Rabbi Lazer Brody - Let's Be Our Best Series (Part 2): Believe in Yourself

[Music] with hashem's loving grace welcome to our let's be our best monthly series this is laser brodie broadcasting for hazak and chickens for shabbos are wonderful sponsors and the major says that a guest should always begin with what he has something good to say about his host so today's lesson is no exception let me tell you a few words about hazak this year alone the outreach division of hazak has been instrumental in bringing 1 000 children more than 1 000 children the new york area alone and moving them from public schools to yeshiva schools to torah schools and just imagine that is remaking the map of american jewry and it's saving lives and is bringing mashiach and that's without even mentioning the volume of torah they spread all around the world i hear this wherever i go i saw you on hazak and i heard you on kazakh there are many people around the world that were not for hazak and their broadcasting arm dot torahanytime.com they wouldn't have any chore in their lives so thank you to hazak and bo hashem at the end of the show i have an amazing story to tell you about chickens for shabbos it's today's lesson is entitled believe in yourself in order to believe in yourself you first have to know who you are because you can't believe in yourself if you don't know who you are so get to know yourself but that's confusing in modern society because modern society tells you that you're a body and not a soul well wait a sec that's a little bit problematic because if we're only a body to some physical entity that thrives on physical amenities and bodily gratifications and appetites that's an outlook for a lot of disappointment and a lot of depression for two reasons let me explain to you why first of all if we're a body life is hopelessness it's purpose it's without a purpose because every day you get a little bit closer to the grave because every day is a day closer when the body ceases to exist even if the body exists till 90 100 110 years every day is closer to the end and if the body that is the whole person then when the body cease to exist that's the end of the person and that's that's depressing just the thought about that why because our physical lives are very very limited now at a tender young age of 30 look what happens anatomically and physical physiology physiologically to a person at the age of 30 at the age of 30 begins the gradual progress of aging and degeneration even if you're a professional athlete you play third base for the yankees or you're in the world cup football doesn't matter who you are at age 30 it's not like being an athlete at age 25 because there is degeneration in the body no matter how much you work out and how well you eat this is a natural process and this continues on until until the end now every new year brings a new little problem a little pain in the joint or something spurts up also something you know you have pain in the knee that you never felt before you're gonna happen you take my word for it okay every day why because every day is a day closer to the grave it's a fact of life it's the fact of physical life so ask yourself wow is that all i have to look forward to that is really depressing which is just to be a body now the second reason that that's thinking of focusing on the body only like the media wants to tell us to use this type of hairdo with this type of clothes drive this type of car and you're only a body and work out in this gym and if you don't you're not cool come on come on get off of that read the body a body oriented approach in life it doesn't succeed because it never brings true gratification and fulfillment think of all the great times you gave your body all the great time to anybody okay how long after that fantastic time you had with your body you were depressed again you were sad again the problems were still there you weren't achieving your potential maybe you were tired of your job or you didn't like what you're doing you were uninterested in school didn't like what you're learning you felt like you weren't going anywhere oh but just last night you had a great time with your body the day before you went to a fantastic restaurant oh you ate it was you thought it was granada oh but not gonna eden because you come back after bodily pleasures the problems the emotional problems are still there emotional problems wait a second emotions they're not part of the body we're gonna see we're gonna learn that we have not only bodily needs but we have emotional and spiritual needs that's what keeps us happy that's what keeps the smile on our face not because the body is doing great because the the shama the soul the spirit is doing great and the emotions part of the spirit because emotions come from the soul the soul you know what that is that's the tiny life spark it's the difference between a live body and a dead body because you've got this soul that's active life spark in your brain and that tiny microchip a little spiritual microchip in your brain guess where it is it is a spark of hashem wow that's a spark of godliness yeah you're walking around in your in your brain and it's reflecting through your eyes you could see someone that has the light of hashem reflecting on his eyes because see someone that looks pure and look holy and it makes you feel good you look somebody makes you feel good you don't understand why that is the spark of hashem the spark of godliness that's reflecting from his eyes says spark of godliness and a tiny part of hashem that is the best news you can have okay because since the soul is a tiny part of godliness it has the same characteristics that hashem has and that's why the torah says that