Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection

00:00 - Intro (Announcement)
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe from TORCH, the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. This is the Prayer Podcast.

00:08 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, good morning everybody. Welcome back to the Prayer Podcast. Today we're going to attempt to explain the remarkable, magnificent prayer of Adon Olam, a very, very famous prayer, and we all, prior to going live here, we started singing the Adon Olam that we remember from our childhood and it is the opening prayer. We spoke last week. We spoke about Matovu. Matovu is the introduction, welcoming us into synagogue, getting it all into order. We remember there were five verses in the Matovu prayer. Today we're going to discuss the Adon Olam, which has ten verses in it.

00:48
Now, who's the author? There is a disagreement whether it was Reb Shlomo Ibn Gvirol, who lived in the 1100s, or it was Reb Haigon, who was from the earlier generation. But regardless, this is a prayer that's been instituted in our prayer book and we begin every day and end every evening with the prayer of Adonai Lama, very, very, very powerful prayer. What does it do? It emphasizes that Hashem is timeless, hashem is infinite and Hashem is omnipotent. Okay, there is nothing that Hashem lacks control of, there's nothing that outlives God, there's nothing that comes before or after God. We say Adon Olam at the end of our day, when we go to sleep, when we're in bed, there's a special prayer that we recite. We recite the Shema, but as well the Adon Olam, and that ends our day. Then we wake up in the morning and the beginning of our prayer is Adon Olam. What is Adon Olam? Adon Olam, we'll now read the Hebrew and then translate it in English, and, for those of you who are listening on the podcast will now read the Hebrew and then translate it in English. And for those of you who are listening on the podcast, there's a link to our folder in the description where you can join us with our handout.

02:17
So it's the opening prayer praising God's omnipotence and Providence, and he will be in his book eternal master of the universe, who reigned as king before any being was created At the moment. He willed everything into existence, then was his name proclaimed king and after everything has ceased to exist, the awesome one alone will continue to reign supreme. It is he who was, he who is and he who will remain forever in glorious eternity. He is one and there is no other to compare or associate with Him, without beginning and without end. Supreme power and authority is His. He is my God, my everlasting, my ever-living Redeemer, the stronghold when I am gripped with pain or distress. He is my banner and my refuge, the overflowing portion of my cup on the day I call, I entrust my spirit into his hands, both when I sleep and when I wake, and with my spirit I entrust my body as well. Hashem is with me and I will not fear.

04:30
My dear friends, let's open up our hearts and try to understand these magnificent words of Emunah, affirming our knowledge of Hashem and His mastery over all. What can we give to Hashem as Hashem's creations? What can we give to Hashem? Nothing. We can't give Hashem a chocolate bar. We can't give Him a Hanukkah present. We can't do anything for Hashem except, as our sages tell us, proclaim Him as King doing His will, as is sages tell us, proclaim him as king doing his will, as is written in the Torah.

05:10
Hashem transcribes exactly what should be done, what should not be done. We have the 248 performative actions that Hashem wants us to perform, mitzvahss and the 365 prohibitions that Hashem says. These do not do to maintain the relationship between us and Hashem and to praise Hashem. Hashem is so great, hashem is so mighty, hashem is infinite, we said. And yet Hashem involves Himself in all of our personal needs. Hashem is with me, we say. Hashem is with me.

05:56
We conclude the Adon Olam. I shall not fear Me, me, little guy. Me, in Houston, texas. Hashem cares about me. He's got a whole world to manage. Hashem Li, when we give Hashem our soul at night, me, little me. I put my soul in Hashem's hands. Hashem is with me. Hashem takes care of my every single need, my every care of my every single need, my every single distress, my every single worry. Hashem is there and Hashem hears and Hashem answers. We have a direct relationship with the master of the universe, creator of heaven and earth. No conduit, no intermediary, no agent between us and Hashem. So Adon Olam, the first phrase.

