WEBVTT
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The evil inclination.
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He's activated full force when you are told to do something or not to do something.
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Why?
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Because your immediate, innate response, knee-jerk response is to want to do or not do the thing that you were told you weren't allowed to do that you were supposed to do.
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So that child, as soon as he heard from his mother, go clean your room, immediately the evil inclination worked on him and said, Don't do it.
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Don't do it.
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Why?
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Because she told you to do it.
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If she didn't tell you and he went and did on it because he thought it was a good idea, great, wonderful.
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He gets reward.
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No problem.
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Did the right thing.
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He gets a much greater reward when he does something against the desire of his evil inclination.
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That's the chocolate cake.
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That you know that the reason that you shouldn't have it is because, God forbid, you've got diabetes.
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And the doctor told you you're not allowed to eat it.
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So now you want it more than ever before.
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The trust factor is to take it to a better life.
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The trust factor shows you how to get through the life.
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Good morning, and welcome to another episode of the Trust Factor Podcast.
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Beautiful backdrop.
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I figured you might appreciate it.
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A regular location is currently being occupied.
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So we're making adjustments as we go.
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We're now at a time called Cholamoed.
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This is the time between the holidays.
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We just had the first holidays of Sukkot, and we're going to end off at the end of the week with the last holiday of Sukkot.
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In between is called Cholamoed.
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It's really a holiday time.
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So if you're working and if it's a regular week for you, if you can't avoid it, then what you should do is make efforts.
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Doesn't matter how big they are or how small they are, just make certain efforts to change up the week.
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Take a day off if you can, work an hour less, come in an hour later, recognize it's not a regular week.
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We're still in holiday mode and enjoy the holiday.
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If you could take the entire week off, now's the perfect time to do that.
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If you've already structured it that way, then you're enjoying to the best possible extent.
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So what are we talking about?
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We're talking about the evil inclination.
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We're talking about how he brings us down and what we need to do to get him down so that we're on top.
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It's a constant battle in life.
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We have to accept that battle with love.
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We have to recognize that he has a job, he's doing his job.
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But the fact that we know that he's doing his job and the fact that we know how he operates gives us a leg up on him every single time.
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We have the advantage.
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Why?
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Because Hashem and his love for us told us all about this evil inclination, how he operates, what's his modus operandi?
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How does he function?
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What is his daily goal and how he goes about achieving it?
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And more than that, he gave us the antidote, and that's what we're going through right now, and that's what we've been talking about in the last few weeks is how do we overcome, how do we beat him at his very game?
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And we've gone through different examples.
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We're going to continue to talk a little bit about that.
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We've said most importantly, I think the biggest takeaway here is that his success comes when we fail.
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And our failure is defined as falling into a state of depression and despair.
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When you are in a state of anxiety, when you are constantly worried about every single thing that happens in your life that is out of your control and goes against the way that you want it to go, then you have failed.
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When you've fallen into that state where it becomes very difficult for you to pull yourself out of it, or you don't have the proper tools, you're not able to utilize them, you're not connecting back to your creator properly, you're not learning properly.
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All of those things are defining of failure.
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The one who averts failure, the one who comes out successful is the one who recognizes that I failed, feels badly about it, recognizes that I'm human, recognizes that I don't control outcomes, that Hashem runs this world and I'm just involved in it on a day-to-day basis.
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He's watching out for me, but I have to do my part.
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That's it.
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Some days are going to be great, some days are going to be good, some days not so good, some days are going to be terrible.
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But recognize that you take the bad with the good.
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But you learn from the bad and turn it into the good, even better.
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Why just accept the bad at face value?
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Take from it, learn from it, inject those learnings into your life and turn it around so that next time you don't have to repeat and be in that quote-unquote bad situation.
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The power is in our hands.
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So what does it say here?
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It says that the more a person prays to improve himself, the more he spares himself the difficult bumps in life that are designed to do what?
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To trigger self-improvement.
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Now Shem sends you messages from the heavens that we interpret as difficulties, as challenges.
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In Hebrew, it's called these surim.
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Those are designed to wake you up.
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They're designed to show you that you are imperfect, that you're going to fail, that you're going to make mistakes.
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So they're a reminder.
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Hey, you fell, you bumped yourself, you scraped, you got bruised.
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Why?
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Because you're not perfect, because you can't go it on your own.
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You have to enlist me.
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You have to ask for my help.
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And when you do ask for his help, then you get to see it.
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You get to enjoy from his help.
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And you don't have the bumps and the bruises.
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That's it.
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It's not some big secret mystical puzzle.
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It's very simple.
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He's sending you challenges, he's making things difficult for you.
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Why?
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Because you're going it alone.
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He makes things better for you, he makes things easier for you when?
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When you enlist him and you ask for his help.
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Then it's a completely different ball of wax.
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So he says, but if a person wakes himself up to this concept of what I just told you, knowing that Hashem runs the world and why he brought me down, then the creator doesn't have to wake him up.
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Because if we're not doing it, he's going to do it.
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He's not going to let you just keep going by road.
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Might happen for a day, it might happen for an hour, it might happen for a week, a month, maybe even a year.
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But eventually he's going to come down and say, okay, enough.
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The clock is ticking.
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We don't know when your time is up.
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He does.
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So at the end of the day, he's not going to let you keep going the way that you're gone forever.
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So he, what does he do?
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He comes down with Isourim, with challenges, with difficulties, with tribulations.
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He puts you through the ringer, so to speak.
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Why?
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Because you're on cruise control.
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You're on autopilot.
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You haven't got a clue that God runs this world.
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You think it's all you, Kohiva Ochemyadi, my strength, my wisdom, my abilities.
