Part 31: A New Definition of Success

okay good morning it's great to see everyone especially especially great to see ra welcome home and to I was a finisher and of course my mother-in-law it's always great to see um all right we're continuing our weekly dose of amuna our weekly amuna support group our weekly amuna exercise group I was actually learning earlier this morning with somebody about uh something on the par about we're going to get to a little bit about Y how y always was Dripping with talking about everything off of his lips everything everything was always every opportunity to sneak in this is from asem we turn to hashm we thank Hashem if Hashem allows if hasm helps and and the impact that ysf had by doing that so um the the we're learning is emphasizing the notion of of the concept of clinging to hem as being the essence of life and that the more one surrounds themselves with inspirational figures who lift them the more that they will be in a mindset the greater the environment will propel them to live the life that they want to live the people we surround ourselves with often very much impact and Define us um you know I always say try try to be around people that bring out the best version of you not the worst we all have people that you know they they they bring out the negativity in us or they bring out the Lush and Horror in us or they bring out the jealousy and envy in us or they bring out the materialism in US they they drain us you walk away from that interaction and you're exhausted you're tired you've lost your energy you've lost your optimism and then the people that you interact with who it's just it's like you're energized by it it's it's a dose of caffeine you walk away and you're you're inspired you're energized you're hopeful you're optimistic you want to change things so it's all about who you hang out with and and being around that so um the the mush is like going to the gym you know if you stay home the piece was talking about the fact that it takes mysterious nefes to connect and cling to the seab to connect with those who will Elevate you sometimes takes mysterious nefes it's easier to stay in your house clothing than get dressed and go to the shear it's easier to get into bed and go to sleep than make it to the event to make it to the opportunity to be inspired it's easier to it's always easier to blank than to go and do that activity that's going to leave you inspired it takes M neish it takes self-sacrifice it takes work it takes calculating your time it takes your resources and so on but that mysterious neish is what brings the reward that's how you get inspired so I said it's like going to the gym you know if you sit at home then it's hard to be inspired to be exercising to be eating right you go to the gym and you see people who are fit people who are working out people who are working hard you see the results and the way they walk around it's going to inspire you to want to be more like that and that has an impact so the the the M neish comes not in the gym of course it comes in the gym but the mysterious neish comes getting to the gym that's the hardest part once you're in the gym gy and you're surrounded by people who look great and they inspire you to want to feel great and to be healthy and to work out of course that's where the work happens but that's not where the effort where the mysterious neish comes in where it really takes conquering is to actually get there to begin with and the same is true with the SE it's to get to the shear it's to get to the sh it's to get to the it's once you're there you're inspired by it you're lifted by it but it's to get there that's the hard part to begin with okay we dedicate our learning as we do every week in the andar from Baltimore who we know we're all still daving very very hard for so we're on page me in we're continuing his the discussion of amuna and we spoke about last week we last left off we spoke about the idea that amuna is not All or Nothing amuna is not absolute but amuna has ups and downs amuna has um it waxes and it Wings there are times you feel Incredibly Close there are experiences in life there are things that happen where it's undeniable it is as clear as anything in your life that there's a rebon that he loves us that he caused this that he interacts with us that we can lean on him that we should thank him there's absolute Clarity you're on cloud nine and then there are moments where you could not feel further from Hashem where is he where is he he's he's nowhere to be found and why am I going through this and so on and so forth so one should not think because they struggle with amuna or that there's ever doubt introduced that the amuna has no value amuna is not an all or nothing and we left left off with this V that I love that we say it we'll say it in Hal every day of believe me when I say that I've struggled that I've suffered reinterprets it I have because I speak about Hashem I have AA CU I talk about Hashem and this is so critically important is that there are things that we know cognitively there things we know intellectually but the challenge in life is to be mindful of it we know we shouldn't eat this we know we should exercise that we know that relationship needs work we know this we know this we know that there are all these things that we know intellectually and cognitively but because we're not Mindful