KLM: If You Don't See Hashem Everywhere, You Don't See Him Anywhere with Rabbi Asher Baruch Wegbreit

your Museum [Music] oh they're not not always wonderful to have you and your support what are the Jews famous for distinct amongst all peoples there have been many stories to express this same story I'm going to share right now there was a Convention of very like-minded spiritual people and leaders and it was of course if you had to guess a decade the 60s it was in the 60s a very spiritual time and guess where it was located put my odds California I'd put my odds in a mountain-ish area in California sound familiar right there were a lot of spiritual things going on in those days and my review one of my reviews that Javi green told us he actually heard this that there was a con convention I don't know if he was there there was a Convention of all these spiritual people and they were talking about all sorts of ways to go into Blissful States and connect to the unity of the universe and then someone said raise their hand they said couldn't we be taking the physical world and elevating it spiritually so the director or the leader of this convention who I will venture to say was from the Far East I'll venture to say further use probably Indian he says well that's the job of the Jews that's the Jew's job okay the most spiritually developed people in the world they all see as it's our job the Jewish people's job were there to spiritual eyes the physical so let me ask us a question and I'm not putting any fingers but how come we don't look at work as spiritual we many people spend so much of their day working oh Bittle Toro not learning Torah or women are not praying and baking challah therefore it's not spiritual or even boy have we forgotten how it no how have we forgotten our purpose we should be there feel feel very very inspired in the workplace no matter what work we're doing what happened that's our role it was in the 60s that was you know a few years ago it was 60 years ago you hear that the 60s were 60 years ago and it was already known where is our spirituality in the workplace well it's I want to give you a very deep reason let's start with a deep reason and then we're gonna get very practical and we're going to bring more and more spirituality back into the workplace back into the house back into the sponges we say in Israel uh mopping mopping is spiritual okay but we're focusing on work this week let's first hear a very deep reason why so even though I'm about to discuss something that's about talmud the message is very important for women to internalize as well you know my review Rabbi Schuman green he asked the question he said you know how come the gemara is let's say all over the place it doesn't seem to start in the beginning it does it goes off in tangents it's like everywhere he says you know why wasn't the oral Torah that's been our foundation why wasn't it like the rambam's mission Torah from the start what does the rambam do beautifully takes the hamesh and he shows um the natural um organization that it should have you know business laws Etc the mission that has that kind of structure but he it's very orderly and expository why is the gemara like that so one reason is or let no let's focus on the Deep reason why we're having problems today it's because the Torah is the epitome of an organic thing okay it's organic it's holistic these are very popular words right now but he says we we um are we because of the Exile in yavan the Greek Exile so the Greek wisdom that was the the thing that was going head-to-head against Torah wisdom Jewish wisdom at the time and there's no doubt that Aristotle one of the big examples contributed so much you know to the ability to think listen carefully to my words analytically to break things into parts right splittings into part but eventually the the true picture is really synthesis where it's one organic hole right that's the Torah way you know the word tangent when something goes on a tangent means it's touching right and so there's not this split between hawaka and agarita that's in the gemara but now this is um the world splits things and makes things kind of broken in Parts you're in you're a scientist or you're an artist you're a poet or you're a analyst Etc you know you're this or that right and also this is affected our experience of Torah in other words you know some people say I like I love homish but I don't connect to gamara I love hasidis but I don't connect to halacha right so we were taught my Missoura was that if you can't see Hashem everywhere you don't fully see him anywhere something very deep to reflect upon and I'll just go a little we're going to finish this deep introduction and then go into the practice but I want to tell you another story my my rebby who you know the beautiful thing is uh we had a masura one one rubby passed on to the tamida and then onwards so my review Rabbi green went to Rabbi Goldstein his rabbi and he was bothered based on his understanding of israeli's teachings he said to him Rabbi Goldstein is it okay for me to feel like extremely special feelings for aubramabino that like he his life his journey just speaks to me so much is that okay so as ready said yes if you feel the same way about rebe Akiva Ager if you don't know Rebecca agar is he's like one of those palmitic analysts that just asked difficulties in complicated things that uh etc etc so what is this all saying is we have to realize that Torah is Unified there's not like uh hashem's there's a spirit this is spiritual and this is dry that that's not that's not the universe we live in okay and the even though it helps to analyze problems and break things into Parts it's a great skill but if that's your world view it's not it's not gonna see