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Becoming an Elevated Jew - Rabbi Paysach Krohn
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Follow us: https://www.hidabroot.com https://www.youtube.com/@Hidabrootcom https://www.instagram.com/hidabroot_global https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbCYZjl1CYoa4ulQIK2q How can you change yourself and become a better Jew? In an emotional lecture Rabbi Krohn teaches us how to improve our behavior, our interpersonal relationships and service of G-d. For more inspiring content: @Hidabrootcom
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Auto-generated transcript. Not time-synced to the video.
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
so I want to begin by telling you a very
interesting
story I have a
daughter-in-law her name is Mrs gendel
Crone she's married to my son
Abraham and she's a teacher in the third
grade grade in a school in Waterberry
Connecticut now all of us know that the
school begins in September and that's
right around the time of
elul so she waited the first three days
you know till she got to know the girls
and then on the third day she said to
the girls I want to show you something
I'm going to take out my cell phone now
usually a teacher does not take out a
cell phone and class and she said but I
want to show you something I'm going to
put it on speaker so that everybody can
hear the call that I am about to
make and she put the phone on the desk
and she dialed the White
House and the operator says this is the
White House can I help you and my
daughter-in-law says I am a teacher and
we are here with 30 girls in Waterberry
Connecticut in the BET Yakov and we
would like to speak to President Obama
so the operator says you can't speak to
President Obama he's very
busy so she says but we have 30 citizens
of the United States isn't he the
president of the citizens of the United
States we would like to speak to him
well he's very busy I could give him a
message maybe she says well what happens
if we would write him a letter do you
think that he would read the letter
so the operator says well President
Obama gets 10,000 letters a day and we
show him 10 of the
letters so my daughter with all the
children listening says so what you're
telling me is that we have citizens here
of the United States who cannot speak to
their president and even if they write a
letter most likely the president is not
even going to get to read it is that
true she says yeah well he's very very
busy I can't promise that he'll get your
message or your letter she said okay
thank you for your time and she hung up
the phone and she asked the girls to go
back to their seats and she said to all
the girls I know someone who's busier
than President
Obama you see President Obama is only
President over 370 million people in the
United States but I I know someone who
takes care of over 7 billion people in
the world and you know something he's
always
available anytime you want to speak to
him he's
available you open your s and you start
talking and he'll listen Daytime
Nighttime Shabbat middle of the week
he's never too busy to listen to any
Jewish prayer
anytime now the girl was so taken by
this it was such a genius idea how she
presented this idea I didn't even know
she did this a few days later in the
month of el last El I was in Toronto and
a man comes over to me and he says Rabbi
Crone I want you to know my
granddaughter is in your
daughter-in-law's class in
Waterberry it's almost a week since she
did that and the girls are still talking
about it what an impression she made
made on the children that Hashem is
always available and that's the thing
that I think that we have to know first
and foremost
tonight no matter what we have done in
our lives no matter what we watched and
no matter what we said and no matter
where we went hashem's door is always
open we can always ask Hashem for
forgiveness we could always ask Hashem
for favors Hashem is for us he is our
father and all of you that are fathers
and grandfathers and mothers and
grandmothers know that when your child
talks you listen you don't always say
yes Hashem also Al always doesn't always
say yes but he listens and that's the
thing that we have to learn
tonight
tonight we want to find
out what can we do that Hashem should
answer our prayers
as we said of course we're praying and
we say
toim for ad
basa but in general every day we are
asking AEM
fora we ask
for we ask for
wisdom do you know that every
morning if I have to give a speech later
that afternoon or at night I pray
to hasem you give wisdom God help me I
should say the right thing I should say
something that's going to make an
impression I should express myself
properly if you have a business meeting
and you want somebody to be impressed
with you to give you the job to give you
the raise to give you the commission
then you pray
in you pray that Hashem should give you
the right words and you should have the
right wisdom to say the right thing so
what can we do to improve that is going
to listen to us and I'll tell you
something that the says that it's so
remarkable that every single one of us
every man woman and child here tonight
in Great Neck and every one of us that's
going to be watching this whether it's
Tor anytime.com and it's going to go all
over the world by tomorrow every one of
us can change in this
thing and I'll give you an
example the example that the uses he