06:58
Adon Olam, hashem Olam, b'terem Kol Yetzin Yuvra, eternal master of the universe, who reigned as king before any being was created. So before creation, what was there? It was just God, king of the universe. That's it, he was, he was the king of the universe can do anything, can do everything. There is no time in front of Hashem. Hashem is master of all. By the way, the word Adon comes from the word Adonai, which is my master. We say that in every single blessing that we recite Adon Hashem is my master, adonai he's mine. A direct relationship in every blessing, a hundred times, minimum a day, we reaffirm that Hashem is a king for me, directly for me. He's my master.

07:58
Now, why do we say this in the morning? Because who was the first person to call Hashem as Adon, as my master? Abraham. Who established the morning prayer, abraham. So we begin our morning prayers, the Abrahamic prayers, with how he praised Hashem as an Adon, as a master. Abraham was the first to call Hashem as an Adon, as a master. Abraham was the first to call Hashem as Adon. We see this in Genesis, 15, verse 2. And Abraham established the morning prayers. Where do we see that? Also chapter 19, verse 27, in Genesis, where Abraham vayashkem, avroham baboker, the Talmud, tells us Abraham prayed in the morning. Oh, he prayed in the morning. From here we learn the Talmud tells us. From here we learn that we pray every morning the morning prayer of Shacharit, because Abraham taught us to do that. Isaac prayed in the afternoon. He instituted the afternoon morning prayer of Shacharit. Because Abraham taught us to do that. Isaac prayed in the afternoon. He instituted the afternoon prayer, the Mincha prayer. Jacob prayed in the evening. And if we look through Genesis, we will see the Abrahamic, the Isaac and the Jacob prayers morning, afternoon and evening.

09:24
So what's the difference between Adon and Melech? Melech is a king. What's Adon? Adon means a master. Adon has a personal relationship. You know who was called an Adon a master Joseph Joseph had a personal relationship. You know what Pharaoh was? He was a king. No personal relationship. Much easier to get a relationship and to have a relationship with the master. He works with the servants, he deals with their every need, he deals with their challenges. The king, he's way, loftier, way above Hashem, is our Adon. But we also know that ain melech b'lo'am, we are saying that at the beginning of time, God is the eternal master of the universe, who reigned as king before any beings were created.

10:23
So is Hashem a master or is Hashem a king? Why do we refer to Hashem as a king? Only Hashem is a king. He doesn't need us. He doesn't need us. You understand this, guys. We have to understand this. Hashem does not need us. Hashem wants us. Hashem desires a relationship with us. Hashem wants us. Hashem desires a relationship with us. He is Yitzir Nivra. Hashem created all beings to call him Melech, to call him king. By the way, adon Olam is the numerical value of Ein Sof, without limit, without boundary. Adon Olam, master of the universe, same numerical value as Ein Sof.

11:18
Now we also have to understand that we're in exile. We're in a world that has Hashem hidden. It's very hard to see with clarity that Hashem is king of the universe. We have so many distractions, whether it be technology, materialism, money, pleasures, urges, desires Very hard. That's why Hashem is in Adon. But it says that at the time when Hashem removes evil from this world, then Hashem will be known as a Melech to all. It'll be so clear. Everyone will be like what.

11:54
The king was, sitting right here all along. We go to the next part. At the moment that he willed everything into existence, then was his name proclaimed king, meaning, until that point nobody called him a king, because there was nothing in existence. Yet Hashem created and then the creations recognized ah, that's my creator, that's my king, that's the king of the universe. Hashem was only called a melech when he had subjects.

12:36
We hint to the verses of Sukkot de Zimra, of the verses of song, where we see Hashem Melech, hashem Molach, hashem Yimloch. Hashem was king, hashem is king and Hashem will be king forever and ever. We hint that in the Adon Olam, because we say Adon Olam, asher Molach, right, we say eternal master of the Universe, who reigned in past tense. Then we say in our verse now, then his name was proclaimed King now, at this moment and at every moment of our existence. And then we say in the next verse Hashem will be King forever and ever, every moment of our existence. And then we say in the next verse Levado yimloch norah, hashem will be king forever and ever. His greatness will be known forever.

