Does Satan Fight God? - WAR OF AMALEK (9)

0:02We're back here on our Tuesday night, War of Amalek, the last war before Mashiach comes, based on the writings of Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, alav ha-shalom, Hashem yikom damo. Tonight's shiur is going to be for the refuah shleimah, hatzlacha rabah, for Rabbi Ephraim ben Shulamit, Rabbanit Sarah bat Anat, Rabbanit Levana bat Sarah. Avi Mori, David ben Nesria, Imi Morati, Doris bat Jorah, Sarah bat Sarah, Naomi bat Sarah, and also big Mazal Tov for the mishpachah of Avraham and Sarah. for having a new baby girl. And thank you very much to all of you who continue to learn with us, continue to support the organization, and help us with all the wonderful things that we're doing. As I mentioned to you just the other day, we have a major... We plan for the next few weeks to do a huge Siyum HaTorah Kula in one day with nearly a thousand people, maybe even a little bit more, where we're going to have 800 Avreichim learning the Shas Bavli, Yerushalmi, Shulchan Aruch, Mishnah, and several other things in one day.

1:18and 200 wives of the Avreichim that will be completing the Sefer Tehillim, just to bring protection to Am Yisrael, to bring protection specifically to northern Israel. Anyone that wants to donate and help us with this, you can donate at bhtorah.org, bhtorah.org. Also, for some of you that have ordered some... of the books and USBs in the Kiruv store. You continue ordering, Baruch Hashem. We still have plenty of things. There is a back order on this particular book. We ran out of it in this location, but we have another shipment coming very soon. But I... Pretty much letting you know that if you're not getting your order in the next week or two, it's just because it's back-ordered. You don't have to ask me about it. It's going to come eventually, b'ezrat Hashem. And those of you that want the book, you should order it now. So the next batch that comes in, you're the first ones to go out. You can go to kiruvstore.org.

2:23Okay, with that being said, keep it short and simple. Let's get into it. Tonight's shiur is not going to be the easy-peasy type of shiur, not that they really ever are, but tonight's shiur is going to answer one of the most fundamental questions that many people ask. Of course, you have the common question of where was God during the Holocaust? And really, when anyone looks at the world today with anti-Semitism hitting an all-time high, only challenged in recent history by the time of the Holocaust, you're seeing anti-Semitism in America, you're seeing it all over Europe, you're seeing it in Israel, you're seeing the government of Israel literally doing everything possible to not only fight against the Torah, but also even fight against their own people, where right now, literally, we're on the brink of a civil war within Israel. you're seeing anti-Semitism in America, you're seeing it all over Europe, you're seeing it in Israel, you're seeing the government of Israel literally doing everything possible to not only fight against the Torah, but also even fight against their own people, where right now, literally, we're on the brink of a civil war within Israel, because the Bagatz (the judicial court of the State of Israel), which are Amalek himself, they're not only making laws to fight against the Torah, to force us to go to the army, and to do all types of horrible things which we always knew they hated us, but now...

3:30because the Bagatz, the judicial court of the State of Israel, which is Amalek himself, is not only making laws to fight against the Torah, to force people to go to the army, to find them and make them do all types of horrible things, which we always knew they hated us, but now They're doing something even worse, which is they're actually arresting soldiers, soldiers that have been fighting in this war, soldiers that have sacrificed their lives to protect the country, to protect the people. They're actually arresting Israeli soldiers, not Arab soldiers, not Arab terrorists. Israeli soldiers are being arrested. and tried for possibilities of maybe they were too aggressive. Literally, you would think that the army is now taking control over the government. And of course, the civilians in the country are not having it. Many of them are protesting. Many of them are literally causing chaos. And the country is on the brink of a civil war.

4:42But in so many words, what you're seeing is you're seeing the hand of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. You literally have to be blind not to see the hand of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. of how he made a shakshuka out of everything Jewish in just a short period of time. Everything and anything that was related to the Jewish people over the last 12 months has gone upside down. You have major crises happening politically, major crises happening socially. Some are having major crises in their marriages, in their businesses. There are literally major crises for the Jewish people and it literally, seems like it's only the Jewish people that are having a major crisis. Now, of course, I know that some of the terrorists that are on the thread are going to say, "Yeah, but what about the Palestinian terrorists? Free Palestine!" Of course, if you didn't commit terror, this would not happen. But the point is that anyone looking closely at the picture at hand of the Jewish people worldwide is quickly reminded of the time preceding the Holocaust, where it seemed like the Satan himself was in charge. When six million Jews are murdered in cold blood while the world sits quietly, including the majority of the Jewish world that was sitting comfortably in America, where two and a half million Jews immigrated before World War II. Many of them were completely clueless about the war, and even those that knew about it, like the New York Times, Reform, anti-Torah, anti-Semitic...

6:02majority of the Jewish world that was sitting comfortably in America, where two and a half million Jews immigrated to America before World War II, many of them were completely clueless about the war. And even those that knew about it, like the New York Times, Reform, anti-Torah, anti-Semitic... but unfortunately, a lot of Jewish owners and reporters were literally hiding the Holocaust. They were hiding the Holocaust. They were hiding the death toll. And it literally seemed that it wasn't just death. It was a physical death. It was social death. It was a horrible, horrible time where it looked like the Satan was in charge. But yet we all know, that the holy Jewish sages teach time and time again, and of course, there are endless verses in the Torah that talk about it. Of course, one of the verses that we say every day several times a day is that there's only one God, and of course, the sages teach that there is nothing else but Hashem. But in tonight's shiur...

7:20will teach us about the times when the Satan is actually given control to destroy without distinguishing between the righteous and the wicked. The times, the witnesses, and the reason for it are going to help us understand the fundamental principles behind how Hashem controls His world. and this is going to answer the question of not only "Where was God during the Holocaust?" which we've answered many times in the past, but "Why does this happen even more?" It's not just that we sinned, so therefore something bad happens, because we've seen times where we've sinned but nothing bad happens for a while. So where does this all happen? Here, I don't necessarily recommend this for the faint of heart. At the same token, it is something that all Jews must know at some point or another in their life. It's not necessarily going to be a gruesome shiur like the Gehinnom shiur. It's just a deep topic that if you're faint of heart, if you're one of the people that wants to hear something lovey-dovey, maybe a couple of stories, talk about how Hashem loves you all the time, this is not going to be that shiur.

8:48So with that being said, Rabotai, the holy Rav Elchanan Wasserman completed the last section by telling us about the two different types of wars that Am Yisrael was involved in throughout history. Whereas the type of war similar to what Achashverosh did, I'm sorry, Antiochus did, where he wanted to destroy us. And then you have Haman. On one end, you have one that wants to destroy us physically, which is Haman, Hitler. And then you have Antiochus that wants to destroy us spiritually. When it came to Haman, we prayed to HaKadosh Baruch Hu. When it came to Antiochus, we fought and sacrificed our lives. And this, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman is telling us, is how the Torah teaches us to handle different types of wars. When it's only our bodies at risk, we have to pray to Hashem to remove the decree. When it's our spirituality, when it's our connection to HaKadosh Baruch Hu at risk, we have to sacrifice our lives.

10:09Just like the Torah tells us in Gemara Masechet Sanhedrin, that if a Jew is told either to kill somebody or you'll be killed, either commit immorality with somebody's wife, or you'll be killed, or worship an idol, or you'll be killed, the Jew must die. He cannot kill anybody to save his own life. He cannot worship an idol, and he cannot commit any type of immorality in order to save his life. These are the three cardinal sins. Now, for everything else, a Jew has to save his life. Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman is now continuing into the next section. This is the ninth section of the series, even though this is your number 10, I believe, or number nine, actually. And he says as follows. It is important to know and to understand that with all of the judgment in the world, whatever happens in the world, there is nothing else but meaning. Despite all of the things that happen in the world, there is nothing else but Hashem. There is nothing else but Hashem. What does this mean? Reading further, we become even more confused. אך

11:17that with all of the judgment in the world, whatever happens, there is nothing else but meaning. Despite all of the things that happen in the world, there is nothing else but Hashem. There's nothing else but Hashem. What does this mean? Reading further, we become even more confused, aval... But during the time when the prosecutor is against us and is overpowering us because of our unfortunately many transgressions... At times, the Satan is given permission to fight against HaKadosh Baruch Hu, if you will. What is this? What is this? Now we see that this enormous statement required qualification.

