KLM: The A.R.T. of Prayer & 13 million Mitzvos with Rabbi Asher Baruch Wegbreit

[Music] You see your tomorrow. [Music] like to welcome back the viewers of Yen and Torreni time to the Kavanait's Foundation where we're trying to become present in the presence of Hashem. What could be better? So, and um I'm going to I've been called I' I've been called into Miloim of Yuben because Rabbi Flax has been called into mill defending the country and uh I hope we all u let's all do for him and everybody else that they're safe and victorious against the enemy. Having said okay the other thing is this I I I've as I said the goal of what I'm trying to do is help us be present in the presence of Hashem. The idea of mindfulness is very popular these days and it's it's very helpful. It it helps to be present. However, as my Rebby taught, Rabbi Green Shiman Green that meditation and mindfulness finish, Judaism starts because we are also trying to be in the moment but in the in a moment of relationship with the one who is fueling the universe and helping our heartbeat, etc. So that's that's what we're focused on is being present. So it's really fitting um that I was asked to speak about to file about prayer because that's a that's very direct in and but we also teach in this foundation how this can bring you into the presence of Hashem. This can connect you in a very deep way. And I'm not talking about the blessing only. the blessing obviously, right? But I'm saying the act of drinking can draw you close to Hashem. A smile can draw you close to Hashem by driving. There's so many there there's just really no uh activity that isn't um isn't an opportunity if you're not if you're present. Okay. Having said that, I just want to encourage people of Yubane. We're very excited about this. We've had a partnership with Yanet for 5 years. And to the to the listeners and viewers of Yven want to invite you. We are starting a special if you have WhatsApp a special WhatsApp program where you're in groups of uh people your friends you know your schul something like this uh whatever it may be. We're making private little groups and I'm going to give you kavana challenges right. I'm going to give you short easy things to do on a weekly basis and I think you'll find it magnificent. Our goal is to globalize Cavana. We want to spread this around the world. We have groups so far uh Frankfurt, Germany, uh Australia, South Africa. I I'm even working on China, the mainland, the mainland. I know my my uh I know a woman who is uh you know she's a convert and she's she actually has lots she says there's other Jewish people or converts in China. Okay. So if you're interested in joining this um we'll put a little link below uh right a link below and also you can also contact me for more information. Rabbi Wgbrite we gbrit tggmail.com. Okay. And if you see the video, you'll see my name. All right. That's the introduction. That's the uh technical introduction. Let let's get started. Rabbi uh Flax I I saw um his year um his first year. I saw a good part of it and it was wonderful. It was and he started with how the AR zal says to begin your tila and that is that before you by the way for people who are new to this when I talk about kavana we have to define what that means because there's more than one type of kavana when we talk about let's say kavana and prayer how do you translate the word kavana like I had good kavana in prayer anyone not rabbi posted any how would you translate kavana concentration concentration excellent right concentration concentration on what you're saying paying attention to the words that's classic kavana the kavana I'm talking about here means before you do a mitzvah you have kavana to fulfill the mitzvah intention intention for what you're doing. So you're more intentional. That's that's why I compared it to mindfulness that you you pause and you think what mitzvah am I doing? Like right now what what mitzvah are we doing? Learning Torah. Learning Torah. So here we go. Kavana. And what's beautiful is you can speak to Hashem. It's like you have a natural way to speak to Hashem. And by speaking to Hashem like this, you're fulfilling a mitzvah. I call this new word rabbi mitzvotus. Okay, so here we go. Akadeshu, I'm learning Torah because that's what you command me to do. That has a profound effect on the quality of your mitzvah that you began it with intention. Okay, it's a big deal. Okay, so that's what we're that's what I'm normally focused on. Now, so the Arisal, the Arisal, by the way, one of the great one of the greatest cabists in recent times, you he said the following. He says, "A mitzvah without kavana is like a goof without a nama. It's a body without a life force or a soul." Okay? So, kavana is a big deal. Both types. All right? And he says like this, one of the first kavanas for before you start to pray is to fulfill a certain mitzvah. It's what Rabbi Flax talked about to love