How much would you pay for PEACE OF MIND? | Living with Emunah #367

Good morning. Good morning, Bogota. Welcome back to Living with Amuna. Always amazing to be together. First a housekeeping note next week will be traveling. So, we are off next week, but we will resume the week afterm you can catch up on, you could relisten to or there are countless other Amuna resources, Shirum classes you could listen and learn on your own. As always, want to thank our Amuna series sponsors. We remain deeply indebted and grateful to Avi Bella Morgan in memory of Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbet and in memory of Bella's mother Dr. Ellen Chanzer this morning is also co-sponsored our series this year anonymously in memory of the third 30 fallen soldiers and alumni of Ben David Mkin Yeshivili who fell on October 7th during this war. Each week we're highlighting a different one of those heroes who fell. This week we're highlighting major reserve David Kaim mayor Hashem Yikov Shalim he was 31 years old fell in battle on October 7th during the recapture of kibbut's beer David mayor was killed while bravely trying to root out Hamas terrorists hiding inside homes maternal grandfather was the founder of the bayaki yeshiva network of moshi nara he survived by his wife Anat their seven-month-old son Shak his parents and his six siblings and his nishama I would say should have an aliyah but it can't go any higher higher because we know the heroes who gave their lives are next to the kavod but certainly we remember and our learning should be in his memory. This morning she shares dedicated by Lauren Sham in honor of Andrea Rowling's birthday. Gratitude to Hashem for 37 years of friendship to Andrea for introducing her to this amazing shir. Happy birthday Andrea and thank you Lauren. anonymously in honor of the 30th birthday. Most grateful for the amuna you've helped them grow. Anonymously for have an easy healthy labor and delivery for mother and baby. We should hear good news. and forester. We should hear news of by and hoffman and Ruthie and we on the also should have a lot of comfort and aua I'm dedicating our learning should be for a complete speedy and painless for my dear friend Natan Ben Mirl should hear good news of a speedy raforma and lastly dedicated in honor of raforma for a preeie baby in the NICU. Slay should hear good news. Okay, we have so many generous people. Sorry it took so long, but so many generous people and uh thank you. Okay, as always, we begin with some letters and then we'll dive back into our text that we're learning together of Abu Kat. We've got the letters are all great and I regret I mention every week I regret I can't read and share all of them with you. I read every one of them. They inspire and motivate and touch deeply each and every one of them. and they touched me. I can't share them all with you, but here are some. Here are some of them. My living with the moon moment happened this summer in Jerusalem in the annual trip of the organization they learn with. After a volunteering activity, I rushed off the bus and accidentally left my phone behind. By the time the driver brought it back, everyone had already left for the next activity. So, I had no choice but to go to my room. My roommate wasn't feeling well and I ended up collapsing into a chair from the extreme heat. We called my gender and they arrived within minutes. She insisted she didn't need me to come because she spoke Hebrew fluently. But I held her hand and said, "We can never leave a fellow Jew alone or far worse, never let them feel alone." So I went, stayed with her for six hours in the hospital. She was okay. Suddenly came to me and I said out loud, "This is a living with Amuna moment. If I hadn't forgotten my phone, I wouldn't have been able to be here for you. I was exactly >> where I was meant to be." And I broke down crying. Fast forward, become deeply involved in several communities. And the email goes on to other stories. One of our members of our shar, thank you very much, shared with me that actually one of our letters made it into the circle magazine. It didn't have attribution, but that's okay. That's okay. Hashem knows where it's from. But you remember the email we got from the girl who was woken by her mother for school and said, "Ma, you're always listening to that guy in that class saying, "You are where you're meant to be, and I'm meant to be in bed and leave me alone." >> [laughter] >> Well, that story made it into the circle magazine. Thank you. Could have at least mentioned the shear, but anyway, that is a that is a great story. That reminds me of a new story that came in this week. Oh, dear Goldberg, we always start with gratitude. Thank you for all you do. Blah blah blah yada yada. I have a cute am Thank you for the com. I have a cute amuna story. My son came home the other day and he said, "Mommy, I had a Kish test today and Rabbi Goldberg got me an A," [laughter] which is pretty extraordinary because in school I did not get A's, but I'm happy to help somebody else. Confused, I asked him to elaborate. He said, "Well, we were being tested on the Ten Commandments and how they relate one to the other." And then I got to the question, "What is the foundation idea connecting the fifth and the tenth commandments?" I blanked, but one thing kept coming into my head. Embrace your place. So that's exactly what I did. I embraced my place of not knowing what to write and I wrote, "Embrace your place." He said, "Mommy, my Rebi came up to me and said that I nailed that question." And [laughter] he and he couldn't believe how to the point I was able to phrase it. That was the connection between the fifth and the 10th. So he wanted to say, "Thank you, Rabbi Goldberg. Wishing your family and living and the entire living with Amuna family all the best and warm regards." So I'm happy I got him an A. and children listening. If you ever don't know what to write on a test, just write embrace your place or let go, let God or some other cliche like that and certainly you will do you will do well. Okay, next. This past spring and summer, my husband and I were in significant financial straits. The fear and anxiety were overwhelming, at times even debilitating. For the past 20 years, I've struggled learning and relearning to turn my will and my life over to a higher power. But for whatever reason, the situation had me licked. I was completely blocked and disconnected, which is dangerous. I had done all the all my effort. I knew my job was to move past the fear and reconnect. But how? Enter the podcast. My best friend suggested I give it a listen. And I was quickly hooked. Not only because it's engaging and deep, because you keep it real and honest. We're all just doing our best to hang on to Hashem through difficult situations. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't. The point is to trust Hashem has got our back no matter what the outcome. Shirum opened a hidden door in my soul and cleared out those blocks. I was able to reconnect again. So inspired, I started a sheer for women based on I'm a writer by profession. The stories we tell come down to perspective. Same story could be a comedy or a tragedy depending on the teller. To live in peace and connection, I choose to edit through the lens of amuna. Oh, and for our financial situation, while I was busy building Amuna, Hashem sent my husband and I life-changing work opportunities. He answered our prayers beyond our wildest expectations. This is just a side benefit of a real happy ending, a more deeply connected life. A beautiful email. Halvai for everyone. Okay, we continue our Psalm 23 sightings. This is fun. That's why I give the shir because we have so much fun. So, we learned and because we referenced it, now everyone's seeing it everywhere. And keep it coming. We're on a streak. I want to see how far we can take it. Dear Rabbi Goldberg, I want to thank you the impact of your classes. The Psalm 23 citing emails have been very entertaining part of the class introductions and now I have my own or at least I almost did as I'm part of a chat that was dividing up tail for an individual who's ill. I wanted to take a day. I decided to wait until the first few were taken as I'm more familiar with the chapters in the second half of the cafer. But then I thought, stop procrastinating. Just take the next available. I did with googling the day to begin saying the taleum. The first chapter was none other than Psalm 23. I couldn't help but smile. Ironically though, when I subsequently opened the actual say form later to finish, I realized it was actually divided up differently than I originally thought and was not part of my day. It was a meaningful to get to say the chapter nonetheless. The words of that chapter were after all they were where they're meant to be coming forth from my soul that afternoon. Some sightings notwithstanding. Thank you for the messages the class. May we shos and greet Mashiach Mukarov. Amen. Amen. We got another sighting. It's not a Psalm 23 but it's another great sighting and I appreciated it. And I appreciated it. Oh, here it is. Um, finally I felt a good amunisher moment as I journeyed home. I'm not the best traveler. I'm always nervous about running late while my American wife from Atlanta is more than relaxed to roll in with minutes to go. As the traffic mounted near the airport and the clock was ticking, my blood pressure rose and I began to feel stressed. I tried in that moment to think all about all the rabbi messages from the shear. I took deep breaths, reminded myself continuously that Hashem was in charge and managed to calm down. And managed to calm down. We returned our car and made our way to check in. As always, our check-in took far longer than anyone else, compounded by the intricacies of checking in a stroller, car seat, and a base for my sweet child. As the clock ticked, I noticed on the spirit worker's arm, a tattoo, although the worker was an American, was a black American female, most likely not Jewish, she had a tattoo of Hashem's four-letter name in Hebrew. Perhaps you folks in Boke are familiar with her, but for me, it was a reminder, Leo, and Lead. Hashem isn't we don't know her. She doesn't come to the amunesir, but she should. Hashem is in charge and he'll get us home if he so chooses. Hashem, we made our flight just fine. Despite some harrowing turbulence, Hashem guided the pilot to land the plane safely. May Hashem bless you to continue inspire. But that's another sighting. Just when he was feeling anxious and worried, he found a tattoo on the TSA worker's arm of the four-letter Hashem name. And that gave him all the energy he needed in order to stay in order to stay calm. Okay, couple more and then we'll get into our learning together. I hope you're doing well in sunny South Florida. I hope they mean that. I think they mean I think they're happy for us. [laughter] Sunny South Florida. I'm going to take that at face value. I mean, again, like the other author said, you could read things and tell the story the way you want. So, you could read that sentence. I hope you're well in sunny South Florida. It's where it's snowing here. Or I hope you're well. Enjoy. Good. It's beautiful. Enjoy sunny South Florida. So, we're gonna choose to read it the second way. I've enjoyed listening to the shar. Appreciate the reminder. I always be prepared with my eyes. You never know when you'll need it. Today was one of those days where it came in handy. I'm an infrequent goer to my office as I'm not required to come in and make it my schedule more difficult. One of the difficulties is going to a minion for min. I don't have a car and the only me within walking distance is a 25 minute speed walk each way with just enough time for the minion. Today I went and walked through the rain to get there. First of all, can we just pause? I don't know him, but he's extraordinary. 