Afleveringen

  • Today we will share an Emunah- Bitachon thought related to the reading of Amalek that we're going to do this week, as we always do before Purim. The Midrash Tanhuma asks, what exactly did Amalek accomplish? Amalek attacked the Jewish people and Amalek got burnt, so what did they accomplish? The Midrash Tanhuma compares it to a bubbling hot bath that everyone is afraid to go into. Then one man jumps in, and cools it off for everybody else, even though he gets burnt. What exactly is that mashal telling us? The Baalei Mussar explain that there are different levels of Emuna. A person can believe in his head . If he’s very intellectual, and cerebral, he believes in God based on proofs and philosophy. Another person might believe in God through his heart , and his emotions bring him to recognize God. He's moved by a beautiful scene, and he's emotionally a believer. Then there's a level called Emunah Hushit/ Emunah in the senses , when a person can feel and touch God as a reality. That is the highest level. It's not something cerebral or emotional. And just like you wouldn't put your finger in fire because instinctively, you pull it out, that was the level of Emuna and clarity that the world had regarding the power of God and the superiority of the Jewish people. It was like a bubbling hot bath to them. It wasn't a question of intellect. It wasn't a question of emotion. They knew not to put their finger in, because they’d get burnt. That's what Amalek cooled off. That's why it says Asher Karacha Baderech, he cooled us off. What did he cool exactly? The Elder of Kelm explains beautifully that Amalek wanted to cool the Jewish people off from their own greatness. From, in his words, “ The greatness of their heart and the greatness of their souls. ” Everything that happened through Yetziat Mitzrayim lifted up the Jewish people to a higher level, and they, in turn, understood their connection to God. They understood they were the Am HaNivchar / The Chosen Nation . They had no question. It was obvious- just like a prince doesn't play in the sandbox with beggars because he just doesn’t belong there. That was the power of the Jewish people, and that’s what Amalek tried to take away- our sense of greatness. Haman tried to do this to Mordechai as well. He tried to break Mordechai. But about Mordechai it says, “ We Jewish people don't bend. We don't bow .” We're not broken. And we don't become humbled in front of all of the attackers. So not only did Haman not break Mordechai, but the opposite happened. Haman ended up parading him through the streets on the horse. This is what happens in our generation as well. There are always people that try to make Jews feel secondary and unimportant. According to the Gaon of Vilna and many others, Germans are descendants of Amalek, and their whole job was to make the Jews feel like they weren’t even human. Forget about that being the chosen people, they wanted us to feel subhuman. They tattooed numbers into our arms as if we had no identity. As if we weren’t a people. But we have to lift ourselves up and realize that we are the Am HaNivchar. W e're not going to be affected by the outside chatter of social media, by all the “ Hitler was right,” comments and all the antisemitism. It’s all there to break us. But the job of Purim is to lift us up. We have to realize how special we are. We are that bubbling bath. We are the untouchables. On Purim, Nahapochu - everything turns around , and we can be uplifted. Rav Wolbe used to say that Purim is the time where we see the true greatness of the Jewish people. Look how we act when we're drunk! No one is killing each other, everyone's just blessing each other. Everyone is happy and everyone's dancing. Mishloach Manot, Matanot L’Evyonim….it's a beautiful day. It's a beautiful time, and we're supposed to walk out of it on fire , realizing the unique qualities and the special traits of the Jewish people. Have a Shabbat Shalom.

  • Over the past three classes, we have spoken about focusing during prayer. We brought quoted a Mishna in Berachot, chapter five, that discusses the pious men of old who spent an hour before they prayed, contemplating, in order to clear their mind from the clutter. There are a few words in that Mishna, before it talks about the pious men of old. It says, אֵין עוֹמְדִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל אֶלָּא מִתּוֹךְ כֹּבֶד רֹאשׁ You have to start praying with a Koved Rosh/seriousness . But Rashi translates Koved Rosh as humility . Why is humility so important for prayer? In Alei Shor (vol 1 page 113), regarding how to empty your mind from the clutter before you pray, Rav Wolbe asks how you can just suddenly stop all that business you were involved in just a moment ago, that you were totally engrossed in? How do we just forget about all that? He says the only way to do it is to realize that all that business needs prayer for success. Only through praying will we have the proper outlook on the business that we do. We should realize it's not my strength and my power that makes it happen. When you start to pray, suddenly you start thinking, “ I have to do this. I have to do that ,” whether in your business, or your busy day…the cake you have to bake, the children you have to pick up from school... why do all those things pop into your mind when you start to pray? Why is it so difficult to focus? Why do all these thoughts come to mind? He says, it’s a sign that we don't really believe that we need prayer for our success. And therefore, he says, the biggest interference to our praying with kavana is not our ADHD, or our fast-paced life. Of course, that is part of it, but the main problem is our arrogance . What turns on those thoughts that flood our mind? What's the little machine that's producing all those thoughts? It’s our arrogance. Behind all of those thoughts is the fundamental belief that I'm in charge of my life and I make the things happen. If I don't think about them, and I don't take care of them, they're not going to be taken care of. We must realize the fundamental mistake in that arrogant outlook. The only way to fix it is by annulling yourself to God. That's the whole purpose of prayer. We start our prayers with bowing, and we pray with our feet and hands locked, to symbolize that we can't do anything. In the words of Rav Wolbe, “ Prayer and arrogance are an oxymoron.” They don't work together. The whole essence of prayer is humility, and with that humility, you get the proper outlook on life. Therefore, we have to put time in to focus on these important points. That means you have to have a little inner discussion with yourself. When you start praying, and those thoughts come to your mind, you have to stop yourself and say, “ Hmm, there you go again. You think you're in charge. You think you're making things happen. You don't make things happen. God can slow everything down.” You're thinking about, “ How am I going to make the sale?” But Who's going to make sure the boat comes in on time? Who's going to make sure they pay?” You're not in charge. There's a cute story Rav Matityahu Salomon told over once. He said, there was a man in England, where he used to live, who was a cutthroat in business. He was very, very tough. But he prayed a very, very long Amidah. Somebody (perhaps Rav Matityahu) once asked him, “ Why are you praying for so long? You look like you really know how to take care of your business. You're in control.” He answered , “I pray to Hashem that I know what I'm doing in my business, but I know You can ruin everything. So please, leave me. Let me do my thing.” That's what some people feel like. “ I can really handle it. Just, Hashem, don't mess anything up. Don't ruin anything .” But that's a totally warped way of looking at things. There is no success with without Hashem . If, while our eyes are closed, praying to Hashem, we're not able to focus on Him, and we're only thinking about our tactics and our hishtadlut and our activities, that's an indicator that deep down, we think we're making everything happen. And therefore, it means you have to rethink your approach to Who's really making things happen. That's the work of Kavana, and that's the work of prayer. Have a wonderful day.

  • Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?

    Klik hier om de feed te vernieuwen.

