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The Guide to True HappinessMOSHE RABEINU REPORTING THE WEATHER?!When we read thepesukimthat describe the departure of theAm YisroelfromMitzrayimwe note the interesting fact that the time of the year, the spring-like weather, plays a quite significant role in the story. As they gathered to leaveMitzrayim, Moshe Rabeinu spoke to the people \u05d6\u05db\u05d5\u05e8 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05d4\u05d6\u05d4 \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05d9\u05e6\u05d0\u05ea\u05dd \u05de\u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd\u2026 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05d0\u05ea\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05e6\u05d0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1 \u2013 \u201cRemember always this day that you came out of Egypt\u2026Today you are leavingin the month of spring\u201d (Bo 13:4). Now, you know that in the Torah weather is a subject that is not discussed. This subject that becomes so important when you\u2019re standing on the street talking to someone \u2013 when you meet the elevator man or the grocery man, that\u2019s the first subject in America \u2013 but in the Torah it\u2019s not discussed. And yet, all of a sudden, Moshe Rabeinu comes along and points out to us that it was a spring day.Now it\u2019s quite strange that Moshe Rabeinu should make a big deal about it. There were many things he could have told theAm Yisroelas they gathered together to begin their journey towards freedom. I myself could think of some very importantyesodosthat Moshe Rabeinu could have given over at this most opportune time. But to point out the weather conditions?! He wasn\u2019t a meteorologist. And if it was cold and rainy, would it have made a difference?! They were going out to freedom! Ask the man who is released from prison after fifty years if he cares about the temperature on the day he left; he doesn\u2019t remember and he doesn\u2019t even care to remember! He\u2019s free at last!PERFECT WEATHER FOR FREEDOMAnd yet Moshe Rabeinudidsay \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05d0\u05ea\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05e6\u05d0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1 \u2013 You\u2019re leaving today, and look outside; it\u2019s a beautiful spring day. And Rashi asks: \u201cDidn\u2019t they know it was spring? \u05d0\u05dc\u05d0 \u05db\u05da \u05d0\u05de\u05e8 \u05dc\u05d4\u05dd, \u05e8\u05d0\u05d5 \u05d7\u05e1\u05d3 \u05e9\u05d2\u05de\u05dc\u05db\u05dd \u2013 So what was Moshe Rabeinu telling them? \u201cPay attention to the kindness that Hashem is bestowing upon you, \u05e9\u05d4\u05d5\u05e6\u05d9\u05d0 \u05d0\u05ea\u05db\u05dd \u05d1\u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05e9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05db\u05e9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05e6\u05d0\u05ea \u2013 That He took you out in a month that is fitting for departure, \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d7\u05de\u05d4 \u05d5\u05dc\u05d0 \u05e6\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d5\u05dc\u05d0 \u05d2\u05e9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u2013 It\u2019s not too hot, not too cold, and not raining\u201d (Rashi 13:4). \u05d5\u05db\u05df\u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05d0\u05d5\u05de\u05e8 \u05de\u05d5\u05e6\u05d9\u05d0 \u05d0\u05e1\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05db\u05d5\u05e9\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea \u2013 Hashem took out His prisoners when it was fitting, \u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05e9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05db\u05e9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05e6\u05d0\u05ea \u2013 during the month in which it is most fitting to depart\u201d (Mechilta).Now we should also take a peek intoShir Hashirim, at Shlomo Hamelech\u2019s description of Hashem speaking to His people on that great day ofYetzias Mitzrayim. \u05e7\u05d5\u05de\u05d9 \u05dc\u05da \u05e8\u05e2\u05d9\u05ea\u05d9 \u05d9\u05e4\u05ea\u05d9 \u05d5\u05dc\u05db\u05d9 \u05dc\u05da \u2013 \u201cArise, My love, My beautiful one, and go forth from Mitzrayim, \u05db\u05d9 \u05d4\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d4\u05e1\u05ea\u05d9\u05d5 \u05e2\u05d1\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d2\u05e9\u05dd \u05d7\u05dc\u05e3 \u05d4\u05dc\u05da \u05dc\u05d5 \u2013 Because now the winter has passed, and the rains are gone, and the traveling through the wilderness will be much more pleasant, \u05d4\u05e0\u05e6\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05e8\u05d0\u05d5 \u05d1\u05d0\u05e8\u05e5 \u2013 The days of spring are here when the trees begin to produce their flowers and those who travel, delight in their colors and fragrances, \u05e2\u05ea \u05d4\u05d6\u05de\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d2\u05d9\u05e2 \u05d5\u05e7\u05d5\u05dc \u05d4\u05ea\u05d5\u05e8 \u05e0\u05e9\u05de\u05e2 \u05d1\u05d0\u05e8\u05e6\u05e0\u05d5 \u2013 The time of birds singing and chirping has arrived, which adds the additional joy of sweet sounds for those who travel in the spring, \u05e7\u05d5\u05de\u05d9 \u05dc\u05da \u05e8\u05e2\u05d9\u05ea\u05d9 \u05d9\u05e4\u05ea\u05d9 \u05d5\u05dc\u05db\u05d9 \u05dc\u05da \u2013 And so My beautiful beloved,\u201d says Hashem to the Am Yisroel, \u201cnow is the timeto arise and leave Mitzrayim\u201d (Shir Hashirim 2:11-13al pi Rashi).SCHEDULING FOR THE CHIRPING BIRDSSo we see that Hashem made a point of bringing out theAm YisroelfromMitzrayimdavkathen, during the days of spring. And even more so, the Torah tells us that the entire scheduling of the year is dependent on the Yom Tov of Pesach falling out during the spring to commemorate this event: \u05e9\u05de\u05d5\u05e8 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1\u2026\u05db\u05d9 \u05d1\u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1 \u05d4\u05d5\u05e6\u05d9\u05d0\u05da \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d0\u05dc\u05d5\u05e7\u05d9\u05da \u05de\u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u2013 \u201cYou must guard the month of spring\u2026for it was in the month of springtime that Hashem your G-d took you out of Egypt\u201d (Devarim 16:1). And what does \u201cGuard the month of spring\u201d mean? Chazal tell us (Rosh Hashanah 21a) that the month ofNissanmust always fall out in the spring, and that sometimes theSanhedrinmust even add a month to the calendar just to ensure thatNissanshould not fall out when it\u2019s still winter. And all this, so that theYom TovofPesachshould fall out in the beautiful days of spring, because \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05d0\u05ea\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05e6\u05d0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1, and we want to remember and to commemorate that we leftMitzrayimin the spring.And that\u2019s a very big question. Because what difference does the spring make for a nation that is escaping two hundred and ten years of bondage? The month ofchodeshha\u2019aviv, the ripening of the grain would certainly be a joyous time once they would enter Eretz Yisroel, but here, as they were departing fromRameses, they were far from the promised land and had no benefit at all from the ripening of the grain.What difference is it to such a people, escaping slavery, loaded down with riches, that birds are chirping in the branches? So what that the flowers are blooming on a beautiful spring day? We\u2019re talking here about real happiness \u2013 the excitement of escaping to freedom and great wealth, and you\u2019re talking about chirping birds?!This isn\u2019tmyquestion by the way. I heard