REAL EMUNAH

0:06If a boss is telling an employee that if you miss out this week, you're going to get fired, and a person says, "Okay, I'd rather be fired and have emunah in Hashem that He'll give me another job, a better job." Now, should he take advantage of that opportunity that allows him to work? Because technically, if he's going to get fired, that's a loss, so he should go back to work. Or should he not work, relying on his emunah, that Hashem is going to provide one way or the other? Now, the reason why I said the answer is not a one-size-fits-all is because it all depends on a person's emunah. It depends on the person's emunah. What is it like? Somebody came to Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and said, Rabbi, pray for me to win the lotto. And the Rabbi said, how much is the lotto? He said, it's a million rubles. The Rabbi said, okay. If you do this, this, this, and this, you're guaranteed to win a million rubles. What?

1:37So the guy says, "So how do I do it?" Because you have to have emunah. You have to have emunah that Hashem is going to give you the million rubles. Okay. So the guy bought the ticket and is praying and he's doing all types of things. And he's waiting for the day. Now, a day before, Since he already quit his job, he says he believes. He quit his job, he quit everything. He says he believes that, you know, if I do ABC, I'm going to win a million rubles. So what do I need to work for? So he tells his wife, I quit my job. And the wife says, okay, so we don't have any money to pay the rent. You want to sell? He goes, yeah, just sell whatever we have. We're going to buy new stuff. He's already prepared to buy himself a little castle because, even though he doesn't have the money yet, he has a ticket in his hand. So, a day before the lotto drawing, he comes to the Rabbi. "Rabbi, it's the big day! The big day's tomorrow!" "What's happening tomorrow?" "It's a big day. They're going to tell me I'm going to win, you know, a million dollars, a million rubles."

2:56Rabbi says to him, "And you believe you're going to win?" "Sure, Rabbi," he said, "if I have Emunah, I'm going to win, right?" He said, "Yeah, you're right. So you believe?" He said, "Yeah, 100% I believe." "100% you believe? Wow, what Emunah you have." He said, "You know what? I just thought, Rabbi Yisrael, I just thought, why take the risk? Why take the risk? Let's share the risk." "What do you mean, Kvod Harav?" How about this? You have a ticket on you? He goes, yeah, yeah, it's right here. Oh, show us the ticket. How about this? Let's share the risk. I'll give you half a million rubles right now, and you give me the ticket. You don't have to take any of the risk. What do you think? He says, Rabbi, you'd do it for me? Sure. You want to do it or not? He says, 100%, right now, here, Rabbi. Rabbi says, go back to work. Go, go, go, go back to work. Go back to work. Why, Rabbi? He says, Why he says if you really had emunah that you had a million dollars in your pocket, you would not sell it for half a million. So your emunah is fake; you just don't want to work. Yeah, it's like, oh, you want to believe, but you don't really believe. So that's the answer. The answer is not if we believe Hashem is going to help or this or that. Do you really believe? Do you really believe?

4:21And that's something that you're only going to learn from your own experiences. Sometimes a person is unhappy with their job, so in reality, they can't wait to get fired. But they want to say, no, no, no, I'm going to get fired for the sake of Hashem. I'm going to get fired for the sake of my marriage. I'm going to get fired for the sake of... Buddy, relax. You don't want to work there anymore. Who are you kidding? Hashem knows. Hashem knows what's in your heart. Sometimes the man really has, the woman really has emunah in HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and they do it. It's not an easy test. I say that if a person truly has 100% emunah, not just at that moment, but has already exemplified living with that emunah or near it for at least a little bit of time. He's had some big tests, and he's passed. She's had some big tests, and she's passed. Already, for a period of time, you know, close to this time, and you want to elevate yourself even further? Okay, b'chavod, I'm never going to tell you not to. Sir, you know, go and do a mesirat nefesh for Hashem. Go, go for it. But to try, you know, your whole thing out, you know, day one, now? It's not a good idea. It's not a good idea because what ends up happening is that a person...

5:39...tries out these big, big steps, puts on these big boots on day one, and he slips and falls on his face. Then he ends up hating God for it, as if God did it to him. No, God knew that you were just a joker; He knew you didn't have Him. Now, he just wanted a different job, and you ruined your own thing. So, that's not a good idea. You have to, you know, use the Torah as the Torah tells you to use it, and you have to also be realistic with yourself. You can't pretend that you are Moshe Rabbeinu when you're not even a talmid yet. You can't pretend that you're Rabbi Akiva when you still don't know how to spell aleph-bet yet. You have to be realistic with yourself. And that's the thing. But again, if you want to elevate yourself, it's necessary to take these big steps from time to time when you're ready to take those big steps. If you know for sure that you're not going to question anything, meaning, You're going to quit, or you're going to say, listen, I'm not going. And if they fire you, you're not going to care for a second. It's not going to change your mood for the Chag. Because if it's going to change your mood for the Chag, it's not worth it.

6:44Okay, that's one. Step number two. After they tell you you're fired, you have to visualize all this in your head. After they tell you you're fired, you're still happy like this, eh? Happy, happy, happy, right? The whole chag. On top of it, after you go back into the market, after the chag, everybody says, no jobs. You get a report in the news networks, no jobs, unemployment skyrockets, nothing. Pretty much your job was the last job on earth. There's no other job in the world. You're not going to be unhappy. You're not going to have any questions for HaKadosh Baruch Hu. You're going to be okay. Go for it. Go for it. But how many among us can do that? We have to be realistic. So again, if you believe in HaKadosh Baruch Hu 100%, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, make it so that you're going to do well. But again, you have to be realistic with yourself. You have to push when it's necessary to push. Personally, I don't think that it's necessary for most people to push that far because most people don't have such jobs where they'll get fired in today's world, especially in America.

7:54where the jobs will fire them for not showing up for a religious holiday. And one of the reasons is because every job is scared of being sued for religious persecution. You know, especially in America, they're very, very scared of being sued. So, because if your name, instead of Elchanan, instead of David, instead of Moshe, was Mustafa, Muhammad, or Ahmed, and you told them, "Listen, I have my Ramadan, and I'm going to fast for 40 days, and I'm not going to work, and I'm not going to do anything, and I'm going to bring my carpet to the middle of your boardroom and pray every day," they can't tell you a word. Why? Because they're scared of religious persecution. So, that's the thing. Most jobs, most companies, are not going to take the risk of firing you. It's not like it was 70-80 years ago when people got fired every week for not working on Shabbat. But again, is Hashem going to ask you to take certain steps? Sure. But again, only take those steps if it's absolutely necessary. Only take those steps if you know that you can handle it. Don't push too far.

9:03and put yourself in a situation where, okay, you wanted to do something for Hashem, but you ended up becoming miserable, depressed, and anxious the whole holiday. You know, because you're losing more than you're winning. You're losing more than you're winning. If you're going to find out you're fired, and then the whole holiday you're going to be anxious and depressed, what are we getting out of this? It's not a mitzvah anymore. You understand? So, that's the thing. You know, again, it's a case-by-case basis. Case-by-case basis. It can't be a one-size-fits-all answer. where you'll also have newer features, allowing you to use the app while using other applications on your phone. You'll be able to share the shiurim directly from the app. You'll be able to donate online and support our kiruv and our Torah work that we're doing.

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