Latest / None of Your Business Podcast / Pedaling through life | Rabbi Spivak , Part 2
Transcript
- 0:00A good friend of mine comes to me and shul and says I just got
- 0:03back from bike for hike and it is the most unbelievable
- 0:06experience for the most unbelievable call, right?
- 0:09And and, and just he's Aaron. You have to do it next year.
- 0:14You have to do bike for hike. I'm like, so I'll do it.
- 0:19OK, Step one, learn to ride a bike.
- 0:25None of your. Business Oshi.
- 0:27None of your business, Michael. It's the None of Your Business
- 0:30podcast hosted by Michael Anoshi.
- 0:34Welcome back everybody for part two of the two-part series,
- 0:39which became We had this before, never happened, but we had to
- 0:42this. Is really accolades to you is
- 0:45that we we could keep this conversation going and going
- 0:48that we have to We need more. We want more.
- 0:51We want an encore. We want we the man.
- 0:54I'm actually enjoying listening. You know, I've, I've practiced
- 0:57for over five years already, the concept of listening and the
- 1:01therapy that I started five years ago.
- 1:03So I'm appreciating this discussion so much because a lot
- 1:05of what you're saying resonates with me and my beginnings.
- 1:08I've learned a lot from you, Rabbi and tools that I've
- 1:10effectively made positive change in my life.
- 1:13And that's why I'm so happy that you're here, guys.
- 1:15This episode, as always, is sponsored by Prime Source.
- 1:18We can't do it without our partners help.
- 1:21So thank you everybody for participating in our journey of
- 1:24growth. Please don't forget to like,
- 1:25subscribe and follow. I must say that as always, we
- 1:29need your help to grow because together we are stronger.
- 1:32We can't do this without everybody's help.
- 1:34Rabbi, we're back for round two and it's a continuation of our
- 1:37first discussion, which we were talking about your journey of
- 1:40being a rebbe, being a therapist, learning the
- 1:44difference between being guilty and doing something.
- 1:47The the contrast between avoiding something versus having
- 1:50control of something. We've learned so much.
- 1:53We want to take it to the next level on the next journey of
- 1:55your life when you of course, were selected as the rabbi of
- 1:59such a beautiful shul in our community.
- 2:01And I, I would love to learn about your experiences that go
- 2:05on in that shul and what happens at Kiddish and how do you deal
- 2:07with Kiddish club in general. What do you do about talking?
- 2:10You know, you know, I, I, I have the privilege of being what my
- 2:14community calls the beetle of my shul because I make the
- 2:17announcements. You see, I used to be part of
- 2:19shules that fought a lot, and I live the.
- 2:22Gabi of your shul. No, I'm just the announcer.
- 2:25That's all I do. I get up and I make Nope.
- 2:27The Gabi takes care of the of the tail, and he takes care of
- 2:30the announcing for health of people in the community takes
- 2:34care of announcing the person that comes up to the Torah.
- 2:36What do you announce? I just announced The Times and I
- 2:39announced the mazel tovs you. Realize that's very strange.
- 2:42Right. Yeah, it's a beetle.
- 2:42It's a. It's most rules.
- 2:44Yes, I guess. No, I do.
- 2:45I do realize it's strange. Yeah, it's different.
- 2:48Strange in a good way. Yes.
- 2:49Yes, it. Makes those announcements.
- 2:50Absolutely, absolutely public address.
- 2:53Well, I'm telling you that in in ancient times it was called a
- 2:55beetle. Look it up, Google it with a
- 2:57staff and someone that you know announces the king and so on.
- 3:00It's a specific. Skill set because a lot of times
- 3:02the GABA is a very organized person and very personable, has
- 3:06good relationships with everybody knows how to knows all
- 3:08the but they don't have that loud articulate voice.
- 3:11And when they get up to make an announcement, people like, wow,
- 3:13what is it? So having somebody who you know,
- 3:16can make that announcement and now and everyone be heard had
- 3:20the loud projected voice, clearly articulated words.
- 3:24I'm going to, I'm going to jump right into it and I'm going to
- 3:29tell this to you because this happened in my shul and I'm not
- 3:34afraid to share it because this is what we do here.
- 3:37We're transparent, we're vulnerable.
- 3:39Others definitely don't appreciate it.
- 3:41And you know, look, when I came back after October 7th to my
- 3:46shul, I felt that I needed to talk about October 7th.
- 3:51I'm not the rabbi. I'm not the Gabi.
- 3:54In fact, all I am is the announcer, like you said.
- 3:57All I am is the guy that can project articulately, you know
- 4:00that say mazel tov to the right families and remember the
- 4:03father's name and the brother's name and make everyone feel
- 4:05good. But when I came back from
- 4:07Israel, I felt the need to mention something about October
- 4:117th. And what I did was, is that I
- 4:16announced to the shul before I said the times and the mazel
- 4:19tovs, I said with Shabbos everybody.
- 4:22And I started like I always do. Welcome to all of our guests.
- 4:26Thank you to our Gabayam and Tara Balitfila.
- 4:28I always start off the same way. This week I was at a college
- 4:33campus where there's tremendous hate going on on campus.
- 4:38And I went with a grassroots effort of a few good men and
- 4:41women out of the Rockland County community and Muncie community.
- 4:44And we went to sing and we went to hold, you know, each other,
- 4:48you know, together and, and really give that feeling of
- 4:51actus of togetherness of that. We're here together as Jews and
- 4:54we're here for you. And I invite anybody in the
- 4:57congregation that would want to come with me.
- 4:59I'll be going for the next 6 Thursdays together with people
- 5:02in the community. I invite you to come and mazel
- 5:04tov to this. And kid is just sponsored by
- 5:06that. And I finished afterwards,
- 5:09somebody came over to me and said, is it your place to invite
- 5:13people to a, to a congreg, to a get together on a college campus
- 5:18where men and women are together, mixed and they're
- 5:21singing and dancing together? Is that your place to invite
- 5:24people? Who do you think you are?
- 5:26This is what he told me. My response to him was, listen,
- 5:30you do your part in keeping quiet during davening and, you
- 5:33know, not saying less and hard and I'll do my part.
- 5:35And this is just what I feel. I feel like I have the podium.
- 5:38I have the right to do it. OK.
- 5:39The second week came and I made a different announcement of
- 5:43something else that I did. Did the rabbi say anything?
- 5:46To you? Nope.
- 5:46Did the rabbi have? An and it's and by the way,
- 5:49it's, it's a, it's a board shul, which means that the shul hires
- 5:54the rabbi. So, you know, the board can come
- 5:57to me at any time and stop me. But that's not what was.
- 5:59Happening. I hate those people.
- 6:00People in the shul, those people in the shul were done, not real.
- 6:03It happens to be that. Because the rabbi has very
- 6:04limited. Power.
- 6:05No, no, no, no, no. Not the rabbi's part of a board.
- 6:07Not sure and. He's controlled now, and he
- 6:10can't be entirely himself. What's the purpose of having a?
- 6:12Rabbit No, that's, that's very difficult though.
- 6:14No, it's very difficult because if the rabbi's in charge
- 6:16completely the shul, that means he's responsible for the kiddush
- 6:18and the shala shuddhis and the malava malkas.
- 6:20And obviously there's too many responsibilities.
- 6:21No, it's too difficult. He's he's also the hired CEO.
- 6:25He's a hired CEO and he could do just as good as a job.
- 6:29That's what we're talking about. Hiring him to give him that.
- 6:31I will tell you, as the rabbi of a board shul, I have never found
- 6:36the board to interfere with the work that I want to do in the
- 6:39shul. Exactly as long as you give the
- 6:41power to the rabbi to make all holistic decisions yet.
- 6:44OK, there are a lot of things I haven't found yet, but the but.
- 6:47You have to admit that it's very.
- 6:49Powerful. Listen and.
- 6:50When something goes against the grain that they don't like, they
- 6:52can apply the pressure and they can put their thumb on the skill
- 6:55and they they can outweigh the rabbi.
- 6:58But but here's the thing. I don't view my position as the
- 7:01rabbi in the shul as being the ultimate authority in all
- 7:04things, right? That's not my role.
- 7:07My role is to, number one, make halachic decisions, set all
- 7:12power. And this is clearly articulated
- 7:13in the shul constitution that it is my authority and you know, to
- 7:16answer or to, to deal with any religious issues that need to be
- 7:20answered from religious perspective and to, to give the
- 7:25education to decide who gets to speak in the shul and who
- 7:27doesn't get to speak in the shul.
- 7:28Like my role is clearly articulated and the board is
- 7:33there to to assist me and to take off of my shoulders the
- 7:38things that don't have to be in my lane.
- 7:40If you putting it like that, that's great, but it sounds to
- 7:43me like in most cases there is a board as a checks and balance
- 7:48for the rabbi. I mean, we don't want the rabbi
- 7:50to have certain decision making that might not sit well with us
- 7:55as the people. And if we want to control how
- 7:58much infiltration he can have into our lives and how far he
- 8:01can take certain things. Look, I come from a background
- 8:04where I went to see the schools my whole life from a my
- 8:08background. Obviously when I got married, I
- 8:10never went to see the schools again and I got to see both
- 8:12sides of the spectrum, right? There's two types of shuls.
- 8:14There's a shul where the rabbi is the end all be all, right.
- 8:18He's usually called a Reba in most cases because he started
- 8:20the Reba because he started. He says whatever he wants and
- 8:23then he follows. He's the spiritual rabbi.
- 8:25He guides everybody and whatever he says is what we're going to
- 8:28do whether we like it or not. He's not going to like, too bad.
- 8:30We made an active decision that we're going to follow.
