Part 84: Seeing Hashem in History Enables Us to See Him in our Destiny

okay good morning KES to enjoy some coffee a reminder uh there's always an opportunity to sponsor the shear every week or just sponsored for the year please be in touch if you're interested uh with Linda and she will give you the details this morning we're going to start a new piece and um we'll see how far we get and we'll continue it it's from from R in Al Shore R was a great Mash in really considered so to say the mash of the generation Mash not in the sense that he supervised the he supervised the KAS of the growth of our souls and giving spiritual advice in the in the path and spirit of the mus movement of he was a great of the of um and left us a legacy including his printed works with his own words which is Al two volumes of Al so this comes from the the back of the second volume it's page t p and like I said we'll see how far we get today and if not we'll please God continue it until we get through this piece so the says the following sponsored this week oh okay also in memory of uh in Miriam's memory okay so great grateful to the orans for sponsoring I didn't have it thank you very much her should continue to have an Aliyah am if we again what the purpose of our group we get together please God weekly to grow to be a support group in the area of and to grow in our sense of faith and trust in hasem things that we know are true we've investigated how we know with they're true and it just needs support it needs it needs us reminding ourselves that when we start to get anxious or worried or stressed when we start to neglect Hashem when we're feeling happy or joyous whether you're a Yankee fan and you're miserable this morning or Red Sox fan or a Red Sox fan and you're and you're grateful this morning whichever way it's uh it's this very insignificant meaningless silly thing in life but it's hashem's will everything's hashem's will can't get upset about anything it's it's what Hashem wants so whether it's something major and challenging or whether it's something minor and inconsequential but we are trying to gain that skill set that mindfulness to be able to live life and navigate our way through life always with a sense that Hashem is with us hasem is watching ing over us that everything that he's doing is for our best so what is exactly the best methodology to grow to work in this area of it's something we know is true and yet it's something that most of us neglect we struggle to fulfill like like the most basic foundational fundamental truths in our lives the more foundational it is often the more we take it for granted the more we neglect it like the most important relationships in our lives like our health we all know what we should eat and not eat how we should exercise and not sit still and yet it's hard to do so B is something we know we feel hashem's guiding hand we believe in the omnipotent infinite being who created the world and who helps orchestrate it we believe in Providence but how do we inject that how do we inculcate that in our daily lives so when things are going right we remember to be grateful to him and when things are going or they feel like they're going wrong we remember to defer to him in his master plan over ours that we can conquer our sense of anger or our sense of anxiety or our impatience or our whatever challenge it is so suggestion is the following if you want to build a sense of inside yourself you want to grow in a sense of the answer the exercise is it's prayer and in order to understand what he means say says to understand what I mean that the way to grow in our sense of faith in hem is through prayer we have to take a closer look at this which says the following who is a Ben who qualifies as gaining entry into the world to come what is the quality you need the person who observes shab is the best person who keeps the most kosher person who shuckles the most what is the behavior what is the practice that one has to do if you want to be guaranteed a portion in the world to come you want to break through and gain entrance so the gar says you know what it is shocking not the person who gives the who is it in we do it in the morning but particularly at night we um we have we end we have that ends is Hashem is the Redeemer of Israel and then we have the amida and a person who makes sure not to interrupt a person who makes sure that there's no barrier person to make sure that there's no time lapse between making the BR of G acknowledging God as the Redeemer of Israel and then turning to hasem and daving such a person such a person is a Ben and not only at night but all the more so at in the morning which is the last we say in the morning in the evening we have in between but in the morning we say and we take our three steps forward and we begin our we have the similar juxtoposition we have the similar continuity in where says God is my rock and my redeemer and then he says the end of going into it ends God you are my rock and my redeemer and then he continues soem answer me on my day of need so says the you want to grow in Daily you want to do an exercise you could work out your muscles you could get a cardio workout you could work out all kinds of things these days you could work out your mind in order to not lose your memory you could work out your eyes so you don't have to wear wear reading glasses there are all kinds of exercises for different um benefits that we want well the exercise for growing the muscle daily that exercise is is prayer and which prayer to specifically be mindful in G God is the Redeemer of Israel going into and the question is why why doing it in doing it in being very mindful that when I say I don't take a break I'm not distracted I'm not interrupted but I make it right away why why is that so important why does that guarantee me a portion of the world to come so listen to what says grown of Spain one of the medieval says the following really that's it that's all you have to do you're stingy you don't get Stucker you're kind you're you're cruel and you're harsh and you're mean and you don't do acts of kindness you neglect Hashem and you don't observe his but when it comes to D you make sure to go right into the after that's it that's all you need how could it be says the following he has a tradition