Maamar Mayim Rabim 1977 #2- Is your work a lifestyle or necessary? Stories Abt Parnasa- RC Dalfin

So good day. We're learning the mimemer the second sheer. It's um of Mayam Rabin. The Reb said this mimemer in 1977 following his heart attack on Seris. And the mimemer is based on a a discourse of the alterb. He talks about the anxiety and preoccupation with making a livelihood which is real for everyone. As I said yesterday, even someone who has lots of money is still anxious. He doesn't have enough money, right? it it's it's a it's a neverending cycle. So the mimemer deals with this but I also added yesterday that the Reb himself going through the experience of challenges of with his health and it was very serious cuz as I said he had a heart attack during hakus during the dancing with the tomus night in 770. I was there. I I saw, you know, I mean, I saw and that Reb sat down and then we were all, you know, asked to leave and most and everyone pretty much left left and they broke the the windows of the women's section looking down to get more air into 770. And then later in the middle of the night, 2:30 in the morning, he had a massive another a stronger heart attack, which my understanding is could have taken his life, but it but it didn't somehow miraculously. And um so when he when he when he said and and from that from that time on for about a year a year and a half later he wouldn't fang on Shabas in 770 which was the standard time when he would fabang once a month for sure but he but he he set us a few and whatever else from his room on a mic and you could hear it downstairs and it was broadcast also to to all over. So he himself went through this this experience the May it wasn't it wasn't with parosen livelihood you know it's not like the reb got paid for for say for teaching Torah and inspiring Jews but he went through challenges is about challenges so this is a mimemer that deals with the overall topic of challenges dealing with challenges so now we're at the chapter Let's go. It's page 292. Let's go right into the text. So the alterb in his discourse come coins the phrase the abundance uh of of anxiety coming from the worry for livelihood for paros says let's analyze the language used by my great greatgrandfather my ancestor the alterba why does he say he could have said a person's is you know has the issue of parosa everyone knows to make a livelihood is common it's expected but the anxiety and preoccupation with that's language seldom used or not used at all but the alterba does use it the says let's look at a verse in the in says it says with the sweat of your palms of your hands shall you eat. If you get down and dirty, excuse me, and you plant the earth and you sew and you plant and and you mow the lawn and everything else and you invest and you study, you use your hands, you shall reap the benefits. You shall have what to eat. says it's known the emphasis on this verse these words says you need to exert your hands your palms but not your mind and your heart that should not be exerted for the purpose of livelihood And let's see how he develops the thought before you you jump on questions. I'm sorry. Although we know we say that the way Hashem gives sustenance to this world to people in the world is through a natural garment that means work. You work, you get paid, you make money. You don't work, you sit home and surf the internet all day. You're not you're not making money. In other words, you need to use lavouch hativi a natural garment. It's the natural normal way, the way Hashem set up the world to work to make a living. So if so, what what's wrong with ex using my mind and my heart to benefit and the the work? And he continues and therefore there needs to be action activity which becomes the vessel for Hashem's effluence to invest itself in and clothe itself in. If you don't make a kayali, if you don't make a vessel, it's not happening from a rational natural perspective. Hashem can do anything. Hashem can have someone come to your door and bring you a million dollars and you're just wasting your time. If Hashem wants to do it, he could do it. But naturally, you have to go up out and make the phone calls and meet the people or do it online, whatever the case. But you have to make a kay. Let's continue. We're on 293. As it says in the God will bless, Hashem will bless everything that you do. If you do, if you act, if you work, you'll be you'll get God's blessing. IF YOU SIT HOME IDALLY, YOU AIN'T GETTING HIS BLESSING AGAIN. COULD HASHEM DO THAT? ABSOLUTELY. But the natural normal way is no. You have to go out and act and do and you have to make a vessel to the extent that sometimes due to the great concealment and darkness in the world. Not only do you have to make a vessel and work, you have to be mea, you have to exert yourself. You have to work very hard. I'm interviewing my father now and and