Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection

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

00:13 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, my dear friends. So welcome back to the Thinking Talmudist. We are on page 5A, we're at the bottom of the page. We talked for three weeks. Three weeks we talked about the incredible afflictions of love and I felt that it was like Hashem preparing me for some afflictions of love. Hopefully I can merit that. It could be afflictions of love, not afflictions of otherwise right, because there's others that clean up our account in a very serious way. So hopefully I am meritorious that it's afflictions of love.

00:49
But the Gemara now is going to talk about gifts that the Almighty has given to the Jewish people that are only acquired through suffering. So let's see, tanya, it was taught in the Breisah, rabbi Shimon ben Yochai Omer. Look at this On the day of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai's passing, which is Lagba Omer, we're learning about a Breisah that was taught by Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said Sholosh matonos, tovos, nosan haKadosh, baruch Hu Y. The Almighty said the Almighty has given us three gifts, to Israel, to the Jewish people. He gave them all through. The only way to attain them is through suffering. What are they? Torah, eretz, yisrael and Olam Haba, three things that the only way to acquire them are through suffering Torah, the land of Israel and the world to come.

02:04
What is Torah? Torah doesn't come easy. Everyone thinks like what's the big deal? I love reading, let me just read the Torah. I love reading the New York Times or the Daily News, or whatever the newspaper is I love to read. So what's the problem? I'll just read Torah. No, no, no, no. That's not what it means when it says to study Torah, to acquire Torah, to acquire means, to make it yours, to own it. We don't learn Torah or read the Torah like we read a paper. It has to be studied, it has to be paper. It has to be studied, it has to be understood, it has to be internalized. And to really acquire Torah is a lot of work and sometimes not that easy. Not that easy. In fact, more times than not, it's difficult. You got to try again and again and again and again.

03:06
Like we know the story about Rabbi Akiva also, of whom this day is a special day, whereas 24,000 students died from a plague which ended today, which is why today is considered a very, very, very holy day, a very special day. We have an episode that we talk about this in the Jewish Inspiration Podcast. I urge you all to listen to that little short episode giving us an understanding of what this day is the Torah that Rabbi Akiva acquired after the age of 40. What happened when he was 40? So our sages teach us? Oh, he saw the water dripping on a rock and it penetrated through the rock and made a hole through the rock and he said, oh, if only one drop of water that keeps on going can make a hole through a rock, then definitely the Torah, which is compared to water that drips on my heart, which is compared to a rock, it'll eventually penetrate. So it's not like Rabbi Akiva didn't try for 40 years to learn Torah. He tried, you bet he tried. But do you know what else happened? He kept on going and he kept on going and he kept on trying his best to attain Torah and he kept on trying his best to attain Torah and it didn't necessarily bear fruit. But when he saw that water dripping on the rock and penetrating, he says eventually it will, eventually it will, and we know that all the Torah, every word of Torah that we have today in this world is through Rabbi Akiva. You know that Because after his students died, there was nothing left. Nothing left. He got five new students after that and he taught each of them one of the books of the Torah and then each one taught what they learned with Rabbi Akiva to the other, and all of the Torah that we have today, all of this is from Rabbi Akiva's students. You understand what that is. That's how great of a sage Rabbi Akiva was. From what Sages say that he was an ignoramus until he was 40 years old. But you know what makes Rebbe Akiva unique? He didn't stop. Yeah, it was painful. How many times do you try to read the instructions of an Ikea assembly kit and you're like, get frustrated? I don't understand it. I don't see it. The piece doesn't fit like this Okay, finished, you know what? Done Return it. I tried, bekiva didn't give up. Bekiva didn't give up. He didn't say you know what? I guess it's just not for me.

06:03
The Torah has a power that it says Mekayyemet ha'olam. The world stands on the study of Torah. One thing that we have as a collective heritage is that every single one of our lives comes from people who dedicated themselves to the study of Torah under great duress. It wasn't always easy. It wasn't like oh we come. Our chef isn't here today, but typically we have lunch and we learn, and it's pleasant, we have air conditioning and it's.

06:43
It used to not be like that. Rabbi Shimon Bar-Hei had to hide in a cave because they were trying to kill him. What did he do? He sat and learned Torah. You understand, it's like he wasn't just like, oh okay, they always had the luxury life. No, it was difficult. It was very, very challenging to study Torah, and I know, by the way, that each of you have a very comfortable home and office that you leave to come here. Sometimes you hit traffic and you go out of your way to study Torah, and that's very commendable. It's an incredible thing, this. You understand that this is a never-ending pursuit that we can never let go of. Study of torah is difficult.

