The Emotional Toll of Staying Well-informed and the Bravery Needed to Confront the Hardships Faced by Our Fellow Jews

Can you bear the weight of the world's suffering and still live a fulfilling life? This episode promises a robust discussion on maintaining empathy and compassion amid distressing current events, drawing on Rashi's profound insights, as Rebbe Leichter explained. We explore the emotional toll of staying informed and the intense bravery it requires to confront the hardships of our fellow Jews while remaining productive and spiritually grounded.

We also provide actionable strategies for broadening your perspective and creating a space in your heart for pain without being overwhelmed. From setting aside specific times to address worries to finding solace in prayer and Torah study, we uncover ways to balance empathy with resilience. Tune in to gain valuable advice on managing the heavy emotional burden of today's news, empowering you to support your community and stay faithful to your spiritual duties with courage and compassion.

Support the Show.

Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content!
----------------

SUBSCRIBE to The Weekly Parsha for an insightful weekly talk on the week's Parsha.
Listen on Spotify or 24six!
Access all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org

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

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.561 --> 00:00:04.371
It takes such extreme bravery to read the news these days.

00:00:04.371 --> 00:00:20.353
I wouldn't suggest it unless you really have a stomach of steel for the suffering that you will be exposed to by your fellow Jews just by reading the news headlines.

00:00:20.353 --> 00:00:26.771
It's hard to tolerate it and keep living a productive life.

00:00:26.771 --> 00:00:36.075
We are required to feel compassionate, a yarbis of loathsome, to have empathy about those suffering.

00:00:36.075 --> 00:00:42.539
But it takes such extreme bravery just to look at the news headlines.

00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:47.179
Just to look at the news headlines.

00:00:47.179 --> 00:01:02.253
It has us reading about children that have been drowned by parents, hundreds of hostages still held captive, along with who knows how many of their loved ones that are in total agony over the hostage situation.

00:01:02.253 --> 00:01:08.709
We have bullets flying all over the place at rallies, Jew or Gentile.

00:01:08.709 --> 00:01:15.250
It seems like the world has gone rogue and it takes bravery to follow the news.

00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:18.688
It takes a stomach of steel to digest it.

00:01:18.688 --> 00:01:36.888
But with us being required to keep tabs on our at least Jewish brethren and feel empathetic for them to take that meet of fromosha Rabbeinu, seeing the pain of the Hebrews, how are we to do it?

00:01:36.888 --> 00:01:41.411
Is it even the right thing to do with this much pain and suffering?

00:01:41.411 --> 00:01:43.204
What's the approach?

00:01:43.204 --> 00:01:54.950
And while maybe this Rashi as explained by the great Mashkech, Rebbe Leichter, I believe could give us a bit of insight as how to do what is required of us.

00:01:57.100 --> 00:02:03.328
The Jews were wandering in the Midbar and eventually they became discouraged because of the constant wandering.

00:02:03.328 --> 00:02:29.633
It's in Perichov, Aleph Pasek Dalet of Sefer Bamidbar, and it says the nation became discouraged from all the wandering, burnt out, unable to tolerate any more of the constant wandering in the wilderness, and trying to define the word that the nation became shortness of soul.

00:02:29.633 --> 00:02:38.629
Rashi tells us listen to these incredible words about tolerating pain, Something that is painful, arduous on a person.

00:02:38.629 --> 00:03:04.907
It means that his soul is now bound, Something has now been placed on him that makes his soul short, as if a big package has been thrown onto you, but one's brain isn't broad enough to endure this heavy load.

00:03:04.907 --> 00:03:10.395
The ein lo makom betoch libo lo gorsham hatzar.

00:03:10.395 --> 00:03:16.819
And this person doesn't have space in his heart for the pain to live.

00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:24.847
As she tells us, that vatik sar nefesh, that struggling inability to cope with all the suffering.

00:03:24.847 --> 00:03:28.790
It comes from a limited sense of perspective.

00:03:28.790 --> 00:03:31.849
It comes from an inability to be broad-minded.

00:03:31.849 --> 00:03:39.866
It would be cheating ourselves to deny the pain, deny the suffering and to flee from it.

00:03:39.866 --> 00:03:43.631
There's a part of us that we have to see it and know what's happening.

00:03:44.875 --> 00:04:05.324
But broad-mindedness, an ability to let the pain find a section in one's heart, betoch libo, logresham a place for the pain to live in his heart, and whether that means that one expands his heart so he has a spot there because of his now studying of faith.

00:04:05.324 --> 00:04:11.388
Or chovos alevavos, to know that we're on the doorstep of Mashiach.

00:04:11.388 --> 00:04:20.041
It's been thousands of years and the geula is right around the corner and we know that only good comes to this world, ultimate good through the eyes of Hashem.

00:04:20.041 --> 00:04:22.863
So maybe that means broad-mindedness in that perspective.

00:04:22.863 --> 00:04:35.639
Or maybe it means there's a worry hour, a time where you can open up the door of worry but it doesn't incapacitate you or paralyze you for the rest of your day.

00:04:35.658 --> 00:04:58.283
Empathy about the suffering, a yarbis of losam, but also broad-minded, with a place for the suffering, to tolerate the suffering and feel bad and to pray and to feel it and to understand the messages, but to be broad enough, open enough, that there's a place in your heart for the pain to live.

00:04:58.283 --> 00:05:07.365
This way we will be able to continue to ultimately do Torah and mitzvahs, which is going to be the only way that we can fix the situation.

00:05:07.365 --> 00:05:18.067
It will give us that strength and that ability to pray with devotion and with fervor, because that takes energy and it's our avodah.

00:05:18.067 --> 00:05:27.622
It's our job, our responsibility to find a makom, betoch, libo, log, risham, atzar, to have a spot in your heart that the pain can live.

00:05:27.622 --> 00:05:38.992
That's how empathy, bravery they come together to help us tolerate the suffering and to still continue on enduring it.

The Emotional Toll of Staying Well-informed and the Bravery Needed to Confront the Hardships Faced by Our Fellow Jews

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes

New to The Motivation Congregation?