says
imagine that some Builder has built a
beautiful
Community right along a beach front and
the water is crystal clear and what
happens now the people they want to
drink water so they've got to get pipes
but what happens if the pipes in these
new homes to the fresh water of the
River or the ocean whatever it is is
corroded and filthy and dirty so even if
the water is clean and even if the
houses are new if the pipes are
corroded then the water is going to be
spoiled then the people are going to get
sick from drinking that water so the
says the Tora is Holy every word of
Torah that we learn whether
it's makes no difference every word of
that we say is so
holy we take those holy words and every
time we say them we build malim we build
Angels but what is the pipe the pipe is
our mouth the words in the Sid Are Holy
the words in the Are Holy we want them
to go to Shay what is the pipe our mouth
now imagine if somebody tells a joke
that's off
color or imagine somebody says something
to his wife or a wife says something to
his to her husband that's very negative
that's nasty that mouth is
corroded if somebody
says or somebody makes fun of a child or
makes fun of somebody that has a
handicap that pipe is corroded so no
matter what words of Tor you are
learning no matter what words of you are
saying they are corroded by the time
they get to
Hashem so
tonight every single one of us must
think about what are we going to do to
change that our
pipes where the water of Tor and the
water of come through to go up to Hashem
is going to be
clean we have to stop
lying we have to stop
exaggerating we have to stop saying
negative things about other
people and it's very easy to say
negative things especially when you're
in a group of people and everybody's
criticizing whether they criticize the
rabbi or the president of the sh or
somebody in the community so you join
everybody wants to be part of the group
you want to be part of the pack but once
you say something negative with your
mouth just think of that it's such a
beautiful M from the the pipes are roed
so no matter what the ocean could be
perfect clear water but if it's going
through bad pipes it's not going to
accomplish so the next time you want to
tell an off-color joke or the next time
you want to lie or the next time you
want to criticize somebody hold back
hold back that's cleansing spiritually
the pipes and then oh then Thea goes up
in Purity then Hashem sees oh this is
ding these are words of Holiness this I
can listen to this I want to agree to
what the person wants so when we want
and we beg
for or we beg for or we beg for
the and we are using clear water through
clear pipes of course there's a chance
that it's going to be answered more it's
obvious you don't need the to tell us
that but that's what he's telling us
that's the first thing
the second thing he says is something so
interesting he brings a gamar the gamar
is
Inus that's 25b in your gamor and he
says like this the gar tells us there
was a time in is when there was no
rain and they went to raber and they
said rebi please pray for rain because
if it doesn't rain right away
the crops won't grow and there'll be
starvation and people will
starve so Raba got up and prayed and it
didn't help it still didn't
rain so then they went to RAB aiva and
they said rebi please rebi please R doin
for us that it should rain because if it
doesn't rain the crops won't grow and
we'll
starve so RAB AA prayed and it did
rain so the gamar says everybody started
saying oh you see Raba is a bigger sadik
than rebelar rebelar prayed and it
didn't rain RAB AKA prayed and it did
rain so you see RAB AA is a bigger sadic
so a voice came from shim a
BOS a voice came out from shamayim and
listened to what the voice
said not because was the bigger sadic
then RAB than RAB
elzar but there's another reason why RAB
aka's answer was his was answered he
said AA had that characteristic that he
could look away if somebody heard
him many of us if somebody says
something negative about us we whip back
we answer back we get
angry
RAB AKA if you said something about his
family he did he looked away didn't get
angry didn't
respond somebody who looks
away Hashem says oh look at that
somebody did something bad to him and he
looks away Hashem says you know I'm
going to do the same thing nobody's
perfect everybody's got sins none of us
are perfect but we want Hashem to look
away so you learn how to look away if
somebody hurts you then Hashem will look
away when you pray and he'll say okay
listen you're asking me for something I
know you didn't do everything right but
I'll look away from that I'll answer you
now I just want to explain something
very important that my rebi rdav Cohen
from Brooklyn always tells me when I say
this gamar we're not talking if somebody
owes you money if somebody owes you
money you have every right to get it
back that's not what the gamar is
talking about somebody cheated you in
business you have every right to go
after them and get the money when that
is
not you're not expected to look away
when somebody causes you Financial loss
we're talking about emotional
pain somebody says for I I didn't even
want to say out of my mouth what
somebody would say about you whatever
you know what people could
say and you don't answer back you're
ready to look away then Hashem says you
know RAB AKA did
that and it's not that RAB AKA was a
bigger but he had that me that's what
the tells us if a person has that
