Don't bring The Torah down to their level

B"H

Team HaShem TeShuva Story!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well. I am a bit hesitant to share my story of Teshuva (till some extent, a lot more to do) but every time I read or watch a Baal Teshuva or a convert story, it's an exciting journey that brings me much more closer to G-D by shaking the dust and making me investigate my actions. Very helpful!!!

G-D willing I hope this inspires someone else also to not only share their stories but do more for HaShem and earn more for eternity!!!

I came to US for college from Ethiopia 5 years ago and we didn't have fast, cheap internet back home.

Having the world’s information at my hands was an exciting thing and I felt I can use it to my advantage.

My primary goal in life at that point was to make as much money possible. I looked at the people that went to college and obviously they made decent living but I craved more. So I started searching more about famous entrepreneurs and trying to learn their common traits and so forth but in the back of my mind I had one question and that was why get money and I kept answering to do good, help others but then I would ask why do good, who told you to do good. It was a question that didn't answer but non the less the earthly pleasures money can get was enough for me to research these billionaires. At some point I found that the being Jewish increases your likelihood of being a billionaire and this was fascinating. I was always oblivious to Israel and The Jews and figured nothing major out of it. Just worldly political matters. Although when my brother taught me "the old testament" as a little kid, I remember being so excited asking him are we the Jews and he said no and it did break my heart even as a little kid.

So back to when I was in college, I started doing more research on this matter and the more I did basic google searches I learned that the logical earthly explanation of Jews success on earth was their intellect. But unfortunately if you search about Jews on the internet and their success what comes up is conspiracy theories that is drenched with the worst type of stupidity and hate.

Since I was a kid I always rooted for the underdog and the more I saw how the Jewish people were persecuted by the nations throughout time and how still the internet is hating on them, I developed an affinity to them plus they just keep winning!!! Then I started asking people around me what they thought about Jews and their answer had fear and discomfort in their tone. So obviously I got a little paranoid at that point figured maybe the illuminati is true and maybe I should not try to be a billionaire but then I said to myself I'm not gonna be broke my whole life and I'm def not gonna be scared of any illuminati, I got G-D on my side (as if G-D is my side kick). So more research continued.

One day everything changed. I saw this paper that concluded about how Jews were smart because they made religious learning their tradition. By then I would have been familiar with Chabad, Jewish understanding of the world and even Rav Yosef Mizrachi's lectures but took it as a source of pearls of wisdom just like Tony Robbins.

I didn't take The Torah seriously but I understood " the narrative" (that's how low I was). From Rav Mizrachi lectures I also understood about public revelation of The Torah but didn't see much of it rather than the fact that how every other religion besides Judaism started with folklore or one person’s experience.

But then couple of ideas clicked in my head

The Jews are obligated to not intermarry with other nations

The Jews are also obligated to study the Torah diligently

The Jews are obligated to teach their children Torah and pass it to every generation

The Jews have been doing this for 3,000 years

The brain is like any muscle, with training it can be improved

If you take a body builder that works out every day and have their kids also keep working out and they also marry to body builders ten generations later those kids are going to be very strong.

Same concept, if The Jews studied Torah, married their offspring to other Jews who studied Torah, made their children also study Torah in a couple of generation their kids are going to be very smart.

But that was not the main thing.

Why would the Jews study anything and develop their brain 3000 years ago. There weren't lawyers, programmers and doctors back then. No one succeeded back then by training their brain. There was no earthly incentive to learn. EXCEPT the incentive had to be BEYOND EARTH.

When The Nation Of Israel received The Torah, I could not imagine the shock that went through them. THE CREATOR OF ALL REALITY spoke to them. If it really happened it would have traumatized (in a great way) all 3 million people that were present. If it really happened, you would be a fool not to follow what THE CREATOR would command you to do especially with all the warnings and consequences that would follow if you don't.

So taking The Revelation at Mount Sinai as True, it makes sense why The Jews would be the smartest nation on earth. They did not marry outside of the nation and The Jews would learn Torah for 3000 years even when all the nations were ploughing fields because they had Fear of G-D. and Fear motivated them to take Torah study, marrying within the nation and teaching children Torah seriously thus affecting generations to come.

I listened to lectures more and I started doing more research. Although I was convinced I had to answer some questions that always made me see religion as folklore. The major one I had and most people have is the age of the earth. I have attached a link about an explanation of Dr. Schroeder work by Rabbi Moshe Zeldman (Aish Torah) about relativity of time according to mass and gravity.

Here is the jist, when you try to swat a fly, the fly responds fast. From our perspective it seems as if the fly is fast but from the fly's perspective we are very slow. The fly doesn’t see it self-moving very fast it sees us as very slow. Time is relative according to mass (the law of relativity by Einstein).

