Rachel Imenu: Life Lessons from Our Mother Rachel - Rabbi Paysach Krohn

[Music] a number of years ago in Cleveland Ohio there was a Russia Shiva his name was rabbi mordechai gifter I had the great schools to know him I am NOT a Talmud a student of that yeshiva but I had many cousins who studied there and I spoke to him many many times and Rabbi gifted once asked a young man a question he said tell me he said when you go to heaven or hell and when you go to the Kotel amara v where do you cry more what an interesting question you ever think about that when you go to Kevin I fail or quote Elham Arabi where do you cry more and the young man said you know rabbi I never thought about that but I must tell you by real heaven may know and he said why is that he said I'll tell you rabbi I never thought about it he said I'll tell you why you see because every one of us has or had a mother and every one of us knows the love and the concern and the dedication of a mother for some of us it's very hard to relate to the bay Tomic - that was so many years ago but everyone knows how our mother loves us and I'll tell you the truth when I was preparing this talk I was crying so much because I thought about my own mother when you think about rock Allah may know who's the mother of all of us and you know I saw an expression about mothers all of you that our mothers will be able to relate to it and all of us who have and had mothers especially those who like myself our mother has passed away listen to this beautiful expression about a mother who's talking to her child do you know I loved you before you were born and long after I am but a memory my love will always be with you you may already know these things but in case you don't I just want you to know them now and that's really what a mother is when I think my own mother the dedication and the love that she had for me and the confidence that she had in me we can only be in awe of people like that and you could imagine how much in all we have to be in Rock of ameno who was not only the mother of your safe and vineya mean but the mother really of tens of millions of Jews that came from those Shifa team from Yosef in Binyamin all the way down till today so I want to share with you a very personal memory something that every teachable of I tell my children and my grandchildren when I was a teenage boy I was in camp was a wonderful camp camp Gouda was an overnight camp a sleepaway camp and by the way I want to tell all of you one of the best things that you can do for your children is to send them to a wonderful sleepaway camp in the summer especially in a place where they have good counselors and where they can inspire the children day and night it's different than being in school here they're surrounded in an environment of kedusha and Tejada and it's just wonderful and the camp that I went to was in Ferndale New York I was called camp Agora and we had a great rabbi his name was Rabbi Yaakov Todd Obama they said Sadiq live Rahab and every tissue valve especially when I was a counselor already he would wait until we put all the kids to sleep and then he would bring all the counselors and the waiters and we would sit in the basement that OSH everybody was sitting on the floor and he would read to us this Midrash every single year the same medrash every single year the same tears the same crying and when I got married I would read it to my children and now my grandchildren listen to this measure she could break your heart is in the Madeira Bob of atha which of course we read on Tisha B'Av and it's in Detroit of the medes Shaba Parekh of dollar chapter 24 and it tells us like this but Lisa Shaw in that moment when God saw that the base of English was being destroyed and it was on fire and I shed said where is my home where is my car name where are they they are gone I warned them I warned them that they shouldn't sin but they didn't listen and now I had no choice but to burn the base hammock - and then the Midrash tells us that Hashem said been a mimosa have a no go get the great people of Claudius right to pray for the Jews and he went to Avraham and I've Ron said Hashem please have mercy I was ready to give up my son you've struck on the akkada isn't that enough of a scoot that you should save the Jewish people and Hashem said no it's no longer it's not enough and then Yitzhak Aveeno came and Yitzhak ceragem I was ready to give my life on the akkada isn't that enough Shem said no it's not enough and then Hashem said who else is going to pray and Yaakov Aveeno came up to pray and Jakob said I had so much Sarah to share I had problems with itself my son yourself was taken away from me for so many years I had so many problems didn't I suffer enough for the Jewish people why can't you save them and then Masha said Moshe I said please I shall save the Jewish people I didn't go to Israel because of them you know how much I wanted to go to edit' Israel but I didn't because I hit the rock so they should be able to have water isn't that enough I gave up my life in Israel only for the Jewish people and Hashem said it's not enough and finally rahael came the Jewish mother in Yiddish we have an expression the mama ROFL the mother Rafa and listen to what she said she cried and she said I said how could you be jealous one of the reasons you're destroying the base my gosh was because the Jews served aboard Azera they said another god so you're jealous I wasn't jealous I gave this him a name to my sister Leia really I was supposed to marry Yakov and what happened I knew my fatherland was going to make a trick and he was going to make sure that Leia would be with Yakov and Leia would be embarrassed so I wasn't jealous