22: I am not Uncle Moishy

Hi, this is Rabbi Orlofsky and this is the Rabbi Orlofsky show. You are joining me for the special USA edition of the Rabbi Orlofsky show because I am in the United States of America, hence the USA now היה קצת פשלה יודע מה זה פשלה? This is Hebrew. Yeah, I have been living in Israel for 30 years so I've picked up a few fancy words like פשלה and many other Hebrew words like אנפרמציה and טלפון and אפטומסתי , anyway, but the we a little פשלה that you know We usually record during the week when I'm making a trip we record in advance and We didn't record way in advance So we were gonna record when I got back to Israel to I was supposed to get back to Israel this past Monday and So we wouldn't have come out on motzai Shabbos the ones of Parshas Pekudai would have come out a little later than that, however As it happens my daughter Had to Have a caesarean Three weeks before her due date Not taking into account how this would affect the podcast I Tried to explain it to her, but go figure She and her doctor don't have that same sense of dedication that everyone who watches this show has So I had to extend my ticket I won't be back until when this comes out it'll be later on in that that week and And so I missed the week okay, I mean we did we did over 20 of these without any problem you know, but But now we actually miss the weekend the number of people Said to me what happened to the podcast and I assured them that I would give them their money back so if you're also one of the people who feel that You paid for this podcast And didn't get your money's worth, please write me and I will send you back as much as you set make In fact, I'll send it back double now those wisenheimers are actually sponge this episode. I'm not talking to you This episode is a sponsored as they have been Baruch Hashem the rallying cry To the community and this one is dedicated as a zchus for the donors That's it That's what they said and he said please don't share any of my details for example Let's call him Yossi his name actually is Yossi We put down his name, but he said something which is interesting because I've gotten a number of other Emails like this where there are people who say for whatever reason I don't learn during the week I should but I don't and your podcast is the only Torah learning I have during the week and my first reaction was nebach And he says no cause you don't understand he says You know, everything is so heavy I've been giving a shiur in Har Nof for over 20 years and and I've asked people over the years why they come their different answers when people come to this particular shift But one of the answers I get is Because it's one of the only places I go to where I come out feeling good that I'm a frum Jew And that says it all can I tell you something that says it all? that's what I want more than anything is that people are watching this walk away and say the fact that I'm going now, I Got an email from somebody who decided to go on torah anytime not Jewish and at random happened to Come in when I put up my first podcast and has been following my podcast religiously, I assume Not Jewish religiously But whatever cuz fascinated about Judaism now you can only imagine what a skewed perception of Judaism this person is Getting if their entire understanding is just the Rabbi Orlofsky each show But I encourage them to go and watch some of the actual Rabbi who are on Torah Anytime but it's amazing how many people Contact me and say that this podcast is what carries them through the week what gives them the Chizuk what gives them? the amazement so I really apologize for the fact that I That I didn't Weren't able to do this we missed a week but but the fact that the fellow who's sponsoring it this week is because he appreciates for himself and for these other people that The role that this podcast plays for so many people and what a zchus it is for me Nobody have this opportunity, you know I meet frum people who say to me. I don't think God cares if I live at night And I always tell them make no mistake about it He has no shortage of ways to get real and if you're still here, it's because He wants you here and And that's always eye-opening. They thought maybe guy just forgot about them Somebody once said if you think nobody cares of you live with are you trying missing a few payments, you know? And you'll be surprised how quickly people think about you But we have a lot to catch up on we my gosh, it's amazing. I just missed one podcast only half an hour There's so many things. I need to take care of somebody wrote me and said that their children Like it when the podcast comes out they play it on their way to school and This is what they listen to now this is understandable because that's more or less the age that I'm shooting at and he says my four-year-old Really enjoys it but I think she thinks that you're Uncle Moishe now I'm not I want to go on record for that This is not Uncle, Uncle Moishe On the tapes is actually Zel Newman who I worked with an NCSY from Toronto the public figure The person who looks like Uncle Moishy is is not but you know Uncle Moishy has definitely has played a pivotal role in the lives of so many Jews and It was one of the the best lines. I remember from the tape. I don't know why This made such an impression. I mean, I repeat it all the time. Yeah, and there's been a