Taking that as True, The Torah' description of 5 days of creation before Adam was created VS humans’ calculation of 14.8 billion years since the big bang can be the same observation just at two different locations of mass thus having different perspectives on time. One is seeing it from earth perspective from a human and the other is the perspective of The Torah outside of earth before human was created. Also think of this, when The Torah describes the creation of reality it describes a fluctuation between evening and morning and call each cycle a day but it’s not the day that we are familiar with because sun and moon were created on the fourth day. How can it be the fourth day that the sun and moon were created? The sun should have been created before the first day!!!

Please watch the video attached as it is a great explanation to this also watch Dr. Schroeder's whole take on Torah and science. Great content. He lectures at Aish Ha'Torah in Jerusalem.

Once I learned this, I knew science is playing catch up on The Torah. The Torah's claim no matter how crazy it may sound, it was not there for a false or wrong way. It had a divine purpose that a mere mortal with a dying brain cannot simply comprehend. Then came also about how dinosaurs were mentioned in The Torah, chariots in the red sea, proof of the sun stopping for Joshua at war by Nasa, the number of planets described in The Torah accurately, how the healing of circumcision on the 8th day couldn't have been invented by man and so forth. The more you learn the more you understand that the world is a complete falsehood hiding Judaism and how fortunate one is to align and die as a G-D fearing person according to Torah.

So a year later, I knew much more but I was not changing. I was still acting like a brute animal. No change in middot. Even knowing all of these and knowing its true didn't change me. I did not Fear G-D.

Then came my first encounter. I got thrown out of college (thank G-D it was a "liberal arts protestant college") and I was ready to be deported. I had 50k worth in student debt and my family couldn't afford it. I couldn't bear the shame of being deported. I had no one to rely on. I was homeless and hungry I couldn't save myself. Everything looked bleaked. Then I prayed to G-D out of fear of problems to help me and vowed to change my ugly ways. I found 2000 dollars in one day which I needed heavily with no job. I knew I just witnessed a miracle and I couldn't be ungrateful anymore. But that didn't cut it. I continued being a fool. Then I got another problem. Same thing deportation, being scared of humiliation. This time I firmly undertook on myself to be modest. It was a huge leap for me and Thank G-D with constant shuir by The Rav's and dread of G-D's punishments I became a modest and morally fit man. Started GAURDING MY EYES, then the whole nine yards. Best decision of my life. Blessings came and although I needed to do more my problems were alleviated.

If I can tell you anything is to know that the Torah is true. Not believe. If you are on an 80 story building and forced to jump you don't believe you will die you know you will die. A person at that moment can easily say I believe I can fly and it would not be a false statement. When you say I believe in G-D you are saying I have doubts if G-D exists. Most people confuse the word believe with faith. Faith is knowing all good and all bad comes from The Creator for our ultimate benefit. Very hard thing to reach and I’m trying every day to accept that but I think everyone should know that G-D is not a figment of our imagination and The Torah is from G-D and every small or  big, bad or good, vague or clear comes from G-D. We are G-D's figment of imagination.

Second thing, get Scared of G-D's punishments. In this generation of useless anxiety and material blindness, its hard but fear G-D. Best way listen to Shuir constantly. For instance The last Shuir I listened to (what happens when you treat G-D with casualness) gave me so much clarity that I literally felt safe. As if I knew with full confidence that if I listen to this shuir consistently I would make it to heaven or at least out do my past delusions of earthly gains. Consistency is key, grab headphones get the app so even if you are doing something else you are still listening. EVERYDAY.

Third but not last, help others do Teshuva. Send a link, give cds, brain storm ideas, support monetary and time wise. JUST DO SOMETHING. ITS SCARY TO BE ASKED WHY YOU DIDNT HELP OTHERS. IT REALLY IS. but don't let it come at the expense of your righteousness. It’s easy to slide to sin on this one. Don't go to the club to do Kiruv. Most likely you will sin.

The Rav taught that even Avraham Avinu had to leave the environment he was initially in. Safe to say us much more. Rav Yosef Mizrachi also taught in a recent lecture "Don't bring The Torah down to their level rather bring them to the level of The Torah". With the internet we can use YouTube ads to target all secular Jews in Israel with great shuirs. Short and to the point. The best thing it would barely affect our righteousness but give them the message 24/7 every time they open a foolish YouTube video. We need money for this so let’s step it up on monetary gain and obviously Invest on the right stock. By low on earth and cash in heaven very high!!!  Maximize kiruv tremendously.

With G-D's will we will do Teshuva, Am Yisrael will do Teshuva and all of humanity will do Teshuva before The Righteous Messiah arrives.

Last but not least Rav Yaron Reuven, Rav Efraim, Team HaShem Thank You Thank You Thank You. Let’s try our best every day!!!

Sincerely,

Must watch Shuir: What Happens When We Treat HaShem With Casualness

Shuir about 14.5 billion vs 5.5 days: The Great Clash: Issues of Judaism & Science

Amanuel Bayable

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