you're all beloved sons and daughters of hashem because hashem defies time hashem is eternal guess what the soul is when you put emphasis on your soul and you look at yourself first emphasize the soul that means that you're not depressed anymore thinking about the day you go to the grave because your soul never dies it's always there it's part of hashem and just hashem is always here always lives your soul always lives it never dies you're eternal and that aspect you're eternal that puts a smile on your face just a thought okay so the more we live a spiritually oriented life the more we overcome the downward tendency of depression and disappointment and soul never gets old soul always stays young and if you care for your soul properly it never degenerates and we provide what the soul needs we know the body needs nutrition the soul needs nutrition too and then you know what happens when you when you give the souls nutrients what it needs you get happiness and inner peace for as long as you live that's a great deal how many psychiatrists and psychologists they can't they can't deliver the goods go into a psychiatrist or a psychologist and say excuse me i've got all these anxiety about this i want you to sign a paper that guaranteed me inner peace oh no no you pay a retainer and you come and you'll pay your 350 an hour an hour is not an hour maybe 45 minutes and line his couch and you'll talk and you go home with the same problems and maybe if you give some some meds okay you feel better for a while but the problems don't go away so the only way to solve an emotional problem is to address the needs the nutritional needs of the soul okay so some people they go the exact opposite they say okay okay i'm gonna put the body aside and only so they become ascetics aesthetic is like a celibate like a monk of a mountain that goes to some monastery or some forest retreat and they starve themselves and they meditate and they think they're catching malachi they're catching angels out of the sky no it doesn't work but what happens is the aesthetics they ultimately come as frustrated as the bodily oriented people the same thing why because hashem uses the body as a housing for the soul hashem wants a happy medium of body and soul now since we are all blessed with body and soul we have to have that happy medium because hashem doesn't do something for nothing if he gives us two components a body and a soul just for example the aircraft an aircraft has a fuselage a body and it's got an engine okay the fuselage can't get off the ground without the engine but if you put an engine on the runway the engine's not going anywhere without wheels and wings and all fuselage okay so the real me and the real you is that happy medium between body and soul and when the soul's needs are met and the body of course would have to meet the body's needs because if you don't give the body what it means if your person lives on heaven forbid a person lives on mcdonald's and and eats junk food or even his kosher junk food kosher junk food is still junk food it's junk food for the body the rambam tells us how to eat okay we need vegetables in our lives we need to may attend at the right time okay and to give ourselves the nutrients we need and the body has to serve the soul cater to the soul not the other way the soul is not here to serve the body the body is here to serve the soul so you have to understand that who's going to be the king and who's going to be the servant the soul has to be the king because the soul is the tiny part of the king and the body has to be the servant but when the body becomes king that's like idolatry that that's not serving hashem that's serving a false god when people serve their bodies it is truly serving a false god so a person can't do idolatry avoid his arm but succeed the soul is going to suffer and that's why so many people have anxiety and have depression because the emphasis of their life is on their body and not on their neshama not on their soul so to be have that happy medium and to attain the inner peace and to attain your potential and to be the best that you can possibly be and that's all series is all about what we're talking about do the best you could be you have to let the soul be the king and the body serve the king the body is the servant okay but it's a happy medium they get along did they get along great together when they work together properly the healthy soul it rules out any bodily gratification that is detrimental to the soul or even detrimental to the body for that matter you get an example uh a healthy soul maybe the the body wants heaven forbid the the body wants a an extra relationship has shown oh the body have a great time no but that's all that would murder the soul murder the soul that's not out the body wants junk food have a great time oh no no you can't have that because it murders the soul can't do that uh body wants pizza and coke all the time pizza and coke guess what that's not good either because pizza and coke murder the body they raise your cholesterol they raise your body fat they raise that they say you're up your blood pressure they raise the sugar the person could be a diabetic from drinking so much coke rather than drink water the body the soul doesn't need that the soul doesn't need coca-cola and the soul doesn't need pizza well why not give the soul some mineral water and a whole wheat bread with a tomato and lettuce sandwich and seoul's happy as a lark okay because the body the body wants to indulge but a healthy soul won't let its body indulge in something that's not good for the soul and something is devastating to the soul that way the soul has to be the baby the soul has to be the boss of the body not the