Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection

00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
You are listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Parsha Review Podcast.

00:09 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, welcome back everybody. Welcome back on this beautiful Friday afternoon. Wonderful to be back here in Houston, to be back here at the Torch Center and to be with all of my favorite people in the world, my dear brothers and sisters here at the Torch Center. So we have some catch-up to do. Last week I was in Israel and we were not doing our regular programming. I just returned back Wednesday night and, as many of you know, it was not a trip for fun. It was a trip for other very, very important and sad events.

00:52
As many of you know, as many of you were praying and were part of the journey with my daughter and son-in-law and my wife and I and the entire family. For those of you who don't know, my grandson passed away two weeks after receiving his neshama from the Almighty. The Almighty said I want it back and took back the very precious, holy, pure neshama. And we're going to get to our parasha. We're going to do parah b'chukosa, we're going to catch up on that, but I just want to share with you what's been going on.

01:27
So, you know, there's a lot of emotions, there's a lot of thoughts, there's a lot of you know, how do we understand this? How do we process this, how do we deal with it? And let's you know, we're on a journey of growth, our classes, that's what they're dedicated to. At least, not myself. I don't feel like I have all the answers ever. I'm on a journey and part of our journey is that we need to learn, and Hashem teaches us amazing things along our journey and why Hashem chose specifically our family to be dealing with such a tragedy. I don't know. That's not my question to answer. What is is how we deal with things, not why we get thrown a curveball, but how we deal with that curveball and every challenge that we face in our lives. We have the opportunity to hit a home run, and I think that the most important part of this major life challenge that we're all experiencing as a family is to hopefully hit a home run. How do we hit a home run? So, yeah, the pain is real, the pain is raw. It's not. There's no masking it. There's nothing you can do to run away from it. So let's start by starting to understand what is life. What is life? What is life? Life? We're here and I think it's very important for us to be real about this. We are here on a mission, every single one of us sitting here around the table, those of you who are on Zoom with us thank you for being here those of you who are watching on all of the online platforms. We have to wake up to the reality that we're not going to be here forever. We are not going to, you know, live for eternity. What's definite 100% guarantee is there's going to come a time where we're all going to check out that's a guarantee 100% of humanity. Not all of humanity is going to deal with poverty. Not all of humanity is going to deal with wealth. Not all of humanity is going to deal with intelligence, and not all of humanity is going to necessarily deal with stupidity, but all of us will deal with death. So part number one is to really come to terms with the reality that we all have an end date. We all have an expiration date. So now the question really becomes what are we doing to prepare ourselves for that expiration date? What am I doing? Am I just going to let my days run out, or am I going to do whatever I can to maximize my life so that, when I expire, I at least leave with the maximum positivity, with the maximum goodness that I could have achieved. So then, how do we understand when a little, pure, innocent soul comes to this world and leaves all of us with great sadness? We're the ones who are left with the sadness. This pure, innocent, beautiful soul is sitting in the Garden of Eden, surrounded with all the other precious Jewish babies, with the Almighty, maybe even sitting on God's lap, where Hashem is taking care of him. I'm not worried. I'm not worried for a second.

05:31
You know, I went when I was in Israel. I had the privilege of going to my grandparents, to their burial site, to their graves, and to pray burial site to their graves, and to pray Both my paternal, maternal and my wife's paternal grandparents as well, and I prayed. They're all very nearby each other and I asked them all. I said your great great grandchild is there, look after him, take care of him. He's your great great grandchild. I know that the baby's in a great place.

06:26
It's us here that we are fractured, we're hurt, our heart is aching. So I want to share with you what's going on in my mind right now. I'm reminded of several stories. I want to share with you one of them. There's a story that's told I've shared this in the past there's a story that's told about I think it was the Baal Shem Tov, where one morning, cold, wintry, snowy morning, he wakes up eight of his students quickly, rushes them at the crack of dawn and he says come quickly, quickly, quickly.