- 8:33Then you have the other shul where the rabbi serves a certain
- 8:35purpose and the rabbit gets paid and it's, it's a job is really
- 8:40what it is. And there's a board and nobody
- 8:43gets to make any decision on its own.
- 8:45The board has to approve it. Now the board will give the
- 8:47space for the rabbi to be the chairman and therefore the rabbi
- 8:50can make certain decision that they allow him to make.
- 8:53But as soon as something goes a little bit far to the point that
- 8:57the the shul board doesn't like anymore, they can outnumber the.
- 9:01Round what's wrong and what's wrong with that?
- 9:03So I, I don't know if for me it's not what's wrong with it.
- 9:06I think just what people are used to when people want.
- 9:08Yeah, I see pros and cons on both sides.
- 9:10I see pros and cons I've. Experienced both sides as well.
- 9:12I must say that I'm not a fan of a control shul by a board.
- 9:17I'd rather have it by a rabbi. But I see how well it works when
- 9:21you have the community that worries about everything else.
- 9:24In other words, when you have a rabbi run shul and you have a
- 9:26problem with the way the food is or the drink is, or the size of
- 9:29the mojito or what time things start or end, it's all the
- 9:33rabbi. You have zero say.
- 9:35I'd rather it, I, I I'd rather have that in a way because it
- 9:38comes along with the rabbi. Says everything, but I see, I
- 9:42really, not only do I see the merit, I appreciate the fact
- 9:44that I'm part of a show, that the community is standing behind
- 9:48each other. They're all supporting each
- 9:50other, and they bring in a rabbi that doesn't need more than his
- 9:53job to do his job properly. He doesn't need that.
- 9:56No, you bring in a. Sounds very celebrate.
- 9:58What is the sounds like a symbol more than an actual position
- 10:01that I think people. What is the role of a rabbi?
- 10:04Why? Don't you tell us everybody to
- 10:05be back, OK? We're like, good point.
- 10:09Yeah, yeah, yeah, we said another expert is in the room.
- 10:11Exactly. Exactly.
- 10:13I I would. You want to talk about sales
- 10:15marketing, you could come to us. I would far from consider myself
- 10:18the expert on the rabbi's role, but I will tell you that what
- 10:21you're describing in the two different types of shules, there
- 10:24is the rabbi as the authority figure, right?
- 10:28Listen, you grow up as the parents and then there's the
- 10:30teachers and the principal. And then when you're an adult,
- 10:33the the authority figure is the rabbi, right?
- 10:37I, you know, I'm not, I don't love that role.
- 10:40I don't want to be in that role personally, and I'm not looking
- 10:42for someone to have that authority over me in my life.
- 10:46In that way, I subscribe to the model of the rabbi as a resource
- 10:53in the lives of the people for the purpose of education,
- 10:58inspiration, halachic guidance when it's sought, right?
- 11:04Not a person who is going to usurp the autonomy of the
- 11:09individual right? My shul, I'll give Shi Urim.
- 11:15People come, they learn, they enjoy, they walk away right you,
- 11:18you come, you have it. Start your day with with 1/2
- 11:21hour demarish here and you walk out of your day.
- 11:26Your day is different. You're coming.
- 11:28There's a certain spirituality, a certain positive energy that
- 11:33you're walking away with. You sat with 12 other people in
- 11:36your shul, right? And the rabbi gave a gomarish
- 11:38here. That was interesting, hopefully,
- 11:40right? And you connected.
- 11:42You learn something, right? When you have a question, big or
- 11:47small, you have somebody who's available that you can ask you
- 11:51come to shul and hopefully adrasa inspires you, right?
- 11:56That's not celebratory. That's a very valuable role in
- 11:59the lives of the people. It does not have to be.
- 12:04I need my rabbi's permission to XY and Z, right?
- 12:08A rabbi does not need to be that.
- 12:10Now, are there times and are there communities where that was
- 12:13called for and maybe, right? But that's not what the role of
- 12:18a rabbi has to be, right? I am not looking to be the
- 12:20authority figure in anyone's life, right?
- 12:23My kids, as long as they need that, right?
- 12:26And then, you know, and only for the sake of their development,
- 12:31right? And then for my kids, as early
- 12:33as possible, I turn over autonomy of their lives to them
- 12:36as much as is functional for them, right?
- 12:39So certainly the Congress in my community, many of whom are
- 12:43older than me, right? I'm not looking to be the
- 12:47authority in their life, right? It's not a role I want.
- 12:52And you know, we can talk about what's more ideal, what's less
- 12:55ideal. But you can be in a board run
- 12:58shul where the rabbi is a very vital part of the shul, a very
- 13:04instrumental role in the lives of the community, but not hold
- 13:10the reins of power. And I think that's the
- 13:13distinction that we can make. So I I hear, OK, that's very
- 13:17well explained. And I agree there is a certain
- 13:20Rabbi model that way that's built.
- 13:24But I want to give you another side of the coin.
- 13:27And you said something that I immediately in my mind triggered
- 13:30as I want a rabbi as a resource. What you said, I don't look as
- 13:35my rabbi as a resource. And I'm actually in the opposite
- 13:38side of the coin where I would fail in a system like this.
- 13:42I would fail. I think I'd become worse than a
- 13:44worse due to the point that probably stopped going to school
- 13:46at some point. I actually need that kick in the
- 13:48butt. I actually need to have somebody
- 13:52who tells me which I don't like sometimes and it's not, you
- 13:56know, at that moment I feel annoyed and I feel frustrated.
- 13:59But when I have more clarity on my later on, I actually
- 14:01appreciate it. I need to have that fire of I
- 14:04have somebody out there who's watching me, who's managing me,
- 14:08and if I get a little bit out of line, I got a little smack.
- 14:11I need to have that control because I know, because I know
- 14:13ultimately it's good for me. But if you tell children in a
- 14:16classroom, there's going to be no teacher anymore.
- 14:18You guys can do whatever you want from now on.
- 14:19They're going to go, yeah, they're going to chair.
- 14:21It's amazing. But then a couple of weeks
- 14:23later, the kids, oh, my God, this is terrible.
- 14:25It's anarchy. Nobody likes that.
- 14:26It's chaos. Even kids will realize I need
- 14:28some structure. This is not fun anymore.
- 14:30They're going to start beating each other up.
- 14:31It's going to be terrible. I believe that today's
- 14:35generation, everybody has to be back.
- 14:37Tell me if you can resonate with this a little bit.
- 14:38And today's generation, I'm talking with the guys that are,
- 14:40you know, 40 and younger, 40 and younger from age 25, when you
- 14:45start going to your own school up to the point you go to like,
- 14:47you know, your father's school, then you go to when you get
- 14:49married, you go to a local school wherever you live in your
- 14:51apartment. You don't have a real connection
- 14:53to that school yet. When you get married and you
- 14:55have kids and you move to a neighbor, the first time you go
- 14:57to a school, those schools today for a majority, I'm being very
- 15:01bold here. I'm not saying just for myself.
- 15:03I'm saying the majority of people that are in the
- 15:06mainstream like me need to have that rabbi.
- 15:09It's good for us and I'll challenge anybody who thinks
- 15:11it's not needs to have that rabbi that is that power that
- 15:15has that authority because of all the things that are going on
- 15:17in the world today and the exposures that we have and the
- 15:21options that we have. We have freedom.
- 15:22We have real freedom today. Let's not kid ourselves.
- 15:25And we could easily stir up the right and the left.
- 15:27I think we the the rabbi that is there where you're our resource.
- 15:32And yes, you give this to your M you inspire us.
- 15:34You make a beautiful speech. Shabbos mourn like if that's
- 15:37what they become, I fear that that is not going to be going to
- 15:41work in the long run for today's generation because we're not as
- 15:44good as the older generation. There's one big difference.
- 15:47We're much different. We need to have that power.
- 15:49I'm sorry. Oh, shit.
- 15:50There's one big difference. We're adults.
- 15:52There's a big difference. Doesn't matter with adults.
- 15:54You know what happens that I've learned over the years of of
- 15:57dealing with kids, teenagers that become adults and adults
- 16:00that have addiction problems. I keep hearing this over and
- 16:03over again. Rabbi, please confirm this, You
- 16:05know, to our listeners at a certain age, a very young age I
- 16:08might add, it's up to the person himself to actually seek out the
- 16:13tools and the resources that we put in front of them.
- 16:15So that's why I'm the bored rabbi Spivak system fan more
- 16:20than the rabbi telling you. Where were you yesterday for
- 16:23shockers? I didn't see you come at 9:00.
- 16:25You coming late? What's happening with you?
- 16:26Everything OK? No thanks.
- 16:31OK, I, I, I, by the way, I'm so passionate by the way, about
- 16:34this, like I, I not, not only do I disagree, I, I, I thank God, I
- 16:38thank God, I thank God that, that, that, you know, we, we
- 16:42have both options available. Because I, I really think that
- 16:45it would be a downhill battle if we wouldn't have this.
- 16:48And if it was their policy and halacha that there and it comes
- 16:51to a show, there has to be a board and they have to have
- 16:53decision making power. By the way, you don't think the
- 16:55board gets in the way of spiritual decisions?
- 16:58There are what? Happens we don't think the
- 16:59board, I cannot. One spiritual decision and I'm
- 17:03in my shul now. It'll be four years in
- 17:05September. I cannot think of one spiritual
- 17:08decision where the board got in my way.
- 17:10Not one. Or they not got in the way, but
- 17:12they had a little influence. Of course they influence
- 17:15influence. OK, influence, it's.
- 17:17My job to give what the people need.
- 17:20So I, I I need to look to the the elected representatives of
- 17:24the congregation to find out what the people need.