12:44Not every statement requires a qualification. Now, of course, if you say something that is off from what the norm is, what the tradition is, you need to qualify your statement. This is the reason why Chazal said that the wise men have to be careful with their words, lest their students go astray because of misunderstanding them. So, if you're going to say something that is not the tradition, more important than your statement is the qualification for your statement. Now, if you're going to say, there's nothing else but God, that does not require qualification. Why? Because this is what the tradition is. This is what Torah says in countless places. But if you're going to say, God needs you, if you're going to say, no one's going to get punished, even if you found some source, and maybe Garbage Pail Kids cards from the 1970s, you have to show people that your source is the Garbage Pail Kids. And then we can know we can throw you, the cards, and your source into the garbage. But either way, you have to qualify your statement. You can't just say things and expect people to understand just because you believe yourself to be some philosopher or some intellect.

13:44Even if you found some source, maybe Garbage Pail Kids cards from the 1970s, you have to show people that your source is the Garbage Pail Kids. Then we can know to throw both the cards and your source into the garbage. But either way, you have to qualify your statement. You can't just say things and expect people to understand just because you believe yourself to be some philosopher or intellectual. and when you present yourself as a teacher, a rabbi, a wise man, it's even more responsibility, says the Mishnah, more responsibility upon you to make sure that your words are clear. So here we see how Rav Elchonon Wasserman, before making an extraordinary statement, that at first, perhaps may sound to some of you like it's coming from a different religion. Chas v'shalom. The other religions copied, plagiarized, but misunderstood. They actually give power to the Satan. Here, Rav Elchonon Wasserman qualifies the statement specifically, saying, "Despite all of the judgments that are happening in the world, all of the horrible decrees, all of the animosity, all the anti-Semitism, the pogroms, the Inquisitions, the Holocaust, all of the, you know, horrible things that happen to us. There is nothing else but Him; there's no one else that's in power other than Hashem." But there are times

15:01Elchanan Wasserman qualifies the statement specifically, saying: Despite all of the judgments that are happening in the world, all of the horrible decrees, all of the animosity, all the anti-Semitism, the pogroms, the Inquisitions, the Holocaust, all of the, you know, horrible things that happen to us. There is nothing else but Him. There's no one else that's in power other than Hashem. But there are times where the Satan is given permission to fight against Hashem, kivyachol. So before, Rabotai HaKedoshim, we go into the depths of this sugya, we have to understand the qualification. We have to understand what we're talking about here. Because this segment of Rav Elchanan Wasserman's teaching is part of the secrets regarding the heavenly Merkavah, where a person that understands this will understand the entire creation as far as how it's managed by Hashem from a minimal standpoint—not obviously a godly standpoint but a minimal standpoint. It all starts with

16:27knowing that there's and we apply this, we live with this not just in our minds but in practice. Every Jew that says, "Now what does it really mean?" First, we're obviously referring to us, Am Yisrael. This is the reason why when non-Jews Even though they're trying their best to be as righteous as possible, righteous Noahides, when they ask me if they are allowed to say, Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad every day, I say no. Why? Because this is not for you. It clearly says it in the verse. Shema Yisrael, this is referring specifically to Am Yisrael. You're not part of Am Yisrael even if you love Am Yisrael. Even if you support Am Yisrael, you're not part of Am Yisrael. This is specifically an obligation on Am Yisrael. Oh, I'm going to do it anyway. Oh, so you don't actually care about what the Torah says. You don't care what the sages say. You care about what you want to do. You were just looking for permission to make yourself feel better. But a Jew, on the other hand, is obligated to say the Shema Yisrael each and every single day, in the morning and at night. And therefore, it is important for us to know what is this Shema Yisrael. When we're talking about Shema Yisrael, we first know that it's about us.

17:56we are accepting upon ourselves that God, He's our God and He is one. Now, the Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim, in the fifth section, the first halacha, says that a person has to have in mind when reciting the blessings, any blessings, anytime you mention Hashem's name, person must have in mind the meaning of the words when reciting the blessings. When articulating the name, the Yud Kei Vav Kei, one has to have in mind the meaning of the name as it's pronounced, "Amunai" (and I use the Mem because I'm not saying it in the verse instead of the Dalet), that He is Lord over all And one should have in mind the meaning of the name as it's spelled, the Yud Kei Vav Kei, that He was, is, and will be. And when articulating the name, Elokim, have in mind that He is strong, omnipotent, master of all powers. So the Shema Yisrael Hashem, the Hashem is referring to how HaKadosh Baruch Hu is Echad, Yachid, Umeyuchad.

19:19He is one. He is only. He is unique. There is nothing else like Him. Nothing else resembles Him. He controls the seven heavens, the land, and the heavenly spirits, meaning He has complete and total control over the entire creation. Nothing is beyond His control. When we're saying, "that He's Eloheinu," we're accepting upon ourselves the kingship of Heaven. We're saying that He is "Yahweh," meaning He was, He is, and He will be, indicating that He is not subject to time. He always was; there is no beginning to God. He always will be; there is no end to God, even after we are gone. that He's Elokim, meaning we're accepting upon ourselves the Kingship of Heaven. We're saying that He is "Hayah, Hoveh, Veyihiyeh," He was, He is, and He will be, meaning that He is not subject to time. He always was; there is no beginning of God. He always will be; there is no end to God, even after we are.

20:19disappear from the world. He will always be, even before we were; He always was and He always is, meaning that He knows our thoughts. He's always present. Nothing is beneath Him. Nothing is too small for Him. Needless to say, nothing is too big for Him. Whether it's your thoughts, your diet, the small talk between you and your spouse, and what you and your friends are doing on the weekend, the fact that you decided to play a video game instead of watch a shiur Torah, the fact that it's very difficult for you to protect your brit, but you overcame it, and even that new dress that you know inside is a few inches too short, but you're pretending like it's okay. He knows all of it. Furthermore, we say God again, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad. And by there we mean that He is powerful beyond any comprehension, beyond anything else, there is no second. We say God again, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad. And by that, we mean that He is powerful beyond any comprehension, beyond anything else; there is no second.

21:43is meaning is that He has unlimited power. There is nothing that is beyond Him, whether it's subject to time or space. It is irrelevant; He has unlimited power. And, which is perhaps the most important for the subject at hand, He is the Master, meaning Owner of all the powers that exist, thereby meaning that there are other powers in the world, whether it's the physical powers, whether it's gravity or the different aspects of physics, or its spiritual powers, whether it be the angels, the Satan, the Shedim, or anything else. All powers are His powers. He owns all of them. They're simply a representation of Him. The servant is an extended hand of the master. But in this particular case, the servant only exists due to the master's complete control of that servant, complete ownership of that servant, not just because he can kill or not kill. Simply that the existence of any power is only due to the Creator, due to the master himself. And therefore, once a person understands...

23:11complete control of that, uh, of that servant, complete ownership of that servant, not just because he can kill or not kill. Simply, the existence of any power is only due to the Creator, due to the Master Himself. And therefore, once a person understands This is not, this is not Hasidut. This is halacha. This is basic level Judaism. Every single Jew in the world is obligated to believe everything I just said. Anyone that has any thought that empowers anything else or limits HaKadosh Baruch Hu in any way possible, in any way whatsoever, limits His powers, His abilities in any way, and such as saying he needs you, he wasn't able to stay without you, or all types of other foolish heresies that are out there. Any thought that empowers anything else or a limitation of His powers is violating the law from the Torah that's in the Ten Commandments: "They shall not have another god."

