Rabbi Asher Goldenberg Preparing For Yom Kippur

1:16So this is the rule: Every mitzvah that you do, every mitzvah that you do, you get a reward for it. Right? Every mitzvah, you need to get a reward for it. Even if you're the worst rasha, you can get a reward. The question is, where is your reward going to take place? So can you be worse than Hitler but still get a reward for doing a mitzvah? Yes, even if you're worse than Hitler, you still get a reward for doing a mitzvah. The thing is, there's a caveat: if you're wicked and you do aveirot, and you end up going to Gehinnom, then the reward is going to take place here instead of in the next world. So you'll get your reward, Hashem is a true judge, right? Because Hashem is completely just. So this is what you have to do. Every person wants to be good. The problem is that not everyone is used to doing the right thing. It's very hard to break out of a bad habit, right?

2:22So you're going to start working. Try as best you can to keep Shabbat, right? Or keep Rosh Hashanah. Try as best you can. What's going to happen? You'll probably fail, right? And you'll try again. The important thing is to keep striving and remember that the 10 Days of Repentance are a time for reflection and improvement. Hashem understands our efforts and desires for growth. Continue to make an effort, and embrace the opportunities these days provide for spiritual elevation. And you're probably feeling good. And eventually... So even if it doesn't work out in the 10 days, you still have so much time to really keep yourself up. You have time. See, Hashem understands. You have to be very careful. 10 days of what? Teshuva. The 10 days of teshuva are coming up. What? The 10 days of teshuva are coming up. Actually, Rosh Hashanah is coming up Friday night, Shabbos. You have the week, then you have... Please tell me Sunday is the last day. Please. Alaska, it's Friday, tomorrow. No, I'm saying the last day of Shabbat is Sunday, right? Yeah. Wait, so here it says, the issue is that people are starting to do teshuva, and people really want to do it, but they find that breaking habits is almost impossible. I've been breaking Shabbos my whole life. How am I supposed to fix that, right? My mom wants to drive, right? My mom wants to drive a road on Shabbat, go someplace, and I want to go with her.

3:31You have to try as hard as you can to say, "Mom, no, sorry. With all due respect, the problem is that they try to be respectful. They're so intent on becoming better that they throw their mom under the bus." if you are sensitive, kind, and caring in your process of doing teshuva, and you're really very sincere about it, so that people respect sincerity, people respect honesty, if you tell your mom, listen, I'm trying to make myself more religious. I'm trying to get closer to Hashem. And I really don't want to drive. I'm going to refrain from it. But what if it doesn't work out? Are you saying that even if I try, I'll still receive good if I make the effort? Like I said yesterday, if you're trying to do good, Hashem is going to open doors for you. Try. Speak to Him and say, listen, I don't want to drive. I heard the amazing things about Rosh Hashanah. It's a judgment day. You can literally set up our parnassah for the whole year. You set up all the blessings you're going to get aside. And then you're standing in a courtroom on Rosh Hashanah, deciding your year. You really value that time. So, it's a very serious thing.

4:54you explain that to your family or to whoever it is that you're close to, and you explain it to them, they'll understand. Some people, unfortunately, have relatives and parents that are very insensitive to their needs or efforts, but if you have rational, normal parents and surroundings, and you say that you're working on yourself and you want to reach a higher level, they'll likely support you. It's essential to communicate clearly with them, making sure they understand your spiritual goals. And I need your help to get me to that place. And most of the time, they'll comply. The problem is that most people are insensitive, and they make their parents negative. When you make your surroundings negative, you're just creating a more difficult process for yourself. I dislike overly sensitive people. It's the worst. Yeah, it's the worst. But Hashem understands, and... We say, we say, you have to be very careful when we say that Hashem is understanding. We have to be very careful when we say that Hashem is understanding. When we say that Hashem is understanding, we're not saying that Hashem is understanding and therefore you have a heter to do the wrong thing. No. If you're trying your best... Yeah, you understand. Exactly. That's the difference. There's understanding that my effort is valued and my intention matters, but it is not a license to intentionally do what is improper.

