So you’ll say, “I didn’t spoil everything. I didn’t break the plates. I didn’t throw the food into the garbage can. I just didn’t come. Who am I?” No! This party was made for you and if you didn’t show up then it was a waste.
It’s a tremendous concept because it means that your behavior is therefore of the utmost importance. The whole universe is made for you and therefore if you misbehave it’s considered as if you destroyed the universe. And if you make from yourself a person of excellence, if you develop your mind and your character, then you’re doing what’s most important in the entire universe.
Now I understand this is very remote in our minds as of yet. We’re going to see soon some practical examples, how we apply this attitude, but even if we don’t grasp it fully yet, let’s at least say the words – something will penetrate. Everyone should say, םָלֹעוָה ‡ָר¿בƒנ יƒילƒב¿ׁ ̆ƒּב – “The world was created for me.”
Part III. My Responsibility
Idealism of the Individual
Now Rabbosai! You know what should be the result of our talk? What should happen? ֹוּבƒלּהַּב¿‚ƒּיַו – Your mind aims high! You live with idealism!
Because when a person spends some time contemplating this doctrine of his importance in this world – that all of history is for him and that all of Creation is for him – so what happens? He begins to recognize his place in this world; he realizes that his life had more meaning than he ever imagined. Once he understands he’s remarkably more important than he thought, that he’s not one among many – he’s the one – so what he can accomplish in the world, that’s the most important business in the world.
And that means he becomes a mevakeish, an idealist. Because he knows that םָלֹעוָה ‡ָר¿בƒנ יƒילƒב¿ׁ ̆ƒּב, he’s not mevater; he doesn’t yield any opportunity to do the best that he can for himself.
Seriously Serious Business
And now he takes this success very seriously. Of course he does! Because his actions, his thoughts, his dibburim, mean everything. The world is dependent on him and so he wants to accomplish. Whatever is good in this world, he wants that for himself.
Now, if that’s so, it pays to know what is the greatest of all accomplishments for a person while he’s in this world. You know, if I ask you, you might not know. Even if you go into the beis medrash you might not find the answer; it depends who you ask. So let’s consult somebody who is an authority on this subject. Let’s ask Dovid Hamelech and see what he has to say on the subject: יƒנֲ‡ַו – “As far as I am concerned” – it means maybe you think otherwise but va’ani, I say, בֹטו יƒל יםƒֹ̃ל¡‡ ַ̇בֲרƒ̃ – “that to come close to Hashem, that’s the greatest good” (Tehillim 73:28). Because I know that יƒנֲ‡, that there’s a me, that I’m important.
You hear that? What matters most? To come close to Hashem! And because a person has learned his importance – and never make a mistake about that, you’re very important; that’s the point – he desires to come close to Hashem. A man’s recognition of his importance is translated in his desire that he himself should make the best of himself by coming close to Hashem.
The Self-Serving Saying
And therefore, his motto in life becomes: I am important and therefore I have to do the best I can for myself. That’s what it means to prepare for the Next World – to become the best you can be. ן≈̃¿ַ̇הרֹו„¿זֹרו¿ּפַּבָך¿מ¿ˆַﬠ – prepare yourself! The main purpose is yourself!
Now that seems very queer to people when they hear these words. But you have to know, if you’ll be an anav and concede, you’re making the mistake of your life. And if you’ll be the opposite, if you’ll fulfill ‘ה י≈כ¿רַ„¿ּבֹוּבƒלּהַּב¿‚ƒּיַו, you’re doing the greatest benefit to yourself. You’re fulfilling the purpose of the world – yourself. רֹו„¿זֹרו¿ּפַּבָך¿מ¿ˆַﬠ ן≈̃¿ַ̇ה! Prepare yourself for the Next World!
That’s why we find that Dovid Hamelech was always talking to himself; all the time. ̇∆‡ יƒׁ̆¿פַנ יƒל¿לַה ם≈ַּׁ̆ה - “My soul, praise Hashem” (Tehillim 146:1). יƒכֲרָּב ם≈ַּׁ̆ה ̇∆‡ יׁƒ̆¿פַנ - “My soul bless Hashem” (ibid. 104:1). Dovid spoke to himself. He spoke to others too, absolutely, but he knew that he himself was too important to ignore. יƒ„ֹבו¿כ הָרּעו - “Awake, my glory,” he said to himself (ibid. 57:9). He was constantly urging himself to come close to Hashem because that’s what matters most.
Of course, those words ‘close to Hashem’ need a lecture in itself. Not one lecture, many lectures. Maybe we’ll have time to talk about it for a few minutes soon but if we had to put it down in a few words, it means thinking about Hashem. The more you think about Him, the closer you are to Him. And the closer you are to Him, the more you’re fulfilling the purpose of creation.
It’s Never Nothing
I’ll tell you a piece of advice: when you hear that, immediately think of Hakadosh Baruch Hu! This second, don’t wait! Don’t say I’ll put it off until I will become a gadol baTorah, a tzaddik. Don’t say ‘I’ll put it off till after the lecture, after Rabbi Miller finishes speaking.’ This minute, right now, think about Hakadosh Baruch Hu!
“What’s the use?” someone thinks. “I’m nobody anyhow. I came to the lecture only because I wanted to get out of the house, not because I’m going to be something. I’ll continue to be a nobody.”
No, no. That’s all wrong. You’re somebody. The whole world is made for you! All the nissim of Mitzrayim are made for you! And therefore everything you do is important. You’re too important for something to be nothing.
Pay attention. Everything an important person does is important! Nothing that he does is unimportant! Even a little bit is an achievement because it’s not a little bit. There’s no such thing as a little bit if you understand that Hashem made Yetzias Mitzrayim for you, so that you should serve Him. When you’re the one the world was created for, nothing is unimportant anymore.