I was ready to give up did sadiq I gave her the signs so even if I wasn't jealous you shouldn't be jealous and listen to what a sham says me odd when raha Lemaitre said that this gangulu Robby shall I go - wahoo / suddenly awakened the pangs of pity that I shan't felt for all my er and he said bish relays because of you know him and him as soon as he ceramic I'm on I'm gonna bring the Jewish people back to their place and that's what it says in the plastic and give me a llama Dolloff cray americium this is what a sham says Crowborough Manish ma I hear a voice on high the he poppy some room I hear a bitter cry Rael vivace Habanera raha was crying on her children may ha ha she cannot be consoled I'll burn elke I know because I did children and not any longer than usual I am they're not anymore in Israel Hashem Hashem says me Nico left me Bertie remove your voice from crying Vinayak Mandi mo and your eyes from tears ka Sahaba Lula say because there is reward for what you did you were the greatest giver of all you are not jealous and because of you fisherwoman Eretz oh yes the Jews will come back the yeas chikv ah well actually say fromage Shama God says there is hope for the end of time for the Jewish people of a shovel born in Lakeville um and the Jews are going to return and so tonight when we think about Rohan let me know there are two qualities the rabbi read a beautiful prayer it's part of a very long prayer and part of that long prayer it tells us to pray tonight fashion to uh Shem and say I Shem we want to undertake the qualities of Raheem ameno what were the qualities of rocky Lamy know there are two main qualities one is Tiff's Allah prayer and the other is Mussina giving giving and not being jealous and that's exactly what we want to talk about tonight we want to talk about the caja to Villa because we know that because of the to feel out of Raqqa of the Jewish people are going to come back and if our mother is crying with prayer tonight we have to learn what it means to cry with prayer I remember a friend of mine once told me he was going with a very big Siddiq or a behind Schmo Levites he was the Russia Shiva of the mirror Shiva and they were coming to the Kebra hell and a behind schwa Levites he was crying at the caber at the gravesite and he said like this he says Raphael mama Raphael the passo tells us that God told you not to cry so that's true a father can tell a daughter don't cry but a child a child can tell a mother do cry so even though God told you not to cry I am I your son I'm telling you to cry for us because we still need the issue on we still need the hot slob and I am Telling You when we cry into Fila when we are sincere into feelin great great miracles happen and I want to tell you about a miracle that happened that I witnessed just a little over a year ago right here in Queens near the border of Queens and Brooklyn there's a cemetery it's called Mount Judah and there are many many great tsadikim that are buried there yakov kamenetsky is very dare he was the Russia Shiva of turvy das robber from pom who later became the Russia Shiva rabiner Yaakov Yosef is buried not far from there and a woman Laurie Martin from the five channels they have what's known as Anna main group maybe one day we should start it in Great Neck and every morning women come together and lorries home they say they better hot everybody says I'm in all the women who come 3040 women they each say the butter hot everybody says I'm in just like Rebbetzin but Sheva coming Connie asked you did that and then they go in different parts of the house so they can pray each one prays alone then come back and they say to him so they have this on main group so mrs. Fuchs mrs. Kareem fuse called me and said Laurie Martin's daughter unfortunately she was walking in Miami with her husband and all of a sudden she said I don't feel well and she fell and she collapsed and she went into a very very deep coma she was in such a deep coma that they were afraid even once they got to the hospital to take an MRI or a cat scan because if they moved her a drop they thought that her life would end the doctors called her parents and her siblings and said come and say goodbye to Raquel because she will never talk again she will never think again and she will probably die soon and of course as siblings came the parents came and they were crying by her bedside and of course she wasn't moving now after about a month she didn't come out of the coma but she was stabilizing a little bit in the coma that they felt that they could fly her up north to Long Island Jewish Hospital which is not even a mile away from here and they brought it to Long Island Jewish and she was in a coma and that's when they called me and they said please take this whole on main group take us to the cemetery take us to the gravesites of the great people and we will pray there and we will play for hire raise all buzz Dina for Raquel Katz and I said okay good we'll go and on a Thursday morning it was very very hot in the summer I told everyone you must take a bottle of water even though normally you're not allowed to eat or drink in a cemetery but I told him it's dangerous because somebody could get dehydrated and we started praying first by rough Pam who was a cohan so he went to him first then Rob Jakov kamenetsky and then we went to Ravenna clay woods who is the Russia she Ravi shiva hobbits Higham who had passed away but he was the Russia Shiva Shiva over time which is today in Kew Gardens else and as we are standing them were praying and I have decided to say Capital Huff gimel 23 and we were saying this phrase gunky aileth beget some of us even though we walk in the valley of death like