Transcript [00:00] The chauffar. [00:00] >> Yes. [00:01] >> Okay. So, is this just like a [00:04] ritualistic [00:06] musical instrument that is used on rash [00:09] sha that we're supposed to hear and [00:11] great check the box like it's just part [00:13] of the service or is there something [00:16] deeper? [00:16] >> Thanks for the layup. Nothing's just a [00:18] part of the service as we said. [00:21] >> Not just like a Russash on a holiday [00:23] instrument. The chauffear. [00:24] >> The chauffar. [00:26] where there are actually about 11 [00:28] different reasons for the chauffar. The [00:30] Torah begins by saying that God blew the [00:34] soul into us. Literally our life force [00:37] and [music] [00:38] separate point into the nose. The soul, [00:41] the Torah says, [00:44] God blew the soul into the nose. That's [00:46] why in Jewish meditation, [music] we [00:48] breathe through our nose specifically. [00:51] >> I feel it already here. Because [00:52] breathing through your nose calms you [00:54] down and brings you into the present [00:56] moment and sends a message to your [00:57] system that you're safe. But it also [00:59] connects you directly into your soul. In [01:01] fact, the word for breath is nishima and [01:04] the word for soul is nisha. [01:06] >> Beautiful. [01:07] >> So at the beginning and this happened on [01:09] rashana on the sixth day. God blew the [01:12] soul into us. So what the chauffear [01:15] represents is I'm blowing it back to [01:18] Hashem, which means I'm using my life [01:21] force to bring godliness into the world. [01:23] I'm declaring [01:26] there's there's more to life. [music] [01:28] There's spirituality. There's real [01:29] spirituality. The example I thought of a [01:31] couple of years ago is I bought my [01:33] daughter uh rollerblades for her [01:35] birthday. And the first thing she did, [01:38] she put on the rollerblades and she [01:40] said, "What can I get you, Aba?" [01:41] >> Oh, sweetheart. [01:42] >> I was like, "Great. go and get me that [01:44] book. So she used the gift I gave her [01:47] [music] to serve me. So that's a [01:49] relationship with Hashem. Hashem gave me [01:51] the gift of soul and now I say I'm going [01:53] to use my soul to bring God [01:54] consciousness into the world. So that's [01:56] the most basic understanding. We have [01:59] another understanding [music] really [02:00] from the Rambam [02:02] which is my monities which is a wakeup [02:05] call. It said literally ulu uru this [02:09] idea that I was saying before that most [02:11] people are going through life kind of [02:13] half asleep and I'm just getting up in [02:15] the morning eating my same cereal going [02:18] to my same job having my same [02:19] relationships just [music] kind of [02:22] getting through life. It only ever [02:24] happened to me after I had kids but [02:26] somehow I'm in the car and I would end [02:28] up where I was meant to be. Wherever I [02:30] was driving I'm like how did I even get [02:33] here? I drove. I was awake but it's like [02:36] my mind was somewhere else. I was I just [02:39] like I somehow found myself my way to [02:41] carpool or the supermarket or the gas [02:42] station. [02:43] >> So most people get to the age of 90 and [02:45] they'd say wa [02:46] >> really like what happened? Where was I? [02:49] >> Yeah. [02:49] >> So we have this idea in Jewish [02:51] mindfulness called panesh which means [02:54] scattered. [music] [02:56] We're very scattered. I'm thinking about [02:58] this and I'm dealing I'm juggling. Most [03:00] people are juggling life. Yes. [03:02] >> I got my health. I got my career. I got [03:04] my relationships. I got my juggling. [03:06] >> One of the my favorite things that I [03:08] ever said, if I could say so myself, I [03:10] wrote it in my first book. It's like no [03:12] one teaches you how to juggle unless you [03:13] join the circus. And it's [music] like I [03:16] just life is literally a juggle. Someone [03:19] spoke about it like a game of a [03:20] whack-a-ole where you're just like [03:22] whacking it down and putting out fires. [03:23] But that that's like the feeling. [03:25] >> Beautiful. So, we're saying let's stop [03:27] juggling. How do you stop juggling? Once [03:30] I have a clear goal, once I know who I [03:32] want to be, then I'm not juggling. I'm [03:34] seeing how does my health and my [03:36] relationships and my and my career fit [03:39] into where I'm going. So, I'm not really [03:41] juggling anymore because it's I'm just [03:43] asking myself, is what I'm doing getting [03:46] me to where I want to go? But it means I [03:48] have to have a very clear vision of [03:49] where I want to go. [03:50] >> Because otherwise, that's like I was [03:51] saying, as a frazzled, scattered mother, [03:54] a million balls in the air and no idea [03:57] how to keep them all up. How do they not [04:00] drop? [04:00] >> Nice. So, breathing through your nose, [04:02] >> right? And thinking about putting them [04:04] down [04:05] >> and where do I want to go? There's [04:07] another Alice in Wonderland quote I [04:08] always hear from Rabbi Berg, our CEO. [04:10] He's like, [music] if you don't know [04:11] where you're going, any road will get [04:12] you there. [04:13] >> Nice. [04:14] >> So, you're saying figure out where you [04:16] want to go [04:17] >> and then see how all of your balls that [04:20] you're juggling or your I think of it [04:22] also as treading water. Most people are [04:24] just treading water and then another [04:25] wave comes and I got to deal with that. [04:28] So, we're saying just go and sit on the [04:30] beach for a moment. [04:31] >> Or which balls can you put down to your [04:32] night of the juggling thieves? So, both [04:34] options or put balls down and sit on the [04:36] beach. [laughter] [04:37] >> I like the [04:38] >> beautiful. [music] [04:38] >> So, [04:39] >> so, so the chauffear is that the [04:41] chauffeur is wake up. Wake up. Stop just [04:43] going through the motions. [music] If [04:45] you ask people how are you generally is [04:48] I'm okay, not too bad. Hanging in there, [04:50] getting by. Could be worse. Fight. It's [04:53] just like wow, you're not alive. [04:54] >> So depressing. [04:55] >> Yeah. [clears throat] [04:56] So it's it's [music] it's saying wake [04:59] up, wake up, stop being a zombie. This [05:01] is actually what a muza is meant for as [05:03] well. The my mand also says a muza when [05:06] you walk past a muza on the door, it's [05:08] not just some thing you stick on the [05:10] door is meant to look pretty. It's meant [05:12] to be a wakeup call. The whole of [05:13] Judaism is a mindfulness tour. Really, [05:15] everything we do, a blessing before we [05:17] eat, mindfulness. You're meant to put on [05:19] your right shoe first and your left [05:20] shoe. Not cuz God's judging you and you [05:22] get punished if you put on your left [05:23] shoe first, but it's meant to be a [05:25] mindfulness tool. The chauffar is a [05:27] mindfulness tool. Absolutely. The [05:28] chauffeur and it's meant [music] to be [05:31] wake up. [05:31] >> Wake up. Wake up. Be alive. Be truly [05:33] alive. But remember, we define life as [05:36] connected, spiritually connected and [05:38] full of vitality. How many people do you [05:40] know who are actually full of vitality? [05:42] Most people are kind of dragging [05:44] themselves through life and they're very [05:46] uptight and intense. [music] So the the [05:50] chauva is saying don't forget who you [05:52] are. when I lived in India cuz I lived [05:54] in India for I lived in India for a year [05:56] and a half but in Asia for 6 years. So [05:58] there was a guru and he told this story. [06:01] One day there was a pregnant lioness and [06:03] she was walking along and she fell down [06:04] a cliff and she died. As she died the [06:08] lion cub was born. So the lion cub steps [06:11] up and he sees some animals. So he says [06:13] this must be my family and he goes up to [06:15] a big one and he like feeds a little bit [06:17] and he joins. Happens to be a flock of [06:19] sheep but