This Was ALSO a Miracle | Living with Emunah #368

Good morning, boker tov, frilichen Chanukah. Welcome back to Living with Emunah to all. So excited to be back together again. Want to thank as always our generous Emunah series sponsors, Rabbi Dr. Avi and Bella Morgan, a member of Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbut in memory of Bella's mother, Dr. Ellen Chanzer. Very indebted to the Morgans for their generosity. Also generously uh sponsored anonymously in memory of the 34 fallen soldiers and alumni of Bnei David Machina Yeshiva in Eli who fell since October 7th. This week we're highlighting Captain Harel Edenger Hashem Yikom Damo, he was 23 years old from Eli a team commander in the IDF's Egoz uh commando brigade one of the first soldiers to fall in battle in southern Lebanon October 2nd in 2024. Fought bravely, survived by his mother and 11 siblings. His father, Rabbi Ariah Edenger, was killed in a terrorist shooting attack in March 2019 heroically stopping his vehicle to help neutralize a terrorist. So, that family has suffered tremendous losses and we think of them and dedicate our divrei Torah in his and his father's memory. This morning's shiur in particular sponsored by Eli Falikoff in honor of his awesome wife, Cassel, on his English birthday. Thank you to BRS for the words of Torah. They make his day and drive a whole lot better. And anonymously for a refuah shleimah of Michal bas Varda and Tinok ben Michal for her strength, emunah, and bitachon. And that's uh dedicated by someone who was a Golani soldier in miluim for more than 300 days in combat and uh a baby was born during that time while he was fighting against these heroes just unbelievably inspire. And lastly for Yaakov Yisrael ben Sara Alkeshi ben Avraham Yeshua, Hashem should watch over and protect and bring only good things and good results for him. One of the hardest challenges of taking off time, we missed last week because we were in transit is how many emails come in and how hard it is to catch up. So, again, I give the disclaimer I always do. Every single email is precious to me. Every email inspires me. Every email I'm grateful for. Every email I hope impacts the author and the person who wrote it. But, I can't possibly read all of them or share all of them. So, I printed a bunch of them. We'll see how many we get through. They're in no particular order. I'll tell you my own Emunah experience first. We went last week. We had the big zchus to be in uh in the UAE in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Fascinating, fascinating trip. Met incredible leaders, Emirati leaders. Very grateful to my dear friend, Eli Epstein, for having arranged uh this incredible trip. And if you want to know more about it, Mishpacha magazine this week, we have a long article in there telling about the trip. You could hear more about it. We went from there once we How could you be in the Middle East and not pop over to Israel for Shabbos? So, we popped over to Israel literally for 48 hours to see our children and grandchildren, spent Shabbos there. And the plan was to fly back Motzei Shabbos through Newark see our children and grandchildren in New Jersey a couple hours, fly back Sunday afternoon in time to light candles with our children here. Baruch Hashem, baruch Hashem, baruch Hashem. So many places and spaces and that was the plan. But as is always said, man plans and Hashem laughs. So there was a lot of snow in New York and sleet and hail and ice. And when we landed on Sunday morning in Newark uh it took about 20 minutes from when we landed till we got to the gate. And then when we got off the plane, it took almost 3 hours for the luggage to come. And while waiting for the luggage to come, we got the text from Jeff Luft that the flight that afternoon was cancelled. And I want to tell you something with tremendous pride. Not ego, but pride in the work we do together in this year. And the pride is that Yocheved and I for one moment we were not frazzled. We were not phased. We were not upset. I just kept looking at my luggage tag. Embrace your place. You are where you're meant to be. But, here's the amazing thing and I share this cuz maybe there are people listening or watching right now who were there. And I share this cuz we should be proud of what we're learning and working on and growing in the movement that we're putting together together is there was a a flight that another El Al flight that left Israel to Newark an hour before ours and landed an hour before ours. So, the two flights were waiting at the conveyor belt together. I was able to participate in three and a half Shacharis minyanim next to that conveyor belt. That's how long it took. But, I'm proud to tell you I can't describe how many people came over. I'm just standing with Yocheved minding my own business. I actually used the time to write an article about what had happened in Australia. And it went up on on Aish that morning. And so, you know, embrace your place and just deal with it and get done what you're meant to do in that moment. I can't tell you how many people came over and said "Rabbi, I'm embracing my place." >> [laughter] >> Like the whole Newark terminal. Baruch Hashem. And all walks of life. Some from Lakewood, some from Borough Park, some Bergen County, all over. They were coming. And it's it's baruch Hashem, it's not a point of pride for me personally, but for us and what we're learning, what we're working on, what we're doing. And that's how it's planned. So, okay, we came back the next morning. We spent the first night with our kids. And granted, there's a lot worse places to be stuck. A Jew the Jew is never stuck. And we embrace our place. We know where we're meant to be. And we figure out why we're there. And I just kept looking at that luggage tag and the sticker on the back of my phone. And it was just I was meditating on it. It was a reminder. And then you just lean into it. Okay, 3 hours. You could have a nice sleep. You can meet fellow Jews. You could have a cup of coffee. You could write an article. You could open a safer. And this was It was I just kept saying, "It's dry and it's warm and there's a roof over us. And we're good. We're good." And then I said that when the first piece of luggage came in. The next two didn't. And then I said it. >> [laughter] >> We just embraced our place. And then it was the last luggage off the whole the whole two flights were gone and all right, okay. That's where it was meant to be. It was all baruch Hashem. It was a beautiful thing. This was not a test. This was not a challenge. People go through real tests and real challenges. Halavai this should be the worst. This was a big absolute nothing. But I just share it with you as a description, a demonstration that I'm working on myself. We're all working on ourselves. We're working on implementing it. And there's no one immune from it. If you're awake and you're alive and you're living life, then you are confronting disappointments, frustrations, delays at best and bad news