  • Over the past two days, we have spoken about the importance of contemplating before prayer. This year, I saw a fascinating commentary from Maran Bet Yosef, Rav Yosef Caro, in his commentary on Chumash. (Most people know the Bet Yosef for his Halachic works, but he also has a commentary on Chumash) In Shemot chapter 10, he offers a fascinating approach to Ashrei. He links Ashrei to the concept of waiting before you pray, as did the pious men of old. Furthermore, he says that it’s really a short introduction of the following important thoughts, that you're supposed to have every day before you pray: 1-The first thing one must do is to organize Hashem's praise like Moshe Rabbenu. When he prayed V’Etchanan, he started off by praising Hashem. 2-Then, after you praise Hashem in general, you must mention His ability, His power, His strength to do whatever He needs to do, and whatever we want Him to do for us. 3-Then we have to mention His kindness. If we're only counting on what we deserve , then most of us can't pray at all. So we have to arouse in ourselves the belief in Hashem’s kindness. 4-Then we have to talk about the greatness of His kingdom and 5- how the Shechina will eventually return and the world will know about God. Once we know about God's great abilities and His kindness and His kingdom, we may wonder what His kingdom has to do with me and my needs, 6 -So next, we have to give a little speech on Hashgacha Pratit, and that Hashem is is involved in our lives. 7-We also have to talk about how the world is not a free-for-all. There's reward and punishment for what we do. Although we're counting on Hashem's kindness, there is justice in the world. 8- Finally, we have to thank Hashem for everything that happens to us. We can see how these concepts actually fit into the praise of Ashrei: The first four pesukim (after the introductory pasuk, Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha, found in perek 84) organize the praise of God. תְּהִלָּ֗ה לְדָ֫וִ֥ד אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣ אֱלוֹהַ֣י הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַאֲבָרְכָ֥ה שִׁ֝מְךָ֗ לְעוֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃ בְּכׇל־י֥וֹם אֲבָֽרְכֶ֑ךָּ וַאֲהַֽלְלָ֥ה שִׁ֝מְךָ֗ לְעוֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃ גָּ֘ד֤וֹל יְהֹוָ֣ה וּמְהֻלָּ֣ל מְאֹ֑ד וְ֝לִגְדֻלָּת֗וֹ אֵ֣ין חֵֽקֶר׃ ד֣וֹר לְ֭דוֹר יְשַׁבַּ֣ח מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ וּגְב֖וּרֹתֶ֣יךָ יַגִּֽידוּ׃ Lift up God, bless Him. Every day I'm going to bless Him and Praise Him. God is great, and very praiseworthy, there is no end to his greatness. From generation to generation, we'll speak of God's great deeds. The next two pesukim, 5 and 6, talk about Hashem's ability, His wonders and His awesome strength. הֲ֭דַר כְּב֣וֹד הוֹדֶ֑ךָ וְדִבְרֵ֖י נִפְלְאֹתֶ֣יךָ אָשִֽׂיחָה׃ וֶעֱז֣וּז נֽוֹרְאֹתֶ֣יךָ יֹאמֵ֑רוּ ( וגדלותיך ) [ וּגְדֻלָּתְךָ֥ ] אֲסַפְּרֶֽנָּה׃ Now, lest someone think that he’s not deserving, we talk about His goodness , in Pesukim 7, 8, 9, and 10. זֵ֣כֶר רַב־טוּבְךָ֣ יַבִּ֑יעוּ וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥ יְרַנֵּֽנוּ׃ חַנּ֣וּן וְרַח֣וּם יְהֹוָ֑ה אֶ֥רֶךְ אַ֝פַּ֗יִם וּגְדׇל־חָֽסֶד׃ טוֹב־יְהֹוָ֥ה לַכֹּ֑ל וְ֝רַחֲמָ֗יו עַל־כׇּל־מַעֲשָֽׂיו׃ יודוּךָ יְ֭הֹוָה כׇּל־מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ וַ֝חֲסִידֶ֗יךָ יְבָרְכֽוּכָה׃ God is kind and gracious. He has patience and unlimited kindness. God is good to all, and has mercy on all creatures. Then we talk about the greatness of God’s kingdom כְּב֣וֹד מַלְכוּתְךָ֣ יֹאמֵ֑רוּ וּגְבוּרָתְךָ֥ יְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃ להוֹדִ֤יעַ ׀ לִבְנֵ֣י הָ֭אָדָם גְּבוּרֹתָ֑יו וּ֝כְב֗וֹד הֲדַ֣ר מַלְכוּתֽוֹ׃ We talk about the honor of His kingdom, His strength to tell the people of His strength and the honor and glory of His kingdom in this kingdom. And although we don't see it now, pasuk 13 tells us, מַֽלְכוּתְךָ֗ מַלְכ֥וּת כׇּל־עֹלָמִ֑ים וּ֝מֶֽמְשַׁלְתְּךָ֗ בְּכׇל־דּ֥וֹר וָדֹֽר׃ It’s here throughout generations dominion in every single generation and will return. Pesukim 14-18 mainly talk about how Hashem deals with us directly. סוֹמֵ֣ךְ יְ֭הֹוָה לְכׇל־הַנֹּפְלִ֑ים וְ֝זוֹקֵ֗ף לְכׇל־הַכְּפוּפִֽים׃ עֵֽינֵי־כֹ֭ל אֵלֶ֣יךָ יְשַׂבֵּ֑רוּ וְאַתָּ֤ה נֽוֹתֵן־לָהֶ֖ם אֶת־אׇכְלָ֣ם בְּעִתּֽוֹ׃ פּוֹתֵ֥חַ אֶת־יָדֶ֑ךָ וּמַשְׂבִּ֖יעַ לְכׇל־חַ֣י רָצֽוֹן׃ צַדִּ֣יק יְ֭הֹוָה בְּכׇל־דְּרָכָ֑יו וְ֝חָסִ֗יד בְּכׇל־מַעֲשָֽׂיו׃ קָר֣וֹב יְ֭הֹוָה לְכׇל־קֹרְאָ֑יו לְכֹ֤ל אֲשֶׁ֖ר יִקְרָאֻ֣הוּ בֶֽאֱמֶֽת׃ Hashem deals with me directly. When people fall, God picks them up. People are hunched and God stands them up. All our eyes are on God hoping to Him. He gives us our bread in the right time. We open our hands and God satiates our every need. God is righteous, and He’s close to all that call out to Him In pesukim 19 and 20, רְצוֹן־יְרֵאָ֥יו יַעֲשֶׂ֑ה וְֽאֶת־שַׁוְעָתָ֥ם יִ֝שְׁמַ֗ע וְיוֹשִׁיעֵֽם׃ שׁוֹמֵ֣ר יְ֭הֹוָה אֶת־כׇּל־אֹהֲבָ֑יו וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־הָרְשָׁעִ֣ים יַשְׁמִֽיד׃ God does the will of those that fear Him. (This is reward and punishment.) God watches over those that love Him and eradicates the wicked. And finally, we have the last principle in pasuk 21 תְּהִלַּ֥ת יְהֹוָ֗ה יְֽדַבֶּ֫ר־פִּ֥י וִיבָרֵ֣ךְ כׇּל־בָּ֭שָׂר שֵׁ֥ם קׇדְשׁ֗וֹ לְעוֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃ {פ} I praise God. I thank God. These are the eight important points that Ashrei tells us. So, therefore, before our prayers, we say Ashrei- in order to put us in the right frame of mind, to fulfill these concepts. That is our beautiful lesson, from the Bet Yosef. You can print the chart below and keep it in your siddur. Have a wonderful day. To organize Hashem’s praise ספר תהילים פרק קמה: (א) תְּהִלָּה לְדָוִד אֲרוֹמִמְךָ אֱלוֹהַי הַמֶּלֶךְ וַאֲבָרְכָה שִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד: (ב) בְּכָל יוֹם אֲבָרְכֶךָּ וַאֲהַלְלָה שִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד: (ג) גָּדוֹל יְהֹוָה וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד וְלִגְדֻלָּתוֹ אֵין חֵקֶר: (ד) דּוֹר לְדוֹר יְשַׁבַּח מַעֲשֶׂיךָ וּגְבוּרֹתֶיךָ יַגִּידוּ: To mention His ability (ה) הֲדַר כְּבוֹד הוֹדֶךָ וְדִבְרֵי נִפְלְאֹתֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה: (ו) וֶעֱזוּז נוֹרְאֹתֶיךָ יֹאמֵרוּ וּגְדֻלָּתְךָ אֲסַפְּרֶנָּה: To mention His kindness (ז) זֵכֶר רַב טוּבְךָ יַבִּיעוּ וְצִדְקָתְךָ יְרַנֵּנוּ: (ח) חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם יְהֹוָה אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וּגְדָל חָסֶד: (ט) טוֹב יְהֹוָה לַכֹּל וְרַחֲמָיו עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו: (י) יוֹדוּךָ יְהֹוָה כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ וַחֲסִידֶיךָ יְבָרְכוּכָה: To mention the greatness of His kingdom (יא) כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתְךָ יֹאמֵרוּ וּגְבוּרָתְךָ יְדַבֵּרוּ: (יב) לְהוֹדִיעַ לִבְנֵי הָאָדָם גְּבוּרֹתָיו וּכְבוֹד הֲדַר מַלְכוּתוֹ: To mention the kingdom of the Shechina (יג) מַלְכוּתְךָ מַלְכוּת כָּל עֹלָמִים וּמֶמְשַׁלְתְּךָ בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדֹר: To mention His divine providence (יד) סוֹמֵךְ יְהֹוָה לְכָל הַנֹּפְלִים וְזוֹקֵף לְכָל הַכְּפוּפִים: (טו) עֵינֵי כֹל אֵלֶיךָ יְשַׂבֵּרוּ וְאַתָּה נוֹתֵן לָהֶם אֶת אָכְלָם בְּעִתּוֹ: (טז) פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ וּמַשְׂבִּיעַ לְכָל חַי רָצוֹן: (יז) צַדִּיק יְהֹוָה בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו וְחָסִיד בְּכָל מַעֲשָׂיו: (יח) קָרוֹב יְהֹוָה לְכָל קֹרְאָיו לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָאֻהוּ בֶאֱמֶת: To mention reward and punishment (יט) רְצוֹן יְרֵאָיו יַעֲשֶׂה וְאֶת שַׁוְעָתָם יִשְׁמַע וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם: (כ) שׁוֹמֵר יְהֹוָה אֶת כָּל אֹהֲבָיו וְאֵת כָּל הָרְשָׁעִים יַשְׁמִיד: To thank at the end (כא) תְּהִלַּת יְהֹוָה יְדַבֶּר פִּי וִיבָרֵךְ כָּל בָּשָׂר שֵׁם קָדְשׁוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:

  • We continue with insights into the famous chapter that we say three times a day, Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha. The first part of Ashrei, אַ֭שְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵ֣י בֵיתֶ֑ךָ ע֝֗וֹד יְֽהַלְל֥וּךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ is found in Tehilim chapter 84,5. The Chida, his commentary Yosef Tehilot, quotes from the Rama M’Pano, who asks the following question: The proper Hebrew for this verse אַ֭שְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵ֣י בֵיתֶ֑ךָ Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha, which means, “ Fortunate are the ones who sit in Your house,” should be אשרי יושבי ב ביתך Ashrei Yoshvei B’ Betecha Fortunate are the ones who sit in your house. What does “ Fortunate are the ones that sit your house ,” mean? He explains that it really means is, “Fortunate are the people, who, they themselves, become the house..the chair, the dwelling place of God Himself.” So we read it as Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha, Those that sit and become Your house. They're Your hous e. They're God's house. That's the job of every Jew, as we say, “Zeh Eli V’Anvehu/This is God, and I will build a dwelling place for Him.” The dwelling place for Him isn’t just an external building like the Bet Hamikdash or the Mishkan, but rather the person himself . This concept shows up in the Alshech, who explains, the pasuk where Hashem says V’Asu Li Mikdash/Make for Me a Mikdash, and I’ll dwell in them . It doesn't say dwell in it ( meaning the Mishkan). “ I’ll dwell in them , means the Jewish people. Today, we don't have a Mishkan or Mikdash. But we have our prayer. And when we pray, God dwells in us . We talk to God when we pray, because He’s there. When we pray, He comes down, to the extent that there is a Halacha that one is not allowed to walk in front of someone while they're praying. The simple reason is because it's going to distract them. But the deeper reason is because when they're praying, the space around them becomes holy, like a Bet Mikdash, so you can't enter that holy zone that's surrounding a person when they're praying. And that explains, going back to we discussed yesterday, how the pious men of old, would contemplate for an hour before they prayed. As we said, the source was Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha/ Fortunate are those who (simply) sit and wait. But now we have a deeper explanation: Fortunate are those that become God's home . How do we become God's home? What brings the Shechina down? It comes down only through thought and contemplation. And the Shulchan Aruch brings down that these pious men of old would reach such high levels of connection that it was almost like a prophecy. God dwelled on them because they spent the time to contemplate and bring Him down. And we too must spend time contemplating, as we mentioned yesterday, because if one does not spend time before praying, then, while he's praying, he's not really present. Hacham BenSion gave a mashal for this: Imagine that you have a very important business meeting, and all the important buyers are sitting around the table. Then you walk into the meeting, put a picture of yourself down, say, “ Here’s my picture,” and walk out. You're not present. When a person prays and they're not focused, it's like they put their picture down, but they're not really there. The Rambam talks about this in Moreh Nevuchim , section three, chapter 51, where he says, “It's possible that a person can pray with the movement of his lips, with his face against the wall, but he's thinking about his own personal needs and what he has to do,” which is what most people do. When you close your eyes, suddenly your mind becomes flooded with all of the things that you need to do. And he says, on that person, we say a very, powerful or negative verse, קָר֤וֹב אַתָּה֙ בְּפִיהֶ֔ם וְרָח֖וֹק מִכִּלְיוֹתֵיהֶֽם You're close to God with your mouths and you’re far , (literally) from your kidne ys (which refers to your inner thoughts). Your inner thoughts are not really connected to Hashem. This is the difficulty of prayer. Prayer is called Avodah/ service. What is the service of God? I always thought the service of God is that while you're praying, you're serving God. But the Avudarham, in his commentary on prayer, quotes Rav Abraham, the son of Rabi Yitzhak, the Av Bet Din , and one of the Rishonim . He says that prayer is called service , and the work of that service is 1-to remove the thoughts from your mind that are causing you to become preoccupied in worldly matters, and 2-to subjugate your thoughts to your prayer. So the real job of prayer is not necessarily when you're praying, it's the pre-game show that you have to put your efforts into. And if you put the proper efforts in beforehand, then your prayer goes smoothly. To recap, we’ve discussed two explanations of Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha. 1- As we discussed yesterday, it means Fortunate are those that wait in God's home. 2- Fortunate are those that become God's home. AAnd they are accomplished the same way: by weighing, contemplating and thinking before you pray. Have a wonderful day.

