Elul 29 - Spiritual Awakening through Yom Kippur

0:00You're listening to Rave Arria, director of Torch, Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast. All right, good evening everybody. Welcome back to the Jewish Inspiration Podcast. We're coming to you live from the Torch Center in Houston, Texas. And we are going to start talking about Yom Kipper. What is the essence of the day of Yom Kipper? A Vodas Hayom, the work, the service, the dedication of the day of Yom Kipper. What is it? So, this awesome day of Yom Kipper, Biyom Kudosh Hazir, this holy day, Hashem Isbara Khmeir or God of the Govoh Hashem, shines a very, very bright light on the world, a very elevated lofty light, Shenukra Orhabina, which is the light of discernment,

1:03understanding, a deep understanding, Shia Al Yidayah Orazeh, which upon this light, Royem Bechol Dovar Mahipin, you so we're able to discern and understand the internal mechanisms of everything in this world. What is the deeper inner workings of my life, of the world, of God? What's really going on? We see the external, we see the matrix, we see, you know, it's like, you look at this wall, it looks like a beautiful wall, very nicely painted, it's all plastered and it's all beautiful. But the truth is that if you take away the paint, you suddenly see that it's not such a beautiful wall. If you take away the plaster, you'll see even more that it's not such a beautiful wall, because you have screws, you have behind it, you have these two by fours, and inside that you have insulation, you have wires and cables,

2:03all of these things going on over there. What do we do? We take a facade, we cover it, and it looks to the eye like everything is just beautiful. You look at a beautiful brand new BMW. You know what it really is? It really is a bunch of scrap metal that's soldered together, but they put a nice cover on it, and now it looks all beautiful. So what we need to understand when we talk about the depth of something, the depth of something is not necessarily what you see. When you talk about this world, this existence, the life that we live, there's much more to it than the eye sees. And that's what we're able to reveal on Yom Kipper. On Yom Kipper, it's not an ordinary day of what you see is what you get. It's what you see is you're able to discern the deeper existence of something.

3:10Who may appear to be used to M.S. Gabriel, what is that internal world that we're able to detect and see with clarity in creation? M.S. Galaer al-Aluq, the godly light, Shuhu, D.M.Isa, there's a godly light, a godly illumination, that is the inner existence of all creation. Right? Does it make sense? You understand that every... Okay, here's an example. You see a corpse on the floor. You go over and say, hello, they don't answer. You shake him, no response. Why not? What's lacking? The godly soul, the godly light. It says, by the way, the same things if someone's sleeping.

4:10But if they're sleeping, they're not alive. No, they are alive. What are they missing? Well, God takes part of our soul, so to speak, and cleans it up at night. That's what we wake up. Radosham with Karm, we wake up every morning, and we're all renewed and refreshed. And we may have gone to sleep upset, and we wake up in the morning, we're like, why was I upset last night? I don't even remember. It's a new day, because God cleans our soul, freshens it up, and gives it back to us. So we're also a little bit... Talmud says that sleep is a 60th of death. So what's happening here is on Yom Kippur we're able to see the inner light of God's creation. What is the inner light? Godliness. You know what gives life to everything that exists? You know, in Houston we had a drought over the summer, and many plants died, many trees died. Much of Houston grass is no longer green, it's now brown.

5:11And as much as you water it, it's still not enough, because you can't fight the sun, that's beaming. And you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know what it is. You know, things are not right, it's maybe a, you know what it is. And it is a reflection. It's a reflection. And a reflection. We also have seeing miracles. Had we got all these었다? We are seeing the power. Every moment of life, and every moment after giving heavenexp ook. Ha'eluki, the Light of Asham, Umashem Yuhad, the Oral Shal Yom Kippur, So what is so special about Yom Kippur? Who, Shuhukul Khachazak, that Light is so powerful on the Day of Yom Kippur? At Shuhumatsliya Khlegalasa, Oral Akiyah Pnemi,

6:14Bechol Makom. In every area of life, you're able to see that godly Light. We're able to see it in other people. We're able to see it most of all, most importantly in ourselves. There's something about Yom Kippur, which has a completely different aura. It's not like any other day of the year. Now, there's another reason why we're able to connect on such a deep level on Yom Kippur. And that is because we don't have the distractions. Food, eating is a distraction. Comforts, distraction. So we don't eat, we're leather shoes. We don't eat. We don't wash ourselves in shower and make our bodies feel good. All that was staying away from Yom Kippur. Why? Because now we're trying to connect on a whole deeper level, not on an external level, on an internal level.

7:16We feel the Makomasakhirahokul, and even the furthest of places, and even in the most materialistic places, God betoch makamachait, even in a place of sin, who beneshamo sakhirahokul, and even in the souls that are the furthest from the Almighty. Everywhere that light of God can be seen on Yom Kippur. There's a special revelation on Yom Kippur, which is not like any other day of the year, because the more we distance ourselves, the more we chop, we chisel away from our physical being, the more we're allowing ourselves to, we're allowing our spiritual being to exist. You know, it's very interesting. The last day of Sukkot, we're going to start saying part of our prayer a little differently. We're going to instead of saying, instead of saying, we're going to say, Mashiv Haruach Umarid Hagashem.