and challenges much more significantly at worst. And the more that we practice and live and learn emunah, the calmer, the tranquil, the happier I was watching people become unhinged. "How long is it taking? Why can't they bring the luggage? And I got to get out of here where I'm meant to be." And I was like, And I I calm, cool, collect. Emunah. It's the greatest drug. Emunah is just the greatest elixir. It's the greatest medicine. It's the greatest And it's hard to remember and to be mindful in the moment. But when we lean into it, amazing, amazing things can happen. Dear Rabbi Goldberg, thank you for the weekly minyan sessions that have eased my week. Yadada yadada yadada. There I said it for you. Shkoyach. I'd like to remind all the listeners, this is a public service announcement from one of our listeners. That Hanukkah is approaching. This was after 2 weeks ago shiur. Hanukkah is the hardest time of the year for singles or those alone. It is all about finding a little light in the thick darkness. It's so hard to find the light when the world feels so dark and lonely. People assume that singles and others have where to be and what to do. People have to remember to open their hearts and homes. People think they need to work really hard to host. Sometimes just sharing their everyday life and regular is meaningful to others. I'm typically a fighter, but for some reason every time I think about Hanukkah, I burst into tears and I think all about the times I've lit the menorah by myself. Let us all Let us and all those that are holding on so tight to the light remember what the ner represents, the fire of Torah, the fire of the soul, the fire of direction. And that we should all embrace our place this Hanukkah. That same light will bring us to very good places, God willing. So, a public service announcement and reminder that you know people. Invite them over. Invite them over. Halachically everyone has to light in their home, but you can invite them after light with you. Invite them over for latkes. Invite them over to sit. You don't have to host. You don't have to make a five-course meal. You don't have to do a uh what's it called? Grab uh mystery Maccabee face all these new You don't have to do anything fancy. You don't have to decorate your front lawn. All you have to do is reach out to your neighbor, your friend and say, "Hey, what are you doing the fourth night, fifth night, sixth night, seventh night, eighth night?" Got plenty of Hanukkah to go. To ensure that people are not Imagine. The people here don't have to imagine. You light the menorah by yourself with no one there to watch or see. No one to sing Maoz Tzur. No one to exchange gifts. Nobody to talk about. And you sit on a couch and that's Hanukkah. That's Hanukkah. All of us can and should, and there's plenty of Hanukkah left, think about friends, family, mere acquaintances, a neighbor who you don't talk to that often. And just say it's not a chesed. Don't do it as a chesed. They're not your subject or act of chesed. And you're not such a great as a baal chesed. And don't do it out of a sense of chesed. Just do it out of basic humanity. And don't even do it for the other. Selfishly do it for yourself because it'll transform your Hanukkah. And it's all about the light. You know, Rav Dovid Abuhatzeira, we're learning his sefarim. I picked up in Israel, I think four or five more of his. They're exploding now and they're all fantastic. And I'm so grateful for them. He has one on Hanukkah and it's magnificent. And there's a whole perek, a whole chapter about what the candle represents. Again, many most of the ideas, of course he has chiddushim, but he's malaket, he collects and they're familiar ideas, but he does a fantastic job of organizing and collecting them. Ner Hashem nishmas adam. Every one of us is a flame, is a candle. We look into that flame and we see our soul. That's what Hanukkah is all about. That's why the candle, the flame represents the soul. God forbid a person leaves this world, the soul is extracted from the body. We light a seven-day candle. We light a candle in the room where their soul has left the body. That's the minhag. The custom is to light a candle in that very room. In the taharah room where taharah is being done, a candle is in that room. On a yahrtzeit, we light a candle. When Yizkor is said, we light a candle. What's this obsession? What are we, pyromaniacs? Why are we obsessively lighting candles for souls? The answer is we look in that in that flame and we see the soul because the flame it flickers and you can't grab it. You can't hold on to it. But you can feel its warmth and you can see its light and you know it's there, you know it's real. And so to the souls of even those who are no longer physically here, but whose souls exist and live eternally and immortally, we feel their warmth and we see their light, we know their presence and even if we can't hold them and grab them and touch them, they are as real, they are as ever present as they ever were. But that's not only true for the souls that are gone. We light the Yizkor and the Yahrzeit and the seven-day candle for those souls that are gone. Hanukkah, we're lighting for souls that are here, our souls. The Gemara says the Hanukkah lights are lit ner ish ubeiso. The mitzvah is that we light a candle for ourselves, our spouse, our children, if we have them, if we aspire to have them, our prospective and our future and our anticipated spouse and our children. But this is a candle, this is who we are. Hanukkah is milch and chinuch. Hanukkah is a time that we're with our family and we're educating, informing, inspiring, transmitting. This is what this holiday is all about and we see in that flame, we see that light. Our soul is like the candle. It illuminates. A little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness. And our soul has that capacity to overcome so much darkness. Obviously, we all woke up Sunday to and we're still reeling from Australia, attacks in New York, challenges that are happening everywhere. But the answer is to dispel that darkness with a little bit more light for our soul to be a little bit more on fire. To be on fire. Don't sleepwalk through life. Don't be a dimly lit spark. Don't be just barely holding on a pilot light. Be a light on fire. And a light on fire is not just ner ish ubeiso. You know, minimally, you could fulfill the mitzvah of Hanukkah by lighting one candle, ner ish ubeiso, one candle lit. And you fulfilled the mitzvah. But we have mahadrin. And mahadrin min hamahadrin. We light everybody lights and everybody lights adding for each night of the holiday of Hanukkah. Why? Cuz we want to be on fire. We want to illuminate the world. We want our souls to be transforming and redeeming and repairing ourselves and our home and the whole world around us. Whatever way you hold a candle, the candle's like the soul. You hold the candle and you turn it upside down, which way does the flame flicker? If you hold the candle sideways, which way does the flame