Rabbi Dovid Kram speaking at Thursday night Mishmar at Scheiner's Parshas Shoftim

All right. There you go. Okay. All good. [Music] All right. Welcome to Shab coming speak about little this week and uh to bring up the theme of the month. Start with a quick a quick story. I saw it a couple years ago. I saw a couple years years ago in um Rabbi Zilber safer. It brings out a story. It brings out a story to understand the concept of Das but I took a little bit of different martial from the story. The story goes like this. There was once a a grown man I think it was a guy even um who was every day in Shu he would in the middle of Davening walk out of Davening take out his phone make a phone call say a couple words and come back inside and as this was going on there was somebody next to him who just was bothering him like what is this guy I mean what is this guy doing? What is he doing? Leaving diving every day. That's one thing. Then picking up the phone, making a phone call. Who was he calling? And it was, you know, mate, it was it was eating him. He was eating him alive. Like, I got to figure this out. And he was getting angry. Zining. After a couple weeks of this happening consistently of of the uh this guy walking out of doing, making a phone call, he finally, you know, he couldn't take it anymore. What is going on? What is so important? What is more important than Davin? You have to call every day. So the man who was leaving the shul said told him the following. He said I want you to know I have a I have a kid. I have a son who it's it was impossible for him to get up for impossible. And he wants he's motivated. It's very difficult. So we tried everything. We tried every alarm clock. I tried shaking him and nothing was working. Finally, I had an idea. I'm gonna leave a phone by his bed. One of bought a separate phone. Leave a phone by his bed and I'm going to call him. And he tried it while he was in the house. And some reason the sound of the ring, the sound of the ring woke him up. And I asked my RV, you know, he because he came to this is the only way that he gets to sh that he gets to yeshiva. Am I allowed to am I allowed to leave? He said absolutely absolutely if that's the only way he can wake up then you should call him and and wake him up and do this plan. So of course was trying to bring out the point of you know here's this guy walking out of sh every every day making a phone call what's he doing of course there was something behind the story when I saw this I think I saw it in the month of El hit me it hit me that maybe this is the story is also an IML you know all year long is always giving us wake up calls he's always trying to wake us up sometimes you know successfully but often not but there's one thing that wakes up all Israel it's called And that's what is about tells us start blowing the and that's going to be our wakeup call and that's what I learned from this story and that's what we're doing. We're all waking up. I want to share a a theme that my Rashiba brought out. I heard it many times. Reinski Rashuben learned it for many years and I've heard a certain fromki many times during this month I would like to share with everybody it's connected to and an incredible when you hear this you're not going to be able to read the words in the same way guarantee it the asks a question asked a couple questions We say in diving and we all know this. We all sing this different tunes. Today is the creating creation of the world. Today we stand in judgment. Ask the answer three questions on the first sentence. Question number one. Today's the day the world's created not necessarily what are we passing we passing a sh that's been brought in many gar is of the first day of creation or is or is nissan why we we're asking number two even more I think penetrating question today we will be judged one second last time I checked we say this during musf Right? We all know that it's brought down that the judgments happen from the beginning of until we will be judged. The judge started earlier we already and now we're saying we will be judged. What's going on over here? And finally, I think for me it hit me the most. All creations of the world. What? All creations of the world are getting judged. Rash again. All creations of the world animals, right? It's a good question. Who? Sorry. I told you I gave you a shout out. It's a good question, right? >> Serve us get it. >> Okay. He has to get there. How does that make any sense? So again, the ask has three questions. Number one, today's the creation of the world. Not necessarily. There's one number that it's number two. We will be judged. All the creations of the world, it's just us getting judged. Other creations are getting judged. It seems like even even not even live creations, rocks and and and car. What's going on over here? Anything that was created is getting judged. What's going on over here? So sitzer and I I I regret not finding it again inside. When I saw this, I made sure to commit it to memory because he brings out such an amazing yight that I want to connect to what I've heard many times from from my Rashidinski. So many times in in Elinski said the following story. It's an incredible story that happened in apparently it's true like you know I don't know if all stories are true but this one is true. Story goes as follows. There was once a a a a woman, a secular older lady, a secular Israeli lady that passed away and there was aid organization that was in her neighborhood and this lady owned an apartment and that's it was an expensive apartment and when they looked at her will the woman left the entire apartment to the organization. Right? Again, it was a secular Israeli woman and she left the apartment to this organization. Yeah, something like that. Some type of organization organization in which unfortunately happens very often, her family members couldn't believe it. Not only couldn't they not believe it, they said, "Yeah, this it can't this can't be true. It cannot be. She must be scenile. She wasn't she never you know did a mitzvah you know she she did mitzvah but she never did anything rel religious oriented in life and all of a sudden she's leaving us to organization what about us has to be and they took it to court took it to court it can't be we're her kids and it must have been somebody must have framed her it must be a mistake fine so she brought it to she brought it to court and the organization this was their opportunity They didn't really have a lot of money and this was their, you know, they thought this was like a like a payday n payday. This was an all of a sudden they had to fight. So they went back and back and forth with the lawyers. Finally they decided that you know let's just let's just settle. We'll give them we're never going to win. We'll give you know we'll give them 90%. We'll take 10%. We'll get something at least. And it turned out even worse for them because when they heard about the judge that was reside in the case, it was like the most secular judge init. And it it was it was impossible. Anyway, so somebody in organization said