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So what does he do?
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He sends you a massive loss.
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You're an investment professional.
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You think you're the guy who knows the stock market.
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Suddenly you're managing money for all kinds of people.
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You think you're making great decisions.
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Nobody makes decisions like you make.
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And suddenly, boom, you get hit with such a massive, massive loss, you have no way to explain it.
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You've got mud on your face.
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You feel like a fool.
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You don't even know how to explain yourself to your clients.
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It was such a rookie mistake.
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How does that happen?
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Not because you became stupid overnight, not because you forgot the rules of investing one-on-one.
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Why?
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Because Hashem sent it down to you that you're going to eat humble pie for a little bit because you forgot who's pulling the strings.
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You got too confident in who you are with all the money that you were successful at achieving and earning and growing.
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You've got a bank account and you did really well.
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And suddenly you think you're more important than other people.
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So you start making people feel second best.
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You start to put people down.
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You don't acknowledge where the money's coming from.
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What happened?
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Suddenly, Hashem comes over, and before you know it, you got hit with this tax bill.
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And before you know it, this business is starting to fail.
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And before you know it, you need to hire very expensive lawyers to represent you over here.
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And before you know it, you've got all kinds of problems that came out of the blue.
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Why all of a sudden?
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Why?
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Yesterday I was on high, and today I just lost truckloads of money, put a massive dent, God forbid, maybe even puts you into a state of bankruptcy.
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Why?
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Because you didn't wake up on your own.
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You waited for Hushem to wake you up.
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And how does it work?
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He doesn't come over right away and take all your money from you.
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He doesn't come over right away and put you into the poor house.
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He sends you a love tap.
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He sends you a little nudge, right?
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He opens up your eyes with small transactions.
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You had a small loss over here.
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You had a knock on your door from somebody you didn't want to hear from.
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All of a sudden people are coming at you and you don't know why.
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Those are little love taps.
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They're just reminders to say, wake up, my friend, so that I don't have to wake you up.
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And if you wake up on your own, then it ends right there.
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That one, that two love taps that maybe cost you a little bit, but it wasn't the end of the world.
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You dealt with it, you put it aside.
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It's over.
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You've woken up.
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Okay, he sent you a love tap or two.
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You dealt with it and you moved on.
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The risk, the real risk, is that you miss the love taps, that you're not paying attention to them, or worse, that they upset you, they aggravate you.
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They're a nuisance, they're an inconvenience for you.
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And so you get mad about them and you try your best to defy them, to defeat them.
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And then what happens, they get worse.
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Hashem sends you more and more tribulations, more and more difficult ones, because eventually you're going to wake up.
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Eventually you're not going to have a choice but to feel the pain.
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It's going to hurt too much to ignore it.
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So now we talk about a different situation.
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Sinning and then sinning again, the repeat offender.
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We talked about this, right?
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He says, Many people ask, I sinned and I know that I did wrong.
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Yet I can't guarantee that I won't sin again in the future.
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In fact, he says, even though I hope not to, the truth is that I probably will transgress the very same sin that I just did and am asking for forgiveness.
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How can I ask the creator for forgiveness when I know that I'm likely to commit the same sin again?
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Aren't I a hypocrite?
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And the answer is no, you're not a hypocrite.
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The hypocrite would not ask for forgiveness.
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In asking for forgiveness, you take away that hypocrite status.
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And that asking for forgiveness, even though you know you're going to fail, is what he wants to see.
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Why?
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Because it means you're awake.
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It means you're aware.
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I know what my faults are.
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I know what my evil inclination pushes me towards, what my desires are for the bad.
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I know what they are.
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And that's why I'm asking for your help because I can't do it on my own.
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How do I know I can't do it on my own?
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Because I've been trying.
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And every time I try, I fail.
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Every time I drive by McDonald's, I can't help but go through the drive-thru.
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So I know I'm going to fail.
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And now that I finished eating and I feel bad about it, I'm going to ask for forgiveness.
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Aren't I embarrassed?
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Shouldn't I feel embarrassed?
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And the answer is yes, you should feel embarrassed.
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But recognize that it's that embarrassment specifically that is going to bring you closer to Hashem that he wants to see.
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Because if you're not embarrassed, then the opposite is true.
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What's going to end up happening is you're going to end up excusing it away.
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You're going to make up a hundred different reasons why it's okay to eat a Big Mac.
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And it could be that you're going to justify it by saying we're living in different times, the Torah is outdated, the rules don't apply today, or they only applied in Israel, or a million different things you're going to come up with.
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Or I heard somebody told me that maybe the plant that some of this stuff comes out of is kosher.
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You'll sell yourself on a story.
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We're very good at doing that.
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Our imaginations are a spectacular tool, but oftentimes they're a tool to bring us down because we sit in that car after having eaten whatever it is that we ate, and we justify for ourselves why it's not so bad, or why the Torah didn't really mean X, Y, or Z.
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We're all guilty of it.
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Maybe it's not by food, maybe it's by stuck a charity giving money.
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No, it didn't, what didn't apply.
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It doesn't apply to me.
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It applies only when having good years and not what in the difficult years, or maybe I need to be making a certain amount of money.
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I heard once somebody said that I can rely on this thing or the other thing.
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And you've justified it a million times in a million different ways in your mind to say that not only did I not do bad, but maybe I even did good, right?
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We are pros at doing that.
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So recognize that you should feel embarrassed.
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There's nothing wrong with it.
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In fact, that embarrassment is what's going to solidify for you the fact that you're not going to take it lightly if it happens again, when it happens again.
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That's what he wants to see.
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He wants to see that you're aware.
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You know, there's an idea that rubs people wrong, oftentimes, especially Jews that aren't connected.