this said over in the name of theAlter of Skabodkawhen I was in Europe. And because theAlter\u2019sanswer is a foundation for how we are supposed to live successfully in this world, so we\u2019ll spend some time understanding his words.THE ALTER\u2019S CHIDDUSHTheAltersaid that the spring weather, with all of its varied pleasures was chosen purposefully by Hashem to enhance the occasion ofYetzias Mitzrayim. Even in the mountain-heap joy of liberation, and even though they were loaded down with the wealth of Mitzrayim, they were expected tonot overlookthe weather, and not to overlook the budding trees and the chirping birds.And why not? Because it was so important for theAm Yisroelto learn \u2013 right now, when they were leaving the bondage ofMitzrayimto becomeavdei Hashem\u2013 that the happiness of a true servant of Hashem won\u2019t come from the great events of life. The great jolts of good fortune, the ecstatic moments of great happiness \u2013 a new car, a new baby, even if it\u2019sYetzias Mitzrayim\u2013 that won\u2019t make a person truly happy. It\u2019s only the small gifts of life like a balmy spring day and a bird chirping in the trees that are the true happiness of life.What we\u2019re learning from the words, \u201cToday you are going out, in the month ofspring,\u201d is that the joy of life isnotthe big things in life. Of course there is time for that too. It\u2019s a bigsimchawhen you have a child. And it\u2019s even a biggersimchawhen you marry that child off. You won the lottery? It\u2019s asimcha! You got the job you wanted? You finished amesichta? These are all bigsimchosthat are a good reason to rejoice.But those aren\u2019t the things that will make you a happy person!The happiness of transient events \u2013 evenYetzias Mitzrayimonly happened once \u2013 always slip out of your hands sooner or later, and you\u2019re left with the day to day simple pleasures of life, like a spring day, that Hashem isalwaysbestowing on you. And it\u2019s all of those small things that are supposed to make you a happy person.ROSY GLASSES ARE NOTHINGNow you can\u2019t just tell a man, \u201cBe happy; Learn to see the the good things in life.\u201d It\u2019s like saying nothing at all to him. This subject of happiness is a science, and like any important subject, its study takes effort on your part. If you\u2019ll say to someone, \u201cJust put on optimistic spectacles, and look at the world through rosy eyeglasses,\u201d you\u2019re not helping him a bit.There\u2019s work to be done besides for putting on the rosy colored spectacles. What work is that? Every form of happiness is an obligation upon you to appreciate and become even more of a happy person. A person becomes a happy person because of the small things in life. Now don\u2019t say that your experience contradicts this \u2013 because it\u2019s not true, youdon\u2019thave the experience. You never tried it! It\u2019s necessary to dedicate your lives to the study of all the details of happinesses that you have in your life, in order to become the happy servant of Hashem that He expects.HOW TO GET RICHAnd so we\u2019ll begin our career of happiness by reading together the words of amishnah; it\u2019s amishnahthat most of us say, but none of us fulfill.\u05d0\u05d9\u05d6\u05d4\u05d5 \u05e2\u05e9\u05d9\u05e8- Who is a wealthy man? \u05d4\u05e9\u05de\u05d7 \u05d1\u05d7\u05dc\u05e7\u05d5 \u2013 Someone who is happy with what he has. Now, everybodyknowsthat, everybody says it; but nobodypracticesit.Themishnahis telling us here what Hakodosh Boruch Hu expects from us; that weshouldpractice it and that we should fulfill it. Hashem wants thatwe should become wealthy. Otherwise why did He tell us that. Why did He say \u05d0\u05d9\u05d6\u05d4\u05d5 \u05e2\u05e9\u05d9\u05e8? If it\u2019s not important, why tell us? Just as a fact, some more information to know? No; it\u2019s because that\u2019s what you\u2019re expected to become. Hashem wants thatyoushould become thatashirwho issameach b\u2019chelko!BEING SATISFIED IS NOT ENOUGHNow, it\u2019s important to point out thatsamei\u2019achdoesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019resatisfiedwith what you have; it means thatyou\u2019re happy, that you\u2019refull of joy.Hashem wants you toenjoyOlam Hazeh, to be a person overflowing with happiness, and it\u2019s an art that you have to get busy learning. Before we begin, the first thing is that you must get out of your head any thoughts thatprishusmeans to be unhappy. No;prishusmeans to be happywithout luxuries, to behappywith all the multitude of pleasures of living life itself. And that\u2019s who Hashem says is the wealthy man.So \u05d0\u05d9\u05d6\u05d4\u05d5 \u05e2\u05e9\u05d9\u05e8 \u2013 Who is the rich man? \u05d4\u05e9\u05de\u05d7 \u05d1\u05d7\u05dc\u05e7\u05d5 \u2013 the one who trains himself little by little to behappywith all of the things that he already has, the things that are available to him all the time. And who is the poor person, the perpetually sad man? The man who is empty; he never learned anything about the happiness of life. All he learned was to want more and more; \u201cgimmee\u201d and \u201cgimmee\u201d and \u201cgimmee\u201d \u2013 he wants more and more. And therefore his whole life is nothing but a pursuit after what he doesn\u2019t have. And because of that, he fails to enjoychelko, what his portion is right now.All through life you\u2019re missing the fun of life. Because wherever you turn in life, wherever you look, you\u2019re going to encounter with your eyes on all sides, reasons to sing and dance with joy \u2013 if you know how to usethe details of lifeto become happy. We just have to open our eyes and apply our minds, and be willing to put effort into finding the real happiness of life. If we do that, the happiness within us would well forth and life would become full of fun. It would be endless fun and happiness without the new car, and without the trip to the zoo or the amusement park. It would be all the details of life itself that make you a happy person.STUDY A VARIETY OF SUBJECTSBecause the joy of life is not the big things; and it\u2019s not one small thing either. Because what doeschelkomean?Chelkomeans your portion in life. And life is not one thing \u2013 life is a combination, a sum total of tens of thousands of phenomena \u2013 and it\u2019s necessary to makeeachphenomenon a separate study so that whenever you encounter that phenomenon it will cause you happiness. If you study how two things make you happy, so now you\u2019ll have two things that cause you happiness. If you\u2019ve studied fifty things, so fifty things will cause you happiness. The more subjects you study, the more phenomena you appreciate, the more happiness you will get out of life. Like Dovid Hamelech said: \u05db\u05d9 \u05e9\u05de\u05d7\u05ea\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d1\u05e4\u05e2\u05dc\u05d9\u05da \u05d1\u05de\u05e2\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d9\u05d3\u05d9\u05da \u05d0\u05e8\u05e0\u05df \u2013 \u201cI sing at the deeds of Your hand\u201d (Tehillim 92:5) And the only way to do that is to put your mind to what you have, and all these things add up to being a wealthy man. Hashem wants you to be wealthy; if you don\u2019t learn this, Hashem is disappointed in you.I\u2019ll give you an example. If you study, let\u2019s say, the wind. Let\u2019s say a man would learn to enjoy the wind. Now, it may seem silly to you, but that\u2019s because you\u2019ve never studied the subject of happiness correctly. Because really, wind is a subject that can make you endlessly grateful and happy. There\u2019s a lot of fun in a wind. But you have to study it.LET\u2019S STUDY WINDStudy the winds?! Now, go tell that to people outside, they\u2019ll laugh at you. But it\u2019s agemara. Thegemaratells inMesichtaGittin(31b) that achochomwas once walking and he saw two sages who were sitting engaged in study. So he said to them, \u05d1\u05de\u05d0\u05d9 \u05e2\u05e1\u05e7\u05d9\u05ea\u05d5 \u2013 \u201cWhat sugya are you learning now?