you're not We're Not Gonna See Hashem because is Hashem only present in Torah learning in prayer in sunsets is that it but work well that's you know I what can I do I have to go work now we're you know or uh this uh taxonomy that's kind of dry I don't relate to it no remember what the guru said right our job is to take the physical and raise it to the spiritual because it's all spiritual because it's all the word of Hashem okay that's so now let's go back to the question why so I just want to summarize the reason we oftentimes find this gishmach and this boring is because we're not plugged into the degree to which it's all Hashem every part of the Torah is spiritual and deep and beautiful when approached properly and every part of life is the same okay so take that to heart if you really want to experience connection to Hashem it ha it should be everywhere okay so let's tackle with that overview and mindset let's tackle the workplace Okay so are there a lot of Mitzvahs in the workplace tons and by the way I want to say workplace well we could call it work hours because if you work at home you work on a computer or your um you're a Gabby in Yeshiva and you're making calendars and schedules you know to tell people where to go that's work okay it's all work okay the kalin's not work by the way it's pleasure okay so let's get started let's see I'm gonna are there a lot of mixes tons we're just gonna do three okay and I'm gonna present tonight after I present you the three mixes to work upon to work on in the workplace we're gonna tackle what we always kind of uh need to struggle with is how are we going to wedge this into our Consciousness so let's present the mitzes and then we're going to work on wedging it into our daily life into our work hours okay so to to do this um and I have to give credit uh to my assistant uh Miss uh shifra Levine she um she turned uh this into an acronym we you know an acronym is very acronyms are very helpful because they take um you know a lot of data and organize them in an easy way to remember so here we go I'm gonna oh wait I have to uh share a screen one second let me share a screen with you and you'll see the acronym for so I'm getting there okay [Music] okay I got it are we good parrots uh yeah we can see you can just make it full screen okay okay great it's the ABC's it's that simple the ABCs of work okay pretty easy right all you have to remember is ABC okay so what are the mitzvahs of Oda we'll discuss we'll discuss infested that's it a b c okay so let me uh let me go through them one by one okay the first Mitzvah of the workplace all right the Mitzvah let's say you're pursuing oh livelihood we could say it that way every let's classify it that you know that's often the reason people are working is um to support themselves and their family but that really belongs in hessed let's discuss work for work's sake I say that carefully okay is it a Mitzvah to work in itself well two of the and by the way I only did a small search but two of the greatest Jewish um thinkers say yes indeed it's a Mitzvah in it of itself there's the hobos right duties of the heart the incredible re uh re-shown he says Mitzvah with proper intention KLM is indeed um I'm sorry working with proper intention is indeed a Mitzvah okay and rev shimshen refuel Hirsch says it is indeed a Mitzvah and I just didn't do the raid but these are prominent enough now what's the source very very primary sources okay first of all reverse understands that when it said when Hashem spoke to Adam origin right he gave him seven Mitzvahs Etc we know even though this is pre-sinai the there are Mitzvahs that were presented so uh I don't want to get into the whole thing of what made it afterwards but it said that he placed Autumn and Hava in the garden to they they translate a vote to work to work the garden and to Garden there was work we look at Paradise as no work right we look at work as a curse right that but by the sweat of your brow but it looks like Hashem had an agenda even before he sinned okay and according to that is it's kind of passing the when when he when ottoman was cursed to work right by the sweat of his brow meaning that it was going to be much more difficult to do work all right but work was given then all right now let's go further to another Central source and this is a Persia's Source how about the Ten Commandments right it says six days you shall we'll call it work for now you shall work via cisaco and you should do all of your labor okay so and we noticed that Hashem doesn't say on the seventh day rest he seems to always precede it six days it should work like we do here in Israel the uh but the the thing is here Rabbi Hirsch understands Hashem has a purpose in our doing work all right and it has to do with as a purse explains how do you translate the word avoda what is a votes a shin service work to be service if you have a service mindset that Hashem wants you to as you go about your livelihood he wants you to contribute to the world to contribute to society you hear this it's if you framework a service and not just a way to become rich and be filled with a sense of Glory about your achievements that's that's by the way it's not me that's him he says it uh instead of self-orification if it's service right you're contributing to others in the world that's a Mitzvah okay so that's the first thing is I I you know unless someone's whatever doing crime I don't I wouldn't call that a voter they might be getting a livelihood but that's not as far as from a voter so number one is work is the Mitzvah of serving mankind Hashem made the world for man to make it civilized Etc okay so you have the homeless of Hersh so that's Mitzvah number one and this again you know I I share many times I since