The Art of Silence - "Learning For Raizel"

the yeshiva dotnet it's a very hard week it's a very hard week for raisins friends and nevermind for Rachel's family this is a terrible terrible loss I mean we're dealing here with a person who was 39 years old and a large family of eight amazing and special children they were living in Israel and due to her illness the family uprooted itself from the Holy Land and came to the United States of America relocated here recently to Muncie to Maya neck of the woods and this has been a excruciating ly painful journey for her and for her loved ones and this past week she said goodbye to the world and many a tear has been shed I want to emphasize I think one important point but it's sometimes overlooked and that is one might think logically that when a soul leaves the world it's just disconnected the body isn't turned into the earth and the soul goes back to its spiritual source and yet it's actually a revolutionary idea in Judaism that when I or you sitting in this world on our planet in my home in your home and I learn Torah in memory of this soul I learned matthias for this in the summer my gift sadaqa I give charity for this in the show I do a mitzvah for this neshama I say a prayer for this soul I do a good deed for this soul I bring in light into the world for this neshama I say Kaddish for the neshamah or whatever the method is it actually has a tremendous impact on the soul do you think how does that exactly happen I'm sitting here in my room and I'm learning something I'm learning a mission our something else of Torah or I'm helping somebody I'm giving charity I'm saying Kaddish I'm saying at will I'm saying a capital dilib for this neshama what's the connection and yet in the intricate web and interconnectedness of all of humanity with our source in the intricate unity between heaven and earth both vertically and horizontally these relationships are very profound and a person even a stranger never mind a family member or a friend does something for a neshama it literally impacts transforms elevates inspires helps the soul wherever it is just like I can help you in this world I could connect to you I can support you I can be here for you physically financially emotionally psychologically spiritually and you could be here for me in a similar vein that connectedness does not cease even if we fail to be able to see it or sense it with one of our five senses and that's the impact that every person can have on a shaman giving it not us giving it delight giving it joy giving it pleasure giving it love sending our love sending our our connection our affection to that soul and it works both ways it's a two-way street that soul sends its love and its energy and its brightness down here to earth and in the case of raisin sucker so tryna live rock that type Araiza last abuse of its hook we know how much light she shed and she radiated through her 39 short years that light doesn't die that light continues to live it continues to live by the impact of her soul on our world it continues to live in the lives and in the hearts of each one of her eight children it continues to live in the life of her husband that continues to live in the life of her parents in the life of her brothers in the life of her sisters many of them who I know very well very very special people and it continues to live in the lives of her friends let me share with you a story my dearest friends story that I think is extremely relevant to this evening about a Jew who once came to the closin burger ever the closin burger ever was a Jew named rabbi Yuka seal you hood the Halberstam sacred Sadiq lavrova he was one of the great Hasidic masters of the previous generation he passed away Thomas I think it was tests Thomas tough Chinon Dalit the ninth of Thomas if I'm not mistaken 1994 the closin burger Abba lost a wife and 11 children in Auschwitz Birkenau death camp he himself was at the verge of death not once but numerous times he survived the clothes of Berger Eber who rebuilt his life he remarried he had children the to present clothes and burger Evers today one in Borough Park one in Korea Sansa Netanya in Israel are children of his from his second marriage post-holocaust marriage but he used to speak a lot about his experiences and his memories many survivors did not speak but he spoke a Jew once came town and a Jew Aston how did you continue living in the face of such adversity in the face of such profound agony pain suffering unfathomable tragedies that befell you me we don't have the words we don't have the quill the pen to capture what a person like the clothes in Maghreb and so many other Jews in dirt I mean you know you think about it it's surreal it's still hard to believe today 75 years later 80 years later and one day a wife and 11 children to the gas chambers how do you go on he asked them how did you go on and he was a motivated person he didn't just go on in the spear he built he built a beautiful community he built a beautiful family he built a famed Lonni Otto Hospital in Italian he built the famous myth foolish ass he was a mentor to hundreds to thousands he was a teacher he was a rebel he was at Sadek it's an app how you know to be a leader you have to be enthusiastic you have to be inspired to inspire others you have to be inspired yourself can't fake it we can't fake it for too long so he asks him he says poison burger but sounds closers burger ever tell me how you did it close the bigger have a look at him and he said two words he had this extraordinary accent Domeier IE da Maia ie which is a quote from Ezekiel you Haskell I think it's chapter 16 or 17 we say it in the Haggadah the night of pacer and it basically describes the night before the exodus of Egypt the Jewish people are compared to a fetus which just which is which is just emerging from the mother's womb without clothes of a theorem for area it's be decked in blood it just emerged it still has to be cleaned up the umbilical cord caught and ultimately mature and develop but that's the night at the moment of exodus when the jewish people are being extricated from the womb of their tyrants lacasa sling Macario Macario of god in exiles like a state of pregnancy and now they are emerging they're emerging emerging into a new identity and new people a new nation and the prophet of Eskil says for i mereloc i said to you but the myath haoyi but the mighty e in your blood you shall live in your blood you shall live the sages associate this with the fact that the Jewish people that night offered the Passover offering and they sprinkled its blood on the doors of their home that was one form of blood they also circumcised themselves they went through a bridge that was another form of blood and but that my hie through this blood you shall live but the closer Mecca rabbit didn't give this long explanation just said towards but the myath ie this drew his visitor naturally thought that the closer macGruber was sharing with him the following insight and the insight was that the Jewish people do not allow the blood that they observe to destroy them rather for them the blood and the sacrifices that they make become an impetus an impetus for a new birth for a new redemption for a new reality they don't see their blood being spilled as just a vain experience with no meaning with no hope with no purpose with no significance thank you and therefore they don't allow themselves to go into the spirit and despite the pain and despite the suffering and despite the bloodshed they lift themselves up and they say but the Maya how ye for me this is a calling for renewed life for renewed vigor for deeper resilience for deeper courage for deeper faith for deeper commitment this is how he understood what the closing