flicker? No matter which way you hold the candle, the flame flickers up cuz the soul of a of a Yid, the soul of a Jew, it is flickering up. It's reaching up. It's striving up. There's a piece of us which is going down. There's a piece of us connected to the here and now, connected to the ground. That's our body. We just learned Tanya this morning about the godly soul, the chelek Elokah mimaal mamash, and the nefesh habahamit, the animal soul. The godly soul, it strives and flickers. It it it dances up. And the animal soul, that's drawn down. The animal walks on all four because it's looking down at the ground, says the Maharal. The beheima is ba ma, what you see is what you get. The animal walks on all four, it's looking down at the ground, it lives for the here and now. But the godly soul, the Yid, the human being, the chelek Elokah mimaal mimaal mamash, we don't walk on all four, we stand on two cuz we're striving, we're stretching, we're standing tall, we're reaching for the heavens. And that flame that flickers from that candle, ner Hashem nishmas adam, the soul inside each and every one of us, it is flickering up. And more than that, if you look at the flame, it doesn't sit still. If you look at the flame, it doesn't sit still. It's dancing. It's dancing. It almost looks like it's dancing. It hears the music, maybe you don't. Maybe it's dancing to your Haneiros Halalu Masur. But even when the music stops, the flame is still dancing cuz the soul inside us is dancing. It's dancing. It's a chelek Elokah mimaal mamash. It is connected to the infinite, the omnipotent, the endless light, the Ohr Ein Sof. That soul inside us, even when the body the knees have to be replaced and the hips have to be replaced and the that has to be and the warranty and this ran out and that thing is working and this thing is So even when the body says I can't dance anymore, don't I don't care. Where a person's lying and God forbid in a hospital, but they could be lying wherever, the soul is dancing. Like that flame, ner Hashem nishmas adam. It's all dancing. There's so much more to say about these parallels. But another one of them is we pasken and we have a shamash because we don't light from one candle to another, but there are opinions that technically you are allowed to light from one to the other. And the amazing thing about a candle is that when you light another wick and it catches fire, you brought it to life, it's now dancing, it's now flickering up, it's now illuminating, it's now providing energy and warmth, it's now dynamic and alive. And did it take anything away from you? The image of the flame is the one commodity. If I have money and I give to you, I have less money. If I have my time and I share it with you, I have less time. If I have my sufganiyot, check out our corner this morning. I don't know if there's anything left, but earlier this morning there were sufganiyot. We've got our slushies and caffeine with kavana with our coffee and our great corner, our cafe here at BRS. If I give you my sufganiyot, it's probably good for me, but I have less for me. All other commodities, the more I share the less I have, but a flame I could light and I can touch the wicks of and I can ignite endless flames around me all without losing any of my own. Any of my own. And that's the image of Hanukkah and that's the power. So, I'm grateful for this public service announcement that reminds us that we have to light the flames of others around us. We have to We have to illuminate and light and ignite and invite and host and connect and integrate our lives together. We need this so desperately now. We're in it together. We're awake and we're alive together. And I'd say not only are from friends, our religious neighbors and family and friends. Look where we live and look who we're around and who don't really know the essence of what Hanukkah is about, its story and its light and what we're trying to do. Stare into that flame and see your soul. We're learning now, maybe eventually we'll get back to it this morning, but we're learning in the safer for Shacharit Tfila, this perek about davening for emunah. This is the yom tov that we look and we stare. The Kedushas Levi of Berdichev says that every holiday is associated with one of our senses. One of our senses. So, Purim is the sense of hearing. We hear the megillah and we hear the gragger. And it's the sense of hearing. Pesach is the sense of taste. You eat the matzah and you eat the maror. You eat the korech sandwich. And Hanukkah, he writes, says the is the yom tov of the sense of sight. And there are endless examples of it from the fact that the pirsum hanisa, we look at the candles. That we're not allowed to use these flames. You're not Don't turn the lights off in the room cuz the Hanukkah candles burn so bright, they're so pretty. And now you're going to read next to them, learn next to them. Or the Gemara gives the example of counting your money next to them. You're not allowed to use the flames. They have no function other than to sit and stare at them. This is the one mitzvah. If a person's in a circumstance that they didn't light and can't light, but they see someone else's lit menorah, haroeh mevarech. There's a halacha, there's a din that if you see lit candles, you make a bracha. I don't make a bracha when I see you eat matzah. I don't make a bracha when I see you light Shabbos candles. I don't make a bracha when I see you put on tefillin. I don't make a bracha when I see you do any other mitzvah. But here, haroeh mevarech. So, you see the the essence of this is to be roeh, to sit and stare. And this is a personal hangup I have. I mentioned it yesterday at the parsha shiur. We've now come to a time where we filled our schedule every night of Hanukkah there's something that you have to go to that you light and then you rush out or you don't even light till late, so you lit and you go right to sleep. And the lighting you're meant to sit and bask in the light. Sit and stare and gaze at the light. Sit with your family and disconnect from technology to connect to the light of those candles. And through that light to illuminate what's inside you and around you all along. See your soul. See your capacity and capability. See the Elokus, the godliness in you. See that faith and that courage and that confidence and that clarity. See our source and where we come from. See that whatever we're going through, however low we've sunk, wherever we feel we are, that there is a plan, that it's curated and choreographed from above and there is a way out. Sit and look at those candles. Watch that flame flicker. Watch it go up even when we feel like we're falling down. Watch it dance even when we feel like we're sitting still and we can't move. And know that we have all that inside us. Sit with your family and spend at least half an hour staring and gazing and watching. Sit, learn, and sing. Be in the presence of those candles. Don't run away from them to spin your dreidel or fry your latkes or eat your sufganiyot or