opposite so that real you it's not your body uh it's not your body alone it's the soul inside that your body is the fuselage and your soul is the engine so your personal potential it's not limited by your body there are people that are crippled look at it's hawk perlman it's hawk prone is in a wheelchair that doesn't stop yitzhak perlman from being the best concert violinist in the world all types of them plenty of people that were limited in their body some way but they could still attain their entire potential just because a person has a bodily limitation that doesn't mean that he or she can't be the best person on earth in what they do so if hashem gave yitzhak pearlman crippled legs that means that yeshua promon was not supposed to play for the new york yankees now imagine that yitzhak pearlman would want to play for the new york yankees he'd be frustrated two times over he could never be a professional baseball player and he wouldn't be what his sole correction is to come and give people so much satisfaction with his violin playing okay so it wouldn't be a concert violinist there would be a new york day be double frustrated there's so many people are like that okay now talk about reaching your peak and being your best ask a marathon runner a marathon runner runs 26 miles without stopping that's 42 kilometers ask him any marathon runner uh do you have bodily power to run those 26 miles he said no he can't he said my body gives out after 16 18 21 22 miles you ask him well how do you finish the race well he'll tell you that even though he trains in daily long distance daily long distance running that he has a limitation his body has limitation but most marathon runners they finish that race on heart on desire they have a desire where's that desire come the desire comes from the shoma so we see from a professional athlete you ever take a weight lifter and weight lifting there's what's called a gut rip what's the gut rip you're lifting weights in the gym and you're capable of bench pressing 10 times 200 pounds okay so your bench press set down 200 pounds and you could do that eight times but you want to go eight times your finish you get all your desire and you want to break your own personal record and you know your strength and you do the ninth threat the ninth rep is called the gut rip why is the gut wrapped because it comes from the heart comes from the guts it comes from inside comes from your inner power it doesn't come from your body your body gets motivated and that's why people that are motivated soldiers in battle you're defending your country and and soldier battle somebody that life or death they have super strength that super strength doesn't come from the body that is something that comes from the shama so to be your best you have to activate your neshama to know that activate your show you have to know that you have a soul you have an ashama you're not just a body what people say you are because you've got so many powers of the soul because that soul is a tiny part of hashem and just like hashem has unlimited power since your soul is a tiny part of hashem your soul has unlimited power too so to believe in yourself beloved brothers beloved sisters to believe in yourself you have to realize that you're not just a body but you're a soul too you're in the shoma and look at people's priorities in life yeah your new hairdo or your new pierre cardin suit or your six-pack abs that you spend hours in the gym you dream of six-pack abs six-pack abs that's only outer embellishments it's like purim costume it's not part of the release it's uh the outer awesome okay to get to know your soul and its needs don't let the body boss you around no you got to be in the gym all day long you don't have to be in the gym all day long yeah the body has to be healthy but maintaining physical fitness that's why i always talk about in fitness training talk about functional fitness functional fitness not just physical fitness not just going for to lifting as much weight in the world because they're people that are heavy weight lifters that they can't pick up a baby or they can't reach above their head that they have to ask their wife to help them bring down a can of tuna from the upper pantry not functional fitness is fitness when the body is fit to serve hashem to its mitzvahs okay so that is also comes together from body and soul now it's our faith let's introduce a muna into this because a muna that's vitamin e that's what the soul needs uh our muna in an all-powerful and omniscient boi oil of the world and our awareness that the soul within our brain is a tiny spark of him in that way we resemble an oil well in texas that's tacked into an unlimited underground reservoir of oil you see you go down to oklahoma or texas and you see the oil pumps pumping away pumping away say what are they doing baby oil run dry no just keeps on coming keeps on coming keeps on coming this is what happens when your body is like an oil well it's tapped into the nashoma then the shama has unlimited power it keeps on pumping keeps on pumping that is the way to be your best you can't possibly be your best on your body alone so when you as soon as you want to be your best this enables you to think positively okay it enables you to break any barriers you see when people say oh i can't do this or i can't do that oh no there's no such thing as can't and your vocabulary as soon as you develop your nisham and not only become the best you could be but the word can't no longer exists because you said hashem could do anything and my nasham is a tiny part of hashem that means i could do anything but why don't you to succeed in doing whatever you want why don't you because you don't believe in