The Good Heart Goes On Trial | TORAH FOUNDATION (11)

[singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music and singing] [singing] [music] [singing] [singing and music] [singing] [music] [singing] [singing and music] >> That can better than daily. Shofar music. We are back here on our Sunday night series of Torah foundations based on the teachings of the tonight show is going to be for the for our friend Ben Shulamit Sarah but a net. Rabbi Sarah Sarah but Lavana Doris but Shura and our very very dear friend. And fellow Rabbi Rob Rob Ben Rachel. To them and all of the supporters that continue to help us continue spreading the Torah in all four corners of the world. Hashem. So tonight show is not going to be for those of you that are simply soft and I don't mean that as an offense. I simply mean that there's not going to be any gruesome talk. There's not going to be any get numb talk. It's just simply going to be real words from the sages that are going to hurt. Why? Because it takes all of us to account. What's taking us to account? Everyone thinks that they have a good heart. If you ask anybody, you have a good person, they'll tell you yes. But what's a good heart? The sages teach us in Pirkei Avot that a good heart outweighs the other good traits. Students of Rabbi Yochanan tell him what good traits are the best and Rabbi Yochanan says that what uh was said about a good heart outweighs all. Why? Because it in essence includes everything else. But as it is with the endless Torah that we have Hashem to know what a good heart actually means we need to go to other places in the Torah. As the Talmud Yerushalmi tells us that we don't learn Torah from one specific place. We rather gather it from all of the different places that it's discussed in the Torah regardless of what the subject at hand is whether it's the issue of a good heart or issue of Olam Haba, reward and punishment, any particular mitzvah, Gehinnom and so on. Everything is discussed in many many different places and if you want to learn the sugya, the subject matter properly, you have to gather everything and then understand conclusively what the sages are actually talking about. The same goes with this and here we're going to the will now teach us what a good heart looks like and how the day of heavenly trial will look like for those of us that actually have a good heart and those of us that just think we have a good heart. This year as I said before is only for people that are willing to be honest with themselves. And the told us in last week's show about how a person has to measure their heart and their servitude of Hashem through the positive mitzvot where we're obligated by the Torah to love Hashem with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your might. There are different verses in the Torah that he brought that shows us that there are actual positive mitzvot that obligate us to investigate and inspect our heart and sometimes change it. Here now he goes into the other side of the mitzvot. The mitzvot that many people that are always looking for an excuse to do whatever they want don't like so much. These are the restrictive mitzvot, the mitzvot lo ta'aseh. The things you're not allowed to do. And here too the is telling us where we truly get to inspect our heart through these mitzvot. And he says as follows. Fear and love are among the duties of the heart. The examples of restrictive duties of the heart are the mitzvah that's mentioned in the Sefer Devarim, the book of Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 18 where it says, "Do not desire your neighbor's wife." This is one of the 10 Commandments. It's mentioned twice in the Torah. Once in Parshat Yitro, once in Parshat Va'etchanan. And here it's mentioned in the second time. "Do not desire your neigh- neighbor's wife. Do not desire your neighbor's house his field, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Further, it also says in Vayikra chapter 19 verse 18 "Do not take revenge or bear grudge against the children of your people." Further, it says in Vayikra chapter 19 verse 17 "Do not hate your brother in your heart." And in Bamidbar 15:39 it says, "Do not stray after your heart and eyes." Or in Deuteronomy again, it goes to "Do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted." There are many more passages like this. Finally, all the service of God is reduced to that of the heart and the tongue. As it is written in Sefer Devarim chapter 30 verse 11 through 14 "For this commandment which I command you this day is neither beyond you nor far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it to us so that we can hear it and do it?" Neither it is across the sea that you should say, "Who will cross the sea for us and bring it to us so that we could hear it and do it?" Rather, it is a thing very close to you in your mouth, in your heart that you can do. Here the in essence is giving us all the sources which we will investigate and understand why he's mentioning this in his generation nearly a thousand years ago. This was all well understood. But of course, as we have the degradation of the generations, each generation sages clarifies what the previous generation says in order for us to understand. Initially, it started at Mount Sinai where we had the written Torah and the oral Torah, which was literally transmitted orally. And everyone remembered the entire oral Torah. The one time that Yeshua bin Nun was punished that he forgot 300 halachot because he did not ask Moshe Rabbenu to teach him one more thing before he died when he had the opportunity. And for that, Yeshua bin Nun says to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, "If I don't remember this, they're all going to stone me. How could I forget mitzvot?" But generally speaking, for over a millennia, everyone remembered the entire oral Torah. But as we got down and lower and lower, further and further from Mount Sinai, people started, due to our sins, forgetting things. And therefore, Rebbi Akiva Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi took the Mishna, which was endless, all of the baraitot, all of the teachings of the sages, and condensed it to six sections, which also excluded a whole lot more because had he written the entire oral Torah, it literally would begin and never end. That's why we also have masechtot ketanot, we have baraitot, we have teachings that were also taught at the same time as the Mishna, but they were never codified like the Mishna was. But if we fast forward a few generations, we had the sages of the Talmud, the Talmud Yerushalmi, that was, even though it was called Yerushalmi, it was actually written in Tiberias. And we have the Talmud Bavli that was written by the sages in Babylon in Iraq that took the Mishna and clarified it. What was easily understood in the previous generations now needed to be clarified in order to evaluate all of the possible circumstances and understand why the Mishna is what the Mishna is. And all of the different branches that it stems to. But after the Amoraim completed this task, it was not finished because the next generation of Savoraim was able to understand, was able to transmit. But once we got to the Geonim, the Geonim had to start clarifying things further. With its Rav Saadia Gaon, Rav Hai Gaon, and other Geonim of the generation. And then later on, we went on into the Rishonim. With its Rosh, Rashi, the Baalei Tosafot, the Rambam, the Ramban, Rabbeinu Yonah, all the way to Rabbi Yosef Karo. We continued clarifying what the Talmud actually said. And all the way until today, each and every that writes a book is clarifying the same exact Torah that we got at Mount Sinai. And this too, in our way of holiness, we are doing the same thing. Clarifying what was simply the truth in the eyes of the Chovot Halevavot to just provide verses. And thereby assume that his audience would understand, we need more clarification. He tells us that after we understood that there is an obligation for us to serve Hashem with our heart, when we're doing the positive mitzvot, whether it's putting on tefillin, shaking the lulav, we also have to measure our heart, investigate our heart, inspect our heart, and possibly change our heart, most likely, after we compare it to the negative mitzvot and how we're performing them. And he starts off by giving us one mitzvah. This mitzvah seems to be like it's mentioned twice in the Torah, but it's actually not. It's two separate mitzvot according to the Chinuch and the Rambam. So, even though it's mentioned both in Parshat Va'etchanan and also Parshat Yitro, there are slight differences in the words. And he tells us that this mitzvah of desiring somebody else's stuff is a way that we can understand where our heart will stand during the heavenly trial, where Hakadosh Baruch Hu measures everything. In last week's parsha, or a couple weeks ago, we had Parshat Vayigash. The tribes, the righteous tzaddikim and kedoshim were put up to the test, the test of their life, a test that