Podcasts about shamaya

Shamaya & Keanne Birthday Catamaran Cruise by Mastermind Master Studio

In this episode, we talk with Shamaya Burks, a 34-year-old mother from Georgia, about her experiences raising three children on the autism spectrum. Her son, Xolani, 5, is moderately verbal, while her twin daughters, Nyjah and Najari, 2, are non-verbal; Nyjah also has Cerebral Palsy, and Najari faces more severe challenges. Shamaya shares her initial lack of knowledge about autism, the emotional journey following her children's diagnoses, and how she has found strength and purpose in advocating for them. Now, as a stay-at-home mom, she also supports other parents navigating similar paths.Tune in to hear Shamaya's incredible journey.Follow her journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themanevibez/Don't forget to subscribe and stay tuned for more empowering stories like Shamaya's.Follow Us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theabmpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095054651586

Artistic Lifeyness: Exploring Place, Body, Art and Identity Across Cultures   In this conversation, three artists based in the Jacksonville area, Jennifer, Shameera, and Thorne, share their unique perspectives on place, embodiment, and art. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, these women discuss how their work is influenced by their identities and their sense of location, both in a physical and spiritual sense. They talk about the dual experiences of feeling embodied and disembodied as artists, referring to the process of bringing ideas from the abstract world of imagination into the physical reality through their art. The artists also touch upon the idea of home and the importance of creating cultural bridges through art.  What are the pros and cons of living in Jacksonville as a creative soul? And how do you become more embodied as an artist? Listen up and find out! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Connect with host Professor Sarah @book_of_lifeyness on TikTok and Instagram Thorn works in graphic design, jewelry making, theater and screen acting, origami and more. See her work and connect with her here: The Urban Atelier Shameera Din Wiest is a digital artist, poet, sculptor, weaver, former diplomat and political analyst. See her work here on Instagram:  @shameerawt Jennifer Chase is a storyteller, musician, professor, producer, and playwright. See more here: jennchase.com   A special thanks to the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida whose Ignite program first brought these artists together! https://www.jaxcf.org/     Episode Outline: Part I: Introduction inspired by birds, Jacksonville, and the words of Rick Rubin Part II: Art and Place--We can smell you from here, Jax. Part III: Embodiment--Make a body for your idea! Part IV: Take from the spirit world and bring it down to Jacksonville Part V: Identity--How your own prism informs your work...and pajama party :-) Part VI: Disembodiment and Embodied Art Part VII: Taking up space in Northeast FL   And here's an AI-created Timestamp Outline: 00:00 Introduction: The Search for Self 00:21 The Power of Acceptance 00:55 Finding Home in Unfamiliar Places 02:34 Exploring Northeast Florida 03:23 The Role of Artists in Society 03:59 The Struggles of Living in Jacksonville, Florida 04:55 The Journey of Self-Discovery 05:33 The Power of Art and Creativity 06:07 The Connection Between Place and Art 07:01 The Importance of Being Present 07:06 Art as a Form of Self-Expression 07:34 Interview with Three Talented Women Artists 10:54 The Influence of Geography on Art 11:46 The Role of Motherhood and Womanhood in Art 12:45 The Power of Listening and Being Present 16:54 The Impact of Jacksonville on Personal Growth 18:18 The Role of Spirituality in Art 20:02 The Importance of Nurturing in Art 25:36 The Connection Between Art and Embodiment 33:51 The Power of Conversation in Art 35:07 The Power of Listening and Connecting 35:43 The Journey of Self-Reflection 36:17 Shamaya's Artistic Journey and Cultural Heritage 38:19 The Struggles and Triumphs of Shamaya's Life 39:21 The Intersection of Femininity and Art 40:53 The Power of Personal Stories 42:57 The Influence of Identity on Art 46:34 The Power of Art in Public Spaces 49:51 The Role of Art in Society 56:46 The Importance of Embracing Failure 01:06:20 The Power of Art in Building Cultural Bridges     Full script below, generated by Descript   What I've been learning is that everywhere I go, there I am, I am a home, you know, you're, we're always looking outside of ourselves. I think it was Wayne Dyer that, um, said something along the lines of, we're always looking, we've lost our keys and we're looking for our keys outside the house when the keys were sitting there at the front door.  You know, you have to decide that you're going to leave this behind and say just no to it, or you have to kind of change your space. Or, you know, you. Acceptance. You, you have to accept it. Yeah. You have to fully accept it. Mm-Hmm. . And once you do that, then all of that energy that you, that took up your spirit saying, well, I don't really like this town. Like this isn't, you know, where are all the people,  and all of that. Yeah. The people, it goes to another place and you start building it yourself. Yeah. I definitely feel that, like  I'm going through that whole.  I don't belong here. There's no one that looks like me there. I can't find my food Like I mean, it's just yeah, it's hard But I am trying to find ways to and no one's telling me to leave this time. So that's also hard  Yeah   And this will be your place in some way, you know, because it was the place where you decided to take care of your people.  It feels like  comfortable  skin,  not just confident, but also pain free, healthy.  Think about the most robust version of your own childhood.  This is what Lifeyness feels like, a joyful spirit and a vibrant physical state of being.  I'm your guide professor, Sarah storyteller, teacher and wellness enthusiast.  Reach into the vitality of your own  to supercharge your grownup life.  So I think I'm being kind when I say I live in a slightly dysfunctional city, marked with a lot of cultural blanks.  It's this place where.  We all just kind of landed somehow or another.  It's not really even designed like a typical American city.  They say it's a city of neighborhoods, which really means it's a giant, sprawling suburb.  But stay with me. I love this place.  And today, on this episode of Lifeyness, I'm going to be exploring Northeast Florida.  It is a home for many of us, and we've made it sacred by filling it with our children,  artwork, our classes, our educations. Our activities.  Like any body, we adorn it and try to keep it healthy,  but more than anything, we live inside of it day in and day out,  and that is what makes a city a city.  It's what makes a human life have meaning.  So welcome back to Lifeyness.  This is Professor Sarah, and I'm super excited about this episode and the next, which will conclude the first season.  Today, we're talking about place, body, and art.  Specifically, how do artists find embodiment both in their work and in their geography?  If you've listened to any of this podcast, you know that staying grounded in your body, staying playful in your space and in your work,  and accepting the moment in front of you with a whole heart,  these are some of the keys to living the good life  and to finding joy.  So I'm going to give you a little bit of insight into the place that I live.  I always thought that Jacksonville, Florida lacked a sense of the sacred.  And I think to a certain degree, it still kind of does. It doesn't have that ritualized admiration that you see in cities like New York and Toronto and San Francisco, like where tourists go, they know where to go, they know what to love and how to dress.  Northeast Florida in general can feel like a cultural wasteland at first.  In fact, not long after moving here in 2007, I wrote a short story about a young woman who had gone mad from the cultural void.  Flintstoning her way through the same desolate strip mall freeways, the backdrop always the same tire shop, Best Buy, Walmart, Michaels, and Winn Dixie.  It was not far off from how I was actually feeling about this weird town.  To be clear, I hated it.  And yet, I managed well enough to get permanently stuck here by way of marriage, children, divorce. Later,  I would learn that many of my friends and colleagues have had similar experiences.  Jacksonville, the present place, is a liminal space for some, an in between.  Perhaps what we're feeling is that we haven't yet made Jacksonville as sacred as we could. We haven't worshipped it enough,  or worked our fingers over it like a sculptor works clay.  Rick Rubin, the producer of countless music artists, says that the reason we're alive is to express ourselves in the world, and that creating art might be the most effective way of doing so.  So the quote I'm about to share with you from his book, which is called The Creative Act, it makes me think of  the artists that are on the show today.  He says, the artwork is the point where all the elements come together, the universe, the prism of self, the magic and discipline of transmuting idea to flesh.  What I didn't expect to hear from these artists today is how a sense of place and their particular sense of place is so entangled with their art and also with this feeling of embodiment or disembodiment.  Years ago, I remember a veterinarian who specializes in birds told me that when they are singing or calling to one another, that the gist of what they're saying is simply, I am here.  And then calling to others, asking, are you there?  And then of course the reply is, I am here. Are you there?  And so on and so forth. And to some degree, I feel like this is what humans are doing all the time. This is all we're saying to one another. Whether it's through a book or a TikTok video or, or whether you're just reaching across the couch to your loved one,  it can all be boiled down to this.  I'm here. Look at me.  Are you there?  Art is the embodiment of a moment in our energetic human experience. It is that emotion and energy of life that's captured in an artwork, whether it's a collection of words, a pattern of music, or a painting.  It's basically the artist saying,  I am here, just like the birds do,  but they're saying it through paint or piano or an arrangement of flowers.  To discuss this idea of art as embodiment and self expression, I'm speaking with three talented women from northeast Florida.  Thorne is a passionate activist. She's a graphic designer by training. She's a jewelry maker. She's a community organizer.  My name is Tracy and I work under the moniker Thorne. I grew up here in Jacksonville, um, and I do realize that being from here has It's really made a huge impact on the work that I do. Um, I do a number of different media. I actually went to school for graphic design and printmaking.  I started making jewelry because I wasn't finding what I wanted to wear. And at that point in time, I had just come back from Peace Corps  when I first started. And a lot of the things that influenced me at that point. And her  family's been rooted in this town for many generations.  Jennifer Chase is a playwright, a musician, uh, she's a writer and college professor. And her latest book, I Can Smell You From Here, explores her relationship with the city of Jacksonville. But  I grew up in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and have been most of my adult life in Jacksonville. And went back to college as a non traditional, um, adult single mother right here in Jacksonville at FSCJ, where I now teach.  Yeah. Like Thorne, um, I did. Adopt a, a pen name has  Shaina. Um, so some of my work is under.  And then in contrast we have Shaira Dean Weist, um, she's a mixed media artist. She's a sculptor and a weaver. Um, and she's been here less than  three years. And I'm an Indian American artist. I came, I'm an immigrant and I moved to the U. S. in 1982 when I was 12 years old, so you can do the math. I create visual performance, poetry, photography, and digital art, and I feel like each of these are embodied in some way with the female, where my choice of imagery in the tapestries, sculptures that I create have elements of woman. I use my body as a vehicle in performance art. Um, I write poetry that, um, touches on elements of being an Indian woman. And I worked in Washington, um, as a political analyst. Um, I traveled overseas as a diplomat.  Today  we're having a conversation in person. In the flesh, at my dining room table together, in downtown Jacksonville,  um, in my well loved historic home built in 1911.  So we all gathered here on a winter day, when even in Florida it was chilly outside and cozy inside.  Thorne and Jennifer and Shamira are from diverse backgrounds, but they all show up in their art with the bravery it takes to say, I am here. Are you there?  Welcome to our conversation about being an artist www. artistrenjitha. com In a body, in a city, don't forget to connect with me at Book of Lifiness on TikTok, where you can see images and videos of this wonderful conversation and these amazing artists.  Let's start with place because I am invited you here to talk about embodiment, embodied art. Right. But I think, you know, like we're sitting here in Jacksonville, Florida. All together in the same space, which I think is so special considering, like I said before, a lot of my interviews I do virtually today, you know, but you know, we all met at Ignite, right? And that was such a special morning, you know, where we all came together. And, um, so I want to ask each of you kind of how do you use your geography in your art? Where does it show up in your art? And we'll start with Jen because she had the show the other night. Your story felt so parallel to mine  and it made me feel, when I looked around the audience, I was like, how many people here feel this way? And part of that is.  Motherhood. I think part of that is being a woman. Part of that is not feeling at home in Jacksonville because I, I'm not from here either. You know, and I think a lot of us are not from here. Um, but there were so many different like touch points that I was like, Oh, wait a minute. Not only did I feel like now I know you and you were able to tell your story, but I feel known. Even more. And a lot of that had to do with that, this antagonistic relationship that I've had with Jacksonville, where I feel kind of stuck here. But also this is where I do my nurturing and raise my children and make my, my own art. So tell us a little bit about that.   Well, I think first we have to be sure that we're telling ourselves the truth.  Um, and I had to take a look at sifting through the excuses, the fears, the, um, empowerment of all the experiences that I've had here. Um, I think it's a complicated question because  James Baldwin, for example, talked about this idea of cultural assumptions, and the idea that, um,  we don't realize the assumptions that we're living under until we live under another set of assumptions, and I bet Shamira has a lot. To add about that, I'm sure Thorne, too. Ironically, a lot of the, the empowerment and the appreciation of the present in Jacksonville involves the concept of time,  which I learned a lot more about in places like Senegal, living in Senegal and living in France for shorter periods of time, but enough that I thought, oh,  There's a different way, and it's not related to money, it's not related to earning money. There's a different way of appreciating the present and a meal and a conversation.  And  every time I come back from  another place where the concept of time involves shutting everything down at two o'clock and having a two and a half hour lunch with your family, I come home. gung ho to adopt that. And I have varying degrees of success with that, but I find that  for my artistic expression, for happiness, for real connection and feeling  a sense of place, it involves being aware of the present. being aware of the ability to get outside of the assumptions I've lived under and look back into them and I can see myself in my life a lot more objectively when I'm able to look at it from the outside. And then you come back and you feel differently about your surroundings and you look at things. and yourself differently. So it can be a painful experience sometimes. Um, when I looked back over 30 years at raising children,  one of the lines of my song says, um, these are the days that will be memories someday. And the whole song is just about hanging clothes on the line and watching my little girl who was then three dancing around to a Beatles song. And the whole song is about that. Yeah. It's called Mundane. Yeah. And now I'm, I just finished re recording that song and I thought, that's funny because these are now gonna be someday the moments that I think That was nice when your husband made you a coffee after work and just looked you in the eye and asked about,  you know, and got you a special cloth napkin and a little, the way you put out,  it's more about the present and how we view it. So I think that's my,  my thing. And it resonated. It really did. Thank you. It was beautiful. Thanks. Shamira, do you want to say something about kind of the way that geography informs your art? Yeah,  that's um, I mean, having a fact that I've been moving  for, you know, since, since I first moved as an immigrant, almost every three to four years I've moved for the last 34 years of my life, I think.  There is no specific place for me. I mean, I know I think the place that I most connect to is the place I was born and everything is always trying to pull me back to that. You know, having my mother live with me definitely brings that back every day. Um, so It's like I'm not connected to any place and yet I try to make the most of the opportunities that are in that place. Um, the last place I lived before moving to Florida was China and I was there for three years and I was a complete outsider. Not only, you know, it was either the western community or the Chinese community and then there's me, brown, you know, and they're not sure whether I'm Mexican or where I'm from but, and then having Not having the language, um, and not having, not being able to, or allowed to work because these are the laws of the diplomatic community where you're not, the spouse doesn't work on the local economy. So either you work in the embassy much lower than your education level, or you. Um, and then I decided to become an artist. So that's what I did.  Yeah.  Yeah. So that's when I started making art is when I started moving. But so as far as place, I mean, I don't have, I don't feel a strong connection to a geography, but I feel like the personality that I bring to each place taken from another place connects me to everyone new. And yet keeps me in contact with all my old contacts. And so I keep building these relationships with new people and keeping old people. Yeah.  I don't know how that works out,  but we're certainly happy to have you in our community now.  How about you,  Thorne?  I think it's funny. I'm the only one that's from here. Yeah. And so, but I have, I've traveled away from here, um, a number of times. I've lived in San Francisco and I've lived in Philadelphia. And then of course, as I mentioned earlier, I was in the Peace Corps. And so, So having grown up in the Bible Belt, spirituality, spirit, gospel music, all the things that you would stereotypically connect to the South are a huge part of my work, huge part of what makes me, me. I was singing a gospel song with my mom this morning  and we were just reminiscing about a church we used to go to. Music is such a huge part of my life, like, Jen, and I just actually got through, not just got through, but recently read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. And so understanding, right, really good. I'm a fan. Yeah. And so understanding that where we are now in this moment is the most important place we're ever going to be. As opposed to leaving pieces of ourself out in the future, you know, where Shamira's going to a new place, or anticipating going to a new place, and thinking about the places where we've been. And what I have realized is Jacksonville,  for me and for, I think, a lot of other people, is this type of place  that's kind of metaphor for  Where people have a really hard time being, but know that that's where they need to be at the given point in time that they're there. So, you have your reasons for being in this area, Shamira, Jen, you have your reasons. You have your reasons for staying and being here. I came back here, um,  to regroup. I was in San Francisco where I was more of like a she she homeless. I was moving around from hotel to hotel and I also used, um, hostels. I was looking for a place to stay. I was going out there to live my artist dream, believing that you had to be in this specific place to have a life of an artist. And so once again, connecting back to this.  whole idea of being in a specific place at a specific time and I really thought that that was where I was supposed to be. And, um, It wasn't. It wasn't. And I realized it not too long after and this is just, uh, another part of my background, um, that has also fed into my work. I got back here, if you want to say air quotes, just in time for my mom to be, uh, diagnosed with breast cancer. And so I was right where I needed to be in order to support her in the best way that I could. And a lot of the work that I did When I was taking care of her as well as work I was doing, you know, in the home as well as outside the home comes back to,  you know, who I am at this point in time, which is someone who's had to learn to be a nurturer, someone who gets hired, you know, as an actress, because she's seen as a nurturer. So this space, this place at that point in time, totally shaped, you know, who I've become as an artist, especially as an actress, I'd say.  I never saw myself as a caregiver, um, even though I took care of my brother growing up, but I just, I never saw myself as that type of person. And it manifests. in my work as an actress, for sure. Because that is what people see in me when I'm cast. It's,  yeah, we see you as a mom. And it's like, I don't have kids.  I love them. I think they're great. And I love the energy they bring to any room, any space. Yeah, uh, just that I didn't really ever think of myself specifically as a nurturer. I feel like Being a nurturer is such a higher evolution beyond just I babysit my brother or, you know, I was helping out at my grandmother's house. It's not the same thing. Being a nurturer and a caregiver is a totally different level of connection with another person where you're really focusing in on What their needs are at a given point in time and to be cast as a nurturer or to be thought of as a mom when people see me, it's really quite flattering, um, to be thought of, or that my spirit gives off that type of energy. So, um, and it's so funny to think about my, my work in that way as well.  Because once again, I don't think that that's necessarily something that comes across, but if we think of a lot of the work that I do is. Um, I see a lot of my artwork as spiritual practice, and so I could imagine that that's something that comes across as well. Yeah.  You give birth and you nurture your artwork. Oh my God.  Absolutely. What a wonderful way to put it. Yes. You are birthing. You are bringing into world. You are manifesting. And so that's really important to me to make sure I'm looking at my work clearly, but also Before I'm even taking into consideration the way somebody else is looking at it, I want to understand what I'm doing and what my own personal intention is.  But basically, like, you know, if you want to release that energy, you have to either, you know, you have to decide that you're going to leave this behind and say, just no to it, or you have to kind of change your space or, you know, you have to accept it. Yeah. You have to fully accept it. And once you do that. Then all of that energy that you, that took up your spirit saying, well, I don't really like this town. Like this isn't, you know, where are all the people  and all of that, yeah, it goes to another place and you start building it yourself. Yeah. I definitely feel that.  Like I'm going through that whole, I don't belong here. There's no one that looks like me there. I can't find my food. Like, I mean, it's just, yeah, it's hard, but I am trying to find ways to, and no one's telling me to leave this time. So that's also hard. Mm-Hmm. And it's your choice. Yeah. . Wow. You're like,  yeah. But then we have these commitments that, you know, we have to stick to and take care of the elders that are in our life and not just kind of dump 'em off in a home somewhere. So  yeah, it's hard, but,  and the truth is you don't have these moments back, you know? Yeah. Like Jen was saying, like this, these are special moments. Like, it's just like when your children are small. You know, they're really hard. It's really hard to take care of people, whether they're really, you know, young or really old and you won't have these moments. And then, and this will be your place in some way, you know, because it was the place where you decided to take care  of your people. Right. Jacksonville is a quiet in between, honestly, like it's not necessarily the place where people visualize.  coming to. It's not necessarily the sexy place with, you know, it's not, it's just not, it's like very much a Southern town, you know, people aren't thinking in terms of being cosmopolitan, but it very much is a place where you can find yourself. I think, I think it's. Quiet enough where you can make decisions there's so there there's a lot of things to do very much nature based But once again, it's the space where you can hear yourself Think if you stop resisting for a minute, yeah, you can hear yourself Think yeah, you can hear the waves crashing on the shore or the leaves the leaves being rustled by the breeze you know, however you choose to To take a moment, and that could be anywhere, and what I've been learning is that everywhere I go, there I am. I am my home. You know, we're always looking outside of ourselves. I think it was Wayne Dyer that um, said something along the lines of we're always looking, we've lost our keys and we're looking for our keys outside the house. When the keys were sitting there at the front door all the time. Yeah. So, we're always looking outside of ourselves. For the meaning and for home, when we carry home with us, wherever we go. Yeah. Or the  possibility of it. And it sounds like you're saying we can really take up space here, right? Like we can take up space. So what I want to do is just kind of go around and ask you, you know, what does embodiment mean to each of you? My podcast, I call it joyful embodiment, but I know that embodiment is not always. Fun or joyful. Um, and so kind of with both of these concepts in mind, geography and art, like where does embodiment come in? What does embodiment mean to you, Jen?   Well, completely and literally for me, the performative aspect of the expression, the artistic expression is present, vital, urgent.  It's not really rehearsed. It's not going to be the same ever. Um, so I would say the process and the performative aspect of my process involves complete utter immersion in the present experience and reaction to,  reaction to an audience, reaction to collaborators. Um,  so this is flash round, so I won't go there. Flash round. Ha ha  ha. So I, with me, I mean, the primary art that I make is that I weave plastic. And a lot of my work is very chaotic and messy and raw, like strings hanging out all over the place, the knots are wrong. I used, uh, materials that don't look good together. They're not like pretty little things to put on the wall. These are like me and everything that I've been through in my life. All the struggles, the losses, everything. So, um, I think that's the embodiment is me connecting with this piece that I'm making. That's all me and all my mistakes or struggles or victories.   I was thinking about this, you know, when you mentioned it, um,  and really what the definition of embodiment is to me, uh, it's an idea or something. abstract that is manifest. So we have these ideas and then it's taking something from our mind and bringing it into the world. Um, in some cases, I do believe it's part of the artist's purpose. to be or to help bring to life the manifestation or incarnation of certain abstract ideas.  I feel like that's part of the work that I do is to, um, to help people who've been thinking about certain things, you know, that don't necessarily see themselves as an artist. I believe everybody's a creative, but not everybody's an artist and, you know, and has the lexicon and vocabulary or the dexterity to necessarily bring those things to life. And I think that's the difference between being a creative. and an actual artist that manifests things. Um, and sometimes artists themselves are perception personified, you know, and so it's our idea to perceive and to look and to bring to life. Um,  and sometimes we're translators or guides to offer a better understanding of something. And, you know, for myself, spiritually, Um, you know, human connection figures so heavily into my work, you know, maybe for me it's that I can possibly help others, uh, see more clearly in that regard in terms of once again, taking the abstract idea of, you know, spirituality and what is that and what does it look like? And, and bringing that into some, some place in this world, whether it be visual art, whether it be me as an actress, whether it's adornment, whether it's even origami or any type of sculptural work I may do.  That's interesting. Cause it sounds like all of you are talking about taking something from the spirit world in a way and making a body for it in the real world, in the physical world. And when I think of embodiment kind of like through a wellness lens or a health lens, I think of  getting grounded in your body and kind of trying not to get caught up in your mind, not get caught up in the, you know, the, the thoughts that kind of keep churning. And that can be a really good. I don't know, like, uh, a practice to stay mentally well, right? I know, like, the background of this podcast, the whole reason I started it is because my daughter had issues with addiction. And one of the predecessors of the problem was this disembodiment,  this feeling of, like, not being connected, right?  And so I wonder, like, taking the idea of, like, you know, bringing art from the spirit world down to our physical world, but also. You know, being a healthy body and soul, being kind of connected together, um, I wonder how like the being a female artist plays into this, right? Like we are these bodies that can generate new bodies, right? Like we are, we have to be embodied sometimes, whether we want to or not. Like I wonder how this plays into that, um, feeling of being able to take from the spirit world and create.  I think it's not a choice. Yeah, it's definitely not a choice regarding  being informed by this maternal,  um, whether we are literally parents of children or not. We have these, as artists, I think, and women, maternal instincts of caring, caring, nurturing for each other. Um, I also think that while we are all creatives,  I think being an artist is rarely a choice. It's something we have to do.  Um, we don't sit and wonder, I mean, we, against all odds, right? Grant or no grant, money or no money, time or no time, collaborative partners or not, it's just this, you have to, it's a force.  A while ago I did an experiment called Words Matter, in which I was really influenced by Marina Abramovich and her. Mm-Hmm. . Um, I was gonna ask  you about her artist present piece. I'm glad  you brought her up. Um, I was an artist at Cork for 10 years. I had a space and every year they have cork open studios and artist, two things in the gallery. And I'm not a painter or a performer, so I thought, I'm gonna do something. Marina Abramovich inspired. But it's going to involve allowing the other person to talk and to practice really giving my body, my attention, my soul to each person.  