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Rabbi Alon Anava is live! - Do we have free will? Denver , CO
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raised secular, he later embraced Torah
and Kabala and now teaches with clarity
and intensity, making deep Jewish wisdom
practical, accessible, and life-changing
for audiences worldwide.
Tonight's subject is going to be free
will. How does that fit in with an all
powerful and all knowing God? If I can
add the words, we know
we know there is know divine providence.
How does everything intersect and what
is the clarity of free will? So I thank
you for joining us and it is my humble
pleasure to present to you Harav alone
an [applause]
>> thank you. Thank you so much, Rabbi
Angel. Thank you so much first of all
for again hosting us here in Denver and
opening your beautiful shaw and your
beautiful community. And I thank you all
for coming and thank you Rabbi for
inviting us and thank you for working
hard and using all your allies to make
everything happen. Uh needless to say,
what a huge mitzvah to organize a Torah
class and a lecture and the merit one
gets from that and every little benefit
that each and every one of you are going
to get tonight, plus the thousands that
are joining us right now online, then
the merit of bringing souls together and
excited to be closer to God.
Their is unfathomable and I highly
recommend for you to do that too in your
free time. But Hashem should bless you
with you and your family with true
blessing.
Everything your heart's desires Hashem
should give you in the best way
possible.
Before we start, let me say a few. I
have delicious food here. So I'm going
to take the opportunity to say
blessings. Some of you maybe saw the
tubish that we had a few last week and
you got used to that. But since I have
such beautiful fruit here, take the
opportunity to thank the master of the
universe.
What else do we have here?
Amen.
Next blessing I say maybe you can say
the man with more excitement
and I'll tell you why.
uh
the
when a person
says amen the numerical value of the
word amen is 91.
There's another word that the numerical
number is 91 and that's the word angel
malik.
>> And when a person answers says amen,
amen means it's an acronym.
which means a trustworthy
leader, a trust, a trustworthy king.
Basically, what I'm saying when I'm
saying amen is I say in other words, I
agree. You said, wow, Hashem is the
best. I agree.
So, when you say amen, it says the one
who answers a man is greater than the
ones who said the bra. So there are many
great scholars that would not say a
blessing even without somebody next to
them ready to say amen to complete the
blessing. So let's try it again.
[clears throat]
>> We're starting to get there. I see the
angels coming.
What else do we have?
do one more braha and then we can start.
And I thank you all for coming on a
Super Bowl night.
When kafir told me there's a Super Bowl
tonight, what are we going to do? I
said, listen, the ones who want to
listen to me, they're not interested in
the Super Bowl. So,
so thank you all for coming.
Amen.
>> And last but not least, uh the people
online, can you hear me well and see me
well? Kil, call yourself in for a
second. Can you see me well and hear me
well? The people online.
>> Okay. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Very well.
Comments. become a
>> I want to start the the lecture with a
question
and uh before I start
a I thank you all for come that you come
that you came thank you all for coming I
appreciate it
and more than that I'm honored I don't
take it for granted that people leave
their home in such cold weather to come
and listen to words of dua. I make my
effort to come, but you make the effort
to sit in front of me. I mean, I can sit
in front of a camera, but it's not the
same.
So, I thank you that you came. I
appreciate it, and I'm honored. But I do
want to ask you a question.
Do you believe that you chose to come
here tonight?
And I'm sure the answer will be yes.
>> And if the answer is yes, I know some of
you are nodding no, but if the
[clears throat] answer is yes, that you
think that you chose to come here
tonight, that means that what I
understand from that that you believe
that you have free choice.
[clears throat]
If the answer is no, then we might make
the lecture much long shorter. But if
the answer was yes, so I understand from
that that you believe that you chose to
come here.
And what if I tell you
that
you didn't choose anything? What if
[snorts] I tell you it's Hashem that
chose your path and he decided that
you're going to come tonight
and uh not only that that you don't
choose anything that you're walking on a
path that Hashem chose for you.
And uh you know many people wanted to
come tonight.
They heard about the lecture they just
couldn't make it. Couldn't find a
babysitter. Couldn't find a ride. They
wanted, they had a choice to come, but
it didn't work out. And some people
heard about the lecture maybe today in
the last few hours. They didn't even
know I'm in town.
And more than that,
you in many of the cases believe
that if you chose to came here tonight,
then
whether it's
the question is if did you choose to
come here tonight or whether it's Hashem
choosing your path,
that's a big question that we're going
to start with because when it comes to
free choice,
there's a A lot of lot of questions
here.
First of all, there are three conditions
that are non-negotiable
by the Torah.
The first one is that Hashem knows
everything. You cannot doubt that. You
cannot say he knows most. Hashem knows
everything.
No question, no doubt.
The next one is that Hashem is in
control of everything. There's no
question here. No doubt. You can't
question it. You can't say in any other
way, Hashem has 90% control. He has
control over this but not over that. No
negotiable. Hashem knows everything. And
number two, Hashem controls everything.
Another thing that is not negotiable is
that human beings are morally
responsible for their choices.
morally responsible for their choices.
The only problem is that when you put
all these three together, they don't
work out together. Because if Hashem
knows everything and Hashem is in all
control, then how can I have any
responsibility on anything?
Therefore, the three non-negotiable
parts that I just read, they don't work
together. Something doesn't fit well.
And when I'm facing this uh question, it
will directly affect
a long list of things that I need to pay
attention.
How it's affecting it and what I need to
do. The first thing that it's affecting
this contradiction that the three
concepts have to fit together. It's
affecting about a concept that my mon is
talking about that is called sah
reward and punishment.
If I'm not responsible for anything that
I can be punished but on the other hand
I also can be rewarded.
The next thing that it will affect is
the concept of repentance of chuva.
Again, if I don't have any
responsibility for my choices, if I'm
walking on some path that is predestined
to me, then how exactly do I do chuva?
If I have no control, if I have no
control over my decisions and I have no
control over my acts because Hashem is
in control, then how is chuva fit here?
How can I repent for something that I
did but I was actually manipulated to do
or that I was destined to do? So how can
I do chuva for that? I I didn't do
anything.
>> What about the commandments?
>> Wait,
if you don't mind I'm not going to
answer
>> I'm not going to answer any questions
right now. The questions will be at the
end of the class and I will give time
for questions right now. Let me go
through the uh the the little
information that I want to go to. I
think a lot of it will be uh cleared as
I'm speaking.
Uh another problem that we have with
this concept is it's going to affect
directly prophecies.
If I read a certain prophecy
and uh
Hashem is in control and Hashem knows
everything but I have or don't right now
we don't know yet the ability to choose
then it will directly affect the
prophecy how the prophecy will end up.
Now if I have no say here or no nothing
then now it's going to affect another
thing prayer.
Why should I pray? If I'm already going
on a predestined path and everything is
decided for me and I have no choice
here, then why do I need to pray?
And of course, if this is the case and
I'm just listing a bunch of things that
it's affecting
after what I just listed, there's
another problem that it's going to
affect which is called justice.
If everything is controlled by Hashem
and Hashem decides everything, then why
do we see so much injustice in the
world?
And of course that will affect also evil
and suffering.
Free choice. So Hitler had a free
choice. Imm
had a free choice.
any of their enemies had free choice or
they were predestined to do whatever act
they were supposed to do and just acting
as a messenger of Hashem. So that will
affect also any evil in the world and
every suffering in the world.
And uh of course the last but not least,
the meaning of the mitzvot.
If I don't have a free choice, what
meaning does the mitzvot have? And if I
do have a free choice, how is that going
to make meaning to the mitzvot?
So there's a lot of questions that one
can ask when you are facing the big
question about free choice. Where am I
holding here?
Now there are a few erh different
approaches
that can be found in many great
scholars. One approach that I want to
talk about is the approach of my
monities
that he says it's very simple to answer
this question.
The prophet says my thoughts are not
your thoughts. Of course, it's going on
Hashem that human beings thoughts cannot
be compared to the master of the world's
thoughts, opinions, and how he sees
things. And therefore,
Hashem knows our choice,
but he just doesn't force it.
He sees what I'm going to choose and he
lets me choose it.
Okay, that's the one type of approach.
But if Hashem knows what I'm going to
do, so what's the purpose of trying or
testing me if Hashem already knows what
I'm going to do? And if I'm if this is
the case, am I really choosing or am I
just reacting to what I'm supposed to
react? Did I really choose an act that I
want to do or it's just a reaction
that I'm programmed to do?
And another big question I want to ask
before we continue is
if Hashem plans everything and
everything is predestined and I have no
choice here, then why would I even get
punished for something that I do?
We know the Torah is talking clearly
about the
many places in the Torah it says in
simple words you do good then you'll get
good you do not good then the Torah I'm
not talking here about interpretations
not kabala not zoh and not even rash I'm
talking about the Torah the Torah is
telling us simple things the Torah is
daring to tell me
curses that is almost un unbearable to
hear and then telling me because you
didn't serve Hashem with true happiness.
So I do have a choice
to serve if I serve with happiness or
not and then I get punished or not.
So let's try to make a little bit of a
sad here now that we asked a lot of
questions and now that we're presented a
lot of problems.
Let's see if maybe in the next hour we
can uh understand more clearly the
concept and more important is what do I
need to take from that?
The reality is that it's not
questionable and you can't argue with
that that Hashem knows everything. He
created the world. He governs the world.
He knows everything. He controls
everything. Nothing can move in this
world without the
direct order of Hashem.
The Talmud says an al a leaf doesn't
even turn from one side to the other.
What we see that the wind does. A leaf
doesn't even flip from one side to the
other. Unless an angel stands on that
leaf and says, "Okay, now you need to
turn over." And about that angel,
there's another angel that is in control
of him. And another angel and another
angel. And everything goes all the way
back to Hashem. And nothing moves in
this world without Hashem approving it.
A person cannot even move his little
toe, his little finger like this
unless it's approved in the heavens.
So I can take from that very clearly
that the control is coming from above
which means that when I want to do
something it has to be approved by the
master of the universe.
It's what I'm talking here is simple
math and facts because the Torah is very
clear. The Torah of course has an
esoteric part to it but the messages are
very clear and cut to the chase.
So if I understand that the master of
the universe created the world and not
only that he created the world
In his great kindness, he recreates the
world every second.
Which means that if Hashem now somehow
decides to back out, no world,
if Hashem stops his uh constant flow of
creation,
everything goes back to its source and
back to
nothingness.
And every day we thank Hashem that he
constantly recreates the world.
We read that every day in the prayer of
and needless to say I don't have to
elaborate and explain and add the fact
that Hashem creates the world constantly
as we also mentioning in the prayer
bless that he said and the world is
created. So Hashem is constantly
involved in creating the world. He
doesn't stop for one second. There's no
vacations and there's no stops.