magnet ever meant but the Maya that he did not allow the tragedies that he experienced and observed to kill him to destroy him so that his blood would also be shed if not physically emotionally no for him it was a call to rebirth a call for to rejuvenation reinvigoration to reinvent himself and his family and the Jewish people this is how the person understood so the claisen burger ever asked him do you understand what I'm saying he said yes but the my hie you telling me that the blood that the Jewish people saw is an impetus and a catalyst and a springboard for a new life a new vigor he said no no no that's not what I meant I said what did you mean the closing beggar ever told him something incredibly incredibly profound and moving he said but the Maya ie I'm referring to something else completely referring to a scene in Leviticus partially knee it's the first day of the month of Nissen the tabernacle the sanctuary has been inaugurated for the first time Renuka submission the divine presence at last has descended among the Jewish people it was a moment of extraordinary ecstasy joy and sanctity and then tragedy struck the two oldest sons of Aaron the high priest mother than Aveo died talk about talk about an experience that smacks one in the face of such joy this was Aaron's greatest day he was the high priest and suddenly he lost two children moysha tried to comfort him his brother Marsh the uncle of these boys the uncle of not of anivia comforts and he says to him who I shall die by - my mama Korea Kaddish what you have seen now is basically a manifestation of the words that God said I will become sanctified through my closest ones as Rashi says Moisture said I thought it was you or me now I see that they are greater than you and even greater than me well he didn't say even they're greater than you and they're greater than me this is what he tells his brother and you know what Aaron says Aaron doesn't say thank you you know what Aaron does towards if I Yi do him IRA are almost silent it was quiet he was mute he didn't say a word then he agree with my ship did he disagree with my SH later there's an argument between him and my son there's a disagreement about the burning of a certain goat one she said you shouldn't that and said hadn't felt you should Marcia said here he doesn't argue with me doesn't agree with did moisture comfort him were moistures words meaningful to him wish and I were very close they were tight brothers two prophets two words by edon Aaron Aaron was boy he was quiet what type of silence was this was this a silence of submission was it a silence of there were no words the pain was so profound he couldn't say anything was it a different type of silence the closing beggar ever says bid the myath ke bid on myath comes from the word Viadeo him by either him Aaron means Aaron was silent but the Maya je means you shall live through your silence that's how I continue to live I continue to live through my silence bidam is that you knows that some experiences in life you cannot wrap your brains around them they are two gigantic they are too painful they are too devastating to be able to try to assimilate them into your intellectual faculties to try to make sense out of them to try to make yourself feel comfortable Jews have cultivated the ability for vyi de for silence silence doesn't mean I don't care silence means that I respect the magnitude of the mystery silent means that I realize that I am in the presence of something that completely transcends my faculties silence means the recognition that I am vulnerable and humble in the presence of a story that started far before me and will end long after me one that transcends my finite perspective and a vision of reality silence is the ability of the Jewish people to remain fully present in life fully involved in life to have the ability to continue to laugh and to cry to dance and to grieve to celebrate and to suck the marrow out of life without running away without detaching not because I don't feel the pain not because I understand why not because I have rationalizations and justifications and explanations but vaiid I am R&B demeyers me because a Jew knows how to cultivate the art of silence silence means the recognition that life is a mystery death is a mystery and a finite brain simply does not have the tools to contain infinity I look at it I know I know that there's meaning I know that his purpose I know that I'm not a random mutation and I know that the world was conceived in love and that love is the consciousness that vibrates through existence it's the fuel of existence but I still cannot make peace with it and therefore I'm silent in the presence of such magnitude of such an affinity but the mire ie somebody once asked another Holocaust survivor I had the privilege of knowing professor Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel believe ezel was a close friend of my father's a final of Rana and somebody once asked dr. Wiesel he said is there a tradition of silence and Judaism and Elie Wiesel responded yes there is a tradition of silence in Judaism but we don't talk about it what a profound answer this is what the claisen burger ever was telling this Jew they the Maya and ie IRA in this silence allowed him to continue to function to continue to be positive to continue his mission so the closing burger ever turns to this Jew and says you asked me how we rebuilt our lives the answer is bida Maya Heba da Maia heyy with the de Maya with the vyi de with the silence of Aaron with silence we continue to have a life there are no answers there are no solutions to devastation there are no easy comfortable ways of making peace with unthinkable tragedy we cannot we don't understand we cannot understand perhaps we don't even want to understand because our job is not to understand the reason for pain our job is to protest pain our job is to heal the world from pain our job is to pray for the day when pain will be eliminated not to make peace with people's pain it is a wrong attitude to try to get all up in the need to understand to make sense we don't try to understand rather we focus what do I need to do now what is my mission this silence that allows me to be present and to be positive to be a beat to have faith and to move on in life for some it's the silence of submission for others it's a silence that includes a lot of questions for others it's a silence of protest this experience tool is one that is extremely painful many people have experienced pain in the last few months does coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of so many precious precious people in our community so many people you know so many people I know relatives friends mentors and every tragedy is leaves a void that is that it's very profound but raisins death created a sadness all its own her age her family her young children the grief is very profound and when the wound is so fresh it behooves us to remember bidam ayat IE we live with the padam iana of iodine iron of our islands silence sometimes silence is not weakness silence sometimes is the deepest strength si habla homage Tico the prickly ovis says the fence the crown around wisdom is silence and the great masters explained that silence sometimes far deeper than any wisdom you know why because wisdom grasps what you know and silence allows you to touch the unknowable knowledge wisdom perception allows me to experience that which I know but how much do I know how much can I understand silence gives me access to the infinite mystery of life gives me access to the unknowable little story beautiful story ah such a douche Maximizer I have to tell you I didn't see this story and how bad sources I saw this story in in non Hobbit sources about the alter