For many, that maybe is  Just easy to do. Um, so I admire people that are great listeners, but for me, I thought this is a practice I need to, I'm older and I need to get better at truly being present for someone in this. And I thought to myself. that people, I had a very over inflated idea of how much people would want to hear my wise,  sage response. And no one asked. Some sat across from me in Cork  and I had a little piece of paper that said, your words matter. I'll listen and you can tell me whatever you want.  And I concentrated on listening and people talked for sometimes 45 minutes. Oh, wow. And never said, what do you think? I know you're not supposed to.  Nothing. They were perfectly satisfied. And through that performance art, truly, um, they were the performers and I was the audience. And I learned. That through restricting myself to not,  um, say something back, that my mind was totally with them because I wasn't thinking ahead about something clever. Absolutely. Something clever I could say. Yeah. Some solution. That's where we spend our time. Thinking about what we want to say. We spend our mind thinking like, I'm going to tell them, and I think this is great advice, or I'll tell them this story that relates. I didn't have that. So true. So I was able to really give them and embody that  space. Yeah.  Wonderful. Well, it shows just how in alignment we all are here because my project for, um, my grant was TalkTalk Convo. And so in this, in the same realm, Except in post height of the pandemic, post lockdown, where we've all been so disconnected and in our own little individual silos, trying to encourage people to authentically.  And intentionally speak and, you know, I felt like I needed to give people prompts to give, to get conversation going because people really were, have been very scared, you know, also taking into consideration, um, where we've been politically, you know, just speaking about this country, not even going around, which is, you know, a whole other bag of chips, but, um, just where we are here. And people are scared to share their opinions. And there's, we spend a lot of time in fear in general. And so it felt so important to me. And it actually got the idea pre pandemic. Same artist inspired me.  She didn't inspire me. She's, she's not in the same way. I loved the way, um, Maria Bravonomic. I always mispronounce her last name. But, um, the way she was there for people and she. held space for them to just be as opposed to, well, I need to say this, you know, just as you were saying. A lot of our time with other people is spent thinking about what we are going to say next. And it's not about listening and truly, you know, tapping into this other person and their energy and what they're sharing. And so, once again, I was, I was, uh, moved to do the same thing and truly connect with others. And that was why I had started that project. But I was looking at an old bio this morning. And when the project was in development, it was called Good Advice because I thought, Oh, I have all this stuff that I want to share with people and I have such really great insight. It was so funny. I was like, Oh my God, look at me thinking about myself.  Save your complex. Once again, you know, we were talking about that earlier. And so same thing, you know, when you move yourself out of the way, it's a clearer path to another person. It really is.   What about you, Shamaya? What about being a woman in the  world of sculpture? I'm so caught up with what you guys are saying that I've not been thinking about what to say. That's perfect.  I like what was the first question. Um, so I'll just talk about my most recent. solo exhibition, um, which was funded not by that grant, by another grant, but I got this computer, which I did a lot of work. Um, it was called The Veil of Maya, and in the Indian culture, Maya is the word in the Bhagavad Gita for illusion. So, like, I've made all these sculptures, um, that are like these white, Fluttery things and nobody really knows what it's from but it's actually like this insidious material that's like choking our planet which is waste plastic and um, somewhere in there is that woman of me as a savior trying to save the plastic but there's also the weaving that I picked up which my grandmother in rural India was um, spinning cotton to earn a living for the family while my grandfather was a prisoner of war in Singapore during World War II. He, he had, um,  so this is India with like, he had five daughters and this is the country where, you know, girls are thrown away because the girl child is not needed. Uh, it's the male that needs to take care of the family. So my grandfather with these five girls didn't have enough money,  went to war. Um, and was taken prisoner, but my grandmother earned the, was actually the one sitting at home earning a living weaving. So I wanted to connect with her in some way with my mother now living with me and my father recently passed away, um, from a lung disease. So all this is happening like while we just moved back to America. And so I just picked up what was right there in front of me, which is the grocery bags. And I'm like, what can I make with this? And the first thing I made was an Ivy bag because my dad was in the hospital at the time and I couldn't go because it was COVID, you know, and he was in Washington.  So, um,  yeah, I think that was the time of. Making the art, you know, being a caregiver for my mother, and then I did end up going to the hospital and caregiving for him for a couple of weeks before he left and,  um,  all these are there, like my grandmother, my stories of my history, um, culture that I'm far from, uh, and I, as I've told you, like, our culture is very quiet. You know, we don't make big issues about the political things that are going on in our country or the poverty that we come from. Like I grew up Very poor. I mean, we all slept in one room. We all slept on one bed. We had an outhouse toilet, you know, so there's all these things that I've lived through and I just don't talk about it. I keep moving forward. I educate myself. I get these jobs. I have a good life, but it's all the things that make me and I guess I'm weaving them  like my grandmother was weaving cotton. So I think that's where the female is.   Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a very feminine craft  that you're doing.  But I'm trying to also make it masculine because I'm putting in this hard plastic in some of my works to make them into sculptures, which is why I call them tapestry sculptures, um,  because I'm sort of like in a world with my jobs as an engineer, as a political analyst, a male. Dominated fields, which I mean, I never felt that I was lesser. In fact, I felt better than most of them. So that's not a concern for me, but, um  Because I, I mean, you know, you educate yourself and you can put yourself in front of people if you know what you're talking about. And, um, I wasn't concerned about that, but  yeah. yeah. That's  wonderful.  Yeah. I, um, so we're talking about, you know, identity and identifying as a woman Yeah. But we identify in all these different ways, which you've mentioned. Mm-Hmm. , you know, your background. Yeah. Um, how, how else does your identity, any one of you. Your different, you know, ways of seeing the self inform your work beyond the feminine.  I think we're a matrilineal society. The whole time that Shamira was talking, I was just thinking about,  I don't think there's anything more metaphorical and straightforward truth of the stories that you're literally weaving  and carrying this.  I think, gosh, let me, I'm going to write a play about it.  I think that's a  beautiful movie. Watch out, she will definitely write a play about  that. I'm just, I'm completely captivated by people and their own stories. I would never, I can't act, I don't want to act,  but I would. I would encourage you to, oh gosh, I can't stand it. That's such a beautiful story, and I think, That's only a little part of it. I'm sure. Yeah. But that's a thread. Like, that's a really important, I think it could be so cool to stage that in a, Yeah. In a solo storytelling format. My father was an  actor, so he did, Hm. Yeah. Oh, wow. Probably why I'm drawn to you.   And it brings us all together. Mm hmm. But. You know, we identify on a global level, I think, as women with each other, and I don't know that men  do that as much, but I think there's a certain, um,  well, there's a certain empathy and understanding and love that women just normally have for each other, regardless of religion, and that's why it's so important to have these solo.  Stories have, because I think the, the hatred that  happens in the world happens when we do big broad strokes across individuals and we clump them into faceless, nameless people where we would never do that,  um, to some of the historic stories that we've lifted up. And so that's why I think, um, first of all, I think the art that doesn't involve words.  Um, is fascinating to me that the story that you're telling,  um, through your art. I think is, it's breathtaking and the visual of it as you're in the process is part of the storytelling, which I think is so cool. Um, so yeah, it's maternal for  sure. Yeah. Yeah. I know. It's beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.  Um, Thorne, you have identified as coming from the Bible Belt, which I think is interesting. And I think, I think is it probably brings something very different from say like Shamira's background to your art and also being a Black woman in Jacksonville, you know, multi generational Jacksonville. How are these identities shaping or how have they shaped your art?  I'll probably say I felt even more motivated and, um,  just moved to.  Be me, as opposed to following through on other people's expectations based on the fact that I am of the African diaspora, based on the fact that I am a female. You know, it's forced me to not necessarily do the opposite, just to  antagonize other people, but just to, because it's been me, like, I grew up in between two brothers, so I read comic books, which was just kind of outside of the norm. You know, when I was growing up, I think now it's a lot more People talk about, you know, women who, you know, work in the comic book world or who work in that world. You know, I grew up doing printmaking. I've been doing printmaking since I was in high school. You know, when  that type of work was also seen as male dominated. And so, um, it was so funny. I had One of my printmaking teachers in college, he could not remember my name. I had been in, like, four years of classes, and I was a major. Could not remember my name. But once again, it was because he didn't necessarily see me as someone he needed to take into consideration. And that's fine. You know, I don't necessarily shape myself by other people's um, expectations of me. Uh, and that's what I've just had to learn. You know, whether it had anything to do with race, or whether it had anything to do with me being a woman. And that's fine. Um, because I think so often we look at the lack or what we don't have as women or what we're not allowed to have or what's been taken away. And I feel like there's a whole bunch of people around to, you know, study those statistics and all the demographics. And I think that's very important, but what has helped to shape me more often than not is what I've done in spite of the lack or what I've done in spite of the things that haven't been. available to me as a woman, because I was really thinking about what is it that I haven't had, or what is it that I haven't? known about because I was a woman or because I am, you know, a brown person. It's because I don't know what I didn't know.  Exactly. I don't know. Nobody told me.  And sometimes, you know, you don't find about it until afterward. So is it, you know, taking once again into consideration the whole idea of the power of now? Is it? Really serving me to be upset about something that I didn't even know about. And I probably came out on the other end of things a whole lot better having made my way through. Not being given a thing, you know, and so I mean, because I can probably look back a number of times, whether it be, um, you know, grants or whether it be different sets of circumstances where I've asked for resources, and I know that maybe it did have an, you know, Whether it was race or me being a woman and not being taken seriously, definitely had an impact. But unless people are fully authentic and honest with you, which. A lot of the time, they're not, they, they feel ashamed of those things that really influence their opinions. So, they're not going to tell me, well, I made this decision to not give you this because women aren't good with money. You know? And so, I mean, you know, we found that a lot of female artists just aren't good with money. So, we have a tendency not to give them the larger grants. Like, you know, and people so often aren't even aware of what their prejudices and their biases are.  probably even more proud of myself, um, for whatever accomplishments I've, I've had or made, um, in spite of the lack and, and for the ignorance of, you know, not knowing what was not given to me and what. Yeah. And what was taken away from me before I even realized it was available.   That's interesting. Cause we talk a lot about privilege now and the privileges that we're not even aware of, you know, and, and kind of like becoming aware of them. It's so important, but it's, I think you're talking about almost the flip side of that, which I think I've experienced this as well, too. Like not knowing what I didn't have.  Not being, cause I'm the same way. I have two brothers. Right. And it's like, when you compare yourself to your siblings, you're like, well, he got this and I didn't get that. So you're like aware of that, but there are some, sometimes you don't even know what's available to you. You don't know how unprivileged maybe you were and you were just kind of like working through that. Like, you know, Shamira, it sounds like your background, you just kept on moving forward and you kept going. But I think it is important to be aware of, you know, the privileges we have and obstacles also that we've kind of come across. It's  usually after it's usually, you know, someone else's. You know, um, view of a situation, which is why connecting with other people is so important. And have, and talking to people about your story, and people can enlighten you. You know, as opposed to us being in these silos where we never share our story, which is one reason why Jen and storytelling, I think all of us are storytellers, you know, sitting here today. Um, that's why it's so important, you know, to find out, you know, though it's not necessarily my focus, because I'm telling you, if I spent, time really getting into the things that I wasn't given. I would do that all day, y'all. I mean, I don't know what else I'd do.  Yeah, I would just cry. I mean, I don't know what else I would spend time doing. And so, it's important to know and to be aware. Um,  I'm not gonna say that ignorance is bliss because it's not necessarily bliss. It's simply, once again, I've been made stronger. By having to work harder. And I've had to be grateful for that. Not that I wouldn't have loved for it to the road to have been a little bit easier and a whole lot less bumpy. And at the same time, I'm so grateful for the person I am today and what these experiences have made me. Um, I wouldn't give it back. Yeah. I want to know once again, I do want to know. And at the same time, I love me. And I'm so grateful for the type of artist I am right now in this moment that I otherwise would not have been if I didn't have this story to share. Yeah.  It occurs to me that there are so many similarities  among the three of you as we're talking about just kind of this, you know, this being in the feminine space. It's interesting how many challenges are, are the same, you know, even as diverse backgrounds as we have. But yeah, I mean, I definitely, cause I, I don't rem, I don't know if you guys saw this. Question because I kind of put it in the body of one of the emails, but I did want to know if any of you have felt  a particular time when you felt really disembodied, like really disconnected and maybe if that informed your art or the opposite, like you felt really embodied, like really kind of like moved by the spirit. So if you have, you know, an anecdote, um, I'd love for you to share that because it seems like those are where. You have some similarities, you know, through the process, you know, you say the process is everything is more, much more than the product.   Um, so I actually, um, I guess I can think of any time when I felt really embodied was I had to do a performance piece, um, at the U S or the Swiss embassy in China,  and, um, it was me and another. Chinese feminist artist who's a performance artist and a professor, and we barely can connect, like we, she doesn't speak much English, my Chinese is very Yi Dian Dian, and like, um, we, we were in the embassy and we put out this long scroll on the grounds, took off our shoes, and she brought this bowl of ink, and we held a thread between the two of us on opposite sides of the scroll and started painting. And there are all these, like, Swiss ambassador, American ambassador, all these diplomats around us. And here we are, like, on the floor, rolling around with the ink. And then we started tying each other up with ink and, like, put it in our teeth. And she was guiding me because I'm, I wasn't as free as her. She's, she's done performance art where she's, like, You know, uh, gone into a tank full of water or a tank and then they poured water over her and she stayed under because her themes are about like, uh, the women's issues in China. So she was guiding me through this process, but here we are like talking about environmental issues, women's rights, human rights in China. At the feet of all these diplomats and as nervous and scared as I was, you know, it was just, it was, I think, a moment of complete embodiment as these two women taking on these like senior figures and, you know, world politics or whatever, and it was pretty cool. Yeah.  That's really cool. Do you have footage of that? I have. Yeah.  Oh yeah, I've got it. It's on my, it's on the Instagram, but I have a lot more pictures as  well.  Can I say both?  I feel a lot of the time, like the work that I do. Um, it's something working through me and it's so there's disembodiment and a disconnection because I feel as if I'm seeing myself from the outside and manifesting this because that is my purpose. Um, and connection when. I'm still here, grounded, and really working to connect with somebody as opposed to letting it happen. So, once again, my project Talk Talk Convo that I finished over the summer, um, I was in those spaces. I created a space. Uh, made from recycled, uh, retail bags, made from probably about 500 or more, I stopped counting, of, of recycled, uh, retail bags. And I went from library to library, building, building these walls and taking these walls down. I didn't even realize how symbolic it was in that moment. Um, but building these walls, putting walls up and taking walls down and creating this space that was intentionally to interact with other people. And that was their space. For two minutes, and that was why we were there. That was the only reason we were there. That's the only reason those walls were there. And I wanted to do it in a space that was accessible. Um, you were talking about diplomats and I was at the other end of the spectrum, you know, where it was anybody that wanted to come into this space, uh, was able to come into this space and try to connect if that was what they wanted to do. And so it was in those moments that I felt more embodied and more. Connected and grounded.  And once again, it's, it's usually when I fully released and I let down and let go of the resistance of trying to control things is. So many of us artists are, we are always trying to control the outcome as opposed to letting things happen and we want to know what it's going to look like and we try and plan it. But I feel like we all have, I think being disembodied might. Get a bad rap, you know, like being freed from and being untethered in being allowed to just Let things be and let things go like what shamira. It sounds like that was what you were doing for sure You were just letting go of what your expectation is and I feel like I feel like a better creative overall. I feel you know just  More connected to the work when I let myself go, not, not in some, you know, erratic way or totally like mentally untethered way, but in this way where you're fully allowing. I see it as spirit working through me in that way. Like I said, I do see art as a spiritual practice and I think that's part of what my purpose is. So I think both of them. And I think both can be good, you know, depending on how you receive it and how you see it.  That's  why we're called creators.  Artists are creators.  Yeah, absolutely. Creating worlds and spaces. Absolutely.  And you work in the imagination which has, is boundless, right? And that's the point of it, you know, it doesn't have a body. But then you have to pull it into, and I think I, I was sharing that Rick Rubin quote with you guys because I just watched his documentary, I read his book, and I loved how he talked about how it's not so much about the product, it's about the process, and we do create these little artifacts here and there. And those are kind of like the body part of our vast imagination, right? So when you create, even if it's a beautiful, wonderful, amazing, you know, play. Or book, or novel, or sculpture. It's really just a little piece of your vast imagination. You know, there's so much else going on in there. And your  capability. And, you know, all that you are capable of doing. Yeah.   Jen? Wild thorn. You want to have a pajama party now? Let's do it. And just stay up all night. Yeah. Let's do it. Let's do this conversation.  Well. Yeah, for sure. It, it sounds like if I can paraphrase for what Thorne, what I heard Thorne saying about the disembodiment part and how it gets a bad rap, which isn't a paraphrase. Um, well, I think about failure. I did a presentation for students last year called Finding Freedom and Fun in Failure.  It connects. to I think what we've, what I've talked about as far as listening, it connects to the sense of place where  if I had been a single mother writing my first album, In New York, well, it wouldn't have happened. I didn't have the space and the place to fail and try stuff. It wouldn't have been possible. So, here we have,  um, the opportunity to try stuff that works, try different ways, collaborate. Some partners that you're working with might disappear at some point. For some things, not. Um, and, and I do, what I do involves, Solitary work and collaboration often,  um, on one project. And I was thinking back to when I got my Rotary ambassadorial scholar, ambassadorial scholarship to go to Senegal.  When I went to the doorway of no return on Goree Island,  I saw,  well, I'm a white person, um,  that carries a healthy degree of.  Sadness for hatred and, um, a lot of the periods of, um, of our world history as people who have been incredibly cruel and  disgusting to each other. And so standing at the doorway of no return, where thousands of Enslaved people from the continent of Africa were loaded onto slave ships. Um,  that moment, I had heard about a little 13 year old girl who was taken from Senegal and, uh, gone through the doorway of no return and ended up here in Spanish owned Florida named Anna Kingsley.  And I just, at that time, there was a tiny little monograph about her that someone sent me. He said, I've heard you're going to this place, Senegal. Guess what? I think this person, and at the time, no one knew the story in Senegal or here, very few people.  And when I went home to my host families, and so I cried for her.  And it was profound. My daughter was lonely, kind of, you know, learning the language. She was in a French school here, which everybody thought I was crazy to put her in Johnny Ford Public Magnet, immersed in French, but, so she could get by fine in French, but, um, you know, she was the only, sometimes we saw, Dakar is a major city, but we went to lots of villages where no one had ever seen a white person before. And when I wrote the song, I cried for Anta Majigunjai, this little girl, and I thought about my daughter on the beach that day meeting another little  girl, a little Senegalese girl, and it brought me back to my best friend. Who we are celebrating 49 years of friendship that I met on a beach when I was 10 and um, and so I connected those two stories and it felt real. It felt, this is my purpose. I didn't question at all the song that I wrote and brought it to a Senegalese group. And they had tears streaming down their faces, and we collaborated and recorded the song. And I had no doubts. It's when doubt comes in. It's when you say, maybe I don't have a right to tell this story. I don't, I'm not in it. Or, when those things come in, then, um, I would say you feel disembodied. And the disembodiment is the business of art. It's always the business of art that I, that you question and doubt. And it's so painful because money,  When, once money gets involved and you're in charge of it, or you have to promote was  very abstract compared to being in the physical living of world, like of the world, you know, it's like now we have to put a number to everything that we do and that we imagine, but, but yeah, I'm just thinking about the other night at your show. It was a very embodied audience because. Of the smells, so she passed around the different smells from different like eras of her life where she remembers it, you know, remember there were good smells there, but in little jars, I've been wondering about that, in little jars, yeah, there were mostly, um, and so to me that felt like a way of you pulling the audience into, into their bodies, you know, into their senses. That was wonderful. Totally taken in there. Yeah. So I guess what we, the way we can wrap up really is let's kind of touch back on the themes of geography and embodiment and taking up space in the city. Like, where do you see? Yourself and your own art and maybe any other organizations that you're connected to, how do you see your, yourself taking up space in? Yes, I can start.  Um, well, you know, we were just having this conversation about, um, me and my role. With art in public places, and I really did see my role as helping people to understand that everybody deserves art, and it should be everywhere. It shouldn't just be in certain neighborhoods with certain, you know, income demographics and certain, you know, um, housing, you know, being 200, 000 and up. And those are the people that deserve art. And a lot of the time when I work with art in public places, and I was essentially, you know, we can say lobbying advocate or whatever. Yeah. That I harassed a lot of a lot of, um, you know, people that work with the city, including city council members at the time that I was first appointed, um, to understand that  there is a space, there's a huge gap, there's a chasm  in between where You know, people have access to art there where art is made and then people have access to it. So much of the time things are in a gallery or in other spaces and maybe in a theater where a lot of people don't even feel comfortable, you know, and I'm not saying that everything should just be, you know, in a grocery store. And at the same time I say, sure, why not? You know, like, why not try, you know, doing art, you know, in, in unexpected spaces. But for, for this specific, um, goal that I had with Art in Public Places, it was about making the process of art going into the community, one that was a consistent, process and one that was facilitated, you know, by a system because they understood that this w this is a need. And so I, I feel so much of the time that we don't all fully understand. I think artists, of course, because we're artists, we feel that art is essential, but so much of the time people don't fully understand that art is essential. Like. You know, art that challenges us, art that's pretty, art that, you know, is not only amazing to look at, but art that teaches us. And I feel like that's a huge part of what my work is here. Not just the work that I create, but also advocating for that type of work as well, supporting other people that do that type of work. And, um,  And always working to, to push the idea of arts access forward is a huge part of my purpose.   That's wonderful. I can definitely see that.   I don't have any grandiose  plans. I mean, I think I'm just going to keep picking up everyone's trash and just making my work. That's a part of it, yes.  And if there's an opportunity to work with a group setting to like weep together, that would be fun. And have, you know, like, sort of like a weaving circle.  We've, we've sculpt with the waste, I think, I mean, that's, I don't have big plans because I'm also going to try to educate myself some more, so.  Those  are big plans, by the way. Changing something that was seen as trash into something. Yeah. Different and useful and giving it a second chance. Yes. Absolutely.  Yeah. I'm uplifting it. I mean, I'm aware of all the, uh, metaphors and themes that go into the work, but I'm just doing, you know, a few pieces at a time. Trying to do, do my part for  society, so. Yeah,  makes me think of mushrooms, because I don't know if you've seen the, it's Fantastic Fungi. They talk about how mushrooms, if we didn't have, um, life forms like that, they'd eat dead wood. That eat, you know, old things and discarded things, then they would just pile up. It was something I'd never thought about before, but that's almost what you're  doing. You're a little mushroom. You're a cute little  mushroom. Mushrooms are great and have many wonderful uses. Absolutely.  Lion's Mane is great. It is. It's  beautiful. What  about  you, Jen? So, um  I was listening to a, um, a guy named Jim Carrick, I, on,  uh, First Coast Connect the other morning, and I hadn't thought about him in a long time. I lived in St. Augustine a long time ago. He's a guitarist that knew, The legendary folk  artist, Gamble Rogers,  and he was doing all these kind of gamble isms, quoting Gamble Rogers, and I already knew this one, that Gamble Rogers said, life is what happens while you're busy making plants. I love that, but I heard a new one that I hadn't heard before, and um,  experience is what happens when you don't get what you want.  And I love that. So true. Um, And so I would say my, the geography of my presence and my art and the connection between goes back to those early days where I was instructed as an ambassadorial scholar to create a cultural bridge between Dakar and Jacksonville. And I had no idea. I wasn't inspired at all until I immersed myself there and heard a story. And so I thought, Okay, you're good at that. You're good at finding connections between people, whether it's I felt like it hurt me to hear you can't find your food  because culinary art is so important. Whenever I do an artistic or a performance, I try to include the elements of the senses, the smells and the tastes and the feel, um, and the sounds of a, of a moment or of a story. And so to me, um, Um, I, I just want to keep creating those cultural bridges that come naturally to me. There's a lot of things that don't, but that's my language and  from their home, right? And a lot of what we're talking about is home,  right? And what home, how do we bring whatever that home is, or, and then you talked about how you carry home with you, you know, you wear it, right? Um, all these things. So to me, um. It's all about that. Just finding what our language is and continuing to do it and build those bridges.   That's so important. Yeah, I do cuckoo a lot.  I'm coming over   because my mother's there and she can  guide.  Thank you so much, Jen and Shamira and Thorne. Thanks for being on the show and gathering here. It was so special that you were here. Speaking of home, like in my home, what  a great conversation. Thank you, sir.  Absolutely. Thank you for even thinking of bringing us together. 