exchange your gifts or run out to one of the billion events that are going on over the holiday of Hanukkah. It used to be you stay home. Hanukkah used to be Hanukkah chinuch. It's a time to be and surround with family, learn and laugh and enjoy and bask in that light and see your soul and be on fire. That's what it used to be about. We should bring that back even if we have to go to the wonderful events. I'm I'm not criticizing. Even if we're going to these events, but don't do it at the expense of Don't neglect these candles. And don't do it alone. Take that flame. Don't just light your fire. Invite that friend, neighbor, acquaintance, co-worker, the person you met or worked out at the gym, person in the line at Publix who bagled you at Costco and said oy vey or happy Hanukkah, invite them over, light candles, share your your latkes, and now I'm off my pedestal. Okay, a few more a few more emails and then we'll get back We're integrating the Torah and the learning into the I'll tell you one other thing, we said it yesterday, too. The Hafetz Chaim, I mentioned yesterday, but it bears repeating because a lot of people listen to Living Emunah don't listen to Parsha, vice versa. So, it it bears repeating. An incredible Hafetz Chaim that we said yesterday. Yosef HaTzaddik is sitting in the pit for two years. Two years. And by the way, my friend Marilyn reminded me last year, Parshas Shemos, we mentioned the insight, why was Yosef extended longer? Why did he sit there for two years? The Chazonish says, because he expressed excessive initiative. He doubled down with the Sar Hamashkim, twice he said, "Please don't forget me, remember me, remind Paroh about me, get me out of here." And for someone at his level, two year initiative, you were yotzei, you buy your one lottery ticket, but not more than one because because you just need one to be in it to win it, more than one is excessive, and it doesn't increase your chances of winning it. Yosef did excessive, and therefore he had to stay a little bit a little bit longer. That speaks to this balance that we've spoken a lot about. What's the proper What's the right recipe for initiative versus faith? How do you know where the line and the boundary is between the two? Yosef Chazonish crossed the line, so much so that he had to languish a little bit longer. That was on his level. People are on different levels. So, the answer is what's appropriate proper initiative, what's excessive initiative? It's different for different people in different places. But here he is languishing, and he becomes helpless and hopeless. He grabs the Sar Hamashkim as his way out, and he says, "Buddy, I interpreted your dream, I got you out of here. Don't forget me when you get where you're going, get me out. Lobby and advocate and mention my name, and wear a sticker, and say how many days I've been in prison, and get me out. Get me out of this tunnel." And the Sar Hamashkim, two years he's sitting there. And Yosef certainly, two years in, he's writing on the side of the prison wall, 1 2 3 4, cross, 1 2 3 4, right the side of the prison wall, he's counting the days. At some point he says to himself, "Helpless and hopeless, I'm done, I'm destined to just be here and stay here. I'm in this low pit, dark and grungy and cold and lonely and miserable. I've been discarded by my family who wanted to kill me and settled on selling me, and I was falsely accused by the person who I brought prosperity to his home, and now I'm sitting and languishing, and the person I interpreted his dream and rescued his life has forgotten me, and it's hopeless and helpless, and I'm just meant to be in this pit forever. It's dark and it's gloomy and it's dingy and it's cold, and here I am." And says the Hafetz Chaim, in a moment's notice, someone comes and opens the cell. Says, "Yosef, Joseph, Ivri, hey Hebrew, come with me. Quick. Here's a shaving kit. Shave, shower, put on this clothing." "Why? Where am I going? What's happening?" "You're going to meet the emperor of the world." And in a moment's notice, he goes from being helpless and hopeless in a pit with no future, feeling abandoned and neglected, to rising to be the viceroy of Egypt. The Hafetz Chaim says, "Vayareitzu min habor, vayareitzu." It was rushed, it came quick, and it came exactly when it was meant to be. The Hafetz Chaim says, "It doesn't happen on our schedule. Hashem doesn't operate on our timeline. Doesn't go according to our plan. Our tefilos are heard, they matter, they count, they mean something, but we have to know and we have to remember that wherever we are, and there are people sitting in this room, there are people watching and listening from wherever they are, there are so many emails I get from those who feel so alone, and they're sitting in that pit, and they feel lonely, and they're waiting, and they're want Where's my shidduch? Where's my zivug? Where's my husband to light Hanukkah candles with? Where's the baby I want to hold in my arms? Where's the confidence I can pay my bills, and I know how I'll keep this roof over my head? Where is my clean bill of health? Where am I going to get the lab results that say I've recovered? They feel I'm sitting and I'm languishing, I'm lonely, and I'm in a pit, and it's helpless and it's hopeless, and that's where we hold on to remember that it doesn't happen on our timeline, doesn't happen according to our schedule. Keep the faith, keep davening, keep turning, keep surrendering, keep submitting to Hashem. Find that timeline, cuz here Yosef says, "Hey, I was meant to be out of here forever." And Hashem says, "Yes, you're right, but you expressed too much initiative. You didn't have enough faith in me, so it took a little bit longer, but now vayareitzu min habor. When it's right, when it's meant to be, come with me. Here we go." So, to those sitting in a pit, to those who feel that they're languishing, that it's cold and dark and gloomy, somebody mentioned after the parsha shiur that Yosef sat two years in a tunnel, in a pit, and then vayareitzu min habor, and the hostages sat two years in a pit in darkness and languishing, and vayareitzu, vayareitzu. When we gave up hope and thought it wouldn't happen, President Trump and his administration deserve tremendous credit. Leadership in the UAE we just met with, were involved in orchestrating it, and the other countries that put the pressure where needed to be. And those who are sitting and languishing got that phone call. And by you to see who mean a bore came out of that pit. And whatever pit we feel like we're in in life, whatever number we're up to of loneliness, whatever number we're up to of hopelessness and helplessness, by you to don't give up. Don't give up. Hashem has a plan, and it may not happen on our timeline or our schedule, but hold on and lean in and feel his love and turn to him and protest. Be frustrated, we spoke a lot about. You could even be angry, but ultimately collapse into his arms and know and say, "Nu, when's the timeline? When's the plan? When's the video