Balancing Truths: Shammai and Hillel on Conflict, Perseverance, and Spiritual Values (Talmudist: Eruvin 13b)

00:00 - Intro (Announcement)
You are listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Thinking Talmudist podcast.

00:14 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, welcome back everybody. Welcome to the Thinking Talmudist. We are on 13b in Tractate Eruvin, and we were talking previously of how is it possible for two correct opinions to conflict each other. You know, we're living in a society we mentioned last week, last episode that thinks and believes that if you're right you're the right one, but it's impossible for anybody else to be right. And yet we don't follow halacha, we don't follow the law. Like them, one is right and one is wrong. We see something unique in the Talmud here. Talmud says no, no, no, no. You're both right, but we follow the ruling of one of you and that does not mean that the other is wrong. It's just we don't follow their opinion. Very important for us to know this Very, very important fundamental principle. So here we go, my dear friends. We now resume the Talmud in Tractate Eruvin Amar Rabbi Abba, amar Shmuel. Rabbi Abba said, in the name of Shmuel, you know what, if you want to bring it to more practical things so we know that there was a terrible tragedy that happened right over the Potomac River just two days ago, wednesday evening, and everyone now is pointing fingers. But what I think people fail to realize that it is possible for both sides to be right. It's possible that both sides are right, but nobody it's. Either I'm right and you're wrong, or you're right and I'm wrong. So I'm going to fight to the death to be right, because I want to be right. Nobody wants to be wrong. But the truth is you can both be right, you can both be right, but we will follow meaning like this you know the argument of health care for all.

02:09
Right, the argument of taxes. That's an argument that could be made forever and ever. That's an argument that could be made forever and ever. Why? Because one person says we should make sure that everybody has good schooling. Another person says, yeah, but it's not fair that the people who are sending to private school don't benefit from the money they're paying taxes for school. It should be in equal distribution. So you have that argument going back and forth. Right, so so then they'll say well, if you don't use certain roads, should you not pay the taxes that pay for the roads? That's a typical argument. That doesn't mean just because one may or may not agree with that argument doesn't mean that argument is wrong, but we might rule a different way. Okay, is this understandable? Everybody gets this. Okay, great, we're on the same page here. So now, when the Talmud disagrees about something and I'm not, again, I'm not here to talk about policy or about politics. That's not our topic, definitely not as important as studying the Talmud here.

03:21
So Rab'Abbas said in the name of Shmuel for three years, beishamai and Beishillel debated each other. They said the halacha follows their view, excuse me. And these say that the halacha follows their view. Each side insisted that its own view was correct. Everyone thought they were right. A heavenly voice went forth and declared Say these and those, both views are the word of the living God, the halacha beis helo. But regarding practical halacha, we follow the opinion of beis helo, meaning that even though they're both right, we follow Halacha like one. An incredible thing. But what's really going on over here is that when you have two different opinions in Talmud, when there's an argument between the House of Shammah and the House of Hillel, we'll soon see why the Halacha always follows the House of Hillel and we'll soon see why the halacha always follows the house of Hillel. Imagine being the losing team, always being part of the house of Shammai, and you always the halacha's never like you. The halacha's always like your opponent, hillel. Okay, let's see why the Gemara continues.

05:05
But now that both opinions are the word of the living God, what does it mean? The living God, hashem? Hashem is the living God. The Torah is a living Torah, contrary to what many opine that the Torah is outdated. The Torah isn't relevant today as it was back then. Then they had trigonosis because they didn't know how to clean pork or pigs. But today we have such advancements and the Torah didn't know. When it said that it's disgusting, it was referring to the illnesses. Really, torah isn't outdated. Torah knows that it's not healthy for you, the wrong thing for a person to eat. That's why the Torah says don't eat it. Not that in 2025, we will be smarter than God, who created heaven and earth and who gave us the Torah 3,300 years ago.

