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3 episodes with uncle harry
2 episodes with uncle harry
2 episodes with uncle harry
2 episodes with uncle harry
2 episodes with uncle harry
4 episodes with uncle harry
3 episodes with uncle harry
2 episodes with uncle harry
2 episodes with uncle harry
Amelia is doing Youtube Lives again starting this Friday @4pm eastern!(From now until the end of the Murderbot show.)It's hard not to shop when the things you rely on are discontinued or out of stock. Hashtag Supply Chain. Let's see how Amelia's been managing.None of these are affiliate links:IKEA ARTBUSKE cactus watering canDerma E Tea Tree Vitamin E Antiseptic Cream(Discontinued, it looks like.)ThunderpantstomboyxGeorge Howell Coffee - we love, love, love a real light roast coffee.Uncle Harry's Natural ProductsCommunity Supported Agriculture (CSA)Dana K. White (A Slob Comes Clean)X-O Odor NeutralizerBioklean Bac-OutGrove Collaborative (look for the recycled trash bags)Thrive Market
Where is Uncle Harry? When his bones are found, the search is only beginning. It's a five-year-old murder, and everyone in town is a suspect!
It's the first episode of a brand new podcast series, that sees David Prutton sit down for a proper chat with some of the biggest names in football. First up it's Coventry City manager Frank Lampard, to discuss his distinguished career and schooling in the game, the influence of the likes Jose Mourinho on his management style, and whether Uncle Harry and Aunty Sandra agree with him playing a back four!
Uncle Harry's in northeast Fresno reopens days after car crashes into building Please Subscribe + Rate & Review KMJ’s Afternoon Drive with Philip Teresi & E. Curtis Johnson wherever you listen! --- KMJ’s Afternoon Drive with Philip Teresi & E. Curtis Johnson is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever else you listen. --- Philip Teresi & E. Curtis Johnson – KMJ’s Afternoon Drive Weekdays 2-6 PM Pacific on News/Talk 580 & 105.9 KMJ DriveKMJ.com | Podcast | Facebook | X | Instagram --- Everything KMJ: kmjnow.com | Streaming | Podcasts | Facebook | X | Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Uncle Harry's in northeast Fresno reopens days after car crashes into building Please Subscribe + Rate & Review KMJ’s Afternoon Drive with Philip Teresi & E. Curtis Johnson wherever you listen! --- KMJ’s Afternoon Drive with Philip Teresi & E. Curtis Johnson is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever else you listen. --- Philip Teresi & E. Curtis Johnson – KMJ’s Afternoon Drive Weekdays 2-6 PM Pacific on News/Talk 580 & 105.9 KMJ DriveKMJ.com | Podcast | Facebook | X | Instagram --- Everything KMJ: kmjnow.com | Streaming | Podcasts | Facebook | X | Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Part One: Jailhouse Jannies In this episode, we're diving into the spirit — and mischief — of Christmas in Newfoundland. First, I've got an old story from Trinity, where one group of mummers wound up in jail… but that was far from the worst thing to happen to them. I call the story Jannies in the Jailhouse. I've come across this tale a number of times in my travels but I based my retelling on a version shared in the Daily News' ‘Trinity Notes' section on January 3, 1955. Part Two: Tyler Humber of Kitchinparti I'm excited to welcome Tyler Humber of Kitchinparti, the ECMA-nominated family trio known for their high-energy performances, harmonies, and dedication to keeping Newfoundland's musical traditions alive. Made up of Tyler (vocals, guitar), his sister Terri Lynn Hickey (vocals, tin whistle), and brother-in-law Justin Hickey (vocals, bass), Kitchinparti embodies the spirit of a true Newfoundland kitchen party—which is to say they bring people atogether with music, laughter, and stories. Since forming about four years ago, Kitchinparti has been adding their own original songs to Newfoundland's musical catalog while reimagining traditional favorites. They're currently working on their third album with producer Matt Dines, set to release in the summer of 2025. This holiday season, the band is celebrating the tradition of mummering with their new single, Plank'er Down. Written by Charlie Payne and made famous by Uncle Harry's Bar Band, the ‘Plank'er Down' captures the fun energy of mummers as they visit homes late into the night. I'm thrilled to chat with Tyler about Plank'er Down, the band's roots, and classic Newfoundland hors d'ouvers. Part Three: Martha's Dance With The Mummer Finally a brand new story; a ghostly tale from Bonavista Bay about a woman's last dance with a mummer. It's a story of love and loss, and maybe even the fulfillment of a Christmas promise from long ago… the whole town wants to get a glimpse behind the mummer's mask, instead the get a glimpse beyond the veil. Credits Ocean and Fog Horn, Shepardr, freesound.org, creative commons 0 Musical Snow Globe - We Wish You A Merry Christmas, mhtaylor67, freesound.org, creative commons 0 Multi-sounding jingle bells 001 - Fast, wastefield, freesound.org, creative commons 0 Sources & Further Reading Jannies in the Jailhouse, Product of Newfoundland Look ‘Ere Me Son, The Evening Telegram, December 20, 1968 Trinity Notes, The Daily News, January 3, 1955 Kitchinparti Hurricane Music Rescue of Flatrock Men, Daily News, April 20, 1937 The Old Sunday Dinner, The Martin Family Maids When You're Young Never Wed and Old Man, The Dubliners Tyler Humber's Pickle, Cheese and Sausages from Vienna, Instagram Martha's Dance with the Mummer, Product of Newfoundland
"FORGOTTEN LEADING LADIES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD" - 11/18/2024 A friend of mine once said that in Hollywood the toilet flushes every seven years. Meaning after about seven years, no one remembers who you are. Whether that's true or not, there are many classic film stars who were once popular, who have faded away into obscurity. We covered men a few months go, and now we are giving the ladies their due. Join us as we talk about four fabulous actresses who deserve to be remembered — LIZABETH SCOTT, MARIE WINDSOR, ELLA RAINES, and GERALDINE FITZGERALD. SHOW NOTES: Sources: “Biography of Lizabeth Scott,” August 1951, Paramount Pictures; “Liz Scott Slaps Libel Suit on Confidential Mag,” July 26, 1955, Variety; “Cut Actress Lizabeth Scott Out of Texan's Will,” May 12, 1971, Variety; "Geraldine's Long Journey,” June 13, 1971, New York Times; “Lizabeth Scott,” November 1971, by Don Stanke, Film Fan Magazine; Merv Griffin Interview with Geraldine Fitzgerald, 1977; Arlene Francis Interview with Geraldine Fitzgerald, 1985; Katie Kelly Interview with Geraldine Fitzgerald, 1985; “The Alluring Lizabeth Scott,” February 1993, by David M. Goodspeed, American Movie Classic magazine; “In Search of Lisabeth Scott: The Sphinx from Scranton,” Summer 2002, by Max Pierce, Films of the Golden Ages; “Marie Windsor A Shining Light,” piute.org; “Marie Windsor Tales of Noir and B Movies,” October 31. 1997, by Jerry Renshaw, The Austin Chronicle; “Marie Windsor, Femme Fatale And Queen of the B's, Dies at 80,” Dec. 14, 2000, New York Times; “Geraldine Fitzgerald, 91, Star of Stage and Film, Dies,” July 19, 2005, New York Times; “Lizabeth Scott: Sultry Woman of Film Noir (Obit),” February 8, 2015, Los Angeles Times; “A Light In the Dark: Ella Raines and Film Noirs Working Girls,” Fall 2015, by Imogen Sara Smith, Noir City magazine; “A Centenary Celebration of Ella Raines: Radiant Film Stars Daughter Reflects on Her Mother's Career,” August 6, 2020, by Leticia Magalhães, Cine Suffragette; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Movies Mentioned: LIZABETH SCOTT: You Came Along (1945); The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946); Dead Reckoning (1946); Desert Fury (1947); I Walk Alone (1947); Pitfall (1948); Too Late for Tears (1949); Paid In Full (1950); Dark City (1950); The Company She Keeps (1951); Red Mountain (1951); The Racket (1951); Stolen Face (1952); Bad For Each Other (1953); Scared Stiff (1953); Loving You (1957) Pulp (1972); MARIE WINDSOR: Unexpected Uncle (1941); Weekend For Three (1941); All American Co-ed (1941); The Hucksters (1947); Song of the Thin Man (1947); Three Musketeers (1948); The Kissing Bandit (1948); Force of Evil (1948); Outpost in Morocco (1949); Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend (1949); Hellfire (1949); The Fighting Kentuckian (1949); Dakota Lil (1950); Little Big Horn (1951); The Narrow Margin (1952); Cat Women of the Moon (1953); Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955); The Killing (1956); ELLA RAINES: Corvette K-225 (1943); Cry Havoc (1943); The Phantom Lady (1944); Hail The Conquering Hero (1944); Tall In The Saddle (1944); The Suspect (1944); The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945); White Tie and Tails (1945) Brute Force (1947); The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947); The Walking Hills (1949); Impact (1949); The Man In The Road (1956); GERALDINE FITZGERALD: Blind Justice (1934); Dark Victory (1939); Wuthering Heights (1939); The Gay Sisters (1942); Watch on the Rhine (1943); Wilson (1944); Nobody Lives Forever (1946); Three Strangers (1946); Ten North Frederick (1958); The Pawnbroker (1964); Rachel, Rachel (1968); Harry and Tonto (1974); Arthur (1981); Do You Remember Love (1985); Arthur 2: On The Rocks (1988); --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this Nirvana Sisters Podcast episode, we're sharing our favorite products for November. We start off with Amy's Eadem lip softening balm with its cool metal applicator that she's loving right now. Then Katie shares the Optase Life Sensitive Eye Makeup Remover that's gentle and residue-free making eye makeup removal a breeze. We also talk about Amy's new dental routine with Uncle Harry's Alkalizing Mineral Toothpaste and Purely White Deluxe whitening powder, which have her teeth looking cleaner and whiter. We discuss a dentist tip about leaving some toothpaste on your teeth to help remineralize them. Katie shares her excitement for Rare Beauty's Perfect Strokes Mascara, and Amy is super excited to share the TheraBody Smart Goggles—that are perfect for relaxation and have been a game changer for her headaches. Finally, we chat about the Bobbi Brown Jones Road products, especially the Miracle Balm and the amazing exclusive eyeliner and precision brush. Thanks for tuning in! We hope you find some great gift ideas or treat yourself this holiday season! Catch you next week! Follow us @nirvanasisters on Instagram Find us at www.nirvanasisters.com Shop our Amazon Store ShopMy Shop Say hi at hello@nirvanasisters.com Please subscribe, rate, review and share
Skippy Hollywood Theatre | (35) A Visit from Uncle Harry | May 30, 1947Skippy Hollywood Theatre was an American radio dramatic anthology program that began as a syndicated series and later was broadcast on CBS from December 1, 1949, through September 21, 1950.: : : : :My other podcast channels include: MYSTERY x SUSPENSE -- SCI FI x HORROR -- COMEDY x FUNNY HA HA -- VARIETY X ARMED FORCES -- THE COMPLETE ORSON WELLESSubscribing is free and you'll receive new post notifications. Also, if you have a moment, please give a 4-5 star rating and/or write a 1-2 sentence positive review on your preferred service -- that would help me a lot.Thank you for your support.https://otr.duane.media | Instagram @duane.otr#dramaclassics #oldtimeradio #otr #radiotheater #radioclassics #luxradio #cecilbdemille #gunsmoke #oldtimeradioclassics #classicradio #crimeclassics #duaneotr:::: :
In a world dominated by political divisiveness, St. Paul/Minnesota lost one of the least divisive, most lovable "politicians" to ever hold office. George Latimer was THAT guy. His dear friend, and John's "Uncle Harry" joins us in remembering a St. Paul legend.
It's Amazon Prime Day this week so I wanted to share with you all of my favorite woo woo buys from Amazon. Tune in to hear more about my faves and how I use them in all my woo woo practices. Beauty/Body Care Ayurvedic shampoo Ayurvedic conditioner Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty shampoo Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty conditioner Aveda Be Curly prep cream Honesty Company unscented body wash Filtering shower head Primal Life Organics gum drops Uncle Harry's toothpaste Epsom muscle recovery roller Glass perfume bottles for oils (large and small) Spiritual Tools Palo Santo incense set Smudge feather Copalera Copal resin Coal disks Wild Unknown archetype deck Spirit Junkie affirmation deck Power Animals oracle card deck To Wear Period Swimsuit True & Co bras Nippies nipple covers Fake nose rings Sanuk yoga mat flip flops To Read Celtic Wheel of the Year book Mindful Loving book Belonging book Susan Seddon Boulet Goddess paintings and Shaman paintings Plants of the Gods book Healing Wise book Joe Dispenza books The Hidden Messages in Water book Food and Beverage Tia Lupita tortillas Dry roasted edamame Nettle tea Burdock tea Dandelion tea Reverse Osmosis water filter system Aussie trace minerals Mushroom glass cold cup Circadian/Light Health Hooga light bulbs Red light bulb Hooga night lights Blue light blockers Blue light blockers kids Battery alarm clock Retro alarm clock Supplements Wellness Formula Wellness Formula kids chewables Wellness Formula kids liquid Hyland Naturals kids day and night liquid Magnesium glycinate Young Living Peace and Calming oil DoTerra DigestZen oil Not on Amazon but still recommend: LMNT electrolytes (when you buy a box, I get a free box!) Prima CBD cream (75% off for July 4 sale) CHANI deck of plenty CHANI planner Hannah pad organic pads and period underwear (BOGO in July) VivaRays blue blockers that I use (get the orange lenses or the 3-in-1) Other episodes mentioned: 186. 10 things that make it easy for me to eat healthy when I travel 163. Rewild Your Light (Light as Nutrition) 164. Rewild Your Frequency (Quantum Health for Beginners) 144. How I eat keto when I'm sick Let's Go Deeper Together Join the Wild Wellness Women's Circle (monthly membership) Enroll in Rewild Your Wellness (lifetime access online course) Learn more about one-on-one coaching Free Resources Feel how you want to feel NOW with my Free Desire Map FREE Masterclass: Discover Your Spiritual Gifts Sign up for a FREE 1:1 coaching curiosity call Let's Connect! Instagram Facebook TikTok YouTube LinkedIn
2 + Hours of DramaFirst a look at this day in History.Then Mr. President starring Edward Arnold, originally broadcast April 9, 1950, 74 years ago, Good Friday. A president feels fit and glad to be alive, but has a strange premonition about death. Guess who?Followed by Let George Do It starring Bob Bailey and Virginia Gregg, originally broadcast April 9, 1951, 73 years ago, Uncle Harry's Bones. Where is Uncle Harry? When his bones are found, the search is only beginning. It's a five-year-old murder, and everyone in town is a suspect!Then Inner Sanctum Mysteries, originally broadcast April 9, 1946, 78 years ago, Lady With A Plan starring Elspeth Eric. The wife of the warden uses one of the inmates to kill her husband. She then double-crosses the convict who is machine-gunned in a graphic scene. Followed by a quick look at the news of April 9, 1946, then Nick Carter, Master Detective starring Lon Clark, originally broadcast April 9, 1946, 78 years ago, the case of the Disappearing Corpse. Not only does the murdered man vanish, but so does Nick Carter! Finally Superman, originally broadcast April 9, 1941, 83 years ago, Last of the Clipper Ships. The secret of "The Whistler" is revealed, and a very important piece of oiled silk is examined. Though unbilled, Budd Collyer played Superman, and Jackie Kelk (Homer in Henry Aldrich) played Jimmy Olson. Thanks to Richard for supporting our podcast by using the Buy Me a Coffee function at http://classicradio.stream
【句子】It was Lonny who rushed Susan to the hospital the night Julie was born. 【Desperate Housewives S2E5】【发音】/ɪt/ /wɒz/ /wɑːz/ /ˈlɑːni/ /huː/ /rʌʃt/ /ˈsuːzn/ /tʊ/ /ðə/ /ˈhɒs.pɪ.təl/ /ˈhɑː.spɪ.təl/ /ðə/ /naɪt/ /ˈdʒuːli/ /wɒz/ /wɑːz/ /bɔː(r)n/【发音技巧】It was类似不完全爆破的处理；rushed Susan不完全爆破；night Julie不完全爆破； 【翻译】是洛尼，在苏珊快生朱莉的时候，急忙把她送去医院。【适用场合】今天我们来学习一个表达：rush sb. to some place“急忙把某个人送到某处”；to cause someone to arrive at some locationeg: The show was about to begin, so the usher rushed us to our seats.表演马上要开始了，引座员赶紧把我们带到了我们的座位上。eg: We rushed him to the hospital after he collapsed on the floor.他昏倒摔在了地板上，后来我们把他赶紧送到了医院。eg: We had to rush the woman to the hospital in a helicopter because of her remote location.因为那个女人身处偏远的地方，我们不得不把她用直升机紧急送往医院。eg: They had to rush her to the hospital because she had stopped breathing. 他们不得不把这个女人紧急送往医院，因为她停止呼吸了。eg: We rushed Uncle Harry to the hospital after he complained of chest pains.我们紧急把哈利叔叔送到了医院，因为他之前说胸口疼痛。其实rush后面的宾语也可以是东西，比如说：eg: The United Nations has rushed medical aid and food to the famine zone.联合国迅速把医药援助和食物送往了饥荒区域。【尝试翻译以下句子，并留言在文章留言区】 He rushed the children to school so they wouldn't be late.
Man there's nothing worse than being a young royal and haven't your secrets shared in public. It is challenging enough growing up in the spotlight....without your Uncle Harry mentioning you in his book!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Release Date: June 13, 2012In a small town, a skeleton found in the lake could represent a skeleton in the closet for both George's client and the rest of the town.Original Air Date: April 9, 1951Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.netSupport the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.netMail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.netCheck out all our social media links and connect with us at http://www.greatdetectives.netThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5599688/advertisement
Said to have descended from the last ancient tribe of Britons, unperturbed by centuries of foreign invasion, Kelvin at BSGMT(Bill Shakes Guards My Tapes), a welsh warrior of Hip Hop, combs the earth, listlessly searching and aching for just one more dope little banger to add to his curated Killa Tapes set. Waking up a patient but witless wife with excitement and gas at all kinds of ungodly hours of the morning upon discovering a new rapper or crew. He's the first saint of the Killa Tapes faith, a messenger and disciple of real UK Hip Hop, so join him on his pilgrimage through sound with this sick curated playlist. Menace Mendoza- jungle introMenace Mendoza- Chimpanzee gang slang.lunar C - Most high.CLBRKS- Snake. Soup.Uncle Harry deadott - Daze of the DPC.Assa- Mr Forgetfull.Vhs Tapez- Fulp Piction.Jaylious the Demigod- myths.Legs M.C.- The Wizard.Citizen Nuggs-Eggs.Mr Phormula, Guilty Simpson- Safe bet.Guilty orphans- Sky dreams.Guilty Orphans- Relation ship wars.
Where is Bob.... - Is It Taylor Swift's Fault - Lets Go Hounds - Steelers Facebook Comments - Go Go Kenny Pickett - Boobs and Butts... Boobs and Butts... - Funcle Bob... Funcle Mike and a Funcle Harry who is a little bit off - Have anything fun for the show or just want to say hi... Listen on iHeartRadio and hit the little mic to leave us a talkback message
A coalition of concerned groups are protesting outside the Federal Court hearings in Adelaide launched by the Barngarla people, native title holders over Kimba and surrounds. Their concern is that a survey relied upon by the federal government to approve proceeding with the Napandee nuclear waste storage facility did not include the views of native title holders who are resident outside the area, who overwhelmingly oppose the facility going ahead. Uncle Harry Dare tells Flow listeners the Woomera facility is leaking, and says the waste should continue to be stockpiled at Lucas Heights, near Sydney, saying federal government claims the site would soon fill up should be questioned.