25 minute walk each way from work to Mina. Many most almost all of the people I know would say corner of the office, close the door, do my best, short days, can't make a minion, I have to work, I'm exempt, 25 minute walk, not round trip each way through the rain, speed walking, using up the entire lunch hour. That's a min. You know what the word ma means? tell us that of all theos the holy and most special to Hashem is mka mk partially it's the time of day twilight when it's said it's the time of day the time of din but also the word mka what is mka relevant to this week's para because Jacob offers one to his brother before they meet what is min >> a gift min is a gift and why is mka called a gift exactly for this reason because shak is you come to sh you make a coffee you have a slushie you have a pastry you learn to call Booker, you dive in, you begin your day, you have time, it's calm, you're not yet running. Marav, we have, you know, how many maravs we have? A plague marv seven, eight, nine, 10. Yes, I'm shamelessly plugging our maravs. You have maravs all night long. So marv whatever time you end your day, you could come banas, you could dab in a marv, get a slushie, make a tea, enjoy marv, but min is never at a convenient time. And if you want to know, if you don't believe me, Ma is never at a convenient time, just ask. It's never at a convenient time. It is never at a convenient time. Which is remarkable to me because sometimes Mina is early and sometimes MK is late depending on the time of year. Whenever it is, I'm told it is never at a convenient time. And that's why it's called MKA. That's why it's called Ma. You're in the middle of your busy workday. It's at an inconvenient time. And yet you you say it anyway. You d anyway. That's why it's called. So I just want to pause to admire and be inspired by this Jew who walks in the rain 25 minutes each way speedw walking using his lunch hour with a minion. Today I went and walked through the rain to get there. I usually don't Uber because if I did frequently it'd be expensive. But on the way back from the minion today I made an exception due to the weather. As we were driving, the driver was pulled over for a broken tail light. When we pulled over and I heard the sirens, my immediate reaction was to be calm and aam that everything would be fine thanks to the shirim borashem stop was short. I was back to work before my lunch was over with time to spare. As I got into the elevator at my office building, I saw a man with a walking in a site I hadn't seen before in my office. We talked, exchanged numbers, and it looks like from now on I have a ride to Mina. Even though the commute to and from MKA was more eventful than usual, it led to me to having a much easier commute for the future. I'm thankful to Hashem that I was able to keep calm during what could have been a stressful situation, helping me secure a ride for future, helping me see the hashk of the situation very quickly. Thank you, Rabbi. I wish you as you continue to inspire a man. What a beautiful hug from Hashem. Had it not been raining, had he not taken an Uber out of Uber, not been pulled over, he wouldn't have walked in right at the same time as that individual. Had he not met him, he wouldn't have now had a ride in the future, giving him a greater lunch hour. And it still counts as a mah because he was ready to speedwalk 25 minutes each way. Ah, what a story. And if you thought that was a great story, get ready for this one. And then we'll get into our learning. Thank you for the blah blah blah blah blah. I have a crazy dating story I would like to share with you. Now, when you hear that intro, I have a crazy dating story. Say, how crazy could it be? I've heard a lot of crazy dating stories. Ashan recently reached out to me saying that someone mentioned my name to her as an idea for a possible shik. She asked me to send her my information. The next night I received a suggestion from her. I looked into it and agreed to go out. The night of the date, I showed up to the meeting spot and the guy says, "Are you so and so?" I said, "Yes." We started walking and talking and about 10 minutes in, he asked me a certain question. Upon hearing my response, he said, "Wait, this is so awkward, but I think I was supposed to go out with a different girl with the same first name. [laughter] I could not believe what was happening. This was the craziest date story I'd ever heard. I was on a date with the wrong guy. Or so I thought. We immediately both stopped and went to the side of the street, took out our phones, and started texting and calling our shakans. We quickly realized it was the same Shahan. At this point, I thought there's another guy and another girl waiting at the same meeting spot. And we swapped dates and that I was going to have 15 missed calls from the Shahan saying, "Where are you?" This is already crazy, but it got even crazier because then I asked him his name and he was the guy I got suggested. What happened was my name was on the Shakan's radar and someone had mentioned my name to her. At the same time, she suggested a different girl with the same first name to this boy. And when he said yes, his information was accidentally sent to me instead of the other girl who he really said yes to. I actually thought I was in a movie. I looked at my phone screen which says, "You are exactly where you're meant to be. Embrace your place." Okay, >> this idea that you frequently say during the shar always gave me a certain sense of calmness and it gave me the calmness that night to understand however the situation would unfold would be from Hashem. We stood on the side waiting to see the shakan responded. After a few minutes, we both put away our phones and continued the date. We made a joke of it and kept saying how crazy the story was. We pulled out our phones at one point and the shakan had apologized profusely for the mistake. It had never happened to her before. I was not upset at all. Totally understood. Things happen. People make mistakes. But Hashem, he doesn't make mistakes. Although I believe I have strong amuna, I really try to live my life believing Hashem runs the world and is knows what's best. The day-to-day is still challenging and I often feel like I need to take control even though I know that no results are coming from that and it's all from Hashem to me that night in this story taught me a huge lesson. It really strengthened my amuna. Hashm was telling me as much as you think you're in control, you don't have to worry. I'm the one who runs the world, I can make anything happen. I can make that which seems impossible