took over two decades to even understand that there's actually a test here. They're in front of Yosef Hatzaddik, their brother, without knowing he's their brother. To them, he looks like Pharaoh. He's all powerful and he's in control. But the moment that they understand that it is their brother, where the Torah says, "Velo yakhol Yosef lehit'apek lekol hanitzavim alav." That Yosef could not restrain himself in the presence of all those who stood before him. And he screamed out, "Ani Yosef. Aod avi chai? I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?" Velo yakhelu ekhav la'anot oto kiniv'alu mipanav. But his brothers could not answer him because they were left disconcerted before him. Niv'alu mipanav. The sages say, "What does it mean that they were in shock? They were in such shock of what actually happened over the last two decades because it literally Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed them everything from the beginning of when they were little kids and they didn't like their younger brother. They thought that he was a show-off. He bothered them. There was perhaps some jealousy there because Yaakov favored him. But this led to them selling him. And in so many words, leaving him for dead. And all of this transmitted into them thinking, "Well, we did the right thing because he was really trying to kill us." They thought that when he was telling on them to Yaakov, he was trying to kill them. They judged him as din rodef. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed them how the entire account really looked like in Shamayim. And when they saw their error, they were so shocked that all of them got a heart attack and died. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu resurrected them. The Baalei Musar say, "Look at the righteous tzaddikim, our forefathers, the 12 tribes. How it they were shocked the moment they realized they were wrong about one thing. Oy lanu miyom hadin, woe to us on the day of judgment when we see that we were wrong about a lot of things, and not just one thing." In order for us to fix some of those errors, we have to start here. Start with what's in our heart. And the Chovot Halevavot says, "Start with the mitzvah of the prohibition of desiring somebody else's stuff." In order to learn it, what better place is there than the Chinuch? The Chinuch, written about 700 years ago, gives clarification of every single one of the mitzvot and tells us exactly what we ought to think. And he says as follows, mitzvah number 416, the prohibition to desire that which belongs to a fellow Jew, based on the verse in Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 18, that says, "You shall not covet your fellow's wife, you shall not covet your fellow's house, his field, his slave, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your fellow. And he says this. We're prohibited from setting our minds to desire that which belongs to our fellow Jews. As a side note, we're not allowed to set our minds on somebody else's possessions. Whether it's their new car, or their new wife, or [snorts] their bank account, or whatever it is. But of course, everyone will naturally say, "Yeah, but it comes to me naturally. If I see something that I like that somebody else has, I want it. Does that mean I'm sinning against the Torah? Am I going to get punished?" We'll address that, too. This mitzvah, in short, forbids desiring the actual item that's in somebody else's possession. It's not referring to somebody who wishes to acquire somebody something that's similar. And the Chinuch will clarify the difference. Now, the reason this is prohibited, says the Chinuch, is that the mind's preoccupation with desire for that object will lead him to devise a scheme to obtain it from its owner, even if he does not wish to sell it, either through coercing him to agree to sell or to swap it, or if he's unable to convince him, he'll do it in any other way, whether legal or by force, meaning stealing it from him. He sees that his brother has something. He says, "Well, you want to trade? I'll give you this this card, and you'll give me that card?" And the brother says, "No, I I I like my card." Well, but I want it. Okay, it's nice that you want it, but uh I don't want to trade it. Now, if he's a tzaddik, he says, "Okay, fine. Hashem gave him what he has. Hashem gave me what I have." Somebody does not have proper yirat shamayim will, as an adult, take this elsewhere. When they're little kids, maybe one little kid that's jealous of his brother may steal it. But after all, they're still little kids. So, Hashem, obviously, doesn't judge the little kids if they're under 13 years old for a boy and 12 for a girl. Hopefully, they get the proper Torah education that they don't do this as adults. And hopefully, their parents don't pacify them and say, "No, no, he didn't mean it. He didn't mean it." Every time the the kid does a uh a sin. They have to, obviously, teach their kids the proper education. But if they don't, the kid grows up, and he's 18, 20, 25, and he sees that one of his neighbors, co-workers, friends, enemies, whatever it is, has something he likes. He doesn't want to trade it, doesn't want to sell it. He may end up stealing it from him. And that, of course, is a very serious problem, because you can't use a "I'm a kid" excuse anymore. And the Rambam that's being quoted here, says the Chinuch, in Sefer Hamitzvot, mitzvah lo ta'aseh number 266, says that the two injunctions, where it says in the Torah, "You shall not covet" in Parshat Yitro, "You shall not desire" in this parashah, Parshat Va'etchanan, are not repeated mitzvah prohibitions of a single matter, forbidding the same thing. Rather, they are distinct mitzvot, forbidding two separate matters. The prohibition of "You shall not covet" restricts us from obtaining anything, whether it's money or something else, with or without a transaction of a monetary transaction. Where if the owner doesn't wish to sell it, you can't force him to do it. That's coveting. This prohibition of "You shall not desire," however, restricts us from harboring in our hearts to desire the object. For once a person's heart is filled with desire, it will lead him to plead with the owner and to pressure him to sell it, or at least exchange it with him for something else. And although the violation of one of these prohibitions leads to the violation of the other, they're nevertheless reckoned as two separate mitzvah prohibitions. Meaning that if somebody desires something, he'll end up coveting it. One sin leads to another. Now, do do not wonder and say, says the the uh Chinuch, "How can it be in a man's power to restrain his heart from desiring the treasures of his delightful items that he sees that his fellow possesses, when he himself is empty and deprived of all these treasures? Meaning, he miskin, he barely has money to pay for the bus. He barely has a sandwich to fill his belly for the whole day. And his co-worker, he drove into work with a brand new car. He has a $50,000 watch on his hand. He's eating five times a day just to take up his time. He orders food and throws it out because he doesn't care. How can I NOT BE JEALOUS? LOOK HOW MUCH HE HAS, AND I HAVE NOTHING." And not only that, this restriction appears in the Torah regarding something that a person can't control. That's what the Chinuch is addressing, human nature. That's the question that's in your head. That's the question in everybody's head. I barely have anything. He has everything. And you don't want me to be jealous? If, let's say, we both have nice cars, but his is nicer. OKAY, I SHOULDN'T be jealous of his. If we both have wives, but his is prettier. Then okay, then I shouldn't be jealous. I should be happy with what I got. But here, you're telling me that even if I have nothing, I'm not allowed to be jealous of him? How can I control it? Says the Chinuch, "Do not be drawn into this type of rationalization, for the matter is not so. And nobody but wayward fools who sin against their soul speak this way. For it is indeed within man's ability to restrain himself, as well as his thoughts and his desires from whatever he wishes. And it is in his control and within the purview of his intellect to either detach or engage his desire towards all matters as per his will. His heart is in his hand, meaning in his control. Towards whatever he wishes, he can direct it. Since man is capable of controlling his feelings and his desires through his intellect and the willpower, the Torah imposes this prohibition against allowing one's desires to preoccupy his mind. In so many words, even if you have nothing, you're still NOT ALLOWED TO BE JEALOUS. WHY? Because you're supposed to be a human being, not an animal that works off of instinct. And the excuse of "I don't have anything, and he has everything" means nothing according to the Torah. You have to control your mind. As the sages teach us, tzaddikim, libam biyadom, the righteous people, their hearts are in their hands, meaning they control