Episode - 224 Season 1 Finale From Ancient Wisdom To Modern Courage: Finishing An 850-Year-Old Guide To Trust And Launching A Movement

The moment you step into the water before it parts, everything changes. That’s the pulse of our season finale: a year of choosing action over comfort, finishing an 850-year-old guide to trust, and preparing a bigger, braver chapter together. We trace the spine of a simple law—measure for measure—and show how real movement invites real help, using the story of Nachshon to ground a timeless truth in modern life.

We also confront the smog of today’s media landscape. When once-steady voices flip and cash-fuelled narratives blur reality, the instinct is to scroll harder. We chose another path: build a small, honest signal that restores clarity and courage. From a basement mic to a growing community, the mission stayed the same—push light into public spaces, speak plainly, and teach practices that hold when the feed turns dark. That led us to the “tenth level” of trust: living glued to the Creator, seeing divine care in every ordinary detail, and valuing presence over performance.

As we celebrate a hard-won siyum, we set our sights on season two and The Garden of Emuna, a modern classic that has lifted thousands with practical faith. Expect live conversations, guest voices with real expertise, book giveaways, and opportunities to take part in a movement that unites action, emuna, and community. With 2026 on the horizon—a year echoing the divine name—we’re committing to fewer empty words and more good work: choosing friends who elevate us, resisting toxic narratives, and taking that next step into the sea.

If this resonates, share it with someone who needs courage today. Subscribe, leave a review to help others find the show, and tell us: what’s the first step you’re ready to take?

Chapters

• 0:17 Season Finale And Gratitude
• 1:46 Why Go Public And Leave Comfort
• 3:32 Measure For Measure Explained
• 5:19 Nachshon And The Sea Splitting
• 9:25 Doing More, Speaking Less
• 10:49 Battling Toxic Media Narratives
• 15:21 Can A Small Podcast Matter
• 17:27 Season Two Vision And Community
• 18:58 Year 2026 As God’s Year
• 21:02 Level Ten: Glued To The Creator
• 24:15 Start Anywhere On The Ladder
• 25:57 The Blessing And Your Circle
• 28:16 Celebrate The Siyum

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:17

Hello and welcome to the Trust Factor Podcast, the only podcast that guarantees your success when you implement its divine age old teachings. Welcome to the season finale of the first season of the Trust Factor Podcast. I am thrilled that we've made it this far, guys. We managed to finish a book from beginning to end, but not just any book. The ultimate publication that is an 850-year-old document that we had the merit to read from, from 850 years ago. Guys, that should not be taken lightly. The fact that we have access to these documents, these manuscripts that were written generations ago in such a different time of our existence, where people had clarity and a connection back to their creator. They certainly didn't have not 1% of the noise and the distractions that we all deal with in today's day and age. And here we are in 2025, going into 2026, reading from this 850-year-old manuscript, talking about how to have a real, genuine, lasting connection with our Creator. Those of you who've stuck around from the beginning, thank you so much for your support. And those of you who've come somewhere throughout, thank you for joining. We're going to go from here into season two of the trust factor. It promises to be even better. Let's talk about how we got here. Backtrack to almost a year ago, and I found myself doing the same thing that I've been doing for almost 20 years. Working, learning, teaching, growing, doing the things that all of us need to do on a day-to-day basis. But I felt stagnant. I felt like I was like I'd hit a wall. And I realized that I had now just turned 50. And it was time to make real meaningful lasting change and to take my game to the next level, to take my level of observance, to take my level of teaching and learning to a whole other level. And I went to a level that was really difficult for me to go to. It was a level where it required that I start to explore the public eye, and I'm not that person. Those of you who know me know that I'm a relatively private person. And while I enjoy very much learning and teaching, specifically the next generation, the up-and-coming leaders of our generation, to be able to get into their heads and instill some goodness in them and put some light into their lives and show them truth. That's where I was comfortable operating for a very long time. But this required me to get out of that zone and to take on new higher levels of responsibility. And I did it. And it was difficult. It's still difficult for me to look back and listen to some of my early episodes. They were rough. I mean, comparing them to some of the polished and refined podcasts that are out there today