8:18Mashiv Haruach in a literal translation. Mr. Art's goal. Mashiv Haruach means, he who Hashem, who makes the wind blow and brings down the rain. Now, if you change the vowels, there's different understandings to different words. Ruhach means wind, but Ruhach also means spirit. Gashem means rain, it also means materialism. Gashmiyot. Mashiv Haruach, when someone elevates themselves with Ruhach with spirituality, you know what happens? Mōrid Hagashem lowers their physicality. The Ramkhāl says, the most incredible thing, he says there's a scale. The scale is when you elevate yourself spiritually, you automatically lower your physicality, your materialism,

9:19and vice versa. If one elevates their materialism, they're lowering the spiritual senses. You can't be full tank on both. It's one or the other. It's one or the other, and a person needs to understand this. You want to invest in a physical, materialistic world? No problem. It's going to come at the expense of your spiritual life. You want to invest in your spiritual existence. It's going to come at the expense of your materialistic life. You can't have both. That's a fake American invention. That you can live the fine life, wine and dine, and also be spiritually immersed. It's impossible. Ramkhāl says, it's one or the other. You can't have them both. There are contradiction. The very existence of spirituality is a contradiction to materialism. Materialism is a contradiction to spirituality. You can't have them both ways.

10:21So what we say, particularly the beginning of a winter, we say, mashevurach, elevate yourself with ruhan yut, with spirituality, and then what will happen, more it haggashaam, you lower your physicality. What are we doing, Yom Kipper? We completely remove all materialism. So that we're allowing for our spiritual senses to open up. We're allowing ourselves to connect on a whole new level. Zahu Mahusso, Mahus Zahu Mahus Oro, Shell, Yom Kipuram. This is the essence of the light of Yom Kipur. Hayyom Shabāshemizbār Khmer, Le Kau Yuhudi, the day that God brings light to every single Jew, as to MS Shalom. What is the essence? What is the truth of each person? Validē, O our God-Ozēn, by way of this exceptional light, Anumatslīch, Amliras,

11:21Asaphnīmiyus, Amitis, Shell, Koldava, we're able to see the true internal essence. Of everything around us, including most importantly, ourselves. Yom Kipur is a day where all the truth comes out. Yom Kipur is a day where there's no more façade, where there's no more fake, where there's no more make-believe. This is the real you. And it's revealed on Yom Kipur. The Lakhain, therefore, gam Anum ibnātīkīm, biyamas iamāzēm, in a chitsanius. We too, because of this great light, we disconnect from those physical pleasures. We don't wash our hands and face the way we normally do. We don't walk in our leather shoes, marital relations, eating, drinking,

12:22ki hi alū l-hāsāsa sāaṭhāsa, MS Aprīmīmiyus, because having those physical pleasures, can remove our clarity of seeing the inner depth of things. If Anum is asking Marākīmīmiyus, on this day of Yom Kipur, we only are dealing with our internal being. There's no external. Everyone's wearing white. There's nothing, you know, looking at someone as nice or dressed in you, a nice or white dress in you. It's white. Very, very interesting that when we talk about the internal workings of the world, we can see it. It's revealed. My grandfather used to relate the following story, that when he was in the Miryushiva, now the height of the day, like the most important part of Yom Kipur is praying mūsaf prayer. In Senegāk, the soul-staring tunes,

13:23the focus, the connection that you feel, and mūsaf is like the pinnacle. So what happens? My grandfather is right before mūsaf, and he was a young student at the time in the mirror in Poland. And someone walks over to him, and he says, where is so-and-so? So our grandfather said, oh, he's sick. I heard that he's not feeling well. So he said, did you visit him yet? So my grandfather says, now, it's about to, we're about to pray mūsaf. He says, what are you talking about? That's the midst of the day. The midst of the day. So my grandfather didn't know what to do. So he said, okay, I guess I have to go visit this fellow student. So my grandfather goes, and he says, and who was there? Who was there visiting the student? All of the top brass of the Asheva were sitting along the bedside of this individual.

14:27Well, but it's almost mūsaf. It's the most important part of young Kippur. The mūsaf service, the offerings that were brought, it was like, it's unbelievable. But there's something more unbelievable than the prayer. That's becoming selfless. It's being there, existing for someone else. To go beyond yourself. To go beyond your comfort zone. Beyond what you enjoy doing. Beyond what you think is meaningful. To go visit a sick person. The grandfather, remember him saying, you're a blabemalim. Now, you're talking about one of the greatest students that ever left the Mīri Asheva. One of those brilliant minds. Like the lions of the Asheva. They were all sitting at the bedside. That's the mitsaf of the day. You see someone who needs something. My grandfather wants, I'll tell you another story.