their hearts. But the resha'im, the wicked, their hearts control them. The righteous control their hearts. The wicked are controlled by their heart. And thus, Hashem, before whom all secrets are revealed, who probes all of man's innermost chambers and perceives all of his thoughts and his feelings, as not one of all of man's thoughts, be it minor or major, good or evil, is hidden from him. Meaning, Hashem is going to investigate every single thought or feeling that a person ever had, small ones or big ones. Nothing is beyond him. Nothing is concealed before his eyes. And he shall return vengeance upon those who defy his will in their hearts. Here, the Chovot Halevavot told us that we have to do teshuvah for our heart. But the Chinuch clarifies. What does it mean you have to do teshuvah for your heart? It means that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not only going to investigate our hearts, but he'll actually reward or punish us based on what's in our hearts. Now, this is not oh, if I feel a desire for something, therefore I'm going to get punished, but rather how far do you let it go? How far do you let that jealously go? Is it I'm jealous for a moment, I want it, I wish I had it, then you move on with your life, or do you make a whole thing of it? Where because you're jealous, you're going to start talking bad about him. You're going to tell people, instead of giving people a shul to laugh to your kehillah, you're going to tell them, "Listen, I want to make sure that everybody knows, don't listen to this guy. Why? He's a criminal. The FBI is looking for him." What? FBI is looking for him? Why don't they find him? I mean, isn't he isn't he a public personality? Everything is uh public. Don't ask any questions. Stay away. He uh he's Where did this come from? This comes from jealousy. No, no, no, don't watch that. Why not? Why shouldn't I watch it? Is it is it uh idol worship? No, no, don't watch it. It's not good for you. How do you know what's what's good? Is it is he saying that I should do bad things TO MYSELF? NO, NO, DON'T WATCH IT. WHERE does it come from? Where does all of this bad talk come from? It comes from jealousy. Jealousy that gets put into practice. Jealousy that gets put into practice, which we will discuss in a moment. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu will investigate each and every person's heart and see which part of their jealousy was put into practice. Hashem will preserve the kindness for thousands of generations to those who love him. And who instead of preoccupying their minds with mundane desires, devote their thoughts to his service. Indeed, there is nothing to so beneficial for a man as the good and pure thought used to service Hashem, as it is both the beginning and the end of all good deeds. This is as it seems is the meaning of the virtue of good heart, which the sages praised in Pirkei Avot chapter 2 uh Mishnah number 9, where Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai asked or challenged his five disciples to identify the single most important virtue that a man should seek to attain. Before we continue with the Chinuch, let's look at that Mishnah. We see that the Mishnah is also repeated as a breita in Avot de Rabbi Natan. And it says as follows. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said to his students, "Go to the study hall and discern what is the proper path for which man should cling so that through it he may merit to enter the world to come." Meaning what's the single most important trait that will bring a person to all the other good traits. Where perfection in this will bring him to everything else. And the disciples the disciples did as they were instructed and returned with their responses. Rabbi Eliezer entered the study hall and said, "A good eye." Meaning someone that's charitable, kind-hearted, someone that has a kind attitude towards others. When he sees somebody got a new car, mabrouk, good for you. Somebody just got married, mabrouk, good for you. Mazel tov. Somebody has expanded their business, good job, baruch Hashem, good for you, baruch Hashem, so happy for you. That's a good eye. The opposite is somebody sees a big house, like, "Whoa, how'd you get this house?" Uh I got it. What do you mean how did I get it? Well, I stole it. No, I didn't steal it. I got the house. Huh? How many uh how many light fixtures you have here? Light fixtures? What, you're going to pay the electric bill? What do you care how many light fixtures do I have? You rent or you bought? What difference does it make to you if I rent or I buy? That's an evil eye. That's someone that is expressing their jealousy without even knowing it, subconsciously. The way they talk, you rent, you buy, how many light bulbs, how many cars do you have, what model is it? That's somebody sizing you up. That all comes from jealousy that many times is subconscious. Rabbi Eliezer says, "Have the opposite of that, a good eye." Somebody has good, mabrouk, good for you. Good. I'm happy for you. May Hashem give you more. What Hashem gave you has nothing to do with what he gives me. Yours is yours. Baruch Hashem, whatever Hashem gives me is fine. Rabbi Yehoshua entered and said, "A good friend." Why a good friend? Somebody that's going to offer his fellow constructive criticism. If you have such a friend that will offer you constructive criticism, or you are a good friend, that's a good thing. I don't mean anybody that just goes out there and tells everybody, "You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong." That's not a good friend. That's a pegirah. That's a that's a uh bal bel lashon hara bim. That's a hazard in the you know in in public. It's like a hole in the middle of the street. No, I don't mean people that just go out there and tell everybody that they're wrong. I'm talking about somebody that has a close enough relationship with his with his chavruta, with his fellow Jew, that he could tell him, "Listen, by the way, remember over there, you uh you took that thing from the guy, I think you forgot to say thank you." "Oh, I did? Oh, thank you so much for telling me." And he goes to the other guy and say thank you. Now, most people are not able to either say it or hear it. Why? Cuz they think everything is right. Oh, listen, can you do me a favor? Can you uh fix this uh thing on the wall? Wait, but you told me that UH I DIDN'T HAVE TO do that. Yes, I know I told you you didn't have to do it, but I'm asking you now if you could fix this small thing. Oh. Oh, that's how people are. That's how you know. Everybody thinks that every time you ask them to do something or every time you tell say something, you're accusing them. Why are you accusing them? I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm asking you for something. So, it's very hard to be a good friend. Very hard to be a good friend. Rabbi Yose said, "A good neighbor." By which I mean a good inclination, a good wife. Rabbi Yose says that this is very important because in order to maintain your own personal growth, it's not enough to just have a good friend. Because that friend is somebody that you may not see all the time. Says to be one, to be a good neighbor, to have a good inclination, to have a good wife, things that are there with you all the time. Rabbi Shimon says, "One who considers the outcome of a deed." Meaning that if this person thinks before he speaks, then he won't say a lot of things that he would usually say out of reflex. If he thinks, "What is the outcome of what I'm about to say?" Well, let's see. If I say this, then these people are going to react. How are they going to react? Well, let's see. If I say that this rabbi is a good rabbi, then they'll react in a way where they'll go and listen to that rabbi. So, if he's a good rabbi, then I should do that. But if he's a good rabbi, but I just don't like what he said here, or I just don't like the way he expressed himself, and if I tell people I don't like him, or I don't like the way he talks, the way that people will interpret that is that he's a bad rabbi, and therefore they're not going to listen to him, and they're not going to continue doing teshuvah. So, if a person actually uses the brain that Hashem gave him, he'll evaluate whether he should say or not say what he's going to say. But many times people, even if they have a very, very developed brain, their ego is even more developed. And their jealousy overcomes their mind, and they simply cannot say a single compliment to anybody other than themselves or somebody that's so disconnected from them, they might as well not exist in the same generation. So, Rabbi Shimon says, it's very, very important to have a mind that considers the outcome of a deed. But then comes Rabbi Elazar and says, a good heart towards heaven and a good heart towards people. And that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai says, I see the superiority of Rabbi Elazar ben Arach's words to your words. Meaning that a good heart towards heaven and a good heart