your fellow Jews. Okay, the says begin your toil with that intention. Okay. Now, I want to show you how how aligned that idea is, okay? Because I I asked the people here if I if you're listening, if you can grab pause your video and grab a uh sitter and we're looking the Shimona X-ray. That's what I'm going to talk about. And um let's just take a weekday Shimona X-ray. Um and I mentioned people to look at let's take the one on uh chuva. There's a prayer for chuva. It's after uh das. Okay. I didn't start with dos for a certain reason even though it's great place to start. Okay. I'm praying to Hashem and we we understand prayer is you're appealing to Hashem for your needs. Okay. And I'm in the needs section, but it it listen to what it says. Hashenu. Okay. It doesn't say hashi. Return me. What does it say? Return us. All the requests you're making are in the plural, right? bring us close to you in our prayer. You won't find an exception until you get to the very end where it says um so we're praying in the plural. So that means and says this in you're not just praying for yourself. You're you should be praying for cl Israel all the Jewish people and mankind in certain parts. Okay. So, we're we're praying. So, that that's an expression of love because when you love someone, uh we were just learning this. The Rambam says um one of the ways you fulfill loving the other person is by being concerned about their financial welfare and their self-esteem and their dignity. That's what it means to love someone. So you're basically lobbying appealing to the one who can really help all these people. And Rasim Sisle says, "Uh, can somebody give me estimate how many Jews there are today?" 13 and a half. 13 and a half million. Okay. Are you sitting down? All right. If you have in mind, have intention before you start praying, you say, "I have in mind because you asked me to." 13 million mitzvah every every moment. Okay? I just there's simply no way even one mitzvah says you cannot be sufficiently rewarded for a single mitzvah. Impossible in this world. Okay? So, can you imagine 13 million Torah commandments every time? Okay, so it's big. I I hope I've convinced you it's big. And we see that prayer is calling upon us not just to we should focus on our knees, but not just to to pray for the claw. Okay? But I'm gonna make a a veto. I'm g I'm gonna confess a certain point. I know this. I know I should be praying for the Jewish people as an entirety and also for mankind where it's relevant. I know this. Okay. However, I'm it's hard not to Hashem help me with this um porn and this sick person and that I'm I'm really kind of even though I'm saying the words us, I'm I it happens a lot. Even you hear I know that I should and I want to okay now and by the way you can pray for the call and like if you need healing or prosperity you you know you're in the thing it's a very deep thing so what I'm trying to be honest with is it's hard to do so how do you put yourself in a mindset where you're locked in locked in and praying for everybody body, okay? When it's so natural to just focus on yourself, that's what I want to deal with, okay, in this class and we'll get to it. Okay, so the just to review is an incredible intention to have before you start praying. You should also have in mind I'm fulfilling the mitzvah to pray to Hashem. Okay, but big. All right. So, now let's that was like the big picture. Now, let's zero in. Okay. I um just give me one second. Yeah. The formula I'm going to give you a formula um on how to um consistently connect when you're praying. Okay. It's a great thing. Yeah. Um, by the way, we accept million-dollar donations for that. It's worth, remember, you can't get paid for a mitzvah. Can you imagine what I'm giving you? No. So, here's the thing. Also, blessings. How did I get involved with this and so focused? Because, you know, I I love Torah and I love learning, but I had to be honest. We we make a hundred blessings a day and I realized I wasn't really there for a lot of them or I said them quickly. I mumbled them. So we all face this and Hashem knows it's hard. Okay. But so the point is this this formula I'm going to give you is you start with blessings and what the shone is blessings. So I'm going to demonstrate it with uh um a glass of water. I call this formula the art of prayer. Art. It's an acronym. Okay. Here's the three steps. And there's a difference. Um there's a difference. How do you approach prayer? So you to be engaged if you have a new idea that gets you in, right? But it's not easy to constantly get new ideas and new ideas. You should definitely try. But what if there's a way to remind yourself to be in the moment, to remind yourself what you're doing when you're blessing? That's what this art is. So let me give you the acronym and again anybody here in this room or out there if you'd like uh we made this beautiful graphic of the art of blessings we called