God Doesn't Want Your "Belief". Just Breathe.

We're living in one of the most pathetic generations of all time. We now have alarms and apps on our phones that are designed that people pay money for to download whose whole job it is to remind you to breathe. Don't forget to breathe. One of the core foundational ways that we serve Hashem is the mitzvah of and we learned long ago, I don't even know what number this is or what we're up to. Oh, part 367. So we learned many many maybe within the first dozen about where does it say there's a mitzvah just happens to be saying in passing one of the foundational mitzvah that we have is the mitzvah to have faith in hem is there a mitzvah faith in hem so there's actually a debate there are some who say yes I am the lord your god I took you out of Egypt don't have other gods have loyalty and fidelity to me believe in me see feel me, talk to me, connect with me, make time for me. That is a mitzvah to have faith and belief and trust in Hashem. But there are many others reonim who say there is no mitzvah to have faith in Hashem. Why? Because we don't have to. Because it's optional. Because we could be an agnostic or god forbid an atheist? No, of course not. For another fundamental reason. Is there a mitzvah to breathe? >> We have tyag 613 mitzvah. The gar deacos tells us we have a tradition. There are other traditions by the way, but the authoritative one, the one that is most universally accepted is that there are 613 mitzvah. The code of every Jewish luggage. 613 mitzvah. Tarag. How do you count the tayag? There really many more than 613. One can argue there are thousands when you add them all up with their minutiae and their details. So, how do you squeeze them into 613? That's a really fun game and exercise and the rishonimar medieval commentaries actually played that game and they wrote works they wrote books explaining their principles and rules and then counting their 613 how they got there the mitzvah and the list could go on and on the many many many wrote books explaining okay here are my rules of categorization that will allow me to then demonstrate to you how I came up with 613 even though there are many more. 613. So is one of the 613. Breathe. Don't forget to breathe. We're living in one of the most pathetic generations of all time. We now have alarms and apps on our phones that are designed that people pay money for to download whose whole job it is to remind you to breathe. Don't forget to breathe. No generation before us needed to be reminded to breathe. But we're breathing. so shallow. We're looking down at devices. We're forgetting. We're distracting. We're living mindless lives that we have all kinds of apps and all kinds of alarms and they're important and they're good to remind us. Breathe. Breathe. That was the topic of our rasha that this was the anniversary of creation. We came to be through breath. And on rashashana, we stop, we pause, and we take a deep breath. And that's what the chauffeur is. You can only produce the sound of the chauffeur through the deep breath inside you. Rashashana is a day. Take a deep breath. Take a deep breath. Restore the nishama with nishima. Take a deep breath. We spoke all about. I've been very gratified by the people who shared with me how they've employed and when they've used we we not only spoke about but in a very hokey way that I was made fun of by my family. We collectively practiced Navy [clears throat] Seal box breathing. Those of you in SH remember we stopped before we heard the chauffeur on musf on rashash shana deep 5-second breath in hold it 5 seconds deep 5-second relief hold it for 5 seconds and that that's what the Navy Seals use in high pressure stressful life-threatening situations certainly we can use that where the Navy Seals get that from the amunes that's where they got it from because you restore the nishima with nama the role of breath and it's critical and it's important and we We need to be reminded to breathe. And whatever we're going through, whatever we face, whatever we need to overcome, stop and remember, we've got to breathe. We've got to breathe deeply. We've got to breathe deeply. Is it a mitzvah to breathe? Now, why isn't it a mitzvah to breathe? Because it is basic, fundamental. You cannot be alive without doing it. So, I need a mitzvah for the things that I don't know I need to do. I need a mitzvah for that which doesn't come naturally. I need a mitzvah for that which will enhance and elevate and empower and inspire life. But I [snorts] can't be alive. I'm not living if I don't breathe. So I don't need a mitzvah to breathe. So those who sham say amuna is the same thing. You don't need to be told or charged or commanded have amuna. Amuna is like the breath the air we breathe. Without it we cannot live. Without it we're not alive. We're not alive. Amuna gives us life. It sustains life. It is life. That's why I spend all that time reading these emails because they're written from people who are saying that what gets me through life, what gives me life, what enables life, empowers life, what lets me breathe is amuna is the confidence and the clarity to know that you are with me. That this existence is not chance and random. That I'm not here because I'm stuck. That I am able to embrace my place and I can let go and I can let God. And I can know I'm where I'm meant to be. And I can understand that whatever I have is what I'm meant to have. And while I can take initiative and try to change and work and grow and progress, ultimately I surrender to you, Hashem, because you're in charge and you're in control. And I can only have life, that serenity, and that peace and that quality of life and that happiness because I live with amuna. So no more than I need to be commanded to breathe do I need to be commanded to have amuna. Amuna is the breath in our lungs. Amuna is the breath. It is the air that we breathe. It is life. It is life. Moreover, it would be paradoxical that there's a mitzvah to what is mitzvah? It's a commandment. It's the command. It means more than that. Sava means a connection. But it's a commandment from the commander. So the commander commands you to believe he exists. It's circular. It's paradoxical. It doesn't make sense. A commandment is premised on the notion that there's a commander. So there can't be a commandment. There can't be a command to believe because the whole nature of a command is premised on the assumption that there's a commander. Did you follow that? Good. So back to of the core principles and values we have is the mitzvah and whether we mean literally one of the whether we mean literally one of the six or whether we mean to live life and knowledge and faith and confidence and feeling of hashem at its core essentially The mitzvah means to know that all that happens wherever we are and whatever happens is by design. That's if you had to summarize it and reduce it. We learned the difference of amuna and remember we learned Shapiro's MS am is the knowledge that there's a creator amuna putting it into practice. MS, academic, theoretical, scholarly, evidence, proof, debate. That's MS. Amuna, putting it into practice. Amuna is on the date with the wrong person. Amuna is on the flight that's delayed. Amuna is when you're financially insecure and you turn and surrender to Hashem that he has a plan. Amuna is when you're fighting to recover from illness. Amuna is amuna is if you reduce amuna to its core is the knowledge that there is hashkah there is divine providence. He's involved and invested intimately in every single one of our lives. He knows everything that's happening. He designed it. He curated it. He choreographed it. And while he wants us to be his partner and to take our initiative and to try to influence and impact our destiny in the end of the day it comes from him.