Chief of Student Pathways for the New York City Department of Education, Jade Grieve, is our guest on this episode of Formative. From childhood activism, to becoming a restaurateur, through banking and government to education, Jade has followed her heart. She now says she's landed on her passion and the thing that makes it easier to wake up in the morning — helping students get ready for their academic futures. 6th-grader, co-host Shamaya, shares her love of math and asks about what keeps us going even when we want to give up.

Siyata D'Shamaya-Beyond Capacities

We began our show with some 'Made with Love' comforts from Kathleen Bianco of The Crazy Kat and Crave Pitman.  Bianco not only grew up baking with her grandmothers, she brought those memories {and love} of baked goods to their businesses.  Later on, she and her husband expanded on their business ventures by adding ice cream in addition to introducing new items regularly, including a heavy focus on gluten-free options. So if you're Craving something like Cheesecakes, Cookies, or Mousse Bombs...tune in to our show to find out everything that Crave Pitman and The Crazy Kat offers! "Never give up on your vision, always keep going" are words to live by according to Shamaya "Bella" Oberlton of Rock N Rolls Philly.  Since 2016, Oberlton has pursued her dreams of owning Rock N Rolls Philly, beginning with a business that was operated out of her family's home. That same business  transitioned into food trucks--and more recently, a brick and mortar location.  Speaking of transitioning, stay tuned to hear how Shamaya gives back to the community--offering positions to individuals via reintegration processes.  But the biggest benefit of all...a delicious array of unique egg rolls, ranging from savory to sweet, with sides to choose from as well. Our last guest taps into his passion of what local breweries have to offer with his business, BrewedAt.  Evan Blum and his friend crafted their business model based on the desire to try what different breweries had to offer on-tap; doing so by trying different flights and discussing them.  Now, they turned their fun nights out into a booming business where they track whatever is available to drink, as well as what events the individual spots offer.  So whether you are a craft beer aficionado or a novice, BrewedAt can offer one place that showcases whatever you're looking for--all you need to do is look them up to find out!

