Podcasts about one it

As freight railroads continue to consolidate and propose single-operator trains, two unions — one for the engineers and another for conductors — are at each others' throats to see which […] The post Wurst: Bringing Two Unions into One — It's Hard But Import... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Nerves - Empty [Glórach LP] Paytron Saint - Carmilla Roll [single] MAQUINA - desterro [PRATA LP] Supermilk - Sweat [High Precision Ghosts LP] Arab Strap - Sociometer Blues [I'm totally fine with it, don't give a fuck anymore LP] Babe Report - Universal Did You Get Better Frenchy and the Punk - Hypnotized [Single] Famous Mammals - Final Decor [Famous Mammals LP] HAAL - Vinculum Ba [ck To Shilmarine EP] Fake Fruit - Mucho Mistrust [single] Current Joys - i always love your pain [Love + Pop 2 EP] beet-wix - mindblock [single] Death By Gong - In Despair [single] Object Image - Happy Girl [Playful State LP] Cowtown - Total Engagement [Fear Of... LP] The Jonny Halifax Invocation - Thank You [single] Las Nubes - Would Be [Tormentas Malsanas LP] Cody Munro Moore - Clock Tower Falls ]At Parties LP] Program - One on One [It's a Sign LP] Rebel Yell & Cong Josie - The Heat [Desolation LP] Free Live Sports - Sweaty Thighs [I'll Fish When I'm Dead LP] My Best Unbeaten Brother - Time on Our Hands, Spider-Man [Pessimistic Pizza LP] Summer Flake - Nothing Lasts Forever [single] Greg Saunier - Yeah You, Person [We Sang, Therefore We Were LP] Joyer - Fall Apart [Night Songs LP] Living Clipboards - Teenage Retreat [All Over Tawa LP] Apollo Ghosts - Ripping Invasives [Amethyst LP] Disorientations - Cynical [Lost Today LP] Ekko Astral - Uwu Type Beat [Pink Balloons LP] It's for us - I've Got Good News [Out of Time LP] Bikini Body - Mr Tinnitus [Weird Party LP] Still House Plants - Headlight [If I don't make it, I love u LP] Drahla - Lipsync [Angeltape LP] Drill - Pipsqueak [Permanent LP] Lightheaded - Bright Happy Girls [Combustible Gems LP] The Lovely Eggs - Death Grip Kids [Eggsistentialism LP] R.J.F. - Sonny John [Strange Going LP] The Laughing Chimes - The Apologist Effigy [Tomorrow's 87 single] Shellac - Girl From Outside [To All Trains LP] Amy O - Dribble Dribble [Mirror, Reflect LP]

Finally, we've come to the smoking hot British-comedy-about-a-time-travel-bathroom of time travel, "Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel." By popular demand, we're diving into the 2009 comedy that mixes a bit of a "Shawn of the Dead" vibe with some time travel tropes, some "Back to the Future" gags, and some generally nerdy discussions of why Hollywood puts out a bunch of crap sequels instead of great sci-fi movies, because jeez. All the knowledge of every sci-fi movie ever can't save "FAQ" from getting lost in its time travel ideas, however. Still pretty funny, though! In this episode: Hey, our (other) book is on sale. "Timeless," it's not bad Oh the Huge Manatee! "FAQ About Time Travel," although it doesn't really answer any Nerding Out at the Bar Time Leak. That's a joke about pee, isn't it. Avoiding yourself because paradoxes Getting lost in time That One Really Good Idea Getting "Edited" There are, uh, a lot of timelines here The future is an antecedent to the past but also that doesn't really work Wants to Be a Loop Story But Isn't One It gets a 5/7 Next time: "Deja Vu"!

The two panelists started this conversation on opposite sides of the spectrum.   Kevin Wash gave the example of a heart surgeon – you want them to be really good at what they do and be super confident in their skills. He further pointed out that with his work, his clients should know within seven working days if he can back up his swagger with action.   Coach M J Tolan took the other side with the example of a Grammy winner saying, “Other people seem to think this song is good.”   I followed up with two examples – One: It was easy for me to downplay my volleyball skills right before a match because I knew I was going to walk on the court in a matter of moments and demonstrate my ability quite clearly.   Conversely in my professional life, I don't have the luxury of downplaying because I would never get the opportunity to show I am world-class at what I do.   Is it bragging if it's true? Maybe not. But it is certainly better for someone to hear how good you are from someone else rather than from you.   That isn't always an option. You have to toot your own horn to get a seat in the band.   So how do you do that without sounding like a braggart?   Connect with the panelists: Coach M J Tolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/motivationalspeakertolan/ Speaker, author and entrepreneur with 35 years experience. He has lived in 12 countries and is the host of the podcast Mission I'm Possible.   Kevin Wash: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-wash-23b90915/ Coach, mentor, author, trainer, and speaker running a consultancy business specializing in sales for international property development. Based in Spain   Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/ Known as The Mental MacGyver and providing luxury level support and coaching to executives, founders, celebrities and athletes.   Want a summary of the Quick Hits plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/     #QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com  

Live from the no panic zone—I'm Steve Gruber—I am America's Voice— Always Delivering an Equitable Diverse and Inclusive Broadcast--— using only Environmentally just topics that maintain maximum sustainable and earth friendly conversations— and for the record no animals were harmed in the production of this program! But it is early!   Here are three big Things you need to know right now—   ONE— It's free for all Friday—and once again we are going to review not only the dumbest thing I heard all week—BUT the strangest thing I heard all week too—I'll bet you can guess what that is—   TWO— This hour we get to the Dumbest thing we heard all week—and we have an all star in that category—if I had a Venn diagram I could show you what I mean better—I just love Venn diagrams—   THREE— The failures of East Palestine—are just one thing going wrong right now—because it appears we are on the road to war if we don't get tough and fast—   China lining up with Russia now it appears—showing how much they don't take Joe Biden seriously—  

Live from the Heartland—I'm Steve Gruber—and its time to climb aboard— The Truth Train—as it rolls down the tracks… rolling over the indefensible lies of socialism, communism and the idea that America is a bad place—America is the greatest nation in history— and I will fight to defend her each and every day— welcome aboard!    Here are three big things you need to know right now—   ONE— It's free for all Friday—and today we are going to review not only the dumbest thing I heard all week—BUT the strangest thing I heard all week too—I'll bet you can guess what that is—   TWO— Another foreign policy failure for the Biden Administration—as Vladimir Putin is teaming up with China—and snubbing any further nuclear arms discussions—   THREE— From Ohio to Ukraine to the southern border—the failures of this administration are truly shocking in size and scope—I once again say—the priorities of this country are totally out of whack—   And this Administration is out of its league—every single day— It has been 3 weeks since the catastrophic train wreck in East Palestine Ohio—that resulted in a massive chemical fire that caused fish in the streams to die… plus dogs cats and chickens over the following days according to the people that live there—   Many also say they have had rashes—headaches and been sick to their stomachs—but those from the state and federal government keep insisting all is well—you know like Kevin Bacon in Animal House—‘all is well everyone remain calm'   President Trump came to show his support on Wednesday—bringing thousands of bottles of water and food too—He was received like a man of the people—   President Joe Biden has not been there—and there is no plan for him to come either—But he really really cares about all the people affected—    The person getting hammered more than President Trump for not showing up for the rail disaster—is Transportation Secretary Mayor Pierre Pete Buttigieg—who didn't even acknowledge the massive environment calamity until 10 days had passed—   But that doesn't line up with what Mayor Pierre said when he was caught on the street during date night—he said he'd answered enough questions—this was on Tuesday night—    The Administration seems unable to get the narrative under control and once again there is an out of control grass fire burning through the West Wing—    For the residents of Forgotten America—they know they are getting screwed—and now that Mayor Pierre finally showed up—they are not impressed with his excuses—or what he had to say—NOT to mention—he showed up in fancy dress boots.    You know why? Because Pete Buttigieg doesn't own any actual work boots—he doesn't own Carhartts—he has probably never driven a pick-up truck—think about that—the secretary of Transportation has never gotten his hands dirty changing a spark plug—or changing his own oil—after all that is for the peasants—not for dignified and important people like himself— and the people out in the boondocks know exactly how they feel about it—   And while the whole narrative was getting deep sixed by the locals—by the townies—Mayor Pierre kept trying to answer the simple questions—BUT he was having no luck—because really there is not an acceptable answer—   And then a lifer—ripped into the whole damn mess—  

At your job, do you find yourself giving TOO MUCH and working too late? One IT company has a brilliant solution. Listen to find out! You'll also hear about a trick to help you lose weight (Laura is dubious). We have an “A Florida Man…” story. And a TikTok hack to get customer service. Check it out!

Šodienas sarunas tēma ir personāla atlases process un kultūra. Šajā epizodē mēs runāsim ne tikai par to, kā uz papīra visam būtu jābūt un kā rakstīts grāmatās, bet nodoties tādai kā pašrefleksijai un pavērtēt kā tad mēs īsti uzvedamies un rīkojamies atlases kontekstā. Paanalizēsim kādu atlases kultūru esam izveidojuši, vai tā mums pašiem patīk un vai tā veicina to mērķu sasniegšanu, kas atlases procesam ir izvirzīti.Jau labu laiku  darba tirgu diktē kandidāti – to apstiprina 2021.gada dati -  86% atlases speciālisti un 62% darba devēji. Aptuveni 73% atlases speciālisti saskaras ar grūtībām, lai atrastu atbilstošus kandidātus. Ņemot vērā šo, varam secināt cik būtisks ir atlases process, gan, lai piesaistītu kandidātu uzmanību, gan, lai nodrošinātu pozitīvu kandidātu pieredze. Klausies šo epizodi un uzzini:Kas ir populārākās kļūdas atlases procesā?Kāpēc notiek tā, ka kandid'ts gaida atbildi, taču tā arī to nesaņem?Kā rīkoties, lai atlases process būtu patīkams ne tikai organizācijai, bet arī kandidātam?Cik svarīga ir atgiezeniskā saite un kādu postu tās neesamība var nodarīt uzņēmuma tēlam?Jaudīgākai diskusijai un eksperta skatījumam, kopā ar mums Smartist.One IT atlases eksperte Liene Karaca, kura savu lielāko darba dzīves daļu veltījusi darbam Vācijā, lieliski pārzinot atlases procesu un labās prakses.Profesionāļu komentāri epizodē:Lāsma Rudzīte Bice - Bijusī HR Biznesa Partnere Luminor bankā, šobrīd IT atlases projektu vadītāja atlases uzņēmumā LikeITAgate Hroloviča - Printful Personāla piesaistes un atlases komandas vadītāja.Vērts izlasīt:2022 HR Statistics: Job Search, Hiring, Recruiting & Interviews (zety.com)90 Key Recruiting Statistics for Hiring Managers in 2022 | Shortlister (myshortlister.com)Top Recruitment Statistics and Trends For 2022 - CVViZSocial Media Recruitment Statistics 2022 (standout-cv.com)6 Stats That Will Change the Way You Write Job Posts (linkedin.com)Why Women Don't Apply for Jobs Unless They're 100% Qualified (hbr.org)Best Recruitment Stats and Trends 2022 (thrivemyway.com)

Ce inseamna digitalizarea unei afaceri pentru antreprenori cu Nicolae Ontiu de la One IT Hai sa tinem legatura: Comunitatea Gomag: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gomagro/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gomag.ro/  Blog: https://www.gomag.ro/blog/  Academia Gomag: https://academia.gomag.ro/   

4.20 - what stage of raising are each of the guests at?-dilutive versus non-dilutive funding-time and effort that goes into raising, especially when it comes to signing the paperwork-ISED and IRAP funding-SDTC's funding program8.25 - takeaways or learnings?-how to qualify investors-what to expect throughout the process11.00 - closing on a “Safe” (a simple agreement for future equity)-investment mechanism that's well suited to early-stage rounds13.00 - surprises about raising?C: angel markets in Victoria and Vancouver don't particularly like the Safe optionJ: non-traditional space and complexity of software plus hardware is more challenging for many VCsD: stage of the company and product market fit, get in the network as early as you can through accelerators17.40 - the least favourite part about raising? J: rejection, but use it as a source of learningD: it's like a sales cycle22.50 - SDTC funding and what to consider when applying 24.45 - don't ignore your personal network, they want a good opportunity too27.00 - get to revenue as fast as you can to appeal to most investors27.20 - it is a sales cycle and you can create a sense of FOMO, audit the team you're working with as much as they're auditing you29.00 - one thing you wish you had known before raising?C: at first, we thought we had to tick all the boxes, and answer all the questions that were being asked of us, investor red flag because there are certain things you should be figuring out together as you goS: hardware/software company and you're competing against SaaS companies so there's no way you're going to be as successful - “comparing oranges to watermelons”J: if you structure it like a sales process, you're really setting yourself up for success33.33 - D: making good business fundamentals, focus on making a good business and get early criticism, speak to industry experts to continue improving your offer“That awareness [of what problems a company could have] at seed stage, pre-seed stage is key, which many entrepreneurs don't have, so you separate yourself right away if you do.”34.19 - Devesh talks about the four types of investors (high net worth individuals, family offices, different types of VCs, and strategic investors)36.45 - what to do with feedback from investors who aren't interested“If you can get away from your ego being hurt by rejection and take everything that you learn from those, you really can get a better product market fit.” 38.10 - one piece of advice for a fellow entrepreneur at the start of their fundraising journey? What is the critical takeaway? Or an experience with an investor that became an integral part of the business?S: “What do you want from us, besides the money?” that is a really key question to think about and know the answer to-be choosy, this is a marriage  J: "It might feel like you're the one that's asking things of people, you're the one that's begging for money, but that's not really the way you should look at it..." -offering something that has tremendous valueGrit is needed to be an entrepreneur and grit will be needed throughout your investor journey as well. C: Two-fold. One: It's never too early to build a clean data room. Makes the investor's job easier. Two: Find your lead. The lead investor can host other investors.D: lots of articles to learn from, starting as early as possible for data room, it's truly never too early-make sure you're focusing on your business fundamentals-get some indication of revenue, of customers using it, the more you can do that, the better your fundraising process will be

