Rabbi Nosson Sherman – Chazon Ish Emunah Bitachon

[music] Welcome to Inside Arts Scroll where the books that we read and the people that write them come to life. It is a distinct and a pleasure to welcome Rabbi Nus and Sherman Schlita to Arts Scroll Studios. Rabbi Sherman is the general editor of Arts Scroll and literally been there since day one. Shalom, Rabbi Sherman. >> Sham and Shalom to everybody who's watching. Rabbi Sherman, there are so many things that we could talk about, but I think we're going to focus our conversation on, I think, a watershed moment in Arch Scrolls history, and that is Berm, the coming release of the Amun from the Kazish finally translated into English for the typical person. Mhm. >> Rabbi Sherman, many people have told me over the last few years that they really want to learn the safer. And I know that there's a translation, but they didn't feel that they they were up to it and they needed somebody to kind of hold their hand. And I I hope as that that's what that's what this translation will be. It'll be an opportunity to open a very pivotal safer to every person in Clystro. >> It'll will be a revelation to most people. I think you know you today am are important topics. People are looking for it. People want because we know digits today is at a very high level and not so much and people are aware of that. They want they want to grow and go there was no without question the satarov said in his time that the is the god you don't need more than that and um in as important as it is it's a very difficult safer to learn gifter told me a couple of times as a matter of fact that the Kazan does not write pros, he writes poetry. And if you look at the cipher, I remember [clears throat] in my uh in my in my yeshiva years, I just I wanted to learn and I picked it up and I I gave up. I couldn't understand it. I could learn a rash. I could even learn with difficulty. I couldn't figure out >> there is yeah but with this with with with this edition is coming to life and I can I can speak about that as almost in first person because as I said years ago I tried to learn to be immun couldn't do it. I'm editing it now and uh I enjoy it immensely. It's be beautifully written, beautifully translated and the notes. It's a magnificent piece of work and it's a great skill for me and an education for me to be able to edit the book. >> Ra, I want to double click on something that you just mentioned. Why is it that there's been such a spark of people craving amuna? Is it because there's more challenges in today's du? >> Is it like you said that maybe there's a panmous or an [clears throat] internal part of our avoid our service of Hashem that maybe people are feeling a void? What's driving people to Am now? I think much more than when I was growing up as a bakar or even as a numan. >> Well, let let's go back. Why why did begin to falter in history? 200 years ago or in the time of the Rainin a 100 years ago somebody became ill very ill there were no um and and then there's no penicellin yet no treatments for cancer you know the word cancer couldn't be mentioned it was yet was a terrifying thing because there was no hope >> so what did people do they had to go to the tim you had to you had to rely Ander of Anisha then with the the the the growth in in in in medicine and science in general and you can predict everything and men took control of the world and people start forgetting that there's a no now when somebody becomes uh very ill whereas years ago people would rush for the till today they rush for the telephone to call Shuki Burman. And as time went on and the Torah world grew, you know, 80 years ago, nobody nobody could have imagined that you would have this degree of of ter Israel in America. When we got married, there were fewer than 50 kyo families in the United States. >> Wow. Today you can have 50 in one block in Lakewood. >> In my sh in Lakewood that's way more than 50. >> Sure. So the the Torah community grew limit grew grew learning because there's been there's been an explosion and when that happens you people develop an awareness who gave the I never think about the and I think that's what done that's what did it there's there's an awareness is that we're very careful about mitzvah. We spend a lot of money on mitzvah. We'll spend a lot of money on on an assh and and on kosher sitsis and matzah, etc. and so forth, which is good. >> Then people started thinking, yeah, but who who gave the mitzvah? What why don't I think about the rabbanish and it spread and it is spreading. I give you an example. 50 years ago, Lashianhara was routine. You know, wrote a ca about lash. Yeah. Okay. But all right. It was if you had it at all, it was in this shi Michael Rothschild came along. He put me halash on the map. >> Unbelievable. And today even people be before they're ready to say the lashhara they think they'll say it but they won't mention a name or or they won't say it at all. >> You created an awareness of the mitzvah when I was a bach and yeshiva the shatner's laboratory was founded >> laboratory was a simple y Mr. Rosenberger big irim and Shatnes was a was a mace mitzvah nobody knew how to find it >> and it's a dissa >> it's a derisa and Mr. Rosenberger Barak Hashim I remember him well and he figured out a chemical test to determine whether there's linen mixed in with the wool. He used to go around to yeshivas before Pes couple of weeks before Pesak and speak in the classes about Shatnas. There became an awareness of Shatnas. Now there's an awareness of and so people are looking