  • We're going to spend some time discussing the mizmor of Ashrei that we say three times a day. Much is said about Ashrei. In fact, who says it three times a day is guaranteed Olam Haba. The Mishna in Masechet Berachot (fifth chapter) describes how the Hasidim HaRishonim /pious men of old would take an hour before they prayed, in order to have proper kavana . The Gemara in Berachot 32B says the source for this is, Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha/fortunate are the ones that sit in Your house. But how? Where do we see, from the words “ Fortunate are the ones that sit in Your house,” that one is supposed to contemplate before prayer? One of the explanations is that “ Fortunate are the ones that sit in Your house, ”means that you don't have to say anything. Just sitting in your house accomplishes something. That's important, and it’s brought down in all of the poskim and commentators. The importance of waiting before you pray is brought down l’halacha in the Rambam. It says that a person must spend some time before he prays, to clear his mind of all the clutter in order to be able to focus on the fact that he's standing in front of God in prayer. Our minds are so busy and so preoccupied that we need to take out that time. Rav Wolbe, in his sefer Alei Shor (vol 2, pg 359), says that the Hasidim HaRishonim waited an hour. We have to wait something . What does ‘ something’ mean? He says that five minutes might be too much, so try one minute on the clock. Sit for one minute, in your spot, and say nothing. Just realize that you're about to stand in front of Hashem and clear out the clutter of your mind. He says that we are constantly rushed, in our modern lifestyles. We're always moving at that fast pace, and we need to slow down before we pray. So he suggests sitting for one minute. And that's our Ashrei Yoshveh Betecha. This fortune comes through sitting , waiting and preparing, whether in shul or at home, before you pray. This concept did not first show up with the Hasidim HaRishonim. According to the Seforno’s understanding, it’s actually a command from God Himself. In Bereshit 35,1, Hashem tells Yaakov Avinu, וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֔ב ק֛וּם עֲלֵ֥ה בֵֽית־אֵ֖ל “ Go and get up and go to Bet El and dwell there .” וְשֶׁב־שָׁ֑ם וַעֲשֵׂה־שָׁ֣ם מִזְבֵּ֔חַ And Sit there And make an altar there. The Seforno asks, what are we adding with those two words- ‘( And) sit there ?’ The Seforno answers that Hashem was telling Yaakov Avinu this principle of the pious men of old, as he was about to build an altar, and that’s what our prayer is today; it’s a substitute for the sacrifices or offerings on the altar. Hashem was teaching that you can't just dive into that offering. You have to sit and contemplate. So this is an ancient concept. People today look to Eastern cultures for meditation and mindfulness. But everything that's good is found in our Torah. That's this concept of Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha. You don't have to sit there with your legs crossed and a turban on. You can sit with your legs straight with your tefilin on. The point is the same: Focus . Clear your mind of the clutter before you pray. Another source for this concept is found in the Yalkut Shemoni, Shemuel ב It says that David Hamelech says, “I would not pray to God until I stood still and calmed down. And then I would pray.” As it says in Shemuel ב (7,18) וַיָּבֹא֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֔ד וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב לִפְנֵ֣י ה׳ “ King David came, and he sat in front of God,” He sat , and after he sat and had kavana , and then he started to pray. So this is something we see in the greats of our past: Yaakov Avinu, David Hamelech… they are teaching us this important concept of Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha/ Fortunate are the ones that just sit and contemplate before they pray and clear their minds of the clutter. And again, this is brought down in Shulchan Aruch ( Or HaChaim chapter 98) This is not just for Hasidim HaRishonim. He says, this is probably the most difficult thing for people, “ Remove all the thoughts that are preoccupying you, until your thoughts and your kavana are pure.” And then you can start praying. That's for the regular person. The Hasidim HaRishonim would spend an hour , and they would reach high levels. We're just asking for a few moments of Ashrei Yoshvei Betecha. Have a wonderful day.

  • This week’s Parasha , Teruma talks about the donations to the Mishkan . It says there, “ Tell the Jewish people, ‘Let them take for Me a donation.” The question all the commentaries ask is, Shouldn’t it have said, “ You should give Me a donation?” You don't take a donation. The Bet Halevi explains that the main money that a person possesses is actually the money that he gives to Sedaka. Any money that he uses for his own personal enjoyment, he didn't really take ; it’s not really his . He enjoyed it, but it's not his. It's wasted. But the money that you give to Sedaka is yours . He says this is actually found in a Gemara in Masechet Bava Batra 11a, where or discusses the great king Mumbaz, who, in a time of famine, gave away his treasure houses to charity. His relatives said, “ Your forefathers amassed wealth and you're giving it away?!” And his answer was, “ My forefathers put away the wealth for others, and I put it away for myself.” Because the Sedaka that you give is for yourself. The Gemara in Eruvin 54a says If you have money, do good for yourself. Most people understand it to mean, If you have money, enjoy yourself. But the Bet Halevi says that's a misunderstanding . If you have money, take care of yourself means give Sedaka, because that's the way you're taking care of yourself. There's a famous story about the Chafetz Chaim and a man who wrote a will. The man left his money to all his children, his grandchildren, his nephews, nieces his old teacher and even his dog. And he wanted to know if the Chafetz Chaim agreed with the will. The Chafetz Chaim said, “ You left one person out of your will.” The man asked, “ Who'd I leave out? I covered everyone.” The Chafetz Chaim told him that he’d left himself out, because the only money that you have is the money that you give away. And therefore, the pasuk says, “ Vayikhu Li Teruma/ Take for Me. The Bet Halevi gives mashal that’s a little morbid. He says, Imagine a glass box. In the box there's a large sugar cube and a fly flying around. The fly is all excited with the sugar cube that he has. But he doesn't realize that he doesn't have it. He's locked in the box with the sugar cube and it's not really his. So too, the money that a person owns is not the money that's locked down here with him. The money that he owns is the money that he sends ahead. Furthermore, within Sedaka, there are different levels of giving. The Rosh says that in the Parasha that talks about what to give, it says gold, silver and brass (or copper). He says this refers to different levels of Sedaka. When a person is healthy and wealthy, and everything's going well and he gives Sedaka, not because he's scared, or because he needs something, then it's gold . He’s giving Sedaka to give Sedaka. When a person is sick or has some challenge, it's also good, but it drops to silver. And when a person is really in dire straits and he's dying, and he gives it away, then it drops to copper. They're all good, but there are different levels. Rav Yissachar Dov of Belz had a close student, who was extremely wealthy, and said he was planning to leave all his money for after he dies. Similar to the story of the will, he said he’d give everything to all the Mosdot after this death, because, as he said, “ As long as I'm here, I don't want to be on the giver list.” The Rebbe replied with a mashal: There was a man who borrowed a large sum of money, let’s say $100,000, from his friend. He was supposed to give it back at a certain time, but the time passed, and he kept pushing it off. Then, one day the man that owed the money was traveling with the man that he borrowed the money from, and suddenly a group of thieves surrounded them and held them up for the money. At that moment, the man that owed the money told his friend , “I decided to pay you back now.” Of course! Because you’re going to lose the money anyway, so I might as well pay you back now when the thieves are here saying, ‘Your money, or your life.’ The Rebbe said told him it was the same thing when a person waits until he is almost dying to give away his money. Well, very nice. It's your money, or your life. It's going to be separated from you anyway. The time to give money is when the person has no pressure and just gives it to give. That's the highest level, that's the level that's called zahav/gold . We are now in the giving season, Purim is coming, with Matanot L’Evyonim , Mahasit HaShekel, Maot Hittim , and all the wonderful causes that are coming our way. Let us take advantage and give in the golden way, and let us realize that the money that we give is really the money that we take. Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat Shalom.