06:04
Okay, so now, v'chimei achar she'elu ve'elu div'rim kem chaim. And now that you're saying that both of these opinions are the word of the living God, mipnei ma'azochu beis hillel likva halacha k'moson. Why did Hillel merit the house of Hillel merit that the halacha is fixed according to their view? Mipnei sh'nokhim ve'enam olvim. You know why? Here's the reason. The reason is because they were always easy and forbearing. Okay, so let's listen to this. They were nokhim ve'aluvim hoyu. Okay, they would override their own quest for honor We'll see in a second how and they would study their opinion and the opinion of B'Shammai.

07:01
And not only that, they would review the perspective of Beishamai and their own perspective, but they would also state Beishamai's opinion before their own. And not only that, but they would mention the matters of Beishamai before their own, just like in the case that we mentioned in the Mishnah. Just like in the case that we mentioned in the Mishnah, where the opinion of Beishamai is brought before the opinion of Beis Hillel. So let's just understand something. Who's going to win in a lawsuit? Which lawyer? The lawyer that just knows that my client is right and I'm going to fight for my client, or the lawyer who understands the perspective of the other side, understanding their perspective, can now outdo them Right. He'll win every day of the week because he's not just one-sided. This is my opinion, because this is my client and I have to defend him. Instead, we stop a second and think about the other side. What is the other side thinking? What is their rationale?

08:08
You know, I remember the famous interview. I've mentioned it so many times. Maybe I made it famous, but there was an interview on 60 Minutes by what's that lady's name? I don't remember her name, but she was interviewing the head of the Mossad on a rooftop in Tel Aviv. Maybe it was Barbara Walters? Yes, and they're sitting on the rooftop. And it was when there was all these threats from Iran. Obviously now, years later, those threats came to fruition, where they sent hundreds and hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, of ballistic missiles targeting Israel.

08:45
And she said do you think the Iranian people, the Iranian mullahs, do you think that they're rational? And he said of course. And her eyes almost pop out. You see that interview. It's like what? Like? She thought this was an easy question. Of course they're crazy. She's like what do? Like? She thought this was an easy question. Of course they're crazy. She's like what do you mean? They're rational. He says they're not my rationale and not your rationale, but in their own mind they are very rational. And he said the following amazing statement he said if I don't understand and put my mind into their rationale, I will never be able to win them. So true, if you cannot see and understand the perspective of your enemy, you'll never be able to overcome them.

09:39
Beishamai had a great opinion, but it wasn't Beis Hillel's opinion. You know what Beis Hillel did. First they reviewed what does Beishamai had a great opinion, but it wasn't Beis Hillel's opinion. You know what Beis Hillel did. First they reviewed what does Beishamai say? Why are they wrong? They would first listen to Beishamai and then they would present their own opinion. So what's the?

09:59
What's the like the case that we learned in the Mishnah, one whose head and the majority of his body was in the Sukkah. So if someone here's the case that's brought in the Mishnah, someone's sitting, it's a very small Sukkah. You know, sometimes in Israel you have these magnificent buildings but the porches are not built for a big family. Sometimes you can have a family with 10 children and there's not going to be enough room in the sukkah for everyone. A small sukkah is a little small area. So what do you do? The Mishnah says what's in such a case where you can't fit fully in the sukkah? I'm not talking about the family, I'm talking about each individual, because each individual is obligated to sit in the Sukkah. So what happens if Rosh HaVarubah B'Sukkah means his head and the majority of his body is in the Sukkah. So imagine if this is the marker of the Sukkah. Let's say it's a very, very small Sukkah. So my head and most of my body and my torso is in the Sukkah, but the table is inside the house. Okay, so now the majority of my body is in the Sukkah, the rest of my table and the rest of my body is inside the house.

11:21
Beishamai says Postland, it's not good, you is inside the house. Beishamai says postlan, it's not good, you did not. It's not a valid observance of the laws of Sukkah, of the dwellings in the Sukkah. Beis Hillel says and it's okay, and they validate it, it's okay, you fulfilled your mitzvah. Omer Beis Hillel.