swarm are being written books are being written stories are being told and people ah the god wrote a little cipher about let's get it let's try to learn it rabbi sherman just talking about if we could jump in a little bit I know that people talk a lot about the difference between amuna and betaken could the r share a little bit about what Khazan's approach is when it comes to >> the Kazan's approach is very very simple and down to earth and if you think about it it's true you know somebody do you believe in of course I believe in the you know there's a famous that one of the of the future from the greatest rebellion came from a missaga home, a literal rabisha home and um and he went to he went to the I think was to the mag much mag and his father was rather unhappy with him and when he came home so uh his father said no so what did you learn there said I learned that there's a rabisham he learned there's a rabbi the father called The polish the polish to the maid. Do you believe in God? Is there a god in the world? Of course there's a god in the world. Even she knows it. He told you you know she says so. But I learned that it's true and and what was your question again? >> So what what's approach is to approach do you believe in? Of course, I believe it deser uh the the polls say that over 80% of Americans believe in God. Does it affect their daily lives? And if something happens that they don't like we should have done this, we should have been that. We should have that said amuna is believing in the barakem most of us have that amuna. some to a greater degree, some to a lesser degree, but we have it means that whatever happens in life, you believe that that's what the wanted to happen. You know, sometimes, let me give you a far out example. Everybody has a horror story of stupid things that were people said, people said at a shiver, you went to that doctor. Oh, and there's a much better doctor. You you went why did you go to that hospital gives life took to life means believing once something happens and you did your you did everything possible. It didn't go your way means to believe that the rabbin ran the world and he decided that this what has to happen to you ultimately it's better for you it's better for the world whatever it is but it's the did it that's and if you stop and think about it not enough people have that kind of >> I feel the saying something very very important because you know we do believe in Hashem but what happens when things don't go the way that we plan when Kashba throws a monkey wrench into many people are not resilient and they fall apart and they get stressed out and there's mental health issues helps a person be in that situation and stay secure and stay safe >> without question without question let me tell you something about the There was um it'll take a few minutes but this is a very very inspiring story and it's something that really to take along with us throughout our lives after the war in Benbra there was Eid a survivor and he told a friend of his he has no reason to live his family was wiped out he's elderly he has a pernosa problem he's not strong he wishes he were said his friend didn't know what to tell him. What what what could he do? What could he What do you say to such a person? He took him to the Kazenish. The Khaz told him there was a mice in in Karv that um there was a woman who lived with her family on a farm outside of Kovna. Scraped together scraped together a panosa and had been saving money for a long long time. They wanted to buy something special and finally they had enough money and she came to coven to buy whatever it was going to be. She lost the money and people were talking about doing this. How could this woman go home? How could she face her husband? How could she face her children? And then one day a man comes into his roof. I found the money. Barak Hashem, you found the money. Let's f let's get hold of the lady. Give her back the money. No, no, it's my money. Every fifth grader, everybody who learns Gimar the Gamarra said the mission elements, you find something, you find money, it's yours because whoever lost the money surely gave up hope. You know, they tap they tap their wallet. The wallet's not there. They give up hopes. It's my money. Hashem wanted me to have the money. So the rub didn't know what to tell him. So he took him to said, "You're right. You're right." But it's not her money. It's her husband's money. It's the family's money. She gave up hope, but her husband didn't give up hope. So it still belongs to her. You have to give it back. The Kazi said, the Kazi said, now listen to this. The Kazones said, your life doesn't belong to you. Your life belongs to the rabbi. You can't give up hope. You have to continue. Whatever happened, that's that's your nan. You live with it. You go on the gate viterish was besides his godless and everything else the pas of the and his his way of being able to sympathize with people understand people that in itself was the god isn't it interesting to to note that to justos that the kaznish was the gut when it came to when it came to how many do we have nowadays the Kazita whether it's MT and so many different things but yet he found it important you know critical almost to write a why is that like there are many other who wrote and >> and they did not write a does know why the Kazan was driven to write something on >> I can't say I know why but having worked on the cafer I can uh I can offer for an educated guess. The muser is an important topic in the cafer in in the beginning the khaz