and cognizant of it because it doesn't it's not part of our our Consciousness and conscientiousness so we don't do it even though know in theory we should and that's you know the introduction of in his introduction I have nothing radical I'm not telling you anything new in this book all I'm telling you is what you already know and if you're only going to read it once don't bother reading it at all I mean it's really not very good self- advertising for your book I have nothing new everything I've written you already know there's nothing radically new you're going to get out of it and if you're only going to read it once don't bother buying it don't bother reading it the whole key of the is to read it over and over and over again because it is is a platform for mindfulness it just reminds us and invokes all the things we already know but we need to be reminded of like in marriage and in parenting you go to that marriage class you go to the parenting class and and you listen to things you say you know what that's pretty much common sense that's nothing really rocket science breakthrough there but you know what it's common sense but but it's not so common you weren't thinking about it before you came in the class you're going to forget to think about it two days after the class and the reason to have the classes is to be reminded of what we already know so basically what we speak about is what we focus on is what we think about is what we're mindful of I have what promotes what reinforces what nourishes my sense of amuna when I speak about Hashem so when I invoke Hashem so someone says you know are you going to go somewhere is something going to happen you say with hashem's help if Hashem allows it how did it go Hashem is amazing it worked out perfectly beyond anything I was ever hoping for everything came together beautifully if you invoke Hashem and and you know to a certain we live in a in a time which um looks at somebody who speaks that way not as being the Pinnacle of intellectualism not as somebody who brilliantly knows everything about Hashem we kind of dismiss that person we speak in a derogatory way about the person who overuses the you know we describe them as a I don't know like a girl in her year in Israel and so on but but we should be reassured to know that none other than Yad is described as speaking exactly in that way and that's this week's para in this week's para it says when Ys is dismissed by his brothers he sold to slavery he comes down to and he's living in the house of Po what does mean should have said hasem in y hasem is with Y what does it mean hasem as Y and because because of that Y is successful y finds success he's got the Golden Touch everything he touches turns to gold in the house of Po and and then potifar sees wow I hired this Jewish accountant my whole business is turned around it's unbelievable I hired this guy y this iy who I don't even know where he came from I bought him in the slave market but from his accent I can tell he comes from the Hebrews the Jewish people of Canan and I don't know what's with him but I see I see God is and everything he touches turns to gold everything he touches is super successful so what does it mean the God is not with Y he's y so rash on the spot says what does it mean sh sh sh the name of God is ever present on his lips Y is a y shed girl just everything how's your day so how does the fact that the Master Po all of a sudden his portfolio goes up his real estate is flourishing his farm is growing everything is working out great for him his bottom line revenue his profit and everything is incredible and he attributes it not only to Yosef not to yosef's Acumen or his Brilliance or his or his uh professionalism he attributes it to ysf must have a direct line with God how does he know anything about ysep and God the answer is very simple because Yosef does not hide the fact that he believes in that he believes in God you I often like to say that it it's really sad that we the Jewish people are somewhat insecure and defensive about invoking God name so you know we're nervous we're going to make people feel uncomfortable we're going to make them awkward the whole conversation's going to become awkward so we leave the God thing to Sho and we go to our business life or we're talking to someone at the gym or online at the supermarket we just keep it neutral territory we don't want to scare anybody but if you interact with an Evangelical any Evangelical they're sh you interact with an Evangelical and everything off their lips is God want if God want so there's an Evangelical Pastor who who who runs the Hispanic Evangelical movement hundreds of thousands of pastors maybe millions of evangelicals he's tremendous and he loves Israel more than our whole sh combined all he does is talk about Israel calls me what can we do for Israel let's go meet the president where all the time Israel Israel Israel Israel I was once meeting with him and we're trying to plan something and we weren't sure exactly it was a very delicate issue we weren't sure exactly what to do we were going to meet with someone and how to bring it up and he sat there and he says to me you know what let's take a moment and let's pray on it let's ask God to give us some wisdom let's ask God to to try to reveal to us to try to strengthen us what the right thing is and I was like wow that's wow really