11:41
Beis Hillel said to Shamai Lo kachayimaseh, did it not happen that the elders of Shammai and the elders of Hillel went together to visit Rabbi Yochanan, the son of Horonis one Sukkot, on the holiday of Sukkot, and they found him this great. They found him sitting with his head and the majority of his body in the Sukkah, but the rest of his table in the house. Amro and Beishamah. Beishamah replied to them If you bring proof from there, from that incident, you can't bring a proof from that. Why, av hein, amro they, the elders of Beishamah, in fact said to Rabbi Yochanan Charonos, im ka ha-yisah, no-heg lo kiyamta. The elders of Beishamai in fact said to Rabbi Yochanan Charonis that if this is the way you conduct yourself in the Sukkah, you've never fulfilled the mitzvah of Sukkah. So we said then that it wasn't okay. Thus, when relating this incident of the joint visit to Rabbi Yochanan Charonis, beis Hill mentioned the participation of the elders of Beis Shammai before mentioning that of their own school. So we see that this was a common practice, where the house of Hillel would mention the opinion of the house of Shammai before their own.

13:20
The Gemara now concludes. The Gemara says the fact that Beis Hillel's humility caused their view, their viewpoint, to prevail is to teach you. This teaches you that whoever lowers himself, humbles himself. The Almighty raises them up. You humble yourself, hashem will raise them up. You humble yourself, hashem will raise you up. V'chol ha'mag b'ya atzmo. And conversely, whoever raises himself up and is arrogant, such a person ha'kodesh boruchu mashpilo the Almighty will lower him. Kol ha'mechazer achra gedula gedula barachas mimeno.

14:03
One who seeks prominence, prominence flees from him. But whoever flees from prominence, prominence seeks them. And whoever forces time, time forces him. But whoever yields to time, time will eventually halt for him. We'll see in a second what that means.

14:38
But if we look a little bit at the commentaries here. Bais Hillel argued, from the fact that the elders of Beishamai Sor Ben Achoronis dwelling this way in the Sukkah and did not protest, that they tacitly approved his conduct. But Beishamai, what did they say? They said no, no, no. At the time we already told him that we disagree with how he is sitting in the Sukkot. Okay Now, impatient, impatient.

15:11
This is referring to someone who's impatient with time, impatient with the slow progress of his success, someone who pushes their success. I want to succeed faster. We all know anybody who's accomplished anything in their life knows that success takes a lot of time. It takes time. Nobody becomes successful in life overnight. Correct, right, gary? Teach us. It takes a lot of time, a lot of patience. You try to push success. Success pushes you away. So if someone overexerts and overextends himself in an effort to succeed more quickly, they're going to come out empty handed. He will encounter setbacks and will not succeed. This is our commentaries. Teach us that we have to be very, very careful. Don't try to push success. It's going to come at the right time. You have to let things ride. You have to let things get to their successful moment at the right time. So whoever tries to hurry the pace of things and of success will eventually encounter a favorable time and succeed. Someone who does not try to hurry the pace will eventually succeed.

16:31
And that's why I always tell people, young people who are you know I quote me a lot in the community they need a job, they need you know, so they send me their resume and they're you know. I try to forward it to people who would be a good match, hopefully, for them. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes I'm not, but I find many of these young guys are looking for the get rich quick scheme. They're looking for like what's the next thing that's going to make me a lot of money? And I always try to explain to them very briefly. They didn't come to me for advice, they came to me to help find them a job. I always try to tell them take something that you're good at, that you enjoy doing, and just become the best in the world at it.