possible. Whoever you're supposed to meet, I'll make that happen. There are so many pieces of the story that don't make sense. We were not supposed to go out except that we were. Hashem orchestrated it. He made the shah overlook something in her notes because he's the one controlling the world. To make an already long story short, we went out a few times and although I'd love to sit here and write a perfect ending and happily ever after this crazy story, that's not always the reality. This gives me tremendous that Hashem is really the one in control and no one can get in that way. Hashem can literally do anything. My job is to do my part, put in a normal amount of let Hashem do his. I know you always say you appreciate the stories that don't have a perfect ending. And so even though it ended, I still wanted to send this email because I recognize that in every situation I could have learned a lesson of Amuna. PS, my friends and I are still patiently waiting for you to start the Amuna series. Coming soon. Coming soon to you. And here's a picture of She sent me a picture of her home lock screen that says, "Embrace your place. You are where you're meant to be." And yeah, it would have been a cooler story if they got married in the end. They might yet. You never know. Although sometimes, as we always point out, it's a more powerful story that she can write that whole email and say, "Not what a waste of a night. What a waste of time. What a lousy shaken. Can't believe she made this mistake." To be able to look back and say, "It was still I was where I was meant to be." And you know what? The story could still have another incredible ending. Maybe that young man is going to think of a different young man for her. Maybe she thinks of a different woman for that young man. We don't know where we are, why we're there, how we're meant to pay it forward, but we're never stuck and we always are where we're meant to be. And those are several examples of them. More great letters letters we'll save for next time. We're back in our learning together. Page 127 of bottom left paragraph. And this par has been all about it's in a cafer. This book is not about we learned this last book. This is a different book called Sharil. This book is about prayer. Why is there a chapter in a book about prayer about faith and trust? Because one of the things that we turn and pray for is Hashem, let me see you. Let me feel you. Let me know you. Let me feel connected to you. It's ironically and paradoxically something that we daven for. Hashem, I'm struggling. I'm suffering. It doesn't come naturally or easily. I'm not feeling so connected. So, we have to daven. We davin. we dive in hard that we see and feel connected. One of the core foundational ways that we serve hashem is the mitzvah of and we learned long ago I don't even know what number this is or what we're up to. Oh part 367. So we learned many many maybe within the first dozen about where does it say there's a mitzvah just happens to be saying in passing one of the foundational mitzvah that we have is the mitzvah to have faith in hem is there a mitzvah faith in hem so there's actually a debate there are some who say yes I am the lord your god I took you out of Egypt don't have other gods have loyalty and fidelity to me believe in me see me, feel me, talk to me, connect with me, make time for me. That is a mitzvah to have faith and belief and trust in Hashem. But there are many others reonim who say there is no mitzvah to have faith in Hashem. Why? Because we don't have to. Because it's optional. Because we could be an agnostic or god forbid an atheist? No, of course not. For another fundamental reason. Is there a mitzvah to breathe? >> We have 613 mitzvah. The Garand Deacos tells us we have a tradition. There are other traditions by the way, but the authoritative one, the one that is most universally accepted is that there are 613 mitzvah, the code of every Jewish luggage. 613 mitzvah tarag. How do you count the tarag? There really many more than 613. One can argue there are thousands when you add them all up with their minutiae and their details. So, how do you squeeze them into 613? That's a really fun game and exercise. And the rishonimar medieval commentaries actually played that game and they wrote works. They wrote books explaining their principles and rules and then counting their 613 how they got there the mitzvah and the list could go on and on. the many many many wrote books explaining okay here are my rules of categorization that will allow me to then demonstrate to you how I came up with 613 even though there are many more 613 so is one of the 613 breathe don't forget to breathe we're living in one of the most pathetic generations of all time we now have alarms and apps on our phones that are designed that people pay money for to download whose whole job it is to remind you to breathe. Don't forget to breathe. No generation before us needed to be reminded to breathe. But we're breathing so shallow. We're looking down at devices. We're forgetting. We're distracting. We're living mindless lives that we have all kinds of apps and all kinds of alarms and they're important and they're good to remind us breathe breathe. That was the topic of our rashashana drasha that this was the anniversary of creation. We came to be through breath. And on rashash shana we stop, we pause and we take a deep breath. And that's what the chauffeur is. You can only produce the sound of the chauffeur through the deep breath inside you. Rashashana is a day. Take a deep breath. Take a deep breath. Restore the nishama with nishima. Take a deep breath. We spoke all about I've been very gratified by the people who shared with me how they've employed and when they've used we we not only spoke about but in a very hokey way that I was made fun of by my family. We collectively practiced [clears throat] Navy Seal box breathing. Those of you in SH remember we stopped before we heard the chauffeur on musf on rashash shana. Deep 5-second breath in hold it 5 seconds. Deep 5-second relief. Hold it for 5 seconds. And that that's what the Navy Seals use in high pressure stressful life-threatening situations. Certainly