lot of billion points there are some absolutely brilliant lines in the marvelous midos machine tapes, which I had this zchus of Knowing I mentioned this in an earlier podcast knowing Abie Rottenberg and I have to say first of all his rhymes are so Magnificent if you listen to his lyrics because it's it's difficult to write English lyrics that capture what you're trying to say without also butchering English and his so seamless but he said some unbelievable lines in in a lot of his different Different shows in fact somebody else wrote me. I got so much to catch up on somebody else wrote me How come you stopped doing the birthday messages? so in fact Abie Rotenberg was one of the people who sent me a birthday message and So, I just want to play that for you now just so that everybody gets to see the birthday message talk to you about it on such a momentous occasion Your daughter asked me if I would send you a video message. It's my pleasure to do. So, I fondly remember That time back in LA when mamash You were like a malach from shamayaim who came and helped me in my work to set up the school in the middle of the year and I've watched from a distance your career and very very proud of your accomplishments And your torah and and Kiruv Rechokim and Kol Hakavod Anyway, fond best wishes On this momentous occasion and happy birthday. ze shekana chachma I'm long past that but anyway, enjoy enjoy with your wonderful family all the best so he had some nice ability. I think You know when the Zaidy was young and and all those tapes, Shmuel Kunder. I think he also has some brilliant lines. I Don't know why you know in the first Uncle Moishe He he had this theme song. (Singing) Hey dum dee-dum With a hey dum diddly dum Uncle Moishy's back in town with a hey dum diddly dum. Now, okay, that's, that's alright, but in the second one uncle Moishe and the Mitzah Men, we're going to Eretz Yisroel When they go to check in the guy at the desk goes, Are you Uncle Moishe? who teaches Jewish children all about Torah and mitzvot? He goes, yes, I am. Well, hey dum diddle dee dum. (Laughing) Now, I don't know why that line has made a deeper impression on me than almost any other line in all of Recent Jewish life. Well, hey dum, diddle dee dum. I don't know, something about it You know, I often say that to people where they'll say something to me. They'll say whatever it is that I go Well, hey dum diddly dum So for the four year-olds out there This is Your Uncle Moishy minute So we want to thank this week's sponsor and whether you're watching enter anytime like good friends at or any time or Wherever you are listening or watching podcasts. I want to welcome you to this episode and And there is a missing episode when they go through one of those episodes won't be there Anyway, so Okay, so what are we going to talk about so this week that's coming up is of course parshas Zachur and There is a mitzvah to remember to forget Amalek zachor Uh-huh Yeah, and Timcha es zecher amalek Let's just remember to forget Yeah Remembering is an amazing thing Memory, yeah when I was younger I could memorize Entire Broadway shows. That's how I was growing up. I Wasn't in a atmosphere but with memorizing which mishnayos but But the things that I read that I remember my youth this is just scary how much worthless information I have a I had a rebbi once Rabbi Orlofksy if only you could learn to use your mind for good instead of evil. Imagine what you could accomplish that but But it's amazing. How many things you remember? I don't know if he wants it mentioned He's I don't know if you ever said it publicly, but he said to me privately, you know He's a master Mechanech a very well known And he said my my wife woke me up in the night because I was reciting the president's by heart Which you know, you learned something like that and it stays with you I not only have memorized all the Presidents. I also know who they defeated in every election Now if that's not a wellspring of worthless information, but it's one of the many things that I am just ahead with so I don't have like You know all of my Grandchildren's names for example, which I don't have any room left, you know to get an external disk, but But people say, you know, oh, but do you know all of your children's birthdays and I say yes I do because most certainly my early children They they were all born before or after that's I worked. My first boy was one on Gimel Eyur which is the day before Yom Hazikaron and the English birthday was April 16th, which is the day after the income tax filing dates My second daughter was born on 2nd day of shavuos My son was born motzai Shabbos nachamu we went to shabbaton actually The my next daughter was born January 1st Day after first day of the new year and she was born on the 11th of Teves the day after Asara Beteves My next two children I couldn't figure out until they were both born because one was born on November 24th and one was born on November 26th. So one was born before November 25th and one after them between It goes on like this it's really fascinating So It's mnemonic devices, but then just you start to get older Now part of it is you get old and memory starts to go part of it is genetic my father last 20 years of his life. Most people's names were What's his name? You know the guy I Picked that up, you know, because when you get old the first thing to go is