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THE GREAT MAN IS BORNIn this week\u2019sparshawe are introduced for the first time to one of the greatest men in our history: \u05d5\u05ea\u05d4\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d0\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d5\u05ea\u05dc\u05d3 \u05d1\u05df \u2013 And Yocheved gave birth to a son (Shemos 2:1). Moshe ben Amram is born into the Jewish nation, a handsome baby boy. \u05d5\u05ea\u05e8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05d5\u05ea\u05d5 \u05db\u05d9 \u05d8\u05d5\u05d1 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u2013 His mother saw thatki tov hu, that he was good looking (Shemos 2:2). She didn\u2019t see that he was good natured, or that he was smart. You can\u2019t see that in a baby! She saw that he was handsome; a beautiful child.And that\u2019s almost all that we know about this little boy.And yet only a fewpesukimlater Moshe, already an elderly sage of eighty years, is being granted a vision of the glory of Hashem at the burning bush: \u05d5\u05d9\u05e8\u05d0 \u05de\u05dc\u05d0\u05da \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d1\u05dc\u05d1\u05ea \u05d0\u05e9 \u2013 And a messenger of Hashem appeared to him in a flame of fire (Shemos 3:2). And suddenly this adorable little boy, now a man of eighty, is chosen to be the redeemer of the Am Yisroel.THE MYSTERY OF MOSHENow it would be proper for us to consider the story of Moshe\u2019s life, and to study how Moshe ben Amram became Moshe Rabeinu; what was his path to success? After all, he was the man who took us out ofMitzrayimand led us for forty years in themidbar. He spent forty days and forty nights with Hakodosh Boruch Hu; he spoke to Hashempeh el peh,and brought down the Torah to the Am Yisroel. There was no man greater than he.And not only was he one of the most remarkable men in the history of our nation, but more importantly, he is one the great models that we aspire to emulate. The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuva 5:2) says that! He says that we should all aspire to be like Moshe Rabeinu: \u05db\u05dc \u05d0\u05d3\u05dd \u05e8\u05d0\u05d5\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea \u05e6\u05d3\u05d9\u05e7 \u05db\u05de\u05e9\u05d4 \u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u2013 \u201cEvery person is fit to be righteous like Moshe Rabeinu.\u201d Now, you\u2019ll never become anavilike Moshe was, but everyone of us was born with the talents needed to become atzadiklike Moshe, and therefore it is incumbent upon us to probe the life of this great man to find the seeds of his greatness.And yet when we begin to investigate his life we are stymied by a most peculiar fact. Moshe Rabeinu, an eighty year old man, seemingly appears out of thin air; the redeemer of the Am Yisroel appears on the scene and we know almost nothing about him: We\u2019re not told what made him great and why he was chosen or what paths ofavodas Hashemdid he walk on for eighty years that made him the one chosen to redeem the Am Yisroel. How did theish Mitzribecome theish ha\u2019Elokim, the only man who would ever to speak to Hashempeh el peh, mouth to mouth?HE ESCAPES AND TURNS EIGHTYOf course, we are all familiar with a few shortpesukimabout his early days; he was brought up in the palace of Pharaoh and then was forced to flee for his life when he defended a fellow Jew by killed aMitzri. But besides for that we know almost nothing. Moshe Rabeinu turns up many decades later at the burning bush in the mountains of Midian, having been chosen by Hashem to redeem His people.And I\u2019ll tell you achidddushnow \u2013 even the one incident we know of this great man, how he went out from the palace to save his fellow Jew, is told to primarily us to let us know that we know very very little about Moshe. Of course, there are other important things we learn about Moshe from there as well \u2013 and we\u2019ll talk about that one day. But the primary purpose of thosepesukimis to introduce the story ofhis having to flee.The little we know of him, only comes to tell us that we actually know very little about this great man.ISOLATION AND SOLITUDEHe was forced to flee for his life into the lonely wilderness, and he became a wanderer in exile. Don\u2019t think it was easy for him \u2013 it was a lonely life, no contact with his people, no family and no friends. And after many years, his wandering led him to Midian. And even there how did he spend his days? As a shepherd, alone in the mountains of Midian, grazing the sheep of Yisro. That\u2019s what the Torah tells us about his years in Midian. He spent his days alone in themidbaras a shepherd pasturing the flocks. \u05d5\u05de\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d4 \u05e8\u05e2\u05d4 \u05d0\u05ea \u05e6\u05d0\u05df \u05d9\u05ea\u05e8\u05d5 \u05d7\u05ea\u05e0\u05d5 \u05db\u05d4\u05df \u05de\u05d3\u05d9\u05df \u05d5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d4\u05d2 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05e6\u05d0\u05df \u05d0\u05d7\u05e8 \u05d4\u05de\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u2013 \u201cAnd Moshe was pasturing the sheep of Yisro his father-in-law and he led his flock toward the wilderness\u201d (Shemos 3:1). Moshe spent his days \u2013 it was months andyears\u2013 in solitude in the remote pastures of loneliness.So what we\u2019re seeing here now is a picture of a nomad, a lonely wanderer forforty years. Forty years is a long time to be alone! And besides for a few small incidents, that\u2019s all we are told about how Moshe became Moshe Rabeinu. That\u2019s all we know about him, that he wandered through the wilderness alone.And so we\u2019ll have to say that it was there,shepherding sheep in the isolation of the wilderness, that Moshe achieved the greatness that earned for him his place in history. It is evident that this had been the plan of Hashem \u2013 to separate this promising and gifted man from his family and send him into the wilderness and lonely wasteland of Midian and Sinai. And this was all tokeep him in solitude.Solitude wasn\u2019t merely an episode in his career; it was the cause of his careerand it readied him to become the greatest man in history. By separating him from his family and bykeeping him in solitude,HakodoshBoruchHuwas creating the future leader of the Am Yisroel.And so that is what we will attempt to study now; the strange fact that Moshe Rabeinu spent most of his formative years \u2013 years that we would have imagined would be spent under the tutelage oftzadikimandovdei Hashem\u2013 and instead they were years spent alone, separate from his fellow Jews, and often isolated from Mankind all together. So what was the plan of Hashem over here? What kind of environment was this for Moshe Rabeinu? Now, I\u2019m too small to be able to answer these questions \u2013 but I have the right to try to guess.CONSIDER THE ADVANTAGES OF LONELINESSAnd so in order to appreciate more fully this plan of Hashem, we should endeavor to study this step by step; what is it about solitude that can make a person so great. We\u2019ll begin by reading a selection from theChovos Halevavos.TheChovos Halevavoshas asha\u2019arcalledCheshbon Hanefesh,which means \u201cthinking\u201d and he suggests certain duties that we\u2019re expected to think about, thirty different ideas. He says there are many more but he suggests thirty of them. It\u2019skidaito study them all, but tonight we\u2019ll study some ofcheshbonnumber seventeen.He says as follows: What should a man think about when he has an urge to seek the company of people? It means when he feels lonesome; let\u2019s say it\u2019smotza\u2019ei Shabbos,the family went out to visit the relatives in Boro Park and he\u2019s left all alone in the house. He looks through the window and he sees cars crowded with people speeding to some destination. And he imagines their fun times ahead. Or let\u2019s say he\u2019s stuck in the yeshiva onmotza\u2019ei Shabbos\u2013 he\u2019s an out of town boy and everybody else is at home with their families and he\u2019s left alone in his dormitory room. Or he\u2019s just an unfortunate fellow who didn\u2019t marry and he\u2019s all by himself wherever he is. And he yearns for the company of people.And so this man is thinking about how much fun it would be to be together with people. So what does the Chovos Halevavos tell him: \u201cAt that time let him consider the advantages of solitude and how good it is to be separate from peoplebecause of the harm that comes from their company.