part of the interviews. He talks about his his life in in in in business and jobs. And it's amazing. really, you know, I'm I'm I'm I'm interviewing him for hours and hours and hours how a man, you know, came out of the Holocaust and and and ha had, you know, difficulties with the with with the childhood and teenhood and coming to Israel in 1950 when poverty was rampant on and on and on. Then he comes to America and and and he starts working uh and learning at the same time, you know, a little learning, a little working. And he worked so hard, two jobs, night shifts. And he tells a story. And as I think about it, it's like what I have and what many of us have is is nothing compared to what these green horns, you know, had to go through. I mean, Mark and I spoke about his father, how he, you know, he started off and how he he he built a a a very successful business, but you know, it it's it's it's a it's it's so for me, you know, like reliving and and he's telling it as though it's h happened now. It's happening now cuz he remembers the names, the details. I He's telling me it's LIKE AND THIS ITALIAN WAS THE MECHANIC FOR THE knitting machines. My father was in the knitting business be his knitting business was his last um work uh before he retired you know and um and and and we were up um the guy wanted overtime then he wanted us to work on Sunday but the unions wouldn't let so this guy Murray who wasn't religious he was Jewish said just lock the door when the police come don't open the door I mean it's like so there is making you know okay I make A VESSEL HELLO I'M HERE 9 to5 or whatever the case I'm here you made a you made a vessel and Hashem if he wants to bless it he's going to bless it and you're going to be successful but then there IS YA HOW MUCH EFFORT DO YOU PUT into your work and I could say I could say my own work you know there are times when there's downtime when you're lazy when you're not inspired when you know So you're not exerting yourself. You're not exerting yourself. And that's what he's talking about here. He's saying that at times due to the he says due to the concealment. In other words, if you MAKE A KALI, IF YOU MAKE A vessel by working, you're you you should you should have blessing. You should be able to have your classes, your lectures, and and your prayers. And you should and you should be able to do everything that Hashem wants of a Jew. Why is it not is it not that way? Some sometimes why we don't know why because it's between Hashem and the person and Hashem doesn't always tell the person. LET ME TELL YOU WHY YOUR THE VESSEL you made right isn't is not bearing fruit. Hashem doesn't tell us. Nor should we have the audacity to ask God, I'm challenging you. I'm doing what you want and you're not blessing me. So, you know, get, you know, get out of my life. That's not the Jewish approach. That's not the faith system of of Judaism. But at the same time, oh, so the Reb says, he says over here that it's due to, look at the words in this in the parentheses on page 293. It's due to the the um the great uh intens the the great concealment and hiddenness that prevails. There is a concept that's is not just you know against you or I it's for some reason there is there is something that is hidden now and you could turn upside down over it won't won't help there then we do ya back to the text we exert so so one sec so if that's the days. WHY SHOULDN'T WHY SHOULDN'T you use your mind and your heart for your job for your work? If the ordinary way of just making here moisha has beautiful art when he sits in his art studio we see his art he's open no are people running running and knocking on the hey I WANT TO BUY THE ART you have make have to make marketing right that's the way I have books if I don't do MARKETING THEY SIT IN MY basement you know the beginning you sell a little bit and then they sit you have to market that that that's the world we live in so The question is why? So he says it has to do with Helen Beester concealment. Then he says, but if when you exert yourself more and more, YOU DO THE MARKETING, you score the points, you get the sale. So if that's the case to do marketing, I need to use my mind and heart. Where, when, who this the whole idea OF MARKETING, WHO'S YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE, RIGHT? You don't want to just put up an ad here or there and not know the the the potential of the market. Then you're wasting your time. So, so, so this IS A RHETORICAL QUESTION THAT the Reb is asking. If that's the case, what is wrong? Why does it say why does King David say only your hands should exert be exerted should be used for business for partners for a livelihood but your mind and your heart shouldn't so he he he retorts now you don't need to put your being into into depth deeply next page 294 top of the page. Only your external powers, your your hands and the