Samuel Levy Testimony Rosh Hashanah Campaign 2024

0:05Hi, my name is Shmuel Levy. I was originally born in France to Israeli Moroccan parents, and I moved about 15 years ago to the United States, where I live with my wife and two children. I grew up initially in what we call a traditional household, which is a little bit different from what people know in the United States. A traditional Moroccan Jew in France means that we knew about mitzvot, we knew about the obligation to perform mitzvot, but we mostly performed mitzvot halfway. For example, when we observed Shabbat, we did kiddush and went to shul, but we would drive to shul. As far as kashrut is concerned, we ate essentially half kosher. This doesn't make any sense, but what that means is we didn't eat meat outside, but we ate fish. We knew about mitzvot; we knew about the obligation to perform mitzvot, but we mostly performed mitzvot halfway. For example, when we observed Shabbat, we did kiddush, we went to shul, but we would drive to shul. As far as kosher is concerned, we ate essentially half kosher, which doesn't make any sense, but what that means is we didn't eat meat outside, but we ate fish. and this was in part due to a lack of knowledge of the laws of kashrut and also the laws of Shabbat, but also a willingness to not be fully shomer mitzvot and shomer Shabbat. We essentially grew up knowing what we were doing, but we just accepted it. So, when we went to shul, we went to a fully Orthodox shul, and we knew about the obligations and

1:26...and the positive commitments and the negative commitments that we just choose to live. We choose to live our lives a certain way. So growing up, in my head, I always knew this was obviously hypocritical as far as Torah is concerned. And I always thought in my mind, one day, I have to get it right. I cannot just live my life like this. This wouldn't be right... And years went by, and I moved to America. I became even less religious as I moved to America. And then eventually, it hit me when I hit rock bottom as far as the observance of mitzvot is concerned. One day, it just hit me, and I felt a tremendous drive to go back towards religion. And when I got married is really when I started to return to my roots. When Hashem gave me a wife in shidduch, which was very hard to find initially, but when I did, what happened is I went to the Kotel, I was single for many years, and I prayed, prayed, Hashem gave me a wife, and two weeks later, I met my wife in synagogue on Shabbat, and we were married three months after we met. So that was my first... when Hashem gave me a wife in shidduch, which was very hard to find initially, but when I did, what happened is I went to the Kotel, I was single for many years, and I prayed and prayed. Hashem gave me a wife, and two weeks later, I met my wife in synagogue on Shabbat, and we were married three months after we met. So that was my first miracle that I witnessed, and there were many more later on. And when this happened, I decided to become more Shomer Shabbat, I decided to become Shomer Mitzvot, and I really...

2:37a miracle that I witnessed, and there were many more later on. And when this happened, I decided to become more Shomer Shabbat, I decided to become Shomer Mitzvot, and I really put myself into this, put this into my mind that this is what I wanted to do. And I was successful in many, many ways. And there were a lot of challenges along the way. But this is really when I discovered Rabbi Yaron Reuven and his teachings and his shiurim online. And initially, I was perplexed because I had never heard a rabbi, especially an English-speaking rabbi, talk with such honesty and in such a direct way. put myself into this, put this into my mind that this is what I wanted to do. And I was successful in many, many ways. And there were a lot of challenges along the way. But this is really when I discovered Rabbi Aaron Reuven and his teachings and his shiurim online. And initially, I was perplexed because I had never heard a rabbi, especially an English-speaking rabbi, talk with such honesty and in such a direct way. But I quickly fell in love with his teachings and the Jewish hashkafah, I mean, the marital laws, the weekly parasha study, some, I mean, really every series that he's had has been, you know, they've all been quite incredible. Also, the movies were quite incredible. I started by watching his first movie, "How Hashem Took Back His Millions," and this really had a profound effect on me. And so over the years, I've, you know, studied

