KLM: L'David [Tehillim 27] A Master Course in Teshuva M'Ahavah with Rabbi Asher Baruch Wegbreit

Heat. Heat. [Music] My birthday [Music] that which we are saying from el until that's a challenge but if you know what you can accomplish, it makes a big difference. And we're going to talk about Chuva right now. So I I was saying this to people before we recorded and they said, "No, everybody needs to hear this." Okay? When you're listening to a class about Chuva, it can just stay in the world of abstraction. And that's not what you want to do, right? So, what I want everyone to do is to take a um a few seconds and think about what you know you need to do chuva on. Okay? Because I want you to apply what I'm going to teach now to yourself. Okay? So, maybe I'll help you a little and give you some classic things that most people have to do chuba on and then I'll give you a general thing. Okay? So most people have to do chuva for being angry. Most people have to do chuva for speaking lashenhara. Almost so many people have to do chuva for believing lashenhara. Even if you're careful yourself, you just you don't think to have your guards up when people are speaking. Okay. Most people have to do chuva for doing mitzvah by wrote, right? crashes uh berkazone. Most people have to do chuva for throwing blessings out of their mouth unconsciously. Okay, take a second and pick a pick one or two. Ideally, write it down. I know I know what I have to do. Okay, I hope this will make it more real. if you think of what you need to fix. All right. But now let me say what we um uh now that I'm going to talk about chuba. There's something I think we can also say we're sure we need to fix. All right? And that is loving your like yourself. Guess what? One place that applies is all the Jewish uh friends, family, uh children, etc. So, we probably have not treated our fellow Jew closer. It's more of an issue with the respect that we'd like to have ourselves. Okay, that's number one. But says the Gammoran Chabas, who is Rayaka also? Anyone want to guess? Hashem ray aa means hashem they bring a proof on this. So I think it's safe to say if we think about the fact that we um throw blessings out of our mouth we run through uh the tila mck we probably have not loved ray aa the greatest most divine friend of all we probably have not loved him and treated him with the respect he deserves. Okay. So, I'm going to give you a process right now to do chuva. Now, last week we spoke about that the five to six seconds that the chauffeur's blowing. You can do chuva from urus hashem. You can be afraid blow beer. You can be afraid of the uh of the chauffeur. It can remind you of a siren from Iran. Hazam. Okay. You can do it of course but we said you can own your shortcomings and you can worry about the judgment if you do that for all the way up into Russia shana through yum kipper you're worried about wow I don't know what's going to be hashem takes things very seriously look what's happened this year to friends family community the Jewish people right so that so every day six seconds at least you can at the end you can say hashem I worked on chuva a A okay ready here's the beautiful thing through we can work on chuva maava okay this is again uh it's not me but uh most people I I I think I could interview most jurus and ask them here let's try it Mosha if you do chuva from Eura um what is your intent potential sins turn into [Music] >> uh from fear from fear of hashem you're hashem there's from there's from chuva from yura and chuva from mava so from your what does it turn the mitzvah from mazid to >> shog to shogi yes okay >> and if you do chuva from love then it turns them into it says which is mitzvah there's a Great general awareness of that. That's a gammorrah in Yuma. Okay. 86A. Okay. Pay pay v A olive. Okay. So, we all know this promise. If I do chuva from wow, Hashem's going to look at even the worst things I did as unintentional. And if we do chuva from Ava, somehow the that lush and horror turned into a merit in my favor. But of course, you have to do chuva. you have to repent. Okay. So we said that oh something you could put your in your mind during uh the recital the blowing of the cha the recital of the tillm just a general thing I haven't been respectful enough to hashem and I haven't been respectful enough to others okay now is mamish you know sometimes you make a title you you want people to listen because you feel you have something that can help them. So you give a catchy title. I really believe what I'm saying here. Okay. Approached in the way we will discuss is like a master course on how to do chuva mava. Yeah. What a I mean it's amazing. Then you understand why would they sub why would they make us do this 35 30 times in a row. Right. We said to open the heart is one thing. Okay. So let's explain how to Zion can bring us to Chua and we can say to if we show up and step up each time I worked on coming back to you by Ava. All right. So the first thing you have to know is how do you do chuva from Ava? All right. Chuva has these uh uh um ma basic steps of regretting regretting not being respectful right admitting it being honest admitting it voy right and then there's let's say pledging not to stopping it and pledging not to do it okay so those are the three steps that's chuva so chuva ma