Shiny Object Syndrome is an affliction that causes you to be attracted to “shiny objects.” Shiny objects can be whatever is new and trendy in your field. But oftentimes, the shiny objects are simply new ideas you have – other projects you'd rather be working on. In this form, Shiny Object Syndrome will ruin any chance you have of finishing your current project – unless you do something about it. Two sources of Shiny Object Syndrome How do you overcome Shiny Object Syndrome? What you need to do is simple: Commit to your current project, ignore the new projects, suck it up, and follow-through. The reality isn't so simple. Shiny Object Syndrome causes mental distortions that will have you 100% convinced you're doing the right thing: This old project is a dud. This new project is sure to be a success. To cure Shiny Object Syndrome, we need to know its true sources. That way, we can nip them in the bud, keep Shiny Object Syndrome at bay, and finish projects. There are two main causes of Shiny Object Syndrome: Naïveté of the novel Frustration with the existing We don't know much about the new project, so we view it with rose-colored glasses. We know a little too much about our current project, so it looks terrible in comparison. This creates a “grass is greener” effect. Now how do we get in this position in the first place? 1. Naïveté of the novel As humans, we're naturally attracted to the novel. That's how we've become such an innovative species. We were not satisfied with the old way of doing things – eating our meat raw and sleeping in the elements – so we're curious about our neighbor who's cooking with fire and has built a straw hut. That explains why we're attracted to the “shiny objects” in the first place, but there's more happening in our minds that makes us not only attracted to the shiny object, but that makes us abandon what we have to pursue the unknown. The Dunning-Kruger effect A powerful force that makes us hop from one shiny object to another is the Dunning-Kruger effect. The Dunning-Kruger effect is named after it's originators, psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, who found that when we know a good deal about a field, we underestimate our knowledge, but when we little about a field, we overestimate our knowledge. The Dunning-Kruger effect is a favorite of internet “gotcha” culture. People love to point out the Dunning-Kruger effect at work in others, but it does a lot of good to recognize it in ourselves. When we get a great idea for a new project in a field we know little about, we often think that project will be easier than it actually will be. It seems like a good idea to drop what we're doing, and move on. 2. Frustration with the existing This naïveté of the novel colludes with frustration with the existing. In fact, it adds fuel to that frustration. If we start a new project, thinking it's going to be easy, we're even more disillusioned when we realize it's actually hard. We've run up against all the challenges we didn't think about. We've seen the hidden complexity in the current project. As former guest, Tynan has pointed out, when we're in the middle of a project, we've experienced all of the downsides, but none of the upsides, such as revenue or respect from our peers. Meanwhile, we know very little about the new project. It seems fun and easy. When we started the current project, we said to ourselves, This will be easy. We've realized it's not so easy, but the Dunning-Kruger effect takes over again. We tell ourselves of the new project, Now THIS will be easy! Just knowing how the naïveté of the novel and frustration with the existing work together to cause Shiny Object Syndrome isn't enough to cure it. When you're in this situation, it seems rational. You can come up with good-sounding reasons why the current project isn't worth the trouble and the new project has a better chance of succeeding. And we won't admit we might be fooling ourselves. Shipping is a skill I have some good news: Your tendency to come up with new ideas is a good thing. Instead of trying to fight it, Shiny Object Syndrome is much easier to manage if you instead accept it. Accept it will tempt you to switch projects, then change the way you approach projects accordingly. Remind yourself that shipping is a skill. The mere act of finishing a project, no matter how small, is a skill you should cultivate. If you've never picked up a golf club, you would know better than to expect to play like Tiger Woods your first time out. So if you've never finished a project, why would you think you could take on a giant one the first time around? When I started on my own, I had almost zero shipping skills. I had piles of unfinished projects, and nothing to show for them. Fortunately one day, as I contemplated a giant shiny object I was about to take on, I realized I didn't have what it took to make my vision a reality. I had had enough of my Shiny Object Syndrome, and was ready to put it to an end. So, I treated even the smallest things as practice in the skill of shipping. I looked up a recipe online, and planned my trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients. It sounds simple, but can you believe I had to go back several times? I planned parties and dates and trips. I treated everything as an opportunity to have a vision, plan how to execute that vision, and ship the project. The Fortress Fallacy In The Heart to Start, I introduced The Fortress Fallacy. We tend to have big visions, but those visions outpace our skills. We dream of building a fortress, when we haven't built a cottage, much less a lean-to. This isn't about “breaking your project down” into parts. This is about doing small projects that build skills you can later use in a larger project. Breaking your project down doesn't build the skill of shipping. Doing small projects does. Make predictions A source of fuel for our frustration with the existing is our lack of foresight. We fall for the planning fallacy. The planning fallacy is why the Sydney Opera House took ten extra years and fifteen times the budget – you can see the same in countless construction projects. It's why the Greeks thought the Trojan War would take four weeks, when it ended up taking ten years – you can see the same in countless military campaigns. It's demoralizing to expect something to work out one way, and have it end up another. One way to fix that would be to have things work out the way we expect – but that's not going to happen. The world is too complex and unpredictable. The solution is to make predictions. How do you predict the unpredictable? You don't, really. But there's a lot of wiggle room between This will definitely happen, and This will definitely not happen. In episode 245, I introduced the Avocado Challenge. Before you open an avocado, are you 100% sure it's going to be perfectly ripe? No. In the Avocado Challenge, you make percentage-confidence predictions, such as “I'm 60% confident this avocado is ripe.” You then rate those predictions based upon the outcome. As you start projects, make predictions. Accept that you're never 100% sure about anything, so make percentage-confidence predictions. For example, “I am 70% confident I will set up my blog and publish my first post by next Sunday.” After Sunday comes, review your prediction. You can even use a handy free service called Prediction Book to keep track. This does a couple things. One: It holds you accountable. We tend to approach all projects as if we're sure we're going to finish them – and that just ain't so. Two: It keeps you from beating yourself up. You can't be certain about the future, but when we don't finish projects, we feel bad about it. If we feel bad, we learn to associate working on projects with feeling bad. So we'll start fewer projects. As Roam Research founder Conor White-Sullivan said, "I can not speak highly enough for the practice of starting things before you know you're going to finish them." Don't fight shiny object syndrome, work with it In conclusion, the way to cure Shiny Object Syndrome isn't so much to cure it – it's to accept that you're going to have new ideas, and you're going to fail to finish some projects. I Sign up for Love Mondays and see for yourself! There you have it. This system really helps me save creative energy, so that I'm using it to think of good ideas, instead of trying to fumble around with all the things I want to put in my newsletter. Obviously, all this could be automated even further. I'm actually surprised I haven't seen an email marketing platform that already has Airtable-like database elements for managing all the tidbits one shares in their newsletter. Maybe something for someone to build. If you want to see all this in action, be sure to sign up for Love Mondays. My readers really love them, I consistently get replies saying how much each week's idea has shifted someone's perspective. Thank you for having me on your podcasts! Thank you for having me on your podcast! Thank you to Dolores at Attitudeable for having me on the show. As always, you can find all podcast interviews of me at kadavy.net/interviews. About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email Support the show on Patreon Put your money where your mind is. Patreon lets you support independent creators like me. Support now on Patreon »     Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/shiny-object-syndrome/

Welcome to part 3 in our series called “The gift of being fully present.”  It's specifically designed to help you to live more fully in the PRESENT… especially during this wildly important time of year… AND… amid… one of the wildest years of all time.  And whether you've caught the first two in the series or not… I think you'll be glad you're catching this one!  Oh… and I'll warn you… we're going to have some fun… but we're going to be getting real… and raw… with this one… but I think that's CRITICAL… as we're getting you real-world strategies that work! RESOURCES:   PART 1 of the Give the Gift of Being Fully Present: www.mitchmatthews.com/302  PART 2 of the Give the Gift of Being Fully Present: www.mitchmatthews.com/303  An Interview with Sara Yourgrau: The 5 Non-Negotiables for YOUR Ideal Day: https://mitchmatthews.com/294/  A Fun Top 10 List of the Best “Christmas Carol” Movies: Click here.   QUESTIONS TO HELP WITH THE CHRISTMAS CAROL METHOD:   Sample “Past” Questions:   Who are a few people from your past that you're grateful for? What's an experience from your past that you're grateful for? What's an experience from your past that… at first… you thought was really bad, but it eventually turned into something that helped you? What's an experience from your past that you now laugh about?     Sample “Present” Questions:   What's something you could be grateful for right now? What's something (big or small) from this season of your life that makes you smile? What's something you're grateful for… today?     Sample “Future” Questions:   What's something small but significant that you're looking forward to? What's something that you're really looking forward to doing in 2021? What's something (big or small) you're looking forward to over the holidays… even in 2020?   Episode Minute By Minute: 0:02 Welcome to part three! 2:04 Episode starts 2:31 The Christmas Carol Method 4:37 Lessons from Ebenezer 6:45 What do you do when you are hurting? 7:30 Episode 300 woes  9:56 How Mitch used the Christmas Carol Method 12:48 What is coming up next week 14:56 How Mitch's family used the Christmas Carol Method MORE ABOUT THE EPISODE: (The Transcript)    So… we've been talking strategies… and in many cases… we've been asking ourselves some simple but powerful questions… to help us to LIVE in the moment… more often… so we don't miss out on the “good stuff” in life.   Which brings us to today's strategy and it's something I'm calling “The Christmas Carol Method.”   It's something to help us stir up joy and gratitude in the here and now.   GRATITUDE IN THE HERE AND NOW:   So… if you've been a student of being fully present… and trying to live in the moment more often… you've heard about the power of gratitude.     Plus, in the past, we've talked about how gratitude can help the brain to release things like endorphins, dopamine and serotonin.  Basically these things are your body's natural antidepressants… and your body's “feel good” hormones… which makes it MUCH easier to feel a sense of peace… and it makes it easier to FOCUS too.   Plus, it's just good to walk around with more of a sense of gratitude.     So… obviously… tapping into gratitude is a core tool to helping us live a better life and to live in the moment more often too!     BUT… you might be asking,  “BUT… how do we get there?   And I mean… seriously… in a year like THIS?”   That IS a good question.   Enter… the “Christmas Carol Method.”   QUICK BACKGROUND ON THE “CHRISTMAS CAROL METHOD”   Okay… so you remember Charles Dickens' The Christmas Carol.  We've got ourEbenezer Scrooge who's living the bah-hum-bug life and goes around being grumpy all the time.   Well… then he gets visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and then of Christmas Future… and they whack him the gratitude stick and help him right his ways... to reveal one of the best Christmas Goose stories of all time.   Seriously… if you've ever watched one of the various versions of the movie… whether it's the one with live action one with Patrick Stewart… or the animated one with Jim Carrey… or the Muppets version with Sir Michael Caine or even “Scrooged” with Bill Murray… the pay off is when Scrooge comes to his senses and chooses to live in the present… he chooses to be generous… and he chooses to be grateful for what he has.  AND he lives in a freedom that has been eluding him his whole life.  It's awesome.  And sooooooo powerful!  Yeah… I love that story.   The reason why we need it… is because one of the central ways that people suggest moving into gratitude is broken.  It can be flawed.  Especially for a year like 2020.  What am I talking about?   Well… if you look at most content written about stirring up gratitude… you will find that the person recommends asking yourself the question,    What can you be grateful for… right now?”   Now… that IS a good question to ask.  And the person suggesting it is probably wanting you to think of something BIG or small… elaborate or simple… to help you feel grateful… in this very moment.   And THAT is a good thing.  In fact, I agree with it… in most cases.   BUT… what about those times when you're up against it?  What about those times when you've been punched in the gut… and you're hurting?   I can tell you… if you're there… and someone tells you to stir up some gratitude by asking WHAT CAN YOU BE GRATEFUL FOR IN THIS MOMENT???”     I know my response might be, “I'm grateful I've got TWO middle fingers to flip you off with!”   Ha!  Sorry… but it's true.  Right?   Here's some of that #realtalk I was promising.     May I share a story with you from MY life to illustrate this point?    Well… a few weeks ago… and I can tell you EXACTLY which week it was because it was the week that episode 300 came out.   That was a major milestone for me.  5+ years of podcasting.  Connecting with you guys.  Growing a community of DREAM THINK DOers around the globe.  And I was ready to celebrate!   Well… THAT week… we had an issue with some tech that helps to support the podcast.  I won't go into the details… but the short version of the story is… on THAT week… the very week we were set to celebrate 300 episodes… well… that tech broke.    And… as a result… we lost 80% of our subscribers.   Gonzo.  Gone.  On alllllll platforms. Just gone.   Now… we went to work to correct things and we were assured things would be corrected… but it might take a month… and when we pushed them… they admitted to saying there was a risk that the subscribers… might never come back.   Yeah… that would have been really tough news ANY week… but that it hit THAT week made it especially tough.   So… let's be real.     I was trying to find ways to stay inspired… to stay on track… to keep it together… And I'll tell you… that if someone would have come at me with a “What are you grateful for RIGHT NOW???”  I would have lost it on them.   Amen?   I'm sorry… but I would have.     And heck… I even tried it.  I had gotten hit hard… so knew I needed to get my head on straight.  I needed to get it back together.  But I just couldn't muster an answer to the “What could I be grateful for in this moment?”   So… I leaned on this “Christmas Carol Method.”   I asked myself, “What's something I could be grateful for from the past?”   As I asked that… I got hit with some good memories.     Gradually… not immediately… but gradually they started to come.   And some of those even helped me to remember sometimes when we'd been hit before… and the getting back up wound up working… and in some cases… wound up being pretty rich experiences.   And as you can imagine… those memories… helped me to remember that God loves me… and that I'm never alone.  They helped me to remember my family and friends… people who came alongside me in the past.   It helped me to remember times when we'd gotten hit… and we got back up!  And heck… sometimes those set backs wound up being set ups for some of the biggest breakthroughs!   You know what I'm talking about.   I needed that.   So yeah… if asking yourself the “What could I be grateful for right now” question is just too hard… too tender.  Try using the “Christmas Carol Method” to go back to the past to muster up some gratitude there first.   I will say that once I did that… well it took a few sessions… but… once I did that… it was a lot easier to find some simple things to be grateful for in the moment.   Which also helped me to feel a little better about my future too.   Which… BY THE WAY… can be the last step with the Christmas Carol Method… and that's to ask yourself the question,    “What are a few things I'm looking forward to in the future?”    BUT… hey… one of the things we'll be talking about NEXT WEEK as we wrap up our 4 part series… is the POWER OF ANTICIPATION.   So… we won't get into A LOT of thinking about the future… right now.   BUT… trust me, there's a LOT of power in “intentional anticipation.”   But know… a strategy around asking some powerful questions about the future can really help too.   So… can you see why we call it the “Christmas Carol Method?”   We're pulling in memories from the past, gratitude in the present and anticipation in the future… to help you to be MORE in the moment… right now.   Make sense?   Now… two quick follow up stories.   One… It's been almost 4 weeks since episode 300 and our kick in the ol' crotch of losing all those subscribers.  It was humbling and tough… BUT these strategies… some prayer… my family… my team… AND YOU GUYS got me through it… and I'm VERY happy to announce that things are fixed and our subscribers are back!!!  In fact… we had our second biggest download day in a year at the end of last week!     And I can tell you that I don't wish that experience on ANYONE… but I'm soooooooo much more grateful for every one of you… now!!!   Speaking of that… if you haven't subscribed… please do!!!  We'd LOVE to have you… and I'll be even more grateful for you… than I've ever been!!!   Two… as I was prepping for this episode… I realized that using the Christmas Carol Method has been something I've been doing… but I hadn't really shared it with my family.     So… just for fun… I asked them if they'd be open to experimenting with me… and being DREAM THINK DO guinea pigs… AGAIN.  (I always test stuff out on my family…  Hey… anything to help YOU guys.  HA!)  But I walked them through the concept…     The power of gratitude and finding things to be grateful for each day The realization that some days are just harder than others… so it may not be realistic… or even helpful... to try to find something to be grateful for in THIS moment… but to tip the hat to the past and to think of memories to be grateful for could help. THEN to think of something they're grateful for and maybe… just maybe… have something to look forward to (big or small).     Well… we did it last night after putting up some Christmas decorations.     Boxes were everywhere.  Ornament packaging was all over.  Old news paper from protecting stuff was strewn all over the place… but we sat and talked.   Stories of old Christmases… favorite teachers who got us through tough times… tough experiences that made us tougher.   Now… it wasn't as perfect as one of those Hallmark Christmas movies… but it was pretty darn close and I can say… it'll be one of my favorite memories of 2020.   So, I wanted to encourage you to try out the Christmas Carol Method yourself… and invite someone else to do it with you.   Just see where it takes you!   And also… stay tuned for our 4th segment of this series next week!  Like I said… we're going to be diving into the concept of INTENTIONAL ANTICIPATION and having some fun with exploring how LOOKING FORWARD in the right way… can help us LIVE IN THE MOMENT more too!   So… hit subscribe… so you don't miss it… AND until next time… keep bringing your awesome… because the world needs more of IT!   I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Comment and let me know how you use the “Christmas Carol Method!”  Seriously… I can't wait to hear from you.  

WHO RUN THE WORLD Hi Weirdos, welcome to one of my favorite episodes of all time.  One: It's so much fun.  Two: It's all about the LADIES!!  This is definitely going to be a new thing for the show- talking about PEOPLE throughout history that did incredible, amazing, badass things and yet... you've probably never heard of them.  This week Lauren is starting us off with Fe Del Mundo; the cutest filipino woman of all time who is the founder of the very first pediatric hospital in the Philippines.  A pioneer of medicine and the first female president of the Philippine Pediatric society-- Fe... freaking... rules. And SURPRISE GUEST and cheerleader for strong women everywhere Amy Hanselmann is teaching us about Claudette Colvin.  Now a retired nurses aide; once a 15 year old girl who was arrested because she refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus.... 9 months before Rosa Parks protested in the exact same way.  So why don't you know her name?   Warning: This episode contains foul language, depictions of racism, and mention of rape. There is also some discussion that could be considered "political" in nature regarding gender and race.