07:05
I need you immediately, we need to go right away. Like what's going on? What is he doing? Why is he waking us up so early? They rush into the wagon of the Baal Shem Tov and he tells the wagon driver let's go, let's go, we have to hurry up. And he tells the wagon driver let's go, let's go, we have to hurry up. So they go and they reach the edge of their town. Like it would take a very long time for someone to walk this journey and there was this little little shack in the forest. No one would even know it was there. He says see that shack, let's go To there. To there, we have to hurry up.

07:49
They get to the shack, baal Shem Tov gets off the wagon, brings his eight students with him and they knock on the door and, sure enough, the man of the house is holding a little little eight-day-old baby. So they go to the. They're wondering. The students are like what's going on over here? How does the Baal Shem Tov even know that these people had a baby? It's not like it's you have. You know text messaging, you have emails that go out that people know that this family had a baby. There's a couple that had a baby and today was the eighth day. So now they have to give a bris. So the Baal Shem Tov says we're ready to go, let's go. They quickly make a bris on the baby. They have a little quick meal, a festive meal, and as they're about to walk out they hear a cry from the kitchen. The husband says one second. He runs to the kitchen, comes back. He says the baby died.

08:55
The Baal Shem Tov says Mazel Tov, mazel Tov, mazel Tov. And now everyone is confused. What in the world is going on here? What is going on? So the Baal Shem Tov explains to his students. He says last night I had a dream. In my dream came one of the great, great sages who had just passed away not long ago. And this great sage is so special that he helped the printing. He helped pay for the printing of the Talmud, very wealthy man. He helped pray for the printing when the printing press was and was able to. And when he came to heaven, to the heavenly courts after he passed away, they asked him. They said look, the things you've done in this lifetime was magnificent, but you had one flaw. One flaw your bris was not on the eighth day, for whatever reason. We have two options Either we put you through the cleansing process known as purgatory, or we send you back to this world and you have your bris on the eighth day, and then you come back and you have your perfect place in heaven. It's your choice. He says send me back.

10:39
And the Rosh Hash tells the Baal Shem Tov. He says that baby in that little cabin, that little baby in that shack, that's me, that's my neshama. I need you to go there with a minion. I need you to give that baby a bris so that my soul can be returned to heaven in its perfection. And that is why I said mazal tov, says the Baal Shem Tov. I said mazal tov because this was the soul getting to its perfect place.

11:19
So now there are a number of questions. Ok, so the soul of the baby we're not worried about. We know that that's in a great place, but what do the parents do wrong? What do the grandparents that they're carrying this pain? What do they do wrong? Why do they deserve to have this pain, this punishment? So let me ask you a question why do they deserve to have this pain, this punishment? So let me ask you a question If someone told you anyone that you would have the privilege of bringing the neshama, the soul of the Chavetz Chaim, to this world, and to bring the soul of the Chavetz Chaim to its perfection, would a parent say please take me.

12:10
I think most parents would say I want that privilege. Every person in their right mind would say I want that privilege that the Chavetz Chaim's little baby soul comes to this world through me and now reaches its place of perfection. I think there's not a parent in the world that would say I don't want that privilege. When a baby leaves this world which, by the way, this little baby, because it was less than 30 days old there's no funeral, there's no shiva, there's burial, there's no shiva, there's no funeral, there's no eulogy. The baby is taken.

12:57
By the way, it's a custom in Jerusalem that the halacha says you have to give a baby that's born, even if it's a day old and passes away, it needs to have a bris. It gets returned to the almighty in its perfection with a bris. The baby has a bris and the baby is given a name. And the baby is buried according to the custom of Jerusalem, and this is in other places as well. It's buried in a place that nobody knows meaning. Only the people who do the burial know. The parents do not know where the baby is taken. The parents do not know where the baby is buried, and that's part of the healing process for the parents. The parents will never know where their baby is buried. It's sort of a closure for the parents. I don't think they even either know the name that's given to the baby. I know the option of names that I know, but they don't tell the parents. Sort of a closure for the parents. Now you need to move on. Obviously it's not that easy, but what parent wouldn't want to have the soul of the Chazanish or the Chavetz Chaim or a Bishol Salanter or the Baal Shem Tov or a Bekiva, whoever it would be, that comes back for one? We don't know what that perfection was that was needed, but one thing we know that this was a very, very lofty, holy soul that came here for a very specific purpose. It fulfilled its mission and now Hashem says I want this soul back. It reached its perfection. I want it back.