from his and his suggestion is the following incredible suggestion says why is it so valuable why is it so important and why does it gain us entry intoh because what is the theme of G is what does it mean to acknowledge God as the Redeemer of Israel what it means is to take a moment and to pause and to do a survey of Jewish history and to look back at Jewish history and realize that everything happened for a rhyme and a reason that there was a navigating hand that nothing was coincidental or random or chance that Hashem had a master plan and orchestrated everything until the point that it is today and just like the Jews in Egypt who after 210 years were ready to give up they were ready to Forfeit they were filled with anxiety and worry they were crumbling and being crushed under the backbreaking labor the shortness of breath that we can relate to not God forbid that we are prisoners not God forbid that we are inmates or that we are servants like they were or our ancestors in different periods of persecution we're servants in a different we have a different oppressor called the rat race of life we have a different oppressor called technology smartphones the internet social media our life is characterized by noise running running running running running we have just much aodha we have this incredible responsibility obligation this backbreaking pressure to make it and pay the bills and pay tuition and buy kosher food and and keep up with others and we also have a k a shortness of breath because we're running running running run running running doing doing doing doing doing and we never press pause we never ever stop and disconnect to reconnect to what matters so we too are crumbling so just like our ancestors after 210 years of backbreaking Labor of shortness of breath of noise noise noise of no space to even believe they could have a better future mosha comes and he says guess what I got great news I'm about to take away your technology I got great news I'm about to help you take a sabatical from work I'm about to liberate you you're going to go free and they say ah they get out of our way we got too much to do there's too much noise there's too much to see there's too much to post there's too much to follow there's too much to read there too much to do get out of who has time to hear your message of positivity and optimism there's just too much noise just being carried in the momentum of Life who has time who has time they rejected they sent mosha and his message away so 210 years they're crumbling they're being crushed they call out they cry out to Hashem they can't take it anymore and out of nowhere when it seems that all hope is lost and that hasm is nowhere to be found 10 plagues splitting of the sea marching to Freedom gift of a Torah Birth of a Nation everything comes together says what does it mean we just say those two words you're the Redeemer of Egypt of Egypt you're the Redeemer of Israel from Egypt but in those two words are our faith our affirmation that nothing is random nothing is chanced and just like in the past you orchestrated everything so to right now everything happening to me it may be painful it may be pleasurable it may be filled with hope it may be filled with despondency whatever is happening to me right now just like in the past you were the Redeemer of Israel everything was for a reason everything made sense everything was for the best everything was at your hand so to everything happening right now is because of you and only when I say those two words go you you are the Redeemer of Israel only when I can affirm God through history am I ready to ask God for help in Destiny only when I see hashem's hand in the past can I genuinely be reaching out for his hand in the future and that's what it means to be when you say and then right then no pause No Interruption no break no looking at anything else it's not did that in the past I remember I went to a Jewish history series you were pretty good for the Jews in the past let me just check Facebook and then I'll dve into you let me just check Twitter let me just post this thing let me just check the news let me just see what the stock market's doing let me just answer this text let me just make this call let me just welcome this guy who just walked into sh let me just do this little Interruption and then I'll get to the ding where I ask you for things once I make that Interruption and I have a disconnect between hashem's role in history and Destiny a disconnect between the past and the present then it somehow detracts it's no longer as genuine as an authentic for my present when the Jewish people saw you know what what's happening right now this isn't this isn't normal this isn't Usual by every measure of History we should have long ago disappeared we should have been swallowed up we should have been exterminated annihilated eliminated and yet here we are and not only here we are here we are thriving here we are stronger than ever you know as Jews we have a natural tendency to see the bad so you know there there there's our communities our community has gone and is going through several very very very difficult challenging periods of of sudden losses of people who are very sick really terrible stuff and it deserves our attention and ouros we should be doing things in the Merit of those people we should be doing things in our community's Merit I don't mean to take away from that but several people have come up to me recently about that saying that we need to do something what kind what are we doing where's the call to uh to an emergency and I said you know there's no there's no question that that you've identified those issues and we should do something about it I said but do you also know that we have an unprecedented amount of 90y olds in our community right now and do you know how well the community is doing and do you know by this how many babies were born this year how many Simas were celebrated how many people are in their 90s do you know how much is going on in the in the in the incredible positive how come no one ever noticed that we are Skies falling pessimist cup is half empty unfortunately and I don't mean to take away from the attention that we should be putting and the merits we should be earning for the people need it the same is true for the condition