that's that's really I guess what we're supposed to do is when you're filled with doubt you're not sure what to do you're in an uncomfortable difficult situation you're supposed to pray on it you know and everything from him was that this there's no coincidences God made this I had gone to see a prominent at the time congresswoman and he was the meeting after me and we weren't scheduled or coordinated at all and it was purm time actually and he afterwards was telling me it's unbelievable just like the story of puram God it looks like coincidences but you went in then I went in right afterwards and we both told her about the Esther moment and isn't it unbelievable God God God God orchestrated it God's amazing it's all God it's all god let's pray on it it's God and here I am like okay don't bring up God just keep it neutral don't make anyone uncomfortable so yosef's not that way ysf is a business businessman he's a professional he's working he's running the house of potifar he's the CEO of poi's company he's a COO he's running the company and what does he do at every meeting if God Wills with God's help let's pray on it let's ask God to make it successful isn't God amazing let's thank god let's take a moment to thank God for how well that turned out so much so that when potifar has to credit ysf he doesn't credit ysf with his being a professional and being brilliant he credits ysf with the his master sees wow this Jew this from Jew this ER of Jew he God dictates everything ethical honest integrity and he asks God for help with everything he thanks God afterwards with everything and you know what says potifar it's working it's working my business is doing great and he doesn't as many of us would sarcastically or cynically say well it's a coincidence it's working yes he happens to be talking about that he's a religious guy but also happens to be the whole Market turned around the whole real estate is Boom everything is good it has nothing to do with that it's so compelling to potifar it's so unbelievably compelling to him that potifar can't help but conclude wow this is working but the says because therefore he's because Ys constantly invokes hashem's name that's what makes him an is what does the word mat mean Successful it means successful is is a successful person what excuse me what does success have to do with so I take you now we're in the book of let's fast forward to the book of towards the end of the book of it says that we're supposed to observe Tor keep tahos observe everything Embrace Jewish values Jewish lifestyle a Jewish way of life Jewish priorities so that what does the word mean so that you will be successful so the commentators all ask come on observe to so that you will be successful well how are you defining success here is Success a big house a nice car fancy clothing is Success a healthy marriage is Success from children is Success good health what's the definition here of success and how does is there a direct prop is there a direct connection if you keep T you have no problems in life it's not it's simply not true the D just yesterday is telling us about the great Rudi andar some of our greatest T who had the greatest yurin Yura they suffered I mean I guess this was the original ashkanazi genetic gastrointestinal issues but the gar describes that ABI re andaz suffered such great gastrointestinal issues the yurin that they suffered that when they would be screaming from the stomach pain that even though they tried to um drown out the Noise by uh over overrunning it with certain sounds you could still hear them scream that's the pain they went through and the gar talks about this one can suffer because it's God's love he wants you to get the greatest reward in the world to come these are complicated issues I we're not talking about it we're not talking about it um right now how do I get into that oh exactly thank you so much that's why she's my as so so you see rii is the editor the redactor of the whole mishna he is rebi he's known simply as his one Name the artist known as rebi he's rebi you don't know he's rebi that's how great he is and yet he suffered so what happened to didn't keep t what happened to his that he you could hear his screams it says that that RI lived in Israel but the people on their boats in the Mediterranean Sea could hear him screaming when he when when his whatever he suffered from Crohn's colitis or irritable B whatever ashkanazi wonderful thing he Beed to us so whatever he was suffering from they the people on the boats in the sea could hear him screen scream what happened to what happened to the success soas there says translates there in doesn't mean success says means bone so that you are contemplative so that you are mindful that if You observe T you will lead a mindful life you will lead a life in which you're present in that which you do you'll lead a life of sh the Hashem is in front of you all the time so you're doing the dishes you're doing it with Hashem you had a she hasm is sitting next to you you at the gym Hashem is with you you're worried about your hasem is right there you going to the doctor hasm is with hasem is in the room looking over your shoulder sometimes holding your hand in everything in life there's a mindfulness are all designed to be a platform for leading a mindful life so when you are when you're what's the best way to be mindful as to talk