Daily Chidush: How to Pick The Right Rabbi in a world full of Fake People?

0:00Hello, Achim Yekarim, how are you? Hope you're having a great start to the week. Be'ezrat Hashem, we will do a nice chiddush today about a very common question, which is how to pick a rabbi. You know, the main issue in today's world is that we live in Alma deSheker, we live in the world of lies, where... the Talmud? Is it based on their humility, their character, or their ability to connect with others? These are important questions to consider when choosing a rabbi as your spiritual guide. A true rabbi is one who embodies the teachings of the Torah not only through their knowledge but also through their actions and middot (character traits). A very, very big achievement for anyone? Is it someone who knows verses by heart and can talk to you like a computer? How do you decide? From here we learn from the number one rabbi of all time. This is indisputable. No religion, no sect, no one could ever dispute who the number one rabbi in the world in history was because his name was Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses, our Rabbi.

1:20So why did Moshe Rabbeinu get recognized in the Torah with the highest compliment that anyone has ever received by Hashem Himself? And what was this compliment? He called him "Moshe, My servant," meaning that Moshe didn't have his own will, didn't have his own choice. His choice and his will were Hashem's will. Even when Hashem told him, "Listen, what do you think of having Betzalel as the one who's going to build the Aron HaKodesh?" Moshe said to Him, "If it's good by You, Hashem, of course it's good by me." What do you think about having Yehoshua, Yeshua bin Nun, become the next leader after you? If it's good by You, Hashem, it's good by me. Meaning that Moses did not have his own opinion. All he had was Hashem's will. And as we learn in the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot, make your will into His will, and He will make His will into your will. So what we learn from Moses is that

2:34receiving this compliment gets you to a point where it's recognizable across the world that he's the top rabbi. But what was the character trait? What was the character trait that Moses is known by everyone who's ever read a perek of Tehillim, anyone that's read the Torah, anyone that's learned a little bit of Torah, even five minutes of Torah, knows Moses was the humblest man that ever lived. As we mentioned in previous shiurim, Despite being extremely strong physically, despite being very, very rich, despite being very smart, despite being very holy, and despite being the only person that ever spoke to Hashem face to face while being completely alert and conscious. All other prophets spoke to Hashem through dreams or the like. So, despite having all of this, Moshe is known in the Torah as the humblest man that ever lived. Humbler even than a homeless person who doesn't have any reason to be humble. He was humbler than him. So, the person who had everything, had more than you, had more than me, had more than Bill Gates, had more than anyone else, is still recognized as the humblest man of all time.

4:00So why was he so humble? Because he realized that everything has one source. Whether we view it as good or bad, it has one source. And that source is called Hashem, God. Now, when someone gets to that point, the Ramban says that when someone gets to the middah, the character trait of humility, They receive it. It's the best character trait to ever have, and they receive the ultimate level of happiness. Ultimate level of happiness doesn't mean that they drive around in a van and start dancing to techno. Ultimate happiness means that they're happy when they wake up to be alive. They're happy to serve Hashem. They're happy to do anything they could possibly do. They're always happy. When there's a problem, they're happy. When there's something good, they're happy. Why? Because they are connected to Hashem. And when someone has this middah of anavah, this character trait of humility, if we go to Tehillim, we go to Psalm 25, King David is telling us something. He's telling Hashem, Hashem, I need Your truth. I need Your Torah. Lead me in Your truth and teach me because You, God, are my salvation. I want Your truth. I want the ultimate truth. I want everything. I want to connect to You.

5:24And later in Tehillim, he says, "He guides the humble in justice, and he teaches the humble His way." So, if you want to learn the truth of Torah, if you want to learn the ultimate Torah, you have to have the character trait of humility. Who did King David learn this from? Moshe Rabbeinu. So if King David learned from Moshe Rabbeinu, we have to learn from Moshe Rabbeinu. One major character trait that our rabbi needs to have is humility. If our rabbi is showing off different verses that he knows, it's fine, as long as he's telling us where the source is, and obviously, everything is thanks to Hashem. if he's telling us he's the smartest rabbi, if he's telling us he's the best one, if he's constantly complimenting himself throughout the whole shiur, then his Torah is, as the Gemara says in Masechet Eruvin, page 45, not from Shamayim. His Torah is not from Heaven.