yourself so we see emunah really has two parts it's believing in hashem and believing in ourselves okay so what is it why why do you have to believe in yourself why must you believe in yourself let's ask a basic question as soon as we understand that hashem created us and hashem created for reason now we could think positively in order to believe in ourselves we have to think positively okay so let's go a step backward and be positive let's be optimistic especially optimistic about ourselves okay so you say how many people walk around they say i'm not good enough i'm not this if you say you're not good enough you're saying that the creator is not good enough that's that's heresy that's kfira you can't say that about champion do whatever he wants okay say hashem creates inferior correct inferior creations but if you told the head of ford or chevrolet you create inferior cars they would be sorely insulted and they're flesh and blood okay but telling the creator that he creates inferior beings oh stop and think about what you got inside of you the lungs the heart the eyes all the cameras of nasa can't equal human eyes with their flexibility and their their ability to do so much okay so just think okay you consider yourself a rational individual yeah i think you're a rational individual a rational individual is not willing to do something without a purpose if i would tell you come on up here and come on in in the studio and come broadcast me with me say i'm embarrassed what'd i talk about okay rabbi laser you got something to talk about but i'm embarrassing you in front of all these people but if i told you okay i tell you what you come in the studio you sit next to me i'll make room for you and we'll both broadcast for hazak and i'll give you 200 oh for that okay sure maybe i'll go across town from brooklyn and to bronx and come into the bronx and go on hazak stage and they're broadcasting studio broadcast for them sure okay why because now it's a purpose for free there's no purpose what i'm going to do well maybe if i told a person if you're an ideologist i said when you're broadcasting your message will come to tens of thousands of people around the world that hazaka is reaching well you say well maybe that's a good reason but for many people that money is a reason to do something but we all know one thing we all know that none of us agree to do anything without a purpose all right rational people now let's stop and think do we think in our chutzpah that we're smarter than hashem if we are not prepared to do anything without a purpose why do we think that hashem does something the purpose he said oh i i don't think that hashem does that purpose yes you do yes you do you know why because uh you say you're not good enough you say you're not good enough so if you're not good enough as hashem is a faulty creator he created something faulty for no reason there's no reason to create faulty thing see does everything for purpose so if hashem does everything for a purpose you know what that means and hashem created you it means that the world cannot exist without you being here okay now think look at you just not yourself all right you don't want to believe me let's go a step further look it up in the sky look at the magnificent universe you have a telescope or look in youtube look at the milky way see pictures you can see that on the telescope everything from the tiniest itsy weeny one-celled amoeba to the great mega galaxies okay you think hashem sat back oh hashem said i'm bored and up here in heaven there's no tv set so i'm gonna go create stuff because i'm bored of course not every mineral plant and animal has an important task and creation but hashem doesn't give every mineral plant and animal they have a basic a basic mineral fish a basic mineral soul and a basic animal soul and a basic plant soul vegetative soul like we learned in kabbalah but only in the neshama only in the neshama the hashem gives his children only is a tiny part of hashem okay so shem gives you a tiny part of himself for nothing a ship doesn't give away sparks of godliness for nothing he instills in every single man and woman every single one of his sons and daughters fantastically potent fantastic potential physical capabilities mental capabilities emotional capabilities and tremendous spiritual power why all for a definite purpose to do your mission in life so every individual is part of a greater whole the whole of creation we look at creation as a whole and we're all part of a creation so since the whole of creation has a purpose every individual within that whole as we learn in logic within that that entirety has also a purpose you know what that means do you know what that means stop and think about what i just said if the creator put you here on earth it means that at this point in time now hear this the world cannot exist without you the world can't exist the world needs you because if hashem created you for no purpose okay but since hashem does everything for a purpose we just acknowledge that and hashem created you and he put you in this world it means that the world cannot exist one second without you so knowing that that you've got this job in the world that depends on you and nobody else and that hashem wants you to succeed wow now you've got a right to think positively hey i'm a i'm michelle's only son i'm hashem's only daughter and i've got my own mission in life so let's ourselves ask ourselves we want one more question hashem has this mission in life does that mean we're a body alone go back to question the body you can only do your mission with your body because the body as we said in the beginning of the shore ultimately it's going to decay in the grave it's going to