about something the more you talk about it the more you're obsessed with it the more you never see you know somebody starts it's actually going to be next week January 2nd everyone's going to be on a diet everyone you know everyone's going to talk about the amazing gym they just joined everyone's going to talk about how this is going to be their Year you going to finally lose that weight fit in that clothing go to that gym be the person they wanted to be and by January 10th it'll all be over so but January 2nd you'll be nauseated by the amount of people telling you all about the incredible gym and you've got to try it out and this instructor is like nobody ever had and that's why this is going to be the one and this is why I'm going to turn around you have to come here and what all they talk about is their new diet the new diet all they talk about is the new diet why is it someone goes on a new diet and it's all they talk about because the more you talk about it the more likely you're going to accomplish it what you talk about you're mindful of what you're mindful of you do if you're not mindful of it and you never talk about it you're less likely to do it so why do I have the more I talk about Hashem the more I'm going to see him in my life so it's not it's not it's not Petty it's not insignificant to say it is if you're not thinking about it you know if you just develop a habit by rope it's like P's dog that you just and so on so then it's meaningless but if every barem is invested with a with with with an Evangelical Pastor is bar hasem if every bar hasem is is pregnant with thank you Hashem I'm turning to you Hashem I'm grateful to you Hashem Hashem I see you behind whatever has happened in my life or I see you behind whatever I need in my life as being responsible then and what does that lead to the is is not the success of money or health suffered we have righteous people bad things happen to good people to be there's not a correlation between if I observe Torah nothing bad happens in my life I tell you about I once met with a woman who had certain major challenges in her life she was a balas Chua and she met with me and she basically told me I don't understand that I want my money back she basically said I she she grew up in New York and uh and and someone was marar her and basically the Cure of methodology was to promise as some I think very inauthentic major cure of personalities do tonight is to promise if you keep Torah mitos your life is filled with bliss and goodness and happiness and is with you and if you don't that's when you're going to suffer and be plagued and have all kinds of problems as if all religious people have no infertility there's no divorce there's no cancer and all of those terrible things are relegated only to the people who are imperfect in their amuna and so she basically came to me she said I don't understand I took this enormous leap I keep shabas I keep kosher I've alienated my family I've had to make great compromises and sacrifices and I'm going through these challenges I want my money back what happened and I said whoever was marar you should lose their kiru license it's malpractice what they did of course that's not at all what Torah promises I believe actually this is the conversation we're going to read it in a few weeks between Yakov and Paro ysep is so excited when his father finally moves down to MIM he's reunited with his father Yakov and could you imagine these two pivotal figures in his life Yakov is the spiritual giant of the generation who's had the greatest influence on Yosef and parro is the Emperor of the world who's given yose an opportunity and allowed elevated Yosef to this position of prominence and Prestige and and Yosef can't wait the two are going to meet and they get in the room and boy do we wish we could be a fly on the wall and the Torah lets us a little bit and the Torah describes they have this two sentence conversation the two greatest alive and what's the conversation parro says boy do you look old how old are you and yov says I'm such and such years old and boy have I had a tough tough life I've suffered nice to Z and that's the end of the conversation that's it that's it that's what they talked about so my suggestion is that's going on here is par says one second you've produced these 12 sons I've met them This Magnificent family you gave me a Yosef who's brilliant who transformed the economy of Egypt you are a spiritual giant I've told you you have the greatest Faith you're Prophet God reveals himself directly to you I expect to meet you and you're going to look healthy and robust and have the perfect life and yob turns to him and he says I'm old and boy have I suffered and I look M explain that par was taken by how old Yakov just he looked he carried with him the he absorbed all the life experiences right his brother tried to kill him his daughter is abducted and raped his son is sold into slavery I mean he's not had a simple life and he looked it so parro looks him he said I don't understand you're the spiritual giant you the greatest ofuna you should look like a model you should look like I don't know what why do you look so so broken and yov says to him you think there's a direct correlation between having a Muna and your life being simple I love God I have a mo I'm a prophet God talks to me but boy my my life has been filled with challenges