When Bob was growing up, he was told that we he got older he would learn the family business. The family business started in 1921 and is still highly profitable, lucrative, and brings in millions of dollars each day. As promised, when Bob graduated from college with a degree in international finance, he started learning and working in the family business. LET'S GET PERSONAL Bob could not believe how easy it was to get 10's of thousands of people to give his family money with little or no return. I now see why mom, dad, and Uncle Harry are smiling every day. Watch live each Tuesday on Facebook from 9:30-10AM EST to unhack this episode. See you on the inside...Doug! TAKE THE POLL MAIN POINT(S) 3 ways to prevent your bank from stealing from you! TAKE-AWAYS Understand all banks are legal money schemes. HOMEWORK Close any and all extra checking, savings, CD's, and money market accounts today. FREE 30 MIN BUSINESS CONSULTATION ($225 Value) Join our Facebook Group to access: One-Page Freedom Success Plan FREE Business and Marketing Plan Templates FREE ebook "The Branding Formula KUDOS to our SPONSORS LIINKY.COM BIGNETDOMAIN.COM FASTCASHOUTLET.COM To Your Success, Doug Follow Like & Share @SlowMoneyBlues PS. Today is a great day to be YOU! PSS. Don't forget to write a review on Apple Podcast or Google Podcast! PSS. Have questions? Click HERE! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/slowmoneyblues/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/slowmoneyblues/support
Studio One "Uncle Harry" March 2, 1948 CBS starring Sir Michael Redgrave
A new Short Story from The Casket of Fictional Delights – Susan Tate's Year October written by Joanna Sterling and read by Menna Bonsels. Continuing the adventures of the quirky librarian from Canterbury, this month the library hosts Black History Month and mad Uncle Harry has a culinary query. The post Short Story – Susan Tate's Year October appeared first on The Casket of Fictional Delights.
Happy Friday from Elvis Duran and The Morning Show aboard Norwegian Prima in Iceland ! We celebrate our Godparent, Katy Perry with some of her biggest hits BUT reversed! We chat with Uncle Harry who runs all of our Norwegian Cruises! The show plays a round of "Celebrity Jeopardy" and we use that term "loosely"! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A new Short Story from The Casket of Fictional Delights – Susan Tate's Year February written by Joanna Sterling and read by Menna Bonsels. Continuing the adventures of the quirky librarian from Canterbury, this month we meet mad Uncle Harry and there is a hospital visit. The post Short Story – Susan Tate's Year February appeared first on The Casket of Fictional Delights.
Let's end March with a more serious Orson, this episode titled, The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry, Bullfighting, Korea, aired on his program Orson Welles Commentaries. This is the premiere episode, it aired Sunday, September 16, 1945 on ABC Radio. His Commentaries series featured his social commentary, political commentary, reminiscences and readings and this episode he discusses matador Fernando López. : : : : : website: https://otr.duane.media/ (https://otr.duane.media). email: info@otr.duane.media. connect n' follow: Instagram @duane.otr | Twitter @duane_otr Thank you for your support.
Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie producers! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they produced in between! Today we dive into the career of pioneering producer Joan Harrison. Harrison began her decades-spanning career working with none other than Alfred Hitchcock both before and after he made his transition to Hollywood. Here we're going to focus on her Post-Hitch producing and writing efforts across 9 Films: Phantom Lady (1944) Dark Waters (1944) The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) Nocturne (1946) They Won't Believe Me (1947) Ride the Pink Horse (1947) Once More, My Darling (1949) Your Witness (1950) Circle of Danger (1951) Joining us to tackle Joan's immense & impressive output is Christina Lane, biographer and author of Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock.There is so much to discuss here, and we are beyond lucky (and beyond honored) to have Christina with us to examine and admire what Harrison brought to the art of filmmaking. From her trailblazing personal life to her ability to stretch a budget and push for a focus on female characters on set, Harrison made an indelible mark on cinema. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!
Joan Harrison was one of only three women producing films during the studio age. Also a talented screenwriter, she was instrumental in helping Alfred Hitchcock develop his style on films including Rebecca and Foreign Correspondent, in addition to his long-running television shows. She was key in molding the film noir genre with movies like the edgy for their time The Phantom Lady and They Won't Believe Me, and she also pushed boundaries with several television dramas. I talked about this remarkable filmmaker with my guest, Christina Lane, author of Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, The Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock. Films Discussed: Nocturne (1946) The Phantom Lady (1944) The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) Ride the Pink Horse (1947) They Won't Believe Me Rebecca (1940) Young and Innocent (1937) Television Shows Discussed: Janet Dean, Registered Nurse Journey to the Unknown The Most Deadly Game --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/k-cruver/support
In this episode, Drew does a lot of complaining about Olive Films. Shut up already, dude! Also: Robert Siodmak's The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry.
Hosted by John Chapman, Best Plays was an NBC Radio program that aired from 1952 - 1953. It featured some of the best plays of the time, including both dramatic and comedic offerings. GSMC Classics presents some of the greatest classic radio broadcasts, classic novels, dramas, comedies, mysteries, and theatrical presentations from a bygone era. The GSMC Classics collection is the embodiment of the best of the golden age of radio. Let Golden State Media Concepts take you on a ride through the classic age of radio, with this compiled collection of episodes from a wide variety of old programs. ***PLEASE NOTE*** GSMC Podcast Network presents these shows as historical content and have brought them to you unedited. Remember that times have changed and some shows might not reflect the standards of today's politically correct society. The shows do not necessarily reflect the views, standards, or beliefs of Golden State Media Concepts or the GSMC Podcast Network. Our goal is to entertain, educate give you a glimpse into the past.
Camping together turned into a new adventure - buying land and building a cabin. The shores of Lake Michigan became the destination and a lifetime of memories followed. Joined once again by "Uncle" Harry, we take a look at summer vacations and long walks on the beach. Come take a walk with us On Carlson Drive. Official show website: OnCarlsonDrive.com Follow us: Facebook: @OnCarlsonDrive Instagram: @OnCarlsonDrive Email the show
Hosted by John Chapman, Best Plays was an NBC Radio program that aired from 1952 - 1953. It featured some of the best plays of the time, including both dramatic and comedic offerings. GSMC Classics presents some of the greatest classic radio broadcasts, classic novels, dramas, comedies, mysteries, and theatrical presentations from a bygone era. The GSMC Classics collection is the embodiment of the best of the golden age of radio. Let Golden State Media Concepts take you on a ride through the classic age of radio, with this compiled collection of episodes from a wide variety of old programs. ***PLEASE NOTE*** GSMC Podcast Network presents these shows as historical content and have brought them to you unedited. Remember that times have changed and some shows might not reflect the standards of today's politically correct society. The shows do not necessarily reflect the views, standards, or beliefs of Golden State Media Concepts or the GSMC Podcast Network. Our goal is to entertain, educate give you a glimpse into the past.
Tents, campers, campgrounds, skits, and s'mores around the campfire. In another life, it seems, these were signs of summer. And almost all of them were accompanied by lifelong family friends Harry and Barb, their boys Steve and Kevin, and Biscuit the family dog. Join us as we recount the fun (and sometimes not-so-fun) memories of camping trips gone by. And then, stayed tuned as we introduce you to "Uncle" Harry. Come take a walk with us On Carlson Drive. Official show website: OnCarlsonDrive.com Follow us: Facebook: @OnCarlsonDrive Instagram: @OnCarlsonDrive Email the show
Comedian, actor, podcaster and college professor Wayne Federman talks about Uncle Harry's passion hobby: comedy albums and their history … John and Jim recount memories of meeting and seeing Steve Martin, Mort Sahl, Ray Romano, The Smothers Brothers … and more! And then we jump into Chapter Thirteen of “The Ambitious Card.” The reading of Chapter Thirteen starts at 00:42:43. LINKSThe Eli Marks Mystery Series: http://www.elimarksmysteries.com/ Get yourself a Free Eli Marks Short Story: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/jj1r1yaavj Listen to an Eli Marks Audio Short Story: https://BookHip.com/LZBPPMD Wayne Federman website: http://www.waynefederman.com/Wayne_Federmans_Official_Web_Site/Welcome.html The History of Stand-Up Podcast: https://www.thehistoryofstandup.com/ More with Wayne Federman: His Favorite Comedy Album: https://youtu.be/iNoenmbSU3k Mort Sahl—At Sunset (Complete Album): https://youtu.be/qszRqPIRdc0 Redd Foxx—Life of the Party (1956): https://youtu.be/88O2cdiafxI Rusty Warren—Knockers Up: https://youtu.be/Ekr1h6inO_8 Bob Newhart—The Button-Down Mind (side one): https://youtu.be/_zNbnPFUlTABob Newhart—The Button-Down Mind (side two): https://youtu.be/XCSzA2P8flIAlbert Brooks—Comedy Minus One: https://youtu.be/tJmHzJIyGjQDennis Miller—The Off-White Album: https://youtu.be/vONY9zzWQbYRichard Pryor—Wanted Live (In Concert): https://youtu.be/EbWwR7p_Pk8The Smothers Brothers “Mediocre Fred”: https://youtu.be/kLyY-si0IP0
Going on-air from 1952 to 1953, the Best Plays was an NBC Radio program that featured some of the most excellent theatric plays ever created. Some of the best ones featured were dramatic or comedic plays. John Chapman, New York Daily News' drama critic, served as the program's host. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entertainment Radio Stations Live 24/7 Sherlock Holmes/CBS Radio Mystery Theater https://live365.com/station/Sherlock-Holmes-Classic-Radio--a91441 https://live365.com/station/CBS-Radio-Mystery-Theater-a57491 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Studio One radio dramas were brilliantly produced and introduced by Fletcher Markle and beautifully acted by such stars as Geraldine Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Madeline Carroll, Charles Laughton, and Gene Kelly with an equally great ensemble of featured players such as Mercedes McCambridge, Everett Sloane, Hester Sondergaard, and Hedley Rennie. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entertainment Radio Stations Live 24/7 Sherlock Holmes/CBS Radio Mystery Theater https://live365.com/station/Sherlock-Holmes-Classic-Radio--a91441 https://live365.com/station/CBS-Radio-Mystery-Theater-a57491 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree with Uncle Harry until the very end. Then he loses me. Not a terrible episode of the cartoon at least. LIWstudiosYoutube for LIWstudiosCheck out our friends Raiders Of The Lost Flicks and here.
I agree with Uncle Harry until the very end. Then he loses me. Not a terrible episode of the cartoon at least. LIWstudiosYoutube for LIWstudiosCheck out our friends Raiders Of The Lost Flicks and here.
A four-film Special Subject episode, Joan Harrison, Producer, Part 1 looks at: Phantom Lady (1944), The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945), Nocturne (1946), and They Won't Believe Me (1947). These idiosyncratic noirs and Jamesian melodramas by the former Hitchcock screenwriter and honorary family member interrogate gender roles, flip gendered tropes, and deconstruct male resentment of women in ways that faintly anticipate Elaine May's work. We also discuss the Negative Capability of George Raft, the void-like charisma of Robert Young, the appealing androgyny of Ella Raines and very different vibe of Susan Hayward, Geraldine Fitzgerald's ability to be sexy and Victorian at the same time, and George Sanders' subtle way of showing us his soul dying inside of him. It's a big episode! Time Codes: 0h 01m 00s: Brief introduction to Joan Harrison 0h 19m 08s: PHANTOM LADY (1944) [dr. Robert Siodmak] 0h 48m 41s: NOCTURNE (1946) [dir. Edwin L. Marin] 1h 15m 08s: THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF UNCLE HARRY (1945) [dir. Robert Siodmak] 1h 43m 41s: THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME (1947) [dir. Irving Pichel] +++ * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s *Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive) * Find Elise’s latest film piece on Billy Wilder and 1930s Romantic Comedy *And Read lots of Elise’s Writing at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cléo, and Bright Lights.* Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at therebuggy@gmail.com
Let George Do It starring Bob Bailey and Virginia Gregg, originally broadcast April 9, 1951, Uncle Harry’s Bones. Where is Uncle Harry? When his bones are found, the search is only beginning. It's a five-year-old murder, and everyone in town is a suspect!Also Part 1 of the 5 part Yours Truly Johnny Dollar story The Laird Douglas-Douglas Of Heatherscote Matter, originally broadcast April 9, 1956.
In this episode, we’re joined by Suzanne the Magician, who talks about the great Eugene Burger and his influence on the world of magic … then we jump into a reading of Chapter Five of “The Ambitious Card.” This is followed by some chatter about a psychic reading John once had, which was used as the basis for the reading Megan gives Uncle Harry in Chapter Five. And Jim reveals the one time he proved his psychic ability! Plus, some talk about upcoming guests.The reading of Chapter Five starts at 00:17:26LINKSThe Eli Marks Mystery Series: http://www.elimarksmysteries.com/Suzanne Fool Penn & Teller: https://youtu.be/Oe3oMC9U2eYSuzanne’s Website: http://suzmagic.com/Suzanne on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009612607182Suzanne’s Cups & Balls Routine: https://youtu.be/SGC-hmrVpmUEugene Burger Thread Routine: https://youtu.be/eFosK12_k5UEugene Burger “Cutting the Aces”: https://youtu.be/L-feGCF9nRsEugene Burger: Tribute Video: https://youtu.be/tIpWn6BeSO0
Utterly random and completely stupid, but we love each other and have fun laughing at nonsense!
In this episode Megan reads an insane Harry Potter gets gender swapped AU and Emily reads an Avengers multi crossover fic with an extremely inept OC. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sortbybestmatch/support
EPISODE 51: This is going to be a fun packed episode as we start with fun comment from a listener. On What Was That… we relive the The FA Cup match vs Stockport and our league win vs Burnley, In Social Shenanigans Wayne chats about a photo he knabbed off Twitter and a FaceBook fan is the subject of Adam's post. Original songs for you in Pie & Mashup with The Beatles and Bee Gees overtones, and in Grumpy Old Hammer Adam and Uncle Harry lambast the new board members.Our Partners: Hammers Polls, COYIrons.com, American Hammers Network. Mentioned this Episode: Lee Thomas Anderson, @Roger_J_coyi, Ted Lipowicz, @LenaStarrWHU. Harper Grace, Jair Benitez,
Heartfelt conversations, laughter, and a few corny moments. That's what you can expect to hear on Part 2 of the 2020 Year in Review episode with my husband, Justin. (And really, that's what you can expect with any conversation with him!) The annual Year in Review episode is something I always look forward to, and because of the way he inspires and the way he makes me laugh, Justin is always the perfect guest to join me for it! In case you missed it, Part 1 of the Year in Review aired last week. Make sure you check that out first to hear all about our 2020 and our hopes and dreams for 2021! To view the full show notes, continue reading here or visit my website: http://www.heartfelthippie.com (www.heartfelthippie.com) In today's show, we'll be sharing more about what 2021 is going to look like for us. At least, what we tentatively plan on it looking like. If we learned anything last year, it's not to get too lofty with our goals because who knows what the Lord has in store! We're being cautiously optimistic as we look ahead to the new year, but we're also reviewing a few of our favorites from the past. I always love getting recommendations from guests on things like books to read and brands to try, and so today's conversation is no different. You can find links to everything that Justin and I recommend below. Of course, you know that if you follow along with me on social media you'll be getting my recommendations year ‘round. However, Justin only makes an annual appearance on the show, so pay close attention to his tips. Until next year, listeners! Links from the show: Plant Therapy Germ Fighter Essential Oil: https://www.planttherapy.com/germ-fighter-essential-oil-blend?v=43&gclid=Cj0KCQiArvX_BRCyARIsAKsnTxOG8d7X1r7EVI8wBabOLs0KSUUOBQqZI3qCmt5DYcuyV9dE9-B5JR0aAtJeEALw_wcB (https://www.planttherapy.com/germ-fighter-essential-oil-blend) Zarbee's Naturals Immune Support: https://www.zarbees.com/ (https://www.zarbees.com/) Everyone Bath Products: https://www.eoproducts.com/collections/everyone (https://www.eoproducts.com/collections/everyone) Hello Toothpaste: https://www.hello-products.com/shop/toothpaste/ (https://www.hello-products.com/shop/toothpaste/) Uncle Harry's Toothpaste: https://www.uncleharrys.com/mouth-care/toothpaste (https://www.uncleharrys.com/mouth-care/toothpaste) Revisit on Adoption/Foster Care Episode with Lindsay Walder: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/51-enlighten-me-on-parenting-through-foster-care-adoption/id1375899371?i=1000495617570 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/51-enlighten-me-on-parenting-through-foster-care-adoption/id1375899371?i=1000495617570) Racial Reconciliation Episode with Chris Singleton: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/56-enlighten-me-on-racial-reconciliation-part-1/id1375899371?i=1000501170230 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/56-enlighten-me-on-racial-reconciliation-part-1/id1375899371?i=1000501170230) EMM Episode about Chewing Gum: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/emm-4-chewing-gum/id1375899371 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/emm-4-chewing-gum/id1375899371) Non-Toxic Living Episode with Sandee and Callie: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/35-enlighten-me-on-non-toxic-living-part-1/id1375899371 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/35-enlighten-me-on-non-toxic-living-part-1/id1375899371) “Jesus Feminist” by Sarah Bessey: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17570843-jesus-feminist (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17570843-jesus-feminist) “Shepherding a Child's Heart” by Tedd Tripp: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/535785.Shepherding_a_Child_s_Heart?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=hzLvKuXBbu&rank=1 (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/535785.Shepherding_a_Child_s_Heart?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=hzLvKuXBbu&rank=1) “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer:...
Geraldine Fitzgerald fought with studio boss Jack Warner for better parts. She refused to play by the rules of stardom and ultimately walked out of Hollywood in 1946. Although her career never matched the size of her talent on the big screen, Geraldine turned in outstanding performances in pictures such as The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) where she plays a venomous hot house flower. And what of the gossip about a love child with Orson Welles? I get to that, too.
Some songs about the Yuletide (“No Presents for Christmas”; “Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope”…) Some songs from 2020 (“Pandemic Abberation”; “self”…) and some songs that just feel like 2020 (“Psychic Mumbles”, “Spent”…) PLAYLIST: Pink Fairies “Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout” [Never Never … Continue reading →
Let George Do It is an American radio drama series produced from 1946 to 1954 by Owen and Pauline Vinson. Bob Bailey starred as private investigator George Valentine; Olan Soule voiced the role in 1954. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. The few earliest episodes were more sitcom than private eye shows, with a studio audience providing scattered laughter. The program then changed into a suspenseful tough guy private eye series. Sponsored by Standard Oil of California, now known as Chevron, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Don Lee network of the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings an---------------------------------------------------------------------------Sherlock Holmes Radio Station Live 24/7 Click Here to Listenhttps://live365.com/station/Sherlock-Holmes-Classic-Radio--a91441----------------------------------------------------------------------------Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/let-george-do-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Let George Do It is an American radio drama series produced from 1946 to 1954 by Owen and Pauline Vinson. Bob Bailey starred as private investigator George Valentine; Olan Soule voiced the role in 1954. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. The few earliest episodes were more sitcom than private eye shows, with a studio audience providing scattered laughter. The program then changed into a suspenseful tough guy private eye series. Sponsored by Standard Oil of California, now known as Chevron, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Don Lee network of the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings an---------------------------------------------------------------------------Sherlock Holmes Radio Station Live 24/7 Click Here to Listenhttps://live365.com/station/Sherlock-Holmes-Classic-Radio--a91441----------------------------------------------------------------------------Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/let-george-do-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Let George Do It starring Bob Bailey and Virginia Gregg, originally broadcast April 9, 1951, Uncle Harry’s Bones. Where is Uncle Harry? When his bones are found, the search is only beginning. It's a five-year-old murder, and everyone in town is a suspect! Also Part 1 of the 5 part Yours Truly Johnny Dollar story The Laird Douglas-Douglas Of Heatherscote Matter, originally broadcast April 9, 1956.
