​​Daily Chidush​: ​HaShem Turns A Student From Suicidal To Loving Life

0:02How are you? I hope you're having a wonderful week. We want to continue our short series about Pinchas, Pinchas ben Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohen. And we want to report Pinchas did something that no one else was willing to do. No one else was able to do. Pinchas was zealous for Hashem to such an extent that he was willing to kill someone just for the purpose of sanctifying Hashem's name. So someone by the name of Zimri. is not going to desecrate Hashem's name by being with a non-Jew, Cozbi, the daughter of Tzur, and publicly, and obviously taking the law into his own hands, Pinchas kills them, and Hashem rewards him greatly, as we've mentioned several times.

1:19There's no end to the reward that Pinchas received, not only in this world, but also in the next. Another point I want to focus on today is the actual words that Hashem used when He started discussing the reward that Pinchas is going to receive. It's not just about the reward, but also why he's receiving it and how it can connect to us. Pinchas, the son of Elazar, son of Aaron the Kohen, turned back my wrath from upon the children of Israel when he zealously avenged my vengeance among them. So I did not consume the children of Israel in my vengeance. In this verse, chapter 25, in the book of Numbers, Bamidbar, verse 11, it says that Hashem stopped His action of consuming, chas v'shalom, killing the entire nation of Israel, because Pinchas zealously avenged His vengeance.

2:38But in addition to that, Hashem added a word here that seems like it may not be relevant. It seems like it may not be necessary. He says, My vengeance within them. He could have just said, "my vengeance." He could have just said, "kinati." Why is he saying "betocham"? Why is he saying "among them"? Actually, "betocham" not only means "among them," but also means "within them." It's a better translation. So, Chazal gives us a couple of things to think about and how we can apply this extraordinary verse to our lives. First and foremost, as we mentioned, one of the great lessons we learn about Pinchas is the fact that he fulfilled the mitzvah of "Hocheach tochiach et amitecha," which means "You must surely rebuke your fellow."

3:42do not come to sin, meaning do not end up making a sin because of your rebuke. If you're going to rebuke your brothers, if you're going to rebuke your sisters, if you're going to rebuke your nation, you must not come to sin. This means you cannot get to a point where you want to rebuke somebody and tell them that they're violating Shabbat, they're intermarried, they're doing this, they're doing that, but at the same time embarrass them in public. and make one of the greatest sins you could possibly make. According to the Torah, we learn from David HaMelech, King David, one of the greatest people that ever lived, the fourth pillar of Hashem's Kisei HaKavod, the fourth leg of Hashem's holy chair. David HaMelech says if someone embarrasses another in public, they have no share in the world to come. So, obviously, on one end, Hashem is telling us one of the 613 commandments, to rebuke our nation, to rebuke our brothers and sisters, to save them, we have to tell them, "Listen, if you're committing a sin, I have to let you know so you don't continue doing it, so you don't think that it's okay to drive on Shabbat, so you don't think it's okay to date a non-Jew, and so you don't think it's okay to eat in non-kosher restaurants even if it's not meat." Many people go to these non-kosher places and think that they're eating kosher.

5:06Because it's not meat, they figured, "No, I'm just eating salad at this non-kosher place." Or, "I'm just eating pizza at this non-kosher place." Or, "I'm just having a drink at this non-kosher bar." Not realizing that 99.999% of all non-kosher food, even when it's not meat, has a reason for why it's not kosher. And it's not about the money. The reason is that the ingredients in there are not kosher. published a list about a year and a half ago of different ingredients they have in non-kosher food, and anyone that eats any food, let alone kosher food, that reads this list will never want to eat non-kosher again even if they're not Jewish because the ingredients they use, especially in the Western world, are just so disgusting. But this is not what we came here to talk about. I came here to talk about the fact that we must rebuke our people by letting them know that they are sinning. Yet, at the same time, we cannot sell our souls to the devil by embarrassing these people in public. There's a certain way to do it. You have to do it privately, with manners, politeness, and care. Chazal tells us the reason why.