rebbe the vomit on Eurovision is ominously adding the founder of Habad the story goes like this there was a wedding of a relative of the altar enter the balla Tanya and as often in Jewish weddings they invited a bathroom it was a famous Bachchan great comedian or then there wasn't really called the comedian but a sharp Jew and a gift of gab and nowhere to compose great prose and songs in order to bring joy to the groom and the bride and the families and the dancing and he was a hostage of the altar ever and he was brought into the wedding to do but honest now there is a problem to stand in front of the altar above the bow a Tanya and say jokes or share your brilliance was a very you very very awkward for anybody never mind for a follower for a student who had some appreciation of when whose presence he is so what did he do he took a little extra lehayim in order to inebriating self a little bit to become a little tipsy you know poor him dick so he should be able to joke around uninhibitedly and he starts off and he looks at the altar Abba and this is how the become is this is how his so-called jokes at the end of the wedding this is how they develop this is how he began he says rabbit I decided today that there's no big difference between you and me we're more or less than the same boat people were shocked cause it gets up and says there's no difference between you and me the altar every after understand was one of the greatest minds in Jewish history one of the greatest authorities in the world of Halawa and in the world of Kabbalah and in the world of Jewish philosophy dealing with an incredible mind of Yasha barrel of a chick once said and he comes from real little loose Iranian stock from the family of replying vulajin er hi amber Larson it was the famous student the moment on her by soloveitchik once said in Boston 1969 that since the Rambam there was no issue sagal there was no man of such towering intellect who embodied such intellect and altering the ballot Anya however you want to explain it I'm quoting my buy/sell evasion I heard it on tape in any case he tells Dalton about the wedding I decided there's no big difference between you and I I'll say it in addition and I'll translate he said thus was a racist Vesak I finished thus was evasive a steroid sewed our perception was erased ooh miss Mae snitched a beer versus the editor from them was erased lagaa by denver survey snitched he said whoever I decided there's no great disparity between you and I'll tell you why whatever I know you know okay whatever you don't you don't know I also don't know so what's the difference what I know you know what you don't know I also don't know so what's the difference difference this is a couple of things or maybe more than a couple of things that you know and I don't know grant it but now I ask you them how do you compare that which you do know relative to that which you don't know and tears came down from the author of his eyes how did you compare that which you know relative to that which you don't know so you see my friends words ideas are amazing they allow us they allow us a glimpse into that which we know into that which we may not know to know which we may not know today but we'll know tomorrow or that which we can at least access on some level it it becomes to us even a little glimmer of it silence vahid oh but the Maya silence faith allows us to touch that which we don't know allows us to touch infinity it doesn't make us naive it doesn't make us oblivious it doesn't make us death to the realities that we're experienced it just allows us to appreciate an experience and touch the truth that life is infinitely larger than that which I will ever be able to contain in the two or three pounds jello and this two or three pound jello called my brain as brilliant as a brain is it's a creation by God and the finite creation cannot really grasp the Infinite Creator and now I want to share with you be teaching of the Baal Shem Tov Lewis is coming the Baal Shem Tov's yard sale is on louis MO sons have passed away who was tough cutoff shoe is 1760 I read this teaching on Shabbos Shabbos morning before Darwin Inc we Davin at home before Dominic I was learning some of the Baal Shem Tov's teachings in a safer kisser Shem Tov and I came across this teaching and I'm gonna learn it with you I want to share it with you it meant so much to me and just due to a technical challenge I didn't have a chance to post it before the class but God willing when I finish I will find it on the net on the internet and post it on this class so if you want to see it inside its Kester shem tov section 6 sim involve if you'll go to value Sheva dotnet with this lecture is presently playing in addition to zoom there will be a PDF or a source sheet near the video and you'll be able to study it inside I chose this teaching because I recently learned it because it's from the ball summative and slowest is coming and also because it relates to the story of moistures interaction with the Jewish people following Matt and Tara so the baal shem tov says and I'm gonna read inside it's a short piece and I'm going to explain the hard over a sure you surely can tell even a lie soap uh second for empirical of PASOK you desire moisture debate hotels the Jewish people remember he delegates he appoints officials and ministers and mentors and leaders to be able to help the Jews with their issues and conflicts and dilemmas but he said h-how'd over Ashley except me can something that is too difficult for you something that is too hard for you bring to me that Cleveland mail I bring it to me and I'll try to help and solve the problem Peter shall Baal Shem Tov sa mornin Bama the Baal Shem Tov said in the name of the Rambam this is caster Shem Tov sim involve the source of it is been Pyrus Yosef in the introduction been Paris Yosef which records many teachings of the ball shunt of an introduction he brings this ball some term in the name of the Rambam ROM Banias Knox manatees of an emotion banishment who lived in Spain in the thirteenth century was one of the great Jewish leaders Halak assists philosopher his biblical commentators Tom you dis physicians of the top so the Baal Shem to sign the name of their banks had seemingly be neither a man told his son in the establish aa basis of a class so six years Madras and what sounded the camel Lacan you see ash Moses or Fatima mitzvah Lavinia schlosser Salem Miami men do bad overseers love the man army men do you haven't answered I am a haughty release or alkane austerity them call us Alec Mason covers are not smoke vodka vodka cafeteria let's add a la cama Lacan assertion is Baraka Yaga and at a local event of a typical time the Ramban told his son sometimes in life you may have a doubt how you should do something there are perspectives that dictate you should follow this path to our other perspective dictate you should follow another path path and you're in a dilemma you're confused there's uncertainty you hit what we would call a fork in the road literally there's two opposite paths and you don't know what to do or you may have a doubt if something is a mitzvah or something is not a mitzvah should you do it or should you abstain from it not only that sometimes you have a personal bias or agenda you want to do something and therefore your mind will manipulate you into thinking that this is actually a permissible thing to do and really it's forbidden and destructive sometimes in life there is uncertainty do I go this way do I go that way a decision I may have to make in terms of my marriage with my family with my business with my employees with myself with my colleagues what's the right thing to do this way or that way is this the right thing is this a wrong thing is it's