17:13
I have a very dear friend of mine. I'm not going to mention what he did for a living, but he came to Houston with a backpack and about $34 in his pocket and had absolutely no experience, had no abilities in the field that he eventually became very, very successful in. Someone took him in and showed him a trade and he eventually opened up his own company and you know it struggled for many, many years but slowly but surely, slowly but surely built up a very, very, very successful business. I remember I would be coming to his office. They would have the marker of how many sales, how much sales they did that month. And the beginning, when we started, it was a hundred thousand a month, under 50 000. By the time, you know, probably 10 years later, it was at 450 to 500 a month. Okay, in sales and that's a huge, huge, huge revenue for that company. Tremendous profits, profits. Eventually he sold the company many, many, many millions of dollars and I always tell people, take an example from that individual.

18:27
He didn't try when he reached a difficult point ooh, let me shift my business and go to something different and now try to become the professional in a different area. Or let me shift my business and go to something different and now try to become the professional in a different area. Or let me people get very impatient and don't let the success ride out, don't push success. It takes time. Be the best in your industry and I believe he was the best in his industry. You know it doesn't make a difference what industry you are, go excel in your industry. You know it doesn't make a difference what industry you are, go excel in your industry, be the absolute best. And guess what? At the end of the day, success doesn't come from our good looks anyway. Success comes from the will of Hashem. But here we see a key in the Talmud Let the success come. The success will come, but let it come. You can't squeeze success out of the sponge. You got to let it come at its own pace, at its own time. So we're going to continue now. The Talmud says.

19:28
The rabbis taught in the Breisa, toner Rabboni, for two and a half years. The House of Shammai and the House of Hillel debated the following question. These would say that it would be more pleasant for a person not to have been created than having been created, because the allure of sin is so difficult to withstand. V'halalu omrim, no'achlo lo'odam sh'nivra, yoser mish'lo nivra. Whereas these would say it is more pleasant for a person to have been created than not be created, for he now has the opportunity to perform God's will. Let me ask you, is it better for man to be created and fail and face challenge, or is it better for someone to be created and face the challenge but hopefully excel and overcome those challenges? And this was an argument of two and a half years between the House of Shammah and the House of Hillel.

20:43
One opinion was why are we put into this challenge? We come into this world against our will. We're forced into things that perhaps we're not going to succeed in. Maybe it's just best that we shouldn't have been created. Then the other opinion is like, looking at it a very positive way, no, you have an opportunity, an opportunity to succeed, and, totally, almost disregarding that, we have a temptation of our Yetzirah, that we have challenges that will come our way due to this nemesis of ours known as the evil inclination. So, just by the way, there's a reason why we are learning this, gemara, and I mentioned this three weeks ago. It took us three weeks to get to this piece here, but if you remember, three weeks ago I told you that we're going to be learning this because of the morning blessings that we're learning about in our prayer podcast. In our prayer podcast, we were talking about three blessings, three very, very crucial, important blessings that are said in the negative.

21:58
Shalom HaSanigoi, that you didn't make me a Gentile, that you didn't make me a servant and you didn't make me a woman. And the obvious question is why is it in the negative? You should just say thank you for making me a Jew, thank you for making me a free man, not a slave right, obviously right. A free man is not a slave and thank you for making me a man. Why does it say it in the negative? Great question Our sages tell us this Talmud is the Talmud that sources, is the source of why the men of the Great Assembly made it specifically in that terminology, and we'll see in a second.

22:40
Finally, they took a vote and the matter was concluded At the end. They concluded, they took a vote and the vote concluded that it is better that men not have been created and not have all the challenges than having been created Achshav Shnevra, yefash Beish B'masov. But now that he was created, what should he do? He should search his deeds to discover what sins he has committed, so that he can repent. He will therefore thereby make God sorry. He will therefore make good use of his life. He will therefore make good use of his life, meaning what our sages will tell us is really, it's too big of a challenge for most people to handle To be created and then to fail.

23:39
And if you look at the world, how many people reach perfection? Very few. How many people are wasting their time Most? How many people are wasting their life with futile pursuits Most? So which opinion is correct that it's better for us to be created or better not be created? Maybe it's better for people not to be created if they're not going to maximize life, but we see here that, even though they voted and the opinion was confirmed, it's better for us not to be created.