decompose in a fertilizer so what hashem creates such a wonderful spiritual and emotional and apparatus to just let it all decay in a grave okay does it mean that we're meant to work like mules all alive like pack mules and then die and become food for the flowers not logical at all that doesn't make any sense so the body look what all people invest in it the restaurants and the spa and the fancy workouts and massages and beauty treatments and all kinds of stuff it all ends up as ash in the ground it's a harsh realization beloved brothers sisters but it is so true now look at the difference between the body and the shama the body is governed by physical gravity the body all the time pulls us down like taking a rock drop it's going to go down but then the shama that's king solomon said that the soul the human soul is the candle of hashem a candle flickers it doesn't the flame doesn't fall the flame goes up flame goes up up the soul brings us up so when you have a soul orientation your soul rules the body you're all the time up you're all the time optimistic when your body rules the soul you're all the time down and all the time down so when a person is depressed it means that something is wrong with his emotions what you're talking about his soul is that the body is pulling the soul down okay so that's the difference between the gravity spiritual gravity brings us up where physical reality brings us down okay so now you can believe in yourself you know that hashem created you for a purpose and your unique person in the world with a unique mission that nobody else can do and now i'm going to give you seven reasons to believe in yourself okay reason number one tell yourself i am unique i am unique you know what that means that hashem created you as he did every other creation with a new trait that nobody on earth has just as your thumbprint is unique nobody else has that there is no exception to this rule you're one of a kind you're unique the second reason to believe in yourself i have a special job to do tell yourself i have a special job to do on earth okay hashem gave you the particular skills and attributes and talents that enable you to accomplish your very own mission on earth and if you're not aware of those attributes and those skills then you have to start get to work and identify them because they certainly exist look for them identify them and you'll find them you'll find them but what you have to do is turn your orientation from body to soul okay put what's uh into making the your abs strong and your bicep strong making your nashama strong then you can realize what you're here on earth to do number three hashem gave you that mission now say i can i am capable of accomplishing my mission on earth i am capable of accomplishing my mission on earth so hashem gives each creation what it needs to perform its task like i gave the example with his huck perlman his task doesn't need for him to be have olympic running legs okay or the legs of a left fielder in the new york yankees okay but he got the talents the musical talents he needs to be the best concert violinist on earth okay so if a beaver can build a dam and a little clam a little clam can produce a pearl then you certainly can accomplish your mission on earth too number four this is really important to believe in yourself hashem loves me tell yourself day in and day out hashem loves me just you say hashem loves me you have to have a smile on your face you can't film you can't say that with a frown hashem loves me puts an automatic smile on your face if you don't feel good depressed just tell yourself hashem loves me saying the word hashem it already puts a smile on your face okay hashem is our father in heaven and despite the fact that he has many children each one of us is unique and each one of his only child because hashem has no other child like us like say like me hashem has no other son like me hashem has no other daughter like me you're unique hashem loves you and he'll always do what's best for you and this gives you confidence and this gives you a reason to believe in yourself number five tell yourself i am a person of worth i have value i am a person of worth tell yourself okay that your soul is a priceless spark of divine light and the more you enhance your soul the more you up your worth on the spiritual stock market the more you're worth the more you're worth because the more you nurture your soul the more you enhance your soul the more you're worth the higher you go number six important i have the power to improve myself that's what our lessons here to be our best are all about because i have the power to prove myself tell yourself i have the power to prove myself look in the mirror you don't have to be we are i have the problem to go i have the problem the ability to go higher i have the power to improve myself and this is character improvement character strengthening there are significant portions of our mission on earth each one of us came here to get rid of our egotism to get rid of our anger to get rid of our stinginess each person with his or her own problems and if the creator gave us a job to do then it means that he gives us the power to succeed if hashem wants someone to dig a ditch hashem will give that person a shovel and if hashem wants a plumber to do his job hashem will give him a monkey wrench and hashem wants a carpet to do his job hashem will give him a hammer and a nail and assault whatever he needs to do his job hashem gives every person what he or she needs to do their job on earth now number seven is really really important tell yourself every single day multiple times i can be happy i can be happy put a smile on your face look in the mirror i can be