6:11that I tried as hard as I could, and I failed, and I'm ready to start again. And if I do teshuva on my failure, Hashem will accept it. And then there's something else. Then there's something else: Hashem is understanding, and He understands if I decide to violate what He said. That's the big difference. That's the big difference. That's the thing, that it's hard to do teshuva, because you know, if I reach a violation, then I do, I get punished for it. Yeah, but I'm tired. I promise you that if you try, you're gonna get help. You're gonna get help. So if they literally don't know anything, then it's not their fault. We say that Hashem is truthful. Hashem is not just that; Hashem is fair. He's truthful and fair. So if you don't know anything, then you're not blamed for anything. If you don't know anything, you're not blamed for anything. But if you know something, then you're blamed for that something that you know.

7:19So the more you increase your knowledge, the more you're going to be responsible for it. Sometimes people are hesitant to try to learn more because they fear the responsibility that comes with it. But being hesitant to learn more is not the right approach; the truth is that you're responsible... I'm not going to learn as much because if I don't learn as much, I won't know as much. If I don't know as much, I'm not as responsible. If I don't know as much, I'm not as responsible for as much. That's not true. If you have the ability to learn, you know enough to learn. It even goes further than that. Most people are born with some level of intelligence, meaning they're above the level of a monkey, right? They have a certain IQ, maybe around 90-something. If you have an IQ or a grade of some sort, and you possess some level of intelligence, then typically an intelligent person questions why he exists, right? I exist for some purpose. Take God out of the picture for a second. I exist for some purpose—what is that purpose? I have no idea. It's on Netflix. It's on.

8:42Oh, no, wait, wait. So, an intelligent person knows he exists for a purpose. He's going to find out that purpose, and then, and then, that's when you go to religion. Ah, so that's when you bring this understanding of our purpose. I search for what that purpose is. Inevitably, you're going to discover that the purpose is to serve. To serve, forget not Hashem, God. You're here to serve God, whatever the name of God is. This one being, I'm here to serve. A being, all-powerful. One, only one. Now that I understand I have to serve, that there's a being that I have to serve, almost everyone in the entire world knows that you have to serve God. Almost everyone. What about the other 1%? Atheists are 1%. If you challenge an atheist and you say, "Do you believe in God?" he'll say, "No, I don't believe in God." Then, if you blow up his house, take away all his kids, he'll say, "God, save me!" Right? That's what's going to happen. So there's no real, really, there's no real... And what about, like, Scientologists who, like, believe in the universe? It's not an actual being. Okay, so now let's address the next level. The next level is that almost everyone believes in God, but not everyone is willing to admit it.

9:55We also have, on top of believing in Hashem, the yetzer hara. The yetzer hara blinds us and makes us come up with all sorts of other rationalizations. But the reason why a person doesn't believe in Hashem is that he has an agenda in the back of his mind. He wants to do whatever he desires, so he finds whatever excuse he can not to believe in Hashem. So what does he do? He says, "Yeah, I don't believe in God. I believe in the universe. Or there's a force, an energy that exists, operating things." Or, he may say, "Hashem exists, but He's operating from somewhere outside of my sphere." Outside of where? Outside of my surroundings. Hashem operates the world from a distance. Right, it doesn't apply to me. The initial idol worshippers worshipped the sun or the moon as an agent of Hashem.

10:58And eventually, it ended up moving to not just the Ancient of Hashem. They actually worshipped the sun itself because the sun is powerful; it makes us grow, it gives light from thousands of miles away down here on this earth. So there are ways to fool yourself into thinking that there are other powers other than Hashem. That's why you need honesty. Yeah, there's a famous Rav Elchonon Wasserman that... that describes something called Emunah. There are two different forms. There are the middot, the character traits that a person has, and there's actual knowledge, like knowledge of the Torah. Both of those elements have to work together. Your middot and your knowledge - they both have to function in harmony. And I believe in that piece, he describes that people who are working on emunah, everyone believes. He asked a question. He asked a question. This is a very, very famous question. There's a mitzvah in the Torah that you are obligated to believe in Hashem, one of the Ten Commandments. Sorry.