15:27This is not only on Kippur, but it's just to understand how we need to go beyond ourselves. My grandfather said that one time it was myrived prayer. Now, we know that we learned this in our halahha, in our everyday Judaism class, that one is not allowed to stop between the blessing of the redemption. Gali Surah and Amida. You're not allowed to stop for anything. Obviously, there are some exceptions. Common sense exceptions. So, my grandfather, who said it was an evening prayer, and they were right before the Amida, and a fellow who was visiting the Asheva stood up and fainted on the floor. And the boy standing right next to him in the Asheva of my grandfather's student, you know how I'd talk between, you know how I'd do anything between the blessing of the redemption and the Amida. So, he just takes his three steps back,

16:27takes his three steps forward, and starts his Amida prayer. The guy is on the floor. Next to him. Obviously, other people with more sense ran over to the individual. My grandfather was livid about this. How can someone stand there thinking that they're righteous, talking to God when you have a fellow human who just dropped to the floor, and needs help? Obviously, you don't have your priorities right. But, ah, the halacha says, yeah, but the halacha also says they have common sense. I don't know. I don't know. There's something about superseding the laws of what the Torah tells us for the common sense for doing what's right. Look, you're allowed to for the sake of saving the life,

17:28you're allowed to desecrate the Shabbos. In fact, the Thonkhoel desecrated in the Shabbos. You know, for those of you who don't know online, I'm a first responder. And unfortunately, there are times on Shabbos that people need medical assistance. And I get a tone and I need to go respond to help somebody. So, I had many people ask me, so how does it feel to drive on Shabbos? I said, I don't drive on Shabbos. What do you mean? We saw you driving on a call, on a hot cello call on Shabbos. It's not Shabbos. When I'm going on that, it's all called it's a Tuesday. When I get back home, Shabbos resumes. But when you're going to do that, it's not Shabbos. You're not desecrating the Shabbos. You're fulfilling the Shabbos. It's the Midsvah of Shabbos. You're going to save a life. So, what we need to understand is there's a deeper expression

18:29that needs to be revealed. On Yom Kippur, that expression is far greater than any other time of the year. We're able to see the inner depths of something. So, ve'a aura gaudela z'en, this great light, shayal yadu'a shemis borgh potachlanah sayinayam lirus, osa b'holda be'a shem opens up our eyes so that we're able to see the inner workings of everything. Ha aura z'em aura r'asana li'estokik, this light brings about a yearning. Within us, ve'lishof le kirvas alokim amitis, to want and yearn for a closeness with asem, a kirvas alokim, a closeness with asem, ve'lisco lichios, vis-lisco's lichios, chayayamis, and to live a true life. Yom Kippur has a special power to reveal the truth in our lives,

19:31ki'a na'chmum i'vi'nim shirag z'ehu atova amis, we understand that only the only thing that's worthwhile is a closeness with Asem, the entire world, everybody's running after something, you know what they're running after? A closeness with asem, but they're running in all the wrong places, what are they searching for? People think, oh, we're going to go to them all, we're going to go shopping, what do you need, I don't need anything. So what are you going for? What are you going for? I'm going to look for things. You know what they're looking for? They're looking for the God that's within them. The godliness. That's what they're searching for. And people go shopping. They think that's going to satisfy their spiritual yearning. And it doesn't work. So they have to go again. And they have to go again. And maybe it's going to be when I work out and when I'm perfectly slim trim and fit. And when I do my exercises and when I run the marathon and when I buy that car when I marry that woman or that man.

20:32And and and buy and buy that house and live in my have my dream family and get those pictures and get everything that people think and dream of. You know where the godliness really is. It's within ourselves. There's nothing external that can fulfill us. There's only something internal that can fulfill us. What we're trying to get on your kipper is that internal light. I'll tell you a story. So several years ago we ran a young kipper retreat. We had a hotel rented out. We did it for us. Shashana and young kipper and We had many people who came and stayed for the whole young kipper with us at the hotel. And we had special arrangements with the hotel. They didn't give the electric cards. They gave us the manual keys so that, you know, you don't need to trigger the electricity. And you walked into the rooms. There were many. It was it was a very special program, but an explanatory,

21:33explanatory service we had an advanced service is magnificent. So there's a couple that drove to the hotel that we were staying at. And they prayed the morning prayer with us. They went back home. They came back for the afternoon for the mountain for the minigur service and the Niela service. And they were clearly not observed at the time. But they were part of it. It was very special how dedicated they were. In middle of the Later afternoon, the husband went with a few of his friends. He went to one of the local supermarkets and he went to buy some food for the breakfast for him and his friends. His wife came out and she's looking for him. She asked my wife. Do you know where my husband is? She says, I saw him go with a few friends. They were talking about going to buy some food for the breakfast. They wanted to have something special at your house or something. I don't know the details, but that's what he said.