it. I'm focusing on the art of tila. So just let me know. But here here here we go. A stands for awareness. R stands for reverence. T stands for Tila slashthanks. Okay. So, let's take each one. Uh, I want to talk a little bit about each one and then we'll practice. Okay. We'll practice this and then I want to get So, first I want to teach you this formula. Once you have a feel for it, then we're going to deal with the thing. How do I remember to really pray for everybody, not just myself? We're going to need an extra step for that. Okay, ready to go. So, the first thing, all right, let me ask you a question. And should I tell you, I got this wrong uh for at first and that's what was so amazing when I got what's the first thought you should have when you open your eyes and wake up in the morning? Mod I thank you. Right. Mod wrong. That's what I thought. If you asked me um about four months ago, I would have said thank you, right? I would say modi. I thank first words out of my mouth. Those are the first words, but they're not the first thought you should have. Like, thank you. Yeah, I like your reactions. You should the first the first thought that should come to mind. Hashem's here. I'm in the presence of Hashem. Then you say thank you. Otherwise, thank you. Right? Not I thank you. Right? The first thought says the safer it's says this in a safer called Ola Satami. He says the first thought is he's here. When you open your eyes, Hashem's in the room. Okay? So that's awareness. The first step in a blessing, the first step when you open your mouth and those words, I'm in the presence of Hashem. Okay, that's big. Then imagine you really get that consciousness revved up. Then the thanks is much more meaningful. Good. So, I want to just talk a little more about awareness of being in Hashem's presence. And I love this story that my Revi told uh and I'm going to see if if you guys it's not an easy one to interpret. Let's see if if you can. If not, I I'll explain. So when he uh he was in a yeshiva where it was in the late 60s early 70s and there was an explosion of spirituality and Jews were really coming to Israel and getting excited etc etc. So now does anyone guess where these Jews were before they came here? What what country what part of the world? India. India. Excellent. 100. Okay. A lot of them went India to Israel. So there was a a man from Brazil that uh he was sharing with everybody in that yeshiva that he went to. I saw the white light. I saw the white light. So they gave my revi revi green to sit with him. And uh he was from Brazil. So he has a little bit of an accent. I don't think I'm going to do it well. I have people who know Spanish accents. So rabbi the rabbi sitting here and then here's this guy and the guy says I want to experience God with you. My Rebby says okay silence nothing's happening. So the Brazilian speaks again. He goes I want to experience God with you. Rabbi says, "Okay." The guy says again, "I want to experience God with you." My Revy says, "Okay." Now, you might feel like the Brazilian guy. I I didn't What's the What What was going on there? What What's the message? Anybody? Huh? and one is reaching out. The other one is saying, "Let's get let's get started." Ah, nice. I That's a nice interpretation. Anything else? Anybody else? What is he saying? Okay, that was good. He's here. He's here. You want to experience God? He's here. Okay. Okay. You here? We're in his presence right now, right? So, yeah. Exactly. So, exactly right. But yours is also good. So, here's the thing. Let me ask you a question. One time somebody got this. All right. Has anyone during this class been focusing on on their breath that they're breathing? Has anyone noticed that they're breathing? Oh, you did. Okay. There's always someone ruins it. Right. Right. Okay. But most of us are not thinking about that we're breathing. All right. Um, correct? All right. Now, just pause for a second. Notice it. No. Not Notice that you're breathing. You do now. Right. Right. So, awareness of Hashem is the same thing. Hashem is here. Hashem is present. It's a very deep idea, but still he's here. It's just you have to pause for a second and recognize that. So imagine opening your eyes in the morning and say he's here and then say thank you. Okay. But that's awareness. Okay. Now I want to give one more point about awareness. What we're doing if you just came in is we're talking about the art of prayer. and and art is an acronym. Awareness, reverence, tila, thanks. Okay. So, one one point about awareness we just said you have to just draw your attention to it and then you succeed. Okay. The other thing I want to share with you is when we say at can someone tell me there's a classic way I understand I want to work with the classic understanding how do you translate at a language of a blessing yes Joe blessed are you blessed are you that's a very good way what else someone else said something. Same