towards people includes all of the others. Includes the person with a good eye, includes the good friend. Why? Because if you have a good heart towards heaven and towards others, certainly you can have a good eye. Certainly you're going to be a good neighbor. Certainly you're going to be a good friend. Certainly you're going to have all of the things that are necessary. And therefore a good heart overcomes them all. Now, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai asked the students to go and discern the bad path which a man should distance himself. And each one of the sages, each one of the students which were the greatest sages of their time, said the exact opposite of what they said. The one that said good eye said bad eye. Good friend, bad friend, and so on. Good heart, bad heart. So, the question here is, if they saw already that their teacher, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, preferred what Rabbi Elazar ben Arach said, which is a good heart, how come they didn't change their opinion? They already knew that was the right answer. I thought this is yet to be explained that here the Talmidim show that they're not looking for right or wrong. Rather, they're each looking from their own personal perspective, knowing their own character. I know that I would be better if I improved the way I look at things. I know I would be better if I was a better friend and I told my friends the truth. I know I would be better if I was someone with good inclination or I thought about things before I said them. Meaning each one was not giving an answer that is relevant to everyone, but rather was giving an answer that's relevant to them personally. But needless to say, Rabotai, here the sages are telling us a good heart. A good heart is what's going to keep you away from jealousy. And the Chinuch clarifies further by saying, what is the underlying purpose of this Mitzvah of not to desire the possessions of another person? Says it, although it's obvious, it's intended to prevent the possible outcome of theft and distancing yourself from theft. But this Mitzvah is not just for the Jew. In fact, hold on to your seats and see what the Chinuch says. This Mitzvah applies in every location and all times to both men and women. In fact, it applies to all of mankind because they're all subject to the prohibition of this Mitzvah as it is an offshoot of the law regarding stealing, which is one of the seven laws that were imparted to the entirety of mankind, the seven Noahide laws. Do not err, my son, regarding the count of the seven Noahide laws, which are well known and is mentioned in the Gemara in the Talmud, Maseches Sanhedrin, page 56b, thinking that the law the laws enumerate us specific prohibitions. For in truth, those seven laws are like general categories of laws. However, they each contain many details. As you find, for example, that the prohibition to engage in immorality, illicit relationships, is reckoned for the Noahides as one general law. Although this law includes numerous specific restrictions, such as the prohibition of marrying your mother or prohibition of marrying the maternal sister or marrying a woman that's uh a uh somebody's uh somebody's wife >> [snorts] >> or your father's wife and the prohibitions against cohabitating with another male or with an animal. Meaning the seven Noahide laws are similar to the Ten Commandments. They're categories rather than this is one thing. When it talks about it's prohibited for the Noahides to be immoral, it's not just immoral with just one woman. It also includes the LGBTQ. It includes incest. It includes all of that filth that Torah prohibits. Similarly, the entire matter of idolatry is reckoned for the Noahides as one law, although it includes numerous specific prohibitions. For with regards to the prohibition against idolatry, they're actually similar to the Jews in the sense that they're liable for any form of idol worship for which the Jewish Bet Din would administer capital punishment. Thus, we can similarly say, in so far as Noahides were cautioned with the law regarding the matter of stealing, they were likewise cautioned regarding all of its safeguards. That is that they're also subject to the prohibitions against desiring another's object and against scheming to acquire it through coercive means. And these restrictions distance a person from stealing. This is all included in the Noahide law for of stealing. But now a caveat, he clarifies, however, my intent is not to say that Noahides are prohibited from desiring another's possessions by force or of a specific prohibition as we are, since as I stated earlier, the Noahides were not given specific prohibitions like the Jews. Rather, I mean to say that they were warned in a general matter regarding these seven laws. Such as one would say, by way of analogy, that scripture prohibited them by engaging in illicit relationships with the following general injunctions. Any man should not approach his close relatives to uncover nakedness, referring to his mother, sister, and all the other prohibited relatives. Similarly, is as though a single prohibition appeared with regards to idolatry in a general matter and likewise with regards to stealing. It is as though scripture said to the Noahides, do not steal, rather distance yourself from stealing to the utmost. And included in the distancing yourself from stealing another's property is refraining from coveting and desiring that property. So, what's the difference between the law of the Noahides and the Jew? Extra reward. Meaning, this is not so with the Jewish people. For the omnipresent wish to confirm merit upon us to increase the reward for the Mitzvah observance, and therefore, he gave us more Mitzvot than he gave the rest of humanity. Moreover, even concerning those Mitzvot in which both we and the Noahides are commanded, meaning the Mitzvot that are included in seven Noahide laws, such as the current Mitzvah, we merited that we were commanded in them through separate Mitzvah obligations and Mitzvah prohibitions. All this is a merit and a benefit to our souls. As anyone who performs one Mitzvah acquires for himself an advocate and one who transgresses this Mitzvah and sets his mind to desire that which is owned by another has violated this prohibition. So, here the Chinuch is in essence giving the benefits of being a Jew. We're both obligated to follow the law of not allowed to steal. We're both obligated not to covet but for the Noahide he's not allowed to covet because he's not allowed to to to desire because it'll lead him to covet. Which is going to lead him to steal. And stealing is forbidden. For the Jew he's not allowed to desire. He's not allowed to covet. He's not allowed to steal. But for each one that he follows where if he doesn't desire, he gets a reward. He doesn't covet, he gets a reward. He doesn't steal, he gets a reward. Meaning he has three separate commandments and he gets a reward for each one. Whereas the Noahide only for not stealing. So the increase of commandment, increase of responsibility, increase of reward. On the opposite end if a person does desire as a Noahide it's not in itself a sin. The sin is stealing. So he doesn't get punished for desiring. The Jew does. So just like there's a greater reward, there's also a greater risk for punishment. But of course those that are strong-minded, strong-willed, and want to do the will of Hashem they praise the teachings of the sages that we see every single day especially after Shiur Torah that we thank Hashem that he gave us many mitzvot because we know that it's for our benefit. See here the Chovot Halevavot is in essence telling us when you see your neighbor's house be happy for them. You see your neighbor has a more successful business be happy for them. You see something valuable in the hands of your competition be happy for them. Why? Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave it to them. It has nothing to do with you. You being jealous of it is not going to bring it into your hands. If anything, it'll only bring punishment to your hands. Never be jealous of anybody else because those that are jealous will not be resurrected with the dead. Why? Because jealousy is partial heresy. It's in essence telling Hashem that he made a mistake by giving somebody what in essence you think belongs to you. So this obviously is all in your heart. All in your heart. Only one that can see this is Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And the same thing goes with the next example. Do not take revenge or bear grudge against the children of your people. There's a prohibition of taking revenge. And of course this is one of the 613 mitzvot. And therefore we need the Chinuch to tell us. Mitzvah number 241, the prohibition to take revenge. And this one will go through a little faster since we have other things as well that we want to cover within the same time frame b'ezrat Hashem. And and especially since we've actually already covered this extensively in the previous Shiur. I believe it was in uh Ikveisa d'Meshicha or Amalek. We're commanded not to take revenge. This comes from Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18. Lo tikom v'lo titur es bnei amicha. You shall not take revenge. You shall not bear a grudge against the members of your family, of your people. Now what is this referring to? Is this referring to somebody cut you off, don't take revenge? No, no, this is something even simpler. Says the Chinuch. Let's say you have a neighbor that apparently they have a uh evil eye. They don't like you. Why don't like you? They don't like your face. They don't like that you are a different custom than them. You're Ashkenazi, they're Sephardi. You're Sephardi, they're Ashkenazi. All types of nonsense. Chinam One day you uh preparing for Shabbat and uh you need some sugar. You don't have time to go to the store. Or perhaps the store is already closed. So where do you go? Next door neighbor. Hi, how are you? Um I'm making cake. Give a little bit of sugar that I could borrow? I give it back to you when I after Shabbat. And this nasty neighbor No. No more sugar. We ran out. Now you in your peripheral vision see that right behind her is a huge box full of packs of sugar like as if she's starting a gmach for sugar for the WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD. EVERYONE EXCEPT YOU. But they're saying they don't have. What are you going to do? Say no, I see it? No. You have some manners. Say oh, okay. Thank you. But of course it hurts in your heart. It hurts. They have sugar. Oh, they have sugar. But to you they don't have. They have place in their community to welcome you. But to you it says no, no, we're full. We're full. We don't have any spots. They have, but they don't want you. It's not the place. It's not the sugar. It's you. It's you they don't want. Now as you would have it later on that day Shabbat Shemot right before you're about to do Kiddush, there's a knock on your door. We don't have any guests. Honey, did you invite anybody? No, no, we didn't invite anybody. Baruch Hashem, we're just our family. All right, so let's see who's at the door. You will go to the door. Shabbat Shalom. Oh, Shabbat Shalom. Who's this? It's the nasty neighbor with the no sugar. Hi, Shabbat Shalom. Listen. I didn't realize it but uh I forgot to buy wine. And we need to do Kiddush. Do you mind giving us a little bit of wine so we could do Kiddush? Now you right now in your heart like Yishtabach Shmo La'ad. THERE'S A JUDGE. THERE'S A JUDGE. YES. YES. [screaming] THAT'S IN YOUR HEART. IN YOUR HEART you want to tell this person no. I drank all the wine. It finished. Drink in front of That's what you want. That's what your heart wants. If revenge was turned into a candy, it would sell out. IT'D SELL OUT. Shem Mayachem, what they're doing with in Just same thing in the drug world. The illegal drugs they have one drug that's destroying different communities. They unfortunately brought it to Israel recently apparently and it's destroying people that are taking it. They took this drug. They call it nice guy and they wrap it with candy wrappings. Hashem Yishmor Vi'atzil. Like you think you're buying it from a kiosk, you think it's candy. That's how the Satan works. So revenge is sweet. People want to take revenge. WHY? I ASKED HER FOR SUGAR. SHE HAD IT. SHE HAD THE SUGAR, BUT SHE SAID NO. WHY SHOULD I SAY YES? Why should I say yes? I mean the truth is now you're starting to rationalize. The truth is I only have one bottle of wine and I need it for my own family. What? We're going to drink less because they need wine? Why? Why? Let them not do Kiddush. They didn't want us to have cake. Look, instead of CAKE WE HAVE MATZAH. So they're not GOING TO HAVE SHABBAT KIDDUSH. It's not my problem. That's the heart. That's the evil heart. That's the evil heart that wants to take revenge. That wants to take revenge. Why? Because you feel like not only this is right, NOT ONLY THIS IS JUSTICE, BUT YOU FEEL like this is even the hand of God helping you take revenge. It's not. It's only the Satan trying to convince you to violate the Torah and take revenge. And therefore says the Chinuch this is a prohibition. This is a prohibition. And among the underlying purposes of this mitzvah is that a person must know intellectually and must internalize in his consciousness the idea that everything that befalls him, be it good or bad is is an orchestrated event brought upon him by Hashem, blessed be he. And from the hand of man, from the hand of one man to his brother, no matter shall occur except by the will of Hashem, blessed is he. Meaning, the fact that you didn't have sugar, Hashem decided it. She chose not to help you, that's her sin. He chose not to lend you money even though he had it to be he pretended HE DOESN'T HAVE, THAT'S HIS SIN. But the fact that you didn't have is not his fault. You didn't have because Hakadosh Baruch Hu decreed you're not going to have. If Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted you to have sugar or money or a car or a wife or a child or whatever it is that you desire, then Hashem would give it to you. He didn't will for you to have it, therefore you don't have it. The fact that they chose to be the messenger of giving you the reality check that you don't have it, that's like Paroh. Paroh chose to be the the the stick that hit the Jewish people before Hashem brought them out of Egypt, Paroh got punished. Egypt got punished. But the fact that we had to be there, that was the will of Hashem. That was the will of Hashem. So a person has to know this in their heart that everything is from Hashem. Therefore, when another person causes him pain or suffering, the person must realize that his own sins were the cause. And Hashem, blessed be he, decreed this injury or suffering upon him. Accordingly, he must not focus his thoughts upon upon exacting revenge. From the person that harmed him, since that person is not the cause of his distress. Rather, it's his own sins that are the true cause. And therefore, he should direct his thoughts and his feelings in this matter, just like David Hamelech of blessed memory said when Shimei ben Gera he curses upon him in Shmuel Bet chapter 16 verse 11, David said, "Leave him be and let him curse, for Hashem, blessed be he, has told him to." Meaning that King David blamed the matter on his own sin, rather than on the antagonist Shimei ben Gera. See here, the Chovot Halevavot tells us we have to investigate our heart and the Chinuch helps us do so. It's not enough to just say I'm not going to be jealous. It's not enough to just say I'm not going to take vengeance. We have to inspect our heart and see where is the opportunity to take vengeance. Usually, we think take vengeance against somebody that did something really really bad to me. We don't think about something as simple as sugar or lending somebody or not lending somebody. No, no. If you ask somebody to borrow something and they said no, even though they had it, and they come to you later on and ask to borrow, if you say no because you don't have, that's fine. But if you say no because they said no, you're violating the Torah. You're violating the Torah. That's called taking revenge. That's called taking revenge. And that is a not only a sin, but it's a complete misunderstanding. It's a complete misunderstanding of who runs the world. You're thinking that they hurt you. And you're forgetting that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the one that decrees everything. Hakadosh Baruch Hu decreed for you not to have, therefore you don't have. They chose to be a messenger for the bad news, for that they'll be punished. But they're not the fault of why you don't have. You are the fault of why you don't have. And therefore, the Chinuch says, "Great benefit is found in the fulfillment of this mitzvah, as it serves to put a stop to feuding and to wipe away any enmity from people's hearts. Ultimately, if there's peace among people, Hashem will make peace for them. And this mitzvah applies in every location and all times to both men and women. And one who transgresses this mitzvah by affixing his heart to hate his fellow for having wronged him, and then harboring this hatred until he actually succeeds in repaying him in kind for his evil, has violated this prohibition. His malevolence is indeed great, for by doing so, he is the cause of extensive pitfalls. See here, the Chinuch tells us how expensive taking revenge really is. How expensive it is. You thought it was sweet, but that's only because you don't understand the price. Then, the Chovot Halevavot gives us another example in saying do not hate your brother in your heart. Don't hate your fellow Jew in your heart. Now, sometimes people hate each other for no reason because they're jealous of them, because they see that he is popular and they're not, because she's beautiful and you're not, because they're rich and you're not. That's usually the common denominator of why people hate