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They don't know the halach of the Jewish law.
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So a lot of things that happen as a result of that rubs them the wrong way.
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One example of that is if you go to an Orthodox synagogue and you're not a Jew that keeps Shabbat, okay, it doesn't mean that you're perfect in it.
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It just means you're not a Jew that keeps Shabbat.
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You don't see the importance in it.
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And so one day you went, you end up coming to the synagogue.
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It might be a bar of mitzvah, it might be some event that you're invited to, and you're looking to be honored because people are going up to the Torah for an aliyah.
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And the rabbi wants to know if you keep Shabbat, because if you don't keep Shabbat, he doesn't bring you up for an aliyah.
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He won't give you that honor of coming up to read from the Torah.
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Do you know how many people have been put off by that?
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Do you many people have run away even further from Torah because they weren't called up or they weren't given the honor that was associated with the bar mitzvah of their child or their grandchild or their niece or their nephew, especially when there's nobody else whose family, I'm the only family left.
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And the rabbi's calling up all these strangers to be honoring them with all these different mitzvahs, and he's not giving me one because I drove to shul, because I came here by car, because I'm not somebody who keeps Shabbat.
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So now, in line with what I'm telling you over here, here's how it works.
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If the rabbi came to this individual and said to him, I would like to give you an aliyah, but I can't because you don't keep the Sabbath.
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You don't observe the laws of the Sabbath.
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So I can't give you an aliyah.
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However, if that person says, Rabbi, I commit today that this coming Shabbat, this coming Sabbath, I'm going to keep it.
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I'm going to become a Shomer Shabbat Jew this coming Shabbat immediately.
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Not on Sunday after next Shabbat or on Monday.
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Immediately, that Shabbat, the rabbi has the authority to give that person an aliyah, as though he just did his repentance and is a keeper of Shabbat.
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How?
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He just finished being Michal Shabbat.
00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:18.159
He just drove to shul today.
00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:22.559
So now all of a sudden he's committed to keeping Shabbat next week.
00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:24.960
And you're allowed to give him an aliyah today?
00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:26.320
And the answer is yes.
00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:26.960
Why?
00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:36.879
Because of this idea that he's now in a position where he was brought to realize that what he was doing was wrong and that he's going to make a commitment to do better tomorrow.
00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:38.879
Hashem doesn't wait for tomorrow.
00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.279
You get that opportunity today.
00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:44.159
So let's talk about this embarrassment.
00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:48.240
It's embarrassing to commit the same sin over and over again.
00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:49.600
Yes, I agree.
00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:59.600
But a person has to be honest with himself and realize that at his current spiritual level, his evil inclination is very, very powerful and difficult to overcome.
00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:00.159
Why?
00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:02.080
That's the reason you feel guilty.
00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:07.759
You feel guilty because you know you just lost a little battle to your evil inclination.
00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:09.279
And you got mud on your face.
00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:11.759
Okay, so you feel embarrassed.
00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:12.799
That's life.
00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:20.639
You should say thank you that you feel embarrassed because it's specifically that embarrassment that will bring you to changing the next time.
00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:32.879
If you walked around with your chest puffed out and your head up in the air after you did an evil sin, you did a really bad thing, and you're walking around like you're the king of the world and everybody should be looking at you, then you're in a really difficult place.
00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:41.200
Then you're in a position where I can guarantee you not only are you going to repeat the sin, but you're going to grow on to worse and worse sins than the one that you just did.
00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:41.600
Why?
00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:43.120
Because you're in Lala Land.
00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:44.399
You haven't got a clue.
00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:46.720
You're not aware of your actions.
00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.279
You don't care that you've done good, bad, or otherwise.
00:15:49.440 --> 00:16:03.919
And so if you're walking around with your chest puffed out and your head up in the air after you've just finished committing a dire sin, then I can guarantee you that you are not only going to repeat that sin, but you're going to move on to worse sins.
00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:04.480
Why?
00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:05.679
Because you're not aware.
00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:09.039
You're not concerned whether your actions are good, bad, or otherwise.
00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:24.399
It's specifically that embarrassment that came after having committed the sin that shows that you're alive, that shows that you're connected to your creator, that knows that you're aware and that will help you, will give you additional abilities to overcome the next time.
00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:31.200
So the person who walks around proud, look at me, there's definitely going to be a next time because he's not even concerned with trying.
00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.799
He's not even concerned with being aware of what he's done, good, bad, or otherwise.
00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:36.159
What is penitence?
00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:38.320
What is this idea of chuva?
00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:43.759
And really what it comes down to is very simply that you want to change your behavior.
00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:47.519
You want to improve the wrongs and become a better person.
00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:48.159
That's it.
00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:49.600
That's what chuva is.
00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:51.200
That's what penitence is.
00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:55.440
Some people want sincerely to rectify, but they don't succeed.
00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:04.960
It's like those who know that eating sweets is terrible and that it's bad for your diet, it's bad for your health, and they even regret having that slice of cake.
00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:05.839
I know it's bad.
00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:07.119
I know I shouldn't be eating it.
00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:11.039
Maybe, God forbid, I even have diabetes, but I'm going to have that slice anyways.
00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:12.319
And you've lost.
00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.480
And right away, you feel bad.
00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:17.759
Yet you constantly repeat the same failure.
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:24.240
Almost every meal that you're sitting at, dessert comes out and you can't help yourself and indulge.
00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.759
You overindulge, not just a little bit, but now you overdo it.
00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:28.319
Why?
00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:29.359
You know it's bad for you.
00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:30.960
You know you're not allowed to have it.
00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:34.559
And specifically because of that, you go and you have it.