24:39does it mean another god, another elohim, another master? And that doesn't necessarily mean like a statue or a human being with long hair that died on some cross that people have deified. It also means thoughts that perhaps your landlord has control over you, your bank has control over you, the IRS has control over you, or anything else out there. Empowering anything else other than God is violating the Torah. Now, once a person understands this particular part and accepts it wholeheartedly, that literally there is nothing else but Him, there is no other power. There is nothing else that can refute Him, reject Him, go against Him, nothing. Whatever happens in the world is only due to His permission for that to exist, including you going against Him. It's not that He doesn't care, it's not that He's not going to punish you, but rather it's His mercy that is allowing you to continue existing every single second, whether you sin or you make a mitzvah. Endless kindness comes from Him to even allow us to exist, needless to say, to allow us to exist despite our many flaws. And any thought whatsoever opposing that is 100% against the Torah. So this...

26:04whether you sin or perform a mitzvah. Endless kindness comes from Him to even allow us to exist, needless to say, to allow us to exist despite our many flaws. And any thought whatsoever opposing that is 100% against the Torah. So this... very simple clarification of what does it mean. What does it mean is the qualifying explanation, but then the atomic bomb comes and tells us that there are times when the prosecutor

27:05strengthens over us to the point where it's given permission to the Satan to fight against God. What is this? As I learned from my dear Rabbi, this unfortunate situation is the fact that there are times Whether Hashem permits what’s called our Tautoin or Tia Tua. What is this Tautoin? It comes from the word "taut," which means mistake. Hashem permits a deceiving illusion to exist in order to make it look like the Satan is in control of the world and

28:05that Am Yisrael left Egypt after a series of miracles and supernatural events by HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and got to Mount Sinai. But unfortunately, part of their exodus was bringing the "Erev Rav"—the mixed multitude—that we suffer from until this day. that Am Yisrael left Egypt after a series of miracles and supernatural events by HaKadosh Baruch Hu to Har Sinai. But unfortunately, part of their exodus was bringing the Erev Rav, the mixed multitude, that we suffer from until this day the wicked fake converts that came from Egypt, that pretended like they wanted to accept the Torah, but in reality, the Chachamim teach, they still believed that Moshe Rabbeinu was a wizard and they wanted to learn his witchcraft and how he made all of the things he did. They had no intention whatsoever to accept the Torah. They were, who are these Erev Rav? They were the necromancers of Egypt. They were wizards of Egypt. And when they saw that the miracles of God destroyed Egypt, they did not conclude that this is God, even though there is a statement where they say, this is a finger of God here.

29:35they were, who are these Erev Rav? They were the necromancers of Egypt. They were wizards of Egypt. And when they saw that the miracles of God destroyed Egypt, they did not conclude that this is God, even though there is a statement where they say, this is the finger of God here. they still attributed the power to Moshe Rabbeinu himself mistakenly and pretended like they wanted to come, but really only because they thought that over time, they'd be able to learn the so-called tricks of Moshe Rabbeinu. At Mount Sinai, Moshe Rabbeinu, with millions of other Jews, witnessing the whole thing, speaks to Hashem where Hashem speaks to the entire nation, giving them the first two commandments. But since they could not tolerate the holiness of Hashem's voice and even the smell, the beautiful smell that came out with every word that Hashem said was witnessing the whole thing, speaks to God where God speaks to the entire nation, giving them the first two commandments. But since they could not tolerate the holiness of God's voice and even the smell, the beautiful smell that came out with every word that Hashem said was beyond any level of explanation that this material world could ever justify. Am Yisrael could not tolerate it, and they told Moshe, "Each time he says something, we die." And then the beautiful smell that he's bringing into the world each time is a different smell requiring a new wind to...

30:54beyond any level of explanation that this material world could ever justify. Am Yisrael could not tolerate it, and they told Moshe, "Each time he says something, we die." And then the beautiful smell that he's bringing into the world each time, it's a different smell requiring a new wind to push out the existing beautiful smell from heaven with an even better smell from heaven. It brings us back to life, but then we die again; we can't handle it. "You go talk to Him, we'll do whatever He says, and then we'll hear what He says." Moshe goes up to Har Sinai for 40 days, but the... put it into everybody's mind that he's there for too long. He should have been back—when should he have been back? Six hours ago, say the sages, meaning there was a six-hour difference. And they plant a doubt in everybody's mind about Moshe, about God, about the Torah.

32:20And the moment that Am Yisrael bought this lie, HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave the Satan the permission to look like he's running the world. He showed the people an illusion as if Moshe Rabbeinu had died and was being carried out. Then, Buried by the angels. This permission was only given as a result of their mistake of doubting Hashem, doubting Moshe, His servant. And yet, so, they were granted that permission. And that's why they said to Aharon HaKohen, "Kum aseh lanu Elohim." get up and make for us a new leader. Some say, "Oh, they said make yourselves a new god." They didn't actually mean god; they knew that obviously there's only one God, but they thought that they needed a new middleman, a new master. Elohim is referring to God. Elohim

33:42When we just say it like that, when it's just Elohim, it's referring to some type of master. It even says that Moshe Rabbeinu was the Elohim of Paro. Hashem says, I'll make you an Elohim over Paro. I'll make you a master, a lord over Paro. And the people said to Aharon HaKohen, make for us a new master. This means that the second person gives power to anything else but HaKadosh Baruch Hu. He's led to the trap of the Satan; he's led to the trap of the Sitra Achra. And now the test becomes even more difficult to pass, as the Satan, the Gemara says... to anything else but HaKadosh Baruch Hu. He's led to the trap of the Satan, he's led to the trap of the Sitra Achra. And now the test becomes even more difficult to pass, as the Satan, the Gemara says

34:44is he's evil to such an extent that when he's given the permission to fulfill the role of the destroyer in order to destroy, he does not differentiate between the tzaddik and the rasha. Now you'd say, wait rasha I can understand why this is. The Satan kills him; he's a rasha. As the Gemara, page 17, says, he is the Satan that entices a person to sin. He is the, uh, I'm sorry, that entices the person to sin. He's the Satan that then goes and prosecutes against him. to Hashem, tell Him, "Look, Your son has sinned, Your daughter has sinned." He’s the Malach HaMavet who then gets the job to fulfill his lust, to fulfill his desire, which is to take the neshama of the person. And therefore, when this destroyer is given permission to destroy, he does not differentiate between the tzaddik and the rasha, because when there’s such an evil decree permitted by God,

36:13He's hiding His face, even from the righteous, because the righteous at that point are being prosecuted, not for the same sin. As the Jew, meaning they didn't actually violate Shabbat like the rasha did, didn't actually worship an idol like the rasha did, didn't actually commit adultery or gamble or be corrupt in business like the rasha did. But since they did not rebuke, they're prosecuted for the same sin. And therefore, this... As the Jew, meaning that he didn't actually violate Shabbat like the rasha did, didn't actually worship an idol like the rasha did, didn't actually commit adultery or gamble or be corrupt in business like the rasha did, but since they did not rebuke, they're prosecuted for the same sin and therefore this... this deceiving illusion leads sinners to fall deeper into the control of the Satan, to the point where they actually decide to serve him because they think when they see that there's so much evil in the world and

37:15six million Jews destroyed, millions more before that. There's all types of animosity towards them. Now, people see all of the havoc that's happening in the world. There's poverty, there's hunger, there's, you know, all types of plagues in different parts of the world, illnesses, all types of horrible things. When they see these different segments of the world suffering, since they have... virtually no faith in God, no faith in the Master of All, no clear understanding that there is no power other than Him. There is nothing else but Him. Their flawed belief or lack of belief altogether gives room for the Satan to come and be permitted to look as if he's running the world. Therefore, when they see that the situations continue getting worse, they start only seeing bad things and... You know how there's some people, they only have bad news? All they have is bad news. There's never good news. There's never Mazal Tov. There's never Baruch Hashem. There's only bad news.