I have a background in Psychology I'm very interested with um the current focus on positive psychology and how to self-develop it obviously that's what Hashem expects of us so I want to get from the best wisdom uh of the Graham as well you know to hear what's out there and the top people always say you know what really separates the true leaders or whatever productive is they look at it as service I'm here to serve okay so that's a very spiritual you hear word can be spiritual we can elevate it by viewing it as service and most importantly this is only you can't just say oh I'm serving but having fine I'm fulfilling the Mitzvah that is and repeat it to us by the by the Commandment of Shabbos to work to serve okay Mitzvah number one alrighty next a b bitter home de Terron means to trust right to trust in Hashem let me just read the little this kind of captured it I work he provides okay this is the the magical uh thing that Hashem wants us to exert ourselves and try our best but but we remember at first warned us about self-glorification this spiritual approach to work is to humbly recognize that success results are in the hands of Hashem that's a fundamental right and obviously I I if we approach it that way it's also healthy and beneficial Etc but you have a tremendous Mitzvah is to remind yourself here I'll give you I'll show you a little reminder that you can do all the time all right beside right do you see on the upper right there for those of you who don't know what that stands for is the Seattle with the help of heaven right how about when you write that taking that seriously and having in mind I depend on hashem's help to be successful here or ready when you say Emirates if Hashem wants the Ezra uh with hashem's help first of all feel it in a genuine way and please have a mind of Mitzvah the safer radim brings down that the source forbid to home devices is to meaning you to be complete with a shin okay it's like a relationship where you realize that you're in hashem's hands and that all the work you do is really up to a shin okay so let's go back we have avoda right a have in mind uh that your work is service that Hashem wants for us we are meant to do that okay whatever it may be you know for some it's teaching to our learning to her I'm not saying that that's not of uh uh a work if you get paid that way you can approach it you're definitely contributing to society and Mankind when you learn Torah okay but anyhow a Voda bits of phone the Ezra sashem in year to Shen facade right and just think about it all right maybe when you get your paycheck think wow you know that or you successfully treated a patient have in mind to me Hashem I know I did my best hopefully and but I know that the success of the Venture was because of you all right A B see passive all right now this is um I really believe that um everybody that is producing something uh is probably doing kindness for the customers now many people ask this question and it's so important to stress many sources saying this many many many many the fact that you get paid to do a job if your job contains kindness to the customer or whoever you still could be doing immense father I say could listen to this story if you're on the WhatsApp chat you you you heard this story or LinkedIn listen to the story revelio a credible uh Rabbi in the beginning of uh this founding of the state of Israel times he was lived the Yeshiva was in a place called cabarca seeden and it's a very rural area and the rabbi was walking out at a break time and there he saw these two men they were tarring the road in other words it was a dirt road it was a kind of a thorough pair and now they're putting on tar and cement whatever they're right they're working on the road so he sees the two of them and he says uh he says to one of them he says um what are you doing he says what do you think I'm doing I'm uh paying the bills that was his answer was something like that then to the other one he says what are you doing so the the man looked at him and said he says you know before we we're tauring this I used to watch like women with uh their baby carriages and um and old people struggling with uh to get across this dirt road so I don't know how I got so lucky but Hashem appointed me to do the kindness of Paving the road and putting tar there so I can make it easier for people so revolving was just blown away thrilled at his words and he went back into the issue he says let me ask you a riddle there's two people one uh they're doing the exact same work what's the difference right so KLM one had the conscious intention to do kindness the other guy was paying the bills that's a kindness we'll talk about but the other guy was paying his bills it was doing technically was doing kindness but we didn't have that in mind and I just have to break the news to us okay when it comes to doing good things for other people the intention to do it as a Misa Mitzvah makes it nitsuki it's internal it's immortalized if you don't have intention to do the work as a kindness you do according not the same obviously okay so everybody think about where and how what you do is a kindness all right and most importantly have that intention of course you're working for your to make money but just have that intention and it's golden or Eternal okay and then of course what most of us realize is if we're married right if we're married and have a family so we're helping take care of a family so that's Tessa that's uh Mitzvah derives of emulating Hashem there's a lot there okay so that's and by the way if you're not yet married right male or female you I'm sure you give um charity you do good things with your money so you're still doing hesid with the results of with the money itself so there's the work it