14:59
You know, someone once asked my grandfather. He says how do I tell my students, how do I explain to them when sometimes people die young? He was referring to someone who was, I think, a teenager who passed away from an accident. He says how do I explain this to my students that sometimes people die young, that sometimes people don't live a long life, to their 80s, to their 90s, to their 100s. Sometimes they don't. My grandfather answered. He says the premise of the question is flawed.

15:42
The premise of the question is flawed. The premise comes with the backdrop of that everyone is supposed to live a long life. That's not true. Everyone is supposed to live a life that's fulfilled in accomplishing its mission, and for some people it's a very long 90, 100 years. And for some people it's a very long 90, 100 years and for some people it's just two weeks. For some people it's not a whole long life of accomplishing a mission. For some people they just needed that one little bris on the eighth day to fulfill its mission, and for some again, every soul, every soul, is here to fulfill a mission.

16:32
We need to remember this. This is so fundamental for us to put this in order to understand and to deal with this pain. It doesn't change. The fact that we understand doesn't mean that we don't have emotion. It's like, imagine when someone goes you pay a shiva call. You say listen, you know, thank God, they lived a long life, okay, now just move on. No, it's someone I loved, it's someone I cared for, it's someone that was my parent or grandparent or someone I was close to. And so just because we understand that they did great things and they accomplished their mission in this world doesn't mean that emotionally we're not broken. One doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the other. So just because someone doesn't live a long life doesn't mean they didn't fulfill their mission. On the contrary, it's because they fulfilled their mission that Hashem says I want that soul back.

17:35
There's a beautiful song, beautiful song by my favorite songwriter, ab Rottenberg. It's called A Jewel in a Crown, and in the song he describes how God gives every person a soul, a crown. And in this song he describes how God gives every person a soul, a jewel, and that jewel needs to be brought to its absolute perfection, that it sparkles and shines. You know, my father was a diamond dealer for many years, jeweler for over three decades, and there's a special process that they do to enhance a diamond's look. Every diamond okay, shouldn't be a shock to girls who get their brand new engagement ring and they think that it's perfect. No, diamond is perfect.

18:24
Everyone has an imperfection a little cloudy, a little color, a little this, a little that, some that are visible to the eye, some that are less visible to the eye, but every. There's no perfect diamond out there. The price that people are willing to pay is for the less imperfections. But there's a chemical treatment that is able to enhance a diamond so that it cleans up some of those imperfections, so that it cleans up some of those imperfections. Every diamond that we get, every gem that we get as an ashamah, has a slight imperfection that we come to this world with that we need to correct that. We need to bring that diamond to its perfection. Through the challenges that we have in our lives respectively, each one with their own challenge, helps bring that gem to its cleansing, to its enhancement, so that by the time we're done, we can bring back that gem to the Almighty and say, look, it's sparkling, so that God can place that gem back in his crown. That's the journey of our soul. Our soul is a gem and we're going to be faced with challenges throughout our lifetime that will test, that will obligate us, that will obligate us to bring that soul to its perfection, to bring that gem so that it sparkles, that its radiance glows. That's our job. So how do we connect this to Parshas Bechukosai Last week's Torah portion, it was a double portion. Baharshas Bechukosai last week's Torah portion, it was a double portion, bahar and Bechukosai combined.

20:14
So in chapter 27 we see something really remarkable. This is right after we have all of the blessings and the curses, where God says if you do my will, you'll have tremendous blessings, and if curses, where God says if you do my will, you'll have tremendous blessings and if you go against my will, you'll have terrible curses. So immediately after right, we'll just do the end of it. Chapter 26, verse 46. These are the decrees and the ordinances and the teachings that Hashem gave between Himself and between the children of Israel at Mount Sinai through the hand of Moshe. Okay, now that's the end of the blessings and the cursings. Hashem says this is a guarantee, it's a cause and effect. You do good, you get good. You do no good, you get no good. That's the way this world is.

