(Part 142): Nothing Can Stand In Your Way

okay Boer to good morning thank you for being with us again to learn Torah on this Wednesday morning if I seem a little frazzled it's because I am we uh started a moment late because we were just zoom bombed again I share that with you not to upset you or disturb you although I hope you didn't have to see what I had to see I share that with you uh because there are enemies adversaries who continue to want to undermine us with images that are horrific graphic and anti-semitic but light will succeed over dark good over evil and we will persevere and continue to study and learn nonetheless particularly our study of amuna I want to thank our sponsors of the amuna series for the year drors Ai and Bam Morgan so generously sponsored the whole year in memory of our dear friend a model in Paradigm of living with amuna a model in Paradigm of leaving this world with amuna Rabbi Dr Brian gabu n also this morning's particular class is sponsored generously anonymously uh in gratitud for the positive impact theun have had on these trying times I hope they will continue being part of aab a network a group working together to improve and grow our amuna to be able to connect with Hashem and find strength in him during this time is something particularly important it's actually our topic we're going to uh get into a little bit and talk about which is that we're very focused uh like you I continuously turn to the news hoping for some update when it going to reopen when are we going to reenter what are the real statistics and data antibodies and and vaccines and plasma treatments and medical breakthroughs and what's happening and what will happen and when will it happen and there's constant conversation about quarantining and social distancing about the rules and regulations in Israel 19 people in a minion spend 10 ft apart and when will it change here and absent this conversation understandably we don't expect the media to talk about faith or the media to talk about the role of God um but that's our that's our job is to insert the question of where does Hashem fit into this picture where does our trust in him where does our turning to him where does our making sense of this with him come into this picture and that's our topic as we continue with the piece that we're learning by ramar Schwartz the author of The does know your know your trust know your faith in hem long before PES when we took our break we were going through this essay this beautiful piece slowly but surely we're towards the end of it now in which he defines the word b doesn't mean trust God will do what I want him to I trust God will make sure there'll never be a zoom bomber again I trust God will enable me to always have my income without any problem I trust that God is going to make everything work out exactly the way I want and exactly the way I need that's not to say that Hashem will make everything conformed to the way I want and the way I need that's not that is a false and fake B that's not trust in ourselves and that is simply trust in in ourselves real means that whatever Hashem does whatever the outcome is however this turns out I know it's by Design I know it's his plan I know it's for the best and when a person lives that mentality when we approach life in that way then there's nothing that can stand in our way it means we have to confront realities and challenges God forbid Health crisis financial crisis or less crisis like wanting to kill our children wanting to kill their school wanting to kill one another there are all kinds of Crisis we're facing each and every day significant real ones or what I like to call the manufactured crisis first world crisis that the truth are are not crisis at all but if you live life with a mindfulness a conscientious life if you live life that hasem is by your side and over your shoulder and you know that everything is by Design and everything is way it's meant to be then we do what we need to we take our initiative and the rest of the way we're able to sit back and relax and let him run the show knowing that this order meaning and purpose to what he's doing where does rwz get this from if you recall the word from that shim Le when they entered the city of they did so they entered the the city the town bet with confidence with Shorty they had stacked the deck in their favor they knew they had arranged things so that they would come out the Victor and that we too live our lives bet we can walk into every situation with a confidence with an absolute knowledge with assy that it's going to work out how can we afford to walk into every situation that way how can we know that that's the truth simple because God is on our side and God has our back and lastly he developed this notion there's the internal self and the external self the external self lives the external superficial reality and external superficial reality in place where we are confronting the fact that there's Health crisis there are people there are obstacles there are challenges there's friction there's tension outside ourselves there are all kinds of challenges outside ourselves there are all kinds of uh there all kinds of obstacles but the internal self the place that is in tune with God the place that is in tune with spirituality and Salim knows that there is no obstacle and there's nothing standing against us and there's nothing that can block us from what Hashem wants for us so let's elaborate let's take this even further I'm reading to you from the text of his essayes raar Schwarz if you're in the Wednesday Amun group I posted the source sheets otherwise please listen and follow online Nella has how can we get to that place where I'm living so soulfully I'm so spiritually alive and vibrant and active that as I encounter and engage my life there is no external obstacle everything is the way it's meant to be so I don't grow frustrated by the things that seem to stand in my way I exert myself I take the initiative to overcome I go around or go over or go under or when necessary try to go through and if it stands there it remains