So I know that Hashem not only created
the world, he's also recreating the
world every second. So no question here
that he has to say he has the control,
he has the the the the
last word as it say. So if I'm taking
the quote from the
that person cannot move his finger down
here unless it's approved
the word the the the
way it's expressed in the
which means it has to be announced from
in the world above
to simplify it is Hashem has to approve
it everything that happens in this world
has to come from the approval of Hashem
So that means that all evil was approved
by Hashem.
Because if you say otherwise,
that's a pretty strong statement of
heresy. If I will come and say now, oh
no, no, that person is the evil one who
did this to these people
and I take Hashem completely out of the
equation here. That's heresy.
Because you want to tell me that a
person I just told you that a person
cannot move move his finger without the
approval from above. So to murder a
nation that requires a even a bigger
approval.
So in other words, and I know it's not
so easy to sound to to the ear to sound
it, but even the evil things that we
experience around the world, all around
history, all the time of history was
approved by the master of the universe.
And again, if you say otherwise, you got
to be very careful because you're
basically saying somebody was able to go
around Hashem.
Nobody can go around Hashem. Nobody
nobody can bypass God. the most evil
individual, Hitler, Makimo, whoever,
they have to be approved
to operate.
It's a very deep co concept, very hard
to accept because basically what I'm
saying is that all evil in the world
came directly from Hashem.
Then we can compare it to many quotes
from our sages and
evil doesn't come down from hem. Hashem
has no evil in him.
So what what's going on here? I see evil
in front of me. I experience it. On the
other hand, you're telling me Hashem is
in control. So we're back to square one.
The fact is nobody can move in this
world without the approval of Hashem.
The next fact is
is that we are free to choose.
Now let me explain to you a little bit
more deeper how I understand and see the
concept. And by the way there are many
ways of looking at this concept. There
are many books who talk about it. There
are many great sages who give their two
cents about it. It's not black and white
here. There are things that you cannot
argue with the fact that Hashem is in
control. Hashem creates the world,
recreates the world, controls every
creature, and nothing moves in this
world without the control of Hashem.
That is unquestionable. No negotiation.
And that's the fact. Now, how do I fit
in?
The reality is if you look in kazal in
many quotes of our sages you will find
that we don't have free choice. The most
dominating one is in tract of the
fathers the essics of the fathers
where it says in the Mishna
and nobody's asking you
it's against your will you come down to
this world and against your will you die
and against your will. So the Mishna is
telling me you don't have a will
or you can look at it different against
your will. So oh I do have a will
but at the end of the day the bottom
line is not my word. So it goes against
my will.
It's a very easy way to say I have no
free choice and Hashem decides
everything and I will just do my
hishloot my effort. I'll do whatever um
required I'll give it the best I can
and that's where it ends. And if Hashem
doesn't want something to work out, I
have control over it.
If Hashem wants a certain thing to
happen, can I change it? On the surface,
no.
On the surface, if something is decided,
if there's a if there's a decree,
nothing you're going to do is going to
change it. On the surface, on a deeper
surface, we do know that prayer can
change everything.
for
where do we see the best example that
prayer didn't work especially by the top
top top top Jew in whole history our
master and our teacher Moshe Rabenu who
prayed 515 times to the master of the
universe to have permission to enter
into the land of Israel and the answer
was denied
Mosher. No, I'm not talking here about
some scholar or a great rabbi. I'm
talking about the rabbi.
The man who saw God with his own eyes.
The man who went up to the mountains 40
days, didn't sleep, didn't eat, brought
down the Torah to the world. That's a
pretty uh
pretty high level. I don't think there's
much higher to grow above Mosher Rabenu.
Okay, Mashiach. But Mosher Rabenu still
was holding a pretty good title and he
was denied saying in other words that
prayer doesn't always work.
So why did Mosha Rabenu tried
if it wasn't his choice? If it was
Hashem's choice, why did he try? Why did
he pray 515 times?
And Hashem already told him at this
point, stop. It was not going to work.
Can stop right there.
So to simplify things, I like
simplifying the Torah because the Torah
is very deep and the Torah is very very
difficult to understand by any human
being because it's not our wisdom. The
wisdom belongs to the master of the
universe. And for us, we
we somehow put some dots together. It's
not the time now. When mashia will come,
then our wellsp springsings of knowledge
will open. Then we'll be receptive to
Hashem's Torah. Right now, we're not
fully can absorb the light of the Torah.
It's time of exile. We have to refine
ourselves. We have to do a certain act
as a nation, as individuals to do a
rectification from the sin of Adam.
There's many major things that has
nothing much to do with us. We're just
need to do our part and Hashem does the
rest. [snorts]
But let's now focus now on my personal
life. And when I wake up in the morning
and I ask myself,
should I wear a white shirt or should I
wear a blue shirt? And I end up wearing
the blue shirt. Did I choose to wear the
blue shirt or was it Hashem that placed
that thought in my mind and made me
choose to wear a blue shirt?
My brother-in-law is a not an official
comedian, but a very funny individual.
It's the type of individual that you sit
next to him, he will make you laugh.
So when he became observant
uh he used to stand in front of the
mirror and say hashem you know
everything and you know everything I'm
going to do and right now I need to know
I need a message to know if I do have
free choice or not. Hashem tell me do
you know that I'm about to do this?
Did you know that I'm going to do that?
Now, of course, he did that all in a
humor way.
But ask yourself this question. Did I
choose to wear a blue suit and this tie?
I have a few ties.
So, I'll tell you the simple answer when
it comes to choosing the color of the
shirt. It's irrelevant. It's
unimportant. It's not even something
that we need to focus on. This is not
something that will affect your life.
choosing a white shirt or a blue shirt
is going to affect my life in any type
of a way.
I don't think so. Therefore, that choice
is minor. It's a choice to give me so to
say the magic wand or more right to say
to give me the reigns to think, oh yeah,
I'm in control. I'm I'm thinking here
I'm doing here. It's irrelevant these
choices.
What's relevant is the choices that
affect your life.
choices that don't affect your life.
Okay, we'll give it to you. You have
free choice whether you choose to get
the cheesecake or the chocolate cake or
you're going to choose the chocolate
milkshake or the vanilla milkshake or if
you're taking today the sushi or the
steak
choices that don't affect your life. I
make I call them minor and it doesn't
really matter if Hashem chooses for you
or you choose for yourself. Sometimes
it's easy just to say Hashem chose it.
But to categorize these choices, I think
there are completely irrelevant and
they're not so it's kind of background
noise like everything in this world to
distract me from the focus because when
I choose a lot of things all day long, I
choose to have breakfast. I choose to
have this. I choose to to pick up this
cucumber and this and that cucumber.
That these are all my choices right
here. Here's a plate full of fruit. Now
I want to eat one of these blueberries.
I'll choose uh this one.
Did I just choose it?
Why are you not answering?
>> You're right. I just chose it.
Did Hashem plant that thought in my
mind?
Could be.
I think that when it comes to such
irrelevant things, Hashem says, "Choose,
choose which blueberry you'll eat."
Think that you're choosing to make me
feel that, oh, I am an entity. I am
something separate from Hashem. I do
have my own opinions.
I am separated from Hashem. That's
really the concept of the world is to
bring you to a point of thinking that
you are separated from Hashem.
That's how Hashem created the system.
Youth should think that you are
separated from Hashem, but the reality
that you're not. You are part of Hashem.
You are
a huge part and Hashem is a huge part.
You're not separate from Hashem.
Where do the choices that you do start
to
make effect? Now, there's many different
levels in free choices. Let's go to the
lowest of all.
And that's something that happens to you
every day. You wake up in the morning,
you choose if you have this shirt or
that shirt, that for breakfast, this for
breakfast. All that is you, you know,
choosing minor things. Then you go out
to the street. Now starts the real
choices.
Somebody comes up to you and tells you,
"I need your help."
Now you're rushing to work. If you're
going to stop now for five minutes,
you're going to be late to work, your
boss will be angry. Maybe you'll miss a
business meeting, whatever it is. But
that person is asking you for help. I
just need you to jump start my car. I
need you to take me from here to there
because of this and that.
Now, the choice is already not something
irrelevant like a shirt. It's a choice
that will change your life.
Because if you choose to help that
person,
choice number one, you're late to work,
you you missed the the meeting, you you
know a chain reaction of negative
things.
But let's say now for the sake of the
example, you're not late. There's
nothing stopping you. You have all the
time in the world. Your choice will be
detrimental. If you choose to help the
person, you grab the mitzvah.
Hashem threw in your direction an
opportunity to do something good. And he
wants to see what you're going to
choose. Are you going to choose
something that is good for you? Are you
going to choose something that's good
for somebody else or an opportunity that
Hashem wants you to do?
Now kicks in the real choice. Do I want
to do the good in the eyes of Hashem? It
is a mitzvah.
or I don't want it's not comfortable for
me right now. So I chose whether to do
this mitzvah or not or if to help that
person or not. If I chose to help the
person and it falls under a category of
doing of kindness then Hashem says you
will get rewarded for that.
If I choose not to help that person I'm
not going to get hit on my head. But
Hashem says okay you you lost one good
opportunity. You could have grabbed a
mitzvah in this world. You could have
grabbed.
This type of free choice is kind of like
a video game. There's a video game that
I actually never played. I just saw
other people playing. It's called Subway
Surf. And you're like running on some
path. Uh I think it's like actually
running on train tracks. And you pick up
like these gold coins. And when you go
and of course somebody something is
running after you, the is running after
you. He wants to kill you and your
option is to stay stay alive and to get
as many coins as possible.
[clears throat]
That's the exact example of what I just
said. Hashem puts you on a path and he
throws at you throughout the path like
in this game all these medals or coins
or whatever and he says you can choose
if you are going to take one and benefit
from it or not. Not going to punish you.
I'm not going to beat you up. I'm just
giving you an option here. And why?
Because before the world was created, we
didn't have that option. Before the
world was created, the zor says that
Hashem was in existence and around him
was all the souls
enjoying the benefit of this godly
light. And at some point the souls felt
very very embarrassed and ashamed that
Hashem just gives them and gives them
and gives them and they came to Hashem
and said we want to give something back.
The calls it bread of shamef
like a poor person comes to your door,
knocks on the door every day, asks for
food. You gladly give him the food and
the money, but he's already embarrassed.
Every day the same thing. So the souls
came to God and says, "Please, we want
to do something for you."
She says, "I don't need you to do
anything for me, but I'll tell you what
I'll do. I'll create a system that you
earn what you get. Instead of me just
giving it to you as a as a free present,
I'll make a system that you earn it. And
that's why it's fair and square. The
more you work, the more you earn. And
that way you can't uh complain. You were
lazy. You didn't earn that much. Okay?