How do you want to spend your time during the holidays? What are your intentions for the holidays? Do you have certain values that are important to you during this time of year? Have you found in the past that you didn’t stay aligned to your values and after the holidays you felt like shit physically, mentally, or both? What if you could identify and alleviate the holiday stressors that are painful for you? Consider enjoying your holiday without having to say ‘yes’ to something you don’t feel aligned with anymore. Would you be willing to make a new choice if it meant you didn’t have to be stressed in that situation again? There are ways to make changes that can alleviate stress. It’s not by changing how much ‘Aunt Mary’ drinks or changing how ‘Uncle Harry’ tells the same story over and over again. It is by you making new choices. Join me this week for this episode of Truth & Dare to: Identify your values/intentions for the holidays Pinpoint the stressors that put you in holiday overwhelm Learn how to alleviate or eradicate the stressors so you can stay aligned with your values & intentions Curate sweet, simple, soulful gift ideas you may have never thought of Make friends with change or at least shake hands for a new beginning to your relationship with change Resources: Change is everywhere - from your clock, smart phone, daily cycles, death, birth, so much everywhere! How do you navigate more easily and with more peace and how do you stay aligned with your personal power in the midst of change? What does it look and feel like to co-create with change from a place of empowerment? If this resonates with you, I warmly invite you to join me on my free masterclass series: Transitions & Transformation: Manifest Peace, Power, and Prosperity on The Path of Change CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND RESERVE YOUR SPACE for the remaining 2 episodes December 16th and January 12th. Discover how to flow with change instead of resist and suffer. We’ll bring new light and possibility together. Sign up here: https://camdenhoch.com/changeseries
Uncle Harry was a deacon in our church and he wasn't my uncle - he was everyone's uncle. His kindly face, worn with the seasons of a Yankee native's life, would beam as he leaned down to remind me of the sugaring off party at his sugarhouse that afternoon and called me "dear" in that rich North Country accent that resonates still in my brain. Read the full piece here. https://newhampshireadventures.blogspot.com/2017/04/uncle-harry-uhlmans-sugaring-off-parties.html
Uncle Harry was a deacon in our church and he wasn't my uncle - he was everyone's uncle. His kindly face, worn with the seasons of a Yankee native's life, would beam as he leaned down to remind me of the sugaring off party at his sugarhouse that afternoon and called me "dear" in that rich North Country accent that resonates still in my brain. Read the full piece here. https://newhampshireadventures.blogspot.com/2017/04/uncle-harry-uhlmans-sugaring-off-parties.html
David and Scott discuss Tiger’s weird video tweet, Beef’s depression, Wie’s possible retirement, and Matt Wolff’s breakout win and swing.
We could spend a whole life seeking to know who we are. But this may not be possible with current technology as our brain's wiring patterns have aspects that can be found in my great grandparents, whether it is my taste for certain types of foods, lack of musical talent or mathematical expertise. Some of the brain circuits share features in mushrooms and bacteria. I will never know whether my resilience or stress reactions came from Great Aunty May or Great great Uncle Harry. The beauty of knowing that the brain is plastic, and can be changed with a lot of effort, means that the best I can hope for is to either retrain the brain or recreate myself (which can be good or bad) moving forward. Becoming aware of how little I understood about how little I knew about myself, was the first step to begin to change the parts that no longer served me well. Brain training offers us all hope that we can outstrip our past and rebuild a better future.Learn more at www.selenab.comThe podcast is built from my book SMASHING MINDSET. TRAIN YOUR BRAIN TO REBOOT, RECHARGE AND REINVENT YOUR LIFE.https://www.amazon.com/Smashing-Mindset-Recharge-Reinvent-Matters/dp/0999099701Support the showLearn more at www.profselenabartlett.com
Have you ever felt trapped in a conversation with someone who can’t seem to run out of things to say? You start to wonder when the monologue will end so you can carry on with your life and make the most out of your time. If bumping into a talkaholic feels like your time has been stolen from you, then it’s time to speak the truth and be authentic in your encounters. In today’s episode, I explain the different factors that contribute to the making of a talkaholic. I share stories of my interactions with people who talk excessively as well as how I have experimented on my responses under those circumstances. I also share strategies you can use when dealing with talkaholics, including actual phrases you can practice and experiment with to discover the best way for you to handle these situations. “Don’t have the fear to interrupt. Allow yourself to do that - experiment with interrupting.” - Pripo Teplitsky This week on Relationships! Let’s Talk About It: The declaration my wife made during a significant time in her life that inspired me to be more authentic in my conversations. How my siblings and I rescued each other from our talkaholic Uncle Harry. What makes a talkaholic. How Excessive Talking Disorder is a symptom of several mental, physical, and emotional health issues. The effect on talkaholics when they listen to another person. How people with genuine self-confidence and self-esteem respond in conversations. What an arrogant person thinks that causes him or her to keep on talking. The possible effect of having even one dominant parent at home. Why it’s crucial to know the cause of a talkaholic’s excessive talking. How to still have compassion while maintaining your boundaries. Steps to take when confronting a talkaholic. Good starter sentences when confronting a talkaholic at work and at home. Ways to help others be aware of and cope with their excessive talking. Defining what a conversation is. Expressions I use as a therapist that work well and bring about empathy from the other person. When to leave the conversation. What to do if you intend to stay and not confront the person. How to use your imagination as a way to deal with a talkaholic. What ‘mindfulness presence’ is and how to practice it. Questions to ask when talking with a talkaholic. How to experiment with interrupting. How to take advantage of the pause. How to deal with talkaholics if the person is someone you have a relationship with. What happens when you do not do something to take care of yourself and be authentic. Why five minutes is a good allotment for a back and forth conversation. How to condition each other through the back and forth continuity of your discussion. The story of how a female talkaholic trained herself to pause and give chance to others. Different ways to set boundaries. Sponsored by Still Point Wellness Still Point Wellness is Asheville’s premier spa experience. Enjoy effortless relaxation and rejuvenate your body through Still Point’s world-class services including Esalen Massage®, Salt Water Floatation also known as sensory deprivation, Cranial Sacral Therapy, and Somatic Psychology. Experience the healing powers of deep relaxation like never before! Schedule your first appointment by visiting www.StillPointWell.comor call (828) 348-5372. Mention the code:Pripoto receive 10% off your first Salt Water Floatation or Esalen Massage®! Let’s Talk About It! Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Relationships! Let’s Talk About It- the show to help you forge deeper, more meaningful connections and relationships with those around you. If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us a rating and review. Don’t forget to visit our website, join us on Facebook at HeartShare Counselingand Relationships! Let’s Talk About It, and follow us on Twitterand Instagram. Share your favorite episodes on social media to help others build better, more meaningful relationships. And if our content has helped you forge deeper connections and more meaningful relationships, be sure to help support the show by visiting our Support the Podcastpage! Theme music “These Streets” provided by Adi the Monk Relationships! Let’s Talk About It is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own greatpodcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com.
THE GREAT MAN IS BORNIn this week’sparshawe are introduced for the first time to one of the greatest men in our history: ותהר האשה ותלד בן – And Yocheved gave birth to a son (Shemos 2:1). Moshe ben Amram is born into the Jewish nation, a handsome baby boy. ותרא אותו כי טוב הוא – His mother saw thatki tov hu, that he was good looking (Shemos 2:2). She didn’t see that he was good natured, or that he was smart. You can’t see that in a baby! She saw that he was handsome; a beautiful child.And that’s almost all that we know about this little boy.And yet only a fewpesukimlater Moshe, already an elderly sage of eighty years, is being granted a vision of the glory of Hashem at the burning bush: וירא מלאך השם אליו בלבת אש – And a messenger of Hashem appeared to him in a flame of fire (Shemos 3:2). And suddenly this adorable little boy, now a man of eighty, is chosen to be the redeemer of the Am Yisroel.THE MYSTERY OF MOSHENow it would be proper for us to consider the story of Moshe’s life, and to study how Moshe ben Amram became Moshe Rabeinu; what was his path to success? After all, he was the man who took us out ofMitzrayimand led us for forty years in themidbar. He spent forty days and forty nights with Hakodosh Boruch Hu; he spoke to Hashempeh el peh,and brought down the Torah to the Am Yisroel. There was no man greater than he.And not only was he one of the most remarkable men in the history of our nation, but more importantly, he is one the great models that we aspire to emulate. The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuva 5:2) says that! He says that we should all aspire to be like Moshe Rabeinu: כל אדם ראוי להיות צדיק כמשה רבינו– “Every person is fit to be righteous like Moshe Rabeinu.” Now, you’ll never become anavilike Moshe was, but everyone of us was born with the talents needed to become atzadiklike Moshe, and therefore it is incumbent upon us to probe the life of this great man to find the seeds of his greatness.And yet when we begin to investigate his life we are stymied by a most peculiar fact. Moshe Rabeinu, an eighty year old man, seemingly appears out of thin air; the redeemer of the Am Yisroel appears on the scene and we know almost nothing about him: We’re not told what made him great and why he was chosen or what paths ofavodas Hashemdid he walk on for eighty years that made him the one chosen to redeem the Am Yisroel. How did theish Mitzribecome theish ha’Elokim, the only man who would ever to speak to Hashempeh el peh, mouth to mouth?HE ESCAPES AND TURNS EIGHTYOf course, we are all familiar with a few shortpesukimabout his early days; he was brought up in the palace of Pharaoh and then was forced to flee for his life when he defended a fellow Jew by killed aMitzri. But besides for that we know almost nothing. Moshe Rabeinu turns up many decades later at the burning bush in the mountains of Midian, having been chosen by Hashem to redeem His people.And I’ll tell you achidddushnow – even the one incident we know of this great man, how he went out from the palace to save his fellow Jew, is told to primarily us to let us know that we know very very little about Moshe. Of course, there are other important things we learn about Moshe from there as well – and we’ll talk about that one day. But the primary purpose of thosepesukimis to introduce the story ofhis having to flee.The little we know of him, only comes to tell us that we actually know very little about this great man.ISOLATION AND SOLITUDEHe was forced to flee for his life into the lonely wilderness, and he became a wanderer in exile. Don’t think it was easy for him – it was a lonely life, no contact with his people, no family and no friends. And after many years, his wandering led him to Midian. And even there how did he spend his days? As a shepherd, alone in the mountains of Midian, grazing the sheep of Yisro. That’s what the Torah tells us about his years in Midian. He spent his days alone in themidbaras a shepherd pasturing the flocks. ומשה היה רעה את צאן יתרו חתנו כהן מדין וינהג את הצאן אחר המדבר – “And Moshe was pasturing the sheep of Yisro his father-in-law and he led his flock toward the wilderness” (Shemos 3:1). Moshe spent his days – it was months andyears– in solitude in the remote pastures of loneliness.So what we’re seeing here now is a picture of a nomad, a lonely wanderer forforty years. Forty years is a long time to be alone! And besides for a few small incidents, that’s all we are told about how Moshe became Moshe Rabeinu. That’s all we know about him, that he wandered through the wilderness alone.And so we’ll have to say that it was there,shepherding sheep in the isolation of the wilderness, that Moshe achieved the greatness that earned for him his place in history. It is evident that this had been the plan of Hashem – to separate this promising and gifted man from his family and send him into the wilderness and lonely wasteland of Midian and Sinai. And this was all tokeep him in solitude.Solitude wasn’t merely an episode in his career; it was the cause of his careerand it readied him to become the greatest man in history. By separating him from his family and bykeeping him in solitude,HakodoshBoruchHuwas creating the future leader of the Am Yisroel.And so that is what we will attempt to study now; the strange fact that Moshe Rabeinu spent most of his formative years – years that we would have imagined would be spent under the tutelage oftzadikimandovdei Hashem– and instead they were years spent alone, separate from his fellow Jews, and often isolated from Mankind all together. So what was the plan of Hashem over here? What kind of environment was this for Moshe Rabeinu? Now, I’m too small to be able to answer these questions – but I have the right to try to guess.CONSIDER THE ADVANTAGES OF LONELINESSAnd so in order to appreciate more fully this plan of Hashem, we should endeavor to study this step by step; what is it about solitude that can make a person so great. We’ll begin by reading a selection from theChovos Halevavos.TheChovos Halevavoshas asha’arcalledCheshbon Hanefesh,which means “thinking” and he suggests certain duties that we’re expected to think about, thirty different ideas. He says there are many more but he suggests thirty of them. It’skidaito study them all, but tonight we’ll study some ofcheshbonnumber seventeen.He says as follows: What should a man think about when he has an urge to seek the company of people? It means when he feels lonesome; let’s say it’smotza’ei Shabbos,the family went out to visit the relatives in Boro Park and he’s left all alone in the house. He looks through the window and he sees cars crowded with people speeding to some destination. And he imagines their fun times ahead. Or let’s say he’s stuck in the yeshiva onmotza’ei Shabbos– he’s an out of town boy and everybody else is at home with their families and he’s left alone in his dormitory room. Or he’s just an unfortunate fellow who didn’t marry and he’s all by himself wherever he is. And he yearns for the company of people.And so this man is thinking about how much fun it would be to be together with people. So what does the Chovos Halevavos tell him: “At that time let him consider the advantages of solitude and how good it is to be separate from peoplebecause of the harm that comes from their company.” The Chovos Halevavos is telling us here the most basic benefit of solitude – if you associate with people who have littleyiras Hashem, or maybe they have wrong ideas, so they poison your mind. There’s no question that you’re going to cause certain defects in your mind and in your character.FOOLS ARE MORE COMMON THAN WISE MENOf course, he doesn’t mean the company oftalmideichachomim; he means ordinary people, thechevrashakesilim, the company of fools. But the truth is that wise men are often hard to find. Most often it is among the fools that you find yourself. And so he tells us, the first thing to consider is the harm that comes from the fools and the great benefit that you can accrue therefore by merely avoiding their company.Now, sometimes you can’t help yourself; you have to visit your in-laws sometimes, so you have to sit and listen to their chatter. And so you’ll have to act like you enjoy it. Or maybe for business, you’re in an office or a store, and you have customers and coworkers who like to chew the rag, so you have to act like they’re saying something very wise, as if you’re interested in their idle chatter. But outside of that, a person should always think about the dangers of thechevrah ra’ah,of bad company.WOULD YOU CHOOSE UNCLE HARRY TO BE YOUR REBBE?For instance much harm is accrued to a man from merely superfluous talk, from shooting the breeze. So you’ll tell me, “What’s so bad about talking about the news, about sports and about the neighborhood? I know it won’t make me atzadik, but harmful?!” Yes, superfluous talk isin itselfan injury to a man: TheChovos Halevavossays that you should avoid the yakking of other, למען אשר לא יביאום הבלי חביריהם לההביל גם הם כמותם, in order that the superficiality, the emptiness of your associates should not bring you to become empty too.When you’re together with ordinary, empty people, you become ordinary too. He’s talking here aboutfrumpeople.Theirtzitzisare out and they haveblack hats.There are manyfrumpeople who areempty,and therefore if you’ll associate with people, you’ll come down to their level and you’ll become empty too.“I’ll become empty too?” you’ll ask me. How’s that?” So pay good attention because I’m telling you now one of the unrecognized dangers that comes from listening to superfluous talk – it causes the listener to think along with the talker, or rather tounthinkalong with the talker. And so, as the “words of wisdom” come gushing forth from Uncle Harry’s mouth – he’s talking without any planning after all – so your mind is following what he is saying. You’re a respectful person after all, so you’re listening, you’re concentrating. And all the inanities, all the thoughtlessness of his conversation, is being repeated by you in your mind. That’s what happens when you listen to anyone – the words are being replayed in your own head. So Uncle Harry just became your “rebbi.” And he just filled your mind with “He said,” and “She said,” “We said,” “I said,” and “They said.” And it’s a long confusion that merely fills up your head with nothing at all – something for which there is no need. And that’s one way easy of ruining your mind.And even with good people, decent people, but if they’re people who live more or less with materialism – and it’s something you find a lot of today –they hardly ever think about Hakodosh Boruch Hu – so you should know that they’re going to drag you down to their level.It’s contagious.Wrong attitudes and wicked ideas are contagious.Now, you wouldn’t sit together with people who have pneumonia or the flu and they’re coughing and sneezing in your face, that you understand. You get upset if someone is “so kind” as to share his germs with you. That kind of sharing you have no interest in. You’ll keep away from him or at least you’ll tell him to cover his mouth. And you have to know that often, the words coming from a person’s mouth can be much worse than pneumonia.THE SINS OF CONVERSATIONAnd as if that wasn’t enough trouble, the Chovos Halevavos quotes thechochominMishleiand says even more: ברוב דברים לא יחדל פשע – “In a multitude of words there cannot be absent any iniquity” (10:19) There’s no question,Mishleitells us, that when people talk voluminous they are going to commit sins. It’s not even a question!Lo yechdal peshah,it’s impossible to avoid it. It’s not even easy to avoid sins when you choose your words, but when you open your mouth and turn on the faucet, then there’s no question thatloyechdal peshah.That’s thepossukinMishlei. I’ll just add now my own observation: You can imagine when you sit down on a bench in the courtyard of your apartment house with a neighbor or a friend, and four hours elapse in conversation. And you’re not silent during that time. It’s lively, it’s gushing, pouring forth. In those four hours you can imagine how many timespeshahwas committed. But of course if you don’t think about that; so you blindly and “innocently” continue to producepesha’im. It’s like the man who blindly and “innocently” drives his automobile off a cliff. It’s a disaster.Now we go back to the Chovos Halevavos: “And by avoiding such company you’ll avoid speaking against people and mentioning faults of people and ridiculing people.” Because that’s what people do when they sit and have nothing else to do. They talk about other people. And finally when the whole conversation is used up, and he already spoke about everybody that he could, so he begins picking his relatives apart. It’s apossukin Tehillim, תשב באחיך תדבר – “You sit and you talk against your brother, ובבן אמך תתן דופי, and against the son of your own mother you impute foolishness” (50:20) And when somebody will say, “What are you saying against your own brother?” you say, “It’s my own brother! I don’t mean any harm.” No harm?! You just blackened your brother and made him look as silly as possible.YOU’LL SIN MORE AND MOREAnd also lies. Talking brings to sheker; big lies, little lies,lo yimaleit.The more you speak,the more you’ll benichshalin the opposite ofemes. Because in order to make your stories interesting, you have to embellish them at least a little bit with stories, with details that never took place. You don’t intend to lie, but still you want your listener to be interested, he shouldn’t be bored by you. And so, you utilize stories and facts that never took place.And so that’s how it is when you’re around people. When you’re with people so you don’t control yourself.Your tongue wags and wags.You say whatever comes into your mind.You’re “forced” to do itbecause youhaveto saysomethingwhen people are around. So you say all kinds of things, and all kinds of trouble happen. You’ll sin and sin some more, and your mind will be dragged down to the lowest common denominator of your conversations. It’s a fact that’s proven all the time, every day, in everyone’s life – and therefore the more you avoidchevra ra’ah, wrong company, the better off you are.SOLITUDE: THE MOST PRECIOUS OF ALL THINGSHowever, important as that is, we’re not going to say that Hakodosh Boruch Hu sent Moshe Rabeinu out into the solitude of the Midian wilderness just for that. Avoidingaveirosand superfluous talk, that’s very important – it’s a diamond on its own –but Hakodosh Boruch Hu had much more in mind for Moshe Rabeinu.Because actually there is a much more profound benefit of solitude, something much more than merely avoidingcheit; and it isthatbenefit that made Moshe Rabeinu the great man that he became. And that’s what we’ll study now.Now, in order to better understand thema’alas hahisbodedus,the great benefit of solitude, we will study a piece from theMesillas Yesharim(Chapter 15). You should pay close attention to the following because this statement we’re going to read now is a diamond; only that you have to be amaiven, a connoisseur, in order to appreciate such a gem. He says like this:ויקר מן הכל, the most precious of all things, הוא ההתבודדות, is solitude, to spend time by yourself.Now, it doesn’t have to be all day long butsometime a person must make for himself. And he says that doing so is יקר מן הכל, it’s more precious than anything else! You’re hearing something now! He doesn’t say that it’s also a good thing, and not even that it’s precious – but it’s “more precious than anything else!” Solitude!THE KING WISHES TO ESCAPEAnd theMesillas Yesharimcontinues: וכבר הזכיר דוד המלך בשבח ההתבודדות, Dovid Hamelech spoke words of high praise when speaking of this quality of solitude.He said: מי יתן לי אבר כיונה – “If only I had wings like a dove, אעופה ואשכונה, I would fly far away and reside somewhere in a lonesome place.