there blocking me nonetheless then I sit back and I know it's from God how do I get to a place where there are no obstacles and there is no friction and there is no tension and there is nothing that can bring me down how do I get to a place of calm and peace and serenity that living with amuna provides to that place of a knowledge that everything is the way it's meant to be and therefore once I've done everything I can do and need to do I let go and I let God all of reality a person's entire reality is surrounded by obstacles and impediments down here lowly physical ones there's the food I'm tempted to eat but I know is not good for me there is the Wi-Fi which is slow and I'm trying to stream classes that I'm giving there are people who are not behaving or conforming to how I want them to behave to make my life go easy there's the bank that hasn't cooperated to make good on the promise of the government loan and stimulus whatever the obstacle or challenge our world is filled and surrounded by them there's the the light which is red but I wanted it to be green not only are there physical manifestations of obstacles tensions and frictions there are spiritual ones I want my doing to flow but I don't understand the words it's not coming when the the goes too quick a pace or too slower the people around me are talking even in the world of spirituality one can feel there are obstacles and tensions there are things that are blocking or holding us back who there's only one force there's only one presence there's only one existence from which there is no resistance there's no tension there's no obstacle and that is the almighty the master of the universe our creator the source of all he is everything he is everything and there's nothing that can go against his will there's nothing that can hold him back or slow him down there's nothing that can distort or reroute his plan God is everything he created everything he sustains everything he Wills everything and therefore not nature not a virus not a hurricane or not a tornado not a person not a plan not a stock market not a there is nothing that can oppose there is nothing that can change but outside and other than God everyone and everything has obstacles and tensions from the moment I wake in the morning until the moment I fall at sleep at night and by the way those two moments for many people the older we get are also Frau with obstacles and tensions how many struggle to wake up in the morning exhausted I I want to stay in bed I don't want to wake up how many have trouble falling asleep at night insomnia fall asleep 2 hours later think it's the morning and it turns out it's only 2:00 in the morning there are tensions and frictions and obstacles literally from when we wake up in the morning till we fall asleep at night and almost every moment in between with what to say and what to eat and where to go and who to think and how to act and the world not cooperating with me so how can I stay calm and how can I have how can I have a sense of peace and how can I have a sense of tranquility and how can I have a sense of confidence and calm and comfort despite having to battle through the day battle everyone's battling everyone's battling Ian mcclaran Scottish philosopher one of my favorite quotes of all time said be kind to everyone you meet for everyone is battling something you know nothing about and I can tell you as a rabbi who gets a greater insight into people and their battles it's clearly not an entirely insight into everyone or everything in their lives but I sometimes interact with someone who's battling heroically battling addiction battling anxiety battling mental illness battling a difficult marriage battling who knows what and nobody knows it and you think you know somebody was frustrated that that individual was short with them in the supermarket or at Sho if they only knew what this person is battling everyone's battling something that others know nothing about which is a reason to be kind to everybody and to give the benefit of the doubt because we never know what others are battling our lives are defined and characterized by battling from when we wake up till we fall asleep maybe they're first World battles First World battles is should I wear this outfit or that outfit should I buy home this should I go on that vacation or this vacation there are first world battles and then there are the battles of the highest order will my loved one make it through the day will they get off this ventilator will they survive what will my life look like financially if I can't recover there are those battles and everything in between what is the definition of I trust youm I'm battling from the morning to the night but I trust you you're my general you're my sergeant you're my commander and I'm going into battle and I know that you are you have my back I trust you God is all powerful he can he can bail us out of every situation he can save the in any moment when he does we should recognize it and thank him and never stop praising him and if he doesn't it's because he's chosen not to and it's not what's meant to be for us he's capable of all so there is nothing that God can't stop there's no hurricane there's no tornado there's no virus there's nothing there's no pandemic he can't stop and if he chooses not to there's a reason what's that reason yesterday was yha we talked about the questions that have no answers and we heard from the bals extraordinary survivors who said that instead of searching for the answers don't have the questions see the blessing in your life from Hashem and focus on what is not what isn't focus on what you have not what's missing focus on where you see him not where he seems absent it's a mindset it's a mentality it's an attitude it's a choice that we make every day a choice shall what is it is the trust it is the confidence it is sticking with the one for whom there are no obstacles it is sticking with the one for whom there is no resistance where even though the world doesn't conform or cooperate the way we want by definition for him it does so what then is I want to