The economic impact of COVID-19 has forced many businesses to readjust their budgets and cut costs where possible. That could mean halting PC and smartphone upgrades or pausing software rollouts. One IT sector that may experience growth during the recession is infrastructure. As cloud becomes central to business operations, enterprises may be unwilling to cut costs entirely. And cloud service providers are buying up more hardware to cater to existing clients that are now working in the cloud more and more often. Stephen Minton, IDC analyst and program vice president of the Customer Insights & Analysis group, joins Juliet to discuss 2020 spending predictions and when IT spending may return to normal. More about IDC's IT spending predictions: https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS46268520 IDC's Coronavirus Index Report: https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US46272920

In this conversation we find out who WDP is, plans, drop some exclusives and get insights into the man behind the movement. This is the Oddcast, Botswana's very own Entertainment Platform presented by EBW Magazine - Botswana's very own entertainment magazine - featuring conversations, music and the latest views from creatives in Botswana. The Bechuanaland Sessions: Phase 1 -https://soundcloud.com/wdpbw Leroy Nyoni - Tlotlang Kgosi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUx0e4TeNJY Power of One - It's Time To Get Down ft Sandi - https://soundcloud.com/powerof1/power-of-one-ft-sandi-its-time

It all comes down to… wear your sunscreen, get some sunshine and take your vitamins.  In this episode, Lindsay breaks down WHY we need vitamin D and how most of us are actually deficient in it.  How we can up our Vitamin D levels without risking the health of our skin in the process. So this is what we know…  It’s hard from foods alone to get enough vitamin D.  ☀️ We need 600 IU a day of Vitamin D  ☀️ We need Vitamin D to absorb calcium and promote bone growth! ☀️ Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to many diseases.  ☀️ Vitamin D is so important that your body makes it by itself after your skin is exposed to sunlight.    SO… we get some from the sun and some from foods… but we really need to take a good Vitamin D supplement to support it. It’s so important to wear sunscreen daily… and reapply when you’re in super hot weather or getting lots of exposure. Here is Lindsay’s fav sunscreen:  IMAGE SPF 50 ONE It’s pretty simple.. wear your sunscreen, get some sunshine and take your vitamins!! Supplements Lindsay likes! For the kids!  Baby's Super Daily D3 Vegan Vitamin Gummies  Vegan Vitamin Liquid Spray  For adults!  Rainbow Light Sunny Gummies Vitamin D3 Lemon Flavor 1-000 IU 100 Gummies Rainbow Light Berry D Licious Vitamin D3 Raspberry Flavor 2 500 IU 50 Gummies Traditional Supplement 

X1 DISBAND. Berita ini bikin semua One It sedih, kecewa, marah, emosi semua campur aduk. Grup yang diramalkan akan terus meroket karirnya siapa sangka hanya bertahan selama 5 bulan. Sebenernya isu manipulasi voting ini berasal darimana sih? Bersama Rizka dan Ais yang sebelumnya juga pernah mengisi episode podcast Kekoreaan yang Produce X101, mereka bercerita semua isu X1 dengan mata yang berkaca-kaca. Stay strong One It! #FightForX1

SA Students Get Ready to take ISC by stormProbably 15% more scintillating than usual, Dan promises as he calls this episode "fantastic"!Now a 5-day conference with two days of workshops as book-ends, multiple tracks and many speakers, and yes, a very exciting Student Cluster Competition, the CHPC National Conference has developed into a very important event in the HPC/AI world.  Dan takes us through what he saw, who won, and what we can expect at the competition at ISC in 2020, and just how impressive the whole thing was. You've got to hear it.Why Nobody Should Ever Be Online. EverThe Big Easy Battles Big Bad Breach: in a segment that wants to be shortened to "Ever.Ever.", Henry focused not just on yet another cybersecurity incident (the ransomware attack on New Orleans), but on the fact that they city, to its immense credit, actually had a plan! Once the problem was detected, plan kicked into action, systems were shut done, damages narrowed if not avoided, and generally good progress on preparedness was on display. Nice job!Things You Think You Know, But Might NotAnyone remember tape drives? Some of you do. Some of you work with them now. Well, Jessi asks about tape storage. Is it still necessary? This is very much in Henry's wheelhouse so he covers it. Shahin seems unconvinced, really, but Henry is way closer to actual use cases, so he reluctantly waves it through!Catch of the WeekShahin: Covers the RISC-V Summit that was just held in San Jose. With 2,000 attendees, 435 member companies, lots of great talks, and expecting to grow by another 50% next year, and for something that started only in 2010, it's quite a flywheel that's forming. Also, remember that we had the pleasure of having the RISC-V Foundation CEO, Calista Redmond as a special guest of the podcast, so make sure you listen to that episode.Shahin also notes that the media coverage of the chip space is starting to show that competition is brewing. Comments from vendors about other projects are sounding sharper and sharper!He also says RISC "started" at Berkeley and Stanford. "What he meant to say" was modern RISC got its big boost there. He says he's fully aware of the history of RISC going all the way back to Turing, Cray, Flynn, IBM 801 (and we cut him off, convinced already!)Dan: Speaking of sharper competition and what people meant to say: in an interview with CNet, Apple's top brass made a comment about Chromebook vs Apple gear that's also in the category of "what he meant to say was...". Henry skillfully segues into how more and more services are cloud based, and Jessi highlights the importance of the bring-you-own-device (BYOD) trend in schools.Jessi: Goes over the US Government Accountability Office report on on airline IT outages. Just what you need for the holiday travel season. "One IT malfunction per month" is one stat you can remember.Henry: The great $50m African IP address heist. IPv4 addresses are in demand and an enterprising person in Africa has parlayed that into a $50m windfall for his crafty self.  Upshot is? You should all consider gifting IPv4 addresses for the holidays!Listen in to hear the full conversation* Download the MP3 * Sign up for the insideHPC Newsletter* Follow us on Twitter * Subscribe on Spotify * Subscribe on Google Play * Subscribe on iTunes * RSS Feed * eMail us

Encuentros cercanos al k-pop esta devuelta con los episodios normales, y en este nuevo episodio de la tercera temporada nos ponemos al corriente después de la pequeña pausa de dos meses. Siempre si hubo manipularon los resultados en Produce y no sólo en la última temporada. También hablamos del futuro del contrato de CUBE ENT. con Lai Kuanlin, ARMY protesta por que no hay nominación para BTS y One It al igual protesta por X1. Hay reacción a la nueva canción de WJSN (Cosmic Girls) 'As you wish'. Tenemos información sobre los próximos comebacks y mucho más en este episodio. REDES SOCIALES =FACEBOOK= • Sundae K-pop • Sundae K-pop podcast =INSTAGRAM= • @sundaekpop =TWITTER= • @sundaekpop PODCAST DISPONIBLE EN: IVOOX, CASTBOX, ITUNES, GOOGLE PODCAST Y SPOTIFY Castbox: http://bit.ly/CBCanalECK iTunes: http://apple.co/2qet4Wh Spotify: http://bit.ly/SPCanalECK Otros podcast de Sundae K-pop: • Los 10 de [Bimensual]: http://bit.ly/IVCanalLos10de • DE FAN A FAN: http://bit.ly/IVCanalDeFanAFan

"It was nerve-wracking, to say the least," contestant Kai Wes said of his decision to take his testosterone injections on-screen during MTV's "Are You the One?" "It's something that people don't see, so I purposely chose to show that. I wanted it to be normalized."Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find us on Twitter @1A.

Kevin J. Smith, from Ivanti, joins us this week as he tells us all about his new book One IT, One Business. It's important to keep moving forward with technology and to stay up to date. Listen as Kevin explains why companies have failed and how other companies remain on top!