24:22
But you know what? That's not what god did. God actually created us and he gave us a very lofty soul, and that soul has unbelievable potential and unbelievable capabilities. Okay, so now we were created, god did put us in this world. But now what do we do? What do we do now? Now we have to look at our actions. We have to look at our deeds and find a way to perfect them. You made a mistake, fix them. You sinned, repent. You did something wrong. There's always a way, there's always a path to correct and to reconcile things. There's another version that they say that let him examine his deeds, not let him search his deeds, that let him examine his deeds. Not let him search his deeds, but let him examine his deeds. Let him carefully consider what deeds he will do in the future. So one is on the past and one is on the future, meaning both of those opinions are mentioned, meaning both of those should be done.

25:32
Every person, the halacha, says that when we go to sleep in the evening, before we go to bed, before we close our eyes and go to sleep, we recite the Shema. In fact there's two times. We're obligated twice daily by the Torah to recite the Shema. Our sages added two more times of Shema. We're going to learn this in a few more weeks in our prayer podcast. We're going to learn this in a few more weeks in our prayer podcast. We're going to talk about the secret Shema, which is recited before the morning prayer. Then we have during the morning prayer. We have in the evening Arvit. In the Mariv prayer we have another Shema and then we have bedtime Shema, and the bedtime Shema is a takana. And the bedtime Shema is a takana, a decree of our sages that we utilize our bedtime to reflect on our day.

26:23
How was your day yesterday Meaning the day that just passed. You're going to sleep now. Was I pleasant to those around me? Was I nice? Was I respectful? Did I get angry? Did I lose my temper? Was I pleasant to those around me? Was I nice? Was I respectful? Did I get angry? Did I lose my temper? Was I charitable? Was I jealous? Was I arrogant? Our sages tell us before you go to sleep, make an accounting of your soul. Review your day. What's the point of reviewing our day? Well, when you start noticing some of the challenging experiences that you had that day, set yourself a mental note. Tomorrow, when this challenge comes up to me again, I'm going to act differently. I'm going to respond differently. I'm going to be more responsible for my actions.

27:20
Accountability is a very, very important thing in Judaism, and the Talmud here is saying look, really, according to our opinion the majority opinion it was best for us not to be created. But that's not God's opinion. God says I want you to be created and you're going to face those challenges. That's true, and you're going to have hurdles you're going to need to overcome and you know what. You're going to fail at times, but notwithstanding those failures, you have the great privilege and opportunity every single day.

27:58
Review your past and plan for the future. Look to the past. Did I make a mistake? Okay, how am I going to fix this for the future? And, by the way, part of fixing that for the future is also to ask forgiveness and seek atonement. You hurt your fellow, your spouse, your child. There's no sin in apologizing. We should apologize my child. They're going to think I'm weak. No, they're not going to think you're weak. You ask for forgiveness. You say I'm weak. No, they're not going to think you're weak. You ask for forgiveness. You say I'm sorry, I was wrong, I was agitated and I'm sorry that you were the victim to my anger.

28:50
I think it's very powerful for children to hear that and they learn to apologize when they are wrong. But what we? I think it's very powerful for children to hear that. Then they learn to apologize when they are wrong. But what we see is there is a constant challenge in life of whether or not we're going to go on the right path, and this is our struggle. It's our unique struggle as mankind. This is our struggle. What is our path? Is our path that we're just going to live life and ignore everything? Or is our life that we are going to evaluate our actions and see how do I become more God-like, how do I become more Adam, not man involved in Adama, physical pursuits, in earthly matters, but rather Adame, where I become more godly, where I emulate God and bring God consciousness into this world. This is the challenge we all face, my dear friends. It's not an easy, you know. It's better that we not be created. God put us here, but now that we're here, we have to maximize it. We have to put our efforts towards evaluating how can I become the best possible person, possible person. How can I change my trajectory and push forward a change in my life that the things that I have done?

