Is it Necessary to Feel G-d or is Doing what G-d wants Enough? - Rabbi Chaim Dalfin

so we are on page 366 in the my Mahalo Aschenbach III and we're getting towards the end of the my myrrh this my myrrh is a very important one because it discusses the idea of serving a sham from two perspectives from from a body perspective oh gosh this perspective and from a roughly as a soul perspective and everything we do in our lives including driving from up north back to Beth Shemesh like Moshe is that's also an experience which if you you could use it in a body like way and you can use it in a soul like way and they're not contradictory in fact what we learned here avi was in order to appreciate the soul you have to get your body your gaseous in sync with God in sync with Hashem and just for a moment to elaborate on this because it's it's necessary requisite for understanding Torah in general and conservation particular Hashem God made us on earth that's he put us here if he put us here and he put all of gosh meanness in front in front of us that must be a reason if he wanted us to be spiritual we would be like the angels will be like the souls Hashem says no come down on earth deal with the struggles the challenges and the Gemara says this by the way in the tsuba in the in this section of the Talmud and Shabbos tractate Travis regarding the giving of terror aright so it says that the angels came to a Shama they complained why are you giving man the tighter the tailor is a spiritual entity we angels that are spiritual entity we are the ones that should get the tailor what was Moses answer mices answer was Klum gates a hunter yes for them do you have a Yeats of Hara do you have challenges do you have ups and downs now through this piece of the murder we understand the remembrance Cameron's not Kabbalah it's not cuz it isn't it's not Muslim Iran from this piece of Talmud we understand that the purpose on earth is to deal and overcome challenges hardships doubts anyone that thinks that on earth they won't have those things is making a big big mistake a big mistake because even the greatest tsadikim re who came to this world who were here who are here had challenges believe me they have big big challenges so the gather the definition of the world were in is a world of challenges and it's exactly what the governor says the amount of two thousand years ago made it very clear to us so now the question is okay I'll accept the fact that I was created to overcome challenges how do I do it how do I do it so the basic answer for jus that follows have to tell you that follows God is through thinner and look into the Torah I learned with Torah teachers I read Torah Ferreira books and that's how I go to be a fringe ooh a good Jew abetted you and do an overt and that will help me overcome and that is true of course that's true however that doesn't get give you a specific recipe how to do it you know today the world is so into you know user-friendly you can have the same product to people could have the same product and one excuse me makes it user-friendly and the other one doesn't the user-friendly one will get all the fanfare to two websites both selling or marketing the same product one is user-friendly one isn't the user-friendly one gets all the hits to people born at the same time coming from the same place but one is pleasant and one is arrogant people gravitate to the pleasant person and they dropped the arrogant one so here we have the data and the Taylor tells us what to do but how do I make it practical in our lives so for this came along two movements within the Jewish spectrum to answer this question the Muslim movement and the Hasidic movement will talk about the later in Muslim movement not early Musa of the ROM but was time debating Jana a thousand years of them let's talk about the more modern history of Muslim would started with rubbish rose Atlanta a resolve of salon in the 1800s and the Baal Shem Tov the holy baal shem tov the Hasidic Hasidic movement both dedicated themselves to show in a user-friendly way how to make terrible how to how it's it's it's part of your daily experience Masada used Mooser used musa ethics for its implementation and along with ethics re comes along what are you immense are inanimate and if you're not a match the Torah says a BSc if you're a mensch and real Mensch you get a lot of brownie points so muster users reward and Punishment avi as a staple a staple I recall being in sharpest table in raha via years ago and there was a group of seminary students there one was my daughter learning and Ichabod cemani and a very good friend of hers learning in a more literate oriented seminary not not heavy-lift fish but you know more Ashkenazi and I'm gonna forget this and she asked me a question in front of everyone she said why is it that my my friend which was my daughter and and other Labov ature girls of early seminary they talk about the purpose of mitzvahs is to bring Messiah and we in the base Yaakov Mizrahi oriented seminaries they teach us that the purpose of Mithras is reward and Punishment I'm telling you this was exactly the way she put the question through me and it was beautiful that she did and I began a great discussion but as far as we're concerned what we're talking about now is that's really the difference of one of the differences between the Mooser application to Torah versus the Hasidic application to Torah both are important both are proper both are necessary however and I think Ari and I had this conversation a few years ago if my memory serves me well that sometimes reward and Punishment gets very heavy for a person you know there are this is important there are people that we thrive on reward and Punishment and others there are people that this goes back also to motion your comment about your friend that the shul is very rigid there are people who who thrive on rigidity they they really work well with a system of rigidity and morbidity and reward and Punishment that's who they are and it works very well for them there are others and maybe more others that this type of system it backfires they can't handle it after a while you know enough telling me that if I don't do this right this is my punishment and also enough with the flattery you know I was assured yesterday and the fellows were encouraging someone to go over