22:36And she started crying Like you can't imagine. But it's young Kipper. How can you do that? It's young Kipper. And she was screaming to my wife. Wailing. But it's young Kipper. Now I ask you. Shabbat she wasn't observing. What was that spark within her that made her say that? It's the spark that we're talking about. There's this flash of clarity. Now today, thank God her, her husband, her family, our old Shabbat Shabbat, their old Shabbat observant, their old young Kipper observant, special special people. But at that moment, she had a moment of clarity.

23:40How is it possible? You know, in Israel, this is the most amazing thing. In Israel, you know what people do on your Kipper? The entire country is shut down. People go with their bicycles and they'll go with their bicycles with their children, but nobody will drive a car on Chavez. On your Kipper. Nobody. The entire country is shut down. That's why the war that broke out on your Kipper was the enemies knew that everyone is in synagogue in Kipper or they're riding their bicycles. Now, it happens to be that a bicycle is mucked, so you're not allowed to ride a bicycle on Chavez, you're not tough. But that's the side of the point. But you understand that people are able to sense there's something different about this day. There's something which is holier. There's something which is more dignified on this day, which is more special than any other day of the year. Because the revelation of godliness in the world is at the highest level possible. There's no day like young Kipper.

24:46I remember there are some halachic tricks that you can do on Chavez, on Yomtov, on a regular holiday on Chavez. If you know what you're doing, there's some things that you can do. I once asked the rabbi on Yom Kipper if I can do the same leniency as they do on Chavez. I said, Yom Kipper, we don't play with. I remember my wife was pregnant. It was like, maybe we can... Yom Kipper, you don't play games with. Now, Chavez, we don't either play games with. But there's something about Yom Kipper which is so awesome and holy that we have to do everything we possibly can, not to block that light. The light that shines within each and every one of us. The anikir vas elokim litov. King David says, you know what I'm looking for? You know what's really the essence of my search?

25:54A closeness with god. That's what I need. King David, this is all I'm looking for. Is that closeness with god? The only thing that is real, real and that is real good is closeness with Hashem. The real inner workings of the holiness of the Jewish soul is revealed on Yom Kipper, who must bear Shaliba Mishdokik, the Ish Kodesh. And it's very clear that their souls are yearning with a fiery holiness. The rock and laviam Shabashra and Vavodasal, all they're seeking is a closeness with god and to serve Hashem. You ask any secular Israeli who's in the kiosks and the malls.

26:57Can you keep your kiosk open for Yom Kipper? So I can't do that. Maybe you can't do that. Maybe you can't do that. Yom Kipper, it's an important day of the week. I can't work on Yom Kipper. But we need to can't work on Yom Kipper. It's Monday. Can't do it. It's a holy day. Can't do it. Everybody understands there's something different about Yom Kipper than any other day of the year. The zeu in in Ikari, Yom Kipper, this is a very essential component of Yom Kipper, Legalo, Suspeneus, Halav, Shaliba, Shaliba, Shaliba. To reveal the heart of the Jew. Will the oral Ish Kukakura, Shabiba, Shabiba, it awakens to desire a closeness with god. Okay, so we're talking about the light, the internal light that shines. We're talking about a connection with Hashem. That is on such a great level. Okay, but now what?

28:02What is the theme of the day of Yom Kipper? Chuvah, repentance. Ah, let's see how that works. And this desire for the Jewish people to connect with God on this day, Mavia, Osano, Lachzor, Vichuvah, that brings us to return with repentance to the Almighty. Vigam, Gohmeras, Gohremas, and this also causes Lakhkaapuras, Haavanas. You want to know what atonement for sins is? When we repent. When we realize that light, and we see suddenly, oh my goodness, I have fallen short of my responsibilities. I have such an imagined the following. I mean, we can see this now because we have a prince who's gone rogue from the British Empire.

29:05We have a prince Harry, right? He moved to LA, he's living a different type of life than his family would like him to. He relinquished his title. Well, obviously, when his father was coronated as king, he got a backseat. He didn't put him in the front row. He wasn't. He's not. He doesn't act like a prince. He doesn't behave like a prince. Probably, I'm hoping one day he will realize, what have I done? I'm from a royal family, and I act like a peasant. I act like a Hollywood boy. It's it's unbecoming for the kingdom. A thousand times greater than that is our status as a Jewish person. Children of the Almighty. The Almighty says, in this week's parasha, we just learned today, a shrechem, you soil me, come ochas in this week's parasha and in vizosa, brocha. Who is like you? Oh, incredible. Israelites. There's no one like the Jewish people.

30:21Not because we're different. Because God blessed us. And the nation, we're not, we're not shy about it. Talk about it with the world. And we can tell the world, yes, we're not going to assimilate. We're different. Who made you different? What do you think you're better than us? Yes. You know, who says it? God, you all had the opportunity to accept the Torah. You turned it down. We didn't turn it down. We said, yes, not seven ishma. We're not sticking it to anybody's eyes. We're not trying to poke out other people's eyes on the contrary. We're the only religion that doesn't force people to convert. We're the only people on planet earth, the only nation that when someone comes to convert, we say no. And they come back and they, please, please, please, there's a note. And they come back again and again and finally we say, okay, fine. You really want it? I remember someone approached the rabbi. I was standing right there. This is a rabbi. I want to convert. He says, you know, a psychiatrist would be cheaper.