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #522 is an hour of visionary, deeply creative acoustic improvised music featuring the Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, acoustic guitar, 6- and 8-string ukulele, harmonica and shruti box, Bob Sherwood on piano and bass guitar and Craig Harris on Native drums and congas.  Recorded live at Singing Brook Studio and mixed at Dragonfly Sound, today's episode begins with the wistful “Shamaya”, a beautiful ballad that explores and honors both the wild and gentle aspects of our domestic animals that features a lovely live and overdubbed vocal and lyrical Native flute from Mariam.  “Let's Raise The Bar” is a sprightly, dancing piece driven by Mariam's bouncing ukulele and “Finding Our Way” is a smooth blues supported by Bob's stride piano and Craig's tight drumming as Mariam alternates between her hopeful, inspiring lyric and bluesy harmonica.  The song moves into a stately, inspired gospel vibe and returns to tight blues for the coda with fine New Orleans piano from Bob as Mariam decorates with harmonica.  “Singing For Everyone” is a peaceful folk ballad carried along by Mariam's sparkling acoustic guitar and “Calling In Spring” is an Island blues with Mariam's chiming 8-string uke and Bob's Eastern-leaning piano bookending a wide, generous set of ethnic influences to present a hopeful, childlike prayer for spring.  “Star Ray” is a wistful, pretty minor exploration set in motion by Mariam's light ukulele and beautiful melody and “Hold On To Your Passions” is a sprawling, deeply creative exploration that slowly climbs to a driving, intense, impassioned zenith in a powerful dance of Native drum, Native flute and piano before slowly drifting away in an evocative mixture of jazz, classical and minimalist moves. Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

32 year old Georgia man Matthew Eric Smith, who's apparently been arrested over a dozen times was crushed to death after tryna steal a catalytic converter. Blac Chyna opens up about reducing the cosmetic surgical procedures she had to her body. She got her ass and titties reduced. She also plans to dissolve some of the filters in her face Teacher of the year in California and married 31 year old lunch lady in Connecticut face charges of having inappropriate sexual relations with underage students. Jacqueline Ma who is 34 out of San Diego county was having an inappropriate relationship with a 13 year old student. She now faces 14 alleged offenses related to sex with a minor under the age of 14. Teacher of the yearAcross the country, a 31 year old married lunch lady Andie Paige Rosafort was having sexual relations and exchanging explicit photos on social media with a 14 year old. I can relate to this…. Could you imagine being the husband in this situation tho? Country Views on breaking news:Mexican cartel apologizes and turns over 5 men they say are responsible of kidnapping Americans. They say the acted upon their own decision making. They said they went against the cartel's rules, which include respecting the life and well being of the innocent. Questions. Is that considered snitching? A video went viral of it raining worms in China. A 25 year old woman named Shamaya Hall in Italy, south of Dallas, Texas stabbed her 5 kids of her kids, killing 3 of em. 2 of them hospitalizated. She is facing 3 counts of capital murder. She didn't have custody of the children at the time and a CPS worker that was inside the home made an emergency call to remove the children before they were stabbed. It was unclear why she was at the home at the time. The grandmother on the dad side Tanya Reese was trying to get custody of one of the grandkids that was a 6 year old. I'm 2017 Shamaya was arrested for aggravated assault. Her and her twin sister tried to stab a man. In 2021, her twin sister allegedly stabbed her own 7 year old daughter to death Promo/MailPhone call SUPPORT MANESTREAM PODCASThttps://youtube.com/@youknowmaaacus#5150 #Manestream #5150nation Seamoss promowww.nickokitchenshop.compromo code: MANESTREAM Mane Stream: Country Folk In The City Podcast

Shamaya's Birth Story began with a fairly easy pregnancy - until she went into labour unexpectedly at 32 weeks. She describes the hardships of having to leave your newborn in the NICU for an extended period of time, as well as advice on which systems and supports she had in place that helped her through that time.  The Nesting Box: A trimester specific subscription box filled with our favourite pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn items! Perfect for you or the pregnant person in your life!

G shrimp tells the story of a woman shamaya Lynn shot and killed by her own 2year old son..on the G SHRIMP SHOW LIVE FROM CHIRAQ.Brother ville ENT. gshrimp73@gmail.com maurice juette@gmail.com cash apps $BROTHER VILLE $MAURICE JUETTE.PAYPAL MJUETTE6610 773)992-0171. CALL FOR COMMERCIAL INFORMATION.

In this episode, Buffy will talk about the Shamaya Lynn case and why gun safety is important to teach your children. Our featured missing person in this episode is Shawtyeria Waites. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/illicit-deeds/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/illicit-deeds/support

One of the mitzvot in the Torah is that we must know, when we make an effort that brings success, it is really Hashem who brings about the success, not our effort. As the pasuk says הוא הנותן לכם כח לעשות חיל . There is another pasuk in Mishlei which says ברכת ה' היא תעשיר – it is the blessing of Hashem which brings wealth. A man told me he was home last year jobless and unable to pay any of his bills. Out of nowhere, somebody called him up and offered him a job and in that job he has seen tremendous siyata d’Shamaya . In a very short time, he climbed to the highest rankings in the company. That is birkat Hashem. Anyone who is in the workforce has countless opportunities to attribute his success to Hashem. And if a person is trained to have this proper outlook, he can fulfill this mitzvah all the time. Chazal tell us גדול הנהנה מיגיעת כפיו יותר מיכאל שמים – which means, someone who goes to work with yirat Shamayim and benefits from his own labor is better than a yirei Shamayim who doesn’t benefit from his own labor. What’s the reason? Rav Chaim Shmuelovitz writes, because the one who works with yirat Shamayim is able to see so clearly that all of his efforts don’t do a thing, rather it is only the blessing of Hashem that gives him success. That helps him strengthen his bitachon and reliance on Hashem much more than if he would not have earned the money himself but rather have been given the money. A man who owns a jewelry store told me that in November of 2019, he couldn’t afford the rent on his store. One of his employees came to him and said he would lend him the money. The next day the employee brought in a bag of gold that was worth $60,000 – the amount of the rent owed. He told the owner of the company that he invested his extra cash in buying gold and he is happy to lend it to him. The owner of the store took that gold and used it as collateral to take out a loan from a gentile, with interest. In March, when all the stores were closing down because of the Coronavirus, the employee politely asked the owner when he would be able to repay the loan as he needed the money. The next morning was most probably going to be the last day they were able to open the store and the owner did not have any of the money to pay the loan back. On the way to work that day, he prayed to Hashem saying, “This man was so nice to lend me the money. Please, can I earn enough today to pay him back?” In the middle of the day, a very wealthy woman from out of town walked into his store with an entourage. She had flown into New York to purchase 2 million N95 masks that she was bringing back to her hometown to donate to. She had come to this store a year before and the link from the bracelet that she bought there broke. She was just passing by to get it fixed. While she was there, the owner showed her an exquisite piece of jewelry that she ended up buying for $43,000. The streets were very quiet that day but the man knew Hashem is the One who gives him his business and He could still help. Five minutes later, his phone rang. It was a man from out of town who made an order. He purchased something from the store for $20,000 and wired the money over. The owner took the $63,000 he had just made and repaid the loan to the gentile. At that moment, including interest payments, he owed exactly $63,000. He took the bag of gold back and gave it to his employee. It was so clear that Hashem gave him the business that day. He knows, every day, whatever business he gets is only m’et Hashem. Another man was given a bill last year from his step-daughter’s high school for $27,000. At that time, he was just starting a new business and did not have the money to pay. His rabbi told him that paying for his wife’s daughter’s tuition would be considered tzedaka and if he wanted he could use ma’aser towards it. He accepted the charge and said he would do his best to pay. His wife suggested asking the school for a tuition break but he said, “I would rather try to pay and ask Hashem for help.” He took out a loan in September to start the payments. By the end of that year when he did his taxes, he saw that he earned $270,000 profit, which made the $27,000 exactly ma’aser of his earnings. He thanked Hashem for the blessing in his first year of his work and clearly saw the hashgacha pratit of Hashem, giving him the money to pay the tuition. ברכת ה' היא תעשיר – it is the blessing of Hashem which brings wealth. Knowing that and believing it will earn us eternal merits.

whoever would like to receive the transcript in Hebrew can subscribe at livingemuna@gmail.com The Shomer Emunim writes, in the future, a person is going to rise to the highest levels in the merit of his emunah – levels that the other mitzvot cannot bring him to. He brings a pasuk in Yeshaya , “פתחו שערים ויבוא גוי צדיק שומר אמונים” which the Midrash explains to mean, according to the level of a person’s emunah will the different gates in Shamayim be opened for him. Emunah can lift up all of the other mitzvot . Just like the heart is the life of all the other limbs, so too emunah is the life to all of the other mitzvot . The stronger a person’s emunah is, the better performance he’ll have in every mitzvah. Acquiring emunah the right way takes work. This entails learning about it on a daily basis and asking Hashem for help with it on our tefilot . A person has to be a mevakesh emunah – someone who seeks emunah. Then, Hashem will help him. There is nothing that can compare to constant learning and speaking about it. It has been tried and tested that this is the way to become a ba’al emunah . Some people have night phone conferences where they read a lesson on emunah and discuss it afterwards. Some people read a lesson a day with their families. Learning more about any subject will automatically bring an improvement in it, especially emunah. We need to infuse our children with emunah from a young age. It is the foundation of everything. Those who seek emunah and want emunah for their family and their students have seen siyata d’Shamaya in so many ways. Just as an example, here are two stories which I recently received. One man said he learns with each of his children individually at least once a week. On the learning night with his 8-year-old son, his son asked him to read from the emunah book which he himself reads from each night. Then his son added, “Please include a story from the Holocaust.” The man told his son, “I’ll gladly read to you from the emunah book that I read from, but I can’t guarantee you that it’ll have something about the Holocaust.” He then opened the book to the place where his bookmark was up to and began to read. Incredibly, the story in that lesson was one on the Holocaust. He said it was remarkable how Hashem set it up that his 8-year-old asked for a lesson on emunah on a specific topic and it was right there ready and waiting. He told his son, “That itself was the biggest emunah lesson we could have learned that night.” Another man told me, he is an 8 th grade rebbe and he reads a lesson a day in an emunah book to his class. He just finished reading Volume 1 and he wanted to immediately start Volume 2. He didn’t get a chance to pick up the book. That night was his birthday and his family got him presents. He opened up a present from his 15-year-old son – it was Volume 2 of the emunah book he needed for his class. His son had no idea that he needed that book for his class. He told his class how much Hashem loves their learning of emunah that He didn’t want them to miss even one day of it. Emunah connects us to Hashem like no other mitzvah. The rewards for emunah are unimaginable. The more we learn about it and teach others about it, the more it will become ingrained in ourselves.

whoever would like to receive the transcript in Hebrew can subscribe at livingemuna@gmail.com The Shomer Emunim writes, in the future, a person is going to rise to the highest levels in the merit of his emunah – levels that the other mitzvot cannot bring him to. He brings a pasuk in Yeshaya , “פתחו שערים ויבוא גוי צדיק שומר אמונים” which the Midrash explains to mean, according to the level of a person’s emunah will the different gates in Shamayim be opened for him. Emunah can lift up all of the other mitzvot . Just like the heart is the life of all the other limbs, so too emunah is the life to all of the other mitzvot . The stronger a person’s emunah is, the better performance he’ll have in every mitzvah. Acquiring emunah the right way takes work. This entails learning about it on a daily basis and asking Hashem for help with it on our tefilot . A person has to be a mevakesh emunah – someone who seeks emunah. Then, Hashem will help him. There is nothing that can compare to constant learning and speaking about it. It has been tried and tested that this is the way to become a ba’al emunah . Some people have night phone conferences where they read a lesson on emunah and discuss it afterwards. Some people read a lesson a day with their families. Learning more about any subject will automatically bring an improvement in it, especially emunah. We need to infuse our children with emunah from a young age. It is the foundation of everything. Those who seek emunah and want emunah for their family and their students have seen siyata d’Shamaya in so many ways. Just as an example, here are two stories which I recently received. One man said he learns with each of his children individually at least once a week. On the learning night with his 8-year-old son, his son asked him to read from the emunah book which he himself reads from each night. Then his son added, “Please include a story from the Holocaust.” The man told his son, “I’ll gladly read to you from the emunah book that I read from, but I can’t guarantee you that it’ll have something about the Holocaust.” He then opened the book to the place where his bookmark was up to and began to read. Incredibly, the story in that lesson was one on the Holocaust. He said it was remarkable how Hashem set it up that his 8-year-old asked for a lesson on emunah on a specific topic and it was right there ready and waiting. He told his son, “That itself was the biggest emunah lesson we could have learned that night.” Another man told me, he is an 8 th grade rebbe and he reads a lesson a day in an emunah book to his class. He just finished reading Volume 1 and he wanted to immediately start Volume 2. He didn’t get a chance to pick up the book. That night was his birthday and his family got him presents. He opened up a present from his 15-year-old son – it was Volume 2 of the emunah book he needed for his class. His son had no idea that he needed that book for his class. He told his class how much Hashem loves their learning of emunah that He didn’t want them to miss even one day of it. Emunah connects us to Hashem like no other mitzvah. The rewards for emunah are unimaginable. The more we learn about it and teach others about it, the more it will become ingrained in ourselves.

This week’s parasha is called Naso , which literally means to lift up. Life is about lifting ourselves up to become the best we can be in the service of Hashem. Some people may feel that they have a harder time than others in achieving spiritual perfection. Either they have a temper or a bad character trait or a strong desire to do the wrong thing. And they think, It’s not fair . Hashem made each person exactly the way he needs to be to do his job in this world. In actuality, if someone has a stronger urge than others to do something wrong, that means he has a much greater opportunity to earn merits in trying to overcome it. The parasha speaks about the nazir , someone who accepts upon himself to abstain from wine, amongst other things, for one month. The Torah calls him a kadosh and he gets a crown of Hashem on his head. What did he do that was so special? The answer is, he saw that his desire for wine was causing a laxity in his avodat Hashem, so he decided to make a kabbalah for 30 days to try and overcome that desire and help him grow spiritually. That is what makes a person a kadosh . Reb Yechezkel Levinstein writes in his sefer Ohr Yechezkel , this does not only apply to a nazir , but to any person who fights a negative desire or character trait to try to get closer to Hashem. He is also becoming a kadosh . The Rabbi pointed out the nazir is not called a kadosh after he completes the thirty days. He is called a kadosh right away. Just a decision with conviction to fight a negative trait elevates a person to high levels. Some people may feel that they have tried in the past to change a bad mida but it never worked anyway, so why should they bother continuing trying? The Vilna Gaon said, for every single moment a person holds himself back from speaking negatively about someone else, he is going to merit rewards beyond the comprehension of the angels. The Kehilot Yaakov made an observation from the wording that the Vilna Gaon used and explained the Rabbi to be saying, even if that person ended up speaking lashon hara , he will still be rewarded for those moments that he held himself back. The fact that he held himself back all of those additional moments trying to do the will of Hashem, earned him unimaginable rewards. Hashem loves when we fight our yetzer hara to do His will. We are going to be rewarded for every moment of the fight. One of the best ways to improve is to make some kind of acceptance, even if it is only temporary. When we make a kabbalah and try our hardest to stick to it, Hashem gives us the siyata d’Shamaya to be able to fulfill it. Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein told a story which took place six years ago in Israel. A bus was traveling back to Bnei Brak from a large gathering and the people on the bus asked the driver to pull into a rest stop. The driver saw the line of buses trying to get into that stop was very long and told the people it would be at least an hour to get in and out, but if they really wanted he would go. They told him, “No, forget it, just go straight to Bnei Brak.” During the journey they saw they were not going to get back in time to pray Mincha , so they asked the driver to pull over so they could get out and pray before sunset. The driver pulled off Highway 6 and then saw a place to put his bus on the side of the road. When the passengers got out to pray, they started Ashrei and then a soldier who was there joined their minyan . After the tefila , they asked the soldier what he was doing there as they were very far from any neighborhoods. The soldier told them he is a ba’al teshuva and that past Rosh Hashana, he accepted upon himself to pray all of the tefilot with a minyan . He had been stationed in the South of Israel and that afternoon his commander told him he could go home for Shabbat. He found someone who would drive him up until that point only. When he got out of the car, he noticed it was almost sunset and he didn’t pray Mincha yet. That is when he began crying out to Hashem with all of his heart to be able to pray with a minyan and fulfill the kabbalah he made. Seconds later, this bus pulled up with a full minyan getting out right in front of his eyes. Rabbi Zilberstein pointed out that Hashem could have made it that the soldier’s driver just brought him to a minyan , but this way, Hashem gave the soldier a smile from Heaven, showing him how much He appreciates his kabbalah. We could all become great in our own way. If we fight our negative inclinations and accept upon ourselves to make small improvements, b’ezrat Hashem, Hashem will give us the siyata d’Shamaya to succeed. Shabbat Shalom .

This week’s parasha is called Naso , which literally means to lift up. Life is about lifting ourselves up to become the best we can be in the service of Hashem. Some people may feel that they have a harder time than others in achieving spiritual perfection. Either they have a temper or a bad character trait or a strong desire to do the wrong thing. And they think, It’s not fair . Hashem made each person exactly the way he needs to be to do his job in this world. In actuality, if someone has a stronger urge than others to do something wrong, that means he has a much greater opportunity to earn merits in trying to overcome it. The parasha speaks about the nazir , someone who accepts upon himself to abstain from wine, amongst other things, for one month. The Torah calls him a kadosh and he gets a crown of Hashem on his head. What did he do that was so special? The answer is, he saw that his desire for wine was causing a laxity in his avodat Hashem, so he decided to make a kabbalah for 30 days to try and overcome that desire and help him grow spiritually. That is what makes a person a kadosh . Reb Yechezkel Levinstein writes in his sefer Ohr Yechezkel , this does not only apply to a nazir , but to any person who fights a negative desire or character trait to try to get closer to Hashem. He is also becoming a kadosh . The Rabbi pointed out the nazir is not called a kadosh after he completes the thirty days. He is called a kadosh right away. Just a decision with conviction to fight a negative trait elevates a person to high levels. Some people may feel that they have tried in the past to change a bad mida but it never worked anyway, so why should they bother continuing trying? The Vilna Gaon said, for every single moment a person holds himself back from speaking negatively about someone else, he is going to merit rewards beyond the comprehension of the angels. The Kehilot Yaakov made an observation from the wording that the Vilna Gaon used and explained the Rabbi to be saying, even if that person ended up speaking lashon hara , he will still be rewarded for those moments that he held himself back. The fact that he held himself back all of those additional moments trying to do the will of Hashem, earned him unimaginable rewards. Hashem loves when we fight our yetzer hara to do His will. We are going to be rewarded for every moment of the fight. One of the best ways to improve is to make some kind of acceptance, even if it is only temporary. When we make a kabbalah and try our hardest to stick to it, Hashem gives us the siyata d’Shamaya to be able to fulfill it. Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein told a story which took place six years ago in Israel. A bus was traveling back to Bnei Brak from a large gathering and the people on the bus asked the driver to pull into a rest stop. The driver saw the line of buses trying to get into that stop was very long and told the people it would be at least an hour to get in and out, but if they really wanted he would go. They told him, “No, forget it, just go straight to Bnei Brak.” During the journey they saw they were not going to get back in time to pray Mincha , so they asked the driver to pull over so they could get out and pray before sunset. The driver pulled off Highway 6 and then saw a place to put his bus on the side of the road. When the passengers got out to pray, they started Ashrei and then a soldier who was there joined their minyan . After the tefila , they asked the soldier what he was doing there as they were very far from any neighborhoods. The soldier told them he is a ba’al teshuva and that past Rosh Hashana, he accepted upon himself to pray all of the tefilot with a minyan . He had been stationed in the South of Israel and that afternoon his commander told him he could go home for Shabbat. He found someone who would drive him up until that point only. When he got out of the car, he noticed it was almost sunset and he didn’t pray Mincha yet. That is when he began crying out to Hashem with all of his heart to be able to pray with a minyan and fulfill the kabbalah he made. Seconds later, this bus pulled up with a full minyan getting out right in front of his eyes. Rabbi Zilberstein pointed out that Hashem could have made it that the soldier’s driver just brought him to a minyan , but this way, Hashem gave the soldier a smile from Heaven, showing him how much He appreciates his kabbalah. We could all become great in our own way. If we fight our negative inclinations and accept upon ourselves to make small improvements, b’ezrat Hashem, Hashem will give us the siyata d’Shamaya to succeed. Shabbat Shalom .