And so you earn less.
Of course, the souls were like, "No, no,
no, no. It's okay. It's okay. But it was
already a minute too late. The world was
created and now we are in the option
that Hashem says, "No problem. I want
you to receive this reward." The reward
is no checks
or some medal. The reward is closeness
to Hashem. Because the more I do
mitzvot,
I create spiritual garments. That's the
that's the purpose of the mitzvot. I
mean, there's many other purposes. Don't
limit it. The main and most important
that's the will of Hashem. That's why I
do the mitzvot because that's the will
of Hashem. Not because I'm going to be
rewarded or not because I'm going to be
punished or not because I don't know
what. I'm doing the mitzvot only because
it's
that's the will of Hashem. So I humbly
do that because he gives me life. He
gives me food. He gave me a wife. He
gave me kids. He gives me parasa health.
Everything that I need. So the minimum
the minimum that I do is I do his will.
But if we're already looking at it in a
personal way, when I do a mitzvah, I
create a spiritual garment that when my
soul leaves this world, then it gets
dressed in this beautiful garment and
able to stand closer to Hashem because
the garment allows the light of Hashem
that normally will anullify me because I
have no vessel to hold this light. The
garments of the mitzvot allow me to
enjoy the zeve of the ray of the light
of hem. And the more mitzvot I do, more
garments I have, the closer I can come
to Hashem. The reward really is that I'm
closer to Hashem.
to simplify reward and punishment in the
Torah. It's not necessarily
people think they sitting in Ganeden on
a deck chair with pina colada or a beer
and some angels you know waving you and
massaging your feet and no
the simple explanation of ganed and gum.
Ganedin is how close you are to Hashem
and Gom is how far away you are from
Hashem. That's it.
Few years ago, many years ago to be
exact, I had a friend who loved the NBA.
And one time he took me to a game and uh
we went in the corner in the alley where
you buy the tickets cheap,
not in the reg regular tickets. So we
got real cheap tickets for $20 a piece.
But when we came into the stadium, we
were on row 372
all the way up. the people, the players,
they look this big. I told him, "Why did
I come here? I see better on the TV. I
don't see anything. I can't hear. I
can't see. They look miniature."
So he told me, "Don't worry." [laughter]
And uh a few minutes later, he took me
and we ran down 10 lines and we sat in
seats that were vacant. That was his uh
shittita. He would buy cheap tickets in
the bank and then he would go like this,
look for free seats and run down.
20 minutes into the game, I'm in row 13.
I smell the sweat of the players.
Oh, now I see. I'm close. I can see the
game.
That taught me a very, very profound
message.
The further away you are from Hashem in
the world to come and for eternity, you
don't see, you don't hear. IT'S FAR
AWAY. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT DID HE SAY?
That's gum. You're far away from Hashem
and Ganedan. Then you're closer.
Don't you want to be first row? I want
to be first row. I don't settle for
second row. So I choose in this world to
fill the will of Hashem.
Whether Hashem planted it in my mind or
my soul and I'm just following orders or
not, we'll get to that in a second. But
when it comes to me, I feel that I
choose to do the will of Hashem. Let's
go back now to the example that I gave
you. I wake up in the morning, I go out,
I have an opportunity to do a mitzvah.
Right now,
I can choose if to do the mitzvah or
not. And if I choose, I will be rewarded
and I'll get an opportunity to do
another mitzvah because the Mishna says
mitzvah
you do one mitzvah, you the reward you
get to do another one and then the
reward of that is you get to do another
one. And what would be the reward of
that
not only to do another one then I'm
closer to Hashem. I'm closer to Hashem
then I hear better. I feel better. I
feel Hashem.
You know, people ask me like as if I'm
the know-it-all rabbi. I don't know it
all. People send me questions like as
if, you know, people know sending me
questions, sell, should I sell my
Bitcoin? Should I buy my Bitcoin? What
are you asking me? I'm a rabbi. I'm not
a consultant. Yeah, but you you see
things. I don't see anything. I see what
you see.
And when I have a question that I don't
understand, I don't go to my rabbi and
ask him. I ask my Araba questions in
and every now and then maybe something
that I to help me in my spiritual growth
but when I have a question I ask Hashem
I do an effort I will pray more I will
learn more Torah in many cases even fast
if and the qu the answer comes I I don't
need to seek for answers too much what
do I do I just gain closeness to Hashem
and the answer will just come by default
so really My point here is to gain
closeness to Hashem.
So first option of free will is like I
told you is that I walk on my path and
Hashem throws to me opportunities to do
a good a good deed to do a mitzvah.
In the exact same level he does that
with temptations and let's see if you'll
fail. On the one hand, I can choose to
do something good and gain a mitzvah.
And on the other hand, I can choose to
do something wrong.
I'm not talking right now not to do the
first option. I'm choosing now option
completely different option that I
choose to do something bad. I walk in
the street or I'm in some type of
situation. An opportunity comes for me
to sin and I sin.
And again we're in the same question is
if I chose to do that or not.
Now let's introduce a different type of
free choice.
I walk on the path that Hashem put me
on. And here there's not really a
question. Everything is predestined.
Next week I'm going to give a class. is
going to be oneshar on next Tuesday. I
believe it will be live like this. I
highly recommend you uh log in and watch
it. It's going to be a similar lecture
to here but with a different uh
approach.
So it's not going to be the same lecture
but in that lecture I
talk about a concept that when a man and
a woman a husband and wife are together
conceiving a child
then an angel comes down to this world
the name of the angel is Laya and it
takes a little drop from the father and
it goes all the way up to Hashem and it
tells Hashem this drop what's going to
be the result of this job. Is it going
to be a man or a woman? Is it going to
be a tall
or short? Blonde, brown, blue eyes,
rich, poor, brave, wicked. What's the
person? What's going to be this drop?
And everything is already listed. What's
going to be the answer of Hashem is
everything is
everything is in the hands of hem.
besides
and I'll explain in a second what that
means but saying in other words that
everything is predestined if it's going
to be a man or a woman if he or she are
going to be tall or short fat skinny
blue eyes rich poor brave everything is
predestined
the only thing that is not isim
now most people take the wordim and they
translate it to fearing god God
cuz shamim is another word the another
name of Hashem. Shamim
Shamim means the heavens. But in many
places in the Tanakh we find that the
word shamim refers to Hashem. So Shamim
is fear of God.
Is fear of God a good thing?
Yes it is. It's a very good thing. You
can't reach to love without fear. You
need the fear. The balatana explains in
the holy book of Tanya that the fear and
the love. He's explaining it based on
the zor that fear and love are two wings
and one wing is the fear and one wing is
the love. And I never saw a bird that
flies with one wing. You need both wings
to take off. So you need the love and
you need the fear.
I have seven kids. I am a fully a
full-blown father.
The first thing of my day is a father.
I'm a husband. I'm a first of all uh
God-fearing Jew that I have a 3 to six
hour job a day just serving my master.
So, first of all, I'm a god-fearing Jew,
but I'm also a husband and I'm a father
and I'm a rabbi and I'm a teacher and
many other things. But father right now
in my life is a very dominating part.
And I can tell you that being a father
made me much more closer to Hashem, much
more aware of Hashem by relating with my
kids. I understand how Hashem relates
with me.
It changed my life being a father
because I understand now the the
responsibility that comes with it. the
the responsibility of being sometimes
very firm and sometimes very kind.
And it's not about if I like the kid or
not or love them or not. If I'm not
going to be firm and educate them,
what's going to happen to that person?
When my first daughter was born, my wife
and me were very, very h happy. We
brought her home and we looked at this
beautiful baby and I told my wife, we
are going to be now the architect of
this person,
the architect of this person's life.
Whatever we going to give this little
baby in the next 20 years, we defined so
to say and again it kind of contradicts
this entire topic of tonight of free
choice but nevertheless the approach was
we are going to design the life of this
child. If I'm going to teach this child
good midot good attributes to be kind
and to be merciful and to be charitable
and to be hospitable and by showing them
and teaching them I'm designing that
person children are product of their
parents and their environment I have a
huge responsibility to give whatever
tools to these kids
that makes me understand how Hashem
relates with us. You know how many times
I give my kids an option
and I know what they're going to choose
and I act accordingly and it's not
because I'm a prophet but take now a
cucumber
in one hand and take a very colorful
lollipop in the other hand and show it
to your three-year-old. I know what
they're going to choose.
They're not going to choose the
cucumber.
Try it.
The child will choose the lollipop
because it's shiny and it's colorful and
the rapper makes noise.
This looks pretty boring.
But let me ask you a question. And what
I said right now is a fact. Test it. go
now to a kindergarten with cucumbers and
lollies and you'll see which child will
take the cucumber. So I know I know do
they have free choice these two year
olds these three year olds I put in
front of them something that is
irresistible for them something that
they know causes them happiness
and something that is good on their
taste buds. Why would they choose the
cucumber?
Do you understand how Hashem sometimes
operates? He knows what's good for you.
So when I go to my kid and I present
options,
then I know what's good for them. In
many of the cases, I don't even give
them an option. That is what's going to
happen. And in many of the cases, I do
give them options. And why? Because I
want to see if they learned anything
that I taught them in the last 10 years.
I educate my kids.
First of all, to be a mench. You know
what a mench means? Be a good person.
Don't be mad. Don't be bad to other
people. Don't look to do evil things to
other people. Move away from
disagreements. Speak always truth. I
know sometimes it's hard, but always
speak the truth. Don't raise your voice
on people. Don't use foul language. I
have a long list of things that I want
to teach my kids because eventually
when they run around in the streets of
the world, I have some responsibility.
When I'm going to come up to the heavens
after 120 years, they'll tell me, "Oh,
your child did this and that. Why didn't
you educate? Why didn't you educate
him?" Now, I give the most that I can to
my kids. Do they all go in the path that
I wish? No.
The fact is that neither one of them is
going on the p path that I wish because
they're going on their own path. They
have their own choices, their own life,
their own. But it doesn't stop me from
giving them the right tools. And at some
point when they grow, that's it. They
left the house. They're going to be my
child for always all my life. But the
education uh period is over. I can't
educate my 20-year-old. I can support,
help, teach, but that's it. I'm done
with the [snorts] part and hopefully I
did the right thing. But why am I saying
all this? Because I can learn very
easily how I relate with my kids, how
Hashem is relating with us.
And I don't always tell my kids this is
what's going to happen. I give them
options. And the reason that I give them
options because I want to see if the
material that I gave them
sits there and I can let them go. You're
ready to go to the world. So I will see
their reactions all all the time. As a
good father,
I will bring a situation and wait to see
the reaction and then educate them based
on that reaction.