  • We continue with Bitachon related thoughts from Rav Chaim Kanievsky’s commentary on Tehilim. In chapter 148, which we say every single day, David Hamelech is looking into the creations of the heavens and the earth to praise Hashem. He starts off with הַ֥לְלוּ־יָ֨הּ ׀ הַֽלְל֣וּ אֶת־יְ֭הֹוָה מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֑יִם הַֽ֝לְל֗וּהוּ בַּמְּרוֹמִֽים׃ Praise Hashem from the heavens, from high above all the angels, all the hosts, the sun, the moon, all the celestial beings, The heavens high above, the water above the heavens… And what is their praise? יְֽ֭הַלְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁ֣ם ה׳ כִּ֤י ה֖וּא צִוָּ֣ה וְנִבְרָֽאוּ׃ וַיַּעֲמִידֵ֣ם לָעַ֣ד לְעוֹלָ֑ם חׇק־נָ֝תַ֗ן וְלֹ֣א יַעֲבֽוֹר׃ That God commanded and created them, and He put them up there forever. He made a set rule, that shall never change. That's what we comment once a month on the moon, that there's the cycle of the sun, the cycle of the moon. Everything that's in the heavens is basically static . Then he goes on to praise Hashem on the earth. Let's praise Hashem from the deaths, the fire, the hail, the snow, the smoke, the winds, the mountains and the valleys, the trees, the animals, the crawling creatures, the birds, the kings, the ministers, young boys and young girls, old men and lads. And then it says, יְהַלְל֤וּ ׀ אֶת־שֵׁ֬ם ה׳ כִּֽי־נִשְׂגָּ֣ב שְׁמ֣וֹ לְבַדּ֑וֹ ה֝וֹד֗וֹ עַל־אֶ֥רֶץ וְשָׁמָֽיִם His name is above alone, His glory is on the heavens and the earth. Rav Chaim points out that there’s a difference in how we talk about the heavens and earth. Regarding the heavens, it says, God commanded and created them, but regarding the earth, it says His name is exalted forever… Why the difference? He says it’s because the creation of the heavens was a one time creation. The sun is created once, the moon is created once. Of course, it says that God continues to pump energy into creation, and that He makes (not made ) the great luminaries, but in our eyes, they're static. They don't change. On the other hand, what is down on the earth is constantly renewed and refreshed. There are new horses, new bears, new bees…things are constantly changing. Each of the items in the heaven was created with a certain purpose and a finite amount, but on the earth things are constantly being recreated and rejuvenated, because this is where everything happens. As amazed as we may be at the sun and the moon and the celestial beings, they're just as is . Of course, as we said, they're being rejuvenated, but there's no change. The constant change in God's will is expressed down here, on earth. The perek ends off with, וַיָּ֤רֶם קֶ֨רֶן ׀ לְעַמּ֡וֹ תְּהִלָּ֤ה לְֽכׇל־חֲסִידָ֗יו לִבְנֵ֣י יִ֭שְׂרָאֵל עַ֥ם קְרֹב֗וֹ הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃ God lifts up the horn of His nation, the Jewish people. This praise to His pious ones, the Jewish people, this nation that's close to Him. And on that we say a special Hallelu-yah. This means there are levels of action, so to say, levels of moving and happenings. We start with the sun and the moon- They're constant. The world is also constantly changing, and God's name is revealed, but where is it really happening? It's happening with Am Kerovo/ His nation that's close to Him. We are the place where everything's really happening. As it says, everything happens through the Jewish people. All the changes and all the upheavals- it’s all happening ultimately, to get the Jewish people and the world at large, to its final goal. We’re referred to as Am Kerovo/The nation that is close to Him , which has more than one explanation. One simple explanation is that we're close, as in distance, that He’s not far away from us, He's right near us. But the deeper explanation is that Am Kerovo means we're related to Him. We’re the nation that God views as His relatives. We’re His children, we’re His family. Ultimately, a person's work is for his family. His emphasis, and his focus in everything he does is for his wife and children. In the whole world, with everything that's happening around us, who is the family of God , who is He focusing on? He's focusing on us , and we have to appreciate that with part of that big Jewish family of God. Yes, the father goes for meetings, and flies to California and China and takes people out for dinner and all kind of things - but what’s it really all happening for? In order for him to come home and have a meal together with his family, and that's the world at large. There are the things that are always there, and there are things that are changing. And then there's the real focus, which is the Jewish people. And we have to realize we're part of that special group of people. He's watching us, He’s close to us, and when we call out, He helps us. Have a wonderful day.

  • Every day in Ashrei, we say, פּוֹתֵ֥חַ אֶת־יָדֶ֑ךָ וּמַשְׂבִּ֖יעַ לְכׇל־חַ֣י רָצֽוֹן׃ God opens up His hands and satiates to everybody, what his wills are. Asks Rav Chaim Kanievsky, What does this mean? Many people want things and don't get them. How can we say “Lchol Chai/ everybody, without an exception?” He answers based on the Gemara in Arachin , 16B that says an example of yissurim is if you put your hand in your pocket to get a nickel and you take out a dime instead. He says we see from this that anything that doesn't go according to a person's will is called yissurim and brings kapara , and therefore, he answers, Everybody really gets their Ratzon/will, but it’s gathered in for the debts that they owe. What does that mean? He compares it to a king who made an announcement on the day of his party, that everyone would get 10 gold coins. Then someone walked into the party, who happened to owe the king 10 gold coins. So the king said, “ Just take it off his debt .” Can we say he didn't get anything? Of course he got something! It’s just that he got it and immediately paid it off. Similarly here. Let's say that every day a hundred dollars comes down from the heavens for someone. But one day, he says, “ I only got $10!” “Yes, you only got $10, because, due to your sins, needed a kapara, so we took away $90, and used it towards what you owe.” In his Sefer Ahavat Hessed (section 2, chapter 13) the Chafetz Chaim brings this out beautifully from a famous Gemara in Bava Batra 10B, where it says, “ Just like a person's mezonot/ the amount of money they're going to make is decided every single year, so too, the amount of money they're going to lose is decided every single year.” And if you merit, the money that you lose will go towards sedaka. The story of the nephews of Rav Yochanan Ben Zachai is told -He saw in a dream that they were going to lose 700 coins that year. So he kept on pushing them to give charity, but was a little short of 700 coins. Right before Yom Kippur, they were 17 coins short of the 700. Then the King's officers came and took 17 coins from them. They went to Rav Yochanan to him, and and he said, “I knew it was going to happen ,” and told them about the dream. They asked him why he didn’t tell them, and he explained that he wanted them to give the Sedaka lishma . The Chafetz Chaim says that from this story, we see that, as the Gemara says, a person’s lackings are decided every year. But why should I lack anything? If I made $90,000 last year, does that mean I was supposed to make a $100,000 and I lost $10,000 or was I just supposed to make $90,000? What does it mean that my losses are decided? The Chafetz Chaim explains beautifully that it's decided not just that you're going to make $90,000, because then you get no kapara . So it was decided that you were going to make $100,000, and then the market dropped and you lost $10,000 and you ended up with $90,000. What's the difference? The difference is, as we now see, this way, you get the kapara . You get the atonement for the money that you lost. You really never got it, but God, in His mercy makes it counts for Kapara . But, says the Chafetz Chaim, there is even a higher level- Rav Yochanan Ben Zachai’s nephews gave the money to Sedaka. So not only can you end up that you were supposed to make $100,000 dollars, but you lost $10,000. But if you take that $10,000, give it to charity, it counts as a loss, but it's not a loss, because it turns into a tremendous, tremendous zechut. That's how Hashem runs the world, in this way of mercy. Just remember, when we say, פּוֹתֵ֥חַ אֶת־יָדֶ֑ךָ וּמַשְׂבִּ֖יעַ לְכׇל־חַ֣י רָצֽוֹן׃ God opens up His hands and satiates to everybody, what his wills are. Hashem, open Your hands and please give me all that bounty,” don’t say, “ Hey, it's not working, it's not coming in.” It is working , you're getting it, but they're taking it away from you, in order to give you a kapara before you get it. So don't think those prayers were wasted. It's bringing you all types of atonements. What you could have gotten, and should have gotten, was taken away from you. The Pele Yoetz, in the topic of Daagah/worry, discusses this as well. He used the mashal of a king that tells a debtor that it's impossible for someone to owe money to the king and not pay him. “ So I'm going to slide some money through your door, and you can pay me back with that. I'll even leave you some leftovers as well. I'll give you a little bit more than you need. ” That's what Hashem does. He gives us, and then He makes us lose, and that is how He gives us the kapara . That's how He pays us off. The Pele Yoetz cites a midrash that says, Hodu L’Hashem Ki Tov, Praise Hashem, for He is good What's the ki Tov/good ? That Hashem collects the debts in the best possible way for a person. Your wine bottle breaks, your rooster dies, you stub your toe. God's mercy is abundant in how He looks for ways for us to pay back, in the most painless of ways. Another mashal is given of a king that said whoever committed a certain would have a large boulder dropped on him, and that boulder would kill the person. But it turned out that the king’s son committed the crime. So the king took the boulder and broke it into small little pebbles and had the pebbles thrown at his son, one at a time. פּוֹתֵ֥חַ אֶת־יָדֶ֑ךָ וּמַשְׂבִּ֖יעַ לְכׇל־חַ֣י רָצֽוֹן׃ God opens up His hands and satiates to everybody, what his wills are. When it looks like you didn’t get what you wanted, you did- but it was taken away from you before you got it, in a way that would cause you to get a kapara . Have a wonderful day.

  • As we mentioned, many of the creatures of creation sing songs that are found in Tehilim, and Perek Shira is the place where they are listed. It tells us that the scorpion says, Tov Hashem LKol God is good to all V’Rachamav Al Kol Maasav And has mercy on all His creations Why does the scorpion sing that? What’s the connection? Rav Chaim Kanievsky explains that the scorpion is a terrible mazik / destroyer, capable of inflicting death with a single bite. And therefore, when you see a scorpion, you crush it and kill it. You are even allowed to kill a scorpion on Shabbat, due to the danger. Furthermore, if a scorpion is coming to bite you, you run away, at any point in prayer. Because of this, God did a kindness with the scorpion, which is hunted by all. It gives birth to many, many offspring one time (the Yerushalmi says it gives birth to 70 at a time). And they don't come out off eggs. They are born live, in one single brood with many, many babies. This is because Hashem doesn't want the species to be wiped out. So even on something as destructive as a scorpion, God has mercy. In another quote from Ashrei , which is taken from the animal kingdom, it says, סוֹמֵ֣ךְ ה׳ לְכׇל־הַנֹּפְלִ֑ים וְ֝זוֹקֵ֗ף לְכׇל־הַכְּפוּפִֽים God takes care of those that fall, and picks up those and that are hunched over. That song was sung by the snake. The snake was cursed. He was the biggest Nofel . His legs were chopped off. About the snake, it says, “ You shall go on your stomach.” But even so, God did a kindness to the snake, that because of his curse, which was that dirt was would be his food, wherever he goes, his sustenance is there. So even on the snake, God has mercy. These are messages for us . The Gemara asks, what's the purpose in God creating all types of rodents and creatures that don't really add to creation? The Midrash answers that sometimes Hashem looks down at the world and says, “The world has no reason to exist.” And God says to Himself, “ If I am keeping the world going for creatures that don't have any real purpose, like all those insects and rodents, there's no difference for everything else.” God creates certain things to so to say, legalize or find loopholes, for His kindness. And so too, when we need food or parnasa. There's a story in the Gemara where a certain rabbi wanted food in a time of famine. But he was not a person that deserved the food. So he told the benefactor, “ Give me food like Noah gave the raven, and like Noah gave the dog.” The dog and the raven were the only animals that did not follow the rules of the Tevah. They did not separate from their mates as all the other creatures did. But even though they broke the rules, Noah continued to feed them. That was this man's claim. So when we read these pesukim about God keeping the snakes going, and God keeping the scorpions going, what we are really saying is, “ Hashem, as low as we go, we're not snakes and we're not scorpions. Give us life. Have mercy on us. Pick us up.” And of course, we have to use this on other people as well. This isn’t an Ahavat Yisrael class, but it's an important rule nonetheless- the way you act to others is the way Hashem acts to you. This even applies to the animal kingdom, as the famous story of Rabbenu HaKadosh teaches us. He was suffering yissurim , and it says the reason was because there was a calf going to be slaughtered and Rabbenu HaKadosh told the calf, “ What are you whimpering about? What are you crying about? Go! That's why you were created! ” His suffering went on until he showed mercy on some cats that were born in the barn, and kept them going. Then, Hashem had mercy on him. As it says, V’Rachamav Al Kol Maasav/Have mercy on all creations. When we read these pesukim of סוֹמֵ֣ךְ ה׳ לְכׇל־הַנֹּפְלִ֑ים God takes care of those that fall and טוב ה׳ לכל ורחמיו על כל מעשיו God is good and has mercy on all His creation s, think of the snake, think of the scorpion, think how God takes care of them, and how God takes care of us, we'll take care of others as well. Have a wonderful day.

