IRAN. October 7th and YOU

As we've experienced already from October 7th till now, close to two years of hostages still being held, tragedies that have encompassed this country, unfortunately, just too much. Over 2,000 people have already died at the hands of these evil people. We know that this war has taken many casualties. And here we are on the verge of who knows some type of quasi world war or some with Iran that is on the brink of trying to empty out every ballistic missile that they have in their arsenal on this country which they hold is damned and they're trying to get rid of it and that's their whole entire amo. Unfortunately, we live in a very scary situations and sometimes we look for answers. We ask the we go to our and we try to figure out what's the solution whether it has to do with all of Israel or maybe me on an individual basis. Why did I end up losing this money? What's going on with my child? What is happening? Why can't I have children? These types of issues we go and many times we look for guidance. We look for advice and we look for somewhat of input and of course our ones to lead us. But sometimes we or more than sometimes we end up hearing a more or less kind of idea. It's time to be we have to be we have to strengthen ourselves. It's time to fix yourself up. do a little bit of self-improvement, introspection, and as we've understood as chuva. It's a true answer. It's a right answer. But I have to be honest with you personally, sometimes I almost get a little bit irritated or misunderstood by that type of advice. It sounds good. I understand and it's real, but it's almost not realistic. It's just too general for us. Can we really understand when we of course we have to we always have to, but like what what am I supposed to do? What is my calling? What why is this happening to me? Why are my fots not being answered? Why is this happening to what happened on October 7th? You know, I find it maybe it's coincidental or not. You know, I have to admit after September 11th, I did an incredible I'm going to tell you the reason why because October 7th took place a week before Rashashana and Yumiper. So right after the incredible uh thrust of energy and emotion that came through us during that time of September 11th we said spilled into Kipper and yes I was in tears during that but at the same time when October 7th happened it was an incredible emotionally draining event also but I'm sorry I apologize to say but I don't think it was maybe I didn't do a good job of it. It didn't really happen and make the biggest change in me personally that I became a different mench. It's hard for me to say that I did that. Unfortunately, sometimes we localize our cha to one day a year and therefore we have to understand why do these things happen to us. Is it all about just do chuba and do what you can do? So I want to tell you an important you saw it based on an expansion from Robski and that is a important idea which I'm going to expand on and try to make you understand and this was when I heard this first I felt it very uh it gave me a tremendous amount of impact on my life and that's like this I'm going to take it with a mush. Have you ever gone out of your house? Gone, let's say, on a trip, but I I would put it more into the camping scenario or gone to a place where you're not really sure where you are or even if you went to some house or Airbnb that you rented out, but when you're there, you're not with sure footing. You understand what I'm saying? You have to go buy something. You have to get some milk. You want to go buy something to eat. And I'm not sure where to go. Especially if we're looking for kosher food. The amount of places are limited. I'm not sure where to go. I have to go dab with a median. I have to find I heard there's a shul in town. Where is it? What time are the minyanim? You find yourself in very unsure uh an unsure area. You a little bit uncomfortable. You went out of your comfort zone. It's almost a place of insecurity. When I walk the streets and I have to find where I'm going. I'm just not sure where I'm supposed to be going. I'll figure it out. I'll ask people on the way. Have a ways. I didn't mean that someone didn't have ways, but you're trying to do it and trying to find where you're supposed to get to. I'm in She very often we have seminaries here, especially towards the end of the seminary year that they come for a Shabbaton and I find it a very enthralling site to see a bunch of girls with about one big page and it says the address of the house that they're supposed to go to. who I'm talking about. It's already Friday night and they're supposed to go to eat at the person's house and they have this big map and they're turning it sideways in this. You know, I love watching when girls are always trying to look at a map. It's always like, you know, they're not sure which way to hold it up and they're trying to figure out which direction. I am purpose I'm taking a Friday night scene because there's no ways to cop us out of the situation. And they're trying to figure it out and they're so just trying to help them out. You know, go right, left, and turn over there and you'll be able to find the straight. Wow. Thank you very much. And you see them still asking people on the way and I'm sure and you know trying to figure out how to get there. It's such a it's such a it's such an interesting scene to be able to to see but it's it's it's sometimes difficult like where am I? It's very insecure. I might find myself the wrong