itself have in mind the Mitzvah of kindness and there's the produce the the money you receive have in mind the Mitzvah of kindness and it's just like a the ultimate win-win situation okay so let's just um uh let's re just go over it quickly and then I have what we call new technology about how we're going to wedge this into our continent Consciousness okay so avoda right treat it like service and have it in mind recognize uh that it's um yeah it's up to Hashem have it in mind hesid for the uh recipients of your work and the recipients of your paycheck have it in mind and here it is ABC avoda bites so we've spoken about it before and I know I go through it myself you know you if a person does simple math they'll realize that this is life-changing information vital will affect you for years and years to come game changer etc etc etc however are we used to thinking about the ABCs at work no right are we going to be Trump's forget it yes right so we have another mix of bahart to choose to wedge this into our Consciousness now you have to do intelligently now the ideal way betsycheva the fun of is what Dr Satchel will do he'll print out this first page or all three and he'll put it on his tender or whatever it's uh he'll print it out and put it in the right place okay now that's an extra Mitzvah of teaching others uh this Vital Information but putting that aside we're all busy and I have to thank a Mr Daniel Lions the executive director of KLM very practical and business-like so here's here's this here's the solution where you have you you uh narrow the Gap you have very little work to do and you get a very big gain how about the following make a Post-It note and put it where you work here here's the uh I'm launching the first KLM Post-It note okay parrots let me know if that can be seen yeah that's good we can see it okay you see that for those newcomers h means have I means in and M means mind have in mind that means the Mitzvah and then we have a of Oda V pizzahon and c hesid and then with me most of my calm work is on the computer so I'm just gonna go like this and then I see it uh I see it and at least once a day I have in mind uh make sure it sticks I have in mind the uh ABC and I've internalized it even moments of the work okay so please take this home I mean really take it to work right write yourself a Post-It note at least anybody I we always give these PDFs uh for free so anyone wants this PDF and you want a beautiful reminder that's great okay but if not use the posted Sim system all right so I'm gonna we're now gonna go to our uh VOD or uh discussion now and I just want to say while you're if you're listening to that or whatever write it down a b c and have it in mind tomorrow and please God for the rest of your life okay yeah any questions so somebody yeah go ahead uh I I mean this is uh I'm asking for a friend um who has a a job of maybe like delivering bad news to people um so he he it's it's uh probably a harder stretch for somebody to feel the uh and uh you know aspect of it um and you know there's all sorts of work that people do it may be that at early portion of it is is unpleasant you know um excuse me Perris can you tell us what he does so uh so we'll understand because it'll be hard to evaluate without knowing I I yeah is involved in like you know like serving like uh fines and penalty notices and yes delivering bad news yeah okay yeah I was just thinking about with you know what sort of Post-It note he would have to write himself okay so um Can somebody uh perish me I have a thought but I'd rather someone else uh try to answer yeah Rabbi Michael uh I have discussing meaning enabling the person to uh get punished in this world is that what you mean yeah obviously we don't look for it but if they're paying it Shane's clearing the slate in some aspects good anything else Danny all right I'll say isn't it helping Society if a person made an infringement right then by him penalizing the person who did the infringement you know they're like it's likely to serve as a deterrent for infringements is that correct parrots yeah I guess I guess it is it's just that um yeah it's just that I mean he's only uh he's only a delivery man at the end of the day uh we all are but but in his job particularly uh yeah or you know say your job in you're in a bank or a law firm you've got to fire people you know it's no fun um I uh um I was reluctant to speak because I'm working and I'm involved in the Mitzvah so but I'll take it um you know I I think what jumps out at me is he's got a really great opportunity to soften the blow and that's generally but meaning he's delivering bad news but there's many ways to deliver bad news one way is to you know to hit somebody over the head with a hammer hammer and to be really harsh and the other way is to think about how you can do it in the softest way possible and you know like the Torah teaches push away with one hand and pull closer with with both hands or with twice as much so maybe be proactive think like you know for example you're saying okay I'm the IRS you owe twenty thousand dollars but do you know the payment plans and it could be as little as 25 a week you know yet that you actually you're delivering bad news but if it weren't for your intent to do a Mitzvah but jumps to mine it could be really bad news you're actually providing in a way a glimmer of light in a very dark message and I think that's you know the fact that that person says if it were not for me this could be devastating that's an opportunity to really step in does that does it resonate parents with what he does could that be done I'll ask him I'll ask yeah I guess I guess so I mean it's uh yeah sorry Allison there's some lines I work with just you've got to be more creative as she