we can use that. Where the Navy Seals get that from the amunes. That's where they got it from. because you restore the nishima with nishama the role of breath and it's critical and it's important and we need to be reminded to breathe and whatever we're going through whatever we face whatever we need to overcome stop and remember we've got to breathe we've got to breathe deeply we've got to breathe deeply is it a mitzvah to breathe now why isn't it a mitzvah to breathe because it is basic fundamental you cannot be alive without doing it so I need a mitzvah for the things that I don't know I need to do. I need a mitzvah for that which doesn't come naturally. I need a mitzvah for that which will enhance and elevate and empower and inspire life. But I can't be alive. I'm not living if I don't breathe. So I don't need a mitzvah to breathe. So those who say amuna is the same thing. You don't need to be told or charged or commanded. Have amuna. Amuna is like the breath the air we breathe. Without it we cannot live. Without it we're not alive. We're not alive. And Muna gives us life. It sustains life. It is life. That's why I spend all that time reading these emails because they're written from people who are saying that what gets me through life, what gives me life, what enables life, empowers life, what lets me breathe is amuna. Is the confidence and the clarity to know that you are with me. That this existence is not chance and random. That I'm not here because I'm stuck. that I am able to embrace my place and I can let go and I can let God and I can know I'm where I'm meant to be and I can understand that whatever I have is what I'm meant to have and while I can take initiative and try to change and work and grow and progress ultimately I surrender to you Hashem because you're in charge and you're in control and I can only have life that serenity and that peace and that quality of life and that happiness because I live with amuna. So no more than I need to be commanded to breathe do I need to be commanded to have amuna. Amuna is the breath in our lungs. Amuna is the breath. It is the air that we breathe. It is life. It is life. Moreover, it would be paradoxical that there's a mitzvah to what is mitzvah? It's a commandment. It's the command. It means more than that. Sava means a connection. But it's a commandment from the commander. So the commander commands you to believe he exists. It's circular. It's paradoxical. It doesn't make sense. A commandment is premised on the notion that there's a commander. So there can't be a commandment. There can't be a command to believe because the whole nature of a command is premised on the assumption that there's a commander. Did you follow that? Good. So back to of the core principles and values we have is the mitzvah and whether we mean literally one of the whether we mean literally one of the six or whether we mean to live life with knowledge and faith and confidence and feeling of hashem at its core essentially The mitzvah means to know that all that happens wherever we are and whatever happens is by design. That's if you had to summarize it and reduce it. We learned the difference of amuna and remember we learned Shapiro's MS ama MS is the knowledge that there's a creator amuna putting it into practice. MS, academic, theoretical, scholarly, evidence, proof, debate. That's MS. Amuna, putting it into practice. Amuna is on the date with the wrong person. Amuna is on the flight that's delayed. Amuna is when you're financially insecure and you turn and surrender to Hashem that he has a plan. Amuna is when you're fighting to recover from illness. Amuna is amuna is if you reduce amuna to its core is the knowledge that there is hashkah there is divine providence. He's involved and invested intimately in every single one of our lives. He knows everything that's happening. He designed it. He curated it. He choreographed it. And while he wants us to be his partner and to take our initiative and to try to influence and impact our destiny in the end of the day it comes from him. The garamar gives the example you reach in your pocket to pull out a nickel. You pulled out a dime. I would say penny, but they're now obsolete. They're eliminating pennies from the market. Not this penny that you're going to be here forever. [laughter] This penny we want, we keep. You're a keeper. This penny is a keeper. But the coin, the penny, the coin, the penny, the material was more than the value of a penny. So, they're eliminating the penny. But you reach into your pocket for a nickel and you pulled out a quarter. Was that a chance coincidence? Was that a statistical anomaly? How and why did that happen? The GRA says everything from what corner from what everything from what coin you pull out of your pocket to where you are to whether you made a green light or red light. One of the letters I didn't get to was somebody who was going on a date and he always leaves early and he gets there early and he put it into ways and we said there'll be traffic so he left especially early but then he watched ways build up the whole time and it's all story he had a whole conversation with Hashem the entire time and it turns out he defeated ways so much so he says that when he got there and he arrived his intended time and not ways times couldn't believe it all what do you expect is not from the neighborhood but there's all debate, whole debate. And he had a whole ongoing conversation. I think Ways was in utter shock that I made it that early and refused to believe it. But even though Ways knows what's going on, Hashem has the power to change anything in an instant. And that's the knowledge that what time I'll get there. He said he made all the green lights. He had never made that in his life to where he was going. He had driven hundreds of times through his tila, through his faith. And and by the way, that has a happy ending. It also would have been Hashem if he was delayed, if he was in traffic, if he got there late. and she would have understood and it would have been okay and that would have been the end. It would have also been part of the plan. It's always part of the plan. It is the plan and nothing