ארחיק נדד, I would wander off and be alone, אלין במדבר סלה, I would remain in the wilderness; I would make that my place forever.”So here is Dovid Hamelech sitting in his palace surrounded by people, surrounded by his advisors and friends, he had a lot of admirers as well, all good things – he’s living the good life – and yet what do we find? That he’s yearning to be in the wilderness! Now that’s a big question because what was Dovid doing up there in the wilderness anyhow? What did he yearn to go back for already? He had everything he wanted!MOSHE RABEINU DOESN’T NEED THE MOVIESAnd of course, for us it’s a good question because when we think about being alone in the wilderness it doesn’t seem so enjoyable. If we would go hide away in the mountains, with nobody else, with nothing to do, we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves.Many people are not capable of enjoying their own company and therefore it’s impossible for them to be happy unless something comes in to cause them to remove their mind from the present. If you would bring a good novel with you into the wilderness, or maybe a portable television, OK, then we’re talking. But that’s not solitude – that just means they have nothing in their heads and so they’re always trying to fill that vacuum with something. Those are the type of people who line up in front of the movies waiting to be admitted. These are people who can’t live with themselves! They always have to go someplace where something is “happening.” Their lives are so empty of happiness that they’ll stand in line and pay admission for something that is a substitute for happiness. And what type of happiness is it? When they leave the movies the money remains behind, they take along nothing with them except for a mixed up head, silly unrealistic pictures that never happened and never will happen. But at least for the moment their minds were off themselves. There are a lot of people not capable of solitude.But people who want to succeed in life will train themselves to enjoy their own company. That’s what Moshe Rabeinu did for so many years. It’s what Dovid Hamelech did after him – because Dovid wanted to be great and so he studied the life of Moshe Rabeinu and chose to walk in his footsteps. And those are the people who are able to live happy and successful lives even without frequent contact with others. You know that the Gra kept his shutters closed by day. His windows were shuttered up by day so that he shouldn’t be able to look into the street and remove his mind from the business of serving Hashem.SOLITUDE FOR USBut I remember my rebbe,zichronoli’vracha, telling us that we shouldn’t do it. Because if we close the windows and shutter them, we’ll just fall asleep. We’ll take a long nap. So it depends what you’ll do in the wilderness, what are you doing when you close the shutters. If you go into solitude carrying a pillow, or a newspaper or radio under your arm; if take with you a telephone, or a little black and white television, then that’s not solitude. You’re listening to the man on the other side of the radio or the man on the television screen who’s pouring ideas into your head. You’re far from being alone if you’re reading a newspaper – you’re sitting together with the nincompoops who write for the New York Times! And so, you have to know what to do when you’re alone.And so we’ll explain as follows: Solitude doesn’t merely mean that you should be alone; it means thatyou should be alone for a purpose,for thepurpose of perfection.Solitude means being alone and being capable of using that opportunity to produce perfection of character. And the secret to this success is the realization that actuallyyou’re not alone–you’re alone with Hashem! Now that’s something to think about! When you find that time without all of the distractions of life, and now you’re finally alone, that’s when you’re finally alone with your best friend, Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Now don’t tell this to your wife – she should always think thatshe’syour best friend. But the truth is that your greatest success and happiness in this world will come from the time you spend alone and build a relationship with your true best friend, Hakodosh Boruch Hu.IT’S GOOD TO BE A BEIS YAAKOV GIRLNow I know that many people when they hear these words, it sounds extreme to them. They think I’m exaggerating. A man here said to me once, “Relationship with Hashem?! What am I – a Beis Yaakov girl?” But that’s because people don’t realize their purpose in this world. They don’t know that they’re hereonly for that – to gain a relationship with Hashem, that is tangible; an actual kirvas Hashem.It is the most noble way of perfecting oneself, of attainingshleimusand making the most out of life.And so now we can come back to the question we asked earlier: Why did Dovid yearn so much to אלין במדבר סלה, to remain alone in the wilderness forever? And the answer is because for Dovid, what was the good in life? Dovid said, קרבת אלוקים לי טוב – “Being close to Hashem, that’s what I say is good.”THE ANCIENT SHEPHERD AND HIS GOOD FRIENDDovid grew up as a shepherd and he spent his entire youth in the wilderness.And it was there, far away from the distractions and encumbrances of life, that he found it most conducive to being alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. There was no company around to spoil his mind, and to distract his thoughts. He was still a boy, unencumbered with a family; he had no enemies, nobody was jealous of him yet, and he had nothing to worry about. And his true greatness came there, בנאות דשה ירביציני על מי מנוחות ינהליני – when he was lying down with his sheep in the green meadows, by the still waters of the creeks.And he would take out his harp to play sweet songs in order to inspire himself to think about hisyedid nefesh,his “best friend in the world.”And it was there that he sang to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, and his soul ascended on the notes of his harp to heaven. And he became great there, behind the sheep, singing his songs to Hashem.THE COCKTAIL KEEPS THE KING UP AT NIGHTAnd it was all of those songs of love and gratitude that Dovid sang all of his life. It says it openly in Tehillim! Dovid Hamelech was up a big part of the night, every night, talking to Hashem – this we know from his own words. He said “Tov– do you know what is good in this world?L’hodosLaHashem– to give thanks to Hashem.” And he did what he said, he practiced what he sang. “U’lizamer lishimcha elyon– the only good in the world is to sing to Your name, O, Most High,” And when did he do it?All day long! “L’hagidbabokerchasdecha.” He related Hashem’s kindness in the morning when he got up and “V’emunaschaba’leilos –“And Your steadfastness to help me in the nighttime.” This means that by day and by night, that’s what Dovid was doing; he was thanking Hashem. It wasn’t for a few minutes in the morning, and another few minutes at night. That’s just what we do, as a faint echo of what Dovid did. He spent his life in solitude with Hashem, talking and thanking, thanking and talking without end.Kol zman shehaneshama b’kirbi,as long as I’m alive,Modeh ani l’fanecha, I give my thanks to You.David was busy thanking Hashem all the time. When he breathed the air, he thanked Hashem for air. Ahh, air! The very best cocktail in the world, oxygen, mixed with a little nitrogen. Dovid would breath it in deeply and then he would thank Hashem for another breath. Of course, Dovid did other things as well. He was a king, and atalmid chochomtoo. He had a lot of work on his hands. But he always found time to be alone with Hashem.THE PROPHETS AVOID PEOPLEAnd that’s why even when he sat in the palace among hischaveirim, Dovid Hamelech said: הבט ימין וראה ואין לי מכיר – “I look on my right and I see that there is nobody who knows me.” Nobody knows me! Youthinkthey know you, but no it’s only a dream. מי לי בשמים – “Whom do I have in heaven?” You, Hashem and that’s all I need.” ועמך לא חפצתי בארץ – “And together with You I don’t want anyone else in this world.” Dovid meant these words – it wasn’t just poetry – and he meant it because his time he spent alone with Hashem had brought him close to Hashem.These were the thoughts of Dovid Hamelech, his songs that he composed and sang during his years of solitude, and so later when Dovid became amelechhe yearned for those days ofkirvas Hashem.“Ah!If only I could have wings and fly back to the wilderness where I once was as a youth! And I would be alone, alone by myself, alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu.”And that’s what the great men of our past always did – that’showthey became great. The Chovos Halevavos tells us that: והנביאים אליהו ואלישע מצאנו היות מיחדים מקומם אל ההרים, we find that thenevi’im, Eliyahu and also Elisha, they preferred to be alone on the mountains.You know, people like to mingle with others, with company, and or spend time with friends. But thenevi’imhad theoppositeattitude. It’s a remarkable thing.They avoided the company of people as much as possible.מפני התבודדותם, because of the benefit of solitude.Of course, when it was necessary they came and they preached the message of Hashem to the public.They spoke with people when it was important, but they didn’tseekthe company of people; they preferred to be in solitude – to be alone with Hashem.GREAT MEN SKIP SHULAnd the Chovos Halevavos continues: והחכמים החסידים הראשונים זכרונם לברכה, the sages, the oldchassidimof old, הלכו בעקבותיהם, they walked in the their footsteps. They followed the example of thenevi’imand they sought solitude.כי מצאו להם זה האמצעי היותר מוכן לקנות השלימות , because they found it to be the most useful means of acquiringperfection; the most useful way to acquire Awareness of Hashem, good character and self-control.That’s why there were great men in our history who went out into the wilderness, into the forests to be alone, sometimes for days. It was a sacrifice – they gave uptefillahb’tziburand other mitzvos! Everybody knows the story.TheBaal Shem Tovwent into the forest for days.Now being days in the forest means that he misseddavenenwith aminyan.So it seems; unless maybe he slipped out once in a while into thebeis knesses, but it doesn’t say that in the story. It seems like he stayed in the forest for days.And he wasn’t taking a nap on a bed of moss.He was making use of his time and he was talking; but he wasn’t talking to himself.He was talking to Somebody with a capital S.HE CLOSED HIS GEMARA WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKINGRav Simcha Zissel,zichrono levrachah, spent every night standing on his feet – all night long on his feet studyinggemara. That’s what he told the people he did, but you can suspect him of taking a little time out and talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.In the wee small hours when nobody was listening you can be certain that he was speaking to Hashem. You can take my word for it, he was spending time alone with Hashem, talking to him, the same way Dovid did.That’s what all of the greattzaddikimdid; it’s what we callhisbodedus.Rav Simcha Zissel and the Ba’al Shem Tov were doing what Moshe Rabeinu and Dovid Hamelech did for years and years in the wilderness. And thesetzadikimutilized solitude in order to gain the awareness that they are alone with Hashem; to gain a palpable feeling of standing in the presence of Hashem. And so even when they returned to theirtalmidim, to their communities, they were not deceived, they always retained the Awareness of Hashem that they had achieved in their solitude.GRAB THE OPPORTUNITIES OF LONELINESSAnd therefore the man who aspires to be better, the one who wants to make progress in this world, he tries to find opportunities to be alone. To spend your life, as much as possible, alone in your thoughts with Hakodosh Boruch Hu, that is the great career open to all of us; a noble way of perfecting oneself, of attainingshleimusand making the most out of life. Because there’s nothing in life as conducive to perfection, as the condition of being alone with HashemNow, what to do when you’re alone – that’s something that takes a lot of explaining,but the first step is to decide thatyou’re going to be a person who utilizes solitude properly.Let’s say you’re all alone in your room.There’s nobody there right now.Your wife is out shopping.It’s Saturday night and she’s out with her friends.They’re going to the stores, shopping.So you happen to be home by yourself.Ah!You can take this as a glorious opportunity.I’m alone for a little while.I’m alone with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.If you wish, you can talk to Hashem.It’s the best company.If you have nothing to say, open aTehillimand talk to Him in the words ofTehillim, the words of praise.Now that’s not achiyuv.If you wish you can go along with your wife on the shopping spree. There’s no sin if you don’t want to remain home.But if you are a person who seeks greatness of character, you seize the opportunity to be alone and you understand that it’s a gift fromshamayim. Of course you have to learn how to spend your time alone but when you learn it, you’ll appreciate that great gift.AN EXCELLENT WAY OF SPENDING YOUR TIMENow one of the first things, the most basic thing you’ll have to do when you’re alone with Hashem is to think about thechasodimhe bestows upon you all the time, and to thank Him for them. You can start by thinking about the food you ate today.Thank Hashem for your food. So you say, “I wasyotzehalready once.I thanked.”No, that’s not enough.You have to thank Him always, in addition to yourbrachos,in addition tobirkas hamazon.There’s no end to what you have to be thankful for. Walk out in the cold weather and you have a nice warm garment made of wool.You have to think about these things and tell Hashem how grateful you are to Him. ‘Thank You Hashem for giving me warm clothing!” And say, “Hashem,Baruch Atahfor a beautiful day!” It takes a long time before the day is finished; thank Him a number of times each day for a beautiful day. “It’s a beautiful day, Hashem, a beautiful day!” Now, when it’s raining – it’s also a beautiful day. “Oh,” Hashem,” it’s beautiful day when “diamonds”fall from the sky!” You say, “I thank You Hashem, I thank You Hashem, I thank You Hashem.”That’s an excellent way of spending your spare time.LEARN TO BE HAPPY!I know that most of what you’re hearing now seems a very artificial and remote to your minds; it’s so remote that we’re not even interested in hearing about it. You’re waiting for me to move on, to say something else. But I want to tell you that those people who train themselves to be alone with Hashem are the happiest creatures on earth.There is nothing more pleasurable than the opportunity to talk directly to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.That’s thesimchahofahavas Hashem; a man that is praising Hashem always is a really happy man.Now thanking Hashem is only the beginning. Once you make time to be alone with Hashem, there’s so much to do; so many good things to do to perfect your character.You can think about yourself, think about your life.Because a man has to think about himself – is he walking in the ways ofyosheror not? He has to examine his lifestyle in general and he has to examine his individual deeds, are they in accordance with what he would like them to be, or better yet, in accordance with what theTorahwould like them to be? So you need time for that! Otherwise your life goes by and you continue to repeat the same errors and not to make progress. It’s important to have time alone.THE LAMPPOST & LUNGS PROJECTAnd therefore it’s the people who live withseichel, who are cognizant of the fact that they can have a real relationship with Hashem, there’s no question they’ll be better off. Only that you can’t start all at once.You do it gradually.היום יקנה קצת ממנו, today you acquire a little bit, ומחר יוסיף עליו מעט יותר and tomorrow you add a little more, עד שיתרגל בו לגמרי until you’ll become entirely accustomed to it.So let’s say you’re walking in the street with a friend and you say “Let’s make a project that from this lamppost to the next lamppost we’ll think only of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.” Try that; it’s not as easy as it sounds. If you’re not with a friend, do it yourself; even better, you’re walking down Kings Highway all alone with “your best friend.” Challenge yourself: “If I can think about Hakadosh Baruch Hu from this street to the next street –it’s only twenty paces in between – so that means I was alone with Hashem for a little bit.” And at the end you relax.“Ah, I did it.I made it.For twenty paces I thought about Hakadosh Baruch Hu.”A man once said to me “Twenty paces is nothing.I think about Him always.”Ahnechtigehtug! It means heneverthinks about Him.You can’t do it unless you practice up and it’s not easy.It’s like breathing.You know, it’s a good idea to practice breathing.You breathe in deeply and you hold your breath and walk five paces.Then you exhale. Now you take a deep breath again and walk six paces while holding your breath, and then exhale.After a while you’ll be walking fifty paces.That’s a record for you. If you can walk fifty paces holding your breath then you have big lungs, big windbags.You can be a good runner too, an athlete.That’s the way to exercise your lungs. But here’s a way of exercising yourneshamahand your mind.IT’S A MITZVAH TO THINK ABOUT HASHEMAnd it’s not just a good piece of advice that I came up with. It’s a command of the Torah: השמר לך פן תשכח את השם אלקיך, be aware, beware not to forget Hashem.What does it mean not to forget Hashem?It doesn’t mean merely to keep themitzvos.It doesn’t say beware not to forget themitzvos.You should bewarenot to forget Hashem! That means you should be thinking about Him!Try thinking about Hakadosh Boruch Hu for one minute straight.There’s so much to think about. Think that Hashem is looking at you.Think Hashem loves you.אהבתי אתכם נאום השם – “I love you,” says Hashem. Do you think about that ever?Do you ever stop to think that Hashem loves you?He loves you a thousand more times than your mother loves you and you never thought about it?! You never once thought that Hashem loves you immensely, infinitely?!YOU’LL BECOME A HEAD TALLERThat’s a wonderful thing to think about for your one minute excursion into solitude, your minute of being alone with Hashem in your thoughts. So you’re thinking – and if there’s no one listening then you can say it too: “Hashem , I know You’re right here with me and that You’re listening to me. You love me more than I can imagine. You love me more than my mother loves me, more than my father, more than my friends love me. You’re taking care of me, everything You do to me is for the best and I love you too!And then you relax. You made it! You were together with Hakodosh Boruch Hu for a minute straight. And after a while try for two minutes.And when you get used to that, you can try a little longer. Now that’s a man who’s a head taller than the rest of the world!A DAILY OPPORTUNITYAnother remarkable opportunity for being alone with Hashem is yourdressing in the morning or undressing at night.TheTursays (Orach Chaim 2:2) that one has to be careful not to expose his body unnecessarily when he’s dressing or undressing alone in his room. So you might say well it’s dark in this room; who sees me?Don’t say, “Who sees me?”השם מלא כל הארץ כבודו.He sees you!And therefore every morning and every night when you dress and undress, it’s your opportunity to have some solitude with Hashem. You’re thinking these thoughts. Hashem is here with me and He’s looking and that’s why I’m careful how I undress. Of course Hashem has x-ray vision too.Nevertheless, the fact that He is looking should be enough to make you cover yourself.It’s a practice; it’s atargil.You do it always and little by little you gain an awareness of this great truth that Hashem is looking.It’s very important to work on that.Sometimes you take a walk and that’s a great opportunity. For all of us here walking could also be a form of solitude; solitude doesn’t mean you have to be in a cave or on a desert island. When you walk down the street, you’re all alone; no one is talking to you, and it’s a glorious opportunity to talk to Hashem.YOU NEED HASHEM CONSTANTLYAsk Hashem that He should help you with everything. “I am going for a walk Hashem. Please help me I should succeed in gaining good health, and that I shouldn’t have any difficulties with rude people that bump into me. And while they are “bumping into me” they put their hand in my back pocket and taking out my wallet. This happens every day on Kings Highway! Somebody is shouting, “I just lost my wallet; it had a hundred dollars in it!”“Please Hashem, I shouldn’t have any difficulties crossing streets.” When you want to cross the street, absolutely, you should ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu for help. Ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu to protect you from accidents. Accidents are happening all the time. You think you are a wise man, that you look both ways when you start walking and that’s enough. There is a fellow ahead of you, he is turning the corner on two wheels, and he’s not asking you for permission.Every day, therenisimhappen! He just missed you by half an inch.Here is a man walking on the sidewalk, all of a sudden, a truck zooms by – a drunken man driving a truck runs up in the sidewalk and hits him and he’s finished. He wasn’t even thinking of buying a burial plot.A young man and all of a sudden he is dead laying on the sidewalk. Ah yah yay, a tragedy! It happens again and again, drunken drivers run up on the sidewalk. You have to cross the street, surely, but before you cross, you think it’s a foolish thing to say atefillayou should cross successfully? And so, always ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And when you get to the other side, say “Thank You, Hashem that I made it across successfully.” And when you come homeb’shalom, “Baruch Hashem, I made it. I came home and everything is in order. Thank You Hakadosh Baruch Hu.” That’s solitude with Hashem, and it’s available to you all the time.Now sometimes, how to get solitude is a problem.Let’s say you’re in ayeshivahand you’re busy all day learning in theyeshiva.If you’re in a busybeis medrashwhere is your solitude? So atzaddikonce said, let’s say you’re in theyeshivahand you have agemarain front of you, so you put thegemarain front of your face and you’re transported to some far off isolated place and you’re speaking to Hakadosh Baruch Hub’hisbodedus!