all's saying you've got to just find it much more creative ways I mean I saw a missioner the other day and um Rosh Hashanah which says like uh if you a gambler for example you can't be a witness for uh you know for the Sanhedrin for the new moon and it talks there about people who who make profit or other people's misery you know and they shouldn't be a witness really because that's not what uh you know it's not what we want to promote as somebody who's going to be a witness but there are a lot of jobs out there where unfortunately a person's are not certain again is it comes at someone else's detriment you know and obviously we shouldn't actively look for that um but you know it could be a it could be a lawyer for a online Casino or something and you're very removed or it could be never a lawyer it could be anybody in a mess you know it could be one of a thousand employees you don't actually uh you know cause uh the misery but I think it just makes it it's it's been creative I guess about um going to work each day and um funding finding myths for opportunities even if the work itself is is not as you say it's not if we don't see Hashem in the little things we're not seeing him in everything it's a it's a great land that okay and I just want to say I know Shaw wants to come in um I want to say parrots also um like two more points about what you're bringing up so one thing I would say to your friend is there's still a and b you're still doing service of a Hashem commands that there'd be service towards the world okay and even though the res yeah okay so he has a harder time with the c that has it for the customer right but he also has that his efforts aren't the reason he's getting the money so he still has those basic Mitzvahs the sites and then one more thing I'll just mention is part of kindness or what we call luck of a drop of is emulating Hashem so there is graciousness is being compassionate so like shaol said the way in which you even deliver it even if you don't have a clever idea to soothe the blow you can can convey compassion for him because you know that if you were in his shoes you'd feel lousy yeah okay so you know I heard something fascinating once about uh they were talking about why doctors are Sue from sued for malpractice in medical procedures and they said they did a study and they said the number one factor in even when there are mistakes done in deciding whether or not to sue get this is the doctor's tone of voice they had like how the doctor speaks to you now you know there's a whole category of cases called misdiagnosis where a doctor doesn't you know God forbid you know doesn't inform someone that they have a immacula disease and had the doctor done it it could have been treated much earlier and possibly cured so that's a whole you know an established claim but you can imagine just like the two Road workers one doctor says something horrible you know conveys bad news or fails to or omits critical information but does it harshly coldly in a rush the other one was very gentle and very caring still made the same mistake but doesn't end up getting sued yeah I heard that Dr Setzer is it you understand that to be uh a valid study I heard the same thing that Joel did but sometimes even if the doctor just apologized that he made a mistake um it was like this that never mind the fact that that he the tone of voice but even the fact that if he did get it wrong he actually called up and apologized you know often that mitigated uh yeah my praise Him often said to me if you'd have just said sorry I would have left it alone wow and I have the same thing you know I won't go into details but I had a major case with uh 300 workers and it all started because one worker you know he was massively cheated on his wages but he never would have come forward and sought out a lawyer had the owner not disrespected him on his last day and talked down to him wow it was all about that it was all about the injury to dignity uh that that that opened up a huge problem for that company wow wow okay great can I share one story from Rabbi about rabbi so I I may I think it was uh in in in I'm not sure but you'll you might know where it says you shouldn't uh wear titties in a in a cemetery right because you're like parading jewels in front of a poor a pauper right that you're showing your mitzviz you as a person who's alive can do Mitzvahs whereas the person who's not alive can't do the mitzvism so you're parading your jewels in front of a pauper right so I was really struck by that and I said wait you know the if that's true then how can you do anything else except do Misfits All Day like you know like like you know if if if if if the Torah is telling you that your Jewels or your mitzviz then why would you do anything else so how do I go to work you know like like why not you know how why am I just learning Torah all day in right and and I I said to Rabbi Greenwood you know I I gotta work etc and like you know typical Rabbi green fashion very you know nonchalantly very quickly he says well the answer is you do everything with [Laughter] I just wanted to make one other comment yeah what's this so wait right raise it higher I lift it up a bit up a bit there you go oh right yeah see the VOD the VOD of the uh the Jackson 5 Bard got to us before you before you on there ABC very good you've been gone that long that you forgot ABC from the Jackson 5. does everyone see this oh ABC very exactly they were muhaven they called me they called me just now they're attorney when they saw the Post-it note [Laughter] I'll just apologize to them it's been very good very good all right everybody fantastic okay maybe we'll have that post that theme song good work good work beautiful yeah okay everybody the ABC song [Music]