Living With Emunah (Part 254) - Close the Circuit

okay good morning bokartova welcome back to living with amuna thank you for actually showing up I wasn't sure when we changed the schedule whether I'd be sitting here by myself so I'm grateful that I'm not welcome back I want to thank our as always our immunity sponsors for the year Dr zavia Bella Morgan a memory over by Dr Brian galbot and the memory of Bella's mother Dr Ellen shanzer very grateful for their sponsorship this morning sure is also sponsored by Carol Walden memory of her beloved father Benjamin Ben Danielle Carol thank you so much Gordon has a memory of her mother left site was yesterday of course an influence to so many of us in this room and thank you for that sponsorship a reminder if you're not yet part of the WhatsApp group so you can get alerts about our schedule and links and bonus namuna material join the WhatsApp group easily at Rabbi goldberg.org WhatsApp okay we are in Tiffany we've been studying this wonderful and uh we've been learning all about the challenge of Our Generation how tragic in our time that people people go through motions he has been bemoaning and the community that he's in is not a community that's lacks it's not a community that's flexible in Allah it's not a community that Waters down or treats Jewish law like it's a smorg that you can order off the menu like you could choose from he lives in his part and he's describing a community that is rigorously Vigilant passionately observant and yet even though externally doing everything right putting check marks next to everything one should be doing scrupulous unconscious standards careful about making bracos and davening learning Torah all hours of the day and night yet but do they have a connection to Hashem is observance of Torah and mitsos informed inspired and animated ultimately by what I'm about to do is connecting me to Hashem remember we last left off we're talking on Hanukkah don't just light the candles mindlessly and then run to make the latkes be present be connected Shabbos candles we're done with the Hanukkah candles we finished Hanukkah we finished those Hanukkah we're done with the Hanukkah candles but we're not done with candles the gemara says a person who accustoms himself to the candle there's a big macro because we show them is that the Hanukkah candle the Shabbos Canada's candle is each and every week and is the entire year long we may be done with the Hanukkah candles but the Shabbos candles still come each and every Friday night so how is it are you scrambling still yelling at the kids things are not set up put away didn't shower yet and you're just lighting the candle so you can be done and collapse on the couch with your Jewish magazine or newspaper of your choice or do you sit over those candles and before you light them do you take a few deep breaths and restore your nishama by taking a nishima restore your soul by taking a breath and focus and calm and shut out the distractions and say I'm about to light the candles I want to bring a light into my home and into my life I want to think about children or the children or I want to in urine to have is the candle lighting experience a rendezvous with Hashem are you going into Shabbos having had a private audience with Hashem where you take those hands and I don't even know what you women do but you do this whatever motions and cover your eyes and I do know what you do but you're covering your eyes so the Brokers overlasts yes and I know what you're doing but you do the whole thing to cover your eyes and in that moment that you're covering your eyes you're going into a private room with Hashem you're at the end of the week reflecting on the week that was what went right what went wrong what bracha did you feel and where do you object in protest and ask Hashem to do it differently in the week ahead how can you reflect at the end of that week with gratitude maybe with even some healthy dose of shame or remorse of things you could have done better how could we cover our eyes and think about the Shabbos we want to have and we long to have and we're committed to have how can we think about in Daven for the people in our life our own family and other people we care so desperately for how do we connect to the light of these candles to dispel the darkness for Shalom bias and for shalom in this world and connect to every Mitzvah like consider 613 times and describe to every Mitzvah we can go through motions it could just be get it out of the way discharge the obligation put the check box next to it and back to the real life we want to be living or each Mitzvah you can immerse yourself in you could lean into you could connect with and be transformed by and have a mindfulness of and it becomes a means and a medium to live with and connect with Hashem and that's what we're gum leals he's bemoaning he's describing a community who are so devoted to Torah and mitzis who are so Vigilant and scrupulous in their observance and their level of observance and stringency and observance and yet is at the core of all of it a relationship is it all a relationship it's like being in a marriage and be like hey flowers here's your candy here's your card here's your like what do you mean but I did everything check check check like what are you talking about every Milestone