13:33
Le'eis na'asa. What is that? When Hashem created, our sages tell us. We just mentioned this two weeks ago in our prayer podcast. We talked about the four worlds. Le'eis na'asa, our sages tell us. When Hashem created this world of asia, the world of doing, the world of getting things done, because there are three other worlds there is a world of atzilos, there is a world of bria and a world of yitzira. A world of atzilos, there is a world of bria and a world of yitzira, a world of formation, a world of creation and a world of nearness, of closeness. This is the last of those four worlds that were created. Hashem created le'is na'asa.

14:18
God made a world of doing, for us to do, not to sit around, listen to politics and pundits. Our job in this world is to do Ever wonder why a woman gets most irritated seeing her husband just sitting and doing nothing? You know why Because she knows he has a much closer relationship to God. She knows this world is doing. When you're sitting, you're not doing. Do, let's go, do, get active. Le'esna'aso, we're in a world of doing.

14:57
When we praise Hashem in each of the hundred blessings, you know what we're saying Baruch ata Hashem Elokeinu melech haolam Praised. Are you Hashem, god, melech haolam, king of the universe? You know our sages tell us that when you recite the name of Hashem, you know what you should ask yourself Le'es na'asah becheft so kol? Am I doing everything by the will of Hashem? A hundred times a day, imagine, we ask ourselves am I really living up to what God really wants? Am I really doing it in the way that God? Am I living up to my potential? God thinks I'm a 10. Am I living as a 10? Am I living I'm a? God thinks I'm a 10. Am I living as a 10? Am I living as I'm a four? I'm a good four, I'm a good seven or am I living up to the potential that Hashem put me in this world for as a 10?

16:01
And if we link this to our recently recorded Parsha podcast on Parsha's Vayeshev. We talked about how Joseph, although he faced the most challenges of all of his siblings, the Heftzokol, wherever he went he was emulating the Almighty. It says that all the years that he was away from his father, he was studying the Torah that he learned with his father. And when he finally met his father, after years of separation, they resumed their Torah study. Like nothing changed why they resumed their Torah study like nothing changed why. Because Joseph was maximization of potential. In all of the challenges that we will face, they won't be as great as Joseph's and he maintained this status wherever he was a 10 out of 10.

17:10
Ve'acharei kechlos ha'kol. And when all evil is removed, when, after everything has ceased to exist, meaning all evil is removed from this world, the awesome one alone will continue to reign supreme. Meaning we'll have so much clarity in this world we say this in our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers Of how, when everything is removed, all the distractions, all of the evil will be removed from this world. Then Hashem's presence will be clear to us all. Then, levado yimloch nora, it'll be only Hashem. We won't allow the distractions to get in our way. It'll be clear that only Hashem is king and has true power. That is supreme Levado, no confusion, no doubts.

18:04
And it doesn't say not close, but rather as Yisrael, as the Jewish people, we will never be eradicated. We will never be exterminated and extinct. You hear this we will never be extinct. God will never allow the Jewish people to be removed from the face of the earth. The nations and the haters of the Jews who want to remove us from the planet will never, ever be successful, never. But evil will. Evil will be removed from this world.

18:45
And this is what we pray in our Elenu, in the end of our prayer that all the evil will be removed from this world and that will allow for Hashem's glory to shine for all to see. Bottom line Hashem created us for a relationship, for a relationship where we will recognize and glorify His name With the barriers of confusion removed. Those barriers, we ask and we pray every morning Hashem, take him away. And the fourth verse it is he who was, he who is and he who will remain forever in glorious eternity. All of the glory of Hashem will be able to be visible when all of the evil is removed.

19:55
Hashem was, is and will be. We say this every time we say the name of Hashem, hayah hoveviyeh. Hashem was, hashem is, hashem will be, but what's the last word of that phrase? In glorious eternity, when evil is removed, it will be clear to all Hashem's beauty, Hashem's greatness, hashem's beauty, hashem's greatness, hashem's glory. That can only happen when now, in each of our lives, we are able to remove the distractions. Want to know what Shabbos is Removing of distractions, what Shabbos is Removing of distractions? There's no news, no phones, no faxes no emails, no distraction.