could give more comfort, serenity, happiness, peace of mind. Nothing can give nothing could give more. Nothing could give more. That's amuna kakan. I don't know anyone who got bent out of shape like they reached in their pocket for a nickel and they pulled out a quarter and now they're like, I don't believe in God. I can't believe this happened to me. Where's God? Woe me. Why me? It doesn't mean that person doesn't exist. I haven't met them yet. They probably do, but I haven't met them yet. But that's a small thing. It's insignificant, right? Which quarter? Insignificant. There are big things. There are big things in life. I don't have to tell people in this room who've been through big things in life. It's also small and big. It's all from Hashem. And that's at its core is the confidence, clarity, knowledge, and faith. Not theoretically, but lived that it's all from you, Hashem. I could keep calm and carry on. Keep calm and carry on. Why? Because I believe in you. Because I believe in you. Anyone know where that comes from? Keep calm and carry on. >> The Second World War in London. And the bombs were being dropped and the people were panicked and they hung Poshavilion, only they didn't call it that. They hung posters all over London with the words keep calm and carry on. It even sounds a little bit British. I'm not going to do my accent for you. Keep calm and carry on. But the truth is, we have to adopt it and adapt it for the amunachir. You can't keep calm and carry on just because someone hung a poster telling you to. If bombs are dropping and raining all over your head, why should you keep calm? If there's any situation that demands you to not keep calm, I would think it's bombs bursting in air. That's American. It's bombs bursting in air over your head. Why would you keep calm in that situation? So the phrase that poster is incomplete. It's trust in Hashem, keep calm and carry on. You got to add the part. What gives you the fact? We need to do a better job of that. I'll put it in chat BT later. You got to add some faith to that. Keep calm and carry on. But it's it's keep Hashem in your life and then you'll stay calm and be able to carry on. And that at the core is he quotes in footnote in the language of the indeed the litmus test of how do you know how do you know what's the measure what's the metric of how well you're doing how do you know you don't get it back with your lab results maybe you do but your lab results will tell you how your cholesterol is. You could think it's that. You could want it to be the other thing. In the end of the day, you're fooling yourself. The lab results, the numbers don't lie. The numbers don't lie. This is your cholesterol. These are your sugars. This is your sodium. I see a bunch of panicked faces right now. This is your lab results. What's the lab return? What's the lab result for your How do you know? So says, you know how you know? By your serenity and tranquility. by your capacity to keep calm and carry on. A person living with will have a greater calmness, a greater quiet, a greater peace, a greater serenity, a greater tranquility. Doesn't mean there aren't still things to get anxious over. Certainly there are. That's only human. That's not only okay. That's human. But it means on the whole you can look and measure. Huh? You know, since you've been going to that class, since you've been listening to that cheer, since you've been reading that safer, since you've been working on, I noticed you're a lot calmer situations that you would have gotten bent out of shape. Remember last week's dual email husband and wife separately, but the man on the trip to Israel, he lost his wallet and she testified about him and he testified about himself that previously would have lost his cool. He would have panicked. He would have imploded and instead he kept calm and carried on and figured it out. That's so if you want to know how am I doing? I listen, I learn, I go, I read, I want to be working on it, but how am I doing with it? The answer is can we register about ourselves and would others testify about what they see in us a greater calmness? Is there a greater calm? Yeah, you're in traffic. you get there, it'll work out. You can't make it go faster. It's the way it's meant to be. Yeah. That child, that person, that behavior, that issue, that Yeah. It's okay. It's Hashem's plan. You did your part. You're doing your part. Now, let go and let God. Now, surrender and submit. Now keep calm and carry on because it's all hashem says that the litmus test is the serenity the peace of mind the cal that is the very popular lim the he says so that's it and we spoke about also many many many shir ago if you have a family member if you're blessed to be able to have this in your spouse if you have a dear close friend that you could have coffee and say how's your nish how's your nisha I said this many shirum ago only one person in my life takes me up on it and every time I interact or often I interact him he says rebi how's your nishama how's your nishama and I love it that he asks Thank you, Ben. How's your nishama? Real friends ask each other not only how are you? How are things? What's going on? What's doing? What are your plans? You say, "How's your nishama? How's your nishama?" Well, how do you know how to answer that? How's my nishama? What are the possible answers to that? It's well, it's sick. It's happy. It's healthy. What are the possible answers to how's your nish? Says, "One of the answers is, you know, I I feel a lot more calm. I'm trusting in Hashem. I'm surrendering to Hashem. I recognize Hashem I'm keeping calm and carrying on or not I'm struggling in which case and it's important for friends to be able family members friends spouses to be able to be vulnerable and honest and truthful if they trust the other and say you know I'm not feeling so connected we're struggling and then the answer is what we're learning let's d for you to feel more let's d for you to feel greater and more connected so back upstairs on the top page would And the litmus test is do you keep calm and carry on? Do you have a greater inner peace and an inner serenity? Do you have that? Do you have