He Shrunk Until He Disappeared - And Found God

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Rabbi Shais Taub’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

So, as many of you know, my father passed away last year. My mother passed away this year. My father passed away last year. And my father used to have a 12-in black and white TV that he used to sometimes, if I was really good as a treat, would bring it to my bedroom and put it on the on a chair next to my bed. And I would watch 1950s sci-fi or horror movies >> [laughter] >> as a treat. Which tells you why I'm so disturbed. But at any rate, uh I was thinking recently about the 1957 classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man, which my father showed me. Basically, here's the short version of it. This guy, I think he was on a boat or something and there's some type of weird chemical mist. I don't know if it was chemical or radiation or whatever that just the McGuffin to get the thing started. Um at any rate, then a little while later he realizes that his clothes are too big on him. Uh what's going on? And then he's shrinking and shrinking. Eventually has to live in his daughter's dollhouse. >> [laughter] >> Then eventually, like, he falls down the stairs and the cat is chasing him and he then he becomes like so tiny that his wife can't even find him and she thinks he's gone and she leaves and then he's abandoned and um yeah. So, but I wanted to show you a trailer so you get the the gist of it. Here's like the synopsis of

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1. 0:00So, as many of you know, my father passed away last year. My mother passed away…
2. 2:01imagining. Incredible because every hour he gets smaller and smaller. Incredible because every moment the terror…
3. 4:02but what is the nature of that existence as this microscopic uh being. And and ostensibly,…
4. 6:06infinity, that's that's a false construct that no matter how small he becomes, from the perspective…
5. 8:09in me is this idea that from a godly perspective, it's not just that nothing is…
6. 10:48you understand my reference. Ladies [snorts] and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, from…
7. 12:51as if God is not all there is. Now, obviously, even though it's a false worldview,…
8. 14:55And that's something that we can do consciously, even while remaining in our embodiment. And in…
9. 17:00And not from a fatalistic point of view, like, "Well, I guess there's nothing left to…
10. 19:06So, then be careful what you nullify yourself to. Be careful. Don't nullify yourself to some…

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