7 Ways to Recharge Your Mind and Spirit

Rabbi Evan Moffic uses this show to discuss the importance of the Sabbath and rest. He looks at how today’s society is often rushed and that we don’t stop enough to appreciate what we have. He discusses the secret to getting things done is to take time off. He ends the show reminding us to examine why we want to be successful in the first place.

Announcer 0:02
Welcome to the Solomon Success Show where we explore the timeless wisdom of King Solomon and the Bible as it relates to business and investing false prophets and get rich quick schemes are everywhere. Let’s not be distracted by these. Instead, let’s go to the source, the eternal principles that create a life of peace, power and prosperity. Here’s our host, Jason Hartman.

Jason Hartman 0:31
Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Solomon success show biblical principles for business and investing. Today we have one of our clients as a guest host, and that is Rabbi Evan malefic.

Rabbi Evan Moffic 0:45
So I hope you enjoy the interview. Welcome to the Solomon success Show. I’m Rabbi Evan malefic. I’m a friend and client of Jason and he was kind enough to extend the invitation to co host the show. I’m an author and a rabbi who believes passionately in the message of the Bible, and I see it as a guide, and source of wisdom for people of all faiths. Now, you might be wondering what you can learn from a rabbi, if you’re not Jewish. And I know that many of the listeners of this show aren’t. But the way we read the Bible, the way we read the wisdom of Solomon, is in a universal way, I answer the questions I look at these texts as someone who cherishes them and studies them from the Jewish tradition, but I write about them and interpret them in a way that’s for people of all faiths. Judaism is the world’s oldest religion, because it has a message of meaning and purpose for people of all faiths. And that’s what and have no faith. And that’s what we’re going to learn in this show. We’re going to learn serious wealth building principles, but not just principles from material wealth, principles for leading a true life of meaning and purpose. Because the greatest source of wealth is not money, although money’s wonderful money’s nice. But it’s time. It’s relationships. It’s ways of connecting with those around us. And that’s really what the Solomon success principles are about. They’re not about get rich quick schemes. They’re about real guidelines, tricks, habits, perspectives, insights, that lead us to a life of true meaning and purpose. And I think you’re going to get that out of today’s episode, because we are going to look at seven ways to recharge your mind and your spirit. And in doing so, I’m going to reveal to you the world’s greatest productivity secret. It’s not such a secret really, it’s something that’s built into the order of creation. But you’re going to learn seven ways to find calm and peace in perspective every week. Now, let me start with a story about a member of my congregation. I am a rabbi serve a large congregation. This in the suburbs. of Chicago. And there’s a member of my synagogue who has been very successful in technology in real estate, really someone who is just a tremendous individual. And we were meeting once for lunch. And he said that the secret to getting things done is that he takes off a full day every week. He said he can get more things done in six days than he could in seven. And that’s because he observed the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the day of rest and reflection. It’s a day when we set aside our daily work, all of our daily tasks, and we try to appreciate and cherish the world that God gave us. We try to make time for what really matters. So much of our day is taken up with firefighting with feeling what’s urgent, we get this email, we get this phone call, but the Sabbath, talks about what’s important. Our friends, our family, our faith, our spirit. The Sabbath gives us time to really focus on that. Those. And this recharging of our batteries that we have on the Sabbath allows us to really focus on the urgent during the week. Now you might be wondering, this is the Solomon success principles. It’s about insights for work and wealth. What does rest in the Sabbath have to do with it? And my answer is, it has everything to do with it. The Sabbath makes everything better. In fact, there’s a great Jewish tradition that food tastes better on the Sabbath, because we’ve prepared it. We’ve set our spirits and our souls in that state of mind that makes it even the food tastes better. And in some ways, the Sabbath reminds us of what we work for. You know, if you want to use the analogy of the forest and the trees think about we can get so caught up. We know that analogy we get so caught up in the trees that we lose sight of the forest. And let me take that a little bit further. We can get so caught up in the trees that we even forget that we are