- 17:26But what if you felt one way very strongly and the board, all
- 17:29of them, all seven other people on the board didn't feel that
- 17:31way and. A spiritual religion.
- 17:32We really want to do it this way.
- 17:34You don't conform. A little bit and a spiritual.
- 17:37He wouldn't end up being the rapper.
- 17:38I would. Make my decision based on the
- 17:40needs of the people because that's most critical thing a
- 17:44rabbit, right? If if you're just making it, if
- 17:47you're just leading a generic congregation and hope the people
- 17:50sitting in front of you fall into the way the congregation is
- 17:53supposed to be. So you're not going to be
- 17:55effective. So obviously, obviously I'm
- 17:56going to, I'm going to, I'm going to look to what the but
- 17:59I'm, I'm, I'm going to back up for a second here.
- 18:00You are adamant that you need that type of rabbit, not just me
- 18:04most who's going to hold you accountable.
- 18:06I I'm going to tell you one thing, and this goes back to our
- 18:09conversation from last time. I want to psychoanalyze you in
- 18:14front of the world. This connects to the fact that
- 18:18you are not yet at a place where you trust your own will.
- 18:22My will is not trustworthy. What I want and what I'm
- 18:26supposed to be is the paradigm that I want to live by, right?
- 18:30I'm not a good enough Jew because I'm and because I'm
- 18:34trying, I'm pushing myself to be something that's different than
- 18:37my own will. I'm not going to get there by my
- 18:40will. My will is not going to push me
- 18:41there. So I need the outside influence
- 18:43to push me there. The day that you turn, take the
- 18:47reins of your Judaism in your hands and say, what is my will?
- 18:53Tell me of the type of Judaism I want and how I'm what is my
- 18:57will? What is my neshama?
- 18:58What is what am I connecting to? What does it mean to me in my
- 19:02life? You're not going to need the
- 19:04rabbi to tell you where were you today, because it's going to be
- 19:08about your will. Your will doesn't make excuses.
- 19:11I think you're giving all of us a little too much credit.
- 19:14I think that a lot of people are in that place where they're not
- 19:18totally trusting themselves. Yes, By the way, you know what?
- 19:21I go back to this, you know what?
- 19:23The real barometer of a rabbi board versus a, you know, all
- 19:30empowered supreme leader rabbi. You know what the real problem
- 19:33of the difference is? Can you, can the people fire the
- 19:37rabbi? I think that that question needs
- 19:39to be answered if their people can fire the rabbi.
- 19:43I don't think that rabbi truly has the tools he needs to do his
- 19:47job and to be motivating and inspiring his congregation.
- 19:51If he feels at any point that he's in jeopardy, then he's
- 19:55automatically as a human being is going to make certain
- 19:58decisions that are not in the best interest of what he thinks
- 20:00the community needs because he's always having to look over his
- 20:03shoulders. He's got to look over his back
- 20:04and suddenly he can't make those decisions.
- 20:06What's good for God or what God was he's got, which is what I
- 20:08want my rabbit to be. If I can't be the guy, let him
- 20:10be the guy and let him be the one that's inspiring me to get
- 20:13me there. And by the way, I want a rabbit
- 20:14does it with a finesse. He doesn't with tacked
- 20:17skillfully. Not a rapper.
- 20:18You just like like, you know, we're talking about a qualified
- 20:20rabbi, obviously, right? Someone who the people want.
- 20:22We bought you in. We voted for you, we brought you
- 20:25in, but once you bring him in, give him the power.
- 20:27If let him do his job, why you restricted?
- 20:30Him just to just to clarify if the whole congregation would
- 20:32decide we want to talk during prayer the entire time, correct.
- 20:35And this is the kind of synagogue that we want to have.
- 20:38I'm assuming this wouldn't be a good fit then if that's what
- 20:41everyone decides, right? I'm saying I'm asking you.
- 20:44So interesting the the I guess I'll give away like behind the
- 20:50door secrets. My first interview with the
- 20:52Rabbinical search committee, they said.
- 20:55What is that? What is what?
- 20:56Can you explain what that is? Yeah, like.
- 20:57America's Got Talent for rabbis. No, no, no.
- 21:01This was, you know, when Arshul was looking for a new rabbi.
- 21:06And it's part of the big story, a great story, OK.
- 21:09And so they formed a committee to find the right candidates to
- 21:14interview. So when I met that before I met
- 21:16with the board, I met with that with that committee.
- 21:19And the first thing they asked me was, did you know how, how
- 21:22are you going to handle talking in shul, right?
- 21:26And my answer was I first need to have relationships with
- 21:31people, right? So if the whole shul came and
- 21:33said, Rabbi, we don't care about talking during shul anymore,
- 21:36right? And we want, and we representing
- 21:40the whole congregation want to once you stop saying that Misha
- 21:44Bay are for those who don't talk during, you know, during
- 21:47davening. You do that, yes.
- 21:49You say a Misha barrack for the people that don't talk.
- 21:51Yeah. So in essence, you're singling
- 21:53out the people that do talk. You're only giving a Misha
- 21:56barrack to the people that didn't talk.
- 21:58That is the the the the, the, the Tosos Young have wrote a
- 22:00special Misha barrack, right? Hashem should give special
- 22:03brothels to those who don't talk during davening.
- 22:06That's like saying if you give a Misha barrack for the soldiers
- 22:08that you're singling out the ones that are not going, no, no,
- 22:09no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's a January.
- 22:13You're not saying people's names.
- 22:16No, I'm sorry, I remember. It's OK, we do this by me also,
- 22:20by the way, because I'm not a fan of including, including.
- 22:22I don't think anyone's a fan of that using.
- 22:25Shame as a vehicle for change. She I'm sorry you spoke this
- 22:29week. You're out, you're out.
- 22:31That's a kumbaya moment, by the way, at least that we have here,
- 22:34so. Listen, if that's where the
- 22:36people were, right? We, we don't care about not
- 22:38talking during the topony. So I have 3 choices, right?
- 22:42I can fight them. I can walk away and talk about
- 22:48what horrible people they are. And, and, and Oh my God, what a
- 22:50disastrous kahila that was. And I'm so glad to be away from
- 22:54it. Or I can say, this is where the
- 22:58people are. How am I being a resource so
- 23:01they can connect closer to Hashem, right?
- 23:03You don't have to be at any particular place to have a
- 23:08person in your life who is a resource to help you use the
- 23:10tower to live your best life, to connect to Hashem.
- 23:13So I don't, I don't need to Lord myself and my authority over
- 23:18people, right? Like client said, they're
- 23:20adults, right? They're adults.
- 23:23And so much of what I try to motivate people is to feel
- 23:27autonomy over their lives, right?
- 23:30So much whether it's my therapy clients, whether whoever it is,
- 23:33you know, take ownership of your life, find your values, live
- 23:37your values, unless they conflict with what I think you
- 23:40should do, right? That, that, that, that'd be
- 23:42contradictory to my whole message, right.
- 23:44So I, I'm very content in a board shul and as long as the
- 23:50board decides that and board representing the people, right,
- 23:54the board has this like evil feel to it.
- 23:57The board is are the people that the that the that the khila.
- 24:00As long as the khila represented by the board feels that I am an
- 24:05effective resource in helping them live their best lives
- 24:10through the Torah and connecting to Hashem, I'm happy to come do
- 24:14that and give up myself what I can.
- 24:16And the day, and the day that they decide that I'm not that
- 24:19person anymore, then I'll walk. Away.
- 24:22So be it. Now, I don't like that, but I'll
- 24:25throw in a caveat. Not so.
- 24:26Not so be it. Not so be it.
- 24:28So be it means like, OK, what it means.
- 24:30It's time for me to move on. I not just so be it.
- 24:32I will respect it. I will respect the autonomy of
- 24:37people who have, who I've developed connections with and
- 24:40when they tell me it's time for this relationship in its current
- 24:44form to, to end because what we need, the resource we need is
- 24:49somebody different, something different.
- 24:51I'll respect it and I'll shake hands and I'll say thank you.
- 24:54And it was a wonderful however many years, right?
- 24:57Or maybe the time will come or I'll say it's time for me to
- 24:59move on in the same way I moved, but I don't need to have this
- 25:05now. I'll throw in it's really
- 25:06important right where you get into a messy situation where you
- 25:10said that, how can the rabbi really say what he honestly
- 25:13thinks if the board can fire them, right?
- 25:16In the same way that I had an exit strategy for the for
- 25:22leaving education because I didn't want the paying of the
- 25:25bills to be the necessary means that keep me captive in the
- 25:29classroom, right? I try.
- 25:31Maybe I shouldn't say this publicly because it'll be held
- 25:33against me in, in contract negotiations, but I try that in
- 25:38my financial life, my full salary not make the difference
- 25:42of whether or not I'm, I'm going to lose my house, right?
- 25:46I had my therapy practice, you know, my wife and I together
- 25:49have our have our therapy business together.
- 25:52So, so you know, again, I'm not going to say too much because I
- 25:55don't want to held against me when I'm negotiating a contract.
- 25:57I do want to hear about what you and your wife have though.
- 25:59That's interesting. What is that?
- 26:00Talk about that. Yeah, but but.
- 26:02Before we do, I want to just make one more point on this, not
- 26:05to belabor the point so. So a rabbi who, who, who as soon
- 26:07as the shul tells him you know, you're, you're dismissed from
- 26:10your position. Now he's the bank is going to
- 26:12foreclose on his house. That's a.
- 26:14That's a problematic dynamic that that I get, but.
- 26:17I hear I, I just have a very negative association when I hear
- 26:21that there was a rabbi of a shul.
- 26:23He was there for an extended period of time.
- 26:24And then one day he was fired. And I'm like, what?