that have professional production studios. Working from the basement of my house, my friends. That's where I got started. And it's not much different now. But the point is that I stepped out of my comfort zone. I went out of my nature. And that is a huge, huge deal. I want to explain to you why that's a huge deal, and I want to give you a little bit of context. Number one, we know that this world is run measure for measure. That means that God runs this world. Depending on what we do, we will have done back to us. You may know it as what goes around comes around. That what you do unto others, they will do to you. That somehow there is no escaping what you put into this world. And all that is true, but in Judaism we call it mida kenegedmida, measure for measure. God created the world that way. And not only did he create the world that way, but he limits himself by that very idea. He put into this world and into himself this fundamental foundational principle of measure for measure, which means that he is limited by it. And I think I've shared the riddle before. The riddle is, is there a stone that God can create, a rock that is so heavy, a massive boulder, that even he can't lift it? And the answer is yes. And you may think that doesn't make any sense. God is all powerful, God is all capable, this is blasphemy, and it's not. The only time there could be a rock, a boulder that God himself cannot lift is when he determines that he cannot lift it. When he limits himself and says, I will not be able to do this, then you can be guaranteed that it will never happen. Because God, thank God, is not like us. When he says something, it is concrete, it is steel, it is eternal. And so God says, I'm going to conduct myself by this rule of measure for measure, midakeneged midah, which means that whatever goes around comes around, I have to do that. I have to hold myself by that standard as well. Where do we see it? The splitting of the sea. I don't know if I've shared this in the past, but everybody knows the story. The Israelites left Egypt after God had brought Egypt to its knees. The Jewish nation finds itself at the foot of the Red Sea, and now they're surrounded by desert. And behind them are the thunderous footsteps of the horse and chariots of the Egyptian army who are now coming to destroy them. And everybody starts complaining and screaming and praying and doing all kinds of different things because they have nowhere to go. To the left and to the right are desert, ahead of them is ocean, and behind them is the army. And so Moses, like any good devout leader, looks up to the heavens and starts to pray to Hashem. Help us. We're stuck. We need your help. Which is what most of us would be doing, or at least should be doing. But what does God respond to him? God says, Matitzakelai, why are you screaming to me? Why are you praying to me? In other words, now is not the time for prayer. Now is the time for action. There is a time to pray, and there is a time to act. We are living in a world of action. So Hashem says, Move forward. Go, tell the nation to move forward. And that's what Moses does. He tells the nation, but the nation looks at him bewildered and they think, Where are we going to go? We cannot swim that far, and we certainly cannot breathe underwater. And so while they were all fighting to figure out who was going to go and when they were going to go and how they were going to go, one individual set himself apart. Nakshon Ben Aminadav. That individual is the one who we give credit to today, who jumped into the water first and started to walk into it. And the water hadn't split. And he continued to walk, despite the water not splitting. They weren't sitting around waiting for it to split. He jumped in and just started walking. And it only split when the water reached and covered his nose. Why? Because human beings are not programmed to breathe underwater. It is out of our nature. The same way that water is not programmed to stand like a wall, humans are not programmed to breathe underwater. And so it took Nachon Ben Amin Adov to wade into the water until his nose was covered in order for that water to split. Because also at the same time, the Israelites just came out of Egypt. They were no different than their corrupt oppressors, and they certainly weren't worthy of such outward miracles. And so the sea refused to split, saying they're not deserving. But as soon as Nachon did what he did, God now had the ability to demand that the sea split, because just as they had gone against their nature, so too God had an obligation, measure for measure as he had limited himself by, to make sure that he changed nature for them. And that's what I did, my friends. I stepped out of my nature, a quiet, unassuming individual, doing my thing, getting things done, not talking a lot, but doing a lot. They say in Pirkeavot in the Ethics of the Father, Daber Meatva Seharbe, I'm paraphrasing, say little and do a lot. Most people do the opposite. They speak a lot and they do very, very