\u201d So they said, \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea \u2013 \u201cWe\u2019re talking about winds.\u201d Two sages of theTalmudare sitting talking about winds! That\u2019s whatweshould do too. Maybe we should sit down sometime and talk about winds.Now, some people, eventalmideichachomim, didn\u2019t learn the correctpshatin thisgemara. \u201cWhy would they talk about winds,\u201d somemefarshimthought. So they developed other interpretations of this gemara, whatruchosmeans. But that\u2019s not thepshat. Thegemarais telling us that they sat down to discuss wind! Because the study of the wind is a study of \u05d0\u05d9\u05d6\u05d4\u05d5 \u05e2\u05e9\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d4\u05e9\u05de\u05d7 \u05d1\u05d7\u05dc\u05e7\u05d5.If the wind didn\u2019t blow we couldn\u2019t live. \u05d0\u05d9 \u05d0\u05e4\u05e9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05d1\u05dc\u05d0 \u05e8\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea \u2013 \u201cThe world could not exist without winds\u201d (Taanis 3b). Nothing would grow without the wind; you wouldn\u2019t have a piece of bread if not for wind. You didn\u2019t know that? Well, you should start knowing it right now.If not for the wind there would be no food, because the winds keep the air moving so that the minute proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, three parts in ten thousand, is made available to plants. Otherwise the plant would use up all the surrounding carbon dioxide and would die. So when it\u2019s windy, and you have to hold on to your hat, that should be a cause for happiness. That\u2019s your \u201cwatermelon\u201d blowing by; your \u201cbread\u201d and your \u201cmeat\u201d. It\u2019s refreshing, invigorating and it\u2019s also the key to life itself.A CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR CAREERIf the winds would be discussed and studied properly, so the next time there would be a zephyr, or a blow, or a hurricane, a breeze \u2013 whatever form it would come in \u2013 it\u2019s going to cause us happiness. Now I\u2019m not saying that we\u2019ll go wild with happiness \u2013 it\u2019s only one phenomenon, one detail; but it will make you happy, no question about it. And winds are blowing all the time, and they don\u2019t cost much money either. So learn to enjoy it! It might take some time; it takes work. But after a while, after you begin studying the phenomena of wind, and appreciating it, so wind becomes a stimulus for happiness. So a person is walking in the street, and a slight breeze is tickling him \u2013 it\u2019s refreshing and it also arouses in his mind all those pleasurable thoughts; so that\u2019s one contribution to a career of happiness.Now, a breeze is only one thing. But this world is a gift of many happinesses for us. The trees and the flowers, the clouds and the rain. The blue sky, the sun and the moon, the soil and the leaves. Our hands and our eyes, our feet and our shoes. And you have thousands and thousands of other things. Hashem is giving you plenty of air and plenty of water. You have clothing and food. You have garments. You have a roof over your head, a place to sleep. You have a home. A home?! You can lock the door and sleep at night. Not like the homeless people who have to sleep near the railroad tracks and other dangerous places.Life is a veritable wellspring of happiness.But all this is justdevarim b\u2019almah, it\u2019s just words. You can\u2019t just be a happy person because of \u201ceverything.\u201d Everything is nothing. The path to true happiness is in the details. People have to teach themselves one thing at a time. Now wind is only one example of the happiness of this world. To learn the happiness of life you have to study all the details, moving from one subject to the other. One after the other, after another. And when you add together the sum total of many small phenomena, then they add up to a true happiness in life.BECOMING WEALTHIER AND WEALTHIERIf we would do this, we would actually learn together how to enjoy the phenomena of the world and become happy people all the time. And as life progresses we\u2019d be adding new ideas into the treasure chest of our minds that cause us happiness. We\u2019re adding riches into our mind and at the same time we\u2019d review the old ones more deeply. Every day you can become happier and happier with the simple details of life, and slowly, little by little, you add one more thing and one more thing, and you become anashir, you become wealthy. And we\u2019d find that from all sides we\u2019re bursting out with song. You\u2019d walk down the Brooklyn streetmeshugahwith happiness.And once you achieve this wealth, so you\u2019ll never be unhappy again. You can\u2019t be unhappy if your life is filled with thousands of small happinesses all day long. Because no matter what happens you feel you still have air to breathe. Air all you want. And water to drink, all you want. You still have a roof over your head. You still have shoes to wear. You have sunshine and teeth. And that\u2019s only the beginning of the list.And once you become a happy person you\u2019ll be able to withstand all thenisyonos, the trials of life. Life is not easy; there are always ups and downs. And if you don\u2019t achieve this wealth ofsamei\u2019ach b\u2019chelko,so no matter what you can purchase and no matter how many cars you have, you will be a fundamentally unhappy person, because you never learned what real happiness is. But once you achieve the wealth ofsamei\u2019achb\u2019chelko, then no matter what, you\u2019re a happy person for the rest of your life.THE MAIN PORTION IS \u2026 LIFE!And therefore, the first thing we must do is to clarify what it is that we\u2019re supposed to be happy about; what doeschelkomean? Now, what is the first aspect ofchelkothat all of us sitting here now have? \u201cYour portion,\u201d means first of all thatyou\u2019re alive!You never thought about thatpshat, did you? You were thinking that it means that when you finally make five hundred thousand dollars, so then you\u2019ll be happy, you\u2019ll besamei\u2019achb\u2019chelko, even though you don\u2019t have two million dollars yet. No, that\u2019s not whatchelkomeans. If you\u2019re still alive that\u2019s already your portion that you\u2019re expected to be full of joy about.Because there is no happiness like being alive!The happiness of being alive is an intense experience, only that we\u2019re so accustomed to it that we ignore it. Let\u2019s say a person would enjoy the fact that he is alive. Oh yes! How lucky you are that you\u2019re alive. Don\u2019t say it\u2019s nothing. It\u2019s everything! A millionaire would give up all of his property to stay alive. You\u2019re alive!And there are plenty of people you know, some of them even your age, who are not alive anymore. I myself look back, when I was a boy. Some of mychaveirimpassed away early. There was a fourteen year old friend of mine \u2013 he passed away. A twenty year old friend of mine passed away when I was in the yeshiva.WALKING ON CLOUDS!You know what fun it is to be alive! And there\u2019s a simple way to discover it. Here\u2019s a man who\u2019s going to a specialist because his physician found something. And he\u2019s afraid he has something terrible. So the specialist gives him a complete series of tests; blood tests and scans and everything else, and then he has to go home for a few days and wait for an answer. For those few days the man can think of nothing else except for the phone call he\u2019s expecting from the doctor. What is anything worth if he won\u2019t be able to live?! And finally the doctor calls him into his office and sits him down and tells him, \u201cI\u2019m sorry to tell you there\u2019snothingwrong with you!