\u201d The Chovos Halevavos is telling us here the most basic benefit of solitude \u2013 if you associate with people who have littleyiras Hashem, or maybe they have wrong ideas, so they poison your mind. There\u2019s no question that you\u2019re going to cause certain defects in your mind and in your character.FOOLS ARE MORE COMMON THAN WISE MENOf course, he doesn\u2019t mean the company oftalmideichachomim; he means ordinary people, thechevrashakesilim, the company of fools. But the truth is that wise men are often hard to find. Most often it is among the fools that you find yourself. And so he tells us, the first thing to consider is the harm that comes from the fools and the great benefit that you can accrue therefore by merely avoiding their company.Now, sometimes you can\u2019t help yourself; you have to visit your in-laws sometimes, so you have to sit and listen to their chatter. And so you\u2019ll have to act like you enjoy it. Or maybe for business, you\u2019re in an office or a store, and you have customers and coworkers who like to chew the rag, so you have to act like they\u2019re saying something very wise, as if you\u2019re interested in their idle chatter. But outside of that, a person should always think about the dangers of thechevrah ra\u2019ah,of bad company.WOULD YOU CHOOSE UNCLE HARRY TO BE YOUR REBBE?For instance much harm is accrued to a man from merely superfluous talk, from shooting the breeze. So you\u2019ll tell me, \u201cWhat\u2019s so bad about talking about the news, about sports and about the neighborhood? I know it won\u2019t make me atzadik, but harmful?!\u201d Yes, superfluous talk isin itselfan injury to a man: TheChovos Halevavossays that you should avoid the yakking of other, \u05dc\u05de\u05e2\u05df \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d1\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05dd \u05d4\u05d1\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d7\u05d1\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05d4\u05dd \u05dc\u05d4\u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05dc \u05d2\u05dd \u05d4\u05dd \u05db\u05de\u05d5\u05ea\u05dd, in order that the superficiality, the emptiness of your associates should not bring you to become empty too.When you\u2019re together with ordinary, empty people, you become ordinary too. He\u2019s talking here aboutfrumpeople.Theirtzitzisare out and they haveblack hats.There are manyfrumpeople who areempty,and therefore if you\u2019ll associate with people, you\u2019ll come down to their level and you\u2019ll become empty too.\u201cI\u2019ll become empty too?\u201d you\u2019ll ask me. How\u2019s that?\u201d So pay good attention because I\u2019m telling you now one of the unrecognized dangers that comes from listening to superfluous talk \u2013 it causes the listener to think along with the talker, or rather tounthinkalong with the talker. And so, as the \u201cwords of wisdom\u201d come gushing forth from Uncle Harry\u2019s mouth \u2013 he\u2019s talking without any planning after all \u2013 so your mind is following what he is saying. You\u2019re a respectful person after all, so you\u2019re listening, you\u2019re concentrating. And all the inanities, all the thoughtlessness of his conversation, is being repeated by you in your mind. That\u2019s what happens when you listen to anyone \u2013 the words are being replayed in your own head. So Uncle Harry just became your \u201crebbi.\u201d And he just filled your mind with \u201cHe said,\u201d and \u201cShe said,\u201d \u201cWe said,\u201d \u201cI said,\u201d and \u201cThey said.\u201d And it\u2019s a long confusion that merely fills up your head with nothing at all \u2013 something for which there is no need. And that\u2019s one way easy of ruining your mind.And even with good people, decent people, but if they\u2019re people who live more or less with materialism \u2013 and it\u2019s something you find a lot of today \u2013they hardly ever think about Hakodosh Boruch Hu \u2013 so you should know that they\u2019re going to drag you down to their level.It\u2019s contagious.Wrong attitudes and wicked ideas are contagious.Now, you wouldn\u2019t sit together with people who have pneumonia or the flu and they\u2019re coughing and sneezing in your face, that you understand. You get upset if someone is \u201cso kind\u201d as to share his germs with you. That kind of sharing you have no interest in. You\u2019ll keep away from him or at least you\u2019ll tell him to cover his mouth. And you have to know that often, the words coming from a person\u2019s mouth can be much worse than pneumonia.THE SINS OF CONVERSATIONAnd as if that wasn\u2019t enough trouble, the Chovos Halevavos quotes thechochominMishleiand says even more: \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05d1 \u05d3\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d7\u05d3\u05dc \u05e4\u05e9\u05e2 \u2013 \u201cIn a multitude of words there cannot be absent any iniquity\u201d (10:19) There\u2019s no question,Mishleitells us, that when people talk voluminous they are going to commit sins. It\u2019s not even a question!Lo yechdal peshah,it\u2019s impossible to avoid it. It\u2019s not even easy to avoid sins when you choose your words, but when you open your mouth and turn on the faucet, then there\u2019s no question thatloyechdal peshah.That\u2019s thepossukinMishlei. I\u2019ll just add now my own observation: You can imagine when you sit down on a bench in the courtyard of your apartment house with a neighbor or a friend, and four hours elapse in conversation. And you\u2019re not silent during that time. It\u2019s lively, it\u2019s gushing, pouring forth. In those four hours you can imagine how many timespeshahwas committed. But of course if you don\u2019t think about that; so you blindly and \u201cinnocently\u201d continue to producepesha\u2019im. It\u2019s like the man who blindly and \u201cinnocently\u201d drives his automobile off a cliff. It\u2019s a disaster.Now we go back to the Chovos Halevavos: \u201cAnd by avoiding such company you\u2019ll avoid speaking against people and mentioning faults of people and ridiculing people.\u201d Because that\u2019s what people do when they sit and have nothing else to do. They talk about other people. And finally when the whole conversation is used up, and he already spoke about everybody that he could, so he begins picking his relatives apart. It\u2019s apossukin Tehillim, \u05ea\u05e9\u05d1 \u05d1\u05d0\u05d7\u05d9\u05da \u05ea\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u2013 \u201cYou sit and you talk against your brother, \u05d5\u05d1\u05d1\u05df \u05d0\u05de\u05da \u05ea\u05ea\u05df \u05d3\u05d5\u05e4\u05d9, and against the son of your own mother you impute foolishness\u201d (50:20) And when somebody will say, \u201cWhat are you saying against your own brother?\u201d you say, \u201cIt\u2019s my own brother! I don\u2019t mean any harm.