little. That's the plague of our species, is that a lot of people are simply lazy and unmotivated. They will tell you a great story. They will speak until your head spins. But to get the actual work done, they leave that for somebody else. The heavy lifting, they're not interested in. That's how we're programmed. And we have to rise above and change that. If you want to succeed, if you want to become the greatest version of who you can be, it won't be by being lazy and unmotivated. And so that's what I did. And it's progressed, thank God. It's gotten better. The quality, I think, has gotten better. We've got intro music, we've got outro music, we've got guest speakers on a weekly basis, albeit not while I'm away on vacation. But it's grown in such a short period of time. A one-man show has grown in such a short period of time, and that tells me that God is at my back. And what we're doing over here is very, very badly needed. And you don't have to be a genius to figure that out today. I also started this podcast because I needed to combat the toxicity that is in the world today. Today we are surrounded by information. Surrounded by it. It's everywhere. It's our Achilles heel. Today we can't open our eyes without searching for our phones first. What are we looking for? What's in that phone that is so important? And the answer is information. It doesn't matter what information. We just need to know. Everybody needs to know. We need to be kept in the loop. We need to feel like we're aware of what's happening. Why? Because it gives us a false sense of security. It gives us a false sense of control. That somehow, because we now know what's going on in the world, we're going to be able to react to it. We're going to be able to be proactive and put plans in place to avoid what's going to happen or those things happening to us. That is the fallacy that we have in our heads and that society has taught us and ingrained in us. And that's why literally we cannot open up our eyes before having reached for our phone and found it. My friends, that is what is sinking society. Not only that, but the garbage content that is on there, excuse the language, but that's exactly what it is. It's nothing less than absolute trash. It is all over the place and it is all turning, it's turning the world upside down, it's turning truth on its head. It's taken guys like Tucker Carlson, who was once a staunch pro-Israel advocate, a lover of the Jews, a lover of God, and suddenly he's questioning, not just questioning, but he is making out the problem to be Israel, and the problem is the Jews, and the problem is Scripture, and the problem is religion. All these things that are exactly the opposite of what he used to espouse are now his talking points. And it is so clear that he is on somebody's payroll, somebody in the Middle East. It could be Qatar, I'd probably bet a lot of money that he was getting paid back. It's so obvious, guys. I mean, it couldn't be more obvious. Him and his best friend, Candace Owens, another vile, wicked individual. You guys know these names. You see them, and it's upsetting, it's depressing. People, especially like Megan Kelly, who most of us would look at these people and think, wow, at least she's got her head on straight, and she's well spoken, and she's well put together, and she's got great outlooks on things. And now she's scrambling and she's hiding and she's mincing her words, and she's being very careful with what she says and how she says it. And then she comes under the attack, and people start calling her out for her phoniness, and then her real true characters go out. And now we see with Candace Owens the vile anti-Semitic rhetoric. Turning Point USA just had their massive annual event. And so many of the speakers were there, including Ben Shapiro. And Ben Shapiro got up and gave a world-class speech talking about exactly what I'm telling you about. How we have all these people on the right, the influencers who used to be on the right, who have now started to lose their minds. They flipped the script, they're getting paid, and they're saying all the wrong things. And you could you could almost pinpoint the date they started getting their paychecks. Like Tucker Carlson telling everybody how Qatar is one of the safest places. It's even safer than Israel for Christians to live. A place that has blasphemy laws where you're not even allowed to say any other God's name. And if you do, you get thrown in prison for five years. Where you can't put out a picture of a cross anywhere in that country, or you go to prison for five years. And he's trying to convince the world that it's a safer place for Christians than in Israel. Shockingly, shockingly toxic, and it's only designed to do one thing, and that is to turn the tides, to take Qatari money and to make Israel and the Jewish nation out to be the devil, and these guys to be the saints. It's shocking. It's the exact opposite of reality, and they're working overtime and they're spending billions and