\u201dNow, when this man walks out of the doctor\u2019s office he\u2019s stepping on clouds. He\u2019s walking through Brooklyn and he\u2019s the happiest man in the whole city. Because now he\u2019s enjoying the sweetness of life. How sweet it is to be alive! The happiness of walking a Brooklyn street knowing that you\u2019re alive is unequaled in all the pleasures of the wealthy.THE QUICK LANDINGOnly that what happens? He walks on clouds from here to Avenue P(two blocks away from the shul)and then he\u2019s back on the ground again. He\u2019s walking on the sidewalk again because he forgets. And that\u2019s a tragedy because the happiness merely of being alive is a tremendous happiness that can keep you walking on clouds all day long.If only people would bestir themselves and say, \u201cWhy should I let this treasure go lost?! Why should I wait until the day comes when I\u2019m a hundred and nineteen years old, and I\u2019m laying in a home for the aged, and I\u2019m looking through the window at the people walking the streets outside. I see how beautiful life is, and I\u2019m thinking, \u2018That was once me. I never realized how much fun being alive and walking the streets could be. And now I only have one or two days left.\u2019\u201d You know that when a man is lying in the hospital and he knows that his days are numbered, he says \u201cIf I could get on the street again. I could once more walk around, once more. What a happiness it would be!\u201d He\u2019s jealous when he looks down from the hospital window and sees people walking in the streetand living, and for him, soon it will be all over.Of course if you have it every day after a while your mind becomes stultified. If you haven\u2019t studied it then you don\u2019t even appreciate it anymore. Like I told you earlier, it\u2019s a science; you need to create a program for happiness. It won\u2019t come merely because you came here to the lecture and listened to me. Because if you don\u2019t get busy making yourself happy, all this talk here is a waste.YOU\u2019RE AN OUTSIDER!You have to learn how to besamei\u2019achin yourcheilekof being alive. And so when you pass a funeral parlor \u2013 on Coney Island Avenue there are a number of funeral parlors \u2013 as you pass by one you say, \u201cBoruch Hashem I\u2019m on the outside!\u201d I\u2019m not joking; I\u2019m very serious now. And when you pass the next one, \u201cBoruch Hashem, I\u2019m on the outside.\u201d There are three of them there. So by the third one also, \u201cBoruch Hashem, I\u2019m on the outside.\u201d Say it with your mouth again, and again and again. To be outside of the funeral parlor is asimcha. Inside it\u2019s a funeral home. A \u201chome,\u201d you might think that it\u2019s comfortable, and there\u2019s music for themeisim, and they serve lunch for themeisim. He\u2019s in a box and that\u2019s all. And you\u2019re outside! \u201cBoruch Hashem, I\u2019m on the outside!\u201dNow, being alive is a happinessad ein sof, no question about it. But you have to expand on that happiness, because there is much more than life itself. Because not only are you alive but you have functioning kidneys. I know a man who has no kidneys \u2013 it\u2019s already years and years that he\u2019s on the waiting list to get a kidney. Three times a week he has to go to the clinic for special treatments instead of a kidney. It takes hours and hours each time, and it\u2019s expensive. But he\u2019s happy to be alive; he\u2019s happy to have a machine that keeps him alive. Because he knows that it\u2019s ata\u2019anugto be alive. And if he could just get one kidney, how happy he\u2019d be.He wishes he could be you! He\u2019d be delirious with joy!THE TRANSPLANT MANAnd here\u2019s a man who finally was able to get a new kidney. He has one that he \u201cborrowed\u201d from his sister who was kind enough to give him one of her kidneys. So now he\u2019s a \u201ctransplant man.\u201d You think it\u2019s so simple? This man cannot take certain medicines because they might upset his anti-rejection system. He takes a regimen of medicines to suppress the immunosuppressive reaction in him that would reject the new kidney. After all, the kidney is not his \u2013 it\u2019s foreign matter inside his body. So the tendency of the body is to reject it. And so he\u2019s always taking medicines to suppress the rejection apparatus.And there are some medicines that are sometimes vital to a person \u2013 maybe he gets an infection and he needs antibiotics \u2013 but now this man cannot take them because they would interfere with his anti-rejection medications. So this person may become subject to infections that he cannot combat because he can\u2019t take medicines. And so all his life he is living precariously with his one kidney.THE CRAZY KIDNEY MANNow, how does this man look at the same world that you look at? If he sees somebody who is glum and downcast, you know what he thinks? He\u2019s thinking, \u201cThat man is crazy! He has something to be sad about?! He has hisownkidney!\u201d A kidney is a great happiness! A natural one that fits in exactly where it\u2019s supposed to be! It\u2019s suited to everything in his body. All the cells in his body have an especial peculiar individual makeup, and they accept his kidney. While the kidney that this poor fellow has, is being rejected by all the cells in his body. And he is constantly in fear that maybe somedaychas v\u2019shalomthe cells in his body will win the fight \u2013 it\u2019s a tug of war after all. And when this man sees you on the street he doesn\u2019t understand how you cannot be ecstatic \u2013 not only do you have your own kidney, but you have two of them. You\u2019re not only a millionaire, you\u2019re a multi-millionaire!Now I\u2019ll say it again because you have to get it into your heads. Hearing this is not going to make you happy \u2013 you have to get to work. So when you go to the bathroom and your kidneys are working perfectly, your bladder is functioning to perfection, you were successful in your \u201cmission.\u201d Are you thinking about it and becoming a happy person? You make anasher yatzar, but while you\u2019re making thebrachahyou\u2019re making motions to somebody in the house, \u201cWait, wait; I\u2019ll be done in a second.\u201d That\u2019s the way to makeasher yatzar?! A man without kidneys; if he could makeasheryatzar, what a happiness it would be!HEALTHY BEGGAR OR SICK RICH MAN?You have to bestir the happiness in your mind \u2013 at least when you\u2019re making thebrachah. And actually, even that is not enough. All day long you should be thinking about your kidneys. Of course, all day long you can\u2019t do, but during the day when you\u2019re walking the street, take a minute to feel like your walking on clouds because you have functioning kidneys. And don\u2019t say it\u2019s impossible to live that way. It\u2019s possible. You have to just get busy doing it. It\u2019s hard work. You do it one day and then the next day you have to do it even more. You pass by a dialysis clinic, stop for a half minute \u2013 a half minute on the clock \u2013 and thank Hashem for the joy of having a kidney. And if you do it, if you become happy with your kidney, so now you\u2019re a millionaire. And if you\u2019re ecstatic because you have two kidneys, so you\u2019re a multi-millionaire.So now you\u2019re a multi-millionaire. But that\u2019s only the beginning. I know a man who had to have an operation and he can no longer eliminate by means of his anus. He now has a bag attached to his side. You have to realize that this man walks the streets envying everyone who has