Inside ArtScroll Episode 7 - Rabbi Binyomin Pruzansky

[Music] Hello everyone and welcome back to Inside Art Scroll where the books you read and the people who write them come to life. We are joined today by Rabbi Binyaman Pzanski, best-selling author of the stories for the Jewish heart series published by Arch Gromasura. Thank you, Rabbi Pzanski, for being here. Thank you, Rabbi Hiser, for having me here. What a pleasure to be here today. It's an honor. So, we're here first and foremost to talk about a brand new book, Khisik for your heart. But, as we always like to do for our viewers, we'd love to get an inside view on how you got into the storytelling business. So, give us a little background on your initial foray into writing books. Okay. Well, you know, I don't have the typical story. I like to to write as I was growing up I always love writing that's not how it really evolved and really what what happened was at a certain point in my life and maybe we'll get into that but uh I decided I want to do something for Klus I want to do something to inspire people and hashkarus would have it that I was led along this course to try to give over some stories try to give over and I found as a as a learning rebby in camp over the summers is I found that the greatest way to get the boys attention was to tell them a great story. And so I was collecting stories as the years were going on, saying them, but weren't my own stories. But I I pick up stories here and there. And I saw that I had a little knack for it. And when it came time to try to inspire people and give, I said, let's try to go ahead and write a book and write the stories up and see if we could take this a little further in life. let's see what we can do to to lift up people on a broader scale. Now you're talking about telling stories, but telling stories and writing stories are really two very different things. So how did that evolve from telling stories whether as a learning rebi speaking publicly to actually putting them into writing? So at one point in my life I um I wanted to do give I was actually first trying to write a little muser. I was going to write a musafer and I was going to put it out and hopefully that would be inspiring. Now, I didn't realize that people don't get so inspired necessarily by muser, you know. So, when I when I put together the lesson, someone told me, you know, no one wants to read your muser. Put a story in. So, I put a story in. Eventually, I dropped the muser. I said, you know what? Let's go with stories because everyone loves a good story. Everyone gets into a story. You can tell over to your children. And I I started to write these stories and little by little I developed this uh passion for writing the stories and giving over the stories and slowly but surely that's what evolved into you know the writing the book writing that I've been doing. Now stories generally reflect a certain hashkaf muser a powerful message and I imagine that that mode of muser and lessons are things that were imbued in you by your rabbim and those who influenced you. Tell us a little about who those people were as you were growing up. Okay. So I I think with where with this story really begins was a summer in camp. You know summer in camp's great. I was in camp mannov. I was in there for many for many summers I spent over there and I was 19 years old and there was a big saddic over there. His name was Rdavik Fiat. He was a rashiva in the mirhiva. He wrote many many called suggested which was a widespread safer used by many yeshivas and I'm actually a cousin of ddav. I was a cousin of his. My my grandmother was a kuyat. Yeah. He was the r of manu. He was the r of manov. So as any other like camper or staff member, I didn't have so much shikas to him. But one day that all changed at the end of the summer. I was thinking what am I doing next year? What am I going to be doing? And um I had to think about it where my life was headed and I wasn't sure at the time and I decided perhaps I should go learn. I went over to Revdavid and I asked him and this is probably one of the greatest moments in my life. I went over to him. It was Sha Shud's time in camp. He was sitting at the table alone and I sat over and I never really, you know, talked to him. But now I sat down. I said, "Rasha, can I ask you a question?" He took me by the hand. He started rubbing my hand and he said, "Ah, yes. How can I help you?" And I said, "I'm thinking about going to Erit Isel. I'm thinking about going to Israel, but I'm I'm not sure, you know, if I should go. It's it's I'm going to go to yeshiva and learn and and learning all day. I don't know if it's for me." You know, I wasn't holding there yet. And he said, "You should go. Of course you should go and you're going to learn to you're going to see and he said something incredible. He said tora is like a closed flower and the more you learn the more the flower opens and it it took me it took me and thus developed a very close relation withdraw. I staged away but every summer I was close with him. I spoke to him. I learned from him and I grew in my in my own inspiration. And once I was on that course, I I really had a rebi in my life that that really talked to me. And he had a a certain very sweet way of conveying things. And I think that was something that