6:28Hashem is saying here that Pinchas avenged My vengeance among them. If you want to rebuke someone, if you want to be a zealot, you cannot consider yourself an angry person. You cannot do it out of anger, but rather it should be an act of love, not anger, because not only... Is an act of love going to remove you far away from sin? But more importantly, it'll be much more effective to the person that's listening. If you tell somebody, "Listen, my brother, my sister, I care about you. I love you. I want the best for you. But I also want you to know that the direction you're going is not the right direction," it can have a profound impact on their path. According to the Torah, by driving even once on Shabbat, whether it's to the Beit Knesset or to the mall, or to anywhere else, you're cutting yourself off from the Jewish people. You're cutting yourself off from Hashem. I could provide you verses, and I could provide you proofs. It's not a translation. It's not a chumrah (stringency). It's outright halacha. It's outright from the words of Hashem. He mentions it 12 times in the Torah and...

7:51It's not a joke. And I'm telling you this because I want to see you in Olam HaBa. I want to see you in Gan Eden one day. I don't want you to go to a bad place. I want to see you there. I want you to celebrate eternity with me, both this world and the next. And when you do something out of love, even if the person is not yet ready to accept it, they'll still have an open ear the next time you talk. But if you're yelling at them and you're insulting them, and you're one of these crazy people that pretends to be religious, that starts throwing rocks at people in the middle of the street because they're not keeping Shabbat or starts yelling or spitting at women because they're not modest or starts acting like an animal because people are not doing what they're supposed to be doing, that person doesn't realize that he is worse off than them. they'll still have an open ear the next time you talk. But if you're yelling at them and you're insulting them and you're one of these crazy people that pretends to be religious, that starts throwing rocks at people in the middle of the street because they're not keeping Shabbat, or starts yelling or spitting at women because they're not modest, or starts acting like an animal because people are not doing what they're supposed to be doing, that person doesn't realize that he is worse off than them. We're not animals. We're not psychopaths. We're a civilized nation that is called the chosen people. We are obligated as Jews to be a light to the nations. What kind of light are you if you're throwing rocks or yelling at people in the middle of the street? Yes, there's a way to rebuke people. Yes, the word "rebuke" in English sounds like an aggressive, bad word, but it doesn't need to be.

9:11What it actually means is to tell people the truth, even if it hurts a little bit. Especially if it hurts their confidence, because you're telling someone that everything they know is wrong. But there's a way to do it. Hashem is telling us the first meaning here is that if you go in for rebuke, you have to do it out of love. So even though the most aggressive thing that Pinchas could have ever done, which is to kill someone, seems like an angry act, it was actually an act of love—a love for Hashem and protecting His name and ensuring that everyone knows. Hashem is number one, even beyond our parents, our brothers, our sisters, our wives, and our husbands. He is everything and He's always number one. That's why it's the first commandment out of the ten. But aside from that is a love for the nation of Israel, because if Pinchas wouldn't have done it... Hashem said, "I would have consumed the children of Israel; I would have killed everyone." Pinchas knew where this was going. Pinchas knew the outcome of this terrible act. So, to save them, he did an act that looked like it was going to hurt them. But in reality, when Hashem publicized what he actually did, the people realized and they celebrated Pinchas' name. That's why he was the leader of the war against the Midianites in this week's parasha.

10:41But the second thing that it means, the second translation that we have from Pinchas is even more extraordinary. When Hashem is telling us that Pinchas avenged My Name, avenged My vengeance among them, He's telling us a secret. Anytime you're not getting your way or what you think is your way, you're losing money. You're having problems with shalom bayit, and your wife doesn't like you, or your husband doesn't like you anymore, or you're not getting along, or you're arguing, or the kids are not passing in school. They're not doing well in life in general. Anytime you're not getting your way or what you think is your way, you're losing money, you're having problems with shalom bayit, and your wife doesn't like you, or your husband doesn't like you anymore, or you're not getting along, or you're arguing, or the kids are not passing in school, or they're not doing well in life in general. or you don't feel well and you have a sickness, chas v'shalom. Or anything that's not going your way because you can't find your shidduch and you can't find a job, and the endless amount of problems that Am Yisrael is reporting every single second—something is not going your way. Hashem is telling you, you have to check b'tocham. The reason why

