Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection

00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH, the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.

00:12 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Alright, welcome back everybody. Welcome back to the Orchos Tzadikkim -- Ways of the Righteous. We're in the Treasure for Life edition, on page 387. Day number 65. It is so great to be here with everyone.

00:27
Habitachon Hashmini, the eighth and final form of trust that is required for a man to be happy. You want to be happy. You've got to let go. You got to let go. People think, oh, when I'm in control, then I'll be happy. No, no, no, no, it's when you let go that you have happiness. But who are you letting go to? Who are you letting go and giving over the power to them? Only to the Almighty, only to the Almighty.

00:59
The eighth form is the fear that every person has is. But you see, if I don't go to that party, I'm never going to have that opportunity again. If I don't eat that food, I'm never going to have that opportunity again. If I never do that or do this or do the other thing, then I'm going to miss out. But you know what? We mentioned this previously Olam haba, the world to come.

01:34
What is the world to come? Asherboni, imus, le'en ketz, ve'en heker. The pleasure, the joy, the unbelievable, it's hard to describe it. And that's exactly what he's going to say Ve'en hape, yachol esaper, yifi olam's going to say that world can't even be described in words, can't even be described in words. To see the reward of the righteous is impossible, impossible. And there's no eating there. There's no drinking there. There's no drinking there. People aren't getting drunk there. People aren't running around, party to party, clubbing not happening there in the world to come. Oh rabbi, you lost me there. You said that in the world to come there's no food and no drink. You mean I'm not going to be able to eat my bris. You mean I'm not going to be able to eat my brisket. You mean I'm not going to be able to drink my beer. You mean I'm not going to be able to enjoy life. Oh, what's there in the world to come? There's nothing there. Lekach tzarech shetavim v'teda.

02:40
Therefore, a person needs to understand and know. It's a matter. He says look, he says that the fish doesn't know the pleasure of the bird and the bird doesn't understand the pleasure of the fish, because the offspring are opposites. What does it mean? The offspring? The opposite. Because what happens with the fish? The fish goes out of the water, he's dead. The bird goes in the water, he's dead. That means they can only live in their own place.

03:28
Kach Mishuhu ba'olam hazeh shanashamu mu'urev es baguf layu chaladas tanog anashamos. Therefore, a physical body that has a lofty, holy soul in it can never understand, can never even grasp what's going on in the world, which is all soul In the world. That's all spiritual pleasure. Ki ein lanu elotanu gaguf. We only understand the pleasures of the body, aval tanuge anishama mitanuge ma'ol yonim. But the pleasure of the soul is of the highest realm. The highest level of pleasure is the pleasure of the soul we won't be able to comprehend. Only after tremendous, tremendous thought will we be able to reach some type of understanding of soul pleasure, spiritual pleasure.

04:26
If you want to get just an example of what spiritual pleasure is, if you've ever done something which was selfless, you went out of your way to help somebody and the whole way back home you're like that was so special, that was so incredible, I was able to help them. That's a spiritual form of pleasure. Now imagine if you have that on steroids. Yeah, that's better than a steak. Yeah, that's better than your brisket smoked brisket, texas brisket Better than any bourbon or scotch. Better than any wine. It's better than your brisket smoked brisket, texas brisket, better than any bourbon or scotch, better than any wine. It's better than any physical pleasure in the world.

05:10
That feeling, oh, I saved someone's life. I jumped off the cruise liner and I saved someone who was drowning. Tell me that you'll ever want to exchange such a pleasure of saving someone's life. That's a spiritual pleasure. But when we're in heaven it's a whole new level of that. But that's just a little taste of it, a little little little taste of it.

05:41
You see an older person struggling with their groceries and you help them. I'll take it to your car, I'll help you get into your trunk. Come, I'll help you out. No one's looking, no one's going to be like, oh wow, well done. No, nobody sees anything. You feel good, ah, I helped somebody. These are small little nuggets of spiritual pleasure, but imagine a world that's filled with that pleasure. That's the currency of the world to come.