\u201d No harm?! You just blackened your brother and made him look as silly as possible.YOU\u2019LL SIN MORE AND MOREAnd also lies. Talking brings to sheker; big lies, little lies,lo yimaleit.The more you speak,the more you\u2019ll benichshalin the opposite ofemes. Because in order to make your stories interesting, you have to embellish them at least a little bit with stories, with details that never took place. You don\u2019t intend to lie, but still you want your listener to be interested, he shouldn\u2019t be bored by you. And so, you utilize stories and facts that never took place.And so that\u2019s how it is when you\u2019re around people. When you\u2019re with people so you don\u2019t control yourself.Your tongue wags and wags.You say whatever comes into your mind.You\u2019re \u201cforced\u201d to do itbecause youhaveto saysomethingwhen people are around. So you say all kinds of things, and all kinds of trouble happen. You\u2019ll sin and sin some more, and your mind will be dragged down to the lowest common denominator of your conversations. It\u2019s a fact that\u2019s proven all the time, every day, in everyone\u2019s life \u2013 and therefore the more you avoidchevra ra\u2019ah, wrong company, the better off you are.SOLITUDE: THE MOST PRECIOUS OF ALL THINGSHowever, important as that is, we\u2019re not going to say that Hakodosh Boruch Hu sent Moshe Rabeinu out into the solitude of the Midian wilderness just for that. Avoidingaveirosand superfluous talk, that\u2019s very important \u2013 it\u2019s a diamond on its own \u2013but Hakodosh Boruch Hu had much more in mind for Moshe Rabeinu.Because actually there is a much more profound benefit of solitude, something much more than merely avoidingcheit; and it isthatbenefit that made Moshe Rabeinu the great man that he became. And that\u2019s what we\u2019ll study now.Now, in order to better understand thema\u2019alas hahisbodedus,the great benefit of solitude, we will study a piece from theMesillas Yesharim(Chapter 15). You should pay close attention to the following because this statement we\u2019re going to read now is a diamond; only that you have to be amaiven, a connoisseur, in order to appreciate such a gem. He says like this:\u05d5\u05d9\u05e7\u05e8 \u05de\u05df \u05d4\u05db\u05dc, the most precious of all things, \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d4\u05ea\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3\u05d3\u05d5\u05ea, is solitude, to spend time by yourself.Now, it doesn\u2019t have to be all day long butsometime a person must make for himself. And he says that doing so is \u05d9\u05e7\u05e8 \u05de\u05df \u05d4\u05db\u05dc, it\u2019s more precious than anything else! You\u2019re hearing something now! He doesn\u2019t say that it\u2019s also a good thing, and not even that it\u2019s precious \u2013 but it\u2019s \u201cmore precious than anything else!\u201d Solitude!THE KING WISHES TO ESCAPEAnd theMesillas Yesharimcontinues: \u05d5\u05db\u05d1\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d6\u05db\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d3\u05d5\u05d3 \u05d4\u05de\u05dc\u05da \u05d1\u05e9\u05d1\u05d7 \u05d4\u05d4\u05ea\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3\u05d3\u05d5\u05ea, Dovid Hamelech spoke words of high praise when speaking of this quality of solitude.He said: \u05de\u05d9 \u05d9\u05ea\u05df \u05dc\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d1\u05e8 \u05db\u05d9\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4 \u2013 \u201cIf only I had wings like a dove, \u05d0\u05e2\u05d5\u05e4\u05d4 \u05d5\u05d0\u05e9\u05db\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4, I would fly far away and reside somewhere in a lonesome place.\u05d0\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9\u05e7 \u05e0\u05d3\u05d3, I would wander off and be alone, \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05df \u05d1\u05de\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u05e1\u05dc\u05d4, I would remain in the wilderness; I would make that my place forever.\u201dSo here is Dovid Hamelech sitting in his palace surrounded by people, surrounded by his advisors and friends, he had a lot of admirers as well, all good things \u2013 he\u2019s living the good life \u2013 and yet what do we find? That he\u2019s yearning to be in the wilderness! Now that\u2019s a big question because what was Dovid doing up there in the wilderness anyhow? What did he yearn to go back for already? He had everything he wanted!MOSHE RABEINU DOESN\u2019T NEED THE MOVIESAnd of course, for us it\u2019s a good question because when we think about being alone in the wilderness it doesn\u2019t seem so enjoyable. If we would go hide away in the mountains, with nobody else, with nothing to do, we wouldn\u2019t know what to do with ourselves.Many people are not capable of enjoying their own company and therefore it\u2019s impossible for them to be happy unless something comes in to cause them to remove their mind from the present. If you would bring a good novel with you into the wilderness, or maybe a portable television, OK, then we\u2019re talking. But that\u2019s not solitude \u2013 that just means they have nothing in their heads and so they\u2019re always trying to fill that vacuum with something. Those are the type of people who line up in front of the movies waiting to be admitted. These are people who can\u2019t live with themselves! They always have to go someplace where something is \u201chappening.\u201d Their lives are so empty of happiness that they\u2019ll stand in line and pay admission for something that is a substitute for happiness. And what type of happiness is it? When they leave the movies the money remains behind, they take along nothing with them except for a mixed up head, silly unrealistic pictures that never happened and never will happen. But at least for the moment their minds were off themselves. There are a lot of people not capable of solitude.But people who want to succeed in life will train themselves to enjoy their own company. That\u2019s what Moshe Rabeinu did for so many years. It\u2019s what Dovid Hamelech did after him \u2013 because Dovid wanted to be great and so he studied the life of Moshe Rabeinu and chose to walk in his footsteps. And those are the people who are able to live happy and successful lives even without frequent contact with others. You know that the Gra kept his shutters closed by day. His windows were shuttered up by day so that he shouldn\u2019t be able to look into the street and remove his mind from the business of serving Hashem.SOLITUDE FOR USBut I remember my rebbe,zichronoli\u2019vracha, telling us that we shouldn\u2019t do it. Because if we close the windows and shutter them, we\u2019ll just fall asleep. We\u2019ll take a long nap. So it depends what you\u2019ll do in the wilderness, what are you doing when you close the shutters. If you go into solitude carrying a pillow, or a newspaper or radio under your arm; if take with you a telephone, or a little black and white television, then that\u2019s not solitude. You\u2019re listening to the man on the other side of the radio or the man on the television screen who\u2019s pouring ideas into your head. You\u2019re far from being alone if you\u2019re reading a newspaper \u2013 you\u2019re sitting together with the nincompoops who write for the New York Times! And so, you have to know what to do when you\u2019re alone.And so we\u2019ll explain as follows: Solitude doesn\u2019t merely mean that you should be alone; it means thatyou should be alone for a purpose,for thepurpose of perfection.Solitude means being alone and being capable of using that opportunity to produce perfection of character. And the secret to this success is the realization that actuallyyou\u2019re not alone\u2013you\u2019re alone with Hashem! Now that\u2019s something to think about! When you find that time without all of the distractions of life, and now you\u2019re finally alone, that\u2019s when you\u2019re finally alone with your best friend, Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Now don\u2019t tell this to your wife \u2013 she should always think thatshe\u2019syour best friend. But the truth is that your greatest success and happiness in this world will come from the time you spend alone and build a relationship with your true best friend, Hakodosh Boruch Hu.IT\u2019S GOOD TO BE A BEIS YAAKOV GIRLNow I know that many people when they hear these words, it sounds extreme to them. They think I\u2019m exaggerating. A man here said to me once, \u201cRelationship with Hashem?! What am I \u2013 a Beis Yaakov girl?