trillions to be able to propagate that message. Is this podcast going to make a difference? I don't know. Am I going to compete with Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens? I certainly don't expect to. But the few people who are listening, who are gaining from this, who have clarity, or who want clarity, and who know, because you know, when you hear the right message, you know. It enters into your nishama. Truth always prevails. Lies always fail. It may seem that they have the upper hand temporarily, but inevitably, truth prevails, and lies always, always fail. And so is this podcast going to be the one that changes everything? I highly doubt it. But that's not going to stop me from doing it. And the only way that this is going to grow is by you people who are listening, sharing it, telling people about it, letting people know that there is a real message out there of truth. There is light in the world, and it is not in these dark annals of the internet. It is not on these shows that you see that are being forced upon you, that have untold fortunes backing them in order to get their message front and center in front of you. I don't have their budgets. But we do have people who care. And if you care about sending out and propagating the right message, God's message, the light, the truth, the goodness, the things that will bring the world together, that will unify everybody under one God, then all you need to do is click, like, share, comment, and make sure that people are listening, especially when it comes now to season two. We've polished it up, we've refined it. We're going to have more guest speakers. I've got a list of really powerful individuals who are going to come with amazing, amazing perspectives on trust and bituchon and emuna faith. We've got a whole lineup. We're going to do lives, we're going to do all kinds of fun things, my friends. There are going to be events. I have individuals who have reached out to me, who are podcast listeners, who are old friends, who've been motivated and inspired, and they want to help and they want to become a part of this movement. And we're going to create it together. I can't do it alone. If you know people who want to get involved, if you know people who want to propagate the same messages, who want to get out there and push goodness into the world and combat the darkness with the light, there's no coincidence that it's Hanukkah, my friends, and I'm coming to you out of the holiest place in the universe. This is the time to launch season two. This is the time going into 2026, individual who came on board and said to me he wants a support and he wants to grow and he wants to help take this thing to the next level. He's in the entertainment business. And his name is Jeff, and he said to me, Jesse, and he didn't even realize it. He said, This year, 2026 is your year. And I said, You know what? You're right, but it's a little bit different. This year is God's year. How do I know? And it hit me like a lightning bolt as soon as he said it. Because 26 is the numerical value of God's name. You hei vov hei. 26. That's what we're going into, the year 2026. This is going to be God's year, and I am thrilled to be a part of that. If you want to be a part of this movement, my friends, please send me a message. I would love any and all help, anybody who wants to help, push the message across, get viewers on board. We've got a whole program that's coming out, that's going to be rolled out this year, that is going to be in person, that's going to be coaching and mentoring, that's going to be bringing young people together. All kinds of amazing things are going to be happening. It's going to be a movement, and this is still the ground floor. We are now going to wrap up season one of the trust factor. And then we are going to start season two of the trust factor. And that will be it for today. Tomorrow will be episode one of the Trust Factor Podcast. Season two. Up until now, we've talked about nine different levels of growth of an individual, ranging from infancy until they've reached the pinnacle of their trust. This is the final one. Number ten. Number ten comes to tell us the difference between nine and ten. And that is that the individual who is in number ten is stuck just like glue. In Hebrew, the word glue is devik. There's a word called, which means sticking, like glue, being glued to your creator. That is the difference between nine and ten. That this individual who's at number ten eats, breathes, lives, sleeps, works, everything that he does 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he sees God's hand. He thinks about his creator. He recognizes that his creator is there doing for him everything from moving his cells through his body to keeping the world turning to leaves falling from the trees to blades of grass growing out of the ground to his eyesight and his ears, all of the things, his children and his spouse, and all these wonderful things, he recognizes every second of every day and he