- 26:26What does that mean? He was fired.
- 26:28Was the whole thing wasn't real to begin with?
- 26:30Then this whole thing was a fake from the start.
- 26:32And I'll and I'll explain why. Gregg Popovich, right?
- 26:35He's a very famous Larry Brown, right?
- 26:38Very famous basketball coaches that have had years and years,
- 26:42decades of success, like nobody knows how to coach a basketball
- 26:47team better than those two. And there are others as well on
- 26:50that list. But right, you take those
- 26:51people, they're amazing at coaching.
- 26:53You don't fire Greg Popovich. Greg Popovich retires, Larry
- 26:57Brown retires. That's what happens, right?
- 26:59You see him through until the very end, OK, Now at a certain
- 27:03point, maybe they get very old or maybe they're not escapable.
- 27:05They're not the same energy anymore.
- 27:07OK, So you put them somewhere on the side to become more
- 27:09celebratory at that moment. Like Tiger Woods today, playing
- 27:12golf is very celebratory. Everybody knows, right?
- 27:15He's just a staple of the game. So you're so you don't you don't
- 27:19suddenly get rid of Tiger Woods because he's not doing the job
- 27:22anymore. You keep them around and you
- 27:23bring them the next batch of people, right?
- 27:25That's fine. That's OK to me when I think of
- 27:28a rabbi, if they respect the rabbi enough because I want to
- 27:33like this is the person I trust, then you didn't pick the right
- 27:36rabbi if you don't to begin with the job of that community when
- 27:41they form together and say let's go to this area, let's build few
- 27:43houses, let's buy houses and let's all start a community.
- 27:46What we did in our community. So what we did, you have to
- 27:49bring and that pretty real decision to make collectively,
- 27:52who do we trust and go through the process and, you know, one
- 27:55at a time, bring in rabbis for a couple of months at a time and
- 27:59test them out. No problem.
- 28:00But it's got to be at a certain point where you make a decision
- 28:03that this is the person I want to follow, not because, you
- 28:06know, I might not like everything they say.
- 28:07And that's OK because for the greater good, there has to be
- 28:10this commitment. It's a marriage.
- 28:12It's a marriage. There has to be a commitment.
- 28:15And in a certain it's good for you, it's good for your soul,
- 28:17it's good for your family. I'd not that I don't trust
- 28:20myself. You're right.
- 28:21I have kids. I don't think I make every right
- 28:23decision that's best for my kids.
- 28:25But you know, from a spiritual standpoint, there is the rabbi
- 28:28who I trust vehemently, almost blindly, almost blindly, that
- 28:32sometimes I'm imagined that I don't even know why he's saying
- 28:33this and I don't agree with him. But you know what, I chose to
- 28:37trust him because over he'll make more better decisions than
- 28:40I will. And I don't think this is a lack
- 28:42of me not trusting myself. Hey, you should have more trust
- 28:44yourself. Yeah, maybe I should maybe I
- 28:45should bring it up a little bit. Maybe I should, but never to the
- 28:47point where I want my rabbi to just be a figurehead.
- 28:50I want my rabbi to be, you know, a job where, you know, you can
- 28:54quit, you can you can move on. It is that's like that's not
- 28:56real. That's not a that's not a real
- 28:57tangible relationship that I think a person.
- 29:00Why does in the Machinias they say the first thing they say is
- 29:02I think one of the and and make a rabbi for yourself, right?
- 29:06Obviously if it translates that, definitely it's up for
- 29:08interpretation. The way I interpret is get a
- 29:11rabbi who you trust, who you going to follow and who's going
- 29:15to shape the decisions that you make and it's going to guide
- 29:19you. That's how strong I feel about.
- 29:20It I must, I must interject, I'm sorry, because it says make
- 29:24yourself a rabbi, give yourself a rabbi.
- 29:26It doesn't, and nor would it ever say, gather 100 people,
- 29:30make all of them your rabbi. The game changes in the
- 29:33community. My point is, the game in the
- 29:35community changes. The game in the NBA never
- 29:37changes. The community changes.
- 29:39You're going to get older, your kids are going to get older.
- 29:40The demographic might change and the needs of the rabbi might
- 29:42change. That's why it's different.
- 29:43In my I think I see them. Got it right in this one.
- 29:46Got it right in this. One I see them actually in the
- 29:48fact. The ones that change the game,
- 29:49they're. No, they're the ones that come
- 29:51into communities and change the game.
- 29:52Suddenly the rabbi doesn't fit the mold for the community
- 29:54anymore because the community has been taking over.
- 29:56But I can see them. It happens.
- 29:58You can't have a forever marriage.
- 30:00We can go a lot of. Places.
- 30:01Yeah, yeah. I'll, I'll, I'll finish my piece
- 30:03of this conversation by saying this.
- 30:05You said it wasn't real. A relationship does not have to
- 30:09be lifelong in order for it to be real.
- 30:12OK, fair. You can have a friendship.
- 30:15You can have any kind of relationship that is meaningful,
- 30:20connected, powerful, and then it's time.
- 30:26It's that's a powerful message. By the way, Rabbi, that's a
- 30:28powerful message is right in everything in life, in
- 30:31everything you do in life, just like you said last time, which
- 30:34is, you know, you wake up in the morning, you take what you have
- 30:37and you go from there. You don't start your balance
- 30:39sheet at perfect, right? It just doesn't work that way,
- 30:41right? So when?
- 30:42I, when I left the classroom, right, it was painful.
- 30:47I, I made the choice, right? And it was my choice and it was
- 30:52painful because, but here was a part of my life that was so
- 30:57wrapped. My identity was so wrapped up in
- 30:59it. And I was, I really had a lot of
- 31:02confidence. I knew that I was really
- 31:03effective. I was really good at what I did.
- 31:06And I'm letting that go. And to develop the, the, the
- 31:12internal strength to say, I am not giving it up.
- 31:17I'm ending it right. This chapter of my that chapter
- 31:20of my life, my years in the classroom will always be part of
- 31:23my life, part of my story. It's meaningful.
- 31:26It didn't get cheapened because it didn't last the rest of my
- 31:29life. And and yeah, so relationships
- 31:32can be real and then still have an expiration date.
- 31:36Makes sense, I totally. I like what you're saying.
- 31:37It's not a so be it or it is what it is.
- 31:39It's a meaningful till it was by the Before we move on from the
- 31:42Rabbi discussion, you got to tell us your best rabbi joke.
- 31:45Oh my best rabbi joke, you know. I also want to hear after you
- 31:50joke you're 1 pet peeve about being a rabbi.
- 31:53Oh boy, we don't want to leave this topic.
- 31:54We like it too much. Do you have a good rabbi joke?
- 31:57So rabbis don't tell rabbi jokes, Rabbis tell rabbis.
- 32:00Always tell OK, OK, OK, go for it.
- 32:04So there's so many of them. I'll tell you, I'll tell you.
- 32:07I'll tell you a rabbi joke, right?
- 32:09It's more like a Talmudic type rabbi joke.
- 32:12Guy comes to the rabbi and says, Rabbi, I want to build a house,
- 32:18but I don't know how. So he says, well, you're in
- 32:22luck. The Gemara, the Talmud gives
- 32:24very clear instructions on how to build a house.
- 32:26So he says, really, show me. And the rabbi takes the guy over
- 32:31to the bookcase, pulls out the Gemara opens, says if you read
- 32:35this doc from top to bottom right tells you exactly how to
- 32:38build a house. The guy is thrilled, takes the
- 32:41Gemara. He goes to Home Depot.
- 32:42He buys everything the Gemara says he needs to get, and he
- 32:46follows the instructions. It's come beautifully.
- 32:49He is building this gorgeous colonial.
- 32:51And he puts in the last nail and he says it's time to go invite
- 32:55everyone for the kanuka Sabayas celebrate the new house.
- 32:58And as he's walking out, he closes the door behind him and
- 33:02the whole house collapses into a heap.
- 33:06It's like what happened? And he comes to the rabbi and
- 33:10says, rabbi, I followed everything that Gamora said.
- 33:14I was so careful to the team. I got all the right materials
- 33:18and the tools and I followed the instructions so well.
- 33:21And then my house collapsed when I closed the door and the rabbit
- 33:25says, yeah, that's Tosa's question.
- 33:31That's great. Oh, that's great.
- 33:33That's a good rabbi joke. You see, I like that.
- 33:35That's actually very funny. Now that's good.
- 33:38That's great. All right, So what?
- 33:40About the pet peeve, I like that question.
- 33:41To you go back to the pet peeve, what was.
- 33:43As a rabbit, he was a pet peeve. Probably other rabbits as well
- 33:45as probably experience. But for you personally, what's
- 33:47your pet peeve As for being a rabbit that you have to deal
- 33:49with and it's super annoying so. I'm not going to call it a pet
- 33:53peeve. I'll say what is something that
- 33:56I have recognize to be a part of the job that I didn't realize
- 34:01was beforehand. Good way to say it.
- 34:03Excellent. There's a better way of
- 34:05diplomatically rephrasing your question.
- 34:07Excellent. And it's, you know, when people
- 34:11ask a question and they want black and white answers where a
- 34:19black and white answer is not appropriate, right?
- 34:22People ask me, do I have to sit in the sukkah under these
- 34:27conditions? I'll say, well, it's going to
- 34:30depend. You have to decide if this is
- 34:32distressing enough to you, like so do I or don't die, right?
- 34:37And like when I very often, if I tell people here are the
- 34:41parameters under which you need to make that decision, it's your
- 34:45call. I will tell you the parameters
- 34:47under which you should make the decision.
- 34:49And people don't like that. Just tell me what to do, right?