  • One of the most famous Mizmoreh Tehilim that we say is (chapter 130) שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֑וֹת מִמַּעֲמַקִּ֖ים קְרָאתִ֣יךָ ה ׳ A song of the Ascents, From the depths I call out to you Hashem There is a famous Chazal called Perek Shira, which goes through all the different songs that each creation sings. Everything in the world sings a song of praise to God, and we can learn a lot by figuring out why each creation sings what it sings. In chapter three of Perek Shira, the song of the wheat kernel is described. The wheat kernel sings this mizmor , שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֑וֹת מִמַּעֲמַקִּ֖ים קְרָאתִ֣יךָ ה ׳ A song of the Ascents, From the depths I call out to you Hashem Why does the wheat kernel sing this song? Rav Chaim Kanievsky, in his commentary on Tehilim, explains that wheat is an example of something that, once planted, begins rotting, but then, out of the rotting comes something that's more powerful than what you put in. You put in one grain and you get out a whole payload. What's the message? That even in the depths of the earth, which symbolize the depths of one's difficulties, if someone calls out to God, He will take him out of his problems. He'll bring him success. The wheat symbolizes that, because the wheat kernel produces bread, which is man's staple. Rav Kanievsky adds that the Yerushalmi ( in Masechet Avodah Zara) tells us that the average the average plant grows 3 hand- fists under the ground, but wheat grows 50 cubits underground, which is much, much deeper than the average growth. That is why wheat, out of all the vegetation, is chosen to say “ from the depths,” and that's why when we speak about our berachot , there's a difference between Hamotzi Lechem Min Haaretz and Boreh Peri HaAdamah . He says the term HaAretz refers to the depths whereas Adamah is the higher, more superficial layer. So the other vegetables come from Adamah and the Lechem comes Min Haaretz . The message is that out of the depths, from the rotting and seeming deterioration is where the growth comes. That's why we say Et Semach David/ the growth of David Hamelech . We talk about the development of Mashiach Ben David as a growth. We talk about Boneh Yerushalayim as a building , but we also talk about growth . The symbolism of growth is that it comes when things are deteriorating. Growth comes when it looks like things are just being ruined, and we don't see any development. That's the way growth comes about- only through deterioration. And that's why we sing this song of Shir Hamaalot/A song from the depths, to realize that that's where growth comes from. The commentaries say that we sit on the floor we sit on the floor on Tisha B’Av- to symbolize that we're going down. But then, in the middle of the day, at Hatzot, we get up- because as we know, it says Mashiach is being developed on Hatzot of Tisha B’Av. Just at the point where we're going down and seemingly rotting and deteriorating, that's where Hashem is preparing the future growth. That's the message of the wheat kernel, and that's the psalm of Shir HaMaalot Karaticha/from the depths I call to You Have a wonderful day.

  • Earlier this week, we discussed the pasuk in Tehilim (34,19) that says, קרוב ה׳ למשברי לב God is close to the brokenhearted. I happened to see a thought in this week’s Parasha, Mishpatim , that also brings this out. The pasuk says, מְלֵאָתְךָ֥ וְדִמְעֲךָ֖ לֹ֣א תְאַחֵ֑ר Maletcha V’Dimacha Lo T’Acher Simply, this means that one should not withhold tithes and terumot. But the Shelah HaKadosh explains in a way of Remez/hint that Melatcha means full , So it can mean: When your heart is full of sorrow and pain, V’Dimacha, and your tears are there as well , when you pray, Lo T’Acher/ those prayers will not be held back because the gates of prayer are not closed. In Tehilim 6,9 David Hamelech says, ס֣וּרוּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי כׇּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֥ע יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל בִּכְיִֽי Get away from me, all you wicked-doers For God has heard my cries. How does David Hamelech know this? Rav Chaim Kanievsky says it’s because the Gemara in Berachot 32B says, “ The gates of tears aren’t closed.” David Hamelech know he was answered because he cried. And that's really this pasuk is saying, “ Dimacha/When there are tears, the prayer will not be delayed.” We see something similar in the Ramban in Mishpatim 22,20 where it talks about not starting up with a widow or an orphan. The Ramban says, “ Because I see the tears of the oppressed and I save anybody from his oppressor.” Why? “Because they don't rely on themselves.” Widows and orphans don't rely on themselves. “ They rely on Me, and therefore when they cry to Me, I’m going hear them. Since they know there's no one else but Me to cry out to, I have to save them.” The Hovot Halevavot says this is one of the reasons why our Bitachon may not work. He says, if you are relying on more than one person, each one thinks someone else will take care of it. Cadre D’Bshutvi is a concept in the Gemara which means a a pot that has many cooks. Too many chefs spoil the broth. Everyone thinks someone else will take care of it. And it’s the same with bitachon. If you are relying on 10 different people, everyone thinks someone else will help you out. But if you only have one person, they're going to come through. That's how it is with the widow and the orphan. They have nobody else. Rabbenu Bachye adds to this pasuk of the widow and the orphan, that they're weak. They have no one to help them. Therefore, they rely only Hashem, who's the Ozer U’Mashiach U’Magen , as we say every day in the Amida . He says this pasuk is telling us that they're helped more than anybody else because they have a broken heart. We also find this in Mishpatim 22, 26, where it talks about someone who takes away a person’s collateral- he doesn't return the borrower’s pajamas at night. Hashem says, “ That borrower is going to cry out to me and I'm going to hear him because Hanun Ani/ I am gracious.” “ I'm gracious and I hear the supplications of anybody,” says the Ramban, “ Even if he is not befitting, if he cries out to me, I'm there for him. ” The Ramban says we should not think this only applies to someone that's righteous. Hashem says, “ Hanun Ani, I hear the cries of anyone that calls out to Me.” Tosafot in Rosh Hashana 17B explains that this concept of Hanun is even if the person is not worthy. Why? As we discussed before Yom Kippur, if somebody borrows a hundred dollars and gives his only pair of pajamas as collateral, later that night, the fellow will come back to get his pajamas. And if the lender doesn’t want to give him back the pajamas because he needs a collateral, the borrower will offer his coat, which he doesn’t need at night. So every day the guy that lends the money has to go back and forth switching the coat for the pajamas. It’s ridiculous. And the lender doesn’t have to do it. But he should bear in mind that the borrower is crying out. Even if he has no claim, it doesn't make a difference, because God says, “ If someone cries out to Me , I listen.” The theme is the same throughout. When a person feels he has no one else to count on but Hashem, that is the most powerful prayer, whether he's worthy or not. Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat Shalom.

  • We continue with hiddushim of Bitachon from Rav Chaim Kanievsky on Tehilim. In chapter 66, pasuk 3, David Hamelech says, אִמְר֣וּ לֵ֭אלֹהִים מַה־נּוֹרָ֣א מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ בְּרֹ֥ב עֻ֝זְּךָ֗ יְֽכַחֲשׁ֖וּ לְךָ֣ אֹיְבֶֽיךָ׃ We're going to say to God, ‘How awesome are Your acts and Your great strength. Your enemies will deny that they ever sinned against You.’ They will realize how strong You are and they’ll deny everything when they’re put on trial. They'll try to deny everything because they'll realize they're going to be punished. That's the simple explanation. Rav Chaim Kanievsky brings quotes a Midrash Raba in Esther, 10,15 where it says that ‘ How awesome is God,’ means “ How awesome are Your tactics that You do to humble the enemies in a most wondrous way ? Those that are supposed to be killed will cause the others to be killed. Those who are supposed to be hung will cause their hangers to be hung. Those who were pushed in the sea will end up causing those that pushed them to go in the sea. Those that were burnt will cause the others to be burnt. And those who be thrown for lions, they cause the others to be thrown into the lions.” What does that mean? Rav Chaim Kanievsky explains that in history, we see that when the enemies of the Jews try to destroy them, the very area that they tried to destroy them with bounces back on them. -One of the first cases of this was Moshe Rabbenu. It says that he called his son Eliezer to remind himself that God saved him from the sword of Paroah. What does that mean?They wanted to kill Moshe because it was reported to Paroah that he killed an Egyptian taskmaster, but when the executioner hit Moshe Rabbenu’s neck with his sword, God made a miracle that turned Moshe’s neck into marble, and the knife bounced back and killed the executioner. -An example of The ones that want to hang will be hung, is Haman. He prepared the large pole to hang Mordechai on, but instead, he was hung on it. - Those that are drowning people in the ocean refers to the Egyptians that started off by drowning the Jewish children. In the end, they drowned in the sea. - Those that are being burnt refers to Hanania, Mishael and Azaria. Nevuchadnezzar made a very large furnace and they were thrown inside. When the executioners saw that they were still walking around inside, they leaned over to see what was going on, the fire jumped out and they were burnt. Similarly, when the lions did not eat Daniel, they said, “ Oh, maybe they're not hungry. ” So they threw the executioners in, and the lions, showing that they really were hungry, and ate the executioners. This is what Ma Norah Ma’asecha/How awesome are God's actions means. And the perek continues, in pasuk ה and says, לְכ֣וּ וּ֭רְאוּ מִפְעֲל֣וֹת אֱלֹהִ֑ים נוֹרָ֥א עֲ֝לִילָ֗ה עַל־בְּנֵ֥י אָדָֽם׃ Go and see the works of God, Norah/awesome are His causes. Again, the word Norah/awesome is used. As we've said many times, these two words, Norah Alilah are the source for the Ibn Ezra’s piyut , which Sephardic communities say in Ne’Ilah - “ El Norah Alilah, God Who is awesome in His causes,” which means that one of the most wondrous things about Hashem’s actions is that we don't see them happening in a direct fashion. Hashem makes things happen in an indirect way, which is Norah Alilah. The pesukim continue describing how throughout the Galut , Hashem used this system of His Norah . David Hamelech is telling us this, says the Seforno, so that we, who are currently in the exile, should realize how Hashem works. There will come a time when whatever our enemies are doing or have done to us will bounce back. We might not see it immediately, like when the sword hit Moshe Rabbenu’s neck and bounced back, but similar to Mitzrayim, where it took many years until those that drowned the Jewish babies were drowned themselves, eventually we will all say, מַה־נּוֹרָ֣א מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ How awesome are Your deeds? נורא עלילה על בני אדם For sure, we see how God makes things happen in roundabout ways, and eventually whatever His decree is comes to be. Have a wonderful day.