describe to you what it is is enter in a world it's entering a place it's entering a mindset it's wearing the pair of glasses that enable me to look out at the world through The Godly Vision enabling me to look out a world where I only see Hashem everywhere where things don't not make sense and they're not scattered and fragmented and inconsistent but everything comes back and is Unified by the existence of Hashem it's all his will it all makes sense and therefore I do everything I can I fight as hard as I can and yet when it's over I realize it's all up to Hashem I've been going on a lot of walks we've had a lot of yan and chabas and we're confined to our homes but we're allowed to go for walks and each of my walks I try to go different my children and at the lake near our home the lake at the center of our community I don't know if it's a function of Springtime but there are several mother ducks with lots of little baby ducks it's amazing thing to see the Rejuvenation of life and birth is one mother duck with 19 little ducklings little cute kids falling in order the mother duck and you watch them swim in the lake and I've been showing my children the duck above the surface is calm the duck looks like it's gliding along the surface of the lake but just underneath the surface of that Lake that duck is paddling like a mad man like a mad woman you can't see it they're paddling like crazy under the lake but over the lake they look like they're gliding and that's a paradigm of a life ofun under the lake under the surface we're paddling we're fighting we're battling but we have to be gliding with a sense of faith amuna and trust in Hashem I want to tell you something very personal this pandemic and virus have struck very close to home for me and for my family my first cousin's husband my first cousin's husband from zman Hill Fel who is an outstanding a father of 12 children an incredible person modest humble softspoken a brilliant torist scholar author who's published this V in a very short time took his life my first cousin who's a wonderful woman of tremendous am what one saw in interacting with her was something extraordinary through the very few days tragically literally only a few days from when he contracted the illness until it took his life she was fighting like crazy an incredible Advocate an amazing wife doctors nurses advocating experimental treatments anything she could fighting fighting fighting organizing davening to Hill him learning everything in his Merit fighting fighting fighting not taking No from an answer from asem objecting and protesting and both in the in the physical world and the spiritual world doing everything she could to fight for his life and the moment his life was taken and through this process of Shiva and of mourning her entire mindset switched and it went from a place of initiative and effort and advocacy to a place of acceptance this is hashem's plan I can't imagine or believe life without him without my husband the father of 12 children grandfather I can't imagine I don't understand why but I accept this is hashem's will he had so many more swarm to write he had so many more moments to experience with his family I don't understand I can't understand and yet I accept this is his will this is the plan and to me she's that model of what we're learning about literally put into practice to paddle under the water to take that that initiative to Advocate to work to fight to protest to object and yet to then Glide with Hashem to have the calm and the peace and the Tranquility to say might be painful but I understand it's all from him everything is for a reason everything comes from someplace the truth is that my cousin and again I thank you for allowing me to share something personal tragically learned this from her own mother my aunt my beloved Aunt Mali Lazar who herself was was bedridden struggling with cancer for many years when her husband my uncle RAB El laar passed away suddenly out of nowhere of a heart attack in a moment on Arab suus several years ago so my cousin saw her mother recover from the sudden loss of her husband experienced it with her father and my aunt was the same way to be able to transition from a place of disbelief and doubt to a place of acceptance and calm and tranquility and the choice of the recognition to C Hashem my friends I don't mean to suggest that this is easy I don't mean to suggest that it's so expected of all of us it's a level that we aspire to but these are examples of what we're capable of that it is possible and that if we do our lives are enriched in the process not lost it's not that if you choose to live with theut you are somehow more superficial you're somehow less sophisticated you're somehow inferior or more pathetic it's the opposite when you choose to live with when you enter the city of your life so to say like shim when you enter with a confidence that you know what I don't understand it and it's painful to adjust to it but I accept that it's the will of Hashem and I'm confident it's what's meant to be that one day it will all make sense one day I will understand it that's our mission that's our challenge that's what a life of is all about take my initiative do what I need to do but then submit to a and that yields a life of peace and calm and Tranquility the people we know of the greatest who may have even lost the most in their lives theber who lost 11 children in the Holocaust but rebuilt theid and there are countless rebes like him and other Heroes every single Survivor who lost all they knew and yet found the strength and the will and the capacity to go on they are role models of living this life for us of making the choice to have the confidence that there is a God and he has a plan and therefore to put one foot in front of the other if we want achieve that Godless that greatness that yields that peace and that Tranquility the calm that we so desperately want and need then God needs to be part of the equation we can't just be talking about quarantining and socially distancing and gloves and masks and washing and testing and and antibodies and