was just a a watershed moment in my life that led me on on on a certain path. Is there any particular story about Ribbid that you recall that stands out or a story about Ribba that you've written in one of your books? Yeah, there's a cute story. He wasn't a story person. He was just learning Tyra, right? And um so tremendous tremendous so stories wasn't his thing. It was more I was getting I was felt I I was he was much older than me. I didn't bring a picture with me but I I used to walk him in camp and ask him questions and there were just a lot of inspiration I got from him. I'll tell you one cute story that that I recall. Um I used to walk him after Mina in camp towards his bungalow and he'd go on to the dining room after that. He'd go and he he'd greet his wife and they go together to lunch in the dining room. So one day I'm walking him and he was wearing a a long kapata a long jacket and as and he'd always change that long jacket that for for a lighter kalat I believe it's called a light a light lighter jacket and uh he'd go towards the bungalow. I was walking with him and his and and when he got closer to the bungalow, his rebbitson got up. He says, "Oh, Revdovid, we're going to to lunch. Let me get your jacket." And he said, "No, no, no. I'll get the jacket." And they both were having this little friendly argument. "I'll go. I'll go." And then she would go and brought it. And then the next day, the same thing happened. I was walking with him. And the same thing occurred again. And she said, "Oh, I'll go. I'll get your jacket." He said, "No, I'll get it." And the third day when I was witnessing this, I said, "One second, Rashiva, I have to ask you a question. You keep on going through the same charade. You're going to go, she's going to go." And he said something I'll never forget. He said, "You think marriage is 50/50?" No, that's not the case. Marriage is 100% 100%. I have to give my 100%. My Rebbitson gives 100%. And that was a a beautiful lesson into the insight into the the marriage and shown bias that really made an impression on me. Incredible. Now in addition to David Kyad, I know that after you got married, you were very close to Gabriel Finkel of Lakewood. How did that relationship start? And tell me about the impact of Gabriel. I remember after his petra, you wrote a beautiful tribute as well. That's right. You know, everyone needs a rebby in their life and and after David Kyad passed away, I was I was lost a little lost. And I think it's so important that everyone has that rebi inspire them. And um I used to learn in the alumni base medish and I saw this this Yid he was very unassuming. He wore a short jacket. He didn't look like this you know he didn't wear a kapata he didn't wear the big hat of a rash shiva but he was a very everyone used to come over to him and ask him questions. I see there someone something very wise about this yid and I got to know him. And I I learned that he was a big bisik and and I started to ask him questions and then from the questions it evolved into a relationship so much so that after every second seder when I would learn over there we'd I'd walk him to his car I'd ask him questions about life and he was a toron cutler and he would tell me stories about and revel his rebim and he'd tell me a Torah true hashkafa and I felt I was getting ems and I I wanted to cling to that ems And I used to go for years and years. I'd go to him, I'd speak to him, whatever was on my mind. I I'd share stories with him and and thus developed a very close relationship. I didn't even realize how close it was until until he tragically suddenly passed away. But it was a tremendous impact and it changed my life as well. And that's what having a rebby is is just clinging to someone who could help guide you. But that's inspiring. that relationship was totally initiated by you um you know in in a sale rav fashion where many people might be intimidated to go over to a respected RV and a pisuk like Rib Gabriel was um but that's really remarkable how that relationship evolved really thanks to your determination I think I think you and it sounds like your relationship with Ribbed was also like that so I think that's a lesson for myself and for everyone that in order to have that connection to great people sometimes we have to be the ones to take that first step. I think we always have to be the ones because raon are very packed, special people have so many people coming to them and if you're going to wait for them to come over to you and make that relationship, you might not get the relationship you need. But if you seek their advice, they're always there. The raon are there to help. If you seek their advice and you speak to them and you you you you try to connect, I think that could take a person a long way. It could take him a lifetime, but it's it's a it's it's such a worthy investment. Absolutely. Very important lesson. Now, getting back to writing stories. So, you're a a married younger man. You're putting together stories. You're inspired to do something with those stories. For someone like you, what was your next step? So, um I started writing a a rough draft, you know, and I um I first my first writing was, as I mentioned, a Muser idea, and I I even sent it in and I sent it to Art Scroll, and they said, "No one wants to