a rectum in the right place. If he could restore that natural function, that his orifice should be where it\u2019s supposed to be, that man would give away all his earthly possessions. There\u2019s no question that he would prefer being a beggar with a rectum to be being a millionaire with a bag on his side.THE SILLINESS OF MANKINDAnd now we see how silly all of mankind is if they don\u2019t sing because of what they possess. And not only when you use that orifice, when you move your bowels, but all day. Frequently, as you walk down the street, you should bestir this happiness in your mind \u2013 how lucky you are; how convenient it is; how comfortable it is; how wealthy you are. It\u2019s a joy to have the function of natural elimination and it\u2019s a cause for actual tangible pleasure and for singing. A man who has sense, Torah sense, actuallyrejoicesin his ability to eliminate.Now the more you learn how to be happy from all these things, so it grows on you, it becomes part of your personality. Little by little it grows upon your mind an attitude of optimism, and you become a happy personality. \u201cI\u2019m so happy to be alive, to be on this side of the cemetery gate.\u201d That\u2019s what you should think about when you walk for the street. \u201cAnd not only am I alive, but I have kidneys!\u201d Now, that\u2019s a wealth! \u201cAnd not only kidneys, but I don\u2019t need a bag on my side! I\u2019m normal!\u201d It\u2019s a great happiness to be normal!THE DELICIOUS COCKTAILSo now we begin to see that it\u2019s important for us to dwell on details. You have to take one thing at a time; maybe one week you\u2019ll work let\u2019s say on enjoying air. Getting the pleasure of breathing. The truth is that when you walk outside tonight, you should take a deep breath. \u201cAhhh!\u201d you should say.\u201d It\u2019s really ata\u2019anug.\u201dNo cocktail that you could buy in the store compares to the cocktail of fresh air. People walk in the street today and they drink in the street to show off they\u2019re drinking. That\u2019smeshugas.What do you need it for?! Drink in the fresh air. It\u2019s free of charge and it\u2019s much healthier. Fill your lungs. It makes your blood become red immediately, the fresh air.Get into the habit \u2013 one week learn to praise Hashem for air. This week whenever you can, think about the happiness of being able to breathe fresh air. After a while you\u2019re happy when you think about the air. Breathing is fun! I once told you about a simple experiment, didn\u2019t I? Dip your head in a bucket of waterthreetimes and take it outtwice! Anyhow, then wait till you can\u2019t anymore, and finally you\u2019ll take it out this time and you\u2019ll take one deep breath \u2013 \u201cAhh, is that delicious!\u201d The truth is that it\u2019s always delicious. Breathing is delicious!So let\u2019s say you\u2019re walking to thebeis haknessesand you tell yourself, \u201cIsn\u2019t it a wonderful thing that there is air to breathe?!\u201d Now at first it\u2019s achiddush gadol. Air?! I\u2019m afraid that even if you tell it totalmidei chachomimit\u2019s a big chiddush. You tell him, \u201cYes, air is vital. I\u2019ll prove to you that it\u2019s what you need more than anything else. You can get along without food for days and days. Without water, for a shorter time, but you can get along without water too \u2013 for a few days maybe. But without air you can\u2019t get along.\u201d\u201cHALF HALLEL\u201d IS NOT ENOUGHIt says in the Medrash on the possuk \u05db\u05dc \u05d4\u05e0\u05e9\u05de\u05d4 \u05ea\u05d4\u05dc\u05dc \u05d9-\u05d4, that \u05e2\u05dc \u05db\u05dc \u05e0\u05e9\u05d9\u05de\u05d4 \u05d5\u05e0\u05e9\u05d9\u05de\u05d4 \u05ea\u05d4\u05dc\u05dc \u05d9-\u05d4, for every breath you have to say Hallel. And myrebbisaid it meansgantzHallel. For every breath you owe Hashema full hallel. Now, you don\u2019t have time for that \u2013 you\u2019re too busy breathing \u2013 but at least you have to know thatthat\u2019s how delicious it is!When a person is a little bit dejected, discouraged, what a good idea it is to go to the window and breathe deeply. We don\u2019t realize. It\u2019s like a drink of very strong medicine. Air comes into your lungs and the oxygen unites with your blood and makes your blood more red. It\u2019s a fact. As you breathe, your blood becomes more invigorated with oxygen. The iron in your blood that makes it red, the hemoglobin, unites with the oxygen, and it carries the oxygen on its path through all the blood vessels everywhere in the body to invigorate all the cells. The whole body is different because you breathe. And therefore it\u2019s a good idea to practice breathing just for the feel of it, just to appreciate that great gift of air.200 MILES OF CHESSEDThe world is full of air. That\u2019s what it means \u05de\u05dc\u05d5\u05d0 \u05db\u05dc \u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05e5 \u05db\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3\u05d5. So a man will tell you, \u201cK\u2019vodo? That means the \u201cglory of Hashem.\u2019 Where does air come into it?\u201d What do you think is \u201cthe glory of Hashem\u201d? The glory of Hashem is Hischessed. Thechessedof Hashem fills the world. And what is one of the most prevalent kindnesses of Hashem? Air! Hakodosh Boruch Hu made two hundred miles of it. Two hundred miles up of air! Now the air is not one thing. It\u2019s a cocktail mixed exactly with the right ingredients to make it not only beneficial to us but it tastes good too. It\u2019s mixed with oxygen, about twenty percent. All the rest is mostly nitrogen and inert gas because you need something with which to carry the oxygen. If the air was all oxygen, you\u2019d become drunk. If you would breathe oxygen alone, you would get dizzy, you\u2019d become intoxicated. So you have to have the nitrogen to dilute the oxygen; and a little bit of carbon dioxide is essential because it\u2019s an incentive to your lungs to breathe more deeply. And then traces of a few other gases together and it makes together a combination of the perfect material that\u2019s suited for human beings.You know what we are? We\u2019re like fish in the bottom of an ocean. Fish in the ocean. Fish don\u2019t like air. They want water. We\u2019re in an ocean, an ocean of air. The ocean is two hundred miles high. We\u2019re like fish living in this ocean of air, and we love it. That\u2019s our element. If we were to change places with a fish, we wouldn\u2019t be happy, just like a fish wouldn\u2019t be happy if he took our place. And therefore let\u2019s enjoy this ocean while we have it.STRANGLED IN HIS SUMMER HOMESo practice up on this. On the way home, When you walk out of here onto Ocean Parkway \u2013 it\u2019s a beautiful street, a parkway with trees and bushes. Now after the rain they\u2019re exuding a fragrance, and the combined fragrance of different kinds of shrubs and trees, combined with the city odors \u2013 it\u2019s a pleasure those city odors \u2013 and they combine to give a certain cocktail that you don\u2019t drink; you draw it deep into your lungs and you can learn to enjoy it.You think a summer home in Maine and a winter home in Florida is going to make you happy? No, that\u2019s nothing. What good would the home be if you were strangled without air, if you were suffocating for air. Breathing is a big simcha! Some people have difficulty breathing. You know that some people have difficulty breathing?(The Rav took a deep breath). Ahh! It\u2019s a pleasure to fill your lungs.Mamishataanug! Don\u2019t laugh at breathing \u2013 it\u2019s a great happiness to breathe.WEEK #2: WALKING IS A HAPPINESSSo you\u2019ve begun to scratch the surface of the happiness of breathing. It was only a week of thinking after all, but you\u2019re a wealthy man already. Now suppose you would spend a week becoming happy that you can walk. So the next week change and start appreciating the fact that you can walk. Walking is asimchah. \u05d4\u05de\u05db\u05d9\u05df \u05de\u05e6\u05e2\u05d3\u05d9 \u05d2\u05d1\u05e8, \u201cHow happy I am that I can walk.