CHAZAQ | Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser | Elul Inspiration

foreign welcome everyone to young as well Forest Hills we're very excited to welcome Rabbi goldwasser to give us a sheer words of inspiration right before Rosh Hashanah I was so excited for this that you may have noticed I even got new glasses to make sure that I would be able to see clearly all right so that's how carefully I'll be paying attention and I hope you all will as well Rabbi David goldwasser is the Rev of cahabane yitzroc in Brooklyn he's a prominent Torah personality syndicated columnist daily radio commentator and acclaimed speaker known for his exceptional ability to Captivate and Inspire audiences worldwide his lectures are accessed across the globe by thousands of people through select media Outlets Rabbi goldwasser also serves on the faculty of turo college all that is nice and impressive and on a regular night it would be important but uh I think so so close to Rosh Hashanah the main sentence in that is that he's known for his ability to Captivate and Inspire audiences worldwide because that's where we are in the year uh just a few days until the day of judgment the period of repentance and that's what we're all here looking for so with that I'm very uh very excited that we're able to host this share tonight and uh hopefully it will accomplish its intended purposes in in Spades thank you to Rabbi goldwasser thank you very much chairman I appreciated the words and it is a great schools to be back here I have a very special place for this welcome because over the years so many times we had the schools to share divertora sometimes with hoshanaraba sometimes it was but it was always a very special meeting to have such special people gathered together to grow and to be inspired I would like to say that this evening's sheer is there also the Eloy nishmas Ben Esther we have a refuge name of bimpero your shoes Moreno Arab shlita friends it's an interesting thing I got to call the telephone it was in the middle of the night so there's always a Shiloh whether you shut the phone off or you leave the phone on you have the Shyla sometimes you don't want to be disturbed you just put it on silent or Airplane Mode whatever your phone has and you sleep however I'm always afraid what happens if somebody needs you what happens there's an emergency or you need something how can you shut the phone off it's not I only work nine to five it's got to be around the clock anyhow I left the phone on a guy calls me up past midnight hello Rob yes he said I want to do an Avera I said to him how could I help you why I wasn't exactly up at the time says no you didn't understand I want to do an Avera I want to make a sin so I said to him where are you located at right now I was trying to think of my head how to get it straight he said right now I'm in the city I'm in Manhattan so I said well the first thing you got to do is get out of there he said where shall I come I said come to my house I gave him my address I said come he said it's going to take me at least an hour and a quarter to get there I said don't worry I'll wait up for you I told him I was afraid if I didn't say it on that moment that would be in the shama that is lost sometimes one time one thing can happen a person can fall in somewhere they get involved it's very difficult to get them out before he fell in he said he wanted to do anavera I felt I still had the chance to pull him back in so I told him I'm going to wait I'm sitting waiting up for you I went downstairs I sat down I started to learn something I don't remember what it was and I'm waiting it's an hour and a half and I thought to myself he's got to come he said he's going to come he already made the uh the effort to do something please let him come help him sure enough about 15 minutes later he knocked on the door I brought him in what a precious young man a precious young man unbelievable caught by something that had a sway over him it had to sway over him so he says I bet the Rob takes a look at me like I'm a terrible person I said I take a look at you like you're on the top of the world there are not many people that could do what you did not many people could stop dead in their tracks reverse it and come to see a RAV that's unbelievable I mapped them out what he should do I told him as a good guy told him please if you like sleep I'll give you a bed you can sleep here tonight my my biggest horse he did I was able to get him to go back to Yeshiva which was Major all because he reached out Hashem says and I tell you another shot an interesting explanation open for me the size of the eye of a needle again [Applause] I'll open up for you the size of a Great Hall just make if you ever threaded a needle sometimes you can't even see the whole of that needle I want you to know I've tried something you give up say forget about it go to the tailor you can that's how small Hashem says only that level not not further than that do the smallest thing make a call stop yourself tell somebody about it reach out in the middle of something you're ready to uh whatever stop that second don't go further you have the greatest loss that Hashem says I will help you I'll make a way out of nowhere a yeshmi Ayan and you will be able