\u201d But that\u2019s because people don\u2019t realize their purpose in this world. They don\u2019t know that they\u2019re hereonly for that \u2013 to gain a relationship with Hashem, that is tangible; an actual kirvas Hashem.It is the most noble way of perfecting oneself, of attainingshleimusand making the most out of life.And so now we can come back to the question we asked earlier: Why did Dovid yearn so much to \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05df \u05d1\u05de\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u05e1\u05dc\u05d4, to remain alone in the wilderness forever? And the answer is because for Dovid, what was the good in life? Dovid said, \u05e7\u05e8\u05d1\u05ea \u05d0\u05dc\u05d5\u05e7\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05d9 \u05d8\u05d5\u05d1 \u2013 \u201cBeing close to Hashem, that\u2019s what I say is good.\u201dTHE ANCIENT SHEPHERD AND HIS GOOD FRIENDDovid grew up as a shepherd and he spent his entire youth in the wilderness.And it was there, far away from the distractions and encumbrances of life, that he found it most conducive to being alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. There was no company around to spoil his mind, and to distract his thoughts. He was still a boy, unencumbered with a family; he had no enemies, nobody was jealous of him yet, and he had nothing to worry about. And his true greatness came there, \u05d1\u05e0\u05d0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d3\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d9\u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05e6\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9 \u05e2\u05dc \u05de\u05d9 \u05de\u05e0\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea \u05d9\u05e0\u05d4\u05dc\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9 \u2013 when he was lying down with his sheep in the green meadows, by the still waters of the creeks.And he would take out his harp to play sweet songs in order to inspire himself to think about hisyedid nefesh,his \u201cbest friend in the world.\u201dAnd it was there that he sang to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, and his soul ascended on the notes of his harp to heaven. And he became great there, behind the sheep, singing his songs to Hashem.THE COCKTAIL KEEPS THE KING UP AT NIGHTAnd it was all of those songs of love and gratitude that Dovid sang all of his life. It says it openly in Tehillim! Dovid Hamelech was up a big part of the night, every night, talking to Hashem \u2013 this we know from his own words. He said \u201cTov\u2013 do you know what is good in this world?L\u2019hodosLaHashem\u2013 to give thanks to Hashem.\u201d And he did what he said, he practiced what he sang. \u201cU\u2019lizamer lishimcha elyon\u2013 the only good in the world is to sing to Your name, O, Most High,\u201d And when did he do it?All day long! \u201cL\u2019hagidbabokerchasdecha.\u201d He related Hashem\u2019s kindness in the morning when he got up and \u201cV\u2019emunaschaba\u2019leilos \u2013\u201cAnd Your steadfastness to help me in the nighttime.\u201d This means that by day and by night, that\u2019s what Dovid was doing; he was thanking Hashem. It wasn\u2019t for a few minutes in the morning, and another few minutes at night. That\u2019s just what we do, as a faint echo of what Dovid did. He spent his life in solitude with Hashem, talking and thanking, thanking and talking without end.Kol zman shehaneshama b\u2019kirbi,as long as I\u2019m alive,Modeh ani l\u2019fanecha, I give my thanks to You.David was busy thanking Hashem all the time. When he breathed the air, he thanked Hashem for air. Ahh, air! The very best cocktail in the world, oxygen, mixed with a little nitrogen. Dovid would breath it in deeply and then he would thank Hashem for another breath. Of course, Dovid did other things as well. He was a king, and atalmid chochomtoo. He had a lot of work on his hands. But he always found time to be alone with Hashem.THE PROPHETS AVOID PEOPLEAnd that\u2019s why even when he sat in the palace among hischaveirim, Dovid Hamelech said: \u05d4\u05d1\u05d8 \u05d9\u05de\u05d9\u05df \u05d5\u05e8\u05d0\u05d4 \u05d5\u05d0\u05d9\u05df \u05dc\u05d9 \u05de\u05db\u05d9\u05e8 \u2013 \u201cI look on my right and I see that there is nobody who knows me.\u201d Nobody knows me! Youthinkthey know you, but no it\u2019s only a dream. \u05de\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d9 \u05d1\u05e9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u2013 \u201cWhom do I have in heaven?\u201d You, Hashem and that\u2019s all I need.\u201d \u05d5\u05e2\u05de\u05da \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d7\u05e4\u05e6\u05ea\u05d9 \u05d1\u05d0\u05e8\u05e5 \u2013 \u201cAnd together with You I don\u2019t want anyone else in this world.\u201d Dovid meant these words \u2013 it wasn\u2019t just poetry \u2013 and he meant it because his time he spent alone with Hashem had brought him close to Hashem.These were the thoughts of Dovid Hamelech, his songs that he composed and sang during his years of solitude, and so later when Dovid became amelechhe yearned for those days ofkirvas Hashem.\u201cAh!If only I could have wings and fly back to the wilderness where I once was as a youth! And I would be alone, alone by myself, alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu.\u201dAnd that\u2019s what the great men of our past always did \u2013 that\u2019showthey became great. The Chovos Halevavos tells us that: \u05d5\u05d4\u05e0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5 \u05d5\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05e9\u05e2 \u05de\u05e6\u05d0\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea \u05de\u05d9\u05d7\u05d3\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05e7\u05d5\u05de\u05dd \u05d0\u05dc \u05d4\u05d4\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd, we find that thenevi\u2019im, Eliyahu and also Elisha, they preferred to be alone on the mountains.You know, people like to mingle with others, with company, and or spend time with friends. But thenevi\u2019imhad theoppositeattitude. It\u2019s a remarkable thing.They avoided the company of people as much as possible.\u05de\u05e4\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d4\u05ea\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3\u05d3\u05d5\u05ea\u05dd, because of the benefit of solitude.Of course, when it was necessary they came and they preached the message of Hashem to the public.They spoke with people when it was important, but they didn\u2019tseekthe company of people; they preferred to be in solitude \u2013 to be alone with Hashem.GREAT MEN SKIP SHULAnd the Chovos Halevavos continues: \u05d5\u05d4\u05d7\u05db\u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05d7\u05e1\u05d9\u05d3\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d6\u05db\u05e8\u05d5\u05e0\u05dd \u05dc\u05d1\u05e8\u05db\u05d4, the sages, the oldchassidimof old, \u05d4\u05dc\u05db\u05d5 \u05d1\u05e2\u05e7\u05d1\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u05d4\u05dd, they walked in the their footsteps. They followed the example of thenevi\u2019imand they sought solitude.