20:55
It's a time to bring Hashem's glory into our lives. We can feel that Hashem was the whole week challenged. Challenged ourselves. Hashem challenged the whole week challenged. Challenged ourselves. Hashem challenged us. Who hove, who hove? Hashem is right now. During the Shabbos, we feel that presence setting in. We have an elevated soul that gets infused as we recite the Nishmas, kol Chai or sages tell us that's when we get an infusion of an elevated soul on Shabbos. And then we're reminded guess what? You know you're going to have to face a big week ahead. Be encouraged, hashem will be there too. The more we're able to bring Hashem in now, we'll be able to see it later.

21:48
Ve'hu e'achad, ve'ein, she'ni, laham, shilo, lahachbirah. Hashem is one and there is no other to compare or associate with Him. We have to understand that. This is a very fundamental principle in our emunah, in our knowledge and having clarity of Hashem. Hashem doesn't have any partners. Hashem doesn't have any partners. Hashem doesn't have any associates. Hashem doesn't have anything that can possibly compare to Him. Hashem doesn't say you know what I think? I created a fine world. I'm going to leave it to my assistants. They'll handle it from here. No, hashem. Why would Hashem create such an amazing world to have a relationship with us so that now he can just check out. That doesn't make any sense.

22:41
Vehu echad, ve'ein she'ni. Hashem is one. We refer to Hashem Sh'ma Yisrael. Hashem alakeinu. Hashem is one. We refer to Hashem Shema Yisrael. Hashemu Lakenu, hashem Echad. One and only one, indivisible. The letter Yud is the only letter of the Aleph Bet that cannot be chopped in half. Avav can become two Yuds and Aleph can become Avav and two Yuds. All combinations of different letters. Yud defines Hashem. No partnership here. There's no two different forces. The Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost. No, no, we don't have any of that. It's one Hashem Hashem Echad. It's one Hashem Hashem Echad.

23:37
What do we say? There's nothing that can compare, nothing that can associate with Hashem's greatness, nothing but L'Hach Bira also comes our sages tell us from the term Chaver friend. Hashem wants a relationship with us. Hashem wants to be our. We call Hashem Yidid Nefesh A Yidid, a close, trusted friend. Close, trusted friend never betrays us. Close, trusted friend never betrays us. Close, trusted friend never gives out our secrets. When we talk to Hashem, hashem is always there for us To connect to Hashem.

24:23
We go to the sixth phrase B'li Rashis. There's no beginning without beginning. B'li, there's no beginning without beginning. And for Hashem alone is the supreme power and authority. It's Hashem's.

24:41
There's no hiding from Hashem. I just you know what. I'm going to hide in my basement and Hashem won't know where I am. Right, that can work for our children. We can play hide and seek. You can't play hide and seek from Hashem.

24:58
Hashem controls everything. There's no beginning, there's no end. There's nothing that is out of Hashem's reach. There's nothing that is out of Hashem's reach. There's nothing that is out of Hashem's purview. Oh, that's another agency of the federal government they have to deal. Oh, the drones. It's not us, it's the other agency. And everyone's pointing no, no, no, no, no. Hashem is in control of everything. Oh, I've had people tell me Rabbi, that's my boss, don't get God involved with this, okay, my boss, hr, they're the ones who are giving the recommendation. What does God have to do with this? No, no, no, you got it all wrong. Not the agency and it's not your boss, and it's not the HR and it's not the evil enemies neighboring Israel. It's all the hand of Hashem and you can run, but you can't hide. You cannot hide from the Almighty.

25:56
I was once in West Texas and I stopped at a coffee shop, some random place nobody's ever seen or heard of. I see this guy behind the counter. For some reason I had a feeling this guy behind the counter. For some reason I had a feeling this guy was a Jew. I said Shalom. And he says to me how did you know? I said, ah, you can run, but you can't hide. He says I ran to a place I figured nobody in the world will ever know that I'm Jewish here and you blew my cover. I said you can never, ever hide from God. I'm not God, don't get me wrong, but Hashem has his ways. He sent me into that coffee.