to do this you'll be able to Do complete true for everybody has it within their grasp to become a great Sadiq to become a great sadak at everybody there is nobody in this world that cannot was able to see everything however in greatness we could be like in greatness we could be like Miriam hanavia foreign wait a second it doesn't seem right I could be as great as Moshe a regular person I have the power to be as great as mushroom that seems to be a very difficult thing to wrap our heads around I could be great I could be maybe like the Rob maybe I could be like that person but to be like mushroom it seems to be a little bit difficult the truth is it will be very difficult even to reach to the feet of moshrabeno however there is one thing that you and I could do what does it says in my whole house everybody Neman he is the trusted loyal servant you and I we got the power to be the trusted loyal servant of Hashem a name on I can be faithful to Hashem I can do everything with great sincerity when I come to Daven maybe I don't govern the best maybe I don't pray the best but I could do it with great sincerity I can say Hashem I am here I'm in heaven I'm a vacation I am begging you like an Evan begs the master could you please have mercy we say it in the Sleek out that we're going to start or if you started already you got to jump on things but if you're starting Shabbos when we say maybe you will have pity perhaps you will have mercy that's the way we act once we do that and we show us Hashem we are subservient we are loyal to you Hashem says you get every brother in the world just by being humble interesting was the most humble of all people so the first and the greatest idea that we should have is that chuva is in the hands of anybody anyone no matter what a person did no matter what they went through no matter their history no matter their past no matter they think they said something and they learned that there isn't that tikkun that there's no rectification of that even that of era there is for everything goes they go to India I don't know wherever they went and they begin to serve it's possible it's an Avera just like every other in the Torah maybe a person doesn't think that they could ever do it and I hope no one will ever think about doing it but it is it is possible that a person could do that Vera interesting chuva of the Hassam Cipher has a guy went to serve about Azara he went there went to the Far East he bowed down he did the different things you do for them he came back he came back to the Jewish kahila to the community he wanted to be a part people saw him come in the door what is he doing here get him out don't let him come in they let him come in luckily they let him come in they let him be part however they noticed that he was a different person not the same anymore he would spend time he would sit in the front he would be after davening he would stay hour two hours saying to hilim it would be midnight he'd come into the show he would go by the Aaron kodesh he would lie on the floor he would say he would say they noticed all kinds of behaviors that said in every way that he is that he has repented completely placed where the baltuva stands even complete Sadiq cannot stand in that place however he made a request there were holy societies that existed in the shows especially in Europe and they could take care of certain things within the community there had to be people that were on a high level they didn't let everybody into the society and they used to have on the wall the members names whoever was in the society in the cover they would put the name he applied this person that served of odesza he applied they didn't want to let him in okay we let him come to Dominic come Dominion he can come in right they don't hold anybody out from The Young Israel I'm not going to hold him back there they let him come in however when he applied to become part of the Holy Society some of the people said that is where we draw the line not going to let him do it and they wanted to hold him back they didn't want to let him in and there was a Ruckus in the town everybody knows where there ever there is a question wherever there is a dispute of maclokus we need to seek out Das Torah Torah that is predominant we need to know what is it what the godoll Israel say about this so they went the whole Community wrote to the Hassam sofa teach us great rabbi does this guy does he have the right to come back into the kihila OR should we ban him and not allow him to be a member of the Holy Society a response before he even begins he begins to talk about what does it mean a person that did shuva what does it mean a person that Rose to the level and was able to turn their back on all the life that they had gotten involved in all the sins what does it mean for a person to be able to get back into hashem's good graces told everybody in that show everyone in the community shame on you you accept him you let him be on the society he will be a distinguished member of your Society but don't shun him don't hold him back that is the way that we look at it that is the way that we look at chuva anybody can do chuva on any little thing even a person didn't stop altogether but they stopped some of the things they didn't say lust and hard