  • We continue with some Bitachon thoughts from Rav Chaim Kanievsky’s commentary on Tehilim. In chapter 37, pasuk 21, David Hamelech says, לֹוֶ֣ה רָ֭שָׁע וְלֹ֣א יְשַׁלֵּ֑ם The wicked person borrows and doesn't pay back . That doesn't mean that if a person borrows money and for some reason can't pay it back, he’s wicked. Rav Yehezkiel Levenstein explains it means that the person, at the time of borrowing the loan, had no way to pay it back. This doesn't mean that he borrowed with a plan, and it didn't work out because of some unexpected expense such as if someone got sick, or lost his job. This is referring to a person that borrowed the money with no plan to repay it at the time of borrowing. It’s a Halacha that you can't borrow money if you don't know how you're going to pay it back. Rav Kanievsky writes that someone once asked the Chazon Ish, “ Can you borrow money without any plan, relying on Bitachon- Counting on Hashem that I'll get the money when I need it?” There are many stories like that with great rabbis, like the Ponovezher Rav and others, who borrowed money with no plan and then somehow, miraculously, somebody showed up and gave them money, just in time. So are you allowed to do that? The Chazon Ish gave an unbelievable answer. He says, “ Yes, but only if you're willing to lend somebody money on the concept of bitachon.” You can't use bitachon selectively, and say, “ I'll use bitachon to borrow money, but I won't use bitachon to lend money.” It has to be real. We’ve said before that there's a concept called Bitachon Mezuyaf/Counterfeit Bitachon , which is fake bitachon. You are using it as a tool. It's not real. You're not really relying on God. Sometimes you're just lazy and use bitachon as a coverup. So how do we know when bitachon is real? The Chazon Ish has a whole piece on this. There are people that, of course sing the bitachon song when everything's going right, but then suddenly, someone opens a store across the street from theirs, and all their bitachon goes out the window. It wasn't real. The Chazon Ish is saying you know if it’s real when someone knocks at your door and says, “ I don't really have a plan but please lend me money.” Are you now able to invoke that Bitachon that that you're going to get the money back after this man borrows the money from you? You have to be consistent in your Bitachon. It can't be something that is there conveniently for your purposes and for your use. It’s important to understand that people can misuse Bitachon. I know a fellow that wanted to go out with a girl that someone else was dating. He was going to use all kinds of techniques to cause them to breakup. I still remember his line, “ Well if it's Nasib (the Arabic way of saying Bashert), we'll end up marrying the right people. But you can’t do all kind of ruthless things and then say it was meant to be. Meant to be means you do everything right and it's meant to be. People often use the ‘ meant to be card’ to cover up their own misdeeds. I can’t shoot you and say, “ Well, obviously you died, so it was meant to be. ” That's misused Bitachon. We have to be very careful of that. And this is what the Chazon Ish is pointing out-don't deceive yourself. If your Bitachon is real, it will work both ways. You'll borrow based on it, but you'll lend based on it as well. And if you won’t lend based on it, something's wrong. Another time that you're not supposed to use Bitachon is when someone comes to you for money (for a wedding, for example). That is not the time to say, “ You should be having bitachon now.” Furthermore, anytime someone comes to you with a problem or they have some need that they want your help with, it’s not the time to start selling them Bitachon. Bitachon is not an excuse or a way out of you fulfilling your responsibilities. The Hovot Halevavot has a whole piece on that, when he talks about Mitzvot. You can't say, “ I'm going to go sleep without an alarm and use bitachon that I'll get to shul. ” It doesn't work that way. There are certain times that you have to be doing things, and you can't use bitachon. It’s a complex topic, because it can be misused, and therefore you have to be aware of the mishaps. As the Hovot Halevavot writes, “ Every good quality has something that can ruin it, built in. Just like every fruit has a worm that can ruin it, every good quality has a worm that can ruin it.” If you're not careful and you don't know what can cause good qualities to be messed up, you could end up falling into a trap. Beware of those bitachon mishaps, such as the one we started with: don't borrow money based on bitachon if you wouldn't lend money based on bitachon.

  • We continue with some nice Bitachon thoughts from the commentary of Rav Chaim Kanievsky in Tehilim . In chapter 34, pasuk 19, David Hamelech says, קָר֣וֹב ה׳ לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵ֑ב God is close to the broken hearts. 1. He quotes from a Midrash called Otiot Rebi Akiva (letter 8), that says, “ Whoever's heart is broken and whose spirit is low, the Shechina walks with him all day. It’s as if a Mizbe’ach is built in this man’s heart and he is bringing Korbanot on it, because the brokenhearted are dearer to God than the angels that He has in the heavens.” And then he quotes another Midrash, in Vayikra Raba chapter 7, that says, “ God's utensils are broken utensils.” Normally, we like to use utensils that are complete. But God is different than human beings. He uses broken utensils. Like it says, קָר֣וֹב ה׳ לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵ֑ב God is close to the people who are broken hearted. It says, “ The sacrifices of God is a broken heart.” The Gemara points out that it say” sacrifices ,” in plural, because a person who has a broken heart is like a walking Bet Hamikdash , bringing offerings to God, and so God dwells there. That's why when a person is in that state, he is closest to God, and closest to being answered. קָר֣וֹב ה׳ לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵ֑ב Those that have humble spirits, He will save. רַ֭בּוֹת רָע֣וֹת צַדִּ֑יק וּ֝מִכֻּלָּ֗ם יַצִּילֶ֥נּוּ ה׳׃ The problems of the righteous are many and Hashem will save them. Rav Chaim Kanievsky explains that specifically at the point of Rabbot Ra’ot/ so many problems, when the sword is on his neck, and it doesn't seem that there's any way to get out of the situation, that's when the miracle happens. That's similar to what happened at Keriat Yam Suf/the splitting of the sea. When a person is at the point that he doesn't see a way out, this causes him to be brokenhearted, and he is going to see the yeshua . Sometimes Hashem pushes a person to a point where he really doesn't see any way out. I'm sure we have all experienced this. Sometimes, when something happens that's just so difficult, you just cry out to Hashem, and that’s when the Yeshua happens. Why is that? Because when the person realizes that he's not in control, he's humble. And that's where God dwells. As all children are taught at a young age: Of all the mountains, God came down on Har Sinai. The same is true of Moshe Rabbenu and the burning bush. God is there when a person is humble. So when you feel down and broken, realize how close you are to Hashem, and realize that now's your chance to cry out to God. Don't become depressed or despair when you're broken. Become invigorated and realize that now you have the clarity, now you have the understanding, and now you're close to Hashem. As we said, that was the story of the Yam Suf. The splitting of the sea happened when the water came to their necks, when they could no longer breathe. And I've said before, it says the sea split at many different spots, it split for every person, separately. The people passed at different spots, at different times, in a U shape. So the smaller U was, faster, there were larger, U was later. What exactly was going on? —- said that the sea split when the water was up to the nose. If the person was humble and walked with his head down, the water hit his nose earlier. But of a person walked with his head up high like an arrogant person, his nose was higher, and it took more time for the water to get there. That's a cute way of explaining it. You had to know Rav Yehuda Moalem to know to really appreciate it, because he was really from those humble people. But our point is that the sea split when they realized they were not in charge. For some people, that took some time. But once you reach that point of Nishbere Lev/Your heart is broken , then Karov Hashem/God is close. Have a wonderful day.

  • With Hashem's help, I recently stumbled on a commentary on Tehilim written by Rav Chaim Kanievsky z’l. To understand Tehilim, it's important to know the background and historical context of the chapter that David Hamelech is writing about. What exactly was going on in his in life when he wrote it? Sometimes he tells us exactly what’s going on in the heading, whether he’s running away, being chased, etc. But sometimes he doesn't. And sometimes, it seems like he's telling us what's going on, but we really don't get it. Rav Chaim Kanievsky, with his tremendous knowledge of Torah, finds a Midrash that helps us understand one such chapter. Chapter 30 is called Mizmor Shir, Hanukat HaBayit L’David/a song for the dedication of the House, referring to the Bet Hamikdash, by David. There are two problems with this. Number one is that David Hamelech was not at the Hanukat HaBayit- he died before that. As we’ve discussed in the past, Rashi explains that he wrote it to be said at the Hanukat Habayit. The second problem is that there's no discussion of the Hanukat HaBayit in this Mizmor. It says, אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣ ה׳ כִּ֣י דִלִּיתָ֑נִי God lifted me up… שִׁוַּ֥עְתִּי אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ וַתִּרְפָּאֵֽנִי I called out to You and You healed me. You lift me from the depths, and so on. What does that have to do with the Hanukat Habayit? Further into the perek, it says, הֲיוֹדְךָ֥ עָפָ֑ר הֲיַגִּ֥יד אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃ Will dirt praise You and say over Your truth? לְמַ֤עַן ׀ יְזַמֶּרְךָ֣ כָ֭בוֹד וְלֹ֣א יִדֹּ֑ם יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י לְעוֹלָ֥ם אוֹדֶֽךָּ So that my soul will sing to You forever.. So, again, what's going on? Rav Chaim cites a Midrash that David Hamelech was sick for 13 years, as he says in a different perek, יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀ בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י אַשְׂחֶ֣ה בְכׇל־לַ֭יְלָה מִטָּתִ֑י בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה Every night I'm crying in my bed . So he suffered for 13 years, and during this time his enemies hoping he’d die. David Hamelech was obviously praying to get out of this situation. What got him out of it? He finally came up with the following prayer, “ Please save me so that I'll have the strength to plan the Bet Hamikdash,” and t hat's when he got out of his bed and wrote what’s called the Megilat Binyan Bet Hamikdash/ the architectural plans for the Bet a HaMikdash, and God heard his prayer. David Hamelech got out of his bed and was totally healthy when he gave over and worked on that architecture. Rav Chaim Kanievsky adds that David Hamelech said this Mizmor when he handed over the scroll with the architectural plans. It was his Thank You for getting out of his sickness. With that context, we are able to understand why it's called Mizmor Shir Hanukat HaBayit L’David . He wrote it for them to sing at the actual Hanukat Habayit, which he wasn't going to make it to. But he spoke about his sickness because what got him out was the fact that he wanted to do this. Furthermore, a pasuk in this chapter says, זמרו לה׳ חסידיו /Sing to Hashem, the pious ones, והודו לזכר קדשו and thank Him. First sing, then thank Him. Most time it's thank first and then sing, like it says, ט֗וֹב לְהֹד֥וֹת לה׳ וּלְזַמֵּ֖ר לְשִׁמְךָ֣ עֶלְיֽוֹן׃ “It's good to thank You, and then you sing a song.” As it says, Shiru Lo, Zamru Lo/sing songs. Normally, first you thank Hashem for what happened and then you sing the song. But here he says the pious ones, they sing the song even before it happens. David Hamelech was already singing the songs of his salvation, before it happened. And he gives various reasons to get out of his sickness. “ Can I thank you when I'm just dust? (which means, Can I thank You when I'm dead?) ” Then he says, “ Can I say over Your truth?” These reasons refers to the two things that a person is here in the world for: to thank Hashem and to state His Oneness. David was using these as a reason to pull him out of his sickness. This is important. When someone is in trouble, a person can honestly and sincerely say, “ Hashem, get me out of trouble because I still have a mission to complete. I still have something to accomplish. Get me out of this. I need to praise You. I need to fulfill my mission.” This was David Hamelech’s secret of Mizmor Shir Hanukat Habayit L’David. Again, we can only understand this with Rav Chaim Kanievsky’s background and context (based on an unknown Midrash, which I searched for. It seems to be in an obscure Midrash, and not in the regular Midrashim). Have a wonderful day.

