Constant Opportunity | Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser

The original Ba’al Teshuva community, that began in 1967 and moved up through the decades, were really made up of interesting people. What do I mean by that? That the people who were becoming Ba’al Teshuvas, meaning not all of them, but a large amount of them, were from wealthy homes, they were from high educational backgrounds, and they were often very high IQ, as well, because you need a high IQ to figure out whether there's a God and whether the Torah is true. But that was basically the Ba’al Teshuva population. Now, something you probably don't realize is that the families of the Ba’alei Teshuva suffered so badly, because if you're from a wealthy, high IQ, highly educated community, so you're talking, like, every one of the brothers and sisters is a... this one's a doctor, this one's a lawyer, this one's a builder. They're these, like, highly successful people. And then all of a sudden, this one kid of one of those families in one of these fancy communities becomes fully dedicated to Hashem, fully dedicated to Torah and Mitzvos. And in that situation of being that person, that means that they’re, with tremendous sacrifice, becoming frum. Sacrifice emotionally, in the relationship with the family, who are all tearing קריעה over him becoming frum, and also sacrificing all the lifestyle and everything. And I even know Ba’alei Teshuva who were disinherited as a result of them becoming frum. We're talking about a sacrifice like you've never even dreamed of that can ever happen to you. I mean, a massive sacrifice. And they make that sacrifice, and that sacrifice is happening, like, every single day with everything they're doing, you know, and they do go home and visit their families and like, can't eat this, can't eat that, can't do this, can't do that, while everyone else is just doing it and saying, like, Come on, get with the program. And no, I'm on a different program. I'm on the Torah program, on the Hashem Dveikus program. But it's a constant giving up. In those days, walking down the street, you know, people were definitely dressed better than they are today, but if you think about yourself walking down the street today and what you can see, especially on a summer day, is a giving up. For you to look away is giving up. For you to hold back is giving up. And you're, like, giving up and giving up and giving up and giving up. It's kind of similar, in a way, to that give up, to that sacrifice. When you walk around, get your own Schar by just letting go and letting go and letting go. Just like the Ba’alei Teshuva, with Mesirus Nefesh Mamesh, gave up everything for Hashem, you have that opportunity every single day that you look away.