07:33
The second is eric israel. Let me ask you a question is there a single country in the world that is more technologically advanced than the state of Israel? None, bar none. There is none in the world that has produced more technology, more incredible developments and ingenuity than the state of Israel. Do you think that they can't get their act together with regard to the Ministry of Interior, the Misrad Apnim, like? Why does it have to be so bureaucratic? Why does it have to be so challenging All of the government offices in Israel. I don't know why they that's something they can't figure out. They can figure out how to make a car drive by itself and how to have chips, microchips in your phone, like the most brilliant things, but they can't figure out how to figure out Mishra Adapnim's office, right? You ever wonder that. How can they not figure that out? It's almost like it's a third world country in certain offices. How is this possible? You know why? I'll tell you why. It's not that they can't figure it out, they could.

08:45
But the Talmud already tells us Eretz Yisrael, niknet b'Yisurim In order to acquire the land of Israel. It's never going to be easy. You're going to have challenges in order to be in the land of Israel. You're going to have devastating stories, like the one we all experienced this week, where a pregnant woman a to have devastating stories like the one we all experienced this week, where a pregnant woman, a mother of three, was shot to death by terrorists. Like, why can't we just be in a normal place? Well, eretz Yisrael, niknet B'Yisurim. That's right Till the coming of Moshiach. And that's why we desire Moshiach, because you know what's going to happen when Moshiach comes. It almost seems like we're living in Messianic times now.

09:33
My grandfather used to say Moshiach is walking the streets right now. Moshiach is alive right now. I just want you to understand this. Moshiach is not something that's like, oh, someone is going to no, no, moshiach is not something that's like, oh, someone is going to no. No, moshiach is around right now.

09:49
And when we merit for Hashem to tell that Moshiach, go do your job, that's when it'll happen. And he's going to tell the Arabs in Gaza, get out. And he'll tell the Arabs in Judea and Samaria not West Bank, there is no West Bank. There's Judea and Samaria, not West Bank. There is no West Bank. There is Judea and Samaria. It's our land. It's Yehudah v'Shamron Okay, it's our land. It's not. You know what they say. You know why they call it the West Bank, because you have all the Arab lands and the West Bank is what they're trying to associate. It belongs to us. No, it does not Okay. No, it does not Okay.

10:26
Judea and Samaria is part of Israel, and I think that the peace accords if I get into politics a little bit, the Oslo Accords are a disaster, an absolute. How do you give our holy land away to terrorists. It's our land. I just don't understand it. I don't know what they were thinking. Now I do know what they were thinking. They were thinking that if it can save our people, even one Jew be saved, because of peace, you give away everything, give away the land, but don't we understand that that will never happen? These people are terrorists, they're born terrorists. So to me that's. But don't we understand that that will never happen? These people are terrorists, they're born terrorists. To me, that's what I don't understand. I know what they were thinking, but I don't really understand how they can think in such a stupid way. I really don't. It's tragic.

11:20
Pretty strong political opinions. I'm sorry, didn't mean to bring it here to wear it on my sleeve. I have a lot of beef with Arik Sharon as well. Him pulling out of Gush Katif. 10,000 Jews you're pulling out of their homes ruthlessly. To give it to who? To Hamas? Does this make sense to anybody? It didn't make sense then, it didn't then and it doesn't now.

11:49
That's right. So I don't want to make this class. People come here to learn Torah. They don't come here to hear politics, so I'm not going to mention politics anymore for the rest of this class, okay. Okay, to learn Torah. They don't come here to hear politics, so I'm not going to mention politics anymore for the rest of this class, okay. But I want you to understand that this is all part of what the Talmud is teaching us.

12:14
It's never going to just be easy. You want an easy life? Go live in Los Angeles. The weather's always perfect, right? You don't even have to be legal. I said no politics, okay. You're saying that's just facts, right, Okay. But there are places you can go. That's just peaceful. Leave me alone. I don't need to have this headache of Arabs killing me and this and that Eretz Yisrael niknet b'surim. There's nothing that can change that. To acquire the land of Israel will always be through suffering. It'll never just be easy, never, ever. That's our existence.

12:56
And the last part is what is Olam Haba? Olam Haba, you know what? If you want to get your perfect place in the world to come which, by the way, the Mishnah tells us, kol Yisrael, yesh lahem chalek lo, olam HaBa, every person has a place in the world to come. You know what that means. That means imagine a big theater and you have a reserved seat. It says over there, mark, it's reserved, it's for Mark. But you know what you have to do in order to get into that theater. You have to buy a ticket. If you don't buy the ticket, you're not getting into the theater. In this world, what we're doing is we have to go through the trials and tribulations, the challenges, in order to buy our ticket to the world to come. It's not a given that we're getting entry and you know what it's going to take in order to acquire that ticket. It's going to be challenging. You're going to, you know like.