vaccines and plasma treatments we have to do all that that's the paddling under the water we have to do all of that that's how we're battling the external self but the inner voice has to be expressed we have to turn that volume up where we say there's a rebon and there's a plan and there's a reason that yes we're going through a crisis but it's also presenting an opportunity what have we learned about ourselves how have we grown ourselves what have we improved about ourselves what have we discovered that we can now continue to build upon when please God this is over how can we maintain our calm and our Serenity by bringing Hashem down into this equation by inserting him to be part of this conversation about what is his Ro and where do we learn and where do we go and what can we gain from this we said in Hal so many times over y recently say you now you grew how do you become a how do you grow in your amuna you grow in amuna because we speak about amuna if we talk about Hashem if we put him in the conversation with our spouses with our children which our family how many have we talked about the hash WhatsApp group and mob's strong encouragement that we actually keep a journal of where we see Hashem in our daily lives Hashem that worked out I never thought it would Hashem let me count all the bras Hashem let me Express all the things I'm grateful for Hashem let me enumerate the things that were seemed coincidental but clearly were designed from you Hashem let me enumerate all the times I feel your presence your guiding hand your supporting arm in my life every day the moment we journal and the moment we record the moment we share that if I speak about seeing you in my life if I'm looking for you I'll find you I'll find you at the lake and the Ducks and the iguanas and the stores and the trees I'll find you in the fact that I walked outside this morning and it was 67 Dees with no humidity and that will probably have changed already by now but in Florida in almost may I see you Hashem in a cool unexpected Breeze that was you giving me a hug that breeze against my cheek that relief on a hot day that was you that was you to see and to count the more we speak about him the more we'll find him the more we'll see him the more we'll discover him like my cousin Tova like my Aunt Mali to paddle and to fight and to object and to protest to take every initiative when we can but afterwards to talk about where do I see him wow when there was a line of 30 people to bury and the cemetery said they wouldn't be able to do it for days they were able to do the funeral right away wow the children were able to be together to mourn and grieve and a fashion wow certain things worked out exactly as they needed to when it seemed that they were never going to even in that moment bet to come with a sense of confidence that this is for a reason and I see hashem's hand even here and we have an incredible precedent and incredible role model for this who am I talking about the great mosu our master and teacher MOS we're reading of course about Moshe now in the Torah and and Moshe is described as an ish Elohim Moshe is a man of God what does it mean to be an ish Elohim a man a woman a human of God what does it mean to be Godly I'll tell you what it means to not be Godly to not be Godly is to not see God anywhere is to be cynical and sarcastic to not be Godly is to think everything is random and chance and coincidence to not be Godly is to be like a mik mikra everything is happen stance core you pour cold water and try to extinguish people's fire their passion their excitement their energy their enthusiasm their spirituality that's what it means to not be Godly what does it mean to be Godly what does it mean that Moshe is an is so say it means his half and above is God his half and below is man what in the world does that mean isn't that against what we believe theologically God forbid are we suggest Son of God half God that's not part of our religion where does that come from what are saying listen to what explains the B of course it's not part of our religion we're not suggesting that Moshe is the Son of God or part god any more than we all are and we all are it means we just find that we describe the world as broken up into two categories there is the part of the world which is filled with obstacles and battle tension and friction with having to overcome the things that stand in our way and then there's Hashem for Hashem there is no obstacle and there is no battle Hashem the whole world conforms to his will those are the two paradigms of the world there's the whole world as we know it filled with challenges and obstacles and battles and then there's God for whom everything is smooth sailing peace calm tranquil easy nothing no force that can oppose him what it means that Moshe is in isim that half of him is like God it means that was in touch with and able to channel the godliness in him he was able to live and experience an attitude and mentality that everything is calm everything is by Design everything is the way it's meant to be and everything somehow is for the good but what do you mean Moshe look around and that's the part of Moshe that is L CES of Schwarz what do you mean M a realist look at life for real look around is Edon Mo there's no shortage we're gonna get to sa for Bidar the adolescence of the Jewish people an encourageable miserable complaining people some things haven't entirely changed and mosenu what do you mean there's no opposition what do you mean there's no there's no tension in your life Moses all life is bad battling battling in the palace battling outside the palace battling as a the leader battling for the people battling with the people we just listed this Litany of battles that mosha faced the answer is ISA elim mosha was able to True superficially externally if you're a historian studying moshe's life if you're a student ofish trying to summarize moshe's experience it's characterized by battle by struggle by challenge but if you're looking at moshe's Essence if you were to ask mosha about his own life you know what he would tell