All right, Rabotai (my masters), today we're learning about loving Hashem, right? This is the Pele Yoetz; it's opening up. The first chapter he's learning is what? Loving Hashem. And he writes, “There's no greater thing in life than loving Hashem.” Do you love Hashem? Did you say, “I love you, Hashem,” today? “No, Rabbi, I said Modeh Ani.” I said Modeh Ani, yeah, that's very good. But did you say, “I love you, Hashem,” today? Did you, yes or no? Did you? You didn't say it yet? Come on, it's late in the day. At least you have to say it. “I love you, Hashem.” Say, “I love you, Hashem.” “I love you, Hashem.” Really mean it. Really mean it. Really mean it.
You know what it is? He says, he writes over here, “There's no greater thing that you can do, have in life, than loving Hashem.” Because when you love Him, everything else follows through. Everything else follows through. When you love somebody so much, when you love somebody so much, you're willing to do everything and anything for Him, no matter what. Imagine you have your best friend forever. You grew up with him in kindergarten, first grade, second grade. You ever have a friend like that? First grade, second grade, third grade, through elementary, through high school. You know, you guys did everything together. Now he needs a favor from you. He asks you, “Oh, by the way, Albert, can you do me a favor? Can you take this?” And it's not hard. “Oh, it'll be my pleasure. I'd love to do it. Of course. What are you, kidding me? I'll do it in a second.” He calls you. He calls you. You'll do it in a second. If you love Hashem, you're willing to do everything for Him.
And how do you love Hashem? First of all, very simple. Look what He gave you. The fact that you're alive—isn't it a gift that He gave you? He gave you a gift: you're alive. Yeah, that's it, you're alive, finished. What kind of gift is that? How awesome it is to breathe! Ah, you're breathing. You don't need—I saw one time a guy had a whole item to breathe, a machine. You don't have to have a machine. You're breathing, regular. You see, Shabbat Shalom, you see? You think it's a joke to see? You know how many people have eye problems? You know how many people in the world? You can see, Shabbat Shalom. Use it for good things, right? Right? Right? You have a mind, you have a healthy mind, you know what it is? Come on, come on. So you can't, first of all, you can't start, chas v'shalom (God forbid), complaining in life. You have to be grateful in life.
And now he writes, he says, think about it. You think about it more and more and more and more, all the things. David HaMelech, the Gemara of Masechet Berachot—the Gemara says David HaMelech thanked Hashem, listen to this, listen to this, you won't even believe it, thanked Hashem that he didn't die in his mother's womb. Think about it. The Gemara—you ever thanked Hashem that you were born and you didn't die in your mother's womb? Never thought about it in your life. What? Think about it. You know how scary that is? You were one time in your mother's womb. And there was all water there, scary, all water, and this, and that, you know, you're another human being. You're another human being. You know how many things can go wrong? You know how many things can go wrong to actually come back and come out of life? Who knows? And Baruch Hashem, you made it. David HaMelech thanked Hashem that he made it, because he understood what life is about. He understood to appreciate every single thing in life. Appreciate everything in life. And when you do it, by the way, you'll live a better life in this world, and you'll have a better life in general every day in your life. Every day of your life. To enjoy every single thing about it. It's amazing. It's amazing. Hashem, you gave me everything. You gave me this. You gave me that. You gave me this. You gave me that. I got to do more. I got to do more. I got to do more. I got to do more.
You know, there's always a question. You know, what's the first commandment? If you were to write it, what would you write? “I am Hashem that created the world.” He didn't say that. “I am Hashem that took you out of Egypt.” That's what he told me. That's how you create the whole world. You know why? You might think, in general, you might think, you created the world for this, for that. But Hashem took you out of Egypt. You were physically in Egypt. That's all every single day in Shema. Because you yourself were there. You were, you know, you're right here. Whatever it was. You're a nation. You were there. He took you out. Your whole life. You're indebted. Your whole life you were a slave. “I'm out.” “Yeah. Let me have more. I want to do more and more.” Where's that good? The recognition of the good.
You start loving Hashem. Think about all the blessings that He gave you. And don't tell me, “Oh, not me. You don't know where I'm going.” No, no, no. Whatever you're going through, you have so much blessing in your life. The problem is, you don't see it because you're not dissecting it. You're not looking into it. Look at how much blessing, if you would actually contemplate how much blessing you have in your life. Forget about it. Forget about it. Look at the Beracha (blessing) that you have. The fact that you're a religious Jew, that you're listening to this now, is a Beracha. You know how many people have no clue what they're doing? You know how many people in the world? When you find that you're listening to Torah right now at this moment, you have to be thankful to Hashem. “Wow, I can't believe it. I have the zechut (merit) to learn Torah. Wow!” You have to feel grateful for it. And you have to love Him, and you have to say it. My kids, before they go to sleep, they know. You know when you put your kid to sleep? They say, “Shema!” You know the thing, Shema! It's part of it. “Shema Yisrael (Hear, O Israel)!” They say, “I love you, Hashem.” One of my kids doesn't go to sleep until they thank Hashem for three things. It's an amazing thing. “I thank Hashem for this thing, I thank Hashem for that thing. And every night it's a new thing I thank you for.” I can't believe it. She's four years old. Four years old. She says, “I love you, Hashem,” before you go to sleep. You say, “Shema!” Say, “I love you, Hashem!” And he writes, every mitzvah (commandment) that I said, it's a mitzvah from the Torah. One of the 600 Torah mitzvot is to love Hashem. And love Hashem with all your heart. Love God with all your heart. Wonderful day.