to the oven and they were giving him flattery flattery so I opened my my mouth and I said enough with the flattery he got it he heard it you know I mean sometimes too much flattery or even a little flattery is disgusting it's like you don't really mean it because if you really meant it you don't have to be so flattering you know so but the overall system of Musa of Musa is his reward and Punishment civis it's not about reward and Punishment I mean you know the girl said it's about machine but I'm not gonna use other words it's about connectedness are you are you connected to ashram or not that's that's the that's what we want to look for that's what we want to look for and if we see that we're not connected or not as much connected we try to plug it more you know if the problem I remember there was an expression one of my Israeli buckram in 770 was his role he said TECA oh hush eka you know the misery take that plug and put it into the socket tech up l hash eka you know are you plugged in or you're not plugged in citiz looks at this this issue are you plugged in in a way it's a much deeper and harder avoided right it's not about brownie points you know how many mitzvahs versus how many are they rose well you know after the war in France of Paris that babe leave Paris one of the cities there the nevada q shiva which is the most extreme form of Mooser opened up a branch in in france and for the same city nearby was alabama the achiever so I heard from one of the students one of my teachers who was there he remembers walking in to the nevada-based mattress and he saw tables and he saw groups small groups of students at one table another table usually avakov Russa one on one one with two but he had a four or five at one table four or five another table it was very noticeable that there specifically at this table and not on the other table so he asked why is this what's going on is this an hour yeshiva you know we sit the cuff loose and everyone goes there you know it's a trunk that's above our garments it's not a polygon but you know it's it's a free free fall here I could see it's very rigid and very organized this is yeah these boys these students on this table aid they've done ten mitzvahs and they it they emphasize ten mixes and the students at stable two they've done 15 mitzvahs so they get to sit at table 2 and the one a table see they've done 20 minutes that's a that's an approach and approaches and the vice versa how many are various so the novartis system into your calculator your mitzvahs and calculating your famous considers the Baal Shem Tov is not about calculating anything because we know so well our v1 mitzvah one mitzvah if you do it with your heart and your soul and you plug then you're in and one availa and one transgression if you do it with your heart or so you're also plugged in in the opposite way so could be you've done one of Amon and someone has done ten mixes and guess what you are better off than him why because his 10 mitzvahs are with ego and your one availa was you were forced into with your own lease and vice versa just giving you the semantics the point being that that Hasidic emphasizes the Shama and and and Muslim emphasizes the goof nevertheless here in this minor were learning about within our cities there's to avoid this avoid the circle and I've liked the samyama booth in car cities we've left the domain of Muslim or have we and I think if you learned this minor and you really you really learn it and you want not just understand that you memorize it you live with it because it is I'm telling you the self contain my myrrh and ask such beautiful ideas that are so useful it's what what I would call the first sit the Musa within facilities and yesterday we learned a saying that he brings from the Gemara and Magilla a very important saying you know the Gemara says says like this in my stream or rosette Ida we do not give Hashem does not give the secrets of Torah ll-let me said the boy died admittedly only to one whose heart is anxious about it positive anxiety we once talked about negative anxiety stress kills the person what about thousand things I was positive anxiety means myself positive anxiety means that it you can't rest until you explore Hashem when a sham sees that you're such a student of his and so interested and you're not restful you can't sleep at night proper hours why cuz you're thinking about it and your sleep if he got up in the morning you jump right away into the safer what are you thinking about it daheck re you're anxious and by the way this is a good idea to substitute anxiety that's unhealthy with healthy anxiety what is healthy anxiety I learned the mime of this morning that I buy dolphin I don't understand this point I take out the safer or I listen to the to the to the tape to the to the clip online and then I think about it and I think about it more and as the day goes on I keep on thinking about it and I'm a middle of working on my computer at work and all of a sudden I find myself drifting or thinking about it that's called positive dog I'm positive anxiety so that ever brings this thought here saying that a my friend Rosie Tyler who has given this secret cetera only someone who has died a belieber you as worry in his heart for the tour ideas and rebbi akiva the sower says when he was taught the secrets of Torah by his teacher rabbi Eleazar Jurado so GU Ain of demoys his eyes teared he cried why did he cry was he in pain he was not in pain he was so happy he was overwhelmed with such holy ideas that he never experienced and in a miniature way the clip I made the other day which you haven't seen it I heard to see it about what I experienced 40 years ago in 770 on youth based Thomas which we celebrate the previous rappers Redemption day I die with Minho with the Rebbe at 3:15 the rebel thousand 3:15 and a afternoon upstairs in the smoke rule the 770 and then I came down to the Big Show and guess what I saw the lights were turned off the air conditioning was turned off MO and there was hardly anyone there it was a summer day camps had started the buffer and the students were counselors and those that remained were upstairs in the small shul it wasn't yet we didn't have to 300 fat butter and coming for the cuts ax was a small little group and by the way they were the students upstairs the American