and for a significant part of the cypher. The Kazan is very very critical of people who instead of instead of spending their time learning and really working hard in learning and trying to come to the conclusion and then the instead they'll look they'll look at a Muser and they'll be inspired and RAV wants to say Russia he'll find a nice idea he'll he'll embroider on the idea and said is hal And he gives a marshall. He gives a marshall. [clears throat] He says, "Um, there's a malam in the city." He was a dement in the city. You know, a little famous. How many fames did you have in the littleeti that's before the war he was raven in situan? There were 30 Jewish families left in citan. When he became rov there were 60 families. So how many malamin did you need? Anyway, so there's there's an elderly Mhammed and a young Malamid comes in and people oh a young Mad then defend the people who are defending the old Mhammed and the old Mhammed has a hassa says but the is that there's no such thing as when it comes to Tyra however ever. However, say somebody has let's say today there's a there's a there's a little supermarket and a big market comes and opens up and takes away his prera there. You can have a you have a shila of hagul that's a legitimate shila there's mish on that. So when it comes to saving money in a cheaper store then people are not concerned with gavul when it comes to where alpin there's no hass you'll find people campaigning against the new yeshiva and he says it's krum it's wrong you have to the ikar has to be in learning to so you would think that that means and and he goes very much at length about the importance of learning the eun and the and he goes into gimmar with with the brilliance of the kaz. So you would think you would think well he's anti-Muser but then you come to later on in the cipher the part that I'm actually working on right now and he's very much in favor of Muser he says but Muser can't be a casual thing you have to work at Muser the same way that he spent so much of the cipher talking about how important it is to work in learning Torah understanding Torah correct ly he says that muser is too important to learn casually. If you learn Muslim the way you're supposed to, it changes you. Otherwise, makes no difference. Rab Sherman, practically, how does one work on? I think we crave it. We want that tranquility, the shabases, the relationship with Hashem. But life sometimes gets in the way. The what's the based on the safer or the rub's personal approach? What's the best way for a person to really work on amuna and so they have it when they need it? That's hard to say. >> There's no there's no magic formula. >> You you can learn and you know the but when it when it comes you're altogether different. You know you can see people who are um spend a lot of time learning but when it comes to business they're barracudas. You you have to get into the habit of of thinking about it and associating with good people. When you get into the right company, it makes a difference. Let me give a very simple example, a very true-to-life example. We we all know this. We we see this all the time. Somebody somebody's nisha and bmedish and ky a girl goes through bakov and she's in seminary and they're very idealistic and really pure really pure I mean I mean that seriously then you come into the quote unquote the real world so if you're dealing with honest people then it rubs off and your idealism remains s even though you'll spend obviously much much less time learning. But if you're learning if you're dealing with people in business who are convey say they're honest in business and they have sedum you'll stay honest and you'll have sedum too. If you're involved with different kind of people, different kinds of people, it's important to be in the in a kind of group in the kind of shul let's say or or if you have a nice seder in the kind of bish where you're other people in the night seder who are what you would like to be and then you you can stay that way. Let me give you let me give you an example. the the Rahman family of Toronto, the famous Marsha Rahman, they stayed away from publicity. The first time the first time a major publication had an article about Mosher Rahman was in the Wall Street Journal and I I remember reading it. I remember reading it and it said that because because Paul Reichman was a a fervently orthodox Jew, his religion requires him to maintain a higher standard of ethics than is expected on Wall Street. Besides Kdesh Hashem, he was able to to retain what he grew up with. I was once there for many years I learned with a very famous person a reformed Jew who neb his um grandparents came to America and he himself never even learned olive base and he was once interested in learning about Judaism and um and somebody suggested me and we and we had a long long relationship over many years to come to his office once a week or once in two weeks Anyway, he was once talking about Rahman when when Rahman lost his uh real estate empire in New York City >> and he said I remember word for word what he said and he said Paul Rahman is an honest man. Every investigative reporter in the world is looking for dirt on Rahman. If they find something, they'll say all the Jews are crooks, but they won't find anything because Paul Rahman is an honest man. >> And that is connected strongly to his amuna, >> right? He had tremend tremendous bal not just a balam he was a balen. Now if if in your professional life once you go into professional life if if you can associate with such people