11:54There is a vengeance here. The reason why I am angry is because there is something wrong within them. Your connection with Hashem is not good. Your connection with Hashem is lacking. spoiled, you're doing something wrong. Before you start complaining to Hashem, "Why are You doing this to me?" why don't you check betocham first? Why don't you check what's inside you? Hashem gave us 613 Commandments. The sages added another seven, so we have six hundred and twenty commandments that we have to fulfill, most of which we cannot do because they are relevant to the Beit HaMikdash. Nonetheless, Hashem gave us everything that we can do. For anyone that says, "How could the sages add seven mitzvot?" I mean, as I would say, you're not allowed to add or subtract from the Torah. Where it also says in the Torah that Hashem specifically instructs the sages, instructs Am Yisrael, the leaders of Am Yisrael, to "make a fence around the Torah." But nonetheless, Hashem gave us all of these commandments and said, "If you do My will, I will do your will." In the Mishnah, Pirkei Avot, it specifically states, "If you make His will your will..."

13:19Your will, He will make your will into His. A few months ago, I had a person come to me, and people have been asking me for an update about this story. When I received this email, it felt like I was reliving my story, as I mentioned in one of my lectures, where someone came to me and said, "Listen, I..." I've lost everything I have. I became sick. I'm in pain 24 hours a day. And I've gotten to the point where I don't know what to do with myself anymore. Struggling 24 hours a day, and I don't know what to do, and then, for some reason, I clicked on a link that took me to TorahAnytime.com. I'm not an observant Jew, but I decided to maybe go seek something, go seek God, and I saw your lecture. Your lecture of your personal story is called "Hashem Took My Millions and He Gave Me Emunah Instead." I watched this shiur, and I said I...

14:33Anyone can save me; he can because he lived what I'm living. Well, anyway, as the story goes, we had a conversation, and I used this opportunity to tell this Jew that it's time for him to do teshuva. The problem is not with Hashem. The problem is not with his body. The problem is not with his business. The problem is betucho, the problem is within him. The problem is that the connection he once had with Hashem is spoiled. It's rotten. Because according to Hashem, There's no such thing that happens for a bad reason. Just like Nachum Ish Gam Zu said in the Gemara Masechet Ta'anit, page 21a, Gam Zu L'Tovah, this too is for the good, meaning that Hashem does not do anything for the bad. The sickness, the loss of money, the pain, the agony, everything cannot be for no reason. There has to be a good here, which means that everything that's happening to you, there's something good in it. Remember, Hashem has a plan, and our understanding is limited compared to His infinite wisdom. We should strive to see the hand of Hashem in every situation and recognize that it leads to ultimate good.

15:42to help him, he must make an effort to start fixing his life. He has to fix the broken relationship within him and align his will with Hashem's will. Hashem’s possibilities are endless. I mentioned the importance of Shabbat, tefillin, and observing kosher both inside and outside the home. There’s no concession for non-kosher. Fix his life. He has to fix the beit ha'um (home). He has to fix the within him. He has to start fixing this broken relationship. He has to start making Hashem's will into his will, and Hashem has no end to what He can do. I told him about Shabbat, and I told him about tefillin. I told him he has to eat kosher all the time, inside the house and outside of the house. There's no such thing as non-kosher. ... adhere to the laws of family purity. If you're not married, under no condition are you ever allowed to waste seed. All of these are basic things and, of course, there are many more. This revelation completely turned his life upside down, suddenly realizing he needed to fulfill all of these obligations. Then we began discussing it verse by verse.

17:01Keep family purity. If you're not married, you're not allowed, under any condition, to ever waste seed. All of these are basic things, and obviously, there are many more that threw his life completely upside down. All of a sudden, he's saying, "Wait a minute, you're telling me I have to do all of this? Why?" And then we went verse by verse. In the Torah, Hashem specifically states that when you don't do these things, there is a very heavy punishment. If you look at Parashat Bechukotai, Parashat Ki Tavo, Parashat Va'etchanan, and much of the rest of the Torah, Hashem specifically talks about punishment for not doing His will. At the end of the call, he tells me, "I didn't tell you this during the message, but..." Before this call, before I sent you the email, I was thinking that I can't do this anymore. I can't live in pain all the time anymore. I'm going to have to start planning to end my life. But then I said, you know what, let me just try making this one phone call and see where it takes me.