Parshat Bamidbar is always read on the Shabbat before Shavuot. One reason is because this parasha shows Hashem’s great love for every Jew. Another census was taken here in parashat Bamidbar and Rashi writes, because Hashem loves us so much, He keeps counting us. That is supposed to arouse in us a genuine ahavat Yisrael for our fellow Jew. If Hashem loves my friends and neighbors so much, shouldn’t I love them as well? And that is the prerequisite for Matan Torah . On Shavuot we became the Chosen People of Hashem. He gave us His precious Torah, the greatest gift ever given. The midrash says Hashem wanted to give us the Torah right after we left Mitzrayim , but because we had strife amongst us, we were unworthy of receiving it. When did Hasheme deem us worthy? When we were encamped at Har Sinai כאיש אחד בלב אחד . When Hashem saw inside our hearts that we had a true love for one another and everyone was united as one. Every year, this is the avodah that we are supposed to be working on in anticipation of the holiday of Shavuot. We yearn to be able to understand Torah properly and keep Torah the way that Hashem wants it to be kept. The Torah is not necessarily found with the smartest person, it is a spiritual endeavor and our comprehension of it depends on how pure we are. In Pirkei Avot , there is a list of 48 ways to acquire Torah. Some of them are: loving other people, empathizing with their pain, judging them favorably, not being arrogant, staying away from honor. One might ask, what does possessing these character traits have to do with comprehending Torah? If I love my neighbor and share in his pain, how will that affect my learning abilities? The answer is, the comprehension of Torah is a gift from Hashem and He gives that gift to those who follow in His ways. Hashem loves when we love each other. He loves when we sacrifice of ourselves for others. That is what causes Him to give us more siyata d’Shamaya in our learning. I once heard a story about the time the Tchebiner Rav was awoken on a Shabbat afternoon by somebody banging on his front door. When he opened the door, he saw a 12 year old boy standing there. The boy told the Rabbi that he had missed his Gemara lesson in school the previous day and his rebbe told him he wouldn’t be allowed back into class unless he made up the lesson with a gadol b’Torah . Taking his rebbe’s words literally, this boy went to the home of one of the Gedolei Hador asking him to teach him his Gemara lesson. The Tchebiner Rav was scheduled to give a class that afternoon to a large crowd of people, and he really needed the rest. He could have easily told that boy, “I’m a very busy person, please ask somebody else to do it.” But instead, he looked at the innocent boy who wanted to learn Torah and invited him into his home to learn. He sat with that boy, teaching him for an entire hour. He would later say that he had learned that particular piece of Gemara at least 100 times in his life, but this time was different. He had גילויים נפלאים , Hashem opened his mind to see insights in that Gemara that he was never able to see before. This was a pure Torat chesed and Hashem gave the Rabbi a better acquisition of Torah as a result. May we all merit to receive the gift of Torah from Hashem the way it is meant to be understood, amidst our genuine love for one another. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Same’ach.

Parshat Bamidbar is always read on the Shabbat before Shavuot. One reason is because this parasha shows Hashem’s great love for every Jew. Another census was taken here in parashat Bamidbar and Rashi writes, because Hashem loves us so much, He keeps counting us. That is supposed to arouse in us a genuine ahavat Yisrael for our fellow Jew. If Hashem loves my friends and neighbors so much, shouldn’t I love them as well? And that is the prerequisite for Matan Torah . On Shavuot we became the Chosen People of Hashem. He gave us His precious Torah, the greatest gift ever given. The midrash says Hashem wanted to give us the Torah right after we left Mitzrayim , but because we had strife amongst us, we were unworthy of receiving it. When did Hasheme deem us worthy? When we were encamped at Har Sinai כאיש אחד בלב אחד . When Hashem saw inside our hearts that we had a true love for one another and everyone was united as one. Every year, this is the avodah that we are supposed to be working on in anticipation of the holiday of Shavuot. We yearn to be able to understand Torah properly and keep Torah the way that Hashem wants it to be kept. The Torah is not necessarily found with the smartest person, it is a spiritual endeavor and our comprehension of it depends on how pure we are. In Pirkei Avot , there is a list of 48 ways to acquire Torah. Some of them are: loving other people, empathizing with their pain, judging them favorably, not being arrogant, staying away from honor. One might ask, what does possessing these character traits have to do with comprehending Torah? If I love my neighbor and share in his pain, how will that affect my learning abilities? The answer is, the comprehension of Torah is a gift from Hashem and He gives that gift to those who follow in His ways. Hashem loves when we love each other. He loves when we sacrifice of ourselves for others. That is what causes Him to give us more siyata d’Shamaya in our learning. I once heard a story about the time the Tchebiner Rav was awoken on a Shabbat afternoon by somebody banging on his front door. When he opened the door, he saw a 12 year old boy standing there. The boy told the Rabbi that he had missed his Gemara lesson in school the previous day and his rebbe told him he wouldn’t be allowed back into class unless he made up the lesson with a gadol b’Torah . Taking his rebbe’s words literally, this boy went to the home of one of the Gedolei Hador asking him to teach him his Gemara lesson. The Tchebiner Rav was scheduled to give a class that afternoon to a large crowd of people, and he really needed the rest. He could have easily told that boy, “I’m a very busy person, please ask somebody else to do it.” But instead, he looked at the innocent boy who wanted to learn Torah and invited him into his home to learn. He sat with that boy, teaching him for an entire hour. He would later say that he had learned that particular piece of Gemara at least 100 times in his life, but this time was different. He had גילויים נפלאים , Hashem opened his mind to see insights in that Gemara that he was never able to see before. This was a pure Torat chesed and Hashem gave the Rabbi a better acquisition of Torah as a result. May we all merit to receive the gift of Torah from Hashem the way it is meant to be understood, amidst our genuine love for one another. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Same’ach.

People who dedicate themselves to helping others see so much siyata d’Shamaya in their efforts. They don’t always know exactly how they will help people, but they always try and Hashem shows them the way. A businessman, who is also a rabbi and a dynamic speaker, dedicates much of his time to counseling others and speaking to large audiences to give chizuk , free of charge. Recently, he pushed himself to add another class on Shabbat to a potentially new crowd of people that he felt he could inspire. They scheduled the first trial class in someone’s home and the rabbi came and started out the class with a story about the Bluzhever Rebbe. After the class was over, the owner of the house and his father went over to the rabbi and asked him, “How did you know to speak about the Bluzhever Rebbe?” “What do you mean?” The rabbi asked them. They said, “Did someone tell you to speak about him? He was our family rabbi. We owe him everything. You don’t know what he did for our family. The moment you mentioned his name we were hooked. We love the class. We want it to continue every single week.” The rabbi said afterwards, when he walked into the house that day, he did not know how he was going to start the class. He asked Hashem for siyata d’Shamaya and that story of the Bluzhever Rebbe is what came to his mind. In another example of this, a man by the name of Raymond Dayan was in shul telling his rabbi about his baby born prematurely and that it was only two pounds. The baby was in the NICU and the doctors were uncertain of its future. Raymond was very down, asking the rabbi for chizuk . After the rabbi tried and saw he wasn’t cheering him up the way he hoped to, he told Raymond to go over to Moshe Nachum and tell him about it. The rabbi said he had a unique ability to give people chizuk . At that time, Raymond was 21 years old and this was his first child. He went over to Moshe and told him about the baby. When Moshe heard that, he said, “What? Two pounds? That’s very big. Don’t worry, I was born at two pounds and look at me now – I’m 6 foot 5.” He proceeded to give Raymond some very uplifting words and concluded by saying, “Not only is your son going to be okay, one day he’s going to be a doctor and help other babies who are in this situation.” The rabbi came over to them and saw Raymond smiling. He said, “See, I told you, Moshe knows exactly the right words to say.” Fast forward 30 years. A few weeks ago, Moshe Nachum’s son had a baby that was born prematurely and had to be in the NICU. The hospital they gave birth in was Mount Sinai. Shabbat was approaching and the baby had to remain there in the hospital. The parents were making the necessary preparations to stay there over Shabbat to keep an eye on their newborn. As they were walking through the NICU, they saw a religious doctor. It was none other than Dr. Ezra Dayan, son of Raymond Dayan- that baby born 30 years ago that was two pounds. He indeed became a doctor and was working in that very NICU. He told the Nachums not to worry, he was going to be there on Shabbat and he would take care of their son as if it was his own child. He convinced them to go home for Shabbat, and they told their father what happened. With tears in his eyes, Moshe called his old friend Raymond and told him about what just occurred. He said, “Remember 30 years ago when I told you your son is going to be okay and will one day be a doctor helping other babies? Well, today, he’s helping my grandson and he gave the same chizuk to my son that I gave to you 30 years ago, telling him everything’s going to be okay.” Moshe has given chizuk to countless people in his life. He doesn’t always know the right words to use, but because he’s dedicated to doing it, Hashem always gives him siyata d’Shamaya . The more we involve ourselves in helping others, the more siyata d’Shamaya we’ll see.

People who dedicate themselves to helping others see so much siyata d’Shamaya in their efforts. They don’t always know exactly how they will help people, but they always try and Hashem shows them the way. A businessman, who is also a rabbi and a dynamic speaker, dedicates much of his time to counseling others and speaking to large audiences to give chizuk , free of charge. Recently, he pushed himself to add another class on Shabbat to a potentially new crowd of people that he felt he could inspire. They scheduled the first trial class in someone’s home and the rabbi came and started out the class with a story about the Bluzhever Rebbe. After the class was over, the owner of the house and his father went over to the rabbi and asked him, “How did you know to speak about the Bluzhever Rebbe?” “What do you mean?” The rabbi asked them. They said, “Did someone tell you to speak about him? He was our family rabbi. We owe him everything. You don’t know what he did for our family. The moment you mentioned his name we were hooked. We love the class. We want it to continue every single week.” The rabbi said afterwards, when he walked into the house that day, he did not know how he was going to start the class. He asked Hashem for siyata d’Shamaya and that story of the Bluzhever Rebbe is what came to his mind. In another example of this, a man by the name of Raymond Dayan was in shul telling his rabbi about his baby born prematurely and that it was only two pounds. The baby was in the NICU and the doctors were uncertain of its future. Raymond was very down, asking the rabbi for chizuk . After the rabbi tried and saw he wasn’t cheering him up the way he hoped to, he told Raymond to go over to Moshe Nachum and tell him about it. The rabbi said he had a unique ability to give people chizuk . At that time, Raymond was 21 years old and this was his first child. He went over to Moshe and told him about the baby. When Moshe heard that, he said, “What? Two pounds? That’s very big. Don’t worry, I was born at two pounds and look at me now – I’m 6 foot 5.” He proceeded to give Raymond some very uplifting words and concluded by saying, “Not only is your son going to be okay, one day he’s going to be a doctor and help other babies who are in this situation.” The rabbi came over to them and saw Raymond smiling. He said, “See, I told you, Moshe knows exactly the right words to say.” Fast forward 30 years. A few weeks ago, Moshe Nachum’s son had a baby that was born prematurely and had to be in the NICU. The hospital they gave birth in was Mount Sinai. Shabbat was approaching and the baby had to remain there in the hospital. The parents were making the necessary preparations to stay there over Shabbat to keep an eye on their newborn. As they were walking through the NICU, they saw a religious doctor. It was none other than Dr. Ezra Dayan, son of Raymond Dayan- that baby born 30 years ago that was two pounds. He indeed became a doctor and was working in that very NICU. He told the Nachums not to worry, he was going to be there on Shabbat and he would take care of their son as if it was his own child. He convinced them to go home for Shabbat, and they told their father what happened. With tears in his eyes, Moshe called his old friend Raymond and told him about what just occurred. He said, “Remember 30 years ago when I told you your son is going to be okay and will one day be a doctor helping other babies? Well, today, he’s helping my grandson and he gave the same chizuk to my son that I gave to you 30 years ago, telling him everything’s going to be okay.” Moshe has given chizuk to countless people in his life. He doesn’t always know the right words to use, but because he’s dedicated to doing it, Hashem always gives him siyata d’Shamaya . The more we involve ourselves in helping others, the more siyata d’Shamaya we’ll see.

Shamaya A. Morris is Dr. Foster's guest on this Episode of Fostering Solutions. Shamaya is currently a Production Group Leader at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in WV (TMMWV), a two million square foot facility producing engines and transmissions for Toyota and Lexus. Her previous role as a production engineer was to provide system solutions and engineering technologies for the transmission assembly line she supports.  Shamaya earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from West Virginia University. As a West Virginia native, Shamaya has lived in WV her entire life and loves doing life here as an engineer in the manufacturing field.

The pasuk says in Tehillim להודיע לבני אדם גבורותיו– “to tell other people about His strengths.” Besides our personal avodah of thanking and praising Hashem for everything His gives us and does for us, we’re also supposed to tell others about the strengths of Hashem and His goodness. Every time we say that pasuk in Ashrei , we should have in mind that we’re asking Hashem to give us the merit to be able to teach other people about the glory of His Kingship. Rabbenu Yonah writes in Shaarei Teshuva perek daled, there is one aveira that cannot be atoned for in this world until the day of a person’s death. Even if he took all the conventional steps of teshuva , it will not be enough. And that is for the sin of chilul Hashem, desecrating the Name of Hashem. However, Rabbenu Yonah writes further, there is one way that a person can receive atonement. In his words, if Hashem will help the person to sanctify His Torah in front of other people and teach others about His strengths and the glory of His Kingship, that will undo the negative effects of the chilul Hashem and remove it from his record. Teaching people about Hashem and getting them to believe in Him more is a great avodah , but we need Siyata d’Shamaya to be able to make an impression on others and truly get them to believe in His greatness. Each time we talk to people, it’s a potential opportunity to sanctify Hashem’s Name. When we tell others a story about ourselves, if we will insert how it was Hashem who orchestrated the events and how grateful we are to Hashem for doing it, that will hopefully teach others to do the same. A woman who is growing in religion recently sent me an email with seven different stories about how she so clearly saw Hashem helping her in so many different ways. One of those stories was about when she wanted to become more religious and make her home completely kosher. She wanted her husband to put on tefillin and pray every day as well as learn Torah, but where would she begin? She tried contacting a couple of Rabbis but they were very busy and didn’t really know her. She decided she would send a message to an organization that helps kosher homes. In minutes, a Rabbi responded. Turned out, that was a Rabbi that she knew from a couple of years ago and he was so happy to find out that she wanted to grow in religion now. He said that he would personally volunteer to help her every step of the way. He answered all of her kashrut questions, he dipped all of her dishes. She mentioned to him that she wanted her husband to learn, maybe he knew of someone who wanted to help. He said, “No problem, I’m going to teach him.” Not only did he teach her husband how to put on tefillin , but now he learns with him twice a week. The Siyata d’Shamaya that she got was amazing and at the end of her story, she added the most beautiful words. She said she loves doing chesed with people who are down and out and when they offer to repay her she tells them, “I want you to know, Hashem sent me here as His messenger to help you. He loves you and wants the best for you. You can repay me by smiling and realizing how much Hashem does for you. She loves to spread the glory of Hashem to people. This is such a precious avodah and everybody could do it. Sharing stories of emunah, giving people chizuk that Hashem could help them, it makes a kiddush Hashem and has the awesome power to undo the negative effects of chilul Hashem.