The Shechina Rests on YisroelPart I.TheShechinaFinds a HomeTHE MISHKAN IN A NUTSHELLWhen Hakodosh Boruch Hu gave the command to erect aMishkan, the firstBeis Hamikdash, so He stated, ועשו לי מקדש – “And they shall make for Me a place of holiness, an especial place for Me, ושכנתי בתוכם, and I will dwell in their midst” (Terumah 25:8) Now these words are of the utmost importance because we are learning in a nutshell what is meant by theMishkan, and later theBeis Hamikdash– that it’s the place of thehashra’ashashechinah– the place where the Presenceof Hashem comes down to reside. TheMishkanwasn’t a place of prayer and service; it was that too, but actually it was much more than that. It wasthe dwelling place of Hashem.This we must know, that there is such a concept, a fact, that although Hashem is everywhere, there is such a thing as Hashem concentrating HisShechinahin a certain place. ושכנתי בתוכם – “And I will reside among them,” He told us. Hashem chose that He should rest His Presence by theAm Yisroel. It’s an especial afflatus, that Hakodosh Boruch Hu comes to rest in theMishkan, among His people, in an especial way that is not found anywhere else.A NEW NEIGHBOR FOR THE JEWSNow among all the statements found in the Torah, none could be as breathtaking as that one: “I will dwell among My people!” The Creator of the Universe, the מלא כל הארץ כבודו, the One Whose Presence fills the remote distances of space, is coming down to live among us?! Yes, that’s exactly what the Torah states, “Make Me a home, and I shall dwell in their midst. I have chosen theAm Yisroelas that place where I will take up residence.” Hashem forsakes the high heavens and moves into the encampment of the Am Yisroel!It’s a new “neighbor” for the Jewish people!You know, we don’t really think too much when we read thechumash, so we gloss over these words without too much thought, but actually it was an enormouschiddushwhen the Creator of the Universe declared that His Presence would reside in an edifice erected by men. What could be more stunning, more astonishing, than the thought that the Creator of the Universe, whose glory fills the endless remoteness of space, should choose to live in a tabernacle of wood and cloth?! Because what was theMishkanafter all? It wasn’t even a royal palace; it was a portable house made of boards, bars and sockets. Could Hashem reside in such a place? Hashem is infinite and not physical, and His reality transcends any space measurement. He can’t live in a home; it defies all logic.STUNNING MOSHE RABBEINUAnd that’s exactly what Moshe Rabeinu said when he heard these words of Hakodosh Boruch Hu: התחיל מתמיה ואומר – “Moshe was stupefied and he said, כבודו של הקדוש ברוך הוא מלא עליונים ותחתונים והוא אומר עשה לי משכן – The glory of Hashem fills the upper and lower worlds, and yet He says, “Make for Me a place to live?!” It didn’t make any sense to Moshe Rabeinu. אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לא כשם שאתה סובר אני סובר – So Hakodosh Boruch Hu said to Moshe, “Not as you think, do I think, אלא עשרים קרש בצפון ועשרים בדרום ושמונה במערב – “Just make for Me twenty planks on the north side, twenty on the south, eight on the west side, and that’s enough for Me” (Shemos Rabbah: 34)Now if these words so stunned Moshe Rabeinu that Hakodosh Boruch Hu had to tell him, “Moshe, My servant, You and I think differently,” so we would be well-served if we spent some time studying this stupendous concept that Hashem rested His Presence among theAm Yisroel.What’s so important about an especial building erected for theShechinah? Why is it so important that theShechinahshould come there more than anywhere else? Of course, like I said before, it’s such a vast concept that it can’t be explained in a couple of sentences, but whatever it was, it was an enormous demonstration that Hashem was making: “My Presence will dwell inMachaneh Yisroel,in the encampment of the Jewish Nation in a way that cannot be found anywhere else.” Such a stupendous idea, it pays for us to understand at least superficially.WILDERNESS TOURS LTD.Imagine we are standing on a hill, we’re visiting in themidbar. Let’s say we came from Moav or from Edom as visitors. And one of theBnei Yisroelis standing with us and he’s pointing out to us the sights. So you’re looking out into the distance at theMachaneh Yisroel, the camp of the people. Thousands of tents, all arranged in an orderly fashion. There were roads between the tents, and theshevatimwere all encamped surrounding themachaneh levi’im, the place where thelevi’imlived. And in the middle, in the center of the camp, was themachaneh shechinahwhere a large wooden hut was standing. That’s what you saw as you stood on this hill looking out at theAm Yisroel.So your Jewish tour guide says, “You see there, over there, that’sReuvenin that corner. All those thousands of tents, that’sShevet Reuven.And over there, on the other side, that’s therivevosEfraim. And look on that side, over there, you can see thealfeiMenasheh.” And then he says – he tells you to look through the binoculars, “You see that tent over there, that’s where Betzalel lives. And over there on the left, that’s where Aharon Hakohen resides. And that tent, that’s where Moshe Rabeinu is right now teaching Torah to thezekeinim.”THE EDOMITE LAMDANAnd then, the guide who is showing you the sights, points with his finger, and says, “And there, you see that tent in the middle, that’s where Hakodosh Boruch Hu, the Creator of the World, lives.” So you gasp; you weren’t expecting to hearthat! You’re only a visitor after all. So you look at your guide incredulously, “What do you mean Helivesthere?” So he tells you matter of factly, “Yes, that’s His address. That’s where the Creator of the world lives!”So let’s say you’re a bit of alamdan. Imagine such a thing, alamdanfromEdom. So you ask, “Doesn’t it say (Yeshaya 66:1): כה אמר השם השמים כסאי – “Hashem says, ‘The heavens is My throne,’ והארץ הדום רגלו – and the earth is just a resting stool for My feet.’” The heaven is nothing but a throne for Hashem, and the earth is where He rests His feet. איזה בית אשר תבנו לי – “What kind of house could you build for Me?” So you have akasha, it’s a very goodkashayou asked. But the guide stubbornly tells you, “Look, you can quote all thepesukimyou wish, but this is what Hashem told us. He forsook the high heavens; He has left all of space, the billions of space miles, and He has come down and He has chosenthis placeto dwell. He lives there, among the people.” Now if you were not from theBnei Yisroel,if you were a visitor from some other nation, so you might shrug your shoulders. It’s an interesting thought, but it doesn’t mean much for you. But you’d still be impressed by the conviction and sincerity of the Jewish people.THE MEN OF PERFECTIONBut let’s understand not what a tourist fromEdomor fromAramwould see. What wouldthe Bnei Yisroel themselvessee? When theBnei Yisroellooked at the various tents of the distinguished ones of theAm Yisroel,it wasn’t merely as a person seeing the sights; for them it was a great pride and encouragement. Because these were very great men who lived among us, men of great stature, men of perfection. And our nation was inordinately proud that these great men lived among them. It was such a happiness to pass by the tent of Betzalel and to know that we possess a Betzalel, the man of unmatched artistic abilities who built themishkan– that Betzalel was ours, was a great pride. We were so lucky to have such a rare personality among us.And they were even more proud when they could point to Aharon Hakohen. Aharon is unequaled in history.Aharon k’dosh Hashem, Aharon the holy man of Hashem. Aharon was cited as the apotheosis, the summit of kindliness. בשלום ובמישור הלך עמדי ורבים השיב מעוון. (Malachi 2:6) Aharon was anoheiv shalomand arodef shalom, a man who loved peace. But not in the sense we understand it. Everyone loves peace. But Aharon loved peace with every fiber of his being. He was a man who pursued peace, which means he did everything possible to cause peace, tranquility and happiness between human beings. His life was devoted to that. אוהב את הבריות, He loved people, ומקרבן לתורה, and he brought them close to Torah too. And therefore when they pointed to his tent and they said, “This is the residence ofAharonk’dosh Hashem,” they said it with an inspiration and a pride.SMELLY NEIGHBORSSuppose somebody would be able to point out, “In my neighborhood there lives, let’s say – now I’m sorry I have to use such a comparison; I want to wash my mouth when I get through, but let’s say someone would say, “You see down the block; Beethoven lives over there!” Beethoven! The rents would go up in all the apartments in the neighborhood; the price of real estate would skyrocket. Now really it should plummet! Everybody should move out as quickly as possible. Because wherever these big musical geniuses lived, if you had an especial ability to smell, you would have to hold your nose. Because musical ability and purity of character by no means have to go together. And often they don’t. Like somebody gave me a clipping this week; the great musician Leopold Stokowski, the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, acclaimed the world over as a musical genius. So he boasted, he himself boasted to his musician friends, that he utilized the wives of the members of his orchestra. You understand now, that’s the bravado, the boasting heroics from one musician to another. So I’m sorry that we have to sink to such depths in order to appreciate this subject. But it’s important for us to understand the subject at hand.Now if Stokowski lived on this block I’m afraid people would not hold their noses. I’m afraid they would vie with each other to try to move in. And they’d like to be somewhere on the block when pictures are being snapped of him. At least they could point someday and say, “You see that little dot way out in in the background? That’s me!” And it would be such a pride that they’d show it to their grandchildren. That’s because people today lost their sense of smell altogether.VISITING PARSHANDASA’S HOMEBoruch Hashem, we don’t have to take pride in Stokowskis. We can take pride in those who are truly great men. If we could visit the sanctuary where Rashi Hakodosh spent his years! It’s in a little town in Germany, in Worms, Vermeiseh. It’s kept as a museum today, but that means nothing to us. If we would walk into that place, we’d walk in on tip-toe; it’sadmas kodesh. You’re walking into a place that is the heart of the Jewish people, thekodesh kodoshimof our nation. The place where Rashi sat and studied the Torah, and the room where he wrote his commentaries on the entireTalmud Bavliand the entireTanach. Rashi is the teacher of the wholeAm Yisroel.Every word in Rashi is sweet as honey. If you’re an expert inlanguageyou could appreciate how Rashi made hard things soft, he made the difficult things unravel. Rashi was a master expert in explaining. He’s calledParshan Dasa,that’s the nickname he was given. It means “The one who explains the Torah.”And so if you walk into that holy of holies, to Rashi’s study in his Beis Hamedrash, it’s the greatest of privileges. You can feel thekedushahof these ancient walls permeating your personality, entering the marrow of your bones. You’re not the same person once you visited Rashi’sbeis hamedrash. Of course, I’m talking about someone who knows what it’s all about. Rashi is the beloved teacher of theAm Yisroel.You have to appreciate the great personality who once lived here and expressed his soul here, in his writings. Only that it’s pity that it’s there in Europe. Had that place been inEretz Yisroelit would have become a shrine. No question people would come there in the hundreds of thousands and pour out their hearts to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And with thezechusof Rashi their prayers would go up to Hashem. Only that it’s in the accursed land of Germany, in the uncleangolus. And even there, it’skodesh kodoshim.TENT OF INTOXICATIONAnd so now we come back to theMachaneh Yisroelin theMidbar. We could point to the tent of Moshe Rabeinu, the place where Moshe Rabeinu resided. The tent of Moshe Rabeinu! The intense emotion of pride that such a thing caused is indescribable! “I’m living in the neighborhood of Moshe!” It was a great happiness, a great pride, to know that Moshe lived among us.But to be able to point out the tent of Moshe Rabeinu was nothing at all when compared to being able to point at the tent of Hakodosh Boruch Hu! No concept could be more astonishing than the thought that the Creator of the Universe, Whose glory fills the endless remoteness of space, would choose to dwell in a tabernacle. We can picture the intoxication of ecstatic excitement that seized upon Moshe and the people at this announcement. The knowledge, more than knowledge – the sight – of the residence of Hashem in the midst of the camp was a vivid reminder for the people that they were chosen by the Creator of the Universe forever. We shouldn’t overlook the effect of theMishkanupon the tent-homes of the Am Yisroel. TheMishkanwas of course a larger tent, but because it stood among the tents of the camp it had an unfailing effect on every tent in the camp. And the most outstanding effect was the demonstration that Hashem had chosen us from all the nations. We are the center of the Universe, for Hashem here declared ושכנתי בתוכם – “I will dwell in your midst.” Because even more than a demonstration of His presence, even more than the constant reminder that we were standing before Hashem, was the pride that theMishkangenerated in the people: “Hashem chose us; He chose to dwell among us!”Now there’s no question that the nation gained many blessings by having the Presence of theShechinahamong them. I’m not capable of telling you everything that was gained but there’s no doubt that every individual gained a great deal of perfection of soul; the mind of every man, woman and child was filled with an Awareness that would have been otherwise impossible to achieve. But of all the blessings, of all the achievements, most important was the knowledge that Hashem chose to live among us forever. The fact that there was a special abode, a house where the King of the Universe residedamong us,was so impressive that all of theBnei Yisroel,even those who never had the chance to come visit that house, were entirely transformed because of that. It made such a deep impression that it lasted with them all throughout their lives and it accompanied them into the world to come.THE SIMPLE FACTNow when theBnei Yisroelsaw the house of Hakodosh Boruch Hu – and they saw it every day – so they certainly became accustomed to it. There’s no question that seeing the same thing every day is going to make you hardened and you’re not going to be excited anymore. But that’s what Hakodosh Boruch Hu wanted, that they should become so accustomed to the thought that Hashem dwells in their midst that it should be beyond any doubt in their minds. It became a simple matter of fact that Hakodosh Boruch Hu resides among us.And for forty years theBnei Yisroelin themidbarwere able to point out to their children, “My son, over there, that’s the tent of Aharon Hakohen. And there’s the tent of Moshe Rabeinu. And over there, that’s the Mishkan, the tent of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And it became a phlegmatic matter of fact, it became part of their world outlook that Hashem theBorei Kol Ha’olamos, the One who had created all the worlds, had forsaken the infinity of all the universes, all the remoteness of space, and He now dwellsb’soch Bnei Yisroel. It went into the marrow of their bones.Now this is what you should be thinking about always. The Torah is full ofpesukimdedicated to this idea, and it’s a shame to let it go to waste. And even though we have never seen theMishkan,but thepesukimwe have read hundreds of times, and it pays to think into it a bit. That the Creator of the Universe, the One who fills the whole universe with His presence, מלא כל הארץ כבודו, He created the stars in the remotest distances of space; He is the ruler of millions of star worlds, and nevertheless He has forsaken everything and He has chosen to reside on our people. Now no matter how difficult that concept is, that’s the fundamental teaching of the Torah. You can’t be a Jew unless you understand the teaching that Hashem is with us forever. Not just that He will help us forever, no, it’s much more than that.He dwells among us forever. The Presence of Hashem – His actual Presence – is upon our nation forever.PART II.Pride of YisroelCRASH COURSE IN BRACHOSAnd it’s something we thank Hashem for every day. Every day we say it, only we don’t realize what we’re thanking for. And that’s a tragedy, because it’s such an important attitude that we should be living with, that it pays to make use of every opportunity to impress it upon our minds. Every day inshemoneh esreiwe say thebrachaברוך אתה השם הא-ל הקדוש. Now all thebrachos, you know,are blessings of gratitude.Boruchmeans we’rethankingHim. InMagen Avraham, we thank Hashem; He’s the shield of Avraham, it means He’s the shield of our nation; He protects us because of Avraham.מחיה המתים, the secondbracha, we thank Hashem for giving us food, and for healing the sick and for giving us rain; all the good things enumerated there. And one day He’ll revive the dead, and we thank Him for that too. And then there’s ברוך אתה השם חונן הדעת – You, Hashem bestow sanity! You’re thanking Hashem that you’re not in an insane asylum, that you’re not depressed. You’re full of gratitude that you’re not crazy, that you’re not paranoid or psychotic. You don’t think about that, do you? So you’re notdaveningproperly. And when you look, you’ll see that everybrachais abrachaof gratitude.But there’s onebrachathat’s difficult to understand: ברוך אתה השם הא-ל הקדוש – We thank You Hashem that You are the holy G-d. We’re thanking Him because He’s holy?! What gratitude is required because He is Holy? I want you to hear the question. On everything inshemonah esreithere is a benefit for which we are thanking.Boruchmeans that we are grateful, and we bend our knees to You in gratitude. But when we come to thebrachaof הא-ל הקדוש we find that the entire bracha speaks of no kindliness at all – all we do is speak about the holiness, the perfection of Hashem. So what are we thanking Him for? What gratitude is it that we’re supposed to be feeling?ARE YOU PROUD OF YOUR BOSS?So listen now and you’ll learn what you’re thanking Hashem for when you say הא-ל הקדוש. Tonight when you davenmaariv, for the first time in your life you’ll be able to thank Hashem for being the א-ל הקדוש, the Perfect G-d. And if you forget to have it mind, there’sshacharistomorrow, andminchatoo. Don’t squander the opportunities. So we’ll explain it like this. Let’s say you have a boss over you.The boss himself is an underling, a nobody, but he’s your boss, what can you do. There’s no great pride there. You won’t pride yourself that you work for the colored man in the warehouse. Nothing wrong with working for a colored man, but it’s no great pride.But let’s say somebody is an assistant to the president, so he feels important already. And if he’s an assistant let’s say toDovid Melech Yisroel,lehavdil, sohe’s surely important.It’s like a man who was elevated by the king.The king chose a certain man, let’s call him Wilfred, and made him a duke. So instead of being a commoner, now he’s Duke of Worchester. Instead of being Wilfred, now he’s nobility; connected to the royal family. And he walks the streets of England with pride: “I was chosen by the king!”WE’RE ECSTATIC WITH OUR LOT!Now, if we’re assistants to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, if He choseusand He considersusHis beloved ones and His entire interest is only in us, as we’re going to seebli neder,so that’s our pride in this world; we’re happy – not happy, we’re ecstatic – that we have such a G-d.That’s what it says להודות לשם קדשיך להשתבח בתהלתך – ““We give thanks to Your holy name, and we commend ourselves, we praise ourselves, by Your praise” (Tehillim 106:47). According to the holiness, the perfection, of Hashem, so much greater is the honor, pride and security of the nation He chose to rest His Presence on.And that’s why we say thank you to Hashem for being so perfect. BecauseHisperfection isourglory. We boast in the praise of Hashem because that’s our honor and glory. The Holy One, the Perfect G-d, that’s our G-d.And we thank Him because of that, we say, “Thank You Hashem for being הא-ל הקדוש , for being so great. We take pride that we have such a G-d, שאין כמוהו, and it’s our happiness.He chose us; we are His people and that’s an unequaled pride. “Thank You Hashem for being so perfect that it’s a glory for me to be connected to You.”And so we begin to see what it means when people say it’s not easy to be a Jew.A person said once that:s’iz shver tzu zein a Yid, it’s difficult to be a Jew. But he didn’t understand what it meant. What it means is that there is a great responsibility in being part of the nation upon which Hashem actually rests His Presence. A Jew has to have in mind a great deal of meditation, a great deal of reflection, in order to appreciate his position in this world.He must constantly be aware of the greatness of his history.The reason that you find Jewish people who are ashamed of their Jewishness is because they’re ignorant of their past.If you learnChumashproperly, if you learnTanachproperly, you’ll begin to understand what a great privilege it is to belong to theAm Yisroel.