every significant date every motion I'm supposed to go through every gift I'm supposed to get you yeah but did you forget one thing which is the everything which is the relationship which is that you're supposed to be present and feel connected and be invested and confide and be vulnerable and feel an intimate affectionate connection that's all of it all the Motions on the outside are means to their platforms their invitations and opportunities to connect internally do we go through the motions and forget everything else everything else and this is what we left left off if you'd stop even a rich kylo as the rush KOLO where do you get your paycheck from how do you pay your bills let's say Yeshiva South Florida they'll say the mirror BMG Yeshiva University land whatever you name the Yeshiva I'll say what do you mean I get it from the Yeshiva that's the name on the check when I deposit it that's what comes through on the automatic deposit to my bank account well they say what do you mean where do I get the check from I get it from the revolution it's not just storm that the businessman the lawyer the doctor the the other person says Where do I get my income from I make it from my customers and clients but the person who all day is immersed in learning and teaching and living Torah also mistakenly and corruptly says today I get my paycheck from the institution I work for instead of actually our answer being what do you mean Hashem sustains me Hashem takes care of me how does he do oh how does he do it oh I get it from the institution I work for that's how he does it but where does it come from what's the real source of it it's from Hashem do we live with that mentality in that attitude that what I'm meant to have is what I'm what I have is what I'm meant to have what I'm going to get is what was determined from Hashem on Rosh Hashanah I have to work hard and take initiative because that is that is the price I have to pay in order to access the gift and the bracha that I get that's just the way Hashem set up the world but where does it really come from it comes from Hashem is Hashem part of our vernacular test 69 is this is it our hands that really achieve and earn our income is it my Acumen and skill set and Brilliance and talent that really is what saves me in every situation it's all from Hashem it's all from Hashem so I'm able to stay calm because I feel presence in my life I was in the airport yesterday morning my flight was delayed I was waiting and the alarm went off at the airport Newark airport by the way Baruch Hashem for flying because it gives me such good stories I don't think I've ever taken a flight I don't think I ever took a flight with without having a story from it I have many stories so sitting in the airport flight was delayed which was okay it's all from Hashem right and the alarm in Newark a piercing Relentless deafening alarm is going off so this scene was unbelievable nobody moved nobody cared everybody's in the airport's packed till the end of this time period of people are traveling airport was packed it couldn't get a seat the alarm is blaring the whole terminal lights flashing alarm blaring and nobody moved and this guy gets on the loudspeaker I was laughing I think out loud and he goes this is only a test please nobody panic and I looked around nobody panic nobody even moved nobody flinched nobody looked up nobody cared there was nobody panicked it wasn't like there was a mass Exodus or scramble everybody was worried nobody could care less about this piercing alarm that was going off and this guy was the only guy panicking over the fact that people might Panic it gets on the loudspeaker and he goes it's just a test it's not gonna last long please I don't panic and he was panicked over our panicking when nobody not one person not one was panicked why am I telling you that story because you know what I was thinking to myself is that this is a this was a metaphor for the way the world should look if we were all living with emuna the alarm is sounding the lights are flashing and they're like yeah Hashem is a plan whatever's meant to be is gonna be now again in a world of emotion you still have to react maybe we were all grossly irresponsible by the way the thing went on forever and then when it finally stopped the entire terminal erupted in Applause and gratitude but but you know again maybe we were all a thousand people were grossly irresponsible that nobody moved or budged or cared and nobody looked up from whatever device they were staring at and consumed by maybe that's not the safe way of being but I thought to myself wow like this is this is the world the way it should look if we live with amuna the alarm's blasting and blaring the lights are flashing but like hashem's in control so what do I need to pack so the people with Noah moon are yelling don't panic and if you live with Hashem you keep calm and carry on keep calm and carry on if you have a moon in Hashem if you live Hashem in our life so all those Mitzvahs or imitations and platforms connect with Hashem I've shared before the no debuted objection did not love has several chuvas because some of the radical Innovations of the Hasidic movement when it began he objected to several of them we spoke about it in our people of the book on the note of you that you could find that