31:29Why would you want to convert? But you know what? I'll tell you why. Because people see the truth and they say, I want it. I want to be close to God. I want this. I want this relationship. The only way to get that relationship is through this Torah. You got to be in it. It's like someone who loves aviation. A big admirer. They read every flying magazine. They read the AOPA magazine. They read all of the aviation magazines. They read them all. They know all the manuals. They know all the books. You would say they're a big admirer of aviation. You say, I want to fly a plane. What do you say to them? Well, do you have a license to fly? Excuse me. Do you know what an admirer I am? No, no, you got to go to school and get the license. You don't have the license. It doesn't help.

32:30It can be an admirer of the Jewish people. You can be an admirer even a studier of the Torah. If you don't convert, you're not in it. And we have to understand that it comes with a responsibility. It comes with a responsibility to be and to act and to carry ourselves around in a way of dignity. On an elevated plane, we're not like everybody else. In an unum kipper, it's the day where it all, where it's action. It's all action. No more talking. Let's see. What is a sin? A sin is a barrier that's created between us and the Almighty. Why did someone say, let's give an example, an easy example. Someone eats non-coachier food. I had a big temptation. I was really hungry. I smelled the McDonald's from down the block.

33:44I just couldn't overcome it. I got myself the, what do they call it? Mix something. Mix something. I got to mix something. What did you do by eating that? You created a barrier between you and the Almighty. But now comes your kipper. I'm standing there and I'm like, Hashem, I want all that light, but there's this barrier. All the sins that a person does create a barrier between us and the Almighty. Now I need to do Tashuva. I need to return. How do I return? I remove those barriers. How do I remove those barriers? That's the Tashuva process. The Tashuva process is that we return to Hashem where we have no more barriers between us and God. So what happened? We followed our temptations. We followed our Yatsahara and now what happens? The us of Hashem is Borgh.

34:47And you distanced yourself from God. The Astrutzona and the will of Hashem. The near-Lakhorah shul-Low-Road-Seth. And by doing this sin, a person is demonstrating, it doesn't really want a connection with God. I want my burger, my mix-something instead of my relationship with Hashem. It's taking precedence over my relationship with God. That's a big problem. Avo Bayoma Zebra, on this day of the day of Yom Kipper, Ms. Gala Omik, Pneumius, Nishmussis, but the depths, the real essence of the Jewish soul comes to light. The hall you hudim is Smale, and the Histok, the Sala-Shem is Borgh. And every single Jewish soul gets filled up with a desire to connect with that light. We want to connect now. Veshav, a love, the Khalibu, and now we were able to return to Hashem with all of our heart. Umachle-Chamet Akshav, Uyer, Raki, Mashemis, Borgh. And at that moment he decides, I am no longer going to stay distanced from Hashem.

35:55And we accept upon ourselves that here on in, Hashem takes precedence over my urges and my desires. That Hashem is Borgh, but Kabul is one of Hashem's loves, but the hope Pneumius not shahm. And Hashem says here, come home. That is waiting for you. The Almighty brings us close. He says, come, my children, Shuva Ali, Vashuva Ali, all you need to do is return to me, and I will be there for you. Hashem will always be there for us. Because Shihudi Shahb is Shuva, Mishtogh, and Kalashem is Borgh. And when he Jew comes back and does Shuva and removes those barriers and gets that close to Shahb. Umachle-Meshshafi-Shah, Fili-Misro'l, Bechus-Mehavirahs, what they are doing is revealing that even a Jew who is filled with sins. Pneumius, Mehavirahs, Shukh, Kheem, Virot, and Raka Shashem is Borgh. Really deep inside, they are desiring Hashem. They are desiring that closeness.

36:57It is the most magnificent thing in the world that we have the ability to repent directly with the Almighty without any intermediaries. I said this story in the past that once had a woman in the class right here, she says to me, Rabbi, can I confess to them like wrong religion? In Judaism you don't confess to anyone. You don't have confessionals, and you don't sit there lifting that little veil or whatever it is to the priest and saying, oh, I need to confess, I did this, I did that. That's not a Jewish concept. You know what you do do? You talk to God directly. We have no conduits, no intermediaries. You talk to God direct. There's no stopovers. It's a direct connection with God. And we see after all of this that the Jewish people really don't want to sin to begin with.

38:04Kialidei, Gilles, Pneumius, because by this revelation of the inner workings of a Jew, what happens? They don't want to sin at all. The external forces are confusing us. Really deep inside. We don't want to be doing that. Really deep inside. We don't want to eat that. We don't want to fall to temptations. We don't want to do things that we shouldn't do. We know the right thing. Everybody has a moral compass. Everybody knows what's right and what's wrong. Those external forces, those external powers are the ones that really pull us to sin. But internally, we don't want to sin ever.