26:40
Of the thousands of coffee shops I could have walked into, hashem wanted me to walk into that one coffee shop where an Israeli who's running away from everything is trying to just blend in and hide. I don't want anyone to know where I am, I don't want anybody to know of me. And Hashem sent someone in there and says go give him a shalom, let him know that I'm still here, let him know that God sees everything Hashem is. You can always talk to Hashem.

27:14
There's no such a thing that a Jew can say me, I'm so far from Hashem. Do you know what I've done in my life? If you only knew, you'd say something different. Rabbi, rabbi, if you only knew what I've done, if you'd only know what these hands have done, what these eyes have seen, you'll know. There's no place for me next to God. And you know how we all start our day saying to that individual no, that's not true.

27:44
B'li reshesh, b'li sachlis, b'lo ha'oz val misro, without beginning and without end, supreme power and authority is his. There's no hiding from Hashem. Hashem controls everything. Hashem sees everything. You know what Hashem also has. Hashem is infinite.

28:05
Hashem is not in a rush. You see, we want to even the score. We want to exact our revenge on our enemies right away. You know why Time is of the essence. Hashem has no rush. Hashem is infinite. The right time will come. Hashem will exact His judgment.

28:34
But you know what Hashem does. More than that, hashem longs for us to return. Hashem doesn't want to punish us. Hashem doesn't want to hurt us. Hashem doesn't want to quote exact judgment with us. Hashem wants us to correct our ways. Hashem can do anything we say. Hashem owes la'amoyitayn. Hashem gives all the strength to His nation. It's not the rockets, it's not the brilliant Mossad. It's Hashem owes La'amu Yitayn. It's Hashem gives us strength. There's no beginning, no end Meaning. There's no limit to Hashem's abilities. There's nothing that is out of Hashem's control. Hashem can and will do everything in this world.

29:31
We go to the next, the seventh phrase. Hashem is my God, personal. He's my God, my ever-living Redeemer, my personal Redeemer, the stronghold when I am gripped with pain or distress, any moment of stress, of distress, of anxiety, of pain, of challenge, of uncertainty. You know who's there. Who? Eli? He's my God. The basic concept of our prayer is expressed. You know who's there. Who? A Lee? He's my God. The basic concept of our prayer is expressed right here. That Adon, that master of the universe that we spoke about before, that God, that king. You know who he is A Lee. He's my God, right here. He's with me every single day. All I need to do is open my heart, open my eyes, open my arms. He's right there. Everything that goes on in our lives is Hashem communicating to us.

30:48
All we have to do is look. He's right there, he's talking to me, he's trying to help me. You know, our name is Yisrael. Yaakov's name was changed to Yisrael. In our very name is the name of Hashem, yisrael. Hashem is in us.

31:15
The Hasidic masters tell us that we all have a. We have a piece of godliness within us. Not that Hashem is fractured into pieces and we all got a little piece of it. No, we have the spirit. Of Hashem is fractured into pieces and we all got a little piece of it. No, we have the spirit of Hashem within us. We have the ability to be godly, to be uplifted, to be great, to be awesome, to accomplish great things, to be beyond human-like capabilities. There's no limit. Hashem is always there for us.

31:54
V'hu nisi umanos li minos kosi biomikra. He is my banner and my refuge, the overflowing portion of my cup. On the day I call, no matter how low or distant we are, hashem is always there. You know, it's amazing. Everything that we experience in our life is a nes is a miracle. Everything is a miracle. Hu nisi Hashem is my miracle, hashem, my existence. We need to recognize this every day. My existence is my miracle. Hashem, my existence. We need to recognize this every day. My existence is a miracle. Just look at the human body and you'll see the miracles of every single breath that we take. And now the heart works, how the lungs work, work how our body gets diffusion, oxygen going to the extremities, keeping everything alive, keeping every cell in our body oxygenated, getting it what it needs oxygenated, getting it what it needs. Our mind, the miracle of our existence, the Hunisi. You know where that miracle comes from. It comes from the Almighty, from my Adon. It's all a miracle.