38:26Hey, how are you? Listen, I want to invite you to my son's wedding. Oh, okay. Yeah, wow, okay. Wow, I can't believe your son's getting married. Wow, it's such an unfortunate time. What? What do you mean, why an unfortunate time? Oh, wow, you didn't hear that Steve from a different state, whom you never even heard of, died a week before his wedding day. no no, I don't know who Steve is. Oh, okay. No, because I thought maybe... Oh, okay, and next time... Hey, why are you listening? Why invite you for Shabbat? Oh, wow, Shabbat! Yeah, I guess I could come to you after the funeral. Funeral? What happened? Oh, no, it's just somebody down the street died. You knew him? No, but he's on the same street or somebody in the same block. They're always full of bad news. They're always full of bad news. You notice that some people are just full of bad news? Or some people feed themselves bad news. They go on the internet. They're not looking for good news. They're looking for tragedies. Look, there's a tornado in Indonesia, in some unknown town no one's ever heard of until today. Look, the houses are flying in the air. Okay, fine. Thank you for letting us know that Indonesia has... You know, we feel bad for the people that are there. I understand, but...

39:37What's it to you? We're not really sure. Oh, look, there was a tsunami in this country that I'm not even trying to pronounce the name. Oh, okay, tsunami, yeah. Oh, look, there's a nuclear this, and there's nuclear that, and there's all these, okay, okay, Mr. Bad News, relax. Why are you so focused on bad news? Why? There is a lack in their connection to Hashem. There's some type of deficiency in their understanding that there's ein od milvado, that there's nothing else but God. And therefore, the Satan is being given more and more permission to look as if he is running the world. And thereby shows them more and more evil, more and more bad. such a point that some of these people get to the point where they give the Satan complete control of themselves where they literally serve the Satan because they think he has powers. Once they do that, they go into a world where mercy does not exist because the powers of evil know no mercy.

40:58after the mother of the Gaon MiVilna left this world, she came back to him in a dream, and he asked all types of questions about the afterlife. Eyewitness testimony is amazing to have, even though, of course, he believed and knew every word of the Torah. He asked her about Gehenom; he asked her to describe Gehenom, and she said to him, Gehenom... Place where mercy does not exist. Simply, it does not exist now. It's hard to understand what it means for no mercy to exist until you see what the terrorists, the Palestinians, did on October 7th. In fact, if you hear about what's finally coming out now from the terrorists themselves that were caught, you realize that whatever you knew is not even sufficient and...

41:59They literally trained these terrorists, Palestinians, to behead children, to rape little children, and then burn them alive. They actually trained them to do this. This is the same thing as what the Nazis did. In order to select who is going to work with the Jewish people and who's not, they would train them. How would they train them? They’d give them a cat. Tom, remove the cat's head. Behead the cat with your own bare hands in order to eliminate any type of conscience, any type of good that still remains within that person, because the powers of evil do not have any mercy and Satan is... Tom, remove the cat's head, behead the cat with your own bare hands in order to eliminate any type of conscience, any type of good that still remains within that person. Because the powers of evil do not have any mercy, and the Satan is... He is the Satan. He is the Malach HaMavet. He desires the ultimate evil. Now, all of the things that are in front of a person, whether it's your day-to-day test with money, with immorality, with whatever it is, with even putting on your tefillin, or wearing a modest dress, all of these are tests.

43:24The more you submit to these tests, the more you fail. In so many words, the more you allow yourselves to simply give up without even putting up the fight that Hashem knows you can, to pass the test, because He's not going to give you a test you can't pass. He's not looking to prosecute against you. He's simply looking to challenge you in order to reward you. But when a person does not even fight, each and every time, they're making a ...more space for the Satan to take over. Now, how can a person fight the Satan, a Satan that's enormous in power and size? A Satan that Hashem gave enough power for this particular role that he plays in servitude of God? To the point where the sages say that just like Hashem has made a throne of glory for Himself, He made a throne of glory for the Satan. Something incomprehensible. And the wife of the Satan, you can't even say her name because she's even more powerful than him. And she takes control of anyone that allows any type of immorality into their life. So much so that even the extra seed that is on the bedsheets could be taken control by her to bring more Mezikim into the world if the couple did not do the proper...

44:53of anyone that allows any type of immorality into their life. So much so that even the extra seed that is on the bedsheets could be taken control by her to bring more mazikim to the world if the couple did not do the proper preparation of their mind, of their bodies before the act. Literally, she is everywhere when it comes to immorality. Now, how do you fight such a thing when the Satan is so big, so massive, so powerful, and his ultimate desire, literally, he lusts for a person's neshama. He's the Malach HaMavet. preparation of their mind, of their bodies before the act. Literally, she is everywhere when it comes to immorality. Now, how do you fight such a thing when the Satan is so big, so massive, so powerful, and his ultimate desire, literally, he lusts for a person's neshama? He's the Malach HaMavet.

45:54do you deal with this? The prophet Job, in chapter 13, verse 15, in the fifth section, brings a verse where Job says, were He, meaning Hashem, to kill me, I would still yearn for Him. Now, this sounds fantastic, but the Gemara says the word lo is spelled two different ways, lamed alef and lamed vav. Job says, were he, meaning Hashem, were He to kill me, I would still yearn for Him. Now, this sounds fantastic, but the Gemara says the word lo is spelled two different ways, lamed aleph and lamed vav. so which one did Job say? Did he say that were He to kill me, meaning I will not serve Him, I will not yearn for Him? Or were He to kill me, meaning I will still serve Him? Two completely opposite meanings. Which one did he mean? So then the Gemara answers what we can see in his

47:22later statements, chapter 26, verse number five, where Job says, "Until I die, I will not renounce." Meaning, nothing in the world could possibly make me renounce Hashem. I'll do everything and anything, including sacrifice my life for Hashem. And the sages talk about the test of Job; it's unlike anybody else. so much so that the Ramban (Nachmanides) writes in the introduction of his commentary to the Book of Job that the suffering that Job suffered took up a year. It was the most horrible suffering any human being has ever encountered. He lost all of his children in one day, lost all of his, you know, tens of millions or billions of dollars in one day, lost all of his health. Literally, the Satan was given permission

48:24to appear as if he controls the world over the life of Job. Everything that he was doing not only went wrong, it was the worst possible wrong. It was literally a personalized Holocaust. But yet, the Chachamim say that at the conclusion of this story of the prophet Iyov... Satan suffered much more than Job. How could that be? Why would Satan suffer? I mean, Job suffered all types of agony, pain, sorrow, emotional, spiritual, and mental—every possible pain you can imagine. Satan is an angel; what sorrow? Chachamim say... The pain and suffering of the Satan was greater than Job because the Satan was given permission by HaKadosh Baruch Hu to afflict Job in every possible way with all of the things that would cause a person to die, that would cause a person to lose his neshama, yet he's not allowed to take the neshama.

49:50and the desire of the Satan to take Job's neshama was beyond all comprehension. That's how much he wanted to take it, but he couldn't. So now you'd ask yourself, wait, if the Satan is so smart, why did he do it at all? If his ultimate desire is to take the neshama of Iyov, Hashem clearly tells them you can inflict him with the worst possible pains that would typically kill everybody else, but you can't kill him. You can inflict him with the worst things, but you can't kill him. And if that's your desire, Mr. Satan, why even bother if you can't fulfill your desire? That's because the Gemara says he's evil. The Satan is evil, meaning that even though He cannot fulfill his ultimate desire, and not fulfilling his desire causes him sorrow. He's so evil, he still wants to inflict. He still wants to hurt Iyov. He still wants to cause as much damage as possible, even though he himself will be more hurt. This is very similar, if not identical, to all of the terrorists that blow themselves up

51:15saying that they are practicing the Islamic religion where they talk about jihad, killing themselves in the process of killing Jews. They think this is a good deed. Now, this obviously is the ultimate evil. It's evil to the extent where you see that the Satan lusts for somebody's neshama, lust for evil so much that even if it causes him harm, he still wants to do it. That's why even Hashem calls him evil. Now, the Hinu about 700 years ago... that the Satan lusts for somebody's neshama, lust for evil, so much that even if it causes him harm, he still wants to do it. That's why even Hashem calls him evil. Now, the Hinuch, about 700 years ago... In mitzvah 452, the prohibition of eating a limb from a live animal, this is prohibited for both Jews and non-Jews. But he clarifies as follows: What is the ta'am, the reason we learn from this mitzvah of not eating from a living animal? What do we eat?