3:51through Rabbi Reuven and watching his shiurim, what it's really done for me is it has brought a lot of clarity to my mind regarding the importance of mitzvot the gravity of not observing certain mitzvot, the reward of observing others, and just generally speaking, a deeper understanding of Judaism. I think what Rav Reuven does so well is he really creates real Jews. I mean, he doesn't create them, but he brings them to Judaism, and he brings them to Torah, and he has such an incredible love for Torah and and mitzvot that it's contagious and you cannot, as you watch and as you get involved, you cannot help but acquire the same, first of all, yirat shamayim, the fear of Heaven. But then, once you have a certain level of yirat shamayim, you understand the importance and the gravity of your actions and even your speech and how you live your life, and you start applying mitzvot every day in your life, as Rabbi Aaron Aruvin teaches, then that yirat shamayim also develops into love, love for Hashem, love for the Torah, and you really fall in love with it, and it's just beautiful. Before I was baal teshuvah, going through one single page of Gemara was basically torture for me, because I had such a huge klippa. and how you live your life, and you start applying mitzvot every day in your life, as Rabbi Aaron Reuven teaches, then that yirat shamayim also develops into love, love for Hashem, love for the Torah, and you really fall in love with it, and it's just beautiful. Before I was a Baal Teshuvah, going through one single page of Gemara was basically torture for me, because I had such a huge klipah,

5:18that it was too much Kedusha. I would open Masechet Berachot, which is Tractate Berachot, and it would take me over an hour just to read maybe half a page. It was very difficult. Nowadays, it's almost an addiction, in the sense that if I don't study Gemara for more than three days in a row, I don't feel good. I can't sleep. I don't function properly. I don't feel right. so, um, so I try to study every day. Most of the time, I'm successful. Sometimes, with work and family, I'm not able to, uh, for a few days in a row, but I usually am not too late to catch up. Thank God, this has been thanks to Rav Yaakov. Really, the level of emunah that I've acquired thanks to his teaching and the understanding of Hashem, um, because really what the Torah teaches you, it's not just brought a lot of clarity into my life. And it's also helped me to literally witness incredible miracles. There have been so many times in my professional life where I had problems. For example, I would lose a big client. I would lose maybe more than one big client. And I would tell my wife, if we don't

6:38Brought a lot of clarity into my life. And it's also helped me to literally witness incredible miracles. There have been so many times in my professional life where I had problems. For example, I would lose a big client. I would lose maybe more than one big client. And I would tell my wife, if we don't... I don't know what we're gonna do if we don't have, so nothing happens, then we're not gonna be able to essentially pay the bills. And every time that this happens, every time that I had a challenge in my professional life, every single time Hashem made a miracle. Meaning if I lost a client, literally the moment that I needed that money, to come back, Hashem would just bring me a new client. To come back, Hashem would just bring me a new client. Just send me a new client. All I had to do was just do my job, and Hashem would basically take care of the rest. A few times I had challenges with... other challenges at work, uh, where literally Hashem saved the day, essentially saved the day. I had times where I had, uh, difficulties and I would pray and I would ask for Hashem's help, and Hashem gave me help. It was just, uh, and this happened—not to go too much into the details—but, uh, you know, moments where you essentially need a miracle, you need something to happen.

7:56You pray very hard, and you observe, and you give tzedakah, and really this miracle happens. It's the same in my life with my wife and the shalom bayit issues that we've had in the past. there were times that were very, very challenging, and through prayer and tzedakah and study, you realize that really Hashem is in charge of everything. All you have to do is observe the mitzvot and try to, and it's very important to give tzedakah to participate to to the study of Torah by helping poor people live a decent life. It's not easy at the beginning necessarily to give Ma'aser, which means 10% of your income, but once you start doing it, it really becomes something that is almost an honor. I call it an honor because if Hashem gives you the money to make a living, that means He gives you His chesed. He gives you the ability to become a partner in His creation by giving back 10%, which is a commandment. Even if you only make $100 a month, you should still give at least $10 a month to tzedakah. But if you make more, most people obviously make much, much more. And the more you make, the more you can give. almost an honor. I call it an honor because if Hashem gives you the money to make a living, that means He gives you His chesed. He gives you the ability to become a partner in His creation by giving back 10%, which is a commandment. Even if you only make $100 a month, you should still give at least $10 a month to tzedakah. But if you make more, most people obviously make much, much more. And the more you make, the more you can give,