30:26
By the way just a side note here, very easy to repent, by the way. Very easy to repent, by the way, very easy to repent. People think like, oh, I need to go to the confessional, I need to talk to the priest. No, in Judaism we do that direct mail. We talk to God directly, no intermediary, nobody has to take, nobody has to take, nobody has to hear anything, nobody needs to know anything. You talk directly to God. God, I messed up, god, I made a mistake. God, I neglected to see that you're right there in front of me. I was too caught up in my own materialistic and you know we think like, oh, god's not going to want to hear from me again. I just said that last week. He does, because God is merciful and God is loving and God is forgiving. And God is, by the the way, forgiving very differently than how human beings forgive.

31:37
We talk about this before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, how we have to take advantage of God's forgivingness abilities, where God completely erases our wrongdoings when we repent. See if I steal your parking spot. And then I come to you and I say, gary, so sorry, I did that, it was a mistake, I won't do it again. And then the next day I do the same thing again. You're like he apologized and then he just does the same thing again. You're like he apologized and then he just does the same thing again. One second In Hashem's world when you truly apologize, it's erased. It's not the second time. Well, you did that last time. There is no last time. It's gone, but with us there's still a memory. How can you do that again? You said you wouldn't, but you did.

32:41
My dear friends, it's a very, very important Talmud that we need to have this perspective, I think, at all times To realize we're not here to be here. We're not in this world to be dwellers, permanent dwellers, on this earth. You know, there's a question that's been going around. A lot is like how do we teach our children, how do we teach our children not to be jealous of their peers, peer pressure? I feel that children have this issue. When their parents have this issue, parents give it as an inheritance to their children. It's like when parents don't have a good self-confidence, the children don't. Doctor, is that correct? Oh, doctor's waving, doctor's approving. But here's the thing. So I was in some. I don't remember where I was when I said this just very recently.

33:52
I remember it was a conversation and I remember saying that my father, we grew up in Muncie and where we grew up there was a neighborhood like an exclusive neighborhood, like the really really nice houses, where we were building these magnificent mansions and we were living in a world like the Talmud says. We're living in a world like the Talmud says. We're living here to serve God. It's really best for us not to have been created because we're going to fall into these traps of materialism and we should pay attention to it. My father never liked the materialism that was around in that community.

34:33
I remember my father said one line, one line to us that changed my perspective forever on this. We were going around and we're like whoa, look at that house, oh my gosh, that has like 6,000 windows. Whoa, look at that house. It's like it was like each. It was like we were like, impressed, as children, impressionable children. My father said, yes, this is the neighborhood where people who think they will never die live. And that changed everything. It's like what? Oh my, yeah, okay, this is not our value system. Our value is not how big your house is, not how fancy your car is. Our value is we're only here temporarily, we're not going to be here forever.

35:25
There are people who think they build a house and it's oh, I'm not so happy, I'm going to rebuild it, I'm going to knock it down, build it up again. Or if the neighbor builds a bigger house than them, they have to say, oh, that was just temporarily, until and then they build a bigger house. It becomes this whole peer pressure, competition, and to our children. Our children take this in, our children see how we react to these things, and if we don't empower our children with having that perspective, I can't even tell you how many times my children said you know why don't you just get a newer car? Just get a newer car, it'd be so much nicer. I'm like for what? No, it's just nicer, you know, it's like it's not going to cost you more.

36:09
I hate that argument. You're like you know what? If someone gave you a car for free, would you not take it and drive it? I said, really, if someone gave me a BMW, a Bentley, a Bentley, someone gave me a Bentley. You think I'll drive around in a Bentley? I don't think so. But it's free, it doesn't make a difference. We have certain things we realize. Like that, I don't do that. I don't do. Why A rabbi? So a rabbi has to drive around with an older car, a 10 year old, 13, 14 year old car? No, not necessarily, not necessarily. But you see that a child needs to understand and I've said this to my children what's the problem with my car? It's perfect, it's not breaking down, thank God, driving beautifully. Oh, it'll be so much nicer, more comfortable, more advanced, greater technology. Like perfect. You know, the cars are going to stick around for sometimes longer than we will.