don't think that a life of Faith equals not having problems well yakob was really telling parro in my opinion and what I think the message is for us is that amuna doesn't remove the challenges of life amuna gives us the tools for how to to endure the challenges of life amuna gives us the skill set the tools the strength the energy the Courage the conviction for when those challenges are thrown our way we can overcome them we can endure them we can persevere and we can stay optimistic and happy and strong the people with amuna there're two people in the camp your word next to each other and one and and there's no judgment here it's a description an observation one can be broken and despondent and give up hope and another can engage each moment of suffering and see the silver lining the optimism turned to Hashem with a sense of Faith I'll tell you a sense of faith I don't know if I'm to tell this I think I could tell this it wasn't it wasn't private but we all know we're ding hard for a young girl Alexandra Basa biva who was going through treatment for cancer in New York she's 17 years old and her family was very close with a photographer here in boo does a lot of Simas and he was in New York so he went to visit her at the end of his visit with her he takes out of his Bag series of pieces of paper and he puts it in front of her she says what is that he says this is the contract I'm going to photograph your wedding I want you to sign she's 17 years old he says we're going to enter the contract today that at your wedding I'm going to be the one who photographs your wedding that's amuna if you could live with that amuna so then that can give you the strength and the conviction for the challenges that you have that you have in life so it doesn't mean that you know your health is unaffected fertility everything is simple in life it means that amuna gives you those tools so I want to say the by the way this is all just I wanted to share with you before we started this was [Music] all we have to get to ours this was just on the par this is I think the what does it mean to be means that if you are contemplative if you are mindful if you see Hashem whatever happens in your life you're not the victim of Randomness and chance if you're lying in slone ketering and you just think you're a statistic you know you Googled it and you found that X percentage of the population at 17 years old gets cancer there's no God there's no meaning there's no reason for your suffering it's just chance you're a statistic it's just random so how do you get through it if you're just chance it's random you're a statistic but if you think you know what I don't understand it not happy about it God I'm protesting it but I accept that there's a meaning that there's a reason that there's some greater purpose to this experience and this suffering so that gives you the strength that is is not defined by wealth is not defined by health is not defined byas or marriage is defined by having the tools and the strength to make it through life with whatever life throws your way that is the definition of did you have I had oh it turned out exactly as you hoped no but I had because it doesn't bother me that it didn't turn out exactly as I hoped because I know that it turns out the way it's meant to be that's what it means to be mat that's what gives you man what gives you in life the people who are anxious and stressed out and debilitated by their lives because they don't believe that there meaning and purpose and order they believe they're victims of Randomness and chance and other people's um actions that hurt them and so you walk around carrying all of thata comes from saying whatever life throws my way I'm not happy about it I don't necessarily accept it gladly I can protest it and object to it but I have the tools to get through it and to realize that there's a reason and that's the definition of mat I in my life because I have the tools I once walked home from sh this family doesn't even live here anymore and when we lived in Captiva I walked home from sh with a family who had nothing I tell you nothing nothing the clothing kids are wearing torn clothing and and we were helping provide for the family financially to put food on the table and nothing nothing left the sh and started walking home with two two families this father and his children and another father and his children the other father is is lots of wealth lots of whatever he needs and that father and the children with all the wealth you know there's a sadness in the step there's challenges there's many Challen I mean people would welcome the challenges that money brings but money does bring a lot of challenges particularly with raising children and otherwise there were challenges and then we continued walking towards Captiva that family was not with us anymore and this other father and children I observe they have a skip in their step this father is like just a h it's shabas he's so happy his children he's telling them stories about sadim on the way home and this story and that story and the para and he's happy I'm just watching it and I'm looking I say he has nothing he's so happy who's the is the one with the super big house and fancy cars and beautiful vacations and money is No Object but he lacks these other things or the person who has none of that but he's he's got a skip in his step he's got a