9:17meaning, the more you can positively affect other people, other Jews. And so, it's very important. And what I love about Rav Yaron Reuven is You know, before I knew about Rav Yaron Reuven, I would give money. It was never too difficult for me to give tzedakah, but I didn't really know where it was going. I wasn't sure. And, you know, it's important that the money that you give really goes towards helping the Jews, whether it is to study Torah, so helping yeshivot, helping avrechim, or it is to simply help families that have challenges, that have problems, or that cannot put decent food on the table for Shabbat or for the chagim. So with Yaron Reuven, what I love about the organization, B'ezrat Hashem, is they're very, very clear on where the money is going. They have various campaigns for various specific things. You can sponsor shiurim, you can help avreichim in Israel, also possibly in the United States. You can have families in need. You can have families that were affected by the war, and there are many, many of them. And there's nothing more beautiful and there's nothing more amazing than helping other Jews. And every time you help a Jew, even if it's just putting a bottle of wine on their table because they can't afford a decent bottle of wine, where they're going to do Kiddush on that wine, they're going to bless that wine, and you are part of that mitzvah. And it's such...

10:40It's one of the most beautiful things, I would say. And it's not simply beautiful, it's an obligation and it's something that really everyone should become a part of. So you should really be specific about calculating the amount of maaser based on your income. ...and help all the Jews. And if you can give more than Ma'aser, you can go all the way up to Chomesh, which is 20% of your income. Rav Yaron Reuven has amazing shiurim where he teaches the benefits of giving Ma'aser, but also the incredible benefits that you get from simply giving Chomesh. And even if you don't necessarily yield those benefits right away, you will yield them later on in your life, if not in the next world. But simply the... The beauty of performing the mitzvah is enough. If you know that you're helping other people, that's already plenty of benefits. So yes, Rav Yaron Reuven has really helped me. Thanks to him, I can go through many, many pages of Gemara without struggling. And I really love it. It's almost like drinking a beautiful beverage of sweetness. You know, there's just no way to express it.

11:50whether it's studying Gemara or studying the weekly parasha or the Melachot of Shabbat or the various teachings of Chachamim throughout the years. I think what B'ezrat Hashem does is it makes you into a real, authentic Jew according to the Torah, not some reinvention of the 20th century, not some reinvention of the 21st century. The Torah is 3,300 years old. That's a long time. And there's a lot of teachings, as far as obviously the Written Torah, but also the Oral Torah that we've acquired back then. And this is the law. This is what, if you learn those laws and if you understand them, you will become an authentic Jew. You know, and you will perform mitzvot the way Hashem wants you to perform mitzvot. And your life will be more beautiful than all the money in the world, essentially. It's...

12:54because once you understand Hashem, once you know Hashem and you understand why things happen in the world, why things happen in your life, this is the biggest wealth that one can acquire. This is the kind of wealth that no money in the world can buy. Only the performance of mitzvot and the study of Torah can buy you that wisdom essentially. And you don't have to wait late in your years to acquire it; you should acquire it as soon as you can, which means immediately essentially. And b'ezrat Hashem, growing in Torah and the more Jews... uh, this is the biggest wealth that one can acquire, and this is the kind of wealth that no money in the world can buy. Only the performance of mitzvot and the study of Torah can buy you that wisdom, essentially. And, uh, you don't have to wait late in your years to acquire it; you should acquire it as soon as you can, and as soon as you, as you, you know, which means, uh, immediately, essentially. And, uh, with Hashem's help, growing in Torah, and the more Jews Rav Yaron Reuven has made thousands, probably, of Ba'alei Teshuva. I've myself met people randomly in synagogues, kids, that told me that their lives were affected by his movies, that their friends' lives were positively affected. And some of those kids are Ba'alei Teshuva, they're not just secular kids, some of them are already religious, but they were able to correct and to grow into their performance of mitzvot, into the fear of Heaven,