This mini model is the same model that
Hashem does with us. He knows what we're
going to choose. First of all, he puts
us on a path that you can't change. For
that, listen to the class on Jada next
Tuesday. I believe it's February 17. I
think if I'm not mistaken, 8:00 p.m.
Eastern time. Log in. You're going to be
very, very happy. It's a very powerful
lecture.
Going back to what I told you, the
Talmud That's talking about the angel
that's taking the drop. The answer is
very simple. Everything is predestined.
Where you going to be born, where you
going to live, where you going to learn,
what's going to be your profession,
who's going to be your wife or husband,
kids, everything is predestined.
It's this. No, no need to be alarmed.
Everything is predestined. And you
cannot can't argue with that.
I'll tell you what's not predestined is
now as I explained before yachamim can
be translated as god-fearing
but let me give you the true explanation
not true sorry the god-fearing is true
too let me give you a more profound way
of looking of the definition
when you write the word in Hebrew you
write
Re alif.
If you change just the punctuation, not
the letters and not the orders of the
letter, just the punctuation,
you can read it.
Same letters, just instead of the under
the al if is a
now I put a seal, it's a
completely change the meaning because
means that I should see the hand of God
in everything.
That's a different level of
everything is predestined
which means that how much I see the hand
of Hashem in the situation that's up to
me.
So how can I analyze that? You wake up
in the morning and uh it doesn't matter
right now uh what but you get bad news.
You walk out, somebody bumped into your
car, you walk out, I don't know the
something the ceiling fell down,
whatever a problem. Every day we wake up
to problems, right? Unfortunately,
every day there's some something new.
What now?
The principal of the kid called from
school, the I don't know what the bank
is calling you. Every day there's a
different a different problem to juggle.
Now you have a choice to see how much
it's the hand of Hashem.
If you choose to see that it's not the
hand of Hashem, then you deal with it
with whatever the problem is.
If you choose to see that it's a hand of
Hashem, then you also know that the
solution will come from Hashem. And you
also don't stress over it.
And now your reaction changes.
And from a reaction of losing your
temper, you move to a reaction of moving
on or thanking Hashem even though it
doesn't sound so good. Your reaction is
different. Somebody does something bad
to you, instead of getting angry at
them, you just see that person as a
messenger. Suddenly instead of anger,
you have gratitude to that person.
This is the concept that is more
practical I would like to say about
about free choice because if I need to
simplify it
the re don't have any choice the master
of the universe is two steps ahead which
means that he already knows what you're
going to choose 50% of the times he puts
the situation in a way that there's not
even a question what you're going to
choose like the analogy that I gave with
a kid with a lollipop.
The more important part that we need to
focus on is you choose how to react.
If you're supposed to do a mitzvah,
you're going to do it. Hashem will allow
you to do it. But you choose how you're
going to do it.
You can ask me for help and I'll be
like,
"Here, take a $100. Leave me alone. I
helped you. Did I [clears throat] do the
mitzvah right?" No, I did the mitzvah.
I didn't do it the nice way. I made you
feel not so comfortable. Maybe I
embarrassed you. Maybe I embarrassed you
in front of others, but I did the actual
mitzvah. I gave you the money. So even
Hashem might tell you, I choose if
you'll do the mitzvah, but how you going
to do the mitzvah,
you can go on a journey on a train.
The destination is the same destination.
The origin is the same origin. The train
will arrive at the time that it's
supposed to come. It's predestined to
arrive in the gate at 2:43.
and it knows which gate it's going to
arrive in. Everything is predestined.
But when you walk on that train,
you do have a choice. Where are you
going to sit yourself?
Are you going to sit yourself in the
front? Are you going to sit yourself in
the back? Are you going to sit on the
right side? Because if you go on the
right side of the journey, the scenery
is this. And if you choose to go on the
left side, the scenery is that.
So the destination is the same. The
origin is the same. The time of arrival
is predestined.
Who's going to be the driver of the
train is predestined.
Which train? What are the stops? What is
the path? Everything is predestined.
Your choice is where you decide to sit.
Because if you sit on the right side of
the train, you're going to see one type
of you. And if you sit on the left side
of the train, you see a different type
of you. And if you do chuva, you switch
sides and you switch the switch the
view. So you went on the same path, but
the view changed. Hashem is testing you
with your reactions.
In many cases, Hashem
programs you to sin.
There's a great argument in the Talmud
whether the golden calf
what what was going on with the golden
calf.
Five minutes before that they saw Hashem
with their own eyes.
Well, not exactly five minutes. five
minutes I'm saying as a term
you know three months before that for a
whole year they saw miracles of the 10
plagues that
how can you not be fa shocked by seeing
it with their own eyes then they saw
more miracles by escaping Egypt then
they saw more miracles by walking in the
in the desert and getting man from the
heavens protected by the war of Amalik
getting water from in the middle of the
desert and miracles from here till
Matan Torah and then in the time of
getting the Torah they saw shem
heard the voices
you saw the mount there the mount the
fire on the mountain the Torah coming
down and then a minute later you're
going and doing a golden calf
by the way I said five minutes later it
was exactly 40 days later the story is
that Mosher Rabenu received the Torah
went up to the mountain
sorry came down went up to get the Torah
came down after 40 days the Satan the
devil showed everybody that Mosher
Rabenu died made a fake hologram of a
fake
funeral or burial of Mosher Rabenu and
convinced them Moshe is not coming down
so I said five minutes please don't uh
I said it as a term five minutes later
but it really was 40 days later but it's
irrelevant The question in the Talmud is
how can you see such greatness, such
miracles and a minute later 40 days do a
golden calf
make a false idol may melee us
3,000 years later. If I believe in some
idol, I didn't see Hashem. I didn't see
Mosher Rabenu. I didn't see man coming
from the heavens.
How can you do such a sin of idolatry
forming a new god shalom minutes, hours,
days after you saw the hand of God? I'm
not asking this question. The Talmud is
asking this question. And you know
what's the conclusion that the Talmud
comes to?
There was a conspiracy against the
humans.
Hashem conspired to make us fail.
It was predestined too.
By the way, just for the to for the
record, we didn't do the golden calf. It
was 3,000 people who are considered
a mixture of different people, different
nations, all the junk. Sorry to say
that. that we came out of it. Some junk
came with us. We didn't do the golden
calf by the way. That's why the sin was
forgiven.
The sin that we did as a nation right
after that is the sin of the spies.
That's that didn't get
forgiven. But let's go back to the
golden calf. The Talmud says
was a conspiracy. It's like as if like
in other words, Hashem made it happen.
Now, why would Hashem do such a thing?
I'll ask you even a bigger question. Did
Adam and Kava actually mess things up?
How many you know the story? Adam and
Kava were created on Shabbat. All they
needed to do is accept Shabbat, then
observe observe the Shabbat, and that's
it. And then Mashia was supposed to
come. Alan was supposed to be Mashia.
If you're reading the description of
what was supposed to be in the seven
days of creation,
I mean the I mean one little mistake and
the entire plan was changed. It's almost
impossible to believe that that was the
plan. It's much easier to believe the
whole thing was predestined. It was
already planned.
Because if not, you want to tell me that
one little mistake changes the course of
the entire universe and Hashem's plans.
I have a way to affect Hashem's plans.
So if we're going back to Matan Torah
and what the Talmud says, there are
situation that Hashem will force you to
sin.
He will make you sin and only to see
your reaction to see if you get upset or
not. to see if you lose your temper or
not, to see if you lose your hope or
not. Because many times you try and you
sin over and over and over, you lose
your hope. You're like, "Okay, it's a
lost case. I can't get rid of this sin."
Shem is constantly testing your
reaction.
The professional term to to reaction is
how much are you willing to see that it
was the hand of God. So, I'll give you
one example out of many. Many years ago,
I had an idea for a business. I hired
somebody to do the job.
Quarter of a million dollars later,
nothing. He didn't do the job.
Of course, all sorts of excuses, but the
fact was a lot of money was paid and
there was no product.
Needless to say, that brought a lot of
anger, a lot of frustration, and he
instead of admitting, he went and blamed
me.
Sounds like a normal story that
everybody goes through. It was started a
disagreement
between me and this individual.
The problem was that this individual
prayed in the same synagogue that I
prayed.
And this individual,
I was the Gabby of that sh. And he was
the only levy in our congregation. I had
to call him up to the Torah
four times a week and give him a
blessing with a smile
when he
finagled quarter of a million dollars
and didn't even admit
he kept saying I was the problem and he
was I'm not telling you the whole story
there's a lot of background here but
that person hurt me my money he didn't
provide the product that I needed he e
insulted me and attacking me. I'm the
problem. Now, let's analyze this. What's
my free choice here?
To choose that he did it
or to choose that Hashem did it.
My test was here and I saw it clearly.
The writing was on the wall. My test was
if I'm going to get angry or not. If I
lose my temper, then I don't believe
it's in the hand that it's in the
control of Hashem. Lost.
If I lose my patience, if I start losing
foul language or what do I do? Do I sue
him? Do I take him to bed?
The bigger test, the biggest challenge
was if I say lashon about him, if I
slander him. And you know how hard it
was to be in a congregation.
Smile.
People are asking me, "No, how's the
project going?"
It's going,
it's getting there. So, I had to lie now
to cover his failure cuz if not, will be
questions. You need to understand what a
test was to see his face every day and
not to jump on him like a lion
for what he did. And it all boils down
to understanding or rather choosing
to think that did he do it or did Hashem
do it.
Needless to say that the conclusion was
very fast to understand that that was
the will of Hashem. And the challenge is
if I get angry or not, if I will shalom
use foul language towards him or
violence or anything negative. If I'm
going to slander him, trash him, talk
bad about him in the community,
my reaction is what's going to count.
Then Hashem made it even more
interesting and spiced it up and he
moved into my building.
So every day I wake up in the morning,
the elevator opens. Ding.
And he's in the elevator. We pray in the
same minyan same time.
I'll take the stairs.
It was extremely obvious that I'm being
tested right now with your
not by afraid of God, but how much am I
willing to see that this is the hand of
God that did that? And why
a could have been that I did that and
now I'm getting back my own medicine.
That's called a tikun.
You do something you need to rectify it.
So how first of all might have been a
tikun could be someone from a previous
life a debt from a previous life
that I owed him money in a previous life
and we both came back to this world so I
can pay him back. Sorry he can pay is
sorry I can pay him back
can be many different options. You know
there's a famous story with I'll tell
you quickly the story [snorts]
is known as Rabbi one of the biggest
pillars of the teachings of Kabala lived
inat about 500 years ago and there's a
big story a famous story that there was
a re very rich man in the community who
had a wonderful daughter and he couldn't
marry her off with all the money he
couldn't findan
finally after many many years. She comes
home and she says, "My dear father, I
found the man that I want to marry." She
goes and looks at the man and he sees
this skinny, pale Jew who learns Torah
all day long. He didn't want that type
of a son-in-law. He wanted somebody that
can take over the business. He has only
a daughter. He wanted a son-in-law that
will go into business, a sharp
businessman.