smile on his face he's happy go he's got no worry in the world yesterday he wasn't sure how he was going to have chicken for shabas but today he has no worry in the world who's the is not the house and the car and the label on the clothing is to be and how is one because what gives you the capacity to cuz you know that's your K if you spend your whole life saying who says this is my I want her I want his why is this my portion why is this my lot who said this has to be my lot I want that lot I want that portion something got mixed up upstairs I got the wrong portion I'm telling you I'm supposed to get that portion but if you know that nothing ever gets mixed up upstairs that you get what you're meant to get you don't get upet and you don't get upset you get what you're meant to get and you don't get it right we're good at telling our three-year-olds that we're bad at telling ourselves that get what you get and you don't get upset so that's the definition of is not financial success or these other successes the definition of is the capacity to go through life with the tools to endure whatever life throws your way so to have hashem's name dripping off our lips you want to strengthen that amuna muscle you want to work out in the amuna gym so it's K it's talking about Hashem so so this is your homework for next week this is all of our exercise and maybe people will give you funny looks and funny faces but here's my prediction and here's my experience that in fact not only will they not give you funny looks and funny faces but they will actually be inspired by that if you're in a meeting and you say you know what God willing if God if God allows this will work out or you know what we should be so grateful to God that this worked out the way we wanted or this one's a little bit harder but let's pray on it I'm not sure exactly what to do let's ask God for help and for Clarity on what he wants from us on what there is to do but that's the homework I'll tell you one place where you should absolutely know hesitation in the world to try it is in your own home is to try it within your own family or among your closest friends but certainly with your own family around the dinner table or or with grandchildren is sh to begin to introduce that language ysf is the first kir person in in next week's para Ys transforms par parro calls him out and says I heard you interpret dreams I need your help I had two pretty harsh dreams and yoseph turns to him this is an unbelievable moment yose turns to parro and he doesn't say what would you say by the way you have no family to lean back on you have no safety net you have been falsely accused languishing in prison this is your big moment you've been brought before the emperor and he you he was told that you have this incredible skill set that you can interpret dreams this is your moment you can break through the hardship and the and the the poverty and the imprisonment and he says to you I heard you're pretty good in interpreting dreams what would I say yes I yeah yes I am thank you very much you know or you know I'm not bad I try but thank God I've had some success I've had some success I hope it continues what does yose turn to parro and say what who me oh no no I'm not good at interpret Bel it's not it's not me oh no you heard wrong I don't know I'm sorry that's your oppression no it's not me God is the one who interprets dreams he uses me as a mouthpiece but Noone it's God who interprets dreams that's insane it's that's that's it's career suicide he tells parro oh it's not me it's Hashem and then he keeps telling parro oh it's hasem if hasem hasm hasm hasem and by the time he's done Hashem parro observe Torah tells us that parro observes wow Hashem interprets dreams Hashem is so good I trust on Hashem by the time yose is done par is all of a sudden a believer power and this Pagan leader of the of Egypt by the time Yosef is done now does Yosef teach him like the code the Bible codes Discovery seminar you know no Yosef doesn't overtly explicitly impress upon parro Outreach very subtle very nuanced all he has to do is just DP you know drop hashem's name a little bit here and there everyone loves to be name droppers I met this one I know my cousin knows so and so check out my picture on Facebook with the celebrity you know oh it's a I'm a name dropper I'm a name dropper so drop you want to drop a name the most powerful greatest celebrity of all time is Theon you want to drop a name about who you know drop his name in every conversation yose drops his name in every conversation and it leaves parro transformed it leaves potifar transformed didn't have much of an impact on as potifar but it leaves potifar or maybe it's What attracted is just potifar who knows but it it transforms potifar it transforms parro and it leaves him leading a life of he is an and we have that ability to as well let's read two sentences in what we're up to because all of that was just an introduction we're up to the on page fantastic song maybe we should analyze the song in the next Jewish music unplugged series uh included an amuna in in belief the existence of Hashem that he created and that he's man he didn't just create somebody can create something but he's not in charge so you know we had here a couple weeks ago Ari sasher I told you about him the the Creator the inventor of of Iron Dome and the team that invented the