21:17
Next verse Vayidabar Hashem o Moshe Leimar. And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying as follows Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them Ish ki yafli neder Amen. If he articulates a vow regarding your valuation of souls to Hashem, he gives now the valuation of what each soul is. What are we talking about here? So these are the laws of Erechan, which is values, oaths that one may make about the value that he's donating. So imagine someone says, as a form, let's say, of asking for atonement, repentance, hashem, I'm going to give the value of my soul. That's an oath, a vow that one gives as a donation, as a donation to the temple. I may have sinned, I may have done something wrong. Hashem, I'm giving my value to the temple and there's a specific monetary value to every person, specific that the Torah goes into. You can go see over there, as in chapter 27 of Leviticus, the last portion of the book of.

22:47
Leviticus, where the Torah gives a valuation to every person. Does a person have a value? It's infinite. Well, the Torah gives a specific. When someone gives a vow, this is the exact monetary amount that is promised to the temple when someone says that. So what's really going on over here? We have the portion of the tochachot of the reprimands, where God says if you don't follow my commandments, these are the curses that will befall you, and if you do, this is the blessing that will come to you. And immediately after that we start talking about valuations of human beings. What is the juxtaposition, what is the connection between the two?

23:40
Our sages tell us something so, so, so important. You see, you may get down about yourself. Look at me. Hashem just promised that these are the blessings that comes upon someone who's righteous. These are the punishments that will come on to someone who is not righteous. And look at me, I'm a nobody. Look at me, I did all of these sins. Look at me, I have made all of these sins. Look at me, I have made all of these mistakes.

24:11
You might think that you are less valued than someone else. You might think that because of your mistakes, your value is less. Comes the Torah and immediately after giving the blessings and the curses, tells you no, that's incorrect. You have the same exact value as the person standing next to you. You think that you're less because of your background. You think that you're less because of your background. You think that you're less because of your history. You think that you're less because you know I didn't have the same privilege as someone else growing up. I didn't have the same education, I didn't have the same parents, I didn't have the same siblings, I didn't have the same circumstances. So I'm less. You are no less than the person standing right next to you. Based on age and gender was the only valuations, not how much money you had, not how wise you are Now, what you're back. Age and gender, that's it. So you found someone else who's the same age, same gender as you and you had the same exact worth. What do you mean? But this person has all of these righteous deeds and this person no, it doesn't make a difference.

25:35
In the eyes of Hashem, the potential and the value of each and every person is exactly the same. And don't beat yourself up and don't be harsh on yourself. Oh, I'm so terrible. No, you're so incredible. Look how much Hashem values you.

26:00
You know that in the time of the temple, when the actual temple service was going on, there was no difference between King David he was a king and any ordinary person. What do you mean? The valuation of the king shouldn't be more? No, it's exactly the same. In fact, there was a non-Jew who came to see what was going on in the temple and he remarked in his writings something really, really spectacular there were no niceties. That went on in the temple. Here you go first. You go first. You're the high priest. No, in the temple, everyone was equal. Everybody was equal. Now, in other places perhaps it wasn't like that, but in the house of Hashem they were all equal. In the eyes of Hashem, they were all equal, and this should be a tremendous encouragement for each and every one of us.

27:18
We have to understand that the challenge that every person faces is unique to them. Every person comes from a different background, every person has a different set of circumstances, every person has a different set of tools that are unique to them, and the challenges that you face as an individual is unique to you. Nobody in the world will ever have to endure what you endure. It's why, during this whole process of, I would say, mourning for the loss of my grandchild. So many people come and know what to say, which is nothing. Just don't say anything. There's nothing you can say. And there's some people who decide that they're going to be very, very, very wise and say all the wrong things.