they decide okay from 8 30 till nine o'clock 8 30 till nine o'clock P.M I'm not going to say any Roshan Hara 8 30. I'm going to watch it I'll have a you got the phone you put the alarm on lets you know when you can say hello again at nine o'clock you can do that easy so what do you do you put it in you have everything scheduled for that half hour that a person didn't say love shanhara that don't even realize how far they could get an individual that says you know what I can't help it I can't help it you know it's difficult for me not to fill in the blank not to eat something that I know I shouldn't but I have a great desire for it the great Slaughter maraba said one of the things that we have a great desire for in this world is food and it comes sometimes as a very great Nissan a very great test to be careful in the area of food even the individual says I'm going to keep kosher there's a yeed I got to tell you Howie I don't want to say his last name no you know it's a confidence how he tells me when pesach he says every day I go to a whatever it is a breakfast place and there's a muffins he loves muffins and he takes a muffin he was starving he sat down he sees the muffin he begins to have an inner struggle I came in to ask for matzah I don't know why he came in he wants to eat the muffin he's looking at it he says Rabbi I tell you the truth I wanted it more than anything I got up I ran out I said even I don't eat kosher but to eat hamets in the middle of pesach that I want to do do you know what the scar what the reward of that person is how great that individual is even a person stops doing an Avera for an hour for a minute for a moment you can save them one Shabbos you can save them one yomptu you can have them do the right thing so the talmud tells us something fascinating everyone knows one of the biggest hasodim biggest loving kindness that you can do because visit the sick visit the sick you can reinstate a person you can give them back their their life and in fact in the talmud and the darim it says that if a person is you have a chance to do it they don't do it it's like they killed the person have a chance to visit the sick they didn't visit the sick it's like they killed the individual that's the gemara it emphasizes to don't get scared but it emphasizes to us the Mitzvah gedala to visit the sick to be my vacation even you stay for a little bit you can never tell what you will gain by doing it maybe we could talk about it later it's not today's discussion be huge nothing bigger so ravuna everybody heard rafuna one of the greatest in the gemara ravuna got ill he got ill he got sick she never happened to anybody he's in the bed in his house a great Sadiq came to visit him who is greater than rap Papa if you go to the seam you know they say oh the purpose because they were extra special about making us see him they gave extra hashibus extra importance to it so the great Republic comes to bhimavaka khala to cheer him up to try to bring him a refua maybe to say to him by his bed unreal the family such a great Rabbi has come to visit the great ravuna wow the whole family gathered they called people in everyone wanted to hear what words are going to be said by RAF papa how he's going to cheer him up encourage him how he's going to strengthen him how he's going to Daven interesting didn't happen exactly like that Republic comes in and says let me tell the family you better prepare him get the clothes ready for and by the way uh do you have a desk do you have a burial plot you got to welcome kavura for the family beginning what's going on here uh and also did you call the camera condition they should be prepared what inspiration he's giving them what encouragement didn't say anything didn't say a word didn't say anything whatsoever did not look a scance did not be get upset at all afterwards where a papa left that was the beak or holim visit do not learn from this incident how to be my back it's not not for us to learn from few days later rough pup is walking down the street all of a sudden who's he see in front of him coming this way it's unbelievable he had a refuge limit looks like ravana said yes because it says whoever can be foregoing in nature of all the person's sins are completely forgiven because this person forgave someone so Hashem says I forgive everything you don't have any avails and I came back to life explains that what rap Papa did was on purpose he wanted to incite him he wanted to tell him something that could get him upset because by trying to get him upset and then rapuna being able to hold himself back being foregoing in nature in order to say just I'm forgiving him I'm not worried about it because of that he gave him the skus that was able to come back to life this is something that is amazing this is something that the more we can talk about it it's still not enough because I have to forgive I have to forgo I have to forgive my friend I have to forgive somebody maybe I've been upset with for many years time to forgive time to forget somebody slighted me I see them I'm not going to be too excited when I see them what do I do I completely forgive them they made invitation they sent everybody invitation they forgot to send me I'm supposed to be their good friend I never got invited