navigating in a forest, we forget what the forest is for Where are we going? taking time off every week reminds us of what life is all about. Happiness is not something that we attain, it’s a byproduct of the work that we do. And that’s the same with money. That’s the same with achievements. If we confuse happiness with $1 amount, or a house with a certain kind of square footage, or a certain number, if you’re a real estate, investor of doors under management, you’re confusing why we invest why we work in the first place, because those are means to an end. And the end that we seek is depth of relationships, love, purpose, meaning, and the Sabbath reminds us of that. The Sabbath is a way of taking a step back and looking at life from a 50,000 foot perspective, rather than what’s staring right in front of us. It is a tremendous gift. It’s a reminder of the why, you know, it’s a reminder of what we are doing what we’re doing for, we enjoy the fruits of our labor. In fact, in Judaism, it’s called a taste of heaven. We experience heaven on earth, while we are on earth, and we can achieve more. This is the beautiful, in a way, a paradox. By doing less, we do more. You know, it’s kind of like the same thing of getting a good night’s sleep. Maybe we can work 20 hours a day, and sleep four hours a day. But will we get as much work done as if we worked 16 hours and slept eight hours? No, we probably get more done with 16 hours in sleeping eight hours, maybe we’d get more done for a day or two with the 20 hours. But over time, our mind needs to rest. Our bodies need to rest and the Sabbath is that weekly rest. So you may be convinced you say okay, Rabbi, I get that I get that the Sabbath is something that’s important. It was something important to Solomon, you know, Fact Solomon, there’s a beautiful teaching where it says, God created Solomon and gave him a sense of shalom of peace. And the greeting that we give each other on the Sabbath is Shabbat Shalom, a peaceful Sabbath. So we know even from the Bible itself that God intended for Solomon to experience the Sabbath. So how do we find that space for the Sabbath? Let’s say you say, Rabbi, I get it. I’ve seen the studies. In fact, let me just tell you one more that a study from the Boston Consulting Group showed that when employees take more breaks, their productivity went up. Right. So the Sabbath is a break for all of us. It’s a time when we can really take a break, and figure out what our work is really for. So let’s say okay, Rabbi, you’ve convinced me, I think it’s a Solomon success principle that we’re supposed to take the Sabbath. We’re supposed to take time for perspective and rejuvenation. How do I do it? Well, I’m going to give you seven steps. And by the way, If you want a copy of these seven steps, just send a text, send a text to a what’s that number 66866. And text the word Solomon, s o l o m o n. And then it’ll automatically text you back, you put in your email, and I’ll send you a copy of the seven steps. I’ve talked about these seven steps at churches at conferences around the country. And here they are. The first step, the first way that we can find that sense of Sabbath peace of purpose is to not spend money. Take one day a week, where we don’t spend anything, where we decide to appreciate to enjoy rather than consume. It’s a gift. Just try it once. Say, you know what, I’m buying stuff all the time. And sometimes maybe if I’m buying stuff all the time, I’m confusing my purchases with happiness, but I’m going to take one day where I’m not going to buy anything. I’m just going to appreciate what I have. Give it a try. So that’s the first step. Second step, and this is going to be really hard for you. It’s hard for me and let me confess, I fail at this often. I’m not as disciplined as I’d like to be. But turn off your phone. Yeah, you know what? Try it just, you know, in Judaism, the Sabbath begins on Friday evening, and goes through Saturday evening from sundown on Friday night to sunset on Saturday night. And so very orthodox Jews will turn off their phones for the whole time. But let’s say you’re going to observe the Sabbath on Sunday really doesn’t matter what day you observe it. It’s the Sabbath is a state of mind more than an actual day. But let’s say you’re going to do it Sunday. Maybe turn off your phone Sunday morning, have brunch, have breakfast with friends and turn off your phone so you can focus simply on your friends. Give it a try. Try to turn off your phone. There’s actually a there’s a whole movement around this called Digital Sabbath. Some people call it digital detox, where we actually people We tried to turn off their phones for 24 hours every week. It really does wonders. In some ways being constantly available, changes our brain changes our mind when we stop that. We remind ourselves again of what truly matters to people right in front of us. I’m warning you, it’s going to be hard. And unless you are an extremely disciplined person, you’re