actually a mitzvah or maybe my mind is playing games with me maybe I just have another agenda and that is causing me to gravitate towards this position what do you do so there are bonds as to his son you must be able to try to remove your personal bias from this you have to get rid of the self-consciousness he gives two examples your joy and your ego your glory can you get this out of the picture that's how you have to think about it you have to be able to lift yourself up from personal biases from personal agendas from my own personal entanglement with the issue and he says then Hashem will let you know the truth and you'll be able to go with confidence in a certain path says the Baal Shem Tov this is what moisture Davina was telling the Jewish people the sow should cause of this is what he means heard of Arash Hashemi can share in communion a class a CLE Maya how Suffolk Noland McCann Bahasa alkane to south Amitabh rosanna Oscar McCoy term the attack or even a life back Ivana Sheila Changsha my initial clear varnish mattes attorney Ivana eighties Mike Micallef this idea is intimated in the words of moisture Levin Hodari Shiksha sometimes there's a situation in life that imposes a lot of difficulties and uncertainty you don't know what to do should i do what should i not do it you know why because it's me ken because there is too many toxic entanglements here there is a lot here you have a lot of personal fears or agendas conscious or unconscious and they are creating this uncertainty you can see things clearly so moisture is not just telling them there is a difficulty he explains why cause me Ken you cannot see it clearly you have to free up the space right now there is too much fog in your life fog fear obsession guilt guilt whatever else you want to use for fog but there's a lot of farm you can't see the Sun you don't have clarity what do you do you have to be able to cultivate the courage of not taking this personally of going to a place where your trauma free stress free ego free agenda free insecurity free get out of it and Moshe says Pachter even a lie you have to be able to come close to me wasn't me come close to me motion Rubino is a servant of God you have to be able to ask yourself what does Hashem want from me at this moment the question has to be what does God want without other agendas and other perceived or delusional enjoyments and therefore gaze that I'm personally going to get from it then who schemata ferociousness I'll be able to hear I'll hear what you're saying what sosam Optive I'll be able to imbue the person with the right thoughts and the right perceptions of how to live short teaching of the what does this mean in our life what it means in our life is sometimes I'm in a situation and this confusion it's a painful situation there's a dilemma again it could be in your own life your own future your family your relationships they should with your spouse your relation with your children relationship with somebody else in your family relationship with somebody else and you really have a lot of uncertainty you don't know what to do it's so important not to get personal and not to be able to take this personal your child tells you something my child tells me something or it doesn't tell me something and I could become so personal and there's now a personal vendetta or a personal issue my security my sense of confidence my sense of max illness my sense of father leanness my sense of manly and whatever has been damaged and I make decisions from the wrong place because I'm living in the fog of my own personal pain is it possible for me to get out of this place don't take it personal it's not about you sometimes when I'm living with in their inner stuff inner garbage everything becomes personal I can't even see the reality from another person's perspective I can't see what reality from a clearer perspective so the boss sometimes says Myesha say you're gonna know what to do but the way for you to find that what to do is to really work on yourself and say for example with children these are God's children I was entrusted with the unique privilege of raising and polishing these diamonds in another relationship that you have that may be difficult and turbulent this is not about my own insecurities and my own egos can I extricate myself from that and be able to really really tuned in to the divine mission and the divine perspective at this moment and then you free yourself up and you can take a path that brings you to your destination it brings you to a very very powerful place and the reason is because you had the courage to be able to take yourself out from this type of fog just close the doctor thank you thank you thank you very much could you bring me water could you bring me water I think it's not an easy thing takes a lot a lot of courage and here again I want to mention Ray's 'el she was a person who struggled I'm not only talking about the illness she had various struggles of life but one of her greatest virtues and a greatest attribute to us she never allowed pettiness and various dysfunction that she observed internally or externally to define her she allowed herself to dream big to think with expansiveness to operate with an expansive state of consciousness to actually see herself as a divine ambassador in the world to see yourself as an agent of God's infinite love and therefore not to get caught up in the natural insecurities and traumas and fears and Texas at the interpreting fills the skeletons and demons and ghosts that many of us I don't want to say all of us but many of us vibrate fry break through our system she can get out of the McKenna and therefore out of the IKEA takarov on a lie thank you so much thank you it's whoria model Katahdin I am Lee Haena Malik I love shock I'm Nia vara and therefore walk a path that was a beat that was positive that was invigorating and that brought radiance to her and to so many other people's lives may her memory and soul continued to serve as a source of blessing and inspiration to all of you to all of us to the family that's here with us I say Amaka monogamous can massage on availeth severe Shailaja may God comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem to raise all's immediate family say we have no words but you're in our thoughts are in our prayers it's a very painful time to raise those husband's raises children we know there are no words we just pray that you have the strength the resilience to be able to deal with the situation the best way possible and I know that raisins light will continue to shine brightly in the heart and soul of each one of her eight diamonds I want to also thank everybody who contributed to the fund that was created for raisin suckers family due to the financial difficulties and economic hardships thank you for all of those who donated and I want to make a request and use this opportunity for those who did not or even those who did to increase your contribution for this special fund raisin sucker you could find it online I thank you and now I'm going to go to questions so I'm opening up here the chat will do the questions from the zoom if you want to write your questions you can write your questions on the chat if you're on the zoom if you want to send your questions through the yeshiva dotnet that's fine you can come to the video page with raisin suckers video and you will see there is a place to ask your question and I will God willing try to take as many questions as we can't okay Wow so somebody writes as follows I watched this brave woman struggle with her illness the past year always a smile that's true Hashem should give Beryl who himself with the siblings was orphaned of a mother at a young age the strength to carry on and raise these children