But that was the choice of the daughter.
He was happy with it. He's like, "You
happy? Fine." And they got married. The
day of the wedding, the father comes to
the groom and he tells him, "Here's a
certain amount of money." And he tells
him, "That's half my wealth. I'm giving
you half my wealth so you can take care
of my daughter for the rest of your life
because I know you're going to sit there
all day long and not going to work.
I wish I had such a father-in-law."
[clears throat] Everybody would wish for
such a father-in-law, giving you half of
his wealth just to sit and learn Torah.
But unfortunately
a week or a month after the wedding, the
bride dies
and now the groom is a very rich widow.
The father comes to him and tells him,
"Please give me back my money." The
groom says, "What are you talking about?
You gave it to me as a present." The
father says, "I gave it to you to
support my daughter. The daughter died.
Give me back the money." No, I don't
want to give you back the money. And as
two good Jews, they go to the bedin.
They go to the to get some justice. Who
do they go to? To the betf man.
Rabbi Ysef Caro who wrote the shuk the
Jewish code of law. Go to his bed.
Very quickly he reviews the case and he
says the boy the groom has to give the
money back to the father. That's the
groom says no I disagree with that. I
want a I want a second opinion.
second opinion. This is this is not a
second opinion. He says, "I want to see
the I want to talk to the I want to see
what he says." Now, the was known to
have what's called a magg mid is an
angel that is standing next to this
individual and tells him in his ear
constantly everything that he needs to
know. The had a mag. Many great sages,
they they have a mag. That's how it's
called. and kind of like a voice in
their ear that telling them all sorts of
things that they need to know.
These two individuals come into the room
of the Arizal already the mag already
told him in two words what's the
question they walk into the room the
room and the Rizal says right away the
money stays for the groom the father is
fuming what are you talking about I have
a sucked in a verdict from the baked in
that I get the money
says to him let me explain to you
something very simple [clears throat]
you Your daughter and this young man
were business partners in a previous
incarnation.
You and your daughter stole his part.
All three of you came back in an
incarnation and now you gave him back
the money from previous life. If you
take the money back from him, your
daughter will not go to Ganedin. She'll
have to come back down here in another
incarnation.
You are not going to go to Ganedin.
You're going to have to come back here
in another incarnation and you're going
to drag him to another time and you all
three of you are going to come back here
again till you give him back the money.
Finish with it right now and give him
the money.
So many many many situations in our life
is a previous incarnation debt. So when
I looked at this individual that took
that money, it could have been a tikun.
It could have been a debt from a
previous life. could have been just a
very big challenge to see if I will be
angry or not. You know what a challenge
that was? Not to lose my anger and not
to use foul language. I know to some of
you maybe foul language is not a big
deal, but foul language is not an
appropriate way to talk. And I'm talking
about all sorts of words that we all say
without even noticing. I'm not going to
say the letters of the word, but I'll
define them as the A word, the B word,
the C word. You know, you you you know
what I'm talking about.
It's not a right way. It's not the it's
not I used to talk like that. So I
understand it but it's you know when I
became observant that was one of the
first thing that I I was was hard for me
is how I talked and I worked on that and
I went months without talking because I
didn't want to every second word that it
comes with some derogatory word or some
curse. So I know to many people foul
language is not the big but maybe you
came all the way tonight here just to
hear that because sometimes you know I
understand you bump your toe in the edge
of the bed instead of saying ah you say
another word so just don't say that word
you don't need to say that word just say
I.
But nevertheless, the test was for me
also not to use foul language with this
guy and not to slander him and not to
the test was very very intense. But I
understood the concept then of free
choice that a hashem takes me on the
path that I need to walk on and you
can't change it. It's predestined.
This act was predestined.
Now kicks in the free choice. Do you
choose to accept that it came from
Hashem
or not?
How does Shakespeare say? That is the
question.
If you choose to believe it was the hand
of another person, then you lost the you
lost the the the challenge here right
now.
If you choose to understand and believe
that it was the hand of God, that's your
mind. You see the hand in God of God in
it. And for the little challenge of the
day or the week, you passed.
That's it. All again.
Just remember with choices that change
your and affect your life, then you need
to pay attention to that. We already
removed from the list the choices if
you're going to eat the cucumber or the
olive or the am I going to eat sushi
tonight or Italian.
I do believe that 50% of these
situations
it's irrelevant. So let you choose it
because it has no value if you wear a
blue shirt or a white shirt.
But sometimes something as minor as
where we going to eat tonight is decided
by Hashem. Because you have to
understand that Hashem works in a system
that is called
divine providence. Hashem sits in his
war room
and he's managing trillions and
trillions and trillions of details every
second.
Billions of birds, billions of animals,
billions of fish. Everything is
calculated. Who's going to get what food
when, who's going to eat who? Just
imagine how many details Hashem has on
his mind. And why is it so dynamic?
Because every second it changes because
if one person needs to change now the
route it's affecting now 30,000 people
they need to change everything changes.
So here is unbelievable that the genius
of the master of the universe no
computer will ever reach to that level.
They're trying to do that with AI and
many other things. It's never going to
reach to the level of Hashem because
Hashem can recalibrate the entire system
within a split second that will affect
five million people.
No machine or computer can ever do that.
But works. You have to vision it from
above that Hashem sees everything.
And if right now you need to meet person
A to hear one sentence and will affect
you and then and you know the chain
reaction
and if that person you're going to bump
into him in the Italian restaurant that
you ate dinner tonight then Hashem is
going to be the one who's going to pit
the oh I want Italian tonight.
I'm craving some good ravioli.
You think you're craving it. No, no, no,
no, no. Hashem programmed in in your
mind that right now you are uh you're
getting an SMS. Tonight's special 20%
off. Oo, honey, we're going out. All
these are not your choices. It's Hashem
moving the system that you will follow
the path because you need to meet
somebody. That's
that's a different topic. We're not
talking about this tonight. But that
removes 90% of your choices. By the way,
the the divine providence that Hashem
needs you somewhere, he will start
putting thoughts and situations in your
mind.
How many times did you have a plan for
the day, somebody calls and the plan
changes and you have to cater the plan
and you have to come up with solutions
or ideas how you going to do it. So
technically you choosing what you do
here but in that case Hashem is leading
you to a certain place. He's deciding
everything. Everything is decided for
you. the zero choices here right now. So
is there a certain mechanism that
sometimes the free choice is valid and
in sometimes you are totally on
autopilot.
How to tell the difference? You can't.
You can't really you have to be very
focused. You have to be very spiritually
enlightened and you have to really
surround yourself with Torah and prevent
any sins.
Then you can very easily see where
Hashem is leading you.
And then you are challenged with your
reaction.
Not your choice, your reaction. Because
in many of the choices, A, it's
irrelevant. B, Hashem plants it in your
mind. C, Hashem will give you a non
other option.
Like you do these tests [clears throat]
and they ask you a question. One
question is clear that it's the right
answer. One answer is very close to the
right answer and two answers nothing to
do with reality. [snorts]
The iron the the irony is that in Israel
we call these tests American tests. I
don't know why. I don't think it's an
American thing but uh you know what I'm
talking about. So in many of the
situation, Hashem gives you four
options, but it's just obvious which
option you're going to choose.
That's not free choice, by the way.
That's Hashem being two steps ahead of
you, and he just knows what will be your
calculation that is the right choice.
You think you chose it, you really
didn't choose it. And the proof to that
that there will be situ situations
exceptions that you choose completely
different but you always do
that's where you see that the kosh is
already starting to to put you on the
free choice track.
So to conclude and by the way I'm
concluding but there's not there's much
more to talk about it but I want to kind
of simplify it and to narrow it down
that I can actually act accordingly.
Most of the choices that Hashem is going
to give you is to see your reaction.
That's it.
That's the major part. After that he
wants to see if you choose to do good or
if to choose if you choose to do bad.
In many of the situation he's not
consulting you. He's already putting in
your mind the predestined situation
because there's a chain reaction and he
needs you to do something. I have
mentioned before that in many situations
Hashem forces you to sin. He blinds you
in in some type of a way. You can say,
"Oh, I was tempted. The temptation was
too strong. The tava, the the desire, I
couldn't stand the desire." Or you can
say, "I made a mistake. I didn't think.
I didn't see."
Sometimes
Hashem wants you to go on a certain path
and you sin and you do bad things on
this path. But he wants you after that
to do cha.
I'm sure you heard a verse that we
recite every day
and it says
we say that depends on the congregation
where you pray. In this congregation,
you will say it before the last before,
right?
And you start the morning as garish
after that. What does it mean?
Wanted to give you merit. Therefore, he
gave you a lot of Torah.
>> [snorts]
>> The zor says don't read it
re read it
is to give you merit
means to refine you. The hashem wanted
to refine you. So he gave you a lot of
dua and mitzvot.
Hashem
is the manufacturer.
He creates you with a few defaults,
a few blemishes. I'm not talking right
now what you did in in sins in previous
lives. He creates you like that. Why?
Because he wants you to build up and
reach to perfection by yourself.
All based on what I told you before that
our souls, we asked Hashem,
we want to do something. This bread of
shame that I spoke about before, we came
to Hashem and told him, we want to we we
don't want this anymore. So Hashem build
a system that we earn it.
So here is how you earn it.
So Hashem says, I want you to earn your
reward. I want to refine you. Leak means
to refine. What does it mean to refine?
The more refined I am, the closer I am
to Hashem.
So I want to be closer more to Hashem
than I need to be refined. And the
reward is that I see a greater
revelation of Hashem. If I don't do it,
what's the punishment? that I'm further
away from Hashem. Hashem wants me to do
it.
I want my my boys to come and pray so I
can wake them up in the morning.
But I rather them wake up themselves. If
I wake them up every day, they'll get
used to that I'm waking them up. And if
one day I won't wake them up, will they
wake up? Are they waking up because I'm
forcing them?
My purpose is to make them wake up by
themselves. So when my child is four
years old, then it has to come with
candy.
You bring the little kid to the sh, you
give him a candy, he makes one plus one
shu candy. Okay, I'm going. I get candy.
That's how you start. I'm not joking.
That's even tells you entice the child.
Give them all sorts of sweet things so
they would learn the Torah is sweet. But
eventually the child doesn't take candy
anymore. And I don't have a budget to
start buying my kids things to make them
come to the synagogue. I need to educate
them that they need to want to come
because it's the right thing for them.
So Hashem does the same thing with us.
He's teaching us that we can come up
with our own understanding what is the
right thing to do.
You should choose the good.
