Tu B'shvat: Our Latent Potential - Rebbetzin Avigial Gersht

[Music] so last class we finished off talking about what is time we spoke about how do you define time and we tend to think of it as linear as it's something we just pass through and the holidays are just something that we're commemorating a day that something happened here but we gave a few understandings of it two of them was first of all time is cyclical it moves through us every single year we have and each moment in time has its own unique opportunity for us to grab on to something okay there's a spiritual energy in time in the months and in the holidays we spoke about how how time itself is possibility right it's actually infinite in terms of what you do with it you can have an hour just watch TV or you can have an hour and do something that productive or can we predict right time is like elastic it's very elastic and in the sense that it stretches as much as you want to stretch and the last thing we spoke about was each holiday what are we celebrating what are we commemorating on each holiday what happened on chef Luis what happened on Passover what happened on all these holidays it actually happened one time it happened one time it hits through the Goblet ara that was sugar it happened one time in history we were freed from slavery in Egypt that's Passover and every single year we almost get off this little train we almost get off his little bus at that bus stop called for Shawn on Yom Kippur circus orchestra etc etc I'm going to speak today about we're actually not starting from the beginning because there are some people who were here when I did Rush Hashanah Yom Kippur I didn't want to repeat it for them so we're gonna start off with speaking about rubbish Bob what do we know about to be Shabbat anyone here ever heard and here are not heard of to gush but before you know what it's me I love the honesty we don't know what to shot me okay who does know what to about means okay good we're on a good set have you know 15th yeah right so so it close it's hard that's that's a Tish above it sounds very familiar it sounds very similar tisha Bob is tisha right Asad shtayim shalosh arba I'm a chef chef ash mourneth tisha Tisha's nine so that's the ninth of all which is commemorating the destruction to be Shiva is actually the 15th it's the 15th of the month of Shabbat which falls out usually around January time it's right after Hanukkah okay have you heard of the holiday where we celebrate the trees we eat fruits okay yeah okay nice okay we're done we dead - back on the honey for a sweet year but that holiday is - Bhishma some people like touching it as it's like the the Jewish like hug your tree day it's not true right they keep the idea from us but it is the day where we celebrate the New Year's for the trees we're gonna discuss what that means however it is the 15th - is just the numerical value of two bits so it's the 15th of spot let's just give the basics then we'll discuss it this is when we start counting the New Year's for the trees why does it matter when we start counting the New Year's for the trees any ideas rhymes with my sir hmm yes Smita my sir my so say McMartins neither nicer yeah shemitah shemitah is it was a trick question mice arrived with my search is repetitive there do you know I'm talking about ok if I'm speaking homage to tummy yeah ok are you familiar with this thing called shmita no well say it very briefly it's only applicable the reason why I don't know of it it's probably because you don't live in Israel right shemitah is you every Jewish landowner we're not really going into the actual laws of it yeah yes yes thank you ok every seven years the Jewish land owners need to completely stop working their fields and if it's actually really cool they still do that today and you see signs across Israel saying this Len is shemitah right this land is what does the farmer do the farmer literally stops working his land why it's a year of rest for the line just like every seventh day Shabbat every seven years of something called shemitah why is to be shabbat important bell it's your job is time going to slow down why is to be schwa important because every personal in terms of shemitah needing to know when every shemitah cycle is and also the Jewish people need to Tiffany to my sir need to give charity from their land okay and that they start counting when does the Year begin we start counting when does the Jewish New Year begin you rush Hashanah Yom Kippur right Rosh Hashanah the Jewish New Year okay now we know now we're five seven seven six in two weeks it's going to be five seven seven seven from the creation of the world okay so to be Shabbat how do I know when I should start every seven years resting oh it's Rosh Hashanah for the new year for the trees again it's a new year for the tree that's what two weeks but is we're gonna move past the technicalities in a minute we give a line dressed mini to tip it they need to give certain parts of the field to charity [Music] not personally it goes it goes according to like the Jewish cycle so it's not like one year this land and one year that land it goes according to is an annual cycle doesn't be a confirm determine in Israel it's a shemitah year Israel has a shemitah year why is this the new year's for the trees because it's in shocked that this SAP starts going up the bark it starts going up the tree and that's when the fruits begin to bloom but the trees actually don't balloon yet this after starts going up that's to be fought and then a child that is the new year pretty clear pretty basic we're starting we're celebrating tree