to see who mean a bore? Get me out of here." Dear Rabbi Goberg, I love the sheer living to a Muna. I I got a lot of emails and pictures. This was great. Apparently, I don't know anything about this, but on Spotify, towards the end of the year, I don't know why they do it beginning of December, on my calendar, the Gregorian year ends at the end of December, but at the beginning of December, apparently these podcast platforms will give you a summary of who you listen to the most. They give you a summary of how many minutes you listen to what podcast and where you ranked among the listeners of that podcast. So, I got so many emails and WhatsApps and texts of people with screenshots of where they fell on on Spotify. And the most interesting part were the people who sent me the list of, you know, the top five podcast, 10 podcasts I listened to. And some were very gratifying cuz in the top 10 were Parsha Perspectives, Living with a Muna, Shira Snippets, and mixed in with other podcasts they listened to. It was fascinating to see which other podcasts they listened to. So, in another country, someone listened to a lot of my podcasts and then something about, I think, a Brazilian soccer player. And in this country, somebody listened to a few of my podcasts and then one, which is known to be a little raunchy. No, it was fascinating to see and I'm honored. I was honored to make it, honored to make it on anyone's list. I still don't feel worthy and I still feel like an absolute impostor and I still don't believe anybody's listening anywhere, so it's incredibly incredibly inspiring to me and motivating to me. So, this author writes, "Actually, on Spotify, I'm one of your top 4% listeners." 4%. As I'm listening around to the latest podcast, you say, "Please keep sending in your perek of Tehillim." Psalm 23, we're still going with our Psalm 23 sightings and they are still happening. As the person writes, "I'm one of a very popular, a very prominent rabbi who passed away, his granddaughters. And one of my cousins was trying to get as many tapes of sheerim on current technology forms so we can all hear. Two weeks ago, I just happened to go on this cousin's WhatsApp status, which led me to his chat, and the last thing he sent me was the link if I wanted to hear my zayde's sheerim. And wouldn't you know it, the Tehillim series I chose to listen to went straight to Psalm 23, perek of Tehillim. You can't make this up. Wishing you continued hatzlacha in all you do. Thank you bringing me chizuk each week." And she should have chizuk and simcha and bracha in her life. I love it. Dear Rabbi Goberg, "I've been holding on to this story for almost half a year, but since the sheer is focusing on Tehillim Tehillim, I decided to share it with you now. At the height of the war, my son came home on Shabbos from Lebanon front. He'd been positioned there for almost 4 months at the time. Unfortunately, over Shabbos, a classmate of his was killed in Gaza and he received permission to remain home so he could attend the levaya. He was told to get back on base by 10:00 p.m. Getting back to his base up north was fraught with difficulty. The bus that he was supposed to take passed him by him as he was distracted by giving directions to a driver that stopped at his bus stop. The bus he finally got on took more of a circuitous route. By 10:00 p.m., he was still on a bus somewhere in the Golan. By 11:00 p.m., he finally arrived in Katzrin, a city in the Golan, but now had no way to get to his base. My husband started making phone calls to random taxi companies. I started reaching out to random people I could find on Facebook group, and our son was out in the middle of the night in his uniform in the middle of Golan stranded with no way to get to his base. My go-to perek of Tehillim is Psalm 23, perek of Tehillim. I started saying it to keep myself calm. As I said the words with such uncertainty in my heart, I literally started laughing out loud. I came to the words "dishanta vashem kosi revaya." I knew at that moment it would all be okay. You see, my son's base is called revaya. And moments later, my son called and said he got a ride to his base. Baruch Hashem, I recognized it in the moment. It was a kiss from Hashem. Dishanta vashem kosi revaya. The base was revaya. In that moment, he got a ride to the base. Psalm 23. My friend Adina, Adriana, the now Jewish nanny sent me and allowed me to use her name. She's in Israel for the very first time having an extraordinary experience. And she was so excited to share. She's up north in Tzfat in Tzfat, and what did she see as displayed in an art gallery? A leafy gallery, Psalm 23, an artwork on Tehillim Tehillim. She's in Israel the first time. Tehillim Tehillim and another Tehillim Tehillim sighting for the very first time. So happy she's having an amazing experience. Rabbi Goberg, "Listen to your sheer every week and like it's all it's helped me strengthen my Muna. Thank you. A couple weeks ago, one of your writers mentioned they pretend to write Muna emails to you through their day and experiences. I really liked them and I started doing that in my head. Usually, I do it during rougher parts of my day and work life. This week I was flying home and I'd been away from my wife and kids all week. When I woke up in my hotel, I'd already received a message from United saying due to the weather in the city I was traveling, I should expect delays in my flight with taxi and takeoff. I immediately told myself, "I'll embrace my place. I am where I'm meant to be. I'll be home when I'm supposed to." I was hoping that meant I'd at least be home for dinner. My original flight was scheduled for 11:00 landing around 1:00. With delays, I thought best case I'll be home by 5:00. Since I left my hotel and got to the airport 9:30, as soon as I got through security my phone notified me my flight was pushed to 12:30. I breathed and said to myself, my wife on the phone, "I'll be home when I'm meant to be home." I walked to my gate getting settled in for a long day when I noticed the same gate had a plane there ready to depart to the same city that had been scheduled at 6:00 a.m. was now preparing to board. I walked up to the lady to desk and asked if they had open seats. She said, "Yes." Printed me a ticket. I boarded at 10:00 a.m. I'm an hour earlier than I even planned to pre-weather delays. After taxiing and waiting for the all clear, we took off at exactly 11:00 a.m. I landed when I was supposed to. All along I was where I was meant to be. Okay. Another one. Dear Rabbi Goldberg, ooh, I should have brought my glasses for this. My name is such and such. I live in such and such. You've quite a follower in my shul. And I wanted to double-check that Tehillim chapter 23 is the correct perek. All I need to do was ask at my shul WhatsApp chat. While I've considered something new in my life many times, I usually suffice by noting to myself, "It's an emunah moment." But with the Psalm 23 sightings, I'm happy to send an email today. I was pulling up to my daughter's