that? And do you have the ability to interpret and absorb and accept everything that happens as coming from Hashem? That's only possible when you work out your amuna muscles and you have the strength to lift yourself to absorb to interpret to see to accept everything that happens is being from Hashem because we know it's all from him. That's one of the 13 principles of faith of the Raam that he's he did, he does, he will do. All people, all things, all outcomes, all everything all come from Hashem. So when we live our life that way, when we know where it's all from, when we know why, we'll put it out soon, but we're restarting behind the beimma. We have a studio and we're interviewing people in person. But we did one more interview connecting online. Just did it the other day with Congressman Randy Fine. He was a member of the Florida House. Now he's congressman historically the first and only Congressman to ever wear Yamaka in Congress. After October 7th, his son encouraged him to. And he's worn it every day since. And he's the only one who ever has. And he's not personally observant. But he wore a yarmaka because he said, "If they want to kill us for being Jewish, I'm going to proudly wear that yamaka." and he wears on the floor of the House of the House of Representatives. He's a congressman from Florida and he's a um a big fighter for the Jewish people. Randy Fine Fi Randy Fine. He was in the Florida House the only Jewish Republican in in Florida and now he's in the House of Representatives. He's in Congress. So, little spoiler little preview, little fores. It blew me away because he described himself not as observant but wearing his yarmaka but he basically I don't think he listens to the Munashir. pretty confident he doesn't. But he spoke about he was a very successful businessman, retired at 40. Why do you go into public service? Why do he run for the Florida State House and then later for Congress and he said, "Hashem put me where I'm meant to be. And if I'm here, I have to fight for the Jewish people." And so powerfully, he describes that I'm only entitled to take time away from being with my children if I'm not wasting it, but I'm using it to fight for them and for our people. And he essentially says, "Embrace your place. You are where you're meant to be." And he used the word hashem. It's all from Hashem. It's all from Hashem. Here he is in com Congress with his keepa. And wearing that keepa has changed him. He didn't keep kosher. And he was at an event in Washington and he's at the buffet reaching for bacon whatever. And someone's like, "Hey dude, buddy with the kea like [laughter] and he realized if I wear that so he started to keep kosher because if I wear the yamaka I've got to keep kosher." Amazing things. It's going to be it's a great interview and well worthwhile to be able to watch. Please God, coming out to a theater near you very soon. So why am I why am I mentioning that? Because he understands that Hashem is you are where you're meant to be. Hem brings about all outcomes. You have to accept it and know it. And now that's not a burden. If there's anything we try to get across in our sh is that living with is not a burden. You know, sitting in the suka in Bokeh in September, I give you drushas from heel Morgan about why it's wonderful and beautiful and amazing and special and we surrender and the elements and Hashem in the shade and it's a hug for I could give you 4,000 Josh about it. But let's be honest, it's hot. We not so pleasant. And if there weren't a mitzvah, we wouldn't be out there. There are mitzvah that are hard that are hard. They're well worth doing and the reward is greater than the sacrifice, but they're hard. Amun are not a burden. Amuna are not hard. Amuna and are a gift and a privilege and a blessing and a tool are a medicine. They're a salve to put on an open wound. They're a medicine to heal and make you feel better. And are the gas that let you drive your car. They are the cord that let you plug in to recharge. And is the greatest gift. It is the greatest gift. It's not a burden. It's not painful. It's not difficult. It's not a struggle. It yields and it brings about exactly the opposite. When we can live with it, when we can live and interpret and absorb and experience our whole lives through it, we have a peace and a tranquility and a serenity and a capacity for a happiness with whatever I have to be in my lot in life to not live life and wonder why and where and how could it and what will be the outcome and what's going to be and will it work out but instead to stop being a worrier and instead to be a >> warrior. How do you go from a warrior to a warrior? It's easy. Don't be a warrior, be a warrior. How do you go from a warrior to a warrior? There's so there's a lot of good reasons to worry. You wake up on any given morning and there's a long list of things to be worried about. There's no shortage of things to worry about. So, how do you go from the natural instinct to be a worrier to be a warrior? We work on that amuna muscle we put on that is amuna glasses. It's the effort and the intention and the mindfulness to live a life where we look at the world and our world through the lens of amuna is and this is the core from it when you can plant and then sprout and blossom the amo the branches and the leaves and the fruit that it yields for every area of life. Ding obviously is different. Your learning of Torah obviously different. Your performance of mitzvah is different. And your relationships are different. You're a different person. When you live a life of you're not that anxious, nervous that nobody wants to be around. You're not the person who obsessively keeps worrying and anxious and wellbe. It's like I can't ah you're more pleasant to be around. You're happier. Your health, your lab results taco will be better. Your whole life is different. There are branches. They spread out. [clears throat] [clears throat] When a person knows and puts in their heart just how much we surrender to him, we attach ourselves and tie ourselves strongly double knot to the tree of life. Who who wouldn't want this? Who wouldn't want this? You know, we still have to finish