aava is your motivation It's about your motivation for the chuva you're going to do. And what is your motivation? It should be because I want to regain the devus that I had to before I sinned. The love it's coming out of love and a desire to be attached to shem. Okay. So the first thing we should do is say this, you know, but you really should be thinking and feeling this when you start reciting the tale. You should say kadesh boru. I've treated you with a lack of respect and I've I've treated um others with a lack of respect and I want to fix this cuz I love you and I want to be um attached to you. I want it to Vegas. Okay. It's your motivation. All right. That's why Zion is a gold mine. Okay. the the the by the way the commentary I'm relying upon for Havzian is the incredible Malbad guttle olum impossible to to sufficiently praise the malam for what he did for the Jewish people but the malam says this is about one this is about one thing akas us deacus to Hashem. This is David and Melik teaching us the fruits of devus and then he's begging Hashem for deacus more devus and that's what we need. So we're we're we're stepping into his words right and we're seeking the vakus. We're we're reminding ourselves the power. So the motivation of your fixing the lack of respect towards Hashem and towards others is should be dev. So for example um um David Melik by the way maybe um also I I'm I'm going to share this next part. I don't know if I've ever shared it on film. I shared it in public many times but um I'm going to share this for um uh as a act for um Hashem to have mercy to bring out the hostages that are still alive. Okay, and also to return all the hostages. Okay, you have to hear this. Um but this story I heard it I know people met this woman. Okay. But before I share this story with you, no, I'll tell you right now. Okay. Couple years ago, I saw this. There was a woman who is a secular Israeli woman, and she uh, you know, it was around this time last year, a little earlier, not last year, but a little before that, she got very, she started to feel sick. And the doctor, he couldn't nail it down, but he she wasn't well. So you know you go to the doctor make an effort but you know she lives in Israel and so she has friends so she had a friend of hers said you know what you should say a tahillum you know for your rafua okay so she was willing to try anything and so she starts saying a taleum for you know and she's saying it every day she's saying the person says say it for 30 days okay or some yeah so she's saying it but she's Israeli so she can't get away with just not knowing what the words are saying. So she starts to pay attention. She says this this t doesn't mention a thing about sickness, right? What what does it mention? It says um when truly evil people come to consume my flesh, my uh rivals, my enemies to me. Okay, it's talking about that and then it says if a camp comes against me, right? If war comes against me. So, okay, but she's a good soldier. She just keeps saying this to him. Okay, so she finishes and by the way, her name was H is she should be well. Sappir Cohen. So Sapier's parents lived in um Kiboots near O near O. Is am I saying it right? Near O. >> Yeah. >> And so she went there for uh >> Simas Torah. >> Okay. Not religious. And her hus her her fiance came too and they wet like 4 or 5 in the morning. They hear shrieking and sounds and unbelievably terrifying sounds are happening. So she hides under the bed, right? She's hiding under her bed. She's probably praying then, but she like terrified. Rakmanlan, the the beasts found her. Okay. And they take her and they they they put her on the she they decided she's going to be a a hostage. So they're bringing in her Gaza. Okay. And those poor little Gazins, she said they were worse than Hamas. They were trying to rip her to shreds to tear her flesh apart as she's going. But she was sticking but and she's sticking her head out like this so her her family could she see her, right? But but you have to hear something. I promise you. I heard the woman. She said, "I wasn't afraid at all. I felt no fear. It w she it was like there couldn't have been more brutal, more horrible experience. She said, "I didn't feel fear." And she go they take her into the tunnels and she's there and then listen to this. Okay. Her captor made a candle like, you know, you're going to die soon. Now, she was doing what she could to just stay alive, have a decent, you know, just be pleasant. But you know she as she spoke to him and you know he said some he shared something or this horrible disgusting beast but listen to what he said to her. He says I hate you. You're my enemy. But when I look at you I see light. Hashem ori. This is this woman is now religious. I Yeah. for obvious obvious right but listen and then she was one of the she was in the first set of hostages to be relieved yeah sapier okay so so I feel even though I'm focusing on us doing chu mahava I felt the world needs to hear that story and maybe I'll just tell you one more part about this story is incredible I have a a friend in South Africa he's uh stunned plane driver. And so they were looking for ways the people the hostages or the orphans Rahmanis and the Mus they trying to find the ways to just raise their spirits. So they got to go to um South Africa. So