daycare, I noticed two people walking up the block. The front of the car blocking the sidewalk and they would either need to walk close to the street or wrap around behind. So, I backed up to give them space to walk on the sidewalk. Usually when this happens, the person walking gives a wave or thanks, a nod. These two men completely ignored it and kept walking. I even commented a lot to my daughter about their lack of thanks. I watched as they walked and could not believe the back of their sweatshirts. They both said in bold letters, "Child of God" and in small letters underneath, "Psalm 23." Although I still think we should express thanks, I got myself I got off my self-righteous tower and appreciated the opportunity to see them. Thank you for accompanying my way home from work every Wednesday afternoon. Um I'm a psychologist with a firm clientele. However, some are not in a place of talking about emunah. I've learned that emunah is very often interchangeable with ACT and DBT term acceptance. Everyone know what those are? We'll talk about them more another time. I talk about concepts in the emunah shear at the DBT group that I run. And uh thank you for helping me. Anyway, here's a picture. Child of God, Psalm 23. Which is similar. I guess this is becoming popular. So much for our producing this swag. Recently guided someone in the city of David wearing this t-shirt. When I asked him about the shirt, he said he thought it was the most appropriate place in the world to wear it. And what does it say? The world The Lord is my shepherd, Psalm 23. So, someone in the old city. This is a guide, a madrich in Israel, a guide in Israel who all over this t-shirt it says, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in less pastures. The Lord is my shepherd, Psalm 23." I don't know if the guy told them, but before he could go into the bathroom, he probably had to take his t-shirt off. So, I'm not sure how that worked out. Hope he had on something on underneath. So, but that's a great t-shirt. The Lord is my shepherd. Another email. My wife saw this and immediately said, "We have to pass it along." This is from a website The Honest Jeweler and it's a bracelet that says, "Let go, let God." A let go, let God bracelet. Only $49, it can be yours. Okay. Um Yeah, we should learn a little bit. We've been learning about Hanukkah. We've learned about Hanukkah. Oh. Dear Rabbi Goldberg, my son and I met you and your wife this past Shabbos morning in the old city. Which is true. We baruch Hashem made aliyah as I told you a year and a half ago from Toronto. We're living in a certain community in Israel. Your emunah shear is giving me tremendous chizuk every Thursday as I cook for Shabbos. My son just brought me Rabbi Abuhatzeira's sefer on emunah cuz I share so much of the shear with my family. As I mentioned this past Shabbos, my brother-in-law was niftar almost 3 years ago at the age of 38. Each week while he was sick, he would post updates in the Tehillim WhatsApp group where hundreds of people davened for him. These updates were full of divrei Torah, chizuk, and emunah. After his passing, his posts were turned into a book called Even Higher. I hope this book She's sending it to me, I'm very grateful for that. Inspires you as it has so many. And baruch Hashem, my son got to Mincha on time. We were walking out of the old city together. We had gone We had gone for Mincha on Shabbos afternoon. She was with her son and he was trying to get Mincha elsewhere. And uh they were rushing and he thought he wasn't going to get there and she kept telling him, "You are where you're meant to be and embrace your place." As I reminded him, we're always where we're meant to be with tremendous hakaras hatov. So, it was very nice to meet her and grateful and looking forward to getting that book. I wanted to share a great moment. Just put in the other one for me. I wanted to share a great moment that made me feel so incredible to see how my son is really learning the lessons of emunah. Yesterday, my son was taking the city bus home from school and he said there was a lot lot of traffic which made him late to meet me so we could go out and run some last-minute pre-Hanukkah errands. When I mentioned it was a little frustrating to get home later than anticipated, he said, "Mommy, I was exactly where I was meant to be." So, baruch Hashem, happy the children are getting it, too. Dear Rabbi, we'll do one or two more. I've been living with emunah since age 3. When you are disabled, Hashem becomes your best friend at an early age. I see incredible incidents all the time. Last week, I went to renew my ID. There were over 100 people sitting down, 33 stations, and only two stations with seats. My husband and I both waited at least a half hour, not even realizing that there were stations with the seats. As I might as it might take up to an hour to renew, I was blessed to get one of the two stations, two out of 33. I said, "Thank you, Hashem." and told the employee how God saw to it that I was sent to station 32 for a reason. So, little hugs and winks and nods from Hashem, a very powerful and a beautiful thing. Uh Okay. One more. Ooh, there's so many. I'm sorry. I really wish I could want to share them all. One more. Baruch Hashem, my baby This is somebody who I shared previously. They waited a long time for a baby. Somebody had a baby. My baby came home from the NICU after a little over 2 months. We were so happy he was finally home, but another huge miracle happened that I want to share. My stories with this baby just keep on getting crazier. A little less than 2 weeks after he was home from the hospital, we were driving to take my 2-year-old to her 2-year checkup at the pediatrician. We picked her up from school, and as soon as she saw me, she begged to sit next to her. She begged me to sit next to her and the baby. At first, I said, "No." only because with two car seats now in the back, the middle seat was a really tight space and not the most comfortable. She kept on asking, and I felt so bad. Of course, I eventually gave in. So, her husband was driving, she went to sit in the back between two car seats. If you've ever done that, but I hope you didn't have a sufganiyah beforehand. We were driving for maybe 5 minutes when I took a glance at my baby. What I saw was horrifying. He was completely blue. I began yelling to my husband to quickly pull over the car and took the baby out of the car seat. I was frozen. I completely forgot how to unbuckle a belt, but my husband quickly got him out and ran to do CPR. It was complete hashgacha. There was a shmira car exactly where we pulled over. Two rabbis got out of the car, and while my husband was doing CPR, one called Hatzalah, the other was saying Tehillim. I was sitting in the backseat frozen, on autopilot trying to entertain and distract my daughter, who was scared by the commotion. After I found a song to play for a distractor, I began davening, or at least trying to. I wanted to say She'ura Malos, but as much as I tried to