of Jews in the world is there BDS and anti-Semitism and Israel have its enemies yes but Israel's never been a safer place it's never been thriving more things have never been better B A inara for the Jewish people around the world and the freedom and the and the and the and the liberty and the religious freedom that we experience Prosperity that we have things have never been better so when we see hashem's guiding hand through history and we realize where we are right now and how things have never been better or safer or there's never been greater opportunity for the Jewish people with all the other measures that are reasons for care and concern and worry and again I'm not diminishing them at all but we have to look at the other half of the leder too and when you see the complete picture you see the hand of Hashem and when you see that hand of Hashem the question of Doubt turns into a question of certainty we affirm our our knowledge we absolutely See's hand we say it every morning and ding before Yash when the Jewish people saw these 10 plagues you know you could live life and you could say oh they're each nature a what a coincidence look at all these frogs what a coincidence look at all these uh iguanas what a coincident we're suffering from the plague right now of iguanas we need the cold spell to come but what a coincidence look at the winds blew the right way that affected the tide that affected the tsunami that affected the hurricane and the Sea split huh what a coincidence you could look Life as a series of coincidences and you can try to ascribe it to Nature even though the odds of nature producing that result are a gazillion gab billion to one or you could say you know what this defies the rules of nature this is not natural what's going on this result this isn't natural and when you see that it's not natural the Jewish people saw the great hand of hasem by the way you can't ever see hashem's hand if you have the noise noise noise Rat Race Rat Race Rat Race hamster whe hamster right when that happened they sent mosha away they couldn't hear moshe's message when there's just noise and worry and anxiety and running and doing an obligation only when you take a few deep breaths and you disconnect and you shut down and you put your phone in airplane mode which by the way you're allowed to do even when you're not on an airplane people don't know that so when you take a few moments and you say I'm just going to think I just want to think about my life I just want to think I just want to feel I just want to experience I just want to be present because otherwise we wake up at the end of a day which turned into a week turned into a month turned into a year and we weren't present for any part of that year the whole year just gone can we point to things on the calendar which we vaguely remember being at yeah cuz we've seen it in pictures or posts on Facebook but but to be present I just want to experience what it is to be present so only only then when can you see hashem's hand and realize ha wow that thing that happened that's an amazing that was amazing Hashem orchestrated that for me for my family for my community for my people wow that's amazing when can you see hashem's hands only when you press pause only when you're present only when you make space and room to think only when you create quiet and then we are tapping in we're riding on the coattails of their faith of their faith this relates to something I shared at the woman she I don't know how many of you were there but I I mentioned that on Russ somebody who's in the recovery program um who struggled with alcohol told me on rashash that day he was having trouble connecting to Hashem I really struggling to connect to Hashem so he told me that in the recovery program there's a principle that one of the steps in the 12 steps is submitting to a higher power conceeding and forfeiting and realizing that we're not in charge we don't control everything forfeiting and submitting ourselves to a higher power so what happens if you struggle with believing in a higher power you don't see him hear him talk to him it's very hard to connect to him so what if you're struggling so that person is in the moment of Crisis who you're trying to engage in the program and help them make their way through the steps and show them the support that's not the time to start taking them through the Bible codes and the discovery seminar and that's not the time to try you know St Thomas Aquin it giving them all the pieces of evidence for hashem's existence that's not you know Aristotle and R that's not the moment to start going through this theological philosophical evidence of hashem's existence so what do you do you're trying to give someone's support and they need to submit to a higher power that's one of the steps but they're not in a place to do that yet inisis so what do you do how do you move to the next step how do you get that so he said in the recy program what you do is you say believe in his higher power believe in her higher power you are someone that you trust that you love that you believe in someone you respect and they have a higher power latch on to their higher power for now you'll work it out work it through later to have your relationship with the higher power but for now believe in their higher power and we often view that as a low level what do you mean I have to work it through myself that's not authentic if I don't believe in it it's counterfeit it's fake that's not true at all we absolutely do believe in it we believe in latching on to the coils of someone else and I suggested and the woman she here and I I try to do it myself all the time there are people within our community within our congregation there are extraordinary people there are people who've gone through the worst in life whether it's Holocaust Survivors Among Us please God should continue to live and be well or people who in other ways in their own way have gone through an incredible journey whe whether it's every balua is an incredible story is a hero every convert is an extraordinary hero every person who's gone through hardship and has chosen to live a life of Faith nonetheless is an incredible hero there are people all around us believe in their higher power when you're struggling when you're stumbling when you're when