\u201d Look how many people sit in wheelchairs. Walking is fun. Your thigh swings forward in effortless motion and all of your joints are functioning to perfection. You don\u2019t hear any scraping as you bend your knee, do you? That\u2019s asimcha! You don\u2019t feel any chaffing? Ah, it\u2019s a pleasure to walk. And it\u2019s good exercise too. The entire body is moving. It\u2019s good for your heart. It\u2019s good for everything if you walk. And besides for that, walking shows you\u2019re in control of yourself. All your muscles cooperate to walk and you learn what it means \u05d4\u05de\u05db\u05d9\u05df \u05de\u05e6\u05e2\u05d3\u05d9 \u05d2\u05d1\u05e8.If you walk in the street and you see \u2013 like I saw yesterday \u2013 a girl who was hopping around on crutches. But the stump of her other leg didn\u2019t stick out. That\u2019s how much was cut off. Now that was an apparition, sent to memin hashamayim. Because how much would this girl give to regain her leg? No money in the world would be too much! And therefore, as you walk in the street you have to think about thatbrachahyou mumbled in the morning, \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05da \u05d0\u05ea\u05d4 \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d0\u05dc\u05d5\u05e7\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 \u05de\u05dc\u05da \u05d4\u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05d4\u05de\u05db\u05d9\u05df \u05de\u05e6\u05e2\u05d3\u05d9 \u05d2\u05d1\u05e8 \u2013 I thank You Hashem for establishing the footsteps of a man. \u201cI\u2019m able to take footsteps on my own feet!\u201d It\u2019s a happiness to be able to walk on your own two feet. You know how ecstatic a man is who has been confined to a wheelchair for a long time \u2013 he wasn\u2019t able to walk \u2013 and finally he regained that ability! He\u2019s overjoyed! So the second week, you\u2019ll work on the happiness of walking.Now you\u2019re an even wealthier man. You own a few apartment houses already. You have your lungs that are breathing in the great elixir of life we call air, that\u2019s one apartment building that\u2019s yours. Another apartment building is the happiness of being able to walk. That\u2019s a very valuable piece of property! So you\u2019re already a pretty wealthy fellow. You can walk in the street now and your pockets are full of cash. If your pockets would be full of hundred dollar bills bulging on both sides, it\u2019s nothing compared to the person who spent two weeks working on the happiness of fresh air and on the ecstasy of walking. As I walk in the street balancing myself on two legs, and I\u2019m breathing the air of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, I\u2019m enjoying life!BE QUEER AND BE HAPPYSo we\u2019re beginning to see now that in order to be asamei\u2019ach b\u2019chelkoyou have to be a queer kind of a fellow. You can\u2019t always share your feelings with other people; they\u2019ll laugh at you. \u05d1\u05d0\u05d6\u05e0\u05d9 \u05db\u05e1\u05d9\u05dc \u05d0\u05dc \u05ea\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u2013 \u201cDon\u2019t speak into the ears of a fool.\u201d He\u2019ll make light of these ideas and cool you off (Mishlei 23:9). \u201cThere\u2019s a fellow over there, down Ocean Parkway, who\u2019s happy that he has two kidneys! Ha!\u201d Try to tell people that you\u2019re filled with joy, you\u2019remamish b\u2019simchabecause breathing is fun, so they\u2019ll think you\u2019re wacky. Butthey\u2019re the wacky onesbecause they\u2019re missing all the happiness of this world.I know what the people will say when you go out of here. You\u2019ll talk to people and they\u2019ll tell you other things. Don\u2019t be misled! Here comes along afrumtzaddikand says to me, \u201cYou\u2019re teaching people to enjoy life?! The purpose of life ista\u2019anugim?! To berodef ta\u2019anugim,run after pleasures?!\u201d He was upset at me. I looked at him and said, \u201cLook, you have a wristwatch. I don\u2019t have a wristwatch. Youdrive a carwhen you come to theyeshivah. Iwalkto theyeshivah. Who is running after pleasure, you or I? You\u2019re running after it but you don\u2019t have it. I\u2019m not looking for pleasures. They\u2019re coming to me. As I walk in the street with my \u201cRolls Royce\u201d \u2013 my two shoes, that\u2019s my Rolls Royce \u2013 and I\u2019m breathing the air of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, I\u2019m enjoying life. I walk past the cemetery on Ocean Parkway, and I\u2019m filled with happiness that I\u2019m on this side of the gate.\u201d That kind ofkosherta\u2019anugimis achiyuv,it\u2019s amitzvahgedolahto enjoy life that way.ICE CREAM IN THE SUNAll this is serious talk. I know that if you go to akolleland you\u2019ll tell them these things, they\u2019ll laugh at you. That\u2019s because they\u2019re silly \u2013 they don\u2019t begin knowing Torah. And don\u2019t tell me that enjoyment and happiness is not fortzadikim. Oh no, you bigtzadik, you don\u2019t want to enjoy the sun and the wind. He\u2019s eating his chocolate cakes and ice cream, but to be happy with the sun, that\u2019s too much.Happiness is not running after good times, not goingchalilahto entertainment, and fun places. No;chas v\u2019shalom, chas v\u2019shalom, that\u2019smeshugas. People who are running after good times are never enjoying life \u2013 they\u2019re always running after good times and fun, but they never find it. Never. They\u2019re always busy running, pursuing, but they\u2019ll never find it \u2013 because they\u2019re looking in all the wrong places.\u201cG-D MADE\u201d EARPHONES, SPEAKERS, AND CAMERASWho needs places of entertainment to be happy when you have all the happiness right here! Look at yourself, \u201cI\u2019m alive,boruchHashem.\u201d Look at your feet; \u201cBoruch Hashem,two of them! And they\u2019re both the same size!\u201d Look at your ears; \u201cBoruch Hashem!\u201d They\u2019re \u201cearphones\u201d hanging on the side of your head \u2013 and you don\u2019t have to buy them in the store. You have teeth; slicing teeth in the front and the grinders in the back. Boruch Hashem! You have a functioning tongue that\u2019s busy all day long in your mouth. You have a \u201cspeaker\u201d in your mouth, vocal chords. Boruch Hashem. And eyes! \u201cCameras\u201d in your head. Boruch Hashem! You can walk, Boruch Hashem! \u05d4\u05de\u05db\u05d9\u05df \u05de\u05e6\u05e2\u05d3\u05d9 \u05d2\u05d1\u05e8. That\u2019s some trick you have there being able to balance yourself as you walk. Boruch Hashem! And that\u2019s only the beginning.You have to learn how to be happy with your clothing. It\u2019s not enough to say thebrachahofmalbish arumimin general andpaturyourself. You have to study the details of your clothing in order to become a happy person. The pockets and the buttons, everything. Study it.THE SHOES IN THE TREASURE CHESTStudy your shoes. Shoes are a happiness. Did you ever think about that? You know that in some countries people don\u2019t have shoes. Only one man wears shoes, that\u2019s the king of the tribe. And not every day. Once in a while he puts on shoes, when a visitor comes from outside, a tourist, so he wants to show he\u2019s a sport so he puts on shoes. Otherwise he doesn\u2019t put on shoes. Shoes are a big luxury. It\u2019s a very complicated achievement, a shoe. Look at the different kinds of leather. And rubber heels. And you need shoestrings. A shoe is a treasure.So let\u2019s say a colonel from the American Air Force lands on that island, so the king takes his shoes out from his treasure chest, and he puts them on, and he marches with his short pants covering his naked body, with some feathers in his head to greet the colonel. And he shows him his shoes. He\u2019s so happy; he\u2019s \u201can aristocrat.