“Hashem, please, Hashem, see that I don’t waste my years, that I accomplish something in my young days, and help that I should be able to do something later in life for You and for Your people.”THE WRONGBASHERTIf you’re not yet married,Al zos yispallel kol chosid eilechah le’eis mitzo– every chossid has to pray when the time comes to find a wife.Matzah zuishah. You have to pray and pray, but not just one time, you have to pray and pray and pray that Hashem should send you the right one. Don’t say, “It’sbashert,” and forget about it. It could bebasherttzarosfor you,chas v’shalom. That could bebashert, too. Thegemarasays Delilah wasbashertfor Shimshon; a “bighatzlacha”he had from Delilah.So, you have to pray to Hashem, “Give me a goodbashert.” You have to pray; oh yes, you must pray. And start praying, not onerevthechasunah; pray a long time before. It is very important. You have to pray for children. For healthy children. And that your children should give younachas. How manytalmidei chachomimdon’t have anynachasfrom their children! So you’re talking to Hashem non-stop. You’re alone with Hashem in thebeis medrashand that’s what theChovos Halevavoscalls התבודדות בתוך ההמון; it’s possible to be “in solitude in the midst of a multitude.”Of course you can’t be alone all the time. You have to be a father or a mother as well. You have to be a son or a daughter, a neighbor, and employee, whatever it is. But as much as possible, if you can spend time in solitude, a little bit, more or less, and think about Hashem and talk to Him, it’s amazing what can be achieved.Then you feelyou’re alone with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.And that’s the truth.Because even when you’re dwelling among your brothers, you’re in a crowd, you’re hanging on a strap in the subway, you’re really all alone.So now you’ll think about that when you’re on the subway.You’re caught in the subway in rush hour and you’re hanging on the strap, close your eyes and feelthe place is empty.Of course you should watch your pockets anyhow.Keep your hand on your wallet and forget about the crowd around you. All around you is a storm of humanity with all their little interests, their little worries, their conversations, their little minds. You’re holding onto the strap but you are now in the wilderness of Midian all alone; you’remisbodedwith Hashem and you’re coming closer to Him.GETTING YOUR MIND CLEANED AT THE DENTISTLet’s say you’re sitting in a waiting room by a dentist and you have to wait a half hour. If you have asefer, look in thesefer.You don’t have asefer? Here’s your chance.Or you wake up in the middle of the night.Sometimes for a few minutes you can’t sleep.So until you fall asleep again let’s say you’ll be thinking:כי הוא אמר ויהי, Hashem spoke.That’s all He did, He spoke and the world came into existence.הוא ציוה, He commandedויעמוד and there arose a world.בדבר השם שמים נעשו, the heavens were made only by the word of Hashem.That’s why it says לעולם השם דברך ניצב בשמים.Your word is standing in theshamayim, Your word! You saidyehiand it’s standing in theshamayim.You take away the wordyehiand the wholeshamayimwould collapse into nothing. Everything around you is all just Hashem’s imagination. You ever think about that? He spoke כי הוא אמר ויהי.He was the One who wasmehavehthe wholebriah.A greatnes.It never happened againyesh mei’ayin! That’s a thought that can make you great while you’re sitting alone in the dentist office or hanging onto the subway strap.Let’s say you’re sitting at abar mitzvahparty and all around you all the tongues are clacking. What do you need it for? Is all that chatter going to do you good in the Next World?! So you’re a smart fellow, so you act like you’re listening but your mind is someplace else.You’re “in the forest” now, like the Baal Shem Tov went in the forest.You’re in the forest with Hashem.ויתבודד עם בוראו – You’re find solitude with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And when somebody asks you something, so you come out of the forest to answer. They’ll say, “He’s absent minded,” so you say “I’m sorry, I was thinking about something.”They’ll think you were thinking about your business or something.Let them think so.What we’re seeing now is that It’s possiblel’hisboded b’soch ha’hamon,to find solitude with Hashem even as you’re in the midst of people.LOUD CHASUNA MUSIC IS AYESHUAHLet’s sayyou’re attending a wedding.At the wedding as you sit around, it’s not polite to take out agemara; so you’re sitting at the table or you’re dancing, clapping, whatever you’re doing, you’re participating. But your mind is with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. First of all, you can say to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “Ribono Shel Olam bless thechossonand bless thekallahthey should all have good health all their lives.They should haveparnasahberevach.”You could say it with your mind and nobody’s listening. But even better, you can say it with your mouth – the music is so loud, nobody will hear you. They think you’re singing along. Bless them that they should have the most beautiful and smartest children.Bless them they should always get alongb’simchahwith each other. Bless them they should live long and dance at the weddings of all their grandchild and great-grandchildren. Do you think that at all?Why shouldn’t you?They need yourtefilos.Everybody getting married, you should know, needs as manytefilosas possible.And אתה שומע, Hashem is listening to yourtefilos. And when you do this, you should know you are exceptional. Because you’re in a big wedding hall full of people, hundreds of people. But as far as you’re concerned, it’s just you and Hashem.GREATNESS AT COUSIN CHAIM’S HOUSEOr let’s say you were forced to go somewhere; after all you must go to visit Cousin Chaim in Boro Park. It’s your wife’s cousin, and you can’t say no this time. So they’re eatingmelave malkahand everybody is chatting and you’re like a fish on dry land. Their minds are being ground to pieces by the idle chatter. So you’re sitting among them and you close your eyes for a moment.They’ll think you’re dozing off but actually you have retired into your cave and you’re talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.You’re thinking your thoughts. Everybody is talking, you’re thinking! Ahh! That’s solitude. Just for a moment.One moment is also a very big achievement.Solitude doesn’t mean a lifetime of being isolated from humanity.Every minute is an achievement in itself. Of coursetzaddikimare able to havedeveikus,clinging to Hashem,always.But we’re not that big.But if you havedeveikusfor one minute then you’ve already accomplished something great with your life.Now I know people will listen to me and they will just dismiss these ideas. They think that it’s amidas chassidus,it’s something that only very great people should do.But that’s wrong. Don’t think that what we’re saying here is going overboard. Just because ordinary people will often live like they do withhesech hada’as; theydavenas ordinary peopledavenand mostly their minds are occupied with ordinary things, doesn’t means that you have to do the same. Hakodosh Boruch Hu wants more than ordinariness. He wants you to be close to Him because those who are far away from Him will eventually go lost.And even though you seem to be ashomermitzvos,but actually you’re far away from Him if your mind doesn’t concentrate on Him, if you’re not living with Him in your mind. And therefore, as much as possible you spend time talking to Hashem. You don’t have to have asiddur, you don’t need aTehillim. Use your own mind. In your own thoughts, in your own words, you’re alone with Hashem.SOLITUDE THREE TIMES A DAYNow, while we’re on the topic, I’ll mention one more opportunity that we have every day and that’sshemonah esrei.Theamidahyou know, is said almost silently, and it’s supposed to be as if you’re standing in thekodesh hakodoshimand you’re talking to theshechinah.That’s how a person should imagine himself.There’s nobody around and you’re talking directly to Hashem. It’s a glorious opportunity.Nobody can hear what you’re saying except yourself perhaps, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu is listening.Now that’s real solitude.Only that when a person doesn’t have the attitude of talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu so hisshemonah esreiis just to him something he has to rattle off by rote, something he has to do, and he’ll never experience the ecstasy of speaking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And that’s the great tragedy of what we do when we daven; we’re talking to Hashem but actually קרוב אתה בפיהם ורחוק מכליותיהם – “You are close in their mouths but You are far away from their kidneys.” It means that You, Hashem are far away from their insides, their minds. That’s what thenavisaid. And that’s the truth – that’s whatdavenenis.And so it’s very important for us to think Hashem is listening to us. That’s step number one:כי אתה שומע, You are listening. If He’s listening to you, it’s impossible to remove your mind from thinking what you are saying.When you’re just saying something to the wall or to thesiddurit’s possible to forget thekavanah, the intention, of what you’re saying.But when you’re talking to someone, you never talkshelo bekavanahunless you’remeshuga.IT’S GOOD TO BE A HYPOCRITEAnd it’s only if a man sincerely embarks on a career of learning to constantly speak to Hashem, that hisdavenenfinally becomes meaningful. Now at first it’s superficial; you’re a hypocrite. Of course it’s a good hypocrisy – you’re doing it to train yourself. You talk to Hashem and you say, “I thank You Hashem that You have made me healthy.” When you see a man hopping in the street with one empty trousers leg; he has crutches and you have two good legs, you have to stop and think “Boruch Atah Hashem,that I have two legs.” You see a man walking in the street and one empty sleeve pinned to his pocket, you have to thank Hakodosh Boruch Hu that you have two arms.The gemara says, לעולם יבקש אדם שלא יחלה – A person should always ask forrachamimnot to become sick. When should he do it?L’olam! Always! Sickness is always lurking in every nook and cranny of the body.All around us germs are floating around in the air. If you walk in the street, and somebody coughs into your face, a whole mouthful of germs sticks to your face from his saliva. It is a very fine form of disgrace!LEARNING TO SAY “YOU”We are in the midst of a cauldron of peril, and illness is one of the most frequent things that happen,chas v’shalom,to a person. And so thechachomimare giving us a piece of very sound advice – ask Hashem not to become ill. You can ask in general, which is also good, but when you hear what happened to a certain man, that he had a tumor in his brain, then you should ask Hashem specifically, “Ribono Shel Olam, heal that man; send him arefuah sheleima besoch sh’ar cholei Yisroel.And please Hashem protect me, protect me! Hashem, I don’t want a brain tumor! Please protect me!” And no matter how many times you say it will not be enough. Inshemone esreiwe say it three times a day but actually all day long you have to thank Hashem that you are well and ask Him to keep you well. Always pray that you should be well, your wife should be well, your children should be well, pray for them all the time.And little by little you will get accustomed to saying the words. And after a while you’re going to feel that there is Somebody actually listening. After a while, when you say אתה, “You” you feel like you’re talking to Somebody. And when that great day comes, then you know you have arrived! That’s what the Mesillas Yesharim says, that at first you say it, and say it, and after a while the realization enters your mind that you’re actually talking to Someone. You’re talking to Hashem and you’ve begun to taste the sweetness of being alone with Him.THE GREAT CAREER OF MOSHE RABEINUNow, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the great opportunity of being alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. It’s a great career that is open to everyone, men and women, boys and girls. And it’s the career that made Moshe ben Amram into Moshe Rabeinu. And so we come back to the question that we asked in the beginning of our talk. What was the secret to Moshe Rabeinu’s success? What did he do for more than forty years wandering alone in the wilderness of Sinai, and shepherding in the mountains of Midian? And the answer is that those were the years that made him great because those were the years that he spent alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. It was days, and months, and years of thinking about Hashem, taking to Hashem, becoming more and more aware of Hashem. All the things we spoke about tonight – and much much more – were accomplished by Moshe during those years.One of the prime requisites for the development of greatness is solitude. And having to go lost for forty lonely years was the great opportunity for greatness that Hashem presented to Moshe Rabeinu. Moshe Rabeinu led Yisro’s flocks into the wilderness alone, like Yaakov had done many years earlier in the house of Lavan, and like Dovid did many years later. And it was there, in solitude with Hashem that his character and grew apace and ripened until the day when Hashem deemed him ready for his destiny.And that’s who we aspire to emulate – like we said before: כל אדם ראוי להיות צדיק כמשה רבינו– “Every person is fit to be righteous like Moshe Rabeinu.” Only that you have to start somewhere! We’re all capable of using the great opportunity of solitude from time to time; of using these exercises we spoke about tonight to train ourselves into a life of solitude with Hakodosh Boruch Huthe same way that Moshe Rabeinu did.And once you start on that career, even if it’s only one minute at a time, then you’re already living successfully. You’re utilizing the great opportunity of being alone with Hashem in this world in order to prepare for that great career in the Afterlife of being alone with Hashem forever and ever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
THE GREAT MAN IS BORNIn this week’s parsha we are introduced for the first time to one of the greatest men in our history: ותהר האשה ותלד בן – And Yocheved gave birth to a son (Shemos 2:1). Moshe ben Amram is born into the Jewish nation, a handsome baby boy. ותרא אותו כי טוב הוא – His mother saw that ki tov hu, that he was good looking (Shemos 2:2). She didn’t see that he was good natured, or that he was smart. You can’t see that in a baby! She saw that he was handsome; a beautiful child.And that’s almost all that we know about this little boy.And yet only a few pesukim later Moshe, already an elderly sage of eighty years, is being granted a vision of the glory of Hashem at the burning bush: וירא מלאך השם אליו בלבת אש – And a messenger of Hashem appeared to him in a flame of fire (Shemos 3:2). And suddenly this adorable little boy, now a man of eighty, is chosen to be the redeemer of the Am Yisroel.THE MYSTERY OF MOSHENow it would be proper for us to consider the story of Moshe’s life, and to study how Moshe ben Amram became Moshe Rabeinu; what was his path to success? After all, he was the man who took us out of Mitzrayim and led us for forty years in the midbar. He spent forty days and forty nights with Hakodosh Boruch Hu; he spoke to Hashem peh el peh, and brought down the Torah to the Am Yisroel. There was no man greater than he.And not only was he one of the most remarkable men in the history of our nation, but more importantly, he is one the great models that we aspire to emulate. The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuva 5:2) says that! He says that we should all aspire to be like Moshe Rabeinu: כל אדם ראוי להיות צדיק כמשה רבינו – “Every person is fit to be righteous like Moshe Rabeinu.” Now, you’ll never become a navi like Moshe was, but everyone of us was born with the talents needed to become a tzadik like Moshe, and therefore it is incumbent upon us to probe the life of this great man to find the seeds of his greatness.And yet when we begin to investigate his life we are stymied by a most peculiar fact. Moshe Rabeinu, an eighty year old man, seemingly appears out of thin air; the redeemer of the Am Yisroel appears on the scene and we know almost nothing about him: We’re not told what made him great and why he was chosen or what paths of avodas Hashem did he walk on for eighty years that made him the one chosen to redeem the Am Yisroel. How did the ish Mitzri become the ish ha’Elokim, the only man who would ever to speak to Hashem peh el peh, mouth to mouth?HE ESCAPES AND TURNS EIGHTYOf course, we are all familiar with a few short pesukim about his early days; he was brought up in the palace of Pharaoh and then was forced to flee for his life when he defended a fellow Jew by killed a Mitzri. But besides for that we know almost nothing. Moshe Rabeinu turns up many decades later at the burning bush in the mountains of Midian, having been chosen by Hashem to redeem His people.And I’ll tell you a chidddush now – even the one incident we know of this great man, how he went out from the palace to save his fellow Jew, is told to primarily us to let us know that we know very very little about Moshe. Of course, there are other important things we learn about Moshe from there as well – and we’ll talk about that one day. But the primary purpose of those pesukim is to introduce the story of his having to flee. The little we know of him, only comes to tell us that we actually know very little about this great man.ISOLATION AND SOLITUDEHe was forced to flee for his life into the lonely wilderness, and he became a wanderer in exile. Don’t think it was easy for him – it was a lonely life, no contact with his people, no family and no friends. And after many years, his wandering led him to Midian. And even there how did he spend his days? As a shepherd, alone in the mountains of Midian, grazing the sheep of Yisro. That’s what the Torah tells us about his years in Midian. He spent his days alone in the midbar as a shepherd pasturing the flocks. ומשה היה רעה את צאן יתרו חתנו כהן מדין וינהג את הצאן אחר המדבר – “And Moshe was pasturing the sheep of Yisro his father-in-law and he led his flock toward the wilderness” (Shemos 3:1). Moshe spent his days – it was months and years – in solitude in the remote pastures of loneliness.So what we’re seeing here now is a picture of a nomad, a lonely wanderer for forty years. Forty years is a long time to be alone! And besides for a few small incidents, that’s all we are told about how Moshe became Moshe Rabeinu. That’s all we know about him, that he wandered through the wilderness alone.And so we’ll have to say that it was there, shepherding sheep in the isolation of the wilderness, that Moshe achieved the greatness that earned for him his place in history. It is evident that this had been the plan of Hashem – to separate this promising and gifted man from his family and send him into the wilderness and lonely wasteland of Midian and Sinai. And this was all to keep him in solitude. Solitude wasn’t merely an episode in his career; it was the cause of his career and it readied him to become the greatest man in history. By separating him from his family and by keeping him in solitude, HakodoshBoruchHuwas creating the future leader of the Am Yisroel.And so that is what we will attempt to study now; the strange fact that Moshe Rabeinu spent most of his formative years – years that we would have imagined would be spent under the tutelage of tzadikim andovdei Hashem – and instead they were years spent alone, separate from his fellow Jews, and often isolated from Mankind all together. So what was the plan of Hashem over here? What kind of environment was this for Moshe Rabeinu? Now, I’m too small to be able to answer these questions – but I have the right to try to guess.CONSIDER THE ADVANTAGES OF LONELINESSAnd so in order to appreciate more fully this plan of Hashem, we should endeavor to study this step by step; what is it about solitude that can make a person so great. We’ll begin by reading a selection from the Chovos Halevavos. The Chovos Halevavos has a sha’ar called Cheshbon Hanefesh, which means “thinking” and he suggests certain duties that we’re expected to think about, thirty different ideas. He says there are many more but he suggests thirty of them. It’s kidaito study them all, but tonight we’ll study some of cheshbon number seventeen.He says as follows: What should a man think about when he has an urge to seek the company of people? It means when he feels lonesome; let’s say it’s motza’ei Shabbos, the family went out to visit the relatives in Boro Park and he’s left all alone in the house. He looks through the window and he sees cars crowded with people speeding to some destination. And he imagines their fun times ahead. Or let’s say he’s stuck in the yeshiva on motza’ei Shabbos – he’s an out of town boy and everybody else is at home with their families and he’s left alone in his dormitory room. Or he’s just an unfortunate fellow who didn’t marry and he’s all by himself wherever he is. And he yearns for the company of people.And so this man is thinking about how much fun it would be to be together with people. So what does the Chovos Halevavos tell him: “At that time let him consider the advantages of solitude and how good it is to be separate from people because of the harm that comes from their company.” The Chovos Halevavos is telling us here the most basic benefit of solitude – if you associate with people who have little yiras Hashem, or maybe they have wrong ideas, so they poison your mind. There’s no question that you’re going to cause certain defects in your mind and in your character.FOOLS ARE MORE COMMON THAN WISE MENOf course, he doesn’t mean the company of talmidei chachomim; he means ordinary people, the chevras hakesilim, the company of fools. But the truth is that wise men are often hard to find. Most often it is among the fools that you find yourself. And so he tells us, the first thing to consider is the harm that comes from the fools and the great benefit that you can accrue therefore by merely avoiding their company.Now, sometimes you can’t help yourself; you have to visit your in-laws sometimes, so you have to sit and listen to their chatter. And so you’ll have to act like you enjoy it. Or maybe for business, you’re in an office or a store, and you have customers and coworkers who like to chew the rag, so you have to act like they’re saying something very wise, as if you’re interested in their idle chatter. But outside of that, a person should always think about the dangers of the chevrah ra’ah, of bad company.WOULD YOU CHOOSE UNCLE HARRY TO BE YOUR REBBE?For instance much harm is accrued to a man from merely superfluous talk, from shooting the breeze. So you’ll tell me, “What’s so bad about talking about the news, about sports and about the neighborhood? I know it won’t make me a tzadik, but harmful?!” Yes, superfluous talk is in itself an injury to a man: The Chovos Halevavos says that you should avoid the yakking of other, למען אשר לא יביאום הבלי חביריהם לההביל גם הם כמותם, in order that the superficiality, the emptiness of your associates should not bring you to become empty too. When you’re together with ordinary, empty people, you become ordinary too. He’s talking here about frumpeople. Their tzitzis are out and they have black hats. There are many frum people who are empty, and therefore if you’ll associate with people, you’ll come down to their level and you’ll become empty too.