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Darren Williger: Hi this is Darren Williger from Chicago
Rabbi Shai Specht: And I am Rabbi Shai Specht from New York City.
Darren Williger: We are excited for being here today and thanks for tuning in to Torah
Talk! Rabbi Shai Specht: We are really very excited
to have you today and we just want to talk a little bit about a special word and that
word is emet. Literally in English it means truth, but in Hebrew, the word emet which
in English it would spell EMET, means so much more. It means truth, it means finding who
you are, where you come from, in Kabbalah, we believe that emet is really delving into
your inner self and finding out where you come from, why you are here, what's your purpose
in life. Darren Williger: It is an incredible topic
because EMET as you said is a raw word that means truth, and truth itself can be truth
inside, truth based on wisdom and truth through our glances of perception.
Rabbi Shai Specht: Correct! There are some groups that will tell you that there is only
one truth and yes, there is probably one sort of universal truth, but I believe that there
are many many ways to get there and that's why we have various religions or traditions
or ways to believe. Darren Williger: And that's the thing too,
you know, truth is bad. It is the way things are recorded. It is what we see, you know
everybody does perceive differently and truth is understood differently with the different
things we have learnt throughout our existence and different things that are taught.
Rabbi Shai Specht: That's right. When we look into ourselves, but not in a selfish kind
of way, when we look sort of form the outside in, instead of from the inside out, we can
really see what truth is. What is our truth? How can we be authentic to ourselves, to the
world and acting the way that feels right within us? Because I think maybe we try to
get a new job, or find a new relationship, and we think that we need to become something
or someone, while that could be possibly true in a sense, as long as we are true to our
selves, I think we can't stay wrong. And people say "well, I am just a rude person naturally"
but if you looked inside you will find out that you are not a rude person naturally,
you are rude because you have some defence mechanism, so emet is the truth, it is looking
within yourself, and saying "here I am" Darren Williger: You know what, I would have
to say that's true. All of us play our part through our lives, through our careers, we
have different personalities that are displayed through our families, friends with significant
others, when we are in a performance or speaking, everybody has his different dimensions that
we are able to interpret and share and communicate with. But as he said, if the truth comes from
the heard and what we say is what we say is what we mean, we are always carrying emet
with us. Rabbi Shai Specht: Rabbi Hillel says "£$%^& if
I am not for myself, who am I for? That wasn't said in a selfish way like, "well, it's all
about me, here I am" it was meant that we have to find our truth within ourselves to
be able to help other people and to be able to be more successful in business and to be
more successful in life, it more like you are in an airplane and they tell you to put
the mask on someone else who can't first before you put it on yourself instead of the other
way round, if you try to help someone else in an emergency and you haven't put on your
own mask, you will not be able to do it. So it is the same for life. We have to find a
balance within ourselves, and that's our emet, our truth, then we have to go out and speak
that and speak our truth, and that doesn't mean that we go out and tell people that their
truth is wrong, maybe just go out and live by example and live the way that is authentic
to us. Darren Williger: There are those who think
and that definitely resonates strong with everybody, Rabbi Shai Specht: I think Darren that If
people join our daily list and come up with with us on this journey are actually going to find
out more on how to actually find you own authenticity and your truth, your emet and how to really
walk around as a more successful person. Successful in your business, successful in your relationship
and even within yourself, feeling good about who you are. How many of us sometimes or always
feel a little kind of inadequate? So how do we get away from that and how do we value
our selves enough so that we can go out into the world and help other people as well.
Darren Williger: It feels so strong, think about the medium we are using right now, the
video, the social medial with the ability to be really transparent, and what you see
is what you get, there is something I think we might both learn as we embrace twitter,
making videos and everything which is that we cannot have ten different personalities,
we have to just be ourselves and hope that everybody can find a little bit of themselves
that connects because it seems to be what has opened a lot of doors for each of us.
Rabbi Shai Specht: Exactly, we navigate through our barriers, we navigate through how we get
through having to overcome your barriers, being on a video, being on a social network,
giving a class in front of people, and once you find your way, you see that the world
opens up, the universe opens up, and you can really see things happening for you, you can
see things happening for other people, and the more you give, the more you get back.
Darren Williger: Well there is a philosophy and I really believe in that, we used the
tern the other day about the onion peel, talking about how through life sometimes we can just
take and shed a layer, and as we do so we are able to see, understand and interpret
that much clearer. Rabbi Shai Specht: Exactly, exactly that what
happens with our choice and the words of wisdom from our ancestors, they are there, they seem
to be on the page, they are there, when we read them on the surface, and we say it's
clear cut, they say that, don't do this, don't do that.... But when we get in and peel that
onion, we find that it's a lot intricate and it really hits home, once we peel our own
onion, and allow ourselves to do that, it is a process, it doesn't happen overnight,
then we free ourselves. We free ourselves form blocks, from not doing something we want
to do, achieving a goal we want to achieve, not pursuing the person we want to pursue...
Darren Williger Everything we learn just opens up, even in Buddhism, because this isn't just
a class about Buddhism, it is a class about life, we talk about satori and how sometimes,
you just get that instinct and enlightenment where something you may have looked in about
a thousand times can be looked at completely different, every moment forward...Do we have
a word for that? Rabbi Shai Specht: Well it is the word emet.
And really, it is to find that place where...it is an intricate balance, it is not just finding
yourself, and totally shutting the whole world out, it's how do you balance that inner self,
finding yourself, being comfortable, and at the same time really being conscious that
there is a world around us, there is a universe around us, there is a belief system perhaps,
we are all tapped into that. So as we cannot be in an island of our own, we have to also
give out to the world. Darren Williger Without any doubt, what we
put out there we get back whether it be through direct energy, through love, through light,
it might be through knowledge even putting money out there into circulation, it seems
to create the circle of flow and the element, the satori, the awesome ability to interpret
is something that we can actually continue to grow and share from.
Rabbi Shai Specht: Exactly, Exactly, Darren Williger: I guess we should wrap up
our call today Rabbi Shai, next week, we should be discussing poem.
Rabbi Shai Specht: Yes. We shall be looking at the Jewish Madigraph, so if you want to
tune in, it's a lot of fun. Darren Williger: And don't miss out, I heard
rumours there is going to be boxing rabbis and crazy customs.....am not sure, we'll see....
Rabbi Shai Specht: Am not sure, we'll see, we'll find out...
Darren Williger: Do you want to say any parting words here or should we just sigh out?
Rabbi Shai Specht: I just want to say that you come join us on a great journey, come
sign up for our mailing list, and you will find information soon, very soon it is coming
out, and we will all discover, we will all explore, and we will all be enlightened together.
Darren Williger: Very Good, Love and Light to all and thanks for tuning to Torah talk!
Rabbi Shai Specht: Lots of love and light and Shalom.
Darren Williger: Shalom