\u201dTHE GREAT BLESSING OF SHOELACE TIPSWe should know that shoes are a happiness. It\u2019s not an exaggeration at all. It\u2019s no exaggeration; shoes are a happiness for us. Just because you live in a country where everyone can afford shoes, should that decrease the happiness in any way?!That\u2019s why we\u2019re expected to say every day, \u05e9\u05e2\u05e9\u05d4 \u05dc\u05d9 \u05db\u05dc \u05e6\u05e8\u05db\u05d9. But we\u2019re lazy, we don\u2019t think. Often we\u2019re not even thinking about thepeirush hamilos.I\u2019m not talking now about the \u201cformality\u201d of making thebrachahin shul. When you\u2019re walking down the street, take a minute every day to be happy with your shoes. Think about the details. \u201cHow lucky I am to have shoelaces that have plastic tips. If there wasn\u2019t a plastic tip, then I\u2019d have a hard job fitting it into the hole. I\u2019d have to spit on it, and twist it and try to push it through the hole. Boruch Hashem I have plastic on the tips of the laces.\u201dTHE DOCTORS ARE OVERCOME WITH EMOTIONOnce you begin thinking this way, you can begin to be happy with all the functions of life. I mentioned the sense of sight before. I can\u2019t just gloss over it quickly. You\u2019re able to see! If you don\u2019t appreciate that, then take a look at the person walking in the street with a white cane tapping his way. What would he do if he could get eyes like you have today?! Even one eye!It was recently reported in the papers that a woman who had a cataract for many years and her situation was considered hopeless. She was a married woman, with children, but she had no sight. And then it was decided to attempt an experimental operation on her. For a long time the bandages remained on her eyes. And finally the doctor came in and he took off the bandages \u2013 just for a moment they were taken off so as not to strain her eyes \u2013 but in that one moment she screamed in delirium. She could see! And the doctors were weeping. They were overcome with emotion.Now isn\u2019t it a tragedy that we don\u2019t weep in happiness at this great gift of sight!Boruch atah Hashem pokei\u2019ach ivrim, Who opens up the eyes of the blind every morning. Finally this lady saw her husband for the first time; she finally saw her children. And she said that she didn\u2019t want anything more out of lifeexcept to be able to look!FREE LENS CLEANSING GERMICIDESThe happiness of sight, the happiness of seeing color! Seeing is life itself. Thegemarasays that \u05e1\u05d5\u05de\u05d0 \u05d7\u05e9\u05d5\u05d1 \u05db\u05de\u05ea \u2013 in one sense a blind man is like a dead man. He\u2019snotdead \u2013 there are a lot of compensations in life \u2013 but in a certain way he\u2019s dead. Because the great happiness of having two \u201ccameras\u201d is a joy that a living person shouldn\u2019t be without. Even one camera! How lucky we are! And it\u2019s a color camera that focuses by itself; all day long it\u2019s working perfectly, focusing in, focusing out. Every time you blink you\u2019re washing off the lens with a film of germicide that cleanses. It\u2019s a perfectly functioning camera that has no equal among the best fabrications of Mankind.That\u2019s how you\u2019re expected to think \u2013 that\u2019ssameach b\u2019chelko. Not that you\u2019re satisfied with \u201cmerely\u201d five hundred thousand dollars. When a man learns to enjoy the fact that he has two good eyes, he is more wealthy than the man who has two million dollars. So how can we be satisfied in the morning with a dry as dust declaration, \u201cpokei\u2019ach ivrim\u201d, which most times we don\u2019t even think about what we\u2019re saying? Isn\u2019t that a tragedy?\u201cI HAVE TWO ARMS!\u201dNow we have to keep on going. Look all around you; did you ever see a man with only one arm? Two weeks ago I saw a man without any arms.Both arms were missing! And I said to myself, \u201cLook, you learnChovos Halevavos, don\u2019t you? How can you pass him by?\u201d So I took another look. I waited till he passed by \u2013 I didn\u2019t want to embarrass him \u2013 and I took another look to remind myself. And for at least a half a block I was walking on air, thinking how lucky I am to have two arms. Thinkchas v\u2019shalomwhat it would be like if you didn\u2019t have two arms. What would you do? For a half a block I was ecstatic. But a half a block is not enough \u2013 it has to be all the time!Not only do you have arms and legs, but your mind is normal. Oooh, what achessedthat is! So many people are very confused; mental illnesses, imbeciles, and depression. Depression is also a sickness, it\u2019s also like being an imbecile. And therefore, \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05da \u05d0\u05ea\u05d4 \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d7\u05d5\u05e0\u05df \u05d4\u05d3\u05e2\u05ea! How can you sayshemonah esreievery day, and ignore thatbracha. It\u2019s the first of the weekdaybrachos, and you\u2019re thanking Hashem thatyou\u2019re sane! Three times a day you say it; shouldn\u2019t you appreciate that great gift?Chonein hadaas \u2013You bestowed sanity upon me.THEY FROZE IN SLABODKAAppreciate the roof over your head. Did you ever stop to appreciate the happiness of a warm house? Once upon a time when a Jew came into his house, \u201cAh, avarme shtub,\u201d he said. \u201cAh varme shtub!\u201d In thebeis hamedrashhe was freezing. I sat in Slabodka and we were freezing in theyeshiva! We were freezing! It was hard to heat theyeshiva. The stove was over there at the end, behind the wall, and you put in some wood there till it burned out. It was barely enough to heat that little room. If you would stand next to the stove you would feel some heat \u2013 otherwise it was cold. And so you would come home and it was a great happiness to be in avarme shtub. You should be filled with joy when you come into a warm house. And today you can enjoy that happiness in thebeis medrashas well.Warmth is a great happiness. You can ask that poor woman sitting outside on the bench on Ocean Parkway. She has no home. I see her pushing a shopping wagon with all her belongings in that little wagon. She has no warm place to sleep. If somebody would let her rest in the vestibule of their home, it would be the greatest happiness for her. She\u2019d bemeshugehwith joy.LYING ON THE KITCHEN FLOORNow that\u2019s achiddushto most people. A warm house? Yes, a warm house is a happiness. It\u2019s not easy to have a house that\u2019s warm. When I was a boy we didn\u2019t have warm houses. It was only warm in the kitchen where the coal stove was.You had to put coal in the stove. When the coal burned out you had to take the ashes out of the stove. That was the only room where there was warmth. If I wanted to read, I laid down on the floor in the kitchen. I laid on the floor all day, all night, in the kitchen by the stove. All the rest of the house didn\u2019t have any warmth. We didn\u2019t have any radiators. No such thing. The house was cold. If you wanted to warm a house, you put a kerosene stove in the rooms. The kerosene stove had to have oil there and sometimes it didn\u2019t work. When you got up in the morning, the whole room was black, including your face too, it made everything black, the soot from the kerosene stove. This luxury of having a warm house is something the modern people have to realize.Ahhh! What a pleasure it is to have a warm house. So when you walk in with your children in the wintertime from thebeis haknesses, say \u201cChaim\u2019ll, isn\u2019t it good to have a warm house?