52:39...is one of the things we can understand as humans as a purpose behind this mitzvah. It says that if a person eats both limbs severed from an animal and flesh from a live animal, he incurs two acts of malkot because this eating includes two separate prohibitions. Now the injunction regarding this prohibition that we mentioned is repeated in multiple places in the Torah. In Parashat Noach, it's mentioned where it says, "But the flesh with its soul and its blood you shall not eat." Among the underlying purposes of this mitzvah is that we do not train our souls in the trait of cruelty, which is the most contemptible trait. There is no greater manifestation of cruelty in the world than someone who tears a limb or flesh from a living creature while it's still alive before him and eats it. See here, the Chinuch is telling us... in the trait of cruelty, which is the most contemptible trait. There is no greater manifestation of cruelty in the world than someone who tears a limb or flesh from a living creature while it's still alive before him and eats it. See here, the Chinuch is telling us

54:06that the underlying purpose of the mitzvah of not eating from a living animal is because this is inherently the ultimate evil. Now, why does Hashem care if we are evil or not? Because the more evil we do the more we create distance between ourselves and Hashem, the closer we become to the power of evil that Hashem created, called the Satan. And therefore, the Chinuch sums it up and says, I've already written several times about the great benefit we receive when we acquire for ourselves positive character traits and distance ourselves from negative ones. For the nature of good is to cling to good. And being that the Almighty, who is good, desires to bestow good, He therefore commanded His nation to choose the path of good, so that His blessings and kindness will naturally cling to them. See here, without going into the esoteric parts, the Hinu clarifies that the ultimate good which is wants us to cling to Him because it is for our good, but you cannot cling...

55:25see here without going into the esoteric parts. The Hinukh clarifies that the ultimate good which is wants us to cling to Him because it is for our good but you cannot cling to HaKadosh Baruch Hu without fulfilling His Torah and doing His mitzvot. Now, in order for you to be attracted to mitzvot, you have to also be attracted to good. In order to be attracted to good, you have to do good. On the other hand, when a person, as the Rambam says, becomes spiritually sick, where the good becomes bitter and the evil becomes sweet to them. Then they no longer want to fulfill mitzvot to the extent where they could even bring themselves to such a low spiritual level where they could literally detest the mitzvot. They could hate the mitzvot. And little by little, where the good becomes bitter and the evil becomes sweet to them. Then they no longer want to fulfill mitzvot, to the extent where they could even bring themselves to such a low spiritual level where they could literally detest the mitzvot. They could hate the mitzvot. And little by little, commit themselves to more and more evil. Some of the evil would be something that they think is not hurting anybody, like becoming addicted to pornography, not realizing that they are hurting somebody. They are hurting themselves physically, they are hurting themselves spiritually, certainly they are hurting their marriage, certainly they are hurting their children.

56:52commit themselves to more and more evil. Some of the evil would be something that they think is not hurting anybody, like becoming addicted to pornography, not realizing that they are hurting somebody. They're hurting themselves physically, they're hurting themselves spiritually, and certainly they're hurting their marriage. Certainly, they're hurting their children. Certainly, they're hurting even the people that they're paying to watch this pornography because by giving them money, you're enabling them to make more sins. This victimless crime is full of victims. And with that being said, a person could easily go from pornography ...to the point of bigger and bigger taboo. Hence the reason why all of the serial killers that are studied, whether it's the ones we mentioned in the film Tikkun HaBrit, whether it's Bundy or some of the other psychopaths, including the recent psychopath that tried to assassinate Donald Trump, all of them...

58:11have stated that they're addicted to pornography without exception. So, a victimless crime is full of victims. And, of course, the same type of mentality will also justify other evils, such as gambling, stealing, corrupt business practices, adultery, and even murder. Why? How could it all go? Because once the Gemara says in Masechet Shabbat, once you allow the Satan permission to enter your life and follow what he says, today he's going to tell you to make one sin, tomorrow he'll tell you another, the next day he'll tell you another, before you know it you'll be an idol worshiper with a degree. You'll become one of these missionaries for Yoshke.

59:16And therefore the Chinuch says, if you take part in this evil, you'll be far away from Hashem and close to the Satan. Now, this too is what HaKadosh Baruch Hu told Moshe Rabbeinu would happen. Before Moshe Rabbeinu left this world, In Sefer Devarim, Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 31, starting with verses 16 through 19, HaKadosh Baruch Hu says to Moshe prophecy, Hashem says to Moshe, behold, you will lie with your forefathers, but this people will rise up and stray after the gods of the foreigners of the land and whose midst it's coming, and it will forsake Me and annul My covenant that I have sealed with it. So He's already telling Moshe Rabbeinu even though you're righteous, even though you're going to Gan Eden just like Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, just like your father Amram, Tzadikim, these people... rise up and stray after the gods of the foreigners of the land, and whose myths it's coming, and it will forsake Me, and annul My covenant that I have sealed with it. So He's already telling Moshe Rabbeinu, even though you're righteous, even though you're going to Gan Eden, just like Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, just like your father Amram HaTzadik, these people

1:00:43they're not always going to be righteous like you left them. In fact, at some point they're going to act as if they're nullifying My entire Torah. As if we didn't have this monumental climactic event of the revelation at Har Sinai. They're gonna forsake Me. For what? for foreign gods, for man-made gods, for heretical beliefs. And Hashem continues in verse 17, "My anger will flare against it on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will conceal My face from them, and they will become prey, and many evils and distresses will encounter it. It will say on that day, 'Is it not because my God is not in my midst that these evils have come upon me?' But I will surely have concealed My face on that day because of all the evil that they did, for they turned to the gods of others. So now, write this song for yourselves," and Hashem tells him the solution. What's happening here? Hashem says... It is not because "my God is not in my midst" that these evils have come upon me, but I will surely have concealed my face on that day because of all the evil that I did, for it turned to the gods of others. So now, write this song for yourselves, and Hashem tells him the solution. What's happening here? Shem says...

1:02:05I gave you the mitzvot, not for my benefit, not because I need them, but rather because you need them in order to stay connected to Me, in order to remain My children, in order to fulfill the covenant that gives you protection, that gives you prosperity, that makes you Jewish. All of these things, when you fulfill them, the nations will fear you. When you forsake them, you're making yourselves into your own enemies. Why? Because when you violate My covenant, you'll end up losing what you took for granted, which is My protection and My prosperity. All of the blessings that you had came from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. They did not come from your clever idea on Wall Street or in the technology world. They did not come because you're a good salesman or you're a technology guru. They did not come because you found the right product at the right time or you have a few big customers. They did not come because you have good friends or political connections. No, they came because HaKadosh Baruch Hu decided.

1:03:28When you forsake my covenant, you're putting yourself in a position where you have become your worst enemy. Why? Because I will eventually conceal My face. You're saying you don't want to pray to Hashem. You don't want to serve Hashem. You don't want to put on tefillin every day. You don't want to keep Shabbat. You don't want to protect your brit. You don't want to be moral according to the Torah. You want to be moral according to society, which is immoral. then what's going to happen is, if you don't want Me there, then I'm going to hide Myself. Meaning, I'm going to make it look like an illusion—a deceiving illusion—as if I'm not there and only the Satan is there. He'll take over. And when I hide My face, many evils and distresses will encounter it. Hashem says they'll become prey. Hashem, they'll be sitting there in their house enjoying the nice weather in the early morning hours or in some dance party on a day they're not supposed to be dancing, or a party they're supposed to be in, dancing with the Torah. Many evils and distresses will encounter it, says Hashem. They'll become prey, Hashem. They'll be sitting there in their house, enjoying the nice weather in the early morning hours, or in some dance party on a day they're not supposed to be dancing, or a party where they're supposed to be dancing with the Torah.