28:26
I know what it's like. I also experienced that. Do you know what it's like? I also experience that. Do you know what? Something different. It's a different set of circumstances and it's or. You know. People say very interesting things. I'll tell you. I'm not going to go into specifics, but people say things like how ridiculous, yeah, I know what it's like. I lost my grandmother last week. It's different. I'm not going to go into specifics, right, but people say things like how ridiculous. You know, yeah, I know what it's like. I lost my grandmother last week. You know it's like it's different. You know, because I'll tell you why it's different. It's different because every single human being has a different construct of life experiences. So, even if you had a baby that also passed away after 15 days, your human construct is very different. The way you deal with things is maybe different. It could be worse, it could be easier, it could be that you have other circumstances that make you unique.

29:31
You know, in the house of a mourner, the halacha says that unless asked by the mourner to say something, you're not supposed to say a word. Someone once called me. He says I'm on the way to a shiva call. I'm going to a house of a mourner. What should I say? The halacha says not to say anything. Jewish law says don't say a word. If they ask you to say something, they turn to you. That's something else. Otherwise you're not allowed to say a word. You know why? Because whatever you say is going to be wrong, whatever you say. It's like.

30:16
I've been to sadly many houses where people were mourning for an elderly parent and the silliest question comes out of every person who comes in there. It says so, how old was your mother? She was 97. Like, okay, well, she's still their mother. Whether she was 27 or 97, it doesn't make a difference, she's still somebody's mother. You understand that. We say, oh, okay, so she lived 97 years. That's great. On the contrary, 97 more years of connection, of bonding, it makes it more painful. Maybe it means you don't know what the person is dealing with.

30:59
The Halacha says don't say anything, just be there. I'll tell you, my sister sadly lost a baby after a few months and she did sit shiva after 30 days Parents do sit shiva and she said that it was a little bit of a trauma because again people come and they feel like they have to say something. Not everyone knows. She said one person came there, sat next to her and cried her eyes out, didn't say a word, just sat and cried. She got up after she was done she said the phrase that's supposed to be said to comfort the mourners and left, didn't say a word. She said that gave her more comfort than all the genius things that people were trying to say and don't get me wrong, people not trying to say harmful things.

32:07
I went with my son-in-law to go meet my rabbi to get a blessing, to get me wrong people not trying to say harmful things. I went with my son-in-law to go meet my rabbi to get a blessing, to get some comfort, to get some guidance, and he took his very, very precious time and took us into his office and he spoke to us for a few minutes and, you know, gave a little direction, a little guidance On the way out of the office. One of the students again, he's a great guy. I know the guy. He came over to me. He says oh, mazel Tov, he had no idea the baby passed away. You know it's a stab in the heart. It's so painful. Did he do anything wrong? He didn't do anything wrong. He doesn't know.

32:52
Everybody wants to do good, but the Torah guides us in how to do that and we learn this from Aaron. Aaron's two sons were taken. They were future high priests. I mean, these were special guys and they were taken. What did Aaron do? Vayidom Aaron, this is a judgment from the Almighty. Just take it. We try to understand everything. Sometimes there's no understanding. Sometimes the understanding is absolute silence, just be there, take it all in. Yeah it silence. Just be there, take it all in. Yeah, it's going to be painful.

33:33
I thanked Hashem On the way to Israel. The guy sitting next to me fell asleep right away and was sleeping most of the flight. I was so happy that he fell asleep because I was crying. You know they give you like this little blanket. It was soaked with tears the entire flight. I was thankful. I said Hashem, thank you. This guy shouldn't wake up and see a crazy person crying next to him.

34:04
And there are so many things that trigger these emotions that make it not so easy. It's not so easy, but we have to remember one thing Hashem loves each and every one of us. Hashem loves each and every one of us and Hashem gives each and every one of us the challenge and the privilege to deal with challenge in a way that's unique and we have to do everything we can to embrace the challenges Hashem gives us, because it's Hashem's sign of love to each and every one of us. We just learned the past few weeks prior to this incident, we were learning the Talmud, where the Talmud talks about afflictions of love and I was laughing to myself like Hashem was preparing me for something Afflictions of love. The Talmud over there states in Brachot Tractate, brachot 5a. We learned Hashem sometimes gives us pain because he loves us. It's a very it's jarring, it's difficult for us to understand, but part of it is accepting it. It's jarring, it's difficult for us to understand, but part of it is accepting it.