read uh Muser. they want to, you know, they want to sit back and kick back with the story. I started writing the stories and it really it came the skills came more as I put my heart to it and I put my my my my goals into trying to inspire and it was a trial and error like anyone else. So you need someone, you know, a good editor behind you that could help guide you and that's how that's how we began. So you submitted your first manuscript, you were told no, but you persisted. You revised it. I revised it a couple times and then you had it edited and then you submitted or and then I had it edited and I I started to realize what people wanted. I try I started to realize you know what what needs to be done and how to present a story and it really started with my telling stories but that led to the way I write stories and one of the most uh important things I I I think for a writer someone trying to write you have to put yourself into the story and see it and then you start writing but if you're just going to write it's going to fall flat put yourself into it and feel it and then let your heart write the script and that's really the way to do it you speak to writers many of them will tell you that they love writing, but sometimes it's an exhausting process because like you just alluded to, you're you're living it as you're writing it. And that ultimately is the most most powerful form of writing. So you submit it to arts scroll. Oddscroll says, "We like this manuscript. We'd like to print it." Now comes to the name of the book. Were you the one who chose the heart as the kind of focal point of your first book, not even knowing yet that it's going to be a series? Yeah. No, I I didn't pick the heart. Someone in the heart scroll uh read it. The editor, I believe, read it and and felt there was something about the heart, tugging the heart and touching the heart. And therefore, uh thus the name was born, the heart series. And you haven't let go of that heart because if I if my math is correct, I think 10 out of your 12 books or something like that, other than your last book, Inspired, and other than your Hagada, all your books are related to the heart. They all have the heart. Could we get uh could we get some uh organs some other organs some attention or is it is it just all about the heart? It's the heart but it's not the actual organ of the heart. It's it's the heart that needs to be inspired. That's what we say every day. We don't get bored of saying shama every day. Love Hashem with all your heart. A heart means we put everything into it. And I try to write stories and convey stories of people who put everything into it into their into their amuna and thus it it reflects it's a great reflection of that heart. Now having written how much is it 12 13 books growing up was there a writer who you admired a writer who you emulated in incorporating a certain style into your books I can't say there was a particular writer I mean I grew up I I used to read rapes who didn't read rapes the mag there's something so beautiful about the the early mag books was shadron and it sort of took you back to a different time zone we we saw the Russian KGB B and Sasha and all these different characters and and we were we were brought into a different world. For American kid growing up to start hearing about all these European stories and all these special stories from a a time long gone, it was very inspirational. That's for sure. Now, your first book, I think, was published in 2006. So, it's about 15 years or so since then. You've published hundreds, perhaps thousands of stories. Is it getting harder to get stories at this point? It's not getting harder. The, you know, things just change in the world. Um, the different types of stories. You know, people used to have patience for long stories. Now, we try to keep them shorter, short and sweet and pack a punch. And whereas in the earlier days, I'd write try to write even I'd have older stories and war stories and and stories that maybe brought you to tears. I no longer want to bring a person to tears. I want to make a person laugh. and be encouraged by the stories that I I present. So the stories are are are evolving and there's always stories. I like to say there's always stories going on. If you open your eyes, you will see stories happening every day. And that's really how I I go about life. I try to see, hey, this is something interesting. This is something inspiring. May just like it's inspired me, it can inspire others. So yes, there are still many, many stories out there. Every day there are stories happening to every one of us. Although you might not write in a book but no you know I tell my kids we at the Shabas table we go ahead and we uh we go around the table we say time Friday night it's time I go around the table and say what happened to you this week and it got them to think and I think it's such a great practice all the children are involved and they try to think what happened to me today or this week and and it gives them a taste to see the hashka in their life. Absolutely. I'll tell you from a personal standpoint there's someone always looking for stories. What I found is that there is no shortage of stories but a lot of them have kind of repetitive plots you know very very similar type of scenarios