entire talk online but one thing I'll share with you he objected to was the khasidham introduced before you do a Mitzvah says you say a whole formula that I'm really doing this to invoke the spheros and the energies of Hashem and I'm connecting to Hashem said uh what are you doing what are you introducing new things to say before you do a Mitzvah you know what we have before we do a Mitzvah we say a little something you know it's called abraha and you know why I say the bracha to focus you on the myths that you're about to do that you're not going through a Mindless motion but you're doing something to connect you and to bind you to Hashem so he said what we've become so so dulled so desensitize that we just say that without thinking about it so now you added a new formula then what happens when Napa comes through while they do the Mitzvah on their way out to this like now that now we have to introduce three new formulas opposed to the new formula he said just focus and when you say the bracha because the bracha is that formula so when we do a Mitzvah the Mitzvah the word Sav means a bridge a connection a bond Sav is a connection it's almost like you close an electric circuit and now the the electricity can flow when you close the circuit the electricity could flow I was learning with my commercial the other day and part of the power in his house went out which normally is not terrible but when you're suffering The Frigid bokeh winter and you need the heat in the house it was without heat the problem was that a circuit breaker popped so when the circuit breaker pops the circuit's not closed the electricity doesn't flow you have no heat you have no power when you close the circuit then all of a sudden the electricity is Flowing now it comes to life now there's power now there's light now there's warmth so amidstv is the closing of a circuit we close a circuit in a connection with Hashem and now there's an electricity that flows so I'm not just a lifeless being out there on my own withering and dying and trying to barely hold on I do a Mitzvah I connect to my source I close the circuit the electricity is Flowing come back to life it's like also the power on the plane was out my phone was dying and I was trying to keep it barely holding on and when you find an outlet and you can plug in is amazing right Marcus when he was on behind the Beamer described that he said we talked about the loss of his wife rabbits and Marcus the extraordinary bits of marvelous he said painful as it is amazing we're talking about that now instead of Snippets the second brother said gurus so he said you know he said today people use their Lush and they say the language my iPad died my phone died it didn't really die you didn't know the funeral for it all you need to do is find a cord in an outlet and what happened to it the thing that you use the language it died it's dying it died we should say vidoy it's dying it died to have a leviath or it died it didn't really die as soon as you find an outlet in the cord what did it have it came back to life and that in our time is a metaphor for what we will all experience and that's what said even though rabbits was his other half how is he able to move on he said because I know that will get the cord in the outlet and the people who are gone are gonna come and spring back to life so we use that language we were wrong to say they died they didn't die we just need to wait for the outlet and the cord they didn't die like our iPad and our phone didn't die just need the cord in the outlet it will come back to life so we're dying we're withering we're disconnected from our source and every myth was an invitation reconnect to the source close the circuit let the electricity flow spring back to life well let's come back on the heat came back on the energy whatever's driving whatever device it came back on in the MS says if you'll say I really believe in true authentically never occurred to me there's no God in this world I would never believe or live or act as if there's no Hashem in this world how can you call me an abacus you're going to label me a heretic I learned afyomi I go to chakras I give my stock I volunteer for khased candles I built my sukkah what are you talking I'm an epicurus how dare you say I'm an opticorice how dare you say or accuse me or label me a heretic thought second paragraph We deviate we lose our our way and we serve and we worship foreign Gods the zealous what does it mean we pivot and we worship that we read on every fast day it says Hashem says my thoughts my thought pattern are not your thoughts and your way of being your behavior is not my way perish so said when a person disconnects from Hashem if you're disconnected from Hashem if Hashem is not the one who pays your paycheck Hashem is not the one who will heal your wounds refuses not only physical pain and wounds but mental anguish and wounds if you don't see Hashem as the source if you're disconnected from Hashem he's not part of your vernacular and language and everyday conversation Hashem got us this parking spot Hashem made the flight take off Hashem let us land safely Hashem gave us this incredible meal Hashem is not part of the regular we don't know what to do let's hold hands and pray on it let's ask Hashem to give us Clarity Hashem is not part of our language