other external organs should be involved but not the inner powers which refer to the mind and the heart. Because these powers, these faculties, you hear the faculties of the mind and the heart dedicated to Hashem. I I I always tell over a classic story that I that I saw myself to to to actualize this idea. When I was growing up here in Burough Park, there was a a fellow in Shul. His name was Rabzusha Schwarz. I remember him. you have a be blessed. He's already passed on and he would would come sh he learned in 770 the 1940s and he had such a gishmak he really enjoyed learning a piece of gar a piece of Torah. He he was like excited and passionate and he would talk with us because we were in YESHIVA OUR PARENTS WERE working but we were learning the garra and TAS AND THE COMMENTARIES you know. So Shabas when he would come and we would tell him what we're learning and he had learned that uh 20 30 years before he would discuss it with us and he would remember things that his rashiva told him and I remember one day he he got off next to where we lived be before we bought my parents bought a house we rented and it was near the the train uh the be the D train, I think, at the time. Then it changed to the D. Anyway, as soon as he got off the train, he ran into our apartment to talk Torah to discuss Gamarra with with us, I think, with my brother in particular. And it was amazing. It was amazing to see someone who worked all day in the Diamond District in Manhattan. The man is exhausted. You would think when he gets off the train, the first THE ONLY THING HE WANTS TO DO IS go home, get a bite and and and talk to his wife a few words and then go to sleep or something, YOU KNOW, OR CHILL OUT ON THE COUCH. >> RABBI, we used to call I we used to call him Zisha. He worked with my father in the business. My father worked with him for LIKE 30 YEARS. >> WOW. >> MY GRAND YEAH. >> Look at that. I say a story. And Yi Y's father worked with him. Isn't that the fine providence? >> Yeah, they were very close and and now he he was friends with everybody where Yil he he worked in the family business. It was a family business and on 47th Street and he would sit at the same table. My father would sit on one end and he would sit on the other end and they would work together. They would do the the shipping. They used to ship gold and silver to manufacturers. They used to make gold chains and things like that. And I remember going as a kid, he used to give me brahas all the time. used to tell me stories and >> and I didn't even know who he was talking about at the time. It was I for me it was just this rabbi I didn't know >> right he was called Zisha that's that is exactly the way we called him Zisha I said before you know what would you say what >> yeah the whole family he was part of the family >> ANYWAY I'M TALKING I'M TALKING ABOUT HIM SO YOU KNOW I'M TALKING about if you saw the way this man it it WAS LIKE HE DIDN'T WORK it it if like AND HE'S NOT TIRED HE JUST HE WAS JUST talking gar and like this and like that it it left such an impression on me as a teenager, you know, look at look at this man. This is this this story that that it happened and I witnessed it is what the Reb is talking about right here in the mimer that that although you you you you work and you make a vessel and all that, but where is your real love? Where is your real gishmach? not in the diamonds and not in the money and not in all the businesses in a piece of gumra. And and and and this is really just for a second a lesson for each and every one of us that regardless of what we do and regardless of how busy we are in work and regardless that we you know we say okay we're going to make a lot more money. We're going to give more saddaka on and on. You c you cannot you should not forget the is not the money even if it's FOR SODAKA THAT'S NOT thear the is the passion AND LEARNING SO OF COURSE YOU WANT to give a lot of sedak you need to make a lot of money but the question is I'll tell you another short story and I've said this before just I'm walking in mayor it was 95° it was boiling I'm walking uphill from from uh the shook in to if you've gone that road it's like it's uphill I think slim one B one of the has their base med to the right and I'm walking up and I'm thirsty and it's hot so I there's a KIOSK SO I STOP at the left I go in and I'm want to buy a little cold cold water to drink there's a there or whatever. He looks like aid and he's talking to another and learning and I'm waiting there and I want to pay him and I say, "Excuse me, I I'm waiting here a minute or two already. Uh, you know, your store is selling drinks and food." He's and he turns to me like with a straight face. He says, "If it's NOT GOOD ENOUGH, IF IT'S NOT GOOD FOR you that we are in the middle of of discussing a a concept and you can't wait, then I'm sorry. I can't sell it to you." And I didn't