place. What if I lose the address? What if that one piece of paper with the address falls away? I don't even know where to start. Look, I'm going to knock at someone door and ask them if we can have a bite to eat. Bet where you going to go? It's very it's a scary situation. You're out of your comfort zone. You don't know where and when and how I'm supposed to get to my house. Where's which street is the right way and making a wrong turn. One time I was driving with my wife and we had a ways but I have to admit I have a kosher way. So it's uh the the amount of energy that's inside of it is not ex exactly and it ended up taking me through an Arab village which was really not exciting. It wanted to give me a nice shortcut to appreciate you Mr. Ways. It gave me a shortcut straight through an Arab village. Now this is the scary part. We saw Arabs to our right, to our left, and behind us. And the ways was at 3%. I panicked. We didn't have We forgot to bring the thing to plug it in to to put up on the battery and I was starting to drive as quickly as possible before the ways dies out. I said, "If the ways dies, I don't know where I am." I didn't know my right or my left. I'm familiar with the streets. I was going between and bam. I'm very familiar, but somehow it took me into this Arab village I'd never been to before. And all I see is Arab writing everywhere. I see Arab people right and left. And you can understand how pitifully scary that was for me. And if I could say especially for my spouse wasn't so easy. And as we saw the tick tock tick tock of the ways going down and down pulling me from right left around here roundabout over here roundabout over here. We saw a couple policemen on the way. And we said okay maybe worst case scenario I'll go to the policeman. And then finally it take me this one long curvy street. Boom. And I was familiar with the street. Then I got to the main highway which takes us straight to Beamesh. Bam. The ways turned off that minute. I said you see that sometimes when you're just not where you are. It's scary. It's insecure. I don't know what to do. You lose your footing and you just want to be home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. What's so good when you're at home? When you're in your hometown where you are, you feel steadfast. You feel stability. You feel in control. I feel like I know where I am. This is off the books, but if I could just say maybe people will know it, an old 80s uh song that went to the extent of you want to go where people go, people know your name. You want to go where everybody knows your name. If you're familiar, good. If not, now just don't say anything. Where does that come from? That type of thing. Who cares that I go where people all know me? people are there because you feel a security. You feel a blanket. You feel that I'm at a certain place of in control. I know where I am, how I am. I know where to turn. And in the case of a dire need. I know to call 911 or 100, whatever number it is, in order to be able to get in order to be able to get to if something occurs. I know where the nearest hospital is. You just want that feeling of a blanket of security. I have to tell you many times when I was younger, even though I wasn't I didn't care much for sports, but anyways, I always knew that there was always a big advantage, especially during a World Series game or a championship game, to be in your hometown, to play in your home stadium. And I never understood why. A stadium, it's the same grass, same p, you know, they say you're playing against the same team. Who cares what stadium you're in? So, simply speaking, push-up shot is because you have your fans that are rooting for you. They're behind you and giving you a cheer in the background, which helps. But the answer is a lot more than that. I just know my stadium. Every stadium looks the same, but it just has a it's a different zach, if you don't mind me saying, has a different feel to it. I'm much more comfortable at home, and therefore the chances of winning always statistically proves that they win much more. They're able to to uh to they're able to go ahead and beat the other team specifically when they're playing in their home place. When you're at home, you're just much more comfortable. We need stability. We need security. We want to feel stable. The scariest thing is when the ground that you're standing on is moving. It's shaking. It's not there. I'm saying this as a boy who grew up in Los Angeles for 18, 19 years and experienced a good number of earthquakes. It's a scary thing even though you bumped into it a few times. But you're going there, things are moving, things are you're standing on the floor. Where do you go? Okay, you go run under some staircase. to try to figure out a place to run to go under a table so something doesn't fall in your head. But the floor is moving. That's what you That's the place where I'm standing. My whole security is in the place where I stand steadfast. And when you're not standing steadfast, it's scary. It's push. You don't know what's next. When you're in control, you feel you own the world. Everything is there. When you're not in control, it's an incredibly scary phenomenon. Baru sometimes puts us through these difficult times. He puts us to a certain place cuz he wants the ground to shake. He wants us to suddenly feel a little bit of insecurity. I know I know naturally we usually think I got it because I got it. It's mine because it's mine. I'm okay. I'm in a good place. When the