and to find the story with the kesh with somewhat of an anomaly of a plot or a scenario that's a little harder to find. And I imagine as a writer, you're always looking for that diamond in the rough, that story that's just so out of this world and so extraordinarily uplifting right now. And that leads to my next question. How do you get your stories? Where do you find them? I understand that like you said, day-to-day activities and our day-to-day life present situations that are really inspiring and we just have to be able to have the proper glasses to see the beauty and to see the inspiration. But still how do you solicit those stories to fill a book and not one book but can I know how are now 13 of them. So a book a book is a process and it's it grows as time goes on and it's a story here it's a story there. I'm always looking for a story. So by now a lot of people come over to me and tell me oh I have a great story. I'll speak to Arav and I'll share a story with me. I'm always listening to different shiim. So I'm I'm always listening to hear that story with that surprise with that interesting plot and that just makes your heart it just warms you. It inspires you. So I'm always looking for the story and by looking for for shirim different sharim or by hearing listening to different people speak and a lot of the stories I just as I said it happens. It just happens because I'm in the business. Hashem sends him my way. So a lot of the stories are evolving and you know I'm I'm I'm seeing you know I always tell my wife I don't want to be I don't want to be in the story I want to write the stories but the truth is a lot of the most impactful stories are ones that I was a part of or or I was able to see and I was lucky enough to experience it. Now, in your new book, for your heart, is there a specific topic or overall theme that you chose to follow, number one, and number two, is there a particular story in this brand new book that really stands out to you? So, that's a great question. Um, the book um the the idea of the book is we we're trying to be mazic people. The bulk of the book was written during the the the heart of the Corona virus. And it was a time that you know I was writing and then I stopped for a while because it was hard to write. I felt it was hard to write and inspire in such a distressful time. It was it was difficult time. And then someone told me no you have to. Now's the time that people need inspiration. And so I continued to write and I continued to speak and my focus on this book is strengthening ourselves in our amuna and hashem strengthening ourselves in our void hashem. being happy in life no matter what's going on. We know we're living in a world you don't know what's going on, what's going to come next. And so important that we reinforce ourselves and we strengthen our and and uplift ourselves no matter what's going on in life. You want to be able to stand up each day, be happy and and and have that energy that nothing's going to go wrong today because I know Hashem's with me. And that's what I try to convey in in this book. As far as a particular story, it's hard for me to pick one story out of a book. I I'll give you an example. It's not the story because I think every story has its it's godless. Okay. Um the first story is incredible story. I'm not going to share that with you. I want someone to read it and they'll get that story. But I'll tell you the second story of the book is a story I heard from Rav Eton Feiner. I was speaking to Raan Finer. He sh the rub of the white shaw and he shared with me an incredible story. He said there was a Tum who came to his office to speak to him and he told him of a story that happened with him. He said that he had a a daughter that was born a and you know growing up in school it was difficult for her to go through school and uh she had her challenges in life. You know I'm sure she did and yet she was very upbeat and very positive. And one day when she's an older girl already, she's already in her 20s. She comes down the steps, her father's head is on the on the on the table and she's cry. He's crying. So she goes and she says, "Ta, why are you crying? You're always so happy. What's going on?" And he says, "Listen, you know, all your friends, they're going into now. They're starting life out. And I'm thinking about you. I'm thinking, what's going to be withim?" And I I got I got a little depressed about it. I don't know. How are we gonna find you aid? And she says, "Tati, I want to tell you something." And she said something incredible. She says, "Then was the first one to jump jump into the Yam. He was the first one to jump in and then everyone went in after him." And we know that he went into the water until the water reached his nose and that's when it split until it didn't split. He had to jump in and go all the way in and then it split when it reached his nose. I want you to know something, Tati. If I was there, I jump into after him. And even though the water would be way over my head, by the time he reached his nose, I still would have jumped in because that's how much amuna I have in Hashem. That'll take care of me no matter what's going on. And his father was the father was blown away. And he said, you know, with that amuna, that you're right. I have nothing to worry