35:43
We don't have words, we don't have a way to explain, and you can start with the variation of questions that people ask which hospital did you go to? Did you speak to that doctor? Did they try this procedure? Was the mother vaccinated? Did she get the COVID? Did she do this? These are all irrelevant things. These are all. Did you speak to that person, that specialist, did they do this? Did you do that? You should have gone to a different hospital. You should have tried a different doctor. You should have this, you should have that. It's all irrelevant.

36:27
Hashem has a plan for each soul and each soul fulfills its mission, hopefully. That's our goal, that's our job. That's our job. Hashem kept us in this world today, the 30th of May 2025. Each and every one of us here today. Hashem put us in this world because he said I need you to fulfill a mission today. This is not just a statement, this is a fact. Hashem has a task for each and every one of us. The fact that we're alive today is because Hashem says I have something special for you to accomplish today. This is your mission. For you to accomplish today. This is your mission. We need to really feel that responsibility that we're on a mission.

37:28
The Mishnah tells us to repent one day before we die. What does that mean? What does it mean? Repent one day before you die? That means today, because we don't know what tomorrow will bring. We don't know A tragedy can happen. We have no idea. We hope that everything is perfect. We hope that we have good health and we don't have God forbid a heart attack and we don't have an accident and we're not on a plane that crashes, and we ask for all these great things and no natural disaster that we don't have. We pray for all of that. That's why today is so important. Today is important because today is the day the Mishnah tells us make sure you repent today, because you don't know what tomorrow will bring. Not eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die.

38:24
Do mitzvahs today. Do repentance today. You know what, if you have to apologize to someone, do it today. Don't wait for tomorrow. Eh, one day. No, do it today. You need to make peace. Make that peace today.

38:40
This is our job. Our job, our responsibility, is to recognize that we're on a mission. We're not just a random selection of human beings that showed up on planet Earth to have entertainment. We're here on a mission to fulfill and to bring our soul to its perfection. And this is one of many reminders that Hashem bestows upon us throughout our lifetime to remember that life is a lot of enjoyable moments, but it's not a game, it's not a joke. Life is a serious endeavor. Hashem gives us many, many beautiful things to enjoy along the way Every sunset, every sunrise, every family.

39:41
Simcha, you know the appreciation that we need to have when someone has a baby and they say mother and baby are well, you know how many millions of miracles needed to happen for that statement to be said. Mother and baby are well, you know how many millions of miracles needed to happen, just perfectly, so that the development of the baby in utero, everything is perfect. It's an amazing miracle. We have to realize and appreciate every one of those things and hopefully, together, our full package, our full story of our lives, bring us closer to the Almighty. That's the goal, that's the mission of our lives. Bring us closer to the Almighty. That's the goal, that's the mission.

40:47
The entire objective of life is to center us and guide us to take one step closer. Everyone their own. Don't try to be like someone else. Don't try to be like your neighbor and your friend, like a relative. Be you, take your own mission in your own hands and take a stride forward. That's it, that's it To me. That's the lesson here.

41:10
The lesson is let's maximize life. Let's maximize every minute. Let's maximize life. Let's maximize every minute. Let's maximize every challenge. Say what's in it. What's in it for me?

41:23
What did Hashem? You miss your flight. It's also a lesson. What's that lesson? Let's take it. Let's not get angry at the stewardess. Let's not get angry at the cashier for not going fast enough. Let's take it.

41:36
What's the message here? Hashem is talking to me. Hashem is telling me something. What's the message? Hashem communicates very. Hashem is a good communicator. What's the message? What does Hashem want me to learn? What does Hashem want me to grow from this experience? So, my dear friends, thank you for allowing me to share my personal journey here with you. And Hashem should bless us that we don't need painful reminders, that we don't need painful experiences to wake us up. Hashem should bless us all with good health. Hashem should bless us all with success, that we don't need painful experiences to wake us up. Hashem should bless us all with good health. Hashem should bless us all with success, with happiness. We should live long, healthy lives, filled with fulfilling our mission and not getting distracted from it and not getting turned off from it, but realizing that Hashem is a very loving, caring Father in Heaven who wants our closeness, who wants us to do whatever we can to excel in every area of life.