you're when you're getting static believe in their higher power latch on to their higher power grab their coattails the famous story of the blba and jumping over the canal and I held on to you so we have that ability so we're doing that collectively every day when you say say when you say men you and you say how am I supposed to D I don't really feel connected to I don't feel his presence I don't feel his love I don't know if I love him I'm not even sure he exists so what am I doing saying these words what am I doing making this time what am I doing standing here going through this exercise of doing when I'm not sure he exists I don't feel his love I don't know if I love him what am I doing what am I doing so first of all we have a for that Thea for that is the opening words of theem open my lips and allow my mouth to sing your praise right before we DAV we DAV that we be able to DAV every time we DAV it's introduced with the words you know I don't know how to have this conversation I don't really feel so close to you right now I don't really feel so connected I might be very disappointed in you or I might fear that you're very disappointed in me or I might I might think I'm talking to a wall so you know what before I recite this script before I deliver this message before I articulate this uh this statement move my lips help me feel connected to what I'm about to say help me be confident there's someone listening on the other end of the line but the other thing that we do before we DAV is we before I turn to you hashm with all my needs with all my wants with everything I need I say you know what yeah answered you answered us before so I'm latching on I'm not necessarily feeling connected to the higher power I'm latching on to you right now as a higher power how G with those two words I just went in super speed through 6,000 years of Jewish history 4,000 years of Jewish history I just went in a in a time machine through Jewish history by saying those two words that brought me up to this moment in time here I am but I didn't begin T sh in test first I went through almost 6,000 years every time I say the words go I think about what we navigated as a people what we survived what we Triumph what we transcended where we've arrived how we're here and how you guided us every step of that way and now now I can ask you to help me with my job or help my daughter pass a driving test or help me not be delayed on my way to the airport or help my stock go do well so I can pay for coming up or help me whatever whatever I'm worried about or thinking about or doing before I can ask for help with that in real time well how do I know he's there and why would I believe he's going to help me and why do I think he interferes with the world why is what gives me the confidence and the faith to turn now and ask for whatever I'm going to ask for is because those two words that preced it when I say G is first what I'm saying is Hashem just like you were present in the past I believe you're present in my present and in my future and what gives me that Faith what gives me that strength what gives me that confidence is the two words G so when you have when you trust in hem that's the essence of all of life we're going through this world where Hashem is invisible Hashem is hiding and that's on purpose and that's by Design we've talked about that a lot in the past because if he were visible and he were accessible we would have no free will if we had no free will there'd be no purpose to life the purpose of life is Free Will that we make choices we can make the right ones or the wrong ones and the results of the relationships that we have without free will if we were automated robots pre-programmed automated robots there'd be no purpose to life you can't have free will if God is visible just like you don't speed past the policeman on the highway you only have free will because he's invisible and because there's room for doubt and uncertainty which creeps into every one of our lives so when we take that leap of faith when we overcome the doubt and uncertainty when we live our lives when we live our lives feeling believing mindful that Hashem is with me he's right next to me he's watching what I'm watching he's listening to what I'm talking about he sees what I'm eating he's rooting me on he's rooting me on when I persevered and overcame that Temptation and did the right thing even when I felt pressure internal or external not to he's cheering me on he's celebrating when he sees me do an act of or givea or make time for him or make time for his other children he's there and disappointed in me for the wrong things and he's right over my shoulder has the biggest smile and I'm giving him for the right things living life with trust living life that he's with me that he's over my shoulder that he's locked in my arm that he is my companion through life in all moments in all moments that's that's the core of everything and therefore a person who lives with that is of course when would I invite which child will I invite to come with me on a luxury vacation and experience ganen the one who I talk to every single day the one who I hear from very infrequently barely ever maybe when they need something who am I inviting with me on the all expense paid luxury vacation in the ghen in this world so says you want to entera who gets the best seat with me on the vacation in the sky in the ganaden of of Eternity the one who talk to me every day the child who made room for me in their life every single day so you talk to hasem every single day you thank Hashem who you going to invite which child's going to come with you on the all expense vacation the one who was Meli who lived an entitled life who never said thank you who took everything you did for them for granted who never showed appreciation who never paid it Forward who never shared it who wasn't generous with it who never checked in with you that's the one that you're running to to shower with uh with to spoil or the child who you did nothing for and still they went crazy with gratitude for every little thing that you did the child who checked in on you who worried about you who took care of you who spoke to you who confided in you so is the same way who gets into who spends eternity with him on vacation not the child who neglected