happy and say it over and over to you believe it that your happiness it's not contingent on being your best okay because meanwhile just working to be your best makes you happy right now you have to wait until you reach the top of the mountain climbing that mountain i know you're making progress that today you're in a higher point than you were yesterday you're closer to the peak that's already happy happiness is not being on top of the mountain happiness is reaching reaching out for the mountain and the more you reach out for the mountain the greater you have uh greater chances you have reaching the peak and of truly being your best okay so cherish brothers and sisters i want you to repeat these seven principles over and over and over again until you internalize them and once you believe in yourself wait and see how your life soars higher and higher and higher don't ever forget hashem believes in you and he wants you to believe in yourself and that way you'll be your very best always on maine now before we leave i want you to tell us something about chickens for shabbos chickens for shabbos they feel it all over eritsu's royal and outside of eritsea's world but since i'm here in artsy swirl see what goes on in erity's rule you know there are a lot of people that they give out food for for shabbos they give out clothes they do things we talked about bodies and souls many hesitant organizations said hashem should bless them all they help the body but chickens for shabbos it sounds like oh they give out chickens for shabbos that's just what they call themselves because they are so humble and every cent they use they use it they don't put it in their pockets they use it for chickens for shabbas saves in the shamas you wouldn't believe it but there are children children of divorce children one parent families children of women that have their husbands left them there are gunas and there are too many agunas here in land of israel and too many one parent families land of israel with one parent which usually a mother she can't afford to keep her family where not for the help the chickens shabbos who knows that chicken chocolate only chickens for shabbos they come into the house and they see what's in their free trade they say empty refrigerator they put eggs they put milk they put dinner they put breakfast and where a child doesn't go to to school hungry and unfortunately there are poor hungry children in eretz you stroll i don't even know what's going on in new york but i know that in new york also chickens for shabbas not only feeds these kids but you say in a goona mothership maybe she's working some of these these women they're they're they're working as domestics they're they're they're ironing clothes and with with six kids they're doing all kinds of simple jobs just to put a few shekels on their table but they don't have the capability of learning with their kids now you take the son that doesn't have a father a little boy a nine-year-old boy all the other boys in hater they've got their daddies that learn with them and they go home daddy says what you learn what are your mishnais what's your homage let's sit down and review it well this little boy what happens if he doesn't understand his mishnais he doesn't understand what's going on he doesn't understand the parsha he's got nobody to help him and he goes to school not only is he hungry not only he's fallen behind not he did not have a father and he hears all the stories about oh my father took me to the lunar park and my father took me here and my father took me there and my father says this my father says that and his heart's breaking inside not only that but when the rebbe and the hater asks a question about hamish he doesn't know the answer and he's got a tear in his eye and he said well and he says hashem i i i wish i had somebody to learn with me and they are they're the kids some of their kids aren't always kind and they say which he yeah it's he doesn't know the answer he doesn't understand anything he goes home not only does he have a hungry really he's got a broken heart it is such thing and then comes chickens for shelbus to the rescue they find these kids these little boys they have nobody to learn with them that are falling behind and you know what they do at the expense of their own pocket they take a tutor they take a really fine coil guy and they send him to learn a couple hours a day with this little boy to get him back on the track where he can learn just other kids this is like a surrogate father father to teach him and tutors there are hundreds of tutors like that in spot in beit shemesh wherever and you shalom all over israel wherever there are these poor kids that don't have a father at home some are orphans some are fathers some of the sons of that their father just disappeared wherever some of the mothers are divorced and that they never remarried that child doesn't have a father chickens for shabbos they save these children so how many nashomas so i want to tell you something beloved brothers and sisters if you want to donate to a really worthy organization chickens for shoppers they're associated with ya de yah deliezer is one of the foremost one of my favorite charities here in eritrea's role chickens with shops the division of galileo's okay i want you to go right below here for the link chickens for shabbos dot com please go to chickens for shabbos everything gift to them it's right off your mice or money it's the greatest money you could do you're feeding the poor and spreading torah and with what you do to help chickens for shabbos hashem would do everything to help you for all of your needs and meanwhile take care god bless we hope to see you very soon on to be your best