thing. Okay. But what do we mean? Good point, Joe. What do we mean when we say Hashem is blessed? You know, you know, if I say, you know, you're blessed with a beautiful kids, I understand. I'm saying to my friend, but does Hashem have like good pornosa and stuff? What what is what does it mean? So the classic definition just expanding on what Joe said is you are the source of all blessing right everything that and I'm we're focused on the good at the moment really everything's good you're the source of it all okay now that it help okay it now for there are people that know that that explanation that Hashem's the source of everything. So what happens and this is another reason I've opened business things get wrote and words and concepts start to lose meaning. Okay. So what do we do about that? That is a major challenge. Okay? Especially because we're in a relationship with Hashem. Okay. So I for those of you who just discovered this concept that blessed are you means you're the source of it all. So just here just take a moment and just think of some of the great things you have. You can breathe. You have friends. You're in it. We can go on forever, right? Who's the source of all that? You, right? The one I'm speaking to. Okay, just I I gave a class on this another time for those who already know that and that explanation that Hashem is source of everything is a little wrote. So I like saying this all the sheffa you're the source of shepha. Does anyone know how to translate shepha? Abundance. Abundance. Right. Flow. Okay. So right. So it's already humongous if you just like you you know we stopped and notice we're breathing again. Just notice, just pay attention to the fact that we're in Hashem's present. Hashem is here. Okay? If he wasn't, we wouldn't be. Okay? So, that's already great. But what if you just add to that? This is all per. Be aware that every beautiful thing you have, have experienced, you like and love, it's him, right? So the first thing is awareness. All right. But I just want to make one point. Is it a mitzvah to recognize you're in the presence of Hashem? That's my question. Is it a commandment or just a great thing to do when you're praying? Be mindful of Yeah. You need It's necessary. It's critical. Yes. So, there's there's a famous Pik Shi Landi Tamid, right? I I put Hashem before me constantly. And um tell me your name again. Alisha. Alicia. You know, said that's that's the big rule. But it's also mitzvah. It's the first commandment to know that I'm Hashem, your God. Right? So when you draw the you're doing that mitzvah in a grand way. Okay, we did a for awareness. All right. What's the next one? What's R? Remember it's art? Reverence. Reverence. Okay. Reverence is also the word what the mitzvah in the Torah for reverences says yura yatashem fear right so most of you think of that as fear of hashem okay and that's true that's an expression if I worry that if I speak um slander I'm gonna have to pay for it god forbid that's a mitzvah but there's another one Okay, yura means reverence. Okay, now you're shame. What's the word shame? How do you translate that? Hashem, what? The name, right? Reverence for the name. So, Hashem's name, we say Hashem's name in prayer. We say, "Okay, we say I'm gonna it's permitted for me to say this because I'm teaching adonoi." Right? When you make a blessing, when you pray, you're saying that Hashem's name. And then ready, Elohu. That's another. It's not his prime name. It's kind of description. How do you have reverence? Does anyone want to venture? How do you fulfill having reverence when you say that? Um, I thought maybe you can blend your A and your R because the is related to a knee, right? If you bend the knee, it's like a you're submitting you're you're you're humbling yourself. You're you're right that what does a servant do in in they bow in in reverence. Beautiful. Thank you so much. That's a new one. So when you say baroo uh besides being source of blessing, it it means bending your knees in humility, right? So that's an act already of reverence. Beautiful. Okay. But h now I'm asking how do you have reverence for Hashem's names? Those two names that we're always saying how do you achieve reverence using them in a limited basis good that's way so the Mishna Brua says like this you are cognizant of the meaning of the name when you say it al also if you don't say it unconsciously that's not but your reverence when you so the primary Meaning the word here, ready? And if you don't know this, you might want to write it down. Adonoi is the meaning is twofold. Ha. The was, is, and will be. Okay, that's referring in a certain sense the most essential aspect of Hashem. And then Adon, master of everything. So if you say the name Adonoi and you think master of everything was, is always will be. You just did it with reverence, right? You're you're cognizant of the meaning. That's the fulfillment. Okay? So that's