1:04:51They'll be enjoying themselves moments before they become prey for a bunch of animals that hunt them down. They'll become prey. Even after they showed the whole world that they were victims, the whole world will turn them into prey and express how much they hate them without even having a justifiable reason to hate them. They'll become prey, and many evils and distresses will encounter them. And on that day, it says that they're going to get to the point where so many horrible things are going to happen. They're going to say, is it not because my God is not in my midst? What does that mean? Where was God during the Holocaust? They're going to get to the point where there's going to be so much evil that they're even going to question, where was God during October 7th? Where was God during the Holocaust? That's how much evil they're going to bring upon themselves. And therefore, HaKadosh Baruch Hu is telling, He's telling Moshe Rabbeinu, don't put yourself in a position where you're going to say, oh, I didn't know. Oh, I wasn't sure. I'm telling you. There's a covenant. There's a Torah.

1:06:18And write this song for yourselves in order to remind yourself of this covenant. And this song that the Torah sings in Parashat Vayelech is after HaKadosh Baruch Hu warns us of what happens when He hides His face. Hiding His face, in so many words, means that He uncovers the face of the enemy. And let them have an illusion, if you will, as if they're controlling the world, as if there is no mercy. And anyone that has heard some of the witnesses talk about the horrors of what happened on October 7th in the houses, the details of what they did, have an illusion, if you will, as if they're controlling the world, as if there is no mercy. And anyone that has heard some of the witnesses talk about the horrors of what happened on October 7th in the houses, the details of what they did, or if they watched my lectures about the Holocaust with the details of what the Nazis did, or if they watched our lectures about the Crusades or all of the other evils that have happened throughout Jewish history, you see that there are times where it seems like only evil exists.

1:07:19or if they watched my lectures about the Holocaust with the details of what the Nazis did, or if they watched our lectures about the Crusades or all of the other evils that have happened throughout Jewish history, you see that there are times where it seems like only evil exists. And that's when HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, that's when I'm hiding my face. Now, the Mesilat Yesharim, the Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, he writes at the end of Mesilat Yesharim, ...some separate ma'amarim, separate writings that are more kabbalistic in nature. In a section called, he says as follows: know this, that these writings are for you to understand and delve into, and know that there is no better cure to our ailment than toiling in Torah, because there's nothing that weakens the strength of the sitra achra, the strength of the evil, the Satan, as much as toiling in Torah, just like it is well known that was told...

1:08:46know that there is no better cure to our ailment than toiling in Torah because there's nothing that weakens the strength of the Sitra Achra, the strength of the evil, the Satan, as much as toiling in Torah, just as is well known that was told The story of the great Chassid and Mekubal, Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli, one of the great giants. At a time when there was a decree, a horrible decree, in the year 5408. Almost 400 years ago. Rachmana Litzlan.

1:09:48There were so many horrors happening at that time. The Crusades were literally going from one Jewish community to another, killing everybody, leaving no one, nothing. Literally putting everybody in the middle square of the town, lining them up, asking them either to forsake Hashem and worship their idol in Christianity, no chopped their head off on the spot, no questions asked, no second chance, nothing. One after another died al Kiddush Hashem. One after another. And unfortunately, some did not die and instead tried to save their life by becoming Christians. And some of those that became Christians... no, chopped their heads off on the spot—no questions asked, no second chance, nothing. One after another died al kiddush Hashem. One after another, and unfortunately, some did not die and instead tried to save their lives by becoming Christians. Some of those that became Christians got to a point where they literally became missionaries for Christianity and some of the biggest enemies of the Jewish people for the next few hundred years. got to a point where they literally became missionaries for Christianity and some of the biggest enemies of the Jewish people for the next few hundred years, bringing more pogroms and inquisitions to Am Yisrael as a revenge against the Jewish people from which they came. The decrees during that time were unprecedented, and the Ramchal brings it. These horrible things that happened to our people

1:11:14was something you couldn't quantify, you couldn't measure. It was one atrocity after another. A person just, you know, what happened here in America in September 2001, you know, people that, like myself, remember it like it was yesterday. It was a horrible thing that happened. Thousands of people died, and literally in moments, one day everybody is doing fine. The next day you have literally everybody running for their lives. Nobody knows what's going on. It looks like literally there's an atomic war. If you were in New York City during that time, it literally looked like the world was going to end. It literally looked like the world was going to end. Horrible, horrible times. well, what happened in America in September 2001, and needless to say, what happened in America right before World War II, where right before, uh, America joined World War II, Japan attacked them. Horrible things. Those horrible things, and even the October 7th horrors, were nothing in comparison to what was happening just a few hundred years ago from the sword of Yishmael. And the Mikhail brings it, and at that time, the great Mekubal, the Chassid, the Tzadik, Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli, is...

1:12:28comparison to what was happening just a few hundred years ago from the sword of Esav, and the Malach Michael brings it. And at that time, the great Mekubal, the Chassid, the Tzadik, Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli is spoke to the Sitra Achra himself, not to Hitler, who is the messenger of the Sitra Achra, not to Khomeini, not to, you know, all of these, Saddam Hussein. No, he spoke to the Sitra Achra himself, brought him down, and asked him For what and about what are you prosecuting against our nation, Israel, more than all of the other nations? The Sitra Achra told them

1:13:51If you cancel, you tell people to stop fulfilling these three mitzvot: stop keeping Shabbat, stop fulfilling the mitzvah of milah—not only the brit milah but also being moral—and stop learning Torah. If you stop those three mitzvot, you can live freely; no one's going to touch you. מיד אשיב לו הרב הנזכר למעלה: יבדו הם כהנה וכהנה ואל תתבטל עוד אחת מתורתנו הקדושה חלילה. הרי תבין ותדע שכל הקבלות שנתתי לך עד הנה הן אמת, ולימוד תורתנו הוא ליצה"ר ולסיטרא אחרא סם המוות, ולאחינו בית ישראל סם החיים. Rabbi Shimshon Ami Astropoli says to the Sitra Achra himself, "You want us to stop keeping Shabbat? Stop Brit Milah? Stop Torah? Why? Because thousands upon thousands of us are being killed because of your persecutions?"

1:15:13let them and more of them—meaning let these Jews that have died and many more like them die—and not a single letter of the Torah, not a single letter of the Torah, would ever be forsaken. Meaning, the only thing that makes us Jewish is the Torah. A Jew that observes the Torah is a Jew that is fulfilling their obligation of being Jewish. A Jew that forsakes the Torah is a Jew that's wearing a costume, as if they are a Gentile. It's pretending as if they do not have a commitment that is 3,300 years old, at a very emotional time, using Kabbalah, using the holy Torah, using all of what he has—all the possible powers he has—to not just pray to HaKadosh Baruch Hu as he always did, learn his Torah as he always did, but literally bring down the malach that is made to look like as if he's running the world.

1:16:13...at a very emotional time, uses Kabbalah, uses the holy Torah, uses all of what he has—all the possible powers he has—not just to pray to HaKadosh Baruch Hu as he always did, learn his Torah as he always did, but literally bring down the malach that is made to look like as if he's running the world... prosecutes against her. He also says, "What are you doing? Why are you prosecuting against us? What did we do to you?" He says, "Forget what you do to me. Just stop learning Torah, and I'll leave you alone." When the Rabbi knew that this was what it was all about, he said, "If that's what we're dying for, let more die, and we're still not going to stop learning Torah, because without Torah, there's no world, there's no life, there's no Jews, there's nothing. And therefore, the Ramchal sums up this section with a conclusion and says, know and understand this. He's talking to the reader: that all of the things that I told you to take upon yourself here are all the emet, the truth.

1:17:39and that our Torah learning, what I told you to take on this, is the potion of death to destroy the meaning. He and his wife, and for our brothers, Am Yisrael, it's the potion of life. It's the potion of life. So, when a person hears of the horrors that could be, knows that it happened in history, the first question that a person would ask is, how do I get rid of it? I don't want this. I don't want this yetzer hara to take over and run the world, or make it look like he runs the world. Well, in 1976, there was a man by the name of... and he was suffering, suffering unlike any other in his generation. I was suffering.