14:05
Think about it, right, we just learned previously that we should avoid at all costs talking negatively about another person. Lashon, hara, slander. Do you know how many conversations you're going to have to leave in middle abruptly, to avoid speaking negatively and not being in an environment where people speak negatively about others? That's not going to be pleasant, that's not going to be fun. In fact, you may be ridiculed for it, you may be mocked for it, and we're like oh, there goes, eliana, she thinks she's holier than thou. You may be mocked for it. Then we're like oh, there goes Eliana. She thinks she's holier than thou, right, she doesn't want to stay there to hear our conversation where we're going to kvetch about somebody else. You understand, it's going to be unpopular. What do you mean? You can't eat with us in a non-kosher restaurant. What do you mean? You can't and people constantly are going to. We're going to be challenged. If we want our place in the world to come, it's going to come through some serious challenge. It's not always going to be easy. We're going to be tested time and again.

15:17
These are three areas that Talmud already teaches us right here Tractate Baruchot 5A. Remember this there are three things that, in order to acquire them, to attain them, it's going to take pain, no pain, no gain and a marathon. Maybe we should add that right and a marathon right. No one ever just ran 26.2 miles. It's going to take a lot of training. It's going to take a lot of training. It's going to take a lot of blood, sweat and tears, literally, literally. I can tell you, I've seen it. I was supposed to run the marathon in Jerusalem, but then COVID canceled it. I had my flights, I had everything taken care of, and then COVID broke out and everything was canceled. The whole marathon was canceled. I can tell you, training not easy.

16:13
The pain, the pain. You start with a walk for one mile and a walk for two miles, and then a jog for one and a walk for two, and then slowly you start building the resistance and you start, and you know what, and at times you're like, just like you know, maybe I just quit, and you keep on trying and sometimes the pain is so real and then you injure your knee and then you're like, because I'm an old guy, you know, you guys are all young, you spring chickens, right, you know, I'm an old guy, I got old parts here and it's not so pleasant. What this is teaching us is that anytime you want to accomplish something great, like the greatest land in the world, the greatest Torah in the world, the greatest achievement, which is Allah, it's going to take pain. Pain is not something that we want, but something we need to embrace, because pain, it's an amazing analogy.

17:19
What is the fluid that was used to light the menorah in the temple? Olive oil. And what was the olive oil? It was shemin, zayit zach. What is that? The extra virgin olive oil. What is that? That's the oil that comes out of the olive as it gets pressed Boom, the first press. You know what's really amazing? That is what we use to light the menorah. I'm sure there's finer oils. I'm sure there's something which is a little bit more delightful than the oil that's squeezed out of an olive. That's the oil I say just tell us. The Jewish people, unfortunately, were like olive oil. How do you get the goods out of the Jew? How do you get the best Jew out? You're going to have to squeeze him. When we feel pain, suddenly we unite. When we have an October 7th, suddenly that's a big squeeze of enormous olive. The Jewish people. What happens Suddenly?

18:41 - Intro (Announcement)
you have peace.

18:42 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Suddenly you have brotherhood. Suddenly you have peace. Suddenly you have brotherhood. Suddenly you have love like we never experienced before. We're different people and hopefully that remains that way.

18:57
I remember the day after September 11th. I couldn't believe that those towers were gone. I grew up in New York City and, like to us, it was like just a part of our lives Every day. You know, you walk, you see the Twin Towers. It was like you know, every time we drove by, try to see the top. It was like can you see all the way up to the 107th floor, or however many floors? It was, it's unbelievable. And it's gone. I can't believe it.

19:33
I was in South Jersey. I drove up to New York City. I said I need to see this with my own eyes. I couldn't believe it. You know what else I saw? I saw the kindest New York City ever.

19:49
It was a total different. Like people were just thinking imagine New York City, someone's not hanking at you and cutting you off. They're like stopping and saying no, no, no, please go ahead. Like what New York City am I in? Like, but you know what, it's just a matter of time. And then it changes. No, we can't let it change If that brings out the goodness in us, we have to let that goodness ride forever and reinstill it in ourselves every single time.

20:25
Every time we think of a terrible tragedy, we have to say you know what, how does that make me better? How did it make me better? Every time we think of a terrible tragedy, we have to say you know what, how does that make me better? How did it make me better? And how do I resume that way forever? We need to find things that lock in that goodness. Israel is that good, we're ready to suffer for it. You want to move to, you know, move to the.

20:53
Where was Herzl was considering that. The Jewish people, instead of moving to Israel, like what? Just move to Uganda. You know what? I guarantee you, the Jewish people can do very well in Uganda.

21:06
But there's a certain quality of the land of Israel that is unparalleled. There's a certain the ear of Israel, the ear that you breathe in Israel. It says it's, it makes you brilliant. Just, it's unbelievable. It's not like oh well, it's just a great place to be. No, no, no, no, no. You wonder why.