  • This week’s Parashat Yitro is known for the Aseret HaDibrot/Ten Commandments , and the opening words are Anochi Hashem Elokecha, Asher Hotzeticha Me’Eretz Mitzrayim I am Hashem, your God, that took you out of Mitzrayim , which means that the first words that we heard from God as a nation were the Mitzvah of Emunah That’s what Anochi Hashem Elokecha tells us. That's the commandment- there's nothing to do , it's about the belief. Because if you don't have Emunah, then you don't believe in Hashem, and there is nothing. Many times, we’ve discussed the famous question asked by the Rishonim: Why doesn't it say “ I am the God that created the world? ” Why does it say “ I am the God that took you out of Egypt? ” There are different answers. The Hovot Halevavot’s whole approach is that we build our religion on gratitude, Hakarat Hatov, our relationship with God is based on what He gave us . If He would've said, Anochi Hashem that I created the world, one could say, “But He created the world for everybody.” What did God do extra for us , that requires more reciprocation and more gratitude? It’s the fact He took us out of Mitzrayim. That's the Hovot Halevavot’s answer. The answer of the Kuzari is that we have to look at God through the lens of Yetziat Mitzrayim . It's not enough to just believe that He created the world and then technically left . Rather, God created the world and is still involved in the world. And the Rosh adds that not only is He involved in the world, but there is Hashgacha Pratit- individual supervision. That's the fundamental belief of the Jewish people. And, as the Rosh says, if you don't believe in that, then you don't have that special Jewish belief. In his words, “If you don't believe that I took you out of Egypt then you don't believe in God, because that's not our God.” That is what he calls Yechud HaShalem- Hashem Echad is believing that He’s supervising the world. That is the fundamental of the whole entire Torah. It’s the reason for the famous explanation for why the Torah starts with the letter ב Bet - Bereshit Bara- Because creation still has room for two, (the Bet is two), but Matan Torah starts with an Alef , Anochi Hashem Elokecha , because the goal of the Torah is to bring us the Emunah of Hashem Echad The Gaon of Vilna says, in his perush in Mishleh 22,19 “ The main reason that God gave us the Torah, is so that we put our reliance on God.” And the Gemara in Masechet Shabbat tells us that the word אנכי Anochi is an acronym for God saying, אֲ נָא נַ פְשִׁי כְּ תַבִית יְ הַבִית. I, My soul wrote down and gave you, God, so to say, put His soul into the Torah. So when a person learns Torah, he gets that Emunah. He gets that feeling of Hashem Echad. There's no better way to get Emunah than Limud Torah . In the words of Rav Yerucham Levovitz, When you open up a Torah, it's like God took thunder and lightening of Har Sinai and put it into a thermos. When you start to learn, that fire comes out. There is an argument between the Rambam and the Ramban about whether or not we have to remember Matan Torah every single day. The Rambam does not list Har Sinai as one of the 613, and the Ramban does. But Har Sinai is one of the Ten Remembrances we say at the end of the tefilah every day, so why doesn't the Rambam say we have to remember it? One of the answers given is because you only have to remember things of the past. When you're sitting down and learning, the thunder and lightening is right there with you. You have Matan Torah right now. And that's why learning Torah is one of the best ways to strengthen our Emunah The Ramban, in his derasha Torah Temima, says we can find this lesson in Tehilim, chapter 19, the lesson that we get our Emunah from Torah learning itself. David Hamelech says, הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם מְֽסַפְּרִ֥ים כְּבֽוֹד־אֵ֑ל The heavens describe the honor of God. It describes how the sun comes out every day, and other statements of creation. Then it says, תּ֘וֹרַ֤ת ה׳ תְּ֭מִימָה מְשִׁ֣יבַת נָ֑פֶשׁ Hashem’s Torah is complete, it returns our soul. עֵד֥וּת יְהֹוָ֥ה נֶ֝אֱמָנָ֗ה מַחְכִּ֥ימַת פֶּֽתִי׃ The testimony of God is loyal. It gives wisdom to the fools. And it goes on to describe the Torah's messages. The Ramban says that as clear as you can get Emunah from creation, you look at the Swiss Alps, or any wonders of creation, it's even clearer when you focus on the Torah. This is the week of Matan Torah , and B’Ezrat Hashem, we will use the Torah to strengthen our Emunah.

  • Today we will share two beautiful Hashgacha Pratit stories about bringing back someone who was about to be lost. In the first story, a boy writes a Thank You letter to his parents on the day of his wedding, as is customary for many people. “ If you remember, ” he wrote, “ there was a time when I was in high school, when I wasn't learning very well, and I was falling out. Dad came and gave me a speech, and in a week or so, I turned around. You thought that's what caused me to turn around. But let me tell you the real story: I was really dropping low. I was hanging around with not the best of friends. We had actually bought tickets to go on a trip, and we were just going to have some fun. So what caused me to change my mind? Back when I was in sixth grade or seventh grade, we were making a siyum on a perek in Gemara called Hamafkid, and all the children were supposed to bring something for the siyum.” He reminded his parents how on that day, his mother was making a cake for a Sheva Berachot, and since she was baking anyway, she decided to make something nice for the siyum. So she made two cakes. One beautiful, seven layer cake, which was intended for the Sheva Berachot, and a more simple cake, which was for the siyum. But when her son opened the fridge that morning and saw the beautiful cake, he couldn’t believe what his mother had made for his siyum, and he took it to school. When his mother realized what happened, she considered going to the school to switch it. But when she thought about how excited her son was, she decided to leave it. Her son came home that day and said, “ Wow! All the other kids bought licorice and minor things, and I bought this unbelievable cake!” And he was so proud of himself. He wrote that the morning that he was about to go on this trip, he went into a bakery and he saw a seven layer cake in the window. And it hit him, how strongly his mother felt about his learning and how special it was. He just couldn't bring himself to do it, so he told his friend he was not going on the trip with him. And everything turned around. What an unbelievable story! Look how Hashem orchestrated that, through a mistake, the seven layer cake ended up going to the siyum, and then the boy saw a cake like that on the day of his trip and turned around. Of course, he needed a zechut for something that like that to happen, but I'm sure the parents prayed hard. In story number two, there was a girl from Crackow who was Holocaust survivor. When she realized that her whole family was lost, she went off the Derech and moved to Paris. There, she met a nice man who went through the same story. He was devastated by the Holocaust, and gave up everything. They got married and lived their life in Paris, but after a few years, she decided she wanted to go back to her hometown of Crackow to see what it looked like. So they went. When she got to the marketplace, she was walking around and suddenly she looked stunned. Her husband asked what was going on. She said, “ Don't you see, there's a Shas over there, and it's holding up the table? How can we let that Shas be like that?” So the lady told the man behind the table that she wanted to buy that Shas. He said the Shas was not for sale, because he sold little toys, not books. She persisted and said she wanted the books. He told her if she wanted, she could buy the entire table. So she bought the entire table, as her husband stared at her asking, “ What are you doing? !” She answered, “ That Shas is my father's Shas. Every day, when my father came home from work, he would sit down for 15, 20 minutes and learn with a tremendous delight. How can I see it sitting there on the floor? I have to buy it.” So she took the Shas, cleaned it off, and they brought it back to Paris. She started thinking and thinking. And then she told her husband, “ You know, my life is empty now. I want to go back to the original, religious life that I lived before the war. I want to turn around. I know when we got married, we didn't have this plan. So it's up to you. You can decide to go with me or not ” In the end, he joined her and they moved to Eretz Yisrael, where they built a beautiful family. Another beautiful Hashgacha story, showing how Hashem can take an item like a seven layer cake or Shas, and use it to bring somebody back, when they're about to be lost forever. What unbelievable Hashgacha! And again, obviously these people had to have the zechut make these things happen. Have a wonderful day.