6:38Why? Because he has pride. He's not teaching Torah because he wants everyone to have the truth like King David is asking for, is yearning for. He's showing off these different verses because he wants to show you, "Hey, I know this, and I know this, and I know this. I don't care about any of it, but I know it. I learned it like a textbook. I memorized it." Memorizing doesn't mean anything. Living it means everything. So when someone has this character trait of humility, that's already someone we know whose Torah is pure. When his Torah is pure, we can learn from him. His knowledge, if he has this humility, we know he's going to have knowledge. Why? Because that's what Hashem says. Here in Perek Tehillim in Psalm 25, it says, what does it say? He teaches the humble His way. So if he already has humility, then of course he has Torah. We don't have to worry about whether he memorizes every verse, whether he finished the Shas 50 times, whether he did this, whether he did that. We don't need to worry about any of that.

7:41Why? Because he has humility. But if he just knows verses by heart and has no humility, the Torah says the opposite. His Torah is not from heaven. His Torah is considered to'evah, it's considered disgusting to Hashem. Why? Because he has the worst character trait. He has pride. So now, on one end, we learn what we need to find in a rabbi in order to make him our rabbi. He has to have this humility because when he has humility, then we know that he's never going to provide us with his own opinion without saying it's his own opinion and not the Torah. And in reality, the more humble he is, the less of an opinion he's going to have. Why? Because he knows that the opinion of Hashem is everything. Who cares about his opinion? There's been many, many more smart, wise people before him who said they have no opinion. Whether it be the Rambam, the Ramban, Moshe, King David, King Solomon, the 12 tribes, or Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and all of the sages that we had throughout history who gave us the Gemara, the Mishnah, and the Torah. All these beautiful people. Not once did we hear them say, ah, listen,

9:03Let's listen to my opinion. Why? Because they know that the opinion of God is everything. So when he has his own opinion, he could say his opinion, he says, "This is my opinion." So now we hear, this is the character trait we need to learn from. If they have this humility, we already know this is a person we can learn from. If they don't have it, what's the risk? In the Gemara, the Oral Torah, page 6b, it is stated that if someone who knows Torah acts pridefully, one of his punishments is that his wisdom escapes him. In Masechet Sukkah, also Gemara Masechet Sukkah, page 29b, it says there are four reasons. In the Gemara, the Oral Torah, page 6b, it states that if someone knows Torah and acts pridefully, one of his punishments is that his wisdom escapes him. In Masechet Sukkah, also Gemara Masechet Sukkah, page 29b, it says there are four reasons...

10:27bring someone to a point where Hashem punishes them by taking away all of their money. And one of those four reasons is bigger than the first three. What's that reason? Pride. Tractate Ta'anit, page 8. One who is prideful brings anger to the world. The fact that he's prideful with his Torah, the fact that he's telling you, this is my opinion, I think that this is what it means. Rashi, no, Rashi lived 800 years ago, he's not relevant. Rambam, no, no, he's not relevant. He says his opinion is what matters, not the sages. That person brings anger to the world. Masechet Chagigah, Tractate Chagigah. About three people Hashem cries over each day. And the main one that Hashem cries over is someone who is a servant, who is supposed to be a servant of the public, a rabbi, who is prideful and handles the mission as such. And Tractate Sotah.

11:37It says, every man who is prideful eventually falls for Eishet Ish. What is Eishet Ish? A person that's prideful has no limitations. A person that's prideful has no God. He says that person has no fear of Hashem. He's going to fall for the worst possible sin of being with a married woman. That's what Eishet Ish is. Tractate Sotah, daf 4, amud bais. Every man who is prideful is like idol worship, made of all, and also led to all sexual crimes, and also caused the korban. At a time when it's not allowed, meaning that a person who is prideful has no limitations to his sins. Why? Because when someone really thinks they have a reason to be prideful, when the greatest rabbi, the greatest prophet, the greatest human being that ever lived is known as the humblest man of all time, and you, little person that knows a few things, are acting prideful, that means that you also have no limitations to your sins. You have no limitations to how far you can get from Hashem.