makes it a lot easier for you to maintain your amuna ra I know that there's been different throughout history that were written about am and there's different mah of what amuna is and what is what's unique in a nutshell in 60 seconds about mah his approach to amuna Well, I'll tell you Epstein's father David Epstein was an he was a tremendous alter Shanghai Epstein who was in Shanghai during the the war years and um his father once told me he wrote on Muser Muser He said the American the American is not Muserminded the way they were in in Europe. The American is has a tendency toward toward. So he tried to like he wrote Muserv to to show how the intertwines with Muser and requires the Muser. That's the sort of thing that intellectually can help a lot. Mr. Sharim is a very downto-earth caer. Very down to earth. Peloyets is even more down to earth. Swarim like that help a lot. associating with the right people and and having a regular seder in such in such sorim is is an important cipher but it's not down to earth the way the others are. It's it it it reaches you on a higher level and barakashem there are people who want and who need that higher level. It's it's a very important cipher and it can certainly make a big difference in people's lives. >> Does Ry Sherman recommend that you do with kavusa a sheir by oneself? What's kus is good in everything. It's hard for most people, you know, people who are who are working full day or in business and come home tired and late and they >> and have a seder anyways usually. >> Yeah. But you know, as far as the seder is concerned, famous saying, somebody asked him, he has half an hour a day to learn. Should he learn Gumar or should he learn Muser? What should he learn? She said learn muser because if you learn muser you'll see that you have more than half an hour a day. >> Great. It's it's the learning is important. The kus is important. The shul is important. Shool's important if you're raising a family. You you can't be in a shul where the where the major preoccupation is how big a kdish will we have today. And if people are talking during during creatur you could love the rov your friends could have in that sh but if you're raising a family you have no right to raise children in such a sh. >> It's true. >> Rabbi Sherman it's it's been a tremendous to discuss this to kind of bring things together and this is kind of like a curveball if you want to call it that but sometimes we could hit the curveball out of the park. Raj Sherman has a a a very rich and illustrious Barasham career in herbas and in addition to that having met Gdylum over over over definitely over the decades who pops out as the greatest Bakan somebody that you met over your life's journey who exuded a confidence a shasa nephesh a tranquility is there someone that kind of was exceptional at >> [clears throat] >> Well, I could mention Gdalim, but I'd rather not. I'll tell you why. Because talk about uh Ryan Kineski. Talk about Rebadalure. I'm not going to be Ryan. I'm not going to be Riadalure. It was nice to read about them, but I'm not going to be like them. >> [clears throat] >> the there's simple balabatim who had tremendous I can mention names but nobody ever heard of them >> right >> but there are people who really lived with the rabbi initial [clears throat] I knew a man I don't know if I should name it was uh meer I don't remember his first name he he had a cider he learned for three or four hours every morning and then he was in his business and if he needed it was uh somebody called him in the morning he would not take the call he could lose a client he could lose a customer and I remember him he was a distant cousin the man that lived would be he lived with theam the father-in-law of Marsha Wilson He le I knew he had he had terminal cancer no treatments in those days. He would not take painkillers because he wanted he'll get ysurum in this world. He want doesn't he wants to be spared from the ysurim. That's a man living with baken. He believed that there's another world. Rabbi Sherman, I think that that what the RV finished this finished this up finished off by saying is so powerful because I think a huge part of arts consumption are balabatin and they're not of kamki but a safer like could give us it could bring us to a level where we're living our lives in a different way and and that's probably the greatest gift that we could have. It's not the money. It's not the prestige. It's not the covet. It's waking up in the morning being calm, stressfree, and living within. I mean, is there is there a more beautiful way for a human being to live? That's the ideal, you know, that's the um the the bubbas three and four generations back in Israel. The the lullaby. I remember my mother used to sing it to me. The lullaby for little children. >> Wow. >> When you grow up around such people makes a difference. It >> does. For all the time and effort that you're investing in bringing the safer to life and if you have a chance to buy the safer, buy it. It will transform you. It's probably one of the best investments you could do. Get a kusa. Make sure you're in a good sh. You're with growing people and the power and the magic of will will upgrade your life in a way that you probably never felt possible. You should continue to go. >> Amen. I mean not the not the personal I mean what you said about the cipher and people growing. Amen. That's what we need. It's happening and um should keep on happening and growing and growing and growing. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. [music]