\u05db\u05d9 \u05de\u05e6\u05d0\u05d5 \u05dc\u05d4\u05dd \u05d6\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d0\u05de\u05e6\u05e2\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea\u05e8 \u05de\u05d5\u05db\u05df \u05dc\u05e7\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05ea , because they found it to be the most useful means of acquiringperfection; the most useful way to acquire Awareness of Hashem, good character and self-control.That\u2019s why there were great men in our history who went out into the wilderness, into the forests to be alone, sometimes for days. It was a sacrifice \u2013 they gave uptefillahb\u2019tziburand other mitzvos! Everybody knows the story.TheBaal Shem Tovwent into the forest for days.Now being days in the forest means that he misseddavenenwith aminyan.So it seems; unless maybe he slipped out once in a while into thebeis knesses, but it doesn\u2019t say that in the story. It seems like he stayed in the forest for days.And he wasn\u2019t taking a nap on a bed of moss.He was making use of his time and he was talking; but he wasn\u2019t talking to himself.He was talking to Somebody with a capital S.HE CLOSED HIS GEMARA WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKINGRav Simcha Zissel,zichrono levrachah, spent every night standing on his feet \u2013 all night long on his feet studyinggemara. That\u2019s what he told the people he did, but you can suspect him of taking a little time out and talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.In the wee small hours when nobody was listening you can be certain that he was speaking to Hashem. You can take my word for it, he was spending time alone with Hashem, talking to him, the same way Dovid did.That\u2019s what all of the greattzaddikimdid; it\u2019s what we callhisbodedus.Rav Simcha Zissel and the Ba\u2019al Shem Tov were doing what Moshe Rabeinu and Dovid Hamelech did for years and years in the wilderness. And thesetzadikimutilized solitude in order to gain the awareness that they are alone with Hashem; to gain a palpable feeling of standing in the presence of Hashem. And so even when they returned to theirtalmidim, to their communities, they were not deceived, they always retained the Awareness of Hashem that they had achieved in their solitude.GRAB THE OPPORTUNITIES OF LONELINESSAnd therefore the man who aspires to be better, the one who wants to make progress in this world, he tries to find opportunities to be alone. To spend your life, as much as possible, alone in your thoughts with Hakodosh Boruch Hu, that is the great career open to all of us; a noble way of perfecting oneself, of attainingshleimusand making the most out of life. Because there\u2019s nothing in life as conducive to perfection, as the condition of being alone with HashemNow, what to do when you\u2019re alone \u2013 that\u2019s something that takes a lot of explaining,but the first step is to decide thatyou\u2019re going to be a person who utilizes solitude properly.Let\u2019s say you\u2019re all alone in your room.There\u2019s nobody there right now.Your wife is out shopping.It\u2019s Saturday night and she\u2019s out with her friends.They\u2019re going to the stores, shopping.So you happen to be home by yourself.Ah!You can take this as a glorious opportunity.I\u2019m alone for a little while.I\u2019m alone with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.If you wish, you can talk to Hashem.It\u2019s the best company.If you have nothing to say, open aTehillimand talk to Him in the words ofTehillim, the words of praise.Now that\u2019s not achiyuv.If you wish you can go along with your wife on the shopping spree. There\u2019s no sin if you don\u2019t want to remain home.But if you are a person who seeks greatness of character, you seize the opportunity to be alone and you understand that it\u2019s a gift fromshamayim. Of course you have to learn how to spend your time alone but when you learn it, you\u2019ll appreciate that great gift.AN EXCELLENT WAY OF SPENDING YOUR TIMENow one of the first things, the most basic thing you\u2019ll have to do when you\u2019re alone with Hashem is to think about thechasodimhe bestows upon you all the time, and to thank Him for them. You can start by thinking about the food you ate today.Thank Hashem for your food. So you say, \u201cI wasyotzehalready once.I thanked.\u201dNo, that\u2019s not enough.You have to thank Him always, in addition to yourbrachos,in addition tobirkas hamazon.There\u2019s no end to what you have to be thankful for. Walk out in the cold weather and you have a nice warm garment made of wool.You have to think about these things and tell Hashem how grateful you are to Him. \u2018Thank You Hashem for giving me warm clothing!\u201d And say, \u201cHashem,Baruch Atahfor a beautiful day!\u201d It takes a long time before the day is finished; thank Him a number of times each day for a beautiful day. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful day, Hashem, a beautiful day!\u201d Now, when it\u2019s raining \u2013 it\u2019s also a beautiful day. \u201cOh,\u201d Hashem,\u201d it\u2019s beautiful day when \u201cdiamonds\u201dfall from the sky!\u201d You say, \u201cI thank You Hashem, I thank You Hashem, I thank You Hashem.\u201dThat\u2019s an excellent way of spending your spare time.LEARN TO BE HAPPY!I know that most of what you\u2019re hearing now seems a very artificial and remote to your minds; it\u2019s so remote that we\u2019re not even interested in hearing about it. You\u2019re waiting for me to move on, to say something else. But I want to tell you that those people who train themselves to be alone with Hashem are the happiest creatures on earth.There is nothing more pleasurable than the opportunity to talk directly to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.That\u2019s thesimchahofahavas Hashem; a man that is praising Hashem always is a really happy man.Now thanking Hashem is only the beginning. Once you make time to be alone with Hashem, there\u2019s so much to do; so many good things to do to perfect your character.You can think about yourself, think about your life.Because a man has to think about himself \u2013 is he walking in the ways ofyosheror not? He has to examine his lifestyle in general and he has to examine his individual deeds, are they in accordance with what he would like them to be, or better yet, in accordance with what theTorahwould like them to be? So you need time for that! Otherwise your life goes by and you continue to repeat the same errors and not to make progress. It\u2019s important to have time alone.THE LAMPPOST & LUNGS PROJECTAnd therefore it\u2019s the people who live withseichel, who are cognizant of the fact that they can have a real relationship with Hashem, there\u2019s no question they\u2019ll be better off. Only that you can\u2019t start all at once.You do it gradually.\u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05d9\u05e7\u05e0\u05d4 \u05e7\u05e6\u05ea \u05de\u05de\u05e0\u05d5, today you acquire a little bit, \u05d5\u05de\u05d7\u05e8 \u05d9\u05d5\u05e1\u05d9\u05e3 \u05e2\u05dc\u05d9\u05d5 \u05de\u05e2\u05d8 \u05d9\u05d5\u05ea\u05e8 and tomorrow you add a little more, \u05e2\u05d3 \u05e9\u05d9\u05ea\u05e8\u05d2\u05dc \u05d1\u05d5 \u05dc\u05d2\u05de\u05e8\u05d9 until you\u2019ll become entirely accustomed to it.So let\u2019s say you\u2019re walking in the street with a friend and you say \u201cLet\u2019s make a project that from this lamppost to the next lamppost we\u2019ll think only of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.\u201d Try that; it\u2019s not as easy as it sounds. If you\u2019re not with a friend, do it yourself; even better, you\u2019re walking down Kings Highway all alone with \u201cyour best friend.