thank you to feschi and rahul it's man who opened their house to this family this past year in Muncie or longer packing into their home some 25 plus people yes a big shout-out to feschi and Rahul it's man here in Muncie who did something incredible raises should be a good - better for a family asked from a chef to come already so we could be swiftly rejoined very well Ramesh thank you for thank you for sharing that and now let's go to the chat I see a few questions okay let me go to the top okay there's a question when a person passes away does the neshamah forget about his or her family and friends so this is a very interesting discussion and it's discussed a lot in the books but according to many many sources the neshamah does not forget and even though this is debated but the conclusion of most of the authorities in spirituality over the generations is but then a summer remains deeply connected to all of its loved ones not only does it not forget about its family and friends but on the contrary the soul rejoices and celebrates with its families and friends when the soul sees the continuous life and joy and celebration of its loved ones the soul celebrates and conversely to soul grieves with the pain of its family and friends when a person passes away next question when the neshamah comes back does the neshamah come back as all the previous lives they led that's an interesting question and the answer to that according to Kabbalah is that every neshama when it comes back it brings with itself a lot of the experiences that it had including scars and wounds and blessings and accomplishments of previous generous reincarnations and sometimes yes we carry things not even from our own life but from previous lives that's what makes life so interesting and yet the important thing to understand is that sometimes there will be things that in life for you they're pretty easy to achieve for others they're difficult but there is something for you that is very hard to achieve and that is usually one of the signs that this is one of the purposes why your soul came down and that's why your negative inclination creates so much resistance when a person next question how can I feel happy if things aren't going well for example people passing away leaving a whole family behind unfortunately many many other sad things how can anybody be happy the answer to your question is silence but I am gonna say something it depends how you define happiness if you define happiness as just the feeling everything is dandy and and I could just be frivolous without any responsibilities and without anything sitting in me and without any concerns and without any duties that's a whole different type of happiness that's not real happiness that's more frivolousness let me tell you what happiness is happiness is the deep knowledge that I am in the right place in the right time doing the right thing it's that inner satisfaction an inner contentment and wholesomeness that comes from living a life of alignment when I know that my life is aligned with my purpose I am not intimidated by my fears I don't surrender to mediocrity I don't surrender to the Spear pettiness small mindedness egotism and toxicity but I remain aligned to my true purpose and I know that where I am is exactly where I have to be the place is right the time is right and now I can choose to do the right thing that is an inner sense of connection and joy that can prevail and pervade us during all circumstances of life and that's the reason it says you should serve God with joy even to a samba simcha chapter 100 and souls we said every morning serving God is 24/7 ours 24/7 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year but some of those moments are not easy sometimes we're dealing with very difficult situations all those very sad situations and yet that is also part of God's service and over there we also say there is joy because joy doesn't necessarily mean there's no pain joy means there may be pain but there is an inner conviction that I'm doing the right thing in these circumstances that I am NOT being a victim I am being the leader that I am standing up to my responsibility from this comes an inner sense of contentment and joy even if I'm confronting a situation that's difficult what are practical steps in ways you can take to live in the way we just learnt not taking it personally oh if you could give me an answer to this question I'll be very grateful to you you're asking a very profound question how do you not take things personally in life the answer for this is it's very important when you wake up in the morning to meditate and pray for this this is something you dive in for you have to tune in to your innermost core your innermost soul which is a part of divine infinity and which doesn't have to take things personally my animal soul take things personally because it feels threatened it's like a little puppy that feels threatened and scared so therefore I have to take it personally and I have to take revenge and I have to get angry and I have to lash out at you but my godly soul is one with cosmic unity my godly soul is aligned with infinite energy I don't have to take it personally I could come from a place of empowerment and strength not because I don't care I care very deeply but my response is coming from my innermost values not from my external impulses of pain so if you could spend time every single morning meditating and praying and tuning into this part of yourself it empowers you during the day to live a life in which you take things less personally and you really operate from a much more expansive consciousness excellent question can someone do a mitzvah Liz who's another person who is not an ancestor what we find in the meddra SH in the name of her Becky is with a song of course when a child does something for a soul that has special significance but any person who does a Mitzvah or says a prayer or learns or give sadaqa for a neshama it has a tremendous impact and cause remember on a soul level we're not strangers as it says in Tonya chapter 32 we're brothers we're sisters all the souls are one the bodies represent distinct manifestations of the soul but our nationís are one we are organically connected so when I do something for somebody else's soul it's not even somebody else's soul we are deeply interconnected and integrated on that level you're not a stranger of course there's a special relationship with a son special relationship with a daughter especial relationship with a sibling special relationship with a parent no question about that esther asks a question is silence always good and the answer is absolutely not that's why i speak if silence was always good i wouldn't speak silence is sometimes bad for example when somebody observes abuse injustice cruelty sadism barbarity silence is a crime map silence in the face of evil is a crime I become an accomplice to those who are afflicting pain on others if I am silent sometimes the only appropriate response is words and loud words coming from the depth of my heart I am referring in this lecture to silence that is grappling with the unknowable with infinity I'll tell you a very beautiful story there was once a rabbi who came to visit the lubavitcher rebbe and the rabbit requested from him to speak up about certain issues that were going on in his environment to be able to help the situation so he quotes a statement Ingemar and Talmud milah basella miss suka betraying a word is worth a seller seller was a significant currency let's say a word is worth a dollar silence is worth two dollars he tells their bad on speak word is a dollar silence is double their ever looked at him and said that's true that's true but if you remain silent all day you only make