remember the words, I was in such shock, I completely blanked out. The only tefillah I could remember from start to finish was Mizmor L'Sodah. So, there I am, saying Mizmor L'Sodah over and over as I watch my husband do CPR on our baby, who looked completely lifeless. Baruch Hashem a million times. Because of inflation, I'm going to upgrade that to a billion times. A trillion times. The CPR worked. My husband was able to get some slow breaths out of him. Hatzalah came just in time to take him to the closest hospital. He was admitted and put on a ventilator for 5 days. Overall, had a 10-day stay. I don't want to know what would have happened had my daughter not begged me to sit next to her on that day. Or if those two angels, shmira, weren't there to help, or if my husband didn't know how to do CPR. Every part of the story was a complete and total miracle from Hashem. While my son was still on the ventilator and I was spending Shabbos in the hospital, I remember looking out the window and telling Hashem if my baby gets better, I'll share the story to show the world how amazing Hashem is. And here I am doing just that. That's what you call on these days of Hanukkah, pirsumei nisa. That's exactly what we're supposed to do, to share and spread the miracle. That's what these days are all about. Al hanisim, al hanisim, biyemeihem bizman hazeh. The miracles that happened in those days and the miracles that happened in this time. But I want to tell you one other thing before we get back into our learning. It's okay as long as I just keep saying it. >> [laughter] >> That's an open miracle. That's a revealed miracle. A baby was blue and lifeless, and everything was aligned for her to be in the backseat, and to pull over davka next to a shmira car, and Hatzalah to be there in moments, and the stars were aligned for the miracle of saving that baby. But I want you to know that every time you drive and pull in somewhere, and your children in the backseat are healthy and just fine, that is no less of a miracle. It's no less of a miracle. And that's biyemeihem bizman hazeh. That's al hanisim shebichol yom imanu. Sometimes, sadly, we only recognize and see the miracles when they stand out, when they seem extraordinary. But this is one of the answers to the Beis Yosef's question. Again, I told you we're doing learning throughout. I'm the only one who feels guilty about this. None of you seem bothered by it, but we're doing learning throughout. We're not just reading emails. The Beis Yosef asked the famous question. There's a sefer called Ner L'Meah, 100 answers to the Beis Yosef's question. By now, there are a thousand or ten thousand answers to the Beis Yosef's question. Famous question, you've probably heard it. How many days is Hanukkah? Eight days long. Why should it be eight days long? They found when they returned to the base of Migdal to the temple and they discovered one flask of oil and they had enough to light for one night. They lit it for one night and it lasted eight nights so they had enough to light for eight eight nights and to commemorate that miracle we light the Hanukkah candles for eight nights. For like the base they say save. As the base they say save a good old question a great question. Hanukkah should be against that not eight nights but seven crazy nights. Why? Because one night they had enough oil for. One night they had enough for. So there's no miracle for the one night that they found the oil for. The miracle is that it lasted seven more nights. So Hanukkah should be seven crazy nights not eight crazy nights. Why is Hanukkah eight days long? It should be only seven as I frag the base they say save the famous question of the card the author of the show as I said near the mayor a hundred answers to that question. There are many many answers. Some say the miracle was that they actually divided it into eight parts and only lit a little bit each night and the little they lit each night lasted the whole night. So indeed there were miracles for eight days not only for seven. There are all kinds of answers that are given. It's a great question and there are great answers. But I find one of the most compelling and beautiful and inspiring answers is the following. The night they found the oil the night they already had oil and it was meant to light. And what's the big deal and where is the miracle? It too is a miracle. Who says that oil should light? Who says that when you put a strand of thread a wick into a jar of oil that it should light? That too is a miracle. That too is a miracle. The Gamora the Talmud tells a story about a woman who didn't have oil and it was time to light Shabbat candles and she panicked because she didn't have the oil to light the Shabbat candles. So what would be? She missed lighting the Shabbat candles. And her husband the sage said to her light the vinegar. Light vinegar? Vinegar doesn't light doesn't ignite. Vinegar is not a fuel. You can't light a candle out of vinegar. And he said the same God who made oil light will make vinegar light and taco so it was the vinegar lit and that special miracle as you shall make a miracle the vinegar lit. The same as you shall make make This is the miracle. The miracle is the eight days of Hanukkah. What we're supposed to see that we're gazing at the candles and we're looking at the flames and we're seeing our soul what we're supposed to see is that everything around us is a miracle. We divide our life into two categories, right? There's the mundane and the ordinary and the expected and then there's the story like the one I just read. Wow, what a miracle. But the truth is everything is a miracle. That you turn on a switch and a light comes on. That we produce something that that could provide heat or air conditioning that you could sit in a tin box and it flies through the sky. These are all nothing short of miracles. Miracles. Hanukkah is eight nights because the number eight is one more than seven. Seven the moral says is nature. Seven is ordinary. Seven is creation. Seven is the natural order. Seven is the expected. Eight is supernatural. Eight is one more than seven. Eight is that which is above Teva. Eight is that which is above nature. And Hanukkah is that we look around and we see that in the seven is eight. That everything even that which looks natural is supernatural. Everything that looks ordinary is extraordinary. We say a Tehillim on Shabbat morning. It's called Hallel Hagadol. It's not part of the Hallel we know that we said this morning. It's called Hallel Hagadol. You know the Tehillim that are two columns? Hodu Lashem Ki Tov Ki LeOlam Chasdo. And the second to last line the penultimate line is Nosein Lechem Lechol Basar Ki LeOlam Chasdo. Hashem when I go to public says bread ooh your kindness endures forever. And that line doesn't fit. It doesn't belong because the Hallel Hagadol is filled with you created the heavens and the earth Ki LeOlam Chasdo. And you made miracles ten plagues in Egypt and in Egypt and you split a sea and you made miracles Ki LeOlam