to the simply they have the simcha everybody went and I stayed at home I never invitation do I feel bad not at all no because we also realize that everything that happens happens for a reason everything that goes on happens for a reason even those things that we think we can get upset about if we weren't invited number one this could be a reason why we weren't invited number two it could be if we would have gone if we would have attended something that wasn't positive might have happened so I was saved whether I was supposed to be there I wasn't supposed to be there let me just give to you an unbelievable example I was invited to Europe they invited me to give a seminar a sheer a seminar beautiful I was there for Shabbos a couple called me up before I came and they said we have severe Shalom bias problems we want to split is okay we heard that you're coming to town could you squeeze Us in for five minutes I said of course talk to the person that's bringing me set it up and I'll be happy to come in okay they set it up Friday before Shabbos I was there Friday before Shabbos they were more angle in that evening I was to go to the Carlo the KOLO big place that's where they had invited me to say a few words just during davening so we weren't finished talking and I said to this Eid I said listen I would very much like to talk with you more trying to last Stitch effort that they shouldn't go for a get for a divorce so I said could you come with me he says where are you going I said I'm going to call now he's uh you know I never went there I said it's okay to you know they accept you you're Jewish it's good don't worry about it he said no no but I wouldn't know what to do there I said sit with me I'll show you everything what you have to do with that he came to the cola came to the cola for what reason I don't know for what reason I met with him Friday afternoon I don't know why he ended up coming with me I don't know his wife also came sat in the Asus notion because we were talking along the way so she did not want to miss it so she came together with him and she went in the back in the as us now chimney was there after davening I see you know they have the uh how do you call it the alunim the pages the divertora you know the Shabbos you have on the pages de veritor they have them in chills the papers I see him this guy big guy he's reading the paper and he's crying I said to him what's wrong did you see something sad he said no on this paper there is a Mazel tov to me into my wife Upon Our forthcoming marriage it took place three in the half years before three and a half years before how that page was still in the show from years ago nobody knows he went over to the gabbai and he said to the Gabby would you mind if I take the page home the guy said yeah for anybody well is there something you see on it that's so interesting he says yes it gives a Mazel Tov to us on our forthcoming marriage oh when are you getting married no no we're married a few years back the Gaba looks shocked he said every matsoi Shabbat every Saturday night they clean sweep all of the pages have got too much every month they take all the pages all the toilets and they take them out of the base matters in order to keep it clean and neat he said it is an impossibility that that page is still here who knows who knows the reason why certain things happen to be moving not to look at it not to be upset not to say I expected more out of you not to say you insulted me you did this you did that you could let the person know but you can't carry it around in your heart you have to be willing to be mohal to forgive to forgo and even to forget it's an interesting interesting idea okay one more so when we come to the idea of chuva a person knows there are a few things that we need to keep in mind one that we can forget everything that a person can do chuva on anything that they have done anything no matter what it is a person can do chuva even though it says in svarim that certain averos are very hard to do chuva a person still could do Chiva on them even the worst Hashem it says that at Neila on Yom Kippur a person has the power to do chuva even from Hashem and no malach can be makatrek no accuser at the time of Nila none so even a person did the worst they can gain forgiveness on Yom Kippur they can gain forgiveness you don't have to wait for that can gain forgiveness on Rosh Hashanah whenever a person wants they can reach out to Hashem Hashem is waiting for us to do chuva one more very interesting the Kuda everyone knows that to do chuva properly I have to be misvade I have to confess confess that I did it that's part of the diarisa of the Torah Law of Confession and the rambam gives us a beautiful short version of what the confession is the confession is very uh Hashem I did sins of VC pashati I was negligent there are Cece and I did whatever of era you fill in the blank I will never return to it I will never do it again so that's a big thing to say the only thing is we have a slight problem it could be the person said the whole video they said they're never going to do it again and you know a couple weeks later it is possible that a person could possibly do it again that's the way it is we are drawn to certain things sometimes the Yates are has an