21:33
The most incredible medical revelations, the most amazing agricultural revelations I'm calling them revelations, not inventions, intentionally, because there is no invention. We didn't invent anything. Everything was already pre-designed by the Almighty in creation. We didn't suddenly make up earwaves so that the cell phones can function. We discovered it, it was revealed to us. Function we discovered it, it was revealed to us. But this is all you think. All of science and all of the amazing technology that comes out of Israel. They could do that if they were in Sudan. They could do that if they were in Congo, if they were living in no, in Israel. The ear of Israel is machkim. It makes you brilliant.

22:35
But you know what? With it comes challenges. With it comes challenges. We don't ask for challenges, but when they come our way, we need to embrace them. So, my dear friends, we're going to stop here.

22:51
I hope you enjoyed resuming our Talmud lunch and learn Sorry, without the lunch. Our Talmud learn as much as I did. And Hashem should bless us all. Hashem should bless us all to have good health, to have blessings, to have all of the success that we desire with mercy, with mercy. So we don't have to go through that much challenge to see that light, to understand that light, but we should be able to feel it every day of our lives. Amen, have an amazing Shabbos. Yes, right, aharon HaKoyin. Amen, have an amazing Shabbos. Yes, right, aharon HaKoyin. Right, that's very, very so. It's a very good question If we talked about no falsehood, right, because even a little bit is a full lie, right, a little lie is a full lie.

23:41
Anyway, it's still 100% lie. So then, what are we saying about Aharon HaKoyin? So, actually, the Talmud says very great question. The Talmud says that there are three times you're allowed to lie, and one of them is one of them is for peace. Right, the Talmud? Actually, you bring up a very good Talmud.

24:04
Also, the Talmud says that what do we tell the bride and groom? So one says you say, you say the bride is so beautiful. What do you tell the groom, that girl, that bride stunning, what's if she isn't? Say she's stunning. But the other says Just say it the way it is. What do you mean? You're supposed to go over there and say, hey, dude, right, that girl. I don't know what you were thinking, right, is that what you're supposed to say? I mean, what is? What do our sages tell us here? What are you supposed to say? Our sages tell us every person has beauty within them. You have to point out the beauty that they have. Focus on Kamochi. Who is she really? Yeah, it could be that she isn't so beautiful externally, but I'm sure she's beautiful internally. Focus on that.

25:17
So it's very important, this point that you say for the sake of peace, we're allowed to lie For the sake of peace. That doesn't mean that you lied to your wife when you did something wrong. Oh, for the sake of peace. That doesn't mean that you lied to your wife when you did something wrong. Oh, for the sake of peace. You know what I'm saying. A person needs to, but in a case like this, where Aaron, our high priest, was trying to bring peace between fellow man, he would do whatever he could and he would bring peace. Because that's what happens when you love peace that much and you pursue it, you don't just say, well, it's not my fight, no, no, no, go after it, seek it out. We should all be blessed to merit, to peace, shukach, thank you, thank you.

26:03
I believe that, by the way, in Jewish parenting right, one of the fundamentals and I tell this to parents all the time I say whatever you tell your children is what they'll be. Okay. Let me explain. Parents who tell their children why are you lying to me, they're reaffirming that the child is a liar. But if they say, like my father did, my children only say the truth. Right, I had no choice but to say the truth. You understand? It was like if you focus on how great your child is, they'll be great.

26:44
If you say, well, I have to be, you know, I have to be real, I'm a realist and therefore I just have to come to terms with the fact that my child is so, then you're channeling them to that little bit that you, I only believe in them a little bit, so they'll only be a little. That means we set the bar of where they're going to go to, to what heights they'll be able to attain. And I think that the key, if you don't love your children, like, just go out of your way. I was talking to somebody and telling him about this, what I was saying at the class. He says you know something I'm just realizing with my children I don't do that enough, I don't express my love to my children, I don't tell them how special they are. And we have to reaffirm our children to the feeling that we have to them. And if we have negative feelings and I've heard parents say this oh, my children, they're such a pain in the neck, my children, they're so, so annoying. I just want them to go to sleep already. You know what? Then they'll be annoying. But if you believe your children are great, they'll be great. And so we predict our own outcomes. I, literally, I'm telling you these.

28:01
I'm quoting things that I've heard parents say. I had a father say he says, oh, that son of mine a total loser. Right, you know what he probably is. You know why? Because he heard that his whole life. He heard his father saying that that he's a loser, that he's a loser, not hearing the reaffirmation of him being the super learners, you're a super incredible. Because if he would say that to his kid you know, you are an incredible kid, you're fantastic, you're smart, you're intelligent, you're a hard worker Then that's what they'll be. Oh, it should be a refuah for Tinuk ben Meirah. Thank you everybody, very, very much. Thank you, shabbat shalom.

28:45 - Intro (Announcement)
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