אשריכם ישראל, how fortunate you are Yisrael, מי כמוך, who is like you?” Moshe Rabeinu said that. Who is like you?! Nobody! אשרי העם שככה לו, how fortunate is the nation that thus is his lot.And what is that lot that makes us so fortunate? אשרי העם שהשם אלקיו, because Hashem chose you.And therefore at all times we sing אשרינו מה טוב חלקנו, how fortunate we are.A Jew has to sing at all times! At least in his heart he should always be singing in happiness because of the great honor that he possesses.His heart should sing within him because Hakadosh Baruch Hu has elevated him. A proud Jew, a Jew who understands that Hashem resides among us always, walks the streets, whatever street it may be, he’s walking on air. He’s happy always!HASHEM SAYS SHEMA TOONow in ourtefillinit’s written,Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu –“Listen all of you, Hashem isourG-d.” He doesn’t belong to the Polish people, or to the Mexicans or the Israelis. He’s ours.Hashem Echad –He’s One. What does that mean, “He’s One”? It means a lot of things but we’ll say now one of the importantpeirushimthat you should think about always. And that is that He is The Only One in all of our thoughts and deeds. He is the one purpose of our lives, and we must love Him and serve Him with all of our strength – everything we do should be for Him. That’s not such an easy task, but that’s what you’re saying every day, so it’s a good idea to get busy thinking about how to do that.So that’s ourtefillin. But thegemara(Brachos 6a) says Hakadosh Baruch Hu puts ontefillintoo. That’s a remarkable statement: Hakodosh Boruch Hu wearstefillinon His head. And why shouldn’t He?Tefillinis a sign of royalty, so He surely deserves to weartefillin. Now what’s written in Histefillin, thegemaraasks? What’s written in Hisparshiyos?So thegemarasays in Histefillinis thepossuk,מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ – “Who is like you My nation Yisroel; You are the one nation on earth.Goyechaaaaadddddd. The one and only nation in the world! That’s how Hashem says it.Only He says it longer than we do.We get tired but Hashem doesn’t get tired:Echaaaaaaaaadddddddd!He says it forever and ever, “They’re My One nation in the world. That’s all I care about.Echad– “They are Myoneconcern. Everything is done for you, My children.” Now when Hashem chooses us, it means much more than we could imagine, but what it surely means is that we are the center of His thoughts, and that everything He does – and He doeseverything– is for us.JEWS REALLY DO CONTROL THE WORLDThat’s what it says, הוא השם אלקנו, He is ours, בכל הארץ משפטיו – In all the world are His judgments (Tehillim 105:7) Whatever happens in the world, we shouldn’t make any mistake, it’smishpatav, it’sHisjudgements; Hashem is pulling the strings. But the preface to that is:Hu Hashem Elokeinu, He is Hashem our King, and therefore anything that happens in the world is donebecause of us.Everything that happensb’chol ha’aretz,in the whole world, are His judgements. And how does He do the judgments? In the role ofHashem Elokeinu, of beingourG-d!And so if you hear that there is a lack of rain in a certain state and people are suffering, Hashem is doing itbecause of us.Now how that works, that’s a question.It’s a good question.But it’s because of us. If gold was discovered in a certain state, it’s because of us.If there’s a hurricane, it’s because of us.There’s no question about that.Because it’s made by Hashem; and who is Hashem?הוא השם אלקנו, He is our G-d, and בכל הארץ משפטיו, His judgments throughout the world are all being done as “our G-d”.Now I know that most people don’t think this way.They think likegoyim; even thefrumJews think likegoyim. But you have to study what is written in thekisvei hakodeshand you have to attune your mind to this truth of the Torah.IT’S A RACHMANUS ON THEIR PRIDENow, if that’s the case so we begin to see what an obligation there is upon the Am Yisrael to be proud.Ga’avah! Now that doesn’t mean the Jewish pride you find outside in the street. For a Jew just to be proud that he’s a Jew, that doesn’t mean much. Because we’re not talking about the pride like the African-Americans say, “We’re proud that we’re black.” They’re not proud anyhow. They’re doing their bestnotto be black.You see they go to beauty parlors and they spend millions of dollars on lotions in order to lighten their complexion.Thousands and thousands of dollars on creams to cause their hair to straighten out. Some put on wigs that you shouldn’t see their kinky hair.They do everything to look like whites. They would give their souls if they could turn white.What could they donebach,so they say “We’re proud to be black.” And it’s the same with every nation. Every Puerto Rican says the same thing, “I’m proud to be a Puerto Rican.” He waves a little flag, he eats Puerto Rican food; that’s his pride. And the Israeli is proud to be Israeli. Every nation, they’re proud to be what they are.Alright, let them be proud.It’s arachmanuson them.But that’s not what we mean! When we say we’re proud, we have to understand that we’re saying it becauseHakadosh Baruch Hu said that to us. Hashem told us we’re great. And if He said it, we believe it. It’s not our fault, we didn’t do it ourselves. Hashem said it and we won’t argue with Him. בנים אתם, “You are My children of Mine !” Hashem said. If He says we’re His children, are we going to argue with Him?!And so we look up to what we possess, we look up to theShechinahthat isshorehby us, and we have to know that He is our greatness – our greatness in this world and our greatness in the World to Come. You have to study that; you have to take the time to ponder and understand what it means to believe implicitly that Hakodosh Boruch Hu chooses a certain place, a certain people, on whom He is concentrating the Presence of HisShechinah. And that it is a covenant that He has made forever and ever with our nation. “For the mountains may depart and the hills may be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says Hashem who loves you” (Yeshayah 54:10).DON’T BE A DEMOCRAT!When you get analiyahto the Torah you say אשר בחר בנו.What is it?Just a formula to knock off, just to beyotzei? No, it’s our duty to impress onto our minds that Hashem wasבחר בנו מכל העמים, that Hashem chose us from all the nations. You can’t just say the words – you have to live with that thought! As you walk in the street you must think you’re a prince. And thatga’avasan shel Yisroel,that pride of being a true Torah Jew, knowing that Hashem lives only among us, should make us look down on everything outside of our world. Because we know that there isabsolutely nothingto look for among the nations of the world.Ga’avasan shel Yisroel,the pride that we’re speaking about here, is anikar ha’emunah; it’s a fundamental attitude that a Jew must have. Without it you’re missing the fundamental of Judaism. You must hammer that into your head because to be proud that you’re aYisroelmeans that you believe in one of the most important cardinal principles of the Torah. And it’s so stupendous of a concept that when we say it today, even among Orthodox Jews, it’s not well received. With the spirit of democracy and western ideals it’s not easy to convince people about this great principle. I’m not talking now about asking themactually feel it, that I’m not even speaking about. But even to convince them that it’s a true principle is not easy. And that is the principle that the world was created for the Jewish people. Don’t say, “Everybody is the people of Hashem.”Don’t be a democrat! You have no right to give away what doesn’t belong to you.You have no right to hand out honors to the other nations of the world.JEWISH CHUTZPAHNow that’s not easy for us Orthodox Jews to accept. Do we have the nerve, do we have a boldness, to be so conceited and praise ourselves? And the answer is absolutely!And if we don’t, then we are backsliding, we’re being remiss in our duties as Jews. And let that sink in! It’s going to hurt. You’re going to rebel, you’re going to kick when you hear that. So take a deep breath, pay attention, and hold on tight.All of Mankind is considered nothing compared to theAm Yisroel! I’ll say it again to make sure you hear me: All the nations of the world are nothing in the eyes of Hashem when compared to us. So you’ll ask me, “Rabbi Miller, where do you get the audacity to make such a statement?” Look in thechumash! The Torah was given to us for the purpose of letting us know the great principles that otherwise we would not know. What is the Torah after all if not the thoughts of Hashem? And in the thoughts of Hashem you see that the histories of theumos haolamare ignored completely. Now if there was a lot of Torahs in the world, a Polish Torah that Hashem gave, all right.In the Polish Torah He would talk about the Polish.If there would be an African Torah, so He talks about Africa in the African Torah.But there’s only one Torah however, and even the Polish say that there’s only one Torah.They don’t say there are two Torahs.They agree that there was only one Torah. And the Africans agree with the Polish.All the Christians and Mohammedans says there’s only Torah. Only that Mohammed came along and wrote something later; but they agree that the Jews received the Torah.And what was written in the Jewish Torah?It’s written that Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose us – forever.HASHEM NEVER SPOKE TO PATRICKAnd so, anybody who feels he wants to be ananav, he wants to feel meek and humble and not be superior to anybody else, then that person is akofer b’chol hatorah kulah, fromBereishis barauntill’einei chol Yisroel, the last words in the Torah. What does the Torah talk about? There’s a Torah after all; what’s it all about? Isn’t that a queer question? Now pay attention. The entire Torah talks only about two subjects.The Torah is about two subjects and nothing more.One subject is Hashem, that’s the main subject of the Torah. But it talks about something more than just Hashem.It also talks about theAmYisroel. The whole Torah is nothing but the Jewish Nation. The whole Torah is וידבר השם אל משה לאמר. The whole thing! Look through every page and you won’t find even onceVa’yidabeir Hashem el Patrick leimor!The Torah is filled with nothing but the Jewish nation. Wherever you look, it’s only our people, our people. Nothing is said about Irishmen, about Polish people, nothing. Only Jews! From beginning to end, the entireTanachdeals only with our people.So what do we see?That’s the importance of theAm Yisroeliskol hatorah kulah.And therefore we have to say that the pride in being a Jew is just as fundamental as believing inkol hatorah kulah.And anyone who doesn’t understand this concept in its fullness, so he doesn’t really understand the Torah. Actually he’s akofer b’ikar; he’s rebelling against the wholeTanach. It’s as open as could be that this is the chief function of all the writings in theTanach, to tell us first that there is a Creator, and number two that He has a chosen nation.WE DON’T CARE WHAT THEY SAYNow, today this second principle is frequently overlooked. Pious Jews will say, “Yes, certainly; we’re chosen to do commandments. But you have to look at everyone else tolerantly. They’re like us. They also have ways of living, they also are nations and they also have cultures.” Now I know that some people here read newspapers, they watch television and they listen to goyim talking on the radio. So their minds are brainwashed- not brainwashed, dirt washed, bilge-water washed, and therefore it hurts them to hear the words I’m saying here. But what could I do? After all, it’s an elementary principle of the Torah that we are Hashem’s chosen people. And if you don’t believe that, then goodbye! You don’t belong. If you don’t believe we are His people, then you don’t belong to us.We don’t care what the world says. We believe implicitly in these two cardinal principles – we believe in Hashem and we believe we are His people. No matter what the world says. They wouldn’t like to hear that, but we don’t care, we still know thatweare His people. That’s the Torah! That’s the purpose of the Torah, to tell us who we are.SOME THINGS NEED TO STAY A SECRETNow, of course you shouldn’t despise anybody.You shouldn’t show contempt for anybody,The public disrespect that is evident among some of our fellow Jews is not prudent. Not at all. It’s silly and it’s not ak’vod shamayim. However, in your heart there’s no question what you should think. Because there is no question that when you know that you’re superior, then definitely you consider the other one inferior. It’s unavoidable!Now, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to go around shouting from the rooftops that someone else is inferior. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to have to upset the gentile nations. We’re not looking to start up with nations of the world today; they have their own religions and they’ll become angry at us. But amongst ourselves, when we speak to each other, of course we say the truth. Among ourselves we speak about the truthall the time.We must spread the good news among our families and among our friends, of course. Absolutely we must do that. No doubt about it! Only that one has to be wise enough and respectful enough to not let our gentile neighbors know what we are thinking.THE GREAT TEST OF OPPOSITIONNow the truth is that nobody is capable of appreciating what this means, but at least to a certain extent a Jew must understand that he is an aristocrat, the chosen of Hashem. However, there’s a great test, a very great test, because of the opposition of theumos haolam,the constant hammering away of the anti-Semites and also the Jewish anti-Semites today who are constantly belittling thefrumJews, all the time.And now we begin to understand what thenisayonof life is.We’re being tested all the time.Because if we were the majority, it would be easy for us to be superior.We would easily fulfill thisemunahthat we are the chosen people.We’re the bosses, we dominate the world, so what’s the question?! Only that if you’re a minority and you walk in the street and a WASP driving by in a car calls you “Kike” or a boy riding by on a bike says “Get out of my way, Jew,” there’s a tendency to feel a little bit inferior.If you see all around you people who look down on you; some of them are nice enough not to say it, but in their hearts you know what they’re thinking. They despise you.They hate you.There’s no question about it.And don’t tell me not; I know the gentiles much better than you. And the truth is that today we have so many Jews who hate us; we have a double test.Once upon a time onlygoyimhated us.Today Jews hate us and the majority of Jews hatefrumJews. It’s a constant barrage, a greatnisayon,and that’s why we’re in this world, to overcome theshekerof the world and to never lose sight of the great principle that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has taught us: that we are His people, His only people forever and ever.BANG ON THE TABLE!That’s what Moshe Rabeinu said when he came to Pharaoh. He hammered on the table and said: כה אמר השם בני בכורי ישראל, like it or not, this is what Hashem said: “TheAmYisroelis My firstborn, My favorite.” And that’s what we have to be telling ourselves always. We have to hear it though. We have to bang on the table and say it to ourselves again and again, and remind ourselves who we are at all times. We are the בני א-ל חי, we are the children of the living G-d. בנים אתם להשם אלוקיכם, we are children to Hashem. And we have to walk with our heads high, always cognizant of the great pride that Hakadosh Baruch Hu bestowed on us, no matter what the world says. Don’t believe in democracy; don’t believe in pluralism. He chose us, and that’s it!I always tell the same stories so you heard this already. But I’ll tell it again. Reb Moshe Montefiore was the Lord Mayor of England. And he was also a baron. He was knighted by the king. That’s why he was Sir Montefiore. When he heard that in Russia they were persecuting the Jews, he decided to go to Russia and intervene with the Czar on behalf of his fellow Jews. So he travelled all the way across Russia with his own chariots. His own horsemen and a fancy carriage. The horsemen sat in the front, driving. And he was in the back. And on the side of the carriage were like private guards who could protect him if needed. And he was riding through Poland. He was riding through the streets of Warsaw. In Warsaw, in Poland of old, they were all anti-Semites. They hated the Jews. And here they saw a Jew riding in a carriage. A Jew who’s a big k’nocker. So there was a goy who couldn’t contain himself. A boy, a shaygetz, came running after him and he shouted, “Zhid!” Zhid means Jew in Polish. It was a derogatory way of referring to a Jew. So Reb Moshe Montefiore stopped the carriage and told his footmen to go run and catch the goy. They caught the goy and he was trembling because he knew that this Jew was a powerful Jew. They brought him to Reb Moshe and his hands and feet were trembling. So Reb Moshe Montefiore said, “Look here. In London they call me the Lord Mayor of London. The Sheriff of this and this district. Baron and Sir and so on and so on. But the biggest, the most important title, is the one you called me.Zhid! There’s nothing greater than that in the world.” And Reb Moshe Montefiore gave the boy a quid – a half pound – and he sent him away. He thanked him and sent him away.THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSEOh, how important it is for the Jew to recognize his greatness. A Jew must always remember how important he is, and never lose sight of our distinctiveness as the central feature of the universe. That’s why the universe exists, for the sake of theAm Yisroel,and you should be proud and arrogant, and therefore you know that you have to always strive for perfection and not be satisfied to remain mediocre. TheAm Yisroelmust always remind themselves that they are superior and that they should never lower themselves to the level of the nations.And what ourparshais teaching us is that one of the most important lessons of theMishkanwas this lesson of the pride of theAm Yisroel.It was the symbol of our glory.ושכנתי בתוכם. Hashem lives with us! Those two words are a stunning declaration of the principle that Hashem’s interest is not in the vast distances of space and in the millions of star-worlds, but in Man alone. And of all men, Hashem chose the Am Yisroel and made them the center of the universe by bringing His Presence to rest among them.GETTING DIZZY FROM THE MISHKAN“Behold, the Lord your God possesses the heavens, and the heavens above them, and the earth and all therein, but in your fathers alone did He delight to love them, and He chose their seed after them,you,above all the nation, even to this day” (Dvarim 10:14-15). This stupendous but abstract concept was now concretized in a visible form. “They shall make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them” (Shemos 25:8). Thenceforth, the multitude of Israel, whenever they saw the Mishkan, pointed to it as the dwelling place of the Master of the Universe. And in this tangible form, this dizzyingly sublime idea was hammered constantly into the mind of theAm Yisroel.Now the nations of the world will never yield to that thesis. But the time will come however when יושב בשמים ישחק, the One who dwells in the heavens will laugh at them, השם ילעג למו, Hashem will mock them. And theAm Yisroelwill then open its mouth in happy laughter as well, as the glory of ours that we were always well aware of, now becomes visible to all. And when Hashem laughs at the nations of the world, we too will indulge in laughter to our hearts content. We will laugh and laugh in proud happiness about the glory that was always ours!אז ימלא שחוק פינו, then our mouths will be full of laughter. And we will laugh forever and ever rejoicing in the fact that in this world and in the next world theShechinarests only on theAm Hashem. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Shechina Rests on YisroelPart I. The Shechina Finds a HomeTHE MISHKAN IN A NUTSHELLWhen Hakodosh Boruch Hu gave the command to erect a Mishkan, the first Beis Hamikdash, so He stated, ועשו לי מקדש – “And they shall make for Me a place of holiness, an especial place for Me, ושכנתי בתוכם, and I will dwell in their midst” (Terumah 25:8) Now these words are of the utmost importance because we are learning in a nutshell what is meant by the Mishkan, and later the Beis Hamikdash – that it’s the place of the hashra’ashashechinah – the place where the Presenceof Hashem comes down to reside. The Mishkanwasn’t a place of prayer and service; it was that too, but actually it was much more than that. It was the dwelling place of Hashem.This we must know, that there is such a concept, a fact, that although Hashem is everywhere, there is such a thing as Hashem concentrating His Shechinah in a certain place. ושכנתי בתוכם – “And I will reside among them,” He told us. Hashem chose that He should rest His Presence by the Am Yisroel. It’s an especial afflatus, that Hakodosh Boruch Hu comes to rest in the Mishkan, among His people, in an especial way that is not found anywhere else.A NEW NEIGHBOR FOR THE JEWSNow among all the statements found in the Torah, none could be as breathtaking as that one: “I will dwell among My people!” The Creator of the Universe, the מלא כל הארץ כבודו, the One Whose Presence fills the remote distances of space, is coming down to live among us?! Yes, that’s exactly what the Torah states, “Make Me a home, and I shall dwell in their midst. I have chosen the Am Yisroel as that place where I will take up residence.” Hashem forsakes the high heavens and moves into the encampment of the Am Yisroel! It’s a new “neighbor” for the Jewish people!You know, we don’t really think too much when we read the chumash, so we gloss over these words without too much thought, but actually it was an enormous chiddush when the Creator of the Universe declared that His Presence would reside in an edifice erected by men. What could be more stunning, more astonishing, than the thought that the Creator of the Universe, whose glory fills the endless remoteness of space, should choose to live in a tabernacle of wood and cloth?! Because what was the Mishkanafter all? It wasn’t even a royal palace; it was a portable house made of boards, bars and sockets. Could Hashem reside in such a place? Hashem is infinite and not physical, and His reality transcends any space measurement. He can’t live in a home; it defies all logic.STUNNING MOSHE RABBEINUAnd that’s exactly what Moshe Rabeinu said when he heard these words of Hakodosh Boruch Hu: התחיל מתמיה ואומר – “Moshe was stupefied and he said, כבודו של הקדוש ברוך הוא מלא עליונים ותחתונים והוא אומר עשה לי משכן – The glory of Hashem fills the upper and lower worlds, and yet He says, “Make for Me a place to live?!” It didn’t make any sense to Moshe Rabeinu. אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לא כשם שאתה סובר אני סובר – So Hakodosh Boruch Hu said to Moshe, “Not as you think, do I think, אלא עשרים קרש בצפון ועשרים בדרום ושמונה במערב – “Just make for Me twenty planks on the north side, twenty on the south, eight on the west side, and that’s enough for Me” (Shemos Rabbah: 34)Now if these words so stunned Moshe Rabeinu that Hakodosh Boruch Hu had to tell him, “Moshe, My servant, You and I think differently,” so we would be well-served if we spent some time studying this stupendous concept that Hashem rested His Presence among the Am Yisroel.What’s so important about an especial building erected for the Shechinah? Why is it so important that the Shechinahshould come there more than anywhere else? Of course, like I said before, it’s such a vast concept that it can’t be explained in a couple of sentences, but whatever it was, it was an enormous demonstration that Hashem was making: “My Presence will dwell in Machaneh Yisroel, in the encampment of the Jewish Nation in a way that cannot be found anywhere else.” Such a stupendous idea, it pays for us to understand at least superficially.WILDERNESS TOURS LTD.Imagine we are standing on a hill, we’re visiting in the midbar. Let’s say we came from Moav or from Edom as visitors. And one of the Bnei Yisroel is standing with us and he’s pointing out to us the sights. So you’re looking out into the distance at theMachaneh Yisroel, the camp of the people. Thousands of tents, all arranged in an orderly fashion. There were roads between the tents, and the shevatim were all encamped surrounding the machaneh levi’im, the place where the levi’im lived. And in the middle, in the center of the camp, was the machaneh shechinah where a large wooden hut was standing. That’s what you saw as you stood on this hill looking out at the Am Yisroel.So your Jewish tour guide says, “You see there, over there, that’s Reuven in that corner. All those thousands of tents, that’s Shevet Reuven. And over there, on the other side, that’s the rivevosEfraim. And look on that side, over there, you can see the alfeiMenasheh.” And then he says – he tells you to look through the binoculars, “You see that tent over there, that’s where Betzalel lives. And over there on the left, that’s where Aharon Hakohen resides. And that tent, that’s where Moshe Rabeinu is right now teaching Torah to the zekeinim.”THE EDOMITE LAMDANAnd then, the guide who is showing you the sights, points with his finger, and says, “And there, you see that tent in the middle, that’s where Hakodosh Boruch Hu, the Creator of the World, lives.” So you gasp; you weren’t expecting to hear that! You’re only a visitor after all. So you look at your guide incredulously, “What do you mean He lives there?” So he tells you matter of factly, “Yes, that’s His address. That’s where the Creator of the world lives!”So let’s say you’re a bit of a lamdan. Imagine such a thing, a lamdan from Edom. So you ask, “Doesn’t it say (Yeshaya 66:1): כה אמר השם השמים כסאי – “Hashem says, ‘The heavens is My throne,’ והארץ הדום רגלו – and the earth is just a resting stool for My feet.’” The heaven is nothing but a throne for Hashem, and the earth is where He rests His feet. איזה בית אשר תבנו לי – “What kind of house could you build for Me?” So you have a kasha, it’s a very good kasha you asked. But the guide stubbornly tells you, “Look, you can quote all the pesukim you wish, but this is what Hashem told us. He forsook the high heavens; He has left all of space, the billions of space miles, and He has come down and He has chosen this place to dwell. He lives there, among the people.” Now if you were not from the Bnei Yisroel, if you were a visitor from some other nation, so you might shrug your shoulders. It’s an interesting thought, but it doesn’t mean much for you. But you’d still be impressed by the conviction and sincerity of the Jewish people.THE MEN OF PERFECTIONBut let’s understand not what a tourist from Edom or from Aramwould see. What would the Bnei Yisroel themselves see? When the Bnei Yisroel looked at the various tents of the distinguished ones of the Am Yisroel, it wasn’t merely as a person seeing the sights; for them it was a great pride and encouragement. Because these were very great men who lived among us, men of great stature, men of perfection. And our nation was inordinately proud that these great men lived among them. It was such a happiness to pass by the tent of Betzalel and to know that we possess a Betzalel, the man of unmatched artistic abilities who built the mishkan – that Betzalel was ours, was a great pride. We were so lucky to have such a rare personality among us.And they were even more proud when they could point to Aharon Hakohen. Aharon is unequaled in history. Aharon k’dosh Hashem, Aharon the holy man of Hashem. Aharon was cited as the apotheosis, the summit of kindliness. בשלום ובמישור הלך עמדי ורבים השיב מעוון. (Malachi 2:6) Aharon was an oheiv shalom and a rodef shalom, a man who loved peace. But not in the sense we understand it. Everyone loves peace. But Aharon loved peace with every fiber of his being. He was a man who pursued peace, which means he did everything possible to cause peace, tranquility and happiness between human beings. His life was devoted to that. אוהב את הבריות, He loved people, ומקרבן לתורה, and he brought them close to Torah too. And therefore when they pointed to his tent and they said, “This is the residence of Aharon k’dosh Hashem,” they said it with an inspiration and a pride.SMELLY NEIGHBORSSuppose somebody would be able to point out, “In my neighborhood there lives, let’s say – now I’m sorry I have to use such a comparison; I want to wash my mouth when I get through, but let’s say someone would say, “You see down the block; Beethoven lives over there!” Beethoven! The rents would go up in all the apartments in the neighborhood; the price of real estate would skyrocket. Now really it should plummet! Everybody should move out as quickly as possible. Because wherever these big musical geniuses lived, if you had an especial ability to smell, you would have to hold your nose. Because musical ability and purity of character by no means have to go together. And often they don’t. Like somebody gave me a clipping this week; the great musician Leopold Stokowski, the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, acclaimed the world over as a musical genius. So he boasted, he himself boasted to his musician friends, that he utilized the wives of the members of his orchestra. You understand now, that’s the bravado, the boasting heroics from one musician to another. So I’m sorry that we have to sink to such depths in order to appreciate this subject. But it’s important for us to understand the subject at hand.Now if Stokowski lived on this block I’m afraid people would not hold their noses. I’m afraid they would vie with each other to try to move in. And they’d like to be somewhere on the block when pictures are being snapped of him. At least they could point someday and say, “You see that little dot way out in in the background? That’s me!” And it would be such a pride that they’d show it to their grandchildren. That’s because people today lost their sense of smell altogether.VISITING PARSHANDASA’S HOMEBoruch Hashem, we don’t have to take pride in Stokowskis. We can take pride in those who are truly great men. If we could visit the sanctuary where Rashi Hakodosh spent his years! It’s in a little town in Germany, in Worms, Vermeiseh. It’s kept as a museum today, but that means nothing to us. If we would walk into that place, we’d walk in on tip-toe; it’s admas kodesh. You’re walking into a place that is the heart of the Jewish people, the kodesh kodoshim of our nation. The place where Rashi sat and studied the Torah, and the room where he wrote his commentaries on the entire Talmud Bavli and the entire Tanach. Rashi is the teacher of the whole Am Yisroel. Every word in Rashi is sweet as honey. If you’re an expert in languageyou could appreciate how Rashi made hard things soft, he made the difficult things unravel. Rashi was a master expert in explaining. He’s called Parshan Dasa, that’s the nickname he was given. It means “The one who explains the Torah.”And so if you walk into that holy of holies, to Rashi’s study in his Beis Hamedrash, it’s the greatest of privileges. You can feel the kedushah of these ancient walls permeating your personality, entering the marrow of your bones. You’re not the same person once you visited Rashi’s beis hamedrash. Of course, I’m talking about someone who knows what it’s all about. Rashi is the beloved teacher of the Am Yisroel. You have to appreciate the great personality who once lived here and expressed his soul here, in his writings. Only that it’s pity that it’s there in Europe. Had that place been in Eretz Yisroel it would have become a shrine. No question people would come there in the hundreds of thousands and pour out their hearts to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And with the zechus of Rashi their prayers would go up to Hashem. Only that it’s in the accursed land of Germany, in the unclean golus. And even there, it’s kodesh kodoshim.TENT OF INTOXICATIONAnd so now we come back to the Machaneh Yisroel in the Midbar. We could point to the tent of Moshe Rabeinu, the place where Moshe Rabeinu resided. The tent of Moshe Rabeinu! The intense emotion of pride that such a thing caused is indescribable! “I’m living in the neighborhood of Moshe!” It was a great happiness, a great pride, to know that Moshe lived among us.But to be able to point out the tent of Moshe Rabeinu was nothing at all when compared to being able to point at the tent of Hakodosh Boruch Hu! No concept could be more astonishing than the thought that the Creator of the Universe, Whose glory fills the endless remoteness of space, would choose to dwell in a tabernacle. We can picture the intoxication of ecstatic excitement that seized upon Moshe and the people at this announcement. The knowledge, more than knowledge – the sight – of the residence of Hashem in the midst of the camp was a vivid reminder for the people that they were chosen by the Creator of the Universe forever. We shouldn’t overlook the effect of the Mishkan upon the tent-homes of the Am Yisroel. The Mishkan was of course a larger tent, but because it stood among the tents of the camp it had an unfailing effect on every tent in the camp. And the most outstanding effect was the demonstration that Hashem had chosen us from all the nations. We are the center of the Universe, for Hashem here declared ושכנתי בתוכם – “I will dwell in your midst.” Because even more than a demonstration of His presence, even more than the constant reminder that we were standing before Hashem, was the pride that the Mishkangenerated in the people: “Hashem chose us; He chose to dwell among us!”Now there’s no question that the nation gained many blessings by having the Presence of the Shechinah among them. I’m not capable of telling you everything that was gained but there’s no doubt that every individual gained a great deal of perfection of soul; the mind of every man, woman and child was filled with an Awareness that would have been otherwise impossible to achieve. But of all the blessings, of all the achievements, most important was the knowledge that Hashem chose to live among us forever. The fact that there was a special abode, a house where the King of the Universe resided among us, was so impressive that all of the Bnei Yisroel, even those who never had the chance to come visit that house, were entirely transformed because of that. It made such a deep impression that it lasted with them all throughout their lives and it accompanied them into the world to come.THE SIMPLE FACTNow when the Bnei Yisroel saw the house of Hakodosh Boruch Hu – and they saw it every day – so they certainly became accustomed to it. There’s no question that seeing the same thing every day is going to make you hardened and you’re not going to be excited anymore. But that’s what Hakodosh Boruch Hu wanted, that they should become so accustomed to the thought that Hashem dwells in their midst that it should be beyond any doubt in their minds. It became a simple matter of fact that Hakodosh Boruch Hu resides among us.And for forty years the Bnei Yisroel in the midbar were able to point out to their children, “My son, over there, that’s the tent of Aharon Hakohen. And there’s the tent of Moshe Rabeinu. And over there, that’s the Mishkan, the tent of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And it became a phlegmatic matter of fact, it became part of their world outlook that Hashem the Borei Kol Ha’olamos, the One who had created all the worlds, had forsaken the infinity of all the universes, all the remoteness of space, and He now dwells b’soch Bnei Yisroel. It went into the marrow of their bones.Now this is what you should be thinking about always. The Torah is full of pesukim dedicated to this idea, and it’s a shame to let it go to waste. And even though we have never seen the Mishkan, but the pesukim we have read hundreds of times, and it pays to think into it a bit. That the Creator of the Universe, the One who fills the whole universe with His presence, מלא כל הארץ כבודו, He created the stars in the remotest distances of space; He is the ruler of millions of star worlds, and nevertheless He has forsaken everything and He has chosen to reside on our people. Now no matter how difficult that concept is, that’s the fundamental teaching of the Torah. You can’t be a Jew unless you understand the teaching that Hashem is with us forever. Not just that He will help us forever, no, it’s much more than that. He dwells among us forever. The Presence of Hashem – His actual Presence – is upon our nation forever.PART II. Pride of YisroelCRASH COURSE IN BRACHOSAnd it’s something we thank Hashem for every day. Every day we say it, only we don’t realize what we’re thanking for. And that’s a tragedy, because it’s such an important attitude that we should be living with, that it pays to make use of every opportunity to impress it upon our minds. Every day in shemoneh esrei we say the bracha ברוך אתה השם הא-ל הקדוש. Now all the brachos, you know, are blessings of gratitude. Boruch means we’re thankingHim. In Magen Avraham, we thank Hashem; He’s the shield of Avraham, it means He’s the shield of our nation; He protects us because of Avraham.מחיה המתים, the second bracha, we thank Hashem for giving us food, and for healing the sick and for giving us rain; all the good things enumerated there. And one day He’ll revive the dead, and we thank Him for that too. And then there’s ברוך אתה השם חונן הדעת – You, Hashem bestow sanity! You’re thanking Hashem that you’re not in an insane asylum, that you’re not depressed. You’re full of gratitude that you’re not crazy, that you’re not paranoid or psychotic. You don’t think about that, do you? So you’re not davening properly. And when you look, you’ll see that every bracha is a bracha of gratitude.But there’s one bracha that’s difficult to understand: ברוך אתה השם הא-ל הקדוש – We thank You Hashem that You are the holy G-d. We’re thanking Him because He’s holy?! What gratitude is required because He is Holy? I want you to hear the question. On everything in shemonah esrei there is a benefit for which we are thanking. Boruch means that we are grateful, and we bend our knees to You in gratitude. But when we come to the bracha of הא-ל הקדוש we find that the entire bracha speaks of no kindliness at all – all we do is speak about the holiness, the perfection of Hashem. So what are we thanking Him for? What gratitude is it that we’re supposed to be feeling?ARE YOU PROUD OF YOUR BOSS?So listen now and you’ll learn what you’re thanking Hashem for when you say הא-ל הקדוש. Tonight when you daven maariv, for the first time in your life you’ll be able to thank Hashem for being the א-ל הקדוש, the Perfect G-d. And if you forget to have it mind, there’s shacharistomorrow, and mincha too. Don’t squander the opportunities. So we’ll explain it like this. Let’s say you have a boss over you. The boss himself is an underling, a nobody, but he’s your boss, what can you do. There’s no great pride there. You won’t pride yourself that you work for the colored man in the warehouse. Nothing wrong with working for a colored man, but it’s no great pride.But let’s say somebody is an assistant to the president, so he feels important already. And if he’s an assistant let’s say to Dovid Melech Yisroel, lehavdil, so he’s surely important. It’s like a man who was elevated by the king. The king chose a certain man, let’s call him Wilfred, and made him a duke. So instead of being a commoner, now he’s Duke of Worchester. Instead of being Wilfred, now he’s nobility; connected to the royal family. And he walks the streets of England with pride: “I was chosen by the king!”WE’RE ECSTATIC WITH OUR LOT!Now, if we’re assistants to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, if He chose us and He considers usHis beloved ones and His entire interest is only in us, as we’re going to see bli neder, so that’s our pride in this world; we’re happy – not happy, we’re ecstatic – that we have such a G-d.That’s what it says להודות לשם קדשיך להשתבח בתהלתך – ““We give thanks to Your holy name, and we commend ourselves, we praise ourselves, by Your praise” (Tehillim 106:47). According to the holiness, the perfection, of Hashem, so much greater is the honor, pride and security of the nation He chose to rest His Presence on. And that’s why we say thank you to Hashem for being so perfect. Because His perfection is ourglory. We boast in the praise of Hashem because that’s our honor and glory. The Holy One, the Perfect G-d, that’s our G-d. And we thank Him because of that, we say, “Thank You Hashem for being הא-ל הקדוש , for being so great. We take pride that we have such a G-d, שאין כמוהו, and it’s our happiness. He chose us; we are His people and that’s an unequaled pride. “Thank You Hashem for being so perfect that it’s a glory for me to be connected to You.”And so we begin to see what it means when people say it’s not easy to be a Jew. A person said once that: s’iz shver tzu zein a Yid, it’s difficult to be a Jew. But he didn’t understand what it meant. What it means is that there is a great responsibility in being part of the nation upon which Hashem actually rests His Presence. A Jew has to have in mind a great deal of meditation, a great deal of reflection, in order to appreciate his position in this world. He must constantly be aware of the greatness of his history. The reason that you find Jewish people who are ashamed of their Jewishness is because they’re ignorant of their past. If you learn Chumash properly, if you learn Tanach properly, you’ll begin to understand what a great privilege it is to belong to the Am Yisroel. אשריכם ישראל, how fortunate you are Yisrael, מי כמוך, who is like you?” Moshe Rabeinu said that. Who is like you?! Nobody! אשרי העם שככה לו, how fortunate is the nation that thus is his lot. And what is that lot that makes us so fortunate? אשרי העם שהשם אלקיו, because Hashem chose you. And therefore at all times we sing אשרינו מה טוב חלקנו, how fortunate we are. A Jew has to sing at all times! At least in his heart he should always be singing in happiness because of the great honor that he possesses. His heart should sing within him because Hakadosh Baruch Hu has elevated him. A proud Jew, a Jew who understands that Hashem resides among us always, walks the streets, whatever street it may be, he’s walking on air. He’s happy always!HASHEM SAYS SHEMA TOONow in our tefillin it’s written, Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu – “Listen all of you, Hashem is our G-d.” He doesn’t belong to the Polish people, or to the Mexicans or the Israelis. He’s ours. Hashem Echad – He’s One. What does that mean, “He’s One”? It means a lot of things but we’ll say now one of the important peirushim that you should think about always. And that is that He is The Only One in all of our thoughts and deeds. He is the one purpose of our lives, and we must love Him and serve Him with all of our strength – everything we do should be for Him. That’s not such an easy task, but that’s what you’re saying every day, so it’s a good idea to get busy thinking about how to do that.So that’s our tefillin. But the gemara (Brachos 6a) says Hakadosh Baruch Hu puts on tefillin too. That’s a remarkable statement: Hakodosh Boruch Hu wears tefillin on His head. And why shouldn’t He? Tefillin is a sign of royalty, so He surely deserves to wear tefillin. Now what’s written in His tefillin, the gemara asks? What’s written in His parshiyos? So the gemarasays in His tefillin is the possuk,מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ – “Who is like you My nation Yisroel; You are the one nation on earth. Goy echaaaaadddddd. The one and only nation in the world! That’s how Hashem says it. Only He says it longer than we do. We get tired but Hashem doesn’t get tired: Echaaaaaaaaadddddddd! He says it forever and ever, “They’re My One nation in the world. That’s all I care about. Echad – “They are My one concern. Everything is done for you, My children.” Now when Hashem chooses us, it means much more than we could imagine, but what it surely means is that we are the center of His thoughts, and that everything He does – and He does everything – is for us.JEWS REALLY DO CONTROL THE WORLDThat’s what it says, הוא השם אלקנו, He is ours, בכל הארץ משפטיו – In all the world are His judgments (Tehillim 105:7) Whatever happens in the world, we shouldn’t make any mistake, it’s mishpatav, it’s His judgements; Hashem is pulling the strings. But the preface to that is: Hu Hashem Elokeinu, He is Hashem our King, and therefore anything that happens in the world is done