Report GOOD news, please! | Letter #9 of 30 Letters in 30 Days

Good evening. Welcome to letter number nine of 30 letters in 30 days. Can you believe it already? Letter number nine. Um, before we start learning, we're going to join our learning with charity, with action, with an act of goodness and kindness. We're going to give to Dhaka, which is in accordance with with what we spoke a few nights ago, how the Rebbe actually asked that the appropriate gifts to him are gifts of Torah and Tzedakah. So, here's the Tzedakah I'm using the Kehot Publication Society app, which is so much fun because of the little noises. Um, let me just make sure I have my sound on so we get the fun. All right. There you go. So much fun. And I'm going to put the uh I'm going to put the link for the Kehot Publication Society app in the description of the YouTube video if you're watching on YouTube. Also, the PDF is in a link in the description of the YouTube. And also, if you're on YouTube, please subscribe and turn on notifications, and that way you will know exactly when a new shear goes live. Awesome. Okay. Let's learn. Let's do it. Letter number nine of our 30-day journey. And this is from Tes Vav, from volume 15 of the Igros. It's letter 5,000 349 in the month of Nissan from this time of year. It's from the 7th I mean, we're not in Nissan yet, but we're getting close there. Nissan is from 1957. Brooklyn, Shalom Uvracha. It's written to a man. And it's in Yiddish. In answer of your brief, in answer to your letter. It wondered me its content. The contents of your letter perplex me. Hmm, that's intriguing. What was perplexing about the person's letter? You write that I had asked you to write me and let me know that things will get better. You yourself write in the letter that I had asked you to let me know when things get better, when your situation improves. And that you didn't do it. Meaning, the person's reporting to the Rebbe, okay, so I'm rehashing. I asked the Rebbe for a blessing. The Rebbe gave me a blessing. He said, let me know when everything's better. I didn't let the Rebbe know when things are better. Okay. And then you proceeded to wait until when? After things got better, they did get better. You didn't let me know. They got better. Then after they got better, THINGS GOT WORSE. AND THEN only then did you let me know. This letter is a very loving, loving, loving rebuke. But before we begin the rebuke, I want to make sure it's very clear what the Rebbe does not say. The Rebbe does not say, "Oh, interesting. You know how to find my address when you had a problem. You know how to find it again when after the problem went away and got better, it got worse, and now you're contacting me again. And then in between, when everything was good, you didn't know how to call. You can't pick up a phone, right? Okay. No. It is not like a passive-aggressive Jewish guilt type of thing at all. But it is a rebuke. And the Rebbe is telling this person that it's a big problem when you don't report back about the improved situation. But why is it a problem? We're going to see. It's actually the Rebbe is I I hope I can use these words. The Rebbe is working hard here to help us. And he's telling this guy, "I'm trying to help you, and I just need you to work with me a little bit, not for my benefit, but for yours. I need you to help me to help you." Okay, what I'm saying should become evident as we read the letter, and you can decide whether you agree or disagree with my take. All right. It's known what is written in the holy books. What is written in the holy books. Um, as men sent a sort of blessing that men say on the cannon in the fullest mass and up Duncan and of a passing and often that when you see kindness from a sham, you need to fully acknowledge it and thank a sham in the appropriate manner. And what is the appropriate manner? What's the dunk in two given in the appropriate thanks to a sham is an increase in title of Memphis. What's as men on the can't does good to what a sham is what I get that when you acknowledge, when you recognize the goodness that a sham gives, how does I need a brock is what a sham is what I get when a sham is what I get to knock in them. It not only maintains, but improves, expands the brock is the blessings that a sham is giving. Okay? So, when a sham gives good, acknowledge it. Acknowledge it by increasing in title of Memphis. When you do that, you will actually draw down more brock is However, I then ask him does good to if when the good comes if you look at the good that a sham just did for you and you see it as a self-understood thing. I would translate that as you take it for granted. Or you ascribe it to yourself and to your own hard work and like this or the like. Maybe not your own hard work, but let's say your own hard work or your own whatever. Okay. In the lotion of a possum, this is called the way it some yardy that you attribute your success to your own prowess, your own acumen. Okay, so if a sham does you a kindness and you either take it for granted and just say, "Oh, it just happened. Just happened." Or even you take credit for it yourself and say, "Oh, I'm so smart. I'm so good." It's not of us does bring it to to a entire Memphis. Not only will that not bring you to increasing title of Memphis cuz why should you increase in title of Memphis? A sham didn't help me. Right? A sham didn't help me. If a sham would have helped me, I would have increased in title of Memphis. But since it just happened on its own, or even worse, I'm the one who made it happen. Why should I increase in title of Memphis? No. It's written in vice God for care. And in fact, what could even happen is person could get uh careless even God forbid decrease. What a man feels sick. He feels self-sufficient. I'm good. I'm good. I got I got it. I got it. Don't worry, a sham. It's not kind of wonder in it. It's not a wonder that the situation gets worse. Cuz title of Memphis is the key to brock is and now the person's not not only not increasing where it was appropriate, but perhaps even decreasing. And yeah, so don't be surprised when your situation uh sort of degenerates. Now, a lot of you out there