00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:35.279
What's the idea?
00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:37.680
That's the evil inclination, it's exactly how it works.
00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:40.799
What's a greater representation of an individual's choice?
00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:50.160
Somebody who was being given a commandment and then goes and does it, or somebody who's not commanded and does it anyways?
00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:51.200
You hear the question?
00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.720
Let me put it to you another way, and we'll finish with this.
00:17:55.039 --> 00:18:00.480
A child is told by the mother to go upstairs and clean their room.
00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.359
And he goes and he cleans his room.
00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:05.200
That's situation number one.
00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:12.400
Scenario number two, the child doesn't wait for the mother to tell him to go clean his room, and he goes and cleans it anyway.
00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:15.759
Which one is a greater mileag, a greater level to be holding on?
00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:26.240
You might think that it's the kid who wasn't told, didn't need to be told, understood the difference between right or wrong, and went and did it without being asked, but that's not true.
00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:26.960
Why?
00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:40.000
It's actually the person who was told, the kid who was told by his father or his mother to go and clean his room and goes and does it is holding on a much higher level than the one that did it without having been told.
00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:41.359
And the question is why?
00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.000
And the answer is the evil inclination.
00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.079
That's when he's activated.
00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:51.839
He's activated full force when you are told to do something or not to do something.
00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:52.319
Why?
00:18:52.559 --> 00:19:00.720
Because your immediate, innate response, knee-jerk response, is to want to do or not do the thing that you were told you weren't allowed to do that you were supposed to.
00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:09.039
So that child, as soon as he heard from his mother, go clean your room, immediately the evil inclination worked on him and said, Don't do it.
00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:09.759
Don't do it.
00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:10.160
Why?
00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:12.000
Because she told you to do it.
00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:16.720
If she didn't tell you and he went and did on it because he thought it was a good idea, great, wonderful.
00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.079
He gets reward, no problem.
00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:19.279
Did the right thing.
00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:26.720
He gets a much greater reward when he does something against the desire of his evil inclination.
00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:28.720
That's the chocolate cake.
00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:36.799
That you know that the reason that you shouldn't have it is because, God forbid, you've got diabetes and the doctor told you you're not allowed to eat it.
00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.839
So now you want it more than ever before.
00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:43.920
You want it more when somebody like a doctor tells you you're not allowed to have it.
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:45.359
That's when I want it.
00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:45.839
Right?
00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:54.319
So somebody who overcomes what he's been told he's not allowed to is exponentially greater than the one who does it because it's the right thing.
00:19:54.480 --> 00:20:01.920
Not to say that that person is worse, but the person who overcomes the evil inclination is that much stronger.
00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:04.880
We're all faced with those tests on a daily basis, my friends.
00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:08.480
Acknowledge it, especially when you're being told to do something or not do something.
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:13.599
When you know it's the right thing and somebody told you to do it, overcome that desire to not do it.
00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:15.759
Overcome that evil inclination.
00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:26.000
And not only will you have done the right thing, but your reward for having done it will be exponentially greater because you were told, because you were Mitsuveh, you were commanded one way or another.
00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:27.200
Have an amazing day, my friends.
00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:28.240
Have an amazing holiday.
00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:30.079
Hopefully, we'll chat again tomorrow.
00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:33.200
Thank you for spending time with us on the Trust Factor Podcast.
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:38.720
If you've heard something today that moved you, save this episode and share it with someone who might need to hear it.
00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:44.880
Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss upcoming conversations that challenge, empower, and uplift.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:47.359
And if you're on social media, connect with us.
00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:50.480
Leave your thoughts, drop a quote that resonated with you.
00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:52.960
Hashtag the TrustFactor Podcast.
00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:57.519
Until next time, keep growing in your trust and keep living with purpose.
00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:02.000
I'm Jesse Revivo, and this has been the Trust Factor Podcast.
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:03.519
Thanks for listening.
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.280
The evil inclination.
00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:06.639
He's activated full force when you are told to do something or not to do something.
00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:07.120
Why?
00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:15.599
Because your immediate, innate response, knee-jerk response is to want to do or not do the thing that you were told you weren't allowed to do that you were supposed to do.
00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:23.039
So that child, as soon as he heard from his mother, go clean your room, immediately the evil inclination worked on him and said, Don't do it.
00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:23.920
Don't do it.
00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:24.239
Why?
00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:25.600
Because she told you to do it.
00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:29.519
If she didn't tell you and he went and did on it because he thought it was a good idea, great, wonderful.
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:30.399
He gets reward.
00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:30.800
No problem.
00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:32.000
Did the right thing.
00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:38.719
He gets a much greater reward when he does something against the desire of his evil inclination.
00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:40.399
That's the chocolate cake.
00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:45.759
That you know that the reason that you shouldn't have it is because, God forbid, you've got diabetes.
00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:48.000
And the doctor told you you're not allowed to eat it.
00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:51.439
So now you want it more than ever before.
00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:56.799
The trust factor is to take it to a better life.
00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.679
The trust factor shows you how to get through the life.
00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:05.760
Good morning, and welcome to another episode of the Trust Factor Podcast.
00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:06.799
Beautiful backdrop.
00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:08.239
I figured you might appreciate it.
00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:11.599
A regular location is currently being occupied.
00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:14.159
So we're making adjustments as we go.
00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:16.000
We're now at a time called Cholamoed.
00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:17.519
This is the time between the holidays.
00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:23.920
We just had the first holidays of Sukkot, and we're going to end off at the end of the week with the last holiday of Sukkot.
00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:26.159
In between is called Cholamoed.
00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:27.519
It's really a holiday time.