“I’ll become empty too?” you’ll ask me. How’s that?” So pay good attention because I’m telling you now one of the unrecognized dangers that comes from listening to superfluous talk – it causes the listener to think along with the talker, or rather to unthink along with the talker. And so, as the “words of wisdom” come gushing forth from Uncle Harry’s mouth – he’s talking without any planning after all – so your mind is following what he is saying. You’re a respectful person after all, so you’re listening, you’re concentrating. And all the inanities, all the thoughtlessness of his conversation, is being repeated by you in your mind. That’s what happens when you listen to anyone – the words are being replayed in your own head. So Uncle Harry just became your “rebbi.” And he just filled your mind with “He said,” and “She said,” “We said,” “I said,” and “They said.” And it’s a long confusion that merely fills up your head with nothing at all – something for which there is no need. And that’s one way easy of ruining your mind.And even with good people, decent people, but if they’re people who live more or less with materialism – and it’s something you find a lot of today – they hardly ever think about Hakodosh Boruch Hu – so you should know that they’re going to drag you down to their level. It’s contagious. Wrong attitudes and wicked ideas are contagious. Now, you wouldn’t sit together with people who have pneumonia or the flu and they’re coughing and sneezing in your face, that you understand. You get upset if someone is “so kind” as to share his germs with you. That kind of sharing you have no interest in. You’ll keep away from him or at least you’ll tell him to cover his mouth. And you have to know that often, the words coming from a person’s mouth can be much worse than pneumonia.THE SINS OF CONVERSATIONAnd as if that wasn’t enough trouble, the Chovos Halevavos quotes the chochom in Mishleiand says even more: ברוב דברים לא יחדל פשע – “In a multitude of words there cannot be absent any iniquity” (10:19) There’s no question, Mishlei tells us, that when people talk voluminous they are going to commit sins. It’s not even a question! Lo yechdal peshah, it’s impossible to avoid it. It’s not even easy to avoid sins when you choose your words, but when you open your mouth and turn on the faucet, then there’s no question that lo yechdal peshah. That’s the possuk in Mishlei. I’ll just add now my own observation: You can imagine when you sit down on a bench in the courtyard of your apartment house with a neighbor or a friend, and four hours elapse in conversation. And you’re not silent during that time. It’s lively, it’s gushing, pouring forth. In those four hours you can imagine how many times peshah was committed. But of course if you don’t think about that; so you blindly and “innocently” continue to produce pesha’im. It’s like the man who blindly and “innocently” drives his automobile off a cliff. It’s a disaster.Now we go back to the Chovos Halevavos: “And by avoiding such company you’ll avoid speaking against people and mentioning faults of people and ridiculing people.” Because that’s what people do when they sit and have nothing else to do. They talk about other people. And finally when the whole conversation is used up, and he already spoke about everybody that he could, so he begins picking his relatives apart. It’s a possuk in Tehillim, תשב באחיך תדבר – “You sit and you talk against your brother, ובבן אמך תתן דופי, and against the son of your own mother you impute foolishness” (50:20) And when somebody will say, “What are you saying against your own brother?” you say, “It’s my own brother! I don’t mean any harm.” No harm?! You just blackened your brother and made him look as silly as possible.YOU’LL SIN MORE AND MOREAnd also lies. Talking brings to sheker; big lies, little lies, lo yimaleit. The more you speak,the more you’ll be nichshal in the opposite of emes. Because in order to make your stories interesting, you have to embellish them at least a little bit with stories, with details that never took place. You don’t intend to lie, but still you want your listener to be interested, he shouldn’t be bored by you. And so, you utilize stories and facts that never took place.And so that’s how it is when you’re around people. When you’re with people so you don’t control yourself. Your tongue wags and wags. You say whatever comes into your mind. You’re “forced” to do itbecause you have to say something when people are around. So you say all kinds of things, and all kinds of trouble happen. You’ll sin and sin some more, and your mind will be dragged down to the lowest common denominator of your conversations. It’s a fact that’s proven all the time, every day, in everyone’s life – and therefore the more you avoid chevra ra’ah, wrong company, the better off you are.SOLITUDE: THE MOST PRECIOUS OF ALL THINGSHowever, important as that is, we’re not going to say that Hakodosh Boruch Hu sent Moshe Rabeinu out into the solitude of the Midian wilderness just for that. Avoiding aveirosand superfluous talk, that’s very important – it’s a diamond on its own – but Hakodosh Boruch Hu had much more in mind for Moshe Rabeinu. Because actually there is a much more profound benefit of solitude, something much more than merely avoiding cheit; and it is that benefit that made Moshe Rabeinu the great man that he became. And that’s what we’ll study now.Now, in order to better understand the ma’alas hahisbodedus, the great benefit of solitude, we will study a piece from the Mesillas Yesharim (Chapter 15). You should pay close attention to the following because this statement we’re going to read now is a diamond; only that you have to be a maiven, a connoisseur, in order to appreciate such a gem. He says like this: ויקר מן הכל, the most precious of all things, הוא ההתבודדות, is solitude, to spend time by yourself. Now, it doesn’t have to be all day long but sometime a person must make for himself. And he says that doing so is יקר מן הכל, it’s more precious than anything else! You’re hearing something now! He doesn’t say that it’s also a good thing, and not even that it’s precious – but it’s “more precious than anything else!” Solitude!THE KING WISHES TO ESCAPEAnd the Mesillas Yesharimcontinues: וכבר הזכיר דוד המלך בשבח ההתבודדות, Dovid Hamelech spoke words of high praise when speaking of this quality of solitude. He said: מי יתן לי אבר כיונה – “If only I had wings like a dove, אעופה ואשכונה, I would fly far away and reside somewhere in a lonesome place. ארחיק נדד, I would wander off and be alone, אלין במדבר סלה, I would remain in the wilderness; I would make that my place forever.”So here is Dovid Hamelech sitting in his palace surrounded by people, surrounded by his advisors and friends, he had a lot of admirers as well, all good things – he’s living the good life – and yet what do we find? That he’s yearning to be in the wilderness! Now that’s a big question because what was Dovid doing up there in the wilderness anyhow? What did he yearn to go back for already? He had everything he wanted!MOSHE RABEINU DOESN’T NEED THE MOVIESAnd of course, for us it’s a good question because when we think about being alone in the wilderness it doesn’t seem so enjoyable. If we would go hide away in the mountains, with nobody else, with nothing to do, we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves. Many people are not capable of enjoying their own company and therefore it’s impossible for them to be happy unless something comes in to cause them to remove their mind from the present. If you would bring a good novel with you into the wilderness, or maybe a portable television, OK, then we’re talking. But that’s not solitude – that just means they have nothing in their heads and so they’re always trying to fill that vacuum with something. Those are the type of people who line up in front of the movies waiting to be admitted. These are people who can’t live with themselves! They always have to go someplace where something is “happening.” Their lives are so empty of happiness that they’ll stand in line and pay admission for something that is a substitute for happiness. And what type of happiness is it? When they leave the movies the money remains behind, they take along nothing with them except for a mixed up head, silly unrealistic pictures that never happened and never will happen. But at least for the moment their minds were off themselves. There are a lot of people not capable of solitude.But people who want to succeed in life will train themselves to enjoy their own company. That’s what Moshe Rabeinu did for so many years. It’s what Dovid Hamelech did after him – because Dovid wanted to be great and so he studied the life of Moshe Rabeinu and chose to walk in his footsteps. And those are the people who are able to live happy and successful lives even without frequent contact with others. You know that the Gra kept his shutters closed by day. His windows were shuttered up by day so that he shouldn’t be able to look into the street and remove his mind from the business of serving Hashem.SOLITUDE FOR USBut I remember my rebbe, zichrono li’vracha, telling us that we shouldn’t do it. Because if we close the windows and shutter them, we’ll just fall asleep. We’ll take a long nap. So it depends what you’ll do in the wilderness, what are you doing when you close the shutters. If you go into solitude carrying a pillow, or a newspaper or radio under your arm; if take with you a telephone, or a little black and white television, then that’s not solitude. You’re listening to the man on the other side of the radio or the man on the television screen who’s pouring ideas into your head. You’re far from being alone if you’re reading a newspaper – you’re sitting together with the nincompoops who write for the New York Times! And so, you have to know what to do when you’re alone.And so we’ll explain as follows: Solitude doesn’t merely mean that you should be alone; it means that you should be alone for a purpose, for the purpose of perfection. Solitude means being alone and being capable of using that opportunity to produce perfection of character. And the secret to this success is the realization that actually you’re not alone – you’re alone with Hashem! Now that’s something to think about! When you find that time without all of the distractions of life, and now you’re finally alone, that’s when you’re finally alone with your best friend, Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Now don’t tell this to your wife – she should always think that she’s your best friend. But the truth is that your greatest success and happiness in this world will come from the time you spend alone and build a relationship with your true best friend, Hakodosh Boruch Hu.IT’S GOOD TO BE A BEIS YAAKOV GIRLNow I know that many people when they hear these words, it sounds extreme to them. They think I’m exaggerating. A man here said to me once, “Relationship with Hashem?! What am I – a Beis Yaakov girl?” But that’s because people don’t realize their purpose in this world. They don’t know that they’re here only for that – to gain a relationship with Hashem, that is tangible; an actual kirvas Hashem. It is the most noble way of perfecting oneself, of attaining shleimus and making the most out of life.And so now we can come back to the question we asked earlier: Why did Dovid yearn so much to אלין במדבר סלה, to remain alone in the wilderness forever? And the answer is because for Dovid, what was the good in life? Dovid said, קרבת אלוקים לי טוב – “Being close to Hashem, that’s what I say is good.”THE ANCIENT SHEPHERD AND HIS GOOD FRIENDDovid grew up as a shepherd and he spent his entire youth in the wilderness. And it was there, far away from the distractions and encumbrances of life, that he found it most conducive to being alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. There was no company around to spoil his mind, and to distract his thoughts. He was still a boy, unencumbered with a family; he had no enemies, nobody was jealous of him yet, and he had nothing to worry about. And his true greatness came there, בנאות דשה ירביציני על מי מנוחות ינהליני – when he was lying down with his sheep in the green meadows, by the still waters of the creeks.And he would take out his harp to play sweet songs in order to inspire himself to think about his yedid nefesh, his “best friend in the world.”And it was there that he sang to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, and his soul ascended on the notes of his harp to heaven. And he became great there, behind the sheep, singing his songs to Hashem.THE COCKTAIL KEEPS THE KING UP AT NIGHTAnd it was all of those songs of love and gratitude that Dovid sang all of his life. It says it openly in Tehillim! Dovid Hamelech was up a big part of the night, every night, talking to Hashem – this we know from his own words. He said “Tov – do you know what is good in this world? L’hodos LaHashem – to give thanks to Hashem.” And he did what he said, he practiced what he sang. “U’lizamer lishimcha elyon – the only good in the world is to sing to Your name, O, Most High,” And when did he do it? All day long! “L’hagid baboker chasdecha.” He related Hashem’s kindness in the morning when he got up and “V’emunascha ba’leilos – “And Your steadfastness to help me in the nighttime.” This means that by day and by night, that’s what Dovid was doing; he was thanking Hashem. It wasn’t for a few minutes in the morning, and another few minutes at night. That’s just what we do, as a faint echo of what Dovid did. He spent his life in solitude with Hashem, talking and thanking, thanking and talking without end. Kol zman shehaneshama b’kirbi, as long as I’m alive, Modeh ani l’fanecha, I give my thanks to You.David was busy thanking Hashem all the time. When he breathed the air, he thanked Hashem for air. Ahh, air! The very best cocktail in the world, oxygen, mixed with a little nitrogen. Dovid would breath it in deeply and then he would thank Hashem for another breath. Of course, Dovid did other things as well. He was a king, and a talmid chochom too. He had a lot of work on his hands. But he always found time to be alone with Hashem.THE PROPHETS AVOID PEOPLEAnd that’s why even when he sat in the palace among his chaveirim, Dovid Hamelech said: הבט ימין וראה ואין לי מכיר – “I look on my right and I see that there is nobody who knows me.” Nobody knows me! You thinkthey know you, but no it’s only a dream. מי לי בשמים – “Whom do I have in heaven?” You, Hashem and that’s all I need.” ועמך לא חפצתי בארץ – “And together with You I don’t want anyone else in this world.” Dovid meant these words – it wasn’t just poetry – and he meant it because his time he spent alone with Hashem had brought him close to Hashem.These were the thoughts of Dovid Hamelech, his songs that he composed and sang during his years of solitude, and so later when Dovid became a melechhe yearned for those days of kirvas Hashem. “Ah! If only I could have wings and fly back to the wilderness where I once was as a youth! And I would be alone, alone by myself, alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu.”And that’s what the great men of our past always did – that’s howthey became great. The Chovos Halevavos tells us that: והנביאים אליהו ואלישע מצאנו היות מיחדים מקומם אל ההרים, we find that the nevi’im, Eliyahu and also Elisha, they preferred to be alone on the mountains. You know, people like to mingle with others, with company, and or spend time with friends. But the nevi’im had the opposite attitude. It’s a remarkable thing. They avoided the company of people as much as possible. מפני התבודדותם, because of the benefit of solitude.Of course, when it was necessary they came and they preached the message of Hashem to the public. They spoke with people when it was important, but they didn’t seekthe company of people; they preferred to be in solitude – to be alone with Hashem.GREAT MEN SKIP SHULAnd the Chovos Halevavos continues: והחכמים החסידים הראשונים זכרונם לברכה, the sages, the old chassidim of old, הלכו בעקבותיהם, they walked in the their footsteps. They followed the example of the nevi’im and they sought solitude. כי מצאו להם זה האמצעי היותר מוכן לקנות השלימות , because they found it to be the most useful means of acquiring perfection; the most useful way to acquire Awareness of Hashem, good character and self-control.That’s why there were great men in our history who went out into the wilderness, into the forests to be alone, sometimes for days. It was a sacrifice – they gave up tefillah b’tzibur and other mitzvos! Everybody knows the story. The Baal Shem Tov went into the forest for days. Now being days in the forest means that he missed davenen with a minyan . So it seems; unless maybe he slipped out once in a while into the beis knesses, but it doesn’t say that in the story. It seems like he stayed in the forest for days. And he wasn’t taking a nap on a bed of moss. He was making use of his time and he was talking; but he wasn’t talking to himself. He was talking to Somebody with a capital S.HE CLOSED HIS GEMARA WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKINGRav Simcha Zissel, zichrono levrachah, spent every night standing on his feet – all night long on his feet studying gemara. That’s what he told the people he did, but you can suspect him of taking a little time out and talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. In the wee small hours when nobody was listening you can be certain that he was speaking to Hashem. You can take my word for it, he was spending time alone with Hashem, talking to him, the same way Dovid did.That’s what all of the great tzaddikim did; it’s what we call hisbodedus. Rav Simcha Zissel and the Ba’al Shem Tov were doing what Moshe Rabeinu and Dovid Hamelech did for years and years in the wilderness. And these tzadikim utilized solitude in order to gain the awareness that they are alone with Hashem; to gain a palpable feeling of standing in the presence of Hashem. And so even when they returned to their talmidim, to their communities, they were not deceived, they always retained the Awareness of Hashem that they had achieved in their solitude.GRAB THE OPPORTUNITIES OF LONELINESSAnd therefore the man who aspires to be better, the one who wants to make progress in this world, he tries to find opportunities to be alone. To spend your life, as much as possible, alone in your thoughts with Hakodosh Boruch Hu, that is the great career open to all of us; a noble way of perfecting oneself, of attaining shleimusand making the most out of life. Because there’s nothing in life as conducive to perfection, as the condition of being alone with HashemNow, what to do when you’re alone – that’s something that takes a lot of explaining, but the first step is to decide that you’re going to be a person who utilizes solitude properly. Let’s say you’re all alone in your room. There’s nobody there right now. Your wife is out shopping. It’s Saturday night and she’s out with her friends. They’re going to the stores, shopping. So you happen to be home by yourself. Ah! You can take this as a glorious opportunity. I’m alone for a little while. I’m alone with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. If you wish, you can talk to Hashem. It’s the best company. If you have nothing to say, open a Tehillim and talk to Him in the words of Tehillim, the words of praise. Now that’s not a chiyuv. If you wish you can go along with your wife on the shopping spree. There’s no sin if you don’t want to remain home. But if you are a person who seeks greatness of character, you seize the opportunity to be alone and you understand that it’s a gift from shamayim. Of course you have to learn how to spend your time alone but when you learn it, you’ll appreciate that great gift.AN EXCELLENT WAY OF SPENDING YOUR TIMENow one of the first things, the most basic thing you’ll have to do when you’re alone with Hashem is to think about the chasodim he bestows upon you all the time, and to thank Him for them. You can start by thinking about the food you ate today. Thank Hashem for your food. So you say, “I was yotzeh already once. I thanked.” No, that’s not enough. You have to thank Him always, in addition to your brachos, in addition to birkas hamazon.There’s no end to what you have to be thankful for. Walk out in the cold weather and you have a nice warm garment made of wool. You have to think about these things and tell Hashem how grateful you are to Him. ‘Thank You Hashem for giving me warm clothing!” And say, “Hashem, Baruch Atah for a beautiful day!” It takes a long time before the day is finished; thank Him a number of times each day for a beautiful day. “It’s a beautiful day, Hashem, a beautiful day!” Now, when it’s raining – it’s also a beautiful day. “Oh,” Hashem,” it’s beautiful day when “diamonds”fall from the sky!” You say, “I thank You Hashem, I thank You Hashem, I thank You Hashem.” That’s an excellent way of spending your spare time.LEARN TO BE HAPPY!I know that most of what you’re hearing now seems a very artificial and remote to your minds; it’s so remote that we’re not even interested in hearing about it. You’re waiting for me to move on, to say something else. But I want to tell you that those people who train themselves to be alone with Hashem are the happiest creatures on earth. There is nothing more pleasurable than the opportunity to talk directly to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. That’s the simchahof ahavas Hashem; a man that is praising Hashem always is a really happy man.Now thanking Hashem is only the beginning. Once you make time to be alone with Hashem, there’s so much to do; so many good things to do to perfect your character. You can think about yourself, think about your life.Because a man has to think about himself – is he walking in the ways of yosher or not? He has to examine his lifestyle in general and he has to examine his individual deeds, are they in accordance with what he would like them to be, or better yet, in accordance with what the Torahwould like them to be? So you need time for that! Otherwise your life goes by and you continue to repeat the same errors and not to make progress. It’s important to have time alone.THE LAMPPOST & LUNGS PROJECTAnd therefore it’s the people who live with seichel, who are cognizant of the fact that they can have a real relationship with Hashem, there’s no question they’ll be better off. Only that you can’t start all at once. You do it gradually. היום יקנה קצת ממנו, today you acquire a little bit, ומחר יוסיף עליו מעט יותר and tomorrow you add a little more, עד שיתרגל בו לגמרי until you’ll become entirely accustomed to it. So let’s say you’re walking in the street with a friend and you say “Let’s make a project that from this lamppost to the next lamppost we’ll think only of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.” Try that; it’s not as easy as it sounds. If you’re not with a friend, do it yourself; even better, you’re walking down Kings Highway all alone with “your best friend.” Challenge yourself: “If I can think about Hakadosh Baruch Hu from this street to the next street – it’s only twenty paces in between – so that means I was alone with Hashem for a little bit.” And at the end you relax. “Ah, I did it. I made it. For twenty paces I thought about Hakadosh Baruch Hu.” A man once said to me “Twenty paces is nothing. I think about Him always.” Ah nechtigehtug! It means he never thinks about Him. You can’t do it unless you practice up and it’s not easy. It’s like breathing. You know, it’s a good idea to practice breathing. You breathe in deeply and you hold your breath and walk five paces.Then you exhale. Now you take a deep breath again and walk six paces while holding your breath, and then exhale. After a while you’ll be walking fifty paces. That’s a record for you. If you can walk fifty paces holding your breath then you have big lungs, big windbags. You can be a good runner too, an athlete. That’s the way to exercise your lungs. But here’s a way of exercising your neshamah and your mind.IT’S A MITZVAH TO THINK ABOUT HASHEMAnd it’s not just a good piece of advice that I came up with. It’s a command of the Torah: השמר לך פן תשכח את השם אלקיך, be aware, beware not to forget Hashem. What does it mean not to forget Hashem? It doesn’t mean merely to keep the mitzvos. It doesn’t say beware not to forget the mitzvos. You should beware not to forget Hashem! That means you should be thinking about Him!Try thinking about Hakadosh Boruch Hu for one minute straight. There’s so much to think about. Think that Hashem is looking at you. Think Hashem loves you. אהבתי אתכם נאום השם – “I love you,” says Hashem. Do you think about that ever? Do you ever stop to think that Hashem loves you? He loves you a thousand more times than your mother loves you and you never thought about it?! You never once thought that Hashem loves you immensely, infinitely?!YOU’LL BECOME A HEAD TALLERThat’s a wonderful thing to think about for your one minute excursion into solitude, your minute of being alone with Hashem in your thoughts. So you’re thinking – and if there’s no one listening then you can say it too: “Hashem , I know You’re right here with me and that You’re listening to me. You love me more than I can imagine. You love me more than my mother loves me, more than my father, more than my friends love me. You’re taking care of me, everything You do to me is for the best and I love you too!And then you relax. You made it! You were together with Hakodosh Boruch Hu for a minute straight. And after a while try for two minutes. And when you get used to that, you can try a little longer. Now that’s a man who’s a head taller than the rest of the world!A DAILY OPPORTUNITYAnother remarkable opportunity for being alone with Hashem is your dressing in the morning or undressing at night. The Tursays (Orach Chaim 2:2) that one has to be careful not to expose his body unnecessarily when he’s dressing or undressing alone in his room. So you might say well it’s dark in this room; who sees me? Don’t say, “Who sees me?” השם מלא כל הארץ כבודו. He sees you!And therefore every morning and every night when you dress and undress, it’s your opportunity to have some solitude with Hashem. You’re thinking these thoughts. Hashem is here with me and He’s looking and that’s why I’m careful how I undress. Of course Hashem has x-ray vision too. Nevertheless, the fact that He is looking should be enough to make you cover yourself. It’s a practice; it’s a targil. You do it always and little by little you gain an awareness of this great truth that Hashem is looking. It’s very important to work on that.Sometimes you take a walk and that’s a great opportunity. For all of us here walking could also be a form of solitude; solitude doesn’t mean you have to be in a cave or on a desert island. When you walk down the street, you’re all alone; no one is talking to you, and it’s a glorious opportunity to talk to Hashem.YOU NEED HASHEM CONSTANTLYAsk Hashem that He should help you with everything. “I am going for a walk Hashem. Please help me I should succeed in gaining good health, and that I shouldn’t have any difficulties with rude people that bump into me. And while they are “bumping into me” they put their hand in my back pocket and taking out my wallet. This happens every day on Kings Highway! Somebody is shouting, “I just lost my wallet; it had a hundred dollars in it!”