about. And a few months later, she became a cow. It's that ability. It's that ability to jump into the yam. And even though things are going on, it's turbulent. You don't know what's going to happen, but you know, Hashem is going to split it for you. You know, Hashem is going to take care of you. What a powerful message from this young girl. I think it's a message talks to us. We all have times in life when we feel that the water is going over. It's up to our nose. But don't despair. Realize Hashem is going to split the yam for you just like he did for Kalisro back then. He's going to do it for each and every year. No matter what they're going through, no matter what's going on in their life, no matter how turbulent life may be, Hashem could split it in an instant. Incredible message of especially as you mentioned in this particular time when people are challenged from so many different directions. So that's an invaluable story for us to keep in mind. Now, in regards to your other books, I know you'll have to maybe dig into your memory bank, but uh is there another story or two from your previous volumes that either was particular were particular poignant to you or that other people told you, you know, that story really changed the way I look at things? Two stories that come to mind. Two very different type of stories. I'll tell I'll tell you the first one. We'll see if we get to the second one. But the first one is about Raviano Golinsky. Ravi Golinsky was the fame mag and when he was a bacher he was learning in yeshiva bialisto and what I love about the story is it takes us to a different time but if you you live the story you feel you feel the power of the message so reviana was a young ber learning in the alisto and he comes to his rebi one day and he says rebi it's just not going I'm not feeling inspired what do I do so the rebi told him why don't you go to nardik and I want you to seek out the best bakar over there and seek out this buffer. Tell him to give you some muser. And he says, "Okay, I'll go there." And he travels to Nardik and he goes into the base manager and says, "Who's the best baker?" And they point to a certain boy. And he goes over with them says, "Can you give me some muser?" And the boy says, "Listen, if you want me to give you muser, you have to first learn some muser. Go to the base a few blocks away. Learn for a half hour. Come back to me. I'll give you the muser. Then it will go in." He says, "Okay. And he goes to that bass medish. And when he comes into this dark bass medish, he suddenly hears a haunting tune, a melody. Oh yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo. So he's he's like what's going on? What I love about the story is the niggan. It brings you into the time. Listen to the to the niggan. And as he's walking closer to the women's section, the base measure is deserted. There's only he hears the voice coming from the women's section. He comes and he he looks inside and he sees his yid and he's learning by the candle light and he keeps on saying that niggan and he says over the final words and what the words mean is you have to grab and eat. You have to grab and drink because the world that you are going to leave is like a wedding hall. You have to grab and grab and grab and grab. And the message to him was powerful that a person's in this world for a short time. It's like a wedding. You have to you have to grab as many and as you can because the wedding's going to end eventually and you're going to go back home. You don't want to come back home empty-handed. You don't want to come to without mitzvah. Raviano was so inspired by that melody. He just went back home to be alak. He said, "I don't need any more muser. I got my muser." And later later in life many years later at the Levia the stipgoyan he tell over the story it was the stip none other than the stiplegoyan who was that young man in the back of the base medish and when I say over the story and he's singing that niggan so many people have told me over the years the niggan just stays in me. Oh yo yo yo yo yo yo yo you feel it. You feel the become and it's very inspiring. It's an old time story but it hits me right in the heart. Amazing. And Rabian had that to impart that feeling with his stories and his malim and he just unparalleled in his power. And I know you've quoted Goginsky quite a bit in in in your book in your various books and for good reason. So now you tempted me. I have to ask you what that other story one of your favorites are. Okay. So the other story is a personal story that I was involved in and that's why I love it so much and it really it touched my life and it and whenever I say it over it touches it just touches a cord. I'll share with you a spouse. I went on a Uru Shabatone. Now Uru used to make a shabas in a hotel and they'd get families bring families together non from families or families that were not yet fully observant and they pair him with a war to dig a family. So, we came to a hotel somewhere in New Jersey, probably not too far from here. And I was piered with a family. We call them the Kazan Kazan family, I believe. And I'm at the table at the Kazan family. And they were Israeli, a Israeli uh family, American Israeli family. And I was sitting at that table and I was trying to make conversation. There was