06:19
And, by the way, my definition of this, my lowly definition of this, is nothing, says the author, compared to what it really is Nothing. V'zeh machmas, top row, on page 388. V'zeh machmas, sha'anu ba'olam ha'gufim. We are in the physical world. V'alkein lo'nakir ki'im ta'anugim ha'ovdim va'poskim. The only things that we understand are fleeting pleasures in this physical world Want to know what's amazing.

06:52
So as I was telling you these examples of spiritual pleasures, everyone I saw your eyes rolling back and thinking of that one situation that you had and nodding your head saying, yeah, yeah, I remember I did something like that, I remember I had such an experience and you're able to relive that pleasure just by thinking about it. Do you relive the pleasure of eating the good foods you ate or the good drinks you drank? No, you can't relive it, but you can relive the spiritual pleasures again and again and again and again. This is what the author is telling us here. You have to understand that someone who's invested in the spiritual realm of pleasures will not enjoy the physical realm of pleasures. It's like it's micro pleasures, like you know. It's like, really, you're trying to buy me off with what? With a jelly bean, really, come on, I'm more mature than with a jelly bean. Really, come on, I'm more mature than that Jelly bean. We know our pleasure is mature as we grow. So if I tell you here, let me give you a great worldly pleasure, I'll give you a lollipop, you'll be like, really, really, that doesn't work. When someone is involved in a spiritual level, even the greatest physical pleasure doesn't talk to them because they've seen something so much greater.

08:38
If I can, for a moment, I want to share with you that my grandfather's rabbi, rabbi Rucham Levavitz of the Mir, the great Mir, the leader, the spiritual leader of the Mir Yeshiva in Poland. They used to say about him that anybody who touched the doorknob of the Yeshiva and walked through the threshold of that front door never enjoyed the pleasures of the world that we're in today, of the physical world anymore. You know why? Because he was able to imbue, he was able to impassion his students with such a strong sense of the real worldly pleasures of the world to come that the small worldly pleasures here were infinitesimally too small, too small for someone to run after After. You've seen it with such clarity, you've understand it, you've seen it. So, really, the new drapes is going to give me pleasure, right? The delicious cup of coffee that's going to give me pleasure. I'm going to run after that.

09:52
Physical pleasures you know the motorcycles and the cars and the houses and all of those great things. They're great pleasures, but when you put them on the scale of world-to-come pleasures, otherworldly pleasures, doesn't match up, doesn't speak to me, doesn't speak to me at all it's like. Imagine a king. You think he's going to take off all of his royal garments to go hang out with the boys on the street corner, all of his royal garments, to go hang out with the boys on the street corner. Can't do that because I've gotten to a level of pleasure that's so much higher.

10:38
ולפעמים יה שהמלך קותם בשנים. And even if the king is young, ותסגבר לו שתו סקתנו. And even if he's a little immature, וישחק עם הנאורים ויניח יקר המלכוס וזה. We know, if you have an immature king or, by the way, an immature prince of England who thinks that running around Hollywood is greater than royalty, that only comes from immaturity. That doesn't come from someone who is understanding, someone who is mature. Someone who is mature understands that being in the family of royalty and acting royally is far greater than running around with some actors and actresses, than running around with some actors and actresses. We all understand that if someone is introduced to the world to come pleasures the spiritual pleasures, and they start playing around with physical, worldly pleasures, here it's a little. You know it's a little. You're playing in Little League. In Major League we don't play like that. You know the only reason we run after worldly pleasures in this world, physical pleasures in this world, is because we're a little immature. We're a little immature, so that's important to you.