then you look away when somebody hurts
you well when we do a sin it hurts
Hashem but he's ready to look away if we
look away so that's the second thing
that we have to improve tonight the
first thing we have to make sure that
our mouth is pure that the pipes through
which the Torah and the go through are
pure and then it'll go to Shay and then
we'll get answered better and the second
thing is that we have to be able to
learn to look away
now I brought all of you every man woman
and child here I brought you some
presents tonight and I'm going to
explain to you the first
one and I want to tell you how it
happened that this present came to
be many of us certainly
remember many of us certainly remember
two years ago when those three boys Nai
gilad and AAL were
kidnapped and for 18 days nobody knew
where they were
I always wondered Israeli detectives are
so brilliant how in the world could it
be for 18 days they didn't know where
they
were why did Hashem make it that for 18
days the whole world especially the Jew
Jewish world was in such a suspense what
happened with na
gilad and I can just tell you during
those 18 days I was in Switzerland I
will never forget as long as I live
Friday night in Switzerland I was in a
sh
everybody had a black hat with a beard
and a long coat and a GLE I was the only
one that looked like
me and that right before Kabal chabbat
the rabbi said now we're going to say
toim for the three
boys and they said such
toim and I tell you the truth it was so
powerful you would think that they were
praying for their own children I started
crying I'll tell you the truth I started
crying you know why cuz because I was
thinking that these three boys they were
not
boys they
Hadas they lived in areas where theim
normally don't live they went to schools
where theim don't usually send their
children but it made no difference they
were Jews they were our brothers and our
sisters were all together in this and if
that's the case that's why I believe
Hashem made it for 18 days we didn't
know because there was so
an there was such a Unity when we prayed
for each other when every type of Jew
prayed for those three boys that's why
in my humble opinion if you think about
it mathematically how in the world is it
humanly possible mathematically it makes
no sense how
could have sent thousands thousands of
rockets not one rocket exploded a sh not
one rocket exploded a house how in the
world is that humanly
possible you know why in my opinion
because Kal isra had such had such Unity
that that was the god protected Us in
that way that's why we come tonight to
join in unity to love each other and
care for each other because when we love
each other and care for each other God
takes care of us that's why there was no
bombs that exploded the Rockets didn't
explode
schools kids were in school I was in AEL
during that
time but bem Hashem protected because
there was Unity now I want to tell you
something that you mamish have to fasten
your seat belt as you hear this you will
not believe what I'm about to tell
you at the end of the 18 days when they
found
out that neb those three were killed I
know somebody that went to
be to pay a sh call to Mrs Frankl Mrs
Frankle is the mother of
naftali an American woman very
articulate very well
spoken so the person told me that she
said that at the end when she found out
what happened with her son she had a
partial n she had a partial consolation
now I ask you how could anybody have a
what consolation could a person have who
loses a child it's the worst thing in
the world what consolation could she
have had so somebody said to her Mrs
Frankle explain what are you talking
about listen to what this holy woman
said she said for 18 days I cried not
knowing what happened to my
son I knew that my son loved doing mitv
and the mitvah that he love to do more
than any other
Mitzvah was wearing his to fill in
now I knew that there was no way that
those terrorists would have let him wear
his tein during captivity but then when
I found out that he was killed the first
day I said
ahem at least my son didn't have to go
one day in his life without wearing to
fill
in could you imagine the Holiness of a
lady to say that that that's how she had
consolation that her son did not have to
go one day without hearing wearing to
fill in I tell you the truth when I
heard it I felt every single
man every single man who has to fill in
has to do something special because of
that and every woman who prays has to do
something because of that such a holy
statement and I was thinking what can we
do during our
prayers that would help bring us closer
to Hashem
and I thought that the idea should be
from now on when we
pray we shut not vibrate shut the cell
phones because everybody who's praying
and has his phone on vibrate is waiting
to see if he got an edge from
Staples or he's waiting to see if
somebody wants to be connected and
Linkedin and me and two other fellas we
made up a statement disconnect to
reconnect disconnect your phone to
reconnect Hashem so wherever I went I
spoke about it and then one afternoon I
get in the mail something a young fellow
look at this look at this beautiful
poster he made for me disconnect to
reconnect now this is a sid that's Safar
but it works with ashaz also believe
me disconnect to reconnect so you know
what what I did I made thousands and I'm
going to give each of you labels of this
type of poster put it on your