okay tell me if this is true or not sure and I want to hear why this is a quote from William Blake those who restrain desire do so because there's this weak enough to be restrained I'll repeat that those who restrain desire do so because there's this weak enough to be restrained agree raise your hand disagree raise your hand those who didn't raise their hand raise your hand I like the honesty yes those who restrain desire a do so because theirs is a weak enough to be restrained agree disagree disagree disagree disagree disagree disagree disagree disagree disagree agree just agree disagree agree disagree agree so I agree I agree and you said agree you can't disagree sorry okay the two of you stand in this corner all right let's see I'm joking let's hear ya you're confused I repeat the claw no no I like I like that you disagree we need we need some polygons going on here no keep it yes those who restrain and desire those who restrain desire you do so because there's their desire is weak enough to be restrained you agree absolutely you don't know think okay let's hear yes Bella you disagree why I have a mystery mine we're all gonna listen to each other [Music] then what does it mean Avanti she's perfect she's how many desires theoretically if Bella had desires give us an example okay ray what do you say about that so I think that if somebody is really focused on their big desire to to make a million dollars or to become president which is like a huge really big term hole I think if there was I get strong enough and they they are hundred thousand million is not believe that they can like an accomplishment desire and there's no occasion if you're saying the opposite of the quote I agree with what you're saying those things only because it's a weak enough only because my desire is weak enough what you're saying is true meaning it's only because I have I'm so you're saying only because my desire so strong right exactly it's so strong I agree with what you're saying but I think worse being at two different I think it's countries in the quote yeah I think it's saying the opposite actually but I think you are asking what Bella saying just an opposite term strange you have a very strong desire it can't be weak and actually restrain so it won't be your straining oh so you're saying that you don't agree with it or you're strong enough to restrain it doesn't mean your desire is he is saying if I let's give an example we're speaking to you who could give me an example no we cannot it's an egg Matic for a reason right who can give an example of a desire chocolate cake does that speak to us yeah did thinking chocolate egg really were we're thinking of chocolate cake okay I have a desire for chocolate cake realloc were you going big term desire let's speak in simple man's terms on desire for chocolate cake I really want chocolate cake I am NOT going to have a topic cake missus Gersh the only reason you were able to restrain that desire eating the chocolate cake is because your desire was weak enough your desire was to was weak enough to be restrained it was too weak that's why I was able to restrain it as opposed to I have desire for chocolate cake I'm eating the chocolate cake mrs. ghost why did you eat it because my desire wasn't weak enough it was too strong so I had to eat it you disagree yes but where you were saying something different or was the missing name you're saying the same thing okay so I think it was a misunderstanding of the quote yeah okay yes inna [Music] I'm going to eat chocolate cake because I know I'm gonna get sick you I love it like I love chocolate cake regulate I don't ice cream and like it's like thank you but I know that it way too much I'm maybe six all week so stop that you know desire that ice cream is cuz you were strain yourself [Music] higher than the desire in the design producing that this is we it's stronger than that just because I came restraint it doesn't mean that the desires we get just means that I rose above it rachel is that we desire well I'm sorry if that's not a desire that's a necessity I mean that's a necessity that they were they were starving it's not desire insinuates something that you don't need desire insinuates or I really desire food is there between a need and a want desires a want and food and the Holocaust is a need let's not bring Holocaust yeah Holocaust is too heavy their mothers might get a vitamin C from four weeks KYNA comments comments you said you disagree with the clip with the quote why [Music] I wouldn't hear that are we all seeing the same thing Rachael disagrees you disagree let's here we want to hear why we don't want to pressure you we don't want to press you look you come back we come back you have something to add to come back and really know no pressure so so why do I ask that question one who restrains desire do so because their desire was weak enough to be restrained so we're speaking about - Bhishma so there's something interesting about to be swept why are we having a whole class on how you're treated a because in d'Ivoire and safer Deuteronomy it says key I don't eats us a deaf man is the tree of the field man many times throughout the Torah is compared to a tree right you have the word how do you say man in Hebrew each each us man yeah I'll give you a hint what's the first man called Adam right right the first man is called Adam right which is the same word as I done ma my mom means ground right why was I done called Adam yes very creative because he was created from the ground that is why he's called Adam but any questions on that he was good that's that's a good question right what was I