each other, but it's not the only reason. It's not the only reason. Sometimes, they literally hate other people for no reason whatsoever. Just simply because they don't have the same look as you, the same culture as you, the same background as you, or even the same Ashkenazi ideology as you. Oh yeah, I'm looking to move into this community. Oh, you in the community? Yeah, I I don't think it's for you. I mean, you just met me. How do you know it's for me or not? Well, I don't know. I just you seem like somebody that's you're not going to find yourself here. I think maybe you could look elsewhere. I think you look there's actually a really nice place about 3,000 miles down the road. 3,000 miles mile road, you could jump on one of Elon Musk's rockets, go on the next one. I think it goes I think it goes like next week. Next week. I'll find out for you if you want. I'm I'm good like that. I'll find out for you when the next rocket is. Go on the next rocket, wherever it lands, that's probably more better for you. Why not here? I mean, there's plenty of houses, there's open land, there's uh Nah, I just uh Why? Simple. They don't like they don't like the way you look. They don't like the way you look. You look more religious than them, you look less religious than them, you look Sephardi, you look uh they whatever it is. Hatred for no reason. It's very unfortunate. It's a reality. It's a reality that we all have to live with. One of the worst places that people suffer from this from is in yeshivot and seminaries. One woman wants to sign up her daughter to a seminary. So, they ask her, "Oh, come, we have to meet you." Meet the mother. They meet the daughter, they test the daughter. Daughter passes with flying colors, very smart kid. So, now they want to meet the mother. Oh, hi, you're you're the mother? Oh, okay. Oh, we'll get back to you. Well, she passed the test, right? Yeah, she did good on the test, but we still have to consider other things. And then she gets a note that she wasn't accepted. Why? Why wasn't she accepted? She calls one of her friends that's connected to the seminary. "Why didn't they accept my daughter? She passed the test." "Listen, I don't I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but they didn't like the fact that you wear a mitpachat, because here it's, you know, the wig. The wig is what we need. The wig is the truth, but it's not the truth. So, I mean, you wore a mitpachat." "Yeah, well, you know, listen, they said that they were able to see your ears. So, it's my ears? What's wrong with seeing my ears?" "Well, you know, it's it's just not that's not acceptable." "The ears? Show me one HALACHIC BOOK THAT TELLS YOU NOT TO SEE THE EARS. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" You're talking to a wall. Or another case, listen, I want to put my uh daughter in this school. Can Can you accept her? Oh, wait. Isn't your husband Isn't your husband uh you know, what's his name again? The one that wears the blue shirt. Uh yeah, he has a name, but apparently you remember his clothing. Yeah, he wears a blue shirt. Yeah. Yeah, I don't think it's I don't think it's the right fit for your daughter here. Why not? Well, you know, because Rabbotai, you think I'm making this stuff up? These are real stories, and I wish these were the only two. Dozens of these ugly stories of rejections to Yeshiva, rejections to GIRLS SEMINARY. WHY? Because of a wig, because of a mitpachat, because of stocking, because of a blue shirt, because you're not a Ashkenazi enough, or you're too much Sephardi, or what Such garbage. Hatred of each other for no reason. Hatred of each other for no reason. One of the biggest heart breaking stories I ever heard in my life from my my own dear rav. Rav Ephraim, God bless him, has been a tzaddik and goan his whole life. He was always very good at learning. He was a little you know, he tells him so us that all the time. He was a troublemaker as a kid, but he was always a good student. And one of the times that he had to transfer to the next Yeshiva, they give a test. It was a very very difficult test. It was the number one Yeshiva. I won't mention the name, but anyone that understands will understand where. He came. The test was as simple as can be for him, Baruch Hashem. The other guy coming from his school didn't pass the test. He spoke to the rabbis. He said, "Listen, we love you here. You're great, but we can't let you in." Well, but I passed the test. Yeah, but this is the one of the people, one of the rabbis. They're not the chief rabbis. They're One of the rabbis says, "Yeah, yeah. Listen, you're great. You're amazing, but um I don't want to take this the wrong way, but uh it won't work out." Later, he finds out what? Because the friend from his school was a Ashkenazi, and he failed the test, and Rav Ephraim is Sephardi. It can't be that they would let a Sephardi in and a Ashkenazi not. And they can't let the Ashkenazi that fell in, so they just have to reject both of them. Now, for a young teenager to hear such news was literally a a heartbreak of heartbreaks. But this is the ugly reality we live in. With all of the community saying, "Yeah, we should have unity. We should love each other." How about you stop hating each other? Forget loving each other. Stop hating each other. Just because the way somebody looks, or the way that their their custom is, stop hating because of that. This is happening. This is happening. Where do people try to tell you that no, you shouldn't you shouldn't hate people? When When they say you shouldn't hate people? They say, "Oh, you're rebuking. YOU'RE TALKING AGAINST PEOPLE. YOU'RE TALKING AGAINST RABBIS. THAT'S WHERE'S YOUR UNITY? WHERE'S YOUR AH, WHAT IS THAT IN HEBREW?" WELL, WHO AM I to tell you what's yes, what's no? We got the Chinuch. He knows better than all of us put together. 700 years ago, he answered all of these questions for us, Baruch Hashem. In mitzvah number 240, he writes as follows. Among the laws of this mitzvah, of the prohibition to embarrass one's fellow, the sages of blessed memory stated in the Rambam in Hilchos De'os, chapter six, halacha number eight, that we were not warned against humiliating a fellow Jew in all situations of reproof. Rather, only when the reproof pertains to matters that are between man and his fellow, such as personal grievances for which a person reprimands another one who had wronged him. Meaning, as far as not allowed to publicly embarrass somebody, that's only when it's between you and him. Meaning, he, let's say, did something wrong to you, and you want to not only tell him off, you want to do it in front OF EVERYONE. THAT'S NOT ALLOWED. That's not allowed. It's public embarrassment. But when attempting this type of reproof, one must be careful never to humiliate another person in public, even after confronting him in private to no avail. Meaning, even after you told him, "Listen, remember you did this to me, you did that to me." He still didn't apologize. He still didn't return what you took. You tried privately, and he's still not answering. You're still not allowed to publicly humiliate him. However, a big however, regarding heavenly matters, that is, when rebuking a sinner for being a derelict in their mitzvah observance, such as violating Shabbat, such as speaking during shul with a prayer, and he's still talking about chitchatting, or such as, you know, being a womanizer, such as pretending to be a rabbi while your wife is posting videos of her and you dancing IN PUBLIC. YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT. THINGS THAT DON'T HAPPEN. THAT, RABBOTAI YEKARIM, if the sinner does not do teshuvah as a result of the reproof initially that's attempted in private, it is A MITZVAH TO EMBARRASS HIM IN PUBLIC, TO PUBLICIZE HIS SIN, TO DISGRACE HIM, AND TO CONDEMN him until he returns to the path of the good, as was the prophet the practice of the prophets towards the sinners of Israel. Rabbotai Yekarim, the Chinuch that gives us the explanation of every single mitzvah tells us, if the issue is between you and your friend, or now your enemy, deal with that privately. Even if he is a deadbeat when it comes to paying you back, even when he's a nasty person, deal with it privately. Don't air out his laundry to the whole world. It's not their business. But if somebody is a mechallel Shabbat, if somebody speaks heresy, distorts the Torah, disregards the Torah, changes the Torah, says things THAT ARE OUTRIGHT AGAINST THE TORAH, THAT you have to expose him publicly. Embarrass him in public. And continue to condemn him until he does teshuvah. Also included in the laws of this mitzvah that the sages of blessed memory stated by the way of exhortation of this matter in the Gemara Maseches Sotah, page 10b, and also in Maseches Yevamot, page 67b, it is better for a person to cast themselves into a fiery furnace than he should have humiliated his fellow in public. From where do we know this? From the incident of Tamar. See here, the Chinuch is telling us, when it comes