The Torah tells you straight out
means you chose. You will choose. So you
can find many places in the Torah that
tells you you have no choice. But the
Torah tells you clear
of course it says if you choose bad you
choose death. But the Torah tells you
you are choosing here. So the whole
thing boils down to what do you choose?
Hashem wants you to come to a place that
you are automatically choosing the right
thing to do
that he can reward you for that he can
refine you. It's not about what you make
in this world. If you're successful in
this world, you're not successful in
this world. If you have a good life, a
less good life, that's a different topic
from tonight. Hashem like a good father
wants to educate you that you should do
it should come from you and that way he
can give you 100% your reward for that.
If it doesn't come from you what kind of
reward he's going to give you? He's
going to have to give you the the
basics. So everything that Hashem does
is to bring you to a point that you
should learn to choose the right thing.
Half the choices like I told you when it
doesn't affect your life. I'm wearing a
blue shirt or a white shirt. It's
irrelevant.
In many of these cases, yes, Hashem will
plant a choice in your mind that you
would choose a certain thing because it
will lead you to a certain situation
where you're going to meet somebody or
do something or so. Yeah. So, a lot of
these choices, they come into your mind
and it's 100% from Hashem and he's kind
of letting you think that you're
choosing. Where does the real ch free
choice comes is when you're facing a
challenge.
A first option is when you're facing an
option of doing a mitzvah, an a
commandment, a positive commandment or
doing a sin. And again, Hashem wants you
to be able to do it by yourself. So many
of the times you will fail and he will
help you fail because he wants you to
come to the understanding by yourself.
We read in the
song on Friday night that we read the
first verse we read
translation
get up from the dirt and brush off the
dirt. Shake yourself and brush the dirt
off.
This goes on the fact that Hashem
sometimes pushes you
spiritually to to to to fail, to sin, to
do something wrong
because he wants you a he wants to see
what you're going to do when you're on
the floor. Are you going to whine? Are
you going to complain? Life is hard. I
can't take it anymore.
I hate my wife. I hate my boss. I hate
him. and he and she and
or you're going to choose to get up and
brush off the dirt.
Get up from the dirt and shake yourself
like what chickens do or other birds
throw off the dust.
the continuation of the verse.
You will be able to wear the garments,
the glorious garments of my nation. So,
Hashem wants to elevate you. So, he will
push you. And he says, "Okay, now let's
see what you're going to do. Are you
going to be on the floor whining and
complaining and cursing and I don't know
what?"
And that's most of us childish
behaviors. childish
what's the word reactions
or do you choose to see that it's the
hand of Hashem
I see that it's the hand of Hashem I see
what Hashem is trying to educate me and
then I lose anger judgmental
jealousy
he's basically refining me because each
and every one of us were born with a
definition of bad attributes.
We have good attributes, good
characteristics. I'm kind, I'm patient,
forgiving,
etc. And there's also bad character
traits,
jealousy, anger, hate, sadness,
depression, and so forth. That's the
name of the game.
The student of the
in the book of Sharah in an introduction
says that doing the mitzvot is very
important it's like the air and the food
of our soul you have to but the real
purpose that we came down to this world
is called refining my characteristics
and I have 80 years to do that and I'm
born with anger you born with jealousy
you born with being judgmental you born
with being lazy everybody has bad
attributes and the name of the game is
how you break it how you refine it that
you come into this world and you go out
in a completely different way. That's
your purpose. That's the main thing you
need to focus on. And everything around
it is going to cater for that purpose.
How am I refining myself? Now, if I have
to refine anger, Hashem will do
constantly test me with challenges of
anger. And it will be my choice if I get
angry or not.
It will be my choice if I choose to do
something good or choose to do something
bad. That's where your free choice kicks
in.
And how is it defined by our sages?
How much do you see Hashem in every
situation? And I can tell you that when
you see Hashem in every situation, you
don't get angry. You don't get
disappointed.
You don't get frustrated.
You might get happy at sometimes, but
all these things and much more, it
doesn't affect you because you know it's
it's the will of Hashem. You win some,
you lose some. Sometimes you get a slap
to your face.
The fact is, and the bottom line is that
Hashem has a point.
Like I told you, I am a father. Every
child that I bring to the world, I have
a plan. This child needs to be a good
individuals. I will do whatever I can in
my hands to give the right tools to this
child.
What's going to end up? It's not in my
not in my hands. That's in Hashem's
hands. But I have to do my part. Now I
take that structure and I change it from
macro to Hashem.
Hashem brings you to this world. He he
has a purpose. He wants you to come into
this world as dirty as you are and to
come out from this world as clean as
possible and he will do whatever he
needs to do to bring you to the
situations where you will fulfill your
purpose. The more you humble yourself in
front of Hashem, the more you bring
yourself to a place of a nullification
in front of Hashem, what's called bet,
then you will start hitting your
purpose. Most people don't know what
their purpose is. They don't even know
where to start. They don't know what
they're doing. Hashem is guiding you.
So the real concept of what it boils
down to free choice right now it's not
if I choose to do A or B that's not so
important
is the lesson that I need to derive from
the fact of what Hashem the challenge
that Hashem sends me and if I have
learned from that lesson I have grown
and every day and every week and every
month I grow and I become a better
person,
a better uh servant to God. That's
Hashem's purpose.
So, it all boils down to what do you
choose to do in regards to
the Hashem?
The topic, of course, can be broken down
into many, many, many things.
And there's a lot a lot of questions.
I'm sure one of the biggest questions
the crowd has is if I do the wrong thing
and I sin, why do I get punished for
that? It wasn't my choice. I was
manipulated to do that.
Then [snorts] first of all, if Hashem
puts you in a situation that he forces
you to sin because he wants to see your
reaction,
there's no judgment there. There's no
punishment there. And I'm going to give
you one example and I think this will
conclude the concept and then we can
deliver the message so you can go out to
the world and conquer your desires and
become a very successful individual.
Many many years ago I was in a lecture
similar to this
just that I shared my personal story and
one person in the crowd got very very
affected positively. He started coming
after that lecture every Wednesday to a
class,
my class.
And first he came with earrings and
hairdo and the whole thing and every
week it changed. Then after 3 months he
was already with a little yamaka,
clothes were different. I saw the
transformation and every time of course
he would sometimes ask questions and one
time after a few months I told him
listen I see really I see the
transformation
and I know you're not educated enough
but you know we pray every day three
times a day why don't you come and pray
with us I see that you really you you
see the benefit so he started coming to
pray with us I lived in Brooklyn he
lived in Queens he used to drive every
day there's 500 synagogues in Queens. He
came to us every day. He came and every
day I saw a growth.
After a month, little beard, after two
months, tit growth.
After a few months, one day he doesn't
show up.
Being concerned, I call him. Maybe he's
sick. Maybe he needs my help. What
happened? I call him and I tell him,
"Ma, what what happened? Why didn't you
come to Shahit?
He tells me, I'm done. Don't call me
anymore. Don't invite me anywhere. I'm
not coming to synagogue anymore. I'm not
coming to your classes. I'm done.
Mom, what?
You're you you are on such a good path.
You're like, how you saying? You were on
a roll. Maka, what happened?
He says, I can't do this anymore. I I I
feel like a hypocrite.
And I said, "Please explain." So he
tells me, "You know where I was last
night."
I said, "Well, I don't care where you
were last night. I care where you
weren't today." He says, "Yesterday, I
went out to a party in a club and you
know what I did last night?" I said,
"Again, I don't care what you did. I
care why you didn't come to Shah today."
So he said, "I met a girl and then I
went home with her and I did all the
sins in the book. anything that you can
just imagine.
I can't show up in the morning to the
synagogue and put fillin on and pray
like as if nothing happened. I did
horrible sins yesterday.
I feel like a hypocrite. I'm not doing
this ever again.
And I told him, I'm sorry to tell you,
but I think you're suffering from some
rare disease of stupidity.
What is the connection between one and
the other? I don't know.
I actually don't know. Well, let me
explain to you your stupidity.
Hashem tested you yesterday. He sent you
a woman for you to meet, to like, and to
go and sin with her. He designed the
sin. If you are familiar with the movie
The Matrix, he sent you the lady in the
red dress. Hashem designed the whole
thing, the party, the club. He made
everything available for you.
All the choices that you made, he made
them comfortable for you to choose.
He kind of led you to the choice
for the ultimate test to see if you will
come to the synagogue in the morning and
pray Shaharit.
And let me tell you what happened. When
you didn't show up to pray the morning
prayer, Shahar, let me tell you how many
positive mitzvot that you have to do,
you didn't do.
If you will come to the synagogue, you
would put fillin on that's two positive
mitzvot from the Torah. When I'm saying
positive, it's a positive commandment
that you have to do.
Putting fill on one on the head, one on
the arm. two positive mitzvah. You would
wear a tallet. Another positive mitzvah.
You would say, another positive mitzvah.
You would pray. Another positive
mitzvah. You would put a few coins in
charity. Another positive mitzvah. After
prayer, you would read some tim. That's
a positive mitzvah. Learning Torah. You
want me to keep on going? I'm going to
give you now 20 mitzvah that you could
have done by showing up to Shakar.
But you chose to think that you are a
hypocrite
which nobody's asking you.
You are obligated to wake up in the
morning, go to the mikvah, wash
yourself, repent, do chuva, ask
forgiveness, but nobody's exempting you
from coming and doing the prayers.
You cancelled, you transgressed
at least 20 mitzvot
that you're going to be judged for.
Now, let me tell you how the test works.
If you would sin yesterday with this
woman and in the morning, wake up in the
morning and brush off the dirt
and say, "Hashem, I'm a human being. I'm
sorry.
you caught me in a very weak point. Go
to the mikvah, wash yourself,
ask forgiveness, ask Hashem to forgive
you, and come and pray. If you would do
that,
everything that happened last night
would disappear like it ever happened.
There's no sin here. There's not going
to be any punishment. There's not going
to be any judgment. It's as if it never
happened. Why? because you chose to see
that that was the hand of Hashem
testing you and you did not fail and you
chose to do the right thing in the eyes
of Hashem because sinning yesterday was
a mistake but not showing up to pray in
the morning that's already yours
that you're going to be judged for that
you're going to be punished for. Now,
the fact that you didn't do that and you
didn't show up to pray, now you have
double the trouble. Now you're going to
be judged for not coming to pray and all
the mitzvah that you transgressed and
for yesterday.
Therefore, I told you I'm sorry to tell
you my dear friend. I think you are very
full. You are a full person. Foolish,
stupid.
The test here is obvious. call me at
6:00 in the morning, I will tell you to
come. And that's what Hashem does with
you and with all of us. In many cases,
he puts me in a situation that I will
sin against my will.
And of course, I will perceive it. It
was my temptation. It was a desire. It
was a last. My was too strong.