him who took it for granted who was entitled who never said thank you who didn't pay it forward who never spoke to him we are K's children like every parent he wants to hear from us it's the famous last week's Pasha what's the punishment of the snake crawls on his belly and eats from the dust of the earth says eats from the dust of the earth is a punishment what kind of punishment it's a reward them has to work the field he has to plow and he has to plant and he has to harvest and he has to sew and he has to grind and he has a bacon he has to that's hard work that's difficult what's the's destiny all all paid all you can eat buffet that's your destiny that's a punishment says you know why that's a punishment because when you say to your child you know what here's the credit card don't call me I don't want to hear from you don't call me see the gift of needing things is a relationship when you send your kid to college you say here's the first $100 on the debit card when you need more call me call me so you've given that child a gift because they may not realize it but they're going to call you and there's going to be a relationship because your presence in their life is going to be you're going to help them you're going to guide them through school you're going to check in with them you're going to redirect them you're going to support them in difficult times so the fact that they need you and have to call you is a gift to them because now you have a relationship so says told you know what your punishment is here is the credit card there's no limit spend whatever you want I don't want to hear from you I don't want to hear from you but to us to Men He said here's here's the first h00 bucks when you use it up call me when you need something you're going to call me and that's a gift because you know what happens when you need something you call him the result is a relationship it's the other thing we spoke about in the woman sh the inside of based on the Mah what right do we ever have to D for other people the core of daving is the axim of daving is it has to be from driven by an internal need I need you so how can i d for someone else the answer is that when someone else lacks something it becomes my need says the only right I ever have to D for someone else is because whatever they're going through is really a need of mine it's not that hasm I'm all good I got everything I'm all good but then their health their par their children no it's that if their health their parasa their children are no good has I'm no good I'm no good I can't sleep at night because of what they're going through so I'm not doming for them I'm doming for me which is it sounds selfish but it's at the core of what a real doing of what a real relationship is is that I'm not so benevolent and magnific I'm not so magnanimous I'm not doing this for somebody else it's me it's me Hashem if they're in pain I'm in pain I'm doing this for me I'm doing this for me so at the core of a meaningful life of getting into is living with and how do you live with you with you empty words you you flying through flying through I was in another city this week I won't mention which one because at the sh I went to the early minion to catch the flight back the early minion the exact same time they have two minion one goes a little slower and one ones was done in 39 minutes with laning two Hal whatever so I think the gab looked at me afterwards and he said he must have seen my face he said don't worry it's sanctioned by the rabbi and I'm not criticizing those people would say Hashem look at your children they don't even want to D and they got to run to work but still they find time to here and in 39 minutes bang out of doing to you right so okay it's a beautiful thing I'm not I'm Nota criticizing them whatsoever I'm just saying that daving you could spend time talking to Hashem confiding in hem trusting in Hashem it can be an exercise of it could be affirming Hashem I see you through history and that's why I'm confident you're going to be with me through my destiny or you could just be in a race to get to the end of the sitter I don't even remember saying any of the words I don't know what any other words mean I don't even remember where it was I just know check check check Shak check check check check check check check done done so which is it is it a conversation you can call your parent because you know I got to call my mother I'm going to call my father and speak to them today check I wasn't really listening I was multitasking I didn't really have anything to say I just wanted to get off the phone as quickly as possible check I wish them a good job is check done that's one or you could call you can say I look forward to I need some advice I want to give them I need to I need to get so which is which is our daving so in your so symbolic Al if you have an interruption between and between and now my turning to hasem there's an interruption there's a barrier there's time there's a conversation there's a disconnect between those two things that was like just calling a I'm done whereas if you connect the two and they represent a Continuum I go from history to Destiny the past to the present to the Future Hashem I see your guiding hand through every dimension of time and of life so then that's that's trusting in hem and the more our davening is an exercise in basically what R is saying is that when you walk away from davening you should be strengthened in your trust you should have greater B than when you walked in the experience of turning to Hashem and saying here's how I need you here's what I want to say thank you for here's what I'm protesting and objecting to that experience of doing that daily three times a day should leave me each time feeling closer feeling stronger connection with him in order to understand this we have to understand four core principles the and we will begin to cover it I'm not here next week I'm sorry I know we just started but after that I I'll be here I'll be here I have I have a meeting I have to go to but uh so I'm not on next week but after that banara we'll be straight shooting from there but we'll pick up then with these four nudos of how it is that daving is the of how do you exercise the muscle of by daving by ding all right we'll pick it up there thank you