because of us. Everything that happens b’chol ha’aretz, in the whole world, are His judgements. And how does He do the judgments? In the role of Hashem Elokeinu, of being our G-d!And so if you hear that there is a lack of rain in a certain state and people are suffering, Hashem is doing it because of us. Now how that works, that’s a question. It’s a good question. But it’s because of us. If gold was discovered in a certain state, it’s because of us. If there’s a hurricane, it’s because of us. There’s no question about that. Because it’s made by Hashem; and who is Hashem? הוא השם אלקנו, He is our G-d, and בכל הארץ משפטיו, His judgments throughout the world are all being done as “our G-d”.Now I know that most people don’t think this way. They think like goyim; even the frum Jews think like goyim. But you have to study what is written in the kisvei hakodesh and you have to attune your mind to this truth of the Torah.IT’S A RACHMANUS ON THEIR PRIDENow, if that’s the case so we begin to see what an obligation there is upon the Am Yisrael to be proud. Ga’avah! Now that doesn’t mean the Jewish pride you find outside in the street. For a Jew just to be proud that he’s a Jew, that doesn’t mean much. Because we’re not talking about the pride like the African-Americans say, “We’re proud that we’re black.” They’re not proud anyhow. They’re doing their best not to be black. You see they go to beauty parlors and they spend millions of dollars on lotions in order to lighten their complexion. Thousands and thousands of dollars on creams to cause their hair to straighten out. Some put on wigs that you shouldn’t see their kinky hair. They do everything to look like whites. They would give their souls if they could turn white. What could they do nebach, so they say “We’re proud to be black.” And it’s the same with every nation. Every Puerto Rican says the same thing, “I’m proud to be a Puerto Rican.” He waves a little flag, he eats Puerto Rican food; that’s his pride. And the Israeli is proud to be Israeli. Every nation, they’re proud to be what they are. Alright, let them be proud. It’s a rachmanus on them. But that’s not what we mean! When we say we’re proud, we have to understand that we’re saying it because Hakadosh Baruch Hu said that to us. Hashem told us we’re great. And if He said it, we believe it. It’s not our fault, we didn’t do it ourselves. Hashem said it and we won’t argue with Him. בנים אתם, “You are My children of Mine !” Hashem said. If He says we’re His children, are we going to argue with Him?!And so we look up to what we possess, we look up to the Shechinah that is shoreh by us, and we have to know that He is our greatness – our greatness in this world and our greatness in the World to Come. You have to study that; you have to take the time to ponder and understand what it means to believe implicitly that Hakodosh Boruch Hu chooses a certain place, a certain people, on whom He is concentrating the Presence of His Shechinah. And that it is a covenant that He has made forever and ever with our nation. “For the mountains may depart and the hills may be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says Hashem who loves you” (Yeshayah 54:10).DON’T BE A DEMOCRAT!When you get an aliyah to the Torah you say אשר בחר בנו. What is it? Just a formula to knock off, just to be yotzei? No, it’s our duty to impress onto our minds that Hashem was בחר בנו מכל העמים, that Hashem chose us from all the nations. You can’t just say the words – you have to live with that thought! As you walk in the street you must think you’re a prince. And that ga’avasan shel Yisroel, that pride of being a true Torah Jew, knowing that Hashem lives only among us, should make us look down on everything outside of our world. Because we know that there is absolutely nothing to look for among the nations of the world.Ga’avasan shel Yisroel, the pride that we’re speaking about here, is an ikar ha’emunah; it’s a fundamental attitude that a Jew must have. Without it you’re missing the fundamental of Judaism. You must hammer that into your head because to be proud that you’re a Yisroelmeans that you believe in one of the most important cardinal principles of the Torah. And it’s so stupendous of a concept that when we say it today, even among Orthodox Jews, it’s not well received. With the spirit of democracy and western ideals it’s not easy to convince people about this great principle. I’m not talking now about asking them actually feel it, that I’m not even speaking about. But even to convince them that it’s a true principle is not easy. And that is the principle that the world was created for the Jewish people. Don’t say, “Everybody is the people of Hashem.” Don’t be a democrat! You have no right to give away what doesn’t belong to you. You have no right to hand out honors to the other nations of the world.JEWISH CHUTZPAHNow that’s not easy for us Orthodox Jews to accept. Do we have the nerve, do we have a boldness, to be so conceited and praise ourselves? And the answer is absolutely! And if we don’t, then we are backsliding, we’re being remiss in our duties as Jews. And let that sink in! It’s going to hurt. You’re going to rebel, you’re going to kick when you hear that. So take a deep breath, pay attention, and hold on tight.All of Mankind is considered nothing compared to the Am Yisroel! I’ll say it again to make sure you hear me: All the nations of the world are nothing in the eyes of Hashem when compared to us. So you’ll ask me, “Rabbi Miller, where do you get the audacity to make such a statement?” Look in the chumash! The Torah was given to us for the purpose of letting us know the great principles that otherwise we would not know. What is the Torah after all if not the thoughts of Hashem? And in the thoughts of Hashem you see that the histories of the umos haolam are ignored completely. Now if there was a lot of Torahs in the world, a Polish Torah that Hashem gave, all right. In the Polish Torah He would talk about the Polish. If there would be an African Torah, so He talks about Africa in the African Torah. But there’s only one Torah however, and even the Polish say that there’s only one Torah. They don’t say there are two Torahs. They agree that there was only one Torah. And the Africans agree with the Polish. All the Christians and Mohammedans says there’s only Torah. Only that Mohammed came along and wrote something later; but they agree that the Jews received the Torah. And what was written in the Jewish Torah? It’s written that Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose us – forever.HASHEM NEVER SPOKE TO PATRICKAnd so, anybody who feels he wants to be an anav, he wants to feel meek and humble and not be superior to anybody else, then that person is a kofer b’chol hatorah kulah, from Bereishis bara until l’einei chol Yisroel, the last words in the Torah. What does the Torah talk about? There’s a Torah after all; what’s it all about? Isn’t that a queer question? Now pay attention. The entire Torah talks only about two subjects. The Torah is about two subjects and nothing more. One subject is Hashem, that’s the main subject of the Torah. But it talks about something more than just Hashem. It also talks about the Am Yisroel. The whole Torah is nothing but the Jewish Nation. The whole Torah is וידבר השם אל משה לאמר. The whole thing! Look through every page and you won’t find even once Va’yidabeir Hashem el Patrick leimor! The Torah is filled with nothing but the Jewish nation. Wherever you look, it’s only our people, our people. Nothing is said about Irishmen, about Polish people, nothing. Only Jews! From beginning to end, the entire Tanach deals only with our people.So what do we see? That’s the importance of the Am Yisroel is kol hatorah kulah. And therefore we have to say that the pride in being a Jew is just as fundamental as believing in kol hatorah kulah.And anyone who doesn’t understand this concept in its fullness, so he doesn’t really understand the Torah. Actually he’s a kofer b’ikar; he’s rebelling against the whole Tanach. It’s as open as could be that this is the chief function of all the writings in the Tanach, to tell us first that there is a Creator, and number two that He has a chosen nation.WE DON’T CARE WHAT THEY SAYNow, today this second principle is frequently overlooked. Pious Jews will say, “Yes, certainly; we’re chosen to do commandments. But you have to look at everyone else tolerantly. They’re like us. They also have ways of living, they also are nations and they also have cultures.” Now I know that some people here read newspapers, they watch television and they listen to goyim talking on the radio. So their minds are brainwashed- not brainwashed, dirt washed, bilge-water washed, and therefore it hurts them to hear the words I’m saying here. But what could I do? After all, it’s an elementary principle of the Torah that we are Hashem’s chosen people. And if you don’t believe that, then goodbye! You don’t belong. If you don’t believe we are His people, then you don’t belong to us.We don’t care what the world says. We believe implicitly in these two cardinal principles – we believe in Hashem and we believe we are His people. No matter what the world says. They wouldn’t like to hear that, but we don’t care, we still know that weare His people. That’s the Torah! That’s the purpose of the Torah, to tell us who we are.SOME THINGS NEED TO STAY A SECRETNow, of course you shouldn’t despise anybody. You shouldn’t show contempt for anybody, The public disrespect that is evident among some of our fellow Jews is not prudent. Not at all. It’s silly and it’s not a k’vod shamayim. However, in your heart there’s no question what you should think. Because there is no question that when you know that you’re superior, then definitely you consider the other one inferior. It’s unavoidable!Now, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to go around shouting from the rooftops that someone else is inferior. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to have to upset the gentile nations. We’re not looking to start up with nations of the world today; they have their own religions and they’ll become angry at us. But amongst ourselves, when we speak to each other, of course we say the truth. Among ourselves we speak about the truth all the time. We must spread the good news among our families and among our friends, of course. Absolutely we must do that. No doubt about it! Only that one has to be wise enough and respectful enough to not let our gentile neighbors know what we are thinking.THE GREAT TEST OF OPPOSITIONNow the truth is that nobody is capable of appreciating what this means, but at least to a certain extent a Jew must understand that he is an aristocrat, the chosen of Hashem. However, there’s a great test, a very great test, because of the opposition of the umos haolam, the constant hammering away of the anti-Semites and also the Jewish anti-Semites today who are constantly belittling the frumJews, all the time.And now we begin to understand what the nisayon of life is. We’re being tested all the time. Because if we were the majority, it would be easy for us to be superior. We would easily fulfill this emunah that we are the chosen people. We’re the bosses, we dominate the world, so what’s the question?! Only that if you’re a minority and you walk in the street and a WASP driving by in a car calls you “Kike” or a boy riding by on a bike says “Get out of my way, Jew,” there’s a tendency to feel a little bit inferior. If you see all around you people who look down on you; some of them are nice enough not to say it, but in their hearts you know what they’re thinking. They despise you. They hate you. There’s no question about it. And don’t tell me not; I know the gentiles much better than you. And the truth is that today we have so many Jews who hate us; we have a double test. Once upon a time only goyim hated us. Today Jews hate us and the majority of Jews hate frum Jews. It’s a constant barrage, a great nisayon, and that’s why we’re in this world, to overcome the sheker of the world and to never lose sight of the great principle that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has taught us: that we are His people, His only people forever and ever.BANG ON THE TABLE!That’s what Moshe Rabeinu said when he came to Pharaoh. He hammered on the table and said: כה אמר השם בני בכורי ישראל, like it or not, this is what Hashem said: “The Am Yisroel is My firstborn, My favorite.” And that’s what we have to be telling ourselves always. We have to hear it though. We have to bang on the table and say it to ourselves again and again, and remind ourselves who we are at all times. We are the בני א-ל חי, we are the children of the living G-d. בנים אתם להשם אלוקיכם, we are children to Hashem. And we have to walk with our heads high, always cognizant of the great pride that Hakadosh Baruch Hu bestowed on us, no matter what the world says. Don’t believe in democracy; don’t believe in pluralism. He chose us, and that’s it!I always tell the same stories so you heard this already. But I’ll tell it again. Reb Moshe Montefiore was the Lord Mayor of England. And he was also a baron. He was knighted by the king. That’s why he was Sir Montefiore. When he heard that in Russia they were persecuting the Jews, he decided to go to Russia and intervene with the Czar on behalf of his fellow Jews. So he travelled all the way across Russia with his own chariots. His own horsemen and a fancy carriage. The horsemen sat in the front, driving. And he was in the back. And on the side of the carriage were like private guards who could protect him if needed. And he was riding through Poland. He was riding through the streets of Warsaw. In Warsaw, in Poland of old, they were all anti-Semites. They hated the Jews. And here they saw a Jew riding in a carriage. A Jew who’s a big k’nocker. So there was a goy who couldn’t contain himself. A boy, a shaygetz, came running after him and he shouted, “Zhid!” Zhid means Jew in Polish. It was a derogatory way of referring to a Jew. So Reb Moshe Montefiore stopped the carriage and told his footmen to go run and catch the goy. They caught the goy and he was trembling because he knew that this Jew was a powerful Jew. They brought him to Reb Moshe and his hands and feet were trembling. So Reb Moshe Montefiore said, “Look here. In London they call me the Lord Mayor of London. The Sheriff of this and this district. Baron and Sir and so on and so on. But the biggest, the most important title, is the one you called me. Zhid! There’s nothing greater than that in the world.” And Reb Moshe Montefiore gave the boy a quid – a half pound – and he sent him away. He thanked him and sent him away.THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSEOh, how important it is for the Jew to recognize his greatness. A Jew must always remember how important he is, and never lose sight of our distinctiveness as the central feature of the universe. That’s why the universe exists, for the sake of the Am Yisroel, and you should be proud and arrogant, and therefore you know that you have to always strive for perfection and not be satisfied to remain mediocre. The Am Yisroel must always remind themselves that they are superior and that they should never lower themselves to the level of the nations.And what our parsha is teaching us is that one of the most important lessons of the Mishkanwas this lesson of the pride of the Am Yisroel. It was the symbol of our glory.ושכנתי בתוכם. Hashem lives with us! Those two words are a stunning declaration of the principle that Hashem’s interest is not in the vast distances of space and in the millions of star-worlds, but in Man alone. And of all men, Hashem chose the Am Yisroel and made them the center of the universe by bringing His Presence to rest among them.GETTING DIZZY FROM THE MISHKAN“Behold, the Lord your God possesses the heavens, and the heavens above them, and the earth and all therein, but in your fathers alone did He delight to love them, and He chose their seed after them, you, above all the nation, even to this day” (Dvarim 10:14-15). This stupendous but abstract concept was now concretized in a visible form. “They shall make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them” (Shemos 25:8). Thenceforth, the multitude of Israel, whenever they saw the Mishkan, pointed to it as the dwelling place of the Master of the Universe. And in this tangible form, this dizzyingly sublime idea was hammered constantly into the mind of the Am Yisroel.Now the nations of the world will never yield to that thesis. But the time will come however when יושב בשמים ישחק, the One who dwells in the heavens will laugh at them, השם ילעג למו, Hashem will mock them. And the Am Yisroel will then open its mouth in happy laughter as well, as the glory of ours that we were always well aware of, now becomes visible to all. And when Hashem laughs at the nations of the world, we too will indulge in laughter to our hearts content. We will laugh and laugh in proud happiness about the glory that was always ours! אז ימלא שחוק פינו, then our mouths will be full of laughter. And we will laugh forever and ever rejoicing in the fact that in this world and in the next world the Shechina rests only on the Am Hashem. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do you ever wonder why some people succeed and some don’t — especially when they seem to start out on an even playing field? Well, that’s exactly what our Inside LaunchStreet guest, Angela Duckworth, wondered and took the time to research. She studies everyone from CEOs to West Point cadets. Can you guess the factor that led to those that made it and those that didn’t? It’s not intelligence, resources or skill. It’s grit. Turns out it’s more important that we think. What a great way to kick off 2019!   Key Takeaways: [1:24] Tamara opens the show by letting listeners know that the most important ingredient to success is grit. It’s not skill, talent, or resources that help you achieve your goals. That means that we all have it! Angela digs deep into this topic, in her book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. [4:03] You might be surprised to know that Angela could be a chef and not a psychologist. Her passion is cooking. [5:20] Angela defines grit as the combination of being really passionate at what you’re doing as well as persevering over extended periods of time. How can we attain grit? [9:10] Angela shares an experience about the quarterback, Steve Young. His dad was nicknamed Grit. He taught Steve the power of working really hard. Steve threw ten thousand practice spirals into the net to improve his passing game. His story included talent but also an enormous effort that’s hidden from view. [11:01] Tamara shares that we often put emphasis and admiration on what we think is a natural talent. But, it’s real grit that gets us to the end. Angela believes there are two reasons why it is dazzling to watch someone perform well — One: It truly is awesome to watch; Two: It is motivational to watch someone perform well. Angela and Tamara talk about Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison. [15:06] Angela speaks to the young people listening. She reminds them that excellence is not a gift, it’s earned. [15:50] Angela shares the story that opens her book. She talks about the competitive admissions at West Point. She embarked on a study to find out why candidates drop out in the first two months. She believes that they dropped out because, for the first time in their lives, they weren't the star of the team. She believes a lot of grit is not quitting on a bad day. Tamara discusses having the end in mind, and not getting wrapped up in the moment. [19:26] How do you measure grit in yourself? Angela developed a Grit Scale for research studies. But, anyone can take the grit scale for personal reflection. [23:08] If you’re a leader of a team, how do you apply grit to your team? [25:40] Change is so rapid, Tamara believes you have to have grit to adapt to the change. Angela points out the importance of encouraging the change but it’s also important to keep in mind the steadiness of the ship. [29:06] Find out if Angela was surprised to find out exactly how big of a player grit really is. She has learned that the story of success isn’t the one she thought of as a little girl. [31:46] Tamara challengers listeners to do one thing that would make each of us a little grittier. Come in a bit early, stay late, put a little extra effort in, give it a little more oomph. [32;03] Tamara talks about an article that discussed kids who are rewarded for the effort they put into their grades actually do better long term. Angela discusses growth mindset research done by Carol Dweck. When you praise the effort versus the outcome, you get a more effective resilient motivation. Get introduced to the term ‘process praise’ and the importance of it. [34:52] Angela reminds listeners to go out of your way to praise. Tamara rewards behaviors and not outcomes at Inside LaunchStreet. She talks about the importance of praising the risk. [36:54] Learn more and connect with Angela on Characterlab.org. It’s a nonprofit website, so everything is free on the site. [37:18] Is grit contagious? [39;28] Tamara reminds listeners that we don’t have to be on our A game all the time. We all have our good times and bad times. [42:20] Order Angela’s book today. [42:41] Angela’s final piece of advice for listeners is to always be working on your motivation. [43:22] Tamara loves that there’s something inside each of us to help make us better. Grit is important to innovation. It helps us push through and overcome the noes and obstacles. Tamara asks listeners to apply grit daily.   If you are ready to: get buy-in from key decision makers on your next big idea be a high-impact, high-value member that ignites change foster a culture of innovation where everyone on your team is bringing innovative ideas that tackle challenges and seize opportunities... Join us on LaunchStreet — gotolaunchstreet.com   Mentioned in This Episode: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Man’s Search for Meaning  