two dollars if you speak all day every word you make a dollar and this point was silence is much deeper than words but sometimes the situation calls on you to speak and speak out with honesty and with decisiveness and with fearlessness and resolve and determination why can't the family visit the resting place the first year there are different reasons given for this one of the reasons if I recall correctly I haven't looked this up in a while so I'm speaking from a distant memory so I may be mistaken here but I think one of the reasons is that during the first year you see there's different stages in the soul's departure from this world it's a very very delicate and intricate process that's why there's also different stages and mourning there is the stage when the soul just left till burial that's one stage two is the stage after burial the first three days there is Shiva seven days there's 30 days does 11 months this 12 months every stage of mourning parallels a certain journey of the soul during the first year the soul is still very deeply connected to the body and to the resting place because it's still on this very very powerful journey and transition from a tangible concrete world into an intangible transcendent world and therefore when the family comes it creates an unnecessary anguish for the soul which is still struggling with this transition from one world to another world so it's respect to the journey of the soul so that's why even if they go to the cemetery they could come but they remain a certain distance I think it's dali lama's around between six or seven feet from the grave can we communicate with the department when we want to share with the departed do they hear us listen we could communicate do they speak back to us I'm not from the people who have such experience and I don't know about such experiences and you have to be a little suspicious with these areas and be sensitive but we could certainly communicate with them that's why when we learn much Nyhus and I say this is for the neshamah of this and this person say racial type arrays will bastard basis if it's luck or somebody else this is a form of communication with the soul so yes we could communicate when a soul like raisins comes down and enters our imperfect world but it's really too good for our world it makes us nervous to be too good for our own good how do we reconcile doing and being our best and our anxiety of being too good for our own good I see you're a good person this is a question from Shana and the answer is this is more anecdotal when we say you know God takes the good don't be too good of course it doesn't work that way raisa was not taken from our world because she was a good person because raisin was not supposed to come down to our world because raisin was too good for our world we don't know why Raisa was taken from us raisins soul had ash litters it had a mission we are saddened and broken that that mission ended much too soon from our perception 39 years and with such a beautiful family and a large family and such young kids we have no words for it but we don't know the reason to be able to say it's because this person is too good that this person is too righteous and this person is too holy who knows about these things I don't think we have the ability and the know-how and the right to be able to say you know oh if you'll be bad you'll live for a long time and if you're good you're gonna die young this has no where this doesn't make sense and it doesn't have any source in Judaism or in the tradition of our heart so you're not good because you're not you're not bad because you're gonna live long and you're not going to avoid being good because you're afraid to die I think that entire calculation doesn't make much sense look at it in a very different way we are each here to serve we are ambassadors of the divine in this world and we have a mission and I want to live my mission to the fullest then you want to live your mission to the fullest and our mission is to radiate light our inner light to the world around us to bring unity into fragmentation to reveal the oneness of divinity in our cosmos to reveal the truth that we are all one all the Jewish people are one all of humanity is one the entire universe is one that is our job and each one of us has the power to reveal that through our unique contribution that should be our focus in life I worry a lot about the kids they behave best with their mother raised will really enjoy putting her kids to sleep at night she was the atmosphere in the house who will appreciate the kids who will enjoy the children like raise 'old did she understood them best she so much inspired me I worry about her children I worry about them she made sure they Davin they gave charity the children had a special respect for her they listened to her I didn't see anyone with the same energy as her when they watched her children and watching her children pains me there is literally no substitute here there is no substitute for a mother there is no substitute for a mother I don't have what to say I'll tell you a line I once read in an article my father's newspaper the algemene Gulch MIT it was a year of a goldsmith some of you remember him his father at moisture Goldschmidt his mother they were asked in the covering pogrom in 1929 he was a little kid and his mother was dying in the hospital and he said this year's lady said my mother looked at to me before her death and she said a mother doesn't live forever but she also never dies those were they I think the last words he heard from his mother and the real question you bring up is who's gonna replace raisin and I don't have an answer I don't know that anybody can replace I think all of us anybody whose clothes anybody who can help let's offer our help but not through worrying and anxiety and then just sitting in my house and fetching but if there's something concrete one can do to assist the husband the father in this situation and the other members of the family yes this is the moment an act and at least to try to do what we can do to help everyone according to their own capacity this one can give a contribution and this one can get involved in different ways and this one can help with a home and this one can help with other stuff and here's my little advice to you if I may unsolicited advice often people come to a person in a difficult situation and they say by the way if you ever need help call me now what do you want a widower should do call you every Thursday and Sam overwhelmed there's no food in the house somebody has to go to the doctor somebody has an earache somebody has a problem with his teeth I need a dentist somebody else is having the stomachache and somebody else has the flu I'm talking about the other flu what should I do you think they're gonna call you don't come to somebody in need and say when you need help call me tell them how you're gonna help them and help them fault ask them oh and you need something call me they're not gonna do that in most cases so if you really want to help let's help call the right people who are connected and help and we have to remember God calls himself the father of orphans RV Asylum there's a reason for it there is something irreplaceable about a father and a mother those who lost fathers and mothers as young children will tell it to you there's something irreplaceable and God Himself says I know that and I have to be the father of these orphans and we hope and pray that these children who were given this difficult difficult challenge will be able to find within themselves the light of their mother and the light of God to be able to build their lives in the healthiest the most productive way and every one of us in our own way has to be there