he didn't know that. So he [06:22] thinks he's a sheep and he's walking [06:23] around and he's playing sheep games and [06:25] he learns to eat like a sheep and speak [06:27] like a sheep and think like a sheep and [06:29] he's being a sheep and he's he's a very [06:32] good sheep and he believes in the sheep [06:34] god and he does sheep he's got the sheep [06:35] values. One day the lion king comes [06:38] along and he's very hungry. So he sees [06:41] all these sheep. He's very excited. So [06:42] he starts running to catch a sheep. And [06:44] in the middle of the flock of sheep, he [06:46] sees a lion cub. Says like, "What's [06:48] going on?" He runs over to the lion cub, [06:49] picks him up and says to him, "What are [06:51] you doing?" So the lion cub is like, [06:56] he's like, "What are you doing?" He's [06:57] like, "I'm running away from the lion." [06:59] So the lion king says to this sheep, [07:01] lion lamb cup thing says, [music] "But [07:04] but you are a lion." And this this sheep [07:07] lion cub lamb says no I'm a sheep. So [07:10] the lion says to him come with me. And [07:12] he looks in the water. He said look at [07:14] yourself in the water. So he looks and [07:16] he sees a reflection of a lion cub and [07:19] he get very shocked and he says I don't [07:21] know what you're doing. You're you're [07:22] fooling me. That's not who I really am. [07:24] And then the lion lets out a roar [07:29] a bit and something within the lion cub [07:31] wakes up and he realizes I'm a lion. I'm [07:35] a lion now. Then he needs to [07:38] >> now he needs to relearn though. He's got [07:40] to learn how to think like a lion and [07:42] eat like a lion and speak like a lion. [07:45] And that was a story. So the guru then [07:46] says you're a soul. You're a soul and [07:50] you've been born into a body and you're [07:52] acting like a sheep and you you're [07:53] saying bad things and jealousy and doubt [07:56] and fear and worry and anger and hatred. [07:59] So you're you're basically acting like a [08:00] sheep but don't forget who you really [08:02] are. You're a lion. Stop [music] being a [08:03] sheep. So that's what chuva that's what [08:06] repentance really is. So that was the [08:08] story. came to Israel many years later [08:11] and I started learning Torah and I [08:14] realized the story the story is very [08:16] very Torah based because water is [08:19] [music] [08:20] related to Torah. So when I came to [08:23] Judaism, someone said to me, "Look, [08:24] you're a Jew. Why are you pursuing [08:26] Hinduism and Buddhism and all your stuff [08:29] you're doing? You're a Jew. Be a Jew." [08:30] And I was like, "No, Judaism is not [08:32] good. I don't like Judaism. I don't [08:34] connect to Judaism. I'm spiritual. [08:35] Judaism seems not spirit." And then they [08:38] said, "Look in the Torah, which is [08:40] water." And I said, "No, this doesn't [08:42] relate to me." And then what's the roar [08:44] of the lion? That's the chauffeur. [08:47] When you hear the chauffear is meant to [08:49] wake you up and say, "Look, you're a [08:51] soul. You're a lion. Why are you being a [08:53] sheep? You're such a amazing [08:56] powerful radiant being of divine light. [08:59] And you're just getting so sucked into [09:01] your raw. I'm a mother. I'm a wife. I'm [09:03] a this." And [music] life becomes heavy. [09:06] So the chauffi is meant to reconnect you [09:08] to your soul, wake you up. This is who [09:10] you really are. That's the chauffeur. [09:11] >> I love that. [09:14] >> Yeah. I'll just say I I got so [09:16] emotional, Rabbi, because it reminds me [09:19] very much of the story of the Holocaust [09:21] [music] where first of all, I'm very [09:22] connected because all four of my [09:24] grandparents were survivors. And um in [09:27] general, some children were saved, were [09:30] taken in by the monasteries and [09:33] protected from being children in the [09:35] concentration camps. And they were taken [09:38] at a young age [music] separately from [09:40] their families. And they were