39:04Zez, Mizgale, Atah, Yama Kippurim. This is what's revealed on Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we go into pray. And what do we say? Hashem, who allo Kim? Hashem, you are our God. We say seven times on top of our lungs. Why do we do that? We do that so that we eradicate all of the negative forces. So that we declare with a firm declaration, Hashem, I'm with you, with no barriers. There's nothing getting in the way. He cameo, she is bar, but Yom Zem is already, he's, he's, he's stokukus, ha amitus, shlosh, musis, roll. The soul, the inner soul, what is that soul? Our sages tell us, the soul is a part of God. So to speak, God doesn't have pieces. There doesn't chop a little piece. Here's a piece of my, of my being. No. But it's a way of us understanding the closeness we have with Hashem. The low lios nefrod demimenochas fashom, and not to be separate from Hashem.

40:13We're one with Hashem, call aeachadbeddagasso, every person at their level, every person who has any form of barrier between them and the Almighty has the opportunity on Yom Kippur to remove those barriers. By the way, it's not only in your Kippur, it's every day, but in Yom Kippur, it's wholesale. God says, any, any deal, I'll take. Now you know why Jews love wholesale, right? Vizeh a no dovachadash, this is not anything new. Ella misgale malhous, atz mi yusum, pipini yusum. This is not anything new. It's always there, but now it's revealed. Now every person is able to see, ah, I really don't want that. I don't want those terrible things. I really want to be close to Hashem. Um, shehim tovim atahram, that your inner workings is really good and really pure. Um, e mele boru shakalachasurunasvanesfilos, ainom beetsamahusa yuhudi.

41:19Ella rakpegala klippos. He says, all of those flaws, all of those times that we fell, you know what they really, what the source of them were? These external forces, let's call them our demons, which we need to fight, which we, by the way, we have part of our prayer every single day. We say it every morning. Every morning when we say our morning blessings, we say Hashem. Do not bring us into the power of error, nor into the power of transgression or sin, nor into the power of challenge, nor into the power of scorn, let not the evil inclination dominate us. Distance us from an evil person and an evil companion, attach us to the good inclination and to good deeds and force our evil inclination to be subservient to you. Grant us today and every day grace, kindness and mercy in your eyes and in the eyes of all of us, see us.

42:25And the blessing continues. It's a prayer that we pray every day, that we shouldn't fall into those forces, that we shouldn't fall into those traps, and we shouldn't have those, those temptations. This is what we ask for. We ask Hashem, please protect us from those negative external forces, because deep inside, what do we really want? Deep inside, we want that oneness with Hashem. We want that unlimited connection with God, where we have no barriers, where we have no limitations that that light is all there, all present. The gift of Yom Kippur is that that light shines brighter than any other day. The inner light within each Jew. Umameilin, therefore, Qashir Yuhudi Misvade Al-Mashin Nidbak-Berah, when a person confesses to the wrongdoings that he's done,

43:27and Ozev also, and he leaves the wrongdoings. We mentioned that there is a four-step process to repentance. You have to leave the sin. You have to confess that you've done a sin. You have to accept for the future. I'm missing one. You have to have regret. So a person who confesses and he leaves the sin, vissovel Hashem's brook, and now returns to God, Niyad Hashem Yisbaraach, Nechaparlo alakoh. God, you come to God, you say Hashem, I'm sorry. I'm going to accept that to do it again. I'm not going to go to those terrible places. I'm not going to eat those foods. I'm not going to go to talk to those people, negative influences. I want to connect with you on. What does Hashem do? Hashem welcomes us in. Niyad Hashem Yisbaraach, Nechaparlo alakoh. Hashem forgives him for everything. Kim Isbar, Shema Olum, Lorata, Sarab, because it turns out God sees with clarity. He never wanted to do that bad.

44:31He never wanted to do that evil. Ube Ptimi Yusso Tamed Hayem Hashem Yisbaraach, and deep inside, he really was always connected with God. He just didn't know it. He created barriers, the person himself created barriers. But always he really wanted to be with the Almighty. So what's the work? What's the work of this day? So the first thing is that Rizal says that there are two different works on Yom Kippur. Two different things that we need to do. The first thing is, Legalus Esapnim Yusgambachawakema namuchum Yusso Shalah Olum. Hadwaram Shahore Yusso Moustar Bahem, Pilurus Gambahem as Yuchad Hashem. What are the lower things of existence? She says over here, the commentary here says, Well, Khayn on a Rome Shagam Anusham Arachokema, even people who are very distant from religion.

45:34They still fast, and they watch over this holy day. Beglaus Shahayyom Nizgalem Apnim Yusbakul Khelke Anivum, because on this day, it doesn't make a difference, your level of religiosity, your level of observance. Everybody has that light shining. I feel our hook and even someone who's been distant from the Almighty. Umisal Rera's Besoch Maragasha, Shalememus, Pneumus, a true internal connection with God is revealed on this day, more powerful than any other day. Havoud Hazoo, Nikrez Balaushna Rashash, Shabiyomakul Prum Niz, Niskenes Hanakuda Hamishis, Shia Namucha Akhi, Haashia Maachus Akhi Namucha. So we know that we have five different levels of creation.