he hosted them, took them on plane rides. So, um he said she just um uh she she was wearing this one outfit like this kind of black outfit and um right before Shabas she's um she's going she asked to go to his laundry room and to like scrub it and uh scrub it. He says, "Please let let me get you some clothes." So, uh, she said, "No, um, I do want to my clothes clean for Shabbat, which he just started taking on, but I'm not changing my clothes till my fiance gets out." >> Oh, wow. >> Yeah. He's a Russian guy worked for Apple. I forgot his name. He too was released later. >> Isn't that incredible? Yeah. Okay, so All right, let's zoom back to um where we are. Okay, good. So again we want this tom said with kavana al um can uh help us do chuva from love. Okay. And we said chuva from means what's your motivation? Right? So we're saying that we have not treated you with proper respect. We have not treated people we love with proper respect. Um and we want to fix it because we want to we want to visave to you. We want attachment. We want love. Okay. So the mumm says this is what David and David Dov and explain I don't care if a war comes against me uh enemy people want to just rip me to shreds it doesn't matter why I I asked one thing from hem mean I just want us I want I want to vis teaching us if you attain the vus You have nothing to be afraid of. Devus brings extraordinary divine providence. And if you doubt it, what happened with Sappir Cohen? This woman who is not religious is faithfully reciting this to him day after day. And there were enemies that trying to rip her flesh apart and kill her. It didn't. Yeah. Deacus. This is like David Melik is enticing us to to seek the vicus. Okay? Because the vake brings divine pro protection. All right? So that's the one theme is is that immerse in this tilm and look um um and what you want to do is show Hashem that you want to do chuva from ava by being the deuslik where is he being mvakus he says like this let me read you the words um amari be for you. I told my heart to to say this. I'm seeking your face. It says that means your present. I'm seeking your presence. Don't conceal your presence from me. Don't let me get estranged from you. Bring keep me attached. Okay? You hear that? We're begging that Hashem not do hester upon him that he not conceal his presence that we get the vake attachment to him. Good. So that is step number one. Okay. If you work on it every day you can be attaining more and more deus to Hashem. Remember, keep it on your heart and you have to choose. Fulfill the mitzvah of heart. Choose to be engaged in it. Okay, that's step one. Now, okay, I wish we would say we're done, but we're not. What's the hardest thing to do chuva for? Anyone want to guess? What category? >> All right, I can think sexual things. >> Um, could be right. people with that. But >> well, lusenhor is connected here. Let me pose it as a a multiple choice >> money, >> right? Is it easier to do chuva on the sins between you and Hashem or you and other people? >> Is easier, right? What's harder? Other people cuz you have to hum yourself in front of other people and say, "I'm sorry. I was a jerk. It wasn't you. I tried to act like you're the reason that I got angry." But right, we all know it's harder to do to reconcile and repair with people who we maybe are upset at etc. Right? That's hard. Okay, that's hard. But chuba it says yum kipper is not going to help you if you neglect the issues between you and other people and all the you know again putting people down, lashenhara like you said, etc. Okay. So you could want the vus. You you can want to do chuba but you must tackle that. Let me just do this. Okay. This tom has a powerful powerful aid to to get you to be able to do chuva with people that you hurt and upset that you got upset with and didn't act proper with etc etc. Okay. That's the second key theme here. Okay. I I'll tell you how I got reminded of this grow. I think I have heard it before. Yeah. Yeah. I have heard it before. So, you know, uh there's a famous thing that the antidote to sin is most people will say it. What? Ahim. So, I there's a I'm going to give him credit. Ravi Asher Brander Schlita from uh link uh and I heard someone say that to him. He says totally not true. He says a kingom brings tons of destruction. He says what is what causes baseless hatred? A lack of trust in Hashem. That's the cause. Because why do we get upset at other people? Cuz we think they're doing something to us and not Hashem. We're not trusting that Hashem put this person in our life to press our button and do something to us. That's what gets us to hate people. We forget who's doing it. We're we're if we were if we could see behind that it's Hashem. We're not going I you know we have to trust Hashem is behind it all and Hashem loves us and he's only doing it for our good. That's the that's the remedy. You have to have more trust in Hashem that Hashem knows what he's doing in your life to you with you for you. You hear that? Soon trust. See, cuz you may not make it. Sometimes Hashem says hate people. It's a mitzvah to hate people. Sometimes if you're if you're humanitarian with cruel people, you could be causing great destruction. is not a a general rule, but the the real palpable living with the realization that everything is happening