12:44Last couple of things in Masechet Sotah, page 5, it says, every man who is prideful is like the Asherah tree. The Asherah tree was the tree of idol worship that the goyim were worshipping. And just like the Asherah tree, it must be uprooted. Masechet Sotah, page 45. B says a prideful person is despised even by his own family. If you've ever noticed, prideful people don't get along with very many people. Why? Because when Hashem is disgusted by you, so are His creations. On page 88, a prideful person falls to... All of these people that say, no, no, Gehinnom is just a cleaning machine. Gehinnom doesn't exist. Gehinnom is this. Gehinnom is mentioned all over the Torah. It's very much real. And trust me when I tell you, the Holocaust is like a kindergarten game next to one second in Gehinnom. It's very much real. And the person that has this pride, especially when he's using the Torah as this tool for his pride, is in grave danger.

14:05Gehinnom is the first stop he's going to be in and maybe never get out. So this is something we need to understand. When a rabbi has this pride, his Torah is considered a to'avat Hashem. It's considered disgusting to Hashem. You're not allowed to learn from it. Not only should you not learn from him, but to learn from him is a sin. His Torah is a sin. It became a tool of sin. Instead of being a Kiddush Hashem, as it says in this week's parashah, you're either going to, in Parashat Emor, sanctify My name, or you're going to desecrate My name. Instead of it being a sanctification of Hashem's name, a Kiddush Hashem, his Torah becomes a Chilul Hashem, Hashem Yirachem. Now, students, only one thing for you. In the Gemara, Reish Lakish in Avodah Zarah says, who is this prideful person? It's the one that makes fun, that makes jokes in the middle of the Shiur Torah. He's also going to fall in Gehinnom. His source, Proverbs 21:24. Someone who likes joking in the middle of the Shiur Torah, when we're talking about serious business, we're talking about the words of Hashem.

15:30That person is also going with that prideful Rabbi rather than the one around the corner. He's going to gain from him. So, again, my dear brothers and sisters, we know what we need to do. To achieve humility takes time and effort, but to eliminate our pride is a decision that can take an instant. ...decision that can take an instant. When you realize how little you are, how insignificant you are, next to the giants that have lived before you, who themselves thought of themselves as nothing. Moshe Rabbeinu says, "V'anachnu mah" ("and we are nothing"). Avraham Avinu says, "Anochi afar va'efer" ("I am dust and ashes"). Dust and ashes. King David said, I am a worm but not a human. The giants of all generations thought of themselves as nothing, and in reward, they got everything as having the ultimate connection with Hashem. The ones who had pride, Hashem, if you see the words in the Torah, whether it's Achitofel or it's Achashverosh,

16:45or many other people that I've mentioned in the Torah that had pride, their Gehinom never ends. So on one end, we have the ultimate reward, while on the other end, we have the ultimate punishment. And if our rabbis are expected to be righteous, to be humble, that also means the students too. This is the reason why we connect to righteous people like Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi, like Rabbi Efraim Kachlon, Rabbi Alon Anava, Don't bring you their opinions; it seems like it's their opinions because they speak strongly. But the reality of it is they speak the Torah, just like David told us: "Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation." When they teach you the truth... Their pride is insignificant. This is why the most impressive, amazing thing I saw in recent past was what happened with the whole balagan with Rabbi Mizrachi several months ago. Even though he wasn't wrong with what he said and people mistook his words, he still said, "I'm sorry." Why? Because it's for the good of Am Yisrael. It's for the good of Hashem.

18:06Forget about his pride. His pride was already gone 22 years ago when he started the whole cube. You look at the Rabbi, Rav Ephraim Kuk, when I go and learn with him in Jerusalem. He has over 3,000 books in his room where he learns. It amazes me how many he has, and I notice there are a few stickers on maybe 30 or 40 of them, and... ask him, "What are these?" because, "No, no, it's nothing, it's nothing," and he refused to answer me. Eventually, he answered me. What he said was, "No, those are just the ones I haven't gone over." Do you see what I'm saying? If one of us knew three books by heart, we'd act like we know the entire Torah by heart. We think we know better than Moshe Rabbeinu, but the ones who really know Torah... They learned from Moshe Rabbeinu. They learned from King David. They learned from Avraham Avinu. And we must learn too. Pick your rabbanim very carefully and be the right talmid for the one that you choose. May Hashem continue to bless you.