ground shakes, when you have threats from a country that's an most evil country that's probably existed almost and is doing and you don't know what's going to be the moral says be mer yourself to the to understand that I don't understand to know and rest my head in the hands in in in the bosom of my of my tati of my mommy to go ahead head and when that little baby is held in the child and it's such a such a endearing sight when you see that baby being held by the parent and he he nestles his head inside of the of the shoulders of his parent like it's like a feeling there's nothing probably one of the most enjoyable feelings that there is when he just nest and you give him a nice big hug that's what we are supposed to be doing when au gives us messages like this just rest your head in his shoulders and hold on tight and know Abba is in charge I know what you I know you know what you're doing and you bring this as a cure. Now listen to this. It's a little bit of a I told you in the he mentioned this idea but it's a little bit of a kadoo but it has a certain truth to it. When we go ahead and something goes wrong and this is very important to listen there's a tragedy in the city or there's a tragedy that happens and we go ahead and say what should we do about it? We should stop looking at internet. True 100%. We should work on our shait that they shouldn't be so extravagant. True 100%. That is definitely um that is definitely something that needs to be done. We have to go ahead and stop speaking. We have to go ahead and love one another much more. We have to go ahead and start doing all ms. It's all true. It's all true. But sort of speak and listen to this line. It's a little bit of a copout. It's like giving a sacrifice after I did something wrong. I'm giving a kurban to Hashem and it's all good and life goes on as usual. When sometimes we take on that cabala which is a great thing and you should be doing that. We see it as like okay what's wrong? I did A happened. What's the problem? B do C and you're back to status quo. Go back to A again. Everything's fine. And you do that. That cuts it short a little bit. We cannot leave a war that we've been passing like this or a tragedy that happens in a city by just saying what to be hal just finishing up you. That's not what we do. You have to move to the next step and build that relationship. Realize this is Hashem shaking the ground. This is an earthquake who's making us insecure. He's making our blanket that we always feel I'm in control saying maybe not. Maybe the money you made, maybe it's not from you, maybe it came from somewhere else. All the security that we have today the person was healthy and then tomorrow the doctor tells him I apologize but guess what? But in all the situations that security blanket we had was removed. the stable the the floor from underneath us was pulled over and suddenly the trap door opened and suddenly we realize oh my right suddenly get into such a situation does this to shake us up a little bit he wants us to make us realize that things are not always there and that's the message that we that we heard in this week's para cuz the whole time in the there's an incredible amount of unusual speaking about when we were walking in the desert and it says about the ananim It says it would be sometimes for many days. Sometimes it will be a less amount, sometimes it will be more amount of times. They always did whatever Hashem told them. And it continues. The just goes on and on. Sometimes it will be for for a few days, sometimes for a week, sometimes for a month, sometimes for a year. Really, what's all the about? Every word is precious. This is expensive real estate. This is the Tyra we're talking about going on and speaking with a very detailed and sarcastic and exag almost exaggerated amount of moves that we did when we were walking in the desert when we were going in the desert. Sometimes it was a a day sometimes we were there the longest period there in 19 years but even though we were there 19 years next day we could have moved we never knew says the Ramb an incredible idea this is in order to teach us the of Israel. the incredible closeness that we had to Hashem that even though we were completely metal moving back and forth swaying from here to there very unsure we had no steady footing tomorrow do we are we going to have food or not tomorrow will there be water tomorrow we moving or are we staying here can I set up shop we never knew but we still said they did everything that hem did and we did what we said because we knew we were in the hands of as if suddenly said when a baby goes around with his mother and she goes on all her errands and we asked the mother what are the errands she went on she'll say I went to the post office and I went shopping and I went ahead and visit my friend I came home and when we asked the baby where were you he would say I was with mommy that was one place that's where we were the midbar our head was resting nestled in Abba's bosoms it was resting nestled on the shoulders of my mother. That's where it was. And therefore, there was no fear. Everything was fine. We felt comforted. And that's really what we were going through right now. Feel that comfort. Understand that was the one leading us. And yes, the floor is shaking from underneath us, but it's a it's not a it's there to tell us that you are not necessarily in control. Who is in control? The sham. He's the one setting the pace. He's the one putting us just sit and hold on tight. Bet over.