you memory second thing is That's not important but But you can take courses. This guy tells his friend. He says, you know, I took a course to be able to Remember other things this is really how does it work? Does it way you make a mental picture of what you're trying to remember does? Give me an example says alright, we'll ask me something. He says hi. You went out to eat last night with your wife Where did you go? Okay, watch this Flowers it's a red flower Long green stem, you know like a Mother's Day rose right rose where we going to eat last night? That's that's one way but anyway So So there's this thing about memory and this is the point that I really wanted to talk about Because on this past trip, I was first in America for two weeks before I extended my ticket. I spoke in University of Milwakee for major wonderful organization and Rabbi Twerski And in fact, I didn't realize this until the end but someone had put on my shtender to the Rabbi Orlofsky show I made a sign and they put her on a tilt One of my active listeners And I got to do Sure I get to do a Shabbos I spoke Friday night there, by the Shiner shul in Monsey Ohr Hachaim which is just an event just that whole institution is unbelievable Last week. I did a Shabbos for a Bod Shul Also, unbelievable. These are people who just started institution to be able to provide services, which is amazing and I spoke at Boca Raton for Beautiful Kiruv organization called the jec down in Boca Raton without doing wonderful one for and I know he's just I had such an opportunity I spoke at Ohr Yitzchak Rabbi Wallerstein another individual who is so Lshem Lshamayim I mean, I just this has been such an inspiring trip for me but at one point somebody comes over and says, you know, I always say over what you say this year and He said it was something and I said no no, that's not how it goes I know because I've been saying this same story for it 35 years. I said no no no, that's how you say I Said nope It's not the way I say it he says I remember And that was so interesting because he does remember he remembers What I said, it's just not what I said Because memory is a tricky thing We remember Very well things that were never said Events that never happened. I'll give an example. It was a senator called Paul Simon and He was running for president and It was a crowded presidential field Democrat and at one point he mentioned that he graduated first in his law school And it came out that he didn't I don't know if he was 12 whatever it was he wasn't first and there was an op-ed in The New York Times that said I Remember catching the winning touchdown and the football Now it could be I didn't But I remember it I remember it happened this fellow remembered Me saying this thing Paul Simon remembered graduating first in his class Memory is such a tricky thing I'll give an example Deborah Lipstadt is a historian who's been working very hard to counter Holocaust denial. Which is a phenomenon. People deny the Holocaust. Even though there's such a wealth of information, and it's so powerful, but people deny it. So... So I remember Rabbi Moti Burger from Aish Hatorah, he used to sometimes in the class he'd say, "what can we do to preserve the memory of the Holocaust?" People said, write down the accounts. People said, ... make people say it everyday, to remember it. He said, people said, make a holiday. Yom Hazikaron, some, eh, Yom Hashoah. Something so that we can remember it, celebrate it with, with whatever rituals you create. Now this was a non-observer group of people. He says, you know you've all given excellent ideas of how to preserve the historical event, even though in time it might be forgotten, there won't be anybody was there. But we've already, always said that the Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai received the Torah and heard God Himself speak. I imagine they sat down and asked the same questions that I just asked you: What's gonna happen when there's no more people alive from Matan Torah, from the giving of the Torah? There's nobody around. How are we gonna preserve this? Well, we can make a holiday like Shavuos. We can make people say it every day, "zochar es yom tzeischa me'eretz mitzrayim kol yemei chayecha." Have a seder, come up with different rituals, "zecher litzias mitzrayim", And the people were always uncomfortable with this. Because people want to remember what they want to remember. Man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest. (Singing) La la la la la la la That's for the person who asked me, how could I quote Jackie Mason? And I didn't have to answer, because they answered it themselves. He pulls out the seeds of the rimon and throws away the husk of the pomegranate, you know. When, when there's wisdom, there's a good line. I'll take it from anybody, from any place. It's an amazing thing today where we decide that this person is not a good person and therefore all their contributions are are gone. It's a mistake, I think. You could look, could you imagine if somebody comes up with a cure for cancer then turns out that he's a miserable human being, so what are you gonna do, not use his, his cure? Because he himself was a miserable person? Totally different subject, but this just came up recently: People say, "I went to this rabbi and he was really mean, well, he said bad things to me, or he said the wrong things