46:38You know what they are? Well, we're not going to go to the Kabbalistic part of it. Let's go to the simple part of it. We have the Domeim, which is like a rock, which is nothing. It doesn't have Domeim, Somer, Somu-uch-gros, Kha'ai-medabar, Somer, Somu-uch-gros, plants, fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, Somer, Kha'ai. No, then there's something that's living. A living organism like an animal. Then you have a Medabar, which is a human that talks, and then you have a Yohudi. There's five different levels. The lowest one, a rock. So it would seem that the rock doesn't have really any type of spiritual abilities. By the way, what's a rock?

47:39Every physical thing that we have. Your car is a rock. It doesn't really have any existence on its own. I know that you can have your Tesla drive to you. I know that. Okay, great. But it's a rock that moves. So we could find, we can identify even in that level, the lowest level, you can find godliness. So things that are more materialistic in their nature, like a rock, which is all materialism, it's all physical. Beyond what you put on the ground, call it a law. It can be. They're all repairing themselves, so to speak. And then you can see that the rock is a rock. It's a rock that's a rock that's a rock. It's a rock that's a rock that's a rock. We can be hemiscale or a gemis bochem, even in things that don't have life, so to speak.

48:40Although rocks do have life. It's a different form of life. They have energy and they have many other forms of, but it's called a domain. It doesn't walk around and it doesn't live like a normal human does. Okay. What is the high new law vote, please, bonin, what is this day to work and to introspect, she'll be called over a few lugege's within anything in this world, even something physical and materialistic completely, ain boto, ain botius, a la rock or a gemis bochem, a chioso. You know, it gives it the ability to function, these cameras, we have a bunch of technology here, you know, it gives it the ability to function, to operate, to compute, the light of a shem. It gives it the ability, I'll give you a second so you understand.

49:42What's electricity? Who made that there should be such a thing called electricity in this world? Hashem put this force into the world. See, anything, a computer, these cameras, these recorders, the only way for them to exist is through a creation that Hashem created. By the way, we didn't invent single thing since the creation of the world. We discovered things, you know, at Mount Sinai, they also had sound waves. They also had technology then, but it wasn't revealed yet to the world. These are discoveries, there's no inventions. There hasn't been a single invention since the creation of Adam and Eve. That's it. Six days of creation, that was it. Everything is embedded into the world. Sound waves, technology, medicine, everything was already created then.

50:46Today we're just revealing all of that. We're learning more about. I say that medicine today doesn't even understand point one of one percent of the wisdom of medicine. Just my simplest proof. What's the safest medicine you can take today? The safest. Okay, but the one that's most common, probably Tylenol or Advil or Motrin. Just read that container and see how many side effects there can be. Including sudden death, suicide, liver failure, kidney failure, anything you can imagine. You have a bad headache, you take too much of that medication, you have a different side effect. Why? If we understand medicine so well, it shouldn't be a side effect. But we don't. We did enough trial and error, people in Uganda and people in India. Most people took away the thing.

51:47It's enough for us to say FDA says it's okay. But we really understand why this has that effect, why that has that effect? No idea. No idea. I frequent the doctors who learn together. And I ask them this question all the time. You're an eye doctor. You're an ear nose and throat doctor. They are. How much do you really understand of what's going on? I ask them this all the time. And most of them say, well, so we do trial and error. It works. So we try it another patient. It works also. It doesn't work. Okay, we'll try something else. It's like a trial. It's shooting in the dark. We don't understand how it works. If we understood how it works, it wouldn't be any side effects. There wouldn't be any problems. But we try it and whenever it gets closest is best. Every single thing that we have around us today exists by the force that has shem,

52:52the light of a shem that gives it the ability to exist. Will it dragel, the orcho cold of our rock, leachial or shem as well? We have to get ourselves into a habit of seeing that everything around us exists by a shem's will for it to exist. It exists by the light of a shem. You look at your watch every time we should remember. How does that watch operate? It has energy, it has power. What's that power? It's a battery. It's a battery. Oh, battery. Ah, battery. Ah, how's the battery work? That they put some chemical from the earth into this piece of metal and it creates electricity that makes the the watch go tick, tick, tick, talk? Magic, wow. No, it's no magic. It's the miracle of a shem's light that he put into this world. The Gamerah says a very interesting story.

53:52One of the great tenexages who's right before Shabbos and his daughter realized that instead of buying oil to light for the Shabbos candles, she buy mistake bought vinegar. Those of you who know oil, you can light fire with oil. You're very difficult, impossible, to light fire with vinegar. So she went to her father's like, what am I going to do? All the shops are closed now. It's right before Shabbos. I have to light candles and all I have is vinegar. See, he said, I don't understand what the problem is. He says the same God who said that oil should burn will say that vinegar should burn. Light the vinegar and it will burn. And so she did and it did. It burnt. It's no less of a miracle that oil should burn than that vinegar should burn. We just know that usually oil lights ignites and vinegar doesn't. Shem could change that rule in a second.