33:28
Hashem is also Manos-ly. Hashem is also my escape. I'm worried, I'm afraid. Where do I go? I run to Hashem. We see this with King David. King David is like what do I do? I don't know what to do. You know what I do. I run to Hashem. Manos-ly. He's my protector, he's my safety. Manos-ly, monosly. He's my protector, he's my safety. Monosly biyom ekra. Nobody else, no man, no angel, no power, no force can save me except for Hashem.

34:02
We put our reliance. We have this false idol in our lives called financial security. We've been pumped this our entire lives. Oh, financial security, financial security. You have financial security. You should speak to a wealth management advisor, right? Financial security, it's all a lie. What's financial security? It's that if something, god forbid, were to happen, I'll be able to take care of it. Ooh, forgot, where did Hashem go? He can't handle it.

34:38
When we're 70 years old, when we're above the working age, beyond 65 years old oh then, hashem? Hashem didn't figure out what to do with people who are in their 80s and people in their 90s. What are they going to do in retirement? Hashem couldn't figure it out. Financial security, make sure. Now.

34:58
There's nothing wrong with a person planning ahead, having a rainy day fund, having that financial security, but don't put your trust in your money. Don't put your trust in your money. Don't put your trust in your financial security. You know where we put our trust. Behu nisi umanos li minos kosi biyom ekro. Hashem is there. He's our safety. He's our safety net. You know what? I guarantee you that there have been billions and billions of people who did not have financial security when they retired. They didn't and they all lived fine. We convince ourselves that God doesn't exist and only I exist. My brilliance, my wealth, my abilities, that's what's going to protect me.

35:53
Very dangerous, but also the word manos also comes from the word nes Ve'hu nisi. Hashem is my miracle. It's also the word nisayon. Nisayon means a test. You know who tests us? Hashem tests us. We just spoke about this a minute ago in our Parsha Review podcast, the Parsha Power, on Parsha's Vayeshev. Hashem tests us.

36:25
Hashem challenges us. Why did we say it's a banner? Hashem is my banner. Because where do you put the banner? You put the banner up high. You know what Hashem does with a challenge he's elevating us. That's why the word Nisayon challenge, is the same word as Nes, which means flag. Where do you put the flag? Put it up high? Why? Because that's the result of a challenge, a challenge that the Almighty crafts perfectly tailor made for us. Hashem challenges us. A challenge that the Almighty crafts perfectly tailor-made for us. Hashem challenges us to elevate us, to lift us up. That is v'hu nisi umanosli. Hashem is our flag.

37:24
Hashem, our victory is all yours because you've tested us, you challenged us. You know what. Whatever abilities we have, are all a gift from Hashem. They're all a miracle. In a very personal way, with a personal relationship with Hashem, I give, I entrust my spirit into your hands, both when I sleep and when I awake. We go to sleep every night.

37:59
Sages tell us that our ruach, our spirit is taken by Hashem. You had a challenging day. You wake up in the morning and you're like you can't even remember. What was the problem yesterday. You know why? Because Hashem took your precious soul, cleaned it up. He put it in the dishwasher. The soul washer, cleaned it up Over the next day. Where's all the filth? Where's all the dirt? Where's all the worry? Where's all the concern? And washes it away. The concern and washes it away.

38:31
The Ruach, our sages tell us, is the lower level of the spirit. It is taken and cleansed while we sleep, it says. Our sages teach us that the heavens are over a 500-year travel from earth. And yet in a moment our soul is in heaven and in a moment it comes back fresh and clean. The moment we fall asleep, god takes our precious soul, a loving soul. God brushes it off, cleans it off. You went through a lot today, didn't you, huh? I'm going to help you out here and I'm going to cleanse that soul and help elevate that soul and give it a new spirit today, so that it can be fresh, to reestablish the relationship with the Almighty. And then the final phrase, the tenth phrase here, and with my spirit I entrust my body as well, hashem li v'lo ira. You know what a body is without a soul? Nothing. Do you know what a soul is without a body? It's godliness. So what happens when we combine the two? We take the soul.