1:18:40In 1976, there was a man by the name of Jekiel Feiner. He was suffering, suffering unlike any other in his generation. He was, his real name was Yechezkel Feiner. Some called him Ka-Tzetnik. He was actually a student of one of the Gedolei HaDor, Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin. And he even got to the point when he was learning Torah, to the point of learning Kabbalah with his Rav. He was an extraordinary gaon, talmid chacham. But when the Enlightenment movement spread,

1:19:42He was caught in the trap of the Enlightenment movement that was forsaking the Torah, that was distorting the Torah. Many of the key players in the Enlightenment movement were actually people that were knowledgeable in Torah and knew how to twist it in order to confuse people and bring them to the side of the Satan while making them think that they're actually going closer to HaShem. and this final one was one of them. He earned the name K. Tzetnik because of what followed, which was the Holocaust. In the Holocaust, he suffered beyond comprehension, and despite the fact that he survived physically from the Holocaust He never truly recovered psychologically and spiritually from the Holocaust. He abandoned the Torah completely. By the time he became a witness during the Nuremberg Trials, he was completely secular. And he suffered tremendously from the recurring nightmares and the depression. During his testimony, which was actually aired on television, the world saw and heard the words of Kachetnik, and shortly thereafter saw him literally enduring the pain all over again on national TV and passing out.

1:21:15During his testimony, which was actually aired on television, the world saw and heard the words of Ka-Tzetnik, and shortly thereafter saw him literally enduring the pain all over again on national TV and passing out. completely losing consciousness. In 1976, because of these nightmares and depressions, he sought out the therapy of a Dutch psychiatrist, Jan Bastiaans, who was an expert in treating Holocaust survivors. And the treatment that he had included the use of hallucinogens, LSD. And the visions that they experienced during this therapy were supposed to be healing. In the case of Kachetnik, it certainly led him to see things... And the treatment that he had included the use of hallucinogens, LSD. And the visions that they experienced during this therapy were supposed to be healing. In the case of K. Tzetnik, it certainly led him to see things

1:22:44even see things that encouraged him to write his book "Shev V'Achari," a very famous book. Shev V'Achari is nicknamed based on, you know, the obvious. Since he was formerly a Torah scholar and a Torah-observant Jew, he was very familiar with the sum of David. But we actually see from the writing that that his treatment did not bring out the best in him. In fact, it only exposed his confusion. Eventually, he even sided with the Arabs against the Jews. He joined the liberal left, saying he doesn't want the same thing that happened to the Jews to happen to the Arabs, not realizing that the very same people he is voting for and protecting will eventually murder his descendants, his family, his friends, and so on. But because he learned from one of the Gedolei Yisrael, and he was formerly learned in Kabbalah and different terminologies associated with it, saying he doesn't want the same thing that happened to the Jews to happen, that happened to him to happen to the Arabs, not realizing that the very same people he is voting for, protecting, will eventually murder his descendants, his family, his friends, and so on. But because he learned from one of Gedolei Yisrael, and he was formerly learned in Kabbalah and different terminologies with it,

1:24:11We actually see something very relevant in his book to the question at hand, the topic at hand. In one of his books called Tzofen Adama, he gives an illustration of one of his psychotherapy sessions with LSD. ...and what he told the doctor, what the doctor told him, it's documented. What he's seeing, and he sees his followers. Auschwitz was full of fires, full of extraordinary colorful fires, and I knew that I was called back to Auschwitz to see this awesome sight...

1:25:13where Ashmedai would become the king of Auschwitz. Ashmedai is the king of demons. Here he is. I see him with my own eyes, coming out of the fire, emerging from the depths of the fire, covered in smoke, and he rises above the heavens. these are two other angels of evil. They are also covering over his head like a mushroom. It's an awesome sight in the heavens, and I see that they are

1:26:16making him a king, king of all kings of all of the worlds. And there are horns, shofarot, blowing to the four corners of the world. And he's named as the controller and the king of the world. And he's renamed Niklius. And he was born from the heart of the oven, that's in Auschwitz, from a new material—a specific material that came from the souls of the million and a half children that were burned alive.

1:27:28And I see Auschwitz with my own eyes, and this nucleus, the King of the world, sitting on the Throne of Glory, and under it, like a mushroom, like a dome, covering Him. such an extent that he covers the sun and this in the heavens. And then I hear a voice: "And you, son of man, how do you see this? How do you interpret this?" And I cry out, "Hashem, why? Why?"

1:28:33look up and what do I see? I see the word "Shiviti," meaning that I have Hashem next to me at all times, in front of me at all times. And then I see the real name of Hashem, the Yud-Kay-Vav-Kay. But in front of me, I also see... the SS hat, the hat with the sign of the Nazis. And the tziviti changes like a digital watch. And changes the letters the Hebrew letters of the name of God. And the name of God is hiding. And I scream out and yell, why are you hiding? Hashem, why?

1:29:58I wanted to see Akiva the shoemaker in the fire, not the Satan coming out of the fire. Meaning it was his friend that died in the Holocaust, Akiva. He wanted him to come out of the fire, to come back to life, not the Satan to come to life. He said, God, oh God, in your war with the Satan, don't hide your face from me. Don't put me in the hands of Parnassah. The stick of Parnassah. There was a Nazi named Parnassah, that Franzel, who was especially evil, would literally kill people with a stick. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

1:31:01Yehi Afaina suffered tremendously. But of course, there's no suffering without sin. What we see is that his past knowledge gives us a little bit of an illustration of what it looks like to have Hashem hide His face and make it look like the deceiving illusion as if the Satan is ruling the world. And this was what haunted him throughout his entire life until he died about 23 years ago. of what his past knowledge gave him, the right lingo, of what it looks like to have Hashem hide His face and make it look like the deceiving illusion as if the Satan is ruling the world. And this was what haunted him throughout his entire life until he died about 23 years ago.

1:32:08The Rambam is one of the things that Rav Elchanan Wasserman brings here. He also brings the sefer that I mentioned to you. And he says, look at what the Rambam says in regards to these decrees. In Hilkhot Teshuvah, in chapter 9, where in the first halakha, the Rambam concludes the halakha and says as follows: And these blessings and curses can be interpreted as follows.

1:33:10If you serve God with happiness and observe His way, He will grant you these blessings and remove these curses from you in order that you may be free to gain wisdom from the Torah and involve yourselves in it so that you will merit the life of the World to Come. Good will be granted to you in the world that is entirely good, and you will live long in the world which is endlessly long, the World to Come. Thus, you will merit two worlds: a good life in this world, which in turn will bring you to the life of the world to come. For if a person will not acquire wisdom in this world, and he does not possess good deeds, with what will he merit a portion of the world to come? As Shlomo HaMelech said in Ecclesiastes 9:10, "there is no work, nor accounting, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave." Conversely, says the Rambam, 800 years ago, if you have abandoned God and become obsessed with food, drink, lewdness, and the like, He will bring all of these curses upon you and remove all blessings until you will conclude all your days in confusion and fear. You will not have a free heart or a complete body to fulfill the mitzvot, in order that you forfeit the life of the world to come.

1:34:35Thus you will forfeit two worlds, for when a person is occupied in this world with sickness, war, and hunger, he cannot involve himself with either wisdom or mitzvot, which allow him to merit the life of the World to Come. Here the Rambam is simply giving us a clarification of the promises of the Torah itself. When we do what Hashem says, Merit and acquire two worlds. When we forsake what He says, we lose two worlds, meaning while the average person foolishly thinks that while they may not have Heaven, they may not have Olam HaBa because they're not observing mitzvot, they're not following the Torah, they can at least enjoy this world. There's nothing further from the truth. Those that forsake the Torah live the most miserable lives. While they may have, at times, material wealth, most of them suffer materially. Most of them suffer with all types of financial problems. Most of them suffer with all types of headaches, even if they have money. Lawsuits, public embarrassments, shame, adultery, children being addicted to drugs, all types of psychiatric problems, all types of addictions, divorces, a life that, when you look at the life in totality, is a tragedy. They could sum up their life by simply the work that's forgotten.

