Oct. 22, 2023

Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev on Self-Belief (Emunah)

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Season 5

Have you ever found Noach's character in biblical history perplexing?" This episode is an immersive exploration into the intriguing persona of Noah, a figure famed as a Tzaddik, a wholesome and perfect servant of Hashem, yet also described as one of the small believers. We dissect his spiritual status, the contrast between his actions and beliefs, and his hesitation to enter the table until the first raindrops fell. Hear us deliberating on the mishap with the wine after his journey on the table. 

In the latter part of our discussion, we dwell upon the thought-provoking theories of the great Kedushas Levi, questioning Noach's lack of prayer for his people, unlike Avraham's fervent prayers for Sodom. We broach the concept of self-belief, contrasting Noach and Avraham and the critical importance of self-recognition. Absorb our engaging dialogues, and heed our inspiring call to action - to recognize and utilize your God-given talents. This episode is a must-listen for those seeking to unravel the mysteries of spiritual characters and understand the profound impact of self-belief.

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Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com



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He's one of the most enigmatic characters we will ever meet.

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And if you should try to decipher Noah's spiritual status, to find who he was and outline his levels of emuna, you will quickly find yourself flummoxed.

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Because on the one hand, he's called a sadic.

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He's also called wholesome, a tummim.

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He has become a quite perfect servant of Hashem in the way that he acted inside of the taeba, taking care of all of the animals.

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It doesn't seem like there was any Shalom bias problems either.

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Even though all of his son-in-law's came for Shabbos for an entire year, he kept his entire family.

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It seems righteous, even when the rest of the world had fallen into a dystopia.

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But on the other hand, chazal tells us that he was Miketane Amana from the small believers.

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He didn't go inside of the taeba until it actually began to rain because of his lack or smallness of faith.

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And then this whole mishap with the wine after he disembarked from the taeba.

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It says that Hashem had to lead him, his aleykh Noah.

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So who is this Noah fellow?

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And then I saw this idea from the Kedushas laibi, the great rib-laibi.

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It's talking to me about a ditchiv.

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That has me thinking.

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If I would become Chassidish, I would go be a bar-ditchiv, a chassan?

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I don't know if that's the thing, but it is so beautiful and so powerful, says the great Kedushas laibi, getting with a question why is it that Noah didn't daven for the rest of his nation, for the rest of the people?

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He was such a tzadik.

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This is what a tzadik does.

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They pray for the community.

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We don't find that Noah prayed for the people.

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Conversely, we find that, avromavino, he did, even when it came to Sodom.

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Maybe there's at least 10 people.

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Please just save them.

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He prayed for them, why not?

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And Reblevi Yitzchok says that Nayach was a tzadik and Nayach was a ta'mim.

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And, yes, hashem is a aleykh Nayach.

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He was a holy person.

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But Miketan eha mono, he was small in his belief in self.

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He didn't believe in himself.

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What that means is that he didn't understand just how great he was.

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He didn't understand what he was capable of accomplishing.

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For a human, mortal man to rip up a decree by God that the world is to be condemned and have a marble.

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A human being can't do that.

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Reblevi Yitzchok says the difference between Nayach and Avromavino is whether you are a ketane amona in yourself.

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You are very small in your poise and what you believe you are capable of, or you are like Avromavino and you start to spread monotheism and Judaism throughout the entire world.

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Confidence, self-recognition, especially in these days when the lack of self-confidence can be so paralyzing.

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Let us be Avromavino type of yidin, that not only are we taumim and not only are we tzadikim, we also have our belief in self and we understand I am capable and just how much I can do with the talents that God gave me.