ARRIRAW I will not be afraid kay I tell you muddy because you are with me I am and when we said that paw stuck together all of a sudden mrs. scream somebody's yelling and I just want to tell you no man can yell like a woman and not only that when women start yelling together they know men can scream as loud as women really and these women are screaming and I'm thinking oh my heavens I bet you somebody dehydrated then fell and hit their head on a monument so I said get out Salih cuz that's what I thought happened and somebody else to me she's on the phone and I'm thinking who's on the phone somebody's on the phone topsolid they already called that's all up and I said is she without soul and they said no no no she's on the phone I said who's on the phone and they said Laurie Martin with her parish she just came out of the coma I said what are you talking about and I run over and the women are screaming and crying and Lord and Martin's talking to our daughter I said Laurie who you're the forward she said my daughter long Allen Jewish she just came out of the coma my husband called I said I don't believe it I get on the phone I said Raquel is that you she says yeah I said how you doing she said little hush I'm fine and the women are hugging and kissing I mean that me I get I I was sitting away they like go crazy they can't believe it that's the reason that we came to this cemetery to pray that she should come out of the coma and she came out of the coma just right there it's unbelievable because that later in the afternoon I got a call and somebody told me that her grandfather Raquel Katz his grandfather Harry Hirsch he had studied in the yeshiva of Ravenna clayboy it's free will by Ravenna label Woods's gamer and when he got out of the yeshiva he supported the yeshiva very well so now this was his granddaughter that came out of the coma now she still needs it a freshly mom but I saw I saw her afterwards a few months afterwards she walked me to the door she's able to walk she's out of the coma she's able to talk okay she has a long way to go but miracles happen when we pray so tonight when we come on the earth side of Raquel amino and Raquel is mavica Alba nel and Raul is the one who cries and prays we have to learn how to cry and to pray and I think one of the ways to do that is to know the meaning of the words of the tefillah we spent so much time praying whether we pray shahadat I'm in the car out of it whatever whether we say to him you know what it says in the show cuñado it says it's better to pray less words and know more what your understanding than to pray a lot of words and you don't know what you're talking about just like you and I are talking to each other right now and we understand each other when you talk to Hashem you also want to talk and understand what you're saying so I believe that in every synagogue every synagogue all over the world when they're going to hear and watch this video we have to start studying the meaning of the words of tefillah and when you start studying the words of the Tefila all of a sudden it's a different prayer all of a sudden it's a different communication I'm gonna give you an example for every single one of you who say but oh sure amar everyone here every man here says Barack's amar every morning what I'm going to tell you now right now when you go home tonight take your seed or underline these three words that I'm telling you and I tell you every single day when you pray it and women as well if you're going to say Beryl Shama especially the girls while not yet married and have a little bit more time to Dobbin if you say but will Shamar make sure you underline these words which I will tell you and you will see now on meaning in the words oh my goodness then you're talking to a seminar Shem is talking to you listen this many years ago there was a great rabbi his name was Rabbi Eliezer sisha Portugal that was his last name he was called this kalenna Rebbe he was the Rebbe in the town of school n-now during the Second World War he was in Romania and in Romania unfortunately many many people were killed and he had a home there and with his wife he was making sure that the young men and the young girls would have a place to hide out and he was protecting them and they say that throughout the Second World War more than 400 young men a young women at different times were in the house of the school Ana Rebbe and one time somebody went to the police and said you know that rabbi he's hiding those boys so that they shouldn't have to go to the army he's hiding the girls so that they should be protected from the Germans and the Nazis and of course the police were very happy to find the South and went and they arrested him and they put him in solitary confinement now solitary confinement means they put him in a jail nobody's dead they told him he's gonna be there until he rots he's gonna be there forever they took away his keep ah they took away his glasses and they told him they're gonna leave him there now the next day the next morning he wanted to pray how's it gonna pray if he's got no cue pot so what he did he took his jacket and he put it over his head and that's how he had a head covering and of course he was a great Sadiq so he knew the prayers by heart now listen to this he's saying bottle Shama all of us who say this every day will recognize the words Marusia a monobrow blessed is a shim who said there should be a world and there was a world bore of ocean berry she's a sham made the beginning of the world Muraki mala Eretz he has compassion on the world became a labrie ot has compassion on society Michele I'm so hot ov he pays good reward for all who fear Him everything you've got of