this campus and it's uh we're like five million short. We're still working on You can change that. So, I bought one of these a couple days ago [clears throat] because uh it was up to 740 million. Spoiler alert, I didn't win. Whenever I buy it, I tell I'm give this this and give this to this and this is why I want it and where it's all going to go and how it's going to change his world. He still keeps telling me, "No, Goldberg, you got to do it the hard way." I don't buy every day. I don't buy every week. I don't buy every month. I don't buy often. and I don't know why I don't buy when it's not 740 million as if 50 million won't change things. I really am trying to change this campus and change the world with it. And he says no and he said no. But uh but the good news is nobody won on Monday night. So if remind me I think tonight's the next one and it's up even higher and we will change the world and bring amuna to the world together with it. And yes I'm happy to share item haya should be in that position. Why? Why am I telling you this? I'm not embarrassed. I'm a little bit, you know, the guy says behind the counter says, "How many do you want?" I said, "Why would I buy more than one?" Says, "You increase your chances." So, no, you don't. You have almost no chance with one ticket. And you know, two times zero, two times 0.0000. So, you need a ticket because if you don't have a ticket, you can't win. And you got to be in it to win it. You got to be in it to win it. So, you need a ticket to win. You can't win if you don't have. That's what we call, ladies and gentlemen. I present to you. This is the you got to be in it to win it. You can't win without it. You got to buy one. To buy more than one is a breakdown of amuna. I mean it. It's also to buy more than one. Why is it? And it's very sad. Sometimes I see at the gas station it's da the people who have no money who are buying 25 of these tickets because they think they're increasing their chances. And I'm tempted to like, buddy, let me just you have a calculator. Let's do some math. Like you're not you're not increasing your chances. You're just increasing the pot for me when I win. But you're not you're not increasing you're not increasing your chances. So it's also to buy more than one because if Hashem wants you to win with one, you'll win with one. And it's statistically not meaningful to buy more than one, but you got to be in it to win it. So you got to buy one. And why do I buy one? I don't really think I'm gonna win, but I buy one because it's a small price to pay to be able to dream to dream. I wrote an article about this once. It's a small price to pay to dream. Because you have great conversations. You go home and you say, "What would we do?" If you say, "First thing I do is quit my job." If the first thing you do is quit your job, what you're doing is a job, not a calling. Because I can tell you right now, I pledge publicly. I will not quit my job. I will double down on my job. Do it better with a bigger team and do more in more places. And Hashem caught my bluff. I'm excited. I want to do it. I'm ready. But you have this kind of where would you live? Would you buy that place in Israel? Would you spend more time? Would you move there permanently? What difference would you make to this world? What are your priorities? You can't have those conversations in a meaningful real way if you don't spend the couple dollars on the ticket, the one to be in it to win it. Why am I telling you all this? Why am I telling you all this? I'm telling you all this for the following reason. Ladies and gentlemen, you've won the lottery. We have won the lottery. Hashem has given us the grand prize. It's called the relationship with him. What do you think that money is going to do for you? No. No. If I had money, I could keep calm. I'd be happy. If I had money, then I'd feel secure about the future. If I had money, a lot of people with money don't have those things. But we have the real grand prize. It's called Hashem. Amuna is winning the lottery. How sad it is that so many lottery winners are walking around and they're not turning in the ticket. This is the last vestage on earth. By the way, you cannot. This ticket is worthless. I didn't win. But if you have a winning ticket, you can't if you have a picture of it, it doesn't do anything. There's no email with it and there's no online. I have it. You have to be holding it. So, the first thing you do is put it in a safety deposit box. First thing you do is put it in a safe. Second thing you do is call me. I'll take it off your hands. But you have to be holding the ticket. And the amazing thing about the lottery is if you don't turn in the actual ticket, they you might have won. You got all the right numbers in the right order and you got the double play and the power play. You got it all. But if you don't turn in the ticket, you don't get it. So my fellow Jews, we're all holding the ticket, but you got to turn it in. You got to live a life of and then you could collect the grand prize. And what's the grand prize? Do you know is worth more or less than $740 million? Many mistakenly think they could buy for $740 million. And if that's what you think, I would challenge you to Google lottery winners and you will see did they have more or less how many lost their money, went bankrupt, committed suicide, lost all their family and friends. Winning the lottery is not going to buy you except me. It will and please and [laughter] I'll be different. But what if I told you get doesn't cost you a penny? You could have in your life. You don't have to win the lottery. Doesn't cost 740 million. Doesn't cost one million. Doesn't cost $1. For nothing, you could have. You know what it costs? A little mindfulness, a little intention, a little amuna. And for that, you could win the lottery. You're all lottery winners. Now go turn the ticket, collect your winnings. We're not on next week. We're traveling. We're back in two weeks from now. Now we turn off the recording. day for questions and answers. For those in person, for those listening or watching online, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay holy. Okay, questions.