to me, whatever it is. Now I don't want to be religious." I went to doctors who were just incredibly incompetent. It's just amazingly incompetent. And I went to other people who were just really not nice people. No, they talk about having a bedside manner, you know what I mean. But it was beyond that. Just, just really unpleasant people. And...and that doesn't mean I turn my back on modern medicine. Just because there are people like that in the field. So what am I gonna do, go to a witch doctor instead, you know, because I don't like these doctors? So yeah. Yeah, there are rabbis, who are incompetent, there are rabbis who are not nice people, and that's unfortunate. But we don't throw away the Torah because of that. "Well, these people are in Torah and so they might - " oh, so what?! Sp doctors take the Hippocratic oath. You know, they're supposed to be nicer people but they're not. So what? You're looking for expertise. You're looking for people know what they're doing. How many people are going to be able to maintain their moral standards and the intellectual standards? The rigorous standards to be able to be the people they're supposed to be. So... Listen, when I was going through my own personal quest, I would have a question, I'd go to a rabbi, give me an answer. And the answer didn't make any sense. And I would press them a little bit, and they would get angry or hostile, and I would very politely move away from that situation, and find a different rabbi. And sometimes I had to go through a few rabbis until I found someone who said something that made sense to me. That's okay, I don't expect everybody to be an expert. The Brebder told the story where he had this terrible pain: "I went to a doctor, here and all the tests," they said there's nothing wrong with him. So he continued living with the pain, he couldn't take it anymore, and he went to another doctor. And that doctor did all the same tests, he said, "there's nothing wrong with you." And then he looked at the rabbi and he says, "but you know what? Something tells me you're not gonna believe me, because you know you're in pain. So you'll go to a third doctor, maybe that third doctor will find something." And he says, "v'kach haya. He did the other test and he managed to see a shadow of some kind of a stone on the back of my kidney that everybody else had missed. He only saw the shadow. He was able to treat it. So, so therefore what? Because the first two doctors told him he wasn't in pain, therefore he wasn't in pain and therefore he gave up going to a third doctor? What are you gonna do? But when it, when it comes to remembering things yeah "Zochar es asher asah lcha Amalek." Remember what Amalek did. Memory is, is a tricky thing and you have to work hard to stay focused. You have to work hard to remember what it is that I'm trying to say. What it is I'm trying to accomplish. (Sigh) we come to Parshas Zochar and it's very important because, was it Winston Churchill? I don't know. You can Google it today. You don't have to... But The quote is, "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." And it's true. You'll find Situations that take place over and over again. And there are people who in their own lives make the same mistakes over and over again. And they always feel bad about it. I had a talmid at the end of the year, he did not maximize his year, let's put it nicely. At the end of the year, he was literally in tears, and he says, "Rebbe, I did it again. I said, this year would be different. I said, this year I'm gonna really change. This year I'm gonna really accomplish anything, and I didn't do anything. And it's very sad. I didn't know what to tell him: yeah, that's true. You really did waste your year. (Laughing) Oh, what are you going to do? You try again. You pick yourself up, and you try again. But... but people, people have, have memories. The memories slip away. Do you remember look, what's, what's the, what's the biggest example? We come down into this world, and we know why we're in this world. We're here to do Torah v'mitzvahs. We're here to perfect ourselves. We're here to make the world a better place. We're here to do something And instead we don't do anything. We waste our time away. That's the explanation many people give about Geheinom. Geheinom is not fire, obviously. Your a soul, can't burn a soul. Yeah, you don't believe me, save up your money and invest in cryogenics. The'll wrap you in aluminum foil and put you in the freezer, you're not, you don't have to worry. It's worse than that. (Laughing) Because burning is an example shame. When you get to the Olam HaEmes and you'll remember what I was trying to do. And you'll watch your whole life, then you'll watch what your life could have been. You could be great and noble instead of small and petty. So I'm going to live up to what my Rebbe told me. You know, everybody in this world has purpose his is it to be a bad example. I tell this story. I'm not proud of the story. Yeah, thank you. Even though I was right. (Laughing) But there was evidently a tombstone where they wrote: Here lies Jonathan Wright. He went through the intersection because the light was green even though there was another car coming. He was right, but he's just as dead as if he had been wrong. (Laughing) But being right is the most important thing, yeah. There was a guy who came collecting in