Shama is good+ all the wonderful things that a sham does then this : Erebus said these three words and he wanted what in the world are they doing here this is a terrible thing bottle goes in OMA Cayenne Hashem makes a Gazeta AGA's a does it decree that's a terrible thing but I am and he fulfills the Xena how could that be in bottle show Aman everything in brother Shyam R is positive Hashem gives reward he protects the people what's doing here that we say that I shall make sure Gizella and he fulfils legs Anna that's terrible and he was so upset with himself that he never thought about this question all these years he's been praying and he never thought of the question and he said Hashem do not take me out of here until I figure this out and he says the words again bottle of Josette Omar Khayyam goes in Omar Khayyam but all goes enema km and suddenly he comes up with a meaning that is amazing it's so inspirational and every morning when I pray and I see do it I have it underlined and I look at it you know what he said over cayenne doesn't only mean fulfill Oh McCain means he gives cume existence bottle of God's air blessed is a sham that sometimes he has to make it decree against us but even though he makes the decree Omar Khayyam he gives us the strength to go through it not that we're broken because of it oh that's a beautiful thing for whatever reason sometimes we have to go through difficult times and every single one of us here in life goes through difficult times and then we think how am I going to make it how am I going to survive this but what when you pray in bottle Shammar and you have it underlined and you see the words bottle of goes there I am Hashem is blessed because whatever reason is he has to make eggs at home okay yam but it gives us the strength to exist oh that's a different prayer that's a different prayer and that's what I'm talking about when you learn the meanings of the words and when you hear something about the Fila write it down in your seed or underline those words I'm a very very big believer in underlining in your seed order I'm a very big believer in everybody having their own seed or just don't come to a synagogue you take a sitter off the shelf because you're flying 80 miles an hour and the darling you don't know what you're talking about but if it's your seed rude and you underline it and you're talking to a like it i sell-- spoke joshan like our hell is going to speak gosh em and because of that we're going to get the base I'll make those back oh that's a different type of prayer that's a prayer with meaning that's a prayer with heart that's a prayer with understanding so I want to tell you one more thing and then we're gonna go to the next topic of giving many years ago all of you know that I am um well as whereabouts you mentioned I've had the opportunity to do Britton here president RM be able to do more besra Tosh em I had a person Merrick Long Island the number of years ago the people were not religious after the bris I'm in the kitchen I'm just cleaning up I'm know it was sudden I see a lady standing next to me she wasn't facing me but I could see she was crying I felt terrible you know this is a happy occasion you could tell if somebody's crying from joy or from sadness she was crying from sadness I went over to her I said ma'am I'm so sorry you seem so upset is there anything that I could do she says no rabbi I don't want to talk about it now I don't know what possessed me I just felt so bad seeing her cry at this happy occasion and she wasn't crying from joy I said you know the Talmud says I couldn't say Gomorrah she wouldn't know where to go Mariah's I said the Talmud teaches that if you have a problem talk it out you never know when you could get an answer she said okay rabbi I'll tell you this is your third that you're in this house this is the third bridge that you're doing for my friend what does God want from me why can't I have any children and I'm thinking oh my heavens worried I open my big mouth what in the world am I gonna tell her do I know why she doesn't have children but I asked her the question right so I said I want to tell you something I want to tell you something the Talmud teaches that anybody who has a problem and I couldn't say Gemara but I said the Talmud if anybody wants to look it up it's in Vova kama Sadiq base I'm a days ninety to eight anybody was a problem no matter what problem you have in life you're looking for more business you're looking to have a chador you're looking to have a child you're looking to have Shalom bias healthy children normal children find somebody who's got your problem and pray for them first and you'll be answered and that's what the gomorrah says call hama vaca should i from him I'll have it all anybody who prays for their friend boots adi roso devar he needs that thing who Nanette Lila he's gonna be answered first I said look your fertility problem is not my business you don't have to tell me but today I want you to go to adapter go to your doctor and find out he'll know somebody who's got your problem and pray for them and you'll see you'll be answered first and I told her to give sadaqa I took her name and her mother's name and I put it on a tee Halen list and I left the house and of course eventually I forgot about the story a year later a lady calls me up she says rabbi Cohen do you remember who I am I said you know thank God I see you know many many people every day she said rabbi I'm the lady that was crying in Merrick Long Island oh my gosh I remembered her I said oh my of course I remember you why are you calling she said rabbi I want you to know that afternoon I went to my doctor and he gave me the name of somebody