then you're an idolater I but I went to the daf and I went to chakras on 17 Taylor groups and I what are you talking about what do you mean there is no middle path if your visar if you turn away then by definition and automatically you're worshiping something else you're worshiping something else what do you think is the source of your success because you're some influencer you're some entrepreneur tour is a brilliant to customers it's your clients it's your marketing it's your PR you're worshiping something else it's your ego it's your sense of self that's what you're worshiping we call Markham there is no power there's no neutral there is no agnostic there is no agnostic you know we think that there's an agnostic what agnostic the agnostic is the person who Hedges who says I'm not really sure if there's a God or not so I'm an agnostic I'm undecided I'm an independent voter on God I'm an agnostic we even use that to describe I'm agnostic on that what do you think about gun control what do you think about a board what do you think about I'm agnostic on that agnostic is the word we use to describe somebody who doesn't take a side I don't take a side I'm agnostic on it so you can be an agnostic in theory but in practice you're either an atheist or a believer you could be an agnostic in theory you could go to the yomiyun on is there a god or is there no God you go to that yomiyun and you examine all the evidence and you walk away and you say you know academically I'm undecided intellectually I am undetermined I don't know so intellectually and academically you could be an agnostic you could be in the middle but La Mesa you're talking to God are you not talking to God you're crediting God are you not crediting God are you surrendering to God or do you think you're in control do you believe everything's for God or you think there's some chance of Randomness to the universe agnosticism is only in theory in practice you're either an atheist or a Believer it's one of the two it's the moment that you're not a Believer you're not agnostic the moment you're not a Believer what are you you're an atheist you're crediting money power Fame celebrity nature Randomness there's no shortage of things that you could be given credit to rather than Hashem rather than God so is describing he's painting a picture you could go through all the Motions you'll be doing everything right on the outside but if it's not informed and animated if on the kishkas there isn't a genuine relationship and ongoing conversation if you're doing mitzvos as checklist items but they're not at siboy you're not closing a circuit with Hashem when there's an electricity a bond a connection then then you're not then you're not really living with Hashem you're an epicorus you're a religious Happy chorus I was once asked to do a favor for someone and that person was incredibly grateful to me for it your overwhelming excessive gratitude to me you forgot that I'm just a Schleich thank you for the thank you I appreciate the Gratitude but the excessive gratitude as if I'm the one who got that done you've forgotten that I'm just an agent I'm just the middleman I'm just acting on hashem's behalf all right by the way this works perfectly with the Parsha that this week so much as last week but in last week's pasture when Paro summons yose from the pit and he says I heard about you that you're really good at interpreting dreams I heard you're the man you're the dream interpreter guy so I need your help and what does Yosef say the stupidest thing of all time this man has been languishing in prison falsely accused was thrown in a pit was abandoned by his family this is his moment this is his like Shark Tank moment this is it you're in front of Pyro and what should he say if he's smart all he should say is yeah I'm pretty good at interpreting dreams I'll see what I can do to help you yeah I've been given this gift and so grateful for it let me see what I can do to help you he doesn't say that what does he say he says what me oh no no no no no not me no no Hashem is the one Hashem is the dream interpreter he just sometimes uses me to get it across if I'm part I'd be like yeah whatever just I got dreams I need you to interpret them I'd be like get rid of this guy he has no confidence what is he talking about God's the one who like thrown back in the pit yoast they've risked everything by saying something so foolish he should have said yeah I'm the man I'm the man I know you're the one but just these purposes for my freedom for my safety for my life yeah I'm the guy but Joseph's incapable Rashi says because Yosef lives everything's Hashem so para says I need a favor and what does he have to say I'm happy to do it realize I'm just doing hashem's bidding so if Hashem Wills me to be your agent to do the favor I'm more than happy to more than happy to by the way just parenthetically and how does power react not throw this weirdo back in the pit how does it react there's a Hashem by the end of yosef's incessant references to Hashem Paro says wow Hashem really this person power of volunteers on his own describing Yosef that Yosef is now a believer because when you don't this is very I think constructive also this was the Joshua Lesh office this rise of anti-Semitism assimilation the answer is not to cower apologize be defensive