not going to be able to do it all the time, but give it a try. Third practice, maybe this is going to seem too religious or too, woohoo to some people. But like candles. In Judaism, the tradition is on Friday evening, you like to candles, these candles symbolize the presence of God. Light is that symbol of God in our midst. And that lighting the candles symbolizes a kind of transition, where we’re going from the time of work, the days of work, to a time of rest, and lighting candles symbolizes that transition very powerful. B triggers our hearts. There’s this wonderful story about a rabbi who grew up in a very large family and his parents would like to candles for each child in the family. It was part of their ritual. So I think that he had four siblings. So they would end up lighting 10 sets of two candles, each one set for each child. And later in life, he said that those memories brought him great comfort because he was going through a difficult time he was depressed. And he thought back to those days and remembered that his life brought more light into the world. And that was a comforting memory. So light and candles have a extraordinary power, we should try a fourth practice. And again, this may seem a little bit too religious for those of you who may not be very religious, maybe you’re spiritual, but not religious, which is quite common among millennials. And I know we have a lot of fun letting our listeners but say blessings, express gratitude. You know, in Judaism, there’s a blessing that says thank you, God, for bringing us to this day in this moment. And it just acknowledges the time it acknowledges that gift to be alive right now. You know, Jason often says, it’s an amazing time to be alive. And I don’t know if Jason would describe that as a blessing, but in a way it is. It’s a blessing. And we can make it a blessing by simply saying, we thank You, God for bringing us to this amazing time to be alive. And it is. It’s an amazing time to be alive. So let’s acknowledge that. let’s acknowledge the blessings that we have, wherever we are in life, wherever we are in our journey, you know, we could be in a difficult time, but at least we have, you know, at least we’re able to listen to this podcast to listen to somebody’s voice here in Chicago, Illinois, broadcasting all over the world to dozens of different countries. What a gift it is. Now, maybe it’s not a gift, maybe. Maybe this is not informing or inspiring you I hope it is. But it’s a gift to be able to communicate and connect with people all over the world. It’s the greatest gift. A fifth practice is to study to read, you know, People don’t read as much these days, I’m an author. I’ve written, let’s say, five books, and they sell fine, they sell well, but the kind of book sales that people got 20 years ago, don’t happen today. And they’re couple of superstar authors. But we just don’t read as much, perhaps because we expect to be instantly entertained on YouTube on television. There’s so many other sources for entertainment. But reading broadens our mind in amazing ways. Because when we read, we have to picture what we’re reading, when we’re watching a YouTube or television, the pictures right there. But when we read, we imagine that and it triggers our imagination and enhances our sense of empathy and perspective. And it’s quite powerful. And reading also exposes us to amazing ideas. You know, books are one of the greatest deals in the world for 15 or $20. You get exposed to a year or two years worth of thinking and studying. Isn’t that amazing? So take time to read. Study and not just read and study stuff that you have to for school or for work, study something that expands your mind. Another practice, I think this is number six, I might have lost track here. share a meal with family and friends. You know, what I often tell people is do something differently. In Hebrew, the Sabbath is meant to be a day that set apart from the other days of the week. In some ways, we’ve kind of lost that today, because we have the weekend. Now we’re two days where we’re not supposed to work. But in ancient times, people worked all the time. And the Sabbath was a total break. In the routine. People would work with sweat on their brows for six days a week. And then the Sabbath was totally different. The Sabbath was a day of total rest. Today, we have evenings, but back then people would work all day and sleep at night. Today, we have weekends, we have leisure time, we have vacations. So the Sabbath may not mean as much but the underlying purpose was that it should be a time that’s different from the other days of the week. So let’s say you go out to dinner, a lot. Maybe on the Sabbath, you decide I’m going to share a meal at home with friends. Maybe you eat at home all the time. Maybe on the Sabbath, you go out to dinner with friends, but do something where you share a meal where you come together, or you’re hospitable, where you’re social, where you’re