reverence. But we're not done with reverence. How do you translate to that? Was that right? You You didn't I You didn't fall for it, right? People will say king of the world, but that that's not Yeah. Master um Yeah. Yes. Well, I think adon is more that adon master. Adon. Okay. But Melik is king, but king over what? You say correctly. What's your name? David. David. David said correctly that it's not the world. The world sounds like the earth. It's the you it's the entire universe, the galaxies and then the spiritual galaxies. So if you if you're cognizant when you say mel this total universe, king of that, you're going to feel reverence. Again, that's a a lofty expression of fear of Hashem. Okay. So to review so far and then we just have the T and to explain this other thing. So awareness right takes you have to kind of pause to achieve that right it doesn't come automatically cuz Hashem has created it that just like you can breathe unconsciously and not be focused yet breathing is occurring. Hashem's presence is constant but you you won't connect to it unless you pause and say he's here or whatever it may be you right but I said let's be when to say you or Hashem is one thing but if you if you infuse the fact that all the shea everything like every time I do this where I stop and think of the shea like right in this moment and I say I just feel humbled. I want to bend my knees. So okay that's awareness. Next reverence right when you say hashem elocenu master of everything was is and will be elanu the one who who runs the world with divine providence and caring for everything and everybody. Okay. And then melam. So that's awareness, reverence. Now, if it's a blessing, okay, the tea, um, we're up to tea of art. So if it's if it's a blessing, I'm going to do it right now. Again, I welcome people. I I don't like drinking alone. Um Oh, good. You're going to have Okay. So, um, we're going to practice. You want Will you have some water and and do it, Joe? You'll have Okay, great. So, we're going to pass around this and I encourage you um who are watching, pause the video and get something to drink and we're going to we're going to try to live this the art of um blessing. So, you fill while you're filling up, let me explain. When you're making a blessing on pleasure as as we are, right, the T means thanks. All right. Um I love this story. I've told it a million times. I wish I knew who came up with it. You know, on Shabas, let's say it's Rosh Kesh and Shabas. So, there's a lot going on. There's a lot you have to remember when you're uh doing the burka samazone, you're benching. So, this one rabbi said, you know, by the way, when you're benching, uh don't forget to thank Hashem. Good. You got it. In other words, you could even have kavana. You could have you're focused on the meaning of the words, but you can forget to thank Hashem. You're supposed to feel gratitude, right? Feeling feeling is part of being in the presence is to feel it. Okay? So that's what thanks, right? So again, what let's do the blessing. Um I think we'll do it like this. Okay. I'm going to do it slowly. I've practiced this uh cavanas a lot. So I I please God with Hashem's help, I will do the art of a blessing, awareness, reverence, and thanks. While I'm doing it, you have a a dry rehearsal. Is that expression? Oh, there is. What does it mean? Dry run. A dry run. Okay. A dry run. So you have a dry run. You'll be you'll have a wet run in a second. Okay. But um so I'm going to review it quickly. I'm gonna say it and you try to have in mind what you think you should have in mind just thinking it while I'm making the blessing. Okay, then right I'll then you will make the blessing and I'll maybe coach you through it. Okay. So I'll do it. So a reminder the mitzvah is awareness that we're in Hashem's presence. Okay. Amuna that Hashem's here. That's and uh an enhanced way is the source of all the amazing abundant beautiful things I have. That's who I'm speaking to. So that's awareness, the mitzvah of awareness. Then when I say adonoi elohu, I'm going to have in mind the meaning adon master of everything was is and will be. That's a mitzvah of urus hem reverence for Hashem's name right when you think of it in a grand way reverence that's the reverence section and then since I'm saying thanks gratitude I'm going to really try to feel it okay so I'll do this first round but while I make the blessing slowly practice this is your dry run okay it helps to take a deep breath beforehand by the [Applause] Bor adonoi eloh. Okay, your turn. Okay. Amen. So again, remember is the mitzvah. Be aware that Hashem's here. The one who does everything you love. Right. Exactly. Hakle. Beautiful. And then when you say Hashem's names, reverence. Saying them reverence is focusing on what they mean. Master of everything. What? Okay. Um. Okay. And then thanks. Feel gratitude when you say shall call me broke. Okay. Go ahead. You do it too on