who had my problem and I've been praying for them ever since and today I'm calling you from North University Hospital I just had a baby boy I couldn't believe it I was speechless and for me to be speechless is a big accomplishment and I said to her hey even he got that joke that's funny okay so I I said to her you made my dinner and she said to me words that I'll never forget she said rabbi I may have made your day but you made my life and that bris and the one that I did for her two years later for the next boy well from the greatest that I ever did to my advice of course not that's what the Fela is all about that's what the Gemara says when you pray for somebody else you're not selfish you're not thinking about anybody else you're thinking about others that's what the rasa-lila may know is doing raha I mean I was looking at my box you mentioned tonight and tomorrow there will be tens of thousands of people at Kevin Rafael Rahim I mean it looks down from shamaya and she prays for all of us as you prays that we should have Panesar and good health and zero game and children and sim crying life she's praying for us she's not praying for herself and that's what we have to learn we have to learn tonight the me down after Fela which means stop thinking about yourself did it ever occurred to anybody the whole middle part of shamone is right tomorrow take a look at it orbit if you didn't say it yet tonight the whole middle part when we ask it's all lotion rabbits or plural vionnet new give us wisdom swallow new forgive us refer a new heal us Bora Cole a new bless us with pernessa Shamar Cole a new listen to us to feel eyes not only about you it's about everybody we're all in it together we're brothers and sisters we have one mother that's what great Nick is doing tonight Ashkenazim safar damn he de bruit or any time we're all together look around it's the United Nations of jewelry here tonight that's what it is that's how it's supposed to be and that's the great pride of Rahil in may know and when she looks down and she um from Shania and C's but Kira Rossdale oh my gosh how many people are gonna be there how many different types of Jews are gonna be there that's the biggest nice for a mother I want to tell you now another thing what was the essence the greatness of rock Elemeno I believe the greatness of Raheja may know was that she was a giver she gave this Iranian now she did not know that eventually she would marry Yakov oh no she thought that once she gives up Yakov either she's gonna be stuck where they serve or she is gonna be single the rest of our life so imagine Yaakov was destined for her she knew that and she's ready to give it up that's incredible that's a giver tonight we have to learn how to be a giver so I want to show you something very interesting and I want you to pick this in your mind the Torah tells us that when the Jewish people had to be counted they had to give a masses a shekel a half a dollar and the word for giving is vinasse know that volve non tough non volve does anybody know for free CD what are those words called that you could read frontwards and backwards anybody know a palindrome she's right okay race car is also a palindrome in case you're interested okay so now but why is we're not snow and they shall give why is that a plow in Rome and listen what the ballot or team says the ballot utam tells us something amazing he says Keesha tequila analemma Freya when you read and they shall give an arsenal you read it backwards gam canva no snow it's also an arsenal a mile off to teach you Masha autumn no he's saying let's talk of that which you give fit sadaqa ya see real if it's gonna come back to you for like ya sound like this feels like let me not missing anything you give up your time you give up your heart you give up your funds I shall watch it somebody's gonna give you when you need it never will be worried that when you give to somebody else you're losing that's the biggest investment in life that you give and you care and you listen because when you do that then when you need it somebody's gonna be there for you that's what Rahul ameno taught us giving giving of herself giving the greatest thing that she could possibly have had I don't even know if we could be on that madruga but each of us in our own way every day we can give somebody we can give sympathy you're not a doctor but you could give somebody sympathy you can make somebody feel good just want to tell you you know I never speak I never ever ad-lib I only have in my notes I only say what I have in my notes what I thought about before but I just want to ad-lib for a moment because I was so moved by this last night I was in Baltimore I have a grandson David double kramer who a year ago had a terrible terrible football accident it's called compartment syndrome you should never know from it but it was unbelievable in the pain that the poor kid had it just happened to be ultra miniature maíam nothing is coincidence that that Shabbat my wife and I were going to be in Baltimore buy my daughter for Shabbos anyway and the accident happened on Wednesday he had surgery Thursday and then what the blood didn't drink that's a whole story and then Friday night he had to have Saturday night he had another surgery was crazy but perhaps cami healed poor Hashem he had the right doctors a dr. Samet and others dr. Jacoby Woods was wonderful so last night in Baltimore we had a suit I saw Dora gratitude gratitude and he spoke and to think and he spoke from the heart that was so beautiful he thanked all his friends that was in the ship and they Israel and he mentioned something very interesting you know you don't think about it because most of us are not sick