“Please Hashem, I shouldn’t have any difficulties crossing streets.” When you want to cross the street, absolutely, you should ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu for help. Ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu to protect you from accidents. Accidents are happening all the time. You think you are a wise man, that you look both ways when you start walking and that’s enough. There is a fellow ahead of you, he is turning the corner on two wheels, and he’s not asking you for permission. Every day, there nisim happen! He just missed you by half an inch.Here is a man walking on the sidewalk, all of a sudden, a truck zooms by – a drunken man driving a truck runs up in the sidewalk and hits him and he’s finished. He wasn’t even thinking of buying a burial plot. A young man and all of a sudden he is dead laying on the sidewalk. Ah yah yay, a tragedy! It happens again and again, drunken drivers run up on the sidewalk. You have to cross the street, surely, but before you cross, you think it’s a foolish thing to say a tefilla you should cross successfully? And so, always ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And when you get to the other side, say “Thank You, Hashem that I made it across successfully.” And when you come home b’shalom, “Baruch Hashem, I made it. I came home and everything is in order. Thank You Hakadosh Baruch Hu.” That’s solitude with Hashem, and it’s available to you all the time.Now sometimes, how to get solitude is a problem. Let’s say you’re in a yeshivah and you’re busy all day learning in the yeshiva. If you’re in a busy beis medrash where is your solitude? So a tzaddik once said, let’s say you’re in the yeshivah and you have a gemara in front of you, so you put the gemara in front of your face and you’re transported to some far off isolated place and you’re speaking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu b’hisbodedus! “Hashem, please, Hashem, see that I don’t waste my years, that I accomplish something in my young days, and help that I should be able to do something later in life for You and for Your people.”THE WRONG BASHERTIf you’re not yet married, Al zos yispallel kol chosid eilechah le’eis mitzo – every chossid has to pray when the time comes to find a wife. Matzah zu ishah. You have to pray and pray, but not just one time, you have to pray and pray and pray that Hashem should send you the right one. Don’t say, “It’s bashert,” and forget about it. It could be bashert tzaros for you, chas v’shalom. That could be bashert, too. The gemara says Delilah was bashert for Shimshon; a “big hatzlacha” he had from Delilah.So, you have to pray to Hashem, “Give me a good bashert.” You have to pray; oh yes, you must pray. And start praying, not on erev the chasunah; pray a long time before. It is very important. You have to pray for children. For healthy children. And that your children should give younachas. How many talmidei chachomim don’t have any nachas from their children! So you’re talking to Hashem non-stop. You’re alone with Hashem in the beis medrash and that’s what the Chovos Halevavos calls התבודדות בתוך ההמון; it’s possible to be “in solitude in the midst of a multitude.” Of course you can’t be alone all the time. You have to be a father or a mother as well. You have to be a son or a daughter, a neighbor, and employee, whatever it is. But as much as possible, if you can spend time in solitude, a little bit, more or less, and think about Hashem and talk to Him, it’s amazing what can be achieved. Then you feel you’re alone with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And that’s the truth. Because even when you’re dwelling among your brothers, you’re in a crowd, you’re hanging on a strap in the subway, you’re really all alone.So now you’ll think about that when you’re on the subway. You’re caught in the subway in rush hour and you’re hanging on the strap, close your eyes and feel the place is empty. Of course you should watch your pockets anyhow. Keep your hand on your wallet and forget about the crowd around you. All around you is a storm of humanity with all their little interests, their little worries, their conversations, their little minds. You’re holding onto the strap but you are now in the wilderness of Midian all alone; you’re misboded with Hashem and you’re coming closer to Him.GETTING YOUR MIND CLEANED AT THE DENTISTLet’s say you’re sitting in a waiting room by a dentist and you have to wait a half hour. If you have a sefer, look in the sefer. You don’t have a sefer? Here’s your chance.Or you wake up in the middle of the night. Sometimes for a few minutes you can’t sleep. So until you fall asleep again let’s say you’ll be thinking: כי הוא אמר ויהי, Hashem spoke. That’s all He did, He spoke and the world came into existence. הוא ציוה, He commanded ויעמוד and there arose a world. בדבר השם שמים נעשו, the heavens were made only by the word of Hashem. That’s why it says לעולם השם דברך ניצב בשמים. Your word is standing in the shamayim, Your word! You said yehi and it’s standing in the shamayim. You take away the word yehi and the whole shamayim would collapse into nothing. Everything around you is all just Hashem’s imagination. You ever think about that? He spoke כי הוא אמר ויהי. He was the One who was mehaveh the whole briah. A great nes. It never happened again yesh mei’ayin! That’s a thought that can make you great while you’re sitting alone in the dentist office or hanging onto the subway strap.Let’s say you’re sitting at a bar mitzvah party and all around you all the tongues are clacking. What do you need it for? Is all that chatter going to do you good in the Next World?! So you’re a smart fellow, so you act like you’re listening but your mind is someplace else. You’re “in the forest” now, like the Baal Shem Tov went in the forest. You’re in the forest with Hashem. ויתבודד עם בוראו – You’re find solitude with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And when somebody asks you something, so you come out of the forest to answer. They’ll say, “He’s absent minded,” so you say “I’m sorry, I was thinking about something.” They’ll think you were thinking about your business or something. Let them think so. What we’re seeing now is that It’s possible l’hisboded b’soch ha’hamon, to find solitude with Hashem even as you’re in the midst of people.LOUD CHASUNA MUSIC IS A YESHUAHLet’s say you’re attending a wedding. At the wedding as you sit around, it’s not polite to take out a gemara; so you’re sitting at the table or you’re dancing, clapping, whatever you’re doing, you’re participating. But your mind is with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. First of all, you can say to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “Ribono Shel Olam bless the chossonand bless the kallah they should all have good health all their lives. They should have parnasah berevach.” You could say it with your mind and nobody’s listening. But even better, you can say it with your mouth – the music is so loud, nobody will hear you. They think you’re singing along. Bless them that they should have the most beautiful and smartest children. Bless them they should always get along b’simchah with each other. Bless them they should live long and dance at the weddings of all their grandchild and great-grandchildren. Do you think that at all? Why shouldn’t you? They need your tefilos. Everybody getting married, you should know, needs as many tefilos as possible. And אתה שומע, Hashem is listening to your tefilos. And when you do this, you should know you are exceptional. Because you’re in a big wedding hall full of people, hundreds of people. But as far as you’re concerned, it’s just you and Hashem.GREATNESS AT COUSIN CHAIM’S HOUSEOr let’s say you were forced to go somewhere; after all you must go to visit Cousin Chaim in Boro Park. It’s your wife’s cousin, and you can’t say no this time. So they’re eating melave malkah and everybody is chatting and you’re like a fish on dry land. Their minds are being ground to pieces by the idle chatter. So you’re sitting among them and you close your eyes for a moment. They’ll think you’re dozing off but actually you have retired into your cave and you’re talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. You’re thinking your thoughts. Everybody is talking, you’re thinking! Ahh! That’s solitude. Just for a moment. One moment is also a very big achievement. Solitude doesn’t mean a lifetime of being isolated from humanity. Every minute is an achievement in itself. Of course tzaddikim are able to have deveikus, clinging to Hashem, always. But we’re not that big. But if you have deveikus for one minute then you’ve already accomplished something great with your life.Now I know people will listen to me and they will just dismiss these ideas. They think that it’s a midas chassidus, it’s something that only very great people should do.But that’s wrong. Don’t think that what we’re saying here is going overboard. Just because ordinary people will often live like they do with hesech hada’as; they daven as ordinary people daven and mostly their minds are occupied with ordinary things, doesn’t means that you have to do the same. Hakodosh Boruch Hu wants more than ordinariness. He wants you to be close to Him because those who are far away from Him will eventually go lost. And even though you seem to be a shomermitzvos, but actually you’re far away from Him if your mind doesn’t concentrate on Him, if you’re not living with Him in your mind. And therefore, as much as possible you spend time talking to Hashem. You don’t have to have a siddur, you don’t need a Tehillim. Use your own mind. In your own thoughts, in your own words, you’re alone with Hashem.SOLITUDE THREE TIMES A DAYNow, while we’re on the topic, I’ll mention one more opportunity that we have every day and that’s shemonah esrei. The amidah you know, is said almost silently, and it’s supposed to be as if you’re standing in the kodesh hakodoshim and you’re talking to the shechinah. That’s how a person should imagine himself. There’s nobody around and you’re talking directly to Hashem. It’s a glorious opportunity. Nobody can hear what you’re saying except yourself perhaps, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu is listening. Now that’s real solitude.Only that when a person doesn’t have the attitude of talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu so his shemonah esrei is just to him something he has to rattle off by rote, something he has to do, and he’ll never experience the ecstasy of speaking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And that’s the great tragedy of what we do when we daven; we’re talking to Hashem but actually קרוב אתה בפיהם ורחוק מכליותיהם – “You are close in their mouths but You are far away from their kidneys.” It means that You, Hashem are far away from their insides, their minds. That’s what the navi said. And that’s the truth – that’s what davenen is.And so it’s very important for us to think Hashem is listening to us. That’s step number one: כי אתה שומע, You are listening. If He’s listening to you, it’s impossible to remove your mind from thinking what you are saying. When you’re just saying something to the wall or to the siddur it’s possible to forget the kavanah, the intention, of what you’re saying. But when you’re talking to someone, you never talk shelo bekavanah unless you’re meshuga.IT’S GOOD TO BE A HYPOCRITEAnd it’s only if a man sincerely embarks on a career of learning to constantly speak to Hashem, that his davenen finally becomes meaningful. Now at first it’s superficial; you’re a hypocrite. Of course it’s a good hypocrisy – you’re doing it to train yourself. You talk to Hashem and you say, “I thank You Hashem that You have made me healthy.” When you see a man hopping in the street with one empty trousers leg; he has crutches and you have two good legs, you have to stop and think “Boruch Atah Hashem, that I have two legs.” You see a man walking in the street and one empty sleeve pinned to his pocket, you have to thank Hakodosh Boruch Hu that you have two arms.The gemara says, לעולם יבקש אדם שלא יחלה – A person should always ask for rachamim not to become sick. When should he do it? L’olam! Always! Sickness is always lurking in every nook and cranny of the body. All around us germs are floating around in the air. If you walk in the street, and somebody coughs into your face, a whole mouthful of germs sticks to your face from his saliva. It is a very fine form of disgrace!LEARNING TO SAY “YOU”We are in the midst of a cauldron of peril, and illness is one of the most frequent things that happen, chas v’shalom, to a person. And so the chachomimare giving us a piece of very sound advice – ask Hashem not to become ill. You can ask in general, which is also good, but when you hear what happened to a certain man, that he had a tumor in his brain, then you should ask Hashem specifically, “Ribono Shel Olam, heal that man; send him a refuah sheleima besoch sh’ar cholei Yisroel. And please Hashem protect me, protect me! Hashem, I don’t want a brain tumor! Please protect me!” And no matter how many times you say it will not be enough. In shemone esrei we say it three times a day but actually all day long you have to thank Hashem that you are well and ask Him to keep you well. Always pray that you should be well, your wife should be well, your children should be well, pray for them all the time.And little by little you will get accustomed to saying the words. And after a while you’re going to feel that there is Somebody actually listening. After a while, when you say אתה, “You” you feel like you’re talking to Somebody. And when that great day comes, then you know you have arrived! That’s what the Mesillas Yesharim says, that at first you say it, and say it, and after a while the realization enters your mind that you’re actually talking to Someone. You’re talking to Hashem and you’ve begun to taste the sweetness of being alone with Him.THE GREAT CAREER OF MOSHE RABEINUNow, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the great opportunity of being alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. It’s a great career that is open to everyone, men and women, boys and girls. And it’s the career that made Moshe ben Amram into Moshe Rabeinu. And so we come back to the question that we asked in the beginning of our talk. What was the secret to Moshe Rabeinu’s success? What did he do for more than forty years wandering alone in the wilderness of Sinai, and shepherding in the mountains of Midian? And the answer is that those were the years that made him great because those were the years that he spent alone with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. It was days, and months, and years of thinking about Hashem, taking to Hashem, becoming more and more aware of Hashem. All the things we spoke about tonight – and much much more – were accomplished by Moshe during those years.One of the prime requisites for the development of greatness is solitude. And having to go lost for forty lonely years was the great opportunity for greatness that Hashem presented to Moshe Rabeinu. Moshe Rabeinu led Yisro’s flocks into the wilderness alone, like Yaakov had done many years earlier in the house of Lavan, and like Dovid did many years later. And it was there, in solitude with Hashem that his character and grew apace and ripened until the day when Hashem deemed him ready for his destiny.And that’s who we aspire to emulate – like we said before: כל אדם ראוי להיות צדיק כמשה רבינו – “Every person is fit to be righteous like Moshe Rabeinu.” Only that you have to start somewhere! We’re all capable of using the great opportunity of solitude from time to time; of using these exercises we spoke about tonight to train ourselves into a life of solitude with Hakodosh Boruch Hu the same way that Moshe Rabeinu did. And once you start on that career, even if it’s only one minute at a time, then you’re already living successfully. You’re utilizing the great opportunity of being alone with Hashem in this world in order to prepare for that great career in the Afterlife of being alone with Hashem forever and ever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
.I had to laugh at a news item from Bolton....they were asking people in the street how they felt about Brexit....they virtually all said they had completely lost interest and couldn't care less anymore ....which just about sums it all up....I can't believe idiots like Ambrose Mogg,Boris Johnson,Corbyn etc etc are actually running the country....and when they appear on the news and you switch channels there they are again....you can't escape....what has always amazed me is how these buffoons get there in the first place....but then when you see 700,000 (allegedly) people marching through the streets because the democratic vote didn't go their way I suppose that explains it all.....and it's obviously all about money and greed.........................we have just had the "Children In Need" fundraising on TV......they have raised one billion pounds over the years......which is what Alan Sugar is worth....with all the billionaires and millionaires in this country.....not to mention the royalty....why do we have children in need?? ...There has been quite a bit of publicity about youngsters being seriously affected by bullying on the internet....which doesn't surprise me as they are never off their mobiles.....those of us who are of a certain age find this somewhat hard to comprehend....why not switch the phone off?.....they had some up and coming young pop star who was deeply upset because someone tweeted that she was rubbish.....if you take any notice of criticism in the music game you may as well pack in....you have to understand that when someone puts an insulting comment on to the internet it is their big moment...because they have nothing else going for them in their sad little lives....simple as that........if I took any notice of criticism over my music career I would now be sitting in the corner of a darkened room....but my answer was always the same....basically two words. ...On the showbiz front....the BBC are still trying to get more viewers by reporting "goings on" with he dancers and celebs....probably making it all up....however I am a fan of the programme and I have a fiver on Ashley Roberts....I must say the ladies on the programme make an old man very happy....I often wonder what how funny it would have been had Benny Hill been on it........and now we have "I'm a celebrity get me out of here"......I use the word celebrity loosely.....the fact that they are giving Harry Rednap 500 grand....he is quite entertaining but not 500 grandsworth?..... and Noel Edmunds is due to go on it.....600 grand ....says it all.....I have watched the first few editions and I must admit i quite enjoy it....and Holly Willoughby is a pleasant change from Ant McPartlin....however we are still stuck with Dec.....he's a celebrity ...they should get HIM out of there. ...I recently watched a programme featuring an audience with Billy Connelly from about 40 years ago....I must say he was very funny back then....I do like observational comedy...and it took me back to my playing days and when we were booked to play at weddings...which were all EXACTLY the same....the setting up the gear with ids sliding up and down the dance floor....grandma who never goes out sitting at a table with her coat on.....the bloke in the middle of the dance floor trying to get everyone up which doesn't happen until the booze kicks in....when they all get up and dance (for the first time in 20 odd years).....the night being rounded off by Uncle Harry who is standing at a table singing Blue Spanish Eyes (consisting of one note all the way through) with his admirers loving every second.....and he always goes down better than the band who have just done 4 hours.....oh the joy of showbiz....and do I miss it?........NO. ...The song this week is about a place you might have heard of.....Benidorm....ring any bells?......it was written from memory as I haven't been to Spain for a long time....in fact I spend my spare time in beautiful places like the Lakes and Snowdonia....where you can feed your soul with the scenery....so I leave the delays and the hustle and bustle of airports to others.......Buenos Dias Benidorm.