walk away saying he's rude. I didn't because if a person's really at this what the Reb says here which I felt he was he was in the middle of a tighter discussion WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAN THE FEW SHEKEL OR OR MORE THAN A FEW shekel so that's the question where is your mind and your heart WHERE IS WHAT IS IT immersed in and making another dollar and making another deal vahulu vahulu or is it now of course when A SURGEON IS OPERATING on someone, they have to think about what's going on. NOT TO GO OFF IN THEIR MIND ABOUT A TOY AND a rashi in a piece of, you know, because he'll mess up the the the surgery, right? But but but the the the question is where are you? What is your love? What is what what what tickles you? And the Reb says what should be tickling us and touching us and and creating that love in in our in our being is Hashem and his let's continue. He says second line on 294 because these faculties need to be dedicate dedicated to serve Hashem. the our master. That's the purpose of our of of why we were created. We're created marked to serve God. That's why we're created. Created not not to have pleasures and all of those things in life. It's nice. It's a nice perk. Very nice. It's nice to have a nice BIG HOUSE AND FOUR CARS AND A LARGE POOL and go on vacations. It's all beautiful and nice. But it if you're not coming from the shame is to to to serve Hashem the master and THAT'S THE BAROMETER. THAT'S THE QUESTION WHEN I'M GOING ON a vacation. When a person is going on vacation to Hawaii or Portugal, wherever there is, they have to ASK THEMSELVES HOW WHAT AM I GOING TO DO there that's going to be to serve God, my creator. Even I'm sitting ON THE BEACH AND I'M tanning and I'm getting fresh air. BUT YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF, so you say, "Well, it's health." Yes, it is health and if that's truly the reason why you're doing it, that's fine. BUT MANY TIMES we use excuses for our desires, pleasures and indulgences. And the primary thing is missing and that is serving God. And that is the way by the way how you should determine whether what flight you go on. People take flights. I've said this before and it's it's you know something that I I I live with. I try. DO YOU DETERMINE YOUR your your flights BASED ON YOUR PRAYER SERVICES? Not only when you have to say kadesh for a loved one. Will you be able to dabble with a minion? Now it's very difficult especially overseas. Very difficult to get the three prayers morning, afternoon and evening with a minion. But the question the question is whether you do or you don't. DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT? OR DID YOU SAY, "HEY, THIS IS A CHEAPER FLIGHT, SO OF COURSE I'M GOING TO TAKE IT BECAUSE I'M GOING TO SPEND LESS MONEY." That's the question. That's the barometer. It is cheaper, but maybe because it's cheaper, you won't get a chance to put on filling and diamond in time. That's what we're talking about here. THAT'S THE SO, OF COURSE, you should work and make a vessel, but it should be all circled around the main thing serving Hashem. Let's continue. And although the effluence that Hashem gives is concealed in in in the natural garments, and he needs to therefore use his mind for the benefit of making a good deal the business. So the Reb SAYS ON 295, YES, you need to use your mind, your intellect, but only as much as you need for this particular thing at time. was with but not using strategies and PS decept not even deception you know um trickery cleverness okay all that it's unnecessary and unhealthy and problematic specifically when you think it's Hashem's blessing who makes you wealthy and and the job that you do is ONLY A GARMENT FOR God's blessing. IT'S NOT THAT THE JOB IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR INCOME. IT'S A LIE. Do you hear the REB MARASH SAID Mosha the REB MARASH SAID THAT TODAY and he's you're talking about in the 1860s or 70s the Marash said back there the fourth said that today parnosa is like mana from heaven. Mana from heaven. Did you decide when to get the man? NO. HASHEM GAVE YOU THE MAN WHEN HE WANTED. SAYS THAT MARASH THE SAME IS TRUE WITH posa when hashem wants you to make a deal and A SALE TODAY HE'S GOING TO MAKE IT happen and you SAY TO YOURSELF WELL I DIDN'T I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TODAY that's right but if you're in sync with hashem when hashem says you make a kay and hashem says today I want him to be blessed how do you moving back to the text it's understoodma writes about this in his discourse. If you have two long garments that are too long on you, what happens? You trip over yourself. So when you make a garment, when you make a garment a vessel for sustenance, for livelihood, if you exert yourself too much and using PS AND STICK AND ALL THAT, IT'S LIKE WEARING A GARMENT THAT'S TOO BIG ON YOURSELF AND