raised in [09:43] in the co in the convent just like all [09:47] the other Christian orphan children [09:48] there. And [music] after the war, those [09:52] that survived had known that the church [09:56] had hidden some of the children and kept [09:57] them safe. And when they came back [09:59] asking for the children, the Jewish [10:01] children back. So I'm not exactly sure [10:03] what happened, but many of the convents [10:05] did not want to give them up. They had [10:07] raised them as Catholics. the children. [10:09] They had converted the children and they [10:10] wanted to keep the children. And the [10:13] rabbi said, "Just let me in. Let me see [10:15] if I recognize anyone cuz, [music] you [10:17] know, they're all dressed the same. They [10:18] look alike. They're not going to find [10:19] them anymore. It's been years and years. [10:20] They've been they've been raised to be [10:23] just like good churchgoing children." [10:26] And [music] [10:26] they screamed out the rabbi the shama [10:30] prayer. [10:33] But I screamed I can't even get the [10:35] words out. And you see Jewish children [10:38] both one reflexively covering their eyes [10:41] like a reflex is what we do in the [10:43] prayer where the rabbi said [10:46] and the children answered hashemad [10:47] [music] they knew the end after years [10:50] because that's one of the first prayers [10:51] that we teach our Jewish children and [10:54] that is you're a Jew you might look like [10:57] you know all of the other orphans here [10:59] in the church you might have been raised [11:01] like as a Catholic here in the church [11:03] [music] but you're a Jew [11:04] >> beautiful saying remember who you really [11:06] are. [11:07] >> Just a final idea, the chauffeur, it [11:09] says that when the Messiah comes, which [11:11] means God consciousness for the whole [11:13] world, not just for the Jewish people. [11:15] When the temple is rebuilt, it's not [11:16] just for the Jewish people, it's for [11:18] everyone. It's it's peace on earth [11:20] literally. You know, you hear those [11:21] ideas, peace on earth, and the lion will [11:24] lie down with the wolf with the lamb. [11:27] And they're cute ideas. We really [11:29] believe that there's meant to be this [11:31] ultimate state of healed humanity [11:34] and that when the Messiah does arrive [11:36] there the chauffear will be blown. So [11:39] when we blow the chauffear we're saying [11:40] that we're saying we're re recreating [11:42] rash shana we're recreating life in the [11:45] world but we want an ideal life once [11:47] again not just individually and not just [11:50] for the Jewish people but for the whole [11:51] of humanity. In fact rashash shana is [11:53] said to be the holiday for the whole of [11:55] humanity because Adam wasn't Jewish. [11:57] Adam was created. Human, it's basically [11:58] the birthday of humanity. And at the [12:01] moment, humanity is very, very, very [12:03] sick. Very [music] sick. The world's [12:05] full of abuse and war and sickness. So, [12:07] we're blowing the chauffear to to herald [12:09] in the days of higher consciousness with [12:12] the whole of humanity. [music] [12:13] >> Is it so that we recognize the sound [12:16] when it happens? Is it so that we say, [12:20] "We God, we want this to happen. Bring [12:22] it." [12:23] >> Is it so that we recognize that it will [12:26] happen? So, it's faith that it will [12:27] eventually happen. It is all of those [12:29] things. [12:29] >> Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes. All of [12:32] those things. [12:32] >> Yeah. [12:33] >> All of those things. We want it now. [12:35] We're bringing it. We're praying for it. [12:37] We're remembering it. We're asking faith [12:39] that it will come. [12:39] >> Have faith that it will come. All of [12:41] those things. It's a It's just a [12:43] complete wakeup call to [music] to the [12:46] being sucked down into this everyday [12:49] hustle, bustle, scattered life. And just [12:52] I see an ideal me and I see an ideal [12:55] world.