Sparty Israelis. Now, I coming from Lakewood did not have so much, you know, to do with a sparty Israeli family. I just didn't I'm I live in Lakewood. It's a yeshiva town and I just didn't know how to make conversation. So, we saw some baba, you know, I saw some of the sparty foods, babosh. Oh, how's the baba ganosh going over there? It's great. It's delicious. But I wasn't making that connection. And then I saw at the table in this family there was a daughter and the father tells me, "Oh, that's my daughter Tamar. We'll call her. And uh Tamar needs a shock. She's 25 years old. She's looking for a good boy, but it's not happening. And I looked over at Tamar. I started to talk to her. And that was a connection. I said, "Maybe I can make a shock." You know, who knows? Now, I don't even know why I said that because now who do I know for this girl? And I'm talking to her. She's telling me that she's really struggling with her Yiddish kite, but if she found someone that wanted to grow, she's ready to grow. Now, she was not a religious girl. She had gone to a day school. She was not religious, but she had a certain amount of amun. I saw it in her in the way she spoke. She loved to keep Shabbat and everything, but she needed someone to help her. She needed to find that shoo. And as I'm talking to the father, I said, you know, you have the same problem that we have. It's hard to find a good guy, you know. So, um, with smoozing, I said, yeah, yeah, I'm going to think about it. Maybe I'll come up with someone. My wife told me, "Why' you say that?" He got their hopes up. You know, Chabas went on after Chabas, I had this on my mind. What can I do for this girl? So I'm coming back to Lakewood and I tell my wife, you know, I have an idea. I have a shuk idea. And she says, okay, yeah, for that girl. He says, who do you know that's an Israeli smarty Israeli for this girl? I said, I don't know anyone, but there happens to be two fellows working in Kosher West, a grocery that you and I sometimes in our neighborhood. Yeah. In our neighborhood that we sometimes go to. And there's two workers over there, two Israeli guys. I said, you know, I'm sure she's for one of them. So my wife says, you this is crazy. Don't don't do it. You're going to make a fool out of yourself. Don't do this. I said, "No, I'm telling you this is a good idea." And I don't know what made me do this. Now, I befriended some of these guys cuz I go and I shop there and I talked to them and they were recent Bali Chuva, you know. So, so I wanted to give them some. So, I said, "You know what? Okay, I'm going to I'm I'm going." I dropped my kids off and I went right right from the shops. I went right to the grocery store. But I only had one problem. Now, which one? Which one should I choose? There was a tall one and there was a short one. And I didn't really know the difference between the two of them. I like eeny meeny. I didn't know which one. And I said to myself, you know, as I walked in, let me see who's there. First of all, the shorter guy was there. And it dawned on me that he's probably the right guy because this girl was a little short. I said, oh, they look a little similar. He looks like the father. I'm going to go over to him. I go over to him and I say, "Yei, hey, how you doing? I have a shik idea for you." And he's looking at me like I'm crazy. He's like, I said, I was on a shabas and I met this girl. I think it's perfect for you. He's like, is she more like you or more like me? I said, no, no, she's more like you. I'm telling you it's a good idea. Why don't you, you know, what do you think? And I started to tell him a little about her now. There's no, no. He says, okay, I'll try it out. I call up the girl. Also, no resumes, you know, no red tape. And she says, "Okay, I trust you, Rabbi. We'll give it a shot." And they went out and they went out again. I knew it was going well when he told me one day that I'm going to them for Shabas. Wow. The months roll on and finally he comes to me one day he says I get a masleto we're engaged we're getting engaged can you speak at the can you speak at the I said sure and he had told me how much Shabbat meant to him and she told me about Shabbat so when I spoke I said Shabbat and Shabbat it brought us all together and it created a new mishb inro but the story doesn't end there number of years later yasi already works somewhere else but I'm walking into kosher west into the aisle. You know, I'm doing my shopping Friday. I got my, you know, I'm trying to get my car. I'm walking down the aisle and I get a little bump and there's a lady with two kids, two yeshiva kids in her in her car and she bumps into me by accident. She says, "Excuse me." And then she looks up. She says, "Rabbi Pzanski." I say, "Is that you, Tamar?" And she says, "Yeah." And she has these two children in the cart. One's an the other boy a yeshiva boys. They're wearing tits. She's dressed. She's wearing a shabas and she says, "Oh yeah, my boys aren't yeshiva." Now their life's turned over and the shabas and the kids go to yeshiva and they have a whole different history trajectory in life is all different because I reached out and then I think to myself, you know, if I wouldn't have reached out by that shabas, that cart would have never bumped into me. those children representing a new