00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:33.040
So if you're working and if it's a regular week for you, if you can't avoid it, then what you should do is make efforts.
00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:38.640
Doesn't matter how big they are or how small they are, just make certain efforts to change up the week.
00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:44.959
Take a day off if you can, work an hour less, come in an hour later, recognize it's not a regular week.
00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:47.760
We're still in holiday mode and enjoy the holiday.
00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:51.359
If you could take the entire week off, now's the perfect time to do that.
00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:56.480
If you've already structured it that way, then you're enjoying to the best possible extent.
00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:57.840
So what are we talking about?
00:01:58.000 --> 00:01:59.680
We're talking about the evil inclination.
00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:06.000
We're talking about how he brings us down and what we need to do to get him down so that we're on top.
00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:07.920
It's a constant battle in life.
00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:09.919
We have to accept that battle with love.
00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:12.719
We have to recognize that he has a job, he's doing his job.
00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:21.120
But the fact that we know that he's doing his job and the fact that we know how he operates gives us a leg up on him every single time.
00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:22.560
We have the advantage.
00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:22.960
Why?
00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:30.319
Because Hashem and his love for us told us all about this evil inclination, how he operates, what's his modus operandi?
00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:31.919
How does he function?
00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:35.039
What is his daily goal and how he goes about achieving it?
00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:47.919
And more than that, he gave us the antidote, and that's what we're going through right now, and that's what we've been talking about in the last few weeks is how do we overcome, how do we beat him at his very game?
00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:50.240
And we've gone through different examples.
00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.800
We're going to continue to talk a little bit about that.
00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:59.599
We've said most importantly, I think the biggest takeaway here is that his success comes when we fail.
00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:06.400
And our failure is defined as falling into a state of depression and despair.
00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:19.520
When you are in a state of anxiety, when you are constantly worried about every single thing that happens in your life that is out of your control and goes against the way that you want it to go, then you have failed.
00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:32.479
When you've fallen into that state where it becomes very difficult for you to pull yourself out of it, or you don't have the proper tools, you're not able to utilize them, you're not connecting back to your creator properly, you're not learning properly.
00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:36.879
All of those things are defining of failure.
00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:55.199
The one who averts failure, the one who comes out successful is the one who recognizes that I failed, feels badly about it, recognizes that I'm human, recognizes that I don't control outcomes, that Hashem runs this world and I'm just involved in it on a day-to-day basis.
00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:58.240
He's watching out for me, but I have to do my part.
00:03:58.400 --> 00:03:59.039
That's it.
00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:05.360
Some days are going to be great, some days are going to be good, some days not so good, some days are going to be terrible.
00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:08.400
But recognize that you take the bad with the good.
00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:13.039
But you learn from the bad and turn it into the good, even better.
00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:15.680
Why just accept the bad at face value?
00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:26.160
Take from it, learn from it, inject those learnings into your life and turn it around so that next time you don't have to repeat and be in that quote-unquote bad situation.
00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:27.920
The power is in our hands.
00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:28.959
So what does it say here?
00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:37.120
It says that the more a person prays to improve himself, the more he spares himself the difficult bumps in life that are designed to do what?
00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:39.360
To trigger self-improvement.
00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:45.759
Now Shem sends you messages from the heavens that we interpret as difficulties, as challenges.
00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:47.439
In Hebrew, it's called these surim.
00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:50.879
Those are designed to wake you up.
00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:56.720
They're designed to show you that you are imperfect, that you're going to fail, that you're going to make mistakes.
00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:58.240
So they're a reminder.
00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:01.839
Hey, you fell, you bumped yourself, you scraped, you got bruised.
00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:02.160
Why?
00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:05.360
Because you're not perfect, because you can't go it on your own.
00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:06.879
You have to enlist me.
00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:08.560
You have to ask for my help.
00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:11.519
And when you do ask for his help, then you get to see it.
00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:13.360
You get to enjoy from his help.
00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:15.199
And you don't have the bumps and the bruises.
00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:15.920
That's it.
00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.720
It's not some big secret mystical puzzle.
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:19.759
It's very simple.
00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:22.800
He's sending you challenges, he's making things difficult for you.
00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:23.199
Why?
00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:24.800
Because you're going it alone.
00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:27.839
He makes things better for you, he makes things easier for you when?
00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:30.720
When you enlist him and you ask for his help.
00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.600
Then it's a completely different ball of wax.
00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:45.680
So he says, but if a person wakes himself up to this concept of what I just told you, knowing that Hashem runs the world and why he brought me down, then the creator doesn't have to wake him up.
00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:48.480
Because if we're not doing it, he's going to do it.
00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:50.879
He's not going to let you just keep going by road.
00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:56.399
Might happen for a day, it might happen for an hour, it might happen for a week, a month, maybe even a year.
00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:00.160
But eventually he's going to come down and say, okay, enough.
00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:01.920
The clock is ticking.
00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:04.639
We don't know when your time is up.
00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:05.519
He does.
00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:09.360
So at the end of the day, he's not going to let you keep going the way that you're gone forever.
00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:10.480
So he, what does he do?
00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:14.319
He comes down with Isourim, with challenges, with difficulties, with tribulations.
00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:16.319
He puts you through the ringer, so to speak.
00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:16.720
Why?
00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:18.399
Because you're on cruise control.
00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:19.680
You're on autopilot.
00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:21.839
You haven't got a clue that God runs this world.
00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:26.800
You think it's all you, Kohiva Ochemyadi, my strength, my wisdom, my abilities.
00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:27.920
So what does he do?
00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:29.839
He sends you a massive loss.
00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:31.600
You're an investment professional.
00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:33.920
You think you're the guy who knows the stock market.