achiza takes a stronghold and it takes a lot try to get out loyaleno gambling try to get out alcoholism try to get out other things shopaholic it's very difficult texting a person's addicted to texting I had a guy a guy came in he needed help teenage guy I don't know 1617 nice guy came and on the desk everybody you're invited on the desk in the study so you can sit under the you know up to the table and I sit up to the table that way we're on equal playing field both together should feel good but I noticed the guy when he comes in and sits down that the guy's like nervous every minute is going like this I move his shoulder what's with this guy and it keeps going like this every minute I was wondering like maybe it's a condition maybe yeah who knows what it is with the guy [Music] I got a telephone call I had to leave the study so I went past them outside the door to the kitchen when I came back I understood he had the telephone underneath he was texting like mad even he came he wanted an answer he came and made the appointment himself it took a lot but he could not stop texting even when he wanted to hear what I had to say it's difficult to get out of certain things very difficult so how is it that a person could say I'm never going to steal again I'm never going to say lost in her again I'll never say Shecker again I'll never get upset again I'll never say a word that will insult my friend my husband my wife my child my mother my father my teacher my rebby I'll never say it again how could he say it Uli that's that person's niece everybody has a weak spot maybe that's their weak spot maybe it's difficult for them so how can it be that we are going to say I will never ever do it again maybe they will do it again and if they do do it again if they will repeat the aveira it's even worse who did they promise if I promise Hashem I gotta come true with my promise I can't break my promise I can't break my promise to a human being let alone to Hashem so the mabit the safer basalukim says the following when I promised I'm never going to do that there again it was the never shallow case it was my good part the never shallow keeps promised Hashem I want to do chuva I never ever going to repeat it when I did the Avera it was a nevisa Bahamas it was the animal Soul that's what did it but now I can still go again and promise Hashem and this time I will be zoka that the animal soul will be subdued by The Godly Soul by the never shallow case there is a lot if we if we had all night tonight it would be good I'm sure we don't have all night so keep an eye on the clock but it's an interesting thing avraham avinu there were four kings that fought against five Kings Four against the five who was Stronger Four Kings good I'm just testing you guys before okay I want to make sure you know your stop the Four Kings were stronger right Abraham avino came on the other side and helped them you know what it says in Kabbalah the Four Kings were the four parts of the body four parts of the body is ruach everybody offer Mayim Ash four physical parts of us five is in the summer the five lock him the five divisions of the nishama what was Stronger stronger was the Goof I want to eat it I want to take it I want to insult that person I want to say something bad about the individual I want to the Goof has a lot of red sinus the Goof has a lot of things desires that we want sometimes stronger than in the summer however when a person asks Hashem help me Hashem I'm down I'm afraid I might give in I'm weak I might show them give into it at that moment will help the individual if Hashem would not help us we could never Prevail against the answer but Hashem helps that the that the spiritual power inside of us can subdue anything in the world I got a call I got a call before tonight could I say over and my son if we have two minutes left of my son there's a call I got on the telephone a family came in from Israel and they asked me to meet emergency now come I made an appointment in the afternoon they came to the house they all came in the whole family father the mother there's a daughter in severe need of a kidney very ill an uncle about six people came in not religious not anything secular they sat down I greeted them I gave them something to drink and I said how can I help and they began to tell me we have this young woman here she's very ill in Israel there was a line we came here possibility to get a kidney we need a lot of things we need help we need connections I called up at that time the great project renewal to help out and they need money and they need a number of things I said okay I'm going to help I took down all the things that they needed I understood that they needed funds raised and everything I said I'll help they said okay we'll call you tomorrow good they left the whole group the next day I didn't get a call two days later I didn't get a call three days later I began to wonder what happened I didn't know what went on on the other hand that if it's an emergency when they get back in touch with me they did it a week went by no call I was dumb I didn't take their number why did I take their number I thought for sure to call me another few days went by it's already the second week I get a call Robbie could we come to see you same