\u201d Challenge yourself: \u201cIf I can think about Hakadosh Baruch Hu from this street to the next street \u2013it\u2019s only twenty paces in between \u2013 so that means I was alone with Hashem for a little bit.\u201d And at the end you relax.\u201cAh, I did it.I made it.For twenty paces I thought about Hakadosh Baruch Hu.\u201dA man once said to me \u201cTwenty paces is nothing.I think about Him always.\u201dAhnechtigehtug! It means heneverthinks about Him.You can\u2019t do it unless you practice up and it\u2019s not easy.It\u2019s like breathing.You know, it\u2019s a good idea to practice breathing.You breathe in deeply and you hold your breath and walk five paces.Then you exhale. Now you take a deep breath again and walk six paces while holding your breath, and then exhale.After a while you\u2019ll be walking fifty paces.That\u2019s a record for you. If you can walk fifty paces holding your breath then you have big lungs, big windbags.You can be a good runner too, an athlete.That\u2019s the way to exercise your lungs. But here\u2019s a way of exercising yourneshamahand your mind.IT\u2019S A MITZVAH TO THINK ABOUT HASHEMAnd it\u2019s not just a good piece of advice that I came up with. It\u2019s a command of the Torah: \u05d4\u05e9\u05de\u05e8 \u05dc\u05da \u05e4\u05df \u05ea\u05e9\u05db\u05d7 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d0\u05dc\u05e7\u05d9\u05da, be aware, beware not to forget Hashem.What does it mean not to forget Hashem?It doesn\u2019t mean merely to keep themitzvos.It doesn\u2019t say beware not to forget themitzvos.You should bewarenot to forget Hashem! That means you should be thinking about Him!Try thinking about Hakadosh Boruch Hu for one minute straight.There\u2019s so much to think about. Think that Hashem is looking at you.Think Hashem loves you.\u05d0\u05d4\u05d1\u05ea\u05d9 \u05d0\u05ea\u05db\u05dd \u05e0\u05d0\u05d5\u05dd \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u2013 \u201cI love you,\u201d says Hashem. Do you think about that ever?Do you ever stop to think that Hashem loves you?He loves you a thousand more times than your mother loves you and you never thought about it?! You never once thought that Hashem loves you immensely, infinitely?!YOU\u2019LL BECOME A HEAD TALLERThat\u2019s a wonderful thing to think about for your one minute excursion into solitude, your minute of being alone with Hashem in your thoughts. So you\u2019re thinking \u2013 and if there\u2019s no one listening then you can say it too: \u201cHashem , I know You\u2019re right here with me and that You\u2019re listening to me. You love me more than I can imagine. You love me more than my mother loves me, more than my father, more than my friends love me. You\u2019re taking care of me, everything You do to me is for the best and I love you too!And then you relax. You made it! You were together with Hakodosh Boruch Hu for a minute straight. And after a while try for two minutes.And when you get used to that, you can try a little longer. Now that\u2019s a man who\u2019s a head taller than the rest of the world!A DAILY OPPORTUNITYAnother remarkable opportunity for being alone with Hashem is yourdressing in the morning or undressing at night.TheTursays (Orach Chaim 2:2) that one has to be careful not to expose his body unnecessarily when he\u2019s dressing or undressing alone in his room. So you might say well it\u2019s dark in this room; who sees me?Don\u2019t say, \u201cWho sees me?\u201d\u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05de\u05dc\u05d0 \u05db\u05dc \u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05e5 \u05db\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3\u05d5.He sees you!And therefore every morning and every night when you dress and undress, it\u2019s your opportunity to have some solitude with Hashem. You\u2019re thinking these thoughts. Hashem is here with me and He\u2019s looking and that\u2019s why I\u2019m careful how I undress. Of course Hashem has x-ray vision too.Nevertheless, the fact that He is looking should be enough to make you cover yourself.It\u2019s a practice; it\u2019s atargil.You do it always and little by little you gain an awareness of this great truth that Hashem is looking.It\u2019s very important to work on that.Sometimes you take a walk and that\u2019s a great opportunity. For all of us here walking could also be a form of solitude; solitude doesn\u2019t mean you have to be in a cave or on a desert island. When you walk down the street, you\u2019re all alone; no one is talking to you, and it\u2019s a glorious opportunity to talk to Hashem.YOU NEED HASHEM CONSTANTLYAsk Hashem that He should help you with everything. \u201cI am going for a walk Hashem. Please help me I should succeed in gaining good health, and that I shouldn\u2019t have any difficulties with rude people that bump into me. And while they are \u201cbumping into me\u201d they put their hand in my back pocket and taking out my wallet. This happens every day on Kings Highway! Somebody is shouting, \u201cI just lost my wallet; it had a hundred dollars in it!\u201d\u201cPlease Hashem, I shouldn\u2019t have any difficulties crossing streets.\u201d When you want to cross the street, absolutely, you should ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu for help. Ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu to protect you from accidents. Accidents are happening all the time. You think you are a wise man, that you look both ways when you start walking and that\u2019s enough. There is a fellow ahead of you, he is turning the corner on two wheels, and he\u2019s not asking you for permission.Every day, therenisimhappen! He just missed you by half an inch.Here is a man walking on the sidewalk, all of a sudden, a truck zooms by \u2013 a drunken man driving a truck runs up in the sidewalk and hits him and he\u2019s finished. He wasn\u2019t even thinking of buying a burial plot.A young man and all of a sudden he is dead laying on the sidewalk. Ah yah yay, a tragedy! It happens again and again, drunken drivers run up on the sidewalk. You have to cross the street, surely, but before you cross, you think it\u2019s a foolish thing to say atefillayou should cross successfully? And so, always ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And when you get to the other side, say \u201cThank You, Hashem that I made it across successfully.\u201d And when you come homeb\u2019shalom, \u201cBaruch Hashem, I made it. I came home and everything is in order. Thank You Hakadosh Baruch Hu.\u201d That\u2019s solitude with Hashem, and it\u2019s available to you all the time.Now sometimes, how to get solitude is a problem.Let\u2019s say you\u2019re in ayeshivahand you\u2019re busy all day learning in theyeshiva.If you\u2019re in a busybeis medrashwhere is your solitude? So atzaddikonce said, let\u2019s say you\u2019re in theyeshivahand you have agemarain front of you, so you put thegemarain front of your face and you\u2019re transported to some far off isolated place and you\u2019re speaking to Hakadosh Baruch Hub\u2019hisbodedus!\u201cHashem, please, Hashem, see that I don\u2019t waste my years, that I accomplish something in my young days, and help that I should be able to do something later in life for You and for Your people.\u201dTHE WRONGBASHERTIf you\u2019re not yet married,Al zos yispallel kol chosid eilechah le\u2019eis mitzo\u2013 every chossid has to pray when the time comes to find a wife.Matzah zuishah. You have to pray and pray, but not just one time, you have to pray and pray and pray that Hashem should send you the right one. Don\u2019t say, \u201cIt\u2019sbashert,\u201d and forget about it. It could bebasherttzarosfor you,chas v\u2019shalom. That could bebashert, too. Thegemarasays Delilah wasbashertfor Shimshon; a \u201cbighatzlacha\u201dhe had from Delilah.So, you have to pray to Hashem, \u201cGive me a goodbashert.