12:21Believe in Hashem. How can a person be commanded to believe? Is that a good question? How can you be commanded to believe? I had this whole discussion with my family at home one time. I forget. Yeah. It's not necessarily a commandment, is it? It's a commandment. It's a mitzvah. It's a mitzvah, but it's like... It's one of the sheish mitzvos temidios. It's literally the first or second Biur Halacha of the Mishnah Berurah. There are six constant mitzvot that a person has. He has the ability to, listen to this, he has the ability to fulfill a mitzvah every single second of the day. Every single second. Right, you look at the Mishnah Berurah, and he says here, the second there, the second Bi'ur Halacha in the Mishnah Berurah, Mishnah Berurah, siman aleph, siman aleph, se'if aleph, the second Bi'ur Halacha he says... He says, right? A Psalmist wants to fulfill the mitzvah of having Hashem in front of him at all times.

13:27Because it is such a beloved mitzvah. So the mitzvah says, this is one of the six constant mitzvot. There's a mitzvah to believe that there is one God in the world who brought into existence all existence. And from His desire and will is everything that we have now, that He was, and He is forever. And here's the punchline, right? This is a positive commandment. So we have a positive commandment. It says... But there's also a difference between belief and faith. You can believe whatever you want. Belief and trust; there is a difference, yeah.

14:35So this is the mitzvah of believing in Hashem. But you are commanded, right? The difference between belief and trust, or faith and trust, is that belief means I have an intellectual understanding that Hashem exists. I know that He operates the world. I know that He was, is, and always will be, and does everything for me. Anything that happens in my life is from Him. I know that, but to take that belief to a level of trust that I actually rely on Him, that I don't work 14-hour days unnecessarily, because I trust that an eight-hour day is a reasonable effort. And if my work, my regular normal effort So then I'll get whatever Hashem decides, whether it's a million dollars or ten dollars. So I can only do that eight-hour day, or for some people three hours, or for some people one or two hours. I can only do that if I trust. I trust that whatever is coming to me, I trust that whatever I deserve, I'm going to get. And Hashem doesn't leave anybody stranded. You're always going to have something to eat; you're always going to have shelter.

15:43But yeah, that's a trust. Hashem doesn't... So you can have... No, Hashem doesn't leave anything. Hashem is... Hashem, we say, Hashem feeds me. Even the lice eggs, even the lice have a home. In Barchi Nafshi, you know, you say... Yo, this is like fire, bro. Right. And Barchi Nafshi, Barchi Nafshi describes, Barchi Nafshi describes like all the different, all the different habitats of all the different animals. Right? And that Hashem supports all of them. Right? So that's, so you can have an Emunah about that. And you can have an Emunah that Hashem wants to work with to actually take that Emunah to rely on that Emunah. That’s all I need, all I need is to put in effort. And then Hashem, whatever Hashem decides will happen. So now, let's get back to the point we were discussing before. There actually is a mitzvah in the Torah to believe in Hashem. And there's also a mitzvah to trust in Hashem. So a person can actually fulfill this. This means that if we have a mitzvah to believe, it must be that the belief is compelling.

17:09that it must be that the belief is compelling. Like the famous problem is, you can't command someone to believe; it's an emotion, right? It's a feeling that you have. How do you command someone to have a feeling, right? So, you know what the answer is? The answer is that if you are truly honest, you'll be able to get this belief. You are commanded to be a logical person. You are commanded by Hashem to remove all personal agendas and to arrive at the understanding that Hashem is the one and only, and that you must serve Him. That's a command, and it's a logical command. It's logical because you have the capability of being rational. You have the ability to remove your personal desires. So that means that a person is in a religious society. and he sees that they're religious people. He's in any society, and he has a head on his shoulders, then he has the capability of thinking, "Why am I here? Why am I here? Because there must be a being that wants me to do something. Who's that being? Well, that being must be all-powerful, running everything. This being can't be divided into parts because then He's not all-powerful anymore."