00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:36.560
Suddenly you're managing money for all kinds of people.
00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:38.079
You think you're making great decisions.
00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:40.319
Nobody makes decisions like you make.
00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:45.839
And suddenly, boom, you get hit with such a massive, massive loss, you have no way to explain it.
00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.600
You've got mud on your face.
00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:48.560
You feel like a fool.
00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:50.720
You don't even know how to explain yourself to your clients.
00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:52.399
It was such a rookie mistake.
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:53.759
How does that happen?
00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:58.639
Not because you became stupid overnight, not because you forgot the rules of investing one-on-one.
00:06:58.959 --> 00:06:59.360
Why?
00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:07.040
Because Hashem sent it down to you that you're going to eat humble pie for a little bit because you forgot who's pulling the strings.
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:12.720
You got too confident in who you are with all the money that you were successful at achieving and earning and growing.
00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:14.639
You've got a bank account and you did really well.
00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:17.199
And suddenly you think you're more important than other people.
00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:20.000
So you start making people feel second best.
00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:21.600
You start to put people down.
00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:24.000
You don't acknowledge where the money's coming from.
00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:24.720
What happened?
00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:29.360
Suddenly, Hashem comes over, and before you know it, you got hit with this tax bill.
00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:31.600
And before you know it, this business is starting to fail.
00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:35.360
And before you know it, you need to hire very expensive lawyers to represent you over here.
00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.639
And before you know it, you've got all kinds of problems that came out of the blue.
00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:39.839
Why all of a sudden?
00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:40.240
Why?
00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:48.720
Yesterday I was on high, and today I just lost truckloads of money, put a massive dent, God forbid, maybe even puts you into a state of bankruptcy.
00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:49.120
Why?
00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:51.680
Because you didn't wake up on your own.
00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:54.079
You waited for Hushem to wake you up.
00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:55.120
And how does it work?
00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:57.600
He doesn't come over right away and take all your money from you.
00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:01.199
He doesn't come over right away and put you into the poor house.
00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:02.879
He sends you a love tap.
00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:05.199
He sends you a little nudge, right?
00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:07.759
He opens up your eyes with small transactions.
00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:09.519
You had a small loss over here.
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:12.879
You had a knock on your door from somebody you didn't want to hear from.
00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:15.759
All of a sudden people are coming at you and you don't know why.
00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:17.279
Those are little love taps.
00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:21.839
They're just reminders to say, wake up, my friend, so that I don't have to wake you up.
00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:25.519
And if you wake up on your own, then it ends right there.
00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:30.000
That one, that two love taps that maybe cost you a little bit, but it wasn't the end of the world.
00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:31.680
You dealt with it, you put it aside.
00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:32.720
It's over.
00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:34.080
You've woken up.
00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.159
Okay, he sent you a love tap or two.
00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:37.919
You dealt with it and you moved on.
00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:46.080
The risk, the real risk, is that you miss the love taps, that you're not paying attention to them, or worse, that they upset you, they aggravate you.
00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:48.639
They're a nuisance, they're an inconvenience for you.
00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:53.440
And so you get mad about them and you try your best to defy them, to defeat them.
00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:55.600
And then what happens, they get worse.
00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:02.639
Hashem sends you more and more tribulations, more and more difficult ones, because eventually you're going to wake up.
00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:05.919
Eventually you're not going to have a choice but to feel the pain.
00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:08.240
It's going to hurt too much to ignore it.
00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:10.480
So now we talk about a different situation.
00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:14.080
Sinning and then sinning again, the repeat offender.
00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:15.519
We talked about this, right?
00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:19.679
He says, Many people ask, I sinned and I know that I did wrong.
00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:22.799
Yet I can't guarantee that I won't sin again in the future.
00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:32.799
In fact, he says, even though I hope not to, the truth is that I probably will transgress the very same sin that I just did and am asking for forgiveness.
00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:38.080
How can I ask the creator for forgiveness when I know that I'm likely to commit the same sin again?
00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:39.600
Aren't I a hypocrite?
00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:41.840
And the answer is no, you're not a hypocrite.
00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.279
The hypocrite would not ask for forgiveness.
00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:49.440
In asking for forgiveness, you take away that hypocrite status.
00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:55.039
And that asking for forgiveness, even though you know you're going to fail, is what he wants to see.
00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:55.440
Why?
00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:57.200
Because it means you're awake.
00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:58.480
It means you're aware.
00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:00.080
I know what my faults are.
00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:05.519
I know what my evil inclination pushes me towards, what my desires are for the bad.
00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:06.639
I know what they are.
00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:09.759
And that's why I'm asking for your help because I can't do it on my own.
00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:11.200
How do I know I can't do it on my own?
00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:12.559
Because I've been trying.
00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:14.480
And every time I try, I fail.
00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:18.320
Every time I drive by McDonald's, I can't help but go through the drive-thru.
00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:19.679
So I know I'm going to fail.
00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:23.519
And now that I finished eating and I feel bad about it, I'm going to ask for forgiveness.
00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:24.960
Aren't I embarrassed?
00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:26.159
Shouldn't I feel embarrassed?
00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:29.519
And the answer is yes, you should feel embarrassed.
00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:37.840
But recognize that it's that embarrassment specifically that is going to bring you closer to Hashem that he wants to see.
00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.200
Because if you're not embarrassed, then the opposite is true.
00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:45.039
What's going to end up happening is you're going to end up excusing it away.
00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:50.240
You're going to make up a hundred different reasons why it's okay to eat a Big Mac.
00:10:50.799 --> 00:11:03.679
And it could be that you're going to justify it by saying we're living in different times, the Torah is outdated, the rules don't apply today, or they only applied in Israel, or a million different things you're going to come up with.
