The Ultimate Torah Guide to Choosing the Perfect Home, Synagogue, and Grocery!

0:01 I'm in the market for a new home. I was poking around on Zillow the other day trying to see how far I can stretch my Colel check. It became overwhelming quickly because there's so many factors when to move. Should we rent? Should we buy? Should we get more bedrooms so the in-laws can come? Or maybe protect ourselves and get only a couple bedrooms, so then the in loss can't come. Just joking. But rent, buy the taxes. What about the current interest rates? Maybe it's not even the right time, maybe too much goshmiest if it's too nice. Which neighborhood Are there? The right people there? So many different details, who to work with, where to start with, getting pre-approved for a mortgage, yada, yada, yada, yada.

0:46 But there was one thing that I jotted down on my list of priorities to find in the new home After this medrash that I'm going to share with you Amidbar Rabba and Gimel Yudbez this has moved to the top of the list to become the most important priority what to remember when you're looking for a new home, a new residence and, for that matter, important even when you think about where you should do your grocery shopping. The Medrash state that in the encampments of the Israelites around them, mishkan Ha'edus, that in the east was the tribes Yehuda, yesachar and Zevulin. And why do they choose to live there? Shehoyusham, over there was the degel Yehuda, yesachar and Zebulun.

1:28 And why did they choose to live there? Shehosham, over there was the degel Yehuda was the degel Yesachar of the Zebulun. Because they chose that neighborhood, because that was the neighborhood of Moshe, the Aaron Ubonov. That was the neighborhood where Moshe resided, that was his shul and Ba'alei Torah. These people were representative of the Torah, they lived a life of Torah and they were Ba'alei mitzvos and their prayer was with devotion. Therefore, says the Medrash, these tribes, yehuda, yesachar and Zebulun they became great in Torah since they were neighbors in Torah. Since they were neighbors to Torah, their children became B'nai Torah.

2:13 They followed that pathway of Aliyah just because of the neighborhood that they selected to raise a family near Moshe and Aram. Shocking that revelation that the most important thing that we can do is pick good neighbors who we associate with good role models in the next door. God forbid. Just listen here to what happened to some of the future descendants of Reuven, shimon and Gad. They lived near Kairach, va'adassah, korach and his chieftains and his henchmen and his mob and his gang, and they were cool on Balei Machlokes.

2:58 They were Balei Meriva. They were full of hostility, of divisiveness, quick to launch protests and therefore, the Medrash says, because they had some association with them. So the tribes of Reuven, shimon and Gad also had children and some of them were filled with machlokes, were quick to protest, quick to separate themselves just because they picked the wrong neighborhood and they lived near Tocoron. It's clear to me from this measure that the most important thing that we can do when we select a neighborhood or select a grocery store, or select a mall, or select a show or select anything, is to make sure that we are living in juxtaposition to holy, happy, growing people.

3:54 That's how the kids see it, that's how the parents see it and it really affects the future, doros.