12:19
I remember my father he'd probably still say this if I were to ask him but I remember there was a guy in synagogue who had a car that every time he'd park the car. You know, during the week we'd go from Mincha, marif, so we would drive to Shul and as we were walking in this guy would park right in front and it was the new cars that had back then, 1987, 88, that, the first cars that had the remote, the remote control that they go, and he would play with it all the time to make sure everybody saw his toy. And my father used to call him the man with the toy, the man with the toy In a little bit of a mocking way. Why? Because what my father was trying to teach us as young children don't get caught up in the worldly pleasures, the worldly little silliness of, really, that's going to get you excited. That's what we're here for in this world. We're here for so much greater. Don't get caught up in that. We know there are many different forms of pleasures that are not eating and drinking Seeing beautiful sights, honor that people give you, or if you reunite with a child of yours that you haven't seen in a very long time, you hear good news. These are pleasures that aren't related to physical things. But if in our physical world we see that the soul rejoices from such pleasures, now you can understand a little bit of the pleasures of the world to come, that the neshama will be so fulfilled from those real pleasures. Now I want to give you a little bit of an insight here.

14:41
We know that Joseph was away from his father for many years. When he was 17 years old he was sold by his brothers and then for a long time, almost two decades, he was away from his father. And then they finally get reunited. Joseph becomes the viceroy. Jacob comes down because there's a great famine. Jacob comes down and then they reunite.

15:11
That moment, what does Jacob, the father of the Jewish people, what does he do, our sages tell us when they reunite and they embrace and hug. You know what Jacob said? He recited the Shema. You know what Jacob said? He recited the Shema Because even that level of physical pleasure in this world, he said everything's for Hashem. I don't want to eat up some of my merits of the world to come. We have to recognize that there's a greater pleasure, which is the closeness, not with my physical son. There's a much greater pleasure, and that is the closeness not with my physical son. There's a much greater pleasure, and that is the closeness with my Father in heaven.

16:02
So at that moment, when they reunited, jacob felt that he was going to forget the closeness with the Almighty. So immediately he recited the Shema what do you think? He wasn't excited to see his son after so many years. He thought he was dead all this time. And now he's embracing with his son Unbelievable joy. Imagine the emotions, all of that emotion dedicated to Hashem.

16:29
That's someone who understands real pleasure. That's someone who understands real pleasure. There's no physical pleasure in the world that can compare to these incredible things. As the prophet said, where he is in total awe of the glory of the world to come, he's marveled by it. He says Marav tuvcha asher tsofanta l'reyekha, how great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you. Ve'al ha'olam ma'bo asher hu sof kol odam yasim bitchano alo el. So now, when we're talking about trust, do you know what the trust needs to be? That we keep on investing in the ultimate reward of the world to come. We're not looking for short returns, we're looking for long term.

17:35
Someone who's a smart investor. What do they do? They don't take all of their salary and buy beer and spend it and buy toys. What they do is they save it because there'll be a time where they're going to need it more. Perhaps they might need it to buy a house later. They might need it to buy a car later. They might need it to help them with their, you know, when they're an elder person and they need to have assisted living. That money might come to good use. But someone who's short-sighted doesn't understand. They spend it all. They have nothing left. They don't put anything away. Do we want everything in this world or do we want to save something for the world to come?

18:24
King David teaches us here from this verse those who are wise, those who are righteous, save their reward for the world to come.

18:34
Those who are wise, those who are righteous, save their reward for the world to come. And there is no trust without good deeds. But after one exerts himself as much as he can, only then will he ascend to the levels of saintliness appropriate to this end, that is, he will remove love of this world from his heart and replace it with love of Hashem and devote himself to the sanctification of God's name. Sanctification of God's name. Sheyotzi avas olam azem libo v'yachnis bim komo avas haborei boruchu v'yim sor atzma al kedushas Hashem yisborach v'yishtasheh abo. And you know what he will delight in it. Find the light, find pleasure in committing yourself to the Almighty, v'yim yasekach. And if a person does so, v' yourself to the Almighty. And if a person does so and he will put his trust in Hashem, praised is such a person who trusts Hashem to act in loving kindness with him, as he did with all of his prophets and his saintly sages. And this concludes day number 65,. My dear friends, we are going to continue tomorrow with day 66.

20:08 - Intro (Announcement)
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