ARROGANCE: One Of The Largest Stumbling Blocks In Serving GOD

0:00The problem is that people have a very, very big ego because of the secular knowledge they've learned, and because of the lack of Torah in their life. They're determined to be in control even though they know that they're not in control. For that, HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave us different little things to remind us that we are nothing, to remind us that we have no control. One of the things, for example, is you see as people age... The problem is that people have a very, very big ego because of the secular knowledge they've learned, and because of the lack of Torah in their life. They're determined to be in control even though they know that they're not in control. For that, HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave us different little things to remind us that we are nothing, to remind us that we have no control. One of the things, for example, is you see as people age, They start becoming more like when they were born. When you were born, you had no control over anything. You weren't even able to control your body parts. You weren't able to control your digestive cycle. And all of a sudden, something came out. You know, but you're a baby, so it's cute, and your mommy will change you, right? Now, once you're 80, it's not cute. There's nothing cute about it. But that's what happens again. With all the money that you worked for over the last 70, 80 years, you think you're powerful, but all of a sudden, ha, ha, ha, and something comes up. It's not comfortable, it's not funny, it's not nice, but it's a reality.

1:19and you have to decide, okay, I'm gonna have to walk around with a diaper as if I'm two months old. Why does HaKadosh Baruch Hu do this? To remind you that you're not in control. It's just that you didn't figure it out for the last seventy years. I'm reminding you now. Now, where do we also learn that from? It says there was a very, very big king who was the most arrogant person that lived at that time. And HaKadosh Baruch Hu sends the prophet to him, And says to him, I looked at you when I created the world, and because of you, I created the body with, meaning the holes that you have in your body, in order for you to eat something and let it exit your body. To show you that I created something beautiful, smells good, looks good, but everything that you produce is disgusting. Why? Because I know that you will get the gift from Me, HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, and then think that you got it. I gave you money, but you think you made it. I gave you a wife, but you think you got it. I gave you the king, good and control, and you think you got it. So because of your arrogance, I created a whole digestive system for you.

2:40Not just for you, him, for us too. For us too. So the more arrogant a person is, the more difficult it is for him or her to believe in free choice, to understand it, to accept it, needless to say, to accept the entire Torah. You know, when you see people that are rejecting the Torah, "No, I don't accept what this rabbi said." "No, listen, rabbi, I like everything you say except this." What, did I make this up or is that also in the Torah? "Yeah, you say it's in the Torah, but, oh, as soon as you say it's in the Torah, but, oh," you have arrogance. You have a big ego and it's going to be very difficult for you to learn anything. accept everything that you already accept on your own. It's not that you're accepting the Torah; you're accepting whatever you've arrived at on your own, and that's why the Rambam writes that a Noahide that fulfills the seven Noahide rules: he doesn't murder, he doesn't commit adultery, he doesn't engage in idol worship, and so on and so forth. But he only fulfills those Noahide laws because it makes sense to him, not because God said so. The Rambam writes that he does not even get a reward for it; he goes to Gehinnom.

3:55And he's considered one of the foolish people in the world. Why? You did all of the work and you didn't get paid for it. You're only going to get paid for it if you do it because God said so. Not because you arrived at your own conclusion that murder is bad, or because it was illegal, or because it wasn't socially acceptable. If you did it because God said so, you'll get a reward for it. If you don't, you get punished for it. If you wash your hands in the morning and you do Netilat Yadayim because God said so, Chazak U'Baruch. You get rewarded for it. But if you do it because you want to get the cobwebs out of your eyes and go to work, you don't get a mitzvah. In fact, you'll get punished for it. How come you didn't do this mitzvah? I give you a free... You're doing it anyway. Why can't you just say my name? So, the point is that what we have difficulty with is truly because of our ego. Our ego gets in the way, and it gives us the thought that we are greater than what we are, that we are in control of more than what we really are. It makes us reject the sages, it makes us reject the Torah, and needless to say, it makes us reject Hashem. The one most important rule that we learn from Parashat Noach...