Getting married and having children is the very first mitzvah in the Torah. The Sefer HaChinuch writes, it is that mitzvah which enables all of the other mitzvot to get done. It is one of the only mitzvot that we would even sell a sefer Torah to fulfill. The Bet Yosef, in his teshuvot Dineh Ketubot, siman 14, writes that this mitzvah cannot be compared to any other. It’s greatness extends all the way to the Heavens. It brings the Shechina into a person’s life. The Gemara in Kiddushin speaks about how much Hashem awaits for a man to get married when he becomes of age. Nevertheless, we find young men who deliberately push off getting married for various reasons, one of which is money. They say, “I don’t want to think about marriage until I’m settled enough to be able to pay for my children's school tuition.” Of course, a person must have a plan of how he will support a family, but everything doesn’t have to be perfectly settled before marriage. Rav Chaim Palachi writes in his sefer Tochachat Chaim , after a person gets married, then he is zocheh to true simcha , to Siyata d’Shamaya , and parnasa tova . Hashem gives a person a livelihood based on his needs. If a man is still single, he will not necessarily be given at that time the parnasa he will eventually need when he gets married. We should not be afraid of marriage, because marriage is doing the will of Hashem and Hashem told us nobody will ever lose out by listening to Him. A man, who recently got married at the age of 31, told me the following story about himself. He was too worried to get married until he was finally settled with a secure job and a secure income. For that reason, years went by without him even attempting to get married. Finally, at the age of 30, he was settled with a good job, making a good salary. Fortunately for him, he found a girl very quickly and got engaged. Two months before the wedding, his employers told him their business was struggling and they would not be able to keep him on board. Just like that, he was out of a job. His greatest fear had come true, getting married without being settled. Should he call it off or continue on with the plan? At that point in his life, he had been learning emunah. Over the previous year, he got tremendous chizuk from reading about and listening to emunah classes on a daily basis. He said to himself, this must be what Hashem wants from me. This is my test. I have been trying to avoid it for the last ten years, but I can’t outsmart Hashem. I need to get married and so I am going to trust in Hashem to provide for me. For the next month, he put on a happy face as if everything was perfect. On the outside, nobody could tell that he was out of a job. He did have a product that was his to sell at his previous job and he still had the right to sell it. A month before his wedding, he found a different company willing to invest in him and in that product. He was hired for triple the salary of the previous company. He felt like he overcame his test and then Hashem poured down the beracha . Chazal tell us, a man who is not married does not have true goodness in his life. He does not have blessing or shalom or Torah. Mashiach will not come until all of the souls that Hashem wants to come down to this world actually do come down. In Mitzrayim , only after they were fruitful and multiplied, then the geula came. Says the Tana Diveh Eliyahu Zuta , our geula depends on the same thing. A man who is able to overcome his fears and get married, will not only be doing a great mitzvah, he’ll also be hastening the coming of the Mashiach .

A man who spends his days involved in chesed was once asked, “How are you able to accomplish so much? It doesn’t seem humanly possible to do what you are doing.” The man replied, “When I am asked for help, I always say yes. A lot of the time I do not know exactly how I am going to be able to fulfill the request I am being asked to do, but I try as hard as I can, and I pray to Hashem for help. Hashem then gives me siyata d’Shamaya . I find myself being able to help people in ways that I never could have imagined.” Being able to do chesed is a zechut . Being able to do any mitzvah is a zechut . If we truly want to have those merits and we do what is in our ability to accomplish them and ask Hashem for help, b’ezrat Hashem we’ll also receive siyata d’Shamaya . A young lady emailed that she has been doing a teleconference on shemirat halashon every night for the last two and a half years. Each time they finish a book, she arranges a chizuk event. Last week she organized a challah baking event as they just finished another book. About a week before the event, her mother saw an advertisement to order hilchot Shabbat books free of charge. She ordered a few and they ended up being delivered to her doorstep on the morning of the challah baking event. It was such a beautiful book, they wished that they could give them out to each person that was going to attend that day. With much effort they tracked down the woman who was behind the sponsorship of that book. She was delighted to hear that she could give it out to so many people. And then she told them how she saw the yad Hashem so clearly. Usually she sends the books in the mail. This time she noticed that the address of this young lady was near her son’s yeshiva. She said her father always used to say, “You do one mitzvah, then you try to catch another.” She was planning to drive her son to yeshiva that morning so she figured she’ll catch another mitzvah and personally drop off the books. But then her son wasn’t feeling well and was going to stay home. She said, “I already said I’m going to drop off the books so I’m going to do it anyway.” She said that she sponsored those books in the merit that her daughter who is sick gets a refuah shelemah . Later that day when she got this phone call that they wanted more, she was elated. She said she had 36 books in her car and happily brought them all there. That night, every one of those books was given out to people who were excited to read them. When you want to do something good and you try hard to do it, usually you will see siyata d’Shamaya . Another young woman told, for the last three years she had to deal with a chronic health issue. She has trouble swallowing, her heart rate begins to periodically increase, she has problems with her bladder and bowels and, occasionally, she’ll even lose her balance and just fall to the floor. She has been going from doctor to doctor, but no one has been able to properly diagnose her. During the same period she had become ostracized from her classmates and her community at large due to false negative reports that were spread about her and her family. She knows it’s all m’et Hashem for her best, but she has such a difficult time trying to forgive all the people who have been putting her through such pain and agony. She heard about all the great segulot that come about when you are able to forgive, but it was just too difficult. Recently, she heard an amazing story about how much Hashem helped a girl who was able to forgive when it was so difficult. She then started crying to Hashem and repeatedly asked Him to help her be able to forgive. That same night, a former classmate of hers called. It was the first phone call from a former classmate in years. She said she was getting married in a few days and didn’t want to go to her chupa still at odds with her. She asked sincerely for forgiveness and then said, “I know it would be difficult for you to come to my wedding with everyone being there, but I would love if you could possibly make it.” The young woman said, “I saw Hashem sending me the first step towards forgiving. I resolved I was going to go to that wedding and make that girl happy to see that I really did forgive her.” A few days later, on the day of that wedding( hours before the young woman was going to do the heroic act of showing up there), the young woman received a phone call from a doctor, saying he finally diagnosed the problem. It had to do with the spine and they are now, baruch Hashem, on the road to treating her. Hashem wants us to do what is right. We can get so much help if we want it and we ask for it. With Hashem’s help we can accomplish anything, even the most difficult tasks.

One of the lessons that we are supposed to take away from Purim is that there are no coincidences in life. Mordechai did not just happen to overhear Bigtan and Teresh plotting to kill the king. Achashverosh did not just happen to have trouble sleeping hours before Haman was going to come to his house and tell him to hang Mordechai. Achashverosh did not just happen to ask for his Book of Chronicles to be read, and it did not just happen to come to the page about where Mordechai saved his life. Every moment of life is drenched with hashgachat Hashem. Our job is to see through what appears to be natural events and attribute them to Hashem. When the Jews left Mitzrayim , all the nations were trembling in fear from them. Amalek, however, went and attacked. The pasuk says "אשר קרך בדרך" – they happened upon you on the road. The Mefarshim tell us Amalek did not want to believe that it was Hashem who took them out of Mitzrayim. They did not want the world to fear the Jews. They attributed Yetziat Mitzrayim to natural occurrences, to happenstance, and they acted upon their belief and attacked the Jewish People. The Torah tells us, our battle with Amalek is מדור דור –in every generation. We will only be able to overcome Amalek physically after we overcome them spiritually. We must strengthen our emunah in Hashem’s involvement in the world and in our individual lives. This is the time of year when there is extra Siyata d’Shamaya in the air for us to strengthen ourselves with. A woman emailed a story which happened to her mother, who we’ll call Mrs. Greenstein, a few years ago. Mrs. Greenstein is a nurse who works in a hospital in Israel. One day on her way out of the hospital, she received a phone call from a young woman. This young woman had a severely handicapped baby. The baby was a few months old and taking care of him was very complex. The young mother needed to go back to work and was looking for a babysitter who would be able to care for her baby throughout the daytime hours. Mrs. Greenstein explained to the woman all the medical details of what this would entail. When she hung up the phone, her first thoughts were, how would she ever find someone qualified enough to take care of that baby? Only someone with experience and extensive knowledge of how to care for such a child would be suited for that job. Someone like that is most probably hired already in a different job. Mrs. Greenstein then looked at the time and realized she had just missed the bus that she usually takes home. She got on the next bus, hoping to find a quiet place in the back to rest after a long day. She was about to fall asleep when a lady that she knew sat down right next to her. Mrs. Greenstein knew this lady worked in a home for handicapped children. They hadn’t seen each other for a while so they spoke for a bit, catching up on each other's lives. The lady mentioned that she recently stopped working and was looking for a new job. Mrs. Greenstein immediately connected her to that young mother and, a few days later, this woman started her new job babysitting for that handicapped infant. Amalek would say this was nothing but a few coincidental events. But we say, look at this amazing hashgacha ! That babysitter was probably the only qualified person in their city capable of doing that job. Hashem arranged for that young mother to think of calling Mrs. Greenstein at that time. Then He put Mrs. Greenstein on the second bus instead of the first. Then He put the babysitter in the seat right next to her to connect her to that new job. These stories are happening countless times a day. It is up to us to recognize Hashem’s involvement in each one of them and attribute all of life’s happenings to Him.

The Chovot HaLevavot writes in the Shaar HaBitachon, perek 3, when a person is occupied in earning a living, he should have in mind that he is fulfilling a mitzvah of Hashem who commanded us to be in engaged in worldly pursuits to earn a livelihood. If he does this, he will be rewarded, since he is acting for the sake of Hashem. An individual at work can be involved in mitzvot all day long if he is having the proper intentions. And, if during his work day, he also believes that whatever happens is coming from Hashem, his rewards will be infinitely greater. The Vilna Gaon writes, it is the way of tzaddikim , when making hishtadlut , to be fully connected and focused on Hashem the entire time, recognizing that the hishtadlut they are making is really with Him. Esther HaMalka made a hishtadlut to save Klal Yisrael from destruction. She went to Achashverosh unannounced, and instead of asking for what she wanted right away, she invited him to a private party the next day to arouse his curiosity. At that party, she did not reveal to him what she wanted either. She asked him to come again to another party the next day, all part of her hishtadlut to get him even more curious. Then, at the second party, she waited for the perfect opportunity to bring it up, and then asked him to save her people from a man who is trying to harm them. After all that hishtadlut , the king asked her, “Who is that man?” She then said, “It’s an enemy,” and began pointing her finger right at him. The Gemara says an angel came and pointed her finger at Haman instead. The Vilna Gaon asked, how is it possible that she would point her finger at Achashverosh? That would have ruined all the hishtadlut that she had been making. The Gaon answered, it’s because her mind was on Hashem the entire time, and she knew she was really talking to Him. We might not be on that high of a level, but everyone in their own way can focus on Hashem during their business day and recognize He is the one calling all the shots. It is so clear that Hashem is the one who is providing our parnasa . A man told me he has been renting a summer home for the past 30 years in a certain location. This year, the owner of the house raised the rent by $5,000. The man said he precisely calculates the amount he is able to spend on all of his expenses, and he was not able to afford that increase. He searched around for other homes, but they were all going for about that same price. The owner called him recently, on a Friday, saying he needed him to make a decision immediately because there was another person interested in renting the home if he turned it down. He said, “Please, give me a little more time. Give me a few minutes to think.” Five minutes later, the man received a phone call from the Verizon phone company. Six months ago, they had asked him if they could dig a hole along his property and put a pipeline there. At that time, they offered him $1,000 to do it and he declined. Now, right when he needed the extra funds for this house, they called him back saying they are offering him $5,000 if he would allow them to do it. The hashgacha here was amazing. The timing could not have been better! He signed the rental agreement and thanked Hashem for giving his family another summer in the place they wanted to be. Another man who runs a freight delivery service by himself told me, the other day he was offered two different job opportunities, but they were at the exact same time in different cities. He picked one and asked Hashem for Siyata d’Shamaya . The next day, while he went to do the job, he received two separate phone calls for other jobs, both of them were within ten minutes from where he picked. He told me, “I see Hashem every day taking care of me, and helping me provide for my family.” If we go to work with the proper intentions and we know Who is really behind the parnasa , we’ll be involved in mitzvot all day long.

Today is Rosh Chodesh Adar. Chazal tell us משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה – this is a time when we are supposed to increase our happiness. One way to do that is to realize how fortunate we are. B’ezrat Hashem , we are going to read tomorrow from three sifrei Torah, one of which is parashat Shekalim. It says there, "כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל" – there was a command by Hashem for Moshe to count the Jewish People. Literally, the words mean when you lift up the heads of the Jewish People. The question was asked, why is that expression being used to count people? One answer is Hashem is teaching us a lesson about how special we are. We need to lift up our heads and feel empowered. Hashem gives every person so much potential and helps us in everything we do. If we believe in ourselves more and the powers that Hashem gives us, we could accomplish so much. A woman told me she has a couple of friends who were very distant from religion, and they were not connected to anyone who would bring them closer. She decided on her own to make a five minute inspirational daily recording and send it to them. After a few weeks, more people signed up for it and she found herself giving twenty minute recordings daily. She spends hours listening to various rabbis' classes and then takes the most inspirational parts and sends them out in her own words, adapted for her crowd. There are currently more than 100 people being inspired now, every single day, from her words. People who would not normally go to a class are now growing in Torah and mitzvot because one person felt that she could make a difference. We have no idea how far reaching our deeds could go. It is up to us to do as much as we can and then hope that Hashem will give siyata d’Shamaya to our efforts. Sometimes Hashem will give a person feedback on the impact he is making and that will give him extra chizuk to continue pushing forward. A Rosh Yeshiva in Israel told me, one of the boys in his yeshiva, who we’ll call Yehuda, became inspired to make sure there is always someone present to answer Amen when he says a beracha. He heard a recorded class from a rabbi on the subject and, in that class, there was a story of a boy who accepted upon himself this practice, and on one occasion, the boy was so thirsty but didn’t have anyone to answer Amen and he waited and waited, a very long time, and he would not give in until he found someone. The rabbi told, this boy had a dream that the self-sacrifice that he put forth brought about a refuah shelemah to a friend of his. The next day he called that friend and asked him how he was feeling. The friend told him about his miraculous recovery. When Yehuda heard that class with that story, he decided he wanted to accept upon himself this practice as well. Last Friday night, Yehuda finished his learning at about 12:00 and went back to the dormitory. The boys in his yeshiva usually learn until later and so he was the only one there. He wanted a snack before he went to sleep, but there was no one to answer Amen. He waited a little but nobody came. Finally, at 12:30, he decided he was going to go out to the street and ask the first person he saw to come in for a moment to answer Amen. He went and found someone. Afterward, that person asked him why he was so careful to have someone answer Amen. He told the man about the class he heard and the story. The man then said, “I can’t believe what you are saying. I am the one who gave that class and told that story. Wherever I go, I try to teach people about the importance of Amen. That story was told to me by a boy who I inspired. And now I see that my words are inspiring others as well.” What were the odds that at 12:30 at night, the one man who was asked to answer Amen is the man who feels it is one of his life’s missions to inspire people in that area? That was Hashem giving that man chizuk . Everyone could accomplish so much. Everyone is special and has his own unique talents. Let us increase our joy with the knowledge that Hashem is with us, helping us. And let us do all we can to serve Him with the strength that He blessed us with. Chodesh Tov and Shabbat Shalom.

Hashem is involved not only with our physical actions; He is also involved in our thoughts as well. A man told me this morning he looked at his watch and saw he had 15 minutes to spare after he prayed Shacharit and, since he was in his mother’s neighborhood, he decided to stop in and say hello. He pointed out to me that he had never done that before. When he arrived, he saw his mother trying to shovel her car out of the driveway. It would have taken her at least an hour with all that snow there, and she is a woman in her sixties. Her son said, “Mom, what are you doing?” She said she needed to go give breakfast to her mother, who is in her nineties. She didn’t want to get anyone else to do it, because she wanted to fulfill the mitzvah of kibud Av v’Em herself. Her son told her he would be happy to drive her, and that’s what he did. He said afterward, “My mother wanted to honor her mother, and so Hashem put in my mind for me to go and honor her.” The gabai tzedaka at Mosdot Kever Rachel told me he sent out a request a couple of weeks ago for people to sponsor food packages being given out for Shabbat at Kever Rachel. A woman aged forty contacted him and said she pledged to give $1000, but on condition that people would pray for her at Kever Rachel to find a certain individual she has been looking for. She explained, twenty years before, she had publicly humiliated someone and never asked for forgiveness. When she was 25 and having so much difficulty with shidduchim , her father went to the great mekubal Rav Yitzchak Kaduri to get a beracha for her. That meeting took place just about a month before the Rabbi passed away. Rabbi Kaduri told her father, “She will not find a shidduch until she gets forgiven for the public humiliation she caused the other girl. It was amazing how the Rabbi knew that about that without even being told. Ever since then, this woman has been trying to find that girl, but she was never able to. Now, at age forty, she was asking the gabai tzedaka to get people to pray for her at Kever Rachel and have the zechut of giving money for food for people to get extra siyata d’Shamaya . That took place on a Thursday. A few days later, this woman received a phone call from someone who she went to high school with, who wanted to suggest a possible shidduch for her. She admitted it was a little embarrassing, being that the caller was already a mother of children of marriageable age. The woman told her, “Thank you for the offer, but I need to find a certain girl first,” and she explained. The friend said, “I have information about her. I think it might be able to help you find her. She gave over the information and within hours, the woman finally had that girl on the line. She begged her for forgiveness with tears and she was forgiven. We hope to hear more good news, b’ezrat Hashem, about the engagement of this woman soon. Look how Hashem put the thought in the mind of that friend from high school, the person who had information on that girl, to call with that shidduch suggestion. That was Hashem, getting involved in a person’s thoughts. We must know Hashem can help us with any problem, and always pray with that emunah. He is in charge of everything, even the thoughts that go through our brains.

