Daily Chidush: Your God is limited, but my God is unlimited

1:14Meaning that there's no such thing as Hashem leaving a righteous person abandoned, hungry for food, or his children starving and begging. It doesn't exist. It's against the rules of the nature that He created. So, how is it that you're doing everything else that He says, except the most important thing, which is to learn His Torah? And obviously, the man was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to do with himself. He said, "Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know." Yeah, you know, but do you feel it? Do you believe it? This is one of the things that we could add to the point we talked about last week, Baruch Hashem, the whole concept of ownership, of Rechushanut. We are constantly trying to acquire new things over and over again. We're trying to acquire new cars, new businesses, new assets — new, new, new. The main reason for all of that is not because we need all of this stuff. There's very little that a person needs. If you see anyone here in Jerusalem and how they live with mamash, real wealth, and everything that they need...

2:23But they don't have fancy houses or fancy cars. Some people do, but overall, you know, they live by very meager means and live modest lives. But they feel happier than ever. Why? Because they have everything that they need. So, what would you rather have? Would you rather have everything you need whenever you ask? Or would you rather chase after everything you want, but still not be happy with what you have? And this is a major problem that we have today. A major problem that we have today, and the main reason for that, is because we are constantly trying to acquire stuff for ourselves, for me, for me, because we're trying to put ourselves in a scenario where we are in control. But the reality is very different. The reality of it is that if you believe in the God of Israel, then you know that nothing is yours; nothing. There's not one thing in this world that's yours. Not even your own life is yours. You're not allowed to take your own life, chas v'shalom. You're not allowed to live your life as you want. Hashem says, El melech ne'eman, I'm the God that's reliable. When I say there's reward and punishment, then I mean it. I'm not going to change my mind. So someone who lives a life that's against Hashem will have to pay the bill, meaning that their life is not their own to live however they want. In the context of life's choices and actions, the responsibility is to align with the divine will.

3:42Someone lives a righteous life, Hashem says, "I'm going to have to pay him, because that's what I promised, that's what I wrote, and what I wrote is for eternity." So when we're constantly trying to acquire all of these things because we feel like we need them, we have to remind ourselves: do we need them or do we want them? And when we realize that we just want them, then we have to ask ourselves, for what? So I can make myself feel better that I have one more thing, but it's not mine anyway. It's like somebody that works for a company. He makes them all this money. He's very, very excited. He made them another million dollars, another million dollars, another million dollars, and he's just on a roll. At the end of the day, they give him a $50 check, like, "Thank you very much for coming to work today." What do you mean? I made all this money! Yes, it's the company's money; it's not your money. We invested in the business. we supplied you with all the things you needed to make the millions. That was your job: to acquire all of that for us, not to acquire it for yourself. This is the same concept, only here, the reward is much greater than fifty dollars, and the payment is much smaller than the millions and millions. What do you have to do? A few mitzvot, pray in the morning, pray at night, pray in the afternoon.

5:05Learn a little bit of Torah in the morning and at night. What do you really have to do? What's such a big deal? The reward is not only the ultimate reward that a lot of people have a hard time believing in. The reward is the one that you live with, knowing that everything you need is in the control of the One who gives—the One who created the heaven and the earth. That's the One that's going to provide for you. Of course, no one says that you have to live like a poor person and beg for change in a corner. But at the same token, you have to understand, if He created the Torah before He created the Jews, then obviously the purpose of the world is the Torah. Anyone can become a Jew. Even the worst person on earth, through conversion, could become a Jew. Even though the nation of Amalek, it's written in the Torah, is not allowed to convert, because of a loophole, the sons of Haman actually converted and became big tzaddikim in Bnei Brak. They converted. They're Jews. They're 100% Jews. Their path is irrelevant. Their path is something we learn from, showing how someone can change. But we don't frown upon them. In fact, it's the opposite. We look up to them because they are bnei tzaddikim. So, this is one thing that can help us just flip the switch and change our lives instantly, once we realize that everything is in His hands.

6:31And He's not limited like we try to limit Him. He's not restricted like we restrict Him. He's capable of anything and everything. And whenever we don't have, maybe we didn't pray hard enough. Or maybe the answer is simply no. He doesn't owe you anything. This is one of the other things we have to remember. We always get upset at Hashem that we don't have this and we don't have that. He doesn't owe you anything. He's the King, not you. He has it. Just because He decides not to give it to you doesn't mean it's bad, doesn't mean that you should be upset. He doesn't want to give it to you. When we realize that it's His stuff, it's easier to come to terms with that understanding that He just didn't feel like giving it to us. On the other hand, when we realize it's His stuff, it's much easier to be grateful for the things we do have, whether it's a lot or a little. And this is a lesson that, if you really apply it to your life, can help your emunah, your faith, and can enhance your maasim tovim, your good deeds. It can assist you when it comes time to learning Torah on a daily basis, whether it's 15 minutes or 15 hours. It will help you justify and rationalize it because you'll realize that by engaging in this, you are fulfilling your purpose.

7:58Regardless of what I do, He's going to reward me. But if I don't do anything, the reward is just less. If I do a lot, obviously, the reward should be applicable; it should increase. And any time I don't get it, that just means that it hasn't come time yet, or maybe the answer is no. Remember, you can never take His time away from Him. and use it to get your stuff. Not only because it's not your stuff anyway, even if you think that you acquired it, but on top of that, because the time is something that He's in control of. And if you don't use the time that He gave you the right way, chas v'shalom, He could just take it away. And when He takes that away, then there's nothing else left. B'ezrat Hashem, We could all learn a little bit from this to remind ourselves every day, every day, every day. Is it worth it to stay an extra hour at the office at eight, nine o'clock after I worked a normal day?

9:08Or should I use that extra hour to go learn some Torah, to go do some maasim tovim, to go do something that fulfills my real purpose? Because my real purpose in this world was not to come work. Sure, you need to work, you need to provide a living, you need to live a normal life. No one is telling you you have to live purely off 100% miracles. But at the same token, there's a time for everything. And the time for us now, at the end of days that we find ourselves in, is to collect mitzvot. It's a different type of work. It's harder work. But it's one that's much more fulfilling. Chazakim u'Barukhim. May Hashem bless you to have an amazing week. And with the help of Hashem, we'll talk soon. Kol Tov.