Your Thoughts Matter - Rabbi Shlomo Horwitz

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

[laughter] >> You would not believe what I learned about parshas kisavo. The possuk says tachas asher lo avadeta Hashem Elokecha besimcha. Because you did not serve Hashem your God with joy. Rav Yosef Chaim Chief Rabbi of Baghdad, otherwise known as the Ben Ish Chai says You should know my friend, da yedidi, that the quality of sadness does not just affect your mental state, but it also harms your body very much. And many sicknesses, bad sicknesses, come from sadness. And he continues to say, "The truth is, it's manufactured by people." Meaning, a person can get an illness. God forbid somebody gets cancer. That's decreed by God. But if somebody becomes sad, that is something that he triggers himself. Obviously, I'm adding, we are not talking about clinical depression where people really need professional help. But the Ben Ish Chai is referring to the idea that our thoughts are really critical, and we can be the source of some bad thoughts and bad outcomes. Listen to what he says about this possuk in Hallel. Atzabeihem kesef vezahav maaseh yedei adam. Normally that means that the idols of idolaters are made of silver and gold, the product of human hands. And he's criticizing them. How could you

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1. 0:05[laughter] >> You would not believe what I learned about parshas kisavo. The possuk says tachas…
2. 0:36just affect your mental state, but it also harms your body very much. And many sicknesses,…
3. 1:07people really need professional help. But the Ben Ish Chai is referring to the idea that…
4. 1:37worship something that you made yourself? The Ben Ish Chai has a beautiful homiletical interpretation. He…
5. 2:07You know what? It's maseh yedei Adam. You are causing your own stress. That's not part…
6. 2:37be inspired by stories of people who have been through other challenges and have overcome them…
7. 3:08there, I had a big welt on my head, and I said, "Rebbi, here's what happened.…
8. 3:39causes us more stress. That is not decreed by Hashem. That is something in our power…

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