- 34:53And so that is something that. You have a bunch of oishies
- 34:56running around. Asking you what to do exactly.
- 34:59Yeah. It's great, Michael.
- 35:01Don't exaggerate. No, no, no, no, no, I don't
- 35:03appreciate that. Don't like, make this now into
- 35:05like, you know, almost in a moderate.
- 35:06No, no, no, not at all. I don't ask the rabbi permission
- 35:08to go to the bathroom. Obviously not what the intention
- 35:11was, obviously, but you do. You may ask you if you said.
- 35:14People who want to try to make their point, they start putting
- 35:16down your point. You see what he just did here?
- 35:19You see what I said? You make a caricature of the
- 35:21other person's point. Exactly.
- 35:22Yes, yes, it was done well. It was done well, by the way.
- 35:25If yes, thank you. If you would have a rabbi that
- 35:29wasn't. Part of a you wouldn't have to
- 35:31your point, my rabbi was asked should Michael get up and talk
- 35:35about Israel? That's exactly what the question
- 35:37was. That was that was just a fair
- 35:38question. Yeah.
- 35:39And it wasn't a yes or no question.
- 35:41It was a discussion. Well.
- 35:42Your rabbi's part of a board, so he doesn't have all that much
- 35:45say, so Michael Greenfield's standing.
- 35:47Up. But is it a spiritual question
- 35:49or is it not that that's what the question was?
- 35:51I think it intertwines. Right.
- 35:52That's why it's not black and white.
- 35:53That's what the rabbi saying. I'm resonating with what you're
- 35:55saying with exactly what I I gave as a sample.
- 35:58Yeah. Do you think?
- 36:00That the rabbis, you have to apologize for you.
- 36:02I was waiting this entire time to bring out this gift.
- 36:05And I think now's the perfect time to bring out this gift.
- 36:08Always a perfect time. I'm not sure what you mean.
- 36:10You were waiting for the No, no, no.
- 36:12I was. I figured I is.
- 36:13It not a. Perfect time.
- 36:14I might be a little bit too much, you know, and you might
- 36:16get like, whoa. And that's what happened.
- 36:17So I, I, it happens from time to time.
- 36:19So I have always with me gifts waiting for me to give to you.
- 36:23I always accept gifts. Yeah, it's always a good.
- 36:25Time. I will only give them at
- 36:26appropriate times though, Sorry. And it was last time we sat with
- 36:29you, Rabbi. We asked you what your favorite
- 36:30book was. Do you remember what you said?
- 36:33Oh. Yes, I remember.
- 36:35And I said, what did I say? I said I'd get it.
- 36:38I said I'm ordering it right now.
- 36:39It came in. And Ushi, I bestow upon you the
- 36:42seven habits of highly effective people.
- 36:44Beautiful. You might you know I'd love to
- 36:45read yes. So you know, like I'm going to
- 36:47read this cover to cover. Wow 15,000,000 copies sold.
- 36:50Rabbi, why did you suggest this book?
- 36:52So why did I suggest this book? So it is up there on the books
- 36:56that I appreciate. I, I, I don't know if I have it
- 36:59ranked as #1 I just, I suggested it because when our discussion
- 37:05last time, right, we were talking about how to most
- 37:11effectively manage situations and manage the time and and and
- 37:16approach a project. Well, I just want to say in full
- 37:19transparency, we came to you for advice and we asked you point
- 37:24blank. We're starting a podcast and we
- 37:27know that we're going to be speaking to people and this is
- 37:29our demographic and we want to really make the best impact in
- 37:32the shortest amount of period of time.
- 37:33And that's what the discussion was.
- 37:34So kudos to you, Rabbi, for really taking your time and
- 37:37speaking to us about that topic. And I'm a strong believer and.
- 37:40For the record, my advice was not well.
- 37:42If you wanted to be successful, you have to bring me on.
- 37:46That was our. It took us months.
- 37:47It took us months. We have to really, I think.
- 37:49We only said one rabbi. Joke.
- 37:52Thank you, Stephen. Exactly carried away.
- 37:55We had to really prodigy. Yeah, no.
- 37:57So continue. What was that?
- 37:58What was that point that you were making with this book?
- 38:00So I don't remember exactly what the point was.
- 38:04The reason why you recommended this book at the time, So I'm
- 38:07trying to the habits, the seven habits of highly effective
- 38:10people. Right, so this book.
- 38:13The. Idea of approaching things
- 38:17systematically oh because of the win win.
- 38:20I believe that one of his habits of highly effective people is
- 38:23you think win, win that when you approach a situation looking to,
- 38:28you know, squeeze the other party as much as possible to get
- 38:33as much with the giving a little right.
- 38:35That never works out well in the long run doesn't right.
- 38:39And that's that's the way you know, a lot of our discussions
- 38:42have included those elements, but that was one idea.
- 38:46Did we touch on sharpening the saw as well?
- 38:48I. Don't remember?
- 38:49No. Let's do that now.
- 38:50No. What is that?
- 38:51Sharpening the saw is fantastic. It it's an old, it's an old
- 38:55parable. I don't think he, he didn't make
- 38:58this up, but there is a woodsman in the woods and he's got a saw
- 39:04and he's sawing away at a tree trying to cut it down and he's
- 39:08like 3 hours sawing away at the same tree.
- 39:12The kid comes by and says Mr. why is it taking you 3 hours to
- 39:17cut down that tree? He says, well my saw is.
- 39:20Really, really dull. So doesn't cut very fast.
- 39:24He says, why don't you sharpen the saw, right?
- 39:29He says, well, I'm so behind schedule that if I take the 20
- 39:32minutes needed to sharpen the saw right, I'll fall 20 minutes
- 39:36further behind. I don't have that time, you see.
- 39:38It's already taken me 3 hours to cut down the tree, right?
- 39:42Highly effective people, says Stephen Covey.
- 39:45Take make and take the time to keep the saw sharp, right?
- 39:52You take the time, no matter how hectic your life may be, whether
- 39:56it's leisure, whether it's therapy, whether it's whether
- 40:01it's, you know, personal professional development,
- 40:04whatever is needed to keep you on the cutting edge, to keep you
- 40:08a most effective. So if it takes you a couple of
- 40:11hours a week or more, right? But now everything else you do
- 40:18is more efficient and more productive.
- 40:20So it's time well spent. Sure.
- 40:23I love that. Yeah.
- 40:23That's that's like, I can't wait for you to read the book.
- 40:25I'm going. To get very smart now, Yeah, I'm
- 40:28going to become a rabbi. I think I'm going.
- 40:30To I guess we could. Why don't you guys now I'm I'll
- 40:34turn to you and ask the questions.
- 40:35That's it, I'm taking over. Go ahead.
- 40:37No, I like that idea. You want the rabbi is the
- 40:39authority. How do you guys keep the saw
- 40:44sharp? How do we keep the saw sharp of
- 40:47what though, of life, our emotional self?
- 40:51Which part? Our personal side, our family
- 40:53side. Let's say.
- 40:56Why don't you point to one of us and ask a specific question?
- 40:59We're happy to answer it more granular.
- 41:00What do you do that is not directly connected to your
- 41:04business? Well, you know what?
- 41:05We've spoken a lot, so I'm going to turn.
- 41:07I'm going to turn in your direction.
- 41:08Now, what do you do in your life that's not directly related to
- 41:15the goals you're trying to accomplish, but makes you more
- 41:18efficient at accomplishing them? Easy question to answer.
- 41:21I meditate every day. I Zen that's what it is.
- 41:24I don't I have a hard time praying from a sitter it I I
- 41:28find it, you know, difficult to repeat the same words and find
- 41:32meaning over and over again. I do see the value of saying it
- 41:36in certain words that are meaningful for me.
- 41:38For example, when I leave the bathroom, I always say the
- 41:40certain prayer that, you know, brings meaning new to me every
- 41:44time. And that was taught to me by me
- 41:46too, Mr. Rosenwasser. It's.
- 41:47So funny, we shared that in a comment.
- 41:48When I I'm at the bathrooms, like one of the things that I
- 41:51actually do, yeah, consistently is I say I'm sure, yes, Sir,
- 41:53every time. I just appreciate it.
- 41:55That, you know, yeah, it's so funny.
- 41:56I love it. So in general, I but but the
- 41:58concept of praying in the morning is so important in
- 42:03general, if you look at it from a perspective of Zen or
- 42:06meditation or just connection to your own self, you'll have a
- 42:10better time in throughout your day.
- 42:12And that's what I find helps me. So that's what I do.
- 42:14I scale back my time. How much time does that take
- 42:16you? The meditation.
- 42:17Honestly, I'm I'm not, I'm not going to exaggerate. 5 minutes.
- 42:205 minutes, yeah. What does those, what do those 5
- 42:23minutes give you in terms of productivity, in terms of?
- 42:29It gives me collection of my thoughts and prioritizing my
- 42:32day. That's really what it does.
- 42:33Every single day I think about what I have in front of me.
- 42:36Like you said earlier, I've learned that from you already
- 42:38that today starts off at A at. It's already great.
- 42:41I have so much to be thankful for.
- 42:43What do I want to accomplish? So that's that's what helps me.
- 42:45How much time do you save in your day from a productivity
- 42:48standpoint because you spend those 5 minutes?
- 42:53Probably a few hours. Yeah, Yeah, it's a great point.
- 42:56So that's the concept of sharpening.
- 42:58This. I love that.
- 42:59Rabbi, I have to ask you, you're you're an avid cyclist.
- 43:01I know. Didn't you come here with your
- 43:02bicycle today? Absolutely.
- 43:04How long did that take you here? With one of my bicycles.
- 43:07How many bicycles do you own? At the moment 4.
- 43:10What's the most expensive bike you own?