.I had to laugh at a news item from Bolton....they were asking people in the street how they felt about Brexit....they virtually all said they had completely lost interest and couldn't care less anymore ....which just about sums it all up....I can't believe idiots like Ambrose Mogg,Boris Johnson,Corbyn etc etc are actually running the country....and when they appear on the news and you switch channels there they are again....you can't escape....what has always amazed me is how these buffoons get there in the first place....but then when you see 700,000 (allegedly) people marching through the streets because the democratic vote didn't go their way I suppose that explains it all.....and it's obviously all about money and greed.........................we have just had the "Children In Need" fundraising on TV......they have raised one billion pounds over the years......which is what Alan Sugar is worth....with all the billionaires and millionaires in this country.....not to mention the royalty....why do we have children in need?? ...There has been quite a bit of publicity about youngsters being seriously affected by bullying on the internet....which doesn't surprise me as they are never off their mobiles.....those of us who are of a certain age find this somewhat hard to comprehend....why not switch the phone off?.....they had some up and coming young pop star who was deeply upset because someone tweeted that she was rubbish.....if you take any notice of criticism in the music game you may as well pack in....you have to understand that when someone puts an insulting comment on to the internet it is their big moment...because they have nothing else going for them in their sad little lives....simple as that........if I took any notice of criticism over my music career I would now be sitting in the corner of a darkened room....but my answer was always the same....basically two words. ...On the showbiz front....the BBC are still trying to get more viewers by reporting "goings on" with he dancers and celebs....probably making it all up....however I am a fan of the programme and I have a fiver on Ashley Roberts....I must say the ladies on the programme make an old man very happy....I often wonder what how funny it would have been had Benny Hill been on it........and now we have "I'm a celebrity get me out of here"......I use the word celebrity loosely.....the fact that they are giving Harry Rednap 500 grand....he is quite entertaining but not 500 grandsworth?..... and Noel Edmunds is due to go on it.....600 grand ....says it all.....I have watched the first few editions and I must admit i quite enjoy it....and Holly Willoughby is a pleasant change from Ant McPartlin....however we are still stuck with Dec.....he's a celebrity ...they should get HIM out of there. ...I recently watched a programme featuring an audience with Billy Connelly from about 40 years ago....I must say he was very funny back then....I do like observational comedy...and it took me back to my playing days and when we were booked to play at weddings...which were all EXACTLY the same....the setting up the gear with ids sliding up and down the dance floor....grandma who never goes out sitting at a table with her coat on.....the bloke in the middle of the dance floor trying to get everyone up which doesn't happen until the booze kicks in....when they all get up and dance (for the first time in 20 odd years).....the night being rounded off by Uncle Harry who is standing at a table singing Blue Spanish Eyes (consisting of one note all the way through) with his admirers loving every second.....and he always goes down better than the band who have just done 4 hours.....oh the joy of showbiz....and do I miss it?........NO. ...The song this week is about a place you might have heard of.....Benidorm....ring any bells?......it was written from memory as I haven't been to Spain for a long time....in fact I spend my spare time in beautiful places like the Lakes and Snowdonia....where you can feed your soul with the scenery....so I leave the delays and the hustle and bustle of airports to others.......Buenos Dias Benidorm.
The most highbrow topic to date, Chris, Denny, and Eddy attempt to parse through the canon of world literature and suss out the most famous character of them all. While the character could have gained additional notoriety from non-literary means, they must have initially appeared in a work of literature. (In other words, Denny, Slim Shady is not a literary character.) Is Harold Bloom a close relative and he's told you that he's unhappy with our final decision? Does old Uncle Harry need another debate settled? Let us know at AlrightItsSettled@gmail.com.
We understand if you are busy and can't listen to every clip of the week, but please make time for this one. It has only been digitized from reel to reel in recent weeks so hasn't been widely available for very long time. In this sermon, Uncle Harry, at age 41, delivers a very spiritual message that exalts the Word of God, under the unction of the Holy Ghost, as the source of all spiritual understanding to the sanctified believer. Preached 51 years ago, it's accuracy for our day is uncanny and directs us all to a deeper spiritual vision that our present generation desperately needs. This is anointed preaching! Bro. Jeff Price
In this episode of LIGHT TALK, the Lumen Brothers discuss everything from exploding lamps to melting plastic flamingos. Join Steve, Stan, and David as they pontificate about: How lamps die, bogus lamp life specifications, Tungsten particles looking for a home, Uncle Harry wrecking the house, Temperature differentials, Arc lamps and David's skin changing color, The toy aisle at Walmart, The dangers of specifying lighting while under general anesthetic, Electrodes and anodes, LED warrantees, Maintaining Broadway shows, Hedgehogs, No suck buttons, Finding the perfect cyc, Gerreits vs. Rosebrand, DarkNet, Bad Hombre returns, Design Showcase East, Does size really matter?, The challenges of creating a bright, waterproof LED moving fixture, its hard to get light without heat, and You'll never know how Production Arts got the exclusive sales dealership for Pani. Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.
Huell's done it! He finally made it Fresno... He's on the blossom trail! Well, sort of...Huell finds out that timing is everything, but that road trips can lead to unexpected fun when he visits the small town of Reedley and sees the Mennonite Quilt Store. Then on to Uncle Harry's to eat some Armenian food. Finally wrapping it up at the Camden Cafe to see the longest-running Pinochle game of all time. As a bonus, Chris and Allan went on a road trip of their own with their wives and friends and do a modern blossom trail trip of their own! Catch you on the trail! Video: California's Gold Episode 305: Blossom Trail Fresno Blossom Trail Huell's Gold Instagram Huell's Gold Twitter Huell's Gold Facebook
Let George Do It, originally broadcast April 9, 1951, 67 years ago. Uncle Harry's Bones. Where is Uncle Harry? When his bones are found, the search is only beginning. It's a five-year-old murder, and everyone in town is a suspect!
Uncle Harry and Bert host the Podtalk Season 1 Finale from a hospital room at Cedar Sinai where David lays in a coma. Werner Herzog brings a camera crew to document the moment. Michael Caine, Jason Statham, Jim Parsons, Billy Bob Thornton, Alan Alda, Albert Brooks, Daniel Radcliffe and more stop by to pay their respects to David. Cast: Jason Kaye as Harry Lipschitz, Michael Caine, Jason Statham, Jim Parsons, Billy Bob Thornton, Alan Alda, Albert Brooks, Daniel Radcliffe, Quentin Tarantino, Sean Connery, Werner Herzog, Jeremy Irons, Melquides and Gary. Matthew Sweeny as Bert.
You're probably thinking, "Isn't James Mason dead?" Yes. Yes he is. But these interviews are from the 80s! In a very special episode, Uncle Harry pulls up some lost tapes from the time he produced a radio show with Burt as the host on KBIG 104. This first installment takes us back to 1982 when Burt interviewed James Mason! Cast: Jason Kaye as James Mason and Matthew Sweeney as Burt.
Author Sandra Baublitz and I have in common a profound love for dogs. Sandra's love is really specific in her Dog Detective series, with Paw the Saint Bernard as the detective protagonist, along with his human, Clarissa. In the interview, you'll hear Sandra and I talk about her writing routine, some new ideas for another cozy mystery series, and Dean the Basset, whom I'm very grateful Sandra introduced me to. ;-) If you're a fan of Lilian Jackson Braun's 'The Cat Who...' series or Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown's Mrs. Murphy mysteries, you'll undoubtedly enjoy Sandra's cozy mystery series. You can find out more about today's guest, Sandra Baublitz, and all her books on her website SandraBaublitz.com. You can also find her on Twitter @SandraInvesting. Links and resources mentioned in this episode Click on any of the book covers to go to Sandra's books on Amazon We mention Dean the Basset on Facebook. Here's the link to his page. Sandra's website, SandraBaublitz.com Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. And listen on Stitcher. You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube. Transcription of Interview with Sandra Baublitz Alexandra: Hi, everyone. I'm Alexandra Amor. This is "It's a Mystery Podcast." And I'm here today with Sandra Baublitz. Hi, Sandra. Sandra: Hi, Alexandra. Alexandra: Am I pronouncing your last name right, by the way? Sandra: Yes, that's correct. Alexandra: Okay, good. Let me give our listeners a little introduction to you. Sandra Baublitz has been a bookkeeper. She's worked at a greenhouse and raised and sold produce, among other jobs. However, writing is her first love. Her "Clarissa and Paw Mini Mystery" series has a lovable St. Bernard as a detective. The first story started out as a contest entry. Sadly, it didn't win and sat for many years, until Sandra dusted it off, edited it, and published it. There are now five short stories in one novel in the dog detective series of mystery books. Sandra doesn't own a St. Bernard herself. So for now, she is content to write about Paw while her two cats rule the household. Tell us about Clarissa and Paw. Let's start there. Sandra: Clarissa is the young woman. She's in her early 20s. And her Uncle Harry is a police chief. So she grew up to know about police investigations and such. And so she herself has gotten into investigating mysteries. The first one pretty much was when she went to visit her cousin and realized that her uncle had been murdered. And, of course, Paw, he is her loyal St. Bernard, and he loves to get into mischief and dig into things. So, of course, she is going to find some clues that drag her into this mystery too. Alexandra: Right, yeah. And in the introduction, I mentioned that you've always wanted to own a St. Bernard. What is it about those dogs that appeals to you? Sandra: I think they're so big and warm and lovable. I really fell in love with them when I first saw the Beethoven movie. And so I mean you saw this huge fuzzy dog...and then what also compounded it was I worked at a place where we did computer printer cartridges, and I worked in-house, but they would have people that worked at home and brought their work in. One day, a woman brought in a St. Bernard puppy she had just gotten. Well, I just fell in love instantly. I had dogs when I was younger, but never a great big dog, because my mom was like "We're not feeding a great big dog." And probably after my little dog was gone after so many months, I might've tried to get a big dog, but the cats just showed up. So after that, we became a cat household. Alexandra: Right, yes, yeah, exactly. Clarissa, you mentioned that her uncle was a police detective. And then in the first short story, there's a different uncle. Sandra: Yes, that's a different uncle.
Aunt Ruthie calls with scary news about Uncle Harry. Hungry, hungry spiders. Harland eats vintage candy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jodie Foster is with us! Jodie joins David in the studio to talk about her career, the struggles of childhood fame, and her newest project: Taxi Driver the series (a comedy romp). Ber03t annoys us with his brother Ernie, and Uncle Harry comes in and out. Cast: Daniel MK Cohen as David Lipschitz, Haley Mancini as Jodie Foster, Jason Kaye as Ernie/Harry Lipschitz, and Matt Sweeny as Ber03t
A legendary episode needs a legend in the studio! We have comic book icon, Stan Lee! Stan sits down to talk about growing up in a Jewish neighbourhood, the struggles of starting up in the comic book world, and constantly reminds us that he’s willing to put his name on anything. Uncle Harry joins us despite David's protest but Bhurtz is thankfully not in the studio, although we’re stuck with his brother Ernie. Cast: Daniel MK Cohen as David Lipschitz, Jason Kaye as Harry Lipschitz and Ernie, Hal Rudnick as Stan Lee
Podcast: Connections with Sara Episode 1: In the Beginning Description: Sara King is an internationally renowned Psychic medium who live in the central west of New South Wales Australia. In this debut episode of her first series of podcasts Sara talks about her beginnings as a psychic medium and the road that led her to become one of the most gifted psychic mediums in Australia. Sara takes you on a journey in this episode describing the crazy goings on and amazing connections that gave her the insights and training that made her psychic abilities shine. She ends the episode with a special guest Lynda, who talks of the amazing reading she had with Sara that connected her with her recently deceased Mother Patti and her Uncle Harry. Contact Sara: http://www.sarakingpsychic.com.au connectionswithsara@live.com http://facebook.com/sarakingpsychic
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lundigan
Aunt Ruthy calls the show to talk about Uncle Harry's Viagra. A walk through a Farmer's Market. Part 2 of Harland's short story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"I find it puzzling, don't you? The rabbit, I mean. Very puzzling." As a magician, I am accustomed to people asking me about rabbits... As a writer, John Gaspard is accustomed to people asking him about magic. His wonderful Eli Marks Mystery Series features magician and reluctant amateur sleuth, Eli Marks, and his cranky Uncle Harry, also a magician and a debunker of magic scams. Soft-boiled, humorous, and taking place in the -- dare I say? -- enchanting world of professional magicians, this series is a treat. Let's do the important stuff first. Poof! -- John has pulled a free short story for you out of his hat! You can download it here, or listen to the incomparable Jim Cunningham read it here. John also makes movies! Check out his film blog, Fast, Cheap Movie Thoughts, which riffs off the name of one of his own books on movie making, Fast, Cheap and Under Control. In the interview, he recommends a book by William Bayer, Breaking Through, Selling Out, Dropping Dead and other notes on Film Making. You can keep abreast of Johns' many activities on Facebook. John gives a shout-out to fellow Minnesota writer Judith Guest (of Ordinary People fame, but also the writer of suspense novel, The Tarnished Eye) as well as mystery writer Lawrence Block, a long-time favorite of mine as well. He also talks about the great work The Amazing Randi has done in debunking frauds. Other magicians mentioned in this conversation: Dai Vernon, Lance Burton and Eugene Burger, and of course Harry Houdini. And I want to give a shout-out myself to Henery Press, which is doing a great job of publishing soft-boiled and cozy series, especially ones that are a little outside the lines, at a time when other publishers are ending many long-time series. They also publish Gigi Pandian's Jaya Jones series, another favorite of mine. If you missed my conversation with her, you can check it out here. This was such a fun conversation. Enjoy! -- Laura Transcript of Interview with John Gaspard Laura Brennan: My guest today may not be a professional magician, but he certainly creates magic on the page. John Gaspard’s novels are clever, funny and satisfying mysteries, with a flourish of stage magic. John, thank you for joining me. John Gaspard: Happy to be here. LB: Before we start talking about your novels, I'd like to talk a little bit about you. You also have a career in film and television, is that right? JG: Well, career might be a strong word. I have sold things to television and I have produced a number of low-budget feature films on my own. I started out as a teenager making films and I was directing them, so I was just always the director. LB: Well, I love that. I love that you take what you have and instead of letting it languish in a drawer somewhere, you actually went out and made it. And you started doing this when you were a teenager? JG: I did! I am one of the first people in the country or maybe even the world to make a feature-length Super 8 single sound system film. Which meant that the sound was right there on the film when you recorded it, as opposed to double system, where it is recorded separately. I did a couple of 16mm films in the '90s, they were all features, and then three digital features since around 2001. LB: So you have always wanted to write? JG: I always wanted to make movies, and since no one was handing me scripts I sort of fell into the writing part. LB: I like that because when you're writing a novel, you are both a writer and the director. JG: Yes. Yes, there's a lot more control going on in writing a novel. LB: So let's move into novels. How did you get started then, moving away from writing and directing features and into novels? JG: Well, I'd always figured that as I got a little bit older, I'd be doing less schlepping of film equipment and low-budget filmmaking. And I had read a book in my teens by William Bayer called, Breaking Through, Selling Out,
Today Aunt Ruthie's husband, Uncle Harry talks to Harland on the phone. Bratty actress's. And DANGEROUS exercising. Sing ling a ding! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Larry tells hilarious stories about his "shouting family" Thanksgivings from his childhood. Larry eats a whole tray full of pickles, wrestles with cousin Craig and lives to tell about it. And hear about Uncle Harry, the dancing plumber. Happy Thanksgiving from everyone on Milleronia! http://LarryMillerShow.com
The song I have sent you this week was one I came up with for Radio City’s Norman Thomas back in the day….the one note song. It came about when someone told me they couldn’t sing a note…so I disagreed and that sparked off this song…as EVERYONE can sing one note…anywhere…you could go into a pub in China and everyone could sing one note…there are no language barriers or key problems….as the song explains. Maybe I was a bit ahead of my time….it did however make the local papers. 2.This has reminded me of the guy at every wedding (usually Uncle Harry) who always wants to get up and give ‘em a song at the end of the night with the full support of his family…the song is generally “Spanish Eyes” which he warbles through singing the same note….and invariably goes down better than the band….who are frowned at by the bloke paying them wondering why they are getting paid and uncle Harry sang for nothing….the fact that the band have just done 3 hours and built the crowd up to the drunken crescendo they are in and Uncle Harry has sung the same note for 2 minutes….is somehow overlooked….it’s a dream come true Simon. 3..I’m sure the victims of financial cuts are delighted to hear that Prince Andrew has just bought Fergie a 5 million pound chateau in Switzerland…..or should I say WE have bought it?...nice to know he is so generous…and there has been a disaster at Sandringham Palace!!…..the poor pigeons are devastated because their loft is rotting away….but you’ll be pleased to know the Queen has come to the rescue and had them a new one built for 40 grand…. Her pigeons are reported to be delighted….and unseen photographs taken by lord Lichfield of Charles and Diana’s wedding are about to go on sale in New York….and expected to fetch millions….hip hip hurrah!!!.....I’m so pleased for them all. 4.When I listen to the various dialects in this country I begin to despair….what happened to the English language….”T” seems to have vanished as youngsters now go to a par-y on sa-aday…or “I like i-“…and we have those dreadful Eastenders so called actors who replace “T” with “F”…I FINK I’ll do this and FINK I’ll do that and has anyone seen Kaffy…then we have Coronation Street with “we’re goin’ t’ shops”….it’s awful and it’s not difficult to pronounce words correctly….as we do on Merseyside….or maybe I’m a bit biased? 5.And on the subject of television….we have definitely hit an all time low….maybe it’s me…I don’t know….but is ANYONE interested in embarrassing bodies?...people being brought into A & E?...third class actors being “killed off” in soaps?...and now we have a plethora of “happy family” shows where ordinary members of families can win holidays….with one of them trying to be funny…why should I care if someone I don’t know wins a holiday?...I though we had seen the last of these dreadful cheap to make shows with the retirement of Bruce Forsyth....it’s bad enough when celebs are involved but at least the money goes to charity. If someone comes up with an alternative to television (and they probably will) they will clean up….sooner the better.
The song I have sent you this week was one I came up with for Radio City’s Norman Thomas back in the day….the one note song. It came about when someone told me they couldn’t sing a note…so I disagreed and that sparked off this song…as EVERYONE can sing one note…anywhere…you could go into a pub in China and everyone could sing one note…there are no language barriers or key problems….as the song explains. Maybe I was a bit ahead of my time….it did however make the local papers. 2.This has reminded me of the guy at every wedding (usually Uncle Harry) who always wants to get up and give ‘em a song at the end of the night with the full support of his family…the song is generally “Spanish Eyes” which he warbles through singing the same note….and invariably goes down better than the band….who are frowned at by the bloke paying them wondering why they are getting paid and uncle Harry sang for nothing….the fact that the band have just done 3 hours and built the crowd up to the drunken crescendo they are in and Uncle Harry has sung the same note for 2 minutes….is somehow overlooked….it’s a dream come true Simon. 3..I’m sure the victims of financial cuts are delighted to hear that Prince Andrew has just bought Fergie a 5 million pound chateau in Switzerland…..or should I say WE have bought it?...nice to know he is so generous…and there has been a disaster at Sandringham Palace!!…..the poor pigeons are devastated because their loft is rotting away….but you’ll be pleased to know the Queen has come to the rescue and had them a new one built for 40 grand…. Her pigeons are reported to be delighted….and unseen photographs taken by lord Lichfield of Charles and Diana’s wedding are about to go on sale in New York….and expected to fetch millions….hip hip hurrah!!!.....I’m so pleased for them all. 4.When I listen to the various dialects in this country I begin to despair….what happened to the English language….”T” seems to have vanished as youngsters now go to a par-y on sa-aday…or “I like i-“…and we have those dreadful Eastenders so called actors who replace “T” with “F”…I FINK I’ll do this and FINK I’ll do that and has anyone seen Kaffy…then we have Coronation Street with “we’re goin’ t’ shops”….it’s awful and it’s not difficult to pronounce words correctly….as we do on Merseyside….or maybe I’m a bit biased? 5.And on the subject of television….we have definitely hit an all time low….maybe it’s me…I don’t know….but is ANYONE interested in embarrassing bodies?...people being brought into A & E?...third class actors being “killed off” in soaps?...and now we have a plethora of “happy family” shows where ordinary members of families can win holidays….with one of them trying to be funny…why should I care if someone I don’t know wins a holiday?...I though we had seen the last of these dreadful cheap to make shows with the retirement of Bruce Forsyth....it’s bad enough when celebs are involved but at least the money goes to charity. If someone comes up with an alternative to television (and they probably will) they will clean up….sooner the better.
Before you sit down to eat that big turkey meal with your family this week, listen to the 3 pieces of advice Robert Quintana shares that not only will help you get through the holidays another year, but ultimately can help you learn to truly love those you will be spending time with for years to come.
In a small town, a skeleton found in the lake could represent a skeleton in the closet for both George’s client and the rest of the town. Origi Read more ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
In a small town, a skeleton found in the lake could represent a skeleton in the closet for both George’s client and the rest of the tow Read more ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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