refrigerator if you D at home as a woman
does or put it in your SED put it in
your
Stander take as many as you want
wherever you pray take one of these
these little ones here disconnect to
reconnect put it stick it in your
SED not only for adabas viiva for
yourself if the women here would know
how their men behave in synagogue with a
cell phone they would be
humiliated how many people do we see
every day
Shalom and then what happens they open
up the cell phone that's praying that's
not praying that's
terrible so the first thing we said we
got to make sure that our mouth is clear
the next time you want to lie the next
next time you want to say something
painful remember the Tor the is going
through these pipes we got to make sure
that our pipes are clean the second
thing we got to remember we have to be
able to look away if somebody says
something negative to us and the third
thing we have to remember from now on
disconnect to reconnect every one of the
US take this tonight give them out you
have my permission make a thousand
copies send it out wherever you
want this to reconnect then we can
reconnect and I'll tell you another
thing which has nothing to do with this
topic but just parenthetically you know
one else you should shut your phones and
I say this to all parents when you're
eating supper with your
children that's when you show your
children you know something you are more
important than that guy who's calling
and they are more important is there
anything more important than your child
or your grandchild that you're eating
supper with that you spend 15 minutes a
day with
when it comes to supper you shut the
phone not un
vibrate that's a third thing disconnect
to
reconnect I'll tell you another
thing one of the things that writes
about and he talks about
doing and I brought each of you a gift
for that as
well writes he tells us that we need
need
hashem's we need that Hashem should do
us favors every day he writes not one
day he writes this in
the not one day should go
by that a man or woman doesn't learn
something certainly the men have more
than the women obviously but the women
can listen today on T anytime thatc you
have so many sh I have my own son Elon
I'm so proud of him he for women about
the kosher kitchen
about all these things women have to
know they have to know about the koser
kitchen they have to know about when
they eat food they have to know
about but the men of course have to
learn more I understand that but every
single day a person should do a for
someone else and I'll tell you something
else I guarantee you here's a
guarantee if you take this little book
tonight this is called AED challenge
journal every one of you can take one
tonight start writing down aad you did
for somebody else not a husband for a
wife a wife for a husband that you got
to do if you know what's good for you
I'm talking about out of the house so
people said to me what do you mean out
of the house don't you have to do at
home yeah but you don't become a when
you're nice to your wife or your wife's
nice to your husband that you got to do
if you want to keep your marriage
straight right we're talking about
outside the house carpooled giving a
loan calling a lady in a nursing home
giving somebody a a ride who can't walk
home from sh during the
week there are so many ways that you
could do and I'm telling you the pic
tells us God is your
Shadow if you do good for others you're
going to see good stuff's going to
happen to you and you'll see your Tas
are going to be answered and you're
going to be an elevated
person because when you love hashem's
children hashem's going to love you just
like if anybody would love our children
and did things for our children we would
love them right so when you do to
another Jew you're doing something for
hashem's
children so I want to tell you a story
that happened with me it's a little bit
embarrassing to talk about but I want to
tell it to you anyway because it's one
of the greatest acts of that you could
possibly
imagine what many of you don't
realize is that when I was 21 my father
passed away
now I've had this to do many BR here in
sh and many in other shes in Great Neck
and I appreciate every time that a
family uses me I'm very
grateful but I started being a moel and
very very difficult situation I'm the
oldest of seven children my father
unfortunately was sick he was a
moel and when we realized what was
happening I had to leave school I had to
leave the ISA
and that's when he trained me I mean he
was always training me but that's when I
got my training and believe me when
you're 21 and you got to support your
mother and younger brothers and sisters
it's not
easy after my father would had passed
away you know I would come into a house
and a grandmother would take a look at
me a 21 year old kid and she'd say oh
you're so young I would say well the
baby's also young you know so you try to
you know break the ice a little bit so
of course it was not easy having people
use me as a moel when I was 21 so one
day a man in a his name was Mr K Israel
he came over to me and he said here's an
envelope for you and your mother I said
what is this he said I know that you
could use it I said we're not Beggars
we're not poor we don't need any
money he said no this is not uh charity
this is a loan so I said so when do we
have to pay it back he said I will never
ask you for it whatever you want you
could pay me
back I said okay fine I got to ask my
