kizuk. And so, who knows? Maybe that's what my role is right now. You know, I never thought that that's what my role is that people would call me that I should give them, you know, in this type of situation. So, a person has to look back and not say, "Oh, oh, it was so good." But he has to look grow. He has to be able to grow from the situation, you know, that he has right now. And you know, the Ramban says something very interesting. Now, today we have the Ramban not only in Hebrew, but in English. And if you have it in English, you should try to read it. It's in Ramano [Music] chapter 13 and then verse 16 and it says and he says amazing thing [Music] if somebody buys a muza for a buck for a dollar and I always wondered why did say that in such a way as if somebody buys a cheap muza and he says he puts it on the door but he looks in what's in that he's going to find what a yid has to know in the shama which is in the muza you have the message it could be a cheap muza it's only a dollar but the message is there and he says what is the most important message the message is that there's hashem in this world and that he supervises everything there's hashka every single thing and the main thing he says is that a Jew has to be able to say we are your creations and that's what he says that's why we have a minion People ding together. They d because when they d loud, he says, "You should d out loud." We have to make a commitment today from now on. Not only of course we dab quietly, but everything else when you dab out loud, you're dabbing. You're dabbing with and it makes a greater impression on Hashem when we say the words out loud. Whether you're saying ash or whatever you're saying, you should say it out loud. And the idea is that and you know something I'll tell you who did what what we're talking about all of you know that had 24,000. So Dr. Silverman imagine you are and you had 24,000 and they passed away. So what would you say? Okay, I get it. I'm out of here. You don't want me to teach I'll go do something else. That's not what said you know something we made a mistake. I'm not going to say oh I had it so great grow. So what he did in the tells us that he took five and he started teaching them and tells us that he took seven and he said we made a mistake. We didn't teach them properly. We didn't teach them that they have to give cover one to the other. And because of that he was able to get these tid and they taught ter all over Israel. In other words, you don't say oh, but you say grow. And that's what Yaka did. He realized that they made a mistake. And therefore, that's why they started teaching these and these taught others. And you never never give up. And that's what's the big picture. The big picture is to have a and that's what we have to do. There are many many wonderful books today about and if we read those books, that's how we can go forward. And that's how we can make that connection to Hashem. We said that it's because there's a separation. But if you read books about and about people who had faith in Hashem and wonderful things happen, that's how you get that connection back again. Now, I just want to tell you again, there are many Bkarians here. They didn't grow up in America in the 1960s, but in the 1960s, those of you who are in America remember John Kennedy. Now, I was crazy about the Kennedys because the president in front before Kennedy, if you remember, was Dwight Eisenau. He was 180 years old. He was an old man. And here comes this young, good-looking guy into the White House, very articulate with his great Boston accent. And I used to love to listen to them and to him and to his brother. And his brother, Bob Kennedy, once said something which is so important in life. Some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not. And I think that's a great expression. Some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not. In other words, don't ever give up on anything. Whether it's panas, having children, everything. If you have that big picture, if you look at that picture of a and you can get to anything. You have to have that rope of hope. And if a person believes in Hashem and he has a anything can happen. Anything can change. And so I want to tell you how we're going to be able to change. There's a malam was one of the greatest one of the greatest commentaries and he said something so great. The tells us in par you should make for me a migdash and I will dwell in them. What does it mean to dwell in them? What do you mean them? So the answer is both migdash whatever and mdash you built I'm going to be there. But then the mamm asked a question. It seems there's two extra words in the passing after it says you should make for me a mdash and I will dwell in them. It says and so shall you do it. Why does it have to say those words shall you do it? It just said mdash. So the malam says every person has to build in his heart amdash. You have to be a walking talking bdash. Now if you believe that you're a walking talking bdesh you're going to change you're going to grow and I'll show you what that means. Now he says like this your head is like the kesh your head is the brain and in the kesh in the m had the represented to that's the wisest thing that hashem ever put together you know for the world. Now your brain has to make all the decisions and so therefore that's why you want to put in your brain the Torah words of great because that's how you make your decisions but I just want to say many of us here have phones and when you look at the phones and you see on the phones constant stuff that's im immorality and things that are just clouding your brain it makes your brain in a certain way warped because you make certain decisions because of what you saw on the videos or what you saw on your phones. Now, the truth is even if you want to look at kosher things, let's say business or politics or whatever, today there's so many terrible things going on either in politics or in business things that CEOs do with women and it's so immoral. But you know, you always see these things on the phone. And so you have to be so careful with your phones that it shouldn't be because your brain shouldn't be inundated because what happens is that so many of us are addicted to the phones. You spend hours and hours on the phone. Even here in in this show, people are looking at their phones and you know the texting, WhatsApp, and all these things and they're not kosher things. And what happens is that we allow our kids to have them and then they act in a certain way. And so therefore we have to remember that our head is a brain. Our head is the orangesh in the kesh in the ban. We wouldn't take in a phone like that. And we can't. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have it in your house because everybody you know has business and they may need it in the house. But you have to know that whatever you're looking at you have to remember don't let it affect you in a negative way. That is so important because otherwise we make the wrong decisions. The way we act, the way we talk and the way we respect others and all the things that the speakers have been speaking about today, it all comes from the exposure that we have to the outside world. So that's the first thing. Your head has to be an or kesh. Be careful what you allow into your head. Torah any time as as Ruben and and Shimon will tell you thousands and thousands of wonderful speakers you know whether you're washing dishes or whether you're driving in the car whatever you're doing you could always listen to a shir you could always listen to great people who have what to say and there are many many wonderful choices that they have and uh Hashem should bless you and Ruven and your parents for doing everything that you do because you make a person's brain in such a way that we're going make the right decisions. Now there's something else. The second thing that the Malam says, your head is a brain. Your heart is theim the upon bread. You can't exist without bread. That's the main nutrient of a person. And a person cannot exist with a heart. So therefore, what we have to do is we have to with our hearts, we have to be so careful of how we think about others. some of the stories that we that you've been hearing throughout the day. You see the sensitivity that people have to to other people. And that's what I want to show you. What does it mean to have a heart? So I want to tell you a couple of great stories. One of my favorite stories is about Rab Gifto who was a rashiva in the Tel Yeshiva in Cleveland. And he was once traveling from LaGuardia airport to to Cleveland. And as he was about to get on the plane, he saw a boy from the bish was trying to get on the plane, but the guy didn't have a reservation. So he had to go standby. So Rabbi Gu wanted to see if he's going to get on the flight. And he was able to get on the flight. He made the last flight. He was able to he was made the last seat. He was able to get on. Now in those days in domestic flights today, you don't get a meal anymore. You only get, you know, international. But in those days when Rabbi Gifter was flying with his wife from Laguadi to clean they gave kosher meals. So middle of the flight the stewardist goes over to the one to the boy and she gives him a kosher meal. He was an honest boy. He said ma'am this can't possibly be my meal. I didn't have a reservation. You know I only came on on standby. I said this can't be my meal. She says young man you're very honest. I appreciate it but the rabbi gave you his kosher meal. He said, "The rabbi gave me my kosher meal. There's no way I'm going to eat the rabbi's kosher meal." So he went over to Rab Gifter and he said, "Rebi, thank you so much, but I can't eat your kosher meal." So listen what the Rebi said. He's the Rash Shiva. He said, "Young man, let me teach you a lesson. I'm traveling tonight with my wife. No matter how late I get home, I'm going to get supper. But by the time you get to the dormatory, the kitchen's going to be closed. You're going to be without supper." So that's what the rashiva was thinking about. He wasn't thinking about a about the rich. He was thinking this poor p going to go to sleep without supper. And that's what a heart is. That's what is all about. Now I want to tell you a great story that I heard that happened in his father. There was a certain fellow. He wasn't a very intelligent guy. He was a wonderful he had a great heart but he didn't understand learning. And every morning the rabbi would teach 15 guys. They would come 6:30 to learn at 7 o'clock to Davin. But at 6:30 this guy would come and he would serve everybody coffee and tea. And everybody wanted different one wanted coffee with Splendor. One wanted coffee with 99 milk, red milk. This guy wanted tea with milk. Decaffeinated tea. Everybody had something different. And he had a whole list and he gave everybody. But he gave only a half a cup. And people said to him, why are you giving us a half a cup? Why don't you give us a full cup of coffee, full cup of tea? He said, listen, the kitchen is right here. The B is right here. If you need more, just come into the kitchen, I'll give you. And he would give. So fine. But and no matter what they complained, he never gave them more than a half a cup. And if they wanted more, of course, he gave them. One day he wasn't feeling well. So he goes into his son's room and he says, "Listen, you know, I got to give these guys. They come to learn. I want to give them coffee and tea. Would you I'll give you a whole list. Could you go to the to the shul and bring them coffee and tea? I'll give you the list." So he said, "Aba, of course I'll do it." So he comes to the sh early. He gets the whole list. And he's got now a whole tray and he's about to walk in to the burdish and all of a sudden he sees his father. He says, "Aba, what are you doing here? I thought you don't feel well." He said, "I forgot to tell you something." He said, "What'd you forget to tell me?" He said, "Only a half a cup?" "Why are you only giving me a half a cup? Don't you everybody want a full cup?" He said, "Yeah, but I'll tell you, but I don't want you to tell anybody." He said, "The reason is because there's two people who have Parkinson's and they shake very much." And if I would give everybody a full cup, their hands would shake and they would go over their pants or over the gum or on somebody else. So like this, nobody's embarrassed. I give them a half a cup, they could shake from today till tomorrow and you know, nobody will be embarrassed. So here's a guy who's ready to get embarrassed himself, but he doesn't want those other people to get embarrassed. That's called, you know, with a good heart. And he said, even if I give everybody a full cup and give