- 43:12Is my Trek Domani. OK, board, please close your
- 43:16ears. I'm joking, but how much does
- 43:18that cost? So.
- 43:20Retail price, I'm saying forget about what you got if I I.
- 43:22Didn't I didn't buy the. Whole retail price, what does it
- 43:24go for? I I didn't buy it in one piece,
- 43:26I bought. Different.
- 43:28So what's the value of that bike brand new?
- 43:31That is an $8000 bike. Wow.
- 43:33Amazing. That's a lot.
- 43:35It's amazing. It's a great investment.
- 43:37In the circles in which I run it is.
- 43:40That's not high end. People spend more than.
- 43:42That yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That is amazing.
- 43:44So do. You compete in competitions.
- 43:47I the only competitive cycling I do is virtually.
- 43:51Is it like on the peloton? Well, it's not Peloton.
- 43:53It's a different platform called Swift.
- 43:56I don't know if we're, you know, advertising for Swift.
- 43:58Sure. Advertise for anything that
- 43:59works. But something virtual?
- 44:01Yeah, but it's where we are. One of my four bikes is on a on
- 44:05a smart trainer that reads my power and the platform knows
- 44:10knows my body metrics. And there are race.
- 44:13There are races where I'm racing with people in lot in real time.
- 44:17Wow. And.
- 44:18Where are you ranking? Like how?
- 44:19How do you do in terms of per hour or minute?
- 44:22How does it work? So.
- 44:24And and in cycling. And I'm not sure we were.
- 44:26Asking. Yeah, I wasn't even.
- 44:27Sure. I'm asking in general, how fast
- 44:28do you cycle in a certain mind? What position are we trying?
- 44:32To say like where he's, you know, up to in the competition.
- 44:34So in, in, in Swift, in this platform, the race rankings are
- 44:39ABC and D. Oh, OK, I didn't realize that.
- 44:41So I'm in C rank and I'm basically at the top of C rank.
- 44:45Wow. In most of my races a couple of
- 44:47years back, I was actually where they had worldwide rankings.
- 44:49I was #1. Wow, look at that.
- 44:52That's a very big deal. When are you?
- 44:53Going to go to B, how do you get into Group B?
- 44:55So so every season I get upgraded because my fitness and
- 44:59my power are going to move up. And then even as you're getting
- 45:02older. What?
- 45:03Well, throughout the season it goes up and then ironically, in
- 45:07the outdoor season where I'm riding outdoors, this workout is
- 45:10less structured. So I start the next season back
- 45:12and see and work my way back up to till I'm upgraded again to be
- 45:15it's it's a whole. So again, so how long did it
- 45:17take you to get here today by bike?
- 45:19So I didn't check. Around.
- 45:23Because it's hot and I'm wearing dress clothes.
- 45:24Yeah. I pedaled really softly.
- 45:27I was probably moving 1213 miles an hour, which is maybe 14 miles
- 45:32an hour because. It's not right.
- 45:33So it's a 20 minute drive for me to get here.
- 45:35How long do you? Take it a bike from an efficient
- 45:37right right there. We go now I.
- 45:38Understand where we're. Going yeah.
- 45:39I probably spent 3540 minutes getting here.
- 45:42When I spent 20 minutes on a car, you only spent 40 and you
- 45:46got here with exercise and that's crazy.
- 45:48That's amazing it. Takes us 20 minutes with a car.
- 45:50Going yeah. 50 miles an hour. Wow, wow, I.
- 45:53Guess it's going a more you have a different path getting here,
- 45:55like a more direct path. It was the route I took is 9
- 45:58miles. Wow.
- 46:00But you don't. You don't obviously use your
- 46:02phone. You're not.
- 46:03What do you do, right? What do you do while you're
- 46:04biking? What do you do?
- 46:05So it really depends on the type.
- 46:06I do different types of biking. So I do bike commuting, which is
- 46:10the type I did get in here. And then, you know, I, I might
- 46:14be listening to something I, or I might be just thinking and
- 46:17just letting my mind wander. And then when I do real fitness
- 46:21riding, like, you know, yesterday I did a, you know,
- 46:24about A50 mile ride up Bear Mountain and. 50 miles.
- 46:28Wow. Up Bear Mountain.
- 46:30What? That's amazing.
- 46:31Yeah. Perfect stop and wait a drive.
- 46:33Wait a second, you biked 50? Miles, That's not a long ride.
- 46:37What's the longest you've ever ridden?
- 46:38Drive the longest I've. Ridden Yeah A. 162 miles.
- 46:43Oh my goodness, you. Biked 162 miles.
- 46:48My son this was in like 2017. My son or 2018.
- 46:51One of the no 20/19/18. Anyway, my son was up in
- 46:57sleepaway camp in the Catskills and I got up in the morning.
- 47:00I dive in Basique and I dive in chakras right at sunrise.
- 47:03Hopped on my bike, rode out there, had lunch with him,
- 47:07hopped back on the bike. Wow, how long is bike for high?
- 47:11Just for context, bike. For high is about it depending
- 47:14about 180 miles between 2 days. And you did all that in one
- 47:18morning? No.
- 47:20One morning I got back. You went to him for lunch,
- 47:22right? And I got back Shia.
- 47:23Of course. But I'm saying but one day he
- 47:24did it. Yeah, one day, right?
- 47:26Was your legs on? Fire so no because I I do proper
- 47:31training. I usually don't ask questions,
- 47:34but I'm curious about one thing. When you have to go somewhere,
- 47:37do you ever like think I'll just drive I.
- 47:41Was like right versus of? Course I'm taking the bike.
- 47:43So when I have to go somewhere, the first option is, oh, can I
- 47:45bike there, Right. That's the first question, you
- 47:49know, and that's, that's always, that's always better.
- 47:53I, you know, I was 16 years old and got my driver's license.
- 47:56I sat in the car and it was really fun and exciting for 10
- 48:02minutes. I'm like, yeah, you want to hear
- 48:05a really fun fact? Please.
- 48:07OK, you love fun. Fact.
- 48:08So I'm, I'm a very like you said, very avid cyclist.
- 48:10I am the captain of the local bike for high team.
- 48:13I'm a big member of the of the cycling community here.
- 48:16You know, we have a big ride coming this Sunday.
- 48:17I'm making the I'm, you know, I ride between real life and
- 48:21virtual thousands and thousands of miles a year.
- 48:24Are you? One of the guys that wear like
- 48:25those tight Spanx things, you know and.
- 48:28Spandex. Spandex Lycra.
- 48:30Everyone does. Yeah, they all do.
- 48:31Yeah, I always. Some of them should not.
- 48:33It should be illegal for some of you guys, I'm sorry.
- 48:35I agree. My wife agrees.
- 48:37Yeah. We all agree, all of us driving
- 48:40by, but I'll tell you what, it's looks super uncomfortable.
- 48:43It doesn't look like it's even comfortable.
- 48:45Like I'm not sure the purpose of it.
- 48:46I'd rather just like wear, you know, shorts, you know,
- 48:48freestyle shorts and like free fall shorts, whatever.
- 48:51Like it's very tight. Like how do they do it?
- 48:53It it if they get used to. It probably better riding with
- 48:57it than without it, right? Right.
- 48:58But. Anyway, like scuba diving, you
- 49:01have your gear, that's your gear you're wearing.
- 49:03It's like you're you're going through the ear.
- 49:04You want to go through it. Comfortably Sunday is going to
- 49:07be the 10 year anniversary of the very first time in my life I
- 49:12ever rode A2 wheel bicycle. Wow.
- 49:15Ten years, yeah. That you were a 2 Wheeler?
- 49:17Yeah. You only started biking for the
- 49:19first time 10 years ago. Yeah.
- 49:21I understand. You learned.
- 49:22You only learned how to drive a bike.
- 49:24Do you know how like when your kid, you get your kid and they
- 49:26hit all the training wheels and they start, you started?
- 49:28I did that at 35 years old. Get out of here.
- 49:30What did I just miss? I thought you started at 16 when
- 49:33you got your license And you. No, I I I hated driving.
- 49:35That's what I'm saying. I never liked driving.
- 49:37You asked me if I do I ever want.
- 49:38To so since 16 you got your license.
- 49:40You hated driving, but you continued.
- 49:42And then, at 35, he decided to take the training wheels off and
- 49:45learn how to ride a bike. 35I learned how to ride.
- 49:48A bike? Wow.
- 49:49You know I play golf professionally now.
- 49:53A couple of years. Like what is?
- 49:55How do you get so good at something in such a short period
- 49:58of time? So thank God my fitness was
- 50:01good. I was doing, I was always
- 50:02active. So in my 20s I played a lot of
- 50:05tennis. In my early 30s I did a lot of
- 50:07rollerblading. So the fitness I had, but I just
- 50:10as a kid, I never learned how to ride the bike.
- 50:13Wow, you're making up for lost time, aren't?
- 50:15You. I'm sorry, I have to ask.
- 50:16I have to ask this question simply because I'm known in my
- 50:19neighborhood as the person that teaches kids how to ride
- 50:22bicycles. I have a good method.
- 50:23And if I would have met you 11 years ago, I'm just.
- 50:25Curious, you would have came to me at 35 and said, hey Michael,
- 50:28could you help me? I, I, I don't know what I would
- 50:31have done. I don't know if I could have
- 50:32done the same method. Other kids in the.
- 50:34Neighborhood I I there's a certain method, yes, where
- 50:36fathers come to me and they say, can you help my kid ride his
- 50:39bike? What's the method?
- 50:40Just push put some on route 3 O 6.
- 50:42He says go. Just push.
- 50:43I'm well aware with them. No, no, no, no.
- 50:45Why do these parents need you to?