mother I wasn't married at the time I
was still living at home I said to my
mother mom Mr Israel gave us money she
said well we're not poor we don't need
Stocker I said no ma he said it's a loan
she said when do we have to pay it back
he said he'll never ask us whenever we
want okay we really did need the money
and it was helpful it was about $1,500
and this goes back to the year
1967 so now two years later I was 23
more people were taking me I put
together the money and I go to Mr Israel
and I give him back the money and he
says I'm not taking it I said Mr Israel
what are you talking about you're the
one who told me it's alone I want to pay
it
back he said of course it's Al loone he
said but let me explain he said do you
remember many years ago when I went
bankrupt that's what he was talking
about now of course I remember the whole
sh was going crazy he was a wealthy man
overnight he lost everything he said a
few weeks after I went Bank there was
another man in our neighborhood Mr
lewenstein who came over to me mosha Lin
and he gave me
money and I said to him I'm not poor he
said no this is alone so I said when do
I pay it back he said I'll never ask you
whenever you want you pay it back and a
few years later I came back to Mr Lin Mr
Israel is telling me and I gave him the
money and he said I'm not taking it so I
said to him what you said to me what do
you mean not taking it you said it's a
loan he said yes it's a loan and you
have to pay but not me someday you're
going to find another family that needs
the money and you give them the money
that's how you pay me back and when they
come to pay you you'll tell them the
same thing I'm telling you they give it
to another family and that's exactly
what my mother and I did
that's that's when you're not thinking
only about
yourself and you take this book tonight
and you challenge yourself you don't go
to sleep at night until you did a favor
for someone it could be even a small
favor but it's a favor you show Hashem
that you care about another Jew then
your are answered then your Torah is
pure then God sees oh these are my
children you know recently I heard
something great and I think this is so
beautiful because it kind of gives us a
perspective what life is all
about you know most of us we get up in
the morning and we have a cup of coffee
most people get up and do that so there
was a rabbi in Israel
rban who spoke about it and he said what
is the muan what is the depth of that
that a Jew gets up in the morning and
has a cup of coffee listen to what he
said a person takes coffee beans very
bitter he puts in Sugar that's very
sweet he takes hot
water and cold milk and he mixes it all
together the bitter the sweet the hot
and the cold and what does he
say everything is from Hashem that's
great the guy gets up in the morning and
he says Hashem whatever you're dishing
out to me Bitter Sweet hot cold I know
it's from
you now that's a great Declaration of
faith in a morning I'm sure none of us
ever thought about that when we were
drinking coffee right but the point is
there's a great lesson here and the
question is what happens if we have
something bitter or if something we feel
is too hot can we change things so I
want to tell you a great great story and
always remember
this this is a story that happened many
many years ago in the
1700s and there was
a who had two children two
boys 10-year-old boy and a six-year-old
boy and they were running away from a
communistic type of country and every
night on a boat at night late at night
this boat would take people from this
communistic country where there was a
terrible leader and try to get over the
river to the other side and sneak into
the other country that was
freedom and many many people tried to
get on the boat every night and one
night
this he has his two children
and he's holding on to them for dear
life and suddenly people start yelling
and screaming that the boat is breaking
up there's too many people on the
boat and that they're going to have to
swim to
shore now how in the world these little
kids they don't know how to swim they
certainly can't swim well they were
about less than a quarter a mile away
from the sand but how are they gonna
make it
there and the father listen to this the
father has to now make an awful awful
decision that no one should ever have to
make and he says this children my dear
children I don't know what to do there's
no way that I can swim holding both of
you the most that I can do is take one
child and swim with the other hand I
can't hold both of you I don't know what
to do and the father's
crying and the little boy says daddy
take the older boy boy he learns Tora
he's in the Yesa already he's a sadik
you take him don't worry about
me and the father kisses the younger
child he says how could I leave you go
and the older boy says daddy take the
younger boy don't worry about me I could
swim a little bit I could swim a little
bit take the younger boy and the father
gets out of the boat that's cracking up
and he's holding both
children and he decides that he's going
to drop the older child because maybe
the older child will be able to survive
because he'll be able to swim and as
he's holding both of the kids and he
begins to let go of the older child the
older child yells daddy daddy don't let
me go don't let me go he can't let him
go he can't how can he let go a child
like that and he holds both kids and
somehow he's able to manage that less