18:14Now that you've told me everything that is written in the Torah, you've explained why this is happening, you've given me a diagnosis, and even though the diagnosis is difficult to hear, it means that I have to change my life. At least, for the first time in these last couple of years of suffering and agony, I finally have a diagnosis. I finally know why it's happening. And now that I understand the reason behind it, I also know that there's a solution. And now I can't wait to wake up tomorrow. I also know that there's a solution. And now I can't wait to wake up tomorrow. People ask me all the time, "What happened to this man? What happened to him?" Well, I'm glad to tell you that I got a message from him today, just a few hours ago, that made me cry, because he sent me a message and he says, "I remember when I first reached out to you."

19:14told you that the only one who can save my life is Hashem. Obviously, he's not talking about somebody like me. I just gave him the truth. Well, my depression is gone; I am happy and no longer dwelling on my past mistakes. As you advised, I did not take the job at the restaurant working on Shabbat, as you stated. You told me that Hashem will take care of me. to those words, and out of the blue, without me even searching, an opportunity came across my way to move to Florida and work for a certain healthcare company I'm not mentioning for the purpose of privacy, in order to run a food and beverage operation in a hospital. The normal hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the weekends are off, and No working on Shabbat. I have gone through all of the interview process, and they are flying me down on Sunday to meet with the client. Also, my back pain has subsided enormously, without any medical procedures, Baruch Hashem.

20:39Thank you for changing my life. You see, my brothers and sisters, this has nothing to do with me. Nothing. If you read the Torah, you would do the same thing. If you understood what Hashem said, you'd be able to do the same thing. In the book of Mishlei, Shlomo HaMelech, the wisest man of all time, gave this exact advice. Chapter 3, verse 5 says, "Trust in Hashem (the Lord) with all of your heart, and do not rely upon your understanding." Yes, it may not make sense to you rationally why keeping Shabbat is such a big deal. You could watch my video number 50, where I delve deeper into why it's a significant matter. But, nonetheless, until you watch it... If it doesn't make sense to you why him keeping Shabbat all of a sudden healed his wounds, healed his financial situation, how could this be? Why does Hashem care so much about you eating kosher? Because Hashem specifically said also in Mishlei (Proverbs) chapter 3 verse 6: "Know Him," meaning Hashem, "in all your ways and He will direct your paths."

21:56Once you have an understanding of what Hashem is all about, what He wants from you, why He brought you into this world, you have nothing to worry about anymore. He will direct your path. He'll find you a job. He'll find you health. He'll find you a zivug. He'll find you everything. As long as you have no other gods in His presence, as it says in the book of Shemot (Exodus) chapter 20, verse 3. Meaning, not the god of money and not the false gods, and not anything else. He'll take care of everything for you. Then, in Mishlei (Proverbs) chapter 3, verse 24, it says, "If you lie down, you shall not fear; and when you lie down, your sleep shall be sweet." Meaning that once you're doing My will, once you're doing everything that I told you, you have nothing to worry about. You go lie down, you go to sleep at night, knowing that I'm doing everything for you. You have nothing to worry about. This, my friends, is just the beginning of the salvation from Hashem. And if we could learn anything from this story,

23:09if we could learn anything from all of these shiurim, if we could learn anything from one of the greatest men that ever lived, Pinchas, it's not about just fulfilling mitzvot and being a robot. It's not about just saying thank you to Hashem but not really meaning it. It's about checking ourselves on a day-to-day basis and looking inside and asking ourselves, "Am I truly righteous with Hashem? Do I really deserve what I want from Hashem and even what I'm getting?" Once you do that, then your teshuva has begun. May Hashem continue to bless you and give you true, true connection with Hashem Yitbarach and many, many more miracles. Kol Tuv. Am I truly righteous with Hashem? Do I really deserve what I want from Hashem and even what I'm getting? Once you do that, then your teshuva has begun. May Hashem continue to bless you and give you a true, true connection with Hashem Yitbarach and many, many more miracles. Kol Tuv.