and he said you know when you're lying in the hospital you can't do anything you're lying at home and things are tied to your leg you can't move and when somebody just comes to visit we could hold him you're giving of your heart you're giving of your time you're giving of your friendship and he started crying front of all stage friends he says you guys you should never know what it is but you gave me so much you gave me so much pea soup I just coming there even though you came during lunch but you took away time from playing ball you took from your own time whatever you wanted to do and when you give to someone when you give up your heart and you give up your funds and you give of your time Hashem sees that Hashem knows that we're all busy and still you make time amazing I'll tell you you know if any of you want because what Godot is no charge what's of course not and make it recording three times a week about the importance of doing a handset every day if you give me your email I'll put you on the list you'll get a recording three times a week no charge of course and so recently I made this recording because I always looking for new ideas of how separate my bascially if you got any ideas of people doing custard and unusual ways please call me right away you know we'll put our charm on the recording 3000 people will hear it so listen to this there was an old lady in Washington Heights that was sitting Shiva her husband had died he's a very old man he was the last one of his siblings alive and never they had no children so she was the only one sitting Shiva could you imagine the only one sitting alone so there's a woman that I know mrs. Reed Aslam Woods who was a friend of hers she told me this story she went to pay a Shiva call to be Menahem oval and there were a few other ladies there in Washington Heights that came and they were sitting and talking all of a sudden a young couple walks in middle-aged couple nobody knew who they were and they sit down and they start talking among all the people and they're talking you know a one wanting to find out about the person who passed away after a few minutes the old lady says excuse me I don't know you but did you know my husband they said no you don't know my husband and I don't know you so how come you came listen to this they said you know we get a Jewish newspaper Hamo dia and every weekend ahmadiyya there's an article by mrs. kim mrs. Kim is they deal with people who passed away and families and when we look and we see that somebody's sitting Shiva alone we go visit them you could go crazy from that we come how you sell this couple Umberto Park they don't know people but they see that a person is sitting alone they're gonna give that time that's not hey let me know that's giving that's caring that's what we have to learn tonight we learn about to feel alive from Rahil and we learn about giving giving in a small way giving in a big way but giving not only thinking about ourselves and remembering Vanessa Leu the palindrome right because when you give you're gonna get back so I want to tell you one of the greatest expressions I ever heard in my life and it is just absolutely amazing many years ago oh it's got to be more than 25 years probably the first time I was in Manchester in England I love the people in England especially in Manchester so many wonderful colum and bicha calls and seminar is just the great great wonderful people in Manchester in England and it was the first time that I was there and I was supposed to give a speech they said there were gonna be 500 women there and I'm staying by a home when I'm about to leave and somebody comes over to hey wait a second before you go to that hall you gotta go visit somebody I said what do you mean I kinda go visit somebody there's people waiting no no no there's a Rebbetzin a very brilliant woman who unfortunately has MS and she's paralyzed and she's in a wheelchair but she's brilliant and she gives she aureum and she would like to see you just for two minutes well how in the world do you say no to that right you know a woman is in a wheelchair and she's asking that I should come and it's on the way okay so I went inside I come inside there's 25 women sitting around her table because she was going to give a shear that night as well and she wasn't in the room yet and then they will her in they open up a curtain and they will her in and you know my heart goes out because she's a young woman I doubt if she was 40 at the time a radiant face and but she can't move she's just her hands she could move it you know she's in the wheelchair and they will her in and she sits at the head of the table and you know she says Robert Kern I want to thank you so much for coming I said you know it's my honor to be here I see that you're gonna give a shear such a wonderful thing that you do and she says Rob Eichorn I need a favor I said what is that and I'm thinking like no matter what she says how am I gonna say no in front of everybody I don't know what she's gonna ask yet but you know this 25 woman sitting there and you know I gonna say no to a lady in a wheelchair so I said what can I do for you she said I'm writing a book I'm writing a book about my difficulties and it's called facing adversity with faith could you please write me a letter for the book I'd never written a letter for anybody's book I said listen Rebbetzin you need a big Sadiq you need somebody that's so important you know I'm not I'm not on that level that I should write a book I write a letter for your book she says rabbi I've read your books I've listened to your at that time I was cassettes CDs please do me a favor write me a letter how am I gonna say no so I I just no I I