  • People are always looking for different ways to strengthen their Bitachon, and the Chafetz Chaim gives us advice on how to do so. He says that it’s our job is to strengthen our Bitachon. As the pasuk in Mishleh says, קַוֵּ֥ה לה׳ וְיֹ֣שַֽׁע לָֽךְ׃ Kaveh L’Hashem V’Yoshah Lach/ Put your hope in Hashem has He will deliver you His advice for strengthening Bitachon as follows: Go back on your life and constantly contemplate: How many years have you lived until now? How many decades have gone by? And with God's kindness, there wasn't a day that went by (I hope for everyone reading this) that you didn't have food to eat, water to drink, clothing, and a place to live . Baruch Hashem, we're not homeless. That's something to contemplate. Contemplate the Hessed of Hashem. Hashem tells us that we're supposed to remember the years that we spent in the Midbar , and Rabbenu Yonah says this is not just about the years that we spent in the Midbar . It’s also about the years that we spend in this world, going through life's challenges, and all the scary things that happen. Everyone has their scares, whether medical, financial, or family-related. We’ve all had them, and Baruch Hashem, we've gotten through them. We're still here, and we're still alive. So, based on my past, why am I worried about tomorrow? We don't know how many more years we're going to live, and we can assume that if He helped us until now, He’ll continue helping us. We've mentioned before, from the Chatam Sofer, that from time to time a person should look back at his life. As you get older, you begin to see more connections. More things start making sense when you look back on things that, many years ago, looked terrible. As an example from my own life, I learned in a Yeshiva called Be’er Yaakov, under Rav Wolbe, but within a year of my arrival, Rav Wolbe decided to leave the yeshiva. I was a young boy of 18, and I had I finally met my mentor. It was devastating. I literally cried bitter tears that this Yeshiva, that I loved, was going to come to an end. At the time, I didn't understand it. Rav Wolbe sent us to a Yeshiva that was under the guidance of a Rabbi Abba Berman. They were old friends from the Mirrer Yeshiva in Europe, and so Rav Wolbe sent us there to hear Rav Abba’s shiurim . Because of that, two unbelievable things happened in my life, that I never could have planned. Number one is, the alleyway of this Yeshiva was literally less than six feet from Hacham Ben Sion’s shul, Ohel Rachel . Because of this, I developed a tremendous kesher/connection to Hacham Ben Sion, whom I consider one of my Rabbis. I spent so much time with him- 10 years, because of that move from Be’er Yaakov to Yerushalayim. That's point number one. Point number two is that my chavruta in Rav Abba Berman was a rabbi named Rav Moshe Wolpin (currently a Rosh Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael). When I was 21, I came back to America around Pesach time, looking to get married. Rav Wolpin was also in America, visiting his family. One day he was standing in his father's kitchen, and his father, Rabbi Nisson Wolpin (who was a friend of my father-in-law, Rabbi Nosson Scherman ) asked, “ Do you have anyone for Rabbi Nosson Scherman's daughter ?” He replied that he knew somebody, and he mentioned me. And I married this wonderful young lady, only because I met this man that I never knew before, all because I changed Yeshivot . That's just a little dot of an event, that, to me, was devastating, but changed my life for the good. And I did continue my connection with Rav Wolbe, when he moved to Yerushalayim, for another 10 years, as well. That's what the Chafetz Chaim says we have to do. We have to look back and say, “ Well, He took care of me until now, so probably He'll continue taking care of me.” Have a wonderful day.

  • To understand today’s class, we need some background information: ELAL 402 was an international passenger flight from London to Tel Aviv via Vienna and Istanbul. On July 26th, 1955, the flight strayed into Bulgarian airspace and was attacked by two Bulgarian MIG15 jet fighters. All seven crew members and 51 passengers on board the airliner were killed. Horrible story. What is the relevance to our class? About ten years later, there was an article in a secular newspaper in Israel entitled, I Wish I Was Religious . The writer of the article described that as a businessman, he’d fly all over Europe on business. Flights back then were not that frequent – maybe only once a week. He was once sitting in a plane with his seatbelt on, when the manager of the flight got on and made an announcement: There were two ladies, a mother and a daughter, begging to get on that flight. They had a family wedding that they had to attend, and if they didn't get on this plane, they’d miss the wedding, as the next flight was not until a week later. There was only one empty seat, so these two women were asking if someone would volunteer to get off the flight as a favor. Everyone was quiet, and then this man (the author of the article) got up. He said he didn't really care, as there was nothing really forcing him to come home. And he felt bad for these two ladies. So he took took his luggage and gave them his seat. “I then went to the city, found a hotel, sat down and turned on the radio. I started to tremble when I heard that the flight that I was supposed to be on was shot down. And I survived because of the kindness that I did.” He was the only one that survived. “ That night, I went to sleep and in my dream ( and for many nights thereafter), these two ladies were pointing their fingers at me, saying, ‘You killed us! If you wouldn't have given us your seat, we would be alive today.’ I couldn't fall asleep that night, nor for many nights afterwards, and I still feel the guilt that I caused this to happen. I eventually quit my regular job and became a journalist. I just can't focus. I've been suffering with this trauma for the past 10 years.” “I go back to the title of the article,” the writer says. “ I Wish I was Religious ,” because if I was religious, then I would've had something to respond to these ladies with in my dream. I would've said, ‘I didn't kill you. There's a Creator of the world, that runs the world, and He is sitting in the heavens deciding that I should have lived, and you should not. I don't know why He decided that, but I have to thank Him that I was saved. He decided that that's for me. He chose you to be the messengers to save me. I'm not responsible.’” He ends the article with, “ But it's a shame. I'm not religious, and therefore I don't have that comfort.” Rav Wolbe commented on this, that even though this man was not religious, Hashem would reward him for sharing that wonderful thought with the world, that people who are religious have a certain comfort when things that they don't understand happen, because they know that there's Someone big up there that's making the decisions. There's a story that happened many (about 60) years ago. A young rabbi (who eventually became Rav Michel Yehuda Leftkowitz) was learning in Kollel. On one Friday night, he was moving a large kettle full of hot water in his kitchen. He somehow he slipped near his young daughter, and the boiling, hot water spilled on her. She eventually passed away from her injuries. He was obviously terribly distraught because he seemingly killed his own daughter. He could not be comforted until the Chazon Ish told him the following: Imagine you were walking and an angel took the pot out of your hands and spilled it. You wouldn't feel responsible, because you didn't do it. The angel did it. ” And he explained that that was what happened. “ You didn't do anything. The angel did it, and therefore you are not responsible.” And this is why, as we always say, religion and Emunah cognitions help us deal with life's challenges, whether it's feeling guilt for what we did, taking responsibility for what we did, or even understanding what other people did. As we have quoted in the past, the Ben Ish Chai says that when a child, or whomever, causes some mishap on Friday afternoon, we can't blame the child, because the Satan is using him as his messenger, to cause disturbances and wreak havoc in a house on Erev Shabbat. Again, these are all Emunah cognitions that help us, and we have to be thankful for that. And we don't have to say, I wish I was religious, because, Baruch Hashem, we are religious.

  • Rav Chaim Palagi writes in his sefer , Moed L’Kol Chai (Ch. 30, Letter 2), that the entire month of Shevat is infused with the middah of Hod, glory — the principle trait of Aharon HaKohen. Therefore, he says, in this month, our spiritual mission is to focus on emulating Aharon HaKohen by loving and pursuing peace, which includes seeking to foster peace between people who have grievances against each other, and between spouses who are not living in harmony. While these are praiseworthy pursuits always, during Shevat they take on added importance. The name Shevat, says Rav Pilagi, contains a hint to this concept. It is spelled shin-beis-tes . The shin stands for shalom, peace ; this brings bet , for berachah, blessing; and tes, for tovah, goodness. As we know, Hashem has said that He has no vessel that is better for holding blessing other than peace. No blessing we have — health, wealth, success, family, friends — can be appreciated if our life is churning with machlokes and anger. Because Tu B’Shvat is the 15th of the month, when the moon is at its fullest, it is the fullest expression of peace between man and his fellow. This is further alluded to as follows: The word Shevat can also be understood as shevet, tribe; and tu — tes vav — is the numerical equivalent of 15, which is likewise the sum of Hashem's Name of Yud and Hei . That is why ( Tehillim 122:4), the Shevatim are called Shivteh Kah — the tribes of God . Rashi explains ( Bamidbar 26:5), that we are called “the tribes of God” because when God counted the Jewish people, He added His Name to ours. For example, He said, “ Mishpachas H achanoch i ” — the family of Chanoch — placing a hei in front of the family name and a yud at the end of it. In doing so, His message was, “I am imprinting upon the Jewish people My name of Yud and Hei to testify to the purity of their families.” The Maharsha ( Kiddushin 70B) explains that when a husband and wife have peace between them, God's Name of Yud and Hei dwells with them. Man — ish — is spelled alef - yud-shin. A woman is an ishah — alef-shin-hei. Both words consist of the letters alef and shin, which together spell aish, fire. However, when they bring Hashem into their life, the man has the Yud from God's Name, and his wife has the Hei from God's Name; thus, the fire is mitigated. The Yud and Hei represent Hashem’s Name of Shalom ; hence the term shalom bayis. Tu B’Shvat, the fifteenth of the month, symbolizes this concept of peace. In his sefer, the Ben Ish Chai ( Parashas Nasso ), offers further insights on the number 15 and its connection to shalom : · It is the number of words in Birkas Kohanim, which culminates in a blessing of shalom . · Additionally, he explains, a hand has fourteen joints, three on each of the four fingers and two on the thumb. For the hand to represent shalom, it needs one more component. Therefore, Chazal instructed us that when we make a berachah on a cup of wine, we should hold the cup in the palm of the hand; in this position, it is called the Kos shel Berachah, the cup of blessing. The palm becomes the hand’s fifteenth component, thus symbolizing shalom . · He connects this idea to the Chazal ( Berachos 64a) “Talmidei chachamim marbim shalom, Torah scholars increase peace.” This is because the rabbis have increased the occasions for employing a kos shel berachah. These include Kiddush on Shabbos and Yom Tov, Havdalah , Birkas HaMazon , weddings, bris milah, and the night of Pesach. These are all times in which we place the kos in our palm, calling into service the fifteenth component of our hand, thus symbolizing the Name of Shalom . · During the six weekdays, we wash for bread twice a day, twelve times in all. On Shabbos, we have three meals, which brings the week’s total to fifteen. Shabbos is a day of peace because of the fifteenth meal, Seudas Shelishis, which brings shalom . Furthermore, the Ben Ish Chai teaches that Tu b’Shevat is the most opportune time to pray for Arba Minim, the Four Species we bless during Succos. As we learned in our discussion on Succos, the four species symbolize unity among the four types of Jewish people. Why do we pray regarding these four species on Tu b’Shevat? The rabbis explain that if we look at the trees on Tu B’Shvat, we see that they are bare. Tu b’Shevat marks the day on which, according to the Gemara , the sap starts running within the tree. Then, on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, we can begin making Birkas Ilanos, the blessing we say upon seeing the tree’s buds start to blossom. The seasons progress until finally, we arrive at Succos, when we harvest the fruit. Thus, the progression toward Succos begins on Tu b’Shevat, when we pray for the necessary shalom of the Shivtei Kah, which finally expresses itself on the festival of Succos with the Arba Minim. Shevat is the month, and Tu b’Shevat the day, uniquely primed for our efforts to foster the middah of shalom and ahavas Yisrael.