family because someone deared to care. And that's really every story in life. When we have the courage to reach out and care, tremendous things can happen, tremendous inspiration, and it can last in eternity. It's an amazing story because it happened to you. We're hearing it firsthand. But I think the lesson of reaching out is twofold. You reached out initially to the girl and then you had the guts. Let's be honest, you had the guts to go over to the fellow in the supermarket. That's right. And and was that your first sh by the way? Uh I made a couple of interesting. But okay, but definitely probably your most memorable one. Yeah, that was definitely my most memorable one. And it's a also in a time when many people need That's right. to be proactive and to sometimes not let our logic dictate because when you overthink it, you start thinking to yourself, "Ah, it's not for me. I'll leave it to other people. Yeah. You're inspired for a moment. You say, "Yeah." And then you forget about for two days and you just say, "Forget it. It's not for me." And I what a tremendous story like that in the last book also. Different type of story. But there's so many things happening that if we open our eyes and we reach out, we could just we could do so much. We could change the world. That's really really an incredible lesson. And I see obviously that you don't only write good stories. You're living the good stories as well and teaching us all lessons and how to care for other people and really have a heart. Growing up, was there a particular book or safer or something that inspired you now that you're an accomplished author? Any book that stood out to you? I can't say growing up like there was that that book and that changed my life. different things that I've been inspired by uh if you learn or you learn there's so much pumping and and so much to to to to take out of it but I can't point to that book that said hey that's the book that made me who I am because that's not how life is life is not oh I read this book and it you know take the lessons read look for inspiration rava we was inspired by a rock. Now, if I told you you passed by a rock and there's water dripping, would you be inspired by that? No, you wouldn't be inspired by that. But if you're looking for inspiration, then you're going to find it. Hashem's going to send it to you. And so, the inspirations come from everywhere. It's in your life. It's around you. You don't have to look far to be inspired. If you see Hashem in your life, if you see Hashem in your everyday life, you will be inspired. And you have you'll have stories to tell. As I mentioned before, you'll have stories wherever you go. Wherever I go, I I find these stories. But there's no specific book. You write that book. Everyone has to write that book. It's it's in your heart. And I think that's the most important uh that's the most important feat for us is to try and realize it's in us. Now, you mentioned Ramman. I'm just I'll digress for a second. Ramuk has created what I would call a revolution and inspiration. It's really unprecedented. He's put out Tyra and inspiration that seems to resonate with the masses almost unlike I mean we're we're similar in age. I don't remember anything like it uh in in Kaidesh and now it's translated just from your vantage point. What do you think Rabik has tapped into that he's been able to reach hearts across the world? So Ramik has changed many lives with his positivity and amuna and I don't think you could read a ver over there or a story that that in any way knocks you or or or makes you feel uh you know like you're you're lacking every single thing that he says is is infused with amuna and how you see Hashem in your life and it changed it changed my life. It changes so many people life. He's tapping into something that we all have but we didn't realize that was lying dormant perhaps in our hearts. He's able to bring it to the for if you read his stuff if you read his t which I do and I incorporate it into my stories and my lessons and I even have a a story tool over here in the book uh about positivity. I think that's what really talks to us because we let's face the facts we're living in a generation where we're very soft and it's very easy for us to break and we can't we can't handle muser anymore. We need the positivity and it's a little of blend that we're we're starting to infuse into ourselves and even if you're not we all have that hearts and that's what he's talking to and he's opening up a new world of amuno and how loves you more than anything in the world and that's what he's tapped into. I think you're so right and your books also represent that we're maybe years ago the harsher muser approach was effective whereas now it's not me saying this greater people than I have said that it's a weaker generation and the way to reach hearts and souls of all ages is with positivity and uplifting people and reminding people just how much the bunnam cares about them just how much durablum knows every facet of their lives and even when things are tough even when things are challenging, the bunn is orchestrating it all. And that leads me to one final thing that I wanted to ask you about in addition to being a fabulous and successful writer. You're also a longtime. You've worked with Baham for