don't take off your yamaka don't hide that you're a Jew the answer is to speak more Pride more passion more public practice that we're Jews a bigger yamaka make it more obvious that we're a Jew more obvious that we're a Jew I was getting big with left and right on the plane yesterday I was flying jaju so across from me was an older man when we landed I asked him could I help you take down your lug I took down his luggage saw everyone around he's begum is one other older person saying he says now you did your mitzvah for today I said yes am I done for the day I'm exempt the rest of the day I did my mitzvah for the day everybody were talking but be more public you're a Jew I don't know how he knew I was Jewish more public more proud more public more public more proud more passion Yosef was in this foreign land there's no such thing as a Jew in Egypt they never met a Jew and all Yosef does is talking about Hashem and the result of non-stop talking about Hashem is not Paro saying these weirdos beat him up anti-Semitism he doesn't let's post something on Twitter about it let's come out with a new line of clothing with swastikas on it no the answer is wow something worth respecting here he respects himself he's not defensive and apologetic he's passionate in practicing something worth admiring something worth looking at over here I think very very instructive for all of us and how we should be reacting and what we should do that says you know what it means to live a life of a Muna to live a life of a moon it is Hashem is in part of our conversation all the time someone says can you do me a favor and you say sure absolutely I'm happy to then they thank you thank you for that favor that favor is unbelievable you got me into that doctor and that saved the life and only because of you is the life saved you don't say you're welcome you could buy me a case of wine you're welcome Get me tickets to the Hamilton you're welcome you say stop thanking me so much I appreciate it yes I made the call but really Hashem is the one who allowed the connection Hashem is the one who healed you if you really live with their Muna I don't care if you'd have a chakra what are you doing in between what do you do in between do you talk about Hashem do you say happy to do a favor of Hashem allows thank you thank you stop being so excessive in your gratitude I was it was my pleasure but really it's from Hashem are you willing to in the doctor's office tell the doctor you know God willing you this God will guide your hand my surgery will be successful doctor I want to thank you I'm going to send you a case of wine thank you for the surgery I'm so grateful God chose you to be the instrument to help heal me again are we like Yosef everywhere we go are we talking about God don't be shy don't be embarrassed don't be defensive don't be apologetic that's our responsibility that's our mission it's we are and that's the ultimate demonstration of belief in Hashem you believe in Hashem on the candle lighting but do you believe in Hashem in the doctor's office people live in Hashem when it comes to the favor believe in Hashem about where the paycheck comes from who sent me and positioned me to do the favor for you where did I get the will and where did I get the power how did I have the connections why was I positioned to do the favor it's all from Hashem Hashem put it in that position if the result is all you're doing is thanking me and you're not thanking him then you've forgotten Hashem you are not because you're a heretic you're a righteous heretic you're you're a believing heretic you're a practicing heretic but in the end of the day you're ultimately a heretic and when you say thank you the person who did the favor and the only one you thanked was the person and not Hashem then ultimately you're not because not just talk about God but talk to God talk with God then you have to be feeling and sensing you have to increase not only put on your immuno glasses the way in which you see the world but also the amuna senses and sensitivity and sensors that you censor you experience with the Moon described he only survived and escaped Europe he was on a train with Nazis positive was going to be identified and eliminated and it's only because rather than Panic the alarm was going off the lights were flashing but you know what he did instead of panicking he kept calm and carried on how like the people of Newark Airport how because he repeated over and over and over again right it's a big schooler that you say in a moment of Crisis I'm not going to panic I'm not going to fear I could walk through I could be in gehenna and I won't fear you know why you are with me and in a moment of crisis in a moment of panic when the alarm is Sirens are all blaring and Blasting and the and the lights are all flashing you just start saying there's nothing but you there's no such thing as a Nazi I'm not panicked In This Moment now there were six million many of whom said a nod milvado on their way to the gas chamber it doesn't mean everyone will be saved we're not describing that a moon is the ticket and then no one will be sick and nobody will ever struggle with infertility and nobody and Muna doesn't mean that it solves all our problems but it gives us the it gives us the courage and it gives us the the faith to endure and to