you I never struggled with anything my whole life I had Hashem at my back for everything what do you mean Moshe am moav parro makos the people what are you talking about he'd say oh those things that's just what I had to do those weren't battles of tensions those weren't obstacles it's all part of the master plan you know there's a great statement that some say if you love what you do you never work a day in your life you say to the person you love what you do you never work a day in your life what are you talking about you go to work every single day and your work day doesn't end at 5:00 p.m. and it's on your mind and you're working hard no but if you love what you do you're never working you don't call that you don't think of that as a work and the same thing is true here that's what it means we like Moshe have a and we have a the better half of ourselves the Transcendent sense of ourselves The Godly sense of ourselves has the ability that no matter what the lower half of ourselves is battling or facing or struggling with to live with calm to live with peace to live with Tranquility to see Hashem everywhere and to know everything is for a plan to know everything is for a reason so my dear friends it's a choice that you have and that I have it's a choice that we have to make how are we going to live our external selves or our internal selves our best selves or our worst selves our Godly selves or our animal physical material selves are we going to approach a world of tension battle friction obstacles or are we going to approach a world that says it's all his will it's all from above yes I have to overcome yes I have to fight yes I have to battle yes I have to take initiative I'm paddling like a crazy person but I'm going to Glide in the water and Coast in my life with the absolute knowledge and confidence and calm that Hashem has my back that there is a plan that it will work out that it is the way it's meant to be not it will work out the way I want it will work out because by definition however it happens is the way God will and that is the very definition how do I have amuna by talking about him whether it's Corona virus or whether it's the stock market in the economy or whether it's my personal life or whether it's homeschooling or whether it's whatever battle or challenge I'm facing where does Hashem fit in the equation do we talk about him do we insert his name do we ask what he wants for us do we try to give him Nas are we grateful to him do we try to learn from it where does Hashem fit into the equation how do we grow inun similarly you know how we get out of the situation we feel confined and restricted we're quarantined with we go out you can get out of that confined restricted place of life we just finished p and p is the word comes from are a narrow place when I feel the roof is caving in what's the plan Hashem I got to get out of my house already I got to my kids are driving me crazy they miss their friends they're desperate to get out of the house the the the ceilings the walls they're closing in on me I can't take it what will be with the economy what will be with my health what will be with the future what will be with Society what's going to change what's going to remain the same grieving losses grieving the loss of what was what will be we're living in a MIT we're living in AA where everything is leaving in it's closing in feels like it's getting narrower and narrower from from from this narrow place I'm calling out to you I'm calling out to you Hashem so Hashem says you know I take you out of that narrow place I take you out of that I take you out where it's closing in how because when you believe in Hashem when hem takes us out with am when we talk and we see hem and we trust and feel him when we know that he's right next to us and he's guiding us and he's supporting us and he's encouraging us and there's a plan for us and there's a plan for this world and there will be another end there will be another side that we will come out and there will be a world that will continue then we're able to overcome that MIT we were taken out of MIT we just celebrated pesak and these 49 days as we're counting down to Shas we're working on taking MIT out of us God took us out of MIT these 49 days are a journey to our taking MIM out of us to not feel that we're collapsing to not feel the worlds are world the walls are caving in but to realize that he has a plan and that we're capable that to be to have joy how could you smile and be with what's happening in the world the answer is a Jew needs to always be person has to always maintain their joy for Life their happiness their because you have a roof over your head you have air conditioning you have breath in your lungs this morning you have food on your table the way to get out of that narrow place the way to get out of the walls caving in the way to get not only to get out of MIT for to get out of us with a sense of with a sense of Joy with a sense of happiness that there is Hashem these two halves like they were for mosha the upper half and the lower half the external existence and the internal existence the godly perspective and the lowly human perspective like there were from mosha these two halves exist for each and every one of us we have the choice to make am I living my internal self I can have calm and Tranquility in my life I can coast along the surface of the water or am I living my external self am I seeing all the obstacles am I living with the tension the friction and the battling am I paddling like a madman then I'll never have a peaceful day in my life the choice is up to us I hope we'll make the right one and when we do we'll feel that that Joy will take us out of that narrow place that we will have our faith because we speak about Hashem and when we do we'll be able to endure with resolve and tenacity like my cousin like my aunt and like so many other Heroes who do all that we need to but in the end submit and accept we let go and we let God with bet with confidence and then we can gain the calm that we all crave and desire wishing everyone a wonderful day