many, many years. I'd love for you to talk about that for a moment and also tell us what you found especially in a challenging time when many boys and girls are disillusioned or they go through periods of time where it's it's complicated and they look out and they see things as convoluted. They don't know how to make sense of their challenges. What have you found to be the secret to reach a youngster's heart whether they're bar mitzvah age or even a little older as they're trying to find direction in their life? It's a it's a great question. We no doubt that we're living in in very challenging times. It used to seem like life was much simpler for a young kid. You know, you you go happy go kid and you're growing up. You go to yeshiva everything and life just has a certain way of working out. And we're facing a generation in a time where there's so many problems. There's so much fake news in the world. We don't know what's real and what's fake. And so, like you said, a child could get disillusioned. He could lose his way. And with a click of a button, he could be in a different world. And so, it's important for us to understand that where they're coming from. It's so important for us to to realize that these are boys or girls who just need a little love. Just love them. As Retrank, you know, said, they need love. They need warmth. These these are kids on all levels. You have the best kids in the world and they're they're fine kids and they're learning to and they're but they still need that. Don't think it's only the kids who are going through the the struggles. There's all different types of of children and boys and girls and what they need most and most importantly is a rebi to believe in them a parent to believe in them to to to see their good. We're so busy judging people and and that's what what is is is ruining us in a way. If we're judging them, we're just knocking them. We don't understand them. So, we have to understand them. We have to love them, but we have to try to lift them up and see the godless that they have to offer. And there's so much that they have to offer. And I try to do that when I when I speak to boys and you know, I try to go out there sometimes. I I met a kid the other night. It was a sad situation. These kids were were uh some of them weren't were wearing yamakas. And I just was to go somewhere someone asked me to speak somewhere and one of these kids comes over to me and says, "Hey, Rappa, do you remember me? And I look at him, I said, "No." You said, "But but you used to teach me. Remember we used to learn together." I looked at the kid. I'm like, "Oh my, yeah, of course I remember you. I didn't recognize him because he looks so much different. He used to look like a yeshiva boy. He was a young boy and now he's a little older and neb, you know, he he hit the streets a little more." And but the same the same beauty in that heart was there. And I think what we have to do, we have to be a little more proactive and we have to reach out. Don't just let it go. Hey, let these kids just, you know, whatever happens happens. Let's hear about these children. Let's reach out to them. Let's inspire them. Imagine you could read this book or other books and you feel inspired. And you say, you know what? I have it. And then you start reaching out. And if we all would reach out to that one child and we all reach out to that one teen, whoever it was, and give them words of you could change their life. And when you say reaching out, I mean, let's let's be practical. Regular people who don't work in walk around, they see a youngster. Guide guide us. Talk to them. Open up a little. We're so shy of our own shadow. Let's let's let's talk to them. Hey, how you doing? What's going on? What yeshiva you're going? Oh, you know, maybe I can help you out. Maybe you think of an idea. Talk to them. Show them that they're important to you. And it doesn't matter. You could start a learning seder with someone. You know, perhaps it's someone you could reach out to and start learning with them once a week. Or I'm not talking about Kira even. I'm just talking about people that you might know, but you don't have a connection. And like I said before, when you have a connection to a Rebi, like I had connection to to Revd, as we mentioned before, Reb got real, it changed my life. And I wasn't off the D. I wasn't far away, but it it improved my life. So that connection that we make that that we have in our hearts that that toro that we have we could convey in a very easy way noncon confrontational way just talk to them reach out be nice and try to lift up every person that you meet in your life I don't think that's asking too much you don't have to go into kif but just be a good yid overflow with that love for and you'll see it could go so Rezenski, we feel that positivity through your books, surely through your speaking. You know, you you've strengthened our hearts. You've awakened our hearts. You've inspired our hearts. And we wish you continued success spreading that message of positivity, messages of faith, messages of inspiration, messages of Durabanam's love for us. Continue doing so through your writing through, you're speaking for many, many more years. Thank you so much for having me, Rabbi Rabbi Hiser. It was a pleasure to be here. Thank you. [Music]