have my type of mind, not my type of my type of thinking, and you're like on the edge of your seat, and you're like you're like, "That's a joke. That's a joke. That's a joke. You're saying a joke." I know. I know. I've been holding myself back from saying it cuz it's such a well-known joke, and everybody knows this joke, and it almost feels like a crime to tell such a hackney joke, but it's actually completely appropriate right here. So, I'll tell it guy's driving around the block in Manhattan trying to find a parking space cuz he's got to go to a business deal. He's going to make a million dollars at the business deal, and he can't find a parking spot. He's driving around, driving around. He's like, "Oh, a sham, please, please, please, find me a parking spot, and I'll give 10% of my business deal. I'm going to give $100,000 to Tzedakah." And he's driving around, can't find a spot. He's going to be late for the meeting. He's going to miss the meeting. He's going to lose the whole business deal. "A sham, a sham, please help me. Get me a parking spot, and I'm going to give I'm going to give 20% to 200,000 of the million-dollar profit." And he's driving around, can't find a parking spot, can't find a parking spot. Finally, he says, "A sham, please, I'LL GIVE HALF OF THE MONEY. I'LL GIVE HALF THE money from the profit of the deal to to Tzedakah." And a parking spot opens up right in front of him. He says, "Never mind, a sham. One just opened up." I like that. By the way, I do have a sound effect for that. Hold on. Let me see. There you go. "Never mind, a sham. One just opened up." Okay. Um, yeah. So, it's like the guy writes to the Rebbe when he had a problem. The Rebbe says, "Okay, you know, uh write me back when things get better." The Rebbe gives him a blessing. Things are going to get better. "Write me back when things get better." Um, the guy doesn't. Things get worse. He writes to the Rebbe and says, "Yeah, I was supposed to write back. Like, things got better, and I was supposed to write back when they got better. Then then I didn't write back, but now but now everything's gotten worse." And the Rebbe is like, "Yeah. You don't you see why that happened, how that happened?" And now the Rebbe proceeds to explain, "When I tell people to write me back and let me know things got better. It's not for me. It's for you. It's to help you because I want you to recognize when things got better because that itself will will will trigger things getting even better. Okay, but I I don't have to say it paraphrase paraphrase outside. I I let me just read inside cuz the Rebbe says it explicitly. And from this we could understand the power of every time the Rebbe writes, I mean it's so common the Rebbe I'm awaiting good news, you know, please notify good news, let me know good news. And we see now that that is another gift. That's another act of kindness that the Rebbe is bestowing. Okay. It's understood that this that I asked you to let me know when things get better is that a main that I gave an what was the intention? I wanted to draw your attention. The whole purpose of this was to draw your attention to the fact that Hashem had just done you a kindness. I mean, if you would have to remember to write me back and say things got better, that would itself force you to recognize that Hashem just did you a favor. And that would have improved the goodness. It would have gotten even better. So the Rebbe is very transparent here explaining exactly the the mechanics behind this. as So Hashem should help you that at least from now on as discussed above especially as we're now preparing for the Yom Tov of Pesach, the time of our liberation. I'm not sure I understand exactly what that means. especially especially that we're getting ready for Pesach. Um but it sounds really really exciting. It sounds like I mean, you could read it as ominous as well if you wanted to, but it sounds also exciting like the Rebbe's saying you know, we're coming to a really powerful time, a time that I refer to it not just as Pesach but as Zman Cheruteinu, a time of liberation. Not just commemorating our liberation, but we re-experience liberation every every year when Pesach comes. And so especially we're coming to this time like I want you from now on to let me know the good news. And to me, I don't know, maybe I'm a little hopeful here. It sounds like the Rebbe's saying, "Please be on the lookout." You know, like please and after all, the guy just wrote to the Rebbe. So what, you think the Rebbe's not going to help him? Even with the rebuke, of course the Rebbe's going to help him. So please be on the lookout for the good stuff. Like it's on the way and let me know when it happens cuz I want you to be conscious of it and then improve your behavior even more and then that'll improve the situation even more and it becomes a virtuous circle and it's it's awesome. It's great. But you have to have to just follow my advice. Here again, help me help you the Rebbe's saying. I'm trying to please work with me. I'm trying to help you to get the best situation. All right. Um You don't mention in your letter about a shidduch for your son. So I'm assuming as light as we may have according to what we spoke, I I I think that must refer to an earlier conversation. I don't think it refers to this letter. It's being taken care of in a proper way. with success. Uh with a bracha for a kosher and a happy Passover b'shem kvickly. This is Admas Shleita Maskir. In the name of the Rebbe signed by the secretariat. Short letter, short and sweet, but so powerful. And I think all of us who are following along a class like this, 30 letters in 30 days can probably identify with this in a very personal way. Uh meaning to say, were there brochos that you asked for and you forgot to report back when things got better? And if so, I I don't think it's too late. I don't think it's never too late to report good news, right? And by reporting the good news, it brings even more good news. And uh God willing it should be that we should all have lots of good news to report including the best best best possible news that we're all awaiting Moshiach. Okay. Good night.