is a kaj that will stop it. And by the way, the safer says this. He says bearing a grudge, bearing a grudge, God forbid, and taking revenge are rooted in a lack of recognizing that Hashem put the situation in front of us. He's doing it all. Okay? So I just want to show you in Zion is indeed is okay he's saying if a camp comes against me okay where is the other part yeah I'm not going to be afraid who's who's behind the camp Okay. And that's what we learned in these parhas that the heroic soldiers, the the Torah says, "Do not be afraid." Right? Do not be afraid. I cuz I'm trusting that when I have deus to you, everything will be okay. Now, here's the part about the isitzvah mitzvah to trust in Hashem. Okay, ready? Look at the last line in this adonoi. Hope to hem. Strengthen and fortify your heart. El hashem and hope to don't stop trusting in him. And by the way, when you hope for his help, that shows you trust him. You know he's the he's the agent that's going to pull you out, right? So 30 uh 51 days, 51 days we can drive home trusting in Hashem. What am I afraid of? You have to ask yourself. Somebody's um giving you a hard time at work or doing something. There's nothing to be afraid of. Okay? You if you trust Hashem, nothing to be afraid of. And that will help you humble yourself. And I I hope it helps me humble ourselves and say, "I'm sorry. I was a jerk cuz and and to yourself, you're saying, "I missed the point. They pressed my button. They did something. They didn't do anything to me. Hashem wants me to grow and come close to him." Right? That's such a path. So, if you really take this seriously and you keep reminding Shem's behind it all, Shem's behind it all. Even the things that worry me, even the things that get me angry, even when people are after me, Shem's Hashem should protect us. Hashem's behind it all. Okay? Then that's going to soften our heart and we're going to be able to ask mahila from people we hurt and to repair the relationships and recognize, hey, why am I treating them with a lack of respect? Cuz my my whatever is it's just a lack of trust. Okay. So I mean I think it's very clear that this tom instead of becoming something that we come more and more in conscious reciting this can literally literally alter us and and and do the greatest thing of all like the all the lush and horror the anger at the people you have to take care of it right but still it can turn into merits >> why isn't he shifting the vase hashem >> yeah right so that that's the why they say it's the vake cuz we can't even even David Melik who said it he can't sit in the B of mikdash all the time he's not a cohen in the no right so right so be bes means that um uh I want to dwell in places where the divine presence manifests all right now we're learning Torah even if you were learning Torah by yourself that's basm because there's someina when you're learning in a holy the uh basa midrash like this at Rabaka. So that's that's besided is basm. But the point is I want to sit there so I can have the vakus. I can be attached to you. It's easier to have the vus. It's easier to be what is the vus by the way? It's your you're reflecting on Hashem. You're feeling love towards him and reverence and you're seeking his wisdom and rec all that uh yields the vakus. It's your mind and your um your emotions being attached to to Hashem. Okay. So that where what David is saying please can put me in the context where where that becomes very accessible. You hear? So ba bass is a a place of gathering or or just a place where the schina will manifest more and more. Okay. So the last thing uh so I'm just want to review the whole thing and I have a little acronym we're uh going to develop that we're going to hopefully turn into a graphic. I'm tweaking it but I just want you to hear it in its general sense. Okay. So first I just want to summarize. Okay, tails is not just words to rattle off. It's not like say it, close the sitter, move on. It's a daily opportunity to do chuva from Ava. Okay. I.e. it speaks of the vakus and that that's the motivation for our chuva. If we want to do cha from olive it it speaks of bet and that's a way to melt away jealousy and hatred because as the grow taught us sin is comes from a lack of trust that it's hashem no one else okay remember going over tom that were written by David Melik David and me was ka aashemus it will get absorbed into your nama says the mess Shim. Okay. So, just have confidence that if you do this sincerely, you will have more a year and deus because it's a metaphysical reality. Okay? And remember salant that when you repeat things again sincerely and put your heart into it, your heart melts and the message gets in. Okay? So, that's what we're trying to do. And I'm just gonna give you um the the acronym for now. It's leav ready. Lashameh is to recite. All right. Lashame mitzvah to recite this to him. That's even enough. That's L David. Dus is the goal. A a love should motivate our chuva. Okay. V. Vanquish sinum with I internalize David's holy emotions that are embedded in the tahillim. And Daily recital engraves it in our heart. Shem should help us accomplish this. This shouldn't just be words. We should put into action and we should all have aim tova and all the beautiful things that the vakus brings. [Music] You see your sh Oh Not the God.