The Unhumble Home
You could be in your humble little home, in your kitchen – your husband is at work and nobody home except the little babies – and so you’re thinking, ‘What of it? There are tens of thousands of others in their own little homes, just like me.’
Oh no! That’s not the Torah way of looking at it. The world was created for you and that means this moment is of utmost significance. Utilize it! You’re feeding the baby and you’re thinking that your hand is the hand of Hashem. That is how a woman can think. רָָּׂ̆ב לָכ¿ל ם∆ח∆ל ן≈ֹ̇נ – He gives food to everyone and I am His messenger.
The child says, “Give me a piece of bread, Mommy,” so you give the baby a piece of bread and you’re thinking, “My hand is the Hand of Hashem. A woman who nurses her baby or she’s giving the baby a bottle, how great is that! Hakadosh Baruch Hu is feeding your baby and you are the messenger; all day long you are doing the will of Hashem.
She passes a mezuzah and thinks, “Hashem is looking at me.” Oh, that’s a great moment in the history of the world. Nobody is going to applaud her; there is no audience. But because the world is hers, because Yetzias Mitzrayim was for her, so there’s an audience of One that matters.
A Little Bit Is So Important
A man at work too; he is laboring in the factory or laboring with customers but he has in mind – not every minute; that’s impossible, but from time to time he reminds himself: “I am serving Hakadosh Baruch Hu. I want to pay the tuition of my children in the yeshivas, I want to marry off my daughter to a ben Torah. I want to keep a good kosher frum house and give maaser to tzeddakah.”
A fleeting, unimportant thought? No! No thought is unimportant for the man who knows that םָלֹעוָה ‡ָר¿בƒנ יƒילƒב¿ׁ ̆ƒּב. When a person understands his importance so nothing is unimportant. Every little bit is a great success, or the opposite chas v’shalom.
If you’re able to change yourself, to control yourself, even a little bit, you’ve done something tremendous. So let’s say that you come to a chasunah and you remember this maamar, םָלֹעוָה ‡ָר¿בƒנ יƒילƒב¿ׁ ̆ƒּב. So you make up your mind that you’ll guard your tongue; you won’t talk too much.
All night? No I can’t do that yet. But at least a little bit I’ll do it. It’s not a little after all for someone who the world was created for him. So let’s say for the first ten minutes, you just smile, say mazel tov to everybody and keep your mouth closed. After that you let go. It’s an achievement. It’s not just ten minutes in the life of one man among millions; it’s ten minutes in the life of a yachid bi’olamo. It’s an achievement of utmost importance!
An Important Modim
The Chofetz Chaim writes in one place that let’s say you’re standing Shemoneh Esrei and when you come to modim, you discover that you’re standing Shemoneh Esrei. You remind yourself, “Oh, I’m not on an African safari – that’s where you’ve been since you started Shemoneh Esrei; you’ve been traveling the world. And now you remind yourself. So he says, “Don’t give up and say, ‘Well, I wasted all this time. I might as well just finish up quickly.’” No! You’re too important for such things. Be mizchazek and salvage that last bit of Shemoneh Esrei that you can!
Say modim with emotion! “I thank You, Hashem what You’re doing for me!” Think of something, something – a davar shel mamesh – that you ate a good meal today, you made some money today, you moved your bowels today. Whatever it is. You have no headache today. ¿ךָלּנו¿חַנֲ‡ יםƒ„ֹמו. And try to serve Hashem with the rest of shemoneh esrei.
You’re an unknown person? You’re standing all the way in the back of the shul? Nobody notices you? Forget about that! The One that matters notices and as far as He’s concerned you’re the only one. And therefore that little bit is a tremendous achievement.
Never Too Late
The same also if a man didn’t understand this lesson most of his life – he never heard it maybe – and now he’s a little older, his hair turned white already. And now he starts thinking, “I don’t have a hundred years to live now. Maybe I should do something before the end comes.” It happens sometimes; a person realizes that it’s getting late in life and so he’s aroused to do something about it.
But then he thinks, “Look, I wasted so many years! I didn’t become a talmid chacham. I didn’t become a tzaddik. Now I should wake up? What’s the purpose? It’s no use.”
No! Man is too important to say it’s too late. It’s never too late for a person to strive for excellence. Even if you never learned Gemara before – a man who is even eighty can begin learning Gemara successfully; hascholas Gemara!
It could be you won’t become a baki b’Shas but you sit down and learn one line, two lines, three lines. After a while, you can say a whole amud Gemara inside! To know a whole amud gemara, one page of Gemara inside!
In a few years you’ll know ten blatt Gemara. Even at a slow pace you’ll know ten blatt. When you learn the second blatt you go back and review the first blatt. Eventually you know the ten blatt cold. To be able to say ten blatt rapidly like Ashrei is a wonderful achievement.
Live Up To Your Career
Not only Gemara. When a man decides, even in his old age – surely if he’s still a young man of sixty – that he’s going to commit himself to a career of living up to his importance, so he can become a tzaddik too. He opens up a Mesillas Yesharim and says, “I’m going to do this!”
And little by little he learns it from cover to cover. That’s an experience! You never learned Mesillas Yesharim? It’s an experience that will change your life!
Man is too important to say it’s too late. Man is too important to say it’s too little. It’s never too late and never too little once you understand that the whole world is made for you! All the nissim of Mitzrayim are made for you!
You can’t rely on the fact that others utilize it. You have to utilize it! And Hakadosh Baruch Hu is waiting! And the ga’avah, the pride in the human breast, that should be our guide – we should know we are somebody! Every one of us, men, women and children, we can make something out of ourselves!
Have A Wonderful Shabbos