mean like what am I gonna call him right huh I do mine means ground and Adam means men God wanted to connect math to physical and spiritual Jessie Adam was created from the dirt and the grime whatever everything the earth elevated yes elemental earth yes okay and each one of those web pages so [Music] why because we were born with a [Music] part of Adam so we're not from the dirt we're not from the ground it's not more than that it's it says and it says that zequinha kiva bharata I mean Adam was created male and female men wasn't cool man is a general term for humankind but Adam and Chava were created back-to-back male and female I think they were separate different crafts that's what soulmates mean you find yourself back together again but but that's something different it's yeah they were created together back back to back what questions we have on the fact that Adam was created from the earth Ferhat WA I'm sure the rabbit wasn't lying we can speak right after class and but they weren't creative oxygen in the toy they were created male and female together and she was taking from his rib after they were split and was anything else created from the earth trees the animals move on really everything was created twice I dumped specifically are we together so far why Adam specifically given the name Adam because he was created Emma we're all created from the oedema animals are also so I don't man man born from the ground means what is lands land is latent potential soil dirt earth he dumped a toss a den means man is born we are a whole lump of latent potential we are born come animalistic okay we are a children Orca have complete animalistic drives my three-year-old daughter when she kicks and screams it helps me I say to myself sometimes quietly okay you're acting like a three-year-old alright because she's actually three years old and I put it in context like yeah she's acting like a three or she's doing supposed to be doing but as we mature and we slowly evolved on Good Friday today right we slowly evolved into human beings and we have this this ability within ourselves and the idea that I own and I'm happy we're all on the same page and most of us on the same page right or or this is just one idea to take away from it it is the only way can restraint desired because my desire was weak enough to be restrained or can it possibly be the reason I restrain my desire is because I have the free will and I have the ability and I have the self-control because I am Adam I have the ability to make nation a ain't something from nothing I can take this ground I can take this potential and make into something I can do something with it I don't have the ability to be an Adama Adam is also the same thing as why else is Adam called Adam other vent I done my big round let me just like this just make it clear I done right so we have a dumb mom is ground and aa dumb it means similar Adam endings similar because we have the ability to be Adam met similar to God to have godlike characters so I have the ability to be similar to God we have within ourselves infinite potential which is why there's no tu b'shvat there's no New Year for the vegetables or for the grains I done man it's been compared to vegetables we're compared to the tree we're not compared to the five different grains we're compared to the ground why we or or a cucumber or a pepper what you see is what you get any fruit that you take did you know that it can be opened up and replanted the seeds in that amazing right you don't know infinite possibilities and potential they live in each human being a true story it's really one of my favorite stories there's a teacher named mrs. Thompson and she stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the first day of school and she told them something that all teachers tell their students at least in grade five which is I love you all the same and you all mean the same to me but that was a lie because sitting there in the back seat was this boy named Teddy Stoddart okay she seemed headed years before and he was a troublesome kid right she's her teacher's caught talking about him in the teachers room and he was their spunk in the sea and he was a reckless child and she they basically had it in for him in a year and I got to a certain point in the year somewhere towards the beginning where she got such satisfaction marking his papers with a big red pepper with a big red marker and putting a big F on top of his paper good I like that face hon I thanked him right and then teachers when you work in the school system there's a responsibility to go through each child folder from the years before and she was going through each child's folder and she put Teddy's off to the last and when she opened her folder she was in for a shock because Teddy's first grade teacher told her broke down Teddy's a great boy wonderful a lot of energy and very popular keep up the great work if can't be Teddy Teddy second grade teacher Oh Teddy's a great kid and very popular his mother's illness is taking a toll at home Teddy's third grade teacher ro situation is getting much worse at home if someone doesn't do something Teddy's going to be in trouble until his fourth grade teacher oh the death of his mother has been very hard on Teddy his grades are slumping he's not showing up for classes she put the paper down she was ashamed of herself and tenet became one of her class pets she stopped teaching arithmetic she stopped teaching math she started teaching realizing she's teaching children she's teaching human beings she felt even more bad when it was Christmastime in school and all the students brought