Not REALLY a Bonus Episode - Trying To Fit IN and Vindictive Pets BONUS EPISODE: This is a weird ONE…It’s the week after Christmas…Grant is wearing the light up cat pajamas that Ashley got him, Ashley wants to be less of a pushover and our sponsors are not going to be happy with us…AGAIN!Text the Ashley and Grant your questions and dilemmas: (910)-557-2871**Text and Data rates may apply (but its just a text) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

When the exile ends, and Yeshua leads His people home, cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, what does the “restored unity” look like? *It is about UNITY of the name being restored (Yahweh is Yeshua, they are ONE) *It is about the SHEKINAH returning and no longer being in exile *It is about the 12 tribes becoming ONE *It is about the people becoming ONE with Yahweh/Yeshua *It is about the people becoming ONE with each other *It is about the people becoming ONE with the land of Israel *It is about the people becoming ONE with the Torah of Yeshua By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land? Psalm 137:1-4 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. Revelation 14:1-3 For more Eddie Chumney teachings and beautiful worship music, visit us at our internet streaming radio station; http://hebrootsradio.com Visit our home page at http://hebroots.com Are you being blessed by these teachings? Please consider making a donation at http://hebroots.com and click the donate button. Thank you for listening!

When technology doesn’t work when it should, is it a tech fail? Or perhaps because humans are creating the technology, fails should be more accurately called a human fail? In this episode, we discuss various types of “fails”, including the latest popular Pokémon Go, why we can’t vote online and the biggest fail of all, a data breach. Pokémon Go full access, tech fail or win Is it possible to delete an entire company with one line of code? Why can’t we vote online? Should one person be blamed for a tech fail? Technologies that can predict your next security fail Parting Gifts Pokémon Go full access: tech fail or win? Cindy: This week, I’m calling our show #techfails. But in preparing for this show and thinking deeply about our fails, I just want to echo what Kilian has been voicing these past couple of episodes, that when our technology fails; like for an instance, if my Skype for business isn’t working, then my first thought is, “Oh, it’s a tech fail. I can’t believe it’s not working.” But we’re the one creating the technology. So, for me, it feels, at the end of the day, a human fail. Let’s discuss this and debate it for a bit. To set the context, there was an article in the Harvard Business Review, and eventually turned into a LinkedIn post too. It’s titled “ A New Way for Entrepreneurs to Think About IT.” It said that IT’s primarily known as a necessary evil, IT support or IT as a product. With many different types of technologies at our fingertips, we can really do a blend of both. For instance, APIs have really changed how firms interact and share information with each other. And we really take this for granted these days, because back then you’d have to get permission from legal to sign contracts before experimenting with partnerships. Now you can easily partner up with another service within API or use OAuth . It’s really increased our productivity, but it can also have some potential problems if we’re not careful. For instance, if you downloaded Pokémon Go earlier this week, you might have been given Google full access. That meant that the Pokémon people could read all your emails and send out emails for you. But since then they fixed it. I think, Kilian, they fixed it pretty quick. Kilian: Yeah, in about, I think, 24 hours, more or less, they had a patch out that it addressed it already. I think, as opposed to a technology fail, that might be a technology win, for a company really taking these concerns seriously and addressing it as soon as it’s kind of brought up. Mike: Before we get into that, I just want to know, what’s your guys’ level? How you been doing on Pokémon Go? Have you been getting out there, doing your Pokémon? Cindy: I’ve been…I actually downloaded it at the office. And I could have thrown something at somebody, but I didn’t. I’m like, “Well, I’m just doing this for work, so better not start running after people and throwing stuff at them.” Mike: You couldn’t convince the rest of the office that playing Pokémon Go was part of your job? Cindy: Actually, we had a mobile photography class earlier this week, and Michelle, our HR person, was walking around telling people that Pokémon’s gonna be there. She was doing that for me. Mike: Nice. How about you, Kilian, have you tried it? Kilian: No, I haven’t downloaded it. That would require going outside and interacting with things, maybe. Mike: The first couple ones show up right around you. And I think this is kind of where I was going with this, which is that a lot of this…in terms of tech fails, this is really about managing complexity. In terms of IT, trying to manage these external services, it’s about managing complexity on an organizational level instead of a personal one. Because when you think about what is involved for this stupid game of Pokémon Go, you’re talking about interacting with geosynchronous orbital satellites for GPS, the internet to get all these apps, these multiple different services. And to pull all that together requires this huge thing. The security issue came about because Google was asking for OAuth access, and that’s just when you use Google to log into it. You log in with your account and it has these things. And it’s so complex because even though it doesn’t look like it, it actually uses Google Maps data underneath. A trick you can do, is if you have Google Maps installed on your iPhone, you can enable offline map access. And in order to achieve the app to app communication on your sandbox apps on the iPhone, it needs all these extra permissions, and it’s just insane trying to make that work. It’s so easy when you’re building something to just like, just give me all the permissions, and we’ll slowly back it down until where it’s supposed to be. Cindy: Do you think this is kind of like, “okay, we’re gonna use external service, and then just not really look at the settings because we’re so focused on making Pokémon Go just a wonderful experience?” Mike: Well, that’s the consumer side. The level we work at, people try to look at something like Amazon web services, which this article mentions. It is fantastically complex. It’s something like 60 different individual services that do individual things and also overlap with other ones where like, oh, there’s like six different ways to send an email with AWS. There’s 20 different ways to put a message in a queue to be picked up by something else. Just trying to wrap your head around like, what actually is it doing, is just insane. And it’s possible to do the stuff. I think it’s just a really hard equation of, “Do we bring this in-house and have a dedicated person for it? Is that more or less of a threat than having this outside?” Something I see a lot of is…coming more from the app side of things is, people swearing up and down that, “I’m gonna get on a virtual private server somewhere for ten bucks a month, put my own version of Ubuntu on it and keep it up to date.” And it’s really hard to imagine that that is as secure as having a dedicated security team at AWS or Heroku or one of the other Azure platforms as a service. It’s that same scenario, sort of, at the organizational level, that either it’s a tremendous amount of effort to maintain and secure all those things yourself, or you’re essentially paying for that in your service contract. Cindy: I think those are all really good questions to ask, and it requires a huge team. Is it possible to delete an entire company with one line of code? Cindy: I kind of want to transition into another fail that’s different than asking good questions and figuring out the architecture. The next fail is a fail on many different levels. It would be interesting for us to discuss. Back in April, there was an article published and shared over 65,000 times when a small hosting company with a little over 1,500 users said that he deleted their customer’s hosted data with a single command. Then later we found out that he was just trying to market his new Linux service for his company. And then people were outraged, “He didn’t do a better job backing up,” they were outraged that he lied to server fault, like a community that really helps one another figure stuff out. It’s security, and backing up, and just technology, it’s complicated. I was a little skeptical reading the article with the headline that said “One Person Accidentally Deletes His Entire Company With One Line of Bad Code.” As you’re responsible for hosting data, you should have multiple backups. One of my favorite comments is, how do you even accidentally type that you accidentally deleted stuff? What are your thoughts and reactions to this article? Mike: Kilian, you want to go? I have my own thoughts. Kilian: Sure. First off, that’s a terrible job of advertising. I don’t know what he’s advertising for. Like, “Host with us and I might break your stuff.” I think the point he was probably going for is that it’s easy to make mistakes, so get a dedicated person that knows better. But I don’t think that really came across. For the actual command itself, a lot of people are in such a hurry to automate and make things easier that it is easy to make mistakes, especially as Mike mentioned earlier, with these vastly complicated systems with dozens of ways to do the same thing. The more the complex the system gets, the easier it is to make a mistake. Maybe it could be that disastrous. But a lot of things really have to go wrong, and kind of poor decisions made throughout the chain. But it’s conceivable that someone could have done that. Mike: Specifically, to the question that’s asked on server fault, which is like a question and answer side for these issues. There’s a lot of utilities that can either take a single or multiple different directories as arguments. So you say, “Hey, copy these two things,” or “Copy this one thing.” And so, in this, the person, they put a space so they have like: /pathfolder /. And so, that last slash got interpreted as the root of the volume they were on. And so, hey, we just destroyed everything, and everything includes all your keys and stuff. Something we talk a lot about in here is layered security, but you need layered backups and recovery as well. That was really the answer to this, is that they were on a virtual private server. In addition to just backing up the local data, their database, the files on it, it takes system images of your entire VPS and keeps it somewhere else. I am incredibly paranoid with backups, especially backups of systems like this. So I always try to even just get it out of the system that…if it’s on…in this case, it was Hetzner, which is a European hosting system, that you get that out onto S3 or you get it out on to Rackspace cloud or something else, just to try to make that a better scenario. Kilian: That’s a great point, is having multiple different…you can’t have one single point of failure in a system like this. Otherwise, you could be very vulnerable. Even for myself when I, for example, backup pictures off of my camera, I have to go to my laptop, I have to go to a network share, and then I have a separate hard drive that I plug in just for that, and then unplug and put it away afterwards. So I have three different places for it. Not that they’re that valuable like a hosting system, but silly things happen sometimes. You know, if I lose power or power surge, I lose two of my systems for some reason, I still have that hard drive that’s sitting in a drawer. Mike: I have a lot of discussions with people where they have backups and this very elaborate system. They’re like, “All right, I have my local network attach storage here, then I got this ‘nother server, and then I rotate them and do all this stuff.” That’s awesome until their house catches on fire and they lose everything. And that’s the stuff you have to think about. It’s like these things come in in weird ways, especially everything is so interconnected and everything is so dependent upon each other that you can just have these weird cascading levels of failure. And from very crazy sources of stuff. Like, DNS goes like a DNS server gets a DDoS attack. And then that actually ends up taking down like a third of the internet just because everything is so connected.  Why can’t we vote online? Cindy: Our next fail…I want to know if you guys think that our inability to vote online is a human fail or a tech fail. What do you guys think? Or any opinion, really. Mike: It’s all in the execution, like all this stuff. That if there was a verifiable, cryptographically secure way of knowing that you could vote, that would be a very positive thing, potentially. It’s a really interesting mix of software and technological concerns, and people, and sociological and political concerns. What I just said about having almost a voting receipt that says, “Great, you used your key to sign, and you have definitely voted for this person and done this thing.” One of the reasons that’s never been done, even on most paper stuff, is that that was a huge source of fraud that in like the olden days, when they had voting receipts, you would go and turn them into your councilman and they would be like, “Great, here’s your five bucks for voting for me in this election.” So that’s just something that’s not done. That’s not a technical issue. It’s certainly possible to do those things, but it leads to all these other unforeseen, I don’t know if you’ve heard of the cobra effect kind of things, these horrible unintended consequences. Cindy: I think this article on why we still can’t vote online was just very thoughtfully written. It talked about how it can potentially destabilize a country’s government and leadership if they don’t get voting online right. It was really just like, wow, I can’t believe a researcher at The Lawrence Livermore National Lab said, “We do not know how to build an internet voting system that has all the security, and privacy, and transparency and verifiable properties that a national security application like voting has to have.” And they’re worried about malware, they’re worried about ransomware, they’re worried about being able to go in and track, do a complete security audit. They said something interesting too about how, in the finance system, sure, you have sensitive data, and you can go back and track where the money went more or less, if you have these systems in place. But you might not necessarily be able to do that with voting, and someone can say, “I voted for so and so,” and then change it to somebody else, and they can’t go back and verify that. There are so many elements that you need to consider. It’s not just Pokémon, or you’re not trying to create a wonderful gaming experience, or you’re not trying to back things up. They’re a multitude of things you need to take in to consider. Kilian: The one big thing, and I think the heart of it, was the need for anonymity in the voting process. That’s kind of the way it was set up to avoid coercion and some other problems with it, is you need to be anonymous when you cast that vote. By putting it online, the real down side is… Like, if you think about online banking, it’s important to know and verify that you are who you say you are, and have a transaction of that entire process so you can ensure…it’s kind of both parties know that the money transfer from X to Y or so on and so forth. And you have the track of the steps. But when you try and introduce anonymity into that equation, it completely falls apart. Because if you have that tracking data going back to somebody casting a vote, then they could be a target of coercion or something like that. Or if the opposition party finds out, they could go after them for not voting for whoever. Cindy: Yeah, they did that with Nelson Mandela. Kilian: Yep. And then the other thing too is, as a person casting a vote, if you think about it, you’re kind of trusting the system. It’s completely blackboxed you at that point. So when you click the button and say, “I vote for candidate XYZ,” you have no idea, because, again, you want to be anonymous. You don’t have that verification of the system that says, “Hey, my vote wasn’t changed to candidate ABC in the process.” You kind of have to go along with it. Even if you look back at some of the physical problems with the George W. Bush election with the ballots not lining up right with the little punches. It was punching for… I forget what the other candidate’s name was. Cindy: Al Gore? Kilian: No, no, no. It was like Paton Cannon or somebody. Whoever the third party candidate was. But they were saying, “No, no, I voted for Al Gore…” whoever, but it registered somebody else. They had to go back and manually look at that, and look at the physical paper to see that to validate that. But if you think in a digital system, if you click the button, you have no way to audit that really. Because if the system says, “No, you’ve voted for this guy,” you have no proof, you have no additional evidence to back that up, and that’s the big problem. Cindy: They actually showed this in “The Good Wife,” the TV show that is no longer around, or they just ended. The voters would go in and they would vote for someone, but then it would also give the other person five additional more votes. I think another thing to…they didn’t mention it, but I think politicians or just that kind of industry are kind of a tad bit slower in the technology side. Because Barack Obama’s campaign really set the tone for using technology and using social media to kind of engage the voters. It’s kind of like he really changed how now politicians are marketing and connecting with people. I don’t know, do you feel like they’re kind of behind? Or maybe that’s just me? Kilian: My personal opinion is, we have laws that don’t make sense with where technology’s at, because they are slow. We’re still running on laws, and been prosecuting cases with laws that were made in the ’80s and early ’90s, and even older in some cases, where technology was vastly different than what we have today. This might be off topic, but there was just, I think, a ruling that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act could theoretically mean that if you share your Netflix password, it’s a federal crime. Now, that’s open to interpretation, but that was a story I had seen the other day. We have all this technology and it’s evolving much, much faster than the people making the regulations can kind of keep up with it. Mike: I just want to see a Poke stop at every voting registration. Cindy: Mike has Pokémon on his mind. Kilian: It’s great, it’s good fun. Cindy: Now I have Pokémon…I actually visualized us playing Pokémon at a voting station. That would be interesting. It’s too hot and humid in New York to do that. Kilian: Vote to vote or play Pokémon. Cindy: I almost want to say Poke because it’s so hot. Kilian: Well, to the candidates out there, the first one to get on top of this making a Poke stop at the voting booths in November might seize the election with the youth vote. Mike: A Pokémon at every pot. Should One Person Be Blamed For A Tech Fail? Cindy: Let’s also kind of think about potential fails, though. We’ve seen Target, Sony, the data breaches. And so, when fails happen that costs them their jobs, do you think one person should be blamed for all of it or can we also kind of say, “We don’t have the technology right yet”? Mike: It’s interesting. What we’re talking about is, there have been a lot of very large data breaches. And what seems to happen is, it happens and then depending upon how much press it gets, the CEO has to resign or doesn’t. Or in the case of the OPM, the director. The parallel that I like to think of is Sarbanes Oxley, which has had a lot of other consequences. But the big one was that the chief executive has to sign off on the financials of the company. Before, it was always there were a lot of scandals where it was like, “I’m just running the company. My CFO and the accounting group, they were doing their own thing with the funds. And I wasn’t aware that this…” Then we said this like 10,000 pounds of coconuts we had on the dock, they were rotten were actually good. We counted those in the asset, all of those kind of shenanigans. And just that thought that, okay, the finances and the statements that are put out, that is an executive level sign off, that there’s a responsibility at that level to ensure that those are correct. What we’re seeing is sort of that happening on the IT security side. That maintaining integrity of your customer’s data, of the people you’re responsible for, that is something that the executives need to say is a priority, and to ensure that in any way they can. That if they aren’t doing that, that’s their job, that they failed at their job. Now, looking through these kind of stories, you typically find that the person in charge is not a network security person, because there’s not a lot of people that get their CISSP and then say, “I’m qualified to be CEO.” That’s just not how the normal job progression works. But they need to have people in place, and they need to make sure that the right things are happening, despite not having the personal expertise to implement those but that they make it a priority and they give budget, and they’re able to balance it against the other needs of the company. Technologies that can predict your next security fail Cindy: In order to come back from a security or technology fail…there was an article about “There’s new technology that can predict your next security fail.” They are essentially talking about predictive analytics. I really like a quote that they wrote that, “It’s only as good as the forethought you put into it, and the questions that you ask of it.” If you don’t think about it, if you don’t have a whole team to work on this huge security and technology problem…because there’s only so much you can…in terms of big data, machine learning, predictive analytics, there’s a lot of stuff, a lot of elements that you’re unable to kind of account for. So if you don’t consider all the different elements in security, you can’t build that into the technology that we build. What are some other things you think that can help companies prevent or come back from a tech fail or a security fail or a human fail? Kilian: The only thing I could get in my mind there was asking the right questions. For me is from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. If you ask it, what’s the meaning of life, the universe and everything, it’s gonna give an answer. But what’s the question you’re really trying to get out of it? That’s all I can think of in my head. I think that’s one thing people get stuck in a lot of times, is asking the wrong questions that they need from their data. I’m sorry, Mike, I cut you off there. You were gonna say something. Mike: I’m in agreement with you, Kilian, because I think too often the question posed is, “Are we secure?” There’s no crisp answer to that. It’s never gonna be yes, we’re 100% good, because the only way to do that is not to have any data, and not to have any interactions with customers. If that’s the case, then you don’t have a business. So you have to have something. You still have to have people interacting, and the moment you have two people interacting, you’re vulnerable at some level. They can be tricked, they could do anything. And then you have networks, and the networks are talking. So it’s much more about, what is the level of risk that you find acceptable? What steps can you take towards mitigating known dangers? How much effort and time and money can you put behind those efforts? There’s no quick fix. Something we talk about a lot on this is that data is, in a lot of ways, like a toxic asset. It’s something that you need to think about like, “Oh, we have all this extra data. Well, let’s try and get rid of some of it. Just so we don’t have it around to cause us a problem, just so we don’t have it around to be leaked in some way.” There’s lots of different ways to do that and lots of benefits of doing so. Parting Gift Cindy: Now in the parting gift segment of our show, where we share things we’re working on, or something we found online that we think our viewers and listeners would appreciate. I just read that Chrysler, the car brand, is offering a bug bounty between $150 to $1,500 for finding bugs. But you can’t make it public. And also, I just updated top InfoSec people to follow. I included a whole bunch of other women that were missed. So check that out at blog.varonis.com. Mike: Who’s the one person you think we should follow that we weren’t before? Cindy: I definitely think we should be all following Runa Sandvik. She’s the new InfoSec security person. She writes about the Info security at the New York Times. She also worked on Tor, and she did this really cool rifle hack. And she wrote about that. Or someone wrote about her hack on Wired. Any parting gifts, Mike? Mike: I was gonna recommend Qualys’ SSL lab server test. If you’re unaware of what it is, you can put it in your website and it will run through all the different ways in which you’ve screwed up setting it up properly to be secure. It gives you a nice letter grade. So, a couple interesting things about this. One: It’s really hard to make one of these yourself, because to do so, you have to maintain a system that has all of the old, bad libraries on it for connecting on SSL1 and 2 and 3 that are deprecated. Just so you can make the connections and say, like, “Yes, this remote system also connects with this.” So it’s not something you want to do, and it’s not something you can do trivially. So it’s great that this is an online service. And then two: I think it’s really interesting how…they essentially just made up these letter grades for what they consider as an A, A+, B. But in doing so, they were able to really improve the security of everyone. Because it’s one thing to say, “Okay, out of 200 possible things we comply with, 197 of them.” It’s a different thing to know, “Okay, we got a failing grade because one of those three things we didn’t do was actually really, really bad and exploitable.” And to be able to compare that across sites, I think, just has a lot of incentives to make everyone improve their site. Like, “Oh, gosh, this other site is a better grade than us. We should definitely improve things.” So for those reasons, I think it’s a really great part of the security ecosystem and a great tool for all of that. Cindy: Kilian, do you have a parting gift? Kilian: I was reading an article the other day, it was pretty interesting how we all come to rely on our phones and our digital assistance, like Siri or Google Now, to make our lives easier to interact with a device. Some researchers started thinking that, “Hey, this is a good avenue for exploitation.” They started kind of distorting voice commands so they can embed it in other things, to get your phone to do stuff on your behalf. So, it’s just an interesting thing to keep aware of and how you’re using your digital assistance, because other people could start to exploit it by issuing voice commands to it to maybe direct you to a malicious site or something. It’s one more thing to kind of keep in the back of your mind.   Subscribe Now Join us Thursdays at 1:30ET for the Live show on Youtube, or use one of the links below to add us to your favorite podcasting app. iTunes Android RSS The post TechFails – IOSS 15 appeared first on Varonis Blog.

IT spending, and especially IT investments by enterprises, provides a useful proxy for wider levels of confidence. One IT company that is better placed than most to offer a view on whether those investments are picking up again is SAP. Connected Business spoke to its co-CEOs, Jim Hagemann Snabe and Bill McDermott. Plus, we hear how UK-headquartered electronics manufacturer Psion is using IT to help it to trade around the world. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.