18:30Once I know there's a Being that's all-powerful, I take stock of the beliefs available. So then you start to search. What is the most logical belief that I should have? You check out all the different religions. Christianity, no, they contradict themselves a bunch of times. They mix up people from different points in history. I feel like different people from different points in history are meeting together. It's contradictory. They believe in three different gods. That doesn't make any sense. Move to the next one. Then you get to Messianic Judaism. Eventually, you'll finally arrive at where the truth is. With a head on your shoulders and honesty, and after removing all personal agendas, you'll end up getting to the right place. Eventually, you can arrive at the truth. And now, as a person who knew nothing other than the fact that he had a brain, is going to discover Hashem. And this is the command: you're obligated to believe that Hashem exists. Obligated. Yeah. Are you allowed to research other religions for learning purposes? Or is it still considered prohibited? Well, you can do that, but you can't go into a church.

19:53Well, the truth is that we have in the Gemara accounts of individuals who became involved with other religions. For example, there was an individual who used to listen to Greek music and read philosophical texts from other religions, which ultimately led him into considerable trouble. It's important to understand the boundaries and guidelines within which one can engage with other philosophies and cultures. And, you know... But did he do it for enjoyment purposes? Yeah, I think so, yeah. And then that's a different thing, you know, just to learn about other... You really need to ask, before you start. A person is really not allowed to research other religions unless he is very, very knowledgeable in Torah and has a real, significant purpose in it. I would ask a rabbi first to understand where I could go, what I could do. you know, even what we just discussed, Elisha ben Avuya and Rabbi Akiva... Before the four different sages ascended into the Pardes, they mentally prepared themselves by focusing their minds, elevating their neshamah to a spiritual place. Rabbi Akiva gave a warning to them: "Don't stare at this particular phenomenon in the Pardes." And they, you know,

21:11Most of them, I think, hated the warden, but they weren't very careful. I believe Elisha was even less careful, right? He jumped to conclusions. If you're going to research something that's off-limits, there are things that are off-limits, yes. Yes, right, I've heard of both. So anytime you research something that's either forbidden—which you don't do—or where there are some leniencies, you should be the first to get the guidelines. Therefore, if you're in a position of influence and this is what you want to do in order to get a certain thing done, ask a knowledgeable person to find out exactly how to do it. And Elisha ben Avuyah jumped to conclusions. He saw a malach that was sitting down and not standing. So he said that this is... so Elisha ben Avuyah made an assumption that this malach must be Hashem because he doesn't do what a malach would do. He seems to be taking more authority than he should. So, you have to find out what the guidelines are before you start.

22:29But the bottom line is that every person really has the capability of finding out about Hashem. There are some unique circumstances where children from a very young age are brainwashed, and they almost turn into machines. And they operate almost like they're influenced by an external force. Those are unique circumstances. If you're brainwashed from a very young age, it can have a significant impact. However, usually, most people, when they reach a certain age and capacity to think critically on their own, they can overcome that initial conditioning. So, you know, if you've been living in a box your whole life, eventually you're going to want to see what's beyond the box. Well, that's what I'm saying. A lot of people, especially nowadays, feel like they're being brainwashed into Judaism. Right. So if you're being brainwashed into Judaism, start researching. That's what I'm saying. So if you're doing it just to learn, like, just to see. A lot of people, you know something? A lot of Jews are brainwashed to operate in their Judaism like everybody else does. That is brainwashing. But if you're honest, and you say, I don't want to be brainwashed, I'm going to do some research. So what's going to happen? You're going to drive yourself in one big circle and come back to the starting point and go back to Judaism. Judaism is not based on faith.