- 50:47Well, it's not easy to teach your kids ride a bike.
- 50:49It's, it's a process. You have to put the proper
- 50:50training wheels on. They go, they go.
- 50:52The whole they go is to let go and be not be afraid.
- 50:54Yeah, it's. It's rocket science like you're
- 50:56like, if you work for NASA then. At 35, what did you do to start
- 50:59writing? A story goes like this.
- 51:00It was. It was 2014.
- 51:02I'm sorry, one second. You owe me a book.
- 51:04By the way, What about you 'cause you're putting me down to
- 51:06put you up a book? I'm just saying no, no, no.
- 51:08Because it's Nassau to ride a bike or the teacher to ride a
- 51:11bike. Parent or the parents down.
- 51:13Oh, that I'm telling you. Oh, OK.
- 51:14So teach the kid how to ride a bike.
- 51:16Yeah, no, not, not missing out of their, their experience.
- 51:18No, they're standing out there. They're out there with me.
- 51:21It's a method though, Michael. That's it's a process.
- 51:22Saying that, these parents, yeah.
- 51:24Should know better. No, they shouldn't.
- 51:25Say, Michael, this my kid had a ride.
- 51:27Not so simple. Teach my kid how to swim.
- 51:28What are you talking about? These fathers, they're not lazy
- 51:30just because, you know, just. Because you you should start
- 51:33saying no to them. Absolutely.
- 51:34Do me a favour, teach your own kid how to ride a.
- 51:36Bike. No, no, no.
- 51:37I love it. Are you kidding me?
- 51:38It's a method. It.
- 51:39It takes me two hours and they know how to ride a bike.
- 51:40Some parents struggle for weeks and they don't know what they're
- 51:42doing because they get too nervous to let go.
- 51:45So I teach them to let go. But Rabbi, So what did you do at
- 51:4735? So.
- 51:48So. It was Shabbas.
- 51:50Still owe me a gift. The Shabbas right after, did
- 51:52you? Give me a gift so you can get a
- 51:53gift back. Is that what you did?
- 51:55No, because then you could have, let me clarify.
- 51:57No, no, absolutely. I'm just using your method,
- 51:59that's all. Go ahead.
- 52:01I'll recommend you the right back.
- 52:04I'm like, what would that be actually?
- 52:06How to make friends and influence people?
- 52:10Well, you did good already there.
- 52:11Podcasting one O 1. Yeah, so I want to learn how you
- 52:16how you learn to ride a bike. Tell me about the process 14
- 52:18Yes, you're 3535 and A. Good friend of mine comes to me
- 52:22and shul and says I just got back from bike for hi and it is
- 52:26the most unbelievable experience for the most unbelievable cause
- 52:29right and and and just he says, Aaron, you have to do this next
- 52:35year you have to do bike for high.
- 52:37I'm like sold. I'll do it.
- 52:40OK, Step one, learn to ride a bike.
- 52:43So. Did Did he know that you didn't
- 52:46know how to ride a bike? I told him.
- 52:47Oh, you told him. OK.
- 52:47I told him. I said I don't know how to.
- 52:49Happen but. OK, listen, I got a year.
- 52:51Yeah. So the next day was Sunday and I
- 52:55took my 10 year old son's bike. He was almost 10 and I I did
- 53:01some Google research. I in New York City Bike New York
- 53:05has classes teaching adults how to ride a bike.
- 53:07No way. So I did, and I found out that
- 53:10the next morning in the Bronx, in one of the parks in the
- 53:12Bronx, they were having the class.
- 53:14So I took my 9 year old's bike, put it in the car and I you
- 53:19know, it's a tall kid so. So you're saying they needed a
- 53:22whole class to teach people how to ride?
- 53:24Because it's not so easy to ride to teach people by the way.
- 53:28So the one thing I focus on when I have kids, I'm curious if they
- 53:30did this by you, is just the balance.
- 53:32Forget about peddling, yes, just learn how to balance.
- 53:34So. I got there like an hour early
- 53:36because I didn't know what traffic would be like.
- 53:38And, and at that point I was motivated.
- 53:40I was committed. So you know what, all the people
- 53:43when I was a kid, you know, all the, all the, all the Michaels
- 53:47in the world who were telling me, OK, you're not going to
- 53:49fall. You're not going to fall.
- 53:50I was too scared to, you know, so by this point, like, I just
- 53:55want to do it already. So it was my will.
- 53:58Right. So by the time the class
- 54:00started, I already basically, you know, I was already doing
- 54:02laps around the park somewhat. The instructor came with pedal
- 54:07wrenches and took the pedals off of everyone's bike.
- 54:10That's what you're saying. So.
- 54:12So no, don't worry about pedaling just and we used our
- 54:15feet like Flintstone style Fred Flintstone, you know, and you
- 54:19know, we we coasted, we glided and then you got you lift over
- 54:23your feet and you got used to that idea balancing of right
- 54:26balancing and how the motion of the bike will just carry you and
- 54:30then they put everyone's pedals back.
- 54:31On and that's alert. Wow, two and a half, 2 1/2 weeks
- 54:34later. So I took this class on a Sunday
- 54:36morning. 2 1/2 weeks later. We had Sheva Brachas in Brooklyn
- 54:40and I told my wife I'll meet you there.
- 54:41No way. That's when it started that.
- 54:43At that point, at that point, I already bought myself a, you
- 54:47know, a Walmart type bike or Target bike, you know, and, and
- 54:52she drove in, I met her there and my in laws were still living
- 54:56there. So I had a place to shower and
- 54:58change. And that's two weeks, 2 1/2
- 55:00weeks after. So I took to it pretty quickly.
- 55:02And the rest is history. You know, on Shark Tank on the
- 55:05show, somebody invented a bike for kids to teach kids how to
- 55:10ride 2 Wheelers and the invention is that they don't
- 55:13have pedals on the bike and it's basically, you know, the user,
- 55:17their feet like the Flint the. Strider they call.
- 55:18They're called Striders I. Don't remember what the name is,
- 55:21the concept of schools and or the company.
- 55:23Yeah, those bikes exist in the world, Yeah, and they're called
- 55:26a Strider bike. OK, 'cause it's going back like
- 55:28five years ago, I saw this on the show, so it could be that,
- 55:30you know, it's been around now, but they got a deal from the
- 55:33Sharks that was a very big deal as well.
- 55:35Like a lot of money, but it was that was the concept is first
- 55:38you got to just learn how to basically balance, you know, on
- 55:40the bike and the rest is easy, right?
- 55:42So it's pretty fast. Do you have any other secret
- 55:44talents that we don't know about?
- 55:46What else do you do on your spare time?
- 55:48On my spare time, What's spare time?
- 55:52There's no spare time, everything was used so
- 55:54strategically. I see Strategically.
- 55:56What other hobbies do you have? What else do you like to do?
- 55:59So right now, really all my leisure time is because, you
- 56:03know, I've just become so focused on the cycling that
- 56:05became my, that became my, my, I'll say healthy obsession.
- 56:10And you know, so I have in I have in my bike room in my
- 56:15house, I have a scratch off map of the 50 States and every state
- 56:20that I ride my bike in I, I scratch.
- 56:22Them Wow, how many states have you done so far?
- 56:24I think now I'm up to 13. Amazing I.
- 56:26Have a long way to go. OK, but I, you know, I'm not,
- 56:29it's not, it's not a race. And.
- 56:31What does it do from a I'm just curious from a psychological
- 56:34level because I have to tell you that I've learned a lot by going
- 56:36to therapy for years. And one of the trade secrets
- 56:40within therapy is this need for your dopamine.
- 56:43You're, you're right. So I'm curious if you can
- 56:45explain to us from your perspective what it does for you
- 56:48when you're biking and when you're exercising or you're
- 56:50swimming or you're playing pickleball.
- 56:54What? What is that need?
- 56:56So every day it's a different need and it fills that need.
- 57:00You know, for me it's about mind, body and soul, you know,
- 57:04so, and as far as my body is concerned, right, my
- 57:08cardiovascular system is in really good shape.
- 57:11My blood pressure is lower, my resting heart rate is low.
- 57:15You know, I have back and neck arthritis.
- 57:19You know, I have spasm when I'm riding a lot.
- 57:23My muscles are stretched out, right?
- 57:24If I go a few days without riding, I start getting
- 57:26stiffness. So the benefits to my body are.
- 57:30Physical, that's all. Physical Self, that's bed.
- 57:33Body. That's body.
- 57:34Mind, it helps clear out my mind when there's a lot of clutter,
- 57:39when there's a lot of stress, when there's a lot of you know,
- 57:42I can't think straight, right. Sometimes my wife says go bike
- 57:46out the crazy, you know, like, you know, she says that
- 57:49affection. Yeah, yes, very smart woman.
- 57:51She says that affectionately, you know, and go for it.
- 57:54Go for a ride. Just go maybe I coined the term
- 57:56bike out the crazy. But like she knows that when
- 57:59I'm, you know, stressed, right, right.
- 58:01I need to sharpen that saw so it, it clears the mind, right?
- 58:06Especially if you have a gorgeous day and you, you know,
- 58:08we happen to live in an unbelievable area for cycling.
- 58:11You know, we have Harriman State Park and we have all the
- 58:13reservoirs in New Jersey. And you can go further north in
- 58:16the cats. Where's the nicest place to go
- 58:18cycling right now that you've experienced?
- 58:20The the one nicest. Or maybe even walking.
- 58:23You can also walk like you don't have.