\u201d You have to pray; oh yes, you must pray. And start praying, not onerevthechasunah; pray a long time before. It is very important. You have to pray for children. For healthy children. And that your children should give younachas. How manytalmidei chachomimdon\u2019t have anynachasfrom their children! So you\u2019re talking to Hashem non-stop. You\u2019re alone with Hashem in thebeis medrashand that\u2019s what theChovos Halevavoscalls \u05d4\u05ea\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3\u05d3\u05d5\u05ea \u05d1\u05ea\u05d5\u05da \u05d4\u05d4\u05de\u05d5\u05df; it\u2019s possible to be \u201cin solitude in the midst of a multitude.\u201dOf course you can\u2019t be alone all the time. You have to be a father or a mother as well. You have to be a son or a daughter, a neighbor, and employee, whatever it is. But as much as possible, if you can spend time in solitude, a little bit, more or less, and think about Hashem and talk to Him, it\u2019s amazing what can be achieved.Then you feelyou\u2019re alone with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.And that\u2019s the truth.Because even when you\u2019re dwelling among your brothers, you\u2019re in a crowd, you\u2019re hanging on a strap in the subway, you\u2019re really all alone.So now you\u2019ll think about that when you\u2019re on the subway.You\u2019re caught in the subway in rush hour and you\u2019re hanging on the strap, close your eyes and feelthe place is empty.Of course you should watch your pockets anyhow.Keep your hand on your wallet and forget about the crowd around you. All around you is a storm of humanity with all their little interests, their little worries, their conversations, their little minds. You\u2019re holding onto the strap but you are now in the wilderness of Midian all alone; you\u2019remisbodedwith Hashem and you\u2019re coming closer to Him.GETTING YOUR MIND CLEANED AT THE DENTISTLet\u2019s say you\u2019re sitting in a waiting room by a dentist and you have to wait a half hour. If you have asefer, look in thesefer.You don\u2019t have asefer? Here\u2019s your chance.Or you wake up in the middle of the night.Sometimes for a few minutes you can\u2019t sleep.So until you fall asleep again let\u2019s say you\u2019ll be thinking:\u05db\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05d0\u05de\u05e8 \u05d5\u05d9\u05d4\u05d9, Hashem spoke.That\u2019s all He did, He spoke and the world came into existence.\u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05e6\u05d9\u05d5\u05d4, He commanded\u05d5\u05d9\u05e2\u05de\u05d5\u05d3 and there arose a world.\u05d1\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05e9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05e2\u05e9\u05d5, the heavens were made only by the word of Hashem.That\u2019s why it says \u05dc\u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05d3\u05d1\u05e8\u05da \u05e0\u05d9\u05e6\u05d1 \u05d1\u05e9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd.Your word is standing in theshamayim, Your word! You saidyehiand it\u2019s standing in theshamayim.You take away the wordyehiand the wholeshamayimwould collapse into nothing. Everything around you is all just Hashem\u2019s imagination. You ever think about that? He spoke \u05db\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05d0\u05de\u05e8 \u05d5\u05d9\u05d4\u05d9.He was the One who wasmehavehthe wholebriah.A greatnes.It never happened againyesh mei\u2019ayin! That\u2019s a thought that can make you great while you\u2019re sitting alone in the dentist office or hanging onto the subway strap.Let\u2019s say you\u2019re sitting at abar mitzvahparty and all around you all the tongues are clacking. What do you need it for? Is all that chatter going to do you good in the Next World?! So you\u2019re a smart fellow, so you act like you\u2019re listening but your mind is someplace else.You\u2019re \u201cin the forest\u201d now, like the Baal Shem Tov went in the forest.You\u2019re in the forest with Hashem.\u05d5\u05d9\u05ea\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3\u05d3 \u05e2\u05dd \u05d1\u05d5\u05e8\u05d0\u05d5 \u2013 You\u2019re find solitude with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And when somebody asks you something, so you come out of the forest to answer. They\u2019ll say, \u201cHe\u2019s absent minded,\u201d so you say \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I was thinking about something.\u201dThey\u2019ll think you were thinking about your business or something.Let them think so.What we\u2019re seeing now is that It\u2019s possiblel\u2019hisboded b\u2019soch ha\u2019hamon,to find solitude with Hashem even as you\u2019re in the midst of people.LOUD CHASUNA MUSIC IS AYESHUAHLet\u2019s sayyou\u2019re attending a wedding.At the wedding as you sit around, it\u2019s not polite to take out agemara; so you\u2019re sitting at the table or you\u2019re dancing, clapping, whatever you\u2019re doing, you\u2019re participating. But your mind is with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. First of all, you can say to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, \u201cRibono Shel Olam bless thechossonand bless thekallahthey should all have good health all their lives.They should haveparnasahberevach.\u201dYou could say it with your mind and nobody\u2019s listening. But even better, you can say it with your mouth \u2013 the music is so loud, nobody will hear you. They think you\u2019re singing along. Bless them that they should have the most beautiful and smartest children.Bless them they should always get alongb\u2019simchahwith each other. Bless them they should live long and dance at the weddings of all their grandchild and great-grandchildren. Do you think that at all?Why shouldn\u2019t you?They need yourtefilos.Everybody getting married, you should know, needs as manytefilosas possible.And \u05d0\u05ea\u05d4 \u05e9\u05d5\u05de\u05e2, Hashem is listening to yourtefilos. And when you do this, you should know you are exceptional. Because you\u2019re in a big wedding hall full of people, hundreds of people. But as far as you\u2019re concerned, it\u2019s just you and Hashem.GREATNESS AT COUSIN CHAIM\u2019S HOUSEOr let\u2019s say you were forced to go somewhere; after all you must go to visit Cousin Chaim in Boro Park. It\u2019s your wife\u2019s cousin, and you can\u2019t say no this time. So they\u2019re eatingmelave malkahand everybody is chatting and you\u2019re like a fish on dry land. Their minds are being ground to pieces by the idle chatter. So you\u2019re sitting among them and you close your eyes for a moment.They\u2019ll think you\u2019re dozing off but actually you have retired into your cave and you\u2019re talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.You\u2019re thinking your thoughts. Everybody is talking, you\u2019re thinking! Ahh! That\u2019s solitude. Just for a moment.One moment is also a very big achievement.Solitude doesn\u2019t mean a lifetime of being isolated from humanity.Every minute is an achievement in itself. Of coursetzaddikimare able to havedeveikus,clinging to Hashem,always.But we\u2019re not that big.But if you havedeveikusfor one minute then you\u2019ve already accomplished something great with your life.Now I know people will listen to me and they will just dismiss these ideas. They think that it\u2019s amidas chassidus,it\u2019s something that only very great people should do.But that\u2019s wrong. Don\u2019t think that what we\u2019re saying here is going overboard. Just because ordinary people will often live like they do withhesech hada\u2019as; theydavenas ordinary peopledavenand mostly their minds are occupied with ordinary things, doesn\u2019t means that you have to do the same. Hakodosh Boruch Hu wants more than ordinariness. He wants you to be close to Him because those who