to be able to support not just in words and thoughts and wishes but in real real ways in authentic ways let me just these are the questions on chats I don't see any question you don't see any other questions on chat so if there are other questions please put them in right now I'm just gonna check if there are any other questions that came in in the other in the other place okay I would like to send charity please text me how so the way to send charity for this family you can go to charity com that CH a RI dy com charity com /zu cur zu c ke r zu ker so again charity WWJD com right and then after that /zu Kersey you see kdr and over there you their name will come up / 2 3 1 4 oh and you could donate next question what should we do with our firstfruits in modern times to sanctify them regarding the Omer well this is another topic and you could discuss this with your local Orthodox rabbi about the Mitzvah of the corium the way it applies the way it applies nowadays generally we need to base on macness to bring Bakura although the Gemara does say that when you bring a gift to atomic oxen it is a concept of Bakura ok let's do another few questions there why are the Jews called the chosen nation if they weren't asked for the Torah first excellent question the answer is because they are the choosing nation more than being the chosen nation they were the nation who chose they're the choosing nation excellent question what's the point of davines for people to feel better if we see that many people prayed so hard for raise 'el and nothing happened someone who was so special and Hashem took her away from us great great question and I think it's very important to correct a misconception every prayer that a person prays for somebody has a tremendous impact in this world or in the next world sometimes we're praying for somebody who's very sick and we pray and pray and pray and God says no and the person passes away and we feel that all the prayers were in vain it was like a waste of time heaven forbid a afternoon that that is a mistaken conception every prayer that you ever sheer and utter for the sake of a human being and a soul has an incredible powerful impact prayer changes reality prayer brings down flow into the world sometimes the prayer is effective in this world sometimes the prayer benefits the soul in its true to the next world but every single prayer for a zl-- has a very powerful impact on her soul that she is very aware of and those who are connected to her soul even though the prayers were not answered the way we wanted them which is true next question very good questions wouldn't it make sense that the lead-up to Messiah be positive since there is nothing more positive than mushiya ha that would be great if everything leading up to mushiya would only be positive yeah but sadly in the world that leads to mischief there's a lot of positive and there's also a lot of pain you're right what about the sad silence of a cottage borough huh he's the most silent we say it every day me am i huh but a Lim Hashanah who is like you powerful one like God and the Gomorrah says in Yuma Ellen is like the word elaine's which means mute you know Anzu mute or mute mute unmute elaine is a mute meet America by a lama Shan who is as mute as you God who knows how to remain silent the Kusha because Hashem is really the source of everything and the energy of everything and yet he puts us he puts a lack on his lips he remains disguised silent concealed and allows himself even to be perceived as absent even though he is the one responsible for that perception that he's absent that's also from him God is the ultimate silent one the ultimate silent one and that's the point you're touching something very deep our silence is the way to connect to God silence our expressions could connect to God's expressions but what allows us to connect to God's silence to God's inner core which is not manifested because it's silent it's only our own silence you explained the stages of a Souls journey up until the 12 months point I guess they're completely connected to the other world do they feel less connected to their children and family is it harder for the family to access and connect to the neshamah after a 12 month point excellent question and the truth is I would say that it demands from all of us to go into a higher place ourselves because since the neshamah goes through its own elevation and after 12 months the journey is drastically changing so the connection always remains but in order to be able to facilitate this connection it behooves us to also allow ourselves to be elevated somewhat and the more elevated we are the more we can facilitate this relationship but certainly the soul remains connected after 12 months and after 12 years a father is always a father a mother is always a mother a loved one is always a loved one and souls remain connected but in this world I want to be able to uplift myself and elevate myself to be able to tune in somewhat to the elevation of the soul the Lubavitch had ever said that if 10 people actually wanted Machir then he would come already more than 10 people now who truly want mushiya why isn't he here if I recall the Devas talk accurately the twenty-eighth of myths in 1991 the rebus said may it be the will of God me here Autzen that they should be from among you 10 people who will truly and tenaciously and stubbornly affect God's mind to bring Messiah huh so this to his foo things first of all about those 10 people I don't know you know I'm not the judge to know the levels of people's hearts but the Rebbe would always say that the reason was shared that an outcome he cannot understand I heard this himself I don't know why my Shearer did not come it's long overdue Koba collocates there's a reason completely beyond me said according to Tara's wisdom it's a phenomenon that is so enigmatic why did the Google not come yet it was a mystery of the divine that they revered himself conceded that he doesn't understand so you have to understand that the only one who knows and decides when mushiya is coming as a Sheng himself how do you get rid of negative chatter in our head how do we stay connected our Shem 24 hours a day seven days a week when sometimes life gets overwhelming good good question Raisa would have enjoyed these questions very much the answer to you is we can't always get rid of the negative chatter in our head what we could do is quarantine the negative chatter chatter in our head I can't always get rid of the negative chatter but I can put it in context instead of it defining me I define it which means instead of the negative chatter ruling my life I can give it respect and allow it to be but not let it take over my life an example backseat driver you ever driving a car and there's a backseat driver who tells you take the light take the light thanks a lot the guy doesn't know how to drive and he's driving you crazy you have three options option number one is you throw them out of the car problem is you can't okay option number two is you give him the steering wheel that's a disaster I'll get into an accident option number three is you know that he's a backseat driver he has ideas and you are holding onto the steering wheel we are the rulers of our life every morning spend time in prayer and meditation in which you connect to your inner core to your inner values to your inner soul that will not get rid of the chatter but what it will allow you to do is that throughout the day when the chatter comes you don't give it the steering wheel you remain in the car in the driver's seat should one fear death Figgy wants to know she one fear death and what do you think I'm going to answer you learn from raisin it's not a way to live when you're fearing death we should