down to embarrassing somebody, even if he hurt you in a really really bad way, to embarrass him in public, it's better off to jump into a fire than do that. Don't embarrass him in public, even though he hurt you personally. Deal with it privately. But if he's violating the laws of God, needless to say, he's endangering the public by misleading them with heresy, with with with literal apikorsut, with distortions of the Torah, that it's a mitzvah It's a mitzvah from the Torah to publicly disgrace this person. You see the clear difference between the two. In one end, better to die by a burning fire than do. Another end, it's a mitzvah you're going to go to heaven for. That's the difference. Who are you defending? If it's your personal honor, privately. If it's Hashem's honor, publicize. Publicize. Now, of course, if somebody made a mistake in private, said something wrong, you deal with them privately. But if they're a public teacher, they put videos out there, then needless to say, you have to do public a public uh message. Why? Because their message is public, you have to also publicize the message that they're wrong, that they're against the Torah, to try to help all of the victims that have fallen prey to this heresy. This has nothing to do with revenge. This is a mitzvah. Because revenge, as the Hinuch is telling us, is a soul. As the Chovot Halevavot telling us, is not only a soul, but if you're taking revenge against people, you have a very crooked heart. Do not hate your brother in your heart. Do not stray after your heart and your eyes, meaning don't look at things that are forbidden. If you're looking at things that are forbidden, even somebody's car sometimes. People think that it's only forbidden to look at a woman that's not your wife. No, sometimes it's forbidden to look at somebody else's husband. Because you're a woman. Sometimes it's forbidden to look at somebody else's property because you're a jealous person. Whether it's their house, their car, their watch, whatever it is. If you're looking at other people's stuff, lead you to jealousy, you're not allowed to look. You're not allowed to look until you learn how to control your heart. But then the last verse of proof that the Chovot Halevavot gives us is the one that is really the most heart-wrenching. Why? He says there's a mitzvah in Sefer Devarim, Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 15, verse number seven. Do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted. In so many words, don't be stingy. Don't be stingy. Now, of course, person's going to say, "Well, no, I'm not stingy. I'm not stingy. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I donated $100 last month." Okay. I mean, is that your ma'aser? Well, what what what is that ma'aser? What do you mean ma'aser? Is that 10% of what you made? No, Rabbi, what do you think I make? ONLY $1,000? NO, I MAKE ABOUT 15,000 a month. So, the $100, is that all you gave? Well, no, I also gave like $50 like 2 months ago. Oh, okay. So, let me explain. David Hamelech, David Hamelech, who's better than David Hamelech? Who's better than David Hamelech to tell us? David Hamelech in Tehillim gives us a rebuke of all rebukes, Rabbotai Yekarim. He gives us a rebuke that when I said it couple years ago in issue, we turned it into a film. This was also part of the message of Rav Elchanan Wasserman. But we're not going to go over the whole Tehillim, we're just going to go over a certain section that's relevant to the subject at hand. David Hamelech in chapter 50 of Tehillim of Psalms, verse number 20 and 21. Hakadosh Baruchu is speaking and says, "You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your mother's son. These have you done and I kept silent. You thought I was like you. I will rebuke you and lay it clearly before your eyes." Here Hakadosh Baruchu is telling us a message of what's going to happen not only at the end of days, but also at the end of patience for each and every single person. What's the end of patience? Hakadosh Baruchu's saying, says the Ibn Ezra, "You are guilty of all these crimes, yet I patiently kept silent and ignored your sins to give you an opportunity to do teshuvah. You misinterpreted my patient silence and thought that I was unaware of your concealed crimes. What you do behind doors, when your wife is not there, when your computer is on, when you're at the office by yourself, who comes to visit you, when the customer doesn't know his right or left and he simply assumes you're telling him the truth, when you have an opportunity to take that's not what's not yours, you thought that only the customer doesn't see, you thought that God doesn't see. Hashem says, "I saw. And you assumed that since I didn't do anything, I didn't punish you, you thought I was like you. You misinterpreted my patient silence and thought I was unaware of your concealed crimes. You compared me to yourselves and you imagined that just as mortals are ignorant of conspiracies, so too is God. I will rebuke you and lay it clearly before your eyes." What Hakadosh Baruchu is warning, "My patience will come to an end. And I will rebuke you and set forth the case against you. I will enumerate every one of your concealed sins, clearly demonstrating that I always knew your secrets." Here is the scariest thing of all. When the day of judgment comes, not just as a whole, when Mashiach comes, but on an individual basis, your heart is put on trial. Hakadosh Baruchu will show you all the things you thought that no one saw. The worst part of it is not the things you're thinking about. Oh, and the woman he cheated on, the men, the the money. No, no, no, it's not that's not the worst part. That's the obvious part. You know what's the worst part? Says the Bet Halevi, when Hakadosh Baruchu says, "I will rebuke you and lay it clearly before your eyes." Ochichacha ve'ercha le'einecha. What Hakadosh Baruchu is telling us, says the Bet Halevi, is that at each man's ultimate heavenly trial, he will be shown from his own actions the faultiness of his own justifications and rationalizations. In so many words, Hakadosh Baruchu is going to rebuke you over your mitzvot and how you did them. Why? You gave tzedakah. You gave $100. You gave $50. Ask you, can't give any more? I mean, there's a big need. A lot of poor people. There's a big need more than all the line the world. No, listen. I'm in debt, $2 million. I have to pay. I have to pay. You know, this business is not doing as well. Okay, no problem. Thank you very much. But then, the next day, tell your family, "Honey, I don't feel like cooking tonight. Why don't we order? Where do you want to order, honey? Let's get that uh you know, that Chinese food. You know, the one that has those triangles, there's a little meat in there. I like those things." Yeah, but honey, it's like $400 every time we order. Seder, Baruch Hashem, we need to eat. Hakadosh Baruchu's going to show you that. When it came down to tzedakah, when it came down to publicizing Torah, when it came down to helping other people, all of a sudden, I don't have. We we have a lot of debt. YOU KNOW, I HAVE SO MANY BILLS. But when it came down to your belly, when it came down to your own desires, ALL OF A SUDDEN, I NEED. $400 IS NOTHING. IT'S NOTHING. COME ON, WE need to eat. When it came down to the mitzvot, oh, you have lulav, etrog. Listen, I don't know that much. Let me just get the whole package. How much is the whole package? $100. Okay, I'll get the whole package. Well, you know, once you if you get them separately, you're going to get better quality. Listen, there's one guy, my neighbor, he's fanatic. He spent $600 on his etrog, $200 on the lulav, another $200 on the other two. Ah, he's crazy. I GET THE WHOLE PACKAGE FOR $100. WHY? BUT YOU COULD you you could afford. No, listen, I don't know that much. Oh, when it comes down to the mitzvot, I don't know that much. When it came down to getting a new car, "Sir, do you want to get the extra special version of the navigation system that has the lights and every single time you even point to the wrong direction, it tells you, 'No, chamor, don't go that way.' You want that one? It's only $3,000." Yeah, of course, of course. I mean, I need to know where I'm going. Okay. And do you want the the carpet that goes on top of the carpet that we already provide you? That's only an extra $250 per carpet and you need six. So, it's only $1,500. Yeah, of course. I mean, I don't want to ruin the car. Okay. And do you want just the regular windows or or do you want the power windows because it gives you extra power and that way you're going to be powerful. Wait, you mean it doesn't come with power windows by itself? NO, IT COMES with power windows. I mean, we are in the year 2025, but we want to make it powerful version of the power windows THAT JUST ONE BUTTON THE whole thing goes down because if you just keep your finger on your fingers going to get tired. Oh, yeah. HOW MUCH IS THAT? OH, it's only another $2,000. Yeah, of course. I need to come