enhancing and bringing other people into your lives that enriches us, that deepens us. It’s a truly it’s a great gift. Finally, last thing, this is very simple, very easy. It’s take a walk, get outside, do something in nature. As part of my rabbinic training. I spent a year in Israel. And one of the things that you notice in Israel is on Saturday afternoon, which is sort of the heart of the Sabbath in Israel. You see many people of all ages, families with little kids and strollers and people in their 80s and 90s. out walking in Jerusalem, and they’re walking and smiling and talking. And it’s truly just a beautiful gift. It’s something That reminds us again, of what life is really about. I mean, I think the Sabbath is just this extraordinary gift. In fact, what some of the rabbi’s say that the reason for the story of the world being created in seven days, is to establish a Sabbath Shabbat, a day of rest is built into creation, that this is something God planted in the world. So God wants us to rest on the Sabbath, our body strive for that rest. You know, one of the interesting interpretations and I think this is psychologically true of all people is that we are every human being has different complex impulses. Part of us wants to work, create, produce, compete, this is that part of ourselves, that’s always striving, you know, this is the, the Darwinian part of us we’re always moving forward. We’re always progressing. We’re always wanting more. And there is a part of all of us that striving, but there’s also a part of us that wants to cherish and appreciate and smell the roses. That’s another part of us that wants to rest in another person’s arms and experience another person’s love and care and comfort, kind of like when we were children. And the Sabbath is a day when we can truly appreciate. It brings our life into balance. Six days of the week, we’re working, we’re creating, we’re growing, we’re producing, but then one day a week we step back, and we remind ourselves of what it’s all about. That is not just about more, more more. It’s about what is it for? And let me tell you a wonderful story I came across recently. It was evidently told it’s in john Bogle Jason has talked to john Bogle is the founder of Vanguard. Vanguard was this amazing company still exists that manages billions and billions and billions of dollars. JOHN Bogle wrote a book called enough, which is all about what do we attain wealth for? So whatever we do, whether we are beginning our career, whether we’re towards the end of our career, wherever we are in life, We can remind ourselves to be satisfied with what we have. And here’s the story. It was at a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, which I’ve been to it’s in New York. It’s his beautiful island sort of on the outskirts of the Hamptons. And Kurt Vonnegut was with his pal Joseph Heller course who wrote catch 22. And their hosts was a hedge fund manager. And Vonnegut pointed out to his friend, Joseph Heller, that this hedge fund manager makes more in a single day than Heller had earned from his novel catch 22 over its entire lifetime. Vonnegut made this observation and Heller responded to him and said, Yes, but I have something he will never have. Enough. The Sabbath reminds us that we can have enough simply by being together with friends with family, with those who care most about and appreciate the world. And that is a success principle like no other because what do we want success for? We want success. So that we can experience the beauties and joys of life. If you’re a follower of Jason, and you listen to his amazing creating wealth podcast, you have techniques for creating wealth for growing your income for growing your lifestyle. But the Solomon success show is there to remind us of what it’s all for, and what it’s all there for, so that we can look at the world and be happy with what we have, whether we may have one house, or 20 houses, and know that that’s enough. And it’s enough because we have the gift of life, and we live in an amazing time to be alive. Next week, we’re going to talk about forgiveness and getting over grudges, and making the most of our time. I’m so glad to be co hosting this. We’re also going to have some amazing guests in the future, including my friend, Rabbi Rami Shapiro who did an incredible translation of Solomon’s Book of Proverbs. We’re going to hear that soon. And I’ve also got a couple of very high profile guests that I’ve been working on. We’ll see if we’ll get them soon hopefully we’ll, we’ll be able to release those soon. And it’s wonderful. I wish all of you shalom peace. And again, if you want the physical list of those seven ways of resting our bodies and souls and observing the Sabbath in whatever way we’d like if you want seven sort of guidelines and insights, text, the word Solomon, s o l o m o n 266866. And again, I wish all of you shalom peace.

Rabbi Evan Moffic 20:30
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