How Can We Achieve Greatness | Rabbi Yaakov Mizrahi

Throughout our history, we’ve had unbelievable Tzaddikim. From the Avot Hakedoshim, Nevi’im, Tana’im, Amora’im, Rishonim, Acharonim. And the question is, what is a person going to be able to do to be with the great Tzaddikim in Olam Haba? He's going to be sitting next to the Rambam? Next to the Chatam Sofer? Next to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov? These great Tzaddikim, little us. How are we going to be able to be next to them in Olam Haba? Rav Pincus says an unbelievable thing. In as much as they're great, they have written volumes of Torah, their Avodat Hashem, their consistency, their growth, their connection to Boreh Olam. But one question: Did you serve Hashem in a generation with Internet, with television, with movies, with the distractions that are going around all the time, and the Yetzer Hara that’s throwing everything at a young boy in our generation? Not taking any credit from the great Tzaddikim. In as much as they’re so unbelievable, but they did not have the distractions that a child has today. It says in the Pasuk Stay away from bad and do good. It used to be that the test of the previous generation was to do good. To learn Torah at night? There's no electricity. To get a beautiful Etrog? From where are you going to get such a beautiful Etrog? To do the good was the challenge. Today, doing the good is not really the challenge, in a way. You want light in the middle the night to learn Torah? Flip a switch. You want to get a beautiful Etrog? 100-150 dollars and you have the most Mehudar Etrog that maybe some of the greatest Tzaddikim never shook in their life. Our test is not to do good. Our test is the other part of the Pasuk. They had their test to do good and they did it. Our test is סור מרע, staying away from bad. When we're staying away from the wrong things, that's our volumes. We are writing volumes in Torah. Perhaps not with a pen and paper, but we're writing our own volumes every single day. That's our claim to fame. That's what's going to achieve us our greatness. And perhaps what someone might think these small tests, they're not really small, thinks: What am I going to be able to do to be with the greatest of greats? Stay away from bad. And who knows if that could be his claim to fame, to be with the great Tzaddikim, לעתיד לבוא, in the world to come.