5:10It says that if he's a tzaddik, why are you mentioning he's tamim? It says that he's a tzaddik, he's righteous, but he's tamim, he's complete. Isn't a tzaddik complete? What's the, why are you mentioning both? That HaKadosh Baruch Hu says this is a tzaddik, he's tamim. Chachamim tell us to be a tzaddik, you can look like a tzaddik. to be a tzaddik in the eyes of Hashem, you have to be complete. It wasn't me, complete anything Hashem says, anything the rabbis say—the righteous ones, not the Erev Rav—anything they say, you accept it blindfolded. Don't wait until you understand it, just like you don't wait until you understand how the antibiotic works before you take it. Don't wait until you agree with it. Don't wait until you like it. No, no, you accept it. Why? Tamim. I'm complete with Hashem. He says it, I do it. No, but it's the Rabbi who said it. It's the same thing. The Rabbi is always wise. He said it, it's the same thing as God said it. That's the halacha. That's what the Shulchan Aruch says. That's it. That's what God said at Mount Sinai. No, but isn't there rabbinical mitzvot and biblical mitzvot? Yes, there's rabbinical mitzvot and there's biblical mitzvot. There's a biblical mitzvah that says don't violate Shabbat. Death penalty, right?

6:33also, a biblical mitzvah: don't steal. But for stealing, you have to pay double. What about rabbinical mitzvot? You violate rabbinical mitzvot, all of them are a death penalty. All rabbinical mitzvot you violate are a death penalty in the hands of Hashem. Why? HaKadosh Baruch Hu is willing to forgive His own kavod but not the kavod of His talmidim, not the kavod of His netzigim, His representatives. Not willing to give up on kavod. That's why the Gemara says, someone that makes fun of a Talmid Chacham, there's no medicine for the hit that he's going to get. There's no medicine for it. You made a nice post making fun of a Talmid Chacham. You made a movie against a Talmid Chacham. You're making fun of Talmidei Chachamim, real Talmidei Chachamim. Not people that are making fun of the Torah or distorting it. A real Talmid Chacham. You're making fun of him. He said, "Nah, come on, who wants to listen to this guy?" The Gemara says, it promises, promises in the Mamash, words of Hashem. There is no medicine for the hit that he's going to get.

7:42what no medicine means: cancer? No. No medicine means AIDS. No. Medicine means a disease no one has even heard of. That's the type of makka. And people are surprised, "Oh wow, you're here? Wow, this guy got cancer. He was only 28 years old. I can't believe it. Why is God doing it? Why is God doing it?" Look at his Facebook account. Look how many rabbis he's making fun of. Look at all of the Talmidei Chachamim he's making fun of. What do you mean, why did he do it? Surprising to look that long. Look how much mercy Hashem had on him in 28 years. But that's the thing. So, again, bigger ego, less Torah. Smaller ego, more Torah. One of the biggest proofs that we have is the greatest that we have, that ever lived among us, Avraham Avinu, Moshe Rabbeinu, David HaMelech, All of them, what were they known for? They were known for their simple, non-existent ego. Avraham Avinu says that I am dust and ashes, nothing. Moshe Rabbeinu says, I am nothing, outright nothing.

8:53David HaMelech, Melech HaMashiach, says, "I am a worm and not a man." where you'll also have newer features, enabling you to use the app while using other applications on your phone. You'll be able to share the lectures directly from the app. You'll be able to donate online and support our kehillah and our Torah work that we're doing. And the most exciting feature is that you'll be able to actually ask questions directly on the app and get answers from the rabbis directly from the app. This is something unprecedented, and Baruch Hashem, we will be able to offer it. Thank you again for all of your support. Check it out. Make sure you have the Kosher Torah that will re-energize your neshama each and every single day. Kol tuv u'bracha v'hatzlacha.