boys were mostly counselors in camps so who was left to 770 to learn the Israeli boys the Kreutzer boys IV are you familiar with what would the cutter or should I tell you what that's about the cruiser from 1962 on every year a group of students of a babbage's students from Aris row from Krakow bought primarily was sent to learn a 770 there for a year they were given the name kibbutz a-- a group and that since sixty-two the last 26 years I would say it doubled and tripled and I think most his son Moshe bronze son was one of the students in the Kreutzer too but you know the last twenty six you have several hundred that come to 770 but in my days the seventies and early and eight early eighties it was 30 you know a small group anyway so they were learning upstairs Downstairs when I walked downstairs lights out no one's there except one person I go over to the person I never saw this person and by the way I Crown Heights that info I put I sent a picture of this person if you want to see this person his name was rabbi a Reb Dov it Skolnick shuttle malaysia your chair name double-o what's your name hind dolphin yeah this is what a white beard and I could see is that Russian crusted he came from Russia probably in the early 70s and we speak with talking and I'm listening it's now 3:30 in the afternoon and the time keeps on moving for 4:30 and I'm just glued to listen to this person because I never I never heard such a person say such things he started to explain things in Konya which he and a5 rusev his rabbi of Rome are insane would would learn together and the ideas that he discussed and and shared were very different to the way I learned Tanya from my teachers so fascinating to hear that approach in middle of this conversation he says to me you know once the when when I wrote to the river I he wrote back to me a letter and the Reber gave me titles and accolades rabbi so-and-so the hostage so-and-so robbed of it this resembled of it so he texted me do you think I'm a rabbi do you think I'm a huset I'm a simple Jew why did the rapper address me with these accolades and he said this question that I'm asking you you know guess what I asked the rebel because when I went into your fevers the first time or maybe they're after the second time whatever you had you see this he had a private audience with the rabbit he asked the river this question and the way he expressed himself to the rabbit was the following way Eve feel s meat for words if feel as knit I don't feel that you're telling me re re the topic the dance the did that work there is a great guy re doesn't feel as a topic it doesn't feel something special he's a year just doing what a chevrons great like all of us one of these accolades of titles so he asked the rep of that question and that habit told them answered him with four or five words who spoke feeling is knit came moose fried words feeling is not not what would you say not what of us now but not a most feeling is not a must five English words to that sort of like when you start to learn below the spine you hope you come this pasta exactly the yo-yo exactly so I remember this it's now 40 years later like it was yesterday I see myself standing sitting downstairs on a bench you know the awkward position facing discuss it and in telling me this and it it made a life-changing impression on me from that day because as he and I was yeshiva buffer and I was you know really into it okay immersed in Habad and the whole idea is not just to intellectualize it's the feel you know there are plenty people who are great minds but they're cold as a fish they don't know they don't they don't activate the feeling you know anyone that says that kabobs about only Huff mabini das and not the emotions is making a big mistake the famous the famous verdict of one of the Guerra Revis is he says like this really us and kebab are we use the same approach the differences they begin with Habad and go down to the emotions to hug us and we begin with haggis with the emotions and we go up to Chabad but we're both looking for the same thing in a way it's correct but one thing's for sure Ichabod that doesn't create a ass is not a proper Subodh the difference is that the four bod nifer bod model is that the cigar should be very much a byproduct one second a product of Chabad so here the rabbit tells disgusted feeling is knit Camus and my humble interpretation is very simple in today's generation reactivity and responsibility that we have is Maya set to do your all your philosophies and all your feelings you can put on the side go out and teach another Jew Torah go out and learn go out and gifts a dunker go out and visit someone you want to be the achiever world no problem call over a student who's weaker and sitting alone with they teach them educated raise this level of learning masa action feeling I don't feel it I don't feel it if you don't feel it that we say smile cry more about it sing more laughs more do something more but feeling should not and is not allowed to stop your behavior of doing more of myself that's what that epithet there that I was saying to have govern Skolnick who was a great Macias nephrons closet who sank to him whether you feel the titles and accolades or not if I did everything say that but I'm paraphrasing if I write those titles to you they are relevant that's who you are you haven't explored again you haven't felt it yet okay that's your choice and and and and it's not relevant to you to feel it I'm telling you who you are this insight Ari is really the essence of the Chabad approach you go to a person you say you're a ye'd and you have a soul and your precious by a shell so the fact that your drains us that you're involved in all kinds of stew yacht that's not who you are he says what do you mean that's not who I am that's who I am that's your outer self your exterior your real self is your lease from your innermost viewer your the summers a diamond okay we need to polish the diamond but that's who you are everything else is only an adjunct to who you are and we need to remember this and never forget this talent our less down on earth that this is who we are so when we learn see this and we avoidance a goof and I've laid this on the Sharma this is who we are some will say to you that you weren't already all shots you get you're trying to learn see