Do You Know You're in a Race | Rabbi Elchonon Jacobovitz

I was recently at a convention when a young Bochur comes over to me and he says, Rabbi Jacobovitz, I recognize you from Vayimaen and I got to tell you a story that just happened that you must say on your next Vayimaen video. I'm like: Great! What's the story? So he tells me: A few minutes ago, I was playing in the arcade room, and as I'm enjoying myself, some people walked in and they weren't dressed appropriately. I stopped mid-game, I walked right out and I ran right here, all the way back to the lobby. I said: Wow, that's amazing. And what happened next? And he's like: Next? Nothing. That's the story. And I'm thinking to myself: Huh? That's the story? What's the story here? What is this kid thinking? And then I think to myself, What's the kid thinking? What am I thinking? Isn't that half of our mistake? That we don't realize that we are the story? That every time we resist temptation, we are the headlines in heaven? I remember as a kid going to the Michigan State Fair, and they announced that the great Piglet Race is going to take place at 4:00. I'm all excited. It's my first time there. We go to the racetrack and there it is, a dirt circular track, bleachers on all sides, and five piglets in cages by the starting line, ready to race. We go into the bleachers. The announcer gets on the mic and he says, Looking for five kids to lead the cheering squad for the five piglets. And of course, I'm like: Pick me, pick me! And what do you know, he picks me. I am going to lead the cheering squad for Piglet number 5. I get the crowd around me all involved. We rile everybody up. He fires the pistol, the cage is open and we're screaming: Number 5! Number 5! And then the craziest thing happens. The piglets don't race. They come tumbling out of the cages. They stroll here, they wag their tail here, they scratch their back, they roll in the mud, and they do everything except for going along the track. Meanwhile, us in the stands, we're going crazy. We're like: Let's go! Come on, move it! Race! 5, 5, go! But Piglet 5 wouldn't move, because, you see, nobody told him it's a race. Nobody told him that out there in the stands, there's a whole crowd cheering for him and hoping he wins this race. And so, completely oblivious to everything that's going on, he just strolls down the track, rolling in the mud. Isn't that us? We stumble here, we fall there, we roll in the mud, and we don't even realize that the entire פמליה של מעלה is there in the stands, cheering for us and hoping that we make it through this Nisayon. The Gemara in Psachim tells us, There are three people that the Ribono shel Olam personally gets onto the PA system and announces every day, and one of them is somebody who lives in the big city, and he doesn't fall to temptation. So just imagine for a moment the heavenly sports cast on a regular day. Friedman wakes up, heads to the office, sits down in his chair, takes the snap. Pressure comes on. Friedman backpedals, looking right, looking left. Nowhere to go. Pocket collapses. Fakes left, goes right, finds a hole in the D-line, pokes his way through, slips out of a tackle from the Yetzer Hara. 35 - 30 - 25 - 20 - 15 - 10 - 5 - Touchdown! And listen to the crowd going wild, here at Get Life Stadium. Unbelievable! Remember, that's you. You stumble, you fumble. Be the play of the day and don't let anything get in your way.