37:17
They invest so much in the materialistic world. I think we have to keep our focus. We have to keep our focus on why am I alive? Why did God give me life? And focus and focus ourselves onto answering that question. Why did God give me such a precious, holy, lofty soul? Why did God give me such opportunity and potential, if not for me to maximize my life and to be great, not to accumulate things that when we die, they stay here and we go? The only thing that comes with us is our good deeds, our Torah study. That's the only thing that comes with us. Our spiritual pursuits is what comes with us. So why would we invest? It's like you imagine, you know. I would say that it's comparable to a 401k. You know when do you get your 401k? When you're older than a certain age. Then you can pull it out Tax-free no, not tax Taxed, right. It depends.

38:37
Yeah, okay, but I'm not getting into the details of it. Okay on the current withdrawal, so okay. So what's the thing? Imagine I put money, a lot of money, into my 401k but it's my spiritual 401k but then, when the time comes, we have a tremendous return, tremendous return. But what's if, instead of putting money into my 401k, I put in apples, apples? Apples are temporary. Apples get spoiled. It's very valuable now, but it's not valuable in three weeks, four weeks, however long their lifespan is, depending on the pesticides they put in there. Apeal, right, I remember that. Be careful. I remember that Careful.

39:36
But the illusion that the world is living in that eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow you die. If we're just here for a temporary stint, then you're right, just go get drunk every day, do whatever you want to do. But that's not the truth. The truth is we're right, just go get drunk every day, do whatever you want to do. But that's not the truth. The truth is we're here. We have a very, very holy, lofty soul that God gives us. He wants us to accomplish things with it. He wants us to do really, really great things with our soul. God believes in us, which is why he gives us, day after day, a fresh new soul, a fresh new beginning. Every day is a new opportunity To not forget about today, to just pass time, but to make the most out of it, which is why it's such a funny thing they call it. What do they call baseball? The great American pastime? Just pastime? No. Why waste time? We've so you know.

40:48
I mentioned this a long time ago. I said the best gift to give a child when they're born is a clock. Clock that counts down the minute they're born. You click it and it starts counting down 119 years, 11 months, 29 days, and you count the hours however many hours, 23 hours and 59 seconds, 59 minutes, 59, just like, imagine it. It keeps on counting down. Then, when they finally have enough sense, when they're 12 years old and they start looking what's with that clock, it says 107 years. What is that? Well, that's how much longer you have to live. Max, in the best case scenario, that's how much time you have to live. I think that would be a great revolution. People are like you know what? I'm here for a limited amount of time. Let me maximize it. Let me bring out the best of myself. Let me bring out my greatness. We all have that embedded within us. Let's go get them. Let's have a magnificent Chavez.

42:11
My dear friends, thank you so much for joining us here and again, thank you to David and Marvin Susan David and Susan Marvin for bringing this idea to Torch that we should have a Talmud study class. Way back about eight or nine years ago the old beginning of the old Torch Center that we brought this idea. They had the idea and we brought it forward to have this Talmud lunch learned. And now, so many years later, thousands and thousands of classes that have passed, not thousands of Talmud classes, but thousands of classes that we've learned together over that friendship that started from the Thinking Talmudist series. My dear friends, have an amazing Shabbos. Thank you so much for joining us and if you're online, please like and share the video so that more people can be exposed to Torah study. And if you're listening on the podcast we love our listeners Please leave us a good feedback there as well. Thank you and Shabbat Shalom.

43:12 - Intro (Announcement)
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Balancing Truths: Shammai and Hillel on Conflict, Perseverance, and Spiritual Values (Talmudist: Eruvin 13b)