00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:09.039
Or I heard somebody told me that maybe the plant that some of this stuff comes out of is kosher.
00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:10.960
You'll sell yourself on a story.
00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:13.039
We're very good at doing that.
00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:28.879
Our imaginations are a spectacular tool, but oftentimes they're a tool to bring us down because we sit in that car after having eaten whatever it is that we ate, and we justify for ourselves why it's not so bad, or why the Torah didn't really mean X, Y, or Z.
00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:30.000
We're all guilty of it.
00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.519
Maybe it's not by food, maybe it's by stuck a charity giving money.
00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:35.279
No, it didn't, what didn't apply.
00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:36.480
It doesn't apply to me.
00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:43.120
It applies only when having good years and not what in the difficult years, or maybe I need to be making a certain amount of money.
00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:47.200
I heard once somebody said that I can rely on this thing or the other thing.
00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:56.639
And you've justified it a million times in a million different ways in your mind to say that not only did I not do bad, but maybe I even did good, right?
00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:58.960
We are pros at doing that.
00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:01.600
So recognize that you should feel embarrassed.
00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:02.720
There's nothing wrong with it.
00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:12.240
In fact, that embarrassment is what's going to solidify for you the fact that you're not going to take it lightly if it happens again, when it happens again.
00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:13.519
That's what he wants to see.
00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:15.039
He wants to see that you're aware.
00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:20.799
You know, there's an idea that rubs people wrong, oftentimes, especially Jews that aren't connected.
00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:23.039
They don't know the halach of the Jewish law.
00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:27.120
So a lot of things that happen as a result of that rubs them the wrong way.
00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:35.519
One example of that is if you go to an Orthodox synagogue and you're not a Jew that keeps Shabbat, okay, it doesn't mean that you're perfect in it.
00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:37.519
It just means you're not a Jew that keeps Shabbat.
00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:39.120
You don't see the importance in it.
00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:41.840
And so one day you went, you end up coming to the synagogue.
00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:50.399
It might be a bar of mitzvah, it might be some event that you're invited to, and you're looking to be honored because people are going up to the Torah for an aliyah.
00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:57.600
And the rabbi wants to know if you keep Shabbat, because if you don't keep Shabbat, he doesn't bring you up for an aliyah.
00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.960
He won't give you that honor of coming up to read from the Torah.
00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:03.600
Do you know how many people have been put off by that?
00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:18.000
Do you many people have run away even further from Torah because they weren't called up or they weren't given the honor that was associated with the bar mitzvah of their child or their grandchild or their niece or their nephew, especially when there's nobody else whose family, I'm the only family left.
00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:28.639
And the rabbi's calling up all these strangers to be honoring them with all these different mitzvahs, and he's not giving me one because I drove to shul, because I came here by car, because I'm not somebody who keeps Shabbat.
00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:33.279
So now, in line with what I'm telling you over here, here's how it works.
00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:40.639
If the rabbi came to this individual and said to him, I would like to give you an aliyah, but I can't because you don't keep the Sabbath.
00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:42.639
You don't observe the laws of the Sabbath.
00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:44.960
So I can't give you an aliyah.
00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:53.120
However, if that person says, Rabbi, I commit today that this coming Shabbat, this coming Sabbath, I'm going to keep it.
00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:57.919
I'm going to become a Shomer Shabbat Jew this coming Shabbat immediately.
00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.200
Not on Sunday after next Shabbat or on Monday.
00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:12.639
Immediately, that Shabbat, the rabbi has the authority to give that person an aliyah, as though he just did his repentance and is a keeper of Shabbat.
00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:13.360
How?
00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:15.600
He just finished being Michal Shabbat.
00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:18.159
He just drove to shul today.
00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:22.559
So now all of a sudden he's committed to keeping Shabbat next week.
00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:24.960
And you're allowed to give him an aliyah today?
00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:26.320
And the answer is yes.
00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:26.960
Why?
00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:36.879
Because of this idea that he's now in a position where he was brought to realize that what he was doing was wrong and that he's going to make a commitment to do better tomorrow.
00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:38.879
Hashem doesn't wait for tomorrow.
00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.279
You get that opportunity today.
00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:44.159
So let's talk about this embarrassment.
00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:48.240
It's embarrassing to commit the same sin over and over again.
00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:49.600
Yes, I agree.
00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:59.600
But a person has to be honest with himself and realize that at his current spiritual level, his evil inclination is very, very powerful and difficult to overcome.
00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:00.159
Why?
00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:02.080
That's the reason you feel guilty.
00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:07.759
You feel guilty because you know you just lost a little battle to your evil inclination.
00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:09.279
And you got mud on your face.
00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:11.759
Okay, so you feel embarrassed.
00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:12.799
That's life.
00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:20.639
You should say thank you that you feel embarrassed because it's specifically that embarrassment that will bring you to changing the next time.
00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:32.879
If you walked around with your chest puffed out and your head up in the air after you did an evil sin, you did a really bad thing, and you're walking around like you're the king of the world and everybody should be looking at you, then you're in a really difficult place.
00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:41.200
Then you're in a position where I can guarantee you not only are you going to repeat the sin, but you're going to grow on to worse and worse sins than the one that you just did.
00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:41.600
Why?
00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:43.120
Because you're in Lala Land.
00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:44.399
You haven't got a clue.
00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:46.720
You're not aware of your actions.
00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.279
You don't care that you've done good, bad, or otherwise.
00:15:49.440 --> 00:16:03.919
And so if you're walking around with your chest puffed out and your head up in the air after you've just finished committing a dire sin, then I can guarantee you that you are not only going to repeat that sin, but you're going to move on to worse sins.