a shul in Har Nof. And lifted up his trouser leg and he showed that he, his leg wish shrunk from polio. He says, "I have an operation tomorrow morning and I have to raise the money to pay for the blood transfusion. I need two pints of blood. Each one is 100 shekel." What a story. I saw people to pull out 200 shekels on the spot and give it to him. The next night he was back again. Lifted up his trouser leg, "I'm having an operation tomorrow morning." I began to suspect that this story was not true. (Laughing.) Now if he says, "listen, I have polio and I'm collecting money because you know, I can't work", whatever it is. I would give him money. But this was a scam! Yeah, obviously he made a lot more money through the scam. And then I would see him show up in different shuls, different places, and he would always have the same story. And it got me so upset because the guy's a liar. He's taking advantage of people's good nature. Maybe that's the Pinchas in me. You know, I'm a kohain. You see something wrong, you know, your first reaction is to pick up a spear. You know that, okay. I don't know, but it really bothered me, it bother me. Anyway, I come out of a class in Ohr Sameach and there were a lot of the talmidim around, and there he is. And he turns to me in front of the students. and he lifts up his trouser leg, and he says, "I have an operation tomorrow morning in Hadassa. I need two pints of blood, and I'm raising the money to be able to buy two pints of blood. It's 100 shekel each pint of blood." I said, "you have a health plan that's covering the hospital, and the operation, and the anesthesiologist, the surgeon, and doesn't include the blood?! That's outrageous! I know somebody in the Ministry of Health, I'll call them right now! Who's your health plan?" "No, no, no, no. no, it's too late, too late, the operation is tomorrow, it can't be done. I need the money." I said, "no problem. I'll donate the blood. He said, "what?" I said, "you have an operation tomorrow morning and you need two pints of blood, I'll give you the blood." He says, "one person can't give that much blood." So I turned to the talmidim and said, "is anybody here willing to donate a pint the blood to this poor man so that he doesn't have to walk around the day before his operation collecting money for his own blood transfusion?" And all the hands went up. I said, "we'll get you as much blood as you need." He says, "no, it's too early in the morning." And I turned to the talmidim and I said, "how many people would be willing to get up at five o'clock in the morning to go to the hospital and donate a pint of blood to this poor man so he could go home now and get a good night's sleep before his operation tomorrow?" And all the hands shot up. And evidently he had never had this experience (laughing) before. He said to me, "are you giving me money?" I said, "why? It's for the blood, I'll give you the blood." Just then Rav Bulman zatzal walked by. Put a coin in the man's hand, looked at me and said, "Reb Dovid, what you're doing is not worth five shekels" and walked away. Now very often when I tell this story over people say, "but you were right! But you were right, he's a scam artist!" And I said, "you're right." So, how come whenever I tell over this story I wish I was Rabbi Bulman. (Laughing) How come I wish that I was the, the rabbi who came over, gave the cool line, handed a coin to this guy who was obviously a scam artist, and walked away, making the other guy, me, feel like garbage. (Laughing) Why? Because being right is not the most important thing. And when you try to remember, what is so important to you people forget. You find this in marriages all the time, people get involved in such stupid arguments. "Uh, this and that, you said this, you said that, you want, he wanted..." Who cares?! At the end of the day People get into, people get into so many conflicts, so many things, gotta be right. That's what happens, because, you know. Now there are people who have, I always pronounce this wrong, endemic memory? A memory where they can't forget anything. These people have a very difficult time in life. Because shichecha was created for us to be able to move on. You gotta move on. You gotta forget. The problem with, eh, they say if the woman remembered the pain of childbirth she'd never get never get pregnant again. You have to forget. If there's no trauma, you have a trauma, and you don't forget... Yaakov Avinu, alright, didn't, didn't forget about Yoseif, 'cuz he wasn't really dead. That's over 22 years. He didn't have ruach hakodesh because he couldn't put it behind him. Forgetting is a gift. But if we forget the important things, then it's a tragedy. It's Shabbos Zachor. We have to remember what Amaleik did to us, and remember why that's such a terrible thing. And THEN we can fight them apart. But if we don't remember, then we can't fight them. So that's it for this week If you would like to contact me you can go to rabbiorlofsky.com/contact. If you want to make a comment on this podcast It's rabbiorlofsky.com/podcast 22, I think. If you want to find about upcoming events go to rabbiorlofsky.com/events And if you'd like to sponsor an episode You go to rabbiorlofsky.com/podcast and click on the 'sponsor' button. That's it for this week. I appreciate you watching and listening, this is Rabbi Orlofsky, this is the Rabbi Orlofsky Show.