navigate whatever challenge that we have as we're going through some of us even though I'm walking through the gates of some of us of ganam how do we get Hashem to be with us there is no one there is nothing but you ain't Movado there is only you it's the briskarov the the Grizz said the only way he escaped when he was others would have panicked on that train he just kept repeating in Nevada there's no one there's nothing but you ainod Mavado so they asked for her fall his son it's true your father the briskarov lived with such an emuna but how can we come close how can we live that way you know it takes effort and exercise it takes a person has to work on it it doesn't happen on its own you're not going to walk out of the gym with the same muscles as the biggest bodybuilder unless you start working the machines you got to start working it you're not going to grow in if you don't work it it's not enough to go to the immunity every Wednesday or Thursday it's not enough to go to the I'm going to Shear subscribe to the amuna newsletters mine and countless better others emails and books and amuna all of that's great and then what happens then what happens in a moment of Crisis you panic you fear you start screaming someone does a favor and you start thinking them excessively and forgot the real source of the favor someone asks you where's your paycheck from and you mentioned the institution or the clients rather than God all the amuna newsletters in the world don't help if you don't exercise imuna if you don't work out the immuno muscle you don't put on the immunity glasses if you don't start to see the world through amuna and how do we do that how do we do that should we end here we'll go two more minutes how do we do that time flies when you're having yamuna and fun Turn the Page this is explained the plastic hey Mandy bear you know how you're growing we think mistakenly we think mistakenly if I have a Muna then I'll talk about God but it's the opposite if I always talk about God I'm going to live with greater ramuna don't wait with the eating comes the appetite we think that when I'm driven and motivated then I'll act and a core principle repeats in many places is now when you act then you're going to start having the drive and the motivation Dress for Success just for the job you want not the one you have fake it till you make it a million cliches I can tell you but they're all from the same start showing love and you'll love the person Love Is A Verb not an adjective start acting with love and you will love you say I couldn't possibly I have no appetite seven main dishes later why I had that happen because with the eating comes the appetite with the eating comes the appetite don't wait for the drive and the motivation and then you'll Act start acting and then the drive and the motivation will follow don't wait for incredible faith and then you'll start talking about Hashem start talking about and seeing Hashem everywhere and then you'll start feeling a tremendous sense of Faith we'll start with this next time but I recently heard Tony Robbins is describing this the great motivational speaker he was talking about identity he was talking about we live in a way we make choices that conform with the identity how we see ourselves so I showed this before but I was recently hearing him unpack this in a fuller sense so he says you know if I see myself as the alcoholic I'm gonna drink but if I see myself as the recovered alcoholic then it's past this how could I have a drink he didn't say passage but how can I have a drink how could I have a drink so right he describes this in the world of jogging if I say I want to run I'm going to run I'm gonna buy billion dollar sneakers and running outfits and run and running apps but I don't really want to run so I never run but if I start telling everybody you know I'm a runner I'm a runner so now again it's past this for a runner to not run so when you make something part of your core identity then you're going to start doing it so you don't wait to start having a Muna to say I'm a person with a lot of emuna I'm a Baruch Hashem person no no I'm a barakashem person and it's past this for the person who's always talking about Hashem to not start seeing Hashem so it's counterintuitive it's sort of paradoxical don't wait to feel to act start acting and identifying and by identifying and acting then you're going to start to feel so that's your homework for next week and it's a very short week because today's Thursday in our next year is on a Wednesday so it's a short homework week you have less than a week to turn in your homework and the turning your homework your homework is again the people around you might start giving you strange looks especially if you're married to them or your children they've never seen you talk or act or behave in that way but just do it do it take it so you make do it Hashem gave us this great dinner why are you thanking me it's from Hashem Hashem gave us this parking spot Hashem if Hashem wills it then it's going to work out that then it will be ready in time whatever the whatever you want to say start invoking Hashem in every part of a conversation and by doing so we'll all grow tremendously in our emuna join the WhatsApp group if you haven't yet and until next time stay happy stay healthy stay holy