\u201d Rub your hands together. He looks at you like you fell off the moon. He doesn\u2019t understand you. \u201cHow silly adults are,\u201d he thinks. Never mind.That\u2019s the way to bring up children and eventually he\u2019ll thank you for that.THENEISOF THE FAUCETWhen I was in Slabodka nobody had running water in the house. You had to go a half block away to get water. And you couldn\u2019t drink it; it was dangerous to drink well water. You had to boil it up first. And here in your house you turn the faucet and water comes out, pure water fit to drink! What a wealth, what a happiness that is! And even hot water! Hot water coming out of a faucet! It\u2019s a luxury upon luxuries. Once upon a time hot water came only from springs, hot springs. If you didn\u2019t have hot springs you couldn\u2019t get any hot water unless you boiled it. Think about that every time you turn on the faucet, and you\u2019ll start becoming asamei\u2019achb\u2019chelko.You have to talk to yourself about your home. As you walk on the steps, you should whisper to yourself, \u201cIsn\u2019t it good we have steps?\u201d You know, I have steps upstairs, and many times I think about how in the olden days in thegemarathey didn\u2019t have steps. They had a ladder, adargah. Try climbing a ladder to go upstairs; it\u2019s not so simple. Now even a ladder is also a very good invention. Otherwise you would have to go with a rope, you\u2019d have to lift yourself up. But even a ladder is not so safe. Steps are a luxury.A HANDRAIL ISPIKUACH NEFESHSo here you have a man walking up steps and he\u2019s thanking Hashem for this luxury of steps, for the happiness of a staircase. But not only the steps, there\u2019s a railing too! You know the building code requires you to make a railing, so somechachamim be\u2019eineihemtry to avoid the building code and leave out the rail. They deceive the inspector. So what happens? Sometimes they\u2019re walking up the steps and they\u2019re a little busy and they fall down. You can break your neckchalilah.The railing is there; it\u2019s a happiness,mamishpikuachnefesh. What a blessing a handrail is! You ever stopped to think about that? Never even once did the handrail make you happy?!\u201cAll this is silly,\u201d you\u2019ll say. Formeshuga\u2019imeverything is silly. So let them bemeshugeh, and you be happy! You walk up the steps and you\u2019re happy because of the handrail. And the older you get, the more you\u2019ll enjoy it. Imagine a man enjoying the handrail. His life is full of fun, full of happiness.BECOMING A MILLIONAIRE TAKES WORKYou learn little by little. Of course it\u2019s a career. You have to put in work. You could put in five minutes a day practicing enjoying air, five minutes a day practicing enjoying your eyes. Five minutes a day next week practicing enjoying walking. Five minute a day practice enjoying clothing. Little by little you\u2019re gathering up in your bank account wealth and little by little you\u2019re becoming a happy man of many riches, many treasures.But you have to do it, though. Just hearing me say it, is not enough. It takes work to be a fake millionaire, so to be the true millionaire of \u201chasamei\u2019achbi\u2019chelko\u201dsurely takes time and hard work. Like I said before, it doesn\u2019t come by itself. You have to make up your mind that you\u2019re going to pursue this career of happiness and that you\u2019ll always be saying, \u201cI thank You Hashem.\u201d Always, \u201cI thank You Hashem for giving me this breakfast. I thank you Hashem for being able to go to the bathroom.\u201d And don\u2019t rely on thebrachosyou make. You must say it with your mouth in your own language. Always. And then, \u05d4\u05de\u05d7\u05e9\u05d1\u05d4 \u05e0\u05de\u05e9\u05db\u05ea \u05d0\u05d7\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d3\u05d9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e8 \u2013 your mind will be transformed because of your speech and you will become a happy man. At first it won\u2019t work. You won\u2019t feel so happy. But you keep thinking and talking and these ideas will settle into your mind.RAV MILLER\u2019S GUARANTEE FOR HAPPINESSThat\u2019s what theMesillas Yesharimsays: \u05d4\u05d7\u05d9\u05e6\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea \u05de\u05e2\u05d5\u05e8\u05e8\u05ea \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05e4\u05e0\u05d9\u05de\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea \u2013 The outwardliness bestirs the inwardliness. It\u2019s not sincere \u2013 you\u2019re not so happy about breathing. But keep it up, and little by little you\u2019re priming your well, and from the depths of yourneshamareal happiness will come out. Little by little, you\u2019ll add more things. And all the things after a while start adding up you become the real millionaire. And after a while you\u2019ll have forty, fifty things. And that\u2019s nothing yet because there\u2019s so much more than that. But you\u2019ll be happy with forty things and you\u2019ll be a rich man. You\u2019ll be a rich man already. And if you\u2019re a young man yet \u2013 even a young man of sixty \u2013 you\u2019ll keep on this path, on this career, until you\u2019re in your nineties and you\u2019ll be a very wealthy person.I guarantee you that if you do it, you will become happy with the so many wonderful things that you have always taken for granted. And you will become a servant of Hashem and a great man. Not only will you become a happy person but you will become a great person.HASHEM TAUGHT US THE PATH TO HAPPINESSSo make sure to rejoice in all these things and life becomes so delicious. Life is so full of fun thatyou\u2019re always at a party. People at a party are really morose! Let\u2019s saychalilahyou were at a New Year\u2019s party and you saw people reveling \u2013 singing and dancing and blowing whistles, jumping up and down. It\u2019s nothing; it\u2019s an empty happiness. They don\u2019t haveanythingon the man who is really enjoying life. They don\u2019t even begin to understand what you, the happy man or woman is all about. You\u2019realwaysrejoicing!Now, there is a lot more to be studied on this subject \u2013 I have many more things listed here that I wanted to talk to you about, but I\u2019m already way past time. But at least we began studying the subject. It\u2019s a science that must be studied and practiced, but at least we know that there is such a thing as happiness the way Hakodosh Boruch Hu expects it, and it\u2019s available to all of us.And don\u2019t ask me questions: \u201cWhy don\u2019t I see this from myrebbe, from this person or thattzadik?\u201d Don\u2019t believe it; therealtzadikimknow thatthis is the pathto true happiness in life. Because it\u2019s the path \u2013 the way of happiness \u2013 that Hashem set down for us on the day we leftMitzrayim. And people who don\u2019t walk this path set down by Hakodosh Boruch Hu are falling short not of greatmadreigos\u2013 don\u2019t think they\u2019re falling short of high levels of virtue and perfection. No, they\u2019re falling short of the elementary requirements that Hashem taught us on that great day ofYetzias Mitzrayim:\u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05d0\u05ea\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05e6\u05d0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1 \u2013 that it is the beauty of a spring day and the thousands of other ordinary details of our lives that are supposed to be the real source of our happiness. And therefore, they\u2019re falling short of living happy lives infused with the endless joy of all the simple pleasures of life symbolized by the lesson of \u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1.HAVE A WONDERFUL SHABBOS See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.