can't stop thinking about it. How beautiful and loving his creator is. And as a result of that, all he wants to do is be stuck to his creator. That's it. He wants nothing else than to be glued to his creator. It's an individual who literally despises the material in this world. He sees the phoniness, he sees through all of the lies and the hatred and the politics and all the division in media. He sees it clear as day because he is enveloped in truth and love. And that individual holds on the tenth and the highest level. And that is what separates everybody else one through nine and number ten. Now, do you have to be holding on number ten? In order to be stuck to your creator, to be connecting to your creator? And the answer is no. There are sages that have told us that even that infant, as soon as he starts to recognize that his mother is an individual who's caring for him, that process, that light, is the beginning of his connection back to his creator. And that any individual, no matter where you are, even at entry level, when you're just putting your foot on the first rung of that ladder, you have begun the process of connecting to your creator. You don't have to get to the tenth level. God willing, you do, your life will be a utopia. But even if you don't, even if you only get to nine or eight or seven in this go-around, that is a massive level of devaikut of connecting back to your creator. Ten is ultimately the pinnacle. He finishes off this book apropos with a blessing, and I want to read the blessing to you. He says, May God in his mercy place us among those who trust in him, who outwardly and inwardly submit to his judgment. Amen. This completes Shara Bitachon for the sake of God, the last one and the first one. In other words, the only one, the eternal one. Why is this blessing so apropos? Because it says that he wants us to be placed among those who trust in God. He wants us to be placed amongst the right people. It is very important for us, you know this, to surround yourself with the right types of individuals. If you want to grow, surround yourself with people who are in a growth mode. If you want to connect back to your creator, surround yourself with people who are connected to their creator. If you want to be a gangster, surround yourself with gangsters. Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are. It is very important that if you want to grow and reach the ultimate levels of success in this world, that you surround yourself with like-minded people. Very important for you and your entire family. That's why he's ended with this blessing. Because as much as you can read this book and it can make an impact in your life, if you put it aside and then you go down into a cesspool and you go into a sewer and you go into, you know, a place where everybody is corrupt and broken and cheating everybody, good luck to you. Good luck to you. It's an individual who's trying to swim, but they've got an anchor tied to their ankle. You're not going anywhere but down. If you want to go up, you have to surround yourself with people who are already on their way up. That, my beautiful friends, completes this wonderful book that we all had the merit of finishing off. It's called a Sium. In Hebrew, it's called a Sium. Anytime we finish something substantial, we take a step back and we actually have a party. So while we can't have a party together, maybe one day we will. Today, celebrate in your own little way. Figure out a way to be grateful for the effort that you've put in, that you've listened to this podcast, that you've completed this book from beginning to end with a lot of commentary. You've done a great job and you deserve reward. Pat yourself on the back. You've grown tremendously. You've done such an awesome thing. And you've benefited from it. Your spouses, your children, your parents, your community, everybody surrounding you, and anybody and everybody you will ever interact with are going to and have benefited from the fact that you just completed this book and you brought and made a part of your life all of these wonderful, uplifting, inspiring pearls of wisdom. Now, to finish off, I'm going to give you an introduction. By the way, I went to Khutch al-Khesed, which is the global headquarters of the Brezhnev movement. The Brezhnev movement is a sect of Judaism that is run today by Rav Shalom Arush. If you've never met him, you want to talk about Emuna. You want to talk about Bitachon. If you know, you say when you open up a dictionary and you look for the word Emuna, you see somebody's picture there, that's his place. He lives and thrives every single day. He is stuck to his creator. He is on level 10, no question. That rabbi has written many, many publications, but the one that I think that set him apart and really put him on the map is The Garden of Imuna. It is a book that is a guide to life that you need to keep by your side. I've read it multiple times. And the first time I read it was almost 20 years ago when I became a Balchuva, when