Another young black woman is a victim of a tragedy. Lets discuss this and I will share my commentary. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mishapodcasttv/message

The sefer Nafshi Bishelati writes, if a person is ever unsure which direction he should take in religion, he should not ask Hashem for a sign on how to proceed. Hashem gave us Chachamim ( sages) in every generation to guide us, and they are given a certain siyata d’Shamaya to tell us His will. We are not worthy of receiving open signs from Hashem and, in most cases, we don’t even know how to read them. Our decisions should be made solely based on Torah and advice from Chachamim . However, if a person feels that he needs chizuk , he most certainly can ask Hashem to give him that chizuk . If he feels that a sign would give him chizuk , he is allowed to ask for one. But, he has to have the proper outlook. If a person, let’s say, feels alone and abandoned and wants a sign from Hashem that Hashem loves him, the first thing he needs to know is that Hashem already told us multiple times that He loves us. There are pesukim in the Torah and the Nevi'im describing Hashem’s love for us. Even if the person does not get the sign he asked for, it doesn’t mean that Hashem doesn’t love him. For a person to have direct communication from Hashem, he needs to be on a high level or put forth a tefila from the depths of his heart with tears. Of course, there are always exceptions. Hashem decides who He gives signs to and who He doesn’t. But as a rule, a request for a sign is asking for a lot. A person may feel that Hashem is not listening to his tefilot . He might say, “Hashem, if You love my tefilot , please show me.” There too, Hashem already told us He loves our tefilot . He commanded us in the Torah to pray to Him. That alone should give us the chizuk we need to continue praying. If a person ever does receive what appears to be a sign of love from Hashem, it does bring a heartwarming feeling and will give a person a lot of chizuk . A woman emailed, as a side job she sells roses. She recently began sending a rose to a different widow, divorcee or older single each week to show them love and give them a little boost. Last Friday, she herself needed a boost and asked Hashem if He could please show her that He loves her and send her a rose. Two days later, on Sunday, she received a box of new shoes that she ordered on Amazon. When she opened it, she saw a red rose with the word “Love”. She felt so special and received that chizuk she had hoped for. A man emailed, he has a son who has been trying to get married for a long time. The man and his wife have been praying hard, saying extra Tehillim and taking on new kabbalot as a zechut . In addition, his other children have also increased their kavana in their tefilot . A few days ago, he hit an extremely low point. The shadchan that he thought was helping him was not calling him back and was ignoring his phone calls. He turned to Hashem and channeled his emotions to Him. He cried saying, “I’ve been praying so hard and doing whatever I can to get my son married. I feel so lost and helpless. Please, Hashem, send me some type of sign that you are listening to my tefilot and that You are with me on this.” Right after that, he went to the store to buy some food for Shabbat. When he entered the grocery store, he noticed a stack of different pamphlets displayed for people to take. He has been going to that grocery store for years and never once noticed it. He picked up a few of them. On one, the title read “Your Shidduch Will Arrive.” He felt like it was a hug from Hashem, just what he needed to keep going strong. We must know, Hashem loves us. Hashem loves our tefilot , whether we see it or not. It’s an additional bonus to see a sign, but it should never affect our actions or decisions.

When it comes to Torah and mitzvot, the main focus is our desire to perform and the effort we put forth towards them. If we truly want to be close to Hashem and do everything in our power to accomplish it, we are automatically considered successful. Results are in Hashem’s hands and the efforts are in ours. Chazal tell us “הבא ליטהר מסייעין בידו – if someone really wants to purify himself and do the will of Hashem, Hashem will give that person Heavenly help to accomplish it." The person might not see the help immediately and might not understand when he is being helped, but for sure he will be helped. A man, who we’ll call Yehuda, from New Jersey told me, a little less than two years ago he drove into Brooklyn to bring a friend of his to a class there. An inspiring speaker from Israel flew in to give a speech and Yehuda was hoping it would inspire his friend to get closer to religion. He told his friend he was going to take him out to dinner first. He wasn’t familiar with the restaurants in Brooklyn, so he asked someone else to recommend one to him. As he was making his way to that restaurant, the person called him and said, “No, change of plans. I want you to go to a different restaurant.” It was somewhere in the V and Coney Island area. Yehuda searched for parking there for 15 minutes until he finally found one spot that was five blocks away from it. He took his friend for dinner, but they got back to the car as sunset was approaching quickly. Yehuda couldn’t believe the time. He was planning to pray Mincha in the shul where the class was going to be held, but now there was no way he would make it. He opened his trunk to look for a siddur but couldn’t find one. Then, an older man who we’ll call Reuven, called to Yehuda from his porch asking if he was getting out of the parking spot. Yehuda told him he was actually looking for a siddur to pray Mincha and would appreciate it if he could give him one. Reuven went inside his house to get a siddur and then a different friend of Yehuda called him to say, “Don’t bother driving to the class, there are no spots here. You’ll have to get a ride.” When Reuven brought out the siddur , he asked Yehuda if he would be getting out of the spot after he prayed. Reuven explained that he wanted to hold the spot for a relative that would be arriving late that night and it was very hard to find parking there. Yehuda said to him, “If you would be so kind to drive my friend and I to a class, I’ll get a ride back later, and I’ll tell you then and I’ll pull out of the spot and give it to you. In the meantime, my car will hold the spot for you.” Reuven said, “Okay.” He drove Yehuda and his friend to the class. Later that night, after 11:00 pm, they arrived back. Reuven was out on his front porch with his wife. The wife invited Yehuda and his friend to come in for some watermelon before they had to go back to New Jersey. While chatting in the house, Reuven told Yehuda, “You remind me a lot of my son-in-law. I want him to meet you.” He then went upstairs, woke up his son-in-law and brought him down to meet Yehuda. When the son-in-law came down, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He had been searching for this Yehuda for six years. Yehuda told me the story behind it. Six years before, he and his brothers’ families registered and paid to go on a trip that this son-in-law organized. Yehuda’s brother got sick at that time, and they were only able to be there for a couple of days. The son-in-law told Yehuda he was going to pay him the money back, and he would send it to him in the coming weeks. But, after that, his computer crashed, and he lost all the contact information. Yehuda got so busy with his brother, who was fighting cancer, he forgot about the money that he was owed. The son-in-law wrote out a check for Yehuda and kept it in his wallet for the past six years hoping someday he would find him and be able to repay his debt. He had since moved to Israel and just at this time he was visiting his in-laws. Yehuda told me the chances of him meeting the son-in-law that night there were astronomical. For him to be directed to that second restaurant at the last second and then park five blocks away from it in the only spot available, right in front of Reuven’s house. And then to make conversation with Reuven because he needed a siddur . And then get invited back into his home after 11:00 at night, and he accepted the invitation. And then Reuven went up to wake up his son-in-law because he thought he was similar to Yehuda. All for this meeting to take place. This is called s iyata d ’Shamaya . The son-in-law went back up to his room, he got the check and he handed it to Yehuda. He was so anxious to pay him, and he thanked Hashem for making this meeting possible. Hashem gives us siyata d’Shamaya all the time. When we have a strong desire to perform His will, to do a mitzvah, we’ll get the help that we’re looking for.

Every night before we go to sleep, we say in the Kriat Shema Al Hamita, "הריני מוחל וסולח לכל מי שהכעיס והקניט אותי או שחטא כנגדי... – I hereby forgive any individual who angered me or who annoyed me or who wronged me, whether physically or against my honor." Then we make a request that Hashem should not punish anyone on our account and then a tefila that Hashem should erase our sins without having to experience trouble or illness. If a person has ill feelings towards another, he must realize he has a great opportunity to do a heroic act by removing those negative feelings, which will bring down immeasurable blessing to himself and to the world at large. If it is hard for a person to accomplish, the rewards will only be greater. Only Hashem knows what is in a person’s heart. It’s easy to say that we forgive, but it is much harder to actually feel that way inside. That is where all the glory lies. Rav Chaim Shmulevitz was hiding out in a bomb shelter with hundreds of people during the Six Day War. Bombs were flying everywhere, and they were all in grave danger. B’Siyata d’Shamaya everyone came out afterward unscathed. The Rabbi told the people, “The only reason we were spared is because we had a woman with us who had been suffering tremendously, as her husband left her years ago without a get . During one of the barrages of bombs upon us, I heard her saying, ‘Hashem, I forgive my husband with a complete heart and I have no ill feelings towards him whatsoever.’ That was our protection.” When we are able to uproot negative feelings, we are doing a double chesed . First of all, we are helping ourselves fulfill one of the 613 mitzvot called לא תיטור , and we are also doing a great chesed for the other party by removing the harmful effects that they have caused upon themselves from hurting us. A woman emailed me that she had the merit to make a shidduch for her granddaughter with a wonderful boy almost two years ago. As payment for the shidduch , the boy’s family bought her a small gift. She was surprised that they didn’t give her any money, and it bothered her. Her husband was totally fine with it and she kept telling herself not to be silly, but the thought kept niggling her. Months went by and then almost a year and they did not hear any news of her granddaughter expecting. One day she began to think maybe it is her fault. She had heard that it is very important to pay the shadchan and maybe if she wasn’t satisfied with the payment, that could be causing this problem. She decided to speak to her Rabbi. He advised her to do everything in her power to uproot any negative feeling she had towards the boy’s family. It took her several days to almost uproot it totally, but she still wasn’t satisfied. She then wrote down on a piece of paper that she, with her full Hebrew name, hereby forgives the other party with a full heart etc. She wrote it three times and then honestly felt better about it and totally put it behind her. Several months later, her grandchildren came to tell her the good news that they were expecting. And baruch Hashem, they recently had the Brit Milah of their new baby boy. When we are able to uproot out negative feelings towards others, we will be helping both them and ourselves.

The Gemara says in Masechet Shabbat the oils and wicks which are forbidden to be used to light the Shabbat candles are able to be used to light the Chanukah candles. The Sfat Emet said in the name of the Chidushei HaRim one of the deeper meanings of that Gemara is that the neshamot of the people who can’t seem to get ignited even from the holy Shabbat will be able to get ignited from the lights of the Chanukah candles. Unfortunately, there are many souls who have drifted away from the proper path, people from good families, people who themselves were once soaring to great heights. Their parents and siblings have been trying everything to get them back, but nothing seems to be working. Our Rabbis are telling us that during these days of Chanukah there is extra Heavenly help to once again reignite those souls and we must take advantage of it. Why is the power of the nerot Chanukah so great? The sefer Mivaser Tov explained, at the time of the Chanukah miracle, the Jewish People risked their lives to fight the Greeks. With just a small number of people, they took on the mighty Greek army. Why were they fighting? Their lives were not at risk. They were fighting to rid themselves of the religious decrees that the Greeks were imposing upon them. This was a fight for Torah and mitzvot. When Hashem saw how much the Jews yearned for pure Torah, that is when He made the miracle and enabled them to defeat the Greeks. As well, He gave them the merit to do the mitzvah of the Menorah in its purest form, not having to rely on the fact that they technically could have lit with impure oil. The flames of the Chanukah candles represent our desire for purity. And every year, Hashem brings back the same energy that was there at the time of the miracle. The energy that is coming from the candles is purity and it is in the air during these days for the taking. Now is when we have to redouble our efforts to pray harder than ever to bring those lost souls back. If we ran out of solutions, if we have no other hishtadlut to make, then we can give the job over to Hashem. He has infinite ways of helping. But we must do our part and pray with all of our might. A Rabbi from Israel who is a very powerful and inspiring speaker told the following story about himself. He said a friend of his asked him to take over in his shul one Shabbat as he had to travel for a family function. The Rabbi, who lived in a different city, agreed to make the trip to help out his friend. Friday afternoon, as he was walking to the shul there, he saw a sign which said on Sunday evening there was going to be a seuda in a certain hall commemorating the shloshim aazkara of someone who had passed away. The Rabbi recognized the name, he knew the family, and he was shocked that he didn’t even hear of this person’s death. He made it his business to go back there that Sunday evening. When he arrived at the hall, he found out that this was not the person he thought it was. It was his cousin with the same name. This man had passed away tragically at the age of 52 and had almost 400 in attendance of the azkara , but no one there was able to give any words of Torah. The crowd consisted of people who were not fully observant. Someone there saw this Rabbi and said, “Wow, it’s so great that you are here. Could you please give a speech to us, give us some words of Torah?” The Rabbi happily agreed. He got up and gave a very powerful 45 minute derasha . The people there were all attentive because they were there to honor the deceased. The Rabbi gave a fiery speech about the purpose of life and everyone there was inspired. He does not know what came about afterwards from his words, but undoubtedly, many of those people changed their lives as a result. Hashem took this Rabbi and placed him in that setting to give chizuk to those 400 lost souls. Hashem could figure out ways to help when we can’t. We need to utilize the extra Siyata d’Shamaya we have on Chanukah and beg Hashem to bring back all of those who have veered from the path.

The days of Chanukah are very auspicious for spiritual growth. People who feel like they are underachieving and want more have a golden opportunity to ask Hashem for help. The miracle of Chanukah took place with candles that were technically not able to light the way they did, but nonetheless, they shined brightly for eight days. Candles represent spirituality. During these days, a person who is technically not capable of achieving, can receive help and shine so bright. Spiritual gifts are not given for nothing, we have to yearn for them. When Yaakov Avinu was on his way to Charan, he passed by Har HaMoriah, but he didn’t realize it and he didn’t stop to pray. Hashem did not stop him. When Yaakov eventually reached his destination, he realized he passed by such a holy site. The moment he turned back to go there and pray, Hashem miraculously folded up the land and brought Har HaMoriah to him. We learn from this that if we don’t actively take steps towards achieving spiritual goals, Hahsem will let us continue in our ways, but if we tell Hashem how much we want it and we take a step towards achieving it, then Hashem will give us an abundance of Siyata d’Shamaya . When Moshe Rabbenu saw the Burning Bush and perceived it was a holy sight, the pasuk says “אסורה נא ואראה – Moshe said to himself, let me turn now from here and go see it.” The Midrash says according to one opinion, Moshe took five steps to get close. According to another opinion, he just turned his face to look. When Hashem saw that he was interested in coming closer, that is when He revealed Himself to him. There is nothing better for us in this world than to be successful in Torah and mitzvot and Yirat Shamayim . Hashem is ready and willing to help us, especially now during these days of Chanukah, but we have to first show interest and take steps to improve. The sefer Ki Ata Imadi told a story that a young Rabbi related to him. Many years ago, the rabbi said, he was learning in a Kollel with the goal of becoming a Posek Halacha . They were learning Orach Chaim and Yoreh De’ah . His first year there, he saw how everyone else in the Kollel was able to learn every Magen Avraham and Taz with great depth, as well as every Pri Megadim and Machatzit Hashekel . But he wasn’t capable of understanding them. He spent his time learning Mishnah Berurah to know the bottom line halacha , but he wasn’t able to learn the sources properly. Every month there was an oral test and when the questions were asked to his friends, they quoted the true sources as their answers. When he was asked questions, he would always say the Mishnah Berurah holds this way. It was embarrassing to him because sometimes he would quote Mishnah Berurah when the true sources were so obvious to everyone else in the Kollel. Things stayed the same way for a few years. He was gradually breaking down and losing his hope of becoming a real Posek Halacha. One night, he cried many tears to Hashem, saying he wants to learn the right way, he wants to know Torah the way it is supposed to be known. As he was crying, he thought to himself he had to do something to show Hashem how badly he really wanted it and how much he was willing to sacrifice to get it. It was the day before they were to receive their monthly stipend. He said to Hashem, “I am going to donate all the money I have available to tzedaka to show You how much I want this.” He had 1600 shekalim on him. He quickly ran to a gabai tzedaka to give him the money before he had a chance to change his mind. After that episode, he said, his learning took on a whole new level. Hashem opened his mind and gave him the ability to understand all of the depth in the words of the Rishonim and Acharonim and, baruch Hashem, this rabbi has already written many sefarim on various topics of halacha . Our strong will goes a very long way. Let us use these days of Chanukah to beg Hashem for help with becoming more spiritual and begin trying to grow to new heights in Torah and mitzvot .

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A man was once walking with a rabbi who was a relative of the Brisker Rav. It was Erev Rosh Hashanah in the morning and he turned to the rabbi and asked him to please give him some words of inspiration. The rabbi then said in a raised voice, “Elul stands for אני לדודי ודודי לי.” The man was wondering why the rabbi would be giving him chizuk about Elul when the month was practically over and Rosh Hashanah was at their doorstep. The rabbi then repeated it, “אני לדודי ודודי לי. Hashem is with me and I am with Hashem. This is the essence of Elul. There are still a few hours left of the month. Go now and use them wisely.” With those words, the man started to cry, and it was then he realized the value of every moment of Elul. It’s a month in which Hashem showers us with mercy and yearns for us to get closer to him. There are people who honestly want to become better, but they don’t know how. They don’t know where to begin. They should ask Hashem to help them with that too. David HaMelech asked Hashem in Tehillim, “הוריני ה' דרכיך – show me the proper path that I should take.” Everyone has a unique mission in this world to fulfill and Hashem could help us fulfill it. If Hashem sees that we sincerely want to be close to Him, He’ll give us the Siyata d’Shamaya that we need to do it, especially now during these days of Rachamim – Elul. Rabbi Elimelech Biderman told a story of a group of rabbis from Bneן Brak who usually go once a week to Rishon Letzion to learn with people who are distant from Torah to help bring them back. They have a shul that they learn in in that neighborhood, but when Corona started, the shul closed and they weren’t able to continue. Before Shavuot, the shuls reopened and this group planned to resume their work in outreach. They made plans with those men in Rishon Letzion, and they traveled by bus to meet them at the shul they were accustomed to learning in. When they arrived, they saw the shul was closed. They inquired and were told that the shul was only being used for praying and nothing else. They asked if they could make an exception but they were denied. They asked if they could set up tables and chairs in the backyard parking lot and once again they were declined. One of the men of Rishon Letzion said he has a big open parking lot right near his house a couple of blocks away and they could go there and use it. The head rabbi said, “Okay, everybody go there and I’ll wait here in front of the shul and tell whoever comes to go there. About ten minutes later, as the rabbi was standing there, he noticed a man walking by who was looking at him. The rabbi knew this wasn’t one of the regulars who usually comes to learn there, but nonetheless, he called out to him and asked, “Would you like to learn Torah now?” The man’s eyes lit up. “Yes,” he said, “is there a place for me to learn?” The rabbi replied, “Absolutely! But it is not going to be a class. We have rabbis who will learn with you one-on-one deep Gemara .” The man said, “Great, I would really enjoy that.” The man then told the rabbi his story. He said he grew up religious but then veered off the path. Recently, with Corona, he saw how Hashem controls the world and wanted to come back to Him, but he didn’t know where to start. He told the rabbi, “I prayed to Hashem to show me the path to return and, lo and behold, Hashem sent me right to you.” As they were walking together to where the rest of the group was, the man asked the rabbi if by any chance he could get him a pair of Tefillin. The rabbi replied, “Actually, one of our rabbis here just fixed up his father’s Tefillin, who passed away, and he’s looking to find someone who would use them.” The man told the rabbi, “This is unbelievable. I asked Hashem for two things, to direct me to make teshuva and for a pair of Tefillin, and both were answered right away.” Look what Hashem did for this man, the shul did not allow them to learn there or in the backyard parking lot so that the rabbi would be standing outside in the front when this man walked by to direct him how to get back to Hashem. Hashem wants us to be close to Him. Now is the time. We need to utilize the opportunity we have during this glorious month and take advantage of Hashem’s unending mercy.