them a half a cup, they'll feel insulted. You know, they only got a half a cup because the hands shake. So like this, they would feel bad. So he just wants to be sensitive. And so that's what we have to be careful careful with our brain, what we allow into our brain, what we read every day. You know we read so much stuff and we see so much stuff and again you know many times even if we don't want to see it it's still there. So we have to remember if our head is and our heart is upon it our stomach is a misbeh what does that mean consumes the and our food is consumed by our stomach. We have to be so careful with hashka. You know what hasha you use, you know, to, you know, for all the different foods. And I remember that one time I was going to Raakov Kamki and um somebody knew I was going I was going to ask him some questions about Brit because many of you know I was a for many many years and they said could you ask him for they had to have a stomach operation and so I said to Abak you know this person needs a serious stomach operation and they want to have a braha. You know what said to me? Ask them if their makash everything that they eat is fully kosher and they know the hashka. Now I know that in New York City, you know, it's not a problem. You know, you see the u you know, you see every all these type of things. But when you go out of town on business or you're on a plane and you're hungry, you know, so sometimes a person will take us something, he sees a letter K out of it. What is K? K doesn't mean anything. You have to know the right before you eat something. And that's what the misbeh is. So your head is the your heart is the upon and your stomach is the misbeh. And so I just want to tell you another story. What does it mean to be sensitive? Now in the five towns there's a wonderful wonderful organization. It's not a bad idea to start it here in Forest Hills Park as well. There's an organization called Nashmo. And what the women do, they get to I saw it myself. I was there. They come to a warehouse and they all bring clothes that their children used. Little clothes, you know, for little kids and and teenage kids and they send it to poor people in Israel and, you know, they make sure that it's still, you know, nice. It's not frayed and it's not discolored. and they send it in boxes to they send it on a trailer and the people in who apply to get it you know they're vetted to make sure that they really need it and what happens is that every person is given a number and then they go on let's say and let's say if they have number 36 so they take that box and that's for them but no names are written on it so that nobody you know is going to be insulted or embarrassed so anyhow this woman one day she comes on number. She's number 36. And she takes the box at home. And she opens up the clothes. It's such beautiful clothes for kids. And she says, "Kinder, my children, look, we're going to have beautiful clothes for the summer." Cuz this was before Pes how she got it. And then as she's taking out the clothes, she sees a dress. And she was surprised. She doesn't She didn't think that was going to be for adults. It was only for kids. But then she puts it out in front of her and it looks like it could fit her. So she calls her husband. She says, "You know, we were supposed to go to Abra tonight, but I didn't have anything good to wear. This looks like it could fit me." So, she said, "Listen, try it on. Let's see if it fits." And she tried it on, and it fit perfect. So, they decided they're going to go. So, that night, as they're about to walk out of the house, she feels a pin sticking into her skin. And she didn't see that before. She opens up the pin, she opens up the dress, she sees there's a pin stuck to an envelope. And in the envelope, there's a letter. Listen to this. And the letter says like this. If you are wearing this dress and you took clothes for your children, you could probably use the money that's in this envelope and in there was $800. The amount of money that you needed for the rent that month. So could you imagine a person feels imagine somebody would do something like that? That's a leap upon that's a heart of gold. And if I would see that lady from the five towns who did that, I would sit down so I should be able to stand up for her because that's exactly what we have to do. So we have we want to make that connection to Hashem. How we're going to make that connection look out the big picture learn and you could go on to anytime.com. They have many many topics and it's very very organized and we know Rabbi David Ashar has written many many books on the for children for teens and for adults. Those are the books to try to read and we get back that connection to let's have a a brain that's an aura and let's be careful what we allow into our heads what technology we allow into our heads because it makes the decisions that we're going to make that's going to make it different the way we talk the way we walk the way we act and think. And then again let's try that our heart that we should reach out for others because we all know that unfortunately that the reason that um the B mish was destroyed was because of and as the speaker before mentioned means that you love every Jew. It makes no difference if he's from your group or not or your or your level of religiosity. We have to love and care every Jew and that's the only way we're going to be able to get that connection back to Hashem should bless every single one of you that we should try to learn this and that we should remember that the head with we make the brains that we should be careful what we allow into our heads and also let's be careful that with our heart that we care for other people and that we love each other and care for each other and everybody let's dive in that next year Robbie Abel will come here with his May we give him a Robbie, thank you so much for taking care of me and I thank all of you for listening and for coming and you should have an easy fast and we should only be able to do good things together. >> Amen. >> By the way, you're a great listener. Could you help me? Oh. Oh, by the way, could you all give a round of applause to my dear friend Voltater? Perfect. Second. >> And by the way, my picture is on the daily dose. Where can I get one? >> You don't have one? >> No, it's yours. >> Oh, thank you. >> Thanks so much. >> My pleasure.