than a quarter of a mile and he comes on
to shore with both kids he plops on the
sand and he
collapses and when he gets up he sees
both his kids and the little boy the
older boy says daddy how could I thank
you you saved my life you saved my life
and the father says I didn't save your
life you saved your life he says me he
says how did I save my life you carried
me he said no don't you understand when
you cried out to me Daddy don't drop me
daddy don't drop me you gave me a
strength that I never knew that I had I
never thought that I had that strength
but your prayers you're crying out to me
gave me a strength that I never thought
I had and that's how I was able to save
you but it was you cuz you gave me that
strength and you know something the
gamar tells us something so amazing the
gamar tells us if you pray to God and
you see that you didn't get answered you
know what you should do Pray Again never
give up and the tells us a that all of
us know we say it
in pray and hope to
God a second time never give up and I
say this to all the young girls that are
looking and I say this to all the young
guys that are looking for jobs and I say
this to all the couples that are looking
to have children never ever give up
that's what the gar is telling and
that's why tonight even though that we
know that chemo is going to be started
for adasa next
week as the father told me this
afternoon you never give up just because
the child has Kemo doesn't mean that
they can't survive and have a wonderful
life we all know stories like that but
we have to pray we have to be better we
have to make sure that our mouth our
pipes are clean we have to make sure
that we're able to look away when others
hurt us we have to make sure that we do
every single day we have to make
sure that we disconnect our phones to
reconnect to Hashem and when we
reconnect to Hashem then hopefully theot
will be
answered so how we're going to change
how we're going to change
I'll tell you a great story and then one
more story and that will close listen to
this fabulous
story and you know what I love about
this story it's not
only it's not only the story is so
beautiful as you'll see in a second but
it's how Rim kki the gor the greatest
tamic scholar today how he understood
the story this story happened a couple
years ago and it happened to a fellow
let's call him nman
and nakan was a regular Yeshiva boy in
America he learned in a for a few years
then he went into business he became
very wealthy and he moved his family to
Israel now every few years he would come
back to America and he would do business
in New York and then sometimes he'd go
down and visit his nonreligious Israeli
cousins in Miami Nati and
zahava now Nati and zahava they left
Israel because they were not religious
they had no use for Israel they came to
Miami and when their cousin came to them
he couldn't eat in their home right
because they weren't
kosher so they would go to one of the
kosher restaurants in Miami or else they
would take out food and eat on plastic
dishes or paper
dishes and a couple years ago two years
ago nman comes into the house and you
know when you see a guy that his yam is
sitting on top of his head you know like
a triangle you know he just put it on
five minutes ago sometimes we see like
that you know at the
cotel and usually that's how it was he
would come into Nati's house it looked
like he just put on the yamuk a few
seconds before but now the yamaka looked
comfortable looked like he always wore
it and then he looks around and he sees
a muuza on every doorpost and he says to
him hey wow did I notice a change here
he sees a safer on the table he says boy
you picked that up real fast yeah we
became balich Chua we became religious
he says wow that's great that he hugged
him he said how did that happen he said
I'll tell you how it happened he said
you know a couple years ago my wife and
I we were sitting it was late afternoon
in Miami it was very hot and we were
sitting on the porch and we noticed our
many well-dressed people and shirts and
ties and they were all going down to the
water now in Miami if somebody goes down
to the beach they're not going down you
know with a shirt and a tie and I looked
at my wife and I said oh my gosh it's r
these people are going to
Tash right he said I remember Tash as a
child I hadn't gone in a long time he
said I don't know what possessed me I
went into my house I got my Cupa I put
it on my head and I said you know
something I'm going to go with them and
I'm following all these people and of
course everybody's looking at me because
I'm dressed so differently than
everybody else we come down to the water
everybody takes out their everybody's
saying what they say and the guy comes
over to me says excuse me you read
Hebrew he says do I read Hebrew I'm
Israeli of course I read Hebrew he says
you want to say what they're saying he
says I know what this is I remember as a
kid T yeah I will say it fine he said I
was getting ready to go and a guy comes
over to me and he says excuse me sir did
you hear chauffeur today he says today I
haven't heard chauffer in seven
years he says you know my name is mosha
Catz and he's thinking like who cares
what your name is like you know I'm not
your friend you're not my friend he says
I'm the btoa here I blow I got a little
Sher in my pocket would you like me to
blow chaer for you he says you got a
chaer in your pocket he says yeah I
could blow even a little chauffer he