If Hashem wants you to fail and he turns
the volume up and he tells the make this
person fail, doesn't matter who you are.
David failed. Everybody failed in their
tests.
Great sages failed.
And
our sages teach us there's no such a
thing that there's going to be a sadic
in this world that won't sin because
Hashem loves
in a place of chuva where the baluva
stands a complete sadi cannot stand.
Hashem loves the ones who repent.
I have to tell you another example
before we finish. I know you want to
finish. Go back to the Super Bowl.
[snorts]
I'm joking. I know all of you are not
here for the Super Bowl.
But I'm going to give you one more
story.
Now I completely lost my thought what I
wanted to tell you.
Now is that my choice or was it Hashem's
choice?
Please remind me what were we talking
about? We were talking about I gave an
example the first one with the person
who did didn't show up and then uh
>> ah the balance. Thank you.
Very quick story just that you get the
point of the bala and what what what is
the bottom line? It's [snorts] a story.
There was a king and he didn't have any
son to take over. So he needed somebody
to take over. So he told his advisers,
please find uh a candidate to somebody
who will take over. They went and
advertised all over the kingdom. The
king needs a second uh you know the the
how do you say pre predecessor
predecessor the come one who comes after
they recruited 10,000 people gave them
very extreme tests
narrow it down to a thousand more tests
narrowed down to a 100 more challenges
and tests and narrowed it down finally
three candidates they come to the king
we narrowed it down for three what do
you want us to do king says says, "Now
we're going to do the ultimate
challenge, and let's see. And the one
who's going to pass it is going to be
the next king." What's the challenge?
Well, the challenge is that each and
every one of these individuals are going
to be locked in a room for 24 hours.
And each and every one of them is going
to get a bottle of wine of the king's
wine.
And equivalent to our generation, it's
like a heroine addict in a room full of
heroin. That would be the equivalent
just so that you understand the the the
parable. A temptation that cannot be
held. They lock the men in the room and
they're waiting for 24 hours. 24 hours
later, all the press is there. Cameras,
everybody's biting their nails. What's
going to be? They're going into the
first room, starting to unlock.
Drum rolls. Everybody's like, "What's
going to happen?" They open the door.
They see the guy sitting like this on
the bed. They're [snorts] looking at the
bottle of wine completely closed. They
didn't touch it.
Everybody's like, "That might be the
next king."
They go to the second cage, second uh
not cage, second cell, whatever room.
Start opening the door. Everybody's
looking. They open the door. They see
the guy on the floor drunk. The bottle
is [clears throat] empty. [laughter]
That's for sure not going to be the
king.
Now, let's see what's going to happen on
the third door. Everybody's focused on
the third door. What's going to happen?
Drum roll. Cameras. They open the door.
They see the guy sitting very angry like
this on the bed and they're looking at
the bottle of the wine. The bottle of
the wine is open. This much was drunk
was drunken from it. And the bottle is
closed.
The king looks and that person says,
"Okay, that's the person I want." And
everybody's shocked.
Your majesty, you said whoever is not
going to drink from the wine is going to
be the right person. He says, "You're
very right."
But that person that didn't drink from
the wine, he just has very strong
[snorts] will.
But the person in room number three
tasted the wine,
understood that he's not allowed to,
closed the bottle of wine, and for 24
hours looked at the wine and held his
temptation.
That's what I want.
That's about chuga.
A person who's born religious,
everything is fed to them. Of course,
they don't open the wine. They're
already programmed to that. The bala is
a person who tasted the taste of sin
and chose not to do it ever again.
That's the power of a baluva. That's
what Hashem is looking for. He's looking
for you to be able to look at a sin, to
look at a desire, at a lust, and for 50
years not to do it. and he will reward
you for that. And if you fail, he's not
necessarily going to punish you for that
because that's not his point. His point
is to reward you and to bring you to the
place that you wake up by yourself.
And he doesn't need to reward you or
punish you. But in order to bring you to
this place, he needs to use a system
where you are going to get educated and
how to say in the program to be able to
do it like that.
So, Hashem loves balas. He loves the
sadikim, of course, but he wants
everybody to be balas.
And a balu is a person who comes back to
Hashem. It doesn't matter if you were
born Jewish, secular, and found God or
if you were born into a Gentiles body
and you converted and you became a Jew.
It doesn't matter.
And by the way, what I'm saying now,
it's equivalent to all people, not only
to the Jewish faith.
I maybe I failed to say that in the
beginning of the lecture, but what I'm
saying now is no difference if you are a
Jew or a Gentile. It's the same idea,
same God, same Torah, same
So everything that I'm saying here is is
relevant to everybody. But Hashem's
plan, Hashem's focus, Hashem's desire is
to make you do it by yourself.
I don't want to wake up my boys in the
morning to go and pray. I want them to
wake up by themselves.
So I need to go through many different
methods how to make them come and bring
themsel to this point
that they understand and they can choose
the right thing. So Hashem manipulates
the situations many many times till you
get it. And your challenge is what do
you choose in every situation?
Do you choose that it came from Hashem
or not? That's the first thing that
needs to be analyzed.
If the answer not, you're wrong. You
failed. Next time we'll try another
time. You need to consecutive come to
the answer. It's all from Hashem. The
good, the bad, the worse, the not so
good.
It needs to bring you to a place of
humility where you don't get
disappointed. You don't give up. You
don't lose hope. Why? Because you know,
Hashem is doing everything for me.
Hashem is taking me. What better ways
for you to find your purpose in this
world? Your purpose in this world is not
to work for 50 years and make some bank
rich by paying your mortgage. That's not
your purpose.
Your purpose is to refine yourself and
to re bring back your soul back to
Hashem clean. Your soul is an unrefined
diamond that came from the mining.
and you refine it. You ever saw how a
diamond comes out of a mine? It's a
black rock. That's how it looks. You
wouldn't look at it. You wouldn't even
recognize that it's a diamond.
And when it's a raw rock, doesn't have
much of value, you need to start
polishing it. And the more it's
polished, right, the carrot will be
greater. The carrot is defines how good
the polishing is. And you look with a
magnifying glass and you can see the
lines and the more it's refined, the
more the carrot is greater and you can
have a stone this big that is worth a
million dollars. Then you are a diamond.
Your soul is a diamond that came out of
the mine dirty. And Hashem says, "You
need to refine it. You need to clean it.
And after 80 years of this life, when
you leave this world, it's not Hashem
120 years. It's not Hashem. You'll see
Mashia and you don't have to do that.
But assuming you won't, when you leave
this world, you bring back your nishama
as a clean diamond to Hashem.
That's your job. That's your purpose.
Everything else is background music.
So everything that Hashem does is for
you to reach to the point that you are
educated to do the right thing without
being programmed.
And that's called redemption. That's
called gula. that you break free free
from your mit from your exile. That's
what Hashem wants.
So next time that you are dealing with a
situation, first thing that you need to
understand choosing a blue shirt or a
white shirt, Italian sushi, all that
just
don't put too much importance to it.
Half of it has no importance.
Like I said, the color of the shirt. And
by the way, even that can be very
particular because when it's time for
you, I'm going to give you one example
out of many. When it's time for you to
meet your other half,
when I met my wife the first time, I
didn't have a yamaka and I didn't have a
beard. I looked completely secular.
We were introduced and she looked at me
like this.
Half a year later, I walked into the
same place cuz we met in Eshotra in in
Manhattan. I walked into the same place.
Half after half a year in yeshiva. I had
a yamaka. I had a little beard. I had
tits, a suit and my face was blowing
from light from sitting half a year in a
Shiva. Then her head went like that. And
I was exaggerating.
So sometimes it could be something small
that you think that you chose you are
attracting something can be your spouse
can be whatever.
So first of all these minor choices
don't pay any much of attention to it.
Don't over you know OCD on every little
thing. That's the driving you crazy by
the way. Go with the flow basic things.
It's not so important. The next time
when it starts when it kicks in and you
need to start paying attention is if you
have the option of doing something good
or bad. Then the red lights and all the
flags need to start waving. Khabibi, you
are now in a situation that you have to
activate your choice. Do it smart.
That's when you have to start thinking
what does Hashem want from me? Because
really ultimately you're not really
choosing but Hashem is kind of like
riddling you and giving you options. The
easiest way is just to say, "What does
Hashem want me to do in this situation?"
And that's what's going to happen.
That's my choice. That's my free choice.
I'm telling you what I choose. I choose
what Hashem wants me to do right now.
Does Hashem want me right now to sin?
No. Does Hashem want me to do right now
good in his eyes? Yes. So, I'll do that.
That's my choice.
The real free choice that you need to
pay attention to can come once a week,
can come once a month, can come three
times a day. I think now it comes about
10 times a day because we're closer to
the redemption and we don't have much
time. The quotota is very big and we
don't have much time. So the challenges
are all the time every day.
You just have to have that have the
little awareness that in every situation
you are in a crossroad
very quickly you need to analyze if it's
something minor keep it moving. Don't
waste your time on that. something that
you have a choice of doing a sin or a
mitzvah positive negative it's pretty
obvious the decision have to follow the
right way and by the way keep your focus
on that if you choose to sin
don't fall into despair right away see
what Hashem is doing I I don't jump for
anything for any any news that comes my
way I let it resonate I first want to
see what does Hashem
The main thing that you need to focus on
is in every situation the first question
if you choose to understand and agree
that it came from Hashem and I know all
of you say of course I know it comes
from Hashem
in theory it's very easy to say when you
getting hit with a big challenge
you've not so much thinking that it's
coming from Hashem or you even start
complaining Hashem why you doing this to
me I'm such a good person why do I
deserve it
the point you need to take from that is
very very simple is to see what is the
point what is the purpose that Hashem
wants you to do is to realize by
yourself and you activate your choices
accordingly
and again one can tell you you don't
have any free choice Hashem is putting
everything in front of you that will be
right for 90% of the time 8% 10% % of
the time you actually have to choose
something.
Don't have in the back of your mind if
you're going to be rewarded or punished
for that because that's just going to
make you very not motivated to do
anything. Oh, I might get punished.
That's not the name of the game. The
name of the game is how do I do the
right thing in the eyes of Hashem? And
therefore, I also pray for Hashem. Lead
me to do the right thing. I pray for
Hashem all the time. Make me do right
choices. Put me on the right path. Don't
make it so difficult. When choices
become difficult to me, I don't try to
find advice. I refine myself more
because when I'm more refined, then the
choices become very easy to make.
So the point that Hashem wants to bring
you to is refinement. He wants you
closer to him. You need to understand
that every step that you do is an
opportunity to come closer to Hashem or
go one step back.