YOU'RE GOING TO TRIP ON IT AND hurt yourself. Let's continue. Having such a garment, it it makes it worse. Next page 296. And now he comes back to respond to the language of the use the anxiety and preoccupation with livelihood. Although this person is in a low state at that time that he's bothered and anxious and preoccupied with livelihood, not trusting in Hashem the way he should. This shows that he hasn't meditated and reflected properly here that it's God's blessing that makes you wealthy. In the verse Solomon says what does say they cannot extinguish the hidden innate love that every single Jew has. So the consolation for us is y and even if we're such a excuse the expression jerks and boy you know uh I think there's a lot of jerks in the sense of I don't mean to say it's like don't you you don't realize you're just full OF WORK AND WORK MY FATHER also you know it's in yiddishi so you know if you don't know yiddesh you can't appreciate But I remember just yesterday he said you know he says in the middle of the interview of one of the interviews he says I work like a dog a horse a dog it's like why did I work so hard and he says my mother of blessed memory would ALWAYS SCOLD HIM WHAT ARE YOU WORKING SO HARD for another dollar another dollar you know before he went into the sweater business the knitting business he was a taxi he was in taxi he started in the sweater but then a friend of his says he Lindsay mayor John Lindseay the 60s and Mark remembers him and you know he came you know you want the city was in a turmoil the 60s in all major cities Chicago Los Angeles uh Philly you know and and New York was revolution going on we'll leave it at that and um white flight everything else so John Lindsay made it possible to buy cheaper medallions for taxis he wanted to bring that business in so my father's friend went into the business and he tells my father who was working working had as a worker in the knitting knitting factory. I mean he had a good job and he made nicely. He says you know buy him a medallion you'll you'll do very well much better. My father tells how he put together the money didn't have all the money. He went to my my father his father-in-law my my grandfather and he knew that he had some money. He tells him, "Loan me the money and and DON'T TELL YOUR WIFE, MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, that you did it." And he says, "Okay." And he gives him the money and he put down a down payment, $12,000 for a medallion. It was $25,000 at the time. Can you imagine what it is today? And he bought his first taxi and he made very well. And then Lindsay came up with this idea that if you create a corporation, you can have two t you can have um you can have two t two medallions. So he sold THE FIRST ONE. MAMEISH GIVES tells me the details of how he MAMEISH BUILT HIMSELF UP DAY by day. BUT WITH ALL OF THAT, HE SAYS IN THE middle like I worked so hard why why just for another dollar? And I remember times I've told you this but it it's so you know on my mind that he would COME HOME MINUTES BEFORE SHABAS MANHATTAN TRAFFIC FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN the taxi coming into Brooklyn is disastrous as you all know right and that's what he did and my heart was pounding is my father going to be home before Shabas and my FATHER IS A KIDIC JEW a Jew and everything else but you know the pressure of of of of of Parnosa and making money. IT'S EXACTLY WHAT'S BEING DESCRIBED in this mimer. And it's by the way, it's not, you know, you know, saying that he or anyone else they're bad. It's just the lifyle that has become, you know, unfortunately part of the Jewish world, including the Orthodoxic world. Regardless, everyone is immersed and even if they're not driving a taxi and they have to go over the Brooklyn Manhattan Bridge min, you know, be to make to make it back home in time for Shabas. So, they're they're they're in the stock market and and they're look look what's going on. Look at the podcasts. I mean, YOU KNOW, THE MOST POPULAR PODCASTS TODAY ARE ABOUT MONEY, ABOUT BUSINESS. HOW DID THIS GUY BECOME A BILLIONAIRE AND HOW DID HE BECOME A BILLIONAIRE? JUST LOOK ONLINE. That's what this mind is dealing with. And what does the say? Not that you shouldn't make billions of dollars and millions OF DOLLARS AND GIVE A LOT OF. HE'S NOT SAYING THAT. THE QUESTION IS WHERE ARE YOU AT? Where is your where are you at? And and that's the analysis that we have to use. And if you're if you're if your and your are really about Hashem and mitzvah and helping another yeid, I'll just end with one more story. My father says this. You know, I'm making small clips. So we have about 27 already and I hope to do more. So one of them he talks about my father-in-law my wife's father who was a Russian I've told you Sarah Bransky and he he they moved his parents and the family moved to Australia. The previous sentent in 1949 together with five other um couples they were like you know the many most people went to America, Canada or they went to Australia. It's a story for itself why but that's where they went and and his father of Zal and my wife Za started the institutions and and developed them and that's how the Kabat community be basically flourished from the 50s on in in Melbourne. So, so my father was there till 1990. 