these like colorful wrapped gifts for that for her and Teddy came in with a brown paper bag with a bracelet with rhinestones missing and the perfume bottle it was half empty and all the students started laughing but she said this is amazing she sprayed it on her and she was a bracelet the rest of the day and at the end of the day Teddy said mrs. Thompson you smell just like my mommy used to a year later a year later she gets a note under her door saying dear mrs. Thompson I just want you to know you're still the best teacher I've ever had four years go by so I six years go by he says dear mrs. Thompson I just want you to know that times got tough but I stuck it in and graduated high school you're still the best teacher I've ever had another four years went by and he said dear mrs. Thompson I managed to get my undergrad and things are going good you're still the best teacher I've ever had another four years went by and he said dear mrs. Thompson at times I was going to stop but I pushed through I remembered your words and I got my diploma and sign was dr. teddy dr. Teddy's daughter MD okay a year later she gets another note in the mail saying dear mrs. Thompson my father died a few years ago and I met this wonderful woman I want I want to know if you can walk me down not if you can sit in the place of the of the of the groom's mother by the wedding and she said I'd love to and she came to wedding and tore the perfume he gave her 15 years ago and she wore the bracelet that he gave her and as he comes to her right after the ceremony he said thank you for being the best teacher I've ever had and believing in me when no one else could she said thank you for teaching you what it means to be a teacher thank you for teaching what it means to see someone for who they are when we're saying I'd um I've done my I done this like the ground I don't miss a damn mess similar doesn't have to do with what someone's background is it doesn't have to do with how much money someone's born into all those things impact our lives a gum it's called that's just one story I've you see there's a latent potential that can be brought up a child like that could be no people I definitely know people like that who born to such broken homes that they've just gone on to to perpetuate broken homes right what was it about him that that he was able to go and become a doctor another successful life he had more success in his life no we have within ourselves that capability and and the potential to do and to achieve whatever it is that we want to do whenever it is that we want to achieve which is why to Bhishma is the new year for the trees because we don't know the infinite detention that lies inside which is why we are compared to the trees it's very interesting when did I say to Bush what falls out in January the trees are blooming now right what what does it look like in January snow cold even in Israel it rains and when it rains they think that's no so they shut all the roads down right so so it's rainy it's cold the trees are bare and the ground is icy what's to be shocked celebrating its mm-hmm life there's no life the potential for life we've spoken about this when we spoke about Rosh Hodesh if you remember Rachel the moon the small moon virus kodesh Judaism celebrates the potential and the process not just the results so why do we have to be sure that when we have to be fine because we're starving the process and potential you don't know what lies underneath background and what are we doing when we choose instead of choosing to be like Adam ah instead of choosing to be just ground we can choose to be Adam now we can choose to be similar we can choose to take that dust to take that earth and make it into something we're breaking through that ground that can be more breaking through my childhood pain and breaking through my family situation I'm breaking through my lack of money I'm breaking through my my inhibitions I'm an inability disabilities that's what it means that Y is to be spun in January that's what we're breaking through the here at the book the talent code know by Malcolm Gladwell okay it's one my favorite books it's basically the how how is talent born or are you born with talent or is it something that you built okay it's a whole book but he basically brings in this man who done a whole study any major success in any category arts business etc is the result of 10,000 hours of concentrated practice have you heard that rule before the 10,000 hour rule right Yes No okay just not even even know okay so he says that in any field of work in order to be successful don't even think it'd be the best guitar player until you put in minimum 10,000 hours of work doesn't mean if I teach for 10,000 hours I'll be a good teacher right why is that there and I'm teaching but it means if I put in 10,000 hours of I'm teaching and I'm evaluating my plot I even hired a personal cameraman so I can do reflection right so I mean I'm teaching and then I'm reflecting and then what worked what didn't work right ten a guitar I'm playing guitar one second how can I do this better maybe I should cut me a little bit shorter maybe I should get a little thinner strings do I like electric do I like write etc etc 10,000 hours of concentrated work that's what breaks through ice you can hit it to break down a door to break down a wall right you can knock in like 15 different places right or we can knock in the same place a bunch of times would be a lot more successful to break it down the 10,000 hour rules is basically a life full of breaking through whatever ice we have on top of ourselves and letting whatever