The Shmuz

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#186 G-d for the Perplexed Mar 09, 2019

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We are commanded to love G-d. We are commanded to fear G-d. Yet we really don't know that much about G-d. We are certainly aware that HASHEM created the world and all that it contains, but how do we move beyond that to actually fearing and loving HASHEM? First, we must become aware of HASHEM's presence and His involvement in our lives, concepts that, while noble, may seem so far removed from our world that they don't seem attainable. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#187 Self Mastery - The Key to Good Mar 09, 2019

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I know that middos make the man. I understand that my character traits define every relationship that I am involved in. And I wish I were more generous, humble, and caring. But what can I do about it? I am who I am. This Shmuz focuses on how it is that our gedolim changed their very nature and demonstrates the Torah's system for developing our middos. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#188 Rich Man, Poor Man - The Ferris Wheel of Life Mar 09, 2019

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Lehman brothers fell. The market is down. Real estate is down. Many people have lost their jobs. About the only thing that is up these days is sales of anti-depressants. Putting some perspective on the events that we are living through, this Shmuz focuses on some of cycles of life and what our attitude towards them should be. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#189 Encounters with G-d Mar 09, 2019

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Faith is a sort of vague, hopeful idealism. I have faith that your check won't bounce. I don't know, but I hope. Knowledge is far more concrete. I know that fire burns and that heavy objects fall. And while both faith and knowledge seem commendable, when it comes to relating to HASHEM, both fall short of what a human is capable of. We have the capacity to experience HASHEM. Not only to have faith that He is present, not only to know it with absolute certainty, but to actually experience HASHEM. To reach that level, we must learn to encounter HASHEM. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#190 My Rebbe Mar 09, 2019

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The Chofetz Chaim network consist of high schools, batei medrashim, kollels, kiruv centers, shuls, and rabbonim and teachers across the country from communities as diverse as Milwaukee, Rochester, Los Angeles, the Five Towns, Miami, Cherry Hill, Manalapan, and Yerushalayim - an empire of thousands of talmidim following in the mesorah given to them by their Rebbe. This Shmuz is both a personal tribute and a recognition of the great gaon, Reb Alter Hencoch Hanoch Lebowitz. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#191 Combatting Robotic Judaism Mar 09, 2019

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We all have bitachon. We all know that HASHEM determines our fate and all the events that will befall us. The problem is that this concept remains so far removed that while we know it on one level, in our day to day lives, it's non-existent. So while we say we trust in HASHEM, we live our lives in contradiction to this. This Shmuz focuses on making our beliefs real and taking our bitachon from the potential to the actual See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#192 HASHEM Really Cares Mar 09, 2019

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If we could imagine the most kindly, giving, loving person and the take each of those traits and multiply them by 10,000, we still wouldn't begin to illustrate the tremendous loving kindness that HASHEM has towards Creation. That being said, the only question is: why don't I feel it? Why isn't this something that is obvious to me? This Shmuz focuses us on our relationship to HASHEM and what it takes to realize that HASHEM really cares. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#193 A Clash of Civilizations Mar 09, 2019

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On the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran Radio on Oct. 20, 2006, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared: "[America] should understand that the message from the peoples of the region . . . is manifested in a single slogan: "Death to America!"While America's foreign policy is set on appeasement and understanding, Iran is within months of attaining nuclear arms capacity, and so the threats are no longer mere slogans. The West seems to be ignoring the reality that we are not witnessing a war being waged by country against country, but rather a clash of civilizations that threatens to engulf the globe. This is an essential Shmuz for putting some perspective on the volatile times we live in and making sense of a chaotic new world See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#194 Tisha B'Av- What we can do to bring the Geulah Mar 09, 2019

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Tisha B'Av- What we can do to bring the Geulah See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#195 - Stop Playing G-d! Mar 09, 2019

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I know exactly what it is that I need! I need to marry that woman; get that job; my child has to get into that class - and HASHEM just won't listen! I have tried to teach HASHEM. I have tried to speak to him. I even daven. But nothing helps. For some strange reason, HASHEM won't give me what I need. 85% of our Emunah problems come from just such thinking: assuming that I know exactly what it is that I need and then having questions on HASHEM when He doesn't deliver it. Part of being a mature, thinking person is recognizing that I am exactly that - a person made of flesh and blood, here for a few short years. I come into this world while things are in full swing. I leave before I have much of a chance to sort things out. Yet I have the arrogance to think that I truly get it, that I know what is best for me. This Shmuz introduces us to one of the most fundamental concepts in our serving HASHEM: recognizing that HASHEM cares more about me than I do, that He knows far better than I do what I need, and will do what is best for me five years from now, ten years from now, in this world, and in the World to Come. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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