Chasdo. Wow your kindness endures forever. And also I opened my freezer and there's some bread Ki LeOlam Chasdo. That's on par? That belongs that's consistent with this other theme? The answer is yes. It is no less of a miracle that when you put seeds in the ground wheat grows and that you can undergo all the steps to produce bread having bread to eat is no less of a miracle. Bread growing out of the ground is no less of a miracle than it falling from the sky. The only difference between the manna that fell from heaven and the bread that comes from the ground is our expectation. So the bread from the ground is ordinary the manna from heaven is extraordinary. The bread from the ground is natural and the manna that fell from heaven was supernatural. But the truth is if a person is living with if a person is living with a God awareness and they see Hashem everywhere, then you know that there is no ordinary. Everything's extraordinary. There is no natural. Everything is supernatural. And what the Hanukkah candles enable and empower us to see is to see Hashem everywhere. To know he's in everything. To see him behind not only every curtain, to see him on the stage in front of the curtain. Everything that is unfolding and all that happens and there is nothing that's ordinary. It is all a miracle. It's all a miracle. And the same Hashem who can make the oil light can make the vinegar light. And the fact that that little pach shemen, that little flask of oil lit that one night is no less miraculous than it lasted seven more nights. Ah, it's supposed to light the first night and it wasn't supposed to light seven more nights. So that's not a miracle. It is a miracle. Even the ordinary is a miracle. I must have told you this before, but I'll say it again. A friend of mine, actually someone who lives in our community, his father was the maybe still is, but he's a a doctor. He ran the a pediatric NICU at a hospital near where we grew up. And he spoke at his grandson's shalom zachar. And he told the following story. He said there were a team of specialists who came to their hospital in their NICU to see these babies, to study, to understand how they rescued and saved and and how they were able to take care of these babies. Extraordinarily premature babies, babies born with all kinds of illnesses and extreme situations. And he took these doctors through the NICU and he saw this one fit in the palm of your hand, this one would weigh a few ounces, not even pounds. This one the organs were on the outside of the body when he was born and had to have surgery to put inside the body. And one of the doctors commented on the way out of the NICU and said, "Wow, this is a room full of miracles. These are all miracles. They're miracles." And he shared at his grandson's shalom zachar how he took that team of doctors and he said, "This isn't a room full of miracles. You want to see a room full of miracles? Come with me. I want to show you a room full of miracles." And they looked puzzled. Where were they going now? And he took them to the nursery. To the healthy babies that were born. And he said, "This This is the room of miracles. For all that could go wrong, everything that could happen, chromosomal abnormalities, anatomical abnormalities, for catastrophes in the pregnancy, in birth, if there's a nursery of healthy babies, that's the room of miracles. On this by amim b'zman hazeh, the miracles are not only the revealed, the extraordinary, the baby in the back car seat. She chose to sit there cuz the other daughter told her to in the shmira vehicle and the CPR. And wow, it too is a Of course it's a miracle. And pirsumei nisa. On this holiday pirsumei nisa, I'm so glad to have read that email. We're publicizing that miracle. Thank you Hashem for that miracle. But guess what? The next week, the car pulled, the kid in the back seat who went in healthy and came out of the car seat healthy, that's also a miracle. Every car that doesn't crash, every brakes that don't fail, especially if you live in that place called New York with the snow and the sleet and the ice and slip and slide, you should probably bench gomel every time you pull into a parking spot or a driveway. And I'm not rubbing it in. I don't want anyone to feel bad. I'm just saying. There are other options. I'm just saying. >> [laughter] >> You have to shovel and de-ice your windshield and bundle up and and wait 3 hours for your luggage and just saying. So, but but every time especially in that weather and in our weather down here when we have stormy weather and hurricane tropical storm, when you arrive where you're going and you pull into that driveway safely, on this Thank you Hashem for that miracle. So on this holiday of Hanukkah, I want to wish everyone a freilichen Hanukkah, which means a happy Hanukkah. I want to wish you a lichtige Hanukkah, which means a lit Hanukkah. Now I'm told that lit can mean different things depending on what age you are. So I only mean it in the best and most appropriate way. Depending on your age, but it should be a lit Hanukkah. Get lit. Get lit up. Light up the world. Mah hadran min mah hadran ner issue. Basically, light up your family and touch your flame to the wick of others and illuminate the spark in them. Invite them over and feel connected to the world. Repair and redeem and illuminate so much darkness. Let's bring the light to dispel that darkness. Should be a freilichen Hanukkah and a lichtige Hanukkah, a Hanukkah of pirsumei nisa. Let's publicize the miracles big and small, ordinary and extraordinary, natural and supernatural. And whatever you do tonight and for the next nights, don't run away from the candles. Sit and stare. Gaze and see yourself. See who you could be. See who you're meant to be. See the courage and the conviction and the clarity and the confidence. See and feel Hashem. See the light in you. And know that even if you're in the bore, you're in that dungeon more than 2 years and you feel hopeless and helpless by your itsum and a bore, that salvation can and please God will come at any moment. That next phone call could be the person you marry. And that next pregnancy could be test could be the positive result. And that next job interview could be the financial stability. And that next lab result could be the healing and the health that you crave by your itsum and a bore. Don't give up. See in that candle that light of hope and faith and that light of a beautiful and a bright future. Don't just share and enjoy and bask in that light for yourself, but sit next to that light and bask in it with others. This is when we turn the recording off for the Spotify, maybe for the 1% we should let them stay down for the question and answer. >> [laughter] >> Maybe that should be a reward for the top 1% listeners. Whatever percent you are, thank you for joining us and being part of us. Keep having the Psalm 23 sightings and spottings. They entertain me. I enjoy them a lot. And now questions and answers for those who are here live in person. Any questions?