on. What if I'm driving and my FINGER IS STUCK? FOR ALL OF THE LUXURIES YOU need it. Honey, the camera for this new house, which one is it? No, I didn't get a camera. What do you mean? You're not going to have a camera? We need a camera at every door. WE NEED A CAMERA that tells us if there's a a thief even thinking about our house. We need to know when he's coming. We need to know when he's going. We need to know where he lives. We need TO HAVE A CAMERA THAT FOLLOWS him all THE WAY TO HIS HOUSE AND HIS WAREHOUSE. How much is that? $8,000. Get it. But for the mezuzah, listen, I don't need the most what? $400 mezuzah? $200? No, it's too much. Just get me kosher. Kosher? What? $50? eBay? Yeah, yeah, get it. Get it. How many do you need? 15. We have 15 rooms. Also for the 15 room house, only $50 mezuzah. But the cameras for every door, $8,000, no big deal. I will rebuke you and lay it clearly before your eyes. Meaning, I will show you how crooked your heart was with the things you think you did good. You say you did the mitzvot. You said you kept Shabbat. YOU SAID YOU GAVE TZEDAKAH. LET'S COMPARE it to how you kept the laws of your lust. The laws of your desire. The laws of your own ta'avot. Let's compare the two. Which one were you more loyal to? Building your house here or building your house there? This is the scariest part. Why? Because at the end of the day, David Hamelech is telling us, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not only telling you, I know what you're feeling. Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, I'm going to show you what you're feeling and I will rebuke you based on what you felt. All the things you did good. FORGET THE SINS. THAT'S ALREADY OBVIOUS. WHEN YOU STOLE, WHEN YOU CHEATED, WHEN you lied, ALL THAT'S OBVIOUS. THERE'S GOING TO BE JUDGMENT FOR THAT. A CHAMOR CAN UNDERSTAND THAT. We're talking about for THE RELIGIOUS. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR THE ONES WHO THINK WE'RE DOING GOOD. US. US. HAKADOSH BARUCH HU WILL SHOW US over there. Let's see. How much did you spend on your car? How much did you spend on the mitzvot? How much did you spend on your house? How much did you spend on mezuzot? How much did you put effort into praying? How much did you put effort into closing a business deal? How much did you put into studying Torah? How much did you put into making new friends in order to get a raise in your job? How much? How much? How much? Hakadosh Baruch Hu will show us the scariest things. Why? Because literally all of the fakery, all of the lies, all of the illusions will be put on a platter. And that rabotai, that's the reason why the sages say that scary, scarier than gehenna. Why? Because you literally become like the shvatim. You cannot handle. You cannot handle literally realizing not only you lived a lie, but it's exposed. Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, I've been watching it the whole time. You thought I was like you. YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T WATCHING. I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT YOU SPENT $400 on lunch, but you said that you don't have any MONEY FOR TZEDAKAH. YOU THOUGHT I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT YOU SPENT $8,000 ON CAMERAS, BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE any money to spend for good QUALITY MEZUZOT. YOU THOUGHT I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT YOU SPENT $5,000 ON A WATCH, $15,000 on a watch, BUT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO BUY a new tefillin even though your tefillin are literally a senior citizen. You thought I didn't know You thought I was like you, but I don't know. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is going to show us the reality of our actions. That's the scariest part. That's the scariest part. Why? Because it's all in our heart and only Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows it aside from us. Nobody else can know if you're a faker. Nobody knows whether you're a faker. You could even lie to your spouse to a certain extent and they won't know if you're a faker. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows. And he doesn't only know, he's going to show it to us and he's going to rebuke us with that. He's not going to rebuke us based on our neighbor. He's not going to rebuke us based ON MOSHE RABBEINU. HE'S NOT GOING TO rebuke us based on some illusion. He's going to rebuke us based on us. That's the scary part. And therefore says the Chovot Halevavot, all of the service of God is reduced to that of the heart and tongue. What you feel, what's really in your heart, and what words come out of your mouth. As the Torah says, for this commandment which I command you this day is neither beyond you nor far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, "Who will go to the heaven for us and bring it to us so that we can hear it and do it." Neither it is across the sea that you should say, "Who will cross the sea for us and bring it to us so that we could hear it and do it." Rather, it is a thing very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart that you can do. The entire Torah is it's in your mouth, it's in your heart to do it. All of this that seems impossible is not only possible. And not only you can do it, but that's what you created for. That's what you are programmed to do. Everything that's the opposite of it is against the program. Just like you will not use your microwave in order to drive it to drive you to work because it's a microwave, it's not a car. Using your neshamah to do the mitzvot is the That's the number one thing to use it for. To follow Hashem, that's the number one thing. When you're steering in other ways, that's because you're going against the instructions. So don't think for a moment, "Oh, this is too hard." No, no. This is what you were created to do. And the difficulties are only because you've been violating and breaking the instructions for a while, so it takes a little while to reprogram yourself back to manufacturer's guidelines. This rabotai yekarim is in my from my perspective, the deepest we've gone so far in this series as far as the inspections of our heart. The investigations of our heart. And the reality of where we stand. Be'ezrat Hashem, the Chovot Halevavot will take us even deeper, even further. And with every lesson, we break off another layer of the klipah and stride a little further. Stride a little further. Each time, it's a new reality check. Sometimes it's intellectually stimulating. Sometimes it's spiritually painful. Sometimes it's completely new insights. Sometimes it's a reminder of what we already knew. But each time, we get deeper and deeper into the heart of each and every single one of us in order for us to not only know where we stand, but to truly fulfill the duties of the heart. Thank you very much for learning with me. May Hashem bless each and every one of you that have learned with us tonight. And be'ezrat Hashem, we'll share this with your friends, your family, with anybody that you care about. And anyone that you possibly can, even if you don't care about them. Because this rabotai yekarim are teachings that are applicable to all of mankind. Anyone that wants to support can donate on our website, beezrathashem.org, or you can also donate at bhtorah.org. Sometimes people uh have an easier time using that website or our app to donate if they're donating from outside of the US, it's a different merchant bank. And of course, any of you that wants to donate Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and so on, you could always do that on our website as well. A lot of different ways to help. A lot of different ways to help us publicize this message in many different languages, in many different places around the world, in many different ways, whether it's the cure boxes, the books, the videos, the movies, and so on and so forth. Either way, yekarim, there's an opportunity for all of us to serve Hakadosh Baruch Hu by publicizing his Torah. And the chance that we have right now is not a chance that we're going to have forever. Each one of us is given a chance each day. And none of us are promised tomorrow. Take advantage of the opportunity that you have, and Be'ezrat Hashem, we will succeed together. Kol tuv Be'ezrat Hashem, we will learn again later this week. Be'ezrat Hashem, we will learn again later this week. I'd like to introduce you to your new best friend. We did it. AI Rabbi is here. It's a new AI model that is based on kosher Torah sources. 30 different languages that are available to use. If you want to ask it in Spanish, in Chinese, [music] Portuguese, whatever you want to do, it's available for you. Can you tell me about the idea of it? So, it's timestamped to this year. Press this green [music] button. AI Rabbi on your WhatsApp. You'll have the ability to ask questions at will. We've even provided sources, and most importantly, you'll be able to know the truth, and you'll be able to rely on it.