said to her like this look you know I've got to read the book first right I haven't read the book so when I go back to New York if you send me book I'll read it and if I like it then I promise I'll write you a letter so I figured it's gonna take a few weeks to get the book and then by the time I get to her over the phone 8,000 miles away you know I'll be able to say no she's one step ahead of me she says here it is I printed it out for you Oh what am I supposed to do okay so I take the book I said okay fine I'll start reading it on the plane when I go back from London cuz from the next day I was gonna go to London I started reading the book on the plane and I'm telling you I can't stop crying she's talking about how difficult it is I'll never forget this part of the book she's talking about her eighth grade daughter's graduation all of you have had eighth grade daughter's know that mothers look wonderful and the kids are so excited they look wonderful everybody's so happy and she's being wheeled in in a wheelchair and her daughters standing next to her - Doris embarrassed to have a mother like that and the mothers embarrassed at her daughters embarrassed about her it's just absolutely awful and then in middle of the book she writes a statement and this statement is literally a showstopper this statement you have to stop and think and when I saw this statement I took out my highlighter I usually carry highlighter I just gave it to my granddaughter actually oh here I still have one carry two actually so I'm always underlining you know things that are important listen to the statement that she writes and it's not hers she got it from someplace else any fool can count the seeds in one Apple right tonight you go home you open up an apple any fool can count you know four or five seeds but only the highest probably I said you can count the apples in one seat isn't that genius any fool can count the seeds in one Apple but only the highest power of Shem can count the apples in one seed you plant a seed only Hashem knows a big tree can grow for that seed you plant a seed of friendship a whole family can build another family everybody can get together from one seed of friendship you give a seed of encouragement to somebody who's down and you build him up and they were able to build their lives what a great great statement I called her back and I said to her Everton this is not a book this is a Holy safer I'll be honored to write your letter and of course it's called facing adversity with faith she didn't sign it by her own name she used the name ml Cramer it's printed by feldheim you could all get it wonderful so inspirational my heart breaks to tell you that she just passed away a few months ago never it's terrible but this is a great lady who taught us a great thing about giving so when you plant a seed those seeds you never know how many apples can grow from that seed and that's what giving is all about so I'll just tell you one more story and then we'll end with a great thought we'll review an end with a great thought you know wherever I go people are telling me stories I appreciate it so much but of course most of the stories I can't use you know but I'm a nice guy I listen to everybody but you know you never know when you're gonna hear that story that's gonna make a tremendous difference now and the five talents today there's a school called me it's a couple of miles away from here maimie sifter at Terrace Yakov and the principal or the minal the Russia Shiva's rabbi mordechai Yaffe and he told me an amazing story he's from a molten Ontario and he told me that in the early 1950s there was a man his name was rabbi mordechai Greene and he had a show a little shul but the young couples weren't coming to his Orthodox Shore because the conservative and the reformed at big gorgeous buildings and everybody was going to young couples were going there so rabbi green realized that he better built a big show was he gonna give morning Orthodox people in 1950 didn't have that much money so he decided he's gonna go to the Royal Bank of Canada and he comes into the bank and he sees the bank manager a guy by the name of Episcopalian fellow guy by the name of mr. Amy tall good-looking fellow and mr. mes him to sit down he said how can I help you he said my name is rabbi Mora hi green and I would like to build a house of worship I am a rabbi now why didn't he say he wanted to build an Orthodox show because he was afraid that this banker he knows the Orthodox people the community they don't have any money how's it gonna lend the money if he doesn't he's never gonna get paid so he said it wants to build a house of worship so the guy said Tim yeah but what denomination or now you have no choice right so he said I'm an Orthodox rabbi and I want to build an Orthodox synagogue he said let me think about it and all of a sudden rabbi green who told me the story himself because I checked it out if the rabbi off he told it to me he said mr. Amy just said and he started looking at Maura a rabbi Maura hi green and suddenly tears were coming down his cheeks and he said rabbi I'm gonna give you the money and you're gonna be able to build a synagogue but I want to tell you why listen to this story you won't believe it he cysts him like this when I was a little boy more than 25 years ago I lived in Timmins Ontario Timmins is more than 470 miles north of Hamilton he said when I was a little boy my father was killed in a fire and the only ones that were left were me my mother and my two brothers and sister we had nothing everything was destroyed and two days after the fire you know in these small towns there's a big general store there was a general store that sold