ademma whatever ground is under there sprout forth something right and you see that all over the place with most successful people do you know dr. Seuss was rejected by 26 companies for his book right what's his name Robin Williams was voted in highschool least likely to succeed and I Rana we did quotes when my favorite quotes Michael Jordan I love this go here oh I missed more than 9000 shots to my career I lost 300 games right number 23 I missed more than 9,000 shots my career lost 300 games 26 times can you imagine 26 times I was trusted to take the winning shot and missed right I failed over and over again and that's why I succeed that's why I succeed to b'shvat is in January it's in the ice right it's when I can't see what's going under underneath because when I'm developing and breaking through that I want to make one more one more point we'll finish with this God create commanded and Boresha sin Genesis right the first chapter the eleventh verse he commanded the trees he said he commanded the earth make fruit trees bearing fruit what's the implication of that make fruit make fruit trees bearing fruit what question do you have on that meaning if you're a fruit tree why are you bearing true good question that's our question like why is it redundant almost like why is it fruit today make an apple tree bearing Tomatoes right good question honey look at your thinking so is basically guy was commanding what its job is yes you're going a little esoteric here so what why would the command and be you don't get what the verse means [Music] right so no I think that's great because they're gonna love the answer yeah Rachel so you're saying it was busy commanded to work also it's really nice it's really beautiful right you have a fan club we're all like yeah yeah meaning it's not just gonna have to buy stuff don't take it for granted almost and a lot of beautiful things were said a lot of good questions are asked I think we'll go to Rashi we've heard of rush you before right we're basically is on every single paper we one minute left it's like time flies right so Rashi says has the same question that you all had which is fruit trees bearing fruit god what's with the redundancy isn't that obvious or like it that it's job what's the point what does Rashi say God had commanded the tree got kinda the earth make a tree whose bark tastes like the fruit make a fruit tree the tree the leaves the bark the branches taste like fruit that are bearing fruit that are also fruit it's that clear the tree was supposed to that the trees that we have now were originally supposed to taste the bark was supposed to take exactly like the fruit the yeah [Music] so that's exactly what the tree saw and we'll finish with this because I don't want to go over time so I'm gonna rush this which is the tree start well I guess we depot does that mean the tree stop but not for right now right but just go with me believe everything that I'm saying without even using your brain right the trees thought well if with it exactly what ena said which is well if the bark tastes exactly like the fruit then then there's gonna be a lot less trees that are needed if they can just eat basically the tree and so they didn't that was actually the first original sin and GaN Eden in the Garden of Eden the trees didn't listen and they made just trees that bear fruit the bark didn't taste like it and except for the ex retreat apparently you cannot go up to tree take the leaf off and just eat it okay unless you're Tarzan it doesn't taste the same what does the Mara off Sam we're finishing this the morrow who's a commentary on guitarists there's something so deep it's so beautiful and when we're speaking about potential and we're speaking about breaking through the ground and breaking through the ice and adharma the ground becoming a decimal or to God right we're speaking about that what what does the morrow saying through trees bearing fruit means in life the process the the movement the journey ie the tree and the bark and the leaves and the branches the process is supposed to taste as sweet as they as they as the success meaning getting my degree becoming a doctor becoming a teacher becoming a secretary whatever my goal is getting there it's supposed to taste as good it's supposed to be as sweet as the actual journey as the actual I'm getting it itself ok so when we're working through everything that we have within ourselves when I'm trying to hurt this class I'm supposed to be digging through and figure out what my potential is and create myself from from fresh because I have the ability right when i restrain my desire when I control myself it's not just because oh my desires a week it's because I'm a human being and a half free will when I'm going on this whole process it's suppose to be sweet and but it's not the S or the treat didn't make it like that however why am I telling you this because this journey of breaking through the ice and this journey of challenges it's supposed to ideally be all-encompassing and not and and not mutually exclusive and not now this is the journey and this is hard but one day I'll get there and with that paradigm with that perspective of my life is organic in the sense that this is all working together that the challenge of the success the failures the winnings right when Michael Jordan said all these failures are supposed to be part of the journey and they're not a separate part right when I'm working on myself and I don't see any results that's January that's - Bhishma that's the process and that's supposed to be sweet - was that clear have a wonderful Shabbos everyone [Music] you