13:59their love for Am Yisrael, their love for the Torah. And really, this is the army of Hashem. This is the real army of Hashem. It's the Jews that go and perform the mitzvot. And this is how we get through all of our troubles. And so that's the one other thing that Rabbi Uren has taught me. I used to obviously struggle like everybody else whenever I had challenges in life. I used to waste time and waste money on the wrong remedy. Now I know that the right remedy is a study of Torah, observance of mitzvot, helping of the Jews. And that is the ultimate and only remedy. And this is how Am Yisrael gets through This is how we get through all of our troubles. And so that's the one other thing that Rabbi Uri has taught me. I used to obviously struggle like everybody else whenever I had challenges in life. I used to waste time and waste money on the wrong remedy. Now I know that the right remedy is the study of Torah, observance of mitzvot, and helping Jews. And that is the ultimate and only remedy. And this is how Am Yisrael gets through challenging times as individuals but also as a nation. So I hope this helps everyone. Now it's Elul, which means Rosh Hashanah is in about less than one month. challenging times as individuals but also as a nation, so I hope this helps everyone. Now it's Elul, which means that Rosh Hashanah is in about less than one month It's a very important time before the judgment day on Rosh Hashanah and the sealing of the judgment on Yom Kippur. It's a very important time to do teshuvah, to give extra tzedakah, additional tzedakah. If you haven't given ma'aser throughout the year, perhaps it's a good time to catch up.

15:13And to participate, there are many, many campaigns, whether it's the campaigns for Tikkun HaBrit, to help other Jews stop wasting seed, or the campaigns for poor people, or the campaign to help Avreichim, or sponsor Shiurim, or sponsor series, or help build a Beit Knesset in Florida. There are countless campaigns that are available, and I really invite everyone ...and ask that everyone participate for their sake, for the sake of Am Yisrael, and obviously for the sake of the world. Shabbat Shalom. If you've learned Torah with us over the past decade, you've also learned that we hate lies, empty promises, and any statement without a source. So this year, we asked dozens of our donors to tell you themselves what they've received as a result of partnering with us and having us pray for them during this time of the year. And the conclusion you'll see: our donors receive miracles.

16:15Cured from cancer, having a child after 10 years of marriage without kids, financial success and protection in impossible situations, finding a zivug, special siyata dishmaya in Torah learning, and countless other miracles that you could read and watch these special neshamot tell you themselves. After a decade of nearly 14,000 shiurim Torah, feeding hundreds of thousands of poor Jews, widows, and orphans in Eretz Yisrael, distributing nearly a quarter million books and two million USBs, CDs, and posters for free, setting up multiple kollels, Hashem has decided to continuously accept our prayers and blessings to help our donors get miracles. And this Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we want even more of you to get your personalized blessings and miracles. By donating generously and becoming our partner, you'll have the opportunity to help us feed 10,000 poor Jews this holiday. Be a partner in nearly a thousand avreichim learning the entire Shas in a single day, and even get a special blessing with your name in one of our new books coming out this year. Rabotai, our donors receive unbelievable miracles. Join us by donating and getting others to donate, and b’ezrat Hashem, you too will receive and be part of the next miracle story. be a partner in nearly a thousand avreichim learning the entire Shas in a single day, and even get a special blessing with your name in one of our new books coming out this year. Rabotai, our donors receive unbelievable miracles. Join us by donating and getting others to donate, and b'ezrat Hashem, you too will receive and be part of the next miracle story.