1:36:03all types of psychiatric problems, all types of addictions, divorces, a life that, when you look at the life in totality, is a tragedy. They could sum up their life by simply the work that's forgotten. They built a law firm, they built a hospital, they built a stadium, but shortly after they die, no one even cares who did any of these things because their benefactors are sometimes their enemies. And in reality, you see that they ended up losing both worlds because while they may have left this world with enormous sums of money that they've gained, the beneficiaries of the money are often their haters, their enemies, or people that simply cared less about them. To all of what they worked for ended up benefiting somebody else. They were simply a slave. And this is what the Rambam is saying is that it's not just losing olam haba. that they've gained. The beneficiaries of the money are often their haters, their enemies, or people that simply cared less about them. All that they worked for ended up benefiting somebody else. They were simply a slave. And this is what the Rambam is saying: it's not just losing Olam HaBa,

1:37:25losing heaven, losing connection to Hashem in the next world; it's losing this world too. And this is actually what the prophet was told. The prophet, in chapter 9, verse number 9, says the prophecy in the name of God: the iniquity of the house of Israel and Yehuda is very, very great. The land has been filled with bloodshed, and the city has been filled with injustice. For they have said, Hashem has forsaken the land, and Hashem does not see. So I too, my eye will not spare, nor will I have compassion. I have placed their way upon their head. Just then, the man clothed in linen, with the slate upon his loins, brought back an answer, saying, I have done according to all that you have commanded me. In so many words, the prophet Yechezkel is saying in the name of God, when Am Yisrael sinned, whether it's in the past, present, and hopefully not in the future, HaKadosh Baruch Hu said, what did you really do? What is the conclusion of your sin? with the slate upon his loins, brought back an answer, saying, I have done according to all that you have commanded me. In so many words, the prophet Yechezkel is saying in the name of God, when Am Yisrael sinned, whether it's in the past, present, and hopefully not in the future, HaKadosh Baruch Hu said, what did you really do? What is the conclusion of your sin?

1:38:54when you didn't eat kosher, when you intermarried with the nations, when you, you know, forsook my Torah, my Shabbat, my mitzvot, what did you do? What you did is that you told me you don't want me. You don't want me in your life. You don't want me to be your God. Well, fine. I'll show you what that looks like by hiding my face. even if it's just for a moment, because you're still my children and I will never leave you. Because I promised Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov that you will always be my children. But every good father has to rebuke his children when they are not acting appropriately. When they're doing things that are detrimental to their own lives, needless to say to other people's lives.

1:39:54And therefore, when you're saying you don't want Me, you don't actually realize what the weight of your words are. You don't realize what the weight of your actions are. And now I'm going to show you. And He shows Am Yisrael what it looks like not to have His protection. And this scene is a Holocaust. Rabotai Yekarim, HaKadosh Baruch Hu is the King of Kings and He's also our Father. There's nothing else but Him. When we accept Him, when we serve Him, we are the biggest gainers of it. He gains nothing. When we betray Him, when we forsake Him, when we leave Him, it's like we're filling ourselves

1:40:55deadly poison, thinking it's a medicine that's going to bring us life. Right now, Am Yisrael is in one of those times where there's so much bad news every day coming from every government that has any association to the Jews, even a remote association. Whether it's Turkey that used to have a good relationship with the Jews to the point where this was the place where many Israelis would go tour. There's actually a pretty decent-sized kehillah in Turkey. They just declared they're ready to go to war with Israel. Places like Syria, where the Jews flourished for many years, have become their enemies. Whether it's Turkey that used to have a good relationship with the Jews to the point where this was the place where many Israelis would go tour. There's actually a pretty decent-sized kehillah in Turkey. They just declared they're ready to go to war with Israel. Places like Syria, where the Jews flourished for many years, have become their enemies.

1:41:59Places where you had Jewish communities flourish, like Gaza. The religious Jews in Gaza were given to terrorists and now it has become a battle scene. The people that are in power in Israel are more anti-Semitic than the Nazis. Our allies, the Americans and the European nations, are not exactly being so friendly. it's clear that the end of these relationships is only a matter of time. It's not a matter of if anymore. We hope the Mashiach comes very, very soon, but we all know that in order for Hashem to glorify His name, the ultimate war of Amalek will have to be fought. That means that our allies will become enemies.

1:43:01There will be a great war. The only question is, what side are you on? I'm with Hashem. Join me. This too will help us get closer to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and stop following the Satan, even though the Satan is sometimes given the permission to make it look like he's really running the show. If it looks like that to you in your life, it's just because Hashem is testing you. Pass the test. Serve Hashem. Get other people to serve Hashem. Help us spread the holy words of the Torah in every corner of the world. and stop following the Satan, even though the Satan is sometimes given permission to make it look like he's really running the show. If it looks like that to you in your life, it's just because Hashem is testing you. Pass the test. Serve Hashem. Get other people to serve Hashem. Help us spread the holy words of the Torah in every corner of the world. And B'ezrat Hashem, there’s going to be so much sanctification of Hashem's name that we're going to be clearly on the right side. Many more will join us. And perhaps there’s going to be so much Kedusha in the world that this illusion will end just like that.

1:44:27Thank you very much for learning with me. May HaKadosh Baruch Hu bless each and every one of you. Thank you for those that are donating now. I see some of the live donations, very much appreciated. Anyone else who wants to donate can donate on the website bhtorah.org. Whether it's donating to the campaign that we're doing or just general donations, your generosity is appreciated. We use the money so we can help do more of this, give more shiurim, More employees are making all of these videos. The BH Kids channel just launched a new video today. Each one of these videos, Baruch Hashem, costs money and time. The amazing projects that I've been working on are coming to a head. There's going to be an update, a major update to the B'ezrat Hashem app in the next 24 to 48 hours. and over the next week, there's going to be a second update to the app that is going to surprise and shock the Jewish world at large. I highly recommend anyone that's not following us closely or supporting us to get on the right bandwagon because the amount of siyata d'shmaya that HaKadosh Baruch Hu has given us is unbelievable, and we plan to use as much of it as we possibly have the privilege to

1:45:49to spread HaKadosh Baruch Hu's name around the world. Thanks again for learning with me. May HaKadosh Baruch Hu bless each and every one of you. Kol Tov. Let's go. Trying to save the price that's on the line is much, much more dear. Why? It's eternity; it's not just a few dollars. The reality is that you cannot waste any time. You can't afford to...

1:47:19trying to save the price that's on the line is much, much more dear. Why? It's eternity. It's not just a few dollars. And the reality is that you cannot waste any time. You can't afford to Simply focusing as much of your energy as you possibly can on people that are interested in getting closer to HaShem. Simply focusing as much of your energy as you possibly can on people that are interested in getting closer to Hashem.

1:48:25Don't waste your time dealing with Christian missionaries. Don't waste your time dealing with people that are anti-Torah. Don't waste your time with people that are atheists. Don't waste your time with people that are openly homosexual and are enemies of Hashem. Don't waste your time with people that are vulgar and disgusting and simply do not want to change. Don't waste your time with people that have an ego bigger than this room. Don't waste your time with them. Why? Because there are too many people who are more humble, who are at a position in their life where they realize they need to change. There are too many people who are interested in a more significant and more purposeful life. Too many people like that. Go to them. Why? Because it's much easier to get them on board. This guy already wants to get on board.

1:49:34Let's go. Simply focus as much of your energy as you possibly can on people who are interested in getting closer to Hashem. Don't waste your time. Simply focusing as much of your energy as you possibly can on people that are interested in getting closer to Hashem. Don't waste your time.

1:51:00In the Gemara, we learn from Rava that one must always strive to increase their understanding of Torah. We see this principle echoed in the works of Rav Chaim of Volozhin, particularly in Nefesh HaChaim. It is crucial to delve deeply into the teachings of our sages and apply them to our daily lives. Thanks for watching. Thanks for watching.