Jealous Of Your Friends Cybertruck? Listen to this Ramban on Parshas Mishpatim!

Welcome to a transformative exploration of human emotions as we dive into the Ten Commandments! This episode highlights the profound wisdom encapsulated in the commandment "lo tachmod" or "do not covet." We'll uncover how this ancient instruction resonates in our contemporary lives, particularly regarding feelings of jealousy and comparison. Through the lens of Rabbinic teachings, including insights from Ibn Ezra and the Ramban, we navigate the emotional landscape that surrounds envy and its connection to our spiritual lives.

Discover how cultivating a deep trust in God not only alleviates jealousy but also empowers us to embrace our unique life paths. We challenge you to view the success of others not as competition but as a reflection of their journey—one that has nothing to do with your own. This fresh understanding invites personal growth and fosters an enriching community spirit, mitigating feelings of inadequacy that often lead to envy.

Join us in this enlightening discussion and reflect on how the wisdom of the ages can guide you toward a more fulfilling life—one where faith leads, and jealousy becomes a thing of the past. Ready to delve deeper? Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave us your thoughts!

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the Ten Commandments
• 15:00 Understanding the Meaning of “Lo Tachmod”
• 30:00 Trusting in God: The Key to Overcoming Jealousy

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

The genius, the G'ayin Reb Sadyagon, already explained to us that the Ten Commandments contain the entire Torah inside of them. When we all were standing there present for the prophecy, we heard the first two from the booming voice of the Eternal One. It started with Anokhi Hashem In the Ten Commandments. This incredible and delicious Decalogue concludes with the mitzvah of don't be jealous, lo ta'achmod, do not covet. Don't covet your friend's life. Don't covet your friend's spouse. Don't covet your friend's cyber truck. Don't covet your friend's restaurants. Don't covet your friend's anything. Live your own life and don't be jealous your friends anything. Live your own life and don't be jealous. And Ibn Ezra, commenting on the very top of the delicious Decalogue, tells us that well, tahmud, how is it possible really for us to not be jealous? Think about it If your friend has an incredible 2025 Tesla Cybertruck and that really excites you, for whatever reason, you like to drive fast or charge your cars as opposed to put good old gasoline and ethanol inside of them, Well, you're jealous. How can you be commanded, confined, restricted to live a life that does not allow for natural emotional manifestations? I'm just jealous, god. But the Ibn Ezra explains to us, because it's really a mitzvah, that is to trust in God, because when you know what your life is from God and it's about something and you're going somewhere. So, the same way that a person isn't covetous of a bird that has wings, it has nothing to do with me, it's not part of my mission, it has nothing to do with what my day will bring. Wings those are totally separate. They're cool, but that's not my life. And you trust in God that God gives you what you need. That's how you don't become jealous. And it's a famous idea, but it takes on an entirely new meaning this year.

Speaker 1: 2:34

We found the Ramban, who tells us that the entire covenant code, all the laws of monetary matters, business, the Egel Hamishpatim, all of it, all the mitzvahs, the endless mitzvahs, several, several kadris and mitzvahs of Pardos Mishpatim it also. There's nothing more than just a Hecha Timsa, a approach, an ability to be able to trust in God and not be jealous. Because the Ramban says why do we have Eila Mishpatim? It is Kineged Lotachmod. All these laws are to enable you to not be jealous. Ki em lo yeda ha'od ha'mishpat, ha'bayis va'asod eusha'aramamon.

Speaker 1: 3:15

If you don't have laws, then you don't have clearly defined rules as to what you're entitled to in business and in life and which poker chips are truly yours or your friend's, then you don't have clarity as to that's mine and that's not mine and therefore you won't be able to fall back onto your betachon, onto your trust. So we can say an even new chedesh now, a new, novel idea All of the laws of there's nothing more than to lead you to what you are truly and honestly entitled to in life, and every bit, every pruta, every penny that you're not entitled to, that's not a part of your life, that has nothing to do with your job in your world. To easily look to the side and say that's not mine. I trust in God, that's not for me and now I know. But it's not mine and I'm not jealous at all.

Speaker 1: 4:20

Lo tachmod, lo sachmod, live your own life and not care about what others have. Of course it's the central factor in our belief in God and our betachon in Hashem. But here we see that even all of the Eilat HaMishpatim are the laws. That's also there just to enable you to get to the status of being someone that's really believing and trusting in God. What an entirely new level of understanding the Ramban brings us Of the laws of the Torah, there to enable us to have proper faith in Emunah and Hashem, that what's ours is ours, and what someone else's is someone else's, and that's the only way that I want it to be.