To conclude,
it all boils down to how much you focus
on how you refine yourself. That's
really the the bottom line. My
perception of my entire life. Yes, I
have to work. I have to bring food to
the table. I have a wife. I have kids. I
have to educate the kids. At some point,
we're going to have to marry them off. I
need to learn every day Torah. I need to
teach. I need to pray. I know more or
less my daily structure. But I
understand that in between the purpose
here is to become a better version of
myself every day.
Not once a month. Every day. Every day.
Today I need to look back at yesterday
and be like today was better. Now
whether it's achievable or not right now
is irrelevant. That's needs to be your
goal. At the end of the day you need to
say yesterday I'm much better than
yesterday. I learned more today. I
became better person. I refined myself.
That's Hashem's purpose.
He's going to give you the options to
reach it by yourself.
He doesn't want to do it for you. If he
does it for you, then you don't gain
anything. He doesn't want uh autodriving
Tesla. He wants you to drive.
Not for nothing, Hashem is bringing us
all this technology because he wants us
to understand you can have it done for
you or you can do it yourself.
Now we are introduced to AI. AI I don't
see it in a positive way. I mean, okay,
some things it helps us, but AI makes
you very, very lazy. And it will make
you very lazy. And we will get to a
point that you're going to have AI do
everything for you. AI is going to read
your mail. It's going to read your
emails. It's going to write your
letters. Everything that you're going to
have to write, it's going to write for
you. You're gonna everything's going to
do for you. It's going to become very,
very, very, very lazy. Now, there's a
lot of positive aspects in it, and
there's a lot of negative aspects in it.
If I want to pull this right now just to
make a point. Hashem doesn't want you to
be lazy and thinking that things will be
done for you. Amen. Anily merely nobody
will do nothing for you.
Get it out of your system.
Especially when it comes to the world to
come and especially when it comes to
your closeness to Hashem. Nobody will do
anything for you. You have to do it. You
have to earn it. You have to gain it.
And that's the purpose of Hashem. And
Hashem will manipulate in other words
all your situations
that you should come to the
understanding by yourself. And
eventually after a thousand times of
making the wrong answer, wrong choice,
finally a thousand and one times you
made the right choice. And the more
right choices you make, imagine it like
a game. You get more points and more
points. But the poor purpose of it that
you will do it by yourself and nobody
will do it for you.
Hashem could have created us. Many
people say why did Hashem make it so
difficult? Why is it so this? I can
Hashem wants us to do mitzvot. Then give
me a lot of money and I'll sit and learn
all day long. I if I would have a dollar
for every time I heard that.
No, Hashem just should make my life easy
and I'll do whatever he wants. Really?
Last time I checked, if Hashem gives you
everything that you need, you don't do
nothing. You're going to be a spoiled
brat. If Hashem gives you a lot of
money, you'll be sitting all day long on
PlayStation.
You won't be doing anything productive.
You won't be moving yourself. You have
everything coming to you. Hashem doesn't
want to spoil brat. Hashem says, "No,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no. You do everything yourself."
So after 120 you can tap yourself on the
back and say I did it.
So the next time you are faced with a
challenge or a question or a choice
don't think right now if I if it's if I
have free choice or not. The conclusion
we want to take out of this class is
that the situation that brings you to
two choices or maybe sometimes four.
It's only for you to focus on what's the
message that Hashem wants you to get
right now and what is the refinement
that Hashem is looking for. So one time
your choice is like I told you with my
example don't get angry [snorts] don't
say
don't slander the person
find other solutions use your creativity
you know how many times Hashem puts me
in a situation that I initially don't
understand why and he puts me in a
situation that I don't want to do
something but I understand that by me
doing it I am helping another person.
I'll give you one example from my uh
profession. I have a nonforprofit. I
have an organization a yeshiva
everything everything costs money. I get
challenged a lot with money. Many of the
times Hashem blocks away my parasa
to test me.
Am I going to get angry? Am I going to
get upset?
And I realize that the test here that
Hashem wants me in a certain situation
to turn to somebody else and say, "Can
you donate to this purpose?"
And I hate doing that. I don't ask for
donations. I don't like doing that.
I tell you, go and buy my wine. Don't
don't give me a donation. But many
situations, I get to a point that I need
money. And why? Because Hashem wants me
to make you do a mitzvah. You won't do
it. If I won't come to you and ask you,
you won't be involved. Koshu wants to
give you a huge present. And he says for
a little investment, I'll let you
sponsor a class or whatever and you get
huge mitzvot,
but you don't do it by yourself. So I
have to come and tell you, can you do
so? I understand in my I'm giving you an
example for my profession how sometimes
my path gets blocked
and instead the test here is if I get to
get if I if I will get angry not angry
but the real understanding is that I
have to help now another person
so you have to understand it not so easy
what does Hashem want to give you as
information and that's where your choice
really comes in And by the way, what I
said tonight is a drop in the ocean.
There are so many different angles how
you can look at it. You can read what
the Marra says. Unbelievable. What the
Marsha everybody has something
interesting to say about free choice. It
is it isn't I chose to kind of summarize
everything today in a very practical way
that every day you are facing choices.
You need to first educate how you
sifting from the ones who don't really
make much of importance. They're not so
important and kind of to go with the
flow and to constantly understand is
looking you at your reactions.
It's not necessarily choices. It's your
reaction.
That's where you get judged. Hashem will
put you in a situation just to see your
reaction. And that's the free choice
really. Not if it's sushi or Italian or
blue shirt or white shirt, your
reaction. So you need to take the advice
of our great sages. I quoted the song of
in the same song they read on Friday. He
says
means the end of your action
starts with your
first thought about it. And how many
times did you say a if I would have done
like that the next time think before you
do
fools do and then think and in many
cases don't think and the right ways
think before you do something that's
wants to bring you to everything is
Hashem's purpose to bring you to the
place where he's leading you kind of
like leading you through your nose like
in the cartoons when they have good
smell and there's like this uh like a
line and the they go after the smell.
That's what Hashem is doing to you. So
from a 100% of your choices really
there's only a few that are the ones who
make a difference. The rest basic things
don't stop for them. You need to look
and very quickly realize
not important. move on and see where
Hashem is putting that choice where he
wants to see some spiritual growth and
your part. What you need to take from
this door tonight is the awareness
then the patience to look for it to
understand okay here's the test here's a
choice what am I doing ah it's something
so small fine next till you find the one
that the answer of this test of this
choice is do I do something good in the
eyes of Hashem or bad what's the end
result where would it take me
and that's how You understand what are
the choices are that are meaningful and
then you choose accordingly.
What you choose
hopefully you go out of this door
tonight understanding that you need to
choose always what's right in the eyes
of Hashem.
And in order for you to do that then of
course you need to be educated in the
Torah. What is the right in the eyes of
Hashem?
And I like more trusting the books and
trusting people. So really, you have a
lot of homework to do. It's not not
something that you leave this door
tonight and you're saying, "Okay, Rabban
figured it out for me. I know what to do
now. I maybe I hope I was able to
simplify it." But now your choice is
what do you choose when you leave this
door tonight?
Do you choose to apply everything?
then your free choice kicked in because
it's causing you a spiritual growth and
if you choose to ignore everything then
it's also your choice what's the result
taking you to a less positive place. So
it boils down to
what takes me to the next space level.
And a large amount of my focus when it
comes to free choice is my reactions.
That's what I would really want you to
leave the door with tonight is your
reactions. For that, you need to be a
place of humility. I can tell you
straight out all my faults. I'm not
embarrassed, especially in front of
Hashem. I I'm I'm good with confessing.
And you need to do the same thing. If
you're lazy, I'm lazy. Don't say my wife
and my this and the alarm clock and the
you're lazy. Just say, "Hashem, help me
to become not lazy."
Understanding your faults will help you
activate the right choice in refining
yourself because again your reaction,
you have to ask yourself, is that a
reaction that I would do in front of
Hashem? How many times you are prevented
from doing something because a guest is
in the house
or you don't do something because people
are looking.
I don't I used to do that once. Now I
don't do that. Now I pretend that Hashem
is there
and then I'm like okay Hashem is right
here. How would you react right now?
See how I my I activate my choices.
Everything is in the same line. What
does Hashem want me to do?
That's the name of the game. Does Hashem
want me to get upset? I'll get upset.
You know that sometimes Hashem wants me
to get upset because when you're showing
a little bit of anger,
maybe the other party will understand
what not to do. It works very well
usually with kids. Sometimes you have to
raise your voice at the kid or pretend
that you're angry. Even the Shuhanag
says sometimes you have to pretend.
You know, one time I had a guest in the
house and he saw me raising my voice and
then he looked at me and I and at the
end at the end at the end I smiled and I
said, "It's all a show, my friend. It's
all a show. It's just for the kids to be
not angry."
So, you have to understand the the
path Hashem wants you to walk on.
Then you can activate your choices. The
right one. You want to do the right
choice. is at the end of the day, Hashem
does give you the opportunity to choose.
Many of the times he will pre-program
your your choice. Fine. Many of the
times he will blind you that your choice
will be the wrong one. But that's his
decision.
Literally today I was driving, I saw
something,
had a few tears in my eyes and I was
like, I wonder if I did the right choice
20 years ago.
And in my mind, I was like, I will never
know. I will know when I meet Hashem.
And I was a little bit hard on myself
and I was like, I think I did the wrong
choice.
And then I remembered that I have to
teach you about free choice. It all
happened this morning. And I was like,
ah, okay. I guess it wasn't my choice.
It's the path that Hashem wanted me to
walk on. I'm not taking any
responsibility.
So, I hope when you leave this door
tonight,
you'll have enough
uh information
to use that mechanism of the choice the
right way. Because most of the time you
you you're not using it. It's Hashem
doing it. And it's good. Nothing wrong
with that. But that little of the time
that you are required to do that, then I
bless you that your choice should be
focused on what it needs to. And it's
one word, God. Hashem.
>> Your choices have to be what he wants,
what you know that his choice will be.
And and I know it's very hard and in
many of the cases it's impossible. And
90% of the time you'll fail because of
your ego, because of your cavode, your
honor, because of a million and one
things. But push comes to shove. You
need to bring yourself to a place.
That's what I do. I look in the mirror
and I say, "Who are you kidding?" That's
what I say to myself. That's my mantra.
Who are you kidding? That's not what
Hashem wants. Hashem doesn't want you to
be angry right now. Hashem doesn't want
you to trash this person. Hashem doesn't
want you to fight this individual.
Hashem doesn't want you to waste time on
this situation. He needs you to do
another completely different thing. Then
my choices change the path I walk on.
And
my path
because my ch my my
based on what I know is Hashem's desire.
If somebody cuts me in the street in the
morning and I want to scream and curse
and and drive fast and pass him and do
all sorts of movements with my fingers
and
what is defined as road rage, that's
what Hashem wants me to do right now.
No.
and all.