group open the door they come they sit in the dining room table just like before I said could I ask you a question I asked the father when you came the first time we made all the plans why didn't you come back the man said I saw that you are a dirty you're very religious and I knew you wouldn't help us I said so what changed you came back we called the same person and he said I told you go to goldwasser I told you to go yeah but he's religious so good he's religious so what go back they came back I will tell you because of bekit sir if I tell you that the girls in the schools in the base Yakov she needed to go dialysis from Marine Park to Bay Ridge it's about a 40-minute drive she needed to go dialysis what they did for her how they set her up she went she was very tired on the way back they got a car with a long seat in the back they made a bed for her with covers and sheets and pillows they didn't know what to do the family they took them every week Hollis in all the madanim and oat Meat and Fish and treats and wrapped it up and trays and packages and took them candles they treated them royally finally it came time that things were looking good they needed the money so I call up a good friend there's a lot of israelihabra involved I call up my good friend he's a rock star in Israel he made teshuva he did Toshiba complete I said to him I got to ask you a big favor he says yeah what would you like I said could you play a concert for me there's a young girl very ill young woman could you play he said I'm coming right away I'll come no charge no money beautiful we made the whole advertising and everything Hebrew got very excited because he quite a name and he came to pick me up we're friendly he came to pick me up in his Jeep I went in the Jeep we went to the place where the concert where the evening is supposed to be he takes his Jeep Parks it takes the guitar out of there sees the building walks over to the building puts his head against the bricks foreign I'm not able to play tonight so what do you mean I cannot play tonight I will not he picks up the guitar he goes back to the car I said you have to as it is they don't trust me now I'm going to make the whole thing and they're not going to be there they'll never trust another evening in life you got to he says I'm very sorry again went inside the car closed the door I knocked on the window I said please listen to me he opens up he says I want you to know before I became religious I played in this place it's a nightclub I had lot of vote I got some memories about what happened I don't want to remember it you'll have to excuse me rebby I can't do it sometimes Hashem gives you the words all the time I remembered we have a peace in the talmud and I told him it says what is about they come back to the same place where they had the Nissan where they had the test where they had to trial the tribulation and their homemade big bura and they stand in great strength in their miscarbert and they're able to stand to the challenge and win I said to him that is why you're here this evening you came to show toshibaima he looked at me and he says amen it's really written I said I promise you as soon as we're done you come to my house we're going to take out all the swarim I promise you I'll learn it with you the whole night but just please he said okay before he got out of the car he made two stipulations two stipulations with me two conditions one that I say to hilim while he is doing his concert the second that I come on the stage together with him I said to him one I'm able to do the second I think it's uh difficult for me I'm good with by the stage is not my place it's your place he played people jammed in fundraiser he played all the songs they wanted to play he played all whatever they wanted to hear in the middle he begins to sing a song about emuna the most unbelievable song and they liked it he said let me teach it to you he begins to teach them the song in a Muna and these people should see them they're all singing this song in amuna if I could have had Neil Young Kippur at that moment it would have been great all of a sudden the doors open up the young woman was given permission by the doctors to come in for five minutes five minutes she came with a gown covered up protected as soon as she came in the door and they're singing at Muna the whole place was so moved people began to take money out throwing it one guy I never forget it one guy was so he took the whole wallet and he threw it they raised on that evening all the money that was necessary including the transportation from Israel here and back home right then this operation was successful the transplant was successful after months and months they were finally ready to go back home to eretz Israel when they went back the idiot Acro note wrote up the entire story they wrote Rob goldwasser who malach I Mala I caught up the editor I said to him what do you mean unbelievable that we have in this world to make a difference to change to become better everybody should have a sonatava masuka should have a good year with all the Brotherhood whatever you're waiting for whatever you want rookness and gosh me assadbully die it should be the best year a year for Claudia Israel a year in which we will hear the pame amen