Some of the mitzvot that we have are very difficult to follow – not bearing a grudge against someone who harmed us, not harboring hatred in our hearts towards a person who pained us, being happy for people’s blessings even though we are in need of those same blessings. The rule is, if we are absolutely committed to keeping a mitzvah and we do all in our power to do it, Hashem will help and give us the Siyata d’Shamaya that we need to keep it properly. Hashem loves when we put forth the efforts to ensure that we are doing mitzvot the best way possible. That’s the purpose of us living in this world and, when we are truly committed, we’ll see with our own eyes Hashem helping us achieve our goals. A young man told me he committed last year to learning Torah with a study partner on Wednesday nights. He took his commitment very seriously, ensuring to never miss the learning. Even if he had a wedding or the like to attend, he would go after or go before, but he would never miss his chavruta . A couple of weeks ago, his chavruta was with his wife in labor on a Wednesday night, and he called to say he’s sorry, he’d have to miss learning. This young man was happy for his chavruta, but he became nervous about missing his Wednesday night learning session. He turned to Hashem and said, “I have done everything in my power to always ensure to make the Wednesday night class. I don’t want to miss it now, but it seems like I have no other option.” About an hour before his designated time to learn, a friend of his who is a young rabbi who he learns with on a different day of the week said to him, “Would you happen to be available tonight at 9:00? I don’t think I’ll be able to make the other day we learn this week.” The young man felt so special. He saw how much Hashem valued his commitment to Wednesday night learning and how Hashem ensured that he would not have to miss it. The sefer Vaveh HaAmudim told a story about a man who is so careful to recite one hundred berachot every single day. He makes sure to say extra berachot on Shabbat and Yom Tov when there are less berachot in the Amida . He has a system for every day of the year, including Yom Kippur, to make sure he always gets to one hundred. One time he was a guest at someone’s house in Lakewood for Sukkot, and because he wasn’t home, he wasn’t able to follow his normal system. It was the second day of the holiday. He looked at the time and he noticed there were only three minutes left until sunset and he still needed three more berachot to get to one hundred. He saw a candy, made a Shehakol and quickly swallowed it. Then he started walking to try to find some other food, but it didn’t seem that there was any available. As he passed by a window, he saw a bolt of lightning and was able to say Oseh ma’aseh bereshit . A few seconds later, there was thunder and he said the beracha of Shekocho ugevurato maleh olam and with that he reached 100 with less than a minute to go before sunset. He thanked Hashem for helping him fulfill his commitment by sending the thunder and lightning at precisely the moment he needed, just as he walked by that window. The sefer Emunah Shelemah told a story of a man who was so careful with his Tefillin . One time, he was returning from a trip to Israel and he carried the Tefillin with him the entire time so as not to put them in a suitcase with other non-holy objects. He took a taxi in New York City, and when he arrived at his destination, he went to the trunk to get his suitcase. After he closed the trunk, the driver pulled away before he had a chance to come back and get his duffle bag and Tefillin from the backseat. He was so distraught. He loved his Tefillin so much, and he was so careful to treat them with respect. How would he possibly get them back now? Finding a specific taxi in New York City was like finding a needle in a haystack. A few days later, he told Hashem, “From now on, I’m going to upgrade the sanctity that I keep with my Tefillin . I’m going to have much more kedusha with them. I commit to never say any words other than Torah or tefila while I’m wearing them. Please bring my Tefillin back.” The very same day, he received a call from someone saying that a few days before, a stranger handed him Tefillin on a street in Manhattan saying he found them in a taxi, “It looks like a Jewish article. Maybe you’ll know what to do with them.” “I’ve been trying to track you down for the last three days, and today I finally found you.” When we commit to do the mitzvot the best way we can, and we give all of our efforts, Hashem gives us extra Siyata d’Shamaya to keep our commitments.

To order the new Living Emunah 5 please click here SPECIAL 25% DISCOUNT https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/9781422626078.html We all know the basic principles of emunah. We all believe that whatever happens to us is from Hashem for the best. Yet, when things don’t go the way we hoped, we naturally feel bad about it. It’s hard during those times to really internalize that the best outcome took place. But, with a little reminder or a little chizuk we can become strengthened and move forward happily. A little emunah reminder goes a very long way, especially when we view them as subtle messages directly from Hashem. A man, who we’ll call David, told me he had been happily learning in a Kollel in Lakewood for nine years, looking to eventually become a Rebbe in a yeshiva. One day he received a call from a principal in Monsey asking him if he would take over an 8 th grade class for the remainder of that school year, as the Rebbe of that class became sick. David felt that it would be a good opportunity for him and hopefully would turn into some other permanent position somewhere in that yeshiva. He commuted back and forth that year six days a week, over three hours a day in the car. And he had a successful experience. Baruch Hashem, the 8 th grade Rebbe who was sick was returning to the yeshiva the following year, but there was a 7 th grade Rebbe position available that David was hoping that he would get, and it looked like the position was going to be his. However, that summer, with just two weeks to go before the school year, he was informed that the position was being given to someone else instead. It was a big blow to him. He was happy there, and he needed the money to support his growing family. At that point, there were no other positions available in any other yeshivot so he went back to learning, but he really needed money. His wife told him, “Maybe you’re eligible for unemployment now.” So he applied and, lo and behold, his application was accepted. He was able to learn and be supported. But a few months later, he received another notice from the government saying he’s really not eligible and the payments were stopping. Now he felt down. He felt like Hashem was giving him presents and then taking them away from him. First he thought that he had the job that he wanted in Monsey and then that was taken away. Then he thought he would be able to learn with peace of mind, having his expenses taken care of and then that was taken away too. He needed chizuk . He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost time for the early Mincha. He wanted to go pray and pour out his heart to Hashem. When he got in the car and turned it on, music began playing very loudly, his children must have been playing with it before. The song that was playing was composed of the words, “כל דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד – Whatever Hashem does is for the best.” Those were the exact words he needed to hear. Those were the words playing at that exact moment, although there are hundreds of hours of music downloaded in that car. He took the message from Hashem and strengthened himself and instantly became a changed person. He managed to survive his expenses that year with a lot of Siyata d’Shamaya from Hashem. He tried out for three different Rebbe positions in three different yeshivot, but he was rejected from all of them. He kept playing the words of that song in his mind after every rejection, giving himself chizuk that it’s for the best. At the end of that summer, he took his family on a much needed vacation to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They were having a great time, but right in the middle of it, he received a call from a yeshiva in Lakewood saying they needed a Rebbe and he was their top candidate. There was only three days left until the new year and they couldn’t wait for him to come back for an interview when his trip was over. That meant David had to end his vacation on the spot and lose the money that he already spent on accommodations, but the job sounded promising, so they immediately drove back. He went there for a long interview that evening and was hopeful that the job was his. The next evening, however, he received a call from them saying they decided to hire someone else. Another big blow. He spent a half hour being michazek himself that it’s all for the best, and he was happy once again. Right after that, he received another phone call. This time, it was a job offer from a yeshiva in Brooklyn. It wasn’t ideal for him, but he went the next day for that interview and he got that job. He signed a three year contract and it was a great learning experience. The commute was tough, but he did it happily. At the end of the three years, he was called and offered a job in a prominent yeshiva in Lakewood, the job he always dreamed of. And baruch Hashem, he’s been there now for a number of years and he couldn’t be happier. It was a long and grueling process until he finally ended up where he wanted to be. The understanding that the whole process was orchestrated by Hashem for his best is what gave him the fortitude to go through it with emunah and simcha . We all have emunah inside of us, we just need small reminders sometimes to bring it out.

To order the new Living Emunah 5 please click here SPECIAL 25% DISCOUNT https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/9781422626078.html We all know the basic principles of emunah. We all believe that whatever happens to us is from Hashem for the best. Yet, when things don’t go the way we hoped, we naturally feel bad about it. It’s hard during those times to really internalize that the best outcome took place. But, with a little reminder or a little chizuk we can become strengthened and move forward happily. A little emunah reminder goes a very long way, especially when we view them as subtle messages directly from Hashem. A man, who we’ll call David, told me he had been happily learning in a Kollel in Lakewood for nine years, looking to eventually become a Rebbe in a yeshiva. One day he received a call from a principal in Monsey asking him if he would take over an 8 th grade class for the remainder of that school year, as the Rebbe of that class became sick. David felt that it would be a good opportunity for him and hopefully would turn into some other permanent position somewhere in that yeshiva. He commuted back and forth that year six days a week, over three hours a day in the car. And he had a successful experience. Baruch Hashem, the 8 th grade Rebbe who was sick was returning to the yeshiva the following year, but there was a 7 th grade Rebbe position available that David was hoping that he would get, and it looked like the position was going to be his. However, that summer, with just two weeks to go before the school year, he was informed that the position was being given to someone else instead. It was a big blow to him. He was happy there, and he needed the money to support his growing family. At that point, there were no other positions available in any other yeshivot so he went back to learning, but he really needed money. His wife told him, “Maybe you’re eligible for unemployment now.” So he applied and, lo and behold, his application was accepted. He was able to learn and be supported. But a few months later, he received another notice from the government saying he’s really not eligible and the payments were stopping. Now he felt down. He felt like Hashem was giving him presents and then taking them away from him. First he thought that he had the job that he wanted in Monsey and then that was taken away. Then he thought he would be able to learn with peace of mind, having his expenses taken care of and then that was taken away too. He needed chizuk . He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost time for the early Mincha. He wanted to go pray and pour out his heart to Hashem. When he got in the car and turned it on, music began playing very loudly, his children must have been playing with it before. The song that was playing was composed of the words, “כל דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד – Whatever Hashem does is for the best.” Those were the exact words he needed to hear. Those were the words playing at that exact moment, although there are hundreds of hours of music downloaded in that car. He took the message from Hashem and strengthened himself and instantly became a changed person. He managed to survive his expenses that year with a lot of Siyata d’Shamaya from Hashem. He tried out for three different Rebbe positions in three different yeshivot, but he was rejected from all of them. He kept playing the words of that song in his mind after every rejection, giving himself chizuk that it’s for the best. At the end of that summer, he took his family on a much needed vacation to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They were having a great time, but right in the middle of it, he received a call from a yeshiva in Lakewood saying they needed a Rebbe and he was their top candidate. There was only three days left until the new year and they couldn’t wait for him to come back for an interview when his trip was over. That meant David had to end his vacation on the spot and lose the money that he already spent on accommodations, but the job sounded promising, so they immediately drove back. He went there for a long interview that evening and was hopeful that the job was his. The next evening, however, he received a call from them saying they decided to hire someone else. Another big blow. He spent a half hour being michazek himself that it’s all for the best, and he was happy once again. Right after that, he received another phone call. This time, it was a job offer from a yeshiva in Brooklyn. It wasn’t ideal for him, but he went the next day for that interview and he got that job. He signed a three year contract and it was a great learning experience. The commute was tough, but he did it happily. At the end of the three years, he was called and offered a job in a prominent yeshiva in Lakewood, the job he always dreamed of. And baruch Hashem, he’s been there now for a number of years and he couldn’t be happier. It was a long and grueling process until he finally ended up where he wanted to be. The understanding that the whole process was orchestrated by Hashem for his best is what gave him the fortitude to go through it with emunah and simcha . We all have emunah inside of us, we just need small reminders sometimes to bring it out.

The Zohar HaKadosh writes, if someone is building a home and he’s doing it l’Shem Shamayim to serve Hashem better and he says those words out loud, he will receive Heavenly help and Hashem will imbue the project with kedusha. This concept does not only apply to building a home, many sefarim bring it down regarding all aspects of life. Whenever a person is motivated purely for the sake of Heaven and he acts upon those pure intentions, Hashem will bless his efforts and give him success. We recently lost a great man in our community, Mr. Eddie Missry, alav hashalom , who personified this dictum. Rabbi Shlomo Diamond told that, in 1995, Eddie approached him and made a request that they open a girls’ high school. It was an idea that was going to be met with great challenges. The Rabbi admitted he was very apprehensive about going forward with it. Eddie, however, was a rock of emunah. He told the Rabbi, “There’s a need, it’s the right thing to do and, therefore, Hashem will surely help.” And with that, they began the journey with just one student, Eddie’s daughter going into 9 th grade. They found another interested community leader, Mr. Saul Tawil, who had a daughter going into 10 th grade. And so, they decided they were going to open two grades. They hired a principal and told her, “Put together the best team possible to run a school.” Initially, it was very difficult finding students who would be willing to try out a new school. And when the principal came back, weeks later, she said she found 26 teachers to hire, but she added, “How could I hire them if we only have a few students and the future of the school is still in limbo?” Eddie Missry then said, “Hire all of them and I will personally ensure their salaries are paid in full for the entire year.” Again, his emunah lifted the others around him and gave them renewed strength to move forward. Then it was just three weeks before the opening of the new school year and they still had only a few girls. Once again, Eddie reassured everyone saying, “We’re doing the right thing. Hashem’s going to help us. We’re moving forward full steam ahead.” And the Rabbi said, on September 6, 1995, they opened the doors of that school and somehow managed to get eighteen students to begin with, ten for 9 th grade and eight for 10 th grade. And from that day forward, they had an enormous amount of siyata d’Shamaya . When a person lives with Hashem and knows when he’s acting for the sake of Hashem, he’ll receive Heavenly assistance, he could accomplish so many great things in his lifetime. I read a story that was taken from the Yeshiva World News about Rabbi Moshe Sheinfeld, who served as a Rabbi in Lithuania. He and his wife run a Center there which helps over 400 medical students with minyanim, kosher food and performing different mitzvot . When the Corona pandemic began, two thirds of the students left, but the Rabbi and his wife stayed back with mesirut nefesh to help those remaining. Baruch Hashem, they had a baby boy born to them on the seventh day of Pesach, but there was no mohel to be found anywhere close to there. To make matters worse, there were no flights allowed into Lithuania either and, even if someone would drive, the border was closed off. And if they would let him in, they would still have to quarantine him for two weeks before being allowed out. So how were they going to perform the Brit Milah ? Leaders from other countries, like Israel, got involved and tried to help, but to no avail. Rabbi Sheinfeld had an idea to have a mohel fly in on a private plane and remain in the plane upon landing, leaving him in the territory of the country the plane flew in from. Meanwhile, he would be waiting at the airport with the infant and ascend a ramp to the plane. The mohel would stand inside the plane and perform the Brit Milah with only his hands leaving the door frame of the plane. Rabbi Yaakov Frenkel of Vienna volunteered to organize a private plane and transport the mohel, Rabbi Tzvi Gutman, who agreed to do this mitzvah. The request was made to the Lithuanian government, but they said they needed some time to think about it and reply. The mohel said, “We can’t wait for them. Time is of the essence.” He said, “We’re doing the right thing, Hashem will surely help.” And he volunteered to embark on an entire day journey to get to Lithuania in time for the Brit Milah before the government even gave their approval. While he was on the flight, Rabbi Sheinfeld was notified by the government that the mohel ’s plane would be allowed entry and baruch Hashem, the Milah took place on time as the Torah commands. When we act l’shem Shamayim and we trust in Hashem, we’ll receive extra help from Shamayim.

In this episode, we discuss the stereotypes of being a black mother at a young age, whats the appropriate age to have child, and waiting until marriage.  Special guest Shamaya @shamayaallthat   Download, share and follow us on social media @nabbfoundation & @_Justordinaryt!   Thank you for Listening!

En el programa de hoy hablaremos de esos complejos que a tantos nos llevan de cabeza, daremos algunos consejillos para vencerlos. Quererte es la premisa de Existo porque Resisto. Por otro lado, hablaremos de esos premios Goya que tan boquiabiertos nos han dejado, y como colofón final de una cantante en pleno auge que nos trae un tema nuevo. Shamaya nos hará enloquecer en EXISTO PORQUE RESISTO!

OTEP released their eighth studio album, Kult 45. Shamaya describes it as a “total mutiny of the senses”, with a raw passion that harkens back to the group's roots. It could be the most honest release since their debut album Sevas Tra.

Today on Grassroots Marketing we are live at USCC Expo in Miami Florida, and we are speaking to Shamaya Chah the co-owner - in charge of research and development for Global Advanced Botanicals, LLC. Shamaya taught human sciences for 38 years and applied her knowledge to the cannabis industry. She is promoting top-grade, organic, domestic, agricultural hemp products. They are a physician-driven company that services the physician's patients and educates the physicians and their staff on the ECS and delivery methods best to treat particular conditions.