I started to realize that there's more to life than just filling your bank and your belly. And I started to read from it, and it changed my life and my wife's life, my entire family. In fact, I went out and I bought 50 copies immediately. And I sent them around the world to friends and family, and I said, guys, you need to read this book. How many read it? I have no idea. My suspicion is not enough. But I went the other day and I was hoping to meet Rav Shalom Arush. He wasn't there. I'm hoping to meet him on the trip again. I picked up 10 copies of the book to give away. That's going to happen when we're done giving away the book Emuna by Rav David Saperman. We've got seven six copies left. The winner of the fourth copy is going to be announced tomorrow. We're going to be done with the six over the next six weeks, and then we're going to give away these Garden of Emuna. In the meantime, I'm going to do my best to get them signed by the rabbi with a little blessing, a little bracha to the listeners of the podcast. So if I can do that, it will be spectacular. I'm going to give it my best, and then we're going to be handing these out in the following ten weeks. Let's read the introduction. I want to give you an idea, a taste of what we're talking about over here. The foreword reads as follows. People with terrible sicknesses have turned to it and found salvation in its pages. People who lost their joy in life discovered it again. Everyone who has read this book has testified that the mere reading of it has given them tranquility and that they couldn't put it down. I can attest to that, my friends. I can say the exact same thing. Many Torah seminaries have devoted time to learn it. Intellectuals have testified that from the many books of spirituality that they have read, this is the only book that appealed to them. The simple truth in each of its concepts found its way into the hearts of readers. Some of the righteous spiritual leaders of the generation said that the divine presence shines from its pages, that it revitalizes souls, and that publishing it is a great mitzvah, a great deed. Absolutely 100%. In short, every level of society has received this book with love and eagerness beyond any expectations. The book has stimulated many non-Jews to believe in a creator. The explanation is that the divine will has ordained that this book spread worldwide to teach Amuna for the entire purpose of creation is to bring a person to Amuna. Bottom line, all of our purposes, the big purpose, the grand big picture, the 30,000 foot for every single one of us is to learn to have faith in our creator. We had no idea of the profound effect that learning about Amuna has on people. Every word that enhances a person's awareness of Amuna is an elixir of life and a wonder cure that everyone needs and can deliver limitless benefit from. As the reactions to this book bear witness, I am that witness, and I can bring you many like me. This is the elixir of life. The topics on every single page. He brings you the challenges that we deal with from the day we're born till the day we die, and he brings you the solution on every single page. It is unbelievably powerful. I cannot wait to get into it with you guys tomorrow. We're going to have amazing discussions and we're going to continue to have amazing speakers and interviewers. Again, thank you so much for being a part of this movement. Please reach out if you want to be a bigger part of it. If you have time to donate, if you have abilities and skills in technology or in marketing and media, whatever it is, any area of life that you think is beneficial to help spread this amazing information and to counter the darkness that is coming into this world. We need to do it now, my friends. Time is ticking. If you live anywhere outside of Israel, you know that the target is us, and we've become more and more popular as a target of everyone's ire. And when things get difficult, they blame the Jews. When life gets tough, they need a scapegoat. And we have always been that convenient scapegoat. When we should be the ones who they look up to and understand that it's our job to bring light into this world, it's our job to make this world a better place, and that is what we are doing. If you want to be a part of that, then please reach out. I'd be happy to have you as part of the team. More to come, my friends, from the beautiful state of Israel and the beautiful city of Jerusalem. Thank you for spending time with us on the Trust Factor Podcast. If you've heard something today that moved you, save this episode and share it with someone who might need to hear it. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss upcoming conversations that challenge, empower, and uplift. And if you're on social media, connect with us. Leave your thoughts, drop a quote that resonated with you. Hashtag the TrustFactor Podcast. Until next time, keep growing in your trust and keep living with purpose.

SPEAKER_00: 29:38

I'm Jesse Raven, and this has been the trust.