- 58:25To so Harriman State Park is it is would be a slam dunk, except
- 58:29that because it's so close and we've all ridden it so many, all
- 58:33the cyclists have ridden it so many times, we forget how
- 58:36amazing it is. But anybody here who's never
- 58:38been, who lives in the Rockne County, there's beautiful hiking
- 58:42there. So if you like to hike, I'm not
- 58:43a hiker. The cycling there is is is
- 58:46gorgeous, very low traffic. The roads are pretty well
- 58:49maintained and the scenery is, you know, is, is unbelievable if
- 58:53you just appreciate nature and scenery and, and, and serenity,
- 58:57right? There's there's unbelievable
- 58:59serenity there. By the way, I I get that with my
- 59:01top down when I go with my Mustang convertible, you know,
- 59:04it helps also. It doesn't help my body, but it
- 59:07definitely helps my mind. I go there a lot.
- 59:09The views are fantastic. It's just you take in the nature
- 59:11and the ear and suddenly I see that I like birds.
- 59:15Right, right. So interesting because he asked
- 59:17me, you know what else? So I said mind, body and soul.
- 59:19So there's body and there's mind.
- 59:20Yeah. And then there's soul, OK.
- 59:24For me, and this is something that I think we've discussed in
- 59:29other discussions, spirituality is intertwined with the idea of
- 59:34connectedness, right? Being one with God in the
- 59:38universe and everything, right? Other people, right?
- 59:42Everything in existence feeling part of that existence on a day
- 59:48where there is the sun is shining and the wind is rustling
- 59:52the trees and the birds are chirping and there's the
- 59:54crickets and even I hear a snake Slytherin in the woods.
- 59:57So, and I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm biking and I'm exerting myself.
- 1:00:01My heart rate is that threshold right where you know, so I'm
- 1:00:05feeling it, I'm respirating, I'm breathing, I'm, I'm, I'm feeling
- 1:00:09strong feeling. And all of a sudden I'm one with
- 1:00:14the world around me right there. There's so much life and there's
- 1:00:18so much. Goodness, my soul feels so
- 1:00:24uplifted. I have a good friend who, you
- 1:00:26know, I like to ride with David Hamburger and he's, he like to
- 1:00:29say every great Shabbos starts with Arab Shabbos and
- 1:00:35Harrington, right? And I love that, you know, and
- 1:00:39it's like so true when you're in that serenity and that peaceful
- 1:00:42place, it puts you in that spiritual mindset that you know,
- 1:00:49it, it, it motivates me now to, you know, to want to connect
- 1:00:53with people, to want to be there for people, to want to form a
- 1:00:56network where I can give of myself to others and receive
- 1:01:00what they have to give for me. So what it does, Mind, body,
- 1:01:05soul, That's the best way I. Can I love it?
- 1:01:06I I do want to ask you a question that I know is going to
- 1:01:09invite another Part 3 to this so I don't want to get too into it,
- 1:01:13but how do you define soul? How do I define soul?
- 1:01:16Yeah. What is the soul?
- 1:01:21Is that what you're asking? Yeah, I'm asking how he defines
- 1:01:22soul. He says your soul feels it, your
- 1:01:25soul. I know a little bit because I've
- 1:01:28gone to his classes that he's given so.
- 1:01:32But I'd like to hear the clarity from him.
- 1:01:35The soul, well, it really gets into how I define God in the
- 1:01:41universe, right? Which is the totality of
- 1:01:44existence. So the soul is that part of the
- 1:01:49totality of existence that is defined as me.
- 1:01:57I don't have a great clear definition because all our
- 1:02:00definitions are trying to define them in in physical terms,
- 1:02:04right, right. How they are separate and
- 1:02:06distinct from other things, which is really the antithesis
- 1:02:08of what a soul is. So, but that's the best I could
- 1:02:11say. The part of the totality of
- 1:02:13existence that is me, that my body interacts with that is it
- 1:02:18fair to say subconscious? Is it fair to say that the soul
- 1:02:25is the subconscious? It's I have to think about that
- 1:02:29one. It's certainly not the conscious
- 1:02:31part of you so. Well, the conscious party was it
- 1:02:35all has access to the soul I met.
- 1:02:37All right. To be continued.
- 1:02:38To be continued. Yeah, yeah, I said.
- 1:02:41I prefaced it the. Question of Teach me the entire
- 1:02:43Torah on one leg, please. Right, That's what he just did,
- 1:02:45right? He wants a sentence.
- 1:02:47Of I want all I want. What is a soul?
- 1:02:48I just want getting that here today.
- 1:02:50I just want more. I want more.
- 1:02:52That's all I'm saying. It was so nice having you,
- 1:02:54Rabbi. I have to say that, you know,
- 1:02:57our podcast that we're doing here is about our growth
- 1:03:00personally and professionally. Having Someone Like You here and
- 1:03:03talking about the reality of our anxieties and seeing us being
- 1:03:07vulnerable and transparent, you know, invites the discussion to
- 1:03:10continue and for us to continue to grow and start off every day
- 1:03:13anew. I love that approach.
- 1:03:15And I, you know, I look forward to doing more, but she any
- 1:03:19parting words, questions or thoughts?
- 1:03:21So I want to give one parting word, which is somewhat advice
- 1:03:24to other people that are listening is as a company, we've
- 1:03:28recognized the importance of, I mean, most companies know this
- 1:03:31is that culture of a company is, is critical.
- 1:03:35Everybody's rowing the you know, the boat the same way, very
- 1:03:37important. And what we've recognized is
- 1:03:40that one of the ways to enhance that culture is to bring in
- 1:03:44periodically, once every couple of weeks, I think we do it where
- 1:03:46we bring in a rabbi. Specifically we picked we chose
- 1:03:49was rabbis had a very unique art form and what they do they're
- 1:03:52they're preachers and not just preaching, though they have a
- 1:03:55lot of worldly experiences as well.
- 1:03:57And they combine everything and people can really be uplifted by
- 1:04:01it and people become more positive from it.
- 1:04:03So we recognize that and as a company, we bring in rabbis only
- 1:04:07rabbis specifically to come in and to talk to to the entire
- 1:04:10company. And we found it to be so
- 1:04:11beneficial. The feedback we've been getting
- 1:04:13is incredible. So if anybody listening that has
- 1:04:16a company and have employees and there was looking for new
- 1:04:18creative ways how to enhance the culture of the.
- 1:04:22Country. I think that they should reach
- 1:04:24out to their local rabbi, people who they're close with, and
- 1:04:27bring them into the fold. And I think the rabbis like it.
- 1:04:29They appreciate it as well. Yeah, we do that here.
- 1:04:30We rotate. And you've been here before.
- 1:04:32And so you, you're a part of that, you know, growth with us.
- 1:04:35I do want to mention, though, rabbis that are leaders,
- 1:04:38mentors, therapists, you know, people that have ideas and good
- 1:04:42ideas to share, not just rabbis. Because to become a rabbi, you
- 1:04:45need to know not to mix meat and milk together.
- 1:04:47And you need to be very, you know, you know, and learned
- 1:04:50about the laws of kosher, not just rabbis.
- 1:04:54Just want to clarify that, of course.
- 1:04:55Yeah. Yeah.
- 1:04:56So the people that we have immediate access to that are in
- 1:04:58our circles, in our communities. Everyday that have that help us.
- 1:05:00Grow people get lost like that's all they do they're.
- 1:05:03They're so capable they it's a great tip for any company.
- 1:05:05You know what billions the show billions Rabbi, I'm not sure if
- 1:05:08you heard of the show. It's a fantastic show, amazing
- 1:05:11show and it's all about, you know, it's a high driven company
- 1:05:14and they're all very, very smart and hard working.
- 1:05:16Reminds me of prime source. OK, the energy and the people
- 1:05:20and like they have a full time therapist in house, in house and
- 1:05:24it helps them. And not only it helps them, it's
- 1:05:26part of their organization. They have HR, they have
- 1:05:29receivables, payables, part of the leadership as well.
- 1:05:31Yeah, having a rabbi. Decisions based on what she's.
- 1:05:34And I know she you're 100% right for bringing it up.
- 1:05:36And I applaud you and the organization and the people of
- 1:05:39Prime Source that made this happen, especially our partner
- 1:05:41Mark and David that are behind this initiative.
- 1:05:45And it's a great idea. I think people, you know, people
- 1:05:47have programs where people learn with one another.
- 1:05:49That's also fantastic. This is just another way to help
- 1:05:52build each other up. Morale, the culture. 10 minutes,
- 1:05:5515 minutes. Yeah.
- 1:05:55And, and to give us tools like we had here today, real tools
- 1:05:59that we can use in our everyday life, which is amazing.
- 1:06:02Yeah. I want to thank you because I
- 1:06:04don't care if we have one listener from this.
- 1:06:06I was avidly listening throughout and you enhanced and
- 1:06:10you improved my life. So with especially with, you
- 1:06:14know, the tools that we spoke about in the previous hour was
- 1:06:16amazing. It's going to sit with me.
- 1:06:17I've processed it a little bit since then, but I'm going to
- 1:06:20digest it and process it even more and just know that you made
- 1:06:23a difference in my life and ultimately in my child's life
- 1:06:27and in his child's life. So this is very impactful.
- 1:06:29I appreciate it. Thank you very much for coming
- 1:06:30on. It was really a pleasure.
- 1:06:33It's always great to spend time with you guys and talking about
- 1:06:35some issues and topics that are really important to me and
- 1:06:40pleasure was. Mine, I love it and I think I
- 1:06:41coined a phrase from this discussion is let's continue to
- 1:06:45grow together and we'll end with that together.
- 1:06:47Exactly. Together, we are experts.
- 1:06:49Together we are stronger. Together we can grow.
- 1:06:53Absolutely excellent. OK.
- 1:06:54Thank you, Rabbi. That's a wrap all.
- 1:06:56Right.