1990 for whatever reason the business the Australian economy changed and you know and his business went down down down the tubes and and the real estate and it was a a big mess and he leaves Australia 1990 he lives the last 25 years in Kanites across 770 in a way the best years of his life the older years you know so so my father his mutin when he came he had lost all his money you understand someone who did very well. He lost he lost he lost everything. Uh so my father went to four other people who were friends of my father and some from Russia yet and he said let's each of us give $20,000 that will be $100,000 and we'll put him on his feet so he can start going back into business because he was a salesman in the food business and he'll feel like a mench. You know, my father comes to my father-in-law and he says, um, before I take the money from the five people who each one was going to give the $20,000 wasn't it wasn't an issue. Um, he says, "But I want to know, will you take it?" Cuz you know, my father-in-law, he knew was this, this Russian kabad and you know, green dollars don't mean anything to him, you know. So my father-in-law said, "Absolutely not. He said, "Why not?" He says, "Because right now I don't have anything to invest it in to make parosa. So just to hold money, I'm not doing that." And and he said to HIM, "DON'T ASK THEM FOR MONEY." Do you understand? A man comes to you, wants to give you in 1990 $100,000, not a loan, not a loan, a gift to restart your business life. and you turn him down. Do you understand? That's what we're talking about. We're talking about a person who who realizes, you know, is honest and it it's not about the money. It's about whether this is what Hashem wants right now. Oh, and he said to him, I forgot to tell you, he said to MY FATHER, IF HASHEM WANTS ME TO TO HAVE TO have money, TO HAVE PASA, HE WILL PROVIDE. and he my father says okay you don't want me to do this I'm not doing this and and he never did it so I think these are stories real life stories I've shared to you today to and it's good to share this with others spouses children grandchildren you know when they hear this and those that understand Yiddish out there that are going to be listening to my father's YouTube clips I I've gotten amazing responses from Yiddish speakers. They say they haven't heard such a thing in years cuz he's still from the old country. IT'S LIKE HE NEVER LANDED. HE'S STILL in Romania, you know. And Misha Brawn met my father and anyone anyone that comes to Kanis is in 77 he's in the small room Fabanging. He's the the he is the cheerleader of THE FABANG IS MY FATHER AS MOSHA could tell you. Yesterday, Rabbi Khadakov's son, Rabbi Khadak was the Reb's main secretary who sent me a message cuz last week he said, "I haven't SEEN YOUR FATHER. WHERE IS HE? IS he all right?" And I said, you know, for a few days he wasn't feeling that well. He's 88 almost 89 Canara. So he writes ME YESTERDAY NOTE HE'S BACK WITH ALL THIS GLORY AND ENERGY. BARAK HASHEM, MAY HE LIVE LONG. SO, you know, when you hear a person who went through it, I didn't go through it. We didn't go through it. You know, we were called by by uh the Russian, my wife, growing up in Australia, you know how they called us Americans, chocolatiness. It's the it's it's chocolate. The it's like all you know is about eating a little chocolate. It's like you're such a meek weakling, you know. So, who you know what ARE YOU AMERICANS? CHOCOLATKIN IS YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING LIKE COME ON COME ON GET OVER it you know so they should help us that we should take from these mym that we're learning not just the text and the concepts to understand them which is also you know very important but more the and I want to dedicate I meant to say it's it was yesterday's the yard site of Mosha Meyer's son the fifth the fifth yard site the name again was is um Zakaria Israel Benitz. Did I get it right? >> That right. >> AND I'M NOT A GOD BY AND I'M NOT A GOD BY I REMEMBER the name from telling me one time. My my memory is still working. >> Thank you very much. So the you know of your son who we spoke about it at that time he's he's in Ghana for sure and and your good deeds and our good deeds and dedicating the class to the shama makes him soar higher and ultimately back down with Mashiach the resurrection of the dead. Amen. We'll see everyone tomorrow. Have a good day. Amen. Amen. Amen. >> Take care. Byebye. Byebye.