are far away from Him will eventually go lost.And even though you seem to be ashomermitzvos,but actually you\u2019re far away from Him if your mind doesn\u2019t concentrate on Him, if you\u2019re not living with Him in your mind. And therefore, as much as possible you spend time talking to Hashem. You don\u2019t have to have asiddur, you don\u2019t need aTehillim. Use your own mind. In your own thoughts, in your own words, you\u2019re alone with Hashem.SOLITUDE THREE TIMES A DAYNow, while we\u2019re on the topic, I\u2019ll mention one more opportunity that we have every day and that\u2019sshemonah esrei.Theamidahyou know, is said almost silently, and it\u2019s supposed to be as if you\u2019re standing in thekodesh hakodoshimand you\u2019re talking to theshechinah.That\u2019s how a person should imagine himself.There\u2019s nobody around and you\u2019re talking directly to Hashem. It\u2019s a glorious opportunity.Nobody can hear what you\u2019re saying except yourself perhaps, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu is listening.Now that\u2019s real solitude.Only that when a person doesn\u2019t have the attitude of talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu so hisshemonah esreiis just to him something he has to rattle off by rote, something he has to do, and he\u2019ll never experience the ecstasy of speaking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And that\u2019s the great tragedy of what we do when we daven; we\u2019re talking to Hashem but actually \u05e7\u05e8\u05d5\u05d1 \u05d0\u05ea\u05d4 \u05d1\u05e4\u05d9\u05d4\u05dd \u05d5\u05e8\u05d7\u05d5\u05e7 \u05de\u05db\u05dc\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u05d4\u05dd \u2013 \u201cYou are close in their mouths but You are far away from their kidneys.\u201d It means that You, Hashem are far away from their insides, their minds. That\u2019s what thenavisaid. And that\u2019s the truth \u2013 that\u2019s whatdavenenis.And so it\u2019s very important for us to think Hashem is listening to us. That\u2019s step number one:\u05db\u05d9 \u05d0\u05ea\u05d4 \u05e9\u05d5\u05de\u05e2, You are listening. If He\u2019s listening to you, it\u2019s impossible to remove your mind from thinking what you are saying.When you\u2019re just saying something to the wall or to thesiddurit\u2019s possible to forget thekavanah, the intention, of what you\u2019re saying.But when you\u2019re talking to someone, you never talkshelo bekavanahunless you\u2019remeshuga.IT\u2019S GOOD TO BE A HYPOCRITEAnd it\u2019s only if a man sincerely embarks on a career of learning to constantly speak to Hashem, that hisdavenenfinally becomes meaningful. Now at first it\u2019s superficial; you\u2019re a hypocrite. Of course it\u2019s a good hypocrisy \u2013 you\u2019re doing it to train yourself. You talk to Hashem and you say, \u201cI thank You Hashem that You have made me healthy.\u201d When you see a man hopping in the street with one empty trousers leg; he has crutches and you have two good legs, you have to stop and think \u201cBoruch Atah Hashem,that I have two legs.\u201d You see a man walking in the street and one empty sleeve pinned to his pocket, you have to thank Hakodosh Boruch Hu that you have two arms.The gemara says, \u05dc\u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05d9\u05d1\u05e7\u05e9 \u05d0\u05d3\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d7\u05dc\u05d4 \u2013 A person should always ask forrachamimnot to become sick. When should he do it?L\u2019olam! Always! Sickness is always lurking in every nook and cranny of the body.All around us germs are floating around in the air. If you walk in the street, and somebody coughs into your face, a whole mouthful of germs sticks to your face from his saliva. It is a very fine form of disgrace!LEARNING TO SAY \u201cYOU\u201dWe are in the midst of a cauldron of peril, and illness is one of the most frequent things that happen,chas v\u2019shalom,to a person. And so thechachomimare giving us a piece of very sound advice \u2013 ask Hashem not to become ill. You can ask in general, which is also good, but when you hear what happened to a certain man, that he had a tumor in his brain, then you should ask Hashem specifically, \u201cRibono Shel Olam, heal that man; send him arefuah sheleima besoch sh\u2019ar cholei Yisroel.And please Hashem protect me, protect me! Hashem, I don\u2019t want a brain tumor! Please protect me!\u201d And no matter how many times you say it will not be enough. Inshemone esreiwe say it three times a day but actually all day long you have to thank Hashem that you are well and ask Him to keep you well. Always pray that you should be well, your wife should be well, your children should be well, pray for them all the time.And little by little you will get accustomed to saying the words. And after a while you\u2019re going to feel that there is Somebody actually listening. After a while, when you say \u05d0\u05ea\u05d4, \u201cYou\u201d you feel like you\u2019re talking to Somebody. And when that great day comes, then you know you have arrived! That\u2019s what the Mesillas Yesharim says, that at first you say it, and say it, and after a while the realization enters your mind that you\u2019re actually talking to Someone. You\u2019re talking to Hashem and you\u2019ve begun to taste the sweetness of being alone with Him.THE GREAT CAREER OF MOSHE RABEINUNow, we\u2019ve only begun to scratch the surface of the great opportunity of being alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. It\u2019s a great career that is open to everyone, men and women, boys and girls. And it\u2019s the career that made Moshe ben Amram into Moshe Rabeinu. And so we come back to the question that we asked in the beginning of our talk. What was the secret to Moshe Rabeinu\u2019s success? What did he do for more than forty years wandering alone in the wilderness of Sinai, and shepherding in the mountains of Midian? And the answer is that those were the years that made him great because those were the years that he spent alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. It was days, and months, and years of thinking about Hashem, taking to Hashem, becoming more and more aware of Hashem. All the things we spoke about tonight \u2013 and much much more \u2013 were accomplished by Moshe during those years.One of the prime requisites for the development of greatness is solitude. And having to go lost for forty lonely years was the great opportunity for greatness that Hashem presented to Moshe Rabeinu. Moshe Rabeinu led Yisro\u2019s flocks into the wilderness alone, like Yaakov had done many years earlier in the house of Lavan, and like Dovid did many years later. And it was there, in solitude with Hashem that his character and grew apace and ripened until the day when Hashem deemed him ready for his destiny.And that\u2019s who we aspire to emulate \u2013 like we said before: \u05db\u05dc \u05d0\u05d3\u05dd \u05e8\u05d0\u05d5\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea \u05e6\u05d3\u05d9\u05e7 \u05db\u05de\u05e9\u05d4 \u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u2013 \u201cEvery person is fit to be righteous like Moshe Rabeinu.\u201d Only that you have to start somewhere! We\u2019re all capable of using the great opportunity of solitude from time to time; of using these exercises we spoke about tonight to train ourselves into a life of solitude with Hakodosh Boruch Huthe same way that Moshe Rabeinu did.And once you start on that career, even if it\u2019s only one minute at a time, then you\u2019re already living successfully. You\u2019re utilizing the great opportunity of being alone with Hashem in this world in order to prepare for that great career in the Afterlife of being alone with Hashem forever and ever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.