You gotta be in it to win it!
It is a phrase we all know, a phrase that has long been associated with the New York Lottery. The man credited with coining the phrase is Bob Brown, famed radio host, who also hosted the Lotto drawings for many years. In 1982, Bob Brown said in a Lotto commercial, “Get in it to win it in ’82.”
It is so basic and true. Think about it. If you want to win the lottery, you must be in the lottery. It is as simple as that.
There is a powerful message here as it pertains to us in our lives, in the Game of Life. You gotta be in it to win it!
Parshas Vayigash begins: ויגש אליו יהודה – And Yehuda approached him (Yosef). Rashi tells us (44:32) that the reason why Yehuda championed the cause for the returned of Binyamin more so than the rest of the brothers, was because Yehuda had a lot more to lose. “They all stand on the outside of the matter and are less concerned. But I have placed myself under a firm bond to be an outcast in both worlds!” In the words of Rabbeinu Bachaya (44:32), “All my brothers are on the outside, but I am on the inside!”
Yehuda was נוגע בדבר; he was a בעל דבר. He was personally and deeply involved in the situation, which is why he – more than his brothers – is the one who spoke up against Yosef. Yehuda was not on the outside, rather, he was on the inside. He was IN IT to WIN IT. Yehuda did not stand on the חוץ, on the outside, with everyone else. Rather, he stood בפנים, on the inside. His OLAM HABA and OLAM HAZEH were on the line. He deeply cared. He wanted to be successful. He wanted to win it. So, he did what needed to be done in order to win it.
But, my friends, there is a major difference between the New York Lottery and the Game of Life.
You are right, to win at both, you must be IN IT.
But, when it comes to the lottery, as much as you are in it, you only have a chance (a very very small chance) at actually winning it. The odds of winning are quite low.
Not so, however, in the Game of Life.
So long that you are IN IT, so long that you live with purpose and conviction, so long that you stand on the INSIDE, so long that you are a player on the field and not a sideline observer, and so long that you really care and are deeply and personally involved in your own life, then guess what? YOU WON!
But not only are you a winner in OLAM HAZEH, in this temporary world, but you also become a winner in OLAM HABA, the next world, the world of eternity!
Have a holy Shabbos!
You gotta be in it to win it!
It is a phrase we all know, a phrase that has long been associated with the New York Lottery. The man credited with coining the phrase is Bob Brown, famed radio host, who also hosted the Lotto drawings for many years. In 1982, Bob Brown said in a Lotto commercial, “Get in it to win it in ’82.”
It is so basic and true. Think about it. If you want to win the lottery, you must be in the lottery. It is as simple as that.
There is a powerful message here as it pertains to us in our lives, in the Game of Life. You gotta be in it to win it!
Parshas Vayigash begins: ויגש אליו יהודה – And Yehuda approached him (Yosef). Rashi tells us (44:32) that the reason why Yehuda championed the cause for the returned of Binyamin more so than the rest of the brothers, was because Yehuda had a lot more to lose. “They all stand on the outside of the matter and are less concerned. But I have placed myself under a firm bond to be an outcast in both worlds!” In the words of Rabbeinu Bachaya (44:32), “All my brothers are on the outside, but I am on the inside!”
Yehuda was נוגע בדבר; he was a בעל דבר. He was personally and deeply involved in the situation, which is why he – more than his brothers – is the one who spoke up against Yosef. Yehuda was not on the outside, rather, he was on the inside. He was IN IT to WIN IT. Yehuda did not stand on the חוץ, on the outside, with everyone else. Rather, he stood בפנים, on the inside. His OLAM HABA and OLAM HAZEH were on the line. He deeply cared. He wanted to be successful. He wanted to win it. So, he did what needed to be done in order to win it.
But, my friends, there is a major difference between the New York Lottery and the Game of Life.
You are right, to win at both, you must be IN IT.
But, when it comes to the lottery, as much as you are in it, you only have a chance (a very very small chance) at actually winning it. The odds of winning are quite low.
Not so, however, in the Game of Life.
So long that you are IN IT, so long that you live with purpose and conviction, so long that you stand on the INSIDE, so long that you are a player on the field and not a sideline observer, and so long that you really care and are deeply and personally involved in your own life, then guess what? YOU WON!
But not only are you a winner in OLAM HAZEH, in this temporary world, but you also become a winner in OLAM HABA, the next world, the world of eternity!
Have a holy Shabbos!