everything and the man who owned it was an Orthodox Jew named sambuca Vettes key and two days after a fire mr. book of etiquette comes in to my mother and says mrs. Amy as long as I own this store your children will have clothes never be hesitant to come into the store any clothes you need for your children you'll have it and then he said any time you need food you come to my store we will never ask you to pay you get bread rolls milk eggs butter whatever you need you could keep an account you won't whenever you want to pay you could pay mr. Amy is now talking to rabbi Greene he says I want you to know we only survived because of that Orthodox Jew because of sambuca vets key eventually we were able to get on our feet my mother got a job I was able to go to school in college I became a bank manager and when I saw you walk in to the front door through this big window here you look like an Orthodox Jew and suddenly I remembered you know it's about time I paid back sambuca vets ki that's why when you told me that you're an Orthodox Jew I knew that God sent you and you know something that shul is still there his son Robert Neal Green is now the rub of that shul well he want to hear the greatest thing of all rabbi Yaffe who's the man i'll the russia shiva of mass IFTA a terrace Yaakov Milly and the five towns not far from here he went to that jewel and he remained religious he was able to remain throne and become a bent IRA because he was a little boy and his father was a Holocaust survivor afraid to send him out of town so this rabbi a free even having his Shiva when he was a kid only was sin and when he was 17 was he able to go to Nerys Rael I think in Toronto and then he became as great as he is today I had the opportunity to spend a wonderful Shabbos shamaton with the school tremendous seeds mr. Booker vet K planted some seeds he's surely not alive reason to all of my M s together with rocky LeMay no but he's looking down at that shul and he's looking down at rabbi Yaffe who teaches hundreds of boys that seed that he helped a non-jewish family built a shul built aura built to feel ah that's what we got a plan tonight we got to plant the seeds of rock Allah may know the seeds of Rockland may know ought to free LA the seeds of rock Allah may know are giving miss ena so let's review everything that we said and we'll end with the most interesting thought let's remember tonight Rockland Maine he was looking down from Sherman Great Neck Ashkenazim Sephardim he double root or anytime we're all together the greatest novice for a mother to be able to see children together all of us who have mothers everybody has a mother some of us had mothers our mothers are gone we think about them we think about their devotion did their dedication to us that's what rocking the Meno is let's remember that it was only rock Allah may know who prayed from shamayim Shem say don't be jealous and Hashem said remove your eyes from tears remove your voice from crying yes ah holy polar safe this reward because you were a giver I will never forget what you did and I will bring back your children let's remember the miracle that happened to Lori Martin's daughter to feel I helps since its Fela let's remember bar of grazier Makai aim let's remember those words hashem sometimes has to make it Gazeta but he gives us the strength to continue let's remember when you pray for somebody else that lady and Marik Hashem answers you first whatever your problem is let's remember the nos no when you give it's gonna come back that's what the ballot room tells us let's remember you plant seeds seeds any fool can count the seeds in one Apple but only Hashem the highest power can count the apples in one seed let's go and seeds of friendship let's give a valvetime of our heart there our funds and Hashem will surely give it back to us today and finally let us remember what the hobbit time tells us over time tells us in the safer of our ascent every single day every day without fail we have to make sure that we do a Hesed for somebody else and that we learn Torah and I believe that goes for women as well nobody's telling the women to learn Daffy on your console that's not what it's about there's so many things that the woman could learn no cos but a hotel Shabbat everything massage there's so many wonderful things but every day to say forever stress that tells us a very cute base gotta be so careful not one they should go by without as I said that's giving that's giving like Raquel amino and Torah you know what our Torah could be learning the meaning of tefillah that's also Torah so I want to tell you something which never occurred to me until I saw somebody write it as I was preparing for this talk you know tomorrow is tomorrow is not only the yurt site of rock Allah may know does anybody knows birthday is tomorrow being a man right is that amazing I never thought about that because Britney Allen was born when Rockler men who passed away where is the thing of the grace of English in Binyamin and invisible aha what does it say benyamin you did that sham he is the friend of God you know something it was the only one who wasn't there when they sold yourself so he merited that the base hammock - is gonna be in his helic so let's say happy birthday to everybody tomorrow happy birthday and the hoose Binyamin his clay look is the base on big - so tomorrow there's sadness and there's fondness and there's remembering economy no but let's remember Binyamin at Sadiq Binyamin whose headlock is going to be in the base a big - and just like he was called you did that sham we should also be added a sham thank you so much for inviting me and thank you for listening [Applause] [Music] you [Applause]