says wow that would be nice so he blows
for him 30 col out everybody turns
around like you ever
hear they told mashia here right and and
he's blowing shaer and then finally he
finishes and the guy says thank you he
says listen let me tell you don't forget
my name is mosha Catz he's thinking like
this guy's a nerd who cares who you are
he says no I just want to tell you I saw
where you came from you don't live so
far from the synagogue if you ever want
to be in contact with anybody in
synagogue you could call me my name is
mosha Catz or else the rabbi he comes
home he thanks the guy he comes home his
wife says n how is everything she tells
him he tells her you know they were
praying and then uh you know uh they
asked me if I could read Hebrew and I
said of course I'm Israeli he said then
this guy mosha cats came over to me and
and he blew schaer for me she says what
who blew schaer for you he says mosha
Kats she says mosha cats blue Sher for
you he says yeah why she says I don't
believe it that's really his name yeah
he told it to me three times she says
you know my grandfather who died many
years ago his name was mosak cats and he
was the Balan baso in Europe there was a
big synagogue a very holy synagogue my
grandfather mosha cats he blew sh with
all those people I can't believe that
today a guy mosha cats blew show for for
you well both of them couldn't get over
they got the chills just like I have
right now every time I tell the story
they couldn't believe it so for three
days you know they just talking about it
finally they decided to go to the
synagogue and they asked the rabbi and
he's telling his cousin nak the rabbi
was so wonderful he was so nice he was
Mish like Rabbi Baki he didn't say that
but he said he was just so wonderful and
so special and he was the one who
brought us to chuva well he was so happy
he embra raised him and he told
everybody the story finally comes back
to Israel and he goes to R kki and he
says rebi I got to tell you this
unbelievable story he says you believe
it he tells him the whole story I Told
You So R says of course these things
happen every day but you know we don't
always understand them but they happen
every day he says rebie I got to ask you
a question listen to this great question
and listen to the answer it's even
better than the question he says rebby I
got to ask you a question if God wanted
my relatives to become religious why
didn't he send them cats 10 years ago
nice question right if God wanted that
these people should be religious he
could have said the mosha cats 10 years
ago says kki God waits for someone to
take the first step as soon as he put on
his Kip and he said I'm going to Tash
with them God said now I can send the
mosha cats what an answer what a great
lesson for all of us we want to change
tonight you can change take the first
step do the
first be careful the next thing that
comes out of your mouth when you want to
say something negative one step one
small step and God says you know
something you're taking the first step
I'll send you mosha cats if God sends
you a guy named mha cats call me right
away you'll be in my next book okay but
the point is you you get the idea what
I'm trying to tell you so I just want to
end with this fabulous story and also a
great great
lesson because we're talking about
change tonight
every one of us can
change I feel we're all good but we can
be better I don't like to come and tell
people you know it's so bad we're all
good if you think about where we came
from we're great but we could be
better and it doesn't hurt to be better
we feel more connected to each other we
feel more connected to Hashem we feel
more connected to to Judaism to
yish to Y that's what we got to do and
and we can all do it every one of us and
we'll be better elevated people because
of it so I just want to end with this
thought I remember many years ago the
first time that I was in Manchester in
England and I was about to go in and
give a speech for about 500 women and
somebody came over to me and said you
know something on your way you got to
stop into a woman's house she never has
Ms and she's paralyzed she's in a
wheelchair and she's asking that you
come visit her for 2 minutes and I was
thinking you know first of all how could
you say no to a woman who's in a
wheelchair so I said okay good I'll go
in but just for two minutes cuz there's
a big crowd that's waiting I come inside
there's 25 women in that room and
they're all waiting for this woman Mrs
wsha re kav wsh to give a sh she a
brilliant woman but she wasn't yet in
the room and then they open up the
curtain between the living room and the
dining room and they wheel her in and my
my heart almost falls out she's not even
40 radiant woman and she's in a
wheelchair and she's
paralyzed and she says to me Rabbi cron
thank you for coming I need a favor from
you and I'm thinking no matter what she
asks how I'm I GNA say no in front of
everybody here so she says I'm writing a
book about my
situation she says you know every day I
get weaker and
weaker and there many grp great rabbis
who have come here to give me to give me
encouragement and I write it down R the
Manchester rashash from Israel and I've
read many secular sources also about
having strength in difficult times
please write me a letter for the
book and I said you know you need
somebody somebody's a sadik to write a
letter I can't write a letter for a book
she says no please I listen to your CDs