54:53Shem is the one who created people called Mother Nature. Hashem created that. This is all the light of Hashem. We have to recognize that everything that exists in our world is the light of Hashem. Share with you a story. A friend of mine, a friend of mine who is part of Hatsala as well, part of the emergency volunteer responders. He said that he was once going to a call in Queens, New York. And it was a code one. The code one is when someone stops breathing. You have to do CPR. You have to revive them. So he's running like a, you know, he's in an apartment building and he gets to the door of the elevator. And the door is not open. See, he pushes the button. And as he's there, one of the older responders sees him there who's coming to the call as well.

55:53He says to him, take it easy. Calm down. Take a deep breath. The elevator will be here. I want you to understand something. We are fighting against the angel of death. It's unlikely that we're going to win. Understand the reality. Understand the reality. I think we need to understand that the world we're living in is a world of unbelievable light. It's unbelievable light. But we have to understand the reality. And the reality sometimes is that we're fighting the angel of death. Sometimes we're not going to win the war. We're not going to win the battle, but we'll win the war. Some people get depressed.

56:53Oh, I failed. I tried to win. But yet, it's a harain. I failed here. And I failed here. God doesn't want me. I've heard people say this so many times. God, if you only knew what I've done, you wouldn't say that, Rabbi. It's because of what you're going to say. That I'll tell you even more so that God wants you close. We all have our challenges. And just because we have challenges doesn't mean we give up. We never give up. Because the light of Hashem is within each and every one of us. Yom Kippur is the day that that light shines on a much greater frequency than any other day of the year. It's a day that we can resolve to transform our lives. It's a day that we can resolve to change that the person I was yesterday in this whole past year and this whole past decade or quarter century

57:56is not the same guy anymore from changing. And it's going to take one small change and another small change. We don't change everything in one day. But one small thing. There's a custom that during the 10 days of repentance, we don't eat bread that was baked by an angel. Give me a break. The whole year I'm going to eat that and during the 10 days of repentance I'm not going to and that's going to change everything. I think there's a very big secret in it. Say just teach us. Take something small. Take something that's almost insignificant. Okay, so instead of buying that bread or buy the Jewish brand bread. For 10 days. Now what? It's something so small. Something so minuscule. Well say, I can do this. That's the change that we're looking for.

58:56That's the change that Hashem says that is a different person. But it's so insignificant that is the greatest change. We mentioned previously if you take a plane that's flying from New York to LA and you change its trajectory only one degree, one degree. Adjust it. One degree. Not 90 degrees, not 45 degrees, not 10 degrees, one degree. Just one. It's almost it's almost unrecognizable. It'll end up in Mexico. Why? Because right here it's nothing. But soon it becomes much greater distance. When we make change in our lives, we recognize that light of Hashem that is within each and every one of us. We say this one small thing I'm going to change. Right here today, it's not so significant.

59:58But in the long run, it's a massive change. It's a massive change. Anybody who's tried to diet knows that you can't do anything cold turkey. You've got to take slow, gradual change to transform who you are. That someone told me that over COVID, they lost 85 pounds. Wow, that's unbelievable. What did you change? Nothing. I walked a mile a day. That's it. You kept eating when I was eating, but I just changed one habit. I walked every day a mile. Think over a year and a half. How much exercise the person did? Just one mile. Just one mile. Just one mile. Just one mile. Just one mile. Just one mile. But every day, every day, slowly chiseled away a tenth of a pound, another tenth of a pound, another tenth of a pound, another tenth of a pound, another tenth of a... They kept eating exactly what they ate till then.

1:01:00But that exercise, just a small change, changed their whole life. Shem should bless us all. This Yom Kepr should be a transformative Yom Kepr for each and every one of us. We were able to reveal the inner light that's within each and every one of us. To see the light, the godliness that is within the entire creation. That we should see a person, we shouldn't see them as a person. We should see them as a creation of God. We should see them as a light of God as a beacon of light in this world. Exactly the way Hashem created them. Yeah, externally we get caught up with many different things. Look at the internal. Yom Kepr is a time for internal. We get rid of all the external. We get rid of the leather shoes. We get rid of the washing our hands. And our... and washing our face. And eating. All the external we get rid of. A holiday of internal. Connect to the essence of who you are. Shem should bless us all that this Yom Kepr should be the greatest Yom Kepr we've ever had.

1:02:03A day of atonement, a day of forgiveness, and a day of absolute closeness with Hashem. Amen. You've been listening to the Jewish Inspiration Podcast, a torch production. Become a supporter at torchweb.org because your assistance enables more Torah learning around the globe. To find more lessons offered by Torch, please visit torchpodcast.com.