23:55What the religion is not based on is faith. It's based on knowledge. Judaism is one of the few religions, likely the only one, that actually encourages asking questions. It's not about brainwashing. The type of brainwashing people might associate with Judaism often comes from misunderstandings. Hey, it's not based on faith. It's knowledge. Actually, Judaism is one of the few religions, probably the only religion that I know of, that encourages asking questions. It's actually, it's totally not brainwashing. The brainwashed Judaism that people get is when... Christianity, I'm pretty sure, lets you ask questions, too. They just have easy answers. Christianity lets you ask questions. They just have easy answers. Christianity lets you ask questions. They like to ask questions after, like, you ask the question and then you listen to my answer. you ask the question and then listen to my answer. Whether I'll be harsh in my response depends on the nature of the question. You can ask questions, but hopefully, the person asking will understand that there are hundreds of years of scholarship and tradition. Of course, there are basic and straightforward answers available for many of these questions. I've spoken to people, or at least one person I know, who are fans. They asked questions. He went to churches; he's Christian himself. He wanted to question the church, asking questions. He said, "Oh yeah, this is what you're doing; it contradicts what you're saying." He goes to another church and finds the same contradictions between what they do and say. Then he left.

25:14If you're going to go to any religion in the world that's fake and ask questions, eventually you're going to leave. You go to Judaism, and you also ask questions, and you'll leave all the fake forms of Judaism until you come to the real one. That's what's going to happen. And there's a famous passage which I heard recently. I heard it's in English. It says, if you search for Judaism like silver and gold, like silver and treasure, then you're going to find it. The real essence of Judaism reveals itself to those who genuinely seek it with pure intentions. I was telling Jesse Sharon, if you're going to search for the Torah like it's a hidden treasure, like a child digs in a sandbox to find a hidden treasure. You go on the beach, you see how far you can dig to get to the box of gold underneath. Then you're going to find it. I almost feel like, I almost feel like Sharon, like the system operates in a way that you're only going to get to the right place if you really want it. If you really search for it, then you'll really get it. And you know what? You will. You'll find the truth eventually, right? The Chumash that we have is the oldest and most famous book. If you're doing a research project, right? If you're doing a research project and you want to find out what the most reliable source is that I have, the most reliable source, the one that has the least amount of versions, the one that's the oldest, that's been checked by wise people, that's the book you turn to. It's attested by history for its authenticity and consistency over millennia, and it's an integral part of our religious heritage.

26:43The book that we have, the Old Testament, the Chumash that we have, is the oldest book in history. It goes as far back as any of us remember, and it's been checked by all the wisest people in the world. Christianity itself calls their book the New Testament, which means that they read the Old Testament. So Christianity, which is more famous than Judaism, or at least has more adherents than Judaism, still holds to the foundations of Judaism. Why would Christianity, which—it's just an easier version of Judaism. It is an easier version, yeah. But the fact that you need our book for your religion to survive says something about our book. Doesn't it say something? If all your book is that, yeah, I believe all the five books of Moses and all 24 books—I would just add a couple. You just add a couple of books: John, Matthew, Luke, right? You just add a couple of them. Why would you add a couple? First of all, you're relying on our books. Why add new ones? Figure out how to keep going with them. And Hashem said you're never going to change the book. Now you're going to make a couple of changes to make it easier? My friend, if you're going to be an honest person, if you're going to be an honest person, if you're going to be an honest person, then you're going to...

28:11So you're eventually gonna come back. Well, this is the original one. I'd rather read the original before I read the revised version. The original, and then you read the revised version, and you don't skip sentences, and you don't skip chapters, then you're eventually gonna come to the realization that Judaism is all true, it's all there. You're always going to, it doesn't take that long to just leave any other religion and come to Judaism and do this right away. So the question is, why are there so many people out there who are not following Judaism? What's taking them so long? Because they have yetzer hara. They have yetzer hara. You know what's going on? Okay.