00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:04.480
Why?
00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:05.679
Because you're not aware.
00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:09.039
You're not concerned whether your actions are good, bad, or otherwise.
00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:24.399
It's specifically that embarrassment that came after having committed the sin that shows that you're alive, that shows that you're connected to your creator, that knows that you're aware and that will help you, will give you additional abilities to overcome the next time.
00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:31.200
So the person who walks around proud, look at me, there's definitely going to be a next time because he's not even concerned with trying.
00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.799
He's not even concerned with being aware of what he's done, good, bad, or otherwise.
00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:36.159
What is penitence?
00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:38.320
What is this idea of chuva?
00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:43.759
And really what it comes down to is very simply that you want to change your behavior.
00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:47.519
You want to improve the wrongs and become a better person.
00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:48.159
That's it.
00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:49.600
That's what chuva is.
00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:51.200
That's what penitence is.
00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:55.440
Some people want sincerely to rectify, but they don't succeed.
00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:04.960
It's like those who know that eating sweets is terrible and that it's bad for your diet, it's bad for your health, and they even regret having that slice of cake.
00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:05.839
I know it's bad.
00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:07.119
I know I shouldn't be eating it.
00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:11.039
Maybe, God forbid, I even have diabetes, but I'm going to have that slice anyways.
00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:12.319
And you've lost.
00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.480
And right away, you feel bad.
00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:17.759
Yet you constantly repeat the same failure.
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:24.240
Almost every meal that you're sitting at, dessert comes out and you can't help yourself and indulge.
00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.759
You overindulge, not just a little bit, but now you overdo it.
00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:28.319
Why?
00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:29.359
You know it's bad for you.
00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:30.960
You know you're not allowed to have it.
00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:34.559
And specifically because of that, you go and you have it.
00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:35.279
What's the idea?
00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:37.680
That's the evil inclination, it's exactly how it works.
00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:40.799
What's a greater representation of an individual's choice?
00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:50.160
Somebody who was being given a commandment and then goes and does it, or somebody who's not commanded and does it anyways?
00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:51.200
You hear the question?
00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.720
Let me put it to you another way, and we'll finish with this.
00:17:55.039 --> 00:18:00.480
A child is told by the mother to go upstairs and clean their room.
00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.359
And he goes and he cleans his room.
00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:05.200
That's situation number one.
00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:12.400
Scenario number two, the child doesn't wait for the mother to tell him to go clean his room, and he goes and cleans it anyway.
00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:15.759
Which one is a greater mileag, a greater level to be holding on?
00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:26.240
You might think that it's the kid who wasn't told, didn't need to be told, understood the difference between right or wrong, and went and did it without being asked, but that's not true.
00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:26.960
Why?
00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:40.000
It's actually the person who was told, the kid who was told by his father or his mother to go and clean his room and goes and does it is holding on a much higher level than the one that did it without having been told.
00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:41.359
And the question is why?
00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.000
And the answer is the evil inclination.
00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.079
That's when he's activated.
00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:51.839
He's activated full force when you are told to do something or not to do something.
00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:52.319
Why?
00:18:52.559 --> 00:19:00.720
Because your immediate, innate response, knee-jerk response, is to want to do or not do the thing that you were told you weren't allowed to do that you were supposed to.
00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:09.039
So that child, as soon as he heard from his mother, go clean your room, immediately the evil inclination worked on him and said, Don't do it.
00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:09.759
Don't do it.
00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:10.160
Why?
00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:12.000
Because she told you to do it.
00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:16.720
If she didn't tell you and he went and did on it because he thought it was a good idea, great, wonderful.
00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.079
He gets reward, no problem.
00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:19.279
Did the right thing.
00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:26.720
He gets a much greater reward when he does something against the desire of his evil inclination.
00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:28.720
That's the chocolate cake.
00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:36.799
That you know that the reason that you shouldn't have it is because, God forbid, you've got diabetes and the doctor told you you're not allowed to eat it.
00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.839
So now you want it more than ever before.
00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:43.920
You want it more when somebody like a doctor tells you you're not allowed to have it.
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:45.359
That's when I want it.
00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:45.839
Right?
00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:54.319
So somebody who overcomes what he's been told he's not allowed to is exponentially greater than the one who does it because it's the right thing.
00:19:54.480 --> 00:20:01.920
Not to say that that person is worse, but the person who overcomes the evil inclination is that much stronger.
00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:04.880
We're all faced with those tests on a daily basis, my friends.
00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:08.480
Acknowledge it, especially when you're being told to do something or not do something.
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:13.599
When you know it's the right thing and somebody told you to do it, overcome that desire to not do it.
00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:15.759
Overcome that evil inclination.
00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:26.000
And not only will you have done the right thing, but your reward for having done it will be exponentially greater because you were told, because you were Mitsuveh, you were commanded one way or another.
00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:27.200
Have an amazing day, my friends.
00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:28.240
Have an amazing holiday.
00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:30.079
Hopefully, we'll chat again tomorrow.
00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:33.200
Thank you for spending time with us on the Trust Factor Podcast.
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:38.720
If you've heard something today that moved you, save this episode and share it with someone who might need to hear it.
00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:44.880
Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss upcoming conversations that challenge, empower, and uplift.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:47.359
And if you're on social media, connect with us.
00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:50.480
Leave your thoughts, drop a quote that resonated with you.
00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:52.960
Hashtag the TrustFactor Podcast.
00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:57.519
Until next time, keep growing in your trust and keep living with purpose.
00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:02.000
I'm Jesse Revivo, and this has been the Trust Factor Podcast.
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:03.519
Thanks for listening.