this my friend this is who I am I have this two little shafts you're right I it's on my agenda right avi one day we'll get another shot but but together or better said to motivate me to learn shafts I need a push I need a drive I get it from Muslims see this okay the point being feeling missed it came was so don't use I don't feel it and this is so important today with especially I see it with my own children and and other youngsters everything today is about feel good feel good Judaism feel good you don't feel good you don't do it and and it's it's really and I'm talking now you know from my own self it's a breakdown in the way the Messiah of theta was communicated to us in my home my parents were you know from Europe survivors in a sense and my father in particular there was never such a thing like because you don't feel it you don't do it if you don't feel it then you don't do it you get yourself a nice a nicer pot move I remember I don't know I don't remember but someone told me he remembers seeing me listen to this guys I think you like this in the 60s you know I was a young boy and my father would walk from East Flatbush which is the neighborhood near Crown Heights to the rebus fibrinous was a heavy 20 minutes a half an hour walk and I was 78 years old I was a young little boy 67 68 in those years and I was on the lazy side to tell you the truth and you know I was husky and I had a or even on a cold day I didn't want to walk so this fellow of a barbecue was walking to the red bat on one side of Remsen Avenue you know the area and my father and I were on the other side and he saw me crying and not wanting to go and he observed it and father took his hand and gave me a pouch in a second box move now today probably this wouldn't work you'd be arrested for I gave you go to jail but my father was doing it out of love he wasn't doing it out of you know anger in them and but nevertheless you know the the ideas you don't feel it you don't feel it too bad who are you to feel who are you to feel and this is a Western Way of thinking I'm sorry the whole idea of feel-good Judaism and I don't mean feel-good Judaism you know being a belonging to reform conservative will not involve them about throwing people it's all about it's become feel good you know I feel good feel good everything my feeling good what's feeling good if if it's the right thing get plugged in you feel you don't feel so this we're learning in the minor here and although we didn't learn yet inside but I think very important to recap and that discuss all this is that that ever tells that Abdullah geonet who shares it with me in 1980 and 77040 years ago and was still under the influence of your beige and Dibble Thomas what is the message get out there and do it stop already and and my father taught me the same thing was work my father would say what do you mean you're not taking the job because it's not fitting for you go paint the walls Cole deliver newspapers until you get your exclusive job you know what you're really worth and and and you are really worth a lot remember we're special were eating we have nice youngness but for some reason right now this is what you need to do so avoid this huh goof are the avoidance a goof means coming from where you are re what you're dealing or struggling with and turning it around and the sensation the feeling and the elation that we walk away with from doing that nothing beats it when you take a negative when you take a challenge and you make of that challenge a rose a beauty its Cavalli you really shown how strong you are what kind of man you are you know that weathers an English word people like the word manhood what is your manhood your mantle consists of taking a problem solving the problem using using it in a way that becomes beneficial to you then we have another up later after we've done this type of activity which is tiresome and draining and like he says it's a dagger it's an anxiety but a positive anxiety but still an anxiety we come to the second of all the which is avoid this hard neshama the work and activity of the soul of the neshamah what is this activity this is after you experience and do hard work you get a gift you get an inspiration IV not IV re you wanted to say something earlier now it's okay it's okay you're sure so my friends would lend a finish now I know we didn't learn inside we'll finish tomorrow me to share with our chefs help but this is a practical emotion as always looking for the practical aspect of what we're learning in the Mimer and and he's right if it doesn't become practical it's just it's not user friendly this is the practicality of these two ideas my share of our wages have good fun our budgets on a shovel so yes you know you have to schlep here you have to schlep there it's intense it's tiring it's hot outside it's anxiety but if it's taller anxiety it's well worth it and embrace it and I'm talking to myself because this is a very difficult divider and sham help each and every one of us to understand this and to live with this and and ultimately to be the simpler to be the simpler from this which is even a higher avoided anything I've said till now it's like I can tolerate it no you got to go further than tolerating it you have to do cosenza oh well that's a very hardened even hurt her but if we try and we bring together and we talk to each other with each other not at each other with each other and we took it out and and we really you know mesh will get that we'll get there and that that's what that was the whole model of Allah babbage's for bringing it wasn't to have a lecture and a speaker I mean today they've turned into lectures and speakers if are bringing is when people sit together and talk out what's in their heart and they and they and they they help each other and they cry with each other and they laugh with each other and they they talk was on there aren't really bothering them that's what a real foreigners I hope you've had such a far brain and if not with a chef's out when we get back to Beth Shemesh we'll have to make more of these Brendan's you know this is the real group therapy if a brain I call the real Jewish considers group therapy have a great day everyone zag exult thank you very much thank you so much thank you for him you are the worst stomach for the answers you're welcome my pleasure