not fear death we must be able yeah I said we must Isaac Bashevis singer the famous Yiddish writer once said he says we have to believe in free choice we got no choice and I have to I'm going to say to you you can't live a life in which you're constantly fearful of death it's not a way to live and it's not a way to die either it's not it's not how to live we are always in God's hands every moment of life is a miracle I mean if I would have told you three months ago you know if I would have told you Chanukah time by the way you know that this year at some point all your kids are gonna come home and every school in the world is gonna close down every shul is gonna close down and most businesses are gonna close down and you would look at me and you would declare me officially insane unless there's a third world war or some God forbid nuclear you know atomic war and it happened it happened through a invisible virus visible virus shut down the whole world brought seven point seven billion people to its knees what this tells us is don't take any day for granted you could be perfectly healthy don't take it for granted every moment we are in the loving embrace of a show the question is not if we're vulnerable or not the question is if we admit it to ourselves or not we are always vulnerable toilet air it's all blima you know how vulnerable this planet is you know how many things have to go right in order for us to be able to breathe in oxygen do you know how many things have to go right for us to be able to have light for us to be able to have heat for us to be able to have warmth do you know how many things have to go right for us to be able to have water for us to be able to have the gases that we need for us to be able to have produce do you know how many not ten things not a hundred things not a thousand things how many millions billions trillions things have to go right in the whole planet and never mind in your own body your body you need 75 trillion cells to be functioning for everything to go right how exactly does this happen we are always vulnerable every single moment of life we are absolutely vulnerable the question is do I admit it or do I not admit it and does that cause me fear or it actually causes me a very deep joy that's a choice that we make in our attitude when you realize how vulnerable you are you could do one of two things you can either surrender to this despair and fear and tension and anxiety or you can actually surrender to God's infinite and loving embrace and seize every moment and celebrate every day and that's what I would suggest Figgy for you to do to the best of your ability there's a person consciously experienced after death so they know what's happening the soul experiences the soul knows in fact the consciousness of the soul is far more acute than our consciousness our consciousness is very limited by the physical experience of the body the consciousness of a soul is actually infinite so the soul is deeply aware in ways that are even profounder than our understanding of consciousness can the neshama feel pain America wants to know yes a soul feels pain and a soul feels joy zalman why are the mirrors covered in a Shiva house I don't remember I don't remember I saw a reason I have to research it if you email me I'll look it up you can email me rabbi why why add value Shiva dotnet rabbi why why at the yeshiva dotnet because I don't remember the answer now I am so grateful for that analogy of the backseat driver brilliant okay I think we'll take two more questions and we'll move on right is that finder by Friedman we can take two more questions okay Wow here we go Garrett with the resurrection of the Dead we have outstanding prophecies about will all who marinate our lung Harbor be resurrected were willing to choose an Israelites end up outnumbering the Gentiles well the Vedas are coitus rites that resurrection applies also to pious Gentiles that's what the great kabbalist have may have been gabay rights rifka are illnesses or misfortunes a consequence of our misdoings or actions the answer to that is this is very very loaded topic and we don't always know sometimes yes sometimes not when I go and daven at a person's grave I'm almost embarrassed I feel like they can see through us and perhaps I'm doing stuff in my life incorrectly I feel like they fulfilled their purpose they're so pure and I have not yet please can write by why I comment on this yeah to something very humbling when you go to the resting place of somebody in a cemetery and the answer to that is not to go I think the answer is to really be able to make an honest reckoning of how we are living our lives on a daily basis I am grateful for the message but there's no way to wrap ourselves around many of the things that are happening in our world this suffering thank you for not trying to explain when there's no obvious explanation I guess it's God knows what he's doing thank you for the message beautiful yeah very well okay let me see if there's any more questions in chat and I'm gonna wish you a good night the hour is a little late Salman stumped the rabbi okay shout out for Salman for stumping the rabbi excellent next okay you are a real star okay share that with my mother-in-law Thank You rabbi we learned so much thank you how do you feel more connected with Deborah a connection with their ever you feel clever with that but when you become the type of person the Rebbe that taught us to be I think that's the deepest way to feel connected to the Rebbe when you become that manifestation of those ideas and teachings that the Reverend bodied in his life and taught to anybody who wished to listen how does Messiah feel like you mean how will machines coming feel like it's gonna feel awesome I'm sitting here with one of your biggest fans my mother we're grateful that you took the time to honor my cousin hope you continue teaching thank you very much and welcome Rebbetzin Sharfstein it's an honor to have you thank you for your beautiful tribute okay I also want to welcome Raisins immediate family many of them who are here the much confirm Li I don't know if her parents are on but I know that siblings I see some of the siblings are on I also see Michelle and bear soakers father is with us and I want to welcome him I also want to welcome all over the many relatives who are here and all of the many friends who are here and everybody who's here this was a very moving tribute and I am thankful for the source to be able to shared to share these ideas and feelings with you I send you all my deepest love and prayers and blessings huzzah huzzah famous Kazakh may we all be here for each other and may we emerge from this deeper wiser more blessed more loving may we operate on a level of consciousness which always sees the infinite love embedded in each of us and the infinite unity that always and forever connects us to each other today zl-- and to all of the Jewish people my dearest friends I love you and I bless you with bracha not Slava may we hear good news from each other may we hear good news on all fronts may God give strength and solace and comfort to all those who need it recovery to all those who need it and may we very very speedily experience that moment when the silence will be transformed into the infinite revelation of that which today we can see we can just be silent about but that silence will be transformed into the infinite revelation as a new dawn descends upon our world with our ultimate and universal redemption through Mashiach at Cana make it happen very very speedily in our days thank you and good night this class is brought to you by the achieve Annette please help us continue the classes make even a small contribution at triple w dot play ueshiba net / donate