40:06
We mentioned in one of our recent classes that for some reason, the fifth commandment of the ten commandments is misplaced. All the commentaries ask this. You see, the first five of the ten commandments are mitzvahs commands between God and man, our belief in Hashem not to have idols, keeping the Shabbos. That all makes sense between us and God. But the fifth one is honor your father and mother. That seems misplaced. That's between us and man. The second tablet, mitzvah, number six of the Ten Commandments, all the way till ten, is don't steal, don't murder, don't be jealous. Okay, that's between us and man. But why is the fifth one there? Honor your father and mother? Our sages tell us.

41:05
Because there are three partners in man the father, the mother and God. You see, the father and the mother both contribute certain aspects of the child the bones, the tissue, the eyes, the ears. Each comes from one, from the father, from the mother. Each contribute the one from the father, from the mother. Each contributes the makeup of the physical being. But what's a body without a soul? Ah, comes the third partner. Who's the third partner? God. God infuses the body with the soul. This is the miracle of our existence, the imruchi gviyasi. Guess what?

41:58
The spirit and the body need to be assembled as one, because if you walk over to someone, you know the Talmud says that when we sleep, it's a 60th of death. What happens when you walk over to a dead person, you open up their eyes. Do they see you? No, why not have eyes? But what are they lacking? They're lacking their soul. They have the eyes. Eyes aren't. What see? It's the soul. When someone is sleeping, you open their eyes, they don't see. What are they lacking? We just said God takes that soul while we sleep, cleans it up. We'll have what we need to maintain our living spirit, but the spiritual, lofty soul is nothing without a body for us.

43:00
But then the last four words are the most powerful words of our entire prayer Hashem li v'lo ira. Hashem li bilo ira. Hashem is with me, always with me. Bilo ira, I have nothing to worry, I have nothing to fear. We should repeat this a hundred times a day, a thousand times a day Hashem is with me. I have nothing to fear. How am I going to pay that bill? Hashem is with me. I have nothing to fear. How am I going to overcome this bill? Hashem is with me. I have nothing to fear. How am I going to overcome this challenge? Hashem is with me. I have nothing to fear.

43:40
Any concern a human being has can be solved with this constant reminder Hashem leave Elohi Ra, hashem is with me. With this constant reminder Hashem, leave Elohi Ra. Hashem is with me. I have nothing to worry about. We don't need to take anxiety medication. We don't need to be, you know, dealing with all of this anxious worry, this stress. We can let go of everything. Hashem will leave a low era. Hashem is with me. I have nothing to fear.

44:18
And this is what we say in the beginning of the Pesuket of Zimra Hashem birtzoncha he madata lahar eriyoz he starata ponecha yisi niva. When you hide your face, that's when I'm worried, that is worrisome. When I don't see Hashem's face with the incredible clarity as I do now. Should you conceal your face, I would be stricken with terror. That's something to be afraid of. If we don't have that clarity, this entire magnificent prayer of Adon Olam is opening up our eyes before we start our day giving us clarity. Hashem always was, always is giving us clarity. Hashem always was, always, is, always will be. He's our constant.

45:26
You think that our grandparents didn't have worries. Everything worked out. How did it work out? The same God that's here to help you was here to help them. Look at our ancestors. Look at all the pogroms. Look at all of the expulsions. Look at all of the executions. What happened? Overnight? They were thrown out of Spain Overnight. They were thrown out of France. Overnight, they were thrown out of England.

45:51
You look at this, this and we wonder oh, look at the campuses. Look at all the college campuses, the anti-Jew rhetoric. What's going on? What's going to be? We've never had anything like this. We have had a lot worse. You know the constant the Almighty Adon olam, hashem olach, same God that was king all the way back then is the same king that's right here right now, and he will ensure that we will always be safe, that we will always be taken care of, and the exact journey that we need to travel in our lifetime. Hashem will always be there with us. Hashem should bless us that every morning and evening, when we recite this Adon Olam, we're able to reaffirm and praise Hashem, his omnipotence, his providence, his guidance, his control, his power, his force, his infiniteness, his timelessness. It will be clear to us, it will be clear to the entire world and, god willing, we should merit to have that closeness with Hashem every day of our lives. Amen.

47:17 - Intro (Announcement)
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