video. Okay. You make the blessing. [Music] Amen. Beautiful. Beautiful. Okay, now let's go to Tofila. By the way, uh just uh want to know. Okay, great. So, when now let's go. Um I encourage people if you can to grab a sitter uh but and uh I want to um just there's a twi a little twist we're going to do here. All right. And that um is art is now going to be the same thing. Awareness that whom who am I speaking to? Yeah. You know what the easiest place is really the the the signature of the blessing. Okay. Turn to let's say llanu. Okay. The prayer of forgiveness. Okay. So the the easiest place to train yourself in the art of the blessing is really um the the last line which is called the signature right so I'm going to read it right now what mitzvah awareness right and awareness that Hashem's source of all the magnificence then ado what mitzvah Yura, reverence, okay, for Hashem's name. And then the one who gracious abundance to forgive, he he forgives us so much. What is that? What what emotion should you have? Thanks. Now the other part, the first section. So the best place to practice art especially with t meaning thanks is the signature of the blessing in the shimona. But if you go into the first part so we have awareness still uh reverence when when hashem's let's say awareness but now t stands for tila tila in essence is request right. So your the art becomes tila just there's another thing besides the emotion of thanks when you say the signature when you're in the body of it you're you should be you're praying you're requesting you're sincerely requesting but now I want to finish how I started I tell you it's great to have kavana in terms of focus and let's say you really let's say you're you really recognize You're dependent on Hashem for your perna for some deal to succeed and you're like please and you're aware you're speaking to him and you say his name with reverence okay but ideally we should be saying it in the plural we are right forgive us not let's say god forbid I did something wrong and I realize I caught it and then I say so I may be sayingu but feeling please forgive me that's great I'm not knocking it it's fantastic and if you have gavana fantastic but really we should be doing it for everyone everyone who dropped the ball and did something wrong we should feel hashem forgive us but how do you get into an us mindset so here's the what I'm going to recommend and this is from the great uh guttle who's no longer with us. Rev Arin Leeman Reeman said a powerful point. Okay. And by the way, this is Jews and non-Jews. You um you could divide it this way is those who pray to Hashem and those who sadly don't because they don't recognize it. Whatever it may be. Okay. Says Rav Steinman like he said this in part about Yum Kipper. You know when what happens there's a leader of the davining and and he's leading the prayer for all of us right Diamond says there are millions of people Jews in particular and non-Jews who aren't praying so you're their representative right you hear this you're their representative you're saying please lanu look what you're doing you're actually you're appealing to on behalf of all these people. And that by the way, and then if we count the mitzvah, that is love. Cuz love is very much expressed in action. When you peel to the right source to get the thing, what are you doing? You're doing incredible kindness. You're doing 13 million mitzvah when you do this. But also just a mindset. So, I use kind of an you might call it antiquated, but it the if you think about you could do it like um a congressman or a senator, right? And he's appealing to his state. But let's go a little bit. I I I kind of am romantic. So, I like going back to some leader, a nobleman or a leader of a province and he's in charge of his province and he goes to the king, right? Look at Esther with the king, right? and says, you know, so many people need food. So many people need uh to be forgiven for what they you hear, you're the representative. You're you're you're stepping forward. So I find that it's a really amazing feeling when you do that. When you're when you're really saying, "Please forgive us." And just think about all the people behind you, right? that so much need you to be caring for them. Okay, so that's my suggestion of how that our mind and our hearts match the words we're saying. We're saying forgive us, not just me. Heal us, not just my good friend who needs a healing, etc. You hear? So, just remember, we are we are privileged and we should be bending our knees in humility. We're so lucky. I don't know how we got to be the ones to do this, right? But if you're So that's a way you can do really really love clasel. It's a big thing. Okay. So try it in schol try it uh whenever you pray and and please God uh this love will be um move the heavens especially to protect Cla Israel in these times and help us succeed against our enemies. [Music] Okay. My name is