Iron Dome he's the Bor is he the man let's say you come up to him and you say I need an Iron Dome battery you know you live in a particular town in Israel and you want to call them and say could you place an Iron Dome battery next to my town it matters to me I'd like to take care of my town are you the so AR Sasha says I'm the Bor I'm not the manic it's true I was involved in the design of Iron Dome but I'm not the manik I don't get to decide where it's going no when it comes to he's both the Bor and the manik he created the world he didn't just create the world he also runs the world he's in charge of the world for everything in creation and he alone he exclusively he alone remember a mil the brisker of that when you're in a moment of stress and you're a moment of hardship just repeat over and over and there's nothing in the world but him he alone did does will do so within this sentence is the affirmation that God has Divine Providence and intervention and everything and this is very scary not only is he aware of all that we do what we do matters We're alone in a room and no one else is there and what we do matters always and even he's aware of our thoughts that works in both directions by the way sometimes you have a good thought you didn't get to bring out into action but God knows that you had good intentions on that side we all love it oh God knows your good intentions we tell our friends I wasn't able to visit you but I tried and I planned but the flight was canceled it's okay God knows you're good intentions then we're comfortable with God knowing our thoughts but God also knows all the things you were thinking about your neighbor the inappropriate thoughts the fantasy thought the jealous thoughts the envious thoughts n God doesn't know my thoughts what are you talking about my actions are what matter God has no idea about my thoughts there we uncomfortable with God knowing our thoughts no God knows all of our thoughts the well-intentioned one and the others God is exalted over all the nations in the heavens is his honor his glory god is exalted by the nations of the world my Evangelical friend also Sees God half of the human beings walking on the Earth today are Muslims or Christians and a tiny fraction are Jews they get it wrong but a little bit of it they get right also they also see God the god of the Jews the god of of creation as exalted they too can Praise Him the mistake of the nations of the world is they think because God is so great because he's so Superior because he's so categorically unlike anything we can even know or relate to he is far off God resides in the heavens we the the lowly pathetic inconsequential human beings we inhabit the Earth God the great vast boundless omnipotent infinite being he's in the heavens so the also ra they see God is exalted but where is God's greatness it's relegated only the heavens he's not down he can't lower himself it's beneath God to be involved in our lives it's beneath God to be aware of Our Lives God's involved in he's in the cosmos he's in the heavens that's their mistake you'll never say h the same way again such a beautiful so they too praise God but they think that where is he he's not he can't lower himself to be involved in my life but we what do we know m who is like the Incredible God who lowers himself to and where else he's not only God is so great that nothing is beneath him to suggest something is beneath God is to limit God it's very paradoxical now they think God is so great it's beneath him to come down here to which we answer to believe it's beneath him is to diminish his greatness we think he's so great that we believe nothing is beneath him therefore he's he lowers himself he lowers himself God's Providence is not just in the cosmos he doesn't just decide when there's an eclipse and which stars are going to collide and which planet's going to whatever he's not just deciding the global issues cuz maybe you'd say God even decid the global issues on Earth will Russia and Syria we got enough problems there and what's going to happen with Israel and will the embassy be moved and what's going to happen with the global issues global warming does it exist does it not ex God's involved in the global issues but the me my pathetic little insignificant inconsequential life whether I reach into my pocket trying to pull out a quarter and I pull out a dime come on that's really God garar says yeah that's God you reached into your pocket for this coin you pulled out that coin that's God you reached out for that coin and you pulled out that coin even though there were many coins that was God God is Not Just he's involved down here on Earth that's what means there is no place empty of God there's no place that is empty or or lacking of God's presence God is so great he can be anywhere even down here on the lowly Earth even down here on the lowly Earth so we're going to stop here but your homework for next week is to talk about hasem next week we'll talk about how that goes you could use the classics you can invent your own and share them with us but the homework is at home and Beyond to talk about hem and to realize that faith in Hashem is not to think he's so great that he's only in the heavens that's not faith that in fact limits God to see God as Limitless is to know that in fact nothing at all is beneath him have a wonderful day and a fantastic kanah