42:52
So this concludes this little episode on Behar and Bechukosai. Thank you for allowing me to share this with you. We'll take a question and we'll continue to our pre-shavuos. Yes, yes, please, yeah, that's great, that's what to say you know, I'm sorry, accept my condolences. That's exactly what the halacha says we're required to do and we say hamakom yinachim eschem, the Almighty should comfort you, because I don't know how to comfort you, right, I don't know how to comfort you, I have no idea. The Almighty should give you the strength to comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

43:34
Because, don't forget, you know, one of the things that I did during the and I want to thank, by the way, the entire class here, you know, we all took upon ourselves to recite the Tehillim and I'll tell you, it warmed my heart Because that Shabbos, when I read those Psalms, I knew that I was doing it together with the entire class here. We all divided up all 150 chapters of Psalms together. I thought that was the most beautiful unity. It was so special and, whether you were in Southeast Houston, or in the Galleria, or Southwest Houston, or up North, or wherever, each and every one of us were, I felt that it was like a perfection of King David's book of Psalms. In honor of this little baby, I'm really, really grateful. But one of the things that we say is that the Almighty should comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem? We don't know. Only Hashem is the one who gives us the strength to deal with it. And that's the perfect thing to say. It's like I have nothing to say. I'm just with you and I bless you. That the Almighty should give you the strength and that's the yes. I'll tell you that after my sister lost her baby, someone pulled me aside. He says I hope you're not going to get upset at me for asking this Was the baby? Did the baby get all of his shots? Did he get the vaccine shots? And this was before COVID Did he get the vaccine shots? Like, maybe use the vaccine? That? Yeah, look, it really is a look. The world we're living in is an amazing world. It's an amazing world and we have to, like you said, you know, it's like there's a tremendous amount of sensitivity that is required, like you said. You know when, when your father-in-law passed away and they erased his name from the board, right, you know, sometimes, because people who you know, my grandfather, always said he said that shoemakers walk on soles. What does that mean? They have soles all over the place, so you know S-O-L-E like soles of shoes. So they step on soles. They don't realize, you know, because it's not worth anything to them. It's like this is what they do all day, you know, because it's not worth anything to them. It's like this is their, this is what they do all day. So they, they step on souls, he said. Sometimes educators step on souls to s-o-u-l-s. They step on the soul of their students. They step on. They don't realize the how important, how careful you have to be. And I think sometimes in the medical field, you know, these nurses, these doctors, they're dealing with people who are born and dying on a daily basis and sometimes they don't have that sensitivity either. So I'm not saying anything against my, you know I only have the nicest things to say about the team, even though I wasn't there. But the things I've heard, the sensitivity that they had, the way they dealt with the parents, with my wife, the grandmother who was there for all two weeks with unbelievable dedication. My wife was there almost 24 hours a day, for every single day. The baby from the moment he was born to the moment he passed away and, you know, obviously dealing with a tremendous amount of pain. Hashem should bless all of the entire family to have the healing, to have the ability to overcome and to find peace and to have comfort. But they felt that most of the doctors and nurses did have the proper sensitivity. Some didn't, my wife said. One doctor came over and said look, you're just going to have to deal with it. It's like thank you, thank you. I appreciate that. It's just interesting to hear the things. I had someone yesterday come over and said to me. He says you know, the quicker you get over it, the quicker you'll be able to. Yeah, thank you, thank you, you should get a degree in psychology, sir. Right, you have to help a lot of people, right? Honorary doctor, you'll give it to him doctor. No, yeah, so either way, look, this is the challenge that we have. Okay, so let's begin now. I appreciate it. Thank you everybody. I appreciate everyone for being here. We're going to continue this journey of our doubleheader today

47:53 - Intro (Announcement)
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