before we before we you know commit to the settlement, let's go ask the stipler. So he went to the stipler and asked what should we do? And the stiper thought for a moment for another moment and he raised his head and he asked the following. He said, you know, how much money is how much money does your organization make and what are the salaries of the, you know, the CEO? And they they said, what do you mean money? There's there's no this is completely completely charity. Every penny goes back to the organization. Nobody takes a penny. So he said, really? He says they said, yeah, there's not. So Stip said, in that case, go go for the go to court. No, go to court. Go to the go to the go go go to the jury and go to the court. So they couldn't believe it, right? Anyway, they they went to the court and the case, the way the story goes, the case, they said each one said their side and the judge didn't need any time. She said, "I'm ready to pask and I'm ready to I'm ready to uh you know, say the say, you know, say say the law." And of course, the organization thought it's over. Like there's no chance in the world that she's going to side with us. It's over. Instantaneously, she looks the judge. a lady judge, lady secular judge. She looks at the family of the of the terrace of the one that was that that passed away and she said this is incredible, right? The secular judge, you have some your mother, your grandmother wanted to do one mitzvah, one righteous act when she passed away and you're trying to take it away from her. The entire apartment goes to the organization. >> This was a secular judge. A secular judge. A secular judge. >> Blessing with the stifler. Maybe >> it gets better. Yeah. It's the blessing stifler. But they went back. But they went back. They went back to the stipler. And this is this is this is the incredible part. This is where he always tries to bring out. They went back to the stifler and thought the stipler is ani gave a bra, right? Must be an how did he know the stipler going? How did you know? So he said very simple. Do you remember when I asked you? Do you remember when remember when I asked you does your does your organization take any charity? Does it take any any profit? And you you said no. So I so I thought I'm not a nie. He said when I heard that I knew the following that family was not fighting against you. It was fighting against Hashem. Hashem doesn't lose. If nobody's making any profit, nobody's taking any money from this organization. The fight is not against you, it's against Hashem is not going to lose. That's how that's how I knew. And of course, Amazing story, you know, think great story, right? >> Amazing story. >> Hopefully the same thing will happen with you like Hashem. >> It's so what's the the takeaway though for us? The says something unbelievable. Unbelievable. We're saying this every day nowification what's the says anybody makes a will protect him so explains except for I'm not going to go into this now it's chuva he says there's two things to d you down for individual uh individual gains right I'm going to read it inside a person wants wealth he wants covered he could die for all his wants that's one thing anything I need anything I want but there's another There's another way of ding says says there's another way to d I just want the will of I just want what Hashem wants. I want to be on Hashem's team. says you could d for your own needs or you could say I want to I want to be on a side says that's what we're saying every day that's said I want one I have one goal I want what's good for I want what's good for I want to be on Hashem doesn't lose so says fascinating that's what that's what it means when says doesn't mean a physical place means I'm I establish I have one goal in mind. And when we sit in one place, we're reminded of that. He says to remind us that our our ding shouldn't be for I need this, you know, this new thing and I need this thing. Our ding should be focused on I wants a person sit in the same place every day to remind him that my should be just for what does Hashem want is what I want to line myself with values. That's what it means. Hashem that's why inash he explained that's what we don't do vi right we don't ask hashem for why inash why do we say hashem is king why should everybody ask this question we should be doing we should be be saying right why inash the day of why are we saying one thing who's the answer is very simple because like the stifler said we just want to align ourselves with the values of stay focused and then when sees that doesn't losem doesn't lose I want to align myself with hem doesn't lose let's go back now and finish up with amazing >> you want to be on the on the winning side >> want to be on the winning side exactly I want to be on the winning side so my should be focused on one thing I should be established I should be focused that my my my my should be aligned with I want whatever wants I won. Now when we do that can't lose. Now listen to this and and it's it's it's an unbelievable unbelievable idea. We'll never read the words the same way again is not referring he says to the beginning of creation. It's referring to the next year. Every year we get in front of a and we say I want to do your will. I want the next year I want the tools to be able to bring into the world. So what does Hashem do? Hashem judges us based on our past actions. He judges us first. That happened from the morning. Hashem says, "Okay judges us and says whichever whatever your year was last year, I'm going to now establish the tools you need next year to serve me properly." If you're serious, if you're if you're being today and saying is king and you're joining my team to guess what I'm going to do, I am creating now the next year. You already were judged based on last year. Today the world the next year's world will be created. All the different creations of that was our question right when all creations are getting judged. Are we getting judged? The answer is yes. We were judged in the morning. That's us based on what we what we did in the past year. But now that decides are you on my side or are you not? If you're on my side now, I'm going to create the next year where I'm manipulate all the world to be able to facilitate your that's how we read the so we'll say one more time today I'm creating your next year all the creations every single experience you have in the next year will be catered to bringing out based on your actions last year. So yes, the we as individuals were judged earlier, but when we say this at musf, we're not referring to ourselves. We're referring to the all the creation, the entire world, and all the tools that we're going to get if we align ourselves with values. That's how the reads the uh you know which we sing every year this amazing idea the theme that the we see from the stipler if we align with I just want to then like the stiper says can't losem's not losing so we're then The next year we should get everything that we want. Not because we want it, because needs us to have it to bring out in the world. I learn some