and I I know your books please it would
mean so much so I figured okay how am I
going to say no I said to her you know
what Ritson you know I can't write a
letter unless I read the book so when I
get to New York you send me the book you
know then I'll read it I fig it over the
phone 8,000 miles away I'll tell her no
she was one step ahead of me she said I
printed it here it is and she gives me
the book she had printed it already
typed it all out okay now I read it I
started reading it on my way back to New
York I couldn't stop crying I think the
saddest part of that book is the day of
her daughter's eth day graduation all
the women can relate to this The Eighth
Day gradu the eighth year graduation is
such a special graduation and the women
look so nice and the and the daughters
look so nice and everybody is so radiant
and so
happy and she says I came in with a
wheelchair and my daughter standing next
to me she's so embarrassed about me and
I'm embarrassed for her because she's
embarrassed about me was just awful you
know we don't even take it for granted
we take it for granted that we can walk
and talk and drive and run and sing and
shop and do all all these things and we
get so upset next time we get upset
think of kave wsha in a wheelchair in
the at the graduation of her daughter
it'll give you a different perspective
what life is all
about anyhow I keep reading the book and
then I read one
sentence and that sentence is a
lifechanging sentence the truth is that
wherever I go even right now wherever I
go I always carry these yellow
highlighters because if I ever read
anything I always just underline it even
though I'm going to throw it out I just
underline it because it makes an
impression on me my Sid is underlined my
gar is underlined my is underlined you
see something that makes an impression
on you underline it next time you see it
it'll awaken you
again and when I read that sentence I
highlighted it I checked it off and I
called her and I said Ritson let me tell
you something this is not a book this is
a safer this is a holy book I'll be
honored and humbled if you allow me to
write a letter and of course I wrote the
letter you know what the sentence is
listen to this it's not her sentence she
got it from someplace else but it
teaches us a great lesson in life she
writes any fool can count the seeds in
one
apple right you don't have to be a big
you go home tonight you open up the
refrigerator take out an apple you count
four or five seeds but only the highest
power
Hashem knows the apples that are in one
seed and that's brilliant who knows how
many apples there are in one seed only
Hashem you put your arm around somebody
somebody's looking for a job
and he's so embarrassed to come to sh
and you put your arm around him said
listen to me I know what you're going
through I that was me a couple years ago
you're going to make it come to us for
Shabbat a girl is looking for a and
another woman comes over to her says
listen I know what you're going through
I went through the same thing don't
worry you're going to get married you're
going to build a family and you give a
seed of encouragement or you make a call
for somebody to get a job make a call
for somebody to have a sh or you pray
for somebody else and that person is
healed all the apples that grow from
those seeds that's what we came here
tonight to plant seeds to plant seeds of
Tora to plant seeds of to plant seeds of
and that's what it's all
about as the rabbi mentioned before it's
the beginning of the three weeks the
culmination of the three weeks is
Tish and the gar tells us what is the
reason that the second
was destroyed they had T they had but
they didn't they had they didn't get
along with each other and that's what we
need toat is and what a beautiful
message that we sent to Hashem tonight
that a whole community in the middle of
so many things going on in our lives we
just dropped everything and we came
hereas saiva what a beautiful thing that
alone is a great that all of us have
done tonight that we come here to help
that family that family the mother sent
a message that's why I walked out before
she had sent a message with Mrs Cohen
and she's begging everybody she doesn't
want to lose her child she knows that we
can make a difference we can make a
difference with our Tora with our
without
our let's do it for her let's do it for
the child and let's do it for ourselves
because when we pray differently and
we're Unified
will be different people I'll just end
with this thing you'll never forget this
my father Shalom he told me this I don't
know where he saw it maybe he saw it in
the read his digest I don't know but he
once said something so great he said the
word
United and the word untied are spelled
with the exact same letters United and
untied the only difference is where you
put the
eye if you put the eye in the right
place then a community is United if you
put the eye the selfish eye in the wrong
place oh then it's untied tonight we put
it in the right place Rabbi Baki and his
family should be blessed for helping
organize this wonderful Kus Hashem
should
bless
with and hem should bless each and every
one of us the greatest that you could
ever give to anyone is that we should
each fulfill our potential in Tor in in
said and everything that the talents
that Hashem gave us in life we should
fulfill the potential and see only good
thank you for inviting me and thank you
for
listening